India Today 162017

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l india today does not take the responsibility for returning unsolicited
publication material.
n a new essay, Pico Iyer says our lives are shaped by unexpectedness.
Nothing has been truer of 2016. England voting to exit the European Union,
Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, the worsening Syrian
refugee crisis, unabated terrorist attacks across the world and India declaring 86 per cent of its currency illegal were only some of the highlights. It was a
truly topsy-turvy year. Everything that the pundits predicted of the world was
upended. The consequences of all that happened will be played out in the coming year, and it may not be a pretty sight. It seems that it will be the Year of
Living Dangerously but it is also true that every ending has a new beginning .
In that spirit, we have a great collection of essays from the finest scholars of
the world who point us towards what is new and newsy in the Brave New World.
On December 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the public response to
demonetisation nothing short of a satyagraha. UCLA anthropologist Akhil Gupta
acknowledges the transformative nature of that decision but points to Cuba and
two parallel movements that made Fidel Castro such an enduring iconthe mass
mobilisation that got citizens involved in the task of raising literacy and the government-initiated institution-building that ensured equitable access to health,
provision of good primary healthcare, and training of a large cadre of medical
professionals. For demonetisation to morph into a long-term
war on corruption, Gupta says certain wide-ranging structural changes are required in India which need tough political and bureaucratic reforms.
In the global arena, the big event was the unexpected win
of business tycoon Donald Trump as President of the United
States and according to international affairs expert, Kishore
Mahbubani, it could be the best thing to happen to India, as
it repositions itself as a geopolitical equal to both America
and China. This will not be easy. Americas GNP is $18 tril- OUR JANUARY 31,
2000 COVER
lion, Chinas is $ 11 trillion while Indias is only $2.1 trillion.
By turning adversarial against China, says Mahbubani, Trump has effectively
put China and America at two opposite ends of a see-saw. India should seize the
opportunity by leaping on to the middle of the see-saw, even as it grapples with
the bitter aftertaste of its overtures to Pakistan going up in flames. Mahbubani
assigns a new meaning to a familiar acronym CIAChina ,India, America. There
are other trends to watch out for in 2017the retreat of liberalism, the rise of
artificial intelligence and the decline of internationalism. The economy remains
a concern and Credit Suisses Neelkanth Mishra flags four continuing effects
of demonetisationon the real estate market, the informal economy, banking
economy and revenue collection.
2017 will also witness politicians being forced to engage with domestic forces, with as many as seven state elections coming up, including in Uttar Pradesh
where a family drama has captured eyeballs with its daily sack-and-salvage
operations, and in Gujarat which saw unprecedented demands for backward
status from seemingly better-placed castes, which raises a fundamental question about the nature of affirmative action in India. The implementation of the
Goods and Services Tax Act will test the notion of cooperative federalism, one
of Prime Minister Modis favourite mantras. It is perhaps no accident that this
years theme for the World Economic Forum in Davos is responsive leadership.
Every political leader wants his nation to aspire to and achieve greatness
from Trumps Make America Great Again slogan to Boris Johnsons claim
that Brexit would be Britains Independence Day. But how many can summon
the will to bridge the distance between rhetoric and reality, making inclusive
development and equitable growth more than mere slogans? Those who want
to track the answers to that question and many more, use this special issue as
your own personal GPS to 2017. It will get you there.
All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of

competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only
(Aroon Purie)
JANUARY 16, 2017 u INDIA TODAY
10
INSIDE
STATE OF THE STATE
15
2017 LOOKING AHE AD
Year of the Rooster
As another deeply polarising year passes by, india today asks

eminences in their respective fields to do a bit of crystalgazing and tell us whats in store in the 12 months to come
GUJARAT
54
Highway to
Growth
The western India state has done

phenomenally well in economic
terms, but when it comes to social
indices, its a whole new story
GEN. BIPIN RAWAT
INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK
12
We will go
across again
Indias new army chief outlines an

aggressive response to security
challenges, from conventional war
to cross-border terrorism
Illustration by NILANJAN DAS
GLASS HOUSE
78
EYECATCHERS
Cover by NILANJAN DAS
SPECIAL REPORT
SAMAJWADI PARTY
The Cub Gets

the SPs Goat
Standing up to his father and the Yadav

clan, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav becomes the
first dynast politician in the post-liberalisation era to have his own identity
02
INDIA TODAY u JANUARY 16, 2017
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Banking on E-cash
JANUARY 2, 2017
Can Modis digital drive overcome the cash crunch?
Modis demonetisation decision is a gamble on

both his own and the BJPs political future.
However, two consequences are clear: many
bank accounts will be opened, and the number
of digital transactions will zoom
KRISHAN KALRA , via e-mail
Virtually There
One of the governments
main justifications for demonetisation was to induce a national shift
toward digital transactions (Banking on E-Cash).
This is possible only when
the country has high internet speeds and robust
cyber security. India lags
behind Sri Lanka and
Bangladesh in terms of
download speeds and tops
the world in terms of
cyber crimes. Many
Indians are wary of digital
transactions for fear of
being hacked, or theft of
personal data. The government needs to frame
effective laws to protect
online consumers if it
wishes to realise its goal.
Otherwise, the idea of a
cashless economy will
prove to be the foolish
utopia described by
former finance minister
P. Chidambaram.
SALONI CHAUHAN, Patna
Although Indias young

population is willing to
embrace new technology,
poor infrastructure and
a lack of protection from
cyber crimes means that
demanding an overnight
A Step in
the Right
Direction
At a time when the parliamentary logjam has
wiped out almost the
entire winter session of
Parliament, it is heartening to see legislation
like the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Bill being passed
(Not Quite Enabling Legislation). The amended list of disabilities
ensures that the survivors of acid attacks are protected, which
will be widely regarded as a positive step. However, there is also
a need to bring in cultural changepeoples attitudes toward
the disabled need to evolve. Laws must work in tandem with a
collective mindset that demands equal rights and spaces for all.
The role of education and awareness in creating such a sensibility cannot be overemphasised.
J. AKSHOBHYA, Mysuru
switch to cashless transactions is equivalent to

throwing people into deep
water and expecting them
to learn to swim. Some
may do so, but others
will sink. It would have
been better to bring in
this change graduallyto
give people time to adapt
to the new system before
adopting it.
RAJESH JUNEJA, Ganganagar
The governments initiatives toward a cashless
India could be seen as

a progressive step, provided every citizen can
make use of such facilities. Cashless transactions
are easy and convenient.
But it is a herculean task
for the government to
bring all citizens under
the digital umbrella. The
grim reality is that millions in India do not have
access to electricity or the
internet, and are illiterate. The idea that possessing a mobile phone
is enough to go cashless
is naive. The government
itself seems uncertain of
how to ensure that millions of underprivileged
folks gain access to such
modern ways of doing
things. The shift to a digital economy will be worth
nothing unless every citizen can enjoy the fruits of
development.
P.A. JACOB, Muscat
The central government

has unnecessarily forced
cashless transactions on
consumers, who will, in
all likelihood, be cheated
because of the malpractices rampant in the system.
If the government were
sincere about developing
a cashless economy, it
should have concentrated
on eliminating cash in the
wholesale trade rather
than promoting the new
industry of mobile payments. However, to clamp
down on black money
holders, the plan to print
more Rs 2,000 notes
should be scrapped, and
there should be no more
Rs 1,000 notes either. It
is also a matter of concernone that should
be probedthat while
MAIL
FROM THE
ARCHIVES
invoked
to select
the are
nextshaped
n a new essay, Pico
Iyer says
our lives
by unexpectedness.
Looking
to the Future
chief.
Nothing has beenservice
truer of
2016. England voting to exit the European Union,
As a society given to rituals
Donald Trump winning
the USCHILIMBI,
presidential election, the worsening Syrian
LT COL. SUSHIL
and timelessness, India is not
refugee crisis, unabated
Mumbaiterrorist attacks across the world and India declarnaturally inclined to introing 86 per cent of its currency illegal were only some of the highlights. It was a
spection.
A certain ad hocism
Editors:
Kaveree Bamzai
(Special Projects),
Ajit Kumar Jha (Research)
truly topsy-turvy year.
the pundits predicted of the world was
SUBHASH
CHANDRA
AGRAWAL,
TheEverything
Opposition,that
especially
has defined the collective
upended. The consequences
of allhas
thatnohappened
will
be played
out inaccusthe comthe Congress,
right
DelhiEditors: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha
Managing
mentality
of a people
Executive Editors: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit,
ing year, and it maytonot
be a pretty
sight. It seems tomed
that it to
will
be
the
Year
of
criticise
the appointSandeep Unnithan
letting events shape
First
among
Deputy
Editors: Prachi
Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop
Living Dangerouslyment
but itofisLt
also
true that
every ending
has a new
beginning
.
General
Bipin
their
destiny.
Indians
have
: MG Arun H
: Amarnath K. Menon C
: Asit Jolly
M
Equals
In
that
spirit,
we
have
a
great
collection
of
essays
from
the
finest
scholars
Rawat
as
army
chief.
It
Senior Editors: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, J
: Rohit Parihar
readily accepted and adapted of
UP andthe
onward
world
who
point
us
towards
what
is
new
and
newsy
in the
Brave
New World.
was
the
Congress
that
The
Indian
Army
is
fully
M
: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; p
: Amitabh Srivastava
to change
but
have shown
a
The development
schemes 31, Prime
Associate
Editors: Shougat Dasgupta,
Sinha
On December
Minister
NarendraofModi curious
called the
public
response
first broke
the tradition
traditionalist,
and Chinki
there
is
reluctance to
initiate to
: Romita Sengupta; B
: Rahul Noronha;
K
and initiatives
launched by nothing
demonetisation
shortseniority,
of a satyagraha.
anthropologist
Akhil Gupta
following
when UCLA
ofJacob;
not
T no question
: Jeemon
B re: Ananth Krishnan
it. Instinctively,
the country
UP chief minister
Akhilesh the transformative
Assistant Editor: p : Aditi S. Pai
acknowledges
nature of that decision
but
points
to
then-prime minister
specting seniority, espehas preferred traditionCuba
and and
Yadav showtwo
thatparallel
he is movements
madechose
Fidel Castro
such
an
enduring
iconthe
Indirathat
Gandhi
to
cially
when
it comes
to
Rajwant
Singh Rawat
(Principal
Photographer),
habit to radicalism. It isnt mass
Kekhriezhazo Miachie-O (Senior Photographer), Chandra Deepworking hard to transform
mobilisation that got
citizensan
involved
in the task of
raising literacy
and the govpromote
admittedly
the
armys Minternal
hierKumar
(Photographer);
: Mandar Suresh
Deodhar
conservatism.
Intellectual
Uttar Pradesh into Uttam
ernment-initiated institution-building
that ensured
equitable
access
to health,
deserving Lt Gen. S.K.
archy
(New Chief on the
laziness
would
be
a
better
a
: Shailesh B Raval (Principal Photographer);
Pradesh (East and West).
: Subir Halder
(Principal Photographer);
K Block).
provision of good primary
and training
of
a
large
cadre
of
medical
Sinha tohealthcare,
the post of army
However,
since
description.
C
: N G Jaison (Senior Photographer)
UP is progressing swiftly,
professionals.
For
demonetisation
to
morph
into
a
long-term
chief.
The
political
squabthe
selection
process
Photo
Researchers:
Prabhakar
Tiwari (Chief is
Photo Researcher),
So
it
is
after
50
years
of
the
and it may not be long
war
on
corruption,
Gupta
says
certain
wide-ranging
strucbling
over
this
issue
is
the prerogative of the
Republic.
Speaking
in
the
Chief of Graphics: Tanmoy Chakraborty
before it loses its tag of
turalstate.
changes
in India
which
need tough
politi- Assembly, S.
against the
national
intergovernment,
one
preArt Department:
Sanjay Piplani
(Senior
Art Director);
Constituent
being a BIMARU
In are required
cal
and
bureaucratic
reforms.
est,
and
should
have
been
sumes
that
all
parameRadhakrishnan spoke of a
Vikas Verma, Rahul Sharma, Vipin Gupta (Associate Art Director);
the future, it may also be
In the global
arena,
the big
event was
the unexpected
winthat would break
avoided.
Postings
in deters, including that of
new order
beneficial
to
bifurcate
the
business
Trump
as President
fence forces
must
not be of the
seniority
in service, must
theUnited
mouldan expression
Naveen
Gupta (Chief Coordinator),
state for theofsake
of fur- tycoon Donald
States and
according
to international
affairs expert,
Kishore
made
hostage to votehave been considered.
that
held out the promise of
ther development.
As has
Mahbubani,
it
could
be
the
best
thing
to
happen
to
India,
as and constant
bank
politics.
LT
COL.
RANJIT
SINHA,
Kolkata
dynamism
been
seen
in
other
cases,
IMPACT TEAM
it repositions
as a geopolitical
equal to bothchurning.
AmericaThe optimism
AGRAWAL, Delhi
smaller states
are easier itselfMADHU
OUR JANUARY
31,
to manage and
and record
China. This will not be easy. Americas GNP isproved
$18 trilThe
choice
the
next
remarkably
unGeneral
Managers:
Mayurof
Rastogi
(North),
2000 COVER
Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Subramaniam (Chennai)
higher
growth
rates.
That
lion,
Chinas
is
$
11
trillion
while
Indias
is
only
$2.1
trillion.
founded.
A
new
order
in
place,
army
chief
has
drawn
a
This
is
the
second
time
in
being said, By
given
its size adversarial
India settled
intohas
its new
orturning
against
China, says
Trump
effectively
number
ofOfficer:
responses,
the past
few months
that Mahbubani,
Group
Chief Marketing
Vivek Malhotra
and population,
UP is also
thodoxies.
The should
detached
pa- the
put
China
and
America
at
two
opposite
ends
of
a
see-saw.
India
seize
both
from
the
military
politics
has
affected
the
a major contributor
to theby leaping
Deepak
Bhatt, General Manager
(National
Sales)
ternalism
of as
theitBritish
Raj with
opportunity
onArmy.
to the However,
middle of itthe see-saw,
even
grapples
fraternity
and the
public.
Indian
countrys GDP
was effortlessly
replaced
by
thegrowth.
bitter aftertasteisof
its overtures
to Pakistan going
up in flames.
Mahbubani
Manish
Kumar Srivastava,
Regional
Manager (North)
However,
what
noSales
one
entirely
the governRajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (West)
What is required
nowaisnew
for meaning
an
intrusive
socialist
raj
based
assigns
to
a
familiar
acronym
CIAChina
,India,
America.
There
seems
to
know
is
how
ments
prerogative
to
the state administration
to
on controls.
Baboo rule
are other trends
tochoose
watch the
out leader
for in 2017the
retreat
of liberalism,
the rise of
such a big decision is
of the
determinedly
executeintelligence
the
that fearThe
of colonial
romantics
artificial
and the
decline
internationalism.
economy
remains
taken. Is it based on set
armed
forces,
andof
considprojects it has begun, and
Lord
Curzon
and Rudyard
a concern and Credit
Suisses
flags
four
continuing
effects
parameters? Or is it a
ering
that weNeelkanth
have seenMishralike
to ensure that there are no
Kiplingbecame
the unappeof demonetisationon
real estateinmarket,
the
informal economy,
banking
comparative table of perhugethe
deterioration
our
setbacks to the progress
Volume XLII Number 3; For the week
tising base beneath the demeconomy and revenue
collection.
formance
of generals
pre-Friday
relationship
with Pakistan,
January
10-16, 2017,
published on every
already achieved.
ocratic
icing.
Thedomestic
Hindu rate
2017 will also witness
politicians
being forced to engage
with
forcpared
byMedia
babus
that
it is critical
that someone
Editorial
Office Living
India Ltd., India
Today Group Mediaplex,
SHWETA CHAUDHARY,
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of
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eues,
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as
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up,
including
in
Uttar
forms
the
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significant
expeSubscriptions: For assistance contact Customer Care India Today Group, A-61,
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one
in
place
whereby
a
foolafter
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decades
of
only
be
a
positive.
Fax: 66063226 E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn,
New Delhi Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai,
refugees from the licenceof Prime
Modis
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proof procedure
canMinister
be
Independence,
I am
sure
BAL GOVIND,
Noidamantras. It is perhaps no accident that this
Chennai-600018;
Phone: 2847 8525 201-204
Richmond
Towers, 2nd Floor,
permit
Fax: 22218335; 52, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, Kolkata-700071;
years theme for the World Economic Forum in Davos is raj.
responsive leadership.
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Of course,
it wasnt
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Phone: 23401657, 23400479, 23410100, 23402481, 23410982, 23411498;
Every political leader wants his nation to aspire to and
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Fax: 23403484 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; Phones: 2377057,
and
doom.
Remarkably
adept
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from
Trumps
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before
sending Make
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E-MAIL YOUR LETTERS TO:
in
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Fax: 26565293 Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout
money, incurring expenses or entering into commitments
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Brexit
letters.editor@intoday.com
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Manoj Sharma on
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OR LOG ON TO
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development
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services.
The
printer,Nagar,
publisher,
editor-in-chief and the editor of the India
and at A-9, Industrial
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Dodger ceased to be someKancheepuram-603209,
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in answers to that question and many more, use this special issue as
track
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thing out of Dickens; he bethe event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers.
does not take the responsibility for returning unsolicited
your own personal GPS to 2017. It will get you there.
came the archetypal Indian.
common folk waste hours
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in long ATM
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12
by Swapan Dasgupta
Januar y 2000
(Aroon Purie)
50
GLASS HOUSE
by SANDEEP UNNITHAN
NEW YEARS EVE PEEVES
hen Prime Minister Narendra Modi

said hed address the nation on
New Years eve, partygoers werent the
only ones spooked. BJP ministers too
were asked to cancel their party plans
and spread the message of demonetisation instead. Congress leaders were
equally grumpy, but only because
vice-president Rahul Gandhi had
chosen to go abroad for New
Years when he should have
stayed on to counter Modis propoor announcements. Foreign
jaunts, they say, are hardly in
keeping with the partys narrative of standing for the poor.
SEEING RED
Illustration by ANUP RAY
CHIEF AMONG THEM
Kerala Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan is
miffed with his
cabinet. Rather than
attend to the task of
governance, some are
busy picking fights
with IAS officials
over their cronies not
getting key posts.
Chief secretary S.M.
Vijayanand had to
broker peace after one
principal secretary
went on leave and two
others threatened to
follow suit.
E
DYNASTY,
INTO TWO
ormer finance minister

and Congress leader
Lal Singh is asking the
high command to set aside
the one-family, one-ticket
rule mooted by Amarinder
Singh. He wants a second
ticket for his son Rajinder
Singh. I cant let my political legacy die with me like
in Giani Zail Singhs case,
he said, at a New Years Day
poll rally in Sanaur.
astern army commander Lt Gen. Praveen Bakshi

opted for the unprecedented move of serving
under his junior, Gen. Bipin Rawat, who was appointed army chief. The rumour mills in Delhi speculated
about a government offer of the first-ever post of
Chief of Defence Staff. The genesis lay in Gen. Bakshis
meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
on December 21. But while the
government is clear on a CDS,
South Block officials say there
is neither a deadline yet for the
appointment nor a guarantee
that Bakshi will get the post.
Incidentally, Bakshi himself
dispelled such talk in his
December 31 address
to his men where he
denied either asking
for or being offered
anything by the
government.
BUNGLE IN THE DANGAL
adhya Pradesh energy minister Paras Jain recently dashed

off a letter to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanding that the film Dangal be made tax-free in the state. Jain, a former
wrestler, said the movie was in line with the state governments progirl child push. Rather liberal with the tax-free tag, the MP government is yet to take a call on the subject. Could it, by chance, be about
Aamir Khans remarks on intolerance?
DIPLOMATIC
PUSH
With nearly 0.3 million
Telangana-ites, mostly
from Hyderabad, forming Saudi Arabias
second-largest Indian expat community, chief minister K.
Chandrasekhara Rao
is urging the desert
kingdom to set up
a consular office in
Hyderabad. The MEA
has already agreed to
the proposal; and the
ball is now in the Saudi
court. KCR is pitching
for more countries to
open up consulates in
Hyderabad, which currently has five.
GLASS HOUSE
BENARASI
I
GAUNTLET?
n a new essay, Pico Iyer says our lives are shaped by unexpectedness.
Nothing has been truer of 2016. England voting to exit the European Union,
Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, the worsening Syrian
refugee crisis, unabated terrorist attacks across the world and India declarGroup Chief Executive Officer: Ashish Bagga
ing 86 per cent of its currency illegal were only some of the highlights. It was a
Editors: Kaveree Bamzai (Special Projects), Ajit Kumar Jha (Research)
truly topsy-turvy year. Everything that the pundits predicted of the world was
upended.
The Banerjees
consequences
of all that happened will be played out in the comManaging Editors: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha
ont
let Mamata
plain
NOTHING
TO
Executive Editors:
Damayanti Datta,
S. Sahaya Ranjit,
ing year,
may
not are
be ano
pretty sight. It seems that it will be the Year of
white
saris and
fool it
you.
They
Sandeep Unnithan
DISCUS
Deputy Editors: Prachi
Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop reflection
Living
Dangerously
butchief
it is also true that every ending has a new beginning .
of the
West Bengal
: MG Arun H
: Amarnath K. Menon C
: Asit Jolly
M
In
that
spirit,
we
have
a great
Senior Editors:
Shweta
Punj, Sasi
J
: Rohit Parihar
ministers fashion designing skills.
Didi collection of essays from the finest scholars of
It never
pays
toNair,
mess
the
world
who
point
us
towards
what is new and newsy in the Brave New World.
has
now
fixed
her
painters
eye
on
with
a discus
thro
M
: Suhani Singh,
Kiran Dinkar
Tare;wer.
p
: Amitabh Srivastava
Associate Editors: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha
On
December
31,
Prime
Minister
Narendra Modi called the public response to
the
Benarasi
saris
that
Bengali
brides
Especially
its
: Romita
Sengupta; Bwhen
: Rahul
Noronha;
K
demonetisation
short
T
: Jeemon
Jacob; B
: Ananth Krishnan
wear on
their weddingnothing
day. The
sarisof a satyagraha. UCLA anthropologist Akhil Gupta
CWG gold
medallist
Assistant Editor: p : Aditi S. Pai
acknowledges
the transformative
nature of that decision but points to Cuba and
will now
be made by state
handloom
Krishna Poonia, also
two
parallel
movements
that
made
Fidel Castro such an enduring iconthe mass
Rajwant
Singh
Rawat
(Principal
Photographer),
corporation,
Tantuja.
A
state
minister
Rajasthan PCC secreKekhriezhazo Miachie-O (Senior Photographer), Chandra Deep
mobilisation
that
got
citizens
involved
in the task of raising literacy and the govhints
that
its
because
the
saris
come
Kumartary.
(Photographer);
M
:
Mandar
Suresh
Deodhar
She recently gave
ernment-initiated
institution-building
that ensured equitable access to health,
from Prime
Minister Narendra
Modis
chase
and(Principal
nabbed
a
: Shaileshto
B Raval
Photographer);
: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer);
K
provision
of
good
primary
healthcare,
and training of a large cadre of medical
constituency. Having taken him on
of the
men
C
:one
N G Jaison
(Seniorthree
Photographer)
professionals.
For
demonetisation
to
morph
into a long-term
Photo Researchers:
Prabhakar
Tiwari
(Chief
Photo
Researcher),
over
his
demonetisation
move,
will
harassing two girls
war
on
corruption,
Gupta
says
certain
wide-ranging
strucDidi
now
wage
a
trade
war?
Chief of at
Graphics:
Tanmoy
Chakraborty
a railway crossing
tural changes are required in India which need tough politiArt Department:
Sanjaydistrict.
Piplani (Senior
Art Director);
in
Churu
The
cal and bureaucratic reforms.
Vikas Verma,
Sharma,
Vipin Gupta
(Associate Art Director);
manRahul
was
handed
over
In the global arena, the big event was the unexpected win
to the police and the
of
business
tycoon Donald Trump as President of the United
Naveen Gupta
(Chief
Coordinator),
girls escorted safely
States and according to international affairs expert, Kishore
back
home.
Mahbubani, it could be the best thing to happen to India, as
IMPACT TEAM
it repositions itself as a geopolitical equal to both America
Rashtriya Janata
Dal chief
Lalu
and China.
This
willPrasad
not be Yadav,
easy. Americas GNP is $18 tril- OUR JANUARY 31,
General Managers: Mayur Rastogi (North),
2000 COVER
Upendra Singh (Bangalore), Velu Subramaniam (Chennai) whose youngest daughter Raj Lakshmi is married to
lion,
Chinas
is
$
11
trillion
while
Indias is only $2.1 trillion.
Mulayams
grand-nephew
Tej
Pratap
Singh,
recently
By turning adversarial against China, says Mahbubani, Trump has effectively
Group Chief Marketing Officer: Vivek Malhotra
donned theput
peacemakers
hat to counsel
China and America
at twoMulayam
opposite ends of a see-saw. India should seize the
Singh
Yadav
and
son
Akhilesh
over
the
telephone.
Lalu
Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales)
opportunity by leaping on to
the middle
of the see-saw, even as it grapples with
even tweeted
ice-breaking
theabout
bitterhis
aftertaste
of itsdiscussion
overtureswith
to Pakistan going up in flames. Mahbubani
Manish Kumar Srivastava, Regional Sales Manager (North)
Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (West)
father and son,
when
Akhilesh
wentto
toavisit
Mulayam
assigns
a new
meaning
familiar
acronym CIAChina ,India, America. There
ormer Kerala CM
at
his
residence.
are other trends to watch out for in 2017the retreat of liberalism, the rise of
Oommen Chandy has
But
on
January
1,
artificial intelligence and the decline of internationalism. The economy remains
SIT-IN SAT OUT
never
had a role in Congress
quietly
hung
a concern and Credit Lalu
Suisses
Neelkanth
Mishra flags four continuing effects
decision-making
and rarely
the
peacemaking
More than 100 ad
of demonetisationon the real estate market, the informal economy, banking
speaks
in
the
assembly.
So
Volume
XLII
Number
3;
For
the
week
hat
when
Akhilesh
hoc schoolteachers
economy and revenue collection.
January 10-16, 2017, published on every Friday
his New Years Eve attack on
sidelined
his
father.
demanding
permanent
2017 will also witness politicians being forced to engage with domestic forcEditorial Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex,
the PM awarding the curreFC-8, Sector-16A, Film City, Noida - 201301; Phone: 0120-4807100
His only
jobs gave security the
es, with as many as seven
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ncy printing contract to a
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educa-Chennai: 044-24303200;
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official
resition about the nature of
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cooperative
federalism, one
Fax: 66063226 E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn,
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Failing
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years theme for the World Economic Forum in Davos is responsive leadership.
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Phone: 23401657,
23410100,
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ister23400479,
staged
a dharna
INpolitical
MISDODGES
ingenuity
metto
itsand
match
in thegreatness
law
Every
leader wantsIndian
his nation
to aspire
achieve
Fax: 23403484 39/1045, Karakkatt Road, Kochi 682016; Phones: 2377057,
2377058 of
; Fax:his
2377059
2/C, Suryarath
Bldg, 2ndin
Floor, Behind White House,
own.
He
rang
from
Trumps
Make
America
Great
Again
slogan
to
Boris
Johnsons
claim
Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone: 26560393, 26560929;
Fax: 26565293
Livingon
Mediathe
India Ltd.
All rights reserved throughout
2017Copyright
sitting
road
that Brexit would be Britains Independence Day. But how many can summon
vigilance
arrested
An executive
Printedoutside
and published Raj
by Manoj
Sharma on behalf
Bhavan
till of Living Media
theBihar
will to
bridge sleuths
the distance
between rhetoric and reality,
makingengineer
inclusive
India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
18-35 Milestone,
Delhi Mathura Road,police
Faridabad-121007, (Haryana)
Block
Education
Officer
Indrajit
in
Patna
faces awho
probe
the
Chandigarh
development
and
equitable
growth
more
than
mere
slogans?
Those
want
and at A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District
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got
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out
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on
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28
for
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for
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to
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to
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question
and
many
more,
use
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special
issue
as
does not
takehis
the responsibility
for returning unsolicited
of
home.
a
cigarette
packet
stuffed
with
minister
in
a
call
to
an
your
own
personal
GPS
to
2017.
It
will
get
you
there.
www.indiatoday.in
umbai
yderabad
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atna
olkata
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eiJing
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umbai
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SUBIR HALDER
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WHEN LALU RETIRED HURT
CHANDY RISING
l
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All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of

Rs 2,000 currency notes
IAS officer
(Aroon Purie)
JEEMON JACOB, ANSHUMAN TIWARI, KAUSHIK DEKA, AMARNATH K. MENON, ASIT JOLLY, RAHUL NORONHA, ROMITA DATTA. AMITABH SRIVASTAVA, ROHIT PARIHAR
16
70
NATION | UTTAR PRADESH
THE CUB EARNS HIS
Akhilesh Yadav turns the tables in the bitter SP family feud to emerge defini
4
Illustration by ANUP RAY
GENERALS OF THE PARI-WAR

The Yadav family feud has split the Samajwadi Party down the middle
MULAYAM CAMP
1. Sarla Yadav
Wife of Shivpal,
she is not
active in
politics now
but has very
good relations
with Akhilesh
2. Sadhna Yadav
Mulayams second
wife is known for
backroom politics.
Has good contacts
in the Vaishya
community. Is now
campaigning for
daughter-in-law
Aparna
3. Ankur Yadav
Son of Shivpal,
he shares a good
rapport with
Akhilesh but
cannot go
against his father
4. Aparna Yadav
Wife of Prateek Yadav,
she has sided with
Shivpal; is SP candidate from Lucknow
Cantt assembly seat
5. Shivpal Singh
Yadav Mulayam is
heavily dependent on
his brother Shivpal for
running the party.
Shivpal has good relations with other
regional parties
6. Prateek Yadav
Mulayams younger
son from wife Sadhna
is into real estate
business. Though not
in politics, he has
differences with
Akhilesh. His house is
adjacent to Shivpals
1. Dimple Yadav
Akhileshs wife has
good relations with
Mulayam and Sadhna,
but now firmly stands
by her husband.
Mulayam made her
fight LS election from
Kannauj in 2012
STRIPES
tively from father Mulayams shadow
3
4
AKHILESH CAMP
2. Dharmendra
Yadav Son of
Mulayams younger
brother Abhay Ram
Singh Yadav, and MP
from Badaun
3. Ram Gopal Yadav
Son of Mulayams uncle Bachchi Lal Yadav,
he has differences
with Shivpal. Was
responsible for choosing SP candidates in
2014 LS elections
4. Akshay Yadav
Son of Ram Gopal,
and MP from
Firozabad
5. Tej Pratap
Singh Yadav
Grandson of
Mulayams elder
brother Ratan Singh
Yadav and son-inlaw of RJD chief
Lalu Prasad Yadav,
he is the MP from
Mainpuri
6. Arvind Yadav
Son of Mulayams
cousin Geeta Devi,
he is close to Ram
Gopal. A member of
the UP Legislative
Council, he was
expelled by Shivpal
for six years
| By Ashish Misra |
ew Years Day marked a watershed in Uttar

Pradeshs politics. All along the roads leading
to Lucknows Janeshwar Mishra Park, walls
were plastered with posters of Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav. Hoardings came up overnight. The
venue of the special national convention organised by
the Samajwadi Party (SP) was a picture of Akhileshs
dominance in the party. On the dais, a big chair with a
table had been placed in the centre of the front row, for
Akhilesh. Flanking him were loyalists of father Mulayam
Singh Yadav: SP veteran Rewati Raman Singh, party general secretary Kiranmoy Nanda, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh
Agarwal, among others. In the course of the event, the
long-speculated power shift in the party was formalised.
Akhilesh was unanimously chosen the SPs national president and former boss Mulayam was declared the partys
patron. While Akhilesh-baiter and Mulayams brother
Shivpal Singh was removed as the partys president in
UP, Mulayam confidant Amar Singh got the boot.
The development, and the rapid turn of events leading up to it, may have left many shocked, but insiders say the coup was merely the climax of a game
plan scripted by Akhilesh over the past two years to
secure his own identity in the political landscape of
UP, and India. Through 2016, as the Yadav family tug
of war turned into a full-blown public spectacle and
touched new lows, Akhilesh looked every bit a leader
slowly turning a party-family crisis into an opportunity.
By September, he had roped in political expert Steve
Jordan of Harvard University to help strategise his partys 2017 assembly election campaign. Jordan got down
to business, studying the Akhilesh governments welfare
schemes and gathering constituency-level specifics by
meeting SP MLAs. SP sources say Jordan is working on
creating seat-specific election manifestos for Akhilesh.
Many believe that under the Akhilesh government,
the SP the SP has begun to shed the legacy of the years
when the party was associated with UPs criminalised
politics. To achieve this, the Yadav scion has played
a leader determined to push development in UP. On
December 22, the very day Prime Minister Narendra
Modi was in Varanasi, Akhilesh inaugurated a section
of the upcoming Varuna river corridor in the city that
showcased 50 metres of developed riverfront area.
His government plans to develop another 10 km of the
Varuna riverfront by December 2017. As a counter
to Narendra Modis development face, Akhilesh Yadav
has inaugurated all major projects of his government
on time, says Dr Arvind Mohan, professor of economics at Lucknow University. He is trying to draw advantage from projects like the Lucknow-Agra Expressway,
Lucknow Metro, and the IT city project in Lucknow.
Last month, Akhilesh inaugurated over a dozen
projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore in Lucknow. In
eastern UP, where the SP commands a strong base,
his government is developing the 354-km Samajwadi
NATION | UTTAR PRADESH
MANEESH AGNIHOTRI
Purvanchal Expressway. Each of his

25 ministers from eastern UP has been
instructed to popularise the governments pension and farmers insurance schemes in their constituencies.
Akhilesh Yadav is directly monitoring each constituency with the help of
volunteers, said a minister in the UP
government. He knows the political
situation in each constituency.
AN OCTOBER 2016 SAMAJWADI PARTY MEETING AT THE

PARTY HEADQUARTERS IN LUCKNOW
Why the rivals are watching Akhilesh...

Because the poll prospects of the three other players will be
determined by the outcome of the SPs internal feud
...if Akhilesh gains

absolute control of SP
BJP
BSP
Will be under pressure to announce

a CM face to counter Akhilesh, who is
popular among youth. Apart from its
core support of upper castes, which is
16 per cent of the total population, the
BJP is also eyeing the OBCs, especially
Kurmis, who make up 7.5 per cent of
the backward population. Akhilesh
has already installed a Kurmi as state
SP president
Will hope to cut into SPs

core support of backward
votes, who are 44 per cent of
the total population. It could
lead to a bilateral fight with
the upper castes and a section of the OBCs siding with
the BJP, and the Muslims and
Dalits backing BSP
Muslims, who comprise 19.3 per

cent of the total population, will tilt
towards SP, derailing Mayawatis
dream of winning on the strength of
a Dalit-Muslim combination
Will emerge as a formidable

rival to the BJP with Muslim
support and its core vote
bank of Dalits, who constitute
21 per cent of the population
Akhilesh favours an alliance with

Congress as both parties stand
to gain. Muslims will stand behind
Congress the alliance while Congress is hoping to cause a dent in the BSPs
Dalit support
10
...if the SP splits
Even if it forms an alliance

with the Akhilesh faction
of the SP, the Muslims are
unlikely to back them. With
the possibility of a win diminishing, even the Dalits are
unlikely to extend support
khilesh has also been making

sure he gets the caste arithmetic right. On December 22, his
cabinet passed a resolution considering changing the status of 17 backward
sub-castes to Scheduled Castes in the
state. Comprising nearly 14 per cent
of the population, these sub-castes can
be game-changers in select seats. The
cabinets move appears to have its origins in the non-Yadav OBC vote going to
the BJP in the 2014 parliamentary elections. Once at the SPs helm, Akhilesh
appointed Naresh Uttam, a prominent
Kurmi leader close to Mulayam, as
state president. In the 2012 assembly
polls, the SP won over 60 per cent of
the seats in eastern UP, says Dr V.S.
Sharma, a former political science professor at Kanpur University. Uttam will
be crucial in getting this communitys
support. A pre-poll alliance with the
Congress, too, has been on the agenda.
SP sources claim Akhilesh met Priyanka
Gandhi in December.
Akhilesh has been preparing for the
larger battle, but hasnt taken eyes off
the immediate threats. While Mulayam
met Election Commission (EC) officials
on January 2, and staked claim to the
SPs poll symbol (cycle), the Akhilesh
camp had last year scouted for an alternative symbolshould the need arise.
Akhileshs uncle Ram Gopal Yadav had
met EC officials in November and discussed motorcycle as a symbol in the
event of a split. No matter which way
the family feud goes and how the SP
fares in elections, Akhilesh has decidedly emerged out of Mulayams shadow. In
post-liberalisation India, he is perhaps
the first politician to defy family and
create an identity of his own. Now, the
challenge for him will be to command
organisational support even if the party
fails to notch a win in the elections.
Follow the writer on Twitter @ashimisra
NEWSFLICKS SPARK
2017
BATTLE OF BALLOTS
Some big states that will go to the polls this

year, changing the political landscape
UTTAR PRADESH
PUNJAB
403
117
139mn
224
80
Others
24
Shiromani
Akali Dal
56
Congress
Uttar
Pradesh
The BJP may prove a strong contender

Alliances can upset the expected results
12
Others
40
Punjab
GUJARAT
60
assembly seats
182
4.8
mn
voters
voters
2012 RESULT
2012 RESULT
21
9
Corruption charges against Congress

BJPs image dented thanks to failed floor test
1.8mn
BJP
Others
Uttarakhand
Others
assembly seats
voters
MANIPUR
1.1mn
Independent
31
BSP
Anti-incumbency may affect the BJP-SAD alliance

AAP could mount a robust challenge
assembly seats
32
Congress
BJP
46
BJP
GOA
Congress
voters
2012 RESULT
2012 RESULT
SP
BJP 47
7.1mn
voters
2012 RESULT
28
assembly seats
19.6mn
voters
Congress
70
assembly seats
assembly seats
BSP
UTTARAKHAND
Goa
Congress battling infighting and corruption

AAP could pose a strong challenge
VISUAL NEWS ON YOUR PHONE
42
Congress
Trinamool
Congress
NPF
Others
2012 RESULT
BJP
115
Congress
61
Manipur
4
7
Congress facing corruption charges and leadership crisis

BJPs alliance with NPF may turn away Meiti voters
DOWNLOAD FROM
Others
Gujarat
AAP eyeing Dalit, Patidar and Muslim votes

BJP will have to counter anti-incumbency
OR
SMS NF TO 52424
Photograph by BANDEEP SINGH
INTERVIEW GEN. BIPIN RAWAT
WE WILL GO
ACROSS AGAIN
24 Safdarjung Road, the official residence of the vice-chief of army staff,
thrums with activity early on a foggy
January morning, just days after
General Bipin Rawat assumed office
on New Years Day as Indias 27th
chief of the army staff. (His official 4
Rajaji Marg residence is under renovation.) His twin Dachshunds, Dash and
Tickle, shoot around like little guided
torpedoes clad in identical red-andblack-trimmed winter fleece. Staff
officers and Tavor rifle-wielding bodyguards of the special forces flank the
fleet of black armoured Scorpios waiting to make the short two km drive to
his office deep within the sandstone
corridors of South Block. The general
appears in the verandah of his home,
proffers a firm handshake. Hes of
medium height, stockily built, with salt
and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed
white moustache. He listens carefully,
looks you in the eye when he speaks,
and the clearly articulated sentences
are delivered like a military drum roll.
He clearly plays on the front foot. There
is simply no question that will induce
any hesitation on his part, from tackling
China and Pakistan, surgical strikes,
the controversial Cold Start war doctrine to the polemic around his selection as army chief, superseding two
senior army commanders. As he sat
down for an extensive interview with
Executive Editor Sandeep Unnithan,
General Rawat revealed why he was
supremely confident of navigating the
minefield that lies ahead in his threeyear tenure. Excerpts:
What do you see as your main security challenges and how do you plan
to handle developments like the reorganisation of Chinas armed forces?
The primary role of the armed forces is
the defence of the borders, preparation
for conventional warfare, maintaining

internal security and focusing on disas
ter relief. We are studying the restruc
turing of the PLA to see its efficacy. We
will study their reforms and see whe
ther they have relevance in our con
text. If so, we will put them across with
modifications to the government.
The armys China-specific Mountain
Strike Corps has been languishing
for want of funds. Is this relevant in
our context?
We raised the Mountain Strike Corps
(MSC) as part of a transition from dis
suasion and deterrence to credible
deterrence. All adversaries respect
credible strength, which comes from
such formations capable of striking
across the border. We are expected to
remain defensive in order to ensure
there are no incursions and the sanc
tity of the borders is maintained. But
you cannot always remain defen
sive. We must also have the capabil
ity to conduct offensive operations.
Whether these forces are going to be
used physically will depend on the sit
uation, but surely these forces meet
the purpose of credible deterrence. So,
well certainly give impetus to raising
the corps. The government has given
us permission to induct manpower,
YOU CANT ALWAYS

REMAIN DEFENSIVE,
WE MUST HAVE
THE CAPABILITY
TO CONDUCT
OFFENSIVE
OPERATIONS
infrastructure development along the

border is taking place, weapons and
equipment are coming in.
Did the armys September 29, 2016
surgical strikes define our new red
lines in a strong response to a highcasualty attack by terrorists?
All nations and armies define their own
thresholds. The December 13, 2001
Parliament attack was a threshold.
In a terrorist attack, it is the nature of
the attack and the success the terror
ists are able to achievesometimes
what happens is that the terrorists get
success because of incidental dam
age caused. Uri, for example, was
an incidental success because there
were troops in tents, troops who were
grouped together. In Nagrota, they did
not get so much successthey did not
get so many people, we were able to
eliminate them before they could do
damage. So the threshold level will
vary and [determine] the kind of reac
tion, because our nation is not a war
mongering nation. We want peace and
tranquility, and if we find that some
thing can be resolved through nego
tiations, an attempt is always made to
resolve it through negotiationsbut if
we find these incidents getting repeat
ed, we define a threshold, a decision
is taken, recommendations are made,
and we will go across again. It is very
difficult to say if there are red lines (in
response to terrorist attacks). What I
can say is that there are dotted lines,
and those dots are then joined together
by us to draw a red line.
Is the Cold Start doctrineinstituted
after Operation Parakram in 2001
still an option in response to attacks
like the one on Parliament in 2001 or
26/11 in Mumbai?
The Cold Start doctrine exists for
13
INTERVIEW GEN. BIPIN RAWAT
conventional military operations.

Whether we have to conduct conventional operations for such strikes is a
decision well-thought through, involving the government and the Cabinet
Committee on Security.
have been spelt out by my predecessor [Gen. Dalbir Singh] and we are
continuing with the same vision and
thrust areas because I feel they have
been thought through and holistically
define the armys requirements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had,

in the combined commanders conference in 2015, said that future conflicts will become shorter, and wars
will become rare. Do you have any
strategy for short, intense wars?
In our case, we prepare for short, intense conflicts, and at the same time
have to be prepared for wars becoming
long-drawn. Based on that, we have a
well-defined strategy. What the PM
said is right; wars will be intense and
short because therell always be international pressure in wars between two
nations. We have to be aware of that;
whatever action we take, therefore,
has to be quick; forces have to be ready
and have to achieve success.
Do you see an emerging threat in the

new China-Pakistan proximity and
how do you propose to respond to it?
National security strategy by any nation is defined by its national interests.
China has defined its national interests
by coming close to Pakistan in looking
for access to the Indian Ocean Region,
for energy security, trade. Today, eco-
The modernisation of the Indian

Army has been an area of major concern for you and your predecessors.
Have you identified any key areas for
delivery during your tenure?
Technology is constantly changing.
You cannot be using older technologies
for your weapons systems and equipment. My thinking is that you have to
look at emerging technology because
of the time it takes for a weapons system to be inducted into the armed forces. So you have to look at tomorrows
technology for inducting weapons.
With that in mind, we have also focused
on certain weapons systems. Infantry
is the most affecteddeployed along
the border round the clock, in internal security situations, and in the face
of frequent ceasefire violations on the
borderwe need to give them modern weapons technology best suited
to such an environment. The mechanised forces need future battle tanks
and Infantry Combat Vehicles, new
aviation assets, air defence systems,
artillery and other longer ranged
weapon systems that have more lethality and accuracy. We are also looking
at upgrading operational logistics systems. The modernisation priorities
14
WARS WILL BE
INTENSE AND
SHORT... WE HAVE TO
BE AWARE OF THAT.
WHATEVER ACTION
WE TAKE WILL HAVE
TO BE QUICK
nomics defines national strategy and

wherever people find economic gain,
there are cooperative mechanisms
and alliances. We also have to look at
our national interests and continue
doing whatever is best in our national
interests. We will also counter such
mechanisms through our own means;
our government is quite capable of
handling [these]. We are also carrying
out actions to negate the nexus developing between China and Pakistan.
Would you elaborate on these
measures?
We are addressing the neighbourhood, the extended neighborhood and
the Far West. We are looking at certain
countries on Chinas eastern seaboard,
and the Americas. There are groupings that are taking place. While we
are proud of being non-aligned, there
are times when you have to get into

some groupings, which is of course
in the domain of foreign policy, so I
wouldnt like to really comment. We
have masters in foreign policy and
they do it really well. Our diplomacy
is moving well, the prime ministers
focus is on the global arena, we will be
able to counter whatever is happening
through our foreign policy.
What are your expectations from a
closer military partnership with the
United States?
Our expectations are that we must live
like friendsthe economic partnership will grow stronger and everything
else will fall into place. We are sharing
expertise but that is more in the field
of humanitarian assistance and disaster response. We do try out some joint
training as far as counter-insurgency
[is concerned]. The US does consider
us a lead nation in Counter Insurgency
Ops; they have specialisation in special
forces operations which we look at. As
for equipment, we have a system of
global tendering, and I feel we should
go for whoever gives us the best. Finally,
we should support our domestic industry. What it will depend on is who is
willing to come here, share technology
and help our domestic industry grow
and help us in becoming self-reliant, so
we neednt be country-fixated.
We have been hearing a lot about the
rivalry between the infantry and the
armoured corps. Would you set the
record straight on this?
Is somebody out to create such a rivalry? This is like prejudging a case without even hearing the witnesses the
judgement should come out only after
seeing the results. I have commanded
mechanised forces in the southern
command and I can say that they are
as professional as any other fighting
arm in this field. Possibly because of
infantry seeing more action in counter-insurgency, there is more limelight on field commanders who are
constantly under observation. But
by virtue of constantly being under
observation you are also constantly
under pressure. There are bouquets
and brickbats.
2017 THE YE AR AHE AD
THE
ELEPHANTS
ARE OUT
Its not the happiest of new years
by a long shot, but after 2016, it
could only get better. Right?
Illustration by NILANJAN DAS
HE NEW YEAR OF 2017 already

seems destined to be remembered
as one of those epochal turning
points: another end of history or the
end of globalisation or the end of liberalism, or if you are prone to utter
hysteria, the End of Days. Most of this is, of course,
because of all that transpired in 2016. Here, at this
magazine, dedicated as we are to the persistent
present of India today, we are less inclined to hyperbole. But even we might concede that perhaps 2017
marks a much-postponed conclusion to the lingering
20th century.
Though the closing weeks of 2016 have been
tumultuous, even chaotic, in India, the turmoil was
announced by distant drums: the Brexit vote in the
UK, the election of Donald Trump in the US, the escalating conflict in Syria While the disruptions (or
inconvenience, as some would have it) of our own
national social experiment may be of smaller consequence to the world, it has allowed us to join the
panicky new global mood or zeitgeist (and its
generally not a good portent when everyone starts
using German words). And yet, its worth recalling that until that November evening when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi chose to distract us from
Donalds day, our country seemed in many ways

ahead of the curve. After all, we had our own polarising elections way back in 2014. Voldemort won!
read one popular social media post of the day. Only to
be met by the inevitably cruel retort: Too bad about
the half-blood prince.
But beyond the lamentation of the liberals and the
triumphalism of the conservatives of the world today,
we in India have had some time to recognise that neither party is really on the right side of history. And
while the global turmoil has added resonance and
meaning to our own circumstance, we are also conscious of our national particularities. Our cover package this week brings you a diverse selection of
13 essays (were not at all superstitious) addressing the challenges facing India in the ripening world
of 2017. Our writers are a motley, if distinguished,
assembly of academics, wonks, geeks, business people and litterateurs, with opinions ranging from the
daring to the cautious to the melancholy. Well, perhaps mostly cautiously daring, as is only appropriate
at this time of the year.
The upshot is that the elephants of 2016 have left
the building. And despite that old saw about pachyderms and the men of Hindustan, wed like to think
weve done our bit to ensure that the blindfolds are off.
15
LIBERALISM
By MUKUL KESAVAN
WE ARE THE PEOPLE,

WHO ARE YOU?
What explains the swaggering, illiberal populists that
bestride the world stage today? A crisis of liberalism or
the coming of age of modern majoritarianism?
FTER BREXIT AND TRUMP, 2016 is

widely seen as an annus horribilis
for liberalism. If you define the liberal ideal, as The Economist does,
as open economies and open
societies, where the free exchange
of goods, capital, people and ideas
is encouraged and where universal freedoms are
protected from state abuse by the rule of law, this
has been a bad year. John Gray, an English philosopher who foretold both Brexit and Trump, agrees
with the definition but unlike the house magazine of
laissez faire liberalism, he welcomes its decline. Gray
sees the liberal faith in progress as a dangerous
delusion and he welcomes disenchantment with the
pieties of neo-liberalism as a necessary first step
towards a new realism.
Its hard, though, to find a generalisation that
fits all the illiberal populisms that rule the world
today. How to reconcile the alleged causes of Brexit
or Trumps triumph (and possibly Marine Le Pens
next year) with the ascendancy of far-right politicians in central and eastern Europe, figures like the
Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, in Hungary,
or the Polish PM, Andrzej Duda? Even more problematically, what do Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan, Narendra Modi and Rodrigo Duterte and their electorates
have in common with their western counterparts?
16
One country whose current political culture can

be said to be a direct result of the ideological imposition of high capitalist dogma is Russia. In the heyday
of neo-liberalism after the collapse of the Soviet Union,
the international community and the institutional pillars of the post-war world orderthe IMF and the
World Bankturned Russians into lab rats for unregulated capitalism. The economic and human catastrophe that followed taught Putin and his apparatchiks
that globalisation was a Western plot designed to elicit
complete surrender. This suspicion was encouraged by
NATOs ever-advancing eastern frontier in the name of
small-state sovereignty and the eastward expansion of
the European Union. Russia learnt in the cruellest possible way that there was no world order, just a jungle
where muscle meant territory. Putins brand of illiberal populism can be attributed to the excesses of neoliberalism but the explanation cant be generalised. No
other nation was ravaged in this way.
If there is a single, systemic explanation for all the
swaggering populists that bestride the worlds stage,
it isnt obvious. The economic explanation offered
for Brexit and Trumps election (working class voters in the hinterland voting with their feet against
a neo-liberalism that has left them stranded in deindustrialised towns) doesnt fit countries in Asia who,
economists assure us, have done well out of globalisation. A disenchantment with the neo-liberal order
Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
cant, therefore, be the one size that fits everyone. The

bogey of immigrants stealing jobs isnt a major issue in
the electoral coalitions built by Orban or Duda. They
might baulk at the idea of housing immigrants from
the Syrian catastrophe, but immigration wasnt the
issue that brought them to power.
There is a curious role reversal in the debate over
the reason for Brexit and Trump: the right keeps
emphasising economic explanationsunemployment, free trade, recessionwhile the left doubles
down on cultural ones, such as racism and assorted
forms of bigotry. For the Right, economic explanations serve a rhetorical purpose: they normalise the
xenophobic rhetoric that has followed Brexiteers
and Trumpistas like a dirty halo by suggesting that
such racism, as there is, is a distorted expression of
authentic material suffering.
The rhetorical use of economic (and therefore secular) grievance suggests an alternative way of reading
the new populism, not so much as a crisis of liberalism
but as the coming of age of modern majoritarianism.
This is a peculiarly Indian way of understanding the
phenomenon sometimes called illiberal populism.
Indians remember a very similar debate about the
causes of Narendra Modis election victory in 2014.
On the Left, it was despairingly diagnosed as the triumph of Hindu nationalism, while the BJP and many
of its born-again centrist supporters insisted that the
absolute majority that Modi had won was an expression of the material aspirations of a young electorate.
ROGRESSIVES ARGUED THAT it was a
mistake to see Modis political success as
rooted in his claim to be an economic
moderniser. His success lay in mobilising
the electorate in the name of the nation, a nation
defined by a nativist majority beset by threats from
without and within. His visceral appeal is majoritarian; economic progress, certainly, but for a narrowly
defined people mobilised against the enemies of the
nation. In Modis case, these are treacherous
Muslims and deracinated secularists, while for
Erdogan, Turkeys enemies are Kurds, Armenians
and, above all, its own secular, godless Europeanised
elites. We are the People, Erdogan likes to say at
public rallies. Who are you?
The similarities to Trumps central message are
striking. A coastal elite, obsessed with racial, religious and sexual minorities, neglected hard-working
white people and turned them into strangers in
their own country. If his hostility to NAFTA (North
American Free Trade Agreement) and the TPP
(Trans-Pacific Partnership) was aimed at harnessing the resentment of de-industrialisation amongst
working class communities in the rust belt, his public bigotry about Mexicans and Muslims and the
17
blinding whiteness of his entourage, made it clear that

the assumptions of majoritarian nationalism, they will
he was addressing a white working class.
stop being prejudiced in that way.
Its useful to remember here that Trump didnt stop
at promising to deport 12 million undocumented immiF WE SEE THE NEW POPULISM as majorigrants, or building a wall to stop illegal migration from
tarianism gone viral, there are historical
Mexico, he characterised Mexican illegals as rapists
explanations that suggest themselves for
and criminals. And he did this in his speech in June
Trumps victory and Modis. Trump won the
2015 when he declared his intention to run for presielectoral college while losing the popular vote. He won
dent. His calling card, from the moment he set out his
votes where they mattered under the rules of the game.
stall, was bigotry.
The real question isnt why Hillary lost the 80,000-odd
Trumps defenders argued that his critics miss the
Midwestern votes she needed to win. The question that
wood for trees by cherry-picking his provocations while
will interest historians is why did nearly half the
ignoring the real anger about real issues that he forced
American electorate vote for this bigot with a bouffant?
into the national conversation. Peter Thiel, the Silicon
There is a detailed historical answer to that question
Valley billionaire who was an early supporter, put this
that goes back to the Republican Partys southern stratpithily: liberals took Trump literally without taking him
egy unveiled 50 years ago and the cumulative success of
seriously. The implication that Trumps supporters took
the dog-whistling, gerrymandering and voter suppreshim seriously but not literally is clever but not persuasive.
sion perfected over the decades. Trumps electoral college
To argue that people voted for Trump
majority wasnt built over one camdespite his bigotry is to ignore the suppaign; it was built over 50 years and
port that this bigotry brought him,
helped over the line by the derangesupport that more mealy-mouthed
ment induced in sections of the white
BIGOTS ARENT
Republicans, despite their conservatism
electorate by the sight of black tenants
BORN, THEY ARE
and their near-identical policy posiin the White House for eight intertions, never got close to. Trump won the
minable years. There is, similarly, a
MADE. BIGOTRY IS A history to Narendra Modis popularRepublican primaries because he was
xenophobic and racist; his supporters
ity founded, like Trumps, on decades
SET OF ACQUIRED
took him both seriously and literally.
of majoritarian mobilisation, starting
Trumps apologists respond to this
with the campaign for the razing of
OPINIONS, NOT A
argument in two ways. One, by objectthe Babri Masjid and culminating in
ing that to argue this is to stigmatise a
the Muzaffarnagar riots just before the
PERMANENT, INHE
plurality of Americans as racist and,
2014 elections.
two, by arguing as Joe Scarborough
Why did these disparate majoritariRITED CONDITION
did in an opinion piece, that since some
anisms win political power at roughly
Trump voters in the Midwest must have
the same political moment? Any genvoted for Obama in earlier elections,
eralisation will need caveats, but the
they couldnt possibly be racists.
Great Recession and its consequences offer the beginWe have heard these arguments rehearsed before
nings of an explanation. As economic growth tapered off
in India after Modis election. Liberals were accused of
and the prospect of secular progress dimmed, plausible
smearing a third and more of Indias electorate as comsectarians offered anxious and uncertain voters both
munal, merely because they voted for the BJP and its
anti-national enemies and nationalist panaceas. In times
allies. This argument from size, which assumes that there
of economic crisis, majoritarian parties and strongmen
is virtue in numbers, is based on a common misunderinvariably have a headstart over their liberal or left-wing
standing of prejudice, whether racial or religious.
counterparts, because invoking the Nation and sounding
Bigots arent born, they are made and bigotry is a set
the alarm against external threats and internal treachof acquired opinions, not a permanent inherited condiery is part of their stock in trade. Liberals committed to
tion. Progressives who characterise Modis supporters
a civic patriotism (and reluctant to summon up a people
as bigoted arent asking to elect a new people. They are
for fear of who might turn up) are slower off the mark.
acknowledging that there is some serious counter-perSometimes liberals are so persuaded of the self-evident
suasion to be done. Bigots dont have to be cadre memvirtue of their beliefs they forget that political success
bers of the KKK or the RSS. They dont even have to be
turns on persuasion. Its cold comfort, but after the lamcareer bigots. If they are persuaded by the rhetoric of
entation and handwringing of 2016, they know that their
Hindu nationalism or white nationalism to vote for Modi
clock starts now.
or Trump, its reasonable to say that they are either voting for bigotry or are willing to discount it as a necessary
MUKUL KESAVAN is a writer who teaches history at the Jamia
evil. When they stop supporting bigotry, when they reject
Millia Islamia, Delhi. His last book was Homeless on Google Earth
18
WAR ON CORRUPTION
By AKHIL GUPTA
Demonetise the Babus

So long as bureaucratic and political venality is ignored,
the war on corruption will remain a sham
HEN THAT ICON of the NonAligned Movement, Fidel Castro,

passed away recently, he was
remembered fondly by an older
generation of Cubans. Among
them were people who had been
illiterate adults when the revolution occurred in 1959. Two years later, when the
government declared the year of education, the
illiteracy rate fell from around 40 per cent to less
than 4 per cent. Cuba went from being a poor country with low levels of rural literacy to universal literacy. It did this with few economic resources and
without the steel frame of a permanent, well-functioning bureaucracy. Moreover, some of Cubas best
educated people had fled and it was faced with a
shortage of trained teachers and educators.
I invoke Cubas experience with radical change
in order to put into context a plan like demonetisation. What might we learn from other governmentled plans that were actually successful in bringing
about change in a short time? How did Cuba manage to eradicate illiteracy, especially adult illiteracy,
so quickly? The secret was societal mobilisation.
Hundreds of thousands of ordinary, literate people,
from schoolchildren to teachers and workers, were
motivated to act. Urban people, who otherwise had
little contact with rural areas, learnt first-hand
about the lives of their poor compatriots. Unlike
many other initiatives of the Cuban government that
relied on force or fear and did not leave an enduring legacy, this initiative called upon the idealism of
its people to change the country forever. Reflecting
on the literacy campaign 55 years later, it is clear

that for many Cubans, this act alone gave Castros
government life-long legitimacy. The political payoff
of such an initiative is incalculable.
The Government of India has never mobilised
the energies of its people to do something equivalent after Independence, although there is no
shortage of movements in civil society, like the JP
movement. After the success of the national movement in achieving Independence, the presumption
was that the job of nation-building was done, rather
than just begun. The idealism of Indias population,
and of its youth in particular, has never been tapped
by the government for a larger social purpose. For
the most part, the Indian state has been content at
preserving the status quo. When the state machinery has used mobilisation to tackle an important
problem like population, the efforts have done more
harm than good. The use of terror and repression
during the Emergency arguably set back population
control by many years.
This brings me to a second point of comparison
with the Cuban experience. The very fact that rural
people who were already adults at the time of the
revolution are alive today speaks to Cubas extraordinary record in raising life expectancy. According
to the World Bank, life expectancy in Cuba went up
from 64 years in 1960 to 79 years today, equal to
that of the United States. Unicef reports that Cubas
under-5 mortality rate went from 47 in 1963 to
5.5 in 2015, a rate lower than the United States.
For a relatively poor country, this is no mean feat.
However, the raising of life expectancy and the
19
WAR ON CORRUPTION
lowering of child mortality resulted from very different

mechanisms than the reduction of illiteracy. It involved
institution-building over a long period of time. This
was not the kind of result that could be obtained by a
campaign of mass mobilisation. It involved more equitable access to health, the provision of good primary
healthcare, and the training of a large cadre of medical professionals.
O HERE WE HAVE the example of two
success stories but two very different
paths to achieve them. One was obtained
through mass mobilisation and nationalist energy; the other through institution-building and
bureaucratic organisation. Both were achieved with
very few resources: the Cuban government was never
flush with funds.
What then can we learn from the Cuban example? India achieved Independence more than a
decade before the Cuban revolution. At the time of
Independence, India was a lot poorer than Cuba was
at the time of the revolution. However, in terms of what
we have been able to do in the past seven decades to
improve the quality of the lives of poor people, the contrast between Cuba and India could not be greater. We
are justifiably proud of having shrugged off anaemic
rates of economic growth for the last three decades.
But high rates of GDP growth have done little for
Indias abysmal human development record. We are
last among BRIC countries, and at par with Central
American states that have been wracked with internal
violence and dysfunctional governments.
What is to be done about it? How can India become
a global superpower with one of the poorest, least
well-educated populations on the planet, where the
average adult has only five-and-a-half years of schooling? Education and health outcomes cannot be altered
through one campaign; there has to be systematic
bureaucratic transformation that makes a long-term
difference. However, much like the cleanliness campaign, Swachh Bharat, it is possible to kickstart longterm bureaucratic changes in education and health
with successful public mobilisation. But such a mobilisation must be accompanied by bureaucratic reform,
otherwise it will come to naught.
This is where the current anti-corruption campaign through demonetisation falls short. People
are putting up with the inconvenience of standing
in queues, losing wages and falling sales because
they want an end to petty corruption. If, at the end of
the process, they do not see any payoff in terms of a
palpable reduction in corruption, we might expect a
backlash. Although seen primarily as a middle-class
issue, petty corruption actually affects the poor more
than any other segment of the population. It is safe to
say that any politician who can significantly reduce
20
KEYNOTES
1 Social mobilisation, as in
the Swachh Bharat
campaign, has to be
accompanied by
bureaucratic reform
2 Bureaucratic and
political corruption are
inextricably linkedand
must be tackled together
3 No anti-corruption effort
will succeed if it relies
largely on repression
and control, rather than
involving the people in a
central way
the forms of corruption to which citizens are exposed

on a daily basis will have bought the kind of political legitimacy that Castro obtained from his literacy
campaign. Reducing corruption has the backing of all
segments of the population, even some of those very
bureaucrats who benefit from the system of corruption in their work lives.
Corruption cannot be tackled solely through public
mobilisation, as the Aam Aadmi Party has discovered,
nor solely through bureaucratic and political reform,
but needs to combine all of those elements. Anticorruption reform needs to mobilise the widespread
anger against corruption in the population with real
changes in bureaucratic incentives to make corruption too risky for individuals. But it also fundamentally
needs changes in the conduct of politicians and of
political parties. Without that, the good intentions of
even a surprise programme like demonetisation can be
undercut by corruption among those responsible for
implementing the programme.
When bureaucratically entrenched systems of
corruption exist, where the problem lies not with a
few bad apples, but where everybody shares in the
spoils, then it is not enough simply to increase surveillance and conduct surprise raids. More often than
posts to the highest bidder, it is hard to blame the

bureaucracy for corruption. The rot really begins with
parties expecting that candidates who are given tickets for elections should pay for them. Naturally, once
such candidates are elected, they use their newfound
political power to earn back what they have paid. Even
result-oriented regimes tolerate corruption among
their ministers as long as they get things done. The
problem, of course, is that political corruption unleashes bureaucratic corruption because once it is deemed
acceptable to squeeze bureaucrats for money, no
actor in the system has an incentive to stop picking the
publics pocket. Political leaders can initiate vigorous
anti-corruption campaigns only by stopping their own
demands for payments from the bureaucracy.
NE ANSWER TO political and bureaucratic corruption is to increase the
power of investigating agencies. This,
however, merely increases the discretionary and arbitrary power of those conducting the
raids. As in Xis China, anti-corruption campaigns
can become a mechanism to weed out enemies and
jail competitors. Another problem that arises with
this solution is that it increases the chance that the
enforcers themselves become corrupt, because no
one is watching them.
Anti-corruption vigilance has to be exercised by
those who are subject to extractive rents on a daily
basis, and not just by the vigilance department.
Ultimately, anti-corruption measures will only succeed by making corruption morally reprehensible, and
that is where social mobilisation is critical. However,
if people see political elites benefiting from corruption
while mouthing anti-corruption slogans, it will make
the population even more cynical and despairing than
it is today. In this regard, leadership has to come from
the top and the bottom. No anti-corruption effort will
succeed if it is limited to a top-down exercise, one that
relies largely on repression and control, rather than
involving the people in a central way.
Will 2017 be Indias year of the war on corruption?
Is demonetisation the right instrument to achieve this
goal? Will the sacrifice of common people for the past
two months result in tangible change in their daily
lives? It seems very unlikely unless demonetisation is
the first step in a far-reaching transformation in the
functioning of political parties and bureaucracies.
There are much harder challenges ahead before the
common person can live a life free of demands for corrupt payments.
not, this ends up implicating lower-level bureaucrats

rather than their bosses who oversee the whole system. Punishing lower-level employees by suspending
or transferring them does little to alter the structure
of rent collection.
It is a truism that reforming the bureaucracy must
begin with incentives in the form of high wages. But
unless that is accompanied with stronger disincentives,
bureaucrats have little to fear by accepting bribes. A
transfer to a punishment post may be a terrible thing
but it is only temporary, and can be reversed in due
time by the payment of an appropriate bribe to a political overlord. There is no fear of imprisonment, little
fear of public shaming and damage to reputations,
and very little danger of losing ones job. Judicial convictions for systematic corruption are rare, and seldom involve the heads of bureaucratic departments.
Moreover, no party in a corrupt transaction has an
incentive to report a bribe. This is where social mobilisation is important.
Attacking bureaucratic corruption leaves
untouched the thorny question of political corruption.
As long as political parties consider it acceptable for
ministers to make demands of money from bureaucrats
at the time of elections, or auction prized bureaucratic
AKHIL GUPTA, professor of anthropology and

director of the Center for India and South Asia at the University
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is the author of Red Tape:
Bureaucracy, Structural Violence, and Poverty in India
21
POLITICS
By SANJAYA BARU
The Lucknow
Gambit
The UP election results will set the template for 2017. A BJP win could hasten
the Congress decline, nix Third Front ambitions. But if it loses...
HE POLITICAL OUTCOMES of 2017

will shape the politics of the next
decade. Two key elections to state
assemblies will bookend all others
Uttar Pradesh in spring and Gujarat
in winter. A bad outcome for the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in UP would mean a summer of political discontent which could stretch into the
monsoon months, dampening economic sentiment and
sharpening political divides. On the other hand, a happy
outcome for the BJP in the state could see the Congress
party melt further in the heat of increased internal frustration born out of the partys Hamletian dilemmato
be or not to be under Rahul Gandhis leadership.
Consider the alternative scenarios. Scenario 1
would see the BJP emerging as the single-largest
party in Uttar Pradesh, perhaps even with an absolute majority. Some UP-watchers suggest that the BJP
could have secured that outcome in the aftermath of
the surgical strikes against Pakistan but that demonetisation has eaten into that support base. As the
single-largest party, with or without absolute majority,
the BJP could form a government. While the Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) will lick
their wounds, the Sonia Congress, so to speak, would
enter a phase of intense soul-searching and handwringing, followed by more exits of provincial leaders
from the party across the country. It is unlikely that
anyone would actually seek a change of leadership.
This is the best-case scenario for the BJP.
Scenario 2 would see a hung assembly in UP with
22
either the BSP or SP emerging as the single-largest

party, and Congress not having the numbers to back a
non-BJP government, forcing the BSP/SP to form a government with implicit support of the BJP. The BJPs aim
in supporting such a government would be to keep the
non-Congress opposition divided so that a decline in the
party vote would not result in the emergence of a Third
Front. This is a second-best outcome for the BJP.
Scenario 3 would see the BJP performing badly,
perhaps miserably, and a non-BJP government taking
office in Lucknow. If the BSP or the SP secure an absolute majority, a stable government would be formed.
If not, the Congress could stabilise a minority government. This is the worst outcome for the BJP, and the
best one for the Congress.
Towards securing such an outcome in which it
emerges ahead of rivals, the SP has devised an interesting strategythe father has allowed the son to project himself as a rebel. This was precisely what Rahul
Gandhi tried in 2013 when he tore up an ordinance
issued by the Manmohan Singh governmentto be
the insider-outsider. The incumbent rebel, diverting
all the anger against the establishment towards an
older generation and painting himself in heroic colours
as a Mr Clean. Will Akhilesh Yadav succeed where
Rahul Gandhi failed? So far, father Mulayam and uncle
Shivpal have played this game more cleverly than
mother Sonia and uncle Manmohan were able to.
Scenario 1 would mean the end of Rahul Gandhis
hopes, a dampening of Third Front spirit and, most
importantly, the beginning of a long reign by Prime
Illustration by ANIRBAN GHOSH
POLITICS
Minister Narendra Modi. From a victory in UP, Mr Modi

jostle for political space seeking to generate political
will lead his party to a victory in New Delhi and national
momentum in their favour in the run-up to the 2019
politics will enter a new phase. That is not all. The
Lok Sabha elections. However, one important outcome
Scenario 1 outcome will be the final turning point that
of Scenario 2, in which neither the BJP nor the Congress
the BJP has been waiting for in its quest to emerge as
would do well in UP and the regional parties secure a
the natural and national party of governance, much like
boost, is that an internal churn for change of leadership
the Indian National Congress was during the Nehrumay well begin within the BJP.
Gandhi era. With the decline of what political scientist
A political party needs three attributes for electoral
Rajni Kothari famously dubbed the Congress system,
successinspiring leadership, an active and dedicated
the BJP has yearned to substitute it with its own syscadre and a political platform that appeals to a core
temdefined by a new nationalist consciousness.
and loyal constituency. The BJP had all three in 2014.
Scenario 3, on the other hand, would begin the proEven if the party leaderships image is dented by five
cess of consolidation of a new Third Front. This outcome
years of power, it still has a cadre and an agenda that
is based on the assumption that the BJP would find it
appeals to its core. Many of the regional parties also
difficult to bounce back from a wounding defeat in UP
have all three attributes. The Congress presently has
and the Congress would finally come to terms with the
none of the three.
growing irrelevance of the Nehru-Gandhis in national
Even if Rahuls image is sought to be boosted
politics. The problem with the formathrough the media, and the partys
tion of such a front is that right now
many bright sparks come up with an
there are far too many aspirants for
imaginative manifesto with a wide
the top jobNitish Kumar, Mamata
appeal, where is the cadre needed
Banerjee, Mayawati, Chandrababu
to convert support into votes? That
1 A BJP win in the UP polls
Naidu, K. Chandrasekhara Rao and,
has been the partys biggest problem.
will set up Modi for 2019,
perhaps, even Mulayam Singh Yadav,
Much of the focus has been on the
scatter the Opposition
if his health permits. Those who wish
weakness at the top. The real probto form a Third Front will have to
lem for the Congress is the disinte2 Congress is on the wane;
engineer political events that
gration of its bottom.
diminishing cadre, fuzzy
would throw up potential prime
All this points to the national
agenda offer little hope
ministerial leadership.
importance of the elections in UP.
No one understands this better than
3 A poor BJP performance
the prime minister himself. His deciN INTERESTING possimay trip the PM, revive
sion to use the demonetisation of
bility that Scenario 3
Third Front options
high value currency notes as a politithrows up is one in which
cal gambit in the run-up to the UP
Sonia Gandhi invites all
elections shows the importance he
ex-Congress leaders to return to the
attaches to winning this battle. Make no mistake, it was
parent family under a new leadership. Sharad Pawar
a political move, even though it has kept so many econmay not bite that bait, but Mamata could, if she sees the
omists busy! It remains to be seen if the expected politipossibility of herself emerging as the Congresss precal harvest can be reaped.
ferred PM for a Third Front government formed with its
That both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee
support. A latter-day Deve Gowda, if you like. The probare trying hard to emerge as the leaders of the antilem with this is that if the Congress moves closer to
demonetisation campaign suggests that they underMamata Banerjee, the Left may move closer to its old
stand the politics of the gambit and see an opportunity
Third Front friends like Mulayam and Chandrababu
for their political consolidation. However, so far neither
Naidu. An eventual three-cornered contest in 2019
has struck a chord nationally. It was not surprising,
could well ensure the victory of the BJP.
therefore, that the Congress had to pull former prime
Scenario 3 would help Rahul Gandhi stabilise himminister Manmohan Singh out of the comfort of his
self at the head of the Congress and begin the process
retirement home to make that memorable speech in
of Mr Modis decline. The first halt after UP, under this
Parliament, deploying language uncharacteristic of the
scenario, would be Gujarat in December. An enthused
gentle sardar to grab national attention.
Congress would try to unseat the BJP in Gujarat. If
The politics of 2017 revolves around who benefits
that were to happen, the national government in Delhi
politically from the demonetisation campaign. That in
would enter exactly the same phase that the second
turn would influence electoral outcomes in state assemUnited Progressive Alliance (UPA) government entered
bly elections. The die for 2019 would then be cast.
in 2012, with the emergence of Anna Hazare and
Arvind Kejriwal. Governance could go into a tailspin.
Scenario 2 is neither here nor there and would
SANJAYA BARU is the author of The Accidental Prime Minister:
continue the current impasse in which the BJP, the
The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh. His most recent
Congress and a clutch of regional parties constantly
book is 1991: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Made History
KEYNOTES
24
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
By NEELKANTH MISHRA
A Long Watch
The uncertainties of 2016 linger and things will only
get worse before they get better
HERE IS AN ENDEARING naivet to
the belief that humans are so predictable that one can forecast their collective behaviour a year in advance.
Economies, like Newtonian objects, do
not change momentum without new
forces being applied, making predictions somewhat tricky, particularly as major forces are
generally not known in advance. As we saw in 2016,
unexpected developments across the world (demonetisation, Trump and Brexit, to name a few) not only shook up
conventional thinking, forcing analysts to revisit the first
principles of economics and politics, but also left all forecasts made last year in the dust. And yet there is some
value in looking through the windscreen.
The first forecast for 2017, however unhelpful for
those desirous of clear visibility, is of significant policy
uncertainty. The momentous changes of 2016, both local
and global, have not played out fully yet, and the earth
passing a certain point in its orbit around the sun does
not change much.
Locally, it is far from clear that the government is done
with its fight against black moneychanges in the budget or continuing administrative measures to improve tax
compliance could impact the course the economy takes.
At a more basic level, the feeling of being disoriented is
generally not good for markets and for investment plans.
The beginning of GST could also be disruptive: positively
for some industries and enterprises and negatively for
some others. But who gets slotted in which basket is still
uncertain, as it is unclear which items would attract what
GST rate, the detailed rules that need to be followed, as
well as administrative division of work between Central
and state governments. One can also not be sure of the
political response to the UP election verdict in March, as
the election itself could throw surprises. It is the most
important state election for the ruling party after the
26
Bihar elections in December 2015, and could also affect

the behaviour of Opposition parties.
Globally, as the new and somewhat unorthodox
administration in the US takes over, major changes are
expected on several fronts that impact India, from geopolitics and trade to the interest rate trajectory, energy
prices and global currency movements. These are likely
to trigger second-order effects, as other governments and
central banks respond to a somewhat radical departure
from the status quo. In Europe, the triggering of Brexit, as
well as the upcoming elections in France and Germany,
could similarly affect visibility of government and central
bank policy. In China, while there is little uncertainty with
regard to the re-election of the current leadership due in
the second half of the year, the governments support to
economic growth may change after the re-election.
There are also several trends from 2016 that are likely
to persist in 2017. For starters, the economic turmoil
caused by demonetisation could last several quarters after
currency availability has normalised. There are several
drivers of this disruption, which could get accentuated by
the beginning of GST sometime in calendar year 2017.
Firstly, the real estate market was the preferred
repository for black wealth: this is the reason India has
the lowest rental yields in the world despite high interest rates (i.e. if you invest Rs 100 in a fixed deposit, you
get Rs 7 every year, but if you buy an apartment and
put it on rent, you get only Rs 2). Even if temporary,
the slowdown in black money creation is likely to slow
down real estate transactions and build pressure on
prices. Already, new launches seem to be happening
at meaningful discounts, and search queries for new
home purchases have fallen sharply. As real estate is 13
per cent of Indias GDP, a slow real estate market hurts
overall economic growth. Further, the negative wealth
effect triggered by declines in house prices can also
hurt discretionary consumption.
Secondly, India has a large informal economy: the Central

Statistical Organisation reports that 45 per cent of Indias
GDP is informal. Most of this activity relies on cash-based
credit and cash transactions, which have been meaningfully disrupted. These may take a long time to revive, or
to switch to non-cash mode/ formal credit wherever they
can. Some of these business models are built on tax avoidance, and may not survive if forced into the tax net. Such
disruption, while healthy in the longer run, as it provides
an opportunity for the formal enterprises to gain share,
will hurt demand in the near term.
Thirdly, the banking system, which has been at the
forefront of the demonetisation exercise, has had its
control processes stress-tested in the last two months,
as transaction volumes skyrocketed. There have been
media reports of meaningful control breaches, and
active connivance by some employees in money-laundering. As the banks embark on intense internal audits
and handle government pressure to penalise errant
employees, they will be distracted from the main job of
lending productively.
Further, a slowing
economy could add to
the pile of bad loans,
and this time in a more
destabilising way. In
the past few years,
the banking system
has been plagued by
bad loans to large
corporate groups.
While these loans
have proven hard to
resolve, they had two
advantages from the
perspective of systemic
stability: there was no
contagion effect as the
set of firms in trouble
was not expanding, and senior management of the
banks could talk to these large borrowers and manage the loans from turning bad. This current slowdown
is likely to create a new crop of bad loans, which will
not have both these characteristics. There could be
cascading defaults, for example, as trouble in the informal system topples an enterprise that had borrowed
from banks, and which in turn could create trouble for
some other borrower. Further, banks would struggle to
evergreen such loans, as allowing branch managers to
negotiate with borrowers runs the risk of branch-level
corruption. Such losses would thus precipitate quickly,
and add to the slowdown.
Lastly, a slowing economy is likely to mar tax revenues both at the Centre as well as states; a slowing real
estate market could also hurt states stamp duty revenues, especially painful in states like Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh, which greatly depend on them. In particular, under GST, the Centres fiscal balance may come
under pressure, as it has promised state governments

that they are to be compensated every quarter if their
revenue grows less than 14 per cent. Given the necessity
to stimulate the economy as private sector investment
remains anaemic, these burdens become an overhang.
HERE IS ANOTHER CONTINUING trend
from 2016: meaningful agricultural surpluses pushing down food prices. Growth in
Indias food demand has slowed with slowing population growth and a flattening curve for per
capita calorie consumption. However, agricultural productivity continues to rise, and surpluses are emerging
across food categories. The protests for reservations in
the last two years by primarily agricultural land-owning
communities were attributed to the drought, but the root
cause was excess supply. Recent demonetisation-driven
disruptions in the perishable supply chain could cause
some shortlived stresses in the coming year, but the
medium-term trajectory is likely to be of lower food prices, keeping agricultural
income growth muted
after a decade of doubledigit increases. As farmers mechanise to retain
profitability, more workers are likely to move out
of agriculture, further
intensifying the job creation problem for
policymakers.
Most of these trends, if
managed well, can sharply
improve Indias mediumterm growth outlook. A
stalled real estate market,
where prices had gone too
high, had slowed down
construction. The decline
in real estate prices can be disruptive while it is on, but
the fall could allow more genuine buyers to step in (India
needs substantially higher housing stock). The resultant
increase in volumes can boost economic growth. Similarly,
GST and demonetisation are disruptive in the short run
but can lift Indias tax-to-GDP ratio, breaking it out of a
vicious cycle of low taxes driving a small government.
That in turn increases informality, reduces productivity
and thus drives low taxes, completing the vicious cycle.
Improving agricultural productivity is also good: when
the rest of the world is worrying about competing with
artificial intelligence and robots, that nearly half of Indias
workforce is still in agriculture is an embarrassing statistic. But somewhat like during the renovation of a house,
one must live through several quarters of dirt and noise
before the new and better structure becomes visible.
NEELKANTH MISHRA is India Equity Strategist for Credit Suisse
27
By LOUISE
TILLIN
FEDERALISM
FEDERAL
FAULTLINES
After a promising start and PM Modis call for

a competitive, cooperative federalism,
Centre-state relations are again on the brink
NE OF THE DEFINING FEATURES of

Prime Minister Narendra Modis discourse around governance reform has
been the goal of building a more cooperative form of Centre-state relations. A
former chief minister himself, Modi
promised a new approach. Chief ministers would work
together with the Centre as a Team India to resolve differences and achieve a jointly defined national interest.
There have been real changes in the practice and
institutional architecture of federalism in the last two
years. The implementation of the Fourteenth Finance
Commission recommendations increased the states
share of central taxation from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.
Along with the rationalisation of centrally sponsored
schemes, this move recognised the demand of state
governments to have more autonomy over their spending decisions. It constituted a substantial increase in the
untied funds they received from New Delhi.
Even more significant was the passage of the Goods
and Services Tax Act this year. The alignment of indirect
taxation by Central and state governments and the removal of inter-state tariff barriers are major steps towards
achieving a common market in India. The move has required the Centre and states to pool their sovereignty to
pursue shared national economic goals. The states will
not have veto rights on the GST Council that governs the
operations of the new taxthey will have to form alliances
with the Central government to get amendments passed.
The other major institutional innovation related to
federalism was the abolition of the Planning Commission.
The government argued that the Niti Aayog would oversee
a transition from a top-down, Centre-to-state policy flow
towards a genuinely cooperative partnership between
the two. At the first meeting of the Niti Aayog in February
2015, Modi urged the states to embrace a spirit of competitive, cooperative federalism in which they would compete with each other to improve governance, working in
tandem for the goal of sabka saath, sabka vikaas.
However, there are signs that in a number of respects
28
Centre-state relations are becoming increasingly politicised in ways that threaten to undermine the promised
goal of a more cooperative form of federalism. This also
raises questions about how far the Niti Aayog is able to
function as a neutral platform for Centre-state dialogue
and policy discussion. For instance, in its first meeting,
the Niti Aayog governing council, which includes all CMs
and state governors, established groups to explore and
report on three priority areas for Centre-state cooperation: skills development, Swachh Bharat and the rationalisation of centrally sponsored schemes. Chief ministers of
all 29 states, the NCT of Delhi plus the Union territories of
Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar islands were
represented on one of the three sub-groups.
Initially, two of the three sub-groups were due to
be convened by CMs belonging to Opposition parties
(the Congresss Siddaramaiah from Karnataka and the
CPI(M)s Manik Sarkar from Tripura). Unceremoniously,
two weeks after their formation, news came that these
committees were instead to be convened by regional allies
of the Central government (Punjabs Parkash Singh Badal
and Andhra Pradeshs N. Chandrababu Naidu), along with
the third committee chaired by the BJPs own CM Shivraj
Singh Chouhan from Madhya Pradesh.
Since the three groups reported in late 2015, there
have been no other comprehensive consultative platforms. Those which have been established, such as the
small committee on digital payments launched in the
wake of demonetisation and convened by Naidu, look
even more partisan. The CMs of Bihar and Tripura pulled
out of the committee soon after it was established.
Naidu is the non-BJP chief minister most vigorously committed to the platform of cooperation with the
Centre. This is a reprise of a role he played in the earlier
NDA regime of 1999-2004. Andhra is fast becoming the
poster-child of competitive federalism too. The state came
firstwith Telanganain the governments 2016 index
of implementation of business reforms action plans (the
index mirrors the World Banks ease of doing business
index). Of the top 12 reforming statesthe leadersall
but Uttarakhand and Telangana are

ruled by the BJP or its allies.
A growing number of statesespecially those ruled by non-NDA parties
are becoming less willing to play along.
Some of the more vocal ones, like West
Bengal, have long proved a thorn in
the side of Central governments. But
it is becoming apparent that partisan
divides between the NDA and non-NDA
ruled states are starting to overshadow
the vision of cooperative federalism
promoted in the first half of Modis
term in office.
KEYNOTES
consequences for Tamil Nadus ties

with the Centre? The Punjab and Uttar
1 Cooperative federalism
Pradesh election outcomes will be cruwas key to PM Modis
cial in determining the weight of NDAgovernance reforms
affiliated states within the federation.
The Congress partys approach too
2 Partisan divides between
remains unclear. While the party CMs
NDA, non-NDA states now
in Karnataka and Uttarakhand have
overshadow proceedings
begun to speak out against the antifederal attitude of the Centre, the party
3 Political centralisation
leadership has not articulated a clear
may force Opposition to
vision of, or for, federalism in India yet.
politicise federal issues
The growing lines of partisan tension between the Central government
and the states look rather different to
the recent past when Opposition-ruled states were freHE CURRENT DIFFICULTIES IN holding GST
quently some of the strongest in implementing flagship
Council meetings and reaching agreement on
central programmes. This was because state governthe architecture of the GST regime are indiments were able to claim credit for them in a period durcations of the challenges ahead in realising a
ing which there was not such a centralising momentum
vision of cooperative federalism. These challenges have
and during which state politics maintained a good degree
become much greater following demonetisation. Not only
of autonomy from the national level. In this context,
have many states complained about the expected hit to
there were few regional takers for the idea of a federal
their revenues caused by it (Keralas finance minister
front, floated periodically by Mamata Banerjee. The
recently estimated the states revenues would decline by
current drift towards political centralisation provides
40 per cent), but the political fallout of demonetisation has
Opposition-ruled states stronger incentivesalong with
made Centre-state relations a much testier issue.
greater fiscal autonomyto undermine, or drag their
Many states complained that the means by which
heels over the implementation of central policy priorities.
demonetisation was carried out violated the spirit of coopWhether it also drives them closer together politically
erative federalism. Enacted by the prime minister over
will become clearer over the coming year.
the heads of state governments, this was a policy that
This government has given new impetus to discuswas intended to nationalise the political debate. It is in
sions of cooperative federalism. That said, the need to
line with the projection of Modis presence and authority
maintain a balance between regional autonomy to design
across areas of government activity. This centralising drift
and implement policies in ways that respond to local prithreatens to make the clarion call for cooperative federalorities, alongside the space for authoritative action by the
ism ring increasingly hollow. It has already put the April
Central government, are critical issues for India going
2017 deadline for rolling out GST in doubt.
into the new year.
Centre-state relations could, therefore, become a key
theme around which the non-NDA opposition coalesces.
Yet there are many imponderables. How will the vacuum
LOUISE TILLIN is senior lecturer in politics at Kings India
left by Jayalalithaas passing be filled and with what
Institute, Kings College, London
29
By ROHINI
SOMANATHAN
RESERVATIONS
The Battle for

Backwardness
How do we move towards a meaningful discourse on
equal opportunity in modern India?
N JULY LAST YEAR, the Patels of

Gujarat launched their movement for
quotas in educational institutions and
public employment. Over the months
that followed, millions gathered at rallies, drawn by the charisma and oratory
of 23-year-old Hardik Patel of the Patidar Samaj Andolan.
The Patels are a force to be reckoned with in Gujarat,
making up 15 per cent of the electorate. The chief minister at the time of the protest was a Patel, as are a fifth of
all Gujarat MLAs, several members of Parliament and
countless motel owners in North America. Hardik knew
and drew upon this community strength. He threatened
the ruling BJP government at the now famous rally in
Ahmedabad on August 25, 2015if you do not talk
about our interest, the lotus will not bloomif you do not
give us our rights, we will snatch it. His speech was a call
to arms, not a cry of deprivation. And yet the Patidars
were demanding that they be listed as one of the other
backward classes (OBCs), eligible for preferential treatment under a clause in the Indian Constitution.
The Patidar movement energised others. Over the
past year, the topic of reservations has constantly been
in the news, with new demands rippling across regions
and communities. In January, the Kapus demanded OBC
status in Andhra Pradesh. In February, the Jat agitation
in Haryana turned violent, and March saw the Rajputs of
Uttar Pradesh enter the fray. Victories came in the following months. Gujarat approved quotas for Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) of the upper castes, including the
Patidars; Haryana drafted a new reservation bill which
compartmentalised the OBC quota to guarantee the Jats
and four other castes a minimum share, and the Andhra
Pradesh government decided to appoint a new commission to study the social, educational and economic
backwardness of the communities in the state. Since
July, most of the action has been in Maharashtra. The
Marathas have held many meticulously planned silent
marches, often led by young women who speak of their
frustration at being turned down for admission in public
30
institutions despite their high marks. When the Marathas

take a break, the Lingayats, Muslims and Gujarati communities settled in the state stake claims for OBC status.
Anxious political parties often acquiesce to these
types of demands, especially ahead of elections. The Jats
have demanded inclusion as one of the OBCs on multiple
occasions since 2008. In March 2014, just before the Lok
Sabha elections, the Congress government issued a notification including them in the central OBC list after which
they withdrew the agitation. The Supreme Court cancelled
the notification in March 2015 and threats of disruption
surfaced again. The Gujarat government realised that the
Patidar threats were real when, in spite of Hardik and his
associates being arrested and imprisoned, the BJP lost the
panchayat elections to the Congress at the end of 2015.
The state government is now reaching out to them to find
solutions before the assembly elections next year.
Petitions by caste associations for special treatment
are not a new phenomenon. Ever since the Indian census
started recording caste and relating it to social status,
official classifications have been contested. Before the
Constitution of 1950, these contests were mostly about
shedding the label of disadvantage. After large-scale affirmative action became the norm, powerful caste groups
have demanded that they be listed as disadvantaged in the
constitutional schedules. Aspirations of a growing population have increased the competition for government jobs
and college degrees and the battle for backwardness has
intensified. Many groups have staged protracted battles
for OBC status and those already within these categories have fought to keep them out. Any observer of these
events must realise that caste hierarchies are not traditional and rigid structures of status and powerthey are
living institutions that change in response to opportunities.
This sequence of recent protests makes it apparent
that some of the most successful struggles for backwardness are by locally powerful communities. We are clearly
in an untenable situation with too many laying claim to
too little. Will the difficulty of managing these multiple
demands force us to build new institutions for social

31
RESERVATIONS
justice? How do we move towards a meaningful discourse

on equality of opportunity in modern India? A reasonable
debate on egalitarianism requires an understanding of
the historical circumstances in which caste reservations
became central to state policy and the types of inequality
these reservations generate.
were many literate OBCs who were competing with

them for jobs and university seats but relatively few
of the tribes had enough education to be rivals. The
probability of entering elite institutions was therefore
much higher as an ST. The Meenas of Rajasthan were
the most influential within the STs and the new Gujjar
demands led to violent clashes between these two
groups. The Gujjars then pushed for compartmentalisNDIAS CASTE-BASED affirmative action
ing the OBC quota to guarantee them a five per cent
programme is largely based on informashare of reservations, but the Jats, who were OBCs in
tion provided by the censuses of British
Rajasthan found this unacceptable. Finally, the categIndia. For British administrators, caste
ory of Special Backward Classes was created, consistwas both an enigma and a potential problem. They
ing of the Gujjars and four other groups and they were
were both fascinated by it and fearful that misundergiven a five per cent quota. This, however, took the
standings related to caste may lead to political catasfraction of total reserved seats to above one-half and
trophe such as it did with the 1857 mutiny. This led to
the courts stepped in to strike down the notification.
the censuses of British India collecting elaborate data
Last September, in a similar move, the Nishads of Bihar
on caste and very little on economic standing. They
petitioned to move from the OBCs to the SCs.
contained lists of castes using a variety of terms such
With hundreds of castes already labelled as backas depressed, exterior, aboriginal, primitive, dominant,
ward, the most educated within them gain from
military, professional. These formed the basis for
reservations. This has widened inequalities witlists of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes
hin scheduled groups. In Bihar, for example, Dhobis
(STs) that were part of the Constitution and the reports
and Musahars are both Scheduled
on Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
Castes, but 14 per cent of Dhobis
that followed later. Caste hierarchies
complete 10 years of schooling,
differed by region and castes with low
while only one per cent of Musahars
status in some areas could be domi1 Competition for state
do so. It is inconceivable that they
nant in others. This is why there are
jobs has led to more
will converge in social standing if
separate SC, ST and OBC lists for each
reservation demands
SC quotas are our only means to
Indian state. These were necessarily
equalise opportunities. In 2007, the
somewhat arbitrary, arrived at by difNitish Kumar government created a
ferent sets of Englishmen, who often
2 Situation now untenable, as too many are
new group, Mahadalits, to help comhad difficulty in separating variations
laying claim to too little
munities like the Musahars, but it
in language from those of caste and
was only a matter of time before the
custom. Early confusion had lasting
Dhobis and Chamars also wanted in.
consequences. For example, the
3 The Indian state now
Caste reservations first emerged to
Bhils, Minas and Bhil-Minas all
has the capacity for new
promote equal treatment in a society
appear in the colonial census in the
forms of redistribution
where untouchability was widely pracSTs list for Rajasthan. In response to
tised. They have now degenerated into
a query by the Rajasthan High Court,
a scramble for privilege and a catalyst
the Centre clarified in 2014 that the
for communal conflict. Many state
Minas were a Scheduled Tribe but
elections will be held in 2017, including Punjab, Gujarat
Meenas were not. The state government, after much
and Uttar Pradesh. Punjab has already announced OBC
back and forth, insists that these are just variations in
status for the Rajput Sikhs. It remains to be seen whether
spelling and both communities should enjoy equal
politics in the other states will also be dominated by lobtreatment. It is baffling that amidst this controversy
bies for reservations or whether our leaders can focus on
nobody seems to have pointed out that the two words
expanding the social and physical infrastructure that we
would be spelt identically in any Indian language.
so badly need. Only 15 per cent of children in rural India
We must also realise that no set of concessions
have easy access to a high school, only four per cent of
granted by the Central and state governments can lead
villages have a primary health centre and income transus out of the current conflicts over reservations. This is
fers to the poor and the old are negligible for most famibecause placing two castes in the same category does
lies. The Indian state now has the capacity and the data
not give them equal status, but rather shifts scarce
needed for modern methods of redistributionthrough
goods across them. No matter where a caste is placed
public goods, social insurance and progressive taxes. It is
in the scheme of things, there is always a better place
time to use these to move forward.
to be. This is best illustrated by the Gujjar demands for
reservations in Rajasthan in 2006. The Gujjars were
already part of the OBCs but wished to be re-classified
ROHINI SOMANATHAN is a professor of economics
as a Scheduled Tribe. The reasons were obvious. There
at the Delhi School of Economics
KEYNOTES
32
By KISHORE
MAHBUBANI
GEOPOLITICS
The New CIA...

China, India
and America
The decline of Sino-US ties is an opportunity

India must seize, and place itself firmly in the
middle to have the best of both worlds
agitation rather than with an effort to see if adversity can

HAKESPEARE WISELY SAID, ,
be turned into an opportunity.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Pakistan is the biggest drag on Indias foreign polwhich, taken at the flood, leads on to
icy. Given the history, a love affair between India and
fortune; omitted, all the voyage of
Pakistan is not on the cards. However, many erstwhile
their life is bound in shallows and in
adversaries, like France and Germany, China and Japan,
miseries. Such a window of opportuSingapore and Malaysia, have achieved normal relanity has now opened for India to join
tions. For example, they conduct normal trade with
the A league of powers. The election of Donald Trump
each other. India and Pakistan do not. This is why India
has opened this window.
should reconsider its refusal to join the One Belt, One
A rocky, probably even turbulent, road lies ahead for
Road (OBOR) initiative of China. Contrary to a few paraUS-China relations. Even before taking office, Trump
noid voices in New Delhi, OBOR is not an evil scheme
has challenged China on many fronts, from trade to
designed by China to exclude India. Instead, it is Chinas
Taiwan. In the face of this, India has two choices. It can
insurance policy to develop land links in Central Asia
sit back and smack its lips with satisfaction watching the
to overcome any possible maritime encirclement by
travails of Beijing as it handles the mercurial Trump.
America against China. OBOR was a
Or it can cunningly exploit this new
defensive, not offensive, move. If India
turbulence in US-China relations to
wants to be truly cunning, it should
catapult itself into a new A league
enthusiastically join OBOR and use it to
of great powers, best captured in the
1 If Sino-US ties turn
create a whole new web of trade and
acronym: CIA. CIA will now stand for
worse, both sides will
energy links with Iran, Afghanistan
China, India and America.
pay India more attention
and Central Asia. In the middle of the
The big question here is whether
web will be Pakistan. Such a web will
India can be cunning. Calm and
also help normalise India-Pakistan
detached cunning geopolitical cal2 Aligning with America will
bring benefits, but India
trade relations and liberate India from
culations are supposed to be the
will remain a junior partner
a geopolitical burden.
hallmark of strategic thinking. It is
To achieve all this, India will have to
therefore puzzling that sometimes
look
at China with fresh eyes. India and
petulance seems to trump cun3 It should, therefore,
China have had a tumultuous history
ning in Indian strategic thinking.
maintain a relationship
due to now-dormant border disputes
Every time a new slight appears,
of equals with both
as well as the issue of Tibet. The Indian
India responds with great emotional
KEYNOTES
34
American lone ranger. It will play the role Japan or UK did

in the Cold War: a valuable ally but not an equal partner.
The cunning choice for India, therefore, is to position
itself as a geopolitical equal to both America and China.
This will not be easy. Americas GNP is $18 trillion, Chinas
$11 trillion, Indias $2.1 trillion. How does the far smaller
guy become an equal partner to two bigger giants?
HIS IS WHERE TRUMP has provided the
opportunity. By turning adversarial against
China, the president elect has effectively put
China and America at two opposite ends of a
see-saw. India should seize the opportunity by leaping on
to the middle of the see-saw. This will give the incentive
for both America and China to develop close relations with
India, for the person standing in the middle of the see-saw
will be the one to determine which side of the see-saw
goes up and down. In terms of strategic positioning, India
should stand in the middle, not move closer to America or
China. Consequently, Indias geopolitical weight will also
grow in the world as the world will see that the overall
global geopolitical directions are now being driven by
three powers, China, India and America, the new CIA.
To understand the Trump opportunity, India should
do a private cunning calculation of whether it is better-off
under an Obama or Trump presidency. Trump will never
love India as much as Obama (or George W. Bush) did.
Trump is transactional in his approach. But both Obama
and Bush also realised that America had more at stake
with China. Hence, both the Obama and Bush administrations gave far more priority to China than to India. This
kept India locked out of any potential CIA triangle. In contrast, by turning adversarial against China, Trump has
opened a window of opportunity for India. Is India cunning enough to take advantage of this brief opportunity to
develop equally good ties with China and America?
It will probably be a brief opportunity because after a
year or two in office, Trump may redo his calculations and
decide that having a good relationship with China makes
more geopolitical sense. In so doing, he would only be following his five predecessorsRonald Reagan, George H.
Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
One of the few points the five had in common was the
emphasis they gave to maintaining a stable and constructive US-China relationship. If Trump follows in their footsteps, the window of opportunity will close for India. India
will then become less useful to both America and China.
Shakespeares greatest plays were his tragedies. In
each one, he demonstrated how human beings fail to rise
above their human frailties, including their emotional
impulses. It would be a real tragedy if India loses its current geopolitical opportunity because of a failure to rise
above its emotional impulses in dealing with China.
media ceaselessly beats the drums and says that China is

a threat to India. This media hysteria is a perfect example
of how emotions often trump cunning in Indian strategic thinking. How is China a threat? Is it going to invade
India? Unilaterally change the Line of Control? Send warships to blockade India? To put it simply, China is not a
military threat to India because it will gain no geopolitical
advantage in changing the status quo on the ground.
By contrast, while China is not a real threat to India,
America is a real threat to China. The Chinese strategic
thinkers have every reason to be paranoid about America.
America is still, overall, far more powerful than China.
Militarily, America is far more powerful. Economically,
it can damage China by restricting Chinese imports
(as Trump has threatened to do). Politically, it can stir
separatist movements in China (be it in Taiwan, Tibet or
Xinjiang). The ultimate Chinese nightmare is a colour
revolution triggered by America. If Chinese strategic
thinkers were to drop their paranoia about America, they
should have their heads examined.
All this provides India a golden opportunity. If ChinaUS relations take a turn for the worse under Trump, both
sides will pay India more attention. The choice that India
makes in this geopolitical environment will be absolutely
critical. Given the current political situation in India,
where a nascent love affair is developing between India
and America, there will be a strong emotional desire to
gang up with America against China. There will be shortterm benefits. India will get more arms from America.
Trade might grow. But in such a geopolitical arrangement,
India will always be the lesser partner, the Tonto to the
KISHORE MAHBUBANI, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of

Public Policy, National University of Singapore, is the author of The
Great Convergence: Asia, the West and the Logic of One World. His
forthcoming book on ASEAN will be published by NUS Press in 2017
35
INDIA-PAKISTAN
By SHASHANK JOSHI
LINE OF NO
CONTROL
Tactical support from China, Russia and a

new army chief mean Pakistan will remain
a troublesome neighbour for India
HOUGH 2016 HAS BEEN a geopolitical annus horribilis all round, it is easy to forget that it was not
supposed to be so. Ab to yahaan aana jaana laga
rahega (Now there will be much coming and
going), remarked Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, during his 2015
Christmas Day visit to Lahore. Aap ka ghar hai
(This is your house), replied Sharif, perhaps channelling the heady
optimism of another celebrated meeting in that city 16 years beforehand. There was indeed much aana jaana over the year.
Unfortunately, most of it was carried on by jihadists and special forces, resulting in the worst period for India-Pakistan relations since the
Mumbai attacks of 2008. How did we arrive at this point?
A week after Modis triumphal visit, as the New Year dawned, normal service was resumed. Early on January 2, six heavily armed terrorists breached the Pathankot air force station in Punjab and killed
seven members of the security forces. That, however, was far from
the end of the story. Never in living memory have India and Pakistan
handled such an attack, obviously of Pakistani provenance, with
such maturity, calm and pragmatism. The two national security advisors, spy and soldier, spoke to each other within hours of the attack
and met in Paris. The Indian government allowed a five-member
Pakistani team to visit the air base itself in March.
Pakistan had been handed a golden opportunity, by the most
hawkish Indian government in over a decade, to break the familiar cycle of atrocity, denial, obfuscation and misdirection that has
bedevilled the relationship. Tragically, this opportunity was spurned.
The hapless Sharif, sincere in his efforts to throw India a bone, was
36
undercut by corruption allegations stemming from

the leak of the Panama Papers, while the army
quashed the investigation and accused India of
mounting a false flag attack. Jaish-e-Mohammed,
resurgent after a hiatus, and its leader, Masood
Azharspared blushes by a Chinese veto at the
United Nations in Aprilstood as symbols of the
Pakistan Armys commitment to continued covert
war. By late spring and early summer, Lahore was
a dim memoryand the stage was set for worse.
The protests that erupted in Kashmir in July,
following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideens Burhan
Wani, were local, and inflamed by needless repression. But Kashmir has never been, and never can
be, wholly local in its effects. As Pakistan took up
the cudgels, India struck back in August with a verbal counter-offensive, delivered by the prime minister from the Red Fort, against Pakistans record
in Balochistan, Gilgit and the rest of Pakistanheld Kashmir. Indias intelligence agencies likely
stepped up covert action against Pakistan-based
jihadists after the Mumbai attacks in 2008Shiv
Shankar Menons book this year, which I reviewed
in these pages in November, hints as muchbut
Modis speech was a less-than-subtle indication
that there remained room for escalation.
Onto this tinder, of Kashmir and Balochistan,
a match was thrown in September with the slaying of 19 Indian soldiers in Uri. This was the
worst attack on the Indian Army since the darkest days of Kashmirs insurgency. India pulled
out of the SAARC summit that had been scheduled for November, and persuaded Afghanistan,
Bangladesh and Bhutan to follow suit. At the
United Nations General Assembly, a perfectly
timed global podium, India lashed out at Pakistan
with extraordinary language. The land of Taxila,
one of the greatest learning centres of ancient
times, noted the Indian diplomat, is now host to
the Ivy League of terrorism. But this was a 10-day
phoney war, masking preparations for a real one.
On September 29, Indian officials claimed
they had conducted surgical strikes on terrorists preparing to cross over into Indian-held territory. A flood of leaks and comments followed,
documenting everything from the use of drones
and satellites to the prime ministers reassuring
omniscience (Modi did not have a drop of water
through the night, reported one especially fulsome story). Modi boasted that India had shown
itself no less than Israel, while Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar, never one to keep a thought to
himself when it might be shared, went one better
with a comparison to Hanuman, rediscovering his
long-forgotten powers. This was not just deterrence; it was redemption.
It was also political magic, and the Congress
party would not leave the crease without protest.
37
INDIA-PAKISTAN
An astonishing press release was issued, showing

the dates of specific covert raids conducted under
the UPA government. More remarkable still was the
leaked story of Operation Ginger, a retaliatory raid in
August 2011. Three Pakistani heads were among
the trophies carried back by the Indian soldiers,
noted The Hindu, while another Pakistani body was
booby-trapped. Such was the national mood that the
army of the worlds largest democracy found itself
boasting proudly of war crimes. The closing months
of 2016 saw intense shelling, calling into question
the 2003 ceasefire from which India, ultimately, has
benefitted the most, and a string of further attacks in
Kupwara, Nagrota and Pampore. As Pakistans new
army chief beds in, drawing on his extensive personal
experience at the LoC, we are likely to have a turbulent year ahead.
China is investing heavily in Pakistan as part of its

One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, hence its willingness to shield Masood Azhar and block Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). But
Russia is also in the midst of its own, more surprising,
pivot to Pakistan. Russia ignored Indian protests to go
ahead with its first-ever joint exercises with Pakistani
special forces, just days after the Uri attack. Then, at
the Heart of Asia meeting in Amritsar in December,
Moscows envoy to Afghanistan rubbished Indian allegations against Pakistan and rebuked India for using
the forum as a bully pulpit. Earlier in the year, he
made the eyebrow-raising claim that Taliban interests objectively coincide with ours.
Iran, which nearly went to war with the Taliban
in 1998, too, has been similarly hedging its bets, hosting a large meeting for the insurgents in Tehran in
mid-December. In one sense, then, it is India that has
grown more isolated over the past year in Afghanistan,
NE QUESTION IS how far India is willing
even as it deepens friendships in the Middle East and
to go. For all the machismo, the surgical
East Asia. Indias export of attack
strikes were carefully
helicopters to Afghanistan was the
crafted to limit escalafirst such transfer in its history, and
tion. They stuck to the LoC rather
a strong statement of intent. But it
than the international border, no
is unlikely to be enough to prevent
mention was made of casualties to
1 Despite the machismo,
further Taliban gains in the new
Pakistani troops, and the governthe surgical strikes
year. American policy is, of course,
ment wisely resisted demands for
were carefully crafted
in enormous flux. Perhaps Donald
to limit escalation
video footage that would have
Trumps anti-Islamist fervour will
forced the hands of Pakistans leadincline him favourably to India. An
ers. Indias calculation is that such
2 Russia is signalling a
early meeting between Ajit Doval
limited raids are viewed, internapivot to Pakistan
and his prospective US counterpart
tionally, as proportionate responses,
Michael Flynn will have helped.
and place the onus for any further
3 Under Donald Trump,
But in a November phone call with
escalation onto Islamabad. Perhaps
US policy will be erratic,
Nawaz Sharifin which the word
each side will settle into a new,
unpredictable
amazing was used thricethe
bloodier equilibrium: more Uris, and
president-elect declared himself
more raids. If this is followed by a
ready and willing to play any role
bargain to de-escalate, Modi could
that you want me to play. It is not hard to guess what
then claim an important success. But if Pakistan
such a role might be.
decides to escalate further, restarting urban terrorism
The prognosis for this year is troubling. In
on the scale of Mumbai, what would follow? Indian
Pakistan, a weakened prime minister and confident
airstrikes deeper inside Pakistan, perhaps on Lashkararmy, under new command, will have every reason
e-Taibas headquarters in Punjab, become a serious
to test Indian resolve. India will hold seven state elecpossibility. But it is difficult, then, to imagine the
tions, including the biggest prize in Uttar Pradesh.
United States or China showing the same insouciEvery skirmish will have magnified political stakes.
anceand Pakistan has a respectable air force of its
Meanwhile, the number of militants in Kashmir has
own. If this dilemma were easy to resolve, then Indian
doubled since the summer. As a clownish neophyte
bombs would have fallen on Muridke long ago.
enters the Oval Office, American policy will grow more
Deterrence is a promise to inflict pain in the
erratic and unpredictable. India and Pakistan have
future. But a second plank of Indias emerging
stabilised their relationship after each of the most
strategy is coercion, which is the promise to keep
serious crises in the past 20 years, and they will do so
inflicting pain on an adversary in the present, until
again. But expect things to worsen in the interim.
she changes course. This has taken the form of a
diplomatic offensive: collapsing the SAARC summit,
emphasising Pakistans repression in Balochistan,
SHASHANK JOSHI is a senior fellow of
and persuading other states to pay greater attention
the Royal United Services Institute, London, and
to terrorism. But India may be swimming against a
author of Indian Power Projection:
powerful geopolitical tide.
Ambition, Arms and Influence
KEYNOTES
38
By SARANG
SHIDORE
40
WEST ASIA
India and the

West Asian Wars
The realpolitik, religion and proxy conflicts of West
Asia are a policy challenge India must navigate deftly
under the control of an alliance of Ansar Allah (also

HE RECAPTURE OF ALEPPO by the
known as the Houthis) and a tribal militia under the
Assad government in Syria has catapowerful ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The quasipulted the Syrian civil war into
states and militias have seen the maximum influx of
every living room in India and elseforeign fighters, such as Shias from Afghanistan and
where. The humanitarian horror on
Pakistan and Sunni volunteers from across the world.
TV screens is, however, only the tip
At the third level up, we finally get to what are
of the iceberg of a complex conflict that has deep roots
internationally recognised nation-states and regional
and presents unique dangers to Indian interests, given
powers. These include the Assad government in
our geographic proximity and selective dependencies
Damascus, now controlling all of Syrias major cities
with the region. Unlike many other civil wars with a
and much of its western heartland, the Iraqi governlimited number of factions, Syria is characterised by a
ment of Haider al-Abadi, the official Yemeni governmind-numbing array of actors and contests at many
ment now based in Aden and key regional states of
levels. Unscrambling their taxonomy is vital if we are
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Israel. Finally,
to understand their geopolitics, and what it could all
at the fourth level, four great powers external to West
mean for India.
Asia are militarily involved; namely Russia, the United
In fact, Syria is neither an isolated theatre nor a
States, the UK and France.
single war. Rather, it is part of a continuous, interNext the conflicts. Much of the international media
linked spatial terrain of conflict stretching from the
has been dominated by a particular narrative of the
Mediterranean coast all the way up to the Iranian borWest Asian wars in which the Assad government and
der. Within this space, multiple fierce conflicts have
his Russian and Iranian backers are the main perbeen raging since the Arab Spring revolutions in
petrators of civilian casualties. The
2011 and the US invasion of Iraq in
reality, as always, is much greyer.
2003. Alongside the conflicts in the
There is unquestionably a repressive
Syria-Iraq region, there is also a
campaign underway by Damascus,
separate but related conflict under1 West Asias wars are
hugely aided by Iran and Russia,
way in Yemen.
complex, with more than
to destroy all rebel and dissident
First, the actors. Four lev20 major participants
groups in Syria, with indiscrimiels, in increasing scales of power
nate attacks in eastern Aleppo and
and geography, can be identified.
2 Groups include non-state
elsewhere. Iran does seek to creNumerous armed non-state actors
and quasi-state actors as
ate a hegemonic sphere by arming
form the first and lowest level.
well as nation states
radical Shia militias. And Russia,
These include the extremist Sunni
through its decisive entry in Syria
Ahrar al-Sham, Jabhat Fateh alin late 2015, sees an opportunity to
Sham (till recently, Al Qaedas Syria
3 A proxy conflict between
external great powers
neutralise western influence and
affiliate) and Jaish al-Islam among
complicates matters
open a new front in what is already
many others, the moderate Sunni
a shadow conflict with NATO in
Free Syrian Army, radical Shia
Eastern Europe. This much is true.
militias such as the Sadrist Kataib
4 India must chalk out its
However, equally true are the unsaal-Imam Ali, the Alawite Shabiha,
strategy keeping in mind
voury actions of most opponents
smaller factions of armed Assyrian
the complexity of events
of the Iran-Russia alliance. Most
Christians and Turkomans, and
prominent are the Sunni extremist
somewhat separately, the Kurdish
5 The humanitarian
groups in Syria, who in ideologinationalist PKK, confined to southaspect of this conflict
cal terms are little different from
ern Turkey. These militias are
must not be forgotten
Daesh, and have a long history of
small relative to the other actors,
persecution of Shias, Christians and
often territorially interspersed in
other minorities. Rebels in Aleppo
byzantine ways, and are typically
have also indiscriminately attacked the western part
allied with one or more of the larger players.
of the city, held civilians hostage and blockaded Shia
At the second level are the quasi-states. These are
villages. Restrictions on women in many rebel-conmarked by a more stable territorial identity, and occutrolled areas are much greater than under the secular
py a position between the militias and formal nationAssad government. Meanwhile, Daesh, incubated in
states. The key quasi-states are Hezbollah in Lebanon,
the disaster of post-2003 Iraq, demonstrates staywhich has now projected its fighters deep into Syria,
ing power with major infusions of cash from oil sales,
the Kurdish statelet of Rojava comprising of three
but also allegedly from wealthy private donors in the
enclaves on the Syrian-Turkish border with its military
Gulf. Turkey and the Gulf states backing of some of
arm the YPG, the Kurdistan Regional Government in
the non-Daesh Sunni militants is an open secret. The
northern Iraq, Daesh (better known to the Englishcoalition bombing of civilian targets in Yemen has
speaking world as ISIS), and a rebel zone in Yemen
KEYNOTES
41
been unconscionable. And the US-UK-French hostility

toward Russia matches Moscows antipathy toward the
NATO alliance.
In short, this is no Bangladesh of 1971, or even the
Spanish Civil War. The only moral narrative here (possibly
apart from the unique Rojava experiment) is that of suffering civilians on all sides and the destruction of ancient
architecture and priceless artifacts. Daesh is uniquely
toxic and brutal, but it too does not operate in a vacuum.
Searching for moral saviours among the combatants
themselves would be futile in what are equal-opportunity
battles of realpolitik and religion in West Asia.
Essentially, six core geopolitical contests are playing
out in the region. Three of these involve Iranagainst
Saudi Arabia, Israel (which is also focused on Hezbollah)
and the US-UK. The Shia-Sunni rivalry, so prominent in
the atrocities and media narratives, is in many ways a
byproduct of the Saudi-Iranian contest that originated
post-1979 (though it is increasingly taking on a life of its
own). The fourth contest is the international communitys
war on Daesh, prosecuted mainly by Iraq and the YPG,
with crucial western air support. The fifth is a major
Turkish drive to expand its influence in northern Syria
and contain Kurdish aspirations for self-rule. To this
stubborn set of conflicts has been added a sixth layer
the Russia factor. Russias 2015 intervention in Syria was
a game-changer, as it saved the Assad government and
brought all the tensions of the Russian-NATO rivalry into
the heart of West Asia.
HE CAPTURE OF ALEPPO has strongly tilted the balance of power towards the RussiaIran alliance. Particularly disadvantaged is
Saudi Arabia, with its push to dislodge
Assad in tatters at a time of budgetary pressures and a
level of internal discontent. Recent Turkish and Egyptian
realignments also provide an additional setback for
Saudi goals in the region. Meanwhile Daesh is steadily
losing territory due to gains on the ground by the Iraqi
army, Shia militias and the YPG.
This is the regional context as India fashions a
response to the West Asian crisis. And respond it must,
given its deep ties to the region. Proximity is itself a
dependencegeography matters. Then, Saudi Arabia
and Iran are among Indias top sources of imported oil.
Qatar dominates vital gas supplies. There are also 7 million Indian expatriates in West Asia, who send home
about $40 billion annually as valuable foreign exchange
and provide for their families. Last but not the least, the
toxic effects of Daesh (and globalised Sunni extremism
generally) on Indian Muslim youth remain a concern,
although very few Indians thus far have actually been
radicalised by the group.
Indian policies toward West Asia must be formulated at two levels. First is the level of strategic calculus.
Strategically speaking, India has no favourites in the fights
of West Asia (except in support of the widely-backed war
on Daesh). Nor does it have the capacity to influence or
42
resolve these conflicts. But India is also not a natural

adversary of any of the countries in the region.
High dependence combined with low influence constrains Indias options. The choices then are either to
greatly reduce dependence or expand it in a way that
serves Indian interests. The first option is impractical
and can be ruled out. It is the second option that must be
retooled. Indian dependence is currently selective and
skewed towards the Gulf states and Israel. A shift towards
omni-directionality will minimise risks no matter which
way the wars end. It will also enable wider opportunities if
and when peace and high economic growth return.
This implies that relations with three states in particularTurkey, Iran and Iraqneed to be strengthened
while maintaining the strong partnership with the Gulf
and Israel. Indo-Turkish ties have traditionally been distant, and there is tremendous scope for improvement.
Indo-Iranian ties suffered due to western-led sanctions,
but Iran now presents opportunities for cooperation in
the areas of Afghanistan, natural gas and bilateral trade.
Strategic dialogue on a frequent basis with both the
US and Russia on developments in West Asia should be
given priority. American policy is particularly uncertain.
The incoming Trump administration appears to be more
willing to use force in West Asia. However, its stated
aims to repair ties with Russia and simultaneously take
a harder line on Iran are contradictory in terms of their
regional implications.
Many of the possible scenarios for West Asia in the
coming years are not positive. For India, the three most
negative scenarios would be an inter-state war between
either the US, Saudi Arabia or Israel against Iran, instability in the wake of a fall of the Saudi monarchy and the
nuclearisation of Iran and/or Saudi Arabia.
Detailed contingency planning is essential to prepare
for such dystopic scenarios. This includes plans for bolstering energy security, evacuation of Indian nationals,
resolving mass hostage situations, and managing diplomatic fallouts. It requires a faster ramp-up of Indian
strategic petroleum reserves and diversifying oil and gas
imports to the extent possible. Strengthening intelligence
capabilities at home to counter Daesh recruitment, while
respecting the human rights of Indias Muslim communities, is obviously also needed.
Finally, at the second level India should never lose
sight of the humanitarian angle in what is at its heart a
terrible human tragedy. India must always stand for a
negotiated settlement to all disputes and welcome any
accords that reduce violence in the region. It must consistently oppose framing the conflict as a clash of civilisations. More concretely, it could offer greater medical
assistance to grievously wounded civilians and aid the restoration of valuable cultural treasures which, after all, are
the common heritage of all humankind.
SARANG SHIDORE is a researcher and consultant in international
relations and energy/climate policy, and currently visiting scholar at
the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin
By SHYAM
SARAN
INTERNATIONALISM
The Future is
Still Global
In the face of a backlash against globalisation,
the community of nations needs to revive the
institutions of internationalism
NDIA CONFRONTS A
WORLD OF paradoxes.
There is a reassertion of
nationalist sentiment in
countries across the
globe, accompanied by
sharpening political and
social polarisation. This contradicts the reality of the increasingly globalised and densely
interconnected world we inhabit today. Our
destinies as countries and peoples are more
intertwined, and the cross-border and crossdomain challenges we confront today are
more numerous and salient than at any time
in human history. This unfolding and inescapable reality is the result of the rapid technological changes which pervade our lives.
The globalisation of our economies is a consequence of this change. The new reality
compels collaborative responses from the
international community and institutions to
enable them to deal effectively with contemporary challenges. And yet we seem to be
regressing into an outdated frame of reference where the competitive impulses of
nation-states continue to dominate.
The nation-state endures and will
continue to do so in the foreseeable
future. However, the concept of national
sovereignty, which is its defining characteristic, is increasingly conditioned, and

indeed constrained by the reality that the
line between domestic and external is now
hopelessly blurred. The Indian economy is
impacted by developments far away from
our shores. Our Sensex responds as much
to the movements of the New York Stock
Exchange as it does to developments within
our borders. A pandemic may break out in
a remote corner of Africa, but may spread
quickly across the globe. Climate change is
a global phenomenon, and impacts countries irrespective of their contribution to
the atmospheric stock of greenhouse gas
emissions responsible for global warming.
Natural and man-made disasters frequently range across national borders. These,
and many other challenges can only be
addressed through collaborative interventions on a global scale, and this demands
the transcending of nationalist predilections
and embracing a spirit of internationalism. It is evident that a polity which seeks
political gain through polarising society
domestically cannot at the same time pursue a foreign policy which embraces the
logic of internationalism. Looking for the
anti-national and anti-patriotic at home
43
INTERNATIONALISM
inevitably leads to the search for enemies abroad.

In India, we have a prime minister who has mastered the use of new social media and wishes to lift
India into the digital age. And yet he is also a leader
who is not averse to kindling the flames of nationalism
or acquiescing in the politics of polarisation. The digital age requires a different, more inclusive sensibility,
both at home and abroad.
T IS AN UNDENIABLE FACT that the
pace of technological advance has accelerated beyond the capacity of the human
psyche and social mores to adapt. The
search for familiar anchors is understandable.
However, globalisation is a bell that cannot be
unrung. We are no longer in a world where countries
can cocoon themselves and survive; nor can the pursuit of domestic interests prevail over external engagement. External engagement may well be indispensable
to achieving domestic objectives, precisely because of
the increased salience of issues cutting across national
boundaries. Indias efforts to deal with climate change
will not succeed unless the rest of the world collaborates in unison to reduce and eliminate carbon emissions. Even if our emissions became zero tomorrow,
climate change would continue to affect us if other
countries do not pitch in.
And yet, international institutions and processes
to enable the governance of the newer and expanding
cross-national domains not only lag behind, but their
very rationale is under attack. There is something of
a worldwide backlash against globalisation, and a
pervasive yearning for a past with familiar political,
social and cultural anchors. This is a quixotic endeavour because the drivers of cross-border challenges are
technological and economic, and are now so deeply
embedded in our lives as individuals and communities
that they cannot be unravelled. It is trying to put the
genie back in the bottle. The ecological, economic and
strategic challenges of the new millennium can only
be tackled through governance at the international
scale. And that demands a spirit of internationalism
which can temper and transcend the nationalist urges,
which, unchecked, may threaten human survival itself.
As the US and the West progressively lose the benefits which have been anchored in Western ascendancy of institutions and processes of international
governance, there is a relapse into nationalism and
the attempted revival of an imagined past. We are confronted with an elemental dilemma: precisely at a time
in the history of mankind when we need much stronger
and more effective international institutions and processes to deal with a completely new set of challenges,
the balance between nationalism and internationalism
has tilted heavily in the nationalist direction. This is
44
happening across the world, and there is a fragmentation of the global space accompanied by a polarisation of attitudes in country after country. The yearning
for national control, the harking back to an imagined
historical, social and cultural identity such as we have
seen in the Brexit vote in the UK, and the more recent
elections in the US, will inevitably end in frustrated
expectations. For the West, globalisation was embraced
as long as it reinforced Western ascendancy, but it
became threatening when it spawned other centres of
political and economic power. Making America great
again in the same mould as in the post-World War II
era is no longer possible. Nor is the China Dreamas
articulated by Xi Jinpingpossible, because that is
KEYNOTES
1
Globalisation has
made the world more
interconnected than
at any time in history
At the same time,

there is a marked
increase in nationalist
impulses
The challenges we
face today require a
coordinated international response
If these challenges
are not appropriately
met, we face worldwide crises
Peace, freedom and

prosperity can no
longer be pursued
independently
not the logical destination of the globalisation of the

Chinese economy. It is a regression to a past glory
which lingers in the Chinese psyche but is unattainable
in a vastly different geopolitical terrain. It is only a new
internationalism which enables the benefits of globalisation to be shared equitably, mitigates the negative
fallout, and adjusts existing governance regimes as
well as emerging ones to accommodate all stakeholders, which could bring relative peace and prosperity.
Multilateral institutions and processes should no longer
be the platform for a contest of competing nationalisms, but should function in a spirit of internationalism
without which multilateralism is condemned to deliver
least common denominator results.
Indias first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru,

was a fervent nationalist but was also a committed
internationalist. His ideal was a collectivism which
neither degrades nor enslaves. The Indian concept of
Vasudev Kutumbakam, or universal brotherhood, in
his view, was what was needed to meet the challenge
of a post-atomic world, with its threat of universal
annihilation. Nehrus vision of India was a country at
peace with itself, a democracy which guaranteed fundamental rights of the individual, which enabled its
citizens to pursue their own genius and a federal polity
which incorporated the ideal of unity in diversity. But,
more importantly, Nehru located Indias quest as part
of a global endeavour for peace and development. To
quote his well-known and what today are truly prescient words:And so we have to labour and to work,
to give reality to our dreams. These dreams are for
India but they are also for the world, for all the nations
and people are too closely knit together today for any
one of them to imagine that it can live apart. Peace has
been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now and so is disaster in this One World that can no
longer be split into fragments.
NE DOES NOT PRETEND to know how
one could bridge the disconnect between
the reality of the One World we inhabit
today and the wave of intolerance, sectarian and racial hatred and the grossness of political discourse which is sweeping across country after country
in the world. Could India lead the way to shaping a
new world order which is aligned with the challenges
we confront as humanity? Through the ages, India has
developed a civilisation whose attributes are what that
new order requires: the innate syncretism of its
accommodative and self-confident culture, its easy
embrace of vast diversity and plurality with an underlying spiritual and cultural unity, and a deep conviction
that to achieve greatness a nation must stand for
something more than itself.
We work on a much narrower agenda now, and
seek to advance Indias interests without much thought
to our place in a larger, interlinked and interdependent world. In the context of the ecological challenge
we confront as humanity, it has been said that if we as
a species fail to halt and reverse the ravaging of the
earth we inhabit, then we face cataclysmic and irreversible consequences. In a world where each national
leader wants to make his country great again, there
may well be a future in which greatness will have
become irrelevant in every sense of the word. Will
India point to a different, more hopeful future?
SHYAM SARAN is a former foreign secretary.

He is currently chairman, RIS, and senior fellow, CPR
45
AUTOMATION
By ROHAN N. MURTY
Why Software
Hasnt Won... Yet
AI is not an immediate threat to your jobs, but even IT engineers will

have to adjust to the rise of software intelligence
INCE IT WAS formally founded in
the early 1940s, computer science
has made extraordinary progress
and contributed positively to society.
It has, in many cases, lowered the
barrier for access to information,
transactions, education, and healthcare. It has
enabled us to put man on the moon and perhaps even
beyond. It fuels the most modern progress in science.
It has rendered distance immaterial. It may even help
by driving cars for us, delivering packages in cities
and flying aircraft. And, in some cases, it even
appears that intelligent software systems may
entirely take over from human beings. In fact, the
birth, genesis and vision of computer science has
always been to build a machine that can accurately
emulate human intelligence.
Despite all these strides, computer science still
has a fair bit of distance left to cover before it can produce a software system that is functionally capable
the same way a human is. The understanding of
intelligence in computer science, though defined in
academic circles, has been fairly misused (and/or misunderstood) in popular reporting, giving people the
impression that software can do just about anything a
human being can. This notion is fundamentally misguided. We are not there. Or at least not yet. The gap
between software and the human mind is still massive.
Software still operates, for the most part, on the
paradigm of GIGO (Garbage in, Garbage out), meaning it mostly only does whatever we tell it to and is
46
biased on the basis of whatever data we train it with.

Though, in some cases, given large amounts of data
and human input, we are able to get software to discover some rules on its own.
But at the core of it is the fact that we have not
invented any new magic wand to make software
think on its own or have any sense of consciousness, in the way humans do. Instead, the most
important fundamental progress that technology
has made over the past few decades is a dramatic
increase in computing power coupled with a reduction in the cost of storage. Such progress has enabled
us to run algorithms and code over swathes of data,
and at a fraction of the cost, yielding what some may
consider as more insights. Consequently, we are able
to find patterns in large amounts of data. This, by
some limited definition, is construed as intelligence
and has been demonstrated in specific classes of
activities, such as detecting diabetes from retinal
scans, car driving, playing games, etc. In these cases,
software can emulate human behaviour and perhaps
even exceed human capabilities.
These gaps help deflate claims that artificial
intelligence (AI) and automation are ready to take
over peoples jobs and potentially spark mass unemployment, particularly in the Indian IT industry. This
industry employs a couple of million people, largely
comprising our Indian middle class, and recently
has been called out by commentators as under
threat from automation.
But automating away this labour force is not an
easy task. Even though, as a computer scientist, I am

ultimately become truly trustworthy (like humans).
bred to believe in the superiority of silicon (computers)
All this said, we should not be naive to think that techover carbon (humans), my work and study over the past
nology wont eventually succeed in recreating someif
few years in this industry has given me reason to pause
not manylayers of human cognition and range of activiand consider the unique contributions and value that
ties. And given this eventuality, it is important to think
humans bring to the table in enabling businesses the
about and begin planning how India can excel in this new
world over. Automating these unique attributes is to emunormal. Much of this, it appears, will depend on our prelate the same value that humans bring to the table.
paredness for upskilling opportunities.
In the case of the Indian IT industry, for example, proThe IT industry is no stranger to upskilling. In fact,
fessionals perform a range of activities spanning undercompanies like Infosys and a few others have made
standing customers business requirements, writing code,
unprecedented efforts in training campuses as a way to
maintaining software systems and processing transacaugment the engineering education imparted to the countions. Working in teams, they perform a variety of actions
trys young people. For example, Infosys has the capacity
touching several information systems, coordinate with
to train anywhere between 40,000-60,000 people each
each other, navigate uncertain or changing scenarios,
year at its Mysore campus. Such investments in training,
report to their managers, take bottom-line responsibiliperhaps more than anything else, give such companies
ties for their respective systems, are accountable and
an insurance policy against a future of automation. But
serve customers across the globe. All these activities
one may say, isnt an idea of training a copout? In the
engender a deep sense of trust and confidence among
software world, learning has been a constant feature.
their customers the world over.
Consider this: in the 1980s, a FORTRAN/C programmer
At an individual level, each has
was in vogue, C++/Java in the 1990s,
traits such as intuition, experience,
perhaps Python/Go/Ruby today, and so
common sense and an ability to idenon. Hence, constantly learning and retify and fix the unusual. These are
training has been a way of life in this
1 Its still a challenge for
fundamental traits that all humans
industry.
intelligent software to
share, though admittedly, some more
But even if the promises of autoreflect human traits like
than others. Even in the most seemmation
are only half as true as the
trustworthiness
ingly robotic of tasks, each human
hype, it suggests that just a fraction
has the potential and ability to apply
of Indias IT industry professional
2 IT workers will need
these traits without necessarily being
s, even with all that company-led
upskilling to beat back
told to do so a priori, that are inherent
training, will be required. Those who
the threat of automation
to each one of us, and ultimately create
are needed will have to learn areas
trust and confidence in our colleagues.
of computation that are far more
3 Upskilling, in turn, could
This trust and confidence are the fuel
advanced than what the IT industry
push technological
all businesses run on. Therefore, it has
presently offers. So, do we again look
advancement in India
always been more than just following
to the IT industry to lead the upskill
simple rules.
charge, or is a broader public-private
coalition required?
India is not alone in this conundrum. Many counO ANY ATTEMPT by intelligent software at
tries, including the United States, have been grappling
automating all that work done by a single
with the question of who owns the responsibility of
individual or an entire team of humans must
upskilling, especially in the face of challenges from offinvolve recreating the same trust and confishoring or automation. And, as recently evidenced, even
dence. This necessarily requires addressing the whole
notional attitudes of a community being overlooked by
gamut of these activities that humans perform on a regua changing economy can have significant implications
lar basis and with similar human traits, but in software.
on political outcomes.
This is no longer about small piecemeal tasks that are
Despite these struggles, and those of many other
easy to automate. It must involve emulating the same
countries, its unclear if a paradigm for upskilling poputraits of common sense, intuition, teamwork, communilations has emerged. Which brings us back to my origication and an ability to deal with the unexpected.
nal point: the remarkable capability of the human mind.
Consider, for example, questions that managers could
In an ideal world, this push toward automation would
ask their teams today. Why did you do that?, Why did
be a catalyst for upskilling, which would unlock remarkyou choose X over Y?, or Are you sure?. Or more simply
able human potential and usher in a new, more technoput, explain yourself. For all the reasons articulated earlogically advanced economy for India. In the real world,
lier, these questions, though straightforward for humans,
however, this will take a shared mission, careful planare very difficult for machines to answer. Therefore,
ning and genuine cooperation.
the next stage of innovation in computer science will be
not just to make software run faster, but also about how
we get software to emulate more human-like traits and
ROHAN N. MURTY is a computer scientist and entrepreneur
KEYNOTES
48
CLIMATE CHANGE
By VICTOR SHAHED
SMETACEK
Beating the
Retreat of Ice
The global warming-induced rise in sea levels threatens to start

consuming the worlds coastlines well before 2050, unless we act
decisively. Now. India is well placed to show the way
HERE IS OVERWHELMING consensus within the scientific community,

based on independent evidence
from multiple sources, that the
ongoing global warming is caused
by rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. Most alarming is the accelerating retreat of
planetary ice, particularly in the Arctic, which happens to be the fastest warming region on the globe.
The 3,000 metre thick Greenland ice shield has been
melting for many years, with two independent factors
in operation accelerating the rate of melt: warming of
the Arctic Ocean due to the steadily diminishing seaice cover and the fall in altitude with declining thickness of the ice shield. Complete melting of the
Greenland ice mass will raise global sea levels by six
metres. Ongoing thawing of the permafrost of the circum-Arctic tundra will release the trapped greenhouse gases, CO2 and methane, in quantities that
would greatly accelerate the current rate of warming.
Heat waves increasing in intensity, greater frequency of freak weather events and rising sea levels
are inevitable outcomes of global warming. Sea level
rise is the most dangerous as it will inundate coastal
cities, push estuaries upriver and displace hundreds

of millions of people all over the world. Resettling
these climate refugees will put enormous strain on
the moral and material fabric of humane civilisation;
I hesitate to dwell on that nightmare and prefer to
think about what could be done now to avert it.
Sea level rise is a new concept in human history
because coastlines have been anomalously stable
over the last 10,000 years. The sea still laps at the
shore of Lothal in Gujarat, the bronze-age harbour
contemporaneous with the Harappan civilisation of
4,500 years ago. However, in the 5,000-year period
between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago, when the last
Ice Age came to an end and the ice shields covering
northern North America and parts of Eurasia melted
away, the sea level rose by 130 metres! In the same
period, atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased
from 0.18 to 0.28 per cent and remained as anomalously stable as the sea level until the end of the
1900s. Since then, with the dawn of the Industrial
Age, they have steadily increased, and in 2016
crossed the 0.40 per cent level. In the space of a century, humans have added more CO2 to the atmosphere
than accumulated there in the 5,000-year period of
49
CLIMATE CHANGE
the Big Melt. So it is not surprising that we have started

the next Big Melt which, if left unchecked, will thaw the
remaining ice shields and raise sea levels by about 100
metres. There are maps on the web that show what this
does to the planets geography.
HEN CONFRONTED WITH the inevitability
of sea level rise, the big question that arises
is: how much time do we have? The answer
depends on what global humanity does in the
coming years. If we continue burning fossil fuels and do
nothing about removing CO2 from the atmosphere, largescale resettlement programmes for people evacuated
from the low-lying fringes of coastal cities and deltas will
have to start well before mid-century, i.e. when todays
children reach the primes of their lives. There is hope that
the deadlines can be postponed if countermeasures are
adopted on a war footing as soon as possible. Ratification
of the Paris Accord by so many countries, including India,
is no doubt a heartening milestone, but its goals fall short
of what is required now. Attempts by the next US administration to change course on the climate front will be met
by stiff internal opposition from an administration committed to combating climate change. This is where India,
which prides itself on being the oldest continuous culture
on the planet, should take up a leadership role and chart
the course for a brighter future.
I perceive four fronts along which decisive action in
India could be taken now:
n developing a massive climate education campaign
directed at people from all walks of life that explains the
nature of the dangers to society lying ahead, their causes
and consequences, and how these can be averted or at
least mitigated;
n curbing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil
fuels by switching to regenerative energy sources, in particular solar and wind;
n developing a portfolio of approaches to remove CO from
2
the atmosphere;
n exploring innovative techniques to ensure long-term,
sustainable food security. I deal briefly with each of these
points in the following.
CLIMATE EDUCATION
Understanding a problem is a prerequisite to solving it in

the long term, and since motivated public participation
is crucial for the success of this gargantuan undertaking,
a climate education campaign, tailored to the situation
in India, is the way forward. The type of public education campaign I am advocating is analogous to, but on a
much grander and more urgent scale than, that implemented in the past decades for disease control and public
health improvement: despite many shortcomings, their
overall success is undisputed. Earth system scientists are
making rapid advances in understanding how the climate machinery of our planet works. Their predictions
of the effects of global warming are being confirmed by
50
unfolding reality. The stories emerging from the various

research fields, greatly aided by state-of-the-art computers, are exciting and worthy of broad public attention as
they make sense in unexpected ways. They can be transmitted to the public by a combination of lectures, movies
and animations on the web. The media and entertainment industry could play major roles in drawing attention to the problems ahead and how to solve them now. A
major thrust of the campaign would be to teach cyclical
thinking, for which the hydrological and carbon cycles of
our planet provide the blueprint for deeper understanding. Cyclical thinking is the philosophical framework of
sustainability and goes far beyond linear thinking, which
is short-term, limited to the space/time scales of the
thinker and the cause of our current problems. It is worth
pointing out here that the concept of cycling is deeply
entrenched in ancient Indian philosophy.
CURBING EMISSIONS
The vast improvement in public health and the quality

of life has been driven by burning fossil fuels. India has
paid a heavy price in terms of terrible air quality and its
adverse effects on the health of people, particularly children. Will the babies born today have breathing problems when they grow up? Is not the dream of phasing out
to bury them within the country is going to cause strife.

India should be writing a new verse for Surya Namaskar
(salutation to the sun) rather than burdening coming generations, labouring under increasing pressure from global warming, with spent nuclear reactors.
KEYNOTES
1
Shrinking planetary ice

is the biggest threat
from global warming
India needs to launch a

massive climate education public campaign
Cut carbon emissions

through energy sources,
such as wind and solar
Investing in nuclear
energy will pose waste
disposal hazards
Oceans offer immense

potential for carbon
sequestration
REMOVING CO 2
Other than planting trees, removing anthropogenic CO2

from the atmosphere is an unpopular topic in the scientific community, particularly as its believed that research
in this field will distract from the primary task of cutting emissions. The analogy that comes to mind is that of
a leaking ship already listing because the officers have
decided not to let the crew start bailing out the water
until the leak is repaired. That CO2 removal can never be
an option for curbing emissions is illustrated by the magnitude of the problem. The mass of excess carbon in the
atmosphere, as CO2, that would have to be removed to
restore initial conditions (the difference between 0.28 and
0.4 per cent) is equivalent to 250 billion tonnes. For comparison, the total amount of carbon present in all the visible vegetation present on the continents, including crops,
grasses and forests, is 500 billion tonnes. Where will the
space, water and nutrients to increase vegetation cover
by that much come from? For me, the answer lies in the
vast deserts of the oceanthe subtropical gyres that
cover half the planetary surface but barely contribute to
food supply or carbon sequestration.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
internal combustion engines from the cities and replacing them with electric engines within reach? The process
of countrywide electrification offers enormous growth
potential and employment for a workforce ranging from
unskilled labour to highly trained experts. The technology
for implementing the transition to decentralised energy
capture is already developed, so why wait for the future?
The vision of a solar-powered India is the type of decentralised self-sufficiency that Gandhi dreamed of and that
is now within reach of the entire population, rendered
possible by modern, smart technology. There is enormous
scope for innovation in the field of solar-generated electricity and its storage, which will lead to creation of new
products for new markets. The Indian diaspora could be
persuaded to contribute to this monumental effort.
N THIS BRIGHT NEW LIGHT, investing in
nuclear power plants is repeating the same
mistake made at the dawn of the fossil fuel
eradisregard of the fate and future impact
of the waste products. Radioactivity is a form of energy
humans cannot feel, hence easily misjudge. Germany is
currently facing the onerous task of dismantling its reactors and disposing of their wastes. Apart from the enormous costs to be borne by the taxpayers, deciding where
Alternative, secure sources of food will also need to be

developed. My expertise lies in the oceans, and that is
where humankind will have to turn to for creating artificial ecosystems by aquafarming in the oceans deserts.
These are vast lenses of warm water about 200 metres
deep, floating on nutrient-rich cold water that fills the
oceans. The oases would be maintained by pumping
nutrient-rich deep water to the surface layer where, after
it has warmed, plankton productivity would feed fish
and could also be used to grow seaweeds for consumption as well as for carbon sequestration. Local energy
sources could accomplish the task. Such an undertaking
will entail enormous infrastructure of pipes and anchored
islets and will be an engineering challenge worthy of the
smart era of technology that we have now entered. The
alternative sources of food provided by aquafarming on
the open ocean will not only release pressure on the present agricultural land and enable decongestion of cities,
but also provide space for natural ecosystems to expand
and sequester carbon. Instead of dreaming about space
travel, we should be directing our attention to the unused
inner spaces on our planet. Needless to say, India is well
placed to launch such a venture.
VICTOR SHAHED SMETACEK is a retired professor of ocean
ecology based at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for
Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
51
FREEDOMS
By RUCHIR JOSHI
A Year
Best
Forgotten
And going by the few who did have
it good in 2016, theres more bad
news on the way
ES, YES, WE KNOW. Its going to

get worse before it gets better.
That distant glow we can see
beyond the bend in the tunnel may
just be a bulb marking the halfway
pointthe actual end may be
much further away. Yes, if in 2014
we were staring into the abyss, now we are in full
plunge, waiting for some hook or protuberance from
the side to catch us and keep us from falling further,
so lets not even talk of climbing out of the hole just
yet. Its too soon to know where exactly we can place
2016 in the anni horribili rankings, and of course different groups of people (and different countries) will
have very different rankings, but even so its clear
that the just-departed 16 was a classic, one of those
years at which you will look back and shudder, one of
those which will provide endless party-game fun in
the future, as people compete to name their worst
moment from a year that was full of them.
Perhaps one can argue that it wasnt the fault of
52
poor, innocent 2016 at all, that a lot of what happened

during its 12-month period can be put at the door
of the criminals, say 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2014, or
even that notorious old trio of gangsters, 1989, 1991
and 1992. That, however, is a fruitless argument, for
each of the other accused could equally well blame
some other year, or period, that preceded and begot
them. As the Beatles sang, Sundays on the phone to
Monday, Tuesdays on the phone to me.
Alternatively, one could also turn the whole thing
upside down and ask: who says 2016 was a ghastly
year? Surely we can see that 2016 has been an epically amazing and happy-making year for some people.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, for
example, would have begun her 2016 with far more
anxiety, fear and nervousness than she ended it. In
January, we who were about to get a whole poultryfarms worth of egg on our faces were cheerfully predicting that in the state elections the TMC would have a
tough fight to stay in power. By March, the corruption
accusations and the collapsed flyover in north Calcutta
made us all the more certain that La Didi was on her

way out. As it happened, she increased her majority
by a chunk, drew the sting from the bribery videos and
buried the flyover enquiry. In the Anglosphere, think
of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, of Nigel Farage and
Donald Trump, both of whom started the year planning, at best, spoiling manoeuvres, vile mischief that
might or might not shake things up somewhat to their
advantage. Here they are now, their smiles Siamesetwinned, grinning from ear to ear to ear like a pair of
old ivory poachers whove been given a free run of the
elephant sanctuary. Think of Bashar al-Assad, the
Butcher of Aleppo, who would have started the year
fearing for his life while leafing through brochures for
high-end villas in Southern Switzerland and Argentina,
and who has now reattached his seat to his dictators
throne with a little help from his friends directly north.
ice, the whittling away of the Sunderban delta and so

on and so forth. Even if Trump doesnt dump on the
Paris agreement, even if China pulls back its emission gears a tad, even if Narendra Modi & Co. dont go
through with their reckless plans which would destroy
so much of our fragile ecology, we are still headed for
hell in a very fast hand basket. Clearly in 2017 we are
going to have to keep praying for miracles, even as
we fight tooth and nail to make that Ecocalypse a bit
more tolerable, survivable. How do we do this when
people are pointing out that we are now at the end of
the age of Humanism? There are strong and cogent
arguments that the deadly admixture of environmental implosion, rampant global capital and deeply cynical political skulduggery has led to the wildfire spread
of the feeling of every man for himself, of every group
for itself, the larger notion of a humanity that lives
in peace and justice be damned. That this explosive
alchemy of factors probably means the end of all the
INALLY, IMAGINE TSAR VLAD I bringing
positive ideas that have staved off a fully loaded kalin the new year, the teetotal tyrant rockyug over the last 70 years since the
ing samovar tea while
end of the Second World War. That
his subordinates knock
we are now seeing the end of the
back the vodka and Oscietra caviar:
principles that drove decolonisation,
Dimitry? Igor? What do you say?
WE ARE SEEING THE the notion that all humans are equal
How did we do this year? Vashe
of colour or religion,
Imperatorskoye Velichestvo, your
END OF THE NOTION regardless
that each and every living person
Imperial Majesty, I think you were
has inalienable rights, no matter in
brilliant. You are a ryock styaar
THAT ALL HUMANS
what context they find themselves
my czar! Under your iron and cunin the world, that the unimaginable
ning leadership we did very well!
ARE EQUAL, THAT
inequality between women and men
Vlad, Dimitri and Igor then go
EVERY LIVING BEING has to be erased.
through the list of their 2016 hits:
We cant have answers to these
Brexit, tick; EU in turmoil, tick; Gas
HAS INALIENABLE
questions immediately, not even
pipeline through Turkey, maybetemporary working answers, not
probably; Trump, huge tick; Assad
RIGHTS
in the January of the year followsaved, big tick. Imperial Majesty!
ing such a turbulent cluster of 12
All this is great, but what is also
months such as 2016. Yet the questruly brilliant of you is the filigree
tions keep coming at the individual in a barrage, and
detail of the smaller stuff, what youve pulled off with
from all angles. Recently, a well-known writer-filmour South Asian friends for instance. 2014 was superb,
maker friend of mine got a call from a young reporter
of course, but to monetise our control with this paper
working for a big English daily. The young woman
money tiger, unbelievably masterful! Majesty of the
wanted to know what my friend thought of a recently
Great Thighs, what shall we do with their next years
released film that had attracted some controversy.
state elections? Pull that clown further down a notch
Maam we are doing a For and Against piece, so are
or two? Or push him up? Vlad sips his tea and reveals
you for this film or against? I havent seen it, said
his perfect teeth in a simulacra of a smile. You know I
my friend, so I dont have any opinion. But maam,
like to avoid the dramatic. So we will proceed with our
wailed the young reporter, surely you must have
customary subtlety. I think its time for Agent Orange
some take, na? Thats where we are: in a post-truth,
and Orange Peacock to, er, further their friendship and
post-humanist world one must have a take on everystart looking at China with seriously hostile intent. But
thing, some strong and clear opinion, even stuff about
lets see, lets think about what works best for us.
which one knows nothing.
Speaking of elephants, the biggest elephant in the
Which side are you on? 2016 or 2017? Now, I
room is, of course, the environment and the ongoing
havent seen more than a few days of 2017, none of us
ecological disaster in which we find ourselves, us the
have, but I want azadi from 2016. So Ill go with 2017.
only culprit but far from the only victim. Already we
see certain realities installed: recurring toxic air conditions in major cities, from Delhi to Beijing to Paris,
RUCHIR JOSHI is a columnist, filmmaker and the
the crazily high mid-winter temperatures in the Arctic
author of the novel, The Last Jet-Engine Laugh
53
STATE OF STATE: GUJARAT
Shining a W
Light on
Gujarat
THE INDIA TODAY STATE OF
THE STATE STUDY IS BOTH A
REPORT CARD AND A ROADMAP
FOR GUJARAT TO FOLLOW
By Kaushik Deka
54
hile several tomes have been produced on

the Gujarat growth model, these are by
and large zoomed-out macro pictures of
the state. The india today State of the State
reportthe third in an ongoing series of state reports
presents a micro-analysis of performance at the district
level. Releasing the report in Ahmedabad on December
23, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said, This study
will help us gauge the development in the districts of
Gujarat. This objective and highly credible study will
help the government map and plan Gujarats growth.
The chief minister also gave away the awards to the
district magistrates and police superintendents of the
best performing and most improved districts at the third
edition of the State of the State Conclave. The conclave
is a signature india today event, where a special report is
released on the various growth indicators of a state. All
districts in the state are ranked on various social and
economic parameters, and categories and awards given
to the best performing and most improved ones. There
was a need to create an environment of healthy competition between districts, the chief minister said, and
this study has made that beginning. Well study it and
work on sectors that need to make progress.
Recalling Gujarats legacy as one of the most developed states in the country, Rupani gave Narendra Modi
credit for institutionalising a structure in the state to
Photographs by SHAILESH RAVAL & DANESH JASSAWALA
GUJARAT CHIEF MINISTER VIJAY RUPANI WITH INDIA TODAY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AROON PURIE, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
(PUBLISHING) RAJ CHENGAPPA AND THE DISTRICT MAGISTRATES AND POLICE SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE AWARD-WINNING DISTRICTS
THE BEST OF GUJARAT

CATEGORY
BEST PERFORMING
DISTRICT
MOST IMPROVED
DISTRICT
OVERALL
AHMEDABAD
KACHCHH
Education
Rajkot
Kachchh
Gender Equality
Valsad
Valsad
Road
Panchmahal
Panchmahal
Urbanisation
Kachchh
Ahmedabad
Health
Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar
Law and Order
Sabarkantha
Gandhinagar
Agriculture
Kheda
Jamnagar
Income
Ahmedabad
Kachchh
for Education
improve efficiency and delivery when he was chief minister. This pushed the state on the path of growth, he
said, and we are continuing in that direction.
The daylong event saw several stimulating panel
discussions on Gujarats growth trajectory. Politicians,
bureaucrats, policy experts, filmmakers and actors commented on and debated what more the state needs to
do to balance economic growth and social indicators.
The state seems to have woken up to this sore point in
its growth narrative and is taking corrective measures.
Last years budget allocated 48 per cent of the total
funds to the social sector; this year too it will be in the
same range, Gujarat Chief Secretary J.N. Singh said.
With the entire country discussing demonetisation,
the issue came up several times during the interactions.
Dismissing criticism that it has stalled economic activity, resulting in job losses, the chief minister said, Note
ban caused inconvenience to people initially. But let me
assure you, there has been no layoff in any industry in
Gujarat, including the diamond industry.
THERE WAS A NEED FOR HEALTHY COMPETITION AMONG

DISTRICTS AND THIS REPORT HAS MADE A BEGINNING
VIJAY RUPANI, Chief Minister, Gujarat
55
I WANT GUJARATI FILMS TO BE OF INTERNATIONAL

STANDARD LIKE MALAYALAM AND BENGALI FILMS ARE
PARESH RAWAL, Actor
GUJARAT MADE PROGRESS IN

INDUSTRY, AGRICULTURE AND
SERVICES. NO ONE SECTOR GREW AT
THE COST OF ANOTHER
DHARMENDRA PRADHAN, Union petroleum minister
The chief minister found support in industry expert

Sunil Parikhs observation. GST and demonetisation, he
said, were in a way complementary to each other.
Reacting to a question on the rising violence against
Dalits, Rupani said the Una incident, where Dalit youth
were flogged for skinning dead cows, was politically
orchestrated to needle the NDA government at the
Centre. No government has taken stricter measures
than we did after the Una incident. We are ensuring
the harshest punishment is meted out to the perpetrators. We created a fast track court and suspended all
police officers found to be neglecting duty, he said.
When asked about the popularity of Hardik Patel, who
has been demanding reservations for his community,
Rupani said reservations is a nationwide issue but took
an ugly turn in Gujarat because of vote bank politics.
Rupani, however, was non-committal when asked about
the BJPs chief ministerial candidate in next years
assembly elections. I cannot say if Ill be the CM candidate, the party will decide, he said. To win in Gujarat,
we dont need any other face. Modis name is enough.
Modi and Gujarat are two sides of the same coin.
he conclave was inaugurated by Union Minister

of State (Independent Charge) Petroleum &
Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan. Commenting
on the Gujarat growth story, Pradhan said the best
part of the Gujarat model of development was that it
was a balanced one. The state progressed in industry,
services and agriculture. No sector grew at the cost of
another, he said.
56
The conclave was also attended by Union Minister

of State (Independent Charge) Agriculture & Farmer
Welfare, Panchayati Raj Parshottam Rupala; Gujarat
Minister for Tribal Development, Tourism and Forest
Ganpatsinh Vasava; Gujarat Minister, Revenue, Education,
Legislative and Parliamentary affairs Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama; Gujarat Minister of State, Health and Family
Welfare, Medical Education, Environment (all independent charge) and Urban Development Shankarbhai
Lagdhirbhai Chaudhari; Gujarat Minister of State for
Home, Energy, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs
Pradipsinh Chudasama; National Spokesperson for Indian
National Congress Shaktisinh Gohil and economist and
public policy specialist Tushar Shah. Economist and academic Yogendra K. Alagh; National Dairy Development
Board chairman Dilip Rath; actor Paresh Rawal and filmmaker Ketan Mehta were also present.
Commenting on Gujarats phenomenal agricultural
success, Tushar Shah said, Nowhere in the world have
we seen a region with agricultural growth of over 7-8
per cent; in Gujarat it was around 9 per cent for over a
decade. However, Rupala said the challenge was to work
for the betterment of small and marginal farmers. Alagh
pointed to the imbalance between grains and non-grains
in the state. Rath lamented that despite the success of the
milk revolution, it had not reached all corners of the state.
Speaking about the future of Gujarati cinema, Rawal
said good films will always have an audience. I want
Gujarati films to be of international standard, the way
Malayalam and Bengali films have got global recognition, he said.
Highway to Growth
The economic growth story of Gujarat is let down somewhat
by the states showing on social parameters
GUJARATS HIGHWAY NETWORK

IS BOTH WELL DEVELOPED AND
WELL MAINTAINED
Ajit Kumar Jha and Surjit Bhalla
he growth story of Gujarat

is one of a state punching
above its weight. With
only 6 per cent of Indias
land mass and barely 5
per cent of its population,
Gujarat has managed to account for 7.6
per cent of the countrys GDP and 22
per cent of its exports. Its annual Gross
State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth
from 2001 to 2013 (growth has slowed
down since) averaged nearly 10 per
cent, which is faster than Indias. This
is an extraordinary accomplishment.
58
Between 1980 and 2013, Gujarat grew

at an average rate of 5.1 per cent. If
Gujarat were a country with a 10 million-plus population, this would be the
third-fastest growth rate in the world,
after China and South Korea.
What were the factors that helped
Gujarat accomplish this extraordinary growth? Was it geography,
native entrepreneurship, a historical
edge in commerce and trade or simply good governance? The reasons for
Gujarats growth can be debated. Did
the fact that Gujarat has the longest
coastline1,600 kmcontribute to
its rapid growth? Gujarat has served
as an integral native trading hub for
centuries, one of the most dominant
in the Arabian Sea. After all, in India,
most coastal states have shown higher
growth than the BIMARU (an acronym
for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan
and UP, referring to their poor economic standing) states. A coastal state
has the twin advantages of greater
global access as well as lower transportation costs. Other coastal states,
such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
Centre Drives Growth

Central Gujarat, which includes Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and
Surendranagar, is the engine of the states development
Banaskantha
Patan
Kachchh
Sabarkantha
Mehsana
Aravalli
Mahisagar
Gandhinagar
Morbi
Ahmedabad
Surendranagar
Panchmahal
Dahod
Anand
Jamnagar
Dwarka
Kheda
Rajkot
Porbandar
Amreli
Chhota
Udaipur
Vadodara
Botad
Narmada
Bharuch
Bhavnagar
Junagadh
Surat
Gir Somnath
Tapi
Navsari
Dang
Valsad
State Beats
the Nation
Gujarat means growth
16
Gujarat
12
8
GDP (% increase
on a year earlier)
Years ending March

*Estimate
Source: Planning Commission
India
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014*
SHAILESH RAVAL
and Kerala, have also performed

well. But sustaining rapid growth, as
Gujarat has done, is not easy. Almost
25 per cent of Indias sea cargo passes
through Gujarats ports.
Was it the renowned Gujarati
entrepreneurial spirit that helped
bring about Gujarats transformation from being only the seventh richest big state in 1980-81 (in terms of
per capita GSDP) to the third richest
in 2013-14? Gujaratis have dominated businesses all over India for
centuries. The Indian diaspora is
dominated by Gujarati businessmen.

Or was it good governance under
successive regimes in Gujarat that
brought about such development?
Gujarat has been among the fastest growing states even in the past.
Despite poor rainfall, it has made
strides in agriculture. Unlike Punjab
and Haryana, states which launched
the first Green Revolution with government support, Gujarats agricultural
transformation came via the market route. Cash crops such as cotton,
oilseeds and tobacco dominated the
farm growth story. A milk revolution

and largescale exports of fish accompanied the growth in horticulture and
sharp increase in agricultural productivity. The agricultural turnaround
with growth rates as high as 11.1 per
cent between 2000 and 2013was
accomplished despite water scarcity.
Gujarat knows the art of turning every
calamity and tragedy into an opportunity. Despite the plague in Surat and
the earthquake in Kachchh, the states
economic growth rate has surged in
the last one-and-a-half decades. The
59
Leading in Growth, Lagging in Social Indices

How Gujarat fares vis-a-vis other developed states
-7.3
-4.4
-5.5
-3.6
Note: 1) Change is measured as log per cent change in levels of each category
2) Positive change is better for GSDP, Education Attainment; negative change better for Infant Mortality Rate
3) Education Attainment is defined as the average number of years of education completed by 15 to 64-year-olds
4) Infant Mortality Ratio is the number of infant (less than one year old) deaths for 1,000 live births
5) Comparator states for Gujarat: If 1999 is taken as the base year, there are six states very similar to Gujarat.
Comparison according to seven socio-economic indicatorsper capita GDP, poverty rate (Suresh Tendulkar definition),
education (years of education attained by a male and the ratio of female-to-male education), infant mortality rate
(male infant mortality rate and the ratio of female-to-male mortality rate) and the sex ratio at birth
-0.5
2.6
2.6
1.9
2.2
Kerala
Tamil Nadu
-2.3
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab
-4
Haryana
Maharashtra
3.4
2.2
Gujarat
Change in Infant
Mortality Rate (Females)
1999-2011
6.1
Change in Education
Attainment (for females)
1999-2011
5.7
5.6
5.5
6.3
6.5
Change in Gross State

Domestic Product
1999-2013
Graphics by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY
Methodology
he State of the State study for Gujarat was done in nine categoriesincome, education, gender equality for education, health,
law and order, roads, urbanisation, agriculture and overall. In each
category, there were two segmentsbest performing at a particular point of time and most improved over a period of time. Data
on GDP and composition of GDP was taken from the Census and Economic
Information Centre, which in turn obtains it from the Union statistics and programme implementation ministrys website. Data available only till 2013-14.
Assembling district-level data, especially for GSDP, is a challenge. It was collected by Oxus, an agency run by Dr Surjit Bhalla, from well-known sources,
such as the National Sample Survey, Census, and standardised for comparison. The rankings were done using the Borda method, in which voters rank
options or candidates in order of preference. The most recent year was used
to rank the best district. The difference between the most recent category and
past value (1999-2000) was used to rank the most improved district.
60
good governance story of Gujarat,

however, takes a knock when it
comes to inclusive growth and social
sector development. Gujarat is a
model state in economic growth
but a middle state in social sector
growth. Both agricultural and manufacturing growth is in double digits,
but of the 20 major states in India,
Gujarats ranking is always between
9 and 12 on all major social sector rankings. This is irrespective of
how the measurements are done.
Education, health and other social
sectors have grown much more conservatively. The challenge for the
leaders in Gujarat is finding ways to
OVERALL
OVERALL
BEST PERFORMING AHMEDABAD
MOST IMPROVED
KACHCHH
District Snapshot
RANKING
1 AHMEDABAD
2 RAJKOT
3 KACHCHH
4 SURAT
5 GANDHINAGAR
Ahmedabad, the former textile hub of India,

is now a commerce and industry as well
as a knowledge hub. With educational institutions such as the Indian Institute of
Management, Centre for Environment
Planning and Technology and the National
Institute of Design, Ahmedabad competes with Mumbai and Delhi. Private institutions and an IIT have flourished in
recent years. The opening of the Sanand industrial cluster transformed Gujarats largest city into an industrial automobile hub
and a major job provider
RANKING
1 KACHCHH
2 AHMEDABAD
3 RAJKOT
4 GANDHINAGAR
5 SURENDRANAGAR
District Snapshot
SHAILESH RAVAL
Tourism in Kachchh surged after

the Rann of Kachchh was developed
as a white desert. Small- and medium-sized resorts and hotels soon came
up. The emergence of windmills in
the district and the production of
salt and minerals in Hajipir area
added to the regions prosperity.
The Mundra region developed after the
establishment of the Mundra port. The
Gujarat tourism ad featuring Amitabh
Bachchan saying Kachchh nahin
dekha toh kuchchh nahin dekha gave a
major fillip to tourism here
A HIGHWAY CUTS THROUGH FARMLAND IN THE GUJARAT COUNTRYSIDE
bring about inclusive growth, alongside the remarkable growth rate.

State of the State report
With a firm belief that the future of
the country lies in its states and Union
territories, the State of the State (SoS)
survey, started in 2003, emerged as
the gold standard for analysing the
performance of states. The State of the
State report was the next logical step.
It analyses the performance of districts
in each state over a period of time,
and across various categories. Each
category is usually a composite index
of a few parameters, which are measurable across time, provided data is
available. In the case of Gujarat, ideally one should compare all 33 districts.
Seven of these districts were created
in 2013, and eight were created over
the period of 1997 to 2010. Data for
the recent seven is not available. For
the eight districts created earlier, data
is available sporadically. Thus, the district analysis presented in this report is
for the 18 original districts.
Gujarat versus six states
How well has Gujarat performed in
terms of GSDP growth, education,
health and in other key categories can
be best assessed by comparing its performance with that of other states; in
particular, states closest to it in terms of

socio-economic development. If 19992000 is taken as the base year, it is
found that across a wide array of indicators, Gujarat is closest to these six
statesHaryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and
Tamil Nadu. Three of them are coastal
states, like Gujarat. These states will be
referred to as C7 (comparable seven).
Performance is measured in terms of
various indicators of improvement
(e.g. growth) over the period of 1999 to
the latest year for which there is data
generally 2011 (latest year for National
Sample Survey, NSS, data on education) and 2013 (latest year for GSDP).
61
STUDENTS AT THE G.K. BHARAD INSTITUTE , RAJKOT
EDUCATION
SHAILESH RAVAL
MOST
IMPROVED
KACHCHH
BEST
PERFORMING
RAJKOT
RANKING
1 RAJKOT
2 AHMEDABAD
3 BHARUCH
4 JUNAGADH
5 VADODARA
District
Snapshot
Rajkot has overtaken
Ahmedabad and Vadodara
in school education in the
past decade, emerging as
the leading district in education. In the past, students
from Ahmedabad and
Vadodara dominated the
merit list in the state examinations. Now, Rajkot students have taken over,
both for standard 10 and
12 state education board
exams. The proliferation of
private schools and 18
engineering colleges has
raised the educational bar in
the district
Per capita GSDP growth: This is

where Gujarat has excelled. The
analysis of GSDP performance is conducted over two time periods 19801999 and 2000-2013, for which there
is data. The intention behind the comparison between the two time periods
is to analytically separate the influence of history from good governance
in later years. If per capita GSDP is
the criterion, Gujarat was the seventh
richest big state in India in 1980-81,
fifth richest in 1999-2000 and third
richest in 2013-14.
62
RANKING
1 KACHCHH
2 GANDHINAGAR
3 JAMNAGAR
4 RAJKOT
5 AHMEDABAD
The setting up of the

Krantiveer Shyamji
Krishna Varma University
over a decade ago and the
state education departments efforts to ensure
high teaching standards
in schools led to rapid improvement in education. The
Union education ministrys
national secondary education mission encouraged
hostels in the backward talukas. Some 27 school-cumhostels were set up in the
past two years, each at a
cost of Rs 6 crore, so were
seven model schools
BETWEEN CLASSES AT M.S.M. COLLEGE, BHUJ
In per capita growth, Gujarat

was the third-fastest growing state
among C7. The fastest growing state
was Maharashtra (4.3 per cent), followed closely by Tamil Nadu (4.1 per
cent) and Gujarat (4 per cent). Despite
being a relatively rich state, Gujarat
pushed itself into becoming the second-fastest growing state for the period 2000-2013 (average of 6.5 per cent
annually). The fastest growing state
was Uttarakhand (9.2 per cent), a relatively smaller and newer state.
Inequality: Was growth accompanied
SHAILESH RAVAL
EDUCATION
District
Snapshot
by growing inequality in the C7 states?

Yes. Six of these states witnessed a rise
in inequality (measured by the Gini
index, which assigns a value of zero if
everyone has equal income and a value
of 1 if one person has all the income).
Only one state, Tamil Nadu, witnessed a
decline (-0.3 per cent annual decline for
the 12 years from 1999 to 2011, according to NSS data). Gujarat was the thirdbest performer, with an annual Gini
increase of 0.7 per cent.
Education: Gujarat hasnt performed
well here. NSS data on educational
VANRAJ ARTS AND COMMERCE COLLEGE, DHARAMPUR
GENDER EQUALITY
FOR EDUCATION
MOST IMPROVED
VALSAD
District Snapshot
The seeds of social awareness
sown by Gandhians among the
districts tribal people were
further strengthened by an emphasis on girl child education.
Around 29 secondary education
schools have been established under the national secondary education mission in the past three years.
The district also has two model
schools for girls and four BEd
colleges, besides nine non-engineering colleges. After the BJP
came to power in the state, the primary education infrastructure received a significant boost
GENDER EQUALITY
FOR EDUCATION
BEST PERFORMING VALSAD

District Snapshot
Etymologically, Valsad (also known as Bulsar)
derives its name from the Gujarati word Vad-saal
(meaning hampered by banyan tree). The district
was heavily forested in the past and famous for
its teak and Alphonso mangoes. The district has a
fairly high percentage of tribals in its population.
Gender equality in education runs deep; the region
has in the past seen a strong Gandhian movement
for education among tribals. Education of the girl
child has been greatly encouraged since 2003
achievement (highest class attainment) is a much better index of educational attainment than provided
by the literacy variable. Literacy tells
whether a person is literate; educational attainment offers a measure of
educational achievement.
In 1999-2000, Gujarat had about
the same educational level (average
educational achievement of 5.3 years)
as Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.
In 2011-12, the state improved its
average education level to 6.3 years;
however, this improvement was the
RANKING
1 VALSAD
RANKING
1 VALSAD
2 RAJKOT
2 BANASKANTHA
3 JAMNAGAR
3 SURENDRANAGAR
4 KACHCHH
4 KACHCHH
5 AHMEDABAD
5 GANDHINAGAR
second worst, behind Kerala. It should

be emphasised that Kerala had the
highest education level in 1999-2000
(7.4 years) and maintained its highest education level position in 201112 (8.8 years). As with income, there
is a catch-up phenomena with education (and health), i.e. higher attainment states tend to improve at a lower
rate. Hence, that Kerala improved its
educational attainment at a rate of 1.4
years per annum is not a surprise; that
Gujarats rate of growth in education
was only 1.5 per cent per annum is a
big, negative surprise.

Health: If measured by improvement
in (the lowering of) the infant mortality
rate (IMR), Gujarat does better in health
than educationa decline in IMR by
3.6 per cent per annum, identical to
Haryanas achievement. Kerala has the
lowest rate of improvement (a decline
of only 1.3 per cent per annum, from
14 deaths per 1,000 births in 1999 to
12 deaths in 2011). Himachal Pradesh,
too, has a low average rate of decline
(IMR fell from 54 to 38 deaths per 1,000
births or by 2.9 per cent per annum).
63
ROADS
ROADS
BEST PERFORMING PANCHMAHAL
MOST IMPROVED
PANCHMAHAL
District Snapshot
Even though its a district dotted with remote
villages and has four out of its seven talukas
listed as backward, Panchmahal boasts of a
powerful road network. The village road
network, which connects 600 villages,
extends to 5,647 km and includes 1,181 major district roads. The robust road network
makes it easier to carry out rescue operations
during floods. The district has around 633
km of state highways, including 84 km of
four-lane roads
District Snapshot
RANKING
1 PANCHMAHAL
2 KACHCHH
3 MEHSANA
4 KHEDA
5 SABARKANTHA
SHAILESH RAVAL
All 600 villages in the district

are connected by metalled
roads. Around 70 per cent of
these roads are all-weather, built
to survive the monsoon. Around
30 per cent of the villages have
more than one approach road.
Of the seven tehsils in the
district, four are connected to
Godhra, the district headquarters, by four-lane roads.
Panchmahal is also well connected
to its neighbouring districts
RANKING
1 PANCHMAHAL
2 KHEDA
3 VALSAD
4 SABARKANTHA
5 AHMEDABAD
THE STATE HIGHWAY NEAR GODHRA IN THE PANCHMAHAL DISTRICT
Regional analysis of Gujarat

Gujarat was formed in May 1960 with
17 districts. Over the next six years,
two more districts were added, one
of which became the states capital.
Another 14 districts were formed from
1997 to 2013. Consistent data for all
variables is only available for the initially created 17 districts and for most
variables for 18 districts. The analysis
is done at the district level, taking these
18 districts as individual units, and at
a regional level by classifying them
into groups as described below. For
ease of analysis, the entire state has
been divided into three broad regions:
Western Gujarat, Central Gujarat and
64
the Eastern Corridor. The demarcation is done on the basis of income and
poverty levels in 1999, weighted by
the population of each district. Such
an exercise shows Central Gujarat as
most prosperous, followed by Western
Gujarat and the Eastern Corridor (see
graphic: Centre Drives Growth). Any
regional data provided is computed
as a simple average of all the districts
in the region.
Overall income: Since overall income
comprises three categoriesreal
wages, per capita household consumption and absolute level of povertywe
look at all of these individually. The
most prosperous area, Central Gujarat,
has shown maximum improvement in

wagesan increase from an average
wage of Rs 136.7 (2011-12 prices) to
Rs 200.9 in 2011as well as per capita household consumption. In terms of
wages, Central Gujarat was followed
by the Eastern Corridor (Rs 124.1 in
1999 to Rs 163.4 in 2011) and then
Western Gujarat. Western Gujarat,
which used to be best in wages in 19992000, shows maximum improvement
in reducing absolute poverty (from
average absolute poverty of 26.5 per
cent in 1999 to 9.5 per cent in 2011). In
consumption, Western Gujarat is most
improved, followed by Central Gujarat,
then the East.
SIR TAKHTASINHJI GENERAL HOSPITAL, BHAVNAGAR
HEALTH
MOST IMPROVED
BHAVNAGAR
District Snapshot
SHAILESH RAVAL
HEALTH
BEST PERFORMING
BHAVNAGAR
District Snapshot
Bhavnagar has done remarkably in implementing
the states health programmes. The regions record in providing immunisation and aiding institutional deliveries has been impressive.
The Mukhyamantri Amrutum and Mukhyamantri
Amrutum Vatsalya schemes, providing free treatment for major ailments, such as kidney/
heart failure or cancer, to those below the
poverty line or earning less than Rs 1.2 lakh a
year have been successfully implemented
Education: In education, Western

Gujarat has shown the best improvement from 1999 to 2011, across all the
variables for education: mean years
in education completed by an average
15-64 year old for overall, male-female
as well as female-male ratios. While
Central Gujarat ranks second followed
by the Eastern Corridor, the latter beat
the former in improvement of female to
male education, which could be attributed to the performance of one of the
Eastern Corridor districtsValsad.
Valsad is the winner in the category of
66
In the past four years, 2,000

poor patients in the district
have been treated at the governments expense for critical
illnesses, such as cancer and
heart/kidney failure. Measures
to detect diabetes and breast/
cervical cancer among women
have been implemented successfully. The percentage of
institutional deliveries has
jumped from 70 to 99 in the
past two years. The total deliveries in public hospitals in the
district have increased from 25
per cent to 40 per cent
RANKING
1 BHAVNAGAR
RANKING
1 BHAVNAGAR
2 SURAT
2 SURAT
3 AMRELI
3 KACHCHH
4 KACHCHH
4 PANCHMAHAL
5 MEHSANA
5 AHMEDABAD
gender equality for education.

Health: Central Gujarat performs the
best in lowering IMR, followed by the
Eastern Corridor and Western Gujarat.
In 1999, the Eastern Corridor showed
the worst IMR, followed by Central
Gujarat and Western Gujarat respectively. Central Gujarat improved from
58.4 to 39.4 over the period of 19992011 to overtake Western Gujarat.
This clearly indicates improvement of
healthcare in the region. The Eastern
Corridor, too, has closely followed, from
59.5 to 41.8 IMR. One of the Eastern
Corridor districtsBhavnagarhas
witnessed a significant drop in IMR.
Overall rank: Central Gujarat is the
best in level of development. It also
shows the highest improvement among
the three regions. The conclusion is
based on achievements in income,
health and education. Western Gujarat
and the Eastern Corridor take the second and third positions respectively.
Gender equality in education: There
are three measures for educational
achievement in 2011years of education (male), years of education (female),
ONE OF SABARKANTHAS WELL-EQUIPPED POLICE STATIONS
LAW AND ORDER
MOST
IMPROVED
GANDHINAGAR
BEST
PERFORMING
SABARKANTHA
RANKING
1 SABARKANTHA
2 VALSAD
3 JUNAGADH
4 KHEDA
5 BHAVNAGAR
District
Snapshot
Feuds among tribal groups
and poverty contribute significantly to crime in the district. The region had a trend
of relatives of murder victims often leaving the
bodies to rot on the road for
months to build pressure
for compensation. Of late,
such crimes have
dropped by 8 per cent.
Crimes perpetrated
against women after
branding them as witches
have also reduced considerably. Sound policing has
made the district the safest
in the state
and female education as a fraction of

male education. The female-male education ratio captures gender equality.
In India, educational discrimination
against girls is rampant. But with programmes such as Beti Bachao Beti
Padao, there is a new consciousness
about education of the girl child. The
closer the girl to boy education ratio is
to 1, the district is that much closer to
gender equality.
Valsad shows a level higher than
100 (equality in male-female education achievement levels) for 2011; this
RANKING
1 GANDHINAGAR
2 SURAT
3 SABARKANTHA
4 BHAVNAGAR
5 SURENDRANAGAR
number is the highest in the country.

The data was taken from NSS, which,
for some districts, can have small sample sizes. However, even in 2009-10,
Valsad had the highest gender equality
in education in Gujarat, with a ratio of
95.5 per cent. In 1999-2000, the education gender equality ratio was 72 in
Valsad, i.e. girls had only 72 per cent
of the education of boys. So no matter how the data is sliced (1999-2000
to 2011-12 or till 2009-10), Valsad
shows the highest rate of increase in
girl-child education compared to boys.
Gandhinagar residents
follow the practice of informing the police when
stepping out of the city
so that their homes can
be kept under watch. The
practice began after a spurt
in thefts during school vacations, when many families
prefer to go travelling.
Incidents of chain-snatching had also increased in
the recent past. The installation of CCTV cameras
at key junctions across
the city has brought
the crime graph down
considerably
A POLICE CHECKPOST IN GANDHINAGAR
SHAILESH RAVAL
LAW AND ORDER
District
Snapshot
District-level performance
This section will analyse performance
in terms of levels, circa 2011, and the
next section will look at performance
as measured by changes (or growth)
between 1999 and 2011. All rankings
are on the basis of the 18 districts for
which consistent data are available:
Ahmedabad, Amreli, Banaskantha,
Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar,
Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kachchh,
Kheda, Mehsana, Panchmahal, Rajkot,
Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar,
Vadodara and Valsad.
67
SHAILESH RAVAL
URBANISED AHMEDABAD ALONG THE SABARMATI RIVER
URBANISATION
BEST PERFORMING AHMEDABAD

District Snapshot
RANKING
1 AHMEDABAD
2 RAJKOT
3 SURAT
4 KACHCHH
5 BHAVNAGAR
Industrialisation in Sanand and VithalapurMandal-Viramgam in recent years has contributed heavily to urbanisation in the district.
Ahmedabad city arguably has the countrys
most successful bus rapid transit system.
The city is dotted with skyscrapers, thanks to a
real estate boom. The governments efforts at
redeveloping slums have paid off. Western
Ahmedabad, developed around the
Gandhinagar-Sarkhej highway, is the first
area in India where urban planning
preceded a construction boom
URBANISATION
MOST IMPROVED KACHCHH

District Snapshot
The 2001 earthquake wreaked havoc in Kachchh,
killing thousands of people. But rebuilding on a
war footing transformed the region as spirited residents made a virtue of a calamity.
NRI Gujaratis have invested heavily in Bhuj, the
district headquarters. Anjar and Bhachau, two
other district towns in Kachchh, were similarly rebuilt. Gandhidham, a town that came up on
the strength of the Kandla port, too, has
grown as a major urban centre
68
RANKING
1 KACHCHH
2 BANASKANTHA
3 BHARUCH
4 GANDHINAGAR
5 RAJKOT
Rankings by level2011
Income: In 2011, for the three
income variables (real wages, real
per capita income, and level of absolute poverty), Ahmedabad is the number one district. It has a score of 8 (the
best score possible is 3, a rank of 1 in
each category), followed by Kachchh
(score of 11). At third place is Rajkot
with a score of 12.
Education: There are three measures for educational achievement
in 2011years of education (male),
years of education (female), and
female education as a fraction of
male education. The best score is a
sum of ranks of 3. For the first category, Gandhinagar ranks the highest. Ahmedabad ranks the highest for
the second category of female years
in education. Valsad ranks the highest
for the third category. If we look at the
overall education, incorporating all
three, Ahmedabad holds the top position, followed by Rajkot and Bharuch.
It is interesting that Ahmedabad and
Rajkot are tied at an overall score of 8,
and some distance behind is Bharuch.
In the race for best district, it would
appear that for income and education, Ahmedabad is in the lead.
Health: IMR is the major indicator
of health in 2011. Bhavnagar has the
lowest IMR of 8.3. This is followed
by Surat at 11 and then, after a long
gap, Amreli, Kachchh, and Mehsana
at 27.5, 28.4 and 30.5 respectively.
Overall rank: The overall ranking
is estimated as the sum of ranks for
income, education and health. The
implicit weighting is that each category has one-third weight. However, as
we have noted above, no matter what
the weights, Ahmedabad is the unambiguous winner. The best (minimum)
possible sum of the ranks is 73
(income) + 3 (education) + 1 (health).
Ahmedabad scores 23. Next is Rajkot
(28), then Kachchh (38).
Law and order: While there is data
for various crime variables from 1999
to 2011, the ranking for crime is not
included in our assessment for the best
district. Nevertheless, an assessment
of how each district has performed
with respect to crime is relevant. Four
indicators are combined to obtain an
AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURE
MOST IMPROVED
JAMNAGAR
BEST PERFORMING KHEDA

District Snapshot
SHAILESH RAVAL
Kheda wins laurels in agriculture for three reasons: irrigation coverage

for 96 per cent of farmland, aided by the Kadana dam, which enables
farmers to sow three crops a year; 58,000 hectares covered by tobacco cultivation; and modern technology, including a cold storage chain that helps potato growers. The return on tobacco is over Rs
80,000 per hectare as against Rs 40,000 on paddy. Farm labourers prefer
working on tobacco farms as they get paid higher wages. Cold storage facilities have boosted potato cultivation by 20 per cent
RANKING
1 KHEDA
2 SURAT
3 BHAVNAGAR
4 SABARKANTHA
5 JUNAGADH
District Snapshot
Horticulture and micro-irrigation transformed farming
RANKING
in Jamnagar, which in the
1 JAMNAGAR
past mainly produced cot2 JUNAGADH
ton and groundnut. Pomegranate and watermelon
3 BHAVNAGAR
cultivation has grown by
4 RAJKOT
50 per cent in the last
5 AMRELI
five years. About 0.379
million hectares of cultivable area in the district is under drip and sprinkler irrigationa 10-fold jump since 2000.
Cotton is grown on 0.17 million hectares and
groundnut on 0.131 million hectares. All 0.15
million farmers in the district are covered
under the soil health card scheme
FARMERS AT WORK IN KHEDA DISTRICT
75
SHOPPERS AT A MALL IN AHMEDABAD
INCOME
District
Snapshot
SHAILESH RAVAL
MOST
IMPROVED
KACHCHH
BEST
PERFORMING
AHMEDABAD
RANKING
1 AHMEDABAD
2 KACHCHH
3 RAJKOT
4 JUNAGADH
5 GANDHINAGAR
District
Snapshot
Ahmedabad has always been
the leader of Gujarats diamond polishing industry.
The Narmadas waters,
brought in by the Fatehwadi
canal, increased agricultural
prosperity. Chemical and textile units in the Gujarat
Industrial Development
Corporations estates in
Vatva and Naroda created
jobs. The Nano car unit transformed Ahmedabad into an
auto hub. The VithalapurMandal Special Investment Region contributed
to the phenomenal rise
in incomes
overall assessment. These variables

(per hundred thousand of population) are murder, attempt to murder,
kidnapping and rape. The best score
obtainable is 4. The district with the
least crime rate is Sabarkantha (score
of 15), followed by Valsad, Junagadh
and Kheda at 18, 19 and 24 respectively. Bhavnagar has the fewest rapes
per unit of population, followed by
Panchmahal and Junagadh.
Conclusion
Gujarat has shown it can achieve
70
RANKING
1 KACHCHH
2 AHMEDABAD
3 SURENDRANAGAR
4 BHAVNAGAR
5 BHARUCH
A FACTORY IN KACHCHH
SHAILESH RAVAL
INCOME
The two major ports of

Kandla and Mundra, three
medium-sized ports, two
commercial airports and a
power generation capacity of
over 10,000 MW continue to
improve income levels in this
district. With cement units
such as Sanghi and Ultratech
set up and a daily cement
production capacity of
12,000 tonnes, Kachchh is
the largest producer of
cement in the country. It
is also the leader in salt
production, given the
vast saline desert in the
Rann of Kachchh
rapid growth for an extended period.

From 1980 to 2013, average per capita GSDP increased at a rate of 5.1 per
cent per annum. Gujarat could rank
as the third fastest growing country in
the world with a population over 10
million. India ranks sixth for this time
period. Gujarats record in education
and health is not as good. Education
improved at 2.2 per cent per annum,
about the same as Indias (2.1 per
cent). This would place Gujarat as
ninth in the world. For Gujarat, the
strategy should be to improve its
education system, healthcare and

other social sectors on a war footing as these could become obstacles
in its growth. The government must
focus on the economic-social transformation of the Eastern Corridor and
Western Gujarat. The state must uplift
the tribal, Dalit and minority communities from the remote, rural areas,
who have been left out by the marketled growth. This will lead to inclusive
development and reduce inequality
the best recipe for growth.
With Uday Mahurkar
LEISURE
BOOKS
YEAR
Books
INDIAN READERS HAVE PLENTY
TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2017
uch of the fun of reading is in the anticipation.

Before its spine is cracked open, every book is
perfect, unsullied by boredom or disappointment or, worst of all, abandonment. These are
some of the years most eagerly awaited titles.
And dont worry about the books you wont finish or wont
even crack open. Regrets and recriminations are for endings not beginnings.
FICTION
FEW SECOND NOVELS CAN HAVE BEEN MORE freighted

with expectation than The Ministry of Utmost
Happiness. Arundhati Roys Booker-winning debut, The
God of Small Things, turned her into a literary superstar
and a symbol for Indias growing self-confidence.
But instead of rushing another novel into print, Roy
abandoned fiction-writing to become an activist and a
dogged critic of untrammelled state power. Now, though,
Roy has finally written the second novel shes put off for
two decades, and her publishers have been ratcheting up
the hype. Language of the utmost freshness, joyfully reminding us that words are alive too, fawned one acolyte.
Utterly original... well worth the wait, gushed another.
Expected out in June, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
will be the literary spectacle of the year.
If no novelist will want to be competing with Roy for
column inches in June, there is much to look forward to
in the first half of the new year. Pakistani novelist
Mohsin Hamid, best known for The Reluctant
72
Fundamentalist, revisits familiar territory with Exit

Westa love story set in a country on the cusp of civil
war. An advance notice has described the novel, due out
in March, as one of the most bittersweet love stories in
modern memory. Presumably modern memories are
not as short as modern attention spans.
Balli Kaur Jaswals Erotic Stories for Punjabi
Widows, also out in March, sparked a bidding war among
British publishers. Deborah Moggach, who wrote The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel, has provided a blurb. But there is
reason to hope that the novel will not just be nostalgic,
sentimental kitsch for British audiences, as Jaswal won
prizes in Australia for her debut Inheritance, set among
the Sikh diaspora in Singapore.
Hari Kunzru, a British novelist with Kashmiri Pandit
antecedents, won several awards for his 2003 debut, The
Impressionist. He has since moved to New York and written three more novels and hundreds of pages of incisive
journalism. His fifth novel, White Tears, spills Americas
dirty secrets via early blues music. In 2012, Kunzru joined
a small group of writers who responded to Salman
Rushdie being prevented from attending the Jaipur
Literature Festival by reading from The Satanic Verses,
still banned in India. Jeet Thayil was among their number.
A poet whose debut novel, Narcopolis, was shortlisted for
the Booker that year, Thayils second novel, The Book of
Chocolate Saints, is expected in the summer.
Another poet publishing her second novel in 2017 is
Meena Kandasamy, whose When I Hit You, or A Portrait
of the Writer as a Young Wife, is slated for May. The
book portrays a young woman bullied out of life as an academic and writer by her abusive husband, a university
professor for whom a marriage contract is akin to indentured labour. Other notable novels include Shanthi
Sekarans Lucky Boy, her second, expected in January. A
teacher of creative writing, based in Berkeley, Sekaran is
not particularly well known in India but she asks an interesting question of economically successful Indian immigrants to the USwho have long been portrayed as the
model minority. How does your good fortune reflect in
your attitude towards other immigrants? A debut novel
by another Indian American writer, Rahul Mehta, out in
February, tells the story of a young boy coming to terms
with being gay. Set in India and rural New York in the
1980s and 1990s, No Other World has already been
called a work of astonishing emotional subtlety. It
shows that while some jaded readers complain about diexperiaspora fatigue, there are parts of the immigrant experi
ence that remain underexplored. Incidentally, Sahitya
Akademi award-winner Jerry Pintos new novel, Murder
in Mahim, out on January 12, is a murder mystery set
among gay men in Mumbai.
NON-FICTION
THIS YEAR IS NOT JUST THE CENTENARY OF THE

Russian Revolution. Indira Gandhi was born in 1917, too.
Making the most of the anniversary, Juggernaut has announced a new biography to be written by the journalist
and novelist Sagarika Ghose. Titled Indira Gandhi: Her
Life and Afterlife,, the book is expected around June and

will be Ghoses first work of non-fiction. Jairam Ramesh,
former minister for rural development, is reportedly
working on an environmental biography of the Iron
Lady, drawing on unpublished letters to shed light on a
little examined part of her legacy.
them2016 was a difficult year for people who style them
selves as politically liberal, or even moderate centrists.
What are the origins of the popular anger that, analysts
argue, has manifested in growing nationalism, Brexit, and
the election of Donald Trump? The man with the answers
is Pankaj Mishra, described by his publishers as one of
our most important public intellectuals. His contention in
his new book, Age of Anger, out in February, is that it is
impossible to understand the current upsurge of antiacwestern sentiment in China, Russia and India without ac
knowledging the role played by humiliation.
Early in 2017, there are a number of important state
elections in India, not least in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Milan Vaishnav, an academic and senior fellow in the
South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, is the author of When Crime Pays, a
comprehensive study of the nexus between politicians
and criminals in India. In stores by March, the book
promises to explain how Indian democracy became so infected by wrongdoers, and why the criminal backgrounds
of candidates appear to matter so little to both political
parties and voters. Political Corruption in India is the
prosaic title of a book by N. Ram, publisher of The Hindu
newspaper, expected to be out in the summer. Ram draws
73
LEISURE
BOOKS
THE
INTERNATIONAL O
PRESS
n the back of the success of his debut novel, The Sympathiser,

which won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction among a host of
other prizes, Viet Thanh Nguyen will publish a collection of short
stories in February. Born in Vietnam in 1971, Nguyen came to the US with
his family when they fled their homeland after the North Vietnamese
took Saigon in 1975. Drawing on that experience, the stories in The
Refugees move back and forth from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City,
telling the stories of people displaced by the war and making their lives
anew. Several big-name American novelists have new books out in the
early months of the year, including Paul Auster, who turns 70 this year. A
once iconoclastic writer turned grand old man of literature, Auster hasnt
published a novel in seven years. But 4321, due at the end of January, is
already being described as a tour de force. George Saunders, a writers
writer known for his brilliant short stories, has finally written a novel.
Coming in February, Lincoln in the Bardo is an unconventional historical novel about the death of Abraham Lincolns 11-year-old son. A number of writers have turned to Greek tragedy as inspirations for new
novels, including Kamila Shamsie, whose Home Fire, out in August, retells Antigone as a story of two British Muslim families in contemporary
London. Hitting the shelves later this month, award-winning journalist
Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark unveil the extraordinary inside
story of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda in the years after 9/11 in The
Exilewhich draws on first-person testimony from bin Ladens family
and closest aides to unpack mysteries from Abbottabad to the rise of the
Islamic State. A number of books mark the 100th anniversary of the
Russian revolution, but one of the most intriguing is October by China
Mivillea writer much admired for his science fiction. Mivilles book is
out in May. And though the new year has only just started, appetites are
already being whetted for Hit Refresh, the autobiography Satya Nadella,
the Indian-born CEO of Microsoft, out in November.
on Hegel to muse on the great and general corruption

that infects India to its very core. Aleph, Rams publishers, promise that the book will end with a forecast on
whether India will be able to root out corruption from its
polity in the conceivable future. Our guess: The answer
is no. Jaya Jaitlys memoir, out next winter, is called Life
Among the Scorpions. Given how vigorously she continues to defend herself from charges of accepting a bribe
as leader of the Samata Party, the scorpions of the title
could well be journalists.
Kuldip Nayars new book Close Encounters: People I
Have Known from Jinnah to Modi (slated for summer)
focuses, like most Indian non-fiction, on the elite. But two
other anticipated books by journalists Yashica Dutt and
Tripti Lahiri focus on Indians of less power and renown.
Dutt, in the wake of Rohith Vemulas suicide, wrote a
widely shared post about using her education and a skin
tone that was dusky but still not dirty to hide being a
Dalit. She has now expanded that post into a book, Com
ing Out as Dalit, about living a lie that will be published
74
in the autumn. Nothing can change the fact that we were

born as Dalits, Dutt writes. Any effort towards erasing
that necessary detail will only confine us in inferiority.
Ultimately it is about discovering pride in our history.
Out this spring, Lahiris Maid in India aims to demystify the complex relationships between domestic help and
their employerswho live side by side if not under the
same roof. Training a reporters gimlet eye on the upperclass homes of Delhi and Gurgaon, Lahiri tells the stories
of maids working to secure a white-collar future for their
children, and the abusive, benign and sometimes generous people who employ them. Far from urban centres,
people scratch out a meagre living in border towns, peripheral in every way to mainstream India. Journalist
Pradeep Damodaran travels to these places to interview
local people who cling to their Indian identities despite
their isolation. Borderlands is an inquiry into how the
idea of India can take root in areas where alienation
should by rights be the more common experience.
Compiled by Shougat Dasgupta and Jason Overdorf
GLOSSARY
by DAMAYANTI DATTA
Yesterday,
Today & Tomorrow
From historic to hip, 2017 is dotted with anniversaries of events and

achievements that shaped the history of the civilised world
GABRIEL GARCIA MRQUEZ

The Colombian author whose landmark novel, One
Hundred Years of Solitude, came off the press a halfcentury ago, on May 30, 1967. In 1970, the book appeared
in English. By the time Mrquez won the Nobel Prize in
1982, there was the sense of a new literary era
COCO CHANEL
French fashion designer, style icon and founder of the House of Chanel,
who had the biggest influence on how modern women should look, act
and dress in the 20th century. In 1917, when femininity was bound to long
tresses, Coco chopped her hair short (with the avowed explanation that her
house had caught fire and also singed her curls). The look soon became all
the rage. And in the century since, the bob has never gone out of fashion,
becoming an enduring symbol of independent, spirited women
STEPHEN HAWKING
The University of Cambridge is gearing up to celebrate the
75th birthday of the legendary astrophysicist (born January
8) who changed our understanding of space, time and the
origins of the universe, despite an incapacitating disease.
His A Brief History of Time, translated into 40 languages,
has sold about one copy for every 750 people around the
world and has influenced the minds of a generation as few
other contemporary titles have done
The future wont remember...

Celebrating anniversaries may become a thing of the past. According to scientists,
fame is now more fleeting than ever. Those who remember the famous 1968
comment of pop artist Andy Warhol, In the future everybody will be world famous
for 15 minutes, heres a piece of information from Harvard scientists crunching
500 billion words from 5 million books digitised by Google: In the future, everyone
will be world famous for 7.5 minutes.
CHE GUEVARA
MATA HARI
Is there anyone who hasnt seen T-shirts

with the monochrome visage of the
worlds best-loved symbol of rebellion,
Ernesto Che Guevara? Born in 1928,
the Argentine Marxist revolutionary,
physician, author and guerrilla leader was
best known for his famous motorcycle
trips and his historic role in the Cuban
revolution. Fifty years ago, on October 8,
1967, he was captured and gunned down
by CIA-aided Bolivian soldiers
Dancer, stripper, courtesan,

spy. Did she cause the deaths
of 50,000 soldiers in World
War I? The Dutch beauty
Margaretha Geertruida
Margreet MacLeod (nee
Zelle), better known by the
stage name Mata Hari, was
executed on October 15, 1917
in France on charges of spying
for Germany
MARTIN LUTHER
On October 31, 1517, a 34-year-old man defiantly
nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of a
church, denouncing the excesses of the Catholic
Church. It triggered the Protestant Reformation
in Europe and made him one of the most
significant figures of western history
KARL MARX
Expelled from Germany, France and Belgium as a
notorious revolutionary, he settled down in
London in 1849. This is where he emerged from
his political and spiritual isolation and produced
his most important work, Das Kapital, the working
class bible, in 1867. September 14 is the 150th
anniversary of its publication
PABLO PICASSO
One of the greatest and most influential artists
of the 20th century, he painted his most famous
work, Guernica, 80 years ago in 1937, as a
reaction to Nazi bombing of the Spanish town of
Guernica. The grey, black and white, 11 feet tall
and 25.6 feet wide mural-sized canvas, painted
in oil and preserved at the Museo Reina Sofia in
Madrid, is one of the most celebrated anti-war
symbols and an embodiment of peace
EYECATCHERS
PEOPLE TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2017
Artistes, dancers, musicians, fashion designers et al

ACTOR
SURAJ SHARMA
The Life of Pi actor is making his Bollywood debut
in the Anushka Sharma-produced Phillauri
FILMMAKER
KONKANA SENSHARMA
Her polished directorial debut, A Death in the
Gunj, boasts one of the finest acting ensembles
CINEMA
ACTRESS
NIDHHI AGERWAL
A Bengaluru beauty like Deepika Padukone, Agerwal has reportedly made a strong first impression with Munna Michael
MUSIC
DANCE
TEJAS MENON
VISHAL
KRISHNA
A rising talent on the

indie music scene,
Menons acoustic poprock is easy on the ears
RAFTAAR
FASHION
GARIMA ARORA
FOOD
With a Dhaakad year in

2016, the rapper is here
to give Badshah and
Honey Singh a run for
their money
Her Mumbai restaurant

plan derailed, the exNoma chef is sharpening her knives to give
boss Gaggan Anand
competition in Bangkok
DESIGN
PAYAL KHANDWALA
PAYAL
KHANDWALA
The Mumbai-based
de-
AYUSH
KASLIWAL
The
Mumbai-based
dessigners
work is fuss-free,
igners
work
is
fuss-free,
fierce and feminine with
fierce
and feminine with
easy separates.
easy separates
ASHIESH SHAH
The creative head

behind Narendra
Bhawan in Rajasthan is a big one for
incorporating local
crafts in his designs
The Bismillah
Khan Yuva Puraskar
awardee combines
the best of Sitara
Devi and Gopi
Krishna in a vigor-ous, crowd-pleas-ing Kathak style
PRATEEKSHA
KASHI
Daughter and student of
renowned Kuchipudi
dancer Vyjayanthi Kashi,
Prateeksha, 26, is a charismatic artiste well-versed
in group, duet and solo
A favourite of Bollywood celebrities, the

Mumbai-based designer dabbles in everything, from lighting
and interiors to furniture and surfaces
Volume XLII Number 3; For the week January 10-16, 2017, published on every Friday Total number of pages 100 (including cover pages)
78
DIGITAL EDITION
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JANUARY 2017
JANUARY 2017
JANUARY 2017

ART SPECIAL
9 TRENDS
IN DIGITAL
EDUCATION

IN TOMMY HILFIGER
RAISING
THE BAR
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE
RNI NO. DELENG / 2007 / 18401

BODY OF WORK
A CLASS
UNDERWAY
AT REFORMS
PHYSIOTHERAPY
AND PILATES
THE
SHAPE
MAKERS
IN THE CITY
JANUARY 2017
BODY OF WORK


IN TOMMY HILFIGER

ART SPECIAL
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie

Group Editorial Director Raj Chengappa
Editor (Special Projects) Kaveree Bamzai
Group Creative Editor Nilanjan Das; Group Photo Editor Bandeep Singh
Deputy Editor Prachi Bhuchar
Senior Associate Editor Chumki Bharadwaj
Principal Correspondent Srishti Jha
Photo Researchers Prabhakar Tiwari and Shubhrojit Brahma
Art Director Rajeev Bhargava
Associate Art Director Vipin Gupta
Production Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production),
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma
Group Chief Executive Officer Ashish Bagga

Publishing Director Manoj Sharma
Associate Publisher (Impact) Anil Fernandes
Senior General Manager (Impact)
Jitendra Lad (West)

General Managers
Upendra Singh (Bangalore)

Velu Balasubramaniam (Chennai)
Volume 13 Number 1; January, 2017

Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout
Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of
Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited,
18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) and
A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar, District Kancheepuram-603209,
(Tamil Nadu.). Published at K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001.
Editor: Kaveree Bamzai
Novelist Graham Greene once observed, Cinema has to appeal

to millions. It is probably this need for a mass draw that precludes
film as a great art form on par with theatre, literature, or painting.
This need not be the case as we know that film is capable of art of
the highest order. It is this dilemma that we found ourselves contending with popular actor, Hrithik Roshan, as he posed for the
cover of our Art Special.
Roshan is conscious of how Bollywood measures success largely by
box office returns, but prefers to let passion guide his decisions. He
surrounds himself with art in many forms, whether its the prolific
S.H. Raza or graffiti artists Daku and Banksy. The energetic evocation of art can neither be licensed nor tamed.
It is this courage and transience that is the spirit of the Kochi Muziris Biennale in its third edition. With an intention to create multiple narratives to look at the worlds that are seemingly outside,
like poetry, it is all about intersection, introspection and interaction
with artistic practices. Spice has curated a list of four special artists
who presented at the Biennale and exemplify this spirit.
From the southern outpost of art-soaked Kochi, Spice travelled to
Philadelphia, where the city, and more specifically, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, installed the newest avatar of what was once
rubble in Madurai, in October this year. The fully restored Madana
Gopala Swamy Temple Hall now stands as a stunning centrepiece
of the South Asian galleries herethe only pre-modern temple
mandap to exist outside of India. American Adeline Pepper Gibson
purchased 60 pieces of granite, thought to be rubble, by local Madurai authorities back in 1912. Gibson shipped these magnificent
carved portions that belonged to the Madurai temple complex of
1560 back to the United States where a costume pageant, with over
100 Philadelphians and an orchestra welcomed the gods of India
to the shores of America.
As history found home in Philadelphia, artist Sudarshan Shetty found inspiration in folk to furnish his most recent work A
Story A Song; a set of films and wooden structures created in
association with the Rolls Royce Art Programme. Appropriating a
lot of conventions of Hindi cinema such as music and melodrama,
he tells and retells the folktale through two films which he screens
simultaneously on two different screens side by side.
If Shettys dramatic artwork caught Spices attention, we were also
impressed by haute horologist Breitlings passion for flying. One
of the few remaining independent watch brands, Breitling has
played a crucial role in the development of the chronograph, being
the first chronograph in space when Scott Carpenter orbited the
Earth three times aboard the Aurora 7 capsule, in 1962, with a
Navitimer on his wrist.
Apart from a tour of the Breitling manufacture in Grenchen,
Switzerland, Spice took in a quick visit to five of the top Swiss boarding schools. We rounded off our sojourn with a trip down memory
lane as the iconic Ford Mustang completes 50 years.
On the soft bed of luxury, innovation remains the quilted passion
that defines ageless style and timeless appeal.
India Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited

e-mail your letters to: letters.editor@intoday.com
(Aroon Purie)
JANUARY, 2017 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 1
CONTENTS
January 2017
14
BODY OF ART
ART SPECIAL
JANUARY 2017
BODY OF WORK

IN TOMMY HILFIGER
ON THE COVER
Hrithik Roshan
COVER IMAGE
BANDEEP SINGH
STYLED BY
SUKRITI GROVER
CLOTHES BY
TOMMY HILFIGER
MAKE-UP
VIJAY PALANDE
HAIR
AALIM HAKIM
2 INDIA TODAY SPICE u JANUARY, 2017

BOLLYWOOD ACTOR
HRITHIK ROSHANS
IDEA OF ART
EQUALS PASSION
CONTENTS
| January 2017 |
TIMELESS
PASSION
36
INVENTION AND INNOVATION

HAVE BEEN BREGUETS
HALLMARKS FOR 24I YEARS
24
ODE TO THE LEGENDS
SUDARSHAN SHETTY
REDISCOVERS THE ART
OF STORYTELLING
12 INDIA TODAY SPICE uDECEMBER, 2016
ART OF
THE MATTER
CULTURE IS THE DRIVING
FORCE OF BMW
34
CONTENTS
| January 2017 |
18
BEYOND DEFINITIONS
THE KOCHI MUZIRIS
BIENNALE ESTABLISHES THAT
ART CAN TRANSCEND THE
FRONTIERS OF EXPRESSIONS
BANDEEP SINGH
CONTENTS
| January 2017 |
40
THE ART OF CRAFT
EMBODYING ART IN THE
SPIRIT OF FASHION
SKYS THE LIMIT
29
BREITLING EXPRESSES
ITS LOVE OF AVIATION
THROUGH WATCHES
38
GENTLEMEN, START
YOUR ENGINES
MUSTANG CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF
ICONIC DESIGN AND INNOVATION
LETTER FROM THE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
HOTSHEET
54
LASTLOOK
HOTSHEET
PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
Compiled by Chumki Bharadwaj and Srishti Jha
Interior of a Temple, circa 1965 by Bhupen Khakhar
The worlds leading art house Christies witnessed its fourth successive India sale with works of classical,
modern and contemporary art from India sold for more than `72.16 crore. Forty-one works from the private
collection of Abhishek and Radhika Poddar led the sale, selling for `29.06 crore. Meera Mukherjee and
Hemendranath Mazumdars works had record breaking numbers. Held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel,
Mumbai, the top two lots in the modern and contemporary section were both untitled works by V.S.
Gaitonde, the highest lot selling for more than `15 crores and the second, from the Poddar Collection, selling
for more `11 crore. Three lots in the sale were sold for more `10 crore. In the classical section, the top lot
of the sale was a folio from an iconic Pahari series of Ragamala paintings attributed to the small Himalayan
foothill of Basohli, which sold for `93.25 lakh. An unusually large and exceedingly rare stone figure of a
Mother Goddess, possibly a Matrika, circa 6th century, sold for `43.75 lakh. This was followed by an art
forum hosted by Christies at the Serendipity Art Festival in Goa on December 20. Auctions in this category
will be held in 2017 in New York, London and Mumbai.
For more information log on to www.christies.com
HOTSHEET
WOMEN
OBJECT OF DESIRE
The influence of art is evident in statement

jewellery. The 18 carat gold Chivor Bague ring
from Aurelie Bidermann stands out with its
sapphire glass compartment containing ethereal
cut, blue sapphires. A truly classy piece.
Price $2,445
Availability thewebster.us
SOMETHING BLUE
Embrace the subversive
spirit of leather with the
blue lambskin belted waist
dress from Nina Ricci featuring a V-neck, a
concealed front
fastening, a bow ribbon,
long sleeves, a flared
skirt, a pleated design
and front flap pockets.
Price $5,795
Availability www.more.com
FEET FIRST
These Made in Italy Aquazzuras Pasadena
sandals in soft suede with detailed cutouts
create an ornamented composition. The chic
signature ankle ties are minimal and beautiful.
Price $785
Availability www.net-a-porter.com
BAG IT
Timeless, distinctive and art in itself, the
Lady Dior bag is imbued with Diors
couture spirit. This taupe
lambskin bag has an iconic Dior Cannage stitching with an intricately embroidered address tag.
Price On Request
Availability Dior Boutique, DLF Emporio,
Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
HOTSHEET
TOP FIVE
DE VINCENZO
PLEATED FRONT SKIRT
1 MARCO
The sculpted bronze-tone

pleated front skirt from
Marco De Vincenzo is
architecturally beautiful.
From a crisp white linen shirt
or black polo neck top, it
works with everything.
Price $997
Buy from www.farfetch.com
2
1
HINDMARCH
2 ANYA
LEATHER POUCH
Go Metallic
BE BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL WITH SHEER TEXTURES THIS WINTER
Anya Hindmarch focuses

on pixilation with this silver
textured-leather Georgiana
pouch. Embossed with a tonal
blue Space Invader motif and
finished with the labels signature handcrafted tassel, its the
perfect replacement for that
plain wallet.
Price $355
Buy from www.lyst.com
SEQUINED
SILK BOMBER JACKET
3 ASHISH
Ashish Gupta has crayons and

80s couture as key influences
for this silk-georgette bomber
jacket. Saturated in shimmering
navy sequins and beaded tassels for swishy movement, the
ribbed collar and cuffs add to its
sporty feel.
Price $1,751
Buy from modesens.com
WHITE
4 MINAWALA
GOLD RING
To add charm to the season

of snow and fog, Minawalas
Serenity collection of rings are
quirky and cool. With versatile
appeal and patent cuts, its a
must have accessory.
Price On request
Buy from All Minawala stores in
Mumbai and Bangaluru
STUDDED
VELVET ANKLE BOOTS
5 CHLO
5
Chlos cult-favorite Susanna

boots are crafted from rich
navy velvet, a much-loved
fabric for this season. Defined
by polished studs and a trio
of buckled straps, this pair is
lined in supple leather and set
on a solid block heel.
Price $935
Buy from www.valentino.com
HOTSHEET I JEWELLERY
ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
If the traditional jhumki has seamlessly transformed

into the more approachable chandelier earrings
known in the west, this pair of three-dimensional
earrings from the House of Rose are a fine example.
The combination of blue topaz briolettes, diamonds
and rubies set in white gold is a wonderful addition
to their Colours of Life collection to commemorate
35 years of the brand.
Price On Request
Availability Preview on request at The Rose Salon,
Mumbai, and DLF Emporio, New Delhi
STATEMENT PIECE
PINK HAZE
Delicate, yet playful, is the best
possible description for this
delightful diamond necklace in
pink gold from Forevermark. This
collection presents winning cocktail
pieces for the wedding season.
Whats more, this particular neck
piece has a detachable variation
that makes it versatile too.
Price `7.35 lakh
Availability Authorised Forevermark
Jewellers or www.forevermark.com
It is precisely the sunshine

luminescence of this natural
yellow sapphire that makes this
multi-strand necklace from
Mirari so engaging. The bright
yellow peeks out, contrasting against the subtlety of the
South Sea pearls, creating a
dazzling composition. Robust
yet extremely elegant, this
contemporary jewel is a
whisper rather than a shout.
Price On Request
Availability Mirari Boutique,
DLF Emporio, New Delhi
COLOUR IS CUE
There is something almost
primal about the blood red
lure of the ruby; a quality well
captured by these Mozambique
ruby dangler earrings from
Entice. Crafted in white gold,
each of the mesmerising rubies
is hemmed by white diamonds
that bring out the
dazzle.
Price On Request
Availability Entice
Boutiques in India
HOTSHEET I ACCESSORIES
MOUNTAIN HIGH
The House of Fendis
leisurewear collection for
Fall/Winter 2016-17 injects
a high dose of edgy fun into
both apparel and accessories.
Combining high-tech
materials and workmanship
with luxurious style, imbued
with a touch of eccentricity,
it offers wardrobe choices for
those who wear fashion as
fun. Fur is a big part of the
collection, as obvious in
these pink and black fur
trekking shoes.
Price `1.42 lakh
Availability Fendi.com
BEST FOOT FORWARD

Smart footwear completes the look in ways that other accessories cant
even aspire to. This casual pair of moccasins from Michael Kors are a
fun way to add some casual chic to a Sunday brunch. What makes for an
additional fun element is that they are handpainted. The earthy taupe
makes it compatible with almost any colour or tone.
Price On Request
Availability Michael Kors boutique, DLF Emporio, New Delhi
DANDY COOL
STIRRING MEMORY
Montegrappas Brain Pen is probably
its most cerebral creation, so successful
was the resultant pen that its sister, The
Memory Pen, was conceived. Produced in
pearl yellow celluloid, with sterling silver
or solid 18k gold parts, yellow was chosen
because it is the colour most associated
with memory through the ages. Limited
to 300, the solid gold version will be
offered in a series of 20 each of fountain
pen and rollerball.
Price On Request
Availability Montegrappa Boutiques
If you thought Ermenegildo Zegna

was only about well-fitted, beautifully tailored formal suits, think again.
Their new collection also offers
options in casual wear and this
leather jacket makes for a great case
in point. The midnight blue colour
offers an interesting variation to a
boring black, while the smart
style adds edge.
Price On Request
Availability Ermenegildo Zegna
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Roshan at home with
daku gRaffiti on the wall.

Clothes by tommy hilfigeR.
PERFORMANCE
ART
COVER STORY IARTI PERSONALITY
ACTOR HRITHIK ROSHAN ON THE ART OF BUILDING YOUR CRAFT

Text by SUHANI SINGH
Photographs by BANDEEP SINGH
All around Hrithik Roshans sea-facing home in Juhu are framed
inspirational quotes, all coined by him. Find beauty in everything, Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure, You never fail until you stop trying. One relies on them more especially if one is
employed in the movie worldan artistic medium driven by commercial
diktats. I put them up so they can catch me off guard and trigger something
when I probably need it, says Roshan. Sometimes Im thinking shall I or shall
I not? And then I will read If you are looking for a sign, this is it. The idea is
to stop being superstitious, and look at things and decide now.
Roshan, who has been in the industry for 17 years now and whose
affiliation with it goes further back thanks to actor-turned-filmmaker father,
Rakesh Roshan, is conscious that Bollywood measures success largely by box
office returns. How does he handle this clash of art vs commerce? His response
reflects that all those motivational one-liners are very much his own creation.
The ideal situation is where your artistic pursuits, and the direction they are
taking, are in alignment with the commercial environment, he says. Sometimes that doesnt happen. Im still learning, but from whatever I have learned,
if you are subjecting yourself to the environment enough by watching films that
have worked and not worked, and what people like, follow and think, which is
to say that if you are with the times, then your passion will automatically align
with the box office.
Roshan is surrounded by art in diverse forms. Both S H Raza and Daku
find space in his apartment. Raza in the dining area and the Daku graffiti
Should. Would. Could. Did in his study-cum-childrens playroom.
He loves British graffiti artist Banksy too. I love his quotes and the way he
depicts them. There is a lot of mental acumen behind it, which I find
extremely engaging, he says. But for Roshan, theres no urge to flaunt only
the biggies. The first painting you are likely to notice is a black-and-white one
by Rashmie, his erstwhile stylist Akshat Tyagis mother, which hangs in the
passage. A chunk of a wall in the living room has adorable pictures of him
with his boysHrehaan, 10, and Hridhaan, 8. The cinephile in him is also
evident in a Charlie Chaplin portrait and Batmobile and Catwoman figurines. There are lovely small paintings with titles such as A somewhere in
between house and Of improvisation.
By his own admission, Roshan is not very good with names. Prod him
on the artists behind some of the works that grace his wall and the actor is
apologetic. But he will happily take credit for them being there: Every single
piece that you see in this house I have selected myself just to reaffirm to myself that
I accept my likes and my dislikes. It takes courage to put something up that
you like. I like this, I am going to get it; it may look like rubbish but I like it.
That courage is something that people tend to take for granted. One
can sense the pride that Roshan has when talking about his home, which
he shares with his boys who visit him over the weekend. Never in my
wildest dreams did I think that I would have a passion to build homes or
dabble in interiors, he says. I am nuts about house and design magazines. I
have apps on homes and interiors.
It is easier to get the name of the entertainers who have shaped his artistic
sensibilities. There is Amitabh Bachchan. I still find myself studying him, his
composure and pauses. The dancer in Roshan is in awe of Shammi Kapoor.
ROSHANS EXTEMPORE PERFORMANCE OF THE EIGHT RASAS
H A S YA
SHRINGAR
You see children at a traffic signal

doing your signature step. They try
that move again and again and even
trip over themselves while doing it.
You have a one-on-one meeting

with a hot new woman boss who
loves your smile. You stop in front
of the mirror to practise your smile.
B H AYA N A K
VEER
You are returning from stashing some black

You are a young boxer qualifying for
money in the bank. At a coffee shop, you Olympics for the first time. In your opensee Prime Minister Narendra Modi making ing bout with the existing gold medalist,
his speech on TV on demonetisation.
you manage a knockout punch.
MOST MEMORABLE MEAL
What comes to mind instantly is the pizza I had

last summer in Venice with my two boys. We had
lunch there. We came back to the hotel after a
long day and wanted to go back for dinner as well.
But we forgot where it was and got lost in the
lanes for almost an hour trying to find it. We were
so hungry that by the time we reached, each of us
had a 12-inch pizza by ourselves.
FAVOURITE RESTAURANT
Im a foodaholic. I eat like a pig. I maintain my

diet just so I can gorge on incredible food.
I go insane in Mumbais Haakasan. I love
the pizza at Indigo.
WHAT DOES LUXURY MEAN TO YOU?
To me it means freedom to make choices and do

all the things that you want to do. That freedom
can perhaps come out of your independence
monetarily and emotionally.
FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION
Every single moment spent travelling is a

favourite. There is a pact that I have with my
boys, and that is to never return to any holiday
place that we have experienced joy in. You will
try as hell to recreate it but it will never happen.
There are stones which I have picked up on our
vacation in Maldives which further elaborates on
our philosophy. It has our fingerprints and the
quotes: We are explorers. This is our adventure
and We are never tourists. We are travellers.
FAVOURITE CAR
Mini Cooper Convertible. I just bought it so I

am very excited.
roshan caught in
a playful moment
with his dog
COVER STORY IARTI PERSONALITY
V I B H AT S A
A D B H U TA
RAUDRA
VAT S A LYA
You are sitting next to a beautiful female co-star in a flight. The

plane hits turbulence and she
suddenly pukes on your pants.
You come home from outside

and open your door to
discover that your cook is
watching porn.
You and your girlfriend are held at

gunpoint on a lonely road by a group
of robbers. One of them is stroking
your girlfriends leg.
Your five-year-old child has a

new puppy. You wake up to
find both of them
eating from the same plate.
The fitness enthusiast in him idolises Sylvester Stallone. Other names cited include
Raj Kapoor his vulnerability struck me; Jerry Lewis in my childhood, I used to
watch him every day and of course Michael Jackson. I feel such a deep sense of
respect and gratitude for these artists who have inspired me, adds Roshan.
Most will see 2016 as a lamentable year for Roshan, who found himself
making headlines for all the worng reasons. Mohenjo Daro, his solitary release,
failed to live up to the epic expectations attached to it, becoming one of the biggest
duds this year. Then there was the legal quagmire with Kangana Ranaut that Roshan found himself engulfed in and that kept the
tabloids busy with umpteen stories of He Said, She Said. Youd think that Roshan
wouldnt look back fondly at the year, cited by TV host John Oliver, and rightly so,
as one of the worst in recent times. The chaos in life actually is cathartic to find
your centre, he says. The film business has the potential to be very turbulent.
There are no guarantees here. But Roshan isnt uneasy. I would go one step
bit too far and say that I think I have cracked it. I am really feeling a sense of so
much contentment and peace, and feeling great about who I am, what I am doing, where I am and where I am going. This awareness Roshan says came just
within this year [2016]. What happened to lead to it? I dont know...Probably it
is inner evolution or whatever you call it. May be it is also failure or the extra chaos
that removes the layers and you can actually find yourself.
Roshan and his fans will hope that 2017 is better. The actor will be busy from
the get go with Kaabil releasing on January 25, a film produced by his family
banner, Filmkraft. Directed by Sanjay Gupta, Kaabil sees Roshan play a visuallyimpaired man with revenge on his mind after a personal tragedy. I see Kaabil
as a small film with a large heart, he says. It will be competing with Shah Rukh
Khan-starrer Raees for eyeballs, a scenario Roshan admits would hurt the financial
prospects of both films. But Roshan isnt the sort to sit back and think about what
could have been. He is assured, calm and collected. In my entire life I dont think
there has been a single moment that something has impacted me and it has not
had the same effect on other people, he says showing faith in his forthcoming
releases merits. Which is why I have never been disappointed in my life.
I always make peace with the results of my creative process. Theres another
potential quote for the wall.
FASHION I PHOTO ESSAY
RAUL ZURITA, 66
Poet and artist, Chile
Sea of Pain, an installation where
Zurita has poured seawater into an old
warehouse at Aspinwall at the third
edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
Return to
LOSS
TWO POETS, A DANCER AND AN INSTALLATION ARTIST CHALLENGE THE
NOTION OF ART IN THE THIRD EDITION OF KOCHI-MUZIRIS BIENNALE
TEXT BY CHINKI SINHA
PHOTOGRAPHS BY BANDEEP SINGH
this isnt a dream, this is the sea

- Raul Zurita, For Kurosawa/The Sea
Outside the warehouse at Aspinwall, Kochi, the poet who was born in Santiago, Chile, is
untying his shoelaces before stepping into the sea, a tomb to Galip Kurdi, the Kurdish refugee
child who drowned in the waters off Turkey. A woman hitches up her dress and asks if the
water is dirty. The poet Ral Zurita looks away and walks into the man-made sea. He stands
there in the middle exposed, vulnerable and open to interpretations as all poets are. The
poem at the end of the make-believe sea, Sea of Pain, is ancient. The poet says it took him 66
years to think about it.
He writes No one can mimic his final image moored face down at the waters edge. No artist
can provide that low blow. Ah, the world of art, the world of images, billions of images. The
words of a poem are cleaner, more pure. Zurita studied engineering and became a poet. The
It was in response to the coup in Chile in 1973. He saw bodies being dumped in the sea. He
wrote verses commemorating the deaths. He offers no answers in a
post-truth world. He only offers hope.
If the Sea of Pain could drown us then and there, wed be released of a million guilts. The poet
holds his pen steady. For minutes, the pen rests in his hand. Parkinsons hadnt come in the
way. He had once said My disease feels beautiful to me. In the ephemeral sea, his wife steps
in with a camera. Later, he looks at her and smiles and says love is you.
Poet Sharmistha Mohantys installation is an in-between space, a meeting ground of
everythingshe works with time and reality and their shifting natures. Yardena Kurulkar
returns to the memory of an old wooden cupboard in an installation (she has three at the
Kochi-Muziris Biennale) where her Jewish family would keep their sacred texts. The dance
of longing is performed by Padmini Chettur and her group of five who have chosen texts
from Anais Nin, Junot Diaz and Jeanette Winterson among others to perform on. The slowness mimics the distance and the longing of the heroine, who doesnt cut a sorry figure but a
strong-willed woman who can dare to love another woman or leave a man who betrays.
There is a lot of poetry and performance at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the third edition of
which is on till March 29, 2017. At its helm, artist Sudarshan Shetty has established that art
can transcend frontiers of expressions. Through the poet who lives and works in Mumbai, the
contemporary dancer from Chennai and the installation artist who finds meaning in a
cupboard, he is remaking the old into something vital and vibrant.
SHARMISTHA MOHANTY, 47
Poet and writer, Mumbai
Her installation is a convergence
of sound, installation and text, a
place where forms meet and multiply. It is a room where one can
sit for hours looking out at the sea
with the words coming
at you with the poets velvety
voice reciting, What you hear
is what you hear.
03 INDIA TODAY SPICE u APRIL, 2016
APRIL, 2016 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 04
PADMINI CHETTUR, 43
Contemporary dancer, Chennai
Her performance Varnam at David Hall for the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is ephemeral but
one that is haunting as it sets out to explore a new iteration of the heroine who is abandoned by her lover. It
is a critique of classical Indian dance. Theres eroticism, theres lesbian love and theres the strength of the
woman who leaves home after her husband falls in love with another.
YARDENA KURULKAR, 42
Artist, Mumbai
In 15 frames, a heart dissolves in an art installation called
Kenosis, which documents the process of the disintegration
and the emotion in the light of decay. In another installation called Taphephobia, a wooden cupboard is covered
with fresh flowers. The door is ajar and blue velvet is placed
inside. Hundreds of porcelain nails tumble out of the cupboard. The installation seeks to establish that nails can be
broken and what is alive is also at the precipice of death.
LEGENDS
RETOLD
INSPIRED BY A FOLKTALE, ARTIST SUDARSHAN SHETTY HOPES TO ENTHUSE

STORYTELLERS THROUGH HIS LATEST PIECE, A STORY A SONG
COVER STORY I ART I PROFILE
BY MOEENA HALIM
sudarshan sheTTy poses

aT The house of lighTs
(mumBai) , which
represenTs The puBlic

space in his narraTive
The inTeriors of The house,

made using reclaimed
wood and anTiques from
chor Bazaar in mumBai
ccording to the Rig Veda, when a

sage opens his eyes to the world, he
assimilates all the multiplicities of
the world with that one look. He internalises them and reflects back to the world
as much as is taken in. It is this philosophy
that lends itself to the 2016 Kochi-Muziris
Biennale theme Forming in the Pupil of an
Eye. Mumbai-based artist Sudarshan Shetty,
who took over as curator of the Biennale
last year, has a particular fondness for Vedic
philosophy, just as he does for Indias ancient
arts. Shetty grew up in a household rich with
poetry and musichis father was a Yakshagana artisteand it is through his works of
art that he reflects all that he has internalised.
His latest A Story A Song, a set of films and
wooden structures created in association with
the Rolls Royce Art Programme, is inspired
by a folktale about a woman who holds on to
a story and a song until one is turned into an
umbrella and the other into a shoe. When
her husband returns to find these objects at
the threshold of their home, he accuses her
of infidelity. It is at the house of lights, when
he overhears the lights narrate her tale that
the truth dawns on him, but by the time he
returns home, his wife has already lost the
story and the song she had suppressed.
The moral: if you have a story, you must
tell it, says the artist. Being obscure is not
Shettys style. It is important to him that the
story and its meaning is understood.
Appropriating a lot of conventions of Hindi
cinema such as the element of music and
melodrama, he tells and retells the folktale
through two films which he screens simultaneously on two different screens side by side.
He intends that the audience lives it
by walking through the two anchoring
wooden structuresthe womans house
and the house of lights, where her husband
achieves enlightenment. Watching the films
and then examining the structures renders
the story secular. The viewer can become
part of the story in some ways. Its like playing with the notion of whats real and unreal and theidea of myth and the empirical
source of things, says the artist.
Just like the woman in the legend, the
folktale had been brewing in the artists mind
for decades. I heard this tale when I was a
child and it is one that has remained with me
since, he says. His first attempt at a retelling
didnt quite work out, but when the Rolls
Royce Art Programme came along, Shetty

saw it as the perfect opportunity to go back
to it. What Ive realised is that you must
tell stories any way you can. Retelling over a
period of time may alter the story, but I dont
see it as a bastardisation but as a
legitimate change, which is the only way it
can survive, he says.
He looks at the past for inspiration but
manages to contemporise the stories through
his art pieces. His other recent exhibitions,
Shoonya Ghar (Empty is this house) at the
National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi as
well as Who must Write these Lines, are based on
traditional poetry. We have a huge treasure
of tales and Ive been working a lot on how
to bring these into another space, one that
comes with a different set of expectations,
explains Shetty.
At the JJ School of Art, he was taught
the specifics and the conditions attached to
making and exhibiting art. It is something
he began questioning soon after he graduated. Theres a huge diversity between
whats inside the museum or gallery space
and whats outside. One of my efforts has
been to bring that life inside the gallery
space, create some familiar spaces and talk
about larger issues that might be unfamiliar
to a lot of people.
Cinema or dramatics seem like one way
to achieve this, in a way that it performs
itself in a gallery space that is meant for contemporary arts, says Shetty. Looking back
at the past examining tradition and history,
according to the artist, is an important way
of looking forward.
COVER STORY ARTI EXHIBITION
SONNETS
IN STONE
ONCE A PILE OF RUBBLE, THE
MADANA GOPALASWAMY TEMPLE
HALL OF MADURAI HAS NOW
FOUND A HOME AT THE
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
MAITHILI PAREKH
Art Historian
uch like the Hindu

gods who manifest in
multiple avatars and
reincarnations, the 60 pieces of
granite thought to be rubble by local
Madurai authorities back in
1912, had a rebirth of sorts when
American Adeline Pepper Gibson
purchased these magnificent carved
portions that belonged to the
Madurai temple complex of 1560.
As the story goes, Gibson shipped
these massive stone sections to the
United States where a costume

pageant, with over 100 Philadelphians and an orchestra, welcomed
the gods of India to the shores of
America. They found a home at
the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
It has taken years of dedicated
research, site visits to South India, and meticulous reconstruction by Darielle Mason, the Stella
Kramrisch curator of South Asian
Art, to identify these as part of the
Madana Gopala Swamy temple
NaNdi, the Sacred Bull of Shiva

This happy bull was made as
parT of a shiva Temple (12001250 ad), commissioned under
The hoysala rulers
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH HU, 2016.
in Madurai dedicated to Vishnu and his

avatar Krishna. Moreover, Masons research has also shown how the temple
fragments needed reinstallation in order
to be restored to its original intended
architectural plan of 450 years ago.
In October 2016, the Philadelphia
Museum of Art gave this impressive
Temple Hall its newest avatar by restoring it to its original glory with plenty of
light and a bright and festive atmosphere.
Once rubble in Madurai, the Madana
Gopala Swamy Temple Hall now stands
as the stunning centrepiece of the South

Asian galleries. It is the only pre-modern
temple mandap to exist outside of India.
OLD
ROOTS,
NEW
HOME
Along with the reinstallation of the
Temple Hall, The Philadelphia Museum
undertook an ambitious $2.7 million
project to reinterpret and renovate its 7000
square feet South Asian galleries, showcasing the richness and diversity of artistic
expression across 2000 years. This includes
massive stone sculptures, intricate
a Place of celeBratioN
hall from The madanagopalaswamy Temple in
madurai, circa 1560, wiTh
graniTe figure pillars,
lion capiTals, and carvings
of hindu Tales
Jewel in the Crown

(far left) part of an unfinished ceiling
bracket, circa 11th c (approx ); (left)
indra, king of the gods heaven: here
he wears a crown studded with semiprecious stones, rich jewelry, and an
intricately woven lower garment.
Mother Goddess of indian

art, stella
kramrisch at the
museums himalayan art
exhibition in 1978
miniature paintings, royal and religious

textiles, ceramics, video footage of life and
worship in India, and archival photography.
The South Asian Galleries at the museum also exhibit the well-known and historic
collection of Stella Kramrisch, whom
Rabindranath Tagore revered deeply. An
Austrian ballerina, she fell deeply in love
with India when she first read a translation of the Bhagavad Gita. After earning a
doctorate in Indian cultural studies in 1919,
she taught at Shantiniketan, and lived in
India for nearly 30 years between 1921 and
1950 travelling, collecting, researching and
writing about Indian art. Many in India still
remember Kramrisch as the little woman
with a huge presence. Kramrisch, who
became a devout Shiva follower, is often

cited as the first Indian art historian. Her
exhibitions were bold and daring, pushing
accepted boundaries. It was she who organised the Manifestations of Shiva in 1981,
an exhibition in the United States that introduced visitors to the power of this contradictory god. She died at the age of 97,
leaving her entire collection of over 1,000
art objectssculpture, miniature paintings,
textiles, folk and tribal artto the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This remarkable woman, her generosity and scholarship remain at
the heart of the museums collection.
The approximately 200 objects on
display in the new galleries are presented in
two major themes: Art and the Divine and Art,
Power, Status, showing how civilisations have
used art to relate to God and to assert wealth
and power. Beginning with a small room
fittingly dedicated to Kramrisch, 20th
centurysmothergoddessofIndianart, thenew
galleries allow visitors to create their own
narratives and interpretations, perhaps even
contradictory ones, much like Kramrischs
favourite God, Shiva. The results of the
reimagined space is that there is no single,
linear chronology, You dont have to follow a
route; you pick and choose, says Mason.
Also, bringing the past into dialogue with
the present, one of the fascinating interventions has been the curators commission of
Pakistani-born artist Shazia Sikander. Sikander
has created a contemporary animation inspired
by the complicated love story visualised in the
200-year old manuscript, Gulshan-e-Ishq, in the
museums permanent collection. It has been
exciting to reimagine the galleries for a new
generation of visitors. Each of the works was
originally created to communicate, whether to
worshippers, kings, villagers, or gods and we
hope that every visitor discovers something here
that brings new meaning into her or his own
life, says Mason.
Only an hour by train from New York City,
Philadelphia Museums reincarnated South
Asian art galleries are a must for any art
and history lover. A reminder of our
rich heritage and perhaps even a small
gesture of gratitude to the American women who have preserved and resurrected
South Asias ancient art in the US: Adeline
Pepper Gibson, Stella Kramrisch and
Darielle Mason.
BRAND I PRODUCT
ROAD TO PERFECTION
50 YEARS OF MUSTANG CELEBRATES POWER,
PERFORMANCE, REINVENTION AND DESIGN
The new ford musTang
TODD WILLING
Director, Design
Ford Asia Pacific
he iconic Ford Mustang is a celebrity in itself. With a cult

following across the globe, the icon has been part of Hollywood
movies to having songs written about it. And the growl of the engine can still make any heart around the world, skip a beat or two.
With over five decades of collective pavement beneath its wheels,
the Ford Mustang is an automotive legend. The shark nose grille, short
muscular rear haunches and the signature triple blade tail lamps, had
made it a heartthrob, still making it stand out in a crowd. Yet under
closer examination, each generation of Mustang is in fact a reflection of
the varied socio-economic and cultural climates of each time in which
they were created in the Design Studios of Fords headquarters in
BRAND I PRODUCT
the new ford

mustang looks at
advancement in
technology and
efficiency
Dearborn, Michigan.
Born against the backdrop of arguably
the most tumultuous decade of modern
times, the First Generation Mustang
(1964 -1973) was an automotive
manifestation of the iconic 60s rebellion
in itself. Mustang played to the 60s counter culture of individuality and free-spirit
through a youthful appeal and a unique
personality. The introduction of the
Mustang created a new class of automobile which came to be known as the pony
car. Mustangs styling, with its long hood
and short deck, proved wildly popular
and inspired a host of other automobile
generations. This period also saw the
Mustang race with great success in the
highly competitive Trans-Am series against

muscle car offerings from GM, Chrysler
and American Motors.
IN THE MAKING
For almost a decade, Mustang came to be
associated with a power performance machine for customers. With the Second
Generation Mustang (1974-1978), Ford took
a different approach. With a smaller size,
downsized engine and higher fuel efficiency,
the Mustang II was designed to appeal to
new car buyers looking to get the most out
of their money. At a time when petrol shortages were felt across America, this generation
of Mustang offered better technology and
higher versatility.
Mustang Milestones
1964
Ford introduces Mustang to
the world at the Worlds Fair in
Flushing Meadows, New York,
on April 17, 1964.
1966
Mustang sales pass the one
million mark in March.
1968
The 302-cid V-8 replaces the
289 midyear, and a mediumriser version of Fords premiere
race engine, the 427-cid V-8 is
offered as a $622 option.
1969
New models added to the lineup include the 290-horsepower
Boss 302, the 375-horsepower
Boss 429, plus the Mustang
Mach 1 and the Grande
luxury model.
1978
The new King Cobra model
is the first Mustang to wear
a 5.0 badge, the metric
equivalent of 302 cubic
inches, in the form of a
decal affixed to its rearward
facing hood scoop.
1984
Fords Special Vehicle
Operations creates the
Mustang SVO, which features
a turbocharged and intercooled
2.3-liter four-cylinder, bigger
tires and brakes and a
dual-wing rear spoiler.
1998
Output of the Mustang GTs
4.6-liter V-8 increases to
225 horsepower.
2003
The Mustang Mach 1 model
returns with a 305-horsepower
V-8 engine and the signature
ram-air Shaker hood scoop.
2008
The 9 millionth Mustang, a GT
convertible, is sold to
an Iowa farmer.
2015
All-new Ford Mustang debuts
Sleek and redesigned, the 1979 was

the first Mustang to be built on the new
Fox platform, thus kicking off the Third
Generation (1979-1993) of the vehicle.
The 79 Mustang was more European
visually, with less traditional Mustang
styling cues throughout. This was a
complete redesign of Mustang for the
80s, as people were looking to be more
international. From 1979 to 1986, the
car had an angled back front clip and
four headlights, known as Four Eyes
by enthusiasts. The front clips were then
rounded off in the 1987 to 1993 models
which were known as the aero style
with flush composite headlamps.
The following year, 1994, not only
marked the 30th anniversary of the
Ford Mustang, but it also ushered in the
Fourth Generation (1994-2004) of the
car. The 94 Mustang was built on a new
SN-95/Fox4 Platform and also marked
its first major redesign. With a change
of many major parts of the car, the new
Mustang looked different, and it drove
differently as well since it was structurally
engineered to be stiffer. Coupe and convertible models continued to be available
options, while the hatchback body style
was dropped from the Mustang line-up.
WINNING FORMULA
By the turn of the new century, as the
world rolled into the 2000s, people were
already becoming more design savvy
than they were in the previous 50 years.
There was less structure to what is right
or wrong to design and it was mostly just

about different points of view. Tapping
into this trend, in 2005, Ford introduced
the all-new D2C Mustang platform, thus
ushering in the Fifth Generation (20052014) of Mustang. The new platform was
designed to make the Mustang faster,
safer, and better-looking than ever before.
This generation of Mustang had come
full circle, retrieving its individuality and
returning fully to its iconic shape. This
design stood for originality along with
efficiency and advanced technology.
With over 50 years of experience and
five generations, the goal was now to
create a contemporary interpretation of
Mustangan American automotive icon
that symbolises optimism and freedom for
millions of people around the world. This
led to the launch of the new 2015 Ford
Mustang, which featured a completely
revamped design, which was inspired by
50 years of Ford Mustang heritage. The
2015 Mustang marked the 50th anniversary of continuous Mustang production,
which began in March 1964. The current
Mustang invokes a comfortable familiarity
whilst feeling absolutely contemporary all
at the same time.
Over time, Mustangs have become
sleeker, safer and more technologically
advanced. But no matter how sleek
and safe the Mustang gets, it has never
stopped being exciting with a thunderous roar powerful enough to give
goosebumps to anyone who happens to
pass it by.
TRAVEL I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
GOING
DUTCH
A TASTE OF DUTCH HOSPITALITY 39,000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND
BY KARISHMA GOENKA
sleeping quarters
aboard the klm 787
dreamliners new
business class
carus had been warned but he took to

the skies anyway; melting his wings of
wax as he flew too close to the sun, plummeting to his untimely death. Hoary
tradition stands testament to this compulsive obsession to fly. But the annoying ear
popping, cramped quarters, unimaginative
food are enough to challenge that assumption. Not so aboard the KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines, as we found out. The aircraft has
ushered in revolutionary design solutions
that make the experience truly seamless.

Who but royalty would understand the true
merit of real luxury?
As soon as you clamber onto your trans
Atlantic flight from Delhi to Amsterdam,
you realise that every one of your needs
has already been prepared for in anticipation, even those that you hadnt fully articulated to your inner child. Here is what
we loved most about the KLM World
Business Class (WBC).
the curated wine

collection on board
(above); an aerial
view of the flight
(above right)
WAKING UP TO A NEW YOU

The only experience that possibly comes close
to time travel is flying halfway across the globe
to a different time zone. Exciting as it appears,
it does not negate the copious amount of time
you have to spend in a pressurised cabin, but
the Boeing 787 does offer an engine that is
40 per cent less noisy with cabins that have
higher pressure enabling more oxygen absorption. This takes care of the two major kinks of
flying: ear popping and exhaustion. It is unreal to emerge from an eight hour flight feeling more invigorated than when you started.
THE ART OF SNUGGLING
The womb is a blip on memory for most,
but if there was anything that could recall that feeling, even in slightest measure,
it would have to be the new seats of the
WBC. The spacious flatbed seats boast a
canopy that cocoons you from not just the
other passengers but also the aisle. In Zodiac-Cirrus design, the 30 seats are configured in a reverse herring bone structure,
each facing away from the aisle yet offering
direct access to it. A little compartment fitted
with a mirror to house your personal effects
and atmospheric lighting help you
feel at home. You can be tucked into bed with
a glass of wine and a pick from over 400 movies
and TV shows on the in-flight entertainment
system, with a moving 3D map of the flight.
DESIGNER DELICACIES
The on-board menu curated by Michelin
starred Dutch chef Jacob Jan Boerma has something for everyone. Starting with a cold soup,
it moves up the gourmet food chain to braised
beef and smoked salmon. The apple pie pampered with fresh cream is the sweet dnouement to a braise-worthy meal. KLM showcases
the work of some of the finest Dutch designers.
It shows up not just in their food but also wine
collection which is curated by wine specialist
Hubrecht Duijker served in charming stemware crafted by Marcel Wanders. Every little
element is an overwhelming nudge to Dutch
ancestry and culture. There was an adorable
safety video featuring delftware animation
that underlined their effort to be better, while
being rooted in their heritage. Whats more,
everyone got to go home with a gin-filled
miniature Delft house.
ONE FOR THE PLANET
For those careful of their
carbon footprint, KLM proves quite the guiltfree ride being one of the most
environment friendly. A conscious effort to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,
through use of bio-fuels in certain sectors is
de rigueur; carpets are made from recycled air-hostess uniforms and the entire 787
aircraft is built to be recyclable at the end of its
life. Now thats called flying high.
ART I INTERVIEW
Culture is the Driving

Force that Connects
FRANK SCHLOEDER, ACTING PRESIDENT, BMW INDIA ON WHY THE BRAND SUPPORTS ART
BY CHUMKI BHARADWAJ
Unless you live under a rock or hibernate during the winters,

chances are, you would have heard about the two biggest
events of the Indian art calendar, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale
and the India Art Fair. Luxury car maker BMW is a collaborator on both projects. Acting president of BMW India, Frank
Schloeder, explains why corporate patronage of the arts is a
growing trend.
Frank Schloeder,
PreSident (act.),
BMW GrouP india
Why has big business become so culture conscious?

At BMW we believe that culture moves people. It is the driving force that
connects and inspires. For more than 40 years now, BMW has initiated
and engaged in over 100 cultural cooperations worldwide. The company
places the main focus of its long-term commitment on modern and contemporary art, jazz and classical music as well as architecture and design.
We believe the voice of those involved in art and culture is one of the
most important in our society. These voices challenge us with new perspectives. Through our long-term, sustainable support, we wish to continue
enabling their voices to be heard. The partnerships we build strengthen intercultural dialogue and create platforms for multidisciplinary exchange.
The goal is to build lasting, exclusive partnerships as well as sustainable,
challenging and innovative projects.
In 1972, three large-scale paintings were created by the artist Gerhard
Richter specifically for the foyer of the BMW Group headquarters in Munich. Since then, prominent artists from around the world have designed
BMW automobiles to represent their times, all making different artistic
statements. The 17 exhibits created for the Art Car Collection until now include works by well-known artists such as Alexander Calder, Frank Stella,
Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, A.R. Penck, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer and Olafur Eliasson among others. BMW Art Cars reflect the cultural
and historical development of art, design, and technology and attract interest from museums and galleries throughout the world. The company
has also commissioned architects such as Karl Schwanzer, the late Zaha
Hadid and Coop Himmelb(l)au to design corporate buildings and plants.
In 2007, we celebrated the first BMW Art Car exhibition in India featuring the works of art by Warhol and Lichtenstein, among the two most
renowned American pop artists of the 20th century. Since then we have
actively engaged in partnering with iconic projects such as the Jaipur Literature Festival, Kochi-Muziris Biennale and India Art Fair.
What made BMW collaborate with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and the
India Art Fair?
BMW is the presenting partner for the unique India Art Fair, which
has become South Asias leading art fair for modern and contemporary
art. The 2016 edition was even more special for us with an exclusive
display of the tenth BMW Art Car by Cesar Manrique. The BMW Csar
Manrique Art Car echoes the vibrancy of Mediterranean living and na-
13th BMW art car

By italian artiSt,
Sandro chia
In 2007, we
celebrated the
first BMW Art Car
exhibition in India
featuring the works
of art of Andy Warhol
and Roy Lichtenstein,
two of the most
renowned American
pop artists of the
20th century.
FRANK SCHLOEDER
President (Act.),
BMW India
tive Spanish surrealism. This very aesthetic of technology and nature, in perfect tandem, is one of the many things that mark the
innovation code of all BMW cars today.
BMW India has also been a partner of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale
since its first edition in 2012. The Biennale endeavours to create a
cultural impact both locally and globally, bringing international artists to India and providing a worldwide platform for Indian artists. It
encompasses different forms of expression, including painting, installations, dance, poetry, literature and theatre. It uses heritage properties and galleries in Fort Kochi and Ernakulam like Aspinwall House,
Pepper House, David Hall, and Durbar Hall. These locations serve as
melting pots of creativity, dialogue and interpretations. The BMW Art
Talk is held at the start of the biennale that brings together artists from
all mediums with the general public to have an interactive dialogue
exploring various facets of art and the factors influencing it. Whats
unique and important about both these platforms is that they do not
restrict patronage of art to connoisseurs and are able to establish an
emotional connect with the general audience. They create a ripple effect which has a very positive impact in increasing the appreciation for
art among the masses. The more exposure the art and the artist get,
the more the world of art gains!
What are the parameters that outline BMWs engagement with an
art project?
We set no limits; unrestricted freedom of creative potential is of utmost importance, which is equally crucial for the field of art as it is for
ground-breaking innovations within a successful business enterprise.
What will BMW showcase at the India Art Fair 2017?
The 13th BMW Art Car, a work of art by prominent Italian artist,
Sandro Chia. According to the artist, the automobile is a soughtafter possession in society and all eyes are upon it. People look
closely at cars. The one I have painted reflects their gaze. Like
a mirror, it confronts the people who look at it. India Art Fair
2017, which begins on February 2, also provides us with a unique
platform to showcase our take on co temporary luxurythe allnew BMW 5 Series, the most progressive sports-business sedan
offering unique driving dynamics in combination with the most
innovative assistance systems.
HERITAGE I EXHIBITION
WATCH I BRAND
TRAILB
CONTEMPORARY HOROLOGY
EFFORTS OF
BY SAROSH MODY
Breguet type XXII
60 INDIA TODAY SPICE u NOVEMBER, 2016
nvention and innovation are words easy

to mouth in todays digitised age, but
to think of a time, centuries ago, when
handcrafting was the only key to designing,
Abraham-Louis Breguet (founder of the 241-yearold Swiss brand) stood out as the master of
many global firsts and cutting edge innovations,
earning him the sobriquet of father of modern
day horology.
With over 200 patents since 1755, the
tourbillon propelled him into an elite circle of
inventors in 1801. This came at a time
when real, high precision timekeeping was
becoming possible for the very first time
in portable instruments, and
when
accurate
timekeeping
in
general
was
beginning to find a solid scientific foundation. The brilliant watchmakers tourbillon in a
pocket watch made it possible to compensate
for the disturbing effects of gravity on a watchs
performance, thus enabling timepieces to display
significantly improved precision.
Breguet was also one of the finest horological
designers of all time; one almost wants to call him
the first true watch designer in the modern sense.
Commissioned by Caroline Murat, the Queen
of Naples, Breguet was the first to respond by
creating a unique oval wristwatch; it was
daring to introduce something totally different in a time when pocket
watches prevailed.
A technical genius, Breguet
proved his design sensibilities by
fitting the oval case to a wristlet
composed of twisted hair and
gold thread. This ingenuity
resulted in the evolution of an
object kept hidden in the pocket to the watch becoming a
jewel proudly worn on the
wrist. While this unique invention made it easier to check the
time, it was not the only improvement in this direction. In 1830,
BLAZER
OWES MUCH TO THE GROUND-BREAKING
WATCHMAKER A L BREGUET
Breguets son, Louis-Antoine, sold the first watch boasting a

keyless stem winding and time-setting system, now
commonly
known as the crown, to Count Charles de
LEspine, a French count. Thus arrived the Breguet N 4952
watch equipped with a knurled button that is twirled from
left to right between the thumb and forefinger until a stop
is reached, and which performs two functions: setting the
hands to time and winding the watch. This marked the birth of
modern watch winding.
While Breguet was certainly not the first to
experiment with self-winding watches, hes widely credited with
being the first to invent and refine a really workable system.
To this very day, Breguet tirelessly perpetuates the pioneering
spirit of its founder by revolutionising various facets of
horology. The House of Breguet was behind the very
first instant dual time-zone device. Breguet reinterprets the travel
watch with this function that enables a display of two pre-selected
time zones by switching instantly from one to another at the
simple press of a push-button.
In parallel, the manufacture leverages high frequency to improve the performances of the balance
of some of its models. Rendered possible by the use of
lighter components made of silicon, the increase in the
frequency of
the oscillatorreaching as much as 72,000
vibrations per hour on some timepiecesendows watches with a
far more precise rate.
The use of silicon, a material with anti-magnetic properties, has also enabled the Breguet engineers to envisage incorp rating magnets inside the watch mechanism in
order to enhance their performance. Thus, the
Classique La Musicale watch was equipped
with the first magnetic regultor in
watchmaking history. This ingenious
mechanism eliminates the characteristic issues of wear, background noise
and the need for higher amounts of
energy, while also ensuring greater
precision.
The introduction of magnetic
components, hitherto considered equivalent to horological heresy, have opened
up whole new vistas of development, is
probably just another milestone for this
revolutionary brand.
Breguet tourBIllon
Breguet ClassIque
ChronometrIe 7727
Breguet ClassIque
tourBIllon eXtra-thIn
automatIC 5377Br
Breguet ClassIque
ComplICatIon le
musICale 7800 Br
NOVEMBER, 2016 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 61
BRAND I PRODUCT
SKY
ISNT THE
LIMIT
LUXURY
WATCHMAKER
BREITLING TAKES
ITS LOVE FOR
AVIATION
SERIOUSLY. ITS A
LOVE THAT BEARS
TESTIMONY IN ITS
DISTINCT PRODUCT
PORTFOLIO
BOB RUPANI
BY ADII DANDE
skydiving with Breitling at

14,000 ft in switzerland
he 1989 Pilatus PC-6 Porter has

slowed down to 60 knots from a
zooming 160; tandem master Jan
Eckmanns altimeter says 14,000
feet, and hes begun the final
countdown. I peep out of the aircraft and
there isnt a chance to voice any hesitation as
weve already dived. Floating on what feels
like an air-cushion during the minute-long
freefall, with the Swiss Alps and the Jura on
the horizon, all I can do is gasp in amazement. As the parachute opens, we float for
some time before descending; the exhilarated first-time skydiver in me simply cant
get enough. With feet firmly planted on the
ground, I realise just how important aviation is to Breitling; their skydiving team has
merely reiterated their passion for flying.
BREITLING SA
High Flyers
Breitling navitimer
Cosmonaute 1962
The brand that claims to make not just

watches but instruments for professionals,
started manufacturing on-board chronographs for aircraft cockpits as early as the
1930s. They went on to being the first chronograph in space when Scott Carpenter
orbited the Earth three times aboard the
Aurora 7 capsule, in 1962, with a Navitimer
on his wrist; a watch with a 24-hour graduation, vital to distinguish day from night. It
goes without saying that the Navitimer became the pioneer in the sphere of space. It
has since been equipped with a Manufacture
Breitling movement featuring manual wind-
ing and a 24-hour displaytwo tributes to

the original 1962 chronograph.
Uncompromising Pioneering
Within the circle of luxury watchmakers who

have mastered the mechanical chronograph
movement, Breitling does not limit itself by
putting forward just another calibre. The
brand takes pride in being one of the worlds
last large independent Swiss watch brands,
and holds a state-of-the-art production
facility at their avant-garde Chronometrie
in the picturesque La Chaux-de-Fonds,
Switzerland, ensuring that nothing but the
innovative best is designed, produced and
assembled. Stepping off the beaten path is
a trend set by founder Lon Breitling when
he started the company in 1884. He was one
of the firsts to put the-then popular pocket
watch on the wrist. Mechanical chronographs were the core of the company right
from its inception, says Jean-Paul Girardin,
CEO, Breitling.
The Best of Innovation
The brand has been insistent in bettering

creations throughout the decades. After
releasing a chronograph with a pusher at 2
oclock in 1915, the Manufacture unveiled
another one with two pushers (at 2 and
4 oclock), a unique attempt for the time,
in 1933. Take the Navitimer for instance,
which ventured into the space in 1962. A
ICONIC
TIMEPIECES
Navitimer
(1952)
The Navitimer was
adopted by pilots
because of its circular
slide rule serving to
perform the entire range
of calculations relating to
airborne navigation.
Chronomat
44 GMT
(2012)
A travellers chronograph,
the piece enables instant
adjustment to the time
and date of the place
where one is arriving.
Emergency (2013)
Worlds first wristwatch
with a built-in personal
locator beacon, based on
the international CospasSarsat System.
Exospace B55
(2015)
Quite literally, a
smartphone placed in a
watch with Calibre B55
movement.
1,000-piece limited edition version in an allblack series called Navitimer Cosmonaute

Blacksteel was released in 2013. Girardin
explains, Not only is the black steel case,
created using a highly resistant carbon-based
coating, aesthetically appealing but it also
provides an extremely tough and wear-resistant covering to the case.
Breitling beat its own record when it
unveiled Breitling Emergency, the worlds
first wristwatch with a built-in emergency
micro transmitter, in 1995. The watch is
designed for constant wear and operates
on the 121.5 MHz international air distress
frequency, and enables accurate location of
pilots or passengers following a plane crash.
Unwavering Quality
For a name thats the official supplier to the

world of aviation, quality cannot be compromised. So as one would expect the Breitling
Chronometrie lab to have the worlds most
efficient equipment. Right from pioneering
air quality systems to a 40,000x scanning
microscope, theres everything that takes to
build the perfect timepiece that performs
superlatively well.
Such is Breitlings love for the sky that
its difficult to dissociate the two; they ensure
that flying appears almost like taking a stroll.
Probably only an adventure as daring as
sky diving can help comprehend the watchmakers ethos.
BREITLING SA
Breitling Chronomtrie at la
Chaux-de-fonds, switzerland
FEBRUARY, 2016 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 47
art
where
thou
ART HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE, MEDIUM AND PERSONALITY.

WE LOOK AT FIVE PHENOMENAL ARTWORKS THAT REPRESENT
A WORLD IN US AND EMBRACE IT IN SPIRIT, SENSIBILITY AND STYLE.
BY SRISHTI JHA
WEAVING TALES
The fabric, tone and assemblage

of the art structure inspire the
wearable drapes that depict ease,
effortlessness and power.
Art installation BARREN RED

BY PUNEET KAUSHIK
Jacket, pants and stole by PERO

Corset by SAAKSHA & KINNI
Footwear by MANISH ARORA
Jewellery by AMRAPALI JEWELS
Location GALLERY ESPACE, NEW
FRIENDS COLONY, DELHI
rt comes with many realisations, dreams and imaginations. Fashion shares the emotion that art
builds in many ways and the two often merge. Delhi-based Manjunath Kamaths art is larger than
life with a love for primary colours and striking shapes. The empty space is insightful and the use
of motifs symbolising nature, weaves a different narrative each time, summoning reality and fantasy to
the same room. Delhi-based Puneet Kaushiks art installation is a tale of mixed mediums. His work
represents organic in the context of crafts, materials, textiles and structures. His use of wool, jute fibre,
cotton, crocheted steel, cotton wicks with latex and paper dipped in latex gives sculpting a fresh
perspective. Based in London, Sir Peter Cooks art incorporates his architectural subjects and his love
for detail. Minimal and dense at the same time, his work looks at the technical and industrial elements
of art. Delhi-based Manisha Parekhs work is evocative, abstract and rooted. She looks at different
materials and surfaces along with different cuts and shapes. The interpretations are open-ended and
create space for more mediums to participate. Thukral and Tagra who work from Gurgaon, balance
fine art and popular culture embodying aspects like globalisation and consumerism in a quirky way.
As art becomes more accessible, the personification of it is worth the wait. Fashion recreates art with
fabric, adornment, mood and inspiration.
BACK TO ROOTS
The textures and shapes on the wall

resonate in the free-flowing patterns.
Artwork DIP/SEEP/EDGE BY
MANISHA PAREKH
Skirt and top by SAAKSHA & KINNI

Stole and pants by PERO
Location NATURE MORTE,
NEETI BAGH, DELHI
THE ART OF MECHANISM
Industrial designs have space in the wardrobe and how. Breaking down structures,
remaking them while redefining the components in a simplified way brings the
right kind of transformation.
Artwork MONTREAL TOWER BY SIR PETER COOK

Dress by RIMZIM DADU
Cuffs by MANISH ARORA
Location GALLERY ESPACE, NEW FRIENDS COLONY, DELHI
05 INDIA TODAY SPICE u APRIL, 2016
QUIRKY BUT RELEVANT
Fine art and pop culture come together.

Unconventional is no longer only for the wall.
Artwork DOMINUS AERIS ESCAPE, TWILIGHT SERIES 1 BY
THUKRAL & TAGRA
Dress and footwear by MANISH ARORA

Location NATURE MORTE, NEETI BAGH, DELHI
STYLED BY SRISHTI JHA

PHOTOGRAPHS BY M ZHAZO
MODEL RITA BY PURPLE THOUGHTS
HAIR & MAKEUP BY IRAM KAZMI
LOCATION- NATURE MORTE AND
GALLERY ESPACE, DELHI
CLOSE TO NATURE
Organic sets the trend now. Real, elemental and inherent.

Simplicity is the new elegance.
Artwork IN BETWEEN BY MANJUNATH KAMATH
Sari by RAW MANGO
Location GALLERY ESPACE,
NEW FRIENDS COLONY, DELHI
07 INDIA TODAY SPICE u MARCH, 2016
LEARNING
THE SWISS WAY
INSIDE SWITZERLANDS SWISH BOARDING
SCHOOLS, WHERE THE PRIVILEGED STUDY
BY SHELLY ANAND
01 INDIA TODAY SPICE u OCTOBER, 2016
he sky is overcast, its about starting

to rain and the nip in the air is typical of Switzerland at this time of year.
Its a quarter after one on a Friday
afternoon, and we are at Institut Le Rosey, a
boarding school in Switzerland, largely considered one of most expensive in the world.
It is time to break for lunch and young boys
and girls in their teens, from all over the
world, nattily dressed, start filtering out of
their classrooms heading out to the main
dining hall, about two blocks away from the
EDUCATION I PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
building, where classes are conducted. The

dining, done in typical English design, has
a formal sit down arrangement, with a strict
no-nonsense character to it. Students start
taking their seats and check out the menu
for the day, which is always an elaborate affair with multi-cuisine, multiple course offerings. Prepared by trained in-house chefs,
the lunch has innumerable healthy dishes,
side dishes and desserts; more than most
students can imagine or conjure. Just to
ensure that the students dont miss out on
home-cooked meals and feel homesick, the

school goes out of its way to take care of every minute detail. Now this is true luxury;
extravagant and exclusive as only the Swiss
are privy to. Home to some of the top-end
private and family-run boarding schools,
these luxurious pods of learningdotted all
across Switzerlandoffer a home away from
home for students privileged enough to call
them their alma mater. Heres our pick of
the top five; each boasts a unique character,
curriculum and philosophy of its own.
Le rosey campus,
roLLe, is spread
over 75 acre
OCTOBER, 2016 u INDIA TODAY SPICE 02
INSTITUT LE ROSEY ROLLE
ush, green manicured landscape, Nordic

and English architecture, and a huge
dome-shaped glass edifice greet us as soon
as we step inside the guarded gates of Institut
Le Rosey, commonly called Le Rosey. The
136-year-old, family run institution has been
home to a number of royals, the Rothschilds
and the Borgheses, thanks to its refined facilities and quality education. It is the only school
in Switzerland, for instance, which shifts its
entire campus during winter; the winter campus with typical Swiss-style chalets is located in
the ski resort of Gstaad, at an altitude of 1,000
m, with 250 km of ski slopes. But it is the main
campus, located in Rolle, halfway between

Geneva and Lausanne, looking down at Lake
Geneva, that took us by surprise. During our
tour, we got a chance to experience a live performance by an international music band in
the 900-seater concert hallthe Paul & Henri
Carnal Hall Artswhere both acoustics and
interiors are state-of-the-art, and where all the
theatrical and musical performances are hosted. With a sailing centre of its own, Le Roseys
culture veers towards exposing boarders to
the finer things; offering a choice of 30 weekly
sports, over 15 musical ensembles, including
choir and orchestra, to cultural events.
AIGLON COLLEGE
FACT FILE
Students sit the full
International Baccalaureate (IB) or French Baccalaureate; lessons are in
English and French
Fee 110,000 CHF
(`74 lakh) per year
At 1180 Rolle & 3780
Gstaad, Switzerland
Tel +41 21 822 55 00
www.rosey.ch
VILLARS
odest in its teaching philosophy,

while insisting on challenging students to step out of their comfort
zone, at Aiglon College, learning happens
both inside and outside the classrooms. An
open, interactive style of education is followed, where students and teachers debate,
ideate and connect over an exchange of
ideas. With less stress on bookish knowledge,
Aiglon encourages students to question that
which is not obvious, and find answers to that
which is. In an ongoing art class, for instance,
students are being prodded to do a thorough
analysis of the installation done by a local
artist. With an academic programme based
on sport, art, drama, music and science,
the school ensures that students develop a
holistic personality. Spread over an area of
44,000 sq m on a south-facing plateau, 1,170
m above sea level, Aiglon founded in 1949,
is the only school where meditation is part
of the curriculum. Students need to take a
meditation class every morning before heading out to classrooms. Though the school
does not believe in talking about its alumni, it
is worth a mention that actor Abhishek Bachchan studied here. During the winter term,
students take part in a weekly programme of
Alpine and Nordic winter pursuits; with one
or two compulsory sessions per week that
include Alpine skiing.
Fact File
Students undertake
the IGCSEs before
completing IB diploma.
Teaching and learning
is in English, learning
French is compulsory.
Fee
102,600 CHF
(`69 lakh) for
upper boarding;
94,800 CHF
(`64 lakh) for
middle school
At
Avenue Centrale 61;
Chesieres,
Switzerland
Tel
+41 024 496 6161
www.aiglon.ch
there iS StreSS
on individual
training needS
of StudentS
at aiglon
Skiing iS the main

Sport during winter
at beau Soleil
BEAU SOLEIL VILLARS
othing could have prepared us

for the stunning view of the Alps,
from the classrooms at College
Alpin International Beau Soleil or even
how different the campus, ambience and
overall character would be from the other
boarding school we had visited. With
countries like Italy, France and Germany
as close neighbours, Beau Soleil, established in 1910, looks more like a resort
than a school facility, located in Villars-surOllon, at an altitude of 1,300 m. Wrapped
around the curve of a hillside with a campus area of around 15,000 sq m (an additional 30,000 sq m will to be added this
year as part of an elaborate renovation).
The school believes in making its students
feel at home and takes extra care to make

it happen in theory and practice as well.
For instance, when they had an Indian
student from a Delhi-based Jain family on
board, they got the chef to train and perfect special cooking techniques to take into
account the boys special meal requirements. Academics are important at Beau
Soleil, but a lot of the focus is on outdoor
pursuits, entrepreneurship, and the arts.
Students have to take at least two extracurricular clubs per week and can choose
from 30 to 40 different activities, including
performing arts, expeditions or charity.
During winter, skiing is the main sport
with the slopes at an easy walking distance
from the campus building.
Fact File
The school follows two
academic programmes;
the international
section has English
as teaching medium,
whereas it is French for
the French section
Fee
98,500 CHF (`66 lakh)
per year for boarding
and tuition, plus 25,000
CHF (`16 lakh) for extras like skiing, uniform,
expeditions, excursions,
pocket money, and
health insurance
At
Route du Village 1, CH1884 Villars-sur-Ollon
Tel
+ 41 24 496 26 26
www.beausoleil.ch
BRILLANTMONT T
INTERNATIONAL
SCHOOL LAUSANNE
here is a real sense of family atmosphere at

Brillantmont, where every student is known by
name to the schools management and teachers. This is the smallest boarding school with only 100
boarders and 30 day students. It also has a history of
hosting Indian families, particularly young women
from royal backgrounds; one prestigious alumnus is
Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, who studied here in
her teens. Owned by the same family since its foundation in 1882, the school is built like an old castle, with
English and French design nuances, wood-framed
glass windows, and boarders house rooms that overlook Lake Geneva. Situated close to the centre of Lausanne, in a quiet neighbourhood, the campus is spread
over eight buildings in a green leafy park. It might
be the smallest boarding school, but size is no deterrent to the personal development of the students. An
extra-curricular programme covering sports, creative,
humanitarian and critical thinking enables students to
develop strengths and talents beyond the classroom.
Boarders are offered at-home feeling
Fact File
Only school
which offers
British A levels;
all classes are
in English
Fee 70,000 to
76,000 CHF (`47
lakh-`51 lakh) per
year; 8,000 CHF
(`5.39 lakh) per
year for extras
At Avenue Secretan
16, 1005 Lausanne,
Switzerland
Tel + 41 21 310 0400
www.brillantmont.ch
INSTITUT AUF DEM ROSENBERG

ST GALLEN
students get
to indulge in
outdoor activities
ith a class size of eight on average, Rosenberg

believes in fostering individual development
plans (IDP) for students, and encourages
them to delve into their tastes and hone their skills.
The curriculum encompasses art and drama, fashion
and design, and leadership skills. The school follows
strict discipline and students are dressed accordingly in
formal uniforms. But the cosy, country style cafe and
bonhomie suggests a casual informality in leisure areas.
Established in 1889, the school campus covers an area of
100,000 sq m, apart from 15 art nouveau buildings, all
hemmed by dense green. The geographic setting of the
school, located in the old town of St Gallen, positioned
ideally between Lake Constance and the Santis peak,
allows students to experience varied seasons, and the
resultant sporting activities such as soccer, basketball,
water skiing in the schools own boat during summer,
snowboarding and ice skating in winter, plus ballet,
trapeze, golf, and trampoline. City trips and visits to the
theatre and musicals arent a rarity either.
Fact File
Academic courses
extend across
sections; German,
International (British and American),
Italian, Swiss
Fee
84,000 CHF
(`56 lakh)
per academic
school year
At
Hohenweg 60, 9000
St Gallen, Switzerland
Tel
+ 41 71 277 77 77
www.instrosenberg.ch
LASTLOOK
THE COLOURS OF LOVE

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collection. This colourful renaissance pays homage to Fabergs illustrious history by incorporating the
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contemporary flourish. Keeping in step with its tradition of delight, surprise and discovery, the brands
engagement and wedding rings conceal, on the inside of each band, an additional gem of matching colour
that remains in direct contact with the wearer, thus, ensuring an unbroken bond between partners.
Price on request; Availability faberge.com
DIGITAL EDITION


JANUARY 16, 2017 `50
www.indiatoday.in
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JANUARY 2017
JANUARY 2017
JANUARY 2017

ART SPECIAL
9 TRENDS
IN DIGITAL
EDUCATION

IN TOMMY HILFIGER
RAISING
THE BAR
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE
RNI NO. DELENG / 2007 / 18401

BODY OF WORK
A CLASS
UNDERWAY
AT REFORMS
PHYSIOTHERAPY
AND PILATES
THE
SHAPE
MAKERS
IN THE CITY
RAISING
THE BAR
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE

RNI NO. DELENG / 2007 / 18401
JANUARY 2017
9 TRENDS
IN DIGITAL
EDUCATION

Editor (Special Projects): Kaveree Bamzai
LEGALLY BOUND
contents
Group Photo Editor: Bandeep Singh

Group Creative Editor: Nilanjan Das
Associate Editor: Shelly Anand
Editorial Consultants: Adete Dahiya,
Akshita Khosla
Art Director: Rajeev Bhargava
Assistant Art Director: Vipin Gupta
Photo Department: Vikram Sharma
Chief Photo Researcher: Prabhakar Tiwari
Photo Researchers: Satish Kaushik,
Shubhrojit Brahma
Production: Harish Aggarwal (Chief of
Production), Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma,
Prashant Verma
Group Chief Executive Officer: Ashish Bagga
IMPACT TEAM
Senior General Manager (Impact):
Jitendra Lad (West)
General Managers:
Upendra Singh (Bangalore),
COVER STORY
The legal profession has undergone a strategic and substantial change. Although it
takes some time to make your name in the field initially, rapid growth of the
corporate legal sector and outsourcing of legal processes has given birth to a
number of specialisations for students aiming to make a mark for themselves.
SKILLS
20
MODERNISING LEARNING
Aditya Tripathi, Founder & CEO,

Marksharks, an ed-tech firm, on
nine digital trends to look out for
Vol. 12 Number 1; January 2017

Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout
India Today does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY HEMANT CHAWLA
17 | Start-up Spotlight
SHUTTERSTOCK
Printed
and
published
by
Manoj
Sharma
on behalf of Living Media India Limited. Printed at
Thomson Press India Limited, 18-35 Milestone, Delhi
Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) and published
at K-9, Connaught Circus, New Delhi. Editor: Kaveree Bamzai.
Quick look at legal

tech companies
reshaping the sector
Read more at www.aspireindiatoday.com

JANUARY 2017 INDIA TODAY ASPIRE
NEWS YOU CAN USE
LEARNING
THE LAW
Stay ahead and gear up to ace the popular competitive
law entrance tests to get into your dream college
BY AKSHITA KHOSLA
questions on numeric ability, English

with comprehension, general knowledge and current affairs, legal aptitude,
and logical reasoning
ALL INDIA LAW ENTRANCE
TEST (AILET)
AILET is a national level entrance
exam conducted for admission to
the National Law University, Delhi
(NLU-D), offering courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Students who crack AILET are eligible
to pursue BA LLB (Hons), LLM and
PhD degree programmes on a
merit basis.
Important dates Applications will
begin on January 1, 2017. The exam
will be held on May 7, 2017.
Eligibility criteria Class 12 with
minimum 50 per cent
Exam pattern The duration of
the test is 90 minutes. There are
150 objective questions on
English, general knowledge,
legal aptitude, reasoning, and
elementary mathematics.
SHUTTERSTOCK
COMMON LAW ADMISSION

TEST (CLAT)
Chanakya National Law University,
based out of Patna, will conduct
Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)
as a centralised computer-based exam
for admission to 19 coveted National
Law universities such as the National
Law School of India (NLSIU),
Bangalore, and National Academy of
Legal Studies and Research University
of Law (NALSAR), Hyderabad,
and other law colleges in India,
applications for which will begin from
January 1. It is one of the most popular
law entrance exam for seeking
admission to the five-year integrated
law programmes such as BA LLB,
BCom LLB, BSc LLB and BBA LLB.
Important dates CLAT will be held
on May 14, 2017
Eligibility Class 12 with minimum
45 per cent for undergraduate courses.
LLB with minimum 55 per cent for
postgraduate courses
Exam pattern The duration of the
test is 120 minutes. There are objective
SYMBIOSIS ENTRANCE
TEST (SET)
With a total of 720 seats at its three
campuses in Pune, Noida and
Hyderabad, Symbiosis International
University, Pune, offers admissions
to law aspirants through the
Symbiosis entrance test. The offline test
is followed by a personal interview and
writing ability test.
Important dates The application
starts in February and the exam is
conducted in May
minimum 45 per cent
.
NEW
ON THE BLOCK
WELINGKAR SIGNS MOU
WITH ISRAELI UNIVERSITIES
Welingkar Institute of Management
Development and Research, Bangalore, signed two memorandums of
understanding (MoU) with University of
Haifa and the Interdisciplinary Centre
(IDC) Herzliya, Israel, for educational cooperation in the field of technology, agri-
INDIA TODAY ASPIRE JANUARY, 2017
culture, archaeology, and biology. The

agreement with the University of Haifa
paves way for academic collaboration,
streamlining exchange of scholars, joint
research projects, and participation in
workshops and conferences. The MoU
with IDC Herzliya focuses on
entrepreneurship, innovation, and
boosting the start-up ecosystem.
schools across the country.

Important dates The last date for
submitting applications online is
April 10, 2017. The exam will be
conducted on April 23, 2017.
Eligibility criteria Class 12 for
undergraduate programmes. LLB
with minimum qualifying marks for
postgraduate courses
Exam pattern The duration of the
test is 90 minutes. The paper-pencil
test has a total of 100 questions. It is
a standardised test of reading and
reasoning skills.
Exam pattern The duration of

the test is 150 minutes. There are
150 multiple choice questions on
logical reasoning, legal reasoning,
analytical reasoning, reading
comprehension and general
knowledge.
LAW SCHOOL ADMISSION
TEST (LSAT)
LSAT India is a law entrance exam
conducted offline for admissions to
five-year integrated undergraduate
and two-year postgraduate law
programmes in as many as 76 law
CHRIST UNIVERSITY LAW

ENTRANCE EXAM (CULEE)
Christ University, Bangalore,
conducts a university level law
entrance exam, CULEE, for
admission to its five-year integrated
law programmes. The school of law,
Christ University, offers admission to
aspirants in three-and-five-year
undergraduate programmes such
as BA, LLB (Hons) and BBA, LLB
(Hons). Students are admitted on the
basis of an entrance test followed by
a personal interview and micro
presentation.
Important dates The application
forms are already out and the exam
will be held in the last week of April.
minimum 45 per cent
Exam pattern CULEE is a
paper-pencil test. The duration of the
exam is 120 minutes. It comprises
120 multiple choice questions on
English, reasoning, quantitative
aptitude, general knowledge and
data analysis subjects.
IIM KASHIPUR TO ANNOUNCE THREE

NEW ONLINE COURSES
IIM Kashipur has associated with Talentedge, an
ed-tech firm, to announce three new executive
certificate programmesdigital marketing, marketing
analytics and customer valuation, and entrepreneurship. The courses are aimed to help professionals
grow in their respective careers. Eligibility and
duration for each course is different.
FELLOWSHIP ALERT
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Fellowship for Journalism
The Thomson
Reuters Foundation Fellowship,
UK, offers experienced journalists an
opportunity to undertake research
projects on a variety of subjects. Six
fellows will be selected for one or two
terms of a fully-funded fellowship.
They will receive a living allowance of
1,500 per month. Journalists from
any country are eligible. The deadline
for application is January 31, 2017.
Details can be found at https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/node/46
Loeb Fellowship for

Design
Offered by
Harvard Graduate School of
Design, US, the one-year-long Loeb
Fellowship is one of the most prestigious in the world of design. The fellowship covers housing at Cambridge and
a comfortable stipend for the duration
of the programme. The application can
be submitted online for a fee of $40.
The deadline for applying is January 5,
2017. Details about the fellowship can
be found at http://www.gsd.harvard.
edu/loeb-fellowship/
World Press Institute

Fellowship for Journalism
The World Press
Institute (WPI),US,
fellowship is offered
to 10 journalists from
around the world. It
provides immersion
into the governance, politics, business,
media, journalistic ethics and culture
of the US. The fully-funded programme
begins in August and ends in October.
The deadline for submitting applications is February 15, 2017.
Check http://www.worldpressinstitute.
org/fellowship for details
JANUARY, 2017 INDIA TODAY ASPIRE
NEWS YOU CAN USE
SHUTTERSTOCK
IIT Madras, ABB India

collaborate to optimise
electricity in villages
IIT Madras has signed an agreement

with ABB India, an industrial technology developer, to evolve a power management system in order to optimise
operation of multiple micro-grids while
managing electricity supply to villages
as part of the governments Uchchatar
Avishkar Yojana (UAY). This system will
enable integration of individual solar
PV (photovoltaic) rooftops to a village
microgrid. Such clusters have the capability of generating and using renewable energy locally from one kilowatt
to a few hundred kilowatts. The
inter-connection of microgrids with the
existing distribution system can help
reduce outages and lower cost of
85 per cent employers say

English skills are important
n a survey conducted by QS Global in collaboration with Cambridge

English across 38 countries and 5,373 employers, it shows that 97 per
cent of all employers consider English skills to be of prime importance at
the workplace. The percentage is slightly lower for India at 85 per cent, but
higher than the sum (69 per cent) for countries where the native language is
not English. While across sectors, speaking and reading in English were
considered to be the most important, employers said that writing in the
language is equally important.
The gap in English language skills is larger in countries where it is not the
official language. The study found that in such areas or countries, employers
feel that over 70 per cent of their employees have this skills gap. The highest
gap was found across sectors of accounting and finance, human resources,
and production.
The report also found that employers believe that while 73 per cent
middle-level managers possess necessary English skills, one in every five top
managers lack these skills to meet job expectations, leading to a major
roadblock in their path to success. According to the study, 50 per cent
employers believe that good language skills are a prerequisite for faster
growth in their job and at least 46 per cent feel that it affects increase in salary.
Of the total number of employers who took part in the survey, 98.5 per cent
said they have at least one method of assessing English language competency
during recruitment process. Interviewing candidates in English, for example,
is the most common method.
However, while the demand for English language competency is high,
employers are not very willing to train employees if they lack skills. Only five
per cent employers said that they are planning to have training modules for
improving their employees language skills. The number increases marginally
in case of Indian employers to eight per cent. The full report can be downloaded at http://englishatwork.cambridgeenglish.org/about
power. The scope of the project

includes microgrids of 20 to 100 kW
capacity equipped with battery storage.
Detailed studies and simulation of the
various system components, related
control and optimisation logics, protection criteria, monitoring and communication will also be undertaken. It is
important to design models of integration with power management and load
balancing for proven microgrids technology with the existing grid infrastructure. This will enable access to reliable,
sustainable and cost-efficient power to
the remotest areas of the country, says
Sanjeev Sharma, CEO, ABB India.
COVER STORY
THE SCIENCE
OF LAW
TEN QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

BEFORE EMBARKING ON
A LAW CAREER
BY ADETE DAHIYA
n just under three decades since the establishment of the first National Law University (NLU) in Bangalore in 1987, law has become the
fastest growing sector. According to an estimate by the Bar Council
of India, there are around 1.5 million registered advocates in the
country today, in addition to around 950 law schools and five lakh law
students. Every year, approximately 70,000 law graduates join the
profession. The number of law school applicants goes up by 25 per cent
on an average, says Shashikala Gurpur, Dean and Principal, Symbiosis
Law School, Pune. Last year, more than 45,000 students sat for the
Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), which was conducted by Rajiv
Gandhi National University of Law, Delhi. Traditionally, students could
only take up litigation by specialising in either criminal or civil law. This,
however, has changed with a rapid growth of the corporate legal sector
and outsourcing of legal processes. Now, specialisations such as arbitration
law, banking law, environmental law, intellectual property and
international law are the fields that have opened up a number of
career options for students.
INDIA TODAY ASPIRE APRIL, 2016
NALSAR, HYDERABAD, WAS ONE OF

THE FIRST INSTITUTES TO
A PRABHAKAR RAO
CONDUCT SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH
DECEMBER, 2016 INDIA TODAY ASPIRE
COVER STORY
10
Top
Law Colleges
u NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA
UNIVERSITY (NLSIU), BANGALORE

USP Exchange programmes with
foreign universities
www.nls.ac.in
u FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF
DELHI, DELHI
USP Combines teaching of black letter
law with social impact of law
http://www.du.ac.in/
u NATIONAL ACADEMY OF LEGAL
STUDIES AND RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

(NALSAR), HYDERABAD
USP Final year students have the liberty
to design their own coursework
www.nalsar.ac.in
u GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
GANDHINAGAR
USP Offers online diploma programmes
for intellectual property, internet law,
and entrepreneurship management
www.gnlu.ac.in
u SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, PUNE
USP Offers six different specialisations

as a part of its LLM course
www.symlaw.ac.in
u FACULTY OF LAW, ALIGARH MUSLIM
UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH
USP Conducts legal literacy and awareness programmes in remote areas
www.amu.ac.in
u CHRIST COLLEGE OF LAW,
BANGALORE
USP Have a student:teacher ratio
of 10:1 for LLM
christuniversity.in/school-of-law
u ILS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE
USP Subscribes to over 95 Indian and

foreign law journals every year
ilslaw.edu
u BHARATI VIDYAPEETHS NEW LAW
COLLEGE, PUNE
USP Uses information and communication technology in teaching and research
http://www.bharatividyapeeth.edu/
u UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW & LEGAL
STUDIES,GURU GOBIND SINGH

INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, DELHI
USP Takes in 60 students every year
http://www.ipu.ac.in/uslls
Source: India Today - Nielsen Survey 2016
ABHIJIT PATIL
WHICH COURSE
TO CHOOSE?
Students interested in taking up law
as a career can either pursue a threeyear LLB course after graduation in
any discipline or a five-year BA LLB
after class 12. The introduction of the
five-year-integrated programme had
a profound impact on legal education
as it allowed students to choose law
as a career right out of high school,
says Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Director,
Centre for Post Graduate Legal Studies, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat.
Nowadays, the integrated course is
more popular than the three-year
programme as it covers practical
training, which includes court attendance, hands-on-training at legal aid
centres, research projects, specialisations, and internships. The number
of courses a law student can take has
increased. These are not only the
core courses as mandated by the Bar
Council of India, but other courses,
which cover areas like public law, private, commercial law and even clinical
practices, says Patnaik.
In case of the LLB course, which is
also offered by some universities in a
part-time format for working profes-
sionals who want to pursue law as an

added qualification, specialisations can
be done by pursuing short-term diplomas or a higher degree at the masters,
MPhil or PhD stage. These degrees
can help candidates take up careers in
the academic fields.
WHAT ARE THE POPULAR

SPECIALISATIONS?
Some of the popular specialisations
include intellectual property rights,
cyber law, biodiversity protection,
banking law, international trade,
arbitration, and labour disputes, says
Aditya Tomar, Additional Director,
Amity Law School, Noida.
Lawyers specialising in information
technology, air, space and maritime
law, mergers and acquisitions, foreign
investment laws, and media laws are
also in high demand, according to
Mukund Sarda, Dean, New Law
College, Bhartiya Vidyapeeth
University, Pune.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR

THE ENTRANCE EXAM?
CLAT is the preferred way for aspiring law candidates to get into a school
SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, PUNE, IS A PIONEER IN

INTRODUCING THE BBA LLB PROGRAMME
of their choice. CLAT scores are considered by all NLUs and some private universities as well. It tests a students aptitude through different questions in five
sectionsEnglish, General Knowledge,
Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and
Mathematics. Some private universities,
like Symbiosis Law School, Pune, and
Amity Law School, Noida, also conduct
their own entrance examinations on
similar lines as CLAT.
Preparation for entrance exams
can be done via the classroom, online
coaching or through self-study. One
can take a year-long coaching class or
opt for a crash course that is about a
month-and-half long. The advantage with coaching is that it gives you
precision in terms of what to learn and
speeds up learning. In law exams, it is
important to know what not to study
and this is where coaching helps, says
Vijay Karan Singh, a final year stuNILOTPAL BARUAH
dent at Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

Online coaching classes are also gaining
ground as they give students the
flexibility of getting expert guidance at
a time convenient to them.
HOW MUCH DOES

THE COURSE COST?
The fee differs for private and government institutions. For the five-year integrated programme, the fee is between
`10,000 and `20,000 a year at centre
and state-run colleges and universities.
For NLUs, however, it is close to `2 lakh
per year (for two semesters). The annual fee at NLU, Bangalore, for the year
2016-17, was `1.87 lakh. For private
institutions, the fee can go as high as
`5 lakh per year.
For postgraduate programmes, including the LLB degree, the overall fee
is less. At National Law School of India
MORE THAN 30,000 STUDENTS COMPETE EACH
YEAR FOR 80 SEATS AT NLSUI, BANGALORE
MARKET WATCH
There is talk of
expanding the scope of
legal practice in India by
allowing entry of foreign
law firms. This will create
better job opportunities
for students and will
lead to an improvement
in legal services, says
Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik,
Director, Centre for Post
Graduate Legal Studies.
Jindal Global Law School,
Sonipat. Legal process
outsourcing (LPO) firms
have started recruiting
young law graduates to
deal with clients based in
the US and UK.
COVER STORY
JINDAL GLOBAL LAW SCHOOL, SONIPAT, FACILITATES REGULAR STUDENT AND FACULTY EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES
University (NLSIU), the annual fee is

less than `1.5 lakh for the LLM course.
Faculty of Law, Delhi University, on the
other hand, charges around `12,000 a
year for their LLB course.
ARE SCHOLARSHIPS AND

FUNDING AVAILABLE?
Both government and private schools
offer scholarships to students based on
merit. Some private institutions can
waive 100 per cent of the tuition fee
depending on the students academic
performance. Students can also avail
scholarships offered by private
establishments for undergraduate and
postgraduate studies. While not many
offer scholarships or funding exclu-
10
Top
Private Law Colleges
u SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, PUNE
www.symlaw.ac.in
sively for law students, foundations like

the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Aga Khan
Foundation, and Narottam Sekhsaria
Foundation offer scholarships for
higher studies, international education
and grants for special projects.
u CHRIST COLLEGE OF LAW,
WHAT ARE THE

JOB PROSPECTS?
u ILS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE
According to Patnaik, students have

more options to pursue today. Whether you talk about dispute resolution
mechanisms, international law, intellectual property, technology law, environmental law, energy law, or taxation,
there are several options available to
them. Of course, litigation and judiciary are always there, but whether you
BANGALORE
christuniversity.in/school-of-law
www.ilslaw.edu
u BHARATI VIDYAPEETHS NEW LAW
COLLEGE, PUNE
www.bharatividyapeeth.edu
u AMITY LAW SCHOOL, DELHI
www.amity.edu/als
MAJOR CHALLENGES
u Lack of adequately trained faculty is one of the biggest challenges
being face by law schools today
- Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Director, Centre for Post
Graduate Legal Studies, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat
u Lawyers from smaller cities are not able to practice in metros
because of language barrier
- S Sachidanandam, Visiting Faculty,
National Law University (NLU), Delhi
u There is a delay in the justice delivery systems, deplorable BarBench relationships, accumulation of outdated laws, and lack of
political will for legal and judicial reforms
- Mukund Sarda, Dean, New Law College,
Bhartiya Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune
STUDENTS OF AMITY LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA,

EXCEL AT MOOT COURT COMPETITIONS
want to practice in the court of law or

get into other fields, opportunities are
manifold, he says. Teaching in universities, working for NGOs, and media
houses are also attractive options.
In litigation, most people want to
lead in the courtroom arguing
cases, but you cant discount the role
of lawyers at other positions, like filing
lawyers, to ensure the drafting is stellar,
to get the technicalities right and to
ensure that court requirements are
fulfilled. Sometimes people think that
the only role to be played is at the top
of the food chain. Those counsels are of
course portrayed in films and literature.
While that is the most celebrated
position, there are various other roles
that are incredibly interestingin

court, but also in policy and boardrooms. One should choose a role based
on temperament and personality, says
Karuna Nundy, Advocate, Supreme
Court. According to her, the corporate
environment, in contrast to litigation,
offers more reliable roles and certainty
in terms of salary, and, while lawyers
can choose to practice litigation at
corporate firms, they will not learn as
much about court-craft there.
HOW DOES ONE

GET HIRED?
Candidates who complete a
five-year-integrated course from a
reputed law school get attractive job

offers during campus placements.
Apart from good academics, we
look for a well-rounded person who
has the ability to think laterally and
quickly. Good writing skills and clarity
of thought are also important.
Students must take part in moot courts
or organise events for college that
can help them hone their skills. They
should make sure they are well-read
and learn to articulate their thoughts
clearly, says Pallavi Shroff, Regional
Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand
Mangaldas & Co, Mumbai.
Students can also opt to start their
own practice, however, most of them
prefer to train under senior lawyers
11
COVER STORY
FACULTY OF LAW, DELHI

UNIVERSITY, HAS
CONSISTENTLY BEEN
RANKED IN THE TOP
THREE LAW SCHOOLS
IN THE COUNTRY
SIPRA DAS
TOP LAW FIRMS

IN INDIA
(source RSG-India
law centre ranking)
Amarchand & Mangaldas

& Suresh A Shroff & Co
Mergers & Acquisitions, JVs &
Collaborations, Private Equity
www.amsshardul.com
AZB & Partners
Arbitration, Aviation, Banking &
Finance, Competition/Anti-Trust,
www.azbpartners.com
Khaitan & Co
Finance, Capital Markets
www.khaitanco.com
J Sagar Associates
Arbitration, Banking & Finance,
Capital Markets, Corporate M&A
www.jsalaw.com
Luthra & Luthra Law Offices
Arbitration, Aviation, Private
Equity, Projects & Infrastructure
www.luthra.com
Trilegal
Finance, Labour & Employment
www.trilegal.com
S&R Associates
Capital Markets, Corporate Law,
M&A, Corporate Litigation
www.srassociate.org
Economic Laws Practice
Trust, Litigation, Private Equity,
Projects & Infrastructure, Tax
www.elplaw.in
12
before doing so. All law graduates who

wish to practice in court have to register
themselves with the Bar Council of India.
Practical training and contacts do
matter. A lot depends on networking.
Initially, in litigation, one gets work on the
basis of contacts they have. The best way to
develop contacts and reputation is by practicing under a senior counsel, says Arun
Pednekar, Advocate, Supreme Court.
HOW MUCH CAN LAWYERS

EXPECT TO EARN?
The kind of money you earn depends on
various factors, says Pednekar. Where you
have graduated from, which city you are
practicing in and under whom you are
practicing, all these factors have an impact
on the kind of money a lawyer earns. If
you start practicing at trial courts in your
own city, it takes less time to establish
yourself as compared to courts in other
cities, he says.
For a litigation lawyer, there is no set
earning during the initial years. With
experience, however, sky is the limit, says
Mukund Sarda, Dean and Principal, New
Law College, Bhartiya Vidyapeeth University, Pune. For a corporate lawyer, he says,
the starting package can be between
`2.5 and `4 lakh per annum.
The pay scale varies for corporate
lawyers. In a firm in Mumbai or Delhi, a
fresher can earn anywhere from
`12 lakh to `16 lakh per annum. In other
cities, they can expect to earn somewhere
between ` 7 lakh and `9 lakh a year,
says Shroff.
WHAT ARE THE

HIGHEST-PAYING FIELDS?
In initial years, corporate law practice
remains as the highest paying field. However, in the long run, litigation is equally
lucrative, provided one takes the time and
has the patience to develop ones own
practice, says Arjya B Majumdar, Executive Director, Michigan-Jindal Centre for
Global Corporate and Financial Law and
Policy, Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat.
According to Sarda, civil and criminal
practice at courts are the highest paying
fields in law in the long run. However,
in terms of salary package, multinational firms providing services in corporate
law, mergers and acquisition, foreign
investment, air, space, and maritime law,
international arbitration, and competition
law, are the highest payers, he says.
WHAT SKILLS DO LAWYERS

NEED TO SUCCEED?
According to Shroff, communication and
good writing skills, the ability to research
and remain up-to-date, along with the
capacity to observe and follow are some
of the most important skills that a good
lawyer must possess.
I think legal ability is the most important, along with a responsible and diligent
personality. The ability to read a bench,
pivot fast, intellectually, and deal effectively
with the personalities of others is also vital
in court. Personally, I also think the person
should have the capability to get excited
about their work, says Nundy
TOP 25 L AW C OLLEG ES
OVERALL RANK
LAW
2014
2015
2016
BENGALURU
NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY (NLSIU),
QUALITY
REPUSTUDENT
OF
TATION OF
CARE
ACADEMIC
COLLEGE
INPUT
INFRASTRUCTURE
JOB
PLACEMENT
PERCEPTUAL
RANK
FACTUAL
RANK
OVERALL
SCORE
100.00
FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF DELHI, DELHI
86.72
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF LEGAL STUDIES AND RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY (NALSAR), HYDERABAD
85.75
GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, GANDHINAGAR
73.24
SYMBIOSIS SOCIETYS LAW COLLEGE, PUNE
70.15
FACULTY OF LAW, ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH
65.79
12
12
CHRIST COLLEGE OF LAW, BENGALURU
11
11
10
11
65.41
I.L.S. LAW COLLEGE, PUNE
13
14
14
13
14
14
61.43
14
10
BHARATI VIDYAPEETH'S NEW LAW COLLEGE, PUNE
10
12
61.12
13
14
10
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW & LEGAL STUDIES, GURU GOBIND

SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY, DELHI
15
15
15
15
15
15
58.30
11
13
11
AMITY LAW SCHOOL, DELHI
13
55.37
12
HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY(HNLU), RAIPUR
10
10
11
10
11
10
11
55.27
13
FACULTY OF LAW, BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY, VARANASI
15
53.17
16
16
14
ARMY INSTITUTE OF LAW (AIL), MOHALI
17
17
20
17
20
18
10
49.34
21
11
15
FACULTY OF LAW,JAMIA MILLIA ISLMIA, DELHI
12
12
12
12
12
12
14
48.90
22
15
16
DEHRADUN
16
17
16
16
18
16
17
38.03
19
17
K.L.E. SOCIETY'S LAW COLLEGE, BENGALURU
21
22
21
23
21
22
16
37.61
17
17
18
GOVERNMENT LAW COLLEGE, MUMBAI
14
13
13
14
13
13
18
36.30
20
20
19
INSTITUTE OF LAW, KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY, KURUKSHETRA
17
16
17
17
16
17
20
31.78
20
M S RAMAIAH COLLEGE OF LAW, BENGALURU
19
19
17
19
16
19
19
31.74
22
21
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW, BANGALORE UNIVERSITY,
20
20
17
20
18
20
22
27.97
23
21
22
BANGALORE INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES, BENGALURU
23
22
21
21
21
23
22
26.60
25
23
SOUTH CALCUTTA LAW COLLEGE, KOLKATA
25
25
25
25
25
25
21
26.19
24
23
24
SIDDHARTH COLLEGE OF LAW, MUMBAI
21
21
23
22
21
21
24
22.73
24
25
DR. AMBEDKAR COLLEGE OF LAW, MUMBAI
23
24
24
23
24
24
25
20.80
FACULTY OF LAW, ICFAI UNIVERSITY (ICFAI LAW SCHOOL),
BENGALURU
**** National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal, National Law Institute University, Jodhpur and Faculty of Law, University of Calcutta, Kolkata are not featured in this Ranking as they could not share the
factual data on time
13
COVER STORY
WHY A DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL

BY D K BANDOPADHYAY
ACTING CHAIRMAN, AMITY LAW

SCHOOL, AMITY UNIVERSITY,
NOIDA
LAW WILL UPGRADE YOU

GLOBALISATION OF LEGAL PRACTICE HAS OPENED NEW WINDOWS
SHUTTERSTOCK
aw binds the society by

ensuring adherence to
commonly inherited
and accepted values and
standards. Education in
law includes information
on both professional and
liberal fronts, which means
value-oriented socio-cultural
learning while acquiring
professional skills.
UNDERSTANDING
INTERNATIONAL LAW
With technological and
scientific advancement and
an increased acceptance of
a globalised framework, a
degree in international law
involves legal practice that
spans across multiple countries and their legal systems.
Traditionally, practising at a
law firm meant focusing on
national or domestic legal
issues. International law is
the set of rules generally
regarded and accepted
as binding in relations
between nations.
NEED OF THE HOUR
Exponential growth in
international activities,
including socio-cultural
interactions and trade, is
leading to an increased need
for sound legal expertise
regarding the values regulating international markets.
That explains the demand
for international law.
14
TWO OF A KIND
International law can be
divided into two categories
private and public. While the
former deals with foreign
laws and relevance of foreign
courts jurisdictions, the
latter is associated with the
term International Law or
the Law of Nations, representing the body of customary and conventional rules
that legally bind states.
WHAT IT COVERS
International law education covers global legal
frameworks with regard to
interaction between states,
international organisations,
human rights, diplomacy,
maritime laws, telecommunications, environment,

international trade and commerce. Advanced technology
and common concerns are
uniting the planet under the
concept of global village. A
lawyer has to comprehend
the structural and functional
changes of this new order,
to manoeuvre within the
professional space.
WHY IS IT RELEVANT
An important factor to be
considered is the international relevance of the World
Trade Organisation (WTO)
and required compliance of
domestic legal frameworks to
its standards. To understand
the role played by international law in the redistribution of wealth across the
world, a law student requires
expertise and detailed
knowledge of the law concerning international trade.
WHERE ARE THE JOBS
The global financial services
market will continue to
experience growth fuelled
by mergers and acquisitions.
This inevitably will create a
range of career opportunities for law students with the
United Nations, WTO secretariat, international conventions, regional organisations,
universities and international
law firms.
visits has become a necessity.

Explore opportunities
A congenial environment is must for a healthy
academic, professional, and
personal growth. One must
explore options to study
programmes by providing
an amalgam of computer
science knowledge and laws
pertaining to cyber world.
New job categories
With technological shifts
towards big data, cloud technology, mobile internet, 3D
printing and artificial
intelligence, new job categories and functions are emerging. While choosing a course,
students should consider its
future relevance and not just
what is prevalent today or
what their peers are doing.
Laying down the law
With the governments
initiatives like Make in India,
Digital India, Skill India and
Smart Cities Mission, there
is a scope of understanding
laws on banking and finance,
insurance, taxation, capital
markets, corporate contracts,
strategic alliances, mergers
and acquisitions, intellectual
property rights, patents,
trademarks and copyrights, technology transfers,
software business methods,
cyber forensics, and labour.
Knowledge bank
Students armed with
a mix of knowledge from
different sectors have better
job prospects in government
departments and private
law firms. The demand for
industry-ready professionals
is also rising.
Focus on soft skills
The curriculum students pursue is designed by
expert faculty with participation from judicial experts.
One must also focus on soft
skills such as confidence,
teamwork and leadership.
SHUTTERSTOCK
THE WORLD OF
LEGAL EAGLES
IF A CAREER IN CORPORATE LAW SOUNDS ENTICING TO YOU,

KEEP THESE POINTS IN MIND BEFORE TAKING THE NEXT STEP
technology transfers, patents
and intellectual property
rights. There is plenty of
scope for young professionals to specialise in energy
and labour laws as well.
Room for specialisation Evolving markets
give birth to complex situations and lead to a shift from
traditional to digital mode.
A general lawyer may not be
able to manage such situations, thus creating space for
specialisations.
A competitive edge
Modern day legal
professionals must have a
multi-disciplinary edge to
stay competent. All courses
must be approved by the
Bar Council of India and
2
TABREZ AHMAD
DIRECTOR & PROFESSOR,

COLLEGE OF LEGAL STUDIES,
UPES, DEHRADUN
Constant guidance
Companies and governments across the world
require constant legal
guidance for execution of
corporate functions such as
collaborations, mergers and
acquisitions, joint ventures,
students should focus on

developing legal acumen.
Shift in focus
Law schools are shifting
from theoretical to a practical and application-based
education. Universities offer
undergraduate and postgraduate programmes with
foundations in a contemporary and progressive curriculum that integrates concepts
in law with industry needs.
Real-time learning
In addition to learning
from faculty members, students should strive to learn
from visiting faculty and
practitioners. The 360-degree approach of focusing on
exposure through internships, moot courts and court
10
15
COVER STORY
BRUSH UP YOUR
SKILLS
BY NEERAJ SAXENA
CEO, AVANSE, AN EDUCATION

FINANCE COMPANY, MUMBAI
KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER
mpressed by a lawyers
oratory and analytical
skills in court? Theres
much more than what meets
the eye. Close observation
will reveal unique traits and
a personality that a lawyer
may or may not possess but
must eventually develop.
The long and often abstruse
route begins well before law
school; a challenging career
with indefinite working
hours forces one to develop
a critical eye and a sceptical
attitude that can question
the opponents moves. Know
what it takes to be a successful lawyer even if youre
still in school.
Ability to take
sound decisions
The ability to draw reasonable, and logical conclusions
from limited information is
another essential trait of a
lawyer. Before pointing out
flaws in the opponents
argument, one must be
ready with a counter argument. Identifying potential
areas of weakness beforehand is a plus point. A skilled
lawyer is expected to be decisive; one often has to take
important judgement calls
with little time to ponder.
Research and
Analytical skills
Lawyers need to absorb large
quantities of information
and this makes analytical
skills extremely important,
particularly in situations
when there is more than
one reasonable conclusion,
or more than one precedent
applicable to resolving a
situation. Ability to research
quickly and adequately is
essential to understand the
clients needs and to prepare
legal strategies.
People skills
Lawyers work with people,
on behalf of people, and the
decisions also affect peoples
lives. This makes excellent
people skills crucial for aspiring lawyers. These comprise
Independent attitude
As a young associate, much
of your time will go in
research with little or no
assistance at all. If you are
the kind who is always
looking for support, change
yourself, as you will be
expected to fend for
yourself most of the times.
16
SHUTTERSTOCK
Effective communication
and listening skills
A lawyer should not only be
articulate but also possess
good written communication
skills that will allow him to
write clearly, persuasively
and concisely. To communicate effectively, one must be a
good listener, which will help
in scrutinising situations.
THE ABILITY TO DRAW REASONABLE

AND LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS FROM LIMITED
INFORMATION IS AN ESSENTIAL TRAIT
OF A GOOD LAWYER
a pleasant personality, and

ability to be persuasive. It
allows lawyers to gauge the
jurors reactions and the
honesty of witnesses.
Power of perseverance
A budding lawyer is expected to be diligent even before
preparing for a legal career.
Perseverance is required
not only to study to become
a lawyer and complete the
undergraduate programme
but also to obtain a training
contract before qualifying.
Good with deadlines
A lawyer who practices in the
realm of litigation, filing and
processing law suits, must
take deadlines seriously as
courts adhere to time frames.
An emotionally
strong personality
The legal sector is an emotionally charged industry.
One faces pressure from
clients, employers, and
opponents and should
therefore be strong as
unreasonable conflicts with
opposing counsel, emotional
imbalances of clients, and
billing demands of
employers can take a toll on
sensitive individuals.
Dont stop after developing these traits; one needs
more than the obvious
law-based qualities to
succeed in the field.
START-UP SPOTLIGHT
AGENTS OF CHANGE
Start-ups revolutionising the chaotic legal sector with help of technology
BY ADETE DAHIYA
AADVO, DELHI
Founders Vivek Nani, 24; Vishesh Dora, 25
What is it?
The legal ecosystem, Aadvo, simplifies the chaotic process of
managing legal transactions into a single tool. Launched in
December 2016 and founded by Vishesh Dora and Vivek Nani,
Aadvo acts as an advocates online office by fulfilling all needs from
communication to maintaining files and, tracking billing actions and
receivables. The platform works on an algorithm basis which
connects clients to the most suitable lawyer according to their needs.
Aadvo lets lawyer-client relationship be effective, efficient and
transparent through a shared space between the two, says
Vishesh Dora, co-founder.
The growth
According to Dora, The legal industry seems clean but is
disorganised for an outsider. The real growth will be when we can
provide people with more references and legitimate options.
The challenge
With everything happening at the click of a button, the legal
industry is not far from being revolutionised. The only challenge is
how fast will people be able to adapt to new technology, says Dora.
The future
Our first target is to be a part of every lawyers office in the country.
We also aim at making citizens more aware legally, he adds.
LAWRATO, DELHI
RAJWANT RAWAT
Founders Rohan Mahajan, 36; Nikhil Sarup, 40
INDIA TODAY ASPIRE MAY, 2015
What is it?
A people-friendly digital platform, LawRato offers free
private consultations with verified and credible legal
experts. This one-of-its-kind marketplace was started in
2014 to simplify the process of finding a lawyer without
having to run to courts. LawRato works for both lawyers
and for people seeking advice. While it lets legal experts
build their credibility online, it provides citizens with free
and fast solutions for complex legal issues. Screening
lawyers and verifying user ratings is our platforms USP,
says Nikhil Sarup, one of the founders.
The growth
LawRato has witnessed over 22 per cent month-overmonth growth across users, queries, and orders. With
1.5 lakh page views, we help over 8,000 users get specific
legal advice, says Sarup.
The challenge
According to him, Absence of consumer awareness
handicaps us. Most people do not want to research for
their specific needs and end up relying on references.
The future
We aim to launch low-cost packages for common legal
requirements, says Sarup.
START-UP SPOTLIGHT
VAKILSEARCH, CHENNAI
Founder Hrishikesh Datar, 28
What is it?
A boon for small-scale businesses, Vakilsearch offers legal and professional
services to start-ups in Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
Primarily a technology company, it manages clients intellectual property,
provides compliance services, manages their accounts and prepares contracts
and agreements. The start-up was founded by National Law School, Bangalore,
prodigy Hrishikesh Datar five years ago and claims to provide services that are
priced 40 per cent to 70 per cent less than a local offline lawyer. Vakilsearch has
already worked with some well-known start-ups that include Taxi For Sure,
Grofers, Chaayos, Housing and Big Basket.
The growth
From a small office in Chennai with three people, Vakilsearch has grown to a
team of 200 people, providing services to around 25,000 clients every year.
The challenge
We faced problem in figuring out what exactly will people be ready to pay for
online. Finding and developing the right technology to ensure smooth running
of operations was also a difficult task initially, says Datar.
The future
We aim to simplify legal aspects of any industry digitally, he says.
LAWCTOPUS, DELHI
Founder Tanuj Kalia, 26
What is it?
Lawctopus is the go-to website for career related queries
for law students in India. Initially started by five college
students, Tanuj Kalia, Prateek Bhandari, Dhruv Mairal,
Debanshu Khettry, and Naman Gupta in September,

2010, the start-up lists internship experiences under
NGOS, District Court lawyers, Supreme Court lawyers,
law firms, and banks. It also charts events like moot-court
sessions, essay competitions,
seminars, and conferences for
aspiring law students. Lawctopus
was developed to provide students
with an opportunity to improve
their skill sets with practical
knowlege, says Kalia.
The growth
The firm reaches out to 1.2 lakh
readers every month and
generates approximately 8.5 lakh
page views today.
The challenge
Apart from the initial funding
hiccup, we faced technological
challenges because of too many
attractive ideas and the zest to use
all of them, he says.
The future
Kalia explains that they have aced
the content aspect of the website
and now aim at entering the
recruitment and blogging
industries in next six months.
M ZHAZO
18
SKILLS
9 Tech Trends in Education

IT IS TIME TO MODERNISE YOUR CAMPUSES WITH THESE SUPER CHARGED TRENDS
I
ADITYA TRIPATHI
FOUNDER & CEO, MARKSHARKS,

AN ED-TECH COMPANY, DELHI
ts right to say that technology is changing the way the world functions; its
undoubtedly faster than ever. Communication, travel, entertainment, health care and
several other activities in our daily lives are being revolutionised by technological
advances. Many of these successes originate in research and development labs, and
in educational institutions. However, the education sector itself is one of the slowest to
embrace the change and take advantage of developments in technology and effectively
change the way learning is delivered to students. With increasing awareness and the right
push, the sector is beginning to feel the need to transform digitally. Some key factors that
can fastrack the process of adaptation in 2017 and can bring about a shift from
traditional leadership roles to modern business strategies.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Massive open
online courses
Imagine a scenario where a student in
rural India can have easy access to the
best faculty and courses in Europe, US
or anywhere else in the world. This is
exactly what Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOCs) are aboutonline
courses aimed at unlimited
participation and open access through
the internet. While the MOOC format
has been around for some time now,
the advancement of digital technology
will reshape this format of consuming
education content. MOOC providers
will also continue to tailor their courses
to make them more relevant to
potential consumers of the content,
according to the need of the hour. The
ideal MOOC environment is a world
where there are no barriers to learning
and even students who cant afford
to enrol into expensive and distant
education institutes will be able to
learn digitally.
Key benefit Videos and online reading
materials minimise the need for teachers, allowing implementation of
flipped classrooms; enabling of
forums and online teacher contact
sessions for student questions and peerbased evaluation of assignments to
eliminate the need for evaluators.
20
Makerspaces
A makerspace is a physical location where people gather to create, network
and learn from each other. It provides tools and facilities in a community
environmentlibrary, community centre, and campus labswith expert
intervention only where necessary. This idea of a collaborative studio or
makerspace is slowly gathering momentum in the education sector wherein
the merits of makerspace as an informal combination of a lab, workshop
floor and conference room are being hailed. This innovative concept is gaining
a stronghold in the fields of engineering, computer science and graphic
design as well as sciences due to its learning through a hands-on
exploratory approach.
Key benefit Makerspace allows a student or an individual to take control of
their own learning versus being taught.
Wearables
Virtual
data and
augmented
reality
Although envisioned
primarily for advanced-level
video games and simulations,
virtual and augmented reality
can simulate highly
immersive learning
experiences. In campus, with
the help of augmented reality,
students can gain a better
understanding of concepts
that they are studying. For
example, in engineering, a
lecturer can integrate
augmented reality into her
lessons to explain complex
designs and prototypes of
models using 3D technology
to the students.
Key benefit Augmented
lessons and apps encourage
greater participation as they
are more fun and engaging
for students.
SHUTTERSTOCK
It is difficult to fathom that

technology and education
will not go hand-in-hand in
the near future. We have
already seen the impact of
wearable technology in the
area of physical fitness and
are beginning to witness a
significant impact in the
education sector as well. On
campus, real-time data
tracking and feedback via a
wearable device will allow
faster intervention
opportunities for students.
It will build a quick
response and reaction track
on topics such as curriculum
and procedures.
Key benefit Real-time data
aggregation can help
students modify their
behaviour by
self-evaluation.
Video
Machine learning
A subset of artificial intelligence, machine learning
is basically finding patterns in the collected data and
using algorithms to make decisions or data-driven
predictions. Of late, we are witnessing how machine
learning and Big Data are being used by higher
education institutes to improve their education
systems and existing modules. Many colleges and schools
have embraced technology and are already customising
learning by matching a teachers expertise to the need
of the students with the help of machine learning.
Key benefit Dynamic scheduling will help analyse and
optimise content on a regular basis.
As bandwidth increases
across the country,
accessibility to video, as
opposed to text and
visual-based content will
increase. Combined with
increasing access to
smart devices, more and
more video-based
eLearning will be tapped
by learners.
Key benefit Video
format reduces the cost of
education and does not
limit education to merely
classrooms. It also
simplifies procedureoriented tasks.
Robotics
Robotics has the biggest scope of expansion.
When applied to education, the main role of
robotics is to act as simulators for physical
tasks. For example, medical science requires
specialised knowledge and robots are used as
stand-ins for humans as subjects of study.
These robots in turn help students learn
medical procedures as if they were
performing them on human bodies.
Key benefit Simulated environment
customises education and eliminates errors.
SHUTTERSTOCK
SHUTTERSTOCK
Big Data
In education, implementation of Big Data is a
major issue due to lack of right infrastructure,
not having the right technical resources and
appropriate talent.
Key benefit Big Data can help teachers
understand student-to-student interactions, by
assisting teachers in decision-making while
executing group assignments.
Mobiles and
sensors in mobiles
What is obvious is that smartphones
will become the new education
notebookwith several education
apps available, students are
increasingly accessing learning content
on their phones. The true power of a
smartphone has not yet been tapped
by content providers. Smartphones
have touch, feel, sound, and light
sensors, compass, gyroscope,
accelerometer, proximity sensors
and much more.
Key benefit Sensors will enable
learning come to life on a screen
experiential learning anytime,
and anywhere.
21
LEARNING
RISE OF CYBER SOLDIERS

AN EXPECTED 1.5 MILLION JOBS WILL BE GENERATED IN THE CYBER SECURITY INDUSTRY BY 2019
TOP INSTITUTES
u International College of Security
Studies, Gurgaon
u Amity University, Noida
u Sharda University, Greater Noida
u Bardhaman Cyber Research and
Training Institute, Burdwan
u Asian School of Cyber
Laws, Pune
u The National Law Institute
University, Bhopal
u Sarvodaya Law College,
Bangalore
u Amrita School of Engineering,
Tamil Nadu
u University of Madras, Chennai
SHUTTERSTOCK
prime reason for the

burgeoning of information
technology (IT) security
companies and the rising
demand for cyber security
professionals. This space is
a lucrative career option at
the moment.
TARUN WIG
CO-FOUNDER, INNEFU LABS, AN

INFORMATION SECURITY CONSULTING COMPANY, DELHI
usinesses cannot
operate without the
internet. While the
benefits of the digital
revolution surpass the
pitfalls, one cannot take
risks like data leaks and
losses lightly. Cyber
criminals are not only
targeting big corporate
houses; government
agencies, banks, and
research institutes are also
facing problems with
hacking and spying
frequently. This is the
22
Skyrocketing demand,
but short supply
The cyber security market
is expected to grow from
$75 billion in 2015 to $170
billion by 2020, which is
almost a 100 per cent
increase. A 2015 report by
Cisco stated that by 2019,
there will be a need for six
million cyber security
professionals globally, but
the world would not be
able to meet the demand
due to dearth of skilled
manpower in this domain.
In the US alone, more than
2.09 lakh cyber security
jobs are unfilled according
to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS). The Indian
IT security market, on the

other hand, is expected to
grow by eight per cent
annually. It was worth $77
billion in 2015. A recent
report by NASSCOM
stated that cyber security
services would generate
revenue of over $35 billion
in India annually and
efforts to protect data shall
lead to employment
opportunities for about one
million professionals. With
demand outweighing
supply and trends ensuring
exponential future growth,
a career in cyber security is
placed eighth among the
100 best jobs in the US
News and World Report,
2015 with annual growth
rate of 36.5 per cent.
Attractive salary
Several studies confirm that
cyber security professionals
earn better than other IT
personnel. A career in
cyber security assures a
handsome salary, job

security and better
opportunities for
professional growth at a
faster pace. An average
cyber security professional
in India earns around
`7.8 lakh annually.
The growth graph
With dependence on the
internet, threats of
confidential and data
getting leaked or stolen
from cyber space remain
high. A NASSCOM report
suggests a growing need
for cyber security
professionals in India in the
coming years, not only as
employees but also as
entrepreneurs. Cyber
security consultancies
would see a sharp growth
in the near future, creating
a large number of jobs in
the market. If you have an
aptitude and passion for
cyber security, the scope of
growth is quite high.
TREND
Learning in the Digital Age

The knowledge landscape in India has come a long way from classroom education to
redefining the way students are taught, and these firms are responsible for the revolution.
Simplilearn It is where you will

find quality online courses and
free learning resources such as
articles, webinars, and ebooksall
catered to your personal career
needs. The online education
provider of professional training is
based in San Francisco, California,
US, and Bangalore, India, and offers over 400 courses in the area of
IT, programming, digital marketing, and project management.
USP Simplilearns well-structured
training modules and skilled instructors simplify your certification
journey by forcing you to think
beyond the conventional concepts
for efficient functioning networks.
PythaGurus One of the leading MBA admissions consulting

and GMAT preparation firms,
PythaGurus was established in
India by a team of 10 B-school
graduates and seasoned training
and test preparation professionals.
Through unmatched practical
counselling, PythaGurus has today
become a reckoning force in the
higher education industry, led by
Jatin Bhandari, founder and CEO.
USP The firm helps candidates in
building and narrating a seamless story to their prospective
B-schools through high quality
essays, letter of recommendations
and interviews.
UpGrad It was founded by media magnet Ronnie

Screwvala with a few IIT, IIM and ISB graduates; it bridges the gap between industry and college graduates. This
EdTech venture targets working professionals looking to
upgrade their skill set; but offers broadbased courses like
entrepreneurship and digital business management.
USP The company provides one-on-one academic and
non-academic support for all its students by providing
them with live projects, case studies, group assignments,
access to live lectures and interactive content.
Toppr An EdTech venture, it aims

to help students in India crack
medical and engineering entrance
exams with unlimited practice
tests, feedback reports, and benchmarking. The qualitative, effective
yet affordable online portal boasts
of one of the biggest online question banks and lets students chart
their progress, which eliminates
the need of tutors.
USP Toppr claims to be the only
test preparation platform where
the practice content is customised
through programming algorithms
that work out areas of strength
and weakness of the student.
EduKart It gives a choice to anybody looking to learn

something online, get certified, or prepare for exams. It
neither develops nor
delivers the courses,
acting instead as a
distribution platform.
The team has experts
creating comprehensive
certifications in the field
of retail, finance, digital
marketing, programming languages, project
management, and IT.
USP This higher education enrolment platform has a list
of Indian and international courses that offer programmes
available as distance learning and online courses.
Compiled by Akshita Khosla
23
EXPERT SPEAK
Bringing Words to Life

WITH A BOOM IN THE LITERARY SECTOR, ITS TIME TO CONSIDER PUBLISHING AS A CAREER
KANISHKA GUPTA
FOUNDER, WRITERS SIDE,

A LITERARY AGENCY, DELHI
once read these lines on

a website called
Pubcrawl, written by a
literary agent by the name
of Mandy Hubbard, which
suggested a simple, two-step
approach to becoming a
literary agent. First, decide
you want to become a
literary agent. Second, call
yourself a literary agent, it
said. For someone like me,
who forayed into this field
without a degree or relevant
experience, these lines were
gold. The scenario has
changed a lot since then.
Get a degree
Nowadays, it is not
necessary for a publishing
professional to be an
English or Philosophy
graduate. They come from
various fields including
engineering, management
and even pure sciences. A
good grasp of English,
however, is a prerequisite.
And while, it is not
mandatory to have an
educational qualification in
publishing, it is definitely
helpful. Publishing courses
offer a 360-degree view of
the field and help aspiring
agents build contacts. In
India, the three-month
intensive course offered by
24
The Seagull School of

Publishing, Kolkata, is a
good option for those
looking to enter the field
after graduation. It exposes
you to different kinds of
publishing and allows you to
interact with faculty from
around the world. If you
are looking for a course
overseas, then Masters of
Arts in Publishing offered by
the City University of
London, UK, and the
Columbia Publishing
Course offered by Columbia
University, US, are good
voracious reader or a good

editor isnt enough. In
order to be a smart agent,
one needs to have a good
business sense and
exceptional people
management skills. This is
also a job that requires a fair
amount of tact and
diplomacy since the agent
has to please both his author
and the publisher without
appearing to favour one
over the other. It requires
you to be good at
networking with a proactive
approach, especially in a
Renuka Chatterjee,
Vice-President, Publishing,
Speaking Tiger Books.
According to her, an agent
has to actively seek out
authors, instead of waiting
for work to come to them.
Thinking of ideas and
finding good writers who
can execute them, much like
a commissioning editor, is
also important.
Dont worry about the
money initially
Low advances and direct
commissioning are a fact of
SHUTTERSTOCK
options. However, getting

hired as an agent or starting
your own agency in the UK
or US is difficult.
Hone your skills
An agent is essentially a
multitasker. He is a reader,
editor, lawyer, accountant
and PR manager all rolled
into one. So, simply being a
place like India, where

publishers continue to
accept direct submissions.
So, you need to keep in
touch with the trade, see
what is selling and what
isnt, whats really in
demand, and be businessminded enough to go for
that, irrespective of your
personal tastes, says
life in the Indian publishing

industry and it will stay this
way till the market opens up
for us to sell in large
numbers. If youre a
commissioning editor, the
desire to seek out writers, or
develop fresh ideas, will
always be there. But a good
agent cant do well despite
these factors.
DIGITAL EDITION


JANUARY 16, 2017 `50
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JANUARY 2017
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JANUARY 2017

ART SPECIAL
9 TRENDS
IN DIGITAL
EDUCATION

IN TOMMY HILFIGER
RAISING
THE BAR
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE
RNI NO. DELENG / 2007 / 18401

BODY OF WORK
A CLASS
UNDERWAY
AT REFORMS
PHYSIOTHERAPY
AND PILATES
THE
SHAPE
MAKERS
IN THE CITY
JANUARY 2017
A CLASS
UNDERWAY
AT REFORMS
PHYSIOTHERAPY
AND PILATES
THE
SHAPE
MAKERS
IN THE CITY
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Inside
Photograph by
KRISHNENDU HALDER
Editor-in-Chief
Aroon Purie
Group Chief Executive Officer
Ashish Bagga
Group Editorial Director
Raj Chengappa
Editor-at-Large
Kaveree Bamzai
Group Creative Editor
Nilanjan Das
Group Photo Editor
Bandeep Singh
n
Assistant Editor
Mona Ramavat
Editorial Team
Mohini Mehrotra, Ursila Ali
Photo Department
Vikram Sharma
Photo Researchers
Prabhakar Tiwari, Shubhrojit Brahma
Art Director
Jyoti Singh
Design
Vikas Verma,
Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma
Production
Harish Aggarwal (Chief of Production),
Naveen Gupta, Vijay Sharma,
Prashant Verma
Layout Execution
Ramesh Kumar Gusain,
Pradeep Singh Bhandari
n
Publishing Director
Manoj Sharma
Associate Publisher (Impact)
Anil Fernandes
n
IMPACT TEAM
Senior General Manager:
Jitendra Lad (West)
General Managers:
Upendra Singh (Bangalore);
s-2
SIMPLY HYDERABAD u JANUARY 2017
COVER STORY
The Road to Fitness
From fun fads to cool fitness regimes, trainers in

the city are offering new mantras for a healthy
kick-start to the new year.
s-4
Cover photo by
KRISHNENDU HALDER
OUR PICK of the month

Different strokes
February 5
Queer Carnival 2017, organised by

Queer Campus Hyderabad is an
inclusive event centered around
sensitising people over issues of the
LGBT community. Besides theatre
presentations and an art exhibition, the
carnival will also feature a flea market
for handmade artworks, gifts and more.
At Lamkaan, Opp GVK One Mall, Off
Road No 1, Banjara Hills
Contact 959518885
Want to tell us about an event? A new store?
A restaurant? People doing interesting
things? Anything newsworthy? Please email
us at: simplyhyderabad@intoday.com
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Chandana Mannedi
(front)
Cover Story
THE ROAD TO
FITNESS
FROM FUN FADS TO COOL FITNESS REGIMES, TRAINERS IN
THE CITY ARE OFFERING NEW MANTRAS FOR A HEALTHY
KICK-START TO THE NEW YEAR.
By MONA RAMAVAT
A STRETCH
IN TIME
Photographs by KRISHNENDU HALDER
REFORMS PHYSIOTHERAPY
AND PILATES
BOUT TWO YEARS AGO, 33-YEAR-OLD

Chandana Mannedis, work as a physiotherapist
saw her taking things a step forward by training her patients in pilates as a post-treatment workout.
But her classes have been getting popular ever since and
are open to anyone looking for a good pilates workout.
She calls it a practice that enables body awareness and
is a blend of strength and flexibility. We dont work up
a sweat here with the goal of bigger biceps and chiseled
abs. What we work on, instead, are the deep abdominal muscles behind the six packs, she quips. So no big
weights to lift here, since you work with your own body
weight and props. Tone your thighs with the Pilates ring
or strengthen your back on the reformer machine, or try
the ball to increase stability. Many clients from Mannedis
class are told that they look taller with the pilates practice, and thats because besides gaining strength and
flexibility, the muscles elongate naturally and as a result,
the posture is improved and you look taller. Mannedi has
been training a good number of men as well, dispelling
the myth that pilates is mostly a woman thing. The
practice was, in fact, invented by Joseph Pilates for the
injured soldiers of World War II, she says.
AT Reforms Physiotherapy and Pilates, Diamond Point,
Secunderabad.
DETAILS reformsphysiopilates.in
JANUARY 2017 u SIMPLY HYDERABAD
s-5
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Cover Story
Yoga-instructor,
Kavita Chowdhary
HOT
PURSUIT
BIKRAM YOGA
TELANGANA STUDIO
s-6
TS A CASE OF HUNDRED PERCENT PERSPIRATION

alongside the inspiration when it comes to the Bikram Yoga
tradition. With the sessions conducted in a heated room, you
sweat your way to wellbeing, quite literally. The perspiration
helps not only with detoxification as you go about the yoga practice,
but also eliminates chances of injury, says journalist-turned-yoga-instructor, Kavita Chowdhary, 44. Her class follows the prescribed
set of 26 asanas or yogic poses, working on the body and mind.
Ultimately, a state of health is state of inner balance which yoga
helps you achieve, she says, underscoring the importance of breathing right during the practice and maintaining focus. You are never
too old or fat or inflexible for yoga, she assures since all you need
to do is follow instructions and flow into a pose as best as you can.
Over a period of time, you will become better at it, which will result
in improved immunity, correct body posture and greater confidence,
just to name a few benefits. Besides this, weight loss is almost a
given, says Chowdhary. She shares the case of the lady who weighed
over a 100 kg, and would do most of her yoga asanas sitting on a
chair. She too managed to lose at least four kilos, while a highly diabetic mans insulin dosage fell dramatically with regular practice.
And with yoga, these miracles are but an everyday occurrence.
AT Bikram Yoga Telangana Studio, Izzatnagar, Hitec City
DETAILS facebook.com/BikramTelangana
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Manasa machani (front)
Cover Story
PACK A
PUNCH
MANASA MACHANI
F YOU ARE PILOXING, you are mixing

moves from pilates
and boxing, says
Manasa Machani, 35, as
she gets her class together for what she promises
to be a killer session.
Its a new fad that people
in the city are warming
up to and so happens to
be Machanis latest passion as well, alongside
zumba and prenatal yoga
coaching and dietetics.
As the class progresses,
things indeed get more
energetic, what with all
the punching and grooving. Its no surprise then
that you can burn up to
1,200 calories per session. Apart from that, the
blend of power-packed
and graceful movements
helps improve balance
and posture, while working on your musculature
for body sculpting. It
works very well to tone
up tough spots like upper
arms, shares Machani,
in the midst of a pumping the arms movement,
barely out of breath.
While at it, a few dance
moves are thrown in as
well to make this interval workout even more
fun. If you enjoy zumba,
piloxing can give you
a bigger high, says
Machani, signing off.
AT Redefine Fitness
Centre, Kondapur.
DETAILS facebook.com/
piloxingwithmana
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
MUSCLE
POWER
GAVINZ GYM
Gavin Holt
(in black) of
Gavinz Gym
Cover Story
CTORS, ENTREPRENEURS, SPORTS STARS OR

homemakers, Gavin Holt, 48, has trained them all over the
last 27 years, so much so that a Gavin-trained fitness enthusiast is a brand unto himself. Holt, though, remains humble
in the wake of such adulation and admits, almost sheepishly, that he
has restarted his personal practice after years, only a few days ago. But
despite that, he can effortlessly balance on a Swiss ball or work with a
TRX band. Ask him about new techniques and props and he calls them
fads that come and go. Everything eventually flows from the old school
or the basic form of training, which is the stretch and flex, he says.
TRX trainingused widely by sports personsis of late getting popular
in the city for a full body workout, and since it is a suspension band, it
is perfect for training at home or while travelling too, says Holt. You
can gradually increase the intensity of your workout by lengthening the
band because the range of motion is greater, he explains, performing a
triceps extension on the band. For somebody who doesnt have time to
head to the gym, Holt suggests a high intensity interval training or tabata session at home, across a 20-minute session to include an assortment
of exercises like a quick sprint, a low and high plank, mountain climb
etc. Rather than doing the same thing every day, you would benefit far
more if you can rotate your workout and do different things from one
day to the other, advises Holt, since this way you are confusing your
muscles, thereby eliciting the best response from them.
AT Gavinz Gym, Road No 3, Banjara Hills
DETAILS facebook.com/Gavinz-Gym
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Cover Story
CORE
SCORE
POTENS
Sandeep Gadde,
trainer at Potens
DOESNT LOOK LIKE A

regular gym, since Potens
isnt one, and instead,
offers a range of crossfit
training activities to develop
your strength, endurance,
balance and more. Climb a
rope, jump atop high boxes or
turn a gymnast for a full body
workout here. Its all about
functional training to ease and
improve everyday movements
of the body, like lifting dead
weights or squatting, which
you would do outside the gym
as well, says trainer Sandeep
Gadde, 27, adding that this is
unlike conventional gyms that
focus on isolated movements.
Delving deeper into the technical details, Gadde adds,
crossfit training is a holistic
workout wherein we work on
the bigger muscle groups like
hamstrings, glutes and the
core etc., focusing mainly on
the lower body, which enables
weight loss in a more efficient way and also works the
smaller muscles. The training group is usually a mixed
one, with beginners and more
experienced gym enthusiasts
working out together. But the
practicecomprising a warmup, skill training, the actual
workout and cool downis
the same for everyone with
varying intensity depending
on their fitness levels. The
trainers dish out guidance on
nutrition as well, since what
you eat forms a big chunk
of your fitness, says Gadde.
Each person is also supervised
individually to ensure that they
are working out in the right
and safe way. While we certainly motivate our clients to
push themselves, safety always
comes first, adds his colleague Simmi Gava.
AT Potens Gym, Durgam
Cheruvu Road, Hitec City
DETAILS facebook.com/
PotensFitness/
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Buzz
THINGS
TO LOOK
FORWARD
TO
STORE REVIEW
NUTTY SIDE
A mouth freshner flavoured with betel leaves is rather

common but have you had one made with neem leaves?
This and more such surprises make up the special treats at
Neutrixx. This recently launched dry fruit store by Radhika
Talwar, director at automotive enterprise Talwar Group, is
where you can pick everything from dried kiwis to macadamia
nuts, almonds in several varieties and interesting churans from
Kolkata, besides a whole lot more. The best part is that these
are available at affordable prices with the corporate packages
starting as low as Rs 300. The idea was to make dry fruits a
daily heath food rather than just a luxury gifting option, says
Talwar, who is all set to open a second outlet soon.
AT Inorbit Mall, Hitec City
neutrixx.com
-- By Mona Ramavat
A D D R ESS H O M E
Vibrant hues or metal tones, the festive home
dcor collection at Address Home is perfect
to rev up your space. Bed spreads in cheery
shades, bright cushions and tableware, artsy
picture frames or candle holders make for ideal
wedding gifts as well.
AT Address Home, Road No 7, Banjara Hills
TEL 40068516
L AU G H R I OT
December 31
Laugh the evening away
over the antics performed in
Miya Biwi, a comedy play in
Hyderabadi Hindi presented
by Udaan Performing Arts.
Adapted from the Marathi
production Shri Tashi Sau, the
play revolves around a couple
heading for divorce.
AT Lamakaan, Road No 4,
Banjara Hills
TEL 9494512141
NEW YEAR CHEER

January 1
Ring in the new year on a delicious note with
Tre-Fornis big brunch, featuring artisan pastas, live
stations dishing out exotic Italian entrees and a wide
selection of wines to go along.
PRICE Rs 2,850 plus taxes per person
AT Park Hyatt, Road No 3, Banjara Hills
FO R A RT S SA K E
January 27 to 29
Art O Graph at the upcoming Hyderabad Literary Festival is where art
will meet words, with works of various artists themed around urban life,
the environment and more. The exhibition will feature art installations
and works in new media, incorporating the written word alongside
visual imagery, curated by Avani Rao Gandra.
AT Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet
DETAILS hydlitfest.org
JANUARY 2017 u SIMPLY HYDERABAD
s-11
SIMPLY HYDERABAD
Feature
Lake of
Dreams
Tejdeep Kaur
Menon at
Ameenpur lake
SIMPLY HYDERABAD TALKS TO THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF TELANGANA STATE SPECIAL
PROTECTION FORCE (TSSPF), TEJDEEP KAUR MENON, WHOSE EXEMPLARY WORK WITH
THE CLEANUP DRIVE AT AMEENPUR LAKE RECENTLY WON HER THE PRESTIGIOUS
WIND UNDER THE WINGS AWARD.
n
does winning the award

Q.What
mean to you?
This award means the earth to me

since it is work done with passion,
beyond professional calling and
believing all along that the biggest
award for me is my happiness.
What motivated you to take

Q.
up the cleaning initiative for
Ameenpur lake?
I am very passionate about nature.
Over my many visits to the lake, I
was saddened to see the dirt and
pollutionplastic bags, garbage and
waste all around. Watching the birds
and spending time amidst the beauty
of nature here and such a vast body
of water crying out for help prompted me to sit up and take action. We
started the clean-up initiative early
last year. Eventually, we were joined
by a few other concerned citizens.
has the Ameenpur lake

Q.How
transformed?
Ameenpur is now the first water

body ever to be declared a
s-12
By Mona Ramavat
Biodiversity Heritage Site in the

country. It was deeply satisfying to
be able to rescue cormorant birds,
ensnared in nylon fishing nets at the
lake during our cleanup Sundays.
Children from nearby government
schools now sit by the lakeshore
and look at the birds, awestruck.
Some even paint pictures of them.
I am glad to have introduced them
to the birds that visit the lake.
Some of these birds, we are told,
have returned to the lake
after decades. I have
also watched many
a checkered keelback snake gulp
fish down at the
waters edge. It is an
extraordinary communion with nature.
out to do. But they are a committed

lot and have been working
diligently throughout. Their dedication has egged me on to adopt the
reserve forest, Anantagiri, about 90
km from Hyderabad and another
lake, Fox Sagar, near Kompally in
Hyderabad.
are your plans for the

Q.What
future in this direction?
Our task is now to ensure that it

is not polluted and save it
from death by getting
the authorities responsible to implement all
conservation measures, to prevent
encroachment and
preserve its ecology
so that it goes back
to being what it once
wasa safe haven for
birds.It already attracts
bird photographers and
nature enthusiasts and we hope that
in the future it can become a sustainable tourism site as well.
Our task is now
How did the TSSPF

Q.
react to your decision to protect the lake?
to ensure that it
is not polluted
and save it from
death
At first, they were

hesitant and unable to understand
the ramifications of what we had set

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