oc 60 ` november 11, 2019 11, november in 2019 T sex Tales of love and lus of love Tales exclusive annual sex survey sex annual exclusive and the indian

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n a 2013 column for an Indian newspa- because sexual awareness and sexual at- per, Abhijit Banerjee, this year’s joint titudes are being shaped at a much younger winner of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in age these days. Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred A majority of our respondents said they I Nobel, made a point that sparked some watched porn regularly or occasionally. controversy. Banerjee, who won the prize for The survey reveals that most Indians are his experimental approach in alleviating pov- still reluctant to own their sexuality and erty, argued in his column about the inequal- prefer a sanitised version of it, one that ity of access to sex. India’s crowded cities and doesn’t make them uncomfortable. poorly planned urban spaces, he said, kept In their larger sexual attitudes, low-income affordable housing beyond the both male and female respondents re- reach of the poor. This, he said, was impacting mained the same. A majority of the male their access to sex and intimacy, the right to a Sep. 15, 2003 respondents still wanted their partners to normal conjugal life, as he called it. ‘There are be virgins. The bottom line, when it comes few forces more powerful than sexual desire to sex, of course, is whether or not people and few forms of inequality more palpable are satisfied with their sex lives. And this than inequality of access to sex.’ year, 62 per cent of the men and 58 per Many of the impediments to healthy sex cent of the women surveyed say they are, lives cut across class lines in this country. as compared to 32 per cent of the women Indian society is still deeply conservative. surveyed in 2003 and 56 per cent of the There is no culture of dating and discus- men polled in 2004. sions about sex are still taboo. But times are Our special issue on sex, titled ‘Sex and changing. The internet and the smartphone the Indian’, put together by Senior Deputy have changed the way we approach sex and Editor Prachi Bhuchar, also considers dating. The online dating app Tinder, for views from our panel of experts. If cyber instance, launched in India in 2016, reported crime investigator Ritesh Bhatia dwells 7.5 million daily swipes in India this year on cyber blackmailing and sextortion, Nov. 5, 2007 and the highest average number of messages Jayshree Bajoria examines why India’s exchanged per match in the world. first National Register for Sex Offenders Reassuringly, we are also becoming may not be such a good idea. Psychologist increasingly tolerant of sexual diversity. Varkha Chulani analyses porn addiction The Supreme Court weighed in on two very and its impact on one’s sex life. Pallavi significant judgments last September. It Barnwal explores the phenomenon of the struck down a colonial-era adultery law and asexual woman and how women are choos- decriminalised homosexuality. These two ing to be in sexless marriages. Gay rights verdicts were important because they upheld activist Aniruddha Mahale tells us what it a person’s freedom of choice irrespective of means to be a single gay man in post-Sec- sexual orientation. tion 377 India. Madhavi Menon elaborates The india today sex survey has chronicled on how Indians were historically liberal the private life of the nation for 16 years and about sex and have now regressed. the past year has seen a number of changes Sexual health is a state of physical, Dec. 10, 2012 that have influenced the nation’s intimate life. mental and social well-being in relation to This year, we conducted our annual survey sexuality. A sexually repressed society is in two parts. The first dealt with questions an unhealthy one. A society that cultivates on the ways we make love and the sexual a positive and respectful approach to behaviour and attitudes of people towards sexuality and sexual relationships is ulti- experimentation. The questions in the second mately a happy society. India is changing part were regular ones on sexual behaviour, and moving in that direction more than we attitudes and preferences among the urban care to admit. population in key cities of the country. The survey was conducted among respondents from different age groups, both male and fe- male. For the first time, the age of the sample was also lowered to 14 (parental consent was needed to interview those under 18). This is Dec. 16, 2013 (Aroon Purie)

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 1 UPFRONT LEISURE A FIGHT OVER BALD BUT www.indiatoday.in FREE TRADE PG 3 BEAUTIFUL PG 50

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Volume XLIV Number 45; For the week November 5-11, 2019, published on every Friday 16 SINGH BANDEEP l Editorial/Corporate Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex, FC-8, Sector-16A, Film City, Noida - 201301; Phone: 0120-4807100 l Sub scriptions: For assistance contact Customer Care India Today Group, C-9, Sector-10, Noida (UP)-201301; Phones: Toll-free number: 1800 1800 100 (from COVER STORY BSNL/MTNL lines); (95120) 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad; (0120) 2479900 from Rest of India (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Fax: (0120) 4078080; Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; e-mail: [email protected] 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 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, THE SEX FILES Chennai-600018; Phone: 2847 8525 l 201-204 Richmond Towers, 2nd Floor, 12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037, 22218343; Fax: 22218335; l 52, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, INDIA TODAY’S 17TH SEX SURVEY REVEALS THAT Kolkata-700071; Phones: 22825398; Fax: 22827254; l 6-3-885/7/B, Somajiguda, Hyderabad-500082; Phone: 23401657, 23400479, 23410100, 23402481, WHILE THE WORLD IS CHANGING, INDIANS APPEAR 23410982, 23411498; Fax: 23403484 l 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; TO BE STUCK IN THE SAME OLD GROOVE Phones: 2377057, 2377058 ; Fax: 2377059 l 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone: 26560393, 26560929; Fax: 26565293 l Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. Cover photograph by BANDEEP SINGH, Styling by ZUNAILI MALIK, Location courtesy THE PARK, NEW DELHI Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) and at A-9, In dustrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The India Today Circus, New Delhi-110001. 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 publisher, editor-in-chief and the editor of the India Today Group publications shall not be held liable for publication material. 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 Faridabad, and 0120-2479900 from Rest of India. Toll Free No.: [email protected] or 1800 1800 100. Fax: 0120-4078080. E-mail: [email protected] log on to www.indiatoday.in GOODWIN, BOOKS: NOT BAD FAITH QUITE RIGHT PG 4 PG 6

A HAZY SHADE THE WEALTH OF DELHI OF NATIONS PG 7 UPFRONT PG 8

BIG DEAL, BIG PROBLEMS National leaders and representatives at an RCEP summit in Singapore on November 14, 2018 ROSLAN RAHMAN/ AFP

RCEP SUMMIT CAN MODI MAKE A DEAL? By Anilesh S. Mahajan

ince 2013, 16 nations, including of state meet for the RCEP Leaders trigger mechanism’ (whereby import the 10 members of the Associa- Summit. Even at this late stage, India’s duties automatically increase beyond a Stion of South East Asian Nations position is complicated, because a deal threshold). India also wants to use 2019 (ASEAN) and six of its free-trade will have serious consequences for as the base year for calculations and partners—India, China, South Korea, domestic industry. to hammer out individual tariff rates Japan, Australia and New Zealand— As of October 10, negotiators with RCEP members. The majority of have been locked in negotiations over had agreed on 21 of 25 chapters of a RCEP members say that once tariffs are a supersized trade deal. Known as the proposed RCEP deal. The remaining reduced, they should not be increased; Regional Comprehensive Economic four chapters—relating to investment, that 2013 should be the base year for Partnership (RCEP), the deal attempts e-commerce, rules of origin and trade calculations (as that is when negotia- to form the world’s largest economic remedies—are yet to be agreed upon. tions began); that rates should be largely bloc, with a combined 39 per cent of Tariffs are a key sticking point, with uniform across countries; and that an global GDP. The deadline for negotia- India demanding that a larger number ‘auto-protect’ trigger should only apply tions is November 4, when the heads of sensitive items qualify for an ‘auto- in exceptional circumstances.

UPFRONT

India’s concerns have to do with the consequences of an RCEP deal for domestic industry. India is already a net importer from the region. With domestic industries already taking a hit from cheap imports, many fear that a free trade agreement—bringing tar- iffs to near-zero levels—will increase the ‘dumping’ of foreign goods in India. “Of the products [being traded between these 16 countries], China is already dump- ing 40 per cent in India. After RCEP, expect more A FAMILIAR SCENE Angry customers lay siege dumps,” cautions Biswajit Dhar, trade economist and to a Goodwin store in Mumbai professor at JNU. Abhijit Das, who heads the Centre for WTO Studies at Delhi’s Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, explains that India is not price-competitive on SCAM a large number of products and could find a zero-duty regime hard to negotiate. “This would pose severe risks to the manufacturing sector,” he says. GOODWIN, For instance, one specific fear is that RCEP will lead to dairy products from Australia and New Zea- land flooding the Indian market. Giriraj Singh, minis- BAD FAITH ter of animal husbandry, By M.G. Arun and Jeemon Jacob dairying and fisheries, A specific and his deputy Sanjeev fear is that Balyan are vehemently hile Mumbai brothers A.M. Sudheeshku- RCEP could opposed to the deal, and still nurses the mar (42) and A.M. Sunilkumar lead to dairy have asked commerce wounds of the (39), are currently on the run. products from minister Piyush Goyal to W PMC Bank scam, Police in Dombivli have regis- Australia and keep the dairy sector out yet another case of alleged tered a case against them for New Zealand of negotiations. Giriraj fraud has come to light. cheating and criminal breach Singh’s ministry is not Goodwin Jewellers, of trust. While the total flooding the even an outlier—agricul- a firm based in Thrissur, amount of money involved is Indian market ture minister Narendra Kerala, with 14 outlets in yet to be determined, unof- Singh Tomar, textiles the Mumbai Metropolitan ficial sources say it could run minister Smriti Irani, steel minister Dharmendra Region, had raised deposits into hundreds of crores Pradhan and mines and minerals minister Prahlad from thousands of investors of rupees. Patel have either opposed the deal or sought more through its gold deposit and Customers got their protection for farmers and domestic industry. fixed deposit (FD) schemes. first hint that something Many in the BJP and the Sangh parivar are wary On October 22, the firm was wrong when they came of an RCEP deal. “RCEP will be extremely difficult downed its shutters without across a notice outside for us to explain to our constituency, especially when warning, and its promoters, Goodwin’s Dombivli branch the economy is still dealing with the impact of de- monetisation and GST,” says a top BJP leader. This is why RSS affiliates like the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and Bharatiya Mazdoor PULLQUOTE Sangh are dead set against the deal. On the other side of the political aisle, Congress leaders met at Sonia Gandhi’s residence on October 25 and decided to join “I AM SURPRISED THAT THE the RSS chorus against the deal. MEA HAS ARRANGED FOR For now, India is opting to slow-walk the negotia- EUROPEAN UNION MPs, IN THEIR tions. The PMO has not yet announced a travel plan PRIVATE CAPACITY [NOT AN OFFICIAL EU for the prime minister; PM Modi is expected to meet DELEGATION], TO VISIT THE KASHMIR other heads of states to resolve pending issues before AREA OF J&K. THIS IS A PERVERSION OF the scheduled signings on November 21. In the mean- time, on November 2-3, commerce minister Goyal OUR NATIONAL POLICY. I URGE is expected to join negotiators to attempt to reach a THE GOVERNMENT CANCEL THIS consensus on the remaining thorny issues. n VISIT BECAUSE IT IS IMMORAL”

14 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 on October 22 saying the store would like these went largely unregulated be shut for two days. When the store until the Union government’s ‘Banning did not open despite the approach of Unregulated Deposit Schemes’ of Diwali, customers began to panic. Ordinance in February this year. The Damodaran Karoth, 63, a resident of ordinance, originally meant to protect Thakurli near Thane, says he invested investors from Ponzi and fake deposit Rs 1 lakh in a fixed deposit at the schemes, also prevents jewellers branch five months ago, after he was from offering any gold deposit plans promised 18 per cent interest. “We with a tenure longer than 12 months. became suspicious when a friend who Goodwin Jewellers Private Ltd invested Rs 2 lakh was able to get only was incorporated in January 2011 Rs 25,000 when she claimed her mon- with a corporate office in Thrissur, 14 ey,” says Damodaran’s wife, Geetha. shops in Mumbai, two in Pune and five Now, with the branch having remained in Kerala. The group also opened two closed for over a week, she fears the branches in Dubai and one in Kuwait, worst. Though the promoters released and had spread into a number of other a video on social media on sectors, including real es- October 27—speaking from tate, civil construction and an undisclosed location public security systems. and blaming ‘negative cam- 18 The Dombivli police paigns by rival business PER CENT have begun the process groups’ for their downfall Goodwin’s interest rate of issuing lookout notices while promising to return for FDs. SBI’s highest against the owners. The investors’ money—few are FD rate, in comparison, Kumar brothers have also willing to believe them. is around 7 per cent been booked in Thane Goodwin Jewellers’ and Palghar under the schemes were quite Maharashtra Protection of popular. Under one scheme, cus- Interests of Depositors in Financial Es- tomers would pay a fixed sum in tablishments Act. Senior inspector S.P. monthly instalments and get their Aher of the Ram Nagar police station money’s worth in gold at the end of in Dombivli said they have taken the ini- the tenure. Customers found this tiative to stop the Kumar brothers from attractive, since Goodwin would fleeing the country. He said the police itself pay the last two instalments. are also trying to locate them through Customers also had the option to ‘roll their mobile phones. “We have alerted over’ the scheme if they did not wish all the agencies at airports and railway to purchase gold at the end of the stations about the possible movement tenure. The firm also offered 17-18 of the Kumar brothers,” he says. n per cent interest on FDs. Schemes —with Kiran D. Tare

Typically refusing to mince words, SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY, a BJP member of Parliament’s upper house, tweeted his condemnation of a visit of nearly 30 mostly extreme right-wing members of the European parliament to Kashmir. Swamy was likely referring to the apparent contradiction with India’s longstanding policy on Kashmir of keeping out international mediators. Although the MPs met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government insists the visit was at the behest of an obscure NGO. Even if it were so, it’s not clear why these particular foreign politicians were granted permission to visit Kashmir, when even Indian politicians have been kept out.

VIKRAM SHARMA UPFRONT

BOOKS

THE INDIAN NOT QUITE CONSERVATIVE: A History of Indian Right-Wing Thought RIGHT by Jaithirth Rao JUGGERNAUT By Alok Rai `599; 280 pages

t is a little alarming to find myself sophical exercise would require some almost nostalgic for the world in which in substantial agreement with Jerry attempt to relate the allegedly benign the lying simplifications of neo-liberal Rao in his view of ‘Indian culture’ and malign aspects of Sanghi culture ideology—markets good, states bad; I as a multi-layered palimpsest—not into an integrated understanding of the “there is no such thing as society”—were least because JR is a self-confessed underlying phenomenon. Or indeed, deemed adequate by anyone. “conservative” and I fancied myself as a to probe the manifest contradictions In fact, that phrase “neo-liberal” is leftist once. I am not eager to gatecrash between JR’s conception of the layered particularly offensive to JR. But there JR’s already well-populated “we”—still, and hybrid nature of Indian culture is hardly space here to tangle with JR I must confess that there are many other and the “Aryan” fantasy favoured by apropos neo-liberalism, beyond saying attractive features in JR’s assemblage of “conservative” Sanghis—consider Gu- that it has few defenders now, even on exemplars of Indian right-wing thought. rugram and Prayagraj. But, at the end the sentient Right. But JR’s struggles But alas, “a history of Indian right- of the day, JR is too “nice” to make such with the word “liberal” offer a good il- wing thought” this is not. It does have rigorous, uncouth demands. lustration of why such a rambling, gos- something of a chronicle in it—a listing In fact, that “niceness” might be the sipy level of discourse (!) is inadequate of names from the past to the present, fatal flaw here. JR is nice in the way to the philosophical project announced but it has none of the analytic bite, the in his title. “Liberal” is particularly architecture of cause and consequence THE BOOK LACKS THE slippery because it alludes both to free expected in a true history. Perhaps one markets; and to the rights and free- might think of it as a generous guest ARCHITECTURE OF CAUSE doms, the flourishing of human beings list, for a large spectral assembly in the AND CONSEQUENCE in, and against, societies and markets. Valhalla where reactionaries gather. EXPECTED IN A TRUE As such, “liberal” is defended and at- JR is concerned to save the fair tacked, in one or other of its senses, by name of conservatism, and picks up HISTORY people both on the right and the left. random names in a somewhat pro- “Liberal values” still command a degree miscuous fashion. Burke and Adam that 1950s Hollywood is nice: smiling, of moral heft in the rest of the world, Smith are there, of course, but so are sunny, and stubbornly ignorant of the even though being called a “liberal” is many, many others—Rammohan Roy toxic realities—of racism and patriarchy practically to be accused of being “anti- and Gokhale, Savarkar and Gandhi, and imperialism—that were simmering national” in our “new India”. Rajaji and Patel—but not Nehru, of just beneath the surface. The analogy Beyond the guest list for that course. Even Indira Gandhi is included, with the American ’50s goes further, ultimate party in the sky, there is very because she was concerned to “save” because JR is located in the moral little here that one can agree or disagree the environment. It’s a pity Godse is certainties of the Cold War era, when with. This book has been written, the excluded, because he too was trying to anti-communism was endowed with author informs, in direct response to “save” something, albeit in his perver- a moral aura, and the grim realities of Ramachandra Guha’s remark about the ted fashion. JR’s bar of inclusion in post-2008 capitalism were not even absence of right-wing thought in India. the conservative pantheon is both low a gleam in Fukuyama’s eye. But such I’m afraid the question of whether it and eccentric. There is no sense of any certainty is inadequate to cope with constitutes a refutation, or a confirma- strong philosophical “necessity” at work our complex, interwoven despairs— tion thereof must remain moot. n in any of this. It is to JR’s credit that for the earth uninhabitable, inequality all his admiration for the BJP’s cultural rampant, collapsing societies, tides The writer was a professor of nationalism, he is keen to distinguish of desperate refugees washing up on English at Delhi University. A his “conservatism” from the cow-loving hostile shores. JR’s innocent admira- longer version of this review lynch-mobs. But a more rigorous philo- tion for “Reagan-Thatcher” makes me appears on www.indiatoday.in

16 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 EXPOSURE

A HAZY SHADE OF DELHI The capital and its surrounding environs were enveloped in a familiar, noxious post-Diwali smog, as despite talk of a quieter, greener festive period, air quality levels plunged. If there was any consolation for Delhi’s residents, struggling to catch a breath, it was that this Diwali was apparently not as bad as in previous years. The air quality was ‘very poor’ rather than ‘severe’, though a glance at websites that measure real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) showed that dangerous levels were breached in several parts of the National Capital Region, particularly in satellite cities such as Ghaziabad, Noida and Gurugram. The Supreme Court’s ban on polluting firecrackers was reportedly ignored in some areas of the NCR, while the recommended ‘green’ firecrackers proved something of a damp squib, with both buyers and sellers complaining about the quality, variety and quantity on offer. The Aam Aadmi Party, which put on a four-day laser display in Connaught Place, blamed the BJP for encouraging people to continue to celebrate Diwali with firecrackers. Still, the poor visibility and foul air in Ghaziabad didn’t stop the boys in this photograph playing cricket near the Link Road Bridge. Or at least, it looks like cricket, if you peer carefully through the haze.

SAKIB ALI/ GETTY IMAGES CHATTER UPFRONT The week in social media @ShougatDasgupta INDEX Who Controls Social Media? Wealth of a Nation By January, the govern- ment told the Supreme In its annual wealth report, Swiss finance major Credit Suisse claims Court on Monday, global inequality is declining with the bottom 90% of the population now October 28, it will have controlling just over 17% of the wealth, compared with just 11% about 20 prepared a final draft of years ago. That said, about 1% of the world population, according to the its proposed rules and report, controls 44% of all wealth. In India, the 9th wealthiest country in regulations for social the world (in terms of total wealth, as opposed to per adult), the number media. According to the of dollar millionaires has grown by tens of thousands since last year. ministry of electronics There are now over 750,000 Indian dollar millionaires, compared with and information technol- over 4 million in China. Indian I-T figures for 2018-19, also released this ogy, while the internet month, show that almost 100,000 people have declared incomes of over has been an important Rs 1 crore, a 20% increase on the previous year. Credit Suisse says India’s asset to economic growth, it has also “emerged as wealth has “trended upward strongly” since the turn of the millennium. a potent tool to cause unimaginable disruption to the The wealth per Indian adult, it estimates, is now over $14,000 but nearly democratic polity”. According to the government, the 80% of the country has a net worth below $10,000. spreading of fake news, hate speech and anti-national messages on social media is a threat to “individual rights and the nation’s integrity, sovereignty and secu- rity”. The Indian government is not alone in its attempts to regulate social media companies. Nigeria recently #9 $12,614 billion 5.2% announced plans to control social media, using many India’s rank, in Total wealth in India in Growth in India’s of the same arguments. There is no question that so- terms of total 2019, up from $11,989 total wealth between cial media behemoths don’t do enough to control both wealth, out of billion in 2018; 2024 2018 and 2019, fake news and hate speech, and that their processes 138 countries estimate: $18,106 compared with 3.7% are opaque. But do we trust our government not to vio- assessed by billion. China’s in North America, late our rights to free speech as they seek to regulate Credit Suisse in wealth (2019): 3.1% in China, 1.2% social media? Since 2009, when such information was its annual Global $63,827 billion, USA: in Europe and 2.6% tabulated, the Indian government has led the world in Wealth Report $105,990 billion global growth asking for content to be removed online, with over 90 per cent of its nearly 78,000 requests, about a fifth of the global total, directed at Facebook. The latter also owns WhatsApp, which has been blamed for enabling widespread rumour-mongering in India, leading even #93 to mob and vigilante ‘justice’. But arguably the attempt India’s rank in terms of ‘average by our governments to muzzle free speech is an even wealth per adult’: $14,569, up from greater threat to democracy. n $14,101 in 2018. Highest (2019): Switzerland ($564,653), Hong Kong ($489,258), USA ($432,635) A Diwali Mess Foreign leaders have been tripping over themselves $19,223 to wish Indians world- India’s estimated average wide a happy Diwali. wealth per adult in 2024, Particularly entertaining compared with $80,237 have been Prime Minister in China, $493,821 in USA, Narendra Modi’s chummy $27,007 in Sri Lanka, $8,668 in exchange with his Israeli Bangladesh, $5,352 in Pakistan counterpart, aka “dear friend Bibi”, and the British prime minister Boris John- son’s pronunciation of 1.8% 758,608 97,689 Ravana (think ‘bravado’). Of Indian adults, or Indians have net Indians declared inc­ Meanwhile, an Indian user posted a clip on Twitter some 15.6 million worth of over omes above Rs 1 cr. that went viral of police in New Jersey hosing down a people, have a $1 million, up by in 2018­19, says IT square where Diwali revellers had left behind hillocks net worth of over 33,899 from the 2018 dept, up from 81,344 of trash, prompting some anguished breast-beating. $100,000, says Credit total. Compared to last year. Just 7 ‘Shame’ may be a bit melodramatic, but we could all Suisse; 827,000 Indians 18.6 million American people provided learn something from Japanese football fans who (1.6% of total numbers) millionaires and 4.45 tax revenues of have made it a tradition to stay behind and clean up in the global 1% million Chinese Rs 1,060 cr. the stadium, home or away, after games. n Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE SIDDHANT by Illustration

GLASSHOUSE THE PARTY POOPER he Enforcement Directorate was fairly busy swooping down on Opposition leaders before the election in Maharashtra, and the BJP had hoped it will bring electoral dividends. But it was not to be. NCP leaders T Chhagan Bhujbal and Hasan Mushrif, both booked by the ED in disproportionate assets cases, won with comfortable margins. Zeeshan, son of Congress leader Baba Siddiqui, was victorious in Bandra East, the backyard of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Siddiqui Sr’s house was raided by the ED just months ago. Weeks after NCP heavyweight Praful Patel was hauled in for an inquiry in a property case, the BJP lost in his home district, Gondia. The cruellest twist—NCP leader Ajit Pawar, facing multiple inquiries by the CID and ED in corruption-related cases, won his Baramati seat by 165,000 votes, the highest margin in the elections.

STATE OF BEE IN THEIR BONNET THINGS here is discontent in PM Nar- permanent members. One bureaucrat itish Kumar T endra Modi’s Economic Advisory on the council recently put out a white Ndemanded Council, which advises him on paper on the ‘bee economy’, much to full statehood for economic affairs. Its part-time the surprise of the others who felt the Delhi when he was in the members say their suggestions are committee needed strategies to revive national capital for a meeting being “stifled” by the old guard, the growth rather than blue-sky thinking. of his party, the Janata Dal (United). The Bihar chief minister was echoing the long- BACK TO BASICS standing demand of one-time friend and Delhi counterpart, he road to revival looks tough but one has to start some­ Arvind Kejriwal. The two fell T where. And so Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandra­ babu Naidu will hit the road for two months. Between now out after Nitish joined the NDA and December 24, he will spend 2­3 days in every district in 2017. The demand is said to of Andhra Pradesh to rev up a party machine that has seen be inspired by the JD(U)’s plan several desertions of late. Naidu is also flexing his political to contest the upcoming Delhi muscle with an eye on the local body elections in January. polls. But can it thaw the ice It’ll be just like the old days, when he used to barnstorm with between the two former friends? father­in­law and party founder N.T. Rama Rao. Only NTR is n We’ll know soon enough. more and so too his ride, the famed chaitanya ratham.

Sandeep Unnithan with Kiran D. Tare, Shwweta Punj, Amarnath K. Menon and Amitabh Srivastava HARYANA: THE RISE OF WEST BENGAL: DUSHYANT CHAUTALA A NEW LEFT PG 1 2 PG 1 3

MP: KAMAL NATH MP: THE JHABUA MEANS BUSINESS BREATHER PG 1 4 STATES PG 1 5

KINGMAKER Uddhav Thackeray (second from left) holding a press conference on Oct. 24 DANESHJASSAWALA

MAHARASHTRA MUMBAI UNEASY LIES THE HEAD... UDDHAV THACKERAY MAY SETTLE FOR PLUM PORTFOLIOS, BUT A DEMANDING SHIV SENA IS NOT FADNAVIS’S ONLY HEADACHE IN HIS SECOND TERM By Kiran D. Tare

he Shiv Sena might have observers believe. For one, the Sena’s won seven seats less Saffron ministers will not remain passive in than it did in 2014, but cabinet meetings this term. Thackeray Uddhav Thackeray isn’t Shortfall will also insist on the completion of his complaining. The BJP’s BJP’s less-than-expected tally dream projects, be it the coastal road in tally of 105 seats, 40 has left it at the Sena’s mercy Mumbai, financial assistance to farmers T short of a simple major- or the revival of night life in Mumbai. ity in the 288-member Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, meanwhile, assembly, has put him in a position to hopes he will be chief minister for five pay back the BJP for the raw treat- 56 44 years. On October 29, he said the BJP ment he received at its hands over the had not agreed to any power-sharing past five years. 105 54 formula. “We will form the government The first thing the Sena supremo did Total soon,” he said. “The formula will sur- seats after the assembly poll result came in 29 prise you.” The BJP high command is on October 23 was to announce that his 288 likely to accede to some of Thackeray’s party would not form the government demands, but will also press Fadnavis with the BJP till the latter finalised the BJP Shiv Sena INC to not yield too much. power-sharing formula. He insisted NCP Others A section of the BJP is already that BJP president and home minister starting to express doubts about Source: Election Commission of India Amit Shah had promised the Sena an Fadnavis’s political manoeuvres. After equal share of power. Sena leaders, in- all, the party suffered maximum losses cluding Thackeray’s close confidant Anil in the chief minister’s home ground, Desai, have laboured the point that an Vidarbha. “We lost seven seats here as equal share means that the allies should cause of the subordinate treatment by the Teli community was upset their both have equal time (two-and-a-half the BJP,” says a Sena leader. “That does leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule years) in the chief minister’s chair. not mean he will join hands with the was denied a ticket,” says a BJP leader. The BJP, however, is likely to keep Congress, which is against Hindutva. Fadnavis was unable to convince Shah the CM’s post. The Sena will instead He expects respect from the BJP and about Bawankule’s candidature. It cost likely settle for important portfolios has got an opportunity now to earn it.” both the party and his reputation dear. such as revenue, excise and the public He also says the central government “We lost another 10 seats because works department. Thackeray has also will not allow Thackeray to run the Nitinji (Gadkari) was kept away from demanded two additional berths for his state smoothly should he separate from the poll,” says the BJP leader. Indeed, party in the Union cabinet. The BJP has the BJP. “He will certainly not like to 41 of the 44 BJP MLAs in Vidarbha already agreed to spare two seats for the carry the tag of a failure and create who were considered close to Gadkari Sena in the legislative council, but Thac- hurdles in the path of Aaditya’s politi- found themselves in a lurch as the keray wants two additional seats as well cal journey.” Union transport minister could not as the post of Governor for his party. Political analyst Hemant Desai campaign for them. There are two theories suggesting believes Thackeray’s intent is to make Fadnavis is also likely to face trouble why Thackeray will settle for plum the Sena stronger, not to get confronta- on account of state BJP president Cha- portfolios. First, to become chief min- tional with the BJP. “He will settle for ndrakant Patil. Patil’s attitude while ister, he will need the backing of the some important portfolios,” says Desai. dealing with floods in the Pune, Satara, Congress and the Nationalist Congress “He can’t bank on anyone to run the Sangli and Kolhapur districts resulted Party (NCP). As a top Sena leader puts government. I don’t think he will allow in a 28-seat win for the NCP in western it, Thackeray is unlikely to go with the his son Aaditya to become deputy CM Maharashtra, putting paid to the BJP’s Congress as it could hamper the party’s as he would first like him to learn the ambition of securing power on its own. fortunes. He had turned down a simi- ropes of administration.” Patil’s October 27 statement—“The lar proposal for a Sena-Congress-NCP Whatever the outcome of the BJP- world can behave but not Kolhapur”— combine in 2016, suggested by NCP Sena talks, their relations are unlikely only added fuel to the fire. And this is leader Ajit Pawar. “Uddhavji is hurt be- to be cordial in the future, political only one fire Fadnavis has to douse.n

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 11 HISAR

HARYANA The Rise of a Jat Scion Having bagged the post of deputy CM, is Dushyant Chautala set to become the new face of Jat leadership in Haryana?

By Anilesh S. Mahajan MANOJ DHAKA/GETTY IMAGES

n October 27, at the hurriedly state’s population, that formed a major is lodged with Om Prakash Chautala in organised swearing-in at the chunk of the JJP’s 15 per cent vote share connection with the teachers’ recruit- Haryana Raj Bhavan, all eyes this time; five of its 10 MLAs are Jat. ment scam, Ajay advised his son against Owere on new deputy chief With the BJP six seats short of a ma- joining Bhupinder Hooda as it would minister, Dushyant Chautala. The jority and the Congress shy by 15, both damage his own chances of cementing 31-year-old Jat leader turned out to be parties set out to woo Dushyant. But his position among the Jats. Hooda the surprise factor this election when when he went to meet his father the next was a beneficiary of the anti-Khattar his 10-month-old party, the Jannayak day at Tihar jail, where Ajay Chautala sentiment among Jats this time. He not Janata Party (JJP), won 10 seats in the only doubled the Congress tally, from 15 90-member House. The great-grandson in 2014 to 31 this time but also has nine of Devi Lal, grandson of Om Prakash Jat MLAs. However, Hooda remains Chautala and son of Ajay Chautala, this Beginner’s embroiled in the ED and CBI cases management graduate from California against him. “The weaker Hooda gets, State University chose to go with the Luck? the more it will be advantage Dushyant. With neither BJP nor INC winning a BJP and took his oath of office beside He also has age on his side,” says Abhey clear majority, JJP became crucial Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Kumar Dubey, professor at the Centre In his short political career so far— for the Study of Developing Societies. Dushyant entered the record books for The BJP, on the other hand, chose to being the youngest Lok Sabha MP at wait for Dushyant before staking claim age 26 in 2014—the young scion has 31 1 to form the government, even though portrayed himself as “the first gentle- it had the support of seven Indepen- man Chautala”, unlike the musclemen 40 Total dents, the Indian National Lok Dal’s politicos of his clan. The public school- seats 10 Abhay Chautala and Haryana Lokhit educated, English-speaking Dushy- 90 8 Party’s Gopal Goyal Kanda. Union ant is the new face of Jat leadership in home minister Amit Shah was keen on Haryana, one who talks about taking Dushyant (despite a section of the BJP BJP INC INLD JJP along all 36 biradaris, a departure from advising against it), as it would help the community-centric politics of many Others & Independents the party reach out to the alienated Jat of his elders. Yet,it was this land-own- Source: Election Commission of India community, which the state leadership ing community, nearly 26 per cent of the had been unable to do. The BJP opened

12 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 STATES

WEST BENGAL KOLKATA Calling the Youth The ageing CPI(M) is looking to reinvigorate itself By Romita Datta

t was long overdue. Finally, the septuagenarian and sexagenarian lead- Communist Party of India (CPI-M) in ers—Goutam Deb, Nripen Chowdhury, I Bengal is making space for younger Dipak Dasgupta and Manab Mukherjee— leaders. “With 60 per cent of India’s and inducted leaders in their late 40s population in the 18-40 age group, it to early 50s, among them Samik Lahiri, would be unwise to leave Gen X behind Palash Das and Kallol Mazumdar. in policy- and decision-making,” says The old guard, however, will be Democratic Youth Federation of India retained to lend their experience and (DYFI) leader Sayandeep Mitra. expertise to the young leaders. “We The party has been mulling over are telling our veteran members to changes in the composition of its vari- remain with us as our supporters and ous committees since 2015. At its or- think-tank, even though they might not HIGH FLIER Dushyant ganisational plenum in Kolkata that year, be politically agile any more,” a state arriving for an election meeting at Uchana Kalan it was decided that comrades above committee member said. 60 would not be inducted into the state SFI state president Pratikur Rah- committee. The attempt was to bring man, a 28-year-old law student, is down the average age of state commit- among those inducted into the state two channels of communication tee and state secretariat members to committee. “The Communist party with Dushyant—former Punjab 50. Simultaneously, there was an effort always believes in regenerating itself,” chief minister Parkash Singh to restructure the social composition of he says. “There will now be an inter- Badal got in touch with him on the committees, with more representa- esting integration of experience and October 24 afternoon; later, tion for women and members of tribal enthusiasm. We will be able to highlight MoS for finance Anurag Thakur and minority communities. issues pertinent to the young genera- mediated on Shah’s behalf. Both However, it took the party another tion—lack of jobs, escalating costs and Badal and Thakur’s father Prem few years to put their plans into action. privatisation of education.” Another Singh Dhumal had a strong Perhaps it had something to do with Left new entrant to the state committee, bond with the Chautalas. Front chairman Biman Bose, who is 79 SFI secretary Srijan Bhattacharya, 26, Following the meeting with but extremely active for his age. Now, is yet to get over the success of the his father, Dushyant told his an exception has been made for him, Nabanna Abhijan (march to the state MLAs which way he wanted to and the party is going ahead with the headquarters) on September 12-13 to go. Then, he called up Thakur rest of its plans to recruit young lead- demand jobs for unemployed youth, and and told him his terms: the ers. This year, eight Students Federa- wants to launch more campaigns in the deputy CM’s post as well as a tion of India (SFI) and DYFI leaders, all future. “The content of the Communist cabinet and MoS post for two under 30, have been brought into the party is ageless and timeless. It just has MLAs. The pact sealed, Thakur state committee. The state secretariat, to be presented in a form acceptable to and Dushyant went to Shah’s on the other hand, has dropped four the new generation,” he says. n residence to formalise the deal. ANI In allying with the BJP, Dushyant may have taken a 100 YEARS OF CPI(M) political risk, but then again, he CPI(M)’s Biman Bose addresses delegates at is not new to risks. His decision the Oct.17 meet to contest from Uchana Kalan was in itself a tough call. He had lost to Prem Lata, wife of former steel minister and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, in 2014. As it turned out, the risk paid off.n STATES

BHOPAL

MADHYA PRADESH THE NATH ROADSHOW The new government is in a hurry to get business going in the state, and the recent summit has rekindled hope By Rahul Noronha MUJEEB FARUQUIMUJEEB SHOW THE LIGHT Chief Minister Kamal Nath with industrialists at the ‘Magnificent Madhya Pradesh’ inaugural

ware that his reputation as a signed; only about a hundred have been in the past 10 months, said principal business facilitator will be put comm issioned so far while about 500 secretary, industries, Rajesh Rajora. to the test, Madhya Pradesh were cancelled. A number of compa- By evening on October 18, investment A chief minister Kamal Nath nies were also allotted land, which still proposals to the tune of Rs 74,000 organised the first investor summit of remains unutilised. crore were discussed, say sources. his 10-month-old government at Indore ‘Magnificent Madhya Pradesh’, in In a bid to woo industry, the Nath on October 18. ‘Magnificent Madhya contrast, had about half a dozen leading government introduced a number of Pradesh’ was meticulously planned and industrialists and some 800 delegates. concessions in the run-up to the meet. marketed as a ‘different’ kind of event— Among the top names were those who There are now sector-specific poli- and so, the standard-fare MoU signings have already invested in MP, includ- cies for real estate, housing, energy, were avoided. “I wanted this meet to be ing Adi Godrej, N. Srinivasan of India tourism, retail, logistics and even AI. unorthodox and unconventional, so I will Cements, Sanjiv Puri of ITC, Vikram To inject life into the moribund real tell you what this meet is not, rather than Kirloskar, Dilip Shanghvi of Sun Pharma, estate sector, which offers substantial what it is,” Nath told captains of industry Ravi Jhunjhunwala of HEG and Rajinder employment, circle rates of land were and delegates at the inaugural. “It is not a Gupta of the TridentGroup. And they slashed by 20 per cent. The number jamboree, nor a mela nor an MoU-signing spoke as brand ambassadorsof MP. of documents required for licences spree. We have something to offer to you, Mukesh Ambani of Reli- have been reduced from 27 to which is why we called you,” he added. ance Industries said, in a re- five and a pilot land-pooling While the MoU-based approach corded video message, that ` policy has been introduced makes for good optics, past records he would set up distribu- 31,500 at the Pithampur industrial CRORE show that actual investment is often tion centres at 45 locations area near Indore. worth of pledged just a fraction of what is promised. As in the state, covering 10 business More importantly, per the industries department records, million sq. ft of land. Firm proposals received Nath has made it clear that the Global Investor Summits of 2007, investment proposals for Rs in MP since Kamal his doors are always open 2010, 2012 and 2014, organised under Nath’s government to business if any issues 31,500 crore, with the po- took over in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government tential to employ 103,000 December 2018 have to be resolved. There of the BJP, saw more than 2,300 MoUs people, have been received are already reports float-

14 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 ing around of how the CM has got MADHYA PRADESH the state’s gargantuan bureaucracy to speed up work on projects. “The concern in our company is that the government is moving faster than us,” Jhabua Gives Congress said India Cements’ Srinivasan at the summit. “We cannot keep pace with Some Stretch Room you because your decision-making is so good. I am under pressure to set up The bypoll victory will also boost the party’s morale this facility (a new cement plant with By Rahul Noronha an investment of Rs 1,200 crore) fast.” While top industrialists were effusive in their praise, the ones not in the spotlight seemed a little more guarded. “We are exploring many states looking for a place to set up another manufacturing facility. We read about the summit and decided to see things for ourselves in MP. We are still considering all options,” says R.K. Dua, MD of Relaxo Footwear. The MP government made the most of a report on employment, rel ea sed around the same time as the summit. The latest report from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Econ- omy (CMIE) said that joblessness at 7 per cent was at its peak in MP in WINNING SMILE Kantilal Bhuria after his victory December 2018 and had dropped to 4.2 per cent by September 2019. Flatteringly for him, this corresponds n a keenly-watched byelection, The Jhabua win will allow the with Kamal Nath’s term in office. the Congress wrested the Jhabua Nath government some leeway But can his government make assembly seat from the BJP in in making decisions. It will also legacy issues like the state’s bureau- I Madhya Pradesh, taking its tally attenuate the impression that the cratic aversion to business go away? in the 230-member House to 115, the 10-month-old government is still The negative business sentiment in exact half-way mark. Former Union struggling to find its feet. “The the country and the difficulty in se- minister Kantilal Bhuria defeated Jhabua verdict shows people are curing finance from lending institu- the BJP’s Bhanu Bhuria by 27,000- disappointed with the BJP, not tions could also be roadblocks. There plus votes. The win is a shot in the only in the state but at the Centre as is also concern within the permanent arm for the Congress government, well,” the chief minister said after executive that the chief minister, propped up as it is by four Indepen- the bypoll verdict. under pressure to prove himself, is dents, one SP and two BSP MLAs. Retaining Jhabua would have giving more concessions than MP An adverse outcome for the given the BJP a psychological edge. can afford. The opposition is also Congress would have emboldened Former CM Shivraj Chouhan spent unimpressed. BJP state president sections within the BJP that want considerable time campaigning for Rakesh Singh says MP is magnifi- to destabilise the Kamal Nath the BJP candidate, while leader cent only because of the “hard work” government. The Congress had seen of the opposition Gopal Bhargava put in by the BJP government over a string of defeats in Jhabua, a tribal and BJP general secretary Kailash the past 15 years. region in western MP. Kantilal’s son Vijayvar giya also pitched in. Howev- Nath says the plan was to intro- Vikrant had lost to the BJP’s G.S. er, the Congress had better strategy d uce MP to potential investors and Damor in the 2018 assembly poll. at the end of the day; it managed to that it will take two years for results to This May, Damor def eated Kantilal rein in rebel former Congress MLA show. “I have a roadmap for how MP in the Lok Sabha election. With Xavier Meda, who in 2018 single- will look five years from now, and I’m the assembly seat falling vacant, a handedly ensured Vikrant’s defeat by working backwards from it,” he says. n bypoll had to be held. eating into Congress votes. n

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 15 COVER STORY SEX SURVEY / JOY OF SEX

FILES THE WORLD AROUND THEM MAY BE CHANGING BUT INDIANS SEEM TO BE STUCK IN THE SAME GROOVE WHEN IT COMES TO SEX, REVEALS INDIA TODAY’S 17TH SEX SURVEY

By PRACHI BHUCHAR Photographs by BANDEEP SINGH

COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / JOY OF SEX

HER FINGERS MOVE ACROSS THE 17 years. We seem to have come a long way in SMARTPHONE with evident intensity, this time, in terms of shedding our moral inhi- scrolling through the multiple videos bitions, being more open about our sexuality, that have popped up after she typed in Parts of the country have now become more ‘erotic couplings’. They are lying side sex-forward, as the average age at which one by side in his paying guest accommo- has his or her first sexual encounter has come dation in Pune and the internet on her down. In Guwahati, for instance, 61 per cent of the respondents said they had their first sexual phone allows her uninterrupted access encounter in their teens, which was the highest to a world that is at once exciting and among all cities surveyed. Today, 33 per cent overwhelming. Every now and then, of the respondents claim they had their first the girl can’t help but giggle as images sexual experience in of men with penises the length of her their teenage years. arm flash past. It makes the young It is a far cry from man nervous, as he sheepishly tells THE INTER- the results of our first her—“These men are not the norm, sex survey in 2003, you know.” The couple, in their early when 8 per cent 20s, are eager to experiment and NET HAS respondents said they seeking inspiration from the porn had their first sexual videos on their phone screen. Even as CHANGED encounter before they turned 18. Increased they are sex-surfing, someone solicits exposure to the web, them on a chat window. INDIA’S wider acceptance of The internet and the mobile phone have one’s sexuality and the irrevocably changed the Indian sexscape. SEXSCAPE perceived convenience Respondents There is no sexual fantasy that has been left of the morning-after who said they to the imagination—if it’s in your mind, then FOREVER pill perhaps has led to watched porn it will definitely be on the internet. And easily this early sexual start. regularly or accessible too, given the increased internet This year, in ad- occasionally penetration. It has made the Indian bedroom— dition to the regular set of questions assessing urban as well as rural—an exciting place. You changing sexual behaviour and attitudes, we can know all you want to know about sex in one introduced several new questions that tapped swipe of the screen, in the privacy of your own people’s fantasies, attitudes to fidelity and % bedroom, rather than furtively rifle through extramarital sex, pornography and the use of 79 the well-worn pages of a porn magazine, a performance-enhancers like Viagra. steamy novel or movie. Google has become the More than three-fourths of the respondents new mentor and guide. said they watched porn regularly or occasion- 8571 The india today sex survey has been map- ally—85 per cent of the male respondents said M F ping the sexual attitudes of Indians for the past they did so; 48 per cent men also admitted to

18 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 SOCIAL MEDIA APPS PRESENT AN OPPORTUNITY BUT ARE ALSO PRONE TO THREATS LIKE SEXTORTION

having paid sex while only 3 per cent of women respondents admitted to doing the same. Despite this, a majority of the respondents—89 per cent—were against filming themselves or taking pictures while having sex; 74.4 per cent were also closed to the idea of threesomes. This either reflects wariness with experi- mentation or a reluctance on the part of the respondents to share their darkest fantasies with those surveying them. In a similar vein, 64.4 per cent were not open to going to a strip club or a swinger’s club with their partners, and 57 per cent were not open to any kind of S&M activity in the name of experimentation. While those in the 14-29 age group were defi- nitely more liberal when it came to ques- tions that involved role play, threesomes, spanking or biting their partners, or using dildos, vibrators etc, the percent- age difference was negligible. In August 2018, the Supreme Court issued a historic ruling confirming the right of the LGBT community to express their sexuality without discrimination. According to Solene Paillet of Gleeden, the first global extramarital dating web- site that has close to 200,000 women members in India, “The website has witnessed more than a 45 per cent in- crease in same-sex encounters during the past six months, meaning that after the abolition of Section 377, people feel freer to practise their sexual preference and to pursue homosexual or bisexual encoun- ters outside their marriages.” The india

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 19 COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / JOY OF SEX

women on the dating site even when tech- nology makes infidelity very easy, discrete and accessible to women. Most Indian women continue to believe infidelity is something terrible and punishable.” This, when Indian women, in the past decade, especially in urban India, have come into their own, gained financial in- dependence, made strides professionally, taken patriarchy and misogyny head-on, a wave of feminism that has also bred a liberal attitude towards sex. But even as most women are no longer afraid to seek pleasure as equals, they are also scared of being judged. The past year was also one in which #metoo cast its long shadow. It dominated the headlines and was the focus of our sex survey, which explored the idea of exploi- tation and sex at work. Crimes against women have been on the rise over the past decade—per the most recent National Crime Records Bureau data, crimes against women increased by 26 per cent in 2016. As a result, we finally saw the first National Register of Sex Offenders launched by the today sex survey, however, reveals that government in an effort to stem crimes most Indians are still reluctant to own their Respondents against women. sexuality and prefer a sanitised version of it, who did not Social media apps are also making one that doesn’t make them uncomfortable. consider looking the web a messy, unwieldy space where When asked about their sexual orientation, 9 at a sexually ex- paedophiles have easy access, and cyber- out of 10 respondents said they have sex only plicit website as blackmailing, sextortion and revenge por- with persons of the opposite gender. Patna being unfaithful nography are growing. While the Indian was the only city (of the 19 surveyed) where to their partners government is blocking major porn sites, only 58 per cent said they had straight sex. ‘mirror sites’ are appearing with lightning A month after its landmark ruling on speed. The dark, vicious side of the inter- homosexuality, in September 2018, the apex % net remains a black hole that is largely court struck down another colonial-era law unregulated. According to cyber security linked to adultery, ruling that extramarital 74 specialist Ritesh Bhatia, “Social network- sex was no longer a criminal offence in India. ing sites, dating portals and smartphone Yet, as Paillet says, “Despite decriminali- apps massively contribute towards crimes sation of extramarital sex, there’s still very 73 75 such as sextortion and cyber stalking. strong social stigma regarding female infidel- M F The lack of awareness of the dangerous ity in India. For this reason, men outnumber effects of smartphone applications and

20 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 PORN ADDICTION IS RAMPANT, AND IS CAUSING SEXUAL INSECURITY AND STRIFE IN RELATIONSHIPS

tech-based capabilities is one of the topmost reasons why Methodology individuals become victims of cyber crimes.” Rise in crime apart, porn addiction is also breeding he India Today Sex Survey, 2019 sexual insecurity and causing strife in relationships. “Porn was carried out by Marketing and addiction is definitely rampant today,” says Sadia Saleed, TDevelopment Research Associates founder and chief psychologist at Inner Space Counselling, or MDRA, New Delhi, in 19 cities. The field Mumbai. “An overdose of porn can distort reality. People feel survey was conducted among 4,028 it is easier to get pleasure than actually getting down to hav- people between January 23 and February ing sex which can be tedious after a hard day’s work. People 20, 2019. Male and female respondents want instant gratification and porn gives them that.” were interviewed in equal numbers, and Talking of how the internet has changed sexual at- in three age groups: 14-29, 30-49, 50-69; titudes, Saleed says, “The internet creates awareness and special consent was taken to interview one of the biggest changes we have witnessed is the rise in those under 18. The respondents could self-referred patients who come to us to discuss intimacy be married or single, having sex inside issues. This is a huge shift in trajectory from how things marriage or outside it, and had to have a were 18-20 years ago. The younger lot, between 22 and 45, minimum education of HSC. is not afraid of seeking help.” Like in 2018, the annual survey was However, the more things have changed in the Indian conducted in two parts. The first dealt sexual arena, the more they have also remained the same. with questions on the ways we make love In their larger sexual attitudes, men remain trapped in the and how open we are to experimentation. past, as the results of our survey show. To the question—‘Is The second had regular questions on virginity important to you’—53 per cent respondents (both sexual behaviour, attitudes and prefer- men and women) said yes. The number was much higher ences of the urban population in key cities in smaller cities such as Ahmedabad and Jaipur, at 82 per of the country. cent and 81 per cent, respectively. In response to the same The respondents were selected question in 2004, 72 per cent men said they expected their randomly to eliminate bias. The agency brides to be virgins. We also remain a nation that favours used its unique 3 ‘S’—size, spread and the missionary position—42 per cent women and 38 per selection—method to select the sample cent men rated this as their favourite sexual position in and multistage sampling. In the first this year’s survey. This is only down 9 percentage points stage, any major factors that could cause from 2003. sampling errors were controlled through But things are more exciting in India’s smaller towns an appropriate selection process (among and cities. Data collected this year seems to suggest people males, females, geographical distribution here are far more open about their sexual behaviour, are etc.). At the second stage, the contact not averse to experimentation and have a healthier attitude points with the respondents were a mix to sex. Indore, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Chandigarh of places of aggregation. lead the way in liberal sexual attitudes. Experts believe this Male and female respondents were is because there is less value judgement in these places and approached by same gender investiga- the lives less complicated. tors. Experien ced and trained MDRA The bottom line, of course, is whether or not people are investigators approached respondents satisfied with their sex lives. And 62 per cent of men and 58 with a structured questionnaire. Respon- per cent women surveyed this year say they are. It’s a differ- dents were asked to drop the completely ent matter that being a duplicitous society, and afraid of be- filled-in questionnaires into a sealed drop ing judged by either stories of too little or too much sex, so box to ensure anonymity of responses. we tailor our stories depending on the company at hand. n

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 21 COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / SEXUAL ATTITUDES

10 HIGH POINTS OF THE 17TH INDIA TODAY SEX SURVEY

Overall, virginity 31 per cent of the About 40% of is important to respondents were respondents said they 53% of respondents. open to being bitten, were not completely 1The majority of 4 spanked, slapped 7 happy and satisfied the respondents in or whipped by their with their sex life Ahmedabad (82%) and partner during sex Jaipur (81 %) were of the same opinion Only 51% of those surveyed said 27 per cent of the they knew where respondents were open 8 their partner’s to using dildos or G-Spot is More than three- 5 vibrators during sex; the fourths of respondents most in Indore (65.5%), 40% preferred admitted to watching Bhubaneswar (54.5%) and man on top; 2 porn either regularly Gurugram (51%) 22.6% prefer or occasionally. A high 9 woman on top percentage of males The majority of (85.5%) accepted respondents (89%) that they watch porn were against taking One in four people either regularly or 6 pictures or filming surveyed said occasionally themselves during sex they fantasised 10 about sex at the workplace

30 per cent of the respondents were open to being tied 3 or blindfolded or otherwise restrained during sex. Surprisingly, one in every three males was open to the above ideas

Graphics & Illustrations by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY ARE YOU OPEN HAVE YOU EVER TO S&M? CHEATED ON YOUR PARTNER/ HAD AN EXTRA-MARITAL AFFAIR? 2009 2019

Yes14% Yes31% 2007 2019 No80% No57% Yes18% Yes19% No78% No81% DO YOU EQUATE EMOTIONAL INFIDELITY WITH CHEATING ON YOUR WOULD YOU FILM PARTNER? YOURSELF WHILE I HAVING SEX?

2007 2019 2005 2019

Yes % Yes % HOW RESPONDENTS’ VIEWS HAVE 33 36 Yes 9% Yes 7% No % No % CHANGED OVER THE YEARS 51 64 No79% No89% Yes No Not sure/ No response

FAVOURITE SEX HOW OLD WERE HOW SATISFIED POSITION YOU WHEN YOU ARE YOU WITH FIRST HAD SEX? YOUR SEX LIFE? % 60 59% 76% 60% % 53 % 52% 47 43% % % 32 33% 38% 40 % 31 % % 31 % 13 % 2012 2019 28 2007 2003 2005 8 % % % 8% % 11 14 7 % % 6 % 22 15 % % % 12 2003 2013 2019 2005 2009 2019 10 12 Man Woman <18 18-26 27-40 Very Moderately Not on top on top yrs yrs yrs Happy Happy Happy COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / SEXUAL ATTITUDES TURN IT ON RESPONDENTS IN SMALL TOWNS ARE TURNING OUT TO BE AS BOLD IN THEIR SEXUAL CHOICES AS THEIR BIG CITY COUSINS

WHAT GOES HAVE YOU OR THROUGH YOUR YOUR PARTNER MIND WHILE EVER TAKEN VIAGRA HAVING SEX? OR A SIMILAR PILL? Work worries Yes

Bengaluru Ranchi Jaipur Chandigarh 42.9% 27% 87% 62%

HAVE YOU EVER HAVE YOU FANTASISED ABOUT CHEATED CHEATING ON YOUR ON YOUR PARTNER? PARTNER? Yes Yes

Indore Lucknow Chandigarh 85% 46.5% 44.9% Gurugram 42.6%

HOW LONG DO YOU SPEND WOULD HAVE YOU HAVING SEX? YOU FILM FANTASISED 30 mins or less, including foreplay YOURSELF ABOUT WHILE SEX AT THE Indore Jaipur Ahmedabad HAVING SEX? WORKPLACE? % % % 91.5 67. 5 63 Yes Yes Bhubaneswar Chandigarh Mumbai Patna Bengaluru Lucknow Gurugram Chennai 59.5% 53.7% 51.2% 21.5% 26.3% 48% 43.7% 42% ARE YOU OPEN TO HAVING SEX IN PUBLIC DESPITE THE RISK OF GETTING CAUGHT? Yes

Chennai Chandigarh Jaipur 27% 62% 67. 5 % Pune 67. 5 %

WHAT IS YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION? Heterosexual SMALL TOWNS, Noida Chandigarh Bhubaneswar 27% 62% 59.5% BIG PLANS SEXUAL MORES OF RESPONDENTS IN THESE Indore Gurugram Hyderabad URBAN CENTRES ARE A REVELATION % % % 27 27 63 INDORE BHUBANESWAR 85% open to giving each other 82% open to giving their sensual massage partner a sensual massage HAVE YOU HAD SEX 72% open to talking dirty 71% open to talking dirty AT THE WORKPLACE? 84.5% open to waking up 71.5% open to watching Yes to morning sex porn together Delhi Ranchi 71.5% open to being 74.5% open to waking up % % suspended during sex to morning sex 27.6 19.5 79.5% open to being 57.5% open to being No shaved by partner blindfolded during sex Gurugram Noida Indore 70% open to being watched 54.5% open to using while masturbating dildos and vibrators % % % 100 100 99 92.5% happy with 81.5% open to oral sex their sex lives Bhubaneswar Chandigarh 83.5% happy with 75% say virginity their sex life % % not important 99.5 99 40% have fantasised about 56.5% have sex at least once being in a threesome Kolkata a week % 85% have fantasised about 99.2 cheating JAIPUR 50% open to being whipped/ spanked CHANDIGARH 73.5% open to oral sex 62% have taken Viagra or similar pill 87% have taken Viagra or similar medicines 44.9% have cheated on their partner 62% watch porn regularly 53.7% spend 30 minutes or 67% change the subject less having sex, including or stop talking when the foreplay topic of sex comes up 37.1% open to having sex 33.5% open to having sex in public despite the risk in public despite the risk of getting caught of getting caught COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / SEXUAL ATTITUDES

60% 26% 45% 35% of all respondents of respondents said of men surveyed of male respondents said they preferred they had fantasised said they were said they were having sex with the about cheating open to anal sex turned on by female lights turned on their partner. with their female breasts; 24.9% of the off. 64% of female This was reported by partners. The women surveyed that respondents said they more males (28%) than proportion was the partner’s face was preferred to have sex females (24%). One in much lower for important for them in with the lights off. five respondents (21%) women (15%) terms of attraction had fantasised about threesomes and one in four respondents (25%) had fantasised % about sex at the % % 53 workplace, with a 28 48 of male respondents higher proportion of of respondents said of the male respondents said they knew where males (31%) reporting they were taking admitted to having their partners’ the latter compared to Viagra or a similar paid sex which G-spot is; almost women (20%) pill, The proportion of was a much higher 50% of female respondents admitting percentage as compared respondents said to the same was the to female respondents they knew where highest in Jaipur (87%) (3%). Respondents in their G-spot is and Chandigarh (62%) Bhubaneswar (50%), Noida (49.5%), Indore (48%) and Gurugram (43.7%) had among the highest respondents who said they had paid for sex 23% of male respondents said they had fantasised about threesomes. There were fewer takers for the said fantasy among women respondents (19%)

WASEEM ANDRABI/GETTY IMAGES

COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / SMALL-TOWN MORALITY A WHOLE LOTTA LOVE

IN MANY A NORTH INDIAN MICROPOLIS, SEXUAL REVOLUTION HAS COME TO TOWN AND EVERYBODY IS LOVING IT BY RAHUL NORONHA, SUKANT DEEPAK AND ROHIT PARIHAR

Paid sex is a far better, no-strings-att ached option...the chase is minimal, the kill certain,” says an Indore-based banker. The city has also attracted a large population of youngsters from neighbouring towns for work or study. “This demographic enjoys the anonymity the city af- fords them. Their treatment of sex is somewhere between a profession and an emotional issue,” says the banker. He alleges these youngsters are willing to befriend people on social media, even Tinder, and go out with them provided the ‘friends’ take care of their material needs, be it smartphones, outings or gifts of all kinds. Connectivity, too, has played a prominent role in bringing about this change in mindset in Indore. The city now has a flight to Dubai as well. Travel agents in the city point out that Bangkok MONEY ISN’T NEW TO INDORE, often is a very popular holiday destination, especially described as the commercial capital of Madhya among all-male groups. No wonder the next Pradesh. But post-liberalisation, the scale— international connection from Indore—expected manifested in the mushrooming of malls, mul- to be announced anytime now—is Bangkok. tiplexes, swanky cars, farmhouses and posh real It is always difficult to discern sexual habits estate—has seen a massive upswing. The city, and mores in smaller towns. The india today whose residents like to refer to it as ‘Mini Bom- sex survey findings are based on a limited num- bay’ owing to its close commercial ties with the ber of respondents in each city and town and are metropolis, has also shown a knack for spending only indicative. They cannot be extrapolated to its hard-earned riches. And how. the population of the entire town or city. There are more than a 100 flights taking It is with caution that we report that 48 per off from the city’s airport every day but what cent of those surveyed in Indore said yes to hav- is significant is that the flights to and from ing had paid sex. Women respondents seem to be Mumbai, especially towards the weekend, have a on the path to sexual emancipation, if not already substantial passenger load hailing from certain there. Of the 27 per cent overall respondents who countries. These countries, most of them with claimed to have used dildos for pleasure, a large rich historical and cultural backgrounds, have number, 66 per cent, came from Indore. Also, for % witnessed a downswing in their fortunes and are 75 per cent of the city’s respondents, virginity was now known the world over as prominent con- not an issue. Some may even see it as a sign of em- 87 tributors to the oldest profession in the world— powerment, normal for a city that was once ruled couple respon- prostitution. The arrival of out-of-work starlets by a woman. Around 84 per cent respondents dents in Indore is also common in Indore—there are stories also said they talk about sex with their partners said they like to pertaining to them, too. The police in Indore are as it makes them feel connected. Overall, 92.5 watch porn aware of what is happening, but there is a sense of per cent of the respondents said they were happy together acceptance—as long as it’s not in your face, or out with their sex lives. on the streets, they seem to be alright with it. Despite all the wealth and the changes it A sizeable part of the money being spent on has brought about, a part of Indore is still small entertainment in Indore is on solicited paid sex. town, with all its ‘virtues’. It is here that the di- The farmhouses and resorts that have mush- chotomy between being okay with solicited sex % roomed all over Indore in the past few years outside marriage and keeping the family system are where the service providers are taken to, for intact is most on display among the respon- 53 private parties. Indore, once ruled by the Holkars dents. Indore, in that sense, isn’t different from respondents in and dominated by the unassuming and modest any other Indian city. Chandigarh are Marathi community, has come a long way on how up for a bit of it deals with disposable incomes. “Commerce is A CITY AT THE CROSSROADS BDSM the lifeline of the city. Many an Indore resident Despite the clinical symmetry that comes from sees relationships as a waste of time, something an architecture of clean, sharp grid lines, over during sex that comes in the way of their pursuit of wealth. the past decade-and-a-half, Chandigarh, has

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 29 COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / SMALL-TOWN MORALITY emerged as a city of light for people across Haryana, access to the mobile phone, living with peers who are Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. No experimenting with sex plus the mushrooming of dating longer a sleepy stretch of 114 km, which at one point was apps such as Tinder breed a more open mindset when preferred by retirees from the country’s northern belt, it comes to sex. “So many people now come to me and the city has grown not just in terms of population but discuss sex without any inhibitions. They talk openly also facilities in tune with its cosmopolitan nature. Bars, about same sex relationships or bisexuality,” she says. night clubs, malls, proximity to the hills and an explosion Observing that a big reason behind the ‘sex revolution’ is of private educational institutes in and around the city also the emergence of the new woman who is financially have ensured that it has become a destination of choice for independent, highly educated and aspirational, Dr War- youngsters from adjoining states. raich adds, “This generation of young women is different With a diverse young population, Chandigarh, which from their mothers.” a few decades back could have been termed conservative, has undergone a metamorphosis, going by its respondents. THE MEDS BOOST Take the case of 24-year-old Sunaina Sharma (name For Jaipur respondents, sex remains a personal issue, only changed on request) from Himachal Pradesh, who shares to be discussed with their doctors (if need be) and explored an apartment with her boyfriend in Sector 45. Enrolled at through fantasies. Eighty-seven per cent respondents a civil services preparatory institute, Sharma says the duo said they took Viagra or its variants. Dr Sudhir Bhandari, didn’t face any problems renting the place. “I made it clear principal of SMS Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Ra- to my landlady that my partner would be living with me. jasthan’s largest state-run medical institution, holds a dif- She didn’t seem surprised at all. Many of my friends who ferent view: “Of late, I find there is a lot of awareness among have lived here all their lives say this would not have been people including the women of Jaipur about how various possible a decade back.” medical conditions can adversely affect the libido, and the Rajesh Gill, 58, professor of sociology at Panjab cures for it.” The survey findings reveal that people might University, Chandigarh, finds the data thrown up by the be reluctant to talk about sex openly, but they are discuss- india today sex survey ing sexual problems with medical practitioners more freely “interesting”. She says, than ever. “Many of them do disclose how diabetes has “From the label of a affected their sexual performance, and we try to prescribe ‘dead city’ a few decades medicines for them accordingly,’’ says Dr Bhandari. He back, it has graduated says sexual dysfunction or loss of potency can be the first to a place which is open- THE DIVERSE, indicator of heart problems. So it is more than likely that minded in all respects, most respondents who said they have been taking medica- including sex. A growing YOUNG CROWD tions could be doing so on the recommendation of their young population also doctors. The survey also indicates that two-thirds of the means that sex will no HAS HELPED respondents spend less than 30 minutes in the sexual act longer be spoken about including foreplay which again could be an indicator of the in whispers. People here sexual problems they might be facing. are becoming much CHANDIGARH That the respondents in Jaipur discuss their sexual more liberal.” problems and related myths with their doctors is quite a For Shreya Goswamy IN ITS META- contrast to other survey findings like 66 per cent change (45, name changed on the topic when sex enters the conversation, or the im- request), who was in MORPHOSIS portance given to virginity—81 per cent were concerned an extra-marital affair about it. This conservative approach is reflected in the a year back, the city’s way people make their disapproval apparent about liberal and non-interfering attitude ensured that her life women who dress in western styles. It is perhaps these re- didn’t become miserable. “Of course, most people in my pressed feelings that find an expression in behaviour such circle knew. We were at various social-dos together. But I as spanking or having sex in the open. Some 62 per cent of don’t remember anyone making me uncomfortable. The Jaipur’s respondents also watch porn regularly. The need well-travelled upper middle class in this city lets you be, and for Viagra and such could also be an impact of watching that’s quite a change from a decade back.” excess pornography, leading to performance anxiety and Dr Simmi Warraich, a consultant psychiatrist who then again the urge to consult doctors. The survey also has practised in Chandigarh for several decades now, feels finds that the city is opening up to same-sex relationships that youngsters coming to the city find an environment and discussions on gay and lesbian couples. Even trans- where they are young adults and not the overprotected vestites have been making a presence at the rooftop bars children they were at home. The sudden freedom, the and night clubs that have sprung up in the city in the past anonymity of a city far from home, 24-hour uncensored couple of years. n

30 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019

COVER STORY SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN THE

DIGITALA SIMPLE PHOTOGRAPH COULD TURN INTO A NEVER- ENDING CYCLE OF BLACKMAIL FOR MONEY, SEX AND WORSE— HERE’S WHAT YOU TRAP NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF BY RITESH BHATIA

NDIA, OVER THE PAST DECADE, has seen an in- crease in the cases of cybercrime and ‘sextortion’— essentially, blackmail for sexual gain. Cases of sex- tortion usually involve a blackmailer with access to a person’s private videos or photographs. This can happen in a number of ways—a hacker might break into someone’s phone or computer and gain access to private material. Other situations might involve an ex-partner who (with or without consent) could have photographed or filmed their significant other in compromising situations, or even a former part- ner who had been sent nude photographs/ similar material during the course of a relationship. However the material may have been acquired—whether through theft or in the course of a normal relationship—it is I then used as leverage for ‘sextortion’. Typically, victims are threat of those explicit photos/ videos being leaked online. Quite often, morphed photographs—in which people’s faces are edited into explicit material—are also used to blackmail people. Cyber-stalking also often takes place alongside revenge pornography and sextortion. Social networking sites and dating portals massively increase the risk of such crimes. Smartphone applications also con- tribute to the risk, because people using video-calling applications do not realise that they can be recorded. There are phone apps that record WhatsApp audio as well as video calls, applications (such as games, photo-editing apps, social media apps) that have access to all the content in one’s phone gallery and mechanisms through which one can easily recover data from formatted phones. The lack of awareness of such phone applications and tech-based capabilities is one of the top reasons that individuals become victims. One of my clients was a couple who

SEXTORTION SCAMS ARE OFTEN EMPTY Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE THREATS— blackmailed for money, sexual favours, or more compromis- ing material, with the threat being that the blackmailer would BLACKMAILERS otherwise publish the material they have on the internet. One of my clients, for example, suffered immensely when her ex- COULD BE LYING boyfriend—a socially powerful individual—threatened to leak videos of her (filmed during the course of the relationship) if ABOUT HAVING she didn’t give him money, send him more explicit photos and videos, and have sex with him. Despite her resistance, she was COMPROMISING exploited in all three areas. Revenge pornography is also very common when one MATERIAL partner retains explicit material from a relationship. Here, victims are often forced to remain in relationships, with the

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 33 COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN had formatted their phone and bought a new one almost a lethal weapon. With all these and more under a phone exchange policy. What happened making the rounds of late, it is of utmost impor- next was absolutely unexpected. The couple tance for individuals to take precautions for their found themselves being sextorted—criminals had own well-being. managed to recover all their contacts, photos and The most basic suggestion would be to con- videos from the exchanged phone, which hap- stantly be aware of your surroundings—whether pened to include some explicit content. As a mat- you have moved into a new house, or are in a ter of fact, consented documentation of intimate trial room at a store. moments on phones and other devices is one of Another important the primary causes of such crimes. More often point to remember than not, people don’t realise that, once recorded, is to never record content doesn’t just stay on the device. It often BE AWARE OF intimate moments on finds its way to the web, being backed up through smartphones or other smartphone apps, synced with online accounts, YOUR SUR- digital devices. These or through similar methods. two steps, if followed Sextortion scams, another worrying threat, ROUNDINGS— conscientiously, are are also very common these days. In such cases, sufficient to avoid victims generally receive an email from black- trouble in most cases. mailers in which they are told that their accounts/ WHETHER YOU Further, in cases of devices have been hacked, and that the black- cyber bullying or mailer has gained access to their explicit material HAVE MOVED sextortion, do not or to videos of them watching pornography on the delete the evidence. internet. To ‘prove’ that they have this material, INTO A NEW Breaking your phone blackmailers often include a real password used or de-activating a by the victim for their email/ social media ac- HOUSE, OR social media account counts, etc. The email contains a threat—that this won’t erase the material will be published on the internet—and a ARE IN A TRIAL data—the material demand for payment, usually in Bitcoin, which is being used is not on very difficult to trace. ROOM AT A your device, it is on I have dealt with over 20 such cases in which the web. Involving a victims were either so frightened that they went family member who into depression or became suicidal after having to STORE will understand your pay huge amounts of money. In many other cases, position and support victims choose to simply ignore such emails. you is the next step The truth is that such blackmail attempts are before approaching usually empty threats—blackmailers are usually the police. Most criminals run away when they’re lying about having hacked into the victim’s device. told that the victim is going to seek legal mea- Nevertheless, these scams often work because the sures—in many cases, they depend on the victim emails include a real password used by the victims. being too frightened to go public. Further, the This is especially frightening for those who aren’t police often have resources to trace such criminals familiar with the internet’s dark underbelly—a sad and put an end to this sort of blackmail. (Inves- fact of the digital age is that email addresses and tigators, however, must also remember to deal passwords can often be purchased in bulk on the with victims with the utmost sensitivity instead dark web, gathered by hackers from data breaches of moral policing.) Lastly, being on the receiving of email or social media platforms. end of sextortion and cyber-bullying can damage Another common source of such material is one’s mental and emotional health. Counselling spy cameras placed in rented houses by landlords. is advised to completely break free from such dis- In other cases, couples are forcefully recorded in turbing events and come out stronger. n compromising situations—such cases are espe- -As told to Akanksha Thirani cially common in rural areas. The circulating of obscene content on social media and fake social Ritesh Bhatia is a cyber-security consultant and media accounts, or the fraudulent filming of founder-director of V4WEB Cybersecurity. He also individuals on video calls—there is no doubt that played a cyber-crime investigator in MTV’s the digitisation of the 21st century has become award winning show, MTV Troll Police

34 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019

COVER STORY SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS WHY A NATIONAL DATABASE OF SEX OFFENDERS MAY DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD TO THE GOVERNMENT’S EFFORTS TO CHECK RAMPANT SEXUAL ABUSE BY JAYSHREE BAJORIA

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE 36 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 The Indian database for each entry includes the name, address, photograph, fingerprints and details of Aadhaar card, which carries biometric data. For now, the govern- ment says, only law enforcement officials will have access. However, officials confirm that in future, the database will include people who were charged, but never convicted. Making this database public has not been ruled out. The government’s invite of bids from companies to develop this database said it would include details of all those arrested, charged or convicted of sexual offences, including children. Information on the convicted offend- ers would be public while law enforcement agencies would have access to the rest. It proposed categorising the indi- viduals as ‘low’, ‘moderate’, or ‘high risk’. Whether or not RESPONSE TO ‘STRANGER DANGER’ FEARS, a person gets added can depend on archaic laws open to India has become the ninth country to adopt a misuse. The government’s recent move to acquire an au- sex offenders’ database, with personal details of tomated facial recognition system to identify criminals— those convicted for rape and sexual assault. The and ostensibly improve policing—exacerbates concerns regarding privacy, surveillance and civil liberties. year-old database contains 500,000 names and Rape is under-reported will be used for ‘regular monitoring and track- in India, largely because of ing’ by the police, the government says. social stigma, victim-blaming, Strong efforts at every government level are critical to A SEX poor response by the criminal prevent sexual abuse and prosecute culprits—and officials justice system, and the lack cited a serial offender to justify this database. But latest of any national victim and crime figures show that in almost 95 per cent of OFFENDER witness protection law. Rape the 38,947 rapes recorded in 2016, the accused was survivors are highly vulner- known to the victim. In the absence of better law enforce- REGISTRY able to pressure from the ment and adequate safeguards, the database will do little accused and police not to to advance change. COULD report. Child victims are even The government is under pressure from public more vulnerable to family and demands to better address rampant sexual violence. But societal pressure. instead of populist or short-term technological solutions, LEAD TO The government says the it needs to do the hard work of breaking entrenched struc- database will not compromise tural barriers that survivors face in reporting these crimes BREACH OF privacy, but the absence of laws and obtaining justice. to protect privacy and data in In my 2017 report for Human Rights Watch, ‘Every- PRIVACY India raise further concerns. one Blames Me: Barriers to Justice and Support Services With vigilante violence on the for Sexual Assault Survivors in India’, I found that sexual rise, a data breach or rumours assault survivors, particularly from marginalised com- of inclusion in the registry is especially dangerous. Little is munities, still face formidable obstacles when reporting known about the dissemination of database information to police. They often suffer humiliation at police stations and whether it could perpetuate discrimination. Would a and hospitals, are subjected to degrading medical exams, private employer seeking a background check on a prospec- such as the ‘two-finger test’, and have little protection tive employee get this information? from retaliation by the accused. They face significant bar- To address sexual abuse, the government should work riers to obtain healthcare, counselling and legal aid. The closely with women’s and children’s rights groups to re- government has yet to put in place effective mechanisms form the criminal justice system and promote a survivor- to prevent child sexual abuse. The challenges are even centred approach, focusing on evidence-based solutions. greater for women and girls with disabilities. A sex offender registry is not the answer. n Studies by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union show public sex offender registries in Jayshree Bajoria is the author of the 2017 the US have done more harm than good. They frequently Human Rights Watch report, ‘Everyone Blames Me: lead to harassment, ostracism and violence against former Barriers to Justice and Support Services for offenders and impede their rehabilitation. Sexual Assault Survivors in India’

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 37 Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE

COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN

PORN CAN BE AN ENABLER OR A DISRUPTOR. IT’S FOR YOU TO CORRAL IT TO A DOUBLE- SERVE YOUR NEEDS EDGED BY VARKHA CHULANI SWORD He found it hard to accept any woman as his partner. His idea about how a woman should look and how ‘horny’ she should be was constructed by what he had seen in his growing years—in the porn videos, in the girlie magazines describing how ‘sexy’ women should look. No woman was thus ‘good’ enough and he kept flitting from one to another. She was always dissatisfied with her partners. To her, they were never ‘big’ enough. She too was under a fictional fantasy created by years of watching porn that exaggerated and laid seeds of what a man’s manhood should be. This is what repetitive reiteration of imagery and beliefs can do. Especially to those unwilling to question what they see or hear. Even though the adage ‘seeing is believing’ is somewhat true—an unthinking porn-watcher doesn’t question the air-brushing and embellishments of what is put out. They make themselves miserable believing they are HE WAS UNABLE TO GET AROUSED. He found not getting what their delusional selves believe they should! her unattractive. But he loved her and didn’t want to end it. And in the bargain make a mess of their sex lives. Often, in So he thought of a way out—get himself aroused beforehand their need to imitate, they fall in their own esteem suffering and then come to bed. That way, he didn’t have to face up to from feelings of worthlessness and/ or are so agitated with his own inadequacy. their partners for not meeting those ‘standards’ that they She was always wanting different things. She found she often retract into a sexless exist ence. Because they have was slacking into a sexless life. She would put on her DVDs defined their sexual encounters in an all-or-nothing way! and make the most of what she saw there. After all, it was These false reinforcements about how wonderfully en- easier to imitate than to innovate. dowed a woman or man can be, an abetment of an idea that They didn’t know how to spice up their sex life. With great sex lasts for eons, that multiple orgasms are ‘the way’, little idea about the way ahead, the couple used porn to that intercourse is the ‘educate’ themselves about how best to rev it up. holy grail, that positions All the above people were using porn for their benefit. in sex is a must for en- It’s true, porn works well when one uses it to minimise hanced satisfaction and anxiety of performance, as in the case of the gentleman IN A BID TO similar such attitudes in the first example. Or when one uses methods watched are unthinkingly lapped in these films for self-pleasuring, as did the lady. Or when up. And it is then that couples use it together to learn and educate themselves DO WHAT porn-watching can start about revving up their sex life. to get detrimental. But when does this become detrimental, when does it THEY SEE, So, it’s not the porn come in the way of healthy happy relating? The diction- per se that affects our ary defines ‘addiction’ as a persistent compulsive use of a PORN AD- ideologies but what we substance known by the user to be harmful. ‘make’ of what we watch. As clinical psychologists and psychotherapists special- In the first part of this ising in the field of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, DICTS LOSE article, people used we define addiction when it becomes an ‘exclusive’ way of porn to their advantage life, without which a person cannot function. So a porn SELF-ESTEEM and helped themselves ‘addict’ is a person who can have sexual relations with through it. The second a partner or oneself only and when the sexual activity is set ‘developed’ unrealis- accompanied by porn. Watching porn for that person has tic views and were the poorer for it. We are the land of the become a kind of a ‘fetish’, a ‘fixation’ without which no Kama Sutra, but puritanical ideas still thrive. Instead of sexual relations can take place. Of course, people becoming passing moral judgement, let us see pornography for what ‘addicts’ depends on many factors, including their own per- it can prove to be—a double- edged sword. n sonality. However, one cannot say that a preference for porn or any substance for that matter construes an add iction. Varkha Chulani is a clinical psychologist/ psychotherapist The operative word in addiction is dysfunction or inability at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai and Associate Fellow & to act without its presence. Supervisor, The Albert Ellis Institute, New York, US

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 39 COVER STORY SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN THE SEXLESS MARRIAGE

WHY IS THE MIDDLE-AGED MARRIED MAN SO DISSATISFIED WITH HIS SEX LIFE? WHY IS HIS WIFE DISINTERESTED IN MAKING LOVE? MORE THAN ONE REASON IS AT WORK HERE BY PALLAVI BARNWAL

AS A SEX EDUCATOR, I’m a confidante to count- less situations of crisis in the bedroom where, more often than not, the alarm is raised by the man seeking help for his ‘sexless’ wife. Puzzled about why it is the husband who seeks sex and the wife who gives him the cold shoulder, I de- cided to delve deeper into the matter and spoke to several women about their lack of interest in their husbands. Exhausted from household chores, in constant service of her children, husband and in-laws and devoid of any emo- tional support from her husband—the working wife not only earns more than her husband but has a larger role in running the household. For most, sex is not just a physi- cally intimate act, but also a mental and emotional one. Relationships that enforce biased gender roles fiercely and lack an emotional connect, often end up experiencing a SIDDHANT JUMDE SIDDHANT disconnect from sex. This happens more with women who, between juggling responsibilities at home and work, eventu- ally lose interest in sex with their husbands who don’t give

them the respect they deserve and the support they need. by Illustration A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE leaving them physically exhausted to indulge in sex. Finding oneself in a ‘marriage’ that has devolved into simply an exchange of favours can be a turn-off for most. The patriar- LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX, BABY! chal society treats women as mere sex objects which distances Women, in trying to be ‘the obedient Indian wife’, them from wanting sex. A healthy relationship is one where find themselves unable to initiate discussions on sex two people effortlessly shower each other with affection turn- with their husbands without being perceived as ‘cor- ing sex into ‘love-making’. But, if sex is a couple’s only form of rupted’. In order to avoid this baseless and conserva- affection, it can end in both partners craving emotional in- tive perception, many women shy away from talking timacy. Wives, desperate for everyday romance and gestures about their fantasies, problems and what can be im- of love that build up to sex, often avoid sex if they feel that the proved in the bedroom. Sexual satisfaction is almost only time their husbands give them attention is when they always based on relationship satisfaction which is have sexual urges. Foreplay and afterplay have a huge impact difficult to attain in a society where spouses cannot in how sex makes one feel. The stress of daily married life, too, openly discuss ‘the bedroom’, and sex is linked to distracts one from being “in the moment”. Worrying about morality and intimacy to social status. work, domestic chores, children, parents-in-law and various Everybody is different in what works for them, other responsibilities that women are often burdened with, what’s a turn-off and what needs communication and tend to take a toll on their mental peace, health and energy, effort. Depending solely on one’s partner for sexual satisfaction without explor- ing one’s own body leaves both partners clueless. It is SEX IS OFTEN only with time and practice that sexual compatibility de- velops and even then it is es- ATTEMPTED sential to continue communi- cating. Women who see their AND NOT UN- husbands as ‘Prince Charm- ing’ often overlook that they, too, are flawed and may lack DERSTOOD. knowledge, experience and expertise in the bedroom. Sex COMMUNICA- is often attempted and not understood, much like the TION IS KEY recognition of one’s sexual desires without understand- ing the needs of the partner.

WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU, MA’AM Husbands whose only focus while having sex is their own orgasms often ruin the pleasure of sex for wives who either fake an orgasm or live without one. Why would a woman indulge in sex that lacks the pos- sibility of an orgasm for her instead of choosing masturbation which guarantees satisfaction? With access to unlimited resources and information about sex and everything that goes with it on the inter- net, acquiring the skills to satisfy your partner has become easier. Women who prefer no sex to bad sex is the result of men who lack skills and the will to make an effort. It is no surprise that marriages, as a result, end up being sexless relationships. n

Pallavi Barnwal is an intimacy coach, TEDx speaker and an author-columnist and founder of RedWomb, a website for authentic and positive conversations on sexuality

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 41 COVER STORY

SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN UNSHACKLING D SIRE REGRESSIVE ELEMENTS IN NEW LAWS ON SURROGACY AND TRANSGENDERS EXTEND THE COLONIAL HERITAGE OF CRIMINALISING SEXUALITY BY MADHAVI MENON

ITERATURE, MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS AND EROTIC TEXTS dating from well over 1,800 years ago not only display a deep familiarity with non-binary genders and sexualities, but also emphasise their virtues. Legend has it that Rama dismissed his subjects, who were ready to accompany him into 14 years of exile, by exhorting all ‘the men, women and children’ to go back home from the edge of the forest. The hijras, fitting into none of these categories, remained where they were for 14 years, awaiting the return of Rama. Touched by their devotion, Rama granted them special powers of benediction for L which they continue to be known today. The Mughal courts borrowed the word lar traditions, across Hindu and Muslim ‘hijra’ from the term describing the Prophet texts and practices, hijras—also known in Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina; India as kinnar, kothi, aravanis—have been the Islamic calendar—the hijri—begins from an integral and recognisable part of the In- this date in 622 CE. The association with dian landscape. Historically, in India, there a flight from persecution has historically has never been widespread, systematic or marked hijras as a noble people, seeking publicly-sanctioned demonisation of those sanctuary and freedom from barbarism, who defied the norms of binary gender and and standing steadfast in the face of ruthless sexuality. All that changed when the British political pressure. Hijras are people who flee introduced the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. persecution—in this case, from the draco- The Act, repealed in 1952 by then prime nian orders of gender and sexuality. minister Jawaharlal Nehru, announced that The Kama Sutra makes several observa- eunuchs, among other tribes, castes and tions about people of ‘the third nature’, social groups, were criminal from birth, and describing their sexuality on par with that of needed to be outlawed. Eunuchs’ criminal- men and women. Across religious and secu- ity consisted of the fact that they did not

42 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 conform to gender stereotypes of male and female. People whose bodies had been determined biologically to be male, wore female attire in public, and sang and danced as women might. The British were horrified by this project of gender-bending, and criminalised it. During the British raj, hijras were forced to reg- ister themselves and arrested if caught doing things like singing and dancing in public. The Criminal Tribes Act forged the way for criminalising any resis- tance to gendered and sexual normativity. As a result of these historical shifts, we now occupy a strange space in India in relation to non-normative sexuality. We have a historical memory of the importance of hi- jras, yet live with the conviction of their criminality. What the British did was to disenfranchise people whose choices they did not understand by labelling them as threats to law and order. Is that the model we would like to follow? Or do we live our daily lives with a recognition and embrace of differ- ence, as Nehru wanted us to? Are we willing to allow the existence of various beliefs and genders and sexu- alities without feeling challenged by their variety? Or are we content with criminalising others just because their behaviour might not accord with our own? One historically ‘Indian’ option would be to take apart the colonial heritage of criminalising sexual- ity. The Supreme Court did that with its verdict on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, overturning yet another British law that legis- lated against yet another form of non-normative desire flourishing INDIAN in India. Or should we remain passive when laws like the one on TRADITION surrogacy discriminate against the very same sexual minorities the 377 judgment enfranchised? ACCEPTED Do we embrace the traditions of hijras or allow them to wither NON-BINARY in the folds of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) GENDERS; Bill, which demands hijras be medically examined before being declared transgendered people? THE BRITISH If we want to embrace prudery over expansiveness and phobia MADE IT over multiplicity, then we must be clear such a position has only CRIMINAL been ‘Indian’ for 248 years; it dates from the advent of the Brit- ish empire. But what is and has been ‘Indian’ for almost 2,000 years before that has been the syncretic, multiple, and expansive passions of desire, long predating what we now call trans-sexuality and homosexuality. n

Madhavi Menon is professor of English at Ashoka University and the author, most recently, of Infinite Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE Variety: A History of Desire in India (2018)

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 43 (GAY)SEX AND THE SIDDHANT JUMDE SIDDHANT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SINGLE GAY CITYCOVER STORY MAN IN POST-SECTION 377 INDIA SEX SURVEY / GUEST COLUMN BY ANIRUDDHA MAHALE Illustration by Illustration

OW DOES THE QUINTESSENTIAL Penal Code, effectively allowing two con- GAY MAN measure his sexual expe- sensual homosexual adults to love (and riences? In the condoms he used? in retrospect, make love), but has it really In the beds he left bare? In the men made any difference to our everyday lives? to come or the men that went by? Yes, and no. Let’s look at the broader picture here. For a whole month after the In the jocular tales that he shared verdict, #LoveIsLove was trending and or the rumours that he helped the number of click baits (related to queer spread? In the whispers behind his culture) soared to an all-time high. India back or the compliments down his was finally talking, and asking all the front? In his spreadsheets of kinks right questions—about coming out and ac- or little black books of conquests? ceptance, about emotional struggles and in- In Grindr pings or Tinder swipes? clusion, about the spectrum and sexuality. In this or that? People genuinely wanted to know. But when it came to our sex lives, there Before we dive in, do we have space for was only radio silence. ‘What’s there to ask,’ the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, the nation nervously giggled, ‘…what people Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+) do in bed is strictly their business.’ I’d ask community to measure their sexual experi- the casual reader to take a moment to step ences at all? back and laugh at the irony of this sentence A year might have passed since the because of what it might have meant in the Supreme Court’s iconic verdict to read pre-377 era. They did have questions, yes. down parts of Section 377 of the Indian But were they the right ones? Not really. he is self-loving, I have no qualms about being on Grindr (or any other dating apps for that mat- ter). I have heard the ‘buh-dupe’ sound everywhere I’ve gone—the club, the gym, at Starbucks, my favourite restaurant, and this one weird time from the pockets of my local general practitioner. Grindr (and its motley crew of match-making apps) have forever been a gay man’s golden ticket to sexual liberation. With their taps, woofs and super likes, gay dating apps are literally begging you to have sex. Do it ‘right now’, they chant, like the profile handles of exactly half their databases suggest. If the myths were to be believed, you’d actually presume every gay man to be a promiscuous archetype of a badly written porn movie. WE’RE But that’s the thing. Our sex lives are like everybody’s sex lives. Ask any gay man you know and ALWAYS he’ll tell you it’s all the same. It’s always going to seesaw between ‘How do you do it?’ they’d ask with a snigger. ‘How ASKED delicious and depressing. At the does it feel?’ is a question they won’t bother. end of the day, we are all equals. For a country that prides itself on creating the The truth is equality has never Kama Sutra, we are surprisingly not very progressive HOW WE been about being palatable to soci- when it comes to talking about sex. Especially gay sex. ety. It’s about having the freedom And that includes the average gay man. DO IT, NOT to do whatever you want to do, just When spotted in the wild, the average gay man is like our heterosexual friends—our a charming, debonair gentleman who smells of pe- HOW IT relationship with sex included. tunias and Paco Rabanne—his GQ hair gelled back, We have half a dozen other battles constantly clogging up the suggestion feeds of other to fight—because when you are gay Instagram users. He’s polite and effusive, and FEELS already dealing with homophobia, always knows the right things to say. He talks about transphobia, sexism and violence fashion, and veganism, and how his glutes hurt after against LGBT youth, there simply leg day at the gym. The average gay man, at first isn’t any time (or fu*ks to give) about sight, is the lead character of every Netflix original. who is having sex with whom and how often. Affable. Just remember one thing. It’s behind those closed doors that you see a whole new You do you, until then. sexual revolution. For the ignorant and assuming, gay Or just about anybody you want to. n men will forever be linked to Grindr, gay bars and (the oc- casional) golden shower. And the flippant will forever chide Aniruddha Mahale is a TEDx speaker, runs Guysexual, their more ‘fabulous’ friends for seeking the One in cyber a portal for queer culture in the desi context, and is cur- space, or worse, the corner stall of the public restroom. rently working on his second novel with HarperCollins. As a 30-year-old single gay man who’s as self-aware as When he’s not writing, he prefers to read boys instead.

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 45 50 52

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CINEMA A WAR AT HOME Aparna Sen is using film as a metaphor for politics

n the busy 18th-floor office of Shree -Ven katesh Films, Aparna Sen radiates a kind of sunny aura in her bright yellow chiffon sari. Her film,Ghawre Bairey Aaj, will release on November 15, and promotions I for it have begun in earnest. Her three lead actors—Jisshu Sengupta, Anirban Bhattacharya and newcomer Tuhina Das—mill HALDER about from room to room, while Sen, for herpart,

seems fairly relaxed. This isn’t her first rodeo. SUBIR

LEISURE

Though it might as well be. of her film’s drama, Sen starts talking about how even Ghawre Bairey Aaj, says Sen, came to her in a dream: one’s own living room is ideologically divided these days: “It was a man, a first-time filmmaker, making a film about “I see it in my own friends’ circle. Even within a family, Ghare Baire in a contemporary setting. I woke up and there is complete polarisation. This time for our Bijoya realised that he was probably me. Even though he was a man lunch, we actively decided not to talk politics. That is and it’s not my first film, it had to be me because every film is what the film is about, how politics slowly encroaches a first film,” she says. Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, into the intimate space.” Ghare Baire (Home and the World), the film, she says is very different from Satyajit Ray’s 1984 take on the novel. For en has dedicated Ghawre Bairey Aaj to one, she has set it in contemporary India with characters Gauri Lankesh, because, she says, “she was representing “different citizenry” (Bengali, Bihari, Brahmin, a liberal who was silenced. No voice should Dalit), while the original novel was set during the Swadeshi be silenced. I was quite devastated.” In July Movement in pre-Independence Bengal. S this year, Sen and a group of celebrities Sen, 74, might be contending with the work of Bengal’s had penned an open letter to the prime minister on the ‘gods’—Tagore and Ray—but she isn’t nervous. “No, I do growing incidents of mob violence. Undaunted by the se- believe that these ‘gods’ are part of my inheritance, so I have dition charges that were levelled against her as result, the every right to touch upon them. I have immense love and filmmaker says she isn’t afraid. “I have nothing to hide. respect for them, so that gives me a greater right to critique, Everybody knows I am a left-liberal. Having said that, I keep the parts I want and reject what I don’t,” she says. will also reiterate that I’m not affiliated to any political Curiosity does force the question—what were the bits she party. I have never accepted any gift or favours or even an rejected? “Well, I made it a point to not watch Satyajit Ray’s inch of land from any party,” she says. She soon goes on to Ghare Baire again. I just watched it that one time many make light of the sedition charges: “Adoor (Gopalakrish- years ago. I didn’t want to be imitative or derivative. The nan) just laughed non-stop when he heard. Nothing in novel, however, I reread many times, so I’d say my film is that letter was seditious.” more a cinematic interpretation of a literary work.” Sen does not come across as a woman who ever won- Speaking of the political polarisation that sets up much ders if it is her place to say things. She ascribes her politi- cal conscientiousness to the time she spent as editor of magazines such as Sananda, Paroma and Prothoma. Sen recounts how she was once sent to interview a CPI(M) leader. “When the topic of religion came up, he said there temple on the crossroads that he would break if could. And I asked him if that was why the Left A poster of ad lost touch with the people,” she says. Aparna Sen’sGhawre As a journalist and a filmmaker, Sen says she new film based as made it her business to understand the op- Bairey Aaj osing argument. “The right-wing thought is that on Rabindranath u cannot ignore the fact that India is a deeply Tagore’s 1916 novel igious country. Communists can believe what they t there is no getting away from the fact that the common people here are deeply religious. But one can use religion to unite instead of dividing,” she says. “Take the concept of Advaitavad in Hinduism. It means nobody is the other and everybody is part of the divine. Similarly, Islam too has these beautiful messages from Sufism.” According to Aparna Sen, everyone is political, whether they think so or not. Her earlier films, she admits, were more feminist. But Arshinagar (2015) and Mr and Mrs Iyer (2002) and now Ghawre Bairay Aaj have all touched upon communalism. “I am interested in how politics outside affect relationships at home. I have always used real-life incidents and brought them into the film,” she says.n —Malini Banerjee

48 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 CINEMA THE

MONKEY A still from Eeb Allay Ooo! ON HIS BACK Prateek Vats’s debut fiction film shows that monkey business is hard work

is monkey. This is what a Wings, an affecting portrait Having studied at Kirori group of men in Delhi, trying of India’s first Mr Universe Mal College in the North Delhi to repel monkeys, are heard winner, Manohar Aich, in his campus, Vats is all too famil- saying. The terrific Shardul twilight years. Though Vats iar with the monkey menace Bhardwaj plays a rookie re- considered the documentary in the city’s Ridge area. “It’s peller whose fear of monkeys route for Eeb Allay Ooo! as a Sisyphean task,” he says. makes him struggle at work. well, he eventually settled “You feed them because Eeb Allay Ooo!, however, is on fiction. “I realised it was you see them as Gods and, not just a fascinating Man Vs losing the point and becom- simultaneously, you don’t Wild episode that unfolds in ing very topical rather than want them to trouble you.” Lutyens’ Delhi. It is also an trying to get the essence of In the film, the protagonist exploration of the lives of the absurdity of the situation,” finds himself in a rabbit hole rateek Vats’s de- people who barely survive on says Vats. Instead, he used of dichotomies and resorts to but fiction feature, the capital’s fringes. the docudrama approach, desperate measures to hold which has now “The sanitised worldview which elevates the film. Real on to his job. It opened up the won acclaim at of a city disturbs me,” says locations and the presence of prospect of what Vats feels is the recently-con- Vats, who was born and non-actors like Mahinder, a his primary job as a filmmak- cluded Pingyao festival and raised in Delhi. “Delhi is a monkey repeller from the Nir- er: to ask questions. “How is the Golden Gateway Award migrant, working-class city. man and Vigyan Bhavan area, one supposed to do this job? at the Mumbai film festival, People in the mainstream also make the film compelling. Who is supposed to scare begins with a group of young fascinate me.” A direction whom? Who needs to be kept men practising a somewhat graduate from the Film and away? Who is the monkey riveting chant ‘Eeb Allay Ooo’, Television Institute of India It’s a docudrama, here?” Vats doesn’t give any also the film’s title. We are (FTII), Vats first gained recog- enhanced by the answers. He instead leaves informed that ‘Eeb’ is langur, nition for his documentary, A roles of non-actors his viewers to mull them.n ‘Allay’ means man and ‘Ooo’ Very Old Man with Enormous like Mahinder, a —Suhani Singh real life ‘monkey repeller’ LEISURE VanCINEMA sh Into Thin Hair Two new Hindi films are asking If bald can indeed be beautiful

two films enjoys the distinction of being What made Bala more authentic is the first in 2019 where one’s hair is the the personal experience of its director, root of all problems. That honour goes Amar Kaushik, who has been losing to Gone Kesh, in which Shweta Tiwari’s hair since his early 20s too. “He told character negotiates life with alopecia. me you wake up in the morning and Bala’s writer, Niren Bhatt, wel- the first thing you do is check for the Adversity,a thy name is Ayushmann comes Bollywood’s new battle for amount of hair on your pillow. You Khurrana. First there was erectile manes. “Forever we have had films comb gently,” says Bhatt. “There is real dysfunction (Shubh Mangal Saavd- about good versus evil, cops against pathos and angst here. Your confidence han, 2017) and then came blindness corrupt politicians and gangsters. If falls. There’s social stigma that says (Andhadhun, 2018). This year around, there are films on bald heroes, then it these people do not look good.” Khurrana is a 20-something man suf- is better for society,” he says. The obsession with fering from premature baldness (Bala, Bhatt focuses on the titular appearance is also central November 7). Khurrana, though, is not protagonist (Khurrana) who, The films to Ujda Chaman, which the only one to be afflicted. Releasing a once blessed with a lush head show that marks the directorial de- week before is Ujda Chaman, an official of hair, is now quickly losing actors today but of Abhishek Pathak, remake of the Kannada film,Ondu the asset which once made are willing to who had produced the Motteya Kathe, with Sunny Singh (of him a heart-throb. “From two Pyaar Ka Punch- Pyaar Ka Punchnama, 2011) playing a being the hero, he suddenly forsake their nama films. Written by balding bachelor in desperate search of becomes a character actor in vanity for a Danish Singh, the film, a bride. Though similar, neither of the his own story,” says Bhatt. good role says Pathak, is a social

50 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 What’s in a mane?

TEKO (2019) Releasing on November 22, the Ritwick Chakraborty-starrer takes as its theme the pride that some Bengalis feel about their lustrous hair and the prejudice they face when they begin to lose it.

Ayushmann Khurrana in Bala (left) and Sunny Singh in Ujda Chaman comedy which will appeal to people makers of Bala, Maddock Films, early HOUSEFULL 4 (2019) with physical insecurities. “It’s not this year for copyright violation since One track of this comedy has Akshay just about the bald guy being teased,” he has the rights to the Kannada film. Kumar play Rajkumar Bala, a 15th centu- he says. “It asks society a big ques- “They are saying [that] being ry prince who was born with thick locks tion.” For Pathak, the story fits the bald is not a unique idea,” he says. of hair, but who after a ‘shahi mundan’, Rajkumar Hirani school of film- “So why didn’t you make it in 2016 could, sadly, never grow it back. making, of which he is an ardent fan. or 2017? You only made it after the “He makes you cry while making you Kannada film came into the lime- laugh,” he says. “You are confused light. It’s not like recession—achanak AGNEEPATH (2012) about your emotions and you love it.” se ho gaya.” The makers of Bala Bollywood has somehow always Bala and Ujda Chaman also brought forward their film’s release believed that villains appear more men- demonstrate the willingness of actors by three weeks to clash with Ujda acing and cold-blooded when bald. today to forsake their own vanity to Chaman only to see the latter alter Seeing Sanjay Dutt play Kancha Cheena, do a film where the hero isn’t dapper its release date. “It’s like bullying you’re inclined to believe that myth. and desirable. With a string of hits a smaller film,” says Pathak. “You to his name, Khurrana has proven are eating into my revenue and that that it’s possible to get commercial of the industry and trying to come success alongside critical acclaim. His across as the first people who made newfound star power is what makes this film. It’s unfair.” Some would say Pathak concerned about the fate of his so is balding prematurely. n smaller film. He served a notice to the —Suhani Singh LEISURE

FILMS

In Vinod Kumar Shukla’s stories, you find an escape in reality rather than from it

Many of the stories in Blue is Like Blue are written in the 1950s or 1960s, and it isn’t hard to see a poetic quality in Shukla’s use of imagery. The stories feature almost-interchangeable young male protagonists who live in barely- furnished, dimly-lit rented rooms, counting out their rupees to last them the month. As one might imagine the labourer-poet’s life to be, these lives should be burdened and unrelenting. But in Shukla’s vision of the world, O there exists a perspective from which they can become nearly weightless. In The Burden, a young man is cycling to work when a dried neem One of the stories in Blue is Like Blue leaf falls into his shirt pocket and describes a group of poets who gather proves hard to clear out. He stops regularly to read their work. These and wonders if he has locked his door meetings are presided over by a critic properly. For the second day running, BLUE IS LIKE BLUE By Vinod Kumar Shukla who, lest it be said that “poets are cut he returns to check. It so happens that (translated from the Hindi by Arvind off from reality”, insists that each poet his salary has just come in and is in his Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai) physically bring the symbols used in trunk, “inside the pocket of a freshly HARPER PERENNIAL their poems. This is more trouble- washed shirt”. That evening, he spends `399; 142 pages some for some poets than for others. One ‘labourer-poet’ hasn’t been able to attend for two years because all his poems are about rotis. He sets out for In Another’s Tongue the gathering carrying rotis, but ends up eating them on the way and is left with no symbols to bring. The story itself is atypical for this A WINDOW LIVED collection, but it contains a useful in- IN THE WALL By Vinod Kumar Shukla, troduction to it. Vinod Kumar Shukla translated by Satti Khanna started as a poet—with the wryly titled EKA (WESTLAND) collection Lagbhag Jai Hind (1971). `399; 230 pages He went on to write novels, including At the heart of Shukla’s novel Naukar Ki Kameez, turned into a film is a beautiful intimacy that is by Mani Kaul, and Deewar Mein Ek shared by Raghuvar and Sonsi. Khirkee Rahati Thi, and was given Much like the rest of the novel the Sahitya Akademi award in 1999. and the world they inhabit, their marriage is both ordinary and magical.

52 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 (clockwise from left) Vinod Kumar Shukla; Sara Rai and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra

most of that money paying off his bills has died. He writes, ‘It’s not as if I’d ex- The experience of these stories and making small purchases. The next pected it to stop, but I did think about is closer to that of viewing a narra- morning, as he cycles to work, “the it.’ In another story, a character takes tive painting than it is to reading a faint misgiving obscurely entered his water from a pot: ‘I could have taken narrative. Part of the reason emerges mind”, but he just smiles and cycles on: water from the fridge, but the glass wa- in a piece of autobiographical writ- “It was summer and hundreds of dry ter bottles clinked when you closed it, ing included in the collection. The leaves were falling, but not one found and I was afraid that something might day Shukla was born in Rajnandgaon its way into his pocket.” break.’ Shukla’s characters can feel (in today’s Chhattisgarh) also saw Shukla revels in the stuff that sparse, as if they’re occupying a dream- the inauguration of its first movie normally occupies the periphery of scape. But they also feel intensely theatre. It was practically an exten- human awareness. In one story, the relatable, seemingly fashioned from sion of Shukla’s house, and his early narrator notices that the watch on his a barely acknowledged fringe of one’s years were spent there watching silent father’s hand continues to tick after he own consciousness. films. Shukla says he prefers to “think in scenes, rather than in language”. The translation here by A.K. Mehrotra and Sara Rai is clean and elegant in r’s Tongue recreating those scenes. Blue is Like Blue also comes with an insightful introduction by the translators. Shukla’s stories deserve to be read THE GREATEST ODIA PATHER PANCHALI for their perspective that is at once STORIES EVER TOLD By Bibhutibhushan unique and universal. They seem to Selected and translated by opadhyay, suggest that if you stare hard enough Leelawati Mohapatra, Paul St- ated by Rimi Pierre, and K.K. Mohapatra UIN at it, reality provides its own escape. ALEPH ; 504 pages ‘It was a matter of great joy,’ reads a `699; 248 pages jit Ray immortalised the line from the book, ‘that people would This anthology includes stories er-sister relationship set out to buy okra and would return from Odisha’s masters such, and Durga in his 1955 home after having bought okra.’ n like Fakir Mohan Senapati ut this 2019 translation —Srinath Perur and Reba Ray, and also some es the classic in a modern greats, like Pratibha r that is compelling Ray and Nrusingha Tripathy. udable.

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 INDIA TODAY 53 LEISURE

BOOKS HARD TO TRUST MALCOLM GLADWELL PROMOTES HIMSELF MORE THAN THE TRUTH

TALKING TO STRANGERS What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know Malcolm Gladwell ALLEN LANE `779, 386 pages ROHIT CHAWLA

hy do we believe some done is cherry-pick data to produce a and commits suicide while in custody. people but not others? questionable analysis of an old thesis— Gladwell doesn’t consider it racial profil- W How do spies go unde- that in modern society, we defer to the ing, and instead wonders how intimi- tected for years? Can we truth, or that we believe that people are dated the officer must have been by the believe the 9/11 suspects who concoct usually telling the truth. Except that motorist arguing about her rights. tales when deprived of sleep? Malcolm we don’t always. That’s why we believe The tireless self-promoter relies on Gladwell delivers yet another racy book doctors but not used-car salesmen. A a tried-and-tested formula of random in which he raises all these questions smiling person could be lying. A shifty- anecdotes. In Tipping Point, we learn and analyses how we interact with eyed person with a stammer could be that a critical mass is required for things strangers—although he never quite telling the truth. to go viral; in Blink that we don’t always tells you who a stranger is. A college athlete rapes an uncon- make rational decisions; and in Outliers Like most of this author’s works, scious woman, which Gladwell blames that being a genius takes 10,000 hours Talking to Strangers is a collection of not on a character flaw but on alcohol- of hard work. In Talking..., we learn pop-psych interpretations of headlines induced myopia. Yet, that we shouldn’t berate over the years. He populates it with thousands of college ourselves if we don’t always stories about a student accused of killing males in the world get Gladwell, trust someone and that we her roommate in Italy, the tragic con- plastered every weekend through his cannot always decipher sequence of aggressive policing, Hitler’s without raping women. stories, teach- what a stranger is thinking. charisma and Fidel Castro’s brilliant An African-American Thanks to the ‘Guru for the infiltration of the US government. woman trying to pick up es us to not Brain Dead’, as one review- Gladwell says he interviewed nu- her life gets stopped by berate our- er called him, we have fancy merous people and pored over research a white police officer for selves if we names for what we already papers for three years to produce a minor traffic offence, don’t always know of our behaviour. n Talking to Strangers. What he has is arrested at gunpoint trust someone —G. Krishnan

54 INDIA TODAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019 M ZHAZO

SAHITYA AAJ TAK (clockwise from right) Ruskin Bond, Varun Grover, Prasoon Joshi, Shubha Mudgal, Chetan Bhagat, Imtiaz Ali and One for Pankaj Kapur the Books Sahitya Aaj Tak is a rare festival that celebrates all of Indian art, literature and culture

In a nation where literature festivals are now somewhat common, it takes some grand intent and organisation to be the biggest. For Sahitya Aaj Tak, ‘biggest’ is not a boast. Held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi, from November 1-3, the fourth edition of the festival will host more than 300 speakers and have more than 100 sessions. Though just a literature festival on paper, Sahitya Aaj Tak is more MILIND SHELTE MILIND an intersection of culture. It includes in its schedule performances by India’s greatest musicians and an art exhibition that will showcase the work of the country’s foremost artists. Since our canon over time has grown ever more ROHIT CHAWLA anglicised, Hindi literature has often been neglected. Sahitya Aaj Tak will help correct this oversight. On its list of speakers are Ashok Vajpeyi, Rahat Indori, Uday Prakash, Irshad Kamil, Varun Grover and Kumar MILIND SHELTE MILIND Vishwas—writers and poets who have all made Hindi and Urdu more accessible. Their sessions are going to be punctuated by a sitar recital (Ustad Shujaat Husain Khan), vocal renditions (Shubha Mudgal, etc.) and plays (Akbar the Great Nahin Rahe). Sahitya Aaj Tak will also celebrate regional literature— Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi among them—but for the first time, the event will dedicate a separate stage to English authors from India and Southeast Asia. Ac- tor Pankaj Kapur and Sri Lanka-born British author MILIND SHELTE MILIND Romesh Gunesekera will release their new novels here, Dopehri and Suncatcher. As writers like K.R. Meera and Anita Nair discuss feminism, BANDEEP SINGH bestselling author Chetan Bhagat will try and SAHITYA place his finger on the pulse of the nation. AAJ TAK will host more Ruskin Bond will read to children, film- than 300 speakers maker Imtiaz Ali and lyricist Prasoon Joshi in over 100 will deconstruct their penmanship. sessions. In Delhi, from Nov. 1-3 Literature and art have for long had an inter-dependent relationship. On view at IGNCA’s Twin Gallery, the exhibition Of‘ Conversations and Collaborations’ will celebrate this dynamic of mutual influence as artists such as Arpana Caur, Atul and Anju Dodiya, K.G. Subraman- yan and Wahida Ahmed put on display their work. The exhibition echoes the belief of the festival—you can’t be immune to the word. n Q A

Q. You recently started filming for a new movie. What character are you playing this time? I am playing a non-performing artist. She is someone who values friendships and her family.

Q. How is married life treating you? Marriage is the best thing that can happen to anyone, any woman. It completes you as a person. You start your journey as someone’s daughter, then be- come somebody’s wife and then a mother, so I feel like I’m halfway there. It feels great.

Q. What’s the best thing about being an MP? Having an opportunity to influence people in the right way. I do not look at it as a cool thing. I recognise it as a huge responsibility.

Q. The one thing that you want to focus on or change as an MP? Let’s start by changing the mindset of people through my work and my influence. Love and compassion for all is the goal, but if I were to get specific, the first thing I will focus on is providing clean and safe drinking water in schools for children.

Q. What are you planning on wearing the next time you go to Parliament? I will and always do wear whatever I feel like wearing and whatever I am most comfortable wearing. I will not change my attire as per location and as per people’s requirements. —with Malini Banerjee The Model Parliamentarian Nusrat Jahan is back on a film set for the first time after getting married and being elected to Parliament. The actor opened up on all things reel and real in her life

Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH

56 Volume XLIV Number 45; For the week November 5-11, 2019, published on every Friday Total number of pages 76 (including cover pages)