With the Bombay High court expected to conduct its final hearing and deliver its verdict in the Public Interest Litigation filed by Arvind Tiwari – a parent and a lawyer – related to the ICSE Examinations in Maharashtra on Monday, students and parents are upping the pressure. They are opposed to the conduct of the exams in a situation where the number of Corona positive cases in India has crossed the 3 lakh figure.

Due to the Corona virus pandemic, the exams were postponed on 19 March even as six papers of Class X and 8 papers of Class XII were pending. The exams were originally to get over on 30-31 March. Now according to the timetable issued by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination, the pending papers are scheduled for the first two weeks of July, just like the CBSE.

Why is the student community – about 1.80 lakh in class X and 85000 in class XII – against the conduct of pending exams in July? Ten Reasons. 

1. They ask if the Council will give an undertaking that the exam centres will be so well sanitised and no student will contract the virus. They also point out that it is not just about the exam centres – the transport they travel in, the invigilators and exam staff they come in contact with, the exam answer sheet, question paper, washroom – all carry a certain level of risk.

2. The Council in its affidavit on Friday quoted the Centre and state governments to say the vulnerable group is above the age of 65 and below the age of 10. Data however shows that a significant number of Corona positive cases are in the age group of 11-64 and many have even tragically succumbed to the virus pandemic.

3. The Home ministry’s nod to conduct the exams was given in May. With the number of cases rising as a result of the easing of the lockdown, the argument is that the okay given by Amit Shah’s Ministry needs to be revisited.

4. The irony of the courts holding virtual hearings while deciding on whether students can appear for a physical exam cannot be missed. Going further, students and parents ask why is it that Parliament has not been convened so far. 

5. The Council in court quoted an online poll it had conducted on 7 June among principals of 196 ICSE schools (out of the 226 in Maharashtra). It said 84 per cent of them voted in favour of conduct of exams. Parents point out that no Parent Teacher Association meetings were held to authorise the principals to speak on behalf of the students or their guardians. Online polls held on different platforms suggest a different picture. 

6. The Telangana and Madras High courts took the view that it is too risky to conduct the exams in such a situation. The former in fact, forbade the Telangana government from conducting the State Board Class X Exams in Covid 19 hotspots of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. As a result, the government cancelled the exams and decided to promote all the 5.34 lakh students. Now if Hyderabad with much lesser cases is not deemed safe by a High court, how can Mumbai or Delhi or Chennai with much larger number of cases, be safe. 

7. July is also the month of peak monsoon in most parts of India. That is expected to pose an additional problem for students if they are made to appear for the exams.

8. In Corona positive times, the students will need to take the exams wearing a mask. That is uncomfortable and more so, for asthmatic children who tend to feel claustrophobic. 

9. Most students have joined classes for Class 11 and therefore to expect them to go back to their Class X curriculum will lead to a fatigue. As a one-time exception, the Council must move on.

10. Finally, in response to the Council’s objection that the petitioner is a private individual since his son is an ICSE Class X student, the opinion is that Arvind Tiwari represents the large majority of students and parents and is therefore fighting for a public cause. 

Soon after Jaganmohan Reddy came to power in May 2019, the Panchayat Raj ministry of the Andhra Pradesh government ordered that all its 11000-odd offices in 13 districts will get a fresh coat of paint. The problem was that the new colours were the three colours of the ruling party. 

The idea was to blur the lines between the party and the government and give the YSRCP the advantage of optics. With the welfare agenda of the government, the average citizen would obviously connect it immediately to the party and that would be an electoral plus.

The High court struck down the move. The government, in no mood to back off, added a fourth colour – a generic earth colour – to some buildings to make it seem that the colour scheme now was no longer exclusively that of the YSRCP. But the court saw through the charade and asked the government to repaint. The apex court has now upheld the High court verdict. 

The question is whether the YSRCP that came to power with an overwhelming majority of 151/175 assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, needed this paint job. Does Jagan really need such help to win again in 2024? On the contrary, the legal sting has made him look bad – as a politician who spends public money to further the cause of his political outfit. 

The whataboutery does not help. The Telugu Desam too was guilty of painting most new buildings like Anna canteens in their party colour, yellow. But if Jagan promised a new culture of politics, he needs to walk the talk, not copy what the TDP did.

In any case, all schemes of the government are named after either YSR or Jagan himself, ensuring a strong connect with the party. YSR and Jagan’s photographs adorn just about every welfare scheme of the government. Jagan needs to convey that to his party in black and white.

Meanwhile, the government will now need to repaint the offices within a month, burdening the exchequer once again. 

The first to sign on the dotted line was Chiranjeevi who has reinvented himself this lockdown in his 3.0 avatar as a social media enthusiast. After his 2.0 innings as a politician proved a dud, Chiranjeevi went back to the world of arclights. But Covid-19 has seen him racing to become the Megastar of the Telugu cine virtual space, commenting on just about everything under the Andhra-Telangana sun. From heartfelt birthday wishes to videos playing with his granddaughter to talking about the welfare of cine workers, Chiranjeevi has transferred his fan base to his social media accounts. 

His attempt to float a fund to help film industry workers is indeed laudable and it would gain heft riding on the Megastar’s personal charisma and goodwill. But it would not amuse the regular film associations like Movie Artistes Associations or those representing Producers, distributors or film workers who have been sidelined in the bargain.

Positioning himself as the spokesperson of the Telugu film industry, Chiranjeevi has played the main interlocuter with the Telangana government when it comes to nudging the powers-that-be to permit shootings to take place. He met Cinematography minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav several times followed by a meeting with chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. 

While he did take along with him doyens of the industry including actor Nagarjuna, director SS Rajamouli, producers Suresh Babu and Dil Raju, notable absentees included the likes of Nandamuri Balakrishna, Mohan Babu and Rajasekhar. Balakrishna, who is NT Rama Rao’s son and the brother-in-law of Chandrababu Naidu lost no time in dubbing the Chiranjeevi initiative with Srinivas Yadav as a “real estate deal”. 

There is also politics in Balakrishna taking umbrage. Not only is the Chiranjeevi-Balakrishna rivalry and ego clashes the stuff of Tollywood gossip, Yadav was a former Telugu Desam leader who crossed over to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and has never lost an opportunity to take potshots at the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister. Hence the disgust for the meeting in Balakrishna’s tone and body language.

Chiranjeevi has also kept a window of communication open with Andhra Pradesh CM Jaganmohan Reddy. He thanked him publicly for granting single window permission for shooting movies in Andhra Pradesh. The fact that despite brother Pawan Kalyan who is bitterly opposed to Jagan in Andhra politics, the Megastar is able to navigate his way with politicians, is proof that a non-political Chiranjeevi has matured. 

Dr Sudhakar, an anaesthetist who worked at Narsipatnam area hospital in Visakhapatnam district had hit the headlines in April when he alleged that government doctors treating Covid-19 patients were not provided N-95 masks and PPE kits and was suspended for his remarks. Subsequently on 17 May, he was taken into custody for creating a nuisance in an inebriated condition by use of excessive force. 

The apprehension was not misplaced. On Friday, the court ordered a CBI probe into allegations into the conduct of the Vizag police officers while arresting Dr Sudhakar. The court took cognizance of a report of the Visakhapatnam district magistrate that stated there were six injury marks on Dr Sudhakar, a fact reportedly glossed over in the government’s report. The court asked the CBI to finish its inquiry within eight weeks. 

What are the facts of the case? 

There is no doubt that the constabulary handling Dr Sudhakar on the road in Vizag went overboard. Senior police officials admit this as well which is why a constable was suspended. The policemen manhandled Dr Sudhakar and allegedly tied up his hands, beat him in full public glare and then dragged into an auto rickshaw before arresting him. In a move that exhibited arrogance of power, the cop was enraged that the doctor did not get up when asked to, without realising that when a person’s hands are tied at the back, it is not possible to get up easily. 

The police version is that Dr Sudhakar was drunk and was removing the traffic cones on the road, obstructing the traffic. The charge is that he removed his shirt himself and abused the police. 

The case got deeply political with the Telugu Desam accusing the YSRCP government of targeting a doctor who had dared to point out the loopholes in Andhra Pradesh’s Covid fight. A PIL was filed by former TDP MLA, V Anitha. 

After his arrest, Dr Sudhakar was sent to the Institute of Mental Health Care in Visakhapatnam where he is under observation and treatment. His condition has been diagnosed as Acute Transient Psychosis and those familiar with the case say he suffers from delusions of both grandeur and persecution. According to sources, several examples of his tall claims, including taking the credit for having written the script of Baahubali, are part of his Psychiatric evaluation report, prepared by senior doctors. 

Because of the outrage over the manner in which Dr Sudhakar was treated by the police, pressure was brought upon the system to act in a fair manner. A magistrate recorded his version in a one-on-one session for two and a half hours. Earlier, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had said the Andhra government’s conduct demoralised the doctor community in India, at a time when they were fighting the Corona pandemic as frontline warriors. What made the conduct of the YSRCP government ironic was that the party president Jaganmohan Reddy’s late father, former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was a doctor.

Comparisons have also been made to how the Uttar Pradesh government allegedly hounded Dr Kafeel Khan after the deaths of infants at a Gorakhpur hospital in 2017. The court’s decision today is a stinging slap – the Andhra Pradesh police needs to put its house in order. 

In Lockdown 4.0, Karnataka decided to do something it had not done in the first three lockdowns. It banned the entry of people from three states – Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat till 31 May, till when Lockdown 4.0 is in force. Two of these three states share their borders with Karnataka. 

This was done because these three states have reported the highest number of Corona positive cases in India. Also last week, 50 per cent of the cases reported in Karnataka were of people who had returned from these states. 

What is the Karnataka government going to do now?

A senior official of the Government told Filter Kaapi that it is waiting for the DGCA to clarify its position. After which Karnataka is mulling requesting the Civil Aviation ministry and the DGCA that no flights from any airport in these three states be permitted into any airport in Karnataka. 

This will be a huge decision given the usual traffic on the Mumbai-Bengaluru and Chennai-Bengaluru sectors in particular. 

On the other hand, a senior officer of the Bengaluru police has indicated that all passengers arriving on flights from these three states may have to undergo a mandatory quarantine in the city they land in. But the final word on this has clearly not been spoken yet. 

Coming as it did close on the heels of the Centre’s annoyance over Telangana’s extremely low testing, it made one wonder if KCR was returning fire with fire. When compared to states like Tamil Nadu (2.79 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (2 lakh) and Maharashtra (2.30 lakh), Telangana has tested only 22000 people, suggesting that Hyderabad is statistically flattening the Covid-19 curve. While neighbour Andhra Pradesh tested close to 9000 people everyday, Telangana tested just 200-odd. Also Telangana’s tally of average tests per million population at 546 is nearly half of the all-India average of 1025 in the first week of May. 

Union Health secretary Preeti Sudan in her letter to the Telangana chief secretary Somesh Kumar had advised him to “chase the virus rather than the virus chase us”. What worried the Centre was the fact that Telangana had a higher positivity rate – the ratio of positive diagnosis to the number of tests conducted – than the national average. 

KCR’s hit at the NDA government was followed by son KT Rama Rao, who is both Industry minister and TRS Working President. On Tuesday night, KTR tweeted about how Telangana had so far run 75 Shramik Special trains to ferry one lakh plus people to various states and paid Rs 6 crore to the Indian Railways. 

“Zero contribution from GoI,” he tweeted. 

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leaders deny there is any connection between the father and son taking on New Delhi and the criticism over low testing. They dismiss the controversy over low testing, saying this is not a competition to see who tests more. They cite the example of Kerala that has tested 39000 people so far and point out that the southernmost state is being feted for managing the crisis most successfully.

TRS sources also say Telangana is using only the RT-PCR testing kits, recommended by ICMR. The state says it is doing targeted testing of symptomatic cases instead of testing everyone at random, as it would create unnecessary panic and even result in stigmatisation of anyone who has been tested.

“If there is a cough, the doctor would recommend medicine or a syrup. Without any symptoms, why would the doctor test you,” asks a TRS leader. 

The other criticism that has come Telangana’s way is its refusal to let private labs undertake testing. The TRS view is that KCR should in fact, be complimented for not allowing private players from fleecing people in the name of conducting tests.  

The Telangana BJP has accused the TRS government of “brazen deviation in reference to public health standard protocols in order to paint an illusionary rosy picture”. 

“Health minister E Rajender should resign for endangering the entire population of Telangana by intentionally conducting the lowest number of tests than any other state in India, with proportionate population,” says Krishna Saagar Rao, Chief spokesperson of the BJP in Telangana. 

T S Sudhir of Filter Kaapi Live spoke to YV Subba Reddy, the TTD Chairman.

T S Sudhir : I note that the temple is being made ready with lines being drawn to ensure social distancing between devotees while they are waiting for darshan of Lord Venkateswara.

YV Subba Reddy : We are taking steps to be ready whenever the lockdown ends and the government gives us the go-ahead to reopen the temple. We are taking all precautions. 

Sudhir : Usually 80000 to one lakh devotees get darshan of the Lord daily. With these measures put in place, how many would TTD be able to accommodate now?

Reddy : Cannot say. But I do not think it will be even 50 per cent of the usual number. In any case, we will initiate darshan in a phased manner. In the initial days after darshan is allowed, we intend to let in only 5000 to 10000 devotees. That number will be gradually increased to 25000. Before all this, we plan to conduct a trial run with our one thousand TTD employees who work uphill at Tirumala. 

Sudhir : Most temples have taken a huge hit in terms of hundi collections. That includes Tirumala. Give us a sense of the impact on the receipts and expenditure of the TTD.

Reddy : Our God is powerful and rich. He will help us come out of this problem. 

Sudhir : Most of your expenditure is taken care of from the hundi collections and other sources of revenue, isn’t it?

Reddy : Yes. Our daily hundi collections are Rs 3.5 crore. Along with rent, sale of prasadam and hair, we generate a monthly revenue of Rs 200 crore. The monthly expenditure on salaries, maintenance of institutions and temples not just in Tirumala but also in Tirupati and three hospitals comes to about Rs 125 crore. 

Sudhir : Which means even though the collections are nil over the last two months, you would have reserve cash to see you through?

Reddy : We paid the salaries to 20000 employees for March and April. We won’t have an issue for May but for June, we will need to mobilise funds. We have a corpus of Rs 13000 crore in the banks and nine tonnes of gold reserves but we will not touch that in this crisis situation. 

Sudhir : Why were 1200 contract employees removed from service if there are sufficient funds with the TTD?

Reddy : They were not TTD employees, they were working with a private contractor. This was as part of a facilitation contract to take care of the cleaning and sanitation. The contractor’s term had come to an end. He had been appointed by the previous TDP government and was working for the last five years. We wanted to appoint a new contractor but that process took 6 months to complete. 

Meanwhile, these 1200 employees came out on the streets the day they were removed by the contractor. They came and met me too. I asked for the contract to the old contractor to be extended by a month so that these employees continue in their jobs. When the new contractor takes over, these employees will move to his account. That has been the practise here. 

T S Sudhir of Filter Kaapi Live spoke to Suresh Kumar for this exclusive interview. 

T S Sudhir : As many as 8.5 lakh students are waiting eagerly to know when their class X Karnataka State Board exams will be conducted. Has any decision been taken on it?

Suresh Kumar : We will announce the dates of the Karnataka State Board Class X exams on Monday, 18 May. Over the past many days, I have spoken to University professors, senior education department officials, high school teachers and also MLCs who represent Teachers and Graduates constituencies. I have spoken to several people who work at the grassroots. 

I also sought the opinion of students. All the exams of class X are pending as they were to start from 27 March and as you know Sudhir, the lockdown began from 25 March. I asked the students – Do you really want the exams? I told them we have promoted everyone from class 1 to 9 to the next class and offered to do the same with class 10 students. 

But their response was that we have studied very hard for an entire year. Many of them told me they do not want to live with the tag of `Corona Promoted Students’ all their life. 

So we have finally decided to conduct the exams in the second and third week of June. The exact time table will be out on 18 May. We will increase the number of exam centres. Earlier 24 students would sit in one room at an exam centre, that number will now be reduced to 16 or 18. 

Sudhir : What about class 12 students of the Karnataka State Board? 

Suresh Kumar : Class 12 students have only English Exam pending. We are thinking of allowing them to write their exam at any centre near their place of residence. Many of them study in other towns and districts and we do not want students to travel only for one exam. 

We tried doing that for Class X SSC students too but it is logistically difficult. The specific number of question papers are lying safely in the district treasury strong rooms. 

Sudhir : All the other south Indian states, like Karnataka, too plan to conduct the exams. However, states in the north like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh have decided to shelve the exams. The two national boards – CBSE and ICSE/ISC – have said they will conduct the exams. Will there be any coordination with your education ministry on how feasible it will be for CBSE and ICSE to conduct the exams in Karnataka?

Suresh Kumar : As far as the two national board exams are concerned, they are the masters. They have their own systems.

Sudhir : Let us now come to the next academic year 2020-21. How different is the school classroom likely to be?

Suresh Kumar : We have formed a committee that will recommend on when is the ideal time to start the academic session. How much syllabus should be reduced if we get delayed by 15 days, how much to cut if we get delayed by a month and so on. We are also examining what should be the pattern of classes, whether school batches should operate in two shifts or on alternate days. 

The Union HRD ministry too is working on a timetable for 2020-21 so we will study that as well. 

Sudhir : And if things get back on track, I suppose we would have a curtailed Dussehra and winter break.

Suresh Kumar : Yes. In fact, when I spoke to teachers, they said they were even willing to work full day on Saturday and ready to have a shortened Dussehra and winter vacation. 

Sudhir : Most private schools have been conducting online classes. Has digital education been a challenge for the 53000 government schools in Karnataka?

Suresh Kumar : Yes. It has been difficult because most schools and students do not have access to equipment. So for class 10 students, we are using the DD Chandana (Kannada channel) to conduct revision classes. We started with Kannada medium but now after much demand, we have begun for English medium as well. The Doordarshan Director told me this programme gets the highest ratings on their channel. Now we have asked for our own channel which we can use for educational purpose and then we can extend it to all classes.

Sudhir : Recently a survey that was conducted showed that even when schools reopen, parents would be apprehensive about sending their students. How would you allay those concerns and fears?

Suresh Kumar : I have told the parents that they are not your children, they are my children. No decision will be taken that is against their interests. 

Sudhir : Reports of LKG, UKG students in private schools being subjected to online classes in Karnataka too has caused concern. 

Suresh Kumar : I really cannot understand this Sudhir. LKG, UKG students have to play, why subject them to online classes. We have to put an end to this and have a movement against irrational method of online teaching. 

But does that mean you should avoid this latest offering on Amazon Prime that features Jaideep Ahlawat, a fine actor, as the protagonist Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhuri? I binge-watched this nine-episode web series on Friday, the curiosity to unravel the plot egging me on.

The not-the-most-fit cop’s work domain is Trans Yamuna, an area he describes as Paatal Lok. Hathi Ram is no Jumbo in Uniform, he has never handled a big investigation in his career. The arrest of four persons that lands in his lap, is the first big case that he gets to handle. What follows is a series of mess-ups resulting in a suspension. What makes it real is the cat-and-mouse game between the accused and the cops and the dirty Delhi Police office politics. 

(Spoilers ahead)

One should not give too much of the plot away by way of spoilers. Suffice to tease the reader by saying that the plot that you thought is, is not actually the plot. And that is the twist in the story. Depending on your appetite for twists of this kind, you could find it riveting or a touch underwhelming. The dacoit whose face is constantly hidden by a shawl is never shown and you keep waiting for a twist. Anup Jalota as the politician, you assume would be the joker in the pack, but this bhajan singer-actor is hardly on song here. 

The antagonist Tyagi is no Nawazuddin Siddiqui of `Sacred Games’, the Netflix show you will get reminded of since the template is as dark and grimy. There is no “Kabhi kabhi to lagta hai apun hi bhagwaan hai” moment out here. The dialogues are not outlandish, instead they are deep and an effective commentary on the India of today. An India in flux, an India torn by differences of class, caste and religion, even sects. 

Sample this. A Muslim sub-inspector who is part of the investigation team of Delhi Police passes the Civil Services written exam. His DCP compliments him and describes him as “bright” to a senior CBI officer. 

“It is good that people from his community are wanting to join the Services. It is good for their image,” she says as the camera stays on the officer, Ansari. His emotionless face betrays his emotions.

The series is also a pithy commentary on the world of Indian television media in bed with the corporates and lobbyists. Where a TV editor, now a fading star, resorts to blackmail to ensure a good financial deal for himself. 

The flashback scenes are crisply edited and provide context to the characters of the four accused. The series succeeds in humanising them in contrast to the `ISI operative’ tag that the CBI and everyone else is happy to brand them with and hang them from the nearest square. The Pakistan in this case is ironically in Chitrakoot, the town that has imported the hitmen to Delhi. 

What really worked for me were the mythological references and the emphasis on the family being the most important. How revenge as a primal emotion metamorphoses to hatred and changes the course of destiny. The two families in the series run parallel to each other – Hathi Ram’s flat and mediaperson Sanjeev Mehra’s bungalow. Apart from Ahlawat, Neeraj Kabi, Niharika Lyra Dutt and Abhishek Banerjee stand out. I would have liked Gul Panag with more screen time.

P.S. The canine is an integral part of the story and I found it the most clever part of the story. Including the name, Savitri for Dolly Mehra’s dog. Google Savitri and the story of how she saves her husband. This Savitri does the same for her human mom. 

T S Sudhir : With the realisation dawning that we have to learn to live with Covid-19, what is the government’s thinking on reopening of cinema theatres?

T Srinivas Yadav : Not now. It will be a problem if we open now. Moreover, even if we open, I do not think the public is in the mood to go and watch movies. They will be scared. So no one will come to the cinema halls. Also seating order will have to change to maintain social distancing.

Sudhir : Have you discussed all that needs to be done with the exhibitors?

Yadav : Yes. While multiplexes may still be able to undertake the changes within the cinema hall, the smaller theatres especially in the districts will not have the funds to do so. So as of today, we are not in favour of reopening theatres for another 2-3 months. And it is not just the mind of the government. Even the exhibitors are not on the same page. While some want operations to resume with restrictions, others favour waiting for a while. It is a divided house.

Sudhir : Close to a dozen Telugu movies are stuck at the post-production stage or the last stage of shooting with a few days work pending. Producers want permission to be given to enable them to finish the work so that the movies are ready for release by the time the theatres are allowed to open. Is the government willing to grant permission?

Yadav : Yes they are asking for permission. We will have to take a call on it. Even Television serial makers have asked for permission saying they will shoot only indoors with limited crew. But we have asked them to wait because ultimately the light boys, the drivers, crew have to travel from different parts of the city to the shooting spot. How do you ensure no one is Covid positive? It will be a risk.

Sudhir : Most filmmakers are worried about their money being stuck. Exhibitors are worried that the OTT platforms will eat into their business by screening even new releases. That trend has already begun.

Yadav : Yes, they are worried about the OTT factor. But I believe that even if a movie releases after three months, they will be able to recover. I give you the example of the August 2007 blast at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in Hyderabad. Initially there was fear about going to these two popular places but look now, both places are always crowded. We need to give this similar time.