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Soren encashes the bail Policy on admissions |
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Mid-day meal shame
Ensuring people’s welfare
Picking pockets
F-16s and other lethal toys for Pakistan
Chatterati
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Soren encashes the bail THE granting of bail to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren has turned out to be significant. Without the bail he would have been sent to jail. After getting the bail he has returned to the Union Cabinet. This is a peculiar situation when a man who is yet to be cleared of a 20-year-old murder charge has been accommodated in the Cabinet. The happy situation for him -— but not for the political system — has been brought about by the compulsions of coalition politics, which has led to many a norm being thrown to the wind. Mr Soren was sworn in as a Central minister on Saturday getting back his old portfolio — Coal — minus Mines. He was forced to resign on July 24 following a non-bailable warrant issued against him by a Jharkhand court. But the situation changed when he secured a bail on September 8 after spending a few weeks in judicial custody. The Congress too needed an arrangement with Mr Soren’s party to put up a challenge to the ruling BJP in the coming assembly elections in Jharkhand. It, therefore, became imperative to honour his ministerial claim. The UPA government has been under tremendous pressure from another coalition partner, the Andhra Pradesh-based Telengana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). One of its grievances has been fulfilled by allocating the Labour and Employment portfolio to TRC chief Chandrasekhara Rao. He had been waiting for a ministry ever since he joined the Manmohan Singh government. Mr Sis Ram Ola of the Congress, who was looking after the Labour and Employment Ministry, will have to remain content with Mines. The TRS has also been accusing the Congress of not honouring the commitment made on the issue of creating a Telengana state. Starting a process for a separate Telengana is not possible at this stage because of strong opposition to any such move from the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress. Giving a portfolio to the TRS minister will provide only temporary relief to the UPA government. How it takes care of the TRS’s major demand remains to be seen. The minor Cabinet reshuffle would have been treated as an insignificant event had Mr Soren not been one of the beneficiaries. His re-induction in the Cabinet is bound to provide ammunition to the Opposition for attacking the government in the winter session of Parliament. |
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Policy on admissions THE Centre’s new policy on entrance tests for admission to all professional educational institutions is in conformity with its avowed objective of respecting the autonomy in this sphere. It is a complete reversal of the admission policy formulated by the National Democratic Alliance government, making it mandatory for all professional institutes to have a common entrance test. The attempt to create a plethora of tests triggered a confrontation between the institutes and the then Union Minister of Human Resource Development Murli Manohar Joshi. Under the new policy, all Central Government-run institutions like the National Institutes of Technology would be required to carry out admissions through the All-India Engineering Entrance Examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. For others, like Central or deemed universities, it is up to them to participate in the common entrance test or conduct their own examinations based on transparent procedures. Students and parents are bound to heave a sigh of relief because the new policy is expected to avoid duplication of processes and multiplicity of costs which they were subjected to earlier. Suffice it to mention, instead of over 50 tests conducted currently by several professional institutes on their own, from next year onwards, there will be only five major countrywide examinations. This indeed is a welcome development. Undoubtedly, the new policy is a major victory for the IIMs. They were opposing the single-exam move because of their apprehension that the Common Admission Test (CAT) presently conducted for admission to the IIMs would get diluted. Minority institutions like the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia feared that their minority status would be adversely affected by a common entrance test. The states too seem to be happy because they can continue to hold their own tests as before for admission to institutes within their respective geographical limits. On the whole, the new policy would clear the confusion and lighten the burden on aspirants in a climate conducive to better cooperation between the government and professional institutes. |
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Mid-day meal shame THE school authorities in Haryana have been prompt in reacting to the story about children being served worm-infested and fungus-affected food under the mid-day meal scheme of the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, in Kaithal and Kurukshetra, as reported in the columns of this paper. The district officials have taken prompt action to identify the contaminated stocks and made arrangements for proper food to be served to the students. This gives rise to the hope that they will also quickly identify those who failed in their responsibility to ensure wholesome provisions. However, due attention must also be paid to finding out how and why the system is not able to deliver what it has promised. It is clear from the statements of various officials that at least some persons were aware of the fact that the porridge served to the children did not have a good shelf life and that there have been complaints about it earlier. In some ways, it would be tempting to agree with the officials that “these are teething troubles since the scheme is relatively new.” But while it is new in this region, the mid-day meal scheme has been around for over two decades in the southern, and the experiences gained there should have been taken into account even as the scheme is now underway. The mid-day meal scheme has proved beneficial for increasing the nutritional level of students as well as attracting children to schools. This is a very positive measure that has to be implemented countrywide, but with dedication. There is no doubt that there have been cases of meals unfit for consumption being served, leading, at times, to food poisoning. Deterrent punishment, and without delay, of those guilty of the lapse may serves as a salutary lesion and a safeguard against reoccurrence of such incidents. |
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Stern daughter of the voice of God! |
Ensuring people’s welfare THE Founding Fathers, after due deliberations, opted for the parliamentary form of government instead of the presidential system, preferring accountability to stability. They also provided for the separation of powers to a large extent. In theory, the executive is accountable to the legislature and the legislature to the people. The judiciary is independent of both. The legislature is supposed to control and guide the executive. In practice, the Leader of the Lower House being the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister of a state, as the case may be, the executive tends to dominate the legislature. The success of any system of government depends mostly on the executive. In popular perception, the government means the executive comprising of a council of ministers at the top and the civil servants, from the Cabinet Secretary down to the lowest employee. The Constitution laid down a manifesto called the Directive Principles of State Policy for successive governments with the objective of building a welfare state on the pillars of justice - social, economic and political-- liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship and equality of status and opportunity. The targets set in the Directive Principles, however, remain largely unimplemented by the Executive. The mandate to the State was to endeavour to provide for free and compulsory education for children until they completed the age of 14 years "within a period of 10 years from the commencement of this Constitution". Because it was so vital for the success of democracy, it needed to be implemented immediately. However, it remains neglected even now. Exasperated by the inaction of the successive governments to provide free and compulsory education to children for over 40 years, the Supreme Court in J.P. Unnikrishan vs State of A.P. declared that the right to life conferred by Article 21 includes the right to education until the child completes the age of 14 years. A decade later purporting to incorporate the right to education in Part III, the Directive Principle in Article 45 was recast, requiring the state to provide for child care up to six years in lieu of free and compulsory education. Simultaneously, Article 21A was inserted subjecting the right to education to a rider that the state shall provide it "in such a manner as the state may by law determine". As a result, the right declared by the highest court as part of the right to life stands diluted. Neither child care nor education can be claimed as a right till the State chooses to act. The primary and secondary education provided by unaided private establishments is expensive. Even middle class parents find it difficult to bear the cost of education in elite schools. In the state schools the quality of education is generally poor. In rural areas it is worse. Political interference with education is evident at all levels. Vice-Chancellors are appointed in many states on political considerations. There is inbreeding in the centres of higher learning to a large extent with the Universities preferring to promote their teachers instead of allowing outside talent to come in. Administration of educational institutions has become difficult because of politics. Teachers' unions and students' unions with political affiliations are strong in many parts of the country. When India became free, strikes in educational institutions were unheard of. The Constitution aims at they upliftment of weaker sections to the level of others for achieving the goal of a classless society based on socio-economic equality. The political leadership has found a goldmine in the policy of reservation of jobs in government departments and PSUs and seats in professional colleges in favour of specified castes, which are labelled as "backward classes". Studies reveal that backwardness cannot be wiped out by such reservations. The benefits of reservations are cornered by a few among some of the listed castes. The children of the bottom most layers in these castes who do not have even primary education cannot make use of these benefits. The reservations do not equip members of the backward classes to compete with the others on equal terms. They breed hostility among the listed castes and others and cause brain-drain and flight of talent to advanced countries. They perpetuate the caste system, contrary to the scheme of the Constitution. In every undeveloped country, there are "haves" and "have nots". The families which are above the poverty line and can afford to have more children limit their numbers voluntarily, but the families which are below the poverty line tend to multiply fast, unmindful of the consequences. It becomes the responsibility of the state to look after them. The state is not ready to shoulder this responsibility. Strict control of population is necessary to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. If China could enforce a single child norm, why can't India implement the norm of two-children effectively unless electoral advantages stand in the way? Democracy cannot be a success without equipping and enabling the people to exercise their franchise freely, guided by public interest. The Justice R.S. Sarkaria Commission (1984), The Law Commission of India (170th report, 1999) and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002) have pointed out serious lapses and distortions in the functioning of democracy. In the words of the late Nani A. Palkhivala, "The grim irony of the situation where the one job for which you need no training or qualification whatsoever is the job of legislating for and governing the largest democracy on earth. You need years of training to attend to a boiler or to mind a machine; to supervise a shop floor or to build a bridge, to argue a case in a law court or to operate upon a human body. But to steer the lives and destinies of more than 650 millions (now more than 1000 millions) of your fellow-men, you are not required to have any education or equipment at all.". This loophole in the Constitution is being exploited by criminals and money-bags. There is a direct conflict of interest between such ministers, members of the legislatures and the people. By now the voters have tried all political parties in power either in the states or at the Centre. None of them is in a position to check the influence of money power and muscle power in elections. Ministry formation is not without hard bargaining. "We, the people of India" in whose name and for whose benefit the freedom struggle was waged for so long, making enormous sacrifices and for whom the Constitution has been prepared, today find themselves as helpless spectators to the plunder that goes on in the name of democracy. In some of the states the exchequer has no money for the payment of salaries to the teachers and other staff employed by the government and the local bodies. Public debt has gone up to unmanageable proportions, irrespective of the political party or parties in power. Every budget imposes fresh levies in addition to the existing taxes. What happens to the revenue collected? It never happened in the initial decades that the governments had no money to pay low-paid employees like teachers. What can the people expect from the executive in the present state of affairs? When the system is out of shape even Dr. Manmohan Singh cannot perform miracles single- handedly. It is a challenging task. It is, therefore, essential to reorganise and reform the executive from top to bottom. The question is how to go about it? The first step required is a simple amendment in the Constitution providing for premature retirement of public servants of doubtful integrity on payment of some compensation depending on the length of service put in. The power has to be lodged in safe hands at the highest level of the hierarchy. The word "public servant" as defined by the Supreme Court includes Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, civil servants, judges, judicial officers and all others holding public offices in or under the government or public sector undertakings. We must get rid of persons of doubtful integrity without delay. The next step should be to ensure the selection and appointment of honest and most competent persons for all posts, including the posts of ministers. It is necessary to amend the Constitution to facilitate the appointment of renowned experts as ministers for holding at least key portfolios and make them ex-officio members of Parliament answerable to both Houses. In addition, strict conditions of eligibility need to be laid down for the posts of minister both at the Centre and in the states. Only such members of Parliament or state legislatures whose integrity, ability and passion for service to the people are above board should be eligible for appointment. There is need to separate the executive and the legislature to a much larger extent so that except for the posts of minister, no executive office should be available to a member of Parliament. Posts of chairmen of public sector undertakings, etc. should all be filled only by highly qualified experts known for their experience, ability and integrity. As and when these are acted upon, most of the ticket-seekers of today will desert politics and move to other areas available for exploitation. The writer is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court. |
Picking pockets I have a family. I run a household. I drink. I smoke. I have a car. For something that costs ten, I pay thirty five. I pay tax on what I earn. Also on what I purchase with my money. Even on the interest on my savings. Should I be still asked to pay more? And that too in the name of service? Justice Holmes said, "Taxes are the price of civilisation." How is the State civilising me? What service do I get? I go to get a birth certificate, driving licence or a ration card. I stand in the long queue. Wait patiently. And finally, when my turn reaches, the man on the counter points out a frivolous defect in the form and dismisses me. And I am not the only unlucky man. This is the fate of most of the persons that visit a government office. I am stubborn. I decide to go to the big boss. And my God! Seeing the Burra Sahib is a big ordeal. He may be a "Darbari" or a "Doormat" in the office. But he is inaccessible to the common man. If I ring up the house, the answer is — 'Sa'ab gussal mein hain' (Sahib is in the bathroom). If I try to get an appointment in the office, the standard reply is — 'Sa'ab meeting mein hain' (Sahib is in a meeting). If I persist for a few days, the reply is — 'Sa'ab Harvard gaya hai. Course karne' (Sahib has gone to Harvard for a course). It is true that each officer attends countless meetings and signs innumerable files during his service. But what is the actual contribution? And then the so-called peoples' representative - the Hon'ble Minister. It is a task to get through the security net. There are the crude and rude men. Also the sophisticated machines. After I manage to cross this hurdle, it is difficult to get past the maize of peons and others. Finally, when one has overcome both, the personal secretary interrogates. He follows a rule. If he finds that you cannot be of any use, he would put you off on some pretext. Otherwise, you have to wait endlessly for the holy Darshan of the Deity. Ultimately, despite promise, nothing happens. Is this service? Am I being made to pay for all this? The question bothers me. Probably, many others too. But no one is willing to answer. And then, what for do they use the money that I pay? For higher salaries. Allowances. To provide better cars. Bigger houses. More perks. For "ostentatious consumption" of a few. How much is spent on development? Or on education? Loans are taken to execute even small projects. The debt is rising by the day. We continue to beg and borrow. It does not even seem to hurt our sense of national pride. Economy is itself a source of revenue. Let us reduce our expenses. Eschew waste and ostentation. Bring down the cost of governance. Avoid expense on the luxuries. I am optimistic that we shall be left with something for the necessities. Without picking pockets on the pretext of service to the
people.
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F-16s and other lethal toys for Pakistan
THERE are clear indications that Pakistan is getting F-16 warjets, besides the eight P3C Orion Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) aircraft and a host of other weapons from the United States that would have serious implications for India and the neighbouring region. Strangely, this is after reports from the US itself that Pakistan violated all the three US tenets on nuclear, missiles and terrorism (NMT) proliferation. It is the US which accused Pakistan of wheeling dealing with China, North Korea and Libya in nuclear weapons and missiles, and it is the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) which last week officially charged Pakistan’s nuclear father of nation with selling nuclear bomb technology to Iran. For Pakistan, Orion P3C aircraft, newer F-16s and a host of other weapons are coming as a bargain of opportunity, thanks to the equations established between Washington and Islamabad following the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States. That the Al Qaida terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 bombing tragedy were inspired and trained from their dens in Afghanistan and Pakistan somehow does not seem to matter. India has raised concern about the F-16s, but the US has not acknowledged their possible delivery. However, it was the Pakistan naval chief who, in September, had signaled the arrival of Orions, and it is the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chief himself who has stated that an initial lot —- perhaps of 18 warjets — is around the corner. Pakistan had been in terrible debt before the 9/11 attacks, accumulating to nearly US $ 38 billion. Today, that is steadily being wiped off, thanks to Washington and its influence with the donor countries and agencies like the World bank. The US has declared Pakistan as a Major Non-Nato Ally (MNNA), according it a privileged security relationship equal to what countries like Japan, Israel, Australia, Jordan and some others enjoy. They get the best of arms and munitions like depleted uranium anti-tank rounds on priority. An added advantage to the MNNA partners is that they can take loans from private banks to buy arms under US government guarantees. And they can take part in its military research programm For a country heavily in debt, accused of using nuclear, missile and terror (NMT) proliferation as a tri-technology of disturbing the world equilibrium, this is a bonanza. Three years ago, before the 9/11, nobody would give advanced weapons to Pakistan, which in any case, did not have the required funds to go to the market with its desired list. Today reports emanating from Islamabad indicate that thanks to the debt writeoffs, President Musharraf has sanctioned a $ 9 billion programme to modernise the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Whatever reasons and pleas he has made, the US bought them. Gen Musharraf seems to have become indispensable in the US game plan for the region. According to Vice Admiral D B Kapila (retd), the US seems to be propping Pakistan to play a role extending beyond its borders, perhaps for a patrolling arrangement in the Gulf waters. Pakistan is getting eight upgraded P3C Orion aircraft under a $ 1.3 billion package announced this month. For a country the size of Pakistan, this is a very large number as each Orion can be in the air for more than 15 hours a day with a mission range of 2380 nautical miles or 4382 km. Pakistan already has three P3C Orions, given in 1996, and two French Atlantique aircraft with similar capability. (A third Atlantique was shot down by the Indian Air Force after it intruded into the Indian air space on August 11, 1999, on an electronic intelligence mission and to test the Indian defences). Keeping in mind that Pakistan, a country smaller than California, with land borders totaling only 6,774 km (Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km and Iran 909 km), implications for the region are serious. Pakistan has indeed served the US interests well, right from the 1950s when it joined the US and British-sponsored military alliances of SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organisation) and CENTO (Central Treaty Organisation). It allowed U-2 spy flights over the Soviet Union from its Peshawar airbase, facilitated Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to China in 1971, and permitted US intelligence bases along Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It got the best possible military hardware, from the Patton tanks and Sabre jets in the 1960s to F-16s, Harpoon anti-shipping missiles and Command-Control-Communication-and-Intelligence (C3I) computers in the 1980s. But all along, it lied and professed nuclear and missile virginity, something the US laws required for supplying arms to any friend. In 1990, the George Bush (Senior) administration had admitted it and imposed a ban on further supplies. Till then, Pakistan had taken the delivery of 40 F-16s while 28 aircraft out of a further requested lot of 71 were about to come. That was stopped. Notably, Pakistan was also the first country in the Indian subcontinent to get hi-tech weapons. India had to follow, with Mirage 2000s and Mig 29s. India is a country directly affected by Pakistan’s NMT tri-technology. Despite Pakistan’s proven NMT mischiefs, Gen Musharraf is getting the toys he wants. That some of these are extremely dangerous to India and the world, has to be conveyed to the US in strongest terms. These toys can explode with far reaching impact. |
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Chatterati WHAT a busy week the capitaleratti has had, thanks to the “shaddis” in Saddi Dilli. If the page three hunters had a tryst with the paparazzi at the wedding reception of world steel tycoon
Lakshmi Mittal’s daughters, then the Capital fan club got part of Bollywood at the
wedding of Gulshan Kumar’s daughter, which was attended by nearly 6,000 people. For the Mittals, Murli Deora had an exclusive reception where the likes of C.K. Birla, Praful
Patel and Naresh Trehan were among those invited to the lavish sit-down dinner. The couple seemed unaware of the Rs.200 crore wedding of the century being so
written. Cocktail napkins, mobile phone cameras became the arsenal with which Delhi fan’s decided to mob the horde of film stars which descended for Gulshan Kumar’s
occasion. The crowd, which rushed to greet Shah Rukh, Sunil Shetty and Farah Khan nearly pushed former CM Mayawati of the dice. The tent wobbled, the crowd hobbled but star-struck Dilliwala just won’t give up. It was just a start of the Capital’s wedding season. It was actually just the same political faces like Gulam Nabi Azad, Shiela Dixit, Praful Patel, some top media guys who were at these different venues of high-profile weddings. Hey!, this is not it. We still have the weddings of our Commerce Minister Kamal Nath’s son and our Olympic Head Suresh Kalmadi’s son. For Suresh’s son’s
wedding special helipads are being readied, roads repaired and BSNL has been instructed
that all phones should be working. But the icing on the cake is that Pune municipal workers are helping
to distribute invitation cards. Ambani battle’s fallout Where Bollywood is, Amar Singh has to be there Shaking hands, patting shoulders, peking pretty cheeks, dodging questions of his best friend, younger Ambani battle. Oh!, is the rumour about the younger Ambani’s association with a beauty queen-turned film actress has something to do with the high-profile battle of the brothers on whose shoulder millions of innocent Indians’ jobs are at stake? Till yesterday our bureaucrats were falling over one another to prove their loyalty to the Reliance family. Besides, of course, of the government of the day and the constitution as an
afterthought. But now speculation is rife that Mukesh and Anil might go their separate way our administrators are suffering from schizophrenia. If they profess their loyalty to the M camp,
they might be in trouble, if they got posted to a ministry where the A camp’s writ
runs and vice-versa. Administrative services never got as hazardous as this before! Of bare backs and legs If winter is entering Delhi, how can mini-skirt be far behind? Amazing, but true. Our younger generation participated in an evening, where the legs were being judged by a panel
comprising designer Rana Gill and yoga exponent Bharat Thakur. It was really an act full of legs, which walked
around the bar, sporting Suneet Verma’s outfits, some weeks back, the same group had organised an evening of bare backs. Oh! In this cold you should have seen our
middle-aged pot-bellied balding Punjabi guys’ eyes pop out looking at these sexy models showing skin all the way. |
Each of us has a mission to fulfill: a mission of love. At the hour of death, when we come face-to-face with God, we are going to be judged on love; not on how much we have done, but on how much love we have put into our actions. — Mother Teresa My effort should never be to undermine another's faith but to make him a better follower of his own faith. — Mahatma Gandhi He endowed man with all the virtues that he Himself is possessed of. —The Sikhism |
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