8 ISSUES AND INSIGHTS MUMBAI | 30 NOVEMBER 2019 >

Former chief of the Mumbai unit of The Losers, 2019 Congress, Sanjay Nirupam, himself originally from , lobbied publicly and strongly Cart before against the Congress joining hands with the The 2019 Assembly election tells us that while constancy and fealty Sena. When Devendra Fadnavis became chief minister, he could scarcely restrain himself the horse? pay and that timing is everything from saying “I told you so”. But the tables were turned very rapidly indeed. If Nirupam had hatever people in Konkan. When Uddhav was appointed ciated with the BJP and accepted a Rajya held his peace then, he might have been some- may say about executive president of Sena, he was deeply Sabha seat from the party. If he had accepted thing in the Maharashtra government today. W Prime Minister disappointed and quit the party in 2005. So Uddhav’s leadership then, where would he There are others like him. Radhakrishna Modi, he has demonstrat- bitter was the parting that although he longed have been today? Vikhe Patil was treasured by the Congress ed strong will to act. to pay one last visit to see Balasaheb, then on Ajit Pawar has been chafing at the bit for which made him the leader of the Opposition Cooking gas penetration his deathbed, he could not bring himself to months and years against the imposition of in the outgoing Assembly. But when his son has improved the life of do so, fearing the response of the rest of the his uncle Sharad’s will on him. The last time, joined the BJP, the father resigned as MLA and the home maker. family. He joined the Congress, spurning an most recently, was ahead of the Maharashtra joined the BJP with him. As Congress leader Electricity is available in offer from the Nationalist Congress Party, Assembly elections when Ajit wanted the of Opposition, he campaigned for the BJP. His 80 per cent of the homes. within six months of leaving Sena. He took authority to unfurl two flags at NCP’s election exit left the field free for his Ahmadnagar rival Banking is available to all the oath that he would strive "for the rest of rallies — the party’s tricolour and along with in the Congress, Balasaheb Thorat, who MLAs with world leading pay- PLAIN POLITICS my life to follow the Congress’ ideals and that, a saffron flag with Chhatrapati Shivaji's say, has about as much charisma as a turtle. VIJAENDER TAKHAN ment systems. Universal uphold the dignity of the tricolour". The image. publicly shot down the But it is Thorat who is having the last laugh health insurance promises ADITI PHADNIS terms for his joining the party were, he would idea, calling it Ajit’s personal opinion. Sharad now: He is likely to become a minister, if not to leave the United States be made chief minister within six months. It Pawar assured Ajit he would secure the posi- the speaker (he is an eight-term MLA who has in the dark, making President Trump curious. Toilets were never happened. tion of deputy chief minister for him under won seven times as a Congress candidate). installed in rural homes. Now there is focus on making water here’s a saying in Hindi: “Chaube gaye Ten years later, Rane dumped his oath and an -led government. But And the award for the smartest of them all available. These initiatives together count towards the good Chhabbe banane, rah gaye Dube”. It when approached by Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit thought he could outdo his uncle in the should go to… governance the prime minister promised in the elections. T describes a person who tries to overreach agreed to join the (BJP), deal-making department and went to the BJP Priyanka Chaturvedi, for getting the timing But India demands far better governance. A game chang- himself, and ends up worse off than he was not realising the offer was no longer on the with an offer they could not refuse, expecting absolutely right. She quit the Congress where er is needed. Universal wired broadband access is the only before. There are many winners in the table — because the Shiv Sena warned to land the deputy chiefministership in that she was spokesman and the face of the slingshot the government has in its arsenal to put power in Maharashtra saga, some who have got much Fadnavis that it would withdraw support to camp. (This camp or that. Sannu kee?) And Congress and joined the Shiv Sena just before people’s hands and propel the country to greatness. more than they could possibly have hoped for the BJP-Sena government if Rane entered the look what happened! the Maharashtra elections. And she’s now on India is a leader in mobile broadband. However, while or deserve. But it is the losers who need to worry. BJP. Fadnavis backed off hastily and spurned So many left the NCP to join the BJP in the winning side! all studies attest the critical importance of wired broadband was a Shiv Sainik whom by his suitor, in 2017, Rane launched his own search of greener pastures that BJP president There’s no telling how long this govern- to economic development, jobs and income growth, the Balasaheb himself anointed Chief Minister: party, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha. Amit Shah chortled that barring Sharad Pawar ment will last or how cordial the relations jury is mixed on mobile broadband. The World Bank reports he adored “Saheb” but could not reconcile to By now Fadnavis was confident enough to and , everyone else was between the alliance partners will be in the that mobile broadband can decrease productive economic the rise and rise of Uddhav. Rane was respon- stand up to Sena and renewed an invitation queuing up to join the saffron party. And future. But this election tells us that while con- activity and growth. Thus, Indians spend 16 hours a month sible for creating and strengthening the Sena to Rane. Singed once, Rane agreed to be asso- where are they now ? stancy and fealty pay, timing is everything. watching video on the tiny screen compared to 15 minutes in 2015. Younger Indians likely watch more. So do demonetisation and GST take too much of the blame? TRAI should report how mobile broadband is used. LUNCH WITH BS > RAHUL MUNJAL | CHAIRMAN & MD | HERO FUTURE ENERGIES All carriers have the data. Compared to government spending on other basic citizen utilities — food, housing, cooking gas, electricity, water, san- itation, roads, health, and education, Digital India is on a starvation diet. Consider the data. Only 3 per cent of the ~42.5 trillion government spend on these utilities since 2014 went to critical telecommunications. Making sustainable choices A lot was spent on BSNL, not exactly a paragon of good governance. And on BBNL whose charter to connect village Is he saying the younger generation is panchayats was subcontracted to BSNL. The result is that Over sushi, Munjal tells Shreya Jai and Jyoti Mukul lackadaisical about the issue of safety? He India’s wired broadband subscriber base is just 18 million cites another Netflix series Living with and declining according to TRAI. It is growing in peer coun- why it is important for India to start a discussion on Yourself, the story of a man who discovers tries. Further, the government’s option to offer rural broad- sustainable technology immediately he has been replaced by a cloned version of band services on BSNL’s fibre assets is stymied. himself. “It (social media) is unbelievable. Wireless is a poor substitute for wired broadband in Tik Tok is the great grand-daddy of India. Brick housing bars easy penetration of 4G and 5G e are at Megu at The Leela Palace regular, we seek his advice on what to order. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and everything frequencies. Dense populations share scarce spectrum lead- hotel in New Delhi to meet Rahul He suggests we try the set menu, which put together. But you can’t tell the kids not ing to slow service or outages. Wireless is expensive to use W Munjal, chairman and managing offers an assortment of typically Japanese to be on the net. They need to have the train- compared to wired. Family members pay individually to director, Hero Future Energies. A grandson dishes. He orders a helping of omakase, the ing, the tools and a sense of right and wrong,” use wireless whereas wired broadband is shared. of B M Munjal, patriarch of two-wheeler com- chef's choice meal at sushi restaurants, for he says. Location-specific nature of wired assuage cyber and pany Hero MotoCorp, the junior Munjal himself. We order a yasai itame (assorted Munjal is not exactly a social media per- national security concerns. Surveillance cameras require moved to London in 2018 with the dream of vegetables) and a rock-corn tempura. He son himself. “I follow certain subjects on wired broadband. In Kashmir, good wired broadband pen- building a global green energy business. He’s chooses a Diet Coke to wash down the food social media, that's about it. I have not seen etration would have limited citizen suffering without hin- a regular at this Japanese restaurant in and we settle for some fresh lime and soda. my Facebook and Instagram accounts for dering anti-terrorism activities. Perceptions of health risks Delhi’s diplomatic enclave. We get back to discussing the world of many years now. The reason I am on Twitter posed by wireless towers and phones remain. Above all, As we take our seats, we notice a Buddha internet and social media. “Say, if I am unde- is — as someone said — FB is for people you smart phones distract from productive work. The youth- statue right next to our corner table. A lady cided about what to drink — Coke or Pepsi went to school with and Twitter is for the user is conditioned to check the phone 150 times a day! saunters in and pours some rose water on it. — but someone in Coke knows I like sports, people you wish you went to school with.” Great governance requires smartness-enabled produc- We ask Munjal if Delhi's unrelenting air then they will make sure they club Coke and He lets out a loud guffaw. The other reason tive farms and efficient markets, food distribution, water pollution is one of the reasons he shifted sports for me for every piece of communica- he is not much of a social media person is supply, timely sanitation, utilization of transportation infra- base to London. He laughs out loud: “My tion directed at me,” he continues. that he doesn't like to discuss his private life, structure, health screening and monitoring, electricity ambition is to become a Everybody has a large digital he tells with a philosophical look. usage, and access to the world’s latest educational content global player. The other rea- footprint and that becomes That said, he does try to make the most by all. Just imagine the smart skills and millions of new son is my son has been in a Munjal is not exactly a larger every time we use of technology. In fact, he conducts his meet- jobs potentially created in the process. London boarding school for social media person phones. "At some time, the ings on phone, Zoom and Skype, in that The “smart” requires reliable, universal access to wired many years now,” says the himself. “I have not seen world has to wake up to the order. And, if all that does not work, he broadband infrastructure. Even 5G wireless requires per- 43-year-old son of the late my Facebook and reality that so much of our- meets people in person. “It’s so much more vasive wired broadband to work. Like WiFi, it enhances the Ramakant Munjal. Instagram accounts for selves is already out there.” productive.” For him, it also means less car- utilisation of wired broadband infrastructure, not substi- So without much ado, we many years now. The So who must take the bon footprint. “If we stop carbon emission tute. You can’t put the cart before the horse. dive into our conversation. reason I am on Twitter is flak for data misuse? The today, there is still a one-degree increase Wired networks are more complex to operate than wire- Why did he choose to — as someone said — FB is marketing fraternity? “No. in temperature.” less. Network assets must reach every home. In wireless, tow- explore renewables? for people you went to It is a reflection of the soci- He says India needs to produce 40 per ers are installed on fiber along main roads with offices nearby “Climate change is a very big school with and Twitter ety, we live in. Where do cent of its energy requirement from renew- to sign-up subscribers. Now, additional wired competitive thing in my life.” It is easy to is for the people you wish you draw the line? As a ables by 2040 to avert any drastic change offerings to BSNL are coming up only in the major cities. see why he appreciates the you went to school with. society, we should debate in our climate. Indeed, the world has to Existing wired broadband subscribers may have another efforts of Greta Thunberg, it. Okay, so much of my completely go off coal by 2030. “Britain choice. What happens to the critical need for growth? the 16-year-old Swedish girl information is out there is fighting from the front as they have off- Prime Minister Modi knows the answer. Cable TV net- who has taken the world by storm with her but how should that data be used? That's shore wind. So going off coal was works in use reach 50 per cent of Indian homes. They are emotional pitch on climate change. “It made the question that society as a whole inevitable as they have a lot of wind. But, easily upgraded to deliver world class wired broadband. more impact on the world then many of us needs to ask and answer.” we in India need to start a discussion on Required capital expenditure of ~50,000 crore spread over put together,” says Munjal. The miso soup, a traditional Japanese when to stop building coal plants and three years, is a little over 1 per cent of the ~10.4 trillion cur- We can see digital is as close to his heart soup and part of the set menu, arrives. replace them with renewable.” rent year budget for basic citizen utilities. as is the issue of sustainability. As we start Munjal helps himself to some. It is tangy The next thing is efficiency. He tells us It will create a smart and secure central nervous system talking about the harmful effects of technol- but light. about a friend's daughter who did not want for India. The rural broadband problem is solved by exten- ogy, he mentions the Netflix film The Great We ask him if the debate on the subject is to go on an annual vacation as she would sion. Delivery of other citizen utility services will become Hack, a 2019 documentary about the any different in India than it is in, say, have had to take a flight. In other words, the resource and time efficient. A vibrant $100 billion-dollar Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scan- Europe, where he spends a lot of his time. younger generation is absolutely aware of new industry by value would be created. dal. “The world will never be same again. Munjal says there is not enough debate in the dangers ahead. India therefore has no alternative to cable broadband. Every marketing man and industry is think- India around data and privacy. “Only after Munjal is enjoying his fish though he has The Prime Minister formed an inter-ministerial com- ing of ways to influence the mind of the con- we have a proper debate we will know what ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA started eating vegetarian food more often mittee to develop cable broadband in 2015. The time is now sumer. If you have some information points India needs. For all you know, India might than he used to earlier because it has less ripe to implement the recommendations. All is needed is on somebody, you can very easily manipu- just say we don’t mind all that personal data is my private life, tumko kya (how does it impact on the environment, he tells us. strong political will. late the way they think," he says. getting out.” But, he says, there is a difference concern you). It is a generational thing and We have been talking for over an hour and We interrupt him and urge him to place in the way younger people and the older gen- not an east or west thing. Younger people a half. We decide to wrap up the conversation The author led foreign investments into India in the media and the order for the lunch first. As we scan the eration think about the issue. The lives of say I am what I am and my parents, the boss, with a platter of fruits — melon, dragon fruit telecommunications industry menu, we infer Japanese cuisine is not very younger people are an open book, he my company, wife and girlfriend, all know and plums — but Munjal says he would like vegetarian friendly. Since Munjal is a Megu- explains. “It is the older people who say this who I am.” the taste of the fish to linger. The family that shared its well A fight that’s going to cost me fields. The family didn’t use it much tap outside the house so that all our next person, and what’s a war of words long and short of it is that we messed as the path was long, slushy and neighbours could share the water if you’re silent instead of raging? No sir, up our hosts’ calculation of the number snake-infested. “It was too shallow to equally.” Today, the Kailwa family of late, I’ve chosen to enter the fray, even of guests for dinner by storming back have much water anyway,” she said. turns on the pump twice a day and if it means coming out of the domestic home, hungry, and feeling just a little Eventually, as water became scarcer their old well services the water needs turf blooded and bruised. bit ridiculous for having abandoned a in Memdi, Kailwa and her mother, like of dozens of families living around. The reason for these brawls is most- reasonable dinner — all the more idi- all their neighbours, spent most their The pipe opens into a large tank out- ly inconsequential, as occurred when otic because there weren’t even left- day fetching water, especially in the side their house and within minutes, my daughter objected to my wife for overs in the fridge. summers. The family decided to have it is surrounded by neighbours filling something she’d posted — or not post- By the following morning everyone the well cemented and deepened to their buckets. They bear all the main- ed — on a WhatsApp group. My wife wanted to sue for peace, but since 70-feet in 2017. “To our delight, its tenance expenses. “We still remember retaliated by saying the group consist- nobody was willing to take the first step, PEOPLE LIKE THEM water level rose substantially,” she what it felt like to be turned away in ed of a bunch of nincompoops — or we continued to pass snide remarks, or said. The family decided to invest in our hour of need,” said Kailwa. “That’s PEOPLE LIKE US words to that effect. My daughter said ignore each other, while secretly hoping GEETANJALI KRISHNA a 3,000-foot pipe to pump the water why my parents and I now feel that my wife was a *blip* (word deleted). for a round of family hugs. My son and to their doorstep. even if our fields don’t get sufficient KISHORE SINGH My wife said our daughter was a, well, his bride, peacemakers in the melee “It was at this point that we all water, every person in our neighbour- let’s just say, not very polite person. All since they’d had no role to play in the he season for giving is upon us, stopped to think how far we were hood should.” of this would have been of little merit acrimony, dismissed us as a bunch of a good time to reflect on the about to come from the past, when we The transformation this simple act eing a passionate, full-blooded, had we not been leaving to attend a cranks and shut themselves up in their T transformative power of kind- had often been turned away from pri- of generosity has effected has been quick-to-temper family, I am not wedding reception. My wife said she room. From being an innocent ness. I met a family in Memdi, a vil- vately-owned bore wells when there immense. The women of the locality B ashamed to admit that our would not go — which was a bluff, bystander, I’d been pronounced cur- lage in Dewas district in Madhya was no other water source nearby,” no longer have to battle over water. domestic scraps can be fierce, acerbic since it is difficult to keep her away mudgeon-in-chief. Pradesh, whose act of generosity real- said Kailwa. “My father, a devout The time spent on fetching water can and intemperate. Peace is equally quick from parties of any kind. Our daughter That evening, our daughter came ly moved me. At a time when water Hindu and a firm believer in fate, now be spent on daily labour and to reign, but during the midst of a skir- said she would not go — which was a bearing peace offerings, making her — was scarcely available to 38-year-old began to wonder if the well had been community work. Moreover, this fam- mish simmering rages can erupt and threat and what she had been spoiling rather than her parents — the better per- Mamta Kailwa and her family, they rejuvenated because of the good for- ily’s goodwill has somehow made explode with unexpected consequences. for anyway since she dislikes going son. Since you can’t be resentful and chose to share their personal well with tune of a family member or that of a them all a little more helpful towards For most part we get by, but when it anywhere where her bunch of close grateful at the same time, I reprised the the entire neighbourhood. I had a neighbor.” They bore the expense of one another. “Perhaps this kind of occurs, bystanders are just as likely to be friends is unlikely to be present. stiff upper lip — expressing neither joy chance to have tea with the family. the pump and the laying of the long generosity is contagious,” commented scathed by their intensity and closeness. Both were cajoled into coming and nor gratitude — which was a childish Here’s their story. pipeline and brought it to their a neighbour, there to fill her bucket. In the early years, I would maintain a stuffed into a car and driven across thing to do. Even though the battle “This was an old kaccha well about doorstep — but not inside their door. “This family has shown how commu- stiff upper lip, but it was wasted on the town, but continued to sulk, at which I wasn’t mine to begin with, I’m now going 18-feet deep, in the farthest corner of “We felt that water, like air should nities can bond together when they natives who inhabit our home, who got upset and said things any head of to have to bribe my way back into family our fields,” said Kailwa, as we hiked be shared by all — who were we to lay share resources rather than claim thought I was chickening out. I don’t like family should not — since it inevitably favour — a fight that’s going to cost me up to the well through the sugarcane claim on it,” she said. “We placed the them as their own.” being labelled a wuss any more than the comes back to bite him in the butt. The for no reason at all. OPINION 9 >

Volume VII Number 18 stuck with federalism. It means having to negotiate MUMBAI | 30 NOVEMBER 2019 with chief ministers, accept some give-and-take, and live with the reality that hostile states will control their own police and law and order, and may even (like WEEKEND RUMINATIONS Saffron shrinks but Ms Banerjee), refuse to carry forward your grand T N NINAN plans, even good ones like Ayushman Bharat. They can no longer be ordered around. You have to treat them with respect and deference, sometimes as Don’t waste this crisis equals. This requires a radical change in method and Hindutva wins style. Because, “cooperative federalism” that the prime minister often talks about is no longer a mere mantra, he gross domestic product (GDP) growth numbers for the July-September BJP is ruling fewer large, important states now but its big Hindutva but an imperative. quarter, the lowest in 26 quarters, are no surprise. Most analysts had — belat- Take a close look at Maharashtra. Why the edly — forecast the bad news. It is now clear that if the government does not get ideas have won and face little opposition across the country Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress went its act together by Budget day, two months from now, a quick recovery from the with the Shiv Sena has a simpler explanation: They T were fighting for survival and power, if undeserved. But current depths should not be expected. The economy is on a cusp from where it can swing ike the proverbial “half-full or half-empty” glass, anti-incumbency factor against the Congress and the why did the Shiv Sena break away? It was because either way. Nirmala Sitharaman is on test. you can look at the much-discussed India Today embarrassing compromises it made with the Ballary they saw in the relentless expansion of the BJP in their If we get past the schadenfreude with which many analysts greet the Modi govern- LGroup graphic showing the comparative swathes brothers, the BJP finished well short. Madhya Pradesh, state a rapid erosion of their own ideological space. ment’s mounting economic problems, for being self-inflicted, even critics will have to of saffron on the political map of India between 2017 Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh were lost later. Their rebellion is a straightforward immune reaction address the question: What should the government do? For starters, it should stop and now. At first glance, the graphic tells you that the Now flip these numbers. In each one of the states to single-party domination, even if it is like-minded. whistling in the dark. The global slowdown is not the primary cause of India’s problems, BJP’s reign over Indian states has declined from 71 to (barring Punjab) that the BJP lost or failed to win deci- The Centre-state equation is more likely to or the gap with China’s growth numbers (6 per cent for the same July-September quar- 40 per cent in these two years — just when you thought sively, it swept the polls. Even in Delhi, return closer to the 25-year epoch of 1989-2014 now. the party had reached its peak of popularity and unas- Rajasthan, MP, and Chhattisgarh, where it had just The noises from Maharashtra are disconcerting: ter) would not have risen as it has. Nor would Bangladesh be growing at more than 7 per sailable domination under Narendra Modi. lost to AAP and the Congress. Let’s see what follows. Opposition to bullet train, silly threats on the metro. cent. Next, there is no point quibbling about whether this is just a slowdown or a full- This, however, is the “half-empty” perspective. The The most important takeaway is that, unlike in Andhra has already delivered a nasty blow to India’s blown recession. When growth drops precipitously from 7.0 per cent to 4.5 per cent in half-full view is: Draw a similar map with the Lok the Indira era, when one-party domination was accept- FDI-friendly claims by peremptorily throwing out four quarters, it is for all practical purposes a recession. Sabha results of last May. What it would show is the ed as a given, India has evolved into a much more fed- Amaravati and reputed foreign partners, from Don’t expect the quick turnaround that many analysts were forecasting until recent- dominant political reality: That in all of the north, the eral nation. If the voter makes a clear distinction Singapore to the Gulf’s LuLu Group. The prime min- ly. The current quarter’s numbers may be no better than the last one’s if one goes by the Hindi heartland, most of the coastal west and large between choices made for the Lok Sabha and the ister will have to reach out and hug these chief minis- story in the steady trickle of data, and the full year will see the slowest growth since parts of the east/northeast, the BJP reigns unchal- Vidhan Sabha, it emboldens those who can hold their ters too, as he does his foreign counterparts. lenged. A fresh general election may not have an out- own, even if they aren’t too hostile to the BJP, like And the biggest issue of them all: The National Narendra Modi came to power on the promise of double-digit growth and achhe din come very different from May 2019. So, what are Mr Naveen Patnaik, K Chandrashekar Rao, Y S Jagan Register of Citizens, or NRC. Ms Banerjee might have (good days). The government has so far been the fastest-growing part of the economy. Modi’s critics celebrating? Mohan Reddy and, going ahead, probably the DMK. been the first to reject it formally, but it is unlikely But with the deficit target for the full year having been crossed in seven months, this Political reality, however, is complex and multi- It gives its adversaries, like Arvind Kejriwal and that most of the non-BJP governments would now cannot continue. The Index of Industrial Production continues to bear grim tidings, as layered, and comes in many shades of saffron. Let’s try Mamata Banerjee, heart. Her three by-election victo- fall in line with an idea so divisive, so dangerous, and do the output numbers on the core sector. Electricity consumption has slumped, diesel lifting these layers: ries this week, including two by landslide margins six loaded against them. consumption is going nowhere, the trade numbers point to shrinkage, and manufac- Mr Modi, though a colossus in his own right, is months after she struggled in the Lok Sabha elections, The smaller Northeastern states have to deal with turing continues to stagnate or fall across key sectors. There is no good news on either no Indira Gandhi. Or, the other way of seeing it: The underline the same voter discretion. their own public opinion, which is hostile to the Indian voter has matured from the Indira era. She The third type of regional leader who’d smile is the Citizenship Amendment Bill. In terms of imple- the consumption or industrial front. makes a clear distinction between BJP’s own partner. On the top of this mentability, the NRC is therefore dead on arrival. It While every downturn has a cyclical element to it, and there is some evidence of the voting choices for the Lok Sabha and list is Nitish Kumar — remember, may (and likely will) continue as a communally automobile slump bottoming out, the fact is that much of the growth in reported bank the Vidhan Sabha. Bihar goes to the polls next year. But polarising concept for electoral reasons, a bit like the credit is not going to industry, even as the scale of loan write-offs accelerates. Non-bank- Just like Indira, therefore, Mr even Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in Ram temple might have been in the past three ing financial companies are unable to pick up the slack, having seen a sharp shrinkage Modi can still swing a “lamp-post” Assam might revive his opposition decades. But it won’t happen, definitely not as an in their credit flow. Companies are still de-leveraging their balance sheets. Till that election (where a leader can get peo- to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, NRC-CAB combo. process reaches near-completion, don’t expect fresh investment. ple to vote for even a lamp-post on his and Dushyant Chautala can aspire And finally, in case you think I am counting While we wait for some of these cyclical factors to play themselves out to a receding ticket), but only for the Lok Sabha, to punch at a level above his only the downsides for the BJP. See that graphic again, when seeking votes for himself. “weight” category. with shrinking swathes of saffron. That is a limited horizon that stretches now to three or four quarters into the future, deeper structural Unlike Indira, he cannot repeat the Here is why even the count of electoral reality. Check out the ideological/philo- issues wait to be addressed. Agriculture has to deal with the fundamental issue of poor same magic for assemblies. 17 states currently under the BJP, as sophical picture. In all of India, you do not find one productivity and inadequate domestic demand (in part a result of stagnant rural Maharashtra is a slightly complicated the graphic shows, is a half-truth. chief minister who, forget opposing, doesn’t instead wages). The government’s tax revenue base is shot through with holes, and no one case and we will return to it. Think NATIONAL INTEREST Some of these, notably Bihar and welcome the blunting of Article 370 and the Supreme seems to know how to fix the good and simple tax’s problems. The strength of services Haryana. Within five months of the SHEKHAR GUPTA Haryana, are in partnership with Court judgment on Ayodhya. exports keeps the rupee pegged at a level at which manufacturing exporters find them- Lok Sabha elections, the party’s vote allies who might have a radically dif- Over the past decades, these were the favourite selves unable to compete in export markets. Reform of the public sector is a coat that share fell by a neat 22 percentage points, to 36 per cent ferent ideological view and vested interests. Some, BJP/RSS issues that polarised Indian politics. Now, a from 58, leaving it well short of a majority instead of the like Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Manipur, are essentially consensus similar to Kashmir and the Ram temple is hangs yet again on the peg of what happens to the employees of unviable firms. Finally, widely predicted near clean-sweep. This, in a state the political equivalent of leveraged buyouts. So, they building even on the Uniform Civil Code. Even the as one business leader after another capitulates — from an Ambani to a Ruia, and from with a deep military and nationalist tradition, an aren’t particularly BJP states. Sikkim, Mizoram are Left Front government in Kerala wouldn’t dare imple- a Thapar to a Subhash Chandra — the capacity of India’s famed entrepreneurs to lead a insignificant minority vote, and 11 weeks after the part of the NDA, but not the BJP’s. The other, even less ment the Supreme Court order on Sabarimala. Rahul growth charge is increasingly in question. action on Article 370. convenient unstated half of this truth is that today the Gandhi flaunts his janeu, temple visits, and high The best advice one can give is that this is a crisis that should not be wasted. The Now, check the data backwards. Even after the BJP owns only three major states: Uttar Pradesh, Brahmin gotra. Modi government has acted so far as though it can ignore the bad economic news and sweep of 2014, Mr Modi wasn’t often able to sweep a Gujarat, and Karnataka. The last one is fragile. Whatever the political shades on the map of India, coast along on its political and social agendas. It would be a pity if it continued to do that. state except Uttar Pradesh in 2017 and smaller states Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the it is now dyed-in-saffron as far as the key RSS/BJP such as Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, BJP has followed a simple formula. Sweep the Hindi ideas are concerned. The RSS, if not the BJP, could eas- A crisis is when a government can expect people to make some sacrifices for the larger and Assam. But there also was the debacle of Delhi in heartland and the two big western states, and you can ily declare victory now. Hedgewar, Golwalkar, and good. The danger of doing nothing is that growth of 6 per cent or less becomes the norm, 2015 first, and Punjab subsequently. Gujarat (2017), rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits Savarkar will agree. not the unacceptable. which he should have won en passant, became a near- on the platter from here and there. thing and stretched him fully. In Karnataka, despite the If this cannot be replicated in the states, you are In special arrangement with ThePrint Political jugglery and other pollutants Race to the bottom EYE CULTURE seven black players. They’re there to measures like intermittently shut- making inquiries about renting a where “women come and go … Poised on the jagged edge between do a job, I wonder if you shake their ting down schools, odd-even car flat in Goa for the winter. If such talking of Michelangelo” and the hope and hopelessness, the pro- SUHIT K SEN hands as well.” use, and altogether banning con- are the last resorts of well-off mid- susegad-induced languor of Goa tagonist’s desire to forge a human In a sense, the crux of the problem struction activity, there is not dle class professionals, how do the eateries with names like “Sublime” connection is set against his blight- he problem of racism has long may well lie here. Most European clubs much respite from the toxic fug large majority survive in congest- and “Gunpowder” is a shifting, ed living conditions. It is a chron- bedevilled international sport. — and not just the big ones — have that envelops the city. In 19th cen- ed habitats with poor sanitation rootless mass of humanity that icle (despite the Shiv Sena’s new- T The latest instance of racist large contingents of coloured players tury industrialising Britain the and putrid air? Many shut their powers everyday services. fangled promise of 10-rupee thalis abuse came from the stands during in their teams, either homegrown (that notorious yellow haze was known doors and windows, lock their The majority are migrants for the hungry) of how shabbily England’s Test match against New is, for instance, British kids who’ve as a “pea-souper” and took a ter- children up indoors, and don from far-flung parts of the coun- waves of job-seekers are treated in Zealand at Wellington. The incident been born and raised in the United rible toll on human life. Present- masks on stepping out. try, with a preponderance of search of livelihoods. occurred when Barbados-born Kingdom) or imports from Africa or AL FRESCO day statistics are not that far off: Year after year it is the same, a Nepalis in Goa. In Mumbai near- For escapees from the polluted England pacer Joffra Archer was South America. Many West European 10,000 people a year may die pre- chronicle of political tall talk and ly every taxi driver (those ever- north, Goa’s sea air may be salu- returning to the pavilion after being nations also boast an impressive array SUNIL SETHI maturely in Delhi as a result of air broken promises. Chief Minister dependable conversation com- brious but it is a badly managed dismissed on the final day of the match of coloured people in their national pollution; one study claims that Arvind Kejriwal’s ~1,200-crore gift panions in traffic jams) was from and expensive tourism destina- last Monday. squads — just look at England, France, nion Minister for citizens would live on average an to combat criticism, prior to facing Uttar Pradesh. Shahid from dis- tion in comparison to Southeast When Archer tweeted about the Holland, Portugal, and Belgium. Transport and Roadways extra nine years if Delhi met WHO an election early next year, is free trict Faizabad and Devendra Asian resorts. Unseasonably long incident, New Zealand Cricket prompt- This massive army of extremely tal- UMinister Nitin Gadkari is air quality standards. bus and Metro rides to women Kumar from Gorakhpur were rain this year has wrecked the ly issued an apology, saying, “We are ented players are lionised by the fans generally regarded as one of the In 2015 reactions to an impas- passengers, a move that E among those who described their roads and ruined the rice crop. shocked and disappointed to hear of and reviled at the same time. The more credible and performance- sioned report by Gardiner Harris, Sreedharan, the Delhi Metro’s cre- grim, ghettoised lives. Of the Jobs are scarce, power cuts fre- the verbal abuse Joffra Archer received dynamic is complex. Paul Pogba and oriented members of the BJP-led the New York Times correspon- ator, says will push the network ~40,000 they averaged monthly, quent, and the taxi mafia’s grip after the Test today … racial abuse is Marcus Rashford are both great government. But even he can’t dent — including an account of into “inefficiency, bankruptcy … one-third went to the malik (car on inflated fares inexorable. Chief never okay.” favourites amongst the Old Trafford resist stooping to hyperbolic bom- his young son being hospitalised and a debt trap”. owner), one-third spent on board Minister Pramod Sawant’s gov- That having been said, the problem faithful, but when both missed conse- bast at election time. In May he due to breathing difficulties — Against the nerve-racking, and lodge, and the rest sent home. ernment is bust, relying on devel- of racist abuse from the stands is not a quential penalties in consecutive loudly promised that Delhi would were mixed when he sought to go government-formation drama in The arrival of a Shiv Sena-led gov- opment handouts from his phenomenon that has been endemic matches at the beginning of this sea- be completely free of air and water away. There was general dismay at Maharashtra, where the BJP’s fili- ernment has only exacerbated patrons in Delhi. Key flyovers, to to cricket. It’s football (actually foot- son, they were subjected to racist abuse pollution in three years, commit- the article but he was also reviled bustering tactics failed, I have been their gnawing anxiety and inse- the airport, for example, are ballers of colour) which has had by their own fans. ting a largesse of ~50,000 crore to for giving the impression of Delhi in Mumbai, and Goa, where a sim- curity of tenure. incomplete. Nitin Gadkari’s help- to endure the worst excesses of racism Much the same thing happened to decongest the capital. He sealed as a hardship posting. The story ilar strategy succeeded when the A stirring account of these frag- ing hand is akin to his promise of and racist abuse. A number of nation- Chelsea teenager Tammy Abraham, the deal, saying, “all my was sharply brought home to me party “acquired” 10 MLAs from mented, down-and-out lives is purifying Delhi. al football associations have failed who was given his senior debut early announcements are credible. I the other day when a young smaller parties to form a govern- portrayed in the award-winning At the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, to step up to the plate to combat this this season. He was subjected to have built this credibility. No one banker of my acquaintance had ment after Manohar Parrikar’s filmmaker Ritesh Batra’s (of The Alice insists that saying what she disease. vile racist abuse by club supporters can tell me that I have promised to put his 10-month-old son under death in March. Together with Lunchbox fame) latest feature means is the same as meaning In response to increasing incidents after he saw a penalty being saved by something and not delivered.” a respirator — air purifiers weren’t Delhi, Mumbai and Goa count Photograph (available on Netflix). what she says. “Not a bit!” retorts of racist abuse and discrimination the goalkeeper in a match With the ruling Aap Aadmi enough. At the pediatrician’s sug- among the richest places in the Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays a pho- the Mad Hatter. Ditto for political mainly against players of colour, FIFA, against Liverpool. Party flailing — and failing — with gestion, he sent his wife and child country. Yet behind the swank lob- tographer taking pop-up tourist leaders: What they say is not what the governing body of world football, Lest you think racist abuse is mere- half-hearted, hand-wringing to relatives in Mumbai and was bies and clubs of south Mumbai shots outside the Gateway of India. they mean at all. began in 1993 a campaign called “Kick ly a punishment for on-field mistakes, it Out”, it was officially called “Let’s let us remember the case of Belgium Kick Racism Out of Football”. In 1997, striker Romelu Lukaku, who moved viewers out-watched the males by the “Kick it Out” campaign also from Manchester United to 79 per cent! In the Super Bowl too, acquired an organisation. Internazionale this season. After he was Fallacy of trusting ad truisms in the US, female fans watched 44 This organisation provides a plat- subjected to monkey chants by Cagliari per cent more videos than men. form for football players and lovers to fans, an Inter fan group issued a state- Similar such assumptions that of ride-sharing will kill car owner- ing luxury goods. So, it is not the Becoming data-rich has not report incidents of abuse, through a ment saying such chants were not take on the garb of truisms most ship among younger consumers. consumers in their fifties but those necessarily meant that brands and website and a mobile app. It also works racist. At least not in Milan. often end up hurting brands. For However, research in both the US in the age group of 30-34-year-olds marketers have become data- closely with other organisations But they are, and the only coloured example, brands that consider and the UK shows that 64 per cent that are the most potent customers savvy. Most often, the data is all to raise awareness of the impact of player to have donned an Italian jersey, media reach using age as a demo- of Millennials who used a ride- for luxury brands. Provided of there in front of us. Waiting to be social media upon football-related hate Mario Balotelli, was also subjected to graphic have to factor in a very sharing app also visited tradition- course, that they have the eco- analysed. Waiting to be massaged. crime. Many of Kick It Out’s campaigns monkey chants from fans of the club important perspective — that al car-related sites and apps that nomic muscle and affordability. In Waiting for someone to sit down focus on attempts to promote equality, Verona, while playing for Brescia. The assumed differences between gen- provided news and views on new fact, the propensity of this age seg- and understand how consumers diversity, understanding, and toler- volatile Balotelli, not a man to take erations are more about stage of life car purchases. In comparison to a ment to buy luxe stuff starts to are behaving both individually and ance through community action, from things lying down, kicked the ball than they are about substantial dif- 61 per cent usage rate of ride-shar- decline from age 35 to age 55 before in groups. Unfortunately, most the grassroots to the professional level. towards the part of the stand from YES, BUT... ferences in attitude or usage. Search ing apps by Millennials, experiencing a kind of hockey stick times most brands take the easier Kick it Out enjoys a supportive rela- where the chants were emanating and SANDEEP GOYAL for information for automobiles, Generation Z was only a whisker demand curve. People in the age way out by looking more at macro tionship with the Football Supporters’ almost left the pitch before players on hence interest in automotive media ahead on car co-sharing. One group 55-64 constitute the second- flows rather than actual data. Federation. both sides pacified him. ne of the commonest tends to go up with age, because would have presumed that the largest aggregated demand seg- Data can be used not just to Despite the massive resources being There are indications that racism in assumptions marketers the older you get, the higher likeli- younger generation cohort would ment for luxury brands and top- understand the numerical size of poured into the “Kick it Out” campaign, football is getting worse, not better. O make is that young males hood you have of having the nec- have significantly higher usage of of-the-line experiences including audiences; data can actually be incidents of racist abuse continue to Some argue this looks to be the case are a “difficult-to-reach” audience essary funds to buy a car. Similarly, the sharing but actual research holidays, cruises, hotels, and even used to transform the connect occur at an alarming pace. Let’s begin because technology — smartphones because they spend the bulk of those seeking career opportunities shows it is not. Marketers, there- spas. So, a broad brush targeting and engagement between brands with England, where the problem is and various apps — have made report- their leisure time either in are most likely to be not just fore, need to be very very careful in of hi-end watches or whiskies to and their customers. Data can be probably somewhat more muted than ing easier. But on the ground, the real- indulging in sports or playing amongst 25-35-year-olds but, in pre-supposing assumptions based those in their fifties would actual- used to develop the right messag- in some other parts of Europe. In 2018, ity is that football-related hate crimes games. Hence, they tend to miss today’s age of longer life spans, on iterative logic, which otherwise ly mean missing the real con- ing in the right context and to coloured referee Joel Mannix reported grew 47 per cent in the 2018-19 season out most advertising messages could well extend to those in their appears both sequential and valid, sumers who are a good 15-20 years place it on the right vehicle in the that his club chairperson wiped his in England and Wales. beamed at them by brands. But forties and fifties, except that the but in real life repudiates the very younger or may be 5-10 years older. right time aperture. It is not as dif- hands on his trousers after shaking As far as Europe is concerned, a this seems a fallacious premise. type of jobs these demographics basis on which such judgements Interestingly, while the size of ficult or as complex as it sounds or hands with him. “I was like: ‘Wow!’” credible hypothesis is that racism in The latest Comscore research has may be seeking would be more sen- are made. women fans as a segment may be seems. It just needs the right skill Mannix recalls. “2018, it’s still happen- sport mirrors the growth of right-wing found that the time spent by male ior, also perhaps more well-paying. Similar logic applies to an oft- smaller, media research shows sets and the right mindset. If done ing. I looked at him while he was wiping tendencies in society as a whole, which 18-24-year-olds in playing sports Generational misunderstand- used truism that high-income con- that female viewers are far more right, many assumptions that his hand and he kind of stopped and in turn produces right-wing regimes. or games is significantly less than ings tend to proliferate through ill- sumers in their fifties are always engaged. In the FIFA World Cup seem like truisms may actually didn’t know what to do. I knew my Brexit and Boris Johnson, alongside the time spent by them on either informed media stories and con- the best bet for luxury brands. 2018, female viewers watched 77 not stand the litmus test. hands were fresh, I’d just cleaned my other increasingly popular rightwing social media or on various enter- sequent sharing of those between Interestingly, research shows that it per cent more FIFA YouTube hands. I knew there was no residue or leaders in West and East Europe, are tainment sites. This is surely an friends and family. The most is not age but income that has a videos than males; in the Stanley The writer is an advertising and dirt on my hands — and then it was prime examples of isolationist and enlightening revelation. common such story is that the rise positive correlation with purchas- Cup for ice hockey again female media veteran quite funny counting on his team six or xenophobic supremacism.