After Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government threatened the social media app with shut-downs and raids during the farmer’s protest, a score of Opposition leaders rallied behind the former CEO, saying “this makes it clear how democracy is strigulated” and urged the Centre to answer.“I have seen how the democracy of the country and freedom are under threat and how democracy is being strangulated behind the curtain. This makes it clear,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.Hitting out at the Modi govt, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote:Modi Govt. forced twitter to👇▪️Shut down accounts of Farmers & Farmer’s movement,▪️Shut down accounts of journalists critical of Govt,ORTwitter and its employees would be raided.This is what Twitter Co Founder and Ex CEO Jack Dorsey admits in a TV… pic.twitter.com/OmpSHl8RlI— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 13, 2023Dorsey, in an interview with the Youtube channel Breaking Points, reiterated that the platform received “many requests” from the Indian government to block accounts covering farmers’ protests and those critical of the government. He also said that the platform was threatened with “a shutdown” and raids at its employees’ homes in the country.Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to Dorsey’s claims, saying that under him, Twitter was in “repeated and continuous violations of India law”.To this, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi replied, “Lol! Yeah the law they broke was to allow hate speech and rabid BJP agenda. But there was no crackdown or compliance issues since it supported their agenda. The minute people and opposition started to fight back using the platform, the government started to crackdown! So please, spare this little sermon.”“Twitter under Dorsey n his team were in repeated n continuous violations of India law.”Say MoS IT. Lol! Yeah the law they broke was to allow hate speech and rabid BJP agenda. But there was no crackdown or compliance issues since it supported their agenda. The minute people and…— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) June 13, 2023Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait also chimed in, saying “We had information that the kind of reach on Facebook and Twitter that was expected on farmers’ protest, was not coming. They used to try to stop it at their level. The head has said this clearly now. But such companies don’t come under anyone’s pressure. Govt of India must have made such attempts…What he said is correct,” quoted ANI.Congress leader DK Shivakumar added that Dorsey’s “revelations show the alarming state of free speech and democracy in India.”At the height of the farmers’ protest in the country in 2021, the Centre had asked Twitter to take down nearly 1,200 accounts for alleged “Khalistan” links. Before that, it had asked the platform to take down more than 250 accounts.
After Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government threatened the social media app with shut-downs and raids during the farmer’s protest, a score of Opposition leaders rallied behind the former CEO, saying “this makes it clear how democracy is strigulated” and urged the Centre to answer.“I have seen how the democracy of the country and freedom are under threat and how democracy is being strangulated behind the curtain. This makes it clear,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.Hitting out at the Modi govt, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote:Modi Govt. forced twitter to👇▪️Shut down accounts of Farmers & Farmer’s movement,▪️Shut down accounts of journalists critical of Govt,ORTwitter and its employees would be raided.This is what Twitter Co Founder and Ex CEO Jack Dorsey admits in a TV… pic.twitter.com/OmpSHl8RlI— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 13, 2023Dorsey, in an interview with the Youtube channel Breaking Points, reiterated that the platform received “many requests” from the Indian government to block accounts covering farmers’ protests and those critical of the government. He also said that the platform was threatened with “a shutdown” and raids at its employees’ homes in the country.Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to Dorsey’s claims, saying that under him, Twitter was in “repeated and continuous violations of India law”.To this, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi replied, “Lol! Yeah the law they broke was to allow hate speech and rabid BJP agenda. But there was no crackdown or compliance issues since it supported their agenda. The minute people and opposition started to fight back using the platform, the government started to crackdown! So please, spare this little sermon.”“Twitter under Dorsey n his team were in repeated n continuous violations of India law.”Say MoS IT. Lol! Yeah the law they broke was to allow hate speech and rabid BJP agenda. But there was no crackdown or compliance issues since it supported their agenda. The minute people and…— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) June 13, 2023Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait also chimed in, saying “We had information that the kind of reach on Facebook and Twitter that was expected on farmers’ protest, was not coming. They used to try to stop it at their level. The head has said this clearly now. But such companies don’t come under anyone’s pressure. Govt of India must have made such attempts…What he said is correct,” quoted ANI.Congress leader DK Shivakumar added that Dorsey’s “revelations show the alarming state of free speech and democracy in India.”At the height of the farmers’ protest in the country in 2021, the Centre had asked Twitter to take down nearly 1,200 accounts for alleged “Khalistan” links. Before that, it had asked the platform to take down more than 250 accounts.
An IndiGo aircraft has been grounded after it suffered a tail strike while landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday. According to an official statement by the DGCA, IndiGo A321-252NX (Neo) aircraft VT-IMG, while operating Kolkata-Delhi 6E-6183 flight, was involved in a tail strike during landing at Delhi on Sunday (June 11). Aircraft VT-IMG of IndiGo has been grounded after it suffered a tail strike during landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on 11th June: DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) pic.twitter.com/w5P3q524Wl— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023“The flight was uneventful till approach to land at Delhi. During approach on runway 27, the crew felt that they floated longer than normal and initiated a go-around. During the go-around manoeuvre, probably the bottom of the tail portion of the aircraft touched the runway surface and sustained damages. The operating crew have been off-rostered pending investigation,” the airlines regulatory body said in its statement.
An IndiGo aircraft has been grounded after it suffered a tail strike while landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on Tuesday. According to an official statement by the DGCA, IndiGo A321-252NX (Neo) aircraft VT-IMG, while operating Kolkata-Delhi 6E-6183 flight, was involved in a tail strike during landing at Delhi on Sunday (June 11). Aircraft VT-IMG of IndiGo has been grounded after it suffered a tail strike during landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on 11th June: DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) pic.twitter.com/w5P3q524Wl— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2023“The flight was uneventful till approach to land at Delhi. During approach on runway 27, the crew felt that they floated longer than normal and initiated a go-around. During the go-around manoeuvre, probably the bottom of the tail portion of the aircraft touched the runway surface and sustained damages. The operating crew have been off-rostered pending investigation,” the airlines regulatory body said in its statement.
Stating that the per drop more crop – micro irrigation is a “priority scheme” of the Agriculture Department, the Union government has sought a report from the Jharkhand government citing a report by The Indian Express on irregularities in its implementation.Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Government of India, wrote to the Jharkhand Chief Secretary on June 9 – the day the report was published – that the “reported irregularities in the implementation of this important scheme is a matter of serious concern and requires immediate and strict action”.In an investigation spanning a month and a half and tracking 94 farmers in three blocks in Hazaribagh, The Indian Express found that for most, benefits were only on paper. Among the findings of the investigation were misuse of Aadhaar cards to create beneficiaries and some farmers not even aware that money had been collected by private companies in their name.“I request for your intervention in this matter for taking action against the persons found responsible for such irregularities, including initiation of criminal proceedings. I would also like to request you to get it enquired by a sufficiently senior officer who is not in the reporting channel of the PDMC scheme. A report in this regard may also be sent to this department at the earliest,” Ahuja wrote.The Indian Express had also reported how the four-step verification process to ensure that the scheme is implemented on the ground fell flat under the watch of the state agriculture department, and was rigged by middlemen, who acting on behalf of companies, enrolled farmers as beneficiaries.The Jharkhand government is also conducting an inquiry into the irregularities, while the state’s Agriculture Director has asked the Hazaribagh Agriculture Office to register FIRs against any erring Nabcons employees and private companies.
The Jharkhand agriculture department’s director has ordered registration of FIRs against any Nabcons employees as well companies or vendors that may allegedly be responsible for irregularities in implementation of “Per Drop More Crop” — a key element of the Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana — in the state.The letter, dated June 9, comes almost three weeks after the department ordered reverification of 12 beneficiaries, and on the same day an investigation by The Indian Express exposed how the scheme’s benefits were not reaching farmers.Nabcons, a subsidiary of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), is responsible for verifying whether drip irrigation has indeed been installed at the farms of listed beneficiaries. However, in an investigation spanning a month-and-a-half and tracking 94 farmers in three blocks in Hazaribagh, The Indian Express found that for most, benefits were only on paper. Among the findings of the investigation were misuse of Aadhaar cards to create beneficiaries and some farmers not even aware that money had been collected by private companies in their name.In a letter to the Hazaribagh District Agriculture Officer on Friday, Agriculture Director Chandan Kumar wrote that “gross negligence” has been committed by Nabcons in “verification or authentication work”, and that the installation companies, local vendors or distributors have also “committed irregularities”.“Therefore, it is directed that according to the rules… identify all involved and register FIRs against the Nabcons field monitor as well as supplier company and local distributor (vendor, etc),” the director wrote Friday.On May 22, the agriculture director had received a complaint by a farmers’ collective, the Jharkhand Chamber of Farmers, on alleged irregularities in the micro irrigation scheme. Based on this information, the agriculture department directed Nabcons to reverify 12 beneficiaries in Bhusai village of Ichak block.After the reverification exercise, Nabcons, in its report dated May 31, said it had found that 11 of the 12 listed beneficiaries were not doing any drip irrigation in Bhusai, but had rather claimed they were practicing it in Tepsa village, which falls under a different panchayat. It further stated: “Verification has been done repeatedly by both the vendors – Irrilink Industries and Dev Polymers – in the same field in the name of different farmers by different field monitors on different dates.”The report also cited the example of a listed beneficiary who never received any drip irrigation system, and whose Aadhaar card was used by a middleman who looks after the work of Irrilink Industries and Dev Polymers. It stated that when the Nabcons field monitor asked him why his Aadhaar photo in their records did not match what he looked like in real life, he replied that he had got his hair cut due to his father’s death.The findings of the reverification exercise are in line with The Indian Express investigation on how a seemingly robust four-step verification process fell flat.In its report, Nabcons also sought to explain that “without access to the Aadhaar portal”, it conducts verification simply by viewing the Aadhaar card, which can easily be forged.“Also, NABCONS does not have any information whether the farm is in the name of the beneficiary or not. Field verification is the job of the (agriculture) department before application acceptance. Nabcons has video and photographs of all verification available,” the report said.In response, the Agriculture Department came down heavily on Nabcons, with the director writing in his June 9 letter: “… even though irregularities have been reported by Nabcons in their re-verification exercise, it is Nabcons which has been named as the company for third party evaluation. Thus, Nabcons has been grossly negligent in monitoring/verification work under the scheme.”
Taking cognizance of an investigation by The Indian Express, the Jharkhand government Friday formed a four-member panel to conduct a “high-level investigation” into “widespread irregularities” in the implementation of “Per Drop More Crop” – a key element of the Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – in the state.“Aapke report ka hawala dete hue ek samiti ka gathan kiya gaya hai. Samiti ke log vibhaag se hatt ke hain aur jaanch karne ka aadesh diya hai (I have ordered the formation of a committee based on your report. The panel members are not part of the [agriculture] department, and they have been told to inquire into the issue),” the state’s Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Cooperatives Minister Badal Patralekh told The Indian Express. The panel has been told to revert with its findings in a week.In an investigation spanning a month-and-a-half, The Indian Express had visited 94 farmers in one of Jharkhand’s largest blocks — Chouparan in Hazaribagh — and two neighbouring blocks Churchu and Ichak, and found that for most, benefits of the scheme were only on paper. Among the findings of the investigation were misuse of Aadhaar cards to create beneficiaries, new equipment gathering dust, and some farmers not even aware that money had been collected by private companies in their name.Referring to the investigation, the BJP MP from Hazaribagh and former Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha tweeted: “We have been continuously highlighting the despicable corruption and the administrative decay in Jharkhand under the Hemant Soren government.” He further wrote that the Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner must take “strict action”.In a letter to the Hazaribagh Deputy Commissioner Friday, Jharkhand Agriculture Secretary Abu Bakr Siddiqui wrote: “… attaching the photocopy of the edition of The Indian Express newspaper dated June 8, 2023… The news published in the newspaper seems to be of very serious nature… there are widespread irregularities reported in the newspaper in the implementation of drip irrigation system under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojna. It has been mentioned that in several blocks of Hazaribagh district – Chauparan, Churchu and Ichak – Aadhaar card and government funds are being misused in the implementation of this scheme… By not installing drip irrigation equipment by the implementing agency, it has been dumped at the beneficiary’s house. In such a situation, high-level investigation is necessary.”The four-member panel is headed by a sub-divisional officer and three members of the horticulture, sugarcane and agriculture departments.Agriculture Director Chandan Kumar, when contacted, said: “We have initiated an inquiry into the granular details. We will file FIRs against erring officials, and on the fudging of Aadhaar data. We will inquire if the companies are also responsible for wrongdoing, and if found guilty, we will blacklist them and also send data to the central government for further action.”In the course of its investigation, The Indian Express had found that only 17 of the 94 farmers listed as beneficiaries of the scheme were actually using drip irrigation. As many as 60 said they were “misled” into signing up for the scheme or had micro-irrigation equipment just dumped in their farms, and 17 said they did not know how their name made it to the list of beneficiaries. The investigation also focused on how the four-step verification process to ensure the scheme’s implementation had fallen flat under the watch of the state agriculture department, and was rigged by middlemen, who acting on behalf of companies, enrolled farmers as beneficiaries.
The trains are back on track in Balasore, Odisha, where an accident involving two passenger trains and one goods train claimed 288 lives and left hundreds injured. As rescue work started immediately after the accident, so did the demand by the Opposition for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.Each time there is a demand for the resignation of the Railway Minister on grounds of “moral responsibility” after an accident, the example of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri is always quoted. Shastri stepped down after the second of two major accidents that happened in a space of three months — between September and November — in 1956.Shastri was sworn in as Minister of Railways and Transport on May 13, 1952, in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s first Cabinet. A May 1956 report on his ministry by the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha had more or less lauded the government’s efforts on issues related to accidents.But the good run did not last long. Early on September 2, 1956, the Secunderabad-Dronachalam passenger train met with an accident between Jadcherla and Mahabubnagar, both in today’s Telangana.Shastri visited the accident site. On September 5, 1956, he tabled a report in the Lok Sabha containing instructions issued to Railways on inspection of bridges. On September 13, 1956, Shastri said in the House, “Needless to say, this accident has grieved me most and I feel sadder after having seen the things on site. The memory of the unfortunate persons who were killed will haunt me, perhaps, for a long time to come. The death toll, I am now advised, has reached the figure of 117.”The government — Shastri in particular — was criticised in the House by the Opposition over the accident and the handling of the situation. K Ananda Nambiar, an MP from the Communist Party of India, said, “The (Railway) Board and the Ministry are responsible for it (the accident). They must explain, they must quit.”Shastri offered his resignation to Prime Minister Nehru, but he did not accept it. Shastri continued as Railway Minister. Things were back on track but not for long.Barely three months later, another tragedy struck. Early on November 23, 1956, the Tuticorin Express plunged into the Marudaiyar River. Over 150 died and more than 100 were injured.K Muthuswamy Vallatharasu, MP from Pudukottai, from Acharya J B Kriplani’s Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP), moved an adjournment motion on the accident in the Lok Sabha. Challenging the official toll, he said, “In yesterday’s paper, The Indian Express, I saw a report that there were still about 200 or more (people) lying buried below, and they have yet to be lifted. I seek some clarification about this. Whether the number is 200 or 300 or more, is not the question now.”As the Opposition stepped up its attack, on November 26, 1956, Pandit Nehru announced Shastri’s resignation. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the PM said, “I do feel that in a matter of this kind, no excuse is good enough. And the thing that has moved all of us, I am sure, is that the same type of disaster should occur, broadly speaking in the same area or nearby twice within a short period, and three times in the course of a year or two. A greater warning no one can have and, as I said, every possible step should be taken to run our Railways so as to produce a sense of confidence and security.”The PM then proceeded to read Shastri’s resignation letter in the House, “The number of casualties is already much higher than in the former, and I do not know what figure it will touch, as it has not been possible to remove all the debris so far. And then there are many who are grievously injured. I can very well realise the concern of the people and of Parliament about this very sad and shocking disaster. You were generous enough not to accept my resignation when I tendered it last time and I do not wish to embarrass you again. But I do feel that it would be good for me and for the government as a whole if I quietly quit the office I hold. It would, to a great extent, ease the peoples’ minds.”Nehru told the House, “On receipt of this letter, I talked to him also last night and I saw the great distress in his mind and the burden that he was carrying. Afterwards, I thought of it again and I came to the conclusion that it would be better for me to accept his resignation.”Shastri’s resignation was accepted with effect from December 7, 1956, and he was replaced by Jagjivan Ram. With that, Shastri ceased to be part of the Nehru Cabinet during the first Lok Sabha. Until his demise in 1966, this marked the only period when Shastri was out of the Union Cabinet.Following demands raised after these two train accidents, Nehru decided to split the Ministry of Railway and Transport into two — Railways and Transport — when his new Cabinet was formed in the second Lok Sabha, on April 17, 1957. The Ministry of Transport and Communication was given to Shastri. He never returned as Railway Minister again.The “moral responsibility” of the accident that he owned up to may not have been Shastri’s alone, but it was the first case of its kind in independent India. And his resignation returns to haunt each and every Railway Minister. Every time a big train tragedy happens, Shastri’s “moral responsibility” is quoted by the Opposition, not by the ruling party.
The trains are back on track in Balasore, Odisha, where an accident involving two passenger trains and one goods train claimed 288 lives and left hundreds injured. As rescue work started immediately after the accident, so did the demand by the Opposition for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.Each time there is a demand for the resignation of the Railway Minister on grounds of “moral responsibility” after an accident, the example of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri is always quoted. Shastri stepped down after the second of two major accidents that happened in a space of three months — between September and November — in 1956.Shastri was sworn in as Minister of Railways and Transport on May 13, 1952, in Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s first Cabinet. A May 1956 report on his ministry by the Estimates Committee of the Lok Sabha had more or less lauded the government’s efforts on issues related to accidents.But the good run did not last long. Early on September 2, 1956, the Secunderabad-Dronachalam passenger train met with an accident between Jadcherla and Mahabubnagar, both in today’s Telangana.Shastri visited the accident site. On September 5, 1956, he tabled a report in the Lok Sabha containing instructions issued to Railways on inspection of bridges. On September 13, 1956, Shastri said in the House, “Needless to say, this accident has grieved me most and I feel sadder after having seen the things on site. The memory of the unfortunate persons who were killed will haunt me, perhaps, for a long time to come. The death toll, I am now advised, has reached the figure of 117.”The government — Shastri in particular — was criticised in the House by the Opposition over the accident and the handling of the situation. K Ananda Nambiar, an MP from the Communist Party of India, said, “The (Railway) Board and the Ministry are responsible for it (the accident). They must explain, they must quit.”Shastri offered his resignation to Prime Minister Nehru, but he did not accept it. Shastri continued as Railway Minister. Things were back on track but not for long.Barely three months later, another tragedy struck. Early on November 23, 1956, the Tuticorin Express plunged into the Marudaiyar River. Over 150 died and more than 100 were injured.K Muthuswamy Vallatharasu, MP from Pudukottai, from Acharya J B Kriplani’s Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP), moved an adjournment motion on the accident in the Lok Sabha. Challenging the official toll, he said, “In yesterday’s paper, The Indian Express, I saw a report that there were still about 200 or more (people) lying buried below, and they have yet to be lifted. I seek some clarification about this. Whether the number is 200 or 300 or more, is not the question now.”As the Opposition stepped up its attack, on November 26, 1956, Pandit Nehru announced Shastri’s resignation. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the PM said, “I do feel that in a matter of this kind, no excuse is good enough. And the thing that has moved all of us, I am sure, is that the same type of disaster should occur, broadly speaking in the same area or nearby twice within a short period, and three times in the course of a year or two. A greater warning no one can have and, as I said, every possible step should be taken to run our Railways so as to produce a sense of confidence and security.”The PM then proceeded to read Shastri’s resignation letter in the House, “The number of casualties is already much higher than in the former, and I do not know what figure it will touch, as it has not been possible to remove all the debris so far. And then there are many who are grievously injured. I can very well realise the concern of the people and of Parliament about this very sad and shocking disaster. You were generous enough not to accept my resignation when I tendered it last time and I do not wish to embarrass you again. But I do feel that it would be good for me and for the government as a whole if I quietly quit the office I hold. It would, to a great extent, ease the peoples’ minds.”Nehru told the House, “On receipt of this letter, I talked to him also last night and I saw the great distress in his mind and the burden that he was carrying. Afterwards, I thought of it again and I came to the conclusion that it would be better for me to accept his resignation.”Shastri’s resignation was accepted with effect from December 7, 1956, and he was replaced by Jagjivan Ram. With that, Shastri ceased to be part of the Nehru Cabinet during the first Lok Sabha. Until his demise in 1966, this marked the only period when Shastri was out of the Union Cabinet.Following demands raised after these two train accidents, Nehru decided to split the Ministry of Railway and Transport into two — Railways and Transport — when his new Cabinet was formed in the second Lok Sabha, on April 17, 1957. The Ministry of Transport and Communication was given to Shastri. He never returned as Railway Minister again.The “moral responsibility” of the accident that he owned up to may not have been Shastri’s alone, but it was the first case of its kind in independent India. And his resignation returns to haunt each and every Railway Minister. Every time a big train tragedy happens, Shastri’s “moral responsibility” is quoted by the Opposition, not by the ruling party.
Why did the government take close to five months to warm up to the protesting wrestlers? How come in a matter of days the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur changed his stand from “we have done everything the wrestlers asked for” and “now the law will take its course” to “we are willing to have a discussion” and “chargesheet will be filed by June 15”?Hidden in this spectacular climbdown is the failure of the government to understand the gravity of sexual harassment allegations against the erstwhile WFI chief BJP MP Brij Bhushan Saran Singh and also the resolve of the Olympians—Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia—at the helm of the protest. The wrestlers have shown that they aren’t some seasonal sloganeers. This realisation has dawned late on the government negotiators.For months now, there has been an attempt to dismiss the Jantar Mantar sit-in as a politically backed move by opportunists to take over WFI. In their frantic search for the layers of intrigue, the authorities remained blind to the crystal clear core of the case—the seven police complaints with graphic details of repeated abuse by Singh. On the eve of the new parliament opening, with the wrestlers planning a march to the capital, there were late night talks to pressurise the protestors. The wrestlers didn’t relent. They took to the streets and got detained. The pictures of Delhi Police’s high-handedness went viral, the International Olympic Council (IOC) found them disturbing and the global media put them on their front pages. The Sports Ministry should have known the country’s top wrestlers better. Vinesh, Sakshi and Bajrang are masters of a sport that gives an athlete just three-minutes to showcase the skills they have sharpened for years. Their minds don’t freeze under duress, they can’t be hustled into making rushed decisions. The ticking clock is their bio-rhythm, they know how to stretch seconds. Their aggression isn’t about bravado, it is a calculated computation of rewards and risk.The backstories of wrestlers, all from modest families from rural areas, have long periods of hopelessness. They haven’t got anything easy. They fight, they fall, they stand, they win—that’s been their life story.World Championship medalist Vinesh has been the face of the protest. A self-proclaimed “moofat” (straight talker), she by her own wish, mostly keeps away from the high-profile negotiations. She is the Stubborn One, the hard nut that doesn’t crack easily. It’s the time and place that shapes a person’s character and Vinesh had no option but to be strong-willed and stubborn.Vinesh was 9 when her father was shot dead by, what the family says, a mentally unstable relative at the front gate of their home. In their neck of the woods, Vinesh says, the life of a young widow was a curse. On the day her father died, mother Premlata lost the right to smile. It could be wrongly interpreted by the village’s men folk.Within a year of her father’s death, Premlata’s scans showed cancer. For the housewife, unaccustomed to the world outside home, this was a bolt from the blue. For chemotherapy she had to travel by bus to Rohtak. Illiterate and alone, she had to embrace the unknown, familiarise the unexplored. Circumstances would give Premlata a crash course in being worldly wise and be the single mother of a sporting icon.Last month at Jantar Mantar, on a sultry May evening, Vinesh had agreed for an Idea Exchange with The Indian Express sports team. During the interaction that went on for more than an hour, Vinesh got emotional when asked about mother. Hidden in the answer was the reason behind the stubbornness of the tough nut.“No one supported my mother. We grew up seeing her struggle. If a single woman, who was illiterate, could fight society on her own and make us big wrestlers, then we can do it too. If we don’t speak out today, then all the struggles of my mother would have gone to waste. I won medals, that’s all right, but if we win this battle, she will proudly say, ‘I gave birth to them’,” she would say.Sakshi too was an outlier in society where wrestling wasn’t a common career choice for young girls. Unlike the Phogats, she wasn’t from a wrestling family. Her father was a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) driver and mother an anganwadi worker. Back in the day, girls didn’t train with boys. Sakshi’s coach Ishwar Dahiya once told this paper the taunts he had to hear when his academy turned gender neutral. “I was told that I was mad to have boys and girls wrestle together. Kya sher aur bakri ek ghat se peete hain? (Can a lion and a goat drink water from the bank?)” he says. The male as predator, the female as prey – it was a sickening, but apt, stereotype for a society where gender disparity had been normalised. Once again it was the mother’s push that put an Indian wrestler on the world stage. It was she who forced the family to sell their old home and move closer to the stadium where she trained. They were driven, they didn’t want their sacrifice to go to waste. .In the medal bout at Olympics, Sakshi was trailing 1-5 with two minutes to go. Lesser wrestlers would have given up but Sakshi was patient. She knew she had to pounce but the timing of the killer move had to be perfect. Her trademark ‘double leg’ attack gave her an 8-5 lead and a historic bronze. “Even when I trailed I knew I could win. I had to win,” she would say. At Jantar Mantar, for these past few months, that same ‘I had to win’ belief prevails.Bajrang, the engine behind the protest, epitomises this positivity. Known as the comeback man, he is at the head of the table at all negotations. Stories of his endurance are part of Indian wrestling circuit. It is said that once the Olympic bronze medalist did more than 1000 squats. It’s his strength and stamina that make him the last man standing at most bouts. Most of his famous wins are because of his final flourish. He tires his opponents, waits for an opening and drives in like a truck. Just when the world thinks he has sunk, he unties the ropes and surfacing triumphantly over the waters like Houdini.At the post Tokyo Olympics Express Adda in 2021, the two medalists Bajrang and Neeraj Chopra had come together to share their success stories. Here, he dwelled on a trait that makes them world beaters. It was after Bajrang gave the behind-the-scenes story of the bronze medal bout which he won with an injured knee. “The doctor had said you are responsible if you play because your injury can become worse and you might need surgery. I said even if it breaks, it doesn’t matter…. An Olympic medal comes first,” he had said.Nodding his head all through Bajrang’s answer, Chopra would intervene. “In Haryana, we have a saying, ke karegi tayari jab ladegi jidd aari, meaning sometimes our preparation may not be as good, but it’s our stubbornness that helps us win”. At least, the Sports Ministry should have known the jidd of our wrestlers.Send your feedback to [email protected]
Why did the government take close to five months to warm up to the protesting wrestlers? How come in a matter of days the Sports Minister Anurag Thakur changed his stand from “we have done everything the wrestlers asked for” and “now the law will take its course” to “we are willing to have a discussion” and “chargesheet will be filed by June 15”?Hidden in this spectacular climbdown is the failure of the government to understand the gravity of sexual harassment allegations against the erstwhile WFI chief BJP MP Brij Bhushan Saran Singh and also the resolve of the Olympians—Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia—at the helm of the protest. The wrestlers have shown that they aren’t some seasonal sloganeers. This realisation has dawned late on the government negotiators.For months now, there has been an attempt to dismiss the Jantar Mantar sit-in as a politically backed move by opportunists to take over WFI. In their frantic search for the layers of intrigue, the authorities remained blind to the crystal clear core of the case—the seven police complaints with graphic details of repeated abuse by Singh. On the eve of the new parliament opening, with the wrestlers planning a march to the capital, there were late night talks to pressurise the protestors. The wrestlers didn’t relent. They took to the streets and got detained. The pictures of Delhi Police’s high-handedness went viral, the International Olympic Council (IOC) found them disturbing and the global media put them on their front pages. The Sports Ministry should have known the country’s top wrestlers better. Vinesh, Sakshi and Bajrang are masters of a sport that gives an athlete just three-minutes to showcase the skills they have sharpened for years. Their minds don’t freeze under duress, they can’t be hustled into making rushed decisions. The ticking clock is their bio-rhythm, they know how to stretch seconds. Their aggression isn’t about bravado, it is a calculated computation of rewards and risk.The backstories of wrestlers, all from modest families from rural areas, have long periods of hopelessness. They haven’t got anything easy. They fight, they fall, they stand, they win—that’s been their life story.World Championship medalist Vinesh has been the face of the protest. A self-proclaimed “moofat” (straight talker), she by her own wish, mostly keeps away from the high-profile negotiations. She is the Stubborn One, the hard nut that doesn’t crack easily. It’s the time and place that shapes a person’s character and Vinesh had no option but to be strong-willed and stubborn.Vinesh was 9 when her father was shot dead by, what the family says, a mentally unstable relative at the front gate of their home. In their neck of the woods, Vinesh says, the life of a young widow was a curse. On the day her father died, mother Premlata lost the right to smile. It could be wrongly interpreted by the village’s men folk.Within a year of her father’s death, Premlata’s scans showed cancer. For the housewife, unaccustomed to the world outside home, this was a bolt from the blue. For chemotherapy she had to travel by bus to Rohtak. Illiterate and alone, she had to embrace the unknown, familiarise the unexplored. Circumstances would give Premlata a crash course in being worldly wise and be the single mother of a sporting icon.Last month at Jantar Mantar, on a sultry May evening, Vinesh had agreed for an Idea Exchange with The Indian Express sports team. During the interaction that went on for more than an hour, Vinesh got emotional when asked about mother. Hidden in the answer was the reason behind the stubbornness of the tough nut.“No one supported my mother. We grew up seeing her struggle. If a single woman, who was illiterate, could fight society on her own and make us big wrestlers, then we can do it too. If we don’t speak out today, then all the struggles of my mother would have gone to waste. I won medals, that’s all right, but if we win this battle, she will proudly say, ‘I gave birth to them’,” she would say.Sakshi too was an outlier in society where wrestling wasn’t a common career choice for young girls. Unlike the Phogats, she wasn’t from a wrestling family. Her father was a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) driver and mother an anganwadi worker. Back in the day, girls didn’t train with boys. Sakshi’s coach Ishwar Dahiya once told this paper the taunts he had to hear when his academy turned gender neutral. “I was told that I was mad to have boys and girls wrestle together. Kya sher aur bakri ek ghat se peete hain? (Can a lion and a goat drink water from the bank?)” he says. The male as predator, the female as prey – it was a sickening, but apt, stereotype for a society where gender disparity had been normalised. Once again it was the mother’s push that put an Indian wrestler on the world stage. It was she who forced the family to sell their old home and move closer to the stadium where she trained. They were driven, they didn’t want their sacrifice to go to waste. .In the medal bout at Olympics, Sakshi was trailing 1-5 with two minutes to go. Lesser wrestlers would have given up but Sakshi was patient. She knew she had to pounce but the timing of the killer move had to be perfect. Her trademark ‘double leg’ attack gave her an 8-5 lead and a historic bronze. “Even when I trailed I knew I could win. I had to win,” she would say. At Jantar Mantar, for these past few months, that same ‘I had to win’ belief prevails.Bajrang, the engine behind the protest, epitomises this positivity. Known as the comeback man, he is at the head of the table at all negotations. Stories of his endurance are part of Indian wrestling circuit. It is said that once the Olympic bronze medalist did more than 1000 squats. It’s his strength and stamina that make him the last man standing at most bouts. Most of his famous wins are because of his final flourish. He tires his opponents, waits for an opening and drives in like a truck. Just when the world thinks he has sunk, he unties the ropes and surfacing triumphantly over the waters like Houdini.At the post Tokyo Olympics Express Adda in 2021, the two medalists Bajrang and Neeraj Chopra had come together to share their success stories. Here, he dwelled on a trait that makes them world beaters. It was after Bajrang gave the behind-the-scenes story of the bronze medal bout which he won with an injured knee. “The doctor had said you are responsible if you play because your injury can become worse and you might need surgery. I said even if it breaks, it doesn’t matter…. An Olympic medal comes first,” he had said.Nodding his head all through Bajrang’s answer, Chopra would intervene. “In Haryana, we have a saying, ke karegi tayari jab ladegi jidd aari, meaning sometimes our preparation may not be as good, but it’s our stubbornness that helps us win”. At least, the Sports Ministry should have known the jidd of our wrestlers.Send your feedback to [email protected]
It’s unlikely that anyone in Pune today would have heard of an art form called ‘Poonah Painting’, although this art which flourished in Victorian England was named after the city. The craft was extremely popular in 19th-century England but later declined into oblivion.Poonah Painting was a kind of stencilling that involved the imitation of oriental artwork, particularly in the depiction of flowers, birds, and other natural subjects. The craft was popular among women and, for a considerable period, considered an essential part of a girl’s education in elite English society. The style was also called Theorem Painting or Oriental Tinting.The popularity of Poonah painting in England during the era could be attributed to its ability to mimic the aesthetics of oriental art, which was highly sought after at the time. This artistic technique provided a way for artists to create visually striking and intricate designs on various surfaces, including paper, silk, velvet, crepe and light-coloured wood.To create a Poonah Painting, one required what was called Poonah Paper, a kind of tracing paper, and a Poonah Brush, a stompy round-headed brush. Many establishments trained young girls in the craft and advertisements to this effect can be found in newspapers and magazines of that era.The process involved the meticulous tracing of objects, cutting and layering to achieve a visually striking effect.As per The Lady’s Book (1831), the process began with laying a piece of Poonah Paper over the original subject, such as flowers, fruit, or butterflies, and the outlines of each colour were marked using a steel point. These outlines were then cut out, either with a sharp-pointed penknife or specialised tools designed for this purpose.Another piece of tracing paper was then used to mark and cut out the compartments for each colour. This process was repeated until a series of frames with openings through which a specific colour can be applied to the paper were created.The main template was then placed on a drawing board and the colour was applied using a flat Poonah brush held perpendicularly. Then, one after the other, all the frames were placed and colours were applied using separate brushes. Shading was achieved by gradually reducing the amount of colour on the brush and applying it from the edges as needed.Women from rich households would often embellish the paintings by giving touches of gold or ruby bronze to the wings or bodies of insects. A mixture of gum water and the desired metallic powder is brushed onto the paper, followed by the application of dry gold or bronze powder, which was rubbed until smooth and polished.Since Poonah Painting was not drawing and painting in the truest sense and it was exclusively seen as a women’s activity, it was often looked down upon. It was also linked to vanity among women. Evidence of this can be found in 19th-century literature.William Makepeace Thackeray, the author of Vanity Fair, wrote to his would-be wife Miss Isabella Shawe in July 1836, justifying calling her “frivolous” in an earlier letter. He described a “frivolous lady” as one who “occupies herself all day with the house and servants” or “someone who does nothing but Poonah Painting and piano forte”.In a short story titled ‘Madame Gerald’, published in the magazine All The Year Round, edited by Charles Dickens, the author describes the Poonah works as “hideous daubs” of paint.Edward Fitzgerald, the Victorian poet known for translating Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, lists qualities of a girl that he takes a romantic interest in a poem titled ‘Because’.“Because you don’t object to walk,And are not given to fainting;Because you have not learnt to talkOf flowers and Poonah-painting.”In the second half of the 19th century, the craft was in decline in England and by the late 1860s, it was almost forgotten. Hints of this can be found in a short story published in Tinsley’s Magazine in 1868, in which the author, while describing the heroine writes:“…Also, she touched harp with grace, if not with accuracy; and she was adept at a fearful art of torturing flowers which has happily survived in our days only as a name, as a mystery, still darkly whispered of as ‘Poonah painting’”.
It’s unlikely that anyone in Pune today would have heard of an art form called ‘Poonah Painting’, although this art which flourished in Victorian England was named after the city. The craft was extremely popular in 19th-century England but later declined into oblivion.Poonah Painting was a kind of stencilling that involved the imitation of oriental artwork, particularly in the depiction of flowers, birds, and other natural subjects. The craft was popular among women and, for a considerable period, considered an essential part of a girl’s education in elite English society. The style was also called Theorem Painting or Oriental Tinting.The popularity of Poonah painting in England during the era could be attributed to its ability to mimic the aesthetics of oriental art, which was highly sought after at the time. This artistic technique provided a way for artists to create visually striking and intricate designs on various surfaces, including paper, silk, velvet, crepe and light-coloured wood.To create a Poonah Painting, one required what was called Poonah Paper, a kind of tracing paper, and a Poonah Brush, a stompy round-headed brush. Many establishments trained young girls in the craft and advertisements to this effect can be found in newspapers and magazines of that era.The process involved the meticulous tracing of objects, cutting and layering to achieve a visually striking effect.As per The Lady’s Book (1831), the process began with laying a piece of Poonah Paper over the original subject, such as flowers, fruit, or butterflies, and the outlines of each colour were marked using a steel point. These outlines were then cut out, either with a sharp-pointed penknife or specialised tools designed for this purpose.Another piece of tracing paper was then used to mark and cut out the compartments for each colour. This process was repeated until a series of frames with openings through which a specific colour can be applied to the paper were created.The main template was then placed on a drawing board and the colour was applied using a flat Poonah brush held perpendicularly. Then, one after the other, all the frames were placed and colours were applied using separate brushes. Shading was achieved by gradually reducing the amount of colour on the brush and applying it from the edges as needed.Women from rich households would often embellish the paintings by giving touches of gold or ruby bronze to the wings or bodies of insects. A mixture of gum water and the desired metallic powder is brushed onto the paper, followed by the application of dry gold or bronze powder, which was rubbed until smooth and polished.Since Poonah Painting was not drawing and painting in the truest sense and it was exclusively seen as a women’s activity, it was often looked down upon. It was also linked to vanity among women. Evidence of this can be found in 19th-century literature.William Makepeace Thackeray, the author of Vanity Fair, wrote to his would-be wife Miss Isabella Shawe in July 1836, justifying calling her “frivolous” in an earlier letter. He described a “frivolous lady” as one who “occupies herself all day with the house and servants” or “someone who does nothing but Poonah Painting and piano forte”.In a short story titled ‘Madame Gerald’, published in the magazine All The Year Round, edited by Charles Dickens, the author describes the Poonah works as “hideous daubs” of paint.Edward Fitzgerald, the Victorian poet known for translating Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, lists qualities of a girl that he takes a romantic interest in a poem titled ‘Because’.“Because you don’t object to walk,And are not given to fainting;Because you have not learnt to talkOf flowers and Poonah-painting.”In the second half of the 19th century, the craft was in decline in England and by the late 1860s, it was almost forgotten. Hints of this can be found in a short story published in Tinsley’s Magazine in 1868, in which the author, while describing the heroine writes:“…Also, she touched harp with grace, if not with accuracy; and she was adept at a fearful art of torturing flowers which has happily survived in our days only as a name, as a mystery, still darkly whispered of as ‘Poonah painting’”.
Seven years after 2016, El Niño is back in the Pacific Ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States federal administration, announced on Thursday (June 8). Though expected, this confirmation by NOAA is of significant concern to India. Here’s why.El Niño, which in Spanish means “little boy”, is a climate pattern that develops along the equatorial Pacific Ocean after intervals of a few years ranging between 2 and 7 years.Essentially, water on the surface of the ocean sees an unusual warming in a band straddling the equator in the central and east-central pacific — broadly extending from the International Date line and 120°W longitude, i.e., off the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Galapagos islands.When the so-called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is in its neutral phase, the trade winds blow west along the equator and take the warm water from South America towards Asia. However, during an event of El Niño, these trade winds weaken (or may even reverse) — and instead of blowing from the east (South America) to the west (Indonesia), they could turn into westerlies.In this situation, as the winds blow from the west to east, they cause masses of warm water to move into the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, and reach the coast of western America. During such years, there prevails warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean.Globally, El Niño has been associated with severe heatwaves, floods, and droughts in the past.“Depending on its strength, El Niño can cause a range of impacts such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world,” Michelle L’Heureux, climate scientist at the Climate Prediction Center, NOAA, said in a press statement.The 2023 event is the fifth since 2000 — which means they develop every 4-5 years on average. At the start of this year, an El Niño was predicted to emerge by August, which would have meant it would coincide with the second half of the June-September southwest monsoon season in India.This, however, did not happen as predicted. Sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean, especially along the various Niño regions, have been showing signs of much more rapid warming than had been predicted by the weather models.The Niño 3.4 index value — the vital indicator confirming an event of El Niño — jumped from minus 0.2 degrees Celsius to 0.8 degrees Celsius between March and June this year. Whereas, the threshold value of this index is 0.5 degrees Celsius.Meteorologists have noted that such accelerated rates of warming, following three years of La Niña (the opposite phase of ENSO) that ended in February this year, was unusual.How worried should India be about this development?In the Indian context, over the last hundred years, there have been 18 drought years. Of these, 13 years were associated with El Niño. Thus, there seems to be a correlation between an El Niño event and a year of poor rainfall in India.Also, between 1900 and 1950, there were 7 El Niño years but during the 1951-2021 period, there were 15 El Niño years ( 2015, 2009, 2004, 2002, 1997, 1991, 1987, 1982, 1972, 1969, 1965, 1963, 1957, 1953 and 1951). This suggests that the frequency of El Niño events has been increasing over time.Of the 15 El Niño years in the 1951-2021 period, nine summer monsoon seasons over the country recorded deficient rain by more than 90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).“Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Niño. It could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures,” the NOAA scientist said.(Anjali Marar works at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru.)
Seven years after 2016, El Niño is back in the Pacific Ocean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States federal administration, announced on Thursday (June 8). Though expected, this confirmation by NOAA is of significant concern to India. Here’s why.El Niño, which in Spanish means “little boy”, is a climate pattern that develops along the equatorial Pacific Ocean after intervals of a few years ranging between 2 and 7 years.Essentially, water on the surface of the ocean sees an unusual warming in a band straddling the equator in the central and east-central pacific — broadly extending from the International Date line and 120°W longitude, i.e., off the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Galapagos islands.When the so-called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is in its neutral phase, the trade winds blow west along the equator and take the warm water from South America towards Asia. However, during an event of El Niño, these trade winds weaken (or may even reverse) — and instead of blowing from the east (South America) to the west (Indonesia), they could turn into westerlies.In this situation, as the winds blow from the west to east, they cause masses of warm water to move into the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, and reach the coast of western America. During such years, there prevails warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean.Globally, El Niño has been associated with severe heatwaves, floods, and droughts in the past.“Depending on its strength, El Niño can cause a range of impacts such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world,” Michelle L’Heureux, climate scientist at the Climate Prediction Center, NOAA, said in a press statement.The 2023 event is the fifth since 2000 — which means they develop every 4-5 years on average. At the start of this year, an El Niño was predicted to emerge by August, which would have meant it would coincide with the second half of the June-September southwest monsoon season in India.This, however, did not happen as predicted. Sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean, especially along the various Niño regions, have been showing signs of much more rapid warming than had been predicted by the weather models.The Niño 3.4 index value — the vital indicator confirming an event of El Niño — jumped from minus 0.2 degrees Celsius to 0.8 degrees Celsius between March and June this year. Whereas, the threshold value of this index is 0.5 degrees Celsius.Meteorologists have noted that such accelerated rates of warming, following three years of La Niña (the opposite phase of ENSO) that ended in February this year, was unusual.How worried should India be about this development?In the Indian context, over the last hundred years, there have been 18 drought years. Of these, 13 years were associated with El Niño. Thus, there seems to be a correlation between an El Niño event and a year of poor rainfall in India.Also, between 1900 and 1950, there were 7 El Niño years but during the 1951-2021 period, there were 15 El Niño years ( 2015, 2009, 2004, 2002, 1997, 1991, 1987, 1982, 1972, 1969, 1965, 1963, 1957, 1953 and 1951). This suggests that the frequency of El Niño events has been increasing over time.Of the 15 El Niño years in the 1951-2021 period, nine summer monsoon seasons over the country recorded deficient rain by more than 90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).“Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Niño. It could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures,” the NOAA scientist said.(Anjali Marar works at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru.)
