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Prevention of torture: A weak Bill won’t do
Special powers for armed forces
‘Rajasthan tourism poised for a leap’ Profile
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A Tribune Special
Accordingly, each WPD is celebrated around a theme. This year, it is “everyone counts” literally because some countries like ours are engaged in decennial census operations, generating useful data for development. As the world’s second most populous country, it is only appropriate for us to take stock on this day. Our population has increased by over four times during the last century — from 23 crore in 1901 to 102 crore in 2001. In the nineties, we added 18 crore people, i.e. almost the population of Uttar Pradesh to our country! Obviously, we are not content with this. We are currently growing at the rate of 1.4 per cent annually — almost two and a half times that of China’s rate of 0.6 per cent. Soon we will have the pleasure of overtaking China as the world’s most populous country. Gloomy facts apart, there’s some good news. Fourteen states, especially in the south, have reached the replacement level of fertility of less than 2.1 children per woman. The population of some larger or high fertility states in central India is, however, growing alarmingly. Over 45 per cent of the population growth by 2030 will be from Uttar Pradesh (22 per cent), Bihar (8 per cent), Rajasthan (8 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (7 per cent). In comparison, the four states in the south will contribute only 13 per cent. So, while an average woman in Andhra Pradesh will give birth to 1.9 children in her reproductive years, her counterpart in UP will bear four children. The high fertility states are also reeling under high maternal and infant mortality rates, which reflect poor quality of healthcare within. Recent studies show that unmet need for contraception in some states is as high as 46 per cent compared to the national figure of 22 per cent (which is just 11 per cent for Kerala). Ironically, even when services are available, they are delayed. Over 84 per cent sterilisations are carried out after three children have been borne and 97 per cent of the Intra-Uterine Devices inserted after two children in some of these states. Obviously, this is ineffective effort, with little impact on population stabilisation. Apart from overall weak governance in some of these states, there are critical systemic issues accounting for the poor performance. In the better performing states of the south as well as west, there is a strong public health cadre trained to handle public health issues effectively. Whereas in the states under reference, most often one will find a clinical person with no idea of management or public health heading the district health team consisting of around a thousand auxiliary nurse-cum midwives, paramedics, and doctors. There is also a poor understanding of epidemiology, surveillance, logistics, management information system, finance and man management. In other words, you have a chemical engineer where a structural engineer is required. Obviously, the district health teams are an undermined lot, working at sub-optimal levels. The result of the poor absorption capacity of these states is huge saving in these states of the fund allocations under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). This is compounded by issues on the socio-economic front such as poor literacy, especially amongst girls. Such factors along with antiquated social norms contribute to early marriage. In the high fertility states, 60 to 70 per cent of girls in rural areas get married before the age of 18. Over 35 per cent of them begin child bearing before 18. This largely contributes to high infant and maternal mortality, low quality of life and increase in population. The only way out of the mess is girl child education up to the secondary level which not only empowers girls economically and socially but also enhances the acceptance of contraception and limits the family size as in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and now Himachal Pradesh. Himachal remains by far the most admirable example of sustained and effective effort in this regard. More than 71 per cent of the Himachal girls have received Plus Two education in contrast to 15 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and 19 per cent in Bihar. The fruits of education have been sweet — only 9 per cent of the currently married girls in Himachal’s rural areas were married before 18. Along with education, delayed marriage is another way forward in our mission for population stabilisation. People must oppose vigorously any move to reduce the age of marriage for girls as is being demanded by the Khap Panchayats prevalent in northern states. We also need to explore innovative ways of service delivery. Despite our best efforts, in the last five years, under the NRHM, of 55 lakh deliveries in UP annually, only 21 lakh took place in institutions. The rest were supervised by quacks, dais or family members. Clearly, the government alone will not be able to fill the gaps. There is a need to explore the possibilities of public private partnerships in reproductive and child health as well as family welfare
programmes. Worthy of emulation is Gujarat’s Chiranjeevi Scheme. It shows how small efforts can deliver big results. Under the scheme, an offer was made through the Federation of Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) to the private obstetricians to collaborate with the Gujarat government to provide safe delivery facilities to the below poverty line (BPL) women. Private obstetricians were offered an average of Rs 1, 795 for a delivery and had to take up all BPL cases, regardless of the complexity. The state government offered an advance of Rs 25,000 to the private obstetricians opting for the scheme ensuring prompt payments and taking responsibility for mortality in case of severely anemic women. So far 800 obstetricians have joined and have carried out more than 500,000 institutional deliveries for below poverty line mothers. At a maternal mortality rate of 300, the state could have lost 1,500 mothers. However, as the deliveries were carried out by skilled birth attendants, only 77 mothers lost their lives. The scheme also saved many neonates who used to die because of poorly handled deliveries. This reflects the promise of public-private partnership which must be explored by other states for enhancing access to high quality reproductive and child health services. As bigger partners, the states have to take proactive steps to involve NGOs. In Uttar Pradesh, over 4,000 obstetricians are willing to join hands with the government to strengthen reproductive and child health services and improve healthcare for the masses. There is need for a vigorous campaign for a meaningful girl child education, increasing the age of marriage especially for girls, delaying the birth of the first child and ensuring healthy birth interval — a minimum of two years between each child. We need to change the mindset towards son preference as well as active male involvement in family welfare and to redouble our investments to involve private sector to improve reproductive and child health and meet the unmet need for family welfare qualitatively and in a humane manner. The focus in all this has to be on the high fertility states. Unfortunately after the Emergency days, even well-meaning people have relegated the issue to the backburner, with population stabilisation continuing to be a high stigma subject. This attitude must change to realise the full potential of the demographic dividend.n The writer is Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India
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Prevention of torture: A weak Bill won’t do
The Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, on May 6, 2010 and is now pending before the Rajya Sabha. It has long been overdue as torture is recognised as a heinous practice that needs to be criminalised. To this end, the United Nations adopted the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) that was opened for signature, ratification and accession by the General Assembly in 1984 and came into force in 1987. India signed the convention in 1997 pending ratification preceded by the enabling domestic legislation.Given the frequency of torture in India, there should have been a law in place against torture long back. According to the National Human Rights Commission, an average of 158 people died every year in police custody from 1994 to 2008. Deaths in judicial custody hovered around over a thousand per year during the same period. It is a fact that punishment for custody death is more an exception rather than the rule. If an attempt to punish a perpetrator is made at all, it takes decades. By then, either he is past active life or is dead. Judicial custody deaths are not even considered worth prosecuting as only one-sided story emerges from the four walls of the jail, protecting the perpetrators of the crime and thereby encouraging the culture of impunity. Otherwise, what is the explanation for increasing police and judicial deaths in the country year after year? For example in 1994-95, there were 111 police custody deaths and 51 judicial custody deaths. This number reached 188 and 1789 respectively for each in 2007-08. It is apparent that to deal with such a widespread menace, we need a very strong law in accordance with the international standards set by the United Nations. However, the government has chosen to come up with a weak and inherently flawed Bill that at best could be described as a law in name only. It will make no difference at the ground level in curtailing torture as widely practiced by the internal security forces. The Bill in question is a one-and-a-half page piece with five sections dealing with a clause each on definition, punishment and limitation for cognisance of offences. Though the statement of its intent reads “whereas India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture; and whereas it is considered necessary to ratify the said convention and to provide for more effective implementation …”, the Bill completely omits the important provisions enumerated in the UN Convention such as ensuring that an order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification for torture, ensuring that torture is an extraditable offence, establishing universal jurisdiction to try cases of torture, providing mechanisms to promptly investigate any allegation of torture, providing an enforceable right to compensation to the victims of torture and banning the use of evidence produced by torture in the courts, etc. Torture as defined in the Bill is narrow and vague. It reads, “whoever, being a public servant or being abetted by a public servant or with the consent or acquiescence of a public servant, intentionally does any act which causes — (i) grievous hurt to any person; or (ii) danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of any person is said to inflict torture.” The definition does not make any reference to other cruel, inhuman or degrading, treatment or punishment. Nor are intimidation and coercion included in the Bill. The gamut of mental torture though mentioned, is left completely unaddressed. While dealing with torture cases, UNCAT clearly states that there should not be any exceptions — not even war or a threat of war; internal political instability or any other public emergency may be invoked as a justification for torture. Yet, the Bill puts a ceiling of six months beyond which no court can take cognisance of any offence under this Act. This violates the existing law under the Criminal Procedure Code that does not put such a limitation in the case of grievous hurt caused to a person by any other citizen, thereby giving preferential treatment to public officials. The situation is made worse with Section 197 of Cr PC that requires prior sanction from the government to prosecute public servants accused of torture and other human rights violations. Apparently, the Bill in the present form will not be an effective weapon to fight the curse of torture as it is practiced by state agencies. The Bill needs to be completely redrafted taking inputs of civil society groups, lawyers, academicians and above all, the concerned ordinary citizens who bear the brunt of torture without an effective remedy. This is the least that is expected from a democratic government.n The writer is General Secretary,People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), New Delhi
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Special powers for armed forces
Many have called AFSPA a draconian law and have vehemently supported its repeal, but having read quite a few of their views and watched them pontificating on TV, I am convinced that most lack even a rudimentary, let alone in-depth knowledge on the subject. This Act has been in force for over five decades because it was essential for the conduct of smooth counter-insurgency operations by the army. It will continue to be needed as long as the army is employed on counter-insurgency/ terrorism tasks. The Act was promulgated on September 11, 1958. The rationale for bringing the Act on the statute book needs to be appreciated. When the army was first employed on counter-insurgency tasks in Nagaland in the 1950s, two aspects came to the fore immediately. First, unlike in the case of maintenance of law and order, when the army is called out in ‘aid to the civil authority’, where time is available to employ the police before committing the army, operations against insurgents are entirely of a different genre, as the insurgents do not give any time for such niceties. The insurgents we are fighting today are heavily armed, they act speedily, commit heinous crimes and disappear. Unless the army counters such actions with speed and not wait for orders from higher civil or military authorities, nothing would be achieved. Secondly, the soldiers and officers of the army had to be protected from prosecution for consequential action taken against insurgents in good faith as part of their operations. Here too, the Act does contain the important caveat that the army personnel can be prosecuted with the Centre’s sanction, if their actions warrant it. There is, therefore, no blanket immunity from the laws of the land. Over the years, some army personnel have indeed been prosecuted where a prima facie case existed. However, it is also true that due to the exceptional care which all army commanders take when their troops are employed against insurgents, such cases are few and far between. After the initial employment in Nagaland, the employment of the army on counter-insurgency tasks continued increasing, till it was progressively employed in all the north-eastern states for such tasks. Along with such employment, AFSPA was also invoked in all affected states. When insurgency erupted in Srinagar in 1990, the Act was extended to the Valley. Later, as the activities of the insurgents spread, first to the Poonch-Rajauri area, then to Doda and Bhadarwah and finally to the whole state, the entire state was brought under the Act’s purview in stages. It can thus be seen that AFSPA was invoked progressively only when the situation required the deployment of the army. The army is designed and structured for fighting external enemies of the nation. Consequently, they are not given any police powers. However, when the nation wants the army to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations, then they must be given the legal authority to conduct their operations without the impediment of getting clearances from the higher authorities. If this is not done, they would be unable to function efficiently and defeat the insurgents and terrorists at their own game. It is for this reason that the Act gives four powers to army personnel. These are for ‘enter and search’, ‘arrest without warrant’, ‘destroy arms dumps or other fortifications’ and ‘fire or use force after due warning where possible’. Once again, there is a safeguard in the Act, which stipulates that the arrested person(s) will be handed over speedily to the nearest police station. The law stipulates that AFSPA can be imposed only after the area in question is declared a ‘disturbed area’ by the state government concerned. When this writer was the Director-General Military Operations (DGMO) and the army was asked to deploy in the Doda-Bhadarwah area, we requested for the invocation of the Act. The state government was reluctant to do so on account of political considerations, but we did not commence operations till the Act was invoked. Clearly, the Army has no desire to get embroiled in counter-insurgency tasks. It is not the army’s job. However, despite over 50 years of insurgency in our country, the state police as well as the central police forces (CPOs) have not been made capable of tackling insurgency. Consequently, in each case the army was inducted to carry out counter insurgency/ terrorist operations. If the national leadership tasks the army for conducting such non-military operations, then it is incumbent on the leadership to provide the legal wherewithal to all army personnel employed on such tasks. It is only then that the operations will be conducted in the usual efficient manner of the army and would be result-oriented. They also must be legally protected. It is because these two aspects have been catered for that the army has been neutralising the insurgents and terrorists, so that normalcy is restored and the political leaders and officials can restart
governing. The writer is a former Vice-Chief
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‘Rajasthan tourism poised for a leap’
Hailing from Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, Manjit Singh has handled key assignments in the Rajasthan government. A 1988 batch IAS officer, he has made his mark as Chairman and Managing Director of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC). He talks about tourism in Rajasthan and challenges ahead with The Tribune in Jaipur. Excerpts: Q: What is the state of tourism in Rajasthan? A: Rajasthan is a leading state in tourism and is popular among foreign and domestic tourists. We offer a variety of tourist destinations — from deserts to forts to wildlife. We are now focusing on new circuits like the Tal Chhapar sanctuary in Churu district, Ganganagar, Hadauti region, Jhalawar and Sirohi. Q: What new strategies are you adopting to promote tourism? A: We are improving facilities at Rajasthan Tourism hotels to the level of three- and four-star hotels. We are also developing new tourist destinations and taking measures to ensure tourists’ security. We will tackle the tourists’ problem due to lapkas (unregistered guides). Besides, talks are on for proper maintenance of towns and cities. Q: Which are the new areas that you are focusing on? A: We are primarily channelising our efforts in developing the Tal Chhapar sanctuary in Churu as a major tourist destination. We are also planning cruise tourism in the Kota belt where the Chambal river is ideal. We also intend to promote lake tourism in Udaipur and Jodhpur with boating, house boats or shikaras for tourists. Rajasthan has already received Rs 250-300 crore under the National Lake Conservation Project. Q: How do you plan to face competition in the luxury train sector as new players have entered into the market? A: Though our Palace on Wheels has recently been declared the world’s fourth best luxury train by noted global travel magazine Conde Nast, we are not resting on laurels. Currently, both our luxury trains – Palace on Wheels and Royal Rajasthan on Wheels – are undergoing a major revamp at a cost of Rs 2 crore. With a new spa, gym, cuisines from around the world, latest upholstery and other modern amenities, both our trains will roll out in a plusher avatar to woo tourists. More varied food including Mexican, Thai and seafood will be served and the bar will be upgraded with the world’s finest wines. Q: What about the tourists’ safety and security? A: Currently, we have around 250 personnel in the tourism police force. We will increase the personnel and strengthen the force. We have recently passed an Act under which anybody found harassing tourists would be dealt with strictly. As for our trains, the Indian Railways has provided adequate security. Q: How are you preparing for New Delhi’s Commonwealth Games? A: We expect at least 40 per cent of New Delhi’s tourists to visit Jaipur, the Pink City being a part of the Golden Triangle. They will also visit the Ranthambore National Park and the Sariska Tiger Reserve. We are renovating almost all the RTDC hotels, offering discounts to tourists in both our luxury trains and cultural programmes on all 14 days of Common-wealth Games in Jaipur for which we have received funds from the Centre. We will receive the Queen’s Baton here in September-end. Q: After tigers’ relocation to the Sariska Tiger Reserve, do you see revival of tourism? A: Definitely. We expect heavy inflow of tourists in Sariska where tourism had almost finished a few years back. But since the relocation of tigers a couple of years back, our hotels there have been making profit. Now, with the government planning to shift more tigers to Sariska, we hope to receive more tourists. We have already announced special packages for tourists to promote Bhangarh in the same circuit. Q: You hail from Punjab. How do you see tourism scenario there? A: Amritsar’s Golden Temple is Punjab’s USP when it comes to tourism. But I feel the state has failed to cash on it as much as it could have done. Punjab needs to adopt a pro-active approach and resort to aggressive marketing in the tourism sector. It should participate in national and international tourism fairs if it wants to make big gains in tourism. Apart from Amritsar, I see immense tourism potential in Patiala, Nabha, Anandpur Sahib, hilly areas around Chandigarh and Harike Wetland which can be
tapped.
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Profile He puts in practice what he preaches. His self-help movement in the impoverished southern state has been creating 400 enterprises every working day and is on course easily to exceed its target of 1.3 million jobs within five years. He is expected to move to other Indian states even as he extends his approach to South Africa and war-torn Afghanistan. He has ploughed 7.5 million pounds of his own money into the Indian project. He makes a particular point of stressing how he is applying business practices to poverty relief through charity — Hand in Hand International (HHI) — he set up five years ago. “ I do not want Hand-in-Hand to be the best NGO. I want it to be the best company”, he says. HHI’s approach to job creation is based on micro-credit, arranging loans of start-up capital to groups of 15-20 women to enable them open enterprises as bakeries, garment factories and brickwork. While this is not especially unusual, Barnevik has stipulated a rigid line that loans must on no account be used for consumption, that they are repaid on time, and are made exclusively to women. Men, he says, cannot be trusted not to drink and gamble the money away. On one occasion, he was persuaded by the Tamil Nadu government, against his better judgment, to make loans to group of men. When the time came for repayment of the first instalment, the group of men came forward with one excuse after another; “I have been sick; terrible dry spell”; and “would I (Percy) defer the repayment”? For women, the results are typically empowering. “What’s fantastic to see is that we can lift these impoverished women, who are 85 per cent illiterate, the most backward castes, and they can rise”. he says, recalling that once, he had met three women walking to an evening meeting of those self-help group. Asked where their children were, they replied their husbands were giving them supper and putting them to bed. In Tamil Nadu, this enterprise drive is only one part of what HHI called a five-pillar programmed. Barnevik stresses the importance of the other four elements, adult literacy courses, schooling for children and elimination of child labour. Here too, there is a strong emphasis on self-help. Barnevik is clear, for instance, that villagers must themselves take over paying the teachers in their new schools. Born in Southern Sweden as the youngest of three children, he grew up in Uddenvalla, north of Gothenburg where his parents operated a small printing company. Barnevik was educated at Goteborg University’s School of Economics and Commercial Law and at Stanford School of Business. He started his professional career in the Swedish Company Datema, but soon moved to Sandvik. In Sandvik, where between the years 1969 and 1970, he hired over 150 people. His employees say, he has some kind of magic in him — you just can’t refuse his offer. Since 1999, Percy is involved as a major donor and an advisor in the Indian charity organisation, HIH and their programmes to eliminate rural poverty. By the end of 2007, 272,000 women have been organised and trained and have started 106,000 small enterprises. Since 2006, Hand-in-Hand is also engaged in South Africa and Afghanistan. A non-smoker, who shuns alcohol, Bernevik has visited India some 50 times since his first visit in 1968. During the past six years, he has been engaged in HIH programmes to eliminated rural poverty. Presently, he spends some 12 weeks per year in Tamil Nadu.n |
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