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Walk together Flood fury New
President for Iran |
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The weakening of bonds
Man-made monsoon!
Childhood in chains Tackling child labour Delhi Durbar
From the pages of
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Walk together IF the intention of the four left parties, led by the CPM, was to shake the United Progressive Alliance out of its complacency, then the comrades have made their point. Their announcement to stay away from the coordination committee meetings of the ruling coalition has sent the Congress into a tizzy; the party has been quick to respond with assurances that the concerns of the Left would be not only addressed but also resolved. After being shaken, the Congress has stirred itself to ensure that the apparent disagreement over an issue — disinvestment of BHEL — does not develop into discord and spill over to other areas. It is hard to accept that the government’s move to divest 10 per cent of its stake in BHEL could by itself have driven the Left to the extreme decision of suspending their participation in the coordination committee. The Left have gone along with a number of policy decisions at variance with their ideological stance, particularly in regard to the telecom and civil aviation sectors and foreign direct investment. These ideological compromises were in return for the government’s relenting in other areas, such as payout of 9.5 per cent interest on Provident Fund accumulations. More recently, despite their avowed opposition to a hike in the prices of petroleum products, the Left went along on the understanding that the increases would be kept to the minimum and spare kerosene and cooking gas. The fact that these tricky patches could be negotiated suggests that the Left’s complaint is not the BHEL disinvestment alone. However, the BHEL disinvestment issue has served as the trigger and the Congress should hasten to address the deeper causes of the Left’s dissatisfaction. The Left will not go so far as to withdraw support, and this has been reiterated. It is imperative for the Congress to leverage the strength of its ties with the Left to restore the latter’s confidence in the consultative mechanisms, which seems to be the real issue here. The UPA needs to carry the Left along as long as it is practicable to march together. These are the compulsions of political arithmetic of the present Lok Sabha. |
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Flood fury LAST year, the formation of a huge lake in Tibet because of the blocking of a river kept India on tenterhooks for long. A disaster was considered imminent, but mercifully it did not materialise. Well, the preparation has not exactly gone waste. This time, when the killer water finally came rushing at a tremendous speed, warnings were issued quickly enough and that saved many lives. Still, the reported loss of property has been extensive and rehabilitation of the affected persons will be a massive operation, which will be successful only if the Centre extends a helping hand to Himachal Pradesh. Many bridges and roads have been washed away, which will have to be rebuilt on priority. As yet, it is not yet certain whether the flash flood occurred because of the bursting of the Parechu lake. If the lake has indeed burst, India and China need to consult each other and take steps to avert greater danger. Another possibility is that the melting of the excessive snowfall that the Himalayan and Tibetan region received this year led to the surge of water. In the coming days, many such huge masses of snow can be expected to slowly come down to the river level and cause havoc. The nation will have to prepare itself for such eventualities. This phenomenon should not be mistaken for the melting of the glaciers. The real cause appears to be the recent snow. Either way, it is necessary to learn vital lessons from the nature’s fury and put them to practice. Roads and houses in the affected areas need to be much higher than the water level. The new alignment of the Hindustan-Tibet road happens to be perilously low at some places. During the coming monsoon season, the administration will also do well to keep helicopters in readiness to ensure that marooned persons can be airlifted to safety. In such matters, it is essential to be forewarned as well as forearmed. |
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New
President for Iran MR
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who has won the Iranian Presidential election
with a thumping majority, was never considered a formidable claimant
for the top executive post. But the results of the first round
indicated that the calculations of political pundits might prove
wrong. Ayatullah Hashemi Rafsanjani, the winner of the first round, could not get more than 50 per cent of the votes caste, and hence the need for the second round as required under the Iranian constitution. The man closely behind Mr Rafsanjani was a dark horse, Mr Ahmedinejad, representing the anti-reformist camp. This prompted the supporters of the reforms, initiated by the outgoing President, Mr Mohammed Khatami, to rally round Mr Rafsanjani. Among those working against Mr Ahmedinejad were not only the people worried about the future of the reforms but also big business and the elite. The Ahmedinejad camp exploited the situation to secure an overwhelming support of the poor and the conservative sections. That the President-elect was a favourite of Iran’s supreme spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was no secret. Mr Ahmedinejad represents the religious zealots who want to take Iran back to the days after the 1979 revolution when those having liberal views could not dare to speak out. But, at the same time, he had also been trying to champion the causes of the poor, the socially and economically deprived people of Iran. This has paid him rich dividends. Mr Ahmedinejad’s victory, however, is a setback to reforms. Going by his background, the new dispensation under him may put a stop to the process initiated by Mr Khatami. It is also possible that he may avoid behaving on expected lines now that he will be holding the reins of power. He gave indications to this effect in his first Press conference when he said that he would follow a policy of “moderation” and that “there will be no place for extremism”. He may be tougher in his dealings with the US, but he is well-placed to address the West’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. New Delhi has to watch the emerging Iran which is not only a major supplier of oil and gas to India but also the gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia. |
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It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness. — George Santayana
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The weakening of bonds THE feel-good factor on the high streets of Ahmedabad and Vadodara is unmistakable. For a state still coming to terms with the Godhra carnage and the horrific riots that followed three years ago, the bull-run on the bourses is paying for stiff doses of retail therapy. Multiplexes, malls and food courts have sprung up even in the old city of Ahmedabad that was till recently out of bounds for the corporate sector for reasons of security. And, for a change, the McDonald’s outlet at Ahmedabad’s Ashram Road too is finding buyers for its chicken burgers among Gujarati Hindus. Mercantile relationships between Hindus and Muslims are being gradually restored by exigencies of trade in a state where commerce is the prevailing creed. The businesses owned by the minority community, which were destroyed by the rampaging mobs led by Hindutva fanatics, too have made a come-back. Not surprisingly, the creeping sense of complacency has begun to claim even sections of the intelligentsia that were so far shrill in their opposition to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. However, the veneer of normalcy cannot hide the badly rend social fabric of Gujarat. The communal polarisation of Hindus and Muslims which began in Ahmedabad after the riots of 1966 has now spread to the entire state post-Godhra. The toxins produced by Hindutva’s laboratory have cleansed entire neighbourhoods of Muslims. In villages across Gujarat where Hindus and Muslims lived together for ages, members of the minority community are still barred from returning three years after the riots. After Mr Narendra Modi ruthlessly shut down the refugee camps housing the Muslims displaced during the riots, most of them have moved to shanties in ghettos across the state. The Dalits who turned against the Muslims in the post-Godhra riots, despite their age-old ties, continue look at the members of the minority community with suspicion. Thanks to continued oppression from panchayat officials linked to the Sangh Parivar, more than 15,000 Muslim families from across Gujarat are still unable to return to their old homes. In the villages around Ahmedabad where real estate prices are spiralling after they were brought under the mega-city project, Muslims are being compelled to sell land at throw-away prices to their former neighbours. Not a murmur is heard about the scores of restaurants owned by the Cheliya Muslims that have been forced to take in Hindu partners so that the establishments are not targeted in the next bout of violence. With rioters targeting restaurants owned by Cheliyas despite their bearing Hindu names and serving vegetarian fare, the Cheliyas have begun to play safe giving away shares to key employees and acquaintances from among the Hindus. In all 147 restaurants owned by the Cheliya Muslims were burnt down in the post-Godhra riots. Traders from the Dawoodi Bohra community in Gujarat’s tribal areas, who faced the brunt of attacks by adivasis egged on by local Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists, have been forced to withdraw complaints against their attackers in order to return. Reports of many Bohras having been forced to buy out their former assailants who simply moved into their shops too have been brushed under the carpet. While the Hindutva brigade’s call for economic boycott against Gujarat’s Muslims in the wake of the post-Godhra riots quickly fizzled out, it is clear that the trading communities from among them have been forced to exist as second-class citizens in the state. The saffron forces’ attempts to erase symbols and practices shared by Hindus and Muslims have been more systematic. No efforts have been made to restore the more than 500 plus dargahs that were destroyed three years ago. As riots raged across the state, these shrines, which embodied the syncretic traditions of both communities, were systematically destroyed. Most of them with idols of Halludiya (that born during the riots) Hanuman placed in them have transformed into small temples in the past three years. In Ahmedabad itself, little has been done to restore the tomb of Gujarat’s well-known poet Shah Wali where a road was hurriedly built during the post-Godhra riots. What is most shocking is the continued denial of decent education to Muslim children in parts of the state despite Mr Modi’s claims of restoring normalcy in Gujarat. For instance, in Ahmedabad’s Juhapura colony Muslim children who were pulled out of the Christian-run Don Bosco School haven’t returned though the institution is just across the road in a Hindu-dominated area. The Muslim students are now enrolled in an English-medium school run by the community where the quality of faculty and education imparted is markedly inferior. Forced into ghettos, the Muslims in Gujarat are falling prey to depression and despair. Especially in the old city of Ahmedabad which has a history of communal riots dating back to 1966, violent clashes between groups of people are common. Even altercations over petty incidents result in minor riots forcing the police to move in to disperse violent mobs. Small wonder, police pickets are a permanent fixture in areas like Shahpur, Kalupur, Gomtipur, Daryapur and other places in Ahmedabad. Here clusters of Hindu and Muslim houses existing cheek by jowl are clearly marked with defining boundaries with police personnel posted to prevent the outbreak of violence. Attempts to set up mohalla committees on the lines of those set up in Mumbai in the wake of the 1992-93 riots haven’t really taken off in Ahmedabad. Police officials say 25 of the 31 police station areas in the city continue to be labelled sensitive. Eager to present a picture of normalcy, the Gujarat government actively downplays incidents of violence. The police attributed at least three minor incidents of rioting in parts of Ahmedabad recently to hot summer! Social activists admit that both Hindus and Muslims in Ahmedabad’s old city have a ready stockpile of crude weapons ready to be deployed in the case of a major riot. More alarming is the growing appeal of fundamentalism in the Muslim ghettos. This coupled with growing incidents of domestic violence in these areas indicate that Gujarat’s Muslims are turning their anger inwards on their
own. |
Man-made monsoon! IT'S a triangular debate on the recent drought and floods — between one well-fed Ruling Coalition Leader (Ruling Ld), one lean Opposition Leader (Opp. Ld) and a top retired bureaucrat (B’ rat) . Plus, of course, a highly charged up TV anchor and the wise, smiling janata. Opp. Ld: The government has failed to manage a timely monsoon, prevent drought, and subsequently, stop floods. It lacks vision and action plan! Ruling Ld: They occurred during your rule also. Opp. Ld: Because you fellows sabotaged our plans… Ruling Ld : No ! Instead, you are causing these floods now. Anchor: Wait! Wait! We didn’t know monsoons are man-made these days. It means, we can control them if and when required — after all, there is hope. The wise janata cheers, raises slogans about India’s glorious achievements. Warm hugs, handshakes , all around. B’rat: But politicians don’t like to prevent disasters… Anchor: Politicians, any defence from you side? Ruling Ld: Only retired, frustrated officials talk like that. But the same fellows will sing bhajans for us, if we put them on some commission, or give them a plum job in a large state! I am not sure about floods, but drought occurred mainly due to bureaucrat’s lethargy and negative attitude. Opp. Ld nods: Possible. Anchor: Thank god , you two agree on at least one thing. But our enlightened audience wants more details please. Ruling Ld: We had anticipated drought, and instructed all top officials concerned to take strong steps immediately to prevent it. Like de-salinating sea water and pumping it back into rivers. We even selected some private agencies for the task. A few pushy officers showed dedication and enthusiasm — we promoted them. But others scuttled the project. Audience: Shame! Shame! We need more such pushy officers to save our noble system. B’rat: Sir, probably, the “dealing hands” had some grouse against you — their negative notings are endorsed blindly by their senior officers. They are as powerful as Secretaries. Anchor: Hang on, hang on! Does it mean, huge cracks in the system? Ominous signs for our great democracy itself? A disaster of sorts in the offing ? A compelling need for reforms… Audience: Sir, don’t you see a strong connection between the erratic monsoon and Tendulkar’s
inconsistent form? Cheer and lusty clapping from all . This intense and in-depth debate has at last thrown up the right clue for organising a proper monsoon. Bring Tendulkar back into form — things will be all
right! |
Childhood in chains ON June 01, 2005, close to 400 child labourers were rescued from the Madanpura area of Central Mumbai. Again on June 06, 30 child labourers were rescued from the Najafgarh area of Delhi. All these children were engaged in “zari” work and belonged to Sitamarhi district of Bihar. They are being sent back to their parents. On June 10, 2005, the Maharashtra Labour Department, in raids on gold-plating workshops at Bhuleshwar, rescued 82 child labourers and they are also to be repatriated to their home towns/villages. In the past also, several similar rescue operations had been undertaken and the rescued children were sent back to their parents. Unfortunately, these children are again seen working with the same employers or new employers at the same locations or at new locations. This is nothing but re-cycling of child labour. On June 02, with the help of my friend Juved, a social activist, I visited zari factories situated in the narrow streets of Zafarabad of East Delhi and found 25 to 30 children working in each factory in inhuman conditions. In that area there are around 500 zari factories in which not less than 5,000 children are working. Almost all belong to Sitamarhi district of Bihar and have been brought here through middlemen on the pretext that they would become karigar (mechanic). The rescue operations are a welcome step but it loses its importance and purpose the moment the rescued child is re-cycled as a child labour. Society is rightly not taking these rescue operations seriously knowing well that these are very often simple gimmicks. It is estimated that in our country there are about 10 crore child labourers. In Delhi alone there are about 15 lakh child labourers of whom more than five lakh have been brought from outside Delhi. The children are denied educational opportunities and have been forced to engage themselves in work. Those keeping child labour must be punished but unless educational opportunities are made available in the real sense, punishing the employers is not sufficient. Laws are such that these work for the perpetuation of child labour rather than for its complete abolition. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, prohibits the engagement of children in certain types of employment and regulates the conditions of children in certain other forms of employment. Besides the fact that this Act needs to be amended in the light of Article 21-A of the Constitution of India which guarantees every child compulsory schooling up to the age of 14 years, it is significant that this Act neither prohibits completely all forms of child labour nor it lays down any provision for educational opportunities to the rescued child labour. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, which, of course, in its preamble talks of providing care and protection to the children in need of care and protection but an examination of various provisions of this Act would reveal that so far as child labour is concerned, it only provides for repatriation of such children to their parents and nothing more. It is silent on ensuring educational opportunities to such children. What will happen after repatriation, and whether or not the rescued child is re-cycled as child labour is none of its concern. In other words, the Juvenile Justice Act is providing a smooth way for re-cycling of the rescued child labour. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 merely provides for the abolition of the bonded labour system with a view to preventing the economic and physical exploitation of the weaker sections of society but does not at all deal with the rehabilitation of the bonded child labour. Similarly, the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966, the Factories Act, 1948 and the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, prohibit employment of children in the establishments covered by these Acts but do not deal with the rehabilitation of such child labour. On the other hand, it is shocking that certain laws even permit the employment of children, such as the Apprentices Act 1961, which permits children to enter any occupation as an apprentice. The Plantation of Labour Act, 1951 which expressly permits children to work in plantations. The picture that emerges from an examination of the various laws is that, first, there is no complete prohibition of all forms of child labour. Secondly, no law provides rehabilitation of child labour in the manner that the child labour cannot be re-cycled. And thirdly, none of the existing laws provide for any educational opportunities for the rescued children. Various studies have shown that the only way to eradicate child labour is to provide to every child good quality educational opportunities. These may include well-equipped full-time schools, residential schools, day boarding schools, mobile schools, transport facilities, mid-day meals, and adequate number of teachers depending upon the requirement of each child. The children’s homes or NGO-run welfare homes are not the substitutes. These opportunities are required at every nook and corner of the country. The state is constitutionally obliged to actually provide educational opportunities to each and every child but these opportunities are nowhere visible. The result is: rampant child labour. Had it been done by the State, there would not be any child labour, what to talk of re-cycling of the child labour. The present laws dealing with child labour are totally defective. It may not be far-fetched to conclude that the phenomenon of the recycling of child labour and the continued prevalence and growth of child labour are but the end result of all these so-called welfare legislation enacted for and in the name of the child. It is high time that the government takes steps to transform the existing laws to end all forms of child labour, including the re-cycling of child labour.
**** The writer is a lawyer and civil rights activist. |
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Tackling child labour INDIA tops the world in child labour. According to the 2001 census, the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years was 12.5 million out of the total child population of 252 million. Of the total number of working children, roughly half are concentrated in four states - Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. As far as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are concerned, the problem does not seem to pose a challenge in terms of the absolute number of working children but is not that insignificant as a proportion of the total population. Crude estimates indicate that 80 per cent of working children in India are in the agricultural sector and another 10 per cent in agriculture-related activities. Of these, 55 per cent are boys and 45 per cent girls. The 1987 National Policy on Child Labour envisages three types of action: One, legislative. This will ensure that children are not employed in prohibited occupations and employments, and if employed in other occupations and employments enjoy protection and benefits as stipulated in various enactments in respect of health and safety, the period and hours of work, and the days of rest and holidays. To remove the economic incentive to employ child labour on lower wages, the Minimum Wages Act of 1948 is intended to be suitably amended to ensure that child labour is paid at the same rate as adult labour. Two, the reorientation of general development programmes in a manner that they directly benefit the child labour where possible. Areas specially mentioned in this regard are education, health, nutrition, integrated child development and anti-poverty programmes. Three, locating specially designed projects in areas of high concentration of child labour with a view to disengaging children from wage- or quasi-wage-employment in occupations and industries which affect their well-being. A major activity proposed under the project-based action plan is setting up of special schools in the project areas to provide non-formal education, vocational training, supplementary nutrition, scholarships to children withdrawn from hazardous employment, and health care for all children studying at such schools. There are four basic strategies to tackle the problem of child labour, (a) controlling the rate of growth of population; (b) fixing child and adult wages in a manner that neutralises the advantage of cheap labour; (c) making schooling up to the age of 14 years compulsory; and d) using development strategies which focus on labour absorption rather than on GDP. The effect of wages on the supply of child labour in developing countries is uncertain. If they are raised to neutralise the advantage of cheap labour that may lead to a fall in the employment of adult labour, thereby forcing more poverty-striken families to send their children to work. The minimum adult wage legislation can also have the same effect. Taking recourse to this method to address the issue of child labour can, therefore, be counterproductive. |
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Delhi Durbar THE eagerly awaited Cabinet expansion has been one of the best guarded secrets of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Few have any inkling about the goings on in Dr Singh’s mind. Those in the PMO admit candidly that they are clueless about the when and what of the Cabinet expansion. Speculation is rife in Congress circles with certain busybodies claiming to have the ears of party President Sonia Gandhi giving their considered opinion on who is being moved out of the government and who is being inducted as a minister. They are also making their own guesses, though a senior party functionary hinted that the Prime Minister would undertake the exercise before he leaves for the G-8 summit in Scotland on July 8.
Hapless Shibu Soren During the recent byelection for a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand both the JMM and the RJD had put up candidates, but the Congress preferred to support Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party. This was despite the JMM being the largest constituent of of the UPA in Jharkhand and the Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant due to the resignation of a JMM member. JMM chief Shibu Soren is not protesting loudly. After all, his return to the Union Cabinet depends on the mood of the Congress leadership.
Gen Aurora remembered The death of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora on May 3 not only rekindled memories that shaped the destiny of Bangladesh. Even after 34 years of independence, that country remembers the Indian General. Many Bangladeshi commentators have said that General Aurora should have been recognised and honoured during his life time. Nevertheless, a
majority of those who participated in the war that left nearly three million people dead commemorated General Aurora’s accomplishments. Dozens of condolence meetings were held across the country at which the sacrifices of Indian soldiers were recalled. Ironically, there was no official condolence message either from President Iajuddin Ahmed or Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.
Cracks in Goa coalition Cracks are developing in the new Congress-led coalition arrangement in Goa headed by Pratapsinh Rane of the Congress. Even as the bargaining for posts between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party is on, the defectors from the BJP are raising their voice demanding a slice of the government pie. With the summer temperature soaring, Rane and the Congress high command find themselves on a rather sticky wicket.
Millionaires on the rise The country’s economic health is on a high. The number of dollar millionaires in the country swelled 14.5 per cent to 70,000 in 2004, a Merrill Lynch study has said. The rapid increase in the middle and upper income classes is likely to lead to a hike in the demand for motorcycles, refrigerators and cars, according to the latest report on “The Great Indian Market” by the National Council of Applied Economic Research.
**** Contributed by Gaurav Choudhury, Prashant Sood and R. Suryamurthy |
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From the pages of The dogs of war
The Indian dogs mentioned by Herodotus were much employed by the Assyrians and Persians in the serious business of war. The mastiff now, or lately bred by the Bhoteas, in the uplands of Tibet, which is larger than any other mastiff, a magnificent animal, tremendously fierce, strong and noisy, may be the animal. The breed was kept up by successive importations, and four considerable towns in the plains were appointed to find food for the dogs, and in consequence were exempted from all taxation. This was under Cyrus, and indicates how numerous they were. They were so many in the army of Xerxes when it crossed the Hellespont that no one could mention the number of them. They are represented on the sculptures with spiked collars. Strabo tells a story that when Alexander was in India he saw a dog, most likely of the same breed, attack a bull and fasten on, so that it could not be loosened until some time after its leg was cut off. |
Wretched is that for which they have sold themselves, that they should reject what God has sent down in arrogant jealousy that God should send it down from divine grace upon whomever of its servants God wills. So they have brought on themselves wrath upon wrath; and for the ungrateful is a humiliating torment. —Book of quotations on Islam It does not matter whether a man lives for four Yugas or ten. It does not matter if he is known all over the world. It does not matter if people everywhere show him respect and follow him. It does not matter if he is praised and has won fame all over the world. —Guru Nanak And among humankind are those who say they believe in God and the Last Day but they do not believe. They try to deceive God and those who believe, but they do not deceive anyone except themselves, although they do not know it. — Book of quotations on Islam There are many oceans in this world. Their water lap the shores of may lands, very different from each other. Yet wherever they may be, their water taste salty. So is it with love. —The Buddha Envy becomes the whole-time companion of the man who desires material satisfaction. whenever he cannot get the things he wants, he is envious of those who have them. His jealousy binds him to the efforts that others may have put in or the costs they may have borne. —Book of quotations of Hinduism But when the foe is cruel and arrogant, he may consider the wise king’s offer to dialogue, a weakness. In his pride, he may deem the wise king’s mildness as feeble hearted fear This in turn will provide good cheer to his arrogance. —The Mahabharata  |
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