IRY: FROM SRI LANKA aka 110 FRONTLINE a ean ye) cary Coming On,the-heels ri Reyer er Natee BT) disqualification appears to have-steeled Rahul'Gandhi’s resolve and made the Congress more combativeFRONTLINE VOLUME 4 NUMBER O7 APRIL 08-21,2022 ISSN 0970-1710 HTTPS://FRONTLINE.THEHINDU.COM 116 PAGES PoLiTics COVER STORY MUSIC Slow-burn erosion of democracy “ Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Karnataka: When BJP Parliament is more about India’s Tebaeconcet io Kaen myth-making backfired 34 democratic journey than about him lkherjes in Kota WORLD AFFAIRS ies ms ART China and Russia individually-6 cementing tes ” Israc: States people 1 AoRIcULTURE Formers planning fresh protests “ The Al monster inthe — - . machine # Sroruiowt a re ERD it. |e ___ : c i) sont story . Bodhi and Sativa 0 PSU mt 7 a Sema coLuMN - CP. Chandrasekhar: A Centre Kling MGNREGA 68 reurnatay Mumbat nina urdrve 52 RELATED STORIES i a Agame of cat and mouse 12 Manufacturing magic? 9% Tre Dacre sinc at The BJP's strategy to create @ Modi-Gandhi Sy Tectutonoterttsce sp | binary 46 SCIENCE NOTEBOOK 64 Congress on the front foot 17 peter One hundred questions 19 BOOKS a Naps Saheb'stost years interview: Shashi Tharoor 20 SHOWCASE 12 Coalition of the unwilling 23 CONSERVATION Guest Column: N. Ram 27 MAMIRISDIARY, “TiS A case for sustainable Weaponising the defamation law 31 ouiz m4 shark ishing 0 aa Lerrers ‘ The “love.” nstalations area viral rend 1% rs For subscription queries and delivery related sues Contact Pon-india Toll Free Nor 1800 102 1878 or customercare@thehindu.coin For advertisements: E-malt:svakumar m@thehinduc.n, Phone; $2415 85769 caraeenerttincwiniegenteesin Seeeoomraseatrouerd Siac eeeemiienre Soe be amerteat «ca arumtensel iat Rie, | ear tata heoat Giueet odoe MARTI Seite rietnat nat ere emoronimenmnwel Seeman eee elas APRIL 21,2023 © FRONTLINEFRONTLINE Punjab THE Cover Story articles on PunjablAprit 7) could not have come a a better time. The data card explained the grim realty with statistical data. Once India's most Brosperous State, a role model for en- ergy and exuberance, Punjab is now in the news for the wrong reasons. It is facing farmer suicides and uneropoy- ‘ment, and drug dependency is crippling theState. The ack of potica wil to curb the drug menace is shocking, withthe strained relationship between the Centre and the State adding tots woes. The recent incidents in which the na~ tion's triclour was removed from em- bassies and replaced with rebel fags cannot be brushed aside as stray ccur- rences,Itis time the Centre supported Punjab despite the differences ithas with the State government ‘BALASUBRAMANIAM PAVANI SECUNDERABAD.TELANGANA THE saquence af events in Punjab indic- ates that there was a failure of theintelli- gence agencies of the State and the LETTERS Centre. Unless there was.a dormant net work of a nefarious groupls}, it would not bbe possible for the kingpin of a group to challenge the authorities and make his escape, Effective action against terrorists in India is reactive and not proactive in many instances. Indian embassies and consulates are vandalised, Indian scribes are tormented abroad, and In- dian diplomacy is obviously tess than ef- foctive, The Central government needs to take a bite ofthe reality sandwich to de- fuse the crisis. The AAP government's protracted search for the fugitive Amrit- pal Singh makes one doubt its compet- fence. The BJP-ted Centre cannot afford toleave the AAP ina tight spot for narrow electoral gains, 1. RAJASEKARAN BENGALURU THERE seems to be no end to terrorism, Strong political measures and well- planned strategies are required totackle terror outfits across the world, Unfortu nately, unlike earlier, there are nostrong ‘condemnations of terror attacks by the international community. | still remem- ber how the world reacted to the September 11 attacks in the US in 2001 The world community should wake up and be on the alert for possible terror attacks, P. SENTHIL SARAVANA DURA MuMBAl THE collective failure of the rulers and the ruled to take notice of what has been brewing in Punjab since at least the 1980s is what facilitated the re-emer- ‘gence of radicalism in Punjab. Amritpal Singh is the symptom and nat the dis- lease per se, and its remedy calls for a holistic approach as the Cover Story un- ravelled in some detail, However, Khalistanism is certainly the whole that is to be regarded more vicious than the underlying part. There is no denying that the farmers’ agitation was a manifestation of the simmering discontent precipitated in good measure by the wilted Green Re- volution. What happened in Punjab and elsewhere in the country makes one lament: “We have just enough religion tomake us hate, butnat enough tomake us love one another” Lonathan Swift AYYASSERI RAVEENDRANATH ‘ARANMULA KERALA Rahul Gandhi =_— RAHUL GANDHI made a grave mistake in speaking about the state of demo- cracy in India at Chatham House I"The Rahul-BJP slugfest", April 7). He should have chosen platforms within India even though the media and TV channels here: are not prepared to accommodate him. Perhaps he quessed that he would not be permitted to speak his mind in the Lok Sabha and hence resorted to the new channel, Whether or not there is truth in his statements, the situation prevalent in India is there forall to see, and there is, no need to specifically mention it, that too outside India, Gandhi gained 3 new lease of lite as a leader of the masses after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, but this has. been watered down because of his words in Londan, MY. SHARIFF ‘CHENNAI ITistime thal MPs were'reminded of the Supreme Cauirt ruling of January 2022 inwhich elected members were asked (@-show statesmanship.and not brinks- FRONTLINE” APRILZN 3039tmanship ts a matter of shame that the stimulating debates of yesteryear have given way to the use of lung and ‘muscle power to settle scores. Despite boasting that India. is the world's largest democracy, our leaders stil lack discipline, Acountry aspiring tobe awarldleader needsto focus ondebat- ingand discussing welfare issues per- taining to the common man instead of engaging in petty party politics an in- ternal squabbles 28. suresh KUMAR COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU Kalamandalam MALLIKA SARABHAI is. a. celebrity (-For a. gender-neutral. Kalaman- dalam”, Aprit 71, By publishing an in- terview ther, you have ridiculed the great contributions of Kalamandalam. Art and culture are sublime. Any Tom, Dick, and Harry cannot handle them ‘MUKUND RA MANGALLURU, KARNATAKA Judiciary THE judiciary is the most significant estate of a democracy ("A lost oppor- tunity”, March 24), Therefore, the ap- ointment of judges is a. crucial brocess that determines and sets the course of justice in sacety. Through the years, there have been multiple cases where lawyers affiliated to dit- ferent poitical parties. or who had close relations with themwere appoin- ted as judges or ot appointed on the basis of their poitical leaning. How- ever, what _makes Justice Victoria Gowns appeintment problematic, as righty pointed out in the article. isnot her afflations but her Biatant display of bigotry and hate speech. Her re- ‘marks against the minority community are extremely concerning. The ap- pointment of judges who show partial- ity in their personat beliefs or past behaviour ereates the risk that they ‘may not apply the law impartially and ‘may instead allow their personal bi- ses to influence their decisions, tead- ing to an untair justice system. The system should represent the di- versity of society. Itisessential thatitis representative of all people and not just the majority. MUSKAAN KOUSAR. BENGALURU Kolkata’s trams ALTHOUGH metro and suburban trains as modern modes of transport are available in Kolkata, trams are stil ‘much sought ater by those who wish to go to the busy market areas. Though bit stow, trams are more eco-friendly compared with share taxis and share autos, Trams happen to be a major ‘mode of public transport in many European and Western countries, and ‘many movies show trame with colour- {ul coaches snaking their way through ‘main thoroughfares. AAlittle more support from the West Bengal government in realigning the ‘existing tram routes and in ensuring easyaccess for commuters would help increase patronage RV. BASKARAN ‘HENNA! Local languages THIS is with reference to the article “Indigenous languages being killed March 10}. this quite evident that the youth are not interested in learning traditional languages. The use of In- alan languages has also reduced be- cause under the influence of the Western media young people want to learn English and because of the trend for learning East-Asian languages. ‘One should realise that it isthe youth who can preserve culture, and we should encourage them to do so. ASHI SHARMA DARJEELING, WEST BENGAL ANNOUNCEMENT ‘Letters, whether by surace mallor e-mail, ‘must carry the lull postal adaréss and the fullname or the rae with inal, EDITOR'S NOTE ‘AS we draw closer to the 2024 ‘general election, one begins to see a variety of politcal cartwheels. One such played out in late March, ‘when @ magistrate in Surat was moved enough by the inferred enormity of a four-year-old comment made by Rahul Gandhi to hand down the maximum punishment of two-year imprisonment. That this would ‘automatically result in Gandhi's disqualification from Parliament might not have occurred to the good magistrate. Nor indeed that the case was pulled out of cold storage close on the heels of Gandhi making a nuisance of himself by demanding answers from the Modi government on its alleged nexus with the business baron Gautam Adani. So here we are in what the ‘government calts “the mother of democracy” but we do not appear to be conducting ourselves very democratically, At any rate, denying an elected Member of Parliament and an opposition leader the right to speak on the floor of the House or removing him from the House on flimsy grounds does not seem like textbook democratic behaviour. On the other hand, perhaps it needs this degree of aggression to ‘stir the moribund Congress. Gandhi's disqualification seems to have worked like a shot in the arm, with Congress workers holding sustained protests across the country and working on @ strategy to ensure that the Adani issue is not blanked out by distracting tactics even as regional leaders get their act together. ‘While we pursue this political story, the issue also has.a fabulous culture section: Jaideep Unudurti writes about ‘experimenting with Al in art and Srijan Deshpande describes an emotional encounter with Hindustani music: Enjoy! Vaishna RoyCOVE Slow-burn erosion of democracy Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament is more about India’s democratic journey than about him individually. Even electoral wins against majoritari ionalism will not be adequate in light of the sociocultural tectonic shifts that have occurred in the country. GY NISSIM MANNATHUKKAREN FRoNTUINE APRIL GY 3039 éThe tragic paradox of the electoral route to authoritarianism is that democracy’s assassins use the very institutions of democracy—gradually, subtly, and even legally—to kill it. —Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die AS SOON AS THE DISQUALIFICATION notification of Rahul Gandhi as Member of Parliament came following the Surat court indictment, a. senior journalist working in an official capacity for the Narendra Modi government tweeted: “Sense of entitlement, privilege and the undying belief that Dynasty is above Democracy, Family is above Law will never work in New India. The era of law is same forall but privileges are differentis over.” This was a sentiment that supporters of the government echoed enthusiastically: there is nothing political in the decision, it is merely Judici But here is the itony: the forces waving the flag of democracy and taking up—of course, a laudable exervise—the task of cleaning up the polities of dynasts OPPOSITION MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT wearing black in protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, in New Dethi on March 27. are the ones who have eaused the greatest damage to India’s democracy since Indira Gandhi's Emergency in 1975. While this should be obvious to those who study Indian democracy closely, itis also borne out by the large, global, comparative statistical exercises in which democracy indicators after 2014 have fallen to the lowest levels since the 1970s. Sweden-based Varieties of Democracy Institute's report calls India one of the “worst autocratisers’ in the last 10 years, after having downgraded it to an “electoral autocracy” a couple of years ago; Freedom House moved India from “free” to “partly free”; in the Human Freedom Index, India fell from 90 in 2013 to 119 in 2021. This is just a sample of, reports. “THIRD WAVE OF AUTOCRATISATION’ Asresearch demonstrates, India and the rest of the world are not only experiencing a backslide in democracy, known as the “third wave of autocratisation’, but are also realising that a vast majority of autocratisers came to power through legal elections and then proceeded to destroy democratic institutions through legal methods. ‘That is why scholars have called this present wave of autocratisation as happening under a “legal facade”. If we are to understand Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, we must look beyond the surface, and that this is not merely about Rahul Gandhi, the individual. Why the present moment, in one sense, is ‘more dangerous than 1975 is that this destruction of, democracy has not happened in an overnight, big bang move of suspension of fundamental rights, press censorship, or the mass jailing of main opposition leaders. It has happened through a decade-long process of a slow-bum erosion of democracy through the legitimacy of electoral victories, the steamrolling of Parliament through brute majorities (the revocation of Article 370 without consulting the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, for instance), the subjugation of the media (the raids on Dainik Bhaskar and the BBC, among many others), and judicial acquiescence in front of the most powerful executive in India’s history (two sitting Supreme Court judges praising the Prime Minister, for example). Why the present moment is more dangerous than 1975 ! is that this destruction of democracy has not happened overnight‘Thus, unlike 1975, there are no visible horrors to see, except for those who have been subject to the depredations of the state. The legal fagade also means that the popularity levels of the government and the Prime Minister are among the highest in the world. The support fora strong, authoritarian leader is at an all-time high in India now. As scholars the Levitsky and Ziblatt argue, “The drift into authoritarianism doesn't always set off alarm bells. Citizens are often slow to realise that their democracy is being dismantled even as it happens before their eyes.’ ‘THE DRIFT INTO AUTHORITARIANISM Petitions challenging the unconstitutionality and arbitrariness of the revocation of Article 370, arguably among the most important petitions that should have been heard urgently, have been pending in the Supreme Court for three years. Meanwhile, in opinion surveys, the abrogation of Article 370 on Kashmir is considered among the top achievements of the government. This is how faits accomplis are achieved legally. As (retired) Justice AP. Shah has noted, whenever powerful single-party governments have been in power in India, the judiciary’s powers have become weaker. We live in an era where “encounter killings” or extrajudicial executions of alleged criminals or the demolition of their properties are officially celebrated as stellar examples of “law and order”. That is why it is said that there is no law or constitution that exists in a vacuum. Laws shaped by power, politieal and social. Al governments, across party lines, try to bend the institutions of democracy in their favour. But the degrees of subversion vary. Indira Gandhi's authoritarianism did not have widespread societal acceptance and she lost at the hustings in 1977, just as Rajiv Gandhi's 400-plus seats could not win him a second term, Now, unlike Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, Narendra Modis regime is fuelled by a passionate combination of religious —majoritarianism and nationalism: along with Kashmir, another top achievement that comes up in opinion polls is the building of the Ram temple. ‘This is the context for Rahul Gandhi's sentencing. A context in which the ruling party, which is supposedly heralding democracy in India, supervised in 2019 a Lok Sabha that had 55 per cent of MPs facing criminal Unlike Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, Narendra Modi’s regime is fuelled by a passionate combination of religious majoritarianism and nationalism. charges of murder, rape, erimes against women, and so con. In the same year, 29 per cent of the Union Cabinet hhad Ministers with serious criminal charges against them. Yet, Rahul Gandhi becomes merely the third sitting Lok Sabha member to be disqualified, not for rape or murder, but for defamation. The first MP to be disqualified on that ground. Itis a context in which a person facing terror charges has been elected (on the ruling party ticket) to Parliament for the first time in India; for the first timethere is a Prime Minister with a history of coded hate speech and campaigning on the basis of religion (a ground for disqualification); Union Ministers have publicly called for violence against anybody deemed an “anti-national’; a flurry of religious leaders regularly give calls for genocide against Muslims; and top ruling party State functionaries and politicians have delivered an unprecedented number of hate speeches in the past nine ‘years, all without any legal or political consequence. Isit not ironical that the only elected representative in India’s The fundamental shift in the last decade has been the full-fledged conversion of the adversary into an enemy. The slogan of a “Congress-mukt Bharat” reinforces the point. history to be convicted for hate speech and disqualified is Azam Khan, the Samajwadi Party leader from Uttar Pradesh, in 2022? Is it not staggering that the judge who sentenced Rahul Gandhi emphasised that the seriousness of Rahul's crime was enhanced because an MP's words have “very wide impact on the public”? So, do the words of, the Prime Minister, who said that the perpetrators of riots can be identified by their clothes, and that of the Home Minister, who recently said that “we taught them [Muslims] a lesson in 2002", not have a wide impact? Of course, the law would claim that no community was named, so there is no prosecutable charge. THE FARCE OF LEGALISM Besides, justice has been reduced to being merely about court verdicts: the courts have sentenced Rahul, the courts let a terror accused contest elections, the courts gave a “clean chit” to Modi for Gujarat 2002, There is no political and moral culpability that exists beyond legally prosecutable culpability, not even for a terror attack or a state pogrom that killed thousands of people. It is as if these are not crimes because the accused are members of the majority community. And itis asif the entire process of securing and protecting evidence, protecting the witnesses, prosecuting the accused, is merely a legal process, and not a political one. One needs to look at the abysmal conviction rates of the 1984 and 2002 pogroms to understand the tortuous process of securing justice for vietims, And even when they do get justice, the perpetrators shockingly get remissions, ‘What does it mean for justice when a country’s Prime Minister and Home Minister do not think there is anything ‘morally heinows to sign off on the release of the killers and rapists in the Bilkis Bano case on the grounds of “good behaviour” in jail, given the knowledge of their most barbaric crime—that of killing a three-year-old child? Rahul Gandhi's sentencing and disqualification demonstrates another truth beyond the farce of legalism, which is often glossed over in popular discussions. And that is the fact that Indian democracy WORKERS CARRY posters of Rahul Gandhian the eve of his rally in Karnataka’s Belagaui in March.has incontrovertibly changed with the rise of an extremist version of —majoritarian, religious nationalism. This latest version of Hindu nationalism can scarcely be accommodated within liberal democracy even if the latter has always been severely flawed and has in many ways laid the basis for the former. But now Hindu nationalism is threatening to break out of even this flawed liberal democracy. And this is the real crisis. POLITICAL OPPONENTS AS ENEMIES As the philosopher Chantal Mouffe has argued, democracy entails that political opponents are not treated “as an enemy to be destroyed” but as an “adversary... whose ideas we combat but whose right to defend those ideas we do not put into question”. This also means that there are some shared commitments to certain democratic values. The fundamental shift in the last decade has been the breakdown of this shared commitment and the full-fledged conversion of the adversary intoan enemy. The slogan of "Congress-mukt Bharat” reinforces the point. In the Hindu nationalist discourse, one can see the ACONGRESS supporter waves the ‘ational flag during the partys “satyagraha” at Raj Ghat on March 26, constant vilification of Rahul Gandhi as a terror sympathiser. Even those who are opposed to his polities should pause to ask: what kind of political universe is one in which a person who has lost his parent and grandparent to terrorist attacks by militants is branded asa terrorism supporter? Since 2014, the minimal dialogue, diseussion and civilities that existed between the ruling party and t opposition have broken down. The former does not feel the need to take the latter into confidence, even during big national erises such as demonetisation, a military attack on Pakistan, or the pandemic. ‘The explosion of hate in society, especially on mainstream television (noted by the Supreme Court itself), hate crimes, and the setting of a completely new normal of what can be said in the public sphere are threatening to break the tenuous threads that hold democracy together in India. According to a Pew Research Center report, following thepandemic-related targeting of Muslims, India ranked the worst in the world in 2020 in terms of social tensions related to religion, Political language matters a lot and the extreme polarisation that we have seen in recent years has sounded the death knell for the idea of deliberation. Every citizen who challenges the ideology of majoritarian nationalism is branded an “anti-national” and asked to 0 to Pakistan; dissenting students are booked under draconian sedition or terror charges; and refugees are termed, in genocidal language, as “termites” DEGRADATION OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE ‘Thisis the shocking degradation of the public sphere that has set the stage for normalising the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and the targeting of other opposition leaders through Central investigative agencies as a mere exercise in legalism: “the law taking its own course”. But, as an Indian Express report noted, against prominent politicians by Enforcement Directorate since 2014 has been against opposition leaders. This figure was ‘54 per cent during the UPA rule. EN) SOTA PROTEST BY an Indian Youth Congress supporter at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 27. Scholarship in the US has shown that phenomenon such as Donald Trump did not aris overnight but was the result of increasing polarisation and extremist ideas, and language like “anti-American” being used by mainstream formations such as the Republican Party to target political opponents. Ifsevere threats to democracy could arise in the US, with far more robust checks and balances between different wings of the government and a stronger media than younger democracies, one can only imagine the crisis that can befall India now, which has alrea experienced a majorshock to its democracy in the 1970s. While the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi will be fought legally, unless the real crisis is addressed there cannot be any solution to the threats that democracies face worldwide. Given the tectonic shifts that have happened in the sociocultural realm, even electoral victories against majoritarian nationalism, while important, will not suffice without a larger cultural and political transformation in favour of a pluralist democracy and tuned against extremist ideologies. As history shows, this is not easy, but it is not impossible either. Rahul Gandhi's disqualification is not about him per se, but a momient to think about the big picture of India’s democratic journey. a Nissim Mannathukkaren is sith Dalhousie University und tweets @nmannathukkaren. rn FRONTLINECOVER STORY Game of cat and mouse The BJP appears to be using Rahul Gandhi a ionary tactic, now declaring him a weakling, now aggressively divers a convenient upping the attack when the going gets hot. ox. RADHAKRISHNAN AN UNCONVENTIONALLY QUICK JUDICIAL proceeding in a defamation case and an unusually quick verdict delivered on March 23 resulted in former Con- gress president Rahul Gandhi being disqualified from Parliament on March 24. With opposition parties band- ing together in various fora both inside and outside Parliament in response to this development, the stage seems set for the 2024 Lok Sabha election. ‘The Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Surat, Gujarat, sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison, According to Section 8 (8) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA), “A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years... shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified fora further period of six years since his release.” The Lok Sabha Secretariat lost no time in notifying that the MP “representing Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of the Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction’. Questions about the unseemly haste and dispropor- tionality of the ruling and about the use of the criminal defamation law have been discussed by experts (see columns on pages 28 and 31), but Gandhi and the Con- gress point to the other factors at pl stand why,” the former said in his firs after disqualification. “I have been disqualified because the Prime Minister is seared of my next speech. He is seared of the next speech that is going to come on Adan... have seen it in his eyes. He is terrified of the next speech that is going to come and they don't want that in Parliament.” About his disqualification, he said, “L don't care even if lam permanently disqualified because my tapasya is to work for the people. Disqualify me for life, put me in jail.” On Twitter, Rahul Gandhi added the words “Dis'Qualified MP” to his bio. HOW IT BEGAN Although Gandhi has beet! vocal in his attack on the ‘Adanj Group and its vastly expanding business footprint since Narendra Modi assumed powerin 2014, the power- ful ruling party, with the aid of its media handmaiden: hhas found it easy to swat his questions away. That changed on Jantiary 24, when the New York based Hindenburg Research, which takes short positions based n forensic financial research into business conglomer- ates, published a report on the Adani Group's “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”. ‘That gave Gandhi the ammo to resume his change of rony capitalism against the Modi government. On February 7, he raised the issue in Parliament, claiming that “magic” happened after 2014, which made Gautam Adani the world’s second richest man, He displayed photograph showing Narendra Modi sitting with Gautam Adani in the businessman's private plane to underline their alleged proximity. His party along with other opposition parties demanded a Joint Parliament- ary Committee to probe the nexus. Not only was this demand ignored, but the government did not allow the ‘Adani issue to be discussed in Parliament at all. Worse, the Lok Sabha Speaker expunged Gandhi's speech al- ‘most in its entirety from the records. Gandhi then left for a trip to the UK, where on March, 6,hemadea speech in Chatham House, London. Here he said, “The surprising thing is that... the US, European countries, seem to he oblivious that a huge chunk of democratic model has come undone. The opposition is fighting the battle and it is not an Indian battle alone, actually it is much more of a bigger battle, a battle for a huge part of democratic people.” ‘The BJP quickly used this speech to mount an attack on Rahul Gandhi for “insulting India in London’, thus effectively deflecting attention from the Adani question. And, keeping up the pressure, itreopened an old defama- tion case against him, The defamation complaint is about an election speech Gandhi made in Kolar, Karnataka, on April 16, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha election. “How is it that these names, all these names of thieves, have Modi, Modi, Modi in their name? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. Ifwe search more, more such Modis will emerge,” he said in a rally. Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA from Gujarat, filed a complaint claiming the comment was offensive to all Modis. A lengthy trial ensued. On March 7, 2022, Purnesh obtained a stay of the proceedings in the magis- trate's court from the Gujarat High Court. ‘That is where matters stood until February 2023, ‘when the complainant revoked his own stay at the High Court. The Chief Judicial Magistrate reserved orders on March 17, and delivered a verdict on March 23. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the defamation ease against Gandhi was fast-tracked, taking place just nine days after Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha questioning Modi’s connection with Gautam Adani. Former Kerala Finance Minister and CPI(M) leader ‘Thomas Isaac said that “the reaction of the BJP places the judgment, totally disproportionate to the al- Tegation, suspect of mischief". According to Manickam Tagore, the Congress Whip, Gandhi has been the target of BJP's attacks for a long time. His security was scaled down, Tagore told Front- line, when he began targeting corporate entities close to Narendra Modi. OPPOSITION REACTIONS ‘The disqualification resulted in a rare show of unity among opposition party leaders, who eame together to protest the development, They demanded the BJP gov- ernment probe the questions that Gandhi had raised in Parliament. A joint opposition protest on March 27 in the Parliament House complex raised the slogan: “Dear E} [Enforcement Directorate}, daro mat; Adani par raid karo.” (Dear ED, don't be scared, raid Adan} ‘West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier refused to be part of a united opposition front ahead of the 2024 election, condemned the action. Pick- ing her words carefully and not naming Rahul Gandhi she said that in Modi’s New India, opposition leaders had become the prime target. “While BJP leaders with erim- inal antecedents are inducted into the Cabinet, opposi tion leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional demo- cracy,” she said. Significantly, the Trinamool participated in the March 27 joint opposition protest, and also in the strategy meeting hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge that evening. ‘Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who as late as on March 18, had stated that his party would remain equidistant from the Congress and the BJP in the run-up to 2024, said: “Defamation of the country, de- famation of the public, defamation of harmony, defama- tion of the Constitution, defamation of the economy. Don't know how many defamation cases should be filed against the BJP.” CONGRESS LEADERS Rahul Gandhi and Pramod Tiwari during a protest atthe Parliarnent House complex in New Delhi on March 17,‘TAMIL NADU CONGRESS MLAs wearing black shirts in protest against the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, in Chennai on March 27. Denouneing the action of disqualifying Gandhi, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “It is con- demnable that the BJP is now using the criminal defama- tion route to target opposition leaders and disqualify them. This comes on top of the gross misuse of ED/CBI [Enforcement Directorate/Central Bureau of Investiga- tion] against the opposition. Resist and defeat such aut- thoritarian assaults.” Yechury went further to accuse the Modi government of trying to conceal its patronage for Adani. He asked how the government could claim in Parliament on March ‘21 that it had no definition of shell companies and hence no information on them when the government had in June 2018 announced a task force to tackle the threat of shell companies. Yechury’s party colleague and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the episode as “BJP's author- itarian rampage”. Despite the fact that his Left Demo- cratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front are political rivals in Kerala, Vijayan did not mince ‘words: “This brazen assault isan insult to our democratic values and can’t be overlooked. It must be unequivocally denounced,” Rahul Gandhi must deal with more than disqualification. From his speech it appears as if he might welcome a prison sentence. ‘Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who has backed the need for a Congress-led opposition for 2024, asserted that “itis now clear how much the BJP is seared of Rahul Gandhi... Nobody from the Union government has responded so far to any of Rahul Gandhi's accusa- tions in Parliament.” According to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Min- {ster Mehbooba Mufti the Union government is “clearly rattled” by Rahul Gandhi's emergence as a powerful challenger. “Since the BJP can't fight him politically, they are now subverting institutions,” she said. Uddhav Thackeray, former Maharashtra Chief Min- ister, who had his party literally stolen from him, ques- tioned why thieves and looters were still free and someone like Gandhi punished, “Calling a thief a thief has become a crime in our country... This is the begin- ning of the end of dictatorship,” he said. And, despite taking umbrage at Gandhi's remark on V.D. Savarkar whom the Shiv Sainiks consider a hero, Uddhav Thack- eray sent a representative to the strategy meeting. Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao described Gandhi's dis- qualification as a “black day” in the “history of Indian democracy”. Rao, who has proposed a third front ahead of the 2024 election, said that rather than fighting each other“all democrats should come together and safeguard democracy and constitutional values’. The BRS also sent a representative to the strategy meeting. Even Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been fiercely critical of the Congress and fancies the AAP asa solo national alternative, said: “By eliminating the opposition, these people [the BJP] want to create one~ nation, one-party. This is dictatorship.” One of the most persuasive speakers on television after Gandhi's disqualification was former Congress leadier Kapil Sibal. Referring to the BJP’s oft-repeated statement that the party was not defending Adani, he questioned why there had been no investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBN) on the iTHE DISQUALIFIED LIST Rahul Gandhi MP, Wayanad, Kerala Criminal defamation case: Convicted in Mar 2023 ‘Lalu Prasad Yadav | MP, Saran, Bihar Fodder scam case, Sept 2013 Jagdish Sharma | MP, Jahanabad, Bihar Fodder scam case, Sept 2013 Jayalalithaa MLA, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu | Disproportionate assets case, Sept 2004 ‘Azam Khan MLA, Rampur, UP Hate speech case, Oct 2022 ‘Abdullah Azam Khan | MLA, Suar, UP Blocking a road, Feb 2023 Pardeep Chaudhary | MLA, Kala, Haryana Assault case, Jan 2021, [Membership restored after Himachal Pradesh HC stayed conviction) ‘nit Kumar Sahni | MLA, Kurhani, Bihar Fraud case, Aug 2022 Kuldeep Singh Sengar | MUA, Bangarmau, UP Rape case, Dec 2019 P.P.Mohammed | MP, Lakshadweep Attempted murder case, Jan 2023. (Conviction suspended Faizal by Kerala HC, disqualification revoked! Vikram Singh Saini | MLA, Khataull, UP Muzaffarnagar riots ease, Oct 2022 ‘Anant Singh MLA, Mokama, Bihar Recovery of arms and ammunition, Jun 2022 Kamal Kishore Bhagat | MLA, Lohardaga, Jharkhand | Attempt to murder, Jun 2015 Suresh Halvankar | MLA Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra | Electricity theft case, May 2014 (Stayed by Bombay HC, returned to Assembly] ‘Asha Rani MLA, Bijawar, MP Abetting a suicide, Oct 2013, BabanraoGholap | MLA, Deolali, Maharashtra _| Disproportionate assets case, Mar 2014 Enos Ekka MLA, Kolebira, Jharkhand | Murder, Jun 2018 Rasheed Masood | Rojya Sabha MP, UP Corruption & other offences; Sept 2013 Indira Gandhi PM and MP, Raebareli, UP | Electoral corruption, Jun 1975 (Partial stay from SC allowed her to continue as PM. She declared Emergency soon after] pattern ofholding, no Joint Parliamentary Committeeon theallocation of airports and other issues, no CBI invest- igation into the many acts of commission and omission by Adani as detailed in the Hinderberg report, and no ED probe into money laundering. ‘Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Housing Committee lost no time in asking Rahul Gandhito vacate his house on 12, ‘Toghlak Lane, within 30 days [by April 22], as required by law. Nationalist Congress Party leader Saleem Sarang asked why this rule was selectively applied to Gandhi when both LK. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were still living in government bungalows despite not being MPs. OPTIONS AHEAD Rahul Gandhi must deal with more than just disqualifie- ation, There is a two-year prison term too. From his speech it appears as if he might welcome a prison sen- tence, but that might be just rhetoric. In the case of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal PP. (NCP), the Kerala High Court had suspended a lower court's sentence convieting him and the Supreme Courthad directed the Election Commission to withdraw 1 byelection notification. When the Lok Sabha Secret- ariat did not revoke his disqualification for more than ‘COMPILED BY VINBETH T.CWACKO twomonths Faizal approached the Supreme Court again, (On March 29, just before the case eame up, the Seeret- ariat revoked his disqualification. Now, however, the Supreme Court has declared that it will examine the rectitude of the original stay order. Given the Rahul Gandhi case, this assumes special significance. ‘Things played out rather differently for Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, founder of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha party, which is an ally of the BJP. He ‘was disqualified from the State Assembly on January 1 2017, after being convicted for misappropriating govern- ‘ment funds. In 2019, the Election Commission reduced his disqualification period from six years to 13 months and recorded, among others, the bizarre reason that “the Governor had invited him to form the government” even though he had not contested the Assembly elections. The EC later allowed him to contest the byelection based on his request. “Technically speaking, Gandhi can still avail himself of Section 11 of the RPA, 1951, which says, “The Election ‘Commission may, for reasons to be recorded, remove any disquilification... or reduce the period of disqualifc tion.” Practically speaking, the BJP will likely try every trick in the book to keep him out of active polities at least luntil the 2024 elections are over. o 5 FRONTLINE ~ APRILSH 3033Punching bag The BJP’s strategy is to create a Modi-Gandhi binary. ‘THERE is a pattern in the BJP’s targeting of Rahul Gandhi While the latter can be acensed of awkward phrases or poorly formulated arguments, he does not make offensive or ad hominem attacks. The same cannot be said about BJP leaders, who up their game when it comes to targeting him. Even on oceasions when Gandhi has not said anything, a provocative statement such as the one by Narendra Modi asking, why Rahul Gandhi does not use the Nehru surname inevitably has the effect of dragging the Gandhis and the Congress into the discourse. The singling out of Gandhi is peculiar, He does not hold any office in the Congress and until his disquali- fication was just a Member of Parliament. He did not campaign in any of the recent Assembly elections, though Priyanka Gandhi did. On several occasions, both he and the Congress have dissociated the Bharat Jodo Yatra from any electoral purpose, although there was broad consensus that the march energised the Congress rank and file. Its possible that this response rattled the BUP. Gandhi adopted a combative attitude in Parlia- ‘ment on the Hindenburg report. Did the BJP see his assertiveness as a threat? Is the targeting meant to nip itin the bud? Political observers say the BJP may have overdone the tirade—expunging his speeches, insist- ing he cannot speak unless he apologises for remarks made in the UK, and projecting him as anti-OBC. In the process, it seems to have inadvertently promoted a degree of opposition unity not seen before. “The tactic of pitching Modi against Gandhi works to the BJP’s advantage and is useful for Modi’s own image among the middle classes and the nouveau riche. It also undermines the non-Congress opposi- tion, rendering it inconsequential. With its relentless focus, the BJP wants to make Gandhi the face of the opposition even though he is not. Conveying the per- ception that the 2024 election is between Modi and Gandhi is an optical binary that suits the BJP. The electorate is reminded that Modi was chosen over Gandhi in both 2014 and 2019 and that nothing needs to be different this time, It also works because it obfuscates the policy failures of the BJP at the Centre. ‘The Bharat Jodo Yatra shored up Rahul Gandhi's image as a leader who can be taken seriously. The Congress organisational election made Mallikarjun Kharge party president. Kharge is an old war horse with vast experience in electoral and organisational politics. ‘These are two moves that would not have pleased the BJP. ‘The BJP refrains from attacking Kharge because he is Dalit, but repeatedly projects the Congress as anti-OBC. Its likely to exploit this sentiment right up to the 2024 election, even though two Congress Chief Ministers, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, are from the OBC community. ‘The challenge for the opposition will be to ignore the red herrings and focus on broader issues and the policy failures of the BJP-led government. The more the opposition projects Gandhi as a vietim of vendetta polities, the better the BJP's chances for projecting him as the only alternative the opposition has. The BJP can be defeated, as was seen in the recent Hi- machal Pradesh election. And in the just-concluded elections in the north-eastern States too, barring ‘Tripura, the BJP eame to power with alliance partners and not on its own steam. TK, Rajalakshimi ISTRATION in Mumbai on March 25 with banners proclaiming that “Hindustan” wil not put up with insults to the “entire OBC community” and to V.D. Savarkar.COVER STORY Signs Rahul Gandhi's disqualificat of life ition appears to have injected the Congress party with fresh energy. A number of protests are being planned not as party affairs alone but also as mass mobilisations. “WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? IS THIS ALL THE, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPC) could mo- bilise? This is pathetic,” a reporter was heard telling a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, She was referring to the thin presence of Congress and Seva Dal workers who were raising intermittent slogans of “Rahul, tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain.” ‘The aide assured her that the party would soon be upping the ante, legally and politically. ‘That was March 25, a Saturday, when Rahul Gandhi addressed the media from the All India Congress Com- mittee (AICC) headquarters, after his conviction and disqualification as a Member of Parliament. That day, there were more police and parai y personnel than party workers. The AIC office is on Akbar Road, in central Delhi, and it was possible that party workers were asked to tone it down; after all, it was Gandhi's moment of outrage. Flanked on either side by the Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, the party’s communications head Jairam Ramesh, and MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, itwas only Gandhi who spoke, He appeared a little tense, ‘snappy, but at his combative best and unfazed about his disqualification. “ONLY ONE QUESTION” In his speech, Gandhi kept up the pressure on the Modi government by repeatedly bringing up the Adani connee- tion: “L asked only one question. Whose Rs.20,000 crore is there in Adanij’s shell companies? 1 will continue asking, ‘what is the relationship between Adani and Nar- endra Modi?’ I have been disqualified because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of my next speech on Adani.” After the press conference, Congress leaders went into a huddle reportedly to chalk out a course of action. Protests were not going to be confined to Parliament or the AICC office alone. A meeting of the steering commit tee, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, and Congress Legislative Party leaders was held where plans BY TAK, RAJALAKSHMI CONGRESS PRESIDENT and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallkarjun Kharge addresses the media after a protest march in New Delhi. wert laid for the next few months, which included protests at district and State headquarters and holding of press conferences, The party also instructed its mass organisations such as the Mahila Congress, the Youth 7 FRONTLINE— activists protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification in Thiruvananthapuram. s, and the National Students’ Union of India to protests. Postcard campaigns were planned, which included writing to the Prime Minister. From March 29 till April 8, “Jai Bharat Satyagrahas” have been planned at block and mandal levels. On April 1, the party's SC, ST, OBC, and minority departments were told to mobilise meetings in front of thestatues of B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi in all State capitals. As part of the decentralised forms of protest, the party has also directed local units to conduct corner meetings explaining the sequence of events that culminated in Gandhi's disqualification. The latter has also sent out messages calling on the public to support the satyagrahas. The party's social media handles were directed to focus on relaying these messages, Rahul Gandhi's disqualification appears to have in- jected the Congress with fresh energy. The protests are being planned not as party affairs alone but also as mass mobilisations. Ttis not, however, an easy path for the Congress. On March 26, the DPCC was refused permission to hold a “peaceful Satyagraha” at Raj Ghat on the pretext of main- taining law and order and to avoid potential traffic dis- ruptions. The area was put under Section 144, which prohibits the congregation of more than five persons. The party had planned similar satyagrahas by PCC units at all tate and district headquarters. K.C. Venugopal tweeted, “it has become @ habit for the Modi government to disallow every opposition protest. This will not deter us, ur fight for truth against tyranny goes on.” On March 26, despite the government orders, Con- gress leaders and workers led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge converged on Raj Ghat in large numbers. Almost the entire top hrass of the party was present, including general seeretary Priyanka Gandhi, who made a fierce and emotional spéceh, invoking her “Should we be ashamed that our fam- ily members laid down their lives for this country, that their blood is in this flag?” she asked, The programme began with Mahatma Gandhi's favourite hymn Raghu- pati Raghaw Raja Ram, which Congress leaders and ‘workers sang together. “The BJP thinks we are weak. If they try to stop us from speaking the truth, we will give a fitting reply. We are prepared to sacrifice anything to protect our demo- racy and freedom of speech,” Kharge said in his forceful address. The next day saw a united opposition protest at the Gandhi statue in the Parliament House complex. Earlier in the day, leaders of 17 opposition parties had ‘met in Kharge’s chamber, The strategising at a broader level had begun. On March 27, the Indian Youth Congress held a protest at Jantar Mantar on astretch that was barricaded from all sides. Huge flags with Rahul Gandhi's photo and buntings were seen at the venue with patriotic songs playing in the background. It was a typical Congress gathering, disorganised and amorphous. The Delhi Po- lice in their wisdom decided to lathi-charge the protest ers in the tight enclosure, which resulted in a stamped Later, several protesters courted arrest. Interestingly, most mainstream media outlets simply did not cover any of the protests. The country’s largest opposition party held coordinated protests across cities nationwide, but it was neither reported widely nor given front-page treatment. (On March 28, the Congress gave a call fora “Loktan- tra Bachao Mashal Shanti March” at 7 pm at Red Fort. It was meant to be a torchlight or mashaai march. Wearing black, Congress MPs from both Houses walked hand in hand. Again, there was little to no media coverage. Many Congress workers courted arrest that day, in- cluding J.P. Agarwal, the AICC Leader of Party Affairs in Madhya Pradesh. Venugopal again tweeted that the Delhii Police stopped them from reaching Red Fort. The protesters began their march from the barricades with ibanners of “I am also Rahul’, “Unmute democracy” and “Daro Mat” (Do not be afraid). Shaktisinh Gohil, the Congress leader from Gujarat, said that Delhi Police initially said that they would cooperate but later refused permission, “We stopped wherever they put up barri- ceades, but we got a lot of support from the general public,” he said. Fighting elections was not the only priority, said Gohil, adding that the Congress would come to the defence of other parties being similarly harassed by the BJP. ‘The Congress plans to hold day-long satyagrahas from April 15 to 20 at the State level, and senior national leaders have been deputed to attend them. Monitoring committees and war rooms are to be set up to assist these programmes, “We are not going to be seared. We will raise the same issue of the Adani seam, which the govern ment ran away from in the Parliament session,” said ‘Venugopal at a media briefing. ‘The Hindenburg report on the Adani group's dubi- ous financial dealings gave a boost to Gandhi's long- standing accusations of crony capitalism against the ‘Modi government. The Congress is clearly eager not to lose that momentum. A total of 100 questions are being posed, at the rate of two questions a day, by Rajya Sabha MP and communications head Jairam Ramesh, all related to the growth of Gautam Adani’s enterprises and the alleged favouritism extended to him by the Modi government. ‘The government's misuse of Central agencies against opposition leaders is also a recurrent theme in the cam= paigns. In fact, joint protests outside Parliament by op- position parties have become a regular feature ever since the government refused to entertain a debate in Lok Sabha on the Hindenburg report. ‘The Congress is using various fora to make its pres- ence felt. On March 31, at the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha at Vaikom in Kerala, Kharge, in his speech, recalled the historic non-violent movement led by his party workers against untouchability, which finally resulted in the passage of the temple entry law. He made specific mention of the role played by Congress leaders [K. Kelappan and K-P. Kesava Menon led the ‘movement along with T:K. Madhavan]. On the occasion, Kharge said that the “very foundation of democracy was ‘being attacked on a daily basis by those in power’, Kharge'sleadership seems to have madean impact on the organisational morale of the party, He seems to be transmitting a fighting spirit to party workers, as well as working more closely with the opposition, With his eleva- tion as party president, there is a more visible unity within the Congress. There are two big challenges ahead: the first is the upcoming election in Karnataka, Kharge' home State. The second test will be whether the disquali- fication issue will give extra ammunition to and fire up the Congress campaign. For now, the party is on the offensive, with speeches, press conferences, nel marches. In his press conference, Gandhi claimed that bis disqualification would benefit the opposition, Will he be proven right? One hundred questions The Congress’ Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun campaign raised serious issues. WHEN the government refused to set up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Hinden- ‘bung report findings, the Congress tweaked the title ofa popular Hindi film and came up with the “Hum Adani Ke Hain Kaun” campaign, in which it posed three questions a day between February 5 ‘and March 22, totalling 100 questions, about the alleged links between Prime Minister Narendra “Modi and businessman Gautam Adani. Congress communications head and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh launched the eampaign. ‘The questions covered some of the following areas: the purported favouritism extended to the industrialist by the government; the Adani ‘group's alleged share price manipulation and fraudulent transactions; and the charges against Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani, who is allegedly named in the Panama and Pandora ‘papers, and his alleged network of shell eompan- ies, the details of which the Congress claims are in the papers. ‘After the Adani group called off Rs.20,000 crore share sale in the wake of the Hindenburg revelations, there is also a demand for details of the original owners of this money. Other ques- tions raised were around the Adani Group's de- fence sector activities being facilitated by misuse of government agencies; Adani’s trips with the Prime Ministerto Israel to get business contracts; and the Adani Group being awarded a drone ‘manufacturing monopoly contract against public ‘sector firms with equal capabilities. The govern- ‘ment, the Congress says, set up a joint venture called Elbit with the Adani Group even when the latter had no experience in the defence sector. ‘Also on the list of the questions are Adani's contracts to set up thermal plants in Bangladesh; the unilateral decision to award Adani Ports in a -government-to-government deal with Sri Lanka; the tweaking of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) guidelines to enable Adani Power toset up a plant in the Godda SEZ.in Jharkhand; the abolition of coal import duties; the absence of an investiga- tion about questionable offshore investments in the Adani Group; the reasons behind Life Insur- ance Corporation's (LIC) heavy exposure to risky” Adanii Group shates; and the extent of | LIC's tosses after January 24. TK. Rajalakshmi wCOVER ‘BJP has Interview with Congress MP S| IN AN INTERVIEW TO FRONTLINE, CONGRESS leader Shashi Tharoor spoke on the publie reaction to the BJP’s hounding of Rahul Gandhi, and on matters such as opposition unity and the need for a substantive Congress campaign that talks about issues facing the people. Excerpts: ‘Why is the BJP rushing to frame Rahul Gandhi's ‘remarks on the Modi surname as an affront to the backward classes? Is this a way to distract the electorate from the questions the Congress is raising about Adani and BJP’s crony capitalism? Or does this come from fear that the campaign for a caste census, now endorsed by the Congress, might lead to an OBC consolidation against the BJP? ‘The BJP is a master at exploiting every situation to the extent it possibly can, therefore, this OBC connection isto try and turn the Modi name—which in Gujarat is a backward caste name—and apply it as a backward caste everywhere in the country, since that is a constituency that itis desperately trying to cultivate. It is even using this argument in Kerala, where the Ezhavas are an OBC community. It is preposterous be- cause both Lalit Modi and Niray Modi are anything but backward: Lalit Modi is a Marwari and Nirav Modi is a Jain. They are both extremely affluent people who man- aged tolivein the lap of luxury, and then pushed offtolive as affluent fugitives in London, with their ill-gotten wealth taken away from this country, These are hardly symbols of backwardness in any shape or form, The entire charge is such a stretch. But there is very little doubt that the strategy has both, ‘4 positive and a negative side, The positive is for them to try and win votes from the OBCs. The negative is pre~ cisely that they might see the opposite happening, be- cause the Congress, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) are pressing for acaste census. If the caste census, which has been resisted by the BJP, produces results that it does not like, it could lead to ‘a consolidation of OBC votes against the BJP. So, there is both « push factor and a pull factor in the stand they have taken, Untit Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Member of Parliament, some opposition parties were openly aPaiLan 039 0 STORY shot itself hashi Tharoor. sy ANANoo BHAKTO harbouring the idea of a third front with little or no rote for the Congress. Do you see this shifting now? How does the Congress leadership view such a front? ‘The question of a third front has always struck many of us as unfortunate, When you are talking of the BJP winning 303 seats with 37 per cent of the vote, and the remaining 63 per cent going to 35 parties in Parliament, itmakes sense that many of these 35 parties may agree on ‘common candidate against the BJP candidates in their areas to ensure that the BJP is defeated. ‘That is never going to be a unanimous kind of a situation because there will always be some parties who ‘would disagree and put up their own candidates, But the assumption was certainly that the movement towards opposition unity was in the collective interest of the opposition. ‘Now that we have seen that parties who have historie- ally, and until recently, seen the Congress as a major adversary in their States, such as the AAP in Delhi, the ‘Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, KCR [K. Chandrashekar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi] in Telan- gana, and Akhilesh Yadav [Samajwadi Party] in Uttar Pradesh, have all come out defending the Congress and Rahul Gandhi in the disqualification matter, it certainly suggests that this is a very good moment to try and get them together on the same platform. Also, the fact that 18 parties sat with the Congress and ‘went to dinner with the Congress this week [last week of, Mareh] in New Delhi is also a suggestion that many parties are beginning to realise the truth of the adage that united we stand, divided we fall, and that the BJP would be much happier being able to pick off each individual party, “This is a very interesting development in opposition polities; we should see how it evolves. First, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and now, the Rahul Gandhi issue. Do you see these as helping the Congress in the battle ahead? Critics say that the BJP can use Rahul Gandhi's remarks to undo the advantages gained by your party. Do you agree? I think it is very clear that the BJP has scored a self-goal in the process of hounding Rahul Gandhi in this ‘manne, beeause publi¢ sympathies that I have seen gi sense of the public pulse. It does seem as if the public thinks that the BJP has gone too fir. Even if you dont like Rall Gandhi or the Congressin the foot’ party, would you, as someone committed to Indian democracy, agree that itis a good thing for our country that a prominent opposition leader's voice be silenced? Is ita good thing for our democracy foran opposition leader tobe put in jail fora couple of years overone sentence ina campaign speech and prevented from raising his voice in Parliament? No democrat is going to agree that this is good in @ democracy. I think the BJP has shot itself in the foot. 1 believe there is every opportunity for the Congress to feel strengthened and empowered in the battle ahead. Partic~ ularly on this issue, the opposition is united to fight together. The Congress seems to be focussing on business ‘magnate Gautam Adani as it prepares for the 2024 general election. But are accusations of crony capitalism a viable election plank? The Rafale row failed to sive you any advantage in 2019. The issue of cxony capitalism may seem somewhat esoteric to the public but certainly for those who are following polities closely, itis an important issue. But 1 a FRONTLINE ~ APRILESHASHI THAROOR speaking during the Congress’ “satyagraha” against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification, in Thiruvananthapuram on March 26, 2023, “Is ita good thing for our country that a prominent opposition leader's voice be silenced?” ‘would agree that it cannot be the only issue. In fact, the principal issues affecting the am aadmi for the last couple of years have centred on the economy: record levels of unemployment, inflation, unsustainable price rise,andstagnantor even reduced incomes for the bulk of the population. The government boasts of giving 80 crore people free food grains, which in itself san admission of how badly the economy is doing: It is also a desperate attempt at saying that “we are doing the best we ean to shield you from the onerous pressures ofthe economy”, Is that enough? We will have to see. I think the Congress and the opposition should raise ‘multiple issues, with the economy being a prineipal one. Crony capitalism and governance issues, hollowing out of institutions, stifling the freedom of the press, and stifling the voice of the opposition are issues that will also have to be raised in the 2024 election, ‘While the Congress points out the shortcomings of the Narendra Modi regime, especially with regard to unemployment and price rise, one is not clear what the Congress tine is on the economy or jobs, or even secularism. Can the Congress articulate a clear game plan, or will it stick to simply being anti-Modi? The latter can backfire for the party, can it not? Look, very clearly those who admire Mr Modi will vote forthe BJP come what may and those who dislike Mr ‘Modi may still vote for him because they fear there is no alternative. It is indispensable for the Congress and the opposition to constitut« a credible alternative, which has Fr FRONTLINE” APRILEN 303 ‘coherent and serious alternative vision for the country. Itshould be manifest in our speeches, in our election manifesto and on the campaign trail. On that I have absolutely no doubt: that the Congress campaign must be ‘much more substantive than just being anti-Modi, be- cause that has limitations, We have to show to the people what are the problems they are enduring that we are conscious of and what specific suggestions we have to remedy those. That is important... Lam not part of the party leadership, so my views beyond that are irrelevant, but I do hope we come up with a credible approach. Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, in recent speeches, invoked the image of the Congress fighting a battle to save democracy. Will the party find itself on the ‘back foot in 2024 when its own history of misusing the Governors’ agency or the defamation law is quoted? believe this habit of whataboutery, of pointing to the Emergency every time some undemocratic action of the government is mentioned, or pointing to the anti-Sikh riots every time Gujarat riots are mentioned and so on, does nobody any good. The important issue is that India has evolved since those days. ‘What are Indians prepared to tolerate today? If Indi- ans say they are quite happy with an electoral autocracy and they don't particularly feel any need to have a demo- cratic opposition being heard, then they can vote accordingly. But if they want the democratie opposition to get space, if they want a free press, genuinely autonomous and vigorous institutions, and all the other things we stand for and defend, particularly preserving the di- versity and pluralism of our society and the communal harmony that has been such an important ingredient of what India is all about, then frankly, a time will come when this kind of messaging from us will resonate with them. ‘As far as 1 am concerned, the Congress party's past may involve mistakes; I have been a critic of the Con- gress, I have written against the excesses of the Emer- gency and other mistakes. But we are not fighting the election in 197, we are fighting the election in 2024. And I want to be a politician who looks forward and not someone who is stuck permanently in the past. What next? if Rahul Gandhi cannot come back to Parliament, wil you put your hat in the ring for the top job in 20242 As you know, the top job in the party is held by Mr (Mallikarjun] Kharge and not by Rahul Gandhi, there- fore your question is slightly besides the point. 1 am one of those raising their voices for Rahul Gandhi to come back as a member of Parliament and as a prominent leader of the party, His Bharat Jodo Yatra brought usalot of laurels and I do believe we should be looking forward to seving Rahul Gandhi continue in polities rather than speculating about what any of us would do in the event that he is out of contention for electoral affice. oCOVER STORY Coalition of the unwilling Until recently planning a non-Congress third front ahead of the 2024 elections, opposition parties are realigning the battle lines, possibly seeing the political value in Rahul Gandhi’s emergence as a unifying symbol of sacrifice. sy ANANDO BHAKTO AN\O SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY UNTIL RAHUL GANDHT'S DISQUALIFICATION as Member of Parliament on March 24 over a criminal defamation proceeding, widely seen as “rushed” and “politically expedited”, several opposition leaders ap- peared to be aggressively promoting the agenda ofa third front in which the Congress would not control the levers of power. This was evident from the absence of key regional satraps in Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra finale in Srinagar on January 30, ‘The prominent players of a non-Congress front against the Narendra Modi regime are Mamata Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Nitish Kumar (Janata Dal (United)), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), and Te- Jjashwi Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal), who together have clout in 162 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh; the BJP currently holds 99 of these seats. ‘They believe that if they can win 100 or more seats together, that will not only reduce the BIP's majority drastically but also serve as a platform for other opposition parties to come together. Infuriated by the BJP's relentless pursuit of Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee said that it was a ploy to divert attention from their political front. Addressing her party members over telephone on March 19 in a pro- gramme that was telecast live in several local news channels, she said, “Rahul Gandhi is Modi's biggest TRPL It was only a couple of days earlier, on March 17, that Sudip Bandyopadhyay, leader of the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha, stated his party’s intent to maintain distance from both the BJP and the Congress, stressing that the grand old party was not the “big boss” of the opposition stable. “The Trinamool Congress will prove how to remove the BJP from power with the support of regional parties,” he boasted. In Uttar Pradesh, the SP OPPOSITION PARTIES are prioritising a common fight against the Modi ‘government and standing by Rahul Gandhi, In pic, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav.hhas categorically ruled out any electoral adjustments with the Congress. SHIFTING BATTLE LINES However, the latest developments have shifted the polit- ical battle lines, with opposition parties carefully avoid- ing conflict among themselves while prioritising a common fight against the Modi government's “electoral autocracy” and standing by Rahul Gandhi, who has emerged as the front-line opposition figurehead. Mamata Banerjee called Gandhi's disqualification a “new low of our constitutional democracy” and K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) called it a “black day”. As many as 16 parties, including the Trinamool, KCR’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), attended a meeting convened by Congress presid- ent Mallikarjun Kharge on March 27. In fact, Mamata Banerjee, who thus far presented herself as Modi's main adversary (particularly after her resounding victory over the BJP in the 2021 Bengal Assembly election), put aside “leadership” issues and exhorted parties opposed to the BJP to “unite” for the 2024 election. She used a two-day dharna in Kolkata on March 29 and 30, ostensibly in protest against the Centre's stepmotherly attitude towards the State, to sound the bugle for opposition unity “This is not a fight to be the ‘neta’ [of the opposition alliance]. Every citizen in this country is a neta. This is a fight to save the country,” she said. Pointing-out that all ‘TRINAMOOL CONGRESS leader ‘Mamata Banerjee used 3 two-day cdharna against the Central ‘government in Kolkata on March 30 to sound the bugle fr opposition unity. opposition parties have been at the receiving end of BJP’s -handed rule, she said, “All opposition parties will, have to fight together and remove the BJP from the chair.” Political observers are not surprised by the sudden shift in the political stance of the Trinamool and the AAP vis-a-vis the Congress. According to psephologist Biswanath Chakraborty, “Rahul Gandhi is emerging as the unopposed consensus opposition leader. He is now being perceived as a symbol of sacrifice... It will be difficult for the Trinamool and the AAP to create a third front without the Congress.” Jawhar Sirear, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha member and the party’s national spokesperson, agreed that the found ations of democracy were under attack and that opposi tion unity mattered. “We saw one of the highest assaults ‘on democratic freedom, and itis sensible for everyone to come together and protest against this.... What we have here is a sign of opposition unity against an act that was patently unfair,” he said, But is this opposition unity durable? Will regional players jettison their personal aspirations for the more pressing goal of safeguarding democracy? PRACTICAL CONCERNS. Sonirees in the Samajwadi Patty, thé Rashtriya Janata Dal, the-Janata Dal (United), and the Trinamool grudgingly acknowledge that now is not the time to (quarrel with the Congress, but remain sceptical about FRONTLINE” APRILEN 303 me_— Rahul Gandhi's candidature. This means the efforts for an alternative front will not die down, but the pursuit will be quieter, oratleast, without jarringremarks against the grand old party. People in West Bengal believe the fracas will resur- face because Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to play asubor- dinate role in the run-up to the 2024 election. In the one ‘week between March 17 and March 24, Mamata Baner- jjee met Akhilesh Yadav; Naveen Patnaik, Odisha Chief ‘Minister and president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD); and H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Karnataka Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader. Her repeated swipes at the Congress and attempts to bypass it in forging an alliance against the BJP have prompted the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress, both electoral allies in West Bengal, to accuse the Trinamool of being “in Teague with the BJP". Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in A significant hurdle to the idea of a third front is that the electorate today favours a strongman executive who is globally acknowledged. the Lok Sabha and president of its West Bengal unit, recently told Frontline that “Mamata Banerjee is more vituperative against the Congress than the BJP”. Explaining the ‘Trinamoo!’s vote-cutter role, Biswanath Chakraborty said: “Time and again it has been seen that Mamata’s presence in different States has spit the opposition votes, which ultimately worked in the BJP’s favour. Its also now a common phenomenon that ‘whenever the Trinamool is cornered by central investig- ating agencies on corruption issues, Mamata’s attacks against the Congress become more strident.” ‘The Trinamool's swipes at the Congress are some~ times inexplicable. After its recent defeat at the hands of the Congress-Left combine in the byelection to the Sagardighi Assembly constituency, a seat Trinamool had ‘won three times consecutively, Mamata alleged that the Congress had the support of the RSS. Asked why she was snubbing the Congress, she replied curtly, “We eannot go with those who are in alliance with the BJP.” WOOING THE BACKWARD CLASS In electorally significant Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the SP, the RJD, and the JD(U) are preparing for abackward class-centric political duel with the BJP, with some ob- servers framing it as a reinvention of the “mandal versus kamandal” politics of the 1980s. This is being done without the involvement of the Congress. The three parties, which trace their origins to the Janata Dal, real- ise that they need to fundamentally churn the intricate caste mosaic in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to defeat the BJP's rainbow Hindu consolidation. At the centre of their strategy is the demand for a caste census. Ahead of the 2022 Assembly election, Akhilesh Yadav promised to hold a caste census within three months of being voted to power. According to him, such a head count would allow for a fair assess- ‘ment of the disadvantaged castes’ quantum of repres- entation in Parliament and in State Assemblies, and bolster the call for their adequate participation. In Bi- har, in June 2022, Nitish Kumar coerced his then ally, the BJP, into seconding the JD(U)-BJP government's proposal for a caste census, which is currently under way in the State. “The underlying objective seems to be to form a coali- tion of backward castes and Dalits against the BJP and limit its appeal to “savarna’”, or forward caste, voters. Akhilesh Yadav’s recent focus on Dalits apart from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) supports this. He even gave Awadhesh Prasad, a party leader from the Pasi com- ‘munity, a seat next to him in the Assembly. Historically, Dalits and OBCs have had competing identities. Though both are politically and economically behind the forward castes, the OBCS' social dominance has forced Dalits to enter into some form of understand ing with the forward castes, which gives them protection networks and nominal power-sharing, This savarna- Dalit coalition, once the mainstay of Congress’ electoral engineering, is what the BJP is copying. The question on ‘everyone's mind is: How will Akhilesh Yaslav assemble a“Major Himanshu Singh, a political commentator, has aan interesting take on that. “In the post-Mandal era, reservation emerged as the triggering topic for both OBCs and Dalits, making it possible for some regional players to realign social dynamics and mould otherwise warring factions into an electoral monolith. This hap- pens when there is a considerable threat or threat-mon geting vis-a-vis reservation,” Singh told Frontline. Interestingly, Akhilesh Yadav often accuses the BJP of trying to do away with reservation. “Privatisation is being encouraged by the BJP in all public sector units, Slowly they want to do away with the very provisions of reservation,” he keeps iterating. ROW OVER RAMCHARITMANAS ‘The recent row over Ramcharitmanas has emerged as a rallying point for Dalit-OBC consolidation. The contro- versy was triggered by Bihar Education Minister and RID leader Chandra Shekhar alleging in January that the Hindu religious book spreads “hatred in society’. “Ramcharitmanas says that once educated, lower-caste people become as poisonous as a snake,” he said. Akhilesh’s collengue Swami Prasad Maurya alleged that the text is insensitive towards backward castes, tribal people, Dalits, and women. Akhilesh Yadav, who, until some time ago, had been careful not to relay any message that may go against Hindu forward caste sentiment, was forthcoming when mediaper- ‘sons asked him about Maurya’s accusations. He said, “Our Chief Minister is from an institution and isa yogi. I will ask hhim about the lines of Ramcharitmanas.on which diseus- sions are being held today. What is the meaning of tadanin the verse and for whom is it used.” Maurya had alleged that some of the verses said shudras deserve tadan, which roughly translates to “punishment”. So far, the BJP's re- 4D{U) LEADER Nitist Kumar with RUD's Tejashu Yad in Patna, file picture. The RUD and the JOU are preparing for 3 bbackword class-cenire poliical dt wth the BIP. sponse to the controversy lacks the ferocity it usually displays when it comes to Hindutva's signature items. Its recent framing of Rahul Gandhi's comments on the Modi surname as “anti-OBCis apparently part of the effort to bolster its image as an advocate of the backward classes. ‘This also highlights the challenge it is facing over the caste census that it opposes. ‘The viability of the four-party experiment to chart out path for 2024 sans the Congress is being debated in political and media circles. The grounds: Isa conglomer- ate of regional parties eapable of winning a national election, asit did in 1977, morphing into the Janata Party that succeeded Indira Gandhi's regime after the Emer- gency (1975-197)?; ean these parties match the BJP's ‘wide-scale economic incentivisation of the poor, a chief ingredient of its recent electoral victories? Will their considerable dependence on the Muslim vote not be the ammunition the BJP needs to shout “appeasement” and seare the electorate into backing it blindly? SIGNIFICANT HURDLE Assignificant hurdle to the idea of third front is that the electorate today favours a strongman executive who is globally acknowledged, understands the intricacies of geopolitics, and can be trusted to place a positive spin on the country’s international relations. A compelling artic- ulation on national security is a must. On both counts, there is a feeling that Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Ku- ‘mar are no match for Narendra Modi. In an interaction with Frontline, Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnan underlined the limitations of a third front. “The pitch of national polities has changed fundamentally. Religion and nation are two overwhelming metrics the electorate uses to determine who should be the Prime Minister. This is why the Congress, and not the regional parties, can be the chal- Ienger to Narendra Modi,” he said. In his view, in the event of Rahul Gandhi not returning to Parliament, an “immensely engaging and gifted communicator, Priy- anka Gandhi, should be launched as the party's prime ministerial face”, Pramod Krishnan’s observations on the third front match the sentiment on the ground. Amit Prakash, a senior advocate in Patna High Court, said, “A third front government with way too many regional leaders and disparate ideologies risks spurting regionalism, and with Punjab simmering, such experiments are best avoided, even as Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar are accom- plished leaders within their own domains." ‘Not ust the privileged middle class but also the work- ing class support this argument. “It is one thing to defeat the BJP in a State and another thing to take it on nation ally,” said an auto driver in Noida, Yet, everyone agrees that the regional parties have an. important role to play in preventing the BJP juggernaut in the 2024 election and, more importantly, the Indian polity’s frighteningly rapid transformation into compet- itive authoritarianism, which yields an electoral demo- tracy but not a substantial one, o FRONTLINE” APRILZN 3039 2COVER STORY GUEST COLUMN ka oo cus N. RAM A noxious colonial law and its subversive effects The Macaulay-authored law of consigned to the dustbin of history criminal defamation must be and since there is little prospect of Parliament doing that, it is perhaps time for a challenge before a constitutional bench of the highest court in the land. ROM the standpoint of democracy as well as istice, the conviction, sentencing, and quick-fire disqualification of Rabul Gandhi as a Member of Parliament have exposed, as never before, the toxic and subversive nature of the Indian republic's colonial-era law of criminal defamation’, the damaging effects of a flawed decision of the Supreme Court of India on disqualification of sitting members of a legislature, and naked authorit- arianism, the three combining to make a dystopia come true. ‘The facts, which are on record, speak for themselves. Atan election rally in Karnataka on April13, 2019, Rahul Gandhi made a jibe against the background of the Rafale deal controversy: “Ihave a question. Why do all of, them—all of these thieves—have Modi Modi Modi in their names? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. And if we search a bit more, many more such Modis will come out.” None of the three Modis named bothered to take the Congress leader to court, then or later, over the wise- crack. But three days after the speech was given, Purnesh Ishvarbhai Modi, a BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minis- ter who was not even remotely in the picture, filed a complaint in the cont of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CIM) in Surat against Rahul Gandhi for eriminal d famation, claiming that the entire “Modi communit had been defamed and that his repufstion had suffered grievously. Never mind that Rahul Gandhi did not refer to Purnesh Modi even obliquely and had possibly never heard of him. Never mind that Rahul did not say, or make any imputation, that every Modi was a thief. Never mind there is no identifiable “Modi com- munity”—as a caste, class, ethnic, or corporate group— except as. figment of the complainant's imagination or, ‘more accurately, invention, The strange events that unfolded in Gujarat during the on-again, off-again criminal prosecution of Rahul Gandhi over period of four years have been described in some detail elsewhere®. They feature Purnesh Modi ap- proaching the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad for a stay of the trial proceedings in the court of A.N, Dave, the CIM of Surat, who would not grant it; the High Court granting the stay; the complainant waiting it out until CJM Dave was transferred out of Surat before withdraw- ing his petition with permission from the High Court so that the trial could resume before a new CJM, H.H. Verma; the complainant pulling the trigger in February 2023, which happened to be when Rahul Gandhi's polit- ical campaign against the Adani-Modi nexus was at its peak. All this could form the stuff of a dystopian novel. SURREAL EVENTS ‘The chain of events leading to the disqualiffeation might seem surreal on the surface. The general political expecta- 7tion is that the legal consequences of the strange happen ings in Surat over this four-year period will be transient. ‘This is because itis hard to imagine a scenario where the higher judiciary will fail to stay, ifnot quash, fairly quickly the bizarre conviction and harsh sentencing of Rahul Gandhi for making a wisecrack at an election-eve rally held fir away from the place where the prosecution has been staged by a political adversary with zero locus in the matter. But these sensational developments must not be al- lowed to divert us from going to the root ofthe mischief— the Macaulay-authored law of criminal defamation en- trenched in Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Seemingly protected by Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which provides for “reasonable restric- tions” on the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) this draconian law is inherently ineompatible with, and hostile to, that fundamental right. It has been repeatedly shown by con- stitutional scholars, lawyers, and others, especially Journalists, that itis not a question of misuse or abuse of the law—butiits direct and inevitable effect. Every Indian Journalist knows that irrespective of the outcome of a criminal defamation case, “the process is the punish- ment”; and this knowledge brings into play a chilling effect on media freedom. ‘The objections against the law of criminal defama- tion are easily summarised. It isa colonial law meant to protect the British empire and its officials from the ef- fects of robust criticism and opposition and has no place in a sovereign, democratic republic. Freedom of speech and expression is vital to democracy and if this freedom is curtailed by resort to a draconian colonial law, the cher- ished value of free speech under the Constitution is im- perilled. ‘The enabling power in Article 19(2) to impose “reas- onable restrictions” on the right conferred by Article 19(1Xa) is provisioned to safeguard the interests of the general public and the state, and not any individual. Consequently, Article 19(2) cannot be regarded as the source of authority for Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, which makes defamation of any person a eriminal offence. Defamation of an individual by another indi- vidual can only be a civil wrong or tort and the common law remedy for this is the award of damages, and not imprisonment. The right to one’s reputation, which has been held by the Supreme Court to be a facet of the right to life and personal liberty protected by Article 21, is essentially to be exercised vis-A-vis the state and there- fore Article 19(2) cannot be invoked to serve the private interest of an individual. ‘The concept of “reasonableness” incorporates the doctrine of proportionality and the content, scheme, and language of Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC betray gross disproportionality and excessive infringement of the fun- damental right to free speech. “Reasonableness” is not a static coneept and what is considered reasonable at one point of time may becsme arbitrary and unreasonable at a subsequent point of time, CONGRESS PARTY ACTIVISTS during a protest against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha, in Kolkata on March 25. Section 199(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides a different procedure for a privileged category of persons and this classification offends the fundamental right to equality before the law guaranteed by Article 14, What is more, this section provides for use of the state machinery to launch prosecution through the Public Prosecutor, thus enabling thestate to take a differ- ent route to curb the fundamental right of citizens to freedom of speech and expression. ‘A law that does not countenance the plea of “honest mistakes” asa defence and even makesspeakingthetruth about a person an offence punishable with imprisonment unless t ean be shown that the truth has been spoken for the “public good’, which is a vague term), must be struck down as unconstitutional. All these arguments were made before the Supreme Court of India in Subramanian Steamy vs Union of India’ but, as we shall see below, to no avail. Bul thisis not all, “Much of the law,” Rajeev Dhavai the senior lawyer and constitutional scholar, argues, “is dependent on the way litigation employs it.” “Litiga- tion,” he argues, “determines the kind of use that ismade of the law and can virtually transform its meaning and use in terms of its existence as a social reality.” Once this truth is recognised, it is easy to understand how the law and, in varying degrees, the courts can be gamed by the rich and the powerful to suppress dissent, criticism, and investigative exposure of wrongdoing; how they have been gamed over the years by various political and corporate actors to the detriment of free speech, liberty, and equality; and how they are increas- ingly being gamed for anti-constitutional and highly divisive political ends with the “second coming” of Hindutva, Unfortunately, when a promising opportunity arose and some of India’s best legal minds advanced a battery of persuasive arguments challenging the constitutional- ity of the law of criminal defamation, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant failed completely to appreciate the free speech, liberty, and equality issues at stake, falling back instead on stale, conservative, and regressive reasoning. The ac- countability of the country’s top court for keeping “the 1860 provision, with its 17th century roots, entirely in- tact!” in the 2016 judgment’ that has been characterised by legal scholars as “shoddy and almost completely unin telligible™ and asa “disaster that empowers the powerful to fight each other and to oppress the press and civil society” is heavy indeed. So is the accountability of Par- liament over 75 years of Independence for not doing anything to abolish the obnoxious law. MUZZLING THE PRESS ‘The chain of events leading to Rahul Gandhi's sensi tional disqualification must not be allowed to obscure the fact that over the long term itis the Indian press that has been the prime target of the defamation law, eriminal and civil, Let us look at the press's direct experience, or rather encounter, with the law of criminal defamation, We ean use The Hindu’s own experience, which goes back a long way, as a reasonable proxy for what the Indian press has been through over the long term. The 44-year-old newspaper's editors and publishers have faced scores of defamation cases, civil and criminal, over the decades. In G. Narasimhan and Others vs T.V. Chokkappa", a landmark case dating back to the early 1970s, a member of the Dravida Kazhagam brought a complaint of criminal defamation against the editorsand publisher of the newspaper for a news item on a resolu- tion passed at a conference. The magistrate accepted the complaint, recorded the evidence, and decided to issue process and proceed with the trial. On appeal, the Madras High Court ruled in favour of the complainant, holding his complaint of eriminal defamation “compet- ent’. However, the newspaper succeeded in its appeal before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, which overturned the High Court order and quashed the proceedings. More important than the outcome was the prineiple laid down in the judgment authored by Justice J.M. Shelat, an outstanding jurist: “The conference clearly was itive body so that all those who attended it could be said to be its constituents who, if the conference was defamed, would, in their turn, be said to bedefamed.” In other words, fan imputation againsta “collection of persons” is to constitute defamation under Section 499 of the IPC, the collection must necessarily be “a determinate and an identifiable body” so that the defamatory words used would be defamation of the indi- vidual members who could then makea complaint under Section 500 of the IPC. This principle has direct applica- tion to the Rahul Gandhi case Three decades after G. Narasimhan and Others vs LY. Chokkappa was decided in favour of the newspaper, it faced a bigger challenge from the high-handed and intolerant AIADMK regime of Jayalalithaa—20 criminal defamation cases filed mindlessly by the Public Prosee: utor, under instructions from the Chief Minister, against the editors, publisher, and other journalists of the news- paper. An additional 100 cases were launched against other media organisations and opposition leaders. In retrospect, the content and range of news items, articles, and editorials that were targeted by the spate of defama- tion cases are a matter of amusement but at the time they posed a serious challenige to The Hindw and its journal- ists—and to media freedom in Tamil Nadu. Undauinted, the newspaper challenged, in N. Raviand Others.&s Union of India cand Others", the validity ofSection 499 of the IPC before a two-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Y.K. Sabharwal and D.M. Dharmadhikari, praying that on constitutional grounds the provision was inapplicable to statements made in rela- tion to the official conduet of publie servants and function aries, It seemed a promising moment in the fight to decriminalise defamation but as Rajeev Dhavan notes, the ‘case was “stifled” by an affidavit filed by an official of the ‘Tamil Nadu government stating that all the complaints hhad been withdrawn (barring one case against a Tamil magazine, which was withdrawn soon after). ‘Recognising the far-going constitutional importance of the issues at stake, the two-judge bench noted in it Order of December 17, 2004: “Strictly speaking, on with- drawal ofthe complaints, the prayer about the validity of Section 499 hasalso become academic, but having regard to the importance of the question, we are of the view, in agreement with the learned counsel for the petitioners, that the validity aspect deserves to be examined, In this view, we issue rule, insofar as prayer (a) is concerned.” Endnotes However, as Dhavan observes wryly, “this did nothappen for the usual mysterious reasons", ‘What is needed today is the understanding, spit, political and media outrage, and coordinated unity of action that gave short shrift to the Rajiv Gandhi govern- ‘ment’s infamous Defamation Bill of 1988” after it had been adopted by the Lok Sabha. ‘To the then Prime Minister's credit, he withdrew the Bill when its wide- spread unpopularity beeame apparent. The Macaulay- authored law of criminal defamation must be consigned to the dustbin of history and since there is little prospect of Parliament doing this, itis perhaps time forachallenge before a constitutional bench of the highest court in the land. o N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu and Frontline, is currently a Director in The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited. He is the recipient of several journalism awards, of the Padma Bhushan (for journalism), 1990, and the Sri Lanka Ratna, 2005. 1. For a deeply researched and conceptually and historically insightful examination ofthe harms done by India’s aw of criminal defamation, see Rajeev Dhavan, "Private Lives and Public Reputations: Career and Prospects of the Law of Defamation in India,” Chapter Four in his collection of essays, Censorship and Intolerance in Inala (New Dethi, Tulika Books, 20081. The chapter alsa deals with the confusions and problems that arise in the civil law of defamation, including the proliferating resort to court injunctions or ‘gag orders’ and SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) actions, 2. See P..1. Achary la former Secretary-General ofthe Lok Sabhal, “Making sense of the disqualification of a Lok Sabha MP, tead article in The Hindu, March 27, 2023: https: /anwwhehindu.com/opinion/Lead/making-sense-of-the-disqualification-of-3-lok-sabha-mp/ artcte66445189.0co; and Kapil Sibal [senior lawyer and Member of the Rajya Sabhal, “Rahul defamation case: Amend law to protect MPs, MLAs,” op-ed in The New Indian Express, March 27, 2023 https://mww.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2023/mar/271 rahul-defarmation-case-amend-taw-to-protect-mps-mlas-2559784 him 3. Kapil Siba, cited in footnote 2: hitps:f/mww.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2023/mar/27) rahul-defamation-case-amend-taw-to-protect-mps-mlas-2559784 him: and S.N, Sahy, “Twists and turns in Rahul Gandhi's Defamation Trial.” NewsClick in, March 24, 2028: https:/www.newselick in/twists-and-turns-rahul-gandhis-detamation-triat 4, Subramanian Swamy v. Union of india (2016) 7 SCC 221: https:/main sci.gov.in/judgment/judis/A4579.pdt 5. Rajeev Ohawan in the book cited above, page 103. 6. Gautam Bhatia, Why the Supreme Court ruling on criminal defamation bodes ill for the future of free speech in Ind Serolt.in, May 14, 2016: htpsf/scrolin/article/806115/why-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-criminal-defamation-bodes-ill-for-the- future-of-free-speech-in-india; and “A blow against free speech.” The Hindu, May 18, 2016 hitps://mwwthehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-blow-against-iree-speech/article14321176.ecet 7, Subramanian Swamy v, Union of india, [2016] 7 SCC 221; https://main si.gowin/judgmenV/judis/ 44579. pat 8. Gautam Bhatia, cited above: httpsf/scrolin/articte/8081 5why-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-criminal-defamation-bodes-il-for-the- future-ol-free-speech-in-india 9. Rajeev Dhavan, “On Defamation, Macaulay Has the Last Laugh on India,” The Wire, June 2, 2016 https /thewire.in/law/on-defamation-macaulay-has-the-last-laugh-on-india 410, 11972) 2 SCC 680: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/10089/ 11. N. Ravi and Others v. Union of Inia and Others, reported in {200} 15 SCC 43}; also see hitps://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5811746a2713e179479 1168 12. https/thewire n/law/on-detamation-macaulay-has-the-last-laugh-on-india 13. See “Anti-defamation lav: Rajiv Gandhi's failed attempt at curbing Press freedom,” The indian Express, Aprit 3,2018:hitps:l/indbanexpress.com/artile/researchitake-nows-arder-smritisirani-narendrs-madi-anti- ddefamation-rajiv-gandhi-press-{reedom-5121884/; Joseph Maliakan & Lek Hor Tan, “Victory fr press freedom,” Index on Censorship, 9/88: htipsy/jourvals.sagepub.comy/doi/pd/10.1080/006422880853482¢; and “Analyzing the Defamation Bil, 1988," iPleaders biog, Ocinber-25, 2021: hitps://blog ipleaders.in/analyzing-the-delamation-bill- 1988 FRONTLINE» APHIDS 3039 30COVER STORY WEAPONISING THE DEFAMATION LAW All people with the “Modi” surname do not form a “collection of persons” as required by the existing law. sy sansay HEGDE ACCORDING TO AN APOCRYPHAL STORY from the erstwhile Soviet Union, a peasant stood in the market square and shouted that the minister for agricul- ttre was a fool. He was sentenced to 10 years and one month of imprisonment. The one month was for defam- ing the minister and the 10 years were for revealing a state secret. The lesser penalty was for the actual act, the greater penalty was for the impact. Looking at the Rahul Gandhi defamation saga, it does appear that the criminal law of defamation was ‘weaponised for the greater impact of ridding Parliament of a prominent opposition leader. Section 8[3] of the Representation of the People Act yys:“A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)] shall be disqualified from the date of such eonvietion and shall continue to be disqualified fora further period of six ‘years since his release.” In the Lily Thomas case, the Supreme Court had ruled that *..once a person who was a member of either House of Parliament or House of the State Legislature becomes disqualified by or under any law made by Parlia, ment under Articles 102(1)(e) and 191(1)(e) ofthe Consti- tution, his seat automatically falls vacant...” ‘Thus, for parliamentarians, any conviction with a sentence of two years or more entails not only imprison ment, but a further exile for six years thereafter. A max- imum sentence of two years is rarely given upon conviction for defamation, wherein people are often let A maximum sentence of two years is rarely given upon conviction for defamatio people are often let off with an admonition or a fine. off with an admonition or a fine. When the magistrate in Surat awarded Rahul Gandhi the maximum penalty, it ‘must be assumed that he intended such a sentence to have other consequences as well. For a period of 30 days, the magistrate stayed the sentence of imprisonment, but the guillotine of disqualification has fallen on Rahul Gandhi's membership of Parliament. LAW OF CRIMINAL DEFAMATION ‘The law of criminal defamation was not intended to have political consequences. It has been in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) since its inception in the times of Macaulay. ‘The basic logic of making defamation a criminal offence was to prevent people from fighting in the streets to protect their honour or that of their loved ones. The law dates back to a time when duels were not unknown and came with their attendant fatalities. The draftsmen of the law preferred to shift those duels to the criminal courts, with a possibility of imprisonment up to two years. ‘When the Constitution of India came into being, the right to freedom of speech and expression was made subject to the laws of defamation and contempt of court, along with a few exceptions. Free India ought to have done away with criminal defamation and continued with defamation as a civil law that envisages compensation in terms of damages. Payment of damages in eases of civil defamation are not unknown in the world. In fact, heavy damages are often a way to maintain societal balance. For example, right now in the US, Dominion Voting Systems is pursuing a civil defamation case against Fox ‘Network and other pro-Trump media for disparaging its voting machines. There is no question of imprisoning someone in the US today for defamation. In fact, India is one of the rare countries where the criminal law of de- famation continues. THE SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY CASE ‘The constitutionality of criminal defamation was chal- Tenged in the Supreme Court, but in 2015, in the Sub- raimanian Swamy case, the court upheld Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC, with the argunient that the provision hhad existed in the statute books for a long time. It was FTA CONGRE TER ata protest rally against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha, near Jantar Mantar in New Dethi on March 26, 2023, also argued that even the makers of the Constitution had made an exception in the freedom of speech provisions in favour of defamation laws. ‘The court ruled in pertinent part,..“One eannot be unmindful that the right to freedom of speech and ex- pression is a highly valued and cherished right but the Constitution conceives of reasonable restriction. In that context, eriminal defamation, which isin existence in the form of Sections 499 and 500 [of the } IPC, is not a restrietion on free speech that can be characterised as disproportionate.” It added: “Right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame the other. Protection of reputation isa fundamental right. It is also a human right. Cumulat- ively, it serves the social interest. Thus, we are unable to ‘cept that provisions relating to criminal defamation e not saved by doctrine of proportionality because it determines a limit which is not impermissible within the criterion of reasonable restriction.” Ironically, one of the many petitioners in the Sub- ramanian Swamy case was Rabul Gandhi himself, THE RAHUL GANDHI CASE Coming to the present case in Surat, it arose out of & specch in Kolar in Katnataka where Rahul Gandhi te- R portedlly said: “..One stall question, how are the names of all these thieves "Modi, Modi, Modi’... Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi..." However, none of the three named Modis filed a criminal complaint or a civil suit for defamation on being called thieves. A former Gujarat Minister and current MLA, Purnendu Modi, filed a criminal complaint in a Surat court saying that all Modis had been defamed. His complaint was based on the second explanation to Section 499 ofthe IPC, which reads:“It may amount to defamation to make an imputation concerning a com- pany or an association or collection of persons as such.” Now, do all people with the Modi surname really qualify as a “collection of persons” as such? There is a precedent in Sahib Singh Mehra, 1965 case in which allegations of corruption were made against publie pro- sectitors in the city of Aligarh. The Supreme Court held: “The contention for the appellant then reduces itself to the question whether the prosecuting staff at Aligarh ean be considered to be such ‘collection of personsas is contemplated by Explanation 2. The language of Explanation 2 is general and any collection of persons would be covered by it. Of course, that collection of persons must be identifiable in the sense that one could, with certainty, say that this group of particular people has been defamed, as distinguished from the xest of the community.” It added: secuting stalf of Aligarh or, inatter of fact, the prosecuting staff in the State of UttarPradesh, is certainly such an identifiable group or collec- tion of persons. There is nothing indefinite about it. This ‘group consists ofall members of the prosecuting staffin the service of the government of Uttar Pradesh. Within this _general group of publie prosecutors of UP. there isagain an identifiable group of prosecuting staff, eonsisting of public prosecutors and assistant public prosecutors, at Aligarh, ‘This group of persons would be covered by Explanation 2 and could, therefore, be the subject of defamation.” ‘The court held: “We have not been referred to any case relating to Section 499 IPC in support of the conten- tion for the appellant that the public prosecutor and assistant public proseeutors at Aligarh could not form such a body of persons as would be covered by Explana~ tion 2 to Section 499 IPC.” In a later decision in 2010 in Khushboo Sundar, the courtreviewed the earlier case law, including a 1972 case of G. Narasimhan involving The Hindu newspaper, which had said; “..Undoubtedly, the explanation is wide but in order to demonstrate the affence of defamation such a collection of persons must be an identifiable body so that it is possible to say with precision that a group of particular persons, as distinguished from the rest of the community, ‘stood defamed. In case the identity of the collection af persons is not established so as to be relatable to the defamatory words or imputations, the complaint is not ‘maintainable. In case a class is mentioned, ifsuch a class is indefinite, the complaint cannot be entertained. Further- more, if itis not possible to ascertain the composition of ‘such a class, the criminal prosecution cannot proceed...” ‘The court went on to suggest: “In fact, it is the reputa- tion of an individual person which must be in question and only such a person can claim to have ‘a legal peg fora justifiable claim to hang on’." “COLLECTION OF PERSONS” { submit that people with an identical surname do not form a “collection of persons” as is contemplated under the criminal law of defamation, Sir Homi Modi, Lala Gujar Mal Modi, Syed Modi, Zia Modi, and Purnendu ‘Modi, while being “a collection of persons’, are only an indefinite agglomeration of people with a common sur name. They are not a homogeneous company or associ ation of the type required under Explanation 2 of Section 499. Ifthe logic of the Surat court were to be upheld, then ‘Manmohan Singh, Ranveer Singh, Rajnath Singh, Yuv- raj Singh, Amritpal Singh, and Tavleen Singh would all be defamed by stories told about Santa Singh and Banta Singh, Itis precisely to prevent such abuse of the law that the Supreme Court in Subramaniam Steamy required ‘magistrates to be cautious in summoning people who resided outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court to face trial in defamation cases. ‘The judgment held: “...Onlyon satisfying that the law casts lability orereates offence against the juristie person or the persous impleaded, process would be issuc that stage the court would be circumspect and judicious in exercising diseretion and should take all the relevant facts and circumstances into consideration before issu- ing process lest it be an instrument in the hands of the private complaint as vendetta to harass the persons need- lessly. Vindication of majesty of justice and maintenance of law and order in the society are the prime objects of criminal justice but it would not be the means to wreak personal vengeance.” Itadded: *..We have referred to these authorities to highlight that in matters of criminal defamation the heavy burden is on the magistracy to scrutinise the com- plaint from all aspects. The magistrate has also to keep in view the language employed in Section 202 [ofthe] CrPC [Code of Criminal Procedure] which stipulates about the residence of the accused at a place beyond the area in which the magistrate exercises his jurisdiction, He must be satisfied that ingredients of Section 499 [of the IPC] are satisfied. Application of mind in the case of complaint is imperative.” Rahul Gandhi needs more than a stay on the sentence of imprisonment. He needs the appellate court to stay the conviction itself. This cautionary exercise ordained by the Supreme Court appears to have been given a go-by in the Surat case, Fhave no doubt that Rahul Gandhi’s legal team will take this up with the appellate courts. The flaws detailed above will be but a few among the many grounds of, appeal that will be urged. But in the appeal process, Rahul Gandhi needs more than a stay on the sentence of imprisonment. He needs the appellate court to stay the conviction itself. In Lily Thomas, the Supreme Court also held that “..the disqualification under sub-section (1), (2), 0r(3) of Section 8 of the Act will not operate from the date of order of stay of conviction passed by the Appellate Court under Section 389 of the Code or the High Court under Section 482 of the Code.” ‘Thus, the route back to the Lok Sabha runs through the appropriate appellate court in Gujarat. Much also depends on what the Election Commis- sion of India now decides to do. Ifit were to hurriedly call for a byelection in Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha constituency, it would be anomalous if, ata later stage, the conviction against him is stayed or averted. Ifsuch a situation arises, then the currently disqualified member ‘would be within his rights to again stake his claim to the seat. Anybody else elected in his place might have to vacate the seat. Therefore, itis incumbent on the Election Comission to not take a hasty decision without consid- ering its wide-ranging and long-term effects, a Sanjay Hegde is a senior adoocute at the Stipreme Court. The views expressed tre personal. 3 FRONTLINE ~ APRILSH 3033PLAYING POLARISATION Creating a history of two fictitious Vokkaliga soldiers who killed Tipu, the Sangh Parivar tried to advance its political agenda in Karnataka. But a Vokkaliga seer foiled the scheme. sy vikhar AHMED SAYEED ON MARCH 19, PROMINENT newspapers in Karnataka ran a full- page advertisement announcing that the shooting for a Kannada film titled Uri Gowda, Nanje Gowda would begin on May 18. The poster featured two muscular warriors, with "1750-1799" emblazoned be- neath a sword that stylishly cleaved the film’s title. The battle scenes in the background added to the impres- sion that it was a war film, ‘The poster also carried the pho- tographs of Bharatiya Janata Party politicians Muniratna (Minister of Horticulture), R. Ashoka (Minister of Revenue), and C.T. Ravi (BJP na- tional general secretary) who hail from the Vokkaliga community. Higher Education Minister Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayan (another promin- ent Vokkaliga leader) was named as the scriptwriter of the film, which was surprising because the senior politician had never displayed such talent in the past. Muniratna, who is a Kannada film producer, was named as the producer of the movie. However, in a strange twist, Mu- niratna changed his mind about making the movie. A day after the announcement was made, Nirmalanandanatha Swami of the A NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT. about the shooting ofa fim tiled Uri Gowda Nanje Gowda, with the pictures of BJP leaders POLITICS Breet 3aAdichunchanagiri Math (religious seminary), which is the community's supreme spiritual authority, summoned Muniratna, It was after this meeting that Muniratna decided against making the movie. Ina subsequent statement to the media, Nirmalanandanatha Swami said: “The discussions on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda have led to a great deal of controversy and has hurt the sentiments of a particular com- munity [Vokkaligas]}. I conveyed this to him after which he assured me that he would not proceed with the making of this movie.” ‘The seer further said: “It is not appropriate to talk about these two [Vokkaliga characters without suf ficient documentary evidence. Phave advised BJP leaders such as C:T. Ravi, Ashwath Narayan, K. Gopaliah [another Vokkaliga leader who is Ex- cise Minister], and anyone else mak- ing statements on this issue to understand the historical context. 1 expect that they will not make any further statements on this issue. ‘Thereisadifference between writing history and writing fiction. When you use your imagination, it becomes anovel.” After this censure from the supreme pontiff of the Vokkaliga community, even Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai chimed in to say that the film should not be made. HISTORICAL LIES ‘One must go back afew years totrace the origin of the mythical characters Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda to un- derstand the significance of Nirmalanandanatha Swami’s state- ments. These two characters made their appearance on social media in 2018asthe killersofthe 18th century “Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, Although there have been stray references to these two soldiers on ‘Twitter and Facebook as early as 2016, they gained legitimacy from 2018 on- wards in the right-wing Hindu ecosphere, ‘The fictional account of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda repeated countless times on social media took on the appearance of verified truth, similar to.a Goebbelsian lie or what psychologists eall the “illusion of NIRMALANANDANATHA SWAMI of Adichunchanagiri Math with BJP leader BS. Yediyurappa in Bengaluru on August 20, 2022. truth”, When the BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2019 after toppling the Congress-Junata Dal (Secular) coalition government, the first de- cision of Chief Minister B.S. Yediy~ lurappa was to cancel the Tipu Jayanti celebrations started by his Congress predecessor Siddaramaiah in 2015. Soon, Suresh Kumar, the then Minister of Primary Education, appointed a textbook review com- mittee to revise the content about ‘Tipu Sultan in school textbooks that depicted him as an early opponent of British colonialism. At the end of 2019, the BIP gov- emment appointed Addanda C. Cariappa, a playwright who proudly declares his allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and opposition to the Con- agress, as the 10th director of Rangay- ana, a government-funded repertory in Mysuru, Although several stal- warts of Kannada theatre opposed his appointment, the government re- mained firm on its decision. Cari- appa has also been at the forefront of the anti-Tipu Jayanti protests spear headed by the BJP that have rocked the State annually since the time of its commencement. In an interview to Frontline, Cariappa said that he hhad begun work on a play to “demol- ish the hero worship of Tipu Sultan in Karnataka” sometime in 2020 after the onset of COVID. The play, Tippu Nija Kanas- ‘agalu (The Real Dreams of Tipu Sul- tan; the title was also meant to distinguish it from Girish Karnad’s play The Dreams of Tipu Sultan pub- lished in 1997), was eventually pub- lished in mid-2022, In it the dramatis personae Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda kill Tipu Sultan, BJP politicians such as Ravi and Shobha Karandlaje (also a Vokkaliga) simul- taneously began to voeiferously claim that the 18th century Muslim ruler was no hero and that he was killed by two Vokkaliga soldiers on May 4, 1799, during the Fourth (and final) Anglo-Mysore War. Although Cariappa denies any connection, the timing of the play's publication coit cided with the BJP’s announcement of its aggressive push into the rural Vokkaliga heartland of southern Karnataka with the intention of ‘gaining political ground in the 2023 Assembly election. ASSUMED PERSONAS In the past year, Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda have taken on the per sonas of the Maruthu Pandiyar brothers, two anti-British fighters from Tamil Nadu. This imagery even adorned an arch erected to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mandya, the bastion of the Vokk- aliga community, on March 12. The arch was dismantled after the district administration intervened in_re- sponse to complaints, but the saffron party's brazenness in using two fake characters to bolster its eampaign in southern Karnataka has shocked many people. Mansoor Ali, a Bengaluru-based architect and researcher who con- duets heritage walks, said: “This ef- fort at pitching Vokkaligas against 35Muslims is foolish as there is evid- ence to show that the Wodeyars [the Mysore dynasty that preceded and followed the reigns of Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali] eaptured the last scion of the Kempegowda clan.” Kempegowda, a Vokkaliga icon, was a vassal of the Vijayanagar Empire and is credited with found- ing Bengaluru in the 16th century. Nidhin G. Olikara, a historian of 18th century Mysore and one of the leading authorities on the reign of ‘Tipu, said: “Tipu is not new to eon- troversies, and for 200 years now, his, motives and personality have been questioned, praised, and condemned by the British, his enemies, and ad- mirersin India and now the BJP. But for me, what is disconcerting is that for the first time a story has been created and imaginary characters propped up t Tipu and brought into the limelight.” Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda made their appearance on social media in 2018 as “killers of Tipu Sultan”. Ameen Ahmed, a Canada-based researcher who maintains a blog called “The told & untold history of Mysuru Kingdom’, said that there was overwhelming evidence that ‘Tipu was killed by British soldiers, He quotes David Price, a British sol- dier who came to India in 179 and rose to the rank of prize agent of the Bombay Army by 1799. Price over- saw the documentation of the treas- ures found in the palace of Tipu Sultan after the latter's death. “Price concluded that Tipu’s death was at the hands ofa European soldier after ‘Tipu cut him for trying to snatch his belt. Price witnessed 1 bandage over the dead Tipw's right shoulder the next morning, confirming the mus- COVER OF THE PLAY Tippu Nija ‘Kanasagalu written with an aim to “demolish the hero worship of Tipu ‘Sultan in Karnataka. ket shot he received as witnessed by the British soldiers,” says Ahmed. Several other sources in English, French, Persian, and Marathi cor- roborate this account. ‘T. Gururaj, a journalist based in ‘Mysuru who has followed the traject- ory of the fictional Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, said the characters first made their first appearance in 2007 in the revised version of a book called Suoarna Mandya, which was first published in 1994 by the Kan- nada Sahitya Parishat in Mandya. “In the revised version there were no sources that documented their exist- ence. After that, I began to see that this falsehood was being spread on social media during the pandemic.” ‘However, Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda died @ premature death be- fore they became tinsel stars, thanks to the —Vokkaliga —pontiff’s intervention. MATHS AND POLITICAL CLOUT ‘The pontifis of different castes in Karnataka have wielded significant political influence. B.L. Shankar, a Congress politician who is also a Vokkaliga, explained the signific- ance of the Adichunchanagiri Math on the Vokkaliga community: “The Vokkaligas revere ‘Nirmalanandanatha Swami as they did his predecessor Balagangadhar~ anatha Swami. The stature of this math has been fortified over several decades. Matadhipathis (heads of maths] in Karnataka are very influ- ential. For the community, whatever the seer says is the final word.” According to him, since Tipu was killed in the battlefield, the speculat- ive history that is being created, im- plying that Tipu was killed by these two guerrilla warriors, will ulti- mately mean that the Vokkaligas sided with the British against an In- dian ruler. “This would do more harm than good for Vokkaligas and is, clearly an insult to the community. ‘That is why I think the Swamifi gave this statement. The characters were created to polarise Hindus and Muslims in south Karnataka in the run-up to the election,” HISTORY AS POLARISING TOOL ‘The BJP has often been accused of distorting history with an intention of polarising Muslims and Hindus all, over the country. Since the com- mencement of the Tipu Jayanti in Karnataka, the BJP has latched on to the issue of Tipu and contested the claim that he was a freedom fighter. Instead, in their perspective, the Muslim ruler was a religious bigot who demolished temples and force- fully converted thousands of Hindus. Thus, Tipu is often invoked in speeches by BJP leaders to polarise the electorate on communal lines, However, it is for the first time that the BJP has backtracked on a historical claim after villainising a Muslim ruler. This does not mean that the BJP will stop using Tipu Sultan in their election rhetoric; Karnataka BJP president Nalin Ku- mar Kateel has already stated that the Assembly election will be a “battle between the ideology of Tipu and [V.D.] Savarkar” ‘When Cariappa was asked what he intended to achieve with the pub- lication of the play now that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda have been emphatically proven to be fake, he said: “think I have managed to ere- ate enough hatred against Tipu so that no one like Siddaramaiah or FLD. Kumaraswamty [former Chief Minister of the Janata Dal (Secular) idotise him again.” Qo FRONTLINE APRILZI 303 38WORLD AFFAIRS AT HIGH ‘TIDE China-Russia strategic and economic ties have prospered over the last decade under Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, and the “Ukraine-Taiwan equivalence” might cement a robust partnership that seeks to present a united front against the US-dominated global system. BY ANAND V. CHINESE PRESIDENT Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a reception in Moscow, Russia, on March 21 RUSSIA AND ssed a significant growth in the past few ly in the 10 years under the two current : Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. The relation- ship appears to have now reached its zenith in the post- Cold War time frame. The very fact that both leaders have meteach other more than 40 times in the last 10 yearsisa testament to the strength and significance of the partner- ship. ‘A few days before Russi initiated it operation’ ve retail ti ai vlog Baie been larch 20 and 22. This s Xi's first visit to a foreign country after becoming wes military Xi President for the third term, showcasing the importance of ussian relationship for him. In fact, his first visit President for the first time 10 years ago, was light on the emerging trends also comes against the backdrop of cof major world power rivalry, which risks pushing the world into a hot rather than cold war: FOCUS OF xI's vistT Perhaps the most important part of the meeting was Xi's presentation of China’s 12-point peace plan to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conllict, In response, Putin said that“many of the provisions of the peace plan put forward by China are consonant with Russian approaches and can be taken as the basis for a peaceful settlement when the ‘West and Kiev are ready for it. While putting the onus for peace on the other side and acknowledging China's self-projected image as peace broker, Russia did not steer away from its current position in the confliet—a win-win outcome for both Xi and Putin. During the visit, two joint statements were signed: ‘one on “Deepening the Russian-Chinese Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation for a New Era” and another on a “Plan to Promote the Key Elements of Russian-Chinese Economic Cooperation until 2030". ‘Two of these documents, according to Putin, “set forth Jong-term goals for the governments, businessesand civil society of our two countries in terms of delivering on the objectives we share, which deal with facilitating national development in all areas”. The two sides signed several agreements, including cooperation in the media sector; in fundamental sciences, especially in the nuclear sector; economic ties in the Russian Far East; and in the ‘management of state-owned companies. Information exchange and joint production are im- portant in the media sector since both Russia and China’s media outlets are under the radar of the West and creasingly facing restricted access to Western audiences. Western governments are fearful of attempts by Russian and Chinese media to spread their own propaganda as well as interfere and influence elections and domestic polities in Western political systems. Both China and Russia know the power of the media; they have them- selves experienced numerous attempts by the West to destabilise their governments using media. The “colour revolutions” that were orchestrated in post-Soviet States such as Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan; the Arab Spring protests; and the string of anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong have impressed upon the two countries the need to not only safeguard their political systems from hostile foreign media influence but also unleash the same upon their rivals. Similarly, Russia and China are aware of the import- ance of coordinating their research in fundamental sci- ences, especially in nuclear sciences, to ensure that they can complement their strengths and keep up with or even surpass the West in these fields. Science and technology are playing crucial role in the emerging geopolitical scenario, especially given the rapid advances in areas like artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. In fact, “technolo- gical sovereignty” is an important component of both countries’ outlook on technology governance, as evinced in the recent interaction between the two leaders. Both countries, with a historical legacy of state-led economic development and with the shared experience A NATURAL GAS PIPELINE faciliy in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China. The pipeline originates in Eastern Siberia, Russia, and transports natural gas to Russia's far east and China, The two Countries are working on setting up a second 92 pipeline as well. FRONTLINE» APRILEI 303 of managing @ transition to market economies, see the strong need to work jointly to make their state-owned companies more agile and effective, and dovetail them with their shared geopolitical trajectories. As the age of, decoupling has set in and deepened in the past few years, it becomes essential for both countries to make the best use of their strengths in the state sector to shape the geopolitical rivalry in their favour. Atthe level of societal relations, student exchange has been significantly emphasised in Xi’s recent visit. With the possibility of such exchanges becoming restricted in the West for both countries, such cooperation acquires greater relevance than in the past. ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENTS ‘Russia-China bilateral trade doubled in the past decade and has risen by 30 per cent in the last one year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Bilateral trade is soon expected to cross $200 billion going by the current rate of growth, One of the biggest components of trade is energy, which flows from Russia to China. Russia's economy is asym- ‘metrically dependent on its natural resources; its eco- nomic survival thus depends on its trade in resources. For Russia, China acts as an alternative market for hydrocar- bons at a time when access to the West is closing, The recent controversial blasts that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia to its markets in Western Europe are more than emblematic of the diree- tion in which the Russia-Europe energy cooperation is heading. It is important to note that Russia and China are currently working on setting up a second "Power ofSiberia” gas pipeline, which passes through Mongolia. ‘The same trend applies to agricultural trade, yet another important part of Sino-Russian economic cooperation, given the impact of the Russia-Ukraine contfict on global food security. Russia is one of the biggest exporters of foodgrains and China is a leading importer of agricul- tural produce; it therefore becomes strategically essen tial for both countries to strengthen cooperation in this area. Nearly two-thirds of Russia-China trade is now transacted in their national currencies—the rouble and the yuan. Both countries have been consistently working towards challenging the dollar dominance in the interna~ tional monetary system. REGION-WISE COORDINATION ‘There are immense prospects for collaborative partner- ship between Russia and China in certain regions, espe- cially the Arctic, where the rising impact of global warming has opened up new opportunities in sectors such as resource extraction and transportation. Russia is aan Aretie state with massive prospects for fisheries as well as resources like oil and natural gas. Moreover, the Northern Sea Route, probably the most navigable transcontinental polar sea route which may become ice- free in the future, runs close to the entire northern coast line of Russia. China is aiming to use this sea route extensively in future to diversify its trade routes with already has the Indo-Pacific sea lanes con- necting it to the continent via the Mediterranean, and has in the last decade developed a network of overland connectivity routes to Europe spanning the entire post- Soviet space. China and Russia have deeply revanchist territorial approaches—with China planning to “re-integrate Taiwan with the mainland and Russia wanting to integrate parts of Ukraine. In short, the so-called “Polar Silk Road’ will be a new third leg of its decade-old silk road mega-project—the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Together, they will en- circle as well as cut through the Eurasian landmass, developing a network of arteries for China's power pro- jection. Russia, on the other hand, has its own big idea— the Eurasian Economic Union, through which it plans to recreate the Soviet sphere of influence. As far as regions like West Asia-North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa are concerned, Russia and China seem to be coordinating their positions, with Russia offering security cooperation and China offering economic and developmental cooper- ation. This coordinated strategising has posed a signifi ant challenge to the sustenance of deep-rooted Western influence in these regions, By complementing each oth- er’s regional strategies, they are seeking to gain better geopolitical dividends. TAIWAN AND CHINA China and Russia have deeply revanchist territorial ap- proaches—with China planning to “re-integrate” Taiwan with the mainland and Russia wanting to integrate parts of Ukraine. There are parallels here and at the same time differencesin how the two issues are dealt with by thetwo countries. Experts observe that China is keenly watching developments in the Ukraine theatre to plan fora similar eventuality across the Taiwan strait. China has, at mul- tiple times, said that it will exercise the military option to reunify Taiwan with the mainland if circumstances call for it, With Taiwan, like Ukraine, having an assertive leadership unwilling to bend, such a scenario cannot be riled out in the future. In fact, recent key assessments from the US government predict that a military invasion by China on Taiwan is bound to happen, most probably within this decade. Xi Jinping’s sustained calls over the last half decade to the People’s Liberation Army for war preparedness as well as Beijing's recurrent signalling point to this. ‘What lessons China will learn from Russia's struggle to obtain its objectives within a limited time frame and war effort is far from certain. However, itis certain that Russia's “special military operation” may not be replic- ated'in lnrge parts by China. Even though Beijing appears tohave been planning for quick and decisive victories and hnot a prolonged conilict, it might still have to rethink its 8