India News
The Role Of The Cold War In Indira Gandhi’s Emergency

~By Saeed Naqvi
Indira Gandhi declared the emergency in 1975, plonk in the middle of the most intense phase of the cold war. Détente was going so badly for the Americans that stand up comedians in Washington were comparing it to a wife swapping party “from where you return alone.”
After the Vietnam debacle, Washington was going to exert every muscle not to allow Moscow to build upon the strategic asset it had created for itself in New Delhi during the 1971 Bangladesh war.
In fact, the Congress split of 1969 was itself an advantage for Moscow. Mrs. Gandhi had discarded the conservative, pro capital big wigs, more comfortable with Congress stalwarts like Morarji Desai whom she had defeated in the Parliamentary party contest to become Prime Minister in 1966.
Not only was a former card carrying communist (from Eton and Oxford too), Mohan Kumaramangalam part author of the split, he had worked out an arrangement with the General Secretary of the CPI, S.A. Dange described as a policy of “Unite and Struggle”. We shall, said Dange, unite with the Congress’s progressive policies but “struggle” against its “anti people” deviations.
This was a pronounced leftward lurch and it was going to be resisted by a coalition of the Right, both internal and external. Indeed, as early as 1967, within a year of her coming to power, Mrs. Gandhi was given notice: she lost elections in eight states to parties of the opposition. This groundswell would obviously suit the purposes of the Congress old guard discarded by Mrs. Gandhi.
The most succinct observation on Mrs. Gandhi’s ideological leanings came from the correspondent of the Times London, Peter Hazelhurst: “She is a little to the Left of self interest.”
Her ideological inconsistency becomes apparent if one reverts to her earliest days in 1959 as President of the Congress. She dismissed the world’s first communist government which had come to power through the ballot box in Kerala. That she took American help to unsettle Kerala to justify the state government’s dismissal was revealed by US ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker in an oral interview kept in the Columbia University archives. Whatever doubts there might have been about the Bunker revelations, were cleared later by Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan in his memoirs.
During her Prime Ministership in 1976, the Congress party raised a storm against the US having installed a nuclear device on Nanda Devi peak to spy on China. The controversy had many twists. A joint CIA and Intelligence Bureau effort to install the device in 1965 (Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister then) had failed because of bad weather. Worse, two plutonium laden capsules had been lost. According to the Intelligence estimates the plutonium was enough for half a Hiroshima bomb.
Read More: Indira Gandhi changed democracy into dictatorship: Arun Jaitley
In the course of an interview, Chester Bowles, US ambassador during Indira Gandhi’s first innings, took my breath away. He couldn’t understand Congress protest. “After all Indira had asked me to complete in 1966 the project which had been aborted in 1965.”
Well, this is how the Congress’s attitude towards the super powers varied from time to time. But for the West the spectacle of Mrs. Gandhi and Dange in a warm embrace was alarming because of the context. The West had taken a series of knocks – Vietnam, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Nicaragua were all communist. Additionally Communist leaders Enrico Berlinguer, Georges Marchais, Santiago Carrillo in Italy, France and Spain respectively were a headache for the West. Given this state of play, India was too priceless a trophy to be easily lost to Moscow’s sphere of influence.
The obstacle in the way of a counteroffensive was Mrs. Gandhi’s personality. She had evolved into a charismatic and, therefore, invincible leader. Proprietor of the Indian Express, Ramnath Goenka and Nanaji Deshmukh, fell into deep thought.
The Indian mind reveres renunciation. It occurred to the head hunters that once a top ranking Socialist leader, Jayaprakash Narayan had renounced political power. He was keeping himself busy with Gandhiji’s ashrams and such unlikely causes as Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan or Land Gift movement. JP agreed to lead the movement provided it remained peaceful.
The youth were in agitation across the globe against the excesses of the Vietnam War – Grosvenor Square, London, barricades in Paris, police shooting down of students at the Kent state university in Ohio, US. Soon thereafter the Navnirman Andolan, youth agitation in Gujarat erupted on a seemingly flimsy issue of hostel fees. After visiting Gujarat, JP was prevailed upon to launch a similar movement against corruption and bad governance in Bihar. It was a tepid agenda livened up only by the media dedicated to the task of keeping up the pressure on New Delhi, boosting notions of a “total revolution” one day, asking police and the bureaucracy not to obey “bad” orders another, and so on. The immediate target of the “movement” was a hapless Chief Minister, Abdul Ghafoor, quite bewildered by his own eminence. Why was he in the eye of a storm? He had sunken cheeks and a drooping frame, draped in a much worn Sherwani. By way of hospitality for visiting scribes, he would fetch a bottle of old smuggler Scotch whisky from his wardrobe full of smudged clothes which were clearly waiting for laundry. He was a simple man, not a plausible enough crook to invite a national movement for his ouster.
JP, who had invited me to stay in his house in Patna’s Kadam Kuan, listened to my stories even about the CM with a kindly smile. He was a trusting man and totally non judgemental about the wide range of political interests who had clambered onto his movement.
The movement was carried mostly by RSS cadres, with a sprinkling of socialists, Gandhians and Congress (O), mostly those who had been shown the door by Mrs. Gandhi in 1969. This exactly was the rough outline of the group which morphed into a coalition in the course of the movement. The coalition came to power in 1977 as the Janata Party.
Supposing the Allahabad High Court had not disqualified Mrs. Gandhi, how would events have shaped? If Sanjay Gandhi, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Muhammad Yunus and others had not forced her hand on the Emergency, how would the Mrs. Gandhi-JP standoff have concluded?
India News
Bengal man, 60, arrested for raping pet dog for 2 years
A bizarre and revolting incident has come to the fore from West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, wherein a 60-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his pet dog repeatedly for nearly two years.

A bizarre and revolting incident has come to the fore from West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, wherein a 60-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his pet dog repeatedly for nearly two years.
According to reports, the accused, Ratikant Sardar, was arrested after a video of the sickening act, was shot by his neighbours and shared on social media. The video went viral online and the man’s disgusting act, was noticed by authorities leading to his arrest on Thursday evening.
As per a report by India Today, Sardar was caught on film by some neighbors during the sickening act. They said the accused, who was naked and drunk, was having sexual intercourse with his dog as the beast howled.
Quoting locals who requested anonymity, the report said that Sardar had been raping his pet dog at his home in Chouhati Payarabagan area of Sonarpur police station of South 24 Parganas for nearly two years.
The neighbours said they repeatedly asked him not to indulge in such an unnatural act and release the dog but he refused and continued to act upon his disgraceful fetish, adding that they had no other way but to film him during the act and share it online to expose his repulsive fetish.
Luckily, an animal welfare body came across the video of Sardar’s abominable act on social media and filed a written complaint against under Section 377 and 11 of the Animal Cruelty Act at the Sonarpur Police Station.
Kolkata Animal Welfare Foundation Founder Sandeepan Mukherjee said the video was shot nearly a year ago by some locals but they weren’t aware of any animal protection laws and failed to report Sardar’s repulsive act to the authorities, adding that the locals had repeatedly urged him to stop such behavior but he did not budge.
The accused, reportedly, also lured female stray dogs from the street and raped them with impunity for years.
Based on the complaint filed by the animal welfare group, an FIR under section 377 (voluntarily having carnal intercourse against the order of nature) was registered against the accused, who was later arrested after initial investigation and will be produced today before a court in Baruipur.
The report said that the dog was rescued and sent to veterinary hospital on Thursday evening where doctors confirmed sexual abuse. The victimized beast is currently housed at an animal treatment center in Sonarpur and is under observation.
Rapido vs autos: Another Bengaluru auto driver harasses Rapido biker, passenger
India News
Rapido vs autos: Another Bengaluru auto driver harasses Rapido biker, passenger
A Rapido biker, along with a woman passenger, was harassed by an autorickshaw driver in Bengaluru on March 31, Friday.

A Rapido biker, along with a woman passenger, was harassed by an autorickshaw driver in Bengaluru on March 31, Friday.
The incident was reported by the woman passenger, Abirami, on Instagram who informed that an auto driver stopped the Rapido bike she was travelling on and harassed both the motorist and her near Hayes Road while she was on her way to work.
In her Instagram post, she wrote that the incident took place at around 10:30 and alleged that the auto driver also forced the caption to uninstall the Rapido application, took off his helmet, and left.
The auto driver in question also used expletives for the Rapido rider and her.
Sharing her trauma on Instagram, Abirami tagged Bengaluru City Police and Rapido App and urged for strict action against such incidents in the city.
Have a look at the post:
This is not the first time when an auto driver harassed a Rapido motorist. The tiff between the auto drivers and Rapido bikes in Bengaluru city is in the news for quite some time.
Earlier, a Rapido biker hailing from North East was harassed by an auto driver in Indiranagar’s Bengaluru. The video of the incident widely circulated on social media wherein the auto driver stopped the Rapido biker when he was about to leave after dropping his woman passenger and took off the key of his bike and snatched the helmet and stopped him from leaving.
Another incident took place near Indira Nagar Metro Station in Bengaluru wherein an auto driver stopped the Rapido driver and smashed his mobile phone. In the viral video, the auto driver was also seen yelling about their business being affected because of Rapido motorists.
Indira Nagar police station took cognizance of the incident and promised strict action against the auto driver.
Watch the viral video here:
In January 2023, the Bombay High Court asked Rapido to suspend its bike-taxi services immediately in Maharashtra in connection with the illegal plying of bike taxis in the state.
The company which gained popularity in metro cities due to its cheaper rates failed to submit proof of its legal operations in court. Rapido agreed to shit its services and asked the Maharashtra government to grant it a license to operate two-wheeler bike taxis in the state. However, the request was dismissed.
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Education
Bihar Board 10th result 2023: BSEB Matric result out now, check merit list here
The credentials required to check results are roll number and roll code.

The Bihar School Examination Board on Friday declared the Bihar Board 10th result 2023. Students who appeared in the examinations can check their results on the official site of BSEB, results.biharboardonine.com.
The credentials required to check results are roll number and roll code. The result will show the marks secured by the candidates and the topper list will be out shortly.
Reports said an overall pass percentage this year is 81.04 per cent. As many as 16 lakh students appeared for the Bihar Matric examination, out of which 14 lakh candidates passed the exam.
Read Also: Indore Police books temple president, secretary after stepwell roof collapse that killed 35
Bihar Board 10th result 2023 Merit List
How to check Bihar Board 10th result 2023?
- Step 1: Go to the official website of BSEB, biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in
- Step 2: Click on the link that reads Download BSEB Matric 10th Result 2023.
- Step 3: Fill in your login credentials like roll codes and roll numbers given on the BSEB Class 10 Matric admit card.
- Step 4: Submit the details.
- Step 5: Results will appear on your screen.
- Step 6: Download the mark sheet.
How to check Bihar Board 10th result 2023 via SMS?
- Step 1: Type BIHAR10 ROLL-NUMBER
- Step 2: Send the SMS to 56263
List of websites to check Bihar Board 10th result 2023
- biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in
- results.biharboardonline.com
- interbseb.com
The Bihar Board 10th examination was conducted from February 14 to February 22, 2023, in two shifts across the state at multiple exam centres.
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