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Punjab sops for
industry More power to RTI |
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Coal shortage
Chhattisgarh
massacre
The first time and
thereafter
Acid attacks and
the rhetoric of love
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More power to RTI The
Central Information Commission (CIC), after a year of deliberation on applications, has ruled that political parties are liable to respond to queries filed under the Right to Information Act. The order has, as expected, been met with much displeasure from political parties. While only six parties are affected for now, it is a matter of time before all come under its ambit as a natural corollary. The parties have the option of going to court against the order, but the chances of success are slim as the Supreme Court has earlier spoken for parties revealing their sources of income. One may well expect a raging debate over the issue over the coming days, for it touches off possibilities far wider ranging than the obvious matter of funding and vested interests. The RTI Act has the power to lay bare the paper trail of every decision-making process. Political parties thus far have maintained an iron curtain on how their leadership issues are decided. While most negotiations are verbal — therefore inaccessible — records of meetings and internal communications will now be public. Fear of such matters coming under public scrutiny will naturally bring greater pressure on the parties to work towards internal democracy, something given only lip service thus far, that too only in a few parties. Money matters, of course, will speak the loudest. The CIC has argued the parties are public authorities as they perform public functions. Also, are answerable under the RTI as they have been allotted land by the government as well as granted tax concessions. While advocates may debate every ‘letter’ of the law regarding government benefits accruing to parties, there is little to debate on the ‘spirit’. Political parties exist but for one purpose — to send their members to public office. The public, therefore, has every right to know where they come from. Grounds for concern may lie in how the information procured is used. It should not end up curtailing parties’ right to free thought. But then, these are experiments a living democracy cannot shy away from.
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Coal shortage New
thermal power plants coming up in Punjab are not being able to arrange coal to start generation while the three plants owned by the state government are struggling for want of regular supply of the fossil fuel. Coal shortage is a countrywide problem, but some of Punjab’s woes can be pinned to its brazenness. The state government has been bold in proclaiming that it will manage to bear the burden of free power, but each year struggles to compensate the state power utility for the free electricity it is asked to supply to farmers. When the books don’t balance, it obviously becomes difficult to make reliable arrangements for coal. On its part, the Coal Ministry at the Centre has to come out of the mine allocation ‘scam’ shock, and give a boost to production. Private companies were given the permission to start building power plants in Punjab without first ensuring coal linkages for generation. Given the critical coal situation in the country for years now, that should have been a crucial factor in finalising contracts. The government and at least two private companies are now engaged in a blame game over who should make the arrangements. Punjab has appealed to the Centre to arrange more coal for the state, but with little response. The heavy subsidies and relatively lower power tariffs the state charges don’t allow it to go for costlier options such as the import of coal. Some of the problems being faced by the three state-owned plants — which have access to coal from a dedicated mine — can be ascribed to poor administrative monitoring. The flow and distribution of coal supply between the three plants is not synchronised with the consumption requirements, though the production capacity of the mine is adequate. The private company contracted to mine the coal is also suspected to be trying to pass off poor quality coal, which the power authorities should ensure it is not able to. So crucial is energy to any form of production as well as the economy that it can virtually be equated to cash. Handing it out without accounting for every unit consumed is not an arrangement that can be sustained. Only astute planning and accounting, not bravado, will keep the turbines turning.
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I'm very gregarious, but I love being in the hills on my own. — Norman MacCaig
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Chhattisgarh massacre
AFTER the recent massacre of Congress leaders by the naxalites in Chhattisgarh, there has been a series of discussion in the media questioning the intelligence coordination and the failure of counter-naxal strategy. A section is even questioning the use of CRPF and its COBRA battalion, hinting that the Green Hunt should be totally abandoned along with Salwa Judum, in principle and practice. Is there a need to abandon the strategy that the Union government and the CRPF pursuing now? Or, should they learn from the mistakes, and make necessary adjustments, but continue the larger war against the naxalites? At the outset, there are two parallel wars that are being waged by the naxals vis-a-vis the state. The first one is violent — targeting the state and society together. The second one is psychological, pressurising the state through certain civil society actors along with the social, print and electronic media. First, the basic question — why are the naxals targeting the institutions of state, political parties and infrastructural projects? There are no ideological differences at the ground level between the state and the naxalites; it is pure lust for power by the naxalites, and the failure to provide good governance by the state. Over the last few decades, the state in these regions has abandoned its primary responsibility, resulting in governance deficit. Education, healthcare, rule of law, infrastructure and related issues of basic governance — the state failed to provide to the local people, due to either misgovernance or arrogance. As a result, the naxalites moved in. Thanks to the late realisation, especially by the Union government (cutting across political parties), during the last decade, there is an increased emphasis by the state to move in. The state today is trying to recapture those areas which it had lost to the naxalites both in "territorial" terms and in terms of the "governance" process. Increased inputs on infrastructure, emphasis on building local institutions, improving the governance process — all the above are a part of the state's political strategy to ensure its presence in these areas. The CRPF is being used as a part of the above strategy to augment its political approach. Given the ground reality, and what has been conceded to the naxalites in the last few decades, the CRPF has no other option other than using coercive force either as a part of its Green Hunt or outside it. In this context, one could totally understand the criticisms over the Salwa Judum; though the idea of using civil society as a strategy has been used elsewhere in India (the Village Defence Committees in J&K, and the SULFA in Assam), Salwa Judum had come under severe criticism. Rightly so. Though the Salwa Judum process may have been a military success from the CRPF's perspective, it pitted people against the naxalites. Worse, it also showed the willingness of the state to abandon its primary responsibility to protect the people, and instead, making them as the first line of defence in a military strategy. Undoubtedly, the people and its institutions should be the first line of defence, but in political terms. Had the state only protected the institutions of civil society and ensured governance, the naxalites would have never entered these regions in the first place. Hence, any counter-naxal strategy has to ensure that society is not a part of its military operations. The state should use its forces — the military, para-military and police to fight the naxalites, and not the people. Meanwhile, it should also engage the people by providing what is expected from a state - good governance. The state, especially the Union government, today seems to have learnt its lessons. It appears that the Salwa Judum strategy is being abandoned — in principle and in practice. It is also clear that the CRPF is being used as the primary institution against the naxalites, in an offensive strategy, ensuring that their areas of influence are being cleared. More importantly, the state is also using the CRPF, as a defensive strategy, in ensuring that its developmental activities are being implemented at the ground level. The naxalites understand the importance of the CRPF in the government's two-pronged strategy — offensive and defensive. As a result, they started targeting the CRPF; in the initial years, with not proper understanding of the terrain and lacking sufficient raining and fire power, the CRPF lagged behind and took numerous hits. In fact, even today the CRPF is being targeted by the naxalites on a daily basis. However, the big difference within the CRPF is that it is a much better force, with better equipment and improved strategy. More importantly, the young officers of the CRPF at the ground level, along with the rest of their Jawans, understand the naxal strategy better than ever before. As a result, the naxalites are now looking for soft targets. The attack on Congress leaders should be seen from this perspective. They are likely to target political leaders and institutions of local governance — panchayats and others, for they do not want anyone to compete with them and gain the local support. They want to be the ultimate authority in the region, and use terror and propaganda as two great strategies. The naxalites have three great advantages in their favour. The first is the terrain. The topography where they are fighting the CRPF and the rest of civil society suits their jungle warfare. They choose the time and place; it is humanly impossible, even with the best available technological gadgets, to monitor the entire jungle. The second great advantage that the naxalites have is their over-ground sympathisers and a series of NGOs; this section projects them as "Robinhoods" and "Gandhians with Guns"! The third great advantage of the naxalites is the strength of their intellectual propaganda machinery. On all the above three advantages that the naxalites possess, the state and its principal institution — the CRPF — is a generation behind. The state has not succeeded in denting the advantage of the naxalites over the terrain. Despite its efforts, there are still serious problems of coordination between the CRPF and the local police and at times even within the units. More importantly, the state is unable to match the propaganda machinery of the naxalites; even if it does, it is half-baked and, in fact, at times is counter-productive. This is where the state should understand that it needs civil society. Equally importantly, civil society should also understand that they have a responsibility in helping the state to fight the naxalites. No doubt, the problem would not have arisen in the first place had the state done its duty and ensured governance. Now the state is trying to repair the damage, civil society should also take a step forward. The state is not perfect and suffers from many faults; let us criticise the lacunae but also ensure that those are fair and help the state to take the process ahead. Let us not forget that in the long run, the state is not the enemy; naxalites are. The war has just begun. Let us not abandon it because there are failures in a few battles. Let us — both the state and society — reclaim what is
ours.
The writer is the Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi
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The first time and thereafter You
never forget your first time, do you? The quickened heartbeat, the heady intoxicated feeling on proximity, the lingering longing look, the frenzied touch and, finally, the clasp to your heart….ah, the feel of a new book! If there is a high point I can recall in my life as a six-year-old, it is undoubtedly the morning after my summer vacation. I woke up surrounded by beautiful hard-bound Enid Blyton books with a beaming father at my bedside! For me it was clearly love at first sight! They looked heavenly, felt exotic and surely dripped nectar too! Ambrosia; hidden in the sweet short tales and wondrous adventures of little boys and girls not much older than I. Books ruled my life thereafter. I could barely tear myself apart to brush my teeth and before you could say Jack Robinson, I was back on the bed clutching my treasures to my heart. After I had glued on to them no amount of coaxing, threats or reminders of filial love could draw me away. Friends and outdoor activities were dropped unceremoniously. Breakfast was in bed, without taking my eyes off the book, in fact, ditto for all meals. And after bed time, I would smuggle onto my bed the metal silver coloured torch to continue reading. Mother would, and rightfully so, grumble all day to anyone who would care to listen. I would occasionally throw quick smiles interspersed with my usual precocious quips her way, which would only worsen her mood. My bemused mother never did like this new relationship which besides threatening to ruin my eyes, removed her child away from her warm lap, cocooning her in a fantasy world all of her own. Gone now were her story telling times, and though the only two stories she told every night were of Sita and Shakuntala besides Saakhis of the Gurus, I never got tired of them. After mother finished, father was badgered till he began a Phantom, Robin Hood or Gulliver. He started enthusiastically, faltered midway and, after a snore or two, was elbowed in the ribs to resume. He would rouse himself till his voice trailed again, and a rather cruel poke later would re-try. Dad was a fantastic storyteller (he still is), but I dropped him like a hot potato the minute I got my Robin Hood in person. As I grew up, the more books dad bought for me, the more exasperated mother would get, especially about the lack of my domestication. Thanks to my father, I read most of the classics before I reached class 10 (the age after one loses patience to go through the genre). Thereafter I discovered the spectacular place called a bookstore and explored first-hand numerous delightful offerings. I devoured them all like a maniac. It was then that the Wodehouses, the Clavells, the Micheners and the Eralies of the earth enveloped me and I was truly lost to the world. Many a battle royal was waged at home, meanwhile. Let her learn cooking….Why? She can make great omelettes! She cannot tidy the house…So? She is not planning to become a domestic help! And so on it went till I got married. Mother stared us as we first visited, both with armful of books! And when mother served breakfast with both daughter and son-in-law having propped open their books in front of their plates, chewing absent-mindedly, did my long suffering relative finally give up on me. After all, as they say in the books, true love prevails and triumphs over everything, always! And we read, happily, ever
after!
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Acid attacks and the rhetoric of love
The victims of acid attack go through a life sentence that forces them to shun society and live in a constant state of fear. While the new laws have defined punishment for the perpetrator, there is little for the rehabilitation of the victim
Preeti Rathi, victim of a heinous acid attack passed away on June 2, after battling for her life for a month. Like Damini before her, will her death prove to be a wake-up call for our society once again? Our ineffective and delayed system of justice only serves to encourage potential attackers and criminals who think they can commit crimes with impunity. Is an acid attack a lesser crime than a murder? This death once again raises several questions for our law and justice system, which need to be confronted head on. Preeti, a nursing graduate from Delhi, had landed at Bandra terminus in Mumbai by Gareeb Rath Express where some unknown assailant threw acid on her face. The attacker patted on her shoulder from behind and as she turned, he threw acid on her face. No one could catch him despite the station being crowded and he succeeded in escaping. 23-year-old Preeti had stepped in Mumbai for the first time to join the Colaba Naval Hospital ‘INS Ashwini’ as a staff nurse, her first job. Her statements later published in local newspapers, though full of grief at her current plight, also emphasised the centrality of the means of livelihood to a woman’s life. Even when she was battling for her life, her first thought on gaining consciousness was about her job, safety of her younger sisters and concern for her parents’ health. Before slipping into coma she scribbled on a paper not to shift her to a bigger hospital as it would be expensive. That was the last conversation she had with her father, it shows her concern for her middle class parents.
A violent environment
Violence against women is often masked in rhetoric of love. Men justify their act of disfiguring a woman that often springs from her refusal to reciprocate their love. Love has been present in the human life since time immemorial. However ‘Acid attack’ was not known to be the mode of revenge in cases of failed love affairs. There have been cases of women’s abductions, or, dejected lovers penning down sad love songs, thousands of men must have remained sad and depressed for long. Such vicious and violent environment has never been recorded, even though society was more conservative and stratified on the basis of caste and religion in the past. Today the situation has changed for the better, in terms of women’s emancipation. Yet, not only is the concept of platonic relationship missing, the generation in the fast track mode demands instant gratification of desire. Along with the increasing trend of co-education and modernisation there is a growing awareness among women about their own life and the decision making power they now command. However, exactly an opposite trend is on a rise, a growing resentment among the males towards the empowered women is visible, a spiralling graph of crime against women validates it. Are these men only spurned lovers or are they also the job seekers who feel frustrated with the fine performance of women in all fields, that begins from their excellence at the school level education. Today, women are coming out winners in every field of life, there is an increasing opposition and intolerance among the men towards these achievements. Women are asserting their independence in matters such as career, love and marriage. Ironically, it is this attitude that spells trouble for them, in cases such as this, threatening their lives. As long as women did not gather the courage to say ‘No’, it was fine with society, women remained vulnerable and exploitable and society could maintain its status quo. Despite all the education and sophistication, a woman’s confidence to reject a man’s ‘proposal’ is still the most ‘humiliating’ experience for a man. Pragya Singh, another acid attack victim travelled to Mumbai along with four other survivors — from Delhi and UP — to give hope to Preeti when they learnt that she was critical. They vowed not to let her death go in vain and create awareness about surviving such attacks. “I am one of the few acid attack survivors but I know the pain that comes with it. My family could afford to treat me, but others are not so lucky.” A resident of Bangalore, Pragya, 30, was attacked by her spurned lover seven years ago, 10 days after her marriage, when she was on her way for a campus selection. “My first fear, like Preeti’s, was losing my job.” One of the reasons behind the rise of such incidents could be that males are not conditioned to hearing ‘No’ from a woman. The violence is the revenge caused by the intolerance of being rejected. In view of such ever-increasing ‘threats’ to women’s life in society — and they are bound to grow as women progress and some men are unable to cope with these changes, it has to be dealt with utmost seriousness. We need to delve deeper as to why such incidents are being repeated despite new changes in the law, that now defines acid attack as a crime. With every nationwide protest to an incident of rape and murder we optimistically presume that this would be the last. However even before we take another breath, there is another such occurrence mocking our systems and mindsets.
Reality of violence
We should not forget that in India, the visual media — cinema in particular influences the attitudes and mindset of the general public to a great extent. The nineties was the phase of free market and liberalisation. In the beginning of this phase, came certain films from Hollywood where a scared and terrorised woman evokes excitement and pleasure in the mind of the viewer. Bollywood was so influenced by these characters that several Hindi films were produced on similar concepts. Most of these films were Box-office hits. A number of Bollywood films such as “Baazigar,” “Darr,” “Anjam,” “Agnisakshi” etc used and expanded the jargon of converting the emotion of love into violence and despite all the evil elements of a villain, the male lead in these films were successful in gaining sympathy from the viewer. Although at the end he was shown dying but the audience did feel the pain of his death. Even his death was glamourised. If Shahrukh Khan could express the height and depth of his love for Juhi Chawla by terrorising her, then why could a common person not express his love in a similar manner? There has been a considerable increase in the printed graffiti such as ‘I Have Killer Instinct,’ ‘Keep Calm and hit her,’ ‘Keep Calm and rape them’ or other similarly vulgar and negative prints on t-shirts. We are familiar with the graffiti going berserk on t-shirts flashing unprintable and the four letter words prominently flashed, viewed to be a sign of being ‘cool’. The t-shirts were designed in an Australian garment factory but the after effects were felt more in the Asian countries! The cultural cross-currents bring their own debris along and each society has to be careful about what to choose and what to reject.
Gender-specific violence A few months back, a documentary titled “Saving Face” based on the female victims of acid attacks in Pakistan was awarded the Oscar for the year-2012. It was also a memorable experience to watch a girl from Jamshedpur, a victim of an acid attack to occupy the hot-seat on the TV programme KBC. By bringing the narratives of these victims into public spaces, these programmes have highlighted the fact that the root of such innumerable acts of gender-specific violence lies in the male dominated, hierarchical and regressive capitalism of our society. These stories are not mere statistics but an indicator of the cancerous social malaise of our society. In spite of being granted equality by the constitution, we have been unable to rise above the parochial divisions of sex, caste and religion. Truly speaking we have failed to become Indian in the real sense, becoming a universal human being is a distant dream. It is worth considering if the media is playing its role with conviction or just pandering to market forces. Media perpetuates damaging stereotypes of womanhood. How long will our glossy women magazines, ignoring their moral responsibility, continue to write about ways and means of looking sexy in a society where every day a girl-child is raped and acid is thrown on the faces of young women? Instead of questioning the blatant commodification of women, the media is often guilty of glorifying their objectification. The insensitive attitude of the police makes headlines almost everyday. The culprits are able to influence them through money and muscle power, and the woman loses the battle yet again. The way several influential people and politicians manage to escape legal actions against them for various heinous crimes boosts the morale of common criminals. To reduce the occurrences of such crimes, a sizeable section of society is demanding imposition of strict laws. However, we need to give it a serious thought that if our political, cultural and economic system is encouraging misogyny at the social level then mere legal system cannot help much in getting rid of such evil tendencies. Crime and punishment Acid is one of the cheapest, most easily available and yet deadly weapons to take someone's life. A bottle costs only thirty rupees, and can be lethal. Victims who survive an acid attack go through severe mental trauma and feelings of terror and inadequacy for the rest of their lives. However, the attacker is not tried by the courts as a murderer would be, and faces a maximum sentence of five to ten years imprisonment, and a fine between two to ten lakh rupees. Compared to this, the victim may have to spend up to thirty lakh rupees for plastic surgery of her disfigured face. About 99 percent victims of acid attacks are women. While the victim often has to live with her disfigured appearance and is shunned by society, the attacker gets away with a light sentence and modest fee, and returns to the same society with his reputation and status intact. The immediate need is to put a restriction on the open sale of acid. Secondly, an attack like this which inflicts severe physical, mental and societal trauma on an innocent victim should be treated on par with attempted murder. All other Asian countries have already taken steps in this regard. In Bangladesh, after the Acid Control Act-2002 and Acid Crime Prevention Act-2002 put a restriction on the sale of acid, the incidents of such crimes have dropped by 75 per cent. The writer is a Mumbai-based feminist writer and an activist
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