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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jack Dorsey said India raided homes of Twitter's workers when the company refused to ban some accounts.</li><li>Dorsey said India, the world's biggest democracy, also threatened to shut Twitter down in the country.</li></ul>Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said India's government previously raided the homes of the company's employees when the platform refused to comply with censorship demands.Speaking on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS7xmb3UhCU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast "Breaking Points"</a> hosted on Tuesday by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, Dorsey recalled his dealings with powerful people attempting to influence Twitter's operations while he still ran the company."India is a country that had many requests of us around the farmers' protest, around particular journalists that were critical of the government," Dorsey said. "And it manifested in ways such as: 'We will shut, put her down in India,' which is a very large market for us.""'We will raid the homes of your employees,' which they did," Dorsey continued. "'We will shut down your offices if you don't follow suit.' And this is India, a democratic country."Dorsey's remarks come two years after Twitter began facing a wave of demands from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to clamp down on dissent and criticism on the platform.One major incident <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitters-india-standoff-dragged-in-journalists-and-activists-2021-2">involved the farmers' protests in January 2021</a>, when tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Delhi to object to agricultural laws. The Indian government asked Twitter to permanently ban accounts that were aggressively critical of the government, which the platform refused to do."In keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians," Twitter said in a statement then.Tensions escalated further when the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-indian-government-is-escalating-its-fight-to-censor-social-media-2021-5">government issued a law in May 2021,</a> which made tech companies and employees liable for prosecution and prison sentences if they refused takedown orders.The same month, police in India <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/24/22451271/police-india-raid-twitter-tweets-government-manipulated-media">raided Twitter's office in Delhi and Gurgaon,</a> as part of an investigation over the platform labeling an Indian minister's tweets as "manipulated media."On Tuesday, India's information technology minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, <a href="https://twitter.com/Rajeev_GoI/status/1668455627319033857">tweeted</a> that Dorsey's claim about Twitter employees' homes being raided was an "outright lie."Accused Twitter of "partisan behavior," Chadrasekhar said the platform had violated Indian law amid the local government's attempt to quash misinformation.Chandrasekhar did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Insider. Representatives for Dorsey's company, Block, did not immediately respond to a similar request for Dorsey sent outside regular business hours.

Jack Dorsey said India raided the homes of Twitter employees when the company wouldn't shut down accounts for the government

Gurgaon is home to many a BPO, MNC and IT office. Employees based out of the millennial city have to continue working from home until the end of July, according to state officials. Around mid-March, the Gurgaon district administration has issued an advisory asking companies to allow their employees to work from home. “As of now, it appears this advisory for work from home will continue till the end of July. All those who have offices in Gurgaon should continue to work from home to the extent possible,” said Gurgaon Metropolitan Development Authority CEO V S Kundu. He is in charge of handling the COVID-19 crisis in the district. Most companies have already declared that working from home may be the ‘new normal’ for them. They have also highlighted how there’s been an increase in employee productivity since the commute time has drastically been cut down. Most people, it would take at least one-and-a-half to two hours in either direction to travel between office and home. However, he pointed out that many real estate projects, including those which fall under DLF, will be allowed to resume work provided they follow all social distancing norms. “Construction sites where labourers are already staying on the site or those where labourers stay within walking distance are allowed to resume work while adhering to social distancing norms,” said Kundu. So far, there have been 51 reported cases of the Coronavirus in Gurgaon. Of these, 35 have recovered. Nonetheless, it has been declared a red zone by the Harayan government since it’s one of the worst affected districts in the state alongside Nuh, Palwal and Faridabad. Kundu described the situation in Gurgaon as “fairly under control” and said there is no evidence of community transmission. Gurgaon has effectively been under lockdown since March 22 – two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a pan-India shutdown to stem the spread of the disease. This gave the administration a head start and enabled it to handle the situation effectively, the official said. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/dhfls-kapil-and-dheeraj-wadhawan-taken-into-custody-by-cbi-for-role-in-yes-bank-scam-case/articleshow/75388823.cms">DHFL's Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan taken into custody by CBI for role in Yes Bank scam case</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-modi-says-indias-fight-against-coronavirus-is-people-driven/articleshow/75387305.cms">PM Modi says India's fight against Coronavirus is 'people-driven'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lockdown-may-be-extended-in-covid-19-hit-urban-areas-of-maha/articleshow/75386981.cms">Coronavirus lockdown may extend beyond May 3 in urban areas of Maharashtra</a>

Gurgaon-based employees may have to ‘work from home’ until the end of July, according to Haryana officials

A luxurious city with crystalline structures, sumptuous apartments, ritzy malls and shopping arcades—that’s what comes to mind when we think of Gurgaon. But behind the glossy veneer lies a darker side. Built as mandated by the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, which encouraged the private sector to develop huge land parcels and build apartment blocks and office complexes, Gurgaon is an example of poor urban planning, mismanagement and malfunctioning infrastructure. The city that aims to become India’s <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword> by 2021 has poor air quality, roads with potholes and chaotic traffic to show for itself. Also consider the absence of public transport; a water table depleting at an alarming rate of 2-3 m per year; 8-10 hours of daily power cuts; sewage spilling on roads in the absence of waste management; 50 per cent of the population residing in haphazard conditions; and a high crime rate. 
 To make Gurgaon truly smart, all these issues must be considered by government agencies and private developers. For its part, the <keyword id="2970864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gurgaon-government">Gurgaon government</keyword> has come up with a zero-outage target to be achieved within a year; this smart energy grid vision offers scope—and hope—for the city to become smart. Smart water management and conservation and rainwater harvesting would lead to availability of water 24/7 while recharging groundwater. To enhance infrastructure services, smart infrastructure design and planning are needed in sync with local government initiatives. To tackle traffic issues, smart integrated mobility would reduce private vehicular traffic by providing better public transport and last mile connectivity and prediction and mitigation of congestion would lead to better air quality. And the mammoth structures of glass must turn smart, adding intelligence to buildings to conserve energy, and become responsive and interactive in order to fulfil the demands of occupants. 
 
(The article has been contributed by Pratap Padode, Fouder and Director of Smart City Council of India.) 
 
Courtesy: <keyword id="2827653" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Smart-Cities-Council-India">Smart Cities Council India</keyword> 
<a href="http://india.smartcitiescouncil.com/">http://india.smartcitiescouncil.com/</a>

Way to Smart Gurgaon

<ul><li><keyword id="54572" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo">PepsiCo</keyword> India said within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as one of the largest Food and Beverage company in the country.</li><li>On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. </li><li>"While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and <keyword id="23943" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="beverages">beverages</keyword>," they said.</li></ul> In an interview with IANS, Vishal Kaul, Vice President &amp; Business Head, Beverages, PepsiCo India and Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director and Category Head of Foods, PepsiCo India said within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as one of the largest Food and Beverage company in the country. On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. "'As people adjust to the enew normal', in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. We are witnessing a jump in both penetration and frequency of our food and beverage categories. There is a growing demand for our larger packs as in-home occasions of togetherness have increased manifold. While the consumers are looking at in-home experiences and seeking convenience, they are also looking at value," they said. "While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and beverages," they said. "Even in the COVID environment, our categories are seeing robust demand and growth across most channels," they added. Q: How is PepsiCo India responding with its business models to the Covid-19 situation? A: The COVID-19 has led to a complete paradigm shift as everything around us has changed- consumer behavior, retail landscape, competitive environment. Very early on, we realized there was no playbook to tackle the COVID challenge and the situation would continue to change. So, we had to arm ourselves with taking quick decisions while not having all the relevant information. To help us navigate the crisis, we established 6 guiding principles: Being People Centric, Being Consumer Centric, Being Customer Centric, Being Community Stewards, Being Agile and Being Prudent. These were the lens through which we saw every decision and we empowered our teams for agile decision making. At a time when stepping out for even essentials was fraught with risks, making our product conveniently available for our retailers and consumers was a key focus area. Hyper-local delivery emerged as a solution and we invested in emergent channels like Ecommerce for both B2C and B2B. We partnered with Amazon, Big Basket, Grofers, Swiggy and Dunzo to ensure uninterrupted availability of our food and beverage products to consumers across locations with safe delivery-on demand for all our consumers. For B2B, we further strengthened our existing Distributor model with the EB2B model, where we partnered with Udaan and Big Basket to help small and medium businesses. This partnership ensured our product portfolio was easily made available to retailers, so that they can cater to demand in the market. Q: How does PepsiCo view the big jump in consumption of snacks and beverages at home? A: PepsiCo India has always kept a pulse on consumer trends and continued to develop its portfolio in line with what consumers want. As people adjust to the enew normal', in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. We are witnessing a jump in both penetration and frequency of our food and beverage categories. There is a growing demand for our larger packs as in-home occasions of togetherness have increased manifold. While the consumers are looking at in home experiences and seeking convenience, they are also looking at value. In order to serve the consumer better and rapidly adapt to their changing requirements we have introduced a 1.25-liter PET pack in our beverage portfolio at a very affordable price of Rs 50 which will enable the stay-at- home times even more special for our consumers. We have also introduced various combo packs for our food portfolio creating and further driving in-home consumption.Q: What are the investment plans for PepsiCo in India? A: Within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as the largest Food and Beverage company in the country. On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. This commitment is a part of our previously disclosed commitment to invest $5.5 billion in India and includes our plan to double our manufacturing capabilities locally in the next five years, to cater to the ever-increasing demand of our products among the consumers. In recent years, we have announced an investment of Rs 514 Crores in a new foods facility in Uttar Pradesh which will provide 1,500 direct/indirect jobs. We have also invested in increasing capacity at our existing foods plants in West Bengal and Maharashtra and have additionally proposed to set up a greenfield project in Assam. Q: What is the production capacity for the PepsiCo products, and has it reached pre-Covid levels? A: We have resumed operations/ manufacturing across foods and beverages in the best manner possible, ensuring that all guidelines regarding safety of our employees are strictly adhered to. In the current environment and limited workforce across shifts, we are trying to ensure that we can meet the demand and operate at an optimal level to cater to our consumers with their favorite snacks and beverages. Nonetheless, we remain committed towards our employees and our consumers and see an uptake in both supply and demand in both categories. Q: What has been the response to the Covid situation? A: As brands look at engaging with consumers, the first and foremost part is that the current situation requires brands to provide consumers with a seamless and safe buying experience. That apart, this is also a unique opportunity to build an even more authentic relationship with the consumers by listening to them and providing the functional and emotional comfort. While there have been new ways of ensuring consumers had 24X7 accessibility of our products in a safe and hygienic manner, Brands across the PepsiCo India portfolio have also initiated interesting campaigns rooted into insights that we mined through the real time social listening we do at PepsiCo For consumers, safety comes first, and they are now refraining from going to crowded places and prefer low exposure. Hence, we partnered with SWIGGY and Dunzo to provide our products across food and beverages at their doorsteps, 24X7. We also saw that with low touch format being the new trend, there was a need to work with our partners to find low or no touch solutions for dispensing water. After extensive research and trials, we were able to finalize the Aquafina Low touch dispenser model as a product that we could roll out now given it meets key criteria including safety of consumer,practicality as well as economies of scale. We also evolved in the way we communicated to our consumers with messaging that were more relevant in current times. For example, <keyword id="44672" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepsi">Pepsi</keyword> identified that while social distancing was the new normal, however a lot of consumers were either not aware of it or were not following it fully. Salaam and Namaste, which were deeply rooted into Indian culture are actually the best forms of contactless greetings, which was the need of the hour during the COVID times. In an endeavor to make these contactless Indian greetings a part of pop culture, Pepsi introduced a digital forward campaign that aimed at inspiring the world that greeting each other with salaam/namaste is a perfect way to ensure social distancing and yet maintain connections responsibly. It encouraged behavioral change through adherence to social distancing norms in an entertaining manner. The campaign broke all past records in India and made a meaningful impact to the consumers' lives. On the other hand, LAY'S, started a special initiative for the many unsung heroes of India - farmers, truck drivers, retailers, etc. e who continue to bring joy to millions even in these challenging times. The brand partnered with Smile Foundation to provide hygiene kits to over 40,000 families of such unsung heroes. These hygiene kits contain masks and sanitizers, to support these champions as they continue to work hard even in these unprecedented times. As part of the initiative LAY'S has also collaborated with leading Indian brands like Airtel, ICICI Bank, Parachute, Dunzo, Big Basket, JK Type, Vistara, Grofers and together have thanked millions of these unsung heroes. We also had other brands from our portfolio like Mountain Dew, Quaker, Tropicana etc do similar contextual campaigns and the response from the consumers has been overwhelming.Q: What have been the sustainability initiatives of PepsiCo? A: In its role as a responsible social citizen, PepsiCo India has taken several initiatives to contribute to the nation's ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of its #GiveMealsGiveHope global programme, PepsiCo India provided over 10 million meals to the underprivileged and marginalized families impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak across India. The meals were distributed in partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation, Smile Foundation &amp; CII Foundation, across the country. The company also extended support to the healthcare and diagnostic facilities by providing over 35,000 COVID-19 testing kits to government labs, supplementing their efforts to combat the pandemic. Furthermore, the COVID 19 crisis has impacted the restaurants and the workers significantly. It is forecasted that 4 out of 10 restaurants would shut down. Pepsi initiated a campaign #PepsiSaveOurResturants, an inclusive program where every time you order food and add a beverage to your order and it can be any beverage -- Pepsi or any other beverage, Pepsi will give that many meals to the restaurant workers who have served us. Pepsi partnered with NRAI and Swiggy to bring this campaign to life. The campaign has got great response as it has provided many consumers an avenue to support the restaurant workers who have always served them. Q: What are the changing consumer patterns expected due to Covid? A: The COVID-19 challenge is making both consumers and brands face a new reality. Consumer behavior and pattern is emerging and evolving at a fast pace. Some of the key insights that are emerging are as follows: #Mobile is the new TV: Consumers, customers, employees and our ecosystem partners have leap frogged towards leveraging digital solutions and the mobile is at the epicenter of all this. Be it work from home, communication to consumers, taking orders from customers or Ecom, consumers are practically dependent on their mobiles. They are consuming content online, buying online and even engaging with extended family and finds online. Therefore, it's important to jump shift this capability and work with the ecosystem partners to strengthen this muscle. #Value in Table Stakes: While value has always been important for consumers, going forward it would become even more crucial. The brands/companies who can re-engineer their business models to deliver this via an advantaged model, would succeed in the long term. #Hope Trust and Fun: We believe consumers would be looking at 3 emotional benefits and brands that can provide the same authentically, would be the ones that consumers would choose - The first is Hope. Hope is tied very closely to empathy. Brands need to be empathic and craft messages which are reassuring and relatable to consumers in these unprecedented times. - The second is Trust. Now more than ever, consumers need to see brands walk the talk in everything they do e whether it is the core product promise or leading a cause to support communities. -The third is Fun. Today, consumers are working twice as hard, donning multiple hats and with sources of entertainment and recreation limited, a brand that can that can present an opportunity for consumers to express themselves in a fun manner will be able to build deeper connects with the consumers The situation would continue to evolve and it is important we continuously have our ear to the ground and we keep sharpening the strategy basis consumer needs. Q: What are the initiatives to bolster the retail network by PepsiCo? A: The pandemic has given rise to a enew-normal' world and we at PepsiCo India have maintained a close look out on the evolving consumer behavior pattern to be better prepared for the future. We take cognizance of the fact that we need to cater to different audiences, be it consumers, partners, distributors through different channels. For the consumers, demand for online deliveries has soared since the start of the stay-at-home order. Thereby, it was almost imperative for businesses to enhance their Direct to Customer (D2C) channels like Swiggy, Dunzo to ensure we have exclusive e-stores and a mechanism to cater to our consumers at their doorstep 24/7. By tapping the 'Daily Grocery' on Dunzo's app, customers can visit the LAY'S E-store and get these products delivered within an hour of ordering. The initiative has currently been launched as a pilot in <keyword id="6354321" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> and will eventually expand to 4 more cities across Mumbai, Gurugram, Delhi, and Jaipur. For the beverage category, we have tied up with Swiggy stores where we ensure availability of our products to the consumer on demand and delivery within 2 hours. On the other hand, Aquafina has tied up with a micro delivery platform OwO is for expanding reach into "At -home" consumption of packaged water. From a consumer perspective, our research has shown that consumers prefer dealing with apps such as OwO as they find it convenient. For the retailers and wholesalers, an interesting emerging channel is the EB2B model, under which PepsiCo India has entered into deep partnership with Udaan and Big Basket to help small and medium businesses. They should always have access to our product portfolio to ensure that they always meet demand. On the other hand, we remain committed to the distributors and ensure that we grow them and grow with them. Q: How does PepsiCo view the recent agriculture reforms including the flexibility to farmers to sell their products? A: Let's talk briefly about our collaborative programme and how that is focused on working closely with the farmers and based on years of trust and relationship. At PepsiCo India, we are guided by eWinning with Purpose' - our fundamental belief that the success of the company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around. Agriculture is at the heart of PepsiCo India, and the companies relationship with farmers in India goes back 30 years. PepsiCo was the first company to introduce own researched processed grade varieties in India in late 90's. At present, PepsiCo is largest processed grade potato buyer in India. To fulfill its chip grade potato demand locally, PepsiCo developed largest collaborative farming for potato in India spread across 13 states working involving over 24,000 farmers. The potatoes are then processed in 3 manufacturing plants which employ close to 2,000 direct and indirect employees. The retention rate of farmers being part of the collaborative farming program is as high as 98 per cent. All the potato used in Lay's and Uncle Chipps is sourced from farmers in India e in fact, PepsiCo is the largest buyer of chip grade potato in the country today. Q: What are your views on the outlook for consumer sentiment? Is it an essential versus discretionary choice? A: India consumption story has just started and according to industry reports, India will be the 3rd largest consumption market by 2025. While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and beverages. Even in the COVID environment, our categories are seeing robust demand and growth across most channels. Our robust and balanced portfolio across "Fun for You" products like Pepsi, Lays Dew, Kurkure or "Better For You" products like Lipton, Pepsi Black or "Good For You" products like Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade are getting greater acceptance from consumers. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/after-google-pwc-india-declares-a-company-wide-holiday-for-its-employees-this-friday-offers-time-off-for-a-well-deserved-break/articleshow/77125627.cms">After Google, PwC India declares a company-wide holiday for its employees this Friday – offers time off for a 'well-deserved' break</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/mukesh-ambani-is-now-the-fifth-richest-person-in-the-world-according-to-forbes/articleshow/77105843.cms">Mukesh Ambani is now the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-hcl-tech-dont-want-h1b-ban-but-are-pocketing-savings-while-it-lasts/articleshow/77120776.cms">The H1-B visa ban is not what Indian IT firms want⁠— but they are pocketing some savings while it last</a>

PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as one of the largest F&B companies in India

The conservation and promotion of India’s art and cultural heritage aren't a national matter nor is it a big concern of the government. <keyword id="719465" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ayaan-Ali-Bangash">Ayaan Ali Bangash</keyword>, a known Sarod player thinks that Indian government is not needed for increasing popularity of Indian arts and culture,”It is very important to be connected to our roots but if you’re not able to capture the audience with your music, then you can’t blame any third party for not promoting your art.” 
 Very few corporate companies notably want to promote art and culture and <keyword id="28126" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="HCL">HCL</keyword>, foraying from it’s IT space, has been organizing HCL Concerts for over 18 years, dedicated to identifying, evolving and promoting talent rooted in the glorious heritage of Indian classical performing arts. 
 
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Concerts under the umbrella of HCL Concerts are organized regularly in Delhi NCR, Chennai and Lucknow across various venues throughout the year. These concerts are free to attend and are often enriched by the presence of luminaries in the field of Indian classical performing arts. 
 “You don’t know the kind of audience that your art will attract; Indian classical music is a sort of genre that sees a different kind of people and art has no space for clichés,” said <keyword id="6517626" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shubha-Mudgal">Shubha Mudgal</keyword>, who believes that HCL concerts have been marketed well to attract all kinds of people from all walks of life. 
 
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 Over the years, HCL Concerts has evolved into a unique platform for the exceptionally talented veterans as well as upcoming artists – be it dancers, vocalists or instrumentalists. Over 400+ artists have graced this platform and have contributed towards reinvigorating the Indian classical performing arts. While there have been spellbinding performances by legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt, HCL Concerts has also provided a platform for the rare genres of performing arts like Dhrupad, Rudra Veena, and <keyword id="4401683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaudiya-nritya">Gaudiya Nritya</keyword> to name a few. 
 
The recently concluded HCL concerts was a special one with it spanning over 3 days in Delhi NCR across Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida. 
 
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	 Artists like <keyword id="1277440" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amaan-Ali-Bangash">Amaan Ali Bangash</keyword>, Ayaan Ali Bangash, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Niladri Kumar, Purbayan Chatterjee, Rakesh Chaurasia, Shubha Mudgal and many more notable one were a part of this concert series and they had very interesting insights about what works and doesn’t in the current scenario when it comes to Indian traditional music. 
	 
	Amaan Ali Bangash, who is a popular Sarod player said that the perception that Indian classical music isn’t cool,” Very few classical musicians appeal to the audience whether it is Indian or otherwise. You might like Jazz as a genre even if you like one artist. The key is to find the artist or instrument that inspires you in Indian classical music. I don’t agree that Indian classical music is dying.”

Indian Classical Music needs a platform to shine and the government isn’t it

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet." 
 Asked Juliet one of Shakespeare's heroines- Well if you believe the current dispensation, everything. The 'symbolic' has become the real while the real issues are increasingly being relegated to the corners as non-issues. Case in point - '<keyword id="6361586" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gurgaon">Gurgaon</keyword>' or rather the new '<keyword id="6356789" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gurugram">Gurugram</keyword>'. Makes one think of 'Rishis, Ashrams, and the Mahabharata'. 
 Not the Millennium city it was once touted to be unless somehow the association in somebody's brain takes him to 'Instagram' the online photo sharing portal. Then too a little bit of thinking in this postmodern image driven world would reveal it is still not any closer to millennium city as was the original Gurgaon or the newer Instagram sounding 'Gurugram.' Amidst the jokes and the historicity debate that is being witnessed on social media about the renaming let us take a satirical look at the latest 'revolutionary step' of the <keyword id="74452" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Haryana-government">Haryana Government</keyword>. 
 
First, the decision to rename tells that we as a society have locked horns not only with our neighbours (which is justified considering they are also in equally adamant in locking horns) but also with our own past. 
 
This trend is a bit unsettling. Do we want to forge ahead and debate the city's or the gram's squalid infrastructure, and its problems of electricity, waste collection problems, problems of slums, health and dirt and dust one witnesses when one moves on the iconic roads here or do we want to debate the guru-shishyaa parampara of the yesteryears? And if we want to discuss both then in what order? Our problem it seems is that we want to correct all that is 'wrong' with our 'long' past and take India into a glorious future. But that cannot be done only by changing names (naam) but with some work in the city (kaam). 
 
Second, we tend to agree with the government's rebranding, not because of the sacred geography argument of scholars like Diana Eck, which lends credence to the view that ancient/ mythical is embedded in the geographical places of India. But because we tend to agree with Haryana government as it resets the narrative to the low expectations we should have of our cities and its people. 
 
The symbolic idea of renaming the millennium city 'Gurgaon' to a 'Gurugram' showcases the low expectations we have of our chosen policymakers and ourselves. Gurgaon, the millennium city, is to be replaced with 'Gurugram' the eternal village of the Guru. And being a resident of Gurugram all we can say is that since no work is being done on the ground, barring the perennial digging up and filling up of sections by private contractors the government feels that changing the name can work wonders. Sadly, it doesn't. All it does is that it makes things worse by focusing on the wrong set of challenges. The problems people face are not of a symbolic nature but of a real one. 
 
Third, the chain reaction post renaming of Aurangzeb road should not be stopped with immediate effect. After all Aurangzeb road as one of the main boulevards of Delhi was symbolic, and its replacement was symbolic, but replacing older names with newer ones for all cities and the boulevards, only shows we as Indians are engaged in mythical battles with our past. So we have had lesser battles on the left and right of the country's borders, and therefore, we have taken up imaginary ones with our past. And that is the third reason to go ahead and rename all the historical places with ‘correct versions’ however even post that the problems within places will persist. 
 
In a brilliant documentary on Richard Feynman, the physicist Nobel laureate - The Pleasure of Finding Things Out Feynman narrates the story of his father telling him about what a bird is. He goes on explain that when you know what a bird's name in various languages you really don't know anything about the bird- all you know about is what humans call a bird in different languages. 
 
So he goes on by mentioning that there is a difference in knowing the name of something and knowing something. The same is true with knowing the problems of Gurgaon and naming/ renaming Gurgaon. The renaming makes no sense until unless the basic problems of people are understood and taken care of by policymakers. And the role of government is not changing names of locations or boundaries under its rule the role of government in a democracy is to deliver on basic services like safety and security, healthcare and education to people. Hopefully, the government takes a cue and moves in the direction of working (kaam) and not just naming (naam) of places. 
 
(The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness &amp; Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal. Amit can be reached at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a> and tweets @kautiliya)

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