Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 19 March 2018 | Page 12

IN & AROUND
THE SUBCONTINENTAL MENU
BACKDOOR HINDI IN
IIM KOZHIKODE
H
INDI bears the burden of
being chosen by linguistic
propagandists and politicians as
the official language of a country
in which around 1,652 tongues (as
of the last census) are spoken. The
promoters of this nationalisation
of language have an absurdly uph­
ill task before them. But when they tried pushing in
the Hindi manifesto through a backdoor tactic at IIM
Kozhikode, Malayali students were far from amused.
Authorities had asked students
to submit their names in Hindi to
receive their postgraduate degrees
in the same language—a compul­
sory requirement. “This (provid­
ing names in Hindi) is mandatory
for printing the same in PGDM
certificates for convocation 2018,”
read the official mail to students,
who protested by calling this a
forceful imposition of Hindi. “If they want to give us a
certificate in any other language apart from English, it
should be in our mother tongue,” a student said.
STARRING, MAHA’S
FIRST COUPLE
THE DOGESS
DEITY OFF NH 75
M
AHARASHTRA CM Devendra
Fadnavis has clarified that if
he was recently seen spreading his
arms multiple times in the fashion of
Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan
in a YouTube music video, in which
his wife, classical dancer Amruta
Fadnavis, is the singer opposite Sonu
Nigam, it was only for the sake of
river conservation. Fadnavis had to
defend himself since the opposition
Congress raised doubts over how
the chief minister’s touched-up act
would improve conservation. “I
am surprised over the vilification
campaign.... Since it was for a public
cause, I agreed to it,” Fadnavis said.
Later, a senior official from the CM’s
office clarified that no state money
had gone into the production of the
video. Along with the first couple of
the state, the music video saw cam­
eos by municipal commissioner Ajoy
Mehta and Mumbai Police commis­
sioner Datta Padsalgikar.
M
SALMAN NOT
DOUGHTY ENOUGH
FOR NEPAL
B
Y effectively postponing
Salman Khan’s ‘Dabangg’
tour of Nepal, a Maoist group
has ensured that they are
perceived as the only dabanggs
(fearless) around town. Netra
Bikram Chand, aka Biplav—of
the CPN-Maoist, a splinter of
the ruling CPN (Maoist), with
the dash as the differentia-
tor—demanded that Khan’s
show be cancelled, since it was
“cultural intervention on Nep­
ali soil.” Why the organisers
of the event gave in to Biplav’s
demands may be related to his
reputation for violent, ‘radical’
activities. But, in time, a com-
promise may be reached and
organisers are hopeful. The
programme, which will have
top Nepali artistes perform
with Khan’s 110-strong team,
is now likely to take place in
April or May.
INI shrines along the country’s
national highways can have int­
eresting back stories. Just off NH 75
in Jhansi district, between the villages
Revan and Kakvara lies what can be
termed the ‘dogess shrine’—the kutiya
maharani ka mandir (literally: the
bitch queen temple). The structure,
which has a canine’s statue installed
just behind a mesh of protective
wires, is frequented by people seeking
blessings from the ‘bitch queen’. A
woman claims she prayed to the bitch
godess for her husband; soon after, he
got a job. Some pray for better marks
in examinations. The legend keeps
growing. A few years back, a black
bitch died in that spot and was buried
by locals. The mound of mud over
her grave would reappear whenever
it was removed. “That’s when people
realised that it was a
miracle and made a
shrine there,”
says Kajri Devi
of Revan
village.
Illustrations by SAJITH KUMAR
12 OUTLOOK 19 March 2018