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Canada, Australia, the US still might be a hot favorite among Indians who dream of going and staying abroad, but the heart of non-resident Indians lies in India. No wonder, they are planning for a ‘ghar wapasi’ considering the pace of recovery that India’s economy has shown in the recent past. 
 
A recent Economic Times report reveals that the trend of Indians returning from abroad to work here has picked up pace with the recovery in the country's economy. The reasons for the homing pigeons coming back to their lofts are quite similar — family matters and better job prospects, the report mentioned. 
 
So, who all are coming back? IT professionals? Doctors? Everyone say recruitment experts, who feel that it is a more broad-based trend encompassing sectors like banking and finance, pharma, auto, textiles and food processing. Moorthy K Uppaluri, CEO, Randstad India, told ET that with the recovery of the Indian economy and increase in the number of Indian companies looking to expand globally, there is a definite rise in the number of Indian repatriates. 
 Better prospects and avenues in the country are some of the factors, which <keyword id="58225" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NRIs">NRIs</keyword> are considering to come back to India. The fact that salaries in the West and India are now almost at par is also helping them take this decision. Uppaluri told ET, "About a decade ago, the difference in the junior and middle levels was as much as 75%, and at the top management level it was about 50% to 60%. Today, the difference at the junior and middle levels is about 50%, and at the top it's just about 30% to 40%." 
 
Nilay Khandelwal, regional director, Michael Page, a recruitment firm also agrees. He told the financial daily, “The gap has been reduced as the early movers had a better advantage than people moving at later stages. So, for example, a 40-50% premium in the past is now reduced to 20-30%." 
 Foreign banks have started witnessing this reversal of brain drain. "We have seen a lot of interest across the developed markets from managers wanting to relocate to India, whether for personal or professional reasons. In the last 18 months, the trend of returning Indians has gathered momentum," Anuranjita Kumar, chief HR officer, Citi South Asia told ET. "The last time around when we witnessed such a trend was a decade ago between 2005-07 when Indian <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> growth was around 8% to 9%. However, following the subsequent uncertainty surrounding the global financial crisis and lower growth in India, the trend plateaued out," said Kumar.

‘Ghar wapsi’ of a lucrative kind!

As politicians are openly making a Peepli Live moment out of the unfortunate lynching incident in Dadri, the pertinent question to ask is why the Prime Minister of our country silent on the matter. 
 As we all know, a man was lynched for allegedly eating beef on <keyword id="30760" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="eid">Eid</keyword>. Then there was a riot-like situation because the relatives of the deceased were not allowed to be a part of the funeral procession. As if this was not enough, our politicians went on to use the incident to fan communal passion. 
 
But that’s not even the point. The point is, since when did India become such a regressive country? We thought we are democratic and it’s disturbing to see the silence of our Prime Minister when the fundamental rights of a common man are being brutally violated in front of his eyes. 
 
Frustrated as we may feel, this is not the first time India has felt disappointed by Modi’s silence on matters where he should have taken a stand for the sake of preserving the fundamental rights of different communities. 
 
Here are 5 such instances when we saw him become a mute spectator and watch our democratic rights get compromised: 
 
Attack on innocent seers in Varanasi 
 
Sadhus and their supporters were taking out a procession for Lord Ganesha's idol immersion in Varanasi when they were suddenly lathicharged by cops. It’s a ritual followed by seers for decades. And, there was no law and order problem in the area. Where then was the need to lathicharge them. 
 
Seers were denied their right to worship the way they wanted, but Modi remained silent. 
 
Vyapam scam and Lalitgate controversy 
 “Neither will I catch the corrupt, nor will I allow others to do it,” Modi had said after becoming the Prime Minister. When the time came and two mega scams involving two of his Chief Ministers – <keyword id="6355111" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sushma-Swaraj">Sushma Swaraj</keyword> and Shivraj Singh – came to the fore, his double speak was exposed. He failed to initiate action against them despite evidences. 
 
Thousands of Vyapam victims were denied their right to justice, but Modi remained silent. 
 
Attack on Christian places of worship 
 
Five churches were attacked in two and a half months and holy relics and holy communion were destroyed. As Christian men, women, elderly, priests matched towards Home Minister’s house as a mark of protest, they were picked up by cops and forced into buses. They wanted security. 
 
They wanted their right to live freely in a secular country and not be discriminated against, but Modi watched on, silently. 
 
Forced conversion row also called ‘<keyword id="6464685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ghar-wapsi">Ghar Wapsi</keyword>’ 
 
It’s one thing to not like another religion and it’s another thing to forcibly convert someone to another religion. Both are condemnable in a democratic country like ours. Hindutva hotheads backed, by the VHP and the RSS (Modi's alma mater), went on to convert poor non-Hindus to Hinduism. 
 
People wanted their right to observe the religion of their choice, but again, Modi maintained silence. 
 
Beef ban controversy 
 
Meat lovers in Maharashtra were left heart-broken when Maharashtra's BJP government backed by the NDA at the Centre brought a ban on slaughtering of cows, bulls and buffaloes. Bizarre as it seemed, all limits of religious intolerance were crossed when a 50-year-old man Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched and his son Danish (22) was brutally beaten up as punishment for allegedly eating beef on Eid and 'storing it' for later consumption. 
 
Only two days back, 6 students of a leading government-aided college in Thrissur, Kerala were suspended for conducting a ‘beef festival’ inside the campus to protest against the lynching of Akhlaq. 
 
Amid all of this, Modi is still silent. 
 
If not for the sake of preserving our rights, you should at least talk tough on such issues for safeguarding your own image, Mr Modi, otherwise it looks like you approve of such heinous crimes. Whatever happened to your poll promise of carrying 125 crore Indians together with 'sabka saath, sabka vikas, we wonder. 
 
(Image credit: indiatimes)

5 times PM Modi’s silence has left our democratic rights compromised

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy and political ideology being mismatch have raised new question mark in US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report. As reported by The Economic Times, USCIRF has slammed the BJP Government on the 'Ghar Vapasi' campaign and the violence against Christians. The only respite for Modi is his statement in mid-February in support of religious freedom, which has been deemed by USCIRF as "positive development". 
 
The annual report of USCIRF mentions, since Modi has come to power, religious minority communities have been subject to "derogatory comments by politicians linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)" and "numerous violent attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups" such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). 
 
 
In a chapter on India, the report reads, “The states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan tend to have the greatest number of religiously-motivated attacks and communal violence incidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and religious leaders, including from the Muslim, Christian, and Sikh communities, attributed the initial increase to religiously-divisive campaigning in advance of the country's 2014 general election.” 
 
“Religious minority communities frequently accuse the RSS, VHP and other Hindu-nationalist groups and individuals of intolerance, discrimination, and violence against them, the report adds. Moreover, religious minority communities voice concern that high-ranking BJP members protect or provide support to these groups. In light of these concerns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in support of religious freedom made in mid-February 2015 was a positive development," the USCIRF report further read. 
 
As per the news report, USCIRF report adds that the Muslim community in India also has experienced increased harassment and violence. "It faces significant hate campaigns perpetrated by Hindu nationalist groups and local and state politicians that include wide- spread media propaganda accusing Muslims of being terrorists; spying for Pakistan; forcibly kidnapping, converting, and marrying Hindu women; and disrespecting Hinduism by slaughtering cows. Additionally, the Muslim community reports that its mosques are monitored and young boys and men are detained indiscriminately under the pretext of countering terrorism. Muslims also complain that most Indian states violate their religious freedom by restricting or banning cow slaughter, which is required for Muslims during Eid al-Adha," the report has said. 
 
In what may sound rough to Modi’s liking for the US, the financial daily report, the USCIRF has further urged the US government to urge the central Indian government to press states that have adopted anti-conversion laws to repeal or amend them to conform with internationally recognised human rights standards and make clear US opposition to laws that restrict freedom of thought and association. It has further asked the US to urge Indian government to publicly rebuke government officials and religious leaders that make derogatory statements about religious communities, as per the USCIRF report. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

The US didn’t like India’s ‘ghar
wapsi’

Is the map changing? Bay Area has shifted to Bengaluru. 
 Ruling political party at the Centre had made a war cry of ‘<keyword id="6464685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ghar-wapsi">Ghar Wapsi</keyword>’ that invited a lot of criticism in the recent past. But, the message, though not targeted have had a far reaching effect. 
 
The top Indian talents from iconic American tech giants are shifting their base to Indian startups. 
 As per a news report in The Economic Times, from <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> to <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, from Disney and <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> to Zomato, from <keyword id="111839" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Symantec">Symantec</keyword> to <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, and more, the shift is prominent. 
 <keyword id="143828" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vivek-Wadhwa">Vivek Wadhwa</keyword>, entrepreneur-turned-academic and sharp <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> watcher, told the ET, "India is the new land of opportunity for these Indians who had left home." 
 Or as <keyword id="2863624" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tanmay-Saksena">Tanmay Saksena</keyword>, a <keyword id="33081" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Stanford">Stanford</keyword> graduate who quit his job as a <keyword id="2863468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="vice-president-at-Disney">vice-president at Disney</keyword>'s Palo Alto, California, offices to join Zomato, said: "India is smelling like the Silicon Valley." 
 
Saksena and many others are being wooed by at least half-adozen Indian startups valued anywhere between $1 billion and $15 billion. All salaries look handsome and Silicon Valley-competitive in dollar terms, and most assignments involve complex technology solutions for the mobile platform. 
 
What's more, startups such as Zomato, whose restaurant discovery app is now present in 22 countries, are articulating their ambitions on a global scale. For Silicon Valley's top talent, nothing attracts more than a mission to dominate the world. "The idea is always world domination, if you speak anything less than that, you are not ambitious enough. 
 
When I was with Disney, it was the same thing. If I work with a company, I don't want small goals, I want to rule the world, and I sensed it here at Zomato," said Saksena. 
Even salaries remain the same! 
 Earlier this year in March, two of Google's engineering VPs - <keyword id="2863623" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Piyush-Ranjan">Piyush Ranjan</keyword> and <keyword id="278552" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Punit-Soni">Punit Soni</keyword> - relocated from the Bay Area to work with India's largest ecommerce company Flipkart. Both are being paid Valley salaries too - $5-6 million annual packages. 
 
"This mark is unbelievable. It's so intense and fastmoving," said Soni. "Coming from Bay Area, I never thought I'd do this, but it's just a whole new level of intensity here. I never thought I'd say that," he said. 
 
Soni moved back from the Bay Area to join Flipkart and wants to attract more global talent to his team. "I have no personal reasons to be here. 
 I'm coming here because this is the most interesting thing that I found at this point in my career to do," said Soni, who has spent nearly a decade at Google's headquarters in <keyword id="108002" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mountain-View">Mountain View</keyword>. <keyword id="802" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaurav-Gupta">Gaurav Gupta</keyword>, who spent over a decade in the Valley working with <keyword id="6390344" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cisco">Cisco</keyword> and Symantec apart from several startups in the Bay Area, joined ecommerce company Snapdeal on Wednesday. 
 "Most of us always have an eye on the motherland; this time it's fascinating to see India emerge as a <keyword id="2864028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="producer-of-technology">producer of technology</keyword>, not just a consumer," said Gupta. 
 
"History is witness to the savviest, smartest and most entrepreneurial people usually going off to crazy places at regular intervals. This is relatively reasonable," said Soni of Flipkart. 
 Namita Gupta, a mother of two who headed Facebook's Global Games Partner Engineering in the Bay Area until last year, joined Zomato as <keyword id="284214" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="chief-product-officer">chief product officer</keyword>.

​It’s Ghar Wapsi for the Indian talents in Silicon Valley. Thanks to the startups

India was a much dimmer country before 2016. Not in terms of lights or minds — of which we certainly boast no dearth — but in the vast number of smartphone users that remained muffled under the oft-unreachable cost of network and <keyword id="22362423" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-prices" source="keywords">data prices</keyword>. Then <keyword id="19906886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio" source="keywords">Jio</keyword> entered the market, and nothing was ever the same. With the price of 1GB of data the same as a packet of chips, browsing the internet was no longer just a luxury exclusive to urban residents. The massive disruption that <keyword id="19896911" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Jio" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reliance Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> wrenched into reality with its hyper-competitive prices paid off well, with the company commanding 35% of the market a mere five years after launch. Meanwhile, a struggle to compete with private players eroded the government telecommunication firm <keyword id="19970536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSNL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BSNL" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BSNL">BSNL</keyword> to a paltry shade of its former glory. By 2019, reports showed that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-47537201">India had the cheapest mobile data</a> in the world. However, fast forward about eight years since Jio’s launch, and we seem to be on the brink of a nationwide preference reversal. Earlier this month, Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone announced massive <keyword id="20635946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tariff-hikes" source="keywords">tariff hikes</keyword> in their prepaid and postpaid plans, increasing data rates by around 30% in some cases. Further, the telcos even removed the ‘unlimited 5G’ features from many of the more affordable plans. These changes, quite understandably, did not sit well with the networks’ users, many of whom had become dependent on <keyword id="164095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-data" source="Orion">mobile data</keyword> for daily work. <h2>Netizens call for boycott of private providers</h2>As a result, #JioBoycott quickly began to make rounds on social media. Many also advocated for a move towards BSNL, as evidenced by the ‘BSNL ki ghar wapsi’ trend, noting how the state-owned telecom company had far cheaper plans compared to these private organisations. However, BSNL has suffered from a shrinking subscriber base for years now, a pattern stemming from many factors, such as an inability to keep up with advancements in technology. For instance, the company is still working on the rollout of its pan-India <keyword id="20280303" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="4G-network" source="keywords">4G network</keyword>, while private players such as Jio not only have the same established but have also deployed next-gen <keyword id="20041753" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="5G-services" source="keywords">5G services</keyword> in hundreds of cities. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111331794" title="Reliance Jio and Airtel price hike – new plans and how you can save money" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, BSNL has since taken matters into their own hands and has offered two new affordable plans in a bid to push unsure netizens back into their backyard. In response, Jio quietly introduced three new ‘True Unlimited Upgrade’ add-on plans. As the second network war grinds into gear, let’s look at whether the decision to port to BSNL will prove to be a good one. <h2>BSNL pricing and comparison</h2>From a price standpoint, BSNL certainly seems like the best choice. While Jio, Airtel, and Vi all provide monthly data packs for Rs 299, a similar BSNL pack — with arguably better features — only costs Rs 199. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111512587" title="Jio vs Airtel vs Vi recharge plans comparison – plan benefits and price comparison after tariff hike" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Further, the state-owned network has introduced a new plan for Rs 249, which allows for 2 GB of internet usage per day for 45 days. For comparison, a similar Rs 249 plan from Jio and Airtel only allows 1 GB for 28 days. Vi allows a slightly higher per day usage at 1.5 GB, but still falls short of the BSNL precedent. All of these packs come with unlimited calls and the same number of SMS allowances. <h2>How fast is BSNL compared to other providers?</h2>If you’re downloading a ton of stuff, go for BSNL. However, if you need it done quickly, you’re probably better off with another provider. As per data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2022, Jio continues to lead the pack with an average 4G download speed of 21.21 mbps. VIL and Bharti Airtel follow at 17.9 mbps and 13.7 mbps. Our underdog BSNL caps out at 6.1 mbps. However, the gap is significantly smaller when it comes to upload speed. While VIL takes the lead this time at 8.2 mbps, the remaining private providers clocked somewhere between 7.3 and 6.1 mbps. BSNL, once again, was the slowest at 5.1 mbps. It may also be notable that the post-cap speed — the speed after you reach your daily data limit — is slightly higher for private providers. While Jio and Airtel provide a post-cap speed of 64 Kbps, BSNL’s speed falls to just 40 Kbps. <h2>How fast does my net even need to be?</h2>With all these speed discussions, it’s natural to ask: how fast does my net even need to be? The answer differs from usage to usage and from platform to platform. If you ask streaming apps such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, they recommend at least 12 mbps for regular use and at least 40 mbps for HD streaming. But you can also make do with 8 mbps if you’re streaming at a lower quality. However, if you want to play online mobile games such as PUBG, many recommend a minimum download speed of 24 mbps and an upload speed of 8 mbps. If you are a regular video-conferencer and want an HD experience, Google recommends a minimum bandwidth of at least 4 mbps if there are 10 video call participants present. Outbound signals must be at least 3.2 mbps. <h2>Coverage and consistency</h2>BSNL has garnered somewhat of a reputation as the network for the adventurer, especially in rural parts of India. While it is difficult to find statistics for that conclusion, the people of rural India have a clear favourite. As per 2023 TRAI data, <a href="https://m.economictimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/jio-cements-rural-dominance-in-july-jiobharat-likely-adding-to-growth-analysts-say/articleshow/104092156.cms">Jio commanded the largest number of rural users in July</a>, far higher than its private competitors as well. However, it may be notable that the government has announced phase-wise plans to provide 4G connectivity to India’s some 45,000 odd villages. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111519009" title="Reliance Jio IPO – Mukesh Ambani-led telco might be gearing up for India’s biggest IPO" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Meanwhile, there is a clear and resounding winner when you look at the figures for common locations, such as places where most users live, work, and travel. <a href="https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2023/04/india/mobile-network-experience">Opensignal’s April 2023 industry report </a>gives the crown to Jio for all coverage and consistency metrics in this matter. Some of these categories include Availability (percentage of time connected to 3G or a better signal), 4G Coverage Experience (mobile coverage experience in users’ everyday locations), and Consistent Quality metrics (percentage of tests that meet minimum performance expectations, such as watching videos, playing games, and attending video conference calls). It may be notable that BSNL scores poorly on all of these Opensignal metrics. For instance, Jio passed 63% of the tests conducted to see how the network performs under pressure, such as in the case of streaming HD videos. While Vi and Airtel scored in the 50s, BSNL scraped through an abysmal 13% of the tests. Even when the tests weren’t very demanding, such as in the case of general browsing, Jio passed 84% of the tests, while BSNL only passed 37%. A similar story arises when the 4G Coverage Experience is discussed. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111129665" title="Reliance Jio and Airtel add nearly 3.5 million subscribers in April 2024" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>These figures make more sense when you look at the infrastructure involved. While BSNL is working on installing 1 lakh 4G base stations by the end of this year, Jio already boasts approximately 5.32 lakh 4G LTE stations that cover 95% of India’s population. These results do little to paint BSNL in an exceptional light. However, there are promising plans in motion that could improve the quality of services. For instance, BSNL authorities <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-bsnl-4g-stack-to-be-upgraded-to-5g-by-year-end-vaishnaw-3100885/">told the Financial Express</a> that its 4G network will serve as the foundation for future upgrades to 5G, which could help with the provider’s speed issues. However, only time — and perhaps a little bit of trust — will decide the outcome.

As netizens trend #BoycottJio, can BSNL capitalise to reclaim past glory in new telecom war?

The just concluded winter session of <keyword id="145182" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Parliament">Indian parliament</keyword> will go down in the history for more reasons than one. It was just this time around that religious issues rocked the Parliament than anything else. Whether it was an inciting speech by a minister of state rank Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti or the opposition holding the Rajya Sabha at ransom over ‘ghar wapsi’ being carried out by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Sangh Parivar; the Parliament developed a deep gash during this session. 
 Opposition kept insisting that the <keyword id="71" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Minister">Prime Minister</keyword> addresses the Parliament over these issues. While Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> did give statement on the comments made by Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Ghar Wapsi was something he didn’t want to mess with. He stayed away even while the opposition parties demanded his explanation on the issue. 
 It isn’t that this is the first time Parliament went this bad over PM’s presence in the house. In December 2009, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stayed away from the Parliament for most of the session while the now ruling BJP sat in the opposition. Tables have turned now, with majority of BJP MPs occupying the seats. Though Congress and other parties have less or miniscule presence in <keyword id="6355187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword>, it was through the Rajya Sabha that the opposition parties decided to wield their swords over. 
 
In all, the winter session of the Parliament was a mix of controversy and passing of bills. Though the government managed to pass a number of legislations over some key bills that were aimed at reformation such as coal blocks allocation and insurance bill; the end result was a little less tangible than desired. 
 
The month-long session saw Lok Sabha set a record of sorts by passing 18 legislations in 22 sittings, including coal mines allocation and labour laws. 
 
A good three hours were lost owing to disruptions initially over Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s remark which left Prime Minister Modi more than red-faced. This over, the crucial time at Rajya Sabha was taken over by opposition creating ruckus over Sangh Parivar’s, perhaps badly-timed programme such as Ghar Wapsi where Muslims and Christians were brought back into the folds of Hindu religion, albeit clouded in grey shades. 
 
Though RS passed 12 bills through 22 sittings, 62 hours were lost over issues that involved religious conversions and bringing back the black money into India. 
 The reforms agenda suffered a major hit with insurance laws which were to raise the cap of FDI remaining pending. The coal mines bill that would have paved way for fresh coal blocks to be allocated in fresh auction following their de-allocation by <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> in the past also remained pending. 
 
With this, the government’s to-do list seems to have just gotten longer. This disruption, which isn’t new to Indian Parliament have given the government a huge blow on its economic-overhaul plans and subsequent measures. 
 
The government had listed over 37 bills to be passed during the session that just concluded enveloped in lots of bitterness. While this number was the target, legislators in both houses only managed to pass only 11 bills out of the entire lot. Lok Sabha worked more diligently than Rajya Sabha. 
 
The reason for this could also be that while Lok Sabha had more number of BJP MPs, with the opposition parties terming it the ‘arrogance of numbers’ with BJP having 282 seats in its kitty over 545 member assembly, the otherwise peaceful Rajya Sabha saw more number of disruptions, thus causing a lot of damage to the long term goals of the government. Congress holds 68 seats in the RS against the 43 seats in the house held by BJP. 
 The only time both opposition and ruling parties came together and unanimously said something was post <keyword id="42462" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Peshawar">Peshawar</keyword> attack where hundreds of school children were killed by extremist groups in Pakistan. All the parties unvaryingly condemned the 26/11 attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi being granted bail by a Pakistani court. The result of this was astounding. In a rare show of strength, Pakistan didn’t release Lakhvi and he was retained in the custody of Pakistan following Pakistan’s federal government approaching the Supreme Court challenging his bail. 
Image: wikipedia

Winter Logjam In Parliament: Cold Finish For The Season

<keyword id="2874467" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ambedkar-Periyar-Student-Circle">Ambedkar Periyar Student Circle</keyword> (<keyword id="572470" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="APSC">APSC</keyword>), a student initiative to discuss social issues, has been prohibited by IIT-Madras following an anonymous complaint saying the group is trying to spread ‘hatred’ against PM Narendra Modi. 
 The criticism grabbed attention after the <keyword id="6386485" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Human-Resource-Development">Ministry of Human Resource Development</keyword> (MHRD) inquired about the unnamed complaint mentioning APSC’s pamphlets quoting a speech criticising PM Modi. 
 <keyword id="2875036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Prisca-Mathew">Prisca Mathew</keyword>, under secretary to the <keyword id="6377129" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-Of-India">Government of India</keyword> in the MHRD, wrote to the director, <keyword id="6356755" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="IIT-Madras">IIT Madras</keyword> on May 15, 2015 and asked for an early response on the matter. 
 
The letter sent to the IIT Dean, Sivakumar M Srinivasan read “I am directed to forward herewith a copy of anonymous letter alleging serious complaints received from students, IIT-Madras along with pamphlet issued by Ambedkar-Periyar study circle on the above mentioned subject and to request that comments of the institute may please be sent to this ministry at an early date." 
 
The authorities, within ten days, sent a notice to APSC informing them that they have been ‘derecognised’. 
 The APSC’s leaflet enclosed with the complaint by MHRD read “The <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>, while carrying forward its Hindutva agenda, is simultaneously assisting the multinational corporate to loot mother India.... It is communally polarising the common people by the ban on cow slaughtering, ghar wapsi program and promoting Vedas.”

It’s true! Student group banned for criticising Modi and his policies

The fight is pretty clear. Battle lines have been drawn between political parties for the upcoming <keyword id="1416108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-elections">Delhi elections</keyword> that are yet to be announced. <keyword id="6356115" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="AAP">AAP</keyword> begun its war march on the territory it abandoned exactly a year ago. The party has already announced its list of candidates for all 70 seats in the country’s capital. 
 Somehow, after nearly 8 months of being in power at the centre, <keyword id="14666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP">BJP</keyword> seems to be experiencing some jitters on Delhi turf but they still have the Modi’s magic wand. The election dates for Delhi could be announced anytime soon and political parties will hit feverish pitch with their campaigning and acrobatics to win the most priced voter in the country. Delhi elections, for any party, is both a nightmare and a dream given the fact that the region is a heady cocktail of so many aspirations, pursuits and people’s hope to scrape off a decent living amid the bitter cold and boiling hot summers on the wide road of the capital. Of course, with deep seated poverty, also lie the epicenter of snobbery of the elite; the art and the likes of fine living that people in villas and apartments can only boast of. For the normal junta, it is about getting from point A to point B every day. 
 
Any political party would know Delhi is a different ball game altogether. The region isn’t a single line story. 
 
Having been drubbed in almost all elections that happened after the general assembly elections which saw Modi win a clear mandate, Congress isn’t being too enthusiastic about Delhi elections. Well, naturally, when there is a void in the space of leadership in the party, would there be any scope to face elections? After dragging its feet for quite a while, Congress has finally declared candidates for about 24 constituencies in the 70-seated Delhi battleground. 
 But, what is indeed interesting is the fact that BJP and AAP are seeking to reaffirm their image through Delhi. In some sense, AAP’s <keyword id="260213" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Kejriwal">Arvind Kejriwal</keyword> has gone back to voters after having abruptly left the Delhi seat around the same time last year. AAP had posted a historic win in Delhi and somehow managed to mess things up for itself, before citing reasons and abruptly resigning. Many public humiliations over, AAP has come around to salvage its image. 
 
Whatever the world ridiculed him over, Arvind Kejriwal aka the ‘mufflerman’ turned it into his identity. He has been holding campaigns to raise funds to meet the Delhi election expenses. There’s been ‘dinner with the mufflerman’, ‘selfie with the mufflerman’ et al, and people are coming in thousands to attend them. This surely has caused a lot of unrest in the BJP circles that AAP’s fortunes still haven’t sunk! 
 
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been walking the power corridors since last May after Modi swept the country in a mammoth wave, has been able to sustain the ‘development’ image amid controversies in the subsequent times. Conversion row in the name of ‘ghar wapsi’, remaining unclear on ‘black money’ promise and a lot of other things that had shown the dreams of a ‘glorious India’ image to the great middle class are somehow falling short of being realized to people’s satisfaction. The streak of Modi’s winning wand continues unabated is all fine, but the middle class is worried that PM has been spending more time abroad, and fighting elections in state than tackling issues on the home front. 
 
AAP with its dramatic identity seems to have made amends with the voters who were angry that Arvind Kejriwal let them down when he jumped off the CM’s seat. One summer over, anger isn’t simmering. The tail end of this winter will hold a mirror to two parties. Results, irrespective, will surely be interesting! 
 
Image: aamaadmiparty-india.blogspot.com

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