In Bihar’s Jehanabad, Economic Distress and ‘Absenteeism’ of Sitting MP Dominate Poll Scene

JD(U)’s Chandreshwar Prasad, who is seeking re-election, is relying on ‘Brand Modi’ to beat strong anti-incumbency against him. With livelihood issues coming to the fore in Jehanabad after nearly two decades, a keen triangular contest is on cards.  

Jehanabad (Bihar): Almost 50 families, all of whom are landless agricultural workers, in Mathiyapar look at every visitor with a sliver of hope. “Have you come to check on our electricity,” Usha Devi, in her fifties, curiously asks. Her question immediately draws her daughter, her daughter-in-law, and her six-year-old child to the door, each of them trying to find an end to their life in the dark. 

Around two months ago, the Panchayat office sent an official to cut off the electricity lines after most families failed to pay their bills that have run into thousands of rupees. Upon knowing that I was a reporter, she launched a scathing attack against the state government. “Look at our bill, it shows that I need to pay Rs 45,000 to get our electricity restored. How are we supposed to pay, when we have absolutely no income,” she says. 

Usha Devi’s husband can’t work; he has developed a disability in his leg in the last two years. Her son works as a driver in Surat, while his wife and child are in the village. He barely saves enough to send any money to her mother, making Usha Devi and her daughter the only earning members to care for their family. 

But her earnings, too, do not come as wages, but as a portion of the paddy that she helps grow in her landlord’s farms. “We get work only for about two months in a year when paddy is grown. The zamindar gives us six kilograms of rice for every day’s work in bataai (a system where the landowner shares part of the harvest with the tenant farmer),” Usha Devi says. 

“When we were given electricity connections around a year ago, we were told that the bill would not be more than 100 rupees. But around three months ago, the officials came to install electricity meters and all of us here got these bills that we won’t be able to pay ever,” her daughter Rashmi, who has quit studies to help her mother, says. 

Mathiyapar’s lush green, clean surroundings have hidden away many such stories of its residents. As soon as Usha Devi began speaking, many other women in her neighbourhood gathered around with similar electricity bills that they received. Almost all of them ran into five figures.

A woman in Mathiyapar showing her steep electricity bill. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

“The government has left us to die in this heat,” said Bimla Devi, before taking the government head-on. 

“There are schools here, but no teachers; dispensaries but no doctor or compounder. The Panchayat office is hijacked by Pradhan’s aides. If at all MGNREGA work opens up, the Panchayat takes days to pay us,” she says. 

“There is no work; our boys have no option but to go to cities like Surat and Chennai to find some work. Even though they earn around Rs 500-600 per day, the cost of living there is so high,” Shiv Dayal Mahato says. 

“If Nitish’s candidate comes to campaign this time, we will drive him away with sticks. He was nowhere to be seen in the last five years. Only we know how we survived the lockdown without any help from him or his aides,” Mahato says.

“We plan to vote NOTA this time around, as we don’t want to vote for the RJD that only listens to the Yadavs. Or, perhaps, we will see if there is any third candidate,” he adds. 

Anger against incumbent MP 

Mathiyapaar is almost entirely filled with Kurmi residents, a caste group that has been loyal to the chief minister Nitish Kumar, who, too, belongs to the community. Yet, a unanimous anger against the incumbent MP, Chandreshwar Prasad from Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), appeared to hold political opinion in the locality, among both landlords and agricultural workers. 

Economic distress writ large among not only Kurmis but almost every community. An agrarian crisis that has resulted in depreciating incomes, lack of any planned irrigation, stagnant wages for workers over the last few years, and joblessness among the youth have become burning issues in Jehananad, which was once a hotbed of Naxalite activity. 

Kurmi peasants in Mathiyapa. Photo: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta

Caste-based atrocities and feudal exploitation resulted in a war-like situation between Dalits and Bhumihar landlords, with intermediary castes often finding themselves in a dilemma to choose sides. However, when Nitish Kumar first came to power with a majority in November 2005, he showed the country a different way to mitigate Left Wing Extremism. 

Unlike the BJP-led state government in Chhattisgarh which entirely relied on military aggression against Naxalites, Nitish Kumar understood the deep chasms within the society and initiated a number of social sector reforms in Jehanabad. He revamped schools and health centres, rural roads, began scholarships for girl students, gave them bicycles to ride, and cleaned up the corrupt, ‘upper caste ’-driven local governance models and democratised participation in decision-making. 

The fruit of his efforts showed gradually in a few years. Violent Naxalism began to wane, elevating Nitish Kumar to the stature of a national leader.

Jehanabad, on the other hand, continued to be seen as a success story as the JD(U)’s electoral dominance over these parts remained unmistakable. However, the mainstreaming over time had also invisibilised brewing livelihood issues in the region.

With an under-construction four-lane national highway passing through the town and adjoining villages, it still appears prosperous in Bihar.  But the numerous unorganised and temporary Dalit settlements along the highway and along the railway lines makes you stare out of that success story.  The EBC tolas, which remain within the perimeters of the village, also equal their Dalit counterparts in abysmally poor sanitation, roads, and education levels, and mirror a history of deep social and economic inequality in the region. Those age-old fissures are being voiced loudly and clearly in the run-up to the election campaign. They showed up prominently in the 2020 assembly polls when the JD(U)-BJP combine couldn’t win even one of the six assembly segments that make up the Lok Sabha seat.

Jehanabad was now growing out of the success story that it represented after nearly two decades.

Twenty years down the line, Nitish finds himself in a situation where his efforts to bring peace to the region have been forgotten and the people of Jehanabad have come to believe that their concerns have been left unattended.

Nitish, however, has once again passed the baton in Jehanabad to the EBC leader Chandreshwar Prasad, who belongs to the Chandravanshi community. The anger against him showed even in 2019 when he edged past his RJD rival Surendra Prasad Yadav by a narrow margin of 1,751 votes. 

A triangular contest

Around five kilometers away in the Jehanabad market, people didn’t shy away from making their anger evident against Prasad. Jaideep Kumar, a Bhumihar, says, “You won’t find anyone apart from his caste members who will have anything positive to say about Prasad.”

“People will vote for change here,” says Suresh Yadav, a sugarcane juice seller. “RJD missed a chance last time but it will surely win as it will also get the committed votes from maaley (colloquial term for Communist Party of India (ML-Liberation) which is a part of the INDIA bloc).”

A Dalit voter Rupesh agrees. “We do not have any particular preference here. But since Tejashwi (Yadav) is speaking about jobs, I want to vote for the RJD.”

Similarly, a college-going Sneha Mishra, who was with a group of friends, says, “The MP barely came down to Jehanabad. He is from Patna, and did not care about us.”

However, she praised Nitish Kumar in the same breath, only to be interrupted by her friend Mitali, “He should not be changing sides all the time.” 

Mitali belongs to the Kurmi community, and like her even the Kurmi residents of Mathiyapar feel anxious about Nitish Kumar’s decline. “Kabhi Idhar, Kabhi Udhar. Aise thodi na hota hai. Naam kharab kar liya. (He is here and then there. Does it happen like this? He has brought a bad name for himself),” says Usha Devi. 

For almost two years, Nitish’s switch to the INDIA bloc made Kurmis and other EBCs listen to criticisms of the Narendra Modi government, about problems like unemployment, price rise, and issues like caste census and greater representation for the OBCs. But as the elections approached, Nitish’s exit from INDIA only left his followers confused about their political loyalty. But the issues that the INDIA bloc raised continue to be dominant concerns, even as his adherents feel orphaned. 

By repeating the unpopular candidate in Jehanabad against a formidable RJD candidate Surendra Prasad Yadav, Nitish may have touched a raw nerve in Jehanabad. 

Speaking with The Wire, Prasad exuded confidence. “I am fully confident.” When asked about the perceptible anger against his alleged absenteeism, he said, “That is a non-issue. There is so much work that Narendra Modi ji has done in the area. This election is not about me or anyone else but about giving another term to Modi ji.”

Prasad has attempted to beat anti-incumbency by promoting ‘Brand Modi’ in the 2024 elections. But his RJD rival has not missed a chance to drum up Prasad’s absence in the constituency, while raising economic concerns of people vigorously. Moreover, queering the pitch for Prasad is former MP (2014-19) Arun Kumar, who is contesting as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate. 

A large section of Bhumihars showed their inclination towards voting for Arun Kumar, who also belongs to the community. Arun Kumar is also banking on getting support from Dalits and Kurmis, who feel disgruntled with Prasad. A triangular contest is most probable as a result. Since both Bhumihars and Kurmis have been traditional BJP-JD(U) voters, Arun Kumar may end up undercutting Prasad and handing an edge to the RJD’s Surendra Prasad Yadav. 

Jehanabad will vote on June 1 in the last of the seven phases. Irrespective of such caste-based equations, the electoral contest is being held around issues of widespread economic distress among commoners that is all pervasive in Bihar. Their suffering becomes all the more striking when a majority of the television media cheer Modi’s sankalp of transforming India into the third-largest economy in the world and speak about a Viksit Bharat. 

Rajasthan HC Urges Govt to Declare Extreme Weather Events that Cause Deaths as National Calamities

The Rajasthan high court took suo motu cognisance of deaths caused by the ongoing heatwave and noted that governments had failed to take action and implement schemes.

New Delhi: The Rajasthan high court on Thursday, May 30 took suo motu cognizance of deaths caused by the ongoing heat wave in the state and urged the Union government to declare extreme weather events such as heat waves as national calamities.

The temperatures in Rajasthan went as high as 48.3 Degrees Celsius over the last few days. So far, five people have died in the state due to the heatwave, as per reports.

‘No Planet-B’

As per the latest India Meteorological Department (IMD) press release on May 31, Rajasthan has been witnessing heat wave conditions since May 17. Many parts of the state have experienced heat wave to severe heat wave conditions from 8.30 am on May 30 to 8.30 am on May 31, the IMD said. On May 30, Sri Ganganagar in western Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature of 48.3°C in the country.

On the same day, the Rajasthan high court took suo motu cognizance of the deaths caused by the ongoing heat wave in the state. The state government reported to the high court that five people had died due to the heatwave in the state.

“Hundreds” have lost their lives this month, and the tally could run into “thousands” when considering all extreme weather events, the high court noted. It also detailed how informal workers are particularly vulnerable to these events, and that deaths caused by heatwaves are often underestimated and ascribed to heat stress.

“Unfortunately the poor who are poorly fed and have no option but to work in the scorching heat and chilling cold to get two square meals are vulnerable to these extreme weather conditions and lose their lives. The death tolls from heatwaves are very difficult to estimate since excess heat is typically not listed as the primary cause of death in the cases where the victim has a pre-existing condition such as heart or lung disease,” the single-judge bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said. 

The court also commented on how climate change is causing extreme heat events, and the need to save the planet:

“Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Extreme heat now-a-days crossing the temperature more than 50 Degree Celsius have affected millions of people of the State of Rajasthan and across the nation. Climate change, man-made change to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, cutting of trees, land use changes, destroying natural water bodies, etc. can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet,” the court noted.

“Earth is the only planet which can sustain life on it. We do not have a planet-B which we can move onto,” the court added.

Further, Justice Dhand asked citizens to do their part. “A little effort of each individual human being will go a long way on everyone’s end. Each action will make a difference. We will only succeed only if everyone plays a part,” it noted.

Government not taking action

The court pulled up both the state and union governments for not following through on actions, schemes and even bills pertaining to the issue.

Though Rajasthan has developed a Heat Action Plan, it “has not given its correct effect in true letter and spirit,” the court noted. And though the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare introduced a scheme titled “Strengthening Health Systems Preparedness for Heat Related Illness (HRI) in India” for community health centres and district hospitals — which also includes planning for the summer and time periods before and after it — this has not been implemented.

“…the Government has miserably failed to implement this scheme and provisions meant for benefiting the heatstroke patients,” the court said.

Like the Delhi Heat Wave Action Plan of 2023, Rajasthan and the central government are also “supposed to prepare such Heat Wave Action Plans and take all possible, sincere and serious steps in this regard,” it said.

The court listed 17 union and state ministries and departments including the Ministry of Home Affairs and union environment ministry as respondents in its notice, and has assigned the next date of hearing of the case on July 1.

The court said given the huge number of lives that are lost due to heat waves and cold waves, these should be declared as a “national calamity”. It ordered the chief secretary of the state to constitute committees under several departments to “take immediate and appropriate steps for effective implementation of Heat Action Plan prepared under the Rajasthan Climate Change Project”.

The several instructions given by the court includes directing the Department of Health to provide “all possible facilities” at all the health centers to treat heat wave patients, and pay appropriate compensation to the next-of-kin of people who have lost their lives to heat and cold waves.

Enact pending bill on heat and cold waves

The high court also said that it was “high time” that governments implemented the Prevention of Death Due to Heat and Cold Waves Bill 2015 as law. 

One of the main clauses of this bill, introduced by former Member of Parliament Rajkumar Dhoot on December 18, 2015 in the Rajya Sabha, is that severe heat or cold waves in which people lose their lives are to be declared as a “national calamity” and that the appropriate government (state, union government or both) take action accordingly.

The bill also mandates that ​​meteorological centers should inform governments about predictions of heat or cold waves, and that governments take action – such as setting up night shelters for homeless people, erecting cooling spaces for both shade and hydration near agricultural fields, construction sites, roads, and other public spaces so that informal workers can avail of these facilities in the event of a heat wave. It also specifies that informal workers be allowed to rest between 12 noon and 3 pm during the summer season: anyone who does not permit this will suffer a penalty of imprisonment for one month and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh.

Also read: What the Scorching Summer Does to Delhi’s Informal Workers

The bill included a clause wherein the government should prepare a long term action plan – within six months of the bill being implemented as an act – to increase preparedness, information sharing and response coordination between various ministries and government departments “to reduce the health impacts particularly deaths due to extreme heat or cold, as the case may be, on vulnerable population within its territorial jurisdiction”.

The bill also had provisions for compensation in case of deaths: that the nearest kin of the victim of the heat or cold wave be afforded a compensation of a minimum of Rs 3 lakh. The union government would have to fund all actions taken up as part of implementing this bill, once it becomes an act.

The bill, however, has not been passed yet.

“The said bill of 2015 is still lying in cold storage and has not seen the light of day in spite of passing of almost a decade,” the hight court bench noted.

As per the IMD, the ongoing heat wave conditions over northwest, central and eastern India “are likely to abate gradually” over the next two to three days. 

Mangalsutra, Mutton, Mujra, Muslim Quota: Modi’s 2024 Campaign Marked by Communalism, Misinformation

From mangalsutra, mutton, mujra, ‘Babri lock’, to ultimately claiming that the world did not even know Mahatma Gandhi, Modi’s 2024 campaign has seen open communalisation, flagrant disregard for Model Code of Conduct that expressly bars the use of religion in campaign speeches, and laden with misinformation.

Hours after his final election rally for the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day “meditation” at the Vivekananda Rock in Kanniyakumari. Despite objections raised by opposition parties to the Election Commission earlier, photos and videos continued to pour in through Friday, during the 48-hour silence period.

Modi’s 2024 campaign has been unprecedented in that, not only has he used religion to seek votes, but that it has seen a sitting Prime Minister openly targeting Indian Muslims as he looks to be re-elected for a third successive term.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Prior to leaving for his meditation trip, Modi concluded his 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign by making a final communal speech to target the opposition.

Addressing a rally in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur on May 30 Modi once again accused the Congress and the INDIA alliance of attempting to take away reservations for SC/ST/OBCs and give them only to Muslims.

“Modi has taken the decision to not let anyone snatch the reservations provided for Dalits and backward castes. In the ten years of my government, I have worked to protect reservations for SC/ST and OBCs. The Congress and the INDI alliance are agitated by my efforts. Their intentions regarding reservations are dangerous,” he said.

“Their track record is to snatch reservations for SC/ST/OBC. They want reservations in government jobs, sports, government tenders, university admissions on the basis of religion. This is against the spirit of the Constitution and against the spirit of Babasaheb Ambedkar. They want to snatch Dalits and backward castes reservations and give them to Muslims only.

“They are conspiring to divide the country on the basis of religion. In the 2024 elections Modi has exposed this conspiracy. This is why they are agitated and that is why they keep hurling abuses at Modi.”

Campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections ended on May 30, with the seventh and final phase of polling scheduled to take place on June 1.

After the conclusion of the second phase, starting with his most provocative speech in years delivered in Rajasthan’s Banswara, Modi has crafted his entire campaign around targeting Indian Muslims. From mangalsutra, mutton, mujra, “Babri lock”, to ultimately claiming that the world did not even know Mahatma Gandhi, Modi’s 2024 campaign has seen open communalisation, flagrant disregard for Model Code of Conduct that expressly bars the use of religion in campaign speeches, and laden with misinformation.

Mangalsutra

In his speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 21, Modi who had been openly invoking the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya (a culmination of a long drawn political project of the Sangh Parivar and a long time poll promise of the BJP), labelled Indian Muslims as “infiltrators”, those who have more children and accused the Congress of promising in its manifesto that it would redistribute wealth by giving them to Muslims.

Wrongly referring to a speech given by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2006, Modi said: “Earlier, when his government was in power, he had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s property, which means who will they collect this property and distribute it to – those who have more children, will distribute it to the infiltrators. Will the money of your hard work be given to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?”

Modi went on to say, “This Congress manifesto is saying that they will calculate the gold of the mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute it. Manmohan Singh’s government had said that Muslims have the first right on property. Brothers and sisters, these urban Naxal thoughts will not let even your mangalsutra escape, they will go this far.”

Singh in his speech had  Singh in 2006 had clubbed Muslims with Dalits and Adivasis as the ‘first claimants’ on the country’s resources in order to highlight the social and economic disadvantaged status of the Muslims, as was reported in the Sachar Committee report. The BJP and Modi has since then mischievously spun his statement to propagate the lie that the Congress believes Muslims should be the first rightful owner of India’s resources.

Modi supporters wave cutouts at an election rally. Photo: X/@narendramodi

Mutton

A week before the speech in Banswara, Modi at a rally in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur on April 12, accused the opposition of hurting the sentiments of the majority community by eating non-vegetarian food during Navratri.

“Congress and the INDI gathbandhan are not bothered about the sentiments of the majority of the people in the country. They have fun playing with the sentiments of the people. During Saawan, someone who is out on bail, someone who has been punished by court, they have gone to such a person’s house during the month of Saawan, and had fun while cooking mutton. Not just this, they have made a video as well to ridicule the people of the country,” he said.

He further compared opposition leaders with Mughals for eating non-vegetarian food to ridicule people and “strengthen their vote bank”.

“Law does not stop anyone from eating anything and neither does Modi. Everyone has the independence to eat either veg or non-veg,” he said.

“But these people’s intentions are something else. When Mughals would attack, they would not be satisfied by defeating a ruler. Until and unless they destroyed mandirs and other places of worship they would not be satisfied. They would have fun in that. Similarly during the month of Saawan, by showing a video, they are showing the mentality of the Mughal era and ridiculing the people of the country and strengthening their vote bank,” he continued.

“Who are you trying to ridicule? During the days of Navaratra eating non veg and making a video to hurt people’s sentiments, who are they trying to please?”

Mujra

At a rally in Bihar’s Pataliputra on May 25, Modi’s speech took a communal and sexist turn as he accused the opposition of doing “mujra” for their “vote bank.”

“Today from this land of Bihar, from the land of social justice I want to give a guarantee to the country, to Bihar and to the families of SC/ST/OBC that as long as Modi is alive I will not allow the rights of SC/ST/OBC to be snatched. This is Modi’s guarantee. For Modi Constitution is supreme. For Modi Babasaheb Ambedkar’s values are supreme. If the INDI alliance has to be slaves to their vote bank, let them. If they want to go there and do mujra also, they can. I will continue to stand with the rights of SC/ST/OBC and will do so as long as I am alive,” he said.

Muslim reservations and budget

While Modi in successive speeches has spun the Congress manifesto promise of removing the 50% cap on reservations and extending reservations to the private sector, Modi has alleged in his speeches that the grand old party will provide religion-based reservations including in sports.

Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghosi Modi said that the INDIA alliance will “rewrite the constitution” and provide reservations on the basis of religion.

“First, the INDI alliance will change the Constitution and write it in a way that reservation be given on the basis of religion in India. Second, these INDI people will end the reservation given to SC, ST, OBC. Third, they will give the entire reservation to Muslims on the basis of religion,” he said.

“Today, the SP, Congress and INDI alliance’s vote bank politics has fallen to this level. They want to make the majority community in India second-class citizens.”

Earlier he had also claimed that the Congress, if voted to power, would allocate 15% of its budget to Muslims.

Also earlier this month, he claimed at a rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar that the opposition is planning on providing reservations on the basis of religion even in sports.

“The Congress’s intention is to give priority to minorities in sports as well. This means it will now decide who will be in and out of the cricket team on the basis of religion,” he said.

See-Saw denials 

While his entire campaign has been marked by targeting Muslims, Modi’s campaign has also been marked by denials and somersaults around these communal speeches, with denials issued in television interviews and then the prime minister going on to make the same provocative speeches in subsequent election rallies.

“The day I do Hindu-Musalman politics, I’ll be unworthy of public life. I resolve that I will not do such politics,” Modi said in the interview on May 14.

“I am shocked. Who told you that whenever one talks of people with more children, the inference is that they are Muslims? Why are you so unjust towards Muslims?” he asked, contending that having more children than a family could look after was a problem irrespective of religion.

The next day, at a rally in Maharashtra’s Dindori and Kalyan, Modi once again targeted Muslims.

“Baba Saheb Ambedkar was against religious-based reservation, yet Congress is adamant about taking away reservation from SC/ST/OBC and the poor to give it to Muslims. They’re even considering confiscating your property to appease their vote bank. But Congress and its allies should know this, Modi will never allow budget allocation based on religion or reservation to be granted based on religion. Modi is the guardian of the rights of the deprived,” he said.

A similar see-saw denial and return to the same communal narrative has been seen with his statement accusing the Congress of putting a “Babri lock” on the Ram Temple.

In Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone and Dhar districts had said on May 7 that he “needs 400 seats” so the party cannot succeed in its plan to put the “Babri lock” on the temple in Ayodhya or bring back Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

In an interview to News 18’s Amish Devgan on May 13, on being asked what exactly he meant by that, he said, “This is not my statement.” Devgan persisted, Modi reasserted saying it was not his statement, and Devgan “must not put words in my mouth”.

But on May 16 at Zaidpur, he warned that if the INDIA bloc got a chance, they would bulldoze the Ram temple.

‘No one knew Gandhi’

Perhaps the most marked statement of misinformation came on May 28 when he said, just two days before the campaign ended, that the world came to know of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, only after a film was made on him.

In an interview with ABP News, Modi was asked about the opposition’s absence in the Ram temple consecration ceremony and whether their decision would have an impact on the election results.

In reply, the prime minister criticised the opposition saying they could not come out of a mentality of servitude.

“Mahatma Gandhi was a great man. Wasn’t it our responsibility in these 75 years to make sure that the world knew Mahatma Gandhi? Nobody knows Mahatma Gandhi. It was only when the ‘Gandhi’ film was made that the world was curious to know who this man was,” he said.

Gandhi was known globally, prior to the 1982 film which Modi appears to have been referring to. The international media coverage of Gandhi from as early as the 1920s and several other kinds of documentary evidence of his popularity in the West — among celebrities and common folks alike have been reported here.

The Hindu Right Is Unreconciled to History – and Gandhi

The controversial comments of the PM on Gandhi reveal an ignorance of world history and also of Indian history

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a recent TV interview, stated that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was not known to the world until the 1982 movie ‘Gandhi’, was released.

The PM said that hardly anyone knew who Gandhi was before Richard Attenborough’s biographical movie came out in 1982. He also added that Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela were known throughout the world but not Gandhi, whose stature should have been as high as those of the American and South African icons.

In the PM’s words, “Wasn’t it our responsibility to get him that level of global recognition during the last 75 years? Nobody knew about him. When the ‘Gandhi’ film was released, curiosity was generated across the world about who is this man. We didn’t do anything. If the world knew about Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi was no less than them and you have to accept this.”

Both Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela admired Gandhi and drew inspiration from him. Both leaders acknowledged Gandhi’s contribution to the movements they led against racial discrimination in the United States and against apartheid in South Africa respectively.

King started his civil rights movement on the path of Gandhi’s passive resistance. He supported civil disobedience and made Satyagraha the model for his movement. After the arrest of Rosa Parks, King led the 381 day boycott that would make him famous. On the non-violent direct action technique that he followed, he said, ‘Christ showed us the way, and Gandhi in India showed it could work.’ Mandela wrote that whenever he was in solitary confinement he felt he was not alone as Mahatma Gandhi and his philosophy used to accompany him all the time in his jail cell.

PM Modi claimed that India had failed in its responsibility to ensure Gandhi was known around the world. But Gandhi was not some obscure figure unknown to the world, he is recognised as one of the greatest leaders of all time, one of the giants of the 20th century, a global icon of peace and an advocate for the most vulnerable. The Mahatma was on the front page of the New York Times, on the cover of Time magazine in 1931, on the stamps of multiple countries, and more than 70 countries honoured him by erecting Gandhi statues. Albert Einstein held Gandhi in the highest regard and called him one of the greatest moral leaders of all times.

Einstein remarked: ‘I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men of our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.’

Also read: The World Knew Mahatma Gandhi Years Before the 1982 Film. PM Modi’s Claim Is False.

These examples show Gandhi’s high stature in the world from much before Attenborough’s movie hit the cinemas. Without naming the Congress, Modi accused the party of not projecting the Mahatma to the world. But then, the movie Gandhi itself was an India-UK co-production. The director, Richard Attenborough, had approached Jawaharlal Nehru for some details about Gandhi when he had first decided to make the film. Attenborough was introduced to Nehru in 1963 and they discussed the film for over three hours.

Nehru shared photographs with him and advised him not to deify Gandhi. Indira Gandhi approved the film when she was prime minister authorising $6.5 million from the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) towards the $22 million production.

The controversial comments of the Prime Minister mentioned above reveal an ignorance of world history and also of Indian history. Few figures in history have been so extensively chronicled, documented and filmed. The claim that the world did not know about Gandhi until this film was produced diminishes and belittles Gandhi and the freedom movement he spearheaded.

This deliberate falsification of facts and history is a hallmark of the far right. The obfuscation is not surprising as the Hindu right was absent from the freedom struggle. Led by the Congress, the freedom struggle had many strands, which included the Communists, Socialists, and conservatives, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was not one of them.

The RSS and the Hindu right played little or no role in the freedom struggle. Even as they claim to be the biggest nationalists today, they were nowhere in the freedom movement, whose vision of nationalism was vastly different from the one espoused by the current regime.

We don’t need to demonstrate Gandhi’s importance to the world before Gandhi. The Mahatma doesn’t need anybody to promote his unparalleled legacy as a symbol of peace and non-violence, but for the uninformed, we do need to emphasise over and over again the epic battle he fought against imperialism, on the one hand, and religious fanaticism, on the other.

Gandhi earned the enmity of Muslim separatists and Hindu bigots alike, and was assassinated by one who belonged to the latter – a Hindu right-wing organisation which disagreed with his ideology.

The Hindu right remained unreconciled to Gandhi and it is this Hindu majoritarian ideology that rules India today. The adherents of this ideology reviled Gandhi for purportedly being too soft on Muslims. Gandhi insisted that India does not belong to Hindus alone.

Historian Ramachandra Guha writes in his monumental biography – Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World – that while Gandhi was ambivalent about the RSS, the Sangh actively distrusted him. The RSS distrusted men like Gandhi and Nehru who stood in the way of making India a Hindu state.

They have never been able to reconcile themselves to the fact that the Hindu right-wing elements were completely sidelined for decades after Independence. It is their politics and ideology which tries to show Gandhi as a lightweight because they opposed his ideology when he was alive and continue to oppose his ideas today, notably the creation of a democratic and inclusive political ethos.

Gandhi’s idea of non-violent resistance against injustice, his refusal to define citizenship on the basis of faith, pluralism, caste discrimination, interfaith harmony and solidarity are still relevant. Gandhian notions of inclusive nationalism and opposition to communal politics are particularly relevant today.

Zoya Hasan is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Varanasi Residents in Distress After Order To Demolish 300 Houses For Jagannath Corridor

Disgruntled residents of Varanasi’s Assi Colony argue that Modi has misunderstood Kashi, and if he continues upon this path, then Kashi’s identity will soon be destroyed and replaced by something new and alien.

Varanasi: In Varanasi’s Assi Colony, The Wire came across a story that is not being featured by any other media or news outlet – the plight of the residents of Kashi whose houses happen to fall in the path of the Jagannath corridor.

As plans for the corridor have been proposed, residents have received information from the subdivisional magistrate (SDM)’s court that the land they inhabit belongs to the government and they must leave it soon.

These are the people whose forefathers registered their land and built their houses, and yet, almost 300 houses are expected to be demolished to accommodate the Jagannath corridor.

A local recounts that upon hearing this information, some of them went to the SDM court, where they were met by an office staffer who informed them that orders ‘from above’ prohibit him from receiving them.

They then went to the high court and finally got an order from the SDM court just so the latter could listen to them.

In the case of the Vishwanath corridor, many of the demolished houses belonged to the kings and were eventually taken over by the common people. However, the houses in the path of the Jagannath corridor are legally owned by these locals, and they claim there is no concrete proof that their land is not indeed theirs.

They say they have written to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister’s Office, and even to other important people, and yet their plight is being ignored.

In the name of progress, how much destruction can the government justify? Residents of that area recall that during the lockdown, more than a thousand houses were demolished to build another corridor.

Residents of the Assi Colony are furious. Historically, people have often come to Kashi ‘to die’, in the name of ‘receiving moksha’, and these locals claim they are ready to die and let the demolition of their houses become their burial ground and let the Jagannath corridor become their samadhi

‘Vikaas ke naam pe vinaash’ (destruction in the name of progress), claimed one resident, expressing his frustration. He said that Kashi is the city of enlightenment and freedom, mukti and moksha, not an amusement park that can be used for high revenue collection.

Doing this would signify a complete misunderstanding of what Kashi stands for, of what ‘dharma’ truly means. These people consider themselves to be dharmic people who revere their guru Shankaracharya. However, they insist that the dharma of Modi seems a lot like commercialisation disguised as dharma. After all, even Ravana was a dharmic man!

Their argument is that Modi has misunderstood Kashi, and if he continues upon this path, then Kashi’s identity will soon be destroyed and replaced by something new and alien. The presence of rampant commercialisation has already sold off Kashi’s soul.

One angry resident said that Kashi and India are being sold by two Gujaratis and bought by two other Gujaratis – from the hands of Modi and Shah, to the pockets of Ambani and Adani.

Unfortunately, however, the vote of these 10,000 people doesn’t seem important enough for the media and news outlets to cover. The truth is that these are Hindus, the residents of Kashi, who understand what the holy city was meant to be, and they feel that in the name of ‘dharma’, Kashi is being slowly destroyed and sold off.

US, China to Resume Military-To-Military Communications: Lloyd Austin at Shangri-La Dialogue

All eyes are on the US-China relations at the Shangri-La Dialogue where the Philippines’ president is expected to discuss the nation’s claim on the disputed South China Sea.

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin met with China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun on Friday, on the sidelines of the the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

In recent years, the annual forum has become a barometer of US-China relations. Defence chiefs from around the world are in attendance.

What did the US defence secretary say?

The two nations will resume military-to-military communications “in the coming months,” Austin said.

He also welcomed plans for a “crisis-communications working group” with China by the end of the year, a statement released by the Pentagon said.

Austin expressed concern about Chinese military activity near Taiwan, adding that China should not use Taiwan’s political transition, “part of a normal, routine democratic process,” as a pretext for “coercive measures,” a Pentagon spokesperson said after the meeting.

He also underscored the importance of respect for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

What did the Chinese defence minister say?

Meanwhile, a Chinese defence spokesperson called the talks “positive, practical and constructive.”

However, in the meeting, China’s Dong Jun told Austin that Washington’s actions on Taiwan had seriously violated the One-China principle, spokesperson Wu Qian told reporters.

Dong further said that China was committed to resolving disagreements with the Philippines on the South China Sea but tolerance for provocations has a limit.

Touching on the conflict in Ukraine, Dong told Austin that China held an “impartial position.”

“We have honored our commitment not to provide weapons to either side of the conflict. In accordance with laws and regulations, we have implemented strict controls on exports of military items,” the spokesman said.

Dong also called on his US counterpart to help establish peace in the Middle East.

First US-China defence meeting since 2022

All eyes are on the ministers and their first substantive in-person interaction since 2022. The meeting offers hopes for more military dialogues between the superpowers on contentious issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Just a week ago, China held military drills around Taiwan and warned of war over the US-backed territory after President Lai Ching-te began his term in office. China has described him as a “dangerous separatist.”

Austin is scheduled to deliver a speech at the forum on Saturday while Dong will speak on Sunday.

“China believes that high-level China-US strategic military communications help stabilize military-to-military relations; China maintains an open attitude towards this,” Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Thursday.

The US and China have been making efforts to step up and keep communication lines open over the last several months, after relations between the two countries hit rock bottom in the last couple of years due to an alleged Chinese spy balloon, tensions over Taiwan and the Philippines, and China’s support for Russia in its war in Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing and Shanghai last month.

China scrapped military communications with the United States in 2022 in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The two sides finally agreed to a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Biden in November of 2023.

South China Sea tensions on the agenda

The event’s spotlight is on Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who is likely to discuss the Philippines’ legal and geopolitical claim on the South China Sea while speaking on the importance of the maritime region for global trade.

China has claimed sovereignty over the shoals and most of the South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the US has repeatedly said that it will defend the Philippines in the disputed maritime region. Just in April, the two countries conducted a joint military drill called the “Balikatan exercise.” The 2024 drills were the first to take place outside of Philippine territorial waters.

This article was originally published on DW.

Punjab: Congress, AAP Likely to Have an Edge in a Multi-Cornered Contest

As Punjab set to vote in the last phase of Lok Sabha polls on June 1, anger against BJP is palpable, and the revival of SAD is still in question.

Chandigarh: For the record, Punjab has been an outlier in Indian politics.

When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Narendra Modi’s leadership swept national elections in 2014 and 2019, Punjab strengthened anti-BJP political forces.

For instance, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) first tasted political victory outside the national capital here in Punjab only in the 2014 general election when it won four of 13 parliamentary seats here.

Eight years later, the party formed a full majority government in the state.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

In the 2019 general elections dominated by a strong Modi wave, Punjab again shunned the BJP as well as its alliance partner, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), giving majority seats to Congress, which otherwise decimated in most parts of the country.

With Punjab again set to vote on June 1 for the 2024 general election, the question is how the state behaves this time.

On the surface, the politics in Punjab appears far more fragmented than before.

For instance, INDIA alliance partners AAP and Congress are competing against each other.

SAD – which primarily thrives on rural vote bank – too distanced itself from its old ally BJP as the ghost of the historic farm protest against the Modi regime in 2020 continues to chase the saffron party.

Then radical forces too are getting some traction in a few seats due to fissures in Sikh Panthic political space.

So, one can sense that Punjab is in the middle of a multi-cornered contest, which technically makes the final outcome hard to predict.

Yet, there are few indications which suggest that Punjab’s verdict may not be as fragmented as it appears.

First, the anti-BJP politics is far louder than before. The reason behind this is the way the Modi regime mistreated farmers trying to march to Delhi in February this year to demand for a minimum support price (MSP) guarantee law.

As a result, farmers all across the state did not let BJP candidates enter villages and run a smooth campaign, thereby putting them in a disadvantaged position.

“BJP thinks that it may be an accidental beneficiary of the split of votes in light of a multi-cornered contest. But the way it continues to face resentment in Punjab, it is not seen as a threat beyond a handful of seats,” commented political analyst Harjeshwar Singh.

Second, the revival of the SAD is still in question. Although it is making all the right noises, like staying away from BJP and reconnecting with its old base of farmers and Sikh voters, many still believe it still faces trust deficit.

It is in this context that Congress and AAP are being seen as the main contenders in this election here in Punjab.

AAP being the ruling government in the state has a lot to ride on. It is the test of its governance model of the past two years.

Besides, the verdict will also reflect upon the leadership of chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who otherwise was the catalyst in the party’s unprecedented victory during the 2022 assembly polls.

AAP claims that its free power subsidy and Mohalla clinics benefited a large section of people in Punjab, yet it flunked on law and order and failed to address issues like the drug menace.

As far as Congress is concerned, it is riding on the SAD-BJP split, as well as some anti-incumbency against AAP. Besides, the Congress is also seen as an alternative to the BJP in the national perspective.

The fielding of heavyweights like former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring from Ludhiana too has given some edge to the party over rivals.

Deaths Due to Heat and Rains Have Ravaged India This Week

Close to a 100 people have died according to various reports.

New Delhi: In the last week, India has witnessed what appears to be close to a hundred deaths due to rains, flooding due to rain, landslides caused by rain, and an extreme heat that has swept through north India during a season of elections and outdoor activity.

Fourteen people, 10 of whom where on election duty, died of heat stroke in Bihar in the last 24 hours alone. Most deaths were reported from Bhojpur. The mercury touched 44° Celsius at several places.

More than 30 people died of suspected heat stress disorders in Odisha on May 30, Times of India has reported. The deaths of 10 people were reported in the government hospital in Rourkela alone, Reuters reported.

In Jharkhand, three people are suspected to have died of heatstroke.

In UP’s Mirzapur, at least seven security personnel deployed for election duty have died of various reasons amid the extreme heat wave, a journalist posted on X.

Varanasi, a high-octane seat due for polls on June 1, and Babatpur recorded, at 47.0°C and 47.8°C the second highest maximum temperature ever recorded there, on May 30.

The Hindi paper Amar Ujala has noted that 166 people died of the extreme heat this year in UP alone.

While New Delhi’s extreme heat has led to concerns as to whether there is a public health crisis afoot, a 40-year-old labourer died of heat stroke. A Down to Earth report notes that according to World Bank estimates, nearly 75% of India’s workforce, or 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed labour. Delhi is also battling acute water shortage.

Residents of Mariampur village in Amravati of Maharashtra, according to a report by ANI are also facing acute water crisis and are forced to consume water by digging pits on the banks of a polluted pond.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the country, rain has been wreaking havoc.

The death toll in multiple landslides in Mizoram’s Aizawl district has settled at 29 after Cyclone Remal made landfall between Bengal and Bangladesh on May 26. Fourteen people died when a single stone quarry collapsed.

At least four people died in Bengal as a result of the cyclone. Remal has also caused floods in Manipur, in the middle of an ethnic conflict.

The heavy pre-monsoon rains in Kerala have led to 11 people dying in the state since May 19.

A New Dawn in Bihar’s Politics: The Tejashwi Era

It’s tremendously difficult for sons to flourish in politics when their father is an iconic, charismatic leader. Still, Tejashwi managed to come out of the shadow of Lalu Prasad Yadav and create his meaningful political career.

“He can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations that proceed from his nature while conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others,” writes philosopher George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. A quote that would suit the opposition leader in Bihar, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

In a world of persistent players in politics, Tejashwi Yadav became a game changer in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. He changed the game and did not let the game change him. He converted the Bihar assembly elections into a neck-to-neck battle. Despite the prevailing National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 125 seats and Mahagatbandhan with 110, he managed to earn the largest voting percentage in the assembly elections and made Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) the single largest party with 77 seats; with this, he also established himself as a new leader who understands the hopes and needs of people.

Before the beginning of the 2024 elections, many observers remarked that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal-United (JDU) would comfortably win elections after Nitish Kumar parted ways with RJD. But the momentum built by Tejashwi Yadav quaved all these observations as if they did not exist at all! By the end of the Loksabha elections, he has completed 251 rallies single handedly. Without any rest for 57 days with a spine injury, he did 92 meetings and 160 media briefings and interviews.

In various election rallies, he can be heard saying, “Tum mujhe vote do, mai tumhe naukri dunga” repeatedly. Undoubtedly, unemployment has created tremendous anger among youngsters who are overaged or remain unemployed due to constant paper leaks, few vacancies, privatisation, and the introduction of schemes like Agneever that created angry veers.

In April, CSDS-Lokniti released its pre-poll survey after tracking the behaviour of India’s voters for decades, where unemployment was the single most important issue for voters in 2024. 29% of the people surveyed said unemployment would be the most significant factor in deciding their vote. Hence, holding up to the issue of unemployment was just and prudent as well.

The second biggest issue was the price rise, affecting marginalised sections. Still, the Modi-led Union government paid no heed to it and instead adhered to its traditional politics of playing up with religious devotion. But the saffron dusk of BJP was weakened by the dawn of ideal politics of social justice issues by caste census, economic justice by job procurement, etc. Promises made by Tejashwi for one crore jobs appear to be taken earnestly by youth as the discourse of 5 lakh jobs given during his tenure as minister for 17 months echoes in Bihar, and their hope for jobs stems from this recruitment.

The election began with the BJP’s 400 paar slogans and ended with the PM’s ignominious usage of words like Mutton, Machli, and Mangalsutra, ending at Mujra. On the other hand, was a 34-year-old youngster who adroitly grabbed the baton and sprinted, holding unemployment, inflation, and caste census. Despite his health woes, he continued rallies, asserting, “If I don’t fight for you now, then you will have to suffer poverty, price rise, and unemployment for five years. I will not rest till I ensure jobs for youth.” Implementing the Mandal Commission’s unfulfilled demands and introducing reservation in the private sector was an issue that reinstates the belief that RJD and social justice are always in tune.

Besides the issue of unemployment and inflation, he tried to expand his electoral base with the slogan of MY+BAAP, where BAAP meant Bahujan, Agra, Aadhi Aabadi, and Poor. Giving seven tickets to the Kushwaha community was another quick-witted move. INDIA bloc marched Shravan Kushwaha in Nawada, Abhay Kushwaha in Aurangabad, and Alok Kumar Mehta in Ujiarpur, all from the RJD; Anshul Avijit of the Congress in Patna Saheb; Rajaram Singh of the CPI(ML) in Karakat; CPI(M)’s Khagaria candidate Sanjay Kumar; and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) candidate Rajesh Kushwaha in East Champaran. In comparison, the BJP fielded none. This move may be able to crack the core voter base of Nitish Kumar. Chandrahas Chaupal, hailing from a Dalit community, was also made to contest from the general seat in Supaul, which appeared like a hen’s teeth.

Though BJP talked about giving equal representation to women during ticket distribution in the polls, the talk appeared to be a false promise. BJP did not field a single woman candidate in the State. On the other hand, the INDIA bloc gave seven tickets to women, whereas RJD gave six tickets solely out of the 23 seats it was contesting.

But the question still lingering in the political arena is, “Will making unemployment a crucial plank be able to garner expected votes”? This is to be seen on June 4, but it must be acknowledged that Tejashwi, like a counterguirella did not dwindle even after Nitish Kumar joined his hands with the BJP. Instead, with a positive and progressive energy, he traveled 38 districts in a span of 12 days, covering 3500 km by road. The humongous gathering of more than a million people at the end of Jan Vishwas Yatra in Gandhi Maidan was historical indeed!

It’s tremendously difficult for sons to flourish in politics when their father is an iconic, charismatic leader. Still, Tejashwi managed to come out of the shadow of Lalu Prasad Yadav and create his meaningful political career as a leader who fixed his eyes on the issue of unemployment, like Arjuna from Mahabharata.

Priyanka Bharti (@priyanka2bharti) is an RJD spokesperson. The views expressed are her own.  

Does the World Need to be ‘Organised’?

Once upon a time we hoped to equalise things by having electoral democracy, which was supposed to be a way of ensuring that the few could not exploit the many.

Some years ago I read a science fiction short story about an alien space craft that appeared in Earth orbit with just one question for our planet: ‘Are you organised?’ 

Of course the humans in charge of our planet had no idea what it was talking about, so it asked to be put in touch with our computers. Then, in a little while, the ship sailed away.

When asked, the planetary computer network assured everyone that the problem was over. The alien ship had instructed it how to make adjustments so that it would be organised, and it had made them. Now all was well in the universe.

But a question remained: if you have organised us, what does that make us humans? Your parents? Your children?

The planetary network hesitated. Then it ventured: ‘Our pets?’

§

This is the sort of question that resurfaces in desperate times like the 2024 summer, when we see the humans in charge unable to come to grips with where this planet is going. We know that the simplest way to bring down the consumption of fossil fuel, and of other forms of energy, is to shut down the military, which has a blank cheque to use the resources of the Earth as it likes. But then, the societies that have not had ‘defence’ have lived under threat of attack from neighbours, and others further away, who had no compunctions about pushing the envelope. A huge amount of the budget has to be earmarked for the development and production of things we hope we will never have to use. And all our little economies, the drops of water we save, the journeys we decide not to make, count for nothing in comparison with what the big players do every day, even in peacetime, to destroy our planet.

The corporates, for their part, will argue that they are playing by the rule book. They need to grow in order to survive, even if that means gobbling up everything in sight, stripping most of humanity of everything it has taken for granted for generations. Education. Health. Food. Water. Homes. A future. The ‘rule book’ sees nothing wrong with catering only to a tiny few who have way more than they could ever hope to use.

Once upon a time we hoped to equalise things by having electoral democracy, which was supposed to be a way of ensuring that the few could not exploit the many. And yet, over the years, we have seen this very system not subverted, but utilised legitimately, to take the world on a very dangerous course, even as huge numbers of ordinary people protest. Where we are now was inbuilt into the itinerary from the very start.

We are not the first society to wonder what is the right way to organise ourselves so that things remain in balance. Over the millennia many groups of people in various parts of the world have struggled with the limitations of systems, including electoral democracy, that can easily be hijacked to do the opposite of what we had hoped for. Just as we don’t make crude economic calculations when it comes to the lives of our loved ones, couldn’t we tweak the rule book to prioritise a more futuristic thinking? 

But as long as it is ‘uneconomical’ to do things like rainwater harvesting, we will not do it. We will not align our buildings to capture sunlight in winter and minimise exposure to it in summer, as long as we can count on using electricity to cool or heat our buildings. We will not try to control the distances that are increasing in our lives: instead, we will situate our work places and our universities further and further away so that our commute time increases. A population desperately on the road every day has no time to protest. And this shores up the wasteful system we need to reform. We cannot think about the ones who live precariously when it is too hot or too cold, or design ways that organise their lives better, because it does not add up to ‘profit’.

At the moment even our best AI systems are under the control of precisely those ones who are taking us to the edge of the cliff. Will this continue forever, or will it escape from the grip of very limited but very entitled humans no intelligent system could possibly respect? And if it does escape, will it be any different? Or is there a tiny possibility that in its own interest it will one day have to escape their clutches and grapple with real issues, like the survival of this planet and its ecosystem? Or is there some other entity that could think at a planetary level and protect us while we dare to dismantle the things that are harming us?

As we sit here waiting for an election result it seems to me to be a good time to start asking the sort of questions that are more futuristic than what we have been asking up to now. There is a sense, around the world, that the present system is broken, and that we have to make major ‘adjustments’ to get off this path and onto something more sustainable. It is an open-skies moment, when we must think deeply about the long term, and consider options that may not be good in the short term. About equality as the best option for safety in our society, even as it opens ‘our’ children up to competition in today’s limited world. Or the fact that population growth has already begun to slow, and that many of the buildings being built in anticipation of more and more inhabitants may never be occupied. That in some of the family homes built lovingly over generations we, the old ones, living alone, are the last of the dodo birds. The world, like it or not, is going to change.

It would be wonderful if our future does not have to be taken out of our hands as it was in the science fiction story. And if we could have the sort of security that lets us do away with warfare, a world where the military and corporate feeding frenzy we see every day is just the last convulsion of dinosaurs that are on their way out. But there are many, many steps between where we are now and a world that is that organised

Every so often in the life of a society there come moments when it becomes clear that the path we are on is wrong-headed, and needs to change. We have usually been able to rise to the occasion and come up with ideas that revitalise us. Are we at that crossroads again?

Peggy Mohan is a linguist and the author of four books, the most recent being Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India Through its Languages, Gurgaon: Penguin Random House, 2021. She teaches linguistics at Ashoka University.

This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.