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By:

Kiran D. Tare

21 August 2024 at 11:23:13 am

Bengal’s Ludwig Erhard

For decades, Swapan Dasgupta made a career of diagnosing India’s political ailments. As a columnist, editor, author and public intellectual, the erudite and scintillating Dasgupta dissected challenged orthodoxies and defended the intellectual traditions of the Indian Right. However, following his new appointment as the new Finance Minister of a West Bengal in economic doldrums, he perhaps faces the most demanding assignment of his career. His supporters however are confident that if there is...

Bengal’s Ludwig Erhard

For decades, Swapan Dasgupta made a career of diagnosing India’s political ailments. As a columnist, editor, author and public intellectual, the erudite and scintillating Dasgupta dissected challenged orthodoxies and defended the intellectual traditions of the Indian Right. However, following his new appointment as the new Finance Minister of a West Bengal in economic doldrums, he perhaps faces the most demanding assignment of his career. His supporters however are confident that if there is anyone most suited to sort out Bengal’s messy economy, it is Dasgupta. His appointment following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ascent to power in Bengal after overthrowing Mamata Banerjee’s TMC regime is among the more intriguing political transitions in recent Indian political memory. India has seen journalists cross into politics before. M.J. Akbar moved from the newsroom to the Ministry of External Affairs. Arun Shourie, one of India’s most formidable investigative journalists, became a reform-minded minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. Others, from Manish Sisodia to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi and Chandan Mitra, have made similar journeys. Yet Dasgupta’s case is distinctive. Unlike many journalists-turned-politicians, he was never merely a ‘reporter.’ Whether in debate or through his prolific and trenchant writings, he has always been an intellectual combatant, a scholar of political ideas with a sweeping knowledge of world history by which he leavens those ideas. Dasgupta has always been one of the most articulate exponents of modern Indian conservatism. Educated at La Martiniere College in Kolkata, St Stephen’s College in Delhi and later the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where he earned a doctorate, Dasgupta cultivated a reputation for formidable scholarship. His books, including Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right and The Ayodhya Reference, revealed an uncommon ability to place contemporary political disputes within a broader historical and ideological framework. For his supporters, he was among the few intellectuals capable of articulating conservative ideas in a language usually dominated by the Left. To critics, he was a sophisticated polemicist. Yet, even his opponents seldom questioned the breadth of his reading or the sharpness of his arguments. However, the challenge facing Dasgupta now is no longer intellectual but administrative. The Bengal he inherits bears little resemblance to the state that once led India in industry, commerce and scientific innovation. As he himself quipped in trademark fashion with a sharp historical analogy, the state’s economy resembled postwar Germany. The figures are sobering. West Bengal’s state debt has ballooned to around Rs. 8 lakh crore during the TMC regime. Thousands of companies have relocated or curtailed operations over the years amid a hostile investment climate. The new BJP government has inherited not merely a fiscal challenge but a crisis of confidence. “We are left with a near-bankrupt treasury,” Dasgupta said. Equally troubling, in his view, is the erosion of trust among investors and entrepreneurs. Bengal’s relationship with business has been uneasy to say the least. First the long night of the Left, followed by the TMC’s anti-business, appeasement brand of politics has ensured that the scars of industrial disputes and land controversies remain fresh. In this dire situation, reviving private investment will require convincing businesses that Bengal has changed. In this respect, Dasgupta’s strengths may prove unexpectedly useful. Throughout his career he displayed an ability to engage with ideas, institutions and stakeholders across ideological divides. His early moves hint at a broader vision. Rather than confining pre-budget consultations to Kolkata, Dasgupta shifted the Finance Department’s attention to Siliguri in a moved suffused with deliberate symbolism. North Bengal has long complained of neglect by governments centred on the state’s southern districts. By engaging tea producers, agricultural interests, tourism operators and local business groups, the newly-minted finance minister appears eager to demonstrate that economic revival will not just be a Kolkata-centric project. That said, debt servicing consumes a substantial portion of state revenues. Welfare commitments are politically difficult to unwind and infrastructure deficits remain significant. While public intellectuals excel at identifying problems, governing demands compromises and the acceptance of imperfect solutions. Still, Bengal’s new finance minister possesses as fine an appreciation of history than any Indian politician around. He knows that states decline not just because economic mistakes but because they lose faith in their future. Restoring that confidence may be the central task of his tenure. For years Swapan Dasgupta chronicled India’s political story from the sidelines. Now he finds himself at the centre of one of its most consequential state-level experiments. Whatever the outcome of his tenure, few would deny that Bengal’s finances have acquired perhaps their most learned custodian in decades.

BJP demands ‘Bulldozer Justice’ as accused arrested

Stands accused of recording and circulating objectionable photographs and videos of over 180 minor girls

AI generated image
AI generated image

Mumbai: The BJP has demanded that the illegal residence of the accused in the Paratwada case, Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed be razed even as the police arrested the 19-year-old man on Monday.


A massive social media exploitation scandal rocked Paratwada in Amravati district following the arrest of Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed. He was arrested for allegedly recording and circulating objectionable photographs and videos of over 180 girls. Most of the victims identified in the case are minors. The police have invoked a stringent combination of laws to prosecute the accused on multiple fronts. These include sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act along with Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act.


The investigation reveals a calculated pattern of exploitation that spanned nearly a year. Investigators state that Ayan Ahmed systematically befriended the girls to gain their trust. He then recorded inappropriate visuals without their knowledge or consent. These files were subsequently circulated online with the specific intent to defame the victims. This widespread distribution has caused severe mental distress and potentially permanent damage to the social reputations of the girls involved. The police initially received inputs about the explicit content on April 11.


Offences’ Gravity

The legal framework applied to this case reflects the gravity of the offenses. Section 8 of the POCSO Act addresses sexual assault and carries a rigorous imprisonment term of three to five years. Section 12 of the same act penalizes sexual harassment, which specifically includes the recording of images for pornographic purposes. Furthermore, Section 67A of the IT Act provides for a five-year prison term and a fine of 10 lakh rupees for transmitting sexually explicit content. By using these laws together, law enforcement aims to punish the violation of minor safety, the general circulation of obscene media, and the specific cybercrimes committed through social networks.


The political fallout from the incident has been immediate and intense. BJP leader Shivray Kulkarni has been vocal in demanding "bulldozer justice" for the victims. He has publicly called for the district administration to raze the illegal residence of the accused. Kulkarni also alleged that Ayan Ahmed is a member of the AIMIM party. He further suggested that the investigation may reveal a larger syndicate involving ten to twelve other individuals. The BJP has also demanded strict action against certain hotels that were allegedly used during the commission of these crimes.


Families of the victims remain in a state of utter shock as the scale of the exploitation becomes clear. Kulkarni stated that he has met with several affected families to assure them that the strictest possible legal action will be pursued. Public sentiment in Paratwada has turned aggressive with many residents echoing the demand for immediate and visible retribution against the accused. While the 19-year-old remains in custody, the police are continuing their technical investigation to identify any accomplices and to ensure all explicit material is removed from digital platforms.

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