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Soldiers’ misconduct
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Making best use of RTI to empower people
On Record Punjab needs corruption-free governance
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Soldiers’ misconduct
In the Battle of Assaye (1803), Colonel Arthur Wellesly found himself outnumbered in infantry by three to one, in guns five times and in horsed cavalry 10 to one against the Marathas. Neither foe had entrenched defences and as such the battle carnage on both sides was fearful. Wellesly emerged the victor. Wellesly defeated Napoleon at Waterloo (1815) and so became the Duke of Wllington. When The Times, London, asked him about his most memorable battle and most admired soldiers, it was expected that he would refer to Waterloo and the British Tommy. However, he said, the Battle of Assaye and the Madras Native Infantry. Now the soldiery of the same Madras Regiment faltered in Kolkata having upheld their enviable heritage of valour and discipline on and off the battlefield for 200 years without a blemish. Why? When soldiers are committed to war and warlike duties without an end in sight, the nation tends to take the profession of arms for granted rather than as an honourable calling. And when that trend percolates to the soldier and his kin, it erodes their self-esteem, making them hypersensitive and at times vulnerable to impulsive behaviour. Now the three Indo-Pak wars, the Kargil battle and the Sino-Indian war are perhaps remembered by most citizens. But demands on the Army to assist the government in controlling internal strife (insurgencies in the north-east and terrorism leading to low-intensity conflict in Jammu and Kashmir) have multiplied by over 50 times since 1952. December 1952 is the benchmark when Nehru made a special broadcast to the nation declaring a state of emergency in Nagaland. Today the strife has engulfed all the seven north-east states and five infantry divisions are assigned this task. Yet, the fires of insurgency remain smouldering. Military historians and psychologists are baffled at the uncomplaining attitude of the Indian soldier committed to war-like assignments for the last 60 years without let. Philip Mason, in his book, To Serve With Honour (1974), says that the Army must be wedded to the ethos of “loyalty to comrades, fidelity to an oath and courage under stress”. He inferred that the Indian soldier and the Indian Army epitomised these virtues in abundance and will always remain invincible. It is in the national interest that the soldiers’ morale and the Army’s invincibility are maintained at the peak. The civil servants can serve this national interest best by remembering that the Army does not hesitate to punish its rank and file for indiscipline and misdemeanour. They must also be rest assured that the Army has its own jurisprudence which flows from and is an instrument of the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Evidence Act. And for reasons of maintaining the highest standards of discipline, the punishments prescribed by the Army Act for civil offences committed by soldiers are more stringent than the corresponding civil legal instruments. Consider, for instance, the alleged offence of outrage of modesty of a woman by an army officer in a public place in Kolkata. The police charged him under Section 354 of the IPC. If found guilty, the maximum punishment admissible would be two years imprisonment. But in the military’s unwritten creed of ethics of soldiering a crime of this nature deserves more severe punishment. So under Section 69 of the Army Act, outrage of modesty of a woman will invite rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years. In the instant case, the ends of justice would have been better met and far more expeditiously had the Kolkata Police promptly informed their Army counterparts of the incident. Section 475 of IPC stipulates that when a soldier infringes the law of the land, his commanding officer must be informed immediately. In the intervening period, usually of less than one hour, there is no need to bundle the erring soldier inside the lock-up. People should know the Army has its own system of detention of an offender pending and during investigation of an offence. The culprit jawan would be confined to the guard room, always manned by an armed contingent. He will be fed and physically exercised at regular intervals and again under the supervision of an armed sentry. Should the culprit be an officer, he would be placed under “closed arrest” which involves strict confinement to a furnished living room with an officer of equivalent or one rank higher keeping an armed guard over him at all times. The Indian Army which has had to function in a supportive role with the civil administration since 1947 has made a habit of educating its officers and other ranks on the essentials of the IPC and the Indian Evidence Act. This education has been and will be a permanent fixture on the Army’s annual training curriculum. A similar approach by the executive to educate and run yearly refresher training capsules for the police constabulary at the Thana level on Civil Army harmonious working bonds will pay rich dividends. There also arises an unfortunate dichotomy between the nation and the Army when the latter are perceived as incapable of terminating the internal war-like strifes though the responsibility for which lies elsewhere. This was best summed up by Normal Dixon following his investigation of a rash of acts of misdemeanor including fragging by the US Army soldiers during their prolonged involvements in North Korea and Vietnam thus: “…the best part of the nation shun the military profession because that profession is not honoured and more and the profession is not honoured because the nation has ceased to follow it.” Let us be vigilant, lest this tragic syndrome should come to prevail in
India.
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Profile An unflinching liberal and a firm believer in dialogue among civilisations, Prof Hasan is currently Vice-Chancellor of New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia. Besides zealously safeguarding the secular character of this premier university, he has written and edited 30 books relating to India’s modern history. Prominent among them are India’s Partition: Process, Strategy, Mobilisation; Legacy of a Divided Nation: India’s Muslims Since Independence; and Making Sense of History: Society, Politics and Culture in South Asia. He has a long association with Jamia Millia, having functioned as Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Languages and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. Years back, on the verge of being physically assaulted by students, Prof Hasan often tells his friends, “Very coolly I put my glasses and watch in my pocket and thought what a way to die”. The worse did not happen; the crisis was staved off. He returned as Vice-Chancellor to the same university and brought democracy back into its vocabulary. As a believer in dialogue amongst civilisations, he spoke fearlessly against banning Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, contending that freedom of expression should not be curbed. This sparked off a violent agitation in Jamia Millia with the hardliners going on rampage and making him the target. Prof Hasan firmly stood his ground even as he was abused and had to face assault. He had his way and succeeded in preserving the secular credentials of Jamia. He has been later quoted as saying: “It is not the brick and mortar I am attached to. The composite, secular, liberal legacy of the university is worth fighting for”. “Jamia is much bigger than and just a mere educational campus; it is a partner in the freedom struggle”. Prof Hasan and Rakshanda Jalil’s book about the university, entitled Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia is a classic. The forward says, “it is a historian’s biography of an idea, a movement and an institution that was once called the National Muslim University but is today the Jamia Millia Islamia”. It has been aptly described as the “lusty child of the Non-cooperation movement”. Kolkata-born Prof Hasan was always fascinated by the past. He wanted to be a historian, partly because of his father’s status as an expert in the subject and partly because he always had access to excellent books. Having worked extensively on the history of Partition and the growth of communal politics in India, he said in various interviews, “There is need to re-look at events through the eyes of someone who came from a relatively secular background”. Having full understanding of the Muslims’ concerns in pre-Partition India, he has veered round to the belief that India’s Muslims could have managed very well without Partition. He also does not place the responsibility for Pakistan’s creation solely on disgruntled Indian Muslims. The fire was fuelled by various right-wing elements in the majority Hindu community. He is of the firm view that Muslims and Hindus who were “living together separately” in India’s composite culture could have co-existed if the then leadership had worked hard enough for it. Prof Hasan is committed to secularism and democratic values, resolving the dilemma of Indian Muslims, projecting the liberal and eclectic tenets of Islam and strengthening social and cultural ties between India and Pakistan. Prof Hasan wants to open a new chapter in the development of Urdu in India. With this end in view, he has proposed establishment of an Urdu Teachers’ Training and Learning Academy in Jamia. The proposed academy, he feels, would go a long way in promoting the language by not only translating textbooks but also by developing curriculum for schools. Prof Hasan, 58, is married to Zoya Hasan, also a professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University. She too has written several books including Quest for Power and co-authored another book Unequal Citizens: Muslim Women in
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Wit of the week
— Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
— Ratan Tata after the takeover To wipe out terrorism, societies would have to strike at the root of poverty. I will ascribe much of the present conflict scenario to an unjust world order where the balance is heavily tipped against the poor. — Mohammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate from Bangladesh, in New Delhi Leadership is not all about you. It is about serving the vision and the people who will make it come alive. There are two aspects of leadership — visionary role that is to do the right thing; and an implementation role where one has to do the things right. — Ken Blanchard, expert on Business Leadership I am willing to shed my ego, if any, and even step down from the presidentship of the Janata Dal (Secular) if we could work at bringing about a unity of the Janata Parivar. I am confident even the Left parties will associate themselves with such a move. — Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda When I was reading one of Kamleshwar’s most recent and beautiful works, Kitne Pakistan, I had underlined so many sentences that were potential short stories or film material. There is a description where a handkerchief falls off the bridge; I always used to tell him that I could write a complete short story on this one line only. — Gulzar’s tribute to the departed Hindi writer Kamleshwar
— O.P. Nayyar who passed away in Mumbai last Sunday
— Amitabh Bachchan
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Making best use of RTI to empower people UNITED Progressive Alliance Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi recently exhorted the party workers to make effective use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to keep track of various Central schemes being implemented. Her statement in the backdrop of the RTI’s success needs a close look. Unfortunately, the political parties are yet to imbibe a culture of debate, dialogue and discussion on issues of public policy. The people are kept out of the dynamics of governance. The government hardly takes them into confidence before executing projects affecting their survival and livelihood. Small wonder that this widening hiatus between the governance and the political process triggers ugly episodes as in Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal, Kashipur in Orissa and Mundhra in Gujarat, to mention a few. The RTI Act, no doubt, is a Brahmastra in the people’s hands to check corruption, nepotism and favouritism. But most states have not yet implemented the mandatory provisions under the RTI Act to maintain records, duly catalogued and indexed, and to disseminate information easily to the people. Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Assam, Jharkhand, Kerala, Sikkim and Mizoram are lagging behind in compliance whereas Madhya Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Chandigarh UT and Punjab are on the top with over 70 per cent compliance with duty to publish clause. The RTI Act envisages that public authorities shall designate first appellate authorities, Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Assistant PIOs for ensuring citizens’ access to information under the superintendence of the Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions. But these authorities have not evinced interest to enforce the legislation in letter and spirit. In Haryana, for instance, many posts are lying vacant — 81 first appellate authorities, 16 PIOs and 51 APIOs in 38 Boards and Corporations, 52 field offices, 35 offices of Raj Bhawan, Vidhan Sabha and Civil Secretariat and 68 head offices. The Supreme Court, the UPSC, the CBI, Delhi Metro and some PSUs have sought exemption from the Act’s purview on account of frivolous complaints and interference in their independence. The Supreme Court, the sentinel of people’s rights and liberties, sought exemption from public scrutiny. The citizens are empowered to seek information on any subject barring, of course, those having a bearing on national sovereignty and integrity. But there are still some grey areas like whether or not the competent authority can divulge a piece of information in the larger public interest. For example, the UPSC withheld information sought by candidates for disclosure of marks obtained by them in the Civil Services Preliminary examination on the ground that it would undermine the examination procedure and violate the intellectual property rights. The matter is sub judice. However, the Karnataka Information Commission has ruled that answer scripts evaluated by the State Public Service Commission could be made available to those desirous of having them. Similarly, the Tripura Commission has directed the authorities to make ACRs and recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee available on the request of the officer concerned. The PIOs act as key functionaries to furnish information, record and document but they are left in the lurch sometimes especially when the sought information, overtly or covertly, deals with and possessed by their superiors. In such cases, despite their best efforts, PIOs become helpless to furnish the information and can be held responsible without any fault, for blocking information. Interestingly, the Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, the Kurukshetra University, and the Commissioner, Higher Education, Haryana, have furnished self-contradictory pieces of information. If the Central and State Information Commissions found that the authorities concerned have wilfully denied or given incorrect or misleading information, they can impose a penalty of Rs 250 a day, not exceeding Rs 25,000 and take action under the service rules. But the Commissioners are very reluctant to penalise authorities for denial of information. There have been a few cases of penalty in Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The CIC, however, slapped the highest possible penalty of Rs 25,000 on the Registrar of Benaras Hindu University for denial of information. In most cases, the first appellate authorities have remained redundant and are not disposing of the cases effectively. The RTI intends to benefit the common man, but the teachers, doctors, scientists and advocates are treading on this route to expose discrimination and abuse of power. Instead of the Panchayats and Development Department, the maximum applications, appeals and complaints are lodged with police, education, sports, election and irrigation departments. The success of transparency lies in redesigning and reengineering administrative innovations in conformity with e-governance, proper record maintenance and information management. But the whole governance system clings tenaciously on archaic methods. The implementing authorities lack of professional competence and capacity to set out the practical regime of RTI for citizens. Our experience with the RTI Act has shown that the ruling elite, by and large, consider themselves answerable to the populace as they are afraid of transacting the affairs of governance in front of the public. Obviously, it will expose their arbitrariness, irresponsiveness, unbridled power and patronage induced nexus. The RTI’s objectives — containing corruption and holding officials accountable for procrastination, inefficiency and self-aggrandisement — will not be accomplished if public authorities are kept out of the domain of public surveillance. The writer is Lecturer in Public Administration, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa
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On Record In an interview to The Sunday Tribune, the 72-year-old leader, who implemented former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ambitious Golden Quadrilateral and the East-West corridor on the ground, says, “Uttaranchal can become the country’s leading state if it has the right mix of policies and leadership”. Excerpts: Q: Why this sudden change of name of your home state? A: Renaming the state as Uttarakhand is Congress’ cheap political gimmick. It was done in a crude manner and is unlikely to afford the Congress any political mileage. The people will give it back to the Congress. In the run-up to the January 2002 Assembly elections, the Congress pledged to change the name. It took them five years to do it. They know why we had opted for Uttaranchal when the Bill was tabled in Parliament. Nobody in the Congress had then opposed it. Uttaranchal was chosen because it is “Dev Bhoomi”. The Garhwal region was known as Uttarakhand and the Kumaon region as anchal. We combined the two so that the aspirations and feelings of the two regions would be reflected in Uttaranchal. Surprisingly, the notification for changing the name was issued when the model code of conduct had come into force. Q: What are your complaints about the Cong rule? A: The Congress has destroyed the state and demolished the peoples’ dreams. In the last five years, it has got the ignominy of being the country’s most corrupt state. There have been various atrocities by ministers and senior party leaders. Dev Bhoomi has been converted into a Corrupt Bhoomi and its economy ruined. Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given special status to the state when it was formed. The Congress government has put a burden of Rs 16,000 crore on the people. The payment schedule starts after five years. The government has become callous and corrupt. No files move without money. Every month there is a scam. A District Magistrate was suspended. The courts ordered to suspend a Director-General of Police, an IG of Police, and cases slapped against them. Prices are rising and people are crying hoarse. Q: What is your agenda? A: We have a very clear cut agenda. Uttaranchal has suffered most on the development front. Lack of development was the main reason for creation of a separate state. We aim to make it a developed state. The people want “Ram Rajya”. No injustice, no corruption, proper law and order and stopping of illegal selling of liquor are our objectives. Q: How would you do it? A: The state has tremendous potential. About 40,000-50,000 MW electricity can be generated from our waters which are now going down the stream. Smaller schemes should be launched which are faster to implement. We are not talking of big dams. The revenue from this can be to the tune of Rs 15,000-Rs 16,000 crore. Then there is a tourism. Religious and adventure tourism can be developed for generating revenues. International sport tourism is another avenue. Herbal cultivation and development of various types of seeds and fruits would be our priority. Floriculture would also be taken up. There is tremendous potential for cottage industry. The government has to take care of marketing of these products. Migration from villages to towns must be stopped by offering opportunites. Robbery of medicinal plants must stop. Q: Won’t infighting in your party affect your prospects? A: It is a big problem in all the parties. But people in our state have realised the mistake of voting the Congress to power. The BJP’s Dehra Dun rally is an example of our growing popularity. Q: Who will be the next Chief Minister? A: That is for the central leadership of the party to decide. However, we will get a very good majority. We expect around 45 seats in the 70-member Assembly. n |
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Punjab needs
corruption-free governance AS Punjab goes to polls on February 13, political parties are promising the moon to the voters. Their promises are not based on sound economics or financial feasibility. Ultimately, the burden will fall on the honest taxpayer, spelling doom to the state’s already fragile economy. Punjab needs rejuvenation of economic, social and political order to build upon the state’s financial, administrative and development fields. Pervasive unemployment, poverty, breakdown of the education system, lack of health and medical facilities for large sections of the economically disadvantaged population are all staring at our face. The ensuing elections provide an opportunity to the people to elect their representatives diligently who understand these problems and are aware of the daunting challenges ahead. The leadership has to be adequately educated and sensitised about the grassroot realities. The voters should not be misled by the morsels and crumbs being thrown to them through untenable promises by various parties. The voters should aim at a government that applies itself seriously to sustainable growth in crucial sectors. Punjab today needs development of state-of-the-art infrastructure, especially roads, transport and communication, generation of enough additional power to ensure 24-hour quality supply at affordable prices; gainful off-farm employment opportunities in the villages through long term incentives to clean industries for locating their ancillaries in the rural areas; creation of a conducive environment for moving at least two-fifth of the agricultural population out of the farm sector for better job opportunities in industrial and services sectors; and universal quality education with differentiated approach to serve the urban and rural poor with better government schools. The focus should be on the high-end job opportunities being thrown up by the accelerated growth and foreign direct investment in the national economy. Access to health services and medical facilities for the rural populations and poorer sections through a system of medi-claim that covers the total population with subsidised premia for the poor and families below poverty line, particularly in the rural areas, is another priority area. It is more appropriate to provide fishing rods and training to catch the fish than distribute fish to the poor from the catch of others. Sops, doles, crumbs, intoxicants distributed to the poor to appropriate votes will further push the society into the cesspool of poverty and stagnation. A large number of youth get addicted to intoxicants which are distributed free of cost during the elections. NGOs’ efforts in respect of de-addiction camps and programmes become futile because of this during elections. This trend needs to be stemmed and reversed. The voters should refuse to accept these free poisons. The people look forward to a government that is committed to provide a corruption-free and hassle-free governance, ensuring action and progress on the development front. It remains to be seen whether the politicians would come clean to serve the people. |
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THE military in India is generally conceded as the most disciplined body of men. Yet there are times, as in Kolkata on the New Year eve 2007 when impulsive, raw emotions of a few army officers and jawans swept aside the discipline of a self-restraint under provocation imbibed through long years of training and ceaseless motivation. While there can be no condoning such intemperate behaviour, we must understand the causes which provoke such isolated and irrational conduct by soldiers. 
A scholarly bureaucrat and a friend of historian Mushirul Hasan could not muster up courage to pick up the telephone and congratulate him on being conferred the Padma Shri. The Civilian Award, fourth in hierarchy, he thought, was belittling one of India’s most erudite and prolific historians and may embarrass him. Many friends and admirers of Prof Hasan thought so and refrained from congratulating him. True indeed, Prof Hasan deserved a higher decoration for his commitment, besides history, to secular and democratic values. 
WE must respect the value of dissent. But those who dissent must also respect the value of building a consensus. We must foster tolerance for the other point of view…violent conflict never allows this. Violence deafens us. Non-violence helps us hear.
We had started talking to Corus much before Mittal started talking to Arcelor. And we didn’t go to Corus...This will be the first step in ensuring that Indian industry can step outside the shores of India in an international market and acquit itself as a global player.
I would never stand up when a producer or a distributor came to the recording studio. I would never let the financier or distributor whet my composition…Lord Krishna knows that I am tremendously satisfied with my work. I am happy that I lived and worked on my own terms and conditions. This is Punjabiyat.
Competition propels and provokes you that somebody is around the corner. I would like to see Shah Rukh Khan as an inspiration. I want to do better, make better films, so that he can copy
me.
AS Uttarakhand goes to polls on February 21, the fight for political supremacy is in full swing. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a fierce battle to woo the voters. Major-General Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd) is a strong contender for the Chief Minister’s post in the event of the BJP’s victory.