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Deterring Bhopal-like disasters
New TB drug |
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Troubled Goa
Rise of Latin American socialism
Be patient
Bottlenecks in organic farming
Bihar takes on criminals in politics
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Deterring Bhopal-like disasters
The
fact that Warren Anderson, the Union Carbide Corporation chairman at the time its Indian subsidiary’s plant in Bhopal was the scene of a gas leakage which was the world’s worst industrial disaster to date, is a free man today is a sad commentary on the double standards that characterise the world today. Had such a disaster happened in his parent country the US, Anderson would predictably have had to face long incarceration. Arguably, had the estimated 15,000 people who died as a result of the poisonous gas leak not been predominantly slum-dwellers, the Indian government would perhaps have shown greater interest and alacrity in his extradition to answer charges in India. As it happened, Anderson was arrested in Bhopal on December 7, 1984, released on bail six hours later and flown to Delhi the same day by a Madhya Pradesh government plane. He then took a flight out of the country never to return. Today, reports indicate that he is living in great luxury in the US, unaffected by an Interpol alert for him which is long forgotten. In Bhopal, Anderson was charged with manslaughter and was declared a fugitive from justice in 1992 by the Chief Judicial Magistrate for failing to appear in court. Orders were passed by the court to the Government of India to secure his extradition from the US with which India has an extradition treaty in place. That there has been no action on that front is for all to see. In July 2009 a fresh warrant was issued against him and the Indian government indicated that it was pursuing the extradition matter with the US government. When the lower court in Bhopal passed a verdict in the Bhopal gas leak case on Monday, over 25 years after the incident, Anderson was not even mentioned in the order passed by the court. While there is general dissatisfaction over the weak punishment ordered for eight officials of Union Carbide India, the rule of law dictates that the fountainhead of the parent organization must be brought before the court and meted out exemplary punishment. The extradition proceedings must be stepped up in the interest of justice and fair play.
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New TB drug
Tuberculosis
may no longer be perceived as the mass killer disease, yet even today a patient dies of it in India every minute. Thus a new breakthrough in TB control is heartening news. That the innovative research is the brainchild of the nation’s own scientists is as much a matter of pride as reassuring since the need for a new drug had been felt all along. The new technology developed by BV Patel Pharmaceutical Education and Research Development (PERD) Centre, Gujarat will not only reduce the treatment time but will also be more efficient. Even more promising is the fact that the new anti-TB drug could offer cure to drug resistant TB patients. India not only has the unenviable distinction of having the highest TB mortality in the world but also has a large number of drug resistant TB patients. According to WHO nearly half of the estimated 4,40,000 drug resistant patients in 2008 were reported from India and China. The report also states that TB programmes face tremendous challenges in reducing MDR (multi-drug resistant) TB as progress remains slow in most countries. Not surprisingly, India’s National Drug Control programme too has been held back by drug resistant TB. The scourge of TB more prevalent among smokers and no longer a poor man’s disease alone, not only leads to fatality but also exacts huge social and economic cost. India cannot take comfort in the Health Minister’s assertion that two million TB deaths have been averted under its infectious disease control programme. It must ensure that the battle against TB, which affects over 14 million Indians, is won completely. The new technology, which is at an advanced stage of trials, must be put to use. Since the major obstacle to the TB control programme is people discontinuing treatment midway through, the new drug that is expected to curtail treatment time to three months as against the existing six months to one year can prove to be a panacea in India’ drive against TB, especially in targeting migratory population.
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Troubled Goa
Scandals
are rocking Goa with distressing frequency. In the latest one, a former Tourism Minister, Francisco Mickky Pacheco, had to resign from the Cabinet after the public outrage over the mysterious death of his ‘close friend’ Nadia Torraddo in Chennai. The legislator is now trying to evade further questioning by the state police’s Crime Branch, and the incident has brought to the fore the deterioration of the law and order situation in the State. Just some time ago, one of the smallest states in India was in the news because of the expose of a nexus between the police and two Israeli drug dealers. A number of policemen were subsequently arrested. There have been some unexplained deaths of foreign tourists. The sordid saga is never-ending. No doubt, the character of Goa is changing and for the worse. Goa has a history of richness, be it the GDP per capita which is two and a half times that of the country as a whole, infrastructure, good quality of life, beaches, heritage architecture, all of which come together to draw a large number of international and domestic tourists each year. The very attractions of Goa have also become its bane. Tourists flock the state in lakhs, making tourism a large money earner for the state, but along with it have come problems, like criminals preying on Goan citizens and tourists. The absence of meaningful monitoring and effective policing has been noticeable and it has even emboldened criminals, who have become brazen. Many prime properties in the state are now owned by foreigners, some with dubious credentials. Drugs always have a significant impact on the corruption in society, and in Goa today, the ill-effects are visible. The state administration needs to be tightened up. The first step would be to not only remove tainted ministers, but also to bring to book all those who flout the law of the land, more so if they abuse their positions of power.
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My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right! — Carl Schurz
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Rise of Latin American socialism
The
revolution in Latin America is keeping the dreams of Che Guevara alive. Though it is too early to sing the obituary of imperialism, the anti-US forces gathering in America’s own backyard are pushing Washington DC on to its backfoot. The long drawn-out economic and political tensions in Latin America have moved the Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Evo Morales trio towards an international agenda for social reconstruction within which socialism does not need to be replaced but must be put forward as a programme to salvage a world from inequality and the abuse of power. Clearly, it is the resurrection of socialism that seemingly had met its demise after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indeed, the birth of a progressive alliance is the outcome of a collective leadership that endorses the rich diversity of radical and socialist traditions. The dream of an anti-imperialist union has finally come true with the formation of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas consisting of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The club is underpinned by the age-old vision for a strong Leftist opposition to the interventionist policies of the US through integration and cooperation. Inspired by great heroes like Simon Bolivar and Che Guevara, the alliance is led by the socialist President Chavez who has been fighting for regional integration and a society that bases itself on the ideology of the new South American Left. According to a western journalist, “The idea is to find ways to help members develop and progress in all aspects of society. Recently there has been the creation of a new currency, the SUCRE, which will be used as a form of exchange between member-nations, eliminating the US dollar as the standard for trade.” Eduardo Galeano’s Opens Veins of Latin America is testimony to the US-imposed hegemonic neo-liberal policies in Latin America that had the drastic effect of reducing millions to sub-human conditions. This provoked a mass uprising against such an imposition, particularly when the subterranean economic strategies of the IMF-escalated prices of basic commodities. A significant instance is the mass uprising in Bolivia in the year 2000 when drinking water was privatised. In 2003 and 2005, the nationalisation of Bolivia’s gas became the impetus behind the removal of the US-backed regimes. Pro-US enterprises or governments stand discredited in Latin America and often face rebellion from regimes that are inclined towards the Left. Repeated attempts by Washington to overthrow the Chavez government have been constantly throttled, especially with the support of the people who have stood up against the capitalist elite and reached the conclusion that capitalism is irremediable. In fact, the most important achievement of which Hugo Chavez himself is responsible is the high level of participation of the people in the political process. Today, millions of Venezuelans, previously unseen and marginalised, are aggressively contributing to the building of a new economic, political and social order. Chavez’s foreign policy targets American neoliberal practices through oil diplomacy, a strategically effective weapon of opposing western imperialism on the geopolitical stage. He has, over the years, pumped millions of dollars earned from booming oil profits into social schemes for the benefit of the poor, a move intended to end the crippling poverty of the masses. The 1999 Constitution, a striking achievement of Chavez, is one of the most highly developed documents in the world in the area of human rights. It guarantees “the rights to housing, education, healthcare, food, indigenous lands, languages, women’s rights, worker’s rights, living wages and a whole host of other rights that few other countries recognise on a national level.” Chavez has been particularly hard-hitting through his move of cutting off oil supplies to the US and his categorical allegiance with Castro. He has not vacillated in building trade relations with China which has further struck a thorn in the foreign policy of the US. It is for this reason that the US now has a military agreement with Columbia resulting in the building of eight strategic bases intended overtly for keeping a check on narcotic smuggling, but the fact is to not allow Chavez a free hand in the gradually growing anti-imperialist revolution in Venezuela. This agreement enables Washington DC to serve as a night watchman over the rebellious Latin American nations through surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance missions, a blatant threat to nations in Latin America, amounting to a declaration of war by a nation that is supposedly a vehement supporter of freedom and democratic principles. The millions that are being spent on military bases are questionable for enhancing the dent in the American economy that presently stands shattered. As Henry A. Giroux writes, “Democracy in the United States is experiencing both a crisis of meaning and a legitimation crisis. As the promise of an aspiring democracy is sacrificed more and more to corporate and military interests, democratic spheres have largely been commercialised and democratic practices have been reduced to market relations, stripped of their worth and subject to the narrow logics of commodification and profit making.” Indeed, President Obama is as responsible for this as the Bush-Cheney regime. It is, therefore, clear that in a brutally damaged world, anti-imperialist agendas and far-reaching remedies have been initiated especially in Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela to check the erratic play of market forces. It is a fact that Chavez endeavours to always be on the move, travelling through the villages, sharing meals with farmers, and doing all that is possible to uplift the standard of living. He, along with other Latin American leaders, has moved socialism back on to the centre-stage. Chavez’s unlimited resources and a leadership of impeccable sincerity towards his countrymen are a harbinger of new upheavals and re-configurations of power and politics aimed at ending the hegemony of the White House.n The writer is Professor of English, Panjab University,
Chandigarh.
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Be patient Tolstoy had said that the two most powerful warriors were patience and time. The saying came true to words when two friends started quarrelling and one got so enraged that he lost patience, removed a pendulum from a big clock, used it as weapon and beat the life out of the other. The survivor, at the loss of his friend, then consumed poison and died. A comment was, “It is shameful to make violent use of that pendulum and die a brutal death. Had pendulum been allowed to do its work patiently, it would have killed both ultimately.” My first lesson on being patient was when I was in the first standard. It was a shivering cold day and a majority of the students wanted to make water. Hands in the class were raised with voices, “Sir! Sir! Sir!” The teacher was allowing one child to go out at a time and for the others he had the words, “Be patient.” I was docile, so I kept my patience till it flowed down my pants in watery form. I had started crying. Kishen Bhayya, then studying in the ninth class, our neighbour’s son who used to escort me to school, was called and told to take me back home. Next day onwards, the teacher without being patient used to send me out of the class even if my hand were raised to make an enquiry on the text. Generally, those who are ‘dabbu’ (submissive) in school are ‘dabang’ (brash) at home. I was that type. Ours was a joint family and my cousins and I counted about a dozen. When afternoon-time chhach (buttermilk) was distributed amongst us, I used to go boisterous for not getting my share first as I was the eldest. Our grandmother used to recite, “Dheere, dheere re manaa, dheere sub kuch hoye: Maali seenche sau gharaa, ritu aaye phal hoye.” (Be patient and all will be done; even a plant gives fruit on time though gardener may water it hundred tumbler-full). I learnt the couplet but not the lesson. As a grownup, I visited Shirdi and found two-word advice given by the Baba written all over — Shraddha and Saburi (Have Faith and Be Patient). But I lost patience and exchanged harsh words with the ticket-seller at the window when he, instead of attending to the big queue, was enjoying sips of tea and engaged in gossips with the colleagues. Recently, I was witness to a striking example of trying to be patient. I saw an elderly gentleman holding the finger of a rowdy and ‘utterly butterly’ ferocious child, probably his grandson, carrying him home while mumbling, “Be cool Padam. Steady Padam, steady. Easy, easy now, Padam. No, that’s wrong Padam. Calm Padam.” I went to the boy and asked, “Why are you troubling the old man? What has upset you, Padam?” The elderly said, “Sir, He is Panku. I am
Padam.”
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Bottlenecks in organic farming
Indian
agriculture was mostly organic before the advent of the Green Revolution. However, the widespread adoption of nutrient-responsive and high-yielding varieties greatly promoted the use of inorganic fertilisers, weedicides and insecticides. The compulsion to grow more for food security has led farmers to overlook food quality norms and an indiscriminate use of natural resources.
Based on three principal factors viz., mixed cropping, crop rotation and use of organic fertilizers, the National Organic Agriculture Centre under the Union Ministry of Agriculture is pushing organic farming because it reduces the input cost of farmers, gives higher prices of organic produce and ameliorates soil health. The area under organic agriculture has increased from 73,000 hectares in 2003 to 8,65,000 hectares in 2008 but still only about 0.6 per cent area of cultivated land is under organic farming in India. No systematic research has been carried out to substantially provide data to support that organic agriculture gives equal or more production as well as that organic produce is more nutritive. Neither there are well-defined parameters and standardised procedures to differentiate organically and inorganically produced food. Apparently all foodgrains, vegetables and fruits look alike. The unavailability of such standards is a major constraint and setback to the marketing of organic produce. The organic produce fetches higher prices. But the meager organic market has yet to win the confidence of even elite customers with sufficient purchasing power. To push the sale of organic produce it is essential to develop a reliable organic market. It is thus prudent to determine minimum standards and a reliable accreditation system for the establishment of accredited organic outlets to inspire and attract large At present certification is a cumbersome and costly process. There are six authorised accreditation agencies, including the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) which accord certification apart from 18 inspection certification bodies in different states. Spending Rs 30,000 for a certification per unit land is a major impediment for small and marginal farmers. It is however possible through cooperative or contract farming, which have some inherent problems. Organic farming can be profitable through the production and export of high-value, low-volume crops. But for commercial success it is important that the product is certified by an internationally accredited agency as well. Conventional practices are not suitable for growing crops organically. A specific technology package is required which includes land preparation, selection of variety, organic fertilization, biological control of pest and diseases and weeds, harvest, storage etc. The package developed for certain crops requires refinement based on It is necessary to remove the inadequacy of infrastructural support. Recognized green markets are still non-existent and effective trade channels are yet to be formed. The development of robust supply chains and related infrastructure for grading, packaging, storage and transportation will contribute greatly for the competitive price of organic produce to the growers in domestic and international markets. Scant demand, erratic supplies, lack of organized marketing and a distribution network are certain deterrents to instill interest in retailers. Therefore, it is worthwhile to establish linkages between growers and consumers, minimizing the influence of middlemen, promoting producers’ cooperative marketing societies and credible marketing channels for a steady flow of organic foods in accordance with the demand. It will be immensely useful to safeguard the interest of farmers opting for organic farming. India has developed national standards under the National Programme on Organic Products which have checked the exorbitant fees charged by certain international agencies. However, adequate financial support to promote organic farming is still wanted. Small and marginal farmers cannot take the risk of low yields. Simply the price premium of organic products is generally insufficient. Special gestation period support schemes should be framed to provide support in the initial period to avoid mid-stream abandoning of organic initiatives. Certain realities, considerations and viabilities are different in areas where intensive cultivation has established its roots and soil replenishment is critically difficult by omitting one crop. Though such areas are experiencing soil fatigue, the prevalence of changed and virulent insect pest population and organic matter depletion in soil, an indiscriminate use of insecticide, fungicides and herbicides, yet it is a compulsion to continue intensive cropping for the sake of food security in the country. In this respect, the Punjab Farmers Commission is not totally out of place when it says that organic farming is not suitable in Punjab as much as it is for other states. Besides the above factors, this state has no large pasture land, largely farmers have small land-holdings and prevalent mechanisation has reduced the animal population, thus putting a limitation on resources for organic manurey. But surely Punjab agriculture needs a relook in respect
of over-exploitation of inorganics in agriculture. There are no two opinions that there is an acute need to supplement organic matter in soil and reduce the use of inorganics. The bringing of about 3,000 hectare area in Punjab under organic farming through a cluster approach by the National Horticulture Mission through NAFED and initiative of certain farmers individually deserves appreciation Going back to old practices has no meaning in modern agriculture when the fear of food insecurity is looms large. However, the need is to adopt new technologies, taking the ecological, environmental, food and health safety into consideration and caring for the sustainability of natural resources. The writer is the Vice Chancellor
of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur
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Bihar takes on criminals in politics If
the nearly 48,500 convictions of criminals in Bihar in the last four and a half years are anything to go by, the state, once a byword for lawlessness, is finally taking on organised crime and the politician-crime nexus. According to police records, 48,427 criminals were convicted and punished by fast track courts across the state between January 2006 and May 2010. “The conviction of criminals in such a short span of time is a big achievement and a model for others to follow,” Additional Director General of Police P.K. Thakur told IANS. Thakur said the speedy trial of criminals initiated by the state government has been lauded by people in the state as well as outside. During this period, 124 people, including criminals-turned-politicians, were sentenced to death, 8,602 people sentenced to life imprisonment and 2,282 were awarded jail terms of over 10 years. Police officials claim that Bihar has surpassed other states in awarding the death sentence to the maximum number of people in 54 months. When Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came to power on November 24, 2005, he promised to make Bihar crime-free within three months. He later admitted that it was not possible. But Nitish Kumar repeatedly said the crime rate had significantly abated over the years. Conveying this message during his ongoing “Vishvas Yatra”, Kumar told the people that criminals now fear disturbing law and order because of his “political determination to prosecute them through speedy trails”. Bihar police chief Neelmani said the high rate of convictions through speedy trials has instilled a sense of fear in the minds of criminals and anti-social elements. “It was made possible by speedy trials and convictions. The result is also impressive as the state has recorded a decline in incidents of crime, particularly organised crime,” Neelmani said. For the first time in the state, over a dozen MPs and legislators have been convicted and punished and there has been a sharp decline in the number of abductions and other crimes, including murder, robbery, bank dacoity and road holdups. In the first week of June this year, Pappu Khan, a former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislator, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case. The other well-known convicts include former RJD MPs Pappu Yadav and Mohammad Shahabuddin, former Lok Janshakti Party MP Surajbhan Singh, former Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MP Anand Mohan, his wife Lovely Anand and JD-U legislators Narendra Kumar alias Sunil Pandey and Munna Shukla. Pappu Yadav was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Ajit Sarkar. Shahabuddin, who is lodged in Siwan jail, was convicted in seven criminal cases, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Sunil Pandey was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping of a noted neuro-surgeon in Patna, while Munna Shukla was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of G. Krishnaiah, then the district magistrate of Gopalganj. Anand Mohan was sentenced to death for the same murder. However, the many convictions have led to overcrowding in Bihar jails, where, for the first time, convicts outnumber undertrials. There are nearly 40,000 prisoners lodged in 54 jails, which together are supposed to hold a maximum of 20,000 prisoners. —
Indo-Asian News Service
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Hyderabad Diary After
truce, it is now time for bonhomie. In a sign that all is well with the Ambani household, Anil Ambani chose to stay at a guest house owned by his elder brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) at Tirumala during his recent visit to the hill shrine.
A few days after the two warring brothers bought peace by scrapping the non-compete agreement, Anil visited Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, and surprised everyone by staying in Sri Krishna Guest House owned by RIL. This is the first time that Anil made a stopover at his brother’s guest house. During his earlier visits, he used to stay at a private guest house, Srivatsavam. Anil trekked his way up the 10-km distance to the hill shrine, spent some time at the guest house before heading to the temple for performing rituals. He was accompanied by his wife Tina and some friends. A few days before the truce was worked out, Anil, along with his mother Kokilaben, had flown to the pilgrim town of Badrinath and offered prayers. If it helped break ice with his elder brother after five years of bitter legal battles, the Tirumala trip seems to have revived warmth in the family.
BPO inside a prison
In a first such experiment in the country, a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centre is being set up in the central jail in Hyderabad. The unit will employ 200 educated convicts who will handle back office operations like data entry and process and transmit information. The project, a public-private partnership between the department of jails and an IT company Radiant Info Systems, will begin at Charlapally central jail which has 2,100 inmates. A special office space has been created on the jail premises for the project, complete with computers, connectivity and other facilities. To begin with, over 200 people would be recruited and trained for the job. The unit, which is expected to undertake back-office work for banks, will work round the clock with three shifts of 70 staff each. The pilot project could be extended to other jails in the state, depending on the results. Of the total 13,000 convicts in Andhra Pradesh jails, about 2,000 are well-educated and could potentially be good workers for BPOs and even call centres.
Golden deal
This may well be the biggest gold transaction in the country. The Tirumala Tirupati Devastahanams (TTD), an autonomous board managing the affairs of Tirumala temple, has decided to deposit its 3,000 kg of gold reserves in the State Bank of India (SBI). Apart from security and insurance cover, the TTD will also get an annual interest of Rs 8 crore for its gold. In the first phase, the TTD has shifted 1,075kg of gold from its reserves to theSBI for safe custody. The move follows growing security concerns. As per the current practice, the temple authorities transport gold from its vaults to a mint in Mumbai by rail to make coins, popularly known as ‘dollars’, which are sold to the devotees again. Now the SBI will take the responsibility of keeping the gold with it and also transporting it from the TTD to safe custody.
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Hyderabad Diary
