Award-winning novelist Toni Morrison has died at the age of 88, Vulture reported on Tuesday. Crediting the information to a source at her publisher, the website said the cause of death was not yet known. 

Morrison, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her classic Beloved, was one of the best-known and most admired writers in America. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993.

She has written 11 novels, nine non-fiction works, five children’s books, two short stories, and two plays. Her last novel, God Help the Child, was published in 2015.  

The Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 that is pending in Parliament seeks to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature and Ladakh without one. The 2019 Bill was introduced in Parliament after the issuance of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 by the President under Article 370(1) of the Constitution. 

In this article, I’ll confine myself to the legal issues entailed by the 2019 Bill, as I have long maintained that the genesis of the Kashmir issue or its resolution is not located in Article 370 for reasons detailed in my book Unravelling the Kashmir Knot. 

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It is well settled that the Constitution does not guarantee the territorial integrity of Indian states. Article 3 of the Constitution provides that Parliament may, by law, form a new state and alter the areas, boundaries or names of any state. The proviso to Article 3, however, inter alia provides that no Bill for such a purpose will be introduced in Parliament unless it has been referred by the President to the concerned state legislature for expressing its views.

So far, the only exception to this was the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Article 370 applies Article 1 to J&K, thereby recognising it as a constituent State within the Indian Union. The constitutional relationship of J&K with the Indian Union was, however, contemplated to be one of an autonomous republic within the Indian Union as crystallised in the Delhi Agreement, 1952, which was ratified by both Parliament and the state Constituent Assembly. 

The President, with the concurrence of the J&K government, then issued the Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 1954, under Article 370(1) which inserted into the Constitution provisions to give effect to the Delhi Agreement, 1952, and also applied further Articles of the Constitution to J&K (with modifications). These included Article 3 of the Constitution with an additional proviso that mandated that “no Bill providing for increasing or diminishing the area of the State of Jammu and Kashmir or altering the name or boundary of that State shall be introduced in Parliament without the consent of the Legislature of that State”. In other words, not only did J&K not merge its territory into the Indian Union but it explicitly preserved its territorial integrity as also identity. 

Now, the 2019 Order supersedes the 1954 order and applies all the provisions of the Constitution to J&K. The validity of the 2019 order is debatable, but there is no doubt that it is in force unless and until it is struck down. Hence, the position that emerges is that by virtue of Article 3 of the Constitution, Parliament may by law alter the areas, boundaries and name of J&K without the consent of the state legislature. However, it is still a requirement of Article 3 for the 2019 Bill to be referred to the state legislature for expressing its views thereon. 

But then, with J&K at present under President’s rule, there is no state legislature that can express its views on the 2019 Bill. And as all the provisions of the Constitution have been made applicable to J&K by the 2019 Order, Parliament can exercise the functions of the state legislature during President’s rule by virtue of Article 356 of the Constitution. Now the real question here is: should Parliament do so?

Now, Article 356 is not meant to be used to take far-reaching decisions but is an emergency provision to be resorted to sparingly in a situation where there is the breakdown of constitutional machinery in a state. The exercise of power under Article 356 is limited by time as provided in the article itself. It is a temporary arrangement only until the government of the state can be carried on in accordance with the Constitution. 

While the Constitution does not guarantee territorial integrity of a state, it has been held by the Supreme Court to be federal or at least quasi-federal in nature. The 13-judge bench decision in Keshavananda Bharati (1973) has gone to the extent of viewing the federal character of the Constitution as part of its basic structure. Would it then be justifiable for Parliament to exercise the function of the state legislature (whilst the state is under President’s rule) in matters that profess to dismember the state itself as well as its identity? The obvious answer is no. Should the 2019 Bill become law in the present circumstances, it may be open to legal challenge on this front alone.

“Game of Thrones” actor Gwendoline Christie submitted herself for an Emmy nomination because she likes to be in charge of her own destiny ― just like her character, Brienne of Tarth.

The actor recently told The Los Angeles Times that she submitted herself for the Emmy nomination as a “testament” to Brienne, an all-around badass who is one of the few characters to survive to the end of the series. In July, Christie was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

“I checked that it wasn’t an inappropriate thing to do, and I was told it wasn’t. People submit themselves all the time,” Christie told the paper. “I truly never expected it to manifest in a nomination and I don’t think anybody else did either. But I just had to do it for me. And I had to do it as a testament to the character and what I feel she represents.”

Although it is not uncommon for actors to submit themselves for an award, it is rare that they actually receive a nomination.

Christie added that she wanted to be nominated so that female characters like Brienne ― who is not the conventional woman portrayed on screen ― gets more recognition.

“I wanted the possibility of being recognized for everything that character represents, for what she’s meant to me and for the part I feel she’s played, in some small way, in the burgeoning landscape we have in entertainment of seeing women in a different way,” she said. “A more realistic way and a more unconventional way.”

Other “Game of Thrones” characters who submitted themselves for Emmys and received nominations include Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Carice van Houten (Melisandre), nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. 

Head over to The Los Angeles Times to read Christie’s full interview. 

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Sushma Swaraj died on Tuesday night at the age of 67 in New Delhi.

She had been admitted to AIIMS earlier in the night.

Swaraj, who was external affairs minister in the Narendra Modi government’s first term from 2014 to 2019, had cited health concerns as the reason for not contesting the general election. 

She was earlier the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014.

The news broke just four hours after she posted a tweet thanking Modi for revoking Article 370.

The Modi government’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, once enshrined in Article 370 in the Indian Constitution, is the fulfillment of an important part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s vision of a homogeneous nation-state both symbolically and concretely.

The other core parts of their agenda include the Uniform Civil Code (of which the recently passed Triple Talaq legislation is a crucial piece) and, of course, a Ram Temple at the site of the demolished Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. 

Yet, of these three, the BJP, and its predecessor the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, always saw Article 370 and J&K’s autonomous status as a threat to India’s unity and a barrier to the full integration of J&K with India. The Congress’ position was not very different.  The Congress leaders who negotiated Article 370 into the Constitution also considered it an exceptional and temporary measure which would fade away with time.  

This Indian treatment of Article 370 as a transient measure and the Kashmiri understanding of it as a permanent settlement lie at the crux of the Kashmir problem in India.  

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In the years since Article 370 was first introduced, the failure of the political imagination of our leaders and conscientious Indians to defend and push for the implementation of Article 370 in its original letter and spirit has led to the permanent state of crisis in Kashmir today.  

Although it seems like a lost cause now, I argue that Article 370 should be considered an innovative constitutional measure arrived under exceptional circumstances but with permanent possibilities, rather than as a threat to the unity and integrity of India.

Implemented correctly, Article 370 could have been the model solution to many of the regional grievances that appeared in India right after independence.

The Historical Context

Jammu & Kashmir was the largest of over 500 indirectly governed Princely or Native states under British Raj.  In August 1947, these states had the options of either joining the new nation-states of Pakistan or India or choosing independence.  Maharaja Hari Singh, the then ruler of J&K, preferred independence under hereditary rule.  

Scholars such as Navnita Behera, Sumantra Bose and Cabeiri Robinson have noted that the state’s political parties were agitating for democratic rule and self-determination rights.

The All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), led by Sheikh Abdullah and allied with the Indian National Congress at the national level, had adopted in 1944 a manifesto for Naya Kashmir (New Kashmir) which called for socialist land reforms and popular sovereignty.  A meeting organised by Kashmir Kisan Mazdoor Party in May 1946 and attended by representatives of other state parties called for a Free Kashmir and people’s rule.  

Political leaders in Poonch declared the overthrow of the Maharaja’s government in August 1947 and in October that year, announced the establishment of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Azad Kashmir. Meanwhile Pakistan-supported militia of Pathans entered J&K at Muzaffarabad and moved towards Srinagar, prompting the Maharaja to seek help from the Indian government.

The Instrument of Accession, which gave India powers over defence, foreign affairs and communications, was the negotiated price of India’s assistance. The Maharaja’s emergency interim government with Sheikh Abdullah as the Prime Minister retained all residual powers. 

Pakistan rejected Maharaja’s accession and sent in regular troops, leading to a war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir which ended with a United Nations-negotiated ceasefire in January 1949.  

From May 1949 to October 1949, Sheikh Abdullah’s National Conference negotiated with the Indian government on the substance of Article 370. The article was one of the last provisions added to the Indian Constitution and due to its negotiated nature, it was one of the only articles in the Constitution which did not go through lengthy debate in the Constituent Assembly.  

Article 370 was included in Part XXI of the Indian constitution titled “Temporary and Transitional Provisions” (the 13th Amendment Act 1962 amended the title as the “Temporary, Transitional, and Special Provisions”).  

As legal expert A.G. Noorani notes in his book Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir,  370 allowed J&K to have its own constituent assembly and a constitution.  Second, till the framing of the Constitution, the central government would have power only over defence, foreign affairs, and communications in J&K.  Third, provisions of the Indian Constitution could be extended to J&K through a presidential order only with the concurrence of the state government and to be ratified by the constituent assembly once convened.  Fourth, once the constituent assembly was formed, the extension of provisions of Indian Constitution would require the concurrence of the Assembly. Finally, this article could not be amended or abrogated without the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State.  

Noorani describes Article 370 as a “solemn compact” between representatives of J&K in the Constituent Assembly and representatives from other parts of India. 

Afterlife: Misuse and Erosion

Right after the proclamation of the Indian Constitution in January 1950, the central government through a presidential order and with state government concurrence, extended certain provisions of the Indian Constitution to J&K.  The Constituent Assembly of J&K was convened in October 1951. This Assembly functioned between 1951 and 1956 and was dissolved thereafter. But once Sheikh Abdullah was arrested and his government illegally dismissed in 1953, the Constituent Assembly lost much of its legitimacy.  

More importantly, the Presidential Orders continued to extend the provisions of Indian Constitution into Kashmir even after 1956.  Noorani says 260 of the 395 articles of the Indian constitution and 94 of the 97 entries in the Union list were pushed through between 1955 and 1994. It is worth noting that the Indian state originally had control over only 3 subjects.

The afterlife of Article 370 is thus a story of its misuse,  and of the steady erosion of the autonomy of J&K and its special relationship with India. The Modi government’s action is a continuation of this trend. 

Why Article 370 Is Important

In a country which remains locked in the fears and exigencies of partition, what could be the grounds for supporting Article 370?  I lay out two possible positions.   

First, we need to recognise that different groups entered into the Indian Union on certain conditions. These terms were often debated inside and outside the Constituent Assembly and formed part of the Indian constitution.  

For instance, Dalits and Adivasis entered the Union with the promise of abolition of untouchability, reserved seats in legislatures and government employment, statutory commissions to protect their rights and so on.  Religious minorities entered the Union knowing that freedom of religion will be a fundamental right along with the right to protect and preserve their religious identity and to manage the affairs of their community.  

Likewise, the people of J&K entered the Union with Article 370 and the promise of regional autonomy.  None of these provisions should be abrogated without the express free consent of the groups involved. Such abrogation will be a violation of the compact.  This is not to suggest that the terms agreed in 1950 are sacrosanct and forever unalterable. They can be altered, but only with the consent of those for whom those provisions were made.  

Second, I would argue that Article 370 should be seen through the prism of possibility, rather than as a threat to the unity and integrity of India.  Rather than abrogating Article 370, a case can be made for its extension to other parts of India.  

In fact, if we look at Part 21 of the Indian Constitution we realise that Article 370 has already acted as a model through Article 371A, introduced in 1962 to make special provisions for Nagaland. The expansion of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution is another instance of principles of regional autonomy, similar to those in Article 370, being applied in North-Eastern states. Article 370 is the provision India needed for greater federalism and democratic decentralisation. To the rest of the world, it could have been the model for nurturing diversity within a democratic framework. 

The liberatory possibilities embedded in Article 370 suggest that the ramifications of the Modi government’s decisions may be felt far beyond Kashmir. Let us be clear about just what happened on August 5 2019: the government leveraged its brute majority to abrogate a constitutional provision which formed the very basis of a people’s participation in the Union. That this provision formed the basis for similar provisions to protect social groups like Dalits, Adivasis and religious minorities, suggests that some of India’s most vulnerable citizens and communities could be next in line. 

Jaby Mathew is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar based in Toronto. He is currently writing a book on the history of ideas of political representation in modern India.

Leaders cutting across party lines expressed shock at the sudden demise of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing her as a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and the poor. 

Swaraj passed away on Tuesday night suffering a massive cardiac arrest. She was 67. 

“A glorious chapter in Indian politics comes to an end. India grieves the demise of a remarkable leader who devoted her life to public service and bettering lives of the poor. Sushma Swaraj ji was one of her kind, who was a source of inspiration for crores of people,” Modi said in a series of tweets. He hailed her as a “prolific orator and outstanding parliamentarian” and said she was admired and revered across party lines.

“An excellent administrator, Sushma Ji set high standards in every ministry she handled. She played a key role in bettering India’s ties with various nations. As a minister we also saw her compassionate side, helping fellow Indians,” Modi said.

Expressing shock over the demise of Swaraj, President Kovind tweeted:

Vice President Naidu said Swaraj’s death was a huge loss to the country and a personal loss to him.

 Former president Pranab Mukherjee tweeted:

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described Swaraj as an extraordinary political leader, a gifted orator and an exceptional Parliamentarian and said she had friendships across party lines. 

Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said Swaraj was a great human being and will always be remembered.

Former union minister P Chidambaram said:

BJP working president JP Nadda said it is a sad incident for not only the BJP but for the entire country. “She inspired us, her last tweet tells us how she was involved in serving the nation in an emotional way,” he said

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said Swaraj despite being a politician, kept human sensibilities paramount.  “As an MP, Sushma ji set new paradigms in the country. She always kept the interests of the country foremost and gave it expression.  “I salute Sushma ji’s saintly memory. The shining sun of the India’s political horizon has set in the form of Sushma Swaraj,” he said. 

Home Minister Shah said she left an indelible mark in national politics. Describing her as a simple and rare politician, he said she was a strong voice of the BJP when it was in the opposition and left an indelible mark as a minister. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described Swaraj as an extremely valued colleague.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari said her passing away was a personal loss for him, the BJP and the country.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said:

BJP leader and former union minister Arun Jaitley said:

This afternoon, I was chatting to a friend on the phone when I heard the news that revered author Toni Morrison had died, aged 88.

The Morrison family confirmed “with profound sadness” that she passed away “following a short illness”. I fell silent, processing what I’d just read.

“Are you here?” my friend asked. I told her the news. 

“Shit,” she replied. “Toni Morrison is a legend! She actually cared about telling our stories, as black people”.

Morrison was unapologetically black and exemplified the notion that the black writer does not have to seek white validation in order to be relevant, in order to matter.

I’ll never forget reading an interview she did with The Guardian in 2015 where she said: “I’m writing for black people. In the same way that [Leo] Tolstoy was not writing for me, a 14-year-old coloured girl from Lorain, Ohio. I don’t have to apologise or consider myself limited because I don’t [write about white people] – which is not absolutely true, there are lots of white people in my books. The point is not having the white critic sit on your shoulder and approve it”.

Indeed, her work was a treasure trove deeply embedded in the experiences of black lives during a time when publishing did not champion diverse perspectives. The industry still has a long way to go, to be honest.

The author of eleven novels, she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993, having published her first novel, The Bluest Eye, in 1970.

Among her most famous works was the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel Beloved, which told the story of a female African-American slave who failed to kill her own baby. It was made into a film starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover in 1998 – I was six years old at the time and, though it was a box-office flop, I recall my mum often watching it on VHS. 

In 1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the first black woman to receive the honour. 

She was honoured by presidents too; in 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Bill Clinton once gave a speech about the author during the award ceremony for National Arts and Humanities. A highly decorated wordsmith, Morrison was feted far and wide.

And through her written works, divine example, and career as an editor herself, Morrison paved the way for many authors and writers. 

At Random House she gave visibility to emergent black writers such as Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, whose work featured in ‘Contemporary African Literature’ (1972). Morrison is also credited with helping to discover household names such as Angela Davis, Toni Cade Bambar and Henry Dumas. 

In 1974, she published ‘The Black Book’, an anthology of photographs, illustrations, essays, and other documents of black life in the United States from the time of slavery to the 1970s.

Morrison edited Muhammed Ali’s autobiography ‘The Greatest’ (1975) which documented the life and times of a sporting legend.  

Her dedication to writing, to chronicling black experiences, to shaking the table, inspired me no end. 

It let a black aspiring journalist from Brixton, south London, know that it was legitimate to pick up a pen and to be the change I wanted to see. This type of activism transcends fiction writing.

For me, Morrison exemplified the concept of ‘sending the elevator back down’, being a catalyst for change, not just for self – but also for those coming behind. For those who bear witness. For one and all.

And beyond the rich catalogue of published work, which has long-been adapted on to many school curriculums around the world (I studied Beloved for A-level English), Morrison was a black woman whose journey to global prominence had not been easy. Her very foundation was rooted in trauma and yet she soared to celestial heights. 

This is perhaps what inspires me about her the most – Morrison’s struggle and what that entailed. All that she endured and managed to overcome. Her voyage as a black woman and as a single mother was a lonely one which, as it happened, helped to cultivate her love affair with prose writing.

Morrison grew up in Ohio, against a backdrop of racism. Her family were poor. At one point, when her parents could no longer afford the rent, their landlord set fire to the house they lived in. 

At the time, she was just two years old but she said her parents laughed at this perversely cruel act. Later on in life, the author said said their response demonstrated how to maintain a sense of integrity and autonomy, even in the face of oppression. That’s one hell of a lesson.

In 1965, after her six-year marriage ended, she stopped lecturing at universities and moved to New York with her two children to begin work as an editor. This is a woman who rolled up her sleeves and provided for her family - while also doing what she loved on the side. 

“I had two small children in a small place,” she told the New York Times in 1979, “and I was very lonely. Writing was something for me to do in the evenings, after the children were asleep.”

To experience life is one thing. We are all here, doing just that. But to use your voice to share your observations with others and, ultimately leave this world in a more enlightened state than you found it in, is the ultimate gift. It is something that we should all aspire to.

Morrison did that and, for that, I thank her.

“We die,” Morrison said while accepting her Nobel Prize. “That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” 

The Delhi government on Wednesday declared a two-day mourning in the national capital as a mark of respect for senior BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who passed away on Tuesday.

Swaraj passed away at AIIMS, Delhi after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was 67.

Her mortal remains were taken to her Delhi residence.

Swaraj’s mortal remains will be kept from 12pm-3pm at the BJP headquarters on Wednesday for party workers and leaders to pay tributes, BJP working president JP Nadda said.

Her last rites will be performed at the Lodhi crematorium, he said.

Read: Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Other Political Leaders Pay Tribute To Sushma Swaraj

 Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said:

WASHINGTON — The reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter of India and it will have no impact on ties with other countries, a top Indian envoy has said.

The Indian Parliament on Tuesday approved a resolution abrogating special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and a bill for splitting the state into two Union territories ― Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

This reorganisation doesn’t affect either the international boundary or the Line of Control (LoC) and the move is aimed at good governance, Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla told a Washington audience on Tuesday.

He said the move is to ensure socioeconomic benefits that go to the people of India also go to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the disadvantaged sections of the population there.

“The reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories with their own council and legislature is an administrative decision. It’s a decision which seeks to ensure that we provide good governance,” Shringla said. 

Responding to a question at the Heritage Foundation think-tank, the envoy said the reorganisation of a state is not a new concept in India and Jammu and Kashmir is the twelveth to be reorganised.

“It’s something that doesn’t in anyway touch upon or affect the LoC, the international boundary and therefore, doesn’t have any impact on our relationship with any other state (country),” said Shringla while speaking on “Contemporary India: Foreign Policy, Development Strategy, and Regional Priorities for Modi 2.0”. 

“It’s an internal matter of India,” he said, adding that the idea of bifurcating the state into two Union territories is to ensure that developmental benefits go directly to the people.

In his first public appearance in Washington DC after the move of the Modi government, Shringla hoped that the reorganisation of the state would lead to its economic development and bring in more investment.

“We will see a great deal of change for the better. It would be greatly beneficial for the development of the state,” he said.

Almost exactly five years ago on August 6, 2014 Microsoft announced that the Xbox One would be exclusive to Amazon India. Pre-orders would begin from September 1 with a September 23, 2014 release date. To many in the industry, this seemed like a perplexing move when you consider a bulk of the Xbox 360’s sales were thanks to a massive offline retail presence.

Nonetheless, Microsoft was confident of its chances with then Xbox India head Anshu Mor claiming that the Indian audience for consoles was distinctly online. On paper, the logic seemed sound. After all, the likes of Xiaomi built an empire in India through online sales alone.

Fast forward to now, and it appears that the Xbox One is nowhere. There’s little to no visibility for the Xbox One S, One X, or even the ridiculous Xbox One S All Digital Edition outside of Flipkart and Amazon. Furthermore, it’s next to impossible to find most Xbox One games.

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India is, for all accounts and purposes, a one console country. So what happened? Naturally, we reached out to Microsoft India for comment and were met with silence, which has been somewhat of a recurring theme throughout the Xbox One’s lifecycle in the country.

Failing this, we’ve spoken to a host of retailers, distributors, and executives as well as sources familiar with Microsoft India’s plans, many of whom opted for anonymity fearing retribution, to piece together what occurred.

The Xbox 360’s India ‘success’

Before we get into the Xbox One’s presence (or lack thereof) in India, it’s important to elaborate on what Microsoft was entering into this generation with. The Xbox 360 fared decently. Despite Wikipedia’s claims of 250,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold during its lifespan in India, the common consensus amongst those in the business peg it at around 150,000 units sold from its launch in 2006 to 2013. This was in contrast to the PS3’s 350,000 units sold. Not too shabby for Microsoft’s first outing in the country — the original Xbox never made it here officially, but pretty poor when you consider the costs incurred.

“Before launching the Xbox 360 in India, the thinking was that if the country had a population of one billion, at least one percent would go ahead and buy an Xbox 360,” said one distributor. “It’s how Microsoft justified getting celebrities on board and a massive marketing multimillion dollar budget.”

The likes of Akshay Kumar and Yuvraj Singh as Xbox 360 brand ambassadors didn’t come cheap. Throw in a barrage of custom demo units for retail (around 1,200), plus out of home, online, and print ads aplenty, and it was obvious that Microsoft had broken the bank to get into the Indian living room. According to those close to the company, they never made their money back, writing off the Xbox 360 era in India as a net loss.

And while the Xbox 360 library had a stellar first-party line-up, most Indians were, at the end of the day, buying it for Kinect which was introduced late in its lifecycle or FIFA. To put it into perspective, games such as Gears of War 2 had a day one quantity of 1,600 units while yearly FIFA entries were almost double if not more. It’s something Microsoft themselves admitted in the run up to the Xbox One’s launch, FIFA and Kinect were its biggest drivers.

Xbox One India launch

Instead of concentrating on the audiences that helped the Xbox 360 remain competitive, Microsoft India thought it made sense to tackle another segment altogether — digital natives.

“We know our audience is natively digital,” said ex-Xbox India head Anshu Mor in an interview in August 2014 leading up to the Xbox One’s India launch. “They’re already talking, buying online, not opposed to placing orders online. They make all their decisions online. They might walk into a store and buy something but if it was online they’d be just as happy. They’re more digital than anyone else.”

To push this forward, the company partnered with Amazon India, hoping to get consumer insights that would help it drive sales forward.

“People are buying at offline stores, I have no idea who they are,” Mor explained during the Xbox One’s pre-launch phase. “I don’t know if they came back. My customer understanding is zero. Amazon through the sellers is doing the sales part of it, their insights and how they drive it is much higher and important.

“When was the last time you walked into a store where you had bought a particular game and someone tells you, ‘hey you bought a game, here’s another you might like since you bought that.’ Good stores might know their customers very well, but it’s important for us to tell customers in this category about the portfolio and what they like based on what they’re doing.”

With this thought process in mind, gone were expensive hoardings and TV commercials, Akshay Kumar and Yuvraj Singh were traded in for AIB — a comedy group, and an offline presence was swapped for bombarding Amazon India’s homepage.

Initial sales were strong with reports of 300 units sold during the pre-order phase itself. However it didn’t take long for it to be discounted with increasing frequency. Most notoriously, the Xbox One price was slashed by almost 20 percent from its MRP of 39,990 barely a month since launch during Amazon’s Diwali sales with free games and Amazon gift cards thrown in.

All in all, less than 1,500 Xbox One consoles were sold in the first four months and that too after rampant price cuts and offers. In comparison, the PS4 sold 4,500 in its first two weeks and continues to dominate the market. Right now, total lifetime to date Xbox One sales in India across all variants including the original Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox One S, and Xbox One S All Digital Edition is estimated to be close to 50,000 with the sum total of PS4 consoles in India across all versions being around 400,000.

Xbox One in India - what went wrong?

To begin with, the Xbox One India price of Rs. 39,990 was perceived to be exorbitant. Despite having the same price as the PS4 and shipping with a free game, most users didn’t see the value of buying an Xbox One officially.

For the same amount of money, the US got the Xbox One Assassin’s Creed bundle with Kinect, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Diablo 3, Kinect Rivals, Alien: Isolation ,and Dragon Age: Inquisition. The situation in the grey market wasn’t too far behind with the console going as low as Rs. 27,000 with a game.

Even when you factor in situations when Amazon discounted official stock by 20 percent, it was still around Rs. 5,000 more. This simply made it a bad deal for many. You’d think that restricting sale to a single retailer would allow for lower distribution costs and in turn result in a lower cost for end-users, this was not the case outside of panic discounting.

Furthermore, Microsoft overestimated the willingness of consumers to drop Rs. 40,000 on a device they haven’t tried out. Granted the Xbox One was available at events like Comic Con, but public demonstrations weren’t widespread for many to check out and consider purchasing. So much so that the company enlisted the help of the retailers and distributors they once shunned for Xbox One public demos in the hopes of pushing sales.

It didn’t help matters that Microsoft’s positioning of the Xbox One in India was at odds with what was being done internationally. During this period, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was trying to focus the Xbox One’s messaging around the games rather than Kinect with the likes of Sunset Overdrive, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Halo 5. Meanwhile the Xbox One in India was being pushed as video conferencing device to gamers instead of well, a device that could play games.

Speaking of games, the early years of the Xbox One in India were fraught with software prices that were far from competitive. Most first-party games at launch in India were poorly priced. Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5 were selling for Rs. 4,199 (around $69 then) with Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive having a Rs. 4,299 (almost $71 at the time) price tag. Even FIFA 15, which was to be the console’s saving grace had a then steep Rs. 4,000 ($66 then) price.

At a time when most third-party publishers stuck to a Rs. 3,499 price (around $58 then), it made the Xbox One’s exclusives seem expensive in comparison. It got worse with 2015 Xbox One exclusives like Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza 6, and Halo 5 having a Rs. 4,699 price (nearly $74 at the time) with Microsoft stating perplexingly that each game has its own individual price for India despite sporting a uniform $60 tag internationally.

Not just an India problem

In fact, Microsoft faced similar issues in neighbouring markets like China. The Xbox One was the first console brand to launch in the country with 100,000 units shipped to stores on day one, Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners tells us. Niko Partners is a firm that tracks the China and Asia games markets extensively.

The aggressive approach didn’t help due to a disc region lock which was later resolved and high pricing.

“Microsoft severely overpriced its console in China, with Sony able to undercut them by around RMB 1,000 at launch,” he says before stressing on the importance of hardware pricing in nascent console markets.

“Sales over the long term have not kept up with PS4 in the region, mainly due to the higher price of the console, a lower number of games on the market, and lack of overall support and marketing. Microsoft has used its ID@Xbox program to discover Chinese talent and bring those games to Xbox,” Ahmad says.

“Hardware pricing is the biggest barrier to entry in China and both Sony and Microsoft have introduced console bundles to increase the value of each purchase and reduce the overall cost to gamers. This strategy has been particularly successful thanks to the promotion of Chinese games within these bundles.”

While India has seen a steady trickle of bundles, sources in the supply chain say that outside the PUBG bundle released for the Xbox One S and Xbox One X, there’s been little demand for other offerings. As for ID@Xbox for Indian developers, besides Raji and Zenith, both of which were made in collaboration with international talent and had publishers that weren’t from India, Microsofts efforts in this department have been scant despite its executives teasing possibilities aplenty.

Xbox One India distribution - what happened next

From September 2015, Microsoft Priority Retailers were selling the Xbox One offline. Fourteen months after the September 23, 2014 Xbox One launch, Amazon India’s competitor, Flipkart, started selling Xbox One consoles as well. Four days later, India’s third biggest e-commerce platform, Snapdeal followed suit.

Wider distribution to other offline game stores finally happened in 2016, nearly two years after its official release. Interestingly, Microsoft never made an announcement regarding its foray into brick and mortar and only confirmed it after it was brought to their attention that several stores were selling the console with an official Microsoft sticker. Demo units were few and far between too.

Xbox One S and Xbox One X in India

What followed was a string of odd moves and radio silence from Microsoft on all things Xbox. This included making Quantum Break and the Xbox Elite Controller Flipkart exclusives at launch without telling consumers. There was silence regarding bringing Dead Rising 4 to India (fearing competition from Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was the rationale), and dropping a physical release for Sea of Thieves at launch altogether.

Much like the original Xbox One, the Xbox One S hit India long after its international release in October 2017 starting at Rs. 29,990 promising Scalebound which was well and truly cancelled by then. The response to the Xbox One S at the time was muted at best.

The Xbox One X fared a bit better with Microsoft deeming India fit to receive the souped up console two and a half months after its international release in February 2018. At a price of Rs. 44,990 it was the company’s most expensive console launch to date. However sales were brisk and the initial shipment of a hundred units sold out in the first week itself. Though any hopes of a turnaround were short lived. It was too late. There simply weren’t enough games to support it.

Xbox One games in India

By 2018, there were few Xbox One exclusives hitting the shelves physical or otherwise, and outside the biggest third-party releases, a slew of titles never made it to India officially. These include the aforementioned Dead Rising 4, Sonic Mania, Valkyria Chronicles 4 (though the complete version saw an India release), Metal Gear Survive, and even the upcoming Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is skipping retail in India.

While one could argue that these would be fringe titles for a console known for its shooters, Fortnite didn’t grace the Xbox One till June of this year. Before this, the only way you could play Fortnite Battle Royale in India without changing Microsoft Store regions is by buying the Fortnite Deep Freeze Bundle for Xbox One which has the game on disc. Post-apocalyptic shooter Metro Exodus saw a PS4-only release at retail, ignoring the Xbox One altogether.

“Every platform is important to us and that includes Xbox. The response has been good to popular third-party games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and so on,” claims Allwyn D’Souza, head of corporate communications for E-xpress Interactive, India’s largest games distributor, in an email to The Mako Reactor. He’s not wrong, popular third-party games remain popular regardless of the fortunes of the console they’re on. Though if you were looking for anything relatively niche and you own an Xbox One, you’re out of luck if the current spate of missing Xbox One releases are any indication.

Xbox Game Pass may make the Xbox One relevant in India

Amidst all this hubris, there seems to be one value proposition that could keep the Xbox One afloat in a country where Microsoft’s moves appeared confused for most part, the Xbox Game Pass. Several retailers speaking to The Mako Reactor have seen success selling the Xbox One S when bundled with Xbox Game Pass. It turns out the audiences enthralled by the offering is the same that gravitated towards Kinect during the Xbox 360 days, parents and kids.

“The Xbox One S with Game Pass has sold well for us,” says a Chennai-based retailer. “Parents like the fact that they don’t have to buy games for their kids, though they prefer not to use their credit card online after the subscription expires. They keep coming back asking if they could get Xbox Game Pass prepaid codes like we have for Xbox Live.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by store owners in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru making it seem like Microsoft has missed a trick by not working on in-store Xbox Game Pass prepaid codes akin to Xbox Live subscriptions.

Although most retailers feel their optimism is short-lived as Microsoft do not control the pricing of the Xbox One X or One S. Many have observed that they’re almost Rs. 10,000 cheaper online due to rampant discounting from Amazon and Flipkart making it impossible to compete.

“For the three months in a year that Microsoft is able to protect prices were the only three months I was able to sell Xbox One consoles,” says a store manager from Delhi. “Customers see the console and want to buy it, but when it’s cheaper online, they don’t bother. Or just go for a PS4. We stopped stocking Xbox. If someone wants it, we let them know we can’t sell lower than MRP, if they still want it, we order one from a sub-distributor and ship it to their address.”

When pressed further, most admitted that the minimum order requirement of at least 50 Xbox One S consoles per store is another hindrance.

The future of Xbox

With the present being a state of flux for the Xbox One in India, that hasn’t stopped it from gaining some momentum. Between initiatives like Xbox Game Pass, xCloud, and a yet to be revealed next-generation Xbox codenamed Project Scarlett, the future of Microsoft’s gaming efforts looks a little less murky.

“Consoles has embraced multiple business models this generation that previously weren’t possible on last gen,” says Ahmad. “We’ve also seen consumers embrace these models as they provide more value over a standard $60 game purchase. F2P with Fortnite, subscriptions with Game Pass and other models have helped grow the industry and we are using a higher revenue per user number this gen as console gamers spend spend more over the generation/lifecycle.”

Interestingly, while India is a one console market right now, Microsoft’s focus on technology may just even the odds.

“We think there is room for all three to succeed,” Ahmad says. “Microsoft is looking to reach a large audience on day one with its cloud service, reduce the barriers to playing games with sub subscriptions and Game Pass whilst also providing a high end experience on console for those who want it.”

“Cloud Gaming will enable billions to play HD console games on any device. It’s taken the PS4 almost seven years to reach 100 million whilst the Xbox One has yet to hit 50 million. With cloud gaming, any device can stream console games, which means both Sony and MS can have a potential audience of two billion from day one.”

The Mako Reactor is your one-stop destination for everything Japanese gaming in India. 

Vivo’s dominance in Indian brick-and-mortar shops has been well documented over the past few years, but off late, the brand has been eyeing the en vogue flash sales and online-first offerings…and the result is the Vivo Z1 Pro. With a competitive spec sheet, an attractive design and some cool features all topped off with an aggressive price point, the Z1 Pro checks the boxes for making a splash in the mid-range budget segment. The question is, does it give Xiaomi, Samsung and Realme a run for their money?

The Vivo Z1Pro is available in three variants—4GB+64GB, 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB—and in three colors, Sonic Black, Sonic Blue and Mirror Black. The device retails at Rs. 14,990, INR 16,990 and INR 17,990 on Flipkart and the vivo India E-store.

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Vivo Z1 Pro – Pros

Performance: The Vivo Z1 Pro claims an India first with its use of the recently announced Snapdragon 712 chipset, an iterative but performance boosted upgrade to the extremely capable Snapdragon 710 chip. Mated with either 4 or 6 GB of memory, the Z1 Pro is a snappy performer and it multitasks between heavy apps with elan.

Games like PUBG Mobile or Asphalt 9 ran smoothly at HD settings without any lags or frame drops, and the phone remains largely cool all the way through. Worth mentioning is the fact that the hardware-software integration seems to be on point, with the somewhat-bloatware-riddled FunTouch OS running buttery smooth on the hardware and one never really facing any sort of slowdown or lag in day-to-day usage. Gamers will appreciate the Game Cube mode, which blocks calls and amps up the haptic feedback for certain titles.

Battery: Take a power-sipping mid-range processor and pair it with a capacious 5,000mAh battery, and you have a phone that will not let you down even on the most demanding of days. The unit on the Z1 Pro lasts a day and then some, on my usually heavy testing load of Whatsapp notifications, email accounts, social media, Bluetooth streaming to the car stereo and the odd gaming session. The 18W fast charging lets you juice the Z1 Pro up from empty in a little over 2 hours 10 minutes, which is pretty respectable.

Software: The phone runs FunTouch OS 9.0 atop Android 9 Pie, and you’ll either love it or hate it, depending on your leanings towards the iOS-style app layout (no app drawer) and pull-up-from-bottom notification toggles.

It runs smoothly, but the sheer amount of bloatware by way of partner apps from Amazon, Dailyhunt and PhonePe, among others is bothersome, and the fact that some of these cannot be uninstalled is even more so. If you can look past that, the skin is peppered with some useful features like a driving mode for two-wheeler riders, a system wide dark mode and a one-handed mode.

Cameras: With the Z1 Pro, you get a 16MP f/1.78 main shooter, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor on the rear triple-camera setup and a 32MP selfie camera, plus a feature packed camera app that’s borderline daunting for first time users. Images shot from the device are excellent on color reproduction and serve up a lot of detail. The ultra-wide-angle reins in the fish-eye effect quite well, which gives you a lot of flexibility for cityscapes and group shots, and the selfie shooter is among the best around, although you might want to dial the beauty mode all the way down.

Video footage goes up all the way to 4K but its fairly mediocre and with the Z1 Pro lacking optical image stabilization, you have to work harder to keep the videos stable. Where the Z1 Pro falls behind in stills is low-light situations, with the pixel-binning techniques on the 48MP sensors giving the competition a significant edge.

Vivo Z1 Pro – Cons

Design: Vivo’s one-upped Samsung by lowering the price-point on a punch-hole display, a change that serves to differentiate the phone amongst the crowd of notches. The Sonic Blue variant we had has this lovely gradient that goes from sea green at the top to cobalt blue at the bottom, giving the Z1 Pro a jewel-tone finish that, while not subtle, is definitely eye-catching and unique.

That said, the bulging sides and bezels giving the phone a bulky look and feel in the hand, and it’s not one of the more comfortable phones to carry around. The inclusion of a headphone jack and a dedicated Google Assistant button is a good sign, but we’d have much preferred the more modern USB-C port instead of the ageing micro-USB port. With phones up and down the spectrum having made the move, the port choice just feels antiquated.

Display: On its own, the full-HD+ 6.53-inch IPS LCD on the Z1 Pro leaves little for complaint in terms of sharpness and brightness for everyday use. The competition in this segment has stepped up its game in the past year and compared to the gorgeous AMOLED panel on the M30 or the balanced LCD panel on the Redmi Note 7 Pro, the Z1 Pro’s display just isn’t as vivid, and feels a tad washed out at a level. Of course, some may prefer the Z1 Pro for opting for a punch-hole display instead of a notch, and kudos to Vivo for offering it at an altogether new price point.

LEH — Granting Ladakh the status of a Union Territory status has once again exposed sub-regional and religion fault lines in the hilly region of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The Shia-majority district of Kargil is a part of the Buddhist-populated Ladakh —  now a newly formed Union Territory — but culturally identifies with the Kashmir Valley regardless of the Shia-Sunni divide. About 52% of Ladakh’s population is Muslim. 

“It’s the murder of democracy and we want to be with the Kashmir region. How can a decision be taken about us without taking our consent! Does it happen in any democratic setup? It’s the worst kind of oppression and we are not going to take it lying down,” said Bakar Ali, one of the protesters.

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Former Kargil MLA Asgar Ali Karbali condemned the alteration in J&K’s status quo and said he loathed the Centre’s move, calling it unilateral. “It’s a black day in the history of India and Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, echoing Ali’s sentiments that they won’t accept this decision.

A complete bandh was observed in Kargil on Tuesday.

The call for bandh was given by the Joint Action Committee of Kargil. Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust, Kargil, one of the influential religious groups in the region, supported the shutdown.

All educational institutes and business establishments remained closed. A protest march was held and was addressed by different political parties. Leaders of the National Conference and the Congress raised slogans against Ladakh’s UT status and decried that it had been granted no legislature.

So close yet so far

Kargil hadn’t supported the 1989 agitation started by Leh Buddhist Association for the UT status. The movement had culminated in the formation of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh in 1995. It had sparked clashes between the two communities.

However, unlike Kashmir, Kargil has never seen any anti-India protest. Its people were the first to spot Pakistani intrusion in 1999 that turned into the Kargil war.

Making light of the voices of disapproval in Kargil, Ladakh MP Tsering Namgyal said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday that he got elected with the heavy support of the Kargil people despite the BJP manifesto promising the UT status to Ladakh.

Leh underwhelmed

The Buddhist-majority Leh district considers the UT status as the realisation of a long-awaited aspiration but witnessed only muted celebrations. There is apprehension that denying a legislature to Ladakh might have huge repercussions on the region’s identity.

“In 1949, the second president of Ladakh Buddhist Association, Tsewang Rigzin, had asked the then PM late Pandit Nehru to accord special status to Ladakh. Since then, we have been fighting for it and our people got martyred too. We have finally got out of the clutches of Kashmir,” said LBA president PT Kunzang.

On Kargil not supporting the decision, he said they can’t impose anything on anybody but in hindsight, people of Kargil will agree that this was the right decision. 

In Leh, the biggest concern right now is protecting its cultural identity and itself from economic onslaught. The people here feel this can be done only with legislative power, which they have been denied.

“It is not what we demanded. We always demanded UT with legislative power. We are a small community and have been zealously guarding it by not allowing outsiders to settle in. Now, the land is free. How will we compete with big economic giants? We need a regulating authority and that is possible only with legislative power,” ex-MLA Deldan Namgail said. 

(Author is Jammu-based journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroot reporters.) 

The Reserve Bank Of India has cut repo rate by 35 basis points to 5.40 percent and the reverse repo rate has fallen to 5.15 percent, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

RBI also revised GDP growth for 2019-20 downward to 6.9 percent from 7.0 percent.

This is RBI’s fourth straight repo rate cut and the last time the central bank made back-to-back cuts was after the 2008 global financial crisis, NDTV reports.

More details are awaited.

Gwyneth Paltrow and her producer husband of one year, Brad Falchuk, are consciously coupling their homes.

While reminiscing about her many InStyle magazine covers for the publication’s 25th anniversary September issue, the “Avengers: Endgame” actress told editor-in-chief Laura Brown that married life is going so well for the two of them that they’ve decided to take the next step and move in together. 

“Married life has been really good,” Paltrow said. “We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle, and now we’re moving in together this month.” 

“I adore my husband. He’s brilliant and deeply kind,” the actress gushed. “I feel like he’s a real equal too. And he pushes me in the best ways. I really like being married. It’s fun.”

The two, who tied the knot in September 2018 at a private ceremony in the Hamptons, previously shared that they didn’t live together, partially because of their kids. 

Paltrow has two children ― Apple and Moses Martin ― with ex-husband Chris Martin, while Falchuk also has two kids ― Isabella and Brody ― from his previous marriage to Suzanne Bukinik. 

The actress told the Sunday Times in June that Falchuk would spend three nights at his home in Brentwood with his kids and four at Paltrow’s place with her children.

“Oh, all my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal and we shouldn’t change a thing,” the 46-year-old said. 

But by the time the article came out, Falchuk’s house was listed on the market for $10 million, so it seemed like change was imminent. 

Their decision to take their time and see if moving in together was the right decision seems very mature of Paltrow and Falchuk.

After all, the actress said that her new partner feels like her first “adult relationship” ― no offense to exes Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck and Martin.

The literary world is mourning the loss of author Toni Morrison, who has died at the age of 88.

The Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning novelist was celebrated the world over for her books, including Beloved, Song Of Solomon and The Bluest Eye.

An Ode To Toni Morrison From A Black Journalist Who Dared To Dream Because She Did

She leaves behind an incredible legacy, and here we celebrate Toni with some of her most beautiful quotes that we’d all do well to live by. 

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Twitter apologized this week after admitting that it may have mistakenly shared user data with third parties and used data for personalized ads without first obtaining user permission. The company explained in a Tuesday blog post that the lapse had stemmed from issues with the platform’s settings. “We fixed these issues on August 5, 2019,” Twitter said.

According to the post, Twitter users who have clicked or viewed an ad on the platform’s mobile app since May 2018 may have had certain data — such as their country code and their engagement with the ad — shared with third-party measurement and advertising partners even if they hadn’t given consent to Twitter to share such information.

Twitter said that since September 2018, some users may have also been shown ads “based on inferences we made about the devices you use, even if you did not give us permission to do so.” That data stayed within Twitter, the company said, and “did not contain things like passwords, email accounts, etc.”

Twitter said it was still conducting an investigation into its “mistake” to determine which users were affected.

The company said users could check their settings to ensure everything was in order but said, besides that, “we don’t believe there is anything for you to do.” 

Twitter said it was taking steps to ensure that such a lapse would not happen again.

“You trust us to follow your choices and we failed here. We’re sorry this happened, and are taking steps to make sure we don’t make a mistake like this again,” the company said in the blog post.

Tech companies like Twitter and social media rival Facebook have faced increasing pressure in recent years to improve the ways they collect, use and share user data.

Last year, Twitter urged its more than 330 million users to change their passwords after the company discovered that a bug had caused user passwords to be stored unmasked in an internal log. In May, Twitter came under scrutiny again after saying it had inadvertently leaked iOS users’ location data to a third-party “trusted partner.”

The Franciscan Clarist Congregation under the Roman Catholic Church in Kerala has expelled a nun for publishing poems, buying a car and taking part in a protest against a rape-accused former bishop of Jalandhar diocese, PTI reported.

Ann Joseph, the Superior General of the congregation, issued a letter dated August 5, to Sister Lucy, saying she “did not show the needed remorse and you failed to give a satisfactory explanation for your lifestyle in violation of the proper law of the FCC”.

“You are hereby dismissed from the Franciscan Clarist Congregation,” Joseph said.

The “unanimous decision” to dismiss Kalappura was taken at the general council of the congregation held on May 11.

Sister Lucy, however, said, “There is no fault on my part. I will not move out from the convent and I will fight against this (dismissal) legally,” The NewsMinute quoted.

Sister Lucy, who belonged to the Mananthavady Diocese in Wayanad, had been given two letters prior to this, warning her for her “lifestyle” and for challenging the Church for cornering the survivor nun in the rape case against Franco Mulakkal.

She stood by what she says now, that she had not done anything wrong, but had been right.

In its notice issued to the nun early in January, the FCC had described as “grave violations” the nun possessing a driving licence, buying a car, taking a loan for it, publishing a book, spending money without the permission and knowledge of her superiors.

The provincial superior had denied permission to Sister Lucy to publish her collection of poems.

The sister had invited the wrath of the church leadership by participating in a street protest against rape-accused Franco Mullakal in Wayanad last year, staged by five nuns belonging to the Catholic religious order. 

NEW DELHI—Revoking the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir through Article 370 of the Indian Constitution will finish pro-India political parties in Kashmir and cause militancy to become stronger, said Nazir Ahmad Laway and Mir Mohammad Fayaz, both members of the Rajya Sabha from the People’s Democratic Party, in separate interviews with HuffPost India on Tuesday.

“This is a historic mistake. People will spit at us. How will we go back to them? Militancy will become stronger,” said a distraught Fayaz, sitting in his official residence in the national capital. “Article 370 acted as a bridge with the rest of India. It was supported by the pro-India elements in Kashmir. We told the people that a special arrangement has been created for us to remain in the Union of India. Now that relationship with India has been broken.”  

His party colleague in the upper House of Parliament, Laway, was equally distraught. “I don’t think anyone is going to remain in the mainstream. I don’t know whether mainstream politics will exist or not. Everyone will oppose this,” he said. 

If there is any chance of survival of ‘mainstream politics’—which is an expression used to signify pro-India politics in the Kashmir valley, where multiple competing political positions ranging from pro-Pakistan to pro-azaadi exist—then the political parties will talk to the people to convince them to stay with India, he added. “We are also people of the mainstream,” Laway emphasised. 

Jammu and Kashmir has been under President’s Rule since December, after the BJP-PDP coalition government, headed by Mehbooba Mufti, fell last June. The PDP was routed in the recent Lok Sabha election, with even Mufti losing from the party’s bastion of Anantnag due to factors including anger over the crackdown after Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani’s death, as well as the alliance with the right-wing BJP, which many Kashmiris had seen as a betrayal.  

On Tuesday, while the two PDP MPs spoke to HuffPost India, the Lok Sabha passed a resolution to abrogate the special status under Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir and cleared a bill to split the state into two union territories—one in Jammu and Kashmir with an elected assembly and another in Ladakh without elected members.  

The opposition parties were largely unable to counter the BJP’s shock move and arguments, with the Congress especially ending up looking even weaker. Its chief whip in the Rajya Sabha has quit the party, and senior leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia have publicly supported the abrogation of Article 370.

Laway, 50, explained why these measures will likely deal a huge blow to mainstream parties once the curfew is lifted. “For the past 30 years, it is the mainstream that has been fighting the militancy. Thousands of on-ground political workers have died doing so,” said Laway.

But now, he says, the situation will become more difficult for mainstream parties in J&K, he says. 

“Now when we go back to the Valley, political workers as well as those who lost their loved ones to the militancy will ask us questions and what will we answer them? We would tell people that this is our country and that our kids are being killed in the militancy. Today, we don’t know what has happened. With what face can we ask them to follow us? I think mainstream politics will be finished. People will make us answerable for this, I think. Overall status of mainstream politicians will not be good.”

Both Kashmir MPs briefly grabbed headlines on Monday for their aggressive protests in Parliament after Home Minister Amit Shah announced that Article 370 was being watered down. While Laway tore parts of the Constitution, Fayaz tore his own clothes in protest. This prompted Rajya Sabha chair Venkaiah Naidu to remove both from the upper house. 

Though problematic in form, their protests are among the few Kashmiri voices that have been reported so far in the public domain, apart from a few short statements from former Chief Ministers Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah. Mufti and Omar Abdullah continue to be under detention in their homes. 

Justifying his actions, Laway said, “It happened within seconds. When Shah saahab gave his statement, we were distressed about what was going on. So we had to protest. When we go back to Kashmir, people will ask what we were doing. From our end we tried to oppose. We are a regional party and we need to strongly resist, otherwise who will people look up to?”.

When asked what did tearing a copy of the Indian Constitution achieve, Laway said, “We are people of the mainstream. We believe in the Constitution. We did that under emotion. Tearing some pages does not weaken the Constitution, erosion of Article 370 and Article 35A weakens the Constitution. That is why we protested.” 

His colleague Fayaz countered the opinion that Ladakh had unilaterally supported the changes. “In Leh-Ladakh, people are supportive of this but in Kargil you will see what the reaction is in the forthcoming days. Today (Tuesday), for instance, there was a bandh,” he said. He also claimed that only a small section of the Kashmiri Pandits were supportive of this. 

When asked what his party will do next, Fayaz said they will challenge these changes in court but did not go into details.

It is not just political costs that are worrying both MPs, though. During separate interviews, both shared their worries about the well-being of their daughters. 

Laway, who has been in Delhi since the beginning of the parliament session, said, “I have not been able to speak with my daughter for the past three days. If a Member of Parliament cannot speak to his daughter, you can imagine what common people may be going through. I have been trying repeatedly for the past three days to reach my daughter. I am sure she may be trying to reach me as well.”

Fayaz said his daughters have taken admissions in schools in Delhi and, if he is forced to go back to Kashmir at this point, he is worried about their education. 

Laway used a metaphor to describe the events of the past one week in the way he understands them. “It is unfortunate that when someone has power, they misuse it. It’s but natural, human nature. Today, the BJP has the power of the 303 (Lok Sabha members). When I was young, we would be afraid of the .303 (gun). It’s easy for them to fire from their 303. Now that they have fired it, let’s see what happens,” he said.

Bollywood producers have been thronging the offices of various entertainment bodies like Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India and Indian Film TV Producers Council (IFTPC) in Mumbai in a bid to register titles relating to the recent abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP government.

A report in Mumbai Mirror says that over 50 titles have already been registered by producers since Monday, when the government announced its decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and split it into two Union Territories. 

Some of the titles registered by the association include Article 370, Article 35 A, Kashmir Mein Tiranga, Kashmir Hamara Hai and Dhara 370, besides several others. 

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Although the report didn’t mention the names of the production companies that have sought to register these titles, filmmakers such as Anand Pandit and Vijay Gelani have booked some of these names.

Given the recent success of nationalistic dramas such as Uri: A Surgical Strike, Bollywood’s move to cash in on popular sentiment isn’t surprising. 

Even after the Balakot strikes early this year, producers had rushed to register “patriotic” titles.

Pulwama, Surgical Strike 2.0, Balakot were just some of the titles that were promptly registered. Vikram Malhotra-led Abundantia Entertainment also booked How’s The Josh, a popular dialogue from Uri, as a title for a potential film.

“Films on such subjects pique the audience’s curiosity,” a trade analyst was quoted as saying.

To register a title, all a production house needs to do is fill a simple form, with 4-5 alternative titles in order of preference, and pay Rs 250, along with 18% GST. Often, those registering a certain title don’t even intend to go through with a film/web-series or a TV show. They register it so they can sell it off to a studio or a major producer who might have the financial infrastructure to actually make the film.

NEW DELHI — Slumping sales of cars and motorcycles are triggering massive job cuts in India’s auto sector, with many companies forced to shut down factories for days and axe shifts, multiple sources said.

The cull has been so extensive that one senior industry source told Reuters that initial estimates suggest that automakers, parts manufacturers and dealers have laid off about 350,000 workers since April.

Within this previously unreported figure, car and motorcycle makers have laid off 15,000 and component manufacturers 100,000, with the remaining job losses at dealers, many of which have closed, the industry source said.

Reuters was able to identify at least five companies that have recently cut or plan to cut hundreds of jobs, mainly from their temporary labour force.

The downturn — regarded by industry executives as the worst suffered by the Indian auto industry — is posing a big challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government as it begins its second term at a time when India’s jobless numbers are climbing. 

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To revive the sector, auto executives plan to demand tax cuts and easier access to financing for both dealers and consumers at a meeting with officials from India’s finance ministry scheduled for Wednesday, the senior industry source said.

The industry’s plight was highlighted by the Automotive Component Manufactures Association of India (ACMA), with the trade body’s director general, Vinnie Mehta, saying the sector was experiencing a “recessionary phase”.

SPREADING MALAISE

The malaise has been spreading across much of the industry, both in terms of vehicle type and components as well as geographically in India’s manufacturing hubs.

For example, Japanese motorcycle maker Yamaha Motor and auto components makers including France’s Valeo and Subros have laid off about 1,700 temporary workers in India after a slump in sales, sources told Reuters.

Subros, which is part-owned by Japan’s Denso Corp and Suzuki Motor Corp, has laid off 800 workers. Indian parts maker Vee Gee Kaushiko has cut 500 people while Yamaha and Valeo last month reduced their workforces by 200 each, said several sources aware of the cuts.

Meanwhile, automotive supplier Wheels India could cut its temporary workforce by as much as 800 and has started realigning its shifts, two of the sources said.

The layoffs come as carmakers including Honda Motor Co, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra have implemented brief suspensions to production in recent weeks in the face of slow demand, separate sources said.

The auto sector, which contributes more than 7% of India’s GDP, is facing one of its worst downturns.

Passenger vehicle sales have dropped for nine straight months through July, with some automakers suffering year-on-year declines of more than 30 percent in recent months.

Manpower is the only variable factor for companies and more workers will face the axe, said ACMA’s Mehta.

Yamaha, Subros, Vee Gee Kaushiko and Wheels India did not respond to requests for comment.

Valeo India said it is realigning for changing conditions and has trimmed its temporary workforce.

HUGE FALLOUT

The fallout from the auto slump could be huge. The sector employs more than 35 million people directly and indirectly, accounting for nearly half of India’s manufacturing output.

India’s jobless rate rose to 7.51% in July 2019 from 5.66% a year earlier, according to private data group CMIE. The CMIE data is more up-to-date than government figures and regarded in financial markets as more credible. 

At least 7% of temporary workers employed by 15 automakers in India have lost their jobs in recent months, said Vishnu Mathur, director general at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

“It is a conservative estimate based on our initial analysis,” he said.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest carmaker, cut its temporary workforce by 6% over the past six months, Reuters reported on Friday.

There is little sign of a revival.

Tata Motors has had week-long shutdowns at four of its plants in the past two weeks, while Mahindra has said it had 5-13 days without production at various plants between April and June.

A statement from Tata Motors said it has aligned production with demand and adjusted the shifts and temporary workers.

Honda has stopped production of some car models at its plant in the northwestern state of Rajasthan since July 16 and is halting manufacturing entirely at its second plant in Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi for 15 days from July 26, two sources said.

The company’s Indian business said that production management will be critical throughout the year and it is seeking to avoid stock build-up.