Ashok Gehlot wants to change history. The 72-year-old, three-time chief minister of Rajasthan has lost twice before as an incumbent and he is desperate for it not to happen again in 2023. But it’s an uphill battle—the state hasn’t voted back a sitting government to power in nearly three decades. So even when he released Rajasthan Vision 2030 on October 6 (the government claims to have perused 30 million suggestions before finalising it), he was candid enough to admit that nobody knows who will be ruling the state then. Yet he wants to be known as the ‘welfare man’ of Rajasthan, and has spent crores on state publicity ads trying to cultivate that image. He points out with glee that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at his political rallies in Rajasthan, has had to promise not to end Gehlot’s welfare schemes.
The CM says the situation is different from 2003 and 2013 when he lost comprehensively. This time, he claims, there is no anti-incumbency, something that is borne out by the opinion polls that indicate a close fight, with the opposition BJP having a slight edge. One reason, he says, has been the focus, from the first year, on lastmile delivery of government schemes unlike in the past when it was just “sending a message through tokenism”. “I feared the BJP would topple us any time and it might lead to early elections. So, I was trying to be ready with achievements to show before the voters,” says Gehlot.
Denne historien er fra October 23, 2023-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra October 23, 2023-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
