MAHARASHTRA PRAKASH JAVADEKAR GOVERNOR RATTLES THE GOVERNMENT MAKE IN INDIA HAPPENED IN FOUR MONTHS CYCLONE AMPHAN JOURNALISM WITH A HUMAN TOUCH www.theweek.in TheWeekMag TheWeekLive $ 50 TRIGGERS POLITICAL HEADWINDS FOR MAMATA CARMAKERS TAKE THE ROUTE LESS TRODDEN RTI TAKEN ILL DURING JUNE 7, 2020 THE LOCKDOWN TENSION ON INDIA-CHINA BORDER WHAT XI WANTS Land link with Pak-held Kashmir through Ladakh? VOL. 38 NO. 23 THE WEEK JUNE 7 2020 FOR THE WEEK JUNE 1 - JUNE 7 12 32 65 SALIL BERA SALIL AHLAWAT SANJAY WEST BENGAL EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW @LEISURE With mass devastation by Cyclone Self-reliance does not mean Anurag Kashyap is in an intense Amphan and rising Covid-19 cases, exclusionist policies: Prakash space right now—politically and Mamata Banerjee has her hands full Javadekar, Union minister cinematically 16 CONTROVERSY 40 COVER STORY Experts are worried COLUMNS that citizens’ right to 9 POWER POINT information has not Sachidananda Murthy been upheld during the lockdown 19 IVORY TOWER Sanjaya Baru 24 PHOTO-FEATURE Homebound and 54 PMO BEAT abandoned, migrant R. Prasannan labourers have come 55 MANI-FESTO to represent the Mani Shankar Aiyar bruised, tear-stained face of our 61 BITTER CHOCOLATE Swara Bhasker motherland 74 LAST WORD 34 MAHARASHTRA Barkha Dutt The power tussle between the governor and the Thackeray selling and attractive government could financing options BINESH SREEDHARAN lead to a fresh 62 SPORTS political crisis The Saudi sovereign IMAGING IMAGING 56 BUSINESS wealth fund’s interest Carmakers are trying in English football may PEAK OF TENSION to beat the slowdown be more about profits with new ways of than propaganda The India-China border in eastern Ladakh is witnessing a high level of tensions, with China bringing forward at least COVER ILLUSTRATION BINESH SREEDHARAN 4,000 troops to the region. India’s relation with Nepal also Printed at Malayala Manorama Press, Kottayam, Print House India Pvt deteriorated over the past few months, and New Delhi Ltd, Mumbai, M P Printers, Noida, and Rajhans Enterprises, Bengaluru, suspects China’s hand behind it. Now, as China makes and published from Manorama Buildings, Panampilly Nagar, Kochi-682 036, by Jacob Mathew, on behalf of the Malayala Manorama Co.Ltd., a strategic threat, the big question is, how long will the Kottayam-686 001. Editor Philip Mathew stand-off continue? • Focus/Infocus features are paid marketing/PR initiatives JUNE 7, 2020 • THE WEEK 3 LETTERS are followed in total by all has been the worst hit by for imparting additional Army is deeply commit- Editor Philip Mathew state governments, they are the lockdown necessitated training to the individual. ted to implementing the Chief Associate Editor & Director Riyad Mathew viewed with suspicion by by the Covid pandemic, Additionally, in accord- Supreme Court judgment Editor-in-Charge V.S. Jayaschandran Senior News Editor Stanley Thomas the West Bengal govern- it would be the migrant ance with laid-down of February 17, 2020, in News Editor Lukose Mathew ment, thereby leading to labourers (‘Home truths’, process, verbal and written letter and spirit. A working Deputy News Editors Mathew T. George, Maijo Abraham, Ajish P. Joy laxity in implementation. May 24). warnings of possible group, under an Army Resident Editor, Delhi K.S. Sachidananda Murthy The virus has rapidly Heart-wrenching reports relegation/withdrawal are Commander, is looking Chief of Bureau, Delhi R. Prasannan spread its tentacles across by the media about the issued at multiple stages closely at evolving a matrix Chief of Bureau, Mumbai Dnyanesh V. Jathar the state, causing havoc. plight of these innocents of training to those cadets for quick and smooth Deputy Chief of Bureau, Delhi Neeru Bhatia Chief Subeditors Susamma Kurian, The need of the hour in forced governments to not meeting the physical implementation. Navin J. Antony West Bengal is to have a spring into action. Some training criteria. Col Aman Anand, Senior Subeditors Anirudha Karindalam, Anirudh Madhavan visionary statesmanship, to lost their lives on the way. For cases your reporter PRO (Army). Subeditors Diya Mathew, Karthik Ravindranath, guide the destiny of hapless Others exhausted their has mentioned, all entitled Reuben Joe Joseph, Nirmal Jovial migrant returnees. meagre savings and, in few attempts, including two As a defence correspond- SENIOR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS PRINCIPAL CORRESPONDENTS Parthasarathy Mandadi, cases, their own villages did additional opportunities, ent, I have high regard Delhi: Rekha Dixit, Mandira Nayar, Hyderabad: Rahul Devulapalli On email. not welcome them, thanks were given. The judgment for the Army. I have done Namrata Biji Ahuja, Soni Mishra, Kochi: Anjuly Mathai to the stigma of Covid-19. of the Supreme Court was several stories highlighting K. Sunil Thomas Srinagar: Tariq Ahmad Bhat SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS The slugfest between the The lockdown proved that never a factor impinging the achievements of the Lucknow: Puja Awasthi Bengaluru: Mini P. Thomas, Kolkata: Rabi Banerjee Take it easy, Mamata Centre and West Bengal, it is not just labour which is on either the qualifying Army. Hence, there is no Abhinav Singh Delhi: Sneha Bhura West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against the backdrop of the ‘dirt cheap’ in the country, standards or the tests. mala fide intent behind my SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS Mumbai: Priyanka Bhadani, Delhi: Pratul Sharma, Namita Kohli, Pooja Biraia Jaiswal is undoubtedly a mass leader and an able Covid-19 pandemic, not but also a labourer’s life. Gentlemen cadets are story. Pradip R. Sagar administrator. But her nose-in-the-air attitude only put lives at risk, but Kamna Chhabra, subject to the same rules The basic point of my Bengaluru: Prathima Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram: Cithara Paul CHIEF REPORTER is an Achilles’ heel (‘State of worry’, May 24). also makes resurrection of Gurugram. and have also failed to story is that, for the first Mumbai: Nachiket Kelkar UAE: Raju Mathew, Dubai Her sense of infallibility and hope of scoring socio-economic activities make the grade. Therefore, time in 28 years (since Chennai Lakshmi Subramanian Bhopal: Sravani Sarkar over the Centre have contributed to her clumsy all the more foggy. In the Wide of the mark insinuation of gender bias women were allowed to Ahmedabad: Nandini Gunavantrai Oza management of the pandemic. A bunch of the blame-game between the Your report on the mass is unfair. Physical tests are serve in the Army), there Photo Editor: Sanjoy Ghosh Art Editor: Jayakrishnan M.T. bureaucracy, which is fawning on her, has played Centre and West Bengal, failure of women cadets in precise in terms of criteri- has been a mass failure Deputy Photo Editors Assistant Art Editor: Binesh Sreedharan a major role in creating a disquieting situation. it is the people who are the Army seems to be mo- on—you either pass or fail. of women cadets. I have Bhanu Prakash Chandra, Salil Bera Senior Infographic Raveendranath A., suffering. tivated and full of inaccu- Your reporter has clev- mentioned it as an ‘aberra- Chief Photographers Designer: Sreemanikandan S. Delhi: Arvind Jain, Sanjay Ahlawat Illustrator: B. Bhaskaran On email. Both the BJP and the racies (‘Mean manoeuvre’, erly used the data from tion’. When this happened Mumbai: Janak Bhat, Amey Suhas Mansabdar Layout Artist: B. Manojkumar TMC have their eyes fixed May 24). the last couple of batches immediately after the Photographer Designers: Deni Lal, Job P.K. in the state elections due The training staff puts in to create a false narrative, Supreme Court judgment, Delhi: Aayush Goel Graphic Designer: Syam Krishnan Chief Picture Coordinator Artists: Rajesh A.S., Sumesh C.N., I do not understand what take the people of the state next year. If politics starts very long hours, outside and there seems to be a and never before, several Bimal Nath C. Sujesh K., Ajeesh Kumar M., Jairaj T.G. Mamata gains by hiding for a ride. dictating every move, even scheduled training, to make possibility that this report serving and retired male Research: Jomy M. Joseph Senior Researcher: Rani G.S. Covid-19 cases in West Tapesh Nagpal, in such grave crises, the sure that maximum cadets is authored at the behest of and female officers -ex Photo Archivist: Deepak Joy T. Bengal. If she has any love On email. pawns are sacrificed. complete training success- some individuals looking pressed concern. My story THEWEEK.IN for her state, she should not Vijai Pant, fully and get commissioned to benefit from the sensa- articulated that concern. New Media Coordinator Neeraj Krishnan be doing that. Your cover story forewarns On email. as officers. Failure would tionalism. While gathering infor- Deputy New Media Coordinator Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl The BJP should also what is in store in West incur additional expend- He has clearly misquot- mation, I had checked with Senior Subeditors Hazeeda Vijayakumar, Sumitra Nair, Vaisakh E. Hari, Ancy K. Sunny, refrain from playing politics Bengal. When instruc- Constant grief iture to the exchequer to ed Army headquarters to the Army headquarters. Jose K. George, Justin Paul George during the pandemic. Both tions of the ICMR and the If we have to single out one cater for additional time support his false narrative. Their response to my query Subeditors Vinod V.K., Anita Babu, Varun Ramesh Balan these parties should not Central health ministry section of society which and resources required Lieutenant General Bobby is given in the report. Your Senior Researcher Saju C. Daniel Mathew (retd), in response rebuttal does not deny my Multimedia Rahul J. Mohan, Vipin Das P. to a query by this office, basic point—of a mass Executive Director George Jacob has confirmed that his failure of women cadets in Vice President, Marketing, Advertising Sales Varghese Chandy SUBSCRIPTIONS/CUSTOMER CARE CIRCULATION Hyderabad: BUREAU ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE EDITORIAL remarks have been misrep- the physical tests.