The Prime Minister’s endorsement of the Ambani group’s new digital product ends speculation of the supposed distancing between Narendra Modi and Reliance and caps Modi’s long track record of corporate friendliness.
“NARENDRA MODI IS AMONG THOSE POLITICAL leaders who are unambiguously and aggressively corporate-friendly, but this must rank as the ultimate pro-corporate gesture even by his own phenomenal track record in this respect.” This remark was made by a senior Sangh Parivar activist when his response was sought on the Prime Minister’s presence in the promotional campaign for Reliance Industries’ new telecom network, Jio Digital Life. The senior activist, who had worked closely with Dattopant Thengadi, the late Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) leader who was also among the top leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), recalled the veteran leader’s vociferous criticism of neoliberal policies in the 1998-2004 period, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was in power. He pointed out, too, that such criticism was not possible under the Modi regime.
“There is indeed an understanding that the natural impact of the Modi imprint on the politics of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and perhaps on the Sangh Parivar as a whole is to restrain criticism of corporate bigwigs and their neoliberal pursuits. We saw this clearly right from July 2014, barely a month after he took over as Prime Minister. The early signals of this were visible in the heavily corporate-supported advancement of Modi’s Lok Sabha election campaign. Even so, it was unimaginable that this would reach the level seen in the Jio advertisement—a sort of personal endorsement of a private corporate entity, that, too, using a constitutional office,” the activist said.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 30, 2016 من FRONTLINE.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 30, 2016 من FRONTLINE.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
