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Meet Temsutula Imsong – a lady who is fueling life in old and dirty Ghats of Varanasi

Rahul Raj
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Meet Temsutula Imsong – a lady who is fueling life in old and dirty Ghats of Varanasi

The Swacch Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi have attracted many celebrities and politicians, but when two young women – Temsutula Imsong and Darshika Shah – decided to take up the task of cleaning Prabhu Ghat and Babua Pandey Ghat in Varanasi, people would hardly have imagined that they will set such a high benchmark that it will be quoted as an example for years.

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Imsong’s Mission Prabhu Ghat came into existence when a casual boat ride turned into a bad experience due to the unbearable filth and foul smell on the ghat. The experience was so bad that she decided to change the scenario by cleaning the ghats. Temsutula Imsong works with Sakaar, a voluntary social organisation which promotes the development of rural communities. OpIndia.com team got a chance to interview Temsutula and discuss her  journey.

1. We have read a lot about your Ganga Ghat cleaning project, but we would love to hear a brief from you?

As you would have read, the mission started with a boat ride. It was appreciated by Hon Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji also. This inspired us a lot. We wanted to see how much more could we push ourselves, and what maximum could be achieved by us. This made us take up Babua Pandey Ghat which is commonly known as Dhobi Ghat. This was the second dirtiest ghat after Prabhughat/Chet Singh Ghat between Assi Ghat and Dashashwamedh Ghat. If you Google “Dhobhi Ghat + Ganga + Varanasi”, the images which you get will convey filth and dirt on the Ghat.

When we asked some locals about our project, some elderly people said that IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE to clean this ghat because it had never been cleaned before in the past 30+ years. This motivated us to take it as a challenge. We decided to take it up. It was difficult, near to impossible, we had to clear the every possible kind of garbage.

However, when we started, Ganga ji was receding. It was a great help, we were able to clear the steps which were buried in silt and garbage. One and a half month later what we see satisfies us. We are proud at having been able to transform this Ghat into a beautiful place to sit, swim or play. This wouldn’t have been possible without the grit and determination of the TEAM #MissionPrabhughat Kids, namely – Pawan @p_pavanraj, Harshit @harshit_4215, Shubham @tiwarishubham03, Rohan @RohanTripathi10, Shubham Pandey @ishubhamm, Shreyansh @Shreyanshvns, Vineet @vineet_verma1, Darshika @Darshikashi, Ayushi @ayushi_shukla06, Anuraag @anuraaag007, Satyam, Ashutosh @ashutoshdixit84, Shreyas @shreyash01, Vishal @Vishaallllsingh.

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2. There are so many issues affecting India. What motivated you to join the Ghat Cleaning project?

Sadly I don’t have much to say much about it, it is simple >> I felt bad seeing the filth when I passed and decided to do something

 

3. You grew up in Nagaland. What motivated you to come to Varanasi?

I was working in Delhi and was passively associated with Sakaar Sewa Samiti (sakaar.co.in). The organization was taking excellent initiatives which were simple yet motivating. I decided to quit my job and move to Varanasi and work full time with Sakaar.

 

4. Did your religious or spiritual beliefs play any role in your enthusiasm for Ghat cleaning?

By birth, I am a Christian. Religion for me is seeking God in Goodness. It makes me appreciate whatever is good. I have been raised in way that I find it easy to respect all beliefs. Considering this , it was not very difficult to work towards the cleanliness of Ghats. Ganga ji is an inspiration in herself. I could relate to her in the way she quietly flows by.

 

5. You must have faced many challenges. What kept you moving during toughtimes?

Yes, there were challenges which threatened to undermine our will also, but then three things kept us going.

First– the amazing resolve shown by the Team #MissionPrabhughat kids, they will never back down, never give up and kept telling me that don’t give up, we are with you.

Second – Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s appreciation was an inspiration as well as a big responsibility. His mentioning us in the Toronto speech gave the much needed impetus to the team to go beyond good and do superlative/impossible. And this is was the task at Babua Pandey Ghat was which we managed to accomplish.

Third – Last but not the least, the Twitteratti. The Tweets that I kept getting on the #MissionPrabhughat tag were very motivational and kept encouraging us to raise the bar. These tweets were coming from all over the world conveying the appreciation and respect for the effort and we were bound to live up to expectations as the reciprocation.

 

6. How do you see environment and society evolving with Ghat Cleaning?

Environment – We still have to start thinking in terms of being at peace with nature. We must not force our solutions and measures on her and Society – We still have a long long way to go , but the good thing is that attitudes are changing.

 

7. Did you get some support from politicians or corporate?

We certainly had many offers, but thanks to some close friends and well-wishers that we were able to manage everything within our own resources and didn’t need other help.

 

8. What are some next steps you will plan to follow?

We are going to stick to Prabhughat/Chet Singh Ghat and Babua Pandey Ghat and get these places firmly on Varanasi tourism Map. And we will evolve #MissionPrabhughat into a platform to Kickstart initiatives that promote practices to benefit the people who are often ignored and have little or no resources.

 

9. There must be many interesting incidences during the first phase of your cleaning project. Please share some of those with us?

Regular visits to Ghats have made us a part of the boatmen Family. We are regularly invited to attend weddings, ceremonies etc. It wasn’t long before we started searching the “menu” and attended the ones which had the best food spread. We used to be very hungry and this was a welcome break.

We started the practice of handing over the bucket to clean if one relieved himself at the Ghat. It received a nice response. Anyone found relieving himself on the Ghat was made to clean that using Water in the bucket we gave.

 

10. How would you like other interested people to join your mission?

Joining doesn’t need any enrolment form, they could simply come to Prabhughat or Babua Pandey Ghat any time after 04:00 PM and join us. If they couldn’t, they can start a similar initiative ion their own place and work for a cleaner India.

 

11. Any suggestions to the readers from your side?

Swachch Bharat has to be turned into a massive mass movement. Only then, we could see the results and feel the change. This will be possible only if we get involved and don’t just remain spectators. If you see people doing anything for any social cause, don’t just stand and watch; if possible, ask them if your assistance can help their initiative.

 

We also asked Temsutula  to share some photos. Here are some of them:

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Man behind Chai pe Charcha leaves BJP – BJP’s strategic error and Prashant Kishor’s political U-turn

Rahul Raj
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Man behind Chai pe Charcha leaves BJP – BJP’s strategic error and Prashant Kishor’s political U-turn

As per a news piece that recently appeared in Economic Times, Prashant Kishor, the campaign manager of Modi’s professional support team Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) is switching sides to work for JD(U) and effectively support Janata Parivar this Bihar election. Although CAG, now rechristened Citizens Alliance, constitutes professionals, this looks like a leaf straight out of a politician’s book. But while Kishor makes a U-turn on his loyalty, his actions also leave the BJP with a lot to introspect about.

Modi’s unprecedented victory in the 2014 election can’t be traced back to any single cause. It was brought about by a strong national campaign, great political strategy by the likes of election managers like Amit Shah, mobilization of BJP volunteers and RSS grass root workers, and professionally executed initiatives like Chai pe Charcha, 3D rallies, constituency-level analytics and a powerful digital media campaign.

In the game of politics, it is natural that people tend to showcase their contributions and even exaggerate them to get a bigger share of pie after a victory. But sometimes this tends to backfire like in the case of Kishor. Amit Shah, the current BJP president, is reported to be upset with the way Kishor tried to usurp credit for a lot of Modi’s victories while ignoring the immense contribution of the other arms of the campaign. Further, his arrogance about his proximity to Modi had upset many key leaders of the BJP. What resulted was a complete shunning of the professional campaign team in state elections of J&K, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Delhi. In each of these states, the BJP campaign was at best lacklustre compared to the national election, and the costs that BJP had to pay while competing against the professional campaign team of AAP in Delhi are evident.

While Kishor might have tried to overplay his hand, the BJP is at a big loss by sideling CAG. The future of election campaigns in India is professional management. While the traditional elements will play a key role, all these elements can be weaved together by a professional project management office. The decision to sideline CAG entirely because of a game of political one-upmanship is clearly opting for short term gains and long term losses.

Another error that BJP has made is not acknowledging the contributions of CAG members in the campaign. While Kishor might be the face of the organization, CAG constituted professionals from top-notch professional backgrounds like IITs and IIMs, and top consulting, law, analytics and finance companies of the world who came together to work for Modi and not for Kishor. After the BJP victory in the elections, many of these professionals were hoping for a bigger role in the party or in the government but were ignored because of differences of party leaders with Kishor.

Not just the party, but even the current government could have done with such professional help in many areas. For instance, the current dispensation is miserably failing on the PR front, and looks to be headed for a perception crisis. Its relationship with the media is cold, and the MSM reporting towards the government is negatively biased. This is one of the many areas where professionals could have done a transformational job for the government.

But sensing that no such support from the government was forthcoming, a lot of the top professionals and the brains behind the 2014 campaign left CAG to start-up on their own. More than 80% of the initial founding team has moved out of CAG. While these professionals were disappointed by the lack of acknowledgement from Modi, many of them are extremely unhappy with CAG’s switching loyalties.  As a CAG co-founder from a top IIM puts this recent development in perspective

“We came to work on the Modi campaign. As a result of our combined efforts, Prashant could create a brand name for CAG. If the news reports are true, it is unfortunate that now this brand is being used against the very cause for which we had created it. It is unfortunate that CAG is now supporting outfits like Janata Parivar.”

For Kishor though, the lack of choice is evident in his U-turn from supporting an administrator like Modi to supporting an outfit planning to merge with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, infamous for creating Jungle Raj in Bihar. “Marta kya naa karta (Clutching at the last straw)”, comments a CAG founder who recently quit the organization for better career opportunities.  “What option was Prashant left with after he was sidelined by Modi? If he supports JD(U) and wins Bihar, he can still hope that Modi will take notice and get him back to his core team. So this decision, though desperate, might yet have some strategy in it.”

If the Janata Parivar with Kishor’s help does manage to clinch Bihar, it will be a loss of face for Shah, while eager journalists will be quick to write off the Modi wave. In the rapidly changing political context, it is essential and urgent that Modi, Shah and team recognize the value that professionals can add not just to BJP’s political campaigns, but also to some of the government’s functions. While for Kishor this opportunism might be an act of political desperation, for the BJP, a loss in Bihar could very well be a self-inflicted wound.

Private company rejects a candidate because of his religion, this is not the first case

OpIndia Staff
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Private company rejects a candidate because of his religion, this is not the first case

A Mumbai-based diamond export company, Hari Krishna Exports, is in the news for rejecting job application of a young man just because he is a Muslim. On 19th May 2015, Zeshan Ali Khan emailed his resume to Hare Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. for an opening in International Business, but within 15 minutes he got a reply mentioning religion as the criteria for rejection

Snapshot of email chain posted by Zeshan
Snapshot of email chain posted by Zeshan

OpIndia Staff team called Mahendra S. Deshmukh, Associate VP & Head-HR of the company. Mr. Deshmukh blamed a ‘junior employee’ for it and ensured that action will be taken against the employee. He also said that their company already has Muslims.

This is not the first case of blatant religious discrimination. Schools, organizations, companies, etc. have been practicing religious discrimination directly or indirectly. Apart from personal experiences shared by people, a simple search on Job Portals can also demonstrate that many big public institutions practice discrimination and religious bias for providing employment.

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If companies fail to employ proper training and development programs on diversity and inclusion, their certifications must be audited or canceled. India lacks a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that can tackle all forms of discrimination. Several laws provide safeguards to employees in the public sector, but many of those don’t apply to the private sector. We need more explicit and stringent laws to tackle these social issues.

She works as maid in five houses, and she still managed to secure 84% marks in class 12 exams

OpIndia Staff
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She works as maid in five houses, and she still managed to secure 84% marks in class 12 exams

17-year-old Shalini will certainly provide inspiration, motivation and optimism to lot many people who face challenges in their life.  Shalini has scored 84 per cent in her Class 12 exam (in the science stream). Her result may sound ordinary, but her journey has been quite extraordinary.

In an article published by Bangalore Mirror, it was mentioned that Shalini helped her mother as a maid in five houses, she cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed utensils, cooked food and supported her brother as a nurse. In an interview to NDTV, Shalini told that her father Armugam was disabled in an accident and does not work anymore. Her mother Vijaya, the main bread earner, has to juggle her cleaning jobs with hospital duties.

Shalini didn’t have an easy ride during her school days too. She studied in Tamil medium from class one to seven, then she was shifted to Kannada medium till tenth standard. She later shifted to English medium for her PU studies at SGPTA-Deeksha College.

Just before her second PUC (Pre-University or 12th) board exams, her younger brother was diagnosed with third stage blood cancer. Shalini focused on her studies, but she also ensured that she supports her brother in the hospital.

Her hard word and difficult schedule have paid. Shalini has achieved something which will keep inspiring people. Her next goal is to crack the CET and get into a good college. We wish that she succeeds and sets higher benchmarks.

Why Rahul Gandhi version 1.5 might cost the Congress dearly

Guest Author
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Why Rahul Gandhi version 1.5 might cost the Congress dearly

Since 2010, in numerous TV shows and journalistic pieces, we have seen and read about Rahul Gandhi (RG) coming of age. These articles or debates weren’t particularly because of RG’s spectacular achievements, but more so because of media’s utopian fantasies of their poster boy. Now once again, after his 56-day sabbatical, the mainstream media has opened its arms to welcome him – some journalists, as dearly as if he had returned from a 14-year forest sojourn.

On his return, Rahul Gandhi made a speech in Parliament on the Land Acquisition Bill, and called the Modi government a suit-boot ki sarkar while sarcastically commenting on the 45 days the PM had spent in other countries at work. That was quite ironical and fairly courageous for a man who had just returned from Bangkok after a very long personal trip. But the media conveniently sidelined that, and rejoiced in the fact that Rahul Gandhi spoke in Parliament! It was after all rarer than even a blue moon which occurs every 2.5 -3 years, considering zero questions by RG during 5 years of UPA-II, less than 50% attendance including absenteeism during the Nirbhaya case, a Spain trip during Uttarakhand floods, and a 56-day sabbatical during the Budget session of the current Parliament. He was placed 17th from bottom amongst all 543 MPs based on his performance in the fifteenth Lok Sabha by the independent NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). But as RG spoke in Parliament this time, the media once again hastily lapped up the opportunity to announce the arrival of RG 2.0

Having said that, one must concede that this time Rahul Gandhi looks marginally improved than in the last 3 years where he almost seemed to have abdicated politics after Congress’ massive drubbing in the 2012 UP assembly elections. From being visibly reluctant to taking lead for his party, RG seems more mentally prepared this time to take charge. It seems that he has come to terms with the realization that he can’t delay his ascension any further for the survival of the Congress party. But, it is too soon to say if he has taken up this leadership role for good. He has shown glimpses of being actively interested in politics in the past too only to have later relapsed into his cocoon under the protection of the President of his party, which happens to be his mother, supported by her umpteen sycophants.

So, while even after a year of Modi government, we are correctly adopting a wait and watch strategy towards it, our approach can’t be any different after just three speeches of Mr. Gandhi in Parliament especially after considering his dismal track record as an MP. Hence, calling him RG 1.5 is more apt than calling him RG 2.0. If Rahul Gandhi does indeed perform well, he has a chance to evolve into RG 2.0; while if he relapses, we will be back to RG 1.0 again!

But as RG 1.5 attempts to regain lost glory, his political manoeuvres seem to be rather defeating self-goals for the Congress. To counter the pro-development narrative of the Modi Sarkar, Rahul Gandhi has taken upon himself to counter it through populist appeals, and the ‘Suit-Boot’ jibes. He went on to making frivolous statements in the Parliament like ‘The government is selling the internet to the corporate’ just to drive the message that he is the common man’s saviour. Congress even stalled the passage of Good and Services Tax (GST) Bill by demanding that it be moved to a standing committee. To counter the economic right, RG 1.5 has chosen to move away from the Congress’ left-of-centre stand and to adopt a far more left-leaning positioning.

Thus in economic terms, India for the first time seems to be moving away from the left-of-centre versus right-of centre politics to a more extreme left-versus-right politics. As BJP is pushing itself further to the right with some non-populist measures like Land Acquisition Bill (LAB), the Congress scion seems to be moving further left to rally people against these measures. In the long run, Rahul Gandhi’s shift towards the left economic zone will eventually harm the Congress for two major reasons: its attempt to swim against the national tide on growth, and its movement into an already intense competitive position where it will ideologically be jostling for space with most other political outfits of the country. Let us look into both these causes in detail:

A. Moving against the tide

India, over the past few centuries, has witnessed large scale poverty along with exploitation of the landless and of poor farmers by the rich zamindars and feudal lords. Hence, the rise of a strong right-wing economic force has been nearly impossible, and our politics has always revolved around the centre and centre-left. The left, which is focussed on highlighting the problems of the weak and the marginalized, has been successful in attracting the middle class with its emotional rhetoric. Rahul Gandhi’s efforts are banking on this emotional appeal against the “rich, corrupt and powerful” system – a rhetoric which recently bore fruits in case of Aam Aadmi Party’s victory in Delhi, and Mamata’s defeat of the Left in West Bengal.

Importantly though, the national scenario is now slowly changing. In a more global environment, citizens are comparing themselves with those in other developed nations. This comparison along with India’s reminiscence of its “golden bird” history is fuelling growth aspirations of the citizenry. Additionally, the masses seem disillusioned with the failed politics of the left, which gets more evident as we turn further left towards states like West Bengal and Kerala.

The left has constantly fallen short of achieving the growth aspirations of the middle class. So while the middle class may get carried away temporarily by rhetoric guised under emotive causes like “farmer welfare”, they will eventually vote on the basis of how they perceive development in the country, and will remain vote-banks of right-wing parties in the long run.

So while RG 1.5 may be attracting the middle class with his emotional stand on LAB, Congress’ hold amongst the middle class will reduce if the development on ground becomes visible after the passage of LAB in Parliament. The Congress, while retaining its original constituency amongst the extremely poor sections of society, might end up losing its vote share in the growing middle class segment, and among those sections of society which are gradually moving out of poverty.

B. Moving into a highly competitive zone

As BJP is moving towards the right, it is moving into a position relatively unoccupied on the Indian political spectrum. On the other hand, the movement of the Congress to the left will make it enter the intensely competitive zone cluttered by the left-wing and regional parties of the country.

 

Picture1No doubt there is space in India for the political left as proved by Kejriwal recently and many other parties in the past but this space is highly cluttered. In the above infographic, one can see how most of the political outfits in India lie left of the spectrum and are targeting the same voter base.  Hence, the average pie for each party will shrink if Congress moves further to the left. This can be countered if the Congress enters into an alliance with some of the strong regional forces, but that might harm its ambition to regain the status of a party pervasive throughout the country.

So as Rahul Gandhi shifts further left, it will bring Congress into direct competition with veterans who already play in that zone. To win here, Rahul Gandhi would need to evolve himself very rapidly to RG 2.0 and to beat these experts at their own game. In case he fails, he would see a scenario like the one in Delhi where though both BJP and Congress were left with a dismal tally in the Vidhan Sabha, BJP retained its vote share from the last assembly election, while Congress was completely whitewashed. Reviving from the defeat in the next assembly election on an anti-incumbency platform might be easier for BJP, but for the Congress, with less than 10% vote share, revival is nowhere near the visible horizon.

The Alternative for RG

In such a situation where moving to the economic left seems like a nightmare, but the urgency of countering the right-of-centre BJP cannot be denied, what alternative is RG left with? Undoubtedly, to counter BJP, Rahul will need to continue on the left side of the spectrum. Also in a country of economic imbalances like India, there is a need for at least one major political outfit to be on the left, when one is moving towards the right. Having said that, the ideal position for Congress is to continue with its current one: left-of-centre. To counter BJP’s move to the right does not imply that Congress needs to move further to the left. Moving left might give certain immediate benefits like public sympathy but will harm Congress in the long run. On the other hand, its left-of-centre position could become a showcase of a balance between growth and equity.

Holding onto that position implies that Congress would need to support bills in favour of overall growth of the country instead of opposing the government tooth-and-nail on every proposal of theirs. This will not cost the Congress politically, but will yield benefits. The Congress can make a PR example, with the help of many more-than-willing journalists, of how they are a more responsible opposition than the BJP. They can showcase their issue-based support to BJP, especially on matters like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which are investment-friendly. It is time that Congress positions itself as a responsible opposition which believes in equitable progress, rather than being perceived as an anti-progress party.

In the way Congress is being led by RG currently, it will not take a lot of time for the masses to be able to see through the hollow rhetoric of the Congress Vice-President. Also, after 60 years of virtually being the system, it won’t be easy to pull off a Kejriwal against the “rich, powerful, and corrupt” system. Plus, it will be another uphill task for RG to counter the regional political giants on left of the economic spectrum.  Thus, by moving to the economic left, Rahul Gandhi is venturing into very risky territory. If he relapses to RG 1.0 or even continues as RG 1.5 without evolving further rapidly, the Congress might be headed for total disaster in the years to come!

– @shreyansmehta

NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain dissects Jan Dhan Yojana using Half-Empty understanding

Rahul Raj
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NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain dissects Jan Dhan Yojana using Half-Empty understanding

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched by Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014, was under multiple radars since the day it was announced. The vision, as stated by Modi, was to end “financial untouchability” and to ensure that the majority of households in this country has a bank account within months. As mentioned on the official website:

Objective of “Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)” is ensuring access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank account, access to need based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to the excluded sections i.e. weaker sections & low income groups. This deep penetration at affordable cost is possible only with effective use of technology.

The ambitious plan aimed to include crores of those Indians who don’t have a bank account has already faced numerous appreciations and criticism – rational, funny, absurd and weird ones.

Sreenivasan Jain (journalist, NDTV) wrote a hilarious piece headlined, “Truth vs Hype: Jan Dhan’s Half-Empty Promise“. Not surprisingly, when he was questioned about his narratives, he started putting orthogonal arguments about Haryana, Reserve Bank old stats, etc. His article which generalizes a national policy by applying some sampling method like “Akkad Bakkad Bambe Bo” weaves around rumors and myths. Yes, the journalist from a national TV created a story based on ‘potent’ rumors (as he writes) like, “We were told each of us would get Rs. 5,000 in our accounts from black money seized from abroad”

Before scrolling down his article, let us read the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana scheme from the official website:

Special Benefits under PMJDY Scheme

  1. Interest on deposit.
  2. Accidental insurance cover of Rs.1.00 lac
  3. No minimum balance required.
  4. Life insurance cover of Rs.30,000/-
  5. Easy Transfer of money across India
  6. Beneficiaries of Government Schemes will get Direct Benefit Transfer in these accounts.
  7. After satisfactory operation of the account for 6 months, an overdraft facility will be permitted
  8. Access to Pension, insurance products.
  9. Accidental Insurance Cover, RuPay Debit Card must be used at least once in 45 days.
  10. Overdraft facility upto Rs.5000/- is available in only one account per household, preferably lady of the household.

Did anyone read Rs. 5,000 in accounts immediately after opening the account? Well, Mr. Jain did. Not only that, Mr. Jain also extended his imaginations and linked this to Black Money. Mr. Jain claims that On the Jan Dhan Yojana website, nearly 70 per cent of accounts opened under the scheme are shown as dormant, and by peacefully neglecting the Clause 7 explicitly mentioned in scheme, quotes that Six months later, the accounts in Nizampur are empty; not a single rupee of government benefits has come. He places both his narratives one below other. Sreenivasan Jain either hates to read legal clauses or he is deeply in love with paradoxes.

When officials in the Department of Financial Services apprised NDTV Team about improvements in dormant accounts, Mr. Jain, who fathomed the Jan Dhan Yojna based on rumors in Alwar and a local bank in Nizampur village, shifted his argument to operational competency of banking systems. Later, he quotes:

Data from the Reserve Bank of India shows that the spread of rural banks has fallen by seven per cent between 2006 in 2013.

We must appreciate Sreenivasan Jain for predicting the fate of a program launched in 2014 based on data between 2006 and 2013. If he can apply Time Series Forecasting to predict complex and changing socio-economic conditions, just using a one-dimensional variable, he must be seen as a role model by mathematicians and economists around the universe.

As per reports, of the new account holders, 41 per cent have deposited more than Rs 14,000 crore. Mr. Jain interviews a former MD of State Bank Of India who says that it is not feasible for banks to profitably run the scheme because the average balance is only Rs. 400  per account which can only give a revenue of Rs. 12 per account to banks, but he fails to recognize that this is the pre-subsidy balance. Jan Dhan Yojna is only the First step of an ambitious project, but like other journalists of NDTV, Sreenivasan Jain has concluded its fate in the initial phase.

It is noteworthy that Sreenivasan Jain expects subsidy money to come into accounts within few months when all due diligence is needed to be done and all accounts are needed to be verified. If money was given in a few months, Mr. Jain would have slammed the government saying that facilities and subsidies are distributed without verifications. The article completely loses its essence when Sreenivasan Jain supports retrospective methods like post office or cash directly, but fails to mention massive corruption and leakages prevalent in these systems (which is precisely why the government went to direct cash transfers)

With the deep-rooted corruption and inefficiencies in our system, Jan Dhan Yojna will certainly face many challenges. While Sreenivasan Jain deliberately declares Jan Dhan as a Half-Empty Promise, he fails to appreciate a massive scheme which can reduce corruption and uplift the many downtrodden people. Indian Banking system may not be currently equipped enough to provide proper financial platforms to all the people, but do we want the conditions to remain the same?

Mr. Jain would certainly love India to be stuck as an obsolete society when countries like US, Russia, Spain and the Netherlands are keen to adopt Jan Dhan Yojna type schemes.

Acche Din Aa Gaye Kya? – A detailed scorecard on one year of Modi Government

Guest Author
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Acche Din Aa Gaye Kya? – A detailed scorecard on one year of Modi Government

The Context

Modi government began on the hope and promise of Acche Din. But, it also came to power riding on huge hype! Hope and hype together can be very difficult to sustain. When the hype is huge – and the Indian cricket team should be able to confirm this – even a few minor failures can be seen as huge disasters. And especially when hope has just been rekindled into a disillusioned mass – Arvind Kejriwal might be able to second this – a few setbacks can make people more sceptical than they ever were previously.
In this context of extreme hope and hype, has the Modi government been able to perform well? Has it lived up to expectations? Has it performed better than previous Indian governments? Are people able to perceive the change for which they brought a new government into power? Are things moving as quickly as one was hoping for, or were our hopes far exceeding the possibilities of an executive rotten with red-tape and corruption? If judged on a scale of 100, what would the Modi government score as of today?

Key Parameters to measure government performance

We bring to you a detailed scorecard of Modi government’s first year in power. As the government implies the executive arm of our Constitution, we have analyzed its performance along 3 key parameters, the 3 Ps – Policies and Projects, Power and Partnerships, and Perception.

  • Policies and Projects: Setting the right direction for policies, and initiating and executing key projects is the core of any government. Its overall importance in our scorecard is 40%.
  • Power and Partnerships: The first year of any government is a big test on how it is able to take along the other 2 pillars of our Constitution – its judiciary and legislature (the Parliament) and it also sets a working chemistry for the future. It also sets the stage for co- operation between central and state governments. Hence, these power equations and partnerships get a weight as high as 40% in the first year.
  • Perception: In the age of media, a government’s perception assumes high significance. A good international perception can bring in greater economic benefits to the country. A good domestic perception across all sections of society can bring in a sense of optimism, and rejuvenate faith in the government. Hence government perception, both in India and abroad, is given a weight of 20%.

The Scorecard

Our scorecard rates the overall performance of the Modi sarkar a 76 out of 100. A detailed breakdown of this score is given below:

Modi Sarkar Scorecard

Modi Sarkar scores 33 out of 40 in Power and Partnerships. Despite a minority position in Rajya Sabha, the government has done exceedingly well in being able to conduct the affairs of the Parliament smoothly. It has also set a good working chemistry with the state governments, but the National Judicial Accountability (NJAC) Bill has been a source of friction between the government and the judiciary.

Modi Sarkar scores 30 out of 40 in Policies and Projects. Modi Sarkar has done reasonably well in setting initial policy direction with an emphasis on bills like Land Acquisition Bill (LAB), and a unified Goods and Services Tax (GST). It has also overcome the policy paralysis which it inherited from the UPA government, and brought about a positive reversal on coal and spectrum auction policies. But it needs to show far greater resolve in pushing through land, labour and tax reforms despite the opposition in the Upper House of Parliament.

Modi Sarkar scores 13 out of 20 in Perception. The government has failed in maintaining the perception of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas which was the guiding motto of the government. This failure has been prominent on the domestic front with minorities feeling threatened on account of emboldened fringe elements. In some part though, the fault also lies with the media for creating false perceptions like in the case of Christian attacks where almost all the attacks were eventually discovered to be law and order problems, and not communal attacks http://www.opindia.com/2015/03/is-a-community-under-attack-or-a-prime-minister/ ). The government has done poorly in countering these biased perceptions.

Let us delve deeper into the 3 Ps and see how  the government has delivered on each parameter:

Policies and Projects – Key highlights

The overall direction of the government is in favour of economic liberalization, an increase in FDIs and FIIs, and industry-favouring reforms like LAB and GST. Further, the government’s dismantling of extra-constitutional bodies like NAC, and its involving of the citizens in crowd sourcing of policies through mygov.in  has been a credible  success. Though the overall policy direction seems to be right, the government needs to show greater resolve on key bills like GST and LAB, and should not hesitate in calling a joint session of the Parliament instead of delaying it through referral to standing committees. Hence, the government scores an average 10 out of 15 on direction and strength of policy.

The government has introduced innovative projects like Swachch Bharat which have directly involved the masses through social media and celebrities, and have resulted in the creation of over 7 lakh toilets in the country. It has also come up with social security schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, and insurance and pension schemes for the poor. But the government has not shown enough gumption to dilute ineffective schemes like MNREGA. Also, many of its policies like FDI in insurance seem like repackaged UPA policies. Thus, it scores an average 7 out of 10 on nature of policies and projects.

But, the government scores a high 13 out of 15 in increasing the efficiency of bureaucracy. The bureaucracy has become more proactive due to a disciplined council of ministers. India’s track record of being poor in disaster management like in case of Uttarakhand floods has been completely transformed, and we are setting standards in emergency response situations in the world today providing rescue support to multiple nations from high risk zones like Yemen. But there is still a long way to go for a similar alacrity to be seen in the grassroots-level officers and for the common man to receive the benefits of the programs initiated by the government.

 

2

Power and Partnerships – Key highlights

The Modi government has shown an innovative and effective technique in dealing with opposition parties, and state governments led by these parties. He shared the revenue earned by coal block auctioning directly with the states, and also accepted all the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission. Since Modi as Gujarat CM suffered due to poor centre-state relations during the UPA tenure, he seems to have increased the role of states in decision making. This has provided him issue-based support on key bills from even staunch opponents like the TMC, and a score of 14 out of 15 on co-operative federalism.

Modi’s focus on getting key laws passed has increased attendance in Parliament and also improved its productivity to 121%. Politicians working overtime is a rare sight in the Indian Parliament but this feat has been achieved by Modi in multiple sessions of the Parliament. Despite these positives, the lack of majority in Rajya Sabha still remains a sore issue for the government especially in expediting key reforms in the country. Overall, it scores a commendable 12 out of 15 for managing its relationship with the legislature.

But the relationship with judiciary has not been completely smooth. The NJAC bill, which many in the legal system believe compromises on judicial independence, is intended at reducing nepotism and partial appointments which the judiciary is plagued with. Though India needs massive judicial reforms, NJAC is a double edged sword and Modi would need to be careful that we do not see another A.N.  Ray as CJI, who was known for telephoning the then PM Indira Gandhi for advice! Hence, the government gets 7 out of 10 on its relationship with the judiciary.

3Perception – Key highlights

The international brand image of India has improved dramatically with Modi asserting himself abroad and positively engaging with the Indian diaspora. He has also created a paradigm shift in the way Indian demands like a permanent seat on the UN Security Council are being perceived – from mere requests to earned rights. People are seeing India as a bright spot in the gloomy world economy, and Modi scores a high 9 out of 10 in creating positive perception of India abroad.

Nonetheless, the domestic perception of the government has gone for a toss where it scores a mere 4 out of 10. This is because the government has not been able to rein in fringe elements that are making remarks on the entire spectrum from weird to outright offensive. The government motto of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas needs to not only be the guiding force for the executive, but also should be visible to the common man. After all, for a government to run smoothly, it is essential that it has good faith of all sections of Indian society.

Another glaring hole on the perception front has been the government’s inadequate response to the biased coverage by the media ranging from genuine mistakes, to blatant lies and falsities like in the nun-rape case which was perpetrated by Bangladeshi Muslims, and in law and order problems which were given a completely communal hue by being called attacks on Christians. This issue is further compounded by ineffective loud-decibel spokespersons of the BJP. Strong action by the government against fringe elements especially among the BJP legislators, and a good professional team on the lines of its campaign team Citizens for Accountable Governance  (CAG) could go a long way in changing this situation.

4

Conclusion

So, the bigger question still remains – has the first year of Modi been a success? Yes and No. A big No for anyone who believed (after all the election hype) that Modi would score 120 out of 100 in governance. Anyone who expected Acche Din within a year of Modi Sarkar will also certainly be disappointed.

But, for anyone who has the patience to wait and watch the length of the entire 5 years, this year has not been at all bad. It is far better than the previous UPA government, and would be one of the most productive first year governments in the history of the country. The direction is right, the vision is right. Now, what is needed is a little more courage to push through the tough reforms, effort to ensure that the minorities don’t feel threatened, and willingness to strengthen constitutional mechanisms like CVC and CIC which can go a long way in bringing about the much touted Acche Din.

May 2014 was full of hope and hype. After one year of governance, the hype has subdued a fair bit. But, the hope for Acche Din still remains. People are not disillusioned with this government, and still believe in Modi. After such incredulous hype, the fact that the government has still been able to sustain this hope in the hearts of people is a great achievement. The group which got together in May 2013 for its initial meeting with Modi, and later formed CAG, still believes in his potential and that is certainly no mean feat. Yet, this is just the beginning and only the next 4 years will show whether Acche Din will truly arrive and whether the faith in this government will sustain till May 2019.

In the first year, the scorecard reads 76 out of 100. It’s definitely a first class with distinction for Modi Sarkar this time!

 

– by Shreyans Mehta
Shreyans completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta in 2011, went on to work as a McKinsey consultant for a year, and then started working on a start-up in education. For a year, Shreyans decided to work on the Modi Campaign and he was a co-founder of Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), a non-profit which was responsible for the success of Modi campaign initiatives like Chai pe Charcha, Manthan, and 3-D rallies. He was leading multiple teams in CAG including the Statue of Unity Mobilization Campaign, and the 60-member Bihar election team.

What did critics, rivals, political-pundits and jokers ‘predict’ about Modi before 16 May 2014

OpIndia Staff
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What did critics, rivals, political-pundits and jokers ‘predict’ about Modi before 16 May 2014

Just an assortment of tweets, comments, and some articles that came before 16 May 2014, when the general election results were announced. The following list is just indicative, and no way exhaustive:


krk_tweet
KRK being KRK

11078241_909473395742043_1482063117367369419_n
Twitter India executive (Head – News, Politics, Govt), who is still in India
CFG-eX_UUAAIHAl
Zero-Loss theory?



Updated courtesy Dhaval Patel:

1
From the former editor of The Hindu
2
That epic conversation
3
Rajdeep being Rajdeep
4
Perhaps the moment that sealed it for Modi
5
From the family that controls The Hindu
6
And Ashutosh!

Scroll at it again, spins Child Labour amendments in all possible ways

Gaurav
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Scroll at it again, spins Child Labour amendments in all possible ways

In its latest reform, the Indian Government decided to overhaul its 29 year old Child Labour Act. The original act of 1986, banned employment of children below 14 in only 18 hazardous industries. Now the Government proposed to ban employment of children under 14 years in all kinds of commercial enterprises. Ideally, this would be touted as a major step to eradicate Child Labour in India, but Indian MSM had other ideas.

Firstly, the new proposal had an exemption, i.e. all child labour of children under 14 years would be banned EXCEPT  work done in family enterprises and on farmlands provided it is done after school hours and during vacations. And this is precisely where MSM decided to manipulate facts.

Before we head to MSM, lets see what Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Child Rights activist Kailash Satyarthi had to say about this:

We are demanding a complete ban on child labour up to the age of 14. It nowhere means that children cannot help their families in their free time. They definitely can, but not at the cost of their education, health and leisure time. Also, a child cannot be involved in a commercial activity even at home. The proposed child labour law provides for this.

So the law is pretty much in sync with what a Nobel Peace Prize winner and someone with years of experience in this field feels. But of course, journalists who have zero experience, zero awards and zero educational background had other views.

First up we have the flag bearer of brain fades and poor reporting Scroll.in, which in the past managed to blame Modi for the acts of an NGO. This is the title of the Scroll.in piece  hack-job:

Government set to send millions of children back into exploitative labour

This was also regurgitated by Quartz India, which claims to publish “intelligent journalism”, but fails to mention how this is useless since it has a tie-up with something like Scroll.in. The first paragraph used to be like this, until they surreptitiously changed after their lies were exposed:

Untitled

The key here is, Scroll decided on its own, that “family enterprises” is a “euphemism” used by the Government for hazardous industries like carpet-weaving etc. If only they had bothered to stick to real journalism instead of being a Modi-hate driven propaganda site, they would have realized that all the industries they mentioned, had been banned by the Government by including them in the hazardous list. In the “List of Occupations & Processes prohibited under the Act”, under Part B, Carpet-weaving is sr no. 2, Beedi-making is sr no. 1, Gem polishing is sr no. 25, Lock making sr no. 29, match-box making is at sr no. 5. These are exactly the industries Scroll.in claimed were covered under “family enterprises”. Clear as day lies.

Scroll.in continues to say that this new amendment “flies in the face of the Right to Education Act, 2009”, whereas the truth is that it will be in perfect sync with the RTE Act that guarantees children between 6 and 14 the right to go to schools. Scroll further hilariously claims “It will also be a serious setback to all the work done by activists such as Kailash Satyarthi” which we have already seen is completely untrue.

But why blame only foreign funded “Indian” “News” portals. Many others got it wrong too. The Guardian said: The Government will be “ending the country’s absolute ban on child labour.” And Business Standard claimed “New Child labour law may lead to more child labour in farm sector”, this even when the new law is a substantial improvement over the old law.

And finally, is this reform “new” per se? As journalist Rupa Subramanya says  the “new” amendment is pretty much the same as what was proposed during the UPA rule, but which got stuck in procedural log-jam. This is much like the fate of the Real Estate Bill, which was stuck in UPA’s quagmire and which was revived and pushed now.

This reveals two facts:

1. On multiple occasions like Child Labour Bill, Real Estate Bill, GST etc it is the NDA Government which is reviving reform which the UPA left for dead in its 10 years rule

2. Most of the “issues” MSM has with the revived bills, were never voiced during UPA rule, but suddenly find relevance now.

And this is why hit-jobs by Indian MSM need to be dealt with strongly. Because these views are not unbiased, and are most often motivated, which leads to MSM resorting to complete lies.

 

Misleading ‘facts’ and omissions vis-a-vis religious freedom in an ‘Indian Express’ opinion piece

Guest Author
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Misleading ‘facts’ and omissions vis-a-vis religious freedom in an ‘Indian Express’ opinion piece

At the very outset, I may clarify that I am not in the least an uncritical admirer of the BJP or Narendra Modi, as you can see here, here, here and here, and I have also written an e-book available for free download aimed at addressing and dispelling anti-Muslim prejudices in the Indian context. That said, I believe in impartiality and feel strongly against unnecessary fear-mongering among our fellow Indians who are Muslims or Christians.

Prof. Faizan Mustafa, vice chancellor of NALSAR, Hyderabad, one of India’s leading law universities, has written a piece, dated 5th May 2015, provocatively titled ‘The Unfreedom of Religion’, in the light of the US religious freedom report on India. Mustafa’s piece suggests that it was wrong on the part of the Supreme Court of India to uphold laws that prohibit conversions by force or material inducements. While the issue of forced conversions being unacceptable is hardly something that is debatable, the issue of material inducements is a more controversial and tricky one, and something that can certainly be accepted as immoral, even if not worthy of being legislated upon, and was acknowledged as a problem even by the likes of Mahatma Gandhi (who otherwise fell to the bullet of a Hindu extremist) and Maulana Azad. That said, if we believe in civil liberties, outlawing conversions altogether is deplorable, and there are some relatives of mine who totally voluntarily embraced Christianity, which has not made them any less of patriotic Indians.

Snapshot taken from The Indian Express
Snapshot taken from The Indian Express

However, Prof. Mustafa incorrectly seems to convey in his piece that the court has explicitly prohibited conversion altogether (even though I accept that the wording in the judgment of Stanislau vs State of Madhya Pradesh is ambiguous, it is not illegal for anyone in India to voluntarily change his/her religion), but all his solidarity with Christian missionaries seems hypocritical, given his deafening silence on the current controversy of ‘ghar wapsi’, and his not explicitly upholding the same right of Hindu missionaries (as much as some may contend that that is implicitly included in the generalities). How can conversions by Christian missionaries, even right-wing ones with connections to the US establishment, be valid but those by right-wing Hindu missionaries be invalid? For one, in Kerala, the Congress government there accepted that none of the ‘ghar wapsi’ conversions there were forced. Some may accuse me of whataboutism, but imagine an article that upheld the right of Hindu missionaries to propagate, but didn’t utter a word about the religious minorities’ right to propagate their faith. Wouldn’t that article be called biased? While there have been right-wing Hindu missionaries for long, the ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign has made this side of the story more glaring and news-worthy, and it is bizarre to see people call it communal, and to not call conversions the other way round communal. While the puritan logic of reverting to the faith of one’s ancestors from which some of them went astray may not impress some of us, equally, the logic of being doomed in hell for just not being Christian or Muslim, howsoever good a human being one may be (which is indeed the mainstream Christian/Islamic position, some very heterodox interpretations notwithstanding), does also seem illogical to many others, but if we believe in the right to propagate one’s faith and the right to freedom of speech and expression, we cannot disallow either side.
But one blatant lie in the piece by Prof. Mustafa is to the effect that it is “a fact that the BJP’s 2014 manifesto had promised the banning of conversion” (which, if true, would imply something blatantly unconstitutional and not permissible as per Election Commission norms), and further suggests that Modi should backtrack on this particular manifesto promise. However, if one browses through the BJP manifesto for the 2014 elections, the word ‘conversion’ does not even figure, and the word ‘convert’ is used twice – once in the context of converting all unmanned railway crossings to manned railway crossings in a phased manner (page 33) and where it says – “We have to convert ourselves into a knowledge-based society and economy, powered by experience, tools of technology and energy of our people” (page 42). Neither of these two references to conversions can be deemed as aiming at infringing on anyone’s religious freedom! Whatever view one may have of the BJP, such blatant lies are unacceptable, and it is shameful that a newspaper of the calibre of the Indian Express should have published such a piece.  It is one thing to condemn genuine instances of communalism, and quite another to make the religious minorities feel unnecessarily insecure by way of furnishing fabrications as facts, leading them to imagine that they are actually living in a fascist state (somewhat akin to falsely shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre). Such exaggeration of minority victimhood leads to the articulation of bizarre ideas, like a question posed by a Muslim girl from LSR, who has Hindu friends, to a foreigner from the IMF on an NDTV programme, as to whether only Hindu men would have a place in the Indian economy, as though others will no longer be able to pursue jobs or businesses.

Interestingly, in the law university I graduated from, the National Law University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat (a sister institution of the university headed by Prof. Mustafa), which comes under the state government in Gujarat (which is, and has been for some time, of the BJP) and has a vice chancellor known to have pro-BJP leanings (though he has never tried to influence students on the campus with respect to political leanings), a Christian teacher became Registrar after Modi became PM.  Shahnaz Hussain’s products still sell, though she is certainly not a Hindu man, Muslim-owned companies like Wipro and Cipla still remain corporate giants and many Muslims continue to remain employed and get employed in all sectors at all levels, including two female Muslim engineering students I know personally who got placed in leading firms recently. As for discrimination, it may exist in a few cases (though most employers are eager to get the most competent employees) at not only religious but caste, regional and sectarian levels within religious groupings too, including among Muslims, wherein it is known that the Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband is dominated by UPite Muslim clerics, and in AMU, practically only Sunni male professors have a possibility of making it big,  while Prof. Mustafa, on the other hand, for instance, is the vice chancellor of a non-minority institution, NALSAR, Hyderabad. Such anti-majority rhetoric only turns off Hindus, and strengthens, not weakens, the extreme Hindu right (the likes of which justify vandalising a church in Haryana), for secularism then wrongly comes to be seen as Hindu-bashing, and I have logically deconstructed exaggerated narratives of minority victimhood and how they are counterproductive, at some length in this article.

2015-05-14_19-58-21

It is noteworthy that the Indian Express and other mainstream media houses have a history of wrongly portraying the news on BJP-related matters. The Indian Express had earlier reported a Rajasthan minister to have said that Indian children would not be taught about Newton in their textbooks, as if to make them study an un-historical history of science that conveniently undermines the scientific creativity of all non-Indian civilizations and promotes Hindu religious texts as undisputed history, and had that been the case, that would have certainly been worthy of condemnation, as I discuss in this article.  However, what the minister actually had said that Indian children should not only learn about Newton but also Arya Bhatt, a very fair and valid contention. Likewise, many mainstream media houses, in a rather baseless fashion, blamed the BJP for silencing Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, as you can see here and here.

If Prof. Mustafa is an academic worth his salt, he should apologize for having lied about what the BJP manifesto said (possibly unintentionally, owing to some misconception, and it must be noted that he has also written a piece supporting the Supreme Court verdict outlawing polygamy for Muslims and another one criticizing Congress leader Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for using the ordinance route too often), and the Indian Express, if indeed true to its journalistic ethics, must apologize for carrying this particular piece containing a blatant lie. Blind rhetoric has, more often than not, never done anyone any good, and given that thanks to the internet, such articles can easily be accessed online by foreigners, such baseless criticism only worsens India’s international image (at a time when we need more foreign investment, which includes a higher inflow of tourists, which is in the economic interest of the entire nation, including even the religious minorities), and this is not to say that I support banning India’s Daughter or even prohibiting activist Priya Pillai from travelling abroad (‘secular’ political parties imposing bans on movies like The Da Vinci Code, lifted only after judicial intervention, and disallowing Rushdie from travelling to India, certainly do not have an enviable free speech record either), but fear-mongering based on sheer lies (even unintentionally) is unacceptable.

 

– By Karmanye Thadani
A freelance writer based in New Delhi. A lawyer by qualification, he has authored/co-authored four short books, namely ‘Anti-Muslim Prejudices in the Indian Context: Addressing and Dispelling Them’, ‘Women and Sport in India and the World: Examining the History and Suggesting Policy Reforms’, ‘Onslaughts on Free Speech in India by Means of Unwarranted Film Bans’ and ‘The Right to Self-Determination of Pakistan’s Baloch: Can Balochistan Go the Kosovo Way?’. He has also been involved in making an Urdu television serial on Indian nationalist leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

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