The all-vegetarian menu for Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a topic of discussion among those who have been observing official banquets at Rashtrapati Bhavan for years. According to those familiar with protocol, the host country always inquires with its embassy about the guest’s food preferences before finalizing the menu. Putin, like all Russians, is a non-vegetarian, but the government decided to serve only vegetarian food at the official banquet. The logic behind this was that both President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are pure vegetarians, so they would be served food according to their preferences, which is our culture. The best Indian cuisine has always been featured in honor of foreign guests. In fact, the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi personally oversaw the menus for official banquets during her time. Interestingly, non-vegetarian food has been served at official banquets before. After all, everyone knows that India is more of a non-vegetarian country than a vegetarian one. Additionally, our non-vegetarian food is internationally renowned and highly sought after. So, this time, the government banquet was entirely vegetarian, so perhaps our culture was behind it. Even Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who was invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan, has been discussed.
The TMC-BJP battle has become a Muslim versus fish battle.
The battle between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP in West Bengal has become a Muslim versus fish battle, with both parties sharing competing videos based on their main campaign issues. The BJP’s video depicts a Bengal overrun with Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators and Rohingyas, marginalizing Hindus. This is a clear attempt to divide Hindu sentiments. The TMC’s video depicts a starving Bengal, deprived of staple foods like fish under the rule of the all-vegetarian BJP. It appears that development is not on either party’s agenda. Both are appealing to emotions: the BJP to religious sentiments, the TMC to eating habits, which in Bengal are about more than just filling the stomach. Fish is a cultural symbol. Next year’s assembly elections in West Bengal are set to be a high-voltage affair, with both sides attempting to raise the atmosphere to a frightening level.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies faces a funding freeze.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, one of the country’s largest research institutes, is facing a funding freeze after its renowned sociologist, Sanjay Kumar, became embroiled in controversy over his election data for last year’s Maharashtra assembly elections. Sanjay Kumar has since resigned, admitting errors in his calculations, which appeared to corroborate Rahul Gandhi’s allegations that the Maharashtra election was a “fixed match” between the BJP and the Election Commission. But the controversy has put the institute at odds with the government, which funds it through the Indian Council for Social Sciences Research (ICSSR).
The institute hasn’t received its pending grant for several months. CSDS has built an excellent reputation for cutting-edge research in the social sciences. Its Lokniti unit, a leader in election data collection and analysis, was once headed by the renowned sociologist Yogendra Yadav. The institute was founded and led by some of the top social scientists of our time, such as Rajni Kothari, Dirubhai Seth, and Ashish Nandi. But due to a mistake by Lokniti’s former head, Sanjay Kumar, it is now in limbo. ICSSR has issued a show-cause notice.
ICSSR is still reviewing CSDS’s response. Meanwhile, the institute’s funds, which sustain it, have been frozen. Like another major think tank, the Centre for Policy Research, which ran into trouble with the government, CSDS is also fighting for its survival.
