Farmers in the BJP-ruled States of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, distressed by demonetisation and government inaction, rise in revolt and spoil the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious third anniversary celebrations.
HUMONGOUS WAS THE WORD USED WITH pride by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to describe the plans for the third anniversary celebrations of the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government when they were announced in mid May. The multidimensional celebrations that were to be conducted from May 25 to June 15 by the BJP, the ruling coalition and the government were programmed to start with the launch of the eponymously named event, MODI, or Making of Developed India. It was to be followed by Modi's’s address to the nation from Guwahati, the capital of Assam where the BJP was elected to power for the first time in 2016. The celebrations were to continue in 900 cities and towns across the country, with the Prime Minister himself participating in the events in Bengaluru, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune and other major cities. The plans visualised included Modi writing two crore letters and sending 10 crore SMS messages to common people, front-page advertisements in 400 newspapers across the country displaying Modi’s visage and listing his government’s achievements, 30- and 60 second advertisements on television and radio on all the 22 days of the celebration period, and 300 multimedia exhibitions in various States.Apart from this, each Union Ministry launched hundreds of booklets titled “Then and Now (UPA and NDA)”, evidently to highlight how the country had marched ahead under Modi’s regime. The agriculture sector, with particular emphasis on the socalled farmer welfare programmes initiated in the past three years, is given special focus in the booklets.
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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.
