P A G E
Saturday, December 19, 1998
today's calendar
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Saturday, December 19, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Bills
of confusion
OPEN
GOVERNANCE Challenges
before banking sector |
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Plus
& minus of Shiv Sena
The
masterminds of Bengal
Torn
note bouquet
The
poor teachers |
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Bills of confusion THOUGH unintended, the introduction of the Insurance and Patents Bills has underlined the inherent confusion and contradiction in Indian politics. Suddenly the Congress is supporting the BJP and the latter reciprocates the gesture by seconding the nomination of Mr P.M.Sayeed for the post of Deputy Speaker. The Left shifts its stance and faults the Congress for adopting “anti-people” policies and vows to restart its efforts to build a credible third front. This would seem to mark a sea change from the attitude only last week, when the BJP was accusing the Left of rigging up an immoral alliance with the former ruling party and the Congress was getting ready to discharge its responsibilities if the present coalition arrangement collapsed. Obviously all are looking far beyond the passage of the two pieces of legislation. Take the Congress. It hopes to widen the division within the sangh parivar by backing the so-called moderate elements. If the tight embrace of the RSS with the BJP is weakened, it stands to benefit enormously, particularly in UP and Bihar. This is not proving to be a painless operation though. There is a mild revolt within its own ranks with old-time reformers having to work overtime to convince the old-time progressives. Of course, there is the loud protest from the Left which has a radically different agenda on the subject of insurance and patents. A clean break with the Left parties now will leave it stranded, something the party on a comeback trail cannot afford. The recent policy shift,
which everyone acknowledges has been forced on the BJP,
has upset the equation among the various hues of
Hindutva. The two demonstrations by the offshoots of the
RSS and the weeklong brainstorming session in Nagpur
bring out the fissures. The root cause of this is the
long years of neglect of economic policy by the BJP with
the result that a cogent and clearly defined framework is
proving to be virtually impossible. Each organisation and
in fact each group within these has developed its own
definition of key policy aspects and clings to them. At
the end of the “chintan baithak” at Nagpur, to
which the BJP sent a high-powered delegation, it was
announced that the RSS opposed the economic policies of
the present government without elaborating what the
future course of action would be. This has naturally
bewildered the rank and file, who are as much accustomed
to unquestioned loyalty as to total unanimity. The
transformation of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee from being an
amiable party leader to an assertive Prime Minister has
not had the expected approval from his senior colleagues.
The Left is back to square one. It is vigorously opposing
both major parties, hoping that the Samajwadi Party and
Rashtriya Janata Dal, will be able to withstand the
Congress resurgence and provide solidity to the proposed
third front. |
Stop this mudslinging IT is more than outrageous that the
country has had to witness the unprecedented spectacle of
the Naval Headquarters refusing to comply with the
decisions of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) to appoint Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh as Deputy
Chief of the Naval Staff. After all, the ACC is the
highest decision-making body for the appointments in the
government, headed by the Prime Minister with the Home
Minister and the Defence Minister being its other two
members. The only time a similar unsavoury situation
developed in Independent India was in 1959 and even then,
the then Chief of the Army Staff, Gen K.S. Thimayya, had
only threatened to resign in protest against the
government’s decision to promote Major-Gen Brij
Mohan Kaul to the rank of Lieutenant-General even though
he had not been recommended for promotion by the Army.
(General Thimayya was later persuaded not to resign.) In
the present case the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral
Vishnu Bhagwat, has simply refused to implement the ACC
decision on the plea that it violates Section 134 of the
Navy Act passed by Parliament in 1957, which states that
appointments of officers of the rank of Captains and
above in all branches of the Navy “shall be made by
the government on the recommendation of the Chief of the
Naval Staff”. If that was not bad enough the Naval
Chief even went to court alleging that the Defence
Secretary was colluding with the Vice-Admiral in
question. The Calcutta High Court dismissed the petition
as “wholly misconceived and totally devoid of any
merit”. This ugly episode has left an indelible
black mark on the otherwise glorious history of the
Indian defence forces. The irony of it all is that in
1990, when the present Naval Chief was a Rear Admiral and
was overlooked for the post of Fleet Commander, he had
filed a petition in the Mumbai High Court in which he had
argued that “appointments to the decision
making/higher command posts have already rested on the
principle that while the Chief of the Naval Staff might
recommend, it is the government at the level of the
Defence Minister/Appointments Committee of the Cabinet,
which must exercise its judgement, decide and put its
seal of authority based on certain principles, norms and
criteria like merit-cum-seniority reports, professional
and leadership qualities, assignment and command of
ships.” Not only that. He went on to admit that
“ … the Indian Constitution does not recognise
military rule and, therefore, within the
constitutional/administrative structure, military command
and senior appointments are not left to the arbitrary
choice of the Chief of the Naval Staff”. One fails
to understand as to what has happened between then and
now — except that now he is himself the Chief of the
Naval Staff — that has made him reverse his stand.
The idea here is not to pinpoint as to who is right and
who is wrong because in this particular episode, both
sides have made some grave mistakes. Vice-Admiral
Harinder Singh filed a writ petition in the Calcutta High
Court making communal allegations against the Naval
Chief. He even made personal allegations related to Mrs
Niloufer Bhagwat’s religious and cultural origins.
Both sides should have stopped to reflect on the
impression that they were generating. Pastry wars are all
right among juveniles. But these are highly undesirable
among responsible grown-ups. And when it comes to the
topmost defence officers of the country, this pastime is
an absolute no-no. |
Teachers as killers THE incident of a school teacher beating to death two class I students in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh has once again brought into sharp focus the flaws in the system of appointment and transfer of teachers. The teacher responsible for the two deaths is only 22 years old. He was reportedly in a nasty mood because of the order transferring him to another school. He evidently took out the frustration of being “pushed around” by an insensitive system on the two children. The fact that the two students had not done their homework provoked him into beating them mercilessly with a wooden piece of a plough till they fell unconscious. A woman teacher who tried to intervene was attacked and her condition is reported to be critical. Had the children been provided timely medical aid, their lives might have been saved. Inadequate medical facilities is a subject which requires a separate debate. As far as the Shahdol incident is concerned, it would be a mistake to give it political colour and blame Chief Minister Digvijay Singh for lack of discipline in Madhya Pradesh schools. The year 1998 exposed the ugly face of a number of school teachers as never before all over the country. Following the death of two school children in separate incidents after they were beaten by their teachers for not doing their homework the Parents Forum for Meaningful Education filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking a ban on corporal punishment. In another incident in Delhi, a school boy was paraded naked — again for not doing his homework. In Chandigarh a school girl ended her life after she was rebuked by the class teacher in front of other students. The teacher has been placed under suspension. A similar case of a girl
student committing suicide after she was slapped by a
nursery class student at the behest of the class teacher
was reported from Hisar. Those who survive the abuse of
an insensitive school system themselves become
insensitive to the welfare of others. How else does one
explain the killing of a school headmaster by a class IX
student in Kulu on December 16? The four boys who crushed
to death Priti Srivastava under the wheels of a jeep in
Ambikapur are products of the same flawed school system.
What is disturbing is the fact that in the discourse on
the faults in the school system misplaced emphasis is
being given to the discarded dictum of “spare the
rod and spoil the child”. The debate on awarding
corporal punishment for maintaining discipline in schools
must end. Social scientists and psychologists now advise
even parents not to be too harsh with their children
— beating them is totally out. So where is the
justification for allowing the power to beat school
children to insensitive teachers? It must be recognised
that the mind-boggling expansion in the information
sector has made the task of teaching school children more
challenging. The other point which needs more attention
is that teaching as a profession now does not attract the
best available talent. In most cases those who are found
unfit for anyother job become school teachers. Is it not
an irony that these talentless teachers are expected to
mould the children in their care into scientists,
engineers, administrators and lawyers of the future? The
teacher who beat to death the two students in Shahdol is,
perhaps, among the countless young men and women trapped
in careers for which they have no aptitude. It is evident
that the entire system of recruitment and transfer of
teachers needs to be reviewed to avoid the kind of
brutality witnessed in the classroom in Shahdol. |
OPEN GOVERNANCE FROM Prime Minister down to the District Collector, everyone these days talks of accountable, transparent and open governance. In recent days there have been numerous seminars, conferences and committees on the subject. But all these exercises tend to harp on the functions within government departments, as if governance is confined only to the four walls of government. The recent initiative of the Central Vigilance Commissioner to combat corruption by adopting transparent procedures addresses itself only to the government departments and agencies. The infotech initiatives in some states “to put the government on the website”, are largely a “one track” approach — that of placing the government and its agencies on a pedestal and “displaying information” they condescend to share with the public. Though the intention behind these initiatives is laudable, it is highly doubtful whether this will lead to “open governance”, in the absence of any radical change in the basic ethos of governance. It might as well end up as a case of “GiGo” i.e. Garbage-in-Garbage-out! As things stand today, the “electronic concept” of open and transparent governance may remain just that and people at large would continue to suffer the arbitrariness and inefficiencies of a closed and secretive administrative system. This will be so unless we seek to understand what governance is and what are the imperatives and features of open and good governance. As a first step, it should be realised that governance extends beyond governments and includes all institutions and organisations that serve the citizens, whether in a public, private, cooperative or voluntary capacity. The strengthening and capacity building of these institutions and organisations for collective decision making and the resolution of conflicts are an essential function of governance. This in essence implies building of new alliances and partnerships in which the government may play an enabling role. It should further be recognised that government is only one of the components of governance, though the most prominent one, and not the only component as being perceived now. In a democracy that India is, governance is of the people, and government is only an instrument of this governance. For open and good governance, a public-private-popular partnership (4P) approach is far more appropriate and relevant than the over-blown government machinery running solo and making a mess of people’s lives. As the ultimate goal of good governance in the Indian context is the economic upliftment and wellbeing of the masses, its blueprint should be looked at from the development perspective. The imperatives of such governance would be; a. An “enabling framework” giving the government a central role in setting the agenda for overall development, but a lesser role in providing the investment and management of services. Such a framework encourages and supports a vast range of large, medium and small initiatives, investment and expenditure by individuals, households, communities, cooperatives, business and voluntary organisations. b. A participative process of building and developing the state and the social economy, that will make problems that appeared insurmountable easier and more manageable. c. Creation of capacity and capability to absorb and manage rapid changes taking place in technology and management systems. d. Encouraging initiative, innovation and creative thinking at all levels, since wisdom is not the prerogative of the privileged few as is being perceived now. e. An interactive citizen’s information system, opening up the entire decision making process to full public view. Barring very few exceptions, there should no more be any top secret, secret and confidential files in government or any other institution or organisation run on taxpayers’ money. f. Replacing the colonial, revenue oriented, top-to-bottom and reactive administrative machinery with a democratic, development oriented, bottom-up and proactive management system. These imperatives of open governance call for the adoption of the 4P concept, which envisages a distinct role for the different players in this process: * Government departments, organisations and agencies would perform the role of policy makers, facilitators and regulators. * Private ventures and entrepreneurs as innovators, risk takers, catalysts and partners in the provision of infrastructure and services as well as industrial development. * Individuals and citizen groups as originators of ideas and think tank. * Community based and non-government organisations as enablers, mediators and advisers. For half a century now, the nation and its hapless people have put up with a closed and cloistered system of government and the resultant phenomenon of ranking inefficiency and reeking corruption. Individual initiative and private enterprise have been blocked and choked at every turn leading to a mediocre and mendicant society tottering for survival. At the expense of the productive and toiling segment of the population, a vast army of unproductive babus and parasites has thrived and prospered. Riff-raffs and bandicoots have looted the coffers of the State, taking advantage of outmoded rules and archaic procedures. Minions in government act as if they own the country and the public, who are the paymasters, are only their subjects. An atmosphere and mind-set has been created as if governments exist only to provide safe, secure and comfortable sinecures to its employees and not to look after public interest or welfare! What else could anyone surmise with over 75 per cent of tax payer’s money being spent on the pay and perks of government employees! For the last few years, there have been loud and deafening noises from all and sundry in the government extolling the virtues of reforms, excellence and core competency. They have been preaching all these and more for the private sector from all possible fora — national and international. But, as far as the ushering in of transparency, efficiency and competence in the functioning of government and its agencies are concerned, these worthies have not lifted a small finger. They let go of a golden opportunity which came with the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, when even the most vocal votaries of reform and excellence, settled for status quo and mediocrity. It is difficult to understand as to how a stagnant, moth-eaten and inefficient administrative system, allergic to openness and transparency will ever be able to give good and competent governance to a country with so much of diversity and complexity. The root cause for the sorry state of governance is the fact that India has been made into a soft state with politicians compromising on everything and elite civil servants choosing to be mere file pushing bureaucrats instead of dynamic administrators. In fact the term “Indian Administrative Service” has become a misnomer since there is hardly any administrative content in the way this service is functioning. With the inexorable advancement of technology and management practices, the “jack-of-all-trade-and-master-of-none” style of administration and the trademark of “arrogance of ignorance” displayed by several members of the service, have not only become irrelevant, but also has very negative effects on good governance. And precious little has been done to reform and restructure this service to be in tune with the times. In fact with a mind-set of “status-quo and regulatory capture”, bureaucracy today is the major stumbling block for transparency and good governance. In about a year’s time, this universe we live in will enter the third millennium of the civilised era. Entering a new century itself is a major event, and moving into the next millennium is indeed historical. We, of this generation are indeed fortunate enough to be part of this history. Will the 100 crore Indians, who constitute one-sixth of the human race, enter this millennium with a mendicant polity and stagnant economy, which are the hallmarks of closed governance? Or will expeditious measures be taken to usher in an era of open, transparent and participative governance, the precursor of a vibrant polity and dynamic economy? The answer lies with the people, because in a democracy, it is their right to decide as to how they are to be governed. (The author is a
former IAS officer. We shall welcome our readers’
response to the issue raised by him.) |
Challenges before banking sector THE gradual relaxation of the policy-induced rigidity that crept into the banking sector since the first dose of nationalisation (1969) in the form of higher statutory liquidity and cash reserve ratios by the government (apart from the much disputed directed priority credit) to cover up fiscal deficits has set the banking sector on a firm footing to further the reform process. The second generation report submitted by the Narasimham Committee (April, 1998) suggested “systemic and structural re-organisation” of the financial sector set against an emerging economic environment that is characterised by a higher growth trajectory, liberalisation in the domestic economy and increasing integration with the international economy. In fact the broad canvas given to the committee envisaged the need to “update the progress of banking sector reforms and chart out a programme to strengthen the financial system and make it internationally competitive.” Risk management is likely to emerge as the single most important challenge in the emerging market-friendly environment as: (a) greater integration takes place between the money, securities and foreign exchange markets; (b) banks and other financial institutions acquire a large number of shareholders; and (c) financial intermediaries resort to an expansion of their “non-fund” or “off-balance sheet” activities. Further, risks are likely to multiply as the financial scene undergoes transformation in terms of volumes and types of services offered with increasing technological sophistication. The ability of the banking sector to contain risks depends to a large extent on the ability and willingness of the banks to make their asset portfolios more transparent, observe better financial discipline and adopt a more comprehensive asset-liability management (ALM) system. Two types of risks — liquidity and interest rate risks — are likely to pose greater challenges in the emerging market-friendly competitive environment. Banks should not only measure liquidity positions on an ongoing basis as is done at present, but also must examine how liquidity requirements are likely to evolve under crisis scenarios. The draft guidelines suggested by the Reserve Bank of India are expected to go a long way in the calculation of cumulative surplus or deficit of funds at selected maturity dates by using the technique of maturity ladder. Banks must be ready to place all cash inflows and outflows in the maturity ladder according to the expected timing of cash flow. Further, the attempts at phased de-regulation of interest rates and the operational flexibility given to banks to price most of the assets and liabilities are likely to expose the banking sector to the interest rate risk. Instead of relying exclusively on the simple traditional gap analysis to measure interest rate risk, banks must move over to modern techniques like duration gap analysis, simulation and value at risk at a later date which in turn requires sufficient technical expertise and greater sophistication in management information system. The age of global
mega-mergers in banking is here exposing the banking
sector to further risks and challenges. As an aspect of
consideration, it is suggested to prune the number of 27
public sector banks that came into existence as a matter
of historical accident rather than any deliberate design.
Pruning calls for mergers; and pruning to be effective
must be between strong institutions driven by market
forces instead of administrative fiat; and based on an
appreciation of synergistic benefits and not a mere
addition to balance sheet totals. Nor mergers should be
seen as an effect to bail out weak banks as happened when
a large public sector bank, Punjab National Bank, was
merged with an under-performing New Bank of India. The
credibility of the banking sector will erode if
consolidation through mergers is seen as an effort to
strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. Any blind
application of sick industry syndrome to revive the weak
banks without designing any re-habilitation programme
will help hasten the process of bankruptcy. |
Torn
note bouquet A FEW years ago torn currency notes used to be difficult to replace. One had to follow a lengthy bank procedure for obtaining a replacement. I have had an interesting experience in this regard. One cold winter evening I was standing at the stamps counter of the General Post Office at Shimla to buy a few envelopes for mailing urgent letters. There, one elderly person approached me with one soiled and torn hundred-rupee note and said: “Where can this note be changed?” The old man appeared anxious and troubled. The note was in almost two pieces. The bank would not accept it easily. Moreover, it was almost 5 p.m. Obtaining the replacement note immediately was out of question. I happened to ask the stranger — almost involuntarily, “Is this the only note you have?” “Yes !”, said he. The man appeared to be anxious to catch the last bus for his remote village. But he won’t be able to do that with the torn note. The scenario reminded me of a similar tight corner I had myself once faced. The old man needed help — and forthwith. Keeping the torn note in own pocket, I gave a good one to the elderly person. He heaved a sigh of relief and vanished. The incident had faded out of my memory. It, however, became fresh the other day — after almost a decade. My spouse had been thinking of witnessing the “Lavi” fair at Rampur Bushahr. I was, however, double minded. Now a schoolmate of our son is in business at Rampur. The other afternoon, this young man dropped in at our house along with his mother and sister. They proposed that we accompany them in their car to Rampur for the Lavi. The offer appealed to my wife. I too could not say no. And, off we went, though it was somewhat late in the afternoon for the long drive. The car was running smoothly and oblivious of the sunset approaching fast, we kept stopping here and there, merrily taking photographs of scenic spots en route. When we had covered nearly half the distance the vehicle started emitting too much of petrol fumes. On checking, the fuel line was found leaking badly and the tank was almost dry. By then the dusk had set in. The locale was a thick jungle and the nearest petrol station was 20 km away. We tried to hail a number of motorists for help and/or lift. But none would oblige. We thus needed night shelter dearly. Taking advantage of my jungleman-ship in my heydays, the foursome wanted me to hunt for a cave, if not a dwelling. I crawled up the slope in one direction towards the edge of the jungle. Further up was an orchard with a house in the middle. The hamlet was lonely but full of life. There, an old man and a few lads were sitting around a fire in an open verandah.I moved on, but hesitantly.On my going closer, the old man rose and came forward. Once face to face he said to me, “Are you not the same person who had helped me at Shimla once?” I could hardly remember, but managed to say, “Perhaps!”, and told him about our party’s predicament. The family appeared delighted to play host. One lad went to fetch those of us on the roadside. He also undertook to have the vehicle fixed locally by the following morning. Another boy got busy warming water for our washing. As our people arrived the housewife served hot tea and then delicious Makki ki roti, sarson da sag, mash ki dal and lassi. Finally, tall tumblers full of steaming hot milk, before cozy bed — a treat perhaps no “Five Star” could offer. The torn currency note
thus became a matchless bouquet. |
Plus & minus of Shiv Sena
MENTION Shiv Sena and the first images that come to mind are ugly ones. Youths armed with sticks and venomous expressions tearing down posters of Fire and forcing cinemas in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta to stop showing the film. Then, that obscene display of fat, half-naked male bodies outside Dilip Kumar’s house protesting against his support for the film. As for Shiv Sena el supremo, Bal Thakeray, every time he opens his mouth he seems to say things that further confirm the impression of his party as nothing more than an army of goon squads. Yet, believe it or not, the Shiv Sena Government in Maharashtra has managed to do a few things that 50 years of Congress Government; could not. A Mumbai industrialist outlined some of these for me. He said, “Just notice the rate at which flyovers are coming up in Mumbai city. Notice also that work is proceeding at a spanking pace on the Mumbai-Pune highway and that as of now it should be completed by its deadline of March 2000. Then, there is the Krishna Valley project which they have started work on. The Congress did nothing for 10 years and the result is that the water could end up being lost to Maharashtra unless it can be put to use by the end of next year.” The industrialist is not a supporter of the Shiv Sena but admits willingly that there are things about its style of functioning in government that are a welcome change from the kind of maibaap sarkar that the Congress had bequeathed Maharashtra. Having said that, though, he hastened to add that all the good things that the Shiv Sena did were wiped out by the decline in the law and order situation in Mumbai. It was the lack of law and order in Mumbai that proved to be the last nail in Sharad Pawar’s coffin during the last Assembly elections. Charges that he had links with the Dubai mafia were somehow impossible for him to shake off. Remember that catchy little parody of the Hindi film song Didi tera dewar deewana? In the Shiv Sena campaign it became PM tera CM deewana, Hai Ram, Dawood ko daaley dana. Pawar never managed to sufficiently counter the charge that he had links with Ibrahim Dawood and it proved to be one of the reasons why the Congress lost the election. So, you would think that the Shiv Sena-BJP Government would have made special efforts to ensure that in Mumbai city law and order was brought under control. In fact, there has been a more serious decline in this area than in almost any other since Bal Thakeray’s chosen men began to run Maharashtra. From about the time that the Shiv Sena-BJP Government came to power in Maharashtra I have had occasion to spend a considerable amount of time in this city and have witnessed it being turned into an extortionists’ paradise. I have also watched with growing horror the number of incidents in which killers can simply kill someone in a crowded street and disappear forever into oblivion. Gulshan Kumar, the music director, comes immediately to mind. I was interviewing Shahrukh Khan for my television programme around the time and I remember a rainy morning in Mehboob Studios when the only topic of conversation was the threat from what everyone referred to, in whispers, as “the underworld”. Shahrukh walked in fuming over an article in Bombay Times which included a hit list which had his name on it. His wife, he said, was in the last months of her pregnancy and all she had done all morning after reading the article was cry. He blamed the media for playing up stories of this kind and for helping the cause of the victims so much as that of the killers. The film world was particularly upset with the media for implying that the only reason why film people were being targetted was because they already had links with the mafia. They used their money to finance films, the media charge was, and so it was natural that there would be payback time. It has been just over a year since then and in this year it has become clear to any observer of the Mumbai scene that extortion had nothing to do with links in Dubai. Ordinary shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers and just about anyone else have become targets of the extortionists. At one point people who were declaring their real income under P. Chidambaram’s VDIS (voluntary disclosure of income scheme) found themselves facing extortion demands within days of making their disclosures. It was said, ominously, that there were obviously people in the banks who were involved. Extortion and extortion-linked murder have got out of control, according to those who should know, because many of the extortion rackets are run by the Shiv Sena itself. An official, who requested anonymity, says that there was one case in particular in which a senior bureaucrat was attacked by a group of youths demanding hafta. He was taken to hospital by the local Shiv Sena boss who was solicitous in the extreme but let slip the information that, “they would not have attacked you except that they thought when you put your hands in your pockets that you were reaching for a gun”. How had he known who they were or what had happened before the official was knifed? What Mumbai is suffering from is the consequences of electing a political party to power which has a fundamental belief in extra-democratic and extra-judicial methods of functioning. When the Chief Minister himself backs the attacks on cinemas showing Fire and when attacks on the homes of Chhagan Bhujbal, the Opposition leader, and M.F. Hussain are similarly applauded what hope can there be for law and order? So, although the roads may
get built and the waters of the Krishna might get saved
for Maharashtra in the end the impression that the Shiv
Sena leaves is a bad one. For me, personally, the tragedy
lies in missed opportunities. If instead of worrying
about changing names and censoring movies Mr Thakeray had
concentrated on rebuilding this once great city he would,
perhaps, even have been forgiven his goons. But, the city
looks as bad as the Congress left it. Slums, open drains,
the worst living conditions in India and the government
worries about whether lesbianism in a film will destroy
our culture. There is something surreal about the Shiv
Sena. |
The masterminds of Bengal
WHEN the finalist masterminds of the BBC’s Wednesday night programme were transported to Samode in Rajasthan, they could not have asked for a more colourful, more elegant, more historic or more regal site for their contest. As one by one, they crossed over to the famous black chair for their inquisition, to the accompaniment of the sinister opening music by Sravan Datta, they must have found some comfort in the beautifully ornate ceiling of the darbar hall. Nothing could have been more inspiring. I think it was a masterstroke on the part of the producers to shoot the last few episodes of Mastermind India in unusual settings. The semi-finals were held in Neemrana Fort which made a splendid backdrop. To go on a seven-hour bus journey with bad roads and heavy traffic to Samode, a beautifully restored heritage palace in Rajasthan, perched high on a hill, was a different matter. But the producers of The Far Pavilions, as also Jackie Kennedy and Edmund Hillary had found Samode irresistible. So did Siddharta Basu and his colleagues. So, after three careful recess, the Mastermind team transported six truck-loads of equipment all the way from Delhi. It included a generator van in case of fluctuating electricity, another truckload of lighting equipment and a third van with video equipment. The 60-member Mastermind team included such old steadies as Deepak Johri for make-up (constantly and tenderly wiping the sweat off Basu’s brow), experts in multi-cameras, since the BBC format uses four cameras, art director Sanjay Sujitabh and the bustling executive producers, Anita Kaul and Karun Prabhakar. But over and above the technical and production finesse, were the stars themselves. By what seemed to be a remarkable coincidence, all four finalists were Bengalis. Dayita Bira Datta, a school teacher from Dehra Dun, Sabyasachi Majumdar, the youngest finalist, aged 26 and a credit rating analyst, Devangshu Dutta, a 36-year old freelance journalist and stock market analyst (I might mention in passing that his father, Asim Dutta was, together with Lovraj Kumar, one of the first two Rhodes Scholars from India). And lastly, Gautam Ghosh, an urbane, always relaxed business executive from Calcutta. But the Bengali element was not quite as coincidental as it seemed. What with the O’Briens and Partha Mukherji, Calcutta, it seems, has been the quiz capital of India from somewhere around 1970. Two of the four finalists had contested against each other from their student days and two of them are also related. Sabyasachi Majumdar sadly confessed that he had found so little regular quizzing going on in Delhi that he actually had to round up a dozen people to keep in practice. Apart from their prodigious memories, quizzing seems to be a knack. And for those of us present at the finals, their instant responses to some very difficult general knowledge questions took away our breaths. Viewers will have to wait till December 23, when the finals will be telecast at 10 p.m. to get to know the winner. And there will be an additional surprise on December 30 at the same time, when a panel of four celebrities will also be quizzed in more light-hearted fashion by Siddharta Basu. All in all, this has been the best programme from India by the BBC, not least of all because it has opened our eyes to the prodigious intellectual talent in India. Narendra Morar, who had flown down from the BBC in London for the occasion, said some of the questions were much more stiff than for the original masterminds in the UK which is no small tribute to our Indian masterminds. I hope the programme will be revived next year, because the combination, with master quizzer Siddharta Basu, is perfect. One of the points about
the programme which has been particularly interesting is
its choice of questions, which covers an amazing range of
subjects but does not neglect India. Dayita chose the
Conquest of Everest, 1900-1996, for the semis, Subhas
Chandra Bose and the INA, and for the finals, Gerald
Durrell — life and works. Sabyasachi chose Test
cricket between the wars (1919-1939) mammals of India for
the semis and the solar system for the finals. Devangshu
chose opening systems in the game of chess, the flashman
novels of George Macdonald Fraser for the semis and 1971
Indo-Pak war for the finals. Gautam chose the cricketing
career of Don Bradman, Marlon Brando and his films for
the semis and the Indian National Congress (1885-1914)
for the finals. All that one can say at the end is: phew! |
The poor teachers IT is more than four months now since grants-in-aid were recommended by Inspectors of the various divisions, but the D.P.I has not so far seen his way to accord his sanction to these recommendations, with the inevitable result that most of the private schools have not for some time been able to pay full salaries to the members of their staffs. The summer vacation is approaching, but no signs of the sanction are as yet visible. We cannot too strongly condemn this callousness and utter lack of sympathy with the poor teachers on the part of the authorities concerned, and call upon the Punjab government to intervene in the matter. If the delay is due to
their being busy with some scheme involving communal
preference in the award of these grants, even then it is
only fair to notify the fact at an early date, so that
the institutions to be affected by these orders may stop
incurring liabilities which they will not afterwards be
able to discharge. |
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