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Terror in Ahmedabad Beyond band-aid |
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Jail for IAS officer CBI must expedite fodder scam cases The conviction of Bihar’s senior IAS officer Sajal Chakraborty to four and half years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3.5 lakh in the infamous fodder scam case by Ranchi’s Special CBI judge is welcome. He is the second top official to be jailed in the case after Shripati Narain Dubey, former commissioner of Santhal Parganas. This sends a clear message that no person, however powerful and influential, can go scot free for his illegal actions and that the rule of law will prevail.
Jolts to food policy
Odd man out
Back to basics Urgent need to control illegal arms trade Chatterati
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Terror in Ahmedabad The
serial bomb blasts on Saturday in Ahmedabad, claiming over 40 lives and only a day after the explosions in Bangalore, show that the nation's enemies are working overtime these days. There are clear similarities in what happened at Jaipur (in May) and the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The crude bombs used were of a low intensity and planted on bicycles. All the states chosen to strike terror are ruled by the BJP. The email claiming responsibility had the stamp of the little-known Indian Mujahideen, which may be the assumed name of the terrorist outfit involved. The purpose behind this heinous activity is obviously to create communal disturbances. That is why, perhaps, the terrorists chose some of the sensitive localities in Ahmedabad. They also want to destabilise the country, which is set to join the big league of nations after the Indo-US nuclear deal gets operational. The terrorists have even targeted hospitals in their keenness to kill the innocent and spread fear. This resembles the style of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They mentioned the 2002 Gujarat riots and passages from the Quran to vitiate the atmosphere. The origin of the email bearing the name of the Indian Mujahideen has been traced to a flat in Navi
Mumbai. The flat owner, Abhishek Sharma, had rented it out to an American citizen, whose antecedents and the genuineness of his passport details are yet to be established. Terrorists are experts in leaving different trails to confuse the investigators. The militant outfits which have been finding mention in most cases of terrorist violence are the Bangladesh-based Harkatul Jihad Al-Islami and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiyaba. The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has also been suspected lately to have been involved in many of these incidents. The email sent to some media organisations after the Jaipur bomb blasts conveyed the threat that more such incidents would occur in other parts of the country soon. But the Home Ministry headed by Mr Shivraj Patil has done little to prevent what happened at Bangalore and
Ahmedabad. This is a sad reflection on his functioning as the Home Minister which has lately been evoking criticism in the ministerial and party circles.
The forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle ought to be utilised by the Prime Minister to shift him to a ministry he is really capable of handling. It is a matter of great relief, however, that people have maintained calm. Communal amity must be maintained at all costs besides launching investigations to nab those behind the blasts. Intelligence gathering also requires to be toned up to frustrate the designs of the terrorist groups. |
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Beyond band-aid After a never-ending wait, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and its executive panel have finally been reconstituted. The party’s expectation is that the UPCC — which has as many as 31 vice-presidents, 67 general secretaries and 146 secretaries — and the 112-member executive committee will help revive its fortunes in a state where it has been going steadily downhill. It has taken exceptional care to ensure that all regions of the state, castes and communities are represented. All this has obviously been done as part of the Congress party’s nation-wide drive to revitalise itself with band-aid and booster shots. The chances of the success in emerging as a force to reckon with are not exactly rosy. Considering that the party stands demoralised and even the recent confidence vote it has won is not emphatic enough to enthuse the masses, stronger remedies are required for reviving its political prospects. Interestingly, it is negotiating for 40 Lok Sabha seats in UP with its new-found ally, the Samajwadi Party. The Congress may be loath to admit it, but there is too much disarray and confusion in its ranks. Right from the time of Indira Gandhi, it has been led by remote control from Delhi and the refrain of “Leave it to the leader” has made it bereft of second-rung leadership. The weaknesses of many decades cannot be wished away in a matter of months. And, that is all the time it has before the Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram and Delhi and the Lok Sabha elections which may follow. The party is entirely dependent on a single family for its electoral success. Internal democracy is conspicuous by its absence and the conditions are hardly conducive for creating leaders in the states. Besides, it is afflicted with perennial problems of infighting and factionalism in almost all states. Punjab, where the party is a stage for ceaseless sparring between Capt Amarinder Singh and Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, is a telling example of how Congress “leaders” are good at wrecking the party’s prospects. Mrs Sonia Gandhi must think of |
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Jail for IAS officer The conviction of Bihar’s senior IAS officer Sajal Chakraborty to four and half years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3.5 lakh in the infamous fodder scam case by Ranchi’s Special CBI judge is welcome. He is the second top official to be jailed in the case after Shripati Narain Dubey, former commissioner of Santhal Parganas. This sends a clear message that no person, however powerful and influential, can go scot free for his illegal actions and that the rule of law will prevail. Chakraborty, former deputy commissioner of Chaibasa, along with 11 other government officers and 52 suppliers, has been convicted for fraudulent withdrawal of over Rs 38 crore from Chaibasa treasury. The IAS officer, who was state transport secretary while the case was being heard, had been under suspension. The court found him guilty of accepting a laptop as bribe in December 1994 and sentenced him under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. While Chakraborty deserved conviction for his dubious role, the fodder scam cases are dragging on for years. Considering the fact that the CBI has to dispose of as many as 63 cases, it is not clear when it would be able to complete its work. Politicians and top officials in Bihar invented phantom livestock herds, then made fraudulent payments for fodder and medicine for the animals as well as for artificial insemination equipment. Cases are pending against Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Misra, and many senior officers and employees of the animal husbandry department. Mr Lalu Prasad had been to jail thrice, the longest stint lasting three months. He is charged in five cases, four of which are pending before Jharkhand courts. He and his wife, Rabri Devi, were acquitted in a disproportionate assets case, an offshoot of the fodder scam, by a Patna court in December 2006. In all, 274 accused have been convicted so far. The ends of justice will be met only when all the guilty are brought to book expeditiously. In this context, the CBI has a special responsibility to ensure that the trial of all those accused in the Rs 950-crore fodder scam is put on fast track and exemplary punishment meted out to the guilty, in accordance with the law. |
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The human mind is like a parachute; it only works when it is open. |
Jolts to food policy
Even
after four decades of dealing with the management of food stocks, India has not developed any robust system or a definitive food policy that would effectively respond to the fluctuations in production and the consequent availability of foodgrains and their management that would balance the supplies with the ever-increasing domestic demand. An increase in production and consequent arrivals in the market do boost the morale of the government, yet the inefficient system is not able to handle the stocks optimally. Any small aberration in the pattern of monsoons or western pressures Spoilage in storage is unbelievably high, which does not trigger the desired level of concern; rather the administration takes it in its stride. Experience has not prompted the government to wake up to the realities of the situation. In essence, the food problem of India does not lie on the production front; it rests with the handling of the storage and management of the stocks as well as the policy stance of the government. Production is a biological phenomenon and is bound to suffer from fluctuations. Yet, the Indian research system has been putting these fluctuations on a higher and higher plane. However, the policy decisions on the management front suffer from frequent jerks and, more often than not, are taken out of panic triggered by self-created or imagined shortages and perceived surpluses. Looking back, in the early nineteen eighties, when the foodgrain godowns of the government started bursting at their seams, procurement agencies started dragging their feet that made the producers-sellers wait for weeks to get their stocks lifted. Lots of paddy got completely spoiled and a few even got burnt through heat generated by the internal moisture. Market clearance became completely tardy. The government went panicky and started exporting the stocks at prices even below the BPL prices. Quick came a long spell of drought from 1987 onwards and the government again went through a spell of panic. Food policy handlers proposed to import four million tonnes of wheat in early March 1988, despite a bumper wheat crop ready to be harvested within less than one month, little realising that imported wheat might not take less than three months The production cycle reversed as a natural course and stocks started building up again from 1992 onwards. By the later part of the nineties, the government system again did not match up to the challenge and the built-up food stocks suffered from spoilage to the extent that export consignments were rejected even by the importing countries like Iraq, which were in dire need of foodgrain. These grains were rated not fit for animal feed even. The foodgrain stocks piled up to over 58 million tonnes by 2001-02. As usual, out of a jerky policy response, the Government of India exported 35 million tonnes of foodgrains, from 2001-02 to September 2005, at a huge financial loss. Even in the nine months up to September 2005, more than five million tonnes of rice and 0.72 million tonnes of wheat were exported. A major part of these exports were made at prices below the BPL prices. Confronted with the question mark, the administration coined a beautiful term and described it as “structural adjustment in stocks”. Just one month after, by October 2005, the policy makers again started squealing shortages and resorted to imports of wheat while there were still over five million tones of wheat and more than 12 million tonnes of rice lying in stocks. This panic reaction based on a self- created and imagined shortage led to the import of over five million tonnes of wheat. Banning of exports of wheat and removing duty on imports and later a ban on future trading in wheat when, interestingly, there was no speculative trading in foodgrains, created an environment of perceived scarcity. Bigger producers and traders started withholding the stocks from the market. In spite of the fact that good harvest was in the offing, the government twice lowered its production estimates to justify imports.
Unfortunately, the foodgrain production cycle at the international level took a dip and the supply situation became tight. One of the main reasons for this dip was a significant diversion of the area under such crops in the US to bio-fuel production from
foodgrains. Supplemented by the scarcity sentiments created by the government policy in the domestic market that prompted the bigger producers and traders to hold back stocks from the market, the government procurements fell much below the target. Due to the tight supplies and exceptionally high prices in the international market, the government could not import the intended quantities of wheat. This further added to the scarcity sentiments in the domestic market. All this when the domestic stock situation was not that desperate. By April 1, 2008, domestic wheat stocks were about six million tonnes and rice was never in shortage. With a bumper wheat crop of 2008, stocks have again built up to about 26 million tonne of wheat. Release of the last year’s held-up stocks has made a significant contribution in the build up of these stocks. The policy makers are again contemplating exporting these grains. Unfortunately, the foodgrain policy handlers remain overly interested in imports and exports; what if every action of theirs costs the exchequer heavily and the nation suffers the pangs with higher and higher prices that put the basic necessities of life out of the reach of the common man’s pocket! What the country needs is a robust management policy and sustained investment that does not allow a single grain to be wasted at the altar of mismanagement and spoilage in the storage. Storage in temperature-and-moisture-controlled silos should have been built on priority decades ago. After all, feeding the nation is not a temporary phenomenon and the nation has been and will be living with weather-based fluctuations in production and food supplies in cycles for all time to come. If policy makers had paid equal attention to the storage and scientific handling of foodgrains as has been done on the production front, the country would have never been in the throws of self-created shortages and unmanageable surpluses. Recycling of the grains in the silos on a continuous basis would have been a better choice compared to losing on exports and a high cost on imports of the same commodity alternatively. However, the administration has to shed its infatuation with exports and imports for the misplaced reasons that are best known to them only. Trading in the international market based on genuine surpluses is not the creed of fickle minds and vested interests. Policy jerks that emerge out of panic have no place in decisions on exports and
imports. |
Odd man out
I was sitting quietly on a bench in the park, not even whistling under my breath, a habit I acquired many years ago. Not that I have an ear for music. But to use a favourite cliche, I wasn’t staring vacantly into space.
I was engrossed in the antics of a pair of pigeons billing and cooing to each other right in front of me. I had thought that birds billed and cooed only in the mating season, not at the onset of summer, but maybe I was wrong. My reverie was disturbed by a man seemed to appear from nowhere and plonk himself beside me. I shifted an inch or two and, from habit, touched my hip-pocket to make sure that my wallet was there. I looked at the newcomer from the corner of my eye. His age I reckoned to be nearer 70 than 60. I felt relieved. He didn’t like a chap who would slip a hand into my pocket. Nevertheless, I had no desire to strike up a conversation with him, but this remained a fond hope. “Got a match?” he asked, taking out a packet of cheap cigarettes, and offering one to me.
“Sorry,” I said. “I don’t smoke” (I smoke like a chimney). “You’re a wise man, bhai-sahib,” he said. “I would have been a rich man today if I hadn’t picked up this filthy habit 50 years ago,” I winced at the adjective. “Are you married?” he asked. This was getting a bit too personal, but I am not normally a rude man so I answered in the affirmative.
“Any children?” he asked. “Child,” I lied. (We have four. All of them grown up and married.) “Ah, my friend,” said my chance acquaintance. “You are not only a wise man, you are also a lucky one. Look at me. I have no son, only three daughters. All of them are married, thank God, but if I had a son, what would I have left him except a good name and my debts? At least I now have the consolation that my few small debts will be paid by my two sons-in-law. God bless them!” “Two?” I asked. “Didn’t you say you had three married daughters?”
“The two I am counting on,” he said “are in business. And both are doing well. The third is in government service and, believe it or not, is an honest man. In fact, he is too much of a fool to be otherwise.” Saying this, he got up, nodded pleasantly to me and walked away. I noticed that his trousers were frayed and the heels of his shoes needed to be replaced. Perhaps he too had been a government servant and an honest one. A few of them, I am told, can still be
found. |
Back to basics The
initial thrust on science after Independence provided a big boost for research in different areas. National laboratories are now the focal point for developing new technologies for industrial purposes and have become the largest public funded chain of laboratories in the world. India is among the few countries to have a fully developed indigenous space programme capable of putting advanced satellites in space, and is now preparing for Chandrayaan. The country is a de facto nuclear power and has developed methodology for the manufacture of heavy water and processing of thorium. During the last six decades, the country has produced a large number of excellent scientists, engineers and doctors. Outsourcing in Information Technology (IT), banking, pay rolls and customers services resulted in the generation of employment to a large number of people. However, in spite of the initial push and achievements, growth of Indian science could not be sustained. India, which was on the top of the newly independent countries in science, lost the place to China. The number of Ph.Ds produced in Science and Engineering provides a rough index about the state of science in the two countries. Whereas these numbers are 125 (1985), 3,400 (1995) and 12,000 (2003) in China, the corresponding figures for India are 4000, 4000 and 6400 during these years. There is a real danger that India may slip from a scientifically proficient country to a scientifically developing country, instead of coming to the scale of a scientifically advanced country. Brazil and South Korea are doing exceedingly well in their focused areas of science. In India, good science is still being done at select institutions, but the number of practicing scientists is declining. The most visible change seen in the last few decades is that not many bright students are opting for a career in science. With the thrust on job-oriented courses which offer lucrative employment, the students are branching out to courses in engineering, management and finances, thus leaving only a few good students who go for a degree in science. The India Science Report 2005-- the most authentic study of the Indian science scenario – says that at class six to eight level 22 per cent of the students wished to study science at college level, but at +2 level only 13 per cent wanted to study pure science at B. Sc. and M. Sc. level. This is a challenging situation which has drawn the attention of all those who are interested in science. It is difficult to accept that students who could not join professional courses for some reason or the other are studying science and these are the persons who will occupy apex positions in scientific organisations such as ISRO, DAE and CSIR, after a few decades. Science has been the impetus for technological growth and it is unthinkable to have a sound technological base without a proper foundation in science. Prof. C N R Rao, scientific advisor to the Prime Minister, has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating condition of science teaching and research in India. He wrote a letter to the Prime Minister: “If you are worried about economic competitiveness and not about scientific competitiveness, then I think the future will be bleak”. The message has not gone unheard. While inaugurating the 94th session of ISCA on Jan 3, 2007, the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced that the allocation of S & T will be progressively increased from 1 per cent to 2 per cent of the GDP in the next five years. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has taken a few initiatives to address this challenge. A scheme to provide scholarships to the students who wish to study science is being introduced from +2 levels to the Ph.D. However, a more focused approach is needed to create a cadre of a few thousand budding scientists annually by introducing a competitive examination at national level for +2 students on the pattern of the CBSE and AIEEE tests. The selected candidates should be offered scholarships of good value which should be substantially increased on joining Ph.D. programme. They should work in good laboratories during vacations on small projects and interact with eminent scientists. They must get an opportunity to see the joy of creativity and the thrill in getting something new. Introduction of a 4-year integrated course for master’s degree after +2 should be given a serious thought. The aim should be to create a pool of talented students who are fully focused towards science and are groomed to occupy the centre-stage of Indian science after the retirement of the present day scientists. Apart from national laboratories and universities, presence of R & D centers of multinational companies will ensure that a career in science is very attractive. An out-of-the-box remuneration package needs to be devised for practicing scientists in the University system. There may be a component of honorarium to teachers, like three months salary in the research projects sanctioned by the national funding agencies. This system already exists in the USA, where such an honorarium is given as summer salary to the investigators of research projects. In China, scientists get cash awards for getting papers published in reputed journals. Science policy makers in India may also devise a suitable mechanism to encourage the scientific community. With limited resources, Indian science needs a thrust area for global visibility. Finland, which has the most scientists per capita in the world, focused on electronics. Nokia, a small town in Finland, is now a household name. South Korea concentrated on reproductive technology and now has plenty of world-class experts in cloning and stem cell research. Singapore, with its Biopolis project, is attracting top biomedical scientists across the world. There is a great need to identify a thrust area for Indian science. The writer is Professor Emeritus, Kurukshetra University, and has been the General Secretary (outstation) of the Indian Science Congress Association (2004-2007). |
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Urgent need to control illegal arms trade From
July 28 to August 8, the Group of Government Experts appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will be holding their third and final meeting on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). India is one of the members of this 28 member group. In the wake of the recent successes of international efforts and treaties to curb the use of landmines and cluster bombs, high hopes are being attached to the Arms Trade Treaty to check the rapid proliferation of arms, particularly illegal arms. The idea for an Arms Trade Treaty was developed initially by 18 Noble Peace Prize laureates from over a dozen countries. This treaty stipulates that all international arms transfers should be authorised by the appropriate state authority. Secondly, governments have a responsibility to ensure that transfers do not directly violate their obligations under international law, and are not used illegally. Arms should not be used for breach of the UN charter, for serious violations of human rights or crimes against humanity, or adversely affect political stability and/or sustainable development. When this agreement was put to vote in 2006, over 150 countries supported this treaty, over 20 abstained, while the USA opposed it. India has suffered heavily due to the influx of foreign arms. The known countries of origin of illicit arms smuggled into the Northeast of India include China, USA, Russia, Belgium, UK, Czechoslovakia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
According to the Home Ministry, arms recovered from terrorists/militants in Jammu and Kashmir during 1990-2004 included 36,273 AK rifles and pistols, 996 Universal machine guns and 774 rocket launchers. An Arms Trade Treaty would help to check and reduce such illicit arms trade and the human distress related to it.
But with benefits would come obligations too. The arms exports made by India to Myanmar would not be permissible under this treaty as their use would be likely to involve serious human rights violations.
India abstained from voting for an Arms Trade Treaty in October 2006 but it is one among the Group of Governmental Experts selected by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to work towards the feasibility, scope and parameters of an Arms Trade Treaty. In its submission to the United Nations Secretary General’s request for views, India wrote: “Although India’s security interests have also been affected by illicit and irresponsible transfers, the Government of India is not convinced that it is the common international standards on trade in conventional arms alone that results in irresponsible or illicit trade... “Only by eliminating the illicit trade can we address the basic malaise. It is the lack of full and effective implementation of existing obligations of states and not the lack of common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms that is to be blamed for illicit transfer or diversion for licit transfers to illicit trade... “In conclusion, India believes that it is premature to begin work on a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.”
It is in the context of this debate on the ATT that the Control Arms Foundation of India (CAFI), an NGO working on disarmament-related issues in India, organised a conference on ‘India, Sustainable Development and ATT’ in New Delhi on July 3 and 4. Binalakshmi Nepram, Secretary General of CAFI, said that around 8 million new small arms are manufactured every year, but far more significant is the movement of second-hand guns from one user to another. About 16 billion bullets are manufactured every year, more than two bullets per person on earth. Yet there is more regulation in the music and film industry than in arms. Dr. Anuradha Chenoy of Jawaharlal Nehru University said that the concept of national security should be extended to include the security concerns of ordinary people, who face enormous distress due to armed conflicts and proliferation of arms. She said that the ATT in no way targets the legitimate security needs of countries and should be supported. However, some reservations about the ATT as proposed at present, were also expressed by government representatives. Lt. Gen. (retd.) B.S. Malik tried to resolve the differences by saying that we should distinguish between the difficulties of the treaty and the overall need for such a treaty. As long as the need for such a treaty is accepted, any specific difficulties, problems or concerns regarding the proposed treaty can be resolved at the on-going negotiations and talks. |
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Chatterati The
show of strength by the UPA in Parliament had drama and excitement with a disrupt-or-die attitude, big bucks on the table, spats, controversies, catfights – a perfect setting for a reality show. The public didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. In loud voices, Parliamentarians The UPA, NDA, Third Front, Left, and independents had a merry assortment of cine stars and criminals. Each one had invested a lot in their performances in this show. The Speaker was patient but handed out sarcastic one-liners. Patients on stretchers were forcibly brought to the sets, to make their presence felt. Some were threatened, others airlifted. The unwell were wheeled in, and once in the venue, they were kept under strict watch, so that they didn’t slip out. The earnest, young and handsome Rahul Gandhi won quite a few hearts with his ‘I am an Indian’ speech. The suave, articulate Omar Abdullah also had the audience voting for him, again with his ‘I am a Muslim and an Indian’ speech. Patriotism was the keyword here. Lalu Prasad, with his rustic wit and plain entertainment gave the show some much needed comic relief. After he read out lines from Strobe Talbot’s book, everyone was impressed with the ‘Harvard-returned’ Lalu. So, after so much live drama, why should the Finance Minister not charge entertainment tax on this great, live, Indian democracy tamasha whenever Parliament is on?
Tragic murders The tragic double murder of Arushi and the Nepalese servant Hemraj has been a nightmare for parents, children and servants. Of the role of the Police and the CBI the less said the better. We were so sure the cops would arrest the murderers immediately as the case seemed uncomplicated. When the Noida Police held press conferences we were aghast by what they revealed. As usual the media was used, which created havoc and left the public confused.
In a small flat two murders took place and every one slept through it. I am a mother myself and I cannot go to sleep till I make sure doors are bolted every night and kids tucked in. I would not allow any relative or friends of my servant inside the house. And forget about letting my teenage daughter anywhere in the proximity of even an old servant. The public would condemn any parent who does not know that three friends of his servant came into the house, drank scotch, and tried to rape and then murdered his daughter and his servant, all a few feet from where the parents were. Whatever the truth, I do hope that it comes out in the open soon. |
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