Freedom without strings
A NUMBER of larger issues, including the voters' right to information and the media freedom, are sure to come up before the Constitution Bench when it takes up the Election Commission's petition, seeking the enforcement of its "controversial ban" on publication of exit and opinion polls during the elections.

A test case
CORRUPT, says the Punjab Lokpal, Justice Harbans Singh Rai, in his report on four former Ministers, all belonging to the Congress. Not corrupt, says Governor Chhibber in his capacity as the competent authority.

Cleaning the DD stable
THE discovery of currency notes totalling crores stashed everywhere in the house of one of its Deputy Directors-General seems to have embarrassed Doordarshan enough to order a thorough review of its functioning.

NUCLEAR DOCTRINE
Minimum deterrence, maximum debate
by Vinod Anand
THE nuclear doctrine prepared by 27 members of the National Security Advisory Board has distinctive Indian flavour and uniqueness about it. It is unique that all members could reach a consensus on the doctrine and it is the only nuclear doctrine in the world which in its preamble talks about “nuclear weapons along with other weapons of mass destruction constituting the gravest threat to humanity and to peace and stability in the international system”.

Sena-BJP Govt: A balance sheet
by P.K. Ravindranath
MIRED in controversies, charged with stupendous corruption and unimaginable administrative inefficiency coupled with inexperience, the Shiv Sena-led coalition government in Maharashtra is having a tough time facing the electorate.

EC moves — hunger for publicity?
by Tavleen Singh
I RETURNED from my travels abroad in time to cast my vote in the New Delhi constituency. Mercifully, I was on the list this time but there were several people who were not and election officials were as usual uncooperative and unsympathetic.

DD 24-hr channel a myth
by Amita Malik
AFTER that ritzy launch of DD’s 24-hour channels, I decided to be a good girl and give them a chance, although very few people, except those without cable, view DD by choice. Soon enough, I discovered that the 24-hour bit was a myth, at least in our area.

The mother cow
by Sushil Kapoor
LIKE any other morning sojourn I had ventured out of my house to enjoy the beauty of nature and inhale as much pure air as available in these early moments when the sun is yet to make its appearance and the din and dust raised by the supposedly pollution-free tested vehicles roaring through every nook and corner are yet to make their presence felt.

75 Years Ago

September 11, 1924
Voting on Minister’s salaries
CALCUTTA: A communique issued by the Bengal Government states that the attention of the Government has been drawn to the allegation of the newspaper “Forward” that a police officer with a posse of constables approached the residence of Srijut Brajendra Kishore Roy Chaudhuri and asked him to attend the Council and vote for the Government and offered him police escort.

Freedom without strings

A NUMBER of larger issues, including the voters' right to information and the media freedom, are sure to come up before the Constitution Bench when it takes up the Election Commission's petition, seeking the enforcement of its "controversial ban" on publication of exit and opinion polls during the elections. In the first place, the freedom of expression has to be accepted as "sacrosanct" as per the provisions provided in the Constitution. The media in a democratic society like ours will not relish any curbs on its freedom of operation; nor will it endorse any form of censorship which may be violative of Article 19 (I)A of the Constitution. The Election Commission's guidelines banning poll surveys have to be tested on the touchstone of these constitutional provisions. They cannot be viewed in isolation, though the Commission's motivations behind such a move need to be viewed in a larger perspective. It obviously wants to ensure that the voters are not unduly influenced by opinion and exit polls in an election which is spread over a month. Poll surveys in one area may influence the voters exercising their franchise at subsequent dates. Whether the Election Commission has exceeded its jurisdiction can only be decided by the five-judge Bench. As the Chief Justice of India, Mr A.S.Anand, observed during the hearing on Thursday: " The very maintainability of the petition has to be debated keeping in mind the right of the media and the guidelines." This will not be an easy exercise since all related matters will have to be examined, including the "reliability level" of psephologists' research along with their findings. Even the Press Council of India had sought a blanket ban on the publication of poll surveys on the ground that they "unfairly influence voting patterns".

Attorney General Soli Sorabjee has said that the government is not for a confrontation with the Election Commission. He has, however, questioned the legality of the EC guidelines. He thinks that these are ultra vires of the Constitution. We will have to await the Constitution Bench's verdict in this matter. It needs to be pointed out that certain regulations on exit and opinion polls do exist in several democracies. In France, opinion polls cannot be aired one week before the actual date of election. In the USA, exit polls are not aired until polling is over in all the time zones. There are, however, certain points which should not be lost sight while examining the basic issues. First, the freedom of expression must be accepted in letter and spirit. Second, the right to information, though not enshrined in the Constitution, needs to be conceded for ensuring transparency in the system and strengthening the country's democratic organs. Third, the jurisdiction and powers of autonomous institutions spelt out in the Constitution need to be respected. Their authority should not be diluted. Fourth, the quality of professionalism in organising exit and opinion polls may be worth looking into, though it must be said that the country's electronic and print media have, by and large, conducted themselves in a responsible manner. They are, therefore, not suspect. Fifth, there should be no place for political and business preferences in examining the plea on exit and opinion polls. Sixth, poll surveys should not only be transparent and clean but also seen to be so.

Freedom is not a halfway house. Undue curbs and censorship are anti-theses of democracy and these go against the very spirit of the Constitution. Democracy in India may be wanting in certain functional norms. But this can be corrected by trial and error. We hope that the Constitution Bench will address itself to the sensitive questions raised here while taking into account not only the ground realities but also the people's growing appetite for more information and correct information. Distorted information can be as harmful as selective feeding of half information or quarter information. As a rule, the voters should have the right to update their information. For this, it is absolutely essential that psephologists should be "responsible people" and do their utmost "to predict accurately". The moot point is: is this being done?

A test case

CORRUPT, says the Punjab Lokpal, Justice Harbans Singh Rai, in his report on four former Ministers, all belonging to the Congress. Not corrupt, says Governor Chhibber in his capacity as the competent authority. Now the controversy has gone to the Assembly for a final decision which will set a trend. Both the Lokpal and the competent authority scoured the same records, the same statements by complainants and the same set of circumstantial evidence to come to their respective conclusions. It is obvious that they have not applied any subjective criteria before forming their views. Yet there is no point of convergence on any charge. The reason for this is easily explained. The Lokpal Act can be interpreted in many ways. At one level the institution is an unofficial vigilance set-up, or just a complaint box. It has to follow the procedures of the criminal code but without the necessary staff or the power of a court. It has to wait for a complaint backed by reasonably valid documents, something an ordinary citizen cannot produce. Only a Minister’s or high-profile politician’s opponents can, and their motive is not to weed out corruption but to weed out the rival. This realisation explains the rigorous checks introduced in its working. At the same time, the Lokpal is also expected to offer easy access to common citizens not only to seek redressal for personal wrongs done by a capricious political set-up but also create confidence in the fairplay of the system. There is an element of antithesis in this and the Punjab development underscores it.

The larger issue is more dismaying. Politicians do not want a genuinely independent body to investigate their financial dealings. They do not even want a semi-independent organisation like the Central Vigilance Commission to remain out of their control, and see how the Supreme Court forced the Centre to vest the CVC with more powers. Politicians cannot openly admit this and cannot afford to have an ombudsman with full power, full scope and full cooperation. The idea of an ombudsman is as old as 1965 when Indira Gandhi introduced a pale version of a Bill. Six Bills and 34 years later things have not improved a bit. The original plan was to set up an organisation to go into charges of non-corruption like nepotism, misuse of power for non-pecuniary ends and so on. During the long years of delay public interest litigation has successfully turned the apex court into an ombudsman. In the process the common man’s cynicism about fighting rampant corruption has increased. Yet the governments, at the Centre and in the states, go through the ritual like in a pantomime. Take Punjab itself. The Lokpal appointed earlier was asked to vacate his office one day. He went without a fight which would have been ugly both for the litigant and unbearably so for the government. The appointment of the present incumbent was challenged by one of the four indicted ministers. In Haryana there was a controversy even before the first Lokpal was named. Himachal Pradesh has a Lok Ayukta but the political rivals hurl corruption charges against one another through the columns of newspapers and not the Lok Ayukta. The nation is often told that corruption is no more an issue in elections. So be it, but Lokpal should crop up as one if only to expose the united stand of politicians to fight against the institution that will fight corruption.

Cleaning the DD stable

THE discovery of currency notes totalling crores stashed everywhere in the house of one of its Deputy Directors-General seems to have embarrassed Doordarshan enough to order a thorough review of its functioning. The cleaning-up has been going on for nearly a month and another DDG, Mr Anees ul Haq, has now been placed under suspension. It has not been given out in the official release whether he too was literally rolling in money like Mr M. B. Pahadi, but obviously there must have been enough evidence against him as well. He was the head of the Kashmir and North-East cell of the Prasar Bharati Corporation that has an annual budgetary allocation of nearly Rs 160 crore directly from the Ministry of Home Affairs. When ordinary DDGs can “save” crores of rupees for decorating their mattresses, the small savings skills of someone who handles a more lucrative assignment without too many questions asked can be well imagined. The suspended officer is alleged to have favoured “unknown” producers. That is where the real money indeed is. Quantity can be measured; quality cannot be. It is through such means that Doordarshan has earned a reputation for the soporific effects of its programmes. The scrutiny of records is believed to have been extended to the sport channel as well as the National and Metro channels. If it is conducted without any fear or favour, many more senior heads would roll.

But the question is whether this is going to be a one-time operation or an on-going process. The experience so far is that the investigating agencies go hammer and tongs for a few months and then everything slides back to normal. Actually, serial producers who have limited talent but unlimited expense accounts are said to be awaiting just a slowing down of the current drive. Making TV programmes has stopped being a creative venture and has turned into a mega-buck operation where you have to pay commission to the officials for every service rendered. Prasar Bharati Corporation officials have the tendency to blame everyone from private channels to cablewallahs for the poor reception of Doordarshan channels. What the channels actually lack is quality control. Once Doordarshan starts making decent programmes, which are at least as good as those made by private channels, there is no reason why it cannot reclaim the lost glory. For that cherished goal to be achieved, it is necessary to bring enough transparency to the system so that gutter-level programmes do not get aired.

NUCLEAR DOCTRINE
Minimum deterrence, maximum debate
by Vinod Anand

THE nuclear doctrine prepared by 27 members of the National Security Advisory Board has distinctive Indian flavour and uniqueness about it. It is unique that all members could reach a consensus on the doctrine and it is the only nuclear doctrine in the world which in its preamble talks about “nuclear weapons along with other weapons of mass destruction constituting the gravest threat to humanity and to peace and stability in the international system”. And it is all encompassing in the sense that after outlining its objectives, explanation of concepts of minimum credible deterrence, command and control, security and safety, research and development, it goes on to emphasise on disarmament and arms control measures. Whether the decision on the timing of the issue of the doctrine was political or apolitical, one thing which is certain is that it has conveyed to the members of the world community the firmness and resolve of India in pursuing its rightful national security objectives. Even if the doctrine had been put forward at a later date, the reaction of world community in general and P-5 in particular would have been no different.

The right of self-defence is enshrined in the UN charter. Therefore, a credible minimum nuclear deterrence in the absence of global nuclear disarmament is a must for India’s strategic interests. But what constitutes this minimum, credible deterrence has not been defined though broad principles of this concept have been outlined in the doctrine. The positive aspects of not defining the numbers are also related to continuously evolving threat scenarios and strategic environment. Therefore India, at this stage, should not get tied down to any firm commitment on type and quantity of its nuclear arsenal when no such commitments are forthcoming from other nuclear nations.

The “no first use” (NFU) policy is, without doubt, a costly policy compared to the first use policy of Western nations and Pakistan. China’s “no first use” policy does not apply to reclaiming its own territory i.e. Taiwan and perhaps Arunachal! NFU implies that we are willing to absorb the first strike and the massive number of casualties, which would be caused by it. And thereafter, we should be in a position to carry out a “punitive retaliation” with nuclear weapons to inflict damage unacceptable to the aggressor. This has direct implications for size and responsiveness of the nuclear arsenal. The positive aspects of this policy are that it is defensive and peaceful in content and supports the fundamental purpose of nuclear weapons, that is to deter the use of nuclear weapons. In view of the USA, the purpose of nuclear weapons is to deter all weapons of mass destruction, which includes biological and chemical weapons. However, our nuclear doctrine either does not visualise the use of biological and chemical weapons (use of these weapons is illegal while use of nuclear weapons is still considered legal) or considers the nuclear response as not being appropriate against such type of weapons.

One aspect on which the doctrine appears to be silent is the use of tactical nuclear weapons or battlefield nuclear weapons. However, on closer scrutiny the document would reveal that the use of such weapons perhaps, is not visualised in the doctrine. The doctrine avers that “any nuclear attack on India and its forces shall result in punitive retaliation”. Thus the term “forces” refers to both conventional and nuclear forces and punitive retaliation would be of the type which is unacceptable to the aggressor. This clearly does not mean that we will retaliate with battlefield nuclear weapons or tactical nukes if our strike formations are attacked with nuclear weapons. The moment we accept the western nuclear theologies and polemics of flexible and graduate response we are moving towards accepting that nuclear wars can be fought and a limited nuclear war can take place. And in accepting such a policy we move away from our stated fundamental purpose of nuclear weapons: that they are meant to deter nuclear weapons and not for fighting a war.

Though India did explode sub-kiloton devices, it was more of a demonstration of technology than any indication of intentions towards use of battlefield nuclear weapons. A combination of precision guided munitions, air strikes with smart missiles and bombs, heavy volume of accurate artillery fire and multi-barrel rocket launchers can produce effects at the target end, which are better than those achieved by battlefield nuclear weapons. And if all these information age weapon systems and force-multipliers are coordinated effectively they can even produce the effects equivalent, to say, a 5 to 10 kiloton tactical nuclear weapon. And in the use of these precision weapons there is no risk of escalation to a nuclear war. Another difficulty will be that battlefield nuclear weapons will introduce a high degree of difficulty in command and control systems. The earlier policy statements by the Defence Minister have ruled out the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Therefore, such a policy leads to laying emphasis on maintaining highly effective conventional military capabilities so that the threshold of outbreak of both conventional military conflict as well as that of nuclear conflict is raised.

Along with the concept of minimum deterrent is the key question of credibility, which besides the aspect of extent and design of nuclear arsenal, also involves elements of reliability, timeliness, accuracy and weight of attack. For instance, if an aggressor launches a first strike then there will be tremendous international pressure on India not retaliate and as more time elapses between strike and response, the political will or “national will” may tend to diminish. Therefore, all the procedures of continuity in command and control need a detailed thought and should be included in the finalised version of the doctrine.

The draft doctrine also mentions that the Indian defence forces should be in a position to execute operations in an NBC environment with minimal degradation. The mere presence of nuclear weapons imposes caution on the adversary and has impact on the battlefield conduct. The nuclear factor would inhibit the attacker in planning for a deep objective in the adversary’s terrain lest the nuclear threshold is crossed in an earlier time frame. Thus, would such a factor limit India’s military objectives? Do we need to change our military strategy? But military strategy and objectives are only a small but significant sub-set of overall national security objectives and national strategy.

It is here that, perhaps, one can find a lacuna in the sequence of presentation of the nuclear doctrine. A strategic defence review should have been carried out first along with the formulation of national security objectives. This would have led to the evolution of national security strategy to achieve the stated objectives. The nuclear forces and their doctrine and conventional forces and their associated strategies would have been a logical outcome of the national security strategies.

The willingness of India to discuss the draft with other countries is also a positive step. In an overall perspective, the presentation of draft nuclear doctrine was a logical step after Pokhran II nuclear explosions. It is a good document for discussion and one hopes it does not remain only a draft paper. Because if it remains a draft for too long. India would continue to be depicted as a soft state.

(Brigadier Anand is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.)

Sena-BJP Govt: A balance sheet
by P.K. Ravindranath

MIRED in controversies, charged with stupendous corruption and unimaginable administrative inefficiency coupled with inexperience, the Shiv Sena-led coalition government in Maharashtra is having a tough time facing the electorate.

From the beginning Bal Thackeray, the architect of the coalition victory in March, 1995, had made it clear that he was wielding the “remote control” on the Government. He made the cardinal mistake of imagining that it was enough for him to summon ministers and bureaucrats to his residence, along with files, to sort out problems, periodically.

With the lines of communication to the rank and file of the party totally neglected, discontent brewed within the party. While the party continued with its old methods of public agitations, the Government found it difficult to tolerate acts of terrorism, open extortion and strong-arm tactics indulged in not only by Sena Sakha Pramukhs but also by members of the party leadership.

Added to all this confusion was the frequent admonitions by the Sena Pramukh in the party paper “Saamna” which led the people to believe that the Sena-BJP government was being run in the same manner as the earlier Congress governments. The Government continued to steer its own course regardless of the party fulminations. The ministers felt that they had done their duty by reporting to the party chief.

Several actions of the party have embarrassed the government. Thackeray banned the entry of Pakistani cricketers into India, even as the Prime Minister and the BJP Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Gopinath Munde offered the team full security. Ultimately, the Union Home Minister, Mr L K Advani, had to fly down to Mumbai and pacify Thackeray.

The Sena MP, Mr Madhukar Sarpotdar took the issue to the streets leading 300 Shiv Sainiks to burn an effigy of ‘Hindutva’, mocking the BJP for its ‘watered down” Hindutva. Sena volunteers dug up the Kotla Maidan pitch in Delhi in January, 99, to prevent the matches.

Sena activists ransacked the offices of the Bombay Board of Cricket Control. The Sena had to deny any association with it.

Sena activists danced near-naked in front of Dilip Kumar’s residence to protest against his support to the screening of the film “Fire”. The Government had to deploy a big police contingent to provide security to the veteran actor.

Apart from these irritations from its own ranks, the government had to face considerable friction with the Sena’s partner, the BJP. The Sena sought a ban on a Marathi play “Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy” (I, Nathuram Godse speaking), while the BJP felt the ban was unjustified.

In October, 1998, Mr Thackeray ordered the government to provide free electricity to 24 lakh farmers. Mr Munde, who holds the Energy portfolio opposed the suggestion saying it would cost the state exchequer about Rs 2,500 crore. The State’s economy could not afford it.

Thackeray hit back charging the Maharashtra Electricity Board of being plagued with rampant corruption. He disclosed that a senior MSEB official had offered him a bribe of 25 lakh per month if he was appointed a director. The Chief Minister merely told Mr Munde that it was his duty to implement Mr Thackeray’s orders.

The BJP had always campaigned for a separate Vidarbha state. The Sena opposed it.

Fed up with constant incompatibilities, the BJP at its convention in July 1998, made distinct efforts to distance itself from the Sena, since the government was not implementing any of its (the BJP’s) programmes.

The Sena and the BJP openly differed on the implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report on the Mumbai riots of 1992 and 1993, which indicated several Sainiks. The Sena had called it “biased and anti-Hindu.’” The BJP did not think it was biased, and wanted the government to take action on it to ensure the support of the Muslims.

The Ramesh Kini case has been one of the greatest blots on the Sena-led government. Ramesh Kini, a resident of Matunga in Central Mumbai had been called to the Saamna office and asked to vacate his flat. The next day he was found dead in a Pune cinema house. The Congress implicated Raj Thackeray in this crime. The case opened up a series of charges against the Sena, particularly of extortion on behalf of landlords.

The Sena had in the five years of governance faced serious indiscipline in its ranks, something unusual for a party that prided itself on its loyalty and fidelity to one leader. In the very second year of the government, Mr Thackeray had lambasted the Chief Minister for being uncomfortably close to Mr Sharad Pawar. In March, 1998, he wrote in the “Saamna’” that Mr Joshi was responsible for the rout of the Sena in the parliamentary elections. For the first time, he charged his own Chief Minister with corruption.

In February, 1999, Mr Thackeray ousted Mr Joshi and put Mr Narayan Rane in his place. Mr Munde welcomed the change even as the ordinary people asked questions about Mr Rane’s shady past. To large sections of society that thrived on crime of various kinds, he was still affectionately called ‘Naryan’.

Even though the Sena-BJP yuti (alliance) is still in existence, the two parties are carrying on their campaigns for the ensuing elections separately. The BJP harps on its two major achievements: the launch of 55 flyovers in Mumbai to ease the traffic congestion on its roads and the fact that there had not been any major communal clashes in the last five years in Maharashtra. The two portfolios are with the BJP.

It is not just distrust and animosity that keeps the two parties separate at election meetings. The BJP is keen to get at least one seat more than the Shiv Sena. That would enable it to claim the post of the Chief Minister under the terms of the alliance pact. Since it has allowed the Shiv Sena to run the outgoing government as it liked, the BJP hopes the Sena would not interfere with the government it hopes to head.

It stands to the credit of the Shiv Sena that despite all odds, it had been able to push through and implement one important party programme: to rename Mumbai’s prestigious rail terminal, Victoria Terminus as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST, instead of VT) and the two air terminals at Sahar and Santa Cruz after Shivaji Maharaj. Yes, and Bombay has become Mumbai.

The mother cow
by Sushil Kapoor

LIKE any other morning sojourn I had ventured out of my house to enjoy the beauty of nature and inhale as much pure air as available in these early moments when the sun is yet to make its appearance and the din and dust raised by the supposedly pollution-free tested vehicles roaring through every nook and corner are yet to make their presence felt.

On the last stretch of my homeward walk I came face to face with a spectacle which made me realise as to why cow was revered as Mother Cow and held in such esteem by the majority of the Indians, especially the Hindus who, of course are quite dogmatic about it.

I saw a healthy brown coloured cow closely following a cycle-rehri in which a young calf was seated and my first thought was that the newly born calf was being taken by the owner and the Mother Cow was following it. But my surmise was to receive a bug-blow when I got nearer and found out that the man riding the cycle-rehri was trying to shoo her away. But I could see determination writ large on the face of the cow not to leave her ward in the hands of a person who taking advantage of her helplessness was committing a daylight robbery.

The difference between a household burglary and this day-light robbery was that where as the household owner can lodge a report with the police, this hapless Mother Cow could do nothing but follow her ward and try all her best to see that no harm came to it. I could vividly see the love, affection and concern written all over her face. Her eyes were almost beseeching for help but at the same time her determination made even a pack of street dogs following her to beat a hasty retreat whenever she shook her horns as they came too near for comfort.

After going for a while the man became panicky and left the calf on the road who immediately came under the protective care of his mother. The scene was to be seen to be believed. The mother and the young calf were looking at each other with affection like two longlost companions.

But then their bliss was short-lived as the rehri-puller got another person to help him. The new person was armed with a lathi but even being armed you could see the fear in his eyes as he was prodding the cow with the stick by keeping a safe distance. A medical checkup at the moment would have shown the man’s Adrenalin level very high because it is the fear which sends these levels up. Finally he succeeded in getting hold of the calf and took him in his lap and sat in the cycle-rehri whereas the other person got on with driving the rehri. The mother cow was not deterred by the added opposition but started following the rehri almost breathing down the neck of the person holding the calf, who was desperately trying to keep her at a comfortable distance with his stick. I kept on watching with a long lingering look till they disappeared in the distant corner but I could still see the mother cow steadfastly following the rehri.

I heard a passerby saying that the cow had given birth to the calf the previous night in an open area and these poachers were quick to whisk away the newly born despite the mute protests by the mother cow. I only hope that some sense prevails with the abductors and they don’t separate the ward from the mother.

The whole episode gave me the insight about the reason as to why the cow is treated as a mother. She is a protector and a giver without looking for anything in return. It was for this reason that the cow has such a dominant status in our religion.

EC moves — hunger for publicity?

by Tavleen Singh

I RETURNED from my travels abroad in time to cast my vote in the New Delhi constituency. Mercifully, I was on the list this time but there were several people who were not and election officials were as usual uncooperative and unsympathetic. “No you cannot vote because you’re not on the list”. This was told brusquely to a polite, elderly gentleman who pointed out that there must be some mistake because his entire family had just voted before him. “Well, we cannot help that “said the official rudely.

If this happens in New Delhi, where we now have electronic voting machines and which is the constituency that represents not just Indian officialdom but also mainly middle class voters then what must happen in the wilds of Bihar? The Election Commission, though, is seemingly unconcerned by this and much more concerned about banning exit polls and vetting anchors on Doordarshan programmes. I can hardly believe my eyes when I read this in newspapers the next day but I see it as symbolic of our government’s approach which, in my view, has impoverished us as a country mainly because it continues to waste time and effort on silly things rather than important ones.

The only change is that now there also seems to be a formerly unknown hunger for publicity. So the Election Commissioner makes full use of his one month in the sun by doing the sort of things that make it to the front pages of newspapers and attract the attention of television cameras. Is this why we are in the absurd situation of having a general election that is spread over a month”? It’s cynical question but returning to India tends to put me in cynical mood.

It hits me the minute I descend into the shabby chaos of Delhi airport. I tell myself that it could be because I have come from the developed Western world so I notice our backwardness even more. But, a friend, who has just arrived from Bangkok, points out that even provincial airports in Thailand — not considered a developed country — are better than our best. At Delhi airport I have a policeman friend who is equally aware of this.

He noticed it, he said, when he travelled abroad for the first time on deputation with one of our frequent-flier VVIPs. The VVIP delegation toured Africa and even there the airports looked better than ours. “How is it our political leaders don’t notice this” he says “or maybe they just choose not to. I’ve voted for the BJP this time because I believe that the Congress is more responsible for the mess that this country is in”. He reflects the mood in Delhi, except in South Delhi where most people I have talked to say they voted for Dr Manmohan Singh (and not the party). A young, beautician tells me that her entire family voted for the Congress because it always has. “My mother-in-law stood next to me when it was my turn but I managed to press the button for the BJP. She got very angry but I have the right to choose who I vote for and I voted against the Congress because I was upset with the way the party behaved during the Kargil war. There has to be a moment when the country becomes more important than political differences, surely when there is a war should they not lend support to the government?”

My next task, as always after even the briefest absence, was to plough through the mountains of newspapers that had piled up in my study. I get six English newspapers, one Hindi and two financial papers a day so the pile-up is daunting. Wading my way through it I find myself amazed by the silliness of the political discourse. In a country with so many serious problems how is it that our politicians can think of nothing truly important to fight over.

The shameless politicisation of Kargil, by both the BJP and Congress, makes me cringe. How must those mothers who lost sons on that desolate, Himalayan battlefield feel when they listen to either the Prime Minister or Sonia Gandhi. He tells them India has become a different country after Kargil. He makes it sound like a personal achievement. Did their sons die only to help the BJP win the election? Sonia tells them the Prime Minister was doing sher-o-shairi in Lahore instead of preventing the intrusion. Did their sons die for nothing?

One story that catches my eye instantly is the admission by the Congress spokesman, Kapil Sibal, that Ottavio Quattrocchi took money legitimately from Bofors as commission for a legitimate contract. I ring my old friend, Rajat Sharma, on whose TV programme he is reported to have made this extraordinary admission. Rajat faxes me the exact question and answer. Question: The BJP is raising the question that since Quattrocchi worked for a company that had nothing to do with arms dealing how did Bofors money land up in his account. Answer: That was Quattrocchi’s contract, he has admitted this, it is part of the evidence. There was a contract, Mr Quattrocchi made a contract with Bofors in 1985. So, if Quattrocchi was paid off by Bofors how can we blame Rajiv Gandhi? Under the contract — this is not illegal. If under the contract someone gives someone some money which law does it violate?

It is the first admission ever by anyone in Sonia Gandhi’s inner circle, for that matter in the Congress Party, that Quattrocchi had an agreement with Bofors to be paid a commission on the contract. Mr Sibal was only a lawyer in those days and not a politician and is probably, therefore, unaware that Rajiv Gandhi had banned commissions on arms deal and banned commission agents. Poor Kapil Sibal appears to have realised quite quickly that he goofed and strenuously denies what he said but you cannot deny things you have said on television.

The Congress, though, is a sturdy, old war-horse and responds by trying to smear the Prime Minister with a deluge of charges. He sided with the British during the Quit India Movement in 1942. He took money on sugar imported from Pakistan and wheat from Australia. The charges do not stick but the Prime Minister gets angry. He says that those who are questioning his patriotism need to ask Sonia Gandhi why it took her 18 years to take Indian citizenship. Good question.

But, there are so many others that are more important. Why are we still among the poorest countries in the world? Why do we have no schools, no healthcare, no sanitation? Why do our cities look like slums? Why do we still have not a single motorway? Could it be that politicians don’t ask them because they know they have all failed the country? But, please do not let my cynicism deter you from voting. If we do not vote we lose our only chance to hold them accountable.

DD 24-hr channel a myth

by Amita Malik

AFTER that ritzy launch of DD’s 24-hour channels, I decided to be a good girl and give them a chance, although very few people, except those without cable, view DD by choice.

Soon enough, I discovered that the 24-hour bit was a myth, at least in our area. As before DD 2, the Metro channel was closing down after Derrick (of which, more anon). And Channel 1, the national channel even earlier.

Now getting through to DD headquarters is next to impossible. When phones are not engaged, they keep on ringing. When you get through, the great man or woman is not in his seat or on his desk and at “perpetual” meetings. They seldom ring back, and when they do, they give evasive answers or promise to ring up in an hour or to ask someone to ring up soon. It seldom happens.

So when, after two days of trying, I asked why the two main channels were shutting down at DD’s usual midnight hour, they said: “The cable operator is not giving it”. Do they have to pay?, I asked. “Probably”. They replied.

When I asked the cable operator, he said they have not been given the equipment. Then DD asked me to ring up several other people so I asked the PR to either find out from them or ask them to ring me up, as I had already spent three days chasing them. And the matter rests there. One is left with the impression that, as usual, DD plunged into expansion without proper preparation or tie-up with cable operators. And talked too big.

However, the new news channel, still calling itself a “test transmission” (that takes care of accusations that it is really for election propaganda for the I. & B. Minister’s party) is going strong. That is, when the picture is not all garbled and the sound distorted. For instance, people speaking live from the studios are fine, but recordings, are terrible. As for the programmes, much as I love both Rajiv Mehrotra and Ela Anjolie Menon, I found it a bit much when their deja vu conversation was repeated no less than four times in six days and Mrinal Sen three times in a week. I might have missed some other repeats. When I asked why, I got the stock answer: “But it is only a test transmission”. Not however, for current affairs and news, which are hot from the oven. But why bother? Dr J.K. Jain’s channel is doing exactly what it wants and is loudly saying boo to the Election Commission, some of whose edicts are under legal challenge anyway.

Meanwhile, two more French channels and a couple more foreign, recently made their appearances in addition to the ones hawking sex and violence undisturbed. But what really intrigues me is the new 24-hour channel devoted entirely to fashion, believe it or not, and I am wondering who watches it except some local fashion designers who have been derivative and will now get caught. Besides, I have seen more see-through dresses, transparent lacy underclothing which hides nothing including women’s bosoms and quinnies in minute detail than in a life-time of TV viewing. Time Asha Parekh had a look at the channel to understand what’s what.

The Indian satellite channels which show crude porn only after midnight are being challenged, with far more shapely female forms and exciting women’s wear from the French channel. And voyeurs are having the time of their lives.

Meanwhile, jaded voters, thoroughly cheesed off by a surfeit of political analyses and free fights between politicians, are turning with relief to the US Open, where our doubles pair were doing pretty well up to the time of writing, and our lads were doing very badly at cricket. After mental and physical exhaustion with the elections, I used to turn with relief to that hoary old Transtel detective series Derrick on the Metro channel. But I find that, first, it is now banged on without the previous courtesy of translating the German title. And the repetitions are almost as bad as those on the news channel. The two action channels give such nauseating sex and violence day and night, and TNT now gives sport, that National Geographic and Discovery are the only refuge. Animals are far more civilised.

Tail-Piece: Of the two promos for the English Limelight (the Hindi one, being a poor relation has none) one claims to introduce us to the Wester stage. Which one — the West End, Broadway, Ingmar Bergman at the National Theatre in Stockholm or, more likely, the India Habitat Centre? We pause for a reply.

75 YEARS AGO

September 11, 1924
Voting on Minister’s salaries

CALCUTTA: A communique issued by the Bengal Government states that the attention of the Government has been drawn to the allegation of the newspaper “Forward” that a police officer with a posse of constables approached the residence of Srijut Brajendra Kishore Roy Chaudhuri and asked him to attend the Council and vote for the Government and offered him police escort.

The facts are that Brajendra Babu was wrongfully confined in his house. The Deputy Commissioner of Police visited the spot and on being told that police assistance was not required, he immediately withdrew with his force.

The Deputy Commissioner did raise the question of his voting in the Council and consequently the statement published by the paper must be characterised as a malicious falsehood.