The Beat, april issue by The Beat

The Beat

April 2014

General election 2014 The battle begins

April 2014 | The Beat

An IIJNM publication 1

Candor and controversies Didi

Er, Sushma Swaraj doesn’t have a nickname I will tonsure my head if a person with foreign origin becomes the prime minister

On Sonia Gandhi Earlier if men and women would hold hands, they would get caught by parents and reprimanded but now everything is so open. It’s like an open market with open options.

On gang rape

I want to tell the government of his country that he is an insane person and so he should be kept in an asylum. But if they don’t have space left for him there, I want to ask them to send him to the mental hospital in Agra.

Amma

On Julian Assange

No one can get anything out of me or subdue me by threats, harsh treatment; it only makes me more stubborn, inflexible, unbending, determined. The only way anyone can get me to cooperate is to be nice to me, pamper me, cajole me, talk to me kindly, softly.

On being an actress

Behen ji April 2014 | The Beat

CONTENTS Sports:

Everything you need to know about the IPTL

Election coverage Cover story: Elections beat the heat this summer!

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Kejriwal is a welcome breath of fresh air into Indian politicsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

India put to the test with the general election

How reliable are opinion polls

39 April 2014 | The Beat

Technology: Big data is set to make it big 3

Arts and culture:

Bangalore swings in tune with Odissi

Photo feature: Looking through Paul’s lenses

54 Commentary:

Is RTE really working?

We review

Restaurants:

Exhibitions:

A movie:

Books:

•Dreaming beyond the obvious •Pastoral personified

3 Days to kill

• 4 Seasons •I am Malala • It’s No Longer •The Soup Bowl a Dream Cover photo: Saggere Ramaswamy Illustrations: Sai Swaroop AVS

The Beat is a publication by magazine students of Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media. All rights are reserved by IIJNM. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is published.

April 2014 | The Beat

The Beat Editor Sneha Ghosh

Content editors Sneha Bengani Bhavika Bhuwalka Vaishnavi J. Desai

Designers Aurosmita Acharya Tulana Nayak Suchitra Sharma Nibedita Mohanta Shivpriya Jodha

Content adviser Mark Austin

Email your feedback magazinestudents@iijnm.org

Letter from the editor IWill Durant once very wisely said, “The political machine triumphs because it is a united minority acting against a divided majority.” What is more striking than the simplicity of his candor is its universality. Every individual has their own version of narrating the “truth,” but across countries, cultures and civilizations there hardly would have been a soul to doubt the authenticity of those words. Since the birth of civilization man has always been fascinated by power. The allure of authority to rule over the rest eventually gave birth to monarchy, which was later refined in the hues of colonialism and imperialism. And although most nations around the globe have been democratic for a significant period, have we truly realized the concept of democracy? Are the politicians of the day, the new-age royalty? Is the right to vote merely an exercise conducted every five years? With the entire nation buzzing about the upcoming Lok Sabha election in one of the biggest democracies in the world, these are a few of the questions we have tried searching answers to in our current issue. The battle has begun. Will India conform to conventions and elect another Gandhi as the next prime minister or will we “Modify” our outlook? How will the controversial debutant in Indian politics, Arvand Kejriwal, fare in the general election after his short stint as chief minister of Delhi? And finally, will the 16th button on the electronic voting machines, marked “none of the above,” be a game changer? We will have to wait for the cookie to crumble. Besides our theme stories we have an abundance of other articles, including a profile of an artist who serves Bangalore funny side up through his illustrations; an analysis of the marginalized lives that transgenders live in this society; a commentary on the failure of the Right To Education Act in private schools in the state; a report on the exciting new gadget in town—Google Glass; and a feature on how the age-old circus tradition is losing its sheen. It is a canvas painted meticulously blending bold, vibrant shades with subtler, gray ones. We hope to satiate your curiosity and that every reader finds their own hue to relate to. Cheers! Sneha Ghosh

April 2014 | The Beat

INTERVIEW

Transgenders feel soc By Neha Singh

TRANSGENDERS—“GENDER AND sexual minorities”—have always been portrayed in a negative light in Indian media. Society has always condemned them and their way of living. People won’t accept anything that seems abnormal or unnatural to them. Transgenders are exposed to discrimination within the society for no reason. The worst affected ones among the transgenders is the hijra community, transsexuals. They, too, are human beings, but society doesn’t consider them normal. Yes, they are different from others, but does anyone know how and why? Vinay Chandran, executive director of Swabhava, a nongovernmental organization in Bangalore working for issues related to sexuality, knows the reason. “Hijras are transsexuals, they are born biologically male but identify as women,” he said. They go through a simple sex change operation that helps them to match their bodies with their deeply felt sex and gender.” But hardly anyone tries to find out the reason. Instead, people call them minorities. On one hand, they pity hijras while on the other hand they fear them. Many fear their curse on refusal of money they beg for. But there are others who do not fear them—they give away whatever amount they find suitable in exchange for blessings. Some might

surrender to their demands out of selflessness while others do it out of belief in mythology. Chandran told an interesting story in Indian mythology that made him believe that “the hijras have a very strong cultural identity and can be seen being referred to in most Indian mythology.” It is believed that the hijras along with other men and women of Ayodhya went to bid adieu to Lord Rama when he was going on his exile. When Rama returned from his exile to Ayodhya he found the hijras still sitting at the entrance. On asking the reason, one of the hijras said that Rama asked everybody except the hijras to leave so they were waiting for him to return. Rama was overwhelmed by their love and blessed them along with their coming generations with the power to bless everyone else. Despite these mythological beliefs, hijras have been treated as outsiders intruding in the society of men and women. When they go around the streets asking for money people consider it begging like the other beggars do for food. But the purpose behind it is unknown to most. Has anyone ever thought why do the hijras have to beg? Has anyone ever given a second thought to why they are forced to beg and not work with dignity? Not many must have thought about it. But there are a few who think about them quite often, and among such people is Chandran, who spends most of his time with the transsexuals. “Traditionally, begging, blessing and prostitution are occupations that hijras have,” he said.

Photo: R. D’Lucca

The hijra community in India is discriminated against.

April 2014 | The Beat

ciety’s cold shoulder Vinay Chandran

Photo: Ted Eytan NGOs working on behalf of hijras try to provide them with opportunities to work as outreach workers, who work at the local level to provide educational programs and other assistance to certain communities through workshops). Although the number of such jobs has increased, the traditional occupations are still the mainstay of their lives, Vinay said. But again, the outreach services remain restricted within the hijra community. He said that other than the outreach services there are no other job opportunities in mainstream society, which forces them to go back to their usual occupations—begging, blessing and prostitution. A possible reason behind their condition is one—rejection from the society. This deprives them of basic needs to survive in the world, which drives them towards opting the other ways of earning their daily bread. “Recognition of any minority, as well as active affirmation of their existence through participatory involvement, will definitely help. This applies to the hijras as well.” Some suffer rejection at an early age while April 2014 | The Beat

others do so later in their lives. Whichever, they are deprived of education, love, family support. The only place left for them to take shelter is the hijra community, where they are accepted without hesitation. But the only way to lead their lives within the community is to opt for the traditional occupation of the transsexuals. Addressing educational barriers Chandran said, “Despite the attempts to provide reservation to transgenders in Bangalore University (in postgraduate courses) there is a vast gap between their education needs and the reality.” He feels that “the government attempts are seen as being largely tokenistic.” He also said that these attempts would just remain on papers if they won’t be provided with the basic education—primary schooling and junior college education. Without being able to complete the graduate course and the high school education how would a transgender or hijra be eligible to sit for the reserved seat offered at Bangalore University? It is impossible because most of them are devoid of basic education while the rest who decide to become a transgender or a

transsexual later in life might hesitate to pursue the higher education and benefit the reserved seats in fear of being discriminated by others within the institution. To achieve what the government tried through the attempt at BU, there is an obvious need of social acceptance. The social rejection affects the person in many ways which stops them from grooming themselves and makes it difficult for them to survive within the society they live in. “The nature of social rejection is such that any of its form affects each individual deeply,” said Chandran. With rejection they also experience “selfhatred, low self-confidence, low selfesteem and severe depression, substance use, suicidal ideation and attempts—each reflect the effect of social rejection,” Chandran said. Chandran believes that social acceptance would change their life for the better. “Recognition of any minority, as well as active affirmation of their existence through participatory involvement, will definitely help. This applies to the hijras as well.”

SPORTS

Everything you need to know about the IPTL

By Monika Shukla

INDIA HAS INAUGURATED the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), another sport on an international level following the Indian Premier League and Indian Badminton League. This high-profile tennis event was launched by Indian tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi along with German legend Boris Becker and American player Justin Gimelstob. Bhupathi’s initiative received a backing from legends like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The event is scheduled to be held at the end of the calendar year, tentatively between Nov. 28 and Dec. 20. The event will see the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray. Past legends who are waiting to swing their racquets on court include Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter. Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are few of the names from the women’s section included in the list. Former world No. 1 Roger Federer is the only big name who decided to opt out of IPTL tournament.

IPTL Format The league will take place in four Asian cities. The four teams based in Dubai, Singapore, Mumbai and Bangkok will play home and away matches. The teams will compete in 24 best-of-five set matches. Each game will have one set each for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and legend singles tie-break set, if required to decide the match winner. The total cost per team will be $4 million

to $10 million, with the top seeds expected to earn more than $1 million. Five categories of players are sorted in terms of ranking, popularity and potential. In the big snatch of players Rafael Nadal is in the hands of Mumbai team owner Mahesh Bhupathi. Bhupathi told Times News Network: “As an Indian and the owner of the tournament I’m delighted that the world No.1 Rafa Nadal is playing for an Indian city. I think the teams are evenly balanced, I’m happy for the players who have been picked, but in a fourt e a m playoff there was always going to be some players who were not going to be picked.” Other big names include Frenchman Gael Monfils, Serb Ana Ivanovic, American legend Pete Sampras and Indian doubles stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

Nadal being the world No. 1 will serve as the greatest advantage for the team. His comeback in the last year and victories in French and U.S. Open made him return to the top spot. Nadal is undoubtedly the best in the current scenario. World No. 2 Novak Djokovic along with Caroline Wozniackiwas were bagged by team Dubai; Wimbledon champion Andy

Murray with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was pulled out by Bangkok; American tennis superstars Andre Agassi and Serena Williams went to Singapore in a one-of-a-kind tennis auction. The division seems perfectly even with so many tennis greats willing to showcase their talent in this international event. IPL and IBL are the kind of league tournaments that encourage a lot of young talent. These kinds of tournaments attract

increased youth participation making the sport popular among people. Being a cricket-crazy nation, India definitely has to take part and evolve in such leagues featuring sports like tennis. This would serve as an encouragement to sportsmen to take up sports other than cricket. Such initiatives will bring a much-needed sport revolution in the country. Indian tennis lovers are surely excited to watch these superstars in action on their soil. So stay tuned. India awaits these legends!!

IPTL Tournament 2014 Teams

BANGKOK Andy Murray Victoria Azarenka Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Carlos Moya Daniel Nestor Kirsten Flipkens

DUBAI Novak Djokovic Caroline Wozniacki Goran Ivanisevic Janko Tipsarevic Nenad Zimonjic Martina Hingis Malek Jaziri

MUMBAI

SINGAPORE

Rafael Nadal Pete Sampras Ana Ivanovic Gael Monfils Rohan Bopanna Sania Mirza Fabrice Santoro

Andre Agassi Serena Williams Tomas Berdych Lleyton Hewitt Patrick Rafter Daniela Hantuchova Bruno Soares Nicholas Kyrgios April 2014 | The Beat

Stop booing Vettel By Sakshi Gupta

FORMULA ONE IS back, and with it fans’ wrath towards German racer Sebastian Vettel. The qualifying session of the season opener, Australian Grand Prix, saw the young driver booed by some fans in the main grandstand as he walked to the garage. This came after he failed to make the top 10 in the second qualifier. How can a racer, who has won all the last four driver’s championships at the tender age of 26 be booed? He even holds the record of winning nine consecutive races in a season—a feat last achieved more than 60 years ago.

their on-track rivalry. The booing of Vettel didn’t come as a surprise as the Australian crowd is famously partisan. Such incidents have happened in the past, too.

Formula One’s 2014 season is the beginning of an altogether new era in motor sport. The philosophy behind the huge changes in the rules and regulations is to attain safer and fuel-efficient car. The drivers will take time to settle and adjust with the new form of F1. This was clearly seen in AusPhoto : Quqster tralia.

They didn’t spared the World No. 1 tennis player, Rafael Nadal, in the 2014 Australian Open final. Nadal was booed when he took a medical treatment timeout. Toni Nadal, uncle and coach of Nadal, raised

The early exit of the British racer, Lewis Hamilton, considered the favorite to win this year’s championship by the F1 pundits in the third lap, due to technical reasons, showed F1’s unpredictability in the ongoing season.

This is an insult to his tremendous talent, as far as I’m concerned. Numbers speak louder than words, and here is one such figure that gives an indication of his driving abilities: The legendary Michael Schumacher won his first race at the age of 23, but the 26-year-old Vettel is already a fourtime world champion.

The result of the Australian Grand Prix was not in favor of Vettel. But just one race cannot undermine his previous achievements. Hamilton was followed to the garage by Vettel, who retired in lap six due to power-unit trouble. Though the year has started with a disappointment for him, I’m sure the team will solve the technical issues soon which he has been facing since the pre-season testing in February.

It would be improper to attribute Vettel’s success only to the perfect car provided by his team, Red Bull Racing. A driver must be capable enough to make the best of the asset he has. For the past four seasons, his dominance over all the drivers has given the tag of “boring” to the sport. I feel that his dominance brings the best out of other racers.

his voice against the unacceptable behavior towards his nephew. It’s high time Christen Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, decides to take some action against the intolerable booing of his driver.

The fight between him and his archrival, Fernando Alonso is a treat for any Formula One fan. In other words, both the drivers bring out the best of each other through

The Aussies don’t spare their own countrymen. In the Ashes summer of 2010-11, Michael Clarke, the then vice captain of the Australian cricket team, sufffered the

April 2014 | The Beat

same treatment at the hands of the Brisbane crowd as he struggled to regain his form. But the positive point about the country and its citizens is their love for all kinds of sports.

Eight cars failed to finish in the 1.6 turbo era indicating the commencement of a difficult phase for the drivers. It will be very interesting to watch how they come out of it as winners. There are 18 more races to go in 2014, and Vettel can afford to take time to resolve the issues with his car and hit back as the most competitive driver. Of course, Vettel lovers want their champ to be back in form as soon as possible. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this happens from the very next race.

SPORTS

The T20 race: The best and the worst

By Raju Peethala

BANGLADESH IS THE epicenter of cricket fever as the T20 World Cup is under way. With 18 teams in contention, this will be a great opportunity for the top eight teams to seal the trophy and make an impact in the history of cricket.

key role to play in providing victories for the team.

South Africa The chokers of international cricket are yet to make an impact in the T20 cricket. It is a team which is mixed with experience and young talent. It has to pull together as a

Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand and England are among the top eight teams in the recent rankings revealed by International Cricket Council (ICC). Let’s look at the teams and their chances of winning the most awaited trophy.

New Zealand

Sri Lanka Recently won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh which will serve as a huge advantage for the team. It has a strong batting line with experienced campaigners like Sangakkara, Jayawardane and Dilshan. If the younger players can live up to the expectations then there is nothing stopping the Sri Lankan team. They have missed the opportunity of grabbing the trophy twice as they failed to pull it off together in the finals of 2009 and 2012.

India Currently low on confidence as it failed to make it to the finals in the Asia Cup. India’s middle order and death bowling has been its major concern in the recent past. With Yuvraj and Raina back in the squad, Team India is hoping for a change of fortunes in the batting department. Spinners will play a key role as most of the pitches suit the conditions, but it depends on how Dhoni uses them.

They are the defending champions and are always unpredictable when it comes to T20 cricket. Chris Gayle, the batting Tsunami can give single handed victories if he can manage to spend some time at the crease. Marlon Samuels, Bravo and Narine have larger roles to play as they are considered to be the most reliable players of the team. It wouldn’t be any surprise if the Caribbean makes it to the finals again.

team to win. Spin department is their weak leg that can alter the end result of a game.

Australia With the presence of specialist T20 players like David Warner, Finch, Bailey and Maxwell, the team is high on confidence as they won back to back series against England and South Africa. With Mitchell Johnson ruled out of the team due to an injury, their bowling strength might be tested as all of them have very little experience in playing at subcontinent conditions. Fielding is their main strength which is very crucial in the upcoming tournament.

West Indies

Holds a poor record when it comes to T20 International cricket. They have to beat Sri Lanka, England and South Africa to seal a place in the knockouts. Team consists of specialist T20 players like Corey Anderson and McCullum brothers. An all-round show is an essential factor the Kiwis need to qualify for the knock outs. It will be a real surprise if they manage to get a berth in the finals.

England Winners of T20 World Cup 2010 in the West Indies. They are in the worst form of all the top eight teams. Recently they lost to West Indies and Australia, which can choke confidence levels. As the tracks in Bangladesh are more spinner-friendly, English batsmen will have to struggle against the spinners, which is their biggest worry. Batting line has to be at its best in order to qualify for the knockout stages. Teams most likely to make it to the knockout stages—Sri Lanka, Australia, Pakistan and India. Let’s see who will have the last laugh.

Pakistan Lost to Sri Lanka in the finals of Asia cup. It holds the record of entering semifinals in every T20 World Cup. Pakistan looks like a well-balanced team as their batting wing seems to be in good form. Afridi, Ajmal and Hafeez will have a

April 2014 | The Beat

No sporting chance in Chittapur The interest of youngesters in sports is dying due to the negligence of the authorities or India would have had more players for Olympics. By Rashmi Sinha

CHITTAPUR IS THE second-largest taluk in Karnataka. Yet no player from here has ever qualified for any national level sport tournament. Are they weak and uninterested? Or do they look forward to opportunities but never get it? People there mainly play volley ball, cricket, khokho, kabbaddi and athletics. They also participate in inter-taluk tournaments, but never go beyond the district level games. The common reason that all the players recite is “no support.” From a beginner to a pro, all sportsmen have a common complaint of not getting enough support from the government, panchayat and political parties. On one hand, players from Bangalore qualify for the Olympics and on the other hand, athletes in the same state do not even get a chance to display their sporting skills. Volleyball players asked the government authorities for volleyball ground in the taluk. They had to wait five months for one. In the meantime they played in a government office premises till they were driven out of there. They now rely on the ground of a degree college with permission to play only after five in the evening. They had to clear the ground themselves. Raju Rathod, an athlete from the taluk, said he recorded the speech of MLA Priyank Kharge, when he came as a chief guest in the degree college for the Independence Day celebration last year and promised that there would be scientific labs in the college and playgrounds for students and outsiders. None of these promises were kept. Rathod said: “He said if we want anything we can go to him and talk about it and he would fulfil our demands. He doesn’t even think before saying where will we get the money to go all the way to Bangalore or to Gulbarga just to talk to him.” There are young players emerging in the taluk, but neither coaches nor trainers have been provided to any of them. In a neighboring town, Wadi, the private firms ACC and Rajeshwari sponsor players, April 2014 | The Beat

Surprisingly, sports also has a shape of a pyramid in India but with the condition that they should be related to one of their employees. Naresh Habib, who played district-level volley ball wasn’t promoted. He now teaches young boys from Chittapur for free and works as a clerk in a government office. Habib said: “I know my boys have the capacity and talent to reach the nationals, but all I can do is just train them. I never had anyone who could teach me the technicalities, so I don’t want these boys to suffer like

I did.” The sportspeople of the taluk constantly keep track of the tournaments, either by following the local newspapers or calling the concerned authorities. But the authorities do not respond when they qualify for the next level. Govinda, a kabbaddi player, was selected twice for the district level tournaments but was never called or informed.

ELECTIONS

Cover Story

Elections beat the heat this summer! By Sneha Bengani

SHASHI THAROOR, MINISTER of state for human resource development and member of parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has described general elections 2014 as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a battle for Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soul.â&#x20AC;? Every five years, one of the biggest democracies of the modern world turns into a battleground. From April 7 begins a fresh conflict, the 16th, since India declared independence in 1947. The polling process for 543 Lok Sabha seats will last a total of 72 days, from April 7 to May 12, and has been divided into nine phases. It is estimated that the electoral strength of the second most populous country as it stands just before the elections, is 814.5 million, and is the largest in the world. There are 100 million more people in the electorate than there were last time in 2009. It is also the longest and the most expensive general election ever conducted in India. There are several factors other than the

gigantic numbers that make 2014 general elections bigger and better than all the rest that the country has seen so far.

Leaders 1st, parties 2nd Elections this year is a fight between two popular leaders and not two powerful political parties, unlike what in theory has been the traditional Indian scenario. This race to the lower house is centered on people than on the parties they represent. With the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi hogging all the publicity, it has become a contest of personalities. Both the men have become taller than their respective parties. After being given a clean chit by the Supreme Court, Modi might escape the legal challenge, but the taint that the 2002 Godhra riots have put on his political career would take more than sincere washing to fade into thin light. Nonetheless, the NaMo wave is riding high this election.

Young voters According to the Election Commission, it is estimated that as many as 90,000 voters, aged between 18 and 22 years, will be

eligible to vote for the first time in each Lok Sabha constituency this year. Around 23.2 million voters are between 18 and 19 years of age. The educated youth, therefore, forms a significant portion of the vote bank. The contesting parties, as a resultant, have focused on issues that hit the young in an attempt to tap the electorate of not only today but tomorrow as well. Real problems like price rises, corruption and safety, that plague every citizen at the grass-root level in the present-day India, have been picked up by the political parties as their agenda. The 2014 elections will be crucial as it would bring to the forefront the party that would be successful in capturing the aspirations of the youth and willing to help them build a better future.

Women Since 1962, the divide between the number of men and women voters has reduced considerably, the least being during the 2009 general elections. According to the data released by the Election Commission, the gap between male

April 2014 | The Beat

and female voters was as high as 16.7 per cent in 2004, which came down to 4.4 percent in the next, 2009 polls.

its anticorruption campaign. Never before had a political party indulged in such direct discourse with its people.

Women voters shall play a pivotal role in the decision making in the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that have 120 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies. Both the states have had a record of active women participation, higher than the men in the last assembly elections.

This one promised a population thirsty for change, a government for the people, by the people and to the people. It reiterated a slogan that was long lost. Overnight, the broom became the weapon and the Gandhi cap returned in vogue.

Also, with an increased awareness against gender-based violence, a number of laws and amendments have been made keeping in mind the fairer half of the electorate.

Kejriwal’s brief stint as the chief minister of Delhi shut all the rumor mills that dubbed him an underdog. His “mango man’s party” has and can offset a tightly structured reign.

It is estimated that this elections, the women turn out at the election booths will be the largest for now they are not only aware of their suffrage rights but are confident oftheir political choices too.

After performing brilliantly in the assembly elections, it would be interesting to see if the new-born party will be able to echo the sentiments of its people yet again and grab some important seats at the center.

The emergence of AAP

Social media explosion

A party born out of the people’s movement, the Aam Aadmi Party reminds of the Janata Party led by Jai Prakash Narayan during the 1977 Emergency. Laden with moral aspects, AAP, spearheaded by Arvind Kejriwal, has played a pivotal role in making politics the talk of the country.

The biggest elections of all times in the youngest country of the world during the age of the internet! Social media has to be one of the chief players.

It might be new, inexperienced and impulsive, but it surely has disseminated awareness about the issues that were buried in the deepest grave of the remotest graveyard. The party took the nation by storm with

This election, we have digitized versions of campaigns, NaMo and RaGa fan pages, both these icons trending in every major online social platform and parties spending huge amounts on virtual image management of their candidates. Social media is all over the place, it is noisy, quick, efficient and cost effective. It has lately acted as a catalyst in churning

people’s movements and popular protests. The fatal gang rape case in Delhi, the anticorruption movement, the NaMo wave and the RaGa hate, all of this could not have been inflated to a size larger than life without the strength of social media. It is the one tool that none of the previous elections could make use of. But the reach of this web is only within the voters who are cyber-literate, which accounts to only 3-4 percent of the total population. Online public platforms do create awareness, but only within a small section. It has no magical powers, and cannot make or break governments.

Voting ‘none of the above’ With the assembly elections last year came into existence a 16th button on the electronic voting machines, that which enables the electorate to reject all the contestants and vote “none of the above” instead. It empowers the voter to voice his dissatisfaction with the contestants without revealing his identity and forces the political parties to give tickets only to politicians worthy of it, thus cleaning the polling process and making it more democratic. All these never-seen-before factors have contributed in making general elections 2014 one of its kind. The experience is complicated yet exciting and goes beyond conventional politics.

Photos: Mark Austin & Girish Rath April 2014 | The Beat

ELECTIONS

Interview

‘Kejriwal is a we of fresh air into

He was editor in chief at DNA, prior to which he was associated with The New Indian Express and Hindustan Times. He star war. Aditya Sinha is one of the few journalists whose pen got him noticed for his powerful articles against the United Progressiv By Sneha Ghosh

WITH MODI RIDING high on the opinion polls and the UPA government struggling hard to hide the blemishes of multiple scams smearing their credibility, it seems probable that Congress might not be able to retain another term at the Centre. But a change in the government might not significantly change India’s foreign policy post May 2014, Sinha suggested. “Governments may change— the national interest never does,” Sinha said. “However, what changes are the initiatives that a particular government takes to take forward the fundamental national interest. “I think that if the NDA comes to power, as looks likely, then there is hopefully a good possibility that peace with Pakistan will be pursued again as indicated by Arun Jaitley, who is likely to have a top ministry in a new government in a television interview to Karan Thapar. “On China, Modi has emphasized deepening of economic ties and visited China while with the U.S., it seems that a combination of the Khobragade episode and the non-issuance of visa to Modi earlier will make forward movement extremely slow. “The other possibility is that there will be a coalition government with a non-Congress, non-BJP prime minister, in which case they will be so bogged down with internal matters that foreign policy will be as low a priority as it was during Manmohan Singh’s second term.” While the media has vested much of its energy in demonizing Ke-

jriwal starting from Somnath Bharti’s fiasco to the recent incident of AAP workers allegedly having damaged metal detectors at Mumbai’s Churchgate Station, Sinha still remains hopeful. “Arvind Kejriwal is welcome breath of fresh air into Indian politics. He is facing a lot of flak because politics in India has become vested with so many interests. Even if he does not have electoral longevity, he has given hope to many that nontraditional politics is possible in India, and that we need not be captive to corporate interests.” Kejriwal resigned from his office after a short period of 49 days post his spectacular win at the Delhi Assembly Elections in which he won 28 seats and swept aside three-time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. He had accused both Congress and BJP of protecting the interests of Mukesh Ambani and thwarting the Jan Lok Pal Bill. He is out of his office but cannot be ruled out when coalition politics come into play post elections. Sinha thinks the Aam Aadmi Party would be a formidable presence in opposition. “In this election I would think that he will get around 25 or so seats, which would make him a voice equal to Jayalalitha or Mamata Banerji when coalition talks are in progress,” Sinha said. The Indian media has come under increased criticism in recent years, accused of being controlled by politicians who use the press to promote their own agendas. A study by The Hoot, a South Asian media watchdog, indicated that political parties or individuals own and run the press according to their vested interests and political affiliations. “The media in India is in a serious credibility crisis due to their business interests and the political leanings of the media owners. April 2014 | The Beat

elcome breath Indian politics’

rted his career in the 1980s as a reporter working in Punjab, Kashmir and Assam, and was the only Indian reporter in Peshave Alliance government.

If Modi can have a peace accord with Pakistan then India would have greatly benefited from his stewardship.

Both are interlinked. Once the business model changes then I hope the pattern of media ownership will also change,” Sinha said. “Right now the pursuit is too much of revenue and content has been deemphasized; revenue in India is maximized by crony capitalism. Until the change happens, I don’t see much hope for mass media. It seems obvious that the change will come from the internet.” Indian society too is becoming increasingly tolerant of the creative freedom of artists with the government usually sitting on the fence in such situations. The most recent example of this bigotry was the fuss that blew up over Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History, but there may be a change in the scenario with Modi as the prime minister of India, Sinha suggested. “I don’t think anyone’s creativity will be stifled once Modi is in power because he will have already achieved what he wanted and he will be focused more on getting things done than this type of gimmickry,” he said. The Mahabharat has already begun and all political parties are pulling out all stops to ensure they bring their A-game on. But post elections, the path may not be quite even for the government-to-be as there are some significant hurdles along the road for them to address. “The biggest challenge facing any new government is obviously the economy: encouraging manufacturing, increasing job creation, reducing the deficit, rationalizing taxation, facilitating entrepreneurship, and expanding trade with our neighbors,” he said. “I think the government would do well to encourage development in Maoist areas so that people are less lured by militancy. April 2014 | The Beat

“I also think that the government should prioritize improving relations with Pakistan and addressing political grievances in Kashmir, urgently so because the US pullout from Afghanistan will have consequences for the region as a whole.” So what can Modi do differently that the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government could not? “If Modi can have a peace accord with Pakistan then India would have greatly benefited from his stewardship. He, like Vajpayee, is the only one in a position to do so without being accused by Hindus of selling out.” Last year, the Election Commission of India was directed by the Supreme Court to include “none of the above” as the last option on all EVMs and ballot papers in each constituency of the country. Equipped with this alternative of rejecting all candidates from their constituency, the voters might find this election different from all the others they have voted for so far. Sinha thinks little of the new option. “While the Supreme Court decision will give a voice to disgruntled voters, it will not solve the problem of the election of bad candidates as we still follow the first-past-the-post system. Perhaps a runoff system ought to be introduced, or a system of proportional representation.”

I also think that the government should prioritize improving relations with Pakistan and addressing political grievances in Kashmir, urgently so because the US pullout from Afghanistan will have consequences for the region as a whole.

ELECTIONS

Overview

Know you

Indian National Congress

Bharatiya Janata Party BJP

INC

Strengths:

• A brand name, enjoys the iconic “Gandhi-Neh ru family” image. • Decades of being at the helm provides them with the much needed finan cial strength. • Clarity in agenda plan ning and process of execution. • Stresses the power of youth.

• The failure of Congress government has made it easier for BJP to convince voters. • During his reign, Atal Bihari Vajpayee instilled faith in the masses. • Narendra Modi has managed to attract a lot of votes through online penetration and his powerful speeches.

Weaknesses: • Lack of unity among party leaders. • Hierarchy is more like a monopoly. • Not much space for views and opinions. • Unable to execute devel opmental schemes.

Aam Aadmi Party

Weaknesses:

• The Gujarat riots tainted both Modi and BJP’s image. Its accusations still haunts the party mem bers. • There is a lack of unity among party leaders. Par ty members from Karnat aka formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha.

AAP

Communist P (Mar

Strengths:

• Popularity among the masses for its work against corruption. • Strong will to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill attracted tremendous support from the people. • Solutions to the basic is sues that the common man goes through every day. • Anna Hazare, though not a party member, he was the brainchild of the movement.

• Has been su the helm of almost 30 ye stretch. • Grounded, m commoners, exchequer le • Strong in pa racy. • Freedom of strongly foll

Weaknesses: • Kejriwal quitting the Delhi chief minister’s post. • No specific ideology. • Not able to handle pressure in crucial situations.

Weaknesses

• Lack of clar ogy. • Lack of stro ship, particu the young m • Have lost th the states th in power. • Lost its coa AIADMK.

April 2014 | The Beat

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Party of India Nationalist Congress Party rxist) NCP CPI-M

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Samajwadi Party

Strengths:

• Majority of the MPs of the United Progressive Al liance government belong to this party. • It is steadily gaining ground in various states, particularly in Maharash tra. • Enjoys strong and experi enced leadership. • Has strong election agen das.

• Strongly favors Indo-PakBangladesh Maha Sangh. • Is popular among the youth. • Has successfully estab lished goodwill among its patrons. • Believes in direct interac tion with the masses and hence is tagged as “people friendly.”

Weaknesses: • Internal turbulence among prominent leaders. • Few youth leaders to grab voter’s attention.

April 2014 | The Beat

Weaknesses: • Focuses majorly on the backward classes. •Opposes the entry of mul tinational companies. •Ignores the problems faced by other castes. • Indulged in anti-BJP politics.

By Aurosmita Acharya and Tulana Nayak

Bahujan Samajwadi Party BSP

Strengths: • Mayawati has always been a face for BSP • The party has always ex tended support for Dalit.

Weaknesses: • The party’s major ity belonged to upper caste contradicting its own ideology. • Erecting unnecessary statues of political fig ures from the party.

ELECTIONS

Strategies

Hype and spin By Tulana Nayak, Nibedita Mohanta and Aditi Iyer

POLITICS HAS PENETRATED into the World Wide Web and the 2014 election have got a new face. Candidates are trying their best to promote themselves, not only through campaigns and rallies but also online. Here is how the major parties are campaigning this election season.

Bharatiya Janata Party Modi started his campaign during Gujarat’s 2012 assembly elections with a 3-D holographic projection through which he could make himself heard throughout Gujarat. This was implemented in other states in 2013. Through his campaign, Chai pe Charcha (talk over tea), he set up discussions with people at tea stalls and asked the public to offer solutions. Its motive was to reach out to the masses and discuss governance and other issues. Modi is building a “statue of unity” in honor of the iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is going to be the

world’s tallest monument, with a height of 182 meters. He has asked every villager of the country in the name of patriotism to donate their used steel tools and a bottle full of soil from their respective lands. Villagers are also assured free accommodation near the statue if they happen to travel by. This agenda—an emotional connection with the farmers of the country—ensures enough votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Modi has tried his best to convey his message across India. All his speeches in Hindi are translated into other Indian languages. Other campaign initiatives include: •A website called Mission 272+ which aims at reaching the goal of more than 272 seat majority in the 545 Lok Sabha seats. •Smart NaMo, android phones that are dedicated to Narendra Modi. •The books Shakshibhaav and Moditva, which are about his life and achievements.

Aam Aadmi Party Nina P. Nayak, AAP’s candidate for

Bangalore South, said that the party’s foot soldiers—drivers and volunteers—are assigned to carry out the campaigns. Some of them even go from door to door. Commenting on the promotional campaigns of the party, V. Balakrishnan, AAP candidate for Bangalore Central, said: “We don’t have a lot of funds like other parties, but we are doing our best for the campaign by putting up videos on YouTube, being active on Twitter and constantly updating the party website.” The party members recently held two public rallies and a grand dinner where invitees had to pay Rs.20,000 per plate. The total amount collected from the dinner was Rs.5 million, which directly went to the party’s account. The party mainly wanted to show the transparency it maintains while indulging in monetary transactions. Social media is their main weapon. Jayendra Shahi from Bihar said: “I completed electronic communications course from Sweden and came to India last year. I liked the prospects of the party so I joined it and April 2014 | The Beat

I’m helping them advertise through social media. I went to Jaipur last week and taught the young volunteers to use IT and social networking to publicize the party.”

movement is a democratic aspiration of the weaker sections, who could not find space in united Andhra Pradesh, either politically or culturally.”

AAP’s target issues include traffic management, police harassment, inefficient emergency services and police understaffing. Their youth wing called the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samithi too has been gaining momentum lately.

It is hard to foresee if this small line drawn on the map of Andhra Pradesh will help Gandhi gather support and votes to win the elections. RaGa might have pleased some, but has disappointed most of citizens with this strategic game plan.

Congress

The Land Acquisition Bill was passed to make the system more transparent and bring justice to those who have lost their lands for the construction of roads, dams and buildings. In theory, it is in favor of the underprivileged. This too, was a clever move right before the 2014 elections.

The promotional ads by Congress portray the different ideologies of the party. They have been translated into several languages, including Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Odia, Bengali and Assamese. Recently, there have been some accusations against Hasiba, the face of their ad campaign “Kattar soch nahi, yuva soch” (Not fanaticism, but youthfulness). She has been accused of being behind the bars for her involvement in a Rs.3 billion scam with Goa’s ex-public works department minister. She denies the allegations.

Online presence

The newly passed Telanagana Bill has made some happy and left many feeling unheard. During campaigning, Rahul Gandhi proudly said, “Telangana needs to be addressed with a social engineering strategy as the prime moving force as the statehood

It showed that AAP had the maximum number of followers (560,000) on Twitter whereas the BJP has managed to accumulate more fans on Facebook, with a massive 2.57 million followers.

April 2014 | The Beat

Social Samosa launched an election tracker this year that collects data in terms of number of mentions on the web and on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. It also calculates the number of “negative” mentions on a weekly basis.

The Congress has been aloof from social media until now, but has slowly started using Twitter. P.R. Ramesh, secretary of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, said: “Only the urban population can access the internet and be active on social media; only 10-15 percent votes comprise of that. Our majority votes come from the rural population.” He feels that there are also parties that cook up stories on Twitter and Facebook in order to confuse the voters. “Congress need not rely on social media for promotion as it is a mass party which has been ruling for years . now,” he said S. Suresh Kumar, a BJP candidate contesting from Rajajinagar, said: “I don’t want to compare with others, but our party is much ahead in terms of being active on social media.” He also said there is a special IT cell devoted to managing social media for every . parliamentary and assembly constituency Balakrishnan from AAP said that a lot of people in India use the internet, which helps the party reach out to the masses.

ELECTIONS

Challenges

India put to the test with upcoming general election By Aurosmita Acharya

Stagnant economy

WITH THE ELECTION season fast approaching, the econom- Moody’s investor service in one of its reports predicted that the ic scenario in India remains crucial as inflation is riding high and election in mid-2014 would delay the much needed reforms, an essential to revive the economy. growth rate is slowing down. The 16th general election has coupled up with a prolonged eco- In addition, it also predicted India’s GDP growth to remain nomic progress and has led to a temporary slowdown in the weak at 5.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2015. country’s progress.

With the high rate of inflation, the interest rates too will continue to tower which would certainly affect the pace of growth. The new government would be facing the challenging task of managing the fiscal deficit, c o n t r o l l i n g the prices and Our president justifiedly said that the rage visible among the r e v i v i n g investments at citizens could only be abated when “governments deliver what large. they are elected to deliver: social and economic progress, not at a snail's pace, but with the speed of a racehorse.” Ruth Kattumuri, co“The new government will face formidable problems when it Dr. director of the Asia Research Centre comes to power,” said Dr. M.N. Buch, dean of the Centre for Economics, analyses that in Governance and Political Studies, Vivekananda International at London School of order to check inflation, the Reserve Bank of India has raised Foundation. He raised questions about the mandates of the politinterest rates and will review India’s monetary policy framework ical parties—will the mandate be clear or will it be so fragmented in line with recommendations by the Urjit Patel Committee, that there will be difficulty in forming a government which can which is expected to submit its report at the end of the year. work? It is puzzling to think if the new government will be able to help India overcome the short comings at the earliest. Will it again be a tumultuous five-year journey, with scams and corruption claiming a major stake in the process?

The Beat analyzes the challenges that the government that will She also looks forward to a flourishing trade volume between occupy the realm of power by May end will be acutely facing. India-China and India-Pakistan.

FDI in infrastructure overseen Ernst and Young Global’s India attractiveness survey 2014 suggests that the country is a top contender in attracting foreign direct investments. “The main drivers are its solid domestic workers, an educated workforce and competitive labor,” the survey states. It also emphasized that “India accounts for more than 20 percent of the total capital allocated for the developing world.” The infrastructure, consumer products, industrial, technology, media and telecom (TMT), and life-sciences sectors are set to drive India’s growth over the next two years, according to the survey. The Planning Commission of India projected an investment of $ 1 trillion for the infrastructure sector during the 12th Five Year Plan, with 40 percent of the funds coming from the private sector. It is one of the major sectors that propel overall development of the economy. A report released in February by India Ratings, a Fitch group company, has put forth a negative outlook for the infrastructure sector in the coming fiscal year, due to weak credit profiles for most project companies.

“India needs to improve its operating environment and develop infrastructure,” EY’s report said. India needs to urgently prioritize activities for e n h a n c i n g production, streamlining the taxation system and making way for foreign direct investment through easing of regulations. This would certainly improve the inflow of FDI.

Photo: Thorfinn Stainforth

April 2014 | The Beat

Rural-urban disparity in literacy Dr. Rajiv Dharaskar in his book 113 Difficulties for Developing World Class Universities clearly states that the story of the Indian higher education system needs to be rewritten. He puts forth the lacunas—lack of a comprehensive policy, lack of government funding for research and lack of incentives for private players—present in our education system. Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, a human development economist, said that there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of educational institutions, faculties and students in India since Independence. But he also points out that the rise in literacy rate has yet to address the “rural-urban disparities in literacy.” A recent report by Dr. Shariff and Amit Sharma, research analysts at the Centre for Research and Debates in Development Policy, says, “Inter-generational and regional differentials in higher level education in India suggests that the mean

year of schooling of adults is as high as 13.3 years in the USA and just 4.4 years in India.” The report also highlights the regional differences in India regarding access to higher education. It is easily accessible to people in Southern and Northern India while the situation is worst in North-Central (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) and Northeastern states. “Since India is a growing population, the infrastructural needs are growing by the day. People’s aspirations are changing fast, which is boosting the demand for a higher level and

Future in mobile technology

Poverty and poor health

Jaideep Mehta, vice president and country general manager, International Data Corp., wrote on his blog, “2014 will finally see India’s IT eco-system begin a serious transition to the third platform technologies of cloud and mobility, and to a lesser extent big data and social.”

Despite all the economic and technological advances that India has seen, issues regarding poverty and health remain unaddressed.

IDC has predicted the influx of cloud and enterprise mobility technologies along with certain changes in the management processes of architecture and information technology. Mehta said, “From a vendor’s perspective, it will continue to be a challenging environment as the general elections put a stop to government procurement, and the enterprise sectors remain cautious in their spending.” President Pranab Mukherjee, during the Republic Day speech, rightly said, “Those in politics should understand that every election comes with a warning sign— perform or perish.” To combat the challenges that India is currently facing, it is crucial that the political parties implement in practice the ideologies that they boast of. The clash in their respective thought processes and beliefs should not lead to chaos for the nation. April 2014 | The Beat

Dr. Ruth Kattumuri said that while India seeks to harness its young population to drive growth, it must also start planning for increased expenditure on health and welfare services for the elderly. According to the planning commission, India spends about 4 percent of its GDP on health (with the government contributing 1.4 percent and the rest being privately funded). The government aims to increase its investment in health care to 2.5 percent by the end of the 12th five-year plan. Health Issues India, an organization that tracks key health problems, points out that 68 percent of India’s total population resides in rural areas, which means more than 50 percent of the population is unable to access basic health care facilities. A survey that they conducted regarding the same in January inferred that “the much needed

public-private partnership that can provide substantial solutions has not really come into play.” Malnutrition is a major challenge in India. The latest UNICEF report notes that “around 46 percent of all [Indian] children below the age of three are too small for their age and 47 percent are underweight. “About one-third of all adult women are underweight. Inadequate care of women and girls, especially during pregnancy, results in low birth weight babies. Nearly 30 percent of all newborns have a low birth weight, making them vulnerable to further malnutrition and disease,” the report says. The health care mechanism in India is weak and lacks public-private partnership. Primary health centers lack basic facilities like beds, doctors and nurses. This turns out to be a major challenge as the doctors are already disinterested in working in rural areas. The recent stay on the Central Governmental Health Scheme (CGHS) has further added to the woes of the elderly.

ELECTIONS

NOTA

I vote ‘none o

By Sneha Bengani

Ukraine, Chile, Bangladesh, Sweden, Colombia, Spain and the state of Nevada have been practicing it in various forms.

THE RIGHT GIVEN to the citizens of India on Sept. 27 last year by the Supreme Court, which includes “none of the above” as one of the options on electronic voting machines, might serve over 25,000 people living in Almora in Uttarakhand who have decided to boycott the general elections, alleging that they have been “used” by the politicians.

Only France and Belgium among the above mentioned countries have NOTA as an option in their EVMs. Others like Brazil, Greece, Ukraine, Chile, Bangladesh and Nevada exercise it using ballot papers.

The Election Commission of India was directed by the Supreme Court to include “none of the above” as the last option on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and ballot papers in every constituency before assembly elections last year. Now voters can reject all contestants if they feel like, without revealing their identities.

People cast a blank vote or write the name of a fictional candidate to show that they are uninterested in choosing any of the candidates in Finland and Sweden. In Colombia and Spain, a blank space on the ballot paper works.

The need This move, of including NOTA as an option, is an attempt to bring vibrancy and purity in the polling process by providing secrecy to every citizen who does not want to cast his vote in favor of any of the listed candidates of his constituency. It also aims at checking all the bogus votes that result as a by-product of a chaotic election process and ensuring more participation by giving people the right to vote negatively. Before NOTA, if a voter decided to cast an empty vote, he had to inform the officer in charge of the polling booth and sign separately in a different rule book, according to the provisions of Section 49(O) of the Representation of People Act. It revealed the identity of the voter and hence was a cruel violation of the constitutional provisions guaranteed under Article 19(1) (a) (Freedom of Speech and Expression) and Article 21 (Right to Liberty), abstaining a large number of people who did not want to reveal their identities, from voting. People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), an NGO, filed a public interest litigation with the apex court demanding that voters be given the power to not vote any of the candidates if they do not deem it fit. A bench of three judges, Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi passed the rule, bringing NOTA to life and giving the public a platform to express their displeasure with the choice of candidates. The chief justice of India, while writing the rule, said: “Such an option (NOTA) gives the voter the right to express his disapproval of the kind of candidates being put up by the parties. Gradually, there will be a systemic change and the parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.”

India follows suit India is not the first in the world to allow negative voting in its polls. Several others like France, Finland, Brazil, Belgium, Greece,

When the majority chooses to vote negatively S.Y. Quraishi, India’s chief election commissioner from June 2010 to July 2012, was reported saying last year, “Even if there are 99 NOTA votes out of a total 100, and candidate X gets just one vote, X is the winner, having obtained the only one valid vote. The rest will be treated as invalid or ‘no votes.’” April 2014 | The Beat

of the above’ A large number of people believe that political parties will learn to not put contestants with colored reputations if majority of voters in a constituency cast negative votes. Another section of plebeians opine that despite enjoying the confidence of the majority, NOTA cannot have any impact on the results as negative votes are excluded from the final counting.

clear understanding of the two terms.

When the voters are empowered with the right to reject, a reelection is held if the majority of the electorate rejects all the candidates. However, the votes cast in favor of none of the above are set aside as neutral votes and do not play any direct role in deciding the outcome of an election.

He says that NOTA has given a platform to the electorate to vent out their anger and frustration against the age-old structure of governance. The fact that the candidate who gets the maximum votes excluding the NOTA category wins the seat, has given rise to a popular myth that choosing “none of the above” instead of any one candidate is as bad as wasting one precious vote.

Public de- Devansh Sharma, a 21-year-old undergraduate, believes that he wasted an opbate portunity in the state elections by voting

Difference between the ‘right to reject’ and voting ‘none of the above’ Since the idea of electing “none of the above” is still in its infancy, it is often confused with the “right to reject” due to un-

April 2014 | The Beat

NOTA was introduced as an alternative during the assembly elections last year. Since then, it has triggered varied reactions among young voters.

NOTA. “But this time, I am going to make my vote count,” he said.

Nishant Singh, a 27-year-old UPSC aspirant, did not like any of the candidates contesting the assembly elections from his constituency and therefore cast his vote to “none of the above.” He believes that it is more useful than voting Photo: PTI for one particular candidate because it decides the contestants for the next elections.

Ankur Jayawant, 31, who works at Maersk in Pune, opines that NOTA may sound “morally high,” but “it seriously negates any possibility of change.”

“It can either channelize or marginalize a particular candidate. If none of the representatives are voted for, those candidates would not get a ticket from their parties the next time owing to their unpopularity,” he said.

He believes that “we have ‘first past the post’/Single Member District Plurality vote. Hence, the electoral design favors ‘strategic voting’ across constituency, which undermines the logic of NOTA further.”

A 22-year-old student pursuing an MBA in Greater Noida, Anubhav Goyal, finds NOTA similar to not voting. “It is like you are voting to not vote. It decreases the effective number of voters for one or the other party. It leads to a fragmented government formation, as there won’t be any single party coming to majority,” he said. He finds it better to vote.

Nishant Singh, on the contrary, is firm on his stance. “People talk of such things out of ignorance. We need to think from a long term perspective. NOTA gives you direct power,” he said. “It will be effective literally only after it is legitimized by the Supreme Court as a considered first choice where they actually spell out the process in case NOTA wins in a constituency,” said Vinay Brandon, a student of economics. “Right now, it is a toothless experiment,” he said. “It needs to be mandated as a genuine first choice reflecting the will of the people to reject candidates who do not stand up to their vote pool.”

ELECTIONS

People Photo: Saswata Debadutta

The rural-urban dichotomy

Elections are a hit in India, the favorite genre being the rural-urban divide with some leaders claiming to have a strong hold in one area and manifestos bustling with unfulfilled promises. By Vaishnavi J. Desai

More than 500 constituencies decide the fate of the political leaders, of which 197 belong to urban and semi-urban constituencies. The rest are the in the hands of rural India.

percent of our people live in villages. They therefore are the majority who can swing election results. These are also the people who need the governmental support the most.

Based on the Election Commission’s data on 2009 elections, rural India has a greater say as 83 percent of the total population participated in the polling process. The urban crowd stood at 66 percent, with the lowest involvement being 39 percent.

The political scenario in India is divided with parties hanging onto their specific regions. Congress takes rural India and Bharatiya Janata Party rules the middleclass urban minds.

Manifestos to woo The manifestos are filled with schemes to woo the rural population. Sixty-seven

Congress is banking on the achievements of its various schemes in the villages. Its manifesto clearly states that the party has “enacted path-breaking National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” which has

guaranteed jobs to many rural families. The Bharat Nirman Program provides irrigation, roads and other basic amenities to the rural population. The National Rural Health Mission promises to improve the quality and accessibility of primary health care in villages. Congress is also banking on its age-old strategy of dynastic politics. The manifesto makes promises based on Rajiv Gandhi’s vision of rural transformation using information technology. The BJP’s strategy includes criticizing the schemes introduced by Congress. They had planned a sparkling list of 12 million April 2014 | The Beat

IT-enabled jobs in rural areas, better connectivity and affordable education, for its 2009 manifesto.

The ‘rurban’ concept The urban middle class provides an added advantage to the BJP. Both Congress and BJP have suggested projects to develop infrastructure, bring in new IITs and make way for affordable housing along with tax exemptions as consolation prices for the urban voters. The BJP took it a step ahead with the promise of developing 15 new cities in five years. But as times have changed, the line between the urban and rural India has thinned. Therefore, BJP came up with a novel concept of “rurban,” which includes the development of the outer peripherals of the city. It hopes to reduce economic migration. The Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal is the urban India’s new sweetheart. He has appealed to the educated middle and upper middle class by winning the Delhi elections. His candidates, too, are assertive and aware of their targeted vote bank as they know that their anticorruption movement would appeal to the masses.

do not need a separate visa—neither a student visa nor an employment visa. Congress has promised to establish four new universities with 50 percent of the seats reserved for PIO/nonresident Indian students. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was created in May 2004. Congress has always made protecting the interests of several thousands of Indian workers in the Middle Eastern countries, its priority.

respective states. Considering all these factors, 2014 will be an important election to look forward as it will set new trends in the rural-urban equation with the results.

Photo: Amit Kumar Panda

But as times have evolved, the divide between rural and urban India seems to have blurred on the surface. With more people in rural India getting educated, they might be able to look through the dynastic-politics strategy that the Congress has used over the years. The BJP has ruled over several states for 10 years now and that has changed the concrete urban-rural chemistry that both the parties shared in the past. To mess up the equation further, there is a strong foothold of regional leaders such as Naveen Patnaik, Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalitha and the like in t h e i r

The overseas Indians Another important aspect that may give AAP an uncanny advantage is its global appeal. The Non-resident Indians have been very active in AAP’s campaign. Various teams from California, New Zealand and other cities abroad coordinate with the teams in India. Lots of funds also have been contributed for the campaign. Many of them have gone a step ahead and adopted several constituencies. Congress and BJP have left no stone unturned to flatter the Indians abroad. BJP introduced the Persons of Indian Origin Card, using which the Indians who have stayed abroad can avail themselves of certain benefits. They

April 2014 | The Beat

ELECTIONS

Leaders

MP is the key to By Anand Jain

LET’S BE HONEST about this. There is a Modi wave, no doubt. He is being talked about by everybody—from friends to family to strangers, his name pops out in different ways. That, I believe, is a wave. Lot of journalists and other smart folks who deny this must realize that they joined this wave the moment they said so, only making it flow further. The winds are swinging in favor of Narendra Modi, Twitterati are trending NaMo, lakhs of people are attending rallies to see Narendra Modi, top businessmen, singers and actors are appreciating Modi. Not the Bharatiya Janata Party. Elections are not as simple as admiring one man as your prime minister and voting for him. There is a discussion and debate every other day on whether Modi should be voted as the prime minister, whether he

deserves our votes. But the fact is nobody but a few thousand people will be directly voting for him.

It has made an attempt to do so in Karnataka, which will have at least three MPs who are women.

That’s what makes elections so interesting, so unpredictable and so democratic. That is why the Indian National Congress still has a chance to win the much-awaited, most crucial, general election, as members of parliament matter more than the prime ministerial candidate.

It has adopted another subtle, but very helpful strategy: better advertisements. The new posters by Congress, are put up in places that once held Bollywood actors or big companies. It is not just innovative, but interesting.

If a candidate knocks at my door and manages to impress me with his credentials, his ability to lead, his promises, his popularity, his sense of empathy, his work so far, his philosophy, his ideas, I would vote for him—regardless of the party he is from. I think that’s what every citizen wants in his leader—a person who can best represent him and lead his constituency. At a time when Congress wears a tainted image for its poor governance, it should push more capable MP candidates to win people over.

Rahul Gandhi is very heroically pondering over something, posing with a Hindu, Muslim, and a Sikh; a villager, and an urban youth—in black and white. The TV ad features a young girl with a Muslim name talking about her experience with the Youth Congress. He’s got them all. Youth, different religions and women. That makes a huge difference; it attracts more eyes. Just think about the traditional political poster with more than 10 men on the same ad. It would make for a horrible de-

You gave Congress 60 years, give me 60 months!

This election is a battle between two powerful ideas projected by BJP and Congress

April 2014 | The Beat

victory, not PM sign. Creative ads are a good start. Rahul Gandhi’s recent interview with Arnab Goswami seems to have hurt his reputation. “Pappu” has failed the test. But if we look at it in greater depth, it can be realized that Congress is posing for Indians a completely different alternative ruling strategy.

its economic mess (like China), there are certainly others who believe in Congress’s idea of “inclusive development.”

who speak more than 100 languages, follow more than seven religions, and have extremely diverse interests, can be analyzed (if at all) at two levels: Macro, and micro. At the micro level, which is at a personal, individual level, it might seem like the BJP will win the election (just the Modi effect might lead to people blindly voting for BJP). But, just like in any social study, micro results can vary form macro very significantly. And here is where Congress’s hard-toachieve prospects lie – in MPs collectively establishing the trust of their people, step by step, constituency by constituency.

Among the very few sensible things he talked about, Rahul said it is against the interest of democracy to declare the prime ministerial candidate before elections. He also said that the Congress believes in distribution of power among the people. He kept saying, “I want to empower the people.” In an attempt to decentralize power, Congress aims to provide village panchayats and state governments with more power.

Political Narendra Modi, on the other hand, never claimed that aim. In fact, he has been repeatedly called an authoritarian leader who wants to bring development, boost the economy, and help the poor – all on its own. While some might believe that being authoritarian is the only way to save India of April 2014 | The Beat

posters have modernized over the years

This election is not a battle just between Congress and the BJP; it’s a fight between two very different—but equally powerful and highly debatable ideas. This can prove to be an advantage for the Congress. An election including 1.2 billion people

Thanks to democracy, voters’ mood can swing, throttle, quiver, shake and shift in absolutely no time. Yes, people might want Narendra Modi as their PM, but not at the risk of having an absolutely useless MP representing them. And Congress, by working harder, smarter, can field those faithful candidates.

That might make this Indian saying true: Door se dekha toh BJP thi, paas jaake dekha toh Congress nikli. (From far away, it looked like BJP, but when I came closer, it turned out to be Congress.)

ELECTIONS

Minorities

Next stop—minor By Bhavika Bhuwalka

INDIA IS A land of minorities. With all the caste-based, religionbased and economic-status-based reservations, there is a kind of competition going on about who manages to grab the most undue favors from the government. Choosing leaders based on such criterion, instead of taking into account who can run the country most efficiently, has long been a norm here. It is well known that Bharatiya Janata Party is pro-

Hindu and the Bahujan Samaj Party valiantly fights for the rights of Dalits (backward class/untouchables). Playing the secular card and reiterating that minority welfare is one of their main agendas, the Congress has recently declared Jains a national minority. Everybody is playing to their strengths and trying their best to convince the others. The Beat looked at the situation of some of these minorities and how they are wooed by political parties this Lok Sabha elections.

Muslims

They constitute 13 percent of the Indian population. Muslims are known to vote strategically based on the high influence of their community. They are the single largest politically united group in the country. National Democratic Alliance

United Progressive Alliance

One can imagine the amount of damage control Narendra Modi has had to do after the 2002 Godhra riots, in which about 1,000 Muslims were massacred. They made a start by Rajnath Singh, the party president, apologizing for the past and urging the community to give BJP a second chance.

While the Congress and the Muslims have always been amicable with reservation being UPA’s strong point, in a recent interim report it has been noticed that not much has changed for the community since 2006. In this situation, Congress has quickly offered reservation in jobs for 2002 Gujarat riot victims for five years.

With slogans like “Muslims for BJP,” “Muslims for Nation” and “Muslims for Development,” BJP Minority Morcha has compiled a 15-point agenda encompassing the challenges faced by the community.

Also, Mohan Parasaran, solicitor general, requested the apex court to lift the stay it had put in 2010 on 4.5 percent sub-quota for the minorities within the 27 percent OBC quota.

Aam Aadmi Party

Muslims are getting disenchanted with the Congress and are uprightly supporting Arvind Kejriwal. Activist Noor Jahan, from the Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, claims that the community is willing to give new parties a chance. The community has always supported secular candidates. Public anger against the Bahujan Samaj Party regarding Muzaffarnagar riots also resonated in AAP’s core claim that all politicians are the same.

Sikhs

Sikhism is the fourth-largest religion in India. The country sees its current prime minister from the Sikh minority. Seventy-five percent of the Sikhs of the world live in Punjab. However, they are only 2 percent of the Indian population. National Democratic Alliance Touching on the tricky issue of land rights to Sikh farmers in Gujarat, Modi addressed the 27.7 million-strong community in Punjab assuring that no Sikh farmer in Kutch would ever be evicted from his lands. He said, “Sikh farmers have as much the right to live there as Narendra Modi.”

United Progressive Alliance

Aam Aadmi Party

Congress still bears the brunt of anti-Sikh riots of 1984 carried out by Indira Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi further instigated the hate by remarking that he was “not operational” when the riots took place and therefore, not answerable.

When Kejriwal was the chief minister, the party formed a special cell in Delhi to raise the issues and concerns of the community.

As damage control, Gandhi later said that he completely shared the sentiments of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had apologized and the party president Sonia Gandhi, who had expressed regrets.

He also got permission to set a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the anti-Sikh riots. He was reported saying, “Unfortunately remembering 1984 riots, the community has been till now treated as vote banks with none of the members who lost their family in the riots getting justice.”

April 2014 | The Beat

rity appeasement Dalits

Out of the 543 constituencies, 84 are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Uttar Pradesh itself has as many as 17 SC constituencies. Dalits were one of the first communities to get reservation and have always remained crucial when it comes to vote-bank politics. Third Front National Democratic Alliance United Progressive Alliance The party is hoping to cash in on the Dalit votes. Modi has predicted a coming “decade of Dalits” and said he himself belonged to the OBC category, but today he is BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Party President Rajnath Singh alleged that BJP has been trying to formulate laws to prevent diversion of SC/ST funds and involve them in non-state sectors.

They have always been aligned with the Dalits but as with everything else, these elections are proving to be quite the shocker. Over the past year, their popularity and credibility has declined. BSP leaders are aiming at mobilizing the community in casting their votes. Mayawati’s support base seems intact as more than 200,000 people gathered to listen to her in Lucknow in January.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram recently said, “We are responsible for the reservation system, and providing opportunities to women.” Congress had allocated Rs.173 billion for minorities in 2012. This election, the party is accused of ignoring the “plight of Dalits.” In their defense, they reminded that the food security and prevention of manual scavenging bills were passed because of their efforts.

Jats

The Jats are the most important and powerful caste community in the rural areas of North India. The source of their dominance has typically been their control over agricultural lands, their demographics and their networking skills. Aam Aadmi Party National Democratic Alliance United ProgressiveAlliance In a secular attempt, the party has fielded a Jat candidate from the communally sensitive constituency of Muzaffarnagar. In the Hindu-Muslim riots that occurred there last year, AAP was a constant support to the district.

BJP is looking for a Jat candidate to be fielded from Sikri owing to the large population of Jat voters in the constituency. The minorities there are conspiring to collectively outvote BJP and the party therefore is trying to balance its votes.

It has given reservation to Jats in nine North-Indian states. Given the timing, this appears to be a desperate electoral tactic. The community is threatening to go with BJP instead of their traditional favorite Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) as Congress did not take an affirmative anti-Muslim stand during Muzaffarnagar riots.

Christians

Christians constitute about 2.3 percent of India’s population. In Kerala, Christian appeasement is so high that the voters have no hope left in the candidates. The Church of South India (CSI) accounts for nearly 250,000 voters in Thiruvananthapuram, which has a total electoral base of 1.24 million. United Progressive Alliance Third Front National Democratic Alliance The Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) is backing five independent Christian candidates from central Kerala. It is being speculated that the five minority community candidates have been chosen as a part of an appeasement strategy, aimed at maintaining a caste equation. Joyce George from Idukki constituency is the leader of a church-backed High Range Protection Samithi that carries out all major agitations. The Communist Party of India (CPI) is also backing Bennet Abraham, an influential CSI member, against Shashi Tharoor of Congress in Thiruvananthapuram. April 2014 | The Beat

The Idukki seat in Kerala is crucial because it has church-backed settlers and priests as residents. Congress has put up a young leader, V.T. Balram, as the candidate there to bank on votes. Recently, he called a bishop “a despicable creature” on social media, but was soon made to apologize.

BJP has never won in Kerala. To dispel its negative image, it had an open interaction with the community leaders in regions with significant concentration of Christian population with the theme “BJP’s Vision for Christian Brethren.” Kennedy Shantakumar, general secretary of BJP Minority Morcha, said, “The BJP wants to understand the aspirations of the Christian community.” After the demand from the Archbishop of Bangalore, the BJP asked the Election Commission to change the Lok Sabha polling date before the start of Holy Week.

ELECTIONS

Propaganda

On fans and

By Nibedita Mohanta & Shivpriya Jodha

POLITICAL PARTIES AND celebrities hugely benefit from one another. It is a give and take relationship in which celebs gain easy fame and, making use of that, politicians fill their vote banks. It’s a winwin game. Indians are easily influenced by movies. They take celebrities to be gods, going as far as building temples in honor of them (Rajinikanth!). But the situation is quite ironic.

Friends with benefits Actress Meghna Patel went nude to support the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. Now could she get any more creative? This was a publicity stunt as the BJP did not

really ask her to shed her clothes so they could get more support. In fact, the BJP’s Maharashtra unit said it was not in support of such “vulgarity” and Meghna had done what she did “to get her two minutes of fame.” Her behavior did not really make sense, but it definitely inspired other wannabe actresses, like Poonam Pandey and Tanisha Singh, who took the same route to support their favorite political parties, with of course, their hidden agendas to get publicity. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan campaigned for Vinod Khanna, an actor from the ’80s, as the BJP candidate from Gurdaspur Constituency in Punjab. He even supported Congress’s Milind Deora from Mumbai South and Anu Tandon from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. He urged the people to come out and vote for these politicians when he himself was out of India on a shoot during the 2009 elections. His busy work schedule prevented him for voting

for the politician he believed in, while we just don’t have any other work—because Mr. Khan has asked us to vote, we must. Vidya Balan made headlines when she became the brand ambassador in Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh’s campaign for the improvement of sanitation in India. Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar lent her support to BJP by saying that Narendra Modi was like her brother, and that she wished he would become prime minister. Following that she also received flak from Janardan Chandurkar, Mumbai Congress chief, who wants her stripped of her Bharat Ratna. So much for freedom of speech. Sanjay Dutt campaigned for Congress in Uttar Pradesh as his late father, Sunil Dutt, was associated with the party. But in 2009, he went out extensively campaigning for Samajwadi Party for the same state. Political hypocrisy at its

Vidya Balan was the brand ambassador for the campaign for improvement of sanitation in India

April 2014 | The Beat

d followers best. India is replete with such examples of politicians and celebrities using each other for personal gain.

A tale of 2 gurus The spirit of religion fails every other logic. Spiritual leaders are the other kind of celebrities who have the power to tame perfectly rational people. Politicians are cleverly targeting such gurus to bag as much votes as they can. Popular babas are approached by the competing political parties to influence their followers for vote banks. Yog-guru Baba Ramdev, who is also the founder of the Haridwar-based Patanjali Yogpeeth yoga research center, became a

household name a decade ago. The man with long, black and bushy beard, moustache and hair, wearing a saffron dhoti, demonstrates numerous breathing exercises on Astha channel along with his spiritually and politically motivated speeches. He easily has his followers in crores. Ramdev has been organizing nationwide campaigns against black money. He was a supporter of the Anna Hazare anticorruption movement. He was approached by the BJP to bag votes from his followers. In turn he asked the party to support his political agendas. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), Modi accepted the terms and conditions put forth by Ramdev and so the babaji has declared that he “would send [his] followers to each home across the country to canvass support for the BJP.” Another such guru but with a spiritual touch to him, the founder of Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, has influence over lakhs of people in India. The man with

white dhoti and a white shawl around his body aims to relieve individual stress, societal problems and violence in the country. Shankar has endorsed Modi as “perfect prime minister material.” He praised him for the impressive developmental work done in Gujarat and asked people to “vote for an experienced party.” He was approached by several politicians for the upcoming elections. Recently, the Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal went to him, although Shankar had initially mocked him as an inexperienced activist-turned-politician. Shankar went on to say, “Those who say that they are honest and the rest are not should first introspect themselves.” Among all these selfish agendas, the public is conned into voting for someone who might not have been their first choice. If a nondeserving candidate comes to power, the country will pay the price.

Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer, extended her support to Bharatiya Janata party

April 2014 | The Beat

ELECTIONS

Polls

How reliable are opinion polls? By Saikat Ghosh

ALL THE HULLABALLOO over opinion polls, which died down a month ago, may be on its way back. The country goes to polls this month, and before that the media houses are leaving no stone unturned to broadcast their estimate of results, commonly known as opinion polls. Opinion polls can be a dangerous way to influence people and their votes. Recent report in the aftermath of Delhi election suggests that it is a trademark tool, cleverly deployed by corrupt journalists, hence compromising their authenticity.

practice of taking specific samples. It says that the opinion poll comes with 3 percent to 5 percent of sampling errors, but the research also contains non-sampling errors. Specifically, it asks questions people who haven’t participated in the research about the voting pattern.

However, Cvoter, which had a tie-up with India Today Group, until recently, said that if it asked everyone for their opinion then it would “end up doing a referendum.” Yashwant Deshmukh, managing director and senior editor at Cvoter, said: “In plain terms, if you are

“Opinion polls should be stopped. In a state like Madhya Pradesh which has more than three crore [30 million] voters how can you do a survey with just 2,800 people? Anyone can give some money and get the survey done. These people are not even authorized by the government,” ANI quoted him as saying.

But despite all that the opinion polls are far from being accurate.

The same happened with the then Star and now ABP’s survey in 2009 which was conducted in collaboration with AC Nielsen. The survey projected 257 seats and 184 seats respectively for the United Progressive Alliance and NDA. They were proved wrong when the results were out.

An opinion poll is a basic survey of the public mood and takes into consideration only a particular sample of people and not everyone, as it is not feasible to execute door-to-door campaigns for opinions.

Most recent example was when many channels were reluctant to give Arvind Kejriwal led AAP anything more than 8 seats.

BJP CONG AAP

OTHERS

He said: “Opinion Polls depend on the quality of the samples taken into consideration which can be validated only after the polls.” He added that most of the survey agencies don’t reveal the methodologies they use to reach their conclusions. The Economic Times raises concern on the

Opinion polls started way back in 1824 in the United States, but were tested nationally in 1916, when they rightly predicted the win of Woodrow Wilson’s presidential victory. The organizers of the poll sent millions of postcards and counted the number returned.

Rewind to 2004, on the eve of the general election, reputed channels including Aajtak’s poll surveys were heavily favoring an Atal Bihari Vajpayeeled National Democratic Alliance government. The channel projected 248 seats for NDA, but the alliance ended up with 181.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh was the first one to attack them in the public. He described them as “flawed” and said they must be banned.

K.S. Dakshina Murthy, a veteran journalist working for Al Jazeera who covered the Babri Masjid demolition and several elections across the country, also said that opinion polls cannot be completely relied upon.

“We always give complete methodology note along with all our releases,” he said. “There is no question of not sharing these details. You can always check these on YouTube or the portal of these newsgroups.”

cooking rice, you just need to randomly pick up and test few grains and test if it’s cooked properly or not. You don’t need to eat up entire pot in order to check that, right?” He added that CVOTER always explains the techniques it uses for its research.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which also uses crowdsourced data, said that its surveys are lot more different from the opinion polls. Laxmi, part of the research team at ADR, said: “We ask people, has their MP prioritized their needs. Also our sets of questions are same for rural and urban people.” Opinion polls were more or less on target in the recent election in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan which cannot be ignored. The country will soon see a new prime minister, but only time will tell what role the opinion polls played in his victory. April 2014 | The Beat

Controversy

By Tulana Nayak

ELECTIONS

A war of words

POLITICS IS GETTING dirtier in 2014. Our ministers are trying their best to insult one another with no restraint.

‘ABC’ has become the symbol of Congress — A for Adarsh scam, B for Bofors scam and C stood for coal scam.”

Modi, prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, played with words again, but this time it was to teach Congress a lesson…in ABC.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram who is a graduate from Harvard University made a remark about Narendra Modi: What Mr Modi knows about economics “can be written on the back of a postage stamp.” Modi got back at Chidambaram by replying: “Hard work will take India to progress, not Harvard.” But the war of words didn’t end here. Chidambaram wanted to have the last word. During his speech in Parliament while presenting the Interim Budget, he said, “My mother and Harvard taught me the value of hard work.” Finally, it ended!

It started with Kejriwal posting tweets questioning Gujarat’s development. But this time, supporters of Modi took a stand for him and answered. Taking a dig at Kejriwal’s getup, which is incomplete without his muffler, Modibharosa, a website by Modi supporters posted a cartoon depicting the conversation.

Union Minister Salman Khurshid while referring to Modi during the Gujarat riots said: “Some people attacked and went, and you couldn’t protect. Are you not a strong man? We don’t accuse you of killing people...Hamara aarop hai ki tum ‘napunsak’ (impotent) ho. (Our accusation is that you are impotent). You couldn’t stop the killers.” This was a serious one! Chaiwalla and Harvard were could be digested, but questioning a person’s manhood? Seriously, Modi must have been hurt—deeply hurt! Furious, BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said: “A man is one who fights a war, not one who runs away from the battlefield. The person, who you want to announce as your Prime Ministerial candidate, is running away...then what would you call him, that is what is called impotent.”

April 2014 | The Beat

ELECTIONS

Indifference

Why doesn’t Bangalore like to vote? By Bhavika Bhuwalka

MARCH 16 WAS the last date for voter registration and with 1.3 million new voters added to the electoral list after last year, the city seems geared up for the upcoming general election. The candidates have been campaigning with full force and will continue to do so until they are officially asked to maintain silence 48 hours before polling. The mood is set; excitement is in the air. There is only one problem—Bangaloreans don’t vote. Bangalore has seen an abysmal voter turnout in the past few decades. In the last state assembly polls, held in 2008, only 40 percent of the city’s registered voters actually

exercised their right on the D-Day. It was a 5 percent increase since the last assembly election, but still remained the lowest in the state. Bangalore Urban saw 52.83 percent voting while the state average was around 70 percent of the over 40 million voters.

What’s wrong? Jobi Joseph, a 34-year-old IT professional, has not bothered with voting ever and doesn’t intend visiting the polling booth on April 17, either. “I don’t trust politicians,” he said. “I don’t see why I should waste my time going to vote.” About 25 well-off Bangaloreans living in apartments who spoke to The Beat admitted to not voting. Some confessed to indif-

ference, others cited lack of motivation and faith in the candidates as reasons. Bangalore witnesses a strange kind of political lethargy. Administrative issues add to the problem. During assembly elections, complaints of missing names from the voters list and confusion over polling booths were rampant. Aayush, a businessman, said, “I have not been able to vote the last two times because my voter ID did not come.” Over 62 percent of the city’s population consists of migrants, who mostly do not have valid voter identity cards. Also, political party workers complain of practical difficulties in campaigning. There is little scope for door-to-door canvassing as apart-

Photo: Saggere Ramaswamy

April 2014 | The Beat

ments don’t allow them enter. As a result, the discrepancy between the registered list of citizens and the ones who actually vote is huge. According to Prof. Vaidyanathan from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, the electorate that does not turn up to cast votes largely includes the middle and so-called upper-middle class, “who think they have enough means to fend for themselves and do not depend on the state; they live in splendid isolation” as they think they can do without politicians. They simply refuse to exercise their right to vote. Krishanappa, a resident of J.P. Nagar, said: “We don’t care for a Modi wave. Whoever comes to power, there is no consideration for the public after winning. Why vote?” Either because of poor administration or personal will, Bangalore remains low on voter count.

Potential solutions With the onset of technology and the momentum in registration this time, the numbers are expected to improve. Early voting and online voting might prove to be creative solutions. In early voting, ballots are cast prior to the date scheduled for voting at a designated booth. It gives people the flexibility of deciding when to cast their votes. According to the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University, during the U.S. presidential election in 2008, 30 percent of all votes were cast prior to the election date. Online voting is a comparatively new phenomenon. It was carried out during the 2011 Gujarat municipal corporation elections, when people voted through the internet from their own computers or from e-polling booths. Vaidyanathan said: “Bangalore is a techsavvy city, the electorate can be reactivated by these measures. But elaborate, full-proof administration would be needed keeping in mind the scale of the exercise.” Even Joseph, who is anti-voting, is willing to consider doing it if it can be done online. The election commission has also launched an active campaign, sending text messages to residents, propelling them to vote. Kannada actress Ramya, from Mandya constituency, condemned the citizens of Bangalore for always ranting about the infrastructure and administration of the city, but not willing to vote. April 2014 | The Beat

A group of well-known citizens—Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of leading bio-technology firm Biocon, T.V. Mohandas Pai, former director of Infosys, athlete Ashwini Nachappa and Bharatnatyam dancer Vani Ganapathi—along with a few others, have formed the Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) and taken it upon themselves to encourage Bangaloreans to vote. According to Pai, BPAC vice president, thousands of people have been reached through emails. Voters are also being helped in identifying the polling station they need to go to, to avoid confusions like the last time. In collaboration with SmartVote, a nongovernment initiative, BPAC is running an online campaign encouraging people to register themselves and participate in polling. SmartVote has no political affiliations. It helps in voter registration and candidate profiling which enables citizens to make an informed choice.

A ray of hope Not all hope is lost. First-time voters are more than happy to be able to vote, and it is good to see that at least some youth is getting involved. Among the eligible voters, as many as 500,000 have enrolled only after January. Ayesha Naseer, a 21-year-old, said: “I support AAP. Their anticorruption movement should be a given a chace.” Shaifali Vaidya, a migrant student won’t be able to vote, said: “If the Congress returns to power, we might as well say good-bye to any chance the country has of a decent future. It will be another five years of scam after another scam, blatant minority appeasement, and a nonperforming robot as the prime minister.” This young brigade is not swayed by religious or caste-based affiliations, but is taking their call based on who they think can uplift the nation.

Rural rules In contrast, Bangalore Rural, which has four constituencies, had the highest turnout in the assembly election of 2008, with 77.95 percent of the population voting. Kanchan from Rajarajeshwari Nagar said, “Why would one not want to vote—that’s so stupid. I have high hopes from Muniraju (Bangalore Rural’s BJP candidate) -this time.” These are the people who get directly affected by government agendas.

“I don’t trust politicians. I don’t see why I should waste my time going to vote.” Jobi Joseph, IT professional Gulbarga, Yadgir and Bidar of North Karantaka were the only districts in the state that had a voter turnout below 60 percent in 2008. All the other 30 districts enjoyed active participation, mostly as high as over 77 percent. The 2014 elections are watershed elections in the history of India. For the first time, more than 40 percent of the eligible voters constitute the educated middle class. But they can determine the fate of candidates only if they go out and vote. Bangalore has the largest number of voters—7.03 million out of a total population of 10 million—in Karnataka and the highest number of assembly constituencies—28. Vaidyanathan said, “Once this huge base of urban, educated, rising middle class in Bangalore, which is not voting, starts to vote, balance can be restored.”

ELECTIONS

Contenders

Analyzing the 3 main contenders

By Suchitra Sharma

The general election is fast approaching, and with the various political campaigns, election agendas and party politics, things look pretty colorful on the election front. The three main contenders in this election are a bearlike man with a 56-inch chest and a charismatic persona, a shy mamma’s boy who is the heir to the biggest political dynasty in India, and a crazy-like-a-fox “common man” who rose to fame with his unique caps and anticorruption protests. The Beat asked eminent psychologist Dr. Rajashekhar Hiremath to have these men lie on his couch. Modi’s relationship status remains a bit of a mystery as a schoolteacher in Gujarat claims to be his wife. There are some who say he was married young and left her for her good. He has, however, remained tight-lipped. He served as a volunteer in the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and again when Gujarat saw severe floods in 1967, burnishing his credentials as a true patriot. As a child, Modi wanted to become a sanyasi (ascetic) and ran away from home to wander aimlessly in the Himalayas alongside various sadhus (holy men). He returned home after two years. After his return from the mountains he opened a tea stall with his brother. He completed a three-year course in public relations and image management from the United States. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he likes to appear well dressed in public. Dr. Hiremath explained the kind of impact Modi has on the electorate: “The charisma around him and media attention has helped turn all communities in his favor and may help him emerge as a leader. His basic ideas about the future of India easily attract the aam admi (common man) to his dreams about development in all aspects. The communal angle and the real picture of Gujarat may play a major role in hindering his progress, (but) the three times absolute power play in Gujarat shows his real political strength and creates positive hope in people that will give him a good opportunity to prove his strength in India.”

After the assassination of his father, Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul led a childhood filled with death threats and special security arrangements. Rahul and his sister, Priyanka, had to drop out of school and study from home after Indira Gandhi, their grandmother, was killed. He switched college three times due to security reasons and finally completed his bachelor’s in 1994. He changed his name to Raul Vinci during this time and his original name was known only to the university and security agencies. His relationship status, again, remains a mystery, though he is said to have dated a Columbian. Dr. Hiremath said: “The people may think about his political inheritance and as the representative of the largest party in the country, but when it comes to individuality there is no clarity in his vision for a future India and to make the party as well as nation united. The way he presents himself in the media and many influential forums, showing his immaturity, indicates he has to travel a lot further on this journey. The young generation of India may get attracted easily due to his simplicity as well as encouragement and also what he projects in his view that helps him to attract a larger community of the country, but when it comes to the intellectual segment of our community, he still has long way to go.” Arvind Kejriwal initially wanted to be a doctor, but rebelled against his family to join the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where he studied mechanical engineering. He has spent time at the Ramakrishna Mission in Kolkata and also worked with Mother Teresa. He is a vegetarian and a follows vipassna, a kind of meditation. He worked at the income tax department and sought to clean up the system there. While in college, he rarely hung out with friends. He would be more interested in theatre than academics. Dr. Hiremath said of Kejriwal: “The intellectual fraternity started realizing the real politician, but the aam admi still thinks he is one more ray of hope to throw all corrupt politicians and build honest, bright and able administrators. To protect himself and to stay on the job, he unfortunately has illogical demands, certain unreachable goals and is also playing with innocents, which will never yield results. The people are now disillusioned with him due to his recent decisions; his inability to make his best efforts when the mandate was there to rule. He still has a long way to go to learn the nuances of politics and power and also to be realistic while working towards the dream of a better India.”

April 2014 | The Beat

TECHNOLOGY

Big data is set to make it big Photo: DARPA By Vaishnavi J. Desai

GONE ARE THE days when data was measured in mega and gigabytes. This is the era of terabytes and beyond. Data streaming from various sources is so large that the new buzzword in the field of information technology is “big data.” Big data describes the growth of structured and unstructured data. Huge amounts of data result in better analysis which in turn helps in accurate decision-making and as a result, in reduction of time and resources. There is information everywhere. Be it the trends in social media or volumes of sensor data, including text, audio and various transactions. The internet is abuzz with data in all formats, which need to be made meaningful. This is where big data comes into the picture. The analytics and the architecture associated with it, helps deal with huge amounts of unprocessed data to be converted to meaningful information. Skanda Bhargav, big data developer at Happiest Minds Technologies, said big data has come to the forefront as most of the companies have started to store data they discarded previously. “Now companies store every click, every event and every bit of information,” he said, pointing out that the cost of data storApril 2014 | The Beat

age is less than a dollar per terabyte now. “Data can be interpreted in different ways to find answers to new questions and as a result new questions are also being thought of,” Bhargav said. Top companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google had realized the importance of data earlier , figuring it could be used to build better customer relationships through analysis. Hence, they have set an example for other start-ups and major firms on using big data. Currently it is used on a large scale in retail and telecom sectors. Some manufacturing firms are also adopting it. A lot of e-retailers are using the technology to predict the behavior of the customers. This is possible by analyzing trends on social media and online transactions. Bangalore, the IT hub of the country, has picked up the trend. Most start-ups and well established firms are exploring new avenues through big data. Bhargav observed in an email that a lot of companies in Bangalore are using it in different ways. “Some of them use it for analytics; some for machine learning (predictive analytics), data archival and a majority of them use it for large scale distributed processing. Machine to machine (M2M) is also emerging as a trend,” he said.

The implications of big data cannot be ignored. New people are needed to work on big data. Another alternative, which is a bit time-consuming, is to train existing staff on handling big data. Bhargav said the fast-changing technology is a major challenge. According to him, close to 1 million data scientists will be required in the United States alone by 201516 to work on big data. “This is a huge number in a short time,” Bhargav said. “The technology is improving fast, and it is imperative to keep pace.” Another challenge lies in the usage of big data. Apart from a few celebrated colleges, the BTech degree syllabus of many universities doesn’t include any specialization on big data. The difference in the syllabus and industry requirements leaves many graduates and companies in a lurch. But some institutions in the United States have readily welcomed the technology into their curriculum, and it is a step forward in the right direction. Bhargav was “very excited” to be working on this technology as “it is fresh, involves lots of learning and is enjoyable.” He believes that the technology is in its infancy and “analysis of big data will be the big work in near future, and it will only grow bigger from here.”

TECHNOLOGY

G gle Glass: The new, snazzy kid on the tech block

By Rashmi Ramesh

“YOU CAN TAKE pictures and videos with a pair of glasses, and share it online too!” That was the first thing I heard about this incredible new technology. As I read more about it, I fell in love with it. Google Glass, simply put, is a device that can be described as a hands-free smart phone that can communicate with the internet through voice commands. It can also take pictures, record videos, share them online, navigate maps, and check emails, again through voice commands. I have never used Google Glass. But it still tops the list of my favourite gadgets.

Display It has display with a 640x360 pixel resolution, which is not exactly great. But what we need to keep in mind is that the panel is just a small piece fitted in the glass. “When you activate the screen it looks a lot like a 25 inch colour TV floating about 8 feet in front of you,” Google Glass’s website claims.

Video recording and picture taking ability It has a 5 megapixel camera, and a 720p video capture. This is what an average smartphone in the Indian market has to offer. If I get this on a pair of glasses, why wouldn’t I want it? Also, the audio uses a bone conduction transducer, which sends audio vibrations directly through the small bones in the ears. This saves the hassle of having a headphone on.

Memory and fit The specs say that it has a total storage ca-

pacity of 16 GB. But only 12 GB can be used, as the rest, I assume, is taken up by the software. It is also synced with Google cloud storage.

“Adjustable nose pads and durable frame fits any face,” Google says. It also comes with extra nose pads in two different sizes.

Battery life “One day of typical use,” Google says. “Some features, like video calls and video recording, are more battery intensive.” No other specification of what the “typical use” is has not been mentioned. It varies from person to person, obviously. Not a major negative, but surely something I would take into account while buying. The good news is that it charges with a standard microUSB cable.

Connectivity and compatibility It is Wi-Fi-enabled, and has Bluetooth connectivity, which is compatible with any Bluetooth-enabled phone. To enable the GPS and SMS services, MyGlass companion app has to be installed, which requires Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher. Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are many useful applications of Google Glass, especially in the medical field. Surgeons have already begun to use the video interfacing during surgeries to get assistance from a fellow surgeon from miles away. This is indeed revolutionary, as a surgeon can obtain help from all over the world, without needing the person to be physically present in the operating room. Dr. Christopher Kaeding, director of sports medicine at Ohio State and who has persormed such a surgery, told MedicalXpress that Google Glass blends into the surgery

procedure very well.

“It’s a privilege to be a part of this project as we explore how this exciting new technology might be incorporated into the everyday care of our patients,” he said. “To be honest, once we got into the surgery, I often forgot the device was there. It just seemed very intuitive and fit seamlessly.” Emotient, an app on Google Glass claims to have the ability to detect and recognize emotions on human faces. According to a report, it can tell whether a person is happy, sad, angry or confused, and also monitor an entire room of people at once. The application of this is enormous. What this app has the ability to do is much more basic and important in nature. Being able to tell if the patient is lying, or feeling pain, just by looking at them is a major leap in the medical world. Moreover, it will benefit the speech-impaired patients to communicate with their doctors just with facial expressions. But like everything else, Google Glass has its list of drawbacks.

Looks You won’t really go unnoticed while wearing a Google Glass. Ask any explorer (the term for Glass users), and he will tell you how many stares and weird looks he gets throughout the day. Charles Arthur of The Guardian nicely puts in his review of the Glass that looks are not its best feature. “You’re wearing something that makes you look like someone from Star Trek’s Borg, with no lenses,” he said. “Normal people don’t do this. If you were worried about what people think of you using this technology, you might not have left the house.” April 2014 | The Beat

Privacy Although taking pictures and videos is easy, it could lead to a lot of privacy issues. The explorer just has to click a button on the top of the sidepiece or hold it down to record a video. As Arthur said in his review, that can be seen as a potential privacy concern. “There’s no warning to anyone around you that you’re taking a picture or recording a video—no red light, no audible click,” he said. “This is very different from the situation that has pertained ever since mobile phones became camera phones.”

pressing the button on the top of Glass’s frame. In each case, the illuminated screen, voice command or gestures all make it clear to those around the device what the user is doing.”

But I guess it’s up to each individual to decide if Google Glass caters to their needs. To me specifically, the pros outweigh the cons. If given the chance, I would still go ahead and buy it.

Usage

There have been so many instances where it would have been immensely beneficial for me to use Google Glass.

There were questions raised on how the hearing impaired and people wearing spectacles could use Google Glass. Chris Matyszczyk of CNET voiced this concern when he asked Google, “Look, I wear specs. Do you have Google Glass specs for spec wearers?”

Stop The Cyborgs is a campaign whose focus is to stop people from using Google Glass because of its privacy issues.

But Google gave a solution to this with their new update where the explorer can add the prescription lens to the Glass.

“Encourage individual people to think about the impact of new technologies, to set bounds on how technologies are used (and) proactively negotiate their relationship with the future,” the website said. “We want people to be selective adopters.”

“Glass is designed to be modular and extensible,” the official website said.

Google, on its website, mentions the solution to this issue.

Lisa A. Goldstein, a freelance journalist who was born profoundly deaf and wears a digital hearing aid and cochlear implant, said Google Glass was not for the hearing impaired, mainly due to the communication barrier.

“We have built explicit signals in Glass to make others aware of what’s happening,” the website sad. “First, the device’s screen is illuminated whenever it’s in use, and that applies to taking a picture or recording a video. Second, Glass requires the user to either speak a command — “OK Glass, take a picture” or “OK Glass, record a video” — or to take an explicit action by

“The communication barrier goes both ways,” she said. “When Glass speaks, there’s no captioning of what it says. While the agent mentioned anecdotes of people with hearing loss remarking about the benefit of the bone conduction speaker, my deafness is more profound. In other words, Glass isn’t accessible for people who can’t understand speech.”

Once, the kids I teach at an NGO asked me the identity of a beautiful flower they had found. If I had had access to Google Glass, I could have just taken a picture and looked it up on the internet instantly. During my trip to Kerala, a breathtakingly beautiful South Indian state, there were so many times I couldn’t capture a moment on my camera just because it took too much time to get it open, focus and click the picture. Google Glass would have been the perfect gadget there. As a vegetarian, I sometimes find it difficult to identify which dish contains meat and which doesn’t. Rather than going through the awkwardness of asking about each dish in a million item buffet, I would like it if I could just take a picture of the dish, look it up on the internet and find out whether it was a vegetarian dish or not. Those are just a few of the many million times I wish I had access to Google Glass. But they are not focusing on other markets, apart from the U.S. as of now. But when it does come to India, I’m sure it will have the capacity to change lives of a lot of people.

Photo: Taeytan April 2014 | The Beat

ARTS & CULTURE

Art is for everyone By Sarah Fazal

THE RENDITION OF artists’ ideas with a splash of color and a mixture of materials is one of the features that makes one gravitate towards the grandeur of the Kalarasa Art Gallery. As one strolls across the room there is a vague sense of familiarity, like déjà vu. The artistic creations—by some known and others budding artists—have now begun to find a home on the walls of the houses of connoisseurs and people who wish to show off.

Art consultancy has existed as mainstream profession in India for the better part of the last decade. Lobbies of hotels, corridors of private institutions and random locations in large townships, all are adorned with art installations which were suggested by art consultants. Romi Revola, artist and curator of Kalarasa Art Gallery, said: “Art consultancy is little more than just simple consultancy. It includes on numerous occasions being a database with multiple options, a fixer, a person who understands the pulse of the client in the first few meetings and most of all, a person with huge amount of patience.” Sitting in her mildly air-conditioned office, she explained to The Beat the many aspects of consultancy. “My mother is also an artist,” Romi said. “She is a painter and also curates art shows.”

Walking through the world of artwork purchased through art consultants, she explained about the growth of the industry in Bangalore. Big institutions usually set aside a budget for art installation. They either know what exactly they require or have a basic framework in place. The best of the ideas is chosen and commissioned or they hire an art consultant.

chase an artist’s work. One just gives them incentive to continue doing their work. Maybe a little money to survive as well,” she said, dismissing queries that sometimes artists demand more money. “The artist’s work does not get sold necessarily on the price that he/she quotes. That price first has to be approved and then is always open to negotiation.”

Inspired by them, there has been a rise in the number of private individuals who hire

“There are different kinds of buyers. The rich and show-offs, the dedicated patrons and the wanna-be” she said, giving examples of her experiences as a freelance art

art consultants to help them make their places better.

consultant before integrating her expertise into her current portfolio.

Romi said: “Primarily, it happens through architects or interior designers who get in touch with artists like me. They either have an idea of what they want or of the dimensions they require. This turns into a lead that one can follow.”

But she is happy that on many occasions people look at other people buying paintings and buy the artwork.

But these leads do not necessarily turn into confirmed projects. On most occasions, the demands of the customer and the delivery capability of the artist do not match. Then it comes down to whether the artist has to be commissioned or not. “It may be a number of reasons: clash of opinion, not being able to deliver what the client wants, no artistic freedom or so on. Sometimes, it just does not click,” she explains, shining a light on the perils of being an artist. “The way I look at it, one does not pur-

“Business” is how she terms those transactions. “It is not for the painting or the painter. It is for a competitive edge.” However, she understands the importance of integrating such services apart from the core trading of artwork that is done by the gallery. It not just gives the gallery an edge over the others in the city, but is also a manner where other artists can be helped and provided with ample remuneration to continue their endeavours. She understands that it is a relatively new experience for people and hopes that the field gains momentum. April 2014 | The Beat

The show must go on

Photo: Usein By Nibedita Mohanta

THE WORD “CIRCUS” immediately brings a variety of images to my mind— miming clowns, girls walking on ropes and boys performing daring stunts. The movie Mera Naam Joker, in which the legendary Raj Kapoor played the role of a clown who loses everything in life but still continues to perform to make his audience laugh, explored the theme of circus vividly. He gave a strong message to the world— the show must go on. These days circus culture is gradually being pushed to the side by the rapid growth of other forms of entertainment. Indian circus is losing its sheen, and people are sidelining it even before they start developing an interest in it. Dominique Jando, curator/editor of Circopedia.com told The Beat be email, “For all I know, the traditional Indian circus has been stuck in the 19th century and has not followed its evolution that has prevailed in April 2014 | The Beat

Eastern and Western Europe, in China and in America.” He added: “Basically, the Indian circus has remained in its own world of pretend secrecy (as far as training is concerned) and frozen traditions, with no active adaptations. In short, the Indian circus has lost all creativity, and is totally disconnected from the modern world, and for that matter, from the international circus world too.” The Rambo circus now on in Bangalore does not have many visitors. Tickets cost from Rs.50 to Rs.350, and most visitors pay Rs.50 or Rs.100. Due to lack of publicity, the urban crowd does not visit the place. As you cross Mysore Road and head towards the city, the few visible circus posters that there are, peeling at the sides, evoke a rugged, rough and ready image of the circus. Most have been covered with movie posters. The efforts put into the deadly stunts by the artists go down the drain when there

are empty chairs as audience and all eyes glued to the entrance in anticipation of spectators. Jando said: “Circus is not about stunts; it’s about the artistry involved in presenting them. An old motto of the Western circus world is, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do— it’s how you do it!’ And how the traditional Indian circus does it is the center of the problem.” He pointed to Circus Roncalli, a German tent circus, like Indian circuses, as a good example. Of a circus that attracts modern audiences. “It is sophisticated, elegant, and it doesn’t seem to be about ‘stunts,’” Jando said. Sources of entertainment have evolved big time. Given sources of entertainment like 3-D movies, sci-fi films and PS3 video games, people hardly have any interest left in this traditional art form. The face of the circus is gradually being wiped from India’s culture.

ARTS & CULTURE

Bangalore swings in tune with Odissi

Bangalore, with its varied population, has come a long way in imbibing various classical art forms. Owing to the city’s strong cultural roots and the amount of significance it places in performing arts, Odissi dance form is gaining quick momentum in the city. By Aurosmita Acharya

“I AM AN ardent admirer of the Odissi classical dance and would like my child to learn this art form.” Revathi Ramesh, an art connoisseur, makes all her efforts to attend the classical dance festivals in Bangalore and admires the Odissi style a lot. “I like the way they dress, the postures and what attracts me the most is the serenity and calmness that the form brings forth.” Bangalore now bursts with a migration population that surpasses the number of Bangaloreans themselves in the city.

This encouraged numerous other dancers who performed in Bangalore at various classical dance festivals, to hone the vision of an Odissi dance institute in Bangalore and further their stint by helping Odissi to reach a bigger audience. Madhulita Mohapatra, Odissi exponent who resides in Bangalore, said she first moved into the city because of occupational reasons, but now she owns four institutes in different areas of Bangalore. She added that her group, Nrityantar, now organizes a festival called Naman, the first and the only Odissi classical dance festival that is being organized in Bangalore.

Odissi classical dance, from the state of Odisha, was nurtured in Bangalore by the Nrityagram more than two decades ago. Nrityagram, the famed dance village, was established by the renowned Odissi exponent, late Protima Gauri Bedi, in the outskirts of the city at Hessarghatta.

Madhulita said, “I find people in Bangalore are very kind and encouraging to performing arts in general and immensely appreciative of Odissi in particular. I’m thankful to senior gurus, dancers and rasikas in Bangalore for all the love and support to Odissi and Nrityantar.”

April 2014 | The Beat

This in turn has led to the flourishing of various art forms—salsa, hiphop, stand-up comics. Various types of classical dance forms are also being appreciated by the art connoisseurs of Bangalore.

Nrityantar works with several schools of Bangalore with the idea of inculcating classical dance into the curriculum and routine schooling. Sangeeta Dash, a renowned Odissi dancer, said that she has performed in all the southern states of India, but Bangalore has definitely been a very encouraging and appreciative platform for her career as a dancer. She said that Bangalore, in comparison to other cities like Chennai and Hyderabad, has been invariably open to new forms of dance. She added, “People in Chennai certainly have reservations against any dance form other than their own. But lately they have been showing interest and are trying to open up in their own small way.” “The people in Hyderabad had always been appreciative of Odissi classical dance but April 2014 | The Beat

do not indulge in it often,” Sangeeta said. She has been staying in Pondicherry for the last 14 years and feels that the response there has been immense. “People here prefer Odissi over Kuchipudi. Majority of the students that I teach here are the natives of southern states.” Abhayalakshmi, an upcoming Odissi dancer from Kerala, said while she was honing her skills in Bharatnatyam at Temple of Fine Arts, she had the opportunity of meeting the exponents of Odissi form. This kick started her wish to learn the dance form. Her parents also admired the form and encouraged her to pursue Odissi. Currenty, she is a student teacher at Sanjali Center for Odissi Dance, an institute to promote Odissi in Bangalore established by Sharmila Mukerjee. At the recently concluded Odissi Interna-

tional Festival, she performed to the tunes of an Odissi abhinaya elegantly. She intends to promote this art form in Ernakulam, her home town. Madhulita, discussing about her own experience of how Odissi has been accepted by the government schools of Bangalore, said: “Around five years back when I started teaching at government schools, the children were not familiar with Odissi dance. The only classical dance style they were aware of was Bharatnatyam.” Now they take pride in learning Odissi. Abhayalakshmi said, “Bangalore is the best place for artists to perform. The crowd is always good and encouraging. People here are open-minded and they appreciate all forms of dance. Odissi has become a part of Bangalore performances.” She hopes that Odissi will soon receive the same kind of response from other southern states of India as well.

BUSINESS

Coaching centres the new boom ind By Sneha Bengani

In today’s competitive world, attending just school or college is not enough. You need to walk the extra mile. You have to go to a coaching centre. Tuitions after school/college started as a trend in India in the 90’s. Then, only the ones who were weak in academics and needed extra attention looked for such “extra classes”. Today, attending coaching classes is the norm, a daily pilgrimage of hundreds and thousands of students who are struggling to make decent careers. What started as a personalized platform for imparting knowledge has turned into a fullgrown professional industry. A typical coaching centre today has an array of best teachers, the required infrastructure, official websites, media partners, strategies and a curriculum designed to make young minds excel. The need to have a competitive edge over others has

bitten the Indian consciousness so hard that students today battle to manage time, juggling between school and coaching. There are no statistics available regarding the number of such institutes in the country or in any particular city for they are not regulated by the government. Neither is there any record of the money they make as the fee structure differs from one institute to the other. It is a fairly new sector born out of intense demand and hence is yet to be regulated or organized.

all the major giants attracting students from all over the country.

These are private businesses which are trying to fill the void that the Indian education system has created, but for a dear price. The churning can begin as early as when you are in pre-primary and can continue for as long as until you get a decent job. It goes bigger as you get bigger—the aspirations, the money involved and the kill.

Giraffe Learning, a tuition centre that has 23 branches in the city, started 17 years ago. Its every branch has 50 students approximately. They charge Rs. 38,985 + taxes from each “to clarify the doubts that schools do not have the time to deal with,” says Abraham, the coordinator of the institute. They have several packages for the students – various combinations of the four core subjects – Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology.

The situation is such that Kota, a small city in Rajasthan, which was fairly unknown until recently, has surfaced as a major educational hub for it has

A school after school Jitendra Ghosal, a 35-year-old businessman living in Shanti Nagar in Bangalore shells away Rs. 36,000 annually to get his two sons Puneet and Vineet, who are in grade 10 and 4 respectively, to go to tuitions. This is when their tutor is a school teacher living in the vicinity.

“The package includes coach-

April 2014 | The Beat

s— dustry ing for CET which ensures that the students get through good engineering colleges,” said the receptionist of the tuition centre on the condition of anonymity. The institute makes Rs. 46 million approximately every year. Giraffe learning is a big shark of the industry. It is just one of those small fishes moving about in abundance. There are institutions like Bansal Classes Pvt. Ltd., Resonance, Aakash and FIITJEE that have centres across the country and cater to a large section of students. The more established ones like these give you coaching for everything starting from highersecondary school exams to competitive entrances, all under one roof. Deeksha Bhardwaj, a student of Dr. S. N. Medical College, Jodhpur, studied at Aakash for about two years before she took the All India Pre-Medical Test in 2012. “I had paid Rs. 1, 20,000 for two years. They prepare you extensively for the exam. It is helpful,” said the 19 year old.

April 2014 | The Beat

The fee has now been hiked to Rs. 1, 50,000 for two years, without scholarship. “It varies with the kind of course you choose and if you get a scholarship,” she said. Bansal Classes Pvt. Ltd. charge Rs. 2, 00,000 for preparing students of grades 11 and 12 for entrances of coveted engineering colleges like IITs and NITs. “They have 60-70 students in one batch and they run around six or seven batches every day,” said Prateek Sharma, a final year B. Tech. student of JECRC University. Bansal Classes has coaching centers in 23 different cities across the country. If we take 60 students in a batch and six batches a day in 23 centers, then the institute has an annual turnover of Rs. 1.656 billion. Shiv Upadhayay used to teach physical chemistry at Bansal Classes Jaipur from 2005 to 2011. His wife taught organic chemistry there for eight years. The couple left the institute three years ago after Upadhayay’s son was born. “My wife took classes till the day before she delivered our child. It was not possible for her to give as much time to the institute

thereafter. But the management didn’t care.” He asked them to relax their schedules and lower their salaries but to no avail. “They told my wife to get our son to the institute. We had given our best years to this place but when we needed support, they backed off,” said the 35 year old. Both he and his wife were paid Rs. 1.7 million annually. “We were paid lesser than a lot of other places. I know teachers in Kota who earn Rs. 10 million per annum.” He said that the teachers always worked under a lot of pressure. “They want you to give your 100 percent under every circumstance,” he said. Upadhayay is currently teaching at Allen. With the abysmal ratio of the number of colleges available to the total number of students in our country, the demand for coaching centers will only increase . This industry is here to stay, strong and for long.

BUSINESS

Bangalore’s floricultu

By Anannya Sarkar

The economy of Bangalore is considered to be an integral part of the Indian economy. The city is unanimously identified with the IT industry. Little does anybody know that the city is also the hub of the floriculture industry. According to latest surveys, it accounts for about 70 percent of the floriculture trade in the country. It is often argued that the floriculture industry in Bangalore needs to be given more importance due to its potential for employment generation and the possibility of adding to the coffers of the exchequer. Also, in the present situation of people getting laid off in the Silicon Valley of India, the time seems ripe for a change of focus to the floriculture industry. R.S. Deshpande, professor and head of the Agricultural Development and Rural Transformation Unit at the Institute of Social and Economic Change, in his study titled, “Floriculture in India: Performance, Problems and

Prospects,” commenting on the floriculture business in the city, said: “This sub-sector has been encouraged, because of its demand both in domestic as well as international markets. The increases in per capita income and urbanization have led to a greater preference and increased demand for flowers.” But the major floriculture companies in Bangalore presently are struggling to sustain themselves. Karuturi Global Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of cut roses, announced that its profits have dropped by almost 77 percent as per the audit of the last financial year. The company, reeling under losses, is now looking at generating revenues from its new agricultural venture based in Ethiopia. Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi of Karuturi Global, commenting on the dipping stocks, said: “Many people lost money. I have a responsibility towards them.” This was soon after a stock holder of the company wrote an email to him telling him that he had lost Rs.700,000

after investing in the company. Karuturi said: “Rising debt and slow pace of growth have weighed on shares of the company.” The company now has a market capitalization of less than Rs.2.5 billion. Karuturi is now planning to shift business to Singapore or the Netherlands instead as he feels there is hardly any support in the country for this industry. In contrast to this, Assocham, an industry body, published in its study that, “The floriculture industry in India is poised at about Rs 3,700 crore [Rs.37 billion], with just 0.61 percent share in the global floriculture sector, which is likely to reach 0.89 percent by 2015.” It also added, “The global floriculture industry is likely to cross Rs 9 lakh crore [Rs.9 trillion] mark by 2015 from about Rs 6 lakh crore now and is growing at a CAGR of 15 percent.” But, according to an industry insider, who did not wish to be named, said, “These studies will prove to be futile unless we get some sort of April 2014 | The Beat

ure industry wilting

support from the government.” Sumana Sarkar, chief manager of the ExportImport Bank of India said, “Commercial floriculture in India is going through a paradigm shift.” She concludes that now is the prime time for the industry to either take flight or head towards doom. Lately, the Indian industry has also been facing competition from other international players, especially African countries. According to Sumana, some of the challenges faced by the industry here are “trade environment, infrastructure and marketing issues such as high import tariff vis-a-vis African countries, low availability of dedicated perishable carriers, higher freight rates, inadequate support infrastructure, constraint in achieving economies of scale, and inadequate cold chain management.” According to Prof. Deshpande, the governApril 2014 | The Beat

ment should step in and help with the farming of the flowers. Plant diseases, production constraints, high price of factors of production, low wages for laborers, depletion of groundwater and electricity problems are considered to be the major problems this industry faces at the root level. This along with a slow pace of growth of the farm business has affected the floriculture industry in Bangalore. On the other hand, a survey conducted by The Economic Times has shown that the floriculture industry is set to cross the Rs.80 billion mark by 2015. Deshpande, offering the solution to this predicament, said: “If at all our floriculture sector has to flourish, the government should protect the domestic market, small and marginal farmers by providing simple technology and improving the quality of flowers.” Thus, given the present situation of the floriculture industry in Bangalore, it will be interesting to see if the industry is doomed or can it sustain itself, with or without government

support and aim to reach the expected Rs.80 billion mark, signifying a boom.

Rising debt and slow pace of growth have weighed on shares of the company. The company now has a market capitalization of less than Rs.2.5 billion. 49

OFFBEAT

Fathers on the go By Bhavika Bhuwalka EVEN AS THE much needed anti-rape bill was being drafted after the heinous Dec. 16 gang rape case, speculations of it being misused were already in the air. A lot of women in India are accused of misusing laws which were primarily put in place to safeguard them. Children’s Rights Initiative for Shared Parenting (CRISP), an organization just born, is fighting against “parental alienation” of children with dysfunctional families. The organization stands for equal parenting rights, but by default, most of its members are men.

Kumble’s wife, Chethana Ramatheertha. He feels that the organization is gaining momentum and more and more single parents are getting involved in it and working towards raising awareness.

denied me all rights that a first husband has. Chethana doesn’t even let me meet Aaruni,” Jahgridar said. Their long row over the custody of their nine-year-old daughter ended in the conception of CRISP.

Jahgirdar had been fighting a court case over his child’s custody for long. In the end, he was denied custody but given “visitation rights”. The court also disposed a note of appreciation to Kumble as he said he would “give the best of his love and affection

They aim at reducing the many loopholes in the law that urban women very conveniently exploit to their advantage. They want archaic laws to be updated and unbiased. Advocating equal rights, standing on neutral grounds, these men tediously work towards finding a solution to the issue. On occasions like Children’s Day and Father’s Day, the organization organizes talks and discussions and petitions are signed.

Soujanya Nelavagilu, a member of the organization, said, “When someone files for a divorce, the custody of the child always goes to the mother who, on emotional grounds, manages to distance the father entirely. My brother and I have had similar experiences and so decided to join this initiative.”

Fathers 4 Justice (F4J), its counterpart in the UK, too aims at changes in legislation keeping in mind fathers’ rights. Jahgirdar said, “They go the extra mile when they protest in costumes. It gives them popularity and identity and the government is more likely to notice them.” Harsh Reddy, another member of CRISP, said, “We are lesser known but are doing a good deed. Women really misuse marriage and divorce laws for which we have been seeking amendments.”

He added, “Tell me, if I complain of my partner cheating on me and she charges me with rape allegations, who will the police listen to? I am not generalizing but a lot of them indulge in consensual sex and complain of rape thereafter if things don’t work out.” According to several police officers too, women cry foul but in reality the justice system in India is bent in their favour. CRISP was started by Kumar V. Jahgirdar, ex-husband of famous cricketer Anil

One way they think the flawed laws can be worked around is by “virtual visitation”. Reddy said, “One can be in touch with their children even on Skype. Any kind of communication keeps the bond strong. We have to devise ways to ensure that there is no total cut-off.”

to Aaruni (the child in question) as if she were his own child.” “Kumble used his influence and the court

With organizations like CRISP coming up to sensitize people regarding equal parenting rights by the means of rallies and protests, there is some hope that Bangalore might become father-friendly in the near future.

April 2014 | The Beat

City no Sodom and Gomorrah after lifting of booze curfew By Suchitra Sharma IT’S BEEN TWO weeks since the nightlife in the city has been extended and two Bangalore senior police constables who spoke to The Beat said they had not heard a report of a single instance of drunk driving or any other alcoholrelated mishap. Two weeks have passed since Home Minister K.J. George declared bars may stay open till 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, while restaurants can stay open until the same time every night. Bangaloreans are being careful this time, it seems. Shivalinga Nayak, head constable of Hebbagodi Police Station, said, “There haven’t been any problems yet and anyway we go on rounds every day to check on the hotels and bars.” Instead, he added that now they can’t fine people as the curfew has been extended by two hours. Shankar Narayan, 21, a resident of Malleswaram, said: “This is definitely a good move, especially for corporate people who constitute almost 60-65 percent of the city. It is good for all those who don’t have a family here. They can relax after a hectic week.”

April 2014 | The Beat

Shankar, however, cautioned that protection from the police is necessary as this ban has been lifted after four long years and Bangaloreans definitely don’t want another Delhi in the making. Krishnamurthy, 58, who has been working for five years at Bharathinagar Police Station, said: “Since the ban has been lifted we are seeing more people at the bars and restaurants on Fridays and Saturdays. The public is happy.” He too confirms that there haven’t been any cases of harassment or rash driving since the lift of the ban. So is this a pre-election move on the part of the government? “I don’t think so,” Shankar said, explaining that had the government wanted to do something, it would have done for the larger portion of the public, not just for restaurant- and bar-goers. Rajamani, a resident of Rajajinagar, agreed. “I don’t think this is connected to elections,” he said.

are both advantages and disadvantages to the extension. “People will now get to relax with friends and family, but the disadvantage is that there might be accidents due to drunk driving, or women may not be completely safe,” he said, adding that public transport will not be available “and it is the most reliable form of transport.” In fact, both the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited have expressed willingness to run services if the demand is there. Although everybody has their own points of view regarding the extension on the nightlife here, it is definitely a much-appreciated move by the state government. The previous government, as people say, was much criticized for the ban, making Bangalore lose its nickname “the pub capital” of India. Let’s raise our glasses to the new liberal mood in the city!

A senior citizen of this city, Rajamani said there

CITY

A walk down memory lane By Sneha Ghosh

HE IS ONE of Bangalore’s most renowned artists and has a unique way of making love with the canvas. His paintings bring out the hues of the city from the 1960s and ’70s, when the citizens still enjoyed their afternoon siesta and the houses had windows with monkey tops. Paul Fernandes is an illustrator and a contemporary cartoonist whose works remind the old timers of the Bangalore they grew up in and the new bees of how different things were, not so long ago. One of the few artistes to enjoy equal acclaim among patrons of all ages, his illustrations have featured in several books. Located snugly in Richards Town is his gallery aPaulogy that serves a slice of Bangalore with all its idiosyncrasies that he has meticulously preserved over the ages.

nostalgia in his images will make one question whether he still thinks the city is beautiful. “Bangalore is still very beautiful. If one can look at the city right in the morning, maybe go cycling around six, when she is enjoying the last few dregs of her sleep, one can find still find her charisma. In the olden days, there was not much of traffic, however the picture is very different now particularly in the afternoons.” Some of the iconic places in the city that were extremely popular a couple of decades back have disappeared with time. Whether it is Plaza Theatre that served as a dance hall for British soldiers or Cabaret

One of the most significant aspects about his illustrations is the beautiful blending of humor and reality. Identifying himself as a designer, his cartoons not only tickle the rib of the onlooker but have the rare quality of reaching out to most viewers. “I am not a painter. I like to think of myself as a designer or an illustrator. Humor has always been an important characteristic in my work; it helps me communicate with my audience. It is an easier mode for me to convey my emotions through cartoons,” he said. The “pensioner’s paradise” that Paul’s paintings remind us of grew significantly different after Bangalore became the IT hub of the city. The primary motif of

“There is a lot that is different about the city today. Life has become fast paced and people are having lesser and lesser time for one another. Not so long ago vendors would come home and people would buy eggs or get their hair cut on their porches, but now the entire culture has changed. Every corner in a residential area now has a supermarket. In the olden days life was simpler. But now we do not have the time to even chat with our neighbors.” So how would he want to change this change that has invaded the childhood recollection of his hometown? There is a very simple formula that he suggests that could ensure a greener Bangalore and healthier citizens.

Having lived in the city for close to 55 years, Bangalore is very close to his heart. It was no surprise that he chose the city as his muse and depicts her different aspects through his illustrations. “Bangalore is very close to me. I grew up here and spent the greater part of my life in the city. My memories portray very strong and vivid images of the days that have gone by and it was much peaceful back then. The city had a different rhythm about it— laid back and charming, and that is what I have tried to capture in my work.”

drivers trying their first hand at the steering wheel to the policemen who used to be dressed in shorts and mandatorily sported a moustache- the city has metamorphosed blending the urban with the recent.

at 3 Aces and Dewar’s—the city has lost the hot spots that once were famous for being the major crowd pullers although there have been a surge in the number of multiplexes in the city and one can barely count the number of eateries that keep mushrooming around every corner. “I am nostalgic. No matter how many new restaurants open up we will not be able to replace the atmosphere that once was. There were 70 movie theaters in the middle of the city. Development is a part of our life and surely there is a lot to look forward to in the present day but there is no denying that we have lost some of the authenticity that Bangalore was known for. We should try to preserve that original colour of our garden city synthesizing it with the new.” But is the change only limited to that? What more is different in the lives Bangaloreans today? From the pedestrians whose walks were disturbed by amateur

“If I had to make some change then I would insist upon the planting of new trees. There should be more spaces allocated for sidewalks so that pedestrians can walk. People should cycle more. It is not rocket science really, two plants and a cycle, every Bangalorean should bear that in mind and we would have a leafier, greener Bangalore in no time.” It has been a long journey for Paul. His illustrations have appeared in Peter Colaco’s Bangalore : A Century of Tales From City and Cantonment and On A High Note. He has also designed posters and murals like Bang Bang Bangalore, Sillycon City, The Ambassador of India and multiple others that have sold a thousand other copies. Looking back he feels happy and satisfied not just with his creations but the warmth with which it was received. “It has definitely been a very long journey,” Fernandes said. “But I am happy. I connect deeply with it. It feels good when young and old people both come to the gallery. While the young ones get a look at the city’s history, the old ones rejuvenate their memories.” April 2014 | The Beat

April 2014 | The Beat

PHOTO FEATURE

This place used to have it all, replete with all shades of chaos and color it was an array of different smell, languages and life. And although it is still there, the old charm is missing.

A quintessential Mangalorean get-together where people danced, laughed, sang and had a good time replete with drama, color and frills.

This bar was one of its kind in the city. Rich in culture and upholding the colonial heritage, it was one which was frequented by soldiers in the pre-independence days who came in for their beer and sandwiches and later by Bangaloreans who dearly enjoyed their pegs.

Photo: Paul Fernandes

April 2014 | The Beat

Tickle your taste buds with Paul as he serves Bangalore funny side up at the Indian Institute of Cartoonists starting March 22. The exhibition will be running till April 5.

The iconic coffee house HAT was originally located in M.G. Road was always bustling with people who came in for their hot cuppa and rather soft dosas. Now shifted to a quieter place in Church Street, the cafĂŠ used to be the hangout place for the Deccan Herald journalists who worked next door.

If you have not tried the fish and chips here, well you really should. One of the most happening places in the city that has survived the passage of time, it still holds that special place in the hearts of most Bangaloreans.

Coffee, conversation, creativity and crowsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the dear old place had it all. Unfortunately what it did not have was a future in the urban Bangalore.

April 2014 | The Beat

COMMENTARY

The RTE isn’t working By Rishika Sadam

JAYALAKSHMI, A HOMEMAKER from Kengeri, was very happy when her son Kiran got a free seat in a private school under the Right to Education Act. But her initial excitement soon turned to disappointment when the school demanded a whopping Rs.5,000 as a fee for extracurricular activities. If one is expecting a free seat under RTE, that might be a little difficult, as most schools in the state do not comply with the RTE norms.

The RTE Act can change the lives of millions of children across the country for the better. But with the many loopholes, the aspired transformation looks like a distant dream. A recent survey by RTE task force shows that around 80 percent of the schools in the country violate RTE norms. Its not just the fee that bothers the parents of the children falling under the RTE ambit. These children are discriminated against. RTE task force has received 133 complaints in the past six months from parents across the city. Some of them are forced to speak only in English when they did not know the language, while in other schools, RTE students are made to sit separately in classes. There are also schools which misguide parents that this RTE seat might deprive them of the Bhagyalakshmi Scheme benefits. Many schools justify the extra fee they take as required for providing extracurricular activities arguing that the reimbursement provided by the government is insufficient. Another major problem is that of unawareness among most parents. Though the government boasts about effective schemes for the poor, it should be checked if these schemes

The RTE Act 2009 aims to provide free education to children from economically weaker sections in nongovernment schools. When RTE was implemented in the state, it bought a cheer in the lives of many underprivileged people, but it did not last long. A closer look at many private schools revealed that this act was implemented with many flaws. A survey conducted by RTE task force on private schools in the city showed shocking results. Of the 27,000 seats in the city, around 35 percent are vacant and around 1,400 schools in the state have violated RTE norms. One would be amazed to know that the seats for free education are lying vacant, but the reality is that these seats are not free. With private schools demanding fee as high as Rs.35,000 for books, uniforms, computer classes, most parents do not prefer their children to take up such seats. Their below poverty line status does not allow them to do so. Umesh, an auto driver from Banashankari, was one of the many victims who were charged Rs.9,000 for uniforms, computer and karate classes.

are really reaching the targeted class. Most parents are unaware of how this act functions or what its benefits are. While there are services like child help lines and task forces that work for the effective implementation, a lot more is yet to be done to be able to ensure effective execution. The actual picture is not as rosy as depicted in advertisements like “School chale hum” by Sarva Shiksha Abihyan, which show children eagerly running to school. A lot of them still need to be reached. April 2014 | The Beat

Being a feminist By Sneha Bengani

YOU CANNOT HUMM or dance to a peppy Bollywoodized number by the international villager Yo Yo Honey Singh, not even remotely, if you are a feminist in present-day India. Because if you do, you are not just for once enjoying the foot-tapping music but are promoting women as objects, derogating the fairer sex and ruining everything that all the great feminist leaders have stood for and propagated over the years. Feminism has always been about promoting equality among the sexes. Since when did it become negating one at the expense of the other? Ensuring security for women and girls is important and so is helping them become independent human beings, but not every touch is dirty or every push in a moving bus intentional. Men took to the streets just like women did and were equally agitated when a 23year-old paramedic student was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus on the roads of the national capital on the night of Dec. 16, 2012. They were as hurt and disgusted as we were. The movement would not have been what it became had it been a battle of one sex against the other. We could see the president approve the anti-rape bill only because we braved

the lathis together, as one angry populace. Sure, there are men who jeer, leer and grope. They are the bad boys. But there also are respectable women with lots of jewelry and large livestock, who pull their daughters out of school before they finish their senior secondary. There are good women who do not let their daughters-in-law be, and some who discuss their sons’ sexual relationships with pride, but would shudder at the thought of their girl talking to a boy. There always is a grandmother who would teach a 7-year-old girl to smile coyly and learn to cook when her elder brother is busy roughing it up, learning the ways of the world. Such women do more harm than men, for they plant seeds of similar hypocrisy in young minds, that blossoms into a carnivorous creeper over the years that, slowly and swiftly, kills. We suddenly find a surge of respect in our hearts, an urge to give a tribute to every woman who has had a role to play in our lives once every year when we realize that the world is celebrating International Women’s Day. Other days, these women, our women, are non-existent, a part of the walls. And “we” are not just men.

It’s a baby girl! So, her room has to be pink, just like her frocks, frills, toys, shoes, toothpaste, diapers and all else. Who decides? The father? If Kalki Koechlin performs a monologue advocating woman rights on a public platform, it becomes a rage. If a woman says half the same things within the four walls of her house, she is not just branded various labels but it is made sure that she never thinks of any such thing ever again. Who does it? Only the men in the house? Feminism is not gender exclusive as it is usually believed. Anyone who lets a human being be, just like everybody else, is a feminist. Winning every silly argument in the name of women liberation is no new feminist wave. It is a homogeneous blend of shallowness and hypocrisy employed by lesser minds, both male and female, which is characteristic of our times. With the layers of interpretations, the many theories and the several roles making a tasteless soup, being a feminist has never been more difficult, because you do not know what it is or what you are anymore.

Photo: Charles Dana Gibson April 2014 | The Beat

COMMENTARY

Who really killed Rajiv Gandhi? By Chitharth Mathivanan

AS A CHILD, I often heard the brutal stories of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination through newspapers and during classroom discussions. I clearly remember asking my social studies teacher that why did politics involve killing of innocent civilians? She had replied that politics is dirty, it played with the emotions of the masses and that was how it worked.

Group, on the day of his death, Rajiv left the Chennai Meenabakkam Airport in his motorcade. Two women who passed themselves off as journalists boarded Rajiv’s car near Ramavaram. Whether their identity was ever verified by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is still a question. Why weren’t they investigated?

Rajiv Gandhi was the sixth prime minister of India and was forced into office as he lost his brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash.The Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has by and large become an unresolved mystery. The Jain Commission report suggests Amos Radia and Giorce Betchar were Israeli agents who had a role to play in the plot. It also indicated the involvement of Dr. Subramanian Swamy and former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar Rao. They allegedly had prior knowledge of the threat to Gandhi’s life. But the report was never pursued, and neither of the ministers has been investigated. The media also seem to be uninterested in digging the facts further. Thirumurugan Gandhi, an activist from Tamil Nadu, took up this issue on national television and questioned Arnab Goswami, editor in chief of Times Now, about their silence on the report. In response, Goswami asked Gandhi to leave the debate. This illustrates the negligence of media. Trichy Velusamy, one of the key witnesses of the case and a close aide of Swamy, claimed in a book that Swamy was the mastermind behind the plot. He said in a TV interview, “I am 100 percent sure that Rajiv Gandhi’s killing plot was executed with the knowledge of Subramanian Swamy.” According to Global Peace Support

which it can release the convicts on grounds of good conduct.” Within 24 hours, the state cabinet passed a resolution to release all the seven convicts of the case. This infuriated many politicians. Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice president and Rajiv Gandhi’s son, slammed Jayalalitha’s government by asking “what should the common man expect when the prime minister’s killers are being freed.” Harithra Sriharan, the 22year-old daughter of one of the convicts, Nalini, said on national television, “I’m really sorry for Rahul Gandhi. My parents have regretted enough—they deserve forgiveness. I can understand losing someone you love.” Now again, the Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the release. Chief Justice P. Sathasivam said, “This is our mistake, and we will solve this issue.”

Who were the two foreign journalists and where did they go after the incident? These are the few questions which await answers since years. The Verma Commission report heavily criticized the security lapses. These were some serious mistakes made by the police, the intelligence wing, and the central government, according to the report. The commission said it faced lot of trouble while probing the case. The Law and Justice Ministry delayed the process and took a whole year to respond to clarification requests. In January 2014, the Supreme Court commuted death sentences meted out to three convicts, Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan, ruling that their mercy petition had been unreasonably delayed. Their sentences were reduced to life imprisonment. The apex court suggested that “the concerned state (Tamil Nadu) is free to use its power under sections 432 and 435 of Criminal Procedure Code through

Political experts were of the view that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Sri Lankan organization that was being accused of the assassination, as being falsely framed and that Indian politicians were a part of the plan. The Supreme Court has finally put an end to the case being shifted from one court to another since 1991, but it still lacks clarity regarding what is the way forward.

What should the common man expect when the prime minister’s killers are being freed?” Rahul Gandhi

April 2014 | The Beat

REVIEWS

Rediscovering life By Nibedita Mohanta

Ranjan has described Akshat’s seven-daylong journey, during which he takes a leap of faith and turns his life upside down. He realizes his love for Naina, his college mate, who loved him back, but feared to express it due to the closed boundaries the protagonist drew around himself.

Sanjeev Ranjan Shrishti Publishers Rs.100 IT’S NO LONGER a Dream is the second novel by Sanjeev Ranjan. He has knitted the book together beautifully with the conclusions he draws from observing and analyzing human behavior and relationships.

Seven days previously he was a fed-up soul, seeing his parents fight over petty issues and throw things at each other.

The book tells the tale of a guy who disentangles his twisted life within seven days of seclusion in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The story portrays a young man named Akshat Diwan and his need for love in life— something he had never received from his parents. After the death of his daima (caretaker), the only person he was very close to, he gets completely alone and forlorn.

After his big decision of going away from home to spend some time in solitude, he emerges as a completely different person. His rediscovery of himself brings optimism and joy to his life.

The rich brat tastes what the real world is like when he gets onto a random train and faces difficulties in the simplest of things. His train debut turns into a life-changing

After daring to step out in the big bad world and baring his soul to a stranger, happiness is no longer a dream for him.

Akshat’s life makes a complete transition and he realizes the importance of relationships and love in life.

experience after meeting a man who shares his own life experiences with him.

Malala: ‘Thank god I’m not dead’ By Sneha Ghosh

I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai with Christina lamb Weidenfeld & Nicolson Rs. 399 THE TAG LINE of the book The Girl who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban aptly describes this 16-year-old braveheart whose courage and resilience has set an example for millions of other girls in her country trapped under the shackles of Taliban diktat. Malala Yousafzai is an extraordinary girl. At the age of 11, she started blogging accounts from her diary under the pen name of Gul Makai for the Urdu language website of BBC describing life under the autocratic regime of Taliban. And when a majority of the citizens of Mingora accepted the Taliban’s edict and public flogging and beheaded bodies of men were found scattered around the town square, she challenged them in numerous interviews with Capital Talk, CNN and a New York Times documentary, Class Dismissed: The Death of Female Education. Her courage and April 2014 | The Beat

nonchalance resulted in her being shot by the Taliban one afternoon while returned from school. The 14-year-old was critically injured and airlifted and sent to Britain for better treatment. But her indomitable spirit and clarity of thought resounds in her memoir that she penned down months after recovering from the Taliban’s attempt to assassinate her. Malala’s autobiography is an account of her life, her indescribable love for her family and her innate desire to make the world a better place to live in. Her book is as much about her as about her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai. Born to a liberal and broadminded man, an educator who wanted to open a school for girls, Malala was privileged to have been given the gift of education and an open perspective that helped her build an outlook that is at odds with the Taliban worldview. Her ideas of reasoning with her enemy to protect her right of education, her acute observation how only boys in her society were given the luscious thighs or breasts of a chicken while a girl was allowed to have the neck or wings gives us a preview of just

how unjust life for women are in Pakistan. She is blunt and brazen and her portraiture reveals how a woman can be jailed for getting raped and pregnant, how she has to be escorted everywhere by a man or a male child or how she can be poisoned if found flirting but can be given away by her family to resolve a family feud. Moreover she provides a historical background that has led into building the political climates of her neighbouring countries India and Afganisthan and her own, Pakistan and culture of the Swat Valley. She also writes about the different Muslim groups (Shias, Sunnis) who indulge in mindless violence with each other that further breeds hostility. The lucidity of her language, the clarity of her thought and the purity of her mind is bound to impress any reader who goes through her work. What is more fascinating than the literary merit of the book is the fact, it is a 16-year-old who is gifted with such qualities, a thought that restores ones dwindling faith that all is not wrong with the world.

B O O K S

REVIEWS

An absolute killjoy

M O V I E

By Shivpriya Jodha

Director: McG Producer: Marc Libert, Ryan Kavanaugh, Virginie Silla, Adi Hasak, Luc Benson Starring: Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielson, Amber Heard and Richard Sammel Genre: Action Runtime: 117 minutes THIS IS AN action thriller that lacks both thrill and action sequences and does not really work. Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is an international spy who is known for his determination to put an end to the job assigned to him. After being diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer, Ethan gives up his high-profile lifestyle to do right to his family and build a closer relationship with his wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld) Director McG fails as most action thrills in the film do not make you want to hold

the edge of your seat. The story is not well knit. The only scene that actually grabs attention is the comedy scene where Ethan interrogates an Italian man at gunpoint, to get the recipe of making spaghetti for his daughter’s dinner date. In order to buy himself some more time with his family, Ethan accepts the offer made by CIA assassin Vivi Delay (Amber Heard) to kill arms traffickers Wolf (Richard Sammel) and Albino in exchange for an experimental drug that could extend his life significantly. Ethan starts to reconnect with his family. Christine allows Ethan to mend his nonexistent relationship with his daughter only if he promises to leave his job as a spy. To find out if Ethan manages to collect the pieces of his broken family, you will have to watch 3 Days to Kill, but at your own risk. Ethan goes to different extents to win back his daughter’s love and respect, gives her a belated bike-riding lesson, teaches her to dance before her prom and beats up the perverts who try to sexually assault her at a club.

The father-daughter relationship starts to get healthier when Ethan gets to look after Zoey for three days while his wife is out of town. It gets a little hard for Ethan to concentrate on the job at hand as whenever he is about to torture and interrogate a bad guy, he is interrupted by his ringtone “I Love It (I Don’t Care)” personalized on his phone for his daughter. The movie is a heterogeneous mix of action and comedy, but fails to cater to the entertainment quotient in both genres. The action sequences are extremely underwhelming and predictable. The movie has wasted Kevin Costner, Hailee Steninfeld and Amber Heard. Although shot in picturesque locations of Paris and Serbia, the director and cinematographer have failed in capturing the beauty through their lens. If you free time then you may watch 3 Days to Kill, but at your own peril, as it really does not have anything to offer to the audience, and is an absolute killjoy for action fans.

Photo: Harper Collins Publications

April 2014 | The Beat

REVIEWS

Dreaming beyond the obvious By Bhavika Bhuwalka

The exhibition runs through April 4 Open 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Five Forty Five 6th Main, 4th Cross, Indiranagar, HAL 2nd Stage, Bangalore JUST THE PROSPECT of viewing something titled Daydreams filled me with excited anticipation. There is the kind of eagerness in wanting to explore and find out if something as abstract as day dreaming could be captured, portrayed and justified. The art exhibition did all of that. And much more.

Karnataka-based Kumar’s deep connection with the Lambani culture is evident in his paintings. His effortless visual language is remarkable and showcases his roots in the age-old Rajasthani tribe. Typical elements of the community—animals, loads of colors, decked-up people and a sense of a lost culture—are all blaringly visible.

theme. With his incongruous juxtaposition of physical elements, Kumar is pretty much able to capture the essence of daydreaming—something which does not have to

His art is full of paintings which can only be called absurd, at least at the first glance. In a classic example called Mod-

Daydreams is a piece of work by Pradeep Kumar D.M., who has truly let his imagination go wild. His art work majorly features new pen and ink sketching on paper or canvas. A solo show sponsored by the Department of Kannada and Culture, it aptly displays the vibrant and illustrative work of the artist.

make sense and draws itself from an inane desire.

ern Machinery, an animal has been shown wearing shoes, with a bell on his tail, a head torch and with an oxygen mask. In it, man has been portrayed as a modern animal. The drawings penned by him are a different story altogether. The pictures are replete with fine lines of all shapes and sizes that come together to form a neat yet strange picture complimenting the

Be it the boy on the cycle rickshaw with multiple religious symbols on his flag and carrying a huge bunch of old household stuff or be it the man, from whose brains animals are peeping out, they hint at his take on the Lambani tribe, that is rich in intellect, but poor in social standing. The paintings are a lot of colors, lines and one solid subject in a bizarre situation. Pradeep Kumar, with various awards and solo exhibitions to his credit, does not disappoint the viewers.

Pastoral personified By Sneha Ghosh

The exhibition runs through March 31 Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m No. 140/13, 27th cross, 3rd Block, Jayanagar, Bengaluru 560-011. THERE IS SOMETHING alluring about the countryside that has attracted my attention time and again. Be it a book or a movie or a painting, I feel myself drawn to this motif. Given that, it was quite obvious that I would visit the Magnitude Gallery to observe the works of a group of artistes who have blended the rural landscapes with the April 2014 | The Beat

spirituality of their residents and created an array of mystic paintings that depict the simplicity of their lives.

Rustic Hues is a collection of paintings by Ms. Neelam, Mr. Swami and Ms. Manjula among others. The majority of them have been dedicated to women, a celebration of the International Women’s Day. The artistes have employed vibrant earthy shades depicting the daily chores of the village folk that range from making wicker baskets to working at the fields. More than their physical labor, the paintings convey their emotions and lives and how they have liberated themselves through whatever little they were given to start with.

Some of the paintings also portray Guru Nanak, the religious guru imparting his wisdom to the villagers while others bring out the beauty of the countryside.

The collection commemorates the culture and tradition of the Indian village, it brings out the “hues” of the livelihood of the underprivileged who struggle to make a living. The beauty of their works lie in the simplicity with which the artistes have painted it. Its universality remains unchallenged.

A R T

REVIEWS R E S T A U R A N T S

Finger-lickin’ good food at 4 Seasons

A bowl of appetizers

By Aurosmita Acharya

By Vaishnavi J. Desai

4 Seasons, Lamacy Plaza, HRBR II Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore 080 65555563/62 Charm Point: Seafood platter, chicken platter, mutton platter ****

The Soup Bowl, Food Court, Orion Mall, Malleswaram, Bangalore 9845289995 Charm point: The service is fast and the dishes are exotic. ***

A MULTI-CUISINE RESTAURANT, 4 Seasons offers you a range of authentic Indian, Chinese and Arabian food. In just four months of introducing itself to Bangalore, the place has turned into a crowd-puller for their variety of platters (seafood, chicken, mutton, Arabic mixed grilled and Indian mixed grilled). Also, you are greeted by more than enthusiastic waiters and an amazing ambience.

IF YOU ARE looking to saIndeed, the lasooni chicken tikka vor piping-hot soup in some is finger-lickin’ good. Equally deunconventional flavors, then licious is the wide range of biryaThe Soup Bowl in Orion Mall nis, rice and noodles. in Malleswaram is your oneThe curries are tasty. 4 Seasons has stop destination. Add some a good 22 varieties of dishes for crunchy snacks and delicious sandwiches to the platter and vegetarian food lovers. your menu is just perfect for However for nonvegetarians, the an afternoon brunch. delicacies are never-ending. The Soup Bowl has a modest The platters are sumptuous and variety of soups to offer. The pocket friendly at Rs.600. The menu is designed in a way that seafood platter included can satisfy all tastes. tandoori In the popular range section, the cream of spinach is a good option. Tamatar ka shorba is tangy and manchow is hot.

The food is as ravishing as it looks in the picture in the menu and soothes the taste buds in an instant.

For the nonvegetarian folks, all the chicken-soup combinations are available. The evergreen chicken soup with a dash of cream is very popular. The exotic range is to die for. The chicken tom yum soup is prawns, a must taste. s a u t e prawns, phu- The vegetarian version of the kat fish and gar- tom yum soup is equally delilic fish corn fish; the cious. A tastier version of Clear chicken platter offers murgh soup, Tom Yum is nutritious kalimirch kabab, chicken anar and loaded with vegetables. kabab, chicken pista rollsa and It is a rare delicacy and isn’t sheesh taouk with banno kabab; readily available in the city. In and for the mutton platter, it was the exotic range also feature a combination of Arabic sheekh kebab, Indian sheikh kebab, grilled mutton, bhuna gosht and boti kebab with three varieties of chutneys.

“My favorite is the lasooni chicken tikka served with cool mint chutney and shredded cabbage and carrot,” Shrikanth, a foodie and regular visitor at the restaurant, said.

The turnoff was that the place did not have much to offer for desert. If that was not a kill joy the waiters seemed to be a tad bit nagging , a quality not much appreciated by diners.

provides a range of soup, each equally delicious and filling. The vegetarian, seafood, chicken and mutton sections of the menu give a long list of options to choose from.

french onion soup and cream of broccoli. The Soup Bowl has experimented with some recipes. Defying the convention that soups are to be had before a meal, the menu provides options for a wholesome lunch. Creamy soupy rice has rice added to the soup. It is available with pasta and noodles and is served in good quantity. But its taste doesn’t stand out in comparison with other Soup Bowl recipes. The counter also has exciting add-ons other than the celebrated range of soups. Grilled sandwiches, fries and beverages like iced tea, cold coffee are up for order. The Soup Bowl also has many pocket-friendly offers. The extra cheese, chicken and vegetables option is another experiment that is recommended. The service is fast, and the soup is served hot. There is no compromise on the quality. A meal for two would cost between Rs.250 to Rs.300.

April 2014 | The Beat

Team Beat

From left to right: Nibedita Mohanta, Sneha Ghosh, Girish Bhadri, Sneha Bengani, Bhavika Bhuwalka, Mark Austin, Viashnavi J. Desai, Tulana Nayak, Shivpriya, Jodha, Suchitra Sharma, Aurosmita Acharya

April 2014 | The Beat