| | | Good morning! | | | | One When I was growing up in Chennai, one of my friends at the music school I went to was named Armstrong (first name). I also knew someone named Livingston (first name). One of my classmates was named Lenin. Over the years, I encountered a few people named Bose, Kennedy, Nehru, and Gandhi (all first names). I learnt later that their parents were believers in the Dravidian movement, and hence rationalists (some were atheists too). Both atheism and rationalism are foundational tenets of the movement, which was anti-caste, especially anti-Brahmin, pro-science, and focused on gender and social justice. I use the past tense because some things have changed over the years, even as some haven’t. But more on that anon. We’re talking about the Dravidian movement — and I am not appalled by the complete lack of knowledge about the movement and its founder Periyar on display across TV channels; they have two things going against them, the natural shallowness of the medium and the widespread ignorance of all things south of the Vindhyas among most journalists writing or speaking about national politics – because of a comment by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu minister (and the Tamil Nadu chief minister’s son) Udhayanidhi Stalin on “eradicating Sanatana dharma”. As Hindustan Times pointed out in an editorial, “It doesn’t matter how one defines Sanatana dharma — the deeper spiritual essence or the more mundane ritualistic aspect — because the DMK, as indeed all Dravidian parties, are opposed to both (and to any other definition).” This has been a constant (and probably explains why the other main Dravidian party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been conspicuous by its silence), although Stalin Jr’s comments could well signal a harder turn towards its core by the DMK. Over time, the Dravidian parties have neglected some of the movement’s tenets. Indeed, even “after well over five decades of rule by either one of the two main Dravidian parties, Tamil Nadu is not a casteless society (although it has achieved more in the realm of social justice than many other states)”, the same editorial added. “And over time, the emphasis on both atheism and rationalism in both parties has eroded — to such an extent that, at one time or the other, both the Dravidian parties have had no compunctions about partnering with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and to such an extent that many of today’s Dravidian leaders (and their families) have adopted highly ritualised religious practices of the sort that Periyar vehemently opposed. It is also important to note that while Tamil Nadu’s social indicators are among the best in the country on account of welfare measures instituted by the two parties, the state’s politics is not immune to the malaises that afflict politics across India - structural corruption and nepotism.” I am not convinced a harder turn will necessarily help the DMK — other backward classes in the state have seen significant economic and social progress over the past five decades, and an anti-caste call may lack the magnetic pull it once held. I am also not convinced if it will hurt the DMK — I do not know the political dynamics of the state as well as I once did, but a politician as astute as Edappadi Palaniswami of the AIADMK would have reacted by now if there were any chance of it doing so. But it does put the DMK’s stablemates in the INDIA grouping in a bit of a spot — and in no small measure because the BJP will (as it already has) paint Stalin Jr’s attack as one aimed at Hinduism itself, and also because of the party’s success in consolidating the Hindu vote, which means that even to many OBCs, the Hindu identity is far stronger than any anti-upper caste sentiment that may have once existed. If anything, it can be argued that even among OBCs, there is resentment among the dominant castes that have benefited the most from reservation — the rationale for the BJP to set up the Rohini Commission, whose findings have finally been submitted to the government. | | Two If it was simultaneous elections last week, it was India being renamed Bharat this week (although both names are valid and used interchangeably depending on the language). But the reference to both the President of India and the Prime Minister of India as the President of Bharat and the Prime Minister of Bharat in official invitations and notices in English set off speculation that such a move may be in the offing, and was perhaps the reason for the special session of Parliament that starts September 18 (also the day, 74 years ago, when the Constituent Assembly adopted Article 1 that refers to the country as India that is Bharat). I’d like to think that someone in government is enjoying themselves at the sight of opposition parties, analysts, and journalists scrambling to get up to speed with the history of elections in India one week, and the name of the country the next — despite there being no official word on what is likely to be discussed during the special session. Names are important to the extent of what they stand for as brands — and whether a change may erode some of the equity and goodwill built over years. Beyond that, what one does with a name is more important than the name itself. And so, I’m more interested in the country’s economic, social and scientific progress in the future, and the extent to which this is fair and inclusive, than I am in whether this happens under the India brand or the Bharat one. | | Three The G20 leaders’ Summit starts in Delhi today. It comes at a time when there are deep divisions in the world over the Ukraine War, China’s expansionist tendencies, and the climate crisis. That makes the process of arriving at a joint communique extremely difficult, but as Hindustan Times pointed out in an editorial, “there are substantive achievements in the offing that India can take pride in. The long-delayed agenda of the reform of multilateral development banks has assumed unprecedented momentum. India’s incredible digital public infrastructure is today emerging as a global template. From regulation of crypto assets to managing the debt crisis that has engulfed parts of the world, India has intervened in favour of the weak. And by incorporating the voices of the global south, India has made this presidency not just about itself, but also about those who are not on the high table ….” These are all significant achievements — and on substantial issues. | | Four  I’ve been saying this since last year, but it merits repetition — 2022 and 2023 will be remembered as the years that were the tipping point for the climate. Both have seen an unusual number of extreme weather events, proved that existing climate models are wholly inadequate to understand the pace of climate change, and provided a glimpse of the toll the climate crisis will take. Even if one was to ignore reports of extreme weather events — such as the current wildfires in some parts of the US and Europe, and the floods in some other parts of Europe — and focus on data, the news isn’t good. According to the Copernicus Institute, August 2023 was the hottest August ever (and the second hottest month ever, after July 2023, which was also the hottest July ever). June 2023 was the hottest June ever, which makes June-August 2023, the hottest summer ever recorded on Earth. In India, August 2023 was the hottest and driest ever. And September is off to a bad start — it’s been hot and dry in most parts of the country (perhaps with the exception of Himachal Pradesh where insidious meat-eating residents have ostensibly ruined the weather and the topography). That the climate crisis will change everything was made evident by some of the matches at the US open earlier this week. As a report in Hindustan Times put it: “It’s so hot and humid in New York that players have reached boiling point at the US Open. Matches in its second week, meant to be a show of tennis skills, have turned into a test of heat tolerance and physical endurance.” It went on to explain why. “Temperatures have routinely crossed 32.2°C (90 degrees Fahrenheit), and humidity, exceeded 50%, in New York this week as the city experiences a heatwave. The high humidity immediately takes the so-called feels-like temperature to 35°C, but the on-court temperatures are likely even higher. The conditions, termed ‘brutal’ by 2021 champion Medvedev, compelled the tournament organisers to enforce a heat policy from Tuesday until Sunday’s final.” And while it has been some time coming, it always was, as evident in an AP study cited by HT: “A 2023 study by Associated Press showed that maximum temperatures in the four Grand Slams collectively have risen by approximately 2.8°C (nearly 5°F) since 1988. Australian Open, the season-opening Slam in the summer Down Under, had the highest average spike (over 3.33°C or 6°F) in the period while the US Open (average rise 1.67°C; or 3°F) remained the hottest of the Slams in any given year.” | | Five  Thanks to a colleague who lugged it across oceans, I have been listening to a June 1973 concert of the Dead, a boxset of which (8 LPs no less) was released this June. Is The Grateful Dead - RFK Stadium, Washington DC, June 10, 1973 the band’s best concert? Perhaps not. I’d rate several higher (not Cornell as everyone does, but the previous year’s Europe 72 concert in Wembley Empire Pool (April, 8, 1972; a five-LP set was released last year for sure). The big difference between the two is Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, the Dead’s organist who died in March 1973. But RFK Stadium still manages to hold its own. The 1970s saw the Dead at their peak (the band audibly slowed down in most concerts in the 1980s, though they did have some good days); and one set features Butch Trucks and Dickey Betts from The Allman Brothers Band, who sort of opened for the Dead in this concert. The recording, by Owsley Stanley, is honest (in that it is concert-like the way most live albums are not), but so was Betty Cantor’s Wembley recording (both Stanley and Cantor are legends, at least among Deadheads). This is a long concert (and an equally long recording), but I was sorry when it ended. And I haven’t heard a better version of either Eyes of The World and He’s Gone ever. They’re two of the three longest songs in the setlist (no prizes for guessing the third), so you know why jam bands still account for a chunk of my listening. | | | | Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? 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