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FOR THE WEEK JUNE 15 - JUNE 21 12 26 63 AP SALIL BERA SALIL WEST BENGAL RACISM @LEISURE The BJP is banking on former Trinamool White Americans are realising that Kollywood was primed for big and left leaders to oust Mamata their privilege makes them complicit business this year, but the pandemic Banerjee from power by association: Jennifer Alisa has pushed it into a crisis Sanders, African American singer

16 COVER STORY faces a COLUMNS 34 tough election year amid a raging pan- 9 POWER POINT Sachidananda Murthy demic and a migrant crisis 32 MANI-FESTO Mani Shankar Aiyar 20 BRAZIL Covid-19 is killing 48 PMO BEAT Brazil’s society and R. Prasannan life, while President 49 IVORY TOWER Bolsonaro is chipping Sanjaya Baru away at the country’s democracy 62 BITTER CHOCOLATE Swara Bhasker 46 AVIATION Despite stringent 74 LAST WORD Bibek Debroy measures, Covid-19 is spreading rapidly among pilots and cabin crew 54 50 TELECOM Kottoor elephant

PTI CONTINGENCY PLANNING Big Tech’s interest rehabilitation centre Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal‘s videoconference with medical directors and superintendents of hospitals in Indian telecom in Thiruvananthapu- companies could be a ram provides succour game-changer to abandoned and DELHI IN DISTRESS ill-treated elephants The national capital has seen rapid increase in the number COVER DESIGN BINESH SREEDHARAN COVER PHOTO GETTY IMAGES of Covid-19 cases following the relaxation of lockdown. Chief Printed at Malayala Press, Kottayam, Print House India Pvt Minister Arvind Kerjiwal, who announced that hospitals in Delhi Ltd, , M P Printers, Noida, and Rajhans Enterprises, Bengaluru, would treat only its residents, himself had fallen ill and got tested and published from Manorama Buildings, Panampilly Nagar, -682 036, by Jacob Mathew, on behalf of the Malayala Manorama Co.Ltd., for Covid-19. He tested negative for the coronavirus, but a much Kottayam-686 001. Editor Philip Mathew tougher test of steering Delhi through the pandemic remains. • Focus/Infocus features are paid marketing/PR initiatives

JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 3 LETTERS

China should stop the storm and last the to last. The power tussle fighting a grim battle Editor Philip Mathew provoking India in the two-month-long lockdown between the governor against Covid-19, has Chief Associate Editor & Director Riyad Mathew PRAKASH JAVADEKAR GOVERNOR RATTLES THE GOVERNMENT MAKE IN INDIA HAPPENED IN FOUR MONTHS CYCLONE AMPHAN Editor-in-Charge V.S. Jayaschandran JOURNALISM WITH A HUMAN TOUCH www.theweek.in TheWeekMag TheWeekLive $ 50 TRIGGERS POLITICAL manner it is doing now. without even a morsel of and the chief minister to contend with the HEADWINDS FOR MAMATA Senior News Editor Stanley Thomas CARMAKERS TAKE THE ROUTE LESS TRODDEN India should stick to its food to eat or a roof over will continue till the day destructive aftermath of News Editor Lukose Mathew RTI TAKEN ILL DURING

JUNE 7, 2020 THE LOCKDOWN position and teach the their heads. this government lasts cyclone Amphan. Deputy News Editors Mathew T. George, Maijo Abraham, Ajish P. Joy Chinese a lesson, as they By the time the (‘Vanity fair’, June 7). The Mamata’s appeal for Resident Editor, Delhi K.S. Sachidananda Murthy have started behaving like government came to Maharashtra government a relief package, in the Chief of Bureau, Delhi R. Prasannan goons. grips with the problem, has failed miserably in wake of the cyclone, has Chief of Bureau, Mumbai Dnyanesh V. Jathar China should stop the thousands of migrants containing the virus in resulted in a generous Deputy Chief of Bureau, Delhi Neeru Bhatia Chief Subeditors Susamma Kurian, bullying behaviour. Post undertook the journey on Mumbai, and other and prompt response Navin J. Antony Covid, they are the most foot, some perishing on the parts of the state. from . Senior Subeditors Anirudha Karindalam, Anirudh Madhavan hated nation in the world. way and some run over by The Maha Vikas Aghadi With state elections not Subeditors Diya Mathew, Karthik Ravindranath, It should know well that trains. is sure to collapse in a too far away, all political Reuben Joe Joseph, Nirmal Jovial TENSION ON INDIA-CHINA BORDER such a tag will do more C.V. Aravind, year or two. parties in the state are WHAT XI WANTS On email. SENIOR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS Land link with Pak-held through Ladakh? harm than good. Vikas Asthana, treading carefully. Delhi: Rekha Dixit, Mandira Nayar, : Rahul Devulapalli Tapesh Nagpal, On email. The state government Namrata Biji Ahuja, Soni , Kochi: Anjuly Mathai On email. A picture speaks a has not covered itself in K. Sunil Thomas : Tariq Ahmad Bhat SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS thousand words. Good read glory while tackling the : Puja Awasthi Bengaluru: Mini P. Thomas, : Rabi Banerjee Keep vigil Heart-rending Eight black-and-white Swara Bhasker’s pandemic, and the BJP is Abhinav Singh Delhi: Sneha Bhura China’s aggressive posture, in the wake of images photographs by Bhanu narration of her gleefully pointing at the SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS Mumbai: Priyanka Bhadani, Delhi: Pratul Sharma, Namita Kohli, Pooja Biraia Jaiswal worldwide condemnation of its mishandling Your photo-feature Prakash Chandra, meeting with the young lapses. Mamata, the street Pradip R. Sagar the virus outbreak, is testimony to the fact that (‘Mother of all journeys’, depicting the ‘mother impoverished migrant fighter that she is, will Bengaluru: Prathima Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram: Cithara Paul CHIEF REPORTER it believes in bullying other nations (‘Unquiet June 7) has vividly of all journeys’ of girl, caught in the have to be at her fighting Mumbai: Nachiket Kelkar UAE: Raju Mathew, Dubai heights’, June 7). President Xi Jinping thinks portrayed the plight of migrants, showed their vortex of the lockdown, best to keep a resurgent Lakshmi Subramanian Bhopal: Sravani Sarkar that China’s territorial aggrandisement may thousands of migrants determination and made for a compelling BJP at bay. : Nandini Gunavantrai Oza please the Chinese and they will believe that who, bereft of jobs, desperation to reach their read (‘Put yourself in Vipul Pande, their shoes’, June 7). It Photo Editor: Sanjoy Ghosh Art Editor: Jayakrishnan M.T. China is the world’s most powerful nation. income and shelter, were native places, against all Nainital, Uttarakhand. Deputy Photo Editors Assistant Art Editor: Binesh Sreedharan China’s policy has always been to contain left with no option but to the odds. is depressing to read Bhanu Prakash Chandra, Salil Bera Senior Infographic

India’s economic surge. That some countries trek hundreds and even It took me to scenes of about the hand-to- Chief Photographers Designer: Sreemanikandan S. More to be revealed Delhi: Arvind Jain, Sanjay Ahlawat Illustrator: B. Bhaskaran mouth existence of the Mumbai: Janak Bhat, were pitching India as an alternative to the thousands of miles to partition, when lakhs of It is a mystery that Layout Artist: B. Manojkumar migrants; for them even Amey Suhas Mansabdar Chinese supply chain was the root cause of reach their villages from people crossed the border the recovery rate in Photographer Designers: Deni Lal, Job P.K. China’s border transgressions. where they had migrated for survival.These pictures a pair of slippers is a Sweden has remained Delhi: Aayush Goel Graphic Designer: Syam Krishnan luxury. Chief Picture Coordinator Artists: Rajesh A.S., Sumesh C.N., So far, India has read between the lines and to the cities in search of have left me in tears, with at such a low level for Bimal Nath C. I hope the girl would Sujesh K., Ajeesh Kumar M., Jairaj T.G. has not given in to the temptation of paying jobs. a lump in my throat. What a long time when the Research: Jomy M. Joseph Senior Researcher: Rani G.S. back China in its own coin. One is unable to fathom cannot be cured must be not be forced to abort public health system is Photo Archivist: Deepak Joy T. her dreams, because the India is surrounded by Pakistan, Nepal and Sri the extent of the naïveté endured. not overwhelmed (‘An odds are that she will THEWEEK.IN Lanka who keep posing hurdles in its path to of a government that, Parthasarathy Mandadi, unusual cult figure’, be burdened with the New Media Coordinator Neeraj Krishnan development. So, for India, a tight-rope walk is perhaps, in the first place, On email. March 31). responsibility of running Deputy New Media Coordinator Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl what looks right. thought that millions of It is a question mark Senior Subeditors Hazeeda Vijayakumar, Sumitra Nair, the household, and Vaisakh E. Hari, Ancy K. Sunny, Ashok , migrant labourers never how Sweden has achieved Alliance won’t last performing domestic Jose K. George, Justin Paul George On email. existed. Or even if they The alliance in higher immunity rate. In Subeditors Vinod V.K., Anita Babu, Varun Ramesh chores, at the cost of her Balan did, they could weather Maharashtra is not going the absence of a vaccine, Senior Researcher Saju C. Daniel personal well-being and Multimedia Rahul J. Mohan, Vipin Das P. growth. we can talk of herd Varsha V. Shenoy, immunity, which can be Executive Director George Jacob achieved when at least 60 Vice President, Marketing, On email. Advertising Sales Varghese Chandy SUBSCRIPTIONS/CUSTOMER CARE CIRCULATION Hyderabad: BUREAU ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE EDITORIAL per cent of the population For all subscription related inquiries Bengaluru: 040-23314168/23324692 Bengaluru: Manorama Buildings, P.B. No. 26, Manorama Buildings, Vice President, Circulation M. Rajagopalan Nair please write, email or fax to 080-22247735/22247736 Kolkata: 033- 24198233 080-22867345, 22867050 Kottayam 686001, Kerala, India. P.B. No. 4278, Panampilly Nagar, Tough task gets infected. So far, Senior General Manager, Sales Hari M. Varrier Senior Manager, Circulation, Bhopal: 0755-2557937 Kottayam: 0481-2563646 Kolkata: 033-24556995, Tel: 0481-2563646 Kochi 682036, Kerala, India. MUMBAI 24198344, ext.216 Manorama Buildings, Lucknow: 0522-2341576 REGIONAL CO-ORDINATING for Mamata only 0.35 per cent of the Resident Chief General Manager Shree Kumar Menon Chandigarh: 0172-2724699 Chennai: 044-66918500 [email protected] PB No. 4278, Panampilly Nagar, Mumbai: 022-24901331, OFFICE CHENNAI Kochi - 682036. Kerala Chennai: 39495969 Delhi: 011-23354920 Tej Building, 1st Floor, Bahadur http://www.theweek.in Things do not look rosy population has been Hyderabad: Regional Chief General Manager K.C. Suresh Email: [email protected] 044-66918530/31 : 0612-2233809 Shah Zafar Marg, for infected. : 040-23314168, 23324692 110 002. +91 484-4447888 BENGALURU Toll free no.: 18001035981 Jaipur: Mumbai: 022-22074604, Cochin: 0484-4447507 0422-2241911/2245470 0141-2368360/4005808 Tel: 011-23354920, 23354921, (‘Triple trouble’, June Pankaj Kumar Regional Chief General Manager Ranjit Kurien 22004358 +91 484-2315745 For advertising: +91 98953 95097 Delhi: Thiruvananthapuram: 23359541, 23355801, 23356537 NEW DELHI Bhopal: 0755-2431001 Fax: 43541354 7). West Bengal, already Chatterjee, Email: [email protected] 011-23379718, 23379719 0471-2328198 Lucknow: 0522-2701725 Chief Marketing Officer (North) & Kolkata. Head, Special Projects R. Rajmohan TheWeekMag @TheWeekLive TheWeekMag 85 89 99 48 69 4 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 5 APERITIF THE BIG PICTURE

ROW RESOLVE Argentine canoeist Sebastian Rossi trains for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in his girl- friend’s pool in Buenos Aires on June 8. Cov- id-related restrictions forced Rossi to devise the method, which involves manoeuvring a canoe strapped to a pair of palm trees. “It’s not optimal,” he says, “but it is better than nothing.”

PHOTO BY REUTERS

6 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 7 APERITIF

POWER POINT SACHIDANANDA MURTHY POINT BLANK MILESTONES

AWARD FOR AKHTAR Lyricist Javed Akhtar became the first Indian to win the Richard Dawkins Gowda returns I don’t think it is becoming Award presented by the Atheist Alli- irrelevant. Maybe the value ance of America. The award honours of defensive batting is not distinguished individuals from various n Britain, when prime ministers resign, they also leader of opposition after being prime minister, but the same as it was a gen- fields who publicly proclaim secular- lose the leadership of their parties, and soon was assassinated during the 1991 election cam- eration ago. It can never ism and rationalism. Ileave the House of Commons. They either get paign. become irrelevant, as you elevated to the House of Lords or, like many recent , V.P. Singh, , P.V. still need to defend to score prime ministers, stay out of active politics. The last Narasimha Rao, A.B. Vajpayee, Gowda, I.K. Gujral runs. British leader to make a comeback to prime minis- and —all returned to Parliament Rahul Dravid, tership was Harold Wilson in 1974. after losing power.

PTI former cricketer But for former Indian prime ministers, Parliament While Charan Singh, who resigned without is a magnet. Thus H.D. Deve Gowda is return- attending Parliament as prime minister, did not take ing to Parliament after having lost the much interest in proceedings while in opposition, For all the confidence and strength he exudes, elections last year. Gowda would be 93 when he Vajpayee was troubled by ill health after losing the the behaviour of the prime minister sug- completes the six-year term. He has contested every top job, and made rare appearances in the Lok gests that he is, within himself, a somewhat Lok Sabha elections since 1991, except in 1996. Sabha. insecure man. This is evident not just in his SONG SPIRIT reluctance to publicly praise his ministers or accorded state anthem When the 1996 elections produced a hung par- In opposition, Narasimha Rao had the double advisers when they do a good job, but also in status to Bande Utkala Janani—a liament, Gowda was mortification of facing a party the sort of people he relies on for advice. patriotic song written by poet Laksh- chief minister. The coup and corruption cases. Ramachandra Guha, mikanta Mohapatra in 1912. Eleven chose Gowda as the leader of Chandra Shekhar, however, historian states in India have their own state its government, which was a played the role of a senior anthem now. surprise. He wanted to join the statesmen during the tenure of I grew up without much access to technology. Lok Sabha, but his colleagues five prime ministers. Known as We did not get our first telephone till I was ten. persuaded him to take the easy Adhyakshji, he would counsel I did not have regular access to computer until route of a berth. treasury and opposition bench- I came to America for graduate school. And, Gowda led the country for es, as he had friends across the our television, when we finally got one, only 11 months. Since then he has political spectrum. Manmohan had one channel. AFP won the Lok Sabha elections Singh has been regularly attend- Sundar Pichai, I would like to do a sizzling five times and lost twice. Last year, he had hinted at ing the Rajya Sabha in the last six years; his rare but Google CEO hot photoshoot with him. electoral retirement after losing to a BJP stalwart in pointed interventions in debates have made the Have you seen him work- Karnataka. But now he has heeded to the appeal of Narendra Modi government sit and take notice. If sex is not real, there is no same-sex at- ing out? The other day he traction. If sex is not real, the lived reality of DEEPEST FEAT Sonia Gandhi and other top leaders to come back to Gowda insisted on sitting in the last bench of the posted a video in which women globally is erased. I know and love Former NASA astronaut Kathy Sulli- the Rajya Sabha. Gowda is an active participant in Lok Sabha when he lost the first seat of prime min- he was pulling a bullock transpeople, but erasing the concept of sex van became the first woman to reach parliamentary debates and attends even committee ister. He had a tough time with speaker Somnath cart by himself. He is one removes the ability of many to meaningfully the Challenger Deep—the deepest meetings without worrying about protocol. Chatterjee who would just give a couple of minutes good-looking, macho man, discuss their lives. It is not hate to speak the known point in the Earth’s oceans. was the first prime minister to to him—because Gowda was the lone member of with an amazing physique. I truth. She was also the first American return to Parliament after losing power. In 1978, his party, and Chatterjee insisted on allotting speak- would love to pose with him. J.K. Rowling, woman to walk in space—on October she won a byelection from Karnataka, but her bitter ing time based on numerical strength of political Esha Gupta, author, defending her comments 11, 1984. opponents in the were determined to parties. actor, on actor on an article that referred to women as keep her out. She was arrested from the Lok Sabha But United Progressive Alliance leaders would Vidyut Jammwal “people who menstruate” on allegations of misleading Parliament in the Jeep persuade Chatterjee to give more time to Gowda, Scandal, and was expelled from its membership. and later he was granted a front row seat—a WORD PLAY It was another matter that she rode back to power convention for former prime ministers and deputy Reports from across the world suggest that more and more couples are resorting to zumping, within a year, winning from two Lok Sabha constitu- prime ministers in Parliament. As he did in the last while stuck in separate houses during lockdown. Portmanteau of Zoom and dumping, zumping encies. , the first non-Congress prime edition of the Lok Sabha, Gowda has to find ways refers to break-ups over Zoom, or any video calling service. The break-up measures, that were minister retired from electoral politics after he was to make a government with full majority hear his considered heartless and tacky in the pre-Covid era, have become part of the new normal, it toppled in 1979. had a brief tenure as views. seems. PHOTO BHANU PRAKASH CHANDRA [email protected]

8 THE WEEK •JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 9 APERITIF PARTY SNACKS

CATCHING UP People often revisit their past days during adversity. Re- cently, Prime Minister Modi did just that. He called up his old friends in Bengal; many of them are now veteran, but inactive, BJP leaders. He wanted to know how they were doing under the lockdown and BACKGROUND how the state, in their view, was coping with it. Perhaps the MUSIC aim was to get a different take These days, people spend a lot of on the situation, from what time fixing up an ideal background current leaders would provide. for their video meetings; most have a Said Anindya Gopal Mitra, shelf stacked with books, an impres- who worked with Modi in the sive artwork or an indoor plant. 1980s: “I was really surprised Environment Minister Prakash that, even while being so busy, Javadekar, however, got lucky. In his he has not forgotten people video message for an Environment like me.” Day event, one could hear a veritable symphony of birdsong, including the plaintive wail of the lapwing, from RISING STAR his lawns outside. The joys of living Youth Congress president Srinivas B.V. has been the find of the in Lutyens’ Delhi. season for the party. The young leader has impressed his sen- iors with his pandemic-related work, be it arranging transporta- tion for a woman who was walking home to Bihar or reeling in an oxygen cylinder for a Covid-19 patient in a Delhi hospital. The leader also personally monitors many of the Youth Con- gress initiatives, including the distribution of food, masks and sanitisers at the Delhi borders, and is known to reach out to those in need through social media.

READY FOR BATTLE Forgotten leaders are often resurrected on elec- tion eve. With parties gearing up for the Bihar assembly elections in October, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a statue of his mentor, for- BIRTHDAY, BLACK DAY CONGRESS CULTURE IN BJP mer defence minister , on his Partitions are usually messy affairs that leave emo- That the BJP is in a minority government in Madhya 90th birth anniversary, in . A few days tional scars. Pradesh, for the first time, has started to show. To ensure later, on June 6, the Centre appointed a new task On June 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home that they are not ignored for ministerial berths and tickets force to look into issues of motherhood, like lack Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda for byelections, several senior MLAs and former minis- of nutrition and maternal mortality rate, in the used to wish the people of on the ters have started playing pressure politics, something that state. The head of the task force? Fernandes’s as- state’s formation day. It was a good gesture amid the was considered a Congress culture in the state till now. sociate Jaya Jaitly, who has, in the past, been quite pandemic gloom. The trio, however, also wished the Small groups of former ministers are holding closed-door critical of Nitish’s treatment of the late leader. people of , who did not respond in meetings, while some others are making their displeasure Her appointment is sure to set tongues wagging the same way. And, predictably so. Not only do peo- known by subtly indicating that they could jump ship. in Bihar. ple in the state not celebrate June 2, some even see it Consequently, the cabinet expansion has been repeatedly as a black day. deferred. ILLUSTRATIONS JAIRAJ T.G. 10 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 11 WEST BENGAL POLITICS

plan. Nadda spoke to Kailash - who had joined the BJP last year, vargiva, Shiv Prakash and Arvind Me- has been named chief of the party’s non (all general secretaries in charge women wing. She replaced Locket of Bengal) and , who had Chatterjee, MP, former actor who quit the ruling Trinamool Congress has long been a vocal critic of Chief to join the BJP in 2017. Minister Mamata Banerjee. Three months later, Ghosh was Chatterjee is now one of the five given the green light. He was asked to general secretaries of the BJP’s state constitute a state committee that had unit. The others include Jyotirmoy Trinamool defectors in key positions Mahato, who had won from Purulia and fewer RSS emissaries. Several last year; Sabyasachi Dutta, once leaders who had won the Lok Sabha a close confidant of Mamata; and elections last year were brought in, Sayantan Basu, who had lost to Nus- and “non-performers” shown the rat Jahan of the Trinamool last year door. but polarised the Muslim-majority Among the non-performers were Basirhat. party vice president and Subhas There are three new vice pres- Chandra Bose’s grandnephew Chan- idents: Arjun Singh, Barackpore dra Bose; Rajya Sabha members MP and former Trinamool leader; Roopa Ganguly and George Baker, Bharati Ghosh, who was key IPS who was also the BJP’s Anglo-In- officer under Mamata; and Mafuja dian face; RSS ideologue Shamik Khatun, former CPI(M) leader who Bhattacharya; and firebrand leader gave a tough fight to the victorious Badsha Alam, who allegedly attacked Trinamool candidate in Jangipur and Mamata Banerjee in the 1990s, when polled more votes than Abhijit Muk- he was in the CPI(M). herjee, incumbent MP and former Ghosh appointed former Tri- president ’s son. namool MP as Jangipur is a Muslim-dominated seat SALIL BERA SALIL SHOWING THE WAY president of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha, where the BJP had no hopes. Though the BJP state com- replacing RSS nominee Debjit Sarkar. Ghosh said the new state com- mittee is led by party pres- Khan had quit the Trinamool two mittee was composed of active and ident Dilip Ghosh (right), years ago. He was charged with capable leaders. “We all wanted per- most of the new appointees murder and barred from entering formers who would act as an election are the followers of former Bishnupur after the BJP fielded him team,” he said. “Our central leader- Trinamool veteran Mukul Roy (left) for the Lok Sabha seat. ship told us not to include people Khan campaigned over the phone, who were not active.” while his wife, Sujata, and partymen Though the team is led by Ghosh, AFTER HE WAS REAPPOINTED as Ghosh is the MP from Medinipur. hit the trail. He ended up scoring a most new appointees are Mukul president of the BJP’s West Bengal In the meeting, the secretary told surprise victory. As head of the Yuva Roy’s followers. By increasing Roy’s unit in January this year, Dilip Ghosh Ghosh that the shake-up he pro- Morcha, he is expected to replicate clout, the BJP seems to be follow- Team of had a closed-door meeting with Un- posed was so drastic that the national the key role the youth wing played ing its successful strategy in the ion Home Minister Amit Shah, who leadership would struggle to contain in helping the BJP come to power in northeast. It was Congress defector was the party’s national president resentment in the party. Ghosh said Tripura, and . Himanta Biswa Sarma who helped then. Ghosh told Shah that he need- if the BJP wanted to win Bengal, it The party’s Scheduled Caste Mor- the party’s rise to power in Assam ed to pick his own team to improve should have leaders “who were con- cha, too, is now headed by a former and other northeastern states. turncoats the party’s prospects in the state nected to the ground” (trinamool, in dalit leader of Trinamool—Dulal Arvind Menon said the BJP would before the assembly polls in 2021. Bengali). Bar, who represents Bagdah in the fight the assembly polls next year The BJP is banking on former Trinamool Shah sought a wish list. Ghosh sent The secretary said the list would assembly. Khagen , a former under the new team. “The party sat and left leaders to oust Mamata Banerjee one, but it was so startling that a par- have to wait, as Shah was preparing left leader who represents Malda down and made the best choice,” ty general secretary in Delhi called to pass the mantle of party president North in the Lok Sabha, has been he told THE WEEK. “This is the best from power him and requested a meeting when to working president J.P. Nadda. named head of the BJP’s Scheduled team available and it will click next he came to Delhi for the budget ses- Once Nadda took charge, in late Tribe Morcha. y e a r.” BY RABI BANERJEE sion of Parliament later that month. January, he began assessing Ghosh’s Fashion designer Agnimitra Paul, An RSS hand, Menon had helped

12 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 13 WEST BENGAL POLITICS

■ INTERVIEW

Chandra Bose BJP leader and grand-nephew of Subhas Chandra Bose Will meet the

prime minister to know ELEVATED ROLES Fashion designer whether I am needed Agnimitra Paul has replaced former star BY RABI BANERJEE (left) as the chief of the BJP’s women wing; Chatterjee has Q/You were dropped as BJP vice remain so as long as the prime minister been made general

president in West Bengal. wishes. If he does not, then I would sup- BERA SALIL PHOTOS: secretary A/I am not at all sad about it. There was port anybody who has Netaji’s inclusive no job for me as a vice president. But ideology. I reminded him, he told me I should take what made me upset was no one from the BJP win seven of eight seats in ers [returning to the state]? Why did be “accommodated” elsewhere. “I Q/The state leadership says you did charge of one of the existing morchas in Delhi called me to inform about it. Today, north Bengal after he was put in people die at home without getting have spoken to him,” he said. “His not perform well. the party. I am thinking of 2016, when I used to charge of the region. He said Mam- treatment? Shouldn’t we tell all this advice and active participation get a series of calls from the central lead- A/To perform, one needs to be tested. I was given the most difficult seats, which Q/You then turned disillusioned. ata’s popularity was at an all-time to the people?” asked Menon. would help the party. One must ership for joining the party and fighting A/Yes. My family said I committed a low because of her inept handling of The BJP’s major worry is its poor understand that not everyone can elections. were either against [Chief Minister] Mamata Banerjee or to fight Lok Sabha blunder by joining the BJP. They said I Covid-19 and cyclone crises. But he presence in parts of south Bengal. be made vice president or general Q/Were you reluctant to join the BJP? election in her own constituency. I tried should have known that the BJP’s way praised the efforts of the CPI(M)-led In Howrah, South 24 Parganas, East secretary.” A/I was, in fact, not ready, and my family my best. You cannot win an election of winning elections is through polari- Left Democratic Front government in Midnapore and Kolkata districts, the With Covid-19 having restricted told me such ideology will not fit with the against Mamata Banerjee without or- sation. his home state, Kerala. BJP had drawn a blank in the Lok political activities in the state, experts legacy of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. ganisation [machinery]. The BJP has no Q/You also believed the same? “We are politically very much Sabha polls. “This region is a major say the BJP is more affected than against the communists, who are headache for us,” said vice president the ruling party. In the Lok Sabha Q/But you went against the family organisation in Kolkata. A/Not really, because I had full faith in prime minister. But somewhere down ruling Kerala,” said Menon. “But we Biswapriya Roy Chowdhury. “But the elections last year, there was a 6 per guidance? Q/You were vocal against the Citi- the line, I felt my family members have have no complaint against them situation has improved a lot. In one cent difference in the vote shares of A/Yes, that is only because of Prime zenship Amendment Act and mob a point. as far as the Covid-19 handling is year, we will overcome the hurdles in the Trinamool and the BJP. When the Minister Narendra Modi. He loves and lynching. concerned. (which is ruled this region.” pandemic struck, the BJP had been respects our family. A/Yes, I was. Our family could not accept Q/State leaders say they cannot by the Congress) also did well by Chandra Bose’s removal from the taking measures to bridge the gap such a legislation. But I feel that was not Q/Did you expect a call from him include any person just because he having a coordinated plan with the state committee could cost the BJP well before the assembly polls. the only reason [for the ousting]. hails from a famous family. before being ousted? Union government. But in Bengal, dear. If Bose is forced to become a Menon, however, said Covid-19 A/I never played up my family back- A/No. He is very busy. I expected a call Q/What else? the state government did not even BJP rebel, Mamata could project it had only made Mamata more un- ground. I only played up my family from someone in the leadership. I am go- A/When then party president Amit Shah think of poor people and played dirty as a slight to his illustrious family. popular. In April, she roped in poll ideology of nationalism, secularism and ing to meet the prime minister, to know came and invited me to the BJP personal- politics.” Trinamool has had two MPs from the strategist Prashant Kishor to help inclusiveness. whether I am needed or not. If not, then ly, I realised that BJP has a dearth of He said the BJP would tell voters family—Krishna Bose, wife of Subhas manage her image in the run-up to I will have the liberty to decide my future intellectuals in Kolkata. I proposed to Q/Do you feel the current state com- about the Trinamool government’s Bose’s nephew Sisir Bose; and her the polls. “Mark my words: The worst course of action. him that I would like to open a morcha mittee can win the elections in 2021? “lackadaisical attitude” in tackling son, historian Sugato Bose. A distant of this would be the advice she will Q/Any plans to join the Trinamool in the BJP named Azad Hind to propa- A/I cannot say. But I have lot of respect the pandemic in the state. “What is member of the family, Amit Mitra, is get from Kishor,” said Menon. “It will Congress? gate Netaji’s ideology. He said he would for some of the people who have been the point of hiding numbers? Why Mamata’s finance minister. boomerang on her, as her own party- A/I am still with the BJP, and would consider. But after some months, when taken. did she not welcome migrant labour- Menon said Chandra Bose would men would get angry and join us.”

14 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 15 CURRENT EVENTS BIHAR

BRAND NITISH KUMAR is being which is close to the national average Our handling has been much better.” put to test and how. of 4.9. It means only the severely ill But the three heart-wrenching In his more than four-decade-old are being tested. A low positivity rate faces of the migrant crisis belong political career, the Bihar chief minis- determines the policy on opening up to the state: Rampukar Pandit, who Rocky road ter is facing his trickiest challenge of the economy. Kerala’s rate stands was found sobbing by the roadside ever—fighting the pandemic with a at 1.9. What has worked in Bihar's in Delhi as he could not travel to Be- poor health infrastructure and man- favour though is the low morbidi- gusarai to see his baby boy before he aging the return of more than 30 lakh ty—30 deaths (as on June 8). This has died; Arvina Khatoon, whose dead to polls migrants, which will have a bearing eased pressure on the intensive care body lay on the Muzaffarpur railway on the assembly elections due in units in its three Covid-19 designated platform even as her child tried to With an aggressive ally and a vocal opposition, October-November. These apart, he hospitals. wake her up; and 15-year-old Jyoti has to tackle not only his opponents Nitish had repeatedly asked Kumari who cycled over 1,200km Nitish Kumar faces a tough election year amid a in the RJD-led Mahagatbandhan, but the Centre for more testing kits from Gurugram to with raging pandemic and a mismanaged migrant crisis also his coalition partners in the BJP. and monetary assistance. But he her ailing father. Most migrants are He, however, seems unfazed. was seen as reluctant to welcome dalits or belong to the extremely BY PRATUL SHARMA Nitish enjoys the support of the migrants home after the lockdown backward castes, and had migrated BJP’s central leadership, which has extension. Unlike his counterparts to cities to escape caste oppression. declared him the chief ministerial in other states, Nitish has been They would send money back home. candidate. But the opposition is a maintaining a low profile. Even the But that social and financial security divided house. While the Rashtriya transfer of state health secretary is now gone. has picked Lalu Prasad’s Sanjay Kumar amid the crisis raised “We have a big crisis at hand. The son Tejashwi as the chief ministe- eyebrows. “We had never known total number of migrants who could rial candidate, its allies—Jitan Ram this side of Nitish Kumar,” said Rajya have returned could be in the range Manjhi’s Sabha MP Manoj Jha of the RJD. “He of 40 lakh,” said Dr Shefali Roy, head and ’s Rashtriya has been insensitive.” of political science department at Pat- Lok are yet to voice their Neeraj Kumar, however, said na University. “The one positive thing support. that the chief minister, like always, about the state is that because of pro- But there has been criticism over worked silently during a calamity. hibition, there are fewer complaints Nitish’s handling of the Covid-19 “It [fighting Covid-19] has been of domestic violence during lock- crisis. Bihar ranks among the top a challenge for a state with huge down unlike other areas. But as these ten states with the highest number population and [poor] human index,” migrants are returning, they may be of cases. The return of the migrants he said. “Had Bihar been like it was bringing other infections like HIV. has stretched its inadequate health in 2005, would the migrants have re- Lack of livelihood is likely to lead to infrastructure. Migrants account turned? People trusted government increase in crimes. We are in a fix.” A for nearly two-third of the positive facilities more than private ones. The state campaign to distribute condoms cases. The state has more than 12,000 state, which earlier had only three to migrants has been started. block-level quarantine centres for medical colleges, today has 15 in Also, the state government said migrants. Eight lakh of the 13.7 lakh both government and private sector. that it paid 01,000 each to migrants migrants in these centres have been stranded in other states. Of the more discharged. State Information and than 29 lakh migrants who regis- Public Relations Minister Neeraj Ku- tered, more than 20 lakh were paid mar told THE WEEK that a door-to- 0204.05 crore by May 31. In addition, door screening of 1.87 crore house- Nitish enjoys the the state decided to reimburse train holds, covering 10.4 crore residents, support of the BJP’s ticket fare and other travel expenses was done. A similar screening would central leadership, up to 01,000. For ration card hold- soon be carried out for migrants. which has declared ers, it is offering 01,000 as ‘Corona As of June 2, the state had tested him the chief Sahayata’, and has paid an advance 81,413 samples, of which 4,049 were instalment on scholarships for positive. It is conducting only 62.4 ministerial candidate. students and provided assistance to tests per lakh of its population, while But the opposition is a farmers. In all, through five initia- the recommendation is 200 tests per divided house. tives, the state has transferred more TOUGH TIMES lakh. The positivity rate per 100 is than 06,464.26 crore through direct Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar PTI 5—one in 20 samples test positive— benefit schemes. The state is now -fo

16 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 17 CURRENT EVENTS BIHAR

n INTERVIEW

Neeraj Kumar, minister of information and public relations, Bihar We have a roadmap to BRUTAL FATE provide jobs to migrants Arvina Khatoon, a widowed mother of two, fell ill on a Shramik special train and died at Muzaffarpur railway station in Bihar. Her son is trying to wake her up BY PRATUL SHARMA without realising that she is dead; (right) Jyoti Kumari, 15, cycled over 1,200km PHOTOS: PTI PHOTOS: with her injured father from Gurugram to reach her native place in Darbhanga How are you dealing with the migrant jobs have been created…. We did a law for disaster management, but cusing on employing migrants based poll preparations. Its general secre- is jailed in a prison, will be crisis? skill-mapping of migrants in quarantine our government made one. The chief on their skills. tary Bhupender Yadav, who is also in missing in action. And that will take The migrants returned because they centres. Unskilled labourers were given minister has a track record of working It is a given that the government’s charge of the state, said, “Covid-19 the sting out of the opposition’s trusted Nitish Kumar. The infrastruc- the option of working under MGNREGA. systematically…. The migrants trusted handling of the crisis will have an im- will impact the campaign in a huge campaign. A friendly government in ture he has created since 2005 has Those who can drive will get e-rickshaws him and returned. And no migrant has pact on the poll results, but there is manner. But our party is present at neighbouring Jharkhand has ensured given them confidence. It was on his under the existing scheme; similarly, for complained to me about hunger in the still uncertainty over when and how the grassroots, which will engage that Lalu gets visitors, but he will insistence that trains were started and other trades. We are studying the eco- state. The chief minister has said that the elections will be held. “When with people.” have to go all out to cajole allies like migrants were brought back. Till now, nomic package to see how it can be used people affected by disasters have the we go to the polls, development and The party has already appointed a Manjhi and Kushwaha, who prefer more than 19 lakh people have come to generate jobs. We have transferred first right to the state's treasury. We governance will be our main plank,” team of seven workers in each booth, Loktantrik Janata Dal’s back by trains. We have done everything Rs6,464 crore in cash to migrants, farm- don’t need anyone’s certificate. Those said Neeraj Kumar. “The timing of the based on the local caste composi- over Tejashwi for the chief minister’s for their social and economic security. ers, students and social scheme benefi- who are making such allegations have polls will be decided by the Election tion. When Prime Minister Narendra post. Most migrants were dalits and from the ciaries…. We have created a roadmap to been absent since lockdown. The Commission in consultation with Modi presented his ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Tejashwi is trying to project him- most backward classes. They had left provide jobs to all migrants. leader of opposition has been missing the state owing to the conditions in the since then. the state. It is only then that the chief the BJP tested its virtual campaign self as a counter to Nitish, by raking There was criticism that the state past. As good governance changed Bi- minister will give his views.” strategy by asking all the teams to up the issues of migrants and unem- was not doing enough testing. Is your alliance with the BJP intact? har, they decided to return. Nitish Kumar There have been suggestions to listen in. “The conversation was ployment. “Lakhs of migrant workers What can be a bigger sign of efficien- Will Nitish Kumar be the chief minis- is the first chief minister in the country to hold the elections online, but the tuned in at over 60,000 booths,” said are suffering. We have not talked pol- cy than the fact that we mapped and terial candidate? speak to migrants housed in quarantine Election Commission has said that it BJP state chief . “What itics,” said Jha. “Even Tejashwi ji has screened 1,87,45,361 households, There is no debate on the alliance. Any centres through videoconferencing. will not be feasible to do so. Bihar's this exercise also helped us in doing said that only a brazenly insensitive covering 10.4 crore residents. We have counter talk is by those who are jealous. If you look at the state’s panchayat raj their details and signatures. So nearly What can be a bigger pointer [to Nitish’s low mobile and internet penetration is to prepare programmes for the party can think of organising a digital system, which has been strengthened, 11 crore of the 12 crore population have candidature] than the fact that in 2015 would be a challenge. next three months at the booth level.” rally during such crisis.” we have given reservations to women been screened…. Earlier, we did not have we got the mandate with the Grand Nitish would prefer to hold the People have already been put in But the ruling alliance has an from the most backward classes and many testing centres. We created 14, Alliance, but when we left it on the issue elections on schedule or continue as charge of each of the 243 seats. advantage: it will rely on the sops an- dalits. This empowered them and has and now the chief minister has ordered of corruption and aligned with the BJP caretaker chief minister rather than On June 7, Home Minister Amit nounced by the Centre to create jobs dented the social base of the Naxal that they be created in all districts. Our and the , there was have the state under Governor’s rule, Shah held a virtual rally, first of the for migrants in the state, improve movement since 2006. When migrants recovery rate is now 45 per cent. no change in leadership. as it may give better manoeuvrability 75 such meetings to be organised by infrastructure and provide relief—all from these castes wanted to return, to the BJP. Though both the BJP and the BJP. Though he clarified that this of which will help win over the poor they trusted the system as they came Your opponents have accused Nitish What is the way forward? Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) have was not an election rally, he said that before the polls. with their families. The empowerment Kumar of being insensitive to the It is also the responsibility of states been insisting that their alliance is Nitish Kumar-led NDA would return The biggest challenge, however, of panchayat raj also ensured that there crisis. where migrants go to work to take care intact, the saffron party’s local unit to power with two-third majority. is before the Election Commission, was no community spread. The entire country knows that he is a of them. They should not be treated as has been needling Nitish. Its other On the other hand, the RJD-led which has to figure out a way to hold law-abiding individual. He followed the expendables. As the chief minister said, ally, the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Jan- Grand Alliance is yet to sort out its the polls during a pandemic. “The How will you create livelihood for home ministry guidelines. You can call the people of Bihar are not a burden on shakti Party, may also ask for more differences. Unlike the last elections, elections may get delayed,” said Roy, migrants? a person insensitive when he does not anyone, but they take the burden of oth- seats this time. when he spearheaded the campaign “and currently it appears like it will Our growth rate in construction sector react or speak up, especially on the ers. They contribute a lot to the economy The BJP, meanwhile, has begun its against the BJP, Lalu Prasad, who be a hung house.” has been high. Till May 31, 4.37 lakh issue of disaster. Bihar did not have of other states.

18 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 19 BRAZIL COVID-19 DOUBLE TROUBLE Brazil is being attacked by two dreadful enemies—Covid-19 is killing its society and life as we know, while President Bolsonaro is chipping away at the country’s democracy

BY MILAN SIME MARTINIC/São Paulo AP

ROAD RAGE Police clash with anti-government demonstrators in São Paulo

t is 6:49pm in São Paulo. The second most affected in the world calling for the opening of malls and windows, banging pots and shouting his open palms to stop others from in the building by buying from them silence of the quarantine is bro- by the virus. The other half is the schools. Under the smokescreen of “Fora Bolsonaro”. entering the elevator when it opened and provide meals to the homeless ken by shouts unleashed from inflexibility of its far right president political controversy and the fog of The state of São Paulo, the first to at an intermediate floor. in the neighbourhood. deep within desperate souls. Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who has been war against an invisible enemy, Bra- register a Covid-19 case in Brazil, has All of this happens in a setting of The economic stress has triggered “Fora Bolsonaro (Get out, Bol- actively undermining quarantine zilians are fighting for their lives. 1.23 lakh confirmed cases and 8,276 empty concrete canyons and closed a negative vibe in the city that is sonaro),” they say, “to save our lives.” and preventative measures adopted In São Paulo, the country’s most deaths as on June 6. Panic is palpa- businesses in the normally electric struggling to keep alive the classic The Covid-19 pandemic is only one by its states in favour of a machismo populous city and the current ble in the streets as masked people neighbourhood in the centre of the Brazilian attitude to life. It used to be half of the double-barrelled cannon that sells well with some 25 per cent epicentre of the pandemic in Latin could be heard shouting at others to city. In the world’s largest residential said of São Paulo that its bars were of fear and dread pointed at the peo- of the population—the ones who America, frustration boils over stay safely away, a man at an ATM building, the iconic Edifício Copan, full of empty souls. It is now a city ple of Brazil, the second most-popu- join the president in his mask-less, whenever Bolsonaro appears on breathing uneasy at people forming residents help each other stay in of empty bars, filled only with the lous country in the Americas and the gun-toting, flag-waving rallies, television. Residents stand at their a queue, another one holding up quarantine, they support businesses souls of those who used to frequent

20 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 21 BRAZIL COVID-19

Convinced that his political future depends on it, Bolsonaro is out to get the economy going, no matter what it costs.

them. Thriving businesses and told a parliamentary commission must-visit locations like the Galeria about a fake news scheme linked to do Rock mall have closed their doors Bolsonaro and his two sons, Carlos for good, shutting down 30 stores and Eduardo. The federal police and costing hundreds of jobs. There later identified Carlos as one of the have been thousands of such cases leaders of what it called “an illegal across the massive country, which disinformation scheme”. is now staring at a serious economic Fake news has been at the centre of recession. Bolsonaro’s Covid-19 denial. A fake In São Paulo, intensive care units social media post that said that the now have an occupancy rate of 84.7 hard-hit Amazonas state was falsify- per cent, although the city is yet to ing its death toll by burying coffins hit the peak of infections. Among full of rocks was shared more than citizens, there is the nagging fear two million times, despite the hor- that Bolsonaro’s macho drive will rific scenes of death from its capital, prevail as the way Brazil deals with Manaus. The health care system in the pandemic. “I am not afraid of a Amazonas has collapsed, and so has little virus. It is just a little cold,” says its burial and cemetery systems. São Bolsonaro. “A knife didn’t kill me Paulo, too, is facing a similar crisis. (referring to being stabbed during By late May, the city’s cemeteries saw his presidential campaign).” When an average of 11.4 burials an hour. AP IGNORANCE AT PLAY the country neared 10,000 deaths, he But Bolsanaro keeps on repeating President Jair Bolsonaro carries planned a no-mask barbeque at the that it is all hysteria. Like US Presi- a boy on his back as he greets presidential palace. After political dent Donald Trump, he, too, ignores supporters gathered outside the pressure forced him to cancel the the recommendations of top epide- presidential palace in Brasilia cookout, Bolsanaro went jet skiing miologists and wants “immediate and showed up at a beach barbecue, return to normalcy.” Quarantine, for shaking hands and disregarding Bolsanaro, is a “crime”. adopted by most states in the coun- stead, if they so desire.” Twitter delet- administration is concerned about judges of “their guilt” in “usurping preventative measures. He is push- Convinced that his political future try. The states have taken seriously ed Bolsonaro’s tweets that touted the the prospect of looting in the city. the role of the executive”. Praising ing the idea that 70 per cent of the depends on it, Bolsonaro is out to get the responsibility for the lives of efficacy of hydroxychloroquine. The rapidly deteriorating situation is the torturers in the military dictator- people would be infected and a small the economy going, no matter what their citizens and have implemented Clinical studies have shown that raising questions about Bolsonaro’s ship, Bolsanaro openly advocates a portion would die, “but that is better it costs. “Some people are going to serious quarantine and prevention using hydroxychloroquine to treat competence to remain as president. military coup against the congress than starving to death,” a reference die. They will die. Sorry. That’s life,” strategies. Bolsonaro himself sends Covid-19 can be fatal.The World Bolsonaro, who was a young and the courts, while demanding to the economic woes of people who Bolsonaro can be heard saying on contradictory messages, wearing a Health Organization halted its use army captain during Brazil’s darkest dictatorial powers for himself. have no savings, no food and no way camera. “They are trying to get Brazil mask at times, appearing without after clinical trials showed that period of military dictatorship, is And so, the world’s fifth largest of finding any work in a quarantined into bankruptcy with that fear-mon- one sometimes and taking it off Covid-19 patients who used the drug facing the threat of impeachment country is under the attack of two country. gering…. The best remedy for the when he comes near people. were at a higher risk of death and for his mishandling of the Covid-19 dreadful enemies: a deadly virus that All of this is accompanied by a dis- disease is work. If someone can Crucial to Bolsonaro’s back-to- cardiac problems. crisis, for blatant corruption and for threatens to change society and the information campaign that pushes work, they have to go back to work. work drive has been the portrayal of All of this adds to despair and it electoral fraud, which could, under life as we knew it, and a man who a ‘Make Brazil Great Again’ ideology You cannot hide. It is not okay to be hydroxychloroquine as a “potential may be pushing Brazil to the brink of Brazilian laws, result in the voiding threatens to destroy Latin America’s and provides just the right amount quarantined at home, who knows for cure,” and pushing the population social unrest. The states are releas- of the election and his removal from largest democracy with his dictatori- of false news to fuel his now-banned how many days.” to take it as a prophylactic while ing some of the pressure by moving office. His response so far has been al, pro-military and anti-democratic ‘Brazil Cannot Stop’ anti-quaran- Bolsonaro’s conscious downplay- getting back to work. “Right-wingers to a more dynamic quarantine in in feisty Trump-like fashion—warn- policies. tine campaign. Back in December, ing of such a public health catastro- take chloroquine,” he says proudly. June, which is quickly deteriorating ing the press, the state governors, congresswoman Joice Hasselmann phe is in conflict with the policy “Left-wingers can drink a soda in- into social chaos. The São Paulo the congress and the supreme court Martinic is a writer and researcher.

22 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 23 BRAZIL COVID-19

guage book Arca sem Noé - Histórias haps less lethal and more distant. do Edifício Copan (Ark without The Carnival was the perfect petri Noah). dish for breeding a pandemic When danger was raining on São hotspot. AFFONSO’S Paulo in the form of the pandemic, “The state imposed a hurried the building did have a Noah—Af- quarantine,” says Chukaluri. “There fonso Celso Prazerers de Oliveira, its was no ‘indoors’ for the homeless 80-year-old general manager. He ex- on the streets, living only a few me- ARK ecutes his job like an art, so much so tres from the folks in Copan. The that the building’s residents refer to streets became increasingly deso- him reverently as “The Mayor”. More late and the homeless increasingly How the residents of Edificio Copan, than a month before the first case of desperate as they depended on Covid-19 was reported in Brazil, De the food thrown in the bins. They the largest residential building in the world, Oliveira turned the building into an picked this food during the nights, are coping with Covid-19 and helping the ark by laying down protective meas- when the city was asleep; they ures to save the lives of the residents slept during the day, when the city poor in their neighbourhood and the 102 employees. He stopped was awake. This balance, which the terrace tours that offered the most ensured a peaceful life around BY MILAN SIME MARTINIC spectacular, panoramic views of São Copan, was brutally disturbed Paulo to hundreds of tourists from all within a week. One can imagine over the world. what hunger can do to people. Yes, The city flickers with a pale glow of Brazilian society that resides in When Covid-19 hit, at de Oliveira’s violence! The more desperate the And all the shadows that come and go Copan; a large number of them are direction, crews began to sterilise the homeless and the drug addicts be- Sometimes I can hear them laugh and cry architects and design professionals. sidewalks outside the building and came, the more brazen the attacks In my lonely room with a view It is the north façade that has the all hallway floors inside; they cleaned became.” more elaborate special architectur- and sanitised the entire 20,000 square That was the beginning. Shawn Colvin al treatment with its fanciful brise metres every 24 hours. Elevators Moved by the plight of the home- Window to the World soleil, a curving louver that deflects were cleaned more frequently, and less, Copan residents raised funds sunlight and shapes the building’s call-buttons on all floors were wiped and cooked meals for them. Copan The wavy accent mark over the ‘ã’ in imposing façade. The sections down. Vulnerable Copan workers itself now contributes all income São Paulo lords over the city of 21 mil- are wonky and the fire stairways were paid to stay at home and those from its recyclables to the effort. Its lion through a massive and emblem- artistically corkscrewed. The streets living far away were given a transpor- residents took the risk of exposing atic building— Edificio Copan, which flow into the building through five tation stipend so they could avoid themselves to the virus so that holds the Guinness record for having gates, following the slope of the city using public transport. “Solidarity,” others could live. the largest floor area of any residential itself. There are stores, restaurants says de Oliveira, is the key to effective Many of the 72 businesses in the structure in the world. Home to 5,000 and services along an inclined protection of citizens. “That is the building depended on tourists and people, the building is the largest post- indoor street, though many are now spirit that prevails in Copan.” foot traffic, which are now non-ex- al code in the city. It has a population closed—some forever—because “Copan is at the intersection of the istent. These shops are now closing which is larger than 547 Brazilian cit- of the pandemic. Residences are upper and the lower middle class of or reducing hours, renegotiating ies, and a survival spirit which is larger divided into six independent blocks São Paulo,” says Dr Eswar Chukaluri rents, cutting staff and trying hard than life. It is the soul of São Paulo, serviced by some 20 elevators, from Hyderabad, who stayed near to see a bright future, knowing that views from the building are to die for giving residents the feel of living in a Copan during the Carnival. “Walk the only option may be to close and it is not a bad place to live out the far smaller building, in a cosy, quiet 100m towards the upper middle-class doors forever. Covid-19 pandemic. neighbourhood. On its floors, the side, and you will see expensive As for those going into their third From Copan, it seems as if the city air is heady with the atmosphere of grocery shops and people dressed month of isolation in the building, was built around it. It helps that it is São Paulo. in bohemian clothes; walk 100m in and all of those who come home to made in a shape that evokes the very Local gossips say it has inspired the other direction, and you will see Copan after running the gauntlet name of the city. The building was de- filmmakers, artists, photographers, homeless people and addicts.” of the virus, their solace is in those signed by Brazil’s superstar architect writers and more. Indeed, like New Chukaluri says, in Copan, you did big picture windows that let them Oscar Niemeyer, the man who also York’s landmark Plaza Hotel serves not need to go to the Carnival—it see the city’s shadows come and designed Brazil’s capital, Brasilia. A as the setting for the Eloise at the came to your doorstep. Then came go, safely from any one of the thou- measure of its impact on modern de- Plaza books, Copan is the star of Covid-19 with a whimsical nickname sands of lonely quarantine-rooms

sign can be seen in the cross-section the award-winning Portuguese-lan- SALAVERRY ANTONIO called corona, making it sound per- with a view.

24 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 25 USA RACISM

Some have known this for a while. In 1861, the United States went to Some are just discovering this with war against itself. In a nation already protests over the on-camera police divided by cultural and political killing of George Floyd. And some differences, slavery was the catalyst, have chosen to ignore the signs and but not because it was cruel and in- continue eating avocados. Because human. To the rapidly industrialising they are what is causing our roots north, slave labour gave the agri- to rot, and if we do not get rid of the cultural south an unfair economic cause of this sickness called racism, advantage. The promise of emanci- the whole tree will die. This is 2020 in pation for close to four million slaves the United States of America. could mobilise blacks to side with The New World was only new to the north. When the north won the UNENDING GRIEF the Europeans who sailed into it war 1865, (with the help of many A mourner passes by accidently in the late 1400s. In what free black and escaped slave troops) the casket of George we now call North and South Amer- Abraham Lincoln honoured the Floyd during a public ica, there were already millions of promise to free (most of) the slaves. visitation at the people living in sustainable, thriving From 1865 to 1877, the US’s boldest Fountain of Praise church in Houston societies. These “Indians” were not experiment in socialism saw the re- Christian or “civilised” to European distribution of 4,00,000 acres across eyes, which claimed the lands for the several southern states, the elec- and the resources of tion of free black men and former the land for the nobles, merchants slaves to congress and local political and royal venture capitalists who positions, and burgeoning black funded their travel. This is when the communities with business owners, roots began to rot…. professionals and the inauguration of After the native inhabitants re- black colleges and universities. This belled, attacked settlers, escaped into was a problem for many southern the hinterlands or were massacred by whites who, in addition to losing guns, swords and Old World diseases the Confederacy, continued to be as like smallpox, the invaders realised poor as or poorer than the former they needed another workforce that black slaves. Segregation, a system was inexpensive and virile. They based on skin colour and bloodline, turned to Africa. had been in place in the south since The transatlantic slave trade began slavery, but after the Civil War, it be- in 1502 and lasted until the 1860s, came law. The establishment of the bringing 10 to 12 million African Ku Klux Klan brought an end to the women, men and children to the Reconstruction and the best chance

AP Americas. for blacks to level the playing field Slavery thrived in the southern US. after slavery. If you had dark skin, you were a slave. “They don’t see us as human," here is an avocado tree in No wage was owed for your labour. wrote a friend last week in a my backyard that grows You could be bought and sold. You WhatsApp group and I had to agree. creamy, delicious fruit, but I had a value, like a goat. When the American constitution was The rotten tree suspect the roots are rotting. Though most whites in the Amer- written, black slaves were counted as TSome branches have hollowed out ican south were also poor, their col- three-fifths of a human (for purposes Polarisation and police violence are as American as and when it storms, they crack and our provided them status and merit of taxation and representation for fall off. The leaves brown around the that their financial conditions did their owners). We did not even be- apple pie, but a collective veil has started to lift and white edges and sometimes the avocados not. If poor whites felt their colour come citizens until 1868. And while Americans are realising that their privilege makes them are speckled and browning inside. made them part of the same “tribe” the law of the land has been updated, Unless we can remove what is attack- as the wealthy, then it would be in not everyone’s consciousness has. complicit by association ing its roots, it is just a matter of time their interest to defend the race and The killing of George Floyd is before the whole tree dies. the ruling class by keeping the black tragic, but not a surprise for black BY JENNIFER ALISA SANDERS My country’s roots are rotten, too. population in check. Americans. What made Floyd’s

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PUSHED TO THE BRINK A girl lays on her stomach during a protest against the police brutality in Minneapolis

killing a flash point, in my opinion, is to sanction other nations for similar that white Americans finally saw this abuses. From police brutality to incident for what it is, perhaps for cruel, inhumane mistreatment of im- the very first time. They saw a white migrants, especially young children, police officer kill a human being the US must fear the consequences just because he was black. A collec- of such actions otherwise change tive veil has started to lift and white may never arrive. It's not just Donald Americans are realising that their Trump, it's the established institu-

REUTERS privilege, perhaps taken for granted tions of cruelty that must be demol- as a right, makes them complicit by ished...ASAP,” said Nigerian human- association. ist and activist Fatai Adewusi. Cities went up in flames around Some white people are turning to es and even more so when millions happening and they did nothing to 60 per cent of the world’s wealth. than we were given, and by how the US and the world has taken to black and brown friends and apol- are feeling them together. It is like stop it. If you have benefited from The great majority of this minuscule happy and fulfilled each individual the streets to protest for justice, in ogising. Some are asking what they a cyclone. You do not blame it for white privilege or the privilege of group are white men. Not only is this feels inside. defiance of lockdowns, curfews and can do to help. Honestly, that is a the heavy rains and winds blowing being part of the ruling elite, you are grossly unjust, it is unsustainable. This time, we must build a foun- the very real threat of contamina- conversation that most black people through. You let it blow through. It complicit. Take responsibility for So, yes, black and brown people dation from love, otherwise we are tion from the coronavirus. Where I do not want to have. Racism is not will pass. And releasing the anger, your actions or inaction and then in the US and around the world are going to end up with a version of live in Brazil and throughout South something we created so we cannot which is also being done in positive educate yourself so that you can take raging, are grieving and rightfully so. what we have now with just a change America, where those who look more fix it. But I will take it upon myself to and constructive ways, is part of the action towards change. And when this cyclone has passed, in the colour of the oppressors. I am European also benefit from “white offer some tips because I want you healing process. Stop normalising whiteness. Being we need to work together to re- not talking rainbows and lollipops, privilege”, black and indigenous peo- to figure out how to fix this, white Talk to other white people. Honest- white is just one of many human ex- build our societies and institutions love. I am talking about the kind ple are standing in solidarity against America(s). So… ly, talking to brown and black people periences. How you see the world as on foundations of equality where of love that Dr Martin Luther King, police violence, too. Paradoxically, Let us grieve and do not judge us is not going to help us or you. We a white person holds valid and true power is redefined and not used as Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, racial discrimination and polarisa- Fortunately, most of the protests cannot relate to what you are feeling. for you, but probably not for people a weapon to oppress and control. Malala Yousafzai and Mahatma Gan- tion at their apex are fuelling a global of police violence, around the world, Our pain is different. You also will not of colour (most of the world). Housing, food and health care can no dhi spoke about, to peacefully bring movement for unity, justice and have been peaceful. I do not justify be honest about how you feel if you Do not speak for people of colour. longer be commodities for profit and deep societal transformation and equality, with more precision and fer- violence and looting, but I do un- are talking with us and what we need It is time to listen. We have been provided only to those who can pay longstanding change. The rest, we vour than any politician or religious derstand why it is happening. It is an to change things is some raw honesty, ignored and silenced for far too long. for them. They must become basic are going to have to figure out on our leader could have whipped up. outlet for the overwhelming anger, even when it is hard to hear (or say). Then, the systems and institutions human rights. We must redefine own because, well... we are making a “The global community must hold fear, hopelessness and frustration we Take responsibility. The three that uphold and perpetuate racism success by how we take care of each new world from the ashes of the old. the USA accountable for its human are feeling and have been feeling for police officers who did not have their in the US and around the world must other and our environment, how we rights abuses, much the same way centuries. These feelings are ugly and knee on George Floyd’s neck are also be dismantled. According to a 2019 provide for our children and make The writer is an African American singer that the US and her allies are quick messy under the best of circumstanc- held accountable. They saw what was Oxfam report, 26 billionaires hold sure we give them a better world settled in Brazil.

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one cannot go back to normal. Peo- owe a debt to the black community, ple are demanding more from their said Theresa Thanjan, who works elected officials. with the New York Immigration IN SOLIDARITY Senator Kamala The Leadership Conference, which Coalition. “As South Asian immi- Harris and her works on civil and human rights grants were often targeted after 9/11, Democrat col- with over 220 organisations, has we turned to black leaders and they leagues take a asked members of Congress for eight came through in dramatic fashion,” knee to honour specific changes to address police she said. “I am moved to act because George Floyd in violence. of the desire to show solidarity and the US Capitol Indian Americans like Senator also work with BLM (Black Lives Visitors Center Kamala Harris and Representative Matter) to make important institu- Ro Khanna are leading the charge in tional changes.” getting critical legislation passed in The race dialogue has continued Congress. There are several Indian on social media among Indian Amer- Americans who lead non-profit icans: Instagram went dark for a day organisations, which are coming with posts of black tiles in solidarity; together to address issues of racism. Indians on social media have posted Some young Indian Americans and spoken about the inequities, and Many Indian also have individual reasons for arranged virtual panels and gather- marching in protest. For Gurpreet ings. Americans are Kaur, a professor in health scienc- But sometimes, it takes more standing in es at California State University, than words. Rahul Dubey, a health the current situation brought up care innovator in Washington DC, solidarity with the terrible childhood memories of became an overnight hero when Stronger black community 1984, when Sikhs were persecuted he opened up his home to 70-plus in India. “Being a Sikh, I feel it is my protesters who were being pursued and doing their bit moral obligation to stand up against by police in riot gear with tear gas, to confront racism systemic racism, abuse of power and pepper spray and rubber bullets. He the extrajudicial killing of civilians,” comforted and supported the pro- together in the country she said. “As Martin Luther King Jr. testers through the night, until the said, ‘In the end, we will remember curfew ended in the wee hours of the BY LAVINA MELWANI not the words of our enemies but the morning. Yet, Dubey does not want

AFP silence of our friends’.” to take credit. “I believe 95 per cent Said Rajeev Sigamoney, chair of of the people I know would open that film at the Pacific Union College door,” he said. “The good has been IT HAS BEEN called a pandemic “I can’t breathe.” gender and age barriers, and the sup- Vanita Gupta, president and CEO in Napa, California: “We were not set in motion. You will open the door within a pandemic. America has Racism is not new. The only differ- port that has been ignited in many of The Leadership Conference, was brought over to this country unwill- now and you know that, and if you do been hit by a double whammy—Cov- ence now is that it is getting docu- countries across the world. the head of the US Department of ingly and subjugated to lifetimes of not, you need to check yourself.” id-19, which has claimed over 1.10 mented. This modern-day lynching The question is, where do the Justice’s Civil Rights Division in the slavery and systemic oppression. The Since the incident, Dubey has lakh lives, and racism, the virus that was recorded by bystanders on their Indian-Americans fit into this larger Obama administration. Speaking at difference this makes psychologically been inundated with calls, letters has infected it for more than 400 phone cameras, and the resultant picture? a virtual town hall organised by Indi- and to our starting points is im- and offers of help. He tells anyone years. horrific video became the proverbial They themselves have been objects aspora, a community organisation, mense. Just because you arrived with who will listen, “We have the brain Racism in America goes back to match to a powder keg, shocking of racism, starting with discrimina- she said, “Mr Floyd’s death really $50 in your pocket, does not mean trust of desis and we have the capital the original sin of slavery, and in people of all colours and faiths. tion against ‘Hindoos’ a hundred reopened wounds that expose the you did not arrive with plenty of priv- that we are sitting on, and we have 2020, it has been perpetuated by the George Floyd’s last words—“I can’t years ago to the immigration biases degree to which there are two justice ilege. We can never fully understand inner-city problems. Let us find their knee of a white police officer which breathe”—have become the slogan of the 1960s to the Dotbuster inci- systems, two kinds of sets of commu- their struggle and life experience.” teams, and let us lend out our star was pressed against the neck of a fall- of millions of protesters. For the dents in the 1980s to many other hate nities in this country. The history of He and his wife, Brittnee, who is desi people. Let us make it a two-way en, unarmed, handcuffed black man. past two weeks, people have come crimes even now. But all this fades in police brutality against black people white, marched in the protests and street. If there is any subculture and The knee stayed on the victim’s neck, together to protest police brutality. comparison with the systemic racism in particular is a long and storied have contributed to black organi- any demographic that should be while three other officers watched— The protests have spilled over to a against black people for centuries. one.” sations. As parents of a mixed-race collaborating, it is ours.” for eight minutes and forty-six 100 cities in all 50 states, even amid The country has failed them in social She felt that the current confluence child, they realise that the conversa- seconds—until the life oozed out of the pandemic. What has been note- and economic equality, and criminal of events was a turning point for the tions have to start in childhood. Melwani is a New York-based journalist who George Floyd, whose last words were, worthy is the turnout across racial, justice. nation and there was a feeling that Also, Indian-American activists blogs at Lassi with Lavina.

30 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 31 DIPLOMACY

MANI-FESTO MANI SHANKAR AIYAR Indian Army. Why this should be so is a mys- tery, considering there was satellite imagery and that Chinese President Xi Jinping objected Reassert our nonalignment to the Indian infrastructure construction— never mind that it is a matching but less dense build-up on the Indian side—in his discus- he Prime Minister of , Lee Hsien Singapore prime minister now recognises sions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Loong, in an article in the highly reputed that if either China or the US attempts to force a the Mamallapuram Summit on October 11 TAmerican journal Foreign Affairs (June 4), choice between them on other Asian countries, it and 12, 2019. Of particular concern to China and Steve Bannon, Trump’s ideological foghorn, will lead to a “course of confrontation” that “will is the all-weather road connecting Daulat Beg in an interview to the island’s most important last decades” and put the “long heralded Asian Oldi and Durbuk with Depsang, inclusive of English-language daily journal, The Straits Times century in jeopardy”. Recognising that the US in the bridge over the Shyok river, to ease the (also June 4), have set out the parameters within Asia is a “resident power” while China is “a re- strain of maintaining the Indian military’s which India, more than any other country in Asia ality at our doorstep”, Loong also notes that “the presence on the . Delhi had and perhaps the world, needs to determine how strategic basis of Pax Americana has shifted fun- six months to prepare for an adverse reaction

it is to react to the cold war between the United damentally” making this “a painful adjustment” PTI and to pre-emptively establish forward Indian States and China now being brought to a boil. for the US. He warns that “if the US seeks to con- GUEST COLUMN l BHARAT KARNAD military posts in the areas the PLA has now Bannon may have been relieved of his key tain China’s rise” (as Bannon, on Trump’s behalf, advanced into before the summer patrolling office in August 2017, but no one else is as frank, so strongly advocates), “it will risk provoking a season began in April. It should have moved brutal and faithful an reaction that could set the some long-range artillery, even if with an in- exponent of Trump’s ide- two countries on a path of NO CONTROL, adequate supply of shells, to put down stakes ology. Bannon argues—no decades of confrontation”. and show intent. But beating China to the holds barred—that China We were able to sit punch is not India’s forte. and the US are not in a out the US-Soviet Union ACTUALLY The passive-reactive Indian government cold war but a hot war: Cold War on the side banks on diplomacy to restore the status quo “It is a hot war right now lines because had armed ante that the Army, lacking the offensive will, and it is going to get a lot confrontation broken out, India has no answer for China’s wherewithal and endurance, is unable to de- hotter.” Underlining that it would have been on the creeping annexation liver. This condition is a boon to the Xi regime, the US is “in full-scale battlefields of west and which can withdraw the PLA or not in this economic war with the east Europe. Now, the re- or that instance as it suits Beijing’s political Chinese Communist assertion of nonalignment or China, the unarmed skirmishes on the purpose, while inexorably pushing the LAC In- Party”, he predicts with as a fundamental creed disputed border with India do not merit dia-wards. At each turn then, Delhi is present- grim satisfaction that the of our foreign policy is Fnotice. The May 26-28 meeting of the Chi- ed with new territorial faits accomplis, rein- two countries will be in “a kinetic war in a couple urgent. Because Bannon has made explicit what nese People’s Political Consultative Conference forcing China’s policy of creeping annexation of years”. And, he adds that, apart from the South has been an unstated or, at any rate, an under- ignored them. But the Ladakh confrontation is of Indian territory. The prerequisite for such China Sea, this war is going to happen “on the stated goal of US foreign policy for the past two a muddled preoccupation of the Indian govern- policy is an undefined border. To keep it so, border of China, Pakistan and India”. We cannot decades—co-opting India as a military partner of ment with no clarity about what happened, how but to make it easier for Delhi to swallow the complain that we have not been warned. the US in a war to be fought on Indian soil to rein many People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops vio- incremental territorial losses, Beijing prom- Prime Minister Loong, more soberly but with in the Chinese rise to global power status, even lated the 2005 Line of Actual Control (LAC), and ises more productive talks—the next round deep conviction, draws attention to the geopo- as the ability of the US to maintain its unipolar the extent of territory illegally occupied by them. will be the 22nd in the series—between the litical reality that Asia “live(s) at the intersection hegemony declines precipitately. According to former northern Army com- special representatives to exchange maps and of various major powers”, and, therefore, “must Bannon, emphasising that he is the chairman mander Lt Gen H.S. Panag, there is ingress by resolve the dispute. The Indian government avoid being caught in the middle or forced to of something called the “Hindu Republican a brigade-sized PLA force in the Galwan River will again fall for it, hail it as a great diplomatic make ‘invidious choices’”. This, from a Singa- Coalition”, concludes his interview proclaiming valley and in the Pangong Lake area, and occu- achievement. The excitement will abate until pore that, in sharp contrast to India in the 1960s that as “Modi was Trump before Trump”, it is pation of some 60sqkm of Indian territory. If one next summer when evidence of new encroach- and 1970s and way into the 1980s, did make the India that is “the key that picks the lock”. Only adds the 640sqkm—which former foreign sec- ments will trigger armed face-offs along the “invidious choice” of lining up with America in thieves “pick locks”. Do we really want to be the retary Shyam Saran says India had lost up until LAC, and this unvirtuous cycle will repeat the thick of the Vietnam War and its Cambodian American cat’s paw in this looming “kinetic war”, 2013, and which may have doubled by now—the itself until China realises all its claims. aftermath. Singapore was the most avid support- by becoming the field of battle of the Third World total territory ceded to China without a fight may er of the horrendous Pol Pot regime. War? exceed 1,300sqkm! Karnad is emeritus professor at the Centre for Policy The astonishing thing is that these develop- Research and author, most recently, of Staggering Forward: ILLUSTRATION BHASKARAN Aiyar is a former Union minister and social commentator. ments surprised the Indian government and the Narendra Modi and India’s Global Ambition.

32 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 33 COVER STORY COVID-19

Delhi appears to have entered the community transmission stage, and with the AAP government’s own estimates putting the number of cases by the end of July at 5.5 lakh, there is an urgent need to put aside politics and fight the pandemic together

BY SONI MISHRA LAST JOURNEY Health workers take the body of a man who died of Covid-19 for

REUTERS cremation in Delhi

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A 700km trip, to die

hen Aditya Kumar’s father arrived in Bhopal at the crack of dawn on June 6, his oxygen saturation levels were less than W40 per cent. “People were appalled and shocked to learn how a man so ill and weak could make a train journey all the way from Delhi. Please trust me, my father followed all social distancing norms. We just had no choice,” says Aditya Nekya, 18, who is prepar- ing for NEET exams in Bhopal. On May 30, his 42-year-old father applied for leave at his work- place—a small electronic media house in Noida—after he developed cold and fever. In the next few days, the Mayur Vihar resident tried to get a prescription for a Covid-19 test from local doctors. But they just gave him medicines for cold and fever. He finally got a prescrip- tion from an ESI hospital on June 4, and he set off in his car with his daughter for the hospitals listed in it: Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and Dr Hospital. But the three hospitals said they were not conducting Covid-19 tests, said Aditya. His father was growing weaker with every passing hour. LIVING ON THE EDGE “He never had any severe medical problems,” says Aditya. “He The in Delhi are particu- was a staunch AAP supporter and was on good terms with the local larly vulnerable to Covid spread SANJAY AHLAWAT SANJAY councillor. Still, he was reduced to this state.” Out of sheer desperation, Aditya booked a night train for his father to come to Bhopal so that he and his uncle could get him tested few months ago, ability to help those left stranded by er, lies ahead. Though there was a tinge of there. On June 7, a day after his father had arrived in Bhopal and Arvind Kejriwal the lockdown. The BJP had alleged In the past three months, Kejriwal concern in his tone as he spoke of tested positive, Aditya cremated him wearing a PPE suit. After the and his Aam Aadmi that the AAP had a role to play in the has addressed the people of Delhi the recent rise in Covid-19 cases, he last rites, he called his mother in Delhi. “My mother and sister were Party had careful- exodus of migrants from the capital. with great regularity. Through ‘digital insisted that his government was two just returning after their own tests. I told my mother about father’s ly negotiated the There were also complaints about the press conferences’, he has sought to steps ahead of the virus. death. She had a severe asthma attack right there and collapsed. communal minefield distribution of free ration and food convey his government’s prepar- As on June 9, Delhi had 31,309 cas- That was my biggest mistake,” says Aditya, breaking into sobs. setA by the BJP, against the backdrop to the poor. On balance, the Kejriw- edness to deal with Covid-19 and es and 905 deaths. It had registered His 15-year-old sister took their mother to the of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, al government was seen as having appealed to residents to stay indoors. more than a thousand cases daily for Hospital to find a bed but to no avail. She finally managed to admit to record another spectacular victory made an effort to feed and shelter He even prescribed reading the Gita the past several days. According to her in an isolation ward at Metro Hospital in Noida, said Aditya. in the Delhi elections. It was almost those affected by the pandemic to beat lockdown blues. the Delhi government’s estimates, His mother tested negative for Covid-19, but is on oxygen support. as dazzling a win as the 2015 victory, restrictions. He then got people ready for relax- the capital could even see as many as His sister, however, tested positive and is quarantined at home. perhaps even more so, given the It has been a testing time for Ke- ation in the lockdown, saying the city 5.5 lakh cases by July 31. —SNEHA BHURA anti-incumbency. jriwal personally, too. He fell ill and could not be perpetually locked in, What is more worrying is that However, Kejriwal did not have had to be tested for Covid-19; it was and that there was an urgent need to the city appears to have entered the luxury of easing into another negative. A much bigger test, howev- restart economic activity. the community transmission stage, term as chief minister. Communal though this has not been officially riots shook the capital soon after he declared. The Delhi government, was sworn in and he was criticised however, has admitted that the for focusing more on optics and at- What is more worrying is that source of infection is not known in 50 tempting a balancing act rather than per cent of the cases. dealing with the violence head-on. the city appears to have entered Critics said the AAP government Then came the pandemic, which is the community transmission did not utilise the lockdown well proving to be an extreme test of Kejri- stage, though this has not been enough to create treatment facilities. wal’s leadership. This, they said, was evident in the LONG JOURNEY Aditya Nekya with family In the initial days of the outbreak, officially declared. numerous reports of commoners’ the focus was on the government’s { } ordeals. “On April 7, Arvind Kejri- 36 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 37 COVER STORY COVID-19

wal had said that 30,000 beds were the lockdown was on expanding ca- 8,500 beds in Delhi, of which around for his adversarial attitude towards being arranged and there was no pacity,” he said. “When the lockdown half are vacant,” said Delhi Health private hospitals. He warned them DELHI'S SLIPPERY SLOPE need to panic,” said Delhi BJP leader began, 10 to 20 per cent of the beds Minister Satyendar Jain. “In some against alleged black-marketing of Vijender Gupta. “Instead of using the had oxygen facility. Now, almost all private hospitals, there are no beds beds, saying that he would not desist OVID E O NE lockdown to make arrangements, he the beds are equipped with oxygen. available. But there are no com- from taking action against them. TT C indulged in a blame game, and then Health care staff was trained, PPE plaints so far of people not finding The Delhi government then filed a CT C on May 30, he said his government kits were arranged.” beds in Delhi government hospitals. complaint against Sir Ganga Ram would arrange 9,500 beds by June 5. Shah also said that the Delhi gov- We have enough beds for now. But Hospital, a leading private facility, for He has clearly failed to create new ernment ensured that the capacity we have to prepare for the coming not using an app that is mandatory facilities.” of its hospitals was 50 per cent more days. Our target is to have 15,000- for Covid-19 facilities. The hospital Reportedly, when Kejriwal an- than the current requirement. “The 16,000 beds by the middle of June.” was barred from conducting tests. nounced on May 30 that facilities government had asked private If there were beds available, asked “It is important to ensure that 31,309 18,543 would be ramped up, there were only hospitals to keep 20 per cent of their Congress leader Ajay Maken, why patients get beds at private hospi- around 2,800 beds (2,500 beds in beds for Covid-19 patients,” he said. were so many patients being turned tals and they are not harassed,” said Delhi government hospitals) availa- “But they took a lot of time doing away by hospitals? “It is baffling that Delhi government spokesperson ble. This led to questions on why new that. And in the meantime, after the 33 of 38 Delhi government hospitals Aswathi Muralidharan. “It was for facilities were not created during the lockdown was relaxed, there was a are not taking in Covid-19 patients,” this purpose that the Delhi Corona DT lockdown. surge in cases.” he said. “Why should only five Delhi app was launched. We have a help- Jasmine Shah, vice chairperson According to Delhi government government hospitals be put on line where people can call if they are of the Dialogue and Development figures, as on June 9, there were a Covid-19 duty?” refused beds by private hospitals. We CDDCD TD Commission of Delhi, said it was total of (government plus private) He also slammed the Centre and have also posted nursing officers at 905* wrong to say that the government 8,821 Covid-19 beds, 582 ICU beds, municipal corporations for providing the private hospitals to ensure that had not utilised the lockdown. “As 468 ventilators and 3,590 beds with only 1,500 of more than 16,000 beds no patient is turned away if beds are *Deaths where primary cause of death was the chief minister also said, the oxygen support. in facilities that come under them. available.” found to be Covid-19,as priority of the government during “At this time, we have more than Kejriwal has also been criticised However, critics said Kejriwal was per the report of Death clashing with private hospitals at a 11,861 Audit Committee on the basis of case sheets time when he should be getting them received from hospitals to collaborate in the fight against the No dignity in death virus. Another point of contention was the Delhi government’s decision, on COVID-19 PATIENTS round 2:15pm on May 22, a teary-eyed Dharmendra Bhardwaj recorded a video, seated in his car parked June 8, to reserve beds exclusively for IN HOME ISOLATION outside Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj. In the six-minute video, he recounted how his 68-year-old Delhi residents. The opposition said DEDITED OVID ILITIE (CUMULATIVE) Amother was denied treatment by the hospital after she tested positive for Covid-19. The deputy medical su- the move was insensitive, parochial OCCUPIED VACANT perintendent, he said, informed him via intercom to arrange his own bed and ventilator. “I approached so many other and smacked of an attempt to divert hospitals after that… no response anywhere. We are in India’s capital and we feel so helpless. First, you teach the attention from the government’s BEDS (AS OF JUNE 10) public how to arrange their own beds and ventilators,” said Bhardwaj in the video. It was only after the video went vi- failure to create the required infra- 4,683 14,556 ral that Max hospital called him and agreed to treat his mother. Even the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognisance structure. 4,378 of the incident and pointed out how the video “raises serious issues of public concern”. Bhardwaj’s mother died on “A large number of migrants do ICU/VENTILATORS (AS OF JUNE 10) TESTS (CUMULATIVE) May 31. not have IDs,” said Indranil Muk- 264 The next day at the Nigambodh Ghat crematorium, Bhardwaj hopadhyay, associate professor at the 245 had to buy a PPE kit for 0500 from another mourner on the spot to School of Government and Public complete his mother’s last rites. “There is no humanity in the way Policy, Jindal Global University, HEALTH CENTRES 2,61,079 they handle dead bodies there,” he said. “Have you seen a porter and co-convener of Jan Swasthya 187 handle luggage at a railways station? I get goosebumps when I recall Abhiyan. 98 that day.” He said that the authorities there charged different rates “What about street dwellers? How CONTAINMENT ZONES from grieving families. “I paid 08,000,” he said. “I saw another man will they prove they are Delhi resi- COVID-19 CARE CENTRES screaming about how he paid 020,000 and yet his relative’s body dents? A large number of students 1,414 was so shoddily treated. They deny us entry on the pretext of con- come to Delhi from all over the coun- 4,624 188 tamination. The priest and the helper did not even wear a mask.” try. Let us not discriminate against Bhardwaj and his four-year-old daughter, both asymptomatic, have them. The entire NCR depends on SOURS DIETOTE GENEL O HELTH EVIE DELHI ND OON DHOD DELHI BIG LOSS tested positive and are in home isolation. Delhi for secondary and tertiary Dharmendra Bhardwaj with his mother —SNEHA BHURA health care.” GRAPHICS EENINDN RESEARCH THI VINDNTH

38 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 39 COVER STORY COVID-19

visible in Delhi’s Covid-19 bulletins. Hari ‘Atmanirbhar’ Singh The government has added addition- al deaths, which happened earlier, but were reviewed and deemed ari Singh from north Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar has a litany of Covid-19 deaths by the death audit ailments to deal with. He is HIV positive and diabetic, and committee (formed on April 20) only Hhas kidney and cardiac problems. On June 1, he got tested later. for Covid-19 at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, where he works Another issue the Delhi govern- as a medical counsellor for drug addicts. He ment has been criticised for was the was planning to meet his daughter in Dwarka, alleged low level of testing at a time where she had just given birth a day before. So, when the virus was spreading fast. he thought it best to do the responsible thing. The government was also criticised Singh, 52, had earlier got tested at Baba Saheb for disallowing testing of asympto- Ambedkar Hospital in March. But the hospital matic persons, and it was argued that apparently lost his report. “My welfare is my the decision to not test dead bodies, responsibility,” said Singh. His June 1 test results taken on June 2, would impact con- came back positive. tact tracing and isolation efforts. Despite finding beds in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash BAD TIMES As many as six labs were issued Narayan Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital, People sleeping outside LNJP notices for flouting the new test- Singh isolated himself in an empty shop on the ground floor of his Hospital in Delhi AAYUSH GOEL AAYUSH ing norms. The charges against building. “This is the best decision I have taken and I know I am them included conducting tests on recovering,” he said. “If I had checked into those hospitals, I would On June 9, Lieutenant Governor were practised. This was clearly in the capital are densely populated, asymptomatic people and delaying have been dead by now. They would have thrown me with other Anil Baijal overturned the decision. aimed at conveying to the people with small, cramped houses. test results. However, the lieutenant Covid-19 patients. My case needs a separate facility, otherwise I The AAP said he did so under BJP that he was totally in control. The government, however, has governor once again stepped in, might end up with TB or something.” His only plea is to get some- pressure. “It is projected that by July Currently, the government’s efforts defended the home-isolation overruling the Delhi government’s one to come and collect his blood samples for glucose and other 31, 80,000 beds will be required for to augment Covid-19 facilities in- arrangement, saying that a proper decision to not test asymptomatic tests, apart from conducting the second round of Covid-19 testing only the people of Delhi,” said senior cludes a plan to take over stadiums, protocol was in place, and if there patients. Now, the six labs have been after seven days. “I am too weak to step out of my house,” said AAP leader Sanjay Singh. “In such a banquet halls and hotels. By June 15, were patients who found it difficult to allowed to test again. Singh. “And I have worked in Delhi hospitals for 25 years. I don’t scenario, if the hospitals are thrown the number of beds could increase self-isolate in their homes, they were “It is a myth that testing in Delhi have an iota of faith in Delhi’s government hospitals… because our open for people from outside Delhi, by 2,000. A new 450-bed hospital is put up at the government’s Covid-19 has come down,” said Shah. “One healthcare system is so rotten. Most Delhi government hospitals [more than] two lakh beds will be being built in Burari, on the border care centres. needs to look beyond the past few are houses for the dead. The hospital where I work, there is no required. When this question was with . The government has The AAP government has also days and take into account the over- cleanliness, no one wears a mask…. I am much better off here.” put before the lieutenant governor, also asked 22 private hospitals to been accused of being opaque about all context. States like Maharashtra His wife and children living on the floor above have not been he had no answers.” Even in regular reserve 20 per cent more beds for the Covid-19 death toll. The BJP and and , which are going through tested yet. times, said AAP leaders, 50 per cent Covid-19 patients, which will add the Congress have accused the gov- a grave crisis, are testing three to four —SNEHA BHURA of patients in private hospitals and around 2,000 beds. ernment of underreporting deaths. times less than Delhi.” 70 per cent in government hospitals As of now, more than 14,500 A plea regarding this was filed in the According to the Delhi govern- were from outside Delhi. people, who are asymptomatic or Delhi High Court in late May, but ment, the capital is conducting 13,537 and Delhi (12.4), he said. the virus, he said, “If we fight among It was wrong to say that Kejriwal have mild symptoms, are in home it was dismissed. The government tests per million, compared with the However, he supported the Delhi ourselves, corona will win. Till we do had lost the plot, argued his aides. isolation. This, said the government’s countered the allegations, saying national average of 3,531. The num- government’s policy of not testing not collaborate, we will not be able to They said he has been directly detractors, betrayed its lack of pre- that the hospitals were not reporting bers for Maharashtra and Gujarat are asymptomatic persons. “It is really fight corona.” monitoring the arrangements, and a paredness. Moreover, this system is deaths on time. Over the past several 4,766 and 3,715, respectively. not fair to feed on fear and test peo- Mukhopadhyay agreed. “Public team stationed in the chief minister’s fraught with danger as many areas days, a corrective exercise has been Mukhopadhyay said that a more ple by charging them huge fees,” he health requires collective leadership,” office has been constantly monitor- accurate indicator of the level of said. “This is an extraordinary situa- he said. “A lot of planning happens at ing the status of beds and ventilators testing was how many tests per pos- tion and a lot that is happening in the the level of local institutions. So, the and the condition of patients who are itive person were being conducted. private sector is limiting our capacity municipal corporations have a big serious. After he tested negative for Currently, the government’s This, he said, was 22 tests per person to test and treat people.” role to play. The Central government, the virus, Kejriwal announced that efforts to augment Covid-19 nationally. Karnataka carried out More importantly, amid the hectic too, has an important role in terms he would personally inspect stadi- 100 tests per positive person, while politicking and the tussle between of providing adequate funds. While ums and other facilities to arrange facilities includes a plan to take the figure was 70 for Kerala. It was the Delhi government and the Cen- Kejriwal may have to take the blame for additional beds and called for a over stadiums, banquet halls much lower in the states where the tre, Kejriwal has struck a conciliatory for any failure of governance, the jan andolan (people’s movement) to and hotels. situation was more alarming, such note. On June 10, in his first public Centre and the local bodies also have ensure that social distancing norms { } as Maharashtra (seven), Gujarat (13) appearance after testing negative for accountability.” 40 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 41 COVER STORY COVID-19

backlog,” he says. At the heart of the crisis, according to Kishore, who has been part of the rapid response team of the Union health ministry for several states, is the capital’s “unique” health care system. “It’s a problem of coordi- nation,” he says. Delhi has Central A time to talk government hospitals, railways hos- pitals, state government hospitals, municipal hospitals and ESI (Em- The Delhi government has to ployees' State Insurance) hospitals, collaborate more effectively with among others. “Unlike other cities such as Mumbai and Chennai, we health care experts to better manage do not have one chain of command,” Covid-19 says Kishore. If all the beds and facilities were merged into a single BY NAMITA KOHLI system, the issue could be resolved, he adds. Besides, in Delhi, the government has also been locked in a battle with IN DELHI, BETWEEN life and care in the capital, including several the private health care system. “In a death, there is a dashboard of num- prominent citizens, suggest that it is pandemic, the first line of defence bers. You could look at the Delhi difficult to get a simple Covid-19 test, has to be government hospitals,” says government's Corona Dashboard find a hospital bed and even a place Dr Giridhar Gyani, who heads the that gives an estimate of beds and to lay the deceased to rest. Association of Healthcare Provid- CRISIS MANAGEMENT ventilators dedicated to Covid-19 The government’s claims of ade- Coronavirus and flu help desk ers (India). “The Delhi government and feel, at least somewhat, reas- quate infrastructure seem to have has 37 hospitals, out of which only AAYUSH GOEL AAYUSH at Civil Hospital, Gurugram sured. On June 10, out of 9,061 beds fallen flat. Short of ideas, it has tried five have been made into dedicated and 509 ventilators, 4,378 beds and to rope in private hospitals, luxu- Covid-19 facilities. What is stopping 245 ventilators were vacant. But, ry hotels, and encountered some “On paper, it looks good,” says Dr At a meeting with top Delhi health access Covid-19 care. “The demand the government from turning the rest juxtapose this with the latest Delhi resistance from both. A five-member Aqsa Shaikh, assistant professor, officials, he said that the average for testing has been increasing, espe- into Covid-19 hospitals?” health bulletin that shows an active expert committee has now suggested department of community medi- test per million in some districts, cially since offices have reopened.” He adds that it is difficult for all case count of 18,543, and you could that a few stadiums be taken over cine, Hamdard Institute of Medi- such as North East Delhi and South Instead of expanding access to tests, private hospitals to reserve 20 per not be faulted for being unsettled. for makeshift Covid-19 facilities. cal Sciences and Research, Jamia East Delhi, was around 500-700, government testing laboratories cent beds for Covid-19 patients. “The Moreover, when the estimate of beds After asking 117 private hospitals to Hamdard, Delhi. “On the ground, as against Delhi's average of 2,018. that are short of kits have resorted to big hospitals have separate buildings and ventilators is read against Dep- reserve 20 per cent of the beds for however, the situation is pretty He also said that while the Union restricting timings for testing from which they can convert into Covid-19 uty Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s Covid-19 patients, on June 9, the gov- chaotic.” Last week, Union Health territory's positivity rate was 25.7 per 8am to 4pm. Moreover, reports take facilities,” he says. “But how will dystopian estimate of 5.5 lakh cases ernment increased the quota of beds Minister Harsh Vardhan termed the cent, several districts reported figures a long time because of the backlog at smaller hospitals that have 70 to 100 by July 31, and the need for 80,000 by 50 per cent in 22 private hospitals. Delhi Covid-19 situation worrisome. above 38 per cent. A high positivity laboratories. beds with common entry and exit beds, you ought to feel terrified. rate implies that only the sickest are According to Professor Jugal points and central air-conditioning Sisodia’s comments imply that over getting tested, and testing needs to Kishore, head, department of do that? We even said that we would the next month and a half, around be expanded. community medicine, Safdarjung give them the 3,000-odd beds that one in 40 people in Delhi would An order by the Delhi government Hospital and Vardhman Medical Col- they wanted. If we talk, solutions can be infected. Chief Minister Arvind restricting testing to only sympto- lege, testing for Covid-19 requires a be found. We are willing to work with Kejriwal’s repeated assurances— The government’s claims of matic people—now overturned by processing time of up to eight hours. the government.” most recently on May 25 and June adequate infrastructure seem to have the lieutenant governor—further ex- This has contributed to backlogs. Gyani says that the government 10—that Delhi was ready to handle fallen flat. Short of ideas, it has tried acerbated the crisis. “While it is true Kishore says that given the high ought to discuss alternative ways the deluge, will be put to the test. Ex- to rope in private hospitals, luxury that most of the people have mild demand, the Delhi government was to manage the situation, such as periences from the early phase of the symptoms and can recover at home, compelled to restrict the testing to converting community centres in pandemic in the capital, however, hotels, and encountered some resist- there is anxiety among them to know symptomatic people so as to better residential colonies to makeshift are far from encouraging. Anecdotal ance from both. their status,” says Shaikh, who is part manage the increasing load. “Fear Covid-19 facilities with the help of accounts from those seeking health { } of a volunteer group helping people drove many to seek a test, creating a hospitals. “This way, if we manage 42 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 43 COVER STORY COVID-19

n INTERVIEW patients early with oxygen , they won’t need the ICUs and ventilators,” he says. “In Mumbai, this is already Manish Sisodia deputy chief minister, Delhi being done.” Another issue is that the cost of Covid-19 treatment has not been reg- ulated, leading to inflated bills. The matter has now reached the Supreme Court. “Private hospitals have hiked Private hospitals charges to make up for the losses they incurred during the lockdown,” says Shaikh. “A bed at one of the hos- pitals, that used to cost 01,000 a day, show no now costs 010,000,” says Shaikh. The government is trying to discipline the private sector, but it would not be able to manage by using the stick, she commitment adds. “Not only do the patients pay huge amounts, they are also telling BY SONI MISHRA us that until they can prove they are almost dying, hospitals are turning them away saying your symptoms are Q/An expert panel says Delhi could It was a time when we augmented

mild and can be managed at home,” have one lakh cases by the end our medical infrastructure. More AHLAWAT SANJAY she says. A government-appointed of June. How well prepared is the importantly, the lockdown helped nursing officer has now been handed capital? in bringing about the behavioural over the responsibility to decide A/ No government anywhere in the change required to fight Covid-19. A/I put the same question to the hon- being? That will be a major help. Q/It appears that the Centre and which cases are severe. “So now it is world was prepared for the scale of People understood the importance ourable lieutenant governor. I asked the Delhi government are not on not an experienced consultant who impact that Covid-19 can have. We of social distancing, wearing masks him if he had done any calculation Q/What is the role of private hospi- the same page. Is it hampering decides whether the patient is severe, have been constantly working to and washing hands. on how many more beds would tals now? efforts to curb the spread? but a nursing officer,” says Shaikh. enhance the health care capacity in be required and what additional A/Private hospitals, unfortunately, A/We followed every guideline issued Dr G.S. Grewal, president-elect Delhi. We have around 10,000 beds Q/The state government’s decision facilities would be needed in the light have failed to show a commitment by the Centre with regard to Cov- of Delhi Medical Association, says right now. We are already working to reserve Delhi’s hospitals for of his decision. He simply said he to the country. We have been able to id-19. While the Centre does have a that there is a communication gap on augmenting capacity in hospitals Delhiites was criticised as nar- had not done any such calculation. regulate private educational institu- leadership role in the fight against between the government and the and setting up makeshift facilities. By row-minded. We will try our level best to ensure tions; maybe now is the opportunity Covid-19, it is for the states to take medical fraternity. “The government the end of this month, we will have A/These are unprecedented times, that everyone who approaches Delhi to bring in greater accountability for decisions on the steps to be taken needs to speak to relevant experts, 20,000 beds. which have forced governments hospitals for treatment gets it. private hospitals. We had asked pri- at the local level. Unfortunately, the especially those in the fields of epide- Space is not an issue. We need to to take unprecedented decisions. This is petty politics. We know that vate hospitals to reserve 20 per cent Centre chose to interfere in it. This is miology and community medicine,” put in amenities such as washrooms Weren’t people barred from leaving he took the decision under polit- beds for Covid-19 patients. Some of not a time to fight each other. Either he says. “The five-member commit- and drinking water. We have to post their homes? Didn’t our neighbour- ical pressure. Now is not the time them said they were unable to do so. the Centre takes all decisions and tee appointed by the government medical staff there. That is what we ing states Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to do politics, but to fight Covid-19 So we told them: Okay, we will then all responsibility, or it should let the does not even have a single expert are arranging for. We are scouting seal their borders with Delhi? We together. convert the entire hospital into a states decide on how the fight has to from these fields.” He says that banquet halls and stadia. The Delhi had to plead with Haryana to let Covid-only facility. take place at the local level. apart from creating infrastructure, government’s schools are closed Delhi Police personnel and medical Q/Will you ask the Centre to ensure there has to be an aggressive push right now, so we can use their halls staff who live there come to Delhi. that its hospitals in Delhi also Q/There has been a lot of criticism Q/You asked the Centre for fi- on behavioural change, and adds to arrange more beds. By the end of Haryana went to the extent of digging reserve more beds for Covid-19 about testing numbers in Delhi nancial aid. Has there been any that governments seem to have July, we will need 80,000 beds. [trenches near] the border. That is patients? going down at a time when the response? forgotten the lessons learnt from narrow-minded. A/Yes, we will definitely ask the disease is rapidly spreading. A/We have not got anything from the HIV. Says Grewal: “Then, while the Q/Did the lockdown help in keep- Centre to pitch in, in terms of more A/It is ridiculous to say that Delhi is Covid-19 relief fund. Other states government kept focusing on blood ing numbers low, or was the benefit Q/Lt Governor Anil Baijal has re- number of beds in its hospitals. not testing enough. Delhi’s testing have got some money from it, but transfusion to prevent transmission, limited? voked the order reserving hospitals AIIMS (the All India Institute of Med- rate is the highest in the country. We we have got nothing. Delhi’s earn- the simple strategy of advocating A/The lockdown did help in con- in Delhi for residents. How will you ical Sciences) is a 5,000-bed facility. are conducting more than 13,000 ings have dipped sharply. We have safe sex helped control the spread trolling the pandemic. Otherwise, take care of the additional number Why doesn’t the Centre declare it tests per million people, compared asked the Centre to give us 05,000 more effectively.” there would have been mayhem. of patients? a Covid-only hospital for the time with 4,000 or 5,000 in other states. crore.

44 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 45 AVIATION COVID-19

BAD WEATHER that the new circular, dated May 22, Manish Mehta and his wife Payal, bers are either Covid-19 positive or A pilot arrives at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maha- issued while permitting domestic both cabin crew, have been flying have been quarantined after passen- raj International Airport in Mumbai flights, does not say the middle seat regularly for the last one month. gers on their flights tested positive. needs to be empty. It stated that the “Who is going to look after my With the resumption of domestic Pilots said that the current protocols May 22 order supersedes the March (six-year old daughter) when I am flights by private airlines, there have are not enough, though they have sep- 23 order. Kanani’s lawyer Abhi- in quarantine at my place and my been cases of pilots getting infected arate entry and exit gates and hardly lash Panickar said that “based on husband is flying?” she asked. “Social during routine simulator training interact with passengers. An A320 information provided by the solicitor distancing is not being maintained. sessions. Early this month, a Vistara pilot, who has been flying regularly for general of India during the hearing”, Airlines are only looking at the spokesperson admitted that two of the last month, said: “We cannot use the spread of Covid-19 was 36 times commercial aspect. We risk our lives their pilots had tested positive after protective headgear because we use more during air travel. to perform our duty, but many of us flight simulator training. our headset to communicate.” He also In response to Kanani’s petition, face trouble from neighbours. One of Interestingly, despite the chal- asked how the microphone could be the government said that the Vande my colleagues has been given notice lenges, there are also those who are disinfected and added that pilots use Bharat flights brought back Indi- to vacate the flat.” thankful that they were able to keep the same toilets as passengers. ans from countries with a higher A senior cabin crew member—who their jobs. Said a pilot: “People are An office-bearer of the Indian prevalence of Covid-19, and, there- lives with his wife, three kids, and a grateful for having their jobs, [rather] Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) fore, higher rate of prevalence was father who has undergone kidney than [worrying about] putting their said that for one Vande Bharat flight, likely among the passengers of those transplant—said that crew have been lives at risk.” pilots undergo three tests—pre-flight, flights. “There is nothing to indicate testing positive at an alarming rate, post-flight and on the fifth day after that the passengers contracted Cov- in spite of all safeguards. “Mumbai Pilots and cabin crew have been landing. Most cases of Covid-19 are id-19 during and onboard the Vande alone has seen over a dozen cases of given fictional names or left unnamed reported in the third test. However, Bharat flights,” the government’s cabin crew testing positive,” he said. to protect identities as they are not the government is not following a reply stated. Reportedly, around 200 crew mem- authorised to speak to the media.

AMEY MANSABDAR similar procedure for the domestic sector, which was greenlit with effect from May 25. “Some pilots who come back after Vande Bharat [flights] are being asked to fly domestic flights Fright in flights without taking the (third) test,” he said. “By doing this, authorities are Despite stringent measures, Covid-19 is putting cabin crew and passengers at spreading rapidly among pilots and cabin crew risk.” On May 30, a Delhi-Moscow Air India flight was forced to return mid- way after the ground team realised BY PRADIP R. SAGAR that the pilot was Covid-19 positive; there had been an error in the pre- CAPTAIN NAVEEN KUMAR, pilot Around 50 pilots across the country flight test report. of an Air India A320, returned home are learned to have tested positive Meanwhile, Captain Deven Kanani, to Mumbai recently after a flight to in the last few days. A 58-year-old 51, a pilot with Air India, moved Jakarta. Though he tested negative Air India pilot, who retired in May, Mumbai High Court alleging that the in a post-flight Covid-19 test, he said reportedly died of Covid-19. national carrier is not maintaining he is afraid of passing on the virus to In the first two phases of the social distancing norms. Kanani, HHP his wife and two daughters, one of Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate who flew to Shanghai twice, on April whom is an infant. He has a manda- Indians stranded abroad, Air India 29 and May 10, and brought back tory second Covid-19 test coming operated 423 inbound flights, bring- medical supplies and equipment, has up, but the job Kumar loves has now ing back 58,867 citizens, according submitted photographs of a flight be- become a cause for worry. to the civil aviation ministry. In tween San Francisco and Mumbai on His fear is justified. Despite the third phase, starting June 10, May 14, showing all seats occupied. stringent guidelines and standard the carrier will operate around 300 The directorate general of civil avia- operating procedures laid out by the flights to Europe, Australia, Canada, tion’s order on March 23 had said that ministry of civil aviation, incidents of the US, the UK and Africa. Major the middle seat should be left vacant. pilots and crew being infected with private airlines, too, have offered During the last hearing on May 22, the Covid-19 has increased unabated. their services for the third phase. government informed the High Court

46 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 47 PMO BEAT IVORY TOWER R. PRASANNAN SANJAYA BARU VVIP flights: wings commandeered Down Under looks up

ur top three VVIPs—the president, the been sent back to the maker for outfitting them he virtual summit between Australian Australian television series Secret City! Imagine a vice-president and the prime minister— with missile protection suites. One of those, we are Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime TV series that showed an Indian cabinet minis- Ohave been flying around the world in Air told, is a high-intensity laser suite that will mis- TMinister Narendra Modi was historic—both ter having an affair with the spouse of a foreign India One for several years. The tickets issued to guide any man-portable missile flying towards the in form and content. Given the media focus on diplomat, of whatever country. Secret City had the the VVIPs and to every person in their entourage plane. Most of the missile-killing will be done au- Covid-19 and on India-China border tensions, Australian defence minister in bed with the wife of mention the flight number as AI-1. tomatically, without the pilot or the crew knowing the meeting did not get the attention it deserved. the Chinese ambassador. Nothing could be more Yes, they still issue printed ticket-books for VVIP anything about it. The gizmo will simply neutralise Apart from the foreign policy cognoscenti au candid in revealing the depth of Chinese penetra- overseas flights—those pretty little floral-print mul- the incoming missile, and then tell the pilot, “Hon- fait with the ups and downs of India-Australia tion into Australian elite circles. ti-pagers, complete with bright red carbon-copy ey, I killed a missile.” relations, few may be aware of the difficult journey The Modi-Morrison joint statement on a com- sheets, which easily slide into a gentleman’s inner The flight is slightly delayed. Boeing was sched- that both Australian and Indian diplomats have prehensive strategic partnership inaugurates a coat pocket or a lady’s little clutch. uled to deliver the two outfitted 777s in June, but had to make to get to the point where Modi and new phase in the bilateral relationship. In Novem- Actually, there is no single aircraft designated as has now asked for time till September, citing Covid- Morrison found themselves. ber 2014, Modi delivered on Vajpayee’s promise Air India One or AI-1. Whenever any of the trimur- 19-caused delay in getting the work done. While both countries paid little attention to each and visited Australia. From then on, Australian tis wants to fly out, our flag carrier would convert No heartburn. In these physical distancing days, other through most of the Cold War, despite their officials favouring closer relations with India have two (one as standby) of its our VVIPs are sitting pretty shared history of British rule, the bilateral relation- had to work hard to overcome the influence of the best Jumbos into executive at home. Narendra Modi ship actually worsened after the Cold China-lobby in Canberra. If there is jets, with prefabricated cab- has not done any globe-trot- War, when Australia sanctioned India one person who deserves credit for ins, conference rooms, sec- ting since mid-November, for the -II nuclear tests. cementing the bilateral relationship retariat space, confidential after he came back from However, prime minister Atal it is former Australian high commis- communication consoles, Brazil. Since February Bihari Vajpayee was willing to forgive sioner to India, Peter Varghese. working desks, lounge sofas, end, no Bharat yatra either Australian high-handedness at the I first met Varghese in Singapore beds, curtains, carpets, (though domestic flying is time and pay a visit to Canberra. I when he came to see me at the Lee magazine racks, metallic on the Air Headquarters discovered this when I turned up for Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, nameplates et al. There Communication Squadron’s lunch at the home of the Australian where I was then teaching. Varghe- would be separate seating Embraer executive jets), high commissioner Penny Wensley in se was preparing for his New Delhi space for aides, delegation save a day trip to Kolkata early 2004. My host had just returned posting and wanted to know all about members, security men and for the media, too (not and Bhubaneswar on May 22. from a meeting with national security India. On completing his extended on Narendra Modi’s flights). Diplomacy has gone digital. Modi had a digital advisor , and told me very excitedly tenure, he returned home as Australia’s foreign The flight, and not the aircraft, is given the call pow-wow with Australia’s Scott Morrison last week. that Vajpayee had agreed to travel to Australia “af- secretary and subsequently wrote an influential sign Air India One. The outfitted aircraft is ground- Politicking is physically distanced. Buddy Amit ter the elections”. Vajpayee ended up losing those report on an India strategy up to 2035. Battling the checked and flight-tested several times before it Shah has been addressing Bihar’s voters without elections and Manmohan Singh kept delaying his China-lobby at home, diplomats and analysts like is stamped fit for taking the VVIP load. This whole stepping out of Delhi. “Do gaz doori bahut hai visit, waiting for Australia to come to terms with Varghese had to convince their peers and political mantling and dismantling would take Air India a zaroori,” says Modi. That’s two yards away—more India’s nuclear weapons status and agree to sell masters that placing all eggs in the China basket few days, even if the actual VVIP trip is only a one- than an arm’s length at which he keeps Nehruvians. uranium. was no strategy. day dash to Thimpu or Timbuktu. The loser in the bargain is Air India. Even before Meanwhile, something else turned up to spoil While a bulk of Varghese’s report focused on All this is going to change. There will not be any it loses the status of being the flag carrier, it will the bilateral equation. China. While students of economic opportunities in India, the last chapter need for outfitting the plane every time a VVIP lose the honour of being the flag-bearer carrier. foreign affairs can read the pro-China writings of provided a “geopolitical pillar” to the relationship, wants to fly out. India is getting a special airplane After the outfitted 777s arrive, they will be deregis- Australian strategists like Hugh White, and some identifying shared strategic interests and perspec- for the prez, the vice and the premier. (No prize tered from Air India and registered with the IAF. Air of the early speeches of former Prime Minister tives within the wider Indo-Pacific and Indian for guessing who among the three will be flying it Force pilots will fly them, but Air India Engineering Kevin Rudd (a Mandarin speaking China lover Ocean regions. However, geopolitical considera- more.) Services Ltd will be looking after them. who has since changed colours), to appreciate tions alone cannot keep Australia engaged, given To be precise, it will not be one plane but identi- What would they call the flight? Not Air Force the depth of the Australia-China bonhomie in China’s continuing economic allure. India will cal two. Two machines, bought from Boeing, were One, please. That’s Donald Trump’s. How about early 2000s, the best popular introduction to how have to deliver on the economic and trade fronts given to Air India two years ago, but have since IAF-1? Australia was kow-towing to China would be the to get those Down Under to look up.

PHOTO PTI; File picture of a Boeing 777 in New delhi [email protected] Baru is an economist and a writer. He was adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh. ILLUSTRATION BHASKARAN 48 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 49 BUSINESS TELECOM

an analyst at the broking firm CLSA. FRIEND REQUEST Through the sale of stake in Jio P Platforms, Reliance has now raised A A 0 RR SA more than 097,000 crore. This, cou- pled with the 053,000 crore rights (April 22) 43,574 9.99 issue, will help the company signif- S (May 3) 5,656 1.15 icantly reduce its net debt, which stood at 01.61 lakh crore at the end of (May 8) 11,367 2.32 March. A (May17) 6,598 1.34 Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, too, have huge debts. Airtel’s net R (May 22) 11,367 2.32 debt, including lease obligations, (June 5) 9,093 1.85 stood at 01.18 lakh crore as of March 2020, while Vodafone Idea had a net S (June 5) 4,547 0.93 debt of 01.03 lakh crore at the end of December 2019. “Their main aim is A 5,683.5 1.16 A to get out of debt. Then only will they (June 7 ) look to invest in the 5G networks,” said Shah. Vodafone Idea shares GRAPHICS SRANANAN S. have risen by more than 69 per cent since May 29, when rumours about services is also huge. Covid-19 only between Jio and Facebook could be Google’s investment surfaced. The acts as a catalyst in digitalising man- a win-win solution. “In a multi-cloud Amazon investment rumour pushed ufacturing, banking and financial world where lock-ins are generally up Bharti Airtel shares by more than REUTERS services and other industries, and disregarded, it is imperative to find 6 per cent. the tech hyperscalers now need local new partners that give you sufficient Shah expects some of the Big Tech partners who understand granular voice and video traffic in a young companies to emerge as telecom the past few years had seen a ‘hockey insights and requirements.” country like India to propel their players in the country. “Like in Japan, stick’ growth. Undoubtedly, companies like cloud offerings into the edge via where Rakuten (an e-commerce Signal of change The Covid-19 pandemic, which Google, Facebook, Amazon and Mi- these telcos. In turn, the use of third player) expanded into telecom as forced the country into a lockdown, crosoft that collect and use consumer platform technologies (mobile, big MVNO (mobile virtual network oper- Big Tech’s interest in Indian telecom companies might have been a tipping point data to drive online advertising see a data, cloud computing, social media) ator) and is now transforming into a for the industry. Morgan Stanley huge opportunity in India. Jio, for in- will lead to better localised telecom mobile network operator,” he said. could be a game-changer for the sector estimates that India’s internet users stance, is India’s largest telecom com- offers,” he said. India’s telecom industry has seen could jump to 914 million by 2027 pany, and Facebook will gain from Many of the telecom operators are cutthroat competition and price BY NACHIKET KELKAR from 670 million last year. Total the data generated by its 380 million in urgent need of funds for their sur- war since Jio launched its services online shoppers are expected see 4G subscribers. At the same time, Jio, vival after the Supreme Court asked three years ago. The industry, which ON JUNE 7, Reliance Industries gy giant eyeing a piece of India’s tele- a three-fold growth, to 590 million which owns the largest retail network them to pay the dues in adjusted had more than a dozen players at raised 05,683.5 crore from the Abu com pie. Google is said to be looking from 190 million, while average in the country and recently rolled out gross revenue to the Department of that time, now has just three private Dhabi Investment Authority, by for a 5 per cent stake in Vodafone spend per online shopper will surge an online grocery service, will gain Telecom. These dues are in excess of players and the state-owned BSNL selling 1.16 per cent stake in its Idea, and Amazon might make a $2 to $318 from $171. That will generate from Facebook’s digital expertise 01 lakh crore. Airtel reported a loss of and MTNL. Late last year, however, subsidiary Jio Platforms. This was billion investment in Bharti Airtel. a glut of data. and Facebook-owned platforms like more than 032,000 crore in the year companies raised tariffs by 40 per the eighth deal that Reliance had Though Airtel and Vodafone Idea “India is on the cusp of a revolu- WhatsApp. that ended in March. Vodafone Idea cent. Analysts expect another round struck in a few weeks with marquee denied the reports, industry watchers tionary change in terms of demo- “It is said that data is the new oil. is yet to report its full year results, of hikes in the current year, which investors that included private equity feel India is set to be Big Tech’s next graphics, telecom bundle pricing I would argue that data is the new but in the nine months ended in should boost the companies’ balance firms like Silver Lake, Vista Equity big battleground. The reasons are dynamics, digital penetration, crude. And what companies like December 2019, it posted a net loss sheets. Partners and General Atlantic. One obvious—despite being the second technology adoption and content Jio or Facebook or Google do with of around 062,000 crore. As they grow and embrace newer name, however, stood out among the largest telecom market, India is still ingestion potential,” said Yash this crude, converting it into big They will also need a war chest for technologies, telecom companies will investors—Facebook. The social net- under-penetrated when it comes Jethani, research manager, regional information, is going to shape the the upcoming 5G auctions. “Voda- morph beyond just being utilities, working giant picked up a 9.99 per to smartphones and internet. The telecommunications team, IDC. future business model in the telecom fone Idea’s cumulative funding need and cloud computing will help them cent stake in Jio Platforms for 043,574 change has already begun; invest- “India’s appetite for growth across space,” said Neil Shah, vice-president will be $2.3 billion, including hefty provide the scale. How they deal with crore on April 22. ment bank Morgan Stanley pointed chat apps, digital media, payments, of research at Counterpoint. spectrum payments from financial data privacy and data-sharing pacts Facebook is not the only technolo- out that data usage in the country in e-commerce and online government Jethani said deals like the one year 2023,” said Deepti Chaturvedi, will be the thing to watch out for.

50 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 51 BUSINESS INTERVIEW

But it is a lot more. Health care, for ex- Q/Is there anything in the govern- Uday Kotak, Q/You tweeted that India can be ample, is 1.3 per cent of GDP. Why can’t the back office of the world. In the ment’s stimulus package which president of CII and managing director of it be 5 per cent or more? Similarly, with Kotak Mahindra Bank 30 years of liberalisation, India you feel has been left out? education and environment. We have to has become a powerhouse in the A/One thing we obviously should think of these in the medium term. In the services sector. Now, the focus of have had at the top of our priority short run, we have to fight the here-and- the government is to move from this is to do whatever it takes to protect now battle of lives and livelihood. to manufacturing, with the Make in livelihoods. The government has done India can be the factory and Q/There was a consumption slow- India campaign and the get-business- a lot—give food grains, first round of down even before Covid hit. Now the from-China narrative. giving money to the bottom-of-the-pyr- job losses and salary cuts and overall A/I don’t think it is [an] either-or [situ- amid women, etc. But if there is a way uncertainty have further affected ation]. Make in India is an opportunity. of protecting livelihood, including for the office of the world These are turning points of history. The people losing jobs, some ability to growth. Is there anything that can be done? China-US situation is not something we have at least a basic level of subsist- BY K. SUNIL THOMAS A/Think about the economy like the created. Concentration of manufactur- ence, we should not hesitate to do human body. The choice in front of us ing in China is bothering most players in whatever it takes. the world, and we are not doing anything As the newly anointed head of India’s is to give steroid which will make the Q/Are you saying, make a direct to upset the apple cart. But if we are a biggest business chamber, Confederation patient feel good for a while and make bank transfer? competitive nation, we must get people of Indian Industry, Uday Kotak has his task him assume everything is all right. Or, A/Whatever it takes. To protect lives to make in India on the strength of what cut out—chart out a roadmap for corporate you decide [to give] medication which and livelihoods is our No 1 duty as a we are. And we must do whatever it India to traverse the biggest challenge it will medium-term solve this but it will nation. And that is a short-term here- takes. Therefore, if we are to become has faced in a long time. His first shot is a have to be done for a few months and-now necessity. In the medium the ‘factory of the world’, which is what 10-point agenda for getting growth back consistently. That is what we say—part of term, we have to transform Indian China has been, we must try. while saving lives and livelihood. Excerpts the medicine is medium-term and part is health care and education, and we But that does not preclude us from from an exclusive intervew: here-and-now. have to transform our relationship with becoming back office. Work from home mother nature. That must take priority Q/Your 10-point agenda to build India Q/The rural-urban rebalance you has taught us that we have the oppor- over short-term [demands] of business in a post-pandemic world says getting talked about, and which some state tunity to also become the office to the or industry based on pressures. growth back is non-negotiable. But it governments are also targeting, world. Be it in California or in a village in admits that of the four engines of eco- envisages a sudden development of India, if a worker has the skill required nomic growth, consumption, invest- the rural hinterland, establishing in- in the new post-Covid world, he can be Q/In this survivalist rush for ment and exports have been lagging, dustries and using the migrants who operating from anywhere in the world growth, nature could well be a and only government expenditure is have returned to scale up quickly. and be hired by anyone, from Google to frontline casualty. How does one propping it up. How do you get the rest How feasible is that? Jio. You don’t need to be the back office; strike a balance? to pick up? A/[The migrant worker] left his village you can be the front office of the world, A/I don’t think there is an easy answer. A/For a long time, consumption and to come to the city because the village and, without in any way upsetting our Obviously there [has to be] a balance. government spending were holding up the had low prospects and income levels game plan of Make in India. Ideally, we There is a famous quote by John May- economy. Just before Covid hit, slowdown were better in the city. He lived in poor should be both the factory and the office nard Keynes: “In the long run we are all of consumption also set in, so we were conditions and the job was not secure, of the world. dead”. There is a counter quote to that: beginning to depend disproportionately but it was better than the village, so he “Keynes is dead, and we are in the long Q/ on government spending. But the factor struggled on. Then Covid happened. He The success of the government’s run!” Mother nature is like that! which has been a big challenge for a was worried over the safety of his loved stimulus package hinges on quick In Mumbai, I saw beautiful clear long time has been private investment. ones, lost his job. So he decided, enough and efficient disbursal of credit, skies, the kind I’ve not seen in ages. There could be a number of reasons for of it, I want to go back and stay there. which may not really happen be- How do we preserve this harmony this—ease of doing business in India, real What is wrong in it? It is his choice. It is cause banks will just play safe. What with nature and, at the same time, get interest rates, opportunities, bureaucracy up to us industry and society to convince is your analysis? our growth back? If there is one thing I A/MSME is a very big opportunity; the and, to a certain extent, the transition him that if he comes back, we will create have learned in life, it is that it is never guarantee given by the government of Indian system to a much cleaner one an environment better than the choice ‘either’ or ‘or’. The most powerful word is real. The 03 lakh crore can happen which a lot of businesses were not used to. he has taken. Why can’t we use this in the English language is ‘and’! The transition had more or less happened; opportunity to create employability and between now and September. We should we have a much cleaner system [now]. But sustainability and give the individual a be going all out to make it happen. I Q/Your growth projection—will it be then, we had this accident in Covid-19. choice, to be wherever he believes is his am quite hopeful. In addition to the V-shaped or L or something else? We now need to re-imagine investment. calling? And, if you really want him back guarantees, we have made the criteria Everybody has been asking for an Let’s not think about investment in the in the factory, what are employers doing for MSMEs more liberal. Both these put alphabet! traditional sense. We normally associate to make it worthwhile for him to come together will certainly help the MSME A/I’ll give you one. The alphabet with investments with factories, steel, cars, etc. back? sector. which my name starts—Uday!

52 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 53 KERALA ELEPHANTS

cow’s milk after two months. She was under lockdown. “Though elephants leave her dead mother’s side and the found abandoned near a riverbank are said to be least prone to Covid herd would pass on. Some calves fall as a 15-day-old calf and was kept in owing to the absence of certain in rapid rivers during the rains and Gentle touch to observation for a few days. When no receptors, we did not want to take are carried away by the currents. one came looking for her, the reha- any risk,” said Dr E.K. Easwaran, Some elephants at the Kottoor cen- bilitation centre adopted her. a key figure behind the Kottoor tre were tamed elephants whom their The she-elephant Poorna, who is centre who recently retired as the owners had deserted in sickness. A lonely giants eight years old, looks after Sreekutty chief veterinary officer of the Kerala few others were rescued from their with almost motherly affection, and forest department. “We followed all cruel owners. Three of the elephants teaches her how to eat and drink by the Covid protocols and gave the here have gone to Wayanad district Kottoor provides AMMU, 17, is prim and proper. One of her companions, Soman, herself and how to splash water on mahouts special instructions.” As to be trained as kungki elephants that Covid or not, she performs the 82, is the oldest elephant in the her body while bathing. Poorna also with humans, the little ones and the assist in rescuing or giving medical succour to handwashing ritual every time she is country. Though healthy for his age, fans away the flies with her ears and elderly here get special attention. treatment to injured or trapped wild abandoned and offered water. And, she drinks only Soman gets extra care in the time of wards off other unwanted things that “We declared lockdown long be- elephants. Of the remaining 15 ele- freshly drawn water from wells. She coronavirus. come near Sreekutty. A four-year-old fore the rest of the country went into phants, 11 are female. ill-treated elephants is one of the inmates at the Kottoor The youngest elephant here, Sree- elephant, Kannan, tags along with one,” said range officer N.V. Sath- Sreekutty is yet to meet any out- Elephant Rehabilitation Centre in kutty, is barely six months old. She is Poorna and never leaves her side. eeshan. “We stopped having visitors siders. Two mahouts take care of her BY CITHARA PAUL Thiruvananthapuram district, the on a diet of baby food, glucose, ragi, Like everyone else, the elephants and our mahouts have not stepped 24/7, and they say she is too young to first such facility in India. jaggery and rice, and will start on at the rehabilitation centre, too, are out of the centre for the last three be exposed to the outside world. months.” “Most of our mahouts are tribals The centre, set up in 2005, got a and they follow here every custom facelift last year and is now home to that they observe for their own chil- 18 abandoned and rescued ele- dren. We don’t interfere with those phants. Spread over 56 hectares in practices as they are like mothers to the Agasthyavanam Biological Park the young ones,” said Satheeshan. If Range, it also has a mahout training the mahout is not within sight, Sree- centre. kutty panics; such is their bonding, “Like Sreekutty, most of the ele- he said. phants were found abandoned in The elephants take bath twice a PHOTOS: R.S. GOPAN PHOTOS: the forests at a very young age,” said day in the nearby river. The bath in JUMBO EFFORT Easwaran. “We still do not know the the morning is elaborate but in the An elephant’s exact reason for the abandonment.” evening it is quick. After breakfast, tusk being Most of the foundlings had some the elephants are allowed to roam cleaned with physical deformity. Sreekutty, for in- around in groups. But not all are sand and mud; stance, has a slight bend on her foot. friendly and caring like Poorna or (below) Soman, 82, is the oldest Perhaps she could not keep pace Sunitha, 47, the oldest female here. elephant in with the herd and was left behind. Raja is “haughty”, said Satheeshan. India Sometimes a calf would refuse to “He does not like to be touched or caressed.” Kerala has 521 captive elephants, according to a 2018 survey. While most of them are with temples, a few are owned by individuals. The state government has allocated funds for elephant care during the lockdown as many owners had found it difficult to meet the huge expense. Though the lockdown is being lifted, the Kottoor centre is not going to open anytime soon. “Our topmost priority is the health of the ele- phants,” said Satheeshan. “So we will be the last to open.”

54 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 55 PHOTO-FEATURE THE JUTE MAKERS

For harvest,

Back in action Workers returned in full strength to jute mills for hearth in West Bengal on June1 after a gap The jute mills in West Bengal are open for business. Top priority: bags for the rabi crop

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SALIL BERA

56 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 57 PHOTO-FEATURE THE JUTE MAKERS

he once teeming jute industry in West Bengal has while at work. The IJMA believes that it would take up put its best foot forward during the pandemic. On to three months for the business to gain momentum, TJune 1, the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA)— amid an estimated loss of 01,250 crore. an apex body that control’s the trade of the fibre— “Gradually, production will come back to normal opened 70 of its mills on the banks of the Hooghly in because we had to wait for long to start functioning,” Howrah, and in North 24 Parganas district, amid easing said Sanjay Kajaria, ex-chairman, IJMA. “There was of lockdown restrictions. an acute labour crunch, as many had left during the This, after the state government allowed mills to func- initial enforcement of lockdown restrictions…. To make tion with 100 per cent work force. matters worse, the deadly strain of pathogen, and the Earlier, in April, the government had allowed jute in- growing fear of contamination halted manufacturing.” dustries to open with 15 per cent workforce, on the lines The mill owners are now trying to meet pressing dead- of the labour-intensive tea plantations in north Bengal. lines, as the supply backlog has risen to 2.5 lakh bales But many mills could not start operations till June 1, as for the rabi season. Jute is crucial to Bengal’s economy, the industry needs at least 50 per cent of the labour force as some 70 mills together employ around three lakh to begin manufacturing. workers. A crucial employer in a state struggling with The jute industry has an inherent strength, because unemployment, and the fallout of Covid-19 infections its labourers maintain over two metres social distancing and Cyclone Amphan.

A worker checks the quality of a product at a jute mill

Workers pack jute sacks, which are essential during the rabi season

58 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 59 PHOTO-FEATURE THE JUTE MAKERS

Labourers await their turn to carry raw jute to the factory

Raw materials unloaded from a truck at the Hastings Jute Mills in Rishra town in Hooghly district

Jute ropes stored in barrels in the factory

60 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 61 BITTER CHOCOLATE SWARA BHASKER FASHION • ART • BOOKS • MUSIC • THEATRE • CINEMA • LUXURY • FOOD • PEOPLE • REVIEWS • SERIES Just a bad play

ollywood has been at the receiving end of social media—are countries supposed to be run on brickbats these past two months. On March charity? Are national crises tided over by the philan- B27, social media was flooded with news that thropy of movie stars and business tycoons? What businessman-philanthropist donated happened to our health budget? Was it all spent? 050,000 crore towards Covid-19 relief. This was later Was it ’s responsibility to bail out the found to be a donation from 2019. Nevertheless, country? Was Hollywood similarly saving the USA? people began to ask Bollywood stars where their The Central government had announced an eco- donations were. The questions had accusatory nomic stimulus package, of which 50 per cent were tones and the cacophony was shaming actors for programmes and schemes that were already under being rich but not contributing towards alleviating way. Doctors and medical staff were reporting a hor- a national crisis. Soon enough, Bollywood stars, one rifying lack of PPEs. Meanwhile, the migrant crisis in after another began announcing the amounts they India was becoming a humanitarian disaster. Hun- had donated or pledged toward Covid-19 relief. A gry and hapless migrant labourers who were walking niggling question arose in my mind back to their homes battled the but I pushed it out. heat, police brutality, government A few weeks later, the din died inaction, hunger and death. And, down, only to be renewed when of course, the coronavirus. Shramik actor Sonu Sood began doing some Special trains were announced to stellar work with arranging trans- take migrants home—those trains port for migrants stuck in Mumbai. caused riots and over-crowding Right-wing Twitter began to tag and near-stampede like situations celebrities who had participated in in some cities. Reports came of the CAA-NRC protests in Decem- migrants dying from hunger and ber 2019, asking in varying degrees dehydration on these trains, as of vulgarity and glee where they trains lost their routes and ended had all disappeared. Once again, a up in wrong destinations! It was few celebrities posted about their like a bad play. The Food Corpora- relief efforts. I, too, felt compelled to post about the tion Of India and an online portal bickered about the relief efforts I was participating in to send migrants veracity of a story on food wastage during Covid-19 in Delhi back to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and crisis. Another death was reported from hunger. The SUMMER Bihar. It was a satisfying and hope-inspiring effort. I Central government refused to allow a public audit felt humbled to see how hard on-ground volunteers of the PM Cares Fund—the total corpus of which, it were working to help strangers. It was gratifying is reported, stands at about 010,000 crore. OF FALL to see how willing citizens and corporates were to The Covid-19 crisis continues unabated. Num- donate money and items of use. Not one call for bers of infected patients are rising astronomically as help that I made went unfulfilled. I was struck by hospital beds fall short drastically. State and Central Kollywood was primed the alacrity with which officers and bureaucrats governments flounder with damage control. It be- for big business this year, responded at this time. For the first time in months, I hoves us to ask how we got here, whether there was felt hopeful about our humanity. a more prepared manner to go into the lockdown, but the pandemic has Then the niggling question returned with a few about the money in the PM Cares Fund and the PM’s pushed it into a crisis more friends. This time, I feel I have earned my right Relief Fund, about the inadequate health bill, about to articulate them. While it was gratifying to see civil the mess of our public infrastructure and the short- BY LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN society rise to the occasion and unite in generosity, age of PPEs. These and many more questions need WAITING GAME I couldn’t help but ask those shaming Bollywood on to be asked. But not of Bollywood! Vijay in Master, which was the most awaited film of ILLUSTRATION BHASKARAN The writer is an award-winning Bollywood actor and sometime writer and social commentator. the summer

62 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 63 @LEISURE CINEMA

ust as India was getting ready for Unlock 1, the govern- J ment had some good news for its television in- dustry. On May 30, it relaxed the norms for shooting of TV serials (the green signal was given in an or- der dated May 21). Most significant- ly, the new guidelines allowed up WAITING FOR TAKE OFF to 60 people on set, compared with Aparna Balamu- 20 as per the initial order. However, rali and in ’s Kollywood, for now, has to settle for Soorarai Pottru Annaathe has around the resumption of post-production. 40 per cent shooting Post-production work, such as dubbing and editing, of around left; it was scheduled 20 films have resumed with strict for a release, security protocols. But, in the case of but has now been TV serials, not much has happened pushed to January despite the go-ahead. Actor Khush- 2021. bu, general secretary of the state’s small screen producers association, said that as serial shoots mostly hap- pen within a small space or inside a building, social distancing is difficult. Ramanujam. “The producer’s council But, despite the practical diffi- election is scheduled to take place in culties, there is now hope in the September and there are many small television industry. The film industry producers who will support him.” on the other hand is facing a crisis. Meanwhile, theatres have seen a Kollywood had a turnover of 02,000 loss of over 05 crore a day during the crore in 2019 and stakeholders were lockdown. With 1,100 screens across hoping for a major growth at the start Gopinath), ’s Jagame are waiting for the theatres to open. to cinema halls within three weeks Tamil Nadu, Ramanujam estimated of the new decade. But the lockdown Thandhiram and Jayam Ravi’s Trade analyst P. Ramanujam said the of them being reopened. Fifty per that each theatre, even when closed, resulted in an all-time low; the loss Bhoomi. lockdown had halted the release of cent were concerned about safety, has to spend at least 05,000 daily for is estimated to be around 0800 crore. Vikram’s Cobra is yet to com- 125 movies. This includes completed while 13 per cent were worried about maintenance. Rakesh Gowthaman, “Kollywood business is usually high- plete shooting. The remaining films and those which were under spending. Also, 20 per cent said they managing director of Vetri theatres, er during summer vacation,” said part—20 per cent—has to be shot post-production. Thirty-four movies, were comfortable watching movies said that summer releases were ex- G. Dhananjayan, film producer and abroad. Rajinikanth’s Annaathe which needed just five to 15 days to online. pected to help in achieving a 30 per trade expert. has around 40 per cent shoot- complete, were also stopped. “Even if However, not everyone believes cent increase in the overall business The biggest blow was the post- ing left; it was scheduled for a the theatres open, only the big-ticket the big-ticket releases are the way this year. In fact, theatre owners were ponement of action thriller Master, Diwali release, but has now been films can bring back the crowds,” said to go. Kothanda Ramaiah, a senior expecting more business this year as starring Vijay. Made at a cost of 0180 pushed to January 2021. Even if Dhananjayan. He said the audience member of the producer’s coun- there were highly anticipated Holly- crore, Master was the most awaited Vikram’s Cobra is film shooting is greenlit, sources may become more choosy. cil, said that Master should not be wood releases like Scarlett Johans- release of the summer. Vijay’s yet to complete said stars may not return to work In fact, a survey conducted by released as soon as the theatres son-starrer Black Widow and Fast (2019) reportedly made close to 0300 before August. Some are said to Cinema Central, a part of Dhanan- are reopened as it may bring in big & Furious 9, and Bollywood sports crore; his Sarkar (2018) and Mersal shooting. The be ready to work only by October. jayan’s film institute BOFTA, found crowds and wreak the social dis- drama ’83. (2017) were both estimated to have remaining part—20 Moreover, actors aged 60 and that 39 per cent of the respondents tancing efforts. He said small budget “Overall, 01,000 crore investment crossed 0250 crore. Other major per cent—has to be above may not be allowed to work were ready to go to the theatres if a films should be run in the theatres has got locked in the industry this postponed releases include Suri- shot abroad. immediately. much-anticipated film was released. for a few weeks before the big films summer, as Tamil box office is asso- ya-starrer Soorarai Pottru (based on Apart from the big-budget Sixty-six per cent missed the theatres are released. “This is because of ciated with malls and multiplexes,” the life of Air Deccan founder G.R. movies, around 80 smaller movies and 43 per cent were willing to go the politics in the industry,” said said Dhananjayan.

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RICKY KEJ, content for the audience and can Grammy award-winning musician offer a brand-new experience. Online Through the concerts also open up the whole “COLLABORATIONS ARE GOING TO world for collaborations, which BE KEY IN FUTURE” are going to be key in future. I can Live concerts will be majorly impacted collaborate with a musician from as people cannot come out in large another country in the same way I gatherings. However, today, the can collaborate with one two doors looking glass technology just does not exist for down my road. musicians from different locations Personally, 17 of my concerts to get online streaming to fans [in a in different countries have gotten BY ANJULY MATHAI seamless way]. Just take Zoom—the cancelled. I have 16 albums ILLUSTRATIONS BY JAIRAJ T.G. audio quality is terrible. Even if there is streaming on various platforms; stop playing ‘catch up’ with them. I hope this half a second of latency, it can throw the royalty I get from them gives For a while, it seemed like the world had drawn to a close, lockdown may help restructure some of the off a drummer or a percussionist. me a steady income. Many with offices shut, film releases getting indefinitely -post ways in which the industry and the art market Because of the poor quality, you cannot musicians whom I hire for poned and live music and fashion shows going online. are conducted. charge money for online concerts. concerts, though, have been We are facing such an unprecedented situation that it is I think that the internet can provide one However, one can use the popularity really affected. The musicians difficult to conjecture what a post-Covid-19 world will look way of dissemination. Right now, it seems to they provide to make money through who are going to thrive like. Still, one has to limp back to normalcy. So, we asked be the first response to the situation we find branded content or by coming up are the ones who five industry experts from fashion, food, music, cinema ourselves in, with museums and art spaces with advertising jingles for clients. are technologically and art on what they think is the future of their industries. holding virtual tours and exhibitions. It would Musicians will need to think very adept. Things Sometimes the best perspective is gotten amidst the worst be interesting to see how artists respond in creatively to make money. are going to be crises. As the lyrics of a song by Brandi Carlile goes: “You the future that may throw up some very inter- Pre-recorded concerts are a good completely DIY (do it can dance in a hurricane. But only if you are in the eye.” esting ways of dissemination of knowledge option, if you have absolutely exclusive yourself). and vision outside of the internet.

SUDARSHAN SHETTY, artist and former curator, Kochi-Muziris Biennale CHEF MANU CHANDRA, chef partner, Olive group of restaurants “NOW IS THE TIME TO BRING ART BACK TO THE and desperation takes hold. Will IDEA OF ‘AVANT GARDE’” “BEING CLOSED FOR OVER 70 DAYS you be able to create a replacement Coming out of this, there ought to be something of an IS LIKE BEING STRUCK BY A METE- model for what exists? It is not going essential change in the way we look at the world and OR. IT IS ARMAGEDDON” to happen. So then what will happen? our place in it. This is the time to question the ways in These are desperate times. I see no And what about the young, star- which we have failed so far, and how we can proceed silver lining. From what I can see, [even ry-eyed hotel management gradu- further. after restaurants reopen] people will ates? Lakhs of them entering the job I think the social need for ‘art’, as we see it now, is on want to wait before entering crowded market have nowhere to go. We were the wane. There was a time when art produced infor- spaces. This will have an overall impact huge creators of demand. What’s mation. Today, most art that you may see is secondary on the whole eco-system of the restau- going to happen to the families of our or dependent on the information that is [already] out rant industry and will determine wheth- suppliers? there. This can be very conformist, so as to conform to er it weathers the storm or perishes. If this continues for another four to a generally accepted notion or images of the dystopic How is dining going to change? A lot six months, 35 to 40 per cent of the times we live in. I think now, more than ever, is an has been written about digitised menus restaurant industry is not going to artist’s responsibility to bring art back, if at all, to the and servers wearing PPE suits. One survive. I see no light at the end of the idea of ‘avant garde’. To not only produce information thing seems to be piling onto another tunnel yet. Only when every stake- that has transformative power for society at large, but and the impact seems to be substan- holder is willing to work constructively also to find possible ways in which we can perceive the tial. You take a hit if you are closed for and share the immense pain this has world outside or inside of ourselves. 3 days. Being closed for over 70 days caused, will there be a glimmer of The art industry, in the way it operates now, is not is like being struck by a meteor. It is hope to overcome these extraordinary conducive to this approach, as it is tied inextricably Armageddon. odds. It cannot be an option, but to the market forces and is controlled by a very small You have no choice but to introspect. the new reality, till we return to the group of people in the west. To begin with, we must After a point, introspection gives way normal we knew.

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IMTIAZ ALI, filmmaker Despite all this, this period will ing giant knows that Spelling the result in several improvements in the Dream would be streamed only “THIS WILL LEAD TO SEVERAL next five years. First, when it comes Spell-mell by Indians. Given this cynical IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FILM to budgeting, things have been audience targeting, how can you INDUSTRY” hyper-priced for long. The size of The new Netflix documentary about Indian- expect Spelling the Dream to capture We will face a lot of immediate the units, for example, will be what modern bee-movie classics problems —like how the infectious- naturally controlled as a result American spelling champs is slapdash and shallow, like Akeelah and the Bee (2006) ness of the disease will affect of the pandemic. When you but it is packaged to please and Oscar-nominated documenta- the collaborative processes reduce the unit size, there ry Spellbound (2002) did? of film-making, shooting, will be more accountability BY NAVIN J. ANTONY The best sports movies are often post-production…. It and efficiency, as is there in a nod to the power of the collective, seems like some form the west. Secondly, film- but the Netflix documentary focuses of shooting will begin makers will take a re-look too much on the struggle of indi- in August-September. at their scripts. Focus on viduals. Its storytelling form is the Then, the advantage those things that were good very antithesis of the spirit of the bee will be to those whose but not ready, instead of and its etymology. (The word has its films were half-made. those that were ready but not roots in the medieval community Then to those who had not good. Thus, the general level of get-togethers where people helped yet started filming. And -fi cinema will improve. Thirdly, the each other with their work—as in nally, those films which were OTT space will really raise the bar of quilting bee or apple bee.) Instead, not yet sanctioned will get films that are produced. As filmmakers, we get moments such as where the sanction. This means that the we know that we have a space where taciturn parents of an Indian-Amer- creative flow of our industry will have a our films can be placed; we can escape ican prodigy talk about their secret lag of six months or so when it comes narrow-minded release strategies. database of words that will help to production, even though people are SPELLING THE DREAM their son win. “We are sharing this writing a lot. Available on Netflix database only because this is our last Rating year, and so far we have kept this as a family trade secret, and that gives or more than a decade but they are portrayed as instantly [our son] a competitive advantage,” now, Indian-Americans forgettable characters; its work- says the father proudly. F have been dominating man-like filmmaking culminates Most Indian-American parents a time-honoured white in the kind of stirring denouement in the film come across as fiercely MANDIRA WIRK, fashion designer American tradition. Twenty-six of that is customary for the genre, but competent and selfish, with insular the last 31 winners of the prestigious it leaves you empty and unsatisfied. views of what they owe to their “THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL, WITH MORE VIRTUAL Scripps National Spelling Bee—a There is, however, much to relish adopted country. “The goal for [my APPOINTMENTS AND TOURS” televised annual contest in which if you are a desi culture warrior. The son] would be to be a good citizen,” Things are going to change drastically in fashion. The future is dig- whiz-kids from across America take documentary has approving voice- says one father. “So, whatever he ital. There are going to be more virtual appointments and tours of on the dictionary—have been from overs of how India’s civilisation and does, whatever he learns, it should showrooms and garments. When it comes to the price point, there the community that makes up just 1 ethos foster a flair for languages; benefit the community, the country, might be a pause on luxury and greater focus on comfort—more cot- per cent of the US population. and montages that show white, the world. Something like Microsoft, ton and fabrics made in India. The emphasis is going to be on smart “Something clearly is going on black and Latino children strug- for example.” clothing that you can wear to meetings or to work, but nothing over here that needs to be better under- gling to spell words as simple as It is annoying that the filmmakers the top. The artisans have taken a major hit. That is why we need stood,” says the narrator of the new capsule, while Indian-Americans paint this hackneyed picture at a to go back to our heritage and give importance to our tradition and Netflix documentary Spelling the romp home with ‘echolalia’ and time when Indian-Americans are culture. Dream. Sadly, Netflix is not in the ‘scilicet’. Netflix is so focused on making their presence felt in almost With technology, we need to make the experience as person- ‘understanding issues’ business; it is making Indians happy that it even every sphere of American life, and alised as possible. The customer will have to be included in each in the content-packaging business. shows India’s map with China- and not just in technology and medi- step in the process of making a garment, so that they know we are Spelling the Dream, therefore, is Pakistan-occupied parts of Kash- cine. “Something is clearly going taking enough precautions in terms of safety and sanitisation. If a just another sleek specimen of the mir as undisputed Indian territo- on” indeed with Indian-Americans, customer in London or California wants to know how a fabric feels, sports-drama genre. The documen- ry—a first for a foreign production but this incredibly lazy film about we must invest in courier services to send her samples. Earlier, tary is crammed with information, like this. incredibly hardworking children maybe we were not so personally involved with our customers. but never demands your full atten- But, why is Netflix risking a proves that Netflix does not quite tion; it features fascinating people, controversy? Perhaps the stream- get it.

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n the first chapter of : The Eternal Screen Goddess, author Satyarth Nayak I talks about the actor’s dual DECODING AN personality—the one who was reticent and soft-spoken, and also the one who danced with abandon. This ENIGMA duality would become synonymous with Sridevi’s image going forward. It is Satyarth Nayak’s book on Sridevi, though as close to reality as it could get. Yet, there is a slight apprehension in adulatory, is a convincing retelling of the picking up the book. One wonders if it actor’s life on and off the screen is too soon, as it released in less than two years after her tragic death. Will it KUMARASAMBHAVAM MISTER INDIA BY PRIYANKA BHADANI do justice to her 50-year-long illustrious film career? Will it be hagiographical, what with her husband, filmmaker mind space in the 1980s, in the 1990s. , being the force behind In her absence, those quotes have the book? become a voice in the book.” But with a linear narrative that begins RANUVA VEERAN The book has some interesting with Sridevi’s early days in life and in snippets. For instance, how Sride- acting (as Lord Murugan in Thunaivan vi was “bored sick” of doing Solva (1967)), Nayak moves on to her process, to “70-odd people who have worked Sawan (1979) that was a remake her collaborations and her rise to the with her over the years”. His initial of a film that she had already done top, becoming the most revered female idea though was to hear it all from twice, in Tamil and Telugu. Or, her actor of her time. Nayak, a graduate in her instead of archival interviews. confession of being a “quintessential literature from St Stephen’s College in In 2017, he got in touch with Boney child-woman” in a cover story of the Delhi, makes it a convincing retelling during the release of Mom—Sridevi’s magazine, Movie. “I was very sure of her life. The fan in the author never 300th film, which also marked her that the book should be something takes a backseat, but the objectivity 50th year as an actor. “But Janhvi had where you discover things that you remains intact. “I am a Sridevi admirer,” just signed Dhadak (2018) and while don't know,” says Nayak. He was sur- he says, “But I have also been critical Sridevi agreed to do the book, she prised to discover that senior actors about aspects of her career. Like, how wanted to focus on Janhvi’s film at like Dharmendra and Amrish Puri many of her film choices were ques- the time,” Nayak said. SRIDEVI: THE ETERNAL would stand up when she entered SCREEN GODDESS tionable and how her performance in So, the book was pushed further. the sets. “That was the level of adula- Author: Satyarth Nayak films like Roop Ki Rani Choron ka Raja Then in February 2018, she died. tion that she enjoyed,” he says. Publisher: Penguin eBury Press almost borders on caricature.” “I was in deep shock, like so many With the same reverence, there is Pages: 296; price 0599 The most insightful segment in the around me. But a friend texted me much deliberation in the book on book is the actor’s early years in Tamil, saying, ‘You owe this book to her her acting, her comic timing, which Telugu, and film since you promised.’ He said the only was pitch perfect, and her vivacity industries, her acting stint with former difference now is that your book will in front of the camera. And, Nayak Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa have a last chapter [chronicling the That is when Nayak’s interest in her strikes a balance between her work and her rivalry with Jaya Prada. “I was last chapter of her life].” piqued. “I got really interested in and personal life with anecdotes, like very clear from the beginning that I A Lucknow lad, Nayak was 13 how she came out of her adversity,” Kamal Haasan recalling how Sridevi’s have to cover her 50-year journey and when Gumrah (1993) released. “I be- he says. mother would often discuss her not just Bollywood,” says Nayak. Re- came a huge fan of hers after watch- That was the time when he started marriage with him. “She would joke garding her Bollywood foray, he raises ing the film,” he says. Earlier that collecting old magazine copies with with me that maybe I should marry important questions like how she never year, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja Sridevi’s interviews. “I collected her daughter,” said Haasan. explored parallel cinema with art-house had tanked at the box-office. ‘Fall them just as a fan, but that collec- Even if the tone of the book is directors. Or, how in the later years she of a star’, ‘Is this the end of Sridevi?’ tion became a big resource for me,” adulatory to an extent, it is a sincere was restricted in her film choices. were the kind of articles doing the says Nayak. “It gave me a chronolo- effort in putting together the life of Another plus is that Nayak has used rounds then. But Gumrah changed gy of her career, her thoughts about an actor who remained an enigma till Sridevi’s archival interviews and spoken all that; she was ‘Back with a bang’. her life and career—what was her the end.

70 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 71 @LEISURE PEOPLE CONTRIBUTORS / SNEHA BHURA AND PRIYANKA BHADANI COMPILED BY ANJULY MATHAI Loosening the purse strings Work play With increasing unrest in the US, many the sets of . I was intimidated, not because he made me AP

celebrities are coming out in support of feel that way, but because I have admired him for years. BERA SALIL the protesters. Singer Kanye West went PALKAR/actor one step further by setting up a college Q/ Have you come to terms with his death? fund for Gianna, the six-year-old daughter n one night, A/ I didn’t even know how to articulate my thoughts on the day of George Floyd, who died a brutal death at went from being anonymous he passed away. It was numbing. People who have not even met the hand of a police officer. West is also donating to famous, all thanks to her him—the only introduction they have of him is through his $2 million to charities associated with the death Marathi version of the Cups films—they, too, felt it as a personal loss. For people who have of three black people—Floyd, Breonna Taylor (song).I And then came digital worked with him, it has been too hard. But his legacy will live and Ahmaud Arbery. shows like Girl in the City (2016) on. When we were doing Karwaan in 2017... Irrfan sir was Faux pas central and Little Things (2016), followed still getting a hang of the internet, trying to understand the Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh tweeted his apology by films like Karwaan (2018) and new world of entertainment. He was so inquisitive about for a comment he made on an Instagram video chat Chopsticks (2019). Palkar, who start- my work. He asked me, “Jo tu kaam karti hai, woh kahan last month. “If I have unintentionally hurt anybody’s ed out with backstage production dikhta hai [Where does the work you do get featured]?” sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret work in Quasar Thakore Padamsee’s He was such a curious person all the time. for the same,” he wrote. It was considered a casteist A spirited theatre group and followed it up with slur when he referred to leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal acting on stage, has some interesting Q/ You studied advertising in college. Do you think as a “bhangi” person. Bhangi is used as a pejorative for work lined up. that helps you build your brand? the Valmiki community. Although uttered in jest, social repartee A/ I studied mass media and brand management, media users ensured that their cricket heroes are more After Sara Ali Khan, who Q/ You seem to be doing a lot even and marketing was a part of our curriculum. These politically correct. recently posted on Insta- during the lockdown. things come handy because you present yourself as gram a cute picture of her A/ I am someone who cannot sit idle.... a brand. Even while collaborating with someone as a toddler, yet another I am working out and am back to my [for brand promotions], you know how to present throwback Thursday video kathak classes (online). Apart from that, I that. I believe that no education goes waste. has surfaced, this time of have The Behens Are Back, an improvised — PRIYANKA BHADANI No shushing Deepika Padukone at the version of the play Dekh Behen, which is Cannes green room last being performed for digital platforms. We her now! year. She is seen dancing are finding ways to keep theatre alive. I am Sushmita Sen is making her to a song by Snoop Dogg also spending a lot of time with my grand- digital debut in the feat. Pharell Williams. In a parents. That’s the most valuable thing during crime-drama, Aarya. Sen, who white bathrobe and a wide this lockdown. Their only entertainment was has stayed away from acting for headband, the actor looks to watch the world go by from the balcony, but almost a decade, says: “For me, like she is having a lot of there is no world going by right now. So, they personally, it is the story of fam- fun. “Green Room She- are a little perplexed. ily, betrayal and a mother who nanigans,” she captioned is willing to go to any length the picture, which led a Q/ You have Tribhanga coming up soon on to protect her children. It confused Kartik Aaryan to Netflix. took me a decade to find comment, “Shenanigans A/ It was fantastic to work on the film. I got to a role like this to sink matlab?” Padukone had the work with phenomenal women like Renuka Sha- into and I am thrilled perfect comeback: “Silly hane (director), and (actors).... I to be a part of or high-spirited behavior; have always been in awe of Shahane. I absolutely this incred- mischief (like you on most enjoy her writing and admire the things she stands ible story.” days).” up for. It was surreal to share screen with Kajol. It Directed by took me two days to even talk to her off-camera. Ram Madh- I was so nervous. She was too chilled out. The vani, the show inhibition was my own. The same had happened is set to release when I met Irrfan (Khan) sir for the first time on on June 19. PTI AFP

72 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 JUNE 21, 2020 • THE WEEK 73 LAST WORD BIBEK DEBROY Need a good model

braham Wald (1902-1950) was a math- There is an anecdote about Catherine the ematician, born in Hungary. Not many Great of Russia, the philosopher Denis Diderot Aknow that he, and his wife, died while he and the mathematician Leonhard Euler. Diderot was in India, delivering lectures. Their Air India had become an atheist by the time he visited St plane crashed in the Nilgiris. During World War Petersburg, and this upset the court. Diderot was II, he was a member of the Statistical Research told that a famous mathematician (Euler) would Group (SRG) at Columbia University. A problem establish the existence of God. Euler went up to was examined by SRG: aircraft that returned Diderot and said, “(a+bn)/n = x. Therefore, God from missions showed damage from enemy exists.” Diderot understood no algebra and no fire in different parts (wings, tail, fuselage). So, mathematics. So, he promptly fled St Petersburg. to which part of the aircraft should armour be People are often scared by mathematics and added? Armouring the entire aircraft would re- the mention of models. Reactions to Covid-19 quire more material and it would make the plane models are no different. Several models have heavier. We like dumbed-down versions. been floated. A model, used for predictive The dumbed-down version of what Wald did purposes, requires data. Data means data for the is something like this. Returning entire population. If not that, a aircraft had hits in some parts representative sample. We do and the US navy wanted to add not have that. We have data on extra armour there. But Wald those infected, those with travel argued exactly the opposite. history and those in contact. Extra armour should be put in These are ones who have been places that had no hits. Because tested and the number of tests planes hit in those parts (engine, varies widely between states, fuel supply) never returned. This apart from problems of false is known as survivor bias, and is positives and false negatives. To plain common sense. state the problem in Wald terms, Wald must have done some- we need conditional probabil- thing more substantial. Indeed, ities for the entire population, he did. He estimated the vulner- given that we have only limited ability of different parts of the aircraft, based on information about those who have been tested. I hits in returning aircraft. These are conditional am unaware of any model for India that has done probabilities. Let us skip the technical details. this. (In passing, Wald never had a model. He did At that time, he wrote several memoranda, the estimation without one.) and these were declassified in 1980. At that time, Therefore, India’s models have plugged in this was pioneering work and similar ideas were data from other countries, without controlling used in course of the Korean and Vietnam wars. for co-morbidities or life expectancy. They have Today, within broad statistical theory, we would been proved wrong, in predicting and suggesting say Wald worked on estimators. I mentioned policies, and we are none the wiser. We know Wald because there is an analogy with reactions a vaccine is a long way off. Apart from natural to Covid-19, in both the dumbed-down and immunity, BCG vaccine and Vitamin D, the only non-dumbed-down versions. We need to protect armour is herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs lives. But if we burden the plane with heavy ar- when the virus runs out of human hosts to infect. mour, the aircraft—that is the economy—will not Hence, more people need to be infected, and we fly. That is the lockdown versus key-up dilemma. armour the ones who are serious.

ILLUSTRATION BHASKARAN Bibek Debroy is the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the prime minister.

74 THE WEEK • JUNE 21, 2020 Issue Date: June 21st 2020 (Ktm & Banglore Only)

76 The Week RNI No.36122/1982, Registered No. KL/EKM/756/2018-20, Licence No. KL/CR/EKM/WPP-20/2018-20. Licensed to Post Without Prepayment. Published on Friday 12th June 2020 100