October 19, 2020

India Today

News and current affairs magazine

India Today4 min readCrime & Violence
Editor-in-chief
It has been seven decades since Independence, yet India has been unable to purge the curse of caste from its society. It permeates our electoral politics, our social lives, our jobs and even marriages. The ones who suffer most are those at the bottom
India Today1 min read
India Today
CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie VICE CHAIRPERSON: Kalli Purie GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha EXECUTIVE EDITORS: S.
India Today4 min readPolitics
Bjp’s Plan B?
The race for Bihar has suddenly opened up, just weeks ahead of a three-phase assembly election, which gets under way on October 28. The NDA alliance is officially riven, with Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) deciding to categorically ba
India Today1 min readPolitical Ideologies
Nothing Official About It
The LJP contesting separately may create a triangular contest in Bihar, which may benefit the RJD-led alliance If Chirag takes out 10% from the NDA tally and the RJD increases its numbers by a bit, it will throw open the election, which seemed one-si
India Today2 min read
Glasshouse
The long arm of the Union information and broadcasting ministry will now cover digital media, including OTT platforms. While the Prakash Javadekar-led ministry is the supervising authority for traditional media such as print and television, digital m
India Today5 min readPolitics
Why Sukhbir Broke Free
On October 1, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal launched tractor rallies to Chandigarh from the three holiest seats of Sikhism in Punjab—Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar and Takht Sri Damd
India Today2 min read
The 40 Squadron Mirage
Indian Air Force (IAF) transport helicopters, gunships, transport aircraft and fighters, including the newly inducted Rafales, were speedily deployed in Ladakh to support the Indian Army in May this year, when New Delhi realised the state of play—Chi
India Today3 min readPolitics
America’s Caste System
Termed an “instant American classic” by The New York Times, Isabel Wilkerson’s thorny book is not the first to use “caste” to probe America’s racial ills. A European word popularised in India by the Portuguese, “caste” has often featured in explanati
India Today4 min readCrime & Violence
Clarity, But No Closure
On September 29, the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) enquiry into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput crossed a major milestone. A seven-member panel of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) submitted a forens
India Today14 min readCrime & Violence
Price Of Prejudice
THE DETAILS—FLASHING ACROSS NEWSPAPER HEADLINES AND television screens and circulated over social media—are by now all-too-familiar. Of a young Dalit girl, not yet 20, dragged into the fields, allegedly gang-raped by four upper-caste men, tongue cut,
India Today1 min readCrime & Violence
The Curse Of Being A Dalit Woman
CHARGE-SHEET RATE IN CRIMES AGAINST DALITS HAS COME DOWN FROM 88.5% IN 2009 TO 78.5% IN 2019; WITH 81.8%, UTTAR PRADESH MAINTAINS A BETTER RECORD THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE 11% of rape victims in 2019 were Dalits 94% of cases under the Scheduled C
India Today1 min readCrime & Violence
Not Just A North Indian Menace
Nine states—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh—accounted for 84 per cent of all crimes against Dalits in 2019, though they are home to only 54 per cent of India’s SC population 66.
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Mamata Goes To War
ON October 3, the heart of Kolkata was besieged by thousands of Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters decrying the alleged gang-rape and torture—and eventual death—of a Dalit woman in Hathras, in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, and the state machinery’s perce
India Today1 min readPoverty & Homelessness
Welfare In The Time Of Polls
Benefits: Rs 1,000 per year for higher education of girls (13-21 years) and Rs 25,000 grant after attaining 18 years Outlay: Rs 7,000 cr (2020-21) Beneficiaries: 6.5 million girls Benefits: Subsidised rice at Rs 2 a kilo Outlay: Rs 5,000 cr annu
India Today6 min readMedical
Chasing The Cure
The Covid ward at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital has seen a number of recommended drugs enter and exit their registers. Back in March, doctors here were handing out anti-HIV medication to their patients before the highly-debated hydro
India Today5 min read
China’s Maritime Challenge
It’s December 2025 and ‘Exercise Sea Dragon’ has begun. The world’s largest navy has bided its time for decades and is now ready to project power beyond its shores. Two PLAN (People’s Liberation Army-Navy) aircraft carrier battle groups, the Shandong
India Today2 min readMedical
Line Of Treatment
Drug: Lopinavir and ritonavir Use: Antivirals used for HIV treatment Status: No longer part of treatment Drug: Hydroxy-chloroquine (HCQ) Use: Anti-malarial medicine; recommended as a preventive drug Status: Being used for preventive care Drug:
India Today6 min read
A Horror Film Of Its Own
Bollywood is currently going through a PR crisis, one that it didn’t see coming. It began on June 14 when actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide—a conclusion that Mumbai Police arrived at long ago and one that the All India Institute of Medical S
India Today1 min read
A Gendered Approach
Arrested on charges of “being an active member of a drug syndicate” and arranging drugs for Sushant Singh Rajput. Granted bail on October 7 The NCB found a 2017 WhatsApp chat between her and her manager discussing‘maal’, on the phone of Jaya Saha, R
India Today2 min readMedical
Covid’s Frontline Warriors
Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary responses. And no one has risen to the challenge of Covid as admirably as our healthcare workers. It was only fitting, therefore, that the sixth edition of the INDIA TODAY Safaigiri awards are dedicated
India Today1 min read
The Winners
Best state combating Covid-19: Kerala Best government hospital combating Covid-19: AIIMS, New Delhi Best private hospital combating Covid-19: JOINT WINNERS — Medanta hospital, Gurugram, and Max Smart Super Speciality hospital, Saket, New Delhi Bes
India Today2 min readMedical
Highly Alert
WINNER: Kerala With an overall score of 94.2 out of 100, Kerala emerged as the best state in Covid management. So far, the state has one of the lowest fatality rates in India—0.38 per cent compared to the national average of 1.58 per cent. As on Oct
India Today1 min readMedical
Taking Charge
WINNER: AIIMS, New Delhi Within a few days of the outbreak, AIIMS set up 22 dedicated wards, five ICUs, 90 ventilators and 1,426 isolation wards for Covid patients. “From March itself, we took a leading and holistic role in the pandemic,” says Dr Ra
India Today1 min readMedical
All Hands on Deck
WINNER: CMC, VELLORE For Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, a 3,000-bed tertiary care teaching and charitable hospital, providing Covid care involved many challenges. Infection control and triaging protocols were put in place in January 2020
India Today2 min readMedical
High On Trust
JOINT WINNER: MEDANTA HOSPITAL, Gurugram With the Covid pandemic and the sudden decline in demand for in-patient and out-patient care—even surgeries shrunk in numbers—Medanta scaled up its technology-based services. Telemedicine consultations saw a
India Today1 min readMedical
First on Many Counts
JOINT WINNER: MAX SMART SUPER SPECIALITY HOSPITAL, SAKET, New Delhi Towards the end of April, Max Healthcare became the first hospital in the country to successfully treat a Covid patient with plasma therapy. The hospital’s commitment has ensured th
India Today1 min readMedical
Distress Buster
WINNER: RELIANCE FOUNDATION The Reliance Foundation set up India’s first dedicated Covid-19 facility in Mumbai, at the SevenHills Hospital, in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The 100-bed hospital was scaled up to 250 beds
India Today1 min readBiology
The Virus Watchdog
WINNER: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF VIROLOGY, Pune Since confirming in end-January that the novel coronavirus had arrived in India, the National Institute of Virology has been on a mission to enhance testing capacity, provide training and develop new test
India Today1 min read
Community Effort
WINNER: CARITAS INDIA Caritas has played a major role in providing help during the pandemic. Father Paul Moonjely, executive director, says Caritas organised awareness drives, research meetings, webinars and workshops, aside from distributing food,
India Today2 min read
Helping Hand
WINNER: RASHTRIYA SEWA BHARATI Turning adversity into opportunity, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS’s) social service body, the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati (RSB), has made great strides in serving those in need during these past few months. It open
India Today1 min readBiology
Passing The Test
WINNER: MYLAB DISCOVERY SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. On March 18, virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale, Mylab's research and development chief, submitted two key proposals—one to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and the other to the Central Drugs
India Today1 min read
The Postal Army
WINNER: DEPARTMENT OF POSTS, MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS Never in his three decades of service at the department of posts has Rajbir Singh felt the kind of pressure he has during the Covid pandemic, but he has also never felt more proud. A postman at
India Today2 min read
Reel Villain, Real Hero
WINNER: SONU SOOD While most of his peers used the lockdown to take a sabbatical and stayed indoors, Sonu Sood stepped up and emerged a hero, a role that Bollywood hasn’t often entrusted him with. The actor’s charitable work during the pandemic has
India Today4 min read
Once Upon A Crime
Simulating primal fears, ‘exposure therapy’, an education in survival—all sorts of theories have been proffered for why true crime as a genre will never cease to have a loyal following. To the ’90s generation that grew up on India’s Most Wanted and C
India Today2 min read
Making Trouble
The young protagonist of Karishma Dev Dube’s short, Bittu, is a nonconformist. Getting into trouble comes easy to this eight-year-old girl and is ultimately what saves her from a tragedy. Shot in the remote village of Koti, near Dehradun, the film th
India Today2 min readCrime & Violence
Run Jadhav Run
Within just three weeks of taking up running, Rahul Jadhav could cover a distance of over 18 kilometres easily. Over the past few years, the 44-year-old has participated in over 20 marathons and running events. And while long-distance running is what
India Today2 min read
The Wolf Of Dalal Street
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta thrives on true stories. Two of his most acclaimed films, Shahid and Aligarh, are hard-hitting character studies of real men on the fringes. For his digital debut, he cast his eyes on Harshad Mehta, the mastermind of the Rs 5,0
India Today2 min read
Slow And Steady
Like any good citizen, Jaideep Ahlawat wears a mask when he’s out and about, but his fans still recognise him. And not only do they recognise him but also greet him as Hathiram, the moral spine of the Amazon Prime show Paatal Lok which has won apprec
India Today2 min read
A Convenient Whodunnit
One Arranged Murder follows Keshav Rajpurohit and Saurabh Maheshwari, friends who featured in his previous book, The Girl in Room 105. Having attempted that cross between romance and murder, Bhagat returns with a more committed attempt at genre crime
India Today2 min read
The Religion of Love
It seems fitting to listen to Michael Nyman’s eponymous and haunting piano score as one reads Karuna Ezara Parikh’s debut novel The Heart Asks Pleasure First. The theme of star-crossed lovers is one that is beloved of the Indian subcontinent but gain
India Today1 min read
Striking a Balance
Q. Has this been your longest spell without shooting? I always wanted a period when I wouldn’t have much to do. Sadly, it came in the form of a pandemic. I did some farming in my village Budhana (Uttar Pradesh) during the lockdown and watched some 25

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