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Sunday,
October
19, 2003,
Chandigarh, India
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ON RECORD Towards people-oriented and responsive governance |
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The cheapness of
human life in war
Ajit Jogi lives
with controversies
Noticeable police
presence on Delhi roads
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ON RECORD Though the Supreme Court gave the NCERT a clean chit and consequently
a go ahead to publish the books, the Congress-ruled states decided to
boycott the same texts in their schools. And while the adults fought in
the court and outside, it was the children who bore the brunt. Studies
took a drubbing as students went to school without textbooks for most
part of the academic session. Prof Rajput, who was a student of Union
Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Prof
Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya), the former chief of the RSS, refutes all
allegations and claims that NCERT is a victim of a conspiracy unleashed
by "vested interests". He insists that the NCERT despite being
an advisory body and not a coercive one is progressing even in the wake
of controversies. Excerpts of the interview: Q: As the Director of
the NCERT, which has been accused of communalising education, you have
the responsibility of dispelling the charge. How do you plead your
case? A: I don’t have the onus of defending NCERT textbooks. The
acceptability of the NCERT textbooks has risen three fold. Prior to the
changes in the syllabi we did not publish so many books. Earlier we
published around two million NCERT textbooks but this year we have
printed six million copies while last year it was four million. There is
a certain group of people with vested interest who are bent upon
criticising NCERT. We have responded wherever we thought it was
necessary. But my colleagues and I are extremely satisfied and happy
that the nation has accepted our books. Q: What about the charges of
doctoring texts? A: No one has written to me that any portion is
offensive. The interests of those who rush to the media or to certain
other political forum are obvious. If there is any academic suggestion,
we examine it and whenever changes are necessary we incorporate it in
our reprints. NCERT has a very established tradition of reprinting its
textbooks every year. This enhances our quality. Q: What about the
errors, factual and inadvertent? A: Books are reprinted every year
and corrections are made. We are a research institution and to remain
alive and active, we have to keep amending. We also train people.
Teachers are also being trained to find out the errors in the texts. We
are in touch with all educational boards and institutions and we have
full confidence in the teachers. Q: Recently the book on
Contemporary World History for Class XII has been in the news for
containing paragraphs from a book written in 1955 by authors of foreign
origin. Have you questioned your authors about it? A: I have seen
that news report. We have not responded to the charge because we are
getting it legally examined. It is a case of twisting of facts. A
situation is being created to mislead people. In a book of 296 pages,
four paragraphs in one chapter are referred to. A couple of lines in
certain paragraphs are similar...one or two lines may be same. This is
not plagiarism. People learn things. They work for 30 years in a
particular field and when they speak many times, ideas and sentences
percolate. Q: Since you disagree that the authors plagiarised, what
action will you take? A: I will get the whole thing legally
examined. But we are not worried by this. We are accustomed to
criticism. We reject charges of plagiarism and this time we would
definitely not allow people to go scot-free. Q: How will you restore
the faith of the people following the revelation of errors in NCERT
books? The Congress decided not to use the books for being saffronised.
Aren’t you worried that this may lead to a chain reaction? A: I
don’t have to restore the faith of the people. I have given instances
of the growing popularity of the NCERT texts. NCERT is an advisory body.
We don’t prescribe books. It is the content of these books which has
taken the sales figures from two million to six million. People are
buying the texts. I am not worried. To me it makes no difference whose
government it is. I am getting requests from state governments of all
hues. They have approached us and our books are being used in every
state. Besides, governments are free to take their decisions. But they
must also understand who are the sufferers. Q: You have been accused
of favoring authors inclined towards a particular ideology. What are the
grounds for the selection of authors? A: The grounds are the same
as have been there for the last four decades. We interact every week
with a large number of scientists, social scientists and teachers
through seminars and workshops. Our academics interact with them and
identify those who are most suitable to write books. When people come to
NCERT, we do not ask them at the gate what ideology they subscribe to. I
have faced criticism from Parliament to the Supreme Court and at no
stage our confidence was diminished. We are open to healthy suggestions
but if we are criticised on political and ideological basis we reject it
educationally and professionally. Q: You slammed the Indian History
Congress’ report as a low quality production in the "Fallacies in
the IHC report". A: Once the IHC had some illustrious
members. It was a body of noted historians, recognised and respected.
Three of its eminent historians devoted their time and energy and read
our books for which I am grateful to them. They pointed out mistakes and
errors on every page. I put these before the new authors. Their response
is professional and academic. This response that we have published has
been an eye opener. It has indicated the level of scholarship and
learning of those who have been criticising NCERT. I am no historian but
these eminent historians claimed that silk came to India after Islam,
zero was not known in India and so on. |
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Towards
people-oriented and
responsive governance THE relevance of a people-oriented and responsive governance as a factor in influencing the electorate’s choice will be tested again in the ensuing Assembly elections in Chattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. While the incumbent Congress governments seek a renewed mandate on the basis of their record of governance, the Opposition has pinned its hopes on the “anti-incumbency” factor — the electorate’s preference to oust an existing government for failure of governance. Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of “Panchayti Raj” and Pandit Nehru’s “Tryst With Destiny” speech identified the fundamentals of responsive governance as the ending of poverty, ignorance, disease, illiteracy and inequality of opportunity. The late Rajiv Gandhi emphasised the devolution of power to the panchayats and local bodies as a principal facilitator of good governance. More recently, in her opening speech at the third conference of Congress Chief Ministers at Guwahati, Sonia Gandhi associated purposive governance with the maintenance of law and order, freedom from fear, social harmony and an agenda of proactive intervention in favour of the underprivileged. The BJP and its allies sought their electoral mandate with a promise of “Su-raj” and Planning Commission Vice Chairman K. C. Pant spoke recently of “interlinkages between political, economic and social configurations” for growth and poverty eradication as the principal goals of governance. Indeed, good governance as an essential test of a functioning and efficient democracy in action and as a legitimate expectation of citizens in a dynamic polity has been at the centre of systemic reflections since independence. In its essence, governance in a democracy means moving people from the margin to the centre. It must ensure “an enabling ambience” within which people can function in meeting their needs for themselves with such intervention from government as may be necessary. A responsive administration presupposes greater openness and transparency in its functioning and informed public participation by the citizenry in achieving constitutional goals made possible by access to knowledge and information. An honest and accountable civil service that instinctively defers to human rights, honours human dignity and ensures social equity and justice according to the rule of law is the fulcrum of a people-oriented governance. Good governance, therefore, implies in a meaningful way to “people-ise” government and power. Indeed, democracy needs citizens, not clients. Real democracy must mean real development. Governance is not business, it is “service born in sympathy and empathy”. In a developing country such as ours, it is about a transformative agenda whereby ideological beliefs are translated into concrete action towards a just social order. Democratic governance is also about tact and restraint in the exercise of power. It involves providing new rules of engagement to harness the forces of globalisation, liberalisation and technology to the objectives of our Constitution. Good governance must ensure that institutions of State are not rendered obsolete in an internationally integrated world subject to global forces. The challenge is to ensure that in a world of “multiple modernities”, we are able to deliver with our own governing structures and institutions. Finally, responsible governance is an attitude of mind, an ideological commitment — the fundamental principle of which is a continuous, systematic and comprehensive confrontation of popular expectations with the delivery mechanism of government. This would require a new imagination, a vision entwined with the aspirations of the people and in tune with a mindset which will not condone lack of imagination and novel ideas to reinvigorate the bureaucracy and to invest it with a social motive and zeal for public service. Political parties competing for power at the Centre and in the states are required to demonstrate an ability to see through “the talk of the day to the hidden will” and the capacity to awaken it. It is to Sonia Gandhi’s credit that at the party’s Shimla Vichar Manthan Shivir, ‘People Oreinted Governance’ was a major theme for an intensive discussion. Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states were asked to deliver on this count. Good governance is achievable and need not be dismissed as “unrelated to ground realities” or “impractical”. Responsive governance is a legitimate expectation of our people from those who wish to govern in their name. It is neither untested nor disconnected with social realities in which democratic politics is rooted. Parties aspiring to power in the states and at the Centre will be reminded of their ‘Raj Dharma’ in ‘Lok Raj’ through the voters’ power of the ballot in the ensuing elections. The maturing of our democracy brings with it an unwillingness to accept a conscious disregard of the first principles of purposive governance, politicisation of bureaucracy and the subtle and not so subtle subversion of constitutional values. It is only when the political executive willingly accepts the constitutionally mandated restraints on the exercise of power that the delicate balance between the three branches of government would be restored. Indeed, if pursuit of power by political parties in the name of the people is to have any meaning at all for the people, the exercise of power must be conditioned by standards of sensitive and purposive governance. We would then have ensured the quality of our politics and distinction for our
democracy. The writer is a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab |
The cheapness of human life in war WHEN the Athenians, in 415 BC, wanted to take over the island of Melos, there was a long contrived discussion between the two parties which Thucydides brilliantly composed. Nowadays there is no such discussion and not a shred of remorse. Indeed the march of civilisation, if there has been such a march, has not been able to do away with the cheapness of human life in war. The added catch is that by far the most casualties are of innocent civilian non-combatant lives. In World War II, the number of dead was five million. Since then there has been Viet Nam, the Balkans and Rwanda, Algeria, the Congo, Palestine, Argentina and more. If the world expected to hear one speck of regret from
George W. Bush for thousands of Iraqui lives snuffed out by the Coalition (meaning America) operation it did not get it. If it was expected there would be some rumination over international law flouted, of nose thumbed at the United Nations no such thing followed. The image that came through was of a super-confident and satisfied man asking others to pitch in as well and go deeper into the impossible task of establishing “democracy” by force. Blair at the Labour-Party Conference Bournemouth produced the same image as his master but not so confident. Bush talked about going to war to establish the credibility of the United Nations! Blair wished to save the whole world from the courage of terrorism! For those who listened to both it was a crushing experience of hearing all the time the warning bells of colonialism. The bells tolled not for the Americans alone; the Russians and the French have mammoth economic interests in Iraq. The British, too, and the Germans would like to have them. Already the public and private economic institutions of Iraq are up for purchase. There could be no illusions about a constitution crafted in six months and a “democracy” up and running in 12 months more, making a kinetic dash for the future. The people of Iraq, divided by dogma and ethnicity, are not engaged in any experience with the building blocks of democracy and there is all round hatred for the occupation and the occupiers, every bit as much as there is for the Israeli occupiers of Palestine. Reconstructing Iraq, the American occupiers have begun by paying people like policemen and teachers an average of $ 10 per month. Iraq is only one example of the futility of forced system change. Afghanistan is another and, yes, Kashmir. The reports that arrive from Afghanistan do not speak of successful, happy social change and regeneration. Instead, they speak of a capital city Kabul propped up with foreign military guardians commanded by NATO. Of warlordism alive and active and a stream of sorties and assassinations. The hoped for liberation of women and the absorption of the returnees from abroad have not taken place. There are and will be American boots on the ground and American warplanes and missiles in the air. In Afghanistan, too, there is no enthusiastic love for the Americans, only demands for more and more aid. No one tots up the deaths of Iraqi and Afghan civilians. I cannot speak of others but I read with revulsion about the deaths every day in (and alone) the Line of Control in Kashmir. My revulsion is not for my countrymen and women alone but also for the “militants” be they from Pakistan, Egypt, Algeria, Chechnya, Morocco or wherever. They too have mothers and fathers, wives and children. The spirit of India and its message across the centuries cannot survive with close to 400,000 fighting forces in Kashmir and, eyeball to eyeball with the Pakistanis, a million men facing each other across the LoC. Despite loud blowing of their own trumpets neither the democracy of the United States nor that of India could have staged the Hutton Inquiry. Sorry, correction. Britain and India could not have staged Watergate with the resignation of a President in disgrace and also, some years later, the impeachment of another President. Watching from behind our safe cover where no bigwig ever gets his deserts, we must applaud. However, neither Watergate nor the impeachment shone their torches on the shadowy world of spying and, a softer word, Intelligence. It is now accepted that all nations will spy on others. For some (like the CIA, KGB, RFS MI6, Mossad, and the Deuxieme Bureau, maybe even the ISI), their instruments must be infinitely bigger than others. The Hutton Inquiry revealed how shot through they are with prejudice, ambition, interference with vital policy concerning war and peace and, of course, with secretiveness. Intelligence can be of two kinds: one is the gathering of information through people sometimes in deep cover. The other, and much more dangerous, is the actual participation in kidnapping, targeted assassination and provoked wars. For the KGB in Soviet Russia and the CIA then and now no holes are barred, no escapade too despicable; to send, by hype and spin, thousands of soldiers and civilians to war and entire cities to destruction. The CIA has been ruthless in provoking and fighting all over the world. If Salvador Allende is inconvenient in Chile then, there was a “regime change” long before Iraq. Assassination attempts on Fidel Castro have passed double digit figures. Possible enemies are arrested and spirited away from Pakistan or Thailand. Guantanamo is a place where no law pervades the cages and palisades. In the past 50 years, the United States has instigated more military interventions (in more than 24 countries) than any other nation in the world. Indian administration and the Indian Parliament’s Question Hour are also so secretive that it is impossible to dig out truth and information from them. But from the little that one can glean, it is difficult to give two cheers for non-alignment, Indian style, and the demand for a permanent seat in the Security
Council. |
Ajit Jogi lives with
controversies
The latest controversy surrounding Jogi is the CBI charge-sheet accusing him of deliberately using forged documents to claim that the Intelligence Bureau had launched a special operation targeting him just before the elections. He had barged-in at the routine press briefing at the AICC headquarters in March and distributed the copy of the alleged note issued by the IB relating to acquisition of movable and immovable property by him. Jogi accused the Centre of misusing the IB for framing political opponents and sent a copy to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The Prime Minister immediately ordered a CBI inquiry into the allegation and now Jogi is in dock. With elections barely 90 days away, Jogi’s tribal identity continues to haunt him. The National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Commission had claimed that Jogi did not belong to Scheduled Tribe and his father was a Christian and his ancestors belonged to the “Satnami” sect, a Scheduled caste in Chhattisgarh and that he had fraudulently managed to get a ST certificate. Jogi challenged the jurisdiction of the Commission and obtained a stay. The matter is now before the Chhattisgarh High Court. “Reburial” of the body of his daughter at his ancestral village in Gorella in Chhattisgarh after exhuming it from a graveyard in Indore was also talked about in hushed tones for many days. In a bid to outbid the BJP, he was quoted as saying “Lord Krishna is the best God, even better than Ram lala”. Jogi became a Rajya Sabha member when he was only 40. Since then, he has been going up the ladder. He completed two terms in the Upper House and elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Raigarh (now in Chhattisgarh) reserved constituency of erstwhile Madhya Pradesh. In the last mid-term poll, he changed his constituency to Shahdol and had to face defeat. As spokesman of the Congress, he became the most visible face of his party. Initially, he was a bit shaky but with sound educational background and good command both over Hindi and English, he picked up fast and handled often intricate briefings with finesse and answered even the most provocative questions with a smile.. Highly ambitious and intelligent as Jogi is, he has learnt to read the political barometer quite early in his political career and always jumped to the bandwagon of the winning side. He owned his political career and nomination to Rajya Sabha to former Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. Jogi was rewarded at the cost of two senior leaders of Chhattisgarh — V.C. Shukla, who has since joined the NCP, and AICC treasurer, Motilal Vora and made Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh even though he did not command majority in the Congress Legislature Party. It is now a matter of fact if Digvijay Singh had not thrown his weight in favour of Jogi, he would never have been elected leader of the CLP. He, apparently, did so at the behest of his party President Sonia Gandhi. Seven supporters of V.C. Shukla boycotted the Legislature party meeting and, later, irate Shukla loyalists attempted to rough up the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. Jogi had a brilliant academic career. He did Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from one of the prestigious regional colleges — Bhopal’s Maulana Azad College of Technology, besides obtaining Law degree. He qualified for the Indian Administrative Service and worked as District Collector in Sidhi, Shahdol, Raipur and Indore districts of Madhya Pradesh gaining wide administrative experience. He quit IAS to enter politics in 1986 amidst several charges hurled at him. He entered the Rajya Sabha the same
year. |
Noticeable police presence on Delhi roads
Another rape. Needless to go into those details as by now they are splashed around. After-effects seem writ large — a very noticeable police presence on the roads of New Delhi. But can policing actually make dent in the prevalent decay? For, a very large percentage of women experience male aggression which can be termed semi molestation. The male psyche seems to be going haywire. With the prevailing trend of new definitions and concepts, the whole concept of manliness is getting twisted. In fact, as psychiatrists and counselors Dr Achal Bhagat and Dr Avdesh Sharma told me recently that there is turbulence in the Indian society as the women have been changing along the sociological needs but not the male. Man is what he used to be, maybe covered with garbs. Of course, rape is an extreme form of aggression but even in the so-called parties hosted by the who’s who most men try to go beyond the conventional hellos — grab your bare arm or pat your back or even hold your hand with more than the required enthusiasm. Where can one complain about these forms of aggression? I think what is urgently required is to coo in the male ear that manliness goes much beyond the physical... The round of
parties Talking of parties, there are some who host one for every possible
occasion. Though the guest list doesn’t seem to change, trends have changed. For his latest do, politician Subbi Rama Reddy had invited Bismillah Khan and Raja Reddy to add to the curries. And socialite Bhai Chand Patel, though just back from New York after a long holiday, is already coming up with two dinner rounds — one for the outgoing Bangladeshi envoy Tufail Haider and another for Aruna Vasudev’s birthday. I must not forget to mention the round of parties that had been hosted for the 43 members from the Lutyens’ Trust. Here again, something went beyond the expected. I am told that at one of them as our own set of architects went on harping on their designs, one person got up and spoke out. Yes, it was O.P. Jain who couldn’t just resist telling our architectural lot that in the past 56 years, we have not been able to come up with any architectural wonder. Jain went ahead to point out that right opposite the Lutyens' designed wonders, the Eastern and Western Courts on New Delhi’s Janpath lies the newly constructed Central Cottage Industries building and the contrast cannot be more blatant. Jain does have a point. In these 56 years, we have not been able to come up with any structures — human or otherwise — which could be termed worth mentioning. Moving on, along the partying track, Tourism New Zealand and the New Zealand High Commissioner is transporting “Kahurangi”, the Maori dance theatre of that country to give exclusive performances here. And soon the Austrian Tourism will be hosting food festivals of Austrian cuisine. W7hen I mentioned about this to a well known socialite, she quipped, “I ‘ll make it only if it is early evening. Otherwise, why take chances…this rape case and that one and...” Yes, those incidents have definitely left a scar on the mood and it could very gently take us backwards — heading homewards before the clock strikes 10 or even before. The Fred Pinn
collection When I visited the Nehru Memorial Library (Teen Murti) the other day, I was in for a surprise. There was the entire collection of the veteran India-lover Fred Pinn. He died recently. Before I write about his collection, some lines on the man. Fred Pinn was born in Germany in 1917. When the Nazis came to power, he left Germany and went to London. He came to India to take over as the Headmaster of St. Paul’s School in Darjeeling. Later he set up the Pinn School at Behala in South Calcutta. He then took to travelling, collecting and writing. He has written two books — one on the history of Darjeeling and the other on the conchshells of Pondicherry. But it is this the collection that is simply amazing — 4,000 books, 100 palm leaf manuscripts, assorted tools for writing on leaves, 50 scrolls and paintings, old photoprints, over 10,000 slides of the places and monuments he had visited during his stay
here. |
If a man who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater. — The
Buddha Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. — Sri Krishna
(Bhagavad Gita) The fear of God keeps the love of Him firm. — Guru Nanak Acceptance of non-violence is the most natural and the most necessary condition of our national existence. — Mahatma Gandhi No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. — John Donne |
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AS the head of the National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT), which has been accused of communalising
school education, Prof J.S. Rajput remains unperturbed. His contention
is that the allegations are "fabricated". Having taken over as
the Director of the NCERT about four years ago, he has been accused of
doctoring the school syllabi and unleashing a dictatorial regime.
SOME leaders thrive amidst controversy; some unwittingly create trouble for themselves. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi is the one who lives with controversies and, if there are no problems, he creates one. Jogi became the first Chief Minister of the newly carved Chhattisgarh state on November 1, 2000 in the midst of dispute over his tribal status. Since then, one controversy after another haunts him. Predominantly a tribal state, Chhattisgarh goes to poll on December 1 as Jogi’s pain in the neck seems to be unending. An IAS officer before he quit the coveted job to join politics, Jogi is no fool. He has a sharp mind. He knows how to make political maneuvers, switch loyalties and does not lack intellect. Currently, he enjoys confidence and full backing of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. There was time when he managed to come close to former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and struck a good rapport with another Congress President, the late Sitaram Kesri. Almost overnight he was seen standing behind Sonia Gandhi as she ousted octogenarian Kesri.