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T O EN C M Y A P E R P T U O TH www.indiatoday.in JUNE 4, 2018 `60 WI T S O P O T D E S N E C LI 9 1 7- 1 0 2 5/ 0 D/ A B A D RI A F 0; 2 8- 1 0 2 8/ 8 C)- U( 0; T H E 2 8- 1 0 2 8/ 06 B E S T 6 1/ 1 D)- N DL( C O L L E G E S O. N D E R E T GIS O F E R I N D I A THE ALL-NEW COMPREHENSIVE INDIA TODAY-MDRA SURVEY WITH NEW STREAMS 5 7 / 7 8 5 8 2 NO. 9 7 7 0 2 5 4 8 3 9 9 0 9 NI R DIGITAL EDITION FREE WITH YOUR REGISTEREDNO.DL(ND)-11/6068/2018-20;U(C)-88/2018-20;FARIDABAD/05/2017-19LICENSEDTOPOSTWITHOUTPREPAYMENT wTBCOww.indHOEiFatodayS.ELin TLSEPEGCEIASL ISSUE JUNE 4, 2018`60 OC DIGIHBTEeDAHAAaTBAAS CTUTEt IOSFINAt Ehe L ED5FOFTURONWLTAOHROIDNKGTOSITION INDIA BWE ICSTOUHOM OLMU TERHR UIS GL TSUIEIMDAAESTOEN THE ALL-NEW COMPREHENSIVE INDIA TODAY-MDRA SNUERWV SETYR WEAITMHS St se BESTlookk rward MAFKAESOHGVIOVENERLYWAOIBTUEHRLTWSHAIENRCTDOHROEOLCBEIETSYAT MEETTHECTY’SBEAUTYINFLUENCERS RNINO.28587/75 9770254839909 EXCLUSIVE MULTIMEDIA CONTENT ONLY FOR IPAD A SHOW OF HANDS A TAME OUTCOME AT SOCHI YES-MEN, PLEASE CULTIVATING THE FARMER GAGGING A CALL TO PRAYER? #BestCollegesOfIndia SUBSCRIBE NOW www.indiatoday.in/digitalmagazines FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF www.indiatoday.in EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa O urendeavourattheINDIATODAY EDITOR: Ajit Kumar Jha (Research) BestCollegesSurvey,nowinits GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Nilanjan Das; GROUP PHOTO EDITOR: Bandeep Singh MANAGING EDITORS: Kai Jabir Friese, Rajesh Jha 22ndyear,hasbeentoprovide EXECUTIVE EDITORS: Damayanti Datta, S. Sahaya Ranjit, readerswithalltheinputsto Sandeep Unnithan DEPUTY EDITORS: Prachi Bhuchar, Uday Mahurkar, Manisha Saroop makeaninformedchoicefromover MUMBAI: M.G. Arun HYDERABAD: Amarnath K. Menon CHANDIGARH: Asit Jolly 50,000highereducationinstitutes.With SENIOR EDITORS: Shweta Punj, Sasi Nair, Alokparna Das JAIPUR: Rohit Parihar thisgoalinmind,wehavemadeour SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Kaushik Deka, Ashish Mukherjee methodologymorestringentthisyearand MUMBAI: Suhani Singh, Kiran Dinkar Tare; PATNA: Amitabh Srivastava ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Shougat Dasgupta, Chinki Sinha widenedthenettoincludemanymore KOLKATA: Romita Sengupta; BHOPAL: Rahul Noronha; colleges.Wehaveincludednewentrants Our May 22, 2017 cover THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Jeemon Jacob; BEIJING: Ananth Krishnan ASSISTANT EDITOR: PUNE: Aditi S. Pai amongthetop20colleges,acrossall PHOTO DEPARTMENT: Vikram Sharma (Deputy Photo Editor), streams, and segregated rankings of Rajwant Singh Rawat (Principal Photographer), Chandra Deep Kumar (Photographer); MUMBAI: Mandar Suresh public sector and private sector engineer- AICTE to slash over 130,000 seats. There DAHeMoEdDhAaBrA D(:C Shhieafi lPehsho tBo gRraavpahle (rP)r, iDncainpeasl hP hAodtilo Jgarsaspahwera)l;a (Photographer); ing colleges. Reflecting the increasing di- are also some worrying indicators—most KOLKATA: Subir Halder (Principal Photographer); versity of career choices, we have included colleges continue to be concentrated in the CHENNAI: N.G. Jaison (Senior Photographer) PHOTO RESEARCHERS: Prabhakar Tiwari (Chief Photo Researcher), architecture, dentistry and social work north and south. The number of colleges Saloni Vaid (Principal Photo Researcher), streams this year. Our new survey part- in the east, including densely populated Shubhrojit Brahma (Photo Researcher) CHIEF OF GRAPHICS: Tanmoy Chakraborty ner, Marketing & Development Research states like Bihar, Jharkhand and West ART DEPARTMENT: Sanjay Piplani (Senior Art Director); Associates (MDRA), surveyed 988 col- Bengal, is abysmally low. Jyoti K. Singh (Art Director), Vikas Verma (Associate Art Director); Bhoomesh Dutt Sharma (Senior Designer) leges nationwide and visited 115 colleges Although India aims to attain a GER Siddhant Jumde (Senior Illustrator) PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT: Harish Agarwal (Chief of Production), to verify ranking parameters. of 30 per cent by 2020, it will still trail Naveen Gupta (Chief Coordinator), It is of course diicult to talk about behind global powers like China (42 per Vijay Kumar Sharma (Senior Coordinator) colleges without raising an alarm about cent). Higher government spending in PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Manoj Sharma ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Anil Fernandes (Impact) the state of our higher education sector, education, with stricter focus on quality IMPACT TEAM and here I’d like to cite the NITI Aayog’s management, is the way forward. Just Senior General Manager: Jitender Lad (West) three-year action agenda released last year. to give you an idea, the Rs 44,000 crore General Manager: Mayur Rastogi (North), Upendra Singh (Bangalore), India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), the Indian students spent in 2016-17 to study Kaushiky Gangulie (East) GROUP CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: Vivek Malhotra number of students in a particular grade, in just one country, the US, outstripped Assistant General Manager: Garima Prashar (Marketing) has risen over the past five years to 25.2 the Rs 30,000 crore the Centre allocated SALES AND OPERATIONS: D.V.S. Rama Rao, Chief General Manager Deepak Bhatt, General Manager (National Sales) per cent, but is still way below the global for higher education this year. The reasons Vipin Bagga, Deputy General Manager (Operations) average of 44 per cent. A 2016 assessment for this exodus are not far to see. India seri- Rajeev Gandhi, Regional Sales Manager (North) Arokia Raj L., Regional Sales Manager (South) of 150,000 engineering graduates found ously lags behind when it comes to higher only 18 per cent were employable in the education. Just three institutions—IIT software sector in a functional role, only Delhi, IIT Bombay and IISc Bengaluru— 41 per cent in non-functional business feature in the list of top 200 universities in process outsourcing and only 4 per cent the world. These are appalling figures for a in software engineering start-ups. Large country on the cusp of a demographic and Volume XLIII Number 23; For the week sections of India’s workforce have insuf- economic revolution. India will become May 29-June 4, 2018, published on every Friday ficient job skills because only 2.3 per cent the world’s youngest country by 2020 with ● Editorial/Corporate Office Living Media India Ltd., India Today Group Mediaplex, have undergone formal skill training as an average age of 29 years and the world’s FC-8, Sector-16A, Film City, Noida - 201301; Phone: 0120-4807100 ● Sub scriptions: For assistance contact Customer Care India Today Group, B-45, opposed to 52 per cent in the US and 96 third largest economy by 2028. Not Sector-57, Noida (UP)-201301; Phones: Toll-free number: 1800 1800 100 (from BSNL/MTNL lines); (95120) 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad; (0120) 2479900 per cent in South Korea. reforming our moribund education system from Rest of India (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Fax: (0120) 4078080; Mumbai: 022-66063411/3412, Kolkata: 033-40525327, Chennai: 044-24303200; Alarming facts when you consider could squander this rare opportunity. e-mail: [email protected] ● Sales: Direct all trade enquiries to General Manager (Sales), Living Media India Indians spend over Rs 12 lakh on coll- It’s worth remembering that no coun- L●i Rmeigtedd. ,O Bf-fi4c5e,: SKe-c9t oCro 5n7 n,a Nugohidta C-i2r0c1u3s,0 N1 e(wUP D) elhi-110001 ege education, way above the per capita try has become a developed country with- ● Impact Offices: 1201, 12th Floor, Tower 2 A, One Indiabulls Centre, (Jupiter income of Rs 1.11 lakh. With this in mind, out a robust education system. Sadly, our Mills), S.B. Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai-400013; Phone: 66063355; Fax: 66063226 ● E-1, Ground Floor, Videocon Towers, Jhandewalan Extn, our Best Colleges Survey has introduced primary education system is in a worse New Delhi ● Guna Complex, 5th Floor, Main Building, No.443, Anna Salai, Chennai-600018; Phone: 2847 8525 ● 201-204 Richmond Towers, 2nd Floor, new features like a return on investment mess than higher education. It requires 12, Richmond Road, Bangalore-560025; Phones: 22212448, 22213037, 22218343; Fax: 22218335; ● 52, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 4th Floor, (RoI) ranking to highlight the quality of vision, commitment and dedication to Kolkata-700071; Phones: 22825398; F ax: 22827254; ● 6-3-885/7/B, S omajiguda, Hyderabad-500082; Phone: 23401657, 23400479, 23410100, 23402481, jobs (in terms of salary package) one could reform our educational institutions. It 2P3h4o1n0es9:8 223, 7273045171,4 29387; 7F0a5x8: 2; 3F4a0x3: 428347 7●0 3599/ 1●0 24/5C,, K“Saurarykakraattth R Boalddg,” K, o2cnhdi F6l8o2o0r,1 6; expect after passing out from a college and should be our topmost priority as it would Behind White House, Panchwati, Office C.G. Road, Ahmedabad-380006; Phone: how it compares to course fees paid. be the greatest gift we can give to future 26560393, 26560929; Fax: 26565293 ● Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved througho ut the world. R eproduction in any m anner is p rohibited. The survey, put together by Senior generations. Printed and published by Manoj Sharma on behalf of Living Media India Limited. Printed at Thomson Press India Limited, Associate Editor Kaushik Deka, has found 18-35 Milestone, Delhi Mathura Road, Faridabad-121007, (Haryana) and at A-9, In dustrial Complex, Maraimalai N agar, District interesting facts. The alarming slide in the Kancheepuram-603209, (Tamil Nadu). Published at K-9, Connaught engineering stream continues unabated. Circus, New Delhi-110001. Editor: Raj Chengappa. ● IN DIA TODAY does not take the re sponsibility for returning unsolicited Once the most sought-after stream, today publication material. over 50 per cent of engineering seats are All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of (Aroon Purie) competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only going empty with colleges approaching the JUNE 4, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)1 INSIDE UPFRONT LEISURE NO TO YES-MEN Q&A: MADHURI DIXIT GOVERNORS PG 4 PG 128 18 THE BEST COLLEGES New college-goers need look no further than the India Today-MDRA Survey to make an informed choice NOTETOTHEREADER:Fromtimetotime,youwillseepagestitled‘AnImpactFeature’or‘Advertorial’or‘Imprints’inINDIATODAY.They arenodiferentfromanadvertisementandthemagazine’seditorialstafisnotinvolvedintheircreationinanyway. Photographs by BANDEEP SINGH; Model ANSHIKHA TOMAR 2 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY JUNE 4, 2018 22 ARTS 90 HOTEL 104 BACHELOR OF ST STEPHEN’S COLLEGE MANAGEMENT COMPUTER Delhi INSTITUTE OF HOTEL APPLICATION 30 SCIENCE MANAGEMENT, CATERING & SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION COMPUTER STUDIES & MIRANDA HOUSE New Delhi RESEARCH Delhi 96 BACHELOR OF Pune 38 COMMERCE BUSINESS 110 FASHION DESIGN SHRI RAM COLLEGE OF ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF COMMERCE SVKM’S NMIMS ANIL FASHION TECHNOLOGY (NIFT) Delhi SURENDRA MODI SCHOOL Delhi 46 ENGINEERING OF COMMERCE 116 SOCIAL WORK INDIAN INSTITUTE OF Mumbai TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY SCIENCES Delhi Mumbai 58 ARCHITECTURE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE & PLAN- NING, INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY-ROORKEE Roorkee 65 MEDICAL ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES New Delhi 70 DENTAL MAULANA AZAD INSTI- TUTE OF DENTAL SCIENCES New Delhi 76 LAW NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL OF INDIA UNIVERSITY Bengaluru 84 MASS COMMUNICATION INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MASS COMMUNICATION New Delhi Cover by NILANJAN DAS CLARIFICATION:Acaptioninourfeature‘DemographicDownside’(May7)indicatedthatsomeelderlyresidentsofSobhaHermitageinKeralawerebeingcharged for accommodationandservices.Infact,the11remainingseniorcitizenshousedatthisinstitutionarelookedafterentirelyfreeofcost.Theerrorisregretted. Readers are recommended to make appropriate enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or entering E-MAIL to: into commitments in r elation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The India Today Group does not [email protected] vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of products and services. The printer, publisher, editor-in-chief and the editor of the India Today Group publications shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such logon towww.indiatoday.in claims not being honoured by the advertisers. FOR SUBSCRIPTION ASSISTANCE, CONTACT: Customer Care, India Today Group, B-45, Sector-57, Noida (Uttar Pradesh)-201301. Phones: 2479900 from Noida, 95120- 2479900 from Delhi and Faridabad, and 0120-2479900 from Rest of India. Toll Free No.: 1800 1800 100. Fax: 0120-4078080. E-mail: [email protected] JUNE 4, 2018 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY (cid:3)3 UPFRON T THEOIL AMESSYSTORY IMBROGLIO OFWASTE PG7 PG8 CRIMESAGAINST TAMEOUTCOME DALITS ATSOCHI PG9 PG13 PLAYING ALONG Governor Vala (right) and BSY after the swearing-in ceremony PTI GOVERNORS NO MORE YES-MEN, PLEASE By Amarnath K. Menon R eplaced by gubernatorial skull- rest Rao. He complied. Moments later, It is true the BJP had finishedasthe duggery on August 16, 1984, asked whether he agreed with what he single largest party. It is also truethat while recuperating from heart had been ordered to do, Reddy replied: it was some way short of a majority surgery in the United States, the duly “The governor is the Centre’s agent and and that the Congress-JD(S) post-poll elected chief minister of Andhra the highest constitutional authority in alliance—“unholy” though AmitShah Pradesh, N.T. Rama Rao, called upon the state. His word is law.” called it—had the numbers. Valaeven governor Thakur Ram Lal at Hyder- On May 16, 34 years later, when ignored the convention of pickingthe abad’s Raj Bhavan and informed him Karnataka governor Vajubhai R. Vala most senior MLA as pro-tem speaker of the assault being perpetrated on decided to swear in the BJP’s B.S. Yed- in preference for one from theBJP. democracy. Lal, a former chief minister dyurappa as chief minister, he seemed “The governor has violatedall of Himachal Pradesh, hand in glove to be channelling Lal and acting as a democratic principles by sendinghis with Indira Gandhi, ordered the state’s stooge for the Centre rather than as invitation letter late in the nightand police chief, M. Mahendar Reddy, to ar- a principled constitutional authority. calling for a swearing-in ceremonythe 14 (cid:3)INDIA TODAY JUNE 4, 2018 UPFRONT next morning,” said K.C. Venugopal, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka. Un- surprisingly, the BJP disagreed. “When there is no pre-poll alliance, according to constitutional convention,” said P. Muralidhar Rao, a BJP national general secretary, “and the Supreme Court’s observations in the S.R. Bommai case, the single largest party should be given an op- portunity to form the government and prove its majority on the floor.” Both parties can cite precedent in their favour. The Congress can point to recent elec- tions in Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur, where the single largest party was ignored in favour of post- poll alliances formed by the BJP. The Constitu- tion does not offer cut-and-dried guidance in such cases; much is at the governor’s Neutral discretion. But governors Vala did not appear must now be to be acting in appointed good conscience. and prodded “Calling on the INTOLERANCE BJP, which did not to act in the GAGGING A CALL have the major- interests of ity, to form the democracy government was a TO PRAYER? travesty of the Constitution,” said Dr V. Suresh, president, People’s Union for Civil A Liberties. “The trimurthi think they can start letter written by Anil nation”, Naqvi said, “should their Gujarati business in Karnataka,” smirked Couto, the archbishop be seen. As long as you have a H.D. Kumaraswamy, chief minister-designate. of Delhi, noting a prejudiced mind, you cannot Vala is believed to have consulted former “turbulent political atmo- look at this progress.” BJP attorney general Mukul Rohatgi. Law minis- sphere which poses a threat president Amit Shah referred ter Ravi Shankar Prasad quoted the Bommai to the democratic principles... to the letter when he said in verdict and findings of the Sarkaria and Punchhi and the secular fabric of the a press conference, with not commissions, but his arguments backing Vala nation”, has been interpreted a trace of irony, that “nobody had a whiff of sophistry. “The governor’s sole job,” by the BJP as criticism of the should talk of polarising the said Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde, “was government. Home minister people on the basis of reli- to decide who was likely to command the confi- Rajnath Singh admitted he gion.” KJ Alphons, minister of dence of the House and invite that lot to form the had not seen the letter but tourism, said, again without a government. He should have had strong reasons sought to reassure people any- trace of irony, that “godmen” to discard the side with the majority in favour of way that “India is one of those should steer clear of politics. the single largest party which was well short.” countries where minorities And then Giriraj Singh, It is no one’s contention that Vala is the only are safe and no one is allowed minister of state for micro, governor to have proved pliant to his master’s to discriminate on the basis of small, and medium enter- voice, but it cannot be anyone’s contention either caste and religion.” prises, jumped into the fray. that choosing political expediency over credibi- Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, In full battle dress, yodelling lity is in the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra the minority affairs min- war cries. “The church is Modi’s best interest. Vala has been embarrassed. ister, argued that the arch- trying to create a situation If any good is to come of this farcical episode, bishop saw events through of civil war in the country,” neutral governors must now be appointed and a jaundiced eye. “The prime thundered Singh. A slight encouraged through rules and protocol to act in minister’s commitment to de- overreaction, you might the interests of democracy, not political power. ■ velopment without discrimi- think. But he had more. 16 INDIATODAY JUNE 4, 2018 INDEX HOPE AND PRAY Just another day at The Oil Imbroglio New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral Retail prices of fuel hit record highs this week, and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan promised the government would find ways to check the nation taken so personally spiral. India is one of the leading importers of by the BJP? The letter was crude. Rising prices and a strengthening dollar dated May 8 and could easily will adversely impact India’s fiscal and current have been ignored. Couto has account deficits. Government sources have been S GE been forced by the manu- playing down the impact while also insisting that A M factured furore to state the the government has no role in the pricing of oil, TY I obvious—that his letter was with retail prices pegged to daily fluctuations in T GE not political but an attempt the global price. But critics have been quick to AL/ at religious instruction. Both point out that the excise duties on fuel have been W EL Couto and his secretary, Fa- consistently high, even when fuel prices were low. D N ther Robinson, have said the A H A K intention was not to criticise `76.87 Y any one political party or M U A government. Is the BJP so S Price per litre of wrapped up in the rhetoric petrol in Delhi on of the day that it cannot see Tuesday, May 22, a that the “threat to the secular record; Rs 84.4 in “Everyactionhasareaction”, fabric of the nation”, as Couto Mumbai; diesel prices 6 a.m. too hit a high of hesaid,thethreatimplicit.“I wrote, could reasonably be Rs68.08inDelhi won’ttakeastepthatdisrupts interpreted as a dig at the Thetimeofthedaily communalharmony.Butif Congress too, with its politi- `19.48 fuelpricereset,a thechurchaskspeopleto cally expedient dabblings in systeminoperation sinceJune2017 praysothattheModigovern- Hindutva-lite. Excise duty charged mentisnotformed...people Not to be outdone in the for every litre of fromotherreligionswilldo overreaction stakes, petrol by the Centre; 4.4 ‘kirtanpuja’sothatitis.” an ex-Congress leader Rs 15.33 per litre of in Goa, Savio Rodrigues diesel. Every rupee million cut in excise duty will NOWHERE tweeted, to a chorus of online result in a Rs 13,000 approval, that the media crore loss, claims Barrelsofoilper IN COUTO’S should cover “this absolutely government day,imported byIndia;imports LETTER DOES HE communal statement of $80 accountfor83% Archbishop of Delhi.” What, ofIndia’soilneeds; MENTION HINDUS Rodrigues asked, “does he Top3suppliers: OR SO-CALLED mean ‘defeat Hindu forces’? The price of a barrel Iraq,SaudiArabia Does he imply that Hindus of Brent crude last andIran HINDU FORCES week, the first time are bad for Hindustan?” such levels had Nowhere in Couto’s letter been hit since 2014, $8.1 billion does he mention Hindus largely because of Couto’s letter did not or so-called Hindu forces. concerns over Iran India’scrudeoil and Venezuela name any political parties. It Indeed, his caveats, such as importbillinFebruary is an appeal in despair and they are, and intended for 2018,reveals hope, the latter somewhat circulation only among the 19 governmentdata;the billforthisfinancial quixotically to be found in an priests and parishioners of yearisexpectedto exhortation to pray and fast his archdiocese, are rather Days of hiatus, as cross$105billion, petrol and diesel price every Friday in the run-up mild. What does it say that upfrom$88billionin hikes were suspended to the 2019 general election. the response has been so 2017-18 during the run-up Why is an archbishop calling politically charged and out of to the Karnataka for Catholics to pray for their proportion? ■ elections UPFRONT BOOKS A MESSY STORY OF WASTE By Bharati Chaturvedi I t’s a legitimate question: why is place, they allude to repair and reuse India so dirty? Undaunted by the as a sort of hallmark of Gandhi, silenc- complexities of waste in India, ing both the context of the man and historian and writer Robin Jeffrey the life conditions of millions globally, and anthropologist Assa Doron mostly without agency. Sometimes, team up again, to write this book. the ana lysis is facile. On why there It’s a 360 degree apprai sal of isn’t a robust change in many Indian India’s waste crisis—broken into seven municipalities: ‘For an IAS officer, chapters. Researching a signifi cant being a municipal commi ssioner is breadth of writing and data, they something you do for 2 or 3 years...’ conclude: there’s a lot of waste in India But isn’t that the case with everything because we consume differently and the IAS does? What makes the tempo- more; we are also more numerous; rary nature of posting for administra- the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, they tors a cause of failure in one sector but believe, hasn’t quite cleaned up India; success in another? the caste system continues to bear the Books create space for authors to WASTE OF A NATION brunt of urbanisation; and people are Garbage and Growth in India lay out their perspective, even if they key. So, what’s new? by Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey sometimes start pinning gold medals For one, a lot of data and refere- Harvard University Press on people in the form of patronis- 416 pages nce—the chapter notes and bibliogra- ing burra sahib descriptions: ‘the phy are a hundred pages—that build most committed and knowledgeable the picture of the new, consumerist advocate’, ‘an authority on these mat- A lot of the authors’ middle class whose waste is strewn ters’, and my favourite—‘if only, if only good work is undone across the country. Despite many (while advocating for more goodies for surprising absences, I quite enjoyed by the sweeping, NGOs)’. By the end, I made peace with this usually ignored section. The data often perception- these, because they usefully indicate is valuable, though it also left me based, generalisa- the authors’ people-centric politics. wondering if the authors used the data tions they make When a book is full of lofty unquestioningly as long as the sources truisms, one begins to miss critical appeared kosher. How did they tri- enquiry of the kind one expects of angulate important numbers? They serious scholars. No one piece of work peg the number of people picking and can meaningfully speak of everything. recycling trash in Delhi at 300,000. I er choices—pollution versus purity, Yet, if one is trying to understand why would put it at half, based on multiple in this case. You see the footprints of India’s detritus is smeared across its sources. What made them pick this frugality washed off, yet embedded in landscape, surely the nature of the source? I couldn’t figure out, and the consciousness of many. new Indian city—as it is emerging while they mention the miseries of Some of this is undone by the and becoming the focus of all physical data accuracy, they also, on occasion, sweeping, often perception-based, land use, masterplans and local area turn victims of the phenomenon. generalisations. Sample this: ‘India’s plans—deserves attention? By weaving mass urbanisation into recycling economy has long existed; Who is the book written for? I’m shifting consumer choices, Doron- it is innovative and subversive; and not sure—it reads like a thinking per- Jeffrey make the case of waste much although it is constrained by its cot- son’s travelogue through urban India. richer. It isn’t just about people picking tage industry structure, it is propelled This is also its strength—for all its convenience or enjoying being wealth- by flexibi lity.’ What shall we make misses, it takes the reader back to the ier. The case of shifting to toothpaste of this? How should we unshackle reality of a complex, messy world of and brush from datun gestures at the recycling? Doesn’t the sector already waste, an important armour against residual tension even in such consum- metabolise optimally? At another today’s silver-bullet projects. ■ 28 INDIATODAY JUNE 4, 2018

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