Tag: pm modi

Figuring Out What God Thinks of Me – With a Little Help From the PM and the CJI

We can’t all be special because then the concept would lose all meaning. But the Chief Justice of India and the Prime Minister have done us a favour by encouraging each of us to ask: ‘What if I am?’

Perhaps because my birthday is approaching or maybe because I’ve been influenced by the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India, I have begun to wonder what God thinks of me. I know what my friends think and, sadly, my critics don’t hide what they feel. But does God like me? Does he think I talk too much? Does he frown or wince when I interrupt? Indeed, is he pleased with the product he’s created? I rather like what he’s crafted. But does he? Or is he dismayed by the end result?

Much like the Chief Justice, I’ve prayed for favours and God has granted them. In my teens and twenties I’d do a deal with him – what is politely referred to as a mannat. I’d offer to give up sweets or alcohol or, even, stop telling lies if, in return, he’d guarantee a first at Senior Cambridge or a college honour I desperately sought. To be safe, I’d wait for him to deliver first. When he did – and to my delight it wasn’t that infrequently – I’d meticulously keep my side of the bargain.

Was that a sign of God’s favour? I don’t know but I’d hate to hear it wasn’t. I wish I could ask the Chief Justice. I’m sure he’d know. After all, he’s been a beneficiary too.

Of one thing I’m sure, I’m definitely my parents’ child. Mummy produced me. But both of them thought of me as a gift from God. My sisters felt they made that a little too obvious! At school my teachers strived ceaselessly to eradicate the thought. I don’t think they succeeded. Now, does that mean there’s something unique about my birth? Could I be the result of a special delivery? Not a Caesarean section but something created by more ethereal hands?

This time I’d value the Prime Minister’s advice. I feel he’d have the answer. He believes he was chosen, therefore, he’d know for sure if that’s also true of me.

Meanwhile I stare deep into the mirror each morning when I brush my teeth. Sometimes I feel I can see in the reflection a sign that someone is looking back at me. Am I being delusional? Or am I seeing things others cannot? Those eyes that are observing me can’t be mine. That half smile seems to know something I don’t. What are they telling me? Are they laughing? Mocking? Or are they admiring? And applauding? Lost in these thoughts I can brush my teeth forever!

Here again, I’d value a chat with the Chief Justice and Prime Minister. They’re clearly men of another world. They must have had similar experiences. They’d know how to interpret mine.

Alas, I don’t know how to approach them. You can’t just knock on their door and ask if they’d spare a moment to tell you if you’re special. Yet if I did I’m sure they’d have the answer. As Mummy used to say, it takes a special person to recognize another

But the blame for my predicament is surely theirs. They were the first to tell the world they were special. They did so frankly, boldly and publicly. It planted in my head the idea that might also be true of me. Until they declared they were different to normal people it had never occurred to me I might be too.

In fact, have you asked yourself if this could also be true of you? Why would God only make two or three special people? What if there were more? And, if there are, how do you know you’re not one of them?

Of course, we can’t all be special because then the concept would lose all meaning. But the Chief Justice and Prime Minister have done us a favour by encouraging each of us to ask: what if I am? If they can be, why can’t you and I?

Karan Thapar is a veteran journalist and interviewer. For The Wire, he hosts the show The Interview. 

Why Delhi HC’s Dismissal of Petition Seeking Action on PM Modi’s Hate Speech is Dangerous

This so-called innocent order establishes a dangerous precedent, allowing judges in India to dismiss matters of critical importance to the country’s democracy without providing a single explanation.

The Delhi high court dismissed the petitions seeking that the Election Commission of India (ECI) take action against the Prime Minister for his campaign speeches that implore people to vote in the name of religion.

The petition was filed impugning the infamous speech of the Prime Minister, which he delivered in Banswara, Rajasthan, on April 22, where he referred to Indian Muslims as “infiltrators” and as those producing “more children.”

This speech was followed by subsequent speeches where he repeated the same rhetoric and untrue assertions that opposition parties would give the wealth of the nation to “Muslims.” Going further, he also backed “Yogi’s bulldozer” at rallies, legitimising the use of the chief minister’s illegal bulldozing of Muslim houses in Uttar Pradesh and also coining divisive terms like “vote jihad.”

However, the petition demanding that action be taken was dismissed in no time.

Reading the court’s dismissal

In response to the petitions filed before the Delhi high court, the court issued a two-page order dismissing the petition by calling it “wholly misconceived“, which is done on two grounds. Firstly, the court, in the petition, saw a presumption of violation in the Prime Minister’s speech that was delivered and, secondly, a presumption that no action would be taken by the ECI.

The court, in its order, noted, “…any such pre-supposition is misconceived in as much as it is for the Election Commission of India to take an independent view in this regard.” The high court, thus, admonished the petitioners for assuming that the Prime Minister’s words were illegal and thus a breach of the law.

But in saying so it gave no explanation regarding how it concluded that it was not a case of hate speech prima facie. The court’s order was bereft of any reasoning in how it sees the Prime Minister as not violating the law.

Furthermore, the court also failed to delve into the contents of the speech that was presented before it. What becomes pertinent here is to ask what ‘pre-supposition’ really meant in its order in particular and in a court proceeding in general. It is well noted that in court, the aggrieved party presupposes a breach of law and comes to court to test their case.

The role of the constitutional court, which has been bestowed with extraordinary jurisdiction, is to prima facie examine the merits of such a case. The court, which should have examined the impugned speech, did not make any such attempts. One also fails to understand how calling the Muslim community “infiltrators” required some thorough analysis by the Election Commission, which no ordinary citizen could presuppose in the beginning.

Rather than going into any kind of analysis or argumentation, the court accepted the submissions by the counsel for the Election Commission, which showed some action was underway. It also shrugged off its constitutional duty by saying that a general advisory had been issued to all political parties to not engage in any kind of hate speech.

By not posing even a single question to the Election Commission for acting so casually on the petitioner’s representation, the court normalised the inaction of the Commission. It recorded in its order, “It is pointed out by learned counsel for the ECI that a detailed advisory was issued by the ECI to political parties on 1.2.24. It is further pointed out that a notice dated April 25, 2024, has also been issued by ECI, and further appropriate action or steps shall be taken, if necessary, upon receipt of the reply to the said notice.”

It found that the letter to the president of the ruling party, requiring clarification on the prime minister’s remarks, was enough. Thus, the court declined to use its jurisdiction by placing its unflinching confidence in the Election Commission and questioned the petitioners for not patiently waiting for the Commission to act. The court expected the citizens to keep their faith despite the fact that the Commission has not issued a direct notice to the Prime Minister for his speeches until today.

It ignored Section 123(3) of the Representation of People’s Act, which clearly prohibits and restricts any candidate or their representatives from pleading ‘religion’ or using’ religious symbols’ to garner votes.

What the law says on seeking votes in name of religion

The 7-judge Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court in Abhiram Singh vs. C.D. Commachen in 2017, with a 4-3 split verdict, declared it a corrupt practice to appeal and seek votes in the name of “religion.” In this case, the Supreme Court expanded the definition of “his” in Section 123(3) by holding that “his religion” refers not only to the religion of the candidate or his authorised agent or person making an appeal with the consent of the candidate or his rival candidate but also includes the religion of voters and electors. By giving a purposive interpretation to clause 3 of Section 123, the court wholeheartedly held that any appeal for votes in the name of religion is strictly restrained.

The reason for the same are noted in the Supreme Court judgment where it stated, “maintaining the purity of the electoral process and not vitiating it, clause 3 of the Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 must be given a broad and purposive interpretation thereby bringing within the sweep of a corrupt practice any appeal made to an elector by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of the candidate or his election agent to vote or refrain from voting for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of any candidate on the grounds of the religion, race, caste, community, language of (i) any candidate or (II) his agent, or (iii) any other person making the appeal with the consent of the candidate or (iv) the elector.”

The Supreme Court in the aforesaid judgement also noted that “the elections to the State Legislature or to Parliament, or for that matter, to any other body in the state, are a secular exercise, just as the functions of the elected representatives must be secular in outlook and practice. Suffice it to say that constitutional ethos forbids mixing of religions or religious considerations with secular functions of the state.”

Furthermore, by enacting Section 123(3) and through its amendment in 1961, the legislation also demonstrated that the intent of the Act was to prevent any communal tendencies in the electoral process and to make them electoral offenses.

Further, Chapter III of the Act addresses electoral offences, with Section 125 of the Act making it an electoral offence for promoting or attempting to promote feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of citizens in connection with an election on grounds of religion. The punishment for it, as it says in Section 8(A) of the Act, is disqualification for a period not exceeding 6 years.

Under this Act, the high court has been granted power to also declare the election of any candidate void on the ground of indulging in such corrupt practices. Thus, it suggests that the high court clearly has the power to put a full stop to such divisive speeches.

A simple examination of the Prime Minister’s address at Banswara, Rajasthan shows how it fits in the legal rubric of forbidden practice. Also, as per the law, the high court has the authority to declare any candidate’s election unlawful if they engage in such practice. This extensive discussion of the law is intended to explain what the courts should do rather than what they could do. However, the Delhi High Court in this case did not even deal with it.

It is important to remember here that the Election Commission and the courts had earlier disenfranchised the late Shiv Sena leader, Bala Saheb Thackeray, for imploring people in the name of religion during the campaign in 1987 for the by-election to the Maharashtra assembly. In his campaign speech in favour of Shiv Sena’s candidate, he called victory for Shiv Sena a “Hinduism victory.” The Bombay high court benched him for six years on account of a violation of the aforesaid provisions of the Representation of People’s Act. The decision was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court in 1989.

Courting votes and using religious appeals are absolutely prohibited by law, although it remains the most common practice, with the current Lok Sabha elections led by PM Modi being an example of that. The most alarming aspect, however, is the court’s steadfast refusal to break the veil, despite the Election Commission’s apathy and tardiness on this subject.

Equally worrisome is the high court’s extolling of the Election Commission’s ‘independence’ despite the evidence to the contrary. What this so-called innocent order establishes is a dangerous precedent, allowing judges in India to dismiss matters of critical importance to the country’s democracy without providing a single explanation.

Kawalpreet Kaur is a practising advocate based in Delhi. She is associated with the Human Rights Law Network, Delhi.

Far-Right Shadow Advertisers Dominate Indian Poll Spending on Meta for Pro-Modi, Anti-Muslim Push

In a new report, three organisations, Ekō, India Civil Watch International and Foundation the London Story, conducted an investigation into the Meta Ad Library to look into the background of shadow advertisers during a 90-day period ending March 25.

New Delhi: In a new report, a group of international civil society organisations found that “far-right shadow advertisers” have spent roughly one-fourth of the total Indian election ad expenditure on Meta platforms ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These ads promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi and express rabid anti-Muslim sentiments.

Researchers from three organisations, Ekō, India Civil Watch International (ICWI) and Foundation the London Story (TLS), conducted an investigation into the Meta Ad Library to look into the background of shadow advertisers during a 90-day period which ended on March 25.

The report titled, Slander, Lies, and Incitement: India’s million dollar election meme network, aspires to show how the shadow advertisers are “exploiting the virtual public sphere of information and pushing a coordinated disinformation campaign”, under the nose of the Election Commission of India.

Based on the study’s methodology, the researchers analysed the top 100 ad buyers over a 90-day period, pinpointing 22 shadow pages.

They then scrutinised the online content of these 22 groups to validate their far-right nature, cross-referencing with recent reports and those from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This process led to the identification of 15 pages and 36 advertisements, notably amplified in March, just before the initial election phase.

The study describes shadow advertisers as “undisclosed campaigners whose existence and trail of money is hidden from the public view”. The researchers claimed that none of the phone numbers provided on the pages’ ad disclaimers led to any response.

The study distinguished shadow campaigning from surrogate campaigning, noting that the former involves paid promotional campaigns identified through Goods and Services Tax Identity Numbers or similar incorporation identifiers.

As per the report, during the 90-day period, all advertisers in India spent around Rs 40.7 crore on political and election-related advertisements on Meta platforms. The top 100 ad buyers bought over 75% of the ads.

The 22 shadow pages spent Rs 8.83 crore on advertisements for “BJP, and its leaders, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. “This group of far-right shadow advertisers spent nearly 22% of the total sum of election advertisements during this 90-day period,” the report said. These pages received over 23 million interactions on these advertisements.

The biggest spender among them was a publisher named, Ulta Chashma, as per the report, which spent Rs 1.89 crore during the 90-day period for over 430 ads. This publisher is also associated with a network of nine pages that share ads featuring memes targeting opposition leaders with inflammatory and anti-Muslim content. It also posted ads that painted the farmers’ movement as being ‘Khalistanis’, by labelling them as “separatist, affluent, violent, and anti-nationalist”.

One of the advertisements examined in the report is also by a publisher, Phir Ek Baar Modi Sarkar, which targeted The Wire’s Arfa Khanum Sherwani by calling her a “so-called journalist” and saying that she was “putting her masters/bosses on the throne” by superimposing with an image of Rahul Gandhi.

As per the report, these shadow campaigns can make election campaigning funding opaque, allowing political parties to not adhere to funding limits.

The Election Commission of India requires all political advertisements, even on social media and internet websites, to be pre-certified. Further, all prohibitions on political advertising also apply to social media.

The report warned that the ambiguity allows “these advertisers to operate in the shadows, making it challenging to explicitly connect the publishers of these advertisements to any specific political party”.

Further, the researchers said that the shadow advertisers “are potentially circumventing and breaking the regulations of the Election Commission of India by promoting corrupt practices by spreading false information, and promotion or attempted promotion of feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language by a candidate”.

Criticising Meta for allowing the pages to flourish despite explicit violations of its rules of disclosure and source of funding, the report said that despite “on-paper commitments, the “virtual town spaces are comfortably ceded to the highest bidders, and voices of representation are drowned in the noise created by shadow campaigners”.

Food, Faith and Fascism in New India

Food fascism, which was earlier a characteristic only of the Gujarat Model, has, under Prime Minister Modi, become a national phenomenon.

Because it is Gujarat, the latest comment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that flaunting and eating meat during the Hindu holy month of sawan (called chaitra in Gujarati) is being lapped up as a yet another bold stand by the unstoppable prime minister.

Food fascism in Gujarat is not new. Gujaratis are absolutely okay doing business and selling or renting their properties to those who consume non-vegetarian food. People belonging to the Muslim and Dalit communities are excluded. There is no quantifiable statistics but there are clear demarcations in Gujarat for Muslim and Dalit house ownership and residence. Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, and to some extent, Christians are okay but most savarna societies have invisible bans to keep away Muslim and Dalit occupancy. However, food fascism, earlier a Gujarat Model, has now sadly become a new normal nationally.

Food fascism, which was earlier a characteristic only of the Gujarat Model, has, under Prime Minister Modi, become a national phenomenon.

That the prime minister chose Jammu and Kashmir, a region with a Muslim majority, to ridicule Tejashwi Yadav’s fish video is being translated as Prime Minister Modi’s guts in speaking out his mind. “This is also an example of ghar mein ghus ke maarunga,” a Gujarati professor bragged saying how Modi is not scared to protest Hindutva at all costs.

Gujarat ingeniously chooses to forget that India with over 1.428 billion people has widely diverse food habits that are distinguished by region, religion, caste, class, age, and surprisingly also gender. Forget the state’s nearly 10% Muslim population, Gujarat wants to turn a blind eye to India’s  211 million Muslims and 28 million Christians.

Besides this, India houses approximately 21 million Dalits who are branded as the lowest in the Hindu caste hierarchy. Muslims, Christians and Dalits are all okay with red meat like several others but they are constantly being targeted.

At least 70% population in India consume non-vegetarian food. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an avowed vegetarian like most ‘upper’ class Gujaratis. I say ‘upper’ class because Prime Minister Modi, now classified as a member of the OBC (Other Backward Class), was classified under savarna, that is, ‘upper’ class until 1999.

Simply put, Modi became a backward class Indian through a central legislation only when he was about 50 years old. Gujarat has over 40% population that eats non-vegetarian. This does not include those who do not cook at home but are okay with eating outside, a very particular Gujarati characteristic. It must also be noted that Gujarat has more non-vegetarians than Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

Food fascism

Considering India’s diversity, food prescription is tacky. Socio-economic and cultural dynamics vary intensely in the country. This mutton-fish mockery by Modi is an atypical Sanskritised stance. Centuries ago, Brahmins in India who themselves were beef and meat eaters converted to vegetarianism to stigmatise against their then main rivals, the Buddhists. Over the years, the Buddhists became Dalits, the lowest in the caste ladder in India.

To quote from Beef, Brahmins and Broken Men, which is an annotated selection of B.R. Ambedkar’s seminal work, The Untouchables, “For generations the Brahmins had been eating beef. Why did they give up beef-eating? Why did they, as an extreme step, give up meat-eating altogether and become vegetarians? It is two revolutions rolled into one. As has been shown it has not been done as a result of the preachings of Manu, their Divine lawmaker. The revolution has taken place in spite of Manu and contrary to his directions. What made the Brahmins take this step? Was philosophy responsible for it? Or was it dictated by strategy? Two explanations are offered. One explanation is that this deification of the cow was a manifestation of the Advaita philosophy that one supreme entity pervaded the whole universe, that on that account all life, human as well as animal, was sacred. This explanation is obviously unsatisfactory.”

The second explanation, derived from Vedanta Sutra, is equally unsatisfactory.

Offering a genealogy of untouchability in India, Babasaheb Ambedkar had written that Dalits were descendants of those Buddhists who were fenced out of the narrow prism of caste then in India. He beautifully portrayed how the Vedic cult involved sacrifice of cows and how Brahmins relished beef.

Currently, Gujarat and Rajasthan are lapping up Modi’s utterances and criticism of those eating non-vegetarian food during Chaitra Navratri, Sawan month as a “Mughal mindset”. Mughals are easily translated as Muslims who have the ignominy of being viewed with suspicion, negativity and hatred in New India.

This time, unlike the beef ban and mob lynchings, what is different is that a majority of India do not abstain from non-vegetarian food in this month.

Although the tradition is to offer fish and mutton to the goddess, who embodies strength, power, and universal creation, even in Gujarat, Maa Ambe is portrayed as killing the demon Mahisasur and drinking his blood.

In Bihar, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, there are temples where fish and mutton are offered as bhog to the Mother Goddess.

This explains why non-vegetarian food and its consumption are considered absolutely normal. In fact, according to a report by India Today, seven out of ten Indians eat non-vegetarian food.

Also read: How Much Meat Does India Eat?

The latest bout of food fascism once again raises the danger of majoritarian, right-wing-inspired politics. As history has recorded, fascism always grants a special, privileged status to the majority. Those among the minorities who cave in are given much more than the majority also, but unfortunately, those who choose to carry on without compromising their self-respect are made to live like second-class citizens.

The CAA has cleared a fast-track citizenship status for illegal Hindu immigrants but is inevitably uncertain for their Muslim counterparts. In a situation already brimming with these discrepancies, this latest showdown of food fascism speaks of arrogance, a cocky sauciness, and insolence.

The relationship between food, status, and caste in India has always been structurally hierarchic, but never before has there been a top politician attempting to create fissures in the country on the basis of food. To create a sanitised history around food and to link eating non-vegetarian during this month with “Mughal mentality” is clearly linking food with region and faith.

For a Kashmiri Brahmin or a Bengali Brahmin, a vegetarian diet may be unimaginable, just like a non-vegetarian diet may be frowned upon by a Naagar or Brahmin in Gujarat and Rajasthan, or an Iyengar Brahmin in Tamil Nadu. Vegetarianism is an elite concept reserved for some of the topmost castes in India.

A Maharashtrian folk song says:

 pati bhar Laddu Kai kamache , wati bhar pahije Matan,

ani wati bhar matana sathi zurate man na ho;

Bajar chya divashi matan nasel tar kasa divas legato Bhanbhan

An wati bhar matana sathi zurate man na ho.

A Dalit woman “dares” and confidently sings a song stating the superiority of beef over sweet desi ghee laddoos that the higher caste enjoys.

The Savarnisation of food ensures that those with “anti-Brahmin” food habits are humiliated for their choices. Forget cow meat; even blood is not new to traditional Indian culinary practices. “Rakti” refers to a dish that utilises blood as a crucial ingredient in Dalit cuisine from Western India. For instance, the Goan specialty known as “Sorpotel” is a pork offal curry that includes heart and liver, along with a significant component – pig’s blood. The term “sarapatel” itself signifies “confusion,” reflecting the diverse mix of homegrown and homebred ingredients.

However, in these oversanskritised times, the ruling BJP haughtily wants to impose their own agenda on what we eat, drink, and wear. Of course, the BJP is absolutely two-faced and duplicitous. Its hypocrisy is apparent from the fact that they demean those eating non-vegetarian food, yet they are absolutely fine accepting donations from those who deal with it.

The Allana Group, one of India’s leading exporters of processed food, particularly meat, donated electoral bonds to the BJP, as did Frigorifico, another similar company.

The South is much saner than North India in letting people be. The highest number of Hindu beef eaters are in Andhra Pradesh followed by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Beef and buffalo meat-eating is most common in Lakshadweep, with over 97% of the population consuming it, according to the National Sample Survey. However, in present times, forget consuming non-vegetarian food; there is increasing bigotry and a muscle-wielding Rightist attitude towards even people who eat or look like they eat it.

India has already witnessed fragile food fascism where a Hindu Zomato customer refused to have his food delivered by a Muslim boy. This audacity is possible only in Modi Raj. This contaminated politics of exclusion, stereotyping, othering, and branding people is unbearable to every liberal Indian. However, in Gujarat, this exclusionary nationalism is celebrated endlessly as the victory of the son of the soil, that is Prime Minister Modi.

Now, what qualifies me to comment on this tragic food fascism of India. First of all, I am a vegan but I still believe that food is an absolute personal and private choice. I also happen to be a Naagar. Naagars are a Brahmin subcaste but they scale themselves higher than the Brahmins on the caste catechism. Narsinh Mehta who penned Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite ‘Vaishnava jana to tene kahiye je peed parayi jaane re’ was a Naagar. So was Gujarat’s first woman graduate Vidyagauri Nilkanth. Her grandson is the acclaimed author Pico Iyer who of course has gone on record to say he has never spent a night in Gujarat. I am a Vadnagara Naagar which means my family origins are from Vadnagar in North Gujarat. Yes, the quaint little town where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born.

Despite all these “qualifications”, I refuse to be “cowed” down by vigilantes who want to decide who can eat what and when. Mutton or macchi in sawan or bhado should not be a national discourse.

India deserves better.

Deepal Trivedi is the CEO and founder editor of www.vibesofindia.com.

A Complete List of Things Narendra Modi Can Do

Seriously, I am embarrassed. How, and when, did we become this country?

Back in the day when the United States, deploying an arsenal of lies, fabrications and outright chicanery, was making its case for an attack on Iraq, talk show host Bill Maher was one of the loudest of the naysayers.

For his pains, his show was canceled; he was labeled anti-national; supporters of the war said that Maher hated America. His response was a standup show where he listed every stupid thing the Bush administration was doing, and the refrain was ‘I don’t hate my country – I am merely embarrassed by it.”

I now see what he meant.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says that due to PM Modi’s efforts, the Ukraine war was paused for six hours to facilitate the evacuation of Indian students. He says this on January 11, 2024. He says this not in some gathering of Modi-worshippers but in England, where he is on an official visit. That claim, which when it first surfaced during the early days of Russia’s attack on Ukraine was all the rage on WhatsApp groups, had been debunked as far back as March 2022. The MEA, not one to shy away from Modi worship, had to officially say that there was no truth to — “absolutely inaccurate” were the words spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had used then. And yet, two years down the line, Rajnath Singh…

Speaking of the MEA, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who has been trying to shoehorn India as a party to the ongoing US-UK joint strike against Houthi pirates in the Red Sea, says that the UN’s relevance has been dwindling and now, “New Delhi is consulted in every major international issue. The world has come to us.” Apparently India’s “Covid diplomacy” was one reason — remember how we promised to vaccinate the world and then found we didn’t have enough even for our own people and had to renege on our promises? And the other reason, he says, is the “successful hosting” of the G-20 Summit — if that is sufficient reason for the world to flock to India, we must enjoy the limelight while it lasts because see, from 1 December 2023, the presidency of the G-20 had changed hands and it is now with Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who, in elections last year, had defeated Modi’s good friend Bolsonaro.

Still staying with the MEA, “little” Maldives has issued an ultimatum that all Indian troops based in the island nation need to get out by March 15. At the very same event in Nagpur where he made his “world has come to us” claim, Jaishankar in response to a question about the row with Maldives said “Politics is politics” and that he couldn’t guarantee that every country will support and agree with India every time. Oh?

Apropos, remember when the government decided that Modi’s style of diplomacy would be taught in Indian universities? Presumably the course will be titled How To Lose Friends and Make Enemies.

And then there is Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who says that the Indian rupee has strengthened under the Modi government — a statement so bizarre even the Finance Minister must have blanched. (For the record, the rupee-dollar exchange rate is currently the highest ever in the history of our currency).

While on ministers and bizarre statements, there is the ever reliable Ashwini Vaishnav who, at the latest edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, spoke of Modi’s vision of joining Mumbai and Ahmedabad with a bullet train. The work is almost complete, he said. There is “full preparation” for the first train to run in 2026, he said. (This would be the same bullet train due for completion in August 2022?). The bullet train, Vaishnav said, would run between Surat and Bilimora in 2026.

Wait, what? Bilimora? Vaishnav is referring to the city in Navsari district, Gujarat? It is 66 km from Surat by road, 51 km by rail, and trains generally take under an hour to cover the distance. This is the bullet train Modi’s vision will provide, four years after deadline, always assuming the date doesn’t get pushed further back? (Once you get to Bilimora, note, Mumbai is still 218 km away). 

Seriously — I am embarrassed. In passing, note that all these statements came in the course of just seven days.

Then there is our media. The Adani-owned NDTV, for instance, has “live updates” on a special ritual Modi has begun ahead of the Ayodhya temple inauguration. And just yesterday, NDTV had ‘BREAKING NEWS’ splattered across its channel and on social media: to wit, Modi fed cows at his residence on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The channel, whose viewership has been declining ever since Adani took over, thus gives an entirely new meaning to “breaking news”.

Ex-NDTV anchor Sreenivasan Jain, along with Mariyam Alavi and Scroll’s Supriya Sharma, have released a book called Love Jihad and Other Fictions, an attempt to examine and debunk some of the viral falsehoods roiling the nation. I got the book on Kindle, but am yet to read it).

NDTV though is amateur territory compared to ANI. The alleged news agency sent its reporters to the Maldives to ask foreign tourists to that country about their experiences in India. And to cover all bases, ANI also interviewed a tourist who had just returned from the Maldives and who says Indian islands are very economical. Try and imagine the editorial conference in which they came up with that idea. (And of course, the usual ‘blue tick’ influencers jumped in to promote this with the addendum that this marks a setback for Maldivian president Muizzu).

Did I mention that I am embarrassed?

Then again, sundry ministers and the media are small fry — for five-star face-palm moments you have to look to the experts. And none so expert as Prime Minister Modi, seen here purposefully carrying a bucket of water and a mop to a tree within the Shree Kalaram Mandir and redistributing some of that water around the base of the tree. He was, we are told, “cleaning the temple”. (Makes me wonder who cleaned the other parts visible in the video).

NDTV has more to say about the event, including the magical moment when priests sang the ‘Yudh Kand” section of the Ramayana in Marathi, and an AI translation tool ensured that Modi heard it all in Hindi. Cool. Must have taken ages, though — the Yudha Kandam of the Valmiki Ramayana is 128 chapters (sargams) long, beginning with Ram taking Hanuman into his arms to seal the anti-Ravana alliance, and ending with the Pattabhishekham, Ram’s coronation in Ayodhya.

And then there is BJP president JP Nadda, surrounded by cameras (one cameraman captured two others in the opening frame) cleaning some other temple (Again, the uncleaned parts look spotless). The payoff comes when Nadda spots some grit on the floor, picks it up between finger and thumb, and holds it out for some guy in a suit to come take it from him. (My wife, who saw this, says it reminds her of the guy who comes to clean our home. “I end up fetching and carrying for him,” she cribbed).

Seriously. I am embarrassed. How, and when, did we become this country?

Post Script:

Not to rain on anyone’s parade of follies, but around the same time Modi and Nadda and sundry others were cleaning spotless temples, the National Statistical Office released economic data for December 2023 — which, among other things, shows that retail inflation has surged to a four-month high, while the Index of Industrial Production has slipped to an eight-month low.

Elsewhere, the news was that India’s top four companies “report 50,000 fall in headcount over last year” — a coy way of saying half a lakh employees were laid off by just four companies alone.

In yet another sign of how our institutions are declining, the Bombay High Court has granted bail to a man of “tender age” (he is 26) accused of raping a 13-year-old girl. The sexual relationship was, the judge said, a case of love and not lust. Apparently the judge – a lady – hasn’t heard of statutory rape.

But yeah, Modi fed cows on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, which he couldn’t even pronounce correctly. Frankly, I am beyond embarrassed.

Prem Panicker is a journalist.

This article first appeared on the author’s blog. 

‘Temple Belongs to Ramanand Sect, Not to Sanyasis, Shaiva or Shakta’: Champat Rai’s Remarks Draw Ire

Shankaracharya Nishchalananda Saraswati, who had confirmed that he would not be going to Ayodhya for the January 22 event, criticised general secretary of the Ram temple trust Champat Rai’s remarks, advising him not to diminish his stature while holding a position of power.

New Delhi: In an interview to Amar Ujala, Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that there’s no hurry to complete the construction work, as it took 18 months to build only the foundation.

“Earlier, the idea was that it would be built in 18 months… so, the foundation could be built in 18 months. The idea was that it would be built in three years. If we start from July 2020, then with 2023, three and a half years have passed. Now, if someone decides that it will be completed within a year, then after a year, he will have to tell that so much is still incomplete,” he told the daily.

When asked about the method of worship in the new temple, Rai said that since it’s a Ram mandir, Ramanand tradition will be followed.

“The temple belongs to the Ramanand sect, and not to the Sanyasis, not to Shaiva or Shakta,” he added.

Shankaracharya Nishchalananda Saraswati, who had confirmed that he would not be going to Ayodhya for the January 22 event, criticised Rai’s remarks, advising him not to diminish his stature while holding a position of power.

Shankaracharya had said that he’s unhappy about the lavish event for the consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

He said he feels it’s being turned into a political show. “It’s because of the upcoming general elections the event is being made so splendid… It’s not appropriate to sit outside a temple, clapping, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be unveiling the idol,” the Times of India reported him as saying.

“Our Mutt has received the invite for the January 22 event in Ayodhya, which says that if I want to come there, I can come there maximum with one person. Even if I was allowed to be there with 100 people, I wouldn’t have gone there that day.”

While the Shankaracharya praised Prime Minister Modi for his commitment towards Hindutva, he told the New Indian Express, “The pilgrimages are now being turned into centres of tourism in the name of development, which means that Teerth Sthals are being turned into Bhog Sthals, perhaps this what is being lapped up by the people also in the name of development.”

Four Shankaracharyas have refused to participate in the organisation of Ram temple, The Wire reported. Academic, author, and commentator Apoorvanand pointed out that although it’s said to be a non-religious event, it is perceived as a political event for the BJP. He questioned why the Congress or other parties cannot articulate this straightforward observation.

“Hum anti-Modi nahi hain, lekin hum anti-dharamashashtra bhi nahi hona chahte (We are not anti-Modi, but we do not want to be anti-dharamashashtra either),” one of the Shankaracharyas, Jyotishpeeth’s Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand, said.

“Shankaracharyo ka daitwa hain ki wo shashtra vidhi ka palan karein aur karwayein. Ab wahan par shashtra vidhi ki upeksha ho rahi hain. Sabse pehli upeksha hain ki mandir abhi pura bana nahi hain, aur pratishtha ki ja rahi hain. Koi aisi parishthiti nahi hain ki ye achanak kardena padhe. Dekho, kisi 22 December ki raat ko wahan murtiyan rakh di gayi thi. Wo ek paristhiti thi…aur jis raat ko dhandcha hataya ja raha tha, tab koi muhurat thodi na dekha gaya tha…kya tab kisi shankaracharya ne prashn uthaya. Nahi, kyuki tab paristhiti thi. (It is the duty of the Shankaracharyas to follow and enforce the shashtra vidhi. Now the shashtra vidhi is being ignored. The first thing to note is that the temple is not yet complete, and prayers are in progress. There is no such situation that this should be done suddenly. See, on the night of 22nd December, an idol was placed there. That was a situation. That night when the strructure was being lifted [referring to Babri Masjid], then no Shankaracharya asked this question. Because it was a situation.)”

“Ab koi paristhiti nahi hain ki 22 tareek ko hi karna hain. Aaj humare paas mauka hain, hum ache se pratishta karke mana kar sakte hain. (Ab koi paristhiti nahi hain ki 22 tareek ko hi karna hain. Aaj humare paas mauka hain, hum ache se pratishta karke mana kar sakte hain.)“

“Lekin phir bhi adhoore mandir mein pratishta kardi ja rahi hain. To ye hum kaise sweekaar karle. (But still the incomplete temple is being consecrated. So how can we accept this?)”

Separately, Jyotishpeeth’s Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand has demanded Champat Rai to resign, saying that he and all the members of the Trust should immediately resign and hand over the responsibility of construction of the temple to the Ramanandi sect, according to Media Swaraj.

“It seems quite strange to differentiate between Shankar and Ram. Because it is Ramayana, Ram Katha, if you read it, Lord Shiva and Parvati, they are themselves devotees of Ram, and Lord Ram has also established a big Shiv temple in Rameshwaram,” Media Swaraj’s YouTube channel analysed.

“Champat Rai’s statement of differentiating between Ram devotees and Shiv devotees, and the efforts being made to sideline the institutions of Hindu Sanatan, and the efforts of VHP, RSS, BJP, who are in full control of the institution of construction of Ram temple, all these things appear to have angered Shakaracharya,” the media outlet said.

Education Ministry Launches Portal for Students’ Tour of PM Modi’s School in Gujarat

Applicants will go through a three-stage selection process which will involve activities like recording a short video, writing essays/poems/stories and other forms of creative expression.

New Delhi: The Union education ministry on Thursday (January 4) launched a portal with details of the programme under which students from across the country will visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s school in Gujarat’s Vadnagar.

Students from class 9-12 will be required to register on the portal to participate in the programme named “Prerana”. Applicants will then go through a three-stage selection process which will involve activities like recording a short video, writing essays/poems/stories and other forms of creative expression on topics like “Why should I be selected for Prerana” or “My Vision of India @ 2047”, the Hindustan Times reported.

Two students from each district will be selected in batches of 20 – 10 girls and 10 boys – to participate in the programme which will last for at least a year according to the ministry.

In June 2022, the government announced its plan to launch Prerana to inspire the youth to become “catalysts of change”.

According to the ministry, “Prerana: An Experiential Learning program” aims to offer a meaningful, unique, and inspiring experience to all participants, and empowering them with leadership qualities.

“Prerana is driven by a strong commitment to integrate principles of the Indian education system and the philosophy of value-based education which is a cornerstone of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It is an experiential and inspirational learning program for students with the best-in-class technology where heritage meets innovation,” the ministry said in the statement.

Also read: When A School Becomes A Political Pilgrimage Site

The week-long study tour will be hosted in a primary school, established in 1888, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi enrolled in Class 1 in 1956. The Vadnagar Kumar Shala No-1, which was functional until 2018, has been restored by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as part of Vadnagar’s redevelopment. The school will now be known as “Prerana School”, the paper reported.

The school, which has only eight classrooms, has been renovated to emulate what the original structure may have looked like by using ‘vernacular elements’. The campus is also going to consist of a cafe, orientation centre, souvenir shop and a community green space, the Indian Express had reported.

The curriculum for the school has been designed by Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar. It focuses on Swabhiman and Vinay (self respect and modesty), Shaurya and Sahas (bravery and courage), Parishram and Samarpan (hard work and dedication), Karuna and Sewa (compassion and service), Vividhta and Ekta (diversity and unity), Satyanishtha and Shuchita (integrity and chastity), Navachar and Jigyasa (innovation and curiosity), Shraddha aur Vishwas (admiration and faith) and Swatantrata and Kartavya (freedom and duty), the Hindustan Times report said.

In addition to the school, the Union culture ministry and the Gujarat government are also developing an archaeological museum that will showcase the town’s development through the lens of seven cultural periods in a span of 2,500 years at a cost of Rs 200 crore, the Hindu had reported.

The ministry’s statement referred to India as Bharat and said, “The program will inspire the youth and foster respect for Bharat’s unity in diversity, embodying the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (world is one family) and will contribute by making the youth of today, a flame holder for Viksit Bharat (developed India). Towards this endeavour, the participants will be guided by mentors from prestigious institutions.”

The students will attend sessions on yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, followed by experiential learning and other thematic sessions, it added.

“Evening activities will include visits to ancient and heritage sites, inspirational film screenings, mission life creative activities, talent shows etc. ensuring a holistic learning approach. Apart from this, students will engage in diverse activities, embracing indigenous knowledge systems, latest state-of-the-art technologies, and learning from inspirational personalities,” the ministry said.

A World Cup in Which the Cricketguru Learns of a Mota Conspiracy…

From the Vishwaguru Archives: The Hon’ble PM has already warned about fake videos, deepfakes, etc. and we are thus not able to vouch for the authenticity of the video being described below. But we all know how deeply the PM felt India’s loss.

This is a work of fiction. Although it may appear closer to reality than fiction for some.

After meeting the Indian team in the dressing room, following the final match of the ICC World Cup in Ahmedabad, the prime minister also summoned several members, one by one. From the video, it seems that Shri Amit Shah, the most benevolent patron of Indian cricket, was asked to act as the gatekeeper but not allowed to speak.

Here are random excerpts of individual audiences:

Rahul Dravid was first on the list.

PM: Rahul bhai. Is there any explanation? I am told you were distracted doing all those ads for some engine oil. That is not your job. Leave such marketing matters to Amitabh bhai.

Dravid: Sir, I am disappointed, too. I must share that in private I had argued very strongly that for the final match you should have been named the coach. Your understanding of tactics and reading the hawa is superb. But I was overruled by the BCCI bosses, citing some ICC rules against involvement of governmental functionaries.

Virat Kohli is next.

PM: Virat. How is Anushka taking the loss? Why did you go so slow? I was expecting a century from you. Had we won, I would have named Ashram Road after you. We have had enough of Gandhi.

Virat: Sir, you have always been a source of inspiration not just for the Indian cricket team but for the entire nation. We had all urged Rahul sir to rope you in as the coach for the final. But I suspect some conspiracy against you. The BCCI bosses were bent on denying us the benefit of your guidance. We all remember the brilliant way you guided the Indian Air Force pilots on how to attack terror infrastructure in POK. By the way, sir, I hope you are being consulted by the Israeli Air Force planners in their campaign against Hamas.

Rohit Sharma, the captain, was next on the list.

PM: Rohit. Before you say what happened, I want to know why you did not invite me to your wedding, just as Virat did.

Rohit: Sir, I am not a celebrity or exhibitionist like Virat. I was not marrying a celebrity. My marriage was my affair, a private one. But, as Rahul sir must have told you, I was very keen to have your guidance in the dressing room. Nobody can read the pitch as you do, whatever the arena. Nobody can out-strategise the rivals as you do. Honestly, sir, I felt the absence of your guidance when Head was refusing to vacate the crease.

Ravindra Jadeja is ushered in:

PM: (In Gujarati) Your wife is our MLA. You are one of us. Please tell me why we lost.

Jadeja: Saheb, it is simple. I think you have enemies hovering around you. The entire team was pleading for your ball-to-ball guidance. But the BCCI brass has its own calculations. I am not sure, but I feel in my bones that somehow the bookies ensured that we did not have your guidance. The nexus between the bookies and the BCCI needs to be investigated.

Mohammed Siraj  was ushered in next.

PM: We have given so much space to you people. But I am told that you were less than your best. Why?

Siraj: Sir, what an honour to meet you in person. I am going back to my native place and will tell everyone that I have had a face-to-face meeting with you. Sir, I think the pitch was tinkered with. The BCCI bosses, I believe, were betting on the Australians. [This was] simply to deny you the glory of a World Cup during your leadership. Who knows who is in the chair at the next Cup?

Mohammed Shami comes next.

PM: We put out that shot of me hugging you. Your people should know I am not all that prejudiced.  What happened to you? Why only one wicket?  Why could you not reproduce the magic of the New Zealand match?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets the Men in Blue, after India lost the 2023 ICC World Cup. Photo: YouTube/Narendra Modi

Shammi: Hazoor. I come from a very humble background, like you. I have struggled all my life, like you. But, sir, you had the benefit of being groomed by mentors in a great organisation. Still, I have not lost sight of the goal. I have not been deterred by nasty comments from some quarters. When we play for India, we think only of the nation’s prestige. Before the final, I had told both Rahul sir and Rohit sir that I only wanted two hours of coaching from you, and both of them liked the thought as they believed that only you could guide us to see through Cummins’ game. But both told me that the BCCI bosses vetoed the idea.

Last man to be ushered in was BCCI chief Jay Shah.

PM: (in an angry tone) What am I to do with you – father and son? Against all advice, I allowed you to become the BCCI chief, even though I know you do not know a, b, c of cricket. And, what is this I am hearing – that the bookies dictated the final outcome! I am very tempted to unleash the ED guys to find out. Go away, and have an honest talk with your father. I will have to decide, sooner or later, what to do with you and him. I am just waiting for the assembly election results.

The video fades out….

Atmanirbhar irregularly contributes a column, From the Vishwavguru Archives, and believes that ridicule and humour are central to freedom of speech and expression.

At India’s Summit for Global South, Leaders Raise Strong Concerns Over Ongoing Conflict in West Asia

At the second Voice of the Global South summit, Prime Minister Modi referred to ‘new challenges’ from the geopolitical crisis that have caused thousands of deaths over the last one month.

New Delhi: The Israel-Hamas war was a common thread in the discussions at the second Voice of the Global South summit, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to “new challenges” from the geopolitical crisis that have caused thousands of deaths over the last one month.

On Friday (November 17), India held the second virtual Voice of the Global South summit. The first summit was held in January this year. It was part of New Delhi’s positioning as a leader of the developing world ahead of the G-20 summit.

At the opening session for leaders, Modi noted that “we are all seeing that new challenges are emerging from events in the West Asia region”.

He reiterated that India had “condemned the heinous terrorist attack in Israel on October 7”. The Indian leader then noted that New Delhi has also called for restraint as well as dialogue and diplomacy.

“We strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. After talking to President Mahmoud Abbas, we have also sent humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine. It is time that the countries of the Global South speak with one voice for the greater global good,” he said.

More than 12,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s counter-strikes, following Hamas attack that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.

Incidentally, most of the global south had spoken rather unanimously at the United Nations General Assembly when it passed a resolution on October 27, calling for humanitarian pauses in Israel’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza. Among the global south, the only major outliers had been India and the Philippines who had abstained, while most of Asia, Africa, and Latin Africa voted yes on the resolution tabled by Jordan and the Arab League.

Later, Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters that all the leaders expressed “strong concern” at the deteriorating situation in West Asia.

“Many leaders spoke, almost all the leaders, spoke about the challenges of terrorism, the need to provide humanitarian assistance, horror at the civilian casualties due to the conflict. These three were the threads that were sort of common to all the interventions,” he said at a late night media briefing.

The senior Indian diplomat also said that there had been discussion on the need to have access to sustainable credit, which did not add to the debt burden of most countries. When asked if the topic was an indictment of China’s policy, Kwatra said that no names were taken, but that there was acknowledgement on what kind of funding was not healthy.

“And everybody’s intervention essentially spoke of the need that when they access this financing for their development projects for climate crisis or for energy transitions, it should be in a manner and of a kind that does not impose a debt burden on the structural parameters of the economy. It should be more sustainable,” he added

During the session for foreign ministers, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that there continued to be “a resistance for a greater role for the global south in shaping solutions for the key issues of our times”.

He also mentioned that the lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic was the “the perils of dependence for basic necessities on far away geographies abilities vis-à-vis economic concentrations”. “We need to not only democratise and diversify production, but build resilient and reliable supply chains and promote local solutions. Only then can the global south secure its future,” noted Jaishankar.

Will Voters Wait Hungrily for ‘Amrit Kaal’, or Will Food Inflation Decide the Elections?

Prime Minister Modi’s honeymoon with low to moderate inflation is all but over and the stickiness in food inflation is worrying the BJP a great deal as several state elections draw closer, along with the general elections next year.

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

Stickiness in food inflation had made the UPA government unpopular back in 2013. Double-digit food inflation was hurting the poor and the Opposition had begun to taunt former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his failure, especially since he is an eminent economist, to control food prices. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no economist but he has boasted in the past that his government does better than Manmohan Singh on inflation. But Modi was blessed with falling oil, food and metal prices in the years after 2014, which moderated overall inflation.

However, Prime Minister Modi’s honeymoon with low to moderate inflation is all but over and the stickiness in food inflation is worrying the Bharatiya Janata Party a great deal as several state elections draw closer, along with the general elections next year.

Just as food inflation had peaked in the second half of 2013, the trend appears to be repeating in 2023. July and August have seen double-digit food inflation, as India suffered an 11% monsoon deficit for the first time in eight years. Inflationary expectations are clearly on the rise, as the government imposes export curbs on a range of food items. Prices of milk, pulses and edible oil have generally been structurally on the higher side for quite some time now.

Indeed, if food inflation proves to be sticky in the months ahead, it will raise political headwinds for Prime Minister Modi and the BJP during the crucial assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Chhattisgarh. The BJP knows that high energy prices, especially that of cooking gas, hurt the party badly in Karnataka, and it cut LPG prices by Rs 200 recently. But prices of LPG, diesel and petrol remain quite high.

Once inflationary expectations build up in the economy, it is very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle. The Ukraine war had created the first round of very high inflationary expectations last year. Both food and energy prices soared and there was an unprecedented spike in global inflation. The advanced economies were hit hard and are still grappling with high inflation via blunt monetary policy tools. It may take a while for global inflation to flag and India cannot escape the overall trend of higher inflation and lower growth.

Though there seems to be some recovery (contested by economists like Ashoka Mody) in the April-June quarter, the reality is that India’s GDP has grown annually only about 3.5% for four years from 2019-20 to 2022-23. So incomes have not really recovered significantly and inflationary expectations are getting entrenched even before a full recovery is underway. There is ample evidence from consumption patterns that the bottom 70% of the population, whose incomes were hit badly by the COVID-19 pandemic, have not recovered yet.

On September 15, Mallikarjun Kharge told the prime minister to stop diversionary tactics and focus on inflation, because the 20% poorest Indians are bearing the brunt of the problem, brought on by the “grand loot” conducted by his government.

A nationwide survey by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy shows that people expect prices to remain high and even their expectation of future income growth is relatively low. This reflects the broader sentiment, even as self-congratulatory claims of India being a beacon of global growth abound.

One can’t help but feel that Prime Minister Modi, heady with the G20 success, is in a mood to launch a campaign like India Shining, which his mentor L.K. Advani had unleashed in 2003 on the back of an incipient economic recovery. Is the BJP again creating a bubble via its own self-seeking narrative? Of course, the India of 2023 is not the country it was in 2003. Today, significant sections of voters seem to be willing to suffer a great deal of hardship before the promised entry into ‘Amrit Kaal’ (era of great prosperity). But equally, voters tend to change their minds overnight, and they will keep political parties on tenterhooks in the months ahead.