Banking on fault lines to wrench open a divided Gowda family may be the chief minister’s fallback option.
As a north Indian driving through south Karnataka, I am struck by how clean and uncluttered it is. We make our way past grape farms and coconut palms on roads that are as soft as butter, even in the most interior and remote villages. We are traveling in a territory dominated by the Janata Dal Secular [JD(S)], former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s party. The fields are ablaze; the summer temperatures and the political weather make for some heated arguments under the watchful and menacing eye of the dhristi bommai, the talisman that is the local equivalent of a scarecrow and is meant to ward off evil.
This is the Vokkaliga—Gowda’s community—heartland, and amid murmurs of how the JD(S) can tip the scales in the case of a hung assembly, we line up to listen to the former prime minister speak. Spotting us in the audience, the man who famously described himself as a “humble farmer” deftly switches from Kannada to English for a few minutes. He uses that time to drive home to the people, many of them Muslims, that the suggestion that his party could join hands with the BJP is a “Congress canard” spread by Ghulam Nabi Azad. Curiously, he brings up the 2002 Gujarat riots and demands to know, “Where were all the secularists then?”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 20, 2018 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 20, 2018 من THE WEEK.
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
Themes Of Choice
As Savvy Investors Seek New Avenues, Thematic Mutual Funds Are Gaining Popularity
A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict