Depriving government school children of tasty and nutritious food because of certain religious beliefs

May 8, 2019

Several reports in the media had highlighted the violations of prescribed menu by Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) in supply of food under Mid-day Meals (MDM) scheme in Karnataka, by refusing to use onion and garlic in the food. Instead of standing up to the imposition of religious agenda in a public scheme, Government of Karnataka, has gone along and asked for the menu submitted by APF to be reviewed by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI).

Based on the reports submitted by the NIN and CFTRI, the GoK has gone ahead with signing a contract with Akshaya Patra Foundation for the year 2018-19 – in spite of APF’s refusal to follow prescribed norms. The observations made and conclusions reached in these reports have provided an easy excuse to Government of Karnataka to look the other way even as APF deprives children studying in government schools of tasty and nutritious food because of its religious beliefs.

Given the serious impact on policy decision-making that these reports have had, their lack of scientific rigour raises disturbing questions about their credibility and independence. In particular, the report submitted by NIN offers unfounded and biased personal opinions as scientific claims. Without any systemic empirical study of the food being supplied by APF, NIN has reached wide-ranging conclusions, betraying an eagerness to provide clean chit to Akshaya Patra Foundation.

A detailed critique – prepare by civil society organizations and experts, coming together under the banner of Namma Aahara Namma Samskriti – of the `reports’ submitted by NIN and CFTRI with regard to the menu and other documents submitted by APF:

Point-by-Point Rebuttal to the ‘Report’ sent by National Institute of Nutrition (NIN)

Nutritional Compliance:

Claim made by NIN: “The nutritive values of menus with ingredients used in the mentioned amounts, certainly meet and often exceed the prescribed energy (Kcal) and protein requirements prescribed by MHRD for the MDM.”

Rebuttal: NIN has reached these conclusions based on just a menu sent by APF. It is obvious that a contractor could send anything without implementing any of it in practice. A scientific assessment of nutritional quality of food supplied by Akshaya Patra requires an institutional diet survey with visits to schools, proper protocols of sampling, measuring and discussions with various stakeholders at the schools being supplied. It is established that animal foods are a source of good quality proteins and are part of earlier recommendations by NIN. How does this menu ‘exceed’ prescribed standards for protein in the absence of eggs? NIN should know that sambar can be thick with plenty of vegetables or a watery gruel with hardly any vegetables – the nutritional quality of these are very different. For eg. Menu 11 has one rice based preparation without any pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk/milk products, eggs. How will this meet nutritional standards? A report based on just a paper menu can never infer anything about nutritional value of the food being supplied. This coming from a ‘scientific body’ such as NIN is shocking.

Claim made by NIN: “The micro-nutrients (calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc) are also more than what actually can be achieved through prescribed MDM menu by the government of Karnataka.”

Rebuttal: NIN has not conducted any standard scientific assessment at the schools to be able to make such assertions about the food supplied. Adequacy of micro-nutrients based on Recommended Daily Allowances cannot be calculated based on menu. It would require details of the raw ingredients used, the quantities, the number of children of different age groups who ate the meal, the wastage and leftovers. If 100 gm of vegetables or 100 gm of oil are added into a sambar, it is important to estimate if this was used to feed 10 children or 100 children. Without even looking at these factors, how does NIN say that the food is meeting requirements ‘more’ than what is prescribed?

Bio-availability:

Claim made by NIN: “With regard to the bio-availability of minerals, it is well established that inclusion of seasonal and fresh vegetables and the use of turmeric, lime, curry leaves, cumin seeds, tamarind, green leafy vegetables also improve the bio-availability of nutrients apart from additional health benefits and are also effective substitutes of onion & garlic. The use of variety of fresh vegetables and above ingredients by Akshaya Patra ensures absorption and bio-availability of mineral and nutrients.”

Rebuttal: A study by CFTRI shows that onion and garlic improve the bio-availability of zinc and iron from cooked food, especially as bio-availability of iron and zinc from plant foods is usually very low. No scientific evidence is provided in the report submitted by NIN to substantiate claims that the suggested alternative ingredients also enhance bio-availability. In fact, contrary to the claims made here, studies show that green leafy vegetables (GLV) have high fibre content (oxalates and phytates) which inhibit iron and zinc absorption. Most of these ingredients are expensive/seasonal as compared to onions and garlic which are available throughout the year. More importantly, inclusion of onions and garlic is a culturally appropriate practice and imparts taste to food which children like and therefore eat more of. Bioavailability of nutrients from plant foods are generally lower than from animal sources.

Food Safety Measures:

Claim made by NIN: “Akshaya patra kitchens are ISO certified which meals a certain standards are already met. In addition, some of our scientists who visited their kitchens in Telangana and Karnataka have given convincing personal accounts about the high safety standards practiced by the organisation”.

Rebuttal: When the Joint director, MDM, Karnataka has officially requested for a report on the functioning of a centralised kitchen that serves MDM to thousands of children, the director of NIN responds by talking about ‘personal accounts’ of scientists. What locus standi does a personal account have for an issue of such serious concern as children’s nutrition? The director should have asked for a formal visit and issued a formal report or said that she would not be able to comment. This need to bend over backwards to accommodate a contractor when concerns have been raised by a government official who the contractor is accountable to, is deeply concerning. Additionally, in case of food cooked in centralized kitchens and transported to schools which are in some cases 20 km away, the assessment of food safety has to be at the point of consumption and not at the point of preparation alone. This points seems to be have been completely lost on NIN.

Meal Diversity:

Claim made by NIN: “Akshaya Patra Foundation provides varied meal combinations of local dishes. This enhances MDM consumption and also aids the sensory development of child.”

Rebuttal: The claim that meals provided by APF enhances MDM consumption is not borne out by evidence. The Karnataka State Food Commission has noted the lower consumption of food supplied by APF. In 2013, Bengaluru (Urban) and Dharwad, where APF was the biggest supplier of mid-day meals, were designated as special focus district due to “poor-utilization of foodgrains and low coverage of children”. As per the data submitted by Government of Karnataka to Programme Approval Board (PAB) for year 2017-18, Bengaluru (Urban) and Dharwad remain the worst performing districts in the whole State. There is absolutely no empirical basis for NIN to reach the conclusion that food supplied by APF aids the sensory development of child. When children are refusing to eat the food because it is bland and tasteless, where does the question of ‘sensory development’ come in?

Claim made by NIN: “Akshaya Patra Foundation’s nutrition team has designed multiple variants of sambar and rice which are rotated on a periodic basis to add variety. The resultant difference in its palatability adds variety to the organization’s mid-day meals. The cyclical menu plans and the ingredients used by Akshaya Patra in fact ensure diet diversity needed for the meal.”

Rebuttal: Diet diversity means that different food groups are represented on the menu. When meat/eggs and fresh fruits/vegetables figure nowhere on the menu, how does NIN reach the conclusion that dietary diversity has been ensured?

Sambar is one type of food and figures in 10 out of 18 menus shared by APF. How does ‘multiple variants’ of sambar constitute variety? Variety would mean different sources of carbohydrates, protein, minerals and vitamins.

In fact, NIN has completely distorted the scientific meaning of the term diet diversity. Diet diversity has to be over a reference period of time to assess if different food groups have been used to prepare the meal on different days. It would also require a visit to the kitchen to see what ingredients are available to be used on different days. Are there different kinds of vegetables, cereals, pulses, fruits? If the same food ingredients are used in different ways (eg ’10 varieties’ of sambar), it doesn’t constitute diet diversity.

Onions and garlic are particularly important to make traditional sambars. Even these are not used by APF. It only means that the same monotonous bland food is being served on most of the days – an issue rightly raised by the JD, MDM and Food Commission. A balanced meal requires that different food groups are rotated in the right proportions so children can get their nutrition from multiple sources.

Meal Taste:

Claim made by NIN: “Although, the meal taste is very specific to local palate, the menus with considerable diversity in variety, usage of different food groups, spices and seasonal vegetables certainly cannot give rise to any monotony in taste.”

Rebuttal: These conclusions reached by NIN without even visiting the kitchen of APF, leave alone the schools, are cause for deep concern. It is particularly important that they should have spoken to the key stakeholders – the children to ask them if they found the food monotonous.

These claims made by NIN about the meal taste are another arm-chair observation without any empirical data or observations of actual food being supplied.

Conclusion:

Claim made by NIN: “Akshaya patra Foundation is implementing in compliance with MDM norms. The menu follows the nutrition guidelines suggested by MHRD”.

Rebuttal: As stated above, NIN has no basis to certify compliance with nutritional guidelines since they have not collected any data to be able to assess this. In absence of such evidence, this is just the personal opinion of the Director, NIN without any scientific basis, and should be treated as such.

Claim made by NIN: “The recipes are found to be inspired by local food habits and menu combination”.

Rebuttal: APF serves the same centrally prepared food to 2,814 schools and that too based on a ‘sattvik’ diet. How can this be inspired by local food habits? Does this mean that majority of communities eat ‘sattvik‘ food? Onion and garlic are part of the local food habits. Similarly a majority of children in government schools enjoy eggs and attendance has been documented to increase on the days that eggs are provided in the MDM. When these are being denied to children because of religious beliefs of APF how can they also claim to have taken local food habits into consideration and more importantly how can NIN accept this and agree with it?

Claim made by NIN: “Quality and hygiene are strong aspects of Akshaya patra program and are maintained throughout the implementation process”.

Rebuttal: How did the Director, NIN reach these conclusions sitting in Hyderabad? Several schools to which Akshaya Patra food is being supplied are over 20 kms away from the centralized kitchen. Food prepared early in morning with ingredients prepared overnight reaches children at 12-12:30 pm after a delay of 3-4 hours. Since the food is not freshly cooked and has been kept artificially hot under closed containers, the quality of food is known to deteriorate. The rice for example becomes mushy and looses integrity. These are common observations that everyone from children, school teachers and officials are aware of. But NIN has concluded otherwise based on arm-chair observations without visiting any schools. Given that incidents of students vomiting after eating food APF food have been reported in the media, shouldn’t a responsible scientific institutions like NIN at least visit the school premises where this food is being consumed, before, certifying the quality and hygiene of food eaten by lakhs of children?

>> From the point-by-point rebuttal provided above, a pattern emerges wherein claims are made without any systematic empirical data being collected and biased personal opinions are passed off as scientific truths. While CFTRI in its report has answered questions of whether the Akshaya Patra food is “diverse, tasty, spice and not monotonous” by acknowledging that “It is difficult to comment on various attributes without having the sufficient data available with us”, NIN seems to be overly keen to validate claims of APF. Some of the lapses in the report are too obvious and apparent to common sense that they can’t be treated as just oversights and raise serious questions over the credibility and independence of NIN. In absence of any data or systematic study, the willingness of the institutions to offer opinions seriously undermines its credibility.

Point-by-Point Response to the ‘Report’ sent by Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)

Question posed by JD (MDM): The contribution of onion and garlic to macro and micro nutrients is negligible

Comment by CFTRI: We agree to the points that Onion and garlic contribution towards macro and micro nutrients is negligible.

Rebuttal: The comment by CFTRI contradicts its own study which shows that onion and garlic improve the bio-availability of zinc and iron from cooked food. This is of significance because of the high prevalence of anemia and diarrhea in Karnataka which can be reduced with iron and zinc respectively. Bio-availability of iron and zinc from plant foods is usually very low and even those plant foods that increase bioavailability are being denied to the children.

Question posed by JD (MDM): Excellent alternatives for onion and garlic

Comment by CFTRI: CFTRI Team agrees to the alternatives listed as a substitute for onion and garlic. The ingredients listed (viz turmeric, drum stick, lime, green leafy vegetables- GLV, jeera etc) are known for enhancing the bio-accessibility of micronutrients. These are not only excellent promoters of bioavailability but also providers of nutrients. Acidulants which provide organic acids such as citric acid, scorbic acid, maleic acid are the best enhancers of bioaccessibility.

Rebuttal: CFTRI provides no scientific basis to substantiate claims that the suggested alternative ingredients also enhance bio-availability. In fact, contrary to the claims made, studies have shown that green leafy vegetables (GLV) have high fibre (oxalates and phytates) which inhibit iron and zinc absorption, so at least this claim by CFTRI is false. Moreover, most of these ingredients are expensive/seasonal as compared to onion and garlic which are available throughout the year. More importantly, inclusion of onions and garlic is a culturally appropriate practice and imparts taste to food which children like and thus consume with interest.

>> We are in agreement with rest of the comments made by CSIR-CFTRI team which indicate that assessments of nutritional adequacy, meal diversity and taste, food safety etc. cannot be made without a systematic study based on collection, testing and analysis of samples of actual cooked food. Clearly, NIN has made its observations and conclusions in absence of such as study and thus it cannot be made a basis for any policy measures by the Government of Karnataka.

Courtesy: Counter View

What Did Rabindranath Tagore Think About Islam?

May 8, 2019

Rabindranath Tagore, the preeminent Bard of the Orient was the mercurial mystic and polymath whose repertoire was unprecedented in proliferation. Transcending to a legendary status, whilst living, Tagore created a teeming ecosystem of art, literary, musical and fine, and wholly constituted an entire era and genre in Bengali art and culture. Such was the influence of Tagore, a man who, amongst others, composed two national anthems, an overwhelmingly vast repertoire of original folk music and won Knighthood and the Nobel Prize for Literature. A BBC poll ratified Tagore as the second greatest Bengali of all time, next only to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.

However, an oft unnoticed facet of this multiarmed polyglot, is remarkably, that of an undeniable bigot. Albeit Tagore did much to overhaul the exploitative social system and was the harbinger of progressive, modernist thought in Bengal, he was no Namboodripad or Nehru. Averse to the Abrahamic religions, and in spite of all ideological reformist endeavours, Tagore harboured an unmistakably soft spot for Hinduism, his religion of birth and upbringing.

Some of these historically sidelined figments and excerpts from Tagore’s works are presented herefore:

“There are two religions in earth, which have distinct enmity against all other religions. These two are Christianity and Islam. They are not just satisfied with observing their own religions, but are determined to destroy all other religions. That’s why the only way to make peace with them is to embrace their religions.”

Original works of Rabindranath Vol. 24 page 375, Vishwa Bharti; 1982.

Tagore spews even more vitriol towards the Muslim community; In typical demonising fashion that was the omnipresent and omniprevalent norm of the day; scapegoating of Muslims for social ills, a prevailing mood of nationwide unrest and shortcomings of the traditional institutions, in general, is depicted in his works as is the prevailing notion of Hindu generosity. Keenly and unambiguously reflected in his writings is, a lopsided, exaggerated Hindu victimhood and romanticised, pontificated tolerance. Unfortunately, this biased majoritarian, misconceived notion endures till date, with ubiquity.

One such excerpt goes as:

Whenever a Muslim called upon the Muslim society, he never faced any resistance-he called in the name of one God ‘Allah-ho-Akbar’. On the other hand, when we (Hindus) call will call, ‘come on, Hindus’, who will respond? We, the Hindus, are divided in numerous small communities, many barriers-provincialism-who will respond overcoming all these obstacles? “We suffered from many dangers, but we could never be united. When Mohammed Ghouri brought the first blow from outside, the Hindus could not be united, even in the those days of imminent danger. When the Muslims started to demolish the temples one after another, and to break the idols of Gods and Goddesses, the Hindus fought and died in small units, but they could not be united. It has been provided that we were killed in different ages due to out discord. Weakness harbors sin. So, if the Muslims beat us and we, the Hindus, tolerate this without resistance-then, we will know that it is made possible only by our weakness. For the sake of ourselves and our neighbour Muslims also, we have to discard our weakness. We can appeal to our neighbour Muslims, `Please don’t be cruel to us. No religion can be based on genocide’ – but this kind of appeal is nothing, but the weeping of the weak person. When the low pressure is created in the air, storm comes spontaneously; nobody can stop it for sake for religion. Similarly, if weakness is cherished and be allowed to exist, torture comes automatically – nobody can stop it. Possibly, the Hindus and the Muslims can make a fake friendship to each other for a while, but that cannot last forever. As long as you don’t purify the soil, which grows only thorny shrubs you can not expect any fruit.

“Swamy Shraddananda’’, written by Rabindranath in Magh, 1333 Bangabda; compiled in the book ‘Kalantar’

It’s an unmistakable allusion to the prevailing preconception of Islam being inherently violent and the adherents to the faith being somehow extraordinarily hard-line, firebrand fundamentalists. In India, the unjust label of qattar (staunch) is still recklessly used to refer to the community, implicating mindless hypercharge and invoking connotations of blind faith and unnaturally devout, religion-inspired animosity.

When two-three different religions claim that only their own religions are true and all other religions are false, their religions are only ways to Heaven, conflicts can not be avoided. Thus, fundamentalism tries to abolish all other religions. This is called Bolshevism in religion. Only the path shown by the Hinduism can relieve the world form this meanness. Tagore, `Aatmaparichapa’ in his book `Parichaya’

The terrible situation of the country makes my mind restless and I cannot keep silent. Meaningless ritual keep the Hindus divided in hundred sects. Sop we are suffering from series of defeats. We are tired and worn-out by the fortunes by the internal external enemies. The Muslims are united in religion and rituals. The Bengali Muslims the South Indian Muslims and even the Muslims outside India-all are united. They always stand untied in face of danger. The broken and divided Hindus will not be able to combat them. Days are coming when the Hindus will be again humiliated by the Muslims. “You are a mother of children, one day you will die, passing the future of Hindus society on the weak shoulders of your children, but think about their future.” From the letter to Hemantabala Sarkar, written on 16the October, 1933, quoted in Bengali weekly `Swastika’, 21-6-1999

A very important factor which is making it almost impossible for Hindu-Muslim unity to become an accomplished fact is that the Muslims can not confine their patriotism to any one country. I had frankly asked (the Muslims) whether in the event of any Mohammedan power invading India, they (Muslims) would stand side by side with their Hindu neighbours to defend their common land. I was not satisfied with the reply I got from them… Even such a man as Mr. Mohammad Ali (one of the famous Ali brothers, the leaders of the Khilafat Movement-the compiler) has declared that under no circumstances is it permissible for any Mohammedan, whatever be his country, to stand against any Mohammedan.”Rabindranath Tagore, Interview of Rabindranath Tagore in `Times of India’, 18-4-1924 in the column, `Through Indian Eyes on the Post Khilafat Hindu Muslim Riots. Also in A. Ghosh: “Making of the Muslim Psyche” in Devendra Swamp (ed.), Politics of Conversion, New Delhi, 1986, p. 148. And in S.R. Goel, Muslim Separatism – Causes and Consequences (1987).

“Dr. Munje said in another part of his report that, eight hundred years ago, the Hindu king of Malabar (now Kerala) on the advice of his Brahmin ministers, made big favor to the Arab Muslim to settle in his kingdom. Even he appeased the Arab Muslims by converting the Hindus to Islam to an extent to making law for compulsory conversion of a member of each Hindu fisherman family in to Islam. Those, whose nature is to practice idiocy rather than common sense, never can enjoy freedom even if they are in the throne. They turn the hour of action in to a night of merriment. That’s why they are always struck by the ghost at the middle of the day.”

“The king of Malabar once gave away his throne to idiocy. That idiocy is still ruling Malabar from a Hindu throne. That’s why the Hindus are still being beaten and saying that God is there, turning the faces towards the sky. Throughout India we allowed idiocy to rule and surrender ourselves to it. That kingdom of idiocy – the fatal lack of commonsense – was continuously invaded by the Pathans, sometimes by the Mughols and sometimes by the British. From outside we can only see the torture done by them, but they are only the tools of torture, not really the cause. The real reason of the torture is our lack of common sense and our idiocy, which is responsible for our sufferings. So we have to fight this idiocy that divided the Hindus and imposed slavery on us……..If we only think about the torture we will not find any solution. But if we can get rid of our idiocy, the tyrants will surrender to us.”

[’Samasya,’ (The Problem), Agrahayan, 1330 Bangabda, in “Kalantar”.]

Tagore perhaps could’ve taken a leaf out of the book from another national poet from the subcontinent, composer of an ulterior national hymn Saare Jahaan se Achha, which has since been conferred a quasi-National Song status, both formally and informally and once a prime contender for the National Anthem of India, subsequently losing it to Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana. The self-christened Shayar-i-Mashriq (Poet of the East) Muhammad “Allama” Iqbal, was a glowing beacon of harmonisation and harmoniser of seemingly insurmountable, abyssal interconflicts.

Furthermore, Bangladesh’s national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, a distinct epitome in his own, illustrated the essentiality of his creativity and his indiscriminate, pure, ingenuity, in his elegant renditions of humanhood, transcendental of narrow sectarian bounds, and his writings on Kali, and Durga Puja beautifully portray and capture the soul of the land, its culture and humanitarianism. Nazrul’s philosophy, underlying and characterising all his vibrant work, was naturally neutral, not artificially secular-conformist, or modified for the sake of integrity. His spirit was integral in origin and character.

At a time when partisanship to carve out Pakistan and muslim intelligentsia and top-brass were overwhelmingly in favour of the two-nation theory, Iqbal’s hymns Saare jahaan se achchha hindostaan hamaraa (Our Hindustan is better than all of the world) and Kuchh baat to hai hum-mein ki hasti mitati nahin hamaari... (There must be some [virtue] in us, that our [civilization’s] grandeur is indelible [and unbroken]) were wielded to foster a sense of togetherness and all-pervasive patriotism in unison. However the most well-intended rime of the poet, comes in the form a couplet, that conspicuously reflects his masterful reconciliation and intricate elegant diplomacy, which appeased all and irked none:

At a first glance, Raama, a manifestational formful Hindu deity seems irreconcilable with an Abrahamic religion that contends a single omnipotent, attribute-free Almighty. Islam doesn’t permit devoted exaltation or venerating chanting of anyone but Allah, the Supreme, but Iqbal bypasses the need to deify Lord Raama, yet beautifully augment him to unmistakably typical, traditional Islamic adulation. Iqbal accomplishes this with a succinct, idyllic and refreshingly original verse:

Hai raam ke vajūd pe hindostāñ ko naaz;
ahl-e-nazar samajhte haiñ is ko imām-e-hind.

(India is mighty proud of Raama’s sacred name,
Discerning minds respect his word as voice of God [Priest/Cleric/Clergyman].)

[Translated version of poem ‘Ram’. Taken from ‘Allama Iqbal, Selected Poetry’ By Muhammad Iqbal, K. C. Kanda]

Thus, Iqbal forges two identities into a seamless, eclectic, eclessiastical continuum, simultaneously capturing national imagination and popular Hindu sensibilities, while ruffling none of the Islamic sensibilities, if not embellishing. Iqbal’s spirited verse was no artifical flattery and appeasement, merely an expression of his cultural pride in the subcontinental spiritual aesthetic and heritage.

In an era when colonial intervention and systematically undertaken divide-and-rule policy stoked up communal sentiment, Iqbal’s hymns were used to exert a pacifying effect, foster mutual understanding and fraternal faith, and alleviate two-way distrust and alienation. Meanwhile, numerous contemporary works serve to bellow air into the rife blaze and undo the long-constructed brotherhood. Art, like nuclear energy is ambivalent: in hands of demagogues, it’s a weapon of mass destruction. Creativity is potentially, the most destructive of forces: it’s up to us, where we aim it, at prejudices, or understanding.

Tagore was too elegant a freethinker to be indoctrinated, nonetheless, his beliefs were skewed against the inherent equality of faiths and lopsided to glorify the inherent pacifism, fraternity and moral chastity of his own. They stand in testimony to men being a product of their times and also, choices, as the former argument would make the work of contemporary activists, stand for naught. They remind us to remain ever-skeptical-in-retrospect, question our spoonfed and hardwired cultural notions, demystify and rescind and the crux of no figure being sacrosanct enough to be unquestionable. Let this serve as an iconoclast to rescind their romanticism, rid of the deification and edification, and strip our historocultural idols of their invariably accompanying entitlements, in general. They command our utmost respect and unquestioned ideological allegiance, and serve as role models, inspirations and idols to innumerable; It’s time they prove themselves worthy of it.

Albeit, spoken in a different context, this unanimously relatable excerpt, by Tagore’s own admission, is pertinent to conclude the aforesaid: “My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy; yet I come to ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted.”

Pitamber Kaushik is a journalist, columnist, amateur researcher, activist, and writer, having previously written for The Telegraph, The Gulf News, The Sunday Independent, and The New Delhi Times, amongst numerous other national and international newspapers and outlets.

Courtesy: Counter Current

Celebrity MPs: Lower Attendance, Fewer Debates & Questions

May 8, 2019

Mumbai: Celebrity Members of Parliament (MPs)–film artistes and singers–logged lower attendance, participated in fewer debates, asked fewer questions but used their constituency development funds better than the average of all MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha, our analysis of track records of 19 such MPs shows.

On average, the 19 celebrity MPs logged 66% attendance compared to the 16th Lok Sabha average of 80%, an IndiaSpend analysis of parliament data shows. Only six celebrity MPs marked attendance of 80% or above. Bharatiya Janata Party MP and yesteryears’ star Hema Malini, who pretended to plough a farm during an election photoshoot, logged 39% attendance.

Of parliamentary debates, celebrity MPs on average participated in 22 against the 16th Lok Sabha average of 67, with only one MP reporting higher (participation in 107 debates). On average, celebrity MPs asked 101 questions, while all MPs together asked an average of 293. BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, also a yesteryears’ film star and now with the Congress party, took part in no debate and asked no questions.

At the same time, celebrity MPs utilised their Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds better than all MPs’ average–87.6% compared to 82.9%, as on April 5, 2019. Each MP is allocated Rs 5 crore per year of their tenure for development to recommend works in the districts under their constituency to the district collector.

Film personalities are common in politics, and increasingly visible in campaigning as also contesting elections due to the attention they attract on social media.

Some of the prominent first-timer celebrities contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections include actors Sunny Deol, Urmila Matondkar and Prakash Raj and the singer Hans Raj Hans.

IndiaSpend assessed the performance of 19 such celebrities by their participation in parliamentary proceedings–debates, questions, private member bills, government bills, and so on.

These MPs were selected based on their profession as stated in their profile–‘Actor, Comedian’, ‘Actress in Film/Theatre/Television’, ‘Artist’, ‘Artist (Singer)’, ‘Bhojpuri Singer’, ‘Film Artist’ and ‘Performing Artiste’.

Source: Lok Sabha 1, 2, 3; MPLADS
Note: Attendance and business participation of a member of parliament as ministers is not accounted for. Babul Supriyo, BJP MP from Asansol, West Bengal, was appointed as the union minister of state in the ministry of urban development, and in ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation on November 9, 2014. On July 12, 2016, he was appointed as the union minister of state for the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises. *Supriyo signed the attendance register for 15 of 33 sittings before he was appointed as the minister.
Ramsinh Pataliyabhai Rathwa, BJP MP from Chhota Udaipur, Gujarat, is a (fine arts) artist, hence not included in the list.

Attendance below average

The 16th Lok Sabha sat for a total of 331 days from June 2014 to February 2019. The average attendance of all MPs was 80%, an analysis by PRS Legislative shows. Celebrity MPs, by contrast, had 66% attendance on average.

Among the celebrity MPs, actor George Baker reported the maximum (98%) attendance. Baker, an Assamese and Bengali film actor, is a nominated MP–nominated from West Bengal by the BJP as a member of the Anglo-Indian community on July 23, 2015. He assumed office on August 10, 2015, attending 223 of 228 days during his term.

BJP MP Sharadkumar Bansode from Maharashtra’s Solapur constituency, formerly a Marathi film actor and now an advocate, reported 93% attendance (307 of 331 days).

Logging a better attendance record were film artist and Bhojpuri singer Chhotelal (88%), Telugu film actor Murali Mohan Maganti (85%) and film and television actor Kirron Kher (84%).

Deepak (Dev) Adhikari, a Bengali film actor, from West Bengal’s Ghatal constituency who represents the All India Trinamool Congress, reported the least (11%) attendance. Other MPs in the list with low attendance include Bollywood film actor Hema Malini (39%), Bengali actor Tapas Paul (47%), Bengali actor Sandhya Roy (53%) and Punjabi actor and comedian Bhagwant Mann (56%).

Low participation in parliamentary business

From the celebrity list, BJP MP from Chandigarh, Kirron Kher, asked the maximum (335) questions, above the 16th Lok Sabha average of 293.

Telugu film actor Murali Mohan Maganti from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh was next with 267 questions, followed by Bhojpuri singer and actor Manoj Tiwari (258), George Baker (255), and actor Innocent (217) who is primarily known for his works in Malayalam cinema.

Moon Moon Sen, an actor primarily known for her works in Bengali cinema, Odia film actor Sidhant Mohapatra and Shatrughan Sinha did not ask a single question in their five-year terms.

Bhagwant Mann participated in the most debates, 107, above the 16th Lok Sabha average of 67.

Mann was followed by Murali Mohan Maganti (55), Kirron Kher (44), Innocent (40) and George Baker (33), all below the national average.
While Shatrughan Sinha did not participate in any debate, Moon Moon Sen participated in one, the least among the 19 celebrity MPs.

Better MPLADS utilisation

MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha utilised 85% of the developmental funds they were allocated, leaving 15% unutilised–Rs 1,806.08 crore of the total amount of Rs 12,051.36 crore, IndiaSpend reported on April 6, 2019.

Sandhya Roy reported the maximum (98.8%) utilisation of MPLADS funds among the 19 celebrity MPs, as on April 5, 2019, higher than the average.

Deepak (Dev) Adhikari (96.7%) was next in the celebrity list after Roy, followed by Satabdi (Banerjee) Roy (95.6%), an actor known for her work in Bengali cinema, Kirron Kher (91.2%) and Shatrughan Sinha (91.1%). Babul Supriyo reported the least (74.1%) utilisation of MPLAD funds.

(Mallapur is a senior policy analyst with IndiaSpend. With data inputs by Faizi Noor Ahmad, an intern with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

Jharkhand’s second round goes to Mahagathbandhan, the alliance is strong on 3 out of 4 seats

May 8, 2019

The arithmetic of Mahagathbandhan seems to be working on ground level, as in the second phase of polls in Jharkhand, the grand alliance in three Lok Sabha constituencies is in a strong position

Jharkhand Mahagathbandhan leaders share stage together during Babulal Marandi’s nomination (File picture)

Ranchi: After Lok Sabha Election’s second phase of voting in Jharkhand, the trend seems going in favour of Mahagathbandhan as out of 4, 3 seats—Khunti, Ranchi and in Koderma, gathbandhan candidates are on stronger position.

If the reports of voting trend are to be believed, former Chief Minister Arjun Munda set to lose his election, as well as BJP candidates from Ranchi Sanjay Seth and Annapurna Devi from Koderma. Only, Jayant Sinha will be able to retain his Hazaribagh seat.

Political observers believe that there are reports of vote boycotts in some areas of Hazaribagh constituency, and in all these areas, if votes would have been polled, it might have gone against the incumbent member of parliament, Jayant Sinha.

In Khunti, Raghubar Das led BJP government’s forcible suppression of the Pathalgadi movement has angered the tribals and it worked against former chief Arjun Munda. Several organizations that work for the betterment of the marginalised have worked hard to mobilize voters to vote against the BJP candidate in Khunti.

On the other hand, all seem to be going well for the Mahagathbandhan and Congress candidate Subodh Kant Sahay in Ranchi. In Ranchi rural, Congress has managed to get a large chunk of votes.

In Koderma too, things have worked in favour of the Mahagathbandhan candidate – former chief minister Babulal Marandi. He too has been able to grab large votes from the unhappy BJP supporters, who have been vocal protesting against the party’s decision of denying a ticket to Ravindra Rai and fielding an outsider – Annapurna Devi.

“Reports are good and we are going to win with a good margin in Koderma,” claimed an excited Marandi while talking to eNewsroom.
On being asked how would BJP losing the Koderma seat impact the future politics of Jharkhand and centre? Replying to that the former CM said, “Voting in Koderma and Jharkhand has been anti-establishment, against Narendra Modi and Raghubar Das, so it means a lot.”

If Marandi manages to win Koderma seat, it will be really a mandate against PM Narendra Modi and CM Raghubar Das too, as not only the chief minister toured Koderma constituency four times but PM had also hold a rally here.

In the first phase Chatra, Lohardagga and Palamu voted, and here too, gathbandhan is in a strong position in at least two seats.

In the third phase, Giridih, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur and Singhbhum’s Lok Sabha constituencies will be voting on May 12, while May 19 polling will take place in Godda, Rajmahal and Dumka constituencies of Jharkhand.

However, in the evening, Marandi has alleged that the Giridih district administration which conducts the election for Koderma during Lok Sabha election is allegedly favouring BJP. The Jharkhand Vikash Morcha (JVM) chief has even written to the Election Commission of India regarding it. He has alleged that despite the availability of a strong room in Bazar Samiti, Giridih, why a separate cluster had been created in Satgawah, Koderma to store 51 booth’s Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) s?

Courtesy: enewsroom.in

“If misinformation continues to get political patronage, the fake news ecosystem will continue to flourish”

May 8, 2019

The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and the internet has altered the social landscape of India. It has led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation and riots, and continues to pose a serious threat to Indian democracy.

India Misinformed: The True Story identifies the purveyors of fabricated news, exposes the propaganda machinery and familiarises readers with techniques to detect these menacing stories. The book is written by the team of Alt News, a fact-checking website that debunks fake information, and edited by Pratik Sinha, Dr Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth. The following are excerpts from the Foreword written by Ravish Kumar and the Introduction to the book.

यहां फ़ेक न्यूज़ के कारण लोगों की हत्याएं हुई हैं। फ़ेक न्यूज़ के ज़रिये मज़हब के आधार पर दुश्मन तय किया गया। उस दुश्मन से असुरक्षा बढ़ती जाए इसके लिए फ़ेक न्यूज़ फैलाया गया। विचारधारा से प्रभावित होकर किसी राजनीतिक दल के करीब आने वाले समर्थकों को फ़ेक न्यूज़ के ज़रिये उसी रंग की एक दूसरी विचारधारा दी गई, जिससे उनकी राजनीतिक निष्ठा बदलने के जगह और गहरी हो जाती और उनका इस्तमाल हथियार के रूप में बदल दिया जिन तक दिन-रात तरह-तरह के ऐसे न्यूज़ पहुंचाए गए। नतीजा: सड़क पर लोग मारे जाने लगे। एक बार जब भीड़ बन जाती है तो उसे दुश्मन का रंग नज़र नहीं आता है। पहलु ख़ान भी मारा जाता है और सुबोध कुमार सिंह भी। कई बार हत्या के बाद जायज़ ठहराने के लिए फ़ेक न्यूज़ गढ़े गए या न्यूज़ को इस तरह कवर किया गया कि सब कुछ फ़ेक लगने लगे। यहां तक कि दर्शक और पाठक को पहलु ख़ान और सुबोध कुमार सिंह कि हत्या भी फ़ेक लगने लगा।

[…]

In the past two years, certain clear patterns of misinformation have emerged. A prominent portion of this right-wing (RW) propaganda seems to be anchored around misinformation targeting minorities. From fake videos claiming that Muslims celebrated Pakistan’s win over India in Champion’s Trophy to falsely suggesting that the name of the driver of the ill-fated train that ran over several devotees on Dussehra in Amritsar was Imtiaz Ali, a concerted and organized attempt was being made to polarize by projecting minorities in a negative light and blaming them for real and imaginary crimes across the country.

The themes of nationalism also frequently surface in fake news stories in the form of rumours of Pakistan’s flag being sighted or ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans being heard in the rallies of political opponents of nationalist parties.

Distortion of history has also been a prominent theme. From pictures of Jawaharlal Nehru showing affection to his sister and niece shared as evidence of his ‘character’ to allegations that Indian football team had to play barefoot because of him, India’s first prime minister remains one of the favourite targets of fake news.

Misinformation was also weaponized to target individuals such as journalists, activists, liberals and anyone who was critical of the right-wing ecosystem. Misinformation was also enthusiastically used to make misleading claims about the achievements of the union government. We saw fake endorsements of PM Modi by international leaders and a piece of misleading news about a Nobel laureate applauding demonetization.
In the first year, a large majority of misinformation came from the right-wing camp in India, but in the last twelve months, the non-RW political ecosystem has started to increasingly contribute to the spread of misinformation.

Misinformation peaks during certain times. Elections see a surge in false claims and accusations by rival political parties while any form of communal disturbance leads to fake news that seeks to further polarize communities. During the West Bengal riots, a still from a movie was widely circulated as a picture of a Hindu woman being molested by Muslims.

With multiple fact-checking websites working in tandem, prominent accounts on social media which had previously put out multiple instances of misinformation became vigilant. However, anonymous accounts started becoming the seeds of misinformation, especially on Twitter. At that same time, multiple Facebook pages came up and started churning out propaganda in a very professional manner which included quality infographics and videos. Alt News also discovered Facebook groups that were a dedicated marketplace for buying and selling of political Facebook pages. Themes such as the Indian Army, cricket players such as Virendra Sehwag, politicians such as Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath were seemingly common for these Facebook political pages. Quite a few of these pages had over a million followers and were apparently sold at hefty prices.

While misinformation was on the rise, instead of becoming allies, mainstream media became a part of the problem. While the misinformation on social media often comes from a position of malice, misreports in mainstream media was as if a function of the business model adopted by several Indian media outlets. Thanks to tight deadlines with pressures of producing unending content for web portals and 24×7 TV channels, fact-checking was done away with.

The most disturbing trend in this rise of fake news is the patronage it receives from political parties. Fake news doesn’t exist in a vacuum. To thrive, it needs support not just from those who fall for it but also from those who benefit the most from it. Several Twitter users who routinely spread misinformation are followed by union ministers and in many cases, even the prime minister of the country seems to be doing so. Many of them proudly display their pictures with the leaders on their profiles. If misinformation continues to get political patronage, the fake news ecosystem will continue to flourish.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural Forum

Elections 2019: After Five Phases, NDA Tally Half of 2014

May 8, 2019

Projections based on last Assembly elections and state-wise swings in votes indicate that the BJP-led NDA government is heading for a defeat, getting just 124 out of 424 seats where polling has finished.

Representational image. | Image Courtesy: Latestly.in

With the completion of polling for 51 seats on May 6, people in 424 parliamentary constituencies have voted in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Newsclick’s data analytics team has analysed previous Assembly election results and, after factoring in state-wise swings in votes, it appears that the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is headed for a debacle getting only 124 seats compared with 251 in the 2014 elections. The Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is likely to increase its tally dramatically from just 55 last time to 169 this time.

Besides these two alliances, several other parties or regional alliances which are aligned against the NDA and likely to support the UPA after final results are declared, are also projected to increase their tally. Among them, the strongest showing appears to be that of the Gathbandhan (Alliance) in Uttar Pradesh which will increase its seats from a mere four in 2014 to 37 this time round. Out of the 80 seats in UP, 27 are yet to go to polls and the Gathbandhan’s tally is likely to increase further. The BJP and its allies had won 73 of the 80 seats last time.

2014%20Results.jpg

2019%20Projection.jpg

NDA includes Shiv Sena, JDU, TDP and various smaller parties. UPA includes NCP, RJD, JDS and various smaller parties.
Source: Projections from ECI Assembly/LS results

Other states in which the BJP-led NDA is facing defeat include Tamil Nadu, where its current alliance partner AIADMK is getting resoundingly defeated with rival DMK alliance (part of UPA) getting as many as 28 of the 38 seats that have completed polling, with polling deferred for one seat.

In the last two phases of polling, significant BJP/NDA strongholds went to polls including 13 seats in Madhya Pradesh, seven seats in Jharkhand and all 25 seats of Rajasthan. However, these projections indicate that the BJP is likely to lose significantly in these states too, ceding 12 seats in Rajasthan, six in Jharkhand and four in MP.

The Left parties are likely to increase their tally from 10 to 19 in these five phases. Other parties gaining seats are YSR Congress in (YSRCP) Andhra Pradesh and Trinamool Congress (AITC) in West Bengal, where BJP may also increase its tally.

The projections take into account the discontent against the Modi government on various significant issues like aggravated farmers’ distress, unemployment, lack of increase in wages, industrial slow down, increase in corruption and the communal ideology of the ruling BJP (and RSS) which has laid siege on minorities and dalits/adivasis, fostering violence against these deprived sections. Swings against the Modi government have been tempered to account for discontent against state govts. run by opposition parties wherever necessary.

The continued slide of NDA as the election process inches across the country indicates that on May 23, the results are likely to throw up a severely depleted NDA, with insufficient numbers to form a government.

[Data analysis by Peeyush Sharma and mapping by Glenissa Pereira]

Courtesy: News Click

Shah toys with Code of Conduct, SC demands Details of EC’s Clean Chits

May 7, 2019

Just a day after the ECI cleared PM Narendra Modi and in cases of alleged violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct, in record time to meet the SC deadline to decide on of all such cases, Modi’s close confidante and BJP president Amit Shah is toying with the Code of Conduct.

Addressing a rally in Ghatal in West Bengal, Shah reportedly said, “I want to ask Mamata didi, if Shri Ram’s name is not taken in India, will it be chanted in Pakistan?” This comes dangerously close to violating Code of Conduct provisions against invoking religion to seek votes.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission of India to decide on all pending cases of poll code violation against Modi and Shah by May 6. This was in response to a petition filed by Congress MP from Silchar Sushmita Dev, who said that they have given 11 representations to EC against the duo but it has taken decision on only two.

The EC then went on an overdrive and finished the task in record time handing out clean chitslike candy on Halloween! Modi got successive clean chits for his speeches made at rallies in Wardha, Latur and Barmer. He was also given a clean chit in a case of using Wing Commander Abhinandan’s name as a part of an election campaign. This despite the EC’s own clear directive against using the defense forces for asking for votes!
However, reports have emerged that not all decisions on Modi’s poll code violations were unanimous. In at least two instances where PM Modi was given a clean chit, at least one Commissioner dissented. These are the instances of Modi’s speeches made in Wardha and Latur. The decision was made by a panel comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, and Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. So if one person dissented, it was majority opinion that decided the case.

However, on Monday May 6, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi who appeared for Congress MP Sushmita Dev in her petition before the Supreme Court submitted that in six of the cases disposed of, there were dissenting notes in five cases! He also submitted that the dissenting notes had not been supplied to them. This prompted the bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to pass a directive demanding that the EC produce the details of the decisions in each case before the court. The matter has been adjourned to May 8.

Brief background of “Jai Shree Ram” chant matter
This was in reference to the detention of three men for chanting “Jai Shree Ram” and stopping WB CM Mamata Banerjee’s cavalcadeat Ballavpur village when it was en route from Keshpur to Chandrakhona in Medenipur. A video of the incident went viral. The three men were detained, questioned and subsequently released.
Following the incident PM Modi had dared Banerjee to arrest him for saying “Jai Shree Ram”. And now his closest confidante has made a similar statement that comes close to violating the EMCC code about not asking for votes in the name of religion.

EVM’s recovered from Muzaffarpur Hotel on Election Day

May 7, 2019

In a clear breach of the provisions laid down for the storage and handling of EVMs by the Election Commission of India, six machines were recovered from a hotel in Muzaffarpur constituency, that too on the day of polling!

Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Kundan Kumar was the one to recover the EVMs. According to District Collector Alok Ranjan Ghosh, a reserve EVM was given to Sector Officer (sector 11) Awdesh Singh who expressed his desire to vote. He was also given two balloting units, one control unit and two VVPATs. According to Ghosh, Singh removed the EVMs near Anand Vivaah Mandap, which is not a government property.

Local RJD leaders have demanded strict action against the errant official and that all six EVMs be rejected. Singh has also been asked to file a reply.

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Jharkhand’s second round goes to Mahagathbandhan, the alliance is strong on 3 out of 4 seats

The arithmetic of Mahagathbandhan seems to be working on ground level, as in the second phase of polls in Jharkhand, the grand alliance in three Lok Sabha constituencies is in a strong position

“If misinformation continues to get political patronage, the fake news ecosystem will continue to flourish”

The propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and the internet has altered the social landscape of India. It has led to multiple cases of lynching, mob violence, defamation and riots, and continues to pose a serious threat to Indian democracy.

Elections 2019: After Five Phases, NDA Tally Half of 2014

Projections based on last Assembly elections and state-wise swings in votes indicate that the BJP-led NDA government is heading for a defeat, getting just 124 out of 424 seats where polling has finished.

Shah toys with Code of Conduct, SC demands Details of EC’s Clean Chits

EVM’s recovered from Muzaffarpur Hotel on Election Day

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