EDITORIALS

Stamp of corruption
Imagine, an ASI makes Rs 100 crore!

THE investigation into the Rs 23,000-crore fake stamp paper scam is getting curiouser and curiouser. Fiftyseven persons, including policemen, politicians and criminals, are already in the net and the needle of suspicion is pointing upwards. More important, many of these have been occupying positions where it was their responsibility to prevent such crimes. Goes on to show how well-knit the politician-policeman-criminal family is. When an Inspector-General of Police of Maharashtra himself is found to be actively involved in such activities, can the public be blamed if it thinks that going to the police to complain against criminals is an exercise in futility? These worthies got their salary from the government and yet did the bidding of the scamsters and criminals. Actually, the salary was only pocket money and a retainer for their official position. The real greenbacks came from the criminals. Imagine an ASI being found to have made property worth more than Rs 100 crore! And after that, try to imagine the kind of money that may have been made by his superiors.

The more the special investigation team is digging, the more dirt it is coming across. Many politicians, IAS officials and IPS officers are still at large. It may end up being India’s largest crime and corruption scandal. Investigations are taking place in at least seven states and the kind of coordination that should be there is not visible. It is necessary to hand over the investigation to the CBI or some other independent agency, which is free from the stench of this racket.

The scale of their operation shows that thousands of people may be saddled with fake stamps and stamp papers purchased from authorised vendors. The country needs to be reassured that the hapless buyers will not be harassed for the crime of these master forgers. Second, it is necessary for the government to take the public into confidence on the steps being taken to prevent the recurrence of such a crime. For all one knows, fake stamp papers worth crores of rupees may still be in circulation.

Politicians’ milch cow
Give PSUs more autonomy

THE misuse of public sector enterprises by politicians for personal gain has assumed alarming proportions. Newspaper reports suggest that at least six Union ministers — two of the BJP and four of the NDA allies— have gone to the extent of threatening the heads of certain public sector undertakings (PSUs) with launching vigilance raids to seek personal favours and party funds. One PSU chief is reported to have complained that he was asked to pay Rs 20 crore as party funds by a minister, and when he refused, he was denied an extension. The issue has reportedly been brought to the notice of the Prime Minister by the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, Mr P. Shankar. While admitting that the PM-CVC meeting did take place, the PMO has denied the CVC divulged the names of any ministers.

Political interference in the functioning of public sector units, both at the central and state levels, has been so common for so long that any mention of it hardly raises any eyebrows. It was largely because of this that many PSUs had either turned sick or did not grow up to their full potential. Many attempts had been made in the past to professionalise the working of state enterprises, but without concrete results. Ultimately, the political consensus that emerged during the process of economic reforms was: the government has no business to be in business and the best way to deal with PSUs was to privatise them.

However, the increasing opposition to the process of disinvestment indicates that politicians do not want to lose control of the state undertakings. The vested interests have derailed the whole disinvestment process. It is true that all public sector units, particularly those in the strategic sectors, cannot be passed on to private hands. But if state undertakings are to operate efficiently and compete with multinational companies, they need to be given more autonomy and insulated from undesirable ministerial interference. One hopes the committee of secretaries that the Prime Minister has suggested should look into the issues raised by the CVC will also take these aspects into account. 

Desi babu, English mem!
Phoren dream cuts off boys from reality

THE stories about gullible young men from the region willing to pay hefty amounts for being transported, mostly by crook, to "phoren" destinations looked incomplete without the presence of bogus brides in them. Now they sound more real, a trifle hilarious too. Had Abraham Lincoln been born in today's Punjab he would never have said that "you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time".

It is not easy to fool a people whose robust, earthy common sense has made them scale extraordinary heights of success. Yet, just about every boy who steps out of the dangerous teens seems to want to go through a phase of wanting to be crooked by anyone who has "phoren" dreams to sell. The Malta boat tragedy has not made him wary of those offering him dud tickets, at huge premium, for a life of luxury and comfort in the make-believe world of milk and honey. Crooks operating as travel agents haven't reported any drop in requests from gullible young men wanting to be taken for a ride to nowhere via Cyprus, Greece and countless other illegal routes. Artists and musicians too have made them part with their parents’ money.

The present tale of local "kabootris" being passed off as "phoren" brides is the kind of stuff that established P. G. Wodehouse as a humourist. Only a thorough psychological study can explain why the promise of living, in the present case through marrying girls already "settled abroad", in distant lands is evidently the average Punjabi boy's blind spot. In one case, an ordinary roadside vendor came dressed in expensive attire, obviously taken on hire, to offer his "daughter" in holy matrimony to yet another "kabootar". The "bride's" party obviously laughed all the way to the local bank in Jagraon, the locale of the latest episode.

Thought for the day

Nothing in India is identifiable, the mere asking of a question causes it to disappear or to merge in something else.

— E.M. Foster

ARTICLE

Technical education in disarray
Craze for airconditioned comforts
by Chandra Mohan 

TECHNICAL education has seen major changes in recent years; some have even altered its basic structure. This is mainly because of privatisation, explosion in numbers, distance learning, influx of foreign universities, etc. Large investments, both public and private, have also flown into technical education. Growth in IT and management education has been explosive. The All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has been given mandatory powers to ensure minimum standards and discipline the heterogeneous crowd.

But a deeper look straightaway reveals that these changes have failed to address the basic issue: remove the isolation of science and technology education and research from the needs of industry or the public. Industry’s complaint of education or research failing to address the application to real-life problems has only become more vociferous. On the other side of the coin, the academia’s fixation with the latest advancement and current global fashion has only become stronger. The key driver has been the boom in the so-called knowledge industry — bio-tech, lasers, vision-robotics, artificial intelligence, nano-spheres and whatever. The application and use in the realities of India is not relevant. Stress on theoretical research and publication of research papers has only become stronger.

The most glaring result of this reality is the acute stress of our industry and business on the recent opening up of the economy. Survival in today’s cut-throat and volatile global market demands world-class quality, productivity and organisational efficiency, prompt response, customer perception and quick response, endless stream of innovative products, and coordination across large cross-functional teams.

Technical education hardly touches them, even in theory. Research and development (R&D) institutions consider these problems mundane and infra dig. Scientists pursue what is in current global fashion. Disenchantment and indifference of industry and society is a natural consequence. It is also no wonder that students prefer to go abroad, join the IAS, do an MBA and sell soap or look for a job in industry. Research is the last choice.

The second eye-opener has been our need of R&D-oriented scientists and engineers for my own battery project. Since we were up-scaling a cutting-edge lab-technology to mass-volumes directly, we were naturally on the look-out for self-activated, hard-driving professionals who observed, questioned, analysed and applied knowledge to deliver concrete products. Textbook theoreticians were no use. Post-graduates from the best of institutions were sad disappointment. What came as total surprise was dissertation topics remaining unchanged through three generations of students.

The clarity of issues finally came during recent interviews for senior faculty positions in Punjab Technical University to which a large number of aspirants with top-notch bio-data by conventional standards had been called. Most of them had never stepped out of the four walls of an academic institution.

Self-questioning led me to reflect on my own engineering education in 1950. Its total focus was directed to producing a Burra Sahib to lord the irrigation network; grooming for the super-elite Imperial (renamed Indian) Service of Engineers. A bearer looked after all your creature comforts; he even trailed behind with books when you went to attend classes; carrying books was infra dig for a Burra Sahib. It is common sight in the secretariat even today.

This unfortunate legacy was not only allowed to continue, but also ramped up in the name of research. Had we changed style India might have been radically different. Seeped in such grooming, it would be foolish to expect our scientists and engineers to get involved in the grime of the workplace and the field. The result is sufferance in every domain. Armies of qualified engineers are happy pushing files or punching computer keys. Shoddy quality, high costs and missed schedules are none of their concern.

The faculty for technical education also got groomed for insularity. Isolation got further aggravated in the sixties when it was decided to adopt a postgraduate degree, preferably a doctorate, as the minimum qualification for the post of a Reader. The decision was taken in the premise that the rigour of scientific experiments for thesis work would train the faculty for the application of science to solve problems faced by industry and society. The failure in that expectation was total.

Since the minimum entry qualification for all sought-after jobs in government and industry was graduation, all bright graduates went for a job straightaway. Postgraduate study was left to those with no other choice. Easy availability of research fellowships during study and the surety of a job with explosive expansion of education added to the attraction of the teaching career. Add-on goodies were plenty of holidays, no accountability, life-time security and guaranteed promotion.

The widespread practice of ad hoc appointment as lecturers straight out of college is another off-shoot of the recent explosion of technical education. Post-graduate qualifications are acquired later while teaching. This makes life a smooth step-through from the shelter of one academic four-wall to the next. Emphasis on publications in international scientific journals for promotion multiplies self-satisfaction. There is just no reason for wrecking the tranquillity by the realities of the harsh and dirty world. The net result is an incestuous faculty, snug and satisfied in its cocoon. Theory, equations and statistical analysis dominate all teaching. Reality and experimentation figure nowhere. Expecting student orientation to the world of practice with a faculty of this caliber would be foolish.

Another problem for all round economic growth has been created by the recent national obsession with IT and software. With prayer and renunciation having been the sole routes to nirwana and moksha in our culture, IT with its arm-chair work in airconditioned comfort has gelled into our psyche. It has become the first preference of every child .

In this national obsession, what is totally forgotten is that digitisation (IT) is only a tool, albeit extremely powerful and versatile.

Change can begin only if we honestly look into our self with an open mind and admit the reality. For correction to start, the leadership will have to actually do what it preaches.

A word of caution. Change is never easy. A culture deeply embedded through centuries makes the task all the more difficult. Breaking the walls of Fortress Academia to the live world will, like the Berlin Wall, require the vision and will of a Gorbachev. But it can and must be done. Future generations will curse us if we procrastinate.

The writer, a former Managing Director of Punjab Tractors Limited, is CMD, Twenty-First Century Battery, Mohali.

MIDDLE

The K avatar
by J. Sri Raman

THIS is an important announcement. The quest for Kalki is over. The trail, littered with many a misleading clue, has led at long, last to Tamil Nadu.

The first of the false clues was reported from a far-away East European capital. Few can be blamed for being fooled. Protocol may not have provided for His encounter with the President. But when, oh whenever did rules of diplomacy stop a Reincarnation? It may have been the reputation of our Rashtrapati for unconventionality that inspired his Belgian hosts a few weeks back, when the latest of avatars accosted Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at a Sofia banquet.

But it must have appeared a mix-up to the President who knows his Indian mythology. The Belgian called himself Kalki — and was playing on a flute. We don’t know whether Mr Kalam (hereinafter referred to as K1) told the Belgian Kalki (K2) that the flute-playing form of Vishnu was another avatar and belonged to another age. That Krishna (K3) was of the Dvapara Yug, the previous aeon of the puranic calendar, whereas the real Kalki (K4) is the last of the avatars that the world of the current, corrupt Kali Yug waits longingly for. By all prophetic accounts, what the latter can be expected to wield, as expertly as the former did his famed wind instrument, is a warrior’s lance.

I know, I know, the “K word” means something entirely different in diplomatic parlance and media shorthand, and Kashmir has nothing to do with Kalki according to any aficionado of the avatar. The reader, however, will readily see the need for the abbreviations, when I proceed to recall Gore Vidal’s novel “Kalki”, where a deranged American soldier, a Vietnam veteran turns out to be the reincarnation (K5). The story inspired claims — indignantly rejected by Indian authorities on avatars — of similar war-warped criminals to the Kalki status.

These authorities cited scriptural support for their counter-claim that Kalki was bound to be an Indian avatar. And, lo and behold, one particular “Purana” was quoted as prophesying that this avatar would be born in Sambhalpur, Orissa. The hardly known tribal town is not known to have any personage even remotely resembling a world-conquering hero on horseback as the reincarnation is depicted in mythology.

The matter went out of our collective mind, as the issue of the birth-place of an earlier avatar acquired political importance. No one, of course, could demand digging in Sambhalpur to unearth evidence of an unborn avatar. It is another matter, though, that the Archaeological Survey of India may yet be persuaded to undertake excavations in Kerala in order to uncover the nether-world kingdom of Bali, forced down there by the foot of Vishnu in his avatar as a dwarf.

The search, however, has continued meanwhile in other States. A godman did set himself up as Kalki in Tamil Nadu some years ago, but he ended up in jail. Some might have thought that this put paid to the State’s claim in this regard, but they were wrong. In fact, we were getting close to the end of the quest.

Kalki, evidently, was not going to be jailed. He was coming down to the earth to punish the wicked and send them to prison. Tamil Nadu was indeed ripe for the reincarnation. Only an avatar could have done what might have seemed unthinkable in other places denied such divine intervention: punishing with imprisonment members of the press for railing against a ruler that her party regarded as righteous beyond reproach.

It is no contempt for either the Tamil Nadu Assembly or its Speaker to say that Mr K. Kalimuthu is not only K6 but also K4. Figure it out for yourselves.

OPED

Dateline London
NRIs look forward to sunny winter
Their economic power, political clout growing
by K.N. Malik

The well-to-do in Britain resent the heavy tax burden

AN unusually long but welcome ‘Indian’ summer has ended. London hardly sees the glorious fall colours as one sees in the north of the country or parts of the US. One does not relish the autumn — with falling leaves heaped in the driveway and all around one’s house, made messy by frequent rain, often dangerous for older residents. More depressing is the thought of shorter days when dusk sets in by early afternoon.

This depressing atmosphere, some say, accounts for the “cold” disposition of the British. No name plates outside the houses, no lights to decipher house numbers. Hardly any friendly exchange takes place with neighbours. English by nature like to keep to themselves. Overfriendly overtures from Indian and other Asian neighbours are usually unwelcome. That does not mean that neighbours are not considerate or civil to one another. Barring a few exceptions, most people have good neighbourly relations. In time of distress one can count on the neighbours to phone an emergency service.

In areas where there are more Asians, the atmosphere is more relaxed and friendly. One can also notice more light points outside the houses. One depressing feature of these areas, however , is the disappearance of front lawns and ill kept back lawns. It is often lamented by British neighbours.

Winter heralds an exodus from Britain to India for a large number of Indians. Those who hail from western and eastern India look forward to warmer climate. Those from the northern parts of India look forward to crisp bright sunny wintry days and cooler nights. Some Indians will tell you that they feel more cold in North India than in freezing Britain. Houses and offices in India, are rarely centrally heated.

Most of those involved in this seasonal migration are senior citizens, whose one concern remains healthcare in their native country. The emergency services remain poor and hospital care remains a concern. Meeting friends and relations, is specially welcomed.

***

Indian community’s size and economic power, and to an extent, its political clout, has increased and is reflected in the manner in which its cultural functions such as Divali, Navratre, Gurpurb, and Id, are celebrated. Its temples, gurdwaras, mosques and schools are frequently visited by the royalty and other political bigwigs. It is heartening to note that the recent celebration of Divali took on an inter-faith flavour. These functions are often graced by representatives of different faiths. Divali, this year, was celebrated in a big way at the Trafalgar Square, the House of Commons and in several areas, populated by Indians. While Prime Minister Tony Blair and several other cabinet ministers and MPs attended the function at the House of Commons, the Mayor of London took the lead in facilitating the function at Trafalgar Square. It is also heartening to note that a number of community organisations made special efforts on such occasions to raise funds for numerous charities in India and in the UK.

DELHI DURBAR

BSP plays spoilsport

FORMER Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is keen to play spoilsport as far as the BJP is concerned. Her Bahujan Samaj Party is having a strategic understanding with the Congress in a bid to “fix” the BJP in the coming assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. At some unpublicised closed-door meetings with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, she is believed to have worked out a game plan.

Mayawati is unlikely to make much of an impact in Delhi where Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and her Congress party are riding a high, if the recent surveys are any indication. A well-known social psychologist, Prof Ashish Nandy, maintains that surveys conducted by them in the Capital showed that the Congress is at least 11 percentage points ahead of the BJP even after doubling the margin of error. The BJP stalwarts in Delhi like chief ministerial candidate Madan Lal Khurana and Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Mukhi are crying hoarse that all these surveys have always proved to be wrong.

CMs have their say

In the ticket distribution for the assembly poll in the four cow-belt states, the Congress is relying heavily on the advice of its Chief Ministers. The Chief Ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have had a virtual monopoly in the distribution of the ticket with factional leaders from these states withdrawing their protests after some murmurs. The anti-incumbency factor is most intense against Digvijay Singh in Madhya Pradesh where he has completed two terms in office.

The selection process was not as easy for Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit with several senior Congress leaders having their fingers in the pie. The Congress leadership wants to win at least three of the four states to set the mood for the Lok Sabha poll and the Chief Ministers have apparently assured the leadership of victory if they are given requisite manoeuvrability and free hand in the ticket distribution. Winning the poll, however, is unlikely to ensure the Chief Ministers extended tenures.

Third front ruled out

A proponent of the third front, former Prime Minister V.P. Singh has himself virtually ruled out such an option in the near future. The architect of the National Front and the Janata Dal said the members of the then constituents were like atoms exploding when they reach a critical mass. See the vitality of the members of that alternative because wherever they went, they exploded. Is George Fernandes, whose anti-Congressism is well known, listening to the big brother’s advice? On the other hand, H.D. Deve Gowda insists that the Congress cannot be ignored in the pursuit of a third front.

Asli or naqli adivasi?

The BJP is caught in the battle of “naqli” and “asli” adivasi in taking the battle to the camp of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. The BJP is yet to firm up its mind about who will contest against Jogi, who is expected to contest from the Marwahi constituency from where he had won by 50,000 votes last time. After having carried on this campaign of Jogi being a “naqli” adivasi, BJP stalwarts are going slow in announcing their candidate from Marwahi. It is apparent that the BJP unit in Chhattisgarh is not on a sure ground as far as Jogi is concerned.

BJP sources admit that losing to Jogi whether he contests from Marwahi or any other constituency will be a tremendous loss of face for them. It is in this context that 18 out of the 90 seats in Chhattisgarh that have been left in a limbo assumes significance as there is still adequate time till November 15 for filing nominations. The BJP’s first list of 72 nominees for Chhattisgarh has had its share of stout dissent.

Contributed by T.R. Ramachandran, Prashant Sood and R Suryamurthy

REFLECTIONS

He alone lives in whom God resides. No one else is truly alive.

— Guru Nanak

Nothing hath separated us from God but our own will, or rather our own will is our separation from God.

— William Law

O Son of Man!

Upon the tree of effulgent glory I have hung for thee the choicest fruits, wherefore hast thou turned away and contented thyself with that which is less good? Return then unto that which is better for thee in the realm on high.

— Baha’u’llah

I know that I shall never know God if I do not wrestle with and against evil at the cost of life itself. I am fortified in the belief by my own humble and limited experience.

— Mahatma Gandhi

Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God.

— Coleridge