April 2009 - Posts - Have you Heard...

April 2009 - Posts

25 April/ Of Patna and polls

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
I reach Patna at 2 am. On my way to the hotel, I find a lot of people on the streets (during the previous regime the streets used to be empty by 8 am as kidnapping was rampant). After checking in, I ring room service for some food as I am famished. To my horror, I am told that the room service serves only till 11 pm and the only food that I can be served...

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Gandhi, my family

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
As you drive into Rae Bareilly, 80-odd kilometers away from Lucknow, the fact that it is a Gandhi family bastion is drilled into you in a manner you would never forget. Congress flags mark the boundary of almost every house, shop or any other commercial building. Posters bearing party slogans or pictures of Sonia Gandhi adorn the entire town and there...

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Missing the election festivities in Lucknow

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
With barely two days to go before polling for the 2009 Lok Sabha election takes place in Lucknow, one would expect the city to be abuzz with election activity, with the colours of democracy in full display. Lucknow's pre-election atmosphere, however, comes as a complete disappointment. The city is bare with no party/leaders banners, flags or hoardings...

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24 April/ OF GUN MAKING AND GUN RUNNERS

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
After leaving Bhagalpur at 6 am, I am on my way to the naxal affected Munger district, former capital of Mir Qasim, the nawab of Bengal to meet arms manufacturers of two kinds---licensed and illegal operators. The great ROAD story continues and the National Highway-80 that I am traveling on offers an exceptionally smooth ride going by my previous experiences...

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23 April /I GO TO JAIL

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
23 April I GO TO JAIL Morning’s come early to Bhagalpur. By 5 am, households are fully awake. I am going to meet the candidates fielded by various parties. Bhagalpur has a significant number of marriage halls, which are encashing on the room demands created by the party cadre accompanying the candidate. BJP and RJD campaigners along with their candidates...

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The gender-insensitive infrastructure!

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
I seldom faced any discrimination during my career as a journalist, though there were few instances when being a woman things were more difficult. However, recently I learnt with shock that globalization or development has not made any difference to the women's lives. Let me begin the story on a positive note. During a week-long trip to Madhya Pradesh...

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SILK CITY MAKEOVER

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
I reach Bhagalpur in the evening (22 April) after an incredibly long journey aboard the ‘super fast’ Vikramshila Express. The city is bursting at the seams with the Ganga bridge connecting the town with far-flung areas such as Naugachia. The World Bank sponsored bridge project (commissioned in 2001), has not only reduced the distance between Bihar and...

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The will behind each Bill

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
On 16 May, the results of the 2009 Lok Sabha election would be declared and the country will (hopefully) have a new government within a fortnight from then. And once the entire cacophony in this vast political theatre subsides, our elected representatives would perhaps have some time to look back at the performance of the 14th Lok Sabha and reflect...

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Aboard Vikramshila Express, Day-II

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
I wake up to a cacophony of cell phone rings. A Bihar Military Police (BMP) jawan rudely nudges me to give him space to sit. Planning to go back to sleep, I feebly tell him that it is only 7 am. He tells me in no uncertain terms that as it is already daylight; I do not have any right to sleep on the reserved berth for which my office paid Rs1, 363....

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Where CPM 'scores' over BJP and Congress...

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
If you thought only the Congress and BJP were singing their way to the 15 th Lok Sabha election, then visit the CPI (M)'s official campaign website! One of the links in the website reads ‘songs' and once you click on it, you are led to four CPM campaign songs - Mehengi Roti Sasti Jaan (Unaffordable food, cheap lives), Haalat Desh Ke Maange Badlao...

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Aboard Vikramshila Express

Posted by Utpal Bhaskar at 
The passengers aboard the Super fast (or not!) Vikramshila express to Bhagalpur, Bihar have a lot in common. Apart from a shared ambition to be the first to put their luggage in the storage space beneath their berths, they all have an active interest in the political situation in Bihar. I am on my way to cover elections in the land of education (Bihar...

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Malayalee cynicism over Communism!

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
“Everywhere he goes, the Malayalee takes a bit of Kerala with him and since the Malayalees, as the bad jokes go, are all over the place, why that’s Kerala everywhere in the world, isn’t it?” says Shinie Antony, a Kerala-born author in her new book ‘Kerala Kerala Quite Contrary’ , a collection of essays about Kerala. It says that when a Malayalee goes...

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BJP playing "clever politics" in Madhya Pradesh

Posted by Liz Mathew at 
The elections in Madhya Pradesh appear to be one sided. The BJP, which has been enjoying an edge in the parliamentary elections since 1989, seem to be much ahead of the Congress party in the state and is expected to win the majority of the 29 Lok Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh. The saffron party’s success can be attributed to its systematic work, strong...

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The criminal face of the second phase, Part II

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
An update on the NEW study of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. As expected, the all-India figures are as gloomy. In this phase, the total number of candidates with criminal records is 288 (17.63 % of 1633 candidates), compared to 222, i.e. 16% of 1425, candidates in phase I. Most major political parties have fielded candidates with criminal...

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The criminal face of the second phase

Posted by Ruhi Tewari at 
The second phase of the Lok Sabha election 2009 kicks off on 23 April, when twelve states (while some face their first phase, others their second) would go to polls. National Election Watch (NEW), an umbrella group of more than 1200 NGOs, on Sunday released details of candidates contesting in the second phase from three states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra...

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