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Return
of FIIs Disclosure
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War
against Maoists
Cops as
‘footballs’
When a
pickle goes rancid
Media
under attack A quiet revolution in
Japan Health
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Disclosure of assets
The
Punjab State Information Commission’s order requiring IPS officers serving in the state to furnish a statement of their assets to anyone seeking such information under the Right to Information Act deserves to be welcomed. It is to the credit of advocate and RTI activist H.C. Arora that despite having been refused such information by the DGP office on grounds that it would amount to “unwarranted invasion of privacy of individual”, he did not give up. That his appeal to the commission was a clincher is cause for satisfaction particularly because there is a growing feeling among people at large that senior bureaucrats, especially those belonging to the IAS and IPS, are not called to account by a system of governance that is of dubious merit. There is no reason why Mr Arora’s pending appeal to the commission for disclosure of assets of IAS officers should not also be acceded to. Indeed, Punjab has reason to be concerned over the record of its elite civil services. A list submitted by the Punjab government at the behest of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April 2008 had revealed that criminal cases, vigilance enquiries and departmental proceedings were pending against 25 IAS officers and 10 IPS officers in the state. Despite inquiries being ordered into charges against them, the officers have been given plum postings. Given the systemic shield the IAS and IPS officers have raised for themselves, protection of one another’s interests within the fraternity and their clout with the political leadership, it is hardly surprising that they often manage to escape punitive action. Being well versed with the functioning of the complicated official machinery and cumbersome rules and regulations, they know the escape routes all too well. Their suspension is rare and conviction still difficult. It would be a happy day when transparency and accountability are built into the system in regard to the elite services. Punitive action must then follow without fear or favour. However, until that happens, there is nothing to stop the erosion in the credibility of these services.
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War against Maoists
The
Union Home Ministry’s advertising campaign against left-wing extremists, launched this week, signals a significant shift in the three-decade-old war of attrition between the state and the rebels. By describing the Naxalites as nothing but “cold-blooded murderers” in the first advertisement of the series, the government has indicated a definite toughening of its stand against the Maoists, who would earlier get dismissed as a small group of “misguided youth”. Decks are evidently being cleared and public opinion softened before an all-out offensive against the outlaws begins. Realisation has clearly dawned that the Naxalites today are a far more organised and cohesive force and enjoy more support from sections of civil society than was hitherto suspected. Advertising on such a scale is certainly a fresh experiment being tried by the government in its war against the Naxalites. But such exercises have not been entirely new. State governments have tried in the past to sensitise people by putting up plays, advertising in newspapers, etc, in order to expose the barbaric colours of the rebels. Governments have also offered attractive surrender and rehabilitation packages to wean away the hard-core rebels. None of this worked in the past. It remains to be seen, therefore, how effective the present advertising campaign turns out to be. While the government gets ready to crush the Naxalites, silence the critics and shame human rights activists, it is necessary to sound a word of caution. The Naxalites, who take up arms against the state, will and must face the full might of the state. But there are a large number of poor villagers in all the affected states who have often collaborated with the Naxalites reluctantly, largely because they were left to fend for themselves by the state all these years. These are the people who have largely borne the brunt of anti-Naxalite operations so far while armed and radical Maoists escaped the dragnet. It is necessary, therefore, that the government moves with extreme caution and provides enough time and warning for the innocent and fence-sitters to escape before the operation. Such a move should also help in building up public opinion in favour of the offensive.
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What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried? — Abraham Lincoln
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Cops as ‘footballs’ THE Home Minister used picturesque but blunt language while addressing assembled Directors-General of Police last week. He chastised them for allowing their officers to be kicked around with impunity like footballs because they had failed to establish Police Establishment Boards to make postings and transfers as recently advised by the Centre. Transfers have been used as a form of punishment, with officers being moved from post to post, sometimes within the space of a few weeks or months, even days, thus undermining the system and disrupting morale. This has been going on for years as a device for harassing and punishing honest officials and privileging favourites. Policing suffers. Crime flourishes. Politicians wish to rule the roost and operate a government of men and not of laws. Why did the Centre dawdle so long in the matter of implementing police commission reports, including the Supreme Court’s directives? Now that it has woken up to its responsibility, it needs to crack down hard and withhold police grants if minimal reforms are not carried out by errant states, notwithstanding the policing being in the State list. More purposefully, the Centre should introduce the full panoply of reforms in Delhi and other Union Territories which are directly under it. Unless the Centre sets the pace, the states will not follow. Mere homilies will not do. Another step forward was registered last week when the Centre responded to the Chief Justice of India’s statement that the way to fight corruption was to confiscate the properties of those convicted in such cases. The Law Minister took the cue and added that as recommended by the Administrative Reforms Commission, which he had headed, the Centre would consider amending Articles 309, 310 and 311 of the Constitution to facilitate the prosecution of civil servants and do away with the current requirement for prior permission. Of 153 cases awaiting sanction for prosecution, 72 have been pending for periods between one and more than three years. Delay is often tantamount to denial and while it is true honest officers must be protected from harassment, the prior sanction rule, or “single directive” as it is known, has been abused. Coupled with a Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill, implementation of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act and whistleblower and victim protection legislation, we should be able to deal more effectively with corruption. Here again the Centre needs to bestir itself to send an instrument of ratification of the UN Convention on Corruption which it signed nearly two years ago and incorporate its provisions in national law. This has been pending as no one seems to be able to identify the nodal ministry that must act. Cynics suggest that the real reason could be that powerful political and bureaucratic forces do not wish to see such potent and far-reaching instruments in the hands of the government. Lax and corrupt administration coupled with weak policing is among the reasons why Naxalism flourishes. The Prime Minister told the DG (Police) conclave that the Maoists remain a pervasive and deeply disturbing security and development threat. The Maoists have declared war on the state and have been emboldened to strike at will in certain zones, displaying increasing sophistication in their tactics and weaponry. They are also trying to make common cause with all manner of insurgent and underground formations. Steps are being taken to enhance counter-Naxal capabilities but, as is well understood, while maintaining law and order has its rightful place, socio-economic reforms must kick in. This remains a weak link and a reading of some Governors’ annual reports on Fifth Schedule areas (obtained through the RTI process) offers no reassurance. The Constitution enjoins Governors to submit an annual report to the President for the “peace and good government “of these areas. The latter in turn may issue appropriate directives for the better administration of these areas. It would appear that the Governors have no independent mechanism to discharge this function and are entirely dependent on the state administrations. The state’s Tribes Advisory Councils come out as weak instruments. The Andhra TAC, for example, was summoned in 2007 to consider the annual reports for the five preceding years, in clear violation for the constitutional requirement. There is in these “governors reports” some bald and routine narration of facts but no analysis, few recommendations and no reference in the Andhra, Orissa and Maharashtra reports to the Naxal problem or specific socio-economic programmes or to PESA (the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act ). The reports appear pretty worthless and constitute a fraud on the Constitution. The Governors, Central and state governments, the state legislatures and Parliament are all equally complicit, and the Fifth Schedule has been reduced to a tamasha. The so-called austerity drive, too, has been poorly handled as a short-term gimmick. Austerity is the wrong word. Bureaucrats, ministers and politicians need to avoid ostentation while being enabled to function efficiently and with dignity. Italian marble, vaastu toilets and extravagant living constitute vulgar exhibitionism. Ministers and ex-MPs clinging on to their former bungalows should simply not be countenanced and those trying to pull rank should be dealt with firmly. Each defaulter says, “What about the others?” The answer is to deal strictly with all, starting with the highest. The example set, others will soon fall in
line.
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When a pickle goes rancid POLITICIANS think they are like vintage wine that matures only with age – the older the better. That is why they do not want to fix a retirement age in their case. Rather, they continue to be eager to hold the reins even when beyond 80, whereas all others are asked to hang their boots by the time they are 60. To remain in circulation, they are always on the lookout for new bottles while wielding or dreaming of power. But former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has put his party supremo L K Advani in an entirely different jar, comparing him with “rancid pickle” instead. The analogy is sure to give the perennial Prime Minister-in -waiting a peculiarly sour taste. To be called pickled would have been bad enough. But rancid pickle really raises a stink in the nostrils. When the pickle reaches this stage, it is not only inedible, but is also dangerous to keep at home. The only option is to throw it out at double quick. Arun Shourie, Yashwant Singh and others of their ilk would be too glad to do the spring cleaning in their party, although they are themselves pickled in jars kept out in the verandah. Nothing wrong really about being on preservatives. That is what keeps politicians from rotting, unlike fresh vegetables. But there are set rules about storing all pickles that have to be followed meticulously. They need to be put out in the sun on a regular basis. Mr Advani was so busy making a place for himself in the sun that he ignored this mandatory requirement. Moisture can be particularly bad for pickles because it causes mould to grow. The pickle a la Advani had started becoming rancid right since the time of Babri demolition. What happened in Gujarat made things worse. Only the pouring of extra oil and vinegar by spin doctors kept the inevitable at bay. Water is guaranteed to ruin a pickle. In Advani’s case, the Jinnah remark was like the pouring of cold water. If that was only a glassful, the recent general election setback was a full bucket. Once that soaking had taken place, Mr Advani should have realised that the “use by” date had come and gone. He ignored it and has only himself to blame for what acidic comments he is having to hear. But whatever Mr Parrikar may say, we have no tradition of throwing out anything, rancid or not. Recycling is what we specialise in. General Election 2014 is not too far, after all. It is not known whether the BJP — or the RSS — has really evolved a recipe for recycling rancid
pickle.
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Media under attack
From
lowly politicians to high-level policymakers and strategists, all have begun to aim their guns at the Indian media, particularly the electronic media, for sensationalising events and not helping the government deal with sensitive matters in its own quiet way. A writer, who has more than his share of space in the media, laments: “Chinese military unhappy with Indian media.” Is it such a disaster that the Chinese military is unhappy with something in India, having made India unhappy for decades? In Kerala, the ruling party is uncomfortable with the media, which is accused of parallel investigations, throwing the impartial police investigations, involving the Home Minister himself, out of gear. It is alleged that young anchors and reporters know nothing about anything and they put out stories without checking sources and backgrounds and without hearing the other side of the story. The media is the villain, which is allegedly causing internal and external turmoil. Blaming the media is an ancient pastime, but it was easier when reports in the print media could be denied, except when an odd reporter produced an audio tape. But today statements can be replayed at will, making denial a hard option. The only escape clause is the attribution of motives. Since the ship of state leaks at the top in diverse directions, the media is advised to exercise restraint. If the top brass cannot keep its mouth shut, the media should be shut out. The latest attack on the media began with the coverage of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai. The virtual spectacle of evil was there for all to see, but the blame has been put on the media for giving clues to the terrorists and their minders in Pakistan by covering the developments live. The charge is that the live telecast helped the terrorists to execute their plans. Kasab and company had no time to watch TV and their minders in Pakistan certainly had other sources to tell them what was happening. In such a masterly operation, care would have been taken to station agents to report events to them. The answer was not to preach to the media, but to ensure that no one was given access to the sites of attack. Here was a situation where people were camping outside the Taj with food vendors having a field day. How would the media miss such an opportunity to bring the story live to the living rooms? But the knee-jerk reaction was to criticise the media for being unpatriotic and irresponsible. Even a code of conduct was devised for the media. The code of conduct should have been prescribed for the security authorities to restrict access to the area. Even more amazing is the lament that the media is exaggerating the Chinese threat to India. There are any number of instances of China encircling India with the specific purpose of countering our development and international profile. Pakistan and Myanmar are nothing but pawns in this Chinese strategy. The Chinese moves to strengthen its claims in Arunachal and Ladakh militarily and politically are there for all to see. The effort to block ADB assistance to an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh marked a new beginning in terms of diplomatic pressure. Reports of Chinese incursions are not manufactured in press rooms, but officially given out by the defence authorities. The comments of the retiring Naval Chief about the Chinese threat were not made in jest. How could the media afford not to take note of these developments and reach the appropriate conclusions? It was the External Affairs Minister, who appeared unrealistic when he tried to play down the Chinese military and diplomatic actions against India. China is fully aware of the nature of the Indian media and no harm was done by the media playing it up and the minister playing it down. The media has the right to inform the public and it is for the government to give the right assessment at the right time. An incident involving a cargo plane from the UAE was reported by the media. The plane had landed in Kolkata en route to Beijing and the normal requirement of declaring the cargo was not met. A routine inspection revealed that the cargo was lethal weapons. The media is being faulted for reading too much into this incident, which embarrassed the UAE as well as China. A friendly country sending arms and ammunition to an unfriendly neighbour through India was not without immense news value. There was nothing wrong in the UAE and China being asked to explain what was clearly a breach of international norms in air transport. The government itself did not give a credible explanation about the incident except to indicate that the arms were being returned to Beijing after a show in the UAE. The information that the two countries have such cooperation is valuable for India. Blacking out such information from the public was not an option to be exercised by the media. It is the duty of the media to bring to light aberrations in international relations to enable the government to deal with them appropriately. In fact, the media blitz gives the government a good reason to make our friends and foes answerable to their behaviour. As long as stories are not manufactured, these should be welcomed and investigated. To close the eyes of the media or to restrain it is to let a valuable asset to go unutilised. How hyperactivity of the media helps in international negotiations was demonstrated during the three years of debate on the India-US nuclear deal. Critics of the government got as much media space as the supporters did and the charges made in the media must have helped our negotiators to secure better terms from their US counterparts. Recently, one of the virulent critics of the nuclear deal confessed that many of his articles were written in the Atomic Energy Commission to keep the heat on. He had stopped writng about it once he was assured that we had got a good deal. Our print and electronic media are doing a fabulous job in terms of reporting and analysing events. They make mistakes frequently and even mislead the public. But they are legitimate instruments of opinion making and they should not be restricted in any way. The state should learn to keep its secrets and also step in if there is misinformation. Let us not lose the asset we have in a vibrant media network on the plea that only balanced and accurate stories should be put
out. The writer is a former Ambassador and a member of the National Security Advisory Board, New Delhi
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A quiet revolution in Japan Some
revolutions bring about a dramatic change in government without general strikes or fierce street demonstrations. Such a revolution just took place in Japan, where half a century of almost uninterrupted conservative rule under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) abruptly ended with the recent elections. In its place, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will try to establish a European-style labor-party government. DPJ-led governments will probably be in power for close to a decade, if not longer. It is unlikely that Japan will go socialist under the DPJ, though the party's largest source of support is the 6.8 million-member Rengo labor confederation. Nevertheless, the coming era is likely to bring a paradigm change in how benefits are doled out by the political system. An op-ed in English by the new Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, caused a stir with its anti-globalization statements and passages declaring that Japan should pursue political independence in between the United States and China. The column left some wondering what had become of the Japan-U.S. security alliance. Hatoyama said Wednesday that he plans to change his country's "somewhat passive" relationship with the United States and would work with President Obama to "create an environment where we can both frankly state our opinions." There is not yet reason to think the U.S.-Japan relationship is about to be wholly overhauled. Read in Japanese, Hatoyama's column is clearly not meant to provide great insights into his thinking. The whole essay is rather abstract, in effect challenging U.S. power and influence in the world without really meaning it. Hatoyama is an idealistic and sensible man. As prime minister he needs to remember that his words will now have an international audience and that rhetoric permissible and understandable within the context of Japanese politics is sometimes less clear or even incomprehensible outside it. When Hatoyama addresses the U.N. General Assembly and participates in the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh next week, he must assure the world that Japan will have continuity in its foreign policy. Last month's electoral upset was not a DPJ victory. It was an LDP defeat, brought about by the Liberal Democrats' incredible self-destruction. The LDP has been piling up domestic policy failures for years. But the LDP's foreign policy, based on a strong Japan-U.S. alliance, has preserved Japan's security and prosperity for the past half-century. Hatoyama must realize that he cannot dismiss this policy. Numerous polls show, for one thing, that the Japanese people do not want him to. Second, there is no basis on which to build a collective security arrangement in Asia. Japan cannot choose unarmed neutrality (like Costa Rica) or armed neutrality. The only way to guarantee Japan's security is through the steadfast Japan-U.S. security alliance. Every Japanese leader in the post-World War II era has been confronted by this inescapable truth. What Japan needs now is for the LDP to become a proper opposition party and revive itself. The LDP has a fundamental faith in markets and emphasizes economic growth. It should return to its conservative roots and emphasize that it is the party with credible policies geared to the establishment of a free, open society. A true conservative party would face the reality that Japan's economic reforms must be extended, not rescinded, without regard to the profits or losses of individual sectors of the economy. The DPJ, meanwhile, aims to transform Japan into a Fabian socialist society of generous social welfare, with an emphasis on the redistribution of wealth. If there is healthy competition between these views, there is a decent chance that Japan can put an end to its longtime political stagnation. If competition fails to take root and Japan reverts to its previous inactive politics, then the United States is likely to forgo shared "values" of democracy and instead accelerate the establishment of a "G-2" with China, with the two giants deciding between them the fate of the Asia-Pacific region. Neither Japanese party wants that. To Japan's benefit, the DPJ has a better chance of improving Tokyo's relations with the rest of Asia than did the LDP. This improvement need not come at the cost of Japan's relations with the United States, a sacrifice that no Asian government wants anyway. The issue at the heart of the rapprochement will be the history of World War II. Japan should not rely on the judgments of the war's victors at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Reexamination of the past must be done by Japan. The DPJ, representing the weak, will be well placed to do this job. If Hatoyama is able to lead a reconciliation process, then last month's electoral upset will have opened an uplifting chapter in Japan's
history. — By arrangement with LA Times-Washington Post
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Health Women
make safer doctors than men, according to the UK's largest study of medical performance. They are less likely to be investigated over concerns about their behaviour, clinical skills or conduct and are significantly less likely to be suspended or excluded from work than their male colleagues. An analysis of almost 5,000 doctors and dentists referred to the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS) over the past eight years because of worries about their performance shows a strong gender imbalance. Around 800 doctors and 100 dentists are referred each year. The study found that psychiatrists, obstetricians and GPs were most likely to arouse concern about their performance. The NCAS was set up in 2001 following a series of high-profile scandals in the 1990s. One of the most notorious involved Rodney Ledward, a hospital consultant who styled himself the "fastest gynaecologist in the west" and was struck off the medical register in 1998 after a series of botched operations. Ledward, who died in 2000, was later the subject of a public inquiry which reported that he injured scores of women. To protect patients from doctors like Ledward, the NCAS provides advice and support to doctors in difficulty, formal assessment where the problem is more serious, and suspension and exclusion in the most severe cases. A report published on Tuesday shows that 873 women were referred to the service over the eight-year period, compared with 3,635 men. Women comprised only 20 per cent of the referrals but make up 40 per cent of the workforce. In the most serious cases, 50 women hospital doctors were excluded from work, compared with 290 men. Among GPs, 29 women were excluded compared with 200 men. Two referrals in three concerned clinical skills but half also raised concerns about behaviour. One in four referrals was for health reasons, including depression and addiction to drink or drugs. Peter Old, chief author of the report, said that psychiatrists worked in teams, attended mental health tribunals and could be "subject to more scrutiny" than their colleagues, which might account for the high referral rate. Black and Asian doctors who qualified overseas were also more likely to be referred to the NCAS than white UK-trained colleagues. But black doctors who qualified in the UK were not more likely to be referred, suggesting there was not wide discrimination on grounds of race. NCAS said that it would keep this under close review, adding: "The service should examine how practitioners who qualified outside the UK should be supported." At the end of 2007-8, a total of 122 doctors were suspended or excluded, including seven hospital specialists and 15 GPs suspended for more than two years, most on charges of misconduct. Where a doctor is suspended on full pay, costs of replacing them and meeting legal and adminsitrative charges can amount to £500,000, Dr Old said. The figures show that the average length of exclusions for hospital specialists shortened between 2006-7 to 30 weeks, but it lengthened for GPs to 55
weeks. — By arrangement with The Independent
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