Listen to excerpts from Outlook's India, Trapped issue by Pragya Vats
#Israel #Gaza #Palestine #Uttarakhand #Uttarkashi #Tunnel #WestBank #Jerusalem
#Israel #Gaza #Palestine #Uttarakhand #Uttarkashi #Tunnel #WestBank #Jerusalem
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00:00 I am Pragya and I bring to you excerpts from the current issue of Outlook titled "Trapped"
00:06 that looks at two cover stories, one where poor migrant workers trapped in a tunnel make
00:12 it alive after 17 traumatic days, the other for the Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the
00:18 ceasefire may be short-lived before the next round of attacks by Israel.
00:23 The other cover has illustration of the olive tree, a symbol of Palestinian culture and
00:30 resilience.
00:31 The Palestinian poet in exile Mahmoud Darwish has always used olive tree in his poetry.
00:37 Lines from his poem "The Second Olive Tree" reads, "The portrait for the olive tree is
00:42 neither green nor silver.
00:45 The olive tree is the color of peace if peace needed a color."
00:50 Over a million olive trees have been uprooted by the settlers in occupied Palestine since
00:55 1967 to build new settlements according to Harid's newspaper and other agencies.
01:02 From the overlap, a section that looks at news and emerging events from Outlook's special
01:07 lens, "Fight to the Finish" by Satish Padmanabhan from Outlook.
01:12 The Congress party may have some last-minute momentum but is it enough to defeat two-time
01:18 Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's BRS?
01:22 On a cool, rain-wrenched morning, Muradnagar in old Hyderabad is gearing up for the day
01:28 to unfold.
01:29 Shuttles open, puja bells ring, incense sticks are lit.
01:34 The sweet lilt of Dakhani or Hyderabadi Hindi, made popular by comedian Mahmoud in films,
01:40 wafts through the wet air, mixing with the complex aroma of haleem being stirred in wats
01:46 over slow fire.
01:47 But no one can say the state elections are just a week away.
01:52 There are no posters, no giant cut-outs and no fluttering flags.
01:57 Has campaigning in the high-tech city gone completely digital?
02:01 "Yes, to an extent," said Jishan, coming out of his shop to see what the fuss was about
02:07 to a group of journalists from outside the state trying to gauge the hawa.
02:11 "We get all updates on WhatsApp and other apps," he shows a message from an important
02:17 ulema on his phone, urging the Muslims to vote for the Congress in 69 seats and the
02:23 Bharat Rashtra Samiti in 40-odd of them.
02:26 Listing all the specific seats, the Muslims are not supporting parties, but seats in this
02:32 election, he says.
02:34 But do the voters go by what the ulemas ask them to do?
02:38 Well, some do, some don't.
02:40 Jishan is 34-year-old, enterprising and politically aware.
02:45 He has gained from the meteoric rise of Hyderabad in the past two decades.
02:51 Though he is not directly linked to IT, pharma or the infrastructure industries, he is the
02:56 managing director of Texas Overseas Educational Consultants, which runs a popular restaurant
03:03 called Azibo on TB Tower Road in nearby Malarpet, a gym on the ground floor below and on the
03:10 terrace of the building, and a mini AstroTurf cricket ground.
03:14 He says there is some resentment among the Muslims against the ruling BRS on its stand
03:19 on Article 370 and Triple Talaq, where it went with the union government, but feels
03:25 the party has an edge over the Congress.
03:28 That would make K T Ramarao, working president of BRS as well as IT and urban development
03:34 minister and most importantly, Telangana Chief Minister and party supremo K Chandrasekhar
03:40 Rao's son, beam.
03:42 We meet him at a spacious and airy Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of the Chief
03:47 Minister, where he breezes into the large conference room, uttering apologies for being
03:53 a few minutes late.
03:54 Ten years of uninterrupted rule.
03:56 Are the people looking for a change now?
03:59 Or is the BRS looking jaded?
04:01 Yes, anti-incumbency is an issue.
04:04 Ten years is an issue.
04:06 Two terms in government is an issue.
04:09 But good governance is also an issue, says KTR.
04:13 Very articulate with a hint of a New York accent where he has worked, relishing his
04:18 one-liners.
04:19 But what about the late surge in the Congress, which was pretty much written off in the state
04:25 even six months ago?
04:27 Six months ago, they were abysmal.
04:28 They were gone.
04:29 Now, they are showing some signs of resurgence.
04:33 As a result, when the expectation is so low and when the base is so low, whatever little
04:38 upsurge you have looks like you have done something truly outstanding, he reasons.