The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Mine games
Clear rules backed by stick needed

It should not amount to journalistic licence if the mining industry — especially that of minor minerals, such as sand — is called loot at mass scale. There would be no 'official' figures, but it can be safely said that the royalty paid to the government would not even be an insignificant fraction of what would be due for all the sand dug up and sold. This applies to the entire country. The hitherto unheard of National Green Tribunal - set up under a National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 — has banned sand mining from riverbeds across the country without clearance from a Central or state environment authority. The order would be akin to banning murder, an act that is already a crime under the law.

At present, mining is controlled by a plethora of state and Central laws — complicated further by court orders, some applicable nationally and others in certain areas. What is required more than clearances is a mechanism to ensure only the amount of minerals permitted and areas cleared are exploited. Most of this activity is under state departments of mining, which ultimately are headed by a minister. All businesses that depend on licences — buses, liquor, mining - are invariably controlled by political families. This is not a coincidence. Only political influence can ensure the kind of clearances required, and then the immunity to go beyond those clearances. Often restrictions end up escalating prices of a commodity, which only serves to increase the profits of the crooks trading it.

The question is who will bell the cat. There is a certain demand for these minerals, which if not met would halt the very wheels of growth and economy. At the same time unrestrained mining — given the seemingly insatiable demand — will end up scarring the earth irreversibly. This is where an independent constitutional regulatory authority - at the state as well as Central level — could step in to take a call on where the line is to be drawn between environment and development. It could also be empowered with the right to check the mining activity on ground. Then again, it is perhaps like asking the cat to bell itself.

Embassies shut
US takes anti-terror precautions

The closure of the diplomatic outposts in areas with a significant terrorist presence is what the world could well do without. The fact that the US has shut down many of its diplomatic missions in the Middle East, Africa and Asia because of a perceived terror threat is significant in many ways. US embassies in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen were closed as were some consulates. Now the closure has been extended till August 10 and the US has advised its citizens to leave Yemen. The UK too has moved its embassy staff and also advised its citizens to leave Sanaa.

There is no doubt that only credible evidence of a large-scale attack on the embassies would prompt the US to close its diplomatic offices, even for a few days. Intercepted conversations between Al-Qaida leaders along with other intelligence gathered is said to be behind the decision. The US State Department would no doubt loathe to risk the possibility of a repeat of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in Libya in which four Americans died. It has therefore taken the route of “an abundance of caution”. The recent closure no doubt also shows how Al-Qaida remains a credible and deadly terrorist threat even after the death of Osama bin Laden. Its affiliates like Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are now widely spread and capable of causing much havoc.

Even as the US and its allies scale down their military presence in Afghanistan, they have to invest more in intelligence efforts. Afghanistan provided a safe haven for Al-Qaida as did Pakistan, where its Bin Laden ultimately met his end. Both countries are paying the price and have to face many terror attacks. Other countries where terrorism prevails would do well to recognise the threat that terrorists pose and make an effort to tackle terrorism whole-heartedly.

Thought for the Day

Imagination is more important than knowledge. — Albert Einstein

ARTICLE

Dismal record on poverty
One out of every five Indians is poor
by Kuldip Nayar

IT was heartening to watch debates on poverty on national television channels, particularly the English ones. Elitist in approach, they seldom deliberate privations of the common man. Likewise, the English Press is reluctant to carry news or write-ups on poverty because it has come to believe that its well-to-do readers do not want to know about the extent of poverty at the breakfast table. The Hindi and other language papers are more sensitive. This is probably the difference between India and Bharat.

Yet the nation cannot run away from the fact that roughly 65 per cent of Indians are poor, 35 per cent of them destitute. After projecting the Planning Commission's criteria for expenditure is Rs 24 in villages and Rs 33 in urban areas, the government has realised that the amount is too paltry to convince even the most gullible. Now the average has been placed around Rs 50. This sum is also too meager. Yet some leading Congressmen have tried to trivialise poverty by proclaiming that one can have a full, hearty meal for Rs 5 at Delhi and Rs. 12 at Mumbai.

According to the Planning Commission, seldom right, poverty has been reduced to 22 per cent. The commission, a creature of the ruling Congress, gives credit for this to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government. The Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia says that the reduction of poverty during the BJP-led coalition was 0.8 per cent, while it is going down by 2.5 per cent annually since the Congress takeover. Assuming that the reduction to 22 per cent is correct, still one out of every five Indians is poor. This is a dismal record in the last six and a half decades after Independence. If you were to add dimensions, other than food, you end up comparing India with backward countries in Africa.

The Congress has been ruling at least for 50 years and it is the most to blame for the mess in which the country is today. Poverty and education, both neglected by the British, should have been on top of the party's agenda. An undertaking given during the Independence struggle on social justice remains on paper. So do the provisions on equal opportunities in the Constitution.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist, was expected to bring things in order but he has been a failure. The growth rate in the last two years is less than the proverbial Hindu growth rate of 3.5 to 4 per cent, although the overall average in the last decade is 5.5 per cent, reportedly next to China, the leader in the world. Manmohan Singh has turned out to be more of a politician than an economist. This is proved by the fact that he has managed to be the Prime Minister for nearly a decade.

India's poor performance is not due to the global factors, ascribed by pro-establishment economists, but because of poor governance. The fact is that we are spending more than we are earning. The government has doubled it in the last 10 years. Inflation has been galloping upward. The printing of currency notes, if at all a short-term relief, is not a solution. The paucity of funds is sought to be met with panicky measures.

Take the concessions offered to foreign investors, 49 per cent in insurance and oil and gas. The measures have been compared to opening the floodgates. Instead of self-sufficiency, the cardinal principal after Independence, foreign investment has become the mantra. Then foreign investment was welcome in technical or such fields in which we had no know-how. Now any field or method is good enough as long as it attracts foreign investors. Still they want more concessions. Bureaucrats, more than politicians, must share the responsibility. They too like the Prime Minister have followed the World Bank advice to covert India into a crony capitalist state. America has not helped a bit despite high-ranking people from the US visiting the country every other day.

Most members of Parliament and state legislatures live in their make-believe world and continue to delude themselves. It is well known that they get subsidised food and many other things. The central hall of Parliament where the MPs congregate to rub shoulders with the obliging journalists has a canteen which is run by the Railways and sells food at a ridiculously low price. The welfare schemes, started with good intention, are starving for funds. The Congress-run government has an eye on the next elections. For unpredictable gains, the Congress has put the entire economic system at stake. The opposition parties may be shrill in their criticism, but they are right in stating that Manmohan Singh's rule has been fraught with mismanagement, corruption and a few belated steps to stem the rot. The economic situation has been going from bad to worse.

India is a non-sympathetic society. Over the years, it has deteriorated in values. There is not a semblance of idealism, much less movement, to lift the lower half to lead a viable living. Poverty, unemployment and malnutrition, all signs of a decaying society, are visible on an increasing scale. The bureaucracy has been reduced to an authority merely affixing seal, from being the Steel Frame that it was till the beginning of the seventies. Once in a while a courageous official like Durga Shakti Nagpal appears on the scene to evoke optimism. Her attack on the sand mining mafia in UP was applauded. But then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was influenced by politicians and she was suspended. Some of these politicians are the owners of trucks she impounded while carrying sand illegally from the Yamuna and Hindon river banks. Had the two main political parties, the Congress and the BJP, been together in backing measures against corruption in administration, the situation would have been different.

Probably a mid-term poll could have given a fresh start to the country. The new government would have had at least five-year tenure to formulate policies for that period. It would have renewed trust which is badly needed for investment from within and from abroad. Even now Manmohan Singh should go back to people. His remaining 10 months in office are a lame duck rule.

MIDDLE

Being with friends
by Col RD Singh (retd)

When I look back at my school days of KG Belgaum in the 60s, the most memorable parts are all the naughty things we did together as friends. Be it a 'ganna raid' or bunking for a late-night movie, it used to be a collective effort. If any one of us was caught, he would not divulge his friends' names, even if he had to suffer a few extra canes from the Principal.

I was 1,000 miles away from my home in Haryana, and would go home only once a year. It was my friend Bora or Ganguli or Mani who would share my quiet tears, when feeling low. If I ran out of pocket money, one of them would help. The moment I got Rs 10(a big amount in those days), hidden in a letter, sent by my elder brother, all of us would have a big party. What great fun, playing, studying, and getting into silly troubles together! During the annual vacations, when I went to my village, life was idyllic.

It was a small village, Pilimandori, in Hisar district with no electricity or water supply. But life was still very happy and healthy. There was so much of warmth and selflessness. If there was no milk at home, we would just go across to our neighbour with a pot and get milk. It was always give and take. There was no question of any payment. If my mother fell sick while father was away from home, the neighbours would take her to hospital. And if our guests arrived when none of us was at home, then the entire neighbourhood would come and sit with them to give company. They would feed the guests, give them a 'hookah' to smoke and make them feel wanted.

It was a community living, a life of sharing and caring. A marriage in the village was an occasion for everyone to celebrate and chip in to help the girl's family. The village would never allow the bride's father to carry the burden alone. Each house would offer a 'charpoy' and bedding for the 'baratis' (marriage party). The ladies would go to the wedding house and sing marriage songs. These were so melodious. The marriage would last three to four days, and the whole village would unite to make it a success.

During this period, there would be camel races, wrestling bouts, and even kabaddi matches to entertain the guests. We, the children, would surround the groom, and be at his beck and call. After all, every girl in the village was our sister, irrespective of which family she belonged to. There was no hooliganism or misbehaviour. Our tradition of 'Athiti devo bhavah' ( the guest is God) was at its best. And we took pride in it.

Once, I remember, a locust entered our village fields. Unless checked, it would eat away our crops. So, the entire village youths got together with digging tools. They dug up a deep long drain in which the advancing waves of the locust kept falling, and were then buried. Such collective efforts to meet emergencies in the village were a common code of conduct rather than an exception. Helping others came naturally.

Though the times have changed, it is up to us how we can still keep and nurture friends. When my wife and myself go to a club or a function, we make it a point to move around and meet every one. We introduce ourselves to those who are new. Some show interest, some don't. So what! No ego issue. At the end of the day, we may not win many good friends, but definitely, we get a few well-wishers. It keeps adding every day. We have made it a habit to reach out to people. We always find some nice people with positive vibes. There will always be friends, if we have a helping attitude and a warm heart.

Oped Governance

Ramban firing: State not performing
What happened in Ramban, and the simmering violence in Rajouri and Mendhar are expressions of a larger problem. A State that does not learn from the mistakes, is likely not only to repeat and become a liability, but also in the process will fail the nation
D Suba Chandran

The recent firing by the Border Security Force (BSF) in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir on a civilian protest movement was generally perceived as an “overreaction” by the BSF, to a “peaceful” protest by an “unarmed” civilian mob. Is that all to the firing? Should we consider this as another “unfortunate” event in J&K, forget and pretend that the condition is usual? And fool ourselves that the environment in J&K is “normal”?

What is the BSF doing in Ramban district? The first and foremost question is undoubtedly the presence of a “Border” security force in Ramban district. However, it does not make sense to criticise or blame the BSF for firing at a group of civilians; the BSF by ethos, training and objective is not like the State police, or the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The philosophy behind raising a separate Border Security Force as a paramilitary is to guard and patrol the borders of India. As such, they are not and should not be trained to be deployed in civilian areas.

But the larger question here is not the presence of the BSF; rather, the absence of governance process, especially in the interior districts of J&K. Are the State and Union governments abdicating the responsibility to govern and make the police and paramilitaries a scapegoat?

Not yet normal

In both the regions of J&K, the interior districts such as Ramban, Doda and Rajouri in the Jammu region are yet to “feel” and “experience” “normalcy” in terms of daily activities — from better roads, teachers and doctors in their respective institutions, and more importantly electricity (at least to charge the batteries!). While militancy and the movement of terrorists have drastically declined in these districts, thanks to the local police, the paramilitary and the military, the governance process has not moved in yet, as it has happened in Jammu and Srinagar districts. Relatively, the districts of Jammu and Srinagar are much ahead.

While on paper, every district in J&K receives substantial developmental funds, in practice it always remains a mystery. There is a huge criminal gap between what is on the paper and what is visible on the ground in these districts. While Jammu and Srinagar districts have always been politically active, the political elite ensure that there is adequate expenditure at the ground level. Unfortunately, the political elite in these districts are not only narrow, but also selfish and corrupt. As a result, despite corruption and governance issues, institutions do function in the urban districts; the same cannot be said about the rural J&K. The leadership in Jammu, Srinagar and New Delhi is perfectly aware of this issue, and address the same only by ignoring it, or maintaining a silence.

As a result, there is an anti-State sentiment in the interior areas and is bound to erupt, even at the slightest provocation. But this anti-State sentiment in the districts under discussion is not erected on an “Azadi” base as is the case in Srinagar and its surrounding districts, but on a “you failed us and take us for granted” anger and frustration. All one needs to understand this reality is to travel on his/her own or in the cramped Tata Sumos, as a normal citizen. Neither the officials nor the political elite understand this as they travel in official vehicles with a red light on the top and a pilot ahead and a protection following. When you have a security man armed with an AK-47 even while jogging on a university campus, what connections are you likely to have with the rest of “civil” society, which has the luxury of living primarily with pain and frustration?

Azadi sentiment

While a section of the political leadership and the media screamed the violence in Ramban as an expression of “Azadi” sentiment spreading outside the Valley, the separatists and others in the Valley tried to exploit and usurp the problems and sentiments in Ramban. A section within the Valley may want to believe that there is a larger Azadi sentiment in Doda and Ramban districts; but that will only undermine the real reasons for anger and frustration not only in Doda and Ramban, but also in Rajouri and Poonch districts.

The problem in Ramban was not the BSF. The actual firing only triggered an already bottled-up frustration in the district. The hard truth that neither the leadership in New Delhi nor in J&K wants to know is the frustration at the ground level. All these years, there was militancy as an excuse for the State not performing; if the Union and State governments are repeatedly underlining that normalcy has returned, why are the institutions not performing?

The next set of questions, beyond the Ramban killings should be: are there other sentiments — religious and communal, being erected over the governance deficit? The civil society and the State will have to ask these two serious questions — in terms of what is happening in the interior districts — especially Doda, Ramban, Rajouri and Poonch. Failure to find the right answers and correct the course will impinge everyone in the long run, and completely rupture the social fabric between the societies and within them. Is the religion likely to divide the communities more, rather than unite them? Is it time that we look beyond being politically correct in J&K, and call a spade a spade?

First, is there a hardening of sentiment in the Muslim community in these districts, especially after the increase in the Hindu Yatras — the main one being the Amarnath, and its subsidiaries — spanning from the Budha Amarnath temple in Poonch to the Machel in Kishtwar district? There is a substantial gap between the two communities from Kishtwar to Poonch towns along the Pir Panjal, where both communities co-habit, along with Gujjars and Bakerwals.

While the ST status to the Gujjars is slowly increasing their economic situation, where the parents and youths are relatively secure about their future, the other two communities are apprehensive of their future, given the lack of opportunities. In a given closed environment, the absence of governance and fear about the future are likely to pit one section against the other. The minority Hindu communities in these regions are using the multiple yatras to assert their larger identity; there has been a drastic increase in the last decade in not only the Amarnath Yatra, but also the multiple smaller ones covering from Poonch to Kishtwar.

Tourism and peace

It was very unfortunate, starting with the former Governor SK Sinha, the governments made the success of the Amarnath Yatra as a sign of return of normalcy to J&K. Tourism became a yardstick in measuring peace in J&K. It is equally unfortunate that a section within the Muslim community in these districts sees this as a larger State conspiracy against them.

When societies are inward looking due to geography and the failure to provide adequate outlets — emotionally and physically — they are bound to live by fear. And when they do, facts and the larger truths behind them become the first casualty. Suspicion and hatred become facts and figures.

Secondly, in these districts, there is a slow, but steady revision taking place within the nature of Islam. While everyone believes in Sufi Islam as the bedrock of the Muslim society in J&K cutting across the Pir Panjal, there are serious signs of different strains taking root in these societies. This strain or the slow change does not come from inside - but from outside, starting from Uttar Pradesh to Saudi Arabia.

This change, how much ever slow it is, needs to be understood in the right perspective and as it is without painting any colour. Only then its implications could be observed, and right action taken today, so that the future does not become complicated.

In the last few decades, there has been a steady incursion of religious thoughts from UP into J&K, especially along the Pir Panjal. Outside UP, there is another slow, but steady incursion, from the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia. From Mendhar to Doda, many Muslim youths, thanks to the absence of opportunities, have been steadily looking for employment in the Gulf; today, there is a substantial inflow directly from the Gulf. The financial transactions in Mendhar and Surankot towns through the banks (of course, outside the hawala transactions) alone will highlight what is happening to these sub-regions.

Obviously, inflows are not restricted to cash, but also include a Saudi version of Islam. From a new “class” of people within the community to new structures of worship with a particular architecture makes this change visible — physically, economically and socially. This is where J&K can learn from Pakistan in terms of what the remittances from the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia could do to the local social fabric. The impact is not only religious, but also sectarian. It may start with the Shias and Ahmediyas, but certainly will go after the other faiths as well — Deobandi, Brelvi and Sufi.

No one can be blamed for the above, and it is bound to happen. If only, there are adequate opportunities within and the delivery mechanisms remain relatively functional, this would not have started off in the first place. The primary problem of this communal divide is not religion, but secular. If only, there is better governance, there will be equal opportunities to every community — if only.

Unless we address the root cause, and look inward — both at the State and Society levels, we will end up making someone a scapegoat. This time the BSF. Perhaps, next time the J&K Police. And CRPF and the military and so on. For we have enough police, para-military and military in J&K to hoodwink ourselves and shift the blame.

The writer is the Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi