India Today [February 12, 2018] | Betting the Farm

166 Pages·2018·47.626 MB·English

by  India Today

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FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
www.indiatoday.in
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie G oing into the last full Union bud- There is a disconcertingly familiar sense
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa get of his term, Prime Minister of too many announcements and too little
EDITORS: Kaveree Bamzai (Special Projects), Ajit Kumar Jha (Research)
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh Narendra Modi has not only bet implementation. Take the example of the
MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha on the farmers, but bet the farm on his Smart Cities Mission, announced in 2015,
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit,
Sandeep Unnithan rural voters. Articulating his vision for which aimed at building 100 Smart Cities
DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop the general election of 2019 quite clearly, with state-of-the-art amenities. So far, 99
Mumbai: M.G. Arun Hyderabad: Amarnath K. Menon Chandigarh: Asit Jolly
SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Jaipur: Rohit Parihar he has recognised the existence of rural cities have been selected with an outlay of
SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee distress, amplified by a string of farmer Rs 2.04 lakh crore. But projects worth a
Mumbai: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; patna: Amitabh Srivastava
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha protests and suicides last year provoked by mere Rs 2,350 crore have been completed.
Kolkata: Romita Sengupta; Bhopal: Rahul Noronha; falling commodity prices and increasing The rest remain ‘in progress’. That’s a
Thiruvananthapuram: Jeemon Jacob; BeiJing: Ananth Krishnan
ASSISTANT EDITOR: pune: Aditi S. Pai debt. Hoping to deliver on his promise to pathetic strike rate, which doesn’t exactly
PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),
Rajwant Singh Rawat (Principal Photographer), double farmers’ incomes by 2022, when inspire confidence in the government’s
Chandra Deep Kumar (Photographer); Mumbai: Mandar Suresh India celebrates 75 years of independence, ability to deliver.
Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer);
ahmedabad: Shailesh B Raval (Principal Photographer); the budget has shown every intention of Given the additional spending,
CKohleknantaai:: SNu.Gb.i rJ aHiaslodne r(S (Penriinocr ipPahlo Ptohgortaopghraepr)her); boosting farmers’ incomes by raising the meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.3
PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), minimum support price for crops to 1.5x per cent of GDP for 2019 will require
Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher),
Shubhrojit Brahma (Photo Researcher) the cost of production, liberalising export disinvestment and the highest ever gross
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty of agri-commodities, and modernising taxes as a percentage of GDP. It is a tough
ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director);
Jyoti K. Singh (Art Director), Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director); agricultural markets. This comes in the ask, according to Crisil chief economist
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer)
Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator) wake of agri-GDP registering an insipid Dharmakirti Joshi, one of the eminent
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), average annual growth rate of 2 per cent economists in our panel of commentators,
Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator),
Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) in the first three years of the Modi govern- but not entirely unachievable. The budget
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma ment—in the last three years of the UPA has nothing for the middle class and large
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) rule, it was nearly twice this figure. corporates, who in many ways are the bul-
IMPACT TEAM The second clear narrative in Modi wark of the economy. The big question is,
Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West)
General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), Vision 2019 is the creation of jobs. The whether all this will be enough—especially
Upendra Singh (Bangalore),
Kaushiky Gangulie (East) budget has seen a push to small business- given that the GDP growth rate is expected
GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra es, which were badly hit both by demon- to fall to 6.75 per cent for the current fiscal,
Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing)
SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager etisation and the initial implementation compared to 7.1 the previous year. So far,
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations) of GST. The corporate tax reduction for the economic environment was conducive,
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North) firms with turnovers below Rs 250 crore but now oil prices have crossed $70 a bar-
Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South)
as well as Rs 3,794 crore in credit support rel internationally, and retail inflation has
to MSMEs could help. The continuing breached the RBI’s target, hitting 5.21 per
push to infrastructure, with expected cent in December. Also, there is nothing to
investments in excess of Rs 50 lakh crore spur the investment rate which has fallen
in roads, airports, railways, ports and in- from a peak of nearly 34.3 per cent in 2011-
land waterways, is also of a piece with this 12 to 26.4 per cent in 2017-18. Unless the
Volume XLIII Number 7; For the week strong effort—unemployment emerged as government is able to move the needle on
February 6-12, 2018, published on every Friday
the biggest concern among respondents to this, it is difficult to imagine the accelera-
lF CE-d8i,t oSreicatlo/Cr-o1r6pAo,r aFtielm O fCfiictye, LNioviidnag -M 2e0d1ia3 0In1d; Piah Lotnde.:, 0In1d2i0a- T4o8d0a7y1 0G0r oup Mediaplex, the india today Mood of the Nation Poll tion in economic growth so necessary to
lSe Scutobrs -c5r7ip, tNioonids:a F (oUrP a)-s2s0is1t3a0n1ce; Pchoonntaecst: CTuolslt-ofrmeee rn Cuamrbe eIrn:d 1ia8 0T0o d1a8y0 0G r1o0u0p (,f Bro-m45 , last week, along with rising prices. finance its ambitious schemes.
BSNL/MTNL lines); (95120) 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad; [phone] Equally clear is the government’s My own nagging concern is an old one:
from Rest of India (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Fax: [phone];
Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; belated recognition of the importance of I am not sure how much of government
e-mail: [email protected]
l Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media India healthcare and education. As Amartya expenditure actually reaches the intended
Limited, B-45, Sector 57, Noida-201301 (UP)
l Regd. Office: K-9 Conn aught Circus, New Delhi-110001 Sen says, no developed country in the beneficiary. In 1985, on a visit to drought-
l Impact Offices: 1201, 12th Floor, Tower 2 A, One Indiabulls Centre, (Jupiter
Mills), S.B. Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai-400013; Phone: [phone]; world has progressed without investing in affected Kalahandi in Odisha, the late Ra-
Fax: [phone] l E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn,
New Delhi l Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai, these key areas. On education, the budget jiv Gandhi said that of every rupee spent by
Chennai-600018; Phone: [phone] l 201-204 Richmond T owers, 2nd Floor,
12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037, has announced Eklavya schools for tribals the government, only 15 paise reached the
K22o2lk1a8t3a4-730; 0F0a7x1: ;2 P2h2o1n8e3s3:5 2; 2l8 5225,3 J9a8w; F ahaax:r l2a2l 8N2e7h2r5u4 R; ola 6d-,3 -48t8h5 F/7lo/Bor,, S omajiguda, as well as 24 new medical colleges and intended recipient. Has that leaky bucket
Hyderabad-500082; Phone: [phone], 1,000 new fellowships for doctoral stu- been fixed? If not, the electoral benefits
23410982, 23411498; Fax: [phone] l 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016;
Phones: 2377057, 2377058 ; Fax: [phone] l 2/C, “Suryarath Bldg”, 2nd Floor, dents. In healthcare, Union finance minis- this government is hoping for after this
Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone:
26560393, 26560929; Fax: [phone] l Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All ter Arun Jaitley announced an ambitious budget may not materialise. Elections
rights reserved througho ut the world. R eproduction in any m anner is p rohibited.
Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media National Health Protection Scheme, are not won on grand announcements or
India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) which will provide up to Rs 5 lakh per manifestos but on real development on the
and at A-9, Ind ustrial Complex, Maraimalai N agar, District year to 100 million families for secondary ground which people can feel.
Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught
Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Aroon Purie. and tertiary healthcare. Impressive as this
l in dia today does not take the res ponsibility for returning unsolicited
publication material. sounds, I am not sure the mechanisms
All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of or details of funding have been worked
competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only
out. The expense could be monumental. (Aroon Purie)
FEBRUARY 12, 2018 INDIA TODAY 1
UPFRONT LEISURE
IN SID E
THE QUESTION OF NATIVE REVENGE
AUTONOMY PG 3 PG 53
IS THE NDA WALL Q&A: JOHN
CRACKING? McLAUGHLIN
PG 4 PG 64
NEIGHBOURS
38
DOKLAM
SIMMERS
With India refusing to
stand down, Beijing has
upped the military
build-up on the Line of
Actual Control
TRIPURA
42
A SARKAR
UNDER THREAT
20 COVER STORY The Union budget’s big farm A determined RSS-BJP
push is designed to please onslaught has the Left and
BETTING a large irate constituency of the chief minister worried
for the first time in 25 years
voters. But will it also manage to
THE FARM
spur economic growth?
Cover by NILANJAN DAS
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2 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 2018
FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
www.indiatoday.in
IS THE NDA WALL DIOR’S COUTURE
UPF RON T
CRACKING? KNOCK-OFF?
EDITORP-ING-C H4IEF: Aroon Purie G oing into the last full Union bud- There is a disconcertingly familiar sePnGse 6
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa get of his term, Prime Minister of too many announcements and too little
EDITORS: Kaveree Bamzai (Special Projects), Ajit Kumar Jha (Research)
GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh Narendra Modi has not only bet implementation. Take the example of the
MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha on the farmers, but bet the farm on his Smart Cities Mission, announced in 2015,
EXECUTNIVEE EWDITO CRSU: DRamEa yanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, ‘FRINGE’
SandeFepO URnn itRhaAnBIES rural voters. Articulating his vision for which aimed at building 100 SmaBrEtN CEiFtIiTeSs
MDEuPmUbTaYPi: EMGD.IGT O.7 RASr:u Pnr Hacydhei rBahbaudc:h Aamr, aUrdnaayth M Ka. hMuerknaorn, MChaannidsihgaar Sh:a Arosoitp Jolly the general election of 2019 quite clearly, with state-of-the-art amenities. So faPrG, 9129
SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Jaipur: Rohit Parihar he has recognised the existence of rural cities have been selected with an outlay of
SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee distress, amplified by a string of farmer Rs 2.04 lakh crore. But projects worth a
Mumbai: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; patna: Amitabh Srivastava
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha protests and suicides last year provoked by mere Rs 2,350 crore have been completed.
Kolkata: Romita Sengupta; Bhopal: Rahul Noronha; falling commodity prices and increasing The rest remain ‘in progress’. That’s a
Thiruvananthapuram: Jeemon Jacob; BeiJing: Ananth Krishnan
ASSISTANT EDITOR: pune: Aditi S. Pai debt. Hoping to deliver on his promise to pathetic strike rate, which doesn’t exactly
PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor),
Rajwant Singh Rawat (Principal Photographer), double farmers’ incomes by 2022, when inspire confidence in the government’s
Chandra Deep Kumar (Photographer); Mumbai: Mandar Suresh India celebrates 75 years of independence, ability to deliver.
Deodhar (Chief Photographer), Danesh Adil Jassawala (Photographer);
ahmedabad: Shailesh B Raval (Principal Photographer); the budget has shown every intention of Given the additional spending,
CKohleknantaai:: SNu.Gb.i rJ aHiaslodne r(S (Penriinocr ipPahlo Ptohgortaopghraepr)her); boosting farmers’ incomes by raising the meeting the fiscal deficit target of 3.3
PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), minimum support price for crops to 1.5x per cent of GDP for 2019 will require
Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher),
Shubhrojit Brahma (Photo Researcher) the cost of production, liberalising export disinvestment and the highest ever gross
CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty of agri-commodities, and modernising taxes as a percentage of GDP. It is a tough
ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director);
Jyoti K. Singh (Art Director), Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director); agricultural markets. This comes in the ask, according to Crisil chief economist
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer)
Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator) wake of agri-GDP registering an insipid Dharmakirti Joshi, one of the eminent
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), average annual growth rate of 2 per cent economists in our panel of commentators,
Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator),
Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) in the first three years of the Modi govern- but not entirely unachievable. The budget
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma ment—in the last three years of the UPA has nothing for the middle class and large
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) rule, it was nearly twice this figure. corporates, who in many ways are the bul-
IMPACT TEAM The second clear narrative in Modi wark of the economy. The big question is,
Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West)
General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), Vision 2019 is the creation of jobs. The whether all this will be enough—especially
Upendra Singh (Bangalore),
Kaushiky Gangulie (East) budget has seen a push to small business- given that the GDP growth rate is expected
GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra es, which were badly hit both by demon- to fall to 6.75 per cent for the current fiscal,
Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing)
SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager etisation and the initial implementation compared to 7.1 the previous year. So far,
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations) of GST. The corporate tax reduction for the economic environment was conducive,
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North) firms with turnovers below Rs 250 crore but now oil prices have crossed $70 a bar-
Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South) MAPPED OUT
as well as Rs 3,794 crore in credit support rel internationally, and retail inflation has
File picture of a Naga
to MSMEs could help. The continuing breached the RBI’s taHrogheot d, ehleitgtaitniogn 5.21 per
push to infrastructure, with expected cent in December. Almsoee, ttihnge rPeM i sM nodoithing to
investments in excess of Rs 50 lakh crore spur the investment rate which has fallen
in roads, airportsN, AraGilAwLaAysN, Dports and in- from a peak of nearly 34.3 per cent in 2011-
land waterways, is also of a piece with this 12 to 26.4 per cent in 2017-18. Unless the
Volume XLIII Number 7; FTor theh weeke Qusteronsg efftorit—ounenmplo yomenft em Aergeud as togovenrnmeont ism able toy move the needle on
February 6-12, 2018, published on every Friday
the biggest concern among respondents to this, it is difficult to imagine the accelera-
lF CE-d8i,t oSreicatlo/Cr-o1r6pAo,r aFtielm O fCfiictye, LNioviidnag -M 2e0d1ia3 0In1d; Piah Lotnde.:, 0In1d2i0a- T4o8d0a7y1 0G0r oup Mediaplex, the india today Mood of the Nation Poll tion in economic growth so necessary to
lSe Scutobrs -c5r7ip, tNioonids:a F (oUrP a)-s2s0is1t3a0n1ce; Pchoonntaecst: CTuolslt-ofrmeee rn Cuamrbe eIrn:d 1ia8 0T0o d1a8y0 0G r1o0u0p (,f Bro-m45 , last week, aloBnyg Kwiatuh srihsiinkg D preikceas. finance its ambitious schemes.
BSNL/MTNL lines); (95120) 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad; [phone] Equally clear is the government’s My own nagging concern is an old one:
from Rest of India (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Fax: [phone];
Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; belated recognition of the importance of I am not sure how much of government
e-mailN: [email protected] poses a unique challenge to the BJP’s grand government,” he added, “attaches the utmost importance to
l Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media India healthcare and education. As Amartya expenditure actually reaches the intended
Limited, B-45, Sector a57m, Noibdai-2t0i1o30n1 (U oP) f spreading its wings across the Northeast. the long­pending Naga issue... a peaceful election will facili­
l Regd. Office: K-9 Conn aught Circus, New Delhi-110001 Sen says, no developed country in the beneficiary. In 1985, on a visit to drought-
l Impact Offices: 1201A, 12sths Felomor, Tbowleyr 2 eA,l Oenec Itndiioabnullss C eantrree, (J uspcitehr eduled for February 27, but tate the ongoing talks and strengthen our commitment.”
Mills), S.B. Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai-400013; Phone: [phone]; world has progressed without investing in affected Kalahandi in Odisha, the late Ra-
Fax: 6c60a63n226 N l E-a1,g Graou nsdo Flcooir,a Vilde aoconn Tdow perso, Jlhiantdiecwaalaln Egxtrn,o ups be persuaded to parti­ But going against the grain on the emotive issue of Naga
New Delhi l Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai, these key areas. On education, the budget jiv Gandhi said that of every rupee spent by
Chenncaii-6 p00a01t8e; P?h oOne: n284 J7 8a52n5 ul 2a01r-2y04 2Ric9hm,o n1d1 T o pwears,r 2ntdi Felosor,, including the local BJP autonomy may politically and electorally isolate the party
12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037, has announced Eklavya schools for tribals the government, only 15 paise reached the
K22o2lk1a8tc3a4-h730; 0aF0a7px1: ;2t P2eh2o1rn8,e3s 3:i5 2s; 2ls8 52u25,3 Je9a8wd; F a haaax:r l2aj2lo 8N2ei7hn2r5u4t R; olda 6d-e,3 -4c8t8hl5 Fa/7lo/rBor,a, S otmiaojignud ao, f theiar si nwteelnl ta tso 2 b4o nyecwot mt edica(lw cohlilcehg eiss hanopdi ng to exinptaenndd eitds rfeocoitppierinntt. Hina tsh teh Caht lreiastkiya nb­ucket
Hyderatbhade-5 0e00l8e2;c Phtoinoe: 2n34s0 1i6f57 ,t 2h34e00 4C79,e 2n341t0r10e0, f23a40i2l4e81d, to “allow1 ,t0h0e 0N naegwa pfeollliotwicsahl ips ford doomcitnoaratel dst sut-ate fromb eitesn c fiuxrerden? tI f1 .n7o5t p, tehr ec eenletc vtoortea ls bheanree fiatnsd
23410982, 23411498; Fax: [phone] l 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016;
Phoneps: 2r37o70c5e7, s23s77 t05o8 ; rFaex:a 23c77h05 9i tl s2/C l, o“Sugryiacraath lB ldcgo”, 2nndc Fllouor,s ion byd geinvitns.g I snp haecael athncda re, Unioonne fi enleacntceed m asinseims-blyt sheias tg).o Dveersnpmitee nitts i ss mhoaplli nsigz e f,o trh aef tBeJr Pth iiss
Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone:
26560t39i3m, 265e6 0t92o9; Ftahx: e26 5n65e29g3 lo Ctopiyarigthit nLivging gMerdoia Iundpia Lst dt. Aoll bring otuetr aAnr ueanr Jlya sitoleluyt aionnn”o.uncpedar atn o fa tmheb irtuioliunsg Dembuodcgreatt imc Aayl lniaont cme aotfe Nriaagliaslea. nEdle, chteioandes d
rights reserved througho ut the world. R eproduction in any m anner is p rohibited.
Printed and Apub dlishaeyd blya Mtaenorj, S thahrmea BonJ bePha lhf oifg Lihvin gc Moemdia m and rNeaacttieodn ably H suesapltehn Pdirnogte ctiboyn tShceh Nemagea, People’s aFrreo nnot t( NwPonF )o, nw ghriacnhd w aonnn 3o8u nsecaetms einn ttsh oer
I1n8d-3ia5 t LMhimileeitse ttdo.nw Per, oiDnet ellhdei aMat aTdthheoumrrass oR now aPdrhe, sFsoa Ir nihddaiaab aLddim- 1is2te1idg0,0 n7, e(Hdar ytahnae) declawrahtiiochn .w Uinll iporno MvidoeS up to R20s 153 l apkohll sp. eNr PF leadmera Snhiufershtoozs ebluiet Lonie zreieatls due avneldo pNmageanlta onnd t he
and aft oA-r9, hInd oumstriael Caomffpalexi,r Msa rKaimiarleai nN a gRar,i Djiisjturic,t the BJP’s elyeecatiro tno i1n0­0ch marilgleio fno rf amiliCehs ifeofr M seicnoinstdearr Ty. R. Zgerloiaunngd awreh ibcoht phe voephleem caenn tfleye lo.pposed to
Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught
CircuNs, Naewg Daellhai-1n10d00, 1s. Eadiitdor :a A rbooon Pyucrioe.tt was not the soluatniodn t. e“rWtiea rfyu lhlye aulnth­care. Ihmopldriensgsi velee acsti tohniss. Ironically, Rijiju and BJP general secretary
l in dia today does not take the res ponsibility for returning unsolicited
publicadtioenr msatteraianl.d the sentiments expressed... but sthoue nhdosld, Iin agm o fn toimt seulrye theR maemch Manaidshmasv were holding talks with the duo on seat sharing
All deislpeuctetsi aorne ssu bijse cat tco othne esxtciltuusivtei ojunrisadlic ptiorno ocf ess,” he aorrg udeedta. i“lTs hofe fUunndioinn g haveo bne tehne wsaomrkee dda y the all­party meeting declared a poll boycott.
competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only
out. The expense could be monumental. (Aroon Purie)
8 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 2018
FEBRUARY 12, 2018 INDIA TODAY 3
UPFRONT
For decades, Naga rebel groups have been fighting
for Nagalim or Greater Nagaland, a state accommo-
dating all Naga tribes across the Northeast. Though
initially they wanted a sovereign country, the demand
S
has now been scaled down to a state with consider- E
G
A
able autonomy. This has significant geographical im- M
plications, as Nagas are spread through neighbouring TY I
T
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, and the GE
suggested map of Nagalim includes Naga-dominated AL/
W
areas from all these states. R
A
G
The Centre has been in talks with the National G
A
Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the AY
J
largest Naga rebel group, since 1997, when the group A
signed a ceasefire. In 2015, Prime Minister Naren-
NDA
dra Modi signed a “framework agreement” with the
NSCN(IM), the details of which are yet to be made
Is the NDA Wall
public. Hope for a lasting solution soared when the
Centre started talks with six more rebel outfits late
Cracking?
last year. “For the people of Nagaland, elections are
not important,” says NSCN(IM) emissary V.S. Atem,
“a solution is. Talks have
been going on for the past
The Naga 20 years. There should Angered by the criticism from BJP legislators in
Hoho has now be a deadline.” Andhra Pradesh, the ruling Telugu Desam Party
cautioned that That all parties agree (TDP) has warned it might follow the Shiv Sena’s
elections should be boycot- example and leave the National Democratic Alliance
violators of
ted is an indication of the before next year’s general election. Chief Minister Chan-
the boycott
power of groups such as drababu Naidu told reporters that while he would be
call will be
Naga Hoho, the apex tribal circumspect in view of his party’s ongoing loyalties, if the
treated as
body in Nagaland. The BJP “does not want an alliance, we will say namaskaram
“anti-Naga” Core Committee of Na- and chart our own course”.
galand Tribal Hohos and Of course, so comprehensive was the BJP’s victory in
Civil Organisations, has the 2014 Lok Sabha elections that it may not need coali-
stated that deferring the elections would help consoli- tion partners in 2019. With 282 seats in Parliament, the
date Naga solidarity. It has also cautioned that anyone
violating the boycott call will be treated as “anti-Naga”.
Sensing the public mood, the Nagaland assembly,
in December, asked the Centre to find a solution to
INDEX
the looming crisis. But the latter appears determined
above all to hold elections. “The process will not be Big Bets at Casino IPL
hampered; the schedule will not be changed,” said
Abhijit Sinha, chief electoral officer of Nagaland just
Spreadeagled over two marathon days, the
a day after the boycott declaration.
IPL auction in Bengaluru on January 27 and
This is the second time assembly elections have
28 featured the usual frenzied cheque-waving.
headed for a boycott. In 1998, the NSCN(IM) and
In the American style, IPL teams are often
Naga Hoho had done the same. While the other par-
described as franchises, a reminder that they
ties stayed away, the Congress fought the elections
are businesses as much as they are sports teams,
and won 53 out of 60 seats. The BJP may be seeking
with their eye on the bottom line and with
to repeat that feat, if the Union government fails to
purchasing decisions based on factors beyond
break the deadlock. But if Assam finance minister simply bat and ball. The news this year was the
Himanta Biswa Sarma is to be believed, the crisis will continued attractiveness of uncapped players,
be resolved within a week. Sarma is the convenor of the untried at international level but ideally suited
North East Democratic Alliance, an umbrella organ- to the format. It’s the ‘moneyball’ approach of
isation of the BJP and its allies in the region. They will using statistics to invest in players as opposed to
hope his confidence is not misplaced. n star power and reputation.
4 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 2018
NEXT QUESTION in support from the Centre for the
File photo of Andhra CM Naidu (in yellow) party’s concerns. There are more
with BJP and NDA leaders
literal family issues, too, with the
antipathy between Naidu and his
party enjoys a majority by itself. But sister-in-law, BJP leader Daggubati
partners are essential in states with Purandeswari, who has written to
strong regional parties and char- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to
ismatic local leaders. The TDP has complain about Naidu’s decision to
16 Lok Sabha seats and has been a induct defectors from rivals YSR
long-time partner in the NDA. Still, Congress into the Andhra cabinet.
it hasn’t been reluctant to defy the Somu Veerraju, a prominent
prevailing party line. In the Rajya local BJP leader, says that a “coali-
Sabha, the TDP sided with the Op- tion government does not mean that
position on the govern- the BJP cannot in the
ment’s triple talaq bill, 16 future form a govern-
a move BJP strategists ment on its own. We
believe to be motivated are strengthening the
by domestic political organisation from the
considerations rather SEATS booth level up.” If that
than disgruntlement the TDP has in the Lok sounds like griping,
with the alliance. Sabha. The NDA ally so do comments from
But there is has at times defied TDP parliamentarians
disgruntlement with the coalition line such as J.C. Diwakar
the BJP too: Naidu is Reddy, who asserts that
unhappy that the Cen- because “the BJP has a
tre has yet to pay heed to repeated majority in the Lok Sabha, it is not
requests for special state status to paying attention to Andhra Pradesh.
be granted to Andhra Pradesh. “We Had there been no majority, it might
are seeking support from all par- have understood the importance of
ties,” says TDP leader in the Rajya alliance partners”. Is this evidence of
Sabha Y.S. Chaudhary, “because no hairline cracks in the NDA, an opp-
party is untouchable in politics.” The ortunity for the Congress to drum
implication is clear, the TDP expects up new support? n
the alliance with the BJP to result —Sujit Thakur
169 25 17
Players bought in the Players bought by Chennai Age of the first Nepali
auction from a pool of 578 Super Kings. Bought the player in IPL, leggie
players, compared with most but spent the least— Sandeep Lamichhane.
66 out of 352 in 2017 Rs 73.5 cr Delhi Daredevils got him
for Rs 20 lakh
`431.7CR `12.5CR
Spent by 8 IPL ‘franchises’ in Price paid by Rajasthan Royals
Season 11 of the tournament, for Ben Stokes. They also
compared with a little over bought Indian pacer Jaydev
Rs 91 cr in 2017 Unadkat for Rs 11.5 cr—the
two most expensive buys
`80 56 `2
CR CR
Spent by Kolkata Knight Foreign players Paid by Kings Punjab XI for
Riders, the most money bought in auction, Windies star Chris Gayle,
on the fewest players— compared to 113 ignored in the bidding. Stars
just 19; average spend: Indian players; 91 like Ishant Sharma, Joe Root,
Rs 4.21 cr per player capped, 78 uncapped Dale Steyn also went unsold FEBRUARY 12, 2018 INDIA TODAY 11
UPFRONT
COPYRIGHT
CHRISTIAN DIOR’S
COUTURE KNOCK-OFF?
Ia m the guy with a pistol fighting replacing the lotus. It is a brand with
an army equipped with tankers,” the resources to behave ethically, to
says graphic artist Orijit Sen. cite its sources. Designers do often
He has had a difficult, discomfit- borrow from and pay elaborate hom-
ing week at the centre of a social age to their influences. For instance,
media storm. A yoga motif he says the noted Indian designer Rahul
he created in the 1990s was printed Mishra took inspiration from Van
without attribution or acknowledge- Gogh for his Paris collection two
ment on a dress from French fashion seasons ago, using art to create art of
giant Christian Dior’s ‘Resort 2018’ his own in collaboration with 700 ar-
collection, launched in California last tisans. But, as Mishra found out, the
May. Actress Sonam Kapoor wore line between tribute and plagiarism is
the dress on a magazine cover this often ignored. In September 2017, his
month, leading to a furious allega- lawyers had to send a legal notice to
tion of plagiarism by Sen’s daughter Danish high street brand Vero Moda
Pakhi. The design, she pointed out, for copying an outfit from a collection
has been used for years on t-shirts he showed in Paris.
The resemblance
produced for People Tree, her par- For Sen, legal recourse may be
is obvious, though
ents’ independent brand. both limited and complicated. He did
Dior has replaced
On January 29, Sen posted a not register his design as a patent,
letter to Dior’s head office, ask- the lotus in Orijit as his intellectual property. Section
ing for an apology, for the dress to Sen’s yoga motif 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1957,
be withdrawn, and for adequate with a tulip also specifies that “copyright in any
compensation. Dior did not respond design, which is capable of being reg-
to questions from india today, nor istered under the Designs Act, 2000,
has it seen fit to comment in any way but which has not been so registered,
on the allegations. Sen has shared shall cease as soon as any article to
pictures of his original artwork and which the design has been applied has
the hand-carved wooden blocks used been reproduced more than 50 times
to make the prints. by an industrial process by the owner
Decades ago, Sen, who suffers of the copyright, or, with his licence,
from an autoimmune disorder, took by any other person”. However, Satya-
yoga classes to help his back pain. Late jit Sarna, a Delhi high court lawyer,
one afternoon, he says, he began to familiar with issues of intellectual
notice the asanas, the shapes they cre- property, suggests that “if the repro-
ated, and had the idea for his design— duction work on the clothing has not
two figures in mid-asana flanking a been done by industrial means but
lotus. The block-printed t-shirts and by hand so as to make each dress an
dresses have been available to buy individual, distinct piece, copyright
for nearly 20 years. “At first, I was would still apply”.
shocked to see the magazine cover,” he Whatever the legal niceties, Sen
says. “One glance and I knew it was my appears to want to see this through,
motif and there was that disbelief... it to force Dior to acknowledge his
was a crazy thing to see.” work and the work of traditional
Dior’s theft, he argues, is blatant, craftspeople. n
with little variation other than a tulip —Chinki Sinha
6 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 2018
UPFRONT
HEALTH
Homegrown Cure for
Rabies Gets WHO Nod
The World Health Organization fraction of the RIG needed for conven-
(WHO) has notified a rabies im- tional treatment. “A tiny amount of
munisation protocol developed by RIG injected directly into the wound
Omesh Bharti, 49, a government doctor was just as effective as administer-
in Himachal Pradesh, as the new global ing large amounts,” he says. Similarly,
standard. The procedure, successfully administering ‘intra-dermally’ rather
350
tested on thousands of dog and monkey than as an ‘intra-muscular’ injection `
bite victims in the past five years, brings required less than a 10th of the vaccine.
down the cost of treatment from Despite early scepticism, the meeting
is what the new protocol
Rs 35,000 to Rs 350 per patient! of WHO’s Strategic Advisory
will cost compared with
The existing treat- Group of Experts (SAGE) in
Rs 35,000 earlier
ment involved injecting Bangkok in 2016, included
patients with the rabies Bharti’s protocol in its
vaccine and rabies im- agenda for discussion.
munoglobulin (RIG) “By then, we had 7,000 youth who went to a private practitio-
extracted from horse or successful cases in Him- ner,” says Bharti. His work could help
human blood. Human achal,” he says. stem substantially the 55,000 rabies
RIG, which needed to It helped that Him- deaths a year reported worldwide, the
be admini stered in large achal health authorities av- majority in Asia and Africa.
OMESH BHARTI
doses as per the victim’s body idly supported Bharti’s work. Finally endorsed by the SAGE in
weight, cost Rs 6,000-8,000 per Even before WHO’s endorsement, Geneva on January 15 as “cost-, dose-
vial, and was “beyond the reach of Bharti has trained scores of local medi- and time-sparing, while assuring safety
most victims”. Working at the time cal professionals deployed at myriad and clinical effectiveness”, the updated
(2013-2015) as a health officer with the state-run rabies clinics across the state. WHO recommendations on rabies im-
Shimla Municipal Corporation, Bharti Himachal has now made rabies treat- munisation supersede its 2010 position.
had rare access to brain tissue samples ment (using RIG) free. A full version of the new protocol is in
from rabid dogs, monkeys and Himala- “In 2017, there were just two rabies- cue for publication in the Weekly Epide-
yan palm civets found dead in the area. related deaths [in HP]—one a woman miological Record in April. n
He evolved a protocol that requ ired a who refused treatment; the other a —Asit Jolly
55%
308 50
INDEX
Of tiger deaths
Total tigers in MP, Tiger reserves, spanning
Last week, a seven- recorded last year
revealed 2014 2.1% of India’s geographical
month-old tiger cub census, up from were in 3 states—MP, area, created since 1973 to
Maharashtra and
was reported to have 257 in 2010, aid conservation efforts
Assam
died at a reserve in 300 in 2006
Madhya Pradesh.
7
The state was at the
top of the list for tiger Tigers killed in MP up
Tfahtea tliigtieers c ienn 2s0u1s7 i.s CATASTROPHIC! 2t6o k Jiallendu ainry 2 20917, ,2 f0e1w8e; r
than 10 through natural
due in February,
causes; 33 in 2016
and critics of the MP
government say it’s
not doing enough
to protect its tigers, 115 40% 2,226
undermining the
Tigers estimated to have died in Of India’s tigers live in forests Tigers, or 60% of the world’s
state’s attempts to India in 2017, 98 recorded and outside reserves; 54 deaths in wild tiger population, live in
attract tourists. 17 assumed through seizures of 2017, or 47% of total deaths, India, says the 2014 census,
bones, skins and claws recorded outside reserves up from 1,411 in 2006
UUPPFFRROONNTT
BOOKS
INSIDER,
OUTSIDER
By Ira Pande
CITIZEN DELHI:
MY TIMES, MY LIFE
by Sheila Dikshit
Bloomsbury India
Price: `499, Pages: 186
M ZHAZO
ny account of the life and times of a prominent kar Dikshit as her mentor and a close relationship with four
A
politician is an opportunity to understand an al- generations of the Nehru-Gandhi parivar, there is nothing
ternative political reality, as A. Raja’s recent book that she must not know about how politics is played. Yet the
shows. Sadly, the genre of political biography and book is a bland, polite recounting of facts that leaves one
autobiography in India is often disappointing as it with many unanswered questions. Among them is her si-
rarely looks beyond the banal details of events and elections. lence on her party’s position on such earth-shattering events
Equally, few readers are bothered about issues of ethics or as the Sikh riots of ’84 and the handling of the Shah Bano
public morality, having outsourced such vital topics to the issue when Dikshit was in charge of parliamentary affairs.
daily slanging matches that now pass for primetime news. What does come across is her deep admiration for the
Sheila Dikshit was, and for many still is, Delhi’s favou- Dikshits, Uma Shankar and husband Vinod. In a rare per-
rite Auntyji. Graceful and smiling, her hair tied up in a sonal confession, she admits that something died within her
granny’s knot, she handled her job as Delhi’s chief minister when she lost Vinod at the young age of 45. Her respect for
in the same no-nonsense, efficient way that she ran her his father and cabinet minister in the 1970s, Uma Shankar
beautiful home. Remarkably free of arrogance (an occupa- Dikshit, is equally touching, and even though she does not
tional political hazard), she exudes a warmth that is genuine become maudlin about their relationship, it shines through in
and endearing. Like Dick Whittington, she was elected as her recollection of the days when she was his official hostess.
chief minister three times and—except While one respects her reticence in private
for the last couple of years—she succeeded matters, she cannot expect readers to under-
in bringing a visible change to the quality Sheila Dikshit stand why she still continues to belong to a party
of life in Delhi. Her unworthy successor remains silent that has let her down repeatedly. There are few
reminds us of these facts all the time. on some Congress members who have her skill in han-
There is much that one expected to dling public affairs—as her Bhagidari scheme
issues, like
learn about the inner functioning of Dik- shows. Then why has she chosen to remain a
her party’s
shit’s party from her since her career spans silent spectator to its gradual drift away from
position on the
almost the full gamut of modern Congress the people it woos? One hopes someone will one
history. With her father-in-law, Uma Shan- 1984 riots day tell us why the Emperor wears no clothes. n
8 INDIA TODAY FEBRUARY 12, 2018