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Victims of apathy Profile |
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What ails Punjab’s
economy High time for harsh
decisions On Record
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Victims of apathy
It
is only when a jailbreak occurs that the issue of prison reforms comes to the fore. The low priority given to prisoners is reflected in the general indifference and apathy towards prison administration. The recent disturbances in Jalandhar jail have once again focused attention on prison administration and the need for jail reforms. Prison disturbances in some countries have led to drastic changes in jail administration. Though the prison riots in Manchester (UK) in 1991 led to the Lord Justice Woolf Inquiry Report which brought out significant changes in the UK’s prison administration, the same cannot be said in the case of India. The approach there was one of openness, transparency and willingness to acknowledge that things are wrong in the system and the need for course corrections. Such an approach is totally missing in our country. In the seventies, when prisoners in Charles Street Jails, Boston (US), voiced protests over squalid conditions, a judge spent a night inside the jail to get a first-hand feel of the environment and ordered the closure of the jail. If grievances are not properly addressed, the only way prisoners can bring them to notice is through disruptive behaviour. The jailbreaks in Dantwara, Chhattisgarh, Burail in Chandigarh, prison disturbances in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh or custodial deaths in the Tihar jail have focused attention on prison reforms. Inquiry reports into these incidents are shrouded in secrecy and no significant systemic improvement has taken place. Those in charge know what is wrong. Yet, why after diagnosis, the disease is allowed to continue? India has one of the lowest rates of imprisonment, 30 per 1 lakh population — the most depressing state of affairs in its prisons. The present prison infrastructure is ill-suited to meet the basic needs, let alone the Standard Minimum Rules in Treatment of Offenders. Our prisons are badly overcrowded and over 70 per cent of the inmates are undertrials. Overcrowding exacerbates the pains of imprisonment and adds to the administrative problems. It also raises the collective frustration of the inmates being locked up and not having a place to sleep or being given a sleeping place near the stinking, leaking toilet. Taking turns to sleep and spending countless nights will be dehumanising. No privacy, no dignity and the hope of early release may fade soon. If one is an undertrial, the time period is without a calendar. Though undertrials don’t have to work, such confined idleness makes a dent on their personality. Judges should know the costs — economic, social and psychological — of incarceration. There must also be cheaper sentencing options available to them, community service scheme being one such alternative. The system of inspection is to ensure that things are in order. Judges have to inspect the prisons every month and give their reports. So too are the District Magistrates and the Chief Medical Officers. A joint inspection is also supposed to take place. Still, it seems everyone is caught napping. The rules are there, but they are hardly acted upon. What action is taken based on the inspection is rarely known. Even routine inspection reports are not tabled in the legislatures. In the UK, a specialised team does thematic inspections and the report is tabled in Parliament. This results in constant improvement based on a system of accountability and transparency. Overcrowding affects the prisoners and the staff too. There is a perceived loss of control and helplessness in the staff. No scientific classification of offenders can take place in an overcrowded jail. There is almost a hands up approach, which can be seen also in the complaints of corruption, inequality and the use of drugs in the prisons. Prisons have a parallel economy behind the closed walls. Moreover, negligence, connivance and corruption escalate when there are many people to be managed by a few employees. The lower staff does not get transferred and the constant contact with criminals leaves its impact on them. They say that they are in prison for life. There is need for a committed leadership with a fixed tenure to improve the system. Dr Kiran Bedi showed how jails can be improved when a prison posting is not viewed as a punishment posting. The inadequacies in Punjab’s prisons have been highlighted time and again. It is also essential that the functioning of the prisons becomes more transparent. Unfortunately, research on the state’s prisons is closed to public scrutiny. Most problem situations could have been avoided if early warnings were promptly heeded. The prison reforms consists of modernising and improving the physical infrastructure in terms of increasing the occupancy by way of improved technology and security systems, improved kitchens and mulaqat system and better medical facilities. It may come as a shock to the progressive state of Punjab that while Orissa has fully utilised the Government of India’s prison modernisation grant, it is way behind other states. However, building more prisons is not the only answer. Society has to question whom are we sending to prison? Will the jail help reform petty offenders? The police power to arrest under Sections 107 and 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure must be used with restraint. The other part of prison reforms consists of the software which includes improving human resources such as development of prison staff and correctional and training programmes for prison inmates. Human resource development is crucial for any organisation. The prison administration has a crucial role to play in this regard. A Model Prisons Manual is a pressing necessity and the prison organisation itself needs to have a vision and a mission statement for service. The Prison Act (1984) is out of sync with today’s scenario. Though the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has compiled the Model Prison Manual in 2005, most states have not yet adopted it. Even the Punjab Jail Manual (1996) is outdated. This shows how laws and rules are made without the application of mind. Thus, any new legislation has to be drafted with wider consultations and debate. We must open up the prison system. The civil society should be associated with it. The changes can be implemented only with a commitment — of policy and resources. Ultimately, it is in the societal interest to constantly seek ways to reform the jails. n The writer is Deputy Director, Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh
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Profile One of the pioneers of distance education is Prof V.N. Rajsekharan Pillai, currently Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), and Chairman of its Distance Education Council. Aptly, he was honoured with the Presidential Gold Medal Award by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 95th Indian Science Congress in
Visakhapatanam early this month. Indeed, the initiative of distance education has acquired a new
dimension under Prof Pillai’s guidance as the head of IGNOU. Having 36-year-long experience as a teacher, researcher, institution builder and educational administrator, he joined IGNOU in October 2006. The institution in this brief span made rapid strides. For the first
time since its establishment in 1985, the open university made its presence felt at the Science Congress. The Chair for Sustainable Development at IGNOU sponsored the plenary session on “Sustainability Science”. According to Prof Pillai, “sustainability science has gained worldwide attention because of growing problems of climate change and the widespread environmental pollution caused by human activities. There is, therefore, an urged need for changing the present pattern of unsustainable development to a more sustainable development pathway. Prof Pillai is a visionary and strategist. With the ascent of digital technology, he sees more changes on the way. A time may come soon when all universities may have to transform themselves as universities of convergence by adopting information communication technologies in their learning processes. Students may prefer to select institutions based on relevance and quality of offerings, convenience and price rather than geography. In his view, the challenge before the open and distance learning system is not on how to be an alternative system but to make a definite contribution to the development of knowledge-based human resources rather than simply being a mechanism to expand the existing education system. One of Prof Pillai’s dream projects has been to offer higher technical education on line. Under his scheme, the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will offer courses online in the distance education mode. The Distance Education Council, the national-level apex body regulating and monitoring distance education, has given green signal to the IITs and IIMs to offer its courses online. This scheme will be in addition to the regular students who make it to the IITs and IIMs through entrance tests. In this way, the dreams of thousands of students who are unable to make it to the IITs and IIMs could be fulfilled. At the same time, the distance education mode cal also be popularised. The IGNOU, under the leadership of Prof Pillai, launched its first
foreign language programme in distance learning in July last year in Chennai. The open university has now international presence covering as many as 38 countries; it is considering a proposal to introduce basic Arabic language courses. Once this is done, students from expatriate communities other than Indians will also get interested in IGNOU’s distance education
programmes.
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— Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh — Embattled cricket umpire Steve Bucknor The nuclear weapons are very secure. We will ask if we need assistance. Nobody should tell us what to do. And I would ask anyone who says such things, do you know how our strategic assets are handled, stored and developed — do you know it? — Pakistan President Musharraf in an interview to Newsweek The food given to our school children under the Centre’s mid-day meal scheme is a sham. The ingredients are sub-standard and not prepared hygienically. I will build centralised kitchens in Punjab to provide mid-day meals to one lakh schoolchildren in a radius of 25 km. I will spend Rs 1 crore on each such kitchen. — Nanak Kohli, US-based NRI We are M.G. Ramachandran’s true political heirs. We are running the party founded by him. I am the leader and general secretary. None else can lay claim to his legacy. — AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa If everyone buys the small car, where will they keep it? Where will they drive it? — Maharashtra Home Minister
R.R. Patil after Nano’s launch What’s the harm in making some white money by exploiting one’s artistic talents? — Navjot Singh Sidhu, MP, after his decision to act in two Punjabi films I am launching my own TV network .This is an evolution of what I have been able to do every day. I will now have the opportunity to do this 24 hours a day. — Oprah Winfrey, Chief of Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) — Comment in the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano — Actor Vidya Balan
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What ails Punjab’s economy Punjab
Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal aptly said, “when will our politicians come of age?” He was obviously referring to the state ministers’ populist sops to some sections, oblivious of the poor financial health. Unfortunately, senior SAD leaders chided him for plain speaking. And all of them announced that the government has no dearth of funds. Mr Manpreet Badal cautioned the leaders not to make cheap populist declarations for very short term goals. He expected them to look deep into the future and also take hard decisions to improve the financial health. The “coming of age of our politicians” is doubted when we know that all is not well with the so-called prosperous and vibrant Punjab. Education is the base of any society or economy’s strength. Government and rural schools are gasping for their last breath. In most schools, there is no furniture. Some have no students, teachers and principals. In some schools, even chowkidars and sewadars have been asked to engage classes. The school time-table shows it! The government seems to have acknowledged this and that is why there is a scheme to bypass the diseased system and open Adarsh schools, one in each district. Unfortunately, instead of eradicating the ills of the school system that hitherto produced three-four generations of educated Punjabis who have excelled in their respective fields both in India and abroad, the government is thinking of bypassing it. Unlike the medical bypass surgery that can enervate the body, bypassing the government school system would take us all for slow and painful death. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen says: the strength of the public (read government) school system determines the future strength of the modern society. If there is no foundation of school education, how can higher education be imparted to such students? Isn’t it a serious flaw in our system? The politicians should examine these issues in their Cabinet meetings and not simply plan populist sops for short term gains. The present government might be serious in opening Adarsh schools but their plans to belittle the institutions of higher learning is no secret. In a short span of its rule, two Vice-Chancellors of the Punjab Agricultural University and Punjabi University have quit. The VC of Guru Nanak Dev University is also in the news as the local SAD leader is raking up issues as to show him the exit door. In the last five months, the Government Medical College, Patiala, has seen six Principals. It is time our politicians came of age. The times are changing fast in this age of information and other technologies. Globalisation is already knocking at the doors which will throw us open to a fierce competition. In this, only the well informed and educated, not just degree holders, will survive. The politicians should ponder now what are they going to do to make our future generations fit for this global competition. The Punjabi youth should not only ply taxis and trailers on the western roads. They are strong and sturdy and are capable of undertaking better jobs. However, it would be possible only if our politicians equip them suitably in this age of information society. The Parkash Singh Badal government should come up to the people’s expectations aroused by their own slogans like ‘Raj nahin sewa’. And this sewa should not imply giving sops and subsidies to some and not bothering about burning issues confronting the state. The health services in the government sector are fast disappearing. The primary health centres have neither doctors nor medicines. The government medical colleges and hospitals at Patiala and Amritsar, which were premium institutes of the state, have now been overtaken — in both education and medical care — by the private institutions. If medicines are costlier and the public medical care vanishes, where shall the poor go? The state of ecology is miserable. I wonder why our politicians do not see the flames and fumes after paddy harvesting which is the cause of serious bronchial and other ailments. The water table is fast depleting and over 70 per cent blocks in the state have already been declared as dark zones. According to a recent research report, ground water in 25 villages in the Talwandi Sabo tehsil has become so toxic that it cannot be used for irrigation, let alone for human consumption. What could be more serious in the land of five rivers where water has become poisonous? With water is associated the name of our state, our agriculture, our health, our plants and animals, in fact, the whole life. The Sikh Gurus had not vainly addressed it as Father. The peoples’ expectations are high from the present leadership as it swears by the name of Sikh religion and philosophy, the epitome of voluntary selfless service and sacrifice. This government’s rule should be qualitatively different from others. It must live up to this reputation of doing politics inspired by the Sikh principles. The writer is Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology,
Punjabi University, Patiala
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High time for harsh decisions SPeaking
to the full panel of the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister expressed serious concern at the rising subsidy bill. He was perhaps echoing the misgivings of Punjab’s Finance Minister Manpreet Badal who has been opposed to the idea of subsidies and sops. Since then, a number of economists too have spoken against sops. Subsidies take away what should rightly go into priority spending, especially in education, health care and infrastructure, which in the long run usher in prosperity for all. Political parties promise sops which in some cases amounts to promissory notes for a set of voters to draw on their votes. This practice is a form of bribery or the spirit of “code of conduct” to earn votes. Not all commitments made in a political party’s manifesto can be implemented. For instance, the Shiromani Akali Dal is forgetful of the commitment made in its manifesto regarding issues related to sharing of Punjab’s river waters. Or the ‘Garibhi hatao’ in the Congress manifesto eventually ended up as ‘Garibh hatao’. This piece will confine to the issue of sops offered to the poor, and not so poor, of Punjab. Free electricity to farmers meant to help the poor agriculturists has in reality worked to their disadvantage. It has led to gross abuse for uses other than agriculture and has helped the richer farmers. For only they can afford deep boring and installation of heavy duty and expensive submersible pumps. This has also led to indiscriminate drawing of water by the rich, resulting in ever lowering of the water table, making it all the more difficult for the poor to reach it. This receding water level has had yet another fallout, in that certain species of trees are drying up. If this trend continues, in a couple of decades, parts of Punjab will turn into a desert. This sop to the farmers has resulted in electricity becoming more expensive for industry. Arm-twisting by the BJP has made the Chief Minister extend electricity at concessional rates to the householders as well. This will further increase the cost of electricity for industry and impose an additional burden on the exchequer. It will be an added disincentive for industry to come to Punjab and some existing units will be forced to opt out of the province. Eventually, this will result in unemployment for the children of poor farmers. A sop meant for the poor has actually worked against the poor. The poor do need help and so there is some merit in giving them dal and atta at subsidised rates. Having made this commitment in the manifesto, the Akali Dal finds itself in a bind. To escape this trap, it would be better to convert this subsidy into food for work: retaining some content of subsidy in the programme. The poor in the villages can be given work in cleaning up of clogged canals and water channels, building new roads and widening existing ones, clearing and deepening village ponds, digging wells to trap rain water to recharge ground water, planting of trees etc. Above all, it must be ensured that full benefits of welfare schemes reach the target groups and all seepages enroute are plugged. The state’s debt burden is a whopping Rs 52,000 crore and is rising. There are large leakages in VAT and other revenue incomes. The bulk of the state’s revenues goes into maintaining over bloated and highly corrupt government machinery, leaving very little for education, healthcare, infrastructure and other developmental work. Punjab’s GDP growth is 4. 5 per cent as against 12 per cent of Himachal Pradesh and 14 per cent of Haryana — the two weaker siblings of the triplet once known as East Punjab. A large number of government employees including teachers cannot be paid salaries regularly due to financial constraints. Soon the fallout of the Sixth Pay Commission will engulf the province, driving it further into debt. The state’s coffers are empty and yet the Chief Minister keeps doling out money for unproductive ventures and to self-serving groups. The state now wants to sell family silver (government land) to meet routine expenses. Education is in a mess. There is no public healthcare worth the name. No industry has come to the state. Realty projects are taking up valuable agricultural land and would create no jobs or wealth but result in jhuggi colonies of migrant labour on government land. The world over high rise buildings are preferred to save good agricultural land, but in Punjab there is a nexus between those owning land near big towns, authorities sanctioning the change of land use, passing housing projects and the builders. Unemployment stalks the youth. They are simply unemployable. The education standard is so poor that they find it hard to even clear the written entrance test for the officer cadre of the Army — a cadre to which youth from Punjab contributed in substantial numbers. Of the 600 cadets that passed out of IMA, Dehradun last December, only 17 were from Punjab. While there is a crying need to downsize the government’s workforce, no senior bureaucrat seems to retire; before he retires another job is created for him. More and more districts and divisions are being created which will be a heavy burden on the state exchequer. Police is far too bloated and top heavy. We must downsize the government machinery and deploy finances thus saved for education and development. All leakages in the revenue collection system must be plugged and the scourge of corruption tackled frontally. Only hard decisions and stringent measures can salvage Punjab’s deteriorating state of affairs. All Punjabis share Mr Manpreet Badal’s concerns with equal anxiety. He has the vision and will to set the state on the path of prosperity and financial wellbeing. He needs the people’s and the party’s wholehearted support. Mrs Bhattal’s jab that he is the right man in the wrong party is ill-founded, because he is the right man in any
party. The writer is a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff
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On Record Ann Puntis, CEO, University of Cambridge International Examinations, in an interview to The Sunday Tribune, speaks about the university’s increasing interest in India, in particular, its new mission to help give India a more dynamic and rejuvenated educational system. Britain almost never seems to lose its “civilise India” and “educate India” zeal, he says. Yet, the entire endeavour appears most sound, correct and very Cambridge. Excerpts: Q: Is Cambridge University currently developing greater interest in India? A: Sure. Interest has been on the increase over the past few years. Now I would like to focus on Cambridge assessments and its mission in India as a part of the university designed work with both schools and colleges in the secondary sector. Not everyone can go to Cambridge, but everyone can be touched by it. Q: Can you elaborate this mission? A:
We are in touch with associate members of state education boards in India. This arrangement exists in every state. We focus on quality in secondary education. For instance, the quality of teachers is very important. The issue in India is what do teachers need. We offer a programme for the professional development of teachers. So far this arrangement is running only with government bodies but we are exploring the private sector as well. Q: What about your ongoing projects in Gujarat and Mizoram? A:
We have been working with their educational boards, organised workshops and experts from Cambridge to help train teachers and impart knowledge. In Gujarat, we currently have a programme with 300 teachers and in Mizoram we have Master Trainers training the teachers. A qualification is provided at the end of this training and some teachers can work towards an international diploma. Q: Are you restricting this programme to the two states? A:
No. Talks are on with other states too. Many are looking towards adopting it. Q: Any plans for involving the private sector? A:
Many private schools are interested to use our international curriculum — the Cambridge primary programme for the first level; for senior classes till Class X we have the IGCSE. In India, currently we have 170 schools with another 40 waiting for approval. Entries are growing by 40 per cent a year. The programme has been designed to suit the students’ abilities. Apart from some older schools, some new schools have also adopted this. The Doon School and the Shri Ram School in Delhi are two examples. Q: Can you elaborate a little more on this? A:
Our Vice-Chancellor is talking to industrialists, scientists and new thinkers about how to develop education in India. We currently work with some 150 countries. We have set up the national examination system for Singapore and some 18 other countries are on our contract. We also have two IGCSEs in Hindi and Indian studies and for both we have used India’s educationists. The syllabus incorporates issues like environmental management. Q: Do you offer students any scholarships or related schemes? A:
Yes, at the university level. We have many prizes and scholarships for students who do well in our examinations. However, they may be for any university and not just Cambridge. Further, we have invited teachers who have participated in our programmes for conferences at Cambridge and we reward achievements for both students and teachers. Many such conferences have been done and there is frequent interaction. Q: What about the book recently released here? A:
Professor Alison, the VC of Cambridge University, during her current visit, released a book, Reflections on Teaching, Today and Tomorrow (Cambridge University Press). It is a collection of essays written by teachers and trainers from across India. It brings together teachers from both government and private schools, consultants and educationists working in this area from different parts of the country and offers them space to air their views. Some eleven teachers from schools and institutes have contributed to the compilation of the book which has resulted in a diversity of approaches and viewpoints. We wanted to provide an opportunity for innovative teachers developing active learning in a variety of local contexts to share their practical ideas and experience and to encourage their colleagues in India and worldwide. The CIE has endorsed it for use by teachers and trainers undertaking the Cambridge International Certificate course. This is yet another tool of empowering them. This will strengthen their confidence in their own capabilities.
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The job I am holding today is a rare privilege. I have always regarded political power as a societal trust which has to be spent for the good of the people.
To err is human, to forgive divine. However, I consider it a sad day to see umpires sidelined after making only two wrong decisions out of a record of 35 appeals.
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is the wrong kind of hero who poses a danger to children across the world. Despite the values that we come across in the narration, at the base of this story, witchcraft and occult is proposed as a positive ideal. 
I am open to doing good cinema in any language. But my focus is Hindi films. Bollywood is my home ground. Still, I am in no hurry to get anywhere. I want to enjoy my work at my own
pace.