Ten years since he made his political debut with a whopping majority from the Trivandrum Lok Sabha constituency, Shashi Tharoor faces a Kerala that may have changed its colours. Saffron, in particular, is giving the MP, writer and former diplomat a tough time this election season.

This shouldn’t, of course, be too much of a surprise—even in 2014, veteran BJP leader O. Rajagopal had given Tharoor a scare before the latter finally managed to win with a reduced majority of 15,470 votes. That was, however, at the height of the so-called Modi wave, which had left Kerala unaffected.

When Tharoor made his political debut in 2009 from the high-profile Thiruvananthapuram constituency, after his return to India from a stint at the United Nations, he was pretty much an unknown entity for many Malayalis. The intelligentsia did know him, though more as a writer and a diplomat.
But Tharoor’s eloquence and geniality soon won them over. And, say some voters, his looks.

“I usually cast my vote early. I remember, in 2009, I was waiting for my turn in my booth when I saw a sight I had never seen. Scores and scores of young girls who had dragged along their parents for voting,” said a veteran journalist, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Tharoor was hardly the average Malayali; he has had a pan-India upbringing. His father, Chandran Tharoor, was the group advertising manager for The Statesman,  and his uncle Parameswaran Tharoor was the man who brought Reader’s Digest to India. After finishing school in Mumbai and college in Delhi, Tharoor went to the US to complete his PhD in international relations at the age of 22.

Three months before the 2014 election, Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar died under mysterious circumstances. Though the cloud over this has not settled even now, Trivandrum’s voters sent him back to Parliament again in the same election that gave BJP a thumping majority.

Come 2019, that same party now has its biggest chance to open an account in a state that has been oscillating between the UDF and LDF in the Assembly elections for many years. Currently led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala is the last Communist safehold in the country that is still making up its mind whether or not to let the BJP in. 
Polls published by two of Kerala’s most influential media houses point to this possibility. And, they say, it is Tharoor’s seat that might give BJP that historic debut. While Malayala Manorama gave up to 15 seats for the Congress-led UDF, it said that Trivandrum was one of the seats where it could not come up with a decisive winner. Mathrubhumi went a step further and said Tharoor is likely to lose Trivandrum.

Kummanam Rajasekharan, the BJP candidate against Tharoor, was until recently governor of Mizoram. Some of the speeches he made against Christian encroachments in Nilakkal, near Sabarimala, had led to controversy and he rose to statewide attention only in recent years after becoming state president.

But it is likely that the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala, and the protests that gripped the state after that, may have prised open a gap for the BJP. In September, the court ruled that women of all ages could now enter the shrine. Thousands took to the streets across the state, expressing their anger at what they said was an assault on their deeply personal faith.

Women who tried to enter the temple or argued in favour of it were dissed as ‘feminists’ while groups of women elsewhere in the state stopped vehicles at places like the Nilakkal base camp of Sabarimala, asking passengers to get off so they could check if there were women who were possibly trying to sneak into the shrine. Women reporters who were merely doing their jobs were physically attacked and sent back.

All this was new to a state that has prided itself on its progressive credentials.

“Is this really my Kerala? Is this all happening in my Kerala? That was the question that kept ringing in my mind,” Anil, a student at the Institute of Journalism. told me while I sat with his classmates on my visit to Trivandrum.

“Exactly!” echoed a few others.

We could not believe this was happening, said Deepa, explaining why she thinks BJP will win the Trivandrum Lok Sabha seat this time. The ‘Save Sabarimala’ campaign was a revelation to young people like her, due to the sheer number of people out on the road.

“Kummanam Rajasekharan will win, though Shashi Tharoor is a strong candidate,” she said.

What’s adding to Tharoor’s troubles is also the lack of support from the local leadership to his campaign.

“The absence of a leader like K Muraleedharan (who is a candidate himself from Vadakara) this time has miserably affected the campaign. The local-level leadership had a problem with Tharoor even from 2009, when he was parachuted into the party and was offered rightaway the prestigious seat of Trivandrum. Last time the CPI candidate Bennet Abraham was not a prominent figure. The present CPI candidate C. Divakaran is very close to the CPI(M) top brass and so has the support of the party cadre,” said Lal Kumar, a Trivandrum-based political analyst.

With Rahul Gandhi shifting base to Wayanad in north Kerala, the Congress’s attention has also been concentrated there, leaving few resources for party leaders elsewhere.

The Times of Indiareported on Friday that Tharoor has complained about uncooperative local leaders.

Tharoor himself, however, dismisses all these reasons.

“Not true, I would not go that far. Yes I miss K. Muraleedharan, who would have been a great asset for me.. but obviously he has to campaign for himself… Sivakumar (Trivandrum MLA VS Sivakumar) has been very much by my side, on my campaign vehicle. Wherever I go, I am greeted by enthusiasm and a genuine amount of energy from the party workers,” he said.

NEW DELHI — The Congress on Friday announced that it will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi alone but maintained that it is still willing to have an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party provided that the tie-up is restricted only to the national capital.

Congress’ in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko said Congress will go alone in Delhi since AAP has taken an “impractical stand”.

He, however said, “We are still ready (for alliance) if AAP is willing to have an alliance in Delhi alone. We want to fight the BJP together.”

“We are compelled to go on our own as AAP is going back on its stand,” Chacko told reporters. 

The AAP had on Wednesday rejected the offer of the grand old party for a tie-up in Delhi.

All the routes of alliance with the Congress have been closed, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh had said.

The Congress was eager for tie-up with the AAP in Delhi.

The AAP, in turn, wanted such an alliance to extend to Haryana and Punjab as well.

The talks between the two sides derailed after they failed to reach an agreement over seat-sharing in Delhi and Haryana.

With the Election Commission finally stepping in to halt the release of Vivek Oberoi-starrer PM Narendra Modi, you don’t have to suffer it until after the elections are over (unless the Supreme Court decides otherwise).

Meanwhile, take this opportunity to check out these non-hagiographic political films, most of which are available on streaming platforms and warrant repeat viewing.

From a film about the perilous rise of Hindu fascism to one about the mass killing in Kashmir under the Army’s watch, these films question and point fingers at the political class, chronicle the state of the nation and finally, tell us that our biggest strength lies in one thing - voting.

1. Reason (Vivek) by Anand Patwardhan

The celebrated documentarian trains his critical lens yet again on contemporary politics to paint a picture of modern India that’s as shocking as it is unrecognisable. 

Divided into eight parts, Patwardhan’s documentary is around 4 hours and 20 minutes long and, after a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, is available on YouTube for free viewing. 

Covering everything from the murder of intellectuals such as MM Kalburgi and Narendra Dabholkar to the rise of Hindutva and cow-vigilantism to the marginalisation of Dalits, Patwardhan’s Reason is a definitive cinematic essay that encompasses all aspects of the current sociopolitical narrative.

In his 5 star review, Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV called Reason “an unflinching probe into the innards of the Hindutva factory that thrives on fanning religious exclusion and casteist prejudices while propping up the feudal, anti-egalitarian principles spawned by Brahmanism”. Scroll termed it “a tragic chronicle of 5 years of Modi rule in India”.

2. Firaaq by Nandita Das

Nandita Das’s directorial debut is a troubling but essential examination of the lingering trauma affecting people in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots that killed upwards of 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.

Featuring terrific performances by Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Deepti Naval and Sanjay Suri, Firaaq is set over a 24-hour period, one month after the Godhra carnage. 

The disturbance, mistrust and fear that gripped Gujarat post the riots is stunningly captured in this drama, which won top honours at several international film festivals. 

In her 4 star review of the film, Sukanya Verma of Rediff wrote, “Firaaq does not romanticise or dwell upon the science of hope. While some may heal, others still don’t have an option.”

The film is available on Netflix.

3. Haider by Vishal Bhardwaj

In a film industry cluttered with hyper-jingoistic movies that celebrate the government and its many policies (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Uri to name a few), Haider is a staunchly anti-establishment film that looks at the Kashmir issue from the Kashmiri perspective.

Featuring a standout performance by Shahid Kapoor, Haider questioned the tyrannical power of the controversial AFSPA law, delved deep into the psychological trauma of Kashmiris who’ve endured years of conflict, and featured a song entirely dedicated to the unmarked graves in the Valley, forming a searing critique of the human rights violations in the region by the Indian Army.

Rediff called it a ‘knockout’ film, “a film that makes you smell corpses, that makes you shudder with melancholia, and a film that points accusing fingers. A film that doesn’t flinch”.

You can watch it on Netflix.

Shanghai by Dibakar Banerjee 

Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai is one of the most potent political thrillers to emerge from Bollywood. 

Propelled by an ensemble cast of Abhay Deol, Emraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin, Banerjee paints a biting critique of the political establishment by laying bare the system’s moral bankruptcy. 

Centred on the investigation into the death of an activist, Shanghai—which, in the film’s context is an ironical metaphor for turning India into a glitzy country peppered with glistening malls, flyovers and futuristic high-rises—exposes the hypocrisy of our politics dictated by greed, corruption and opportunistic dislocation.

In her review, Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times wrote, “Shanghai doesn’t provide the comfort of answers or happy endings. But it forces us to ask urgent questions.”

The film’s music was particularly outstanding, with one of its songs taking a sarcastic dig at “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”

The film is available on Netflix. 

Newton by Amit V Masurkar

Rajkummar Rao’s Newton is perhaps the most relevant film to watch in the current season. A simple story of a government clerk who is sent on election duty in insurgency-ridden Chhattisgarh, the film is both a political satire as well as a passionate defence of democracy and its foundations.

Featuring a topnotch performance by Rao, Newton opened to unanimous critical praise and was India’s entry to the Oscars in 2017. 

In her review for The Hindu, Namrata Joshi wrote, “Masurkar lays bare the deficiency of the democracy yet there is an underlying belief in it. The only weapon the tribals have is the vote and an active participation in democracy is the way out.”

The film is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Pokkiri Raja was about this menacingly funny don, Raja, who spoke unapologetically terrible English, feared no one, whacked villains with glee, was a problem-solver and always at the top of his game. One of the high points of the film was Raja’s ridiculously ungrammatical English that gave a unique comical flavour to an otherwise cliched mass masala film.

Its sequel, Madhura Raja, which arrives after a decade, also rests a lot on the leading man’s (Mammootty) flawed English skills, along with his high-octane stunt sequences. While PokkiriRaja was a harmless entertainer, with the fresh combo of Mammootty and Prithviraj up against a formidable opponent, its sequel has loftier ambitions.

A village mapped right in the middle of an island has to deal with drunken miscreants at their local school, thanks to an illegal bar owned by the antagonist, VR Nadesan. Madhura Raja’s father (Nedumudi Venu) is sent by the school authorities to prepare a report. He, along with Vijaya Raghavan, reaches the village, find a lot of things amiss, although the latter does reunite with a former lover. Subsequent events lead to the imminent entry of Madhura Raja.

Despite the fact that Director Vysakh predictably follows the style of PokkiriRaja to introduce his leading man, it’s still a sight for sore eyes. Raja arrives blazing, standing at the centre of few dozen speeding boats, as the camera fastidiously begins the shot with his thick gold chain, the lion figurine ring, that trademark handle-bar moustache, the spotlessly white dhoti and shirt and an earth-shattering BGM. And the film is devoted to its superstar in every frame, mind you. 

Manoharan Mangalodayam (Salim Kumar), who continues to write stories with “twists”, is retained in the sequel and he is pretty effective with his brand of humour. There is also Chinnan (played by actor Jai, who is good), Maniyannan’s son, whom Raja dotes over.

There are quite a few characters in this movie, but most of them are forgettable. The antagonist is a bit of a downer, as he seems to be a shoutout to Puli Murugan’s Daddy Girija, more so as it’s done by the same actor with the same stoic expressions (Jagapati Babu).

The film does have its moments, and they’re all for the fans. The first hour gets a nice build-up, with some hilarious moments between Raja and Manoharan. But the film loses track post interval, with the director trying hard to bring in one issue after another with nothing seeming to hit home. If in Pulimurugan, there are man-eating tigers, here there are unleash killer dogs and it’s a horrifying sight to watch them tear into human beings. So much so that we shudder at the thought that went into such an inclusion.  

Like in most mass masala films, the makers have faithfully made women one-dimensional and frivolous. There is Anushree who plays Vasanthi, a fiery no-nonsense girl who is at loggerheads with the people in her village. The character seems to be modelled after Manju Warrier in Kanmadam but ends up as a sorry caricature. There is her coy sister and a nurse and we are done with the female characters in the film.

Writer Udaya Krishnan (who made a fortune by writing sexist dialogues for Dileep films) goes a step further and shows his disdain for a lot of issues that made headlines last year. Maybe one can argue that political correctness is a stretch for this genre of films, but does everything have to be enveloped in misogyny? Is that the only formula that works for such mass formulaic films? From ‘Vanitha Mathil’, ‘#MeToo’ and an MLA joking about rape, to an embarrassing item number, MadhuraRaja is a feminist’s nightmare.

However, if you can look past all this (should you?) Mammootty carries the film with his powerful screen presence, staggering energy and surprisingly great comic timing. The diehard fanboy might just be tickled pink.

MEERUT, Uttar Pradesh — “Residents of Meerut, this is the last appeal.... you will find blood and flesh in your water tanks and taps... if you vote for the lover of slaughterhouses.”

This “appeal” to Hindu voters was just one of hundreds of messages that cycled swiftly through the Whatsapp account of a BJP voter on the day of polling in this constituency where Haji Mohammad Yakub, a wealthy meat exporter is a candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) against the incumbent, Rajendra Agrawal, from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

The messages, the BJP supporter and voter said, picked up speed on the eve of the elections, continued through voting day, and ended by Thursday evening — when the first phase of elections ended.

On the day of polling, at around two in the afternoon, the  BJP supporter received a photograph of a long line of men and women in skullcaps and burqas, with a message identifying the place as Khalapar in Muzaffarnagar.

The message read, “Get out and vote, if you don’t, then the situation will be intolerable.”

Social media, and the indiscriminate sharing of fake news, communally-charged content and outright hate speech, has provided a background score to the 2019 general election. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought to make parties accountable for their online campaigns, while Google and Facebook have sought to make political advertising on their platforms more transparent.

Yet, as the Whatsapp account of this BJP supporter in Meerut illustrates, the ECI and tech majors are largely powerless to stop the relentless flow of propaganda on the phones of India’s 900 million eligible voters.

Earlier this month, HuffPost India published an investigation into how political parties are actively exploiting the anonymity and omniscience of social media networks and toothless election laws to polarise the polity — often with devastating results.

On polling day of the first phase of the elections, HuffPost India examined 60 messages to get a sense of the sorts of information and misinformation targeted at voters in the course of this crucial election.

The BJP supporter, a businessman, is partial to the messages that portray Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a strongman. While playing video clips of his interviews with TV channels, he said, “This is how a prime minister should talk.”

Targeting Haji

Meerut, in many ways, is the perfect petri dish to understand how social media in general, and Whatsapp in particular, play to the worst impulses of users. The town has a history of communal riots that sharply polarised the polity well before the advent of mass messaging services.

Yakub, who is standing for the BSP-SP (Samajwadi Party) alliance, is perhaps best known for offering Rs 51 crore for the head of the Danish cartoonist who made a series of satirical sketches about the Prophet Mohammed in 2005.

As the only Muslim candidate from Meerut, which has a sizable Muslim population, and the backing of the BSP-SP alliance, Yakub is a formidable challenger to BJP’s Agrawal.

The Whatsapp messages about Yakub, on the BJP supporter’s phone, play into this dynamic.

The following quote was attributed to him, without any information on when or where it was said: “I will slaughter a cow and throw it in front of the BJP government that has spread terror in the name of the cow, and no one will have the guts to stop me.”

When asked where and when Yakub had said this, the BJP supporter said that he assumed it was true.

Another quote attributed to Yakub, without any information on where or when he said it, read: “We are Indian Muslims. We will not go to Pakistan and we will not let India get partitioned. We are using our population explosion to make India a Muslim nation internally. Like Kashmir, India will also be free of Hindus.”

Another message, shared in a group made up of industry workers and employees, said that even though Agrawal, the BJP incumbent, had done nothing for the past five years, it was vital to forgive him and vote for the BJP. “Sincere request is to forget everything else and push the lotus button. A friend,” the message read.

Anti-Muslim propaganda

Apart from messages directly targeting Yakub, many of the messages on the BJP supporter’s phone assumed that Hindus needed to be saved from Muslims, and Modi is the only one who could do so.

One message sought to accomplish that while explicitly undercutting the BSP-SP alliance which hopes to find support amongst Dalits and Muslims.

“Hindu batega, Modi hatega, Phir Kashmir, Bengal Aur Kerala Ki Tarah Poore Desh Mein Hindu Katega. Phir kya Dalit aur savarn bachega?”

(If Hindus are not united then Modi will go. Then, like Kashmir, Bengal and Kerala, Hindus will be cut down everywhere in the country. Then, will Dalits and dominant castes survive?)

Another message says that while 52 political parties are working for 20 crore Muslims and seven crore Christians, only Modi is working for 100 crore Hindus.

Another message, posted in a 50-member group , shows newspaper clips, attributing headlines like “Only Muslims girls are our daughters” and “If Dalits and Muslims were to unite then we will get Hindus to wipe our shoes,” to SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati respectively.

A long message, with the dual objective of demonising Muslims and making fun of Rahul Gandhi’s NYAY scheme, was posted in another 50-member group. 

In this message, a Muslim man named Abdul is closing his puncture repair shop because he anticipates getting Rs. 6,000 every month under the NYAY scheme.

“There is going to be an explosion,” Abdul’s character says in the message. “There is aboo (father), amee (mother) and badi maan (grandmother) in my house. There is me and my two wives. I have nine kids with one wife and ten kids with the second wife.”

Then, Abdul’s character goes on to calculate that 25 people would  rake in about 1.5 lakh under the NYAY scheme.

Abdul then goes on to say that his dream of ruling India, which  Muslims thought would be realized in 500 years, will only take 30 to 40 years. “You (Hindus) will work and we (Muslims) will eat. If you don’t work, you will be cut down,” the message reads.

The message concludes that the “explosion” is a mixture of population explosion among Muslims, mixed with RDX and the imposition of Shariah law. And the “explosion” will begin in Wayanad, Kerala, where Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi is contesting the Lok Sabha election.

Messages, messages

The only messages more numerous than the communal ones were those making fun of Rahul Gandhi — which arguably fall squarely within the ambit of political campaigning.

Politicians have long lampooned their opponents — Rajiv Gandhi, the current party president’s father, never could shake off a famous slip when he declared, “Hum jeetenge ya losenge!” at a public rally.

Whatsapp’s signature admixture of fake news, hate, and genuine political parody highlights just how difficult it is to crack down on one without censoring the other. In fact, the current dispensation has routinely used the pretext of filtering hate speech to intimidate and imprison its critics.

The jokes on the BJP supporter’s phone are videos and images that portray Gandhi as a dim-witted embarrassment.

In one joke targeting Gandhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal asks Gandhi to send him a “joke.” Gandhi says, “I’m busy, preparing to be prime minister.” Kejriwal replies, “send another one.”

Videos of Modi, on the other hand, make him appear to be both a man of action — grave and decisive, and a man of the people — witty and relatable.

In these messages, Modi’s estrangement from his family, and the fact that he does not have children, are written about in two ways. First, it goes to show that his sole dedication to the country. Second, he has no reason to be corrupt.

Videos and remarks, previously debunked as fake, are still in circulation.

For instance, a video of Gandhi wearing a skullcap and praying with Muslim clerics is still doing the rounds, with the implication that the Congress president has converted to Islam. The three-year-old video is from his trip to Ayodhya, where he visited a temple and a dargah.

The fake survey attributed to the BBC, which has BJP winning the general election, continues to be shared. 

Where is all this coming from?

It is hard to pin down where the messages originate, but HuffPost India was able to establish that the people in these groups are mostly middle class professionals, government officials and even journalists.

BJP volunteers and booth workers say the messages come from, well, other BJP volunteers — paid and unpaid — as well as members of the public. The BJP also has hundreds of paid consultants tasked with feeding these social media channels.

One booth worker in a predominantly Hindu neighbourhood, who is also active on Whatsapp, says that BJP workers and followers truly believe in the idea of Hindutva, and it is their commitment to that ideology which drives the frenetic pace of messaging on social media platforms.

“The Congress is now doing some messaging as well, but it is not as dedicated because they only paid workers. Here, people are willing to work without pay because they believe in the cause,” said the booth worker, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

If that is the case, then the virtual world appears to mirror real one.

At this booth in a predominantly Hindu locality, the only poll agents and volunteers were from the BJP. Some had brought their own food to eat, as they kept an eye on the polling and reported to senior party workers over the phone.

One volunteer said that very often, especially in smaller cities, booth workers know the BJP voters in their locality. When it is time for the polls close, and people they know to be a BJP voters have not showed up, the volunteers will try and reach them.

“That is the kind of dedication,” said the volunteer, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

However, given that almost everyone in this locality said they voted BJP, it was not surprising to find only BJP agents and volunteers at the polling booth.

Real reflects virtual

The Hindu-Muslim divide in the localities of Meerut city is the second example of the real world mirroring the virtual one.

In Hindu neighbourhoods, voters, who had cast their votes for BJP, echoed the information and sentiments expressed on the WhatsApp groups.

Rajkumar, who runs a mobile phone store, said, “Modi is the only one to take decisive action against Pakistan. We need a strong leader like him.”

Nandlal, who runs a general store, asked how Rahul Gandhi would even think of reducing the presence of the army and paramilitary in Kashmir.

“Rahul Gandhi is planning to take all the guns away from Kashmir. He is playing with India’s safety and security. Is he stupid? How can such a joker be our Prime Minister?”  he said.

Sitaram, a trader, said that it was impossible for Modi to be corrupt because he is far removed from his family, and does not have children. “What’s the point? Who will he horde the money for?” he asked.

On the left side of the Hapur road, which cuts across Meerut city, the localities are almost entirely Muslim.

After voting for Yakub, the SP-BSP candidate, a group of four Muslim men talked amongst themselves on Thursday.

One of them said, “Modi is okay, he, himself, has not said anything against Muslims. It is the people around him who are saying and doing horrible things.”

Another man interjected. “How can you say that? He may not have said anything, but Modi has done nothing to stop the violence against Muslims,” he said.

A third man said, “One thing I don’t understand is why is Imran Khan (Pakistan prime minister) supporting Modi. First you fight, drop bombs on each other. Then, you say you are friends. Is this a joke? What is the politics here?”

The fourth man said the “bottom line” is that Hindus and Muslims were both hit by demonetisation followed by the rolling out of the goods and services tax.

“Modi ji, where is the vikas? More than half our trade used to be with Hindus. All that has gone,” he said.

When this reporter requested a photo, they hesitated. Then, the first man said, “Take the photo. We are still living in a free country.”

BRIG. GEN. DYER ARRIVES,

GUNFIRE BEGINS

Five-thirty sharp the clock had struck

Thousands gathered in the Bagh, my friends.

Leaders came to lament the nation’s woes

Taking turns to speak out loud, my friends.

Voiced grievance, hardship, anger, sorrow

Saying, no one listens to us, my friends.

What can we do, what options left?

Can’t see any ray of light, my friends.

Those words forlorn, they barely voiced

Came soldiers thundering down, my friends.

At Dyer’s command, those Gurkha troops

Gathered in a formation tight, my friends.

Under the tyrant’s orders, they opened fire

Straight into innocent hearts, my friends.

And fire and fire and fire they did

Some thousands of bullets were shot, my friends.

Like searing hail they felled our youth

A tempest not seen before, my friends.

Riddled chests and bodies slid to the ground

Each one a target large, my friends.

Haunting cries for help did rend the sky

Smoke rose from smouldering guns, my friends.

Just a sip of water was all they sought

Valiant youth lay dying in the dust, my friends.

That narrow lane to enter the Bagh

Sealed off on Dyer’s command, my friends.

No exit, no escape, no way out was left

Making the Bagh a deathly trap, my friends.

A fortunate few somehow survived

While most died then and there, my friends.

Some ran with bullets ripping their chest

Stumbling to their painful end, my friends.

Others caught the bullet while running away

Dropping lifeless in awkward heaps, my friends.

In minutes, the Bagh so strewn with corpses

None knew just who was who, my friends.

Many of them did look like Sikhs

Amid Hindus and Muslims plenty, my friends.

In the prime of their youth, our bravehearts lay

Gasping for one last breath, my friends.

Long hair lay matted in blood and grime

In slumber deep they sleep, my friends.

Says Nanak Singh, Who knows their state

But God the One and Only, my friends.

Excerpted with permission from Khooni Vaishakhi by Nanak Singh, translated by Navdeep Suri. Published by HarperCollins India

My grandfather, Ishwar Das Anand, was in the garden that day in 1919. By a quirk of fate, he left Jallianwala Bagh on an errand minutes before the firing started. He remembered Brigadier General Dyer’s convoy passing him in the street. When he returned, my grandfather found his friends, young men like him in their late teens, had been killed.

According to his children, Ishwar Das Anand suffered survivor’s guilt for the rest of his relatively short life. In his late forties, he would lose his sight, but tell his sons never to pity him: ‘God spared my life that day. It is only right that he take the light from my eyes.’ He never managed to reconcile why he had lived while so many others had not. He found it excruciatingly painful to talk about that day. He died too young. I never got the chance to know him.

The story of Jallianwala Bagh is tightly wound round my family’s DNA. Ironically, it is also woven into my husband’s family history, a fact we only realised years into our marriage. His forebears were pedlars from Punjab who came to settle in Britain in the 1930s. Bizarrely, one of them found himself living with a man named Udham Singh. The happy-go-lucky Punjabi would turn out to be the ‘Patient Assassin’ of this book, deified in India, the land of my ancestors, but largely unknown in Great Britain, the land of my birth.

Speaking to descendants of the pedlar community, which came to Britain in the early 1920s, helped me to understand their experience. They also helped to bring Udham Singh to life.

Thanks to my parents, I grew up knowing the names of Reginald Dyer and Sir Michael O’Dwyer, but of course Udham Singh loomed larger still. According to legend, he, like Ishwar Das Anand, was in the garden on the day of the massacre. Unlike my grandfather, he was not crushed by survivor’s guilt, but rather consumed by violent rage. We, like many Punjabis, were told how Udham, grabbing a clod of blood-soaked earth, squeezed it in his fist, vowing to avenge the dead. No matter how long it took him, no matter how far he would have to go, Udham would kill the men responsible for the carnage.

Twenty years later, Udham Singh would fulfil at least part of that bloody promise. He would shoot Sir Michael O’Dwyer through the heart at point-blank range in London, just a stone’s throw away from the Houses of Parliament.

The moment he pulled the trigger, he became the most hated man in Britain, a hero to his countrymen in India, and a pawn in international politics. Joseph Goebbels himself would leap upon Udham’s story and use it for Nazi propaganda at the height of the Second World War.

In India today, Udham Singh is for many simply a hero, destined to right a terrible wrong. At the other extreme, there are those who traduce him as a Walter Mitty-type fantasist, blundering his way into the history books. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between; Udham was neither a saint, nor an accidental avenger. His story is far more interesting than that.

Like a real-life Tom Ripley, Udham, a low-caste, barely literate orphan, spent the majority of his life becoming the ‘Patient Assassin’. Obsessed with avenging his countrymen and throwing out the British from his homeland, he inveigled his way into the shadowy worlds of Indian militant nationalism, Russian Bolshevism
and even found himself flirting with the Germans in the run-up to the Second World War. Anybody dedicated to the downfall of the British Empire had something to teach him, and he was hungry to learn.

Ambitious, tenacious and brave, Udham was also vain, careless and callous to those who loved him most. His footsteps have led me on a much longer, more convoluted journey than I ever anticipated. The diversity of sources and need to cross-reference hearsay has been challenging, but not the hardest thing about writing this book. I have also had to consciously distance myself from my own family history. For a while, the very names O’Dwyer and Dyer paralysed me. We had been brought up fearing them. 

Only when I thought of O’Dwyer as ‘Michael’, the ardent Irish child growing up in Tipperary, or Dyer as ‘Rex’, the sensitive boy who cried over a dead monkey he once shot by accident, could I free myself to think about them as men, and even start to understand why they did the things they did. It was the only way I could empathise with the situation they faced in 1919 and the years that followed.

The same goes for Udham Singh. He had always been one of the pantheon of freedom fighters who had fought against tyranny. I blocked out the statues and stamps dedicated to his memory in India and refused to watch any representations of his legend in popular culture till my own work was complete. I needed to find the man beneath the myth and marble, and I knew I would not be able to do that if I became dazzled. Thousands of original documents guided my way, and my search for the real Udham Singh led me to people who either had first-hand knowledge of him, or were repositories of stories from their parents and grandparents.

I found myself left with a surprisingly contemporary story, which resonates with the news I cover today. Udham’s is a story of dispossession and radicalisation, of ‘Russian interference’ and a realigning of world powers. It speaks of failures in the seemingly infallible security services. It is also the story of buried facts and ‘fake news’. I was left with a picture of one man’s very personal obsession wrongfooting some of the world’s most powerful players.

Excerpted with permission from The Patient Assassin, Anita Anand, Simon & Schuster.

NEW DELHI―On 13 April 1919, Nanak Singh, a 22 year old boy, went to Jallianwala Bagh with two friends who were killed in the brutal firing unleashed by General Dyer’s forces. Nanak Singh survived and wrote about his deep trauma through a poem in Punjabi―Khooni Vaisakhi―which was banned by the British in May 1920. Subsequently, the poem was lost. Nanak Singh went on to became one of Punjab’s most celebrated writers but Khooni Vaisakhi could be retrieved and republished by his family only after sixty long years. Now, his grandson and India’s current Ambassador to UAE, Navdeep Suri, has translated the poem into English and published it in a book with the same title.

In a conversation with HuffPost India, Suri recalled how Khooni Vaisakhi was retrieved and the importance of preserving history. He shared earliest memories of his grandfather and how the massacre affected the lives of multiple generations.The diplomat also emphasised that, as India observes the centenary year of the massacre, it is time for the United Kingdom to tender a clear apology instead of expressing deep regret like PM Theresa May did recently.

Edited excerpts from the conversation.

Tell us about the journey of this book.

It is a unique work written almost a 100 years back. First published in May 1920, immediately banned by the British, confiscated, then lost for next 60 years until we managed to find a copy by serendipity. It was published in 1980 without much fanfare. Last year in summer when I came to Amritsar with my parents we realised it is the centenary year and it is a unique account, not just poetry but also contemporaneous history that deserves a wider audience. So I decided to translate it. We added three essays including one by me called ‘Book, Bagh Aur Baoji’ (Book, Jallianwalah and my Grandad) which brings out the fact that I was born a stone’s throw away from Jallianwalah Bagh in Amritsar. The poem really paints a vivid picture of the very tumultuous first fortnight of April 1919 in Amritsar.

What are your earliest memories of your grandfather and the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy?

I was only 12 when he passed away. At that time his reputation really was as a novelist. He had written 55 books. We were talking to a 70 year old about an incident that happened when he was 22 years old. He was very reticent to speak about it. Our understanding about his visit to Jallianwala Bagh, his trauma came from our grand mother who is the one he confided in. Perhaps he was so traumatised that he wrote a poem, lost it and that is about it. Except in his own autobiography published in 1949 which has a fleeting reference to Khooni Vaisakhi, if you look at his literary oeuvre it is just a little blip on the horizon. In his lifetime he never saw it again.

Did he choose not to see it?

I don’t know if he made an effort to find it but my father did. Our childhood memories with our grandfather are of going to our village near Amritsar, sitting in his lap , listening to him narrate stories. Did he ever take you to Jallianwala Bagh himself? No. Only my mother did. Jallianwala is right next to Golden Temple. So anytime relatives would come we would go visit.

How do you think the massacre shaped up entire generations?

In terms of my grandfather’s own evolution as a writer and as an individual it had a profound impact. He was born as Hans Raj Suri in a Hindu family in what is now Pakistan. He spent his initial years in Peshawar. When he was about 18 years old he came under influence of a spiritual leader in a Gurudwara in Peshawar and converted to Sikhism and became Nanak Singh. With the zeal of the new convert, much of his initial writing was hymns in praise of the Sikh Gurus. Khooni Vaisakhi is really his piece of secular writing and a very strongly nationalist voice comes through every page of the book.Thereafter he took part in Akali movement. So you could see that post Jallianwala Bagh he became embedded into the nationalist movement, freedom struggle, went to jail, came out, wrote another long poem titled Zakhmi Dil (Wounded Heart) which was also banned by the Brits. Then he set out writing about novels many of which had subtexts of social reform. He drew his inspiration from Munshi Premchand.

How did his journey impact your parents?

My father was born in 1932. What we have are oral histories from within the family. The book is important because in bringing this out we are rediscovering our own family history. If you had spoken to my grand father in the 60s when he was a major literary figure, he would have possibly spoken about partition which had a bigger impact on him and he wrote three novels on its traumas. Either because of the trauma he possibly chose not to speak of Jallianwala or so much else had happened going along in his life that this became one of the many incidents.

Where did you finally find the book copy?

Gyani Zail Singh was Chief Minister when my grandfather died. Zail Singh was a great fan of his writings and came to our house. My father started pursuing that there was such a book and Zail Singh got his people to look into the archives. My father recalls that they got a letter from the Home Ministry subsequently with a photo copy.So either it came from the archives in Delhi or India Archives in London. The Brits would ban things but still keep a copy.

With the kind of political narratives today where history is distorted or brushed under the carpet, how important is it for upcoming generations?

If we do not remember our history we have lost a precious part of our heritage. It is not just the valiant struggle. You have to salute people who were writing so boldly at a time when Rowlatt Act was in force.When penalty of speaking out of turn was to be put in jail or heavy fine. Second is profound message that comes through the book of spirit of communal amity between Hindu, Muslim and Sikh faiths in Amritsar at that point of time and British whose policies were anchored around ‘divide and rule’ got spooked by this spirit of unity. There is a passage on Ram Nawami being celebrated in Amritsar on 9th April four days before Jallianwala happened and the two tallest leaders were Dr. Saifuddin Kichlu and Dr.Satyapal. Then on 10th April there is firing on a crowd that is going to petition the deputy commissioner to release arrested leaders and 30 people get killed. Next day there is a funeral procession into the main cemetery. There is a remarkable verse on it. How dramatic is it for a poet to be saying in 1920 that Muslims are saying ‘Ram-Ram’ and Hindus are saying ‘Ya Hussein’ as the funeral procession is going on.

UK PM Theresa May recently expressed deep regret but there has been no apology from Britain for the massacre. How important is an apology for healing or to find closure?

It matters for both sides. I served in Australia and I know the debates there before their Prime Minister finally said sorry for all that they did to the indigenous communities in the country. There was intense debate and discussion on the lost generation. Governments find it hard to say sorry but once they do there is a sense of catharsis, there is a sense of closure. Hopefully one of these days, the right thing will be done. In the meantime, rather than wait expectantly for their sorry, we need to do what we can. We should make sure that the sacrifices of those who were at Jallianwala Bagh or other places remain alive; our younger generations must remember our history.

Governor of Punjab recently wrote a letter to the UK High Commission saying that he would not participate in the Queen’s birthday celebration as no apology had ever been extended from UK. Can this kind of a diplomatic protest be effective?

There is an occasion. It is the centenary. It would be appropriate to say sorry. It is a short word. At the end of the day the government of the day has to take its call. There are groups of Indians going to UK Parliament for a debate on Saturday. How the British handle them is up to them. I can say that there is a legitimate expectation in Punjab and India as well as among Punjabi diaspora around the world that this was one of the most egregious events of the Raj and yet they have oscillated between acknowledgement- and writers penning books which are part justification.

Smita Sharma is an Independent Journalist. She writes on Foreign Policy and is Executive Editor (Consulting) for TV9 Bharatvarsh Twitter- @smita_sharma

Kolkata: Hundreds of Ram Navami rallies, including some armed rallies, were taken out by BJP and VHP in various parts of West Bengal Saturday drawing sharp criticisim from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Ram Navami rallies were taken out in West Midnapore, Purulia, Jhargram, Bankura, Howrah, Kolkata and in North and South 24 Parganas districts among others, officials said.

At Kharagpur in West Midnapore, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh took out Ram Navami rallies and were seen displaying swords and maces.

“Ram Navami rallies are a part of our tradition. We are carrying arms to protect ourselves. It has nothing to do with elections. If TMC has a problem with armed rallies then they should change their thought process,” Ghosh said when asked why he took out rallies with swords and maces.

Banerjee while addressing a rally at Siliguri criticised BJP for taking out armed rallies and said they were trying to “sell religion” for political advantage. She also charged BJP for using religion as a tool to mislead the people.

Kolkata Police said that no political, apolitical, religious organisations are allowed to carry out bike rallies in the city. 

The BJP was denied permission to take out bike rallies across Kolkata on the occasion of Ram Navami. However, normal rallies by the party and VHP were allowed to be taken out.

The West Bengal Police too denied permission for carrying arms by the participants in the Ram Navami rallies.

In some places there were scuffles between police officials and BJP workers after they were stopped from taking out bike rallies.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad, which planned as many as 700 rallies in the state on the occasion of Ram Navami, took out several in South Bengal.

The organisation said that no arms would be carried in rallies held by it this year.

“We have received permission for rallies. We will abide by the direction of the police and no one will carry arms during Ram Navami rallies conducted by us,” VHP organisational general secretary (eastern region) Sachindranath Sinha said.

PANAJI―The tourism industry in Goa is complaining that restrictions imposed by the Election Commission of India have hit the business.

Ahead of April 23 Lok Sabha polls and Assembly by-elections in the coastal state, sale of liquor has been banned post 10 pm, and there are restrictions on the use of music at open-air premises under the Model Code of Conduct.

Savio Messiah, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, apex body of tourism industry in the state, said hotel owners are facing booking cancellations due to these restrictions.

The TTAG had taken up the issue with the state’s Chief Electoral Officer in the past but there was no response, he said.

Ruling coalition partner Goa Forward Party has written to the ECI in this regard. GFP chief and deputy chief minister Vijai Sardesai said in the letter that tourism industry was “apolitical”, and the mainstay of the state’s economy, so some relaxations be granted to the establishments which have the licence to operate beyond 11 pm.

Sardesai also demanded that religious activities be exempted from poll restrictions.

Cruz Cardoso, president, Shack Owners’ Welfare Society, said people who preferred to sit in beach shacks now sit indoors, and some shacks are winding up operations though the tourist season is not over.

The ban on liquor sale affects foreign tourists, he said.

When contacted, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar admitted that poll restrictions were affecting the industry. “I will take up the issue with chief minister Pramod Sawant today,” he said.

We’re not going to mess around because there’s a lot of revision to get through. 

A new series Game Of Thrones is tantalisingly close, so this is the last chance saloon when it comes to brushing up on your knowledge before the action starts. 

Given the tremendous amount of characters who’ve made it this far (RIP to those we’ve lost along the way), you’d be forgiven for forgetting where we left a number of them. 

So here’s our guide on just that...

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen

We’ll start with these two, as 1) They were together and 2) You probably haven’t forgotten them, so let’s just get that out of the way.

During a heated meeting with Cersei Lannister et al., Jon swore his allegiance to the Mother of Dragons, an unwise yet undeniably hot move. It was no surprise then, when Jon and Daenerys ended up in bed together.

As this was happening, viewers got confirmation that the characters are related, which is a fact that will presumably provide the starting point for an incredibly awkward conversation at some point.  

Cersei Lannister

While many other characters are in the North (or heading North) to fight the Army of the Dead, Cersei is sticking to her guns and remaining in King’s Landing.

Following Jon’s pledge of allegiance, she was understandably furious and refused to stand her armies down so the others could fight the dead without worrying about another threat.

A meeting with Tyrion then saw Cersei change her mind, telling Jon and Daenerys that her armies would join with theirs and face down the terrifying enemies in the North… unfortunately, this was a total lie and she has no plans to help. Classic Cersei.

Euron Greyjoy

God, we hate him. Euron was last seen storming out of King’s Landing and telling the inhabitants of the mainland that they can fight the terrifying White Walkers without him.

But after lying to Jon, Cersei revealed the truth – Euron has actually gone to Essos to pick up more paid-for soldiers, who will help defend King’s Landing when the time comes.

Arya and Sansa Stark

While their brother has been dealing with the Queen and his aunt (nope, we’re not over it), the Stark sisters have eradicated a threat closer to home, in Winterfell. The long-separated sisters’ reunion began with a series of tense exchanges, as Arya refused to forgive Sansa for her role in their father’s death, and Sansa tried to come to terms with the fact her little sister is now a cold-blooded (and highly-skilled) killer.

In one of the most welcome twists in Game Of Thrones history, the sisters ended the series by taking down Littlefinger, whose conniving ways were finally rumbled by Sansa. Exercising her powers as the Lady of Winterfell, Sansa ordered Littlefinger’s execution and Arya happily obliged in slitting his throat. It was family bonding, the Game Of Thrones way.

Jaime Lannister

When Cersei revealed that she wasn’t actually going to help fight the Army of the Dead, Jaime was understandably furious, having what might be his last ever falling out with his sister and riding off.

As if his position wasn’t clear enough, Jaime was seen literally approaching a fork in the road as he headed North and tussled with whether to stay true to his sister (who may or may not be expecting his baby!) or save the entire human race.

Given that season eight will probably complete his much-talked about redemption arc, it seems the Kingslayer will go through with choosing the latter.

Gendry

Gendry played a heroic role in episode six of the seventh series, running back to Eastwatch to send a raven and notify Daenerys about Operation: Kidnap A White Walker going a wee bit wrong.

Worryingly, he hasn’t been seen since collapsing at the gate and (again, worryingly) HBO haven’t bothered making a season eight character poster for him. While we reckon it’s highly unlikely he’s been killed off – he might be Cersei’s son and therefore a possible heir, after all – we’re still going to breathe a sigh of relief when he appears on screen next.

Yara Greyjoy

Currently a prisoner on Euron’s ship, Yara is not having a good time of it. That could be about to change…

Theon Greyjoy

He’s properly back and Reek is no more. Theon was last seen dashing after Yara, following a much-needed pep talk from Jon ‘Actually he’s a Targaryen’ Snow.

Rescuing his sister won’t be easy though and things are set to be complicated further by the fact Theon thinks Euron is sailing back to the Iron Islands to take cover, rather than to Essos to become even more entangled in this war.

Brienne of Tarth

Determined to keep her oath to Catelyn Stark (RIP), Brienne represented Sansa Stark at the King’s Landing meeting, bringing her face to face with old friend Jaime.

Meeting over and help secured (only it’s not, because Cersei is playing all of them), Brienne is accompanying the gang back to the North, to fight the White Walkers. Seeing Brienne absolutely slay this battle is something we have been looking forward to for months so no, we won’t be addressing the fact many people think she’ll be one of the first to die, OK? And anyway, she looks like she’s doing a fine job in the trailer.

Tyrion Lannister

Having made it out of King’s Landing alive, the Hand of the Queen was last seen en route to Winterfell with Daenerys and Jon. He was also in the corridor as the aunt and nephew duo went to bed together, meaning he’s potentially the only person truly aware of how seriously they’re taking their allegiance.

Bran

Don’t they grow up fast? It seems like just yesterday that Bran was scaling the walls of Winterfell and catching incestuous couple numero uno in the tower together and look at him now. 

Having gone on both a physical and spiritual journey as winter settled in, Bran is getting used to his new full-time role as the Three-Eyed-Raven. Putting his skillz to good use, Bran has been spying on the Night King’s army and will hopefully be able to offer vital information during the upcoming battle.

He’s one of only two people to know the truth about Jon’s parentage. The other person is…

Samwell Tarly

After calling time on his pretty shoddy stint with the Night’s Watch (well, apart from when he killed a White Walker, actually), Samwell headed to the Citadel to train to become a maester. When ravens from the North arrived, carrying warning message about an army of *dead* people, the experienced maesters did not see what the fuss about.

Trusting Bran’s messages, Samwell bailed on his training and headed North, where his tête-à-tête with Bran confirmed Jon is not a bastard after all. Nice work in the end, really.

The Night King

Alarmingly, the last time we saw the Night King, he was riding the dragon formerly known as Viserion over a gigantic hole in the Wall. This was the final scene of season seven and is something we’ve lost a lot of sleep over since.

Thanks to the fact he now has a dragon, the Night King and his army of White Walkers made light work of smashing through the gigantic structure designed to keep them out of the seven kingdoms.

Lord Varys

Varys’ years of scheming have paid off and he’s been rewarded for helping to orchestrate Daenerys’ return to Westeros with an advisory role.

When we left him, he was sailing back to Winterfell with Daenerys, Jon and everyone else crammed in on that boat. All in all, he’s doing well but his actions in season seven were a little more muted than we’d have liked. We’re hoping he goes BIG in the final season, with levels of conniving to match the intensity and scale of the hotly-anticipated battle scenes.

And Jorah Mormont

He’s also on the boat, and pretty livid about the fact Daenerys seems to be valuing Jon’s advice above his own. Just wait until he finds out what’s happened…

Oh, and Davos Seaworth 

It’s a massive boat.

Melisandre

Last time we saw her, The Red Woman was riding off to Essos (having been exiled by Davos and Jon) but we can expect to see her back in Westeros at some point, given her promise to “to die in this strange country” – a fate she claims Varys will share.

The Hound 

After being rattled by the quest to capture a White Walker, namely because fire is going to be a pretty key component in taking them down, The Hound was back to his usual tough self just in time for the big group meeting. Before playing a key role in the show and tell, The Hound took a few seconds to have a go at his partially-dead brother, which really set the tone for the meeting.

Tormund Giantsbane and Beric Dondarrion

As the Night King and his dragon made light work of destroying the Wall, Tormund and Beric could be seen among those fleeing for safety. After an agonising two-year wait to find out if they would make it out alive, fans finally discovered the characters’ fates when the first season eight trailer showed them very much alive. Phew.

Qyburn

While everyone else at the last episode’s summit recoiled at the sight of the White Walker, mad scientist Qyburn was visibly loving it. Quietly one of the most powerful men in Westeros, Qyburn is probably one of the only people who sway Cersei’s mind but he’s fiercely loyal to her to. Let’s just say, we’ll be keeping a very close on him from Monday.

Bronn

Now a Lord, Bronn stepped out of the dragonpit meeting to have a drink with Podrick instead and missed out on seeing the White Walker IRL. With Jaime and Tyrion (who are now on opposite sides, but both about to fight for the same thing) headed off to the North, will he follow them?

Missandei and Grey Worm

Perhaps the most consistent pair of people in the seven kingdoms, these two obviously remain at Daenerys’ side.

The Mountain

Last seen in our nightmares. On screen, he’s still guardian Cersei. But yeah, he’s mainly in our nightmares.

Foreigners of course know of the existence of untouchability. But not being next door to it, so to say, they are unable to realize how oppressive it is in its actuality. It is difficult for them to understand how it is possible for a few untouchables to live on the edge of a village consisting of a large number of Hindus; go through the village daily to free it from the most disagreeable of its filth and to carry the errands of all and sundry; collect food at the doors of the Hindus; buy spices and oil at the shops of the Hindu Bania from a distance; regard the village in every way as their home, and yet never touch nor be touched by any one belonging to the village. The problem is how best to give an idea of the way the untouchables are treated by the caste Hindus. A general description or a record of cases of the treatment accorded to them are the two methods by which this purpose could be achieved. I have felt that the latter would be more effective than the former. In choosing these illustrations, I have drawn partly upon my experience and partly upon the experience of others. I begin with events that have happened to me in my own life...

Three

The year was 1929. The Bombay Government had appointed a Committee to investigate the grievances of the untouchables. I was appointed a member of the Committee. The Committee had to tour all over the province to investigate into the allegations of injustice, oppression and tyranny. The Committee split up. I and another member were assigned the two districts of Khandesh. My colleague and myself after finishing our work parted company. He went to see some Hindu saint. I left by train to go to Bombay. At Chalisgaon I got down to go to a village on the Dhulia line, to investigate a case of social boycott which had been declared by the caste Hindus against the untouchables of that village. The untouchables of Chalisgaon came to the station and requested me to stay for the night with them. My original plan was to go straight to Bombay after investigating the case of social boycott. But as they were keen I agreed to stay overnight. I boarded the train for Dhulia to go to the village, went there and informed myself of the situation prevailing in the village and returned by the next train to Chalisgaon.

I found the untouchables of Chalisgaon waiting for me at the station. I was garlanded. The Maharwada, the quarters of the untouchables, is about 2 miles from the Railway station and one has to cross a river on which there is a culvert to reach it. There were many horse carriages at the station plying for hire. The Maharwada was also within walking distance from the station. I expected immediately to be taken to the Maharwada. But there was no movement in that direction and I could not understand why I was kept waiting. After an hour or so a tonga (one horse carriage) was brought close to the platform and I got in. The driver and I were the only two occupants of the tonga. Others went on foot by a short cut. The tonga had not gone 200 paces when there would have been a collision with a motor car. I was surprised that the driver who was paid for hire every day should have been so inexperienced. The accident was averted only because on the loud shout of the policeman the driver of the car pulled it back.

We somehow came to the culvert on the river. On it there are no walls as there are on a bridge. There is only a row of stones fixed at a distance of five or ten feet. It is paved with stones. The culvert on the river is at right angles to the road we were coming by. A sharp turn has to be taken to come to the culvert from the road. Near the very first side stone of the culvert the horse instead of going straight took a turn and bolted. The wheel of the tonga struck against the side stone so forcibly that I was bodily lifted up and thrown down on the stone pavement of the culvert and the horse and the carriage fell down from the culvert into the river. So heavy was the fall that I lay down senseless. The Maharwada is just on the other bank of the river. The men who had come to greet me at the station had reached there ahead of me. I was lifted and taken to the Maharwada amidst the cries and lamentations of the men, women and children. As a result of this I received several injuries. My leg was fractured and I was disabled for several days. I could not understand how all this happened. The tongas pass and repass the culvert every day and never has a driver failed to take the tonga safely over the culvert.

On enquiry I was told the real facts. The delay at the railway station was due to the fact that the tongawalas were not prepared to drive the tonga with a passenger who was an untouchable. It was beneath their dignity. The Mahars could not tolerate that I should walk to their quarters. It was not in keeping with their sense of my dignity. A compromise was therefore arrived at. That compromise was to this effect: the owner of the tonga would give the tonga on hire but not drive. The Mahars may take the tonga but find someone to drive it. The Mahars thought this to be a happy solution. But they evidently forgot that the safety of the passenger was more important than the maintenance of his dignity. If they had thought of this, they would have considered whether they could get a driver who could safely conduct me to my destination. As a matter of fact none of them could drive because it was not their trade. They therefore asked someone from amongst themselves to drive. The man took the reins in his hand and started thinking there was nothing in it. But as he got on, he felt his responsibility and became so nervous that he gave up all attempt to control. To save my dignity, the Mahars of Chalisgaon had put my very life in jeopardy. It was then I learnt that a Hindu tongawala, no better than a menial, has a dignity by which he can look upon himself as a person who is superior to any untouchable, even though he may be a Barristar-at-law.

(Excerpted from ‘Waiting For A Visa’, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar : Writings and Speeches, Vol. 12. First Edition by Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra : 14 April, 1989. Re-printed by Dr. Ambedkar Foundation : January, 2014. Available at: http://drambedkarwritings.gov.in/content/) 

Embassy Cat – the feline who kept Julian Assange company at the Ecuadorian consulate – is safe, WikiLeaks has confirmed.

The cat had lived with Assange during his seven-year stay at the embassy in Knightsbridge since May 2016.

She was gifted to him as a pet by his children.

In a tweet accompanied by a video of the animal sat in front of footage of Assange’s arrest, WikiLeaks said: “We can confirm that Assange’s cat is safe.

“Assange asked his lawyers to rescue him from embassy threats in mid-October. They will be reunited in freedom.”

Assange’s pet had become popular on social media in recent years, appearing dressed in a tie and collar in the window of the embassy in November 2016.

Assange received the cat when she was just 10 weeks old – and when she made a cameo appearance during a live broadcast on the night of the EU referendum, he referred to her simply as “Embassy Cat”.

She even has an unverified Twitter account with more than 30,000 followers.

Using the hashtags #FreeAssange and #NoExtradition, the WikiLeaks tweet also called for Assange not to be extradited to the US.

The 47-year-old faces up to 12 months in a British prison after he was found guilty of breaching his bail conditions, while the US charge could attract a maximum jail sentence of five years, according to the US Department of Justice.

But WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson said he fears more charges will be added, meaning Assange could face decades in a US prison.

JAMMU — “Hamare paas Modi hai,” BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Saturday, taking a cue from a Bollywood dialogue to claim there is no one in the opposition camp to match the calibre of the prime minister.

The BJP leader was referring to the iconic “Mere paas maa hai” line in Deewaar, even though he wrongly attributed it to Amitabh Bachchan rather than Shashi Kapoor.

Addressing an election rally in Reasi district, he also asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the country “corruption and terrorism-free” and instilled among the terrorists by hunting them down inside Pakistan.

“The opposition does not have any leader but we have Modi. That is why they are forming ‘gathbandhan’ (alliance)... Their attempt to form a grand alliance failed because many people among the opposition are eyeing prime minister’s chair,” Madhav said.

Canvassing for Union minister Jitendra Singh, who is seeking re-election from Udhampur Lok Sabha seat, Madhav said, “Why do they (opposition) want to remove Modi (from power)? Because Modi had made the country corruption and terrorism-free and wants every citizen to stand on his or her feet and be part of the progressive country.”

The people of the country have made up their move to vote Modi back to power, he said, adding, “Unlike the past when scams used to be the order of the day, not a single case of corruption was reported against the Modi government.”

“Likewise, terrorism used to frightened the country and every now and then the bomb blasts used to take place. But after the formation of our government, Modi not only made the country terrorism-free but also instilled fear among terrorists,” the BJP leader said.

He also claimed that not a single bomb blast happened in the country under the BJP-led NDA dispensation.

Return is never the experience you hope for. After all those lost years in America I wanted to walk into the streets and know them, but there is a new tightness to the city, an exuberance that is difficult to understand.

Madras. August 2010. A swell of bodies. At arrivals there’s a crush of families and hotel chauffeurs, bouquets wrapped in plastic and welcome boards. It’s past one in the morning. What kind of parents are these who bring their bawling children out so late into the night?

The air attacks you at the threshold. Heavy, sweaty air, which smells of something that was once sweet, now rotting. Damp in the armpits and crotch. Jeans sticking to thighs.

Taxi drivers and porters are jostling about trying to cadge a passenger. Taxi, madam, taxi? Prepaid customers roll their luggage primly towards Fast Track and Akbar Cars without making eye contact. Madrasis returning home are
on their mobile phones, instructing people to hurry and meet them at the pickup point.

Murali is waiting for me in the usual place. He is old and as dark as the night, hairy-eared and half blind. The way he drives, it will take us five hours instead of three, but Ma always valued loyalty over ability, even though she herself
could rarely be relied upon to be steadfast.

‘Still smoking, Murali?’

‘What to do, madam? Now I’m an old man, no? Difficult to change.’

I’d ask him for a cigarette, but that would mean upsetting the order of things.

He’s trying to take my luggage off me now. ‘Please let me do it, Murali. Look at these arms. I go to the gym, you know!’

He gives me a lopsided grin and lollops along to open the boot of the car.

There’s a scar on Murali’s back that runs from top to bottom like a lazy river, thick and muddy pink. I know because I’ve seen him shirtless in a lungi doing odd jobs for Ma around the apartment – his back bare, except for the scar and the savannah of tightly coiled black hairs along his shoulder blades. I had asked him about the scar one summer, emboldened from my first year of studying in
America. It was the war, he explained. He told me how the Tamil suburb he’d lived in on the outskirts of Colombo had been set upon by their Sinhalese neighbours, who came with hatchets, tyres, kerosene. He escaped with a
butcher’s knife in his back, but his family perished. Now his life was in India.

I wonder who will say it first? Him or me?

I feel sure that Murali is a man who knows how to hold his own in the face of any silence.

We heave the bags into the boot. My mother must be the only person in India who still insists on travelling around in an Ambassador. But there’s something reassuring about this car. It makes me feel as though I were riding in the belly of a whale on the crazy seas of the Tamil Nadu highways.

‘Traffic is terrible, madam.’

‘Yes it is.’

The new airport has been a decade in the making but it has the feel of a never-ending family summer project, with bits and pieces being added on to the main building as and when funds and the inclination to do something come through. Car horns are sounding out warnings, each more virile than the next. People move purposefully in this barrage of noise, glaring backwards at the offending vehicles, always with the same resigned look on their faces. Back to this shit again.

I’ve been travelling over twenty hours, but my body is suddenly alert. It’s the thing that surprises me every time I land in India. Despite all the blatant deterioration, all the decomposition, things survive. In fact, they thrive. Things
are ready to bludgeon you with their aliveness.

 Excerpted with permission from SMALL DAYS AND NIGHTS by Tishani Doshi, Bloomsbury.

The world’s first floating farm will soon welcome aboard 40 cows. Built in Rotterdam harbor in the Netherlands, the “cow garden” and high-tech dairy farm are nearing completion.

“The building is as good as ready, we are now installing and testing the machines, and in four weeks the cows will arrive,” says Peter Beladon, the developer behind the farm. The floating farm plans to recycle cow waste, grow grass, produce milk and yogurt onsite, harvest rainwater and use its own solar energy.

This floating prototype may not be as fantastical as it sounds, even in a country where pastureland stretches for miles around. As sea levels rise, and there is ever less land for a growing urban population, this farm could be a precursor to entire floating cities in the future.

Last week, UN-Habitat, tasked with improving the world’s urban future, brought together 70 people – from engineers and architects to Hollywood executives – to discuss the feasibility of making science fiction reality: Building an entirely self-sustaining, floating city.

For advocates, these water-based communities are an exciting, innovative solution to climate change, sea-level rise and an increasingly urban population seeking affordable housing. To others, floating cities are a costly and untested distraction from the very real work we need to do in existing cities to mitigate against climate change devastation.

By 2050, nearly 70 percent of the world population is predicted to live in cities, up from just over half today. Not only will this urbanization put huge pressure on cities’ housing, transport, energy and infrastructure, but also this move is happening in the context of rising sea levels and an increase in extreme weather events that threaten cities across the world.   

“People move into cities drawn by jobs, education and opportunities but too often end up living in slums,” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat’s executive director. “Climate change and rising sea levels are very real, and we have to look for innovations that are resilient. I think that the floating cities could be one of the innovative solutions… to provide housing for the vulnerable or climate refugees.”

The UN-Habitat event saw a new development company, Oceanix, launch its vision for a floating city: six hexagonal platforms around a central harbor, sustaining 10,000 people. Glossy images feature people on paddle boats, farming a plant-based diet or meditating in a bamboo spiritual center.

With a design inspired by lily-pads and the efficiently-structured cells of a honeycomb, the 75-hectare city would be anchored to the seabed by biorock, currently used to grow artificial reefs, with infrastructure to collect rainwater and de-salinate sea water. Residents would be able to grow and catch their own food and recycle their waste; the city would be powered by renewables, Oceanix claims, adding it would be designed to withstand storms.

To come up with the proto, the private, for-profit company is partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and with Bjarke Ingels of the Danish architectural firm BIG – which has previously created floating shipping container housing for students.

“We are proposing a model for sustainable urbanism, a model we believe we can do on the water where we won’t have issues with flooding,” said founder and chief executive of OceanixMarc Collins Chen. He first started investigating cost-effective solutions for rising sea levels as a government executive 12 years ago in Tahiti.

Nobody has yet constructed a floating city yet, although the organizations Oceanix is working with have made a number of ocean infrastructures all over the world. “There is no lack of expertise – nobody has put all the pieces together and that’s what we are hoping Oceanix will do,” said Collins Chen.

The company says it has offers from investors and host cities for a small-scale prototype and expects to make an announcement “in a few weeks.”

Collins Chen said they are aiming to build affordable housing first. “Once you’ve developed a pipeline, there’s nothing to say you can’t go up the scale, but if you build for the wealthiest, it’s difficult to drive prices down,” he says.

No costing figures have been released, but Collins Chen claims the city is achievable by making savings on three areas: using “practically free” water rather than expensive land, constructing modular units in factories rather than on-site and regulating the developer’s profits.

Some experts believe we should at least give a floating city a go. Nick Makris, director of the center for ocean engineering at MIT, which is a partner in the project, thinks the first Oceanix design could work, but only if it is based in a sheltered, harbor-like environment where it’s less exposed to extreme weather. 

“When you look at what was proposed, a lot of people said it’s fantastic and science fiction-y,” he says. “But from the perspective of a marine engineer, I would say that what was presented is doable in certain environments.”

But others in the field of climate change are far more skeptical – especially at the rush to throw resources into high-tech, untested ideas which don’t address the underlying causes of climate change.

“We need to work intensely on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce the damage that will happen, and on preparing our cities for damage that will occur regardless of our best efforts,” said Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

“Floating cities might be able to accommodate tens or hundreds of thousands of people, but not the hundreds of millions or billions of people who may be displaced by climate change later in the century,” he added.

Floating cities could also present environmental challenges, said Professor Martin Siegert, co-director of the Grantham Institute of Climate Change and the Environment. “There is the issue of water quality and circulation,” he said. “We see every year in Venice algal blooms that represent problems in health and air quality, as well as water quality. Perhaps we can do more than we currently do, but I’d be surprised if this was a solution to what is a very big problem; habitability of coastal regions under storm surges.”

A further challenge is the base of the floating structure. It’s made from concrete, which carries pretty heavy environmental impacts. “The concrete platform is cost-efficient [and] one of the options we have talked about during these early phases of concept, but as we move forward we may explore other options,” said Alana Goldweit, project leader at BIG and designer for Oceanix City.

She added that the six-sided shape and sea-floor anchorage will provide stability in a storm, but there are other options for truly bad weather. “We understand when there’s a severe storm people won’t be around their terraces on the fourth floor of the building,” she says. “We have designed a refuge room in every two-hectare neighborhood that can accommodate well over 300 residents.”

The design team at BIG say that the first prototype city could be built within the next two years – but, to the disappointment of the floating farm developers in the Netherlands, its plant-based community will not be making space for cows.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday shared a Dubsmash video on Twitter to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

In the video, Prasad can be seen lip-syncing Modi’s “acche din” slogan. “Hindustan ke ek ek gareeb admi ko mufat main 15-20 lakh rupay yunhi mil jayega (Every poor person in India will get Rs 15-20 lakh for free),” the former Bihar chief minister can be heard lip-syncing.

He ends with “yeh ek jumla”.

Prasad recently took to twitter and likened his associate-turned-adversary Nitish Kumar to “the species that keeps leaping from one tree branch to another” while accusing Kumar of being “paltuon ka sardar” (the king of turncoats).

Prasad, who has been sore ever since Kumar’s abrupt exit from the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ stripped the RJD off power and caused his sons Tej Pratap Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav to lose their ministerial berths, shared a newspaper clipping from 2014, wherein the chief minister was quoted as having said “I shall rather be consigned to dust than align with the BJP.”

Known for his acerbic wit, Prasad captioned the photograph in Hindi “read the statement of the creature that keeps leaping from one tree branch to another. He has been responsible for changing loyalties five times in as many years. Hence he has been called the king of turncoats.”

(With PTI inputs)

Oh my my my, oh my my my!

K-Pop group BTS has dropped the video for their earworm of a song, “Boy With Luv,” featuring Halsey, and it is a candy-colored confection.

The song was released as part of the band’s new album “Map of the Soul: Persona” and comes just before they make their very first appearance on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.

 Halsey shared the video on her Twitter account and raved about the experience she had shooting with BTS.

The “Eastside” singer also tweeted that she was extremely nervous to do the video because she’d “never done choreo in a video before,” but the BTS crew “were so awesome” which “made me so comfy and gassed me up.”

Watch the “Boy With Luv” video above for the catchy beats, but stay for the incredible outfits worn by Jimin, V, Jin, Jungkook, Suga, J-Hope, and RM.

Fans of the band can look forward to the “SNL” appearance where they’ll be playing “Boy With Luv.”

Facebook’s stunning year of scandals seems to have driven up the price tag of Mark Zuckerberg’s safety.

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released Friday, the CEO was paid $10 million in 2018 through a pre-tax allowance “to cover additional costs related to his and his family’s personal security.”

That includes “personnel, equipment, services, residential improvements” and other costs, the filing stated.

In addition, nearly $2.6 million went toward Zuckerberg’s private aircraft use, which the company considers as part of his security.

Increased protections for the executive pushed his total security compensation from $9.1 million in 2017 to almost $22.6 million in 2018.

Though Zuckerberg famously receives a salary of just $1, despite being worth more than $62 billion per Forbes’ billionaires list, the reason for the jump in his pay appears to have been a backlash against him.

“We believe that Mr. Zuckerberg’s role puts him in a unique position: he is synonymous with Facebook and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” the filing said. “Mr. Zuckerberg is one of the most-recognized executives in the world, in large part as a result of the size of our user base and our continued exposure to global media, legislative, and regulatory attention.”

COO Sheryl Sandberg, who earned a base salary of $850,000 last year, also received additional funding for security, albeit a far more modest amount of $1.1 million.

2018 marked a rough year for the social media platform as it became embroiled in controversy over its admission that up to 87 million of its users may have had their account information improperly shared with data firm Cambridge Analytica, which may have used it to influence voters in the 2016 election.

As a result of the scandal, Zuckerberg was called to testify before Congress in a contentious hearing concerning Facebook’s handling of user privacy.

But that wasn’t all. Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee also took aim at Facebook when they sounded the alarm on thousands of Russian-financed ads on the platform that ran from 2015 to 2017. Some of the ads were posted during the election.

Facebook has also faced scrutiny for allowing notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to use the site, finally banning his content last summer after he continued to spread false and hateful posts. However, the move triggered outrage from conservatives, who argued Jones was unfairly silenced.

Zuckerberg’s troubles aren’t over yet, as critical questions remain in 2019 about how to improve the algorithms that run his platform and how to deal with the threats of extreme violence and white nationalism.

Kerala’s film industry now has a number of fans from across the country for its crop of talented, risk-taking youngsters and innovative, realistic films. If you’ve been wondering what the fuss is all about, worry not. You can find many old and new Malayalam movies on streaming services like Hotstar, often with subtitles. So whether you adore Nivin Pauly, Fahadh Faasil, Dulquer Salmaan, Nazriya Nazim or Parvathy, settle down and work your way through this great list. 

1. Take Off  

This award-winning film, inspired by real events, traces the rescue efforts involved in bringing back a group of 19 Malayali nurses held hostage in Iraq’s Tikrit by the ISIS. The film is a treat for fans of actress Parvathy, who won her second Kerala State Film Award for this film. Take Off is also a more realistic alternative to the hyper-drama of Tiger Zinda Hai. (Pro-tip: Don’t watch the trailer. It ruins everything.)

2. Kammattipadam 

This film delves into how Kochi became the glossy-on-the-surface city it is now, on the back of land snatched from the Dalit community in the marshy lands of Kammattipadam. While the story is told from the viewpoint of Dulquer Salmaan’s character, the standout performances are by Vinayakan and Manikandan R Achari. Director Rajeev Ravi shows you Kochi as you have never seen it before.

3. Ustad Hotel  

Sit down with a cup of suleimani and watch the film that turned baby-faced Dulquer Salmaan into a hero, with the added bonus of drooling over some Malabari cuisine. The feel-good film is a must watch for Dulquer fans and for those who couldn’t get enough of him with Nithya Menen in OK Kanmani. Also, move over ‘Rowdy Baby’, ‘Appangalembadum’ will be your earworm after this. 

4. Premam

The “new generation” filmmakers of Malayalam cinema grew up in the ’90s and 2000s, and love taking their viewers back to those times. With its frizzy-haired heroines, boys discovering love and masculinity, Onam celebrations in colleges, and young people’s slang, Premam is a nostalgia fest for that generation, one that runs on Nivin Pauly’s charm (and the wonderfully natural Sai Pallavi). Thattathin Marayathu may have turned Pauly into a hero, but Premam established him as a bankable star.

5. Bangalore Days  

A coming-of-age film about three cousins who move to that big city adored by Malayalis for work, love and rebellion. Director Anjali Menon’s story of urban Malayali youth is more complex and less judgemental than earlier movies in the same vein. It has good performances by Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly and Dulquer Salmaan, who share great chemistry.  Bangalore Days was so popular it was remade in Tamil.

6. Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum 

A cash-strapped married couple is determined to retrieve a gold chain snatched from them while travelling on a bus. The problem is, the culprit seems to have swallowed it. With the help of their co-passengers, they catch the suspect and take him to the police station. After Maheshinte Prathikaram, Director Dileesh Pothan delivers yet again with this comedy drama starring frequent collaborator Fahadh Faasil (who is superb as the slippery thief who forces our loyalties to shift over and over again), Suraj Venjaramoodu and Nimisha Sajayan.

7. Koode

Joshua (Prithivaraj) returns to his home in Kodaikanal after several years to deal with a family tragedy. As he rebuilds his relationships with sister Jenny (Nazriya) and childhood friend Sophie (Parvathy), they discover painful, yet rewarding ways to heal wounds from their past. Anjali Menon’s film focuses on the emotional journey of the vulnerable male character, a far cry from the hyper-masculinity that has been made the norm by Malayalam superstars like Mohanlal and Mammootty.

8. Sandesham

“Polandine patti nee oru aksharam mindaruthu.” Say this iconic dialogue out loud and you could pick a Malayali out of any crowd. This political comedy drama is a great introduction to Sreenivasan’s particular brand of dry wit and humour. Sandesham is about two politician brothers on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum whose ambitions and petty fights drive a wedge through their family. In typical Sathyan Anthikkad style, there is a moral lesson at the end. The film is a great example of Malayalam satire at its best.

9. Ohm Shanthi Oshana

Nazriya Nazim’s Pooja is a young girl determined that she will decide who she marries. But when she falls in love with a serious, socially active young man (a dishy Nivin Pauly), she finds that there are many hurdles before the happy ending. This funny rom-com is worth watching and rewatching.

10. Kilukkam

Kilukkam is a cult comedy classic that you just shouldn’t miss. The film has great performances by Revathy, an eccentric tourist with a secret agenda, and the comedic pair of Mohanlal and Jagathy Sreekumar. The scenes with Thilakan and Innocent are some of the funniest in Malayalam cinema.

11. Classmates

This is a thriller in the guise of a college romance. Secrets and past resentments are picked apart when a group of people who studied together attend a reunion in memory of their deceased classmate.

12. Manichithrathazhu

More than 25 years since its release, Manichithrathazhu remains a well-made, entertaining thriller. A young couple sets up temporary home in a mansion believed to be haunted by the spirit of a dancer murdered by a powerful man who lusted after her. Shobhana won a National Award for her performance as a woman possessed by the bloodthirsty danseuse’s spirit. The film also stars Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi in lead roles. 

13. Oru CBI Diary Kuruppu

This movie began the Malayali fascination with the CBI. Mammootty plays Sethurama Iyer, an upright CBI officer who is called in to investigate a murder that has some powerful people very interested. This is the first in a series of popular murder mystery films.

The following films have no subtitles but are definitely worth the watch, if you understand Malayalam or can get a Malayali friend to translate as you watch.

14. Akkare Akkare Akkare 

Meet Dasan and Vijayan, two bickering friends caught in a comedy of errors while trying to do their jobs as CID officers. Mohanlal-Sreenivasan films are a genre in themselves and the 80s and early 90s were replete with these social comedies. Akkare Akkare Akkare is good introduction to their comedic collaborations. The film has a prequel in Nadodikaatu and a sequel, Pattana Praveshnam. 

15. Njandukalude Naattil Oridavela

In this comedy drama, a middle-aged couple struggles to break the news of the mother’s cancer diagnosis to their family. As the treatment progresses, the family must deal with the effects of the disease, unwanted advice from friends and relatives, and their own idiosyncrasies. Surprisingly, for a film about cancer, it’ll make you laugh more than cry. This feel-good movie about a dysfunctional family has a great ensemble cast led by Lal and Shanthi Krishna.

16. Yoddha 

This is the endearing tale of “Unnikuttan” and “Akkusotu”. Ashokan (Mohanlal), a young man in Kerala, finds that his destiny is linked to the young Lama of a Buddhist monastery in Nepal. A palm reader’s prophecy lands Ashokan on the streets of Kathmandu with the child monk who is on the run from a group trying to kill him. Throw in some kung fu, dark magic, family drama and Jagathy Sreekumar’s antics – and you have a fun entertainer on your hands.

17. Ennu Ninte Moideen

This is a tragic love story based on the lives of Moideen and Kanchanamala, a Muslim man and Hindu woman who fell in love in the ’60s in Kozhikode’s Mukkam village. The two fight family and social taboos to try and be with each other. The film takes you back decades with stellar performances by the cast, notably Parvathy.