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Parliament on hold Pragmatism prevails |
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Death factories
Media ethics
getting complex
There comes another
good man
High Court: looking
back Caring hands
accepting bribe? Delhi
Durbar
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Pragmatism prevails The
financial reality prevailed over political compulsions as the coalition government lowered the interest rate on the Employees Provident Fund from 9.5 per cent to a more realistic 8.5 per cent. Last year when the government had raised the interest rate under pressure from the Left despite the EPF Board of Trustees recommending 8.5 per cent, it was faced with a shortfall of Rs 716 crore, which it recouped from the special reserve fund. This fund, which was created to meet an unforeseen crisis, had been left with only Rs 250 crore. In fact, it was not possible to extend the 9.5 per cent interest rate for another year without requiring the exchequer to bear the burden. Both the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister had favoured an 8 per cent rate only. Pragmatism, however, prevailed. The EPF Board of Trustees, unable to reach a consensus this time, authorised Labour Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to fix the rate and the minister came out with an extra 0.5 per cent because his “heart bled for the workers”. This will entail an additional outlay of Rs 370 crore which will be borne by the Labour Ministry only. Ideally, the interest rate should be decided by the earnings of the EPF, which have come down as the government has reduced the interest rates. The returns on the EPF corpus can sustain an interest rate of only 8 per cent. The EPF board is looking for better investment options and has appointed a global consulting firm, Mercer, to explore new avenues. There are suggestions that either the EPF should be scrapped as it was relevant only in a controlled economy and is an anomaly in the changed economic scenario or it should be brought under the Finance Ministry to ensure that it follows normal accounting principles and to avoid a UTI-like fiasco. Scrapping EPF is unlikely to be accepted by the employees. But there is tremendous scope for improvement in the management of the scheme so that it can give better returns to the employees. |
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Death factories Twelve
labourers perhaps would not have died in a fire mishap in a Delhi garment factory on Wednesday if only the government had honoured the Supreme Court deadline set last year that all such factories should be moved out of residential areas. On paper, this has been done but in practice many factories continue to thrive. It is the government which merrily provides them electricity and water. In many cases, instead of removing the factories from residential areas, the administration has taken the easy way out. It has simply redesignated many residential areas as industrial areas. That may fulfil the legal requirements but does not protect the people from accidents which are waiting to happen. There is also the problem of never-ending noise and pollution which everyone unfortunate or poor enough to live in the vicinity has to endure. Since the Vishwas Nagar factory which caught fire on Wednesday was operating illegally, it did not have any firefighting provisions. Not only that, the gate of the building was said to be locked from the outside ostensibly to ensure that the labourers did not indulge in pilferage. That made the building a death trap. It is thanks to the efforts of the fire brigade personnel that the flames were prevented from spreading to other buildings in the neighbourhood, otherwise there would have been a conflagration leading to many more casualties. Indeed, it is not an easy task to locate so many factories elsewhere, but just because it is difficult does not mean that it should not be done. While trying to appease the factory owners who are a good source of party funds, the politicians should spare a thought for the residents also. They are not only living in constant fear of accidents, but even their life is worse than death because of the noise and smoke that these sweatshops constantly emit. Worse, new units are still coming up with the connivance of corrupt inspectors, be it in Delhi or Ludhiana. |
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A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.
— Bob Hope |
Media ethics getting complex
Wondering
whether there are any professional codes of conduct in journalism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raised at The Tribune’s 125th anniversary function the issue of media ethics and responsibilities in a provocative way. In no civilised society is mass media without some societal compulsions and moral obligations nor, is it without any restraints and responsibilities as in the case of freedom. Ethical foundation is what gives it a stature and strength for a societal role, particularly where credibility is the principal criterion, as in the case of mass media. Ethical practice and norms distinguish rights from wrongs. In fact, an unfettered Press, without ethical concerns, can be a threat to a free society and to its very independence. As ethical standards are constantly under question not just in India but also in the rest of the world, it is important for the profession that they are discussed and reiterated from time to time. That is how ethics in general and in the context of mass media in particular are constantly debated. With the emergence of the electronic media — television earlier and satellite broadcasting more recently — media ethics is being viewed in a newer context and has become more complex as operational compulsions of the new media are different. That is why issues to do with media ethics require serious deliberation at various levels within and outside the profession. Even in a competitive scenario such values are derived either from market forces or from self-imposed standards and codes evolved over the years by the players themselves as in the case of the Press. Even a regulatory mechanism by the state does not reduce relevance of media ethics. With tremendous growth and expansion of mass media, it is being viewed as more powerful than ever before, but at the same time the level of public confidence in the media has been on the decline, even in the US. News media in particular is being accused of arrogance, insensitivity, bias, inaccuracies, sensationalism, stereotypes, trivialisation and the conflict of interests and the disappearing line between advertising and news on the one hand, and between news and views on the other. This in turn could be said to have led to a certain decline in the role and stature of journalists in new establishments and an increased role of corporates in setting media priorities. One associated aspect in this context is the growing corporationalisation of the media, causing certain shifts in the paradigm of media operations. This in turn has increased societal concern for the declining ethical standards. In that context, it is better that the media constantly encourages the public to voice grievances against the contents in particular. Such a practice implies ethical concern. There cannot be specific rules about ethics for any situation. Nevertheless, each opportunity should help make sound decisions and empower people in that process to set their own standards styles and priorities in such a way that it becomes a good precedent to help consolidate freedom with responsibility and further the very credibility of the media. Overall, the Indian media in today’s global scenario may not be the best but certainly not a bad one as far as its concern for ethics is concerned. Towards sustaining media ethics there could be certain broad principles. First and foremost concern that should become a bedrock for media ethics is the realisation that the media has effects on the concerned and larger public and also has long-range implications for what appears in the media today. A second corrective is the separation of the advertising function (and interests) from that of the editorial. In this regard, the US television channels, although their model is not something that fits the Indian socio-economic scenario, have recently taken a good initiative. For, unlike in the earlier years, they distinguish a “paid programme” from the rest prominently and specify when an ad looks like news or a feature as a “paid ad” or a “leased access” content and, in fact, even simultaneously disclaim questionable contents. In India, we are increasingly facing this dilemma, both in the case of news channels and newspapers. A third area which often prompts an ethical dilemma, and increasingly so, is the mix-up of interests of media corporates with those of the editorial. Taking responsibility for the contents, which includes owing lapses of any kind and correcting promptly is another ethical practice which helps set a good atmosphere for media credibility. There are very few examples one could recall of media acknowledging something adverse it was responsible for and which it could have avoided or corrected. This is despite that accountability to readers or viewers is something most media organisations accept in principle. As the issue of media ethics is becoming increasingly complex, it should no longer be confined to editors or journalists. As the problem is one of a few spoiling it for the many, professional associations or bodies have a particular responsibility to minimise the scope for such a tendency. Initiatives and interventions are needed from three different levels. Apart from those from within the media, the civil society and the educational system should be concerned about media ethics and also do something about it. More specifically in India, we need more forums for discussion on the role and impact of media on society and in the competitive scenario. Media watch groups should operate with civil society representatives at the national and regional levels. The best bet for any issue to do with the media is active and more discriminating readers and viewers. This also amounts to breaking the “trap of ratings” that the media is often under these days. This trap of rating of contents makes the country believe the what interests the people to watch momentarily is also in their interest. This vicious circle requires an informed and engaged citizenry. The journalism schools all over owe to the country to do something in this respect. They need to assess ethical practices and come up with posers on contentious issues based on research and experimentation. They need to have a more active linkage with practising professions than at present. Ethical practices are never a hindrance even in a competitive scenario as we have today. On the contrary, freedom gets enriched and becomes more responsible. The media sustains its credibility from being concerned about the ethical
implications. The writer is Chairman, Centre for Media Studies, New Delhi
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There comes another good man Anything?” my father’s eyes asked me wistfully, lovingly. “Nothing,” my eyes replied silently, dolefully. Partition of India was just about a month behind us. So was the wreckage of our house in Peshawar. We had landed in Lucknow. We were living in the verandah of a military quarter in the gun factory area. Every morning, I would leave home, as it was, go to the employment exchange, then to the offices of Lucknow’s two premier English newspapers, Pioneer and National Herald, and, later, come back empty-handed. “Better take a cycle on hire,” said my father. Right. I went to a cycle merchant in the Lal Kurti bazar. He measured me up. Satisfied? Perhaps. “Twelve rupees a month would be the hire,” said he. I agreed. But before he could give the cycle to me, he asked for a surety of Rs 120. That was the price of the cycle. And that I did not have. I tried to inflict on the gentleman the greatness of my past. I said I came from a respectable family of Peshawar. My father had retired as an army officer. Between my graduation and postgraduation, I, too, had served the army as a civilian officer. One of my grandfather’s brothers was a Rai Bahadur. Another was a retired superintendent of the Peshawar Central Jail. The gentleman was duly impressed. He gave me the cycle without insisting on surety. But lo and behold, one evening, the cycle was stolen. Luckily, before that, I had got a job in the U.P. Government as Information Officer. That enabled me to clear the kind shopkeeper’s debt in good time. Long years of struggle thereafter, too many responsibilities, diabetes, hypertension, glaucoma, heart attacks, bypass surgery and, now, a steep fall in what is called cardiac efficiency — I must say I had had a romantic life. Where do I find myself today? In the lap of the Lord. The good doctors advise me to take things easy and not to tax my brain unduly. By and large, I follow their advice. Then comes Ramesh, running on foot, gasping for breath. “Late ho gaya, sahib,” he says. “Why don’t you take a cycle on hire?” I ask him. Ramesh smiles. He is one of the few hands in the Tara complex in Delhi, where I live, hands that keep the complex clean, hands that hold the broom, broom that helps Ramesh and his colleagues in sweeping away from the complex all the garbage it gathers. Ramesh smiles. He does not have to give me an answer. I know it. Having helped his mother in bringing up his three brothers, who run about on scooters, Ramesh is now bringing up his own three sons. He has put them in a government school. Education is free. But books have to be purchased. Clothes have to be bought. And off and on, Ramesh has to escort the boys to school. Ramesh knows that he needs a cycle. But wherefrom will the money come for that? If he takes one on hire, wherefrom will money come for the
hire? |
High Court: looking back The
observance of the 50th year of shifting of the High Court from Shimla to Chandigarh brings back many nostalgic memories. I was then the General Secretary of the Punjab High Court Bar Association. At that time there were hardly 40-50 regular practising lawyers at the Shimla High Court. The immediate difficulties which the lawyers faced was lack of accommodation at Chandigarh. No doubt, many lawyers had bought plots, but no construction had evidently started and naturally that process would take years. Consequently, it was decided to send a lawyers’ delegation to Chandigarh. I did not accompany the delegation because of delicate reasons as my father was then the Chef Minister of Punjab. The delegation came back disappointed because the officials told them that they could not promise more than 20-30 houses and the rest of them would have to make their own arrangements. Naturally, the lawyers were in a resentful mood. I myself was also of the view that in such a situation the Bar must refuse to shift. I remember having phoned the Chief Estate Officer, Chandigarh, and told him that he might please convey to the government that unless accommodation for all the 50 lawyers practising permanently at the High Court was made available for a reasonable time, the High Court Bar would oppose the shifting. Evidently, the Punjab Government was keen that the High Court moved down as it was in public interest and also realised the justification of the plea by the Bar Association. It reconsidered the matter and decided that MLAs’ flats, which were complete, could be allowed in the relaxation of rules to be occupied by the lawyers for a reasonable time to enable construction by lawyers, if the MLAs who had got the allotment permitted the lawyers to reside. Since in those days it was a good friendly atmosphere, all the lawyers were able to arrange with the MLA friends to occupy the flats which they were allowed to continue for a number of years so that alternative arrangements could be made with ease. The crisis was resolved satisfactorily. Another short-lived crisis arose when the High Court building was to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in March, 1955. I remember a few days before the inauguration, Chief Justice A.N. Bhandari called me, in my capacity as the General Secretary of the Association, and told me that the government of Punjab had sanctioned some funds for the function which, according to him, were insufficient and considering that a lunch had to be given and he was of the view that some of the officials and Secretaries should also be invited and, therefore, he might not be able to invite all the 50-60 members of the Bar Association to the function. Now, this was totally unacceptable to me. As the General Secretary of the Association I had the first responsibility to look after the dignity of the Bar. So I told the Chief Justice that if all of us were not to be invited, I am afraid, the Bar might have to boycott the function. Evidently, I was quite disturbed because none of us in the Bar wanted the function like the opening of the High Court building to start on an uneven keel. The High Court had started functioning in Chandigarh before March. Though I had my separate office in one of the MLA flats, I was living with my father. After my talk with the Chief Justice I just mentioned to my father that there might be a problem for the government at the time of inauguration of the High Court Justice because the government was not giving sufficient funds, as mentioned to me by the Chief Justice. I remember my father smiling a little and telling me that if the Chief Justice felt that the funds were insufficient, there was no problem sanctioning more. I conveyed it to the Chief Justice, who evidently must have been given extra funds because all of us lawyers did receive an invitation for lunch and it was a full participation. As chance would have it, I again had the occasion to play some small part in my capacity as the President of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association in 1967-68 in keeping a common High Court of Punjab and Haryana when the State of Haryana was formed in November, 1966. Initially, the High Court was continued as a common Punjab and Haryana High Court. But immediately thereafter, both the State Governments wanted separate High Courts. As a consequence, the Central Government came out with the announcement that as the future of Chandigarh was yet to be decided and in case separate Punjab & Haryana High Courts were to be constituted, it would give jurisdiction over Chandigarh territory to the Delhi High Court, which had come into being in 1966. The Bar realised that considerable effort and delicate handling had to be done to persuade both Chief Ministers to agree for a common High Court. I thereupon met Sardar Gurnam Singh, the then Chief Minister of Punjab. As he had been a Judge of the Punjab High Court he immediately understood and realised the delicacy of the Delhi High Court having jurisdiction over Chandigarh, which means jurisdiction over the government orders of Punjab would rest outside Chandigarh in the Delhi High Court and the Punjab High Court would have no such jurisdiction. Rao Birender Singh was also made to realise that in the appointment of judges to the Delhi High Court both the States would have no say, unlike if there was a common High Court. Evidently, the prospect of no association with appointments to the Delhi High Court tilted the balance because to a politician the worst situation is to acknowledge that he would be a non-entity in such high-profile appointments. Soon thereafter he also wrote to the Central Government that till the future of Chandigarh was decided, there should be a common High Court for Punjab and Haryana, which has continued since then and is committed to holding the rights of the common people — a matter of pride to all, including the old foggies of my generation. |
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Caring hands accepting bribe? A sting operation at the Medical Council of India’s Delhi office amply explained corruption in medicine. The caring hands were seen accepting bribes to set up medical colleges in the country as also registering student doctors with bribes of lakhs. Pay capitation fee, become a doctor, use foul means or fair to recover the spent money, scruples and diffidence sent for a six. A blot on the medical profession, it explains the current state of the care-givers. No commitment to humanity whatsoever, the only commitment is to recover the money spent. For every doctor selected on merit there is one coming by capitation. Malpractices start the day a doctor is out of the medical college. Recover your money fast; indiscriminate-fleecing, dishonesty at the first step sets up a vicious cycle till greed and ever-increasing desire for possessions overtakes reasoning. Decisions to force investigations or surgical procedures on patients for “personal monetary benefit” are taken. This is the bane of the noble profession now. “My doctor, our family doctor, he lives in the next lane, he is our only hope” was an erstwhile concept of the family doctor. All respect was given as “due” to doctors till the 1970s. Which human being has the privilege of unannounced entry into bedrooms? Sisters, mothers and daughters are left alone for examination, Secrets are disclosed and discussed in confidence, talks that dare not be whispered to husbands, fathers and brothers are put in a doctor’s sacred repository. An exalted place the doctor has! The recent income tax and CBI raids in Maharashtra uncovering piles of money from capitation institutions, the anguish of the Chief Justice of India on quota reservations should be enough to make the nation sit up and think. India is an El Dorado to loot and scoot for everybody, doctors were exempt from such vices though. Why do our country managers and executives go abroad or call doctors from elsewhere for treatment? They know the stuff they have put into the professional colleges with quotas. To be taught and trained by the likes of Dr. K.L.Wig (founder-director AIIMS, Delhi), Dr. Santokh Singh Anand (founder director PGI Chandigarh) Dr. P .N. Chhuttani, in the immediate post British-era, was a privilege and an honour. One could swear by their names. Placed on pedestals the likes of these teachers nurtured honesty inculcated moral values and inspired a holy confidence, they and their ilk elsewhere in the country instilled the fear of the Almighty in all students. The teachers (a vanished tribe now) could themselves be seen labouring day in and day out for the welfare of the sick. “Let me see in the sufferer the man alone, let me be intent upon one thing O Father of Mercy, to be always merciful to thy suffering children” was the daily supplication of Dr. Vidya Sagar of the Mental Hospital at Amritsar. A doctor who worked 24 hours a day and more, he donated his salary to the hospital. The present commercialisation makes medicine a lucrative industry, and it is to the misfortune of the poor and the sick. In other industries the buyer is the master, here it is the seller. “Take! Otherwise you know what will happen” is the decree of private heart care centres. The selection of doctors on merit alone with a proper administration of the Hippocratic Oath, no quotas, no capitation and training under committed teachers may, wishfully, end this evil. |
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Delhi Durbar There
was intense drama on Monday night when the meeting of the Congress Steering Committee was convened around 10 pm. The members expressed their resentment that K Natwar Singh had not even thought it proper to resign from the CSC. When he still held firm, he was told that the letter removing him from the CSC would be delivered to him at his residence later that night. It was only after that and realising that his obduracy would have to take a back seat that Natwar Singh came out with the statement of resignation as minister without portfolio. Tagore statue in Parliament Parliament will finally have a statue of Nobel laureate Tagore. Whether the statue is being installed due to the Left pressure or Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee being from West Bengal, is of no consequence as all Indians would agree that Tagore deserved a place of honour in the Parliament complex. Why A Pani is so vocal These days BJP Rajya Sabha Member A Pani is very vocal and active in the House as he is keen on getting a second term. He leaves no opportunity to raise slogans against the treasury bench and blessed with a loud voice, he proved to be an asset for the BJP while the main Opposition was demanding the ouster of Natwar Singh from the Cabinet over the Volcker revelations. This prompted one of his senior colleagues to comment: “Actually his (Pani’s) present term is ending on April 3, 2006, but the Orissa MP is keen on another term of six years.” For Sharad Pawar the road to becoming the BCCI President was not without its twists and turns. He did not hesitate one bit in personally seeking the support of the various cricket associations of the states, including those ruled by the Left. That Pawar’s influence runs far, including with the Left, has not come as a surprise. While congratulating Pawar on becoming the BCCI chief by a comfortable margin, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya took up the cause of the Prince of Kolkata Saurav Ganguly, who has since been resurrected at least for the Test cricket series with Sri Lanka. Shotgun’s discomfiture After making embarrassing statements about the BJP in the run-up to the Bihar assembly elections, “Shotgun” Sinha seems to be somewhat uncomfortable with BJP General Secretary in charge of Bihar Arun Jaitley. Shotgun, who had commented against Jaitley before the poll, was seen trying to avoid Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha on his first day in the House after the NDA registered a thumping victory in Bihar. The cine star preferred to remain quietly seated beside Hema Malini in the back row. The thumping victory of the NDA in Bihar appears to have taken a toll on him! Contributed by P.N. Andley, R Suryamurthy and
S Satyanarayanan |
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From the pages of Wireless and moving pictures
For a long time it has been the aim of inventors to produce cinematograph pictures which will speak. Many devices have already been produced, most of them combining the phonograph with the cinematograph. All previous inventions have, however, been unsatisfactory, the chief reason preventing their successful use being the difficulty of obtaining perfect synchronism between the picture and the record. Wireless telephony is now being used in the production of talking moving pictures, and a company has recently been formed in the United States for exploiting certain inventions relating thereto. The method of working is as follows:— Each actor and actress has concealed in his or her clothing a microphone and a complete wireless telephone transmitter in miniature, the vacuum value oscillation generator providing the necessary high frequency current. Immediately above the stage an aerical system is provided to pick up the electric waves from the actors and actresses. The radiation from these miniature transmitters is sufficiently strong to make it unnecessary to use any aerials beyond the few concealed wires in the clothing.
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True non-violence should mean a complete freedom from ill-will and
anger and hate and an overflowing love for all. — Mahatma Gandhi There are also countless fools amongst us,
countless thieves and dishonest men. — Guru Nanak Liberality, righteous conduct, the helping of relatives and blameless action. This is the Supreme
Blessing. — The Buddha It is the trumpet who says, “I am you.” The spiritual master arrives and bows before a student. Try to live to see this! — Kabir |
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