India’s GDP Growth Slows to 6.7% in Q1, Lowest in 15 Months

Chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran described the decline as “a slight slowdown that was anticipated by most commentators”.

New Delhi: India’s GDP grew by 6.7% from April to June this financial year, the lowest in the last 15 months. 

The government’s  expenditure decreased 0.24% year-on-year basis, the Mint reported. The decline has been attributed to a host of factors including election-related disruptions and extreme summer conditions, which impacted economic activities across several sectors. 

Although private consumption showed an upward trend. It grew by 7.44% YoY, thus reflecting a solid consumer demand, the report added. 

The Hindu quoted chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran describing the decline as  “a slight slowdown that was anticipated by most commentators” as the conduct of the general elections had brought down government expenditure, including capital spends.

“So in that sense, the 6.7% [growth] was well within the consensus anticipation,” the CEA said. 

The Economic Times reported the country’s  primary sector comprising agriculture and mining industries witnessed a dip at 2.7% on an annual basis as against 4.2% in the corresponding period of FY24.

The agriculture sector slowed to 2.0% in the first quarter of FY25 on an annual basis. The sector had grown at 3.7% in FY24, the newspaper said. 

The  secondary sector consisting of manufacturing and electricity industries registered a growth of  of 8.4% on an annual basis. It was better than the same period of the last fiscal when this sector had recorded a growth of 5.9%

Similarly, the manufacturing sector also recorded a good performance. It grew at 7.0% for the first quarter of the current fiscal year on an annual basis. The manufacturing industry had recorded a growth of 5.0% in FY24, The Economic Times reported.

Note: An earlier version of this article referred to ‘months’ as ‘quarters’. The error has been rectified.

Haryana Assembly Polls Deferred to October 5; Counting in J&K and Haryana on October 8

The move comes after the BJP and the INLD had written to the commission to postpone the Haryana polls by a week.

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday (August 31) announced that the Haryana assembly election has been postponed to October 5 from October 1. The election results for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana will be declared on October 8, instead of October 4, the ECI added.

“Representations have been received from National Political Parties, State Political Party and All India Bishnoi Mahasabha regarding mass movement of people of Bishnoi community of Haryana to Rajasthan to participate in centuries old Asoj Amavasya festival celebration. It may deny voting rights to large number of people and may lead to reduce voters’ participation in general election to legislative assembly of Haryana,” the ECI said in a press release. 

The ECI added: “The commission, having considered these representations, has decided to change the date of poll only for Haryana from 1st October, 2024 (Tuesday) to 5th October, 2024 (Saturday).” 

Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had written to the commission to postpone the Haryana polls by a week, citing concerns of low voter turnout due to multiple holidays around the original polling date. However, the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had opposed the move, which they saw as a sign of the saffron party’s anticipated defeat.

The date for the Jammu and Kashmir elections remains the same, October 1.

Remembering Harish Chandra Mukherjee, a Doyen of Political Journalism in India

A largely forgotten ‘Bengal Renaissance’ figure from the 19th century, Harish Chandra Mukherjee rose to fame as the formidable editor of a Calcutta-based English weekly, ‘The Hindoo Patriot’. His lifelong struggle against injustice, especially his staunch support for the oppressed farmers during the ‘Indigo Rebellion’ left a great legacy.

Just a few months ago, with the last phase of the seven-phase-long Lok Sabha election just over, preparations for the long-awaited results were underway. News channels were displaying exit polls, heated panel discussions were taking place, major party leaders were busy giving key instructions to their comrades.

The exit polls published on almost all the channels made it fairly clear that the NDA government was coming back to the centre for a consecutive third time, that too, with an overwhelming majority (350+ seats for BJP, 400+ for the NDA). Given the fact that the BJP was dealing with a decade of anti-incumbency, these poll statistics came as a shock to many expecting a positive turnaround this time.

In the midst of all these, a statement by a senior anchor of a national news channel did reflect the extent to which the mainstream media has become pliant to autocratic power and corporate capitalists over the past decade.

During the on-air panel discussion, Anjana Om Kashyap stated, pretty bluntly – “Chaliye, unki chinta wo khud kare, unki chinta hume karne ki jarurat nahin hai. Aur, na mein manti hu ki hume unko itna space dena chahiye, Aaj Tak jaise channel mein…” Translated to English, it reads: “Come on, let them (the opposition) think about themselves, we don’t need to think about them. And, I don’t believe we should give them much space, on a channel like Aaj Tak…”

Eventually, what happened on June 4, 2024 led to the complete exposing of this sensationalist lapdog media, popularly referred to as ‘Godi Media’ (a term coined by journalist Ravish Kumar), who had made it a habit to shamelessly praise the government and deliberately suppress the opposition voice, thus being instrumental in championing Hindutva fascism and politics of hatred.

Exit polls went horribly wrong, stock market crashed, a popular psephologist broke down in tears during a live telecast – a clear defeat for the corrupt media, at least for the day.

Despite considerable reduction in power, the picture has not changed much. The NDA government keeps on introducing anti-people laws, while biased media professionals continue with their blatant devotion to the spreading of false government propaganda.

Unfortunately, all these happened in a year that marks the 200th birth anniversary of Harish Chandra Mukherjee – the man who set the benchmark of political journalism in India.

Harish Chandra Mukherjee in Sunil Gangopadhyay’s novel Shei Somoy

A largely forgotten ‘Bengal Renaissance’ figure from the 19th century, Harish Chandra Mukherjee rose to fame as the formidable editor of a Calcutta-based English weekly, ‘The Hindoo Patriot’. His lifelong struggle against injustice, especially his staunch support for the oppressed farmers during the ‘Indigo Rebellion’ left a great legacy.

For many of us, the Sahitya Akademi Award-winning novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay, ‘Shei Somoy’, (translated to English as ‘Those Days’), set against the backdrop of heyday of Bengal Renaissance, acted as a primary access of information to a large number of historical figures from that period, including Mukherjee.

Based on meticulous research and compassionate detailing, Gangopadhyay’s portrayal of Mukherjee introduces us to a straightforward personality who works day and night to keep his newspaper running, outspokenly criticises the north Calcutta-centric ‘Babu culture’ and stands by the oppressed at the same time, and yet, cannot help himself consuming alcohol or going to courtesans’ houses to seek mental peace.

A few months younger to iconoclast poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Mukherjee was born in the summer of 1824, as the second child of Ramdhan Mukherjee and his third wife, Rukmini Debi. Though his family was originally from Shridharpur, Burdwan, Mukherjee was born and raised at the home of his maternal grandfather, Thakurdas Chatterjee, in Bhowanipore (present-day Bhabanipur), which, at that time, was a suburb beyond the limits of the ‘Maratha Ditch’ (a deep entrenchment constructed by the British East India Company around Fort William to protect surrounding villages and fortifications from Maratha Bargi raiders), and thus not a part of urban Calcutta. Ramdhan Mukherjee died when Harish was only six months old.

His maternal grandfather’s financial hardships did not allow Mukherjee and his elder brother Haran Chandra Mukherjee to continue their studies for long. A hard-working student with a promising future, Mukherjee had to drop out of Bhowanipore Union School, a missionary-run institution, after studying there for just six to seven years to fend for his family.

In his initial days of struggling, he would write bills, letters, petitions, and translate Bengali documents to English for livelihoods. His first full-time job was of a bill-writer at Messrs. Tulluh and Company. Mukherjee worked there for almost ten years at a monthly salary of Rs. 10.

Then, in 1847 or 1848, he landed a clerical job at the Military Auditor General’s office. Auditor General Colonel Champneys and his deputy, Colonel Goldie, both were fond of Mukherjee, thanks to his commitment and work ethics. He enjoyed frequent promotions, with his monthly salary having been raised from Rs. 25 to Rs. 400 – a pretty hefty sum for the time.

But it was his short yet eventful stint as a journalist that made him a household name in Bengal – not only in the circle of British bureaucrats and administrators or pro-British Bengali intellectuals but also among deprived masses facing the worst consequences of colonial exploitation over generations.

Editor of The Hindoo Patriot

There is some debate as to who started ‘The Hindoo Patriot’ (HP). While it is historically true that the weekly gained immense popularity during Mukherjee’s tenure, he was never its founder. As most researchers claimed, a certain Madhusudan Roy, a businessman of Burra Bazar, founded HP in early 1853 and approached three brothers, Girish Chandra Ghosh (not to be confused with the famous dramatist), Srinath Ghosh and Kshetranath Ghosh, to run the weekly.

At first, the newspaper’s office was in north Calcutta, with Girish Chandra Ghosh being the editor. It is not known when exactly Mukherjee got associated with HP, but according to several sources, he eventually acquired the proprietorship in 1855. By then, he had proved his mettle by getting some of his articles published in leading English weeklies and dailies, including ‘Hindu Intelligencer’ (edited by Derozian Kashi Prasad Ghosh) and ‘The Englishman’, and even drawing huge praise from editors like Cobb Hurry (editor of ‘The Englishman’).

Around the same time, he also became a member of the ‘British Indian Association’, one of the first political organisations in the country with a pan-Indian outlook. Even though it was a gathering of zamindars and aristocrats, Mukherjee was one of its most active members and his political grooming was largely attributed to his association with the BIA.

After the takeover of HP, the office was shifted to Bhowanipore. Mukherjee used to spend almost all of his monthly salary to run the paper. Because he was a government employee, his brother Haran was made the official proprietor, while Mukherjee remained the sole editor of HP for six consecutive years until his untimely death at the age of 37, in 1861.

Published every Thursday morning until 12 May 1859 (from 21 May 1859, it started getting published every Saturday evening; in 1892, the newspaper became a daily), HP was an 8-page newspaper that housed a variety of news, articles, letters to the editor, book reviews, and advertisements.

While going through the limited number of micro-filmed copies available at the National Library of India, Kolkata, one striking feature that has caught my eye is the absence of bylines. With other prominent thinkers such as Ram Gopal Ghose, Kisori Chand Mitra, Rajendra Lal Mitra, Dwarka Nath Mitter, etc. having also contributed to the newspaper, Naresh Chandra Sengupta, who, in 1910, edited and compiled the ‘Selections From the Writings of Hurrish Chunder Mookerji Compiled from The Hindoo Patriot’, had to depend entirely on the writing style to distinguish Harish’s writings from that of others, as he mentioned in his foreword.

Assuming Sengupta’s compilation to be true, the articles give a clear picture of what Mukherjee was able to achieve in such a brief space of time. From genuine courage to deep insights, from direct addressing of the issues to compactness of writing –Harish’s essays had everything to give a new direction to political reporting in India.

Support for Widow Remarriage Act

Remarkably, his six-year editorial tenure coincided with some unprecedented events that would shape the political scenario of future India – the Santhal Revolt (1855), annexation of Awadh (1856), passing of the Widow Remarriage Act (1856), the Revolt of 1857 and the subsequent transfer of power to the British Crown in 1858, and the Indigo Rebellion (1859-1862).

News of the Passing of Widow Remarriage Act published (July 24, 1856). Photo: Reproduced from micro-films available at the National Library of India.

Like most urban newspapers of that period, The Hindoo Patriot provided wholehearted support to the passing of Widow Remarriage Act, education for women, and other social reforms. It was also among the first that expressed strong and emphatic protest against the ‘doctrine of lapse’ policy, initiated by Lord Dalhousie. Mukherjee, in his insightful article ‘Annexation of Oude’, pretty ruthlessly exposed the inequity and cruelty of such totalitarian attitude. The Lord was reported to have felt agonisingly disturbed by his writings.

Then, it was the outbreak of the 1857 Revolt in the form of Sepoy Mutiny that marked a fresh departure in the career of The Hindoo Patriot. Like a true journalist loyal to his principles, Mukherjee, with proper reasoning and explanations, tried to find out ‘The Causes of the Mutiny’, in response to what Subadar Hadayut Ali had written in his paper.

According to Mukherjee, Ali’s version, “naturally overlooks one cause of the extension of the extension of the mutiny into a general rebellion” – the decision to send Indian soldiers to the Afghan War, the annexation of Awadh, the cartridges alleged to be greased with cow and swine fat, and deposition of landed aristocracy.

His understanding of the last cause made him realise that the mutiny had become an ‘Indian rebellion’. Throughout the revolt, he condemned the violence and atrocities committed by both the rebels and British army officials, supported Lord Canning, the then Governor-General of India, for his ‘clemency’ policy, and even welcomed the ‘Charter of 1858’.

But, among that English-educated native class of that period (who chiefly deplored the uprising), Mukherjee was perhaps the only one who could understand the far-reaching mark that the rebellion had just left: “History will, we conceive, take a very different view of the facts of the great Indian revolt of 1857 from what contemporaries have taken of them.”

Highlighting atrocities against Indigo farmers

However, Mukherjee’s biggest contribution as a journalist, without any doubts, was his role during the Indigo Rebellion that took place just after the transfer of power.

Having started in 1777, indigo plantation gradually became a highly lucrative business among the whites because of high demand for blue dye in post-Industrial Revolution Europe. Within the next fifty years, the number of indigo factories across Bengal would grow to over 1,000. Bengal Indigo Company was the biggest indigo planting enterprise at that time, under which there were more than fifty villages.

Dwarkanath Tagore’s Carr, Tagore & Company and Prasanna Kumar Tagore also invested in this business. As a saying went, “Nilkar sahib hoy bhari khushi / Bochor seshe mukhe jetar hasi / Niler baksho, lakh takar rashi.” (Loosely translated, it would read: The indigo planter feels very happy / The year ends with a triumphant smile / A box of indigo, a chest of million rupees.)

Supported by a handful of zamindars and backed by local magistrates, the planters forced the ryots (local term for cultivators who owned agricultural lands) to sign fraudulent deals, thereby leaving them with no choice but to grow indigo instead of their regular crops. If refused, planters would cross all limits of oppression – kidnapping, sending henchmen to suppress rebels, setting fire to the houses and crop fields, raping young women became everyday issues in villages of eastern Bengal.

In the 1850s, ryots finally began to unite to end this ‘reign of terror’. The Hindoo Patriot had provided them the necessary platform to express their situation. Long before the rebellion started, Mukherjee published letters written to the editor.

A Letter Written by the Ryots to the Editor Published in HP (November 18, 1856). Photo: Reproduced from micro-films available at the National Library of India.

He took the struggle personally, and indulged in collecting as much detailed information as he could. Marked by many as a pro-British liberal, Mukherjee declared war against this ‘organised fraud and oppression’. He expressed his disgust over the deliberate ignorance and inactivity of the local administration: “This fact, though well-known throughout the country, has not been admitted in those quarters from which relief is to be expected. The legislature has not admitted it. Officials ignore it. The British public do not know it. Parliament does not know it. The civilised world has not an idea of it.”

In another essay, entitled ‘Planters’ Portraits’, he shared horrifying accounts of prison set-ups constructed in ‘Nilkuthis’ (Planters’ Mansions) and levels of corporal punishments villagers were subject to. He even exposed the illegal dealings between planters and corrupt magistrates, which had kept the culprits safe all those years.

His tireless commitment to the causes of farmers made him their closest friend. His English-language newspaper became the mouthpiece of farmers, who never knew a second language other than Bengali. Over the course of the revolution, many peasants would come to his Bhowanipore house for shelter and advice. The doors were always open to them.

After much persuasion, the British government decided to establish an investigation commission, where Mukherjee was summoned to provide his testimony. His detailed reporting of the incidents turned out to be not only a matter of discomfort for the administration but also fatal for himself.

Persecution by British and death in penury

In 1860, Archibald Hills, the wicked manager of Kacheekata (now in Pirojpur District, Bangladesh) plantation, filed defamation suit against Mukherjee. Hills had abducted and raped Haromoni Dasi, a village woman, and the whole incident was published in the Hindoo Patriot. Harish lost the court case and eventually died penniless.

Hills succeeded in obtaining a decree after Mukherjee’s death, and did not even spare his bereaved mother and widow. Thanks to efforts by Kali Prasanna Singha, Girish Chandra Ghose and others, their Bhowanipore house narrowly escaped confiscation. Tragic to note is that the British Indian Association, for which Mukherjee worked so hard, did not bother to stand by the distressed women.

A folk poet and lyricist, Bidya Bhuni, composed a rhyme afterward: “Nil banore sonar Bangla / Korlo ebar charkhar / Osomoye Harish mo’lo, / Long er holo karagar. / Projar ar pran banchano bhar.” Loosely translated, it reads: “Indigo monkeys had now / Devastated the golden Bengal / Harish died prematurely, / While Long has been sent to jail.” (Long is Reverend James Long, an Irish priest who faced imprisonment after publishing the ‘Indigo Planting Mirror’, an English translation of Dinabandhu Mitra’s play, ‘Nil Darpan’.)

But, even after doing so much for Bengal’s peasants in his best capacity, Mukherjee has been criticised, at least in some quarters, when it comes to supporting tribal rebellions during the Company rule. As researcher Ashok Chattopadhyay noted, despite the fact that the newspaper recognised oppression to be the cause of the Santhal Revolt, it advocated for highest level of punishments for the ‘ring leaders’ of the revolt.

Chattopadhyay even claimed that Mukherjee felt relieved when the British deployed the military to suppress the disturbances. While this attitude sounds unpleasantly pro-government, it represents the general psyche of urban elite of Renaissance period, who did not have any connection to the rural misery at all. Chattopadhyay’s comments greatly reflect the disparagement of the politics of this intelligentsia by post-colonial theorists and subaltern historiographers.

It is to be noted that Harish Mukherjee, by all means, was a government servant, and like others, he was also overwhelmed by the modern elements and glamour of the West introduced to the Indian subcontinent. Naturally, it was impossible for him to demand a British-free India, and that too, in the middle of the 19th century.

He was, rather, more interested in pushing the British to establish a ‘good governance’. Also noteworthy is that whatever he said about the Santhal Revolt was during his first year as a full-time journalist. Over time, his stance changed. He penned down lines like: “What we want is not the introduction of a small independent element in the existing council, but an Indian Parliament.”

If his love for the peasants had not been truly genuine, their lament would never have resonated in Bidya Bhuni’s composition.

What put Mukherjee apart from his contemporaries was his own synthesis of time. Being an avid reader, he would spend around 2-3 hours every day after office at the Calcutta Public Library, housed at Metcalfe Hall, reading magazines and books imported from Britain.

As his half-brother Raj Kishore Mukherjee once claimed, he completed reading 75 volumes of ‘Edinburgh Review’ in just five months. These study sessions exposed him to the pluses and minuses of western civilisation, social infrastructure and administrative system. Added to this practice were his own observations of contemporaneity.

As Dilip Kumar Majumdar, a senior Kolkata-based teacher and researcher who had written a few books on Harish Mukherjee, pointed out, “He neither had aristocracy like those Hindu College alumni nor the gifted academic excellence of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and that’s the reason perhaps he has been deliberately omitted from discussions, not only by future historians but also by his contemporaries. You cannot even find a portrait of him. Even though a Parsi professor wrote an English biography in 1863, the first ever Bengali biography came out in 1888, twenty seven years after his death! And, who was the biographer? Certain Ram Gopal Sanyal. Still, one cannot deny the mark he left, can they?”

“Yes, he too had his limitations. He failed to understand the real reason behind ‘clemency’ of Canning, and kept on supporting him. But, what others couldn’t see, he could see easily. Take indigo plantation for example. Tagores saw it as a lucrative business venture, while Harish simply called it an ‘organised fraud and oppression’. So, it will be unfair to tag him as a pro-colonialist. And, considering what extent the Indian mainstream media has reduced to in these years, revisiting Harish’s life and works sounds more relevant than ever,” Majumdar added.

 

Soham Das is a Kolkata-based independent researcher and bilingual author who takes special interest in history, politics and culture.

Lessons in Inequality: Gender Bias in Indian Textbooks and its Link to Societal Attitudes Towards Women

Gender representation in textbooks is a powerful tool in shaping more egalitarian gender attitudes in society and contributing to a broader cultural shift.

If we want girls’ education to help build gender equality, a basic first step is ensuring we are not giving children sexist textbooks. This article analyses gender bias in school textbooks in India and whether this varies across states. Further, it checks for any association between gender representation in books and prevailing attitudes towards women and girls in society.

India is among the worst countries in the world on the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index, ranking 129thin 2024. Our previous research (Crawfurd, Saintis-Miller and Todd 2024) has shown that South Asia, and India in particular, is the worst region in the English-speaking world for stereotypes and low representation of women and girls in schoolbooks. Figure 1 below shows the association in textbooks between gendered words and words related to achievement, appearance, home, and work (examples include text linking mothers to cooking, and assuming doctors are male). Books from South Asia have the strongest male bias in relation to language around achievement and work, and the strongest female bias in relation to language around appearance, relative to books from the UK, US, Australia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: This figure is drawn from cross-country analysis by Crawfurd, Saintis-Miller and Todd (2024).

Sexism in Indian textbooks has been a recurring political issue for decades. An analysis of Hindi and English textbooks (Kalia 1979) revealed the widespread promotion of sexist attitudes, which the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) — the government agency responsible for producing national textbooks — denounced as sensationalist. Another study of NCERT textbooks in 2017 documented similarly sexist content, prompting the Indian Minister for Education to call for “appropriate action”. Our analysis of NCERT books published between 2020 and 2022 suggests that progress towards this goal has been limited. We find that just 34% of gendered words (such as ‘he’ or ‘she’) in NCERT books are female, and 66% are male.

Does gender bias in books vary across state boards?

Public education in India is largely decentralised to the states, but many states choose for their state board books to mirror the national NCERT curriculum. In 2021, 23 of 28 state boards were using NCERT textbooks in some or all grades. Other states choose for affiliated schools to follow their own state board books. State board books tend to be based on the NCERT curriculum, supplemented with relevant state-specific content. Most competitive national level entrance exams for higher education rely on the NCERT curriculum (especially for the sciences) so states tend to try and align with that curriculum to a high degree.

We identified publicly available English-language textbooks from 10 state boards that we can compare with the NCERT books — from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana (see Table 1 below for more details). On average, these state board books have even fewer mentions of women and girls than national NCERT books. One state stands out as having particularly high female representation, namely, Gujarat. States in the South tend to do worse than states in the Hindi belt, despite higher female literacy and workforce participation (Figure 2).

Note: This table shows the number of textbooks included in the study in each grade in each state. Textbook data are from state board textbooks from NCERT Books. The NCERT textbooks have been chosen by the state boards in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Uttarakhand. Subjects include STEM, social sciences, humanities and practical and applied sciences.

Source: Data is from new analysis by Center for Global Development (CGD) of state textbooks, based on methodology used previously in Crawfurd, Saintis-Miller and Todd (2024). Data for 10 states (Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana) are from state board textbooks. Data for nine states (Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand) are from NCERT textbooks.

When we compare gender representation in books with independent measures of gender norms, we find surprisingly little correlation. We use a 2022 Pew Survey that asks seven questions about gender norms to create an index of progressive attitudes. Mizoram has one of the highest scores on progressive gender attitudes, but only 22% female representation in schoolbooks. By contrast, Gujarat, with the clear highest female representation in books, has the lowest score on progressive attitudes (Figure 3). Although a crude measure of the level of sexism in textbooks, these data might at least suggest that prevailing gender attitudes are not necessarily an obstacle to increasing and improving female representation in learning materials. 

Source: Data for the attitude index is from the 2022 Pew Survey “How Indians View Gender Roles in Families and Society”. The authors are grateful to Pew for sharing the microdata along with the geographical identifiers, allowing the creation of this index. The index is the principal component of seven survey questions; related to gender roles and (i) job rights, (ii) earnings, (iii) spending, (iv) inheritance, (v) raising kids, (vi) marital relations, and (vii) political leaders. Data on the share of female words in textbooks are from authors’ analysis of textbooks.

Efforts to improve female representation

Representation of girls and women in textbooks is a natural complement to ongoing successful efforts to increase gender parity in schools. Gender representation in textbooks is a powerful tool in shaping more egalitarian gender attitudes in society and contributing to a broader cultural shift. Textbooks can provide diverse role models and alternatives to stereotypes by normalising progressive gender roles. They can also work to build a foundation for gender equality among students that translates to significant social, economic and cultural benefits. Revising curricula to not only mention women more, but also work towards challenging regressive stereotypes could result in higher economic growth, by encouraging workforce equality, higher female representation in non-traditional roles, and increased female leadership.

Also read: There is a Link Between Subjugation of Women and Sexual Crimes Which Implicates Us All

Maharashtra, India’s second most populous state and home to the financial capital Mumbai, is currently revising its school curriculum. Critics have pointed to the lack of representation of different socioeconomic groups in the textbooks that are used at present, but our analysis shows that gender representation is also a clear issue, with Maharashtra State Board books having the third lowest female representation of all states in India. Elsewhere, Kerala is making explicit efforts to remove gender stereotypes from their books, partly in response to a spate of deaths from domestic abuse in the state; demonstrating the government’s belief in the role of textbooks in shaping attitudes. has also just updated their books, with the panel claiming to have kept gender sensitivity in mind. As the worst performing state on our measure, we hope this is true.

Lee Crawfurd is a senior research fellow at the Center for Global Development. Theodore Mitchell is a research assistant working in the Center for Global Development Global Education team. Radhika Nagesh is a senior policy analyst within the Global Education team at the Center for Global Development. Christelle Saintis-Miller is a senior programme manager within the global education team at the Center for Global Development. Rory Todd is a research associate with the Center for Global Development Global Education team.

This article first appeared on Ideas for India. Read the original here

Part of Road Leading to Statue of Unity Washed Away in Gujarat

The road sees high traffic as people visiting the Statue of Unity take the route. The immediate cause for the damage caused to the road seems to be water from the Dhadhar river, which as a result of overflowing, washed away parts of the road.

New Delhi: Parts of a road leading to the Statue of Unity in Gujarat has been washed away due to heavy rain and flooding in the state.

Huge cracks have developed on the highway near the Rajvi crossing on Dabhoi road on Wednesday (August 28), leading to the road being shut down for the public, reported the Times of India.

The road sees high traffic as people visiting the Statue of Unity take the route. The immediate cause for the damage caused to the road seems to be water from the Dhadhar river, which as a result of overflowing, washed away parts of the road.

While the other side of the road is open for commuters, local residents said that the damaged road had been constructed just few months back, reported the Times of India.

The Statue of Unity – representing the symbolic unification of India post-Independence – was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2018, as tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary. The statue is now the world’s tallest at 182 metres (597 feet) or nearly 100 times taller than someone 6 feet tall.

Why Women Must Keep Walking at Midnight

The presence of women in public spaces is still not a norm, but it can be changed.

With its deep echoes with the Nirbhaya incident 12 years ago, the recent rape and murder of a doctor at R.G. Kar, Kolkata has once again brought back the near impossibility for women to have safe and secure lives into sharp relief. The presence of women in public spaces continues to be subjected to violence, aggression and discomfort. When it comes to women at midnight, the problems increase manyfold.

On  December 31, 2012, just a few days after Nirbhaya, a student who was brutally gangraped in a moving bus in Delhi on December 16 the same year, Maya Krishna Rao, a veteran theatre practitioner, performed ‘Walk’ for the first time at a gathering in Munirka — where Nirbhaya had boarded that bus on December 16, 2012.

These were some of the lines of her piece: 

Not 5, 6 not 7, not 8 at 12 midnight I want to walk the street

I will hold on my own lamp if you like on 22000 streets that the police commissioner says are not lit in Delhi

I will walk

I will take a bus

I will sit in a park

I will try not to be afraid of the dark

let me live free

Maybe we just sit, we lie, we don’t talk

I will walk with you 

Don’t lie in bed just roll out and walk in the night

12, 2 baje paune teen sadhe chaar walk think

I will walk with you don’t walk with him don’t vote for him don’t give him a job

Maybe we’ll just lie on a bench. Maybe we’ll just gaze up at the stars
I will walk

To my ears, this was a war cry. This theatre piece was what first got me thinking about walking as a practice and the politics of walking in the city. 

After the 2012 case, women’s safety became a topic of interest for the Indian state. But also, citizen action fuelled a lot of the changes that we saw over the next few years. Many artists responded with their work, many initiatives took shape, and much was written, debated, and discussed. And the law saw a welcome change. 

Four years later, it was perhaps a desire to put the lines of Maya’s piece to test that I thought of walking for 24 hours in Delhi. I was interested in understanding fatigue — as experienced in women’s bodies, as experienced by cities. I wanted to know what happens when a woman walks her city all day, all night, traverses the length and breadth of it. In the span of 24 hours, the night arrived, with its impossibilities for women. So I gave a call out on Facebook and we walked as a mixed group. That’s how Women Walk at Midnight (WWaM) was born in February 2016.

In the last weeks, with the ‘Reclaim the night’ protests having spread to different cities in response to the Kolkata rape and murder, we have been reminded for the need to walk at midnight. But its not enough to walk once. We have to walk again and again even when there seems to be no real reason. 

Over the last eight years, women have walked almost every month in this city in different neighbourhoods. WWaM was built as an artistic practice since 2016 that could be adopted and adapted by any woman in any city. The attempt is not only to normalise the presence of women’s bodies in the public after ‘forbidden’ hours, but also to strengthen the resolve within women themselves — to create a space for courage and camaraderie with every walk. The more we walk, the more we change, the more our city changes. And we do it with joy.

WWaM has travelled to several other cities — it has built and paused chapters in Bangalore, Noida and Faridabad in India, Cape Town in South Africa, a chapter in the making in Heidelberg in Germany and one-off walks in Marseille in France, Sao Paolo in Brazil and Brussels in Belgium. The practice has given rise to a loose community of women who take it upon themselves to occupy the night, month after month until one day, women will walk at midnight — alone or accompanied by other women — everywhere in the world.

From the first walk in Cape Town in August 2022. Photo: Arranged by the author

Early on in developing the practice in Delhi, we recognised a very real difficulty of the city of Delhi — its distances and the absolute lack of public transport after a certain hour. To work around these and to also reach beyond only those areas of Delhi that I knew, the neighbourhood model was developed — a woman from a different neighbourhood, each month takes us around her home, her gullies, her chaurahas… perhaps with us she walks into lanes she wouldn’t otherwise… and slowly women from that neighbourhood would gather and continue to walk and occupy their streets.

We begin our walks in Delhi around 10:00-10:30 pm. The city is wide awake at this time. We usually walk on the weekend — either a Friday or a Saturday night — to allow for walkers to recover the next morning. We end up being out and about till at least 1 am.

Over the last few years, many, many women have walked with us. College students join us, many from outside Delhi who want to see the city or couldn’t ever dare to take a walk like this in their hometown. Many of them do not inform their parents that they are out on a walk like this. Several young women working in the city join us, many journalists who want to write about it, scholars who make this part of their research, mothers come with their daughters, ladies from morning walking groups join in. At the end of each walk, when we do a small discussion before booking our cabs and autos, the reasons to join the walks are consistently the same year after year — the desire to get over the fear, to walk in an unwalkable city, to see what they cannot alone, meet other women who think like them, to see and smell the night, to feel, even for a small while, that the city belongs to them.

As we started to walk in different neighbourhoods and areas of Delhi we started to encounter the night and its realities. Between 2016 and 2018, there were very few other women on the streets after a certain time. When we walked as a group, no matter how big or small, we used to be a real spectacle. This was true even of posh areas around South Delhi.

The violence of the city would hit us on every walk. On a walk starting from Hauz Khas on the road outside Hauz Khas Village, cars followed us, stopped and offered to take us with them. These men in their cars were especially ‘excited’ at the sight of the white women in our walking group.

On a Women’s Day walk towards Lodhi Road in Central Delhi, we were followed by a young man to the extent that we abandoned the walk mid-way and went home. We were afraid and as the person who ‘organised’ the walk, I felt responsible for the safety of the younger women with us. No matter what we tried, the young man would not stop following us. Finally, we hailed an autorickshaw. The driver stopped and when told about this man following us, took out a lathi from his auto and beat the young man as the young man masturbated looking at us. We grappled with the irrationality of our fear for days after. We were eight women. He was one.

On many of the walks, we have encountered some other women on the streets — some asleep, some awake. These include homeless women and young girls sleeping wrapped deep under their bedding. They are barely visible, unlike the homeless men next to them. Then, there are scores of women outside AIIMS sleeping next to families. These are people who have come from out of town to get treatment for themselves or their kin and have nowhere else to go as they wait days on end for their appointments. Some of this has been addressed by the night shelters erected by the Delhi government. 

The waking women of the night have usually been those getting ice cream with their families or taking a walk in their neighbourhood, but hardly ever alone and never just women. The unaccompanied waking women we encounter are sex workers — both cis women and trans women. But they don’t want to have anything to do with us. They step away from us and we too have not known how and if to approach them. While walking in Dwarka, we encountered a stretch that belonged to them. We changed the side of the road we were walking on, for the sake of keeping the distance that they signaled. Both looked at each other. But we did not walk together. 

Also read: An R.G. Kar Protest Is a Glimpse of What Bengal Has to Lose

In all our years of walking, we have never encountered a woman on a wheelchair soaking the city up at night. The city is so difficult for people with disabilities even during the day with its crumbled infrastructure and potentially unfriendly citizens. We also have not been able to include her on a ‘walk’ with us.  

On one of our first all-women’s walks around central Delhi, we witnessed a brawl between a group of  speech and hearing-impaired persons. There was a full-blown fight underway in sign language. One cis woman and one trans woman were part of this very large group of men. We stopped out of concern but were unable to understand anything. Eventually, a PCR came up and broke up the fight. The two women hid in our group of walkers to get away from all the men and the police. They walked with us for a while, then thanked us and disappeared. I have never been able to understand entirely what to make of this incident. The only thing that can be said is that we witnessed this because we were out at night. And our presence gave shelter to two women who needed it

We  have had several small and quieter walks that very few have joined… and almost no one from the neighbourhood. For one walk, we travelled to Shahadra. Our guide of the night was Aatika Singh. The metro from Kashmere Gate towards Shahadra was a bit empty. We sat in the ladies’ compartment. It was a Saturday night and young women dressed in their Saturday best had been out and about. They were returning home… It was around 10 pm. I thought of what 10 pm means to so many of us living with parents and trying to take our first steps toward freedom in our own lives… it’s late. Beyond a respectable hour. And often referred to as Midnight (aadhi raat). I noticed how the metro, its feeling of being safer than buses or autos and its reach to so many previously unconnected parts of Delhi has given women a sense of mobility that they had not had before.

We got off at the Shahadra metro station and started our walk. Everything changed. The more we moved away from the metro station, the only very well-lit and public spot in that area, we encountered only men on bikes, dogs, and as we moved closer to the area where our guide lived, we encountered a city divided by caste, class and choices of standard of living made for these divided areas. Here, Aatika told us, the night-time is safer than the day. In the daytime, women couldn’t walk down their gully without comments being passed on them.  We have not been on another walk to Shahadra. It’s tough to revisit areas that are not ‘appetizing’ for the nightwalkers. It takes a different kind of work to mobilise local women in areas that we don’t belong to. This work is to be done over a longer period, slowly and stubbornly.

We often think about questions of inclusivity of the walks and try to keep opening up and reach women we cannot so easily within our networks and circuits. This has been a huge challenge for us. In the city of Delhi, so many of us become outsiders when we travel to a different part of it. 

We  have realised that perhaps not everyone wants to walk at night. For some women – working women, labouring women, women taking care of families — rest is the pleasure they need. And not a midnight walk. 

But this realisation is upturned entirely when we walk into a place like Delhi University. Our guide of the night was Nabila Ansari. While we waited for our group to gather at the Vishwa Vidyalaya metro station, we were met by a sizable deployment of security personnel. They had come to know about this walk and had prepared.

For our safety they said. But it was obvious it was for surveillance and to make sure that we ‘behave ourselves’. As we began our walk, a group of seven-eight police persons started to walk behind us. I objected and told them this was not possible. We do not want to be followed by male constables. A deal was struck. Three women constables were to walk with us – “Aap apna kaam kijiye, enjoy kijiye… hume humara duty karne dijiye (You do your work, enjoy yourselves, let us do our duty).

Left with little choice, we began to walk. As we walked, cars passed us by and catcalled us, men on rickshaws gawked. More and more women joined us. The majority of the population out on the roads were men. We, a group of women, were being escorted by police personnel and PCR vans. For ‘safety’. This distressed all of us. When we paused in front of the Arts Faculty, someone said – “we thought this is a walk for freedom and we will feel empowered but we are not allowed to walk by ourselves!”

It was also around the same time, that the three women constables walking with us thought it was time for them to climb back into the PCR and follow us in the car. At the end of the walk when I asked some of the lady constables how they would go back home, one of them told me – my husband will come to pick me up. I said — “ To apki problem bhi humari problem jaisi hai (So your problem is also like our problem).

“Nahi, nahi….uniform mein to hum phir bhi theek hai…civils mein to hum sab aurateen ek hi jaisi hai (No, no… we are still ok in uniform… but in civils, we are like any other women).”  

And so, we continue to walk.

Scribblings from a 12-hour walk in New Delhi in August 2019. Photo: Arranged by the author

We walked around Jamia for the first time during the CAA protest. There was a different jazba (passion) on the streets of many parts of Delhi during that protest. It was, after all-women led. Our group of walkers, a large group had gathered which would often merge with the general public out and about on the roads anyway. So many women were out at night in those days of the protest.

The second walk in Jamia took place after the lockdown guided by Anam Ibraheem. Four of us showed up. Many registered but didn’t show. This is not particular to Jamia. This happens quite regularly. People register. And don’t show up. We are yet to figure out why this is. Someone once said that this is a malaise that plagues all Delhi events. Perhaps. I do feel though that public gatherings around causes, however big or small, have not recovered in numbers after the lockdown. But nightlife otherwise has flourished.

At the end of the second walk in Jamia, we decided to do another walk and see what happens there. We discussed how people not showing up is a sign of the need to walk and not the other way around. The third walk in Jamia happened a few months later. More than 30 women showed up. It was a joyful, vibrant group. We were a spectacle. Quizzicle and somewhat intrusive eyes gazed at us. An air of shock laced with disapproval followed us through our walk but the 30-odd-strong group refused to be perturbed by what was on the outside. For us, we were enough. More than enough. The walk ended at the community centre in New Friends Colony (NFC) and there as we gathered for some final thoughts, women started noticing their brothers and cousins out and about, coming up to them and asking them — tum yahan kya kar rahi ho (what are you doing here)?

Also read: How Manipur’s Tribal Women Are Resisting Patriarchy and The Pressure to Play Peacemakers

Our final photo was taken by one of these brothers. We often involve the men to do this so that none of us get left out.

Now we are preparing for a fifth walk in Jamia. 

Eight years since WWaM started, the city is different. It has fewer dark corners and so many more women are out and about though hardly ever unaccompanied by family or friends and hardly ever just women. There is a stark difference in the city pre-lockdown and post-lockdown. Once the lockdowns were lifted, people occupied the city with a vengeance… not the women though. The women still operated the same way – always accompanied, never alone.

Night life in the city has seen a massive upscale and with this, the life of the city at night has been extended. It sleeps far later. The government’s policy to add street lights has changed the feel of this city. G20 added colours that seem alien to Delhi. When we walk in many parts of the city, it’s difficult to notice the night.  

We are not done yet. We have barely scraped the surface of this city. We adjust, shift and move with the movement of the city, the country, us. We have done midnight picnics, 12 hour walks, snuck into parks, soaked in street art and now are prepping to add bus routes to our midnight jaunt.

We continue to walk every month. 

While Delhi has become far safer in the past few years, it remains, still, a city unfriendly to women. Younger women narrate again and again in our walks of how their fathers don’t allow them to be out or their brothers insist they behave a certain way or when the woman who comes to cook at my home speaks about how the gents in the bus stood a bit too close to her. And we hear of walkers from other parts of the country describe how comparatively Delhi is a haven… that they could never imagine doing this where they come from — Lucknow, Saharanpur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Rampur, Chandigarh — but after a few walks they wonder… is it possible? Perhaps it is.

In the last weeks itself, we have woken up to multiple incidents of assault including a nurse raped and murdered in Uttarakhand and four year old girls in a school in Maharashtra. Earlier this year, we read about a tourist being gang-raped in Jharkhand.

When we walk together, we realise that unfortunately, we are not alone. We knew that always, but to walk together gives us something else – solidarity. A community. A way to strengthen the resistance inside us is by confronting our fears and occupying space.  

And so, we walk. In protest. In solidarity. In rage.

For joy. For pleasure. And to insist that we are here.

We walk, when we want to, where we want to.

We walk because we can! 

Women Walk at Midnight is the practice of women walking, together, at night, on the streets of our cities. 

Follow them on Instagram 

Mallika Taneja is a theater artist living and working in New Delhi. She started Women Walk at Midnight in 2016. 

Migrant Worker Beaten to Death by Cow Vigilantes in Haryana, Five Arrested

The victim, Sabir from West Bengal, was accused of consuming beef, along with another migrant, Asiruddin from Assam, who was also attacked and is currently receiving medical treatment.

New Delhi: A 26-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal was brutally beaten to death by a group of cow vigilantes in Charkhi Dadri, Haryana on August 27 (Tuesday), The Hindu reported.

Five individuals have been arrested, and two minors have been detained in connection with the attack. The police have identified the accused — Abhishek, Ravinder, Mohit, Kamaljeet, and Sahil — as members of a cow vigilante gang.

The victim, Sabir, was accused of consuming beef, along with another migrant, Asiruddin from Assam, who was also attacked and is currently receiving medical treatment.

According to the police, the incident occurred on Tuesday when a group of young men lured Sabir and Asiruddin to a bus stand under the pretext of scrap disposal, where they allegedly assaulted both.

As bystanders attempted to intervene, both Sabir and Asiruddin were taken to a different location on motorcycles. Sabir’s lifeless body was later discovered near a canal in Bhandwa village, while Asiruddin was found abandoned at a different site and is currently receiving medical attention in a hospital.

Charkhi Dadri superintendent of police Pooja Vashisth told The Hindu that “the accused were members of a cow vigilante gang and had beaten up the victims because they suspected that they had eaten beef.” Vashisth added that the bystanders who stepped in while the gang attacked the duo recorded a video, but didn’t file a police report.

The victim’s brother-in-law, Sujauddin, has demanded severe punishment for the perpetrators, seeking justice for his deceased relative.

“I was at the police station when I got a call from my sister saying that some men had come and taken along her husband on pretext of selling some scrap. I reported it to the police immediately. He was later found dead near a canal,” Sujauddin, the complainant in the case was quoted as saying by The Hindu. 

Jaishankar Hedges on India’s Engagement with Pakistan Amid SCO Summit Invitation

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that India has received an invitation to attend the Heads of Government Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is being hosted by Pakistan.
However, the MEA spokesperson indicated that no decision has been made yet regarding India’s participation.

New Delhi: Even as India confirmed that Pakistan has invited India for the heads of government meeting of SCO, external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday (August 30) hedged on whether India would like to continue the current level of engagement with the South Asian state.

Speaking at a book launch function on Friday, he said, “Rajiv [Sikri] suggests [in his book] that perhaps India is content to continue at the current level of relationship. Maybe yes, maybe no… We are not passive. And whether events take a positive or a negative direction, either way, we will react to it”.

He had prefaced his response on Pakistan by noting that the “era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over”, adding that “Article 370 is done”.

Noting that the issue was the kind of “relationship can we possibly contemplate with Pakistan”, he referred to the assessment of the author, a former Indian foreign service officer, but didn’t endorse it nor reject it.

Later in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that India has received an invitation to attend the Heads of Government Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is being hosted by Pakistan.

However, the MEA spokesperson indicated that no decision has been made yet regarding India’s participation. “Yes, India has received the invitation for attending the Heads of Government Summit of SCO hosted by Pakistan. As and when we have an update, we will share it with you,” the spokesperson said.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been at a standstill, with no official high-level contacts for several years.

However, as both India and Pakistan are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited Goa last year when India held the chairmanship of the SCO. The visit was marked by tension, culminating in a sharp exchange of words between Bilawal and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

The SCO heads of state summit, however, was converted into a virtual event, thereby avoiding the need to invite Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to India.

Traditionally, the Indian Prime Minister has always attended the SCO’s annual heads of state summit. In the past, India has been represented at the SCO heads of government summit by a senior minister or the vice president. For instance, when India hosted the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in November 2020, it was chaired by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

Preserving the Past, Inspiring the Future: Odisha’s Literary Treasure

The Big Book of Odia Literature is more than a mere anthology; it is a crucial repository for preserving Odisha’s rich linguistic and cultural heritage.

The Big Book of Odia Literature, published by Penguin Random House, is more than just an anthology rather it’s a celebration of diverse literary traditions of Odisha. Spanning nearly 750 pages, this compilation brings together a wide array of works that have shaped the Odia language and its literature over the last 600 years. 

Edited by the bilingual poet and editor Manu Dash, this volume illuminates the enduring legacy of Odia literature, offering an in-depth exploration of the evolution of one of India’s classical languages.

A monumental task of curation

In this anthology, Dash has taken on the monumental task of selecting and translating literary works spanning from the 15th to the 20th century. His efforts have not only made these literary treasures accessible to an English-speaking audience but also ensured their preservation for future generations. 

The collection is thoughtfully divided into four sections ‘poetry, short stories, plays, and essays’ each meticulously curated to capture the diverse voices and themes that have shaped Odia literature over the centuries.

The evolution of Odia language and literature

The Odia language, one of India’s six classical languages, has a history that mirrors the cultural and social evolution of Odisha. It evolved from Old Indo-Aryan languages and began to take shape as a distinct language by the 14th century. Odia literature, with its roots in ancient oral traditions, blossomed into a rich and varied body of work that has been continually enriched by poets, scholars, and thinkers.


The Big Book of Odia Literature, Manu Dash, Penguin, 2024.

The journey of Odia literature is deeply connected with the spiritual and cultural heritage of Odisha. Over the centuries, it has been influenced by various religious movements, particularly the Bhakti movement, which brought forth a wave of devotional poetry and prose. This period saw the rise of iconic figures like Sarala Das, who is often regarded as the first poet of Odia literature, and the Panchasakha, a group of five saint-poets whose works left an indelible mark on the literary landscape. Their contributions not only enriched the language but also helped to shape the identity and cultural ethos of the Odia-speaking people.

Early origins: The birth of Odia literature

Before Odia was ever written down, it existed as an oral tradition, serving as a medium for storytelling, religious discourse, and cultural expression. The earliest form of written Odia began to appear around the 10th century, with significant development by the 14th century, when the language had fully matured into its own script and literary tradition.

As Odia evolved from its oral roots to a written language, it began to reflect the diverse influences and cultural exchanges occurring in medieval India. The adoption of the Odia script and the emergence of written literature marked a significant shift, allowing for the preservation and dissemination of stories, religious texts, and poetic works. 

This period saw the creation of foundational texts and poetic compositions that not only established the language’s literary capabilities but also contributed to its distinct identity. The development of Odia literature during this time set the stage for its rich and varied tradition, which would continue to grow and evolve in the centuries to follow.

The medieval period, particularly from the 15th to the 17th centuries, is often hailed as the golden age of Odia literature. 

This book precisely introduces readers to the tradition of Odia literature from its origins and offers a direct understanding of that linguistic tradition through its literary works.

Romantic and ornate poetry: A new era

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the rise of romantic and ornate poetry, with the creation of the Chautisa, a poetic form characterised by 34 stanzas, each beginning with a different letter of the Odia alphabet. 

This period also marked the beginning of the Riti Yuga, or the Age of Ornate Poetry, with poets like Upendra Bhanja leading the way. Known as the ‘Kabi Samrata’ (emperor of poets), Bhanja’s work was characterised by rich imagery and intricate metaphors, elevating Odia poetry to new artistic heights.

Dash’s work is a gift to the world of literature, offering a rare glimpse into the heart of Odisha’s cultural and literary heritage.

The renaissance of modern Odia literature

The arrival of British rule in Odisha in the early 19th century ushered in a transformative era for Odia literature. The introduction of the printing press and English education catalyzed the development of modern Odia literary forms, including novels, essays, and contemporary poetry. This period, often seen as the Renaissance of Odia literature.

Fakir Mohan Senapati, born in 1843, is celebrated as the father of modern Odia literature. His groundbreaking work, Rebati (1898), is recognized as the first Odia short story, while his novel Chamana Atha Guntha (Six Acres and a Half) stands as the first modern Odia novel and a milestone in Indian literature. 

The anthology features one of Senapati’s stories, alongside nearly 30 other short stories, over 100 poems spanning 600 years, 23 essays, a one-act play, and a drama excerpt. Senapati’s contributions, along with those of his contemporaries, shifted the focus from religious and romantic themes to social issues and the lives of ordinary people, reflecting a broader and more diverse literary landscape.

A comprehensive collection with depth and breadth

Dash’s anthology goes beyond just compiling well-known works. It includes literature from various dialects spoken across Odisha, such as Santhali, Sambalpuri-Kosli, Mundari, Khadia, and Sadri dialects that are often overlooked in mainstream compilations. This inclusivity ensures that the anthology reflects the full linguistic and cultural diversity of the region.

The anthology also acknowledges the contributions of poets like Jayanta Mahapatra and Niranjan Mohanty, who, although they wrote in English, were deeply rooted in Odia culture. The inclusion of excerpts from the Gita Govinda by the 12th-century poet Jayadeva, translated into English by Mani Rao, adds historical depth, showcasing the continuous thread of literary excellence that runs through Odia history.

Literary works from all regions where Odia is spoken have been included, ensuring a diverse and representative collection. This approach allows readers to experience the full spectrum of Odia literature, from the classical to the contemporary.

The Big Book of Odia Literature is more than a mere anthology; it is a crucial repository for preserving Odisha’s rich linguistic and cultural heritage. As younger generations increasingly turn away from their native languages, this English-translated collection provides an invaluable opportunity to reconnect with their roots. 

The legacy of Odia literature

Any languages continue to thrive, with a dynamic literary community that includes poets, novelists, and scholars who carry forward their legacy of their predecessors. 

Such anthologies offer significant benefits. As it serves as a bridge, introducing a linguistic tradition to other linguistic communities. Published in English by a prestigious house, this collection also reaches an international audience, making it accessible to readers worldwide. 

This approach not only fulfills literary objectives but also fosters a deeper appreciation for one’s native language among contemporary readers. 

A must-read for literary enthusiasts

The Big Book of Odia Literature is a groundbreaking work that offers a window into the linguistic and cultural history of Odisha. While it’s impossible to include every significant work in a single volume, this anthology makes a commendable effort. 

It invites readers to reflect on the vast literary wealth of Odia literature and perhaps even inspires thoughts about when other Indian languages like Maithili and Assamese might receive similar recognition.For anyone interested in the literary traditions of India, this anthology is must-read. 

In an age where cultural legacy is at risk, such book is both relevant and crucial.

Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a Bangalore based management professional, literary critic and curator. 

Jaishankar Says ‘Mutuality of Interests’ to be Pursued With Bangladesh

About three weeks after Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in Dhaka in a popular uprising, Jaishankar said that India’s relationship with Bangladesh since its independence has gone through “ups and downs”.

New Delhi: India will engage with the current government in Dhaka to pursue mutual interests, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Friday (August 30), as the MEA defended against criticism over the omission of Bangladesh from the US readout of the phone call between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

About three weeks after Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power in Dhaka in a popular uprising, Jaishankar said that India’s relationship with Bangladesh since its independence has gone through “ups and downs”.

“It is natural that we will deal with the government of the day.  But we also have to recognise that there are political changes and the political changes can be disruptive. And clearly here we have to look for mutuality of interests,” he said at a book launch function on Friday.

In the last 15 years, both New Delhi and Dhaka had repeatedly asserted that relations have been at their best, with Hasina perceived as a close friend of India.

While Hasina was praised for improving Bangladeshi economy, there were also extensive reports of human rights and suppression of dissidence within the country through security agencies. The main opposition had boycotted at least two general elections under her government.

The student-led movement, which began as protests against the restoration of quotas for the third generation of freedom fighters in government jobs, quickly evolved into a broader uprising following a massive security crackdown. Within weeks, an estimated 300-400 people were killed during an internet blackout that isolated Bangladesh from the outside world.

After the Bangladesh army refused to fire on protesters marching toward the prime minister’s residence on August 5, Sheikh Hasina swiftly left for India by helicopter and has remained there since.

Her continued presence in India has sparked concern in Bangladesh, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party calling for her extradition. Numerous criminal cases have already been filed against her and members of the Awami League, including charges related to wrongful deaths and enforced disappearances.

During the weekly media briefing on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about India’s likely reactioin to any future official demand for extradition from Bangladesh. He didn’t answer the question stating that the ministry doesn’t respond to hypothetical question.

When asked about Hasina’s status following the revocation of her diplomatic passport by interim government, Jaiswal replied, “As we stated earlier, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh came to India at a very short notice for reasons of safety. We have nothing further to add on the matter”.

There has been an upsurge in anti-India sentiments after the ouster of the Hasina government, with public blame directed at India for everything related to flood to visa issues.

Recently, India had to issue a long clarification denying that a dam in Tripura was the cause for floods in Bangladesh. It continues to have a long shadow with the MEA slamming a report of the international news channel CNN that implied the same.

“It’s narrative is misleading and suggests that India is somehow responsible for the floods. This is factually not correct and ignores the facts mentioned in the press releases issued by the Government of India clarifying the situation. They have also ignored that we have regular and timely exchange of data and critical information between the two countries through existing joint mechanisms for water resources management,” said Jaiswal on Friday.

Even before Hasina’s removal from power, India had sent back non-essential staff due to the deteriorating law and order situation and suspended a lot of visa operations.

With India issuing the largest number of visas worldwide in Bangladesh, it was a major decision.

Earlier this week, there were protests inside the Indian Visa Application centre in Dhaka, when passports were being returned as visas were not being issued.

The senior Indian diplomatic said that India was granting medical visas, but “full visa services can only resume once law and order is restored and normalcy is established”.

He also didn’t react to the recent revocation of ban imposed by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, stating that it was an “internal” issue.

The most extensive response was reserved for the opposition’s criticism that the US readout had failed to mention Prime Minister Modi’s reference to concerns over attacks on Bangladeshi Hindus, which had been highlighted in the Indian statement.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera questioned this omission on August 27, asking, “If our Prime Minister did raise the issue of ‘safety and security of the minorities, particularly Hindus’ in Bangladesh, why did @JoeBiden not think it was important enough to mention in his press note?” .

The MEA spokesperson said at the weekly briefing on Friday that the claims are “uninformed, tendentious, and motivated and betray a total lack of familiarity with the process of how such contacts between leaders are organised and then followed up on”.

He said that since these press releases are not negotiated joint statements, “it is not unusual for two sides to emphasise different aspects of the same conversation in their respective readouts”

“The absence of an aspect in one press release or the other is not evidence of its absence in the conversation itself. I am very much aware of the contents of the conversation between the Prime Minister and the President and I can tell you that our press release is an accurate and faithful record of what transpired in the conversation.

The subject of Bangladesh, which has been highlighted by certain quarters, was very much discussed substantially by both the leaders,” said the MEA spokesperson.

The phone call with Biden marked the first instance where Prime Minister Modi has taken up the issue of Bangladeshi Hindus with a third country.

Previously, he had directly discussed the matter with Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, during a phone conversation. In that exchange, Yunus pledged to safeguard all minority communities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, but he also characterized the reports circulating in the Indian media about post-ouster attacks as “exaggerated.”