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‘J&K Invisible Faultlines’- a book that attempts to correct the skewed narrative on Jammu and Kashmir

Guest Author
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‘J&K Invisible Faultlines’- a book that attempts to correct the skewed narrative on Jammu and Kashmir

The book titled ‘J&K Invisible Faultlines’, published by Pentagon Press and edited by Sandhya Jain, attempts to correct the skewed narrative on Jammu & Kashmir by focusing on important but neglected issues like: the strategic importance of Jammu and Ladakh, the sidelining of Maharaja Hari Singh, the Dogra ruler, who made the State’s accession to India possible, unequal delimitation of Constituencies, the ethnic cleansing & forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and the demographic threat posed by the Rohingya influx in Jammu. Sandhya Jain, in her preface, calls the Kathua Incident the “immediate trigger” for this effort to present facts that have always been suppressed by the ‘officially’ sanctioned version of the ‘Kashmir Issue’.

Amongst the slew of publications on ‘Kashmir’, what makes this one stand out is that it focusses on the other two parts of the State, Jammu and Ladakh. It seeks to acquaint readers with Maharaja Hari Singh’s real stature in the contemporary history of J&K, a position he has been denied by politicians, media and writers from the Valley. Hari Singh was an able and astute Administrator, a fact acknowledged and recorded by the British Resident of that period. J&K was one of the well-administered Princely States. Yet, after Accession, he was sidelined due to the Nehru-Abdullah nexus. Had Jawaharlal Nehru included Hari Singh in the negotiations with Sheikh Abdullah and not gone to the UN over the Pak incursion in 1947, perhaps the unnecessary dispute over Kashmir could have been averted.

The chapters providing the background to the ‘Kashmir Problem’, highlight how the people of Jammu and Ladakh have been consistently marginalized due to the Kashmir-centric approach of successive regimes in J&K. Jammu, despite being the first communication route to the Valley and Ladakh, has always ended up being on the sidelines. Whether it is media coverage of the State, allocation of Central funds or developing the tourism potential, the peaceful regions of the State have always been given short shrift. Sialkot being very close to Jammu, makes Pakistan more vulnerable from this side, added to this is the fact that River Chenab, the lifeline of Pakistan, flows through Jammu region. It is for this reason that our neighbouring country has been trying to carry out a demographic shift by targeting the Hindus of Poonch, Doda, Rajouri and Udhampur. After the ouster of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir, people from these areas are being forced to leave their homes. As if this wasn’t enough, constant shelling from the Pak side of the International Border has made life hell for the Indians living on this side.

For a change, Ladakh gets its fair share of focus in this book on J&K. This region, comprising the biggest share of land mass in the State, has always been ignored perhaps, because of its sparse population and modest people. This area is strategically of prime importance, with boundaries touching China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan which give it the potential of being India’s bridge with Central Asia, South Asia and China. Coupled with this strategic value is the non-confrontationist attitude of the peaceful population which makes Ladakh the most promising part of this fractured State. Unfortunately, the Centre has not given Ladakh the attention it deserves, as is evident from the fact that it took seven decades for a university to be sanctioned in Ladakh in December 2018, under Governor’s Rule. The portions devoted to Ladakh bring out interesting aspects like the now unused route from Leh to Kailash-Mansarover being the shortest and easiest, reopening this route would do wonders for Ladakh’s economy. Granting of Union Territory status is a longstanding demand of this region, the fulfilment of which is prevented by the existence of Article 370.

The crux of this book lies in the painstakingly researched chapters on the Kathua Rape Case that shook the nation with its potential of getting turned into a communally divisive spark in an already fraught situation. The details provided by the team of social activists who went to Rassana, met the people involved and inspected the ‘crime scene’, give a chilling insight into this incident that was given a religious angle and misrepresented at the national and international level. The truth, behind what turned out to be a carefully constructed conspiracy, is laid bare by conducting interviews with local people, meticulous collection of background information and uncovering of the way facts were deliberately distorted by certain sections of the media and some powerful people. This fact-finding team reveals how the reputation of the peace-loving people of Jammu was sought to be tarnished by implicating several local people and a place they held sacred.

Another problem plaguing the security of Jammu and the well-being of its people is the illegal settlement of the Rohingyas from Myanmar in areas of Samba and Jammu. It is a wonder how those who bristle at the very mention of Art 370 have never complained about how and why these illegal aliens were settled in a sensitive place like Jammu. This Rohingya influx poses a security threat not only to Jammu, but the whole of India given their tendency towards radicalization and their involvement in illegal activities. Their presence and the ease with which they have acquired Aadhar and Voter Cards points to a deliberate and diabolical attempt at tilting the demography in this area.

The Articles of contention, Art 370 and Art 35A, are both explained in detail, along with how they have proved detrimental to the progress and development of the State. While Art 370 prevents assimilation of J&K with the rest of India and alienates the people by bestowing ‘special’ and unfair privileges, Art 35A impinges on the basic rights of J&K women and their progeny. Valuable inputs are provided for those who want to know how these two obsolete Articles are “suffocating” development and closing the doors to “an era of prosperity” in the whole State.

Coming to the issue of the Internally Displaced Kashmiri Pandits, the most sharply etched faultline in the fabric of this troubled State, this book recounts how growing Islamic fundamentalism impacted their existence. Decades of persecution culminated in a “swift and shrill campaign of violence and intimidation” forcing them to flee their homes and take refuge in other parts of the nation. Important and decisive events, which played a big role in the eventual decimation of this intellectual community, are briefly mentioned. The Kabali invasion of September 1947 that marked the first act of Jihad, Sheikh Abdullah’s controversial Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, 1950 which aimed at depriving Kashmiri Pandits of their land, political downsizing of Constituencies where KPs were numerically significant and depriving them of educational and employment opportunities despite merit, were just some of the ways in which the gradual ethnic cleansing of this community was carried out. A list of some of the Kashmiri Pandits killed in the run-up to the 1990 exodus is also provided.

There is so much that the book talks about, detailing problems along with their causes and also attempting to suggest some of the steps that could be taken to rid the State of these man-made faultlines that must be repaired and rectified for this important and sensitive State to regain the glory and prosperity that history bestowed on this land. Highly recommended for every Indian who wishes to know more about J&K, apart from the media-driven, hyped half-truths that are generally peddled about the ‘Kashmir Issue’. As this book amply illustrates, Kashmir cannot be understood without knowing about the whole State, which should rightfully have been called ‘JAMMU, KASHMIR & LADAKH.

 

By Renuka Dhar, who tweets at @DharRenuka

Dubious NewsX Neta Exit Poll gave NDA 242 seats while being overdependent on a less than popular mobile app

K Bhattacharjee
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Dubious NewsX Neta Exit Poll gave NDA 242 seats while being overdependent on a less than popular mobile app

The Exit Polls for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections were released by various agencies after voting in the final phase was completed. While a majority of the pollsters predicted the NDA to secure a majority in the Lower House of the Parliament, conspicuously, there were two which predicted the NDA to come up short.

One of them was the ABP-Nielsen Exit Poll that gave the NDA 267 seats, 5 short of a majority. It was later revealed that they possibly manipulated the data to reach their favoured conclusions.

The other poll that predicts the NDA to fall short of 272 is the NewsX Neta Exit Poll. NewsX Neta predicts the NDA to secure 242 seats, 30 short of the 272 required for a majority. The UPA is predicted to win 164 while Others are expected to win 136.

“The BJP, which had won 71 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, is set to suffer huge loss at the hands of the Mahagathbandhan. The saffron party is expected to win only 33 seats this time, a loss of more than 50 per cent over 2014. The Mahagathbandhan is expected to win 41 seats (BSP 22, SP 20 and RLD 1) and the Congress 4 seats,” the exit poll said.

“The Congress is likely to witness a resurgence in all the states where it is fighting the BJP directly, which include Assam, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra. However, one interesting thing to note is that states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which recently went the Congress way in the Assembly elections, seem to be voting strongly for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, highlighting the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in these regions,” it stated.

The funny bit is the predictions appear to base a lot on their app. Pratham Mittal, Founder, Neta App said, “Over 47 lakh voters participated in the Neta exit poll while over 2.5 crore voters participated in its opinion poll across all the 542 constituencies. These results are a statistical derivation based on the two. To ensure a pertinent sample size, the Neta app has used multiple mediums like the app, IVR calls and SMS to gather data on evolving political inclinations”.

The app currently has only 1 million downloads. And yet, since yesterday, the NDA numbers have fallen by 2 seats already and is now predicted to win 240. More of a problem is the fact that there’s no guarantee that the data received through the app is authentic, it’s not too difficult to imagine how it can be hoodwinked. For instance, a single person can very easily own multiple phones and register the app on their phones which in turn can affect the authenticity of the data.

Also, if the data can change within the space of 24 hours, one ought to question their methodology and the over-dependence on easily manipulated app results. Again, the data itself appears to be tainted with too many falsities and too much is left to the internal biases of the interpreters of it.

For Exit Polls to be accurate, not just the size of the sample, but also the quality of the sample would matter greatly. The sample would need to be a representative sample of all demographics, economic strata, a mix of educated and the uneducated, age variety etc. One would also need to ensure that the sample size has an equal representation of all stratas of the society from all constituencies.

The app has 10 lakh downloads while the Neta Exit Polls claims to have surveyed 47 lakh voters. Thus, more than 20% of the data surveyed could well be inauthentic. If the percentage of inauthentic is even half that or one-fourth of that or even one-tenth, it’s more than enough to completely scar the results.

Thus, the 242 given to the NDA by the NewsX Neta Exit Poll ought not be taken too seriously. Like the ABP Nielsen Exit Poll where the Director admitted to manipulating the data, this exit poll, too, suffers from serious flaws.

2019 World Cup preview: England – Overwhelming favourites but that bowling attack will keep opponents interested

Sandeep Singh
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2019 World Cup preview: England – Overwhelming favourites but that bowling attack will keep opponents interested

The biggest show in Cricket is set to begin in just 10 days in England and the hosts start as overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy for the first time ever in history.

Since the debacle of 2015, when England failed to make it past the group stages and managed to beat only Scotland and Afghanistan, English ODI side has completely changed their approach and have built a tremendously successful side with an attacking approach. Most of the success has been built around their batting, which boasts of arguably the most aggressive batting line-up in ODI cricket history. On flat pitches and smaller grounds, they become absolutely unstoppable as they take apart one bowling attack after another.

In Bairstow and Roy, they have an outstanding opening pair. The pair has opened together in 26 games and they already have 7 century stands and 7 half-century stands with an overall average of 64. These runs are coming at a very brisk rate with both batsmen having a career strike rate well over a 100. The momentum of the innings is set right at the top with these 2 putting the bowling line-up on the backfoot, enabling the middle order to cash in later.

Once you get past the openers, they have 2 excellent ODI batsmen in Root and Morgan who can keep things ticking over by manipulating the field for 1s and 2s, and both are very capable of hitting the boundaries when required, especially Morgan. They invariably ensure that the run rate doesn’t drop once the openers depart and it sets up nicely for the big hitters to come later.

Speaking of big hitters, they have the best of the current lot in Jos Buttler. With a batting average of 41.6 and strike rate of 120, Buttler is in a class of his own. Maxwell and Russell are the only ones with better strike rate than him in ODIs, but they are nowhere close to the consistency of the Englishman who now has 5 out of the 10 fastest centuries by an English batsman.

The thing with this English batting line up is that the batsmen just don’t stop coming, you have the all-rounders Stokes and Moeen coming in at 6 and 7 who can shore up the innings after a collapse or provide late blows to add some crucial runs, as per the situation. Then you get Curran, Woakes, Rashid who are all very capable with the bat. If somehow you get them 9 down and get a chance to bowl to Willey or Plunkett, you can still expect to leak boundaries as both are very capable of smashing a few boundaries, there is just no respite for the bowling team.

While the batting line up appears formidable and looks likely to cross 350 in every game, their bowling line-up looks like conceding the same every time they bowl on the flat pitches expected during the World Cup. They have conceded 300+ on 25 occasions since the last World Cup.

Lack of death overs specialists and wicket taking options in the middle overs means they often end up conceding huge totals. Adil Rashid is the only wicket taking option they have through the middle overs allowing the opposition to build their innings for a late flourish relatively risk-free.

West Indies collared their bowling in the Caribbean earlier this year when even a total of 418 looked insufficient at one point before Rashid picked 4 wickets in an over, while Pakistan has scored over 340 in 3 out of 4 matches in the ongoing series against them.

They may bring in Jofra Archer due to his death bowling abilities in addition to some big hitting lower down the order but the question is, who misses out from the bunch that has been together over the past 2 years, Willey or Plunkett? They are the 2 players who must be fearing for their spot and have already voiced concerns over the inclusion of Archer just ahead of the World Cup.

While that bowling attack remains somewhat of a concern, as long as that batting order keeps firing, everything is fine for England as they chase down one 350 score after another with remarkable ease.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, and Mark Wood.

The first surgical strike was carried out by the armed forces in September 2016: Lt Gen Ranbir Singh

OpIndia Staff
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The first surgical strike was carried out by the armed forces in September 2016: Lt Gen Ranbir Singh

Putting to rest the controversy surrounding the surgical strike once and for all, GOC Northern Command Lt Gen Ranbir Singh today said that a surgical strike was carried out for the first time by the armed forces in September 2016, to avenge the Uri attack.

Refusing to comment on the statements of political parties about surgical strikes, Lt Gen Singh said that the government would answer them. He also cited the reply given by the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) in an RTI which confirmed his statement.


“A few days ago the DGMO said in a reply to an RTI that the first surgical strike happened in September 2016. I don’t want to go into what political parties say, they’ll be given an answer by government. What I told you is a statement of fact”, he said while addressing a press conference. Lt Gen Singh lauded the Balakot airstrikes which were carried out by the Indian Air Force to destroy the terrorist camps located in Balakot, Pakistan.


He said that the Balakot airstrikes were a major achievement wherein our aircraft entered deep inside the territory of Pakistan and destroyed the terror launchpads. The Congress Party had questioned the surgical strike conducted by the current Modi government and had demanded evidence for the same. Later the party claimed that surgical strikes were conducted during UPA regime as well.

However, the numbers of the surgical strikes carried out during the UPA regime, as claimed by the party kept changing. It was claimed by Congress leader Rajiv Shukla that half a dozen surgical strikes were conducted under the UPA government. This was followed by Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s claim of 3 surgical strikes. This was further contradicted by Rajasthan Chief Ashok Gehlot who said that 15 surgical strikes were conducted by the Congress government during its rule. The statement by Lt Gen Ranbir Singh has confirmed that no surgical strike was conducted by security forces during the UPA government, and the first strike happened in 2016 during the term of Modi government.

MJ Akbar denies having met Priya Ramani in hotel room during his cross examination in his defamation case against Ramani

OpIndia Staff
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MJ Akbar denies having met Priya Ramani in hotel room during his cross examination in his defamation case against Ramani

The second day of Former Union Minister MJ Akbar’s cross-examination in his defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani resumed on Monday morning at the Rouse Avenue Court. Senior Advocate Rebecca John represented Priya Ramani whereas Senior Advocate Geeta Luthra and Advocate Sandeep Kapur (Partner, Karanjawala & Co) appeared for MJ Akbar.

In response to the series of questions asked by Rebecca John on allegations of sexual harassment, MJ Akbar has said that he did not receive a phone call from Ramani and denied that he had asked her to visit him in his room at the Oberoi hotel. He had further denied opening the door for Ramani and having met her in any circumstance on that day.

Akbar had also denied having asked any personal questions to Ramani, including allegations of having asked her about her family, study abroad, her first job and of marriage. He has claimed their meetings were only professional in nature. In response to further questions posed to him on his alleged meeting with Ramani, Akbar reiterates that he had not met her on that day.

On being asked whether Ramani left unnerved by Akbar, he responded, “I did not meet her on that day, I do not know if she felt unnerved by my behaviour”. Luthra objected to the line of questioning and said, “it is about the accused, how can MJ Akbar answer it”.

On being asked whether Ramani had gone home from the hotel, Akbar replied that he didn’t know since he hadn’t met with her. Akbar also denied that he was tutored to give false answers.

“I am not sure if Priya Ramani was offered a job in New Delhi office of The Asian Age in 1994. It was 25 years ago”, said MJ Akbar on being asked if Ramani was offered a job. He couldn’t recall the details of her transfer request and also denied knowing that Ramani was a journalist for 20 years.

Despite Luthra’s objections Akbar was further asked whether he was aware of the various articles written about allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein. Ramani’s counsel said that only a portion of Ramani’s Vogue article refers to Akbar. Akbar protested by pointing out that Ramani had herself confirmed that the entire piece was about him.

John further questions Akbar on other articles of Weinstein trying to draw in the point that Priya Ramani’s Vogue article was extracted from them, referring to other male bosses. Akbar replied that a “male boss” was used in the article for which John replied that it was a generic term.


Referring to the tweet where Ramani had shared the Vogue article, John said that she had said “he didn’t do anything” in a sarcastic manner. Akbar denied this and said that he counted this as an admission in his complaint.

John tries to clarify that Ramani meant that nothing physical happened in the hotel room. Akbar once again denies meeting her in the hotel room.

John later brings up allegations of misconduct raised up by other women, to which Akbar denied having read some of them and denied some other allegations that he been aware of. “Such questions cannot be asked. They can only come within the four corners of defence of criminal defamation”, Luthra objects.

To which John replied that cross-examination need not be confined to questions asked in Chief Examination, referring to Sec 138 of the Evidence Act.

Akbar was asked whether he knew Majlie de Puy Kamp, to which he replied the affirmative. John raised up the story carried by Huffington Post India on the harassment faced by Kamp, she asked, “Is it correct that you apologized to Kamp’s father when he confronted you about the sexual harassment incident through an email?”. She showed him the contents of the email.

“I cannot confirm the content of the email.. there was no question of sexual harassment. I recall that there might have been a mention of some misunderstanding which was accepted”, replied Akbar.

The case has been adjourned to 10 am on 6th July and the cross-examination would be completed in a day.

MJ Akbar had filed a defamation case after Priya Ramani had accused him of sexual harassment in the wake of the #Metoo movement which had gathered considerable attention last year, to which the journalist pleaded not guilty on April 10. Following the allegations, he was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet on 17 October 2018.

On May 4, a Delhi court had recorded Akbar’s statement regarding the defamation case against Priya Ramani. He was also partly cross-questioned for which his response to most of them was “I do not remember”. The court had also deferred the cross-examination till May 20.

NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar has a prolonged meltdown on his show after the Exit Polls predicted a landslide BJP victory

Jinit Jain
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NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar has a prolonged meltdown on his show after the Exit Polls predicted a landslide BJP victory

Last evening as the numbers from various exit polls started to pour in, assorted liberals started having a mental collapse after it became evidently clear that PM Narendra Modi is once again going to preside over as the Prime Minister of the country.

However, one of the prominent self-proclaimed liberalists, Ravish Kumar, who was seen on stage at an SP-BSP rally, had a prolonged meltdown upon the realisation that his efforts to oust the BJP from power have gone in vain as the saffron party is poised to return back at the centre with a thumping majority. Kumar felt the ground slipping under his feet as almost all exit polls predicted a rout for the Congress party.


Unsurprisingly, instead of introspecting what went wrong for the Congress party or which factors helped BJP to secure such an unassailable lead, dejected Ravish was quick to repudiate the data from the exit polls claiming that the media channels have worked hard to market BJP and PM Modi and that some anchors and owners deserve to be inducted in the cabinet for their services. Ravish’s faith in the Election Commission which had cemented during the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh a few months back instantly vanished as he insinuated them of being partisan in favour of the BJP.


After trying to discredit the news agencies who conducted the exit polls, Ravish went ahead to demolish the credibility of the elaborate procedures entailing exit polls. One of the panellists, Revati Laul pushed a conjectural theory that the entire process of soliciting information about one’s voted candidate is flawed as people would be naturally worried and anxious to reveal their choice of candidate in order to avoid retribution from the political parties. She postulated that accounting such data would invariably yield skewed results.

This theory is absolutely trash and it doesn’t hold water as the exit polls are not conducted willy-nilly but with a set of specific objectives and with the utmost integrity. The argument that the entire process of seeking information for exit polls is flawed may serve as cold comfort for those whose lives have been completely upended after the exit poll results prophesied an imminent BJP victory.

It is notable to mention that the pliant media which was believing their preferred political leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim that he has dismantled PM Modi and was expecting Congress upsurge in the elections are now holding everyone else accountable and casting smear on other media houses and the Election Commission so that their supreme leader’s incompetence can be concealed. Ravish Kumar has been saying outlandish things for quite some time now. Recently, he had said that media should not be talking about the India-Pakistan conflict because it helps BJP in elections.

Madhya Pradesh: Congress supporter, close to state minister kills 60-year old man for voting in favour of BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Congress supporter, close to state minister kills 60-year old man for voting in favour of BJP

A Congress supporter from Madhya Pradesh believed to be close to a state minister, killed a 60-year old man after accusing him of voting for the BJP.

According to the Police, Arun Sharma, the accused, also hurled casteist slurs at the victim and accused his entire community of voting for the BJP.

Arun Sharma, on Sunday, picked an argument with salon owner Nemichand Tanwar accusing him of voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) soon after he had cast his vote at the polling booth in Palia village in Hatod area around 2 p.m. Later, Sharma visited Tanwar’s house and murdered Tanwar in front of his son with a country-made pistol.

Tanwar, who was critically injured, was rushed to the hospital where he was declared upon arrival, Indore SSP Ruchivardhan Mishra said.

BJP voters and Karyakartas have been attacked throughout the election season for their voting preferences and political inclinations. Most violence was seen in West Bengal where violence was rampant and Hindus were even prevented from exercising their constitutional right.

Trouble brewing for Kamal Nath government: The BJP calls for a special assembly session demanding floor test

OpIndia Staff
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Trouble brewing for Kamal Nath government: The BJP calls for a special assembly session demanding floor test

Six months after forming the new government in Madhya Pradesh, the Kamal Nath government may be in trouble. The BJP has demanded a special assembly session for a floor test.

The Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh state assembly, Gopal Bhargava has claimed that the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh is in minority. Bhargava said, “It will fall on its own (MP Government), I don’t believe in horse-trading but I feel its time has come and it will have to go soon.”

In the state elections that concluded in December 2018, Congress won 114 seats while the BJP got 109. With external support from Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party, the Congress had formed the government.

BJP’s demand comes a day after the exit polls in the general assembly elections predicting that the centre is forming an NDA government with Prime Minister Modi returning for his second term. In fact, a few exit polls have predicted that the BJP may win as many as 24-26 out of 29 seats for Lok Sabha in Madhya Pradesh.

BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has also said that the fall of Kamal Nath government is imminent. Meanwhile, Kamal Nath has hit out on the BJP and adviced them to wait till the election results are out. “Wait till May 23. We have seen so many exit polls going horribly wrong in the past. Don’t be impatient”, he said.

Read this before you believe the ABP-Nielsen Exit Poll that gave NDA only 277 while others gave a thumping majority

OpIndia Staff
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Read this before you believe the ABP-Nielsen Exit Poll that gave NDA only 277 while others gave a thumping majority

The Exit Polls were released yesterday and the general consensus seems to be that PM Modi led NDA is coming back to power with a thumping majority. Amidst the multiple Exit Polls, there was one poll that stood out. The ABP-Nielsen poll was an outlier, giving NDA only 267 seats initially, which was later revised to 277. The prediction basically meant that NDA itself would fall short of a majority and not be able to form the government.

Exit poll results

 

Several “liberals” depended on the Nielsen Poll to discredit the thumping majority all other polls were giving BJP.

However, now the real reason for such a skewed projection, specific to Nielsen has been revealed. Nielsen simply deleted the pro-BJP responses when they conducted their survey for the Exit Poll. This revelation was made by the Director of Nielsen, Umesh Jha himself.


Jha said that during their survey, they found that ‘many people were doing BJP-BJP’ and hence after they “calibrated” their numbers, they arrived at the 267 number as their projection, and later revised the same to 277.

When the journalist asked him what he meant by “overclaim”, Umesh Jha explained that when he asked people whom they voted for, “more than required people were saying they voted for BJP” and “probably” they did not “vote for BJP in reality”.

Then, Jha proceeds to tie himself up in knots further. He explains further that they ask voters 2 questions – who they voted for now, and who they had voted for last elections. He then says that it is possible that this time, due to “fear factor” people are saying that they voted for BJP when in reality, they did not.

Essentially, the Director of Nielsen survey just admitted to deleting responses that favoured BJP to come to a more “realistic” number according to personal prejudices. There is no basis for simply assuming that the voter is lying and thus, his response must be eliminated.

The director has thus admitted that his numbers are arbitrary and if they had not deleted the responses that favour BJP, the numbers would have been much higher.

Umesh Jha is the “Head Customized Research” at Nielsen according to his LinkedIn page.

While all other polls were giving a thumping majority to BJP and NDA, Nielsen chose to “customise” their survey and simply delete voter responses were overwhelmingly in favour of BJP.

This dishonesty perhaps crosses all limits of public trust as far as Exit Polls are concerned. Nielsen had also found itself in hot water during the Bihar assembly elections when it had supposedly provided incorrect data to 18 channels showing a BJP lead.

Modi ministers in five years – Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Woman and Child Development

Keshav
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Modi ministers in five years – Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Woman and Child Development

In the series on the performance of various ministers in the Modi government, let’s take a look at Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Woman and Child Development.

Maneka Gandhi is the widow of Sanjay Gandhi, elder son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Sanjay Gandhi died when she was just 23, and her son Varun was just about 100 days old.  After the death of Sanjay Gandhi, she had a fallout with Indira Gandhi, and was eventually forced out of Prime Minister’s residence. She contested 1984 Lok Sabha elections against Rajiv Gandhi, but lost.  After that, she joined VP Singh’s Janata Dal, and contested 1989 Lok Sabha elections from Pilibhit Constituency and won. She joined the government as Minister of State for Environment. Thereafter she has continuously been elected as Lok Sabha member from Pilibhit,  except for 2009 elections, when she won Aonla Constituency, and Pilibhit was represented by her son Varun Gandhi. She joined BJP ahead of 2004 general elections. She contested 1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate, however, supported NDA government and handled various ministerial portfolios. After 2014 elections, she was given Women and Child Development ministry. She is a well-known environment and child rights activist.

Here are her achievements as WCD minister.

Making adoption procedure completely online through CARA – Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) is the nodal agency under WCD ministry for adoptions. In her tenure, Maneka Gandhi has completely made the adoption procedure online through CARA. Parents willing to adopt children, have to register themselves on the website of CARA, filling complete personal details. After filling the details, they are given a waitlist number. After registering, social workers associated with the ministry make a personal visit to applicants. They verify and cross-check all the details given by the prospective parents. After their positive report, the status of the parent is logged under verified. Post verification, as waitlist moves ahead with the adoptions, parents are able to adopt the children. This has greatly reduced malpractices happening in adoptions by unscrupulous people and NGOs.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Abhiyan – Alarmed at critical fall in child sex ratio in 2011 census, the government launched Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Abhiyan to increase the number of girl child. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is an umbrella scheme, where the government has undertaken a number of schemes. The overall goal of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme is to celebrate the girl child, and enable her education. The objectives of the scheme are to prevent gender-biased sex-selective elimination, ensuring survival, protection and education of the girl child. Under this scheme, there are two major components like mass communication campaign to create awareness, and multi-pronged action in 100 districts with low child sex ratio. Communication campaign aims at ensuring girls are born, nurtured and educated without discrimination to become empowered citizens. The campaign interlinks national, state and district level interventions with community-level action in 100 districts, bringing together different stakeholders for accelerated impact.  Fruits of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao are clearly seen in the state of Haryana, which was infamous for female feticide and low sex ratio, it now stands improved at 924 girls per 1000 boys as of December 2018 from an abysmal low of 832 in 2012.

Amendment to POCSO act and IPC to make stringent punishments for rape – The government has approved amendments to the POCSO Act, and introduced stringent measures to check the circulation of child pornography, and administration of hormones to children to attain early sexual maturity. It has done so to catch up with the offenders as existing laws were proving futile to stop this menace. Government has also amended the Indian Penal Code to punish child rapist with death, and ensuring speedy trial in cases where the victim is minor in fast track courts. This law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent, due to strong penal provisions incorporated in the act.

Increase in maternity leave for women – Government amended Maternity Benefit Act in 2017, and increased the maternity leave available to working women from existing 12 weeks to 26 weeks to the much respite of women, for them being able to care for their newly born.

 

The author is journalism pass out from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. After dangerously flirting with the idea of left during his IIMC days, due to the proximity of the IIMC with JNU, a den of radical leftists, he became firmly aligned to right after realizing the futility of the left. He tweets at @kpophale.

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