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Divisive quota Free at last |
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Copycat Kaavya
Quotas in private sector
Spring time in India
From outlays to outcomes Truth is above contempt Delhi Durbar
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Divisive quota THE indefinite strike launched by the junior doctors of the five medical colleges in Delhi reflects their agony and anguish over Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh’s proposal to reserve 27 per cent seats for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in professional colleges. The agitation is likely to intensify from April 30 when 31 medical associations across the country converge in the Capital. Clearly, there is no justification for such quotas in professional colleges. Though all the political parties are united on the issue in Parliament for protecting their vote banks, this has created sharp divisions in society. Opinion seems to be divided in the Union Cabinet too. Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal quite candidly said in Hannover on Wednesday that quotas will dilute the quality of research and development in professional institutions and India will lose its competitive edge in the global market. The striking doctors have a valid point in opposing reservation in super-speciality courses. At this level, merit should be the sole criterion for admission and not caste or any other consideration. If a student is given a seat on the basis of his caste, it will endanger the profession and do incalculable harm to the nation. Nonetheless, the government — at the Centre and in the states — should help the socially and educationally disadvantaged sections by extending all kinds of facilities like scholarships, books, coaching and training so that they can upgrade their skills and are capable of competing with others for admission to speciality courses purely on merit. In tune with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s suggestion for affirmative action in the private sector, the Confederation of Indian Industry, which is against quotas, is preparing a blueprint on how to help the socially and educationally disadvantaged. The CII is exploring proposals like setting up of scholarships, vocational institutes and self-help groups for them. The Centre and the states too should think on similar lines. Ultimately, the need of the hour is to train and empower them instead of doling out quotas for narrow partisan ends.
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Free at last THE Punjab and Haryana High Court has done a great service to the cause of human rights by ordering the release of Pakistani citizens languishing in various jails of Punjab even after they have completed their terms. Not only that, they are also to be paid compensation for the extra time they were forced to spend in jail. The worst was the plight of the three minor children of Pakistani woman Mumtaz, married and then abandoned by a Bangladeshi. No FIR should have been registered against the children in the first place and a humanitarian view should have been taken. Instead, they and others had become helpless pawns in a game of oneupmanship being played out between the two countries who talk of confidence-building measures while at the same time maintaining a daggers-drawn posture. Just because Pakistan was refusing to release Indian prisoners, the latter too had been forced to follow a tit-for-tat policy. That was politically correct but morally cruel. Now that India has taken the lead, here is hoping that Pakistan would also reciprocate the gesture. It is a known fact that many Indians have been leading a horrible life in Pakistani jails. Surprisingly, Islamabad does not even acknowledge their existence. Many have lost their mental balance. It should now do a rethink as to what it gains by keeping them in captivity. It will be paving the way for better relations and also earn the gratitude of their family members who have been waiting for their return all these decades. While the plight of Pakistani prisoners has attracted the attention of human rights activists, it is also necessary to be alive to the problems being faced by Indian prisoners. A stint in jail is supposed to aim at reforming a person. But the overcrowding, corruption and mismanagement prevalent there turn even first-time offenders into hardened criminals. It is time the two countries adopted a realistic policy on the prisoners languishing in their jails.
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Copycat Kaavya THE Way The Cookie Crumbles (with due acknowledgement and apologies to James Hadley Chase) would have been a more apt title, or certainly a prophetic and self-fulfilling sub-title for Kaavya Viswanathan’s book. How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life is so long that a little more length would have made the title not only more memorable, but would have vested it with the distinction of being truly original unlike what now lies exposed between the covers. There will be no orchids for Kaavya Viswanathan, who is now running for cover after being caught for copying, not one or two lines but as many as 13, if not 40, passages from two books of Megan McCafferty. Even the titles of McCafferty’s two novels – Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings – from which Kaavya lifted parts sound like an ironic comment on her clumsy first effort which has turned out to be seconds that she helped herself to. Speaking of covers and Kaavya’s own implausible cover story – that as an avid fan who internalised McCafferty’s expressions she may have reproduced them unconsciously – the cover of her own novel is replete with ironies. Jennifer Weiner endorses the book on the front cover with the lines: “A funny, fast-paced and utterly winning first novel… an irresistible read”. Above the barcode, publisher Little Brown proclaims the book as “A Time Warner Original”. Equally unmissable is the plug “A treasure. Kaavya Viswanathan’s voice is fresh and funny… you’ll love this book” by Kavita Daswani who wrote Everything Happens for a Reason. Kaavya can console herself that her being exposed as a plagiarist, too, happened for a reason. Her book, as well as McCafferty’s first one, have shot up in the rankings and both books are selling more than they did before the exposure. Kaavya still has to deliver the second novel of her $500,000 contract. She doesn’t have to look far to find a suitable title. It could very well be How Kaavya Viswanathan Got to Plagiarise, Got Exposed, and Got to Apologise.
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I am an idealist. I don’t know where I’m going but I’m on the way. — Carl Sandburg
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Quotas in private sector
NO sensible Indian would disagree with the view that a lot needs to be done to improve the conditions of those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled
Tribes. The real issue is whether this section can be empowered through legally mandated reservation of jobs in corporate entities owned and controlled by private individuals. It is on this particular issue that a heated debate is currently on. Those opposed to mandatory reservation argue that this would erode competitiveness by sacrificing merit in favour of others belonging to a certain social segment. The proponents of reservations point out that profit-making private companies merely pay lip service to affirmative action without actually empowering the socially underprivileged. Thus, they argue, the only way forward is to enforce job quotas by legal fiat, not gentle persuasion. The current debate acquired a fillip after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told corporate captains at the annual conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on April 18: “I urge you to give more attention to questions of social and economic discrimination and deprivation, to the educational and health status of our people, to employment generation, to social security and to the employment of women and the minorities.” Significantly, the Prime Minister’s statement did not even once mention legislation to reserve jobs. His reticence was probably not merely on account of the ongoing assembly elections but also because the government’s move to reserve seats in educational institutions for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) had generated considerable controversy. The reactions of industry were along predictable lines. Mr R. Seshasayee, the newly-elected president of CII, said mandatory job reservation would not be acceptable to industry while announcing the establishment of a task force on affirmative action that would assist individuals belonging to the SCs/STs/OBCs in developing their abilities to compete effectively in the marketplace. Mr Amit Mitra, Secretary-General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, wondered if the government was making a social statement or a political statement. The fact is that the May 2004 National Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance government had stated: “The UPA government is very sensitive to the issue of affirmative action, including reservation, in the private sector. It will immediately initiate a national dialogue with all political parties, industry and other organisations to see how best the private sector can fulfil the aspirations of SC and ST youth.” The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, headed by Ms Meira Kumar, has been discussing this issue for nearly two years now. The group of ministers headed by Mr Sharad Pawar sent questionnaires to more than 250 industry and trade associations on the topic but not even 10 per cent responded. Very few private organisations have furnished details about the social composition of their employees. A notable exception is Hindustan Lever Limited that employs 33,000 people, of which more than half (55 per cent) belong to SCs/STs/OBCs. Interestingly, HLL recruited most of these employees from employment exchanges and merit was the only criterion for selection. The example of the largest multinational corporation operating in India clearly indicates that merit can coexist with affirmative action. The current debate reminds one of the big hue and cry with which certain vocal sections greeted the announcement made by Mr V.P. Singh 15 years ago that he would be accepting the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. Despite all the outrage that was publicly expressed at that time, the entire political class cutting across ideological lines eventually fell in line and did not oppose Mandal. The same story is certain to be repeated since no political party in India is likely to argue against job reservation in the private sector, even if politicians (including surely some in the Congress as well) espouse contrary views in private. Yet, not everyone is convinced that reservation in the workplace or in the classroom necessarily discriminates against the meritorious. One is certainly not arguing that eligibility standards should be drastically lowered for the benefit of the SCs, STs or OBCs. The purpose of reservation is clearly meant to assist the disadvantaged and not penalise those with merit. It is also no one’s case that job reservation in the private sector would solve all the problems of the underprivileged but becoming a substitute for schemes to provide elementary education and basic health care. In recent years, job opportunities in the public sector have been steadily shrinking while employment in the non-governmental sector, including in private firms, has gone up. Behind this fact lies the genesis of the demand for job reservation in the private sector. The Union Ministry of Labour states that employment in the private sector stood at 8.7 million in 2004. Even if the private sector were to fully implement job reservation, an additional 2.5 million new job opportunities would be created that would alleviate — not solve — the problem of unemployment. In other words, quotas can be part of the solution of social empowerment, not the entire solution itself. Those opposed to job reservation in the private sector claim that such a step cannot and will not reduce economic inequality in Indian society, which is not only deeply divided along class lines but is also highly hierarchical because of the caste system. It is argued that reservation of jobs for the SCs and the STs in education and public employment has not helped these sections very much and is, in any case, improperly implemented with many vacancies not filled. The counter-argument is that the SCs and the STs would have been much worse off had there been no reservation for them over the last 50 years. Many liberals contend that reservation is fine so long as it is on the basis of economic, not social, backwardness. Following the “creamy layer” judgement of the Supreme Court, there are no doubts that a wealthy Harijan should not be granted special favours when it comes to obtaining a government job or admission to an educational institution. On the issue of merit versus social background, there is no consensus on how to measure the competence or capability of an individual. Even in the bastion of free enterprise capitalism, the US government has possibly done more in terms of affirmative action than we have in this country. One example would suffice: a minimum of 5 per cent of all purchases made by the American government has to come from the suppliers belonging to minority communities. In most parts of India, caste and class overlap. Yet what makes this country unique is precisely the fact that there are exceptions to the general proposition — in other words, there are poor Brahmins and rich Dalits. Still, this uniqueness should not cloud the contention that a nuanced and properly implemented quota structure in private companies with fiscal incentives added on could become a programme of affirmative action, not negative discrimination. And that such a programme could make India a better place for our children and their
children. The writer is Director, School of Convergence, New Delhi.
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Spring time in India
Spring manifests in the countryside and the suburbia through two elements, both peaking from mid-March to mid-April. The visual element is provided by the numerous species of flowering trees. But the more ubiquitous element is the subtle auditory resonances of our bird-song. Yet in the “crazy-busy” hustle of the present-day living culture the chances are that you may miss out on both the joys of life. The flowering tree that towers above all is the Semul. It can reach up to 120 feet to claim the title “King of Trees”. Once a year in March, it comes into a brilliant scarlet bloom bearing the largest flower of any tree. The flower with its ample, deep cup (corolla) brims with nectar and for 10 to 20 days is a great attraction to a large crossection of Indian birds. There is something remarkable about the self-restaint of birds that they do not jostle with each other for the nectar. From the largest, the Honey Buzzard (eagle sized) to the tiniest, the Purple Sunbird (a mere 10 cm), they honour the queue. Some birds like the Common Rose-finch and the Copper-smith immerse so deep inside the cup that they emerge dripping nectar from the feathery-fluff of their slender necks! Among the subtle spring blooms is of the Bauhinia tree which is slimer and taller than the Palash. The flowers may be magenta, mauve, pink or white depending on the species. And you can tell this tree by the perfume long before it comes in your vision. The internal roads of most metropolises used to be lined with Bauhinias but traffic exhaust fumes have imposed a heavy toll. The few that survive are a precious site to behold for a few days. But where Chandigarh Press lensmen are concerned, without exception they have been infatuated by the “Tree of Gold”. As the name aptly implies the tree has a thick-set, golden mass-bloom and a rich carpet of gold petals beneath each canopy. The Golden Tabebuia is a native of South America, which has adapted to India very well. The short but intense period of Spring-time bird song is a common, genetically triggered impulse from Cape Commorin to Leh and from Somnath to Puri. The songsters vary but the song is universal. As the singing phase leads to nesting. So some call it the wooing and the mating song but I like to think of it as the Hymn to the annual cycle of procreation of life. There are some spring songsters that would be heard no matter where you may be in India. For instance, there is the Common Hawk Cuckoo’s song, heard by day and moonlit night which has been popularly syllabised as: “Oh! Lord/It is getting hot /we feel it”. Among the demonstrably amorous wooers of a mate are the Yellow-legged Green Pigeon and the Red-wattled Lapwing. The male pigeon sidles up to the female who coyly flies to a nearby branch. The male gets air borne with smacking-loud wing beats and hovers a few seconds above the female producing the seductive tinkling of the anklet-bells of a Kathak dancer! And all this while, till the sun becomes uncomfortable, the two birds that remain in song almost non-stop are the Black Drango and the Pied Indian Robin. Each of them has a large repertoire and when rendered to the background chimes of the white Eye, their varied flutey song is a balm to the ears and the soul till spring-times to
follow.
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From outlays to outcomes While welcoming higher allocations for the social sector in education, health, livelihood/employment, food, and social security guarantees, many have rightly highlighted the urgent need for reforming public systems which deliver these goods. They must be made more accountable. There is a growing realization that the social sector needs a functional public system that is well endowed and that provides outreach in the most distant corners of the country. Efforts are being made to develop a greater community ownership and focus on outcomes. Clearly the case for more resources for the social sector cannot rest on non-transparent, ineffective, and inefficient public systems. Public systems have to be different in character for them to command the confidence of the community. Where does one begin the reconstruction of public systems? How does governance improve? How to make local communities matter? For anyone travelling across the country, the interaction with groups of youth and women with high levels of motivation, is a common occurrence. Hope has still not died in our democracy and there are community leaders in large numbers with the motivation to turn the world upside down. Unfortunately, they do not have the authority to do so. The powerful public systems with centralized controls have made communities powerless. Even where efforts to decentralize through Panchayats and community user groups have been made, success has mostly been limited to execution of works rather than supervision of the system. The case for governance reforms is ultimately a question of transformation of power relations, a transformation that makes local level institutions (schools, health centres, hospitals, Panchayats) autonomous in the real sense, both with regard to financial and human resources. The experience with Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) managing development delivery systems has been a mixed one. While more convergent action and a degree of community participation has been possible with the involvement of elected leaders of Panchayats, it is only with the intense involvement of user groups that the real aspirations of local communities have been effectively articulated. It is important to realize that PRIs and user groups are not adversaries. Rather, they ought to be seen as complementary in making public systems more accountable. Given the fact that social and class homogeneity often exists at the level of habitations/hamlets and not the revenue village, it is important to build effective partnerships with habitation level community organizations and user groups. States have experienced a power tussle between MLAs and PRIs and it is important to empower the process of decentralization by decisively siding with the PRIs/user groups in managing their own affairs. The adoption of a rights or entitlement based approach is important as it creates a stake for everyone in the system. Household surveys are a powerful means of knocking on every door to ascertain household entitlements to education, health care, livelihood and social security guarantees. It is only when we plan for all, on the basis of a well-defined minimum basic condition, that we can actually hope to track implementation and outcomes better. A rights based approach is a paradigm shift as it is no longer a resource based schematic planning process. Entitlements no longer remain incremental development goals. They become an issue of ‘now’. A certain sense of urgency informs its pursuit. A rights based approach challenges hierarchical social norms and breaks the cycle of ‘social reproduction’. It helps in creating a demand for services and a stake for the community. Household and facility surveys along with a culture of local planning and public hearings, is a first step in moving towards more accountable systems. Transparency and right to information changes the level of community debates as it empowers local action. When communities know the level of resources an institution receives (schools, health centres, hospitals, Panchayats) they also demand its better utilisation. Transparency helps in breaking the ‘mystified domains’ of the powerful, who operate on the principle of exclusion. When budgets and human resources are disaggregated to decentralize effectively, they also offer an opportunity to professionally manage public systems and seek accountability from it. Many principles of management like leadership, motivation, delegation, clear powers and functions, outcome focus get better and more concretely defined when institutions become autonomous and budgets become institution specific. When communities know how much a school/health centre/hospital/Panchayat receives, they are in a position to determine how it is to be effectively and efficiently utilized. Of course, decentralization requires changes in Acts and Statutes that institutionalize the effective ownership of communities over public systems. Ownership requires orientation and professional development of community leaders to manage institutions better. The mindset of the development bureaucracy used to decades of centralized control with little or no local accountability, is an obstruction to the reform of the public system. There are many in the public system who would like to work differently and to contribute more meaningfully but the system tends to snuff out the enthusiastic quest for innovation and change. Badly managed cadres of development workers lose their motivation and ‘babudom’ often saps the will of many to be outcome focused. Clearly there is a crisis of leadership for change as those currently having all the power have to lead a process of reducing their own power to make systems more accountable. This calls for infusion of new skills as most public systems have skill and knowledge deficiencies as well. While lateral entries and contractual assignments can help, the challenge is to change the mind set of the entrenched bureaucracy through relentless efforts at development of capacity to change and manage more professionally. The writer is a civil servant. The views expressed are personal.
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Truth is above contempt IT is heartening that Parliament has amended the Contempt of Courts Act in 2006 to make truth a defence. But even now it is doubtful whether the Supreme Court and the High Courts will allow truth to be a defence. Courts have always invoked the power to punish contempt independent of the Contempt of Courts Act. It should be hoped that the courts will honour truth and allow it to be a defence. A country like India, which believes in satyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs), cannot accept a position where truth is a casualty. Surprisingly, it was not the Contempt of Courts Act, but the courts, which have not allowed truth to be made a defence. So it is a judge-made law that has been rightly corrected. Judges are not accountable. A former Supreme Court judge, V.R.Krishna Iyer, has acknowledged this without mincing words: “Some of the judges would have suffered censure if they had done as administrators what they have been doing with robes on. Some of the actions of judges on the administrative and quasi-private side may worry the public if the veil of secrecy which now they wear were to be lifted by some daring and truthful researcher who may write on the Indian brethren.” It is widely accepted that the dignity of the judiciary cannot be upheld by invoking the Contempt of Courts Act, and that it should be reflected in the conduct of judges. Lord Denning observed: “Let me say at once that we will never use this [contempt] jurisdiction as a means to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. It is the right of every man, in Parliament or out of it, in the press or over the broadcast, to make fair comment, even outspoken comment, on matters of public interest.” Articles 129 and 142 of the Constitution lay down the Supreme Court’s power to punish for contempt, but only of itself. There is an opinion that the Supreme Court, being a court of record, is empowered to create its own jurisdiction — irrespective of what these articles spell out about the limits of its power to punish for contempt. It is a debatable point, and perhaps not acceptable. However, both the Supreme Court and the High Court are courts of record and so they have the power to punish for contempt of themselves. There are two kinds of contempt, civil and criminal. In the case of civil contempt, where the order of the courts has not been complied with, the severest punishment should be awarded as otherwise courts will become meaningless. But surprisingly, in most of such cases, the contemnors are let off with a rap on the knuckles and orders are complied with after such inordinate delays that this compliance becomes meaningless. So far as criminal contempt is concerned, here the court has to be less sensitive and more sensible. The Supreme Court has held in a number of cases that the Contempt of Courts Act is meant to protect the “seat of justice”, not the judges. Intention of the legislature is also clear from the fact that Section 16 was inserted in the Act according to which, even a judge can be hauled up for the contempt of his own court.
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Delhi Durbar THE media interaction organised by the culture and tourism ministry with the film industry delegation going to Pakistan, for the release of the film “Taj Mahal”, was meant to be a “feel good” affair. But the officials got a rude shock when actor Feroz Khan suddenly started showering the choicest abuses on US President George Bush while addressing the press. Feroz Khan and Sanjay Khan had come down especially to support brother Akbar Khan’s venture to Pakistan. Culture ministry officials present at the press meet looked distinctly embarrassed when the flamboyant Khan suddenly digressed from the day’s subject. They were, however, relieved that their minister Ambika Soni was not present then — she joined the others only after the press conference was over. Unlike her officials, Mrs. Soni looked unfazed when told about this outburst and merely shrugged it off as “artistic freedom.”
The BJP’s high-profile general secretary Pramod Mahajan has many attributes; chief among them is his quick thinking and presence of mind. This was on display when his brother pumped three bullets into him at point blank range at his Mumbai residence. Still conscious after the shootout, it was Mahajan who instructed his wife that he should be rushed to Hinduja Hospital as it is close to his house and, therefore, quicker to reach. Even as he was being wheeled into the hospital, he told the doctors his blood group and that he was diabetic. He then lost consciousness.
Socialists in arms Socialist leaders in India have, over the years, forged a special bond with Nepalese leaders Girija Prasad Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba. So, it was not surprising that the Janata Dal (U), the new avatar of the erstwhile socialist parties, planned on sending a study group to Kathmandu to express solidarity with their friends who were spearheading the pro-democracy movement. Those handpicked to make this journey included party office bearers K.C. Tyagi and Shambhu Srivastava and former external affairs minister Hari Kishore Singh. The fast-paced developments in the Himalayan Kingdom, however, forced the group to change its travel plans. It has now decided to visit Kathmandu once Mr Koirala settles down. The JD (U) leaders say they value their close and longstanding ties with the Nepali Congress as they recall how its leaders had expressed solidarity with the socialists in India during the Emergency.
Himalayan fears The recent developments in Nepal impacted India in different ways. Panic-stricken tourists virtually walked across into the Indian territory for safety following a circular issued by the Nepal Tourism Board suggesting that Indian (airlines) had suspended its flights to Kathmandu. However, this was not the case as Indian continued to operate its regular flights despite the ongoing turmoil in Nepal’s capital. On the other hand, here in India, there were reports that Indian was planning to operate additional flights to evacuate the stranded people. This only created further panic as it gave the impression that the situation in Nepal was spiralling out of control. These reports were subsequently denied. Contributed by Anita Katyal, Tripti Nath, Girja Shankar Kaura and Vibha Sharma
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From the pages of Claim for Sikh State
Resenting
the somewhat summary manner in which we disposed of the Sikh claim for a sovereign State, an irate correspondent claims that dissentients should at least be given the right to ventilate their views in our columns. Whatever view this paper may have taken of the crucial issue now troubling the country, no one can complain that other points of view have not been allowed to be expressed in our columns. On a matter of such vital importance to the future of the country, there must be the widest possible discussion before a decision is finally reached. One can express one’s own point of view in the most emphatic terms, without at the same time casting aspersions on others or questioning other people’s motives. The columns of the Tribune are open, within the limitations of space at our disposal, to those who can argue their case with restraint, dignity and reason, not for those who rattle their sabres or brandish their kirpans.
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