Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, who passed away on Monday, was a rare kind of resilient politician who remained determinedly loyal and relevant to the Congress party since his induction in 1969. Beginning his career as a campaign manager for a Congress stalwart in Midnapore, West Bengal, the pipe-smoking, lecturer-lawyer swiftly rose through the party ranks and held major cabinet appointments for years.
The pinnacle was his elevation as the 13th president of the republic in 2012. Mukherjee distanced himself from active politics upon assuming this high office, but at heart he was a quintessential Congressman and a loyalist of the Gandhi family that continues to helm the party to this day.
Often described as the "man for all seasons", he combined certain distinctive personal traits that stood him and the party in good stead for five decades, as he skillfully managed a mix of challenges, crisis situations and intractable political exigencies – both when he was part of the government and when he was in the opposition.
In her condolence message, Congress president Sonia Gandhi described Mukherjee as an “integral and prominent part of public life, the Congress party and the central government” and added that he had played “a crucial role in both shaping the course of events and participating in them". These words have an added resonance at a time when the party is going through an internal convulsion. Last month, a group of "protesters" sought inner-party deliberations and course correction – although this is not the first time that the leadership has faced such a challenge.
In an unintended manner, the trajectory of Mukherjee's political career encapsulates the burden that a Gandhi family loyalist has to carry. And if "Pranabda" – as Mukherjee was fondly referred to – had been consulted by both camps within the Congress, the current crisis could have been better managed.
The predicament India's "Grand Old Party" faces at the moment, as it languishes in the opposition following decades of dominance, is linked to the family.
The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has held the Congress presidency for a record 16 times, going back to family patriarch Motilal Nehru's appointment in 1919. His son Jawaharlal – India's first prime minister – was elected in 1929 and held this office six more times until 1959, when predictably his daughter Indira was elected.
After the demise of Jawaharlal in 1964, the president was elected from outside the family. But in 1969, Indira – by now prime minister – split the party to ward off an internal challenge and appointed family loyalists to this office. She returned to the helm in 1978.
The family saga continued when her son Rajiv was elected president in 1984 after her assassination. This was the period when Mukherjee fell out of favour with the family (he maintained this was due to a vilification campaign mounted against him by party rivals) and the loyalists rallied around Rajiv, who also went on to become prime minister.
Ironically, however, since being hand-picked and mentored by Indira in 1969, Mukherjee was perceived to be less than loyal to the family and unceremoniously expelled from the party in 1986. It left many to wonder whether he had exuded too much spine and competence. Regardless of the reasons, he was reinstated in 1988 and played a key role in managing the internal party turbulence after Rajiv's assassination in 1991.
When Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv's widow, acknowledged Mukherjee’s crucial role in shaping the course of events, the subtext was perhaps an allusion to the manner in which she was elevated to the party presidency in 1998. At the time, she was a political novice and not fully conversant – in a hands-on manner – with the fine "muck" of internal party intrigue and bitter factionalism. Mukherjee, the master strategist, invoked rarely used provisions in the party constitution to orchestrate an ouster of the then sitting president Sitaram Kesri.
Mukherjee's story fits a pattern – of being part of the inner family circle, then being excluded, perhaps even being publicly disparaged and rapped on the knuckles for any display of dissent.
The current crisis in the party has been dubbed the "G23 letter". It involves a group of 23 senior Congress functionaries who have raised their concerns over the leadership crisis that resulted in the 2019 parliamentary election defeat, when Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul stepped down as president after two years, following which his mother again assumed office.
This relatively courteous – and at one level constructive – letter from the so-called G23 was seen as criticism of the family. The fact that it was circulated when Sonia Gandhi was indisposed provided an emotional tinge to the matter. There was considerable angst and anger at a stormy meeting that followed on August 24. The net result, however, was that Sonia Gandhi was able to demonstrate her control over the party, thereby putting the protesters on the defensive.
The current attitude of the family is akin to "the dog in the manger" syndrome – the mother-son pair is unable to provide effective leadership in a sustained manner to make the Congress a credible opposition party, but is yet unwilling to permit a free internal election to put in place a new leadership group.
The Congress party is in a desperate need to carry out a rigorous internal review and accept that a root-and-branch re-organisation and a grassroots revival are both imperative for its survival. Mukherjee had acquired that kind of experience and mastery over electoral detail in relation to West Bengal, but there are few in the party now with that kind of heft or national profile.
The family has to enable the revival of the party in a holistic top-down manner. Electing Rahul as president again would be an inglorious self-goal.
C Uday Bhaskar is director of the New Delhi-based think tank Society for Policy Studies
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
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Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
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Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
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HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
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Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
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These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
