Outlook TruePDF 04 february 2019

SUBSCRIBER COPY NOT FOR RESALE REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL February 4, 2019 Rs 60 www.outlookindia.com The Invention of INDIA The Constitution may have created the Republic, but it is culture that gave flesh and blood to the idea of India— and what it left out w w w w w w w Cinema Music Dance Food Fashion Art Architecture R N I N O 044/1961 904150 800010 04 twitter.com/outlookindia facebook.com/outlookindia youtube.com/outlookmagazine digimag.outlookindia.com www.outlookindia.com navigator REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL Volume LIX, No EDITOR Ruben Banerjee MANAGING EDITOR Sunil Menon EXECUTIVE EDITOR Satish Padmanabhan CHIEF OF BUREAU Pranay Sharma POLITICAL EDITOR Bhavna Vij-Aurora BUSINESS EDITOR Arindam Mukherjee SENIOR EDITOR Giridhar Jha CHIEF ART DIRECTOR Deepak Sharma WRITERS Lola Nayar, Qaiser Mohammad Ali (Senior Associate Editors), G.C Shekhar (Associate Editor), Jeevan Prakash Sharma (Senior Assistant Editor), Prachi PinglayPlumber, Ushinor Majumdar, Ajay Sukumaran, Probir Pramanik (Assistant Editors), Naseer Ganai (Senior Special Correspondent), Preetha Nair, Neel Shah (Special Correspondents), Salik Ahmad, Siddhartha Mishra (Senior Correspondents), Arshia Dhar (Correspondent) COPY DESK Rituparna Kakoty (Senior Associate Editor), Anupam Bordoloi, Saikat Niyogi, Satyadeep (Associate Editors), Martand Badoni (Assistant Editor) PHOTOGRAPHERS S Rakshit (Chief Photo Coordinator), Jitender Gupta (Photo Editor), Tribhuvan Tiwari (Deputy Photo Editor), Sandipan Chatterjee, Apoorva Salkade (Sr Photographers), Suresh Kumar Pandey (Staff Photographer) J.S Adhikari (Sr Photo Researcher), U Suresh Kumar (Digital Library) DESIGN Saji C.S (Chief Designer), Ashish Rozario (Design-consultant), Leela (Senior Designer), Devi Prasad, Padam Gupta (Sr DTP Operators) DIGITAL Neha Mahajan (Assistant Editor), Soumitra Mishra (Digital Consultant), Jayanta Oinam (Special Correspondent), Lachmi Deb Roy, Thufail P.T., Ipsita Pati (Senior Correspondents), Satata Karmakar (Correspondent), Adil Rashid (Trainee Journalist), Suraj Wadhwa (Chief Graphic Designer), Rupesh Malviya (Video Editor) EDITORIAL MANAGER & CHIEF LIBRARIAN Alka Gupta BUSINESS OFFICE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Indranil Roy PUBLISHER Sandip Kumar Ghosh SR VICE PRESIDENT Meenakshi Akash VICE PRESIDENTS Bindu Dhawan, Shrutika Dewan SR GENERAL MANAGER Kabir Khattar (Corp) GENERAL MANAGERS Debabani Tagore, Sasidharan Kollery, Shashank Dixit, Shailender Vohra ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER Diwan Singh Bisht CHIEF MANAGER Shekhar Kumar Pandey MANAGERS Shekhar Suvarana, Sudha Sharma CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION Raj Kumar Mitra, Anindya Banerjee, G Ramesh (South), Vinod Kumar (North), Arun Kumar Jha (East) DIGITAL Amit Mishra HEAD OFFICE AB-10, S.J Enclave, New Delhi - 110 029 Tel: 011-33505500; Fax: 26191420 Customer care helpline: 011-33505533, 33505500 e-mail: outlook@outlookindia.com For editorial queries: edit@outlookindia.com For subscription helpline: yourhelpline@outlookindia.com OTHER OFFICES MUMBAI Tel: 022-33545000; Fax: 33545100 CALCUTTA Tel: 033 46004506; Fax: 033 46004506 CHENNAI Tel: 42615224, 42615225; Fax: 42615095 BANGALORE Tel: 080-43715021 Printed and published by Indranil Roy on behalf of Outlook Publishing (India) Pvt Ltd Editor: Ruben Banerjee Printed at International Print-O-Pac Ltd, C 4-C 11, Phase-II, Noida and published from AB-10, S.J Enclave, New Delhi-110 029 SHAPES OF GRACE An Odishi dancer strikes a pose 20 40 Mahesh Rangarajan On the cause of concern sitting upon our strong democratic foundations Ira Bhaskar Early Indian cinema imagined a brave new India, then things changed 24 44 Mudras of a Nation Decoding India’s many dances as national sub-projects Narayani Gupta How India’s archaeological past was curated in the light of the new nation 34 50 Navtej Johar What we lost when dance cultures were sanitised for the new nation Rta Kapur Chisti Ritu Kumar Threads of a nation, and the sari 36 Tapati Guha Thakurta A past painted for the future Art as the formative nationbuilding frontier 54 Shubha Mudgal All the noise around folk music and what it will take to save it Cover Design: Deepak Sharma; Artist: Aranyani Bhargav; Photograph: Avinash Pasricha Published for the week of Jan 29-Feb 04, 2019 Released on January 26, 2019 Total no of pages 92, Including Covers Customer Care spend Insure Invest ATE ULTRoIM ad TRipS Kyrgyzstan LadaKh Punjab grand trunK road see page 42 R N I N O 4 / Brad Pitt n roger Federer n City SPaS n BhuBaneSwar Brad Pitt n roger Federer n City SPaS n BhuBaneSwar twitter.com/outlookindia facebook.com/outlookindia youtube.com/outlookmagazine digimag.outlookindia.com twitter.com/outlookindia facebook.com/outlookindia youtube.com/outlookmagazine digimag.outlookindia.com 904150 800010 32 904150 800010 32 R N I N O 4 / grand trunK road Punjab LadaKh Kyrgyzstan see page 42 We Covet Cruising Bikes The List itself by reinventing outrun competition continues to carmaker largest India’s | e va S India’s largest carmaker continues to outrun competition by reinventing itself The List Cruising Bikes We Covet earn 08 14 Outlook crunched data to find Kerala zooming past industrialised states, Orissa climbing out of poverty, while India’s heart remains sick nrae 08 904150 800027 904150 800041 | 904150 800027 08 see page 54 July 7, 2017 l 50 www.outlookbusiness.com | s av e You r E ssEnti a l P Ersona l F i nancE c om Pan ion 904150 800003 CAN MICROMAX MAKE A COMEBACK? August 7, 2017 Rs 60 Why Bihar and UP are still Bimar | Anniversary o u t lo o k m o ne y.c o m 19 eruSnI dnepS Issue õ ãÔổ õìỗỹè õìổổU ỗổãÔổ w} ƠằSè wđv|, ìờậỉ Traveller 25 www.outlooktraveller.com getaways Wellness www.outlookhindi.com HOLIDAYS IN INDIA heart remains sick poverty, while India’s Orissa climbing out of industrialised states, find Kerala zooming past Outlook crunched data to 904150 800003 08 th August 2017 • `100 are still and UP Bihar Why www.outlookindia.com 904150 800041 August 7, 2017 Rs 60 14 www.outlookbusiness.com July 7, 2017 l 50 New Delhi: 011-33505607, 33505533, 33505562 Fax: 011-33505542 MuMbai: 022-33545000; Fax: 022-33545100 baNgalore: 080-45236100; Fax: 080-45236105 ĩổèổ Ơổẻổỹòổẻ Ơổổốcổ Âẻố ĐUẩÔổ óUếốế .ƠổU ổUổỉổ ìờỗèỹ ỗẻĩố ỗõìốƠổ õÂốò èổổổ ếẽòổU Ơệỉ ìổỉỹ õố.õ òãÔUòU ýẻố ìủằố Ơệỉ ìổỉỹ õố.õ òãÔUòU ýẻố ìủằố ỗẻĩố ỗõìốƠổ õÂốò èổổổ ếẽòổU Ơổổốcổ Âẻố ĐUẩÔổ óUếốế .ƠổU ổUổỉổ ìờỗèỹ in Partnership with 904150 800034 18 904150 800034 18 in Partnership with ĩổèổ Ơổẻổỹòổẻ CheNNai: 044-42615224/25 KolKata: 033-46004506; Fax: 033-46004506 offiCe tiMiNgs ad TRipS ULTRoIM ATE E-mail: yourhelpline@outlookindia.com Bimar | c om Pan ion P Ersona l F i nancE You r E ssEnti a l tSevnI | POINT AND SHARE Now, open Outlook magazine on your smartphone instantly Point your phone’s scanner on the code and align it in the frame You will be guided instantly to our website, www.outlookindia.com This is useful to share our stories on social media or email them Issue August 2017 • `100 RNI NO DELHIN/2009/26981; Total pages:84; KA/BGGPO/2504/06-08; POSTAL REGD NO DL-SW-01/4148/17-19 ; POSTED AT NDPSO WPP NO U (SW)-34/2015-16 ; Released on August 14, 2017 IndIa’s best unIversItIes www.outlookindia.com th 7102 ,41 tsuguA no desaeleR ; 61-5102/43-)WS( U ON PPW OSPDN TA DETSOP ; 91-71/8414/10-WS-LD ON DGER LATSOP ;80-60/4052/OPGGB/AK ;48:segap latoT ;18962/9002/NIHLED ON INR NOBODY CARES FOR THOSE WHO CARE 19 Anniversary subscriber copy not for resale nurses www.outlooktraveller.com A u g u s t 7, ` o u t lo o k m o ne y.c o m Wellness Monday to Friday 10.00 AM to 6.00 PM Saturday 10.00 AM to 2.00 PM HOLIDAYS IN INDIA www.outlookhindi.com February 2019 OUTLOOK letters Power In Absence Loud and Shady VARANASI Jaideep Mittra: This is with reference to your cover story Down But Not Out (Jan 12), which characterises the politics of the veteran Laloo Prasad Yadav with much precision Such leaders are the product of our typical socio-economically disparate society which is communal and has a multilayered caste system at its core This clash and struggle of identities provides ample space for leaders like Laloo to capitalise on electoral opportunities That said, it wouldn’t be fair to make Laloo an exception as there are several such leaders in our country’s political landscape History is witness, political leaders who were almost paupers at the time of the JP (Jaiprakash) movement in 1977—the Emergency years— have since gone on to amass a fortune after getting into power with various portfolios in the ministry Leaders like Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav , Ram Vilas, Paswan , the late Charan Singh, to name a few, who once were severe critics of the dynastic rule of the Congress have emerged as cult figures and built empires and dynasties of their own Laloo’s legacy may enable his party to get an edge over other contesting parties this time, but just how long can the winning streak created by one man continue? LUCKNOW M.C Joshi: Laloo Prasad Yadav was elected as the first president of RJD and remained so till his final conviction in the fodder scam case and life-time imprisonment which forced him out of active politics He ruled Bihar for three consecutive terms leading his party to victory in CHENNAI Kangayam R January 21, 2019 elections by his caste (Yadavs) and community (Muslim) equation and the alleged game of booth-manipulation With regular incidents of crime including kidnapping and murders, his rule was generally termed as ‘jungle-raj’ He joined the Congress-led UPA and became the railway minister His tenure was known for experiments like serving tea in kulhars in trains and for setting up a one-man commission to virtually give a twist to the case of the burning alive of 59 karsevaks in the Sabarmati Express in Godhra His party remained a regional entity with no presence outside Bihar He was not a kingmaker but himself the king of Bihar in his heydays However, he can no more become king, and probably even kingmaker, irrespective of whether he is present or absent If your question—will Laloo be the absentee Kingmaker of 2019?—relates to the national elections, he was never kingmaker at the national level anyway By the way, Laloo got invited to the IIM talks, even film shoots, for his jokes, jibes and comic timing rather than his intellect Narasimhan: Politicians in Tamil Nadu have no interest in solving the deep mystery surrounding Jayalalitha’s death (Death Be Not Silent, Jan 21) They would want to keep the pot boiling to be able to maintain Jaya’s votebank intact The inquiry commission appointed by the ruling elite has also tied itself in knots, trying to fathom the circumstances leading to Jaya’s death Medical experts, however, would unanimously agree that the quality of treatment received by the former CM in Chennai was excellent Justice Arumugaswamy will have to go by doctors’ reports in the end However, the medical treatment received by Jaya inside her Poes Garden residence is a mystery to most people The CBI can alone probe the allegedly dire events that took place there before she was hospitalised Security guards, cooks, nurses and attendants present during those crucial days in the house must be closely investigated What’s also shady and mysterious is that her own blood relations were not allowed to see her during her 75-day stay at the hospital Besides, the CBI must also probe why CCTV cameras were switched off in her hospital ward as well as in her residence Great Indian Game GOA M.N Bhartiya: This is about the article on the BJP, which is supposedly soul-searching after their defeat in three assembly polls and trying to win the confidence of voters (A Tide To Be Fixed, Dec 31) But soul-searching? Really? We thought such people only one-liner ON E-MAIL Sushant Vishnu The scope of Laloo’s legacy can be seen in him being politically relavant even in prison OUTLOOK February 2019 letters had hard soles But then, a soul is largely foreign to politicians, and history is replete with innumerable caste, communal and ethnic pogroms done at the instigation of ruthless, soul-less politicians The 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the 2002 Gujarat pogrom are cases in point In recent days, the coldblooded killing of rationalists like Pansare and Dabholkar and the outspoken journalist Gauri Lankesh again show the hatred fostered and disseminated by political forces And failure in governance, as the public is aware, is sought to be covered up by a cynical programme of cosmetic changes—mischievously renaming cities and roads, rewinding history books, building giant statues… But Modi may not succeed in fooling all people, though the 2019 polls are not connected at all to the December assembly polls That way, 2019 will be an epic political slugfest—a tale of many regional chieftains trying to sew up various caste equations, while keeping an eye out for their progenies Party manifestos are a big joke too—they promise to disburse alms to the com- INBOXED Stop Shooting PUNE Anil S.: This refers to your cover story Shoot Madi (Jan 12) about the aggressive ‘shoot at stumps’ strategy of the Bangalore police for crime control in the IT city It’s not even close to being as bad as the chilling police encounter drive in Uttar Pradesh, where the cops have gone on a killing spree, but it is certainly a matter of concern We cannot be supportive of such measures as they give the cops the licence to violence against citizens, even if they are criminals There can, of course, be exceptional situations where the police have to take the gun into their hands for self-defence, but making shootings a regular policy is not the way Do we know that in all the instances mentioned in your story, the criminals shot by the police were carrying weapons and threatening the cops with fire? No Then it’s impossible to say that each one of these encounters were justified Vigilante culture is already a menace that the country is dealing with The cops can’t be allowed to spill their better judgement into that domain Movie culture valourises the vigilante cop, making him palatable for the audiences But our fantasies should remain in the realm of fiction than 2,733 innocent people of a particular community were brutally murdered in New Delhi alone (Still Loading Police Reforms, Jan 21) Did any newspaper of the time report these facts and figures objectivly? If yes, then how did the accused, some of them political leaders and even some police officers, manage to go scott free? Police reforms are urgently required indeed The Rigged Air NEW DELHI Vivek Agarwal: A SIDE STEP PM Modi and Amit Shah mon public using their own money, degrading them in the process Please, Comment! DURGAPUR Jyotiranjan Biswal: I want to request Outlook to reintroduce the editorial column in my favourite news weekly It does look positively orphaned without one! Furthermore, I urge you to award at least three outstanding letters in every issue Police The Police! HYDERABAD V.N Ramaswamy: Now, 34 years after the incidents, a retired police chief writes that more OUTLOOK February 2019 grand gala has just finished and what a buzz it created (Theory Of Chaos, Jan 21)! I hope it happens with the same regularity every year so that we can spend a good moment thinking about how far we have come since our ancient golden age in terms of science and technology Actually, the progress can’t be scaled in a linear manner, since the claims and references dropped in the Indian Science Congress follow no chronology It’s as if we are living in times at once ancient and modern Aviation in Rig Veda, sugar syrup as the adhesive for Ganesha’s plastic surgery, battery drawings found in ancient texts, test-tube babies and many other such illustrious examples keep the scientific arena charged up But, of course, a self-righteous brigade of people has to always spoil the fun with their limiting ideas of rationality Let’s give them a learning next time, accom- pany the lectures with models At a personal level, if I may, I would like to see some of these scientific treasures in practice Let’s build a plane, we can call the airline managing it ‘Rig Air’, and the batteries can be taken from the Agastya Samhita If we need finances, that is if the present government is unable to digest such lofty ideas, we can feed some cows that bacteria that turns into 24-carat gold in its body Smoke Screen NEW DELHI Anshu Sharma: This refers to Not A Place To Breathe, the piece on ‘non lethal’ crowd-control weapons in Kashmir (Jan 21) First, it was the pellets that hurt and blinded many people, even kids, in the Valley, now it’s the tear gas that poses other kinds of health hazards From an ethical standpoint, can one argue to say that tear gas is better than pellets? Tough choice? Let’s just say that anything harmful thrown at the children, teenagers and youth of Kashmir will inevitable worsen the crisis and make more and more people from the mainland comlicit in such crimes since, after all, it is in our name that the security forces are instructed to these things ON E-MAILVishvanath Dhotre: In a story about breathing problems due to tear-gassing in the Valley, you have ignored the hardships of our soldiers IN & AROUND THE SUBCONTINENTAL MENU PRICE OF THE MOON LL stories start somewhere; some as a phantasmagoric conversation between a king and a spirit This story—an enduring, endearing after-school or bedside magazine—started the month before India’s Independence Chandamama, the monthly packed with myths, mystery, magic, and a moral Vikram and Betaal too It was published in 10 Indian languages and English, an abiding companion before TV Sadly, the Chandamama of B Nagi Reddy, Chakrapani and K Kutumba Rao couldn’t survive the digital boom, though current owners Geodesic had new-age plans Well, the Mumbai-based software company got embroiled in a money laundering case, and the Bombay HC ordered the sale of the magazine’s intellectual property rights Cha­ ndamama is worth over Rs 25 crore The sacks of illustrations and documents lying at a Mumbai warehouse? Priceless A DONKEY’S MILK SOAP BIRYANI IS PRASAD P RETURN DARJEELING W HEN the colonial masters were playing dice with the subcontinent, Darjeeling was hived off as part of an agreement with the king in Kathmandu The Treaty of Sugauli of 1815 established the boundary between the Hindu kingdom and the British East India Company The king ceded territories won in earlier wars, such as Sikkim in the east and Kumaon and Garhwal in the west More than a century on, nationalistic Gurkhas want the pact unpacked Return Darjeeling and all those land the British took from Nepal, they say An NGO is already doing a signature campaign, as a start What next? Well, we know Gurkhas are among the finest soldiers anywhere, but this one will need diplomacy, more than the surgical precision of a khukri ONGAL, curd rice, chi­ ckpeas, puliyogara, vada—the choice of offerings or prasadam in Tamil Nadu temples are normally limited to these There’s an exception though And it comes in the form of a biryani with 2,000kg of rice, mutton and chicken cooked overnight in 50 cauldrons over wood fires by an untiring posse of men as prasad for the faithful visiting the Muniyandi Swami temple in Vadakkampatti village near Madurai during its winter festival The biryani has been on the temple’s breakfast menu for over 80 years Last year, 200 goats, 250 roosters and 1,800kg of rice went into the prasad—reflective of the Tamil appetite for biryani as restaurants serving this all­time favourite recorded revenues of Rs 4,500 crore a year in the state Still, there’s more space at the table Illustrations by MANJUL OUTLOOK February 2019 H OW often you bray about a shower, lathering out the grime with a bar of soap? Hee-haw, here is your chance to it with soap made of donkey’s milk This premium cake of wash, produced by Delhi-based startup Organiko, retails for Rs 499 apiece A little stiff, no? Got to be, because donkey’s milk is the costliest dairy at Rs 2,000 a litre, and one animal yields not more than a litre a day The milk is known to have medicinal properties—anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle and anti-bacterial infections The firm sources its raw material from 25 beasts of burden at Dasna in Ghaziabad The soap is a hit in southern India, as people there are aware of the health benefits The north’s catching up too, if sales at a fair in Chandigarh are any indication Up next: a face wash and a moisturiser MANTO AND UNDYING PREJUDICE H OW Saadat Hasan Manto would have reacted to his adoptive country’s censor board refusing to clear a Made in India biopic on him? Perhaps he portended that Manto, featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the tortured writer, would fall into the same hostile India-Pakistan trap that underpinned the comorbidity of his later life Hence his words: “Hindustan had become free Pakistan had become independent soon after its inception but man was still a slave in these countries—slave of prejudice.” Legions of Manto fans are trying to impress the Imran Khan government to allow Manto’s release THE EYE-CATCHING, MUTANT GOD C ALL it the Moo Mutant, or the animal version of an animated one-eyed Minion Or simply worship it as a miracle of god That’s what locals at a village in West Bengal’s Bardhaman district are doing to a newborn calf with just one huge eye The humans took over after its mother rejected it Such oddities aren’t uncommon in the animal kingdom but a cow calf with an eye on its forehead spawns parallels with god Shiva’s fire-kindling ‘third eye’ Villagers believe it will bring luck and prosperity Problem is, the animal’s survival is at stake as it doesn’t have a nose and gasps for breath RACING BULLS WHICH BETTER BOLT T HEY are modern-day techies but bullish about a tradition that dates back to when entertainment was a clatter of bull hooves These people, mostly IT pros, decided to take the bull by its horns when Tamil Nadu erupted in 2017 to demand overturning a court order banning jallikattu Success was on their side And now, a side show of the famous jallikattu during Pongal is proving a boon for endangered native breeds, Kangayam bulls especially Patrons are breeding and training Kangayams—at seven seconds for 100 metres, faster than Usain Bolt—for rekla or bullock cart races in the Tirupur-Coimbatore region The spoils? The winners take home two-wheelers, gold necklaces and cash Shadow Of Immunity I T is rare for diplomats to be tried on criminal charges in another country, especially a mission where he had been posted earlier But a former Sri Lankan ambassador to Wash­ ington, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, is being prosecuted in the US since last month Wickramasuriya is former Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s first cousin and it is under his govern­ ment that he was appointed Colombo’s envoy to the US He is being tried for five counts of offences that range from wire fraud and money laundering to immigration offences Under the Vienna Convention, a serving diplomat enjoys immunity that prevents governments of other countries from trying him on any criminal charge But if diplomatic immunity is withdrawn by his government he can be treated as any ordinary citizen and prosecuted by foreign governments Sri Lankan media reports said this was the first time that a diplomat is being prosecuted by the country where he had served The charges against Wickramasuriya are two counts of The former wire fraud, two counts of money Lankan envoy laundering and one count of visa to the US is fraud According to the reports, charged with the charges stem from allegations fraud, money that in early 2013 Wickramasuriya and others embezzled about US laundering and $3,32,000 from the Sri Lankan embezzling government in connection with a public money property purchased in Washington there It’s a that was intended to serve as the very rare new Sri Lankan embassy dishonour The report said he was also charged with committing immigra­ tion fraud in connection with an immigration application he signed in the US in 2014 Wickramasuriya was in the US attending to his tea export business when he was appointed the consul general to the Sri Lankan mission in Los Angeles in 2005 Three years later, he was appointed Sri Lankan ambassador to the US After the fraud came to light the US authorities requested the Sri Lankan government to withdraw Wickramasuriya’s diplomatic immunity The Rajapaksa government ignored that and, instead, tried to transfer him to Canada as Lankan ambassador But the Canadian government refused to accept the appointment Subsequently, his diplomatic immunity was withdrawn by Colombo Later, Wickaramasuriya filed an appeal in the Supreme Court asking for his immunity to be reinstated Though the case is still pending, an attempt was made by Rajapaksa and his close aides to give back his immunity in the brief period that he became prime minister replacing Ranil Wickremesinghe Now that Ranil is back, it is unlikely that Wickramasuriya will get back his immunity in a hurry February 2019 OUTLOOK Image of the Week SUPER BLOOD WOLF MOON We don’t know who gave this gory, howling name but our moon during the eclipse on January 20 was a sight to behold, like when it silhouettes a weather vane in a Spanish village GETTY IMAGES deep throat ELECTION TRACK With election season upon the country, many have discovered their latent political ambitions and making a beeline for tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls The popular choice is the BJP despite the Congress’s latest upsurge IN the queue is said to be retired Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani, who is in touch with BJP leaders It is widely believed that he will get an extension to nurse the ailing public transporter to health But Lohani may bite the political bullet if offered a ticket from home state Uttarakhand Well, his social media posts about his desire to something useful for his state are anything but clues 10 OUTLOOK February 2019 JAB WE MEET? When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Nitish Kumar hit the campaign trail in the run-up to the 2019 general elections in Bihar, they will be setting a record of sorts The two leaders have never shared the dais at any election rally in the past Though the BJP and JD(U) had been allies for long and their coalition government was in power from 2005 to 2013, and from July 2017 until now, Nitish has never sought Modi pull power during polls In fact, it is generally believed that Nitish had argued that Modi’s presence would irk his Muslim voters Several state BJP leaders wanted Modi to campaign because of his popularity But Nitish is said to have always put his foot down That’s why Modi went to Jharkhand to campaign for the party but skipped Bihar WRONG ’UN Experience causes confusion and this appeared to be the case with Sharad Yadav at the recent opposition rally hosted by Mamata Banerjee The septuagenarian leader, who floated the Loktantrik Janata Dal after breaking away from the JD(U), kept talking about “daylight robbery of Bofors” while attacking the Modi government Yadav obviously wanted to refer to Rafale He corrected himself after Trinamool leader Derek O’Brien whispered into his ears To be on the safer side, Mamata later explained that the veteran leader has seen so many political wars, sometimes old things can come up by mistake EYE ON AFRICA As Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, T.S Tirumurti is entrusted with implement­ ing India’s policy on Africa and on devel­ opment partnership With an enhanced engagement between New Delhi and the continent in the past four years, he talks to Pranay Sharma on India’s growing relations with Africa, how India’s Africa policy differs from China’s, how the country is becoming Africa’s partner of choice in its growth and how India’s imp­ lementation of projects has become more effective Excerpts:   How you describe India’s relations with Africa? They are at an all-time high The depth of our relations covers almost every sector We have had 29 visits at the highest political level of president, vice president and prime minister to the continent in the past four years We also have had several ministerial visits in both directions—this is unprecedented Why we have so many visits to Africa all of a sudden? This government has placed high priority on links with Africa Our outreach was highlighted during the IndiaAfrican summit when the government pledged a $10 billion line of credit in addition to $600 million as grant, as well as thousands of slots for training and capacity building Using this as a fulcrum, we expanded our reach, not only in the economic side, but in a range of other areas as well In security and defence, we have always had close ties with African countries This is an important component The other component is capacity building, in which we are second to none with the kind of training, education, ITEC scholarship and special scholarships we offer to Africa Socio-cultural links have remained strong All these have expanded ties and made a huge impact We had traditional links with Africa, but our relations did not really take off Why? Right now we have the critical mass We are engaging Africa vigorously In education, for years we had been partnering them When the Ethiopian foreign minister visited India some months back for the joint commission meeting, the first phone call he made was to his schoolteacher in Chennai who had retired and gone back This 78 OUTLOOK February 2019 ‘Our ties with Africa are far deeper than what China has’ relationship is something beyond words Our longstanding security cooperation, especially in peacekeeping, our trade links, capacity building, education and training, offering lines of credit, etc were there before Now everything has come together Were these teachers sent by the government to Africa? Not all Many went on their own and taught African students Many students also came to India While we give scholarship to many African students, many more are coming here and paying for their education This is a clear recognition of India as a knowledge provider for Africa; we truly welcome that What is India seeking in Africa? We started our outreach in Africa with a sense of history—here was the continent where Mahatma Gandhi lived for 21 years We had a strong emotional Photograph: JITENDER GUPTA Africa stood by us But what’s in it for India in Africa? A lot Of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world, at least five are African Not just that, they now have a Continental Free Trade Agreement in place It’s a historic step They are looking at an African-owned and African-led process in their Vision 2063 India is already there, not only as a friend but also as a partner So when Africa starts implementing many of their policies, India will hopefully be a strong partner India will open 18 new diplomatic missions in Africa, taking the number of Indian mission in the continent to 47 Is there a criterion of choosing these missions? In early 2000s, under the Atal Behari “ “In capacity building, we’re second to none with the kind of training, education, scholarships we offer to Africa.” bond of fighting colonialism and Apartheid Many African leaders were inspired by Gandhiji and the Indian independence struggle, as they themselves fought the colonial yoke So we seek, firstly, to consolidate our friendship and solidarity We seek to convert this to a comprehensive strategic partnership where we can be a partner in their growth What kind of a partnership are we talking about at the global level? Both Africa and India desire a reform of the UN Security Council and we have strong mutuality of interest for a presence among the permanent members We support each other in numerous multilateral and international organisations and India is truly sensitive to the African voice We were greatly heartened during the elections for International Court of Justice, when Vajpayee government, we had started ‘Team 9’ It consisted of India and eight West African countries We felt we had reached out to East and South Africa, but it was equally important for us to focus on West Africa So when we expand we want to make sure we cover all of Africa It’s also important to enhance engagement with countries that in the past decade or more have come into greater prominence and where our outreach is not adequate Many observers see India’s enhanced engagement in Africa as something stemming from its competition with China Is that correct? We don’t see our relation with another country through the prism of China The depth of our ties with Africa is far deeper and stronger than they have with China Instead of looking at it purely in monetary terms, if we go beyond and look at the depth of our relations, especially in defence and peacekeeping, in capacity building, and at the emotional connect we have in Africa, we are quite unique That exp- February 2019 OUTLOOK 79 EY E ON AF RICA 80 OUTLOOK February 2019 “ “After consolidating our friendship with Africa, we further ties in defence and peace-keeping, education, trade links, offering LoCs.” “Five African nations are among the ten fastest growing world economies When Africa grows, India will be a strong partner.” “ lains why India is the preferred partner of other countries that want to go into Africa Our ties in the continent is independent and different from China’s.  What does India offer that China can’t? India’s unique selling point is very different The line of credit we offer is very different from others When we offer credit we make sure we respect their sovereignty and offer them terms they are comfortable with When we offer assistance, it fits with their national priorities It is on the basis of solidarity and not something thrust on them The terms of our lines of credit are probably the best Further, we use local human resources Could you explain what this means? In total, we have given over $26 billion lines of credit that are in various stages of implementation In Africa alone, this is over $11 billion But if you look at the $26 billion Lines of Credit and look at the extent of default, it is just about US $40 million This is almost nothing And we are making it easier for the countries to pay us and not default Many times credits offered by rich countries are such that poor countries are unable to repay and often get into a debt trap How does India avoid them? When our PM spoke in the Ugandan parliament last year, he outlined 10 guiding principles He stressed our assistance to Africa was to liberate their potential, not to constrain their future This is precisely our approach to Africa We make it easier for them to repay Our assistance is also non-intrusive We make sure we address their sensitivities Further, our model is different We try to use as much local resources as practicable and ensure that the local community benefits from it by way of employment, capacity building etc So by the time we finish the project they are already integrated into it Can you cite a few examples? Some of the water projects or sanitation and drinking water projects could be cited Tanzania had taken a line of credit of $168 million on water projects They were so happy with the progress that they requested $178 million more in the same sector While that project goes on, three months back they asked for $500 million more to cover large parts of rural Tanzania under this project Seeing the difference these projects have been making to the lives of people in Tanzania, Malawi wants help in a similar project across their country So these are genuinely impacting people and making a difference What about health We believe India is also interested in expanding cooperation in that sector? There are large number of people from Africa who come to India to be treated We are also trying to work on tele-medicine and tele-health by launching the e-Vidya Bharati and Arogya Bharati initiative This is a pan-African project in which India will select reputed institutions of learning in each of the African countries and link them with reputed Indian institutions of learning Similarly, we will select reputed hospitals and health centres and link them up with reputed doctors and institutes in India This will be a huge outreach Indian pharmaceuticals have a huge market in Africa Africans are also being trained here in the health sector under IAFS The Indian private sector also has a large footprint in Africa How does the government work with them? Since 2015, we have revamped the procedure for awarding projects under our lines of credit by putting in place a transparent system to select vendors and companies to take up projects Under this, the private sector can bid along with the public sector and we also have an empanelment process Whoever wins the tender is selected Our private sectors have gone there in huge numbers India-Africa trade has increased by 22 per cent just in the last year and is now over $62 billion Our investment in Africa is now nearly $55 billion, mainly from the private sector But there is also a gap in what India promises and what it delivers….? I think there is good news on that front After revamping guidelines for the LoC we have ensured that ‘fly by night’ operators have all been removed There is a certain minimum criterion for getting empanelled This ensures that whenever we bid, we get quality firms to work according to a time-bound schedule Countries that receive our line of credit have also expressed satisfaction with these changes.  So we have cleaned up the system and it’s working What role does the Indian diaspora in Africa play? They play an important role, especially in the economic development of their respective countries They have integrated very well and on many occasions during our prime minister’s interaction with them; even the president of that country has participated in those events Their contribution is valued.  The Indian Ocean has some of the busiest sea lanes through which much of the world’s commerce is done How does India ensure that they remain secure? We have defence cooperation agreement now with practically every littoral state of Africa in the Indian Ocean Maritime security is of high importance to us We have offered them naval crafts, coastal radars and other assistance whenever they seek such help Therefore, there is a conscious effort on our part to share our expertise with them O EY E ON AF RICA OPI NI ONEYE ON AFR ICA RAJIV BHATIA A CONTINENT’S HEART BECKONS India’s engagement with Africa is admirable, but its scale has to be widened further A FTER a gap of 17 years, Africa provides yet another leader—Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa—as chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations As he watches the colourful parade along with India’s president and prime minister, memories of Africa’s giants who preceded him, such as Tanzania’s Nyerere, Zambia’s Kaunda, Nigeria’s Obasanjo and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela would be rekindled People will experience the special relationship that binds India with Africa The government’s initiative to hold Africa Day celebrations at the Vibrant Gujarat summit on January 19 was also special It showcased the new dimensions of India-Africa cooperation, covering its history, political and economic facets, and projecting its vast potential This relationship goes back to the pre-Christian era when Indian goods and people began reaching the African continent Colonialism brought the two regions and their people closer The struggle for freedom and against Apartheid put them on the same side—the winning side The Cold War witnessed most Asian and African nations join hands to strengthen the NonAligned Movement In the past three decades, common aspirations for a speedy development drove India and Africa to re-invent their age-old links The process began in 2008, when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosted the first India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in New Delhi A long-term blueprint for multi-sectoral cooperation was developed The second summit in Addis Ababa in 2011 consolidated the gains This diplomatic initiative, however, had its limitations because only a handful of African countries, selected under the Banjul formula, participated in the two summits The Modi government introduced a fundamental change by asserting, right from the beginning, that Africa and the Indian Ocean would figure among its foreign policy priorities The decision to invite leaders of all 54 countries to the third IAFS, held in New Delhi in 2015, was widely welcomed in Africa 82 OUTLOOK February 2019 It also showed New Delhi’s ambition to be a key stakeholder in the continent at a time when new political players such as Russia, Turkey, UAE and Indonesia were joining the more experienced ones— US, EU, China and Japan—in forging close ties with Africa The ‘new scramble for Africa’ had begun Those unaware of Africa’s assets—its culture, history, people and resources—often ask us: “what drives India’s interest in the so-called dark continent?” The answer partly lies in what happened when I, as India’s high commissioner to South Africa, called on Nelson Mandela in 2006 in Johannesburg He spoke about the impact of Satyagraha launched by Gandhiji on Africans and Indians alike Madiba also talked about the legacy and vision of Jawaharlal Nehru Besides that, rich history and political imperatives motivate India and Africa to work together for ensuring that institutions of global governance become representative of today’s power realities Geo-economics has established the basic complementarity of needs and capabilities: Africa needs technology, capital and capacity building, whereas India needs the market, minerals and energy resources Is China’s growing footprint in Africa a factor too? Undoubtedly it is India may lag behind, but it continues to be in the race for a prominent place This is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grasped fully With remarkable consistency and zeal, his government has striven to take India-Africa cooperation to GETTY IMAGES a new level Recall the following: l The third forum summit proved a notable sucIndian and cess, both logistically and in political gains, with African all African governments participating in it, 42 at leaders have the head of state/government level interacted in l While in previous decades, visits by top Indian the past, like leaders to Africa used to be a rarity, the troika comprising the president, vice president and PM Mandela, undertook 29 visits to African countries in the Kaunda and past four years Nkrumah l The VVIP traffic was not one-way New (above) Delhi hosted 35 leaders from Africa during the EY E ON AF RICA OPI NI ON JITENDER GUPTA same period l The announcement by PM Modi of the ten guiding principles on India’s Africa policy, during his address before the Ugandan parliament, was innovative l As one who spent over seven years in Africa in senior diplomatic positions, I noted, with satisfaction, the government’s decision to open 18 new embassies and high commissions in African capitals This will increase the number of Indian Missions in Africa to 47 l India’s initiative, with France, to establish the International Solar Alliance has also excited African states, who see it as a potential source of capital and technology for renewable energy While some scepticism prevails about the actual impact of this institution, its fundamental rationale is beyond dispute: India and Africa, not just the developed nations, need clean energy l India’s peacekeeping operations in Africa represent a success story Current operations in Congo, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Liberia continue to win laurels for our security forces The Indian Navy’s stellar role in curbing piracy off the Horn of Africa has also earned much admiration l India’s development partnership with Africa continues to grow It involves millions of dollars that are utilised to establish training institutions in Africa, fund the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, and provide scholarships to thousands of African students studying in India Where, then, are the gaps and challenges in the India-Africa partnership? A critical but objective appraisal alone can reveal them, and there are quite a few First, trade with Africa is yet to perform satisfactorily It has fluctuated between $72 billion in 2014- 84 OUTLOOK February 2019 COME TOGETHER External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with her African counterparts Trade with Africa is yet to hit $100 billion, Indian firms need to invest more and we need to nurture the diaspora 15 and $52 billion in 2016-17 Happily, it increased to $62 billion in 2017-18, but the goal of $100 billion is still distant In comparison, China’s trade with Africa stands at $200 billion at present Second, investment by Indian companies in Africa amounts to $54 billion This needs to grow substantially Third, concessional credit has been on an upward trajectory Official sources indicate that 189 projects in 42 African countries are under implementation, backed by $11.4 billion worth of credits extended by India There is a pressing need to scale it up as well as to improve delivery and cut delays Four, people-to-people interactions should be at the heart of this relationship In recent years, sporadic incidents of harassment and violence against Africans in the national capital region and elsewhere have generated much anxiety The underlying reasons need to be addressed effectively On the other hand, the three-million strong Indian diaspora is our asset that needs constant nurturing Fifth, most of our universities, institutions of higher learning and thinktanks continue to ignore the Africa story This must change In sum, India’s Africanists rejoice to reckon that the government has led from the front to ensure that Africa receives much greater attention than in the past Political relations are closer and warmer today But the economic pillar needs to become much stronger and broader And, the Third Space—youth and women groups, universities and thinktanks, and media houses should come forward to turn this engagement into a more meaningful and result-oriented commitment There is no time to lose The next India-Africa summit will take place in 2020 O (Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House and a former high commissioner to South Africa and Kenya) Education Business leadership skills in the age of uncertainty: reinventing MBA By Prof.Swarup K Mohanty, PhD Director, Sona School of Mangement,Salem,Tamil Nadu B usiness world is becoming more uncertain day by day, and not every industry faces the same level of uncertainty Some industries have greater inherent technological and some others face both They are the upper right corner of a 2/2 matrix.They operate in a highly volatile environment and face high uncertainty in terms of demand as well as technological uncertainty They provide a dominant portion of jobs to MBA market that requires more innovation management skills than general Management skills that are in practice over 100 years to operate in certain times uncertainly w.r.t revenue volatility ranges over 50% to 100% To manage and lead in the age of uncertainty the existing B school Model , developed way back in 1911 by Tylor, may not be relevant contextually They (the principle of scientific management) are great for efficiently performing tasks through task specialization to sustain a customer but they work poorly when guiding work to create customers Task specialization and division of labour work fine when problem is well-defined and operates in low uncertainty They are simply wrong prescriptions when operating in high uncertainty Managerial Skills in the age of uncertainty: Management theories are mostly developed to solve the large company management problem and not the innovation problem And business schools emerged with a B-School Model to train this breed of managers to be effective at solving the problems of large corporations, such as how to tweak around to add a new feature? Or how can we reduce the cost by some percent- a short of method known as low uncertainty problems calling for incremental changes to existing product or processes In contrast, most start-ups and corporate entrepreneurs trying to lunch new products that have disruptive potential; hence needs knowledge and skills for high uncertainty problem solving that are way far from the preview of B -school wisdom Top 25 industry sectors– from IT-software, Medical equipment, Machinery to electronic / electrical equipment/chemicals to Business services, the measure of Reinventing B -School Curriculum: There is a great need to foster and reinvent the B school curruculam those values that would bring a sync between ‘I- School’ and ‘B –school’ Thus there is need to focus more on the culture of learning and ref lection, achievement orientation, creativity, interdependence and respect for diversity The recent Harvard and Marriot School research survey corroborates the fact that nearly 2/3 of our skills can be learned Innovation can also be learned through inculcating skills like questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associational thinking Need for a Synthetic Approach: A synthetic approach can be a great help Apart from the wisdoms of Tylorian B school perspectives B-school should also emphasize on how to switch to innovators method( I-School Approach-Entreprenurial Management Skills) and leading through experimenting, setting the grand challenge , building a broad deep expertise and removing the barriers during uncertain times The skill to switch from executing in certainty to experimenting in uncertainty, from protecting existing resources to circumvent resources, from maximize- optimize to minimize and suffice, from vertical teams to horizontal teams from marginal – fixed cost logic to full cost logic Sona School of Management – An example: As the age of uncertainty develops the relevance of I-School model (entrepreneurial Management) becomes more profound, pragmatic, immediate and indispensable to market needs At Sona School of management We are not only the first to coin an’ I-School Approach in India but also have floated a course “Innovator’s Methods’’ as a part of our course curriculum February 2019 OutlOOk 85 UP SHOWS THE WAY IN ADRESSING HOUSING ISSUES, ELECTRIFICATION The state of Uttar Pradesh under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has emerged as the leading state in the country when it comes to implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana By B.P Singh, Lucknow I t’s a truth universally acknowledged that a person without a home, but in possession of aspirational faculties, must be in want of one It was this noble thought with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the very ambitious Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the year 2015 By the year 2022, his government wants to put a roof over everybody’s head in the country The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to those who aspire to build a house but not have the resources In the same spirit, the Prime Minister announced the Saubhagya Yojana in 2017 with the objective of providing electricity to all households The state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) took the lead in implementing these schemes and has emerged numero uno among all other states The credit for successful execution and fierce implementation of these schemes, without a shadow of doubt, goes to the committed leadership of Yogi Adityanath in the state If one had visited the state earlier, the sights of homeless people and people living under tin shades or thatched roofs were common But all this changed with the new government’s businesslike approach towards the issue Among the very first steps that the Adityanath-led government took in the state was towards resolving the problem of housing in the state In the first three months, the government did a comprehensive assessment of how many houses are needed for the poor and underresourced persons in the state Following close on the heels of the assessment, the state government registered 9.76 lakh people under the scheme with the aim of getting maximum people in its fold In addition, the government has transferred over Rs 3,000 crore in the bank accounts of some lakh people, whose applications under the scheme were accepted In the first 18 months of the government only, the government’s assistance had resulted in the building of more than 16 lakh houses in the state The chief minister was committed to provide houses to the poor and needy with great urgency and firmness With the massive numbers and thundering success of the scheme, the state comfortably rose to the top state vis-à-vis the implementation of the PMAY Furthermore, in the 2018-19 budget, the UP government has allocated a budget of Rs 15,000 crore for the construction of houses in rural areas while another Rs 2,217 crore has been allocated for the construction of houses in urban areas Although, both the village and city dwellers reap the benefits of the scheme, the government’s thrust has been on providing houses to people in villages The scheme inspires and encourages the poor and disadvantaged people to seek assistance and build houses Anybody who is a resident of UP, has an income of less than one lakh annually, does not have a house, is not a government employee, and is aged between 21 and 55 can avail the benefits under the scheme The grants under the scheme are up to 1.2 lakh rupees and the application process can also be done online without any hassle The applicants – their convenience has been ensured – can also find the status of their applications online The person doesn’t need to go anywhere but can simply log on to the scheme website and see the list according to the state and district, down to the block and panchayat level The PMAY list shows the complete list of those in the panchayat whose applications have been accepted The ease with which the benefits can be sought and availed, met with the dedication of the governments both at the centre and in the state, have resulted in the scheme becoming a roaring success at the ground level The vision and intent of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister has realized the dreams of lakhs of people who now have the privileges and warm confines of a house The Saubhagya Yojana has been another great landmark in the public welfare in the state Under the scheme, 74 lakh households, both in rural and urban areas, have been given electricity connections The good work doesn’t stop there About 20 lakh Above Poverty Line (APL) households, too, have been provided with electricity connections In the last 21 months only, the state government has carried out the electrification of 1.2 lakh towns The government also gives a kit that includes fan, light, meter etc to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) beneficiaries of the scheme, apart from the electricity connection they are entitled to avail The state has also scripted history in the area of solar energy French president Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi inaugurated a 75-megawatt solar power project in Mirzapur district in March 2018 Built at a cost of Rs 500 crore and spread over 380 acres of land, the facility has over one lakh solar panels to harness solar energy Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also been keen on visiting, and has visited every district in the state He has visited several of them more than twice Senior bureaucrats say the idea behind the visits is to ensure uniformity of development in the state Earlier, the influential MLAs who used to camp mostly in Lucknow would get projects for their constituencies cleared easily while others would struggle to get their projects cleared The practice has changed with Adityanath at the helm, who insists on visiting the districts, interacting with the locals and prioritizing the fulfillment of their requirements Adityanath has announced a record 883 projects in his tenure so far The projects include universities, medical colleges, health centres, Industrial training Institutes (ITIs), police stations, fire stations, etc There has been announcement of 42 degree colleges, 22 polytechnics, 17 mini stadiums, 13 bus depots, and 14 animal hospitals among several other facilities Besides these, each of the constituency has got projects worth Rs crore for the construction of roads The Chief Minister gives time to all representatives alike and appreciates the development concerns of each constituency He also keenly monitors the progress of these projects himself glitterati Not Now Ah, Total Dhamaal could be a rerun: plane crashes, tum­ bling, burning cars, ram­ paging lions but a fickle public isn’t ready still for a ’90s renaissance Even a dream cast of Ajay Devgan, Anil Kapoor, Johnny Lever (who didn’t laugh at his manic faces?) and the utterly unspoilt Madhuri couldn’t make them like the trailer Strange, innit? Sun’s Out As if the twin triumphs in Australia were not enough, Virat has achi­ eved that rare triple ICC honour: top player, plus tops in Tests and ODIs Well, the man has earned his holiday, At the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne, he and Anushka met up with the emperor, Roger Federer Fedex, a keen follower of cricket and a Sachin fan, seems will­ ing enough Rolling, Raving, Loving Neymar, he of the fleet­footed despoiler of defences, leaden­footed artist of the contorted fall ’n­roll and the man who shoulders Brazilian hopes, has a new girl, model Mari Tavares Our hesitant advice to Mari: Don’t fall afoul of him THIS TOO HAPPENED Artificial Intelligence experts decided to boycott the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) for partnering with a defence manufacturer They fear the tie-up would “accelerate the arms race to develop” automatic weapons on the lines of machines they called “killer bots” 88 OUTLOOK February 2019 Electric Unkool Kit Poor Janhvi Kapoor Young ingenues are at the mercy of their stylists, and when they mess up, the girls’ social media accounts bleed from hurt and negativity An electric blue dress is the issue here: worn by Janhvi for a photoshoot, it’s apparently a rip­off of foreign brand Balmain’s fall collection The true plagiariser is a Mum­ bai fashion label For shame! PTI Warmly, Yours A flickering, sideways glance at the lateral section on display would have told you that Shubhra Aiyappa has been a model Tamil and Kannada films were offered and grabbed The gaze shifts, inevitably, towards Bollywood Acting, she says wisely, is “not the kindest career”, but offers “unmatched satisfaction” We know what she means; we’re feeling like that now “Since I guess my next opponent is watching, I am feeling fantastic I’ve never felt better in my life,”- World No.1 NOVAK DJOKOVIC to Jim Courier, after beating Daniil Medvedev and advancing to the quarters of the Australian Open February 2019 OUTLOOK 89 GOA diary are Hindu That’s inclusiveness and Stuck In the Sand unity in diversity for you, albeit with If you’re planning to, don’t it Seriously a Conditions Apply sticker that never Unless you want to spend the better time got made Apart from food and feni, a of your vacation inching painfully along special mention for the native brews the roads of the 105-km coastline of Goa that Desmond Nazareth, an innovative Yes, Goa of the palm-fronded beaches genius, has concocted Genuine tequila is a traffic nightmare I discovered that (extracted from Indian agave that first hand There’s only a single major can be cultivated in many parts of the highway near the coast, connecting north RAHUL SINGH country) and a spirit distilled from the and south Goa, from the Maharashtra flowers of the mahua, just like in Bihar border to Karnataka And at two critical (The author is a journalist and writer) and western India These local brews, points—the bridges over the Mandovi labelled “Desmond Ji”, need to be and Zuari rivers—tailbacks and snarls made widely available They are, after all, part of “Make in (stressed drivers snarling at each other)are as commonplace India” New Delhi, are you listening? as those beachcomber cows and coconut oil masseurs It’s all because of new constructions along the roads Worse still The Prophetic Hotelier’s Bash is the fanciful idea of making temporary diversions through My visit to Goa coincided with the 80th birthday celebrapaddy fields—to keep the traffic flowing and the farmer tion of a hospitality industry pioneer, Sundar Advani He fuming A car ride from Margao to Mapusa, just over an has several “firsts” to his credit: the first Indian to bring a hour once, can now hold you up for at least three hours So, world-class hotel chain into India (the Holiday Inn franthe wisest thing to is to stay put at the resort/shack/BnB, chise in Mumbai), the first to start a casino in India (the wherever you are, either in the north or south Optimists say Caravela offshore casino on the Mandovi river, off Panjim), the constructions around the highway will take another year the first to build a five-star hotel in south Goa Educated to complete Fanciful again, given the pace! in the West, he was settling down to a cushy job as a senior It shows that all this, and more, I’m sure, has led to a economist in one of the largest management consultancy slowdown, tourism-wise I saw fewer tourists on the firms in the US when, in 1969, he got the urge to return to streets this time, both domestic and foreign, even at the his motherland His autobiography, which was released peak December and January season Hotels and resorts at the birthday function, relates the highs and lows of his are reporting less than 50 per cent occupancy rates and air fascinating career Admirable man though Sundar is, I have fares, which could soared to Rs 25,000 one-way between only one grouse against him—he is a Donald Trump fan In Delhi and Goa, are now down to more modest levels fact, he predicted six months before the US elections that Extortionate taxi rates have meant that those not living Trump would win too far away from Goa prefer to drive down in their own cars, adding to the number of wheels on Goa’s crowded Coast Is Clear roads There are currently almost the same number of In 1991, Parliament passed a bill restricting all construcvehicles registered in Goa as the number of people residing tion within 500 metres of the high tide line The intention here, probably the highest density of cars for any state An was to conserve the fragile and endangered additional 1,00,000 vehicles are added every year! coastal ecology, which is reeling from the ever-expanding concrete catering to a fad Desmond Ji, Go National called beach holiday Later, the limit was All said, just red lights can’t stop reduced to 200 metres Then again on diehard Goa enthusiasts like me December 28 last year, a notification from spending the festive time of issued by the Union forest and the year—Christmas and New environment ministry cut the Year—here Mandatory mention limit to a perfunctory 50 metres (and future motivation): crabs, Soon after, a Goan NGO porsquid, lobsters, king fish, red tended the “death knell for Goa’s snapper, sea bass, pomfret, tuna… coastal communities” Why shark And for those deprived of only the coastal communities? the meat whose name one dare The country’s entire coast is in not mention, the possession imminent danger The only lobby of which can get you lynched that is bound to be overjoyed by these days, there is no shortage the government move is that of the at all Bear in mind: the BJP is in builders An election-year ploy to power in Goa since the past two gather funds? terms and over 60 per cent of Goans MANJUL 90 OUTLOOK February 2019 ... twitter.com/outlookindia facebook.com/outlookindia youtube.com/outlookmagazine digimag.outlookindia.com twitter.com/outlookindia facebook.com/outlookindia youtube.com/outlookmagazine digimag.outlookindia.com... Kerala zooming past Outlook crunched data to 9041 50 800003 08 th August 2017 • `100 are still and UP Bihar Why www.outlookindia.com 9041 50 80 0041 August 7, 2017 Rs 60 14 www.outlookbusiness.com... insurgents Armed raiders backed by October 1949 This was nearly two 20 OUTLOOK February 2019 Illustrations by MANJUL February 2019 OUTLOOK 21 THE CULTURAL REPUBLIC OPINION the Pakistani Army regulars