34 BHOPAL ENCOUNTER 56 KERALA’S MISSING 21

KILLING QUESTIONS TRAUMATIC WAIT PAGE

66
NOVEMBER 13, 2016 $40
A SWINDLE
AT LIC
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
LOSE THEIR INVESTMENT
IN A SCAM 18

NO
BENCH
FOR
WOMEN All are equal before law.
Not really, say women judges and
lawyers in India
Reservation will help women:
Justice M. FATHIMA BEEVI
I was sexually harassed
in the Supreme Court corridors:
INDIRA JAISING, senior lawyer
4 VOL 34 Š NO 46 Š THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
CONTENTS FOR THE WEEK NOVEMBER 7-NOVEMBER 13

56 Society: Months after

21 people went missing
Lawyer Liza Baruah at the
from Kerala, their loved
Supreme Court
ones continue to hope
against hope

61 @leisure: In a first, the

relationship between
Rabindranath Tagore and
Victoria Ocampo will be
portrayed in a film
AAYUSH GOEL

42 COVER STORY

SALIL BERA
PLUS
BAR, BIAS ● Reservation will help
women:
Victor Banerjee with
Raima Sen
M. Fathima Beevi,
A blindfolded Lady Justice symbolises impartiality—justice REGULARS
without fear or favour, regardless of wealth, fame, power or retired Supreme Court
identity. But the judiciary has been anything but objective judge
LETTERS 6
towards lady lawyers and judges. Instead, they have been ● I was sexually harassed
objectified and discriminated against because of their in the Supreme Court APERITIF 10
gender. It's time the judiciary stops turning a blind eye to corridors: Indira Jaising, POWER POINT 12
its biases senior lawyer
CANDID TALK 16
COVER DESIGN || BINESH SREEDHARAN WEIRD WORLD 17
MANI-FESTO 26

18 Current events: 52 US elections: Why SOUND BITE 51

Hundreds of people lose
their investment in LIC
scam in Kolkata
34 Controversy: The
encounter killing of eight
SIMI undertrials has put
the Madhya Pradesh
government in a spot of
bother
● P.T. Usha's visit to
the Sabarimala temple
comes at a time when
the debate on gender-
based discrimination is
raging
Donald Trump is wooing FORECAST 60
the Indian diaspora
SCHIZO-NATION 64
● The entire Asian commu-
nity rejects Trump: Ami EVERYONE IS A CAMERA 70
Bera, Congressman LAST WORD 74
● Trump will be India's
natural ally: A.D. Amar,
president, Indian
Americans for Trump NEXT WEEK FREE
HEALTH
22 Books: From Bihar Printed at Malayala Manorama Press, Kottayam,
Print House India Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, M P Printers,
BILL GATES AND
to Tihar is Kanhaiya Noida and Rajhans Enterprises, Bangalore and HEALTH, GENEROSITY,
Kumar's version of the
published from Manorama Buildings, Panampil-
A WATCHFUL WIFE
ly Nagar, Kochi-682 036, by Jacob Mathew,
agitation that rocked on behalf of the Malayala Manorama Co.Ltd., AND BIG MAC FOR
Kottayam - 686 001. Editor Philip Mathew
India ● Focus/Infocus features are marketing/ LUNCH
PR initiatives
6 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
LETTERS
ATTRACT
THE BEST
IT IS NICE to know
that b-schools in India
are innovating and have
become interested in
high-quality research
(‘Learning verve’, October
30). There is a rising inter-
est in management edu-
cation in India. We have
some of the best b-schools
in the world. Our MBA
aspirants should study
in India, instead of going
abroad.
Gauri Nanda,
On email.
THE GOVERNMENT
should do everything
possible to make
Indian Institutes of
Management the finest
in the world. IIMs are
already the benchmark
in management educa-
tion in India. An MBA
gives students a busi-
ness perspective and
plays an important role
in personality develop-
ment. Anyone, at any
stage of their career,
can take an MBA.
Vyom Prakash,
On email.
Don’t preach
WHAT RIGHT DOES
Arvind Kejriwal have to
say that the BJP is a party
of greedy people? His Aam
Aadmi Party is laden with
greedy, opportunistic and
corrupt leaders (‘Point
blank’, October 30). Clean
up your own backyard,
Kejriwal, before you start
accusing others.
Tanushri Nagori,
On email.
Respect the Army
I AGREE WITH Vinod Rai
that we have no business
to undermine the Army’s
actions as fake (‘Candid
talk’, October 30). Yes,
the Army had crossed
the Line of Control
and destroyed terrorist
launchpads. What stops
us from believing it? Let
us be proud of our armed
forces.
We should always remem-
ber that our soldiers stay
alert at night to let us
sleep peacefully.
Bhim Singh Nandu,
On email.
Pak fixation
MANI SHANKAR AIYAR
said that India’s best hope
is the ordinary Pakistani;
this shows his sincere
feelings for the ordinary
Pakistani (‘Manifesto’,
October 30). How one
wished Mani displayed
the same feelings towards
the ordinary Indian, too.
G. Neelakanthan,
Bengaluru.
Why the secrecy?
O. PANNEERSELVAM
is at the helm of affairs in
Tamil Nadu, but there is
nothing much that he can
do without Jayalalithaa’s
presence (‘Back in the hot
seat’, October 30). The
situation in Tamil Nadu is
really scary. People have
the right to know what
exactly is happening to
Jayalalithaa. Is she genu-
inely recovering? Secrecy
and democracy are incom-
patible. The health of a
chief minister in India
should never be kept a
secret.
Also, I feeL the vernacu-
lar press in Tamil Nadu
is not as vibrant as it is in
other states. If the media
is vigorous, the truth will
come out.
Gaurav Shivanandan,
On email.
Sad situation
IT IS SAD that so many
people have died of mal-
nutrition in Maharashtra
(‘Mouthful of misery’,
October 30). The poverty
and malnutrition show
that our employment
guarantee schemes are not
effective. The government
has failed to prevent mal-
nutrition-related death
and even keep an accurate
record of the death of chil-
dren for various medical
reasons.
Global experts estimate
that two-thirds of child
deaths can be averted by
simple health interven-
tions. The authorities
need to keep in mind the
cultural sensitivities while
treating tribal people.
Vinod C. Dixit,
On email.
DEVELOPMENT AND
growth have no meaning
if we allow people to die
of starvation. We need to
pay attention to the uplift
of the tribals and other
neglected villagers who
have not even heard of the
government-sponsored
programmes to help them.
Quality health care is not
available to majority of
tribals, and this is worry-
ing.
There is an urgent need
to improve connectivity
to remote tribal villages
so that essential articles
could be supplied with
ease. We need to tackle
malnutrition among tribal
children urgently. More
employment opportuni-
ties to tribals should be
provided to improve their
income and standard of
living. Welfare schemes
would help lift tribals from
poverty and malnutrition.
D.B.N. Murthy,
On email.
Eternal grief: BJP leaders
consoling the mother of a
party worker who was killed
Stop these
killings
IT IS DISGUSTING that
Kannur has been turned
into a killing field once
again (‘Long live the dead’,
October 30). The common
man in Kannur is living in
constant fear. The BJP’s
vote share in Kerala has
8 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
LETTERS
slowly increased in the
last few elections, and this
has become a spot of both-
eration for the CPI(M).
The police have to be
more effective in such cas-
es; they need to be given
free hand. If the politi-
cal leadership in Kannur
decides to stop violence,
I am sure it will stop. So,
what prevents them from
taking such a stand?
P.K. Mukundan,
On email.
KANNUR IS the heart
and soul of the CPI(M)
and it has time and again
prevented other political
parties from growing here.
All parties are exploiting
the selfless qualities of the
average person in Kannur.
I feel sad when I hear
from women in Kannur
that they are scared when
male members of the fam-
ily step out.
Vivek Narayan,
On email.
PRIZE-WINNING LETTER
Open Letter to Baba Ramdev on his call to Indians to boycott Chinese products
Reality check
DEAR RAMDEV JI,
With all due respect, your
fallacious comment is not
at all appreciated. Your
idea of boycotting Chinese
products is terrible, both
politically and economi-
cally.
It is important here to
realise that China is India’s
largest trading partner
and not vice versa. Only
2-3 per cent of Chinese
exports come to India, and
so India’s boycott won’t
dent the Chinese economy.
It would, however, prove
MOST OF US are mute
spectators to the horror
perpetrated in Kannur.
But why isn’t the state
government controlling
the violence in Kannur?
Chief Minister Pinarayi
Vijayan should speak up.
Rangarajan,
Bengaluru.
VIOLENCE CANNOT
become the main politi-
cal narrative of Kannur.
Amit Shah and Pinarayi
Vijayan should sit and
put an end to the vio-
lence. Or else, the popu-
larity of the BJP and the
CPI(M) will diminish in
Kerala.
P.K. Kishore,
On email.
Average
candidates
THE PRESIDENTIAL
election in the US is get-
ting very exciting, with
both Hillary Clinton and
Donald Trump having a
to be a self goal as China
can make anything from
toys to electronics at
prices no one can match.
These imports from China
has helped us in lowering
the price of goods in India.
These cheap imports are
also beneficial for India’s
global export as our
exports contain Chinese
components.
Also, if Chinese con-
sumers start boycotting
Indian products, India
will lose more than China.
Countries are economi-
cally interdependent. We
good chance of winning
(‘The don’s last stand’,
October 23). But I feel
Trump and Hillary are
average candidates and
the people in the US
deserved better candi-
dates.
Mayank Manuaj,
On email.
NEXT WEEK's
QUESTION
Around 25 schools have
been burnt till date in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Write an Open Letter in
200-250 words to Chief
Minister Mehbooba Mufti
on schools being targeted in
the state and stand a chance
to win an Amazon gift
voucher worth Rs 500. Send
your entries to youzone@
theweek.in with OPEN
LETTER as the subject.
LAST DATE: 8.11.16
cannot risk deteriorating
trade relations with the
second largest economy
in the world. Politically,
too, the decision is child-
ish as trade is one of the
prominent factors which
has normalised the bor-
der relations between the
two countries. Why risk
the peace and security of
the Indo-China border
with such gimmicks? This
brand of nationalism is
popular only on social
media and not in real life.
Siddhi Mundra,
Ujjain
Editor: Philip Mathew
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Amarnath Joshi
12
power point ● Sachidananda Murthy
Rajnath’s earnest errand
P
rime ministers from Jawaharlal
Nehru to Manmohan Singh have
personally dealt with the Kashmir
problem, trying to find solutions through
direct and indirect political and admin-
istrative measures. Most home ministers
have left Kashmir to the prime minister
as it involves diplomacy and military.
On the other hand, Narendra Modi has
shown less public energy for dealing
with the Kashmiris, though he has tried
to engage Pakistan’s prime minister
Nawaz Sharif.
During the four-month unrest which
rocked the Kashmir valley, it is Home
Minister Rajnath Singh who
has emerged as the most
active member of the govern-
ment. Singh has made three
visits on his own, and also
headed the all-party parlia-
mentary delegation. He has
held discussions with Chief
Minister Mehbooba Mufti,
political leaders, academics,
businessmen, journalists and
citizens on how to douse the
flames of an agitation which has taken
more than 60 lives, injured hundreds and
resulted in the torching of 25 schools.
Singh, however, has avoided making
overtures to separatist Hurriyat leaders.
The Modi government has taken a
tougher stand on Hurriyat than the Atal
Bihari Vajpayee government did, and
even cancelled bilateral talks because
the Pakistani high commissioner invited
Hurriyat leaders for a chat.
Several Kashmiri leaders who have
met Singh appreciate the earnestness
of the home minister. But whether the
senior politician has the mandate to pro-
duce out-of-the-box resolutions remains
to be seen.
Interestingly, Mufti Mohammad Say-
eed of Kashmir was union home minister
in 1990 when the violence started, result-
ing in the driving out of Pandits from the
valley. During this period, his daughter
Rubaiya was kidnapped and later re-
leased by terrorists. Sayeed later became
chief minister twice—first in partnership
with the Congress and second time allied
with the BJP. His elder daughter Meh-
booba has taken on the chief ministerial
responsibility after his death, again in
partnership with BJP. Six successors of
Sayeed in the home ministry—
S.B. Chavan, Indrajit Gupta,
L.K. Advani, Shivraj Patil, P.
Chidambaram and Sushilkumar
Shinde—were overshadowed
by the efforts of their prime
ministers and national security
advisers like Brajesh Mishra,
M.K. Narayanan and Shivshan-
kar Menon. Only Rajesh Pilot,
who became minister of state
for internal security in 1993 in
the wake of the Ayodhya demolition, did
shuttle diplomacy between Delhi and
Srinagar. But Pilot fell out of favour with
Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and was
moved out of the home ministry.
But now Rajnath Singh is doing a
balancing act by trying to find solutions
which he can present to Modi and senior
colleagues, even while motivating the
paramilitary forces to handle the violence
on the streets of Kashmir with a combi-
nation of firmness and restraint. A tough
job, but then home ministers need to be
tough.
sachi@theweek.in
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Every country has nicknames for
its stereotypes. And, the Oxford
English Dictionary has now
included Ah Beng in its list. The
word is a derogatory reference
to a male of Chinese origin,
usually hailing from “southeast
Asia, particularly Malaysia or
Singapore”. The female equiva-
lent is Ah Lian. Ah Bengs and Ah
Lians are portrayed as having
minimal education and even less
common sense. The characters
are a staple in southeast Asian
popular culture.
Ah Bengs feature in many a joke.
For example, Ah Beng thinks
that guerilla warfare is about
two apes fighting over a banana.
And, after taking photocopies,
Ah Beng always checks the copy
for spelling mistakes. Once Ah
Beng found a slip under the
windshield wiper of his car. It
said, “Parking Fine”. Ah Beng
thought it was quite polite of the
police to commend his excellent
parking skills.
MILESTONES
Ms Banker: World Bank appoints
Kristalina Georgieva as its first
CEO. The Bulgarian is former head
of EU humanitarian affairs and
vice president of the European
Commission.
Swedish Schindler: Sweden
formally accepts the death of
diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, 71
years after he disappeared. Posted
in Budapest, Wallenberg helped
thousands of Hungarian Jews es-
cape the Nazis. He is regarded to
have been executed by the Soviets
in a Moscow prison in 1947.
Water and oil: International
support mounts for protestors at
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation
in North Dakota, US. The Sioux
are protesting a $3.7-billion oil
pipeline that will run under the
Missouri river and through a
sacred burial ground.
14
APERITIF party snacks
GURU MEHRISHI
IAS aspirants will do well to pick up a new book
coauthored by home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.
Published by McGraw and titled General Studies
Paper I, the book is intended for those prepar-
ing for civil service exams. “Hoping to be of
some help to young aspirants,” Mehrishi told
THE WEEK. Interestingly, officers who have
already spent decades in service have also taken a
keen interest in the book.
ILLUSTRATIONS: JAIRAJ T.G.
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Back with a bang
Some leaders fade away, only to return
another day. Take Simranjit Singh Mann,
a pro-Khalistan radical and former IPS of-
ficer, who had been out of sight for years.
With Punjab set to go to the polls in Feb-
ruary, Mann has not just resurfaced, but
also taken up an issue that has surprised
every political party in the state. He has
written to the president, asking that 700
square yards be allotted for the construc-
tion of a ‘Shaheedi Ganj’ at 1 Safdarjang
Road. It was where prime minister Indira
Gandhi was gunned down by her guards,
Beant Singh and Satwant Singh. Since it is
now the address of the Indira Gandhi Me-
morial Museum, Mann wants a gurdwara
in memory of the two killers inside the
complex. For the pro-Khalistanis consider
them martyrs.
Wedding special
The blessings of K. Chandrasekhar Rao are
in great demand at weddings in Telan-
gana. From politicians to industrialists, ev-
eryone seeks the chief minister’s presence
at ceremonies. Some even make sure that
the invitations have Rao’s name printed
on them. The objective, apparently, is to
boost one’s social status by showing one’s
proximity to the CM. But, eccentric as
he is, Rao quite often fails to attend these
ceremonies, leaving the hosts not only
disappointed but red-faced as well.
Rao, however, is not likely to skip the
gala wedding Hyderabad is gearing up
for: that of Animal Husbandry Minister
Talasani Srinivas Yadav’s daughter and
Telugu Desam Party MLA Putta Sudhakar
Yadav’s son. Invites sent out by the min-
ister have both Rao and his wife’s names
displayed prominently.
Dribbling well
Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel recently
convened a meeting of national sports
federations in Delhi. One of the topics of
discussion was the Lodha panel’s recom-
mendations for reforming the Board of
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 15

Control for Cricket in India. One of the sports

administrators, All India Football Federation
general secretary Kushal Das, backed the rec-
ommendations, including the ‘one man, one
post’ rule and the age and tenure norms. His
views were reportedly met with silence. AIFF
is the only sports federation in India that com-
plies with these good governance principles.

Howler
for the Kiwis
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma put his foot
in his mouth at a press conference in Delhi or-
ganised by Tourism New Zealand and attend-
ed by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.
At the event, Sharma welcomed, with great
warmth, “Prime Minister McCullen” to India.
One could have ignored the slip-up—as Key
chose to do—thinking that the minister was
overawed by the presence of cricketer Bren-
don McCullum, who was also on the dais. But
then, Sharma did it again, saying that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi was delighted that
“Prime Minister McCullen” had come to
India! Later, actor and New Zealand
brand ambassador Sidharth
Malhotra took it upon himself
to set the record straight, by
welcoming Sharma as Dr
Banking on
Sharad Pawar. “I guess it’s Panagariya
payback,” he quipped. Arvind Panagariya, who was handpicked by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi as vice chair-
man of NITI Aayog, has been given one more
hat to wear. Disappointed with India’s dismal
130th position in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of
Doing Business’ ranking, Modi has asked Pan-
agariya to take the lead in interacting with the
World Bank. As a Columbia University profes-
sor and former World Bank chief economist, he
certainly has what it takes to do what Modi has
in mind.

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18
CURRENT EVENTS
Zero sum game
Hundreds of people lose their
investment in LIC scam in Kolkata
BY RABI BANERJEE
W
hen the daugh-
ter of Bani Prasad
Nandimajumdar,
an engineer-turned
businessman from Kolkata, got mar-
ried and moved to the US with her
husband a decade ago, she gifted her
savings worth 010 lakh to her father,
who ran a small factory in the city. In
2010, Nandimajumdar, 70, invested
the money in an LIC (Life Insurance
Corporation of India) policy; he paid
the premium through an insurance
agent and received the receipt and the
policy bond. Soon, he started receiv-
ing a quarterly pension of 024,000.
But, it stopped in September 2013.
“When I visited the LIC’s eastern
regional headquarters in Kolkata,
they refused to give me any clarifica-
tion,” said Nandimajumdar. He then
wrote to LIC chairman S.K. Roy,
who asked the divisional manager
in Kolkata to handle the complaint.
The DM informed Nandimajumdar
that there were some mistakes in the
accounts at the LIC’s main office in
Kolkata and promised to give him
further details soon. When no further
intimation came, Nandimajumdar
approached the consumer court in
September 2015.
“That offended them, so they
decided to hit back,” he said. In court,
the LIC’s lawyer demanded an inqui-
ry about Nandimajumdar’s source of
income. “They perhaps thought I was
a corrupt businessman who would
withdraw the case out of fear,” he
Taken for a ride: Dr G.N. Upadhyaya (right) and Bani Prasad
Nandimajumdar (facing page) were victims of the scam
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
said. The case is pending.
A few days after going to court,
Nandimajumdar realised that there
were 282 others like him in Kolkata.
They had deposited more than 050
crore in premiums, with their insur-
ance amount running into more than
0200 crore. Their premiums have
been rejected and annuities and matu-
rity sums withheld without notice.
A preliminary CBI investigation
found that almost 05 crore had been
siphoned off by certain LIC employ-
ees, the alleged mastermind being
Debabrata Ray, who was an assistant
branch manager at the regional office
in Kolkata.
G.N. Upadhyaya, a doctor at the gov-
ernment ayurvedic hospital, Kolkata,
bought a money-back policy worth
02 lakh in 2010, paying an annual pre-
mium of 021,044. He was supposed to
get his first reimbursement in 2013.
But the LIC stopped accepting his
premium in 2012, citing technical
reasons. “I had to take a personal loan
from a private bank for my daughter’s
wedding,” said Upadhyaya. “There is
no difference between the LIC and
[the infamous] Saradha. We thought
that such cheating takes place only in
private companies,” he said.
The CBI report hinted that the
LIC was shielding its officials.
Former eastern zonal manager
Hemant Bhargava had initi-
ated departmental action
against Ray, but little was
done after Bhargava was
transferred to Delhi.
After the CBI named
20
CURRENT EVENTS
his wife’s name, nine in the name of
his brother and one each in the name
of his father and daughter. All poli-
cies were opened through different
agents, who are yet to be identified
by the CBI. The investigation, con-
ducted by inspector Ranjeet Kumar,
suggested non-bailable sections to
be invoked against Ray. “We need to
conduct further investigations. But
we cannot do that unless the govern-
enior
ment or the LIC asks us,” said a senior
CBI officer.
Bhargava had earlier writ-
ten to the CBI to speed up
the prosecution and widen
the investigation against Ray
on a range of charges includ-
ing forgery, cheating, falsifi-
cation of accounts and crimes
under different sections of the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
But no further action was taken.
Ray told THE WEEK that
he was innocent. “How can I
tell you why policyholders are
not getting their dues or why
money is siphoned off? I was
assistant branch manager and
above me were the branch
manager and the divisional
manager. Why are they not
being questioned?” asked Ray.
He denied that he had master-
minded the scam. “I did not
supervise anything. Nor was
I behind anything. I was not the
senior-most in my office. I am being
unnecessarily targeted,”he said.
When THE WEEK tried to con-
tact LIC chairman V.K. Sharma, we
were redirected to executive direc-
tor, corporate communications, S.N.
Bhattacharjee. His office asked us
to contact secretary, corporate com-
munications, Tapan Arandhara, who
then directed us to eastern zonal
manager K.S. Nagnyal. Nagnyal was
guarded in his responses when we
contacted him on his residential
number. “I will have to see it case by
case. In fact, it is not advisable to have
any interaction about official matters
while at home,” he said.
As the CBI said a few LIC agents
Ray himself had acted
as the cashier
while opening new
policies in his name.
had colluded with corrupt employ-
ees, about 80 agents in Kolkata wrote
to the divisional manager and the
eastern zonal manager that they were
under tremendous pressure because
of the scam. “Because of the inaction
on the part of the LIC, we are facing
a negative impact, making it difficult
for us to secure new business,” said
the letter. They have also written
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Calling for action: LIC zonal
manager’s sanction letter to
prosecute officers; (left) the CBI
investigation report
to FFinance Minister Arun
Jai
Jaitley. The minister’s office
de
declined to comment.
“People feel that we are
aalso involved. We are the
people who give busi-
ness to the LIC. If our
reputation is black-
ened, the LIC would
not get any business,”
said Sukumar Mitra, an
agent, who is member of the chair-
man’s club.
Many policyholders like Keshab
Kundu believe that the government
will bail them out. Kundu had depos-
ited 020 lakh, which he had received
as compensation for his land that was
acquired for the expansion of Kolkata
Metro. His pension, however, has
been stalled for the last four years.
“I think, at the end of the day, money
will not be lost as the LIC is owned by
the government. I hope the govern-
ment will pay us back with interest
and compensation,” said Kundu.
But not everyone is calm. “Yes, they
will pay me, when I am dead,” said
Nandimajumdar. “Believe me, none
of my family members or relatives
would ever invest in the LIC.” ◆
 CODE
PIN 023
752 OD
I
J
MANGALA
22
BOOKS
Life in jail
From Bihar to Tihar is Kanhaiya Kumar’s
version of an agitation that rocked India
BY MANDIRA NAYAR
A
nti-national, then hero, then to sym-
bol of hope, Kanhaiya Kumar has
worn many labels. Some deserved,
some he still has to live up to. Yet,
there is no doubt that his story—from the presi-
dent of the JNU Students Union to becoming
headline news—is an incredible one. The day he
stood in a black leather jacket and a blindly white
T-shirt, under the arc lights of cameras demand-
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
ing azadi just back from Tihar Jail, he had become
a politician. His rise is the kind that is scripted
to be told. And he does know how to spin a story.
From Bihar to Tihar is his account of a story that
on JNU campus has become part of folklore. But
what isn’t, perhaps, is his struggle. This is his first
book; for sure, it will not be his last. Exclusive
excerpts:
I was put in a lockup. A CCTV camera was
installed. An armed guard was stationed outside.
There was nothing to sleep on. There was a blan-
ket of some kind which acted as both the bedding
and a cover. My chappals, jacket, etc, had been
confiscated outside. I asked for my jacket as I was
cold. They said they couldn’t give it to me as it had
a drawstring with which I might attempt suicide.
My cell had a bottle of water, a tap and a toi-
let seat. I had to make do with this for drinking,
bathing, washing, etc. I tried talking to the police
24 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
BOOKS
gave his name and asked for his identity proof. In
return the man asked for the cop’s ID. Then he
got up and ran away. No one really pursued him
despite my pleas. A woman lawyer I didn’t know
was present in the courtroom and she too was
agitated that a lawbreaker could escape so easily
from inside a courtroom.
I was taken to another room. The police were
everywhere; no one was allowed to come in. Some
lawyers were present in the room. I answered
their questions and told them how I had been
manhandled. Later I discovered that they were
assigned by the Supreme Court. A doctor was
called into the courtroom to treat my injuries. I
told him how I had been beaten but the doctor
didn’t note down anything. He just stood there
quietly, hearing me.
Seeing his attitude, the judge became angry and
said that his licence could be cancelled if he didn’t
cooperate. The doctor started to make excuses
but, now afraid, began to write.
The police had no reason to extend their
remand, but since there was no application for
bail, I was taken into judicial custody. This meant
I would move from the lockup to jail. I was filled
with real fear for the first time. What was hap-
pening outside? I had done nothing and if the Tough fight: other. There were officers from different battal-
police hadn’t managed to find any evidence to Kanhaiya ions. It was decided that any attacker would be
implicate me, why was the media after me? Who Kumar at a shot at sight. A vehicle would be posted at every
were these people who had physically assaulted court in Delhi traffic signal and a green corridor would be cre-
me and were trying to prove I was anti-national? ated. First a dummy would be sent and when the
I couldn’t make any sense of any of it. It didn’t media ran after it, my vehicle would speed past
help that there was such a large number of cops to Tihar.
swarming all around me—it felt as if they were TV crew from all the channels had gathered
preparing for a war. outside. Inside the court jail, I saw the news after
First one officer made me wear a helmet and many days. On the TV screen, the Delhi police
guard. After a while he returned and took me to commissioner was saying that they would not
another room. Waiting for me there was another oppose my bail. He was showing the press the
young cop who was about my build. We had to letter I had been made to write, in which I had
exchange our clothes. Now I was disguised in full vouched for my faith in the Constitution. Later I
police uniform. came to know that the police had given that let-
From the courtroom, the court jail was not ter out to the media under the title ‘Kanhaiya ki
more than fifty metres away. All these elaborate Chithhi’. The letter and the question of bail would
arrangements were being made to cover this become matters for heated press debate.
distance. The police were suspicious of its own Once again I was made to wear a helmet and
people, worried that someone from the force guard, and to sit in the prisoner’s van. There are
itself might attack me. People stood around, talk- separate sections in this van and police with dif-
ing heatedly to each other. Four hours went by in ferent weapons—guns, tear gas, pepper spray—sit
this fashion. I thought to myself, this is happening in the different sections. I was made to sit right
in the capital city, not in some remote area of the behind the driver. The three cops sitting with me
country. It felt like a bad dream. Then I was taken had no weapons. One of them said to me, don’t
to the court jail. worry, only if we die will anything happen to you.
The court jail was emptied for me. Now a strat- Driving non-stop, I was taken to Tihar. The media
egy was being planned—how to take me to Tihar was present here too, furiously clicking pictures
Jail. All the senior officers were arguing with each of the van. The police had surrounded the Tihar

Jail gate. The heavy gates
opened, let the car in and I was
soon inside. In jail!
◆◆◆
Even as I began to adapt
to prison life, I couldn’t help
worrying about my jail sen-
tence. How long would I be
locked up for? No one seemed
to have any answers. To keep
the uncertainty away I kept
myself busy. It was difficult in
an isolated ward with so much
security. I was kept away from
other prisoners and I was cut
off from the activities of the
jail. I was taken out for a stroll
only when the other cells were
shut. Usually I ended up at the
multi-religious prayer room,
with its pictures of Shirdi Sai
Baba and Subhas Chandra
Bose, just walking around the
empty hall.
AP I started exercising to keep
myself busy. I would jump and
try to touch the high ceiling in my room although
I never succeeded. I tried to build a relation-
ship with my space. I started to sweep the floor
diligently. Even if I saw a speck of dust I would
clean it up. I washed my plate with care. I counted
the iron bars; I tried to measure the length and
breadth of my cell.
I now ate my food slowly, tasting every bite. As
a poor student and student activist I never really
gave food too much thought. I simply thought of
filling my stomach. Now I began to pay attention
to what I was eating—even though the food was
not very good.
A whitish pigeon would come into my cell
through the exhaust fan vent. I spent a lot of time
looking at it. The singing continued. I would also
talk to myself. The college debater got a second
life in that quiet cell. I would speak for and against
the motion—a good way to test my argument.
I tried to keep my mind away from what was
happening in the outside world and not think of
things which made me feel isolated, disheartened
and lonely. I read the newspapers and watched
I noticed something curious while in
custody. The staff put on duty with me
were either dalit or Muslim.
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 25
the news only briefly. The moment I read or saw
anything on JNU my mind would be assailed with
memories and I would feel unsettled. I started
watching other entertainment programme—films
and sports—as a way to distract myself.
My efforts paid off. I began to feel calmer.
Things improved further when I began to keep
a diary. I knew that I would find it difficult to
capture my feelings in words. It’s like trying to
define the sweetness of two different fruits. But I
forced myself to begin, thinking it was important
to record these experiences.
I mostly stayed in my cell. If there were any visi-
tors I went to meet them and then returned to the
cell. Once in a while I spoke with some inmates.
My fellow inmates were a varied lot. There were
people who had been there for years with no one
to bail them out. There were some who came from
good backgrounds. Many suffered from psycho-
logical ailments.
A community radio played during the day. The
radio jockey was a Bihari. He was convicted in a
murder case. He was educated and sensible. He’d
come and ask me which song to play and played
songs of my choice—‘Zindagi tu hi bata irada kya
hai’. Apart from the sevadar who I became very
close to, I spoke mostly to him.
◆◆◆
One realizes the importance of the biggest and
smallest things in jail. Family, companionship,
conversation. But also of small things like a nail
cutter. I had to wait for two days to get one and
take special permission since it can be used as a
weapon. For the same reason, the looking glass is
made of fibre and there are no metallic nails in the
cell.
One day I asked for a shave. The barber was
called. Five people surrounded me as I was
shaved—three staff members, one ward-in-charge
and the person who had brought the barber. They
were there for my protection and also to make sure
that I didn’t snatch the barber’s instruments and
hurt anyone. I was both dangerous and in danger
myself.
Life in jail is based on suspicion and lack of faith
in each other. Though this is usually not so obvi-
ous, it becomes apparent in some situations. For
instance, when the doctor comes to inspect your
food, you can feel the paranoia in the air. He has
to taste the food. If the food is poisoned the doctor
will die first. Such lack of faith! The doctor looks
at the sevadar. The sevadar looks at the doctor.
Then the doctor takes a bite, gives me my food and
walks away. .
Excerpted with permission of Juggernaut Books
28 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 29
30 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 31
32 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 33
36 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
CONTROVERSY
In the line of duty: (Inset)
Head Constable Ram
Shankar Yadav; (left) Shivraj
Singh Chouhan consoling
Yadav’s family members

to create an atmosphere of fear.

The eight were shot dead on a
basalt hillock named Manikhedi
Pathar in Acharpura village. By the
time the media reached there, BJP
MLA Vishnu Khatri and his support-

A source said Chouhan wanted the
operatives neutralised before they
launched a possible terror attack.
Bhopal Jail is close to the headquar-
ters of the Indian Army’s 21 Corps.
Traditionally, in MP, buses do not
ply on the day after Diwali. So, the
operatives were expected to escape
by rail. Additional Director General
(Railways) G.P. Singh ordered around
3,000 railway police constables to
search all trains. Teams lay in ambush
near crossings close to townships. But,
the railways refused to delay trains for
operational reasons.
The police were in a tizzy. All
clues were being pursued. Senior
PHOTOS:PTI
Superintendent of Police Raman
Singh Sikarwar even approached his
astrologer for help. He told the cop
that operatives would be caught in
eight days. They were shot in eight
hours.
While the meeting was on at
Chouhan’s home, news came that
the fugitives had been located and
they were being engaged. After the
meeting, Chouhan talked to jour-
nalists from the visual media. But,
he gave nothing away. At 1:30pm, he
addressed a news conference and
confirmed that the eight had been
shot dead. The opposition has alleged
that information was withheld earlier
ers had a celebration going, complete
with drummers. Bhopal Collector
Nishant Warwade arrived to con-
gratulate the policemen.
Home Minister Bhupendra Singh,
too, congratulated the police, but said
there had been a massive security and
intelligence lapse. “We have ordered
a probe covering all angles, including
why the special armed force guards
deployed on the watch tower failed
to spot the fleeing men,” he said.
Action over, it was time for politick-
ing. The police say the operatives slit
Head Constable Ram Shankar Yadav’s
throat with sharpened spoons, before
escaping. Chouhan spent an hour pay-
ing last respects to Yadav, announced
a grant of 125 lakh to his family and
said the residential colony where he
lived would be renamed after him and

DARING AND DEAD

Zakir Hussain: Wanted Sheikh Mehboob: Mohammad Aqeel Mohammad Saliq:

for the twin blasts Accused in the 2008 Khilji: Reportedly a Joined the SIMI men
on the Bangalore- Ahmedabad serial bomb former state SIMI during a previous
Guwahati Express on blasts; trained at the SIMI chief; arrested in escape from Khandwa
May 1, 2014 camp in Vagamon, Kerala March 2012 prison in October 2013
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 37

his bust would be erected.
On November 1, the state founda-
tion day, Chouhan said, “We cannot
risk the lives of our people. I cannot
allow terrorists to be served chicken
biryani in jail, while they enjoy jail life
endlessly. I have made my state ter-
ror- and terrorist-free.”
Congress spokesperson K.K.
Mishra and senior Congress lead-
ers Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh
questioned the facts of the encounter.
State Congress president Arun Yadav
demanded a high level inquiry into
the jailbreak, because Bhopal Central
Jail is ISO-certified. Parvez Alam,
lawyer of the operatives, too, asked
for a probe into the encounter.
To complicate matters further, top
cops gave conflicting statements.
While Yogesh Choudhary said the
operatives were armed with guns,
Inspector General (Anti-Terror-
Squad) Sanjeev Shami said they were
largely unarmed.
The police version is that eight of
35 SIMI operatives lodged in Bhopal
Central Jail escaped from the B block
at around 2am, during change of
guard. They used ladders made of bed
sheets and were armed with knives
made of steel plates and spoons. They
killed head constable Yadav and tied
up another constable.
The alarm was raised after roughly
an hour. Security cameras in the jail
were on the blink. After top cops
arrived on the scene, a manhunt was
launched and security was stepped
up across the state. In the morning,
a private security guard spotted the
fugitives near a stream in Acharpura
village. He informed sarpanch Mohan
Singh Meena, who alerted the police.
At around 10:15am, the police anti-
terror squad arrived, armed with
Kalashnikovs and INSAS rifles. In
less than an hour, they gunned down
the fugitives. Villagers said the fugi-
tives were wearing new shoes and
clothes. The villagers had captured
much of the action on cell phone
cameras, and these video clips raised
more questions.
A clip shows five fugitives stand-
ing on the hillock and waving their
arms shortly before they were gunned
down. “They had already killed a jail-
or a few hours back, and had killed
another constable in 2013. So, we
had clear orders from our seniors to
kill them,” said a police officer who
wished to remain anonymous. “We
did not want to leave them for the
judiciary, which take ages to decide.
They would have run once again from
the corrupt jail system. We decided
not to leave anything to chance.”
The police officer’s statement is
further corroborated by a video clip
which shows a policeman gunning
down a fugitive who was injured
and alive. “They could have easily
nabbed him and kept him for inves-
tigation,” said Mishra, the Congress
spokesperson. “He could have nar-
rated how he escaped from jail, and
who helped from inside and outside.
But, they killed him and destroyed all
evidence.”
As criticism mounted, Chouhan
announced a probe by the National
Investigation Agency, transferred the
additional director general (jail) and
suspended five jail officials, including
a deputy inspector general and the jail
superintendent.
There have been multiple issues
involving jailed SIMI operatives,
police sources said. They had raised
slogans against Prime Minister
Narendra Modi when he formed the
government in 2014. This July there
was a bomb threat in a Bhopal court;
it was a hoax. Based on intelligence
inputs, hearings of these operatives
were held through video conferenc-
ing. Reports have said that the opera-
tives often threatened and abused
judges on camera.
The tension in Bhopal was so high
that families of two of the slain opera-
tives did not get ambulances from the
government medical college to trans-
port the bodies to Khandwa, their
hometown. This, and other factors,
led to heightened communal tension
in Khandwa. ‹

Amjad Khan: Escaped
from Khandwa prison
in 2013; accused of
conspiring to kill a
local BJP councillor
Mujeeb Sheikh: An
Indian Mujahideen
operative accused in
the 2008 serial bomb
blasts in Ahmedabad
Mohammad Khalid Abdul Majid: Was
Ahmad: Part of a plan an electrician in
to kill former Union Mahidpur in Ujjain;
home minister Sushil arrested for stock-
Kumar Shinde ing explosives

SKETCHES: JOB P.K.

38 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
DIPLOMACY

Neighbourhood
watch
India-Pakistan ties are unlikely to get any better soon
BY MANDIRA NAYAR

Cold shoulder:
PTI

Nawaz Sharif with Narendra Modi


T
here is an air of desola-
tion under the distinct
blue dome on Shanti Path
in the heart of the diplo-
matic enclave in Delhi—the Pakistan
High Commission. The mood had
been sombre after Indian Army’s
surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir. And the expulsion of
Mehmood Akhtar, who was attached
to the trade counsellor in the visa sec-
tion, over spying charges has made it
gloomier.
Pakistan quickly reacted to Akhtar’s
expulsion by throwing out Indian
official Surjeet Singh, citing violation
of the Vienna Convention—a sort of
tit for tat. Then on November 2, it
pulled out five officials, though there
has not been any official confirma-
tion from the High Commission on
this. Their names had allegedly come
up during the investigations and in
Akhtar’s statements. An Indian offi-
cial who is involved in the investiga-
tion said more moles were under the
scanner. “The ministry of external
affairs and the Intelligence Bureau
are coordinating,” he said.
It is said that the security of eight
Indian diplomats in Pakistan has
been compromised. Though there is
no official confirmation on whether
they would come home, it seems to
be just a matter of time. “There is no
environment of friendliness,” said a
Pakistani official. And the “restric-
tions” seem to be more personal this
time.
In June, the ministry of external
affairs asked Indian diplomats in
Islamabad to make arrangements
for their children’s schooling out-
side Pakistan. The Pakistan foreign
office, however, has issued no such
advisory. “There was an incident in
which a Pakistani child was picked on
in school,” said an official. “There is
Pakistani bashing on television every
hour. Of course this will poison the
minds of people. Children are no dif-
ferent.”
This state of hyped-up hostility is
likely to continue—especially with
the continuing infiltration of terror-
Nawaz Sharif
has already been
embarrassed because
of the destruction of
the camps [in PoK].
Rana Banerji, former special
secretary at cabinet secretariat
ists and constant violations across
the Line of Control that spills out to
become diplomatic snubs. Both coun-
tries are under domestic compulsions,
said Rakesh Sood, senior fellow at
Observer Research Foundation. And
the narratives—parallel and complete-
ly divergent—are being played out.
India has been pressing for action
on Pak-supported terrorism at every
fora. From BRICS to bilateral meet-
ings. Pakistan, on the other hand, has
been hammering on about human
rights violations in Kashmir. Any
talk of isolation, a word that India
has grabbed on with great delight,
is being seen as Indian propaganda.
With America in election mode and
China having refused to be pushed on
Pakistan, talks are not on the agenda.
And won’t be for a while.
“What is happening is a different
phase,” said Pakistani military com-
mentator Ayesha Siddiqa. “It smells
like the 1980s, but it is different. Both
sides are not talking to each other at
all. Pakistan’s military is talking to its
own people and the Indian media is
propagating that Pakistan has been
Pakistan’s military
is talking to its own
people and the Indian
media is propagating
that Pakistan has been
isolated.
Ayesha Siddiqa, Pakistani military
commentator
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 39
isolated. It is a more dangerous phase.
We have had war. But when people
start mistrusting each other, that’s
when there is great damage.”
Things are not likely to get any
better. “Pakistan is going through
interesting times,” said former dip-
lomat Vivek Katju. There is a lot at
stake—Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
is facing corruption charges on the
Panama Papers leak. Though the agi-
tation led by his fiercest opponent,
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s
leader Imran Khan, fizzled out, the
Supreme Court has ordered a probe
with the terms of reference almost
exactly as the opposition demanded.
“Sharif has already been embarrassed
because of the destruction of the [ter-
rorist] camps [in PoK],” says Rana
Banerji, former special secretary at
cabinet secretariat.
Then there is the transition in
the Pakistan Army—General Raheel
Sharif is due to retire this month.
There are four names doing the
rounds—Lt Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa,
chief of general staff Zubair Hayat, Lt
Gen Javed Iqbal Ramday (believed
to be Sharif’s choice) and Lt Gen
Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad. “I would be
surprised if Bajwa becomes chief of
army staff,” said Banerji. “There is
also the post of the chairman of the
joint chief of staff that has to be filled.
Ishfaq Nadeem, I would say, is on the
best wicket.”
Till the flux is over, it won’t be clear
how Pakistan will play out the game
in the long term. And if Sharif man-
ages to survive, he will be pushed
to take a harder line on India. His
biggest weakness at the moment, as
Siddiqa pointed out, was not cor-
ruption but his failure to pursue the
Kashmir agenda.
“The key question that the
Narendra Modi government needs to
answer is what action you can initiate
to change the behaviour of Pakistan.
By whom is the next question,” said
Sood. “If the answer is the army, then
the question is how will you do that?”
The answer might not come through
diplomatic solutions. ◆
40 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
CONTROVERSY

Uphill
struggle
P.T. Usha waited decades to enter Sabarimala.
Women who are not ready to wait, however, want
temple authorities to lift gender-based restrictions
BY CITHARA PAUL every year, has been at the centre of
a row ever since the Happy to Bleed

O
lympian P.T. Usha waited
40 years to catch a glimpse
of her favourite deity,
Swami Ayyappan of the
famous Sabarimala temple, located
in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the
Western Ghats of Kerala. Last month,
after observing vows for 41 days,
she trekked kilometres to reach
Sabarimala and climb the 18 sacred
campaign began in protest of a com-
ment made by Prayar Gopalakrishnan,
president of the Travancore
Devaswom Board, which administers
the temple. Gopalakrishnan report-
edly said that any talk about letting
women inside can begin only when a
machine is invented to scan their bod-
ies to ascertain whether it is the right
time for them to enter the temple.
JIBIN CHEMBOLA

steps to offer prayers. “I will nev- Happy to Bleed gained traction on

er forget the moment I caught
the glimpse of Swami Ayyappan,”
she told THE WEEK. “It was so
divine and blissful. Those moments
were worth the long wait.”
Women of menstrual age are not
allowed to enter Sabarimala, as the
deity is a naishtika brahmachari (eter-
nal bachelor). So Usha, who missed
an Olympic medal by a whisker of a
second, waited patiently for decades.
Not all, however, are ready to wait
like her. The Indian Young Lawyers
Association and five women lawyers
have approached the Supreme Court
seeking a direction to allow women of
all ages to enter the temple. ‘Happy to
Bleed’, a campaign against “menstru-
al taboos that prevail in the society”,
too, has sought the court’s direction
in the matter. The Supreme Court
bench that has been hearing the case
since January this year is likely to
refer it to a Constitution bench on
November 7.
Sabarimala, thronged by millions
social media, but it was countered by
another campaign, called ‘Ready to
Wait’, started by those who insisted
that entry of women into Sabarimala
was not a “feminist issue”. Usha,
however, has no clue about both the
campaigns. “I don’t understand the
controversies surrounding the tem-
ple,” she said. “All I know is that one is
able to reach the sannidhanam when
the Lord decides.”
Does she regret the fact that she had
to wait for decades to visit the shrine?
“I have no regrets about having wait-
ed,” she said. “My feelings only got
accentuated as I waited for all these
years. A true devotee will only be able
to look at things that way.”
But such viewpoints irk rights
activists. They feel women like Usha
are speaking the language of patri-
archy. They argue that male devo-
tees are scared that the presence of
women will distract them. “For gen-
erations, women have been fed with
the nonsense that Lord Ayyappa does
Wish come true: P.T. Usha at the
peta thullal ritual at Erumeli while
on her maiden trip to Sabarimala
not like their presence. They do not
realise that they have been denied a
right,” said writer P. Geetha.
The “devotee activists”, on the other
hand, say rights activists have misun-
derstood the issue. “It is wrong to say
women are banned in Sabarimala,”
said activist Rahul Easwar, whose
grandfather was senior supreme
priest at Sabarimala. “Only women of
a certain age are restricted and that
also has a context. Here, the deity
has been consecrated as a brahm-
achari who does not want to be with
women. That is why women are not
allowed here while all other Ayyappa
temples are open to women. There is
no more violation of right here than in
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 41

women-only and men-only colleges.”

There are divisions, both within
and among political parties, regard-
ing the issue. “The RSS and the BJP
are against all forms of discrimination
against women. We have even passed
a resolution on this matter,” said R.
Balashankar, national convener of
the BJP’s intellectual cell. The party’s
state unit, however, remains noncom-
mittal, with president Kummanam
Rajasekharan openly taking a position
against women entering Sabarimala.
Also speaking in multiple voices are
the ruling CPI(M) and the state unit
of the Congress. The CPI(M), which
initially took a stand against rights
activists, has now decided to take a
“progressive position”. “Our posi-
tion is very clear. There should not
be any discrimination on the basis of
gender. Women should be allowed to
enter Sabarimala,” said Devaswom
Minister Kadakampilly Surendran.
Ready to Wait activists say that
even if the Supreme Court decides
in favour of entry of women, no
true devotee will violate traditions.
“No woman, if she is a true devotee,
will enter Sabarimala,” said Kavitha
Niroop, whose house is right oppo-
site an Ayyappa temple in Kottayam.
She feels there are more important
God of litigation issues that affect women. “If gain-
ing entry into Sabarimala will solve
Nearly 60km from Sabarimala, near Ponkunnam in Kottayam district, is what all our problems, then I am all for it,”
the faithful call Judgiyammavan Kovil, or ‘the temple of the judge uncle’. Behind said Kavitha. “But since that is not the
the strange name is an even stranger legend. case, I am not with those who want to
The temple derives its name from a judge in the court of the erstwhile princely trample upon age-old traditions and
state of Travancore, who wrongfully sentenced his own nephew to death. beliefs just for the heck of it.”
Later, realising his mistake, the judge insisted that he, too, be given the same That the rights activists are not
devotees is something people like
sentence. His wish was granted and, apparently, justice was done.
Easwar never forget to point out. “It
Years later, a small temple was consecrated with him as upadevatha (sub-deity) is true that I am not a devotee. But
at the Devi temple. The faithful believe that the judge’s blessings will give them that does not stop me from speaking
success in legal cases. Cricketer S. Sreesanth, who faced charges of spot-fixing for the rights of women devotees,”
in the Indian Premier League, offered prayers here. said Geetha.
Now praying for the deity’s blessings are officials of the Travancore Devaswom The rights activists also argue that
Board, who want the Supreme Court to rule in favour of continuing restrictions their fight should be seen in a his-
torical perspective. “Kerala is a place
on entry of women at Sabarimala. They have organised a six-day-long puja
where women were not allowed to
from October 31 “to protect the culture and tradition of the Sabarimala
cover their breasts,” said lawyer K.K.
temple”. “We have decided to pray to Judgiyammavan seeking justice,” TDB Preetha. “If we have come this far, it is
chief Prayar Gopalakrishnan told THE WEEK. “Since it is a matter of faith and because of the past struggles. So every
justice, this is the apt place for the prayers.” struggle counts.” ◆
42 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
COVER STORY
SALIL BERA

Justice league: Lawyers at Calcutta High Court


The sexist bar
Gender discrimination runs deep in the judiciary. There are not
enough women lawyers and judges in courts today. Though that
might change with more and more girls passing out of law colleges,
what needs change is the attitude towards them
BY SONI MISHRA
I
n December 2013, Avani Bansal, who had just com-
pleted her masters in law from Oxford University,
landed in the district court of Harda in Madhya
Pradesh. She had made up her mind to begin her
career in litigation the hard way—taking up prac-
tice in criminal law in a trial court. She knew it
would be tough, but that didn’t prepare her for the
extremely hostile workplace.
Bansal, 28, who is about to start practice in the
Supreme Court, recalls how the male lawyers in the
trial court used every tactic under the belt to unnerve
her—from commenting on her attire to making snide
remarks about her Oxford degree to getting outright
hostile by yelling at her, ‘Zyada hoshiyari na dikhao
[Don’t try to act smart].’
“I was one of two or three women in a court where
hundreds of lawyers practised,” she says. “I was an odd-
ity who was stared at, humiliated, who was either an
irritant for the male lawyers or a source of amusement.
The lawyers were hostile, and the judges never repri-
manded them.”
If Bansal, a new entrant, had to brave hostility borne
out of gender bias in a trial court, a senior lawyer like
Indira Jaising says she still has to tackle discrimination
in the hallowed precincts of the Supreme Court. “Even
after ‘I have made it’, my word is often treated as less
valuable than the word of a male lawyer,” she says (see
interview).
The bench appears to be no different, with women
judges complaining of discrimination, too. Very few of
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 43
them have made it to the top levels, and even then, their
calibre is under great scrutiny. Former Supreme Court
judge Gyan Sudha Misra reportedly told a fellow male
judge who was constantly questioning her understand-
ing of an issue, “Stop judging the judge, and start judg-
ing the matter.”
And, statistics prove it is a man’s world. There is
only one woman judge—Justice R. Banumathi—in the
Supreme Court as against 25 male judges. Only six
women have been appointed as judges of the apex court
till now. The 24 High Courts in the country have only 64
women judges compared to 557 male judges, and there
is not a single woman judge in eight High Courts. While
at least 44 names were recommended by the Allahabad
High Court collegium to the government recently for
appointment as judges, only two of them are women.
It took more than four decades after independence for
a woman to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge. A
woman was appointed to the High Court only in 1959.
At no point have there been
more than two women judges in
the Supreme Court.
While women got the right to Cornelia Sorabji
practise in 1922, Jaising became First female
the first woman additional solic- lawyer (enrolled
itor general in 2009. The coun- in Allahabad
try has not had a woman solici-
High Court in
tor general or attorney general.
From 1992 to 2005, at the top 1922)
three courts of the country—
44 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
COVER STORY
Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and Bombay High
Court—only one woman had been designated senior
advocate. The designations are on hold in the Supreme
Court till it decides on a petition filed by Jaising, urg-
ing for greater transparency in the nomination of senior
counsels.
Only 12 women have been designated senior counsels
by the Supreme Court so far. Only eight women have
got that distinction in the Delhi High Court and six in
the Bombay High Court. The Allahabad High Court,
one of the oldest in the country, has had only one senior
woman advocate.
Women lawyers face problems right from when they
enter the field. Rucha Anant Pandey, 24, who started
practising at the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High
Court a few months ago, says her initiation into the field
was in a trial court in Pune, where she handled criminal
cases along with a senior. Everyone in the court, from
the bailiff to the court clerk to male lawyers asked her,
“Madam, kya kar rahe ho [What are you doing here]?”,
AAYUSH GOEL

referring to her as a misfit in the world of criminal law.

A judge once asked her to call her senior, and advised
him to give her only certain kind of cases.
Even a seasoned lawyer like senior Supreme Court
Battling bias: Avani Bansal says she was humiliated
advocate Meenakshi Arora recalls how some years
by male lawyers during her stint at a trial court in
ago when she was arguing a matter, the judges were
Madhya Pradesh
extremely hostile and almost threw the file. However,
the same argument when made a few years later by a
male senior was allowed. “Your mind has to be open.
Don’t look at my gender, don’t look at my face, only look
at the point that I am making,” says Arora. There are, however, judges who are encouraging
towards women. “Many years ago, a judge saw me as
a well-prepared young junior and there was a senior
appearing against me. He gave me the full and complete
right to argue the matter. That confidence has kept
me in good stead for life,” says Supreme Court lawyer
Malvika Trivedi.
LADY OF INJUSTICE But women are not expected to be aggressive, and

1
if they are, they are branded as cantankerous or rude.
Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah
female judge and
recalls having once recommended a woman lawyer as

25
a judge, but she was rejected apparently because she
male judges in the Supreme Court
was ‘rude’. “If a male lawyer replies in a certain man-
(sanctioned strength 31)
ner to a judge, it is usually taken in the stride. But if the

2 female chief justices in High Courts—

G. Rohini (Delhi) and Manjula Chellur
(Bombay)
No female judge in 8 High Courts—Chhat-
tisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Tripura and Uttarakhand
Ratio of female to male
judges in High Courts— 1:8.7
same things were to be said by a woman, it becomes a
topic of discussion for the bar or bench, and not in a
pleasant way,” he says. Shah is known as one of the few
High Court chief justices to recommend a good number
of women for judgeship; many of the names, however,
got rejected.
Women also have to deal with men who are either
condescending or patronising. “Either they are nasty
to you or would want to take you in their protective
umbrella, which is the old boys club. They do not like
women who stand on their own dint and are strong

individuals,” says Supreme Court lawyer Shilpi Jain.
If you are aligned to a chamber or are related to a
judge or a senior lawyer, you are a part of this club. It
helps to have a godfather, says a lady judge in a dis-
trict court in Delhi. She says there are many examples
of women who have made it because they were either
related to a judge or a senior lawyer or were affiliated
to a certain chamber.
The attitude of clients is also not very encouraging.
Trivedi talks about clients getting the case file pre-
pared by a woman lawyer, but wanting their case to be
argued by a male lawyer. Also, women lawyers are seen
as suited to handle family law cases and social issues,
and not trusted with high stake cases. Former Supreme
Court judge Sujata Manohar said the inability to get
cases is the main reason why women are losing out on
judgeship. “Women still find it difficult to get litigation
work. As a result, there are very few successful women
lawyers practising at the bar. So women lawyers rarely
figure among lawyers from the bar being considered for
10 to 15%
of 17 lakh advocates enrolled with
the bar councils are women
12
Female senior advocates in the
Supreme Court so far
Female senior advocates
in High Courts:
Delhi High Court—8
Bombay High Court—6
Allahabad High Court—1
Madras High Court—5
No female office-bearer in the
Bar Council of India
No woman has ever become
AAYUSH GOEL
chairperson or vice-chairperson
of the Bar Council of India
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 45
appointment as judges of the High Courts.”
Women lawyers have to be extra careful about how
they dress up, too. A retired judge of the Delhi High
Court is still remembered for his nasty comments on
the attire of women lawyers. It is said that women were
scared to appear before him because of his comments,
which ranged from “Are you dressed up for a party?” to
“You are so focused on your appearance that you cannot
even remember to take the next date from me.”
Women judges are also at the receiving end of sex-
ism. There have been instances of losing male lawyers
foul-mouthing them. A woman judge in Karkardooma
courts in Delhi filed an FIR when she was subjected
to sexist abuses by a lawyer. But her own chief judi-
cial magistrate reportedly asked her to withdraw the
complaint.
A retired woman judge of the Supreme Court said
there was acceptance of judgments passed by her only
if they were upheld by a larger bench. Once a woman
has reached the top levels in the profession, she has to
work even harder to avoid any slip up. “One small mis-
take, and the males in the profession immediately turn
around and say, ‘ye to aurat hai [she is a woman, after
all]’,” says Arora.
There is also the issue of sexual harassment of wom-
en in the field, and this is said to be an important reason
No arguments: Clients prefer their cases to be argued by
male lawyers, says Supreme Court lawyer Malvika Trivedi
46
COVER STORY
Interview/ Justice M. Fathima Beevi, retired Supreme Court judge
Reservation
will help women
BY SONI MISHRA
Is the Indian judiciary patriarchal?
Absolutely. No doubt about that.
Why does it continue to be male
dominated?
There are many women in the field
now, both at the bar and in the
bench. However, their participa-
tion is meagre. Their representa-
tion is not equal to men. There is
a historical reason also for that....
Women took to the field late. It will
take time for women to get equal
representation in the judiciary.
When I went to law college, there
were only five girls in my class in
the first year. The number went
down to two or three in the second
year. Today, in law colleges, we are
seeing that a good percentage of the
students are women.
However, in the higher judiciary,
the percentage of women judges is
not very good. It is just nominal.
In the Supreme Court, at any time,
there are not more than one or two
women judges.
Is the court a hostile place for
women lawyers?
When a woman starts practising,
there is a lot of opposition from
society. I do not think there is any
opposition from either the judges
or the lawyers. Everyone, man or
woman, has to persevere and will
rise slowly and steadily in the field.
The number of women in law col-
leges is increasing. That will reflect
in the number of women lawyers
and judges in times to come. These
girls are very smart and very tal-
ented.
There should be greater oppor-
M. Fathima
Beevi
First female
judge of the
Supreme Court
(1989-1992)
tunity for women to be appointed as
judges in the Supreme Court, as the
strength of the apex court has also
increased. When I was appointed to
the Supreme Court, there were ten
judges. Now, the sanctioned strength
is 31.
Is it not true that a lot of these
women, when they graduate, choose
corporate law over litigation?
When I graduated, the field was much
narrower. You could become either
a civil lawyer or a criminal lawyer.
Now, the graduates, including wom-
en, have options to specialise in dif-
ferent fields. That is a satisfactory,
healthy practice. Earlier, if you had a
law degree, you would have to work
as a junior with an advocate and wait
to get established. The whole thing
has changed. Now, women are start-
ing their own firms very young.
How have women judges
contributed to jurisprudence?
We have had some notable names
among women judges, such as Leila
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
J. SURESH
Seth, who was the first woman chief
justice of a High Court, and [there
was ] Sujata Manohar.... When we
adjudicate, we cannot discriminate
between man and woman. We have
to look impartially at the problems
of all citizens.
What do you think should be done
to increase the representation of
women in higher judiciary?
It depends on what view is taken by
the government and the authorities.
However, there should not be any
discrimination between candidates
on [gender basis]. A woman should
get equal treatment and equal con-
sideration.
How do you look at the idea of
reservation for women in the
higher judiciary?
If there is reservation, more women
will get a chance to be appointed in
the higher judiciary. When there is
competition, a few get in. With res-
ervation, the number will definitely
increase.
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 47

why women leave the profession. Jaising said she was required in litigation. “I have left my children in fever to
subjected to sexual harassment in the Supreme Court come to work. As soon as a woman lawyer cites a domes-
two years ago. She calls the menace “the hidden dirty tic issue, she is labelled unprofessional,” says Trivedi.
secret of the legal profession.” She is now fighting the No wonder, the dropout rate of women lawyers is
case of a woman judge in Madhya Pradesh who had to very high. Arora says 40 women joined practice with
resign after she made a complaint of sexual harassment her in the Supreme Court; three or four years later, only
against her senior. four or five were left. The situation is not very different
It is ironic that the Supreme Court, which issued the even now. Pandey says her class that passed out from
Vishaka guidelines for protection of women against the National Law University in Raipur in 2015 had girls
sexual harassment at the workplace in 1997, set up a and boys in equal proportion, but only three of the wom-
committee to deal with complaints as required by the en students have taken to litigation.
guidelines only in 2013. A large number of women lawyers are opting for the
The committee has received two complaints so far, corporate sector, joining private companies or banks
says Prerna Kumari, general secretary of the Supreme and corporate law firms. And, the main reason for this
Court Women Lawyers Association. is their inability to break the glass ceiling.
“Action was taken in one case. The entry Justice M. Fathima Beevi, the first wom-
of the lawyer was restricted. In the other an judge of the Supreme Court, says in the
case, the complainant was not interested higher judiciary, the percentage of women
in pursuing the matter further,” she says. Anna Chandy judges is not very good. “It is actually just
Working conditions for women law- First female nominal…. We need to look into the rea-
yers with regard to infrastructure, such High Court sons for that,” she says (see interview).
as lack of proper office space and toilets, The standards applied to a woman when
judge (1959)
are an issue. Also, many find it difficult to considering her for elevation are higher
balance family with the long work hours than those applied to a male judge, says
48
COVER STORY
Interview/ Indira Jaising, senior lawyer
I was sexually harassed
in the corridors of the
Supreme Court
BY SONI MISHRA
Are the Indian judiciary and the
bar patriarchal?
Highly patriarchal, in many ways.
There is no enabling environment
in the courts for a woman lawyer.
This is driving out women from the
profession. There is another impor-
tant issue—of sexual harassment of
women, both lawyers and judges. I
am fighting a case of a woman judge
who had to resign after she com-
plained against another judge for
having sexually harassed her. This
is the hidden dirty secret of the legal
profession. There are the two well
known cases of two interns who
were [allegedly] sexually harassed
by judges in the Supreme Court. If
this is the position of two interns
working with Supreme Court judg-
es, I cannot imagine the real extent
of the problem.
How rampant is this malaise?
Even now, I experience abuse from
male colleagues. They say, ‘Oh, that
woman is so aggressive.’ Or, they
refer to me as ‘that woman’, not
bothering to even call me by my
name.... Sexual harassment is not
related to age. I have experienced it
at my age. I have been subjected to
sexual harassment in the corridors
of the Supreme Court. It happened
a couple of years ago. It is a busy
place and it is normal for people to
bump into you. But you know when
it is accidental and when it is delib-
erate. It was a senior male lawyer.
I did not make any complaint, but
I stopped him then and there and
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
confronted him about it. I feel it is
an adequate way of dealing with it.
So, I had to experience it, despite
my seniority in the profession and
my age. Women lawyers and judi-
cial officers who are junior are defi-
nitely more vulnerable.
Did you have to face problems as a
woman lawyer?
People say to me that now that I
have made it, I do not have to face
these problems. But even after ‘I
have made it’, my word is often
treated as less valuable than the
word of a male lawyer. If there is a
male lawyer with me, the judge asks
the male lawyer to speak. If there is
a male lawyer on the other side, he
is asked to speak first.... I lose the
precious initial minutes to make
my point. This mindset
flows from the top to the
bottom. The judges, too, It should be done.
come from our society, Indira Jaising Definitely, it will lead
and how they behave in First female to appointment of
court is determined by senior advocate more women judges.
their upbringing. They in the Bombay This way, we can have
display an inability to a critical mass of wom-
accept that women are
High Court en judges. That would
equal. (1986) make a difference. If
Why are there so few you have two people
women judges? of equal merit, one is
The main reason for this a man and the other a
is the inability of the women to woman, the woman should be pre-
lobby. Many women lawyers could ferred. The workspace will become
become judges if they are given the more democratic if you have more
opportunity at the right age, taking women judges. In the work envi-
their merit into consideration. ronment, being a woman would be
Can reservation for women in the more acceptable and not be seen as
higher judiciary help? an exception to the rule.
I would like to call it affirma- For full interview, log in to
tive action, and not reservation. www.theweek.in
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 49

JUDGES IN HIGH COURTS

TOTAL STRENGTH (sanctioned strength in brackets)
Male Female
Allahabad 77(160) 71 6
Hyderabad 23(49) 22 1
Bombay 62(94) 51 11
Calcutta 39(58) 36 3
Chhattisgarh 11(22) 11
Delhi 34(60) 24 10
Gauhati 13(24) 12 1
Gujarat 31(52) 27 4
Himachal Pradesh 10(13) 10
Jammu and Kashmir 10(17) 10
Jharkhand 14(25) 14
Karnataka 25(62) 22 3
Kerala 38(38) 34 4
Madhya Pradesh 39(53) 36 3
Madras 54(60) 49 5
Manipur 04(04) 4
Meghalaya 03(03) 3
Orissa 19(27) 18 1
Patna 27(43) 25 2
Punjab and Haryana 46(85) 39 7
Rajasthan 30(50) 28 2
Sikkim 02(03)
Tripura 03(04) 3
Uttarakhand 07(11) 7
J. SURESH

Total 621(1,017) 557 64

Statistics courtesy High Court websites, as on October 21

Misra. “I would say that this happens unconsciously,”
she says. “I guess lack of faith and belief in the abilities
of women is still rooted in society and more so in the
male psyche and we prefer to have their token pres-
ence, especially in the higher judiciary, more for the
sake of symbol rather than their equal participation.”
A major reason for many deserving women not get-
ting designated as seniors or not getting appointed to
the higher judiciary is said to be their inability to lobby
for those posts. “I cannot go to a party and hang out
there with the guys, holding on to a drink or bringing
a judge a drink,” said a lady judge in a district court in
Delhi.
There are complaints about lack of transparency in
designation of women as senior counsel. There is a
theory in the legal circles about how former Supreme
Court judge Ruma Pal was denied the chance of becom-
ing India’s first woman chief justice simply by ensuring
that she was sworn in later than a male colleague. Pal is
recognised as one of the finest judges the country has
had, and it is said that when she was on bench, she was
the one who really wore the pants.
Manohar points out that where an examination is
involved, there is a good number of women qualifying
as judges. “There are more women in judicial service as
the selection is by an examination and interview. Those
who reach the position of district judges are considered
for appointment as High Court judges. This is a slow
process and any discrimination in promotion would
affect a woman judicial officer adversely. This results in
less women judicial officers reaching the High Court,”
she says.
Supreme Court lawyer Sneha Kalita, who has inter-
vened in the apex court’s hearing on the National
Judicial Appointments Commission on the issue of
appointment of women judges, says a proper selection
procedure with transparency and accountability needs
to be set up. “There are many eminent women judges
and senior lady lawyers. Why should they not be cho-
sen?” she asks.
50
COVER STORY
Ripple effect: Former Supreme Court judge Sujata Manohar
says the inability to get cases is the main reason why
women are losing out on judgeship
A parliamentary standing committee on law and
justice has proposed reservation for women in the
higher judiciary. “The standing committee, in its
report in 2015, recommended that women should
have equal representation in the higher judiciary, and
to ensure that, reservation could be considered,” says
Dr E.M.S. Natchiappan, who is former chairman of
the committee.
This has, however, evoked mixed responses. While
some say it will help in increasing the critical mass of
women judges, making the workspace more gender
equal, there are others who say that there should be a
conscious effort to give representation to women, based
on their merit.
“Why should there be only one woman judge in the
Supreme Court, which is supposed to have representa-
tion from all over the country? You should have women
in the Supreme Court not just for projection sake but
because there are women who
merit to be there,” says Rekha
Sharma, former judge of the
Leila Seth Delhi High Court.
First female The scenario is bound to
Chief Justice of change in a few years’ time,
a High Court says Bar Council of India chair-
(1991-1996) man Manan Mishra, as more
and more girls are passing out
of law schools. “Only recently,
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
UK’s like us
The picture in the higher judiciary in the
United Kingdom is not very different
from India’s
In the Supreme Court, there are
11 justices, of whom only
1 is a woman
In the high court of justice of England and
Wales, as of July 28, 2016, there are 110
judges, of whom 23 are women—
20.90%
SAMEER JOSHI
According to the Solicitors Regulation
Authority, there are 9,000 law firms in
England and Wales, employing 1,70,000
people. Of these, female solicitors
account for
47%
However, only 33% of partners in law
firms are women
I was at the convocation of the National Law School
in Bengaluru, and of the 11 gold medallists, eight were
women,” he says.
In the 2016 Common Law Admission Test, 21,520 of
45,041 applicants were women; 23,517 of the applicants
were men and four were transgenders. Of the 1,974 can-
didates who cleared the exam, 810 (41 per cent) were
women.
Faizan Mustafa, vice chancellor, NALSAR University
of Law, Hyderabad, says most law schools have 30 per
cent reservation for women now. “The real issue is
good female lawyers of ten years seniority who are to
be considered for high court judgeship are not avail-
able,” he says. “This gap is soon going to be filled as
young lawyers from lower-ranked law schools who
joined practice or returned to it after corporate life of
few years after payment of educational loans are going
to complete 10 years soon. They are energetic, compe-
tent and assertive.”
The women in law may have changed, but will the
men in law also now change? ◆
52
US ELECTION
REUTERS
The desi
'Trump' card
The Indian-American vote bank may be
inconsequential, but the Republican candidate
is wooing the diaspora
BY REKHA DIXIT/Washington, DC
I
t was indeed an achievement.
On October 14, Donald Trump
attended a fundraiser organ-
ised by the Republican Hindu
Coalition (RHC) in New Jersey. It has
been the only event of an ethnic group
that Trump has attended ever since
he announced his presidential run.
The event was spangled with starlets
from India and had quite a turnout
of Indians who are ever ready for a
dose of desi naach gaana. Trump, of
course, aced the event by saying he
loved “Hindu” and that India will
have the best friend in White House.
The event was reported with glee for
people back home.
What did not get much reportage
was the gathering of Indian-origin
Americans outside the event, holding
“Not fit to be President” and “Dump
Trump” placards.
The Indian diaspora is quite small
in the United States. Yet, it tends to
be cliquish. The Hyderabadis stay
together, the Gujaratis congregate
at Swaminarayan temples, while
Malayalis seek other Malayalis,
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Indian flavour: Donald Trump with
Shalabh Kumar at a charity
fundraiser in New Jersey
as do the Bengalis.
Yet, there is a certain cohesive-
ness in the diaspora, especially in
their outlook towards their adopted
homeland. So, while organisations
like ‘Friends of BJP’ and Vishva
Hindu Parishad take a keen interest
in Indian elections, and while some
outfits have used these shores to fuel
separatist movements like Khalistan,
when it comes to affiliating them-
selves with US politics, there is a dif-
ferent set of criteria.
The rule of thumb is that the dias-
pora is largely Democrat inclined.
According to Pew Research Centre,
two-thirds support Democrats and
one-third, Republicans. “The new
migrant comes to work, and the
Democratic party is pro-labour. But
over the years, when the migrant
becomes a businessman, he may
tend to become a Republican sym-
pathiser,’’ explains Pawan Kumar,
author and IT consultant in Atlanta.
Shalabh Kumar, the founder of RHC,

who has contributed loads of funds
to the Trump campaign, started out
as a Democrat in 1969. He turned
Republican after interacting with
Ronald Reagan.
But with his anti-Islamic stance,
has Trump split the diaspora votes on
communal and other divisive lines?
Observers say there is a lot of under-
voting regarding Trump supporters.
So the real picture is unclear. Before
his event in New Jersey, research
showed that 70 per cent Indians
were with Hillary Clinton, and only 7
per cent with Trump. Post the event,
people feel that Trump’s espousal of
“Hindu” may not have had much vote
impact.
“Those who were voting
Republican would have done so for
any candidate from the party. In
this context, Trump is not the rally-
ing factor,” says Pawan Kumar, add-
ing that if at all the votes have been
split, it would have been in Hillary’s
favour. Several people have pointed
out that the hype was targeted at the
audience in India, especially in the
follow-up advertisement in which
Trump is made to say: “Abki baar
Trump sarkaar.” Scratch beneath the
surface, Kumar says, and Trump’s
ignorance of India is ridiculous. “He
mixed up the Mumbai terror attack
with the Parliament attack,” he says.
When Trump’s daughter-in-law,
Lara, visited a Hindu temple in
Virginia for a pre-Diwali celebration,
it was again more publicity than vote
garnering. The RHC is a newly mint-
ed organisation, formed on the lines
of, and with help from, the powerful
Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC).
As of today, it does not have clout. But
with Kumar himself having contrib-
uted $2 million to the Trump cam-
paign, it didn’t hurt the businessman
Trump to make an appearance at the
event.
There is the undecided Indian vot-
er—a rather slim percentage. Shalini
Das, for instance, is a registered
Democrat at San Jose. But she is not
a fan of Hillary, who for her embod-
ies all that is ‘stuffy’ and ‘Washington-
Interview/Ami Bera, Congressman
The entire
Asian
community
rejects
Trump
BY REKHA DIXIT/Washington, DC
C
ongressman Ami Bera
represents the 7th district
of California, which includes
Sacramento. It is apt that the only
sitting Congressman of Indian
origin be from a state that has a
high population of Indians. Bera,
who is seeking a second term, says
these elections are historic from the
diaspora's viewpoint. Excerpts:
This election is seeing several Indian
origin candidates with good chances
of winning. We should see more
than one Indian face in the Congress,
right?
I’m working hard to get re-elected.
Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois is
having an easy campaign. Pramila
Jayapal from Seattle is running a
tough race but is in a good place.
Kamla Harris (half Indian, half
Jamaican) is likely to get elected
to the Senate. From the point of
the diaspora, this will be a historic
election.
You think a strong contingent of
minority representation could
reduce the polarisation in the
country?
When there is more diversity in
the Congress, you can push back
rhetoric like Trump’s. That is why it is
important for people to participate in
these elections. This time, diversity is
not just with ethnicity, we may also
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 53
get the first female Indian American in
the Congress. It is amazing.
Has Donald Trump split the Indian
American vote?
His message does not have resonance
with our values as Indian Americans.
It is a young community, and diversity
makes us strong, not just in India but
in America, too. The entire Asian
community, not just Indians, rejects
Trump.
How much will the Congress and
Senate change in colour post election?
Hillary will be president. Democrats
will be able to get back a small majority
in the Senate and improve their
numbers in the Congress by around 20.
What will be the new president’s first
big challenge?
To bring the country together
after these divisive elections. The
Republicans and Democrats will have
to start to negotiate. We need a normal
Republican party. Trump is so out of
mainstream.
You accompanied President Obama
on his trip to India. How do you see
yourself in enhancing Indo-US ties?
I will continue to be the co-chair of
the Indo-US caucus. The diaspora will
have a bigger role in Indo-US ties. We
will take forward the momentum of
the Obama government to the Clinton
administration. It is not just the elected
representatives, but people like Rich
Verma [US ambassador to India] and
Nisha Biswal [assistant secretary of
state], who are key members of the
government, who help strengthen
ties between the oldest and biggest
democracies.
54
US ELECTION
Interview/A.D. Amar, president, Indian Americans for Trump
Trump will be India’s
natural ally
BY REKHA DIXIT/Washington, DC
A
mong the first of the Indian
diaspora to come out in support
of Donald Trump, Amar Dev
Amar took the lead in setting up the
political action committee Indian
Americans for Trump 2016 and was
elected its president.
The management professor at the
Stillman School of Business at Seton
Hall University, New Jersey, explains
why Trump is good for the US and for
India. Excerpts:
Trump’s campaign is losing steam.
No, his chances are better today than
at any point in the campaign. As
people get to know the candidates,
and are presented with facts, they
understand just why Hill-Bill are not
the right people to lead the country.
What are your observations on
Trump’s recently released 100-day
plan in office?
If he is able to achieve even half of it,
the US will be much better from the
point of trade, immigration, condition
of veterans and condition of inner
cities. America is in bad shape, and
Trump’s plan has vision.
A plan needs a team to execute it.
Where will he find people? So many
Republicans are critical of him.
Haven’t you noticed how many of
them are coming back? Nikki Haley
(South Carolina governor) who was
critical earlier says she’ll vote for him.
There are so many others, too.
Also, Trump is not a true Republican
or a Democrat, he is a mix. That is
why he is taking away Democrat
votes. Polls say 27 per cent of blacks
are voting for him, that will be the
largest number of blacks voting for a
Republican since the 60s. Of course,
he will be able to form a team.
But foreign policy will get upside
down. He has already said he’ll
chuck climate change commitments.
We have lost so much to China that
it’s natural for the nation to feel we
shouldn’t be helping clean up China-
created pollution. Obama inherited
a trade deficit with China of $226
billion in 2008. Last year, it had risen
to $367 billion.
The US doesn’t have jobs, 27 million
are on food stamps, 47 million below
poverty line. We have to increase
our manufacturing, not worry about
China’s air.
How do you think his relations will
be with India? We have made joint
commitments on climate change.
Trump will be India’s natural ally.
Republican governments are always
better for India. George Bush helped
improve ties, Bill Clinton just talked.
Trump says he likes Hindus. India is
not made of only Hindus.
It was a natural interchanging of India
and Hindu, something many people
still do. He is not against Muslims, he
is against Islamic terrorism.
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
centric’ in American governance.
“Trump made valid points initially,
but every time he says something
now, he just makes it worse for him-
self,” she says. Her vote would be
on informed choice, not swayed by
rabble rousing.
Trump supporter A.D. Amar notes
that the return of Nikki Haley to the
Trump fold and Bobby Jindal’s long-
standing support for the candidate
are significant.
“The Trump campaign has done lit-
tle to expand beyond his base,” feels
Frank Islam, a Democrat fundraiser.
Yet, Trump’s influence has been
important enough for candidates like
Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois—
Democrat running for Congress—to
say, “If a community does not have
a seat in government, it is not heard.
Yet, we have to reject calls from
Trump and others to divide us along
ethnic lines. This is the time to unite.’’
Trump had made fun of the Indian
accent when mimicking a call cen-
tre worker, who has “taken away
American jobs”. This was in the initial
phase of his campaign. Later, he said
he admired Indians and that is the
stand he has taken ever since. Even
during his final primary debate, it
was in a tone of respect that he spoke
about India’s 8 per cent growth rate.
The Indian vote bank is small—the
population is only around 2.8 mil-
lion, and not all are of voting age. Yet,
according to the US Census of 2010,
it is the fastest growing population,
having jumped by over 60 per cent in
a decade.
Again, just half the diaspora is
actually Hindu, according to Pew
Research Centre. Ten per cent are
Muslim, and 18 per cent—including
many prominent members like Jindal
and Haley—identify themselves
as Christians. The communal card
can have only that much effect on a
population that is so diverse, unlike
the RJC, which is religion centric. A
diaspora which wants to make itself
an important pressure group in
America knows it cannot do so on
communal lines. ◆
56 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
SOCIETY

WOUNDS TIME
CAN’T HEAL
Months after 21 people went missing from Kerala, their loved
ones continue to hope against hope

BY KARTHIK RAVINDRANATH

Missing and missed: Nimisha aka Fathima with her mother Bindu and
grandmother. The selfie was taken when she visited them after conversion
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 57

Faith first: Nimisha

before conversion

adne and Trikaripur, two quaint vil- recruited to Islamic State through
lages in Kasaragod district, were social media. The agency has report-
home to 17 of 21 people who report- edly sought Interpol’s help for inves-
PHOTOS COURTESY: BINDU K.

edly left to join Islamic State. tigations in Afghanistan and Iran.

Eleven of them were from Padne, Though the NIA has maintained a
and of these, eight belonged to the policy of limited media interaction, it
family of Abdul Rahman. As the keeps the affected families updated
66-year-old greets me in his bunga- of any new finding. That, however, is
low named Hamza Sagar, the turmoil no consolation for Firoz Khan’s fam-
inside him is clearly visible on his ily. People in Trikaripur remember
aged visage. him as a positive and vibrant boy,
He has been struggling to make and he was the one who called home
sense out of the disappearances of from Mumbai and said the others had
his sons Ijaz and Shihaz, and nephew 21, and Arshi Qureshi, an employee left. He was reportedly caught by the
P.K. Ashfaque along with their wives of Islamic Research Foundation. The Intelligence Bureau, and his family
and two young children. complaint had been filed by the broth- has not heard anything about him
Both his daughter-in-laws, Rufaila er of Bestin’s wife, Merin (Mariyam), since.
and Ajmala, were pregnant when they saying Bestin and Qureshi had forced His grandmother Mariyam is alone
went missing. Rahman says Ashfaque him and his sister to convert to Islam at home; his father is in hospital with
sent a message two months ago that and join Islamic State. Qureshi was a heart ailment. She says Firoz was
Ijaz’s wife Rufaila, 24, had given birth arrested from Navi Mumbai on attending chartered accountancy
to her second child. That was the last July 21. coaching classes. “If he does not
message, he says, from the missing On October 2, the NIA arrested six come back soon, his education will
lot. “Ajmala, 20, must also have given persons from Kannur and Kozhikode be ruined,” she says with tears in her
birth by now, but we have not heard districts for “conspiring to commit eyes, “I don’t understand why he left.”
anything from them. So I guess I have terrorist acts against important per- K.P. Ramanunni, a Kerala Sahitya
three grandchildren now, though I sons and places in south India”. One Akademi award winning author and
don’t know for sure…,” he says. more person, Subahani Haja Moideen, advocate of religious harmony, says
“We like to believe that they have 31, originally from Thodupuzha reading religious texts out of con-
gone somewhere to learn more about in Idukki district, was arrested on text can lead one astray. “This is not
Islam and are living a peaceful life.” October 5 from Tirunelveli in Tamil limited to the Holy Quran, even the
Rahman praises the support and Nadu for “joining and supporting the Bhagwad Gita can be read as a text
sympathy shown by local leaders. activities” of Islamic State. The NIA which justifies killing people. People
“The elected representatives here says Moideen was radicalised and have done that in the past,” he says.
have asked people not to isolate the
unfortunate families. The National
Investigation Agency has also been
very professional and have taken spe-
cial care not to hurt us,” he says.
The NIA took over two cases regis-
tered by the Kerala Police about the
missing youth in August. Seeds of fundamentalism are present in Kerala.
On September 24, it took over one There are groups who say that the Quran is the
more case, which the Kochi police
had registered in July against Bestin constitution or that Islam is science.
Vincent aka Yahia, one of the missing M.N. Karassery, civil rights activist
58
SOCIETY
“What is required is a progressive
understanding of holy texts. Rather
than copying things like goat farm-
ing literally, one must follow the
Prophet’s philosophy. Contrary to
popular belief, the Prophet did not
force people to join Islam, and he
showed tolerance towards Christians
and Jews,” he says.
Ramanunni says one should not
blame an entire community for the
mistakes of a few. “Our approach to
such problems is important. Muslims
here should not be isolated. Ours is a
pluralistic society and even though
religious fundamentalism has taken
root here, our secular fabric is still our
greatest strength,” he says.
Renowned writer and civil rights
activist M.N. Karassery says all reli-
gions are suffering from an overdose
of devotion and a lack of logic. “I see
these incidents as a higher form of
this trend. Our culture is influenced
by three thoughts, Anglicisation,
Arabisation and Aryanisation. The
last two are related to religion and
this is distancing us from logic,”
he says.
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Evidence trail: NIA
officials with Subahani
Haja Moideen in
Thodupuzha, Kerala.
He was arrested on
charges of supporting
Islamic State
Mansion of gloom:
Hamza Sagar in
Kasaragod, Kerala—
home of Abdul Rahman.
Eight of the missing 21
are from his family
KARTHIK RAVINDRANATH
“Seeds of fundamentalism are pres-
ent in Kerala. There are groups who
say that the Quran is the constitu-
tion or that Islam is science. If these
groups take up arms, that becomes
religious terrorism,” says Karassery.
Many of the missing youth appar- considerations,” he says.
ently believed in the Salafi argu- While the debates continue, the
ment that one cannot practise pure families of the missing youth live
Islam if one lives in an “unislamic on prayer, dreading the purported
nation”. Author and journalist P.K. IS link. Though many of them seem
Parakkadau says Salafi organisa- to be losing hope, Bindu K. from
tions should introspect if extrem- Thriuvananthapuram, whose daugh-
ist Salafism is making militants of ter Nimisha embraced Islam and
the youth. became Fathima, believes that her
He, however, says the media has daughter will come back.
been unfair to the Muslim communi- Bindu’s fight for her daughter began
ty. “There is more coverage of issues long before the missing 21 hogged
related to Islam than other religions headlines. After Nimisha failed to
in India. A more factual examination answer her calls in November 2015,
is required and equal justice should Bindu found out from Nimisha’s
be ensured for all, without religious friends that she had converted to
Rather than copying things like goat farming
literally, one must follow the Prophet’s philosophy.
Contrary to popular belief, the Prophet did not
force people to join Islam.
K. P. Ramanunni, author

Islam and was in love with a Christian
convert to Islam.
Nimisha later told her that she
had married the youth, Bexen who
became Eesa, and was at Palakkad
with his family. On Bindu’s com-
plaint, the police took the couple
into custody but let them off as they
were adults.
“After that I could not get her on
the phone, so I started messaging
her on Facebook. After about two
months I got a reply,” Bindu recol-
lects. Nimisha replied that she and
Bexen were going to visit Bindu at
Thiruvananthapuram. “She told me
that she wanted to see me. We share
a strong bond and I was sure that
she cannot stay without seeing me
for long. She told me that she would
be wearing a burka and I told her it
was okay.”
After Nimisha visited Bindu, their
relationship was mended. Bindu
accepted the conversion and mar-
riage, and they often talked on the
phone. Later when Nimisha became
pregnant, Bindu planned to go to
Palakkad to look after her. But before
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 59
PTI
that, in May, Nimisha and Bexen vis-
ited Bindu again and told her that
they would be going to Sri Lanka to
set up a carpet business.
Even though Bindu protested, The plot thickens: IS-inspired
they left in two days. “That was the operatives arrested by the NIA
last time I saw my daughter. They from Kannur and Kozhikode ; (top)
informed Bexen’s family of my grand- Arshi Qureshi, an employee of Zakir
child’s birth,” says Bindu. Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation,
Remembering an incident that was arrested from Navi Mumbai for
gives her hope, Bindu says, “When facilitating forced conversions
they went to Mumbai, Nimisha told
me that she saw a beautiful dress and
when I asked her why she did not buy
it, she told me, ‘what use is there in
wearing that dress under this burka’.”
“So I understood that she was not
completely convinced about her new
lifestyle,” says Bindu. “I firmly believe
that she was brainwashed and that
she will come to her senses. I hope
she will be able to escape.”
Bindu knows that even if Nimisha
comes back, she will probably be tak-
en into custody, but she says that she
will at least know where her daughter
is. She is prepared to fight tooth and
nail to bring Nimisha home. It is this
hope that sustains her. ◆
60
forecast ■ By K.K. Vamanan Nampoothiri
NOVEMBER 8 - 14
Aries
March 22-April 20
Members of the opposite sex
will adore you. You will be at
your creative and energetic
best. You will win over your
enemies in style. Cupid will keep your love
life sailing smooth. Some of you might
switch jobs. Events at home and office will
keep you busy. Spend more time with your
grandparents.
Lucky day—Friday: increase in income
Cancer
June 22-July 23
The single among you can start
scanning the matrimonial col-
umns. A family elder will guide
you. Your love for music and
literature will resurface. You stand to gain
from your relatives and they will stand by you
in times of need. You will be in the pink of
health. Dairy farm owners and agriculturists
should watch out for sudden losses.
Lucky day—Saturday: an outing
Libra
September 24-October 23
Globetrotters can get ready
for a long voyage. Teachers
and writers will be praised for
their contributions. You stand
to gain from family elders. Animal lovers
will have a great week. Students may face a
break in studies. You will donate to a chari-
table institution. Mother’s health needs
special care.
Lucky day—Sunday: cousin comes calling
Capricorn
December 23-January 20
A long-pending legal wrangle
might finally end in compro-
mise. You will get to spend
some time with your loved
one. Financial gains are predicted for insur-
ance agents and bankers. An auspicious
event will take place in the family. Put off
travel plans as you might suffer from respi-
ratory ailments.
Lucky day—Tuesday: party time
Taurus
April 21-May 21
A romantic tryst is in the off-
ing for the single-and-ready-
to-mingle. It might be love at
first sight for some. You will
be popular at home and socially active.
Prospects in business and horticulture look
bright. A legacy will come your way. Settle
your disputes with relatives at the earliest.
Sore throat could bother you.
Lucky day—Wednesday: a long journey
Leo
July 24-August 23
Workplace may not be friend-
ly; but continue to do your best.
A short job-related trip is in the
offing. Architects and interior
designers will do well. The unemployed get
their dream job this week. Think twice before
you take important decisions. Music lovers
have a week to look forward to. Health of
children might be a cause for concern.
Lucky day—Friday: new ventures
Scorpio
October 24-November 22
Your innate buoyancy will
see you through difficulties.
Apologise to your father if you
have had an argument. Some
of you may opt for a career in the armed
forces. Those who marry this week will get
a faithful spouse. Make the most of the
opportunity you will get this week to meet
people in power. Colleagues will be helpful.
Lucky day—Monday: good for studies
Aquarius
January 21-February 19
Agriculturists and bureaucrats
will reap benefits. Those con-
testing elections will win with
a thumping majority. Poultry
farmers will gain significantly. A good week
for people involved in social work. Cupid
will be benevolent; go ahead and propose
to your sweetheart. You have it in you to be
the best, so what is the worry all about?
Lucky day—Saturday: shopping spree
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Gemini
May 22-June 21
Writers have success to look
forward to. Bold and assertive,
you are made for bigger roles
in life. Police officers should
improve their relationship with their supe-
riors. Though a change of residence is likely,
you will get friendly neighbours. Be careful
while on the road. Do not hesitate to visit the
doctor if you feel indisposed.
Lucky day—Monday: a surprise
Virgo
August 24-September 23
Your interest in speculation
will be well rewarded. A child-
birth in your extended fam-
ily will raise your spirits. Your
ability to forgive and your courteousness will
be appreciated and reciprocated. Romance is
in the air. Expect a lot of visitors. Doctors will
have a memorable week. You will make new
friends this week.
Lucky day—Monday: new friends
Sagittarius
November 23-December 22
Ruffled feathers will be smooth-
ened soon. There is much to
look forward to, emotionally
and financially. A member of
the opposite sex will get attracted to you.
The friends you make now will stand by you
through thick and thin. Spend more time
with your spouse and children as family is
paramount. Time to get some exercise.
Lucky day—Monday: success in exams
Pisces
February 20-March 21
Academicians and scien-
tists will find their aspira-
tions fulfilled. This is the
time for that long drive you
have been dreaming about. Elders and
members of the opposite sex will shower
accolades on you. Property acquisition is
possible this week. Speculate with cau-
tion as you might face financial crunch.
Lucky day—Monday: persuasive best
62 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016

I
t was just before sunset. The crew of script I felt Cesar had his finger on an aspect
Thinking Of Him were preparing for a of Tagore that we, in India, are mostly ignorant
shoot on a platform under a mango tree about—that Tagore was a social activist and a
in Santiniketan. The scene was the fare- reformer who felt deeply about our tribal and
well gathering of Felix, an Argentine who had agrarian brethren and did something positive
taught at Visva Bharati. Renowned Argentine for them. Argentinians remain fascinated by his
stage and film actor Hector Bordoni was playing approach to education and liberal arts, which was
Felix. Director Pablo Cesar, also from Argentina, unique a century ago.”
wanted an emotional parting between Felix and About the Tagore-Ocampo relationship,
his student Kamali (actor Raima Sen). Banerjee said, “Theirs was a meeting of minds.
But, the shoot was stalled. The university told Her adoration of his creative intellect and his
producer Suraj Kumar that the red-cement- admiration for a woman of substance, who had
ed podium was sacred ground. It was where the sensitivity and brains to interpret and com-
Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi had prehend his thought processes.”
sat together to discuss national issues. After much The theme was suggested to Cesar by R.
coaxing, Sisir Sahana, principal of Kala Bhavana Viswanathan, former Indian ambassador to
(Visva Bharati’s art school), came to supervise the Argentina. “I knew that Ocampo was thrilled
scene. By then dusk had set in, and Cesar called reading the French translation of Gitanjali,”
it a day. Cesar said. “Her desperation to see Tagore,
He then held a rehearsal of the unfinished take, In the when he stopped in Argentina en route to Peru,
under a banyan tree close by. The scene had Felix moment: was something worth noting. She rushed to the
meeting his students one by one, and shaking Actor Hector hotel where Tagore was put up and took him to
hands with them. When it came to Kamali, Felix Bordoni, who her own place in Buenos Aires.” The house was
hugged her, prodding Cesar to shout, “Cut!” plays Felix, converted into a Tagore memorial after Ocampo’s
“No, the hug is not in the script and you on the set in death in 1979.
cannot do that,” Cesar told Bordoni, who looked Santiniketan Ocampo’s marriage was on the rocks when
perplexed. But, the director was adamant. He she met him. Her interest in him grew after he
later said he was being cautious, as the subject
of the film was delicate. A smiling Sen clarified,
“Bengalis are very sensitive when it comes to
Tagore. Indians are very touchy about their
legends.” It is amidst such restrictions that the
shooting of Thinking Of Him has been going on
in Santiniketan, Tagore’s workplace.
The film deals with a rare subject—the rela-
tionship between Tagore and Argentine writer
Victoria Ocampo. Cesar has taken up a controver-
sial issue that Bengalis avoid discussing in public.
A joint venture between Johnsons-Suraj Films
International and the government of Argentina,
the film will look at the platonic love and mutual
admiration shared by two intellectuals from dif-
ferent continents.
Thinking Of Him will be shot in India and
Argentina. It will be released in four languag-
es—Bengali, English, Spanish and French—with
subtitles in English. In Argentina, the film would
look into the relationship between Tagore and
Ocampo, between 1924 and 1930. In India, there
will be a parallel story between Felix and Kamali
in the present day. Actor Victor Banerjee plays
Tagore and Argentine actor Eleonora Wexler
plays Ocampo.
Banerjee told THE WEEK: “When I read the

returned home and dedicated the entire sec-
tion of poems, Purabi, to her. Tagore also gave
Ocampo the name Bijaya. He wrote: “Ami chini go
chini tomare, ogo videshini.... Tumi thako sindhu
pare, ogo videshini....[I know you, know you, oh
my lady, from an alien land... Like a foreign lady
you also dwell in a foreign land....]”
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 63
They met only twice. But, the bond lasted
from 1924, until Tagore’s death in 1941. Tagore
never saw Ocampo for the last ten years of his
life. After Tagore’s death, Ocampo wrote to his
son Rathindranath, “I am thinking of him....” The
film’s title is from this statement.
Cesar got access to many letters between Tagore
and Ocampo, with the help of the Argentina gov-
ernment. Things were not as smooth in India;
administrators were worried about a possibly
objectionable love story. The culture ministry
took months to read the script and green-light it.
About shooting in Santiniketan, the Union gov-
ernment washed its hands of the matter and left
all decisions to the university.
The main story is being shot in Santiniketan
and in Kolkata’s Jorsanko. Felix used to teach jail
inmates in Argentina and has his own psychologi-
cal issues. He often has unpleasant and stormy
hallucinations of his childhood. In Santiniketan,
Kamali helps him throughout his stay.
Calling the Once he recovers, he goes back to Argentina
shots: Director with Tagore’s philosophy, and shares it with stu-
Pablo Cesar dents there. The relationship between Felix and
with actor Kamali, Sen says, is “nothing physical, but as pla-
Raima Sen in tonic as that of Tagore and Ocampo.”
Santiniketan Scriptwriter Jeronimo Toubes said that while
researching he found that Argentinians were
convinced that both Tagore and Ocampo were
in love. “But we refrained from making it a love
story as we did not want to hurt sentiments of
Tagore lovers in India,” said Toubes. “There were
indications that they had more than just mutual
admiration for each other. But, there was nothing
concrete as well. Here we focus more on Tagore
being an educationist than a poet.”
Cesar said he was deeply influenced by film-
maker Satayajit Ray while working on this film. “I
broke down watching Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar.
Like Ray, I use long cuts rather than abrupt cuts
in this movie. Each day, we do only two or three
shots,” he said. The film will be released in April
next, according to the production house.
Tagore’s praise for Ocampo has been scripted
in his poems, songs and paintings. And, Ocampo
wrote about Tagore: “I could not count at this
juncture what western countries got from him.
I want his countrymen to know all this—his own
people, where he was born and died. I met him
during a springtime, when my country was full of
roses. Like those days, he is still connected to me,
close to me. He took me from a world of delusion
to one of reality and truth. He took me to the land
of a refined relationship.” ◆
 THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 65

MOVIE REVIEW BOOK REVIEW

Typical KJo flick A caged

BY SHALINI SINGH bird’s tale
I
n filmmaker Karan Johar’s candyfloss world, it helps BY MANDIRA NAYAR Exile: A Memoir
that the characters are rich, because then they can By T
B Taslima
li NNasrin
i

T
afford their heartbreaks, emotional indulgences and aslima Nasrin’s
the subsequent pain-turned-profound prose through story of exile is well
expensive trips in private jets, dancing to the trend of known. But, behind
silent disco in nightclubs and luxurious satin sheets. the controversies, and the
Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) and Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) the politics surrounding
meet at a nightclub in London, and after a drunken clumsy her departure from Bengal,
attempt at chemistry, turn into best friends. Alizeh, who is a deep loneliness.
has moved to London Exile explores this story.
following a heart- Nasrin’s side of the tale
break, spends her is often ignored because
time learning filmy of her statements. Exile
dances and languages. shows the vulnerability of
Ayan is struggling to living in a country where
do his MBA while his she might be protected, but
heart beats to become is not always welcome.
the next Mohammad She brings alive the
Rafi. Both share a love despair of being locked
for classic Bollywood up for days, and the sheer
songs, which gives Film: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil enormity of being unwant-
Johar a chance to doff Director: Karan Johar ed in a country that is clos-
his hat at iconic styles Cast: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, est to home. Evocative,
of the ‘80s and ‘90s, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma moving, honest and often
and refer to his earlier Rating: ★ ★ ★ censorious of several well-
films. known figures, the book is
But heartbreak must strike, and Ayan seeks solace and a glimpse into the claustro-
sexual expression in an older, nattily-dressed poetess, phobic world Nasrin lived
Saba (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), who indulges in lyrical in.
banter with her former husband, an artist, played by— “This exile, it has torn
surprise surprise—Shah Rukh Khan. me up, like a rabid animal
Love becomes a chhuk-chhuk train, one loves the oth- digging its talons deep into
er who loves another. There is some genuine acting by its prey. My house, my
Bachchan for a change and good work by Sharma. Kapoor cat, my books, my friends,
comes into his own with this one, in a role way better and and my life—I have had to
somewhat reminiscent of Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. trade all of this and more,
This candyfloss be made with a healthier sugar alter- in exchange for months
native? spent in uncertainty in an
What is central to the idea of the film is the attempt unknown dark, musty, old
to explore unrequited love through a complex idea of house,’’ she writes. The
friendship between a man and woman that must tran- interactions with her cap-
scend vanities and needs. Political controversy, call for tors—as she continuously
jingoism and refusal to work with Pakistani actors in the refers to them—are surre-
future did not dent the audience’s rooting for across- al. Sample a conversation
the-border actor Fawad Khan, when he appears in the between her and police
film as DJ Ali. The irony couldn’t be more apparent. commissioner of Kolkata,
Prasun Mukherjee:
must watch ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ excellent ★ ★ ★ ★ good ★ ★ ★ yawn ★ ★ Mukherjee: I suggest
Published by Penguin
Books India,
Price 1599
Pages 342
you go away for a while.
Nasrin: What do you
mean?
PM: I mean you have to
leave Kolkata, at least for a
few days.
TN: Where do I go?
PM: Go to Europe.
TN: Europe? But it’s not
as if I have a house there
somewhere!
PM: Then make some
arrangements.
The conversation goes
on, with him suggesting
that she go to the US or
anywhere else in India.
The hounding continues
and her landlady hikes the
rent till Nasrin is uncer-
emoniously flown out of
Kolkata. The book makes
for disturbing reading. As
does her stint in the safe
house, where she is not
even allowed a doctor.
Finally, she had to leave
India with a one-way ticket
to Stockholm.
The book is about sur-
vival. And, Nasrin is a sur-
vivor. Back in India now,
she writes in the preface
to the book, “Freedom of
speech is the freedom to
say something you might
not want to hear.” And,
this is a story—one that
India clings to as a badge
of honour—with a darker
side to it. ◆

EVENT
Language of languages
The ILF-Samanvay festival will delve into the mind
and meaning of languages in today’s time
BY SHALINI SINGH
O
n a Wednesday evening
in September at Delhi’s
India Habitat Centre,
what looks like any regular
weekday discussion is about to begin.
However, two experts, who would
make an unlikely pair otherwise, take
their positions on the panel. On one
side is noted environmentalist Sunita
Narain and on the other is food and
wine critic Sourish Bhattacharya.
The topic is ‘Soda Politics: The
Language of Sugar and Fizz’. The
title has been spun off from a recent
book—Soda Politics: Taking On Big
Soda (And Winning)—by American
public health scholar Marion Nestle.
The book is about the language used
by brand managers to make fizzy
drinks aspirational for its consumers.
Narain explains: “Advertising has
sold us water and sugar and created
an addiction. It is in with keeping
the interests of the sugar industry.
It is the regulatory failure on these
companies that [what] happened in
the US is now happening in India....
Regulatory science was weakened
through the language used to popu-
larise these products.”
Bhattacharya talks about how in
the battle of the languages, an alter-
native can be created. “Chefs at pop-
ular establishments are talking about
replacing sugar with alternatives like
jaggery and honey,” he says. “The
popularity of the ‘turmeric latte’ is the
language of alternative food now. The
idea of cool is changing.”
Language. The key word here. This
event was part of a monthly conversa-
tion series called No Tongues Barred,
a buildup to the sixth edition of the
ILF-Samanvay festival that will be
held in Delhi from November 5 to 7.
“Since last year, our attempt has
been to slowly but steadily evolve
a cultural discourse relevant to our
times, and not polemical or commer-
cial in its intent,” says Rizio Yohannan
Raj, writer-educationist and creative
director of the festival. “The aim is to
take people along, make them stake-
holders, which these year-long con-
versations unravelling the threads of
the main theme of the year try to do.”
THE WEEK Š NOVEMBER 13, 2016 71
Let’s talk:
(From left)
Sourish
Bhattacharya,
Satya
Sivaraman
and Sunita
Narain dur-
ing the panel
discussion on
‘Soda Politics’
The theme for 2016 is ‘Language As
Public Action’. Critic and professor
of Hindi, Apoorvanand, programme
curator for the festival, has designed
discussions for the main festival that
seek to raise questions such as: Does
language as public action only mean
‘protest literature’ and activist slo-
gans? In the age of social media, when
everyone feels empowered to express
themselves on their private wall with
the entire world as witness and target
at once, how do we place a plea for
responsible public expression?’
These questions will be explored
through panel discussions, an art
exhibition curated by independent
critic Deeksha Nath and supported
by the Raza Foundation, an art appre-
ciation workshop by critic Sadanand
Menon and a love poetry translation
contest, while speaker for the inau-
gural session, Gandhian activist Ela
Bhatt, will talk about ‘empowerment
as verb: the power of voicing’.
“This is a languages festival. There
are more than 3,000 languages in this
country. We have no record of many
of these,” says Raj. “In a year we can-
not represent all, so we choose focal
languages from different regions of
the country.”
Besides conversations, language
and cuisine will come together, and it
will include an artists’ counter where
recipes from participating writers
such as Volga, Patricia Mukhim,
Mahendra Majhi will be featured. ◆
76 The Week RNI.KERENG/36122/82, Registered No. KL/KTM/57/2015-17, Licence No. KL/CR /KTM/ WPP-05/2015-17.
Licensed to post without pre-payment Published on Friday 4th November 2016