For more than four years, the Narendra Modi government has had a monopoly on political messaging and perception management.
The Rafale controversy, triggered this time by former French president Francois Hollande’s comments that the French government had no say in selecting Reliance Defence as Rafale manufacturer Dassault’s offset partner, seems to have brought an end to it. The Congress has stepped up its attack against the government, accusing it of everything from corruption to crony capitalism. Leading the government’s fightback is Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said the Congress was trying to scuttle the deal to buy 36 Rafale jets from France. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, she said Congress president Rahul Gandhi was spreading canards in Hollande’s name. Edited excerpts:
How has your last one year been?
I am not sure I have even introspected on it. It was an opportunity I could not have dreamt of. [I am] extremely grateful to the party, and to the prime minister in particular, because this is not something which anyone can ask for. It was given and you have to live up to it. Till today they have extended every support. I have tried giving my best to it. Even the first word of advice which the prime minister gave me after the swearing in—after he came back from China—was: “You are not going to be the defence minister of South Block; you have to meet the jawans posted in different corners of the country. Not just to keep their morale high, but also to understand the conditions they live in. I took that seriously.
So you have been travelling?
この記事は THE WEEK の October 07, 2018 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は THE WEEK の October 07, 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
