Feature
Powerful Indians do not really think Mahatma Gandhi is relevant for India
This might seem to be a silly question since Gandhi is exalted as Bapu (“the Father of the Nation”), revered as the glorified Mahatma (“the Great Soul”), and memorialized as India’s greatest martyr, who was assassinated on January 30, 1948, and gave his life for India’s freedom and independence. Nevertheless, large groups of powerful Indians do not really think that Gandhi is relevant for India.
Most prominent are those that Gandhi classified as “modern Indians,” who identify with the worldview and values of Western “modern civilization.” As portrayed in Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj and other writings, most of these Indians adopt modern Western values and approaches, including their promotion of the modern “machine (technology) craze” and the proliferation of endless ego-defined needs and consumption. They now own and/or control the big corporations, the land and natural resources, the financial capital, the modern technology, the media, the military, and the politics.
They share the neoliberal, capitalist, globalized, and other anti-Gandhi values of their US counterparts. In terms of these shared economic and other values, priorities, and policies, they usually strike me as more American than I, as they embrace the models of development and other positions rejected by those of us in the USA: peace, justice, and environmental Movements.
Next in importance are those now in political power, who adopt an ideology of Hindutva (Hinduness) in which India is an essentially Hindu civilization and nation. This aggressive approach often includes the idealized, ideologically driven rewriting of Indian history and culture that results in a chauvinistic, often violent, Hindu nationalism. In such current formulations of Hindu India’s exceptionalism – with a selectively distorted Hindu ideology that fails to address a history of casteism, class exploitation, and patriarchal oppression -India has the best ancient Vedic values, the best culture, the best morality, the best religion, and the blueprint of solutions for all contemporary crises. Gandhi’s inclusive, pluralist, tolerant, nonviolent, and democratic approach is antithetical to such a political approach.
Other Indian groups considering Gandhi largely irrelevant for their present and future India include Ambedkerite and other Dalits (formerly best known as the “untouchables” who are below the lowest caste designation), the Adivasis (tribals, original inhabitants), and certain Maoist and other groups engaged in armed struggle.
There are also many rigid, conservative, and reactionary Gandhians, at times resembling religious fundamentalists, whose approach to their Gandhi – focused on such issues as chastity and opposition to birth control, prohibition of alcohol, veneration of cows, and embrace of simple living without modern conveniences-is also largely irrelevant to solving India’s crises today.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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