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Epitome of pollution
New equations in UP
Ordeal by MBA
Innocence in wedlock Crackdown on Gypsies racist ‘Swiss bank’ accounts bleeding the country
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Interests safeguarded THE UPA Government’s decision to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament on July 22 is in the best democratic tradition. Whatever the quibblers may say, this is in conformity with its promise that the 123 Agreement would be operationalised only after it has proved its majority in the House. The mere submission of the draft safeguards agreement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not amount to a breach of promise. By the time the IAEA board discusses the draft, the government would have either won or lost the confidence vote. The government would be able to negotiate with the IAEA and, later, with the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group only if it wins the trial of strength. If it loses the vote, it will mark the end of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal unless the next government decides to revive it. In retrospect, the government could have published the draft safeguards agreement the moment copies of it were given to all the members of the IAEA and not waited for others to put it on their websites. Even so, the draft has a lot to commend itself. A cursory reading of it shows that the government has addressed most of the concerns the knowledgeable, including defence and nuclear experts, had expressed about the nuclear deal. Under the draft agreement, the UN nuclear watchdog will not be able to supervise the nuclear facilities that are exclusively for defence purposes. If at a future date India feels the need to go in for a nuclear test, it will be free to do so. As regards the civilian nuclear reactors, India will be free to buy fuel from any source. Also, the country will be at liberty to “develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to safeguard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of India’s reactors”. This will obviate the fear that some supplier countries would be able to exert extraneous pressures on the country. It is obvious that the government had taken care of addressing all the major concerns expressed by parties like the CPM and the BJP while preparing the draft agreement which will enable the IAEA to “implement safeguards in a manner designed to avoid hampering India’s economic and technological development”. Yet, it is a pity that the Left parties and the BJP are opposing the deal, though for totally divergent reasons.
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Governor’s rule THE perennially-troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir has been brought under Governor’s rule, three days after the resignation of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. This was inevitable as, given the numerical strengths of various parties, the formation of an alternative government was impossible. Governor N.N. Vohra held consultations with the leaders of all political parties, before the decision was taken, imposing Governor’s rule for the first time in 12 years. The bitter aftertaste of the fissiparous row over the ‘transfer’ of land to the Amarnath Shrine Board still lingers. Governor’s rule, free from political push-and-pull, is an opportunity for the state to gather itself before the Assembly elections. The term of the J&K Assembly comes to a close on November 2 and elections should be held sometime in October. The major political parties in the fray, the Congress, its erstwhile coalition partner, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the National Conference should try to provide the healing touch, even while pursuing their electoral agenda. Governor’s rule should help minimise the tendency to play the religious card in all the three regions of the state. The PDP was a party to the cabinet order providing land to the Amarnath Shrine Board, effected by one of its own ministers. Seeing the political fallout, however, it did not think twice before opportunistically supporting the agitation and eventually pulling out. This was done even though the protests took on a distinctly anti-India tone. The protests from other quarters that followed the revocation of the order were equally divisive, however. A period of calm and efficient, apolitical administration is what J&K needs in the run up to the elections. Over the next few months, Governor’s rule will provide that.
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Epitome of pollution SADLY, voluntary efforts put in to clean a 20-km stretch of Budha Nullah in Ludhiana have come to nought. No plan to clear the obnoxious drain can succeed unless the discharge of industrial effluents and municipal waste is first stopped. This is where the various agencies of the state administration have failed. The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and the state pollution control board have continued to remain blind to the reckless passing of the city’s and the industry’s solid waste into the nullah. This is despite a Tribune campaign and an indictment of the administration by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The pollution level in Budha Nullah worsens during the monsoon as all kinds of toxic matter flows into it with rainwater, which nobody ever thinks of harvesting despite the precarious level of the water table. Sixty-eight villages along the drain also empty their sewerage into the nullah, which carries the poison into the Sutlej river. Reports of fish dying in the heavily polluted state rivers have become all too frequent. At many places, toxic river water is used for drinking and irrigation. Surveys by experts from the PGI, Chandigarh, and PAU, Ludhiana, have revealed the ill-effects of a contaminated Budha Nullah on human health. Vegetables and other food items grown in the area contain heavy metals beyond the acceptable levels. Human rights groups and environmentalists have called for a comprehensive survey to assess the damage done to the ground water and the flora and fauna in the region. Perturbed, religious leaders like Baba Jaspal Singh Baddowal and Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal had mobilised the villagers to undertake “kar seva” to fight the menace. The government commitment and effort, however, has been lacking. The chief culprits are the Municipal Corporation, the pollution board and the polluting industrial units, which an apathetic state government has failed to discipline.
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A man with a hundred desires sleeps uneasy. — The Upanishads
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New equations in UP Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav’s decision to support the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre has not only cleared the way for the operationalisation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal but also changed the course of politics in UP, politically the most significant state of the country. The development has brought into sharp focus the worries of the different political players in the context of the coming Lok Sabha elections. Mr Yadav has made use of the available opportunity to strengthen his position to confidently face the challenge posed by his bete noire, BSP Chief Minister Mayawati. The other problem that he may be able to handle is the prevention of parliamentary elections at this stage — when the present Lok Sabha has a few more months to go. That his party’s alignment with the Congress will help make the civil nuclear deal a reality is, apparently, a matter of secondary importance to him. The marriage of convenience suits both the Congress and the SP. The Congress had little choice after the BSP and the Left deserted the UPA, though because of their own different reasons. The Congress made considerable efforts in UP to have some kind of an understanding with the BSP but failed. The thinking behind the failed attempt was that the BSP could be the best ally to improve the electoral prospects of the Congress in the state. The BSP’s company could have helped the Congress increase its following among the Muslims and the Dalits — the communities that once constituted the primary vote bank of the country’s oldest party. The BSP, on the other hand, wanted to use the support it had extended to the UPA to get rid of the cases against Ms Mayawati in which the CBI’s role is crucial. The Congress could not bail out the BSP leader unless it was clear that she would agree to an alliance with the Congress for contesting the elections. The Congress was, however, hoping against hope. The BSP cannot ignore the fact that fighting elections alone has benefited the party more in the past. The Congress calculations did not suit the interests of the BSP and hence Ms Mayawati’s disinterest in the overtures from 10 Janpath. This led to an aggressive campaign by the Congress to expose the Mayawati government’s failure to redress the grievances of the Dalits, particularly in the Bundelkhand region where they are in a majority. The filing of an affidavit by the CBI in the Supreme Court seeking permission to proceed against her in the Disproportionate Assets case is the latest in the Congress moves against her. Seen against this backdrop, the BSP’s withdrawal of support to the UPA government was bound to happen. Ms Mayawati’s decision created the kind of political space the SP had been looking for. But the SP was able to make use of the opportunity after the Left Front withdrew its support to the UPA government. An alliance with the Congress, controlling the levers of power at the Centre, will help the SP prevent the BSP from misusing the official machinery for political gains. Mr Yadav today is in a better position to resist the drive launched by Ms Mayawati to demoralise his party cadres. Moreover, it will be an entirely different scenario during the Lok Sabha polls with the BSP being in power in the state and the SP being part of the ruling coalition at the Centre. Some people, however, believe that Mr Yadav has indulged in a big gamble. His support to the UPA government, in their opinion, will erode his following among the Muslims. This is because of the strong anti-American sentiment in the minority community, which considers the US primarily responsible for the plight of the Muslim ummah at the international level. The regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq brought about by the Bush administration has contributed to this feeling. Any individual or party instrumental in taking India closer to the US cannot be treated kindly by the Muslims, so goes the argument. But this is not the complete picture reflecting the anguish of the largest minority of the country. The Muslims are not much bothered about the US factor when it comes to protecting their interests within the country. Their dreadful perception of the BJP can easily make them forget the US role. During some of the previous elections Muslims resorted to tactical voting to defeat the BJP. This was more pronounced in UP. Mr Yadav, who acquired the acronym Maulana Mulayam Singh, understands the Muslim mind better that anyone else. He successfully formed the Muslim-Yadav combination to emerge what he is today. Most Muslims may take his claim seriously that his idea of shaking hands with the Congress is aimed at keeping the communal forces (read the BJP) at bay. Ms Mayawati’s appeal to the community to “punish” the SP by projecting the nuclear deal as being “anti-Muslim” is unlikely to impress many among the Muslims when they look at it in view of the BJP factor. But Mr Yadav is bound to remain anxiety-ridden, as Ms Mayawati is capable of misleading the Muslim masses. The views of former President APJ Abdul Kalam and those of the Maulanas representing Deobandi, Barelvi and other schools of Islamic thought on the nuclear deal may, no doubt, help in minimising the effect of the disinformation campaign launched by Ms Mayawati. But the SP, the Congress and all others eager to get the deal operationalised need to launch a vigorous drive to nail the lie. Why should the Muslims as a community oppose something which is considered in India’s national interest? The views of the Left leaders or Ms Mayawati are only aimed at protecting their own political interests. The minority community must be made to understand this game-plan. Keeping the nuclear deal factor apart, Ms Mayawati’s following among the Muslims has been on the rise for a few years. That is why she may not openly respond to the overtures from the BJP. But the new political equation in UP, which may also include Mr Ajit Singh’s party, may make the BSP and the BJP have some kind of undeclared understanding to defeat the SP-Congress alliance. It is not easy to stop the ascendant of the BSP as the situation prevails today. So far as the Congress is concerned, the party is unlikely to emerge as a major factor in UP despite joining hands with the SP. It does not have a really dynamic leadership in the state. The position of the Congress is pitiable. Its company may prove to be costly to the SP because of the anti-incumbency and other factors.
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Ordeal by MBA
Life
hasn’t been quite the same for me ever since my 24-year-old son returned home with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) tucked under his patent leather belt. But he has managed to convince me that the expensive education I have provided him hasn’t been altogether an infructuous expenditure. Doing my filial duty to the younger generation, I obsequiously carried his designer luggage into the house as he alighted from his pre-paid taxi. Brusque and business-like, the MBA peremptorily summoned me into his private study. “Dad, “he said, “I wish to examine and systems analyze the household accounts and books. Kindly get a move on.” Impressed by the high-pressure, no-nonsense executive authority of the son and heir, I hesitantly produced a dog-eared student exercise notebook, momentarily expecting an astringent tongue-lashing. The MBA thumbed thru’ the notebook and impatiently tossed it away. “Dad”, he said in a tired voice as though I was a spavined horse whom he had decided to put of its misery, “what’s this gross inefficiency and incompetence? Don’t you know that we’re deep in a complex situation of cost-push inflation and we got to optimise our in-house systems capabilities?” “I see from your books that you’ve bought bitter snake gours for Rs 18.50 a kg and horse radish at Rs 11.75 a kg. Did you call for competitive international bids, conforming to World Bank norms, for the supply of household vegetables?” “I propose to carry out a sweeping re-organisation of the household management structure and set in place computerisation in all functional areas with Monte Carlo game modeling and numerical analysis.” “Now kindly take me into the kitchen.” It was the poor cook’s turn for an acerbic dressing down. “What steps have you taken to optimise fuel efficiency?” The MBA asked in clipped tones, “and is there an in-house performance appraisal system for your garnishing and sauté functions, and is there a First In Last Out and Just in Time system for inventory control for toor dal, tamarind and gingerly oil?” “From now on, I’ll expect optimisation performance from you with accountable norms and with the larger room as the profit centre.” The cook gave notice effective a week for that day. “Now I want to talk to the servant maid, if I may,” the MBA said and she is looking belligerent. “Look, said the MBA, “you aren’t holding the broomstick for optimum performance. According to case history studies in the Harvard Business School, the broomstick should always be in your right hand and the scouring pan in the left, and you’ve got them the wrong way round.” “Is there a performance monitoring system for linen washing functions and I propose to set in place a system evaluation and on a PERT rating of 10 points, you’ll have 9.3 seconds to draw water, 7.2 seconds to get the detergent powder, 5.9 seconds to soak and clothes and…”The maid gave notice effective immediately. What about me, till recently the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the household? Well, the MBA has declared me redundant and he has asked for my immediate resignation to give him a free hand to carry out a radical restructuring of the household management
hierarchy.
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Innocence in wedlock The
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, raises many issues about the role of law enacted by the legislature in reforming society. A critical issue to be addressed is whether child marriages could be checked by annulling those marriages or simply treating them as null and void and by declaring the solemnisation of such marriages as a punishable offence, cognisable and non-bailable. The Act provides that every child marriage, whether solemnised before or after its enactment, shall be voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage. If both the parties to the marriage were children at the time of their marriage; that is, the bride below the minimum age of 18 years and the bridegroom below 21 years, the marriage could be annulled against each other at the instance of either party. The petition for annulment could be filed at any time before the child filing the petition completes two years of attaining majority. If at the time of filing the petition, the petitioner is a minor, it could be filed through his/her guardian or friend along with the Child Prohibition Officer, who is duty bound to prevent solemnisation of child marriages by taking suitable steps. In certain circumstances, however, the minor’s marriage is made void and not just voidable. This is so in situations where a child is sold and made to go through a form of marriage, or where the minor is married and thereafter trafficked/ used for immoral purposes. In February 2008, the Law Commission, in its 205th Report, has made proposals to amend the Act. It said, for instance, that the marriage below 16 years should be made void whereas those between 16 and 18 years should remain voidable, implying that void marriage is one that is null and void, and no decree of the court is required unlike in the case of voidable marriage, to make such a marriage as a ‘no-marriage’ in the eye of law. However, children born out of such marriages in both cases should be treated as legitimate, and the courts should make provisions for custody, maintenance and residence of such children along with their mother until her remarriage. Besides, whoever knowingly performs, conducts or abets any child marriage shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to two years and shall be liable to fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh. The offence of child marriage under the Act, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973, shall be cognisable and non-bailable. The state aiming to curb this social evil by imputing extreme consequences of nullity and imposing high penalty of fine and imprisonment, without doing anything more, is highly suspect. Why should the parents, who were party to child marriage, come forth for annulling the marriage and invite the state’s wrath? The introduction of such measures is understandable only in cases where, for instance, in disguise of child marriage a minor is sold or abused for immoral purposes, which is truly an act of criminality and not just a civil wrong. What is the point in first declaring a child marriage void and then re-marrying them to some other persons after they ceased to be minor? Think of a remarriage of such a person with encumbrances – he or she will be carrying the child from a previously annulled marriage? In this scenario, there is little prospect of emerging anything positive but confusion. It is, perhaps, this stark reality that must have hitherto prevented the legislature to go in for such a precipitant measure as envisaged by the 2005 Act, and further recommended by the Law Commission. This was so when the Child Marriage Restraint Act was enacted by the legislature in 1929. The same reality must have dawned upon Parliament when it amended and codified the law relating to marriage in the shape of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Thus, to say, as the Law Commission puts it, that “by not invalidating any child marriage,” the law “lays down the foundation” for abuse of child brides, is, farther from reality. To recommend lowering the age of marriage from 21 to 18 years for men is again no solution to prevent child marriages. Such a proposal might seem reducing the incidence of child marriages, but only conceptually and not realistically. Moreover, differentiation of age stipulating higher age for males than females for marriage is justified on two counts: one, physiologically girls get mature earlier than boys at least by two to three years; two, in the patriarchal model to which we are wedded, the males are expected to bear the burden of raising and supporting family, and not just attain the capacity to procreate children, and, therefore, they are supposed to be much more mature than they are at 18 years. More often than not, the pervasive practice of child marriages is owing to the sheer ignorance of the masses. And the anti-dote of ignorance is neither nullity nor penalty or punishment. It is education. It is indeed commendable that to sensitise the community on the issue of child marriages and to create awareness of the evil which results from such marriages amongst the masses, the 2006 Act envisages the creation of the position of Child Marriage Prohibition Officer. However, its merit is marred instantly if the same officer is made duty-bound “to collect evidence for the effective prosecution of persons contravening the provisions of this Act.” To role the two opposite roles of a reformer and of a prosecutor into one makes the bearer highly questionable in the eyes of the people. The writer is a former Professor of Law and UGC Emeritus Fellow, Panjab University, Chandigarh
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Crackdown on Gypsies racist ROME – Italy’s controversial decision to fingerprint Gypsies as part of what it said was a crackdown on crime received a sharp rebuke this week from the European Parliament, which declared the campaign distinctly racist. The Italian government knew it was courting criticism when it began fingerprinting and rounding up the oft-targeted minority known also as Roma. But Thursday’s proclamation from the European Union’s chief elected body was an especially embarrassing blow to the 2-month-old right-wing administration of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Italy immediately said it would ignore the European Parliament’s resolution. “Our aim is to put an end to the disgrace of nomad camps,” said Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, member of a small xenophobic party that is part of the ruling coalition. He was referring to the ramshackle settlements where thousands of Gypsy families live around major Italian cities. Maroni and other senior Italian officials said they were attempting to fight the petty crime that is often associated with the Gypsy population and also improve conditions for young Roma children living in squalor. A package of tough security measures that the new government is pushing could remove children from the Roma camps while expelling their parents from the country. The measures immediately alarmed many in Europe because they seem to be targeting an ethnic group and the European Parliament on Thursday agreed to consider the policy. The parliament’s resolution, adopted by a vote of 336-220, urges the Italian authorities “to refrain from collecting fingerprints from Roma, including minors, as this would clearly constitute an act of discrimination based on race and ethnic origin.” Italy’s political opposition and human-rights groups across Europe welcomed the resolution that, while not binding, highlights what they describe as the frighteningly discriminatory nature of the campaign. “It’s an important decision,” said Italian Sen. Emma Bonino, a former European Union official with the opposition Radical Party. “We hope that this vote will help convince some mayors and the interior minister to change their minds.” An estimated 150,000 Gypsies live in Italy, many having come from Eastern Europe. A smaller number come from the former Yugoslavia. Some have lived in Italy for a generation. After several high-profile crimes blamed on Gypsies, the new government launched a crackdown on the itinerant population, sending police into camps to round up individuals and raze their huts and homes. Scores of Gypsies and foreigners were expelled. Some camps were burned by vigilantes, with little effort from officials to stop them. The actions came amid a wider backlash against immigrants who have flowed into Italy in the last decade, altering the demographic landscape in a country more used to sending people abroad than receiving foreign-born. By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
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‘Swiss bank’ accounts bleeding the country Transparency
International India recently exposed how the Indian Government is not seeking information from the German Government about billions of dollars of un-accounted money that belongs to the people of India, lying in Liechtenstein, a small German county. A number of other countries like the USA, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Italy, the UK and Ireland, whose nationals are also included in the same list, are seriously collecting information about their citizens. As per Transparency International, if asked, the German Government has offered to provide information on accounts to various nations the world over including India, free of cost, but India refuses to take the offer. I had foreseen this attitude of the government, pointing out clearly in my book Who Owns CBI: The Naked Truth that, “it will not be easy to take any step in this direction, as the first obstacle will come from Indian elites, who are holding such accounts/assets abroad. They will oppose any such move tooth and nail. But no meaningful fight against corruption, black money and plethora of economic offences can be really successful without such radical measures.” I had attempted the analysis in the context of Switzerland alone and had assessed Indian wealth in that single country at $5 trillion. There are some other well known ‘slush parks’ like St Kitts, Antigua, Bahamas, and Isle of Man that multiply such holdings manifold. Of course, Switzerland remains the roof and crown of the slush parks and if Indian wealth lying there is added and can be brought home, we will turn into one of the top, rich nations on the globe. Indian resources get transferred abroad where these are invested to generate employment and incomes. Other countries develop and prosper at our cost. No wonder Switzerland has the second highest per capita income, with this criminal banking industry in the lead. The holdings abroad cannot be checked as banks cover themselves with the veil of secrecy. However, the slush money arising out of the drug trade is being treated differently. If it is suspected that the money in a bank has some relation with the drug trade, the secrecy laws stand automatically relaxed, as these have been amended to that extent. It was done on the insistence of the big western powers, as drugs are their problem. After the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, money held by terrorists has also been frozen. For countries like India, all economic offenders including the corrupt, as also the cooperating Swiss-bankers, are the ‘Financial Terrorists’ or their harbourers. The major problem of the third world is corruption, and the secrecy laws aid and abet it. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the people of countries like Switzerland are more like receivers of stolen property and are leading a parasitic existence. This hypocrisy does not go well with their famed high stance on morality. They should abandon such laws and make their banking business open and transparent. India should take up this question with Swiss banks, the western world and with all possible international organisations, including the UN, OECD etc. Apart from bank accounts, another dimension is property or other assets that could be purchased abroad. Since the agency of one country cannot conduct investigations in another country, some rules need to be framed so that the particulars of deposits or properties held abroad could be known to the mother country, in the name of whose citizens these may stand. Whenever a bank account is opened by an Indian citizen abroad, or property is purchased, the particulars should be communicated to the Indian authorities. All details should be maintained in a National Property Register. In criminal cases, on instructions from the CBI, the accounts should automatically be frozen, the lockers, the properties and other assets sealed and ultimately these assets be disposed of as per directions of the Indian courts. For obtaining/supplying such information, the ‘dual criminality’ norm may not be insisted upon, as corruption is a crime everywhere, only some technical details may differ. Once this happens, hiding black incomes abroad will become very difficult and practically impossible. The country expects action from the Prime Minister who is revered as an economist, as an academician and as an honest person. It may be argued that the government will fall as most of the elites, including some of the civil servants, also hold such slush. The moot point is whether the PM owes his loyalty to such criminals or to the nation. What if the government of the day falls, the nation will surely rise. The writer was an IPS officer
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