The Common Minimum Programme (CMP) announced by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the new ruling coalition in Maharashtra of the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), foregrounds development and pledges fidelity to secularism. Taking over as Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray’s primary challenge is not to live up to, but to undo and outgrow, the legacy of Bal Thackeray, his father, who founded the Sena 53 years ago. The late Thackeray was the fomenter of a chauvinistic politics that targeted religious and linguistic minority groups in Maharashtra. Mr. Thackeray’s statement as CM was unambiguous that “nothing would be allowed that makes the common man feel terrorised”. He also has a haunting history of words and deeds, but the pressures of the new alliance might make him adopt a more sober approach to governance. Parties and leaders evolve over time depending upon changed circumstances and new social realities. The burden of proof is on the Sena, but it is only
When Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits India in January 2020, he will not only bring with him the goodwill of his country, but also three priceless cultural artefacts. The sculptures, including a pair of dwarapalas or door guardians from Tamil Nadu and one nagaraja or serpent king from either Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, will come back to their place of origin after the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) voluntarily deaccessioned and returned them to India after establishing that they were, in fact, stolen. This ‘cultural repatriation’ comes in the wake of a similar, if more extensive return of idols in 2016, when Washington handed over around 200 sculpture pieces valued at $100 million to India during Prime Minister Modi’s U.S. visit. Increasingly, it has become evident that India’s historical artefacts, a treasure-trove of a rich cultural legacy and religious significance, are strewn across far-flung lands, the result of decades of trafficking. At the heart of the
Sandhya Sugumaran
The way an image of a letter is processed by the brain is unique; hence, we have to go into the worlds of dyslexic children and see things the way they see them
