Podcasts about Rajiv Gandhi

First Person Second Draft: Sri Lanka link to Rajiv Gandhi assassination, first-hand account of aftermath & LTTE's unending war

On the 107th birth anniversary of India's 10th President, the late Giani Zail Singh, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta discusses his humour, bungling of issues & loyalty towards Indira Gandhi in contrast with his smart politics, troublesome equation with Rajiv Gandhi & tough decisions, in this edition of FirstPersonSecondDraft.

C. Sivasankaran और AIWO Health को Social Media पे Follow कीजिए :-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chinnakannansivasankaranInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiwohealth/Email ID of Mr. C. Sivasankaran - siva@io.comCheck out BeerBiceps SkillHouse's Designing For Clicks Course - https://bbsh.co.in/ra-yt-vid-dfcShare your guest suggestions hereLink - https://forms.gle/aoMHY9EE3Cg3Tqdx9BeerBiceps SkillHouse को Social Media पर Follow करे :-YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2-Y36TqZ5MH6N1cWpmsBRQ Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/beerbiceps_skillhouseWebsite : https://beerbicepsskillhouse.inFor any other queries EMAIL: support@beerbicepsskillhouse.comIn case of any payment-related issues, kindly write to support@tagmango.comLevel Supermind - Mind Performance App को Download करिए यहाँ से

Azaz Syed comes back on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Opposition Conference, Mahrang Baloch, Imran Khan, PTI, Protests, Youtube, Journalism, Media Accountability, PECA and Anti-Establishment Sentiment in Pakistan.Azaz Syed is an Islamabad based Pakistani journalist and author of , "The Secrets of Pakistan's War on Al.Qaeda,". He is an award winning reporter and the host of the popular Youtube show 'Talk Shock'The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperienceTo support the channel:Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912Patreon.com/thepakistanexperienceAnd Please stay in touch:https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperiencehttps://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperienceThe podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikhFacebook.com/Shehzadghias/Twitter.com/shehzad89Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC44l9XMwecN5nSgIF2Dvivg/joinChapters:0:00 Introduction1:00 Opposition Conference3:10 Mahrang Baloch,Imran Khan and Manzoor Pashteen7:30 Kya PTI mai sab assets hain?9:28 Protests all over Pakistan11:34 Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi18:00 Rajiv Gandhi and Media being the Establishment mouthpiece23:00 Interview with Chairman Nadra25:30 How Azaz Syed finds out information32:30 Media Accountability39:30 System chalta hua nahee nazar araha48:30 Anti Establishment voting in Pakistan51:00 Audience Questions

The St. Kitts Connection by Alan E Tonks Authoralantonks.com Amazon.com A young commercial banker gets fired from his job as Vice Chairman at a Florida bank. In his search for employment, he meets a couple of Canadian real estate developers who offer him a job managing all of their real estate holdings including an offshore bank in St. Kitts. He soon finds himself in the middle of a major international drug smuggling and weapons trading conspiracy and before he can walk away, federal agencies close down the US operation and charge the Canadians for their crimes. Two years later he is dragged back into a situation where drug trafficking and international political issues, brokered in St. Kitts, affect the outcome of a general election in India and the ultimate assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, India's former Prime Minister. Story is based on actual events that includes a bank failure, murder and illegal financial activities.

Afgelopen week verscheen de monumentale biografie van Ruud Lubbers, ‘een politicus van de buitencategorie', volgens zijn raadsadviseur tijdens het premierschap, Hans Borstlap. Jaap Jansen en PG Kroeger praten met hem en de twee auteurs, Johan van Merriënboer en Lennart Steenbergen van het Centrum voor Parlementaire Geschiedenis van de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen.***Deze aflevering is opgenomen voor publiek tijdens de Dag van de christendemocratie van het Wetenschappelijk Instituut voor het CDA in de Buitensociëteit in Zwolle. De show is mede mogelijk gemaakt met donaties van luisteraars die we hiervoor hartelijk danken. Word ook vriend van de show!Uitgeverij Boom stelt speciaal voor vrienden van de show vier exemplaren beschikbaar van de kloeke biografie. Daarover lees je als vriend meer informatie op de site.Heb je belangstelling om in onze podcast te adverteren of ons te sponsoren? Zend een mailtje naar adverteren@dagennacht.nl en wij zoeken contact.Op sommige podcast-apps kun je niet alles lezen. De complete tekst plus linkjes en een overzicht van al onze eerdere afleveringen vind je hier***'Ruud Lubbers. Een slag anders' brengt een man tot leven van vele facetten, 'dimensies' om een typisch Lubberiaans woord te hanteren; bijzondere eigenschappen, eigenaardigheden, bijna geniale kwaliteiten en kwetsbaarheden. In het gesprek duiken we met de auteurs in de verassingen die hun boek brengt en vele aspecten van Lubbers' leven, functioneren, prestaties en ideeën.Zo bleek de oliecrisis bij de start van het kabinet-Den Uyl het ideale moment om zijn vernuft, vindingrijkheid, politieke handigheid én kwaliteiten als crisismanager te doen ontdekken. In één klap was de jonge minister van Economische Zaken een begrip, een bekende Nederlander, ook internationaal.Lubbers kwam uit een ongebruikelijk milieu. Dat van de aristocratie van Rotterdamse ondernemers, maar dan wel uit de kleine rooms-katholieke minderheid in dat dominant liberale wereldje. Die aparte achtergrond is hem altijd blijven kenmerken. Hij was een diepgelovig mens én ruimdenkend; altijd nieuwsgierig naar ideeën, overtuigingen en denkwerelden van anderen.Duidelijk wordt dat juist een man als Lubbers paste bij de culturele en politieke veranderingen van de jaren '70. Politieke vernieuwing, de opmars van jongeren, doeners die geen 'excellentie' meer waren, maar een trui droegen en opeens een voornaam bleken te hebben. Lubbers leerde genieten van politieke en intellectuele strijd, leerde politiek nuttige zelfbeheersing, schitteren in Kamerdebatten en aandacht en succes bij de media.Door onverwachte gebeurtenissen werd hij de fractieleider van het CDA en vervolgens minister-president. De auteurs komen met vele boeiende inzichten. En PG, destijds werkzaam voor Lubbers, vertelt persoonlijke belevenissen.Duidelijk is dat Lubbers het moderne premierschap heeft vormgegeven: een ‘global player' in het Torentje. Zijn faam in Europa en wereldwijd was al snel gevestigd, mede door de Koude Oorlog en kruisrakettenkwestie. Margaret Thatcher, George H. W. Bush, Rajiv Gandhi - en wat mopperend - zelfs François Mitterrand hadden hem hoog zitten.Cruciaal voor zijn succes was de wederzijdse inspiratie en kritische sturing van het 'gouden duo' Lubbers en Jan de Koning. Daarbij was opvallend dat Lubbers een 'low profile' hield; hij was geen man van opsmuk en jolige media. Hij was een zich met alles bemoeiende premier, maar nooit een zonnekoning. Hij dacht mee, agendeerde en bespeelde Den Haag als geen ander. Borstlap noemt het vertrek van De Koning na twee kabinetten ‘een ramp'. Zowel voor Lubbers zelf, als voor het land, want ‘zijn derde kabinet was zwak, de spirit was eruit'.Die heel zijn leven kenmerkende nieuwsgierigheid naar nieuwe dingen en boeiende mensen bleek ook uit Lubbers' ontdekking van het milieuvraagstuk - al in zijn Rotterdamse bedrijfsleven-jaren - en hoe dit na zijn premierschap zich verdiepte in aandacht voor het klimaatvraagstuk. Met zijn pleidooi met Gorbatsjov voor het 'Earth Charter' zette hij wereldwijd een agenda van allure. Zo raakte hij bevriend met de lievelingsdochter van Thomas Mann, 'Medi', onthult PG.Het leven van Ruud Lubbers was niet zonder tragiek. Al voor hij premier werd kreeg hij een nauwe en warme band met koningin Beatrix en haar gezin. Die verdiepten zich toen prins Claus lang en ernstig ziek werd. Lubbers bekommerde zich zeer om hen, zijn vrouw Ria ‘kreeg een punthoofd' van het staatshoofd als nogal hulpeloze moeder. Dankbaarheid van het Oranjehuis hoefde Lubbers in zijn laatste jaren niet meer te verwachten. Beatrix sneed meedogenloos de banden door na enkele door Lubbers goedbedoelde anekdotes uit de privésfeer in Nieuwsuur.Ook dat was weer 'een slag anders' dan je zou verwachten. Geen wonder dat over dit boek en de mens Lubbers nog lang niet alles gezegd is. Zelfs niet in Betrouwbare Bronnen.***Verder lezenDe monumentale biografie***Verder kijkenRemmers ontmoet Ruud Lubbers, fractievoorzitter van het CDA (Veronica, 1979)Hoge Bomen: Ruud Lubbers (AVRO, 2003)Andere Tijden special: Het geheim van Ruud Lubbers (NTR-VPRO, 2013)***Verder luisteren naarDe mens Lubbers in 127 - De geheime politieke memoires van Ruud LubbersZijn geschiedenis en zijn tijdgenoten351 - Politiek als hartstocht: drie jonge bewindslieden uit het kabinet-Den Uyl vijftig jaar laterBB 161 - Hans van Mierlo, een politieke popsterBB 164 - Dries van Agt, eigenzinnig politicus, paradijsvogel, wereldburger213 - Van Agt/Den Uyl/Terlouw (1981), de verschrikkelijkste kabinetsformatie ooit310 – Nu 40 jaar geleden: Lubbers premier en de polder sluit historisch Akkoord van Wassenaar385 - Jan de Koning en het verschil tussen een greppel en de laatste gracht15 - George Bush Ruud Lubbers op de vingers tikteBB 119 - Elke machtsoverdracht in het CDA is een drama87 - Het tragische laatste jaar van kabinetten38 - Elco Brinkman: 'Het incident regeert'64 - Wim Kok, een leven op eigen kracht - gesprek met biograaf Marnix Krop153 - Het CDA en de tand des tijds401 - Adieu Dries!79 - 'Nederland is nog steeds ziek': Hans Borstlap over zijn ingrijpende plannen voor de arbeidsmarkt***Tijdlijn00:00:00 – Deel 100:35:52 – Deel 201:02:41 – Deel 302:05:33 – Einde Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Arjun Singh was too layered and fascinating a political figure to describe in one writing. But one of the more interesting aspects of his personality was how seriously he took the media. Friend or foe, he never refused a journalist a favour. But, at the same time, he was never shy of raising that dreaded question: are you my friend or my enemy? Watch, on camera, #NationalInterest, originally published on 5 March 2011, where ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta remembers the life & legacy of Arjun Singh, the constant Congressman & Rajiv Gandhi's most trusted political lieutenant. ----more----Read Shekhar Gupta's National Interest here: https://theprint.in/sg-national-interest/constant-congressman/544119/

The ongoing legal wrangle involving Republic TV Chief Editor, Arnab Goswami, and the Congress party has started a broad-fledged debate. The main topic isn't just the case at hand anymore; it has extended its dimensions. Now it spills over to deeply rooted issues with potentially significant implications. One such issue that has come to mass attention is Sonia Gandhi's Christian faith and the resultant questions that are being raised about her son, Rahul's religious inclination.For years, the family's religion has been subtly spoken about in political circles but never brought to the public's firm notice. Sonia Gandhi, the former president of the Indian National Congress, has spent most of her life embracing the political arena's tumultuous reality. Born to Stefano and Paola Maino in a small town near Turin, Italy, Sonia Gandhi's Christian faith has always been an open secret.Her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi, a dignitary belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family, saw her relocated to India, where her life took a dramatic move towards public service—marking her firm presence in India's political landscape. Along the way, Sonia's faith was her private domain, a component of her life not vividly discussed, and never directly addressed in the public arena. However, the current legal battle has brought it back into focus.What raises eyebrows now is the religious identity of her son, Rahul Gandhi. Riding high on his mother's political reputation, Rahul has been a prominent figure in Indian politics. The recent revelation of his mother's faith has raised questions about his own. In a country where faith plays a significant role in shaping public perception, the political ramifications of this revelation could be large. Rahul's religious beliefs are now being questioned in the court of public opinion.Arnab Goswami's legal tussle with the Congress party originally centered on a different issue altogether. The case focuses on several charges born out out of republic TV's contentious style of journalism. It has now ended up indirectly forcing an open discussion about the religious affiliations of one of India's most notable political families.What remains to be seen is how this revelation is going to impact the family's political fortune and the Congress party at large. This ignited debate is a glimpse into how religion plays a critical role in Indian politics and how public figures and their personal lives are closely observed. This incident stands to serve as a watershed moment that can influence Indian politics and its interplay with religion in the future.

How the 1991 crisis got India to rethink its economic approach.By early 1991, India's reserves were nearly gone.The government took a desperate step—it sent 67,000Kg  of gold abroad to secure a loan from the IMF.This was a last-ditch effort to avoid default, but it only bought a little time. But soon, the govt collapsed again, leading to a new election.In June 1991, P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister, and he chose Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister— and things changed.Rao and Singh quickly implemented reforms: they removed restrictive licensing, welcomed foreign investment, and eased machinery imports.The 1991 crisis forced India to rethink its economic approach—it highlighted the risks of heavy borrowing and too much government control. But it also showed that when things get tough, bold decisions can turn a bad situation into an opportunity.In this episode of the NEON Show, Rajrishi Singhal, a senior journalist, banker, shares his deep insights into India's economic reforms and financial sector. Singhal offers a nuanced perspective on why India's economic progress hasn't met expectations, touching on issues from private sector investment to the success of reforms during coalition governments.-------------Timestamp 00:00 - Introduction to the podcast and guest, Rajrishi Singhal.01:23 - Corruption in India and its impact on the economy05:30 - how demonetization was not to take out corruption07:06 - Rajiv Gandhi was the original ‘Accidental Prime Minister'12:29 - What pushed us into the 1991 crisis14:45 - Raids on reliance industries 18:57 - How India almost went bankrupt21:45 - Complexities of India's banking system19:15 - What are regional rural banks (RRBs)25:26 - Corruption's impact on investments.28:41 - Why doesn't India have more new banks32:00 - Why private sector investments in India have been limited34:25 - Success of reforms during coalition governments40:26 - Foreign investors' concerns about sudden policy changes in India41:26 - Impact of demonetization on the Indian economy-------------Hi, I am your host Siddhartha! I have been an entrepreneur from 2012-2017 building two products AddoDoc and Babygogo. After selling my company to SHEROES, I and my partner Nansi decided to start up again. But we felt unequipped in our skillset in 2018 to build a large company. We had known 0-1 journeys from our startups but lacked the experience of building 1-10 journeys. Hence was born The Neon Show (Earlier 100x Entrepreneur) to learn from founders and investors, the mindset to scale yourself and your company. This quest still keeps us excited even after 5 years and doing 200+ episodes.We welcome you to our journey to understand what goes behind building a super successful company. Every episode is done with a very selfish motive, that I and Nansi should come out as a better entrepreneur and professional after absorbing the learnings.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww-------------Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high conviction, high support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

Arvind Kejriwal can't fool people with his sacrifice drama. By nominating Atishi as Delhi CM, he has shown his writ runs within AAP.  

Podcast of the year I am owner of archit jain podcast, recently shot a podcast with Sam Pitroda write a youtube description abouth this podcast in this podcast we talk about UPI, Rajiv Gandhi and so many things Join us for an enlightening episode of the Archit Jain Podcast featuring Sam Pitroda, the father of India's IT revolution. In this engaging conversation, we delve into pivotal topics like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the visionary leadership of Rajiv Gandhi, and the transformative impact of technology on society. Sam shares his insights on innovation, digital empowerment, and the future of India's technological landscape. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a true pioneer in the field!

In this conversation, Puja Mehra talks to Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan about the historical context of the 1991 Economic Liberalisation of India. She illustrates how the economy in india worked through the manufacture of a bicycle and goes on to explain the impact of those economic reforms, the careful planning that went into it, the people who brought it to fruition, the political turmoil at the time and much more.About Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan: Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she leads the Indian Political Economy Program and Emergent Ventures India. She is also a Fellow at the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU School of Law and an Innovation Fellow with Schmidt Futures. Dr. Rajagopalan's research interests include law and economics, public choice theory, and constitutional economics, with her work published in various academic journals and media outlets such as The New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Project Syndicate, Bloomberg, Real Clear Politics, Mint, The Hindu: Business Line, and The Indian Express. She hosts the Ideas of India podcast and writes the Get Down and Shruti substack on Indian political economy and culture.SHOW NOTES(01:04) Interview starts(03:57) The humble bicycle(06:49) The license stack for starting a bike shop(13:32) License convolution(19:37) Wartime controls led to central planning(22:44) How would License Raj unravel(25:17) How the 1991 political crisis came to be(27:57) Finance ministers of the time(30:14) The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and it consequences(34:15) The team that liberalised India(36:09) The Devaluation of the Rupee(39:22) Fixing Imports and Exports(41:53) The Careful Planning of the Economic Reforms(47:50) The Advantage of Small Firms(50:46) FDIs and foreign expertise(54:10) The far reaching impacts of the Economic Reforms(58:02) The Case Study of India as a blueprint for Economic ReformsFor more of our coverage check out thecore.inSubscribe to our NewsletterFollow us on:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Linkedin | Youtube

SC's Shah Bano judgment came under heavy attack in 1985. As SC now upholds Muslim women's right to maintenance under CrPC Section 125, in addition to the entitlements under Muslim personal law, in Episode 1478 of Cut The Clutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta discusses the latest judgement, its import, political storm caused by the 1985 ruling and why India's journey in Muslim personal law reforms took longer than Pakistan's.----more----Read the Supreme Court judgement here: https://www.sci.gov.in/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=get_court_pdf&diary_no=35332024&type=j&order_date=2024-07-10&from=latest_judgements_order----more----Read Shekhar Gupta's India Today article here: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/from-the-archives/story/20140915-the-muslims-a-community-in-turmoil-shekhar-gupta-805193-2014-09-08----more----Read Arif Mohammed Khan's interview here: https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/from-the-archives/story/20140915-arif-mohammed-khan-my-faith-is-progressive-805190-2014-09-08

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What happened in the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi ? What was the response of Rajiv Gandhi ? What was the public mood like ? Eyewitness account of Tavleen Singh as shared in her book Durbar. Follow me: Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/indologia⁠  Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/indologiaa/⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@indologia⁠ Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va55D2lBPzjRND3rPC0A Telegram: https://t.me/indologia

Narendra Modi va être investi dimanche 9 juin pour un troisième mandat à la tête du gouvernement indien. Le Premier ministre devra relever un défi : s'attaquer au fléau du chômage des jeunes. L'État le plus touché est celui de l'Haryana avec 25 à 40 % de chômage selon les estimations. Sur place, la jeunesse dénonce le manque cruel de perspectives et la baisse des postes de fonctionnaires. (Rediffusion du 29 mai 2024). Le soleil se lève sur le stade Rajiv Gandhi de Rothak, dans l'État de l'Haryana, en Inde. En cette période de canicule, ce sont les seules heures où il est humainement possible de s'entraîner. Il y a déjà foule de jeunes qui courent et font des pompes. « J'ai commencé l'entraînement physique il y a quatre mois pour rejoindre la police, explique Rahul, 19 ans. Je préfère la discipline et la routine. L'entraînement, au sein de la Mission Defence Academy est de qualité. Je voulais intégrer l'armée, mais depuis la réforme, c'est devenu très difficile. Beaucoup de mes amis ont aussi abandonné d'intégrer l'armée. »La réforme dont il parle s'appelle Agneepath. Elle a réduit la durée d'enrôlement dans l'armée a quatre ans, au lieu d'un poste jusqu'à la retraite. Or, dans l'Haryana, l'armée est un des principaux débouchés pour les jeunes. À la Mission Defence Academy, ils sont une centaine d'adolescents à payer environ 100 euros par mois pour une chambre partagée et des cours préparatoires aux examens militaires. Mais tout s'est dégradé, juge Babu Kumar, qui a ouvert en 2019. « L'Haryana, c'est 2 % de la population indienne, mais 10 % des soldats, détaille-t-il. On trouve une centaine d'académies militaires comme la nôtre ici ! La baisse des recrutements dans l'armée, c'est terrible pour nous ! Auparavant, nous étions fiers de préparer nos étudiants à un travail stable. Désormais, c'est très imprévisible. Il y a entre 25 % et 50 % d'étudiants en moins. »Cette réforme contestée vient s'ajouter à une situation déjà très difficile sur le front de l'emploi dans l'Haryana. L'agriculture industrielle emploie de moins en moins de travailleurs et paie mal. L'industrie, elle, reste embryonnaire. Pour la jeunesse, c'est désormais mission impossible, regrette Manish Kumar, directeur d'un institut de cours privés. « Le taux de chômage est aujourd'hui de 37 % dans l'Haryana, c'est du jamais vu et le plus élevé d'Inde, s'alarme-t-il. Il y a aussi une très importante inflation. Alors, dorénavant, les jeunes se disent qu'il leur faut partir à l'étranger pour s'en sortir. Certaines académies privées se reconvertissent d'ailleurs pour proposer de s'expatrier. »Ce désespoir économique a-t-il influencé les électeurs ? Pas de doutes pour Rakesh, père de famille, qui boit un thé devant une des salles de sport de Rohtak. « Je suis venu accompagner ma fille aînée au cours de boxe, explique-t-il. Une autre de mes filles s'entraîne à la lutte et mon fils, lui, se prépare pour intégrer les commandos. Je suis très en colère contre le gouvernement, car aujourd'hui c'est plus dur encore qu'à mon époque pour les jeunes de trouver un travail. Mes amis et moi, on soutenait Narendra Modi mais cette fois, on a voté pour l'opposition. »Dans tout le pays, le chômage s'est imposé comme une préoccupation majeure lors de ces élections. En particulier dans l'Haryana, l'Uttar Pradesh et le Rajasthan, là où le BJP de Narendra Modi a enregistré son plus lourd recul. À lire aussiInde: Narendra Modi contraint au compromis

Narendra Modi va être investi dimanche 9 juin pour un troisième mandat à la tête du gouvernement indien. Le Premier ministre devra relever un défi : s'attaquer au fléau du chômage des jeunes. L'État le plus touché est celui de l'Haryana avec 25 à 40 % de chômage selon les estimations. Sur place, la jeunesse dénonce le manque cruel de perspectives et la baisse des postes de fonctionnaires. (Rediffusion du 29 mai 2024). Le soleil se lève sur le stade Rajiv Gandhi de Rothak, dans l'État de l'Haryana, en Inde. En cette période de canicule, ce sont les seules heures où il est humainement possible de s'entraîner. Il y a déjà foule de jeunes qui courent et font des pompes. « J'ai commencé l'entraînement physique il y a quatre mois pour rejoindre la police, explique Rahul, 19 ans. Je préfère la discipline et la routine. L'entraînement, au sein de la Mission Defence Academy est de qualité. Je voulais intégrer l'armée, mais depuis la réforme, c'est devenu très difficile. Beaucoup de mes amis ont aussi abandonné d'intégrer l'armée. »La réforme dont il parle s'appelle Agneepath. Elle a réduit la durée d'enrôlement dans l'armée a quatre ans, au lieu d'un poste jusqu'à la retraite. Or, dans l'Haryana, l'armée est un des principaux débouchés pour les jeunes. À la Mission Defence Academy, ils sont une centaine d'adolescents à payer environ 100 euros par mois pour une chambre partagée et des cours préparatoires aux examens militaires. Mais tout s'est dégradé, juge Babu Kumar, qui a ouvert en 2019. « L'Haryana, c'est 2 % de la population indienne, mais 10 % des soldats, détaille-t-il. On trouve une centaine d'académies militaires comme la nôtre ici ! La baisse des recrutements dans l'armée, c'est terrible pour nous ! Auparavant, nous étions fiers de préparer nos étudiants à un travail stable. Désormais, c'est très imprévisible. Il y a entre 25 % et 50 % d'étudiants en moins. »Cette réforme contestée vient s'ajouter à une situation déjà très difficile sur le front de l'emploi dans l'Haryana. L'agriculture industrielle emploie de moins en moins de travailleurs et paie mal. L'industrie, elle, reste embryonnaire. Pour la jeunesse, c'est désormais mission impossible, regrette Manish Kumar, directeur d'un institut de cours privés. « Le taux de chômage est aujourd'hui de 37 % dans l'Haryana, c'est du jamais vu et le plus élevé d'Inde, s'alarme-t-il. Il y a aussi une très importante inflation. Alors, dorénavant, les jeunes se disent qu'il leur faut partir à l'étranger pour s'en sortir. Certaines académies privées se reconvertissent d'ailleurs pour proposer de s'expatrier. »Ce désespoir économique a-t-il influencé les électeurs ? Pas de doutes pour Rakesh, père de famille, qui boit un thé devant une des salles de sport de Rohtak. « Je suis venu accompagner ma fille aînée au cours de boxe, explique-t-il. Une autre de mes filles s'entraîne à la lutte et mon fils, lui, se prépare pour intégrer les commandos. Je suis très en colère contre le gouvernement, car aujourd'hui c'est plus dur encore qu'à mon époque pour les jeunes de trouver un travail. Mes amis et moi, on soutenait Narendra Modi mais cette fois, on a voté pour l'opposition. »Dans tout le pays, le chômage s'est imposé comme une préoccupation majeure lors de ces élections. En particulier dans l'Haryana, l'Uttar Pradesh et le Rajasthan, là où le BJP de Narendra Modi a enregistré son plus lourd recul. À lire aussiInde: Narendra Modi contraint au compromis

Encore dix jours d'élections en Inde, ou Narendra Modi vise un troisième mandat. Le Premier ministre traîne avec lui un boulet lors de ce scrutin :  le chômage des jeunes. L'État le plus touché est celui de l'Haryana avec 25 à 40 % de chômage selon les estimations. Sur place, la jeunesse dénonce le manque cruel de perspectives et la baisse des postes de fonctionnaires. De notre envoyé spécial à Rohtak,Le soleil se lève sur le stade Rajiv Gandhi de Rothak. En cette période de canicule, ce sont les seules heures ou il est humainement possible de s'entraîner. Il y a déjà foule de jeunes qui courent et font des pompes. Rahul a 19 ans en engloutit un litre d'eau. « J'ai commencé l'entraînement physique il y a quatre mois pour rejoindre la police », explique le jeune homme. « Je préfère la discipline et la routine. L'entraînement, au sein de la Mission Defence Academy est de qualité. Je voulais intégrer l'armée, mais depuis la réforme, c'est devenu très difficile. Beaucoup de mes amis ont aussi abandonné d'intégrer l'armée. »La réforme dont il parle s'appelle « Agneepath ». Elle a réduit la durée d'enrôlement dans l'armée à quatre ans, au lieu d'un poste jusqu'à la retraite. Or, dans l'Haryana, l'armée est un des principaux débouchés pour les jeunes. À lire aussiInde: tout savoir sur les élections législatives dans la plus grande démocratie du mondeÀ la Mission Defence Academy, ils sont une centaine d'adolescents à payer environ 100 euros par mois pour une chambre partagée et des cours préparatoires aux examens militaires. Mais tout s'est dégradé, juge Babu Kumar, qui a ouvert en 2019. « L'Haryana, c'est 2 % de la population indienne, mais 10 % des soldats. On trouve une centaine d'académies militaires comme la nôtre ici ! La baisse des recrutements dans l'armée, c'est terrible pour nous ! Auparavant, nous étions fiers de préparer nos étudiants à un travail stable. Désormais, c'est très imprévisible. Il y a entre 25 % et 50 % d'étudiants en moins », estime Babu Kumar.Mission impossibleCette réforme contestée vient s'ajouter à une situation déjà très difficile sur le front de l'emploi dans l'Haryana. L'agriculture industrielle emploie de moins en moins de travailleurs et paie mal… et l'industrie reste embryonnaire. Pour la jeunesse, c'est désormais mission impossible, regrette Manish Kumar, directeur d'un institut de cours privés. « Le taux de chômage est aujourd'hui de 37 % dans l'Haryana, c'est du jamais vu et le plus élevé d'Inde », indique Manish Kumar. « Il y a aussi une très importante inflation. Alors désormais, les jeunes se disent qu'il leur faut partir à l'étranger pour s'en sortir. Certaines académies privées se reconvertissent d'ailleurs pour proposer de s'expatrier. »À écouter aussiInde: coup d'envoi des élections générales XXL, Narendra Modi favoriEst-ce que ce désespoir économique va impacter l'élection ? Pas de doutes pour Rakesh, père de famille, qui boit un thé devant une des salles de sport de Rohtak. « Je suis venu accompagner ma fille aînée au cours de boxe. Une autre de mes filles s'entraîne à la lutte et mon fils, lui, se prépare pour intégrer les commandos. Je suis très en colère contre le gouvernement, car aujourd'hui c'est plus dur encore qu'à mon époque pour les jeunes de trouver un travail. Mes amis et moi, on a soutenu Narendra Modi, mais cette fois, on votera pour l'opposition. »Dans tout le pays, le chômage s'est imposé comme une préoccupation majeure lors de ces élections. Reste à savoir à quel point les électeurs indiens tiendront Narendra Modi pour responsable.

Encore dix jours d'élections en Inde, ou Narendra Modi vise un troisième mandat. Le Premier ministre traîne avec lui un boulet lors de ce scrutin :  le chômage des jeunes. L'État le plus touché est celui de l'Haryana avec 25 à 40 % de chômage selon les estimations. Sur place, la jeunesse dénonce le manque cruel de perspectives et la baisse des postes de fonctionnaires. De notre envoyé spécial à Rohtak,Le soleil se lève sur le stade Rajiv Gandhi de Rothak. En cette période de canicule, ce sont les seules heures ou il est humainement possible de s'entraîner. Il y a déjà foule de jeunes qui courent et font des pompes. Rahul a 19 ans en engloutit un litre d'eau. « J'ai commencé l'entraînement physique il y a quatre mois pour rejoindre la police », explique le jeune homme. « Je préfère la discipline et la routine. L'entraînement, au sein de la Mission Defence Academy est de qualité. Je voulais intégrer l'armée, mais depuis la réforme, c'est devenu très difficile. Beaucoup de mes amis ont aussi abandonné d'intégrer l'armée. »La réforme dont il parle s'appelle « Agneepath ». Elle a réduit la durée d'enrôlement dans l'armée à quatre ans, au lieu d'un poste jusqu'à la retraite. Or, dans l'Haryana, l'armée est un des principaux débouchés pour les jeunes. À lire aussiInde: tout savoir sur les élections législatives dans la plus grande démocratie du mondeÀ la Mission Defence Academy, ils sont une centaine d'adolescents à payer environ 100 euros par mois pour une chambre partagée et des cours préparatoires aux examens militaires. Mais tout s'est dégradé, juge Babu Kumar, qui a ouvert en 2019. « L'Haryana, c'est 2 % de la population indienne, mais 10 % des soldats. On trouve une centaine d'académies militaires comme la nôtre ici ! La baisse des recrutements dans l'armée, c'est terrible pour nous ! Auparavant, nous étions fiers de préparer nos étudiants à un travail stable. Désormais, c'est très imprévisible. Il y a entre 25 % et 50 % d'étudiants en moins », estime Babu Kumar.Mission impossibleCette réforme contestée vient s'ajouter à une situation déjà très difficile sur le front de l'emploi dans l'Haryana. L'agriculture industrielle emploie de moins en moins de travailleurs et paie mal… et l'industrie reste embryonnaire. Pour la jeunesse, c'est désormais mission impossible, regrette Manish Kumar, directeur d'un institut de cours privés. « Le taux de chômage est aujourd'hui de 37 % dans l'Haryana, c'est du jamais vu et le plus élevé d'Inde », indique Manish Kumar. « Il y a aussi une très importante inflation. Alors désormais, les jeunes se disent qu'il leur faut partir à l'étranger pour s'en sortir. Certaines académies privées se reconvertissent d'ailleurs pour proposer de s'expatrier. »À écouter aussiInde: coup d'envoi des élections générales XXL, Narendra Modi favoriEst-ce que ce désespoir économique va impacter l'élection ? Pas de doutes pour Rakesh, père de famille, qui boit un thé devant une des salles de sport de Rohtak. « Je suis venu accompagner ma fille aînée au cours de boxe. Une autre de mes filles s'entraîne à la lutte et mon fils, lui, se prépare pour intégrer les commandos. Je suis très en colère contre le gouvernement, car aujourd'hui c'est plus dur encore qu'à mon époque pour les jeunes de trouver un travail. Mes amis et moi, on a soutenu Narendra Modi, mais cette fois, on votera pour l'opposition. »Dans tout le pays, le chômage s'est imposé comme une préoccupation majeure lors de ces élections. Reste à savoir à quel point les électeurs indiens tiendront Narendra Modi pour responsable.

Welcome back to THE IAS COMPANION, In India's parliamentary system, the President is the nominal executive authority, while the Prime Minister is the real executive authority. The President is the head of State, and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. According to Article 75 of the Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President, who must appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha. When no party has a clear majority, the President may appoint the leader of the largest party or coalition to prove their majority in the Lok Sabha. In cases like Indira Gandhi's assassination, the President can use individual judgment for the appointment, as seen with Rajiv Gandhi. The Prime Minister can be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The Prime Minister takes two oaths: the Oath of Office, pledging true faith to the Constitution, and the Oath of Secrecy, committing to not disclose information acquired as a minister. The Prime Minister serves at the pleasure of the President but must resign if they lose majority support in the Lok Sabha. The salary is determined by Parliament, along with benefits like accommodation and travel facilities. The Prime Minister's powers include recommending ministerial appointments and dismissals, allocating and reshuffling portfolios, presiding over meetings, and directing ministerial activities. The Prime Minister acts as the main communication channel between the President and the council of ministers and advises on the appointment of key officials. In Parliament, the Prime Minister advises on summoning sessions, can recommend dissolving the Lok Sabha, and announces government policies. #UPSC #IASprep #civilserviceexam #IASexamination #IASaspirants #UPSCjourney #IASexam #civilservice #IASgoals #UPSC2024 #IAS2024 #civilservant #IAScoaching #aUPSCmotivation #IASmotivation #UPSCpreparation #IASpreparation #UPSCguide #IASguide #UPSCtips #IAStips #UPSCbooks #IASbooks #UPSCexamstrategy #IASexamstrategy #UPSCmentorship #IASmentorship #UPSCcommunity #IAScommunity #UPSCpreparation #IASpreparation #UPSCguide #IASguide #UPSCtips #IAStips #UPSCbooks #IASbooks #UPSCexamstrategy #IASexamstrategy #UPSCmentorship #IASmentorship #UPSCcommunity #IAScommunity --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theiascompanion/message

Former diplomat and minister Mani Shankar Aiyar spoke with Harinder Baweja about why he has always favoured people-to-people ties with Pakistan. He also talks about controversies sparked by statements made by him, and Rajiv Gandhi, and why he thinks they're overblown.

Order 'R.A.W. Hitman: The Real Story of Agent Lima' (in English) here: https://amzn.in/d/gxpmZYJ Order 'Build, Don't Talk' (in English) here: ⁠https://amzn.eu/d/eCfijRu⁠ Order 'Build Don't Talk' (in Hindi) here: ⁠https://amzn.eu/d/4wZISO0⁠ Subscribe To Our Other YouTube Channels:- ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@rajshamaniclips?sub_confirmation=1⁠ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@RajShamani.Shorts?sub_confirmation=1⁠

Neerja Chowdhury is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and political commentator. In the course of a distinguished career of over forty years, she was political editor of the Indian Express for ten years and covered the terms of eight prime ministers and ten Lok Sabha elections. She has won several prestigious awards for her journalism including the first Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Mediapersons (1981), the India Today – PUCL Journalism for Human Rights Award (1983), and the Prem Bhatia Award for Best Political Reporting (2009–10). 0:00 Intro 0:51 Sonia wants Rahul from Raebareli 4:42 Amethi Vs Raebareli symbolism 5:47 Sanjay Gandhi & Amethi 7:51 Gandhis, Md Yunus, Raebareli & Ronald Reagan 9:54 Motu fielded from Raebareli 11:19 Old Monk, RSS & Gandhis 13:33 Gandhi Vs Gandhi in Amethi, Raebareli? 17:52 Varun Gandhi making a big mistake? 19:41 Raebareli's Dalit factor 21:21 When Priyanka Vadra defeated Arun Nehru 22:25 Smriti Irani, Amethi & Rahul Gandhi 23:09 Akhilesh Yadav, Varun Gandhi & Pilibhit 23:42 Priyanka's offer to Varun Gandhi 26:02 Congress offered Amethi ticket to Varun Gandhi? 28:11 Indira Gandhi, PN Haksar & Raebareli 30:52 Indira, Raebareli & Raj Narain 36:09 Gandhi Vs Gandhi in 1984, 1989 LS 38:21 Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh relationship 39:49 Rajiv, Amitabh Bacchan & VP Singh 43:50 Sonia Vs PV Narasimha Rao from Amethi 45:41 PV Narasimha Rao on Gandhi dynasty 47:41 Future of Gandhis in Amethi, Raebareli

Hello, this is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. Tune in to get updated about the major news stories of the day.

'Just like BJP supporters don't praise Vajpayee enough because of his refusal to fully embrace Hindutva, Congress supporters fret when asked about Rajiv Gandhi's achievements,' says Columnist and Author Vir Sanghvi. Watch ThePrint #sharpedge

'The saga of the Ram Mandir is the story of miscalculations and mistakes by the so-called secular establishment over the last 50 years. We don't always realise this but the idea of politically mobilising Hinduism became a Congress stratagem during Indira Gandhi's last years', says Columnist and Author Vir Sanghvi, adds Arun Nehru, who sought to be Court Chamberlain in the Rajiv Gandhi-era, argued to continue with Indira Gandhi's policy of playing the Hindu card in a subtle way that did not alienate Muslims. Watch ThePrint #SharpEdge 

My guest today is the remarkable Mani Shankar Aiyar. If you haven't heard of him, let's simply admit that you've been living under a rock.If you've been anywhere near the worlds of diplomacy, politics, or literature, you will know of him in detail but let me sum up his remarkable journey as succinctly as I can.Mani Shankar Aiyar joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1963. He then went on to become the Consul General in Karachi, Pakistan in 1978 through 1982. His path took a significant turn when he entered the Prime Minister's Office in 1985, working closely with the late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.However, in 1989, he made a pivotal decision to leave the diplomatic arena and dive headfirst into politics. He served off and on as a Member of Parliament for the Congress Party for 25 years.Aiyar is a diplomat and politician—a man of words with a deep well of knowledge and a vast literary appetite. His unfiltered and honest expression, which has sometimes landed him in hot water, causing his own party, the Congress Party, to distance themselves from his candid remarks.His sense of humour is decidedly wicked and Wodehousian and he is nothing if not completely hilarious on demand. In one interview he spoke of his early Marxist leanings and being investigated by Indian intelligence for it. Of this, he said, “I think the Intelligence Bureau ultimately came to the conclusion that I was indeed a Marxist but of the Groucho variety.”For all his education a career in the best places in administration, Aiyar remains a socialist. He believes that the real and equitable development of India can happen only ground up, from the villages. To this, the country created the Ministry Of Panchayati Raj… for him. He was its first minister.His book, "Memoirs Of A Maverick," is a delightful read. It's the sort of book that you can read in one sitting. And today, I am truly honored to host him again, this time on my podcast. He joins me from his home in Delhi, diplomat, politician, columnist, author, Mani Shankar Aiyar.ABOUT MANI SHANKAR AIYARAfter Doon School and St Stephen's College, he joined the Indian Foreign Service and served for 26 years. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi inducted him into the Prime Minister's Office from where he migrated four years later into politics and Parliament.Buy MEMOIRS OF A MAVERICK: https://amzn.to/3FJfsuyWHAT'S THAT WORD?!Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "WHAT'S THAT WORD?!",  where they discuss the phrase  "RAINING CATS AND DOGS*,CONTACT USReach us by mail: theliterarycity@explocity.com or simply, tlc@explocity.comOr here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theliterarycityOr here: https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/

Former diplomat and minister Mani Shankar Aiyar - who recently released his memoirs - talks to Harinder Baweja about why he has always favoured people-to-people ties with Pakistan. He also talks about controversies sparked by statements made by him, and Rajiv Gandhi, and why he thinks they're overblown.

"Today, the reason I've been completely marginalised is that the leadership of my party regards me as a loose cannon. My commitment to secular fundamentalism is of such a basic character that pragmatic people in the Congress party think I'm being too extreme" - Mani Shankar Aiyar, politician and author, 'Memoirs of a Maverick' talks to Manjula Narayan about the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva, being brought up as a "coconut", Rajiv Gandhi as India's most misunderstood PM, standing up for Nehruvian values, the need to talk to Pakistan, and why he will never stop speaking his mind

In the gripping fourth episode, Rajdeep and Nikhil explore the unforgettable moments of the 1996 Cricket World Cup, a tournament that brought a remarkable shift in cricketing dynamics. This world cup held immense significance for Sri Lanka, a country that had long remained overshadowed by cricketing giants like India and Pakistan. At the heart of the discussion was the emergence of private news television in India, which significantly changed the media landscape during the tournament. Unlike the previous edition in 1987, where Doordarshan was the sole broadcaster, 1996 witnessed the rise of private news channels, eagerly seeking to cover the World Cup and capitalize on the fervor of cricket-crazy fans. However, this newfound competition between Doordarshan and private channels led to a major controversy. The tournament was supposed to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but political turmoil in Sri Lanka forced Australia and West Indies to withdraw from playing there. Sri Lanka had faced a decade of terrorism in the 1990s, with the LTTE causing havoc, including the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Co-hosting the World Cup was seen as a step towards normalcy, and India and Pakistan stood in solidarity with Sri Lanka while the western world hesitated. The new format of the tournament came under scrutiny, leading to some intriguing discussions during the episode. Rajdeep and Nikhil also delve into India's campaign in the World Cup, particularly their iconic match against Pakistan, which took place on Indian soil for the first time in World Cup history. One of the significant moments of the tournament was India's match against Sri Lanka, where questions arose about India's decision to bat first despite knowing that the pitch would favor spin bowling. Years later, match-fixing controversies would surround this match, with fingers pointed at Azharuddin for allegedly taking that decision under match-fixing pressures. Listen in to more of the untold stories! Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

Why were the 1980s pivotal in so many respects? Think the giddy days of glasnost and perestroika, the end of the cold war—of the whole Soviet Union in fact, liberalisation and globalisation, GATT and open borders, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the rise of Rajiv Gandhi—who stepped on the gas and pushed the country towards a more open economy.I became a lobbyist in Delhi in the 80s. I was barely twenty when I joined as a fresher, in 1980. When I quit my job and returned home to Bangalore in 1988, I had aged more than the chronology of the eight years would suggest.As a young man growing into his own, I was privileged to have been in the middle of the most pivotal period of Indian administration and world history since WWII. Up close and in the middle of it all. It was a lesson in how policy and administration works, it was a lesson in understanding the scale of their enterprise, and it was a lesson in humility.When you are in your twenties, you have the answer to all problems—and there's a good side to that because you feel both empowered and a participant, with access to the centres of power.But my guest today was one of those who was, himself a centre of power—Chinmay Gharekhan. Of the many important offices he held, one of which was in the Prime Minister's Office—both during the time of Indira Gandhi and then Rajiv Gandhi. And then he was India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.His book is a memoir of his days at the Prime Minister's Office, the real seat of power in India and following that in the United Nations Security Council during the period of the First Gulf War—another greatly pivotal period for us.Chinmay Gharekhan is the author of the memoir, Centres Of Power - My Years In The Prime Minister's Office and Security Council. It is always fascinating to think of our history—as these things influence the way we think today—and when you have someone who had a ringside seat to those events, you listen carefully.And joining me from his home in Scarsdale in New York is Ambassador Gharekhan.ABOUT THE AUTHORChinmaya R. Gharekhan, a distinguished member of the Indian Foreign Service, served in several capitals in different continents. He had the unique privilege of working with two prime ministers, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, for a period of about five years. He spent the better part of his career dealing with the United Nations. As ambassador of India to the United Nations in New York, he represented India on the Security Council during 1991–1992 and was twice president of the Security Council. He was appointed prime minister's special envoy for West Asia and the Middle East Peace Process during 2005–2009.Buy Centres Of Power: https://amzn.to/3DmnM2uWHAT'S THAT WORD?!Co-host Pranati "Pea" Madhav joins Ramjee Chandran in "WHAT'S THAT WORD?!",  where they discuss the etymology of  "HOIST WITH ONE'S OWN PETARD"CONTACT USReach us by mail: theliterarycity@explocity.com or simply, tlc@explocity.comOr here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theliterarycityOr here:  https://www.instagram.com/explocityblr/

Step back in time with Rajdeep Sardesai and Nikhil Naz as they delve into the thrilling 1987 World Cup, a historic tournament that marked the first time the prestigious event left Great Britain's shores. How Doordarshan secured broadcasting rights over private players, with a captivating tale of Dhirubhai Ambani's involvement and the event being renamed the Reliance World Cup.In the backdrop of a different India, with Rajiv Gandhi as the Prime Minister, explore how the world around cricket underwent transformation. A joint bid by India and Pakistan led to 10 games allocated to Pakistan and 17 to India, shaping a monumental year.As the excitement builds, unravel the gripping story of the underdog Australian team's triumph, defying all expectations and emerging as the victorious World Cup champions. What role did Rajiv Gandhi play in organizing the event, and how did the 1987 World Cup significantly impact India cricket financially?Relive the most controversial moment that led India to an unfortunate loss, where the match's total was mysteriously changed from 268 to 270 after the game concluded. Dive into the origin of the legendary 'Sixer Siddhu' story, and witness the coming-of-age of Australian cricket, captivating the hearts of the Eden Gardens crowd, who cheered fervently for the underdog Australian team.Join us for an enthralling journey back to the iconic 1987 World Cup, where history was made, and untold stories await your discovery!Listen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

On June 22, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first official state visit to the United States. And if his visits to Australia last month, to Canada in 2015 and to Texas in 2019 are any indication, he'll be given a rockstar welcome.U.S. President Joe Biden has already joked that he wants Modi's autograph because so many people want to see the Indian PM while he's in the United States.Of course, Modi has his critics too, who point to the populist leader's far-right policies and human rights abuses.Yet, as the prime minister of the world's largest democracy, Modi remains one of the world's most popular leaders - not just at home, but among the tens of millions who make up the global South Asian diaspora.Last week, perhaps in an acknowledgement of the power of the South Asian diaspora on Indian elections, the former leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, also visited the United States.In the latest episode of Don't Call Me Resilient, we are asking how important is that diaspora? With India having one of the highest remittance rates in the world, how much does overseas support contribute to Modi's popularity and success? And what kind of an impact could a progressive element of that diaspora have on Indian politics?Anjali Arondekar joins the podcast to sift through all this. She is a professor of feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is also the founding co-director of the university's Center for South Asian Studies which hosted a discussion last week with Rajiv Gandhi.ResourcesNarendra Modi's First State Visit to the US Has Both National and Global Implications (The Wire)The Modi Question (BBC) A Defeat for Modi's Party in South India Heartens His RivalsIndian politician boasts about getting Muslims killed – on camera (Al Jazeera)The Network of Hindu Nationalists Behind Modi's Diaspora Diplomacy in the U.S. (The Intercept)From the archives - in The ConversationRead more: India's new citizenship act legalizes a Hindu nationRead more: Trump and Modi: birds of the same feather, but with different world viewsRead more: Just who is Narendra Modi, India's man of the moment?Read more: How the conservative right hijacks religionRead more: Narendra Modi has won the largest election in the world. What will this mean for India?Listen and FollowYou can listen to or follow Don't Call Me Resilient on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.We'd love to hear from you, including any ideas for future episodes. Join The Conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and use #DontCallMeResilient.Thank you to Sanjay Ruparelia, Jarislowsky Democracy Chair at TMU and Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion Editor at TCUS who contributed to this episode.

Danny and Derek welcome to the program Ashoka Mody, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, to discuss what he sees as democratic and economic breakdowns in India rooted in its post-independence period. They discuss the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, people left behind by post-independence industrialization, parallels with postwar Japan, American investment in the subcontinent, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, the rise of modern Hindu nationalism, and more. Check out Dr. Mody's book India Is Broken: A People Betrayed, Independence to Today. Also check out his recent op-eds in Business Standard and Project Syndicate. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

India Policy Watch: Those Mind GamesInsights on issues relevant to India— RSJRegular readers might have noticed the absence of posts analysing the political economy and politics in general in our editions of late. This isn't intentional. There's not much to write about. There is a strange sense of stasis all around. Every move, every act is a chronicle of a future foretold. This inertness stems from a complete absence of ferment in the political landscape. The external factors that could impact politics, like the economy or national security, appear stable. And those directly in the fray have to contend with a political juggernaut backed by a fawning media that takes no prisoners. It is a complete mismatch. So, what can one write about except rallies, speeches and opinion pollsInto this state of ennui, this week walked the Court of chief judicial magistrate HH Verma, Surat. Here's the Mint reporting on this:“The Surat District Court sentenced Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to two years of imprisonment in the criminal defamation case filed against him over his alleged 'Modi surname' remark. The Congress leader was later granted bail by the court.The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, which held Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court, the Congress leader's lawyer Babu Mangukiya said.The case was filed against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.”In a remarkable feat of speed and agility, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified Rahul Gandhi as a member of Lok Sabha the next day. As the Hindustan Times reported:“Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha a day after the Surat court convicted him for two years in a defamation case. However, he was granted a 30-day bail in the case to allow him appeal in a higher court. The Lok Sabha secretariat said in a notification that he has been disqualified from the day of the conviction under the Constitution's Article 102(1)(e) read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act.As a next step, the Wayanad MP will have to appeal to the higher court seeking a stay on the conviction, in order to prevent the disqualification and the Congress said it will follow the procedure to move to a higher court.”Look, there's a tired old way of looking at all of this. And that's what the discourse has been about this over the past few days. The opposition reminds us how there's an undeclared emergency at this moment in India. Dissent is being suppressed, the slightest criticism of the PM or his party is seen as an affront to the nation, and the state machinery is fairly quick in settling scores on those not falling in line. There is also the eternal optimism of a certain section of the commentariat that suggests that Rahul Gandhi has rattled the BJP with his Bharat Jodo yatra. And this is the response to keep him in check. I'm sure there is an alternate universe where this is all true. But none among us is turning into Michelle Yeoh anytime soon to enter that multiverse. As I have mentioned earlier, there's still space for the opposition, as the response to the yatra shows. But Rahul Gandhi neither has the enterprise nor the ideas to turn that into electoral success. On the other hand, the BJP and its supporters initially argued that a sitting MP cannot make disrespectful remarks about the PM. Apparently, it is not done, especially when the PM is feted the world over for his leadership. Soon old videos popped up that showed we have a hoary tradition of calling our past PMs names. I'm old enough to remember the memorable rhyming metre of ‘gali gali mein shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi chor hai' that rented the air in 1989 when I first followed a general election in my life. The tack changed. So, now you have the charge that Rahul Gandhi was denigrating an entire OBC community with that statement and triggering possible social unrest. This is a failure to understand syllogism 101. Even if one were to accept the dubious statement that ‘all thieves have Modi surnames', it doesn't follow that ‘all with Modi surnames are thieves'. The more nuanced lot is taking the line that it is the courts that are letting the law take its own course, and we shouldn't read anything more into this. It is possible this is true, but we might again be talking of the multiverse here. Leaving that aside, we now have WhatsApp experts who look for a masterstroke in every decision of the ruling party now suggesting that this is a convoluted plan to give Rahul Gandhi a convenient leg up to be the face of the opposition in 2024 and then decimate him in the elections. If only there were a Nobel prize for politics… Beyond the noise, I see three overlapping patterns here, two of which have been strengthening over the past few years and one that is new.First, there's that interesting paradox of narrative domination that is at play here. The paradox is the more you start dominating the narrative and the media, the greater your anxiety about a single truth bomb bringing down your carefully constructed image. This is why there's only a one-way ride to ever greater control of media and opposition voices. Once your ears get used to the perfect melody of your own symphony, the slightest variation seems terribly jarring. And so you overreact reflexively to the slightest provocation because, to your ears, it sounds big. Two things follow from here. Your reaction tends to get disproportionately bigger and harsher. And you create a chilling effect that shuts more people up further. This is all been in play in the last few years. The way to look at the Rahul Gandhi episode is to confirm the anxiety of narrative dominance and also to send out a message if there was any more needed, that no one can get away with direct criticism any more. This isn't a new phenomenon in India, but the speed and the reach of social media make it a kind of dominance that will be difficult to upend, unlike in the past. Second, there's always a desire to test how far charisma can stretch the ‘reality distortion field' it creates among the collective who have subscribed to it. This is an ongoing natural process of those who have a hold on their ‘people' to see how much more of a break from convention can they (the people) rationalise in their unqualified belief in the leader. It is a useful test of the relevance of charisma, and quite interestingly, the only way to build more charisma is to put it to test with more outrageous claims on people. The more you can get away with, the more your charisma. To quote Weber on charisma:“Charisma knows only inner determination and inner restraint. The holder of charisma seizes the task that is adequate for him and demands obedience and a following by virtue of his mission. His success determines whether he finds them. His charismatic claim breaks down if his mission is not recognised by those to whom he feels he has been sent. If they recognise him, he is their master – so long as he knows how to maintain their recognition through ‘proving' himself. But he does not derive his ‘right' from their will, in the manner of an election. Rather the reverse holds: it is the duty of those to whom he addresses his mission to recognise him as their charismatically qualified leader.”   This business of ‘proving' himself becomes more difficult the longer you continue in office. Because there will be some dissatisfaction among your people on what goals you aren't achieving. Some of this is evident in how a vocal minority (with Subramanium Swamy as some kind of a patron saint) seems to be disgruntled and pushing for more wins in the ideological and cultural wars. Lastly, I sense there's a deliberate desire to take certain actions that will be picked up by western media who will bemoan the loss of liberal values in India. This will be a useful rallying point to build a narrative about how there's still an anti-India global left that's making a last attempt to sabotage a rising India. There's nothing to suggest anyone is really worrying about a rising India till we hit some threshold of a middle-income economy with the accompanying economic and political heft. But who cares to test such grand conspiracy theories? It sounds right, and it fits the narrative that our greatest enemies are our own people who are in opposition and who, for power, will derail India. It looks like a winning narrative to me in the run-up to the elections. Also, I can see that there's a desire to bring a raft of such 'western liberal' values and set them up in a false confrontation with ‘civilisational' values of India. And then use the inevitable electoral victory in 2024 to claim that the people of India have spoken and we don't need the west to judge us using their discredited liberal values. We have our long dharmic history, and we will judge ourselves on its parameters. I have written about this point in the past using the examples of others who have tried to search for this civilisational counterpoint to western enlightenment, including Aurobindo, Kosambi, Vivekananda and Hazari Prasad Dwivedi. All of them ended up with some kind of ecclesiastical or spiritual quest instead of a tangible values doctrine that could guide political, economic or social actions. I don't think those who speak in such civilisational terms today have dived as deep as these scholars of the past have. Atleast I haven't come across that kind of modern scholarship. My sense is their motivation is to continue to discredit western liberal thought for either political gains or to seek a kind of revanchist utopia with its foundations built on caste. In a way, I expect more of this desire to have an ideological battle in the run-up to 2024 and then claim a moral victory on the back of the electoral victory. I'm not sure this kind of false showdown has ever led to anything good as the experience of the 20th century or that of Turkey, Russia or China of late has shown. But there's an appeal among the ideologically driven to go down that path. To pit the past against the future and hope we will discover the glory in the past to build a future that is better and different from the past. That we will be able to rise over this and get the best of the past and dream up a future that's uniquely our own. This looks good on paper, but it gets muddied when put into action, as history has shown us over and over again. I will leave you with Kafka's parable from Hannah Arendt's 1961 book of essays, Between Past and Future:“Kafka's parable reads as follows:He has two antagonists: the first presses him from behind, from the origin. The second blocks the road ahead. He gives battle to both. To be sure, the first supports him in his fight with the second, for he wants to push him forward, and in the same way the second supports him in his fight with the first, since he drives him back. But it is only theoretically so. For it is not only the two antagonists who are there, but he himself as well, and who really knows his intentions? His dream, though, is that some time in an unguarded moment – and this would require a night darker than any night has ever been yet – he will jump out of the fighting line and be promoted, on account of his experience in fighting, to the position of umpire over his antagonists in their fight with each other.”That jumping out of the line happens only in dreams.    PolicyWTF: Fretting Over FreightsThis section looks at egregious public policies. Policies that make you go: WTF, Did that really happen?— Pranay KotasthaneThe difference in the economic trajectories of southern and northern India is an endless fountain. Every person has a different causal story to explain how this economic divergence came into being. As you would expect, some narratives are more popular than others. Some South Indian exceptionalists claim that higher investments in education and health explain the difference. Some of them seek refuge in vague arguments about cultural superiority. The opposing side, in turn, blames repeated invasions and colonial policies such as the zamindari system.It's tough to test some of these arguments. Some of them are biased intuitions masquerading as reasons. For some serious analytical work on this topic, I recommend this underrated book, The Paradox of India's North–South Divide, by Samuel Paul and Kala Sridhar. We had earlier discussed insights from this book in edition #148.Among the reasons for the divergence is a policyWTF that makes a cameo appearance in policy conversations: the Freight Equalisation Scheme (FES). Introduced at the height of its socialist fantasies in 1956, FES was a union government policy for pursuing 'balanced industrial development' (Jan Tinbergen says hello). Under this policy, the government subsidised long-distance transport of key inputs such as iron, fertilizers, cement, and steel in the hope that companies in all states would access these inputs at the same costs. The story goes that FES was detrimental to the resource-rich eastern states of Bihar, MP, Odisha, and West Bengal. These states' manufacturing output in the early years of independence was higher than that of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab. But FES nullified their comparative advantage over time and contributed to the economic divergence.Like other intuitions, this narrative, although compelling, needs a lot more evidence. I, for one, was biased against this explanation. I did not believe that a policy equalising freight transportation could have significant downstream effects that persist over time. And so, I have long been in search of studies that put the FES under the microscope. A recent paper Manufacturing Underdevelopment: India's Freight Equalization Scheme, and the Long-run Effects of Distortions on the Geography of Production, by John Firth and Ernest Liu, is one such analysis that helps put FES into perspective. I summarise and annotate their findings below.One, the study finds that the negative effect of FES exists for real. It did dampen the manufacturing prospects of resource-rich regions. The authors write:We find evidence consistent with these claims: FES achieved exactly the opposite of its purported goal, exacerbating inequality between western India and the resource-rich east. Specifically, we show that FES led industries using the equalized iron and steel to move farther from the bases of raw materials production in eastern India.Two, as a hat-tip to Hayek's warning against centralised design and price manipulation, the authors find evidence that FES had significant unintended consequences for downstream industries.even small geographic distortions in input prices can help one region to nose ahead of another and exploit this advantage to steal industrial activity. Over the long term, this can result in substantial effects on the geographic distribution of production.Three, the consequences of distortionary policies like FES are not immediately visible and hence might lead policymakers to underestimate the negative effects.Our results show that the transition under FES was gradual. Even though the policy had little effect over its first 10 to 15 years, it led to steady movements of iron and steel using industries out of eastern India, and significant overall effects by the time FES reached its culmination in 1990.Four, the repeal of FES in 1991 and complete abolition in 2001 had the opposite effect. Industries again went back to the resource-rich states, albeit this reversal was modulated by pre-existing input-output linkages that were built in the FES era.We find in the case of FES, though, that repealing the policy led industry to move back toward the sources of iron and steel just as quickly as it left. Indeed, the results on implementation and repeal also complement one another, with the alignment between these results building confidence that, in both cases, the distortions related to FES cause industries to move across space in the manner described.So, FES should be filed in the folder "Govenments are not omniscient". This experience should make us pause when governments make grand designs to interfere in markets. Good intentions are no guarantee for good policies.Global Policy Watch: Dil Maange More than MooreInsights on global policy issues relevant to India— Pranay KotasthaneGordon Moore, the co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, died this week. His eponymous prediction, once a footnote in engineering textbooks, has now become commonplace. More so today, as semiconductors have become a test bed for industrial policy and a front for geopolitical confrontation between China and the US. So, let's discuss some less-known concepts about Moore's Law.Moore's Law is actually an observation, a conjecture that has stayed true over the last 50 years. Gordon Moore, writing for the magazine Electronics in 1965, claimed that the number of transistors in the chips that Fairchild was making seemed to double every two years. He made this prediction when an IC contained 64 transistors. A testament to his foresight, an Apple A14 chip today has 134 million transistors per square millimetre.There are several versions restating this prediction. More transistors per IC implies that the cost of implementing a functionality halves roughly every two years. That's the reason that the retail prices of electronic products fall rapidly even as newer products become faster and better.Another variant of Moore's prediction has come to be known as Rock's Law. It states that the capital cost of a semiconductor chip fabrication plant doubles every four years, limiting the progression of Moore's law.That Moore's prediction became a law is a testimony to human ingenuity and decentralised innovation. For decades, it has served as a pole star for the semiconductor industry. The "law" became a benchmark that focused efforts of the entire fraternity.Several obituaries of Moore's Law have been written before. But every single time, it was defied, not just by technological improvements but also by economics. The comparative-advantage-based specialisation starting in the late 1980s was crucial for keeping Moore's Law alive. Companies kept becoming exceptionally excellent in one specific segment of the IC supply chain, leaving other parts to a different set of companies. The vertically integrated design model faded away in favour of a fabless-foundry-assembly model, unleashing unmatched creativity. This happened not because of some anti-trust regulation to break vertical integration but evolved organically as a result of market-based incentives. I wish people understood this aspect of Moore's Law better. It's not just about technological progress.I often wonder if this ethos of Moore's Law can be transported to other spheres. In recent times, Sam Altman of OpenAI makes a similar case:The best way to increase societal wealth is to decrease the cost of goods, from food to video games. Technology will rapidly drive that decline in many categories. Consider the example of semiconductors and Moore's Law: for decades, chips became twice as powerful for the same price about every two years... In the last couple of decades, costs in the US for TVs, computers, and entertainment have dropped. But other costs have risen significantly, most notably those for housing, healthcare, and higher education. Redistribution of wealth alone won't work if these costs continue to soar...“Moore's Law for everything” should be the rallying cry of a generation whose members can't afford what they want. It sounds utopian, but it's something technology can deliver (and in some cases already has). Imagine a world where, for decades, everything–housing, education, food, clothing, etc.–became half as expensive every two years.Moore's prediction was enabled by a combination of technological and economic factors. Can it become a guiding light for other fields? We hope so. Yeh Dil Maange More than Moore.HomeWorkReading and listening recommendations on public policy matters* [Podcast] On Persuasion: Yascha Mounk with Martin Wolf on the Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.* [Book] Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry by Daniel Nenni is a good book to understand the industry. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.com

Check out my Meditation app: Level SuperMind https://levelsupermind.onelink.me/CsSR/youtube Join the Level Community Here: https://linktr.ee/levelsupermindcommunity The Khalistan Conspiracy: A Former R&AW Officer Unravels the Path to 1984 https://amzn.eu/d/82gy3Jc Former Special Secretary GBS Sidhu जी को Social Media पे Follow कीजिए :- Twitter : https://twitter.com/gbssidhu?lang=en नमस्ते दोस्तों! The Ranveer Show हिंदी के 149th Episode में आप सभी का स्वागत है. आज के Podcast में हमारे साथ जुड़ चुके हैं R&AW के Former Special Secretary G.B.S. Sidhu. वे Sikkim Dawn Of Democracy और The Khalistan Conspiracy के Author भी है। Sikkim को बचाने के लिए इन्होंने जो Contribution दिया है वो वाकई सराहनीय है। इस Podcast में हम बात करेंगे ढ़ेर सारी बातें R&AW क्या है, क्यूँ ये Organisation Establish करना पड़ा, Intelligence Bureau, Indira Gandhi, Indian Politics, Gandhi Family, Scientists In R&AW, Life Of a Spy, और R&AW Agents, Khalistan Movement, Khalistani Protests के बारे में। साथ ही साथ हम बात करेंगे Secret Missions, Pakistan Plans, Canada, Anti Sikh Riots, 1984, Indira Gandhi Death Mystery और Pakistan के ISI के बारे में और भी ढ़ेर सारी बातें। मैं आशा करता हूँ कि ये Video आप सभी Viewers को पसंद आएगा। खास तौर पर उन सभी को जिन्हें Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) के किस्सों के बारे में जानने में Interest है। एक Spy की ज़िंदगी क्यूँ मुश्किल होती है, Rajiv Gandhi, Congress Party, Bhartiya Janta Party और Geopolitics जैसी चीज़ों के बारे में हम Discuss करेंगे इस Hindi Podcast में सिर्फ और सिर्फ आपके Favourite BeerBiceps Hindi Channel Ranveer Allahbadia पर। (00:00) : Episode की शुरुआत (02:15) : GBS Sidhu Sir का Background (03:43) : Khalistan की शुरुआत (14:49) : Indira Gandhi की Death Mystery (30:03) : 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots क्यूँ हुए? (35:03) : Pro-Khalistanis के लिए Message (36:26) : Episode की समाप्ति

Welcome to Cyrus Says, Cock & Bull!In today's episode, Cyrus is joined by Ayushi, Meghnad & Ayushi's Aussie cousin, Rudy. Today, Cyrus talks about how he survived a brush with death in the morning.In the show: Ayushi's Aussie cousin joins us to be another person on the panel who doesn't care about the show. And Meghnad almost got tricked into reading out a fake news story. Topics discussed: Adani thanking Rajiv Gandhi, A Go-First plane flying off without 50 passengers, and Musk making it to the Guinness Book of World Records for a not-so-good reason. Tune in for this and much more! Subscribe to the Cyrus Says YouTube Channel for full video episodes!Join the Cyrus Says Discord ServerCheck out the Cyrus Says Official MerchFollow Meghnad on Instagram at @meghnadsFollow Ayushi on Instagram at @ayushia9Listen to Cyrus Says across Audio PlatformsIVM Podcasts | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Gaana | Amazon MusicEmail your AMA questions to us at whatcyrussays@gmail.comDon't forget to follow Cyrus Says' official Instagram handle at @whatcyrussaysConnect with Cyrus on socials:Instagram | TwitterAnd don't forget to rate us!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India. Tras reprimir con extrema violencia una rebelión Sikh en la ciudad de Amristar, Indira Gandhi, primera ministra de la India, es asesinada el 31 de octubre de 1984 por dos de sus guardaespaldas, ambos de origen Sikh, mientras paseaba por los jardines de su casa de Nueva Dehli. Seis años más tarde, el 21 de mayo de 1991, en Sriperumbudur, cerca de Madrás, su hijo mayor Rajiv moría en un atentado suicida, perpetrado por separatistas Tamiles.

The Indian Supreme Court set free the remaining six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, extending to them the benefit of its order releasing their co-convict A G Perarivalan. Mr Trichy Velusamy who is an ardent supporter and has been advocating their release for many years spoke to RaySel. - இந்தியாவில் ராஜீவ்காந்தி கொலை வழக்கில் ஆயுள் தண்டனை அனுபவித்துவந்த நளினி உள்ளிட்ட 6 பேரையும் இந்திய உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் விடுதலை செய்துள்ளது. இவர்களின் விடுதலை குறித்து தனது கருத்துக்களை பகிர்ந்துகொள்கிறார் திருச்சி வேலுசாமி அவர்கள். இவர்களின் விடுதலைக்காக பல ஆண்டுகளாக குரல் கொடுத்துவருகின்ற திருச்சி வேலுச்சாமி அவர்கள் காங்கிரஸ் கட்சியின் செய்தித் தொடர்பாளரும், 'ராஜீவ் படுகொலை - தூக்குக் கயிற்றில் நிஜம்!' என்ற புத்தகத்தை எழுதியவருமாவார். அவரோடு உரையாடியவர்: றைசெல்.

Saeeduzzaman brings you the news from Delhi, Jharkhand and China. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sumdorong Chu confrontation that happened under Rajiv Gandhi took 9 yrs for status quo restoration; movement on PP15 13 months.

Nehru's love for Sheikh Abdullah, and Rajiv Gandhi's affection for his son Farooq Abdullah is probably the single most important reason for the mess that Jammu and Kashmir finds itself in. Dr. Ajay Chrungoo joins Sanjay Dixit to examine the role played by them in subverting the Indian State. That's why Farooq runs away when questioned.

Happy Independence Day!- Pranay Kotasthane and RSJThis newsletter can often seem pessimistic about India. That isn’t true, though. Every year, on Independence Day, we remind ourselves and our readers why we write this newsletter. This is how we ended the Independence Day edition of 2020:“What we have achieved so far is precious. That’s worth reminding ourselves today. We will go back to writing future editions lamenting our state of affairs.We will do so because we know it’s worth it.”  This year we thought it would be fun (?) to run through every year since 1947 and ask ourselves what happened in the year that had long-term repercussions for our nation. This kind of thing runs a serious risk. It can get tedious and all too familiar. Most of us know the landmark events of recent history and what they meant for the nation. Maybe. Maybe not. We’ve given an honest try (of over 8000 words) to see if there’s a different way of looking at these familiar events and their impact on us. Here we go.1947 - 1960: Sense Of A Beginning 1947Perhaps the most significant “What, if?” question for independent India surfaced on 17th August 1947 when the Radcliffe Line was announced. The partition of the Indian subcontinent has cast a long shadow. What if it had never happened? What if Nehru-Jinnah-Gandhi were able to strike a modus vivendi within a one-federation framework? These questions surface every year around independence.The indelible human tragedy of the partition aside, would an Akhand Bharat have served its citizens better? We don’t think so. We agree with Ambedkar’s assessment of this question. In Pakistan or the Partition of India, he approaches the question with detachment and realism, concluding that the forces of “communal malaise” had progressed to such an extent that resisting a political division would have led to a civil war, making everyone worse off. The partition must have been handled better without the accompanying humanitarian disaster. But on the whole, the partition was inevitable by 1947.“That the Muslim case for Pakistan is founded on sentiment is far from being a matter of weakness; it is really its strong point. It does not need deep understanding of politics to know that the workability of a constitution is not a matter of theory. It is a matter of sentiment. A constitution, like clothes, must suit as well as please. If a constitution does not please, then however perfect it may be, it will not work. To have a constitution which runs counter to the strong sentiments of a determined section is to court disaster if not to invite rebellion.” [Read the entire book here]1948What if Mahatma Gandhi wasn’t killed that year? How would the course of our history change? Gandhi spoke like an idealist and worked like a realist. He was possibly the most aware of the gap between the lofty ideals of our constitution and the reality of the Indian minds then. He knew the adoption of the constitution was only half the work done. He’d likely have devoted the rest of his life to building a liberal India at the grassroots level. His death pushed a particular stream of right-wing Hindu consciousness underground. We still carry the burden of that unfinished work.1949The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in December 1946. By November 26th 1949, this assembly adopted a constitution for India. Even a half-constructed flyover in Koramangala has taken us five years. For more context, Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly began work on 10th August 1947, and their first constitution came into force in March 1956, only to be abrogated two years later. India’s founding fathers and mothers were acutely aware that they were elite, unelected, and unrepresentative of the median Indian. They dared to imagine a new nation-state while grappling with that period's harsh economic, social, and political realities. Their work should inspire us to strengthen, improve, and rebuild—but never to give up on—the Republic of India.For more, check out the miracle that is India’s Constitution in our Republic Day 2021 special edition.1950We have written about our Constitution a number of times. It is an inspiring and audacious document in its ambition to shape a modern nation. It has its flaws. Some consider it too liberal; others think it makes the State overbearing. Some find it too long; others feel it comes up short. This may all be true. However, there is no doubt our constitution has strengthened our democracy, protected the weak and continues to act as a tool for social change. It is our North Star. And a damn good one at that. 1951Few post-independence institutions have stood the test of time as the Finance Commission (FC), first established in 1951. In federal systems, horizontal and vertical imbalances in revenue generation and expenditure functions are commonplace. Closing the gap requires an impartial institution that is well-regarded by various levels of government and the people. The Finance Commission is that institution.It’s not as if it didn’t face any challenges. As a constitutional body established under article 280 of the Constitution, it was sidelined by an extra-constitutional and powerful Planning Commission until 2014. But we have had 15 FCs in total, and each key tax revenue-sharing recommendation has become government policy.1952Our Constitution adopted a universal adult franchise as the basis for elections. Every citizen was to be part of the democratic project. There was to be no bar on age, sex, caste or education. And this was to be done in one of the most unequal societies in the world. The ambition was breathtaking. To put this in context, women were allowed to vote in Switzerland only in 1971. Not only did we aim for this, but we also moved heaven and earth to achieve it in 1952. In his book India After Gandhi, Ram Guha describes the efforts of the government officials led by the first Election Commissioner, Sukumar Sen, to reach the last man or woman for their ballot. The elites may lament vote bank politics or cash for votes scams and question the wisdom of universal franchise. But we shouldn’t have had it any other way. And, for the record, our people have voted with remarkable sophistication in our short independent history. 1953 For a new nation-state, the Republic of India punched above its weight in bringing hostilities on the Korean peninsula to an end. Not only did the Indian government’s work shape the Armistice Agreement, but it also chaired a Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) that was set up to decide the future of nearly 20,000 prisoners of war from both sides. This experience during the Cold War strengthened India’s advocacy of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).  1954Article 25 guaranteed the freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess, practice, and propagate religion to all citizens. But how does one define a religious practice? And can a practice under the garb of religion breach the boundary of individual rights or public morality? This is a familiar conflict zone in secular States and would inevitably show up in India because everything in India can be construed as a religious practice. Like Ambedkar said during the constituent assembly debates:“The religious conceptions in this country are so vast that they cover every aspect of life from birth to death…there is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend it beyond beliefs and such rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious..."In 1954, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment on what constitutes a religious practice in what’s known as the Shirur Math case. It held that the term religion would cover all practices integral to that religion. Further, the Court will determine what practice will be deemed essential with reference to doctrines within that religion itself.This test of ‘essentiality’ in religion has kept the public, the legislature and the courts busy since (entry of women in Sabarimala, headscarf in Islam, to name two). The outcome has bent towards individual liberty in most contexts, but the ambiguity in the definition of essential means it could go the other way too.1955Another wild "What, if” moment that we like to recall relates to Milton Friedman’s visit to the Indian finance ministry in 1955. What shape would India’s economy have taken had his seminal document “A Memorandum to the Government of India 1955” been heeded?In this note, Friedman gets to the root of India’s macroeconomic problems—an overburdened investment policy, restrictive policies towards the private sector, erratic monetary policy, and a counterproductive exchange control regime. Being bullish about India’s prospects was courageous when most observers wrote epitaphs about the grand Indian experiment. But Friedman was hopeful and critical both.The Indian government, for its part, was humble enough to seek the advice of foreigners from opposing schools of thought. At the same time, it was too enamoured by the Soviet command and control model. In fact, many items from Friedman’s note can be repurposed as economic reforms even today.Here’re our points from Friedman’s note.1956The idea of One Nation, One ‘X’ (language, election, song, tax, choose any other) is both powerful and seductive. It is not new, however. Back in the 50s, there was a view that we must not strengthen any identity that divides us. So when the question of reorganisation of the colonial provinces into new states came up, an argument was made that it must be done on factors other than language. Nehru, ever the modernist, thought the creation of language-based states would lead us down the path of ethnic strife. The example of nation-states in Europe built on language in the 19th century and the two devastating world wars thereafter were too recent then. So, he demurred.Agitation, hunger strikes and deaths followed before we chose language as the primary basis for reorganising the states. It was perhaps the best decision taken by us in the 50s. As the years since have shown, only a polity assured of its heritage and identity will voluntarily accept diversity. The melding of our diversity into a single identity cannot be a top-down imposition. We should never forget this.1957India’s economic strategy of state-led industrialisation through deficit financing in pursuit of import substitution took off with the Second Five-Year Plan. Heavy industries needed imported machinery, inflating India’s import bill. Since the exchange rate was pegged to the British pound, it meant that Indian exports became pricier. This imbalance between rising imports and flagging exports was financed by running down the foreign exchange reserves. By 1957, India witnessed its first foreign exchange crisis. This event had a significant effect on India’s economy. Instead of devaluing the rupee, the government opted for foreign exchange budgeting - every investment in a project needed government approval for the foreign exchange required to buy foreign inputs. The immediate crisis in 1957 led to controls that worsened India’s economic prospects over the next 35 years.1958The government nationalised all insurance companies a couple of years earlier. India hadn’t gotten into a socialist hell yet, so this was a bit of a surprise. The proximate cause was a fraud that few private life insurers had committed by misusing the policyholders’ funds to help their industrialist friends. A run-of-the-mill white-collar crime that should have been dealt with by the criminal justice system. But the government viewed it as a market failure and moved to nationalise the entire industry. It would take another 45 years for private players to come back to insurance. Insurance penetration in India meanwhile remained among the lowest in the world.  Also, in 1958, Feroze Gandhi took to the floor of Lok Sabha to expose how LIC, the state insurer, had diverted its funds to help Haridas Mundhra, a Calcutta-based businessman. The same crime that private insurers had done.The government would repeat this pattern of getting involved where there was no market failure. The outcomes would inevitably turn out to be worse. Seven decades later, we remain instinctively socialist and wary of capital. Our first reaction to something as trifling as a surge price by Ola or a service charge levied by restaurants is to ask the State to interfere.1959“The longest guest of the Indian government”, the 14th Dalai Lama pre-empted the Chinese government’s plans for his arrest and escaped to India. Not only did India provide asylum, but it also became home to more than a hundred thousand Tibetans. Because of the bold move by the Indian government in 1959, the Central Tibetan Administration continues its struggle as a Nation and a State in search of regaining control over their Country to this day. This event also changed India-China relations for the decades to come.1960Search as hard as we might; we hardly got anything worth discussing for this year. Maybe we were all sitting smugly waiting for an avalanche of crisis to come our way. Steel plants, dams and other heavy industries were being opened. The budget outlay for agriculture was reduced. We were talking big on the international stage about peace and non-alignment. But if you had looked closer, things were turning pear-shaped. The many dreams of our independence were turning sour.The 60s: Souring Of The Dream1961The Indian Army marched into Goa in December 1961. The 450-year Portuguese colonial rule ended, and the last colonial vestige in India was eliminated. It took this long because Portugal’s dictator Antonio Salazar stuck to his guns on controlling Portuguese colonies in the subcontinent, unlike the British and the French. Portugal’s membership in NATO further made it difficult for the Indian government to repeat the operations in Hyderabad and Junagadh. Nevertheless, that moment eventually arrived in 1961. This was also the year when India’s first indigenous aircraft, the HAL HF-24 Marut, took its first flight. Made in Bengaluru by German designer Kurt Tank, the aircraft was one of the first fighter jets made outside the developed world. The aircraft served well in the war that came a decade later. It never lived up to its promises, but it became a matter of immense pride and confidence for a young nation-state.1962Among the lowest points in the history of independent India. We’ve written about our relationship with China many times in the past editions. The 1962 war left a deep impact on our psyche. We didn’t recover for the rest of the decade. The only good thing out of it was the tempering of idealism in our approach to international relations. That we take a more realist stance these days owes its origins to the ‘betrayal’ of 1962.1963ISRO launched the first sounding rocket in November 1963. Over the years, this modest beginning blossomed into a programme with multiple launch vehicles. The satellite programmes also took off a few years later, making India a mighty player in the space sector. 1964If you told anyone alive in 1964 that less than 60 years later, Nehru would be blamed for all that was wrong with India by a substantial segment of its population, they would have laughed you out of the room. But here we are in 2022, and there’s never a day that passes without a WhatsApp forward that talks about Nehru’s faults. It seems inevitable that by the time we celebrate the centenary of our independence, he would be a borderline reviled figure in our history. But that would be an aberration. In the long arc of history, he will find his due as a flawed idealist who laid the foundation of modern India. 1964 was the end of an era.1965As the day when Hindi would become the sole official language of the Indian Union approached, the anti-Hindi agitation in the Madras presidency morphed into riots. Many people died in the protests, and it led to the current equilibrium on language policy. The “one State, one language” project moved to the back burner, even as Hindi became an important link language across the country. The lesson was the same as in the case of the 1956 states reorganisation: melding our diversity into a single identity cannot be a top-down imposition.1966The two wars in the decade's first half, the inefficient allocation of capital driven by the second and third five-year plans, and the consecutive monsoon failure meant India was on the brink in 1966. The overnight devaluation of the Rupee by over 50 per cent, the timely help with food grains from the US and some providence pulled us back from it. The green revolution followed, and we have remained self-sufficient in food since.The experience of being on the brink taught us nothing. We still believe in the Pigouvian theory of market failure, where government policies are expected to deliver optimality.  Strangely, the idea that we reform only in crisis has only strengthened. There cannot be worse ways to change oneself than under the shadow of a crisis. But we have made a virtue out of it.1967This was the year when the Green Revolution took baby steps, and the Ehlrichian prediction about India’s impending doom was put to rest. But it was also the year when the Indian government made a self-goal by adopting a policy called items reserved for manufacture exclusively by the small-scale sector. By reserving whole product lines for manufacturing by small industries, this policy kept Indian firms small and uncompetitive. And like all bad ideas, it had a long life. The last 20 items on this list were removed only in April 2015. We wrote about this policy here. 1968In the past 75 years, we have reserved some of our worst public policies for the education sector. We have an inverted pyramid. A handful of tertiary educational institutions produce world-class graduates at the top. On the other end, we have a total failure to provide quality primary education to the masses. It is not because of a lack of intent. The National Education Policy (NEP) that first came up in 1968 is full of ideas, philosophy and a desire to take a long-term view about education in India. But it was unmoored from the economic or social reality of the nation. We often say here that we shouldn’t judge a policy based on its intentions. That there’s no such thing as a good policy but bad implementation because thinking about what can work is part of policy itself. NEP is Exhibit A in favour of this argument.1969 The nationalisation of 14 private-sector banks was a terrible assault on economic freedom under the garb of serving the public interest. The sudden announcement of a change in ownership of these banks was challenged in the courts, but the government managed to thwart it with an ordinance. Fifty years later, we still have low credit uptake even as governments continue to recapitalise loss-making banks with taxpayer money.1970The dominant economic thinking at the beginning of the 70s in India placed the State at the centre of everything. But that wasn’t how the world was moving. There was a serious re-examination of the relationship between the State and the market happening elsewhere. The eventual shift to a deregulated, small government economic model would happen by the decade's end. This shift mostly passed India by. But there were a few voices who questioned the state orthodoxy and, in some ways, sowed the intellectual seeds for liberalisation in future. In 1970, Jagdish Bhagwati and Padma Desai published their monograph, India: Planning for Industrialisation, which argued that our economic policies since independence had crippled us. It showed with data how central planning, import substitution, public sector-led industrial policy and license raj have failed. But it found no takers. In fact, we doubled down on these failed policies for the rest of the decade. It was a tragedy foretold. What if someone had gone against the consensus and paid attention to that paper? That dissent could perhaps have been the greatest service to the nation. It is useful to remember this today when any scepticism about government policies is met with scorn. Dissent is good. The feeblest of the voice might just be right.The 70s: Losing The Plot1971Kissinger visited China in July 1971 via Pakistan. Responding to the changing world order, India and the USSR signed an Indo–Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation in August of that year. India had become an ally of the USSR. Four months later, the India-Pakistan war pitted India and the USSR against Pakistan, China, and the US. The Indian strategic community came to internalise USSR as a super-reliable partner and the West as a supporter of India’s foes. It took another three decades, and the collapse of the USSR, for a change in this thinking. Even today, Russia finds massive support in the Indian strategic establishment. We had problematised this love for Russia here. 1972India won the 1972 war with Pakistan and liberated Bangladesh. India’s unilateral action stopped a humanitarian disaster. The victory was decisive, and the two parties met in Simla to agree on the way forward. This should have been a slam dunk for India in resolving festering issues on the international boundary, Kashmir and the role of the third parties. But international diplomacy is a two-level game, and Bhutto played that to his advantage. We explained this in edition 30. We paid a high price for giving away that win to Bhutto.1973The Kesavananda Bharti verdict of the Supreme Court rescued the Republic of India from a rampaging authoritarian. The basic structure doctrine found a nice balance to resolve the tension between constitutional immutability and legislative authority to amend the constitution. Bibhu Pani discussed this case in more detail here. 1974You are the State. Here are your crimes. You force import substitution, you regulate the currency, you misallocate capital, you let the public sector and a handful of licensed private players produce inferior quality products at a high cost, you raise the marginal tax rate at the highest level to 97 per cent, you run a large current account deficit, and you cannot control Rupee depreciation.Result?People find illegal ways to bring in foreign goods, currency and gold. And so was born the villain of every urban Bollywood film of the 70s. And a career option for a capitalist-minded kid like me. The Smuggler.But the State isn’t the criminal here. The smuggler is. And the State responded with a draconian law to beat all others. An act the knowledge of whose expanded form would serve kids well in those school quizzes of the 80s. COFEPOSA — The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act. A predatory state's defining feature is how it forces ordinary citizens to do unlawful activities. COFEPOSA was the mother of such laws. It has spawned many children. 1975This blank editorial by the Indian Express says it all. 1976We view our population as a core problem. The politicians, the public servants and the ordinary citizens share this view. We don’t want to acknowledge our governance deficit. Calling population a problem allows us to shirk the responsibility of running a functioning State. We have written about the flaw in thinking about the population as a problem on many occasions.How far could we go to control the population? Well, in 1976, during the peak of the Emergency, the State decided to sterilise male citizens against their wishes. This madness ended when the Emergency was lifted. But even today calls for population control keep coming back. 1977The first non-Congress union government was an important milestone for the Indian Republic. While Morarji Desai’s government did reverse the worst excesses of the Emergency rule, its economic policies were less successful. This period went on to witness a demonetisation in search of black money (2016 from the future says Hi!), and the same old counter-productive policies in search of self-reliance.1978Despite all available evidence that statist socialism was an abject failure, the Janata government that came to power decided to double down on it. One of the great ideas of the time was to force MNCs to reduce their stake in their Indian subsidiaries to below 40 per cent. A handful agreed, but the large corporations quit India. One of those who left was IBM in 1978. The many existing installations of IBM computers needed services and maintenance. In a delightful case of unintended consequences, this led to the nationalisation of IBM’s services division (later called CMC). Domestic companies started to serve this niche. Soon there were the likes of Infosys, Wipro and HCL building a business on this. CMC provided a good training ground for young engineers. And so, the Indian IT services industry got underway. It would change the lives of educated Indians forever.1979In a classic case of violating the Tinbergen rule, the Mandal Commission recommended that the reservation policy should be used to address relative deprivation. While the earlier reservations for oppressed castes stood on firm ground as a means for addressing unconscionable historical wrongs, the Mandal Commission stretched the logic too far. Its recommendation would eventually make reservation policy the go-to solution for any group that could flex its political muscles. We wrote about it here. 1980After ditching the Janata experiment and running out of ideas to keep Jan Sangh going, the BJP was formed. It wasn’t a momentous political occasion of any sort then. A party constitution that aimed for Gandhian socialism and offered vague promises of a uniform civil code and nationalism didn’t excite many. Everything else that would propel the party in later years was to be opportunistic add-ons to the ideology. The founding leaders, Advani and Vajpayee, would have been shocked if you told them what the party would be like, four decades later.The 80s: A Million Mutinies Now1981This year witnessed a gradual shift away from doctrinaire socialism in economic policymaking. “The Indira Gandhi government lifted restrictions on the expansion of production, permitted new private borrowing abroad, and continued the liberalisation of import controls,” wrote Walter Anderson. The government also “allowed” some price rises, leading to increased production of key input materials. The government also permitted foreign companies to compete in drilling rights in India. All in all, a year that witnessed changes for the better. 1982The great textile strike of Bombay in 1982 was inevitable. The trade unions had gotten so powerful that there was a competitive race to the bottom on who could be more militant. Datta Samant emerged intent on breaking the monopoly of RMMS on the city's workers. And he did this with ever spiralling demands from mill owners in a sector that was already bloated with overheads and facing competition from far eastern economies. There was no way to meet these demands. The owners locked the mills and left. Never to come back. The old, abandoned mills remained. The workers remained. Without jobs, without prospects and with kids who grew up angry and unemployed. The rise of Shiv Sena, political goondaism and a malevolent form of underworld followed. Bombay changed forever. It was all inevitable.1983The Nellie massacre in Assam and the Dhilwan bus massacre in Punjab represent the year 1983. Things seemed really dark back then. It seemed that the doomsayers would be proved right about India. Eventually, though, the Indian Republic prevailed. 1984Her Sikh bodyguards assassinated India Gandhi. The botched Punjab policy of the previous five years came a full circle with it. An unforgivable backlash against innocent Sikhs followed. A month later, deadly gas leaked out of a Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, killing and paralysing thousands. 1984 will rank among the worst years of our republic. There were two silver linings in retrospect. One, we would learn to manage secessionist movements better from the harrowing Punjab experience. Two, had Indira continued, would we have had 1991? Our guess is no.1985This was an eventful year in retrospect. Texas Instruments set up shop in Bangalore. It was to begin one of modern India’s true success stories on the world stage. This was also the year when the Anti-defection law transformed the relationship between the voter and her representative. Political parties became all-powerful, and people’s representatives were reduced to political party agents. We have written about this changing dynamic here. This was also the year when the then commerce minister, VP Singh, visited Malaysia. The visit was significant for India because it served as a reference point for Singh when he visited that country again in 1990, now as the Prime minister. Surprised by Malaysia’s transformation in five years, he asked his team to prepare a strategy paper for economic reforms. This culminated in the “M” document, which became a blueprint for reforms when the time for the idea eventually came in 1991.1986Who is a citizen of India?  This vexing question roiled Assam in the early 80s. The student union protests against the widespread immigration of Bangladeshis turned violent, and things had turned ugly by 1985. The Assam accord of 1985 sought to settle the state's outstanding issues,, including deporting those who arrived after 1971 and a promise to amend the Citizenship Act. The amended Citizenship Act of 1986 restricted the citizenship of India to those born before 1987 only if either of their parents were born in India. That meant children of couples who were illegal immigrants couldn’t be citizens of India simply by virtue of their birth in India. That was that, or so we thought.But once you’ve amended the definition of who can be a citizen of India, you have let the genie out. The events of 2019 will attest to that.1987Rajiv Gandhi’s ill-fated attempt to replicate Indira Gandhi’s success through military intervention in another country began in 1987. In contrast to the 1971 involvement, where Indian forces had the mass support of the local populace, the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) got itself embroiled in a bitter Sri Lankan civil war. Not only did this involvement end in a failure, it eventually led to Rajiv Gandhi’s brutal murder in a terrorist attack. The policy lesson internalised by the strategic community was that India must stay far away from developing and deploying forces overseas.1988Most government communication is propaganda in disguise. However, there are those rare occasions when government messaging transcends the ordinary. In 1988, we saw that rare bird during the peak era of a single government channel running on millions of black and white TV sets across India. A government ad that meant something to all of us and that would remain with us forever. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara got everything right - the song, the singers, the storyline and that ineffable thing called the idea of India. No jingoism, no chest beating about being the best country in the world and no soppy sentimentalism. Just a simple message - we might all sing our own tunes, but we are better together. This is a timeless truth. No nation in history has become better by muting the voice of a section of their own people. Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, Toh Sur Bane Hamara, indeed.  19891989 will be remembered as the year when the Indian government capitulated to the demands of Kashmiri terrorists in the Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case. It would spark off a series of kidnappings and act as a shot in the arm of radicals. 1990VP Singh dusted off the decade-long copy of the Mandal Commission report and decided to implement it. This wasn’t an ideological revolution. It was naked political opportunism. However, three decades later, the dual impact of economic reforms and social engineering has increased social mobility than ever before. Merit is still a matter of debate in India. But two generations of affirmative action in many of the progressive states have shown the fears of merit being compromised were overblown. The task is far from finished, but Mandal showed that sometimes you need a big bang to get things going, even if your intentions were flawed.1990 also saw the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) from the valley. A tragedy that would bookend a decade of strife and violence in India. The only lesson one should draw from the sad plight of KPs is that the State and the people must protect minority rights. We’re not sure that’s what we have taken away from it. And that’s sad.The 90s: Correcting The Course1991With the benefit of hindsight, the 1991 economic reforms seem inevitable. But things could well have been different. In the minority government, powerful voices advocated in favour of debt restructuring instead of wholesale reforms. In the end, the narrative that these changes were merely a continuation—and not abandonment—of Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s vision for India carried the day. This political chicanery deserves some credit for transforming the life of a billion Indians. 1992Harshad Mehta scammed the stock markets. It wasn’t a huge scam. Nor did it hurt the ordinary Indians. Fewer than 1% invested in markets back then. Yet, the scam did something important. It set in motion a series of reforms that made our capital markets stronger and safer for ordinary investors. Notably, over the years, Mehta came to be seen as some kind of robber baron figure. Capitalism needed an anti-hero to catch the imagination of people. Someone who could reprise in the 90s the Bachchan-esque angry young man roles of the 70s. Mehta might not have been that figure exactly, but he helped a generation transition to the idea that greed could indeed be good.Also, Babri Masjid was brought down by a mob of kar sevaks in 1992. It will remain a watershed moment in our history. The Supreme Court judgement of 2019 might be the final judicial word on it. But we will carry the scars for a long time.1993The tremors of the demolition of the Babri Masjid were felt in 1993. Twelve bombs went off in Bombay on one fateful day. The involvement of the city’s mafia groups was established. The tragic event finally led to the government rescuing the city from the underworld. Not to forget, the Bombay underworld directly resulted from government policies such as prohibition and gold controls. 1994One of the great acts of perversion in our democracy was the blatant abuse of Section 356 of the constitution that allowed the union to dismiss a state government at the slightest pretext. Indira Gandhi turned this into an art form. S. R. Bommai, whose government in Karnataka was dismissed in this manner in 1988, took his case up to the Supreme Court. In 1994, the court delivered a verdict that laid out the guidelines to prevent the abuse of Section 356. It is one of the landmark judgments of the court and restored some parity in Union and state relationship.Article 356 has been used sparingly since. We are a better democracy because of it.1995India joined the WTO, and the first-ever mobile phone call was made this year. But 1995 will forever be remembered as the year when Ganesha idols started drinking milk. This event was a precursor to the many memes, information cascades, and social proofs that have become routine in the information age. 1996Union budgets in India are occasions for dramatic policy announcements. It is a mystery why a regular exercise of presenting the government's accounts should become a policy event. But that’s the way we roll. In 1996 and 1997, P. Chidambaram presented them as the FM of a weak ragtag coalition called the United Front. But he presented two budgets for the ages. The rationalisation of income tax slabs and the deregulation of interest rates created a credit culture that led to the eventual consumption boom in the next decade. We still carry that consumption momentum.1997The creation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is an important public policy milestone for India. By no means perfect, the setting up of TRAI helped overturn a norm where government departments were both players and umpires. TRAI made the separation of “steering” and “rowing” functions a new normal. That template has been copied in several sectors thereafter, most recently in the liberalisation of the space sector. 1998India did Pokhran 2, which gave it the capability to build thermonuclear weapons. We faced sanctions and global condemnation. But the growing economy and a sizeable middle class meant those were soon forgotten. Economic might can let you get away with a lot. We have seen it happen to us, but it is a lesson we don’t understand fully.Also, in 1998, Sonia Gandhi jumped into active politics. The Congress that was ambling towards some sort of internal democracy decided to jettison it all and threw its weight behind the dynasty. It worked out for them for a decade or so. But where are they now? Here’s a question. What if Sonia didn’t join politics then? Congress might have split. But who knows, maybe those splinters might have coalesced in the future with a leader chosen by the workers. And we would have had a proper opposition today with a credible leader.1999This was a landmark year for public policy. For the first time, a union government-run company was privatised wholly. We wrote about the three narratives of disinvestment here. 2000We have a weak, extended and over-centralised state. And to go with it, we have large, unwieldy states and districts that make the devolution of power difficult. In 2000, we created three new states to facilitate administrative convenience. On balance, it has worked well. Despite the evidence, we have managed to create only one more state since. The formation of Telangana was such a political disaster that it will take a long time before we make the right policy move of having smaller states. It is a pity.The 2000s: The Best Of Times2001Not only was the Agra Summit between Musharraf and Vajpayee a dud, but it was followed by a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament. It confirmed a pattern: PM-level bilateral meetings made the Pakistani military-jihadi complex jittery, and it invariably managed to spike such moves with terrorist attacks. 2002There was Godhra and the riots that followed. What else is there to say?2003The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act and the Civil Services Pension Reform are two policy successes with many lessons for future policymakers. We have discussed these on many occasions. 2004The NDA government called for an early election, confident about its prospects. India Shining, its campaign about how good things were, wasn’t too far from the truth. It is how many of us felt during that time. The NDA government had sustained the reform momentum of the 90s with some of the best minds running the key departments. Its loss was unexpected. Chandrababu Naidu, a politician who fashioned himself like a CEO, was taken to the cleaners in Andhra Pradesh. Apparently, economic reforms didn’t get you votes. The real India living in villages was angry at being left out. That was the lesson for politicians from 2004. Or, so we were told.Such broad narratives with minimal factual analysis backing them have flourished in the public policy space. There is no basis for them. The loss of NDA in 2004 came down to two states. Anti-incumbency in Andhra Pradesh where a resurgent Congress under YS Reddy beat TDP, a constituent of NDA. TDP lost by similar margins (in vote share %) across the state in all demographics in both rural and urban areas. There was no rural uprising against Naidu because of his tech-savvy, urban reformist image. Naidu lost because the other party ran a better campaign. Nothing else. The other mistake of the NDA was in choosing to partner with the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu (TN) over DMK. TN was famous for not giving split verdicts. It swung to extremes between these two parties in every election. And that’s what happened as AIADMK drew a blank.Yet, the false lesson of 2004 has played on the minds of politicians since. We haven’t gotten back on track on reforms in the true sense. 2005The Right to Information Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act came into force in 2005. The “right to X” model of governance took root.2006In March 2006, George W Bush visited India and signed the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with Manmohan Singh. From facing sanctions in 1998 for Pokhran 2 to the 123 Agreement, this was a victory for Indian diplomacy and its rising status in the world. You would think this would have had bipartisan support among the political class in India. Well, the Left that was part of UPA and the BJP that worked on the deal when it was in power, opposed it. Many shenanigans later, the deal was passed in the parliament in 2008. It is often said there’s no real ideological divide among parties in India. This view can be contested on various grounds. But events like the opposition to the nuclear deal make you wonder if there are genuine ideological positions on key policy issues in India. Many sound policy decisions are opposed merely for the sake of it. Ideology doesn’t figure anywhere. 2007It was the year when the Left parties were out-lefted. In Singur and Nandigram, protests erupted over land acquisition for industrial projects. The crucible of the resulting violence created a new political force. As for the investment, the capital took a flight to other places. The tax on capital ended up being a tax on labour. Businesses stayed away from West Bengal. The citadel of Left turned into its mausoleum.2008Puja Mehra in her book The Lost Decade traces the origin of India losing its way following the global financial crisis to the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. Shivraj Patil, the home minister, quit following the attack and Chidambaram was shifted from finance to fill in. For reasons unknown, Pranab Mukherjee, a politician steeped in the 70s-style-Indira-Gandhi socialism, was made the FM. Mehra makes a compelling case of how that one decision stalled reforms, increased deficit and led to runaway inflation over the next three years. Till Chidambaram was brought back to get the house in order, it was too late, and we were halfway into a lost decade. It is remarkable how bad policies always seem easy to implement while good policies take ages to get off the blocks.2009The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was established in January 2009 to architect a unique digital identity for persons in a country where low rates of death and birth registrations made fake and duplicate identities a means for corruption and denial of service. Under the Modi government, the digital identity — Aadhaar — became the fulcrum of several government services. This project also set the stage for later projects such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Abha (Health ID).2010There’s petty corruption everywhere in India. It is pervasive. Not surprisingly, it is one political issue leading to mass movements in India. The anti-corruption mood gripped India in 2010 on the back of the 2G spectrum scam, where the chief accountant of the government claimed a notional loss of about Rs. 1.8 trillion to the exchequer. Auctioning of natural resources wasn’t exactly a transparent process then. It was evident there was a scam in the allotment of the 2G spectrum. But the 1.8 trillion number was a wild exaggeration that anyone with a semblance of business understanding could see through. It didn’t matter. That number caught the imagination. UPA 2 never recovered from it. More importantly, the auction policy for resources was distorted forever. We still suffer the consequences.The 2010s: Missed Opportunity2011India’s last case of wild poliovirus was detected in 2011. Until about the early 1990s, an average of 500 to 1000 children got paralysed daily in India. The original target for eradication was the year 2000. Nevertheless, we got there eleven years later. India’s pulse polio campaign has since become a source of confidence for public policy execution in India. We internalised the lesson that the Indian government can sometimes deliver through mission mode projects. 2012If you cannot solve a vexing public policy issue, turn it into a Right. It won’t work, but it will seem like you’ve done everything. After years of trying to get the national education policy right, the government decided it was best to make education a fundamental right in the Constitution. Maybe that will make the problem go away. A decade later, nothing has changed, but we have an additional right to feel good about.2013This year saw the emergence of AAP as a political force via the anti-corruption movement. AAP combines the classic elements of what makes a political party successful in India - statist instincts, focus on aam aadmi issues, populism and ideological flexibility. Importantly, it is good at telling its own version of some future utopia rather than questioning the utopia of others. 2014The BJP came to power with many promises; the most alluring of them was ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. Over the past eight years it has claimed success in meeting many of its promises, but even its ardent supporters won’t claim any success on minimum government. In fact, it has gone the other way. That a party with an immensely popular PM, election machinery that rivals the best in the world, and virtually no opposition cannot shake us off our instinctive belief in the State's power never ceases to surprise us.2015The murder of a person by a mob on the charges of eating beef was the first clear indication of the upsurge of a new violent, majoritarian polity. It was also one of the early incidents in India of radically networked communities using social media for self-organisation. Meanwhile, 2015 also witnessed the signing of a landmark boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh, which ended the abomination called the third-order enclave. The two States exchanged land peacefully, upholding the principle that citizen well-being trumps hardline interpretations of territorial integrity. 2016There will be many case studies written in future about demonetisation. Each one of them will end with a single conclusion. Public policy requires discussion and consensus, not stealth and surprise. We hope we have learnt our lesson from it.2017Until 2017, many in India still held the hope of a modus vivendi with China. Some others were enamoured by the Chinese model of governance. However, the Doklam crisis in 2017, and the Galwan clashes in 2020, changed all that. Through this miscalculation, China alienated a full generation of Indians, led to better India-US relations, and energised India to shift focus away from merely managing a weak Pakistan, and toward raising its game for competing with a stronger adversary. For this reason, we wrote a thank you note to Xi Jinping here. 2018It took years of efforts by the LGBTQ community to get Section 377 scrapped. In 2018, they partially won when the Supreme Court diluted Section 377 to exclude all kinds of adult consensual sexual behaviour. The community could now claim equal constitutional status as others. There’s still some distance to go for the State to acknowledge non-heterosexual unions and provide for other civil rights to the community. But the gradual acceptance of the community because of decriminalisation is a sign that our society doesn’t need moral policing or lectures to judge what’s good for it.2019The J&K Reorganisation Act changed the long-standing political status quo in Kashmir. Three years on, the return to political normalcy and full statehood still awaits. While a response by Pakistan was expected, it was China that fomented trouble in Ladakh, leading to the border clashes in 2020. 2020We have written multiple pieces on farm laws in the past year. The repeal of these laws, which were fundamentally sound because of a vocal minority, is the story of public policy in India. Good policies are scuttled because of the absence of consultation, an unclear narrative, opportunistic politicking or plain old hubris. We write this newsletter in the hope of changing this. 2021The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic left behind many bereaved families. People are still trying to pick up the pieces. The sadness was also interrupted by frustration because of the delays in getting the vaccination programme going. India benefited immensely from domestic vaccine manufacturing capability in the private sector. Despite many twists and turns in vaccine pricing and procurements, the year ended with over 1 billion administered doses. In challenging times, the Indian State, markets, and society did come together to fight the pandemic. So, here we are. In the 75th independent year of this beautiful, fascinating and often exasperating nation. We are a work in progress. We might walk slowly, but we must not walk backwards. May we all live in a happy, prosperous and equal society. Thanks for reading Anticipating the Unintended! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit publicpolicy.substack.com

Prabhakaran entered the accord thinking it would get him Eelam. Jayawardene hoped it would end violence in Lanka. And Rajiv Gandhi had good intentions for the Tamils.----more---- https://theprint.in/past-forward/take-care-rajiv-gandhi-told-prabhakaran-even-gave-bulletproof-vest-before-sri-lanka-accord/1058447/

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On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Barbara Crossette, senior consulting editor and writer for PassBlue, a non-profit journalism organization that covers the United Nations. Barbara is a former international reporter and editor for the New York Times, who has more than 50 years of journalism experience (she turns 82 in July)Barbara gave examples of the kinds of stories she and the site cover and explained how she and editor-in-chief Dulcie Leimbach work to determine what their website will cover, and the challenges of getting people interested in the U.N.She shared stories from her career, including covering the assassination of India prime minister Rajiv Gandhi from just a few yards away and explained the difficulties and challenges that women reporters faced, as well as one advantage she had covering India as a woman.She also provided advice to future journalists answering Emmy Liederman's questions.We also paid tribute to another New York Times editor in our Women's History Month segment and continued our work in paying tribute to TCNJ journalism professor Bob Cole.Thank you for listening. Please rate and review if you like our work. You can contact us at journalismsalute@gmail.com or on Twitter at @journalismpod.Important LinksPassBlueBarbara Crossette's articles at PassBluePassBlue TwitterPassBlue's podcast