THE ELECTION SEASON is upon us again, and the signs are everywhere. As I write this letter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Kochi to kick off the National Democratic Alliance’s campaign in Kerala. He is bound for Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, for another set of meetings in this whistle-stop tour of poll-bound states.
Your favourite newsmagazine is starting its election coverage in Kerala. This issue comes to you with interviews of Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan, CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby and BJP State President Rajeev Chandrasekhar—all by Senior Correspondent Nirmal Jovial.
The exclusive article, however, is Shashi Tharoor MP’s take on his dreams for Kerala. In his typical style, Tharoor blends perspectives on yesterday and today to offer us a glimpse of how he would like God’s Own Country to be tomorrow.
“We have created a highly educated populace but have failed to build an economy that can employ them,” Tharoor says, and I agree. Kerala is a model state across parameters, but all growth reaches a point where a vision that goes beyond the basics is needed. Kerala is at that point, and whoever is elected will have to visualise that future and deliver it.
Sometimes the future is not in our hands, and the best example is the LPG shortage we are facing. The war in Iran is not something India wanted, and New Delhi does not profit from it. But we all have started paying for it. My deepest concern is for working men and women living far from home, and for students in hostels.
We can only hope that all stakeholders in the Middle East theatre see that there is profit in peace. After all, it is about money at the end of the day. The rest is camouflage, I believe. Our comprehensive offering on the Iran conflict comes from Resident Editor R. Prasannan, Senior Assistant Editor K. Sunil Thomas and three guest writers—Commodore R.S. Vasan (retd), Colonel Rajeev Agarwal (retd) and Seyed Hadi Sajedi from the University of Tehran.
While shipping lanes far from home are being choked and waters in our backyard have become the graveyard of the IRIS Dena, THE WEEK spent some time brainstorming about India’s maritime strategy. THE WEEK-GRSE Sagar Sankalp Conclave in Kolkata deliberated on the theme, Reclaiming India’s Maritime Glory. The host was Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, led by chairman and managing director Commodore P.R. Hari (retd).
I am grateful to the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for inaugurating the conclave. My thanks are also due to Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur for gracing the event and sharing his vision for the Indian shipping industry. Chief Subeditor Jose George brings you the details of the conclave.
In this issue, Union Minister for Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan presents his views on VB-G RAM G. The scheme goes beyond employment assurance, he says.
In @leisure, Deputy News Editor Navin J. Antony brings a dash of music through his review of U2’s latest album, Days of Ash. Navin’s verdict is that the Irish band’s six-track collection offers “a direct commentary on the tragedies of the Trump era”.
As I mentioned last time, the CEAT Beyond the Scoreboard video episodes are being released every weekend on YouTube. This week’s episode is on the untold side of umpiring. The guest is Nitin Menon, a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires since 2020.
Chief Subeditor Anirudh Madhavan brings you a quick tasting from the episode and touches on a raw nerve—Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal by Jason Gillespie in Brisbane in 2003.
Umpire Steve Bucknor misread the high delivery and lifted his finger. He now regrets it. But will fans forgive him? It is a hard life under the lights and away from it. And that is what the CEAT BTS series is about.