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Unfounded criticism Quota Bill derailed |
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VCs as CEOs Sam Pitroda pleads for reforms National Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda’s convocation address at the University of Mumbai recently hints at the sweeping recommendations that the NKC is contemplating in the field of education. That radical reform and a “whole new culture” are required is indisputable.
Cash for questions
Designer’s fault
Mining mafia still
active Aging with grace,
naturally Anti-Europeanism is
the new consensus
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Quota Bill derailed The
Centre was forced to defer the introduction of the Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament to provide for reservation for the socially and educationally backward classes, besides the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, in private unaided educational institutions following the volte-face by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi claimed the other day that there was a broad consensus on the Bill, but it was not to be. Moreover, all parties unanimously backed it at an all-party meeting. Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, the architect of the Bill, is bound to feel disappointed because the deferment proves that there has been no “comprehensive consensus” on the Bill. The BJP, for instance, wants the scope of reservation to be extended to the OBCs and minorities. It feels that if minority institutions were left out of the Bill, it would mean denial of reservations to the backward classes within the minority communities. It does not endorse the Centre’s stand that minority institutions have been kept out of the Bill since they enjoy separate constitutional guarantees. It is in favour of reservations without exceptions. The Parliamentary Forum for OBC MPs too insists that the Bill should provide quotas for the OBCs, in addition to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. The CPM wants the loopholes to be plugged to check “fake” minority institutions. It wants a relook at Article 30 of the Constitution (the right to establish minority institutions) as the context in which it was laid down has changed. The issue is of far-reaching importance. Therefore, the government should have wider consultations with all the political parties before introducing the revised Bill so that there is true and real consensus on the issue. Only then will the legislation have greater public acceptability. As the Bill essentially is intended to scuttle the Supreme Court judgement against reservations in private unaided institutions, the Centre should also ensure that it passes the test of judicial scrutiny. |
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VCs as CEOs National
Knowledge Commission (NKC) Chairman Sam Pitroda’s convocation address at the University of Mumbai recently hints at the sweeping recommendations that the NKC is contemplating in the field of education. That radical reform and a “whole new culture” are required is indisputable. A draft action plan is currently in circulation in the NKC, where education has been identified as one of the priority areas. Universities are an obvious focal point, and if Vice-Chancellors are to become CEOs, as Mr Pitroda puts it, a drastic change in our attitude towards education is required. Our universities do need more authority, autonomy and accountability. Most campuses are seen as an extension of political fiefdoms, and the prevailing culture privileges cronyism and the casual and cynical subversion of quality benchmarks in every aspect of university life. The pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence is not only undermined, but cast as an elitist project. Mr Pitroda wants a minimal role for the government and the bureaucracy, greater industry-academia interaction, innovative fund raising, a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching, and an evaluation system based on credits rather than examinations. These are all laudable aims. Ensuring that they happen is a big ask, and the NKC will have to do the groundwork for a change in mindsets. The Knowledge Commission’s Vice-Chairman, Dr Pushpa Bhargava, has stressed that while profit-based commercialisation of education is undesirable, privatisation is not. The United States created its much-lauded university system by encouraging private centres of excellence, and a culture of private funds going into education. (Big defence dollars going into technology projects did, of course, play a crucial role.) Yale, Harvard, Carnegie and Rockefeller are only some names whose financial largesse saw the creation of great centres of learning. There are countless others, not to mention the huge amounts of alumni funds that regularly flow back into alma maters. For such centres to come up, incentives have to be created to attract private funds. And the government can then concentrate on primary education for all – which is where it should be spending more money. |
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Society needs to condemn a little more and understand a little less. — John Major
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Cash for questions
Another
in the series of sting operations — a sensational camera expose of 11 MPs allegedly taking money for asking parliamentary questions — has been the hottest news of the week. Strangely nicknamed Operation Duryodhana, the undercover operation has raised more questions than it has answered. The statistics regarding the party affiliation of 11 MPs are not much relevant because conductors of the operation claim to have more up their sleeves. According to them, what has been put in the public domain “cannot be construed as the entire gamut of facts” and they have “more interesting material”. This is enough to keep many other members and parties on the tenterhooks with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Is their a second list and, if so, would there be the possibility of blackmail? The 11 alleged bribe-takers have been caught not by any official law enforcement agency, any crime branch of the police or anti-corruption squad but by a private body. Questions arise in regard to the morality and motivation of Operation Duryodhana. Were the operators moved only by altruistic high patriotic motives of serving the nation and public interest? The criminal act of bribery is one and involves a giver and a taker, one who tempts and the other who yields. Both are equally guilty. Could we not legitimately expect greater transparency in the operation? For example, what was the total number of MPs approached? How was the list of those approached prepared? What sampling techniques, if any, were used? Was it random or representative sampling? It is important to know these details to dispel the doubts regarding only a few being specifically targeted or entrapped. Selective indictment or selective justice may seem unfair and prove counter-productive. Should the people not know how many of the MPs approached refused to take the bait and be bribed? If all the other 775 MPs were found to be immune from temptations of such money should they and their number not have been specifically mentioned while branding 11 as black sheep. Also, was there no one in the list of those approached who could haul up the Duryodhana team for the attempt to bribe an MP and for serious breach of parliamentary privilege? Both Parliament and the law of the land could have then punished those behind Operation Duryodhana appropriately. Could it be said that the whole exercise may have resulted in catching some small fries from the back benches while the big sharks escaped or were kept outside the net? It is said that many politicians are on the regular pay rolls of different interest groups, including business groups and crime syndicates. But why single out politicians; many others in honourable professions get paid in the name of retainership fee, consultation fee, service charges and the like not for professional services or expertise but for acting as middle men, fixing deals, influencing high-ups and getting legitimate or not-so-legitimate things done. For the last many years a question that remains unanswered is regarding the financing of politics. For running a political party, for any political activity or for contesting an election to a state legislature or Parliament, tonnes of money is required. Almost everyone in politics needs it. Where is it to come from? Where does it come from? Nobody pays his hard earned, tax paid white money to parties or to politicians. Also, even black or tainted money can be expected only when one is part of the establishment as a minister or a member or the like in a position to harm or help. And, elections are a tricky business. One has to prepare for the worst case scenario, for the rainy day, particularly if one is a whole-time professional politician or public man with no other known means of comfortable living to fall back upon. While there are some excellent men and women of high calibre and great integrity in Indian political life today, the general, even though most unfortunate, perception seems to be that politics has ceased to be a vocation for sacrifice and service and has descended into being the most lucrative business with the highest ROI for getting rich quick. And the problem is not peculiar to India. Even in the more advanced western democracies there have been cases similar to ours. In the UK, for example, payment of £1000 for a question resulted in the Nolan Committee report and the introduction of the Register of Members’ interests. Almost all those elected to the legislatures have to begin their legislative career with giving incorrect statements of election expenses. One may ask if there is a general crisis of character in the nation as a whole, in all walks of life and all professions. Is there all-pervading devaluation of values? Have money, success and power, at whatever cost, become supreme concerns? Can we blame only the legislators for all the ills? Is the problem not more fundamental, calling for systemic rethinking and holistic reforms? The National Commission on the Constitution (2002) made some far-reaching recommendations and presented a blueprint for the needed reforms. Do these not need to be considered on the basis of merit? As for the present case of the expose, the response of the Presiding Officers of the two Houses and of the parties has been prompt, swift and most exemplary. Nothing better could be asked for. In the Rajya Sabha, the matter was referred to its Ethics Committee presided over by a member of the seniority and eminence of Dr. Karan Singh. The lone member involved in the expose has been suspended. In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker asked the accused 10 to abstain from the House till their cases were finally settled. Presumably, following the 1951 precedent in the H.G. Mudgal case, a Special Committee has been appointed to enquire into the cases and report to the House before the current session concludes. Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, who has been appointed Chairman of the committee, is himself the Chairman of the Committee of Privileges. Now that the matter is before the two highly prestigious committees, one should wait for the results of their enquiry and recommendations. It would then be for the respective Houses to consider whatever further action is deemed necessary. As early as in 1951, during the Provisional Parliament, when a Congress member, H.G. Mudgal, was reported to have taken a paltry amount of around Rs. 2000 for asking questions for and otherwise promoting the interests of the Bombay Bullion Association in Parliament, Prime Minister Nehru himself moved a motion and the matter was referred to a special committee which reported that the conduct of Mudgal was unbecoming of a Member of Parliament. Mudgal lost the membership of the House. Later, instances came to the notice of the Speaker where a member had not himself signed the questions to be asked or had signed blank forms on which someone else wrote or typed the questions. During the eight Lok Sabha 96 notices of questions relating to Drug Manufacturing firms were received from seven members. The questions appeared to be sponsored and have had the same source. All these notices were disallowed by the Speaker for being a misuse of the question procedure. It is no secret that sometimes Parliament members have been signing blank question forms for various reasons. Members are repeatedly advised in their own interest not to do so. Some hypothetical queries are being now raised in the media in regard to te likely action if the members involved are finally adjudged guilty of conduct unbecoming of members of Parliament and of lowering the dignity and committing contempt of their respective Houses by accepting financial gratification for asking questions in Parliament. It is clear that the decision in that regard would vest in the respective Houses and that for those found guilty it can extend to depriving them of their membership. At least in some of the cases, it may be possible to take legal action also under the Prevention of Corruption Act, resulting in even a jail term for the guilty. In fact, there is every case for the Supreme Court reviewing its ruling in the Narasimha Rao case letting off the bribe-taking JMM MPs on the ground that under Article 105 members taking bribe for voting in the House could not be proceeded against in any court. Bribe taking cannot be deemed to be part of the proceedings of the House nor can it be construed as anything said or vote given in
Parliament.
The writer is President, Citizenship Development Society and former Secretary-General, Lok Sabha.
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Designer’s fault NOSE is the most conspicuous
feature of my face. It is a hybrid of bulbous and snub. When Steve Martin in film Roxanne said, “Excuse me, is that your nose, or did a bus park on your face?” I had thought he was addressing me. Both my father and mother had noses that anyone would envy. People used to visit our home just to see their noses. How did I get this work of art on my face had always been my wonder. It surely is designer’s fault because this whopper has no sense of smell. “Man’s relish” and “pig’s delight” give the same feeling to my olfactory nerves. That is why English teacher in the ninth class had to struggle hard to let me understand the meaning of “that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet”. We notice that as a person advances in age and crosses the Biblical age of three scores and ten, his ears grow larger with less power of catching the auditory signals. He also starts leaving the bed when the sun is still hidden in the east. At an age when he has no important work to do, he gets up early and disturbs the sleep of those whose biological clock in the morning strikes six at nine. Designer’s faults, eh! V.M. Molotov, the Soviet politician was a man made of a colder design. A British diplomat thought him to be “a refrigerator when the light has gone out” and Winston Churchill froze in his presence because his “smile was like the Siberian winter”. Recollect Thomas E. Dewey who fought Presidential elections against Truman in 1948? His face by designer’s fault was wooden plank and his own fault was that in order to make it look receptive he decorated it with black moustaches. His opponents made the best use of it and created a description that helped destroy Dewey. It was “he looks like a bridegroom on the wedding cake”, not suited for the chair of the President of USA. There in England, the 17th Earl of Derby was considered an uninspiring choice as Secretary of War in 1916 because he was so weak-minded that his face was designed like the feather pillow and bore the marks of the last person who sat on him. My wife loves my nose more than she loves me because she serves all smelly overcooked dishes and rice to me. I not only eat the stuff with pleasure but also praise her for her culinary art and
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Mining mafia still active Fifty-year-old Sukhani, the most vocal of the lot, says, “We’re all widows. Our husbands died working in the stone quarries located close to our village. We are all on the brink of starvation. Can you help provide us with employment.” Sukhani has five children. Three are married. No, not one of them is willing to shoulder the responsibility of taking care of their siblings. Nor are they willing to take care of their aging mother. The stone quarries were located close to the village in Rajgheri. Sukhani’s husband found breaking stones at Rs 20 per day at the granite quarries such a bone-crunching job that he took to drinking. Alcohol and TB, a disease rampant amongst male quarry workers, destroyed his life as it did of more than a hundred families living in Mahugari. Forty-year-old Ramdevi, mother of two sons and two daughters, saw her husband die in similar circumstances. “I had no money to get my husband, Ramlal, treated. Should I have filled my stomach and that of my children or spent money on getting him (Ramlal) treated,” she wonders. All my years in journalism fail to prepare me for such a stark confrontation with reality. The mines in their neighbourhood have all but closed down. An accident, in which six workers died, took place three years ago. Shyambali, whose husband was crushed to death when a large boulder fell on him, complains that she received no compensation. She did not even dare to complain. Instead of addressing the issue, the local administration hurriedly forced the owners to shut down the mines. “Why didn’t you press your case for compensation?” I ask. Shyambali gives me an uncomprehending look. “My two daughters have worked in the quarries from the age of six and eight. After working for an entire month, they would be paid as little as Rs 60. When I protested, the contractor told me if I was not happy, I was free to go.” Shyambali, Mangeria, Janwanti, Bhuja, Saroja, Radha….. the list is endless. The faceless women whose voices do not count. But they insist that earning Rs 20 per day while working in the mines was better than not having work. Exploitation of mines is the norm in Uttar Pradesh as it is in Madhya Pradesh and even in the more prosperous state of Haryana. The nexus of politicians, mine owners and contractors ensures that labour laws and all safety measures are flouted so that the mining mafia can multiply its profits. Champa Srivastava, president of the Mirzapur-based NGO Bandua Mukti Morcha for the last 30 years, says, “The situation here is only getting worse. There is no dearth of legislation protecting the rights of labourers, but the mining mafia is able to flout all rules. Although the government passed a law abolishing bonded labour in 1976, large numbers of labourers continue to work at Rs 2 per day plus 2 kg of wheat. The widespread condemnation of child labour in this district has ensured that the whole issue of bonded labour be put under the wraps along with the pressing issue of child labour. Labourers were working in the mines of Chunar and Rajgheri located near Mirzapur. The court served summons to the different governmental departments, including the Labour Commissioner and the Rehabilitation Department, to provide it with an explanation as to why this practice was continuing. The district administration was perforce forced to issue release certificates in their favour. Srivastava points out, “A certificate is a proof that the practice of bonded labour is thriving. It forces the state government to give Rs 20,000 each as rehabilitation expenses. It also entitles the workers to a house on priority through the Indira Awas Yojana and admission in schools for children at a monthly pension of Rs 100.” Shamshad Khan, president of a Mirzapur-based organisation, CREDA, says, “Male workers are exposed to silicosis which damages their respiratory tracts. The mine owners conduct no check-ups and provide no medical insurance. The government has started giving small leases to different parties. This makes the owners much more difficult to trace.” Mirzapur’s District Magistrate Umesh Mittal denies these charges insisting the state machinery is doing its best to get rid of this scourge. Mr Mittal says, “The problem of bonded labour is very complex because many of them come from Bihar and Jharkhand. After they are rescued, they go back to their native villages. Their local machinery has to fight the rehabilitation cases on their behalf, but often there is little follow-up.” Mr Shamim Akhtar, Additional Labour Commissioner in Mirzapur, says 140 cases of rescued workers are being fought in the Labour Court. “The whole process is cumbersome and we cannot be blamed for this,” Khan says. The story in Haryana is equally horrendous. In August, 2005, a group of 113 bonded labourers held a dharna outside Haryana Bhavan. They had been rescued by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, but not a single labourer has received a release certificate. Mine owners are making huge profits. Former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is reported to have auctioned quarries to private companies. A company such as the Baba Mungipa Mines and Minerals Cp., reportedly owned by Ajay Chautala and his father, is reported to have made a gross profit of Rs 260 crore in two years. Mines in Mirzapur are also owned by sons and relatives of politicians. Lokpathi Tripathi, son of a former UP Chief Minister, and Bachcha Pathak, whose elder brother S. Pathak was a former Cabinet Minister, are some of the owners, though they all have front men under whom they operate. Several NGOs have raised their voice against the exploitative practices. After the Supreme Court strictures against quarrying, several mines today have put up boards to indicate they have closed down. This is not the case. Mountains are being quarried in large tracts of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, with mining officials turning a blind eye to these goings-on. It is because of this indifference that Mahugari remains a village of largely widows. Recently, an accident killing several quarry workers belonging to the Kodwari village in Mirzapur, went largely unreported. The 22 injured included several girls aged 12 to 16. What these young girls were doing in a mine in Chunar is a question that the administration needs to answer. The sheer brutality they suffer is a testimony to how the mining mafia continues to call the shots. |
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Aging with grace, naturally Dr Andrew Weil, the chief guru of integrative medicine in the United States, is back in the spotlight promoting his new book, ``Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being.'' We asked the Harvard-trained physician about his outlook on aging. Q: You urge people to accept the inevitability of aging. Does that mean we can't do much about it? A: We can't do anything about the aging process. We cannot turn back the clock. We cannot grow younger, despite what a lot of people tell us. I think we can do a lot about remaining healthy as we get older. Q:
Describe someone who has a healthy attitude toward aging. A: I wrote in the book about my visits to Okinawa (at the southernmost tip of the Japanese islands. And the oldest old people I saw there bound up to you and the first thing they say is, `Hi. My name is . . . I'm 97. How old are you?' And they are proud of being old. They are healthy and, to me, are beautiful. They haven't used Botox, and they haven't had face-lifts. . . . They have the good fortune to live in a society where the old are valued and honored. Q:
That's not our society, is it? A: I think we are at the opposite extreme. I think we have gotten more and more off the beam in the past 30 years or so. Q:
Has anti-aging medicine (with its experimental treatments such as hormones, cellular injections and caloric restriction to delay the aging process) produced some valuable discoveries? A:
No, I don't think so. (Anti-aging advocates) dispense some good information about preventive health and about proper nutrition. But I think, in general, the products and services that they recommend are at best worthless and a waste of money and at worst potentially dangerous. Moreover, I think the existence of anti-aging medicine is a vast distraction from what should be the important goal, which is learning how to age gracefully, how to live long and well and how not to get sick. Q:
Why is taking fish oil supplements so helpful? A: Most people in this culture are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. That has huge consequences on long-term health: cardiovascular health, mental health. And because of the concerns about fish today, I think people need to be very careful about which fish they eat. I think a more reasonable alternative for many people might be to take fish oil supplements, which are distilled and free of contaminants. I think it is especially important for kids. Q:
Is being overweight or obese highly detrimental to aging well? A: I think we've exaggerated the medical dangers of (being) overweight. I think that has been warped by fashion and society. Obesity is a significant health hazard in youth, especially in childhood. The epidemic of Type 2 diabetes we're seeing is what I'd be most worried about. And, later on, the cardiovascular complications of that. I have a feeling that as you get older the health impact of (being) overweight diminishes. Q:
What is the single most effective step we can take to influence how we age? A:
I think it's in the area of attitude. I'm really trying to change attitudes about aging and looking for the positive attributes of aging. To me that includes things like increased wisdom, increased life experience, maturity, depth of character, better equanimity, increased creativity — all those things for which older people are honored in other cultures. Q:
For the many people who now live past age 80, medicine is emphasizing the need to remain functional and have a good quality of life even at a very old age. Is that realistic? A:
It is, I think. The ideal is you want to live long and well and have a rapid drop-off at the end. — LA Times-Washington Post |
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Anti-Europeanism is the new consensus Anti-Europeanism is now regarded as a perfectly obvious, and unexceptional, position in British politics today. And that applies as much to the Labour Government as the Opposition. Tony Blair has proved disappointing enough, but at least he has some of the rhetoric of belief in Europe. When it comes to Gordon Brown, the whole tone of the Government is likely shift to open scepticism. If nothing else, both Gordon Brown and David Cameron will be vying for Rupert Murdoch’s favour, with his visceral distaste for the Union. That the prejudices of a foreign-based proprietor should hold such sway is humiliating enough. But even if it were not for Murdoch, Brown’s natural instinct is a pro-American, anti-European one, and he feels doubly vindicated in this by what has happened to the euro and the European constitution - two issues on which he opposed Blair. If only Robin Cook were still here to keep the balance and provide the wider dimension. On Europe as so much else, Parliament is the smaller for his absence. Of course, so long as Blair remains at No 10, the pro-European lobby can hope that the British Prime Minister will make a last charge for his place in the history books by becoming a genuine European leader. But the road to that end is paved with the shattered hopes of those who looked to him for the courage of his convictions. Nothing in Blair’s last-minute efforts to cobble together a deal in Brussels suggests a change in approach. If anything, it simply indicates a desire to avoid failure in the European presidency so that the Prime Minister can get the issue off his plate as quickly as possible. It’s not all Blair’s fault. Rarely can the EU have been so in need of leadership and rarely has it been so bereft of it. The present crop of premiers, old rogues like Chirac and new parochialists like Angela Merkel, is simply not up to the job of responding to the crises of the rejection of the constitution, stumbling growth and budget constraints, while Jose Manuel Barroso’s first year as commission president has made even Romano Prodi look distinguished in comparison. No, the only sensible assumption for any pro-European at this time is to face up to the fact that the cause is in retreat, that the political temper of our times is against it. That is no council of despair. Far from it. In politics, this is precisely the moment when the proponents of a cause need to come out and fight for it, to reach beyond the politicians to convince the public. There is nothing in the opinion polls or general mood to suggest that the voters in Britain are actively against Europe as such or want positive measures of withdrawal. Rather, they are put off by the endless niggling over farm subsidies and and the overheated rows over economic modernisation which make the EU seem something alien and apart. Yet there are a number of fundamental issues on which the advantages of speaking with a common voice are obvious and accepted. They include the environment and security as well as the more commercial questions of freedom of movement and services. Add to that what Europe might become as it enlarges to the east, taking in Muslim Turkey and former Soviet Republics, and what it could do in terms of development aid (the EU’s aid budget dwarfs that of Britain and every other country, while it was the EU move on debt relief that really got the Gleneagles debate under way) and research and development, and you have the makings of a perfectly good case for Britain’s place at the heart of a developing confederation. It’s a case, however, that won’t carry if its proponents now duck for cover and simply crouch there, hoping the wind will blow over. — The Independent |
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From the pages of Durbar at Patiala
Durbars and other ceremonial functions in Indian States do not usually possess much interest for the outside public. One Durbar in an Indian State is so much like another as to hardly present any peculiar feature or distinguishing characteristic. There appears generally to be a dead level of uniformity about them. The recent public Durbar held at Patiala in commemoration of the birthday anniversary of His Highness the Maharaja Dhiraj Bahadur of Patiala, however, stands out of the common run. Two circumstances invested it with particular importance. The first was that it was the occasion of the home-coming of His Highness, fresh from the Imperial War Cabinet and Conference; the second being that the occasion was fittingly availed of by the Maharaja himself for a welcome announcement regarding the introduction of the elective system in the administration of the municipal and district boards. |
Do good wherever you can. Do not hesitate in helping others. The person who does good without looking for a return is at the highest stage of self-realisation. — Sanatana Dharma The man who performs evil acts, suffers in both worlds. He suffers the results of his act in this world and he suffers in dreading the vicissitudes of the next world. Such is the fate of the evil doer. — The Buddha |
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