MUMBAI CHIEF OF BUREAU Dnyanesh Jathar writes that the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra will be like no other. “Maharashtra is going to witness a unique election this time,” he writes. “The traditional alliances—Congress-NCP on one side and Shiv Sena-BJP on the other—having been changed, the results would not just decide who rules the state but also which faction of the Shiv Sena and the NCP has been accepted by the people.” And that is why the state is on the cover this time.
In his interview with THE WEEK, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde highlighted the schemes he is banking on, especially “Maharashtra’s first direct benefit transfer scheme, the Ladki Bahin Yojana”. Shinde said that he was quite confident of a comeback by the ruling alliance.
Last week, I wrote about THE WEEK Health Summit, which was held successfully at The Ashok in Delhi. Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Singh Patel inaugurated the event. There is an elaborate section on the best of the summit in this issue. I know some of you found time to be there and I was hoping to meet you, but sadly I had to stay away for personal reasons. Next time, for sure. My sincere thanks to the minister for making time to be with us.
On November 5, we are hosting THE WEEK Maritime Summit in Chennai. If you are in town and would like to attend, please let us know. Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal will deliver the keynote address, and Minister of State Shantanu Thakur will deliver the valedictory address.
From the host state, Minister of Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu will felicitate the gathering. The galaxy of speakers include T.K. Ramachandran, secretary, ministry of ports, shipping and waterways; former chief of naval staff Admiral Karambir Singh; Sunil Paliwal, chairman, Chennai Port Authority; Unmesh S. Wagh, chairman, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority.
May I add a special word of welcome to the diplomatic representatives attending—Michaela Küchler, consul general of Germany; and Richard Chen, director general, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center.
This week is more than the coverage of the Health Summit and the Maharashtra polls, dear reader. This week’s untold story is about Mata Ni Pachedi, an art form that has been alive in the Chitara community in Gujarat for a few centuries. Senior Correspondent Reya Mehrotra reports on how an art form that was born out of exclusion now has a Geographical Indication tag. Today, there are two variants of the sacred cloth—the more affordable block-printed version and the highly prized hand-painted one.
Another article I loved in this issue is Senior Assistant Editor Soni Mishra’s take on Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and the incoming Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna. She opens with an interesting reference to Justice Khanna’s uncle, the legendary Justice H.R. Khanna, reminding THE WEEK’s readers about his stance in the ADM Jabalpur case of 1976.
The case and Justice Khanna’s position and how it links Justices Y.V. Chandrachud and D.Y. Chandrachud and H.R. Khanna and Sanjiv Khanna are beautifully brought out by Soni. Let me not spoil it for you, dear reader. Please do look at Page 16.