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rni no. 28587/75

THE MODI RAJYA

what’s thE MaNtRa bEhiNd thE PRiME
MiNistER’s sOaRiNG POPULaRitY
iN a CRisis-RiddEN NatiON
FROM THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I
t’s hard to think of another time when post-Indepen-
dence India has faced so many challenges in so short a
time—a pandemic, a lockdown, millions of migrants
spilling out of cities, an economic downturn and a
military stand-off at the border. This is what makes the
latest iteration of our biannual india today-Karvy Insights
Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey so significant.
India never ceases to astonish and, indeed, our first
MOTN after the lockdown has thrown up multiple surpris-
es. Despite the numerous crises facing the country, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has touched strato-
spheric heights. His popularity ratings—78 per cent—are the
highest they have ever been, topping his previous best—69
per cent—in January 2017.
We began noticing this fascinating phenomenon in our
last MOTN in January this year. None of his government’s
perceived failings seemed to stick to Prime
Minister Modi. At that point, there was anxi-
ety over jobs and the state of the economy as
well as the performance of the government,
but his popularity continued to soar—at 68
per cent, it was only a marginal drop of three
percentage points since the August of the pre-
vious year. This phenomenon has continued
and nowhere is this delinking of popular-
ity from performance more evident than in
his government’s handling of the Covid-19
pandemic. Seventy per cent of our respon-
dents saw it as the biggest problem facing
the country and 25 cent feel the handling of
Covid-19 has been the government’s biggest
failure. Yet 77 per cent rate Modi’s handling
of the pandemic as good or outstanding.
Sixty-six per cent already consider him Our February 5, 2018 cover
the best choice as our next prime minister.
In fact, 44 per cent of our respondents rate
him the best prime minister the country has ever had. This
is the highest ever rating any prime minister has received in
our MOTN survey and an increase of 27 percentage points
from the January 2019 edition of our poll. He is genuinely
teflon-coated—nothing negative sticks to him. So while his
demonetisation move in 2016 may have caused widespread
suffering, it did not prevent the BJP from winning the Uttar
Pradesh assembly election handsomely four months later.
His oratory and charisma are unmatched in their popular
appeal. On top of that, his popularity is sustained by his
effectively projected image as a man of the people who works
with great sincerity to improve the lot of the common man.
The survey indicates that his pro-poor and pro-rural push
has had a considerable impact. In the present political land-
scape, the TIMO (There is Modi Only) factor is at work in
full force as the Opposition remains scattered.
Sixteen per cent of our respondents see the revocation
of Article 370 as the single most significant achievement of
his government, a slight dip of four percentage points from
January 2020. However, there is a rise of four percentage
points—from nine per cent in January 2020 to 13 per cent—
in the number of respondents who see the Supreme Court’s
verdict on the Ram temple in Ayodhya as his government’s
single biggest achievement.
It is the NDA that has benefitted the most from the halo
around Modi in our survey—the formation has actually
improved its projected lead to 316 seats and 42 per cent vote
share from 303 seats and 41 per cent vote share in January
2020. The BJP’s seat tally has gone up to 283 from 271 in
January 2020 but its 36 per cent vote share remains the same
over the two polls.
T
he disarray in the Opposition continues. The UPA has
seen a dip in popularity—to a projected 93 seats and
27 per cent vote share, down from 108 seats and 29
per cent vote share in January 2020. The Congress tally has
slipped to 49 seats from 60 seats over the previous MOTN,
and its vote share has dropped by one percentage point to 19
per cent. Forty-seven per cent of the respondents think the
party is heading towards its demise. Yet, 44
per cent rate the Congress’s role as an oppo-
sition party as good or outstanding. Rahul
Gandhi, surprisingly, is still seen as the best
bet to revive the Congress for 23 per cent of
the respondents.
The government’s measures to impose
economic penalties on China for the border
situation have met with an overwhelming
response from MOTN respondents. A stag-
gering 90 per cent favour boycotting Chinese
products, 67 per cent are ready to pay more
for goods not made in China and 91 per cent
believe that banning Chinese apps and deny-
ing contracts to Chinese companies is the
right approach to counter Chinese aggres-
sion. Nearly two-thirds, or 69 per cent, of
respondents feel the Modi government has
given a befitting response to China.
However, the euphoria and the ring-
ing endorsement for Prime Minister Modi should not lull the
government into complacency. There are warning signs too.
Ratings for the NDA government’s economic performance
have fallen to 43 per cent from 60 per cent in August 2019.
Thirty-three per cent also feel that government policies have
helped only big business while 63 per cent say they have
suffered a loss of income. What is significant is that Modi
is losing the perception of having achieved corruption-free
governance—only 9 per cent see it as an achievement of his
government—a fall of eight percentage points from six months
ago. Meanwhile, the country is bedevilled with some severe
problems. There is the contracting economy, a national health
crisis and a confrontation at the border. None of them are
unlikely to go away soon. The nation, according to the survey,
obviously trusts Prime Minister Modi in this time of crisis,
but the tasks before him are enormous. If he is unable to deal
with these issues successfully, the adulation could turn into
detraction. That won’t be good for the country or for him.
(Aroon Purie)
AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 5
 INSIDE
UPFRONT LEISURE
IPL: THE SHOW THAT MUSIC GOING LIVE
MUST GO ON PG 10 STREAM PG 69

www.indiatoday.in COVID’S LOOMING Q&A WITH

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VICE CHAIRPERSON: Kalli Purie PG 14 PG 76
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26 THE MAN OF
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 UPFRONT
COVID-19: THE
LOOMING RURAL
SURGE PG 1 4
AT ALL COSTS
The stakes are way too high
for the IPL to be called off
even during this pandemic,
and the keenness has bred
enviable invention
THE SHOW THAT MUST GO ON
A
s the pandemic raged and
governments around the
world were forced to lock
down, and as cricket-playing
nations were cut off from each other as
an inevitable consequence, the disrup-
tion in the sporting calendar was on the
minds of all stakeholders—from cricket
boards to players to broadcasters to
sponsors to fans. For a large number of
players, the fate of the Indian Premier
League (IPL) was of particular inter-
est—and concern. For good reason too.
Certainly, the cancellation of the
ICC (International Cricket Council)
I PL
By Anand Vasu
Twenty20 World Cup, which was to
be played in Australia in October, was
topmost on the minds of most cricket
boards. After all, a large percentage of
the revenues of many lesser cricketing
nations comes from ICC events. But
for the players themselves, and espe-
cially the biggest in the game, the IPL
is where the money is; the rest of the
cricket they play is worth supplemen-
tary income at best.
With the cancellation of the
Twenty20 World Cup and a wider
acceptance that life must go on even
amid the pandemic, the question with
HOOCH: THE COST
OF A CHEAP
DRINK PG 1 6
GETTY IMAGES
regard to the IPL changed, to the
collective relief of all concerned, from
whether to where (to hold it). India
was ruled out almost instantly. Aside
from the near-impossible challenge of
hosting such a tournament with any
degree of medical safety was the bald
truth that holding a two-month cricket
party when the country was being
ravaged by Covid, and so many lives
and livelihoods had been irreparably
broken, would make for bad optics.
The first balloon of hope that
the IPL could be held away floated
towards New Zealand, on the basis
UPFRONT
that it was the least affected by the
pandemic among major cricket-playing
nations. But what was going for New
Zealand’s candidature as host was its
relative isolation. It did not seem very
probable that a tournament of this
kind would be very welcome there or,
perhaps even more compellingly, prove
economically viable.
Sri Lanka too put its hand up, but
more in hope than anything else. After
all, getting two months of rain-free
evenings at that time of the year in Sri
Lanka (or in most parts of India, for
that matter) was wishful thinking.
The United Arab Emirates
answered the ‘where’ question quite
conveniently: there was little to no
chance of rain and, critically, the ge-
ography meant that the UAE was one
flight away for players of most cricket
nations. This meant a central, single-
location quarantine was possible.
West Indies were able to play their
three-Test series in England for a
similar reason, in that its players could
be brought in, undergo quarantine and
play their cricket in a bio-secure bubble.
T
he creation of this bubble gave
an indication of what it would
take to host a tournament
in these times. This experi-
ment meant that aside from a fixed set
of people—players, support staff and
absolutely essential other staff—there
would be no others entering or leaving
the core areas, such as the playing fields
and team hotels. In the two venues in
England, the hotels were at the grounds
where the matches were played.
Mark Wood, the England fast
bowler, said it was like being in a
science fiction movie. “Everybody’s
masked up and you can’t see anybody.
You don’t know if they’re friendly or
not! It’s a bit different and a bit weird,
but it’s just something we’ll have to get
used to,” he had said at the time. The
players had their temperature taken
at regular intervals, and were Covid
tested before entering the bubble and
otherwise too, at frequent intervals.
A similar, but not exactly the same,
bubble will be created in the UAE, the
12 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
`
47,500
CRORE
Estimated brand
value of the IPL
$
340 mn
(`2,550 CRORE)
What Chinese mobile
firm Vivo paid BCCI for a
5-year IPL deal, till 2022
$
2.55 bn
(`19,125 CRORE)
What Star TV paid
BCCI for 5-year
broadcast rights
critical difference being that the venues
do not have hotels on site. Already, it
has been determined that all players
arriving in the UAE will undergo three
Covid-19 tests in their first week, and
only after clearing all will they be al-
lowed into the bio-secure bubble. Each
venue will have colour-coded zones—
green being the innermost, where
only players and match officials will
be allowed; orange, where operational
staff may also do their work; and a red
outermost ring, needed for essential
deliveries from outside the bubble, such
as food, water and other such items
that need regular replenishment.
While maintaining this tight segre-
gation was possible in England—fewer
than 60 people were let into the green
zone—it will be much more complex
for the IPL. To start with, each squad
has 24 players. Add to that coaches and
support staff. Two matches every day
means different sets of people get in-
volved, adding critical variables to the
picture. Yes, the safety logistics alone
are a little intimidating.
Given this, why was it so important
to somehow, anyhow, stage the IPL?
Estimates vary wildly, but the number
a lot of industry experts hang on to is
the brand value of the league, pegged at
Rs 47,500 crore in February this year
by financial consultancy Duff & Phelps.
It is estimated that each edition of the
IPL brought the equivalent of $175-200
million to the Indian economy.
But, most critically, not holding
the IPL this year would have left the
BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in
India) with a giant hole in its pocket.
Star, which paid $2.55 billion (Rs
19,125 crore) for five-year broadcast
rights, would have been the first in
line, but the franchises, the players, the
advertisers, the sponsors would all be
queuing up pretty fast. Which is per-
haps what prompted Sourav Ganguly
to say in early July: “We don’t want the
year 2020 to finish without an IPL.
Our first priority is India and even if
we get 35-40 days, we will host it. But
we don’t know where.”
By the time the necessary permis-
sions were sought and received to host
the tournament in the UAE, there was
further pandemonium as Vivo, the
Chinese company, pulled its sponsor-
ship of the 2020 event. With Vivo and
the BCCI both staying mum—and
until August 3 there was no hint of a
problem—it is not clear what the future
of the relationship between the two
will be. Vivo originally signed a two-
year deal in 2015, and then renewed
for five years, for $340 million, to go
through to 2022.
The last-minute Vivo pull-out has
opened the doors to speculation that
this could set off more such withdraw-
als by other Chinese-owned companies
invested in the league through team
sponsorships. Even more disconcerting-
ly for all the players involved on and off
the field, the question ‘why now?’ has
made a comeback. Where earlier all the
clamour was to play the tournament,
in some form or another, ostensibly for
unselfish motives such as keeping a bil-
lion people entertained, and distracted
for two months in difficult times, the
new question, still articulated only in
hushed whispers, is: exactly why does
the IPL have to be played at a time when
the world is on fire? n
 GL ASSHOUSE

MAMATA’S FLEXI LOCKDOWN

W
est Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has a pandemic to fight,
but with state elections next year, she is careful not to offend religious
sentiments. Mamata wanted to start bi-weekly lockdowns from August,
but with festivals and events lined up, she changed the dates six times—to exempt
Eid, Rakshabandhan, World Tribal Day, Janmashtami, Parsi New Year, Ganesh
Chaturthi, Muharram—and even Mansa Puja, dedicated to a serpent goddess
popular in rural Bengal. The restrictions have now been pared down to just seven
days in the whole month. Lockdown jugglery, Mamata style. Power Lunch
SPradesh, who would often
enior energy officials in Uttar

disappear from their office in

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE
Lucknow’s Shakti Bhawan for
long, leisurely lunch breaks, are
upset. Power minister Shrikant
Sharma has begun having lunch
in office and wants his team to
join in. What’s worrying the
officials are the LED dashboards
in Sharma’s office, displaying
power availability and supply
across the state, and the target
charts on the walls. Lunches,
they rue, might now become too
business-like for their taste.

SIGNATURE PRESENCE
T he five Rafales that flew into India
in the last week of July bear the tail
numbers ‘RB’—for Air Chief Marshal
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria—and
‘BS’, for his predecessor B.S. Dhanoa.
These initials are a hat tip to their
roles in procuring the fighter jets
from France. Bureaucrats in Madhya
Pradesh, though, are not impressed.
The state’s chief secretaries have long
HEMANT MISHRA
RIVAL
RISING?
worked their initials into the registration
plates of their official cars. The vehicle
used by A.V. Singh, who was chief
secretary in 2002-04, had the number
A larm bells started ringing in
Karnataka chief minister
B.S. Yediyurappa’s camp
MP 02 AV 0001, that of Anthony de Sa
when his deputy Laxman Savadi
(2013-16) had MP 02 AD 0001, while his
skipped the state government’s
successor B.P. Singh’s staff car had MP
first anniversary celebrations on
02 BP 0001. The officials have retired
July 27 and reached New Delhi
but the series AV, AD and BP are still
to meet top BJP leaders. Savadi,
going strong.
a Lingayat like Yediyurappa, is
being projected by a section of
the party as the chief minister’s
successor. Yediyurappa has been
placating disgruntled leaders
with appointments to boards and
corporations. But ever since he
tested Covid-positive and got into
hospital, speculation about his
future has resumed.

—Sandeep Unnithan with Romita

Datta, Rahul Noronha, Ashish
Misra and Aravind Gowda
UPFRONT
C OV I D - 1 9
Bracing for a
Rural Surge
Public health experts recommend decentralised intervention at
the panchayat level to tackle a possible sharp spike in cases
By Sonali Acharjee
T
he looming threat of a Covid
surge in rural India was not
unforeseen. As early as in
June, WHO (World Health
Organization) chief scientist Soumya
Swaminathan had flagged the possibil-
ity and advised that India use the time
the virus takes to reach the hinterland
to ramp up its primary healthcare sys-
tem. As of July 16, the pandemic had
spread to 98 per cent of all districts
in the country; only 13 of 640 had
reported no cases. Many health experts
believe the return of millions of migrant
workers in June played its part. “With
so many people being asymptomatic
carriers of Covid, one will never know
for certain the extent to which migrants
carried the virus back with them. Many
states did not test every returnee; they
only isolated them or did symptom test-
ing, which has been proven to be an
ineffective way of diagnosing Covid. All
it takes is a single [infected] person,”
says Indian Medical Association chair-
man Dr K.K. Aggarwal. With preven-
tion looking like a bit of a lost cause,
policy guidelines are now focusing on
cure and managing fatalities.
A Covid pandemic in rural India,
if not tackled with targeted, decen-
tralised and specific policy interven-
tion, could become a national disaster.
Co-morbidities such as diabetes and
hypertension run high in rural areas and
are often left untreated. Also, Census
data points out that the proportion of
old and elderly in the rural population
is greater. Both these factors put the
rural population at a higher risk from
Covid. Again, most people in rural areas
14 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
live far from diagnostic and healthcare
services. Data from the National Family
Health Survey-4 shows that only about
25 per cent have access to any kind of
institutional healthcare—hospitals or
even community health centres (CHCs)
or primary health centres (PHCs)—for
testing or treatment of Covid. “Health is
a state subject and states have to be the
first line of defence. The existing central
guidelines for testing, treatment and
prevention continue to be applicable,”
said a spokesperson from the ministry
of health and family welfare (MoHFW).
That sounds like the states have to
pretty much fend for themselves.
Public health experts have some spe-
cific recommendations, one of which is
to better plan travel logistics. Since more
than 12 per cent of India’s rural popula-
tion accesses PHCs or outreach health
service delivery points, the referral sys-
tem of PHCs to CHCs, they say, for both
Covid tests and treatment, needs to be
well-oiled. The second recommendation
is to empower panchayats to manage
Covid—to put them in charge of creat-
ing social awareness, fighting social
stigma and providing basic quarantine
facilities for asymptomatic cases at the
village or block level. Given the popula-
tion of rural India, a response strategy
Given the population
of rural India, a
response strategy
based on district
vulnerability could
be useful
TESTING
TIMES
A medic collects
a swab sample
for Covid testing
in Bihar
SONU KISHAN
based on district vulnerability could also
be useful—with high vulnerability dis-
tricts receiving special attention.
A LULL IN THE STORM
A long gestation period, asymptomatic
cases or cases with differing symptoms
can lull district and state administrations
into complacency. A premature and false
sense of safety proved costly in cities like
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai,
Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. In the early
days, local administrations were reluctant
to ramp up testing, contact tracing and
public outreach, focusing more on build-
ing quarantine centres. A similar pattern
can now be seen in two of India’s largest
states—Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In June, over two million migrant
workers returned to Bihar after Unlock
Stage 1 was announced. By June 3,
the total number of cases in Bihar had
jumped to 4,420—a 300 per cent rise.
Despite this, the state opted for fever or
symptom-based testing instead of con-
tact tracing and RT-PCR testing. On July
24, the number of cases in the state had
reached 33,511, with Patna’s tally of 5,327
cases leading the surge. That was when

Bihar started conducting 10,000 tests
a day—still way lower than the WHO
recommendation of 140 tests per mil-
lion. It was only after July 27, when chief
minister Nitish Kumar brought Pratyaya
Amrit in as the new principal health sec-
retary, that the Bihar health department
ramped up testing and is now doing more
than 50,000 samples a day. Amrit told
india today that they plan to increase
this further.
Uttar Pradesh is facing a similar
dilemma. Between June 2 and August
2, the total number of active Covid posi-
tive cases in the state had increased from
3,324 to 37,834. Hathras, with 42 cases,
was the only district in the state with
less than 50 active cases. Till June 2,
UP’s toll of Covid deaths stood at 229;
by August 2, this number had gone up
more than seven times to 1,730. “After
the Unlock, Covid has spread rapidly in
these districts. Till August 2, Hathras,
Shravasti, Mahoba, Kaushambi and
Baghpat were the only districts to report
less than 100 active cases,” says Dr Alok
Rajvanshi, retd. additional director of
the state health department. Till June
2, Hamirpur, Lalitpur, Banda, Jalaun
Graphic by ASIT ROY
in UP’s Bundelkhand area had only a
handful of Covid cases; two months
later, active cases in all these districts had
exceeded 125.
Taking stock of the situation, Uttar
Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath
instructed every district to do at least
1,000 tests a day. For this, a PCR test-
ing machine and a TruNat machine
were installed in every district hospital
with instructions to send samples from
CHCs in rural areas to the district hospi-
tal. However, there are hurdles. A state
health department team found that
sample collection had come to a stand-
still in the Chaubepur and Sarsaul CHCs
for lack of lab technicians. Suresh Rawat,
president of the UP Lab Technician
Association, says, “There is a huge short-
age of lab technicians in the rural CHCs
of UP, affecting testing in a third of the
state’s 850 CHCs.” Of the 3,200 posts
of lab technicians in UP government
hospitals, 750 remain vacant. Aparna
Upadhyay, director of the National
THE SPREAD Health Mission in UP, says, “Lab techni-
cians will be recruited at the district level
for more corona examination…. Orders
have been issued for this.”
Unfortunately, most states are still
not pushing for more tests in rural areas.
In Madhya Pradesh, Covid cases from
small towns and Tier-II cities are being
taken to urban centres for treatment.
The state health department had initially
targeted at least 10 beds with ventilators
100,310 in each of the 52 districts, but only 14
UTTAR districts so far have ICU beds for Covid
63,742 patients. However, in view of the sudden
PRADESH
rural surge in other states, MP has lately
33,700 ramped up testing in rural areas.
12,616 20,193 We didn’t need migrants to actually
return to their home states to wake up
Jun. 12 Jun. 25 Jul. 10 Jul. 25 Aug. 5 to the only-too-real possibility of a rural
pandemic. Or to the grave risks from
61,788 a rural surge, given the paucity of both
physical infrastructure and trained man-
power in rural India. It won’t be easy to
33,511
BIHAR build capacities at short notice but the
states better step up to the plate. In the
14,330
4,420 7,178
words of the MoHFW spokesperson
quoted above, they are their own “first
Jun. 3 Jun. 19 Jul. 10 Jul. 24 Aug. 5 line of defence”. n
(Total number of Covid cases) —With Amitabh Srivastava
Source: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bihar, Ashish Misra in UP and
Rahul Noronha in MP
AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 15
UPFRONT

MOONSHINE THE LATEST TRAGEDY

HORROR
July 29, 2020, Mucchal, Punjab

On the night of July 29, five people died after drinking

Bootlegging is big business in India,
worth thousands of crores—but also
one that all too often proves deadly.
Over the past decade, more than
800 people have lost their lives to
illicit liquor, but neither the scale
nor the regularity with which these
tragedies occur has led to a systemic
fix. The simple reason is that there
is too much easy money in it for a
powerful nexus of local players.
Bad booze is cheap, the lives it claims
even cheaper, apparently.
poisonous country liquor in Mucchal and Tangra villages
in Punjab’s Amritsar district. Two days later, the death
count rose to 21, leading Chief Minister Amarinder Singh
to order a statewide probe and crackdown. By August
5, over 117 people had died in Tarn Taran, Amritsar and
Gurdaspur districts because of the bad batch of hooch
(see Brewing Bad). More than 100 people have been
arrested, after raids on manufactories, wholesalers and
distributors across Punjab. They include three women
bootleggers—Balwinder Kaur of Amritsar’s Mucchal
village and Triveni and Darshana from Gurdaspur’s
Batala. They were allegedly supplied by a notorious
booze trafficker, Gurpal Singh of Tarn Taran’s Dhotian
village (see The Hooch Economy). Cops suspect the
liquor was manufactured in Patiala or Ludhiana district.
(A Ludhiana-based paint shop owner, Rajesh Joshi, has
been arrested on suspicion of having supplied denatured
spirit to the manufacturers of the spurious liquor.)

JUN. 2015 AUG. 2016

JUL. 2009
MAHARASHTRA BIHAR
GUJARAT
DEC. 2011 Over 100 killed in At least 15
Over 150 people are
people killed in OCT. 2013 Mumbai’s Laxmi
WEST Nagar slum in Malad killed in
Ahmedabad Gopalganj
BENGAL FEB. 2012 UTTAR
At least PRADESH
ODISHA SEP. 2015
167 killed Over 40
in Diamond Over 30 people people killed in WEST
Harbour killed in Cuttack Azamgarh
and Khurda BENGAL
districts At least 15
are killed in
Midnapore
Text by Anilesh S. Mahajan
Graphic by Tanmoy Chakraborty
 THE HOOCH ECONOMY
Bootlegging is big business. Officially, Punjab
earns over Rs 5,000 crore a year from taxes
on the sale of liquor; while there are no
official estimates, the untaxed illicit liquor
economy is believed to be roughly the same
size. It also mirrors the formal economy,
with an unregulated parallel network of
distillery owners, transporters and liquor
bootleggers. One of the women accused in
this case—Mucchal’s Balwinder Kaur—has
reportedly been in the business for decades.
The business thrives with the acquiescence of
politicians, the police and excise officials.

BREWING BAD
Moonshine, hooch, country liquor, bathtub
gin—there are as many names for homemade
alcohol as there are ways of making it. The
basic idea is straightforward. Almost any
sugar-containing substance will ferment into
alcohol if sufficiently coaxed to do so. This
includes grapes, apples, grains and potatoes.
The cheapest of the cheap stuff—the illicitly
brewed rotgut sold explicitly for the purposes
of swift intoxication—is made from food waste,
rotten fruits and vegetables, grain husk,
and the flowers and berries of wild plants.
For an added kick, chemicals like denatured
spirits, isopropyl alcohol and methanol are
thrown in (otherwise used as paint thinners,
disinfectants and as industrial alcohol). Why?
Because it’s being sold in peg-sized pouches
for as little as Rs 10 apiece—these are not
drinks, they are cheap and certain ‘hits’.
FEB. 2019

UTTAR THE BAR IS LOW

PRADESH, The black market for booze is highly
UTTARAKHAND decentralised, given the low entry barrier—
Over 100 die alcohol distilling isn’t exactly rocket science—
in Saharanpur and the enormous potential profits. Hooch
and areas along avoids taxes at multiple levels, from distilling
the border with to transport to sales, which has the effect
JUL. 2020 of keeping it dirt cheap—where a bottle of
Uttarakhand
‘official alcohol’ sells for Rs 150, the desi
PUNJAB variant goes for about Rs 60 (of course, with
FEB. 2019 Over 117 killed the added risk of blindness, organ damage or
in Tarn Taran, outright death). While alcohol is easy enough to
Amritsar and ferment, removing the poisonous byproducts
ASSAM
Gurdaspur of the chemical process is a separate matter.
Over 165 killed districts Nonetheless, in the midst of the Covid
in Golaghat and pandemic and the lockdowns it necessitated,
Jorhat districts hooch sellers have had something of a captive
market for the past few months.
 UPFRONT

EXPOSUR E

WHEN IT RAINS...
Starting August 4, distressing visuals of a flooded city, landslides and walls col-
lapsing began emerging from Mumbai after the city was hit by heavy rainfall and
gusty winds of speeds upto 107 kmph. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation, the city recorded 215.8 mm rain within just 12 hours on August 5. In
a press release issued on August 6, the Indian Meteorological Department said that
Colaba in South Mumbai had received the highest rainfall of 331.8 mm within a
period of 24 hours. This is the second-highest volume Colaba has received in a day
after July 5, 1974, when it recorded 575.6mm of rain. Even neighbourhoods that
escaped flooding were not spared by the strong winds and witnessed uprooted trees
and lamp posts along with considerable property damage.

1
MANDAR DEODHAR
MANDAR DEODHAR

18 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 ANI

1. A railway worker
wades through the
inundated tracks of
Mumbai’s Central line.
Train services in the city
were suspended
temporarily after water-
logging in many low-
lying areas flooded train
tracks.
2. A half-submerged bus
stranded on a
waterlogged Mumbai
road
3. Scenes such as this,
of property damage and
blocked-off streets, were
only too common
 UPFRONT

GUEST COLUMN

Learning to Learn Online

UMA
MAHADEVAN-
DASGUPTA

T
he Covid pandemic has created a crisis all over the also need to be involved to help younger children learn.
world, not only in terms of health and safety but also Without additional support, students with disabilities can
in other aspects of life, especially education. It is clear face higher barriers.
that for the well-being of students and staff, schools should The recent guidelines of the Ministry of Human
stay closed until it is safe to reopen. Resource Development on digital learning take note of
With 250 million children in India impacted by school some of these challenges. “Schools should not assume that
closures, can we find new ways to help children stay con- teaching-learning through synchronous communication is
nected to academic learning during this period? Today, digi- the only requirement or even desirable in order to support
tal lessons are available in multiple modes, from QR-coded effective digital learning. The goal is NOT to try and recre-
textbooks and MOOCs (massive open online courses) to ate face-to-face (F2F) classrooms over the internet. Anytime,
radio and television. But effective digital learning requires anywhere, online and blended learning provide opportunities
an investment in training educators, for learners to work more independently,
not only to handle online platforms but expand their agency, intellectual horizon,
to reimagine lesson plans as well. As learn to use tools and strategies that oth-
in classroom learning, teachers should erwise may not be feasible in classrooms
design digital learning activities to help for teaching-learning and assessment.”
children analyse, reflect, think critically Finally, digital learning need not
and make progress on their learning. be a solution only for privileged chil-
Before anything else, given the vast- dren. Parikrma Foundation, a non-gov-
ness of the digital divide, the challenge ernmental organisation in Bengaluru,
is to reach every child. For the major- runs schools for children from slums.
ity of India’s children, our first priority Immediately after the onset of the pan-
is to ensure food security through meal demic, Parikrma took up relief work to
supplementation. Poor children are also ensure food security among students’
especially vulnerable to child marriage, families. Next, they turned to lessons.
trafficking and other forms of exploitation Given the vastness Volunteers identified houses in the slums
at this time. We need strong campaigns of the digital divide, that could function as common learning
and vigilance to prevent these. systems need to be put spaces for two or three children to share
Along with these steps, we should in place to ensure digital a device. They put together audio mes-
offer lessons on television and radio. We learning is not only for sages for younger children, and online
should form common learning groups for privileged children lessons and peer learning for older ones.
those who have no TV or radio at home. Devices and power banks were donated
Since television does not permit two-way for children who needed them. To engage
interaction, community volunteers, sup- children rather than entertain them (a
ported by regular physical visits from teachers, can help with mistake often made by digital content), teachers divided les-
children’s questions. The 250,000 gram panchayats across sons into short bursts of activity with a focus not only on aca-
India can support these learning groups with well-ventilated demic learning but also on the emotional connect. Parikrma
space, masks, handwash and a television each. Panchayat found that digital learning could in some ways create a more
libraries should sustain children’s connect with reading and equitable learning space: without the pressures of the physi-
learning. Every child should be enrolled as a library member. cal classroom, even quieter children could unmute them-
Digital classes on devices like laptops or smartphones selves and ask questions without self-consciousness.
present challenges even though they permit two-way inter- Such a model of blended learning requires substantial
action. Without special orientation to navigate the digital planning, innovation and investment of resources. It also
space, teachers may return to the didactic mode, reducing means building relationships not only with children but also
children to passive listeners. As teachers and students inter- their families and the community. Perhaps that is the real
act at a remove, across uneven networks, the emotional con- opportunity that digital learning presents. n
nect is not easy to achieve. In the absence of the usual cues
of classroom interaction, children need specific feedback Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta is in the IAS and has worked in
and encouragement. At the other end, parents or caregivers the women and child development and education sectors

20 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 Illustration by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY

 THE BIG STORY
AYODHYA

RAM AND THE

‘NAVNIRMAN’
OF AYODHYA
ALONG WITH THE RAM TEMPLE, THE CENTRE AND THE UTTAR PRADESH
GOVERNMENT ARE POURING IN Rs 5,000 CRORE TO RECREATE AYODHYA
AS A FOCAL POINT OF HINDU RELIGIOUS TOURISM

By ASHISH MISRA

Photograph by MANEESH AGNIHOTRI

 PIB

O
n August 5, residents of Ayo­
dhya, their excitement clearly
brimming over and not to
be restrained by anything as
mundane as physical distanc­
ing in the time of a pandemic,
gathered at the mythical Ram
ki Paidi ghats in the evening.
There, they lit some 350,000 diyas, in a new ‘deepot­
sav’ to mark the beginning of the construction of the
Ram temple.
After all, a “new chapter in India’s history” was
beginning, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said
earlier in the day after performing the bhoomi poojan
and laying the foundation stone for the temple. A 22.6
kg brick of pure silver was used to consecrate the occa­
sion. The constraints imposed by the pandemic were
visible here, though; PM Modi shared the dais with
just four other people—RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,
Ram Janmabhoomi Teerthkshetra Trust chairman
Nritya Gopaldas, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben
Patel and chief minister Yogi Adityanath. All told, only
175 people got invites for the function, many of them
spiritual leaders and others associated with the Ram
temple movement from the beginning. A few notable
faces from the time were missed. Modi also became the
first prime minister to visit the Ram Janmabhoomi site
and the Hanumangarhi temple, the oldest in Ayodhya.
STILL WATERS He also planted a sapling of the Parijat tree before the
The Ram ki Paidi event. In his address, the PM called it a day of liberation
ghats; (inset) PM
Modi and UP CM and also compared it to August 15, Independence Day,
Yogi Adityanath adding that the construction of the Ram temple would
outside Hanuman- pave the way for the development of Ayodhya as a city
garhi temple in that attracts the attention of the world.
Ayodhya, Aug. 5 And this could happen if the Adityanath govern­
ment’s plan to develop the mythical city of Ikshvaku

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 23

 THE BIG STORY
AYODHYA
in Ayodhya comes to fruition. Schemes
worth Rs 5,000 crore from the central
and state government are already tak-
ing shape (see box: Ayodhya’s Tourism
Focus). Jitendra Kumar, principal sec-
retary in the state department of culture
and tourism, says, “The navnirman
work in Ayodhya had been stalled for
years because the Ram Janmabhoomi
dispute was pending in court. Due to
this, any work of a permanent nature
could not take place. Now, a master plan
is being prepared envisioning a new
Ikshvaku city in Ayodhya. The depart-
ment of tourism and culture is making
a special contribution to this so that the
cultural and mythological side can be
highlighted.”
The signs are already visible from
NH-28, the Lucknow-Gorakhpur
highway. Turning left at the ‘Ayodhya
cut’, the 2.5 km-long road that leads
to the Sarayu river bank seems trans-
formed. En route, the road passes
through the Ramakatha Park, takes in
the International Ram Katha Museum,
the Korea Park, the Naya Ghat and the
Chaudhary Charan Singh Ghat. The
final stop is the arched Bhajan Sandhya
Sthal. The open air theatre, which can
seat 5,000, will host cultural events in
Ayodhya in the future. On the other side
of the road is what many call Ayodhya’s
identity, the ‘Ram ki Paidi’ ghats, look-
ing resplendent again after a project to
provide uninterrupted water supply was
completed in March this year. It has now
become a major tourist attraction.
If all goes to plan, the navnirman
of Ayodhya and the Ram temple will
be completed simultaneously. Kumar
says, “When people enter the new Iksh-
vaku city, they should feel like they have
come to the city of Lord Ram.” One
side of this new spiritual city will be
the famous Guptar ghats. It is believed
that Ram along with his brothers took
a jal samadhi at the ghat on the banks
of the Sarayu. Pandit Ramesh Pandey,
who performs puja at the ghat, says,
“The Sarayu in Uttar Pradesh flows
from the north to the south, but the
position of the Guptar ghat is such that
the river is the north duct here. So here
24 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
AYODHYA’S
it flows from south to north. This is TOURISM
FOCUS
why Guptar ghat is called the mastak
(head) of Ayodhya.”
In keeping with its mythical
import, over 1,800 acres from Guptar
ghat to Ram Janmabhoomi will be
developed as Ikshvaku city. According  RAM STATUE
to the master plan, a 5 km-long river- Rs 1,000 crore for a 251 metre tall
front will be built alongside in such a statue of Lord Ram, which will be the
way that the Ram temple is visible from “tallest statue in the world”; 84 ha.
the ghats. The new settler city will also of land has been set aside for this at
Majha Barhata in Ayodhya. The plan is
become a fount of Vedic knowledge—a
to have the statue installed by the time
Vedic university and a research insti- the construction of the Ram temple is
tute will come up here. complete, in three years
Old Ayodhya is not being neglec-
ted either. Plans are afoot to renovate
all the major religious sites in the city.
Kumar says, “Ayodhya is not just a
holy place for Hindus. There are many
places of worship for Sikhs, includ-
ing Gurudwara Brahmakund Saheb, Uttar
Gurunanak Govind Dham and the Pradesh
Gurudwara Gurusingha Sabha, known
as Gurunanakpura across the country.
For the followers of Jainism, Ayodhya
is the birthplace of five of their 24 Lakhimpur
Tirthankaras. A comprehensive plan Kheri
Shravasti
for the development of all these pil- Bahraich
Balrampur
Sitapur
grimage sites is being prepared.”
Siddharth
In expectation of the tourist inflow Nagar
Barabanki Gonda
in the coming years, the government is Basti Sant
Lucknow Kabir
proposing to build three five-star hotels, Nagar
Ayodhya
three to 10 three-star hotels and 20-30 Amethi
Ambedkar
Nagar
facilities where some 10,000 people can Rae Bareli Sultanpur
be accommodated. From 2017 on, the
celebration of ‘Deepotsav’—the Diwali
celebrations in Ayodhya headed by
CM Adityanath—has given the ‘Ram
Nagari’ a distinct identity in the coun-
try and abroad. Government figures
confirm this. Tourist footfalls hit 21
million in 2019. But this year has been “When people
a bit of a washout due to the Covid-19 enter the new
outbreak. A tourism department official
in Ayodhya says, “There has been a big Ikshvaku city,
drop, we had less than 5 million tourists
till the end of July.” The department
they should feel
expects things to improve once the virus like they have
bids goodbye.
Among all the development, keeping
come to the city
the Sarayu river clean is a major chal- of Lord Ram”
lenge for the Ayodhya administration. —Jitendra Kumar,
A total of eight drains open into the Principal secretary, Dept of
river now. Efforts are being made to link culture and tourism, UP
 Photographs by MANEESH AGNIHOTRI

 BHAJAN
SANDHYA STHAL
Construction work on
the open air theatre on
the banks of the Sarayu
is in its final stage
 TRANSPORT
A new bus depot on
NH-28 will be part of the
Ayodhya ‘pilgrim circuit’.
Rs 104 crore allocated
to redesign ‘Ramnagari’
Ayodhya railway station

 KOREA PARK
The expansion of the
park built in the memory
of Korean princess
 AYODHYA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Queen Ho on the banks
The institute’s records will be digitised at a cost of Rs 17 crore. A of the Sarayu is under
Ramlila Academy to train students in folk art is also being planned ANKIT RANJAN
way. Built at a cost
of Rs 25 crore on
2.5 acres, it will be a
 PARIKRAMA PROJECT monument to India-
There are four types of parikramas in  RAMLALLA AIRPORT
The air strip near Awadh Korea ties
Ayodhya: Ramkot parikrama, 5 Kosi
parikrama, 14 Kosi parikrama and 84 University is being developed
Kosi parikrama. Tourism department as a civilian airport at a cost
of Rs 500 crore; 102 ha. of  TULSI UDYAAN
convenience facilities will be
land has been arranged for it The Tulsi park
established every 10 km on the route
established in the name
of these parikrama roads. Rs 20
of Bhakti poet Tulsidas
crore has been set aside for this
near Hanumangarhi
 PARIKRAMA MARG in Ayodhya will be
The 275 km 84 Kosi Parikrama beautified; it will be
Marg will be renovated at a cost the first wi-fi enabled
of Rs 3,000 crore. It will be park in the district.
linked to the highway going to The buildings adjacent
Chitrakoot. The project will be to the park are being
completed by 2023 renovated in keeping
with the original design

 INTERNATIONAL
RAMAKATHA MUSEUM
A new auditorium will be built on the
theme of Ramayana at the International
Ramakatha Museum on the Ayodhya
bypass. Audio-visual narrations, a digital
Ramayana gallery etc. are planned here

them directly to the 12 MLD sewage
treatment plant at Ram ghat. A new
32 MLD plant is also in its final stage,
built at a cost of Rs 363 crore. Piped
drinking water is also a huge problem
in Ayodhya. In the past two years, some
8,000 houses have been connected by
pipelines. Ayodhya mayor Hrishikesh
Upadhyay says, “The corporation is
working with the goal of providing
clean drinking water to every house in
Ayodhya in the next two years.”
Ayodhya district was earlier divid-
ed into two administrative divisions,
Faizabad and the Ayodhya Nagar
Palika Parishad. On May 9, 2017, both
these nagar palika parishads were
merged to form the Ayodhya Munici-
pal Corporation. Upadhyay says they
will need more land in the future to
increase basic facilities. Keeping this
in mind, the corporation is expanding
the borders of the city. “Efforts are on
to include 41 revenue villages. With
their inclusion, the city will cover an
extra 35 sq. km; the city of Ayodhya
will be spread over 90 sq. km,” says the
mayor. It will also be a smart city with
a Rs 14 crore integrated traffic man-
agement system being put in place.
The blueprint then, for a new
Ayodhya, is in place. Will the new
Ram Nagari heal old wounds, keep
a place for all its citizens? Not every-
one is sure, but as long-time Ayodhya
resident and former principal of the
Saket College, Dr V.N. Arora, says,
“Ayodhya’s residents have seen only
demolition and tension in the past 50
years. Now, for the first time, they will
witness construction and development
here.” And therein lies the hope. n

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 25

TEMPLE RUN
PM Narendra Modi
speaks at the foundation
stone laying ceremony
for the Ram temple in
Ayodhya on August 5

PIB
India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE COVER STORY

NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

THE MODI
MANTRA
What is the secret behind the unwavering
popularity of the prime minister at a time when
the nation is riddled with multiple crises?

By RA J CHENG APPA

here is not a single head of state in the world whose leadership

has not been tested by the Covid-19 pandemic. Confronted

T
with a crisis of unparalleled magnitude, these leaders will
either make or break their reputations on their ability to suc-
cessfully guide their nations through these troubled times.
As the US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr once said,
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the
moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of chal-
lenge and controversy.”
The burden weighs even more heavily on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s shoulders as he faces a dangerous trinity of
threats: the health emergency caused by Covid-19, the econom-
ic distress it has caused an already slowing economy and the
Chinese aggression on our borders. Yet, so far, he seems to have
weathered this triple onslaught rather well. The latest round of
 MOOD OF THE COVER STORY
NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

Q. IF LOK SABHA ELECTIONS WERE TO BE HELD

TODAY, WHAT WOULD THE RESULTS LOOK LIKE?
India Today Mood SEATS FORECAST
of the Nation Poll, 360 349
August 2020 353 357
336
316
Projections if Lok Sabha 281
polls were held now 304 309 303
286
237
SEATS
166
148 147 145
123 119 132 140 132 134
93 97 94
16 110
122
140
93 108
102 93
3

94 92
134

59 60 75
42 % 27 %

Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN
31 % Sabha Feb. Aug. Jan.
’14 ’16 ’16 ’17
July
’17
Jan. Aug. Jan. Sabha Aug. Jan. Aug.
’18 ’18 ’19 ’19 ’19 ’20 ’20
VO
TE SHARE

NDA UPA Others

VOTE SHARE FORECAST

SEATS 45% 45%

39% 40%
42% 42%
40% 41% 42%
49 37% 36% 35%
3 33 %
38%
36% 30%
28% 28% 30
% 31%
21
28

34 %
19% 33%
1

33% 32%
%
29%
28 27 31% 33 27% 27% 27%
% %
36% 27% 26% 25%
45 % 23%

VO
TE SHARE

BJP Congress Others

Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN MOTN Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN

13
Sabha Feb. Aug. Jan. July Jan. Aug. Jan. Sabha Aug. Jan. Aug.
’14 ’16 ’16 ’17 ’17 ’18 ’18 ’19 ’19 ’19 ’20 ’20
NDA UPA Others

Seats NDA gains due to

a 1 %age point gain in
vote share over the
previous MOTN; UPA
loses 2 %age point vote
share and 15 seats
Graphics by TANMOY CHAKRABORTY AND ASIT ROY
NDA: BJP, Apna Dal, AGP, AIADMK, AINRC (All India N.R. Congress), AJSU, BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana
Sena), BPF (Bodoland People’s Front), DMDK, JD(U), KC-T (Kerala Congress-Thomas), LJP, NDPP (Nation-
alist Democratic Progressive Party), NPF (Naga People’s Front), PMK, PNK (Puthiya Needhi Katchi), PT
(Puthiya Tamilagam), RLP, SAD, SDF, TMC-M (Tamil Manila Congress) UPA: INC, AIMIM, DMK, HAM, IUML,
JD(S), NC, JMM, JVM, KC-M (Kerala Congress-Mani), NCP, RJD, RLSP, RSP*, SWP (Socialist Workers
Party), VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) Others: AAP, Forward Bloc, TMC, AMMK, AIUDF, BJD, BSP,
BVA (Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi), CPI, CPI(M), GGP, INLD, JCC (Janta Congress Chhattisgarh), PDP, MDMK,
MNF, MNM (Makkal Needhi Maiam), RLD, Shiv Sena, SP, TDP, TRS, YSRCP, IND**, Others
Note: JD(S) was included as part of the UPA while TDP and PDP were removed from the NDA and taken as ‘Oth-
ers’ in the MOTN Aug. ’18 survey; AGP and AIADMK were included in the NDA, AIMIM was considered as UPA,
and TDP was considered as ‘Others’ in the MOTN Aug. ’19 survey; Shiv Sena was considered as ‘Others’ in the
MOTN Jan. ’20 survey; *RSP is with the Left alliance (Others) in West Bengal and with the UPA in Kerala; **Two
IND candidates won with the support of the UPA and have been accounted for in the UPA
 EXTENDING HOPE
PM Modi distributes assistive
devices to senior citizens and
the physically challenged in
Prayagraj, February 29

Q. IF LOK SABHA ELECTIONS WERE the india today-Karvy Insights biannual Mood of the Nation
survey shows that the prime minister’s popularity has soared to
TO BE HELD TODAY, WHICH PARTY an unprecedented level. A phenomenal 78 per cent of those polled
WOULD YOU VOTE FOR? have rated his performance as good to outstanding as compared
Seats to 71 per cent in the MOTN survey of August 2019. (This was soon
forecast after he was re-elected a second time with a handsome majority in
271 the May 2019 general election.) In fact,
308 in the past five years, Modi’s personal

78
60
49
186
212
% popularity in the MOTN polls has
never been as high as it is now despite
283
303

the serious woes the country faces.

49
52
188

211

Reiterating the support for Modi,

Respondents
the poll shows that if elections were to
rate Modi’s
Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN be held now, the BJP would still com-
performance
Sabha Aug. Jan. Aug. mand a comfortable majority on its
as outstanding
2019 ’19 ’20 ’20 own with 283 seats—though it would
or good, the
highest ever in the be 20 seats down from the 303 it
Vote share past five years won in the 2019 general election. The
forecast results are a boost for Modi because
% 36 %
38 in the MOTN poll of January 2020,
% 20 % the BJP tally had fallen to 271—one
20
% 44 % short of a simple majority on its own in the Lok Sabha. The NDA’s
42
37 %

36%

projected tally too has gone up from 303 to 316 but it is still far
20 %

19
43 %

short of the 353 it won in the general election, with several allies,
%
45

particularly the Shiv Sena, leaving its fold. The numbers of both
%

the BJP and NDA had fallen in January 2020 mainly because of
Lok MOTN MOTN MOTN
the steep downturn in economic growth. However, in the current
Sabha Aug. Jan. Aug.
poll, despite the triple whammy of crises, the BJP, and by default
2019 ’19 ’20 ’20
the NDA, is seeing a revival in its political fortunes. The gap
BJP Congress Others between Modi and his nearest rival, Rahul Gandhi, in response

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 29

 MOOD OF THE COVER STORY
NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

Q. HOW DO YOU RATE THE PERFORMANCE OF

NARENDRA MODI AS PRIME MINISTER?
78
69 71

58 61
68
63
5 %
53 55 54
17%
30%
18 20

48 % 9
Feb. ’16
9 9 12 13 9 13
5
Aug. ’16

Jan. ’17

July ’17

Jan. ’18

Aug. ’18

Jan. ’19

Aug. ’19

Jan. ’20

Aug. ’20
Outstanding Good
Average Poor Outstanding + Good Poor + Very poor

Figures in %

Q. WHO HAS BEEN THE BEST NARENDRA MODI Vs INDIRA GANDHI

PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA? THE SWING IN POPULARITY
Aug.
’20
Jan.
’20
44
Narendra Modi 44 34
33
37

Atal Bihari Vajpayee 14 13 30 28

26 34
Indira Gandhi 12 16 26
23
21
Jawaharlal Nehru 7 8
16
Manmohan Singh 7 6 20 20
17 18 17 17
Lal Bahadur Shastri 5 6 14 14
Rajiv Gandhi 4 5
12
Morarji Desai 2 2
Feb. ’16

Aug. ’16

Jan. ’17

July ’17

Jan. ’18

Aug. ’18

Jan. ’19

Aug. ’19

Jan. ’20

Aug. ’20

P.V. Narasimha Rao 1 1

V.P. Singh 1 1
Rest: Don’t know/ can’t say
Narendra Modi Indira Gandhi

Figures in %

30 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

to the question—‘Who is best-suited to
be India’s next prime minister’—has wid-
ened to 58 percentage points compared
to 12 a year and a half ago. The percep-
tion that he is the best prime minister
India has had so far has also increased 1
significantly (see charts).
What explains Modi’s remarkable
surge in popularity among the respon-
dents despite the ongoing crises? What is
Modi’s management mantra for success? 2 8
In a perceptive article published by the
Harvard Business Review (HBR) this
April, management consultants Chris 5 11
Nichols, Shoma Chatterjee Hayden and
Chris Tendler outline four behaviours
that help leaders manage a big crisis like 3 9 14
Covid-19: 1. Decide with speed over preci-
sion; 2. Adapt boldly; 3. Deliver reliably;
and 4. Engage for impact. Modi not only 6 12
seems to have fulfilled these criteria but
has also gone on to add more, making
his leadership style worthy of an HBR 10
4
study by itself. Take Behaviour 1: Decide
with speed over precision. The article
states, ‘The situation is changing by the 7 13
day—even by the hour. The best leaders
quickly process available information,
rapidly determine what matters most and
make decisions with conviction’, avoiding
‘analysis paralysis’. When it came to Co-
vid-19, that’s exactly what Modi did when
Q. WHO IS BEST SUITED TO BECOME THE NEXT
he decided to dramatically announce a PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA?
nationwide lockdown on March 24, giv- Aug. Jan.
ing people only a four-hour notice. ’20 ’20
MODI Vs RAHUL 1 Narendra Modi 66 53
MEETING THE COVID THE GAP WIDENS
CHALLENGE
Modi’s decision to impose the lock- 65 66 2 Rahul Gandhi 8 13
3 Sonia Gandhi 5 7
down without sufficient warning was 53
53 4 Amit Shah 4 4
criticised by many as was the need for 50 49 46
a total shutdown that would clearly 40 5 Arvind Kejriwal 3 2
harm the economy. But he chose speed
34 6 Yogi Adityanath 3 1
over precision because he knew that the
Indian health system was in no position 22 7 Akhilesh Yadav 3 1
to handle a pandemic of this magnitude 27 8 Priyanka Gandhi 2 3
if the disease spread rapidly. The prime 22 13
minister, therefore, decided to buy time
8 9 Mamata Banerjee 2 2
13 10
through the lockdown to fortify the na- 10 Rajnath Singh 1 2
tion’s capacity to treat patients and save
11 Nitin Gadkari 1 1
Feb. ’16
Aug. ’16
Jan. ’17
Jan. ’18
Aug. ’18
Jan. ’19
Jan. ’20
Aug. ’20

thousands of lives.
While the first few days saw chaos, 12 Sharad Pawar 1 1
taking the advice of principal secretary 13 Uddhav Thackeray 1 1
Dr P.K. Mishra, an expert in disaster
management, Modi decided to form a Narendra Modi Rahul Gandhi 14 Mayawati 1 1
Figures have been rounded off
Figures in %

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 31

 MOOD OF THE COVER STORY
NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

central command, a “war room” as it were (which the

HBR authors advise), where he empowered a frontline
of senior secretaries and experts to address the various
problems that Covid was causing. These 11 empowered
groups took decisions on key issues ranging from the
availability of critical medicines and treatment centres
to facilitating the supply chain and logistics for essential
commodities as well as working out economic welfare
measures for those who were the most severely impacted
by the lockdown.
The results were telling. When the lockdown began,
the nation had to import personal protection equipment
(PPE) like masks, gloves and body-suits. But within two
months, India became self-sufficient in PPE kits, with HIGH STAKES
Indian companies rallying around to manufacture them. Srinagar in the aftermath of the
abrogation of Article 370, August
Testing facilities for Covid-19, which were abysmal in
2019; (right) the Covid care centre
March with barely 5,000 at the Commonwealth Games
tests being done a day, Village in New Delhi
were ramped up and now
IN DEALING WITH total over 664,000 per YASIR IQBAL
COVID-19, MODI day. Ventilators critical
LED THE CHARGE
Q. HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH
to the care of seriously
ill Covid patients (2 per
BY BRIEFING
THE NATION
cent of those afflicted THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF
go on to require ICU
DIRECTLY AND facilities) were also in
THE NDA GOVERNMENT?
ENGAGING THE short supply for which
domestic production was
CHIEF MINISTERS pumped up.
We may now have
close to 2 million cases
since the lockdown began but our case fatality rate, or
the number of deaths as a proportion of total number of
cases, of 2.09 per cent is one of the lowest in the world.
48% 19%
Most importantly, Modi led the charge of briefing the
nation directly and engaging chief ministers of states to
fight the battle in coordination with the Centre. In do-
ing so, he exhibited the qualities that the famed former 8%
French president Charles de Gaulle had outlined: “Faced
with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself.
He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility
for it, makes it his own.”
This perhaps explains the dichotomy in our MOTN
24% 1%
findings whereby even though 25 per cent of the re-
spondents believe that the Modi government’s handling
Very satisfied Satisfied
of the Covid-19 pandemic has been its single biggest
failure, they do not blame the prime minister for it. In Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
fact, a whopping 77 per cent rate Modi’s handling of the Not satisfied
pandemic as good or outstanding. Again, even though Don’t know/ can’t say
the migrants’ crisis caused by the lockdown was poorly
handled by the Modi government, the prime minister
himself is absolved of any blame. This demonstrates that
despite the drawbacks of his government, the electorate

32 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 16 %
PANKAJ NANGIA
25 %

Q. WHAT HAS BEEN THE SINGLE BIGGEST Q. WHAT HAS BEEN THE SINGLE BIGGEST
ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MODI GOVT? FAILURE OF THE MODI GOVT?
Revocation of Article 370 in Kashmir Handling of the Covid-19 pandemic
Supreme Court’s verdict on Unemployment 23
13
Ram temple in Ayodhya
Migrants’ crisis during
14
Improved infrastructure 11 the lockdown
Corruption-free governance 9 Price rise 11
Crackdown on black money 9 Economy 7
Handling of the Covid-19 Failure to improve the
7 6
pandemic healthcare infrastructure
Demonetisation 6 Farmers’ distress 6
Social welfare schemes for Unrest in Jammu and Kashmir 1
6
the poor and farmers
Protests against CAA 1
Implementation of GST 5 Communal violence and
1
Cleanliness drive 3 fear among minorities
Improving India’s global image 2 Deteriorating relations with
neighbours like China, Nepal 1
Tough stand on terror 2
and Pakistan
Digital drive 2 Rest: Don’t know/ can’t say Figures in %
Women’s empowerment 2
Make in India programme 2
REVOCATION OF ART. 370
Passage of CAA in Parliament 1
REMAINS THE GOVERNMENT’S
SINGLE BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT
Ayushman Bharat scheme 1
OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS
Rest: Don’t know/ can’t say Figures in %

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 33

 MOOD OF THE COVER STORY
NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

10 BEST-PERFORMING Ravi Shankar Piyush

MINISTERS OF THE MODI Prasad Goyal

CABINET 3[16] 2[24]

AMIT
SHAH

39
Rajnath Smriti Dharmendra
Singh Irani Pradhan
[43] 17[39] 2[22] 2[—]

Nitin Nirmala S. Ram Vilas

BANDEEP SINGH

Gadkari Sitharaman Jaishankar Paswan

10[34] 9[26] 1[—] 1[15]

Figures in %; figures in [ ] are from MOTN Jan. ’20

believes Modi is the best bet for the task at hand. In their on social and health issues. But right through the Covid
eyes, he is a leader who can do no wrong. crisis, he was hard-focused on the economy. Even now, he is
constantly pushing measures for economic growth to ensure
TREATING AN ECONOMY IN THE ICU it delivers jobs.” Those polled in the MOTN believe that Modi
The HBR article formulates adapting boldly to a rapidly is handling the economic crisis well.
changing situation as the second behavioural trait of strong While most of the developed countries, the US among
leaders in a crisis. Among the tips the authors advocate are: them, announced huge financial stimulus packages, includ-
1. Decide what not to do and ruthlessly pri- ing cash doles, to pump-prime their failing
oritise what you need to do; and 2. Throw economies, Modi went against that playbook
out yesterday’s playbook and develop new or that of his predecessor at the time of
plans. When it came to shoring up the flail-
MODI HAS the 2008 financial crisis. Modi was ham-
ing economy, Modi seems to have followed CHOSEN FISCAL strung by the fact that India’s finances were
some of that advice. As the economy began PRUDENCE unhealthy even before the pandemic struck.
tanking under the weight of the nationwide GDP growth had fallen to among the lowest
OVER HANDING
lockdown, Modi adapted to the situation in recent years, there was a banking crisis,
by modifying his emphasis on jaan (life) OUT DOLES TO and the government was finding it difficult
and combining it with jahaan (protecting STIR DEMAND IN to meet its fiscal deficit targets. Modi was
livelihoods). Mishra, his principal secretary, THE ECONOMY AS unwilling to resort to desperate measures to
affirms that the economy has been Modi’s save the economy. He followed his instincts
prime focus from the beginning of the pan- PEOPLE TEND TO of fiscal prudence and was selective about
demic. He told india today, “Many thought SAVE CASH doling out cash support. He concentrated
that the prime minister was focusing only on the needy—the farmers, the migrants,

34 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE PRIME Q. WHAT’S THE BIGGEST
MINISTER MODI’S HANDLING OF THE PROBLEM THAT INDIA FACES
COVID-19 PANDEMIC? CURRENTLY?
Covid-19 pandemic 70
Unemployment 12
Economic slowdown 4
Conflict with China 4

48 %
18%
Price rise
Corruption
3
2
Rising fuel prices 1
Public healthcare 1

5% Growing intolerance and

fear in society
1
Rest: Don’t know/ can’t say
Figures in %

29%
34 %
1%

Outstanding Good Average respondents in the south—the

Poor Don’t know/ can’t say highest in all regions—think
poorly of the Modi govt’s
Figures have been rounded off handling of the Covid-19 crisis

the poor and women—for doles. For industry, Union finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 3 lakh crore
worth of collateral-free loans for MSME units with a one-year
moratorium on principal repayments.
Tarun Bajaj, secretary, economic affairs, reveals the
rationale behind this approach. He says there is evidence to
show that cash doles do not stimulate demand as people tend
the economy is picking up even though it continues to be a
matter of concern as the pandemic remains unpredictable in
its course. However, he believes if there is a vaccine in sight,
it would perk up sentiment and the economy would pick up.
“We are hoping to have a V-shaped recovery,” says Bajaj.
odi has time and again showed that he has a

to conserve the money. Even triple A companies, he points
out, availed the moratorium on loans rather than repay debts
as they wanted to save cash. This was also true for women
who were paid Rs 500 monthly for three months in their Jan
Dhan accounts to tide over Covid. While Rs 30,000 crore was
distributed under this scheme, most of the recipients didn’t
spend the money and bank deposits in such accounts went up
to Rs 17,000 crore. Team Modi decided it was better instead
to give credit relief, particularly to MSME units, so that they
could start functioning again, put people back to work and
get the cycle of the economy running again. The eligibility
level for MSMEs to avail of such loans was raised from a
turnover of up to Rs 100 crore to Rs 250 crore, so that close
to 95 per cent of them could be covered. According to Bajaj,
key indicators, particularly GST collections, so far show that
M
penchant for converting adversity into
opportunity. John F. Kennedy, the 35th US
president, once remarked: “When written in
Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two
characters. One represents danger and the other represents
opportunity.” Modi decided that the sea-change that Covid
had wrought was an opportune moment to push through
long-pending reforms. Hence his announcement of an
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, a self-reliance mission that
saw major policy changes to ensure greater private invest-
ment and involvement in key sectors, including agriculture,
defence, space, aviation, atomic energy and education. Modi
took a personal interest in driving these reforms, presiding
over scores of meetings and involving the PMO in hammering
out solutions and breaking down resistance. The MOTN

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 35

 MOOD OF THE COVER STORY
NATION POLL L E A D E S S AY

wholeheartedly endorses the Atmanirbhar Bharat cam-

paign. A majority of the respondents also stated that the
Rs 20 lakh crore financial stimulus package announced by
the Modi government in response to the Covid crisis will
help ease some of their economic woes.

DELIVERING ON THE BIG ISSUES

Few leaders in recent times are able to feel the political
pulse of a nation better than Modi has done. Topping the
list of his achievements in the MOTN survey are two issues
close to the Sangh Parivar’s heart: the abrogation of Article
370 in Kashmir and the construction of the Ram temple
in Ayodhya. And that brings us to the third behavioural
trait in the HBR piece: Reliably deliver. Modi ensured that
these two issues, along with the Citizenship Amendment
Act (CAA), which had figured in his party’s manifesto,
were pushed through in the first six months of his second
term. In all fairness, it was the Supreme Court that gave
the Ram Mandir judgment in favour of the Hindu com-
munity though it did take heed of the Sangh Parivar’s
request to speed up hearings.
Modi himself maintained a studied distance on the
subject as he was steadfast in his view that the issue should
VIKRAM SHARMA

be settled only in a court of law. He resisted demands

from the Sangh brass to push through an ordinance. A day
before the verdict was announced, Modi appealed for calm
and told Hindutva supporters to desist from exhibiting
triumphalism. He even used the shilanyas ceremony for

Q. WHAT’S YOUR VIEW OF THE

the Ram temple on August 5 to reiterate the message of
national unity of all faiths. In his speech at the temple site
after the ceremony, he said, “We all have to remember that CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT
whenever humankind believed in Lord Ram, progress
took place. Whenever we deviated from the path, doors to
(CAA), 2019
destruction opened. We have to ensure everyone’s develop-
ment with the support and trust of all.”

DEALING WITH CHINA

The Chinese aggression on the Line of Actual Control this
10%
May saw casualties on both sides in a border clash for the
first time in 45 years and pushed the armies to a massive
troop build-up and a dangerous military stand-off. It was
25 % 50%
Modi’s Kargil moment. Just as Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his
time saw Pakistan troops sneak in and occupy the heights
on the LoC in 1999, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of 15%
China stealthily intruded in several areas in Ladakh. How
PLA troops managed to occupy zones along the LAC that
India claims as its territory needs a thorough post-mortem
at a later date. But Modi came under widespread criticism
for maintaining at an all-party meet that the Chinese were I support it It’s discriminatory towards Muslims
not in occupation of Indian territory.
India must not grant citizenship to illegal
Perhaps Modi was signalling to President Xi Jinping, immigrants of any religion Don’t know/ can’t say
with whom he had developed a rapport after frequent
meetings, that he was leaving the door open for an amicable
settlement. Yet, if the Chinese harboured any delusion of

36 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 Methodology
The India Today Mood of the
Nation (MOTN) poll was con-
ducted by Delhi-based market
research agency Karvy Insights
between July 15 and July 27,
2020. This poll has traditionally
been conducted using the face–
to-face interviewing method.
However, in this edition of the
survey, due to the unprec-
edented situation arising out
of Covid-19, all interviews were
conducted telephonically using
a standard structured ques-
tionnaire, which was trans-
lated into regional languages.
A total of 12,021 interviews
were conducted—67 per cent in
rural and 33 per cent in urban
areas—across 97 parliamentary
constituencies and 194 assem-
bly constituencies in 19 states—
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat,
Haryana, Jharkhand, Karna-
taka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telan-
gana, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal. In each of the assembly
constituencies, a fixed number
of interviews were done. The
fieldwork for the MOTN poll was
conducted under the supervi-
sion of Ranjit Chib, chairman of
Karvy Insights. He was assisted
by associate vice-president De-
bashis Chatterjee and assistant
manager Sonal Talwar.

28 %
having cornered Modi, he quickly dispelled demonetised high-value currency overnight
them by taking aggressive steps against Chi- in November 2016 in a bid to root out black
nese business interests apart from mount- money, his popularity ratings soared in the
ing India’s military might on the LAC. The January 2017 MOTN survey despite the mis-
most significant among them was a ban on Urban respondents ery it caused to the poor and the middle class.
over 50 popular Chinese apps, including the consider handling of But when the ineffectiveness of the decision
iconic TikTok. Public sentiment was then Covid-19 as the became evident, demonetisation started
whipped up to boycott not just Chinese apps government’s single figuring lower in the list of his government’s
but other goods as well. Rather than blame biggest failure; in the achievements in subsequent MOTN surveys.
Modi for any laxity on the LAC, the entire rural areas, it is The crisis the nation faces today has not
episode was portrayed as a great betrayal by unemployment really gone away. The number of people who
the Chinese. A majority of those surveyed in (25 per cent) feel that the Modi government’s economic
the MOTN poll believe that Modi has given performance has been better than that of
a befitting reply to the Chinese and are the Manmohan Singh government has fallen
even willing to pay more for goods rather than buy cheaper from 60 per cent a year ago to 43 per cent now, and has been
Chinese ones. They also believe that if a war erupts between overtaken by the number of people who feel it is on par with
the two countries, India will emerge the winner. In this, Modi UPA-II. This isn’t good news for a government promising to
fulfils the fourth behavioural trait of crisis management that better the Congress’s record.
the HBR article enumerates: Engaging for impact. Respondents in the current survey see tackling Covid-19
In the China crisis, Modi has so far demonstrated a and providing jobs as the top priorities before the govern-
steely resolve and patience that is almost Churchillian in ment. The prime minister should heed their concerns. His
its approach. The British war prime minister had famously aides say he has been holding a series of meetings with eco-
said, “We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. nomic experts to find out the state of both the world and the
Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials Indian economy, and figure out what further steps the gov-
of vigilance and exertion will wear us down.” Modi also lev- ernment needs to take to ensure speedy recovery. In these
eraged India’s relationship with the US, Europe, Japan and meetings, Modi mostly listens and interjects only when nec-
Australia and got their leaders to condemn China’s aggres- essary and gets the PMO to sum up the action points. The
sive moves. India was able to draw parallels with China’s ac- prime minister is also focusing on the implementation of
tions in the South China Sea and other areas of its interest. the various schemes and measures his government has an-
The US picked up the baton and President Donald Trump nounced to revive the economy. He is doing what manage-
indicated he would ban TikTok if the Microsoft deal to buy ment guru Peter Drucker advocates, “Leaders communicate
it off failed. Modi thus managed to convert India’s problem so that people around them know what they are trying to
into a worldwide concern regarding China. do. They are purpose driven. They know how to establish a
However, while Modi’s popularity remains high, previ- mission.” Modi has shown that crises bring out the best in
ous MOTN polls show that public adulation can be ex- him—the hallmark of a decisive leader—which is good for
tremely fickle. When the prime minister, in his first term, the country too. n

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 37

 India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE
NATION POLL ECONOMY

CRITICAL BUT
STABLE
Despite the devastating
economic impact of
Covid-19, the Modi
government seems to
find broad support for its
By M.G. ARUN
handling of the crisis

SOUND OF SILENCE
New Delhi’s usually-bustling
Sadar Bazaar, in April this year 36 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
 his year, governments across the world had a difficult choice
thrust upon them. Covid-19 allowed them to save either the

T
maximum number of their citizens’ lives or the highest num-
ber of their livelihoods. Like most, the Indian government
chose the former. In doing so, it faced one of the most chal-
lenging situations the country has seen post-Independence—
the economy spiralling deeply into the red. While most ana-
lysts say that the bad run will be limited to a few quarters, ruling out a full-blown
recession, there is no getting away from the fact that India’s growth rate is deeply in
negative territory. And while there are debates over the size of the impact—whether
the country’s growth rate has fallen by five per cent or much more—the economic
damage done by the nationwide
Covid-19-induced lockdown and
the subsequent localised lock- Q.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE MODI
downs in some areas has indeed GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY?
been enormous.
It is then no surprise that economic
issues were at the top of participants’

48%
PANKAJ NANGIA
minds in the india today Mood of the
Nation (MOTN) poll, conducted during
the lockdown. A whopping 63 per cent of
those polled said their incomes had fallen
21%
recently, with 22 per cent saying that they 6%
had lost their jobs. Almost all sectors of
the economy—barring agriculture and 24%
to some extent the supply of ‘essential 1%
goods’—came to a standstill in the first
month of the lockdown, from the mid- Outstanding Good Average
night of March 24-25 onward. The restric- Poor Don’t know/ can’t say
tions on movement and the unclear defini-
tion of ‘essential goods’ left the logistics
sector severely impacted, with thousands
of trucks stuck on highways. The myriad
Q. HOW HAS YOUR ECONOMIC STATUS
notifications from the Centre added to
CHANGED SINCE MODI TOOK CHARGE IN 2014?
the chaos, with policy confusion causing 53
state governments and local authorities to 49 48
interpret central norms in their own ways. 44 46 45
43 42 42 40 42
Even after industries were allowed to par-
tially reopen in non-containment centres, 37
strict physical distancing norms meant 40 34
37 31
that businesses suffered supply chain
28 29
disruptions on top of poor demand. Cash
flows have taken a major hit, and compa- 28 25 27
26
nies from the hospitality and airlines sec-
tors to those in manufacturing and retail
21
14 13 18
have resorted to job cuts, the pruning of 10 12 15
salaries and freezes in hiring. A report by 10
manpower firm Global Consultants states
Feb. ’16

Aug. ’16

Jan. ’17

Jul. ’17

Jan. ’18

Aug. ’18

Jan. ’19

Aug. ’19

Jan. ’20

Aug. ’20

that India is set to lose around 130 million

jobs due to the pandemic, 40 per cent of
those being blue-collar jobs.
Rajeev Dubey, a former president of Better Same Deteriorated
(Note: Includes don’t know/ can’t say, not shown on graph;
all figs in %)
 MOOD OF THE
ECONOMY
NATION POLL

Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE Q. HOW HAS COVID-19 AFFECTED

MODI GOVERNMENT’S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE YOUR ECONOMIC STATUS?
VIS-A-VIS THE MANMOHAN SINGH GOVERNMENT?
60 59 60
55 56
51 49
47
50
45 63%
43

28 30
27
21
24 22 22% 1%
17 16 17
15 14 13 11 11 14%
15 13 16 16
10
Feb. ’16

Aug. ’16

Jan. ’17

Jul. ’17

Jan. ’18

Aug. ’18

Jan. ’19

Aug. ’19

Jan. ’20

Aug. ’20

I lost my business/ job

My income fell
Better Same Worse My income increased
Note: Includes don’t know/ can’t say, not shown on graph; No change
all figs in %

23 %
human resources (HR) at the Mahindra failure of the Modi government. Moreover,
Group and now an advisor to the company 54 per cent of those polled either did not
on people matters, says there are high lev- see things getting any better in the next six
els of fear and uncertainty among workers. months, or were uncertain of the future.
With companies laying off even experi- of respondents
enced employees, stress levels are quite said that owever, despite the grim
unemployment

H
palpable, most so in sectors where demand outlook, the public at large
has been destroyed like hospitality and
remained the seems to support the Modi
biggest failure of
travel. IndiGo, the country’s biggest air government on its handling
the Modi
carrier by market share, has laid off 10 per of economic matters, with
government
cent of its workers or around 2,300 people. an overwhelming 71 per cent of those
A report by Crisil points to a far-reaching polled rating its performance in this area
impact of the lockdown on the airline as outstanding or good. Overall, the
industry, despite services partially resum- government seems to have conveyed the

54 %
ing—the ratings agency says India’s air impression that it is on top of the situation,
passenger traffic is likely to shrink in both be it in tackling the virus through the
the domestic and international sectors, nationwide lockdown or handling the
by 40-45 per cent and 60-65 per cent re- ensuing economic crisis through the Rs 20
spectively. The manufacturing sector has of those polled lakh crore combined stimulus by the
also been in deep trouble, with produc- said that they government and the RBI (Reserve Bank of
tion even at steel and heavy engineering
either did not see India). While the stimulus does not appear
things getting
majors still around half what it was in the to have done much for industry—despite,
better in the next
pre-lockdown phase. It is then only to be for example, the Rs 3 lakh crore loan
six months, or
expected that 23 per cent of those polled package for MSMEs (micro, small and
were uncertain
said unemployment was the single biggest medium enterprises)—agriculture and the

40 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 Q. WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK Q. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE MODI
FOR SIX MONTHS FROM NOW? GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMIC
DISTRESS UNLEASHED BY COVID-19?

15%
48% 22%
46%
39% 6%

23% 1%

I am optimistic Don’t see things Outstanding Good Average

getting better I am uncertain Poor Don’t know/ can’t say

rural economy seem to have fared much ABOUT 71% OF their lot had deteriorated under Modi
better. In this, a good rabi harvest, a were 26 per cent of those polled; in
massive procurement drive by the THOSE POLLED Aug. ’19 they were 31 per cent, and in
government and initiatives such as the SAY THE Jan. ’20, they made up 27 per cent of
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi PANDEMIC’S those polled. It is in this group that a
Yojana, which gives farmers Rs 6,000 a steep fall has taken place—to 10 per
year, seem to have helped boost rural
ECONOMIC cent—in this edition of the MOTN. One
demand. That, in turn, might have COST HAS of the reasons why this change in
created a feelgood atmosphere in rural BEEN HANDLED perception is happening could be the
areas, though there are fears that this slew of measures announced by the
spirit may not be sustainable. On this
IN A GOOD OR finance minister in the days following
matter, opinions appear to be divided— OUTSTANDING the lockdown, especially those targeted
while 48 per cent of those polled said MANNER at the rural areas.
their economic status had improved As many as 43 per cent of those
since Modi took charge in 2014, 42 per polled said that the economic perfor-
cent said it had remained the same, mance of the Modi government has
while 10 per cent said the situation had deteriorated been better than that of the Congress-led UPA govern-
further. It is noteworthy here that the percentage of those ment, with 45 per cent saying it was at par with the UPA’s
who said their economic status had remained the same performance. There is growing support visible for the
since Modi took charge has increased from 29 per cent, Centre as well—in the previous Jan ’20 MOTN survey,
21 per cent and 18 per cent in the MOTN surveys of Jan. 30 per cent had rated the Modi government’s economic
’19, Aug. ’19 and Jan ’20, respectively. The shift to this policies as worse than the UPA’s—that number fell to 10
perspective has been from those who had earlier felt their per cent in this survey. Here again, the reasons for this
economic status had, in fact, deteriorated under the Modi positive sentiment could be the bumper rabi harvest, the
government. In the Jan. ’2019 MOTN poll, those who felt record kharif planting and the Centre’s rural push that

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 41

 MOOD OF THE
ECONOMY
NATION POLL
Q. WAS THE Rs 20 LAKH CRORE STIMULUS
FOLLOWING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
ENOUGH TO CHANGE YOUR
ECONOMIC CONDITION?
has put more money in people’s hands.
It is often said that one should never waste
a good crisis, since every crisis also offers an
opportunity for a creative response. For the gov-
ernment, the Covid-19 pandemic, disastrous as 12%
it has been, has also presented an opportunity to
announce bold economic reforms. These include
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Aatmanirbhar
55%
Bharat (Self-reliant India)’ pitch, vowing to take 33%
India toward a robust self-reliance by bringing
about structural changes in land and labour laws
and improving liquidity to kindle growth. The
four pillars of the government’s strategy involve
developing efficient infrastructure, developing
technology-driven systems, making use of the Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say
country’s vibrant demography and boosting
domestic demand. Despite the economic distress
caused by Covid-19, these announcements have
contributed to the perception that the distress is
Q. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF PM NARENDRA MODI’S
indeed being handled well.
‘AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT’ CAMPAIGN?

ne of the biggest targets of the

O
stimulus package was the MSME
sector, which comprises 60 9%
million firms, contributes about
29 per cent to India’s GDP and

38% 53
employs about 120 million. This sector was %
among the worst-hit by the pandemic and the
following lockdown. On May 13, finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman had announced six specific
initiatives targeted at the MSME sector. These
included Rs 3 lakh crore in collateral-free loans,
100 per cent credit guaranteed, expected to
benefit 4.5 million units; Rs 20,000 crore in
subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs, which It’s a timely campaign India doesn’t have the
could benefit 200,000 firms, including those capability yet Don’t know/ can’t say
with outstanding loans that had been classified
as stressed or non-performing assets and a Rs
50,000 crore equity infusion for MSMEs through
a fund of funds, set up with a Rs 10,000 crore Q. DO YOU THINK
corpus, among others. GOVERNMENT POLICIES
Other announcements made by the finance
minister included a Rs 30,000 crore special
HAVE HELPED ONLY BIG 45%
liquidity scheme for non-banking financial com- BUSINESS AND IGNORED
panies (NBFCs), housing finance companies and SMALL BUSINESSES?
microfinance institutions (MFIs), a Rs 45,000
crore partial credit guarantee scheme for the
7% 9%
liabilities of NBFCs and MFIs and a Rs 90,000
crore liquidity injection for power distribution
companies (discoms), among others. Firms in the
real estate sector were also given some reprieve. 33% 6%
For example, while the relaxation of compliance
Helped only big business Helped only small businesses
Helped both Helped neither Don’t know/ can’t say

42 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

timelines under RERA (the Real
Estate Regulatory Authority)
gave breathing space to develop- Q. WOULD YOU TAKE A LOAN UNDER
ers whose projects were frozen
by the lockdown, the one-year
THE VARIOUS GOVERNMENT
extension of the credit-linked SCHEMES LAUNCHED TO TACKLE THE
subsidy scheme—which sub- ECONOMIC CRISIS?
sidises home loans taken by
urban residents below an income
threshold—was expected to
boost demand for affordable
housing. When asked if they
would be willing to take a loan
under one of the various govern- 34
ment schemes implemented to
tackle the economic crisis, 58 per
cent of respondents said indeed
they would, while 34 per cent
answered in the negative.
Meanwhile, the RBI has
also taken a number of steps Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say
to improve liquidity, including
allowing banks to offer consum-
ers three-month moratoriums
on loan payments and infusing
Rs 1.12 lakh crore in liquidity into the banking system
through long-term repo operations alone since the start of
the lockdown. While it is still early days to assess the im-
pact of these measures—some of them will bear fruit only
over the medium to long term—the general public seems
largely content. As many as 55 per cent of those polled said
the stimulus package was enough to change their economic
condition, while significantly less—33 per cent—said it was
not. Nonetheless, there is still a section of the public that
feels more should have been done, especially in terms of
putting more money in the hands of those who needed it.
For the MSME sector, the need of the hour was support in
paying salaries and interest on existing loans—not access
to fresh credit.
he Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign seems
T
to have caught the imagination of the
general public, one way or another. Over
half—53 per cent—of those polled said that
it is a timely campaign, with 38 per cent of
the opinion that India does not have the capability to
become self-reliant yet. (The government’s original ‘Make
in India’ initiative flopped thanks to a barrage of policy
delays and bureaucratic hurdles.) However, in the post-
Covid-19 world, where many countries would be focusing
inward, possibly even raising barriers to trade, a new
‘self-reliance’ approach may be just what the doctor
ordered. What will be critical, however, is how India goes
about building its economic backbone, the MSME
sector—an achievement that China’s rise shows as both
possible and necessary. Soumya
Kanti Ghosh, chief economist
with the State Bank of India
(SBI), has said that India could
see incremental exports
growing in the range of
$20-$193 billion in the
five-year horizon, but only if it
builds capabilities and captures
market share from China.
8% There’s a long way to go in this
regard. A note from SBI in May
this year said that India,
% despite improving its ranking
58 % in the World Bank Ease of
Doing Business Index, has been
struggling even in its tradition-
al export markets. Experts
highlight that just making
things easy for large foreign
investors doesn’t help grow the
economy, nor does it increase
jobs in the hinterland. India
will need to put specific
outcome conditions on foreign
investments, again, like China has done. Others argue that
we should learn from the failure of partial change in
regulations—special economic zones—and build zones
completely de-linked from the existing industrial and
labour laws, with much-simplified compliance procedures.
They say that the government should go beyond the
‘boycott Chinese products’ slogans and build world-class
capabilities in areas it has the potential to, in order to
become a competitive player on the global scene.
Despite the appreciation the government seems to
be getting for its handling of the economic consequences
of the pandemic so far, there is still a lurking feeling that
government policies have helped only big businesses and
ignored small businesses. One third of those polled (33 per
cent) said that its policies have helped only big businesses,
while 45 per cent said both have benefited.
Despite all the grim news flowing in on the economic
front, the MOTN survey suggests that the Modi govern-
ment is successfully conveying the idea that it is imple-
menting various measures to remedy the situation, as well
as build India’s self-reliance in the long run. That goes a
long way towards explaining the substantial backing the
Centre has received from respondents in its handling of the
Covid-19 crisis so far. However, that sentiment could well
turn sour if the economy remains in a protracted phase of
negative phase and the situation on the employment and
income front worsens. This leaves no room for complacen-
cy. The government must continue to fight the pandemic
and its economic aftermath with all the weapons that it
has at its disposal. n
AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 43
 India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE
NATION POLL
COVID -19

IN SAFE
HANDS
Public confidence in the government
and healthcare infrastructure runs high
even as the Covid pandemic rages on

By SONALI ACHARJEE

MANDAR DEODHAR
HOME BOUND
March 24, when Prime Minister Nar- Migrant workers in Mumbai
endra Modi announced the nationwide wait to be transported to
the railway station to board

ON
lockdown, the Covid count around the trains to their native places
world was truly alarming. The US had
reported 52,690 cases and 681 deaths;
Italy 69,176 cases and 6,820 deaths and
Germany 27,436 cases and 114 deaths.
India, at that time, had 519 cases and 10
Q. HOW HAS INDIA’S COLLECTIVE
deaths. As the country shut down, the RESPONSE TO COVID-19 BEEN WHEN
impact was felt all across—essential supplies began to run short, COMPARED WITH OTHER COUNTRIES?
hundreds of thousands of daily wagers lost their livelihood sources
and healthcare services for other illnesses were disrupted. All the
while, the Covid count continued to rise.
Today, India’s Covid tally might be the third highest in the
world, but given the size of the country and its population, this
was perhaps unavoidable. However, our gains from fighting the
pandemic are quite a few: improved hospital infrastructure across
the country, standardised hospital protocols for Covid cases, greater
48%
public awareness about Covid prevention norms, and a better un-
derstanding of how the virus attacks the body. The lockdown gave
state administrations and our health apparatus time to prepare for
7%
the long haul that this battle promises to be. “In March, we were
struggling to make sense of Covid—how to treat patients, how to
organise beds [for them] and how to protect our staff. To start with,
43% 2%
our healthcare system was never on its feet. We began on our knees
and are now standing tall,” says J.C. Passey, who was the medical
director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital,
Delhi’s largest Covid facility, in the initial months of the pandemic. Better At par Worse No comments

44 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 Q. SHOULD THE CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT HAVE GIVEN
DIRECT BENEFIT TRANSFERS
TO MIGRANT WORKERS?

8%

21%
71%

Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say

Q. DID THE LOCKDOWN SAVE ENOUGH
LIVES AS THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMS?
India’s real success against Covid lies in the
number of lives that have been saved. At 66.31
per cent as on August 4, the country has one of
the highest recovery rates in the world, while our
doubling rate for Covid has increased to 21 days,
from 3.4 days when the lockdown was announced
in March. The fatality rate of 2.1 per cent, as on
August 4, is the lowest since the Covid outbreak.

38% These successes find reflection in the public

mood gauged in the August ’20 india today
Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey, with an
25% overwhelming majority of respondents giving a
thumbs-up to the government’s handling of the
health aspects of Covid. While 48 per cent felt
India’s response to Covid was at par with other

34% 3%
countries, 43 per cent considered it better than
the rest of the world. Indeed, no other country
had a lockdown as extensive or as long as India
did. Staggered into four phases, the lockdown
gradually helped people adjust to life indoors
Yes Caused economic distress, but saved more lives and helped slow down the spread of the virus.
No, caused only economic damage Don’t know/ can’t say “Nobody wants to be confined at home all day.

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 45

 MOOD OF THE
C OV I D -1 9
NATION POLL

Q. WHO WOULD YOU HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOR

THE MIGRANT CRISIS DURING THE LOCKDOWN?

But in a public health emergency, precautionary

Both the central and
state governments 43%
care needs to be made mandatory. In March, not
State
a single person was wearing a mask as we be-
governments 14%
lieved the virus was transmitted through surface
contact. Today, masks are everywhere. Learning The central
came over time, but we did not waste that time government 10%
by letting people mix around freely,” says Dr Om
Srivastava, head of infectious diseases at Jaslok
Employers of
migrant workers 13%
Hospital, Mumbai.
Rumours and
Not just health, the MOTN findings were
also indicative of what mattered more to the
misinformation that 12%
migrants fell prey to
public—lives or livelihood. While 72 per cent re-
spondents said the lockdown had saved scores of
Don’t know/
can’t say
8%
lives like the government claimed, 38 per cent felt
it did cause economic distress in the process. An
equally high percentage (34 per cent) of respon-
dents said lives were saved without any economic
repercussions. As noted virologist Dr Jacob John
puts it, “When your life is at stake, you will care
Q. SHOULD THE MIGRANTS HAVE BEEN
for your health and overlook everything else.”
ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THEIR
Not only does the majority believe the lock- HOME STATES DURING THE LOCKDOWN?
down saved lives, but 77 per cent respondents
also expressed faith in India’s healthcare infra-
structure. For a country that devotes less than 1
per cent of its GDP to healthcare, the pandemic
seems to have strengthened public faith in the 5%
system. “Today, when Covid patients are admit-
ted, we immediately start them on anticoagu-
lants to prevent blood clots and monitor every 49%
organ. We have more medicines to administer at
both the moderate and critical stages. In a pan-
46%
demic such as this and in a country as large as In-
dia, coping with Covid was bound to have other
fallouts. But we saved lives—and that counts,”
says Dr R. Ranganatha, a pulmonologist at the
Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre in Bengaluru.

he most visible and excruciating Yes, it was about their livelihood No, because their

T
impact of the lockdown was on
migrant daily wagers in cities.
With most firms shut, migrant
workers struggled to support
themselves financially and headed home in droves.
In June, the solicitor general of India informed the
Supreme Court that some 9.7 million migrants
had been transported back to their hometowns.
Among the states, Uttar Pradesh reported that 2.1
million migrant workers had left for their native
places, Bihar put its number at 1 million, Maha-
rashtra at 1.1 million and Gujarat at 2 million.
The unprecedented migrant crisis not only
invited severe criticism because of the appalling
movement spread the virus Don’t know/ can’t say
conditions in which people tried to make their way home, but
also because it meant the risk of transmitting Covid from the cit-
ies to rural India. Most migrants returned home in overcrowded
buses and trains, which significantly increased the threat of
Covid transmission. “The one thing we knew for certain about
Covid from the start was that it is highly infectious. The virus has
been clever in adapting itself so that transmission between two
people is quick and guaranteed. All it takes is one droplet from an
infected person to come into contact with an object or the hands

46 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

Q. DO YOU HAVE FAITH IN THE HEALTHCARE
INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE COUNTRY? of a second person for the latter to be at a risk of
infection. For those living or travelling in close
proximity, the risk of a Covid positive case infect-
ing surfaces is all the more,” explains Dr Rakesh
Mishra, director of the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology in Hyderabad.
5% The MOTN survey shows that while a major-
ity (49 per cent) supported the government’s deci-
18% sion to allow migrants to return home, an equally
large number of respondents (46 per cent) felt it

77% was an unwise move given the highly contagious

nature of the disease. Forty-three per cent held
both the central and state governments responsi-
ble for the migrant crisis, 14 per cent felt the states
alone were to blame and only 10 per cent said the
Centre was accountable.
When it came to mitigating the economic
Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say hardships of the lockdown, an overwhelming 71
per cent said the central government should have
ensured direct benefit
Q. WHAT SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT SPEND transfers to the migrant

MORE ON—HEALTHCARE OR DEFENCE?
68%
7%
23%
Healthcare Defence
Both Don’t know/ can‘t say
FOR A COUNTRY THAT DEVOTES
LESS THAN 1% OF ITS GDP TO
HEALTHCARE, THE PANDEMIC
SEEMS TO HAVE STRENGTHENED
PUBLIC FAITH IN THE SYSTEM
72 %
workers. Financial secu-
rity would have discour-
aged many from under-
taking interstate travel
during the lockdown. The
of respondents survey also gauged the
felt that the
change in economic status
government’s
decision to impose
across the workforce, with
63 per cent respondents
a national
lockdown helped saying their income had
save lives taken a hit—numbers
were higher in the coun-
try’s east and west—and
22 per cent reporting
business or job losses. Opinion, though, was
2% divided on the Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus
package. While 55 per cent respondents believed
it had helped improve their economic situation,
44 per cent disagreed or were not sure.
Covid severely exposed the inadequacies in
our healthcare system and compelled the central
and state governments to begin its revamp on a
war footing. While India might have fared better
than other nations in terms of deaths and recov-
eries, a lot more could have been done to curb the
spread of infection, ramp up production of essen-
tial Covid supplies and boost research. Looking
ahead, about 68 per cent respondents said the
country should spend more on both healthcare
and defence. But between the two, a far higher
number (23 per cent) felt the government should
devote more funds to healthcare than on defence
(7 per cent). There is faith and momentum in the
system, now all it needs is the investment. n

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 47

 India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE FOREIG N

NATION POLL AFFAIRS

ENEMY O
NUMBER
ONE
On April 1 this year, the diplomatic lines between
New Delhi and Beijing were clogged with mes-
sages of peace and friendship. Exactly 70 years
ago, India had done what seemed unthinkable for a
non-socialist bloc country at the time—it recog-
Anti-China sentiments nised the government of the Communist Party
run at an all-time high as of China which had only the previous year over-
thrown the Chinese Nationalist Party. In his letter
MOTN respondents advocate to Chinese president Xi Jinping in April, President
a strong reply to the Ram Nath Kovind observed how the two sides had
neighbour’s adventurism “made considerable progress especially in the last
few years in enhancing our bilateral engagements
in a number of areas, including political, economic
By SANDEEP UNNITHAN and people-to-people ties”. Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi, in his message to Chinese premier Li

KENZABURO FUKUHARA/ GETTY IMAGES

A FALLING OUT
Chinese President
Xi Jinping and
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
at the BRICS
Summit in 2017 46 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
Keqiang, referred to the two countries as two ancient
civilisations with a long history of mutually beneficial
Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE MODI
exchanges over centuries and looked at taking the
GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF THE RECENT
development partnership to greater heights. SKIRMISHES WITH CHINA?
If it had not been for the coronavirus pandemic,
which spilled out of Wuhan and infected the world,
leading to a nationwide lockdown in India, there
would have been a series of events to celebrate the
15% 9%
anniversary.
Indian generals were secretly delighted at how the
‘Wuhan Spirit’—the informal summits between Presi-
69%
dent Xi and Prime Minister Modi (named for the site 7%
of their first informal summit in 2018)—had bought
them time to focus on Pakistan and the infrastructure
of terrorism. It was quite likely this heady spirit that India gave a befitting answer India failed to respond well
masked the intent and concealed the dust clouds of The Indian government hid information from the public
the two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) motorised Don’t know/ can‘t say
divisions moving towards the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) in Eastern Ladakh in late April.
Multiple clashes broke out in early May all along
the 3,448 km-long LAC, mainly along the 840 km Q. HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE
stretch in Eastern Ladakh. The PLA and the Indian INDIA’S MILITARY CAPABILITIES
Army are now facing off in a way they haven’t since the TO CHINA’S?
last time they had a border skirmish in 1967. There
are unlikely to be any celebrations this year and the
prospect of a third Modi-Xi informal summit, which
would have been held in China this year, has all but
9% 10%
vanished. Talks between the two armies, on for over
two months, have made little headway and the PLA
seems intent on expand-
72% 9%
ing the territory it controls

84 %
along the disputed border.
As a result, the favourable
view Indians held of our We can win against China We cannot defeat China
relations with China has It will end in a stalemate Don’t know/ can‘t say
dropped drastically.
respondents say Seen from New Delhi’s
India must not
perspective, the strategic
trust China as they
feel Chinese
threat now posed by an in- Q. SHOULD INDIA GO TO WAR WITH CHINA
creasingly assertive China
President Xi
could not have come at a
OVER THE BORDER CONFLICT?
Jinping has
betrayed PM Modi more inopportune time.
The post-Independence In-
dian state has rarely been
gripped by a three-pronged
crisis like it is now—a public health crisis, an eco- 7%
nomic downturn caused by one of the world’s harshest
lockdowns and a military threat on its borders. These
crises have constricted India’s options at gradually 34%
reducing its dependence on its giant northern neigh-
bour, also its largest trading partner. 59%
Among the darkest assessments of what New
Delhi faces is of an assertive Xi Jinping, who has
seized the opportunity to move in on all of China’s
neighbours. The rising China was summed up by
exiled Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in a June 14 interview
to The Indian Express: “China is a Transformer-like
Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 49

Q. WHO WOULD YOU HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOR
THE INDIA-CHINA BORDER DISPUTE IN LADAKH?
30% 11%
47% 12%
China’s external aggression Indian government’s faulty
foreign policy Intelligence failure Don’t know/ can’t say
Q. IS BANNING CHINESE APPS AND DENYING
CONTRACTS TO CHINESE COMPANIES THE RIGHT
APPROACH TO COUNTER CHINESE AGGRESSION?
2%
7%
91%
Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say
country the West cannot fully imagine. It employs a state
capitalist system with communist tactics. It is multifunc-
tional, impossible to describe and cannot be measured with
the same standards. At the same time, it is under the most
restricted control and driven by a clear vision and purpose.”
The interview, ironically, appeared just a day before the PLA
ambushed Indian army soldiers in the Galwan Valley killing
one officer and 19 soldiers. The fightback by the Indian Army
saw an unknown number of Chinese soldiers on the ground
killed. The incident, a watershed in ties between the two
countries, may have reminded policymakers that the PLA is
essentially the army of the Communist Party of China.
In the period since our last Mood of the Nation (MOTN)
poll, we have undertaken a journey, travelling from the
50 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
MOOD OF THE
NATION POLL
FOREIGN
A F FA I R S
Wuhan Spirit to the Ladakh Loathing. In January
2020, 38 per cent of respondents thought relations
between India and China had improved over the
past five years. This month, an overwhelming 84 per
cent of MOTN respondents believed Xi Jinping has
betrayed Modi. Ninety one per cent believe that the
government’s banning of Chinese apps and deny-
ing contracts to Chinese companies was the right
approach to countering Chinese aggression; and
67 per cent say they are ready to pay more for goods
not made in China. The distrust of China has never
been this high. Even in
the first MOTN, after the
90
72-day Doklam stand-off
% between India and China
in 2017, 42 per cent of the
respondents in the Janu-
ary 2018 poll believed that
respondents are in relations with China had
favour of improved.
boycotting Chinese Forty-seven per cent
products in India;
67 per cent are
of people now hold China’s
external aggression as
ready to pay more responsible for the India-
for goods not made
in China
China border dispute in
Ladakh. But, interest-
ingly, 41 per cent also
believe it is the govern-
ment’s fault—30 per cent
held India’s faulty foreign policy as responsible for the
dispute, while 11 per cent believed intelligence failure
to be the reason.
A majority—59 per cent—believe we should go to
war with China, while 34 per cent say we should not.
Seventy-two per cent believe India can actually win
against China with only 19 per cent believing we can’t
or that ‘it will end in a stalemate’.
War, however limited in scope or scale, is clearly
not in anyone’s interest. The fact that it is even being
considered as an option by the public shows the level
of anger Indians have towards China and the extent
of Beijing’s strategic miscalculation. The government
is currently in the process of recalibrating its China
policy. This shift, the biggest in decades, is likely to
take several factors into account, like the fact that
President Xi will be around for a long time, or that
India now has many more options than it did in
the past—for example, reaching out to like-minded
Asian democracies similarly troubled by a belligerent
China. It has to shun the temptation to play to the
gallery and look at the long road ahead. n
India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE CONGRESS

NATION POLL OPPOSITION

TROUBLE
AT THE TOP
A leadership vacuum and a young
versus old battle plague the Congress, but
the MOTN poll shows all is not lost. The
non-BJP/Congress parties have a chance,
if they get their act together

By KAUSHIK DEKA

MANEESH AGNIHOTRI

t’s been a torrid year for the Indian National Congress since the May
2019 drubbing in the Lok Sabha election. The country’s main Op-

I
position party has lost out to the BJP’s machinations in two states
where it had won elections—Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh—and
is fighting to save its government in another—Rajasthan. It has help-
lessly watched one of its most promising leaders, Jyotiraditya Scin-
dia, defecting to the BJP while another one, Sachin Pilot, is almost
on the verge of quitting. Optimists will point out that the party has
also become part of the government in two states, Maharashtra
and Jharkhand, though there is a caveat to this—in both states,
the Congress is a junior partner. And seven months into power, the
Jharkhand unit of the party is now witnessing some turbulence.
If all this was not enough, a civil war among party colleagues is playing out on
public forums on whether the Congress should begin a much-needed introspec-
tion of the legacy of the UPA-II government. As expected, public patience with
the party is wearing thin. Of the 12,021 respondents the india today Mood of the
Nation poll interviewed across 97 parliamentary constituencies and 194 assembly
constituencies in 19 states, 47 per cent said that the Grand Old Party was in its

52 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0


File photo of the Gandhis at a puja before
Q. WITH LEADERS REBELLING death throes. Even such damning fig-
ures, however, fail to dampen the con-
AND EXITING, IS THE viction of many Congress leaders. “By
CONGRESS NEARING 2024, the Congress will be a well-oiled
system under the strong leadership
ITS DEMISE? of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
With the support of the people, we will
defeat the BJP because it has failed on
Yes every count except on the narrative of
disinformation and divisiveness,” says
47% No
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Satav, who
had reportedly suggested at a July 30
meeting—convened by party president
Don’t
38% Sonia Gandhi of its upper house mem-
bers—that introspection, if need be,
should begin from the UPA-II period.
know/
can’t say Known for his proximity to Rahul,
Satav doesn’t see Scindia’s exit or
15% Pilot’s revolt as any existential threat
as “no individual is bigger than the
HIGHER POWERS
Sonia files her nomination papers for
the Rae Bareli LS seat, April 21, 2019
party”. Instead, he reposes faith in the
hard work done by Rahul, who he says
has already “built up a better system
that allows youngsters and committed
Congress workers to rise up the ranks
and reach Parliament”.
Yet, less than one-fourth of the
respondents (23 per cent) share Satav’s
enthusiasm for Rahul, who resigned
as Congress president in July last year,
owning up to the party’s disastrous
performance in the general election.
The Gandhi scion remains the most
preferred choice to revive the party’s
fortunes, but it’s a sharp decline from
August 2018—eight months after he
had taken charge—when 47 per cent
respondents believed he could be the
party’s saviour. The figure is also down
one percentage point since January
AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 53
 CONGRESS
MOOD OF THE
NATION POLL OPPOSITION

Q. WHICH CONGRESS LEADER IS BEST SUITED

TO REVIVE THE PARTY?

when the last MOTN poll was conducted.

In contrast to Rahul’s diminishing public
appeal, the leader who seems to have grown
in relevance yet again is former prime minis-
ter Manmohan Singh—18 per cent of MOTN
RAHUL MANMOHAN SONIA
respondents believe the octogenarian leader can GANDHI SINGH GANDHI
revive the Congress as against 10 per cent six
months ago. The revelation comes at a time when 23 [24] 18 [10] 14 [11]
Satav’s senior colleagues took jibes at him for
questioning the UPA legacy and indirectly that
of Manmohan Singh. It’s also perhaps partial
vindication of Singh’s prophecy at the fag end of
his second and last term in office: “History will
be kinder to me than the media.” For the record,
Satav later clarified that his criticism was not
targeted at Manmohan who “is above reproach”. PRIYANKA SACHIN KAMAL
The sudden revival of Manmohan Singh—the GANDHI PILOT NATH
first time a non-Gandhi has usurped any of the
top three positions as “the leader to revive the
14 [14] 3 [7] 3 [2]
Congress”—is also an indication of the leadership
crisis the party has been facing since Rahul’s ab-
dication last year. An ailing Sonia Gandhi, 73, was
made to take charge in the interim after the party
failed to find a replacement for Rahul. While the
decision reflected the reluctance of the Congress
to look beyond the Gandhi family, it may have paid
P. ASHOK DON’T KNOW /
dividends—41 per cent of respondents rate Sonia’s CHIDAMBARAM GEHLOT CAN’T SAY
performance as good, though it’s down from the
49 per cent support she got six months ago. 3 [3] 2 [1] 14 [13]

O
(Figures in %; numbers in brackets are from MOTN Jan. ’20)
n August 10, Sonia Gandhi will complete
a year in her latest stint as party chief.
She was appointed by the Congress
Working Committee and, as per the party’s con- Q. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RAHUL GANDHI’S
stitution, such appointments need to be ratified CRITICISM OF THE MODI GOVERNMENT
by an AICC session. But that has not happened. DURING THE PANDEMIC?
And with Covid-19 raging across India, such a
session is unlikely in the near future. While most
Congress veterans are in favour of extending her
tenure, Rahul loyalists have begun the chorus for
his return. Much to their disappointment, the 38%
50-year-old leader has, for now, opted to focus on
his own “lonely battle”, instead of charting out a 23%
revival plan for the party and his aides.
In the past six months, Rahul has waged a
“video war”, primarily on social media, with a
not-so-subtle objective—to build an image as a 25% 14%
serious and sensitive leader, and showcase that he
is not the ‘Pappu’ the BJP trolls keep projecting
him as. He was seen interacting with migrants He made sense Baseless allegations
on the streets during the post-lockdown exodus, Just wants publicity Did not take note of it
discussing Covid-19 and the economy with global

54 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 RAHUL REMAINS Q. DO YOU AGREE WITH RAHUL’S Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE
THE PREFERRED GANDHI’S CRITICISM OF THE MODI SONIA GANDHI’S
GANDHI GOVERNMENT DURING INDIA’S PERFORMANCE AS
24 23 BORDER CONFLICT WITH CHINA? CONGRESS PRESIDENT?

15
14 14 14% 35%
14
11 11
27% 33%
7 59% 20%
MOTN MOTN MOTN
Aug. Jan. Aug.
’19 ’20 ’20
Rahul Gandhi 8% 4%
Priyanka Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi No, he should not have attacked the
Rahul seems to have cemen­ government on national security issues
ted his position as the peo­ Yes, he raised valid questions Outstanding Good Average
ple’s first choice; figures in % Don’t know/ can’t say Poor Don’t know/ can’t say

experts and dissecting India’s border conflict with China line of criticism was heard last year as well when Congress
in videos released on multiple social media platforms. The leaders such as Jairam Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor had
content of these videos also directly or indirectly hint at said the party focused too much on Modi personally.
Rahul’s battle, which centres around creating a narrative Rahul, however, is in no mood to pay attention to such
against the BJP’s most powerful symbol: Prime Minister criticism and has continued to attack the prime minister,
Narendra Modi. His reluctance to almost on a daily basis. “I am not
return to the party helm also has its scared of PM Modi. I will continue
roots in this battle. In his resignation RAHUL LOYALISTS to criticise him. If people here have
letter, he mentioned how, at times, a problem with it, let the CWC ask
he stood completely alone without HAVE BEGUN THE me to keep quiet,” he said at a CWC
support from other Congress leaders CHORUS FOR HIS meeting. The next day (July 24), he
while taking on “the prime minister, RETURN, BUT THE tweeted, indirectly claiming credit as
the RSS and the institutions they’ve a bellwether: “I kept warning them
captured”. His aides say the scenario
LEADER SEEMS TO on Covid-19 and the economy. They
has not changed much since then. BE FOCUSING ON HIS rubbished it. Disaster followed. I
In a CWC meeting in June, “LONELY BATTLE” keep warning them on China. They’re
former Union minister R.P.N. Singh, rubbishing it.” Unfortunately for
often cast as a member of the Rahul
AGAINST PM MODI
him, most people are unwilling to
brigade, reportedly said that while see him in that role yet. He may have
the Congress should target Modi’s warned the country of the dangers of
policies and wrong decisions, the attack should not appear the Covid-19 pandemic as early as February 12, request-
personal. RPN’s comment perhaps was triggered by a Ra- ing the Modi government to take preventive measures,
hul tweet two days earlier, saying that “Narendra Modi is but 61 per cent of respondents don’t find merit in Rahul’s
actually Surrender Modi”, a pun on the prime minister ac- criticism of the Modi government’s handling of the crisis.
cusing him of “surrendering” to the Chinese during the on- The political pragmatism of RPN and Congress veterans
going border dispute with the neighbouring country. Party also found support in the MOTN poll as most respondents
treasurer and Sonia Gandhi’s unofficial counsel Ahmed don’t agree with Rahul’s criticism of the Modi government
Patel also reportedly said that party leaders should be vocal over India’s border conflict with China. An overwhelming
against Modi but avoid use of “intemperate language”. This 59 per cent say he should not have attacked the government

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 55

 SCENARIO 1

WHAT IF UPA Q. WERE LOK SABHA ELECTIONS HELD TODAY, WHAT WOULD THE
RESULTS LOOK LIKE WITH A STRONGER PRE-POLL UPA?
EXPANDS… Structure: 17 new parties, including SP, BSP, TDP, Left parties, AIUDF and RLD, join UPA
Result: The BJP loses majority on its own
A hypothetical
analysis of what CE
S
-WISE EAT BRE
AK T Y-W
ISE SEAT BR
EA
K-
N
happens if more LIA -U
PA
R UP
anti-BJP parties join AL 153 53
01

P
a Congress-led UPA 9 2

21
26
I
19%

89
n the 2019 general election,
the UPA—currently a fluid
alliance of 16 political parties
42 %
39% 36 %

headed by the Congress—got 93

seats. The other parties, which 19% 45%
VO VO
were neither part of the BJP-led TE SHARE TE SHARE
NDA—currently an alliance of 21
parties—nor the UPA, won anoth- NDA UPA Others BJP Congress The rest*
er 97 seats. The UPA’s failure to NDA: BJP, SAD, AGP, AIADMK, LJP, JD(U), AJSU, DMDK, PMK, AD (Apna Dal), AINRC (All India N
stitch a pre-poll alliance with tra- R Congress), BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana Sena), KC-T (Kerala Congress-Thomas), PNK (Puthiya
ditionally anti-BJP parties such Needhi Katchi), PT (Puthiya Tamilagam), Tamil Maanila Congress, RLP (Rashtriya Loktantrik
Party), BPF (Bodoland People’s Front), SDF, NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party),
as the TMC, AAP, SP and BSP
NPF (Naga People’s Front)
certainly helped the NDA. In that
UPA: (Current allies) INC, AIMIM, DMK, HAM, IUML, JD(S), NC, JMM, JVM, KC(M), NCP, RJD, RLSP,
context, the MOTN poll exam- RSP, SWP (Socialist Workers Party), VCK (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi) +
ines two hypothetical situations (New allies) FB, AIUDF, BSP, CPI, CPI(M), INLD, PDP, MDMK, MNF, RLD, SP, TDP, AMMK (Amma
(see graph) with an ‘enhanced Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam), BVA (Bahujan Vikas Aghadi), GGP (Gondwana Gantantra Party),
JCC (Janta Congress Chhattisgarh), MNM (Makkal Needhi Maiam)
strength’ UPA. As the number
Others: AAP, TMC, BJD, Shiv Sena, TRS, YSRCP, Ind, Others
of UPA allies increase, there is
a proportionate decrease in the
tally of the NDA and BJP—though SCENARIO 2
their vote share remains intact.
The gain in vote share for the
Q. WERE LOK SABHA ELECTIONS HELD TODAY, WHAT WOULD THE
UPA is at the cost of parties not RESULTS LOOK LIKE WITH AN EVEN STRONGER PRE-POLL UPA?
part of either alliance, NDA or
Structure: Three major parties—Shiv Sena, TMC, AAP—join the additional 17
UPA. The pre-poll arrangements
Result: The trio adds 59 more seats to UPA tally; brings NDA down to slim majority
help to convert the increased
vote share into more seats won WISE SEAT BR ISE SEAT BRE
by avoiding a division of votes. NCE- EA T Y-W AK
IA K- R -U
L U PA P
For instance, as seen in the AL 55
212
82
P

second scenario, joining hands 2

with TMC and AAP, two non- 0
38
25
2

aligned parties, and Shiv Sena,

a former BJP ally, could take the 19%
49

UPA tally to 212, from the current 42 %

45% 36 %
93. These hypothetical numbers
further illustrate the importan-
13 % 45%
ce of a coherent unity among VO VO
opposition parties to effectively TE SHARE TE SHARE
counter the BJP-led NDA.
NDA UPA Others BJP Congress The rest*

Disclaimer: These alliances were not formed
for the general election and hence are hypo-
thetical situations. Voting patterns are impact-
ed by alliances and seat-sharing deals between
partners; voter intentions have been derived
after configuring the scenarios. Likewise, seat/
vote share for the national alliance scenarios
are indicative, a mathematical computation for
each party supporting the alliance.
NDA: BJP, AD, AGP, AIADMK, AINRC, AJSU, BDJS, BPF, DMDK, JD(U), KC-T, LJP, NDPP,
NPF, PMK, PNK, PT, RLP, SAD, SDF, TMC(M)
UPA: (Current allies) INC, AIMIM, DMK, HAM, IUML, JD(S), NC, JMM, JVM, KC(M), NCP,
RJD, RLSP, RSP, SWP, VCK +
(New allies) FB, AMMK, AIUDF, BSP, BVA, CPI, CPI(M), GGP, INLD, JCC, PDP, MDMK,
MNF, MNM, RLD, SP, TDP, AAP, TMC, Shiv Sena
Others: BJD, TRS, YSRCP, IND, Others
*The rest is the sum of all political parties other than the BJP and
Congress; 20 are in NDA, 15 are in UPA and 24 are non-aligned
 MOOD OF THE
NATION POLL
CONGRESS
OPPOSITION
Q. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE ROLE OF THE
CONGRESS AS AN OPPOSITION PARTY?

32%
on national security issues.
What may also be music to the ears of Congress 35%
leaders opposed to Rahul’s brand of politics is that
44 per cent respondents gave a thumbs up to the
21%
party’s role in the opposition. Perhaps this is an
indication that the nation still has faith in the party
but expects it to emerge with a stronger leadership
and fresher narrative. “He is different and wants 9% 3%
to do politics differently. We should allow him to
do so, but then we also would like him to be more
active in Parliament and more accessible to the Outstanding Good Average
people. As Sharad Pawar advised him, he should go Poor Don’t know/ can’t say
around India,” says Digvijaya Singh, once known as
Rahul’s political guru.
While the Congress, despite the leadership crisis,
may still have found
resonance among
Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE ROLE OF THE
the people, what’s OPPOSITION PARTIES DURING THIS PANDEMIC?
THE LOSS IN THIS unfortunate for
BATTLE OF Indian democracy
PERCEPTIONS is the failure of the
other Opposition
IS HUGE FOR NON- parties to strike a 14%
NDA PARTIES— chord with the mass-
THE MOTN POLL es. One thing unique
to the Covid-19
SAYS THEIR crisis is that it has hit 33% 53%
VOTE SHARE both the BJP and its
IS NOW 58% opponents equally
hard and without
exception. If the saf-
fron party is fighting
the pandemic at the Centre and in several states,
other parties are also fighting the same in their
respective states—the Congress in Chhattisgarh, They just criticise the government for the sake of it
Rajasthan and Punjab; the Trinamool Congress in Hold the government accountable with constructive
West Bengal; the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, the Shiv criticism Don’t know/ can’t say
Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress in Ma-
harashtra; the Left in Kerala; the Telangana Rashtra
Samithi in Telangana; the YSR Congress Party in
Andhra Pradesh; the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha- tion parties criticised the government just for the sake of it.
Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal in Jharkhand. So in The price of this loss in the battle of perceptions seems much
their criticism of the Centre, they also become part higher if seen in the context of this piece of data—the collective
of the blame game—taking flak for the mis-steps in vote share of the non-NDA parties, according to the current
their own states. As for those who are not in power— MOTN poll, is 58 per cent, three percentage points higher than
especially the Samjwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj what they got in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. This translates
Party in Uttar Pradesh—any activity has been only into 227 seats—less than 50 seats from a majority in the Lok
on social media, thanks to the lockdown restric- Sabha. What’s more significant is that this gain is primarily
tions posed by the deadly virus. The consequence is because of non-UPA parties. The message is loud and clear. The
a collective failure in making a convincing argument nation, when needed, is ready to look beyond the two national
against the BJP-ruled government’s handling of the parties—the BJP and the Congress—but other parties must get
pandemic—53 per cent respondents feel the Opposi- their narrative right and make themselves heard. n

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 57

 TOP OF
THE LOT
India Today Group-Karvy Insights
CM Adityanath
at a meeting with
senior offcials in
MOOD OF THE Lucknow, Apr. 21
NATION POLL STATES

THE GAME
CHANGERS
Next generation chief ministers
who are tapping technology for
development initiatives have
won their electorate’s approval

By AMARNATH K. MENON

e will do whatever it takes to check crime and the pandemic, he had launched initiatives to
corruption,” asserts Uttar Pradesh chief minis- rev up the economy, welcoming investors to set

W
ter Yogi Adityanath about his unfinished tasks,
as he enters the final two years of his tenure.
He is the first BJP chief minister in the state to
complete three years in office and the 48-year-
old saffron-clad leader is determined to make it
a transformational journey for his state.
The MOTN August 2020 survey reveals
that he is gaining in the perception that he is
efficient administrator and is making the state
more attractive to investors. This is even as his
party’s Hindutva campaign and Ram Janmab-
hoomi movement reaches a defining moment
with the beginning of the work on the Ram
temple in Ayodhya. His rating as the best chief
minister, pan-India, has improved from 18 per
cent in January to 24 per cent in August.
Adityanath’s focus now is to create jobs for
the four million migrants who have returned
home during the lockdown. Before the onset of
up industries. It is slowly coming to fruition.
According to Projects Today, which tracks
projects and investments, UP’s cumulative inv-
estments have doubled from Rs 4.2 lakh crore in
March 2015 to Rs 8.1 lakh crore in March 2020.
Its project implementation ratio has improved
from 36.9 per cent to 43.9 per cent, while the
share of the private sector in investments went
up from 29.4 per cent to 42.2 per cent between
March 2018 and March 2020. With Nivesh Mi-
tra, a single-window digital clearance platform,
the CM has smoothened the application-to-
approval cycle for investments. But with a per
capita income of Rs 70,419, the second worst in
the country and almost half the national average
of Rs 1.34 lakh, UP has a long way to go. “We
succeeded in changing the perception of the
state. Now UP is on the path of development and
good governance,” says the CM.

58 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 Q. WHO IS THE BEST CHIEF MINISTER OF INDIA? Q. HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR STATE
(Based on respondents from around the country) GOVERNMENT’S HANDLING OF COVID-19?
YOGI ADITYANATH
Uttar Pradesh 24% 18%
ARVIND KEJRIWAL
Delhi 15% 11%
Y.S. JAGAN MOHAN REDDY
Andhra Pradesh 11% 7% 48%
MAMATA BANERJEE
West Bengal 9% 11% 22%
UDDHAV THACKERAY
7% 6%
6%
Maharashtra

NITISH KUMAR
Bihar 7% 10%
NAVEEN PATNAIK 23% 1%
Odisha 6 6%
%

K. CHANDRASHEKAR RAO
Telangana 3% 2% Outstanding Good Average
Poor Don’t know/ can’t say
BHUPESH BAGHEL
Chhattisgarh 2% 1%
SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN
Madhya Pradesh 2% NA Six months younger than him, Andhra
VIJAY RUPANI Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,
Gujarat
2% 4% who assumed office on May 30 last year, enjoys a
far greater appeal; 87 per cent in his home state
ASHOK GEHLOT
Rajasthan
2% 3% approve of him, according to the MOTN poll, the
highest rating for any chief minister. Support for
B.S. YEDIYURAPPA Adityanath in his own state is only 49 per cent,
Karnataka 2% 2%
with three others—Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Ma-
MOTN Aug. ’20 MOTN Jan. ’20 mata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Nitish Kumar
(Bihar) notching up 55 per cent or more.
What makes Reddy tick is that he has tried
to keep the pre-poll promises made to the poor
Q. WHO IS THE BEST PERFORMING ahead of the 2019 assembly poll. There is also
CHIEF MINISTER (HOME STATE)? the saturation coverage of poverty-alleviation
(Based on respondents from that particular state)
schemes, all tracked through a robust village sec-
retariat system. Rolled out on October 2 last year,
ARVIND Reddy’s brainchild is emerging as the bulwark for
KEJRIWAL future governance in the state.
Delhi
Y.S. JAGAN For this, he has created a huge administrative
MOHAN REDDY MAMATA apparatus at the grassroots level. There is a village
Andhra Pradesh BANERJEE or ward secretariat for every 2,000 residents and
63% West Bengal
one volunteer on an average to serve every 100
households. In this manner, he has also created
389,000 jobs. Volunteers arrange doorstep deliv-

87% 59% ery of services for eligible citizens. It is their job to

ensure that beneficiaries in every household are
identified and mapped, and appropriate services
are proactively delivered to them in a transparent
and time-bound manner. There is also a team of
dedicated 200 call centre executives who track and
55% 49% monitor the progress in service delivery requests.
In effect, with the help of technology, Jagan has

NITISH
44% YOGI
developed an ecosystem for uninterrupted access
to various services provided by the government. n
ADITYANATH
KUMAR
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
UDDHAV
THACKERAY
Maharashtra AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 59
 India Today Group-Karvy Insights

MOOD OF THE ENTERTAINMENT

NATION POLL

Q. WHO IS THE NO. 1 HERO?

AKSHAY’S
STAR TURN
The Khans lose their
AMITABH
BACHCHAN
23 %
SHAH RUKH
KHAN
11%
SALMAN
KHAN
10%

charm and place to

Akshay Kumar; outsiders
rule among actresses

By SUHANI SINGH AAMIR KHAN AJAY DEVGN RANVEER SINGH

6%
4 %
4 %

O HRITHIK ROSHAN
4 %
RANBIR KAPOOR
2 %
SHAHID KAPOOR
2 %

Over four months after Covid-19 led to the closure

of cinemas, the future of theatre owners is as dark
as the properties they run. As per the india today AKSHAY
Mood of the Nation poll, more than half the respon- KUMAR
dents, 53 per cent, said they wouldn’t visit theatres
even after they reopen. That OTT platforms have ful-
filled the needs of film enthusiasts has only added to
24%
the woes of theatre owners. Not to mention the many
new titles premiering on OTT platforms in the past
few months. The year 2020 has been a washout at
the box office with only Ajay Devgn-starrer Tanhaji:
The Unsung Warrior earning Rs 269 crore. So, when
will we see a Rs 100 crore film next?
One actor who can be trusted to deliver is Akshay
Kumar, who topped the MOTN poll for the first time
after tying with Salman Khan for the top spot in the
last edition in January. Kumar’s strong showing in six
months can be attributed to the fact that his name is
untainted from the unfolding Sushant Singh Rajput
YASIR IQBAL

saga, and that he continues to be the busiest actor of

the lot. He’ll be the first star to return to work, shoot-

60 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0

 DEEPIKA
PADUKONE Q. WILL YOU GO TO CINEMA
16% HALLS WHEN THEY REOPEN?

8%
39%
53%

Yes No Don’t know/ can’t say

TARUN VISHWA/HARPER’S BAZAAR

ing for a film in the UK from August. As makers of
Kumar’s film Sooryavanshi wait for theatres to re-
open, he will have a digital release, Laxmmi Bomb,
in the coming months. Not too far behind Kumar
was the septuagenarian Amitabh Bachchan who,
despite working from home, contracted Covid.
The most notable feature of the poll, though,
was how the popularity of the Khans has plum-
meted. For a change, it was Shah Rukh who was

Q. WHO IS THE NO. 1 HEROINE? ahead of Salman and Aamir, with the respondents
recognising the many charitable endeavours of his
Meer Foundation during the lockdown. Aamir has
not had a release since Thugs of Hindostan in Oc-
tober 2018 and SRK since Zero in December 2018.
Salman’s latest instalment of Dabangg, too, failed
to win over his fans. Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, who
featured in 2019’s biggest hit War, and 35-year-old
PRIYANKA KATRINA AISHWARYA Ranveer Singh, the youngest actor in the crop of
CHOPRA-JONAS KAIF RAI-BACHCHAN top 10, tied for the sixth spot.
14 %
13 %
10 % Among the actresses, Deepika Padukone was
in pole position after she made headlines for show-
ing solidarity with students of Jawaharlal Nehru
University during the promotional rounds of her
maiden production Chhapaak in which she played
an acid attack survivor. She is also the only one
from the industry to have spoken about mental
health awareness after news of Rajput’s battle
ANUSHKA SHARMA ALIA BHATT KANGANA RANAUT
with depression broke. Anushka Sharma, who is
9 %
6 %
6% in news more for producing (Paatal Lok, Bulbbul)
and her social media activity, dropped to No. 5,
with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Katrina Kaif and
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan faring better.
Kangana Ranaut, meanwhile, had her best sho-
wing so far given her committed act in providing
video commentary from Manali on a series of issues
SONAKSHI KAREENA SHRADDHA with the prime focus being adding fuel to the fiery
SINHA KAPOOR-KHAN KAPOOR Rajput tragedy. Tied with Alia Bhatt, Ranaut per-
3 %
3 %
3% haps will take solace in the fact that, like her, the top
five heroines in the MOTN poll are all outsiders. n

AUGUST 17, 2 02 0 INDIA TODAY 61

 OBITUARY
EBRAHIM ALKAZI 1925-2020
A Titan of the Stage
Ebrahim Alkazi, known as the father of Indian theatre, raised the respect people had for the art form
By Anupam Kher
A
lkazi Sahib, the Badshah of Indian
theatres, was my guru. Whatever I
have learned as a human being and
an actor is courtesy him. Under his
leadership at the National School of
Drama in Delhi, many fine actors
emerged, including Surekha Sikri, the late Om Puri,
Naseeruddin Shah, Rohini Hattangadi, Pankaj Kapur
and directors such as Vijaya Mehta and Ratan Thiyam.
He taught us to appreciate poetry, painting, books,
culture; he made us humans. Gadhe ko ghoda bana
diya [He made horses out of donkeys]. He brought
dignity to the lives of actors and raised the respect
people had for theatre.
In 1974, I had applied
to the National School of
Drama but was rejected. I
then joined the year-long
course at the Department
of Indian Theatre in Panjab
University, Chandigarh,
where I would be lead in two
plays helmed by Mr Alkazi’s
daughter, Amal Allana.
I’d hear all the folklore
surrounding Mr Alkazi.
That he was strict, char-
ismatic, a larger than life
figure. Generally when you
hear such lofty tales about
someone, you are likely to BANDEEP SINGH
be disappointed when you
meet them in real life. When I joined NSD the next year,
he was miles above everything that had been said about
him. I didn’t know what enigma meant until I met him.
From the honk of his car and the walk in the cor-
ridors, we students could tell what mood he was in. He
taught us Western drama. I was mesmerised in the
first class itself when he read aloud Arthur Miller’s A
View from the Bridge. I was a gold medallist back in my
university but attending his class, I felt main toh gaon
se aaya hoon. We would eagerly wait for his classes.
The way he conducted himself was a course book
in itself. He always emphasised the discipline needed
to be an actor. He would say you need to get out of your
comfort zone to make it. He would tell us about John
62 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 17, 2 02 0
Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando. He
was such an attractive personality. He also had a great
sense of humour. We all wanted to be mini Alkazis.
My first play with him was Jean Paul Sartre’s
Men without Shadows which came with some of the
best teaching lessons of my life. He would perform
every character with such finesse. There was not an
iota of falseness.
Once I had failed to finish a project on Henrik
Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. Alkazi had issued an ultimatum:
we could leave the school if we didn’t deliver. I knew
my fate and was bidding adieu to my batchmates but
I still went to the class, ready for humiliation. He was
in a foul mood. When the
roll call for the assignment
came, I was at number five.
While others responded
with ‘I have done, Sir’, I,
with a right flick of the
neck, said, ‘I will do, Sir’. I
got away with it. Everyone
was impressed by my quick
thinking that day.
Eight years later, I came
to know he was in Pahalgam
where I was shooting for a
film. I requested some time
and he obliged with a lunch
meeting. While enjoying a
beer with him by the Lidder
river—I wanted the whole
world to experience this
moment—a little tipsy after guzzling just half a bottle, I
decided to recount the Ibsen episode. But before I could
finish it, he repeated my words, “I will do it” with the
same flick of the neck. “I had noticed but I didn’t want
to throw you out of the school,” he told me.
In my play, Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai, I pay tribute to
my three teachers—Balwant Gargi, Allana and Alkazi.
Each of the three floors of my institute, Actor Prepares,
is named after them. I received a letter from Alkazi af-
ter he saw a show at Kamani Auditorium in Delhi. It’s
my proudest possession. It’s number one in my order of
achievements. Indian theatre—its actors, directors, set
designers—owe everything to him. n
—As told to Suhani Singh
CHAITANYA AASIF MANDVI: A
TAMHANE’S MUSICAL GLASS HALF FULL
PROJECT PG 7 2 KINDA GUY PG 7 3

THE ELEGANCE Q&A WITH

OF A DESERT CHUNKY PANDEY
PG 7 4 PG 7 6

Going
Live
Stream
M USIC

Robbed of opportunities to play gigs this

year, musicians are turning to the internet
to showcase their talent and make some
money through online concerts

Illustration by SIDDHANT JUMDE

LEISURE
A
n online concert series
seems to have achieved
what organisers of Indian
classical music shows have
striven to do for years—get
a new, younger audience
to engage with the genre.
“A lot of people comment ‘I
never realised classical music could be
this interesting. Now I’ll start listening
to it more’,” says Rohit Kaul, head of
marketing at HCL Concerts, a division
of the technology company that has
been staging a digital avatar of its Bait-
hak series, its on-ground Hindustani
and Carnatic recitals, since April.
In the past four months, it has treat-
ed classical music aficionados to over 30
concerts by stars such as Vishwa Mohan
Bhatt, Shubha Mudgal, Shujaat Khan
and Sudha Ragunathan, streamed on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The
“majority” of the viewers are “between
25 and 34 years”, an age group that
comprised just about 30 to 40 per cent
of the crowd at “physical concerts”, says
Kaul. As in the real world, the artists
are paid a performance fee. The series
has been so successful that HCL aims to
continue it even after restrictions ease.
Baithak is among the several
musical initiatives launched since the
country went into lockdown at the end
of March. The resultant cancellation of
public gatherings, including concerts,
THREE GAME-CHANGING INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
deprived Indian musicians of their folk musicians in 11 states had received
primary means of income. Among the funds, and plans are in place to extend
most vulnerable were folk acts. Anahad support to an additional 1,500 musi-
Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to cians in the northeast and the south.
“empower” folk musicians “through “The project was designed in a
technology”, was quick to spring into way to not give ‘charity’ but an
action after the lockdown was an- opportunity to earn this relief,” says
nounced, and conceptualised Chaukhat Agarwal. The videos are streamed daily
Ki Goonj, a series of online concerts. on Anahad’s Facebook page and You-
In exchange for a 30-minute video Tube channel, and though the quality of
performance, each artist the audio and visuals is not
receives Rs 2,000 worth of a professional level, the
of cash and rations from
Cancellations series has garnered a small
Anahad, which is enough
because of the but loyal following. Every
to sustain them for 15 days.
lockdown have clip includes a donation
The amount of money and
deprived link, which further helps
supplies were decided upon
musicians of raise funds.
after a survey conducted
one of their Although India’s
by the NGO determined
primary sourc- independent musicians are,
that a fortnight was the
es of income— relatively, more privileged
period of time musicians
live shows than their folk music coun-
needed sustenance for so terparts, they too were hit
as to have some breathing hard by the cessation of live
room in which to figure out shows. A large number has
the other professions, such as farming, taken to “going live” on social media,
they can switch to, says Anahad founder either on their own channels or of gig
Abhinav Agarwal. organisers, such as audio-streaming
As many folk artists are unfamiliar service JioSaavn, whose occasional ‘Live
with technology, they had to initially Anywhere’ series has featured both
be trained in how to use their phone indie and mainstream acts like Anand
cameras to film themselves and then Bhaskar, Ankur Tewari and B. Praak.
compress and send the files across Among other efforts are electronic
to Anahad. The organisation also music events company Gently Altered’s
familiarised them with net banking. Telecast. Aired twice a month on
By the end of July, more than 2,200 Alteredtv.com, it gives its viewers the
Travis Scott
The most prominent
“virtual” concert in recent
months wasn’t exactly a live­
stream but American rapper
Travis Scott’s nine­minute
performance within the online
videogame Fortnite in April. It
was watched by more than 27
million unique players, which,
in some way, makes it the “gig”
with the highest attendees ever.
 option to switch between multiple stages or
channels and create their own virtual rooms
in which to dance with friends. Another
VIRTUAL
endeavour, The Lockdown Gig, put together
TUNES
(from top)
by artist manager Ryan Thomas and PR pro-
Telecast on fessional Schubert Fernandes, is streamed
Altered TV; on Facebook and focuses on both established
Sabir Khan and upcoming singer-songwriters. It has,
and Group thus far, featured Nikhil D’Souza, Hanita
on Chaukhat Bhambri and Raghav Meattle, among others.
Ki Goonj;
Meattle, 28, also organises his own gigs
HCL Baithak
with Shubha on Instagram. He is seen as somewhat of a
Mudgal; and ‘father figure’ to scores of aspiring artists
(left) Raghav whom he invites to perform on ‘Late Night
Meattle Cone-versations’, his daily open mic session.
of Cone­ This has earned him the moniker “Cone
versations Daddy”. Over 300 vocalist-composers have
been part of Meattle’s series, which com-
menced in early April and gets its name from
the filter he uses to make his head appear as
if it was a scoop of ice cream in a cone, during
the stream. The overwhelming response to
‘Late Night Cone-versations’ encouraged Me-
attle to take it beyond social media and start
hosting pay-what-you-can workshops, as well
as ticketed gigs on Zoom, spotlighting four
artists who sing four tunes as opposed to one
or two on his Instagram feed. The bulk of the
talent featured, he says, are those who have
been unable to record their music on account
of the lockdown. “It’s crazy how these guys
are sitting on such amazing songs. That’s
why I was like I might as well keep doing this
every night,” says Meattle. n
—Amit Gurbaxani

BTS
K­Pop group BTS gained
another entry in the
Guinness Book of Records
for the “most views” for a
paid livestreamed concert.
No less than 756,000 fans
from over 100 countries, in­
cluding India, bought tickets
to see Bang Bang Con: The
Live, which they performed
from a studio in Seoul in June.
Tomorrowland
It isn’t a fair comparison but the digital
edition of electronic dance music
festival Tomorrowland beat even BTS. A
million revellers around the globe tuned
into the two­day pay­per­view party in
virtually­
July at which DJs played to a virtually
created arena and audience. It wasn’t
the first of its kind—Sunburn organisers
Percept Live and producers Anish Sood,
Nucelya and Ritviz have staged similar
shows—but Tomorrowland has set the
standard in virtual music festivals.
LEISURE
CINEMA
MUSIC ON
HIS MIND
CHAITANYA TAMHANE’S VENICE-BOUND THE
DISCIPLE DELVES DEEP INTO THE WORLD OF
HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC
B
efore 2014, Chait-
anya Tamhane was
just another aspir-
ing filmmaker. And
then came Court, which not
only made the ‘best-of-the-
year’ lists but even the ‘best-
of-the-decade’ ones. After
winning two awards at the
Venice Film Festival, includ-
ing best film in the Orizzonti
section, Court became that
rare directorial debut to win
the nation’s highest cinematic
CLASSICAL TONES
A still from The Disciple
honour: the National Award
for Best Film. Tamhane was
27 at that time.
After six years, during
which he produced an ani-
mated short and spent two
years with Oscar-winning
filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron,
courtesy the Rolex Mentor
and Protégé Arts Initiative,
Tamhane is ready with his
second film, The Disciple.
It’s the first Indian film
since Mira Nair’s Monsoon
Wedding (2001) to be in the
Venice Film Festival’s main
competition. The Marathi
film will also screen at the
Toronto International Film
Festival in September.
Cuaron’s influence on the
film is “immense”, says Tam-
hane. In addition to sharing
feedback on script, Cuaron
had Oscar-winning cinema-
tographer Emmanuel Lubezki
recommend a lensman—Po-
land’s Michal Sobocinski—
and encouraged Tamhane
to edit the film on his own.
“He has gone beyond the
programme,” says Tamhane,
who got to see Cuaron work
on his acclaimed film Roma in
Mexico. “He is still helping me
strategise the film’s journey.”
While Court offered an
authentic, comprehensive
experience of a trial through
the eyes of the four people part
of it, The Disciple is set in the
world of Hindustani classical
music and, as the title hints,
looks at the guru-shishya
CHAITANYA
TAMHANE
feels there is no
comparison between the
commercial ecosystems of
Hollywood and Bollywood
tradition. Tamhane didn’t
grow up on classical music
but, in his early 20s, he began
to note the “hierarchical no-
tions, extreme reverence and
the things you are expected to
do” which have been intrinsic
to the practice. It was enough
to compel him to abandon an-
other script and visit Kolkata,
Pune and Delhi—cities with a
vibrant musical tradition—for
research. His interview sub-
jects include The Music Room
author Namita Gokhale and
tabla artist Aneesh Pradhan, who
is also credited with music design.
Tamhane cast musicians for the key
parts. Vivek Gomber, producer of
Court, stepped up again to fund.
With the lack of familiar faces
in the cast and the subject itself,
Tamhane knows the film will be
“even more difficult” to market.
As he shines on the international
film festival circuit, he admits his
family and friends are eager to see
him “make that commercial film”.
Tamhane, though, doesn’t want to
give in to the herd mentality. When
reminded that Cuaron has shuttled
between the two worlds adeptly
as evident by Children of Men and
Gravity, the 33-year-old says the
Hollywood and Bollywood com-
mercial ecosystems cannot be com-
pared. Instead, he seeks inspiration
from Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge
Ceylan and the late Abbas Kiar-
ostami, “who work[ed] within their
resources” to tell stories “which rang
true to their context and had this
beautiful elegance and simplicity”.
Bollywood can wait. n
—Suhani Singh
A Glass
HALF FULL KINDA GUY...
Aasif Mandvi has had a 32-year-
long career. But tell him that and he
jokes that it sounds terrible. The
Mumbai-born British American
actor-writer-producer talks about
his latest role in the psychological
mystery TV series Evil, Trump and
his project based on the Partition of
1947. Edited excerpts:
Q.
In Evil, your char-
acter Ben Shakir
doesn’t believe in
ghosts. Do you?
I’m not an empiricist like
Ben. I don’t know about ghosts and
demons, but I believe there is more
to the universe than we understand.
Q. How has the industry
changed since you started
acting?
I started out in New York in the early
’90s. I played many stereotypical
South Asian parts like the cab driver
or deli owner until I wrote and per-
formed my one-man show Sakina’s
Restaurant in 1998 in response to
how I wasn’t getting to do anything
with any real nuance or complexity.
We’ve come a long way...I think we’re
seeing a financial upside to telling
stories with a variety of characters
from different parts of the world,
especially now with streaming
platforms. That could change
tomorrow—Hollywood is fickle—but,
hopefully, it will continue.
Q. Ben was written as a white
American and changed once
you were on board. Will ongo-
ing discussions in the indus-
try about hiring more non-
white actors lead to change?
It remains to be seen. As we move
towards inclusivity, there is always a
reflexive response to progressivism.
We see reactions related to tribal-
ism, anti-immigrants, anti-Muslims
and so on, to that movement. This
is not just in the US but all over the
—with Anu Prabhakar
TELEV ISION
world, India included. Hopefully, as
we move forward, there will be vari-
ous voices from across the world,
which will be seen as an asset.
Q. You’ve lost friends over
topics like racism in Trump’s
America. Do you expect
things to get better?
I am a glass half full kinda guy....
Trump has shown how American
democracy can be taken over by a
person with an autocratic sensibility.
I believe after a breakdown comes a
breakthrough...and (people) will be
more evolved.
Q. Any upcoming India-relat-
ed projects?
My wife and I are producing an ani-
mated feature—which we’re hoping
to sell—based on the novel The Night
Diary, set in 1947 about the Partition
of India.
Q. Has being a new father
changed you as an artist?
It has made me a richer artist.
One of the reasons we were
drawn to The Night Diary is
that the protagonist Nisha,
12, is half-Hindu and
half-Muslim like my
son and I think
that is a beau-
tiful message
to put out in
the world right now,
especially in India. His
very creation couldn’t
have happened at a
different time in his-
tory. I feel he rep-
resents something
that is inclusive,
progressive by his
very existence. n
Catch Evil at
ADAM CANTOR
2 pm on weekdays
on Zee Café SD
and HD
 BOOKS
Welcome
to the Jungle
EVERY CREATURE
HAS A STORY
Janaki Lenin
HARPERCOLLINS
`599; 296 pages
anaki Lenin’s
weekly columns
J on wildlife are
a habit-forming
window into the
world of animals, insects and
birds. In Every Creature Has a
Story, she compiles a selection
of her essays for the kind of
nature lover who is fixated by a
tiny thing trapped in the surface
tension of a water
droplet while the toast
burns to extinction.
JAN
The easygoing tone
of these essays, she
writes, developed
from her observation
that when people heard
fresh scientific findings
about animals, their eyes
would glaze over.
Sometimes she plants an ob- data. Readers who prefer their
vious teaser, as with references
to Moby Dick, when, really, we
would have read about whales
even otherwise. Some stories
are stellar, like the one about
the brown-headed cowbirds of
North America, who drop their
eggs into the nests of protho-
notary warblers. We usually
hear of such instances from the
perspective of the carefree bio-
logical parents, but how do their
young grow up? Chicks need to
learn the rightful songs, dietary
habits and migratory routes of
their species from their parents.
Why does a cowbird not grow
up to sing, eat and fly like a
warbler? How do the chicks dis-
tinguish themselves from their
foster family and establish their
own identity?
The essay on the pregnancy
and child-rearing of the male
seahorse covers familiar ter-
rain, but we also read about the
lesser-known dedication of the
male stickleback, which does
not go out to pee until it has
finished raising three broods
of babies; and the moustached
warbler or fairy-wren, who act
as extra parents as and where
ECOLOGY
needed.
The
It’s not all parenting in the
animal world, of course—there’s
plenty of sex and violence too.
We gain insight into promiscuity
Elegance
versus monogamy, or fierce ter-
ritoriality versus coop-
eration, as alternative
of a
he r essays, strategies to survive.
In ENIN
A K I L For the
s an
employ ne to demanding
ing to
easygo scientific reader, Lenin puts
Desert
p resent animals solid data behind
b o u t
facts a teresting these interesting
in fun, in ys
wa phenomena and
digs further down
to explain the design of
the studies that collected the JAIPUR’S KISHAN BAGH
ECOLOGICAL PARK IS A
science light are free to skip
past proteins and peptides to NATURE LOVER’S DELIGHT
vasopressin receptors and the HIDDEN AWAY FROM THE
retrosplenial cortex. And there’s
always another creature’s story BUSTLE OF THE CITY
around the corner. n
—Latha Anantharaman

A HAVEN Kishan Bagh Ecological
Park takes you on a journey of
Rajasthan’s natural heritage
A
derelict chain of sand
dunes in Jaipur, over-
grazed and strewn with
shards of broken beer
bottles, is now an exqui-
sitely restored landscape that celebrates
the ecology of the desert.
Alongside Jaipur’s cultural staples,
the city now has a new attraction—one
that shines a light on its beautiful
natural heritage. Once the Kishan
Bagh ecological park opens in the com-
ing months, it will be a landmark for a
city that takes its larger landscape for
granted. Jaipur is where the Aravali
range dips down from the northeast to
meet the Thar desert to its west. The
city lies at the cusp of two rich ecologi-
cal zones but, so far, it has turned its
back on them. Now, it can go to Kishan
Bagh to appreciate these marvellous
but fast-vanishing habitats.
As cities surge and sprawl, they
change the contours of the land and the
flows of water. They push out diverse
plants and animals, replacing them with a jewel-like pond. Silverbills
Photographs by PRADIP KRISHEN
swoop down to peck at grass seeds; a
kestrel hovers overhead; a kingfisher
darts down to spear a frog. In the city,
yet removed from its bustle, Kishan
Bagh is a haven for wildlife and a
delight for nature-lovers.
Pradip Krishen, who conceived
and directed the ecological restoration
of Kishan Bagh, is known for creat-
ing the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park
in Jodhpur. However, his design for
Kishan Bagh adds a new dimension
by using these 120 undulating acres
to tell the story of sand and its myriad
forms. Giant boulders of sandstone
the monotony of pigeons and Polyalth- and quartz recount Rajasthan’s
ias. Kishan Bagh, too, is bracketed on geological history of ancient seas and
two sides by densely built bastis, a dra- volcanic eruptions. Fossil-studded
matic contrast to the park’s wide vistas limestone and stromatolites mark
of waving grasses and shrubs. marine creatures that once lived here.
This carefully casual look is cun- Along with restoring a natural
ningly crafted. More than four years of landscape and reminding us of its
work lie behind the planting of over 100 history, Kishan Bagh also pays its
species, seeds and soils brought mostly respects to the people who inhabit it.
from western Rajasthan to represent From the drystone walls at the gate
diverse micro-habitats of the desert. to the kheemp-thatched roofs of the
The sandstone trail snaking along the visitors’ centre and viewing deck, ar-
spine of the biggest sand dune takes vis- chitect Golak Khandual has recreated
itors past an outcrop of gaunt granite, the spartan elegance of local materials
where tiny herbs cling to the crevices, to and forms.
a miniature grove of Dhok tress which Kishan Bagh will become many
grow in the rockiest terrain of the Ara- things: a place for a breath of air and
valis. The Dhok gives way to grasslands, a peaceful walk, a magnet for birders
glowing green and gold with and budding naturalists, a
the turning seasons. Here Kishan Bagh lesson in local ecology and
is the climax community celebrates the geology, a reflection on the
of the roee shrubs—rolling diversity of a relationship between cities
hills of robust shrubs that city that lies at and the countryside. But
come to clothe the moving the cusp of two no visitor will come away
dunes—finally giving way to rich ecological unrewarded. n
zones —Amita Baviskar
 Q A

Breaking bad Chunky Pandey on playing dark characters,

making his streaming debut and some advice for
his daughter on how to deal with trolls

Q. Comedy has been your forte but lately you

have been tapping into your dark side.
I have always rooted for villains. I have loved Pran, Prem
Chopra, Amjad Khan, Amrish Puri. I am surprised I took
this long to do these roles. I started this shift a couple of
years ago with Begum Jaan. Then there was Saaho. My
character in the Zee5 series Abhay is a first for me though.
He’s a guy next door with crazy traits. I borrowed the im-
age of a schoolteacher with whom I had a love-hate rela-
tionship. He was the sort of guy who would get teased by
kids and barked at by dogs just walking down the street.

Q. You are making your digital debut.

How do you see the OTT space?
There’s no censorship and it gives you the
ultimate magic wand of creativity. New ac-
tors have been discovered and been on the
forefront because of it. I am going to be in
everyone’s living rooms, bedrooms
and even bathrooms.

Q. The social media discourse is filled

with so much vitriol after Sushant
Singh Rajput’s death. What advice do
you have for your daughter Ananya?
If you live by the sword, you die by it. All
I can tell her is to try and not read all
the negative comments. We are going
through such trying times. If they are say-
ing things about you, forgive and forget.

Q. In a career spanning over 30

years, you have amassed 99 cred-
its. What does it take to sustain
yourself in show business?
I think I am more resilient than the vi-
rus. You have to be very thick-skinned,
love what you do, have a positive
mindset and hold on to your inner
child through it all.

MANDAR DEODHAR
—with Suhani Singh

76 Volume XLV Number 33; For the week August 11-17, 2020, published on every Friday Total number of pages 78 (including cover pages)