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Digital issue

RNI NO. 7044/1961

Lost & found: dara shikoh

www.outlookindia.com July 13, 2020

WhyTourism

is the Key?

The sector can be the pivot to unshackle the viral chains on the Indian economy. But the way you

travel and spend holidays will dramatically change

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COvEr StOryTourism comprises 10% of India’s GDP; 100 million jobs depend on it. A dozen states can be bankrupt if the sector doesn’t revive, or get a bailout. Also, the economy cannot rebound without tourism.

‹ N a v i g a t o r ›

10 | SkElETONS IN THE MugHAl ClOSETHave we found the resting place of Dara Shikoh among the 140-odd graves in the Humayun tomb complex?

16 | TICkINg OuT TIkTOkIndia’s ban on 59 Chinese apps could inspire other countries to rethink the national secu-rity implications of Chinese technology

20 | blAST fROM THE PASTNehru failed in 1962. Indeed. But his failure gives Congress the weapon to corner the BJP. How?

26

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September 2019 • `100

Decoding the secrets of

Millennial Travel

THE GREAT DEBATE

DARK TOURISM SOMEWHERE ELSE?

SANYA

Top DestinationsTravel StyleHot TipsCool Gear

Fake news got more worrisome. There is now technology to morph

videos and audio to make them real. RNI NO. 7044/1961

8 904150 800010 73

www.outlookindia.com September 23, 2019 Rs 60

RAKHIGARHI RIDDLE WHAT DOES THE DNA TELL US?

DeepFake

SEEING is not

BELIEVING

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The insurance sector enacts strict laws to curb

the frauds menace

INDIA’S NO.1

TRAVEL MAGAZINE

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8 904150 800003 90 ST E V E G U E R DAT n R AG H U R A I n K E N I LWO RT H n I S R A E L

September 2019 • `100

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THE GREAT DEBATE

DARK TOURISM SOMEWHERE ELSE?

SANYA

Top DestinationsTravel StyleHot TipsCool Gear

Fake news got more worrisome. There is now technology to morph

videos and audio to make them real. RNI NO. 7044/1961

8 904150 800010 73

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RAKHIGARHI RIDDLE WHAT DOES THE DNA TELL US?

DeepFake

SEEING is not BELIEVING

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OUTLOOK BUSINESS | INDIA'S BEST WORKPLACES FOR WOMEN | SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 | T50

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Outlook Business — Great Place to Work bring you the second annual listing of top workplaces for women —see page 41

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INDIA'S BEST WORKPLACES

FOR WOMEN

Vol14-Issue-20, September 27, 2019.indd 1 09/09/19 9:55 pm

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आउटलुक-आइसीएआरई इंडिया यूडिवडससिटी रैंडकंग 2019

पुडलस डिरासत और जेलों

में बढ़ते मौतों के आंकड़े,

पुडलस यातिा के डवरुद्ध

कािूि वक्त की मांग

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0 0 outlook | july 6 , 2020

Playing With FireON E-MAILVijai Pant: This refers to the cover story Dragon At The Door (June 29). With the PLA having made inroads deep into the disputed areas along the LAC, the Indian army faces a formidable challenge. Restoring the status quo would test the Indian government’s negotiation skills. The muscular nationalism that the BJP swears by is at stake. The brutal killings of 20 soldiers have pushed Modi into a corner—some retaliation alone can save his image of a strong, decisive leader. Comparisons with Pakistan are obvious, but Modi knows that China is no Pakistan. The pros and cons will have to be weighed carefully before the next move. The blame for this situation rests with the Indian government. There were reports of China intruding into Ladakh since March, but there was no urgency to deal with the matter. The recent bloody fracas has led both countries to harden their positions, so chances of escalation cannot be ruled out.

LUCKNOWM.C. Joshi: India has always tried to be accommodative and friendly with China, while China has been belligerent. The story goes back to the great betrayal of 1962. In light of the violent clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh, India extending undeserved hospitality to Xi Jinping in 2014 seems foolish. Besides claiming Indian terri-tories, China has been sup-porting Pakistan. It has also emboldened Nepal, an old friend of India, to stake claim on Indian territory. Tension-free relations with an expan-sionist China is just wishful thinking—New Delhi must be practical. India’s China policy and ties with Taiwan need to be reset. Strategic support for the ongoing movements in Tibet and Hong Kong against Beijing is another option.

BANGALOREH.N. Ramakrishna: The boycott of China-made goods may not hurt for now, but India needs to become self-reliant regardless. Many nations are taking similar actions as they do not want to be dependent on China. Some are ensuring that their supply chains are more diversified. If India has to protect its indigenous industries and jobs, it has to take a pragmatic stand by imposing duties on Chinese imports, just as Trump did. Trade is a powerful instru-ment. Global Times, the voice of the Chinese Communist Party, is alarmed at the rising calls for a boy-cott. India is a big market. It should weaponise trade as China often does. With the pandemic, the world’s back-lash against China is picking up momentum.

MUMBAIAshok Goswami: Routine Chinese transgressions into Indian territory were a pre-meditated act. China’s devious way of skirting the agreement of no firearms by using barbed wire and rods was barbaric. It thinks that by aggressively pursuing military options and passively pursuing economic interests through state- sponsored companies, it might become powerful. But it is mis-taken. The world is slowly but surely recognising its mis-guided plans. India must respond both with short- and long-term strategies to counter their plans.

ChENNAIKangayam R. Narasimhan: China’s strategy is to periodi-cally annex small portions of Indian territory through stealth and deceit. Now, in the guise of doing military exer-cises in the Tibetan plateau, it has intruded into eastern Ladakh. In its eagerness to please China, India lacked the will to question the transgres-sions and relied merely on di-plomacy. It is also intriguing that both Ajit Doval and Bipin Rawat are keeping a low profile at this critical hour. However, India’s military capabilities have grown manifold over the past decades and China must pay now for the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers. Besides boy-cotting Chinese goods and can-celling major business contracts, India must upgrade its diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The LAC is 3,448km long and it is uncertain where the Chinese will intrude next. So, to counter more incursions across inter-national borders in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India must intensify patrolling in these areas. t

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4 outlook | july 13 , 2020

f e e d b a c k › o u t l o o k @ o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o mL e t t e r s

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m july 6 , 2020 | OutlOOk 0 0

JEDDAh, SAUDI ARABIAM. Haseen Ahmed: This refers to The Trunk Call Is An SOS (June 15). Just about everybody partook in the furore over the inad-vertent killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala. However, most of them turn a blind eye to the hor-rendous plight of emaci-ated street animals. During the lockdown, thousands of cattle were abandoned, unfed and uncared for. But in a country where we forced lakhs of people to walk back home without food or water, what else can we expect? As for wild ani-mals, stringent laws alone cannot provide succour to them when we keep des-troying their habitats for mining and industries.

MUMBAIBholey Bhardwaj: This refers to Small Scale, Mega Mess (June 15). The lock-down has been a double whammy for MSMEs. Their working capital has been wiped out and work-ers have left at a time when businesses are reopening. When they should have gone home, they were forced to stay put and when the nation started opening, they were allowed to go back. The govern-ment’s stimulus package seems good, but whether it will reach MSMEs is the question. Unless the gov-ernment ensures proper delivery and implementa-tion, chances are that MSMEs may not be able to turn around.

BANGALOREBhaskar P.: Bravo Salik Ahmad! The column on the web Dear Editor, I

Disagree With Your ‘Both-Sides’ Journalism (June 17) is on point. For some time now, I have been wondering whether it’s the same Outlook magazine of Vinod Mehta that I used to read. In the name of ‘both-sides’ journalism, inveter-ate liars have been peddling their hate-filled propaganda on the maga-zine’s pages.

GURGAONKamna Chhabra: Surviving in Bollywood req uires more than talent, especially for those who are outsiders like Sushant Singh Rajput (No One’s Godson, June 29). A master of his craft, he portrayed sensitive characters in reel life. In real life, unfortu-nately, Bollywood demands a thick skin to successfully negotiate the ups and downs of one’s career. Sushant wasn’t that type. He was a deep thinker, a loner away from the petty politicking of the film ind-ustry. Despite his acting skills, new projects were hard to come by, pushing him into depression. The film industry, instead of understanding his predica-ment, showed its callous-ness with unforgiving crass remarks against the actor.

GOAM.N. Bhartiya: This refers to the special issue COVID-19: All We Know, All We Don’t (June 22). The con-tention that the lockdown averted greater mortality is not convincing. The decla-ration of the complete lock-down with four hours notice on March 24 was the Centre’s unilateral deci-sion—chief ministers and

Opposition parties were not consulted and its impact was not considered. It was a shock for the nation, just like demon-etisation. The matter could have been handled in a more democratic manner. There should have been consulta-tions with all stakeholders. Stranded people should have been given a chance to reach their destinations. The Opposition and experts should have got an opportunity to

make suggestions. After all, the sky was not falling. Arranging speedy tests on a war footing should have been given the top priority in the first stage of contagion. If these measures were taken, the honest, hard-working masses, nicknamed ‘migrants’, would have suf-fered less. The whole issue was dealt with in a shoddy manner. Our rulers wrought huge human and economic losses to flatter their egos.

FROM thE Daak RoomDear Mr Elliott,

I have stolen from myself the opportunity of seeing the dream of every rejected author come true. The dream of every rejected author must be to see, like sugar plums danc-ing in his head, please-can’t-we-see-your-next-manuscript letters standing in piles on his desk, all coming from pub-lishing companies that rejected his previous manuscript, es-pecially from the more pompous of the fatted cows grazing contentedly in the publishing field. I am sure that under the influence of those dreams, some of the finest f**k-you prose in the English language has been composed but, alas, never published. And to think that the rare moment in his-tory came to me when I could in actuality have written the prose masterpiece for all rejected authors—and I didn’t even see that history had swung wide its doors to me.

You must have known that Alfred A. Knopf turned down my first collection of stories after playing games with it, or at least the game of cat’s-paw, now rolling it over and saying they were going to publish it and then rolling it on its back when the president of the company announced it wouldn’t sell. So I can’t understand how you could ask if I’d submit my second manuscript to Alfred A. Knopf.

But although I let the big moment elude me, it has given rise to little pleasures. For instance, whenever I receive a statement of the sales of A River Runs Through It from the University of Chicago Press, I see that someone has written across the bottom of it, ‘Hurrah for Alfred A. Knopf’. However, having let the great moment slip by unrecognized and una-dorned, I can now only weakly say this: if the situation ever arose when Alfred A. Knopf was the only publishing house remaining in the world and I was the sole remaining author, that would mark the end of the world of books.

Very sincerely,Norman Maclean

Dancing Plums Excerpts of a letter Norman Maclean wrote to an editor at Alfred A. Knopf. In 1975, the publisher had accepted his manuscript, only to later reject it. In 1981, when the editor expressed interest in his forthcoming book, Maclean wrote this response.

f e e d b a c k › o u t l o o k @ o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o mL e t t e r s

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 5

6 outlook | july 13 , 2020

TheNews

G.C. Shekhar in Chennai

Sattankulam translates into Devil’s Pond. The police

station attached to this small town in south Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district lived up to that dystopian name when it claimed two lives in a horrific example of police torture. Till that fateful night on June 19, P. Jayaraj, 58, a timber merchant and his son, J. Benicks, 31, who owned a mobile phone shop, had never stepped into the police station. The father and the son, who regularly donated his AB -ve blood and travelled around with his friends, were law-abiding, ideal citizens.

Jayaraj was taken to the police station for keeping his shop open beyond the 8 pm Covid curfew. His son went to bring him back. Ideally, he should have been allowed to go on personal bail. But it was not to be. A group of sub-inspectors and constables allegedly rained lathis and blows on them. The savagery continued for hours, the family alleged, before they were taken to a magistrate—who looked at the two battered men from the second floor of his home—and remanded them in judicial custody. A government doctor certified that they were fit to be sent to jail. But their condition deteriorated on June 22 and had to be dashed to a hospi-tal, where the son died the same night while the father succumbed to his wounds the next morning.

The deaths brought to the fore the

ugly spectre of police atroc-ities—a topic that has been headlining across the globe since the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American, in Minneapolis. Public outrage engulfed Thoothukudi, or Tuticorin as it was known previously, and the fire soon spread, forcing the AIADMK gov-ernment of chief minister E.K. Palaniswami to the wall. The deaths could prove costly for the party—

the two men were Nadars, a “backward community” of traders with a sizeable vote bank in the southern districts.

“The policemen were emboldened by the fact that they could get away with similar cases of torture. Nothing had happened even after complaints about excesses to the SP, DGP, CMO and the state human rights commission. Even a semblance of action by their superiors would have put some fear into such policemen,” says Henri Tiphagne of Peo-ple’s Watch, a human rights group.

The cops showed no signs of remorse. They reportedly deleted the CCTV footage of that night, and attempted to wipe off bloodstains. Given such reports, the clamour for their arrest grew. The high court, which deployed the state CB-CID to fill in till the CBI took over the case, made sure the sta-tion inspector, two sub-inspectors and a constable were arrested by July 2. Four more constables were named in the FIR. The revenue authorities took control of the evidence and records and a woman head constable, who wit-nessed the ghastly crime. O

Khakis in Devil’s PondCustody death of a man and his son was India’s George Floyd moment

The family of P. Jayaraj and his son, Benick, mourn their death in police custory

People with mild, medium colour blind-ness can now obtain driving licence, says the roads ministry. The ministry consulted medical experts, who rec-ommended that mild to medium colour blind citizens be allowed to drive and restrictions should only be on those with severe colour blindness. This is the norm in most countries abroad.

Cosmetics brands—under pressure over products that promote skin fairness amid growing voices against racial stereotyping—are doing away with fair and white from their labels. French cosmetics major L’Oreal said it will remove words white, fair and light. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will stop using the word ‘fair’ in its flagship brand Fair & Lovely. Johnson & Johnson went a step further, saying it would stop selling skin whitening creams.

Yoga guru Ramdev, Acharya Balkr-ishna—the Patanjali Ayurved Limited’s CEO—and four more faced an FIR, which accuses them of misleading people by promoting the company’s drug Coronil as a cure for COVID-19. After facing criticism and government scrutiny, Balkrishna said they never claimed the drug “can cure or control coronavirus”.

P T I

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m

Poliglotm i x e d s h o t s

Thousands of families have been forced to shift to temporary shelters as

floodwaters inundated large tracts in the first wave of monsoon floods in Assam

Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha refuses to stay in political oblivion. With assembly elections due in Bihar later this year, Sinha is back with a Third Front to take on the JD(U)-BJP combine. The former Union minister tells Bhavna Vij-Aurora that his front will contest all 243 seats as “elections are a means to bring change in a democracy” and it is time to change Bihar. Excerpts from the interview:

How did the idea of a Third Front for Bihar come about?➞ In recent months, we watched the sad scenes of migrant workers walking back to their villages. The largest number was of those who belong to Bihar. As many as 40 lakh Biharis migrate from the state to look for jobs. Even after 73 years of independence, why is Bihar in such a mess? This question came to me time and again. I am a Bihari. I studied in Patna and was a Bihar-cadre IAS officer. Many others—friends, family and people of the state—had the same question and urged me to take the lead. I decided to try and lead a movement for change in Bihar, an ‘andolan’. Things are in a mess in the state.

What kind of a mess?➞ Nitish Kumar has been chief minister for the past 15 years, and when I looked at the data, I realised Bihar continues to be at the bottom in all development indices. For the past 27 years, Bihar has not developed in most sectors, including agriculture, health and education.

Are you going to contest all seats? Who all are supporting you?➞ Yes. We are going with the slogan ‘Is

I n t e r v I e w

‘Bihar is in a mess and we’ll change it’baar badlo Bihar, banao behtar Bihar’. Several small political parties, independents and intellectuals are part of the Third Front. We welcome all like-minded people and parties to join us in transforming the state.

Are you willing to ally with the Congress and the RJD?➞ I have not had any discussion with them, but yes, they are welcome. Anyone who is interested in developing Bihar can join in.

What about another BJP rebel and fellow Bihari, Shatrughan Sinha?➞ I have not spoken to him yet, so I wouldn’t know his mind. But yes, I will be talking to everyone in the coming days.

Political strategist Prashant Kishor had also talked about supporting a Third Front in Bihar. Are you in touch with him?➞ I have not spoken to him yet. But I am willing to explore. O

T r i b h u v A n T i w A r i

“Anyone intere s­ted in developing

the state is welcome to join

our Third Front.”

8 outlook | july 13 , 2020

brevis

Milton Glaser, the graphic designer who adorned Bob Dylan’s silhouette with psyche-delic hair and summed up the feelings for his native New York with “I (HEART) NY,” has died on his 91st birthday. In posters, logos, advertise-ments and book covers, Glaser’s ideas captured the spirit of the 1960s.

Charles Webb, a lifelong non-con-formist whose debut novel The Graduate was a deadpan satire of his college educa-tion and wealthy background adapt-ed into the classic film of the same name, has died. He was 81.

Choreographer Saroj Khan, a three-time Nation-al Award winner has died of cardiac arrest. She was 71. She choreo-graphed more than 2,000 songs in her 40-year career, including films like Mr. India, Tezaab.

Rajinder Singh, 73, a British Sikh from Harlington in west London, who became a social media hit as the “Skipping Sikh” after he skipped and raised funds for the National Health Ser-vice (NHS), has been awarded the Points of Light honour by PM Boris Johnson.

Yusuf Memon, a 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case convict and brother of ab-sconding accused Tiger Memon, has died at Nashik Road Central Jail. He was 57. Yusuf was accused of allowing his flat and garage at Al-Husseini building in Mumbai for terrorist activities.

Poliglot

t e l a n g a n a

A Suitable GiftM.S. Shanker in Hyderabad

The Telangana government led by CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao has decided to pass a resolution in the

state assembly asking the Centre to consider conferring the country’s highest honour—the Bharat Ratna—to India’s ninth PM Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao. “This is the least we can do as Telanganites for PV, our most valuable gift to the nation. After all, he was the second leader from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to become PM,” says Telangana Rashtra Samiti secre-tary-general Dr K. Keshava Rao, a Congress veteran and PV’s close follower, who has been entrusted by KCR with the responsibility of oversee-ing the year-long birth centenary celebrations of Narasimha Rao that began on June 28.

Narasimha Rao and then finance min-ister Dr Manmohan Singh are famously associated with unleashing the liberali-sation-privatisation-globalisation pro-cess, also called economic reforms, in the early 1990s. KCR, who would not miss out on honouring a son of the soil like

Narasimha Rao, per-haps didn’t want to displease the Con-gress by seeming to give him full credit for the reforms. So his government has proposed to get Manmohan Singh to chair and address a conclave on reforms in Delhi as part of the celebrations.

“The government proposes to organise conclaves across India and in some for-eign countries on some of PV’s pet top-ics, including literature, foreign policy and human resources,” says Shekhar Maramraju, son-in-law of Narasimha Rao’s daughter and member of the Ramananda Tirtha Memorial Commit-tee. “We are delighted by KCR’s magnan-imous gesture to honour PV, whose contribution as a politician during his chequered five-decade-long political career is immeasurable by any yard-stick.” Reminiscences of some of PV’s contemporaries are being compiled to be published as a coffee table book, which will be released at the concluding function on June 28, 2021.

Besides being a linguist of repute, Nar-asimha Rao was the first politician to earn the epithet of ‘Apara Chanakya’ for

his astute political skills. Heading a minority government from 1991 to 1996, Narasimha Rao combined a pioneering thrust on economic reforms with main-taining stable relations with foreign gov-ernments. His political career, which he started as a follower of Ramananda Tir-tha, took him first to the freedom move-ment against British rule and then the agitation against the Nizam in Hydera-bad. Eventually he joined the Congress and came to be known as a loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family. Although the relationship came under strain after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, it didn’t stop him from becoming the PM. He was later sidelined by his party, many say because the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on his watch. His final rites could not be performed in Delhi nor was land allotted for a memorial of the kind that previous PMs had got. O

KCR pays tribute to P.V. Narasimha Rao on his 99th birth anniversary on June 28

july 13 , 2020 | outlook 9

MixedShots

Poliglot

No MaNdariN iN This Mukku

The violent face-offs between the Chinese and Indian armies is causing repercussions as far as Kerala. After the incident, the people of China Mukku (literally China Junction) want

to change the name they got stuck with seven decades ago. Like every other problem contemporary India faces, some have traced its antecedents to Nehru. Legend has it that when India’s first prime minister visited Konni gram panchayat in Kerala, he noticed a sea of red flags in a communist stronghold. He apparently saw red and asked whether it was a China junction. That, supposedly, was the genesis of the anti-national name, which residents are now trying to dissociate themselves from. O

MooNshoT for a LuNar Loo

Space travel can be quite a shitty affair—literally so. After all, you

wouldn’t want your excretions floating like feathery seeds in zero-gravity spaces. Thankfully, space shuttles come equipped with toilets. but nASA is hoping to cut costs with a compact wC that weighs less than half of the toilets in use. As an incentive, they have launched the Lunar Loo Challenge with prizes worth rs 26 lakh. if nASA’s Artemis Moon mission is successful, a man and woman will land on the moon in 2024. And hopefully, they won’t have to stock up on adult diapers. O

deadWood’s d-day

W hat do you do when your child is not particularly bright? Well, some doting parents feed them Horlicks, some almonds

and some marry them off to wooden effigies. The latter was the fate of a man in Ghurpur, Uttar Pradesh. His father Shiv Mohan explains, “I have nine sons; eight of them are married. The ninth is not intelligent and has no property. So I got him married to an effigy.” We can’t wait to see what progeny this unique union will produce. Now if only all parents were as realistic about their darling offspring’s prospects! O

ki khaike Gi BaNaras WaLa

G one are the days when any lowly stuffed betel leaf could masquerade as the king of paans—the Banarasi paan. For it is soon going to get the Geographical Indication (GI) tag,

which will not allow people outside the region to appropriate the product and provide an impetus to exports. The Banarasi paan is not a lone ranger, however. It is in the august company of Banarasi langra mango, Barabanki handlooms, Adamchini rice and Muzaffarnagar jaggery—among the 26 products in Uttar Pradesh that are set to receive the coveted GI tag. O

i L L u S T r A T i o n S : S A A h i L , T e x T b y A L k A G u p T A A n d S y e d S A A d A h M e d

The Dara In Humayun’s

TombA Delhi municipal engineer digs out the brother Aurangzeb beheaded—the

one who eluded history’s gravediggers for centuries

history/the mughals

P h o t o g r a P h : t r i b h u v a n t i w a r i

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m july 13 , 2020 | OutlOOk 1 1

history/the mughals

IF medieval Indian history has one big what-if question, it’s this: what if Dara Shikoh had become emperor instead of Aurangzeb? There’s now a gap between the

words ‘Mughal’ and ‘Indian’ in the popular mind—a gap not sustained in history. In the common telling of India’s past, ‘Mughal’ is the name of things built over a land. This idea has been there only since the British: it was born with them. It’s their idea of history that was built over the land. What happened before that was more complex. A meeting of soils, one that produced a natural petrichor, a deeply civilisation-al aroma that travelled, without leaving a clear sign of its origin. India, as the West got to know it during the colonial age, was transformative for the West. And a key figure mediating that encounter was Dara Shikoh. But where was Dara Shikoh himself? He had vanished into the bone-dry dust of the Doab.

No actor is yet known for portraying him. No Mughal-e-Azam was made for him (though Karan Johar has recently threat-ened to try). Nor was any political movement waged against him. None was needed, of course. What would you protest against? The translation he steered of the Upanishads? That’s what travelled westward, an army of a subtler kind. The intel-lectual history of the West would have been different. But Dara Shikoh himself fell off the map in 1659—apparently beheaded on his own brother Aurangzeb’s order.

He vanished so completely in fact that, even over 300 years after his death, his exact place of burial remains a mystery. Evidence in history is often coloured in grey, but there’s finally a new beam of light that potentially leads us to his interred body. Historical documents are often mutu-ally contradictory on details. Was he beheaded? Were his head and body buried separately? Which contemporary rec-ord should be believed? What was Aurangzeb’s own attitude towards his brother’s grave? For all this, it has been a matter of some consensus that he was buried in Humayun’s Tomb. Only the exact grave was unknown, as the tomb has over 140 graves of different Mughal family members. No historian or researcher had yet managed to fine-tune the lens to afford us more close-range clarity.

Trying to fill that gap, ironically enough, is a government made up of a party not particularly renowned for its love of the Mughals. This February, just before India went into a lockdown and Delhi was dealing with deadly questions of history, the Union ministry of culture decided to try and unl ock this big, magic door into the past. It did what govern-ments do, setting up a seven-member committee of India’s top archaeologists to pinpoint Dara’s grave. Before it could do anything, the country-wide lockdown brought everything to a grinding halt. But some three months later, as life tried to resume, and the members were going to as-semble, something else happened. Much to their surprise, Sanjeev Kumar Singh, a 49-year-old civil engineer from South Delhi Municipal Corporation, came up with a star-tling claim. He said he had spotted Dara Shikoh’s grave in-

side the Humayun’s Tomb.Yes, you heard that right. Singh says one of the chambers

on the first floor of Humayun’s Tomb has Dara Shikoh’s tombstone: it lies there, unmarked, along with two others, which belong to two sons of Akbar, Daniyal and Murad. How did a municipal engineer unlock a door that historians had not managed to even reach? Well, it was a labour of love that took him four years: he studied history, pored over histori-cal documents, did everything a scholar would have done. A fascinating hunt that has led to a strong claim. Strong enough to earn accolades from at least five members of the committee, which includes Padma awardee K.K. Muhammed, former director general, National Museum, Dr B.R. Mani and three ex-directors of the Archaeological Survey of India: Dr Syed Jamal Hasan, B.M. Pande and Ghulam Syed Khwaja.

So how did Singh find his way around in this unlit part of history? Before setting out on his hunt in 2016, Singh was aware of the popular belief—which even historians had accepted—that Dara’s grave was in Humayun’s Tomb. But beyond that, there was only anonymity. “As a matter of reli-gious principle, graves don’t have any concrete construction on the ground level. That’s why, in Humayun’s Tomb, the ac-tual graves are beneath the plinth, right below the respective tombstones,” Singh says. With material evidence unclear, he needed documentary and literary proof. So he read up on all the details available online on the architecture and design of Mughal gravestones—from Babur’s in Kabul to Bahadur Shah Zafar’s in Rangoon. Then, he pored over the chronicles left by travellers and historians. Next, he went over official Mughal documents and biographies—a goldmine of information,

Jeevan Prakash Sharma

Forgotten Prince A portrait of Dara Shikoh

even if not self-sufficient as evidence. “Many prominent Mughal figures have their burial grounds in Pakistan.… Jahangir, Nur Jahan, Asaf Khan,” says Singh. He scanned the dar-gah complex at Nizamuddin, Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki’s grave in Mehrauli, Akbar’s tomb at Sikandra, the Safdarjung Tomb, Itimad-ud-Daulah’s grave in Agra (one of the prototypes of the Taj), and Taj Mahal itself. And he started seeing patterns: a clear dis-tinction between graves made for males and females, local variations within the same time-frame, and a natural diachronic evolu-tion across the Mughal period.

Contemporary chronicles from the three well-known Western travellers who saw India that time—François Bernier, Jean Baptiste Tavernier and Niccolo Manucci—were a natural source of reference for Singh. But like with everything else, he got only clues. According to Manucci, Dara’s head was buried at the Taj in Agra, and his body at Humayun’s Tomb. Bernier writes of a beheading and a bur-ial at Humayun’s Tomb. Tavernier talks only of the behead-ing. “Three different versions, but I placed more reliance on Bernier as he was present in Delhi,” says Singh.

The literature also opened up new aspects of Dara’s person-ality: including the common perception that Dara was a kind of soft counterpart to the harsh Aurangzeb. “When I read Bernier, I came to know that at times he was short-tempered, rude and arrogant with people who used to question him,” says Singh. It’s a disputed point among historians, but it adds depth to what’s otherwise only calendar art. More granularity came to Singh via memoirs such as Amal-i Salih (penned by calligraphist and Shah Jahan’s official biographer Muhammad Saleh Kamboh), Alamgir Namah by Aurangzeb’s handpicked early chronicler Mirza Muhammd Kazim,

Maasir i Alamgiri by Saqi Mustad Khan, Muntakhab-al Lubab by Muhammad Hashim Khafi Khan, and Tarikh-i-Farahbakhsh by Muhammad Faiz Bakhsh. Then there were the modern works: Military Memoirs by George Thomas, Wanderings of a Pilgrim by Fanny Parkes, Rambles and Recollections by William Sleeman, Archaeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi by Stephen Carr—right up to the Memoirs of the ASI by Maulvi Muhammad Ashraf Husain.

One challenge was language: most original Mughal chronicles are in Persian. “I did face this problem. I know a little bit of Urdu…so I managed to narrow down my search because of the common alphabet, and then took those portions to Dr Aleem Ashraf Khan, head of the Persian department in Delhi University,” Singh says. The most vital clue came from Alamgir Namah, which contained the words, “His body was taken to Humayun’s Tomb and buried in the basement chamber (tahkhana)

below the dome, where Daniyal and Murad, Akbar’s son, lay buried....” The clearest reference, yet inconclusive. Singh had to proceed to architecture. “Once I narrowed down my search to ‘below the dome’ of Humayun’s Tomb, I studied the design aspects of each and every tombstone in the chambers under the dome on the first floor,” he says. That helped him zero in on one of the chambers. It had three ‘male’ tombstones. The torchlight was finally closing in. Here were Akbar’s two sons, Murad Mirza and Daniyal Mirza, buried in 1599 and 1605 respectively, and perhaps Dara—whose burial came half a century later, in 1659. The sequence was logical. Murad, who died first, occupied the middle, so Daniyal took one end. Therefore Dara had to be accommodated near the en-trance, the other end.

“If you enter the chamber on the first floor, you find Dara’s

history/the mughals

It took Sanjeev Kumar Singh four years of hard work to finally locate the grave of Dara Shikoh, brother of Aurangzeb.

The tahkhana that holds Dara’s grave

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m july 13 , 2020 | OutlOOk 1 3

Position of cenotaphs, chambers on first floor under the dome in Humayun’s Tomb

4 3 2

Male cenotaphs Chamber No. 5

2-Shahzada daniyal Similarly, from the transitioning

architectural characteristics strad-dling akbar’s and Jahangir’s reigns, we can deduce that cenotaph no. 2, located towards the end of the ent-rance of chamber 5 (the east), is of prince daniyal, akbar’s son, who

died on March 11, 1605.

3-Shahzada MURadOf the three cenotaphs (2,3 and 4) of chamber 5, number 3 shows the

architectural characteristics of akbar’s period; thus it can be ded-

uced that it is the earliest con-struction of this chamber. it thus is

dedicated to akabar’s son prince Murad, who died on May 22, 1599.

4-daRa ShikOhThe remaining cenotaph (no. 4),

constructed at the end of the chamber (the west) shows archi-tectural trends of Shah Jahan’s reign. it’s certainly dedicated to dara Shikoh. The cenotaphs also indicate the burial spots of these

princes in the basement chamber.

Humayun’s cenotaph is one of the five male cenotaphs and it is located in the central chamber (chamber No. 1). The south-west

chamber (No. 4) has cenotaphs of a man and a woman while the north-west (No. 5) has

cenotaphs of three men. The other cenotaphs in chambers 2 and 3 are of women.

Chamber No. 1

Chamber No. 2Female cenotaphs

Chamber No. 3Female cenotaphs

Chamber No. 4Female, male cenotaph 1

history/the mughals

1 4 OutlOOk | july 13 , 2020

as the last tombstone. But if you visit the basement, where the actual graves are, the first grave is of Dara because the entrance is on the opposite,” Singh says. How is that conclu-sion warranted? Because Murad and Daniyal’s graves are almost similar—a time gap of only six years. The third is dis-tinctively different. “As we move closer to the date of Dara’s burial, we find similarities among gravestones constructed around that time,” says Singh. “For instance, the cenotaphs of Akbar’s half-brother, Mirza Aziz Kokaltash, laid out in 1624, Itimad-ud-Daulah’s grave in Agra laid in 1622 and Nur Jahan’s in 1645 in Lahore bear some resemblance with Dara’s, despite local differences.”

Singh’s work is now with the experts, and most of them are endorsing it. Says the old ASI hand and Padma awardee, K.K. Muhammed, “Even I wasn’t aware of so many histori-cal and architectural facts. He has churned out the essence from the available resources.” Ghulam Syed Khwaja, who was director, epigraphy, at ASI, too says, “He has done seri-ous and pioneering research.” Dr Mani finds it “convincing and worthwhile”. Pande and Syed Jamal Hasan, both emi-nent archaeologists, second those views.

BUT finding Dara has long been a challenge. One that Supriya Gandhi of Yale University, author of The Emperor Who Never Was (2019), the latest historical

work on Dara, is well aware of. She hasn’t seen Singh’s res-earch work yet. But she wrote to Outlook on email about pre-vious attempts to identify Dara’s tombstone, including ones that relied on oral traditions. The late Dr Yunus Jaffery, for instance, had his own hypothesis. “There is evidence that his grave had a visible tombstone, news reports from Aurangzeb’s court suggest this,” she says. “But it is hard on the basis of literary evidence to identify its exact location.” The textual evidence is indeed short of conclusive. “The Amal-i Salih gives a metaphorical account of a Quranic verse inscribed on the gate of Time, which other sources have mis-read and taken literally. The Alamgir Namah merely men-tions Dara was buried in the same place as Murad and Daniyal…it does not give the precise location,” she adds.

Thing is, there are five tahkhanas (basements) under the dome in Humayun’s Tomb—their corresponding chambers are on the first floor, which accommodates eleven ceno-taphs, six of women and five of men. Humayun’s own is one of the five male cenotaphs, located in the central chamber (No. 1). The south-west chamber (No. 4) has cenotaphs of a man and a woman, chambers 2 and 3 are reserved for women. And three men rest in the north-west one, Chamber 5. Three men, under the dome—both the requirements mandated by <<Alamgir Namah>>. The corresponding <<tahkhana>> below too is a close fit for the three shahza-das. The cenotaph numbered ‘3’ exhibits all the characteris-tics of Akbar’s period: the deduction that it belongs to Shahzada Murad, who died on May 22, 1599, is strongly war-ranted. The first to die, so centrally placed. Cenotaph No. 2, located towards the entrance or the eastern side, features the transitioning architectural characteristics straddling Akbar’s and Jahangir’s periods. Thus, Shahzada Daniyal,

who died on March 11, 1605, is a decent guess. The third cen-otaph, on the western side, has architectural features proper to Shah Jahan’s period. This is Singh’s Dara.

Gandhi isn’t completely convinced: she feels everyone has been looking for a group of three graves, but such a concate-nation isn’t exactly spelt out in contemporary records. “A search for three cenotaphs has guided their exploration. But there is nothing in the Alamgir Namah to suggest the tomb-stone must be one of three contiguous cenotaphs. Distinguishing features of 17th-century cenotaphs too has subjective elements, and may not lead to a conclusive an-swer,” she says. There are other possible directions that his-tory gives us, she says. “For instance, the account from Aurangzeb’s court suggests the condition of Dara’s grave was deteriorating, which might mean it was exposed to the elements on the terrace outside instead of being located in the inner building. We cannot be absolutely sure,” she told Outlook. She and other historians, of course, are in no doubt about the sheer seminal influence Dara had.

Prof Akhlaque Ahmad Ansari, a Persian expert at JNU, says Dara was in essence so anti-establishment that he was disowned by his own friends and contemporary scholars. But Dara was not alone in that grand cultural enterprise, where religion wasn’t quite the factor it became with British definitions of India. Knowledge was never circumscribed by identity before the British, says Ansari. “Take Abdul-ul-Qader-Badauni, an orthodox Muslim who translated the Ramayana into Persian. It never courted any controversy. And orthodox Brahmins became great scholars of Islamic religious texts,” he adds. That is the grave that India has lost, and is struggling to recover. O

history/the mughals

Last Waltz An artwork depicts Dara Shikoh’s wedding procession

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July 9, Thursday, 7:00, PM

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india-china/app ban

Mitron, Have A Samosa now

Indian app developers will have to step up their game to beat the country’s dependence on China

WHAT NEXT? In China, thousands of foreigners and many Chinese use banned apps and websites by connecting through vir-tual private network (VPN) which can make your online activities untracea-ble. The Communist government has failed to control their almost mush-rooming growth.

There is a strong possibility that VPN would become an extensively used option in India because a vast popula-tion of Indians have become addicted to TikTok or use Chinese apps simply because it is already downloaded in their mobile phones.

At present, few people other than try-ing to access porn sites use VPN in India. There are several VPN apps available over the Internet and many people suspect the motives of com-panies who provide the freebies with-out even earning from advertising.

Chinese companies may begin distrib-uting free VPN apps to retain their customer base, analysts say. The government may have to find a way to resolve what appears to be an emerging challenge.

Saibal Dasgupta

THE Indian government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese mobile applications, including

the popular TikTok, WeChat and Helo, will have a snowballing effect on Beijing’s international soft power push under the “Digital Silk Road” pro-gramme. Though countries with active

user base of Chinese apps may not immediately follow suit, the Indian action—an apparent retaliation to the border face-off in Ladakh—will initiate the process of rethinking about their implication in terms of national security, analysts say.“I won’t be surprised if what India has done will result in a broader questioning about the Chinese apps. Something similar might happen elsewhere as more broad-based

concerns are being articulated in other countries,” Ashok Kantha, former Indian ambassador to China and director at the Institute of Chinese Studies, says. One of the ironies of Digital Silk Road is China’s attempts to take advantage of free media regulations in democratic nations while blocking foreign apps and websites, including Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Indian websites, including newspaper sites, are also banned in China.

India managed to stir a debate against the Belt and Road Initiative—President Xi Jinping’s pet programme to enhance worldwide influence through connectiv-ity infrastructure—by raising objections since 2017 and refusing China’s request to launch it in the country. This led to Malaysia cancelling and later restructur-ing a major Chinese-backed rail project and more countries demanding price discounts from Chinese companies on infrastructure projects. “We took a lead-ership position by thinking ahead of the

1 6 outlook | july 13 , 2020 G r A P h I C b y L e e L A

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 1 7

india-china/app ban

curve. Many of India’s concerns have bec ome mainstream concerns and per-ceptions about the BRI have since in the past three years,” Kantha says.

Chinese apps are usually bundled with China-made mobile phones. In India, they control the bulk of the market. The ban on these apps will seriously effect their sales and open new market seg-ments for Samsung and other brands bes ides some low-end phones made in India, which has the largest number of users of the short-video platform, TikTok, at 120 million. Followed by US at nearly 40 million, Turkey at 28 million, Russia 24 million, Mexico 20 million, Brazil 18 million and Pakistan 12 million.

WeChat, akin to WhatsApp, has not made much of an impact in India but it has a huge potential. WeChat Pay, the transaction platform within the social media app, is available in 40 countries and in 12 different currencies other than the Chinese Yuan. “Chinese ban on Google, Facebook and other apps created an ecosystem that led to the creation of many successful Chinese apps. This could be an opportunity for develop-ment of apps in India,” Kunal Sinha, a consumer and media expert in Mumbai, who spent many years in Shanghai, says. On the other hand, Indian technology start-ups are financed with Chinese money, he points out. “Developing new apps in India would require alternative sources of funds,” Sinha says.

This is an opportunity for Indian com-panies to look at non-tech sectors, and make the most of the massive market that has been suddenly made available by the ban on Chinese apps. The ques-tion is whether they will move quickly. Issuing the ban, the government said the applications are engaged in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

Chinese apps like TikTok assert that they do not share Indian data with any foreign government, including China, but there are widespread concerns about cybersecurity. A worrying aspect is the large-scale use of Chinese branded mo-bile phones with their apps by security personal in border/sensitive areas. Short video apps make certain situations and regions particularly vulnerable.

Beyond India, worried about security threats emanating from Chinese apps are widely felt in Europe, the US, Australia and parts of Asia. Several coun-tries are looking closely at China’s tele-com equipment exports out of fear they may contain malware and spy software.

TikTok has proved to be extremely popular with young Indians eager to exp ress their creativity through short videos, and managed to create a positive view of China. The ban has created a vac-uum that cannot be immediately met by YouTube operating at a different level.

Serious questionsThe ban has raised questions about the inability of Indian companies to come up with equally popular apps and digital platforms and capture even one-fourth of the Indian market, instead of allowing

Chinese and American companies to control almost all of it. The ability of the ministry of information technology to think long-term and encourage compa-nies to play an important role is being questioned too.

For instance, the ministry knew all along that the banned apps come pre-ins talled with Chinese phones. There was hardly any attempt to create a suita-ble ecosystem for production of mobile phones even if it meant seeking the coo-peration of South Korean companies. Indian apps have emerged on the scene to challenge Chinese and get a piece of the market pie. These include some launched by Reliance’s Jio and several

others rolled out by tech companies under the brand names Mitron and Chingari, Samosa, InShorts and Myantra etc. But most of the top 10 Chinese apps have 10 to 50 times more users in India than their Indian counterparts.

One reason for this is China’s ability to produce extremely user-friendly apps that encourage tech-unsavvy users to create and use content. The result is a network of users that act as a marketing mechanism for the app company. “Indians are known to adopt new tech-nologies very fast. But they are not the best when it comes to creating digital media platforms,” Sinha says. “Besides, huge investments are required to con-tinuously upgrade the platforms and market them,” he adds.

An important question whether the ban is merely a non-military response to

Chinese aggression on the border or part of a larger plan hatched in New Delhi’s South Block. A long-term strategic pro-gramme would involve encouraging Indian tech firms to come up with new platforms and enrich existing ones to take advantage of the market gap.

Put together, the banned Chinese apps are known to have total users exceeding 800 million with every third mobile phone user using at least one of them. The government has not banned a some popular Chinese apps, including AliExpress, TurboVPN, PUBG Mobile, PUBG Lite, MV Master and App Lock. Is it because India does not see them as sec urity risks or simply forgot? O

DownloaD CentralChinese apps Users in Alternative apps Indian apps India (foreign)

Tiktok, 120 m youTube, Instagram Mitron, Chingari

helo 50 m ShareChat, roposo. Samosa

UC browser 130 m Chrome, Firefox Jio browser

ShareIT 200 m Dropbox, Google Drive ShareAll, Jio Switch

MI Community 80 m Google Play store

CamScanner 100 m Adobe Scan, Microsoft Office

WeChat WhatsApp, Snapchat Jio browser

1 8 outlook | july 13 , 2020

T h e au T h o r i s a s e n i o r i P s o f f i c e r o f c h h aT T i s g a r hO p i n i O n / R.K. Vij

India must quickly adopt a zero-tolerance policy for torture and death in police custody

Pass the Baton Now

growing Indo-China tensions following a recent face-off in the

Galwan valley, news from Tuticorin (Thoothukudi) district of Tamil Nadu about the death of father-son duo, Jeyaraj and Bennicks, during medical treatment in jail custody, shook the nation’s trust in its police system. The duo was arrested on June 19 by Sathankulam police on charges of refusing to close down their mobile phone shop during the lockdown. After medical examination by the duty doctor, they were remanded to judicial custody on June 20. Two days later, based on a complaint, Bennicks was admitted to a government hospital where he expired the same night. Jayaram, admitted to the same hospital on June 23, expired the same evening during treatment. The allegation is that both were subjected to third-degree methods by the police during custody, following which the father-son duo succumbed. Four policemen have been suspended. Sensing public rage, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court took suo motu cognizance of the unfortunate incident and ordered a judicial inquiry on June 26. The state government has now announced a CBI inquiry into the whole incident.

Police personnel of the country have been continuously lauded for doing exemplary work during the lockdown period since March. Besides having enforced the lockdown effectively, they have been on the forefront to help migrant labourers and poor people by providing food, slippers and transport and facilitating shelter. Many policemen got infected with COVID-19 and a few even lost their

lives to it. Though they have been kept out of the insurance cover by the Central government, their motivation to work incessantly has not abated. Social media, particularly Twitter, proved very helpful to the police in coordinating the interstate movement of migrants. It will not be an exaggeration to claim that the people’s confidence in police gained momentum and the image of the police moved at least a notch higher. But this one incident of custodial torture in Tuticorin has put the police into a dilemma once again.

Retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju tweeted on June 27 that the “policemen responsible for brutal death of father & son in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu just because they kept their mobile accessories shop open during lockdown deserve harsh punishment, as held by SC in Prakash Kadam vs. Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta (2011)”. The Prakash Kadam case is an old case of Mumbai wherein the policemen, allegedly involved in contract killing of a person, camouflaged the incident into a police encounter. While writing the judgment, justices Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra emphatically said that “where a fake encounter is proved

against policemen in a trial, they must be given death punishment, treating it as the rarest of rare cases”.

There are sufficient provisions of law to deal with custodial torture. The SC has also issued directions from time to time. In the Neelabati Behera (1993) case, the SC held that “detenues are not denuded of their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution”. Commenting on the National Police Commission’s report that nearly 60 per cent of the arrests were either unnecessary or unjustified, the SC, in the Joginder Kumar (1994) case, observed that “the existence of the power to arrest is one thing and the

justification for the exercise of it is quite another”. In the D.K. Basu (1997) case, the SC issued eleven directions to increase transparency and fix responsibility while making an arrest. The medical examination of accused was made mandatory as a matter of right. Moreover, the person arrested was required to be made aware of his or her right to have someone notified about the arrest. The Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), as amended in 2006, provides that a custodial death shall be inquired into by a judicial magistrate. Another amendment in CrPC, effective from November 2010, says that generally no arrest shall be made if the maximum sentence for an offence is less than seven years imprisonment. In such cases, the accused person shall only be asked to appear before the police officer for investigation. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also closely monitors each case of custodial

Amidst

The father-son duo was held in a case that invites minor punishment of maximum one month in jail.

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 1 9

O p i n i O n / R.K. Vij

death as each such case involves violation of fundamental rights.The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) discloses that out of

total number of annual custodial deaths of about ninety (90) in last five years (2014-2018), about 30 were suicides, and about six were due to police torture in custody. However, each death in police custody resulting from torture leaves a long-lasting scar on the force’s image. Any suicide in custody may point towards faulty infrastructure or negligent supervision, death due to torture is simply a criminal act, which no authority may compromise on. There should absolutely be zero tolerance for any custodial death resulting from torture.

The case in which the father-son duo was arrested was a case of simple defiance of lockdown norms inviting minor punishment of maximum one month’s imprisonment and a fine. Even use of criminal force on public servants to deter them from discharging duties calls for a maximum imprisonment of two years. No tough interrogation was required to be conducted in the given case. Even in heinous cases,

the trend is to use more scientific methods of interrogation. The brain finger-printing method of non-intrusive nature is one such test which is useful in extracting hidden information without even touching or talking to an accused person. The police have no right to punish the guilty. At the most, a few serious cases may remain unsolved due to limited human capabilities. There are many more cases which don’t come to the public light and remain unsolved. The public also needs to realise that the police have limited powers under the law.

Various commissions and committees have given their recommendations for police reforms. The National Police Commission, the Ribeiro Committee, the Padmanabhaiah Committee, the Malimath Committee and the Law Commission are a few to count. In the Prakash Singh (2006) case, the SC also issued a slew of directions on

police reforms. One such common recommendation, to improve the quality of investigation, is to separate investigation from law and order. Each committee and commission has realised that the number of investigating officers must increase so that they aren’t induced to use short-cut methods, untenable under the law. The ‘police’ and ‘public order’ being in the State List of Seventh Schedule, police reforms are largely to be undertaken by state governments. However, despite these constraints, it is high time that the police must improve methods of interrogation and behaviour of its officers with the accused persons and witnesses. The police cannot afford to take shelter under the guise of given limitations. The colonial mentality of being brute with citizens needs to go.

In the Prakash Kadam (supra) case, the SC concluded the judgment by saying that “the rule of law collapses when it is replaced by Matsyanyaya which means the rule of the jungle,

where the big fish devours the smaller one”. Kautilya says that “if danda be not employed, it gives rise to the condition of matsyanyaya’. Needless to say that police must focus more on its training to ensure improvement in methods of interrogation and behaviour. The sensitisation programmes for the field officers need to be conducted on regular basis. Zero tolerance for custodial torture must be the mission. O

Views expressed are personal

The law has enough provisions to deal with torture in custody. The SC has iss ued directions too.

a P

2 0 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Puneet Nicholas Yadav

Prime Minister Narendra Modi seldom gives a quarter to his political opponents in rhetoric.

Yet, over the past weeks, since tres-passing Chinese soldiers killed 20 of our jawans in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on June 15, the PM has given an inch and the Congress is having a field day. The trigger was a single statement on June 19. At the all-party meeting after the Galwan deaths, Modi said there had been “no intrusion into Indian territory, nor any Indian post under control of a foreign country”. Did he mean India had given up its claim on

the Galwan valley to China? The opposition parties and retired army officers questioned. The PMO clarified later that the PM meant to say there was no intrusion on Indian soil at the time of the meeting.

An overarching sentiment reflected in the Congress’s attacks on Modi in the backdrop of this raging crisis has been, “Nehru at least put up a fight”. For the 58 years that have passed since the country’s chastising defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the failure of Jawaharlal Nehru in deciphering China’s expansionist intent had ren-dered the Congress unqualified in criti-quing any non-Congress government over the China policy. It is ironical that

Nehru, who presided over India’s loss of Aksai Chin to China, has now helped the Congress rediscover its aggression against Modi’s handling of Chinese intrusions.

“The 1962 war happened just 14 years after we gained independence. We were a poor country and our military capabilities were still being built, but when China betrayed India’s trust and threatened our territorial integrity, Nehru decided to fight back. Then within five years, India avenged the def eat in 1967 by pushing back China from the kingdom of Sikkim and which later joined our republic,” says Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera. “What has Modi done in Galwan valley today? He says there is no Chinese int-rusion after 20 of our armymen were martyred; he allows China to claim the entire Galwan valley as its territory and even refuses to name China as the aggressor”.

There is no denying that Nehru’s con-viction that the Chinese Communist Party leadership—chairman Mao Zedong and premier Zhou Enlai—would never attack proved disastrous

Jai Jawan Jawaharlal Nehru meeting Indian soldiers in the Northeast in 1962.

War and Peace: The Nehru EraThe Congress has found a guided missile in India’s first Prime Minister to target the Modi government’s China policy

IndIa-ChIna/BorderlIne

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 2 1

IndIa-ChIna/BorderlIne

for India. In the wake of the current Indo-China crisis and also the 72-day standoff between the two countries in Doklam in 2017, it is worth asking whether Modi’s public bonhomie with Chinese premier Xi Jinping is a case of déjà vu from the Nehruvian-era.

K. Natwar Singh, a former Indian diplomat who worked in China in 1958 and later as India’s foreign minister, says: “Nehru handled China badly bec-ause he took an emotional view of Sino-Indian relations…the 1962 war was a disaster for India and only two people were responsible for it, Nehru and V.K. Krishna Menon (then defence minister). What we are now witnessing an aggression on a small scale but, like in 1962, we have responded later than we should have and Modi’s statement about no Chinese incursions makes his handling of the crisis seem worse than Nehru’s response in 1962.”

SINGH also makes an important distinction between Nehru and Modi with regard to how the two

prime ministers addressed the Chinese crisis before the public. “Knowing full well that he will be lambasted for the crisis, Nehru had convened a special session of the Parliament during the 1962 war and never tried to hide the facts from the press. Today, using the excuse of COVID-19, the Parliament is not being convened but it baffles me that Modi has not even addressed a press conference to clear the air on the standoff,” he says.

The Congress is not amused at Modi’s refusal to address an open presser—he hasn’t done so ever since he became PM in May 2014—but the party feels that the least he could do was to address questions raised in the public dom ain by the Opposition and several military experts. “The Congress president had raised several questions about the Ladakh situation at the all-party meet-ing convened by Modi but he didn’t an-swer any of them. Thereafter, we have regularly put out questions through the media. Why is Modi so scared of an-swering these questions? Does the na-tion not have the right to know whether China has taken over our territory or

not, whether our army can patrol the areas in Galwan today which they were pat rolling before April 2020,” Congress media cell chief Randeep Surjewala tells Outlook.

Amid the Congress’s rediscovery of Nehru, Natwar Singh points at one “surprising exclusion” in his former party’s tirade on the India-China cri-sis. “It is fine for the Congress to say

that Nehru put up a fight and Modi didn’t but I wonder why no one is talk-ing about Rajiv Gandhi’s contribution to rebuilding India’s relationship with China in 1988 and how those gains have been undone now,” Singh says.

Singh recalls his visit to China with Rajiv Gandhi, then prime minister, in 1988. “Rajiv was the first Indian PM to set foot in Beijing since the late 1950s. The camaraderie that Rajiv struck with Deng Xiaoping helped successive Indian governments to maintain cor-dial relations with China through trea-ties like the 1993 Peace and Tranquility Agreement. Between 1988 and June 2020, not a single bullet was fired on the Sino-India border by either force. Today, that truce has been shattered des pite Modi’s frequent meetings with Xi Jinping. The Congress should be ask-ing why this happened”.

The Congress, says Singh, must not draw parallels between the 1962 war and the present crisis because “to put it very mildly, the Chinese gave us a lick-ing back then”. Nonetheless, with most defence and diplomatic experts nearly unanimous about no early possibility of a de-escalation of tensions between India and China, the war of words bet-ween the Congress and BJP on Modi’s handling of the crisis is expected to get worse. Can Modi defeat Nehru in this new face-off? Or will the Congress be resurrected by the former prime minis-ter who died 56 years ago? O

Nehru handled China badly

bec ause he took an emotional view

of Sino-Indian relations.

K. Natwar SiNgh Former diplomat

Past Tense Ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi with ex-Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping in 1988.

StateS/tamil Nadu

2 2 outlook | july 13 , 2020

G.C. Shekhar in Chennai

IN mid-April Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had blithely predicted that the

number of new COVID-19 cases in the state would dwindle to none within a month. Two months later, he threw up his hands abjectly with the words, “Only God knows when the virus will be gone.”

Between these two extreme scenarios lies the picture of a state government clueless about combating the virus. Poor political leadership, lack of transparency and a shackled bureaucracy have all played bit parts in this absurd drama. The figures paint a stark scenario: from 2,526 cases and 28 deaths on May 1 it spiralled to 78,335 cases and 1,025 deaths on June 27. Chennai alone accounted for 51,669 cases. The daily increase jumped past 3,000.“These figures were hazy as data had

not been correlated, indicating little coordination between the health department and municipal corpora-tions that record deaths. The govern-ment was managing figures by not recording the actual number of deaths, as when the Chennai Corporation failed to report 200 deaths in April and May. Officials and ministers were hand in glove in painting a picture that the virus was under control,” admits a senior health official.

When the mismatch was exposed by the media, health secretary Beela Rajesh was replaced with the more experienced J. Radhakrishnan. The government also updated figures and published them with district wise details, showing the full impact of the pandemic. Yet Radhakrishnan’s writ remains curtailed, for the municipality health department was in charge of the Covid fight in

Chennai, the state’s hotspot.“There should be only one command

centre, ideally the health secretary. Chennai Corporation is operating in a separate sphere. Though we have an excellent health infrastructure, the absence of clear political leadership, unlike in Kerala, has diluted our response,” says former health secre-tary R. Poornalingam. Indeed, the gov-ernment had undermined the anti-Covid command structure by appointing senior IAS and IPS officials at the city, district and even zonal lev-els within Chennai, leading to multiple power centres.

To cover up its ineptitude, the politi-cal leadership sought to deflect the blame on the Centre, saying it had not received funds from Delhi. During every video conference with the prime minister, Palaniswami would demand Rs 3,000 crores. Only when Union fi-nance minister Nirmala Sitharaman disclosed that Rs 6,600 crores had been given to Tamil Nadu to buy medi-cal equipment did the state ministers quieten down.

Then there was the puerile atten-tion-grabbing ßministers keen on making a show of spearheading relief

distribution. “The craze of TN politi-cians for the limelight can be cited as a key reason for the state failing to tackle the pandemic,” admits a senior IAS offi cer. For example, rather than depositing the corona relief amount of Rs1,000 dir ectly in bank accounts ben-eficiaries were made to line up to re-ceive it, def eating the very idea of social distancing.

There was fumbling over lockdowns too. A four-day intense lockdown (dur-ing Centre’s lockdown 2.0) in April, with a one-day window to stock up, had res ulted in a mad rush at shops, leading to further spread. The resultant heavy crowding at the Koyambedu vegetable market on April 24 turned it into a super spreader. When Chennai was subjected to a 12-day lockdown from June 19 it res ulted in a veritable stam-pede towards the districts, and a spread of infection. The ePass system to con-trol the movement of people was rid-dled with holes--genuine cases were rejected, while others procured fake passes with the collusion of the state’s notoriously corrupt bureaucracy.

State health secretary J. Radhakrishnan has assured that the response has been recalibrated. “The positivity rate will be high as we now undertake focussed testing…with 10,000 tests a day in Chennai alone. That is the reason for the high positivity of 23.2 per cent in the capital compared to five per cent or less in other districts,” he explained. But his hopeful estimate—that the state’s high recovery and discharge rates would improve as hos-pital beds are increased—would be real-ised if authorities learn from their grievous mistakes. O

The EPS government has made a hash of the corona battle

Till Messiah Comes

Clueless lockdowns, multiple power centres, selfish ministers—all

contributed to Tamil Nadu’s pitiable Covid response.

P T I

O u t l O O k i n d i a . c O m july 13 , 2020 | OutlOOk 2 3

sans frontiers

The books are coming thick and fast and, amidst election season, they are hurting Donald J. A New York City judge has dismissed a

suit by the US president’s brother that sought to halt the publication of a tell-all book by Trump’s niece, saying the court lacked jurisdic-tion. The injunction was sought to prevent Mary Trump and the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, from releasing it, as scheduled, in July. Mary is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr, the president’s elder brother, who died in 1981. An online description of her book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, says it reveals “a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse”.

Robert Trump’s lawyers argued that Mary and others had signed a set-tlement agreement that would prohibit her from writing the book. That decades-old settlement included a confidentially clause explicitly saying they would not “publish any account concerning the litigation or their relationship”, unless they all agreed. It related to the will of Donald Trump’s father, New York real estate developer Fred Trump.

The book with the knockout title comes when the president’s for-mer national security advisor and conservative hawk John Bolton’s unpublished book, Room With A View, is causing embarrassment as it includes disclosures that go to the heart of the abuse-of-power charge against Trump. In it, Bolton has elaborated on one of the main charges against Trump—that the US president wanted to freeze $391 million in security aid to Ukraine until Kiev helped with probes into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. He has further accused the Republican president of sweeping misdeeds, including explicitly seeking Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aid to win re-election in November. “I don’t think he’s fit for office,” Bolton told ABC News in an interview.

The embattled president has also protested New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ in front of Trump’s epony-mous ‘Tower’ in Manhattan. Trump tweeted that de Blasio “wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth Avenue, right in front of Trump Tower/Tiffany, with a big yellow Black Lives Matter sign”. Trump did indeed live in Trump Tower before he took office as president, but has spent little time there since. He changed his official residence to Florida last year. His business empire is still headquartered there. O

FOREIGN HanD

worlD tour

PaKistan Imran Khan, in a speech on the floor of the National Assembly,

called Osama bin Laden a “shaheed”. He had earlier called bin Laden’s liquidation

an “extra-judicial killing”. A slip of the tongue? No, slips that are uniquely

Imran. Samplers: ‘Germany and Japan share a border’ and ‘Africa is a country’.

And we laughed at George W. Bush.

HollYwooD As the world grapples with COVID-19, makers of the upcoming sci-fi movie ‘b’ have hit upon a casting

eureka: by roping in a robot. As producers worry themselves sick over safety, this AI robot, Erica, will lead in a $70 million film--the first to rely on an artificially intelligent actor. Japanese scientists Hiroshi Ishiguro

and Kohei Ogawa created Erica.

DenMarK Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is postponing her wedding

in July because of a European Union summit on the future of the bloc’s

budget. It is the second time she has rescheduled the ceremony. Last year, her fiance Bo Tengberg postponed it

because of national elections on June 5, resulting in her Social Democrats to

form a one-party, minority government.

2 4 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Seema Guha

Amidst the political mud-sling-ing, military- and diplomat-ic-level talks, and highly-armed,

tense posture on the ground, the India-China military stand-off in Ladakh has led to a scrutiny of India’s foreign policy. There are demands for a fresh look at the changing geopolitical environment, with China aggressively claiming its hegemony across several Asian fronts “for its place in the sun”. Is it time to veer closer to the US, consid-ering Russia, one of India’s traditional allies, is locked in a strategic embrace with China? What, indeed, in this markedly changed context, is the future of India-Russia ties?

Usually, Russia has been India’s bulwark against a superpower’s med-dling or an opportunistic attack by a neighbour during a crisis—the Indo-Soviet treaty of August 1971 enabled India to avoid both later that year. Through the years, the US would typi-cally keep up a frosty silence, while

Russia made loud proclamations of support. In a transformed world order, the reverse happened in 2020.

Thus, a robust reaction emanated from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who dubbed the Chinese moves in Ladakh as “rogue action” and squarely blamed Beijing for aggressive behaviour. In glaring contrast, Russia has been cautious, calling both coun-tries to resolve the crisis using “dedi-cated specific mechanisms and tools….” Ordinary Indians are delighted with Pompeo’s tough talk; Russia’s sober, anodyne statement did not resonate with the public.

In reality, Moscow has to walk a tightrope in its ties with India, what with its emerging military and political relations with China as they stand in unison against Western democracies. “We are not in the business of balancing India-China ties,” Roman Babushkin, deputy head of mission in the Russian embassy in Delhi, says pointedly. “We have special but independent strategic relations with both India and China. We are not interfering in their bilateral ties…we want India and China to work towards de-escalation of the crisis,” Babushkin explains. However, much of the deep

Russian actor Oleg Strizhenov with

Manmohan Krishna and Achala Sachdev

in the first Soviet-Indian movie Journey

Beyond Three Seas (Pardesi, 1957)

A Trusty TobogganA place in the US camp in the face of Chinese intransigence must be enticing. Yet India would do well to keep Russia, its ‘all weather’ ally, close by its side.

foreign/ diplomacy

foreign/diplomacy

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 2 5

strategic, economic and cultural bonds between the two nations endure— Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s attendance of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the V-Day parade in Moscow was symbolic of those ties, considering most Western powers gave it a miss. Rajnath is certain to have discussed the situation on the border, but not much is known of the Russian leadership’s reaction. Unlike US President Donald Trump who, as is his wont, offered to mediate, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said India and China need no help in resolving their differences.

One of the defining features of India’s foreign policy has been its closeness with Russia. It survived the break-up of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Yet in the last decade and more, the rela-tionship has lost some of its pot-ency as both countries adjusted to a changing world order. While Moscow has veered towards China, India’s relations with the US have taken a quantum leap.

“India has global interests across the world and relations with US is certainly growing…. There are millions of Indians in the US, working, studying and set-tling there. In that way they are natural partners. And for dev elopment and trade, India will look to all coun-tries. This is no issue with Russia,” Babushkin points out.

Implacable rivals once, the cut and thrust of geopolitics have made China Russia’s strongest partner today. Sharp denunciatory reactions from the US and EU to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in Ukraine have forced it to repair ties with its neighbour. Crimea was triggered by Moscow’s security concerns at NATO’s expansion into its ‘backyard’ in Ukraine. The resulting sanctions, com-pounded by a fall in global energy prices, also forced cash-strapped Russia to move towards China. President Putin has signed in to Xi Jinping’s ambitious belt and road initi-ative (BRI), which is opposed by New Delhi. Like the US and its allies, India believes that the BRI and China’s mari-

time silk route is a means of asserting its political might as it competes with the US for the global pole position.

Russia’s defence cooperation with China has stepped up in recent years, and the billions pouring in from China is crucial for Moscow. Yet President Vladimir Putin is by no means a junior partner to Xi. Though Russia is a pale shadow of the great power it once was, under Putin it continues to be a global strategic player and pulls far above its weight. Whether it is the war in Syria or the fight against ISIS, Russia has

sedulously advanced its self-interest, often out-manoeuvring the West.

“I think the dependence on China is exaggerated. Yes, Russia needs China but there are irritants in this relation-ship too,’’ says Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer Research Foundation. “Russia will back China on many issues but not on all,’’ he adds. It thus follows that it serves Russia to continue its friendship with India.

One just needs to look at when the COVID-19 pandemic broke upon an unprepared world: Russia supported the call for an enquiry into how the infection started in Wuhan. One can only conjecture if a sliver of old hostil-ity still lingers in Sino-Russian ties, but in 1972, US President Richard

Nixon used it to make a smart Cold War move--visiting Mao Zedong in Peking and resuming ties with China. Ironically, that push from America, now its arch rival, was crucial for China’s image as a global power.

Neither Moscow nor New Delhi would want to let go of a relationship that has yielded massive dividends in the past. The two countries have few bilateral dis-cords, with ties dependent on govern-mental cooperation, with little private sector involvement. The political equa-tion and trust between the two countries

are exemplary too. There is a con-vergence on global issues, coupled with Indian dependence on Russian technology—from help in setting up India’s nuclear power plants to supplying a large part of Indian military hardware.

As India’s strategic partner, Russia had refused to sell defence equipment to Pakistan in the past. However, just as India now sources materiel from the US, Israel and others, so has Moscow opened up to Islamabad, selling it arms and holding military exercises with it.

As adherents of a certain geopo-litical realpolitik, both countries realise that they gain strategic depth by continuing to nurture ties with others. At a time when a

rampaging China can make India veer-ing more to the US-led Western camp, with a anti-China ‘Quadrilateral Alli-ance’ amongst US, Japan, Australia and India a possibility in the Indo-Paci fic, PM Modi did plump for Russia’s S400 air defence system despite tremendous pressure from the US to forego it. Strategic autonomy, therefore, remains important. For Russia, too, the India-option will give it more room to mano e-u vre. But India’s enthusiasm for the RIC (Russia-India-China) and the China-dominated BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China and South Africa) will diminish. Russia’s Far East may be the next big thing in India-Russia cooperation.

To neutralise the threat from the Chinese ogre, India has to keep its options open and deploy all the tools it can wield effectively. In this process of checks and balances, an ally like Russia by its side is an invaluable asset. O

Rajnath Singh with Indian diplomats in Moscow. He attended the 75th Victory Day celebrations there recently.

0 0 outlook | july 13 , 2020

The mood is wanderlust after the long lockdown. But Covid still lurks. Will tourists hit the road again to revive our tourism- dependent economy?

Money is in the journey

COVER STORY/TOuRiSm

P h o t o g r a P h : S a n d i P a n C h a t e r g e e

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 2 7

The Charminar— Hyderabad’s icon stands still during the lockdown

Why tourism? Why now? An obvious and rational logic is that we need to focus on high-stake sectors like manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure to revive shattered econo-mies. Travel and tourism can be the last on the priority list because people are too scared to venture out of their homes, leave alone their cities, and don’t have enough to spend on lei-sure and pleasure. In this crisis, the crucial con-cerns are food, shelter and earning enough to pay our bills.

An out-of-the-box, but believable, rationale is that the sector is the spring-board to thrust economies out of the abyss. If it takes off, it can have an unim-aginable impact on how people think and behave. “Tourism can be a platform to overcome the pandemic,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. The time has come to restart tourism, given its multiplier effect on the economy, jobs and people, both socially and psychologically, added Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general, UNWTO.

If people travel, even for short vacations, they can unshackle the seemingly unshakeable viral chains on the economy. They can be the engines for the post-COVID-19 growth era. If people cross physical barriers, they can rip apart social restrictions on the movement of labour. They can help re-energise factories. If we are not scared to embark on fresh journeys, we will implicitly, in the words of Guterres, “promote solidarity and trust”, which are imperative to fight and

Lola Nayar

17.4 millioninbound tourists—

mostly on personal trips from South Asia, Europe, East Asia, the Americas

$ 29 billionspending mostly on travel

1.85 billionDomestic tourists

26.3 millionOutbound tourists

$ 26 millionspending mostly on travel

70% (approx)went on personal trips

COVER STORY/TOuRiSm

P T I

Figures From 2018

2 8 outlook | july 13 , 2020

COVER STORY/TOuRiSm

win over the virus.Chew a few facts, which may seem

far-fetched, to understand the impor-tance of travel and tourism in India. D.K. Srivastava, chief policy advisor, EY India, says that the tourism value chain contributes more than 9 per cent to the country’s GDP. For a $3 trillion economy, it translates into a massive $270 billion. The figure is higher if we add the demand for fuel, food and bev-erages as well as the indirect impact on manufacturing (auto and aviation) and services (real estate, construction and logistics). A fourth of this can be shaved off if we do not take the right steps now.

Look at the scenario from another perspective—employment. The central tourism ministry states that tourism directly and indirectly employs almost 90 million people. Add to this the 100 million-odd who work in the travel sector and one can gauge its relevance. According to Dipak Haksar, former CEO of ITC Hotels and WelcomHotel, 20 million jobs are at immediate risk if the sector fails to come out of the rut. Pronab Sarkar, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO),

estimates it at a higher 50 million.At least a dozen states are heavily

dep endent on tourism revenues. In Kerala, the first state to declare tour-ism as an industry, the sector (minus travel) comprised 12 per cent of its GDP. It earned more than Rs 28,000 crore from foreign and domestic tour-ists in 2018. Tourism was responsible for a quarter of the state’s employment numbers. The same is true for Goa, Kashmir, Rajasthan, Sikkim and oth-ers. Even Tamil Nadu (focused on manufacturing) and Uttar Pradesh (considered an agricultural state) thrive on tourists. The two accounted for more than a third of the country’s total tourist visits in 2018.

Many states will suffer if tourism lags in the revival of the economy. The con-sequences for specific regions and dis-

tricts can be disastrous. These are evident from the ground reports from Kerala, Kashmir, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan (see stories on Pages XX-YY). Sarkar says that 95 per cent of hotels and guest houses and 80 per cent of tour operators have shut shops. “More people will be affected by eco-nomic losses rather than COVID-19,” claims Subhash Goyal, founder-chair-man, STIC Travel Group.

A holistic approach is required to kick-start tourism. There have to be combined efforts by policymakers at the national and state levels as well as by the industry and stakeholders. Maharaj Wahi, former President, IATO, agrees that there cannot be a policy that is solely focused on tourism. Instead, the sector has to be seen as a part of the larger economic and social ecosystem. “There are man-made complications that hinder the movement of people and transport services,” he adds.

This explains why Union state tour-ism minister Prahlad Singh Patel has pinned faith on the Centre’s stimulus package of Rs 20 lakh crore, especially the policies geared to drive MSMEs. He feels that the package will put more money in the hands of companies and individuals and nudge them to spend

A dozen states dep ends on tourist cash...12 per cent of Kerala’s GDP is tourism revenue.

Flamingoes on Mumbai beachfront—they checked in/out, we’re cooped up in our homes P T I

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on holidays. In addition, he has formed a national task force to listen to the de-mands of the industry and pass these on to the relevant departments of the central and state governments.

Haksar, who is also an advisor to the CII National Committee on Tourism and Hospitality, says that the industry has approached the Centre to initiate various measures that include collater-al-free loans (which was announced as part of the stimulus) even for new bor-rowers, deferred payments of manda-tory and statutory dues to official agencies and renewal of operational li-cences. In specific states, like Kashmir, there are demands to deal with pending dues for electricity and other heads.

AT the state level, there is a bit of ambivalence, though some are quite progressive. Kerala was

the first to come out with a full-fledged tourism blueprint to deal with the situ-ation, both during and after the crisis. In Uttarakhand, which was fortunate to have few cases, there were moves to prepare for the inflow of pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra, which began in July 2020. Temples and routes are being readied to ensure the safety of tourists. Like Kerala, Rajasthan will focus on short-haul, overnight visitors to begin with.

However, a few states are adamant that health concerns are more impor-tant than economic ones. Goa has said that it won’t welcome tourists. Reports from popular destinations in West Bengal indicate that locals are not keen on outsiders. “People in Digha and Darjeeling refused to let tourists stay,” says Debjit Dutta, chairman, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (West Bengal and North East Chapter).

Despite such contradictory attitudes, the biggest positive is that there is an overpowering desire among people to take short vacations—anywhere, even for a day or two. Of course, they are scared about their health. But if given a safe environment, they are willing to take the holiday plunge. According to E.M. Najeeb, chairman, IATO (Kerala Chapter), although there are no imme-diate bookings, there are several en-

quiries for future holidays.Tourists are open to travel, but with a

sharper focus. “Our May 2020 survey showed that 50 per cent were keen to travel to nearby destinations, with a driving time of six to seven hours,” re-veals Chetan Gupta, director, RG Destination. In Rajasthan, Mahendra Singh, who owns KK Holidays, con-tends that he is getting calls from those who wish to undertake journeys from September onwards. The state is lucky as it gets domestic tourists from April to September and foreigners between October and March.

Hence, it is not a matter of if, but when we will begin to travel. Domestic tourists, who constitute 80 per cent of annual travellers, will be the first ones to move, as international flights will take longer to stabilise their operations. This can happen as early as September, during the Dussehra holidays, or the

Christmas-New Year season.One thing, however, is clear—travel

and tourism will never be the same again. The way we holiday will witness dramatic changes. As health, safety and hygiene become paramount, stakehold-ers will need to reinvent their opera-tional and business strategies. Touch-less and contactless will become the new buzzwords. “The industry has to find innovative ways to surmount these challenges. It has to develop a new approach and philosophy of prac-tices about what and how it should op-erate in the future,” explains Najeeb.

Across hotels, resorts and homestays and among bus and taxi operators, railways and the aviation sector, changes are visible—and palpable. You may start and end a trip without touching anyone, exc ept co-travellers (See stories on Page XTravelX and YStayY, respectively). Regular health check-ups and sanitisation will be-come the norm. Technology will moni-tor the tourist everywhere she goes and whatever she touches. You, as a visitor, may be cagey; even the staff that serves you will be nervous. O

Domestic tourists, who constitute

80% of travellers, will be the first ones to move.

Sterilised comfort—the Great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta

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Cover Story/interview

In an exclusive interview with Jyotika Sood, central tour-ism minister Prahlad Singh Patel explains how the Rs 20-lakh crore stimulus package, formation of a National Task Force, and encouragement to states to initiate relief meas-ures will kick-start and revive the sector. The Atma-Nirbhar Bharat package will create demand and drive businesses, as money flows into the hands of the people

Why is it important for India to revive tourism? What are its benefits to the economy?

The tourism sector’s role in economic, cultural, social and educational fields is one of the largest global money-spinners.

The growing influence of tourism as an economic power-house and its pot-ential as a tool for develop-ment are irrefutable. Not only does the tourism sec-tor spearhead growth, it improves the quality of people’s lives with its cap-acity to create large scale employment of diverse kind. It supports environ-mental protection, cham-pions diverse cultural heritage, and strengthens peace in the world.

Its role in the economic, cultural, social and educa-tional fields is one of the

largest economic activities in international trade. It is a large service industry glob-ally in terms of gross reve-nue as well as foreign exchange earnings. Tourism is recognised as a powerful engine for economic growth and employment genera-tion in India. The contribu-tion of tourism to GDP of India as per estimation in accordance with 3rd Tourism Satellite Account in 2017-18 was 5.07%.

What strategies has the Centre devised to help the sector?

‘in future, tourism will totally change’

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There are many factors that contribute to the tourism sector’s income. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special eco-nomic and comprehensive package of Rs 2,000,000 crore—equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP on 12th May 2020. He gave a clarion call for Self-Reliant India Movement. Land, labour, li-quidity and laws have been emphasised in Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Package. We know that tourism world over is at a standstill as de-mand has collapsed. The travel agents and tour oper-ators segment is in the dis-tribution and value- added distribution industry. This will revive when the cus-tomer is no longer afraid of pandemic, and she has suffi-cient money to travel. This is what the overall stimulus given to economy by this special economic and com-prehensive package will help in having a positive im-pact on tourism industry, creating demand and busi-ness as incomes will flow into the hand of people.The tourism ministry has continuously talked to the stakeholders on various matters related to the challenges faced by them. The initiatives of the Centre provided to MSMEs, including service sectors, was highlighted. Besides, the ministry has shared the issues raised by the stakeholders with the concerned official levels. A National Task Force was

Our efforts are aimed at reviving domestic travel in a phased manner, so our priority is to support local travel at first before anything else.

formed under me, com-prising relevant central ministries and state au-thorities, to look into the measures to be taken for revival and growth of the sector. It has representa-tives from the industry, which will have a signifi-cant role in preparing the blueprint for revival.Our engagement with the stakeholders continues. Our industry is mature. Notwithstanding the hard-ships being faced during this time, it has helped us to come with operational guidelines for both hospital-ity and travel sectors. The ministry has consulted the industry on policy matters.

Is the Centre working closely with the states to help tourism?The ministry has had dis-cussions with state govern-ments and Union Territory administrations to encour-age them to consider vari-ous relief measures for the sector under their ambit, viz waiver of penalty or int erest to be levied on payment of dues owed to the state bodies, relief from excise fees, electric-ity duty, reduction of prop-erty tax, among others.

What are the initial re-ports from Kerala, Goa, and other states that re-ceive monsoon tourists?The states are primarily looking at encouraging the people to explore within their respective states when travel resumes fully. The situation will be clear once lockdown ends.

What is the initial feed-back from the stakeholders?The stakeholders under-

stand that this sudden standstill is a global phe-nomenon. The request of the industry to allow the opening of hotels and res-taurants was accepted by the government and these were opened since June 8, 2020. They have welcomed the operational guidelines for various sectors issued by the ministry. The feedback is that in future, tourism will totally change. Safety, hygiene, and security will be the top concerns so they ex-pect the government to work on these.

Can tourism be normal by next summer?Our efforts are to revive domestic travel in phased manner, so our priority is to support travel at the local level. As I said, states are encouraging people to travel and explore their re-spective states. This is un-precedented, but welcome, as it will restart tourism. Promotion of domestic tourism will be given greater focus through our Dekho Apna Desh cam-paigns. So we hope nor-malcy to come in sooner. The international tourism will depend on the re-opening of our borders, and how other countries allow their citizens to travel abroad.

How will the government make up for the loss in tourism revenues?I have already addressed this. The losses can be made up only with crea-tion of demand by kick starting the overall econ-omy, and that is what the special economic and com-prehensive package is meant for—giving stimulus to the economy. O

Out For A

RunAs the lockdown fog lifts, hordes of those confined till recently are desperate to get away,

but to non-touristy spots, in private conveyance, while keeping their safety guards up

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Jyotika Sood

The countrywide lockdown expropriated many of our freedoms; under the minatory

frown of the state, the external world was packed away into digital realms; our manacled selves (and souls) were to be restored to an earlier state at the pleasure of authorities. Unlock 1.0, therefore, came with new uncertainties, apprehension, and hopes. One over-whelming desire among the citizenry was the innate need to step out—and not only to such pleasant baubles like malls, theatres and other public places, but through physical displacement through a landscape to another place. As if to dispel the taint of two months of confinement one needed an exuberant gesture, an escape from one’s immedi-ate environment.

“I want a breakout from the house, and this town,” sighs Roshan Singh, a Gurugram-based financial advisor with two children. The months of in-ternment, he confesses, has drained his energy. Roshan realises that these are unusual times, but is tormented by an irresistible yearn to travel. No, not a grand wanderlust, but answering the call of the open road—just a few hun-dred kms away to Rajasthan, or north-wards beyond Chandigarh. A long drive in the car! A short weekend geta-way! Just with the wife and kids. To away from a big city that’s exhaling fumes of a stalking virus.

Like Roshan, most of us are sick of being afraid, of the barrage of news toting up a daily number of COVID-19 cases. The figures rise inexorably—last week, it crossed the eight million mark across the world, and the 3,00,000 one in India. We are wary of speculating if a vaccine will materialise in a year or 18 months, as the coronavirus goes about its deadly work: claiming lives in our colonies and apartment blocks, on the floors above our flats, among our friends and acquaintances.

Surveys by companies like RailYatri and Airbnb prove the dominant mood for a getaway. They contend that travel is among the topmost things on people’s minds. “Although holidays may not seem

to be on people’s agenda, there is an inn-ate interest in travel, and tourists may soon begin to set off to out-of-city desti-nations,” says E.M. Najeeb, chairman (Kerala Chapter), Air Travel Enterprises Group. Industry stalwarts say that this accreting impulse may drive people to dust down their suitcases by July first week or later, when the monsoon spreads across the country.

Privacy will be the keyOf course, no one expects a mad scramble usually witnessed during va-cation time. Given the ongoing crisis, travellers will be cagily cautious. Hence, a certain privacy of their own company will emerge as the most im-portant issue when people venture out of cities. This will translate into spe-cific short-term trends. Firstly, people will favour private transport like self-owned and hired cars, SUVs, small vans and mini-buses, rather than public transport (trains, buses, and flights).

Deep Kalra, founder and executive chairman, MakeMyTrip, agrees, “The pandemic and lockdown has left peo-ple longing for travel. Many anxiously wish to plan a getaway as soon as re-strictions are removed. The first seg-ment to open up will be the ‘self-drive holiday’ one.” Self-owned cars are safer, ideal for social distancing and can be sanitised. So is the case with hired vehicles. The recent hikes in pet-

rol and diesel prices may prove to be irksome, but the craving to get on the road will be stronger.

Still in the early days of unlockdown, different evidence is found from recent travel trends gleaned by the industry. “Around 95 per cent of the bookings (train and flight) now are for one-way travel. This indicates that traffic is among customers who were stranded during the lockdown and wish to get back to their homes. Three-fourths of the travel is within two weeks of the booking dates, which hints at an ur-gency,” explains Ashish Dhruva, vice president, Cleartrip.

A senior official in Indian Railways confirms this. “At present, we are wit-nessing an occupancy rate of more than 100 per cent, but this is only in one direction (from bigger cities and towns to smaller ones, or people going back to their villages). On return trips along these routes, the occupancy is merely 20-30 per cent. Even if the gov-ernment allows trains to ply as per pre-Covid schedules, railways, being a public carrier, will not be a preferred mode. Until the health crisis is res-olved, we will be grounded.”

Air travel faces a different dilemma. A senior airline executive says that not much can be experimented with in terms of check-in/check-out and seat arrangement. “The idea that seats can be kept vacant is absurd, as airlines

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may find it better to keep the planes on the tarmac, rather than fly with less than 70 per cent capacity on profitable routes. There are health-related costs related to PPE kits to the passengers,” he explains. As far as inter-city buses are concerned, Kapil Raizada of Intrcity RailYatri says Uttar Pradesh and Delhi might allow operations soon on select routes.

Isolated places are inIf there is indeed a high demand for cars, SUVs and vans, it is obvious that the des-tinations will be close by, a drive of a few

hours. However, obstacles in the way of states refusing to allow the entry of out-siders, either visitors or tourists, will persist. Goa has maintained that it can do without them. There is concern in Uttarakhand that outsiders can spread the virus in their hitherto Covid-free state. Hence, the best option for travel-lers will be to move within their states, or to a few neighbouring ones.

However, ever since ‘hotspot’ got a new, sinister ring to it, tourists are ex-pected to avoid obvious destinations, preferring instead places that are iso-lated, secluded, and far away from bus-tling hill-stations, beaches, backwaters and jostling towns like Jaipur and Udaipur. “Home-stays and resorts that are spread over large areas in less-

er-known spots may emerge as the chosen ones,” feels Kalra. Jurgen Bailom, president and CEO, Jalesh Cruises, thinks that his firm is in “a unique position as we have boosted tourism in such places like Diu and Ganpatipule (Maharashtra)”.

Visiters may be successfully wooed by exotic locations and choices with innovative experiences too. Varun Chadha, CEO, TIRUN, the Indian wing of Royal Caribbean Cruises, feels that the urge to be away, and stay away from others, will work to his advan-tage. “We can control entries and exits,

and monitor the inside movements better. Even before COVID-19, our sanitisation standards (like washing hands regularly) were better. We have got bookings for the next summers to Europe and Alaska,” he explains.

#VocalForLocal tourismPast government schemes to boost local tourism--by Indians within India—can help. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest exhortations—Vocal-For-Local, self-reliance and import substitution—will benefit the ailing sector. Bailom says, “The PM’s call will trigger domes-tic tourism this year.” Even the Union tourism ministry feels that the pan-demic will open up new pathways, new journeys, and new destinations. For

exa mple, Vocal-For-Local, enmeshed through ‘Apna Desh Dekho’, will prove to be a big boost.

At present, Indian Railways has de-cided to develop 26 stations that are close to multiple tourist destinations. The aviation ministry’s Udan-3 scheme envisages flights on 46 tourism-related routes. Even the Union road transport and highways ministry has shortlisted 50 spots for improvements in roads and wayside amenities. If this infrastruc-ture and connectivity is put in place in the short run, the country may be ready for a growth in travellers by next sum-mer. Over the next year or so, local tourists will drive the sector.

Yet another government initiative—not a new one, but will help the sector in these critical times—is the focus on pilgrimages. Over the past few years, there was an emphasis to enhance vis-its by the religious- and spiritual-minded individuals to the Char Dham (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Rameshwaram). Such yatras, and oth-ers, will begin in the next month, and can provide a fillip to the urge to travel across the country. One of the first tests will be the Amarnath Yatra, which is scheduled in July-August.

Clearly, health concerns will remain paramount. Hence, Central and local administrations will need to insist on safety. The private sector will do so in their respective ways. For example, RailYatri introduced the concept of pri-vate cabins in Intrcity SmartBus for so-cial distancing. These offer private spaces for single and double occupants. “There is the safe-food-on-train deliv-ery, which comes with tamper-proof packaging. The partner kitchens follow WHO guidelines,” explains Raizada.

But more than the guidelines, proto-cols, and controls that are followed by the industry and passengers, what will prove crucial is the manner in which the stakeholders work with each other. The tourism players will have to per-suade people to travel; the potential tourists will need to have the drive and vim to venture out. After all, there is nothing better to ward off viruses, in-ternal and external, than a sweet so-journ. A better antidote to a malaise, say the sages, has not been discovered. O

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Waiting from a

Distance

Hotels and resorts accommodate fewer visitors, reduce the number of tables in restaurants, and disinfect rooms for 24-48 hours before they are re-allotted—welcome to the new normal

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Lachmi Deb Roy

Hospitality is about physical and emotional intimacy. As a guest in a hotel,

you are ready for the hotel staff to ask you a dozen times “is everything fine”?, and “are you comfortable?”. At restaurants, the waiters and even chefs will walk up to your table, bend down on their knees, and ask if the food was tasty, and exotic herbs were okay. During room service in some places, the staff hovers around for a few minutes to place the cutlery and food where you want, and to receive their customary tips. Those times, they are gone now. Welcome to the new post-COVID concept of hospitality, which will be touch-less and con-tact-less. While you, as a guest, may don just a mask and wear gloves, most of the staff will appear in proper PPE kits, remain as distant from you as possible, and talk minimally. A new hospitality culture will gain ground in the near future that will aim to spread warmth and care, enhance pleasure and passion, even as those who are responsible for it remain largely invisible or hidden.

Business strategies will radically transform. As hotels and resorts ac-commodate fewer visitors, reduce the number of tables in restaurants, and disinfect rooms for 24-48 hours before they are re-allotted, the reve-nue-and-profit models will change. More so because there will be need to keep a check on tariffs, and even re-duce them. Costs will go up due to a larger number of health, safety and hygiene protocols. Buffets, parties, marriages, and business events—the money churners—will bring in lesser revenues.

One isn’t sure who will emerge stronger in such a scenario—business or budget hotels, resorts or home-stays. But there is no denying the fact that henceforth hospitality will be more about safety than entertainment, more about health than friendliness and generosity. Here’s peek into how life will change for a normal traveler and tourist in the near future.

A touch-less experienceEvery visitor to a hotel knows that she has thousands of touch-points on vari-ous surfaces during her stay—in the lobby, lounges, reception area, room, restaurant and pub, business centre, gymnasium, and other places. In the post-Covid era, these will be mini-mised, if not eradicated. Hotels have mapped and reviewed them in detail, and devised controls and protocols to remove health and safety threats for the guests and employees. It will be a novel touch-less experience for the new traveler.

Onkar Singh, general manager, Atmantan Wellness Centre, says that everyone who walks into his resort, be it the guests, vendors or employees, will be physically examined by in-house doctors. “We will check for abnormal body temperatures, and other Covid symptoms, and refer suspected cases to the medical team. We use high-speed thermal scanning cameras at the recep-tion area. While the baggage of the guests will be disinfected on arrival, their taxis and cars will be sanitised be-fore they board them,” explains Singh.

Guests will receive advanced alerts on what to expect, and what docu-ments—travel history and other man-datory details—to carry with them.

They will need to install the Arogya Setu app, which monitors Covid cases across the country, on their mobiles. In addition, the high-frequency touch-surfaces will be frequently cleaned through clinical-grade disin-fectants. Rooms will undergo a saniti-sation process for 24 hours before they are allotted. “We will focus on ‘immu-nity booster and natural healing’ pro-grammes, apart from transformational lifestyle experiences,” adds Singh.

At the Four Seasons Hotel, Bengaluru, high-touch public areas such as elevator buttons, door handles, and bathrooms,

are cleaned hourly with extra attention to frequented areas like front-desk counters and public restrooms. Each el-evator will accommodate a maximum of three persons, and it will be marked with directions to indicate the standing positions. Enhanced wash cycles will take care of the laundry and linen. Laundry services will operate as per the CDC guidelines, and collected in dis-posable bags.

The idea, explains Rohit Arora, area general manager, The Park, Delhi, is to have an all-encompassing protocol dubbed SHIELD (sanitisation, hygiene,

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A restaurant puts mannequins at tables to promote social distancing

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ISO standard equipment, excellence, luxury redefined, and distancing). According to him, guests will now pre-fer a ‘safe hotel stay’, rather than a ‘lux-ury hotel stay’. “We will use specialised chemicals for hygiene and sanitation. The use of sanitisers and PPE kits will be the new normal. The experience will be enhanced with the use of technol-ogy,” adds Arora.

Global health experts will be roped in to ensure health and safety. The Hyatt Group announced a ‘global care and cleanliness commitment’, which will include an accreditation process by the Global Bio-risk Advisory Council at its hotels across the world. In addition, colleague training and support re-sources, and a cross-functional working group of medical experts and profes-sionals will contribute to various as-pects of the hotel experience. It has updated its safety and hygiene practices to ensure the guests’ wellbeing.

The Four Seasons Hotel has collabo-rated with the Johns Hopkins Medicine International to validate its enhanced global health and safety programme, ‘lead with care’. Fredrik Blomqvist, gen-eral manager, Four Seasons Hotel, Bengaluru, says, “We will adhere to the guidance of the local health authorities, and introduce enhanced procedures for cleanliness. Our teams have completed comprehensive employee training to adhere to social distancing guidelines for contactless service.”

Revamped business strategiesIndia is a price-sensitive market. In every sector, freebies, discounts, and low prices matter, even as there is a market for those who don’t think twice about how much they spend. This will change in the post-Covid era. Even the rich, forget about the middle class, will seek cheaper options until the economy stabilises, and incomes normalise. This will be true of companies as well, even those whose employees were used to five-star treatment. Inevitably, unbe-lievable and unheard-of discounts will become the norm.

For example, the Sheraton Group launched its ‘save now, stay later’ scheme across 90 hotels in South Asia. The guests can book now, till June 30,

2020, choose between three comple-mentary offers, and avail of their book-ings anytime over the next 12 months. Delhi’s Hyatt Regency, which was in the news in early March after visit by Covid patients, offers a package that includes complimentary guestroom, free meals for two children who are 12 years or below, 20 per cent off on dining, 50 per cent off on an upgrade to a suite, free breakfast and one meal a day, two com-plimentary bottles of beer, four pieces of laundry washes a stay, and one-way pickup within 5 km of the hotel.

Shailza Sood Dasgupta, co-founder and director, Homestays of India, a so-cial enterprise dedicated to support au-thentic family-run places, concurs that affordability will be the biggest aspect of home-stays. “It will be a deciding fac-tor. We have got booking inquiries, and we do not plan to increase the tariffs of the rooms in this year,” says Dasgupta. Near-city travel and road trips may be more affordable option in India. “For India, the launch of the ‘Go Near’ is a reflection on people’s desire to travel closer home,” says Amarjeet Singh Bajaj, India country manager, Airbnb.

Along with price cuts, the accent will

be on flexibility and personalised pack-ages. Nibhrant Shah, founder and CEO, Lohono Stays, a luxury holiday rental company, contends that his company has launched a few schemes for both short and long stays. The Park’s Arora says that his hotel offers “stay-cation and day-cation packages that have the flexibility to make booking amend-ments to ensure maximum convenience”.

A combination of the growth in the work-from-home culture, and the de-sire to spend holidays with family members or close friends, and stay away from strangers, will prompt con-sumers to opt for private villas. Shah believes that people wish to work from better locations with better views, and from places that have easy access to their personal concierge to provide for their requirements. He claims, “The dem and for private villas is rising in the country, and will continue to do so in months to come.”

In effect, the virus crisis has forced the hospitality sector to “rewind and reas-sess” its business strategies and future growth. New trends and changes in ex-isting patterns will determine how businesses transform in the near fu-ture. The biggest lesson is that hoteliers need to be ready for business cycles and disruptions. Arora admits, “We have learned that businesses have to adjust to the new challenges, and only those organisations that are ready and

Hotels are offering complimentaries like guestrooms, beer, free meals

for kids etc.

Post-Covid kitchen at The Park in Delhi

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equipped to face them will sustain over the next few months and years.”

Dining with a differenceNext time you enter a restaurant in a hotel, you may be in for a few surprises. The tables will be at a minimum two-meter distance from each other, and the service staff will wear PPE kits (masks, gloves et al). A mobile app may allow you to order on-the-go. You will need to order and share your location, and the kitchen will start cooking while you move towards the restaurant. The app will allow the guests to see how the food is being prepared in the kitchen.

Obviously, Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels and Resorts, explains, “At the end of the feast, the bill will ap-pear on the app, and you can pay through credit card.” In other hotels, says Navjit Ahuwalia, country head, Hilton India, “menus will be replaced by QR codes, wherever possible, sani-tised menus will also be available on re-quest, and payments through e-wallets will be encouraged. There will be strin-gent checks at all levels of the supply chain to maintain the integrity of the HACCP and FSSAI guidelines.”

Of course, the guests will be checked for temperature, and a sticker will be is-sued to them to keep the service staff in the loop. The food handlers will undergo thermal screening twice a day, wear PPE equipment, and wash their hands regu-larly. There will be mandatory cleaning of the ingredients and produce that comes into the kitchen, and santised cutlery and crockery will be placed for the guests. Those interested in room service may have to open their own doors and drag the food trolley inside. Initially at least, these changes will be cumbersome, appear abnormal, and strain both guests and hotel staff. This will be similar to the times, when secu-rity became paramount at such places, and both people and their baggage were consistently screened for bombs. We got used to it because we could still have fun, and be wild, once we were inside those hospitality cocoons. If these en-tertaining bubbles become sanitised and overly protective, one isn’t too sure about the future of hotels. But, as they say, this too shall pass. O

Fo u n D e r A n D G r o u P C eo , oYo H oT e l s A n D H o m e s

j u m P C u t / Ritesh Agarwal

‘It’s an incredibly painful time’

COVID-19 forces businesses to rethink, our teams have plans for continuity and recovery. We want OYO to be the preferred hospital-ity brand for consumers in the post-Covid reality. Hygiene is going to be a key question. Our sanitised stay offerings to ensure minimal

contact-based check-ins are an important step. Customers can seek both aff-ordability and flexibility. OYO Wowcher, a recently-launched initiative, of-fers double the value for customers, and has flexibility in the duration of redemption. Corporate firms and individuals will look at budget accommo-dation options that are safe and sanitised. We can expect domestic travel to boom, as restrictions continue on international travel. Pilgrimages and road trips to closer destinations will gain momentum. There will be a prefer-ence for staycations as travelers prefer independent boutique hotels, and private vacation homes. Our goal is to ensure long-term sustenance of our business. We will focus on adapting it to operate in a new normal, post-

pandemic environment. At OYO, we are responsible for end-

to-end customer experiences with the support of hotel partners. Higher hy-giene standards, minimal contact ser-vices, and enhanced credibility top the list of consumer requirements. We re-cently launched the sanitised stays ini-tiative where we train partners to offer minimal touch experiences during check-in/check-out and room service, and offer consumers a visibility of the sanitisation level of a property on on-line platforms. Our hotels will go through regular background audit

checks for sanitisation, hygiene, and protective equipment. We will train 1,000 hotel partners under this programme.

During the COVID-19 crisis, our intent was to minimise job losses. However, we had to take the decision to cut pays by 25 per cent for our fellow OYO-preneurs, and some were placed on leave-with-limited benefits. It’s an incredibly painful time, especially when you are a young company, and you have closely worked with your team members. Recently, we announced that the affected OYO-preneurs would be eligible for ESOPs worth Rs 130 crore (around $18 million). We plan to start an institutionalised placement support system for those who wish to avail it. We have formed an exigency fund for the employees who may need it for critical illness cases. The key will be to re-tain and maintain a talent powerhouse. While the business has had to make some tough decisions, we continue to strive to improve employee motivation and morale, enable us to emerge as a great place to work and retain a strong standing in surveys like the LinkedIn Best Places to Work. O

Our hotels will go through regu-lar background audit checks for sanitisation and protective equipment.

AS

4 0 OutlOOk | july 13 , 2020

COVER STORY/OpiniOn

booking data shows that global travel is beginning to bounce back, and new research has identified a series of trends that will shape travel in the months to come. People want to travel locally with more af-

fordable options and unique personal experiences, prioritising cleanliness and private spaces. From the overall industry standpoint, we believe, the industry will recover in a phased manner over a period. Domestic travel will recover faster than outbound. And in domestic tourism, for all the reasons that we know, city tours and day-drive tours will be the first to recover. States will look to ease rules, making local travel a shorter-term option. We believe that when it is safe, many will venture out again, and our hosts are more committed than ever to welcome guests back. Ninety two per cent of the hosts interviewed on our platform said that they plan to host as often as before, or more often, once the effects of the pandemic are less severe.

From May 17 to June 3, there were more nights booked for domestic travel on Airbnb globally than there were in the same time period in 2019. In India, 51 per cent of our business comprises domestic bookings (Indian who travel within the country). In addition, search trends and ‘wish lists’ by Indian Airbnb users indicate that long lockdowns have only piqued interest and aspirations to travel. Key domestic markets for Airbnb are Goa, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Mumbai, and Bangalore. But we are seeing a surge in searches for stay opt-ions in nearby cities, especially closer to metros, like Alibag, Lonavala, and Panchgani near Mumbai. Domestic tourism will see a big boost as international borders may take time to open up. India has a lot to offer domestically, and we look for-ward to working with state tourism boards to ensure that we are able to showcase amazing Indian locations and homes to our community. The most common words in recent Wish Lists’ by Airbnb users are ‘beach’ and ‘summer 2020’ and, in India, 70 per cent of visitors to the platform are searching

with dates in the near future (starting July 2020).In a recent survey commissioned by Airbnb, over half of the

respondents said they will prefer to stay within a day’s drive for their first trip. We recently launched our ‘go near’ initia-tive to support economic growth through domestic travel in India. With our newly launched ‘nearby getaways’ on our platform, we are helping our guests navigate and book nearby experiences. While some might be keen to travel and venture out, sanitisation and cleanliness are going to be top priority. We have engaged the former US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy, to help develop an industry standard-setting ‘enh-anced cleaning protocol’ for hosts on Airbnb. The protocol is now available to hosts in the United States, and will be availa-ble to other ones in the weeks ahead.

The sector requires a brand-new vision and strategy involv-ing partnership between stakeholders—public and private—to mitigate any challenges into opportunities. While recovery will be a long path, our host community and global Airbnb family eagerly anticipate the future of travel. It will take the combined strength of stakeholders— communities, govern-ments, industry, and travelers—to contribute to the sector’s rapid revival and long-term health. We remain committed, now more than ever, to economically empower communities, drive travel to lesser-known places, and support environmen-tally sustainable travel. The ministry of tourism has set up a task force to address the issues, and the task force is helping in assessing the needs of the tourism sector at national and regional level, and coming out with effective recommenda-tions for revival. We have seen encouraging signs of recovery. We believe, once tourism within other regions starts to recover, it will quickly become the catalyst for the revival of other affected sectors linked to the industry. O

(As told to Jyotika Sood)

Amanpreet Bajaj

Our

Domestic travel will recover faster with day-drive tours... and see a boost as borders may take time to open up

Driver Finds Its Bounce

A m A n P r e e T B A JA J , i n D i A C o u n T rY m A n AG e r , A i r B n B . ( V i e w s A r e P e r s o n A l )

A beach in Goa during the lockdown

P T i

Satish Padmanabhan

In conversation with

Executive Editor, OutlookJuly 5th, Sunday, 11:00 a.m.

Join us on

on

@outlookindia @outlookmagazine

AmitAbh KAntCEo, niTi Aayog

on

Boycotting chinese goods

KicK-starting the economy and

reviving tourism

0 0 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

What, after all, is beauty without the beholder? A fabled ‘paradise’ on earth in

full plumage is accustomed to have its charms reaffirmed by mere mortals every year. Yet in April, when Asia’s largest tulip garden in Srinagar was in full bloom, with over 1.3 million bulbs turned towards the sun, there were no tourists to witness the breathtaking sight. The only wanderers were local photojournalists, who went about forlornly in the empty garden spread over 80 acres of land, and situated on the banks of the Dal Lake. In compari-

son, 2,60,000 people visited this spot in a two-month period in 2019. COVID-19 had laid its petrifying fingers on the tourism in the new Union Territory.

Even the doughty Wahid Malik, pres-ident of the hotels and restaurant asso-ciation of Kashmir, who had been mulishly optimistic about the poten-tial of the Valley as a world-class tour-ist destination despite the violence and instability, has lost hope. “I don’t think tourists will return for a long time. COVID-19 lockdown was a deathblow to any hopes of a revival in the sector,” he tells Outlook. His pessimism is shared by many others who are directly associated with the sector.

The growing belief is that nothing will work without a serious commit-ment from the Central and local gov-ernments--a combination of a revival-cum-stimulus package to woo back visitors holds the greatest hope for a turnaround. Sheikh Ashiq, presi-dent, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries, estimates the loss due to the ongoing lockdown, which started willy-nilly with the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019, and con-tinued through the COVID-19 scare, to be Rs 30,000 crore. “If there is no timely intervention, our economy will end,” he adds ominously.

The local administration mostly believes that after the change in

Kiss ACrippled by long periods of unrest, the hopes Kashmir’s tourism industry

fostered for a full summer season were wrecked by the pandemic. Its deliverance now lies in the hands of the Centre and the local regime.

COVER STORY/KASHMIR

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Kashmir’s constitutional status, the cues need to come from the Centre. A senior tourism official, for ins-tance, opines that one of the imme-diate options can be to include tourism companies within the over-all ambit of MSMEs. Thus, the for-mer will be in a position to take advantage of the huge funds allo-cated to MSMEs as part of the Centre’s Rs 2,000,000 crore stimulus package to deal with the awful stasis brought on by the Covid crisis and revive the economy.

In addition, small, but crucial, steps can be taken in the short term to help the sector. “Overall, the con-cept of Atmanirbhar Bharat needs to be broad-based to include tourism. At the micro level, local issues plague the companies. These include, among oth-ers, delays in GST reimbursement, pos-sible one-time amnesty to hoteliers towards payment of power dues and fur-ther moratorium on credit along with issuance of soft low-interest loans to improve liquidity flows,” adds Ashiq.

However, another opportunity beck-ons, depending on whether the Centre and the local regime decide to go ahead with the annual Amarnath Yatra, which is scheduled in July-August this year. Some feel that if the pilgrims are allowed to proceed despite the Covid scare, policy-makers should simulta-neously remove restrictions on the entry of other tourists. “Let the hospi-tality sector be educated and trained about social distancing, and health and safety issues, so that the visitors are not deterred,” explains a state official.

As Nasir Shah, chairperson, J&K Pilgrim and Leisure Tour Operators’ Forum, puts it: “Remember, it was the government that issued an advisory to tourists against visiting Kashmir and drove them away last year. Hence, it is imperative for the government to do something to revive it. One of the measures can be to provide insurance cover for tourists, who are willing to visit Kashmir in the near future.” The UT, adds Shah, can establish free COVID-19 testing facilities in Srinagar and other tourist destinations.

Not just for tourists, insurance for the beleaguered tourism sector can prove to

be the key to woo travelers back. Saddam Zaroo, who runs RK Sarovar, a hotel in Srinagar, explains how insurance consti-tutes a business’s lifeline during trying times. Whenever events such as fires, earthquakes, floods and public health crisis lead to closures, insurance cover takes care of losses. Unfortunately, in Kashmir, this hasn’t happened effi-ciently. The process was hampered by politics and bureaucracy within the in-surance firms. “We filed several claims related to business losses for long, and this is the time when we want returns from the insurance companies. This will only happen if the government issues a notification, and urges the latter to make prompt payments to hotels that have filed claims. This can help us sustain our businesses for some time,” explains Zaroo. This will provide a breathing space to a number of players, and allow them to prepare a plan to get visitors back in the forthcoming winter season.

Sadly, Covid isn’t the only contribu-tor to Kashmir’s economic problems. Tourism experts believe that they started in 2016, when widespread and debilitating unrest broke over the kill-ing of Burhan Wani, a Hizb-ul Mujahideen commander. In 2017, a report by the then state’s finance min-istry concluded that its economy suf-fered a loss of more than Rs 16,000 crore during the six-month long ten-sion in the Valley. “Since then, we have struggled. Our issues are more compli-cated. Small issues, like regular shut-downs of Internet portals for

prolonged periods, impact us as we lose communication with our cli-ents,” complains a hotelier.

The situation worsened in August 2019 after the Centre revoked Article 370, arrested thousands, including three former chief minis-ters, laid a communication and physical blockade of the territory, and divided the state into two Union Territories. Around the same time, an official advisory asked tour-ists and pilgrims to leave the Valley. Hoteliers and houseboat owners recall how the police, accompanied by tourism officials, conducted mid-night raids, knocked on doors of the guests, and asked them to go.

As communication restrictions eased, serious efforts were made to revive tourism. The key initiatives were taken by the industry. “In the winter months of 2019, we went to dif-ferent states and convinced tour oper-ators that Kashmir was safe as a travel destination. We toured Gujarat and Maharashtra, and received good re-sponse. It seemed that visitors were willing to come. Hotels were booked by operators from April 2020 onwards. However, the COVID-19 lockdown shattered all hope,” explains Malik.

During the current lockdown, the regime decided to help houseboat own-ers with a monthly compensation of Rs 1,000. The Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association rejected it. “There are more than 1,200 houseboats. We spend Rs 100,000 a year to maintain them each. The government offered us a pittance – a monthly sum of Rs 1,000. It was a joke, and an insult to our woes,” laments a houseboat owner, Tariq Patloo. The as-sociation also established a trust to take care of the dietary needs of the poor families solely dependent on tourism around the Dal Lake.

Clearly, policy makers at both the national and local levels need to devise a specific strategy to change the for-tunes of the tourism sector in Kashmir. The fact remains that its economy depends on it, as well as the livelihoods of a large proportion of the population. Kneejerk reactions will not work; only a practical blueprint can enable all to regain this paradise. O

COVER STORY/KASHMIR

4 4 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Shunyata Under The Bodhi’s shadeGiridhar Jha

Bodh Gaya has been desolate ever since the lockdown was enforced. The pilgrims, tourists,

nirvana-seekers and mendicants who frequented the holy town, where Gautam Buddha attained enlighten-ment more than two and a half millen-nia ago, are missing. Their absence has dealt a crippling blow to the tourism industry that sustained the local economy for centuries. “The virus has ruined the tourism ecosystem,” says Sanjay Singh, general secretary, Bodh Gaya Hotel Association. “There are about 40 large and 70-80 smaller hotels in the town, but these have remained

shut for over three months.” Singh, who owns Delta International

Hotel, adds that the government has all owed hotels to reopen, but business remains negligible because of lack of visitors. “We are neither getting dom-estic tourists nor foreign ones, who were the backbone of our revenues. Worse, there are no corporate clients or wedding bookings because of social dis-tancing norms. I don’t see any ray of hope. I doubt things will improve soon,” he says. “People are wary of hotels and we are apprehensive about customers.”

The pandemic hit the tourism sector when Bihar, especially the Buddhist cir-cuit, was hoping for a boom. Last year, more than 3.5 crore tourists visited the state. Of them, almost 11 lakh were from

abroad. Almost half of the foreigners visited Bodh Gaya in 2019. In 2018, more than a million foreign tourists came to Bihar. Their number will, of course, come down drastically this year. “The scenario is bleak,” says Arun Kumar Ojha, a travel industry expert based out of Bodh Gaya. “Only a few hot els have reopened. Most hotels have reduced the salaries of their staff, sent them on furlough or even retrenched them. Nobody knows whether things will look up once the tourist season beg-ins in October.”

The corona scourge struck towards the end of the October-March tourist season earlier this year. Most visitors from Sri Lanka, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries with a

Hotels have reopened, but visitors stay away from the world’s holiest Buddhist site

COVER STORY/BihaR

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 4 5

large Buddhist population usually visit Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, and other places in Bihar’s Buddhist circuit. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims, mostly Indians, throng the fortnight-long Pitripaksha Mela, held on the banks of Falgu river in Gaya district before Durga Puja every year. However, given that there is no let-up in the number of COVID-19 cases till now, locals are worried about its impact on the mela this year.

“Even if things improve, I don’t think more than 25 per cent of the tourists will visit Bodh Gaya this year,” says Arvind Kumar, member of Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee, which oversees the management of the Mahabodhi temple, one of Bihar’s two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (The ruins of Nalanda are the second). While Bodh Gaya remains the holiest city for Buddhists, Kumar says the problem is that 90 per cent of foreign tourists come to the Buddhist circuit in large groups. “It is not like Goa or hill sta-tions, where couples go for honey-moons or small parties visit for sightseeing. Social distancing norms will deter pilgrims from coming here.”

“Some hotels have reopened, but you can find their receptionists and manag-ers dozing off, waiting for elusive cus-tomers,” says Kumar. With no signs of an immediate recovery, the locals depend-ent on tourism are seeking a bailout package from the government. “So far, we have not received any incentives, but I hope that officials will do something to resuscitate the domestic tourism sector, as they did in Japan,” says Singh.

It is not just hoteliers and tour opera-tors at the receiving end—the shutdown has robbed small vendors of their liveli-hoods. “They looked forward to the arr-ival of busloads of students on mandatory educational trips organised under the Mukhyamantri Paribhraman Yojana,” says Ojha. “Those trips have stopped because schools remain closed.” State tourism officials believe that domestic tourists will start return-ing to the Buddhist circuit before for-eigners and help bring the industry back on track. Locals, however, aren’t as optimistic. As a quote attributed to Buddha goes, “The past is already gone. The future is not yet here.” O

COVER STORY/OdiSha

A Covided Sand Castle

Never in the pink of health, Odisha’s tourism sector is in dire straits as a result of the pandemic. With all places of tour­ist interest such as the Sun Temple in Konark, Bhitarkanika

and Nandankanan remaining shut for months due to the prolonged lockdown and infection rates spiking every day, tourist inflow to the state has been near to zero. And with the Rath Yatra in Puri, the big event that draws lakhs of devo­tees to the pilgrim town every year, being held only as a token, ritualistic affair with no public participation, tourist footfall is set to fall drastically this year.

Regular air and train services are yet to resume fully, which means, there is no way tourists can visit the state even if they are willing to take the risk. Hotels have been all­owed to operate since June 8, but only at 30 per cent capacity. “Most restaurants still remain closed. Only room service is allowed. Who will want to come and stay in a hotel with such res­trictions?” asks hotelier Srikant Sahoo. “The tourism industry has collapsed,” says Benjamin Simon, president of the Tours and Travel Operators Association of Odisha. “It has been hit harder by the coronavirus than other sectors and will take a lot longer to revive than others.”

With the government grappling with the growing Covid­positive cases, it has little time to pay attention to this crucial sector that is one of the biggest employ­ers in the state as well as the country. Industry insiders say the government is yet to put in place a safety protocol on the lines of the guidelines framed by the World Tourism Council to inspire confidence among tourists. There is little hope of a revival without active support from the government, they say. Even with gov­ernment support, any possible revival would be a long­drawn affair, they feel.. O

even the Rath Yatra, an annual event that draws lakhs of visitors, was just a ritual with no public.

sandeep sahu in Bhubaneswar

The Puri beachfront—not a soul stirred during the lockdownP T I

4 6 outlook | july 13 , 2020

COVER STORY/UTTaRakhand

Chetan Mahajan

MY money or my life? Can I have both? Gopal Bhatt’s old Alto was uncool. Tourists

wanted a bigger, more comfortable taxi. He took a loan in January and his Wagon-R arrived with the lockdown. It’s been parked since. The three-month EMI moratorium didn’t help. The tourists haven’t returned. Whether be homestays, resorts or roadside dhabas, most such operators depend upon tourists for survival. At least 80 per cent tourism revenue comes in May and June. This year it was zero. The unlock hasn’t changed anything. The lockdown put tourism in a coma. An unlock doesn’t mandate it’s revival. There are two main problems—tourists are afraid to travel, and locals are scared of the few who do. Two carloads of tourists arrived at a local

resort and moved around visibly instead of staying in quarantine. The village pradhan made them leave. All tourists are banned from that resort and nearby villages. Bad news for everyone.

The fear is understandable. Healthcare is hard to access, and the local populace is poor. A single infection could devastate the community. Yet, we want the tourists for our livelihood. Catch-22. Either we stay safe and our children go hungry, or we feed our kids but risk lives. To revive tourism, every-one needs to feel safe. Both, the visitors and the operators, need the knowledge and confidence that they will be safe.

Assurances mean nothing. Confidence comes from strong process and commu-nication. This confidence can come from three steps. First, define clear standard operating procedures (SOPs). What does a taxi driver have to do for safety and sanitisation? Or a hotel or cafe? “Social

distancing” and “sanitisation” should be translated into specific activities. Once a cabbie knows that he has to wear a mask, ensure all passengers sanitise hands and wear masks, and that he cannot take more than X number of passengers, then it becomes concrete steps.

Some SOPs exist. A 42-page PDF in babu English is floating around. It is hard to understand. Such documents need to be translated into simpler text messages or videos and shared widely. SOPs are needed for tourists, too.

Second, equip and train operators on these SOPs. Training can happen via technology and local staff. Many edu-cated employees—schoolteachers, med-ical officers, police etc are in all districts. While some are overworked, others may have the time for such simple ac-tivities. Competent NGOs in the state can help. Basic things like infra-red thermometers or sanitisers maybe una-

Coma dham Har ki Pauri, Haridwar, during the lockdown

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 4 7

COVER STORY/RajaSThan

vailable or expensive for some. Third, communicate clearly and con-

sistently in both Hindi and English. Right now, there is confusion. Rumours abound. Circulars say tour-ists can come. The cops at the border say they can’t...some tell tourists to home quarantine in Uttarakhand. Whatever that means.

The Uttarakhand tourism website’s most recent Covid update is dated March 20. Of two listed helplines, one doesn’t work. The other picked after four attempts. “Can I host tourists at my guesthouse?” I asked. “Ask the SDM off-ice.” Was the reply from the control room. The SDM office rang and rang.

My little MSME website offers WhatsApp chat. Why can’t the state tourism website? The government has phone numbers and emails of every reg-istered operator. The government should use this to convey information

and provide clarity. True, the situation is dynamic and un-

certain. With clear SOPs, training, mate-rial and communication, the administration can offer a sense of safety and be part of the solution. This will make both operators and tourists feel safe. This can mean the difference between Gopal keeping his new cab or the bank taking it away. O

(Mahajan is an author and co-founder of the Himalayan Writing Retreat )

Dry as a desert

Gopal Bhatt and his new Wagon-R

The only hotels getting business in Rajasthan were Shiv Vilas and JW Marriott in Jaipur, which had inadvertently become beneficiaries of political turbulence in the state. The two hotels housed Congress and

independent MLAs amid allegations of poaching by the rival BJP before the Rajya Sabha elections. Most of the 7,000+ hotels in the state, however, were shut and the ones that had the wherewithal to open have dismal occu-pancy, often just one or two guests.

“All I see ahead is darkness,” says Kuldeep Singh, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Rajasthan. “The whole business has come to a nought. Many will have to shut or sell their hotels.” With its palaces and monuments, the desert state is one of the major tourist destinations in the country. As per a state tourism department report, 5.2 crore tourists visited the state in 2018, of which 17.5 lakh were foreigners.

The tourism sector contributes about 22-25 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product, but the lockdown has hit it hard. “In the next three to four months, Rajasthan’s tourism industry—its hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, tourist markets etc—will suffer a loss of approximately Rs 12,000-15,000 crore,” says Sreya Guha, principal secretary, department of tourism, art and culture.

Experts say the state’s tourism industry employs around 30 lakh people. Guha suggests that the un-employment figures in the industry could cross the 10-lakh mark in the coming months. “In addition, there will be losses to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore to the state government due to reduced GST collec-tions,” she says. “The government has constituted a task force to recommend a bailout package for the industry and the force has submitted its report.”

Kuldeep wants the government to write off all taxes on the industry for a year to revive it. He fears that tourist inflow might remain dismal for the next three to five years. Mohan Singh of Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators shares these con-cerns. He says his tour agency catered to 12,000-14,000 clients every month, but after March, there have been none.

“Everybody is fearful. There is so much uncertainty that nobody can say anything about the future,” says Mohan, adding that hundreds of his vehicles have been parked for two-and-a-half months now. The salaries of staff, the EMIs on vehicles and government taxes are the major operating costs of his business. He too wants a tax waiver for a year. Furthermore, he suggests that the government waive off entry fees to monuments, so they can offer more economical packages to tourists.

The Rajasthan government opened the monuments—those not falling in con-tainment zones or curfew areas—to visitors from June 2. The maximum influx of domestic tourists is in the July-September quarter—foreign tourists visit in October-December and January-March. As per 2018 figures, the highest number of foreigners were from France (14 per cent), followed by the UK (10 per cent) and US (8 per cent). This year elected representatives holding up in hotels might end up contributing the most to the state’s tourism industry.. O

What will it take to revive tourism, a sector account-ing for up to 25 per cent of Rajast-han’s GDP?

Salik Ahmad

4 8 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Heaven Does Not Shut DownPreetha nair

IN normal times, Ayesha Manzil in the small north Kerala coastal town of Thalassery would have been

preparing to welcome its guests from across the world, flocking to enjoy the sights and sounds (and, yes, tastes) of monsoon-drenched Kerala. The luxury colonial-era structure overlooking the Arabian Sea—which hosts 700 guests annually, having drawn tourists from the UK, US, Australia et al for years—wears a deserted look now. The last two months have brought a kind of wreath down on the industry. Tourism is one sector that the pandemic has hit the most, says T.P. Moosa, who runs Ayesha Manzil.

Business came to an abrupt halt in mid-March. “We were asked to send away our guests and our operators called to say all bookings were can-celled,” says Moosa, a homestay pio-neer. So what’s the new normal? Moosa says he has decided to shift the focus to domestic tourists—he hopes to accomplish that by slashing his rates—from Rs 22,500 (per room for two)—by half. By ‘domestic’, he even means those from within Kerala. His celebrity guest-list, boasting of author William Dalrymple and chef Sanjeev Kapoor (a marker of the fame of the homestay’s own cuisine), adds an al-lure. It’s the only way to survive, with international travel not likely to pick up in the near future. “We have to keep

the wheel moving,” says Moosa. That sentiment spreads over the

land. Philipkutty’s Farm, a homestay on a small island in Vechoor, 20 km from Kottayam in central Kerala, faces the same challenges. “Our clients are mostly from the UK, Australia, US. We had guests till March 15. After that, all bookings got cancelled. It’s a tough sit-uation,” says Anu Mathew, the owner.

Kerala’s tourist-trap Kovalam paints another grim picture. With its luxury beachfront hotels casting an empty shadow, the resort town groans under the double whammy of zero tourists and lockdown restrictions on fishing. For Nabeel, a fisherman, the first half of the year has been the worst in his mem-ory. Nabeel offers hotel guests and tour-

From promoting local tourism to projecting Kerala as the ‘wellness destination’, the tourism sector is looking to reboot

COVER STORY/KERala

P h o t o g r a P h s : V . V . B i j u

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m july 13 , 2020 | outlook 4 9

ists visiting Hawa beach water tours on his speedboat—an hour for Rs 1,000. “There were strict restrictions and anyway we couldn’t sell our catch as we used to. So any fishing activity was for food only. A Rs 2,000 aid was announced but not all of us have received it,” he says.

The impact has been huge, acknowledges Rupesh Kumar, state coordinator, Responsible Tourism Mission, Kerala. The cri-sis saw the cancellation of over 4,000 village life experience (VLE) tours after the crisis. “This alone has cost the state and com-munities about Rs 50 lakh, while the total loss to the roughly 18,000 registered RT units has been around Rs 10 crore. That was the direct livelihood of local tour guides, artisans, artists, among others,” he says.

So what exactly is the roadmap out of this? Clever marketing of Kerala’s inherent strengths. ‘Heaven Does Not Shut Down’, goes one of the catchy hooks going around as the state navi-gates the thin streams available now, trying to embolden tourists to shed their excessive caution because, hey, this is Kerala after all! The lakhs of for-eign footfalls will take time to trace their steps. But foreign tourists who got stuck in the state during the pan-demic, who underwent treatment or spent time in quarantine, have fa-mously gone back with publicly spoken words of approbation.

Kerala, therefore, is actually seeking out an opportunity—a silver lining, if not a pot of gold—in those very details. Its finessed handling of Covid-19 attracted global attention. ‘Health’, therefore, is central to the new tourism hook, say management consultants Dr Maithily P.R. and Suresh Menon, who co-autho-red one of the first concept notes on reviving tourism with that catchy line about heaven not shutting down: “Kerala has its proven wellness offerings. We recommend that Kerala leverage this and remarket itself as a wellness destina-tion—leisure and wellness combined. We are advocating preventive healing, where tourists go back with enhanced immunity—a wholesome package for

mind, body and soul. We know people worldwide are looking for exactly this, and they are willing to travel for extended durations”, says Maithily.

They also suggest using houseboats as quarantine centres. “In the outside chance of people being infected even after the peak, they can opt to be quar-antined in a nature resort or on house-boats. The treatment and their upkeep will be the same. The houseboats will need to be upgraded on the waste man-agement front,” says Menon.

“Kerala can leverage the goodwill and mileage from its Covid-19 response,” af-firms Rupesh Kumar. “Tourists will now prefer more secluded destinations and unique, personalised experiences. Kerala’s fight against Covid-19 is itself a great selling point.” Baby Mathew, pres-ident, Kerala Travel Mart Society, ech-oes that. “We are planning a virtual travel mart. Private tour operators and others have started a campaign focusing on wellness. Ayurveda is going to be a big draw once the industry opens up,” says Mathew, who is also chairman of Somatheeram Ayurveda group.

There’s cautious optimism. Even a revival of domestic tourism may take till September, say industry bodies. Within that, the gradation is local, then, regional, then all India. “The first step is regional tourism. The tourism industry is thinking that way. There are many beautiful places in Kerala that many haven’t explored yet,” says Mathew.

The state government too is keen on shoring up local tourism. “People in Kerala are by and largely ignorant about their own state and its many unique attrac-tions. To make up for reduced international and domestic tour-ism, we are rolling out a series of schemes,” says Rupesh Kumar.

The grim health situation in states like Maharashtra , Gujarat and Karnataka does not augur well for Kerala’s tourism prospects, says Paulose K. Mathew, chair-man, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), who runs Kochi-based Coraz travels. “At present, we are planning to promote local tourism. Hotels are ready with promotional packages with dis-

counts; social media campaigns are also being done. We have to instil confidence in tourists from other states and coun-tries that Kerala is safe. Local tourism will help in that direction,” he says.

Kerala has been through this before: having to reboot strategies after a col-lapse. Severely hit by the Nipah virus in 2017 and a devastating flood in 2018, Kerala’s tourism sector made an im-pressive comeback in 2019. According to statistics released in March, the state received 1.96 crore domestic and foreign travellers in 2019, and earned Rs 45 crore overall from the sector. “The state will promote itself as a sur-vivor, enhancing its reputation on that front after Nipah and two successive floods,” says Rupesh.

In an interview to Outlook in January, tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran had said robust promotion had helped Kerala bounce back. “We designed a 12-point strategy for imme-diate recovery. In the first three quar-ters of 2019 (January-September), we registered an overall growth of 15.73 per cent (domestic, 16.48 per cent; interna-tional, 4.84 per cent),” he had said. The numbers there hold a clue to the pres-ent strategy too. But global arrivals too will pick up ultimately. Hope is not lost for Moosa and Anu Mathew, who have already received overseas inquiries/ bookings from October onwards. “It’s a positive sign. Hope everything comes back to normal soon,” says Mathew. O

COVER STORY/KERala

Review / Art And Culture

Actor Boman Irani talks to Giridhar Jha about scriptwrit-ing, the neglect of writers in the film industry. Excepts:

You have been sharing ideas with screenwriters on an open online platform under your Spiral Bound project. How did this come about?> I had been toying with the idea of making a movie for quite some time. Whenever someone would tell me that I had a great idea and should make a film, I would say that I would definitely direct a movie sometime. But you cannot make a film without a script. I had a story idea and looked around for writers to work on it. But somehow what I got was never satisfactory, so I decided to write it myself. I thought it was good, but something was lack-ing. Though every scene had a certain quality, I found the overall picture not engaging enough. I realised that I needed to learn how to write it structurally.

I went to the US looking for help and met this young playwright Alexander Dinelaris Jr. He told me that the story did not have a structure, that I needed to learn its architecture. I began considering him my guru. I kept going back to the US and sent pages of the script to him to seek his guidance. Two to three years passed and my script started looking better. And then, he won an Oscar for a film (Birdman, 2014) he had co-written. I thought I had lost my guru because he had become a big-time writer. But he became a closer friend after that. I learnt a lot during my seven-and-a-half-year journey with him.

When I floated my production house (Irani Movie-tone) last year, I organised a day-long workshop with screenwriters instead of throwing a party or hosting a red-carpet event. It was a huge success. That gave the idea for Spiral Bound. I wanted to do more and when the

lockdown started, I started an online session with a group of four people. Now, 85 people join it every day. The idea of learning and sharing the knowledge I had acquired through workshops came from there. There is a big difference between a good story and a good screenplay. To make a good film out of a good story, you need good screenplay. What has been your takeaway from these screenwriting sessions?> When you write you are in a constant state of writer’s block. You don’t know what to write, but when you apply the right technique, it makes the process smooth. A lot of people advise to write freely without bothering about technique, but I don’t agree.Do you think Indian screen-

writers need to learn more compared to their Holly-wood counterparts?> We have extremely talented writers, but what happens is that people who want to become writers work as assistant directors, cinematographers, directors or even actors. Spiral Bound has provided an opportunity to ass-istant directors who may not have had formal training in screenwriting to learn the craft.But screenwriters are still not getting their due in terms of remuneration, billing etc in the film industry.> True. At times, they have to work on a screenplay with-out even a salary or assurance that the movie will be made. Let alone financial security, nobody understands the value of screenwriters. In the ’70s, people went to a movie simply because it was written by Salim-Javed sa-hab. But a screenwriter hardly gets importance today in terms of money, assurances or billing. It has to change.What kind of movies would you like to produce?> I would like to make movies in any genre. I have no problem with films that entertain. Meaningful films can be entertaining too. But you have to make them properly. If they are made with a particular structure, they become easier to shoot and chances of them being successful are greater.You made your entry quite late into films. Were you waiting for the end of formula films in Bollywood?> I have no problem with formula films as such. The pub-lic should be entertained, whichever way it wants to be. Yes, there has been a change in terms of content in Hindi cinema. Smaller films now have OTT platforms and there are opportunities to make low-budget movies. Earlier, there were commercial films or alternative cinema. That

has changed. O

‘A good story is not enough. You need good screenplay’

5 0 outlook | july 13 , 2020

TALKies with Bollywood

Episode - 9

#BollywoodTalkiesOutlook

Mitrajit BhattacharyaColumnist & Author

In conversation with

@outlookmagazine@outlookindia

Watch onJuly 3, friday,

at 9:00, PM

A c t o r

AnupAM Kher

On acting in pathbreaking movies like Saraansh, Daddy,

DDLJ, A Wednesday to Bend It Like Beckham and

Silver Linings Playbook

5 2 outlook | july 13 , 2020

la dolce vita

In the grand melee of biopics on sportspersons

and minor social influencers, Bollywood does a

great job of ignoring personages who left a real

impress on the course of the nation. A film on

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, whose career

spanned Burma (in WWII) to Bangladesh, would

go some way to right this dismal record. Like

Monty before Alamein, Sam Bahadur prepared for

months before falling upon the enemy. We hope

Vicky Kaushal would take his time and do justice

to his role. He looks convincing enough here,

moustache and all, in this shadow of a famous

photo. Except for that inimitable nose….

Man Of Real War

Aiming Together Here’s another pair then, after

Sania-Shoaib and Saina-Kashyap,

who transmutes the bonds of

friendship forged over playing

sports at the highest level into

the weightier ties of matrimony.

We are talking about top archers

Deepika Kumari and Atanu Das,

who grasp the vacant space

offered up by the pandemic to

do the needful in Ranchi. Strict

social distancing was followed

for the 60 guests, along with a

liberal use of masks and sanitis-

ers. Deepika, a former World No 1,

is currently No 9; Atanu is not as

elevated. We hope they spur each

other on to find bull’s eyes.

R A j E S H K u M A R

o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m

la dolce vita

Swing With Her “Which jessica do you

like,” went a common

query among punters over

a decade back. The

choices came gladly

to the eye: Alba, Biel,

Chastain and Simpson.

The last jessica, the pop

singer, surfaces suddenly

now—unchanged and

untouched by time, mock-

ing the lot of us with beer

bellies, making us rue the

loss of our young adult-

hoods. If you wonder

what the luscious blonde

was doing all this while,

take a closer look (if you

haven’t already) at that

‘cow print’ bikini, and that

sheer cloth with lace

embroidery. It’s

from the jessica Simpson

Collection’s swimwear

line. That’s serious

reinvention, baby!

New Opening Partners Sparkling eyes staring out in eager wonderment, ears

pricked up in anticipation of a treat, Chloe and Valentine

seem to be born poseurs before the camera. Then there

is Shikhar Dhawan’s comforting hand on their smooth

coats. With cricket consigned to an aching memory,

Shikhar wanted more paws on his parquet, when these

two sleekly handsome things happened along. With his

love for dogs getting to be as famous as that slashing

square drive, he should be wary now of C and V running

him out on home turf.

5 4 outlook | july 13 , 2020

Puerto ricoNalini Natarajan

is an author (The Atlantic Gandhi, The Unsafe Sex) who teaches

Post-Colonial Theory

and Feminism at the

University of Puerto Rico,

and lives in San Juan and

Washington DC

Once Upon a JanuaryThe year begins benignly enough—with mojitos at Lajas, a small town on the south coast’s phosphorescent bay, La Parguera. New Year’s Eve is duly festive—no ill omens, no black swans flying over the Lajas plaza, skirted by electric-blue plankton. But a few days later…a 6.5 Richter quake. The earth below that south coast is moving after 1,000 years; it rumbles for a month. Covid is then but a distant news item.

The Ides of MarchSuddenly Covid is here, all over the island, brought in by cruise ships and planes. Two Italian tourists are whisked away from the docks to a hospital a stone’s throw from my house—the woman even-tually dies. The rumour spreads that the cruise ship has emptied its passengers into the bustling old city: Puerto Rico waits with bated breath. A Panamanian doctor, virulently symptomatic, spreads it all over a salsa festival. Again a stone’s throw from my place, a clutch of cafes, bars and restaurants, where the young spend their weekends, is one day rollick-ing with music, salsa and kioskos selling delicious empanadillas and arroz con pollo, when the governor announces a lockdown beginning the next day. Sud-denly the hotels empty out, no tourist on the beaches, no salsa or bomba in the city’s squares—a city that never sleeps is awake in fear. The quake-hit poor still live in shelters…vulnerable as ever.

And yet, I look at the clear skies, the bright blue ocean, the lovely quiet and empty streets, the caimans climbing house fences and the iguanas in parks. Sometimes I think it incredible. What the UNEP and the environmentalists of the world haven’t been able to do in decades, Nature has recruited its tiniest particle to do—harboured, of all the world’s crea-tures, in the ‘non-charismatic’ bat. Allowing the Earth’s creatures, the air, oceans and forests to heal.

Earth Calling San JuanFrom the vantage point of Puerto Rico, it’s sobering and edifying to see the world battling this disease in different ways—

each country revealing its vulnera-bilities and strengths. Europe has its own drama: from the British

herd immunity farce, to Italy’s tragicomedy, with mayors screaming

at citizens. Here, it takes a while for the island to assert its own public-spiritedness over colonial

American restrictions. Testing is initially botched up due to endemic corruption in high places—and had to go though the CDC. But soon, the medical community, the labs and the strong tradition of social solidarity bear fruit. Life before profit is much a Puerto Rican value. A vibrant population follows rules, in the main.

Americans Are From PlutoNot so on the mainland. The frontier mentality and misplaced American exceptionalism is exacting the highest toll in the world. NYC is the hotspot, but it’s the disadvantaged and those who work on the frontlines who die in dispro-portionate numbers. Anyone who has sampled the US medical system knows how much waste there is in normal times—gloves, masks, gowns and syringes. Now even nurses lack gear. It’s the infrastructural damage wrought by the plu-tocrats on Wall Street: they turn universities, hospitals and small neighborhood businesses into profit-making machines. In everyday life, living in the West meant you didn’t have to worry about typhoid, or boiling water or milk before drinking, or being careful about what you ate. An invisible cloak of hygiene sup-posedly covered all surfaces. Social behaviour was reckless and careless, with no consequences. Nothing happened, especially to the rich. The machine mowed over everything. Epidemics and wars and famines happened in far-off lands, the Western rich and middle class sat safe in their suburban havens, in a standard of comfort unimaginable elsewhere. Now the machine is devouring itself, the val-iant efforts of mayors like Andrew Cuomo notwithstanding. Anti-vaxxers have morphed into anti-maskers. Even the Vice President goes mask-free to visit a hospital. They are in pioneer mode, oiling their guns, refusing the ‘sissy’ mask.

The Last Cowboy?Puerto Rico’s deaths are under control; the beaches are open. But across the waters, a natural-born killer is hunting in pairs with social and political co-mor-bidities. The systemic brutality against African Americans is no sign of a new failure of Western democracy: it’s built into the very history. Western hubris and greed have been out of control since the beginnings of settler colonisation, the genocidal occupation of the Americas. Since Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, this hubris, fuelled by the freedom of capital to move unhindered, has been the force behind the West’s world domination. Globalisation followed seamlessly after colonialism. Is Trump the last American cowboy, loading his guns even as the Old West dies? Maybe not. But that strutting freedom is gasping as much in the hospitals of The Bronx as in its prisons. Also, in the cold consumerist intima-cies of Tinder and Match, the fake goldfish lives of Facebook.... O