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Deadly colas on sale Lanka war clouds |
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Bias and choice
Agricultural growth
Tommie’s all
Fighting to save the
Right to Information Can “carbon-trading” save the world? Delhi Durbar
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Deadly colas on sale THE sense of outrage evoked by the Centre for Science and Environment’s second study, “Soft Drinks, Hard Truths II”, is not as much at the finding that there were more pesticides in all the 11 cola brands tested as at the government inaction since the first CSE expose in August, 2003. In three years the government has not even notified the norms for soft drink makers. The two MNCs, found guilty first by the CSE and subsequently by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), have continued to sell their questionable stuff in the country. They have stopped selling soft drinks in the US schools after worried parents there mounted pressure. Here the health of the children is not considered such a big issue — certainly by the Health Ministry. Only some concerned educational institutions have banned the sale of unhealthy drinks on their campuses. It is quite scary to note that the pesticide residues in colas were found to exceed the permissible limits on an average by 24 times. The ill-effects of pesticides — ranging from physical disorders to cancer — are widely known. The London-based Consumer International has found after exhaustive studies that colas cause tooth decay, obesity, hypertension and low blood glucose levels. The CSE has done quite a service to the nation by spreading awareness about the dangers of drinking pesticide-laden colas. The CSE, headed by Dr Sunita Narain, is a reputed
organisation. When its first study shook the nation, its credentials were doubted and the fact that it had taken samples only from Delhi was held out against it. The CSE stood vindicated when detailed investigations by a JPC endorsed its findings. Besides, this time it collected samples from 25 states. However, Health Minister Anbumani Ramados, who keeps himself occupied in finding ways to sack the AIIMS chief, Dr. Venugopal, has not uttered a word in praise of the CSE for enlightening him about the health hazards. Instead, he has rebuked the Centre for holding a media trial and passed on the responsibility of protecting the health of consumers to the states. Is not the health of the people Dr Ramados’s concern?
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Lanka war clouds THE outbreak of full-scale hostilities between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has blown to bits the ceasefire that held for over four years from 2002. Even in the absence of a formal declaration of war by Colombo, to all intents and effect, the Tamil Tigers have revived military confrontation; and the Government of Sri Lanka has chosen to respond with like force and fire. Ever since President Mahinda Rajapakse was elected in November last year, the LTTE has been preparing for revival of the military conflict, which it has now managed to do despite the government refusing to be provoked for several months. The casualties are mounting and, with continued artillery attacks on each other’s positions, indications are that the fighting will escalate before it abates. The current war over the Mavil Aru Dam in Trincomallee district concerns not just the LTTE and the Sri Lankan security forces but also large populations of the Sinhalese and the Muslims as the east is more multi-ethnic than the Tamil-dominated north of the island. The LTTE war here is not only against the government but also for supremacy over the breakaway faction of the LTTE’s former eastern commander Karuna. Apart from the welter of issues involved, the war is a challenge to New Delhi. The situation calls for a deliberated policy and diplomatic activism of a high order. India has been advocating restraint and a return to talks for ending the Tamil-Sinhala conflict. The situation has moved to a point where such counsel cannot even be heard. India cannot intervene, but must exert its influence, including through the international community, to end the hostilities. That requires evolving a policy, which cannot be put off any longer merely because New Delhi had burnt its fingers, in the mid-1980s, with an ill-advised intervention.
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Bias and choice JUST how much selection for the Indian cricket team continues to be an issue is clear from the mini-storm that John Wright’s comments have kicked off. The former coach, in a new book, has criticised the zonal bias plaguing the system, only to have former players and selectors come down hard on him. One of them has even been reported to have said that Wright “would not be able to show his face here if we (selectors) decided to go public with what he said during the selection meetings.” But the selection process has come under the scanner before, and it has not always emerged clean. Ahead of the Sri Lanka tri-series and the World Cup coming up next year, this is as good an opportunity as ever for a constructive overhaul of the selection process. Indian cricket will be well-served if men of unimpeachable credibility are inducted into the system. Such credibility will not only come from personal integrity, but also a deep knowledge of the game and its demands under varying conditions, the astuteness to make short and long-term assessments of players’ potential and abilities, and a willingness to cast the net wider in search of the best. Above all, the person must be relied on to make judgements that will produce the best team – not necessarily the one that will keep various interests happy. Regional and other biases have frequently spoilt players careers. Some repeated errors have been so glaring as to even have foreign team members and observers wondering about questionable inclusions and omissions. That said, even the most objective set of choices will vary with different people. This is why it is imperative that Indian cricket evolves a reliable system manned by credible selectors who have nothing but the game’s interest in mind.
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Courtship to marriage, as a very witty prologue to a very dull play. — William Congreve
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Agricultural growth THE Dutch disease is known to economists as a fall in agricultural profitability as a consequence of macro developments. The name came from the literature on colonial agriculture attributed to Dutch economist Boeke. This is with apologies from econometricians to our guru Tinbergen and from development economists to our friend Jan Pronk, both Dutch. By now it is generally understood that the Asian meltdown had a negative impact on most Asian economies and perhaps China and India were the least hurt. We had argued in Chandigarh earlier that the trend towards diversification, which was strong in India in the eighties, was reversed not only in India, but also more severely in most Asian agricultural economies in the second half of the nineties and the Dutch disease followed the Thai collapse in exchange rates and its contagion effects. Non-foodgrain crops grew slower and animal husbandry sectors also suffered. The growth of crop economies on an average slowed down by around 43 per cent. The middle-level “commercial” farmers, in most Asian economies still small, suffered the most. I believe that to a large extent this affected the outcome at Cancun. The G 20 and later the G33 stuck together because they had suffered. As Kamal Nath and India successfully led the phalanx at Hong Kong and beyond, it is useful to recognise the context in which we were placed in the Five Interested Parties at the forefront of the negotiations. The argument now is that it is always wise to stay ahead. The worst of the agricultural cycle of the late part of the nineties is over and Asia is booming again with commodities are overheating. It will be business as usual and tough bargaining is ahead. This is now the time not to be intransigent, but to cooperate. However, I do get worried with the Janus face of statements by official economists. The approach paper says all the right things on diagnosis, falling profitability, unintended imports of agriculture, falling investments and agriculture as the crucible of the next plan. But simultaneously we see senior economic advisers talking of agricultural imports as the panacea for fighting inflation. Since most prices in India are below world prices and exports are not easily possible in a distorted global economy, this means subsidising imports at home, even when they are subsidised abroad. Sometimes this is explicit as in wheat and at other times by policy as in sugar. Anyway, senior macro economists must know that inflation has to be fought with macro strategies, with sharing of sacrifices by all and not only at the expense of agriculture. Going through Korea and China, I could see that the concern for agriculture is still real. When you read “profitability of agricultural production has declined”, “income diversification, which presents the best possibilities for many farmers to obtain higher incomes, has proceeded only slowly”, “the per capita incomes of some regions actually fell during 1998-2002,” “while poverty among these farming households has diminished rapidly over the past decade, agriculture has also fallen behind relative to the urban sector. In 2003, while urban poverty had fallen to a quarter of its 1993 level, rural poverty was still over half its previous level. Among ethnic minority households in remote and mountainous areas, the level of poverty remained at 80 per cent of its 1993 level. The proportion of the country’s poor living in rural areas has risen”, you think you are in India, but this is from a very respected report in and on Vietnam, the fastest growing and most reforming economy of Asia. In China, helping out the Rajiv Gandhi Institutes meeting on Indo Chinese trade facilitation, the underlying tension in macro policy was there and for example the interests within the government supporting the cotton farmers were reportedly asking for a 40 per cent tariff protection for their clients which must have led to some hysteria with the macro economic policy-makers, coping with the new textile situation and it will be interesting to see how things get resolved. In the larger context the time for flag-waving is over. Kamal Nath has eminently succeeded in making the OECD countries to come off their pedestals and make an effort at rationalising subsidies. This did not happen at Hong Kong and beyond, but has to happen. The pressure will then be on us. The golden age is over. For too long our policy makers have been mouthing the old slogans of we tax agriculture. Remember in Chandigarh, Ashok Gulati and depending on him Sharad Joshi and Punjab agriculture experts getting very angry at me for saying that this wasn’t true for the last decade and more, but now Gulati has resiled from his factually incorrect position. Punjab, I always argue, has to lead in thinking through our global agricultural strategies. The OECD correctly argue that explicit subsidies are lower than what we say they are, but then they put in a lot of money in many different ways. We have just not learnt those skills. When some of us argue that it is possible to work with tariff, monetary and technology policies or in supporting market infrastructure as originally argued in my Dharam Narain lecture in the early years of this decade, it is not as exciting as making noise on the MSP, or saying “open up India’s agricultural economy and go home”. If we argue in government reports in Delhi or elsewhere, in spite of all the talk on freedom of information, the argument is bottled up. We need a policy road map for major crops. This is not there and the Planning Commission has to go from diagnosing the problem as in the approach paper to solving it. On seeds, on fertilizers, on extension and on markets, a lot can be done which will be compatible with the forthcoming WTO regime. No one likes to debate that, since the argument moves away from “ I am your Sarkari Saviour” or “ You Sarkar is the Problem” to real choices. This way India will neither solve its own problems nor help the developing world to face the pressures which are going to inevitably arise. It has the experience, the skills and has built up the goodwill to do so, but the growth game, particularly in a market economy, requires you to stay ahead in strategies. It would be a shame if we are found wanting, for attending a meeting of Asia’s best agricultural experts in the very very Far East I found that the admiration for India and what it has done is genuine. It warms the cockles of your heart to be told that your country has done well for the last quarter century, particularly when you were pretty close to the centre of action. Come on Punjab and India, we will do it
again.
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Tommie’s all
IN Punjab, as in Texas, everything (well, almost everything) is oversize and in large doses. In the winter of 1975, no one knew this better than I. After a day of being spoilt as the spanking new ‘purauna’ (son-in-law), on his first visit to Malke, a hinterland village in the badlands of Moga, I was reeling after repeatedly emptying foot-long glasses of lassi (buttermilk). “Mara lagda hai (he looks weak). Feed him”, ordered my six-foot plus Army officer father-in-Law. Eating endless makki ki rotis, saag and mah di daal cooked over a slow fire in earthen pots, all loaded with dollops of home-made butter became my sole occupation till I stayed. I stood uncertainly in the courtyard with a huge stack of thick rotis in my hand, ordered to feed the resident katuras (pie dogs). I was desperately trying to figure out which of the 12 furiously wagging tails belonged to “Tommy” and which were raiders from the neighbouring farmhouse. Suddenly, my petite wife burst out in peals of throaty laughter. “They’re all Tommie’s!” she chuckled. Indeed, they were, the entire dirty dozen. The 24-hour stay on the Farm, a healthy 8 km walking distance from the ‘Hadd’ — the start of the Malke road from the main Moga-Kot Kapura Road, had taught me that the earthy Jat sense of humour made light of the mongrels’ sex. “The name is unisex and passes on to sons and daughters as well as grand children” my chirpy sister-in-law added helpfully. I wasn’t done with the Tommie’s yet. The two sisters, both figure conscious young ladies imbued with the fiery “Never Give In” spirit of their school, Sanawar, launched into Operation Chunni (a scarf covering the chest) at precisely 4.30 PM. Post their afternoon cuppa, I watched puzzled and mystified as the sisters picked up their chunnies with stealth and, with exaggerated nonchalance, tiptoed past the slumbering Tommie’s. The sisters pantomimed that I accompany them for their daily constitutional as their Cavalry advanced guard. We must have gone barely 10 steps when all hell broke loose. I could swear I saw the mongrels chortle in glee, barking their heads off for having fooled the sisters yet again. “Blow! They always catch us”, intoned my sister-in-law with despair as the dogs escorted us to the village outskirts with due ceremony. Never mind, said Major saab indulgently, on receiving his daughters’ vociferous complaints (In Punjab, it is neither socially or politically correct to whisper. Only sissies do). At least they guard the farm house by night! Thirty years down the line, we are wiser. A new generation of Tommie’s has taken on a new breed of Farm children (some of them Sanawarians) with as much success, élan and alertness as their forefathers did in the magical summer of
1975.
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Fighting to save the
Right to Information
WINNER of the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for his contribution to India’s right-to-information movement, Arvind Kejriwal, is a worried man. The government’s decision to amend the Right to Information (RTI Act) has proved to be a killjoy. And the mood is far from joyous for this IRS official, who put in his papers earlier this year. “RTI is the best thing to have happened to India and if you amend it, then it has no meaning. The movement will die,” says Kejriwal, who, after leading a crusade to bring in the RTI, has begun a second one to save it. Perplexed and angry, Kejriwal who should have been celebrating his victory, is looking for answers. “Is this democracy? Is this our government, the government we chose? How can a government unilaterally take a decision, why has there been no public discourse, where is the need to rush and bring up the issue in this session of Parliament?” The list of his questions is just as never ending as are the problems of the people for whom he fights. “The common man needs answers, the feeling of helplessness that we as individuals had was eliminated with the implementation of the RTI,” says the man who opted to stay on instead of “migrating to the USA after scoring good marks from the IIT”. “We always complain that the system is bad and corrupted. Most youngsters feel that they should emigrate, because they find themselves constrained by this system. What we must understand is that small things like the RTI can make big differences in our lives. I appeal to everyone to join forces and hold the government accountable,” he says. Kejriwal, who quit his enviable position in bureaucracy to fight for the common man, insists that he is not a man with a mission to criticise the government. It is not aimless rebellion, but an outcry for “accountability and transparency”. “Doesn’t a father ask his 10 year old what he did with the Rs 10 that he gave him? We need to ask our local engineer, our MLA, what happened to the money we have given them. Our idea is not to find fault,” says the man who created Parivartan, a citizen’s movement for change. The inability of the country to make the most from its human resource, he says, is again the fault of “bad governance”. “It is not the fault of the IITs that we cannot make good roads, it is the corruption in the system that is responsible for it. Where I live a particular road near a cinema hall gets redone over and over again, while all other roads are in bad shape. This shows people don’t have a voice in governance. We need more democracy,” he points out. Kejriwal who has been chosen for challenging the “brazen corruption of the high and the mighty” refuses to call Parivartan, which he set up in 2000, an NGO. He refuses to turn it into an NGO because he wants to be accountable to the people, not to the donors. And instead of always fighting on behalf of people, he wants them to stand up for themselves. “The world has recognised RTI and everyone in India has a stake in it. The fact that we won the Magsaysay Award for RTI, is a manifestation of its popularity and its reach and impact. I was misquoted that the government has failed to recognise our work, when I said I have mixed feelings, I said I am happy that the world recognises RTI and sad because the government is trying to kill it,” he rues. Winning awards from the government or elsewhere is not the priority for this man – saving the RTI is. From the man who was worried about his daily sustenance just over a year ago to a man who is striving to keep alive a “revolution”, Kejriwal has come a long way. Kejriwal who came to be known as a man who “gave it all up” in the year 2005 told the Tribune, “I would love to give it all up, if only someone were to assure me of a means of living because Parivartan is not a source for making money”. When reminded of this sentiment, this is what he had to say: “today I have a fellowship from the Ashoka Foundation and that is keeping the kitchen fires burning. As for the prize money, it belongs to the work, we will work out a plan on how to utilise it”. And while he works out the blueprint to keep alive the RTI, he is willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt. “I have worked for the government. I know there are reservations and constraints. But these need to be discussed, we can sit across and do so or have a public discourse,” he cautions. Kejriwal that with the RTI his life’s purpose lies unfolded before him. “When I was on leave for four years I used to ask myself, ‘where is my calling?’ After RTI proved to be a ray of hope, I found my purpose and decided to quit my job. My resignation, which I submitted in February 2006 is still under consideration”.
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Can “carbon-trading” save the world? WHAT is carbon trading, and can it save the world from global warming? British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently joined with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, to announce a transatlantic market in carbon-dioxide emissions. The scheme creates financial incentives for cutting emissions and rewards enterprises that do so. The deal is in a way a snub to President George Bush’s decision to renounce the Kyoto treaty which set targets for reducing emissions of the gases that are blamed for global warming. Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, is also set to announce an agreement between the United Kingdom’s capital and Los Angeles. The agreements would, in effect, bring a significant portion of the United States into the European carbon trading market. What is carbon trading anyway? In today’s globalised world, anything can be bought and sold. Companies can sell the rights to the future profits; food companies can buy up their orange juice needs a year in advance. The idea is to apply that market-based system of valuation to pollution. If countries can be persuaded to agree to limits on pollution then the right to exceed that has a price. “Good” organisations can reap the benefits of cutting their emissions while “bad” ones pay a financial penalty. Economists believe it is more efficient and more effective because, unlike a tax, it rewards and punishes particular patterns of behaviour. How does it affect climate change? As each country signs up to the Kyoto treaty, it submits to a legally-binding agreement to meet a pledged emissions target by 2012. Industrialised countries have committed to cut their combined CO2 emissions to 5 per cent below 1990 levels, but each country that signed the protocol agreed to its own target. When the Kyoto trading scheme gets underway in 2008, companies in the signatory countries will have to buy permits from each other if they breach their limits. Currently, the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the only game in town. It applies to industrial activities but leaves households, motorists and airlines unscathed. How is the system working so far? The EU scheme has certainly created a market for permits. Some seven million tons’ worth of permits changed hands in the first five weeks of operation. But the EU’s success in curbing emissions turned out to be a false dawn. Analysts swiftly spotted that member states had been too generous in allotting permits to “national champion” industries such as carmakers and power generators. The revelation that the EU was operating well within its self-imposed limits sparked a crash in the price of tradable carbon permits, as analysts realised big business would have less need to buy and sell. This reduced the incentive for companies to cut back on their emissions or spend money finding ways to offset it, and undermined the economics of businesses investing in renewable energy. The EU is already looking at one of the big holes in the current coverage –airlines. The union is hoping to bring aviation within the ETS net by 2010. What does the future hold? With the US resolutely standing outside the Kyoto treaty, along with Australia among the advanced nations and China in the developing world, the future looks bleak. However the volume of anger and concern among citizens of all countries of the world is starting to change the minds of politicians — as witnessed in Los Angeles recently. — By arrangement with
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Delhi Durbar Having
failed to name the mysterious mole in the Prime Minister’s office may have left Jaswant Singh red in the face but it has aroused the curiosity of many. From Members of Parliament to babus and the common man, all seem to be making a beeline for the former union minister’s book. Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee M Veerappa Moily, who has just procured a copy, is quick to point out that while he chooses not to comment on the content of the book, he has strong reservations about its title. He wonders how, after making “an irresponsible comment”, Jaswant Singh can name his book “A Call to Honour.” Moily wants Singh to apologise for his tale of the mystery mole which has “damaged the integrity and image of the country.”
Searching look The “look-East” policy of the government seems to be having a ripple effect with ministries and departments closely looking at the models of development and administrative practices in South East Asian countries. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has patterned its ambitious ‘rural business hub’ initiative on the successful Thailand experience of “one-tombon-one-product”. The Home Ministry, which is beefing up security in metros in the wake of recent bomb blasts in Mumbai, wants to follow Singapore in extensive use of CCTVs. An international water expert, who cited Singapore’s example in water management during a recent lecture in the capital, counted Water Resources Minister Saiffudin Soz amongst his audience.
Brownie points With assembly elections in Punjab due early next year, the Shiromani Akali Dal is out to score brownie points with the farmers. On Tuesday the SAD forced the adjournment of the Lok Sabha on the issue of inadequate support price for paddy. It led to heated exchanges between the NDA and UPA MPs. Soon thereafter the MPs from both sides mingled around expressing support to each other on the inadequate MSP fixed by the union government. Union parliamentary affairs minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi went up to BJP MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu in a show of camaraderie.
Now, Chinese Rakhis An amazing range of Chinese goods – toys, pens Feng Shui symbols and decoration pieces and electronic gadgets have invaded the Indian market with prices that suit the pocket. It is, therefore, not surprising when shoppers prefer them over Indian goods. This was discernible last Diwali when shoppers gleefully picked up low priced bulb strings to light up their homes. And now, as the Rakhi festival is approaching, shopkeepers have begun to sell Rakhis made in China. The sale of Rakhis has attracted the attention of Magasaysay award winner Aruna Roy. She has no doubt that the sale of Chinese Rakhis will affect the livelihood of poor women who make these Rakhis at home. Aruna felt it may not be long before Indian women are seen in silk saris made in Shanghai.
Join Tihar jail! An advertisement outside Tihar jail has a message in three lines. The first says “Tihar Jail”. The second line advises “must join”, followed by the address of a computer education institution in the third. But for that, the message is an invitation to join Tihar jail. So much for inspirational advertising. Contributed by Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Prashant Sood, Vibha Sharma and Tripti Nath
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From the pages of Bangladesh freed
New Delhi, Dec 16 (UNI & PTI) — The people’s republic of Bangladesh today emerged into freedom when the Pakistani occupation forces surrendered unconditionally to the Indian Army which had battled its way to Dacca in concert with the Mukti Bahini. The instrument of surrender was signed by Lieut-Gen A.A.K. Niazi, Chief of the Pakistani Army in Bangladesh, at 4-31 p.m. (I.S.T.) and it was accepted by Lieut-Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, who flew into the Bangladesh capital for the purpose.
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The false have neither honour nor name nor fame. They are like a black crow. Or, they are like a bird, shut in a cage who gyrates behind the bars but cannot get himself released. —Guru Nanak Devotion to God is strengthened by love for all of his creations. This love is impartial and is to do the greatest number. —The Bhagavadgita The leader who indulges in falsehood and usurps what is not his; and yet goes to preach to others, is himself deluded and only misleads others. —Guru Nanak When a woman gives her heart to a man, she does not consider whether his life is long or short, his virtues great or none. Her love is pure and unsullied, untroubled by any material condition. —The Mahabharata It is easy to shower love and affection on your family members, on your near and dear ones. When you can feel the same love and affection for strangers even, you will have progressed spiritually. —The Buddha
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