A Journal of the press Institute of India ISSN 0042-5303 April-June 2021 Volume 13 Issue 2 Rs 60 Fighting the stigma of disease – creating space for empathy Last year, when COVID-19 started to make headway into the cities of India, the disease brought with it several uncertainties and unknowns. While the CONTENTS medical fraternity worked hard to understand the virus and the disease that • Child marriages – a less-publicised it was causing, the few who began to fall prey to the virus grappled with downside of the lockdown / symptoms of another kind too – symptoms of stigma – manifesting in those Sarita Brara around them. Some were asked to vacate rented homes, some were shunned • With commercial interests gaining ground, where is school education by neighbours, healthcare workers were socially isolated, and going? / Bharat Dogra instances of malicious rumours and mental trauma began • Using radio to spreading the voices to surface. Janani Murali on how stigma traverses societal, of marginalised communities / judicial and healthcare frameworks and why building a social Alankar Kaushik support system is important to fight the stigma • Common lessons from the pandemic on the economic front / Vaibhavi Pingale OVID-19 and the virus may have been new, but stigma of disease in • Drawing the line between itself is not new to us. Centuries ago, leprosy was infamous for the information and negativity / stigma that it generated amongst the masses, across geographies N.S Venkataraman C • The gender question – forty and cultures. Seen as a deadly disease that left fingers, toes or hands and years and more later / legs deformed and incapacitated, the fear of contracting it through skin Sakuntala Narasimhan contact drove people away from those who suffered. • The good, the bad and the fake – A debilitating disease like leprosy, people assumed, would only affect coverage of an assembly election / those who had sinned. In time, lepers were shunned and lived and died in Manjira Mazumdar deplorable conditions. To be excluded from public life and be denied basic • The wait for reforms on the ground continues even after 25 years / human rights sounds harsh. To experience it must feel crushing. Kundan Pandey The fanciful thing about stigma is that it doesn’t restrict itself to any • Little Poland, a World War II story of particular kind of disease. As long as there is a fear of contracting it or hope and courage / Ronita Torcato being affected by it, very little credible knowledge about it and lots of • A celluloid tribute to the Father of Indian cinema / Shoma A. Chatterji anxiety, stigma will grow like weed in abandoned land. HIV-AIDS and • Worshipping the Goddess of War tuberculosis are leprosy pals in that sense. For long, until the second and Victory / Meenakshi Devaraj half of the 20th Century, contracting tuberculosis meant being sent away • The fall and fall of Indian tennis / to a sanitorium because there was little treatment and the disease was Partab Ramchand • A record-breaking bowler leads a highly infectious. Patients were isolated from society to prevent infect- state’s charge in Indian cricket / ing others. V. Ramnarayan Tuberculosis meant being banished from civil society – a death sen- • Remembering: Sagar Sarhadi/ tence even. With the development of antibiotics to combat the bacteria Shashikala/ Sumitra Bhave/ Anil Dharkar/ V. Chandrasekhar/ (Continued on page 3) Mario Noronha

April-June 2021 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR PR takes you only up to a point; it is honesty and transparency that count

e have set the world record second. According to government Meanwhile, many who have been Wfor the highest number of data, India shipped 66 million doses infected with COVID and have COVID cases a day, and also the overseas since January, enough to recovered are now trying to meet record for the highest number of vaccinate the population of Delhi, the challenge of facing up to a COVID-related deaths a day. Sto- Mumbai and Kolkata as a report certain stigma – manifesting in ries and pictures of what India has suggested. In April alone, as India’s those around them. Janani Murali been going through the past few COVID crisis went from bad to cata- describes how stigma traverses months are difficult to digest – long strophic, nearly 2 million doses left societal, judicial and healthcare lines of ambulances outside hos- the country (Quartz). Clearly, the frameworks and why building a pitals carrying COVID patients government exported vaccines to social support system is important struggling to breathe; lack of medi- boost its global image amidst the to fight the stigma. Sarita Brara tells cines, hospital beds and oxygen; pandemic but at what cost? With the story of a girl who resisted pres- patients administered oxygen in people dying and struggling to sur- sure to be sent to her in-laws before cars and ambulances outside hos- vive, India’s vaccine diplomacy lost she had attained puberty during pitals; uncontrollable grief and its sheen long ago. the lockdown in Rajasthan. She sorrow and a pervading sense of Now, after a New York Times report, was beaten up and had to be hos- helplessness and hopelessness; many are asking whether the fig- pitalised. A new analysis released the desperate struggle to survive; ures trotted out by the government by UNICEF warns that ten million scared, unemployed and hungry (Central and states) are true and additional child marriages may migrant workers in the cities forced how much is under-reporting. Just occur before the end of the decade to get back to their homes in the how big is India’s COVID death because of the pandemic. With the smaller towns and villages… I can toll? Last week, India recorded the closure of schools and limited social go on and on but this has been the largest daily coronavirus death toll access, it has become difficult for broad picture across India in April (4529) for any country during the the girls to gather support for resist- and May. Not to forget, the horri- pandemic — a figure that NYT says ing child marriage. And as Bharat fying images of floating bodies in is most likely an undercount. NYT Dogra says, the disadvantages for the Ganges and half-buried corpses consulted many experts to arrive at poorer children, rural children and in the region as deaths from the several possible estimates for the true girls have been increasing. Many country’s coronavirus surge broke scale of devastation from COVID-19 of them are also being deprived records. The general perception is in India. (As of May 26, India had of facilities such as nutrition pro- that the government has just not reported 27.16 million cases and grammes, free uniforms and books, done enough and is more con- 311388 deaths.) NYT data shows not to mention the joy of meeting cerned about shoring up its public that the “best-case scenario assumes school friends, studying and play- image. And now with India’s rural a true infection count 15 times the ing together on a daily basis. areas reeling under the pandemic, official number of recorded cases, Do take care and stay safe. the plight of people living in the and a death toll roughly double the villages can only be imagined. official count, at over 600000 deaths”. Sashi Nair [email protected] The vaccination programme got The worst-case scenario, according to off to a ‘flying’ start with the media NYT, taking into account the short- (corporate media really) doing its age in oxygen and hospital beds, Note: Many journalists in India have lost bit to show public figures, from the puts the estimated infections at over their lives to COVID in the course of work. president and prime minister down- 700 million, and deaths at 4.2 mil- Let us spare a thought for them. It is good wards, getting their vaccine shots. lion. The government, however, has to know that a few states have declared journalists as frontline workers. The Central Today, millions in all age groups in trashed the report, calling it “base- Government has not. The TN Govt has states across the country are wait- less and false”... based on “distorted doubled the solatium (compensation) to ing for vaccines to arrive – some estimates”. the kin of journalists who die of COVID to for the first dose, and many for the Rs 10 lakh. We welcome it. - Editor ************************

2 VIDURA April-June 2021 (Continued from page 1) those infected were promptly pandering to the fear of disease that causes tuberculosis, the need labelled as morally loose and ‘to- and the diseased become the for sanatoriums disappeared. be-avoided’. Venereal diseases anchors of stigma and taboos. Over the decades, treatment has such as this invite the wrath of Rooting these anchors fur- evolved and has become sophis- the moral police; stereotyping ther are complex socio-cultural ticated. Medicines are accessible follows and brings with it social norms. Caste and class begin to to all and infection rates can be ostracization. play a role in social ostraciza- controlled. However, the visu- With anything new or unknown, tion, coupled with medical access als of faraway sanatoriums have myths start to do the rounds as or the lack of it. The unrealistic probably not left the psyche of the has happened with the COVID assumption that certain sections people who continue to be wary of pandemic. That HIV could be of society are more prone to TB patients. contracted by sitting next to an disease and infection is a deep- When HIV-AIDS was first dis- infected person or sharing a meal seated judgmental mindset that covered in India amongst sex with them became strong beliefs. seems to be showing up even workers, and later also linked to That tuberculosis can be con- today. If morality came under shared needle use amongst drug tained and cured was conversely question with HIV infection, abusers, or same-sex partners, not believable to many. Myths tuberculosis was inappropriately Illustration: Arun Ramkumar

April-June 2021 VIDURA 3 linked to lower socio-economic dismantle rigid beliefs and super- diseases. Through the current strata. stitions? How does one dissolve pandemic, how important and Today, the exclusion of labour- judgmental behaviour? In short, feasible is it to create judicial ers and daily wage workers from how does one create empathy? In safety nets? A step ahead, how middle- and upper-middle class one of the worst dramas to have does one ensure that the public is societies, presumptuous religious been witnessed in recent decades, aware of these? On a more imme- links to the spread of disease and the COVID pandemic has brought diate and individual level, is there well-educated individuals refus- forth virtues and scandals in equal a solution that each of us can be a ing to get themselves tested for measure. part of? infection, are stinging realities The economics of the pandemic While healthcare access takes in the face of COVID. And so, have added another layer to the precedence, and rightly so, in one realises that uprooting these already complex socio-cultural- these times, it is equally impor- anchors of stigma aren’t as easy as political perspectives that shaped tant to have dedicated volunteers just dismissing the myths. our response to the past year. But who will build a social support Stigma traverses societal, judi- is it possible, in the midst of all system that is stronger than the cial and healthcare frameworks the chaos, to emphasise a human- stigma. In due course, to be able in ways that may not always be istic response? Bringing survivors to find treatment options for the

explicit. It intensifies in such of tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS in stigma would be our victory in the implicit ways that many refuse conversation with the layman has longest battle with disease. < to approach or avail of healthcare been promoted as a possibility to options for fear of being judged, break the taboos of these diseases. (The writer is a biologist and labelled or worse, ostracized. But in the noise of social media freelance writer based in Bangalore. And it is in such circumstances and propaganda that already She is also a performer and is that the downward spiral of dis- exists with COVID, how can we the associate director of Padmalaya ease management intensifies and ensure that ‘real’ conversations Dance Foundation and the founder of a pandemic of this magnitude is find space and connect? an eco-enterprise, The Green Wheel.) able to break the very fabric of our Judicial provisions have been mental-emotional strength. put in place and several steps are Does part of the solution then being taken within the healthcare lie in breaking these social bar- set-up to fight discrimination riers of stigma? How does one against those with stigmatised

ABP Network enters Tamil Nadu

ABP Network has announced its entry into the Tamil Nadu market with the launch of its brand new digital platform, ABP Nadu. With this launch, the network plans to make major headway in the ultra-competitive Tamil digital news space. Over the course of its journey, ABP Network’s regional channels and digital platforms have successfully created a strong brand equity in their respective markets by truly entrenching themselves into the culture and ethos of every region they serve. ABP Network is successfully running regional channels/digital platforms in West Bengal (ABP Ananda), Maharashtra (ABP Majha), Gujarat (ABP Asmita), Punjab (ABP Sanjha), Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand (ABP Ganga), and Bihar (ABP Bihar). As the network expands its presence to South India as well, the new digital platform will promise to present authentic and compelling stories that appeal to Tamil audiences. ABP Network believes that the virtues of the Tamil language, its rich literature, and vibrant culture have always been an integral part of Tamil Nadu’s identity. ABP Nadu will, therefore, resonate with the new

progressive evolution of the state and serve to bring alive its new narrative in a colourful, vibrant, and in a manner that accentuates its nativity. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

4 VIDURA April-June 2021 Child marriages – a less-publicised downside of the lockdown

The pandemic caused a setback in India’s efforts to prevent child marriages, as the lockdown presented an ideal opportunity for such ceremonies to be conducted without fanfare, says Sarita Brara

report during the lock- Bharti says the restrictions imposed the law against child marriages is down period from Raj- on the number of people attend- not effective. There are also super- Aasthan spoke of violence ing function like marriages also stitions that sometimes lead to such against a girl who resisted pres- worked as a catalyst for organis- marriages. sure to be sent to her in-laws before ing these marriages, because of the However, despite all odds, Urmul she had attained puberty. She was lower expenditure involved. was able to prevent 15 to 16 child beaten up and had to be hospital- With the closure of schools and marriages during the lockdown. ised. While cases of violence of limited social access, it became dif- There were reports from some this type may not be very frequent, ficult for the girls to gather sup- other states like Maharashtra and there has been a rise in the number port for resisting child marriage. Karnataka, of parents marrying off of child marriages and increased Another reason Bharti cites for the their daughters before they turned pressure and threats for organising increase in child marriages is the 18, because of the economic stress gaunas (ceremonies where the child curtailed earnings and job losses caused by the pandemic. Childline bride is sent to her marital home) due to the pandemic. More girls, reported 6355 intervention calls to during the lockdown situation. who in any case are considered a prevent child marriages and 898 of A new analysis released by burden, were married off during these alliances were averted dur- UNICEF warns that ten million the lockdown. ing the lockdown, according to additional child marriages may Urmul, another organisation the Ministry of Women and Child occur before the end of the dec- working actively against child mar- Development. ade because of the pandemic. Kriti riage and a host of other issues in The pandemic also witnessed a Bharti, founder of the Saarthi Trust, Rajasthan, also asserts that child 50 per cent increase in calls made which has been doing pioneer- marriages did indeed increase dur- to Childline with regard to violence ing work against child marriages, ing the pandemic. Ramesh Saran, against children in the first two confirms that such marriages have the executive director of Urmul, months of the lockdown. Although indeed been increasing during the says that the lockdown restrictions UNICEF rates India’s progress as lockdown. The Saarthi Trust has meant that the child marriages one of the strongest among South till date been able to prevent 1400 could be held with just 15 to20 fam- Asian countries during the last child marriages and annulled 41 ily members in attendance, and no decade, one cannot close one’s eyes such alliances. one else getting wind of it. “Earlier, to the fact that one in three of the Bharti says that the attention of these marriages were held openly, world’s child brides live in India. the government and officials has and the news about the impending Approximately one in four young been focussed on the pandemic ceremony would filter out. It was women in India were married or in and not as much on the social evil. much easier for the field workers a union before their 18th birthday. Because of restrictions imposed due to inform authorities and get these Of the country’s 223 million child to the pandemic, activists and local marriages stopped,” he says. brides, 102 million were married people have not been able to inform Another reason for the rise was before turning 15. the authorities about impending the closure of schools, which led UNICEF India Representative child marriages, she says. to increase in the number of girls Yasmin Ali Haque stresses the need The efforts of the NGOs to work dropping out. “Not many parents for continued focus on the poorest actively to prevent such alliances were willing to provide mobile and most vulnerable girls and their did not yield the desired results phones to their daughters for online families. due to lack of flow of information. studies, so once there was a break in “It is critical that child marriage They usually depend on tip-offs studies, the next step was to marry elimination efforts are integrated from concerned and aware locals. off the girls,” he notes. Saran says into the COVID-19 response and

April-June 2021 VIDURA 5 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar recovery plans, and a prevention COVID-19, UNICEF says, is the pandemic, immediate action is approach is strengthened that profoundly affecting the lives needed to mitigate the toll on girls also addresses negative impact on of girls. Pandemic-related travel and their families. By reopening health, education, and child pro- restrictions and physical distanc- schools, implementing effective tection. The drive to end child mar- ing make it difficult for girls to laws and policies, ensuring access riage needs to consider the entire access the healthcare, social ser- to health and social services – lifecycle of a child, especially by vices and community support that including sexual and reproductive addressing persisting negative protect them from child marriage, health services – and providing social norms and ensuring that unwanted pregnancy and gender- comprehensive social protection girls stay in school and learn, and based violence. As schools remain measures for families, we can sig- have access to life skills and career closed, girls are more likely to drop nificantly reduce a girl’s risk of hav-

opportunities to succeed and out of education and not return. ing her childhood stolen through thrive,” she says. Job losses and increased economic child marriage,” she asserts. < COVID-19 has made an already insecurity may also force families difficult situation for millions of to marry off their daughters to ease (The writer is a senior journalist girls even worse. Schools being financial burdens. who divides time between Delhi and closed, isolated from friends and To offset the impacts of COVID- Shimla.) support networks, and rising pov- 19 and end the practice by 2030, erty have added fuel to a fire the the target set out in the Sustain- world was already struggling to able Development Goals, progress put out, said UNICEF Executive must be significantly accelerated, Director Henrietta Fore. says Henrietta Fore.“One year into

6 VIDURA April-June 2021 With commercial interests rising, where is school education going?

With the pandemic throwing the existing system of school education out of gear, the changes that are happening are worrisome, says Bharat Dogra, pointing to vested interests advancing their own agenda and that the ultimate victims being school children

he past year has been to make up for this with online edu- of children who do not go to school extremely difficult for school cation. But it was difficult for chil- was under-reported in official Teducation. On the one hand, dren from poor, rural and remote records of many villages. As I have schools have been closed for pro- households to take advantage of often seen in the course of my field longed periods due to the pan- this, due to low access to smart- work, the number of children not demic and, on the other, the new phones and computers and poor going to school in Dalit hamlets and situation has been exploited to Internet connectivity and com- colonies of other marginalised sec- commercialise the sector even puter skills. Parents were forced to tions is high. more than it already was. There is cut down on essential expenses to The situation is likely to deterio- a feeling that the exceptional situ- buy smartphones or computers, or rate in the present context. While ation is being used by vested inter- arrange connectivity on a regular the problems are more severe in ests to advance their own agenda, basis. the case of children from poorer and that they seem to be succeed- Even if limited resources could be households, others are affected too. ing. The ultimate victims will be accessed, there was the problem of Even the children of the elite suffer school children. how these would be shared by mul- due to factors such as the denial of Even before COVID times, there tiple children in a household. Gener- company of school friends in learn- were of course sharp inequalities ally, it is the girl child who is left out ing together and playing together. in the school education system in in such a situation. It is also more Meanwhile, as smartphones and India. The inequalities were increas- difficult for poorer children (for computers are placed in the hands ing because of the reduced role of example those living in one-room of children, the chances of the gadg- government schools offering low- houses) to study from home. Online ets being put to harmful and addic- cost education and the increasing education is also much less likely to tive use increase. Eye problems role of high-cost private schools. be accommodative of the language and other health issues have been Many government schools suffer with which most children of a par- linked to excessive hours spent at from a shocking lack of basic facili- ticular region may be more familiar, computers and smartphones. The ties and essential resources. There or of the special needs of children. health hazards for children will are sharp inequalities even with Hence, the disadvantages for increase much more with the com- respect to the teaching staff in many poorer children, rural children and ing of 5G technology. A big increase places. Teachers have been saddled girls have been increasing. The in school education budget is called with non-teaching responsibilities, longer the schools remain closed, for, but this was not provided in the which leaves them much less time the greater the chance that such most recent Union Budget. for their main work. students will forget what they had No matter how hard teach- Strong commercial interests have already learnt. It will be difficult for ers work to cope with the new been emerging in the sector of them to resume education without demands on them, online educa- school education, relating not just special help. In addition, of course, tion can never give the same good to expansion of chains of private many of them were also deprived results that direct contact of teach- schools but also to expensive edu- of facilities like nutrition pro- ers with students provides. But cational aids which pave the way grammes, free uniforms and books, school managements and teachers for more mechanised, more cen- not to mention the joy of meeting are under pressure to accommodate tralised and less interactive forms school friends, studying and play- commercial interests. of learning. ing together on a daily basis. Success in learning comes best When schools were closed due to The possibility of drop-outs is from interaction between curious the pandemic, attempts were made increasing. Even earlier, the number children and creative teachers. But

April-June 2021 VIDURA 7 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar the trend now is for powerful inter- Rather than learning from them, school education situation and rec- ests to use the education system school education appears to be ommend a path which is best for to impose data-gathering and top- going further and further away children, and which provides more down experiments for their own from their ideas. The sense of ethics conducive conditions for teachers

agendas, in the name of improving emphasised by Gandhi in particu- to fulfil their primary responsibility education and providing expen- lar is increasingly ignored in favour of providing good education. < sive educational aids. In such con- of aggressive competitiveness and ditions, teachers increasingly lose narrow successes in career/ mate- (The writer is a senior freelance their instinctive creativity and rial terms. What is more, there is journalist and author who has instead, their role is reduced to the a real danger of school education been associated with several social drudgery of documentation to fulfil being diverted towards a narrow, movements and initiatives. He lives in some external agenda. sectarian, biased interpretation of Delhi.) Sadly, this is happening in the history. land of such great educationists, It is high time that eminent edu- known for their originality and cationists collaborated to consider creativity, as Tagore and Gandhi. all aspects of the fast-changing

8 VIDURA April-June 2021 Using radio to spread the voices of marginalised communities

In the present scenario, when there is a sharp digital divide between the privileged and underprivileged groups, it has been seen that community radio can act as an educational tool to ensure better participation. Alankar Kaushik presents a case study from Dibrugarh and Dhemaji Districts of Assam harati Kheriya, a student of the various communications tools alternative platform for children Standard 8, lives with her necessary to pursue online classes, who do not have access to com- Bparents who are daily wage the radio has become an afford- munication devices necessary for labourers at the Dikom Tea Estate able means of continuing school attending online classes. in Dibrugarh, Assam. During the education. Radio Brahmaputra, in COVID-19 has significantly national lockdown, it became dif- association with UNICEF, Assam, affected the education of children ficult for her parents to manage the and the district administration in Assam. In an attempt to reach out family expenses and she was forced of Dibrugarh and Department of to the marginalised people resid- to work in the paddy fields to bring Education, Dibrugarh, started a ing in Dhemaji and Dibrugarh Dis- in additional income. The family venture called Radio Parhasali tricts of Assam, Radio Brahmaputra could not afford to buy a smartphone (Radio Classroom) and appointed introduced evidence-based report- so that she could pursue her studies various siksha bandhus to mobilise ing through a community research via online classes. But Bharati was the children from the community. initiative. Brahmaputra Commu- not one to give up. She got to know Supervised by the district admin- nity Radio Station (BCRS), Dibru- about the Radio Classroom from istration and implemented by garh, as a part of the Community Swapna Pator, a siksha bandhu, and the community radio station, it Research Initiative with the sup- she managed to continue her studies. became very successful. port of UNICEF Assam, recently “Radio classes are helping me a A total of 52 episodes pertaining released a report titled ‘Mapping of lot. I missed many important les- to the syllabus for children from online learning tools and its utility sons covered in the online classes Standards 2 to 8 were produced in Dibrugarh and Dhemaji district because I had to go to work, and and aired between October 2020 of Assam’. now these lessons are being cov- and January 2021, for the benefit The issues identified in the report ered through the Radio Classroom of children in tea garden and riv- are discussed with the commu- programme,” says Bharati. erine villages. The programmes nity through the platform of the As a huge number of households were also broadcast on Facebook, radio. What is significant about in India do not have accessibility to live. The initiative proved to be an the research is the ability of the Photos: AK A teacher recording a programme during the Radio Classroom project, and (right) students listening and learning from the Radio Classroom session in the presence of a siksha bandhu.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 9 Children raise hands during a radio class in Dibrugarh. Right: Children in the outdoors with a siksha bandhu as the radio plays - creating a relaxing ambience for learning. radio team to use a participatory to attend online classes. Only 27.6 of crisis but also at other times. At approach to reach the derived data. per cent of students owned smart- present, when there is a sharp digi- BCRS is the first civil society-led phones to participate in e-learning tal divide between the privileged community radio station in North- platforms. Over 40 per cent of the and underprivileged groups, it has east India. It has been established parents were identified as depend- been seen that a community radio with the aim to promote local ent on agriculture, others work as can act as an educational tool to voice and culture and spread the labourers in tea gardens or daily ensure better participation. Any voices of marginalised communi- wage workers in nearby towns for sort of community media should ties who do not have access to any their livelihood. be viewed as an element of the other medium of communication. The respondents identified six community communication sys-

As a part of its aims and objec- major challenges the faced during tem. They serve as instruments of tives, BCRS has been working in the pandemic phase – poor Internet resource utilisation. < tea garden and riverine commu- connectivity, no access to smart- nities in Dibrugarh and Dhemaji phones, issues related to audio (The writer is assistant professor and other parts of Assam for the connectivity, frequent power cuts, in the department of Journalism and past decade. non-availability of Internet data Mass Communication at the English The study conducted by Radio and communication gap between and Foreign Languages University, Brahmaputra in Dhemaji and the students and teachers. Regional Campus, Shillong.) Dibrugarh revealed that only 40.85 This information can be used to per cent of students in govern- strategize a more equal platform for ment schools have Internet access young people, not only at the time

Umakant Lakhera elected president, Press Club of India

The Press Club of India has elected Umakant Lakhera as the Press Club President, following the elections held on April 10 for a number of positions. Shahid Abbas has been appointed as the vice-president and Vinay Kumar the general secretary. Chandrasekhar Luthra has been elected to the joint secretary post and Sudhi Ranjan Sen has been elected as the treasurer, along with a new 16-member managing committee in Press Club of India Elections. The election was contested between two panels of 21 candidates each and some independents. The results were declared today morning by M.C. Sharma, chief election officer at the Press Club of India. According to reports, the Press Club of India has an annual revenue of over Rs 9 crore. The club has nearly

4200 active journalist members, 900 associate members, and a few dozen corporate members, including the Uttar Pradesh Government and Pepsi. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

10 VIDURA April-June 2021 Illustration: Angela Ferrao Faisal, a vegetable seller, breaks curfew and pays dearly, is how cartoonist Angela Ferrao in Goa has titled this cartoon. But there's a lot more of action as you can see, and we can relate to all of it so easily now.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 11 Common lessons from the pandemic on the economic front

A financial crisis can begin in many ways, a pandemic like COVID-19 being one. The most effective way to overcome the crisis is by infusing plenty of money into the economy, says Vaibhavi Pingale. The government can hand over the money, via direct subsidies, loans or tax incentives, to individuals, companies, and entire industries, to bail them out of the crisis, she suggests

fiscal stimulus is one of announced by the Centre so far, “Demand for the scheme the prescriptions of infus- the entire COVID-19 relief pack- remains significantly below the Aing money into an econ- age amounts to Rs 2987641 crore, original expectations,” the bank- omy that’s going through a crisis. according to Finance Minister Nir- ing association, which includes At the outset of the COVID-19 mala Sitharaman. The COVID-19 lenders such as Standard Bank pandemic, such fiscal packages stimulus package in South Africa Group and Nedbank Group, said. were announced by many coun- announced on April 21, 2020, “Business owners remain reluc- tries, including India and South was huge, amounting to approxi- tant to incur more debt, due to the Africa. There is some commonality mately $26 billion or 10 per cent of challenges presented by inconsis- between the two economies with the country’s GDP. tent policy and regulation, uncer- respect to the provisions of the tain business conditions, and a package to recover the economy, Loans for businesses weak economic outlook,” the its impact on the economy, reces- Ramaphosa’s administration last association said. The slow pace of sion due to the pandemic as well year unveiled a 500 billion-rand economic reform, unreliable elec- as the sectors that have led to the support package by re-prioritising tricity supply, lack of inclusive recovery of the economies. spending from existing budgets, growth, and weak consumer and The Government of India setting aside 100 billion rand to pro- business confidence was hinder- announced a special economic tect and create jobs, and 50 billion ing the need for credit. package on May 12, 2020, of Rs rand for welfare. Banks were roped Many companies also fail to 20 lakh crore, equivalent to 10 per in to distribute loans guaranteed by qualify under the initiative’s cri- cent of India’s GDP. Two more eco- the government to help small- to teria, even after some of the rules nomic packages were announced medium-sized businesses navigate were relaxed to drive demand. by the government to revive the through the crisis, starting with “The COVID-19 Loan Guaran- economy post-pandemic. Combin- 100 billion rand of disbursements tee Scheme on its own cannot ing the three stimulus measures before doubling up. address all of the financial and Photo: Internet Photo: businesstoday.in The writer compares the special economic packages announced by the South African and Indian Governments during the pandemic. Pictures are for representative purpose.

12 VIDURA April-June 2021 business challenges facing small requirements, nascent digital India’s large informal workforce enterprises, many of which pre- adoption, and last but not the was the worst hit as it made up date the pandemic,” the banking least, a complicated taxation 75 per cent of the 122 million jobs body said. “Government will have system. were lost. The 40-50 million sea- to implement other business and The provision of loans for the sonal migrant workers, typically financial support programs.” businesses as a part of the stim- engaged working in construction In the first package in India, one ulus package in both countries sites, factories, etc were particu- of the announcements was that is limiting the recovery of the larly distressed. all businesses (including MSMEs) economy due to lack of demand Over the past year as education would be provided with collat- and many other factors. Instead shifted online, India saw the digi- eral-free automatic loans of up to subsidies and some direct benefit tal divide worsening inequalities, three lakh crore rupees. MSMEs transfer would be more helpful to as just 3 per cent of the poorest 20 could borrow up to 20 per cent of the businesses and ultimately, for per cent of Indian households had their entire outstanding credit as the economy. access to a computer and just 9 per of February 29, 2020, from banks cent had access to the Internet. and Non-Banking Financial Com- Economies out of recession Only 6 per cent of the poorest 20 panies (NBFCs). Moving ahead, it is found that per cent households had access to The RBI’s decisions regarding both the economies faced the reces- non-shared sources of improved providing additional liquidity sion and with the help of manu- sanitation, compared to 93 per since the start of the COVID-19 facturing and trade recovered out cent of the top 20 per cent house- crisis have been comparatively of the recession. Manufacturing, holds in India. less effective. That’s because direct trading and mining were “the big- To conclude, by understand- expenditure by a government, gest drivers of growth in the third ing the common challenges faced either by way of wage subsidy or quarter,” the statisticians said, by both economies, especially, direct benefit transfer or payment contributing 16.2, 14.6 and 11.8 when the economy is suffering of salaries or payment for construc- percentage points respectively to from a lack of overall demand, it tion of a new hospital, etc imme- GDP growth. The latest figures is extremely important to increase diately and necessarily stimulates have technically propelled South the public investment at least for the economy. In other words, that Africa out of recession, defined some time as necessary to crowd money necessarily reaches the peo- as two successive quarters of in private investment. Infrastruc- ple, either as someone’s salary or shrinkage. ture has been a key issue in the someone’s purchase. India’s GDP for the third quar- inability to attract sizeable amount But credit easing by the RBI, that ter that ended in December was of foreign direct investment. The is, making more money available 0.4 per cent, therefore, after the two countries lack infrastructure to the banks so that they can lend deep fall in the first quarter, and facilities – business opportunities to the broader economy is not like relative recovery in the second can be explord in the areas of roads government expenditure. At last quarter, the Indian economy is out and connectivity, education, and count, Indian banks had parked of recession. The manufacturing health. Aggressive public invest- Rs 8.5 lakh crore with the Central and construction sector saw a sig- ment in infrastructure building for

Bank. So, in terms of calculations, nificant recovery in the December a year or two can help the efforts to RBI has given a stimulus of Rs 6 quarter. In addition to this, trade, revive the economy. < lakh crore. But the reality is that GST collections and agriculture it has received an even bigger have led to the recovery of the (The writer is assistant professor amount back from the banks. Indian economy. of Economics at Savitribai Phule Further, credit demand is the Pune University. She is currently problem, and not credit supply. Rising inequalities pursuing her PhD from Gokhale Owing to the strong government The COVID-19 pandemic has Institute of Politics and Economics, support and the resilience shown accentuated prevailing inequalities Pune. She has varied research by MSMEs, the sector in India beyond the digital divide. While interests such as labour and has been able to take-off, script- millions of people in Africa are development economics, macro and ing a revival story. The sector unable to connect to the internet, international economics, public finds itself grappling with long- much more lack access to electric- policy and governance.) standing challenges of complex ity, water, education and health regulatory and licensing mecha- services, among other basic needs. nism, stringent loan disbursal Similarly, inequalities in India policies, numerous compliances on different fronts have widened.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 13 Drawing the line between information and negativity

At a time when television channels are bombarding viewers with disquieting images and news of the COVID-19 crisis, N.S Venkataraman discusses the need for standards of coverage aimed at fostering hope

t is well-known that the visual keep morale high and spreading and sometimes unsubstantiated media has far more impact a sense of calmness in the present claims and views. Ithan the print media in influ- pandemic situation. The question Of course, every country and encing public opinion and creat- is whether it is really doing so. government is struggling to cope ing feelings of either positivity This section of the media seems with the situation. To some extent, or fear and despair. It can a big mostly to be highlighting negative it is true that crematoriums and source of strength by helping to and counterproductive aspects burial grounds are unable to Illustration: Arun Ramkumar

14 VIDURA April-June 2021 handle the number of bodies arriv- Several doctors have been debat- It is agreed that visual media has ing and there are bodies in queue ing issues relating to COVID-19, to provide viewers with news. But in some places. But should the including appropriate treatments, this certainly should not be done visual media highlight this, with on television. But there seems in such a way as to cause a sensa- shots of bereaved relatives? Some to be considerable divergence tion or with the self-centred aim of television channels have even between the views of different increasing viewership. shown a number of bodies being doctors, and this does not serve In this context, it has to be said burnt together. the purpose of giving viewers a that government-owned TV chan- It is true that there is some short- clear picture. Also, the anchors nels are far more balanced and age of vaccines in some places who conduct the discussions on responsible than the private ones. due to supply chain issues, but TV often do not have the required It is high time that visual media these shortages are quickly being expertise to handle the subject, editors and anchors meet and resolved. Should the media high- which is extremely complicated evolve standards for the way news light the fact that the shortage and rapidly evolving. is covered, with the focus on main- issues are being sorted out, or It is shocking that every sad and taining the morale of the people,

should the focus be the temporary depressing news item during this highlighting the positives rather shortage? period is being shown as ‘breaking than the negatives. < Migrants are feeling panicky and news’. Even more shocking, multi- want to rush back to their native ple media channels claim to be the (The writer is trustee, Nandini villages. The government has been first to ‘break’ the news. Voice for the Deprived, Chennai.) repeatedly telling the migrants that There are thousands of indi- there is no need for fear and that viduals, social groups and NGOs they would be taken care of. But silently working to help COVID the visual media is keen to show patients, counselling them and scenes of migrants walking on rail extending financial support to poor tracks and crowding railway sta- people affected by the lockdown. tions and bus depots. Such scenes However, their laudable services have encouraged more migrants to are rarely mentioned in the visual think of leaving their work spots. media.

Mathrubhumi produces a special anniversary issue

Mathrubhumi, one of the top 10 dailies in India, on its 98th anniversary brought out a 40-page special issue with “great content” that readers are storing as reference material and with good advertising support. The publication has brought a boost to the print industry, particularly at the time when almost all advertisers were preparing to close their books for the financial year and, that too, 2020 not being a good year for many. Mathrubhumi had earlier shown the way for print – with Onam and Diwali celebrations (although Diwali is not a big festival in Kerala) and two shopping festivals where advertisers were given the opportunity to showcase their businesses to readers. These brought in many non-print advertisers to Mathrubhumi, also benefiting the competition. Speaking about the special issue, M.V. Shreyams Kumar, MD, Mathrubhumi Group, said: “Print in Kerala is unlike print anywhere else and the exclusive and quality audience Mathrubhumi delivers makes it a compelling proposition for the advertisers. As a challenger brand, we are committed to innovations and win-win partnerships with clients which Kerala has never witnessed. Our Initiative AdImpact is just in

line with this vision. I congratulate the entire team at Mathrubhhumi who toiled to make the special issue a success and I also thank all our advertisers for their support.” <

April-June 2021 VIDURA 15 We’ve lost journalists to COVID, but Union Government yet to act While some states like Punjab, Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have declared journalists as frontline workers, the Union Government has been silent despite demands and representations, says Aditi Kumar

few months ago, the Kar- contracting the virus and spread- (NWMI) has been compiling its nataka Information and ing it to others in their own fami- own list, which suggests that at APublic Relations (I&PR) lies. Many contracted COVID-19 least 175 journalists across the Department called journalists for and lost their lives. Most reporters country have lost their lives in the a campaign on awareness for the on the ground were barely given last one year. COVID-19 vaccine and other related adequate protective equipment by issues. One of the questions asked media organisations to cover the Should journalists get priority for was when journalists would be pandemic. vaccines? given ‘frontline worker’ status for Several estimates say that over While several state governments the vaccine, to which officials smiled 100 journalists have died since like that of Odisha, Bihar, Madhya and replied, “The Union Govern- the onset of the pandemic. The Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu ment has not considered even teach- Institute of Perception Stud- and Punjab have taken initiatives ers as frontline workers, let alone ies has pegged the figure at 139 to declare journalists as frontline journalists.” Speaking to TNM, a between April 1, 2020 and May 1, workers and prioritise vaccina- reporter who was part of the event 2021. Uttar Pradesh tops the chart tion for them, the Union govern- and wished to remain anonymous with 26 journalists succumbing ment has been silent on the issue said, “The aim (of the campaign) to COVID-19, followed by Maha- despite repeated representations was to erase vaccine fearfulness and rashtra (19), Telangana (17), Delhi and requests. create vaccine eagerness. We have (16), Odisha (13) and Andhra Speaking to TNM, Abhinan- vaccine eagerness, why are you not Pradesh (7). The second wave of dan Sekhri, co-founder of News- giving it to us?” the pandemic this year has partic- laundry said, “The reporters who Since the onset of the pandemic in ularly hit journalists as 90 out of are out on the ground reporting India, journalists have been at the the 139 deaths have been reported should definitely have been given frontline of covering the spread of in 2021, out of which a staggering the vaccine a long time ago. Even the coronavirus, many risking their 81 deaths were reported in April if not when we were vaccinating own lives. Many journalists were alone, the data showed. The Net- senior citizens, then very soon forced to stay isolated with fear of work of Women in Media in India after that. It should have been Photo: reuters.com Photo: thenewsminute.com Over the past two years, journalists and photographers have been at the frontlines covering the pandemic for the benefit of all. They have been taking huge risks, often without support from managements. Many have died in the course of work. All journalists must be vaccinated on a priority basis and the Union Government must declare journalists and photographers working in the news publishing industry as frontline workers.

16 VIDURA April-June 2021 part of the first phase.” He added, the desk teams in large media Departments, which makes up “[When they are safe], that’s the outlets or those working at print- only a small number of journal- only way these stories get out. ing presses who have contracted ists. This also excludes freelanc- Otherwise, who’s going to report COVID-19 due to the nature of ers and stringers, who are often on them? We lost our wonderful their job, which requires them to the ones covering the news on Ashish Yechury. Though he was come to office. the ground and relaying it to the not reporting on the ground, one “Like ICUs being managed offices of media outlets. has seen what this disease can without enough doctors, how can “The organisations and media do.” you have a printing press work- outlets should compensate jour- Last month, amid a sharp spike ing, where several people test nalists who died covering the in COVID-19 cases, the Editors positive (affecting day-to-day pandemic. But for freelance jour- Guild of India had written to the production)? When you say war- nalists who are left in the lurch, the Union Government to consider riors, it is not only people on the state government should provide journalists as frontline workers ground. There are also people on some compensation,” N Ram said. and provide vaccination against the backend, who are making an Last month, states like Odisha and COVID-19 on a priority basis. effort to go to office every day to Telangana declared ex-gratia of Rs “News organisations have been get a newspaper out for citizens,” 15 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively relentlessly covering the pan- a Bengaluru-based journalist said. for journalists who succumbed to demic, elections and other current COVID-19 after contracting it on affairs in an effort to ensure that Onus on states the job. the flow of news and information With the Union Government yet Seema Mustafa agreed, adding, to readers continues unabated. to respond on the issue, the onus “Most of the people who are cov- News media is included in essen- has been on states to step up and ering COVID-19 are individual tial services. Therefore, it will only prioritise vaccines for journal- reporters or freelancers who are be fair that journalists be given ists. N Ram, director, The Hindu working for small organisations this cover of protection, espe- Publishing Group, said that there and they are really at risk. We cially in the face of the number was no doubt that journalists, and have noted this. We are going to of infected rising to astronomical especially reporters, were front- write to them (the government) levels,” the statement had said. line workers. “It will be good if that everyone with a journalist ID The NWMI had also expressed the Union Government declares should be part of this vaccination support for this demand, and the journalists as frontline workers, drive.” Editors Guild’s statement. How- but it is for the states to implement “I think the Union government’s ever, they say that they are yet to this. The Union government could disregard towards journalists and get a response. send an advisory to the state gov- journalism has been evident for Seema Mustafa, president of the ernments and pressure should be a long time,” Abhinandan Sekhri Editors Guild of India said that put on the latter to do it,” he said. observed. “They clearly don’t they had appealed to the Union He also questioned what ben- seem to think of journalists or government with the hope that efits the journalists could receive journalism as a value in democ- such an announcement would now, amid soaring cases and a racy. I think youngsters have make it a federal issue. “Unfortu- shortage of vaccines. “Earlier, immense courage, drive and com- nately, it hasn’t come from them frontline workers could get vacci- mitment towards journalism and (the Centre) and has come from nated when vaccines were avail- I have nothing but fond respect

some states instead. We think able, but now vaccines are in short for them. But the government, that it is really important for the supply. On paper now, anyone 18 in many cases, doesn’t seem to < Union Government to take note and above can get a vaccine. So, agree.” of this. By taking this step, you it remains to be seen as to what are acknowledging the work that benefits they (journalists) will get (Courtesy: The News Minute.) journalists are doing by cover- now.” ing the pandemic, at great risk Even in some states that have to themselves. It will also set an declared journalists as frontline atmosphere where there is wider workers – like Punjab, Madhya recognition of this fact and the Pradesh and Bihar – priority vac- need for all journalists to be vac- cination is only applicable for cinated,” she told TNM. only to those who have received It is not just reporters, but also accreditation from respective state several people who are part of Information and Public Relations

April-June 2021 VIDURA 17 The gender question – forty years after a landmark convention

Four decades have passed since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which was ratified by 183 countries in 1979. What do we see, now, forty two years later, asks Sakuntala Narasimhan

our decades have passed The Economist (issue dated Octo- be true. But part of the problem since the adoption of the UN ber 6, 2018)carried a cartoon say- is also women’s self-perceptions FConvention on the Elimina- ing ‘Men today are under siege’. of their personae – in a survey tion of All Forms of Discrimination In an earlier issue (September 22), reported in Time magazine, 42 per Against Women (CEDAW) which the magazine even referred to Brett cent of women interviewed said was ratified by 183 countries in Kavanaugh as an alleged “sex that they felt “pressure to look 1979. We also had the grand Plat- pest”, though he went on to get attractive” while only 21 per cent form for Action that the World confirmation to the Supreme Court, said they felt pressure to “excel at conference on women at Beijing in with Trump thumbing his nose at work”. 1995, attended by a record 36000 detractors. Are women, then, merely con- women from around the world, New York Mayor Cuomo even forming to social expectations, or adopted. That too is nearly four said “he thought it was all just reinforcing them through confor- decades old. fun” (when accused of sexual mance? What about news items like Curiously and coincidentally, misconduct). India saw in recent the one that appeared on 8 October, the world saw in recent months, a months, a rash of gender-related 2019, with the headline ‘Mob attacks massive uprising in the form of the incidents – the Hathras rape, the over 30 schoolgirls who resisted #MeToo protests. India, in particu- Unnao incident, to name just a few. harassment’ (dateline Patna)? The lar, saw a nationwide proliferation Not a day pases without some such girls had objected to lewd com- of MeToo accusations, naming top report, of females (including minor ments and graffiti, and thrashed male achievers in different fields, girls) being molested, gangraped the boys when they refused to from sports, to TV icons, film stars, and then burnt alive (to destroy leave after entering a girls’ school. writers, journalists, even priests. evidence). At least 12 girls received grievous One minister had to resign while Some men have sued, slapping injuries. the Editors Guild deleted two from their accusers with court cases Is this the price girls pay for its rolls. All this has been chronicled that could drag on and on, causing objecting to sexual harassment? by the media in sufficient detail, but the women much harassment. So When persons in high positions in the context of CEDAW it is time what is the remedy – should they condone unacceptable behaviour to go behind the chronicling, to keep quiet? Isn’t this discrimina- (like Trump did when he supported examine the deeper gender-linked tion against women, on the basis the elevation of Kavanaugh to the malices in society. of sex, demeaning them for being Supreme Court) what message In answer to the women’s accu- born female and treating them as does that convey to impression- sations of sexual harassment, some sex objects? What then is the rel- able youngsters? There are no sim- of the responses from men give us evance of CEDAW and its ratifica- ple and straightforward answers, insights into their mental make- tion by nations around the world though it is abundantly clear that up. One said, he will “not employ (including India)? India even had we need major changes in basic any woman under 40, and (he will) a follow up assessment of progress social perceptions. reduce interactions with women, under CEDAW – so what have we Just think – even primates do because of the danger of accusa- achieved, by ratifying? not gang rape – I have seen mon- tions”. Another said, he will “not As one activist sees it, the #MeToo keys trying to mate and follow the recruit any females at all” because surge was itself a positive sign female, but without the female’s they could be “trouble makers”. of increasing reluctance among consent and cooperation, even ani- One man declared that women women, to put up with unpleasant mals cannot force sex on the female. are “paranoid about their bodies”. and offensive overtures. That may Are we worse than animals, then,

18 VIDURA April-June 2021 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar

that we keep hearing of sicken- India had some traditional cus- relationship between the sexes. At ing ‘gang rapes’, from around the toms that prevented the commod- the same time, we also have other country, with the victim sometimes ification of females – the custom traditions that require the woman no more than a mere child? of addressing unrelated women to eat last and sleep last – a Tamil By a sad coincidence, I am as amma or maaji, behenji, akka or proverb even says the woman has writing this on the anniversary maami – not that this completely to “wake up before the husband of the infamous Nirbhaya gang eliminates commodification, but and sleep after him”. These social rape case of Delhi. A young life Western culture has no parallel for conventions co-exist along with was lost, due to a gang of goons such respect. We have lost that in our proud citations of ancient deciding to ‘have fun’ with a girl the name of ‘modernity’, and sub- women achievers like Gargi and whose only crime was that she stituted these addresses with ‘hi’ Maithreyi, and our veneration of was a female. She had a rusted for everybody. female Goddesses Lakshmi, Par- iron rod, used to jack up vehicles, We also had other conventions of vati, Kali, Durga. Perhaps it is pushed into her body. How do we behaviour (greeting with a namas- this coexistence that confuses the explain CEDAW to the victims or kar, rather than a handshake, for male. their families, or pat ourselves on instance) which may or may not So where do we stand? And having ratified that convention? have contributed to codifying the where do we start? Frankly, I do

April-June 2021 VIDURA 19 not know – what I do know, how- One day one of the boys joined in daily life. For all, including ever, is that it is time to restore in the ragging, then as the group (and particularly) the ‘powerful’ some dimensions of ethics and neared the girls, suddenly turned and the VVIPs. How do we do morals into daily lives – through back and said, “Bhago, bhago” (run, this? That remains the big ques- precept (elders, family members, scoot) when he saw that his sister tion, though there is nothing that teachers, community leaders). was among the girls being teased. cannot be addressed by all of us,

And focus in particular, on boys — “If she goes home and tells my collectively, if we pool our ideas girls seem far more empowered, father, I will get a hiding,” the boy and strategies. < in terms of psyche, about gender said. So, isn’t every girl someone’s equality than male siblings. We sister, worthy of respect? Is that (The writer, based in Bengaluru, is still continue to have men who why we have the indgenous cus- a recipient of the Media Foundation’s say with a shrug, “boys will be tom of addressing girls as “behenji Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding boys…” That shows lacunae in (sister)”? Woman Journalist 1983. Her male sensitivity to what females When morals are being dumped fortnightly columns on gender issues undergo, whether it is lewd com- right and left, by everyone and consumer rights ran in the ments, molestation or worse. This including our political ‘leaders’ Deccan Herald for 27 years. She had is no longer acceptable. and those occupying the high- earlier worked for The Times of India My favourite gender story (from est offices, when mammon rules Group in Mumbai.) real life) is the one about a clutch and money becomes the ultimate of teenage schoolboys cycling power that can buy all other pow- along the road, passing offensive ers and privileges, it is not UN comments about girls when they Conventions or legal statutes that see them on the road, and laugh. will help, but promoting probity

Sabse Bada Rupiyaa released

Sabse Bada Rupiyaa, written by economic analyst and founder-MD of Nafa Nuksan newspaper Jai Singh Kothari, was released recently, with the first copy being presented to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra. Nafa Nuksan directors Jitendra Kothari and Vaibhav Kothari were present on the occasion. The book focuses on real-life interesting examples of the impact of ‘money’ and its power which influences decision- making in various areas of business, society, government and policy making. Nafa Nuksan is the only business newspaper in Hindi published from Jaipur. It is circulated all over Rajathan covering more than 90 cities and business towns. Started in 1996 as a weekly tabloid, it turned a daily in 2007 and now has a readership of 2 lakh. Its readership includes high-income readers who are decision-makers and have purchasing power. The newspaper’s mission is to provide regular updates to readers about business and the economic scenario and keep them informed about happenings in the future. Subjects covered include updates on the economy, share market, automobiles, information technology, investment related information, health care, fast moving consumer goods, tourism, and the commodity market. The newspaper has its own printing press at the Sitapura Industrial Area, capable of printing a 16-

Photo:Nafa Nuksan page (8 pages colour) broadsheet < The first copy being presented to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra. newspaper.

20 VIDURA April-June 2021 THE PRIYA RAMANI CASE Distinct vulnerabilities of women journalists: afterthoughts A series of court judgments over ten fateful days – the Priya Ramani verdict of February 17; Varavara Rao bail orders of February 22 (Bombay high court) and February 23 (Nagpur High Court); the Disha Ravi bail of February 24; the protection from arrest granted to Shantanu Muluk on February 26; and the granting of Nodeep Kaur’s bail on February 26 – provide a glimmer of judicial accountability during a dark and tyrannical time, when the silence from the higher courts remained unbroken despite the loud slamming of jail gates, says Pamela Philipose

t is far too early to say whether As the Priya Ramani verdict Protect Journalists conducted in these developments, taken demonstrated unequivocally, 2011 with over 48 journalists who Itogether, amount to anything newsrooms have the same gen- underwent experiences ranging significant in a climate of studied dered hierarchies that prevail in from threats of sexual violence to and growing political repression. the general office space and are “aggressive groping” and gang Yet, as mediapersons knowing marked by power-driven hiring, rape (the majority of interviewees that media freedoms are like loose promotion and firing practices were female but there were men threads if they are not part of the much like anywhere else. A 2013 too), was that most of the survi- warp and weft of the citizen’s right pilot study, conducted by the vors preferred to keep silent on to freedom of expression, we cel- International News Safety Insti- their assaults. This was for various ebrate them. tute and the International Wom- reasons including stigma and lack There is though an awareness en’s Media Foundation, pointed of confidence in the authorities that the bar has come to be set so to the most common forms of being able to punish their attack- low that freedoms and arguments harassment in the newsroom: ers. But importantly their reluc- we should have taken for granted abuse of authority (22.5 per cent); tance to tell their editors about it now drive us into paroxysms of followed by verbal, written and/or was driven by “fear they would delight. After all, Varavara Rao physical intimidations (21.04 pc). be perceived as vulnerable and be should in more normal times In most cases (28.57 pc), it was the denied future assignments”. have never been in jail; Disha boss – usually male — who was Cost-cutting measures adopted Ravi should never have been the main perpetrator. by even those media houses that pulled out of her home in Benga- But there is a dimension that is can afford protective cover like luru and dragged to Delhi’s Tihar unique to journalism and that is transportation after night shifts, jail; Nodeep Kaur and her com- its required interface with the pub- now prefer to transfer the onus of rades should have been allowed lic. Some 13.02 pc of respondents ensuring safety on to the employ- to support the farmers’ protest reported sexual violence in rela- ees themselves. These have had undisturbed. tion to their work, of which most of tragic outcomes as in the case of We have also forgotten, as the the incidents happened in the field Soumya Vishwanath who was writer of The Wire piece, ‘Priya (58.06 pc). Journalists are required gunned down by a group of crimi- Ramani’s Acquittal, Female Soli- to go to areas that are potentially nals on a joy ride, as she was driv- darity and the Rise of a #MeToo dangerous, seek out people who ing back home late at night after Judicial Conscience’ (February 21) are potential sexual predators, the last shift. puts it, that in the Priya Ramani pursue information in a digital Those who work as indepen- case we are “revelling in a court space that is potentially a site of dent journalists, without even the not punishing a sexual harass- online or offline violence. Indeed notional protection of an organ- ment survivor”. their professional worth – in both isation behind them, are particu- The case also comes as a subjective and objective terms – is larly vulnerable. The gang rape reminder of the multiple threats often judged by how far they have of a freelance woman photojour- of intimidation and sexual harass- been able to court such dangers. nalist in 2013, in the relatively ment that journalists, particularly One of the major findings from safe environs of central Mumbai, women journalists, face. interviews that the Committee to is a case in point. It proved to be

April-June 2021 VIDURA 21 such a shocker that the then home minister of Maharashtra prom- ised police escort for women journalists working in danger- ous locations. The suggestion was fi rmly rejected by the metropolis’ women journalists who were out- raged by the paternalism inherent in it and rightly wanted to know what protection was being off ered to their faceless, accreditation-less counterparts in smaller towns. Analysis of data from 255 dis- tricts of 26 states collated by the Media Studies Group in 2012 had revealed that only 329 women journalists based in the districts had offi cial accreditation – consti- tuting just 2.7 pc of the total num- er/@AnooBhu Photo: Twitt ber of district-level journalists Priya Ramani (centre) with senior advocate Rebecca John. – which meant that the security of service and service conditions was Online trolling and harassment her two-year legal struggle. The almost non-existent for a category is acquiring a disturbing offl ine hoary minatorial ghosts of sexual already disadvantaged in terms of dimension. Neha Dixit, noted harassment now riding new tech- gender, caste, class and location. investigative journalist and visit- nologies should not be allowed to While media establishments are ing faculty at Ashoka University stymie them. quite happy to use them as cheap went public a few weeks ago with labour, they are not particularly her experience of being stalked. Internet regulations: iron fi st, concerned about their safety. Calls she had been receiving from velvet glove Media academic Ranu Tomar, September last year identified In New India, censorship is in a recent paper ‘Hindi Print her “exact physical location” and being mainstreamed in innumer- Women Journalists’ Experiences threatened her with “rape, acid able ways, but the government’s of Misogynistic Virtual Spaces in att ack and death”. On January 25, latest instrument, The ‘Informa- Madhya Pradesh’, based on con- at 9 pm, someone tried to break tion Technology (Guidelines for versations with women journalists into her home and fl ed when she Intermediaries and Digital Media working in the cities of Bhopal, shouted and opened the door. Ethics Code) Rules 2021’, comes Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior, I can only end with the impor- with a “soft touch”. At least that concludes that these profession- tant observations she made in is what Union Minister for Law, als are not comfortable discussing that public statement: “I feel the Ravi Shankar Prasad would like incidents of sexual harassment need to put this on record because to claim. We will have to take his because they are dealing with the where there is a lot of conversa- word for it, although it needs to be “more vengeful and patriarchal tion about online trolling, and noted that these rules have been environment of small cities”. rightfully so, it is time that we sprung on us not after wide-rang- Tomar’s paper also highlighted made a sincere eff ort to up the ing ‘public’ consultations, not after the persistent fear of cyber-spaces momentum on offl ine, physical expert deliberation, not through and social media among Hindi threats and att acks too.” parliamentary discussions, not print women journalists. One Today, another generation of through a law, but through a press of her interviewees revealed, young women are entering the conference held jointly by two “Receiving sexual jokes, obscene Indian newsroom. They come union ministers. messages… through smart phones from varied backgrounds unlike Having a “soft touch”, the cen- is a common thing. Male col- their upper-caste, upper-class sorship powers of the new rules leagues don’t leave any chance predecessors, and look set to rev- also come suitably clad in lay- to take revenge through texting olutionise both the form and con- ers of muffl e. The press confer- sexual jokes… social network- tent of news-gathering and news ence gave us some tautological ing platforms are also used for production. They should draw gems like “fi rst originator” and harassment.” courage from Priya Ramani and a marvellously Orwellian phrase,

22 VIDURA April-June 2021 “media freedom is absolute but of the “first originator” to be made conflate intermediary/ platform with responsible and reasonable public “may require companies to liability and accountability under restrictions”. A great job in pre- break their end-to-end encryption IT Act 2000 with original news senting the move as an initiative protocols and pave the way for a content creation, where freedom meant to “empower ordinary surveillance state”. At the pain of of expression is sacrosanct. social media users”, protect the losing their profitable India opera- All in all, I would go with the dignity of women, and fight fake tions, Internet intermediaries will suggestion put forward by the news and child molesters, while now have to set up a formidable Internet Freedom Foundation safeguarding the security of the regulatory machinery comprising (‘Latest Draft Intermediary Rules: nation. Now how could anyone a “chief compliance officer”, “a Fixing big tech, by breaking our have any objections to these wor- nodal person of contact for 24×7 digital rights?’), which urges the thy aims? coordination with law enforce- government to publish a white Yet, as The Wire piece, ‘Modi ment agencies and officers” and a paper that clearly identifies the Govt Announces New Rules to “resident grievance officer”. The problems it seeks to solve, and Tighten Oversight Over Social government, which came to power follow it up with a truly public Media, Digital Media Platforms, on the promise of “more gover- consultation “since these amend- Streaming Services’ (February 25) nance, less government”, will also ments will impact the fundamen-

notes, the new rules constitute have to shore up its bureaucratic tal rights of all Indian internet “the largest shake-up in the tech- structures considerably to make users”. < nology regulation space in nearly such surveillance possible. a decade” (also see ‘Explainer: As for digital news platforms (The writer is a veteran journalist How the New IT Rules Take Away like The Wire, as its founding edi- and The Wire’s public editor. This Our Digital Rights’, February 27). tors have flagged, the new burdens article was one of her fortnightly They enable the stripping away of placed on publishers of digital columns for The Wire.) any mechanism the internet inter- news that go beyond the basic mediary may have put in place to restrictions on freedom of speech protect the identity and privacy of (and thus freedom of the press) the user. envisaged by Article 19 and are The Wire piece also points out therefore ultra vires of the Consti- that the demand for the identity tution. The rules also deliberately

Digital news platforms will now have to share details

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) will soon make it mandatory for digital news platforms to provide key details about their organisations. The ministry is planning to map out the online news media landscape as it doesn’t have a complete picture of the sector. The digital news platforms will have to provide details about the editorial head, ownership, address, and designated grievance officer among others. The ministry is planning to come out with a form that all digital news outlets must fill and submit in a month. The government has brought digital news platforms under the ambit of regulation through Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. The guidelines have been framed under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011. The digital news platforms will now have to follow the journalistic conduct of the Press Council of India

(PCI) and the Programme Code under the Cable Television Network Act, which are already applicable to print and TV. This, the government said, will provide a level playing field. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

April-June 2021 VIDURA 23 The good, the bad and the fake – coverage of an assembly election

Even if today, news dissemination is democratic enough, if we take social and online media into account, the country has never been so politically polarised. Compared to the general election of 2019, this time for the West Bengal assembly elections 2021, considered to be extremely critical, the media coverage ranged from the good, bad to the fake, says Manjira Mazumdar

he whole of India had its just lose not because of what is Their own families did not like eyes on Bengal. Will Chief termed as its appeasement policy taking them back. . TMinister Mamata Banerjee towards the minorities, but because Mainstream dailies such as The and All India Trinamool Congress of the allegedly rigged votes at the Statesman and The Times of India, (AITMC) bounce back or will the panchayat level, leading to constant tried to maintain some objectivity electorate swing the right wing violence. In fact, one article even though The Telegraph and Ananda way. The General Elections had covered the fact that BJP publicity Bazaar Patrika have been anti, improved BJP chances at the centre cell was working overtime to proj- not just BJP but also PM Naren- by a good percentage. It was being ect BJP’s inclusivity through images dra Modi, for quite some time. In touted as morning shows the day. (as the one included). fact, it can be considered the only The results now out are loud and While in another article, it newspaper in the country to do clear. raised apprehension whether so. Whatever may be the reasons A survey on pre-poll media cov- Didi’s women supporters would behind this, the Bengali daily Ei erage (going by print and online get splintered due to the Hindu- Samay from the TOI stable, was news) in media, demonstrated tva vote among Hindu women. also pro-Mamata all the way, that the sentiments on the ground, During 2019 General Elections, though not virulently anti-BJP/ by and large, favoured the BJP. the Centre’s action on triple talaq RSS. There were speculations rife and was greeted with much joy among Regarding fake news, according this what the media projected. It Muslim women, especially those to a survey conducted by The Wire, was pointed out that with BJP’s living in districts such as Malda the content of India Rag, Sri Bangla, clout and money, Bengal will go and Murshidabad. A large num- Bangodesh, Bharat News, Rupam the Assam way. The actual picture ber of reports from there indicated TV and The Bengal Owl demon- turned out quite different from that Muslim women were doubly strated total bias for BJP. Channels the time the exit poll results began disadvantaged as they were mar- like 4u Bangla, SOM Extra, Bangla to come in. ried off young, and subsequently News 24, NK Digital Magazine and Even a news website like Scroll abandoned with little children, Drishtibhongi, on the other hand, had predicted that Trinamool may after been given a quick divorce. favoured the ruling Trinamool Photo: outlookindia.com Photo: asianage.com With fake news and bias being the order of the day, how can standards of journalism ever be sustained? Right: scene from an election rally in Kolkata.

24 VIDURA April-June 2021 Congress Government. Interest- bett er bet, are receiving kudos from checking roadside romeos in Ben- ingly, while NK Digital Magazine vast number of people from the gal enraged the educated women and 4u Bangla have been active country and aboard. Even though the most. since August 2017 and July 2019 the Congress and the Left have The results have proved that respectively, the other two started been reduced to a rubble, Bengalis Bengal thinks differently. The operations in August 2020. Some of do not want to have anything to do women are defi nitely on top. But these even put out fabricated news. with ‘cowbelt politics’. the overall media coverage of the With India’s largest market of Credit also goes to Prashant West Bengal polls proved to be

over two million WhatsApp users, Kishore and his Data Analyt- like the Meteorology Department. it became a source of unverifi ed ics team. The Muslims, voted en Wrong predictions. < news and videos. The recent big- block, so did the women who are gest one was a fake cover of TIME benefi ciaries of the state’s vari- (The writer is a lecturer in Magazine showing PM Modi as a ous welfare schemes for women. print journalism and lives superspreader of COVID. The TMC strategies worked in Kolkata.) But at the end of the day, Benga- while the BJP’s clearly did not. lis who found that Didi was a much Yogi Adiyanath’s promise of

Mathematician M.S. Narasimhan passes away

Mudumbai Seshachulu Narasimhan, a towering fi gure in Indian Science, passed away on May 15 in Bangalore; he would have turned 89 on June 7. He was a world-renowned mathematician of extraordinary breadth and depth, who made fundamental contributions to diverse fi elds in mathematics such as algebraic geometry, differential geometry, representation theory and partial differential equations. Born in 1932 in a family of agriculturalists in Tandarai Village in northern Tamil Nadu, Narasimhan had a keen interest in Mathematics from his school days. In Loyola College, Chennai, Father Racine, a Jesuit priest and a student Photo:thehindu.com of Elie Cartan, noticed the talent of young Narasimhan and asked him to take M.S. Narasimhan. up higher studies in mathematics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, where a school of mathematics had just been founded by K. Chandrasekharan. Narasimhan went to TIFR for his PhD in 1953 and among his co-students was C.S. Seshadri, with whom he went on to collaborate closely. Narasimhan and Seshadri shot to fame in 1965 with the publication of the Narasimhan-Seshadri Theorem, which makes a deep and unexpected connection between two different areas of modern mathematics. This and the Harder-Narasimhan Filtration (which was discovered later with German mathematician G. Harder) have been generalised and stand as fundamental examples of paradigms with wide applicability. Narasimhan and Seshadri continued to be good friends, and the former was a great support when Seshadri established the Chennai Mathematical Institute. Narasimhan was with the Mathematics Department at TIFR for a large part of his career. From 1992- 1999, he was head of the Mathematics Group at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy, and then moved to Bangalore, where he resided. He won the S.S. Bhatnagar prize in 1975, Third World Academy award for mathematics in 1987, Padma Bhushan in 1990, Fellow of the Royal Society and King Faisal International Prize for Science in 2006 (jointly with Simon Donaldson, Imperial College). Narasimhan was married to Sakuntala Narasimhan, a musician, journalist and consumer advocate. Their

daughter and physicist Shobhana Narasimhan is at JNCASR, Bengaluru, and son Mohan is a management professional in Bengaluru. <

Editor’s note: Veteran journalist and writer Sakuntala Narasimhan has for years been a regular contributor to Vidura and Grassroots. Her top quality articles are always a pleasure to read. We express our condolences to her and to her family.

(Courtesy: The Hindu. This article, written by Shubashree Desikan, is a shorter version of the original.)

April-June 2021 VIDURA 25 Who is playing by the rules during the polls? Were the Election Commission’s guidelines on campaigning violated by political parties and the media in Tamil Nadu? N.S. Venkataraman expresses his concerns

he elections to the Tamil the polls. On that day, I was also both the Commission and the judi- Nadu Assembly are over, shocked to see an obviously par- ciary are constitutional entities. Tthe high-decibel campaign- tisan cartoon in the centre page Others said it was public opinion ing by all the political parties is at of an English newspaper which I that had become weak, with peo- an end, and the people of the State have been loyally reading for over ple remaining silent spectators of are heaving a sigh of relief. It’s time five decades. violations of norms. now to reflect on how the process One Tamil channel discussed Some said a section of the media was carried out – whether the Elec- a pre-poll survey on the night of has become irresponsible, attach- tion Commission’s instructions April 4th, which was against the ing more importance to the busi- were followed with the respect guidelines issued by the Election ness of earning money than to they deserved. Commission. As far as I know, standing for a cause, as expected The Election Commission had the Election Commission has not by the public. One retired journal- said that no campaign should be reacted to its guidelines being ist said “the election process in carried out in the print and visual flouted by political parties and India has become one of the Elec- media and social media such as the media. tion Commission versus the rest”. Twitter, WhatsApp, etc on the day Concerned about the scenario, I Some of those who shared my preceding the election, and that mailed several retired top officials misgivings about the situation for 48 hours before Election Day, of the state and Central Govern- advised me to send my views to no pre-poll survey should be dis- ments, people known to have the all media houses and the Election cussed. However, neither the print courage of their convictions, as Commission. That is what I’m and visual media nor politicians well as many ‘ordinary’ people. doing, as no other way is open to

took note of these guidelines. To my surprise, around 70 per me as a concerned though power- Tamil and English newspapers cent of the people responded, less individual. < with great reputations to protect sharing my fears. carried massive advertisements Some said the Election Commis- running to several pages from sion had become weak, systemati- more than one political party on cally undermined by the judiciary 5th April 2021, just a day before overruling its decisions, though

A merger leads to formation of Sansad TV

Channels Rajya Sabha TV and Lok Sabha TV have now been merged into Sansad TV, according to a new circular released by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat office. While speculations were rife last year, the merger was officially announced on March 1. With the merger, the services of Rajya Sabha TV CEO Manoj Kumar

Pandey have been terminated. Ravi Capoor, IAS, has been elected as the CEO of the newly-formed Sansad TV on contract for a period of one year with immediate effect. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

26 VIDURA April-June 2021 Viable, diverse, stable and safe – is this too much for media to ask? Viability, diversity, stability and safety are essential ingredients of any healthy information eco-system. How many media organisations worldwide can say yes to all four? How far are individual professionals, news organisations, and the industry as a whole from achieving these? And at this time of global anxiety, economic turmoil, and future uncertainty, is it crazy to be aiming for them in the first place? Andrew Heslop analyses and explains

s we mark 3 May, World In developing markets, across coun- ask Maria Ressa (her company itself a Press Freedom Day, media tries where press freedom is threat- product of social media), how speak- Aacross the globe are fight- ened, or where huge disadvantages ing truth to power in the digital age ing threats both existential and in skills and resources were already has cost her. immediate. The COVID-19 health acute, the COVID-19-catalysed sur- The idea that the dominant tech pandemic has exacerbated, and in vival fight comes at a moment in companies are both part of the prob- many instances accelerated chal- which many media organisations lem and an essential ingredient to lenges familiar to media owners, are already on their knees. finding a solution is unavoidable. editors and journalists everywhere. Added to this, of course, are the As the gatekeepers of Eldorado, The dilemma for an industry new digital frontiers in which media they remain in an immense position shrinking by the day and fast run- continue to struggle to assert them- of relatively unchecked authority to ning out of money is that the big- selves. The ever-growing cacoph- determine the success – or failure – gest, most unavoidable cost is the ony of social media channels – each of the news industry at the local, journalism that, by its very essence, account a direct competitor to media national and international levels. defines it. in terms of audience, ad share, and The money involved is astronomi- Above all, COVID-19 has forced influence – has led to media jostling cal, but money alone doesn’t tell the questions around the economic for a position in the digital society whole story of the media’s dilemma model and how media are financed that they previously dominated in almost a year and a half into the front and centre for everyone with the physical world. pandemic. even just a passing interest in how Contributing significantly to this Journalists continue to be physi- news is produced. The insecurities decline in prestige is a pervasive, cally attacked, threatened – online that have been corroding the industry algorithmically confirmed bias and off – and killed in rising num- for over two decades are now circu- that favours social discord, feeds bers. The pandemic has provided no lating wildly and devastating news- off polarisation, and services cor- respite, with over 600 COVID-19-re- rooms and boardrooms worldwide. porate profit. The phenomenon lated attacks documented to date. Many of the difficult questions slowly revealed itself during the The drastic social measures facing the news industry are under- latter half of the previous decade taken by governments around the pinned by an inability to predict a and showed media the deck is world have been exploited, some- general economic model that will very much stacked against them, what predictably, by those already guarantee a future for quality, regardless of the quality, accuracy averse to a free media as an oppor- professional journalism. Digital or trustworthiness of their content. tunity to stifle freedom of expres- ad revenue failed a long time ago The harsh reality: public interest sion, restrict access to information, to make up anywhere near the reporting simply does not convert and undermine critical reporting on shortfall from traditional advertis- to advertising dollars – or at least their efforts. And as a recent study ing sources. (The irony, during this not nearly enough of them to bet by DW Akademie sets out, add- global pandemic, is that media have the house on. ing to the economic strife, social generally seen online traffic soar, But the potential for misuse, and political attacks have media in yet revenues continue to plummet.) manipulation, or even the ‘weaponi- every market fearing for the future Experiments with paywalls, sub- sation’ of the algorithms has nowhere of public interest journalism: scription models, and shifts away been more starkly illustrated than “Reliable information is especially from traditional news products have in the election domain – a pre-pan- essential in crisis situations — as produced notable localised successes demic period of turmoil that shook COVID-19 has shown — and media but are no one-size-fits-all panacea. democratic societies to their core. Just outlets carry the heavy responsibility

April-June 2021 VIDURA 27 of providing balanced news, expos- ing abuse of power and corruption, and countering disinformation. Par- adoxically, crises make it especially difficult for media to provide their audiences with relevant and bal- anced information whilst keeping their employees safe and maintain- ing their financial stability. Media professionals are targeted, media

freedom is restricted, (self-) censor- Photo: UNESCO ship increases and income sources Speaking truth to power in the digital age has cost journalists across the world dear. break away.” Many have been attacked and killed. Today, media freedom work has to also tackle Along with the perennial goal of the challenges related to viability, diversity, stability and safety. achieving business sustainability there is growing recognition of the There are efforts – serious efforts – work with members and non- nuances that drive success or fail- to find an appropriately scaled members alike in over 120 countries ure in this regard; the contributing response in these critical moments, extends beyond support in achiev- layers of complexity that go beyond one that better interprets the fac- ing business best-practice and the bottom-line economics of news tors which impact viability so that editorial professionalism to priori- production to help determine the mistakes are not repeated. At the tising gender equality through our overall viability of a news operation. global level, WAN-IFRA’s work Women in News programme and It is essential to understand the with UNESCO and partners aims addressing safety, digital security, extent to which media are able to to produce accurate research into mental health and well-being con- produce independent, high-quality the extent of the crisis, share knowl- cerns– all equally paramount to content considering not just the eco- edge and best practice of the vary- levelling the playing field and pro- nomics, but also socio-political and ing responses to-date, and formulate viding the best conditions for long- technological factors that reflect the policy recommendations aimed term success. health of the overall media land- at governments, investors and the Bold choices therefore lie before scape and its place in the informa- media industry itself on action to us; big decisions that will define tion eco-system. take to support viability. and shape the next generation of These factors significantly impact Our engagement with the Inde- news media. But there will be no a media company’s ability to thrive pendent News Emergency Relief solutions to any of this without and effectively serve the public Coordination (INERC) Group a systemic reset or conceptually interest. Examination of the detail looks to track investment into the radical break from the ‘old ways’ allows for a better understanding news industry as a result of the of thinking and doing – otherwise of the different issues at play, a COVID-19 crisis, with an eye to the a viable media industry confirming more effective analysis of how they longer-term structural challenges its place within a healthy informa- interact and interconnect to aide that have brought the old business tion eco-system remains a fantasy. or hinder media in reaching their model to its current state. WAN- Likewise, fixing the economic objectives. IFRA’s World Press Trends report model without also correcting dis- Ultimately, a more accurate diag- as well as research among members parities related to diversity and nosis of internal, structural and to document relief efforts, govern- equality can in no uncertain terms environmental concerns can lead to ment subsidies, private capital be described as an advancement. more effective, targeted remedies to investments and policy changes The solution has to be inclusive. It arrest decline across the financial, also gives an indication of the scale has to raise everyone, otherwise the professional and rights-based foun- of the damage and the areas to pri- ‘universal’ descriptor of the human dations upon which media rely. oritise as the industry rebuilds. right to freedom of expression While this thinking pre-dates the And responding to the need for a remains exclusive, caveated, and

COVID-19 crisis, the pandemic has holistic approach, our media free- ultimately meaningless – just when introduced an urgency to the need dom work aims to tackle the chal- we need it the most. < for holistic solutions to these issues lenges related to viability, diversity, that, for too long, have chipped stability and safety. Today, through (Courtesy: WAN-IFRA. The writer away at media’s role in our soci- an average annual investment of is executive director, Press Freedom, eties and now leave many staring €3M of public funding from Den- WAN-IFRA.) into an abyss of the unknown. mark, Norway and Sweden, our

28 VIDURA April-June 2021 Is fair governance possible in any country at any time? Now that the world has experimented with both communism and democracy, and understood the merits and demerits of both, it is coming to see the need for a new form of governance, combining the plus points of both. N.S. Venkataraman gives a synopsis of the evolution of various forms of government, and wonders what lies ahead

ystems of governance have ultimate form of fair governance for ‘freedom’ without adequate checks been evolving down the ages. the world. The question whether to and controls, vested interests join SFrom tribal leaders who con- prioritise theprotection of workers’ these protests and cause unrest and trolled groups of people by a mixture rights or individual freedom and public disturbance, leading to the of force, intimidation and reward for liberty, the central themes of com- conclusion that excessive freedom loyalty, and feudal leadership, such munism and democracy, respec- for people is also undesirable. as the zamindari system once preva- tively, is at the heart of the conflict A section of the people think that lent in India, to kings and queens between the two ideologies. a strong and fair judiciary can cor- who tried to expand the territory Communism as a basis for govern- rect the inadequacies of a democratic under their control by force or other ance has all but vanished from the system. The judiciary is becoming means, the common factor was the world today. Though China says its more powerful than the elected rep- suppression of individual rights and government is based on this system, resentatives of the people in democ- freedom. The masses were treated as the claim lacks credibility. Fidel Cas- racies, with politicians rapidly losing soulless entities. tro claimed he was leading a com- respect and credibility in society and Monarchies and the military do munist government in Cuba, but the widespread feeling that they need continue to rule in some parts of the after his death, the situation there to be controlled and disciplined. world, suppressing the people, but is unclear. These countries and the However, the expectations of the the question is whether they will be regime in the erstwhile Soviet Union people notwithstanding, the reality able to survive the protests against have proved that the communist is that judges are appointed by poli- oppressive practices by the masses movement has not resulted in lead- ticians whose credibility is suspect. who are demanding liberty and per- ership being vested in the working This gives rise to the possibility that sonal freedom. The recent events in class, but instead, it has facilitated judges may not be unbiased all the Myanmar, where the people staged rule by a coterie of oppressive, ruth- time and that judgements could be sustained mass agitations when the less and self-centred leaders, who motivated and flawed on occasion, military took over the governance, grab power by clever strategies and since judges may feel indebted to and the protests by the people of perhaps even foul means. the politicians who facilitated their Hong Kong against the Chinese dic- The recent US Presidential elec- appointment. tatorship, are evidence of the shaki- tions, when Donald Trump bat- The judiciary as a whole has also ness of these systems of rule. tled Joe Biden, threw up a situation been trying to enforce its powers by Meanwhile, with the spread of where hate speeches and unsubstan- demanding that judges should not education and the growth of commu- tiated allegations were the order of be criticised and the judgements nication systems, rebellions against the day, the so-called free media accepted in toto. This has led to the autocratic and dictatorial forms of showed itself to be anything but feeling that judiciary-controlled rule started taking place in several impartial, and a violent mob ran- democracies could also turn out parts of the world, and the basic con- sacked Capitol Hill. It clearly and to be disappointing as a system of cepts of democracy began to emerge. conclusively showed that the system governance. Side-by-side, the concepts of com- of democracy is not the last word in Now that the world is coming to munism too started to evolve. Karl fair governance and that the system see the need for a new form of gov- Marx’s rallying call, saying that the needs changes and modifications. ernance, combining the plus points “workers of the world have nothing ‘Mob rule’ appears to be overturn- of communism and democracy, to lose except their chains”, caught ing governments facing charges of the question remains – is abso- the imagination of the suppressed corruption and nepotism. Protests lutely fair governance possible at

and oppressed working classes and against such problems have turned all in any country in the world at many believed that the commu- violent in several cases. Further, any time? < nist philosophy could provide the with some democracies facilitating

April-June 2021 VIDURA 29 Can farming be a profitable, satisfying occupation? At a time when farmers’ issues are attracting much attention, Bharat Dogra recollects inspiring examples he came across during his travels in the past, of small farmers and voluntary organisations making a success of farming activities using a combination of ingenuity, traditional wisdom and sheer hard work

any of the inspiring sto- Suresh believes in organic farm- from heat stress and also make ries are not just about ing, and has innovatively applied good use of available space. Suresh Mindividual success sto- the organic farming techniques and Shobhavati also grow paddy, ries, but part of wider initiatives for propagated by SVA (Sahbhagi pulses, oranges, bananas, papayas, eco-friendly agriculture initiated Vikas Abhiyan), an organisation he coconut, lemons, jackfruit, beans, by some farmers’ organisations or is closely associated with. He has bitter gourd, carrots, sugar beets, voluntary bodies or both. They are also been helped by the consider- onions, chilly, coriander, supari, also stories of careful planning and able grafting skills he acquired in pomegranates and other crops. well-thought-out ideas. the course of his earlier training Hemlata Majhi’s four-acre farm Nuapara District of Odisha’s in Gujarat. He and his wife pay a in Haldikhol Village of Sinapali Kalahandi Region has been in great deal of attention to preparing also follows organic principles. the news mainly for the poverty adequate compost, vermi-compost Compost and organic pest-repel- and problems dragging its farm- and organic sprays which help lents are prepared on site. Besides ers down. Against this back- to keep away pests and diseases cultivating mangoes, lemons, ground, Suresh Mallick and his while also facilitating crop growth. bananas and guavas, and vege- wife Shobhavati stand out. They The use of plentiful, high qual- tables such as cauliflower, beans, cultivate about two acres of what ity composts has made the once- okra, bitter gourd, onions, corian- was earlier considered to be the unproductive land very fertile der and green leafy vegetables, the lowest category land – on which now. They grow cereals, pulses, farm also has poultry and cattle. hardly anything was likely to vegetables, fruits and spices, mak- Hemlata said she cultivated cau- grow – in Chhata Village. Today, ing the best possible use of land liflower on just one-twentieth of almost every inch of this land is and scarce water. Ginger and tur- an acre and marketed Rs 33000 covered with greenery of diverse meric are grown under the shadow worth of the crop within three types. of mango trees to protect them months. She attributed her success to the fact that organically grown vegetables are tastier and more nourishing. The successes of both Suresh- Shobhavati and Hemlata are due in great part to SVA, which has been very active in promoting eco-friendly agriculture, horticul- ture and agro-processing in and around Kalahandi Region as a part of its many-sided activities to reduce poverty and resist injustice. SVA, with the deep involvement of villagers, has been helping in the preparation of decentralized village plans. These success sto- ries should not be seen in isola- tion but as part of wider efforts Photo: rediff.com for long-term and sustainable A farmer tilling the field - a common sight in rural India. improvements.

30 VIDURA April-June 2021 The Gorakhpur Environment learnt to use produce from various helpful. Vidarbha is a region which Action Group (GEAG) is a similar local trees and shrubs to prepare reported many tragic suicides of organisation, and has helped to pest-repellents.” farmers caught in debt traps. How- create conducive farming condi- Several villages of crisis-ridden ever, depression and thoughts of tions particularly for women. It Vidarbha Region have benefited suicide seemed to be far away from trains women farmers in eastern from a project titled Integrated minds of these farmers as they Uttar Pradesh, its main area of Sustainable Agricultural Pro- talked cheerfully about their vari- focus, and has also helped to orga- gramme (INSAP) implemented by ous innovations, the cheap imple- nise self-help groups in several vil- a voluntary organisation YUVA- ments for water-conservation they lages, particularly in Gorakhpur Rural. The project helped farmers had made, their bio-gas plants, District. in over 200 villages to reduce costs kitchen gardens and their manure Prabhavati and husband Sury- and improve net income signifi- mixtures to nourish crops and soil. abhan own only 1.5 acres of land, cantly while popularising organic Sunjay Bhagat, a farmer of in Dudhai Village (Sardarnagar and eco-friendly farming methods. Washim District and a coordinator Block). But they use this land to The technologies followed by of INSAP as well as the local farm- grow a wide diversity of crops fol- INSAP are essentially local variants ers’ organisation, said before he lowing organic techniques. Saty- of known environment-friendly came in contact with this project, endra Tripathi, a coordinator of technologies such as composting, he had given hope and was con- GEAG, says the couple is able to plant-based pest repellants and templating suicide because of the cultivate as many as 52 crops over watershed management. Keeping huge debts his family was saddled the course of a year. in view the debt burdens of the with. His first experiments with Prabhavati said her family and farmers of this region, the empha- the INSAP technology proved suc- village have benefited hugely from sis was on making the best possible cessful, and he became an enthu- the inter-action with GEAG. Cit- use of local resources. Cattle-dung, siastic supporter. Now his wife ing an example, she says, though cow urine, leaves etc. which were complains smilingly that he comes they were using dung as compost being wasted earlier have sud- home only at mealtimes, such is earlier, it was being done arbi- denly become very important his enthusiasm for spreading the trarily. “GEAG taught us how resources for a farming system. message of INSAP. dung should be put in a trench and In the villages of Washim and That this is not an isolated story composted, how green manuring Akola Districts that I visited, farm- is confirmed in a study by Raghav can be done in a better way, how ers said giving up indiscriminate Narsalay. The study, using a cow-urine is very useful and how use of chemical fertilisers and sample of 90 farmers, found that we can do vermicomposting, how pesticides and replacing these irrespective of farm size, INSAP NADEP can be prepared,” she with compost and eco-friendly technology proved highly cost- explained, adding, “Similarly, we pest-control methods had proved effective compared to technolo- gies in use earlier. As many as 88 per cent of the respondent farmers who adopted INSAP techniques said they had regained their con- fidence in agriculture as a means of livelihood. On the other hand, 67 per cent of the farmers using earlier techniques said their debt burden was increasing, and would like to get out of it if an alternative was available. While these inspiring accounts relate to land-holding farmers, ABSSS, a voluntary organisation in Bundelkhand Region, worked to ensure that thousands of tribal and Dalit households were able to get

Photo: farmweek.com land ownership documents and The Integrated Sustainable Agricultural Programme has helped farmers in over engage in cultivation, overcoming 200 villages to reduce costs and improve net income while popularising organic and the stiff resistance of feudal forces. eco-friendly farming methods. The next step was to implement a

April-June 2021 VIDURA 31 series of projects to provide irriga- have linked the new controversial and emphasised the urgent need tion to these new farmers. farm legislations not just to the for reforming trade rules, policies This helped several erstwhile arbitrary exercise of power by the and institutions. The HDR report landless peasants emerge as suc- government and the pressures of stated, “Participation in trade can cessful small farmers in Chitrakut some leading capitalists of India, exacerbate inequality as poor peo- District of Uttar Pradesh. Simi- but have also pointed to wider ple absorb the adjustment costs larly, several organisations associ- international links. In this context of increased competition from ated with Ekta Parishad have been the pressures exerted by some imports, while people with assets able to ensure land rights for the developed countries using the plat- and market power take advan- landless and then provide irriga- form of the World Trade Organiza- tage of opportunities provided by tion facilities and other help so that tion have also been mentioned. exports.” they could succeed as farmers. This should be considered keep- The report indicts particularly In the Himalayan villages of ing in view the agenda of some those unfair trade practices which Garhwal farmers told me about of the biggest multinational com- undermine the livelihoods of their mixed farming system of panies in the area of farming and small and landless peasants (who growing millets, legumes, spices, food. Even though these giant com- constitute two thirds of all people oilseeds etc., which is very useful panies have faced increasing criti- living in extreme poverty). These for meeting their food needs while cism, their resources and reach at practices are linked particularly also maintaining soil fertility. the global level have continued to to the subsidies given by govern- These are only a few examples of increase and they have succeeded ments of developed countries. The the many innovative and creative in using their national govern- HDR says, “Rich countries spend ways to improve productivity and ments for advancing their narrow just over $ 1 billion a year as aid sustainability of farming. interests internationally. The com- to developing country agriculture On the flip side, I found reluc- monality of purpose appears to be and just under $ 1 billion a day

tance on the part of government a joint domination of the world supporting their own agricultural authorities to create awareness of food scene, ultimately leading to systems.” < mixed farming methods, as the domination by a few developed officials are close to the supporters countries. of expensive, ecologically harm- The Human Development Report ful, green revolution technologies (HDR) brought out a special issue which boosts agribusiness. on trade which said trade policies It is significant that several lead- are so distorted that they create ers of farmers’ movement in India more problems than solutions,

Krishna Prasad is group editorial officer, The Hindu Group

The Hindu Group Publishing (THGP) publisher of The Hindu, The Hindu BusinessLine, Frontline and Sportstar has appointed Krishna Prasad as group editorial officer effective April 16, 2021. He will lead and enable greater synergies across the different print publications and digital offerings, by coordinating content efforts across all publications of The Hindu Group. Prasad is former editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine, and former editor of Vijay Times from The Times of India Group. In a 35-year career, he has taught journalism on three continents; been a member of the Press Council of India; and was one of the earliest mainstream journalists to embrace the digital life. Welcoming Prasad on behalf of the THGP Board of Directors, Malini Parthasarthy, chairperson, said, “Krishna Prasad as group editorial officer will play a guiding role on content management and strategy across all the publications, working with the editors of the various publications, digital editors, and the business and technical teams to drive THG’s digital transformation. He will help situate content optimally across publications and ensure synergy between our product offerings. We are confident that he will help

us not only build greater synergy in our content offerings but help us raise the bar in building high quality journalism and widen our digital imagination”. <

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

32 VIDURA April-June 2021 Government survey paints another picture of Ujjwala Scheme claims While the government claims LPG coverage in almost all households in India, the latest National Family Health Survey reveals that the usage of LPG cylinders remains low despite the much-touted Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. In India, indoor air-pollution takes the lives of around half a million people every year, says Kundan Pandey. Recent research claims that air pollution is linked to low birth weight and short-gestation too. Defending the Ujjwala scheme, the Central Government releases data of refilling of cylinders given under the scheme. Experts however note that this data comes from the supplier side and without consumer side data, it does not reflect the complete picture, Pandey points out

aunched in 2016 to boost help the party in several key elec- states, which show around a 20 the usage of clean cooking tions. The government claims that per cent increase in actual usage Lfuels and control the related LPG coverage (estimated on the of clean cooking fuel from 2015-16 disease burden, the Pradhan Man- basis of active domestic connec- to 2019-20. In Bihar, for example, tri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has tions and estimated households) 37.8 per cent of the households claimed success with almost 98 per in the country is almost 98 per (urban and rural) use clean cook- cent coverage of liquefied petro- cent – an increase from 56 per ing fuel, notes the survey. In leum gas (LPG) in India. However, cent in 2014-15. It also claims the 2015-16, before the scheme was in the past five years, there has programme as a social movement launched, around 17 per cent of been only a 20 per cent increase in that has brought a sea change in the households in the state were the overall usage of clean cooking women’s life by offering them a using clean cooking fuels, accord- fuel, reveals a latest government smokeless and hassle-free cook- ing to the previous NFHS. Other survey of 22 states. Additionally, ing option as well as a healthy states that appeared in the first it indicates, houses that have LPG lifestyle and empowering them round of the NFHS-V have seen cylinders may not necessarily be financially. similar increases (see graphic). using them. The National Family Health In 2016, Prime Minister Naren- PMUY, launched by Prime Min- Survey (NFHS-V), released last dra Modi launched the Ujjwala ister Narendra Modi, became a month, paints a different story. Scheme from Ballia District of flagship programme of the NDA In the first round, the Union Gov- Uttar Pradesh to encourage the use Government and is credited to ernment has released details of 22 of clean fuel. The initial target of Photo: Meena Kadri/Flickr Photo: Gurvinder Singh for Mongabay NFHS fresh data of 22 states of households using clean cooking fuels questions the achievement of the much-touted PMUY; (right) women collecting firewood in Manipur.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 33 the scheme was to distribute LPG providing cylinders to households subsidised rates. Under the direct connections to 50 million house- is one thing and making them use benefit transfer, now people have holds below poverty line (BPL) it is another thing. It is very likely to refill the cylinder first and then families. Enthused by the success, that people have taken the cylin- a subsidy amount comes into their the government increased this tar- der under the PMUY scheme but bank account later. It is a big chal- get to 80 million households with are not able to use it, said Kumar. lenge for poor families to refill a deadline of December 2020. This Ashok Srinivas, an energy-expert the LPG cylinder at full cost, said target was achieved way before with Pune-based think tank Kumar. the set deadline. Prayas that works in the energy At present, the refilling of an Right from the beginning of the sector, said that the recent NFHS LPG cylinder costs around Rs Ujjwala scheme, experts have been data reiterates the same old story 700. As per the last headcount of raising concerns that the distrib- of people not using the LPG given people living below the poverty uted LPG cylinders are not being under the Ujjwala scheme. This line in 2013, some 220 million used with the same enthusiasm as has been said earlier as well, but Indians sustained their lives in they were during the first time and the government never admitted it. less than Rs 32 a day. Going by this will defeat the whole purpose Now the government survey itself the estimate, around 44 million of the scheme. To counter the nar- is saying the same thing, he noted. families live under less than Rs ratives, the government regularly Around a year ago, another gov- 4800 a month. In the recent past, shared statistics of refilling of the ernment survey, the 76th survey demonetisation and the COVID- LPG cylinders by beneficiaries of of the National Statistical Office 19 pandemic have only made it the scheme. (NSO) in November 2019 said, only worse for the vulnerable popula- When the member of parliament 61 per cent of total households of tion. For this major chunk of the from Kozhikode (Kerala) repre- the country use gas cylinders for Indian population, spending Rs senting Indian National Congress, cooking purpose. Around 44.5 per- 700 on refilling LPG per month is M.K. Raghvan raised the same cent of rural households still use a huge economic burden that they concern in Lok Sabha in Septem- firewood, chips and crop residue can’t afford. ber 2020, Dharmendra Pradhan, for the cooking purposes. Another Keeping the segment in mind, cabinet minister for Petroleum 5.5 per cent of rural households Kumar says that getting the cyl- and Natural Gas replied that each still rely on dung cake to prepare inder refilled from their own beneficiary of the Ujjwala scheme their meal, revealed the survey. pocket and waiting for the sub- has refilled an average 3.1 LPG Experts agree that many house- sidy amount in future is tough cylinders. However, experts said holds use both the LPG as well as for them. It has been repeatedly this is the white elephant in the other fuels for cooking purposes. argued that the government must room that the government will- They use LPG cylinders for meet- consider other means to promote ingly overlooks. ing quick demand like making clean fuel for cooking purposes. K.S. Kavi Kumar of Madras tea, etc but rely on other fuels for The government is anyway bear- School of Economics said that the cooking food. Both types of stoves ing the burden of subsidy, so, it figures of refilling that the Union are present in the kitchen of such is better to spend it in advance so Government is offering, come houses. that the economic burden of clean from the suppliers’ side. Many fuel is reduced on the poor people oil marketing companies (OMCs) Difficulties in use of LPG of the country. like IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), cylinder As far as free fuel is concerned, BPC (Bharat Petroleum Corpora- There are several reasons why the government needs to create tion), HPC (Hindustan Petro- there is resistance among the rural awareness and convince the peo- leum Corporation) were roped in households to use LPG cylinders ple that it is dangerous for their to implement the scheme on the and these have been highlighted health. The government needs ground. The figure that the minis- in studies, media reports and by to campaign on a large scale to

ter has given in the parliament has analysts. First, the majority of explain the benefits of clean fuels, been provided by the OMCs and households in the country, espe- Kumar said. < doesn’t tell the complete story, he cially in the rural areas rely on said. Consumer-side of data is also firewood, chips, crop residue and Note: This is a shorter version of the needed to make complete sense dung cake as cooking fuel as these original article. of the achievement of the Ujjwala are available to them almost free Scheme, he told Mongabay-India. of cost. (Courtesy: Mongabay-India) The current data (from the Second, the current govern- NFHS) makes it clear that ment stopped giving cylinders at

34 VIDURA April-June 2021 The wait for reforms on the ground continues even after 25 years India’s Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 is going to complete 25 years of its existence. The law was enacted to empower local communities in tribal areas. While the 73rd and the 74th Amendments to the Indian Constitution passed in 1992 took the three-tier panchayati raj governance structure to rural and urban parts of the country, the tribal dominated areas listed under the fifth schedule of the Constitution were kept out of the purview of the Panchayati Raj Acts, says Kundan Pandey. Until now, 40 per cent of states have not even formulated necessary rules regarding PESA which highlights the apathetic attitude of the state government towards it even though it envisages strengthening gram sabhas (village councils), he adds

t is the silver jubilee year of Gujarat used the rules of the Pan- of self-governance, symbolised by the Panchayat (Extension to chayati Raj Act to manage the fifth Mava Nate Mava Raj (Our Village Ithe Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 scheduled areas. Our Rule).” But he noted that this that was passed by the Indian Par- But even in the states where fervour has faded because the rul- liament to empower people living the rules were formulated, the ing elite is not prepared to go by in the fifth schedule areas, which situation is not different. States the spirit of PESA while summaris- are mostly dominated by tribal were supposed to amend their ing the Act’s journey till then. communities. However, the law law incorporating the provisions Dayamani Barla, a journalist and popularly known as PESA remains of PESA but even though some activist based in Jharkhand says, disempowered as 40 per cent of the states managed to formulate the “People living in fifth scheduled states under its purview have not rules they performed quite poor areas were excited as they thought been able to frame their rules for its on ensuring their implementation. that the new legislation will ensure implementation even after 25 years Highlighting the importance their control over their resources, of its existence. of the PESA Act, B.D. Sharma, a land, mines and minerals, minor The sad reality of PESA, once former commissioner for Sched- forest produce, etc. But their real- considered as one of the most uled Castes and Scheduled Tribes ity didn’t change even after 25 powerful legislation supporting wrote to the President of India in years of this law.” the tribal community which con- 2010 and said, “The Provisions “Powerful people still have con- stitutes around nine percent of of PESA, appeared to come as a trol over natural resources and India’s population, is that it has saviour that is designed to erase the local community suffers at the been given a cold shoulder by those the historical injustice done to the hand of these people with clout, if who were supposed to implement tribal community. It engendered they try to claim their ownership. and execute it. A total of four states unprecedented fervour amongst The government is acquiring land – Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, -Mad the tribal people throughout the without the consent of gram sab- hya Pradesh and Odisha have not country. It was perceived as resto- has (village council). Despite hav- even framed the rules yet – while ration of their dignity and tradition ing a 26 percent tribal population, Jharkhand has failed to formulate rules for the implementation of PESA, a law meant for the welfare of the tribal community,” she told Mongabay-India.

Meant to strengthen self-rule PESA extends the provision of the Indian Constitution to for- malise the three-tier panchayati raj system to fifth schedule areas Photo: DPR CG with certain modifications and A group of women going to the market to sell forest produce. Forest produces are exceptions. While the 73rd and the one of the main sources of livelihood for forest dwellers and PESA talks about giving control over local resources to the gram sabha. 74th Amendments to the Indian

April-June 2021 VIDURA 35 mines and minerals etc. It also was given the ownership of minor for- est produce and many others. In fact, in 2013, referring to the PESA, the Supreme Court of India, in a landmark case, had asked the Odisha Government to go to the gram sabha to get permission for bauxite mining in Kalahandi and Rayagada Districts of Odisha. Local forest dwellers were asked whether bauxite mining will affect their religious and cultural rights and they decided against the min- ing on Niyamgiri hills which led to the cancellation of a huge project. The case is considered a mile-

Photo: Sricharan Behera stone that shows the power of the Traditional gramsabha sameelani (convention of village council) at Dutelguda gram sabhas but this one of the rare Village, Malkanagiri, Odisha. achievements of PESA even as underlines the possibilities the Act Constitution passed in 1992 took areas- predominantly inhabited carries. But experts argue that law, the three-tier panchayati raj gover- by the tribal population, were however, has failed to achieve its nance structure to rural and urban exempted from the new amend- potential and has not created any parts of the country, the tribal ments. Given low human devel- significant impact on the ground. dominated areas listed under the opment indicators, there was a fifth schedule of the Constitution huge demand to empower local Is PESA relevant anymore? were kept out of the purview of the governance in the scheduled area In its 25th year when several Panchayati Raj Acts. as well. laws related to mining have been PESA, enacted in 1996, took local The government of India con- proposed, PESA faces a unique self governance rules to the areas stituted a committee in 1994 to question about its relevance. For listed under the fifth schedule. look into the need for such law instance, in the Korba District of The fifth schedule areas, which and modalities and how it can be Chhattisgarh, the local community deals with the administration of extended. Chaired by Dilip Singh is protesting the government deci- the districts dominated by the Bhuria, a parliamentarian from sion of acquiring land using the tribal communities, is in force in 10 Madhya Pradesh, the committee Coal Bearing Act of 1957 – some- states of the country. These states highlighted the plight of the tribal thing that experts argue is illegal include Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, communities and the exploitation and against the spirit of PESA. Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Guja- they faced. Based on its recom- A study conducted by the Indian rat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya mendation submitted in 1995, the Institute of Public Administra- Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan government of India brought in tion (IIPA) in six districts of three and Telangana. PESA in 1996 which gave immense states – Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Giving historical perspective of power to gram sabhas (village coun- and Odisha, highlights the poor the law, Madhya Pradesh-based cils). They were tasked with the implementation of the Act. In the advocate Anil Garg, who has done power to safeguard and preserve Khunti district, 65 per cent of peo- extensive work on PESA and For- the tradition and customs of the ple whose land was acquired said est Rights Act (FRA), said that people and their cultural iden- they were not even asked about those were the times when the tity along with their community it. Around 26 per cent of such union government was on spree resources. people from the Gumla district of to empower local governments. The gram sabhas were given the Jharkhand had similar claims. With the 73rd amendment Act in power to decide about land acqui- The study was carried out in 1992, Panchayats were given con- sition, resettlement and rehabilita- 2016-17 when Jharkhand was fac- stitutional status as an institution tion of displaced persons. It was ing huge protests by the tribal of local self-governance for rural also supposed to plan and manage community against its proposed India. It came into force on April minor water bodies; recommend twist in existing laws to allow the 24, 1993. However, scheduled about license or lease regarding use of tribal land for agriculture

36 VIDURA April-June 2021 claims a report. State governments need to change their laws in order to comply with PESA. Laws relat- ing to land acquisition, excise, for- est produce, mines and minerals, agri produce market and money lending need to be amended. States like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have not made changes to any of the six sectors mentioned above while Maharashtra has failed to do in five. Every state has more or less similar story to tell.

What failed it? When asked about his opinion about PESA and its journey in 25

Photo: Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha years, Anil Garg said the law has Using the provisions of PESA on stone slabs, tribal villages were declaring self-rule failed and the reason is that the in Jharkhand. “government enacted the law but never pushed to formulate neces- and other purposes. When, in “Attitude of officials has been sary rules.” “As a result, verdicts 2016, the state government tried another hindrance in the imple- passed by the gram sabhas were to amend the Chota Nagpur Ten- mentation of PESA,” said Sricharan not taken seriously. He says one ancy Act (CNT Act) of 1908 and Behara from Campaign for Survival example will be sufficient enough the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and Dignity (CSD), which is active to highlight the crisis. Not a single (SPT Act) of 1949, the local tribal in Odisha. He told Mongabay-India state has given control of minor for- community mobilised and resisted that even when gram sabhas are est produce to gram sabhas so far”. using PESA. organised, officials have an upper There is another reason which Against this move of the govern- hand and they give the final ver- made the act irrelevant. After enact- ment, the tribal community began dict. Many civil society organisa- ing PESA, the union government a movement using the concept tions are also running a campaign brought several other legislations of PESA, noted Dayamani Barla. to inform people about their rights and included many provisions of From the same Khunti district, the and how traditional gram sabhas PESA into these laws. For instance, Pathalgadi movement began and were conducted, he said. the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 spread to several other districts Similar is the case of Rajasthan. empowered gram sabhas immensely. and also to neighbouring states Man Singh Sisodiya, a local activist Similarly, the Forest Right Act, 2006 like Odisha and Chhattisgarh. working with tribal communities has provisions of PESA and now Using the provisions of PESA, in Rajasthan, states that though the when people need to protect their tribal villages were declaring self- state government formulated the rights and resources, they look up rule (rule of gram sabha), she said. rule in 2011 after repeated demands to these laws. Pathalgadi movement refers to from the community, nothing has In her research, Nupur Tiwari of a practice where tribal villages changed on the ground. The state IIPA has noted that PESA failed to erect a huge stone structure at the government was supposed to achieve its desired target because entry point of their villages noti- amend several local laws in order to it does not specify rule-making fying the power and rights of the get the desired result, which never powers or provide a time period gram sabhas. Instead of respecting actually happened. As a result, the by which the States have to frame people’s view, the state govern- execution of PESA remains in the rules. She observed that states ment filed police cases against at hands of local officials and the pan- have not framed appropriate rules least 10000 people, Barla said. “It chayat, he said. under PESA, and therefore the offi-

has been more than 20 years since In other states where rules were cial system has not operationalised Jharkhand was separated as an formulated, the situation is more PESA. < independent state from Bihar in or less similar. Take the example the name of tribal welfare but not of Gujarat which formulated the (Courtesy: Mongabay-India) a single government has bothered rules but it was almost a copy of to draft the rules,” she said. Gujarat Panchayati Raj Act 1993,

April-June 2021 VIDURA 37 NOSTALGIA Little Poland, a World War II story of hope and courage In a recent talk to foreigners, “our well-travelled Prime Minister waxed eloquent about Vasudeva Kutumbakam, a shloka from the Hitopadesha, which means The World is One Family”, Ronita Torcato ponts out. To domestic audiences, he ruled out asylum to Rohingyas and Myanmarese fleeing the military junta, thereby negating India’s age old compassionate tradition of welcoming refugees from the storms and vicissitudes of life ranging from Jews and Parsis to Europeans in contemporaneous times, a stellar example of which is the Little Poland enclave set up in India during WW2, which she vividly describes

n Europe, on May 3, Poland They were fortunate indeed. Seychelles, Iran and Bombay by commemorates Constitution They had managed to escape Nazi the British authorities before they IDay, which is the second oldest stormtroopers who invaded their were rescued by the then ruler of written Constitution in the world. homeland on Sept 1st 1939 and Jamnagar, Jam Saheb Digvijaysin- In gala events held by Polish mis- the dreaded NKVD or the Soviet hji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja (1895-1966) sions in India, the spotlight is on secret police who deported them who put them up in transit camps the survivors who would have oth- to Siberia. And they made the har- at Balachadi, near his summer erwise perished in the Holocaust rowing journey over land and sea palace situated 25 km on the out- unleashed by Hitler’s Nazi Stor- via Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, skirts of Jamnagar. mtroopers or in Stalins infamous Afghanistan, Iran and Karachi, Some Poles, suffering from TB, Gulag. And they owe their lives to before settling down in India. were sent to Panchgani. Another the Maharajahs of Kolhapur and This saga of hope and courage 5000 Poles, mostly women and Jamnagar and the tireless efforts of has been narrated in books and children were resettled in Val- the indefatigable Kira Banasinska, documentaries, richly illustrated ivade Village in Kolhapur some wife of the Polish Consul General with vintage photographs, archi- 235 km from Pune. Housed in Eugeniusz Banasinski in Bombay. val footage and interviews in the rough barracks with untiled Eugeniusz Banasinski was of a Indo-Polish 2013 co-production. floors, the Poles were allowed full scholarly bent of mind, a physi- A Little Poland In India, directed autonomy and set up their own cist turned diplomat. Kira was by Anu Radha and Sumit Osmand schools, post office, cinema, fire a livewire who had endured the Shaw, and My Home India, co- brigade, community centre and travails of war herself although written by Anjali Bhushan and even a cooperative with support few would have known, such was Malgorzata Czausow, a former from the Polish Government in her effervescence and, needless staffer at the Polish Consulate in exile. Little Poland, they called to say, resilience. From her home Mumbai. their enclave. And still do. and the Red Cross Hospital, she “Kira had infectious and bound- “It was a home away from home galvanized war relief camps and less energy,” an associate told which I will never forget,” says shelters across India, and pre- Bhushan. “She was resourceful Wanda Kuras, who was an infant vailed upon the two blue-bloods and just wouldn’t take no for an at the time and now lives in Eng- to shelter her suffering people. answer.” She brought the first land. When they left India in 1946, Teresa Ewa Labus was all of four group of around 1000 orphans most of the Poles migrated to the when her family was deported (their parents had perished either US, UK and Australia. Only a from war ravaged Poland to Rus- in occupied Poland or Siberia) small number returned to Poland, sia. “It was hell; it wiped out all who had made the exodus in which continued to be occupied we had. India gave me the first trucks from Ashkhabad in the by the Nazis till the early 1950s happy childhood memories I will erstwhile USSR. when Europe was bifurcated into cherish,” reminiscences the lady About 700 women and children two blocs. who landed with thousands of her managed to take the sea route “Soviet Russia had begun eth- fellow Poles in India between 1942 via the Caspian Sea. The ship nic cleansing with mass deporta- and 1946. was turned away at Aden, the tions of Polish citizens to remote

38 VIDURA April-June 2021 Photos: RT Kira and Eugeniusz, who resettled WW2 refugees in India. On right, a group picture taken at the FD screening for the Polish Refugees Association in 2019. They come to India every year without fail..

areas of the USSR. There were a special screening of Bhushan’s the World Trade Center. Umesh, four deportations, the first one poignant documentary at the Films one of her sons who works with a in February 1940 when people Division. Like de Waller, who first Mumbai-based cooperative bank, were loaded into cattle trucks for visited his grandmother in Hyder- regaled us by going down memory a long railway journey into exile. abad at age 16, many Poles, now in lane with his mother. The Russian army did not leave their 80s and 90s, have also been On September 14 in 2019, Mrs Poland till 1990,” Mrs Kuras told making annual pilgrimages to Val- Kuras, Mrs Labus and a dozen this correspondent. ivade and Jamnagar. other WW2 refugees and their Ukraine-born Kira Banasinska Danuta Stanislava Pniewska, families attended the 80th anniver- would survive Siberia and the aged 93, was overjoyed to meet sary of their sojourn at Valiwade Nazis She died in 2002 at the age D.B. Jadhav (88) and B.S. Shinde where a commemorative pillar was of 102, in Hyderabad where JRD (87) with whom she used to play unveiled by Poland’s Deputy For- Tata helped her set up a Montes- hockey at Valiwade as a child. eign Minister Marcin Przydacz, in sori school. Her remains were Wanda Kowicka was among those the presence of a 29-member del- brought to St Peter’s Cemetery, who stayed on in Valivade after egation including Poland’s Ambas- Haines Road in Bombay, where her fellow Poles left. She married sador to India Adam Burakowski, she was laid to rest beside her a Marathi manoos named Vasant Andrzej Chendynski and Colonel husband Eugeniusz. Kashikar and bore five children. Anil Gaikwaf, co-founders of the Kira’s grandson Jocelyn de Waller Before she passed away, I met her Association of Poles in India. who lives in England is a frequent and her family at an event organ- Also in attendance was Maha- visitor to India and was present at ised by the Polish Consulate at rashtra’s Guardian Minister for

The writer with Polish diplomats at the Films Division in Mumbai; and (right) Polish families of WW2 refugees in India at a memorial meet in Kolhapur which had the largest Polish settlement.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 39 At a programme to inaugurate a memorial to the WW2 Polish refugees in India. On right, Colonel Anil Gaekwad, co-founder of the Association of Poles in India, with his wife in Kolhapur.

Kolhapur Chandrakant Patil and in several ways. In 2011, the Pol- Polish refugees. Amongst these Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje ish Government posthumously is Jennifer Saeed Mirza, whose Chhatrapati, a scion if the Kolha- conferred the Commander’s Cross grandfather Francis Xavier Sal- pur royal family and the 13th direct of the Order of Merit of the Pol- danha, the forest offi cer who built descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji ish Republic on Jam Saheb Digvi- the Kolhapur camp, invited all Maharaj. Prior to the memorial ser- jaysinhji R. Jadeja after whom six the Polish refugees to his daugh- vice, the delegation held a conclave schools, a public square and a ter Mary’s wedding in 1944. Mrs and decided to establish a Kolha- statue have been dedicated to his Mirza brought a photo of the pur Poland Business Forum, which memory in Warsaw. The grate- wedding to the Films Division will support the establishment of ful Poles also installed an obelisk screening where a number of Pol-

a museum under the patronage of at the Mahavir Garden Park in ish ladies identifi ed themselves as Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati. Kolhapur. descendants of the Poles of Kolha-< In their native Poland, the Poles Mumbai, unsurprisingly, has pur and Jamnagar. have demonstrated their gratitude people with connections to the (The writer is a senior journalist who has worked for television, print and the web. She is former head of MediaWorld, Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai.)

www.pressinstitute.in

Wanda Kuras who arrived as a baby in Kolhapur in WW2 with Jocelyn de Waller, grandson of Kira and Eugeniusz Banasinska; and (right) a book on WW2 Poles in India.

40 VIDURA April-June 2021 Where are such fi lms of social relevance today? While the main focus of the Hindi fi lm industry has always been entertainment as business, signifi cant space was also devoted to promoting issues of social concern. Bharat Dogra discusses the importance of fi lms in highlighting social issues and catalysing change

hile the main focus of the room for a lot of joy and romance. Insaan, Dhool Ka Phool, Sadhana, Hindi fi lm industry has His fi lms also stand out for the high Humraaz, Kala Pathar, Veer Zara Walways been entertain- quality of lyrics and music. His Shri and Chak De India. They had the ment as business, signifi cant space 420, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, trappings of commercial cinema was also devoted to promoting Awara, Jagte Raho and Boot Pol- but included outstanding songs issues of social concern. This was ish, as well as Premrog and Henna urging the need for social change. especially true in the early post- stand out. Mehboob was known for his Independence years, but seems to Hrishikesh Mukherjee had a long strong social commitment. His have decreased over time. In the innings in this genre of fi lm-mak- Mother India stands out as a land- recent past, there is a dearth of ing, from Anuradha to Anand. His mark depiction of the lifelong outstanding fi lms in this category. understanding of society enabled struggle and deep commitment of Even those like Aamir Khan who him to bond with audience on seri- rural women in India. were delivering some really good ous themes while combining these Gulzar has made several fi lms fi lms (TaareZameen Par, Lagaan with entertainment. Apart from his on social relevance. Koshish is per- and Secret Superstar) on a fairly bett er-known fi lms like Satyakam, haps the best known among these, regular basis in the relatively recent Anari and Bawarchi, there are lesser- but Achanak is also very important, past, have been rather quiet lately. known gems too, like Aashirwad. although it did not att ract as much Here’s a look at some fi lm-mak- V. Shantaram belongs to even att ention. ers who contributed fi lms of social earlier days. He had the courage to K.A. Abbas had the longest com- relevance in the past: take up very bold, new and uncon- mitment to cinema on matt ers of Bimal Roy’s fi lms, like Do Bigha ventional subjects, in fi lms like Do social concern. His fi lms often did Zamin, Bandini, Sujata and Usne Ankhen Barah Hath, Dr Kotnis Ki not have the trappings necessary Kaha Tha are marked with a seri- Amar Kahani, Aadmi and Duniya for box-offi ce success, yet, quite a ousness of purpose, very good Na Maane. Guru Dutt started with few, like Dharti Ke Lal, Pardesi, Do storylines (often based on reputed lighter fi lms on social relevance, but Boond Pani, Munna and Shahar aur works of literature), memorable sprang a big surprise with Pyaasa, Sapna are still remembered. Asit characters and great songs, all qual- one of the most intense and well- Sen is another talented fi lm-maker, ities which att ract the more discern- made fi lms of all time. remembered forfi lms like Mamta, ing viewer. Raj Kapoor had a very Brothers B.R. Chopra and Yash Khamoshi and Anokhi Raat – dif- good understanding of entertain- Chopra have contributed several ferent and unconventional fi lms ment, and presented highly rele- fi lms of social relevance, including with important social messages and vant social issues in ways which left Dharamputra, Kanoon, Aadmi Aur excellent music. Photos: Internet L-r: Scenes from Neecha Nagar, Do Boond Pani, and Jaagte Raho.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 41 Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar, concerned deeply with sanitation modern urban life, as seen in a Haqeekat and Hindustan ki Kasam and water needs will find this a single unusual night when people are notable. His actor brother Dev very useful film to propagate their of a gated apartment block’s search Anand’s films like Kala Bazaar and concerns. The injustice that the film for an imagined thief. Neverthe- Hum Dono made social statements exposes continues to be a reality in less, the denial of drinking water too, and the youngest of the three many cities and peri-urban areas. to a poor homeless man for many brothers, Vijay Anand, collaborated long hours is a strong and powerful with Dev to create an outstanding Do Boond Pani (Drinking Water, theme. The film ends on a powerful, film Guide. Desert Regions) symbolic note when the homeless These film-makers gave a lot of This is a rare example of a full- youth,who gains some hope from a thought to taking their message length Hindi feature film on pro- child, approaches a woman (played to the people within existing con- longed water crisis in a village, by Nargis, who makes a 5-minute straints. Several of them created though it is interwoven with love- memorable appearance, her last their own film units. They were stories and a tale of revenge. The in a Raj Kapoor film) who finally very good at recognising talent film was directed and produced gives him water and he quenches and creating conditions conducive by K.A. Abbas, with Simi Grewal, his thirst, while Lata Mangeshkar’s to several talented persons work- Jalal Agha and Kiran Kumar in lead famous song Jaago Mohan pyare ing together over long stretches of roles. The music by Jaidev has left plays in the background. It can be time. This was certainly true of Raj a lasting impact, particularly the used effectively by those working Kapoor, Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy. song Peetal ki mori gagri. From the to improve drinking water avail- Their units became hubs for talent, point of view of those working on ability to weaker sections. and created great films. rural water crises, a lesser-known Other notable films on develop- Many of the classic films pro- song of the film is even more rel- ment and human rights issues: duced by these film-makers can be evant – Do boond pani nahin... The educative even today in matters of film tells the story of a Rajast- • Boot Polish: street children, homeless persons social relevance. Here’s a brief look han desert village undergoing a at three of them: prolonged drought, resulting in • Bandini: women prisoners extreme distress and migration. The • Do Bigha Zamin: rural exploi- Neecha Nagar (Sanitation, Slums) situation has adverse health and tation, land alienation, migrant Neecha Nagar is a memorable social impact. An old man dies. A workers, rickshaw pullers. film made in 1946. Directed by girl walking a long distance to fetch • Shahar Aur Sapna: homeless Chetan Anand and produced by water is raped. Finally, almost the persons Rashid Anwar, it had Uma Anand entire village is abandoned, with • Anuradha, Dr Kotnis Ki Amar and Rafiq Anwar in important only one family making the diffi- Kahani: dedicated medical roles. It was based on a story by cult choice to stay on. However, the service K.A. Abbas and Hayatullah Ansari. film-maker sees inter-basin trans- • Gaman: migrant workers It conveys a powerful message of fers of water and big canal projects • Kala Pathar: coal mining, occu- how anti-poor policies and deci- as the only solution. It ignores, even pational accidents sions can devastate the water, sani- ridicules, small-scale local water • Dosti: disability, street children tation and health conditions of the harvesting, traditional wisdom • Kanoon, Achanak: opposition poor. A powerful builder constructs and manual work. We need a fea- to capital punishment buildings for the rich. To get land ture film on rural drinking water • Khamoshi: mental health cheaply, he thinks of diverting a shortage which can provide a more • MujheJeene Do, Jis Desh Mein drain in the city towards a big slum balanced perspective on solutions. Ganga Behti Hai: ending colony, thus freeing up some area. dacoity, peace The project faces strong opposition Jaagte Raho (Homeless Persons, • Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Damini: from the slum-dwellers, led by a Migrant Workers, Drinking crimes against women determined and idealistic young Water) man, his sister and an elderly tradi- The film, with Raj Kapoor playing • Secret Superstar: domestic vio- lence, gender discrimination tional healer. The drain is diverted, the lead role, is a poignant account and several diseases spread fast of a migrant worker’s night-long • Mere Apne: gang violence in the slum. When people gather search for drinking water. Of • Do Ankhen Barah Hath: prison

in protest, the builder arranges to course, this is not a film about reform stop the drinking water supply. drinking water as such; rather, it • Garam Hawa: problems of < Ultimately the resistance snowballs is a film about the many ironies, minorities into a big revolt of the poor. Those dilemmas and contradictions of

42 VIDURA April-June 2021 A celluloid tribute to the Father of Indian cinema

Hiralal – An Undisclosed Celluloid Chapter is a biopic of Hiralal Sen directed by Arun Roy. It resurrects for the present generation yet another hidden chapter in our film history. The film is especially relevant as it will catch the attention of cinema enthusiasts and students of cinema, says Shoma A. Chatterji iralal Sen, a committed pho- two miles from the entrance of the first film Raja Harishchandra was tographer who declined to Town Hall. shown in 1913, twelve years after Hfollow his father into the This was Indian cinema’s first Hiralal Sen made his first few films, legal profession, was captivated newsreel. He was also the first to so he is the Father of Indian cinema when he saw a ‘bioscope’ exhibited make advertising films, one on the in reality. by one Mr Stephen in Calcutta in very popular hair oil Jabakusum, Hiralal – An Undisclosed Cellu- 1896. In 1898, Hiralal Sen formed the and another on a pharmaceutical loid Chapter is a biopic of Hiralal Royal Bioscope Company. It turned product. Sen joined hands with Sen directed by Arun Roy known out to be a money-spinner and led Dutta’s Classic Theatre company for making films on real events, to the formation of many other such to shoot his theatre films, includ- historical or topical, which resur- companies in Bengal. When he first ing the feature-length Alibaba and rects for the present generation exhibited his films, the city had elec- the Forty Thieves (1903) which is hidden chapters in our history. tric supply in only two areas (How- rightfully the first-ever feature film Hiralal is especially relevant as rah Bridge and the Maidans), and he made in India. it will catch the attention of cin- had to make elaborate arrangements “Bioscopes needed electric arc ema enthusiasts and students of to screen the movies. lamps, or, in their absence, lime cinema. However, the bioscope did not light. Sen had to procure elaborate Of the 76 characters that feature satisfy Sen for long. His urge for apparatus to produce lime light. in the film, Roy has chosen 73 from the new and his will to create made He burnt lime in a bath with oxy- theatre. So, though they have very him restless. So, he formed an asso- gen that was stored in a bladder. It good command over acting, they ciation with Pathe Company (1900) produced a bright light that would are not burdened by the larger- of France which sent cameramen light up the screen. The process than-life images of big-time stars. to India to take pictures and also was fraught with risks and could This adds to the authenticity of the to teach Sen some fundamentals of have involved minor explosions,” characters. making moving pictures. He used says Debiprasad Ghosh, a Kolkata- Roy’s and Sounava Bose’s script his ingenuity to produce his own based film researcher who edited a and dialogue have some fictional camera and took moving pictures book on Hiralal Sen. elements, such as the relationship of stage plays between 1900 and A careless man, Sen did not between Classic Theatre’s arrogant 1904. understand the financial aspects of and very rude Amrita Nath Dutta A notable landmark in the cin- movie-making and screening, and and Sen. Kinjal Nanda and Arna ematic career of Hiralal Sen was made almost no attempt to preserve Mukhopadhyay, as Hiralal and his Delhi Durbar in 1911, a his- his work. On October 24, 1917, a fire Arna, have performed brilliantly. torical news documentary which in a godown in north Kolkata where Special mention must be made of was not permitted to be publicly all his films were stored destroyed Kinjal’s shedding 25 kilos within exhibited on political grounds. In his entire body of work. Sen died weeks to portray a realistic ‘cancer- 1904, he captured on film a public two days later of cancer, reduced to ridden’ image. rally opposing Lord Curzon’s plan poverty, heartbroken, at the age of The production design captures to divide Bengal. To record the 51. He had even sold off his favou- the period aptly, with the huge immensity of the rally, he placed rite camera. camera (a reminder of bygone the camera on top of the treasury As there is not a single record days), tent theatre, dance numbers building so that he could film the or document or film reel left of his from plays and loud dance cos- speakers, including Surendranath work, the credit for inventing, mak- tumes juxtaposed with the domes- Banerjee, against the backdrop of a ing and first screening films in India tic scenes in Sen’s home in Calcutta huge crowd that extended almost goes to Dadasaheb Phalke. Phalke’s and Benares. The music is subtle

April-June 2021 VIDURA 43 Photos: SC L-r: Arun Roy, director; the Hiralal film poster; and a picture of Hiralal and his wife Hemangini who was a solid support right through his life.

and does not disturb the narrative, Sen though he was a much-in- presented the South Asia Laadli yet invests it with a lyricism of its demand photographer himself. < Media and Advertising Award for own. Gender Sensitivity 2017.) Hiralal is most certainly a film for (The writer is a senior the archives. Ironically, we do not journalist and film historian have a single photograph of Hiralal based in Kolkata. She was

COVID fells bright young reporter

How do you write an obituary on a colleague? Especially one who was young, enthusiastic, full of life and enjoyed a good argument. That was Pradeep Kumar V., well read, well informed and fiercely opinionated: in the best kind of way. Till about two weeks ago he was very active, chasing stories, doing interviews, filing articles, and — always a meticulous sub editor — sending WhatsApp messages to the rest of us as deadlines loomed, ensuring all punctuation was in place. He was especially attached to semicolons and colons. A film reporter withThe Hindu MetroPlus, in his previous stints Pradeep, 28, covered many other news beats including Chennai Corporation. Thorough in his research, he always found interesting angles to the stories he wrote. He was enthusiastic about film writing, constantly tracking the latest trends in the industry, and coming up with timely ideas that he executed quickly. His writing was fresh, thoughtful and sensitive. Every time he came up with an interesting story idea, everyone in the department could tell because his eyes would come alive as he swivelled energetically in his chair to discuss it. He shared a warm relationship with fellow journalists as well as the people he interviewed.

Photo:thehindu.com An avid biker, he would often ride off to places unknown, sending us the Pradeep Kumar V. occasional wind-swept selfie, and return with a story to file on his adventures. Unapologetically individual, his shaggy hair, moustache and beard evolved constantly, and were a popular subject of good-natured ribbing, but he took it in his stride.

When Pradeep passed on from COVID-19 complications, he went knowing that he had touched all of us with his zest for life. And that he did not walk alone. < By Priyadarshini Paitandy (Courtesy: The Hindu)

44 VIDURA April-June 2021 Worshipping the Goddess of War and Victory

People of the Tamil region are known for their worship of Shakti, the divine female energy. Meenakshi Devaraj discusses the description of the worship of Kotravai, a form of Shakti, in ancient Tamil literature

orship of Shakthi has accompany him and make him suc- Women presented her with dolls, been practised in the ceed. The ancient Tamil epic Silap- parrots, wild hens, peacocks, balls WTamil region since pathikaram contains an interesting and tubers. They brought her boiled ancient times. Kotravai, the God- account of Kotravai worship. grains, sesame balls, rice and flow- dess of War and Victory, is a rare The book tells of how the spirit ers, and the smoke from incense form of Shakthi. Ancient Tamil lit- of the Goddess came on a girl surrounded her when was taken erary works offer details of how named Shalini, born into the Vet- before the idol of the goddess. The she was worshipped. tuvar (hunters) community. She trumpet, the horn and bells were Goddess Kotravai is the fierce began to dance ceaselessly, with sounded. patron of the Palai Region, an her hair standing on end and her The epic talks of the various trees arid area. She is also referred to as hands raised aloft. She danced and planted in front of Kotravai’s Bal- Suli, Palaiyol, Aiyai and so on. The entered the mandram, which was ipeedam (sacrificial altar). Vengai belief is that when a fierce warrior the common dining area of the trees dropped their golden red seeks the help of Kotravai, she will hunters. She then called out aloud flowers, and Punga trees their white their unfulfilled vows and petals, like puffed rice, on the altar. proclaimed that she would Bees hummed around it, sounding not send them victory till like the Yazh instrument. The hunt- the vows were fulfilled. ers offered flowers and sang praises The hunters were to the goddess, whose mount is a devout worshippers of fast stag. Kotravai, and they imme- They worshipped at the goddess’ diately decided honour feet and slashed the skin of their their commitments to necks in fulfilment of their vows, make sacrificial offerings urging her to accept the dripping to the goddess. blood as an offering in return for The book describes how the victories she had conferred on they began to dress Sha- them. lini to look like Kotravai. References of Kotravai worship Her short curly hair was can be found in many other ancient pinned into a jata and Tamil works as well, a testimony to ornamented with a small the importance given to the wor- silver snake and crescent- ship of female energy in this part shaped tusk of a boar. The of India. Sculptures of the Sangam- white teeth of a strong era goddess can be found in many tiger were threaded to ancient temples of Tamil Nadu,

form a thali (chain) and matching the descriptions given by placed around her neck. the hunters in Silappathikaram. < A tiger skin was draped around her, she was (The writer has researched on Tamil given a strong bow, and Sangam Literature, Chennai history mounted on a stag with and temples.) Photo: MD forked antlers. An artistic kolam (the writer’s creation) depicting Goddess Kotravai.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 45 The fall and fall of Indian tennis

After being a close observer of its halcyon days from the late 1950s to the late 1980s, Partab Ramchand is pained to see Indian tennis nowhere on the international stage with the players making little headway around the ATP Tour circuit. The way things are, the situation is unlikely to improve, he says

s one who has closely Jasjit Singh as able lieutenants in Somdev Devvarman was India’s observed the Indian ten- the 1970s. Ramesh made his pres- leading player in the first decade Anis scene during its hal- ence felt in the 1980s and he was of the New Millennium but he was cyon days from the late 1950s to joined in the 1990s by Leander Paes. not good enough to see that India the late 1980s, it pains me no end Even in the 1990s, Ramesh and Paes maintained a sustained challenge to see the depressing scenario these saw to it that India at least stayed to get back into the World Group days when India is nowhere on the in the prestigious World Group, on a regular basis. Moreover, international stage and the players including a famous upset win over he did not make an impression are making little headway around France at Frejus in 1993 which saw in the Grand Slams going down the ATP Tour circuit. India through to the semifinals. in the second round at all four There was a time when Indian Even after Ramesh retired, Paes events. Worse was to follow after tennis basked in the international and Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up his retirement a few years ago for sunshine. Thanks to the exploits to keep the Indian flag aloft. While the cupboard has been bare. It is a of Ramanathan Krishnan and the Paes notched up courageous victo- tribute to the remarkable fitness of Amritraj brothers Anand and Vijay, ries in the singles, he and Bhupathi Paes who continued to play dou- there was high respect for Indian emerged as a formidable doubles bles till his mid-40s but obviously tennis and the record spoke for combination and India continued to the impact was limited. itself. India entered the Davis Cup just about stay in the World Group. In the past few years, India’s chal- final in 1966, 1974 and 1987; Krish- The problem started when Paes lenge in the Davis Cup has been nan made it to the semifinals of the and Bhupathi started concentrating little more than a whimper. The singles event at Wimbledon in 1960 on doubles play in the New Millen- Indian presence around the ATP and 1961, while Vijay and Ramesh nium and while this made them a Tour has been most discouraging Krishnan twice made it to the quar- feared combo around the circuit despite the fact that the present terfinals at both Wimbledon and US with both good enough to win quartet of Ramkumar Ramanathan, Open. In the pre-professional days Grand Slam titles either partner- Prajesh Gunneswaran, Yuki Bham- Krishnan was ranked No. 4 in the ing each other or someone else, it bri and Sumit Nagal did show ini- world while after the sport went was not good enough to keep India tial promise of better things. pro Vijay and Ramesh had career in the World Group. There were The 28-year-old Yuki Bhambri for high ATP rankings of 16 and 23, hardly any singles players around example in 2009 became the first respectively. and with four of five matches hing- Indian to win the junior singles Krishnan had Jaideep Mukher- ing on singles play India slipped event at the Australian Open, only jea and Premjit Lal as his trusted out of the World Group and lan- the fourth Indian after Ramana- partners in the 1960s while Vijay guished in the Asia/Oceania Group than Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan and Anand had Sashi Menon and for years. and Leander Paes to win a junior Photos: Internet The Big Three in singles for India (l-r): Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amirtaraj and Ramesh Krishnan.

46 VIDURA April-June 2021 Tennis stars over the years (from bott om left): Ashok, Vijay and Anand; Somdev Devvarman; Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi; Ramkumar Ramanathan; Yuki Bhambri; and Sumit Nagal.

singles title at a Grand Slam. But Ramkumar won 6-3, 6-2 and pro- 122 some six months, ago Sumit is in six entries at four Grand Slams gressed till the quarterfi nal where now at 136. from 2015 to 2018, he has lost in the he went down to Marcus Baghdatis So, it is easy to see why India is fi rst round. After achieving a high- in a third set tie break. However, he not making a splash at the Davis est ranking of 83 three years ago, he has a dismal record when it comes Cup and why Indian players are not has since slipped to 137. to Grand Slams, being eliminated making any impact around the ATP Much the same may be said about at the qualifying rounds of all four Tour circuit let alone Grand Slams.

Prajnesh, now 31. At the subsidiary events and after reaching a career The way things are, the record is level, he has not done badly win- high ranking of 111 three years ago unlikely to improve. < ning two ATP Challenger and eight he has slid to 202. ITF singles titles. But when it comes The latest to join the Indian (The writer is a veteran sports to tournaments that really matt er, bandwagon is 23-year-old Sumit writer who spent his career working he has not progressed beyond the Nagal who fi rst came into promi- for The Indian Express and The fi rst round at each of the four Grand nence in 2015 by winning the boys Telegraph and Sportsworld.) Slam events. A bronze medal in doubles title at Wimbledon. Com- the men’s singles event at the 2018 ing through the qualifying rounds Asian Games at Jakarta is poor con- at the US Open in 2019, he caused solation for one who promised so a fl utt er by taking a set off Roger much and after achieving a career Federer in the fi rst round and best ranking of 75 in 2019 he has the all-time great had a few good now slipped to 130. things to say about the talented Ramkumar, now 26, was another young Indian. A year later, he who gave the distinct impression went one bett er by making the sec- of going far. His aggressive style of ond round of the US Open, becom- RIND Survey play saw him in 2018 reach his fi rst ing the fi rst Indian since Somdev ATP world tour fi nal becoming the to win a match in the main draw fi rst Indian to reach a ATP world before being defeated by the No. 2 tour singles fi nal since Somdev in seed Dominic Thiem. 2011. A year earlier he had made However, Sumit has been elimi- Our Journals headlines when in the Antalya Open nated at the qualifying stage at both To read articles, he upset world No. 8 and top seed Wimbledon and the French Open plase visit Dominic Thiem in the second round. and this year went down in the fi rst Then ranked 222 and playing his round at the Australian Open. After www.pressinstitute.in fi rst match against a top ten player, achieving a career best ranking of

April-June 2021 VIDURA 47 Present Indian team may not match up to all-time great squads However strong the present Indian cricket team is, it cannot be compared to the all-conquering West Indian and Australian squads of the past, feels Partab Ramchand

have always admired the suc- on the way they set up enviable not on. They not only won every- cinct analysis of Ian Chappell. records of eleven successive Test where but did do in an emphatic I The former Australian cap- wins (since surpassed) and going manner. Yes, the Aussies did have tain who minces no words aptly 27 Tests without being beaten an Achilles heel in India where sums up various aspects of the (still standing). Australia, first they lost the Final Frontier Series game in his inimitable hard-hit- under Steve Waugh in 1999 and in 2001 before finally winning in ting manner and is almost always at the start of the New Millen- 2004. proved right. But for once he has nium, and then under Ricky Pon- But for that matter India have gone way overboard by suggest- ting towards the end of the first lost three successive series in ing that the current Indian team decade of the New Millennium, England, in 2011, 2014 and 2018, could replicate the dominance of twice notched up 16 victories on have lost in New Zealand over the the West Indies and Australian the trot in Tests. squads at various times in cricket The West Indian teams under history. Clive Lloyd and Vivian Rich- Taking the cue from Chappell, a ards are considered the finest of couple of former England greats all time while the Aussies under while pointing out to the bench Waugh and Ponting cannot be far strength of the Indian team have behind. Both squads had some of also ventured much the same the all-time greats in their ranks. opinion. Again to me, they are Indian cricket is currently going way off the mark and a glance through a fruitful phase under- at the achievements of both the lined by the ICC rankings that West Indian and Australian teams have them at No. 1 in Tests, No. 3 of the past will explain why I feel in ODIs and No. 2 in T-20 interna- that way. tionals. But even to talk about the The West Indies never lost a team in the same breath as those Photo: Wikipedia Test series from 1980 to 1995, and great squads of yesteryear is just Ian Chappell. Photo: thenationalnews.com Photo: ESPNcricinfo.com Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting (right) defined the Aussie success story which began in the late 1990s and went on into the first decade of the New Millennium.

48 VIDURA April-June 2021 Photo: news18.com Photo: theweek.in Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards (right) led the West Indies to victory after victory in the 1980s till the mid-1990s. The West Indian teams then were studded with some great batsmen and bowlers - all legends now.

last two contests, and have yet to young talent. It is true that there one great triumph Down Under. win a series in South Africa. Yes, are a number of exciting young This Indian team is very good, has they have won two consecutive cricketers coming up, some of the ability to get even better, but contests in Australia but com- whom have already displayed there is hardly any chance that mendable as this is their over- their skill at the international they will ever be equated with the

all record – particularly in away level. It is also true that these two great all-conquering squads of Tests – does not place them any- young cricketers are fearless in the past. < where near the exalted status that their approach and not the kind the great West Indian and Austra- who are overawed by an oppo- lian teams occupy. nent’s record or reputation. While painting a bright future All this certainly augurs well for for Indian cricket, Chappell Indian cricket but let us not get car- points out to the burgeoning ried away by victories at home and

D.D. Purkayastha to move on from ABP

Dipankar Das Purkayastha has decided to step down as the CEO & MD of ABP. Purkayastha has been associated with ABP for four decades. Commenting on Purkayastha’s decision to move on, the company said, “We take this opportunity to record our appreciation for the services he has rendered to the company. He is a visionary and a legend in our pantheon. He has made the company ready to meet

the challenges of the future.” Dhruba Mukherjee, deputy CEO, will take over as CEO of ABP with effect from 1st April. <

(Courtesy: exchange4media.com)

April-June 2021 VIDURA 49 A record-breaking bowler leads a state’s charge in Indian cricket

Perhaps for the first time in Tamil Nadu’s history, as many as three TN cricketers have recently propelled India to series victories in Australia and at home. The exploits of off-spinner R. Ashwin have for instance been of exceptional significance for the state’s cricket enthusiasts who have waited patiently for heroes to celebrate as their own, says V. Ramnarayan

. Ashwin is the second fast- whose heroism reminded old tim- classic manner, his left leg did not est in the world to claim ers of some of the bravest deeds in stand erect, but seemed to buckle, R400 wickets in Test match Test cricket. and he seemed to lack a follow history, add to that his five Test Back home for the England through. On the asset side of the centuries batting in the lower series, Ashwin made history once balance sheet, he kept unfurling a middle order, and he easily quali- more by scoring a match-winning whole new bag of tricks unknown fies as the best achiever of all time 106 besides capturing eight wick- to many of his predecessors, and in Tamil Nadu’s cricket annals. In ets in the match to complete a rare had loads of confidence and this addition to his incisive bowling all rounder’s feat. And with 400- uncanny ability to take wickets. that spearheaded India’s Test wins plus Test wickets in his bag, he Since then, Ashwin has evidently over Australia and England this promises to set bowling records put in much thought and effort into season, he has also come of age as few can equal or surpass. his bowling as the considerable a genuine all rounder. Only half- When I first set my eyes on improvement in each of the fore- fit, he played a fighting innings Ashwin the off-spinner more going aspects of his craft shows. in partnership with the injured than a decade ago, his run-up Accused of trying too many varia- Hanuma Vihari to save the Sydney was awkward, his body was fall- tions, he has, instead of cutting down Test last year when all seemed lost. ing away in his delivery stride, on variety, actually added a couple Here were two wounded soldiers he did not finish his action in the of new deliveries to the carrom ball, Photo: cricketweb.net Photo: timesofindia.indiatimes.com Ashwin has bagged 400-plus Test wickets and could bag many more. Right: T. Natarajan has emerged as a swing and seam specialist in all the three formats of cricket.

50 VIDURA April-June 2021 series have fi rmly established him as rounder, Arun’s specialisation lies one of Indian cricket’s greats and in fast bowling, and he has been arguably the number one spinner in acknowledged as the man respon- the world. sible for the improved pace and If T. Natarajan, the left-arm seam rigorous discipline of our pacemen bowler has been living subaltern from Ishant Sharma and Moham- proof of the spread of cricket to med Shami to Bhuvnesh Kumar and the farthest corners of Tamil Nadu Jasprit Bumrah. He is said to have across social and economic strata, his discovered and encouraged tal- Washington Sundar has emerged ented youngsters like Mohammed as another star from a modest back- Siraj, but the spinners, too credit him ground, named after a kindly men- for his valuable insights and inputs. tor of his father who supported him Bharathi Arun is indeed a vital link through the various stages of age- in the Indian bowling chain. group cricket. His rapid ascent to Tamil Nadu can take pride in the international recognition has been role its representatives have played made possible by a fearless brand in India’s entry into the fi nal of the of cricket. world Test championship to be held Sundar has already played crucial later this season in England. Closer parts in both saving and winning home, can we also expect a Ranji

Photo: gett yimages.in Photo: gett matches for India against Austra- Trophy triumph, last accomplished lia and England. While his off spin by the state more than three decades Washington Sundar - the young off -

bowling has served to expose the ago and only twice since the tourna- spin bowler is making an impression < with the bat as well. vulnerability of even top class bats- ment began in 1934? men like Steve Smith, Joe Root and his fi rst invention. Converting raw Ben Stokes without ever looking (The writer is a columnist and talent into a weapon of opposition dangerous in the manner of senior author on cricket and music, a destruction, he has made big strides bowler Ashwin’s off spin, his bat- former fi rst-class cricketer and in control and accuracy. He analy- ting has been a revelation, with editor of a performing arts monthly. ses every batsman and works out its left handed elegance, eff ortless He lives in Chennai.) a tailor-made strategy for him. He shotmaking and sound defence. sets elaborate traps sometimes, but Unlucky to miss his maiden Test his more straightforward ones work century at Ahmedabad, Sundar just as well. While he revels in dis- need not despair. We expect many PII-RIND now on Facebook missing the best batsmen, he must centuries from him in future. https://www.facebook.com/PiiRIND be the best fi nisher of the tail in the We have already sung the praises world. of T. Natarajan in these columns. Ashwin is an elegant No. 7 (now His overnight elevation from net No. 6) whom we came to count on bowler to a key role as a swing and him every time the side needed runs seam specialist in all three formats from him. He, however, tended of cricket on the recent Australian often to throw away his wicket. tour has been the real fairytale of We began to resign ourselves to his Tamil Nadu cricket. He did not fi g- cavalier ways of self destruction. ure in the Test matches in Chennai All that changed in Australia. His and Ahmedabad against England, controlled aggression and strategic but was back in the side in the nous as a bowler played a major T20 series which India won after a role in India’s gallant recovery from hard fought batt le. Natarajan will their humiliating defeat in the Ade- surely fi nd a place in the Indian laide pink ball Test. team for the forthcoming world T20 And Ashwin’s defi ant half century championship. to draw the Sydney Test was the icing Yet another Tamil Nadu contri- on the cake for a team dogged by the bution to India’s recent successes demands of COVID-19 protocols and has been the brilliant part played a spate of injuries to key players. His by national bowling coach B. Arun, exploits against England in the recent a former Tamil Nadu and India all

April-June 2021 VIDURA 51 Pandemic: Need for transparency, and credible, scientific information The response to a pandemic needs quick decision-making based on available evidence and implementation of measures for prevention, treatment and containment. Unlike normal health policies and programmes that take a long time to show results, policy response during a pandemic has a quick turnaround, says Dinesh C. Sharma

uccess or failure can be mea- technological tools for surveillance, practices like disinfecting humans sured in terms of the num- coercive measures for quarantine, with chemicals. The government Sber of infections, mortality, state machinery to suppress infor- used questionable technologies like geographic spread and other mation, opaque means to collect geofencing that infringed upon the indicators. Politicians can be held funds – for pandemic management. privacy and data security of citi- accountable for their decisions While experts and WHO recom- zens without their consent. related to the pandemic manage- mended measures like the use of Flow of credible, honest and sci- ment. At the same time, such deci- face masks, handwashing, social entific information during a pan- sions could have a bearing on their distancing, quarantine etc, the demic can help address panic and party’s fate, particularly when elec- implementation of such measures fear that may be caused due to mis- tions are in sight. was left to national governments. information and rumours. Commu- Political leaders around the world Several governments adopted nication of risks in appropriate and tempered their pandemic response coercive means and surveillance easily understood language can accordingly. Many in the West were technologies to enforce scientific help allay fears people may have initially slow in implementing pub- and technical advice, while others about a new infection, and such lic health measures like compul- depended on credible health com- communication can help prevent sory face-masking and widespread munication and voluntary adop- panic. In the same way, information closures, for fear of encroaching tion of measures. about preventive measures should upon the personal liberties of their Local administrations in many be communicated. citizens. On the other hand, leader- Indian cities and towns made wear- False assurances and inaccurate ship in many countries deployed ing face masks in public places information can mislead people and everything available at their com- compulsory. People were fined for may not evoke desired response in mand – police to enforce lockdowns, disobeying social distancing norms terms of change in behaviour. Dur- in shops during the ‘unlocking’ ing a pandemic, people are bom- phases. The use of location data barded with the views and opinions was permitted and used exten- of experts, many contradicting each sively to track individual citizens. other at times. In a situation like The tracking app, Aarogya Setu, this, people tend to give credence was virtually turned into an entry to voices from political leadership. passport for government offices, Public statements by national lead- airports, shopping malls and, taxi ers either failed to convey the sever- rides, though the government kept ity of the public health emergency insisting that its use was voluntary. and downplayed the importance Several Central ministries, state of scientifically proven preventive governments and state-run bodies measures, or gave false assurances made the use of the app compul- of beating the virus in a matter of sory. The use of drone technology weeks and months. for surveillance and the enforce- Prime Minister Modi evoked ment of lockdowns got normalised the ‘fear’ emotion in his speech in many states. Spraying disinfec- announcing the 21-day national tants using drones meant for agri- lockdown on March 24, 2020 when cultural operations was touted as he said “if we are not able to man-

Photo: DS a public health measure. Govern- age these 21 days, the country The book cover. ment agencies promoted harmful and your family could be set back

52 VIDURA April-June 2021 21 years; if we are not able to man- Court (SC) about the need to pre- were supposed to be voluntary, but age these 21 days, several families censor news relating to the pan- central ministries issued orders for will get devastated forever.” On demic. The plea resulted in the employees to contribute a day’s the same day, Modi set an agenda court order asking the media to salary. for the media by telling editors publish offi cial bulletins on the The Ministry of External Aff airs to emphasize positive news and pandemic released by the Press asked Indian missions abroad to stressing that “citizens need to Information Bureau. The offi cial promote the Fund and att ract dona- be assured that the government bulletins highlighted selective data tions. The Prime Minister appealed is committ ed to countering the and statistics that framed the gov- for donations to the Fund in several impact of Covid-19”. ernment’s pandemic response as a of his speeches. The government Hours before the lockdown was great success. publicity wing, Press Information imposed on March 24, 2020, the In democratic societies, public Bureau, publicised all news related PM interacted with a group of 20 criticism of policies in media points to the Fund on a regular basis. journalists and stakeholders from to gaps in implementation and All this gave an impression to print media from all over the coun- helps authorities respond accord- the people that it is a government- try via video conferencing. Besides ingly. If all pandemic-related data run fund, whereas it is not. If the creating awareness about the virus was shared with media and also in Fund was run transparently and its and preventive measures like social the public domain, it could have management made accountable for distancing, the PM asked newspa- been analysed by public health its functioning, the funds collected pers to “highlight the impact of experts in research institutes and could have been used optimally for the spread of the virus through the universities for diff erent parame- pandemic management. It could

inclusion of international data and ters such as urban-rural spread, age have supplemented the eff orts of the case studies about other countries”. and sex-wise mortality, and socio- central and state governments. < He asked the media to “tackle economic parameters. All this, in spread of pessimism, negativity turn, could have helped devise (Excerpted with permission from and rumour mongering” and see tailor-made control and manage- Unmasked: Decoding the politics that “citizens need to be assured ment strategies at the city, district of the Covid-19 Pandemic by that the government is commit- and sub-district levels. Dinesh C. Sharma. The Edit Mill, ted to countering the impact of The lack of transparency about the April 2021. The digital edition of the COVID-19”. functioning of the PM-CARES Fund book is available on Amazon. The In turn, the journalists who spoke was in line with the overall eff ort author is a Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, during the interaction, promised to suppress information fl ow. The 2020-21, and former managing editor that “they will work on the sugges- exact status of the Fund – whether it of India Science Wire.) tions of the Prime Minister to pub- was a private fund or government- lish inspiring and positive stories”. run entity – was not disclosed for Modi had a similar meeting with months. Contributions to the Fund radio jockeys, in which he asked them “to disseminate positive sto- ries and case studies, particularly of those patients that have fully recovered from coronavirus infec- tion” and to “showcase and con- stantly celebrate the contributions of local heroes like police offi cers, doctors, nurses, ward boys etc at the national level”. Modi asked radio show hosts to “educate peo- Education for ple about the dedication of police personnel” during the pandemic all is still a dis- and noted that “while police should avoid usage of strong-arm tac- tant dream... tics, it is also necessary to enforce discipline”. The same line of thinking was Subscribe to Rs 240 for 12 issues refl ected in the Ministry of Home Aff airs (MHA) plea in the Supreme

April-June 2021 VIDURA 53 Book Review

A fascinating transition from subjugation to independence

As I write, it is also in the news due to a report about alleged genocide by Turkey in Armenia in the past. Despite its strategic-geographic importance, and the “tug of war among global players for infl uence and foothold in the region” (due to its oil reserves that the Euro Region depends on – a“strategically important transit route for transporting energy from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea and onward, for transfer to ther- mal and nuclear plants in the West) it is, as the book points out, one of the “least discussed regions of the world”. Several eminent Russian literary luminaries hailed from this region, Pushkin, and Tolstoy among them. Joseph Stalin was from Georgia. After being under the Ott oman, Persian and Tsar- ist Russian empires from medieval times to the early years of the twentieth century, this region, lying between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, became three independent nations, now known as the South Caucasus, after the breakup of the Soviet Republic in 1991. Though they are contiguous, they diff er in many ways – they are multi-ethnic and multi-lingual; Islam and Christianity are the main religions, leading to THE SOUTH CAUCASUS unrest. The Abkhaz Region has orthodox Christians Author: Achal Malhotra and Sunni Muslims. Publisher: Macmillan Publishers India, Chennai During the 16th to 19th Centuries, Russia, Iran Price: Rs 2215 and Turkey fought wars for a foothold here. Europe is energy defi cient and depends heavily on supplies Heard of the South Caucasus? I hadn’t. This book from here -- Azerbaijan has rich oil reserves and natu- therefore, came as a pleasant surprise, giving informa- ral gas while Armenia and Georgia off er convenient tion about a region just beyond our northern border transit routes to Turkey and beyond, to Europe. The which has geo-political importance but hasn’t got the West has made heavy investment in the region to build att ention it merits. infrastructure for exploration and transport. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia make up the At the beginning of the twentieth century, Azerbai- region known as the South Caucasus. Lying between jan was the world’s leading oil producer and was the Russia to the north and Turkey and Iran to the south, world’s fi rst off -shore producer. The European Union the region has some strategic importance which is depends for more than half of its requirements on what this book by former diplomat who served in pipelines via Georgia – therefore, it is in the interest of our missions in the region discusses. There is also the global community to ensure peace and security (if a fascinating chapter on India’s relations with the only to protect American and European investments). region through a long period of history, stretching Georgia and Azerbaijan have been used by the West over centuries. for supplies to Afghanistan (in the fi ght against terror- This is perhaps the fi rst study of its kind that focuses ism. China too has been interested in the region which on this aspect, and is the result of a book grant from lies at the crossroads between the East and the West, the Indian Council of World Aff airs for research into since the inception of its Belt Road project. diff erent areas of international relations. Inciden- Chapter 5, which focuses on India’s footprints in the tally, Armenia and Azerbaijan were also in the news area, unearths some fascinating details about social recently, due to the long-standing territorial dispute interactions in the medieval past, through trade and between them. visits of explorers. Baku (in Azerbaijan) was a transit

54 VIDURA April-June 2021 Book Review

point for goods passing from China and India, to Con- Chennai in fact emerged as a “hub of Armenian stantinople. Barter trade covered textiles, precious intellectual activities” in the 18th century. The Father stones and herbs. Armenia has a Tamil manuscript in of Armenian journalism, Shmavonian, is buried in its archives. Chennai. Chennai still has an Armenian Street. The Hindus had set up colonies in Armenia and Azer- fi rst Indian singer to be recorded for gramaphone disc, baijan in ancient and medieval periods. There are in 1902, Gauhar Jan, was of Armenian descent. She is records of Hindu princes arriving in Armenia in 149 said to have performed at King George V coronation. BC; they built temples and there was peaceful coexis- India’s panchatantra fables are said to have infl u- tence for over four centuries. Near Baku, there is also enced Georgian folk tales Aurangzeb’s wife Udaipuri a fi re temple which has Sanskrit, Devanagari and Gur- Begum was of Georgian descent. Goa has the grave of mukhi inscriptions; Siva’s trishuls (tridents) carved on a Georgian queen. She was canonized for refusing to the walls – these are interesting historical details from convert to Islam. a bygone era, adding to our records of Indians’ explo- Azerbaijan has folklore that is “astonishingly like rations in the north. that of Krishna in India”. There is a wealth of such During the Mughal period, Armenians began to details about India’s relations with the south Cauca- sett le in India. They even enjoyed the patronage of sus, in ancient times that this book records. Makes for

the Mughal emperors. Akbar married an Armenian enjoyable reading, even as it enhances our understand- woman (Mariam Zamani Begum) and an Armenian ing of the gepolitical importance of this area. < church was built in Agra in 1562. There are also graves with Armenian and Persian inscriptions. Delhi, Mum- (Reviewed by Sakuntala Narasimhan.) bai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Surat, too.

A laudable effort to inspire and motivate today’s young

Are Destined For The Skies, Let The Real You Stand Up! and Discover The Hero Within You following the fi rst one. Writt en by Father Alfonso Elengikal of the Soci- ety of Saint Paul, the books are said to have sold tens of thousands of copies and gone into several editions. The winning formula seems to be simplicity and relatability. Fr Elengikal keeps to the same unclutt ered format in all four books – a telling titled, a relevant quote, and an anecdote or anecdotes to illustrate the main premise. Each individual piece is an average of two pages long, keeping in mind the limited att ention span of the target audience – the youth of today. Several of the pieces in You Can Make A Diff erence were originally editorials and articles writt en for The YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Teenager (now Teenager Today), of which Fr Elengikal YOU ARE DESTINED FOR THE SKIES has been the editor for three terms, including his cur- LET THE REAL YOU STAND UP! rent stint. The style he adopted, of drawing from the DISCOVER THE HERO WITHIN YOU lives of both famous people from around the world, Author: Father Alfonso Elengikal and his own fi rst-hand experiences with ordinary men Publisher: Better Yourself Books, Mumbai and women who achieved something outstanding, has Price: Rs 80 each been continued in the subsequent books. While You Can Make A Diff erence deals with values It all started with You Can Make A Diff erence. This litt le and codes of conduct, ranging from forgiveness and volume of motivational reading, fi rst published in saying ‘no’ to corruption, to the need for patriotism, 2004, became a series of four books by 2019 – with You secularism, voting and celebrating women, You Are

April-June 2021 VIDURA 55 Book Review

Destined For The Skies focusses on a positive approach Hollywood star Doris Day to the late Congress stalwart to life. Topics covered include ‘The magic of the burn- K. Kamaraj, from the Bhagavad Gita to the Holy Bible, ing desire’, ‘Determination: Gateway to success’, they all provide illustrations for the points he makes. ‘Taking risks: The only shortcut’ and ‘Knowing our The latest in the series, Discover The hero Within You, weaknesses matt ers. sets out to encourage young readers to understand Let The Real You Stand Up is also motivational, but their true worth and potential. Following the patt ern stresses the uniqueness of each person, and the impor- of the other books, this volume discusses subjects tance of living to one’s fullest potential. It contains such as ‘possibility thinking’, turning scars into stars, nuggets of advice such as ‘Stay focused… it’s vital’, humility and hurdles. The books are enlivened by sim- ‘The blame game is no winning game’, ‘Deeds speak ple yet eff ective artwork and photographs of famous louder than words’ and ‘Turn your disabilities into personalities. abilities’. Writt en in clear, simple language, the series is sure Though some of these may seem cliched, they’re to inspire and motivate the young people of today to

saved from being boring by the examples used to illus- aim for the stars and become the best possible versions trate the precepts – the author is eclectic in his selec- of themselves. < tion – from G.K. Chesterton’s fi ctional detective Father Brown to popular Indian author Amish Tripathi, from (Reviewed by Susan Philip, assistant editor, Vidura.) He was a model of commitment and honesty Bharat Dogra remembers a remarkable freedom fi ghter-editor Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi who left a signifi cant imprint on various levels of struggle for independence before his untimely demise

arch 25 marked the 90th sacrifi ced his life at the age of 40 Jawaharlal Nehru said, “He death anniversary of a while trying to stop communal vio- taught in his death what we will Mgreat freedom fi ghter, lence. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi fi nd diffi cult to teach while living editor, peasant leader and deeply has a special place in the annals of for many years.” Mahatma Gandhi committ ed social reformer who India’s Freedom Movement. said, “He has cemented Hindu- Muslim unity with his own blood.” Vidyarthi had a special place as a bridge between the revolution- ary movement and the mainstream Congress movement. He headed the Congress in the important United Provinces (roughly corre- sponding to today’s Utt ar Pradesh) but also enjoyed the complete trust and confi dence of revolutionaries. He was a great editor, who fought the world’s biggest imperialist force and its many lackeys relent- lessly for 18 long years right till his death. He seemed to always have one foot in prison or court, and the other in a small offi ce.

Photo: Internet Vidyarthi not only covered Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. struggles of workers and peasants

56 VIDURA April-June 2021 in his newspaper, he mobilised the revolutionaries had in his judg- reporting of these struggles (such and unionised them too. Even ment and understanding increased as those in Bijoliya, Rajasthan and during his school days, he dis- to such an extent that they would Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh) several played his writing skills and deep go ahead with plans of action only court cases were filed againstPratap social commitment. As a jour- after ascertaining that Vidyarthi and Vidyarthi, which he faced nalist in Kanpur, which became approved. courageously. the main centre of his work, he Meanwhile, at the insistence Even though Ganesh Vidyarthi became known for his zeal and of people, he contested the state was writing mostly about freedom coverage of issues and campaigns council elections and won with a and other struggles in India, the of public interest. With the sup- huge margin despite not having struggles in other parts of the world port of a few influential friends, any financial resources. After this, also attracted him. For example, he he launched a magazine, Pratap, to he was made the president of the wrote passionately about a con- report on the freedom movement State Congress Committee. Senior temporary struggle by the people and other struggles. national leaders could not have of Morocco. Public response was so good been unaware of his close relations Ganesh Vidyarthi was jailed five that it was converted into a daily with revolutionaries, but he was times. Despite the extremely difficult newspaper, which soon evolved as selected for this important post on conditions, he managed to translate a committed voice of the freedom the strength of his reputation of the works of Victor Hugo while in movement and struggles of peas- honesty and commitment as well as prison. Appalled at the condition ants and workers. Subsequently, he his huge popularity among people, of prisons and prisoners, he wrote launched another magazine, Prabha. cutting across caste and religious strongly about the need for prison Vidyarthi was active in the divides. reforms, and advocated the rights Congress-led movements and Vidyarthi had also been organ- of political prisoners. In 1931 he was established a well-deserved repu- ising meetings and gatherings on released from jail and was trying to tation as a leader of commitment communal harmony. He was par- catch up with pending work when and honesty. At the same time, he ticularly closely associated with terrible communal riots (widely helped leading revolutionaries like the Hindustani Biradari. He was alleged to be triggered by the colo- Ashfaqullah, Ram Prasad Bismil involved in a mobilisation of tex- nial rulers) erupted in Kanpur. and Bhagat Singh in various ways. tile workers of Kanpur and also While trying to rescue trapped In fact, Bhagat Singh worked as a helped some peasant struggles in people of both communities, journalist in his office for some time the United Provinces. Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi was

as a sort of assistant editor, writing Apart from the main Freedom killed. He sacrificed his life for under a pen name to escape police Movement, several sporadic strug- Hindu-Muslim unity. < attention. gles had started in the various Later, when Bhagat Singh, Jatin- kingdoms that existed at that time. (The writer’s recent books include dranath Dass and others were on The activists concerned faced bru- When the Two Streams Met hunger strike in prison, Pratap tal repression at the hands of the (Freedom Movement) and Azadi Ke played an important role in keep- various royal regimes. Ganesh Vid- Deewanon Ki Daastaan.) ing people informed and mobiliz- yarthi took up their cause with zeal ing public opinion. The confidence and courage. To check him and his

TRIBUTE TO SAGAR SARHADI (1933-2021) A gifted writer and filmmaker who left an indelible mark

The writer had met Sagar Sarhadi at the production office of Vinod Pande, who was making a film then. He was the subject she had gone to interview. The completely white-haired gentleman who walked with a slight stoop was soft-spoken, shy and unassuming, though everyone knew who he was, what he did and even what he looked like, because the media did not spare him the spotlight. Shoma A. Chatterji dwells on his film career

April-June 2021 VIDURA 57 e was always dressed in home with plenty of grain. But it all white kurta and white came to an end and the family fled Hpyjamas and even at press during the Partition.” meetings he tried to keep away After his schooling, Sarhadi joined from the limelight. Sagar Sarhadi Khalsa College in Mumbai, and fell began writing short stories and in love with Gulzar’s resounding plays in Urdu, as he was born in voice reciting couplets of Mir and present-day Pakistan and spent Ghalib. He began reading any- part of his life there. He caught thing and everything he could lay the attention of Yash Chopra who his hands on. In the final year, he roped him in to write the screen- moved to St Xavier’s to hone his play and dialogue of the multi-star- skills in English so that he could rer Kabhie Kabhie (1976). Though read world classics that were easily his name did not appear in the available then in English translation. credits of too many films during Like most of the committed, the golden era of Hindi cinema, his leftist-minded creative writers and career was made. artists of his time, Sarhadi aligned Sagar Sarhadi. Sarhadi belonged to the North himself with the Progressive Writ- Eastern Province of British India ers Association where he got the Kabhie Kabhie did not do well com- and his real name was Ganga Sagar opportunity of interacting with and mercially, Chopra’s next, Noorie Talwar. He once said, “I was born learning from Kaifi Azmi, Ismat (1979), designed to be a small- in Baffla Village near Abbottabad. Chugtai, Sajjad Zaafir and others. budget film featuring the lesser It was a happy boyhood, exploring That was when he changed his ranked actors Farrukh Khan and the hills, bathing in the river, learn- name from Ganga Sagar Talwar to Poonam Dhillon, for which Sardar ing Urdu in school and at times Sagar Sarhadi. wrote the script and the dialogue, helping my father, a liquor contrac- Sarhadi was a man of few words unexpectedly became a big box tor, in the shop. It was a big village and even lesser means. Though office hit. Sarhadi was not prolific but he contributed to both hits and out- of-the-box films that became criti- cally acclaimed. Other films he wrote for are Rang (1993) with Kamal Sadanah and Divya Bharti, directed by Talat Jani, Basu Chat- terjee’s beautiful film Anubhav, with Tanuja, Sanjeev Kumar and Dinesh Thakur, Zindagi, The Other Man and so on. He joined forces with Chopra again for Silsila (1989) but the film was a commer- cial flop. Meanwhile, Sarhadi made his directorial debut with Bazaar (1982) with Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil in the lead and Supriya Pathak and Farooq Sheik as young lovers. The title is a reference to the ‘mar- ket’ where women are sold for sex- ual use, misuse and abuse by old, rich Muslim men from Indian met- ros and from West Asia. The film in totality was no great shakes, but it made a statement never made before – exposing a Photos: Internet combination of trafficking and The eye-catching Bazaar poster.

58 VIDURA April-June 2021 prostitution of young girls whose Taki Mir and Makhdoom Mohi- Sarhadi is also remembered for lives depend on how long they nuddin. It may not be a great film having given a big break to Nawa-

can keep their ‘keepers’ happy. in terms of aesthetics and tech- zuddin Siddique, who was strug- Sarhadi picked the best of Urdu nique but it has excellent archival gling to get a footing. < ghazals for the film, including Mir value.

TRIBUTE TO SHASHIKALA (1933-2021) She scored with negative roles in films, and with dignity in life Shashikala, the ‘bad, bitchy, crafty vamp’ of Hindi cinema, who held fort for several decades passed away at her Mumbai residence this April. Shoma A. Chatterji brings memories of the actress alive and recalls an interview with her

lmost all villains and vamps fashionable crop-step style, added But I was still piqued about the fact in Hindi cinema were asso- to the dignity of her personality. that I got the smaller role in Zeenat Aciated with the vibes they It was difficult to relate the real- because I did not know Urdu. From created on screen, though they life Shashikala with the star vamp that day on, I started Urdu lessons. were extremely lovable human and character actress of Hindi cin- What’s more, I stopped speaking beings in real life. Shashikala is an ema whose wickedness generated Marathi completely – so much so ideal example of the screen image anger in the audience. that people thought I was a Pun- becoming so real that the audience Having seen her bitching in jabi,” she said. began to identify her real self with B. R. Chopra’s Gumraah many Shashikala was also supposed to the roles she performed. years ago, or doing a sizzling caba- play the role Sandhya did in Shan- When I interviewed her, she ret number in O.P. Ralhan’s block- taram’s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje. was her dignified self, delivering buster Phool Aur Patthar, one finds Shantaram and Sandhya had a tiff. her answers slowly but in correct it difficult to take in the fact that this But before shooting began, they English, waiting patiently for me is the same lady who walked out of made up and Shashikala was out. to take notes as she spoke. She Bollywood not once, but twice – to After Zeenat, for which she got seemed very distant and aloof. search for peace the first time, and Rs 25, she worked for P.N. Arora, Her salt-and-pepper hair cut in a to live a life of selfless service as an Amiya Chakravarti and other film active participant in Mother The- doyens at Rs 400 a month. She resa’s Missionaries of Charity the played heroine to Ashok Kumar and second time. Karan Dewan — all before Partition. After a little hesitation, she did Shashikala revealed, without not need any probing and poured rancour or anger, that her hus- out the story of her life. She was band had bankrupted the family born into a Maharashtrian family when he decided to go into film which was so poor that some days, production with her savings. That there was not even enough food could have been one of the reasons to go around. She was the young- for her mental imbalance. She also est of six children and became shared that of her two children, the sole breadwinner of the fam- one was her biological daughter ily through dancing at Ganpati and the other was adopted. But Poojas. This led her to Hindi films. the bonding between the sisters V. Shantaram cast her in an impor- was as strong as that between the tant role in his Teen Batti Chaar mother and the girls. “With time, Photo: Internet Rasta. She played her first lead role we all forgot that one of the two A gorgeous-looking young Shashikala - in Shantaram’s Surang – a mad girl. was adopted and this included the a picture possibly taken in the late 1950s. “Surang brought me recognition. girls themselves,” she said.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 59 Shashikala told me the pub- Shashikala went on to do the The interview went on for a lic conception of her as a nega- musical Sargam with Rishi Kapoor good two hours though she had tive vamp had such an adverse and Jayapradha, followed by that promised just one hour. But she impact on her that one day, she lovely role in Hrishikesh Mukher- staunchly refused to share any just walked out of her home, leav- jee’s Khubsoorat where, at the age photographs, or even show me ing her shocked family behind, to of 45, she had to dance all over her albums. I had to be content roam aimlessly on railway plat- again and Rekha was stunned to with only her words. forms and streets. “I think I just watch her perform after practicing Though she played the vamp could not take it anymore. I was with Gopi Krishna for 12 hours for or the evil mother-in-law and/ not at all like the women I por- about six days. However, sadly, a or sister-in-law or the ‘other trayed, but it was something I director insulted her on the sets, woman’ in many films, she did could neither avoid nor wanted to triggering her to go away again. some very positive roles as well, avoid. After all, it was my bread She went to Mother Theresa’s and won awards for them too, as and butter and also that of my Home, first in Pune and then in she pointed out. Aarti directed by whole family,” she rued. Kolkata. She worked within the Phani Majumdar, Sujata, directed Shashikala donned saffron and ashram for eight long years, tend- by Bimal Roy and Anupama went in search of peace from one ing to the dying and the sick, and directed by Hrishikesh Mukher- ashram to another for five long came back a completely different jee were among these. The first years. She went to Rameshwar, person. “This helped me when one two fetched her the Best Support- Dwarka, Bhuvaneshwar, Benares, of my daughters was dying of can- ing Actress Award from Filmfare everywhere, to search for peace. cer. I held her hand till she died. for two consecutive years and Finally, she took a meditation This was what Mother Theresa she cherished the role of Rama course for ten days at Goenkaji’s had taught me,” said Shashikala. in Sujata because it gave her the ashram at Igatpuri and felt bet- I wondered what the secret of opportunity of working under the ter. Guruji explained to her that her youth was. She told me about directorial baton of Bimal Roy. she was unable to cope with the her disciplined lifestyle – yoga Shashikala was conferred the reality that her fans were actually in the morning followed by six Padma Shri for her contribution

identifying her with the negative almonds downed with a glass of to Hindi cinema and then a Life- roles she played. After the Igat- water, a rigid diet with hardly any time Achievement Award at the < puri experience, she came back to rice or rotis, no smoking, no drink- V. Shantaram Awards in 2009. Bombay and to films. ing, no party hopping, nothing.

TRIBUTE TO SUMITRA BHAVE (1943-2021) A passionate filmmaker with a social purpose Sumitra Bhave, a filmmaker, passed away of lung and old-age complications in April this year in Pune, a city she had spent her entire life in. She is one director responsible for giving Marathi cinema a completely new direction, says Shoma A. Chatterji

umitra Bhave was 78 when postgraduate degrees in Sociol- methods of indigenous research dhe died. A good friend, she ogy and in Political Science, Bhave to study social problems that do Swas a petit lady with more did a short stint with the Indian not lend themselves to academia salt than pepper in her hair even Council for Social Research fol- or scholarship. Her favourite when we first met at the Hyder- lowed by a UGC Fellowship for projects included one study of abad Filmotsav in 1986. research on Gandhian concepts of women criminals and another on After her postgraduation from social work. She then joined the unwed mothers. TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sci- Karve Institute for Social Sciences Dr Francis Maria Yassas, a UN ences) in Mumbai, following in Pune where she developed representative working on similar

60 VIDURA April-June 2021 lines of developing methods of Sukhtankar. They made a short indigenous research, inspired fiction film called Chakori, which Sumitra to join Streevani, a wom- became a hit with the huge audi- en’s organisation in Pune involved ence at the Mumbai International in participatory research in and Festival of Documentary, Short around Pune among women in and Animation Films in 1994. In a the urban poor slums. The fruits very interestingly scripted narra- of the work took concrete shape tive, Chakori, which translates as in the form of a book titled Tava wheels, unfolds the story of how Chulyavar: Oral Life Stories And the life of a young village girl Self-images of women. changes radically by the simple Dr Yassas inspired Sumitra to try device of her learning to ride a a visual representation of some of bicycle. She learns it clandestinely the stories on celluloid. And Sumi- at night, because the cycle is taboo Sumitra Bhave. tra Bhave’s life changed forever. for the girls in the village. She became a filmmaker with a By the time the film made the the National Film Awards. Kaasav social purpose. Under the aus- rounds of film festivals abroad, explores depression among mod- pices of Streevani, Sumitra made a Sumitra ventured forth into fea- ern day youngsters. docu-feature called Bai, dramatis- ture films with Doghi (Two), a The film-centric journey has ing the life-story of a poor work- full-length feature film in Mar- been filled with social agenda ing woman living in a Pune slum, athi screened in the Indian Pano- such as – Devrai on schizophre- burdened with frequent childbirth rama at IFFI 1996 in Delhi which nia and its misunderstanding and oppressed by an alcoholic and explores the ostracising of one of among the masses, Bandha on violent husband. two sisters trafficked to a red light infertility among young women The film won the National area of Bombay who sends money and how a superstition-ridden Award for the Best Social film of to her family back in the village village tortures a supposedly the year. She then made Paani, but is not welcome to attend her barren woman and labels her a moving from the individual to the younger sister’s wedding. witch, Astu revolves around a collective, this time capturing real Sumitra, Sunil and their films senior Sanskrit scholar and how footage of the painstaking efforts won around12 National Awards. his daughter and her husband try of a group of women in a drought- The director duo directed 14 fea- to cope with him suffering from prone area who succeed in bring- ture films, more than 50 short Alzhemier’s disease. Zindagi ing water to the village. Mukti films, TV serials and telefilms- all Zindabad in Hindi, which was on was on drug addiction among of which were written by Sumitra AIDS, where some slangs used by Pune youths followed by Samvad. Bhave. Her films revolve around these boys were retained. Her sole Somewhere along the way, the socio-political and economic directorial debut Dithee is a bril- with the departure of Dr Yassas, conditions and are more relatable liant piece of workfor which she Sumitra left Streevani to work to all classes of society. won the award for the Best Direc- independently with her young Kaasav (Turtle) bagged the top tor last year at the Pune Interna- colleague, the FTII-trained Sunil award for the Best Indian Film at tional Film Festival. Sumitra, who had a broken mar- riage, never voiced any grouse about her personal life and included members of her family within her production team when- ever she could. However, sharing the directorial credit always with Sunil placed her at a rather unusual

disadvantage: she was counted out of the list of women directors in the< country. Photos: SC A scene from Kaasav; and (right) the Dithee poster.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 61 TRIBUTE TO ANIL DHARKAR (1947-2021) A versatile journalist who moulded himself to fit various roles Shoma A. Chatterji says she was never formally introduced to Anil Dharkar, but met him a few times at “elite parties”. The parties made her distinctly uncomfortable because “they generally excluded poor and little-known journalists like yours truly and I would be surprised to be on their invitees’ list”. Also, the majority of the other guests at such parties were known to each other, she adds. Here is an account of the Anil Dharkar she knew

hough Anil Dharkar and I made you laugh even while they was too genteel a man to take on the were both journalists and informed you about what lay on responsibility. Twriters based in Mumbai, in the other side of the headlines of Looking back, I now see it as reality we belonged to two differ- the same paper. another unconventional step by a ent worlds that could never meet. I particularly remember one of journalist who has carved a niche for So, Dharkar and I met, but from a his columns for its pure inven- himself in Indian society. Founded comfortable distance. I may have tiveness and humour. Those were in 1973, Debonair was almost exclu- introduced myself once or twice, the days when Rajiv Gandhi was sively for men. The magazine, best but since I was small fry, he would prime minister of the country. known for its topless female cen- have forgotten me as soon as he The media, especially television trefolds, was first edited by Ashok took the next swig of his favourite screens, spilled over with his pic- Row Kavi and Anthony Van Bra- drink. I preferred to keep it that tures, interviews and bytes, and band. Vinod Mehta was editor for way and even when he was editor editorials and op-ed stories about several years. Other journalists too of many papers I would have loved him. There was little in the media were a bit confused by his move, to write for, I never approached other than Rajiv Gandhi. So, what but it proved that he could mould him. To this day, I do not know did Anil Dharkar do? He simply himself to fit into any role. why, because he appeared quite filled his entire column with one Dharkar’s professional resume charming and genial. name – Rajiv Gandhi. Can you is so filled with multi-faceted I must admit that I have not been imagine such a bold and brash achievements that I find it rather a voracious reader of his writings, column? I could not. I had never scary, unlike his ever-smiling, but I began to respect him for his ever encountered such writing that white-haired, fair-skinned image. wonderful weekly television col- broke every rule in the journalism At various stages in his life, he has umn in the erstwhile weekly The book yet got the message across to been an engineer on the academic Sunday Observer, to which I occa- everyone. That was Anil Dharkar. staff at the University of Glasgow, sionally contributed. The columns His columns were reprinted in an a consultant in a Mumbai architec- were sarcastic and filled with so anthology by Harper Collins titled tural firm, a film critic and censor, a much black humour that they Sorry Not Ready: Television in the promoter of ‘new cinema’ with the Time of PM Darshan. The powers- National Film Development Corpo- that-be may have hated him for his ration and an editor (successively), fearless tirade against whosoever of Debonair, Mid-Day and Sun- he felt was wrong, but that did not day Mid-Day, The Independent and dent his fame and his popularity as The Illustrated Weekly of India. He journalist and author. has worked for television as pro- I was a bit angry when he took up ducer and anchor, as well as head the editorship of Debonair, which of a news television channel then focussed mainly on eroticism and poised for take-off. He was also, sexuality, subjects which were briefly, creative director of the Zee taboo in the conservative, ‘morally Television network. It is surprising disciplined’ world of journalism as that he never stepped into politics. it existed during those times. But it Dharkar founded Literature Live Photo: SC had a massive readership though and was also the founder-direc- Anil Dharkar. it was quite highly priced. I felt he tor of Tata Literature Live. The

62 VIDURA April-June 2021 Mumbai Litfest acquired interna- chancellor of Newcastle University very low-profile and grounded, she tional acclaim under his visionary in January 2020. Their daughter is another brain behind the LitFest. leadership, a role which combined Ayesha Dharkar is an actress based Among Dharkar’s books are a inspiration and tremendous hard in London coffee-table book on Goa, a biog- work in equal measure. As if all Anil Dharkar and Imtiaz parted raphy of industrialist O.P. Jindal, this were not enough, he excelled ways and while Imtiaz decided to The Man Who Talked To Machines, in various sports too. settle in London, Dharkar found and a book on Mahatma Gandhi’s For a long time, Dharkar was mar- new company in noted journalist Dandi March, The Romance Of Salt. ried to Imtiaz, who he reportedly Amy Fernandes who I knew when Recently, he brought out an anthol-

met when they were both students she edited the Saturday Times, one of ogy, Icons: The Men & Women Who in London. She is a British poet, the most congenial, accessible and Shaped Today’s India. < artist and video film maker. She warm editors I have ever worked has won the Queen’s Gold Medal under. I had no idea she was for her poetry and was appointed Dharkar’s partner but though she is

TRIBUTE TO V. CHANDRASEKHAR (1958-2021) A brilliant player and a fighter – fate was unkind to him Former national table tennis champion V. Chandrasehar passed away in Chennai in May this year, yet another known figure succumbing to COVID. Partab Ramchand talks about the player, his attacking game, and why crowds loved him

n the 1970s and early 1980s I in Madras for there were a num- lengthy reports, feature stories and was the table tennis correspon- ber of talented youngsters mak- photographs. Ident for the Indian Express in ing the grade. But I sensed that I faced the ridicule of my fel- Madras and the period coincided Chandra was something very spe- low sports writers who asked in with the rise of Venugopal Chan- cial and gave him plenty of cover- non-polite terms why I was going drasekhar to the point where he age in the newspaper by carrying overboard in covering Chandra’s peaked in winning the national title three years in a row from 1979 to 1981. He also had the best record for an Indian player in international meets and represented the country in four world championships. With his brilliant attacking game, Chandra was a crowd favourite. This was the time when the popu- larity of table tennis in the city was at its zenith and the indoor stadi- ums were packed with the few thousands that could be accom- modated. He had an enormous fan following, for besides his fluent and pleasing game, he was a handsome,

charismatic personality, an extro- The Hindu Archives vert who played to the gallery.

This was a great period for TT Photo: (as table tennis is often referred to) The flamboyant Chandrasekhar in action in his prime.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 63 exploits when there were so many clearly or speak coherently or com- law college student. Still taking on equally gifted youngsters around. prehend almost anything. a big hospital legally was an uphill I told them that Chandra was des- In 1985, Chandra met Dr Paul task but Chandra a fighter to the core tined for big things and when he Cutler from Canada who said he never gave up. “They have ruined won his first national title his father could be treated and so commenced my career, my life, my youth, my was gracious in telling me that a painful routine of physiotherapy future, they will have to pay for it,” my coverage had a lot to do with that went on for months. By the he said. Finally, he won the case and encouraging Chandra to pull it off. time he returned to Madras in 1986, received Rs 29 lakh as compensation. By this time Chandra was popu- he had improved considerably but In the meantime, State Bank of lar all over India. Remarkably fit still was not normal, having diffi- India where he was an officer had and agile, the manner in which culties with his vision and move- reinstated him and side by side he bounded about while retriev- ments. That was how he was to be Chandra started a TT academy ing the ball or sending winners on till the end which came about fol- wherein several players benefited both flanks with forehand drives or lowing a COVID-related lung infec- from his pearls of wisdom. Though backhand flicks endeared him to TT tion in Chennai on May 12. he could no longer play the game as fans. By 1984, Kamlesh Mehta had During the time of his rehab, his reflexes had virtually gone for taken over as the country’s leading Chandra received a lot of help from good he was able to impart tips on player but Chandra was still a force the media who took up his case strategy and tactics. to reckon with, being among the and appealed for funds which saw Physically, Chandra might have top two or three in the country. Chandra obtain the money to go been almost a wreck but he had a Late that year, he was admitted to to Canada for the expensive treat- sharp mind and was able to recall a hospital in Madras for what was ment. But he could never forget many things accurately and argue on to be a routine knee surgery. Unfor- that it was because of medical negli- matters forcefully in the manner of a tunately, it went horribly awry and gence – as he put it – that his career, lawyer. Following retirement from for weeks thereafter he remained his youth and his life had so tragi- the bank, he fully concentrated on in hospital virtually a vegetable cally taken a turn for the worse. making his academy one of the best much to the concern of his parents Chandra sued the hospital in a in terms of facilities and remained for whom he was an only child. It famous case that went on for years. active as a coach till the end. At 64,

was a painful sight to see a brilliant His grandfather R.M. Seshadri was a Chandra still had much to offer the player and a handsome personality famous advocate and Chandra him- game but fate willed otherwise. < walking like a zombie, unable to see self had been a gold-medal-winning

TRIBUTE TO MARIO NORONHA (1966-2021) Ever smiling and quietly efficient, he gave voice to the voiceless Very few people have the ability to make everyone, even strangers, feel comfortable around them. Mario Noronha, chief executive officer of Charkha – The Development Communication Network, was one of them. TheCharkha Team pays a fond tribute and remembers a man who inspired them

ifty-five-year-old Mario, Mario had joined Charkha in role in holding the organisation who had tested positive for 2012. He brought a freshness to together became even more impor- FCOVID, lost the battle to the the organisation. His competent tant. In 2015, he became the CEO deadly virus on early morning of management skills and innate of the organisation. Despite differ- April 24. We mourn the loss of a understanding of human behav- ent operational and financial chal- true leader who had dedicated his iour steered Charkha in the right lenges, he ensured that Charkha life to work towards strengthening direction. It was after the sudden stayed on the path of bridging the the voices from the remotest cor- demise of the then Charkha Presi- gap between rural communities ners of the country. dent Shankar Ghose that Mario’s and policy makers.

64 VIDURA April-June 2021 grace that endeared him to every- one. He was a dedicated family man, who once unabashedly confessed that his better half, Melvina, was his strength and anchor. The unflinch- ing values he lived by enriched Charkha and all those who had the pleasure of working with him. The world is poorer without him.” After finishing school in Jabalpur, Mario did a course in hotel man- agement and worked with Maurya and Taj hotels in Delhi before join- ing the Canadian High Commis- sion in its HR department. Eager to do something on his own, he

Photo: Charkha opened and even ran a cold stor- Mario Noronho pictured in the outdoors. age for over a year before moving to the Delhi School of Communi- Mario faced all the challenges and personal challenges,” shared cation as a lecturer. He travelled with such calmness that it made Anees-ul-Haq, Charkha’s rural extensively giving practical lessons things easier for the rest of us. He writer from Poonch District in J&K. on communication. would often share his source of His association with Mario goes Says Melvina, “Mario wanted to inspiration: “When Mr Shankar back nine years. Like Anees, several do something for the people.” As Ghose was alive, he would call me other writers have lost their men- secretary of the All India Catho- and discuss how he wants Charkha tor, their friend. lic Federation and the local parish to become a leading organisation in In Charkha’s office in Delhi, Mario council, he was eager to get into a development communication, giv- had created a safe and encouraging sector where he could serve people. ing voice to the voiceless. I was in space. “After my first day at Charkha, This craving was fulfilled when he awe of his energy. When he passed I had shared with my family how joined Charkha in 2012. His week- away, I had committed to myself to calm, genuine and honest person ends were spent working for the take his dream forward. That gave we have as our CEO. I have had the church. Anyone in the church fra- me strength to lead Charkha during pleasure of working with him for a ternity who fell sick or wanted help, toughest of times.” very short time, yet he profoundly would turn to Mario. The rest of

With his head and heart in the touched my life. He was always the time, his life revolved around right place, Mario strengthened patient and had given us the safest Charkha. < Charkha’s communication network environment to grow both profes- in some of the most isolated districts sionally and as an individual. Our Editor’s note: I was shocked when I of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Utta- day at the office would start with learnt about the passing away of Mario from journalist Rakhee Roytalukdar. rakhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharash- a pep talk by him. His absence will Mario and I had been in touch for tra, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Jharkhand. be felt in every way. The thought of several years. We would speak Initiatives under his leadership going back to the office without his occasionally. He used to regularly send empowered aspiring rural writers presence extremely saddens me,” us Charkha stories and would follow and development activists through shared Dipsikha Devi, project asso- up till the story was published. About two years ago (before COVID arrived), writing skills to access government ciate and communication specialist he wanted some help with names of facilities and entitlements at the who had joined Charkha in March journalists who would be willing to grassroots. Ever smiling and patient, this year. do stories for a project in the north. I he guided the young writers and Mario’s predecessor at Charkha, was happy when some of the names I ensured that they continued to con- Anshu Meshack, points out that sent worked for him. In 2019, we met in Delhi at the PII-ICRC Awards. He had tribute to Charkha’s growth with “dependable, unhurried, consis- enjoyed the evening and during dinner features, photographs and videos. tent” were the traits that defined he was speaking for long to young “Mario sir always spared time for the quality of Mario’s contribu- journalists. That is the image I carry of us. He would listen to us patiently. tion to Charkha. There was noth- Mario. Unlike most CEOs and editors, He always picked up our calls no ing you couldn’t go to “Mario-sir” he was easily accessible. He never carried a chip around his shoulder. He matter what time it was and helped with, knowing he’d fix it, somehow. was simple and humble. Indeed, he has us through both professional “Mario had a certain old-world done Shankar Ghose proud.

April-June 2021 VIDURA 65 PII-RIND WEBINARS

A discussion on the military demands for investigation precipitated the politi- cal crisis. The military did not wait for the Supreme crackdown in Myanmar Court to rule on the matter. Suu Kyi, under house arrest, was initially charged Where Generals Dare: The Continuing Saga in Myan- with possessing illegal walkie-talkies and violating mar was the subject of a virtual discussion organised the country’s Natural Disaster Law. Other charges by the Press Institute of India on March 24. The free- were leveled against her later. Many NLD officials wheeling and engaging discussion focused on the were detained. present while also taking a look back and at the pos- Opposition to the military takeover in Myan- sible road ahead. mar has this time been quite unprecedented. The P. M. Heblikar, former special secretary, Govern- younger generation that has tasted fruits of a short- ment of India, and now managing trustee, Institute lived democracy is not willing to let go. Women are of Contemporary Studies Bangalore; Cmde R. Ses- now at the forefront, adding spine to a civil disobe- hadri Vasan, director, Chennai Centre for China dience movement that is crippling the functioning of Studies; Col. R. Hariharan, strategic security and the state, according to NYT. And then there is social intelligence analyst, and columnist; and Dr Win media that the military regime cannot easily smother. Naing, senior member, National League for Democ- The panelists agreed that the current stand-off in racy (NLD), Myanmar participated. Dr Naing joined Myanmar was moving towards uncharted waters. from the UK. Sashi Nair, director, Press Institute of With the crackdown on protests being brutal, many India, moderated. shot in cold blood and the death toll rising daily, Myanmar’s brief and tenuous one-decade experi- speakers felt that the onus was on the international ment with democracy got over when the military community to mediate immediately to end the vio- seized control on 1st February this year and declared lence, destruction and economic ruin. There was a yearlong state of emergency. Military commander- also the feeling that India could play a more pro- in-chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power. In a gen- active role rather than only publicly expressing its eral election which Suu Kyi’s National League for deep concerns over the recent development and Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide, the articulating support to the transition to the demo- armed forces had backed the opposition who were cratic process. demanding a rerun of the vote, claiming widespread fraud. The inability of the NLD leadership to discuss the allegations of electoral fraud and the rejection by A focus on trans fats and its the Union Election Commission (UEC) of military’s adverse effect on health

The Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) and the Press Institute of India conducted on March 26, a virtual seminar for journalists on trans fats – to sensitise media about trans fats in the food supply chain and its adverse effect on health, the existing policy framework and the need for effec- tive implementation of the regulations. Trans fatty acids or trans fats, industrially pro- duced through partial hydrogenation of oils, are used excessively by the food industry as it helps to increase the shelf life of food and stabilise their flavours. However, they are harmful to health and known to raise the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or the ‘bad’ cholesterol, in the blood and increase the risk of coronary artery heart disease and stroke. Diets high in trans-fat increase heart disease risk by 21 per cent and deaths by 28 per cent. Studies reveal that in India trans fats cause

Photos: PII-RIND 60000 deaths every year. Savitha. T., researcher, CAG, set the tone with a Screenshots here and on the following page from the respective webinars. presentation on trans fats and the policies governing

66 VIDURA April-June 2021 PII-RIND WEBINARS

journalists in India to help train and empower them to deal with fake news and misinformation. The initial requests for the collaboration were sent on December 14, 2020. UNR was looking to train jour- nalists, especially women reporters and editorial staff. The training and modules were to be provided completely free of charge. Journalists who attended trans fats globally, and in India. Dr Sumitra Shan- the training sessions were paid a stipend for their mugham, senior medical practitioner, spoke about time. the ill effects of trans fats on human health. Dr M. The project consisted of three parts. In the first Somasundaram, designated officer for Chennai from part, a survey was made among journalists from the Food Safety Department in Tamil Nadu, joined South India, especially women reporters and edi- later to talk briefly about the implementation of the torial staff to measure baseline knowledge levels trans fat regulations in Tamil Nadu. about online fake news among journalists and the Senior journalist Rina Mukherji joined from Pune modules were created based on the questions and and dwelt on aspects relating to food, health and doubts raised. non-communicable diseases. Dhakshinamoorthy, PI-RIND sent out the survey out to journalists in stringer for a Tamil newspaper, complemented its database. From the survey, UNR research faculty with his experience covering health issues on the curated the initial list of journalists for the training. ground. Since the project was set up with assistance from a S. Saroja, director- Consumer Protection, CAG, federal grant, UNR had certain requirements to meet. moderated. Earlier, Sashi Nair, director, Press Insti- Journalists had to be relatively new to the field and tute of India, welcomed everybody. had to be from the south and west of India. Once the modules were done, the trainings were A workshop on Misinformation held starting in the fisrst week of May. There were five sessions. The trainers were Vansh Madan and and Fake News for journalists Siddharth Kapoor from Youth Leaders, a pan Indian organisationwith expertise in trainingaudiences The University of Nevada, Reno, partnered with in the use of social media and other news related the Press Institute of India - Research Institute for technologies. Journalists participated enthusiasti- Newspaper Development (PII-RIND) to facilitate cally The sessions were very interactive, and went a workshop on Misinformation and Fake News well. training for journalists. The project was set up by the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno, and PII-RIND to empower journalists to fight the menace of fake new and misinformation. Paromita Pain was the main point of contact from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Shewas recently awarded a US federal grant to work with

April-June 2021 VIDURA 67 OTHER NEWS

Veteran journalist Rishikesh joined The Hindu Group’s Frontline mag- azine in 1986 after an 18-year stint with The Indian G.N. Srinivasan dies Express. He retired from service in 2003, but not before donning his Gridman cape in 2001, when he made his Veteran journalist G.N. Srinivasan, historic entry into the TH setters’ panel. He has also who served The Hindu for 30 years made significant contribution as a crossword consul- from 1953, passed away at his son’s tant for The Hindu, helping set the tone for fairness home recently. Known as GNS and high standards in the paper’s cryptic crossword among friends and the many jour- feature. nalists he groomed, he entered his Well-versed in Tamil and English, Rishikesh enjoyed centenary year in October 2020. translating, building a bridge — as was his wont — G.N. Srinivasan. Srinivasan’s daughter Sandhya between tongues as well as minds. Among the many Ravi Mohan said Srinivasan died works from his long career, he edited Lettered Dialogue, of age-related ailments and that he was active till by historian and author K.R.A. Narasaiah. the end. She recalled that her father had interacted with former Chief Ministers Kamaraj, M. Karunani- (Courtesy: The Hindu) dhi and M.G. Ramachandran and travelled with them. He had also covered the proceedings of the Sarkaria Commission instituted in 1976 and his bal- Anil Dharker passes away anced reporting of the proceedings was appreciated. Hailing from Palayur village in Mayavaram, Srini- Veteran journalist Anil Dharker vasan studied in The Hindu High School in Trip- passed away at age 74. He had licane and completed his graduation in Economics recent undergone a bypass pro- from Pachaiappa’s College. He started his career cedure. Dharker was the founder in The Indian Express as a stenographer and later and director of the Mumbai Inter- became a reporter. He joined The Hindu based on national Literary Festival held in his reporting of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s November every year. He’s also visit to Chennai in 1953. After he retired from the Anil Dharker. the founder and director of Litera- newspaper, he served as legal correspondent with ture Live! the Press Trust of India for five years. GNS had also With a background in Mathematics and Mechanical served as president and treasurer of the Madras Engineering, Dharker joined as a senior consultant to Reporters Guild. Pheroze Kadianavala & Associates in the initial days of his career. He then began writing on cinema, which (Courtesy: The Hindu) landed him a position on the advisory board of the Film Censor Board. He was responsible for drafting a simplified censor- C.G. Rishikesh is no more ship code, which became the basis for the official film certification code. Dharker later helmed the National The crossword community has lost Film Development Corporation. one of its giants. C.G. Rishikesh, Dharker had been the editor of many publications whom most readers of The Hindu like Debonair, Mid-day, Times of India and The Illustrated will have been familiar with as the Weekly of India. He also played a vital role in opening Gridman, passed away in Chen- the Akashwani Auditorium in south Mumbai as an art nai recently after a brief illness. He movie theatre. was 78. C.G. Rishikesh. A veteran setter of cryptic (Courtesy: exchange4media.com) crosswords, with over a thou- sand published puzzles to his credit, Gridman was more fondly known as Chaturvasi Sir — or sim- ply as Rishi — among countless friends and pro- tégés in crossword forums and websites across the world. He was “the face of Indian crosswords in the international community”, being the first Indian setter to gain visibility in several global crossword groups.

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