O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Election time
Let fairness be the watchword
ELECTIONS in four states and a Union Territory have been set in motion with the Election Commission announcing the dates for the same. The commission has its own yardsticks in preparing the schedule. Ordinarily, this is an internal affair of the commission.

Educating India
Put budget boost to good use
THE Finance Minister has increased the allocation for education by a substantial 31.5 per cent, taking the total to Rs 24,115 crore. Much of this largesse — Rs 10,041 crore — will be spent on the ambitious Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, launched in 2001, which envisions universal school enrolment and retention.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

Chidambaram overcautious
Budget could have spread more happiness
by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
There is a danger in trying to please a lot of people simultaneously. You might end up spreading the happiness so thinly that no one is overjoyed. On the contrary, everyone feels a little dissatisfied. This is perhaps the dominant feeling that has been generated by the presentation of the third budget of the UPA government by Union Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram.

MIDDLE

Hands of Ustad
by Shveta Pathak
UNABLE to control my excitement at finally getting an appointment with sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, I “SMSed” the news to a close friend in Australia. “Ustad has one of the most beautiful, artistic hands,” she promptly replied back.

OPED

DOCUMENT
India-US joint statement
The following are excerpts from the Indo-US statement issued on March 2, 2006:
Both our countries are linked by a deep commitment to freedom and democracy; a celebration of national diversity, human creativity and innovation; a quest to expand prosperity and economic opportunity worldwide; and a desire to increase mutual security against the common threats posed by intolerance, terrorism, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

When politics defeats science
by Susan F. Wood
Since my resignation six months ago as assistant commissioner of women’s health at the Food and Drug Administration, I have been traveling around the country meeting with men and women, fellow scientists and health care professionals.

Delhi Durbar
Chidambaram’s Budget
Barring Nalini who went over the moon in giving her husband P Chidambaram 10/10 for the 2005-06 general Budget, this was sadly lacking amid a wide range of politicians, economists and industry.

• Unfair price shops

• Flats for MPs

• Congress and four PMs

From the pages of

EDITORIALS

Election time
Let fairness be the watchword

ELECTIONS in four states and a Union Territory have been set in motion with the Election Commission announcing the dates for the same. The commission has its own yardsticks in preparing the schedule. Ordinarily, this is an internal affair of the commission. After all, it has to take into account the availability of security forces, the past polling trends and the law and order situation while ordering polls. Even so, the timetable it has drawn up will raise eyebrows. The Left Front has already criticised the commission for ordering a five-phase poll in West Bengal. It may not be necessary for the commission to spell out all the reasons for such a staggered poll. It could possibly have been guided by reports that the Left Front had mastered the art of rigging elections.

While preventing rigging is indeed laudable, this does not square with the decision to stagger the polls in Kerala. Relatively speaking, elections in Kerala have always been the fairest. It is a small state where grassroots democracy is so strong that it is impossible for any one party to attempt such unfair means as capturing of booths. The worst reports that come from the state are about attempted cases of impersonation. Even impersonation will become difficult this time with the commission making photo identity cards compulsory. Thus there is no reason to stagger the polls in Kerala, particularly when the commission has ordered a single-day poll in Tamil Nadu. Worse, it is not confident enough to hold a single-day poll in tiny Pondicherry.

It is not the first time the commission is getting flaks for staggering polls. Earlier, in Haryana and, later, in Bihar, it went in for staggered polls extending to nearly one month causing so many problems to the states concerned. To be fair to the commission, in both Haryana and Bihar, it was able to ensure a free and fair election. But the fairness of an election should not be determined by the outcome of the poll. The Bihar election should not be considered fair only because Mr Lalu Yadav’s party was defeated. In other words, there should be no clubbing of politics with holding of polls. It should not matter which party wins in an election provided every voter is able to exercise his franchise in a free and fair manner.

Educating India
Put budget boost to good use

THE Finance Minister has increased the allocation for education by a substantial 31.5 per cent, taking the total to Rs 24,115 crore. Much of this largesse — Rs 10,041 crore — will be spent on the ambitious Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, launched in 2001, which envisions universal school enrolment and retention. The programme does appear to have picked up steam over the years, with the number of children not in school coming down to a crore. That, of course, is still too many children deprived of basic education, and hopefully, the 5,00,000 new class rooms and 1,50,000 more teachers promised by Mr P. Chidambaran will see those numbers dwindling rapidly. A corresponding focus on both quality and retention is also required.

The Finance Minister, in fact, has spent a substantial portion of his budget speech to provisions for education, and this primacy should translate into actual augmentation of efforts at the grassroots level. Allocations have been increased for the mid-day meal scheme — “the largest school lunch programme in the world” — and a scheme for residential schools for SC, ST and OBC children. The Rs 3000 incentive at 18 years, for girl children enrolling in high school, should serve to bring more girls into the fold. The various increases in social sector spending on health and nutrition for children and women, including specific allocation for the Integrated Child Development Services scheme, play a crucial part in widening the primary education base.

There is a corresponding eye on research and higher education, with grants for the universities of Calcutta, Mumbai and Madras, which are celebrating their 150th year, and Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana. As a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP), the budget documents show that spending on education is well below one per cent. (The Economic Survey claims a figure of 2.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.) Whatever the numbers, fiscal pressures mean that higher allocations, as justly demanded by social sector activists, will be difficult. In the meantime, every increase and every rupee must be made to count.

Haryana’s excise policy
Compassionate to liquor sellers, consumers

GOVERNMENTS usually try to extract maximum revenue from the auction of liquor vends. However, the Haryana government has chosen to follow the road less travelled. Its excise policy, uncorked on Tuesday, has scrapped the system of auction and introduced the procedure of inviting applications for the allotment of liquor vends and hold a draw of lots wherever necessary. This may lead to revenue erosion, but it will keep more liquor sellers in business. The government has taken care to protect liquor sellers as well as consumers. It has even reduced the duty on both country liquor and IMFL, and also fixed the prices so that quality liquor is made available at affordable rates.

The auction process brings in more revenue, no doubt, but it also encourages the possible emergence of a monopoly situation. The participants in an auction can join hands and capture vends cheap, thus defeating the government’s goal of earning more revenue. There is also the possibility of a single cartel grabbing the whole business, forcing the smaller players out. A helpful government clubs vends in various districts during auction to keep off smaller participants. This has happened in Punjab. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has pegged the revenue from vend allotments at Rs 1,200 crore for 2006-07 as against Rs 1,062 crore earned during the current year.

Last year, Mr Hooda broke the monopoly of a cartel, but could save only nine of the 20 districts from its clutches. This time he has switched to a new system to keep small local contractors in business. The idea is noble, but the state may have to pay a price for it. It is also against the tenets of a market economy which rewards only the fittest and the strongest. If an effective regulatory system is put in place, monopolies can be avoided or tackled. It is another matter if ruling politicians join hands with cartels for mutual benefit.

Thought for the day

A straw vote only shows which way the hot air blows. — American proverb

ARTICLE

Chidambaram overcautious
Budget could have spread more happiness
by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

There is a danger in trying to please a lot of people simultaneously. You might end up spreading the happiness so thinly that no one is overjoyed. On the contrary, everyone feels a little dissatisfied. This is perhaps the dominant feeling that has been generated by the presentation of the third budget of the UPA government by Union Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram.

True, it is not easy to keep everybody happy. But the Finance Minister’s critics argue that he has been too circumspect, perhaps overcautious, given the fact that the economy is growing at more than 8 per cent, stock markets have touched a record height, and savings and investment levels are at an impressive 30 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. They contend that Mr Chidambaram could have done much more to improve the social and physical infrastructure that is constraining growth and overall economic development.

It is not as if all is hunky-dory with the economy. The country’s oil import bill has jumped by nearly 50 per cent. As the Economic Survey pointed out, power generation grew by only 4.7 per cent in April-December 2005 against 6.5 per cent during the same period in 2004. The Survey stated that with a peak power shortage of 12 per cent and an average shortage of 8 per cent, electricity generation would be worth Rs 15,000 crore, implying an associated GDP loss of Rs 3,00,000 crore or nearly 8 per cent of the country’s projected GDP.

During the first three quarters of the current financial year, the overall index of the six core infrastructure industries — coal, electricity, crude oil, refined petroleum products, steel and cement — grew by a niggardly 4.5 per cent, a good two percentage points lower than the growth rate in the corresponding period of the previous year. What is amply clear is that the Indian economy cannot sustain a rate of growth of 8 per cent, leave alone achieve a 10 per cent growth rate, with the infrastructure growing at less than 5 per cent.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechuri says Mr Chidambaram missed out on a golden opportunity to raise more resources to expand social sector programmes and rural development schemes that would have gone further in fulfilling the goals set out in the National Common Minimum Programme. He said the government could have aimed at garnering much more than the Rs 6,000 crore it intends to raise through additional taxes since GDP in nominal terms has been projected to rise by 12 per cent in the coming fiscal year to touch a level in excess of Rs 39,00,000 crore. The Finance Minister, of course, is a firm believer in the virtues of fiscal “prudence” and fiscal “consolidation” while the Left is clearly not.

Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s description of the budget as “outstanding” for balancing the twin goals of economic growth and social justice, supporters of the ruling party privately express their misgivings about it not sending out a “big message” to the people. Since the budget is invariably a lot about politics and symbolism, there has been disappointment that the list of products whose prices are expected to come down on account of tax cuts — such as small cars, soft drinks, condensed milk, ice cream, pasta and ready-to-eat packaged foods — does not include items that are consumed by the proverbial “aam admi” to whom references are repeatedly made.

BJP representatives have questioned the manner in which the government has apparently juggled figures to claim that the budget would alleviate the lot of the poor farmer. The government says there will be a whopping 43 per cent increase in the Central Plan outlays on eight flagship programmes: Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid-May Meal Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission, Total Sanitation Campaign, National Rural Health Mission, Integrated Child Development Services, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

If the 2005-06 budget estimates of Central Plan outlays are compared with the revised estimates, there is a sharp increase in the outlay on “rural development” (excluding roads) from Rs 13,992 crore to Rs 16,716 crore (or 19.5 per cent) whereas the outlay on “agriculture and allied activities” has fallen from Rs 6,425 crore to Rs 5,907 crore (a decline of 8 per cent) while that on “irrigation and flood control” has come down from Rs 524 crore to Rs 418 crore (20 per cent). Comparing the current financial year’s revised estimates of the Plan outlays for these three categories with next year’s budget estimates, the rise is 9.2 per cent for rural development, 25 per cent for agriculture and allied activities and 40 per cent for irrigation and flood control.

These figures are indeed puzzling and perhaps lend credence to the suspicion that what the government would do is to club the existing schemes under different heads and move funds from one category to another while implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in 200 backward districts. The budget speech of the Finance Minister has it that the total allocation for rural development in 2006-07 will be Rs 14,300 crore, of which Rs 11,300 crore will be under the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme and the rest under the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana.

At the end of the day, what really matters — and Mr Chidambaram knows this better than anyone else — is not the quantum but the quality of spending. This implies prevention of leakages through corruption. Besides, a lot would depend on the ability of those involved in administering the rural employment generation programmes (including the state governments and the panchayati raj institutions) to create assets in villages that are durable, be these roads, irrigation projects, bridges or houses.

The increase in the service tax rate from 10 per cent to 12 per cent and the widening of the service tax net will not exactly endear Mr Chidambaram to the middle class. While the Left would be happy with the Minimum Alternate Tax rate on companies going up from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent and the one-fourth rise in the Securities Transaction Tax rate, these decisions have predictably not been welcomed by the corporate sector. In public, of course, all the chambers of commerce have heartily welcomed the budget — which is hardly surprising, since corporate captains are almost never known to openly criticise the government’s budget proposals.

Elections to the legislative assemblies in Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal and Kerala are round the corner. The compulsions of coalition politics may have prevented the Finance Minister from taking tough decisions, even if he doesn’t admit it. The Harvard-educated gung-go economic liberaliser in him may have had to play second fiddle to the person who has had to call the Communists his conscience-keepers. If the Manmohan Singh government completes its full term of five years, two more regular budgets and one interim budget would be presented. By then, populist compulsions on the government would have multiplied manifold.

MIDDLE

Hands of Ustad
by Shveta Pathak

UNABLE to control my excitement at finally getting an appointment with sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, I “SMSed” the news to a close friend in Australia. “Ustad has one of the most beautiful, artistic hands,” she promptly replied back.

My excitement had begun a week prior to his actual visit, that is, as soon as I learnt that Ustad, along with his handsome sons Amaan and Ayaan, would perform in Ludhiana. “Thursday”, a friend said and I made sure I did not remain busy that day, which meant adjusting my schedule a wee bit.

Two days before the D-day, my expectations, naturally enough, rose. I was now keen not only to see the trio performing on stage; I wanted to meet the maestro in person. That should not be tough, the journalist in me came to my comfort.

But I had not taken into account the imponderables. After all, as they say “what you seek the most, eludes you the most”. And so it happened in this case too.

Ustad had a tight schedule, the organisers told me. I was disappointed but was not yet ready to give up. Eternal hope is the price one often has to pay in journalism. But when my efforts to get an appointment with Ustad did not yield the desired results, the level of hope began to plummet to an all-time low. I began to feel that I would never be able to meet him – a person I always wanted to meet for no other reason than to distinguish between the musician and the music.

When my chase led me to nowhere, I consoled myself that one did not always get what one wanted and that there was always a next time. Slowly but surely optimism had given way to despondency.

Finally, when one of the organisers told me at the eleventh hour that I could come to the hotel where the maestro was staying, my joy knew no bounds. I wasted no time in reaching the venue and there in front of me was the legend in flesh and blood.

All engrossed in his own world, he talked about music — of sound and words and how a fusion of both enriched human life. I was almost in a trance. I heard Ustad vaxing eloquent about Beethoven’s symphonies and his understanding of music, love et al. He also talked about India, Pakistan his friends and foibles.

During the conversation, Ustad took care to order tea for me too. Tea came in China and I was eager to have a cup of tea. Soon I noticed that the cup was sans a teabag.

Unobtrusively, I looked for a tea bag among the white sugar and brown sugar pouches. The attempt was unsuccessful. Mindful of the importance of my once-in-a-life-moment, I opted to have “tea-less” tea.

By the time I finished the cup, the meeting was over and Ustad left. Euphoric I came out, only to realise that I would have to meet him again, for I had forgotten to see his “beautiful, artistic hands”.

OPED

DOCUMENT
India-US joint statement

The following are excerpts from the Indo-US statement issued on March 2, 2006:

Both our countries are linked by a deep commitment to freedom and democracy; a celebration of national diversity, human creativity and innovation; a quest to expand prosperity and economic opportunity worldwide; and a desire to increase mutual security against the common threats posed by intolerance, terrorism, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The successful transformation of the U.S.-India relationship will have a decisive and positive influence on the future international system as it evolves in this new century.

The President and the Prime Minister reaffirm their commitment to expand even further the growing ties between their two countries. Consistent with this objective, the two leaders wish to highlight efforts the United States and India are making together in the following areas, where they have:

For economic prosperity and trade

(1) Agreed to intensify efforts to develop a bilateral business climate supportive of trade and investment by:

1. Welcoming the report of the U.S.-India CEO Forum, agreeing to consider its recommendations aimed at substantially broadening our bilateral economic relations, and directing the Chairs of the Indo-U.S. Economic Dialogue to follow up expeditiously with the CEO Forum;

2. Endorsing the efforts of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum to reduce barriers to trade and investment with the goal of doubling bilateral trade in three years;

3. Agreeing to advance mutually beneficial bilateral trade and investment flows by holding a high-level public-private investment summit in 2006, continuing efforts to facilitate and promote foreign direct investment and eliminate impediments to it, and enhancing bilateral consultations on various issues including tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in goods and services, and preventing the illicit use of the financial system.

(2) Sought to expand cooperation in agriculture by:

1. Launching the Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture with a three-year financial commitment to link our universities, technical institutions, and businesses to support agriculture education, joint research, and capacity building projects including in the area of biotechnology.

2. Endorsing an agreed workplan to promote bilateral trade in agriculture through agreements that: lay out a path to open the U.S. market to Indian mangoes, recognize India as having the authority to certify that shipments of Indian products to the United States meet USDA organic standards, and provide for discussions on current regulations affecting trade in fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry and dairy, and almonds.

(3) Reaffirmed their shared commitment to completing the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) before the end of 2006, and agreed to work together to help achieve this outcome.

For energy security and a clean environment

(1) Welcomed the successful completion of discussions on India’s separation plan and looked forward to the full implementation of the commitments in the July 18, 2005 Joint Statement on nuclear cooperation. This historic accomplishment will permit our countries to move forward towards our common objective of full civil nuclear energy cooperation between India and the United States and between India and the international community as a whole.

(2) Welcomed the participation of India in the ITER initiative on fusion energy as an important further step towards the common goal of full nuclear energy cooperation.

(3) Agreed on India’s participation in FutureGen, an international public-private partnership to develop new, commercially viable technology for a clean coal near-zero emission power project. India will contribute funding to the project and participate in the Government Steering Committee of this initiative.

(4) Welcomed the creation of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, which will enable India and the U.S. to work together with other countries in the region to pursue sustainable development and meet increased energy needs while addressing concerns of energy security and climate change. The Partnership will collaborate to promote the development, diffusion, deployment and transfer of cleaner, cost-effective and more efficient technologies and practices.

(5) Welcomed India’s interest in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, an international marine research endeavor that will contribute to long-term energy solutions such as gas hydrates.

(6) Noting the positive cooperation under the Indo-U.S. Energy Dialogue, highlighted plans to hold joint conferences on topics such as energy efficiency and natural gas, to conduct study missions on renewable energy, to establish a clearing house in India for coal-bed methane/coal-mine methane, and to exchange energy market information.

For innovation and the knowledge economy

(1) Emphasizing the importance of knowledge partnerships, announced the establishment of a Bi-National Science and Technology Commission which the U.S. and India will co-fund. It will generate collaborative partnerships in science and technology and promote industrial research and development.

(2) Agreed that the United States and India would work together to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement by providing a vibrant intellectual property rights regime, and to cooperate in the field of intellectual property rights to include capacity building activities, human resource development and public awareness programs.

(3) Agreed to continue exploring further cooperation in civil space, including areas such as space exploration, satellite navigation, and earth science. The United States and India committed to move forward with agreements that will permit the launch of U.S. satellites and satellites containing U.S. components by Indian space launch vehicles, opening up new opportunities for commercial space cooperation between the two countries.

(4) Welcomed the inclusion of two U.S. instruments in the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. They noted that memoranda of understanding to be signed by ISRO and NASA would be significant steps forward in this area.

(5) Welcomed the U.S. Department of Commerce’s plan to create a license exception for items that would otherwise require an export license to end-users in India engaged solely in civilian activities.

When politics defeats science
by Susan F. Wood

Since my resignation six months ago as assistant commissioner of women’s health at the Food and Drug Administration, I have been traveling around the country meeting with men and women, fellow scientists and health care professionals. I have shared my concerns that our federal health agencies seem increasingly unable to operate independently and that this lack of independence compromises their mission of promoting public health and welfare.

At every stop I am reminded that whether it is the environment, energy policy, science education or public health, the American public expects our government to make the best decisions based on the best available evidence.

Time and again in my travels I am asked, “What happened to derail Plan B?’’ I have to answer honestly that I don’t know. The manufacturer agreed to take the ``controversial’’ issue of young teens’ access to emergency contraception off the table in 2004; now we are talking only about adult access to safe and effective contraception. Over 98 percent of adult women have used some form of contraception. So what is the objection?

Perhaps it is that posed by a small but vocal political minority that insists on labeling emergency contraception as abortion, or at least confusing the two. One of the main questions I hear is, "Does this pill cause an abortion?" In fact, the only connection this pill has with abortion is that it has the potential to prevent the need for one. Emergency contraceptive pills work exactly the same way as other birth control pills, and they do not interfere with or harm an existing pregnancy. Emergency contraception is simply a higher dose of daily birth control pills; it is not RU-486, the "abortion pill".’ Indeed, emergency contraception has been used as a method to prevent unintended pregnancies for decades by women who had physicians advise them on how many pills in their regular pill pack to take. So people who are comfortable with oral contraceptives as methods of contraception should be just as comfortable with emergency contraception.

Having spent 15 years working for the federal government, nearly five of which were at the FDA, I care deeply about what’s happening in the federal agencies, particularly our health agencies. Nearly 25 cents of every consumer dollar is spent on products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. We count on the FDA for the safety and effectiveness of our medicines, vaccines and medical devices, and for the safety of the blood and food supply. The American public does not want to—nor should it—have to think twice about the quality and reliability of information it is getting from the FDA. Its reputation as the international gold standard for regulatory agencies, and as a body that sets the bar very high when it comes to scientific evidence and integrity, is being put at risk over adult access to contraception. Why would the administration risk such a reputation over this?

It’s been nearly three years since the first application came in to make Plan B emergency contraception available over the counter, so that women, including rape victims, could have a second chance to prevent an unintended pregnancy and the need for an abortion. How many chances have we missed? I still can’t explain what is going on here, and why women 17 and older are still denied this product in a timely way. When did adult access to contraception become controversial? And why have we allowed it to happen?

— LA Times-Washington Post

Delhi Durbar
Chidambaram’s Budget

Barring Nalini who went over the moon in giving her husband P Chidambaram 10/10 for the 2005-06 general Budget, this was sadly lacking amid a wide range of politicians, economists and industry.

The Budget clearly did not have the Chidambaram stamp which was described by at least one expert as innocuous. It is apparent Chidambaram could not think out of the box because of various constraints and compulsions, including finding resources for implementing the eight flagship programmes contained in the UPA government’s National Common Minimum Programme.

No one expected the suave Chidambaram to be nervous in presenting the Budget as he has done so before and earned kudos at least on one occasion for putting forward proposals which were acknowledged as being perfect.

Even though the Budget for 2006-07 is growth-oriented, Chidambaram has been accused of dumping the “aam aadmi” and throwing up a pro-rich fare.

Unfair price shops

Recently the Delhi Administration launched a raid against Fair price shops. Irregularities were found in majority of shops. Fair price shop owners went to their respective MPs for protection.

Realising that majority of the shop owners are Congressmen, MPs are finding it difficult to bail them out fearing that the information, if leaked to the media, may put them in trouble. One shop owner told his MP that the irregularity was minor as it was a matter of 73 kg of grain that he had sold in the open market.

On inquiry, the MP discovered that out of his total quota of 200 kg, the shop owner had been selling 73 kg. The MP raised his hands in helplessness.

Flats for MPs

Just the other day Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat inaugurated “Brahmaputra,” a multi-storeyed housing complex for the members of the Rajya Sabha.

Shekhawat hoped that after staying in these beautiful and comfortable flats, the MPs would come to the House in a cheerful mood and raise problems facing the country in a more effective manner.

He stressed that MPs should take up and discuss national issues in a cordial and consensual manner.

Congress and four PMs

The BJP seems to have expanded its “weak PM” theory as a weapon of attack against the Congress. Former BJP President Venkaiah Naidu, while participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha, said that the ruling coalition seems to have four PMs — PM, Super PM, CPM and Ultra PM — the last being a reference to Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Naidu was apparently taking a dig at the UPA government for the way it allowed itself to be prevailed upon by Yadav’s viewpoint in recommending the dissolution of the previous Bihar Assembly.

Silenced by frequent interruptions from the treasury benches, Naidu raised his voice that as a member of the Opposition, his task was not to sing praises of the government, but to criticise it.

Contributed by Satish Misra, S. Satyanarayanan, R. Suryamurthy and Prashant Sood.

From the pages of

May 16, 1930

SHOLAPUR DISORDERS

The horrifying tale of mob violence at Sholapur has a lesson for the Government as well as for the leaders of the Satyagraha movement. The gruesome story of murder and arson must open the eyes of the leaders of the Independence Movement to the grave peril which is bound to arise if the movement is not kept under effective control. No amount of explanation can condone the acts of criminal violence which were perpetrated by the mob who were apparently fired by enthusiasm for the Freedom Movement. Even if it is assumed for the sake of argument that the local authorities had mishandled the situation or were responsible for provoking the people by an unauthorised or illegal exhibition of force, the brutal murder of policemen, the burning of police chowkis, the main police station and the District Courts and the other outrages perpetrated by the mob must be unequivocally condemned by all right-thinking persons.