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Sunday,
June 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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GUEST COLUMN Self-help groups make
girls secure |
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VIEWPOINT ON RECORD
A saga
of sacrifice
PM’s
poems dominate Cyprus function
Star
attraction at ISS meet
It’s
walkathon time for politicians
Britain
gets SC as India scores an equaliser
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GUEST COLUMN ONE cannot deny the role Americans have played in facilitating the present relaxation in India-Pak relations. But then, the persistent assertions of Indian and Pakistani leaders that their friendly gestures were not forced by external pressures must be taken seriously too. We cannot ignore the domestic pressures that had been building up to a point beyond which the existing level of hostility could not be carried on without inviting mutual destruction sooner or later. Perhaps it was this vision that made Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee extend his hand of friendship to Pakistan in Srinagar. The Pakistani reciprocation showed beyond doubt an equal eagerness for peace. India and Pakistan have fought thrice and signed a number of peace agreements only to return to their hostile ways. It is, therefore, natural for people to keep their fingers crossed about the end result of the post-April 18-peace gestures. There are some signs that strengthen scepticism. For example, Mr Vajpayee’s April 18 speech in Srinagar was taken in Pakistan to mean that India had given up its insistence on the stoppage of cross-border terrorism as a pre-condition for talks with Islamabad. But there was no such implication in his speech. He had said “we again extend the hand of friendship (to Pakistan); but the hands must be extended from both sides and decisions should be made by both.” It is clear Mr Vajpayee was asking Pakistan to do its bit to start a process towards the resumption of talks. In Pakistan, the unofficial public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to the use of their soil as a springboard for launching terror against other countries. This, they bemoan, has distorted their country’s international image. But the official and semi-official view sounds condoning terrorism in what they call areas of unresolved conflicts like Kashmir and Palestine. Kashmir was raised in the Security Council by Pakistan on May 14 as one among the areas of unresolved conflicts. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative in the UNO Munir Akram while announcing inclusion of the areas of unresolved conflicts, said freedom struggles could not be linked to terrorism. On May 18, there was a discussion on PTV in Urdu on “Global terrorism and its impact on politics.” Here former Foreign Secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan argued there was no justification for terrorist acts in Saudi Arabia and Morocco, but the suicide attack in Jerusalem was the result of Palestinians’ hatred for Israelis. In Kashmir, they say it is not terrorism but freedom struggle. This shows a glaringly selective attitude towards terrorism. All the American pressures on Pakistan have yielded only partial results like banning Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba in January 2002. But then, they continued their terrorist activities with impunity. Also the establishment has developed the expertise of handling the pressure of the Western public opinion when it relates to democracy at home and relations with India. On the other hand, India, because of the continuity of its political, social and economic policies, grounded in a democratic system, is much less amenable to external pressures than in Pakistan. Therefore, no outsider can be credited with having influenced India’s Pakistan policy. Mr Vajpayee’s decision to go to Lahore in February 1999, his invitation to General Musharraf for Agra talks in July 2001 and his offer of friendship to Pakistan on April 18 this year were all in continuation of this policy. It could not be very correct, therefore, to say that Mr Vajpayee’s offer to Pakistan was made in view of Mr Richard Armitage’s visit to South Asia. Of course, India has been pleading with Pakistan’s friends, especially the United States, to restrain that country from supporting cross-border terrorism. The moot question is: under what pressure India and Pakistan suddenly decided to move towards peace? The answer is Pakistan’s new economic ambitions. If you keep in touch with the Pakistani media, you will see General Musharraf excitedly talking every second day about his economic achievements in the past three years. General Musharraf says Pakistan’s economy has reached the take-off point. Debt servicing which consumed 64 per cent of the budget has come down to 44 per cent during his rule. It will further drop to about 25 per cent in the next two years. Pakistan will cut its oil import bill by increasing dependence on coal-based gas and hydroelectricity. Its exports have gone up to $ 10 billion and the remittances from overseas Pakistanis have gone up to $ 4 billion. He has fixed the GDP for next year at 5 per cent. Not many Pakistani economists share his enthusiasm. Dr Ayesha Siddiqa wrote in “Friday Times”: “Despite the country’s seemingly encouraging macroeconomic indicators, the picture at the micro level remains abysmal”. Such observations do not seem to dampen the General’s enthusiasm. However, General Musharraf must be conscious of the fact that unless there is peace in Afghanistan and peace with India, he cannot realise his economic ambitions. Surely, Chinese, who are building the Gwader port, must have convinced Pakistan of the need for regional peace if this port was to be put to the best use. Pakistani traders hope that once relations with India are normalised, they can use its land route for trade with Bangladesh and Nepal. Also, illegal trade between India and Pakistan through third countries could be made direct and cheaper. But we see two impediments facing General Musharraf’s economic ambitions. First, the Kashmir issue, which he considers one of Pakistan’s assets, and the support of Islamists within and outside the Army and the ISI, have both helped his survival in power so far. But, two, he knows the long-term survival of the Army in power will depend on his economic achievements. In other words, he cannot achieve the second without distancing himself from the first. But can he do that? One may recall Zulfikar Ali Bhutto paid dearly for befriending India. “Pakistan cannot be a welfare state without peace with its next door neighbour (India),” was his reply to Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League, both known for their closeness to the Army. They were campaigning that the Simla Agreement violated the spirit of the two-nation theory. Thirteen years later, his daughter Benazir was sacked for talking peace for the sake of two countries’ economy with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Islamabad in July 1989. In October 1999, Mr Nawaz Sharif faced the same fate for trying to make peace with India through trade. One hopes the Army will allow General Musharraf’s economic ambitions to become the key to peace in this region. The writer is Director, Institute for Media Studies & Information Technology, YMCA, New Delhi |
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Self-help groups
make girls secure NEW DELHI: Sunita Gupta came to the balika grih in Delhi’s Nari Niketan when she was 12 years old. She was an orphan with four little sisters and a brother. All of them were in different homes for destitute and abandoned children. Today at 25 years, Sunita is full of plans to have her own business. The reason is that last month she signed a contract along with 11 girls of Nari Niketan with the Government of Delhi’s department of social welfare for taking up the sanitation operations of the entire complex. The deal worth Rs 74,000 used to be given to private contractor till the department decided to hand it to the girls of the 11 homes in the complex. The girls have formed a self-help group along with 12 other women from outside who used to work as labourers for the former contractor. “We will get Rs 2000 per month out of which about Rs 50 will be saved monthly to form a corpus fund. Once the fund is big enough, the bank would give us loans which will enable us to get more contracts for other activities, says Sunita. And then I would leave this place and have my own house where I can live with my sisters,” she says. Asma, another group member is also in high spirits. Asma, who has done a beautician course while staying in the Aftercare Home of Nari Niketan, wants to save up enough to be able to have her own beauty parlour. “Maybe more girls from here can get together and start one,” she says. The self-help group is the idea of director of department of social welfare
U.K. Worah who says the immediate reason was frustration with the corporate groups who have so far ignored the government’s appeal to help rehabilitate orphan and destitute women. “We had to find a way to rehabilitate girls who are past 18 years. And we decided on this,” he says. “Since we are already paying a private contractor to clean up the place, we thought the girls can get that money and do a better job. Besides they can save up and get contractor for other activities like catering for school midday meals,” says Worah. The Nari Niketan complex, adjacent to Tihar jail, has 11 homes including a girls shelter, a short stay home, a beggar’s home and a afterstay home. While earlier the private contractor used to hire 15 people to clean up the place, now the 25-member group is doing it. The girls realise that they are not doing just another job. Says Sunita: “The other girls envy us. They don’t consider this mere
jhadu poncha. They know we are now on our own.” Many of the girls in the Aftercare home, for instance, are already employed in factories or as private security staff. Sunita herself was working as a security staff. “ This group makes us our own masters. We are contractors now and earning more that the contractor does. For we are our own labourers too,” Says Gudiya, another member. Two of the members of the group are suffering from hearing and speech disability. Aftercare Home Superintendent Amita Sudan had conducted the marriages of two such girls only last week. “Earlier the only way to rehabilitate these girls once they were 18 years old was to find a suitable match. Now for the first time these girls can think of leaving the home and living on their own,” says Sudan. And Sudan is particular that once the group starts earning, they must stop depending on the home. For which the girls though nervous are willing. Says Asma: “ We will go provided we can continue to be in the group.” The germ of the idea came from Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh where the municipal corporation had given the sanitation contract to a self-help group,” Says Nari Niketan Superintendent Madhwi who had gone there to study these groups. However, the idea became a reality in Nari Niketan when Director U.K. Worah insisted that Madhwi send away her cleaning contractor and hand over the contract to a group of inmates. “I had no choice as I had been complaining about the contractor not being up to the mark,” says Madhwi. Social Welfare Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan is enthusiastic about the group. “This is our first attempt. We are looking for other activities which can be handed over to such groups,” he says.
Grassroots Feature Network |
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VIEWPOINT WHENEVER an election is declared void especially on account of improper rejection or acceptance of a nomination paper, as in the case of Safidon Assembly election, our sympathies invariably lie with the returned candidate. It sounds strange that a candidate, who has secured the people’s mandate, should be unseated more so when he himself is free from blemish in terms of committing any corrupt practice. Why should he be visited by the sins of the Returning Officer? The issue is how to keep the Returning Officer in restraint? Broadly, there are two ways of doing it. One is to make him accountable and impose sanction for dereliction of duty. It sounds simple, but it is incredibly complex to carry out. One reason is that if an officer takes a wrong decision, the principles of natural justice would require us to prove beyond doubt that he had acted with perverse or willful mind. Such a course may be counter-productive. The other way is to lay down the law. Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Chapter I of Part V is singularly devoted to nomination of candidates. Section 36 of this chapter requires the Returning Officer to fix the date, time and place of meeting for the scrutiny of nomination papers. In the course of scrutiny, if an objection is raised about any nomination paper either by the Returning Officer, or by any other person, the candidate concerned may be allowed time to rebut it within the stipulated time. The Returning Officer is also obliged to endorse on each nomination paper his decision of accepting or rejecting the same. And if the nomination paper is rejected, he shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection. The provisions of Section 36 came up for judicial scrutiny before the Supreme Court in Rakesh Kumar v. Sunil
Kumar (1999). In this case, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of the two candidates belonging to a political party without giving an opportunity to one of them who claimed that he was the only approved official candidate of the party. The election held without the participation of such a candidate was annulled by the High Court. The statutory appeal by the returned candidate before the Supreme Court was dismissed with costs. The Constitution Bench led by the Chief Justice stated that the Returning Officer ought to have granted an opportunity to meet the objection even if it was not sought for, because deciding such an issue by holding a summary enquiry is a “quasi-judicial” function. Denial was, therefore, “neither fair, nor proper, nor justified.” The Returning Officer obviously fell into a grave error, lamented the Bench. The Safidon case (Kamal Sharma v. Ram Phal Kundu) is almost akin to the preceding case. Following the law expounded by the Supreme Court, Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court rightly stated: “The nature of the enquiry envisaged under section 36(5) is quasi-judicial in nature and although the said enquiry is summary in nature but the Returning Officer is obliged in law to take into consideration the entire material brought on record by the concerned candidate to rebut and meet the objection.” Since the Returning Officer had “wrongly and improperly rejected the nomination paper of the petitioner,” he declared the election of the returned candidate null and void, but significantly, “with no order as to costs.” Has the returned candidate been penalised for the fault of the Returning Officer? Is he himself free from blemish? Not necessarily. Along with the Returning Officer, the returned candidate was also obliged to ensure that no nomination paper was wrongly rejected. This is not a formal defence to be raised against the election petitioner and assert retrospectively that the nomination paper was rightly rejected by the Returning Officer. If the returned candidate did not do what he was legally supposed to do at the threshold, he is not allowed to turn around and say that in his unseating the peoples' mandate suffers a grievous injury! In the instant case, Justice Viney Mittal did not saddle the returned candidate with costs, although there was nothing to prevent him to do so by following the lead of the Supreme Court. In his wisdom, however, perhaps he sought to distinguish the case of voiding election in which the returned candidate himself indulged in committing corrupt practices. Voiding an election is an extreme remedy, but it is subscribed to meet the ends of justice in a variety of situations. It surely includes the ones in which the Returning Officer ventures to reject nomination papers of all such candidates who could be the potential danger to his favoured one. However, the sad spectacle of voiding an election needs to be avoided as far as possible. I would seriously recommend more rigorous in-service training for IAS officers on holding elections. I would also recommend special workshops in bringing home, say, the critical distinction between “quasi-judicial functions” and the exercise of “administrative discretion”. In Safidon election case, the Returning Officer seems to have disposed of the matter by exercising his “administrative discretion”; whereas the function of scrutinising nomination papers is indeed a “quasi-judicial” function. He is required to investigate or ascertain the facts, and then the conclusions drawn from them alone should constitute the basis for his action. In the exercise of “administrative discretion”, his actions may rest, in part at least, upon considerations not entirely susceptible of proof or disproof. In the arena of election law, a discretion exercised on such basis as beliefs and expectations or tendencies instead of facts is not at all tenable. I hope that in-depth training would reduce instances of improper rejection or acceptance of nomination papers and save the returned candidates from the ordeal of seeking
re-election. The writer is UGC Emeritus Fellow, Department of
Laws, Panjab University, Chandigarh |
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ON
RECORD
THE Union Government has asked Dr Yoginder K. Alagh to head a committee to examine ways in which the existing mandate of the Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) should be changed to respond to the emerging issues of globalisation, trade liberalisation and privatisation. A doctorate in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, he is currently Chancellor, Central University at Nagaland. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Sardar Patel Institute of Economic and Social Research in Ahmedabad. From 1996 to 1998, Dr Alagh was Union Minister of State for Planning and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) and Science and Technology and Power.
Excerpts: Q: What is the significance of the new committee for evaluation of minimum support price? A: There is need to reposition the commission in terms of its mandate and to examine the existing structure of tariff, taxes, credit, market etc. and to suggest measures to make it most competitive and remunerative to farmers. Q: Has the existing MSP policy failed to meet the test of time? A: There is a need to work out relative price recommendations. As Chairman APC, as it was then called, we submitted the first single report for the crop season. But it is fair to say that the commission never fully came to grips with the problem of relative price signals and its efforts were of a rough and ready kind. Anyway, the government’s intervention was crop and region specific. An econometric unit was set up but the CACP did little formal modelling. In 1982, for instance, we suggested that transport costs should be taken into account for working out wheat intervention measures. This was rejected as too much of a sop to markets. Probably, politics was the real cause. Bihar and MP still suffer in their rice incentives on account of this. We suggested a quality differential to those farmers who grow the Parmal varieties just stabilising then. Dr Bimal Jalan, then in Finance, finally agreed to a token increase as an Alagh factor. It was given up with the Government giving the higher price to all. This approach to the commission’s pricing at the margin approach has continued for two decades now. Q: Substantial increases in MSP of rice and wheat and the system of open-ended procurement have resulted in farmers of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to divert more land for the production of wheat and rice from coarse grains, cotton and oilseeds. How can the trend be arrested and farmers encouraged to diversify? A:
It will be a mistake to ignore the strengths built up in the foodgrains area. In my Interim Report to WTO adjustment in Punjab, I have argued for a Commodity Board to ride through the global grain price cycle and technological support to the sector. In the final report I will document this with more facts. The new technologies in cereals like bajra, which can store paddy, including the hybrids must get off the research success stage. States like Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP will show the way, but if price policy gives appropriate incentives for quality and transport differentials are introduced, the rice economy in MP, Chhattisgarh and speciality cereals like the Durhams will revive. Shorter duration cereals will pave the way for diversification to oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables. Q: What measures should be taken to encourage crop diversification? A: Since output prices are not rising fast enough, agricultural profitability rates are going down. Profitability rates in Indian agriculture have fallen by 15 per cent in the Nineties. In a market driven agriculture, this would have serious consequences and drive away investment to other sectors. The case for reform in the state-sponsored pricing system to encourage diversification of Indian agriculture is very clear. So is the need to remove bureaucratic controls on commodity movements within the country and for exports. But the effectiveness of existing systems in supplying cheaper inputs in village markets of small size needs study. The existing private channels of distribution are not enough. Q: What role should the CACP play to encourage agricultural growth in the country? A: A bifocal policy initiative is required. Subsidies with adverse consequences on productivity of land must be phased out. Simultaneously, profitability of alternate crops and activities must improve through market, economic and financial reform. The role of sponsoring policies for alternative distribution channels so that there is genuine competition in input supplies is very necessary. Cooperatives, non-profit organisations and partnerships between private sector, coops, NGOs or local governments are required. Q: What measures need to be taken to make the country export competitive? A: Grain export is highly subsidised in the OECD countries. There are further constraints on diversification as some Asian countries are also grain exporters. Since Asian subsidies are small grain, exports kept up. These highlight the importance of anticipatory macro policies to avoid the Dutch disease (beggar thy neighbour). There is a need to harmonise policies. Tariff and credit policies must make Indian agriculture important. Look what happened to sugar and cotton. The cane cycle was worsened by the import cycle until tariffs were aligned. In cotton the downturn continues. This year if we assume that half of the fruits and vegetables reach the market, 3 per cent of the total demand is met from imports. Meeting this competition is the need of the hour. This needs a new strategic mindset for increasing competitiveness and meeting the trade strategies of competitors. |
A saga of sacrifice Heading the political party — the National League for Democracy — Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 14 years under house arrest. Her latest detention brought widespread international condemnation. Even UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for her release. The 57-year-old leader became a world icon when she was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991. There was not a single example in the world history when a Nobel Laureate was held prisoner in his or her own country for almost a decade. The world’s most prestigious award, if conferred on a genius, is a matter of national pride but it was not so in Myanmar. Suu Kyi has been in conflict with her country’s military rulers since her party won 82 per cent of seats in a parliamentary election held in 1990. The military dispensation summarily set aside the results. The year was a momentous yet disastrous year in the history of Myanmar as the people turned out in vast numbers to vote for Aung San Suu Kyi to become the head of the new government of her country. The election results took the country’s military rulers by surprise. The military Junta refused to acknowledge defeat. Child of assassinated Myanmar independence hero Aung San — a man almost universally respected in the country, including the top ranks of the military — Suu Kyi had said as she launched her country’s second freedom struggle: “I could not, as my father’s daughter, remain indifferent to all that was going on”. In 1988 after spending most of her life in the UK, she returned to Myanmar to take care of her ailing mother. Brutal suppression of a pro-democracy uprising that August pushed her into politics. Inspired by the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, she urged those opposed to the military rulers to follow a policy of non-violent protest. Her commitment to her country was, however, most painfully illustrated in 1999 when her husband, the Oxford academic Michael Aris, became terminally ill with cancer. Denying him a visa for a final farewell visit, the government instead asked Aung San Suu Kyi to travel to England to visit him. The generals had long been suspicious of Aung San Suu Kyi’s marriage to a foreigner and had used it on many occasions in the rigidly controlled state media to cast doubts on her patriotism. Fearing that if she left, she would not be allowed back, she refused to go, virtually throwing the government messenger out of her house. In March 1999, Aris died — the couple had not seen each other in three years. Life for this “daughter of Myanmar” would not be same again without Aris. Suu Kyi, no doubt, loved her husband deeply and is too attached to her two sons, Alexander and Kim, who now live in Oxford. Her tribute to her husband was too moving indeed. “I have been so fortunate to have such a wonderful husband, who has always given me the understanding I needed. Nothing can take that away from me”. An uncertain future awaits Suu Kyi but she is not alone in her struggle; the people of Mynamar are with her and the world opinion is in her favour. |
PM’s poems dominate Cyprus function ROW AT
SURINAM In the presence of Hindi lovers, policy makers and enthusiasts assembled at the World Hindi Conference in Surinam’s capital Parimaribo, the domestic divide between the genuine “secularists” and the “pseudo-secularists” came into open when the two clashed at a session “Hindi journalism and challenges”. The issue of dispute was a paper authored by the RSS organ “Panchjanya” editor Tarun Vijay which had been distributed at the session without the permission of the Chair. Vijay, in his four-page paper, had stressed that the RSS backed and sponsored news organs like Panchjanya, Organiser, Tarun Bharat, Swadesh and others have registered growth despite the opposition from the Left and “pseudo-secular” journalists. Pro-Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtri-ya Patrakarita Vishwavidalaya Ram Sharan Joshi took objection to the distribution of such a paper which presented a section of Hindi journalism in adverse light before an international gathering. The matter could only be resolved at the intervention of veteran Hindi journalist Prabash Joshi who, chairing the session, declared that the controversial paper was not part of the official session as it had been circulated without official permission. MoD WEBSITE With tension on the border between India and Pakistan reducing considerably, it seems the interest of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials in their
official website has also diminished. Considered to be the showcase of the MoD and launched with quite a hype, the website has turned into a whimper. Not only does the website lack vital information but the officials responsible for updating it also seem to be in another time frame. A visit to the website reveals that the press releases section is not updated with most of them issued by the Directorate of Public Relations of the MoD. More important, it does not get updated for days on end. This section of the website on June 13 displayed that it had last been updated on “June 29”. The website incharge in his trance put June 29 as the date while apparently updating it on May 29 which further points out that despite the MoD issuing a number of press releases, including the annual report of the ministry in June, the website has not been updated for more than 15 days. POLITICAL AKHARAS NO, SAYS MINISTER Contributed by Rajeev Sharma, S.S. Negi, S. Satyanarayanan, Satish Mishra, Girja Shankar Kaura, R. Suryamurti and Tripti Nath |
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Star attraction at ISS meet PERHAPS, the lone positive to a seminar is that under one roof, you get to meet people from all over. This happened at the Institute of Social Sciences
(ISS) meet of representatives of local governments from European countries and from our towns and cities. Participants in the three-day meet were also representatives from the US, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia and Nepal. I was particularly impressed by an advocate-turned elected sarpanch from Uri in the remote northern end of Jammu and Kashmir, Ahmed Din
Budoo. He told me that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s policies will definitely help safeguard the national interest. “His promise to give people livelihood and an existence with dignity is enough to wean them away from chanting cries for
azadi...” I think Uri is one of the relatively peaceful and trouble-free zones in spite of its proximity to the border.” Earlier, when I had met the Congress MLA from Uri, he spoke along similar lines. The star attraction at this meet was Ahmedabad Mayor Aneesa Begum
Mirza. Remarkable confidence and poise seemed her forte. When I asked her about her achievement, she said: “I am from Hyderabad but marriage brought me to Ahmedabad. I became a widow at a very young age and had to look after my three sons. It was Mridula Sarabhai who encouraged me to work. The Gujarat riots were so bad that I don’t want to remember a thing; though I had witnessed the 1969 riots and the 1984 riots, but these were the worst so far where people were burnt alive.” HEALTHY TREND Journalist Renuka Narayanan's latest book “Faith: Filling the God-sized Hole” (Penguin) was released rather differently at the Habitat Centre. It began by the recitation of ayats from the Quran. I think it is a healthy trend, if each one of us tries to reach out to the different religions and not get stuck within those set parameters of one’s own faith. Though June has traditionally been one of those of months meant for vacation and filled with a vacancy of sorts, this week alone, there have been three book release functions. Early this week, it was radio jockey Shamshir Rai Luthra's book on everyday jokes where he managed to get his flock (of singers) together and with that the focus shifted from the jokes to the jokers. The week also saw the release of Harper Collin published book on dowry victims. On the occasion of the visit of Joanne
Sandler, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM) to New Delhi, one gets this heartening news. With help from
UNIFEM, the North East Network has brought out a resource directory on support services to counter violence against women for Assam, Manipur and Meghalaya. What about such directories for other regions of the country? |
It’s walkathon time for politicians The
Congress
did it because it wanted to expose the TDP government's failures. And leaders of the ruling party embarked on the journey because it wanted to publicise its achievements in the state. The state government's 10-day campaign, which started Thursday, will see its leaders visiting villages all over Andhra Pradesh to counter the attack on its policies by the Congress and other Opposition parties. Concerned over the likely impact the Congress' campaign on next year's state elections, the ruling party has launched the “yatras”, journeys, in all Assembly constituencies. Not so surprisingly, the TDP launched its campaign just as Congress leader Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is completing his padyatra. Reddy, who started on April 9, has travelled nearly 1,500-km through 11 districts. Though he was scheduled to complete the tour in two months, it was delayed by a week because he suffered a sunstroke on the way. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stayed away on the first day of the campaign. However, his cabinet colleagues and district leaders led the programme at various places. Reports suggested that the campaign received mixed response on the first day. The threat from Maoist guerrillas is affecting the TDP programme in several places, particularly in the Telangana region. The police have advised ministers and other top party leaders not to visit the remote villages in districts considered hotbeds of Maoist activity. The banned People's War Group (PWG) has also warned TDP leaders not to visit villages. The programme could not be taken up in Jagtiyal Assembly constituency in Karimnagar district, where the guerrillas killed a party leader recently. Reacting to suggestions that the TDP's campaign was launched only because the Congress had done so, Naidu denied that his party's campaign was a reaction to the Opposition's padyatra. However, TDP leaders privately admitted they were launching a counter-attack because the Congress' yatra had evoked a good response and they needed to respond to the “false propaganda”. Despite the protestations, the similarities are inescapable. Reddy met people to hear their grievances about the government. TDP leaders will also meet people and inform them about the government's development and welfare measures during the last seven-and-half years. The ruling party will also receive people's representations and try to solve their problems. The TDP's mass contact programme comes a week after the government's announcement of a series of sops for the benefit of 10 million people belonging to weaker sections of society. The TDP has 170 members while Congress Party has 90 members in 294-member State Legislative Assembly.
IANS |
Britain gets SC as India scores an equaliser LONDON: Now comes a tacit admission that the Indians got certain things right and the British did not, with Britain replacing the 1,400-year-old institution of Lord Chancellor with the Supreme Court (SC). So the Indian legal system, which is a legacy of the British adapted to Indian conditions, seems to have scored an equaliser with its source of origin. The fault line was always obvious with the post of Lord Chancellor; it was covered over only in the name of tradition. The Lord Chancellor, whose post was older than that of even the Prime Minister, was really a cabinet minister who had charge of the law lords, the final court of appeal in the judiciary. So a final appeal against a decision of the high court would in effect be influenced if not decided by a minister. Prime Minister Tony Blair swept that tradition aside with his bold move. It is a decision said to have been influenced by his wife Cherie Blair, a liberal and progressive Barrister practising at the High Court. The move was a tacit admission that appointments of individuals with integrity are not guarantees within the hybrid role of the Lord Chancellor. The former Lord Chancellor, now the last Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, seems to have helped the change by some of his eccentric ways, which included spending a small fortune of government money in doing up his bedroom. The independence of the judiciary will now be institutionalised by way of a Supreme Court to which judges from the High Court will be appointed. Apart from anything else, several High Court judges can suddenly look forward to a promotion. The decisions of an independent judiciary will no more be referred to a government minister. “At last there will be a clearer separation between judges and politicians,” says Mark Littlewood from the rights group Liberty. “Some may lament the abolition of a position which has an even longer history than that of the Prime Minister, but a modern democracy needs to be based on sensible and logical rules, not on anachronistic traditions.” He adds: “Making laws is a job for politicians, interpreting laws needs to be left to the courts. This marks an important and welcome step in securing and underlining the independent, non-political nature of our legal system.” Most civil liberties campaigners welcomed the changes. These include the setting up of a new commission to appoint judges, both to the High Court and to the new Supreme Court.
IANS |
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SOME people may physically look frail but their spirit remains indomitable. History acclaims them as great men and women and they become immortal. Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi is one such person. Known as the world’s most recognised political prisoner, Suu Kyi may have been put under detention again but her spirit remains invincible and she continues to be as resolute as ever to lead her country’s 45 million people down to democratic path. Myanmar (formerly Burma) has been ruled by a military Junta since 1962. Once a resource-rich country, it has now become impoverished. Since her release in May 2002, the movement for restoration of democracy gathered momentum and enthusiastic crowds turned up during her trips across the country, evoking a hostile response from the military rulers. On May 30, her convey was attacked allegedly by “government affiliated thugs” and 75 of her supporters were feared killed. Suu Kyi herself was detained but reported in “good spirit” by the UN envoy, Razali Ismail, who met her in detention. According to Ismail, military rulers have assured him that she would be released as soon as possible but army men rarely keep their promise.
POETRY transcends regional boundaries. It does so faster when the poet in question happens to be the Prime Minister. This happened recently in Cyprus when an anthology of poems by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the subject matter of a cultural evening. The function marked the publication of the Greek translation of Vajpayee’s anthology “21 Poems”. India’s Ambassador in Nicosia Pavan K. Varma reported to the Ministry of External Affairs that the venue of the function, the prestigious Famagusta Gate Auditorium, was overflowing. Vice President Demetris Christofias spoke eloquently about his admiration for Vajpayee and the personal world of a poet-politician. He said Vajpayee’s poems were not an
expression of defeat but of confidence and the will to win. The interesting thing was that each poem was read in Hindi, English and Greek.
Parliament and state legislatures have become political akharas with the political parties trying to score points, literally. The legislature may be a place for verbal duels but certainly not for anything more aggressive than that, observed Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi. He said there has been noticeable decline in the loss of time of the Lok Sabha due to pandemonium and adjournments in the recent past. If the conduct of members during the Women’s Reservation Bill is anything to go by, then many would disagree with Mr Joshi’s views. Or, is this an indication by the Speaker to get the Bill passed in the House, as he had taken upon himself the task of evolving a consensus among the MPs, is a point to ponder about. If the observation of the Speaker is followed in letter and spirit, then the incident in the UP legislature would only be an aberration in the legislative history of the country.
In their frantic and desperate efforts to get sound bites and mugshots, television journalists and cameramen sometimes lose sight of social graces and protocol. At a recent news conference held at the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to announce the decision to make Goa a permanent venue for the India International Film Festival, television crew asked Union
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad if it were possible to change seats to help them get a better picture of film-maker Yash Chopra who was sitting extreme left. The astonished minister refused to concede to the request by asserting that it was not possible to swap seats. As the PIB staff looked helpless and embarrassed, I & B Secretary Pawan Chopra offered his chair to Mr Chopra with a broad smile. The camerapersons surprisingly did not request cine actress and Rajya Sabha MP Shabana Azmi to play musical chairs for their lens. 
HYDERABAD: It is walkathon time in Andhra Pradesh. Two months after the Congress Party launched its 'padyatra', or long march, across the state, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has also followed suit with a
Jana Chaitanya Yatra (public awareness campaign).