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Monday,
September 8, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Bahujan sinking party Washington’s dilemma Beyond the ritual |
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Defence modernisation in a mess
From gullidanda to golf
The closure of Punjabi University and after
District Forums get more powers
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Bahujan sinking party IN Uttar Pradesh the next political development usually takes place even before the first move is made. That should help understand the hectic political activity on Saturday that made Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav smile well ahead of the trial of strength today. The loser in the fast-paced developments was clearly the Bahujan Samaj Party. The present rumblings of revolt are linked to Ms Mayawati’s arrogant style of functioning. Whenever she is in power the loaves of office make the BSP flock let out loud bleats of contentment. But autocrats invariably have problems keeping their supporters happy without the crutch of power. The present crisis has a familiar ring. She asked Speaker Kesrinath Tripathi to expel the first batch of 14 BSP MLAs who openly pleaded for extending support to Mr Mulayam Singh. The number of rebels later rose to 37 and with six more promising to follow suit, it may go up to 43. The rebels too met the Speaker on Saturday to prove the legality of the split in the BSP before merging it with the Samajwadi Party. Forget the provisions of the anti-defection law. In UP the future of a government without a clear majority is invariably decided by the interpretation Mr Tripathi gives to the law. He must be one of the longest serving Speakers of any State Assembly. In 1998 when Mr Kalyan Singh, then with the BJP, broke the power-sharing agreement with Ms Mayawati, the BSP faced a similar crisis. The MLAs began walking out of the BSP in small numbers. The Dalit leader wanted them to be declared as defectors and disqualified. Constitutional experts said she had a case. But Mr Tripathi ruled that the split was a “continuous process” and recognised the Jantantrik BSP as a separate party. However, in the present case, the unlikely disqualification of the rebels will still work to the advantage of Mr Mulayam Singh. It is a catch-22 situation for those who want to bring down the new government. The BSP revolt has in a manner of speaking made the task of both the Congress and the BJP easy. The first can now afford to keep a respectable distance without having to become part of Mr Mulayam Singh’s government. It does not want to annoy Ms Mayawati unnecessarily because of the role she is capable of playing in the Assembly elections in four Congress-ruled States. The BJP has decided to oppose the motion of confidence because it knows that Mr Mulayam Singh will have enough “ayes” going for him to survive and strengthen his base. A task that he began in right earnest, shortly after the BSP split, by inducting six ministers on Saturday. But the celebrations may be a trifle premature for the BSP rebels. The Speaker’s ruling should go in their favour. But knowing his penchant for courting controversy, it should not be taken for granted. |
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Washington’s dilemma THE US has begun to realise that it cannot have a multinational force to police Iraq and yet enjoy the lordship of that war-ravaged country. The draft plan for Iraq the US has presented at an informal Security Council meeting has failed to carry conviction with France, Germany and Russia. Though the plan reaffirms a vital role for the UN and calls for a democratic election, it falls far short of their expectations. It is not that they feel a sense of profound moral vindication having warned the US from the start of the dangers of its West Asian adventurism. They want a clear UN mandate before they can respond to the US request for troops. With little other option, the US has already expressed its readiness to make changes in the draft resolution so that it can be put to the vote in the Security Council early this week. Four months after the US declared that the war had ended, the American troops continue to battle in the harsh Iraqi weather. While the weapons of mass destruction still elude them, they have been increasingly coming under guerrilla-type attacks with at least one US casualty a day. They have no clue as to which of the remnant Iraqi forces have been behind such attacks even as the morale of the marines is at its lowest. The casual comment of a US soldier that “I don’t give a damn about Rumsfeld. All I give a damn about is going home” the day US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein, reflects the mood among the war-weary soldiers. Unless nipped in the bud, such sentiments can undo all US calculations in the region. Already, Washington realises that its 1,40,000 troops stationed in Iraq are insufficient to handle the situation. If the US has to bolster its presence, it can do so only by reducing troops in other parts of the world, which has its own security implications. Hence the eagerness to drum up support for non-coalition troops. Countries like India have already turned down the American request for troops because they consider the present Security Council Resolution 1483 inadequate. Under this resolution, the UN is subsidiary to the occupying powers. Besides, India also does not want its soldiers to come under the command of US generals. When the US says its only goal is to re-establish Iraqi sovereignty based on democracy, freedom and peaceful co-existence with neighbours, it should show a greater willingness to take the world along. First of all, the US should recognise the need to transfer authority and sovereignty to the Iraqis themselves. Such a process will acquire legitimacy only if it is done under the aegis of the UN. It is time the US recognised this need for an early resumption of normalcy in Iraq. |
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Beyond the ritual NOW that the ritual of celebrating Teachers’ Day is over, everyone is back to business as usual, leaving the teacher in the cold. The spirit with which the idea of celebrating President Radhakrishnan’s birthday as Teachers’ Day was conceived seems to have got lost somewhere along the way. The teacher’s role in shaping up builders of a modern and just society has not been fully appreciated. Otherwise, how could the social status and financial position of a teacher remain second to any other professional? That too in a land where a teacher was once regarded as a guru. The disciple felt so indebted to his teacher that he would make any sacrifice at his bidding. As society has evolved, the importance of education is recognised, but the position of the educator has rather declined. Teachers are still paid a pittance. The future hold little hope for them; rather it appears quite bleak. With state governments actually reducing their education budgets, educational institutions are feeling the crunch. Fresh appointments are either deferred or are made on a temporary basis. Like any other labour, teachers are hired on contract even in universities. The exploitation of teachers in private schools and colleges is all too well known. Leave alone the benefits available to employees in other sectors, in many states even salaries are not paid on time to teachers. In the booming business of education the teacher has remained neglected. It is but natural that teachers should feel very insecure and disillusioned in the emerging scenario. The way society is shaping up, respect for the teacher is declining, the once-in-a-year awards notwithstanding. Those who accord high social status on the basis of materialistic achievements are unlikely to view kindly those who have devoted a life time to sharing their wealth of knowledge and engaging in scholarly pursuits. Unsurprisingly, not many students have a teacher as a role model today. The best talent is not going to teaching. The results are evident: academic unrest and social deterioration all round.
Thought for the day The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values. — William Ralph Inge
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Defence modernisation in a mess THE
decision by the Cabinet Committee for Security (CCS) on September 3 clearing acquisition of Advance Jet Trainers (AJTs), ship-borne electronic warfare systems, and some force-multipliers for infantry battalions would have come as a great relief to the amed forces. The requirement for some of these items was projected decades ago. Some others are supposed to be part of the 10th Defence Plan, which commenced two years ago but is yet to be approved by the CCS. The manner in which this decision has been taken thus shows continued ad-hocism and little planning or plan related decision making for the modernisation of armed forces. There are several reasons for the mess in defence modernisation. As high-level decisions in defence planning and force structuring are primarily economic decisions, my focus in this article is on three important aspects: financial planning and allocations/ utilisation of funds, procurement procedures, and the “make or buy” conflict in the Ministry of Defence (MoD). For this, I will draw upon my experience of Eighth and Ninth Defence Plans period (1991-97 and 1997-2002, respectively). The armed forces need to maintain combat capabilities to deal with envisaged security threats. These capabilities are not purchasable off the shelf. Translating money into capabilities is a time-consuming process. A nation, therefore, requires defence planning, just as we do for national development. Defence planning is the process of determining national security goals and objectives and formulation of policies and strategies that will govern (a) the allocation of funds, (b) building of capabilities (acquisitions and organisations) and (c) use and deployment of these capabilities to achieve given objectives. The important thing is that it is a long-term exercise; not just an annual exercise. The cost and time to build combat capabilities get multiplied — grow exponentially — with every year of neglect. From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, in the absence of any worthwhile long-term assessment of threats and planning, and later due to a very tight fiscal situation, annual allocation for the defence kept decreasing: from 3.59 per cent of the GDP in 1987-88 to 2.31 per cent in 1996-97. The Eighth Defence Plan was prepared. But it was either not put up before the CCS, or for some other reasons, like many plans before, did not get any official approval. It remained on paper only. Defence planning and expenditure during the period, therefore, remained ad hoc. These years of neglect had an adverse impact on the modernisation. In spite of post-Cold War greater instability in the strategic environment, our deficiencies of warlike stores increased to thousands of crores. We were forced to keep “bottom line” inventories. There are two additional aspects of force modernisation that need to be borne in mind. First, as stated in the Arun Singh Committee Report (1993) recommendations, in order to facilitate continued viable operational capability and modernisation process, all major weapons/equipment should be of three vintages: state of the art (up to 10 years old), matured (10-20 years old), and obsolescent (20-30 years old). Ideally, we should maintain an equal number of weapons/equipment from these three vintages/generations. In our case, due to no replacements since the mid- 80s (as explained earlier), most of the weapons and equipment held by the Army are of first generation (obsolescent) vintage. Second, most armies in the world follow a ratio of 65-70: 35-30 in the allocation of revenue: capital budgets to facilitate continued modernisation in a planned manner, as most of the modernisation takes place under the latter head. In the early 90s when the defence budget was severally curtailed and the Army was forced to evolve the “Bottom Line” concept (1993-94), our revenue and capital head expenditure reached a ratio of 90:10. In this respect, the Navy and the Air Force, which generally maintain a ratio of 50:50 and 42:58 respectively, are much better off. An adversary will take “chances” when a nation’s deterrence strategy starts losing credibility. This is one of the reasons for Pakistan’s daring intrusion into the Kargil sector in 1999. Post-Kargil war, we did make up the deficiencies of ammunition, and also purchased a few force multipliers (an urgent requirement today) like the Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAV), night vision and fighting equipment for the infantry, ground sensors and specialised artillery ammunition, etc. But the range of equipment and quantity acquired was insufficient. We had a long list of these and other items. The only major acquisition approved during that period for the Army was the T-90 tank. Unlike the Eighth Defence Plan, the Ninth Defence Plan was processed and approved by the CCS. For the Ninth Plan, which began in 1997-98, the Army’s projection, after “processing” by the MoD and the Ministry of Finance, was pruned by 24 per cent. More importantly, the capital head, despite protests, was reduced from approximately Rs 36000 crore to a mere Rs 8500 crore. The main reason: it will not be possible to spend so much. The tendency to reduce the allocation for the capital head and new schemes so drastically is a reflection of the government’s attitude towards force modernisation. In 1998, we managed to improve this allocation by suppressing 50,000 personnel and tightening the belt on maintenance. Despite civil and military apprehensions and opposition, the CCS agreed to add savings on account of suppression under the capital head. (This has now been undone on account of Operation Parakram and other commitments.) The defence plan includes a prioritised list of inventories (Prioritised Procurement Plan) that have to be procured annually to keep the modernisation process going and also to make up deficiencies if any. The five-year Defence Plan is then supposed to be implemented on a yearly basis. The Ministries of Defence and Finance keep tight control on annual budgeting, the examination of all major proposals and the financial outgo. If, by the end of the year, the expenditure is less than the allotted amount, it is either adjusted within the MoD or returned to the Ministry of Finance. Carrying forward of funds is not permitted. Suggestions made to create a reserve fund or a carry forward procedure for this purpose have not been implemented so far. The implementation of our Defence Plan, should I say non-implementation, is a sad story. During the Plan period, allocation always remained uncertain and irregular. It was ad hoc, never as planned. Annual incremental budgeting did not lend to efficient defence procurements. There was seldom any problem in spending the revenue head (approximately 53 per cent goes towards pay and allowances) but the meagre capital head could seldom be spent. There have been regular and increasing surrenders of funds for several years (Rs 4000 crore in 2001-02, Rs 5000 crore in 2002-03, Rs 9000 crore in 2002-03), particularly of the capital head, which has a direct bearing on modernisation. Surrender of such large sums, year after year, has created an impression among soldiers that the government allots adequate funds in the annual budget, promises even more, but then deliberately withdraws them before the year is over on the excuse of non-expenditure. —
To be concluded — The writer is a former chief of Army Staff |
From gullidanda to golf IN my childhood we used to play gullidanda. Now after my retirement I have started playing golf. The distance between these two games is a measure of my social advancement in life. The games we played when I was a boy were inexpensive. The game of Kabaddi only required lines to be drawn on the playing field, which could be the village common or simply the unpaved village streets. For playing gullidanda we used to go to a ground outside the village where there was an old banyan tree near a well with high decorated pillars supporting the wooden wheel for drawing water. The village carpenter fashioned the gulli and the danda. We also played gindi-sota, a village version of hockey, with a ball made of stuffed rags and sticks roughly hewn by the carpenter. We played football and volleyball in school compound. We played all these games barefoot. No boy owned any ball; they were all school property. Our headmaster played badminton in an exclusive compound with his pretty wife. None of us was ever admitted to it. Come to think of it, gullidanda required a greater dexterity and agility than golf. The gulli went into a spin when it was struck on the edge and was required to be struck again before it landed on the ground and sent into a long-distance trajectory. It was like making a partridge take wing and then shoot it in flight or like Arjuna hitting the revolving fish. Only a practised player knew to bounce the gulli sufficiently high and swiftly bring the danda to strike it again in midair. In contrast, the golf ball when played is stationary — either sitting pretty on a tee or ensconced in lush green fairways patiently waiting for a strike from one of the clubs of your choosing, which have been crafted for specific requirements of direction, loft and speed. It really looks like a child’s play. For being at par with gullidanda, the golfers at least need to throw the ball in the air and then take strikes in midair a la tennis players throwing up the ball before striking it to serve. I was having such thoughts in my mind when our coach, Col Nirmal Singh, was explaining the correct way of holding the clubs and the position of the feet and the movement of the shoulders and of taking a perfect stance, etc at the time of striking the ball. I chuckled to myself at his endeavour to make a simple thing sound so complex. He gave a demonstration and the ball was kissing the clouds. Thereupon, I confidently took the club, bringing it down with a swish. It went over the ball. No contact. The ball sat unmoved on the tee. The Colonel gave an understanding smile and said, try again. This time the club hit the earth instead, making a gash in the grass. The ball still kept sitting smugly on the tee. It reminded me of a partridge shoot in Hisar during my under-training days. A former Chief Secretary of Punjab had come visiting. He was fond of partridge shooting. So was Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K. Misra, who took him in his jeep on a canal bank. The windscreen was open. Misra stopped the jeep about 10 yards from a partridge couple quietly pecking on the bank. He gestured to the guest, who sat stiffly holding his double barrel gun, to fire. Taking an aim, he fired. There was an ear-splitting report. The partridge couple arched their neck in mild annoyance, but kept sitting. We looked at them in utter disbelief. They sat unruffled. Misra gestured to him to fire from the second barrel. He did. Irritated, the partridge couple decided to quit the scene, and unhurriedly walked into a nearby bush. As the sun beats mercilessly from a cloudless sky, I practice shots at the newly commissioned golf club in Panchkula, trying to coax the balls to steer clear of the muddy water bodies for which they seem to have an unerring propensity. The pitiless sun has darkened my complexion, the wayward balls have bruised my ego, and the Club has left me much lighter in purse, but I am tickled to no end at my newfound status as a golfer. |
The closure of Punjabi University and after
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does the typical boy on the move in any university need? A bike, maybe a car with loud music, a girl friend and loads of fun. There may be the studious types, but even they need some of these things. There are those who may aspire for girl friends. Then how do all these diverse categories get together to force the closure of a university and even persuade their girl counterparts to lend them support which may mean sleeping on the road? To understand this, one must know the psychology of the students and the circumstances which led them to take such a rigid stand. The post-militancy period has witnessed liberalisation in the universities in Punjab. Students have, after a long time, had time to have good days and not be worried about following any particular ideology. Many batches have entered the universities and passed out, taking back memories of the days time well spent with little curbs. However, with the passage of time, the same class contradictions which had earlier given rise to militancy because they were ignored have come into play again. In the case of Punjabi University many of the students who have taken admission come from families which cannot afford even to pay their fee. It is these students who have vented their anger against the system in the recent agitation. The students did this because not only are they convinced that the fee structure should suit their economic conditions but also because of the disillusionment that university education may do nothing to improve their lot. This is because many of these rural students are not studying professional courses. They are in the Arts stream which does not enable them to find ready jobs waiting for them once they acquire the degree. The strike in Punjabi University succeeded because the traditional leaders, the wealthy Jats who drive around in open jeeps with enough hands to take on anybody posing a problem, sided with the slightly less privileged students. They were forced to do this because otherwise the leadership of their particular faction would have been lost by them. Once committed to the demand for a reduction in the fee hike over which the agitation in the university began, no faction could backtrack because the future leadership would be determined by their record in the agitation. One of the two student organisations — the ABVP — which had earlier agreed during negotiations with the university authorities for bringing down the fee hike to make it a 15 per cent increase vis-a-vis the earlier fee hike also changed its stand and joined the agitation led by the other organisations. It is an irony of fate that the Sikh Students Federation, which was the most feared organisation during the days of militancy, was completely isolated and remained the only student body which did not join the agitation. The SSF along with the ABVP had earlier agreed to the 15 per cent hike in fee at a meeting with the university authorities. Moreover, the SSF stuck to the position that the students should not have heckled the Vice-Chancellor at a religious function in a gurdwara. Even this statement had no effect on the agitating students, who explained their case by claiming that it was the Vice-Chancellor who had invited heckling by resorting to allegations against student leaders while making a speech in a gurdwara. Strangely, the students started an agitation at Punjabi University against a Vice-Chancellor who will be remembered as the first VC in its history who began the practice of involving students in committees before taking any decision. Mr Swarn Singh Boparai, after taking over as Vice-Chancellor around a year back, has always sought to consult and involve students in all major decisions taken by him. However, the Vice-Chancellor paid dearly for not judging the mood of the students when they started the agitation. The university, after deciding not to reduce the fee hike, dug in its heels further when the Vice-Chancellor was heckled by the students. This incident clouded the university's thinking on the issue of fee reduction, which was the core demand of the students. The Vice-Chancellor did not realise that judging issues with a political eye has become a neccessity. The university had facts on its side. The government grant has come down from 76 per cent of the total budget in 1998 to 42 per cent and the university could increase its resources only by raising the fee. This fact was described by Mr Boparai while addressing the faculty on the day the Deputy Speaker was holding parleys with students. It is these factors which forced him to close down the university and the hostels. There was no meeting point with the students because the university administration was of the view that the student leaders, who had resorted to rowdyism, should be dealt with by the police. However, the police refused to act fearing that could lead to further worsening of the situation. It could become a state-wide agitation against the government. This seemed to be the view of the government also. The Chief Minister deputed his emissary — Punjab Deputy Speaker Birdevinder Singh — who announced a further roll back in the fee hike besides prevailing upon the students to lift their dharna. The students have gone home with the feeling of having won the first battle by ensuring a 50 per cent reduction in the fees for general courses. They claim that this is the first battle, as the issue of a manifold increase in the fees for professional courses remains. Besides, there is also the issue of suspension of student leaders. By now they have come to know that Mr Boparai is adamant on maintaining discipline. But the issue is not whether Mr Boparai would have prevailed upon the students if he had been given a chance. The issue is what can be done to remove the anger of the underprivileged against the rising fee structure. Increasing the fees for the privileged is fine but some mechanism is needed to ensure that the underprivileged can also study in universities. Most of the underprivileged of the Malwa belt study in Arts courses whereas they should be students of professional courses if they are to get jobs tomorrow. How should these boys and girls be admitted to professional courses is the challenge before the Punjabi University and the government to prevent any future agitation. |
District Forums get more powers THE
amendments to the Consumer Protection Act that came into effect on March 15 this year have brought about a number of changes in the jurisdiction of the consumer courts. For example, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums have been raised from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. In other words, most complaints can now be filed before the District Forums , as they can adjudicate on cases where the claims go up to Rs 20 lakh. Similarly, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have gone up. So all claims above Rs 20 lakh and up to a limit of Rs 1 crore can now be made before the commissions located in State capitals. The highest consumer court or the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission will now hear cases where the claims are above Rs 1 crore. Another major change is that now these courts will not take up complaints pertaining to services hired for commercial purposes. Earlier, the law disallowed consumer courts from adjudicating on complaints in respect of goods bought for commercial purposes. However, there was no such ban on resolving disputes pertaining to services hired for commercial purposes. The new amendments have now taken out services hired for commercial purposes too from the ambit of the consumer courts. To put it differently, commercial establishments and industrial houses now cannot use the consumer courts to settle their disputes with bankers, insurers, power supply undertakings and others as they did before. However, complaints pertaining to services hired by a person to earn a living through self-employment can still be agitated before the consumer courts. Following some of these changes, insurance companies and even banks against which commercial establishments had filed cases, challenged the jurisdiction of the consumer forums to hear such cases. Similarly, in some other cases, the opposite parties argued before the National commission that cases where the claims were in the range of Rs 25 lakhs ought to be transferred to the State commissions in view of the changed pecuniary jurisdictions of the National Commission. Earlier, at a conference of presidents of State commission too, some of these questions were raised and the State commissions wanted to know if they should transfer cases which do not fall within their pecuniary jurisdiction to the District Forums. In a recent order, the apex consumer court deliberated over these issues and its final views as expressed in the order are extremely important. As far as pecuniary jurisdiction is concerned, the National Commission made it clear that the amendments are prospective in nature and therefore the earlier law (or pecuniary jurisdiction) will apply to all cases filed before March 15. Similarly, complaints pertaining to services hired for commercial purpose will still be heard by the consumer courts, so long as they have been filed before March 15. |
Religion consists not in mere talks. He who looks on all alike and considers all as equals, is acclaimed as truly religious. — Guru Nanak Passive resistence is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms. — Mahatma Gandhi When evil befalls man he calls upon Us; but when We vouch-safe him Our favour, he says: “It is my due.” By no means! It is but a test: yet most men do not know it. — The Koran The soul alone raises us to nobility. — Seneca Why do you want to open the outside door when there is an inside door? Everything is within. — Yogaswami |
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