Month: April 2023

BBC Chairman Resigns Over Loan to Former British PM Boris Johnson

A committee of UK lawmakers found that Richard Sharp had made ‘significant errors of judgment’ by not revealing that he had acted as a go-between to help Johnson secure an 800,000-pound loan.

The chairman of the BBC, Britain’s main public broadcaster, resigned on Friday after he was found to have breached ethical standards over the Boris Johnson loan scandal.

Richard Sharp announced his resignation as an investigation found him in breach of a governance code for public appointments. The report was also published on Friday.

Yet, he said the report on the controversial loan established that he played no part in the “facilitation, arrangement, or financing of a loan for the former prime minister.”

What was in the reports on Richard Sharp?

A committee of UK lawmakers found that Sharp had made “significant errors of judgment” by not revealing that he had acted as a go-between to help Johnson secure an 800,000 pound ($964,640 or €902,000) loan.

Sharp was appointed to lead the BBC in 2021, shortly after the loan was arranged.

“I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term,” said Sharp, in reference to the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). He agreed to stay in his role until the end of June, to give time for the government to appoint a successor.

Britain’s public appointments watchdog, the Commissioner of Public Appointments, has been probing Sharp’s selection to chair the BBC.

A report on the probe found that the chairman failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest while being appointed, that being his role in facilitating Johnson’s loan.

However, the report established that the aforementioned breach did not nullify his appointment.

This article first appeared on DW. Read the original article here. 

Duration of Heatwaves in India Has Increased Over Last 30 years, Set to Rise Further: IMD

The total duration of heatwaves rose by about 2.5 days between 1961 and 2021, due to global warming. A comprehensive response plan that integrates a range of adaptation measures including technological ones is the need of the hour, said India Meteorological Department’s report.

Kochi: The duration of heatwaves in India increased by about 2.5 days between 1961 and 2021 due to global warming, as per a report released by the India Meteorological Department on April 26. 

And it’s only likely to increase further. By 2060, there will be an increase of about two heatwaves per season; the duration of heatwaves too will rise by 12-18 days by this year. Currently, on average, the maximum duration of a heatwave is two to four days.

A comprehensive response plan that integrates adaptation measures including technological ones – such as developing early warning systems – is the need of the hour, according to the report.

Heatwave duration rises

As per the IMD, a heatwave is said to occur when the average maximum temperature is 4.5-6.4º C above the long-term average (or above 40º C in the plains, 30º C in hilly areas, or 37º C in coastal areas).

A monograph titled “Heat and Cold Waves in India: Processes and Predictability” was released on April 26 by M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Per the report, published by the MoES, IMD and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, heat waves occur in primarily two regions in India, central and north-western India as well as coastal Andhra Pradesh.

On average, the maximum duration of a heatwave is two to four days. In some areas in central and north-western India, it is more than six days, and in coastal Andhra Pradesh, more than eight. The longest heatwave exceeded a duration of 10 days at many stations in central and northwestern India, and coastal Andhra Pradesh, the report noted.

The average heatwave days are more during the El Nino years when compared to the La Nina years. An El Nino year is associated with periods of warm weather caused due to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon. The La Nina is the cooler phase of the ENSO and is associated with cooler weather. 

Per the report, both the frequency and duration of heatwaves are increasing over central and north-western India as well as coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Between 1961 and 2021, the duration of heat waves in India increased by about 2.5 days due to global warming.  

Model estimates also suggested that by 2060, there will be an increase of about two heatwaves and an increase in the duration of heatwaves by 12-18 days. Northwest India could experience about four heatwaves per season, of a total duration of 30 days. 

The report also warned that heatwaves could spread to southern India.

“In the future climate change scenario, the southern parts of India and the coastal areas of India, which are not currently affected by heatwaves, are likely to be affected by heatwaves,” it stated.

Need for a comprehensive response plan

According to the document, the “most effective way” to deal with heat waves is to develop a “comprehensive response plan” using an integrated approach that combines individual strategies. Adaptations to the heatwaves – that encompass cultural, institutional, technological and ecosystem-related measures – should be part of this too.

Also read: How Can India Adapt Better to Heatwaves?

For instance, some of the best adaptive measures include increasing public awareness (so that people know the signs of heat-related illnesses such as strokes, and are aware of ways to protect themselves). Enabling heat-resilient construction (such as by ensuring better-ventilated buildings and planning for more trees in urban areas to increase green cover), changing work timings to ensure workers are not out in direct sunlight during heatwaves, and developing early warning systems are others.

India does have some of these measures in place. The IMD, for instance, issues heatwave warnings for the country around a week in advance. However, all these measures need to be implemented on a “large scale” to really reduce the impacts of heatwaves in India, the report stated.

There is a “need for greater inter-agency collaboration on heatwave impacts and adaptation”, the report also noted. It is also “high time” that the IMD systematically researches the health implications of the increasing heat and humidity in India, it added. 

Deaths and other impacts

Tackling heatwaves is important because higher temperatures can cause a range of illnesses, from dehydration, heat exhaustion and stroke, to cardiovascular problems and even death in people who have pre-existing health conditions.

At least 11 people died and more than 600 others suffered from heat-related health issues after they stood out in the open for more than five hours in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai on April 16. A recent study in the journal Lancet found a 55% increase in deaths due to extreme heat between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021 in India.

Heatwaves affect the economy too. The Climate Transparency Report 2022 found that India suffered an income loss of 5.4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the highest among the G20 nations in 2021, after a severe heatwave that year affected workers, low-income households and farmers.

Climate change has been a factor in the increasing occurrence and intensity of heatwaves. For instance, the heatwaves that swept across north and northwest India in the summer of 2022 were 30 to 100 times more likely due to climate change, two separate reports had found. 

Delhi Police Tells SC It Will Register FIR Against BJP MP on the Basis of Wrestlers’ Complaints

The apex court has not yet disposed of the case and directed the Commissioner of Police to make an independent assessment of the threat perception of complainants, including the minor, who have accused Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment.

New Delhi: Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, has told the Supreme Court that the Delhi Police, in its preliminary enquiry, found that the allegations of sexual harassment by India’s top wrestlers against Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh disclose commission of a cognisable offence, warranting the registration of an FIR.  

The wrestlers, who include Olympics, Commonwealth and world championships medal winners, have been sitting in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since last weekend.

An apex court bench of the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha is hearing a writ petition filed by the complainants.

While the complainants, through their senior counsel, Kapil Sibal, underlined the need to monitor the investigation by the court, SG Mehta argued that the bench needs to leave it to the Delhi Police Commissioner.

The bench has decided not to dispose of the case, but to hear it again next Friday, so that it can know of the degree to which its directions have been complied with.

In particular, the bench directed the Delhi Police Commissioner, Sanjay Arora, to provide adequate security to the minor victim in the case, and to make an independent assessment of threat perception to the other complainants, and if required, provide adequate security to them as well. 

In today’s hearing, the petitioners, through Kapil Sibal, submitted an affidavit in a sealed cover, and expressed their concern about the safety of the minor victim. The bench directed the sharing of the affidavit with the Delhi Police Commissioner through the SG, on the condition that utmost confidentiality be maintained about the identity of the minor victim.  

Meanwhile, the wrestlers have said that the police might file a loose and that they don’t trust it. “We we will see, observe then take a decision (on calling off the protest),” World Championship medallist Vinesh Phogat told PTI.

‘Something else playing out’: SG

SG Mehta contended that it is a sensitive issue, and while he is not against the intervention by the court as such, he alleged that “there is something else which is playing out” in the case.  

He told the bench that there is a tendency to approach the court under Article 32 “in every such case,” and demand the monitoring of the investigation by a retired judge of the court, when the petitioners have other legal remedies available, in the absence of registration of FIR by the police. 

The petitioners brought to the notice of the bench that there are 40 cases including those under section 302 of the IPC, which are pending against the accused, Singh, in the case, and there has been no action by the authorities, despite the complainants bringing the allegations to their knowledge much earlier.  

The SG said that there cannot be monitoring of the case by two courts – the jurisdictional court and the constitutional court, that is, the Supreme Court.  

When Sibal said he would like to make legal submissions in the case next Friday, the CJI observed that it is an evolving situation, and the court would like to keep an open mind on the issue.

Watch | ‘Rich-Poor Issue, Not Just Caste, Is Driving Karnataka Election’: Yogendra Yadav

The Wire’s Taniya Roy discusses a pre-poll survey conducted by the Kannada outlet Eedina which says that Congress appears to be headed for a clear and comfortable majority in the assembly elections.

A pre-poll survey conducted by the Kannada outlet Eedina says that Congress appears to be headed for a clear and comfortable majority, much beyond the 113-seat mark, in the forthcoming Karnataka assembly elections. In an interview with The Wire, Vasu H.V., coordinator of the Eedina survey, said, “Corruption and incompetence are the main reasons for which the BJP is being thrown out if the opinion polls come true.”

Yogendra Yadav, psephologist and political scientist, concurred. He explained how class issues are more important than caste in this election.

Watch the video for complete details about the survey, and Yadav’s analysis.

In Turkey, Ban on a TV Series Reflects Societal Need to Hide Gender-Based Violence

‘Cranberry Sorbet’, which shows typical examples of violence against women in the country, was banned for five weeks. The ban was overturned after an appeal and will restart on Friday evening.

Turkish women who are exposed to the pressure of tradition, family, and religion, and who could not adequately benefit from the state’s education, employment, social security, and health services, first found themselves stuck during the women’s movement led by the left wing in the 1970s. They were stuck amid the concepts of female identity and gender roles, together with the depoliticisation process of the September 12, 1980 military intervention.

In Turkey, which has been experiencing a very rapid and distorted urbanisation process, the process of gaining economic independence for women who have managed to come to the fore with their “motherhood and housewife qualities” has been very difficult. Only one out of four women in Turkey is employed, per International Labour Organisation data.

On the other hand, women who are out of the production process and who are uneducated are constantly marginalised, stigmatised, distorted or presented incompletely by the media.

Meanwhile, the media creates its own agenda by bringing morality to the fore through normalisation, indifference, dramatisation and identification of issues related to violence against women. It normalises gender-related murders under the pretext of femicide or honour.

It even makes these murders ordinary, not as a social phenomenon, but as a judicial case such as the victim having purple eyes, broken ribs, etc. that clearly indicates physical violence.

Every day women across Turkey experience sexual or other physical violence, however, the mainstream media continues to portray these issues on their news pages as ordinary cases.

 ‘Cranberry Sorbet’

A Turkish series, which was banned due to the scenes of violence against women, which, according to fans, depicted social realities, refocuses attention on how gender-based violence is perceived by the authorities.

The story in ‘Kızılcık Şerbeti’ (Cranberry Sorbet) series is about two families that have different perspectives on life. A woman from a secular family falls in love with a man from a conservative family.

The series is an adaptation of real-life incidents where society criticises a progressive understanding and ignores human rights. It portrays such a culture by showing what big crises in a marriage can lead to because of the parents’ lack of respect for diversity and empathy.

The TV series takes its name from the Turkish saying, “Vomit blood, say that you drank cranberry sorbet,” meaning we should keep our personal problems inside ourselves and not challenge others to learn. Moreover, we should try to make our bad situation look like a good one.

The series shows typical examples of violence against women in the country. For instance, it shows the forced marriage of a woman, even though she loves someone else; physical abuse by the husband on the night of marriage, where the woman is pushed out of the window; a forced abortion, etc.

It speaks about the conservative-secular conflict through the relationship between the children of two families.

The ban

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) banned the broadcast of the series for five weeks on April 7. It also imposed a fine of 1.5 million liras.

The series was aired on Show TV – one of Turkey’s first private television channels since 1991.

Banning the broadcast of a series that defends women’s rights should be interpreted as a major encroachment on the rights of women, who have been trying to get off the stage in recent years.

On Wednesday, April 26, RTÜK’s decision was overturned after an appeal was filed by the producers of the series. The show will restart on Friday, April 28 evening.

Violence against women in Turkey

Violence against women is widespread and an important social problem in Turkey. In order to understand the violence experienced by women, we need to look at the relations of power and authority in society, and whether there is a gender-based difference in position.

In Turkey, honour is perceived in the form of women’s bodies, their sexuality, and the ability to control them. This is largely associated with extramarital sexual intercourse, virginity, adultery, or infidelity.

The factors which cause violence against women include a man’s desire to establish control over a woman’s behaviour, the shame caused by the man’s loss of control over a woman’s behaviour, or pressure from the family or neighbourhood that triggers this shame in a man.

The male-dominated discourses that are used as a state policy in authoritarian regimes ignore women and invite violence. This is a method that conservative politicians apply along with religious traditions.

It can be observed that the state perceives the authority to regulate everything as a right and a duty, and morality comes first. Therefore, the role of politicians in triggering violence should not be underestimated.

The Turkish series mirrors this polarisation from a realistic point of view and reveals how people are unable to face themselves (read self-awareness). Though these families share opposite worldviews, they apply the same fascism, claiming that they do it for the sake of their children.

Dr Yasemin Giritli İnceoğlu is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics’s Department of Media and Communication.

Under Musk, Twitter Is Complying With Almost All Government Takedown and Data Demands

Though he had promised greater free speech and less political intervention, Musk’s Twitter did not reject even one request from governments.

New Delhi: Despite his promise to usher in a new era of free speech and disallow political interference on social media, Elon Musk’s Twitter has been significantly more compliant with government orders for censorship or surveillance – including from India.

According to Rest of World, which accessed the company’s self-reported data, Twitter received 971 government and court requests from October 27, 2022 to April 27, 2023. Requests ranged from demands to remove contentious posts and furnish private data to identify anonymous accounts. Twitter reported that it fully complied with 808 of these requests and partially complied in 154 other instances. Regarding nine requests, Twitter did not report any specific response.

“Most alarmingly, Twitter’s self-reports do not show a single request in which the company refused to comply, as it had done several times before the Musk takeover. Twitter rejected three such requests in the six months before Musk’s takeover, and five in the six months prior to that,” Rest of World said.

India made 50 requests, according to Rest of World, which was the third-highest. Only Turkey (491) and Germany (255) made more requests. Of these, 44 were full complied with, five were partially compiled and Twitter did not list any specific response to the last.

The data was based on information provided by Twitter to the Lumen database, which is a public clearinghouse for takedown requests and other government orders received by online speech platforms. It is maintained by Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and has collected government requests for more than 20 years. Google, YouTube, Wikipedia and Reddit, among other platforms, report this data to Lumen.

The data also reveals that there has been a significant increase in the percentage of requests that Twitter fully complies with. In the year before Musk’s acquisition, the rate was around 50% but has since shot up to 83% – 808 requests out of 971.

The escalation in the number of requests may have been spurred by greater regulations on speech, particularly in countries like India, Turkey, and the UAE, according to Rest of World.

In an interview with the BBC on April 12, Musk said that his company had to comply with blocking orders issued by the Indian government, saying, “No, look, if we have a choice of either our people go to prison, or we comply with the laws, we’ll comply with the laws.”

In the interview, he was asked about the Narendra Modi government asking tech companies to implement its decision to ban the BBC’s documentary on his alleged involvement in the 2002 Gujarat violence.

“We then believe that some of that content was taken off Twitter. Was that at the behest of the Indian government?” he was asked. Musk demurred, saying he was “not aware of that particular situation”.

Musk justified Twitter’s decision to implement these orders by saying, “The rules in India for what can appear on social media are quite strict, and we can’t go beyond the laws of a country.”

The interviewer asked, “But do you get that if you do that, you can incentivise countries around the world to simply pass more draconian laws.”

‘Harassment For What I Said on Pulwama’: Satya Pal Malik After CBI’s Visit to His House

‘I am the complainant in (the Reliance Insurance) case. There is no need for the CBI to ask the complainant questions in this manner,’ the former J&K governor said.

New Delhi: Questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation at his house in New Delhi today, April 28, former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik said that this was harassment over what he told The Wire in an explosive interview on the Narendra Modi government’s role during the Pulwama terror attack of 2019.

On April 21, Malik was informed by the CBI that he would be questioned on the Reliance Insurance issue – the scheme that RSS and BJP leader Ram Madhav was allegedly pushing Malik to pass while he was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and which Malik cancelled.

Malik is a BJP leader and has been governor not just of J&K but four other states.

In the interview to The Wire, Malik had said that he had sent a letter asking for liberal changes to the insurance scheme, which he said prompted a visit from an upset Madhav to his house.

Today, CBI is learned to have quizzed Malik over the Reliance Insurance scheme, on whose interest the deal was struck and on Ram Madhav for a total of four hours.

“I am the complainant in this case. There is no need for the CBI to ask the complainant questions in this manner. This is only harassment because of what I have said on Pulwama,” Malik said.

In The Wire interview, Malik had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval asked him to “keep quiet” when he had told them in the aftermath of the terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans that the government’s decision to not sanction a helicopter is what may have led to the outcome.

Today, Malik said that he will not shy away from repeating these revelations.

“I will continue saying it. I will tour the whole of north India and the south also. Till elections, I will keep this going, I will keep this issue alive like Bofors. Pulwama and all this has really seeped down to the people. They will be thrown out in the forthcoming elections,” he said.

Malik said the CBI has not spoken to him of a future visit.

Notice to Ex-CEO of Delhi Jal Board for Demolishing 15th Century Structure to Make Way for Residence

Although Udit Prakash Rai, former CEO, is currently serving in Mizoram in a different capacity, his family continues to live in the newly constructed bungalow where once stood a ‘Pathan-period’ Mahal constructed in 1418.

New Delhi: Delhi’s vigilance department on Wednesday, April 26, issued a show-cause notice to Udit Prakash Rai, an IAS officer, in connection with the demolition of a 15th-century structure in South East Delhi’s Jal Vihar near Lajpat Nagar, Indian Express reported.

The notice alleged that the structure was demolished at the behest of Rai to make way for his residence whilst he served as the chief executive officer of the Delhi Jal Board. While Rai, an AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre officer, is currently posted in Mizoram, his family continues to live in the newly constructed residence which came up in the place of the medieval age monument.

The issue has been going on since December 2020 when Delhi’s Archaeology Department first visited the site in December 2020 and found two structures: one, which appeared to be a “gateway”; and two, the “main building” of the said Mahal (palace). After the visit, in January 2021, the Archaeology Department, seeking possession of the site, wrote to the DJB for “immediate attention” and conservation.

According to Archeology Department, the site is a “Pathan period” Mahal dating back to 1418 when the Sayyid dynasty ruled Delhi, and was constructed of brick masonry and red sandstone. The site also finds mention in the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) List of Muhammadan and Hindu monuments.

Two years later, in January this year, when the Archealogy Department team visited the site again, it found that the monument was razed to the ground to make way for a plush bungalow, which is now designated to be the official residence of the Delhi Jal Board’s CEO.

The recently issued show-cause notice noted that the monument was under the “control” of DJB near a few small residential quarters built on the same premise. It also said the built-up area of the new house, which replaced the monument, is 700 sqm, exceeding even the “prescribed area of 403 sqm of a type VIII quarter by almost 300 sqm”. Rai was entitled to Type V government housing. The newly constructed house stood on a plot which is about 5,500 sqm, and Rs 4 crore was spent on the bungalow.

The notice also recorded the statements of the Archaeology Department’s inspection team, which had said that it had “found that only one structure i.e. gateway could be identified on the site”.

“The Mahal of Pathan period was allegedly demolished as per the directions of Udit Prakash Rai, CEO (DJB) with the help of DJB engineers,” the show-cause notice said, adding that Rai had done so despite he was “well aware of the fact that there exists a historical monument”. The notice sought Rai’s response in two weeks. Both Rai and Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj did not respond to calls or messages, according to the Indian Express report.

Meanwhile, Rai’s wife dismissed allegations made against her husband. “These are only allegations. There were old DJB quarters here, which have been renovated. This is not our personal house. If we leave, the structure will not come back. We are fighting against the issue. The monument was not inside the boundary. A monument still exists on the other side of the boundary. We have placed shuttering alongside the boundary to keep out wild animals and thieves,” she was quoted by the news report as saying.

The issue assumes significance given that it comes close on the heels of allegations levelled against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who is accused of spending a whopping Rs 45 crore for renovation of his official residence during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Delhi Civic Authorities Demolish Century-Old Sufi Dargah at Mandi House

One of the dargah’s caretakers, Akbar Ali, told The Wire that no notices were received before authorities removed the structure.

New Delhi: Civic authorities in New Delhi have demolished a two century-old dargah, known popularly as the Nanhe Mian Chishti Dargah at Mandi House in the city.

It is not clear why the demolition was ordered and the deputy mayor could not be contacted by The Wire.

The place had been a common visiting site for many, irrespective of their faith.

Photographer Mayank Austen Soofi’s 2019 column in Hindustan Times says that it is a Sufi shrine and the grave of Sufi saint of the same name by which the dargah is known – Syyed Nanhe Mian Chishti or “Little Gentleman”. The column notes that its beauty is “disarming” and a source of peace in urban chaos.

One of the dargah’s caretakers, Akbar Ali, told The Wire‘s Atul Howale that no notices were received before authorities removed the structure.

“Earlier on August 2, 2022 they had come and removed the tiles, and the boundary wall, and so on. Next on April 26 this year, they suddenly arrived at 3 am in the morning and removed everything,” said Ali.

Ali added that in the absence of concrete information on why such a step was taken, it appears as if authorities are against mazars and dargahs. “Maybe it is because we are Muslims and they think we are their enemies,” he said.

Ali told The Wire that he is a human first and a Muslim later. “We are Indians living in India. It’s not as if we have come from outside,” he said.

Anwar Ali, another caretaker who has looked after the site for the last 45 years, said the dargah is at least 250 years old.

Both the Alis showed The Wire papers that showed proof of land tax having been paid since the 1970s.

“There is no sign of the dargah now,” Anwar said.

Indian Express has, meanwhile, reported on how a 15th century monument in Delhi was demolished to make way for a mansion for the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board.

Watch | TV Adaptation of Dalrymple’s ‘Anarchy’ in the Works, Will Reveal British Plunder of India

In an interview with Karan Thapar, William Dalrymple says he expects that this series will be the moment when Bollywood “becomes truly international”.

William Dalrymple’s book The Anarchy, on the history of how the East India Company transformed from an Elizabethan trading corporation to become the rulers of India through loot and plunder, is to become a major television series. In an interview with The Wire, the author talks about the book, the television series, its producer and scriptwriter and more.

In a 31-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dalrymple said the story of the East India Company will take many in Britain by surprise and will, probably, be resented by the right-wing of the Tory Party including, it seems, Britain’s new deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden. As the London Times says: “the subject matter will confront Britain’s controversial imperial history … that history does not always make for comfortable reading from a British perspective.”

The story of the East India Company’s conquest of India is a quest for profit. It wasn’t a mission to bring good governance, leave aside to improve the lives of the Indian people. Dalrymple says the story of the East India Company’s conquest of India is “sinister”. It was a corporation “like Google and Twitter”, which acquired control of India through loot and plunder. As he puts it: “These are not glorious stories of national heroism. They are quite grubby stories of corporate greed and corruption.” By 1800, the East India Company controlled an army of 200,000. At the time, the British army was just 100,000. Many if not most of the East India Company’s resources came from Indian bankers, in particular the Jagat Seths.

In the interview, Dalrymple speaks in great detail of the story The Anarchy.

Dalrymple said, “The idea is to do it on a massive scale. Either you don’t do it or you do it guns blazing with a cast of a thousand elephants.” The producer is Siddharth Roy Kapur. “I sold it to a Bollywood company because they have resources now which British companies don’t,” Dalrymple said, adding that he hopes and, perhaps, even expects that this series will be the moment when Bollywood “becomes truly international”.

The scriptwriter is Jeremy Brock, a BAFTA winner, whose earlier work includes The Last King of Scotland and Mrs. Brown. Brock has said the series will have “the scale of Game of Thrones (and) the internecine plotting of Succession”. He also expects this could run for three full series.

Dalrymple said a single British character will leave a dominant stamp on each of the three series. It will be Robert Clive in the first. Warren Hastings in the second. Lord Wellesley (the elder brother of the Duke of Wellington) in the third.

The author also answers questions about the language/languages in which the TV series will be made, the cast that is being considered and the locations that have already been visited and recced. The script of series one is already being worked upon and Dalrymple believes it should be finished by June.