Sandeshkhali, in South Bengal, has always been in the eye of a storm. The riverine area, resting cheek-by-jowl with the Sunderbans and the sea, has long been pummelled by cyclones. But the continual tempest of tyranny that villagers, especially women, allege has been lashing them for over a decade has only just ceased. By all accounts, it's a tale of subverting justice and the wheels of administration for personal gain and influence. The undisputed villain of the piece, they say, is local Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his followers. The most damaging charge levelled against him: persistent sexual assault and abuse of women. As news of Shahjahan's arrest broke, it was women who burst into celebration, splashing colours and distributing sweets. And as INDIA TODAY visited the hamlet of Sandeshkhali-which is crisscrossed by rivers, making it practically an islandand neighbouring villages, it was women who spoke up most readily. They had reason to feel vindicated. Ask Urmila Das of Jeliakhali village, whose son has been on the run since Shahjahan's motorbike-borne men beat him up for not meeting their demands. Or her neighbour Shefali Das. "TMC men would ask us to attend party meetings. They would come at night and take us to party offices," she recalls. What happened at many of those meetings has made national headlines. "If they come out (of custody), they will kill us all," Shefali expresses her worst fears. Urmila and Shefali allege that all law and order issues would be directly or indirectly dealt by Shahjahan and his men, whose writ ran unopposed in these parts. Dissenters would be brutalised.
Denne historien er fra March 18, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra March 18, 2024-utgaven av India Today.
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He gave the beat to the world
He would pick up the rhythms of each experience of mobility and weave them into his taals. Thus it was that he reflected joy and laughter in rhythmic cycles...such was the magic of Zakir's fingersText and photographs by Raghu Rai
KERALA TOURISM CAMPAIGN, 1989 - TICKETS TO PARADISE
All it took was a catchy tagline-'God's Own Country'-for the world to discover Kerala's wealth of natural beauty. It remains among the best tourism ad campaigns, earning the state a place among top 10 international destinations
SPIRITUALITY - THE GURUS OF COOL
Among the cult Indian gurus, no one had a bigger hold on western minds than 'Osho' Rajneesh. He's also perhaps the role model for the enterprise-building gurus of today
RETAIL SHOPPING - THE MALL MANIA
Shopping malls, a 1990s innovation in India, changed the way the Indian middle class shops. Their success now lies in being 'shoppertainment' destinations, offering something for everyone
CULINARY RENAISSANCE, 1978 - TANDOORI NIGHTS
ITC's Bukhara and Dum Pukht turned the world to tandoori cuisine and had an enormous impact on the F&B industry. Decades on, they are still a pit-stop for celebrities and heads of state visiting Delhi
INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH - REVENGE OF THE NATIVE
Rushdie lit the way but Indian writing in English has taken a life of its own in the past few decades, with translated Indian fiction most recently having its moment in the sun
INDIAN ART - A BRUSH WITH GOLD DUST
The 1990s economic liberalisation came as oxygen, lighting up the Indian art scene. Today, artworks by established masters routinely go for astronomical amounts
FESTIVAL OF INDIA, 1982 - CULTURE CAPITAL
The Festival of India grew into a symbol of our 'soft power', introducing our art and aesthetics to a global audience while also helping rebrand our domestic products
THE INDIPOP TREND - DISCO GOES DESI
For ages, the film song ruled. Nothing else was audible. Then came Nazia, charioteered by Biddu, and Indian ears went into a pleasant madness. Literally, Disco Deewane. A whole genre was born
SHOLAY 1975 - THE BIRTH OF THE FANDEMIC
India had seen hits before. But Sholay seared into its collective psyche like a badland bullet. The effect was on a scale never seen before- one film creating a new mass folk culture. And a trail of monster blockbusters that still continues