EVM tampering a tale of trailing parties!

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April 16, 2019

Raising the issue of ‘unreliability’ of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), a united Opposition has threatened to approach the Supreme Court over the issue. The opposition parties also demanded 50 per cent verification of VVPAT slips. They also raised the issue of malfunctioning of EVM in Jammu-Kashmir and other parts of the country in the first phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Claiming “Indian democracy at risk”, various accusations are made on EVM tampering, mostly by the trailing parties. A few months ago, an Indian hacker organised a press conference on foreign land to prove his point but he missed the point to enlighten you regarding the various safeguards taken by the Election Commission of India to ensure that they can’t be tampered with. The protection measures taken by the EC can be broadly categorised into various processes. There are three levels of checks and three mock polls prior to moving the machines to the polling stations. Meanwhile, the machine is always under a camera lens. Last minute polling with 100 votes before the actual polls is conducted and the defected machines are immediately replaced. The political party representatives are always there to witness or certify the whole process. Even after the Polls, a strong guarding of the machines during storing of the machines in the warehouses after elections is done with 24/7 CCTV facilities. Sealed EVMs are taken under heavy armed escorts under the vigilance of camera lenses. The CCTV surveillance supplements the three-tier armed securities. No single technical decision is taken without their consent, scrutiny, and approval. They follow a rigorous scrutiny process and are free to do a check of the EVMs at any time of the day. In India, the EVM machines are protected with high hand so the tampering is rare.

However, technically speaking, it is possible to ‘hack’ the current EVMs which were used in the recent elections. In order to hack it, we have to adopt some realities. To hack an EVM, one needs to have physical access to the Ballot Unit for enough time. If you have physical access and time is not an issue, then you can remove the original chip, put your own chip which fulfils your needs and Voila! You have hacked it. If you do not have physical access to it, you can at least manipulate it by wireless communication. Bluetooth and Internet can easily do it. Again, you can hack it physically if you have access to the programming ports of the Ballot Machine. You can just plug a wire in the programming port of the EVM connected to your computer and burn new code with it.

The Big Question is that can all of the above thing really happen?

The answer is NO.

Because the hackers will never have that much time at hand even if they get their own circuit ready. It will take more than 90 seconds to open, remove, and replace the ‘motherboard’ of the EVM. You will need to carry necessary tools to the Polling Booth which is highly impossible given the security checks. A tamper-proof feature has also been added in the EVMs which mean that if there is an attempt to physically open it, the machine will be useless and can’t be used further. Both the Ballot Unit and Control Unit are stand-alone devices. It means that they are not connected with any form of communication. A Ballot Unit will be able to communicate with the Control Unit only when they are connected to each other while counting of votes. There is no provision or scope of connecting it to the Internet or Bluetooth. The main microcontroller comes with a pre-burned program which cannot be replaced as it can be programmed only once. Also, to write an alternate program, hackers need to have a meticulous study of the circuit of the EVM so that we know which port of EVM is connected to what.

The Ballot Machine is essentially a counter which just counts how many times a particular button is pressed. When the button is pressed once in real time, the programmer has to make sure that it is read only once. So, to register one vote only, the Ballot machines freeze for some fixed time of few seconds. In those few seconds, if you press any button for any numbers of times, nothing will be registered.

When I say hacking is not possible, you may recollect the Dummy EVM which was ‘demonstrated’ in the Delhi Assembly by the AAP leaders. It was a homemade EVM whose code was written to cater to specific needs. It was essentially a mini-project of engineering college level. There were no security provisions attached to it for obvious reasons as he programmed it just to show how vulnerable the EVM is. The real EVMs come with a lot of security features. Some political parties even alleged that the machines are made abroad and the countries which manufacture them do not use it themselves as it can be tampered. This is also an ERRONEOUS interpretation. These are manufactured by Indian PSUs and we are in fact exporting it to various African and Asian countries. One should not undermine the Indian techies. Moreover, the Election Commission of India is a highly credible institution and it is respected on Global Level as well. It is shameful that a few people are trying to malign its image on trivial grounds. We are assuming all officials, manufacturing companies, government officials are innocent and EVMs’ tampering opportunity exists only outside this ambit. The company that builds these machines is highly skilled and it is their expertise domain where they might have kept ‘n’ number of secret doors which only they know.

We, the people of India, need to be more mature and should not get carried away with such rumour mongering and displayed ticks without having full-proof knowledge. Politics is always at its best in demeaning each other; we as voters should not lose faith in the democracy and its pillars.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

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Read why Raj Thackeray is supporting Cong-NCP?

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Afternoon Voice

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April 16, 2019

Since the election schedule was announced and elections are going on some of the states, many political parties are all set to celebrate the victory in Maharashtra state. The major political parties of the state are Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who play a crucial role in forming the government in Centre. Shiv Sena has alliance with the BJP whereas the NCP has alliance with the Congress. On one hand, a major portion of the state voters support the Shiv Sena-BJP, whereas on the other hand, another major portion of the voters support the NCP-Congress.

Both the Congress and BJP have the same hold in the state, however, it is interesting to see, if Sena-BJP again comes to power after feeding the ideology of Hindutva to the voters or NCP-Congress retain the power by bringing all the corruptions cases, farmers’ issues and cast based issues at the front and exposing the Sena-BJP. BJP leader Ranjit Patil was quoted as saying the BJP will win 46 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra state. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, everyone knows that we have strong hold here and also our government in the state has done remarkable works in the last five years. It has introduced so many schemes regarding education, farmers, and youths.

Before the elections schedule was announced, hectic political developments were underway. There was a possibility of an announcement to this defect after the meeting between MNS chief Raj Thackeray and NCP leader Ajit Pawar months back. But, no decision was announced even after that meeting and party workers continued to remain confused about their role in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, recently Raj Thackeray declared that he will support for the Congress-NCP alliance in the state. Whereas, after mudslinging at each other for the last five years, BJP and Shiv Sena had announced their alliance, Congress-NCP too had declared their alliance. However, MNS was yet to declare its decision on participating in the coming elections.

Raj Thackeray – who has been attacking Modi and BJP government for the last some years, was an ardent admirer of same Modi in 2011. Thackeray praised Modi and his government in Gujarat. He was among one of the guests at Modi’s swearing at the Chief Minister in 2012. Thackeray also supported Modi campaigns and mocked Rahul Gandhi during the 2014 general elections. And to add some more, few days back, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, he said that he was not against the idea of Rahul Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister and mocked Modi government for its failures on every aspect.

MNS was founded in 2006. However, it was off to a blistering start in 2009, when it won 13 seats in the state elections and 27 of its candidates made it to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 2012 and since then it has floundered. Raj Thackeray is left with very few alternatives and to survive or to be relevant in the state his decision to move away from the BJP and stand with the Congress-NCP is completely motivated by the fact that this is possibly the final chance to revive his party and be alive in the state politics.

Thackeray has set his eyes on for the state elections later this year and more importantly – on the civic elections in the city in 2022 and then he will need support from the Congress and the NCP. And it could be seat arrangements or something less formal. However, he thought the help from these parties might save the future of MNS which is at the verge to diminish.

NCP president Sharad Pawar wanted to bring MNS as a partner but the Congress would have none of it. The current arrangement where Thackeray campaigns in few selected constituencies in Mumbai – is a compromise. Raj Thackeray can add votes of his supporters, especially of Mumbai to Congress-NCP and it becomes even easier as the voters of the state are confused and disgruntled with the Uddhav Thackeray’s confusion as one day he criticises Modi, BJP and on the other day he hugs Amit shah.

Since Thackeray has decided to support these parties, he must have to prove his power and influence by bringing votes and if the coalition wins a couple of seats in Mumbai then for sure they will support Thackeray and from there he could would be able build himself again with the backing of these biggies and the alternative could be oblivion. In his speech on the 13th foundation day programme of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), linking Pulwama attack with 2015 Pathankot terrorist attack – Raj Thackeray resorted a bitter criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and claimed that another attack is possible before or during the Lok Sabha elections. However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reacted sharply and said that Raj Thackeray is a parrot of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. He a great artist that is the reason he never speaks his mind. He only knows to read out script given to him and all of his scripts come from Baramati. Whenever there is dearth of parrots for Baramati, Raj Thackeray readily agrees to volunteer. Ignore the person who has no ability to get even one corporator or MLA elected. He does not have even 12 players in his team. Such a person does not deserve our attention.

Are election promises fantasies or can be fulfilled?

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Web Team

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April 16, 2019

The election manifesto should not be a political gimmick. A true picture of the development of the country should be presented in it, but in the previous elections, most of the promises made by various parties have not been fulfilled. Nonetheless, both the major parties of the country, the BJP and the Congress have introduced their manifesto in the election battleground. The BJP has named its manifesto as the “Sankalp Patra”, while the Congress has named it as “Ham Nibhaayenge”.

In the manifesto, the BJP has said that it will terminate Article 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP says that it will provide relief to non-permanent residents and women. The BJP has also said that it will empower central security forces. These promises can be fulfilled because it requires only a majority in both the houses and will power.

The Congress has said in the manifesto that it will dismiss the section 124 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), defining the crime of sedition. The Congress has also said in the manifesto to bring an amendment to Armed Forces Special Rights Act, 1958. Congress believes that this will maintain a balance between the security forces and the citizens, but such provisions do not appear to be appropriate.

The BJP has promised to provide LPG cylinders to all the poor families. It is also talking about giving a permanent home to every family. It wants to provide electricity, water, and toilets to all households. Under the Ujjwala scheme, work has been done to provide gas cylinders to poor families.

At the end of 2018, 100 percent electrification work has been completed in the 25 states. According to the latest data, only 10.48 lakh houses have to be electrified in 4 states i.e. Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, and Chhattisgarh. Swachh Bharat Mission-Rural was inaugurated on October 2, 2014, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. At that time, there were only 38.70 per cent of homes free from defecation, which increased to 98.84 percent by January 31, 2019. In this way, the facility of gas cylinders, electricity and toilets can be made available to the common people. Yes, the BJP may have to face some difficulties in providing drinking water.

Under the minimum income scheme, Congress will directly deposit Rs 72 thousand per annum in the account of 50 million families. Rs 36 trillion is needed for implementation of this scheme. To make arrangements of funds, the existing government schemes like Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee act (MGNREGA), Public Distribution System (PDS), etc. will have to be closed. If this is done, then there will be an atmosphere of distrust among the people.

Since it is not possible to discontinue the existing schemes, it will be difficult for Congress to fulfill this promise.

The BJP has said in the manifesto that it will double the income of farmers by the year 2022, which can be fulfilled with the help of agriculture and allied activities, especially by animal husbandry. It will give interest-free Kisan Credit Card (KCC) up to Rs 1 Lakh, which will remain valid until five years. It wants to spend Rs 25 lakh crore on rural development. It wants to make land record digital. An interest-free KCC up to Rs 1 Lakh, expenditure on rural development or digitization of land records, giving pension to small and marginal farmers, etc. are possible. It can be accomplished through budget management.

The Congress will bring a separate budget for farmers. The Congress is also saying that in case of non-payment of the loan, the criminal case against farmers will be run as a civil case. It wants to increase the days of working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from 100 to 150. Congress can fulfill these promises, as these are feasible.

The BJP is talking about creating new jobs in 22 major areas of the economy. It wants to come up with a new plan to provide employment opportunities in the North-Eastern states. Under the Mudra Scheme, loans have been provided to more than 17 crore entrepreneurs. The BJP wants to get it reached to 30 crore, whereas the Congress is talking about providing 22 lakh government jobs by March 2020. Millions of posts are currently vacant in the central and the states. Millions of employees are also needed at the Panchayat level. In the central and the states, millions of people are yet to be recruited. Congress has also said that youth will not need to complete any kind of formalities to start their own business. It seems that both the BJP and Congress can fulfill these promises.

The BJP has said to increase vacancies in educational institutions. It wants to increase the number of seats in management, science, law and engineering institutions. It wants to open 200 new Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas by 2024. To provide quality education, the BJP is also talking about setting up a training institute, so that the quality of education can improve. Congress has said in the manifesto that it will spend 6 percent of GDP on education. It wants to get it reached all the institutions on the highest level. On the education front, both the BJP and Congress can fulfill their commitments through budget management.

In order to bring improvement in the health sector, the BJP has announced to open 75 new medical colleges in the manifesto. The BJP also wants to ensure the availability of a doctor on 1400 people, providing first aid facility to every poor in the country by 2022. Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, half a million health and wellness centers will be opened by 2022.

At the same time, Congress is talking about strengthening the government hospitals, so that it can easily be provided to the poor with a high level of healthcare facilities. It is not easy to ensure the availability of a doctor on 1400 people, as per the annual report of the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence; there is currently a doctor available in India of 11,082 population.

It can be said that the BJP has made promises in its manifesto which can be fulfilled, but promises made by Congress cannot be fulfilled. Most of their promises may not come true on the realm of reality.

By Satish Singh

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

Content carries weight in cinemas: Part II

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C K Subramaniam

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April 16, 2019

Cinema is losing its old-world charm. Gone are the days when the audience were star-struck. Today, stars are no longer an enigma or mystery. Page 3 of every newspaper bears the stars and all. For those who are spared by the media, there’s social media. Stars today tweet, connect on Facebook and come on the radio and television. They open up to their audiences. Their fans know and accept that stars too are human beings, just like them. They have faults too, they have a life too.

With the mystery of cinema solved and the stars losing their larger than life persona, the content has become the king. Unless a film has a track that’s compelling enough to hold the attention of the audiences, banner and big names can’t make a difference. The Corporates entered the cine field in the year 2006 and messed it up because they bumped in ridiculous money without checking on the business viability of the projects. However, we are in a corrective space now. So, in the year 2011, we will have fewer films. Today, it is increasingly becoming difficult to shoot in any part of India. You have to bribe the police and extract individual permissions to shoot a single sequence. In foreign locations, you are given blanket permissions. That is why a lot of foreign filmmakers shoot India in Thailand.

Bollywood has discovered the art of marketing and reaching out to as many people in the audience as possible. Obscene amounts of money are spent to ensure that viable film makes a lot of noise before it comes. Hindi Cinema is now doing experiments. Casting a 14 year-old-child as AURO would have diluted the impact the character made when Amitabh Bachchan played it. When you see your favourite star doing something extraordinary, the experience of watching the film gets even better. In a film like Taare Zameen Par, you needed a 12-year-old boy to play the lead character. At the Box Office, Love, Sex, and Dhoka made Rs 9 crore and it was produced for Rs 1.5 crore. Both My Name is Khan and Raavan failed at the Box Office with too much publicity and star value. However, the terrible big films that may have lost on the critics appraise have grossed a lot more. It just proves that people want big stars. A Film with big stars boomerang at the Box Office and at the same time a film with little known stars do well at the Box Office. Thus, the audience need change and the appearance of the same stars is not liked by many. Small films have been lost in the world of mainstream films, 80 per cent of which are terrible. However, at the same time, not all small films are great. It is always advisable to get good work and reach it to as many as possible to assure greater success at the Box Office. The film should reach C grade cities also like Gaddar and Lagaan did and made big money. There lies the real success of Hindi Cinema World.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: April 16, 2019

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Web Team

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April 16, 2019

FEATURE LETTER DIARY 679x400 e1553672678487 — Letters to the Editor: April 16, 2019 9

Limit number of TV serial

It is observed that many TV serials continue for years after years with even change in generations of the characters shown in such TV serials. It makes viewers TV-addicted with an unimaginable number of total man-hours viewing TV-serials only adversely affecting studies of students and proper attention to children by mothers who are victims of such addiction. Already social media has ruined life-style and working-efficiency of all including office-goers.

Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting should regulate a maximum number of episodes in a normal TV serial to say 52 (one year). However, such a restriction may not be there on epic-serials. Even TV serials with a single story in each episode can also be exempted.

Madhu Agrawal

God’s Friday

‘Good Friday’ is a great festival of Christians. It usually falls between March 20 and April 23. This festival is observed to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His death at Calvary. Initially, it was called ‘God’s Friday’. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, it is known as the ‘Great Friday’.

On this day prayer and meditation take place at all churches. Good Friday is observed as a day of fasting, mourning, sorrow, and prayer.

Jubel D’Cruz

Suspend E-Challans till roads are fit for travel!

Traffic discipline is absolutely necessary but E-Challans are a farcical exercise if most of the city roads are dug up for one reason or the other. Often the green light at traffic signals turn red even without a single vehicle moving which is cause for concern & motorists forced to break rules, else, stranded the whole day on roads. 153 crores is a lot of money collected by RTO as fine and a staggering overdue sum of 228 odd crores yet to be collected means the e-challan system has its faults when those fined are unaware of the offence.

E-Challans should be suspended till Mumbai roads are done up and fit for travel without hassles. Every car owners cell number should be registered compulsorily with RTO so that it becomes easy for the department to inform the car owner about offence and easy to collect fines. Fines should not be a revenue generator but a tool to impose discipline on roads for safe travel!

S.N.Kabra

Pak wives of ex-Kashmiri militants can be helped by FJP

As per media reports on Friday, the Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants (who had returned under the J&K government’s rehabilitation program for surrendered militants) carried-out a protest in Srinagar demanding citizenship, travel documents, passports, etc as without these they are suffering immensely.

We through our ‘Fauji Janta Party’ (FJP) can help these harassed women in getting what they are demanding. Therefore through your esteemed media, the FJP asks these women to contact me through this email or Whatsapp No 7353541252 so that the FJP can discuss their problems in detail with them in order to formulate a program for getting justice to these harassed women

Hem Raj Jain

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Income-Tax officers raid dozen locations in Karnataka

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Web Team

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April 16, 2019

The Income-Tax officers on Tuesday conducted raids at about a dozen premises in Karnataka on charges of tax evasion. The raids were conducted in Bangalore, Hassan, and Mandya. The Income-Tax department said that the action is aimed against tax evaders and black money generators.

According to an official, links of these persons with respect to ongoing polls will also be a part of the investigative operation. The searches are based on credible intelligence that certain businessmen have earned income not disclosed to tax and are in possession of undisclosed assets. Taxpayers covered in the search operations are engaged in the business of real estate, quarrying and stone crushing, executing government contracts, operating petrol bunks, sawmill and managing cooperative banks. These are sectors, which are prone to generation of black money. The 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state will go to polls in two phases on April 18 and 23.

Maneka threatens, Hema offends vote banks

By

Rajesh Choudhary

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April 15, 2019

Maneka Gandhi And Hema Malini During Compaign

Actress-turned-politician and BJP’s sitting MP from Mathura Hema Malini disagrees with the Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on helping Muslims. It is learned that hardliners of BJP and RSS in Mathura are anguished at her stand on Muslims. On the other hand, Maneka Gandhi threatened Muslims not to get their work done if they do not vote for her. Maneka Gandhi is a BJP candidate from Sultanpur constituency in UP. Thus, it seems both Hema Malini and Maneka Gandhi are harming their electoral prospects and it would be interesting to see how the two candidates fair in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

It is worth mentioning that in Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency, the Muslim voters are in sizeable numbers. Muslims are a deciding factor in elections there. Therefore, it is considered harmful to offend them. At the same time, in Mathura, the Jat community comprises about 20 per cent of the population. Hema Malini’s husband Dharmendra belongs to this community. Recently, Dharmendra was in Mathura. He repeated his famous dialogues from the Hindi blockbuster “Sholay” as he campaigned here for his wife Hema Malini. He said, “If you will not vote for “Basanti”, I will climb up the water tank of the village.”

When asked to comment on both the candidates’ electoral prospects, Nitin Raut, Chairman of Scheduled Caste Department of All India Congress Committee (AICC) said, “Both of them are trying to mislead the voters. They are not bothered about the welfare of people and only want to win the election. Hence, they are issuing such statements. I don’t think Muslims will vote for either of them.”

Addressing an election rally in Turab Khani village in Sultanpur, Maneka Gandhi told Muslims that she was all set to win and they should vote for her as they would need her help in future. She said, “I am winning… But if my victory is without support from Muslims, I won’t feel that good. The heart will become sour. Then when a Muslim comes to me for work, I think to think over?” Sultanpur constituency will vote on May 12.

Richa Singh, Samajwadi Party spokesperson, said, “The BJP government is in power for last five years at Centre and two years in Uttar Pradesh but they have failed to fulfill the promises made by them. They have failed to generate employment, have not implemented farm loan waiver. Law and order is deteriorating in Uttar Pradesh.”

“Maneka Gandhi is threatening voters by saying that she won’t work for their welfare after getting re-elected. Hema Malini has been unable to create awareness among voters about what work she had done in the last five years. She is giving false assurance to voters and taking advantage of her stardom,” she added.

The District Election Officer of Sultanpur has served a notice on Maneka Gandhi for her remarks at a political rally and allegedly threatening Muslims. Her statement had triggered a sharp reaction from the Opposition parties. The Congress accused her of dividing people in the name of caste and community.

BJP MLA Laxmi Narayan told Afternoon Voice, “Hema Malini’s campaign is going on well in Mathura. I have organised around 115 meetings. Dharmendra and Hema Malini’s meeting was also very successful. Educated Muslims are voting for BJP. Muslims support Hema Malini as she is a politician and had done several developmental works in Mathura. Hardline Muslims won’t vote for Hema Malini.”

Hema Malini said that once elected from a constituency, a leader has to help everybody and cannot say ‘No’ to those who did not vote for him or her. Asked to react to the Maneka Gandhi’s statement, Hema Malini said, “Everybody is different” and she does not hold the same view. She also said, “Even if they (Muslims) do not vote for us, we cannot say ‘No’ to their work. Once we are representing a constituency, we are supposed to help all…. I feel so.” Hema Malini is in Mathura these days, which will go to polls on April 18.

BJP MLA Surya Bhan Singh said, “There is a Muslim majority in Sultanpur. Hardline Muslims will not vote for BJP but patriotic Muslims will support us. Maneka Gandhi’s statements have been misquoted by the media. We have offered Rs 1 to 2 lakhs for the medical treatment of people in her constituency. This time Maneka will win by a margin of 3 to 4 lakhs.”

Elected ones are expected to work for all setting political stands aside

By

Vaidehi Taman

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April 15, 2019

Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi have a very strong mantra and that is nothing but animosity against some religion. This is not just these two but even Sanjay Gandhi was not much in favour of the Muslims of India. He was against an increasing population which he thought was a major hurdle in the growth of India. He wanted to deal with it highhandedly. He saw population growth and poverty amongst Muslims on a greater scale as compared to the Hindus. He went ahead with mass sterilisation (conveyor-belt sterilisations) to control the problem. Birth Control is a big Taboo in Islam; there was a huge cry from Muslims against this. The right-wing ideology in Gandhi family was flagged by Sanjay Gandhi; after the death of Sanjay, his wife Maneka wasn’t given any political responsibility. After Indira’s death, Rajiv was chosen as the PM’s candidate and even by the opposition inside the Congress, he was chosen as the PM also. After that, she fought an independent election against Rajiv. She was defeated; after Rajiv’s death, Sonia, his wife, was chosen as the front-runner for the PM’s post. Congress became the largest party after the 1991 elections. Sonia refused to join the politics and then the veteran Congressman PV Narasimha Rao was chosen as the PM and the President of the Party. Maneka remained as the independent MP from Pilibhit. She became the Minister in the government of Vajpayee and just before the 2004 election, she joined the BJP with her son. The nature of their schizophrenic relationship with the BJP, the bond of pain and trauma Varun had with his mother, who he had seen struggling all his life, worked on himself. BJP had a soft corner for Maneka because of her strong contrary to Congress and the Gandhis. She became a part of the NDA under the Vajpayee leadership and she held portfolio too. In 2004, she officially joined BJP and later her son too.

Rajiv (elder son of Indira Gandhi) and Sonia got married in 1968. Sanjay (younger son of Indira Gandhi) and Maneka got married six years later in 1974. The two daughters-in-law of the Gandhi family were perfectly opposite to each other in nature. On becoming a part of the Gandhi family, Sonia became the typical Indian daughter-in-law! She started calling her mother-in-law “Mummy”, started wearing sarees, started learning Hindi and learned cooking, would look after the household chores and take care of the home. She was shy and frightened at the same time to be a part of the family that was constantly in the public eye. Maneka, on the other hand, was dynamic. She was the daughter of a colonel. She could not adjust to the non-smoking, non-drinking Gandhi family. She knew none of the household chores. She loved being in the limelight. As a teenager, she had even done a modelling assignment for a towel (Bombay Dyeing, I guess) that caught the eye of Sanjay Gandhi. The sobriety of the Gandhi residence often suffocated her. Sonia was content as a wife and a mother. She and Rajiv were happy to look after their children and stay away from any kind of publicity. Maneka, on the other hand, had political ambitions. She was manipulative and was planning for the future as she believed that Sanjay would someday be the Prime Minister. The preference for the mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi, was thus clear. Sonia was her favourite. Maneka’s fiery temperament and political leanings evoked anger and resentment in Indira Gandhi. This often led to disputes within the family which didn’t go unnoticed. Maneka has done more damage to Indira than anyone else – that awful woman got under her skin; these same personal disputes turned political. Congress is known to be a secular party and exactly opposite Maneka chose to be collective.

Sanjay Gandhi was very active in politics and was considered to be the right hand of Indira Gandhi. He wielded great power in Indian politics as well as the Indian National Congress throughout his lifetime. Sanjay Gandhi was then seen as the first preference for Indira Gandhi’s political heir and successor. However, after his death and the differences with Maneka, Indira went close to Rajeev than considering her Maneka as her preference in carrying out Sanjay’s political legacy. After Sanjay’s death, Maneka turned overtly political. She believed that she was the rightful inheritor of Sanjay’s position but Indira Gandhi threw Maneka Gandhi out of the house. The political legacy of the Gandhi family was thus passed on to Rajiv Gandhi. Manic Maneka Gandhi then founded her own political party called the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch in 1983. The party had great success in the Andhra Pradesh State Election winning 4 out of 5 seats that it contested. Riding this success, Maneka decided to file the nomination from her husband’s seat in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, against Rajiv Gandhi in 1984. Her victory was sure as she had the public sympathy after Sanjay’s death. However, in the same year, Indira Gandhi was assassinated and the wave of sympathy turned towards Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi won by a huge margin, went on to become India’s Prime Minister and Maneka was once again got humiliated. This was the incident that turned Maneka anti-Congress.

Time has changed but Menaka still poaches her instincts in politics. In the recent past, a video of hers got viral and in that she was saying, “If my victory is without Muslims, I won’t feel that good. ‘Dil Khatta Ho Jayega’ [heart will become sour). She set off a political storm when a video clip went viral on social media, showing her telling Muslims that if they did not vote for her, she might not be responsive to their requests later. She further stated “It is all give and take, a negotiation, isn’t it? We are not all children of Mahatma Gandhi, are we?” “I have already won the election but you will need me. This is your chance to lay the foundation. When the election comes and this booth throws up 100 votes or 50 votes, and then you come to me for work, we will see… do you all understand.” The veiled threat in the speech evoked strong condemnation across the board from social media. Never before in the history of independent India and her elections has this happened and the Election Commission of India continues to look away and not act. The general elections in India can be a bizarre time as politicians shoot their mouths off to get votes. Netas promise the moon and stars, but Union Minister Maneka Gandhi isn’t one of them. This time, Gandhi seems to have decided that she will threaten people with joblessness and deprivation if they don’t vote for her. Never mind that an elected representative is supposed to work for everyone in his/her constituency, irrespective of their political stands.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Content carry weight in cinemas: Part I

By

C K Subramaniam

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April 15, 2019

Content plays a crucial role in Indian films and character plays a pivotal role. A screenplay or content carries more weight in films. These screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated. Films are an expression of creativity and money has nothing to do with them. Cinematic history is strife with stories where many low budget films have created a shift in the market trends while many big budget films have bombed.

While the industry churns out close to 1,000 films every year, their differentiation is not significant, and the last few years have been a period of slow growth with the declining quality of content and increased competition from cable and satellite television and international films. While the industry has progressed from hand painted posters and hoardings to Internet marketing and targeted promotions, filmmakers are also faced with more competition, not just from other films, but also other forms of entertainment and spending options for the consumer.

So, just as in any other business, an understanding of the consumer, his spending habits and demands of the product are critical to targeting the right consumer base with the right product and the right pitch. Technology will help deliver content in several forms, and that will change the kind of films people go out to see and stay at home to watch. But the draw of the big screen will not go away. The story is constructed to take advantage of the considerable power of cinema. The visual experience happens to us. It can be grand, perhaps in the films from South have more technicalities, the movies from Bollywood have melodious songs and Bhojpuri films are entertainers and we as cine goers look for content in the quality of the films.

Some examples of low budget films that did well include Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and Hyderabad Blues in the past succeeded well at the Box office. Some big banner films that flopped include Kites and Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. In fact, Bollywood itself is a brand, as it has a culture and a system that is unlike any other film industries. The most successful projects are family films: be it a Rajshri Films or a Disney, so this is an area that can still be developed in a big way. All of the above-mentioned films, in fact, had a great star cast, with crores of rupees being pumped into them, but they failed to make a mark. The reason for this is a mental shift in the thinking of the audience. Gone are the days when audiences would fill up cinema halls just because a movie had been filmed in a good location.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Largest elections on Earth get underway

By

Web Team

-

April 15, 2019

Often termed as the largest democracy on Earth, India has gone for national elections since April 11, 2019, and the biggest electoral exercise through electronic voting machines (EVM) will continue till May 19. Over 900 million voters will participate in the seven-phase general elections to elect 543 representatives to 17th Lok Sabha, the powerful lower house of Indian Parliament in New Delhi.

Conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), world’s most powerful electoral institution, the unique experience for the human race will unveil the winner on May 23 counting day who would rule the one billion-plus nation for next five years.

After completion of its term in office, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is seeking a fresh mandate from the electorate. The NDA nominees in the polls are primarily facing candidates belonged to the opposition Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The third front, a loose coalition of some regional political parties across the country, named Maha Gathbandhan, is also expected to put challenges to both NDA and UPA candidates in selective Parliamentary constituencies.

In the last general elections, projected Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did almost a magic that helped the nationalist party to win an absolute majority with 282 seats in the Lok Sabha (LS). NDA’s total tally increased up to 336 (out of the 545, where two members are nominated) in the 2014 national polls. On the other hand, the oldest party (Congress) shrank to 44 seats in the house of people’s representatives.

BJP’s aggression to the once disturbed northeastern region of the country simply routed the Congress from any government in eight provinces (commonly known as State). Till 2014, the Congress used to have province governments in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh. Now all the States including Tripura and Nagaland are ruled by ether BJP or its allies. The region, surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China), Myanmar and Bangladesh, sends 25 members to the LS, but this time BJP leadership has taken the share very seriously. BJP president Amit Shah claims that his saffron party along with allies will win over 20 seats from the region. The Congress has not made any claim but maintained their candidates will do fairly well in the forthcoming polls.

Prime Minister Modi, the star poll-campaigner of BJP, keeps seeking votes for his developmental activities along with non-corrupt governance and security to the nation. Besides pledging for more roads, airports, and other infrastructures, he promised more jobs for the youths. At the same time, Modi maintained that they would continue various welfare programs like providing toilets, houses, cooking gas, crop insurance, loans for small businesses and also electricity connections.

On the other hand, the leadership of Congress party that ruled the populous south Asian country for over five decades since 1947 promised to make India a poverty-free nation by 2030 with provisions of minimum income guarantee scheme, waving of peasant’s bank loan and creation of sustainable jobs. He continues targeting PM Modi for failure in various aspects including in realizing the saffron leader’s earlier promise to create 10 million jobs every year for Indian nationals.

The young party president Rahul Gandhi has drawn attention from the citizens with his promise that if voted to power they would provide a minimum guaranteed income of Indian rupees 72,000 per year to every poor family. Asian Human Rights Commission also issued as a statement praising Gandhi for his proposed initiative that would enhance the international mission for sustainable development goals by 2030. In the eastern region, the Congress is expecting electoral benefits out of the ruling party’s much-debated citizenship amendment bill (CAB), which sparked massive reactions among northeastern ethnic groups. Most of the people in northeast India opposed the saffron plan to welcome persecuted religious asylum seekers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, who had already entered the country before December 31,
2014.

CAB was successfully passed in the LS on January 8 and was soon scheduled for Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament so that it could be sent to the President of India for necessary endorsements. However, it was not pushed forward by the Union (federal) government as the ruling party had no majority in the Council of States. Thus, the initiative to amend the law lapsed with an embarrassment to the Hindu nationalist party.

The socio-political scenario of the country had changed dramatically with the February 14 Pulwama terror attack that killed over 40 paramilitary soldiers. Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the assault sending a massive wave of pain and anger among millions of patriotic Indians!

Public sentiments against JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and his promoter the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were fully materialized by Modi and the hardliner Prime Minister launched a verbal war over Islamabad. His assertion was followed by sudden aerial attacks in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (PKP) locality on February 26, where the Indian air-forces claimed to hit many JeM terror bases.

Need not to mention that any major elections in northeast India were synonymous to violence perpetrated by insurgents, who had been fighting the Centre (New Delhi) for decades demanding self-rule to sovereignty. The separatist militant outfits even earlier dictated the people to avoid the electoral process as they asserted it as being a symbol of suppression by the colonial Indian forces. However, the northeastern electorate valiantly defied their diktat.

Influential and dreaded armed groups like United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) made it a habit to issue press statements threatening the electorate of dire consequences if they prefer to cast their votes and later the same militants secretly supported poll-candidates of their choices. This time two Manipur based insurgent groups namely Zomi Re-unification Organisation and Kuki National Organization came out with covert supports to saffron candidates.

However, both factions of Ulfa have shown reluctance in intervening over the polls. When the pro-talk faction led by Arabindra Rajkhowa recently made it clear that they would not be a part of the electoral process, the other faction led by Paresh Barua maintained silence over their involvement. Rather Barua, while talking to local media from his secret shelter somewhere in Myanmar-China border, disclosed that they did a pre-poll survey where he saw BJP as a probable gainer.

By Nava Thakuria

(The author of the article is a journalist based in northeast India.)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)