The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Human rights, US style!

UNCLE Sam the preacher always has a lot of sermonising to do when it comes to dealing with Third World countries like India. But it is not the least bothered about what happens in its own backyard. Officials of the Immigration and Naturalisation Services (INS) gave an object lesson in what constitutes "human rights" to 40 Indian nationals working at a US air force base in San Antonio (Texas) the other day. These computer programmers were not only arrested but also handcuffed and paraded like criminals merely on the suspicion that they did not have valid visa documents. The height of audacity was that among those handcuffed were 10 women, including two pregnant ones. All this despite the fact that none of them offered any sort of resistance. When one of the arrested persons asked the immigration officials to remove his handcuff so that he could use the washroom, he was told that even this could not be allowed because "you may stab me with a pen and flee!" The savageness of it all is too blatant for words. The Indian nationals' plea that all of them had valid documents but there was no question of carrying them on person all the time because these were vital papers and were kept by all of them either at home or in bank lockers also fell on deaf ears. Interestingly, they were released the next day. It is no surprise that some of them are so disgusted that they are not keen to stay further in that country at all.

The officials have not expressed any regret over the incident so far. This is despite the fact that there have been similar incidents in the past as well. Many of those living in the USA have harrowing tales to narrate about how their human rights are violated in various ways. Only last month, an Indian-American priest was arrested and humiliated by the police allegedly for driving a stolen car. On further investigation, the police admitted that the car was not stolen but repossessed by him. At times, such mix-ups can take place because of genuine misunderstanding also. But when this happens mostly to those from other countries, it smacks of racial prejudice. The US authorities can appreciate what it feels like to be thus humiliated only if they ask themselves one question: what would be their reaction if a similar thing happened to US citizens in, say, India. If at all such a hypothetical situation arises, the US Embassy in Delhi can be depended on to move heavens and earth to bring the culprits to book". Now it is for the Indian Embassy to rise to the defence of hapless Indian citizens. Since the Americans would not like the ignominy to be heaped on their citizens, they have no business to target the Indian citizens thus. It is not a question of tit for tat. All that is needed is the practising by the USA of what it preaches to the world ad infinitum.

The Bihar deal

COMPROMISE, by its very definition, is the best possible under the circumstances. And the circumstances within the BJP-led alliance in Bihar are very bad, giving the compromise a bad odour. In Delhi Home Minister Advani armtwisted the Samata, the JD(U) and the Bihar People’s Party to scale down their demands for seats in the coming Assembly election and claimed success. But the glum faces of Mr George Fernandes and party and the impassive faces of Mr Sharad Yadav and company told their own stories. Mr Nitish Kumar was more forthright in denouncing the formula and indicating that there would be “friendly contests” (a euphemism for open sabotage) between the Samata and the JD(U) in several constituencies in north Bihar. Both parties treat the region as their stronghold, where the RJD of Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav also hopes to win most of its seats. In several constituencies there is a strong presence of the CPML, which too is fighting with its electoral partner, the CPI. What this means is that the anti-RJD vote will split three ways if not four, what with the Congress entering the fray seemingly to rebuild the organisation. If that happens the beneficiary might be the RJD, and both the Samata and the JD(U) are unlikely to be unhappy since each wants to cut the other down to its size. In pursuing this suicidal plan, it is possible that they may upset the early electoral calculations of the BJP, particularly in central Bihar. At the grassroots level, bitterness has replaced the hope and enthusiasm witnessed just before the Lok Sabha poll in October-November last year. A senior BJP leader lamented the prolonged wrangling over seat sharing and felt that the supporters of each party may not work or even vote for any other party, in which case fighting under the NDA flag will have no meaning.

Mr Advani formula is novel because no other formula was applicable to the peculiar situation in Bihar. It was not possible to go by the outcome of the previous Assembly election in 1995 because the JD(U) did not exist then and the Samata had just broken away from the Janata Dal (and won seven seats). The arrangement for last year’s parliamentary poll too was unacceptable to JD(U) as it got only seven seats (out of 54) since it was at the mercy of the Samata. So a brand new scheme had to be forged and it is a mish-mash of old ones. The BJP and the Samata got seats on the basis of their share in the Lok Sabha election (29 and 16 respectively) minus four in the case of the former and one in the case of the latter. Since each Lok Sabha seat has six Assembly segments, this works out to 150 and 90 seats. This is a cunning argument to slash the Samata’s original claim for 134 seats. The remaining seats were arbitrarily divided between the JD(U) — 64 — and BPP — 20. True, the BJP itself has shaved its demand from as high as 180 seats. It is this gesture that forced the Samata to climb down and the JD(U) to accept less than 20 per cent of the Assembly strength. But looming menacingly was Mr Laloo Yadav’s decision to contest the election. In popular mind he will head the government if his party wins a majority or comfortably close to it, no matter how vigorously he denies it. That may give an edge to the RJD chances and spell another trouble for the badly split NDA. It was to lessen this that the four parties met for four long hours and clinched a deal. Until now the BJP-led alliance has repeated every pre-election mistake it made in Karnataka. It must be hoping that the verdict is different.

Disaster Down Under

THERE is no need to write the obituary of Indian cricket just because the team led by Sachin Tendulkar, the best batsman in the world, is going through what is consistently called a "bad patch" in the tri-series Down Under. The fact of the matter is that Indian cricket is in robust health going by the performance of Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Vinod Kambli and Saba Karim. Azharuddin began the domestic season with a double century and has been consistent in proving his fitness and hunger for runs in most games he has played so far. His famous "captain's luck" saw him lead the Board President's XI to an emphatic victory in the Wills Trophy final. Jadeja too appears to be in fine nick going by his performance for the North Zone in the Deodhar Trophy game against West Zone. And so is Kambli. He scored a brilliant century for the West Zone. But Jadeja's fielding, in spite of the "shoulder injury" which has kept him out of the Indian team, and run-a-ball score of 90 plus over-shadowed Kambli's performance and set up a thrilling victory for the North Zone. Saba Karim, who appeared for the East Zone in the same tournament, too added to his rating as a worthy wicketkeeper-batsman by scoring a century and some neat work behind the stumps. Who says Indian cricket is gasping for breath? The Indian cricket fans should, in fact, express their gratitude to the national selectors for making the domestic tournaments more exciting than they usually are because of the round-the-year commitments of players representing India. By not picking Azhar, Jadeja, Kambli, Nayan Mongia {he was treated like the plague during his emergency landing in Australia when M.S. K. Prasad got injured} and Saba Karim for either the Test series against Australia or the one-day tournament Down Under involving Australia, Pakistan and India the selectors gave the fans the rare opportunity to actually shake hands with and take the autographs of the stars without being pushed around by overbearing policemen. It is a different matter that in Australia Tendulkar would prefer to bat in all the positions to make up for the missing "middle" and an effective "tail" in the Indian team.

In any case, the tour Down Under has not been as eventless as is being projected by the media. The injury-prone Ajit Agarkar after all established a unique record of five-in-a-row ducks, of which four were first-ball ducks in consecutive innings, in the three-Test series. It is as difficult a record to beat as the three consecutive centuries by Azharuddin on his Test debut. Imagine, Agarkar was to be India's answer to Abdul Razzaq of Pakistan and Andrew Symonds of Australia in the one-day series had injury not forced him to sit out a few games! As far as Tendulkar's leadership is concerned, it should make Ian Botham wonder why he voluntarily gave up the honour of leading England at the prime of his career as the world's leading all-rounder. Few cricket captains have been as generous as Tendulkar has been to his opponents Down Under. Both Wasim Akram and Steve Waugh have been seen laughing all the way to the pavilion after playing India in the tri-series. In the last game against Australia Tendulkar played a spinner, Nikhil Chopra (who was not asked to bowl), on a seamer-friendly pitch and opted to bat first after winning the toss. India got bowled out for 100 runs. In Friday's game against Pakistan he decided to "correct" the mistake by playing Debasish Mohanty (he gave away 76 runs) on a wicket on which Anil Kumble, for the first time in the tournament, was the most economical Indian bowler with figures of 1 for 25. To make up for the past "mistake" Tendulkar invited Pakistan to bat first. So what if statistics show that Indians are poor chasers but simply outstanding in defending even small totals. Kapil Dev won the World Cup in 1983 by defending a modest total against the West Indies, undoubtedly the best cricket team of the period. Even in the current series Javagal Srinath, along with Venkatersh Prasad, raised visions of an improbable victory by sending back half the Australian side for less than 60 runs while defending a modest target of 100. The fact of the matter is that Tendulkar as captain needs 10 other equally talented "dulkars" for taking India to the heights of cricketing glory. However, he has shown time and again that as a player he is capable of becoming Tendulkar + 10 on his own against the best bowling attack anywhere in the world. Evidently Tendulkar is not a Botham to realise that the best player in the world need not be a good leader, specially of a team which is not brimming with talent.

THE KARMAPA RIDDLE
Complications for India
by T. V. Rajeswar

THE sudden arrival of the 17th Karmapa, Ugen Thinley, in India from his traditional Tibetan monastery, Tsurphu, has created a serious diplomatic problem. The arrival of the Dalai Lama in 1959 changed the course of Sino-Indian relations but hopefully the Karmapa’s arrival will not be such a problem.

Buddhism in Tibet goes back to the fifth century A.D. when Buddhist monks and sawants travelled from India and Nepal to Tibet carrying the message. King Song Tsen Gampo who ruled Tibet in the seventh century became a Buddhist but the rule by the priest-kings like the Dalai Lama actually began in the 14th century. The Dalai Lama of the Gelug sect takes precedence over three other sects, including Kagyu of Karmapa which was, in fact, founded in the 11th century, about 300 years prior to the birth of the Gelug sect. Hierarchically, the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and the Karmapa are the foremost, in that order.

After the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa in 1959 and entered Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, he was eagerly welcomed and given almost a royal treatment by Jawaharlal Nehru. The Dalai Lama was often referred to as the God-King and he eventually settled down in Dharamsala. The Dalai Lama’s fight for Tibet has undergone important changes over the years and he is now prepared to accept autonomy, with China handling defence, external affairs and communications. Though China describes Tibet as the Autonomous Region of Tibet, it is not prepared to concede the Dalai Lama’s demand. The American advocacy of the Tibetan cause and the appointment of a coordinator for Tibetan affairs have proved to be irritants. The Dalai Lama who is the 14th, is probably the last Dalai Lama, as he himself once ruefully admitted. In 1986, the Dalai Lama said that Tibetan Buddhism would survive even if the institution of the Dalai Lama was no more. He also stated on a different occasion that his successor, by whatever name, might as well be elected by the people concerned when the time came.

The 16th Karmapa, Rigpai Dorji, had also fled his Tsurphu monastery in 1959 and entered Sikkim and sought asylum and permanent residence there. The Maharaja of Sikkim, Sir Tashi Namgyal and his son Maharajkumar Palden Thondup Namgyal, were both keen to comply with the request of the Karmapa whose residence in the state was considered beneficial and auspicious to Sikkim. The Tibetan affairs are handled by the Government of India which exercises the right to shift the Tibetan refugees to any part of the country. It is, therefore, surprising why the Government of India did not consider it necessary to persuade the Karmapa to shift to some other part of the country instead of Sikkim. However, the Karmapa was allotted a chosen site on the Rumtek hillock just across Gangtok and a palatial monastery has since arisen, with funds pouring in from several parts of the world.

The 16th Karmapa died of cancer in the USA in 1981.

Traditionally every reincarnate high Lama like the Dalai Lama and the Karmapa left a will indicating where his reincarnated successor would be found and what would be the signs they should look for. The 16th Karmapa apparently left no will, but a few years later it was claimed that he had left a will secreted in an amulet which was found later. The search for the reincarnate Lama began in 1992 and eventually the 17th Karmapa was located in Lhathok village in Khan province of Tibet. His name was Ugen Thinley alias Apo Gaga who was born in June 24, 1985. The reincarnate 17th Karmapa was taken with due ceremony to Tsurphu and the Chinese government was duly informed. Tai Situ Rinpoche was one of the regents who played an active role in the entire process and he was known to be close to the Chinese. On June 27, 1992, the Chinese government announced its approval to Thinley Dorji as the 17th Karmapa. While making the announcement the Chinese government emphasised that the Karmapas of the past had always paid tributes to the Chinese emperor of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and the Karmapas had received imperial titles many times.

The Dalai Lama at Dharamsala was approached by the new Karmapa’s close associate like Situ Rinpoche for his blessings. As per the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, a Karmapa does not require the blessings of the Dalai Lama, but apparently the 17th Karmapa’s friends thought that it would be a good idea to secure the cooperation of the Dalai Lama in view of his pre-eminent position among the Tibetan refugees in India. The Dalai Lama’s approval was notified on August 22, 1992.

To return to the arrival of the 17th Karmapa, enquiries have established that the Karmapa and his entourage from Tsurphu to Kathmandu and further on to Dharamsala encountered no problem, and in Tibet itself they were facilitated by the Chinese authorities. The Karmapa is now staying in a Kagyu monastery near Dharamsala. A request for permanent asylum is most likely to be made very soon. The Government of India will have to take a considered view of the request and initiate appropriate action. The Chinese reaction in the matter is on a low key and they have talked about the observance of the Panchsheel which includes non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. It will be noted that the Chinese have not condemned the Karmapa for his so-called fleeing Tibet nor have the Chinese asked for his return to Tibet. On the other hand, a Chinese spokesman said that the Karmapa had gone to collect some books and artefacts. Rumtek in Sikkim is the authentic seat, next to Tsurphu, of the Karmapa school. Rumtek is bound to be the ultimate destination of the 17th Karmapa. In 1992 itself the Karmapa’s associates had mentioned that the young Karmapa would be taken to Rumtek later for higher education.

Here comes the major problem. Samar Rinpoche, who is opposed to Tai Situ Rinpoche had earlier discovered another reincarnate Lama called Thinley Thai Dorji whom he was trying to install at Rumtek. This was challenged by most followers of the Kagyu sect particularly after the Dalai Lama recognised Thinley Dorji as the 17th Karmapa. There is also a third Karmapa who is supported by another regent. The whole system of reincarnation is riddled with mysticism which permits even reincarnation with retrospective effect. In the case of officially recognised 17th Karmapa himself, while the 16th Karmapa passed away in 1981, his reincarnation took place in 1985 and the 16th Karmapa’s soul was apparently in suspended animation.

Whatever may be the validity of other claimants, after the Dalai Lama’s approval and the Chinese government’s authentification, Ugen Thinley is the official 17th Karmapa. If he is allowed to stay in India he would like to go to Rumtek sooner or later. Sikkim is a sensitive area, and its merger in India in 1975 is still questioned by the Chinese. Since the 17th Karmapa is a Chinese-approved candidate and apparently came to India with China’s blessings his presence in Rumtek in Sikkim could lead to serious political and diplomatic complications.

Western nations are making a hue and cry about human rights in China and more so in Tibet. Insofar as India is concerned, it has its hands full with the problems of Pakistan and the North-East and does not need to add one more. The Dalai Lama’s presence itself is a diplomatic burden and by permitting the Karmapa to stay on, India would be making the situation more complicated. The government should therefore, carefully consider the issues involved and take a correct decision.

The Punjabi century
by K. K. Khullar

A STUDY of the last 10 Punjabi centuries will reveal that while the morning of every century in Punjab brought misery its evening brought some sort of succour; the worst was the noon time. Let us unfold the pages of the long story of Punjab right upto the partition in 1947.

Exactly one thousand years ago a 27-year-old soldier of fortune, whose sword measured longer than his own height, pledged to teach Punjab a lesson. His name was Mahmud of Ghazni whose father Subaktgin, a twice-sold slave, was defeated by the Hindu Raja of the Shahia dynasty whose empire extended much beyond Ghazni.

Mahmud taught Punjab a lesson not once but 17 times. Each time he trampled Punjab he took with him large stocks of Punjabi wheat, its women, also its scholars who were sold to work as slaves to the neo-rich denizens of Ghazni. According to Alberuni who accompanied the Lashkar of Mahmud on several occasions: “The Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions and like a tale of old in the mouths of the people”. Mahmud could not retain Punjab for long. Punjab became independent because of its sheer resilience. The evening of the century brought peace but was disturbed about a hundred years later.

This time it was another soldier called Shahauddin Ghori who put an end to the empire of Ghazni and marched to Lahore and Delhi where he was defeated many times by Prithviraj Chauhan, who in his chivalry freed Ghori each time he fell at his feet. But ultimately Ghori triumphed. When Prithviraj asked him to follow his example and set him free, Ghori blinded him and dragged him all the way to Ghor. According to Chand Bardei Ghori was killed by the backshot of Prithviraj’s arrow when the blind Rajput was asked to display his archery to please Ghori. And it was a master stroke. Ghori also could not subdue Punjab for long. He was content with Mahmud-type booty.

During the Sultanate of Dilli Punjab was ruled by the army. Late in the 14th century Timur brought death and devastation. His destination was Dilli and his route was through Punjab, which witnessed scenes of unparalleled wilderness adorned with pyramids of skulls of those he had killed. Although it took many years for Delhi to wake up from the “sleep of death”, Punjab revived and faced the next invader, Babur, five times in the early part of 16th century. The evening of this century brought some peace in the days of Akbar but the rule of later Mughals was the worst in Punjab when the people were treated like animals.

It was only in the evening of the 18th century that the wheel of history reversed and Ranjit Singh became the master of Punjab. During his rule capital punishment was abolished, shooting a singing nightingale or a sailing swan was forbidden by law. But he died too soon and his unworthy successors handed over Punjab to the English on a platter. The British ruled Punjab like a slave colony, hanged the freedom fighters, deported them indiscriminately till in 1947 they partitioned the country.

Punjab witnessed the greatest bloodshed and the worst trek of humanity in history. But a new Punjab was born on the ashes of the old. With the dawn of the new century, Punjab is looking forward to a new era of peace and development to enable India to be renamed as golden sparrow.

New steps needed to control defection
by Ram Krishan Gupta

INDIAN polity is at the crossroads today. It is like a rudderless ship having no destination, and moving on unchartered routes of the sea. Corruption, defection, casteism, communalism and regionalism have eaten into the vitals of it, and are mainly responsible for defection, which is the root cause of corruption. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to get rid of this disease of defection. This is possible only if the required amendments are effected in the Constitution of India so as to ensure that there are not more than two or three political parties in the country as is the case in the USA and the UK.

Defection is not only destroying the moral fabric of the Indian polity but is also responsible for frequent mid-term polls, affecting the national exchequer adversely.

It is, therefore, time for all the concerned to sit together, apply their mind and study the ground realities and do something to save this great nation from any more degeneration and catastrophy.

The following steps should be taken without delay in the interest of the public and the welfare of the country:

* In the matter of appointment of Governors, High Commissioners, Ambassadors and other such high posts we should follow the principle of honesty and integrity, not caring for the party affiliation.

* Defeated candidates, whosoever they may be, should not be appointed Governors. They should not be given any other place of public importance. Jawaharlal Nehru followed and acted on this principle strictly. It was the greatest folly to appoint the candidates defeated in the recent Lok Sabha elections as Governors. This has lowered our image in the eyes of the public.

* I may also mention here that for discipline is the need of the hour in the ranks of the ministry. Strong action should be taken against those ministers who openly express their views against the government’s policy and the minimum programme adopted by the ministry. Strict action should be taken against those ministers who openly criticise one another and the policy of the government.

* It is my considered view that defection is a dreaded disease. It breeds corruption. The so-called leaders and ministers who, not caring for the cause, engineer corruption for their selfish ends should be discarded and exposed so that they may not be able to deceive and cheat the public. We should create an atmosphere in which no Aya Ram and Gaya Ram may dare to contest elections anywhere . These Aya Rams and Gaya Rams are the curse upon our society. They should be exposed completely.

A strong and viable anti-defection front should be set up with its units throughout the country. We may call it by the name of Anti-Defection Front or League. Selfless volunteers with devotion to the cause should be enrolled. Their first task should be to go to the area of their influence and organise meetings to acquaint the voters and the public at large with the evil influence of this dreaded disease on our body politic.

In addition to this, there is great need for urgent reforms in the election law. I make a few suggestions here. It is generally seen that the legislators not belonging to any party are the main cause for the spread of the disease of defection. Our electoral system should be amended in such a way that nobody may dare to contest elections as an Independent candidate by heavily enhancing the security amount. He may also be asked to file an affidavit that if elected he will not join any party.

It is essential that an independent commission should be set up by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, consisting of eminent jurists and retired judges of the apex court to deal with all defection cases. Under no circumstances should defection cases and disputes be referred to the Speaker of a legislature.

The 10th Schedule of the Constitution relating to defection should be amended in such a way that a legislator, whether he is a member of Parliament or a state Assembly, if he changes his party, must be disqualified and removed from the membership of the House concerned.

He should also not be allowed to contest elections for 10 years. All the ifs and buts mentioned in the 10th Schedule should be dropped. It is immaterial to find out why he left the party. But as soon as he changes his party he should resign from the membership of the House forthwith. If he does not do so he should be removed and disqualified to contest elections. It will not be out of place to mention here that restrictions should be imposed on the political parties approved by the Election Commission not to admit such legislators in their fold.

There should be no scope for a distinction between defection and split, whatever the reason. Therefore, no split should be recognised whatsoever it may be.

There is also need to amend the present defection clauses, specially Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 6. These clauses should be redrafted in a simple way that he who leaves his original party and decides to join another one, whether he is an Independent or belongs to any party, automatically ceases to be a member of the House concerned.

We must adhere to the basic principles of honesty, integrity and secularism, and keep defectors at bay. The need of the hour is that the existing defection legislation should be suitably amended so that the entry of defectors to either Parliament or Legislative Assemblies is banned once and for all.

To check the dirty game of defection, it is essential that it is banned completely. My suggestions can be concretised thus:

(a) No defector should be allowed to contest an election.

(b) The present law of defection requires immediate amendments as suggested above.

(c) No political party should be recognised if it does not secure at least 20 seats in the Lok Sabha or a state Assembly.

(d) An enquiry commission should be appointed to go into causes of defection, and a list of defectors since 1952 should be prepared.

(e) Election rules should be made so strict that Independent candidates may not be able to contest elections easily like party candidates.

(The writer is a former MP).

Dealing with the reform backlash
by P. Raman

*Port workers’ indefinite strike paralyses work at all 11 major ports.

* UP electricity employees go on indefinite strike with the support of all national trade unions. Power workers in neighbouring states observe work-to-rule in support.

* Jammu & Kashmir government employees’ strike crosses five weeks.

* Rajasthan government employees strike is nearing six weeks.

* Early this month, petroleum staff observed a one-day strike.

* Postal workers went on a one-day protest on the issue of the Talwar panel report and are preparing for a nationwide strike in March next.

* Telecom staff threatens to strike on February 15 against TRAI’s partiality to the private sector.

* One-day strike in PSUs on February 5 and Bharat bandh if talks with the Prime Minister fails. TUs representing two million workers discussed the PSU problems on January 12.

* Bank and insurance staff up in arms. Consultations in progress for direct action.

* Indian Airlines staff threatens direct action against the lowering of the retirement age from 60 to 58 years by a ‘truncated’ board without proper agenda.

* In Tamil Nadu, the state government averts a transport workers’ strike by conceding their demands last minute.

THE New Year has heralded an unusually large number of strikes and direct action by the labour unions. In the prevailing reform mode, the general tendency will be to dismiss such moves as spoiling the economic reform and asking ruthless measures to suppress the protest. So far, the large-scale arrests, resort to draconian ESMA and NSA, dismissals and widespread use of Army and Navy have failed to break the strikers’ morale.

Even if the strikes fizzle out, in the current fluid political cauldron no government in India can wish away the aftermath. The issue is far beyond what we call the selfish motives of a few wicked trade union leaders. Neither should it be tackled purely as a law and order problem. For, the Vajpayee government at the Centre and the affected state governments will soon realise that the sudden spurt of protests and direct actions are symptoms of a malaise which should be dealt with utmost caution and political sagacity. It has to be viewed from the stand point of an accumulated reform backlash and its severe political fallout. Any delay in course correction is bound to cost heavily for the parties in power.

This is for the first time in the past decade and half that such determined all-India strikes take place with so much of ferocity. The workers response to have surprised even the most hardcore trade unionist. The INTUC, normally shy of direct action, and the pro-RSS BMS, have also been ruffled into action by sheer pressure of the employees. For the agitated public sector workers, it won’t matter much even if they lose in the course of a strike as the contemplated restructuring would in any way lead them to doom. Sadly, no one from the government side has made any serious efforts to remove such misgivings among the workers. In most countries, privatisation and restructurings have been affected after extensive dialogue with the labour to make it less painful.

Instead, what aggravates the situation is the way such former trade unionists like Rangarajan Kumaramangalam resorting to the same highhanded methods tried by Indira Gandhi during the pre-emergency railway strike. George Fernandes, then a working class champion, should know how the striking workers were evicted by the CRP forces from the railway quarters. Rangarajan’s UP Chief Minister has now declared that the harassed ‘public is welcome to tackle the striking workers’. Luckily, prompt intervention by the BJP’s central leadership prevented the resultant group clashes in UP. The BJP in Himachal Pradesh had learnt a bitter lesson when Shanta Kumar’s highhanded action against the state employees had led to the party’s rout in the subsequent election.

Though the strikers for their own reasons keep off the politicians, its political implications are already being felt. This will make the problem more complex. In UP, it is widely known that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s men have been reassuring the strikers that they would be taken back if he returned to power. His sympathisers have been taking an active role in the power men’s strike. In Rajasthan, the Congress Chief Minister has openly charged the BJP with encouraging the 37-day-old strike by the government employees. For the time being such support is covert. But at local public meetings, even those political parties who are committed to the market-driven economy and accepting generous funds from the business, have begun talking of workers’ suffering due to reform. Such outbursts against the anti-poor aspect of the reform have contributed to the changing national mood.

Until recently, the political parties, to an extent even the Left, have been extremely hesitant to go against the post-liberalisation public mood. There has been so much euphoria about the impending economic miracles. At the outset, Manmohan Singh had sought just two years to transform India into a prosperous industrial power. Thus no political party dared to be seen as critical of the new experiment for sheer fear of facing the middle class ire.

Hence for nine years, expression of discontentment with low wages, layoffs and retrenchment was considered blasphemy. Anything anti-reform was anti-national. It is now apparent that the cultivated contempt for those who raise collective demands, the mindset of the 90s, is gradually giving way to affirmative action by the organised sections. In some cases, even the marketing executives who had failed to meet the sales targets and had to lose job, have joined the TU ranks. Narasimha Rao, initiator of the reform package, had faced a rural backlash in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh elections. He had tried to fine-tune it with a ‘human face’.

Vajpayee seems to be facing a bigger backlash as he begins to enforce the ‘second generation’ of reforms. With the improved majority after the last election and less interference from his own party, Vajpayee has been going ahead with it at a breakneck speed. His changed style of governance and total reliance on his small group of apparatchik make it really difficult for him to see the ground realities. L.K. Advani had always encouraged his established system of rapport with the ranks and looked for regular feedback. The sooth-sayers around, the business-dominated economic advisory council and the media have all tended to create an impression that the Prime Minister could easily ignore the ‘noises’ being made by the disgruntled sections.

The issues involved are too complex to be resolved at a meeting between Vajpayee and trade union leaders. Political rivals, especially the regional chieftains like Mulayam Singh Yadav, are waiting in wings to capitalise on the growing frustration among the poorer sections. Had it been purely a question of subversion of the reform by a few irresponsible vested interests in the public sector, it could have easily been ignored. But the dissatisfaction due to the deterioration of the living conditions of a majority of the people is more than what it looks to be. Unlike the PSU staff, those in the unorganised sector have no way of airing their ire. Even these silent sections had occasionally displayed their voting powers to strike deadly blows to the offenders.

What is being done in the name of the ‘second generation’ of reform in the past few months have apparently displeased new sections. A silent murmur of protest is raging among the hapless ranks of retired persons against the repeated reductions in interest rates on small saving schemes on which their life depended. For the large sections who look to the relatively safer small savings schemes, reduction of interests is as bad as tax severe hikes. Unlike in developed countries, all this is being done in India without providing any social security net to the old. Moreover, the household sector’s contribution has been a major factor in the economic buoyancy.

The Government chose to hurt these sections mainly to reduce its own interest payment burden and to provide cheaper credit for the industrialists. Whatever its economic justification, the angry housewives and the old ardently feel that they are being sacrificed to please the high and mighty. In the name of uniform sale tax, prices of a large number of items have been suddenly raised. The recent decision allowing free imports of almost all items have sent shockwaves among the small and tiny units. Barring the ‘knowledge’ and information technology sectors, this will heighten the already worsened employment position. The new growth paradigm itself ignores the increasing ranks of the poor. Joblessness is inherent in a concept which relies on extreme competition, productivity and downsizing.

The situation is more precarious than what was thought to be. Several recent studies have made the startling revelation that during the reform period, the percentage of those below the poverty line has actually gone up. The latest National Sample Survey shows that during 1991-98 (reform period) rural poverty rose by 3.42 per cent and urban poverty declined just by 1 per cent. This not only reveals the deteriorating situation in rural India but the increasing rural-urban divide — some thing potentially very explosive.

Another study by a planning commission member showed that as against a fall of 10 per cent in poverty in 1980s, incidence of poverty has actually increased by 9 per cent during the reform period. Though some pro-reform economists even doubt the reliability of the 54th round of the NSS, it is widely believed that the frequent cut in the poverty alleviation schemes, rural programmes and the shabby treatment to the public distribution system may have contributed to this situation. Thus the sudden spurt of protests should be seen more as a symptom of a deeper malaise.