STARS OF THE FUTURE
Ringing out the old and ringing in the new has its pitfalls and promises. As 2014 segues into 2015 in the national capital, some of the triumphs and tragedies of Delhi’s men and women will be headlines in the chronicles of its history and some will just be footnotes. Some would change Delhi’s mindscape with progressive politics, spectacular art, music and theatre. Some failed in fulfilling promises or betrayed their destiny. There are bureaucrats who will make a difference in cleaning India, doctors who explore new horizons of compassion, and writers and artists who make the firmament of the coming year bright with epiphanies. And there are politicians whose greed and opportunistic ambition brought them low, babus who misused their power and yielded to corruption, artists whose creative juices dried up, but clung to past laurels and sportsmen who relived the glory of days past. Yet, in this collage of heroes and fallen angels, the shadows of disappointments and deceptions are erased by the gilded future that awaits us all.
Kailash Satyarthi
Children’s Guardian Angel
Because he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding work on eradicating child labour and giving India’s 4.98 million child workers hope and a new life. The soft-spoken, low-key, 60-year-old activist is passionate about children’s rights and founded the Bachpan Bachao Andolan in 1980, which works to free children from bondage. Driven by Satyarthi, NGOs and union activists not just in India but also abroad are fighting to uplift the conditions of more than 83,000 children living in near-slavery in 144 countries. The Global March Against Child Labour he organised in 1998 across 103 countries inspired the creation of the International Labour Organization convention to combat the worst forms of child labour. The former electrical engineer’s efforts against child trafficking and exploitation forced the organisation to adopt Convention No.182, which is now the guiding principle for governments across the globe regarding children’s rights. The Andolan’s members comprise over 80,000 people and 750 child rights organisations. Satyarthi’s consumer awareness campaign in Europe and the US had effectively appealed to the conscience of citizens to avoid buying carpets made by child labourers. Satyarthi is a canny tactician in carrying out his mission—lobbying with politicians, approaching the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission to enforce child rights laws. To “wipe away the blot of human slavery”, he has led pre-dawn swoops on factories which employ children. He has faced numerous death threats and kidnap attempts, and two of his colleagues were murdered. Once he was severely injured while carrying out a raid on a factory in Rajasthan. But he continues his mission to free children without fear from the child trafficking mafia.
Arvinder Singh Lovely
Congress’s Delhi Hope
Because the young MLA from Gandhi Nagar, who has proved to be a formidable street fighter, is the new face of the Congress party when Delhi goes to polls this year. His biggest challenge would be uniting the warring factions within the state unit, which is demoralised after its washout in the 2013 Assembly polls. He will, therefore, have a big say in choosing the party candidates for the elections. Lovely is expected to bring in more new faces by following the Rahul Gandhi principle; he is seen as the Delhi Congressman closest to the party vice-president. Lovely is pushing for a candidate list of which two-thirds are newcomers. At the recently concluded function at the Talkatora Stadium to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lovely was seen speaking only to Rahul Gandhi and no other national leader. His strategy would be to woo Muslims away from the Aam Aadmi Party, playing on the conversion fears of minorities after the saffron ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign.
Satish Upadhyay
Surprise Satrap
Because he is the likely frontrunner for the Delhi chief minister’s post if the BJP wins the Delhi Assembly polls predicted to be held soon. Insiders say he will fight from the Malviya Nagar seat, from where he won as a councillor in 2012, and will have an important say in choosing candidates. A rejig at the organisational level is possible, say party sources. Since he was the first municipal councillor who was instrumental in the installation of CCTV cameras in markets and making mid-day meal kitchens of the SDMC deliver, the 52-year-old member of the Sangh shakha in Chanakyapuri and former vice-president of the ABVP will make a safer and crime-free Delhi a priority. Upadhyay’s appointment as Delhi BJP chief was one of Rajnath Singh’s last decisions as outgoing party president, hence it would not be difficult for Upadhyay, as Delhi CM, to coordinate with the home ministry for greater security cover for the capital.
S N Sahai
Lord of the Land
Because the principal secretary (revenue) and divisional commissioner of the Delhi administration is the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign in the capital’s bureaucracy.
Life has come full circle for Sahai who served in the Land and Revenue Department for six years as a young officer and is now heading the department for the last two months. Sahai’s prime focus is to successfully implement the ambitious Swachh Bharat project in Delhi. For Sahai, cleanliness begins at home for which he has sensitised all deputy commissioners and sub-registrar offices. He has also asked the deputy commissioners to conduct a cleanliness audit of the city. Under the project, his team members have to remove illegal parking lots and encroachment from roads and pavements. “Our priority is to make Delhi a better place in terms of cleanliness and other basic amenities,” he says.
For transparency in governance, the principal secretary (revenue) is now expediting the Centre’s National Land Records Modernisation Programme which aims to modernise management of land records, minimise scope of land and property disputes, enhance transparency in the land records maintenance system, and facilitate moving eventually towards guaranteed conclusive titles to immovable properties.
In order to avoid any controversy relating to land records, Sahai has asked his officials to verify the land records data, including mutations, and digitise maps and integration of textual and spatial data with ground-zero, on a war-footing note.
Sahai is known as a bureaucrat with diverse experience having served in the PMO during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime. He has also held important positions as CMD of the Delhi Transport Corporation, Transport Commissioner of Delhi and Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor in the past.
He was earlier tasked with the job of solving Delhi’s traffic chaos that is choking the capital’s roads. Often credited for expediting projects and taking strong decisions on policy matters, the 1986-batch AGMUT cadre officer was on Central deputation at the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) for five years before joining the city administration. He had vociferously supported the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system but had criticised the Sheila Dikshit government for clearing the BRT corridor stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand without conducting a detailed study. While he was the Managing Director of DIMTS, he carried out a detailed study on 14 BRT corridors and gave in-principle approval to construction of seven of them. Sahai has also prepared a note on mono rail for Delhi.
Deepak Mishra
Knight in Khaki Armour
Because as the Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), he is known to be the fastest cop in Delhi who acts on crimes against women within the quickest possible time. The 1984-batch IPS officer arrested two criminals who raped a five-year-old in a matter of days and oversaw the mission to trace the Uber cab rapist. Known as the Cleanup Man of the Delhi Police, he has suspended more than 250 Station House Officers (SHO) for graft. He is on a drive to sweep corruption in the promotion and transfers of lower rank officers. The supercop is working on a zero tolerance policy towards crimes against women and has directed all SHOs to register FIRs ad verbatim according to the woman’s complaint. After this, Delhi women have been coming forward to lodge complaints. He is behind the move initiating the police force to work with various NGOs to help women in distress. Security of women working in BPOs are a priority with Mishra: at his instance, drivers are being photographed to maintain a database and marshals have been put on board vans carrying BPO employees at night.
M C Misra
Doctor Do-a-Lot
Because the 61-year-old director of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, is a leading surgeon who is creating global partnerships to make low-cost health devices. His spectacular achievement was turning the AIIMS Trauma Centre, which he took over in 2006, into a model of care for emergency services in India. He has made AIIMS patient-friendly, initiated the computerisation of patient records, simplified admissions procedures and cut down on the waiting time for surgeries. He is behind the partnership drive to engage with IIT-Delhi to develop low-cost healthcare devices such as stents and the driving force behind the ‘Stanford India Bio-design’ project in synergy with foreign universities like the University of Michigan of the US, Monash University of Australia and Osaka University, Japan. The Japanese collaboration was announced through a joint communiqué issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe, during Modi’s Japan visit in October. Dr Misra said that both India and Japan would exchange expert teams of engineers and doctors to identify priority clinical needs to develop low-cost surgical devices. It is also an attempt to bring closer academia and industry. More such deals are in the offing.
Balram GarG
Gem of a Brand
Because his jewellery brand PC Jeweller is working on three collections for the coming year that might change the way women perceive jewellery. “But you’ll have to wait for it,” says Balram Garg, its Managing Director. In the recently launched Flexia collection, every piece can be worn in different ways. All one needs to do is detach and re-attach a few parts. So, a necklace can turn into a bracelet or a maangtika. The man, who successfully created a niche for his brand, has never shied away from new ideas. “We are proud that we are the unofficial wedding jewellery brand of India. But we also want to diversify and offer young professionals something special, both offline and online,” Garg says. While he humbly refuses to take any credit for PC Jeweller’s success, it is he who steered the company forward in just nine years. The brand grew from a single showroom setup in Karol Bagh to 48 stores across 39 cities of India. “There is constant interaction between different departments as customer feedback trickles down from our stores to the manufacturing unit,” Garg explains. While he oversees every stage of creativity himself, he mentors his team too. “I want to create a brand with a strong signature and my team is with me in it,” says Garg. While he’s created an expansion roadmap on a pan-India level, he has no plans to go global as of now, unlike many of his contemporaries. While others associate themselves with a celebrity face, PC Jeweller steers clear of it. “We do not believe in celebrity endorsements. I think our customers are enlightened enough to make intelligent choices on their own,” Garg says.
ZorAwar Kalra
Man of Tastes with Twists
Because the coming year will see the restaurateur join the ranks of Indian food gurus taking Indian cuisine to the world. He is opening Masala Library and Farzi Café in Dubai. “We have signed on the dotted line and are now scouting around for the right place,” says Kalra. But this is not the only thing that is keeping him busy. The restaurateur is ideating on creating a pan-Asian restaurant where the cuisine will have an Indian twist. It won’t turn out to be another Chunjabi (Chinese+Punjabi) venture, he promises. It is difficult to guess what is cooking inside Kalra’s head until he brings it to the table. “When I get up in the morning, I have many thoughts simmering inside me. I have to channelise my energy into focusing on things that needs my immediate attention,” Kalra says. He is a food genius who loves to surprise people with unique concepts. Massive Restaurant opened doors to three home-grown eateries—Made in Punjab, Masala Library and Farzi Café—within two years of starting operations in December 2012. He plans to use modern techniques (molecular gastronomy might be just one of them) to bring together foreign and Indian culinary sensibilities. “My aim is to explore the flexibility of Indian food and see how it fuses with other cuisines,” he says. It looks like he is on a personal crusade to make Indian gastronomy hip, beyond butter chicken and daal makhni. “It’s easy to take all the credit, but my success is because of my hard-working and talented team,” says Kalra. The only credit he would like to take is of ingraining passion for food in every team member. “I have an army of clones,” he laughs. Food for thought, indeed.
Saleem Qureshi
The Kebab Badshah
Because the brain behind a 24-hour Mughlai kitchen and the one who introduced Delhiites to real kebabs through his chain of 10 restaurants, Saleem’s, plans to make the brand pan-Indian next year. Qureshi’s story is one of love, emotion, drama and triumph—no less than a Bollywood film that his children, actors Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem, could be a part of. It is a tale of a little boy from a Chirag Dilli village who would cycle 50 km just to have his favourite food and went on to become the owner of one of the most celebrated Mughlai restaurants in Delhi. He started with serving kebabs in a little shop beside the butcher shop he inherited from his father, earning just around `10-20 a day but a lot of appreciation, until his father got wind of it. “He was disappointed as his idea of a restaurant was washing dishes,” recalls the 60-year-old. He took to emotional persuasion, nudging his mother to convince Qureshi senior to let him do what he loved—serving people. It was 1977. Thirty-seven years later, his patrons can’t get enough of whatever he serves. What’s the secret? “I have a thumb rule. Meat is the badshah (king), cook is the vazir (minister) and spice is ghulam (slave). I can judge good meat from a mile away,” he laughs. If someone has the right niyat (intention) to serve people, recipes become unforgettable, he says. The day one of his friends told him that his kebabs are famous even in London, he knew his recipes will live forever. As his three sons work passionately to take Saleem’s to every corner of the country, he is now playing the role of a mentor.
Kapish Mehra
The Book Maven
Because the managing director of one of the largest publishing houses in India, Rupa Publications, is set to launch a business and management imprint, Maven, in 2015 that already boasts of a formidable frontlist. “We will be publishing Suhel Seth’s Mantras for Success: India’s Greatest CEOs Tell You How to Win, a book by G K Jairam who was the first chairman of Infosys, another by Naina Lal Kidwai, and Ronnie Screwala’s inspirational autobiography Dream With Your Eyes Wide Open under Maven,” says Mehra. 2014 started with APJ Abdul Kalam’s Governance for Growth in India, followed by Natwar Singh’s One Life is Not Enough, the no-holds-barred account of former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai, Not Just an Accountant, Chetan Bhagat’s megaseller Half Girlfriend, and ended with President Pranab Mukherjee’s memoir The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years. “We sold 60,000 copies of Vinod Rai’s book in just three months, 90,000 copies of One Life is Not Enough in six months and two million copies of Half Girlfriend in two-and-a-half months,” shares Mehra. “It was an interesting year for us certainly not only because of the number of bestsellers we brought out, but also because we used innovative marketing strategies to promote these books,” adds Mehra. “For Natwar Singh’s book, we had one online partner, for Chetan Bhagat a front-page advertisment in all editions of a leading national daily,” he says. Expect more bestsellers this year.
Dhruv Kapoor
The Style Equalizer
Because the designer has created fashion that goes beyond gender. A rare sight unfolded at Kapoor’s fashion show at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014. A male model walked in wearing a silk top that looked like a bustier teamed with trousers with front pockets while another wore a pillar dress. Even as the audience gasped, female models sashayed down the ramp in androgynous jackets, zippered down short jumpsuits, fusion saris and skirt back trousers. The gender-bending collection was created with charcoal-toned fabrics like crepe, georgette, cotton sateen, silk, flat chiffon and twill. But neither was it the first time when the Delhi-based designer broke a few moulds, nor will it be the last. At least his next year’s plan says so. Breaking free from two seasonal lines, he is working on four to five capsule collections. He plans to launch it not only on ramp but on various online platforms and through multimedia collaborations as well. “There’s a limitation to fashion shows as it’s hard to translate an entire vision into a few designs,” says the 27-year-old. He hates to put
design, art or even people into set genres or boxes. “All I’m trying to show is that it isn’t necessary to categorise designs into menswear or womenswear,” Kapoor explains.
Neha Kirpal
Pioneer of the Palette
Because her brainchild, the India Art Fair, is moving into its seventh edition. Kirpal had wanted to give India an art fair and art a willing audience. It was on a flight back from London when Kirpal scribbled a business plan on a sick bag before formally putting to use her experience of 10 years in creative industries marketing and event management to come up with the first edition of the India Art Fair in 2008. Her preparation-packed calendar begins well into an Art Fair and plans for the next. The seventh edition promises to bring increased diversity. “The fair presents a balanced range of contemporary, modern and classical art, engaging an increasingly broad audience. There is something for everyone and that is what is needed.” The fair’s sixth edition wrapped in the beginning of 2014, witnessing 96 per cent exhibitors recording strong sales. The fair reported 90 per cent sales for first-time exhibitors, including new galleries from Tel Aviv, Karachi, Paris, Cologne, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Istanbul. Kirpal says, “As more international fairs representing emerging markets are established, the desire for collectors is not necessarily to follow the same artists and galleries around the globe, but to engage at a deeper level with each region. This is the approach that India Art Fair is embracing.” The Indian collectors based in India and abroad witnessed a significant increase in sales. For the forthcoming edition to be held in Delhi in January 2015, the Artistic Projects, an extensive programme spanning the outdoor and indoor fair space, will present a massive installation work by French artist Daniel Buren. Atul Bhalla will bring an interactive work, a walkthrough maze of turnstiles, and Chitra Ganesh and Dhruvi Acharya will create a collaborative painting on site which will unfold over four days from a blank canvas to the finished composition. Francesco Clemente’s tent installation is expected to be a dramatic work of art.
Anasuya Vaidya
Taking Centre Stage
Because the director of Akshara Theatre has created a new young audience and space for avant garde theatre, and encourages young actors. She introduces fresh scripts and has staged new plays without corporate sponsors or government grants. The interactive plays and scripts at Akshara Theatre are developed both on and off the stage after workshops are held with both young and seasoned actors, and by incorporating audience feedback. This year, Vaidya’s father, well-known actor, theatre director, filmmaker and writer Gopal Sharman, explored the themes of spirituality, love and eroticism in two new powerful plays, Gandhi’s Freedom and Ritusamhara. Three years ago, The Ramayana, mother Jalabala’s world-renowned solo play, saw a generational shift with Vaidya’s daughter Nisa Shetty playing the role of Sita in a multi-cast version. “We will specially focus on The Ramayana next year as it will be the 45th year of the play, music, literature, poetry, plays and films,” she adds. Vaidya will continue Akshara’s Diksha Training Programme in Indian Classicism and include original new works in Hindi as part of a repertoire of plays starting with Tedhi Kheer, a political satire which will be performed around the time of the Delhi elections, and Anita Aur Rakesh based on the life and love of Mohan Rakesh and Anita Rakesh, which Kanika Aurora is writing for them.
Latika Thukral
Gurgaon’s Green Warrior
Because the co-founder of ‘iamgurgaon’, a citizen initiative aimed at improving the quality of living in Gurgaon, led the charge to clean up the city’s biodiversity park, and is taking it to the next level in 2015 with an awareness campaign among residents on the benefits of planting native species of trees in their areas instead of non-native and ornamental species. Once a wasteland, the 600-acre Aravalli Bio-Diversity Park bordering Gurgaon is a flourishing green stretch today frequented by cyclists and morning walkers. This amazing turnover was the result of a tree plantation drive led by several NGOs, citizen groups and the city administration. Also on her to-do list is segregation and reduction of garbage by converting it into bio-fuel for which ‘iamgurgaon’ will be partnering with RWAs and developers. The former banker, who won a prestigious environment award this year, is also part of the team that started Raahgiri Day in Gurgaon last November. She says they are fully engaged towards expanding its footprint across the country. “Raahgiri is now virtually a national movement,” says Thukral of the initiative that carves out a community space every Sunday with people reclaiming the streets to walk, jog, cycle, skate or simply soak in the sun. “Now it has moved to Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Indore and Chandigarh. This shows how people want to bring about change,” says the 48-year-old.
Divya Deswal
Keeping it Natural
Because this Noida-based birth doula and hypnobirthing practitioner has facilitated over 100 women through water birth in the last seven years, and will come out with her first book—that deals with human bond and response to situations, and making a distinction between being in charge and being in control—next year. Water and support, according to Deswal, is a relational field where a doula tends to a mother’s need for comfort, safety and privacy, even as a team of gynaecologists and medical assistants are present for any assistance at birth or emergency as the situation demands. “We are always ready for last-minute changes,” says the childbirth educator. She wants to clear a few misnomers about water child birth. “A lot of couples come to me thinking that it’s a special technique in which a doctor or a doula does ‘something’ magical that makes the pain vanish,” says Deswal, who works with Phoenix Hospital and Dr Urvashi Sehgal, who offers specialised attention to a woman choosing to take up water childbirth. But she doesn’t restrict herself to anything. Deswal helps couples who have chosen other doctors and hospitals that are open to water birth. “I feel I am more welcomed in hospitals than before,” she says. Deswal also offers childbirth preparation classes to the expectant mother, her partner and support person. Each class is two hours long, once a week, and spread over six weeks.
FLOPS OF THE YEAR
Najeeb Jung
Status Quo Boss
Because under the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, there has been serious governance deficit. To combat blackouts during scalding summer, Jung didn’t direct Delhi Transco Ltd to expand transmission capacity. He failed to contain the severe water shortage, though the Centre allotted `711 crore to provide piped water for 50 unauthorised colonies and sewerage system for 90. Under him, Delhi recorded 1,245 robberies, 517 murders, 585 cases of attempt to murder. The L-G had set a deadline of March 2015 to regularise 902 unauthorised colonies but no files have moved. Little work has been done on sanctioned hospital projects worth `940 crore. He announced the setting up of three new homes for mentally challenged children after finding that 906 kids were staying in accommodation meant for 350, but nothing has happened to-date. There is a shortage of around 17,000 teachers and schools are running with the help of contract teachers. The MCD announced recruitment of 2,000 teachers; however, 15,000 vacancies remain. The exclusive helpline number for women is under-staffed. He directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to take action against polluting units discharging untreated toxic waste into the Yamuna, but most of them are still functioning. The L-G’s initiative to ensure the abatement of pollution in the Yamuna has failed except for an announcement to start water treatment lants at Pappankalan, Nilothi, Yamuna Vihar and Delhi Gate in the next few months. As Delhi has multiple government agencies, Jung set up a Project Implementation Unit involving representatives of all the bodies. The idea was to speed up the implementation of several projects; however, few files have been cleared. Jung is in charge of providing night shelters to homeless people this winter. Some have already died in the extreme cold. He is under fire for failing to increase the number of night shelters, even though many homeless people had died last winter.
Jagdish Mukhi
Lost Hope
Because he seems to have lost out to Satish Upadhyay as the front-runner for the chief minister’s chair if the BJP wins Delhi Assembly polls to be announced soon. After Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung sent a report to President Pranab Mukherjee in September seeking permission to explore the possibilities of formation of a government by consulting the single largest party, Mukhi’s supporters had wanted him named the CM candidate but nothing came out of it. Proclaiming himself as the BJP’s CM candidate, he started an online campaign on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The BJP high command wasn’t amused and Mukhi denied reports of him being in the race for the top job. He has sued Aam Aadmi Party head Arvind Kejriwal for using an unflattering photograph on posters pasted on the back of Delhi’s autorickshaws, asking whom the citizens of the capital would prefer as their chief minister. As a reward, or in line with the party’s policy of keeping leaders over 70 years of age from top executive positions, BJP state party sources said that Mukhi would be given a Rajya Sabha ticket next year. During the Haryana Assembly polls, he was made incharge of party affairs after the BJP gave a ticket to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s younger sister Vandana Sharma. Lately, he has started knocking on the doors of the party brass and the RSS office to take charge of Delhi affairs. Though the Punjabi lobby is working behind him, he has also maintained good terms with business class (baniya) lobby represented by Vijay Goel. Mukhi is also considered close to Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, which is unlikely to help him become the Delhi chief minister.
Abdul Basit
Dealer of Double Talk
Because within a few months of taking charge as Pakistan’s Ambassador to India, the 56-year-old soft-spoken Basit had egg on his face after India called off diplomatic talks with Pakistan over a controversial meeting with Kashmiri separatists. His face was splashed across the front pages of newspapers, while some popular talk shows discussed whether he should be “expelled” by India. The proof of Basit seeing off Shabir Shah at the porch of the Pakistan High Commission was the confirmation required for Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh to call off her visit to Pakistan. Even as Basit became the target of public anger against Pakistan, the decision to meet with Kashmiri separatists before the FS-level talks was early evidence that the civilian Sharif government had succumbed to the Pakistan military over foreign policy on relations with India. Basit’s statement that LeT terrorist Hafiz Saeed, who has been given safe haven in Pakistan, was “free to roam” in Pakistan led to a furious backlash from MEA. “So what is the problem... he is a free citizen so there is no issue as far as Pakistan is concerned,” Basit had commented in September. It had seemed at first that the envoy’s term would be less eventful than of his predecessors. The affable ambassador, who arrived in the last few weeks of the UPA government, began with a far wider public diplomacy outreach after the new government under Narendra Modi took charge.
Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari
Determined Dynast
Because the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, the famous 17th century mosque built by Shah Jahan, angered Muslims by anointing his 19-year-old son Shaban Bukhari, as the Naib Imam (deputy Imam). Both the Indian government and the Wakf Board termed it “illegal”. The Imam complicated things further by inviting Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif to attend the ceremony as an “old friend” while excluding Prime Minister Narendra Modi, creating major diplomatic embarrassment for himself and the institution. Sharif did not attend. The guest list included Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Rajnath Singh, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Shahnawaz Hussain, head of states of Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Egypt and around 1,000 religious leaders from India and overseas. The worst tirade against the Imam came from his own brother Yahya Bukhari who told a reporter, “After being ignored by Muslims of the country, he is trying to make a comeback to media notice. By not extending an invitation to PM Modi, he is trying to become the messiah of Muslims. But he must understand that he cannot make Muslims fools and it was proved when the community did not pay heed to his call to support Congress in the General Elections.” Bukhari was slammed for using his title which means “the imam of the emperor” in a democracy.
Shazia Ilmi
Flip Flop
Because she resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after losing in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to Gen V K Singh from Ghaziabad, and did a U-turn by turning into a vehement critic of Arvind Kejriwal and praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The former television anchor, who was promoted as the glamour girl of AAP, and the most TV-friendly face of the party is now trying to get back into the spotlight by becoming part of Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ of which she is one of the brand ambassadors. When she was in AAP, a sting operation showed her asking for money to start an agitation. Ilmi had vehemently denied it and had taken the reporter and the TV channel to court. After she quit AAP, she blamed her mentor Kejriwal for constantly shooting the messenger. “I have been systematically marginalised for raising a voice of dissent,” she said. Ilmi plans to contest the
Delhi elections, though she is being cagey about which party will give her a ticket; she has categorically ruled out the BJP. Her grouse against Kejriwal was that AAP had become a “coterie-based party” and she was not consulted in the decision-making process.
Vijay Kumar
Water Washout
Because the 1992-batch AGMUT cadre officer is considered “insensitive to the needs of the citizens of Delhi on water supply”. To several complaints of drinking water in Delhi being dirty, he responded that the opinion of scientists and experts was that “one can drink water supplied by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) from the tap itself”. It was the Aam Aadmi Party-led government that appointed him as the Chief Executive Officer of DJB. On his watch, several DJB officials came under the CBI scanner for corruption. This year, five cases were registered against an executive engineer and five junior engineers of DJB for conspiring with a private firm to cheat the government, causing a loss of `6 crore to the public exchequer. They allegedly supplied spurious parts and machinery for sewage treatment plants. They were suspended, but were re-inducted by Kumar. One of his failures is his inability to complete the 59-km interceptor sewer project. When questioned why there is no water and sewer management master plan for Delhi, he replied, “It is the basic requirement of every human being to get water and sanitation service. We are still working on it.” Yadav was the Director, Education before going on Central deputation to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in 2007. He also served in the World Trade Organization, Geneva, before re-joining the Delhi administration.
Amit Yadav
Bungler Babu
Because last week, Yadav, a 1991-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, was downgraded to Commissioner of East Delhi Municipal Corporation from the post of Managing Director of Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC). He also lost other portfolios such as the Commissioner (Industries) with additional charge of Power as his superiors, mainly because Delhi Chief Secretary D M Spolia reportedly felt his performance was poor, according to sources. The Delhi administration had wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of the Baprola Knowledge Park in Outer Delhi, but Yadav could not get it ready on time and the function had to be cancelled. He is responsible for the project since DSIIDC is the agency in charge of executing it. As chief of DSIIDC, he was embroiled in a scandal for booking a pricey corporate box at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium for seven Indian Premier League (IPL) matches using public funds without even informing the government. The DSIIDC spent `22 lakh for the corporate box, used to oblige clients and families of bureaucrats, politicians and private contractors. Yadav was also unable to complete low-cost housing projects and carry out the maintenance of common effluent plants in industrial areas, the upgradation of roads and the development of unauthorised colonies.
Yuvraj Singh
Singh Who is No Longer King
Because the player of the match in the 2011 World Cup could not even make it to the list of probables for the 2015 edition. How cruel can the sporting gods be? The cricketer’s international career seems to be over and he told sports magazine Wisden India that he might never play for India again. “Of course, there is a possibility that I may never play for India again. I have considered that. But there is also the possibility that I might play for India again, and as long as I believe that I can come back and I have it in me, I’m going to keep pushing myself,” Singh told the magazine. Since his recuperation from cancer, diagnosed soon after the last World Cup, and return to shape, Singh hasn’t quite been the force he was. Fickle fans and media blamed him for India’s loss in the T20 WC final. People pelted stones at Singh’s house and called him names. Perhaps, it was the painstaking T20 WC innings against Sri Lanka this year that catalysed his exit. The dashing southpaw laboured for a 21-ball 11, as India lost the momentum, plot and eventually fell short of a competitive total. It fully mirrored Singh’s recent travails, and the half-century that preceded it seemed an aberration. His domestic figures, too, didn’t compel a re-entry, as he eked out only 168 runs in five matches, including a half-century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Of course, there were glimpses of his redoubtable destruction power with the bat. But consistency eluded him, and he had lost the zip of his bowling pizzazz and verve on the field. Though he hit a 100 against Haryana in Patiala, incidentally two days after the WC probables were announced, the consensus in the cricket fraternity is that he is well past his sell-by date. “It will be awesome to come back and play for India in a World Cup again. But if it doesn’t happen, life goes on. It will be hard to accept, but I’ll have to accept it,” said the 32-year-old player. The despair in his voice is not too hard to miss.
Ira Trivedi
Love, Interrupted
Because her ambitious attempt to document India’s sexual revolution and changing marriage mores ended up being a mishmash of personal narrative, statistics, history and case studies, which offered no definitive answers or anything even remotely groundbreaking. Not only did her 416-page tome, India in Love: Marriage and Sexuality in the 21st Century, get less than encouraging reviews, it also failed to connect with the readers, especially the youth—the very segment the book claims to research and speak for. Though Trivedi’s publisher Aleph Book Company maintains India in Love sold over 5,000 copies, two leading bookstores in Delhi contradict the claim, saying the book’s sales haven’t picked since its release in March. After three novels, based largely on her own experiences, this was Trivedi’s fourth book and her first work of non-fiction. It took her four years to write, and she “visited 15 cities and interviewed 600 people” for it. The Delhi-based author says she even “got hate letters from Hindu groups” and “threats from khap panchayats” while working on the book. But all is not lost in her labour of love. As Trivedi admitted in a magazine interview, working on the book helped her realise that writing non-fiction comes to her more naturally. And she got three couples married over the course of writing the book. There’s always a silver lining to any cloudy day.
Advaita
Stuck on Bandwidth
Because the band hit creative stagnation in its 10th anniversary year. Delhi-based Advaita is in suspended animation, or preferably “Grounded in Space” in 2014. Incidentally this year, the band members realised that they need to work harder individually to come up with something new. Its 10th anniversary celebrations couldn’t have been more damp. In a year when fans were hoping their favourite desi group would come up with new tracks or whip up packed public concerts, it cocooned itself in low-key celebrations restricted to corporate shows. “We did more corporate gigs than public concerts and realised that we needed to take a break this year. Everyone decided to think music individually. It would be great for the way we think and write music,” said a band member. They discovered new thought processes. Suhail Yusuf Khan, the sarangi artiste and vocalist, was seen performing individually and in his new venture, a band named Adi and Suhail. Anindo Bose, the composer, arranger and keyboard artiste, embarked on his musical journey with the release of the album Shadow and Light. Creative stagnation for a band with immense talent is good news. 2015 could be Advaida’s turnaround year. “We are coming up with something new in 2015. It could be in the form of new tracks. We are also gearing up for international tours,” said a band member. Hope so.
Syed Sallauddin Pasha
Sex Guru
Because the famous award-winning dance guru was accused of molestation and wrongful restraint. In May this year, Guru Syed Sallauddin Pasha was arrested for allegedly molesting a woman who teaches at his wife’s dance centre and was sent to 14 days’ judicial custody by a Delhi court. To make matters worse, the choreographer’s wife, who is also a renowned Kathak dancer, filed a separate complaint of domestic violence, attempt to murder and abetment to suicide against her husband. “She (Pasha’s wife) also claimed that he has been sexually abusing some of his female students,” a police official said. In the Indian dance and music tradition, gurus are meant to play the role of parents, teachers and guides. The allegations on Pasha have left a blot looming on the revered title ‘Guru’ that’s attached to his name. According to the police, two FIRs were registered against him on the basis of the charges levelled against him by his student and his wife. He used to teach at an NGO named Amar Dance Centre meant for the differently-abled performers. Pasha’s wife added that he had been assaulting her, seeking dowry for some time. A case under Sections 377 (unnatural offence) and 506 (wrongful confinement) of the IPC had been registered against him. Pasha’s wife also accused him of trying to sexually abuse her students.
Uber
Nightmare on Wheels
Because a young woman coming home from a party in Gurgaon was raped by the driver of the Uber car company, which did not even know that he was a career criminal, who had been jailed for rape earlier. The incident raised questions about public safety, and made people lose faith in radio taxis that were assumed to be the safest travel model at night, esepcially for women. The fallout has also inconvenienced passsengers after the government banned all app-based taxi services. Uber faced public anger for acknowledging that it does not conduct background checks on its drivers. Instead, it puts the onus on the government to investigate their antecedents when issuing commercial licences, which can be procured by bribing touts in many cases. The company only asks drivers for their licences, proof of residence and car registration papers. Since most drivers lease their cars to multiple taxi companies, the Uber management does not interview many of them, instead relying on the travel company’s assurances. The Centre requested all states to ban Uber, for which India is the second-largest market. Hyderabad has banned it after the Delhi government blacklisted the firm. However, Uber is still running in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Other cases from abroad of unverified Uber drivers raping women have further damaged the company’s reputation.