E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Jharkhand and industry
EVEN before the new state of Jharkhand (or Vananchal) is finally carved out of Bihar, there is a great demand for landed property in Ranchi, particularly from industrialists. This is because Ranchi is expected to acquire the status of the capital of Jharkhand, having the maximum mineral wealth of the country and hence a tremendous potential for growth. 

UP panchayat polls
IF the Bharatiya Janata Party’s claims about the results of the zila panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh are correct, Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta should have no problem in leading the party to an emphatic victory in the more important assembly elections next year. 

OPINION

Okinawa summit’s vague commitments
by S. Sethuraman
THE Okinawa Summit of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations (including Russia) was billed as the one to set the agenda for the 21st century with Japan doing its utmost to be the lodestar of Asian resurgence. 

Tourist haven now polluted hell
By Frederick Noronha
CALANGUTE, a picturesque fishing village that became one of the biggest tourist finds in Goa when the hippies landed here in the sixties, is today a stinking hell faced with myriad problems.

MIDDLE

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Free fall of rupee 

FOR some days now the rupee has been weakening against the dollar, touching a new low of Rs 45.56 to a dollar on Monday, but strangely the RBI has not done anything to reverse the trend, other than to suck out liquidity. It is a major policy shift and if the central bank persists with the new stance, the Indian currency may drift lower by about 5 per cent by the yearend. (Incidentally, this has been the historic rate of depreciation during the nineties and it was slightly more than 4 per cent last year.) It is the RBI’s hands-off policy that has triggered the latest “panic buying” of dollars by importers. Until now either the RBI itself or one or more nationalised banks would enter the market and sell dollars to stabilise the rupee. During the past decade when the inflow of the dollar was steady and substantial (more than $16 billion during the past four years) and the demand for it was stagnant in the absense of a surge in imports, the RBI had the enviable task of pumping in rupees to buy the foreign currency. That way it ensured that the parity remained within a narrow band and did not lead to the rupee appreciating against the dollar. Later it began entering the market to maintain the value of the rupee at what it thought was the target level and also to douse down undue volatility. In fact, on July 21 it took three strong initiatives to prevent a steep fall by raising the bank rate, increasing the CRR (cash reserve ratio) and tightening the refinancing facility. The combined effect was to nudge the currency above the Rs 45-to-a-dollar mark. Since the beginning of this month the RBI has virtually withdrawn from the market and allowed the rupee to find its own parity. This is one of the important factors in the continuing erosion of the rupee value.

A study by the NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) has found that the RBI’s actions are a key factor, if not the decisive one, factor in currency fluctuations. Other factors being a stable policy which ensures a stable currency parity. It is not the same as an unchanging price equation but the absence of a sudden fluctuation and market disruption. A higher inflation rate also weakens the currency as does a huge trade deficit. Both these aspects are under reasonable or total control. Inflation is at slightly more than 6 per cent but current account deficit is well below 2 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product), which is both low and easily manageable. Thus it is the RBI’s stand-off policy that is fuelling nervous market sentiments and forcing importers to buy up all the dollars they can and the exporters to delay repatriating their earnings. There is a third angle: the dollar is gaining against all currencies. Since the Indian trade is by and large conducted in dollar terms, the cost of imports goes up every time the dollar value inches up. It is happening again, adding to the pressure on the rupee. There is a spinoff benefit; the rupee has gone up in value against the euro and the yen and is steady against the pound sterling. The latest RBI instructions say it all: importers should indent in the euro or the yen, and not the dollar. 

Jharkhand and industry

EVEN before the new state of Jharkhand (or Vananchal) is finally carved out of Bihar, there is a great demand for landed property in Ranchi, particularly from industrialists. This is because Ranchi is expected to acquire the status of the capital of Jharkhand, having the maximum mineral wealth of the country and hence a tremendous potential for growth. Almost every industrialist with his base in Bihar wants to set up a unit in the new state and have an address in Ranchi if he already does not have one. According to reports from Patna, some of the industrialists in Bihar want to shift to Jharkhand lock, stock and barrel. There are two specific reasons for the likely exodus of industry from what has come to be known as Lalooland. One, with the creation of Jharkhand, poor Bihar will be deprived of its mineral-rich southern districts. And this means that Jharkhand will have 90 per cent of the country's coal deposits, 40 per cent copper reserves, 22 per cent iron-ore, 90 per cent mica mines and much of the bauxite and manganese wealth. Most of Bihar's hydroelectric power projects will have gone under the control of Jharkhand as soon as it becomes a reality. It will be the worst situation for Bihar. It will lose not only crores of rupees as royalty from the mines but also crores in sales tax because of a sharp decline in business activity. Bihar will be left with its flood-prone and drought-prone areas and the people who have very little purchasing power. The people with a reasonable level of purchasing power will cease to be the residents of Bihar. Being concentrated in Jamshedpur, Ranchi and other areas of South Bihar, they will find themselves in Jharkhand. In the estimate of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President, Mr Arun Bharat Ram, Jharkhand will be the "model industrial state" of India. Why should any entrepreneur then stay on in Bihar whose industrial future is totally bleak?

The second reason for "the flight of business" from Bihar is the ruthless taxation policy of the Rabri Devi government remote-controlled by Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav. There is a highly discouraging business environment in Bihar. Its unimaginably high tax rates have been crippling all kinds of commercial activity. As against this, the business class believes that the Jharkhand government will definitely have lower rates of sales tax and other levies to woo traders and industrialists. Owing to the tax problem in Bihar the necessaries of life there may be at least 4 per cent costlier than in Jharkhand. This may lead to an acute shortage of foodgrains and other essential items in Bihar. A higher profit margin in Jharkhand will drive away most of such supplies from Bihar to the new state. The moral of the entire story is that any state that treats its wealth-generating class in a shabby manner will reel under poverty in this age of competitive economy and liberalisation.

UP panchayat polls

IF the Bharatiya Janata Party’s claims about the results of the zila panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh are correct, Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta should have no problem in leading the party to an emphatic victory in the more important assembly elections next year. Who can argue with the BJP leadership in UP which refuses to see the writing on the wall? The fact of the matter is that the party has not yet recovered from the after-effects of the revolt against the central leaders by Mr Kalyan Singh. Of course, it can always be argued that Mr Kalyan Singh is primarily responsible for destroying the party. Instead of going down with the ship, which had developed major leaks because of his tardy handling, Mr Kalyan Singh chose to swim ashore and float his own party. Neither Mr Ram Prakash Gupta nor other leaders of the UP BJP can be expected to undo the damage done to the party by the former Chief Minister. An honest assessment of the election of chairpersons of zila panchayats would give both the BJP and the Congress plenty to worry about. As in Bihar so in UP, the process of Mandalisation seems to have irrevocably changed the political equations in what would continue to be an important state to control even after the creation of Uttaranchal. The real battle for political supremacy would continue to be fought between the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Bahujan Samaj Party of Ms Mayawati. Had they not fallen out with each other, the plight of the BJP and the Congress would have been worse. It was only logical that the candidates belonging to the two Mandal parties got elected as chairpersons because they had in any case gained control of most of the zila panchayats in the June elections. However, since panchayat elections are not covered by the anti-defection laws money may have played a role in causing upsets in some zila panchayats.

Be that as it may, when it comes to fixing elections there are few practitioners of the trade in politics who can match the literal resourcefulness of Mr Sanjay Singh. When his wits are pitted against the clueless leaders in the Congress, he is usually at his craftiest best. This time he used his skills in influencing electoral verdicts to get even with none other than Congress President Sonia Gandhi for making him lick the dust in Amethi during the Lok Sabha elections last year. It was a double humiliation for him because he is from the former ruling family of Amethi. He fielded Ms Amita Singh from Sultanpur, which is part of the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. He ensured the defeat of the Congress not only in Sultanpur but also in neighbouring Rae Bareli. Capt Satish Sharma, a close friend of the Gandhi family, who represents Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha, personally supervised the campaign in both the prestigious constituencies. Therefore, he would have a lot of explaining to do for the drubbing the Congress received at the hands of the BJP in the territory under his personal charge. But the Congress is no longer a party which believes in the principle of accountability. The dissidents may cause some embarrassment to Capt Sharma, but so long as he continues to enjoy the confidence of 10 Janpath he need not worry about being reprimanded for messing up the campaign in Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s constituency as also his own. In any case, if Capt Sharma should be made to pay for the Sultanpur-Rae Bareli fiasco, Mr Salman Khurshid, who was sent to UP for reviving the Congress, should be rapped on the knuckles for the poor showing of the Congress in the entire state. Out of 70 zila panchayats the Congress managed to win only from Lalitpur. According to a survey, if assembly elections were held today in the state the BJP would slip to the third spot behind the Samajwadi Party and the BSP. It shows marginal improvement in the political fortunes of the Congress. The prediction about the BJP may prove correct. But the Congress may become an extinct party going by its performance in the panchayat chiefs elections.

Haryana’s growth strategy
Factors behind paradigm shift
by Surinder K. Singla

A DEVELOPMENT strategy must be aimed at facilitating the transformation of society in identifying the barriers to potential catalysts for change. Development represents a movement from the traditional ways of thinking to more modern ways. The recent policy announcements, particularly in the areas of education and the IT industry, by the Haryana Government, examined in the light of this postulate, are amazingly fresh and in sharp contrast to the old political philosophy of the Indian National Lok Dal.

When Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, the third generation of Mr Devi Lal’s clan, hailed the new education policy announced by the Haryana Government and his younger brother had a brief jaunt to the IT city of Hyderabad, it gave me a moment to reflect and ponder. Both of them are elected representatives. It made me have a close look at both the education policy and the IT policy being pursued and also a look back in time.

At the recent Information Technology Ministers’ Conference, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said that IT holds the potential to empower people in the true sense of the term. While being honest in admitting that he was not very familiar with this new generation technology, he nonetheless acknowledged that the traditional crafts of governance, commerce, publishing, entertainment and creativity were being redefined by IT. He indeed meant much more than the words.

It is really interesting to examine whether this paradigm shift comes from the heart of Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who is deeply rooted to his father’s crusade that the subsidisation of agriculture and higher procurement prices for farm produce are the main components of his or his party’s political agenda. Mr Devi Lal, a doyen of Indian politics, who has been in the political scene for the past 70 years, coined mass political slogans which captured the imagination of India’s rural peasantry and others. The path of his political journey not only went through subsidising agriculture and getting higher procurement prices but also getting farmers pension in old age and waiving of rural loans. The efficacy of this dosage soon became an example for all Indian rural politicians to follow the prescription. It would not be wrong to say that Mr Devi Lal was one single exception who not only mobilised the peasantry in his state but also gave them wings to acquire political leadership for the ultimate empowerment of the rural population. Mr Om Prakash Chautala later took upon himself the task of introducing further versions of sops like free power to the farm sector and provoking the peasantry not to pay the arrears of electricity, if not waived otherwise.

The politics of empowerment of this kind, however, has its own limitations. Such enormous subsidies and free economic services as power, etc, cannot be sustained indefinitely by any kind of surpluses in the budget. In any case everybody is aware that the Indian budget, whether prepared by the Centre or a state is too frugal to have any place for such surpluses.

One cannot, however, at the same time dismiss the positive impact of these policies in making our march towards self-reliance on the food front and the overall growth of the agriculture sector. It is also noteworthy that the state leadership chose to invest heavily in infrastructure like irrigation and supporting financial institutions like cooperative banks. With the blending of these policies of subsidisation of agricultural inputs with higher procurement prices, coupled with the investment of a major chunk of state funds in the infrastructure in rural areas, it brought a revolutionary growth in agricultural produce.

In the past two decades, however, these policies have not contributed to the country’s growth as much as in its early phases. Perhaps reaching a stage of plateau, all these policies became counterproductive and created an unsustainable fiscal deficit. Agricultural prosperity failed to tackle the deep-rooted problems of poverty and deprivation in the rural sector itself. One could argue that the spread of agricultural prosperity was not evenly distributed since only a very small segment of farmers really enjoyed the benefits of the Green Revolution. All in all, we witnessed that there was no significant improvement in the quality of life in rural India.

The pressures of an availability of resources from the budget and a serious crunch of resources available with the state governments have thus forced the leadership in most of the states to look beyond the present policies. The relevance of policy shift lies here.

Mr Chandrababu Naidu, a pioneer, who took the lead is a shining example. He has not only reintroduced a higher tariff for the agriculture sector but also trimmed the subsidy support to the PDS programme. By abolishing the prohibition policy and having initiated a new set of initiatives, focusing on new investment in the power sector, village growth and irrigation, he has put in a mechanism to ensure a continuous increase in agricultural production in the countryside. Such policies in the beginning did face a strong protest from the Opposition. However, the successful implementation of these policies resulting in an enhanced growth rate demonstrates that people are willing to follow and vote for them. Mr Chandrababu Naidu’s new experiments in creating more wealth in the rural sector, coupled with bringing villages into the national mainstream, will undoubtedly have a revolutionary impact on empowering the people of the rural areas. Similar policy changes are noticeable in Karnataka under the leadership of Mr S.M. Krishna and in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Mr Digvijay Singh.

Similarly, Haryana, the focus of this study, which stretched the politics of populism to its extreme extent, could not nonetheless end deprivation and poverty of the rural population. While one may concede that agricultural growth was phenomenal, the policies of land reforms as also no investment in the non-agricultural sectors in the rural areas such as businesses allied to agriculture — dairying, vegetable cultivation, etc — limited the commercialisation of farming in the state. India’s land reforms remained a distant dream for landless families in rural India and whatever distribution took place to help the landless, it remained unviable. It neither created an equitable society nor produced any surplus in the rural areas. In fact, it limited the growth of commercial agriculture that could compete in a global environment under the WTO regime. The single-most potent reason for this malady — the small and marginal farmers in rural Haryana — suffered perpetual indebtedness and the entrepreneurial energy of state’s farmers got dissipated.

These realities in the rural areas are striking reminders of the fact that the present agricultural policy will not only be inadequate but, if immediate solutions are not found, also alarming. This realisation having dawned on the political minds, the inheritors of Mr Devi Lal’s mantle are lauding the new education and IT policies of the government.

The main features of the education policy have it that the state is committed to increasing public/private investments by 10 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010; there will be not only universalisation of education but also technical education, and computer education will be available particularly to the rural population of Haryana. May be, this ambitious policy programme, which will help build the human capital resource in rural Haryana, is the first major step in the direction of development at a faster pace.

The second area where information technology is introduced with numerous incentives aims at effective e-governance besides accelerating the pace of development. The Information Technology Initiative Fund has been created with a corpus of Rs 10 crore to promote the IT sector. A corpus of Rs 5 crore has been created for setting up an Indian Institute of Information Technology at Gurgaon and to make it operational quickly. Also, an ultra-modern cyber city is planned over an area near Indira Gandhi International Airport. It is being seen as a major source of employment opportunities for five lakh persons, intended to generate Rs 15,000 crore for the economy of the state. The laudable aim is to make Haryana a model IT state.

The sudden interest shown by Mr Om Prakash Chautala in new areas of growth, which have the potential to make Haryana a top state in the country, is a significant policy shift to bring about diversification and modernisation of the economy. Every developmental policy everywhere finds opposition at first. Haryana is no exception to this. One only hopes the state leadership remains on course.

The writer, a well-known economic commentator, is a former member of Parliament.

Okinawa summit’s vague commitments
by S. Sethuraman

THE Okinawa Summit of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations (including Russia) was billed as the one to set the agenda for the 21st century with Japan doing its utmost to be the lodestar of Asian resurgence. In reality, there was little of promise for the poor two-thirds of the world whether in greater access to markets or larger development financing that would help them reduce poverty and increase their share in the global economy.

The Group, after 25 years of dominance over the world’s economic and financial systems, resolved to “continue to exercise leadership” into the new century, hardly recognising that large emerging economies could not be excluded from global decision-making, whatever their own weight in output and trade and entrenched positions in international financial institutions.

Russia was accommodated in the G-7 in the post-Cold War era more on the basis of its being a nuclear super power, though in economic terms it was treated as a developing country. At Okinawa, the new Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin, made an impressive debut, fresh from his strategic talks with Chinese and North Korean leaders, and did not fail to convey shared concerns over the proposed US National Missile Defence system.

Nevertheless, he and President Clinton agreed on furthering their joint efforts to effect reductions in strategic arms and on non-proliferation, and to ensure early implementation of the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty). All eight nations at the summit called on India and Pakistan to resume dialogue and strengthen non-proliferation and disarmament with concrete measures, including the signing of the CTBT.

The Russian economy, supported by the IMF in recent years, has made a recovery since 1999 with industrial expansion and a stronger current account surplus with exports of higher-priced oil. But in Okinawa Russia did not apparently make headway on relief for its Cold War debt of $ 38 billion owed to bilateral creditors (the Paris Club). Nor did the richer nations do much to break the logjam in delivering the much-trumpeted Cologne Debt Initiative of 1999 to provide “deeper, broader and faster” debt relief.

The Okinawa Summit (July 21-23) simply took note of the “progress” of the Initiative under which debt relief is made conditional on the heavily indebted poor countries undertaking a reform and poverty reduction strategy and establishing a track record of successfully implementing economic and social reforms. Some of the major countries are also yet to make the resources available for the implementation of the HIPC Initiative

Against the background of a steep decline in the flows of official development assistance (ODA) in recent years and the improving fiscal position of both US and European economies, G-7 leaders did not come up with any offer of increasing aid flows but only committed themselves to make ODA (at present lowest levels) “effective” in support of the countries which make efforts to tackle poverty. For the least developed countries, the leaders agreed to untie aid from January, 2002.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s plight was totally ignored at Okinawa despite the alarming resource gaps in a vast region with low levels of income, savings and investment and insignificant flows of private capital. Unfavourable trading conditions over the years have depressed the export earnings of most primary producers in Africa.

A recent UNCTAD study called for a substantial increase in official flows to $ 20 billion a year to give a big push to African economies over a decade to promote sustained growth. Such order of assistance, it said, would allow domestic savings and external private flows to gradually replace official flows.

Despite the fiasco at Seattle last year, the industrial nations have renewed the call for a new round of WTO trade negotiations with an “ambitious and inclusive agenda”, and reiterated their position on bringing social and environmental policies within the ambit of negotiations in the new round which, they say, should be launched during 2000. The communique has also urged international financial institutions to incorporate social and core labour standards into their policy dialogue with member-countries and emphasised the importance of cooperation between the WTO and the ILO on “social dimensions” of globalisation and trade liberalisation.

Games at twilight
by Arvinder

MY father has been an ardent sports lover all his life. I still remember the nostalgically wistful look in his eyes when he used to tell us proudly that he was the captain of the hockey team of the prestigious Government College, Lahore, an honour that was rare and a commitment that was held on to with all one’s pride. Not just that he would talk about his forays into “gatka” and “kabbadi” and all the enthusiasm attached to these rural games, which have now slipped into history and virtual anonymity without a whimper.

We all grew up with a lot of admiration for all that he did during his good old college days. The face of the world had changed a lot since then and though we could not re-enact or inherit his skills we had his spirit and strength. Despite the fact that we grew up as urban children with different games and sports, we retained a secret commitment within ourselves that sports and games are a replay of life and its tricky situations wherein we must keep our cool in case of crisis, honour our promises, be ready for sacrifices, inculcate team-spirit and generally go through life with the one big all encompassing value called “sportsman spirit”.

At home, there were plenty of opportunities to reinforce our belief. Being a diehard sportsman Daddy had made it a practice that we all gathered together for a game in the evening. Living in remote areas we hardly ever had playmates of our age. But that was never a deterrent. After five, Daddy would wind up his official chores and be there in the sprawling lawns outside the house for his evening session of a game, whether cricket, football or even “pitthoo”. It would be thoroughly relaxing one hour and after that all of us would squat on the grass with sweat streaming down our bodies and gulping glasses full of chilled “milksoda”.

All this was nearly two and a half decades ago, although in the mind’s eye it is as fresh as ever and sounds like yesterday. Subsequently, we all went on with our own live, lived according to our own circumstances and did whatever we were destined to do. Time brought in lot many changes. Things moved much faster than before and as the world headed towards the next century the pace accelerated all the more.

Our children no longer played the games that we used to play. It is virtual repeat of history when we sit down and talk about those evenings when playing would go on and on till darkness enveloped us. Our children are the children of the video age. MTV generation as they are, they have barely heard about the pleasures of the rural games and never played them. Undeterred, I took up the challenge that my children must have the feel of the same enthusiasm for sports that was so lovingly infused into us by our parents. I encouraged them in all possible ways I could.

At every stage the love for sports encountered formidable enemies in the form of favours, politics and generally what we now call “the system”. At every stage the children would come home with a “this is not fair” look. I would hug them and wait of the phase to pass. Eventually the love for the game settled for matches on the TV. These would be eagerly awaited by all the three generations. Household chores would come to a halt, visitors would almost be banned and one could almost hear one another’s heart pounding.

And then, suddenly one day even that was taken away — the last and the purest of the sentiments to fall a martyr to the “system”. Inquiries will go on, mud-slinging and blaming would form the headlines but perhaps nobody would order an inquiry into the death of a game or more so into the murder of a much cherished feeling that had been nurtured for generations and generations. And perhaps nobody would stop and look into my father’s eyes as he sits wistfully in front of the TV looking at the pale replica of the game that he once loved with all his heart!

Tourist haven now polluted hell
By Frederick Noronha

CALANGUTE, a picturesque fishing village that became one of the biggest tourist finds in Goa when the hippies landed here in the sixties, is today a stinking hell faced with myriad problems.

“Our problem is that sewage is dumped into traditional storm drains,” Anthony John Simoes, an engineer-turned-environmental campaigner from the area lamented.

“So-called rent-back resorts are the main culprits. These were meant to be residential homes but have been converted into resorts. They simply can’t cope with the load of sewage generated,” says Antonio D’Souza of Gauravaddo, one of the villagers for long seeking a solution to the problem.

Panchayat authorities in Calangute have accused some resorts of discharging or disposing of sewage from their septic tanks into public drains, “causing a foul smell”. But to save some money, many resorts in the area continue to dump their sewage into nearby drains, especially during the monsoons.

“Lifting the sewage would cost them (resort owner) something. Installing an effluent treatment plant would be more expensive. So the cheap way out is just to dump it in the storm drains,” Simoes alleges.

Tourism is taking a heavy toll on this once quiet fishing village of hardly 10,000 inhabitants. Recently, Calangute priest Jose Dias carried a signed article in the parish bulletin, pointing out how fast proliferating swimming pools in the area were not only proving to be water-guzzlers but were also contaminating the ground water.

“It is a matter of prestige and gain for a hotel to own its own swimming pool. In some villages like Calangute one can find four to five swimming pools within a radius of 200 metres,” he said.

Chemicals pumped into each pool could lead to pollution of the ground water, villagers were cautioned. Pools need a number of chemicals — activated carbon and chlorine dioxide for taste and odour control; calcium hypochlorite, chlorine and sodium hypochlorite for disinfection; sodium bicarbonate for the PH adjustment, potassium permanganate for oxidation of impurities; copper sulphate and copper oxide for algae control; and istributyl tin oxide for algal and fungal control.

Villagers who did a study of the area said they had found 48 swimming pools scattered across the fishing belt of Calangute-Baga. “This study was done some time back. There could be more now,” Jose Dias said.

In the late nineties, Goa University microbiologist Joe D’Souza and his students found ground water samples from wells adjacent to hotel constructions in various Calangute locations to indicate “an excessive load of enteric pathogens, thus establishing the non-potability of the water”.

“Unscientific growth of tourism in Calangute has resulted in most hotels releasing effluents into soakpits and drainage systems which are often clogged beyond their capacity,” they noted.

— India Abroad News Service

Masked rickshaw-pullers of Manipur
By Syed Zarir Hussain

MASKED and hooded, they can be mistaken for extremists. But they are probably India’s most academically qualified rickshaw-pullers who want to remain incognito.

Rickshaw-pullers in the north-eastern state of Manipur present a unique sight with a majority of them covering their faces with bandanas and donning cowboy hats, be it summer or winter.

Social stigma rather than style have made Manipur’s rickshaw-pullers remain faceless as most of them were forced into taking up this vocation for a living despite reasonably good academic qualifications.

“I am an arts graduate but with no jobs around I took up pulling rickshaws to eke out a living for my family and myself”, 24-year-old Moni Singh, a rickshaw-puller in Imphal, said. “I feel shy and ashamed to pull rickshaws and being noticed by friends and relatives. So I prefer to cover my face with a scarf and put on a hat so that nobody recognizes me”.

There are an estimated 7,000 rickshaws in the state capital Imphal alone and most of the pullers, unlike in other parts of the country, are educated unemployed youths. The trend of covering their faces started about five years ago with the state’s unemployment problem showing an upward swing.

“There are more than 400,000 youth registered in the local employment exchanges and with no job avenues available, more and more literate boys are taking to pulling rickshaws”, says Muktha Singh, a college teacher in Imphal. “Now the boys are shy and worried about their prestige and so prefer to cover their faces. But when they realise the dignity of labour, that shyness will go away”.

On an average the rickshaw-pullers earn anything between Rs 100 and Rs 150 a day and that according to them is far better than sitting idle at home.

“If you don’t cover your faces while pulling rickshaws you run the risk of being jeered by friends and relatives and that is indeed very humiliating”, Ranvir Singh, said. “I attend a night college and many a time it has happened that I carried some friends and relatives in my rickshaw without being identified”.

It is said that certain rickshaw-pullers in Manipur even have post-graduate degrees, and a majority have passed at least the tenth standard.

The Manipur Government has so far failed to come up with any concrete plans to ease the unemployment problem and with insurgency showing no signs of relenting, there is little likelihood of youths getting jobs in the state.

“I pull rickshaws for entirely financial reasons despite having enough qualification to get a third or a fourth grade government job”, Rajanikanta, a young rickshaw- puller, said. “But that is life and you must accept that”. — India Abroad News Service

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

LOVE is the principle which creates and sustains human relations with dignity and depth. Spiritual love takes one into silence, and that silence has the power to unite, guide and free people. Love is the bedrock for the belief in equality of spirit and personhood. When love is combined with faith, that creates a strong foundation for initiative and action. Love is the catalyst for change, development and achievement. An entire world can be transformed through loving vision, loving attitude and loving actions. To create a better world — a world of truth — spiritual love is primary. In a better world, the natural law is love; and in a better person, the natural nature is loving.

— Living Values: A Guidebook (A Brahma Kumari publication in honour of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.)

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The scientific language cannot account for Reality and the mystical Reality cannot be accounted for in any language.

— T.R. Gerholm, The Holy Nothing versus the Quincunx of Knowledge: Is there a Reconciliation, International Journal on the Unity of the Sciences, Spring 1990

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I once talked to Einstein. Even he, with his great formula about energy and mass agreed that there must be something behind the energy.

— David Ben — Gurion, Ben-Gurion Looks Back in Talks with Moshe Pearlman

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The same elements compose my mind and the world. This situation is the same for every mind and its world.

— Ervin Schrodinger, Why not Talk Physics in K. Wilber, Quantum Questions

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Can we know firsthand what it is like to dwell in the quantum world just by sitting still and looking inside our heads.

— Nick Herbert, a physicist

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I like to think of this statement, "I am this whole universe" as the initial postulate of quantum thinking.

— Fred Alan Wolf, Taking the Quantum Jump