Ratan Singh, 80, has been with the Shiromani Akali Dal since he was a child. “Since voting began in the country,” he emphasises. A farmer who took land on contract, Singh rues that his ideological commitment has not passed on to his sons.
The elder one rents out combine harvesters while the younger is a naib subedar in the Army. “I am a pucca Akali, but in the previous elections, my eldest son told me he would vote for the Congress as it had promised jobs for the youth. I could not stop him. Congress leaders took an oath on the holy book to catch the accused in the [2015] sacrilege case. People were taken in,” Singh recounted as he left Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s rally in Samana in Patiala district.
“Six months after the government was formed, I [mockingly] congratulated my son saying my grandson had been appointed a deputy (a euphemism for a police job). He was embarrassed as he did not get what the Congress had promised. Now, he spent ₹30 lakh to send his son abroad. I have also told my grandson from my second son to prepare for IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and also go abroad.”
Singh’s predicament represents the larger issue in the state—the maniacal rush to go abroad. This is even influencing politics, particularly the country’s second oldest party, the Akali Dal. During the Samana rally, Badal repeated the promise he had been making everywhere. “We will give interest-free loans of Rs10 lakh to students who want to study in any university in India or abroad, for IELTS coaching, so that you do not have sell your land.”
In the Punjabi heartland, affected by migration, a ₹10 lakh loan for education abroad resonates. And the party is just responding to the aspirations of the young.
Esta historia es de la edición January 16, 2022 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 16, 2022 de THE WEEK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
