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Democracy under fire Communal poison |
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Enabling the disabled
Life after the tenure
Cricket versus cinema
Need to expand canal network Delhi Durbar
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Democracy under fire THE frequency with which terrorists have been attacking political rallies in Jammu and Kashmir suggests that they are determined to vitiate the political atmosphere in the state. Their target is not Progressive Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, whom they attacked at Uri the other day, or Health Minister and Congress leader Lal Singh, who came under fire at Doda on Wednesday. They are incidental in their overall strategy to frustrate the ongoing elections to the Lok Sabha. The Congress and the PDP are under attack because they have been able to provide a reasonably stable popular government for about one and a half years. They came to power in spite of the terrorists doing everything possible to keep the voters away from the polling booths when the state went to the polls last time in 2002. In those elections, the voters came out in large numbers and voted decisively against what they perceived as the corrupt regime of Dr Farooq Abdullah. For once, many of them, who had been brought up on the Pakistani propaganda that democracy in the state was a sham, realised how important their vote was. This was the greatest achievement of the elections which every observer, Indian and foreigner, vouchsafed as one of the freest and fairest they ever witnessed. This is bound to have a salutary effect on the ongoing elections with a possibility of the voting percentage going up even in those areas like Srinagar where the polling was relatively low. The militants want to avert such a possibility. They have succeeded in browbeating the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to give a call to boycott the elections. But they also know the limited influence the Hurriyat has and the likelihood of the people turning a deaf ear to its boycott call. Small wonder that they are throwing grenades at public rallies and making attempts at political leaders like Mehbooba Mufti. What they want is to terrorise the voters and thereby disturb the elections. With the melting of snow, it is only reasonable to expect terrorists from across the border to sneak into the country to cock a snook at the Indian democratic system. The nation must do everything possible to frustrate their effort. |
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Communal poison WHILE the main focus of the Supreme Court judgement in the Best Bakery case is on the government's bias towards the accused in the Godhra riots, it has also raised some poignant points about the communal virus which has been let loose in Gujarat. Expressing grave concern over the use of religion to undermine the heterogeneous relations among different communities, the apex court has warned that it is bound to have dangerous repercussions. In fact, the deleterious consequences have already started manifesting themselves. The land of Gandhi today stands hopelessly divided along religious fault lines. And yet, politicians like Mr Narendra Modi are widening the chasm further instead of narrowing it down. The undercurrent of pent-up anger is palpable right below the surface. Apparently, no lessons have been learnt from the events like the 1984 riots and the Babri Masjid demolition. Politics and religion have got so badly intertwined in Gujarat that even the killers are posing as champions of a particular religion. Such action from hotheads in one religion always provokes equally dangerous reaction from the other. The frenzy can spread from state to state. What is undeniable is that the minorities in India have many misgivings about their place in society. Their apprehensions have been confirmed by the shortsighted persons who perpetrated the riots. What has hurt the victims most is the brazen attempt by the government of the day to help the accused instead of the sufferers. In a recent interview, Mr Narendra Modi said that he would have to bear the burden of riots forever (for no reason, according to him). If he does think so, he has to go out of his way to unburden himself by winning the confidence of the minority community. He has been doing exactly the opposite. From his deeds at least, it does not appear that he is repetent about what happened in Gujarat. On the contrary, it seems that he bears the "burden" as some kind of a badge of honour. |
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Enabling the disabled IT is unfortunate that India’s disabled, estimated at 60 million, barely figure on the margins of the country’s politics or policy. Hardly surprising then that they are not reckoned with for electoral purposes. In representative democracy, it is not enough if elections are free and fair; they have to be truly representative with every citizen being enabled to exercise his franchise, regardless of not only caste, creed and status but also physical disabilities. Unfortunately, for all the technological skills and advancement that India boasts of, including its projected rise as a knowledge superpower, nothing has been done to make the polls friendly for the disabled. The Election Commission has been as much remiss as the political parties and the government on this account. As a result, those with disabilities have been denied the facility of barrier-free access to polling booths. While wheel-chair users cannot reach the booth or vote unless aided by another person, the visually impaired cannot cast their vote because of the absence of Braille on the electronic voting machines. According to disabled rights activists, the EC’s circular on the provision of enabling facilities, such as a ramp for the wheel-chair-bound, is not binding on the authorities. Luckily, the disabled are not disheartened. They are determined to ask for their rights. They have raised the issue of disabled voters’ rights and staged protests. A leading disabled activist is contesting the Lok Sabha election from New Delhi for “symbolic and emotional” reasons. This may not lead the disabled population to the mainstream of politics and society. But, at least, awareness of their condition would not be confined to the margins of society. |
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No poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer interprets the truth. — Jean Giraudoux |
Life after the tenure CONSIDER this hypothetical scenario. A former President of India decides to fight an election to the Lok Sabha or the Vidhan Sabha. He contests on the ticket of Party A and during canvassing launches a vitriolic attack on Party B. Leaders of the latter cry murder, saying that this is not in keeping with the stature and dignity of the post that he had held but cannot do a thing about it because there is no bar as such on a former President contesting an election. Far-fetched and improbable? Yes. But not really impossible because many others who have held high constitutional posts are actively pursuing political careers. That this can cast a dark shadow of doubt on their acts of commission and omission while they held the constitutional posts has not been considered a deterrent by them. A former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr M.S. Gill, elected to the Rajya Sabha, on the Congress ticket is in august company and cannot be faulted for doing anything out of the ordinary. His predecessor, Mr T.N. Seshan, not only contested the 1999 general election as the Congress candidate against Mr L. K. Advani in Gandhinagar, but also cajoled many a party to make him its nominee for Presidentship and ultimately contested the election with the BJP’s alliance partner, the Shiv Sena, supporting him. The trend is not exclusive to Nirvachan Sadan. Mr T.N. Chaturvedi, a former Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, first became a Rajya Sabha member with the BJP support, and then was made the Governor of Karnataka, just as Justice Ranganath Mishra, a former Chief Justice of India, had become a Rajya Sabha member with the backing of the Congress. Equally interesting is the case of Justice M. Papanna, an Orissa High Court Judge, who resigned a few days ago to contest as a Biju Janata Dal candidate from the Koraput Lok Sabha constituency. Since such worthies have already taken the plunge, the entry of others is not causing as much ripple as it should. In the Indian scheme of things, a precedent is all that is needed to justify an action, the morality and propriety issues notwithstanding. This list can be expanded ad infinitum. No convention has evolved in this matter. Legally, there may be nothing objectionable in such a post-retirement switchover but the decision does leave a lurking suspicion about their impartiality which is bad for their reputation. People may come to believe - rightly or wrongly - that prospects of future accommodation might have clouded their judgement during their tenure. That party tickets and even plum posts are distributed as a quid pro quo is no secret. Even if a former Election Commissioner, Judge or CAG gets these purely on merit, tongues are bound to wag that he happened to have a soft corner for a particular dispensation all along. In fact, it is not entirely impossible that a particular person, keen on getting a plum job after he quits a constitutional post, may start cosying up to a particular party or organisation at least towards the end of his career. Just because it may not have happened till now is no guarantee that it cannot happen in the future. Considering the state of the polity, various parties may also actively aid and abet such tendencies. They can scout for “pliable” authorities who can be lured to subtly favour them in various matters on the assurance that they will be either given tickets or some other gainful employment once they retire. While the majority of the judiciary is way above such temptations, there are a few who have shown a tendency to let their judgements be coloured by extraneous factors. Such people can fall a prey to the corrupting ways of political outfits. Their exploits can lower the reputation of the entire fraternity. The old phrase that Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion is fully applicable in the case of those holding high constitutional positions. Of course, they are free citizens once they have relinquished office but their actions should not compromise the position they have graced. Almost all parties have benefited from the inclusion of such luminaries and they are unlikely to do anything to stop the practice. But the common man does feel concerned when a person who is supposed to be absolutely neutral swings to one or other side of the political divide Again, taking a hypothetical situation, there is nothing in the Constitution which prohibits a Judge to take employment with a company after retirement in whose favour he had decided a case when in service. But the question is: should this be done? If not, what is the way to stop this? The common apprehensions can be addressed only if a nationwide debate gets initiated on this issue. Of course, the fundamental rights of any citizen of the country cannot be restricted but there can be some riders depending on the post he has held. At least a time period can be fixed before the completion of which a person cannot join a party or get gainful employment after retirement. This provision exists in the case of some retired government servants who cannot take up a job for two years after demitting office unless specifically permitted by the Government of India Either law should be amended through a major constitutional amendment to bring about a similar restriction or various parties should sit together to evolve a consensus, which should be then enforced not only in letter but also in spirit. The former, obviously, is a better solution Even if the remedy is found, that will plug only one of the loopholes. The other possibility of some relative or friend of a constitutional authority getting such a benefit always remains. But that will be stretching the point. Right now the most significant issue relates to the authority concerned himself. Union Law Minister and BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley says a Bill could be brought forward in Parliament to ban those holding high constitutional posts like those of Governor, Election Commissioner and Chief Justice, from taking post-retirement jobs from parties. But in the same breath he adds that the case of Mr T.N. Chaturvedi, whom his party had given Rajya Sabha membership, was different from that of the Election Commisioners who have to engage with parties and take crucial decisions affecting them during elections. On the contrary, the boot is on the other leg. Co-opting a former CAG to a political position constitutes a bigger mischief considering that while election commissioners come into the picture mainly during elections, a CAG sits in judgement over virtually all financial decisions of a ruling party. At least he should not be seen as being inclined towards any party. Under the given circumstances, it is all a matter of who will bell the cat. Obviously, it is not going to be easy to have a political unanimity on the issue, leave alone a
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Cricket versus cinema BOLLYWOOD filmmakers recently decided to postpone the release of their big movies in view of the cricket series between India and Pakistan. Good business sense, I would say, in the wake of my own experience! Sometime in March last year, I had to visit Chandigarh on the day a World Cup league match between India and Pakistan was to be played. I decided to carry my pocket-size transistor with me to listen to the running commentary of the all- important tie. Around 8 p.m. when the match was in its crucial stages (I was watching it on TV in my hotel room then) the time for the last show of Jism, the latest release, was drawing near. I had to make a tough decision: the match or the movie? Finally, Bipasha Basu and John Abraham beat Ganguly’s squad. Of course, I decided to carry my transistor with me, hoping that I would switch it on now and then to know the latest score. After a journey in a rickshaw through the deserted roads, I was at the Sector 37 theatre. The rickshaw-puller who had seen me with the transistor glued to my ears, asked me on reaching the destination, “Babuji, kitna ho gaya?” He was referring to the cricket score! Later, the booking clerk, on seeing the transistor in my hand, also posed the same query. Next came the gatekeeper. While he stared at my proud possession, I knew what question was to follow. But no! I was wrong this time. He asked me rather sternly: “Aapne ye notice nahin padha? Andar transistor le jana mana hai.” Gosh! So, what to do? “Well, you leave it here and collect it after the show,”he said. That meant depriving myself of the privilege of enjoying my first and second love (cricket and cinema) together. But I really had no option. Once inside the balcony, I found that I was the only person to have turned up for the show. My hopes that some people would “join me” later also proved to be futile. When the film had run for about an hour, I was surprised to find the gatekeeper standing near me with my transistor. “Ye aapka hai na,” he asked and, without waiting for an answer, handed me my property. Irritated, I asked : “Ab bata to do kya hua?”. “Bharat jeet gaya”, he answered. During the interval, I found both the canteens closed! Surprising? Not really! It was cricket day, after all. The sense of “loneliness” had started taking its toll on my patience. So after the interval, I decided to shift to the upper stall where I would be having some “company”. But lo! The hall was as starved of human beings as was the balcony. After the show, there was no rickshaw or “auto” waiting outside . That meant a long, long walk. Great win it was for
India.
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Need to expand canal network
THE Aravali reservoirs on both sides will take only 80,000 ham of water in storage and another 20,000 ham each may be consumed side by side or lost by way of seepages, evaporation, etc accounting for a total of 1.2 lakh ham leaving out 1.8 lakh ham of water for being carried further towards Rewari to the Masani barrage through carrier channels flowing via Taoru and Dharuhera. The Masani barrage with a storage capacity of 3,500 ham was constructed in 1978 to protect areas of Rewari and Gurgaon from floods of the Sahibi river, but Rajasthan constructed dams upstream and the barrage fell into disuse. Water for use in Mahendragarh and areas of Rewari beyond the command area of the barrage would be channelled through the barrage. Like Aravali dams, water would be taken out of this barrage for the current Kharif crop needs side by side and the barrage would be kept filled to capacity at the end of the rainy season. There would be a lot of recharging of water down into the earth that could be drawn through tubewells. The total utilisation, including for storage, may remain limited to 30,000 ham only, leaving out 1.5 lakh ham of water to be taken to Rewari and Mahendragarh or to other contiguous areas through the barrage only. From the Masani barrage water will be taken to the villages of Rewari and Mahendragarh districts. In this area some network of lift irrigation canals already exists, but at present water is not available. These canals and the pump-houses can be utilised and the canal network can be augmented further according to the need. Since water will be taken to these villages only in the two months during the rainy season, it would simultaneously be utilised for the current crops and also stored for use in the next few months. The creation of storage capacity becomes necessary at the place of usage i.e. the reservoirs for storage of water will have to be constructed in/around all the different villages. The old concept of “Bavris” may have to be revived to store water once it has reached the vicinity of a village. Expertise for the construction of “Bavris” can be obtained from that area or from Rajasthan, which still abounds in such structures. Generally, an 8- hectare plot should be sufficient to store water required for irrigating 200 hectares of land. Such a square plot has each side 282 metres long, of which 250 metres can be utilised for storage tank and the remaining 16 metres wide corridor along the periphery may be planted with dense tree cover. The structure can be brick-lined in order to prevent the seepage of water into the local desert sands. The platform supporting this tree cover around will be raised a little higher as compared to the local levels so as to protect the “Bavri” from any local pollutants. With a depth of 20 metres and a gentle slope to ensure stability of the structure, it will be able to contain almost 100-hec metres of water. Assuming that one-third of the water stored will be lost in evaporation and seepage, only 67 ham will be available for irrigation and other uses, sufficient to take care of 200 hectares of land. The government can ask the panchayats to offer or may acquire 8-hectare plots for each command area of 200 hectares for the construction of a “Bavri”. The plantations on the 16-metre-wide corridor around the reservoir being located on the waterside would automatically grow fast. If useful trees are planted, these could either yield fruit or fodder, apart from providing shade in summer. Water can be drawn from the “Bavri” by electric pumps. The village can organise itself and fix a charge on the water or alternatively the irrigation department can take charge of the entire scheme of canals and “Bavris”. That will also enable it to create the necessary infrastructure and mechanism for their maintenance. Moreover, the department has to maintain the carrier channels and the Masani barrage as well, whereas collections can be made from the end-user alone, the irrigation department can run the entire show right from lifting the water from the Yamuna to delivering it to the end-user. Some such viable charges may be fixed so that the peasant does not feel the burden and at the same time enough resources are generated to run these services so that the supply of water is ensured. The 1.0 lakh ham water can be sufficient for filling in the 1,000 Bavris @ 100 ham per Bavri. Allowing for current consumption during the rainy season and after offsetting against losses on various accounts, it may add up to an additional 50,000 ham. So the balance water of 1.5 lakh ham, left after catering to the Masani barrage and its surrounding areas, should be enough for feeding 1,000 Bavris or for irrigating 5 lakh acres. Once water becomes available round the year, it would cause a revolution in the area and build the confidence of Haryana farmers around Delhi. Their entrepreneurial spirit may come to the fore in a big way. It would also reduce the pressure on electricity, a highly scarce resource, but required in bulk in this area to draw underground water. Moreover, it is well known that subsidised electricity is misused in the name of agriculture, which can be checked once water is provided to villagers through these “Bavris”. With these arrangements, the water problem of the three districts would get sorted out. The surplus waters can also be used to halt the march of desert from Rajasthan and insulate Haryana and Delhi from this menace by creating a jungle wall half a km to one km wide along the Rajasthan border. The trees should be so chosen that either their leaves, flowers, fruits or wood can be put to economic uses. That will add to the employment potential, thereby uplifting the economy of the area. (Concluded) The writer, a senior IPS officer, heads the Shivalik Development Agency of Haryana. The views expressed are his personal. |
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Delhi Durbar AFTER Virender Sehwag became the first Indian cricketer to hit a triple century, Sahib Singh Verma visited the residence of the “Nawab of Najafgarh”, his constituent. The Sehwag senior warmly welcomed the fellow Jat who happens to be the Union Labour Minister. To express solidarity with the Jats, Sehwag’s father came up with a unilaterally reassuring offer that his son will campaign for Sahib Singh after his return from Pakistan. The Jat leader smiled and gently rebuked him in a typical Jat style. The minister told him there was no need for that as the Sehwag family could do the campaigning, if it wished. But the stylish opener was a worthy son of India who was doing wonders for his country and should be left alone in pursuit of that onerous task. Incidentally, Sahib Singh has pledged to gift a golden crown weighing 309 grams to commemorate Sehwag’s 309 runs in the Lahore Test against Pakistan. Sahib’s message: don’t mix cricket with politics. Shekhawat’s
trip abroad This is one foreign trip which the Government of India can neither avoid nor grudge. Normally, leaders in the democratic world don’t undertake foreign visits when votes are being cast in a general election. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will leave for South Africa later this month. The Ministry of External Affairs is finalising the dates of Shekhawat’s visit. This will be done when its advance team, which is now in South Africa, returns with exact details. Shekhawat will represent India when South Africa celebrates the completion of a decade of an end to apartheid and its return to democracy. The main function is to be held on April 27. This suits Shekhawat perfectly as he would be back home much before his native state — Rajasthan — goes to the polls on May 5. Trouble in
Nepal The Indian diplomatic community is keeping its fingers crossed on Nepal where for the first time the Maoist violence has taken an ugly turn from the Indian point of view. Indian interests are being targeted. The Maoists were quick to distance themselves from this. But diplomatic grapevine has it that the burning of vehicles in Nepal and other stray attacks against Indians was a subtle ploy by the Maoists to convey to New Delhi to keep off their struggle against King Gyanendra, who is increasingly being perceived to be anti-people and anti-democracy. It is being said that the Maoists’ India-specific acts were in response to the arrest of Mohan Vaidya, their ideologue, in Siliguri. Jagran to start
news channel Prominent Hindi newspaper “Dainik Jagran” is coming up with a television channel. This will be the first foray of the 62-year-old newspaper into the enticing visual media. Though no dates have been set for the launch, it is believed that it will take at least three-four months before the channel goes on air. The name of the channel is being tentatively put as “Jagran News Network”. But already a channel called “Jagran” is being aired. This channel, which is disseminating programmes exclusively on spirituality and religion, is owned by the Zee TV group. It is believed that the “Jagran” channel would change its name suitably once the Jagran news channel gets operational. Contributed by Rajeev Sharma, Gaurav Choudhury and S. Satyanarayanan |
At dawn I worship the kalpaka-creeper-like arms of Lalita, the tender leaf-like fingers luminous with rings set precious stones, wearing gem-set bangles and the shoulder adornment ‘angada’, bearing the striped sugarcane bow, flower, arrows and mace. — Shri Adi Shankaracharya The ability to cherish God’s name is attained through His grace. — Guru Nanak Mere knowledge is comparatively worthless unless digested into practical wisdom and common sense as applied to the affairs of life. — Tryon Edwards Want of punctuality is a want of virtue. — J.M. Mason Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue. — Izaak Walton |
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