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Comrade Parduman: the man behind pension schemes in India
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Basmati growers
to go for crop diversification ‘Reliance project to uplift agricultural economy’ Amandeep Singh’s
winning moves in chess
Suba Singh: a professor with a multifaceted personality The business of
beauty Traders find no merit in SAFTA agreement |
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Comrade
Parduman: the man behind pension schemes in India Hailed as the “Father of Pension Schemes in India”, Comrade Parduman Singh has been a ray of hope to the downtrodden and the distressed. Comrade, as he is affectionately called, was from childhood attracted to helping the lowly and the downtrodden. There has always been something unique about Comrade Parduman Singh. He is a silent worker and you will find him bringing peace and solace where there is misery and sorrow. His work for the downtrodden reflects his altruism. Owing to his relentless efforts, nearly 35 lakh retired workers or their families (in case of death) are enjoying the benefits of pension. In 1980s, he conceived an old age, disability and survivors’ pension scheme for industrial workers who are members of the EPF by partial conversion of provident fund. He put his proposal before the Central Board of Trustees. The board accepted the proposal, and eventually the Government of India promulgated such a pension scheme for 40 crore private and public sector employees on November 16, 1995. In a function held on November 23, 1996, on the completion of one year of the scheme, he was hailed as the “Father of the Pension Scheme” by Mr P.A.Sangma, the then Labour Minister, Dr D. Mishra, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Labour. Mr S. Gopalan, former Labour Secretary, Secretary General, Lok Sabha, said he should be awarded a golden scroll of honour for his contribution in evolving the pension scheme, and making it acceptable to workers. Peeved at the fact that not enough was being done for development and extension of social security in India even by the trade unions, he mooted the idea of forming a non-government organisation, which was to be a non-partisan organisation. At his initiative and with the active help of Mr R.K.A. Subrahmanya, former Chairman of the Central Board of Trustees of the EPF, and Additional Secretary, Labour, the Social Security Association of India was formed in 1991. The association was inaugurated by Dr Manmohan Singh, the then Finance Minister. He continued to be founder-president of the organisation. He gave up this office two years back. The governing body of the association elected him as Emeritus President for life. This organisation is a body of social security experts, academicians, labour economists, former functionaries of the International Social Security Association and the ILO, and officers of social security organisations. The two biggest social security organisations i.e. the EPF and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation are its institutional members. Comrade Parduman Singh was born on March 7, 1924, at Jehlum (now in West Pakistan). He was educated at various district headquarters in Punjab due to regular transfers of his father, Mr Ram Singh, who retired as the ADC. He graduated from the prestigious Government College, Lahore, in 1944 that was considered Asia’s best college. Mr Satya Pal Dang, veteran CPI leader, was senior to him by two years in the college. He organised a strike on January 26, 1940,
which was at that time celebrated as the day on which the resolution for “Complete Freedom” was passed by the Indian National Congress (now celebrated as the Republic Day). While in Class X, he took part in various strikes organised in colleges in support of the students’ demand. He was very active in collecting funds during the Great Bengal Famine in 1943-44. After completing his studies, he joined the Sarvodya Movement of Mahatma Gandhi along with a friend by going to a village near Amritsar and cleaning the streets and distributing medicines among poor people. During the days of Partition in 1947, he worked actively for the amelioration of sufferings of refugees from Pakistan and saved the lives of many innocent victims. After this, he and his friend were offered officer’s job. He declined this offer because the Congress had accepted Partition of the country. His friend accepted the job and retired as DPI. He joined the CPI and started the work of organising industrial workers in trade union under the banner of AITUC in 1948-49. And he had to remain underground for about two years, warrant of arrest having been issued against him. During that period, he worked in villages in Amritsar for organising the rural masses. After the warrants of arrest were withdrawn, he became whole-time functionary of AITUC in 1950. The period of 1950, 1967 was the time of acute unrest amongst the industrial workers due to low wages, lack of all types of amenities like bonus, paid casual leave and sick leave, grades and scales of pay, gratuity etc. Dozens of strikes, struggles were fought during that period, and he was one of the top leaders of the workers, being the General Secretary of the Textile Workers’ Union, which became the Textile Mazdoor Ekta Union when AITUC and INTUC merged. Two general strikes involving more than 25,000 workers each time for 36 days and 52 days, respectively, were fought in 1955 and 1965. He was the convener of the joint action committee of the trade unions in both strikes. During those strikes, he was arrested many times, first in 1953, when he underwent imprisonment along with 20 other trade union leaders and workers who were sentenced to a 10-month term that was reduced to six months following an appeal in the High Court. He also remained in confinement in the Central Jail, Ambala. Later, he further intensified his activities and was arrested a number of times. He remained in Amritsar Central Jail for periods extending between 15 days and three months. Reason: he led various strikes against rising prices and rise in bus fares. He was elected secretary of the Punjab State Committee of AITUC during that period. He was elected a member of the All India General Council in 1953 and its all India Vice-President in 1994. In 1980, he wrote his first book on the history of trade union movement. During the period 1980-92, when terrorism held its sway in Punjab, he was one of those who mobilised and involved not only workers but also common people against separatism, in spite of the dangers involved. A party committee was formed for this purpose. They organised ‘parbhat pheris’ and mohalla meetings in various parts of the city. The committee, including CPM, Congress, BJP, Janta Dal and Akalis, was formed at his initiative as per the decision of the City Committee of the CPI. He acted as the convener of the committee. The result of all these activities was that the people of Amritsar were involved in fight against terrorism. He, on behalf of the CPI, took an active part in the CPI-organised national and international events. During the wars with Pakistan, they organised canteens for Army personnel. During the Vietnam War, they organised a procession against imperialism. He has authored many books on social security in India, Asia-Pacific and in developing countries of Asia, Africa and South America. His maiden book “Social Security and Struggle for Human Dignity in the Developing Countries” hit the stand in 1988. The World Federation of Trade Unions translated it into French also. He has penned reports on “Exempted Provident Funds” as the Chairman of a committee of the CBT, “A Manual of Social Security in India” and “Social Security in Asia and Pacific”. His “New Approach to Minimum Wages as Measure of Social Protection” appeared in three volumes (co-authored with Mr RKN Subrahamanya, Secretary General, Social Security Association of India). His other books are “A Monumental Cooperative Study of Social Security Systems in 86 Developing Countries of Asia, Africa and South America”, “Protection for the Elderly, the Disabled and the Survivors in India — at the threshold of 21st Century”, “Health protection in India in the Year 2000” and “Unemployment Benefit Scheme in Developing Countries — A Case For Unemployment Benefit Schemes in India”. His two booklets on “Employees Pension Scheme” were translated in many regional languages. Five of his books have been published by the German Foundation — Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Some of his books have worldwide circulation.
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Amritsaris vie for colourful ‘crowning glory’ Hair colouring has caught the fancy of youngsters like never before. Not only girls but also boys can be seen sporting coloured hair. To look trendy and stylish, the youngsters are opting for the fad in a big way resulting in the coming up of several beauty saloons. A young girl, with golden hair, said “hardly a girl can be seen with black or natural hair”. These hair colours change the look of a person. The trend is closely associated with the development of science in beauty pageants. A person can have colour of hair as per his or her skin tone and according to our dress too. An array of range of colour which can add excitement and thrill to the hair line are available in market. Not only the young girls, but many middle aged women are also lapping up the trend. However, their motive behind colouring of hair was to hide their grey hair. This is the reason that a number of national and international companies have flooded the markets with their products. Some of the notable companies are Schwarzkopf, Loreal, Keune, Matrix, Garnier, Revlon etc. Each company claims to offer different and latest technique and chemical composition in their hair colour with no negative impact. Schwarzkopf, an international concern, also provides training to interested youngsters to learn the latest technology. Its working is like an academy that holds training seminars to ensure that salons, which are using their company’s hair color, always remain updated with the latest technique and skills required to give international quality service to their clients. Girls with varied colour of streaks on their hair like burgundy with blonde (dual effect) walking on an Indian road was a rare sight some years ago. Before opting for blonde colour with ash blonde effect one must know through knowledge and the exact composition of different number of chemicals with its effect on hair. Blonde colour enhances the complexion and it starts seeming more fairer. But it is not easy to do perfect streaks on the hair. It needs a lot of practice and experience, too. The hair stylist must have entire knowledge about their range of different names and numbering system, mixing ratio, application technique, processing time. These are salon exclusive products so public could not come to know that which colour is inside the tube. No doubt, conscious sophisticated women of this age are patronising the new fashion in a great way. It has also offered a new vocation to youngsters to adopt and carve a career in the beauty industry. However, coloured hair needs extra protection and care because they may have harsh effect, too. Thus, good deep conditioning and shampoo for coloured hair is being recommended. These days in market, Ammonia-free colours are prescribed which can make hair softer and shiny. The cost of ammonia-free colours are higher than other colours. In salon, the charges varied from Rs 1,200 to 1,500 and it is basically used for global colouring, while normal colouring costs Rs 800 to 1,200 depending upon the length of the hair.
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Rise in vegetable prices upsets household budget The recent increase in the prices of petrol and diesel compounded by the failure of monsoon had a cascading effect on the prices of vegetables and other essential commodities. Going beyond their stretchable limits, the spiraling prices have disturbed the budget of the families. According to estimates, the rates of vegetables and pulses had increased by 15-20 per cent while those of petrol and diesel have gone beyond 40 per cent. The high rates has started pinching the pockets of the people from all segments. With the inflation going up from 3.5 to almost 6 per cent during the past two months, it had direct bearing on the prices of daily needs, including vegetables and pulses. Ms Reva Khanna, a housewife, said that to meet the higher expenditure, the family had to resort to cutting the expenses to make the both ends meets. She said that the government must understand the plight of the people living below poverty line who had been badly affected by these price hikes. “The sudden spurt should have been anticipated by the government. Immediate steps should have been taken up by it to counter this high price rise,” said Mohinder Singh, vegetable vendor and wholesale dealer. The worse-effected were the families of fixed salary groups. One such housewife, Ms Reeta Kapur, lamented that they had never expected such a steep hike in the prices, which has broken the backbone of common man. The salaries did not commensurate with the price hike, she said, adding that as a result a family had to cut down some of their essential expenses. The more effected are the families, which have a single male earning hand. Mr Madan Lal, an employee with the private firm, said that he had seven members to feed, including his dependent old parents. He was really hard hit and his family had decided to cut down the needs to meet the monthly expenses.
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Basmati growers
to go for crop diversification Progressive farmers from the area, in association with the Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters’ Association (PRMEA) and the experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), have decided to work in tandem to boost the cultivation of basmati paddy. The consensus was arrived during a workshop, which covered various aspects of basmati organised by the PRMEA here recently, which was attended by more than 60 farmers from the region. Addressing the workshop, the agricultural university expert Dr Sukhwant Singh Bhinder said the university would offer all possible technical expertise to the farmers to improve the yield and the quality of the basmati crop. He said that the university had offered quality seeds of various varieties to the farmers and gave them the first hand information about the various problems being faced by the farmers during sowing and cultivation of the crop. Dr Bhinder also released a folder with complete information about the weather conditions, crop pattern, plantation technique and about the use of fertilizers and pesticides. The president of the PRMEA, Mr Rajeev Setia, assured the farmers that the exporters would give them remunerative prices of the crop and said that Indian basmati have a huge market abroad which required quality produce. Mr Setia said that farmers should go in for major diversification into basmati, which would not only save precious water resource, but would fetch foreign exchange through exports. He strongly advocated for the setting up a formalised think-tank to devise long-term and short-term planning to give thrust to the crop production. The leading exporter, Mr K. R. S. Sobti, urged the government to come up with minimum support price for basmati paddy, which would give incentive to farmers to grow more basmati in this area. Earlier, Niranjan Singh, a farmer from Rayya, said that efforts should be made to educate the farmers about the cultivation of various varieties of basmati, conducive to the climatic and soil condition of this area. He said that the exporters, in collaboration with agricultural experts, should organise more such workshops in the rural belts to develop the bond of trust between the stakeholders. According to Mr Harminder Singh, Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture, during the current fiscal year, 40 per cent more area had been brought under the basmati cultivation. Besides, with good rainfall this season, the production of paddy this year was expected to be higher than last year, Mr Harminder Singh said.
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‘Reliance project to uplift agricultural economy’ “The Reliance Mega Project, approved recently by the state government, will definitely uplift the agricultural economy of the state. Punjab is primarily an agriculture state and even if Reliance is able to achieve 50 per cent of the project targets, the ‘farm to fork’ project will greatly benefit the presently languishing farming community.” These observations were made by Dr R.S. Bawa, Registrar of Guru Nanak Dev University and former President of Indian Economic Association, recently while commenting on the project. An eminent economist, Dr Bawa said that the solution for narrowing the gap lied in the development of marketing and exports network, and agro-processing. He said for this purpose the ideal solution was farmers’ co-operatives, which have, somehow or the other, not succeeded in India in general and Punjab in particular. Dr Bawa said the second best solution was entry of multinationals, big business houses in this sector and in this context, the clearance of the Reliance project by the state government was to be welcomed. He said this business house, with huge resources at its command, proposal to invest more than Rs 5000 crore on this project, with a clear vision to set up rural hubs in different parts of the state and above all, the will to make the project successful, would definitely contribute to improve the lot of the farmers of Punjab in general and small and semi-medium (up to 10 acres) farmers in particular who constitute about 65 per cent of the total. Dr Bawa, in his observations, said that once this ‘farm to fork’ project of RIL succeeded, companies like ITC, Bharti and others were also likely to enter and the face of agrarian economy of Punjab would change. He said the present weaknesses of contract farming in the state would also be made up when the gap between consumer-farmer prices was narrowed, both the consumers and farmers would gain and diversification plans would automatically succeed.
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Amandeep Singh’s
winning moves in chess Amandeep Singh is another grand master in the making. A student of Class VIII from D.A.V Public School, Amandeep has won many prizes participating in various district, state, national and international level chess competitions. He stood third in the CBSE (North Zone) Inter School tournament held last year in New Delhi. He managed to get 42nd rank in the Asian Youth Chess Championship in December 2005. He also participated in the Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament this year. He was awarded the first prize in a chess competition organised by a Hindi daily newspaper. He stood second in the Amritsar Inter CBSE Schools Chess Championship held in August 2005 and was even declared the best player of the tournament. This young chess master with abilities of intuition, accurate calculation and discipline is making big strides in the sport. He has been following the game with determination, art and science for the past four years. He is not all play and no work. Amandeep has been scoring impressively in his studies. Apart from chess, he is fond of singing and painting and participated in various painting competitions winning several prizes. He has also interest in classical and folk songs and managed to reach second part of Sangeet Bhushan held in 2006 at Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh. He stood second in ‘Talent Hunt Singing and Modeling Contest’ organised by Music Lovers Society Associate at Amritsar. He feels that chess activates mind and is a kind of brain exercise. The game requires patience, deep thought. Unlike boys of his age who are not aware of their goals, Amandeep is different. He desires to carve out his future from chess.
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Educating underprivileged children for free Dedicated to the martyrdom of four Sahibzadas and Mata Guzari, Sri Guru Harkrishan Charitable Public School promises free education on the CBSE pattern to children belonging to the poor strata of the society. The school is a brainchild of Ms Satinder Kaur Marwaha, its Principal. The school is currently running from a rented building in Golden Avenue. The students and the staff also help run the school. Ms Marwaha said it took her several years to set up the school. “I pursued the Chief Khalsa Diwan (one of the oldest Sikh educational institutions). It was the guidance of the Chief Khalsa Diwan that this charitable school became a reality,” she said. Earlier, there were nearly 70 students with 35 each in UKG and nursery. The school provides books, stationary and cloths to the students for free. The principal said the school had appointed two qualified teachers. Before admitting a student, the school examined status of his or her family, Ms Marwaha said. The teachers hold regular meetings with parents of the wards. Ms Marwaha claimed that more were approaching the school for admissions. The school has now started more classes. Its also providing computer education. The Principal said that the grasping power of the under-privileged students was high. “These students perform better than the other students who usually have all the facilities.” She said the school would start free computer courses for students from the poorer sections this month. Ms Marwaha said the SGPC President Mr Avtar Singh Makkar had assured her of providing a land adjoining to Harkishan Public School for the school.
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Summer camp teaches religious values The Akal Purkh Ki Fauj (APKF) utilised the modern concept of summer camp to inculcate religious values among children here. The Gurmat Summer Camp was dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the Akal Takht. APKF organised 27 such camps at various places from June 16 to 30. The camp concluded with a ‘Happy Family Healthy Family’ programme that took place on July 1. Chief of the APKF and SGPC member Jaswinder Singh Advocate said over 2,000 children learnt basics of Sikh philosophy. He added that some students were also given prizes. He said that one of the students, Mehakpreet Kaur (4) could recite the Japuji Sahib orally and Chitcharan Preet Kaur (9) could recite 22 banis of Guru Granth Sahib.
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Suba Singh: a professor with a multifaceted personality Dr Suba Singh is a multifaceted personality. He is an erudite writer of many research papers and books, editor of magazines, and convener of many national and international level seminars and conferences. He has had the rare honour to deliver a speech in the House of Commons in London on “Punjabi Language and Culture”. A postgraduate in Punjabi and Religious Studies, Dr Suba Singh’s urge for knowledge compelled him to get an LLB and later a Ph.D degree in religious studies. While serving in Khalsa College, he exhibited his administrative skill as dean of students welfare, public relations officer, hostel warden, NSS officer and gurdwara administrator. He has been organising “Amrit Parchar Samagams” for students of the college regularly. Presently, he is serving as an Executive Member of the Education Committee, Chief Khalsa Diwan, and member of the Central Sikh Museum in the Golden Temple. In recognition of his keen interest in education and long teaching experience, Dr Suba Singh was appointed as a member of the Board of Studies in Punjabi and Religious Studies in Guru Nanak Dev University. Punjabi University, Patiala, appointed him as a member of the Senate, the Syndicate Academic Council and the Board of Studies and also the President of the Sports Committee. He also served as Principal of Gurmat College in Patiala. Recently, Khalsa College honoured Dr Suba Singh for his 30 years of “meritorious service”.
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The business of
beauty Beauty is the most precious jewel a woman wears. And beautify a woman has become a thriving business. Every nook and corner of Amritsar boasts of a beauty parlour. National and international chain of beauty salons are opening shop in the city. The cosmetic industry too has witnessed a surge. The markets are flooded with national and international brands. The city has an array of famous parlours— Kaya Skin Clinic, VLCC, Shehnaz Hussain, Lakme and Habib. These outlets also sell cosmetic products. The clients are mostly the rich of the Holy City. Majority of these parlours are situated in posh markets like Lawrence Road, Mall Road and Ranjit Avenue. The treatments start from the toes and go up to the hair. Generally, customers visit these salons for facials, which are mostly done with French cosmetics. It costs up to Rs 2,000. Hair coloring and straightening are also popular, at a cost of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000. These parlours add a 12 per cent tax. Some parlours have even introduced botox injections to keep wrinkles off the face. The dose paralyses facial muscles and erases the expression lines. Laser removal of hair, glyclolic peels for removing blemishes and pigmentation are also available. Then these parlours are even offering courses. The fees can go up to Rs 35,000.
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Traders find no merit in SAFTA agreement Traders from the city have decried the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement. They claim that the pact will have no role in improving trade relations with Pakistan as it was apparently not willing to give any tariff concessions under SAFTA. The General Secretary of the Amritsar Exporter’s Chamber of Commerce, Mr Mukesh Sidhwani, said though there was no official comment on the issue of concessions from Pakistan, but according to business sources, the country would continue to trade with India on select items. An exporter of perishable and livestock, Mr Rajdeep Uppal, said Pakistan was not likely to provide the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India and would only allow trade in 742 items. He said the SAFTA agreement would have no meaning for the SAARC nations, “as they could not lift all the barriers”. The Chairman of the Indo-Pak Traders’ Association, Mr Om Parkash Latti, said it was lean period as few items were being exported to Pakistan. “The real season will start from the middle of August.”
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