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Eenadu under attack Hindutva talk again Raising the bar |
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Reforms are a must
Nuclear newsman
News analysis Risk management is a key post-tsunami lesson Tackle wheat crisis for food
security
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Eenadu under attack THE outrageous manner in which Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has attacked
Eenadu, a leading media group in his state, shows scant respect for the institutions that make up a democracy, and is a reminder to all citizens that media freedom must constantly be defended against those who would like to suppress it for their convenience. Mr Reddy has targeted the Eenadu group led by Mr Ramoji Rao for launching a series of investigative stories bringing the Reddy government in bad light, including the one relating to the CM’s dubious surrender of surplus land he had come to possess over the years. However, Mr Reddy had no problems when the same group extensively covered the padayatra on the eve of the last elections, which enabled him to successfully challenge the Chandrababu Naidu government. Mr Reddy is not the first politician for whom power directly translates into a “with-me-or-against-me” syndrome. Unfortunately, he won’t be the last. Instead of directly attacking Mr Ramoji Rao’s TV channels and the
Eenadu newspaper, Mr Reddy chose to take on a group finance company, Margadarshi Financiers, belonging to Mr Ramoji Rao for over three decades. With shocking cynicism and brutality, an attempt was made to discredit the company, in order to cause a run on its funds. It is interesting that the depositors are standing by the company, and there is no panic to recover their money. The Reserve Bank of India - the rightful authority in such cases and not the state government - has not shown concern about the depositors’ money with the company, as the company appears to have adequate assets. That a state government can launch into this kind of persecution, simply to harass a newspaper publishing reports critical of its acts of commission and omission, is nothing but the ugly pressure of the kind the
Indian Express used to experience during the heydays of Sanjay Gandhi. At the heart of this story is the surrender of over 300 acres of excess “assignment lands” by YSR, that he evidently should never have possessed in the first place, in violation of land ceiling and other laws. The
Eenadu group had begun to unravel an entire range of questionable holdings by YSR and his cronies. This and the overall critical attitude of the
Eenadu group towards the government seems to have nettled Mr Reddy. The point is not even whether
Eenadu is “almost a mouthpiece of the Telugu Desam” as described by a Congress spokesperson, even as he distanced the party from YSR’s actions. It is about Press freedom and the power of truth, about politicians resorting to desperate actions to deflect the probing light of enquiry focussed by a media group. The attack on Eenadu shows the Press cannot afford to take its freedom for granted. It has to remain vigilant against direct and indirect threats that are lurking around the corner. |
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Hindutva talk again THE
BJP had reason to choose Lucknow for its three-day session as Uttar Pradesh is slated to go to polls early this year. Buoyed by the success it achieved in the municipal elections in the state, the party believes that with some effort it would not be difficult to win power in the most populous state on its own or in association with friendly parties. It feels that once Lucknow is in the party fold, capturing power in New Delhi will be a bit easy. The party has drawn up an agenda to corner the Congress government on its failure to live up to the promises made to the “aam aadmi”. As the preeminent opposition party, the BJP has every right to berate the government for its failures. But the stridency with which some of its leaders, including party chief Rajnath Singh, mouthed their determination to revive Hindutva is a matter of serious concern. It was mentioned that the demand for a temple at Ayodhya would be revived and the party would not be found wanting in this respect. As this paper has argued in the past, nobody in the country is opposed to building a temple, a “magnificent” one at that. What they object to is the exact location about which there is a dispute. Unless it is resolved through talks with the Muslims or through adjudication, making attempts to build the temple is tantamount to playing again with fire. Elections in the past also showed that the people do not favour any party that pursued such a dangerously divisive agenda. It is, therefore, in the BJP’s own selfish interest not to harp on Hindutva when it has better political, economic and foreign policy issues to find fault with the UPA government. Apparently, it has not learnt a lesson. The Lucknow session was one more proof that the leadership question plaguing the BJP has not been resolved. Mr Vajpayee’s generosity in his comments on Mr L.K. Advani’s claim on the leadership does not mean much as parliamentary elections are nearly two and a half years away. The churning process is still on in the BJP, which, as Mr Vajpayee warned, will have to rise above factionalism to win the electoral battle. It is an irony that Mr Advani’s claim has only strengthened the hands of Mr Vajpayee, whether he will offer himself as a candidate or not. Neither of them is young and an array of youthful aspirants is anxiously waiting for them to retire from active leadership positions. |
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Raising
the bar THE drinking classes of this country, regardless of what their preferred liquid may be and whether they are kids or adults, are in for difficult times. If Kerala and Karnataka have come down hard against soft drinks — on the ground that it is bad for the health of those in schools and colleges — in Gujarat there is a demand for scrapping prohibition. In the land famous for Gandhi’s Salt March, those who want lifting of the prohibition law are now planning a “Malt March”. Few would disagree that soft drinks are harmful to the health of the young, especially when advertising and marketing pressures have made it an addiction of epidemic proportions. In fact, there are said to be schools that have tied up with soft drinks manufacturers to mutually profit from kids soaking in the fizzy stuff. Much as this may be an undesirable trend, it is not for governments to impose a ban. Outlawing soft drinks, for whatever reason, will only encourage more fondness for the forbidden and create a thriving black market in what cannot be bought off the shelf. Prohibition in Gujarat illustrates this situation though the drinks at issue are stronger stuff. There is a vast underground industry and trade thriving on prohibition. Liquor flows more freely in Gujarat than in the states where there is no prohibition; in fact, in the home of Gandhi, booze is door-delivery business whereas in the wet states consumers have to go to the shop. Although the drinks and their effect may differ, there is much in common to moves that prohibit or restrict their sales. In both cases, the enactment and enforcement of such laws betray an authoritarian mindset; both bans can create conditions conducive for black marketing and offer plenty of scope for corruption. Experience here and elsewhere in the world has shown that laws against consumption of drinks, of any sort, have little or no effect. In today’s market-driven world flush with choices and catchy ads, such diktats are pointless and unworthy of official pursuit. In any case, there is much else by way of priorities that ought to engage the authorities in India. |
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Take away that pudding — it has no
theme. — Winston Churchill |
Reforms are a must
A World Bank report brings out some serious consequences of economic reforms in China where the real income of the lowest 10 per cent population has declined at a rate of 2.4 per cent and those of the top strata increased by 16 per cent during 2001-2003. It is happening so in a country that swears by Marxism, Leninism and Maoism. If this is the situation in China, democratic India with lesser hold on the consequences of private investment and a softer regulatory regime must be watchful of the negative fallout of the reforms that facilitate the entry and growth of the private sector. Both domestic and multinational companies are primarily profit-seekers and rightly so. They are not welfare organizations and not supposed to watch for the income disparities that develop as a consequence of the investments they make, the technology they adopt and the management as well as marketing strategies they follow. It is the government in its promotional and regulatory roles and as a public sector investor that has to safeguard the interests of the common man and ensure that socio-economic growth and development becomes inclusive in its character, and income distribution does not get excessively skewed to keep a large majority of the population out of the mainstream development process. Unfortunately, this aspect is being woefully neglected in the process of pushing the reforms to attract domestic and foreign direct investment. The planning process in the country, too, does not take due cognizance of this aspect. While the investment environment is sought to be improved in the country, gainful employment opportunities are expected to increase substantially. It would require concomitant focused emphasis on human resource development so that the people are enabled to avail themselves of these emerging employment opportunities. However, the ground reality is that out of some 70 per cent of the population that lives in the rural areas, not more than 5 per cent families have the wherewithal to send their children out of their villages for better education. The remaining 65 per cent of the rural families have to depend upon government schools in or near their villages, which impart the education that does not enable the students either to compete for admission to higher professional courses or equip them for any gainful employment. Add to this, about 10 per cent of the poor that live in the urban areas. The wards of this 75 per cent disadvantaged population of India do not have any skill to handle respectable jobs. This shocking situation is illustrated by the fact that even in a progressive state like Punjab, the Agricultural University today has more than 96 per cent of the students from the urban areas and from non-farming families. A survey by Punjabi University, Patiala, has brought out that in that university campus, which has all the science, humanities, commerce and technical subjects, only 6 per cent students come from the rural areas. The Guru Nanak Dev University campus (Amritsar) has 4 per cent and Punjab University, Chandigarh, has only 2 per cent students from the rural areas. There is no reason to believe that situation may be different in other universities of the country. If the students from rural families cannot enter the college of agriculture, one can well imagine what can be the situation in engineering, medical and other institutions of higher technical education. This has happened so because the entrance tests for admission to higher technical education are held in physical and biological sciences and in English. There are not many higher secondary schools in villages that teach sciences. Wherever and whatever science subjects are taught in these schools, they are taught in local languages. These students are, therefore, handicapped in competing for seats in an institution of higher professional education. Thus, it is at best the upper 25 per cent of the population of India which is appropriating the benefits of growth and development in respect of plum jobs as well as industrial and business avenues through better education. The farm sector and rural population are getting bottled up in the villages. There is an utter need to pull out at least three-fifths of this rural population from the rural sector through building up their capacities that would enable them to be competitive in the job market. This can be done only through providing quality education in the rural areas on a par with what is available to the upper 25 per cent elite urban population of the country. The country must, therefore, make adequate differentiated financial provisions for government schools in the rural areas in order to make the students compete effectively for admission to higher education courses, particularly in technical and professional subjects. It should be obligatory on the part of the managements of all the schools in the villages to provide for the teaching of science subjects in the English medium. Achievements of these schools should be measured by the percentage of their students qualifying in the entrance tests for higher education, specially for technical and professional courses, and not from pass percentages. Given adequate financial provisions for educational infrastructure, more important is the accountability of these schools and the teachers. It is irony of fate that government employs the best teachers out of the candidates that apply for these jobs and these are the teachers who do not perform in the absence of accountability. Emphasis on capacity building of this large majority of the poor through quality education, specially at the school level, will go a long way in bridging the gap in access to gainful employment opportunities, making the growth and development inclusive and enabling the rural population move out of the rural sector, which in turn will reduce the population pressure on land and improve rural incomes Next to education, rather in the first place, is the health of the person that makes him or her capable of performance at any work, physical or mental. Unfortunately, the poor suffer on this account also and health services and medical care is eluding them. The existing system of health care is not serving the purpose effectively. The system needs a complete overhaul. There is need to provide for health insurance and medical-claim services with 100 per cent subsidy on medical insurance for the people living below the poverty line and for all the agriculturist families having up to two hectares of land as well as for the labour families. Thus, healthy and appropriately trained rural youth will become competitive in the job market, which is developing fast. Economic growth and development will become inclusive in its very nature and fast increasing disparities in income distribution as a result of reforms will be mitigated to a considerable
extent.
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Nuclear newsman
I
have no idea about the worth of the Indian Nuclear Society award conferred on O.P. Sabherwal, but I have no doubt whatsoever that his work in the field deserves recognition. The citation says the award has been given to him for his work as a “communicator and dedicated publicist of India’s nuclear programme for over 15 years”. Obviously, the Indian Nuclear Society, which has honoured him, has not done a proper research on Sabherwal, who has been writing on nuclear issues at least since 1973, when he initiated me into journalism. I remember him asking me when I approached him for a job, “Do you have any experience in journalism?” “Yes, I used to edit a magazine called Naveenam (The New) when I was at the college”, I told him. “I can’t give you my job but if you are interested in a humbler designation, you can join tomorrow as a trainee reporter”. Thus began my career as a journalist. Sabherwal, too, had a beat and it included, among others, “atomic energy”, which was then directly under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He had access to some members of the consultative committee of Parliament attached to the ministry concerned and he would get the agenda papers of the committee well in advance. He would churn out story after story about the progress India has achieved in the nuclear field. He got so fascinated by the subject that I saw him reading up on anything and everything that had something to do with nuclear energy. News of his interest spread and the then editor of the now-defunct Indian Airlines’ in-house magazine Image invited him to address a meeting of his contributors, who were public relations officials posted all over the country, on India’s Tryst with the Atom, the title of his book (UBSPD), which came out decades later in 2004. At his invitation, I also attended the meeting where Sabherwal described India’s nuclear quest as a leap from the bullock cart to the airplane. When the turn came for the assembled to ask questions, they asked him to explain such terms as explosion, implosion, centrifuge, enrichment, fission and fusion. Never for once did the former president of the Students Federation in Punjab fumble for words when explaining such terms in a jargon-free language. Those days Sabherwal was one of the few journalists who showed a keen interest in the subject. He made it a point to strike up with those who headed the nuclear establishment in the country. And when Mrs Gandhi decided to test a nuclear device at Pokharan in 1974 and the authorities reported to her about the success of the project in code words, “Buddha smiles”, Sabherwal celebrated the event with sweets for all of us. Though I left his organisation, I continued to follow his writing, wherever I was stationed. Never once did his interest in the subject seem to fade as is borne out by his book, which reminds readers of John Reid’s Ten Days That Shook the World. It gives the reader a bird’s eye-view of the progress India has achieved in harnessing nuclear energy for “peaceful purposes” and the miles it still has to traverse. The book also reveals the juicy story of the clandestine multi-million dollar deals of Dr A.Q. Khan, hitched to the Kahuta uranium enrichment facility in Pakistan. When India exploded again at Pokharan on May 11 and 13, 1998, Sabherwal was much sought after by the mainstream newspapers for his comments on the cataclysmic event that shook the five nuclear-weapon states, if not the whole world. It was recognition of his abiding interest in things
nuclear. |
News analysis THE principal opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is yet to recover from its loss of power at the Centre in 2004, is aiming to recapture Delhi’s throne in 2009. With that as the focus, the BJP, along with its mentor Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh, got together for a three day convention of its highest decision-making fora. The Sangh’s grip was tightened on the party, and various strategies were worked out to win the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. The “road to Delhi goes via Lucknow”, declared the party’s patriarch and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, echoing the aspirations of thousands of party workers and leaders of the country’s biggest state. The recent wins in the civic polls, in which the BJP managed to capture Mayoral seats in eight out of the 11 big cities in the state, have been a shot in the arm. The victories in the big urban centres and relatively smaller towns helped the party to come out of the deep depression that it had sunk into, and cadres are enthused. The architect of the victories in the civic polls was not soley former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and the RSS, which the BJP would like the nation to believe, but Samajawadi Party supremo and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, who overtly and covertly did everything to bring the BJP out of the morass that it had gone into after the loss of power in Delhi. Yadav and Kalyan Singh struck an excellent rapport when the latter’s Rashtriya Kranti Party helped Yadav to form a government in Lucknow. In return, Singh’s son Rajveer and his close confidante Kusum Rai, were given ministerial positions and big bungalows. Both of them continue to have possession of their palatial houses even after they are out of the government, when Kalyan Singh came back to the BJP. Yadav’s administration not only allowed Rajveer to occupy the house, but allotted Rai’s bungalow to a trust for a period of 30 years. The trust happens to be in the name of Rai’s deceased father Mahatam Rai, who has no distinguished record of public service or any other well known activity. The house allotted to the trust, which incidentally happens to be next door to Kalyan Singh’s bungalow, was recently renovated at an approximate cost of Rs 30 lakhs. The state PWD Minister Shivpal Yadav, who is the younger brother of the Chief Minister, is said to have facilitated the process. In the formation of Mulayam’s government, present BJP president of Uttar Pradesh Keshrinath Tripathi played a crucial role, by facilitating the process of recognition of the breakaway MLAs as a separate unit. The tacit understanding between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party supremo is old, as ties have evolved on a “one needs the other” basis. The rise of SP and the BJP became possible when the Congress vacated the political space in UP. While the BJP occupied the hard core Hindu segment of the electorate by launching the Ramjanmabhoomi Mandir movement, Yadav managed to project himself as the protector of Muslims and sole champion of their cause. Yadav, as chief minister, also bailed out BJP’s senior leader L K Advani by refusing to file a fresh affidavit in the High Court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The SP supremo, realising that political power was slipping out of his grip, is said to have met RSS chief K. Sudarshan in Chitrakoot, where the initial plans for the revival of the BJP were prepared. Yadav needed to stop the Muslim drift away from the SP and the RSS wanted its Hindu votes back into its fold, which were moving towards either the Bahujan Samaj Party or the Congress. Within a short time, communal riots broke out in Mau and the communal polarisation began, preparing a ground for both the BJP and the SP. The extensive help and state hospitality accorded to not only the top two dozen BJP stalwarts, but to other second-wrung leaders, during the three-day convention and during the holding of a mammoth rally in Lucknow’s biggest maidan, speaks volumes of the depth of the mutual understanding. How far Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wish that UP get a forward looking modern leadership will turn out to be a reality is a question whose answer is not clear yet. But one thing is certain that the BJP is not in a position to offer that leadership, because the party has already projected Kalyan Singh as the future chief minister. Apart from Kalyan Singh, the three day deliberations at the national executive and council meetings gave enough evidence that the UP is not going to get a modern and forward-looking leadership. The RSS stranglehold on the BJP has become complete, as the road for revival of the party would be built with the stones of the UPA’s so-called policies of Muslim appeasement, and the cement of anti-Congressism. Advani, and all other leaders who spoke at the convention, which was held at one of the RSS run schools, accused the UPA and its left allies for preparing the ground for the second partition of the country, for selling out Jammu and Kashmir, and for the economic deprivation of the lower and middle classes. It is difficult to say at this stage how the BJP and SP will fare. But if the “secular” parties minus SP do not wake up now, and don’t jointly fight the saffron forces, then the BJP may succeed in achieving its goal by sheer default. |
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TODAY
marks two years since the 2004 tsunami unleashed untold suffering and devastation upon Indian Ocean coastal communities. The tragic toll still resonates: more than 200,000 dead; 2 million people displaced; 370,000 homes destroyed or damaged; some 5,000 miles of coastline devastated; and 2,000 miles of roads ruined. The tsunami was also unprecedented in the magnitude of the response by donors, the affected governments and their everyday citizens. The homeless received shelter, the hungry were fed, disease was prevented and substantial recovery has been achieved over the past 22 months. Nearly 150,000 homes have been rebuilt or repaired and 80,000 more are being reconstructed. More than 1,600 schools and health centers have been rebuilt or are under construction, tourists are returning to the region in large numbers, and economic growth rates have improved substantially. At the same time, the tasks ahead are significant in scope and cost. Some 200,000 homes must still be rebuilt or repaired, and in Aceh in particular the challenges of rehabilitating infrastructure and promoting economic development remain daunting. In light of the work to be done, it is encouraging that so many donors have sustained their focus, thus far translating some $13 billion in pledges into roughly $11 billion in firm commitments to critical projects. I have just completed my third and final trip to the affected region as the U.N. secretary general’s special envoy for tsunami recovery. In India, Thailand and Indonesia, I saw once again the resilience of the human spirit and the determination to build a better tomorrow. At year’s end, the mandate entrusted to me by the secretary general will conclude and my responsibilities will be transferred to the United Nations, the World Bank and other established institutions. As this important work continues, I believe four key lessons learned from the tsunami reconstruction effort will contribute to further and faster progress, as well as to dealing with future natural disasters. First, we must get better at managing risk. Climate change and patterns of human behavior ensure that more devastating natural disasters will occur in the future. The good news is that officials in the countries affected by the tsunami have made progress on a regional early-warning system, natural disaster prevention legislation, training of rapid-response personnel and public education. However, funding for prevention is much harder to come by than funding for relief after a disaster. Donors and governments of at-risk nations must invest much more money to ensure that early-warning systems reach coastal communities, that safe building codes are developed and enforced, and that evacuations are practiced. Second, we should pursue recovery practices that promote equity and help break patterns of underdevelopment. In the Cuddalore District of India, for example, officials have worked with nongovernmental organizations to expand their post-tsunami housing program to include new homes for Dalits and members of other disadvantaged communities. Many of these people did not lose assets in the tsunami but had been living in substandard conditions. Authorities in Aceh are considering similar solutions for former squatters and renters who did not own the housing they lost in the tsunami. Third, we must recognize that peace is critical to any recovery process. In Aceh, long-conflicted groups put aside entrenched differences and created an environment conducive to reconstruction. Tragically, the tsunami has not had a similar impact on reconciliation in Sri Lanka, where the recovery will be continue to be hampered until the parties resume a serious dialogue and reestablish the cease-fire. I hope they will choose to work for peace; all of Sri Lanka, especially the tsunami victims, will continue to suffer until they do. Finally, we must do more to harness the talents of local entrepreneurs and established businesses, domestic and foreign, in relaunching economies. Corporations in the United States and around the world contributed generously to the tsunami response, but we need to do more to turn philanthropists into investors, and providers of access to new markets. Two years ago, millions around the world responded generously to a tragedy of historic proportions. The challenge that remains is to sustain the recovery effort, use the lessons we are learning to continually improve our response, and apply those lessons to mitigate and respond to future disasters. This will be the most fitting way to honor the memory of the hundreds of thousands who died in the tsunami and to support the millions who survived. The writer, former President of the United States, is the UN’s special envoy for tsunami
recovery By arrangement with LA Times-Washington Post |
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THERE was a time when imports of food grains were a highly emotional issue. In the mid-1960s, as American wheat surpluses waned, the US tried to persuade India to devalue the rupee and to switch from cotton to food grains. The pressure was badly received and led to an estrangement between the two countries that took 30 years to overcome. The humiliation of having to import grain also led to the government to invest heavily in irrigation and high yielding seeds. The investment was so successful that India ceased to import grains in 1972; by the 1980s it was surplus in food grains. By now an entire generation has grown up which had not heard of food shortages. There are signs that bounty may be about to end. Twice in 2006 the government decided to import wheat. The move to import wheat followed lower than normal procurement by government agencies at the mandis. The bulk of the procurement happens between the middle of April and the middle of May. Reports of the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy reveal that government procurement was 8.9 million tonnes in 2006 - sharply down from 13.5 million tonnes in 2005. The effective price at which the government bought wheat from the farmers was Rs. 700 per quintal. The wheat price however had risen from Rs. 851 per quintal in March to Rs. 974 in May 2006. The private traders had begun buying up stocks in advance in anticipation of poor output. The government’s wheat production estimate for 2006-07 was 72 million tonnes, down from 73 million tonnes in 2005-06. The private traders and analysts however had doubted this figure. The US department of agriculture in its latest estimates for global wheat supply and demand put India’s wheat production for 2006 at 68 million tonnes. Actually, India imported 5.5 million tonnes wheat in 2006. Why this low production of wheat? Actually, the heartland of the green revolution, Punjab, Haryana and western UP is in grave trouble with stagnant productivity, depleting water tables, increasing input costs and increasing farmers’ debt. This dismal situation has been allowed to grow due to low investment in agricultural sector and un-remunerative procurement prices. Since the Green Revolution, there has been no concerted policy on agriculture. The post-1991 impetus bypassed agriculture. The government pays an artificially low procurement price for food grains, then spends huge amount on storage, transportation and distribution. Indeed food grain management costs the government about Rs. 25000-30000 crore every year. The public distribution system entitles some disadvantaged sections to buy food at a concessional rate. But after inefficiency, wastage and corruption have taken their toll; the “economic cost” is very high. Since land is a shrinking resource for agriculture, there is no option except to produce more wheat from less per capita land. What is needed is to reverse policies with regard to wheat trade. The MSP should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production. |
The attainment of freedom, whether for a man, a nation or the world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of non-violence by each. — Mahatma Gandhi God is attained only through God’s grace. All other boasted ways and means are vain and false. — Guru Nanak He who is graced by God, attains to Him by freeing himself from hope and fear and subuing his ego by means of the Word. — Guru Nanak |
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