Who’ll Let the Girls In?
Currently there is a debate within the governing body of the Doon School as to whether to make the school co-educational or not. Furious letters and WhatsApp messages are being exchanged between the alumni, the headmaster and the school’s governing body, arguing both for and against the motion. However, there seems to be an unwritten code of conduct at play, that this is an internal matter to be decided within and not debated outside. Interestingly in 2007, when Mani Shankar Aiyar had addressed the school’s founders’ day as its chief guest, he had argued in favour of it going co-ed instead of remaining a “uni-sexual Victorian relic”. However, when asked by the media to comment on the current debate, Aiyar declined saying he would abide by the school’s code of conduct. Well, that’s another one for the school—for Aiyar’s alma mater has been able to achieve what successive Congress presidents could not.
The new BJP chief
The suspense is building but there is an expectation that the new BJP chief to replace J.P. Nadda (who is on an extension) will be announced soon after the Prime Minister’s meeting with the RSS top brass in Nagpur early next week. There are optics at play as both the BJP and the RSS are keen to send an all is well message—especially post the 2024 results. Hence it is expected that the new nominee would be someone who is acceptable to both the Sangh and the Prime Minister. Having said that, if this is to be the dominant factor then the candidature of Union Cabinet Minister M.L. Khattar fits the bill more than the others. Of course, there can be other factors at play such as the gender card or the regional factor, especially if the BJP wants to send a reassuring message to the South. But a decision is expected soon.
The Southern Discomfort
The South has expressed a sense of discomfort with the BJP-led Central government over a couple of its announcements. The first being the New Education Policy that is being viewed as an attempt to bring in Hindi through the backdoor. The second red flag being delimitation, which is being viewed as a move to cut its influence in Central politics by disproportionately increasing the number of seats in the North. At a conclave hosted by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister recently, one of the suggestions that was mooted was that instead of increasing the number of parliamentary seats, the number of MLA seats and other local governance bodies could be increased. This would serve the ostensible purpose of delimitation, which is to provide a greater connect between the people and their representation without meddling with the numbers in the Lok Sabha. But then won’t that disproportionately increase the seats in the Rajya Sabha? These are grave issues with no easy answers. But the South does have a point when it claims that it is being punished for performance. What the southern MPs are also banking on is the fact that even if the census is done in 2026 there could be other issues that will delay its implementation such as the demand for a caste census and adequate representation for SC, STs and OBCs. Hence, in India’s diversity lies some hope for the Southern states.
BJP’s Kerala Poster Boy
The appointment of former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as the BJP’s new Kerala unit chief seems to have sent the right optics within the party faithful. Rajeev appeals to the middle class and the aspirational youth, he talks tech and development and a narrative of bringing more jobs to the state. His experience in the corporate sector brings bench strength to his promises. Plus he is also seen as a bridge between the warring factions of the state BJP unit. As an aside, one wonders if his first task will be to admit Shashi Tharoor to the BJP.