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EC cracks the whip Against all odds |
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Raging xenophobia
Blueprint for new Nepal
When the nerve is extracted
World hunger Protect Delhi’s Od community India has to act fast on Kishanganga project
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EC cracks the whip The Election Commission’s action against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for having misused the official aircraft in the elections and violated the model code of conduct is welcome. The commission has reprimanded Mr Badal and directed him to pay for his air travel. Mr Badal had violated the code of conduct by combining his official visits from Chandigarh to Tarn Taran and Moga with a visit to Amritsar solely for the election campaign. It augurs well that Mr Badal has admitted the lapse on his part and agreed to foot the bill for his travel undertaken for party purposes. Unfortunately, misuse of official machinery during elections by chief ministers and ministers has become too common these days. The violators have no fear of the law and continue to flout the code with impunity. The Badal government created a record of sorts in electoral corruption during the recent panchayat elections. Mr Badal himself and his ministers campaigned with a large convoy of official cars. Though the commission’s “severe reprimand” to Mr Badal will serve as a benchmark, the malaise is far deeper in all the states and thus warrants tougher action. Equally commendable is the Election Commission’s notice to some Andhra Pradesh ministers for violating the code of conduct during the ensuing by-elections. They are charged with announcing measures like increasing the income limit for white ration cards, new power connections, waiver of penalty for power pilferage and enhancement of subsidy for vegetable seeds. If political parties do not follow the model code of conduct, how can the commission ensure a level playing field for all in the elections? The commission has also asked the Andhra Pradesh government to explain why it dropped disciplinary proceedings against IAS officer Praveen Prakash without prior intimation. Mr Prakash, the then Ranga Reddy District Collector, is charged with transferring the Visakhapatnam Returning Officer in the 2006 by-election without the commission’s knowledge. The model code of conduct should be enforced in letter and spirit. There is need for a strong deterrent in the form of offenders being punished for violating the code. The commission should show no leniency towards those found guilty of misusing the governmental machinery for party purposes.
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Against all odds History
has repeated itself. Girls have outshone boys in the ICSE and ISC examinations the results of which were declared on Tuesday. Now, that kind of excellence could have been quite understandable in a society where there is no difference between a son and a daughter and both get equal opportunities. But when that happens in the Indian context where female foeticide is an everyday occurrence despite numerous laws against it, and those daughters who survive somehow are treated as children of a lesser God, it is nothing less than miraculous. Perhaps, the only explanation that can be given is that since girls have to constantly struggle against heavy odds — and even being alive in places known for foeticide is a major achievement—they manage to do so well in their studies, too. This tenacity can stand them in good stead if only they are not denied the essentials to survive, study and succeed. Far too many talented girl students do not even get to go to school, not only because of societal prejudices but also because of the government’s apathy. Given the elementary infrastructure, they have shown that they are capable of exceptional achievements. The brilliance that the girl students demonstrate in academics should not be allowed to end at that stage. There is need to nurture their talent so that they can prove their mettle in life also. Assured of a level playing field, they can do as well — if not better — as boys in stages thereafter, namely higher education and competitive careers. But they are hemmed in by the prejudices of male domination. If even MPs cannot be persuaded to give them a chance to get due representation in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures, others just cannot be expected to remove the glass ceiling. If the ceiling is not removed voluntarily, they are very much capable of breaking it on their own, is the message conveyed by their performance.
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Raging xenophobia A horrifying picture of a burning man being saved by security personnel, carried in Tuesday’s newspapers, was enough to move anybody to tears. Can people go berserk as some have in South Africa and brutalise a person of a different nationality even when he has committed no crime? Yes, they can if they are in the grip of xenophobia. This is exactly what has been happening in South Africa for the past few days, rocking many cities in the country that gave birth to Africa’s Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, who fought the apartheid regime by renouncing violence. It is unbelievable how citizens of Mandela’s South Africa could take to such frightening violence —- burning immigrants belonging to Zimbabwe and other African countries. The rage that is evident reminds one of the days of apartheid, but this should not happen now as South Africa has travelled a long distance from the time when people were divided by unreason. The growing xenophobia in South Africa is attributed primarily to the yawning gap between the rich and the poor there, but that is not the only contributing factor. At least 22 people have lost their lives because the impoverished South Africans believe that the increasing influx of immigrants is responsible for their joblessness, the rising inflation, power shortage and the increasing crime in their country. There are over three million Zimbabweans in South Africa who have fled their homeland because of the economic collapse there. Extreme poverty has forced people from other African countries, too, to look for jobs in South Africa. The flow of poverty-stricken immigrants, in fact, calls for a humane approach, and not the kind of treatment they are being meted out. President Thabo Mbeki has ordered an enquiry to identify the factors behind the anti-immigrant violence in a country which has the world’s most liberal immigration laws. Those South Africans who have been deprived of the fruits of economic growth deserve to be given their due. This may help stem the tide of anti-immigrant sentiments. In the era of globalisation and greater regional cooperation, killing people of other nationalities is certainly not a solution to economic disputes.
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I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew);/ Their names are What and Why and When/And How and Where and Who. — Rudyard Kipling
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Blueprint for new Nepal You
had monarchy for 240 years. Look what you got. You had democracy for 14 years. Nothing changed. Now give us a chance.” The Maoists used this election slogan to register the biggest upset in electoral history, bringing through a peace process and the ballot a guerrilla force into power. So near and yet so far, is the feeling among the Maoists desperate to form a government but being obstructed by the defeated and disgruntled political parties who are unwilling to oblige, thanks to the provision in the interim constitution of a consensual coalition government or of a government by a two-thirds majority. The Maoists are threatening to evict both Prime Minister GP Koirala and King Gyanendra to ease the path of government formation which, according to them, is under the shadow of a counter-revolution. They have set two deadlines: May 28 for the declaration of a democratic republic and June 2 for the formation of a government. It goes without saying that they will retain the key portfolios, including the position of Prime Minister. But all this may not be as easily done as said. Both sides will need to make compromises as they have so frequently done in the past. The second challenge the Maoists face is the nomination of 26 members of the 601-member House for which many civil society members have staked claim. These seats are meant to be allotted to the marginalised groups unrepresented in the Constituent Assembly so that it can be inclusive. The actual business of drafting the constitution for restructuring the state into New Nepal will require the services of constitutional experts. The Maoists are in a hurry to govern. They have to live up to the promises they made to the people, deliver on them so that they are translated into a two-thirds majority for them in the next election, and not just the present status of the single largest party. There are some immediate challenges: providing food, water, electricity, health care, education and good governance. The Maoists have promised an economic revolution in 10 years. The Maoist manifesto was titled “New Ideology, New Leadership, New Nepal”. Accompanying it was an Economic Vision-2020 document which sought to raise the per capita income from the current $ 270 to $ 3000 in 10 years. Maoist chief ideologue and architect of the Vision document Baburam Bhattarai has said that in 40 years Nepal will become one of the richest countries in the world. Both Prachanda and Bhattarai were quick to meet captains of business and industry in Kathmandu to reassure them about their belief in a capitalist market economy, foreign direct investment, public-private partnership, a new tax system and industrial security. The Maoists will have to walk the talk to arrest the flight of capital and business, especially from Indian business houses which have traded in Nepal for generations. The long-term aim of the Maoists is to reduce dependence on India and look beyond Delhi. Keeping their house in order, inner party reform and implementing past agreements will take time and demand political and military acumen from the Maoist leadership. Dismantling the parallel administration and vigilante groups like the Young Communist League (YCL) will face stiff resistance from the Clint Eastwood outfits in the organisation. Already some leaders have rejected disbanding the YCL. Political parties are saying they will not join the government till the preconditions are met, including the settlement of Maoist arms and army. Addressing the Madhesh demand for self-determination and autonomy — one Madhesh, one Pradesh — could be tricky and a divisive issue but was accepted in principle by the government, including the Maoists. The Upendra Yadav-led Madhesh Jan Adhikar Forum has 52 of the 85 seats won by Madheshi parties and is the fourth largest party. Prachanda has said he has no objection to the Madhesh demand — after all, Upendra Yadav was in the Maoist district committee for seven years, he added. Yadav has asked Koirala to step down and is willing to support Prachanda if the MJF conditions are met. Prachanda has brought into the centre-stage the veteran Madheshi republican leader, Ram Raja Prasad Singh, and there are hints that he might be the next President. The Maoist blueprint of a federation rests on creating 11 provinces, two based on geographical remoteness and the remaining on the basis of ethnicity. Madheshis want three states: Terai, Hill Areas and the Upper Hills. Madhesh is the geostrategic key to the region and instability and disaffection of the Sri Lanka variety can spill over to UP and Bihar. The big internal challenge is integration of the PLA with the Nepal Army which is linked with the presence of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) whose mandate expires on July 22, 2008. Army Chief Rukmangad Katwal and Prachanda have to evolve a compromise formula to induct qualified PLA into the Army after their suitable de-indoctrination. The UNMIN’s main tasks were management of arms and armies, monitoring the ceasefire and facilitating the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee of the PLA and the Nepal Army. As the integration process is unlikely to be completed by July, an extension for a scaled-down UNMIN is likely. India will not be pleased with this outcome. The international community, international financial institutions, donors and NGOs are queuing up to meet Prachanda who is wearing his best face. Through Kathmandu, the UK maintains its traditional Gorkha connection, the US keeps an eye on China, India monitors its security concerns and China keeps watch overall, given the Tibet imbroglio. The US is unlikely to remove the terrorist tag from the Maoists in a hurry despite US envoy Nancy Powell’s first meeting ever with Prachanda earlier this month. India, which was the first to ban the Maoists in 2001, never really withdrew the ban; it is putting up a brave face, suggesting that it anticipated a Maoist victory, even it helped orchestrate it. Prachanda has welcomed India’s acceptance of a Maoist-led government following a resounding verdict from the people. It appears the Maoists, like the Left party government in 1997, have not done their homework on their outstanding demands relating to the imposed and unequal treaties and agreements with India. While New Delhi must be generous, any alterations in the treaty architecture must be compatible with India’s strategic interest. The question of Gorkha recruitment into foreign armies is linked to the 1947 Tripartite Agreement among the UK, India and Nepal which regulates pay and pension of Gorkhas in the British and Indian armies. The annual earnings of Gorkha soldiers and ex-servicemen exceeds Rs 3000 crore and is the third largest earner of foreign exchange after tourism and exports. Soldiering in Nepal is not a vocation but a calling, the life blood of the Khukuri-wielding Gorkhas. Nepal is sensitive to being taken for granted by New Delhi. Kathmandu’s standard response is the demonstration of anti-Indianism in the guise of nationalism. This is a perennial irritant in bilateral relations and should diminish with the disappearance of the monarchy. Both Nepal and India have the opportunity to rewrite relations, emulating the Bhutan and Sri Lanka models for economic interdependence. Nepal’s economic revolution can only occur if India is allowed to be a part of
it.
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When the nerve is extracted A thought for the day by Helen Rowland in one of the morning newspapers which says, “A husband is what is left of a lover once the nerve has been extracted”, set me deliberating on a host of truisms that have gained currency over centuries because they hold forth the promise and possibilities of ideal lovers turning into soul-mates once sex ceases to control their lives. These aphorisms have not only powered most of our relational dreams and fantasies but have even fortified our faith in the urgency and therapeutic value of our illusions. Our faith in them, moreover, seems to gain greater significance in today’s context of a ‘wham’ ‘bam’ generation in which the ‘devil’ wears ‘Prada’ and relationships tend to become purely transactional in the roller-coaster ride to success. Concurrently, however, we are also led on to speculate on institutionalised relationships between men and women through centuries and question certain notions that we have been encouraged to believe in. We lead fractured lives, yet continue to live through pretence. Does not the ideal always remain an ideal that can at best and very rarely, only be approximated? Does this elusive desire for an ideal relationship not encourage delusion that can lead to further fragmentation? In which case, should not the validity of an age-old wisdom that encourages this search for conjugal bliss, be put under the scanner? Contrary to our ideal dreamscapes, reality could bite, relationships turn incommunicado or once loving companions transform into cantankerous old men and women who have lost the vital art of charming exchange. Unless in desired company, which most certainly is not each other’s, wordy duels, blame games and even slanging matches over non-issues could take over, with each one vying for the trophy of the last word! All this brings us back once again to the question of lovers becoming husbands. Strangely enough, a complex process of othering has become so deeply entrenched in our psyche that we jump at any suggestion that might reinforce our conviction in ourselves being the most wronged of all godly creations. Nonetheless, were we to stop and think would we be able to admit to ourselves that both men and women are equal accomplices in the crime of network hacking? The question then is, should such a thought as Rowland’s become the beginning or possible focus of another day’s battle of the sexes or should it set into motion a provocative process that might encourage objective deliberations on a vital social issue that needs to be handled with kid gloves? Our natural propensities would be towards the former but should this, I wonder, be the purpose of the ‘thought for the
day’?
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World hunger We
are now several months into the global food crisis, which is a much bigger deal than the United States’ subprime meltdown for most people in the world. Food prices have almost doubled in three years, threatening to push 100 million people into absolute poverty, undoing much of the development progress of the past few years. The new hunger has triggered riots from Haiti to Egypt to Ethiopia, threatening political stability; it has conjured up a raft of protectionist policies, threatening globalisation. And yet the response to this crisis from governments the world over has been lackadaisical or worse. Start with the lunatic story of rice stockpiles in Japan. A new paper from the Center for Global Development describes how Japan’s government imports rice in order to comply with its global trade commitments but withholds most of that rice from consumers lest they decide they prefer it to the local sort. Japanese traditionalists view the consumption of sticky, short-grained rice as a patriotic duty. So rather than letting Mrs. Watanabe corrupt her children’s dietary habits, Japan stores much of its imported rice until it becomes unfit for human consumption, whereupon it is sold to feed livestock. From the perspective of Japan, stockpiling rice is a costly exercise in chauvinism, but Japan can afford that. From the world’s perspective, the stockpiling is more serious. More than 3 billion people depend on rice as their daily staple, and half of them are very poor. Japan could save many of them from hunger if it released its stocks. The scandal is not just Japanese, however. In order for Japan to sell its rice outside its borders, it needs permission from the countries that supplied it – the United States, Thailand and Vietnam. A bit of U.S. leadership could deliver that permission easily, but the Bush administration is apparently worried about a backlash from American rice growers who see no downside in high prices, thank you very much. Not for the first time in Washington do the fat welfare queens of the farm lobby trample on the poorest people in the world. Speaking of welfare queens, the US Congress passed a farm bill last week with thunderous bipartisan support. The bill includes reasonable subsidies for low-income Americans hit by high food prices, but it also sprays money at farmers who already earn more than the average taxpayer and contains shockingly little for the world’s poor. Congress is considering a separate bill that would boost international food aid more substantially. But that measure has been met with shameful indifference by lawmakers and consequently has stalled. Congress won’t even act on a common-sense proposal from the Bush administration that food aid be reformed. If the United States bought some of the food that it donates from other countries, it could get aid to the needy faster and more cheaply. But that would upset American farmers and shipping interests, as a new Council on Foreign Relations paper emphasises. The president’s proposal has few takers on the Hill. The Europeans, for their part, have their own way of entrenching hunger. Just as Japan is wedded to its rice culture, Europe is irrationally hostile to genetically modified food. Study after study has found no danger in seeds that have been manipulated to grow better, withstand insects or survive in arid soil. But the Europeans still feel squeamish, and their hang-up deters Africans from taking advantage of crop science lest their exports be barred from European markets. Again, a peccadillo that to Europeans is affordable starves people in the poor world. Finally, poor countries themselves have made things worse. Panicked at the prospect of food riots, countries with crop surpluses have forbidden exports in an attempt to bottle up supply and keep prices down. More than 40 countries have imposed some kind of export restraint, with the result that countries suffering food deficits have seen prices hit the roof. This nationalised hoarding is frustrating international relief efforts. The World Food Program has sought to buy food from countries with surpluses, such as Pakistan, to ship to desperate neighbors such as Afghanistan. But Pakistan drags its feet about selling. Part of the solution to the food crisis, as the Oxford economist Paul Collier has written, is to promote large-scale commercial agriculture in the poor world. But for that to happen, investors have to know that there will be a market for their exports. They won’t risk their money if the US Congress is going to subsidise their American competitors. They won’t risk their money if European prejudice is going to prevent them from using the best seeds that scientists offer. And they won’t risk their money if the governments of developing countries short-circuit their profits with crazy export bans. In short, the governments of the world are conspiring to undermine farming in developing countries. Do they MEAN to inflict hunger on tens of millions of people? The writer is a fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
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Protect Delhi’s Od community Water
conservation, mud architecture, skilled earth work of various kinds – these are the traditional skills which made the Od people one of the most sought after workers in the villages of Sindh (Pakistan). After Partition, they came to Rajasthan, playing an important role in building the Indira Gandhi canal and several tanks. When the Bhatti mines on the Delhi-Haryana border needed expert workers who could bring red sand from great depths, the Ods came with their donkeys and mules to carry out the difficult and risky work. For this work they settled down in Bhagirath Nagar Bhatti Mines rural settlement. As the demand for construction work increased during the Asian games, there were desperate requests for night shifts in addition to day work. Never the ones to say no to a challenge, the Ods obliged. When mining had to be stopped on court orders, the innovative Ods soon adapted their old skills to new needs of the city’s economy. Od youths became skilled in laying internet and other cables. As Chanderpal, a young leader of the community says with legitimate pride, “Our youth workers can lay a cable under the busiest roads without disrupting the traffic at all.” The Ods and their mules also made a remarkable contribution to the construction of foundations and basements of many famous buildings in Delhi. What is most remarkable about the many-sided skills of the Od community is that their worth has increased all the more in these times of global warming, energy and water crisis. As Sadhuram, a 60-year old Od says, “The mud houses we are skilled in constructing are so cool that you don’t need an air-conditioner. We have special skills in identifying the soil, preparing it for construction work and then making houses or other buildings from it. I tell you, these houses can be stronger than your cement ones.” Delhi faces an acute water crisis, and the revival/restoration of some of the traditional water sources has been suggested as an important way out of the worsening water scarcity. Here the Ods with their traditional skills in water works can play an invaluable role. In fact, a beginning can be made right near the Bhagirath Nagar Bhatti Mines, the main settlement of the Od community. The Asola-Bhatti sanctuary is located here, and for greening this area water harvesting is badly needed. “The Ods with their tremendous capability for earth work, knowledge of indigenous trees and affection for greenery can play a very important role in improving the biodiversity in the sanctuary area”, says Anita Soni, an anthropologist who has taken a keen interest in the welfare of the Od community. But unfortunately, such opportunities are being denied to the multi-skilled Od community which richly deserves them. What’s more, during the last year, the Ods have constantly lived under the threats of their houses being demolished and the people evicted. Balkrishna Renake, Chairman of the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes says, “These Ods have faced so many hardships and yet have made so many contributions to society in recent years. It is very important to protect their land rights and provide them a livelihood based on their skills.”
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India has to act fast on Kishanganga project Pakistan
is again resorting to accusations about projects in J&K after it failed to convince the World Bank about India violating the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) provisions in the Baglihar project. Its attempt now is to make the Kishanganga Project a disputed scheme, thereby seeking the bank’s intervention and delaying the project. Pakistan’s only objective seems to be to stall India’s efforts in developing the hydro-potential in the Indus system, permitted by the IWT (1960), a treaty lauded as a model for international agreements on water sharing, though it is nothing of the sort. International treaties on the use of trans-boundary rivers aim at achieving the optimum development and utilisation of the water resources to benefit the co-basin states. But this is not happening in the case of the IWT. Unlike other international water treaties, IWT is unique in ignoring accepted international practices. For example, the method adopted for water sharing is by equal distribution of the number of rivers in the system flowing through India, rather than equitable distribution of water in the entire basin; there is no time limit for its operational validity thus making it an agreement ad-infinitum; there is no provision for either party to withdraw from the treaty; its clauses enable non-constructive application of treaty provisions to stall developmental efforts but are not very specific on sound engineering practices needed to achieve the objectives. All along, the treaty has been hyped as a model for sharing and utilisation of any international river, since, due to its in-built resilience, it could survive two wars and many war-like situations between the two countries in the past. But the fact is that it has outlived the tempests of history only because India was willing to adjust to Pakistan’s tantrums, though India got a raw deal in the treaty getting only about 20 per cent share of the Indus waters against more than 40 per cent due on equity considerations. Other treaty provisions are also favouring Pakistan. India has always been willing to accommodate Pakistan in the interest of good neighbourly relations. Encouraged by our tolerance, Pakistan continues to make Indian projects a subject of endless debate, to delay implementation. Construction of the Wular project meant to facilitate cheap inland water transport to the apple growers of interior J&K, had to be stopped. Completion of the Baglihar hydroelectric project (450MW) was delayed by many years. Pakistan has so far succeeded in delaying more than 25 Indian projects raising the bogey of treaty violations.Consequently, out of the estimated 8825 mw of hydro-potential to be exploited by India from the western rivers of the Indus system, only about 1300 mw has been harnessed so far. This has affected development plans in J&K. The Kishanganga project envisages construction of a dam across the Kishanganga river, a tributary of the Jhelum. The ponded waters would be diverted through a tunnel and a powerhouse again to the main Jhelum river and in the process would generate 330 mw of power using a drop of 297 metres. With the diverted Jhelum water returning back to the main river, Pak’s share of Jhelum water would remain unaffected. The project details were furnished to Pakistan in the nineties, as per the treaty provisions. As usual, Pakistan objected, insisting out that the Indian project affected their existing uses downstream. In meetings after meetings India sought details of their existing uses, but instead of the details, Pakistan continued to harp on treaty violations by India to attract World Bank intervention. Recent media reports indicate that China has offered help to Pakistan to overcome its water and power crisis. It has promised help to construct their Basha dam. It is also reported that Pakistan has awarded the 2.16 billion dollar Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project at a site downstream of our project, to Chinese companies, to complete the work in 7 years. Experience shows that China is least concerned about Indian protests. Thus, while engaging India on unending discussions, Pakistan would be able to complete the project before India and then claim that the Indian project would affect the existing power generation, and hence would be violating treaty provisions. India should take up and complete the Kishanganga project immediately. It has lost many trying to appease Pakistan. Still, it is not too late. India has to act and act fast.
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