Meet Rajasthan’s Goddesses Of Small Things – Garbage, Sneezing Fits, Hens And Lunar Calendar Days

By IBRAHIM KHAN | INNLIVE

While some goddesses are enshrined in large temples, others are located in humble stone dwellings. All have triangular red flags fluttering on top.

On the outskirts of villages and towns in Rajasthan, one invariably comes across votive sanctuaries to local village deities. Nearly all of them are worshipped by locals and visitors as goddesses associated with fierce protective instincts and miraculous powers of healing.

'RSS Shakha' Numbers On The Rise: Is This Reflective Of Its Growing Acceptance?

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

Is the sudden spurt in the number of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)shakhas due to its improving ideological acceptance among the masses or due to the fact that BJP is in power at the Centre?

The RSS, BJP's ideological mentor, has witnessed a phenomenal expansion in the number of its shakhas (units) across the country in the last six years - from 45,000 in 2010 to over 57,000 as of today.

After 'Baadshah', Now 'Sultan' Rules The Film Industry: All Hail Salman Khan, The Sultan Of The Box Office

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

The megastar has become a one-man industry with the keys to the Bollywood treasure chest.

Yash Raj Films presents the new Salman Khan movie Sultan, but surely it is the other way round?

Khan has delivered one of the biggest hits of his career with Sultan, a drama by Ali Abbas Zafar about a wrestler who exorcises his demons both in and outside of the ring.

Analysis: Cabinet Reshuffle Is Aimed At UP Polls, But What If It Backfires?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Recent Union Cabinet reshuffle - or 'expansion' as Prime Minister Narendra Modi likes to call it - threw up many clues for the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Election analysts and poll pundits have already called the latest change in Modi's Council of Ministers an act of balancing caste and regional equations. Tuesday's expansion of the Union Cabinet is being touted as Modi's biggest political moves since he acquired the top office since May 2014.

Cabinet Reshuffle Has Nothing To Do With Merit: Insider's Guide On How To Become A 'Mantri' In India?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

So, you think getting a Cabinet berth in India has something to do with merit and competence? Here is an insider's guide on how to become a mantri in India.

On Monday, as news of veteran politician Sanwarlal Jat's imminent exit from Narendra Modi's team reached his home state Rajasthan, the local BJP worked itself into a caste convulsion.

Modi's Cabinet Reshuffle: With 'Big Four' Immune, Will The Exercise Be Purely Cosmetic?.

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

With eyes on Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle on July 5,  is expected to factor in the BJP's political strategy in Uttar Pradesh. Some new ministers will take oath at about 11 am at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and sources told INNLIVEat least two more faces from Uttar Pradesh may join the Cabinet.

Modi's Cabinet Reshuffle: With 'Big Four' Immune, Will The Exercise Be Purely Cosmetic?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

Suspense is thick in the air in the power corridors of New Delhi. Will the Cabinet reshuffle take place in the next 24-100 hours? What will be its magnitude?

Will it be a major one, based on mid-term performance review, and interlink the reshuffle and organisational restructuring in the BJP? Or will it be only cosmetic, filling out some vacancies here and there and making some basic changes?

India Is Slowly Cleaving Into Two Countries – A Richer, Older South And A Poorer, Younger North

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

Support to the elderly is fraying in India. But no one appears prepared for this – not families, not companies, not the government.

At traffic intersections, drivers in Delhi tune out the brown-haired, snot-nosed waifs who tap and scratch insistently at their car windows. Sometimes, the children are joined by equally ragged parents, mostly in their 20s, trying to sell cheap Chinese-made junk – from plastic flowers to cellphone and steering-wheel covers. The defining feature of destitution in North India appears to be youth.

Spotlight: The RTI Act Is Dying, Should We Be Worried?

By NIHAL SHAH | INNLUIVE

Answers to questions, sometimes, would be clear as daylight. Sometimes they would be hazy, and you will have to strain to make out the words. Sometimes, the answer would just be silence. And if your country feels like you are asking too many questions, it just makes you forget that you had a right to ask questions in the first place. That is exactly what happened in Rajasthan recently, where a chapter in the Right to Information (RTI) Act was removed from the Social Sciences textbook of Class VIII. Why teach children that they have a right to question and to information, and later be forced to expose your own blemishes? If you teach them to be silent now, their questions will not haunt you later – this seems to be the mantra.

It is still a fairytale that an incredibly powerful legislative tool like the RTI Act is extant in the world’s largest democracy that scored 38/100 in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index. The milestone Act has a stated objective to “empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense”.

An informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed, adds the RTI Citizen Gateway. All this in a country which still holds dear the archaic Official Secrets Act, 1923, which talks about not divulging “information or the destruction or obstruction thereof, or interference therewith, [which] would be useful to an enemy” – well-intended but with an exponentially risky purview. It would be time-consuming to even consider initiating a debate on who constitutes an ‘enemy’ in these times of troubled nationalism, but the fact remains that the RTI Act boldly says it will deliver, notwithstanding the Official Secrets Act, if “public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests”.

Yes, the RTI Act was indeed monumental. As it confidently promenaded along India’s public front, the writing on the wall was clear – corruption, which had permeated every crevice of administration, had to stop. As the fear grew in the echelons of power, applause and relief grew among the poorest of the poor. According to studies, the total bribe amount involved in a year in below poverty line (BPL) households availing just basic services was estimated to be INR 883 crores.

In many of India’s villages which house these families, the RTI Act has been used to avail social benefit schemes like getting food ration for individuals, ensuring quality and quantity of mid-day meals, and pushing for teacher and doctor attendance. When it comes to the relatively better-off citizens, the Act was still used largely for issues like cleaning up the locality, availing scholarships, getting EPF money, receiving passport and processing education loans – going by the success stories displayed in the government’s RTI website. At this juncture, India cannot afford stray incidents to determine the fate of a tested and proven law that has benefited millions of lives.

Despite multiple attempts at diluting one of the strongest public interest legislations, the Act has survived – but the same cannot be said of many of its users. Lawyer Ram Kumar Thakur from Bihar exposed the MNREGS corruption of around 40 lakh by the corrupt village sarpanch, and was killed in 2013, shot at point blank range. Rinku Singh Sahi, a civil servant who exposed a 40 crore fraud in Uttar Pradesh was assaulted, detained, and admitted in a psychiatric ward in 2012. Reportedly, 289 attacks on RTI activists have occurred since the passing of the Act in 2005, including instances of murder, assault, kidnapping and threat calls.

However, with a well thought-out and futuristic plan, Rajasthan – the fountainhead of most things RTI – has taken giant leaps to censure the way a generation thinks; a way that does not feature questioning status quo, corruption, and injustice. This is not an isolated attempt at nipping free thought and an attitude of questioning. It is, in fact, one of the most recent nails in the coffin that aims to bury the rights to know and understand.

The world’s largest democracy, founded on justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, cannot afford to erase one of its biggest achievements – the right to information. Miserably, the recent past has painted a picture of a country which is increasingly intolerant when it comes to dealing with critique and uncomfortable questions. From lambasting the UN special rapporteur’s report that mentioned caste discrimination to concealing of caste figures of the Socio-economic and Caste Census 2011 (SECC), India has been playing its cards very, very close.

A full-fledged RTI Act retaining its original form is imperative to knowledge-empower India’s citizens. According to a 2009 study, the awareness levels about RTI among men was 53% higher than women, and the OBC/SC/ST categories trailed behind the ‘general’ category by 48%. Poor quality of information and officials’ perception of RTI as a time-wasting tool is also a much common complaint, despite an overwhelming majority of the RTIs being related to the delivery of basic needs and amenities. Additionally, implementation of RTI is an area that needs urgent attention, especially protection of whistleblowers, maintaining confidentiality of applicant identity and effective deduction of penalties. A dedicated office for RTI is required, with a focused effort to enhance the range and quality of the usage of RTI among citizens.

In 1910, Tagore visualised a land where the “mind is without fear” and “knowledge is free”. However, the Bard of Bengal certainly might not have imagined that things would turn drastically different a century later. The mind is with fear, and knowledge definitely comes at a price. An attitude change is a must – public information is a right, and not charity.

Any attempts to dilute the Act and diminish its ambit must be warded off, ‘in public interest’, especially when it comes to denying upcoming generations their right to know about their right to know. It might profit the country to treat the blight before it consumes it, and make the essence of democracy an official secret.

India’s ‘Corrupt Political System’ Might Be Our Own Fault

By NIKITA BHISHNOI | INNLIVE
 
We still live in a world of rulers and subjects. Whether this an evolutionary trait or a matter of social order as some political philosophers may theorise is still a matter of research. Before democracy came, freebies formed an integral part of day to day public interaction of the ruler. These freebies were given as a gift, not demanding favours in return since the dynastic ruler was wealthy and powerful.

What The Modern “Right To Die” Debate Can Take Away From This 3000-Year-Old Indian Religion?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

On June 9, a law allowing patients with terminal illnesses to end their lives with help from a physician came into effect in California, opening conversations about whether human life should be prolonged against the desire to die peacefully and with dignity.

A similar yet different conversation has been taking place in India for the past several years, but in reverse.

Rajya Sabha Polls: Kapil Sibal Wins, But Poll Results Point At Rebellion In Congress Party

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE

Despite heavy cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s strategy of supporting an Independent candidate considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and thwart Congress candidate Kapil Sibal’s chances didn't quite work.

However, Sibal's victory wasn't enough. The Congress suffered a jolt with Sibal getting only 25 first preference votes despite the 8-member RLD committing four votes each to Congress and SP.

This Iron Lady’s “Takat Wala Powder” Is A Recipe For Women’s Empowerment In Rajasthan

By MONALISA PADHEE |INNLIVE

A story of a self-made women who discovered the way to live wit her intelligenmce and thoughts to survive in this business world.

After completing my Ph.D. from the University of South Australia (Adelaide), I was told that I had two choices – either take up a postdoctoral position or return to India and work in the development sector. I did neither. Instead, I listened to my heart and went from writing academic research papers to actually working closely with the subjects of these research papers. This I did by embarking on a 13-month long journey in rural India, through the SBI Youth for India Fellowship. Not only was this an opportunity to understand a rural community at close quarters, it also gave me a chance to use my knowledge and skills to help solve some real-time issues.

Fake Federalism: How 'National Parties' Turned The Concept Of 'Rajya' In Rajya Sabha Into A Farce?

By NEWSCOP | INNLIVE 

The upper House of Parliament, literally a Council of States, was meant to be a federal chamber to look out for the interests of the states.

The continued abuse of the idea of the Rajya Sabha – or the Council of States – by the so-called national parties continues with the upcoming round of Rajya Sabha elections.

Reeling Under Heat Waves: What's Going On With India’s Weather?

By NALINI SHAH | INNLIVE

Until now, India's smog problem has curbed extreme temperatures. But that could be about to change.

On May 19, India’s all-time temperature record was smashed in the northern city of Phalodi in the state of Rajasthan. Temperatures soared to 51℃, beating the previous record set in 1956 by 0.4℃.

India is known for its unbearable conditions at this time of year, just before the monsoon takes hold. Temperatures in the high 30s are routine, with local authorities declaring heatwave conditions only once thermometers reach a stifling 45℃. But the record comes on the back of an exceptionally hot season, with several heatwaves earlier in the year. So what’s to blame for these scorching conditions?

Pay Money To Get Rid Of Your Sins? 'Religion In India Has Become A Profitable & Secure Business Without Any Loss'

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Next year will mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, when one man's protest changed Christianity in Europe.

On 25 May, in Andhra Pradesh, it was reported that the income of temples has grown by 27 percent. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu attributed this rise to "growing sins". He said "people are committing sins and to get rid of them, they are going to temples and offering money."

That same day, another story, from Udaipur, was published with the headline: 'A holy dip and Rs 11 is all it takes to be certified free of sins'.

For 'Make In India' To Work, India First Needs To Become Globally Competitive

By LIKHAVEER | INNLIVE

A survey of industrial clusters in four states shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's big idea isn't exactly working.

Bhoday Sales Corporation is tucked inside the industrial zone of Ludhiana. A small machine tooling factory with a net worth of not more than Rs 10 lakh, it makes manufacturing equipment for other plants in the city.

Of late, it has fallen on bad times. Sales are down. At one time, says its founder, 68- year-old Maan Singh, the company used to make four power presses a month. It now makes one a month.

Pulse Of The People: A Brand Of Indian Candy Becomes An Unlikely Social Media Icon

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

In less than a year, Pulse candy has reached Rs 100 crore in sales. Is its unusual success due to clever internet marketing?

Shubham Sharma, a chain-smoker for four years, has grown a new addiction since last year. A software developer who works from his north Delhi home, he makes multiple trips every week to a chaiwallah’s shop two kilometres away merely to check if his box of candies has arrived.

How The Congress Imploded On National Arena?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Will Congress wither away in India? Two years back, this question looked quite improbable. It was really audacious on the part of the BJP to raise a slogan like 'Congress-free India' during the Lok Sabha elections.

Today, Congress has lost two more states- Assam and Kerala. At present, Congress is in power in six states only. It looks like we are already moving towards a "post-Congress era".

Rahul Dravid As India Cricket Coach: Right Man, Wrong Time?

By M H AHSSAN |INNLIVE

His credentials and knowledge of the game are beyond question, but with just one year of international coaching experience, is it too early?

It might be the second-most important job in the country. With, perhaps, the responsibility of pleasing more people than even the prime minister has to.

So, when the position of coach of the Indian cricket team is offered to one of India’s most beloved cricketing sons, there are bound to be very high expectations. Ever since reports surfaced in the media that the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s advisory committee, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, had approached the fourth member of the so-called Fab Four, Rahul Dravid, 43, for the job, it’s got not only the fans but also some legends of the game talking.

Former India batsman Sunil Gavaskartold NDTV that Dravid has served his “cooling period” after retirement from all formats in 2013. “My honest advice to [the] BCCI is that in case they are looking for a change, there is no one better than Rahul Dravid.” Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said, “I don't think [the] BCCI will find many better candidates than someone like him. If he’s interested in doing the job, he will do a good job. He’s got a lot of knowledge, is very experienced and understands all three formats because he has worked in IPL.”

No greenhorn:
Dravid’s name hasn’t cropped up out of the blue. In June 2015, in a decision that was welcomed by Indian cricket fans, the BCCI had appointed him coach of India’s Under-19 and ‘A’ teams. Who better to put in charge of the next generation of Indian cricket than one of the most technically sound and reliable batsmen produced by the country?

Dravid had served as mentor of the now-defunct Rajasthan Royals IPL team for two seasons, so he had some experience grooming youngsters such as Sanju Samson and Karun Nair. He had also served as batting consultant to the Indian team ahead of their tour of England in 2014, where several players spoke highly of their interactions with “The Wall”.

And Dravid did not disappoint. Under his stewardship, the Indian team went unbeaten right up to the final of the Under-19 World Cup in February 2016, where they suffered a shock loss to the West Indies. It was around this time that the possibility of his coaching the senior team started being discussed.

The Indian team has been without a head coach for over a year now since Duncan Fletcher’s contract expired at the end of the 2015 World Cup. Ravi Shastri was temporarily given the post of team director, in a stint that ended after the 2016 World Twenty20. It was at that point that the BCCI’s advisory committee reportedly suggested offering Dravid a long-term contract to coach the senior team, possibly extending till the 2019 World Cup, according to The Times of India.

With India scheduled to play 18 Test matches between June 2016 and March 2017, against teams like New Zealand, England and Australia, the squad needs a head coach very, very soon. And while Dravid is reported to be considering the offer, saying he will take it up only if he has the “bandwidth” for it, former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist got it spot-on when he said, "It is just a question of if and when the time is right for him.”

On the other hand...
There are a lot of factors that support the idea of Dravid's becoming the India coach. But there's a counter-view as well, which cites his lack of coaching experience. Yes, the players he has coached and mentored have spoken highly of him, but his record has not been spotless. At both the IPL teams he has mentored, Dravid has been criticised for tinkering with and messing up the team combination far too often, with none-too-successful outcomes.

Last season, the Rajasthan Royals seemed to be going all guns blazing at the start, notching up five wins in a row, before a late slump meant they struggled to qualify for the playoffs. They were thrashed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the eliminator by 71 runs. This season, Dravid’s Delhi Daredevils looked to be cruising into the playoffs in the first half of the tournament, only for a late-season slump to jeopardise their chances. Players such as JP Duminy and Chris Morris, who are capable of causing carnage with the bat, are being sent in low down the order, while the T20 World Cup final hero Carlos Brathwaite is hardly being used.

Becoming India's head coach will come with more than a fair share of scrutiny, and even someone with as impeccable a reputation as Dravid's will not be spared if the team does not perform well. There will be gigantic expectations given his stature, and the fans will expect results straight away. It has also been argued that Dravid's defensive instincts, at least as a player, are not aligned with the aggressive nature of India's current Test captain, Virat Kohli.

More time?
Perhaps it might make better sense for Dravid to spend at least a year or two with the Indian senior team as a mentor or a consultant under another head coach before he takes up the top post. It will enable him to gauge how the players function, both individually and as a unit, and make him better prepared to take over the reins.

The only argument that goes against delaying Dravid's appointment, if the BCCI indeed wants him to be at the helm for the 2019 World Cup, is that he will lose precious time in building and shaping his team for the sport's biggest tournament. Putting him in charge three years before the World Cup is obviously smarter than doing it just one year before the tournament.

The BCCI also has the example of one of its former employees, Gary Kirsten, who was handed charge of the Indian team in 2008 with negligible prior coaching experience. The former South African batsman had only worked as a batting consultant for local teams and was running his own cricket academy in Cape Town when the BCCI came calling. He would go on to lead India to their second World Cup triumph three years later.

Kirsten had taken his time to get back to the BCCI and so should Dravid. If he feels he is up to the task, no one can stop him from taking up the role, and rightly so. However, with just one year of proper international coaching experience, he'll need to learn quicker than he scored at No. 3.