The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Regional divide
Telangana issue haunts the Centre

Seismic waves caused by the Centre’s December 9 statement announcing the initiation of the process for the formation of a separate Telangana state refuse to die down. Its announcement on Friday last of the seven-point terms of reference for the five-member committee on the Telangana issue got mired in a fresh controversy, with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) terming it a “betrayal of people”. The mandate of the committee has been widened to study the demand for a separate state as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of Andhra Pradesh. While the December announcement had come to be seen as a virtual acceptance of the partition of Andhra Pradesh, the bracketing of the two competing demands has moved the goalpost entirely.

The reaction of the pro-Telangana lobby is strident and along expected lines. Congress leaders from the Telangana region are divided. TRS MPs, MLAs and MLCs might resign to precipitate a political crisis. More than that, there is the apprehension of large-scale unrest and agitations in the region. The government has to gear up to meet any such eventuality. The decision to have a separate state or to continue with the present set-up must not be taken with a gun held to the head.

The balancing act was perhaps unavoidable, considering that the demand for a united Andhra Pradesh is equally strong in coastal Andhra and Rayalseema. The committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge, Justice B N Srikrishna, is also to review the developments in the state since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the state. This is to address the grouse of Telangana leaders that the region has been ignored. The committee has been asked to base its report not only on what politicians say but also to consult other organisations of civil society such as industry, trade, trade unions, farmers, women and students. It has been given time till December 31. It is another matter that there are very few panels which submit their reports in time.

JEE under test
IITs must evolve foolproof criterion

Getting admission into an IIT has always been a tall order. Yet few doubted the relationship of merit with its entrance examination. Now an RTI application has opened up a Pandora’s box revealing irregularities in the admission process, seats lying vacant, possible tampering of optical response sheets and much more. What is shocking is that not only students who scored well failed to qualify but also that wards of faculty members did amazingly well in 2006. That procedures related to the entrance examination system of India’s premier institutions could be flawed is a matter of grave concern and calls for immediate correctives.

The IITs have been mooting Joint Entrance Examination reforms for some time. They even considered revising the eligibility criterion. The argument was that it would counter coaching-centric education for in the present system the “coached” students stood a better chance of qualifying. Now it has appeared that the IIT admission process aids coaching institutes — even if inadvertently — in more ways than one. The fact that the IITs publish solutions to the JEE question banks, long after the day of the test, pushes many aspirants towards coaching centres who provide the answers alright but only after students have registered with the coaching centre. This flaw, however, pales in comparison with other discrepancies, including the manner in which JEE cut-offs were finalised in 2006.

The IITs, which have done India proud, cannot afford to be seen as institutions that compromise on excellence. They need to address all problem areas right from faculty crunch that plagues many IITs to the admission process that must be transparent as well as foolproof. The deserving must get their chance to pursue the IIT dream. Besides, the institutes where the percentage of successful candidates is merely 2.6 cannot let their seats lie vacant for procedural lapses. The IIT-JEE reform committee must look into contentious issues and perfect the admission criterion. It will not only be in the interest of lakhs of students who appear for the JEE but also ensure that the reputation of the prestigious IITs does not suffer.

Thought for the Day

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. — Carl Gustav Jung

ARTICLE

From Marja to Pune
India should not fall into Pakistani trap
by K. Subrahmanyam

In pursuance of President Obama’s Af-Pak strategy, the US and coalition forces have begun their major offensive against the Afghan Taliban entrenched in the Marja area of Helmand province. The offensive involves 15,000 troops and is the biggest since the 2001 operations to clear the Taliban out of Afghanistan. As the coalition forces press forward, it is expected that the Taliban fighters will retreat into Pakistani territory as Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar and their forces did in December 2001. This time the US is making it clear that they expect Pakistan to block the Taliban forces on the Durand Line to enable the coalition forces to destroy them and not to allow them to find safe havens in Pakistan.

When Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, Islamabad used the consequent Indian mobilisation under “Operation Parakram” as an excuse to transfer its forces to the eastern border and claim that because of that development it could not stop Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban from having safe havens in Pakistan. It is quite likely Pakistan will play the same game this time also. Presumably, anticipating such a move, US National Security Adviser Gen James Jones paid a visit to Islamabad on the eve of the current offensive. The US is holding back a $2 billion payment due to Pakistan for combat support till the middle of March to put pressure on it not to repeat the earlier trick.

However, Pakistanis are not easily dissuaded from their set ways. As has been widely anticipated in India and the US, the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba has struck in Pune in one of the sites earlier reconnoitered by its US operative, David Headley. The terrorist outrage caused nine casualties and injuries to a number of persons. This is to be considered as the Pakistan Army’s first response to the Marja offensive. In the next few days we should expect stepped-up terrorist attacks on various targets to provoke a major Indian popular demand to respond to the Pakistani provocation. The future targets will be chosen for their prestige and symbolic value, and efforts will be made to cause a large number of casualties. The aim will be to create maximum popular outrage and demand for retaliatory action against Pakistan.

If India were to take retaliatory action, Pakistan will cry to high heavens that since it is under mortal threat from India, all its forces have to be concentrated on its eastern front and it cannot prevent the Taliban fighters from having a safe haven in Pakistan. That is the significance of the Pune terrorist act after a lull of 14 months. This is only the first shot and more are expected to follow in the next few days since Pakistan has to invoke the Indian threat before the Taliban forces are pushed out.

While President Obama has designated five entities — the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda, the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Haqqani network — as the enemies to be disrupted, dismantled and defeated, so far Pakistan has acted only against the Pakistani Taliban. Presently the coalition forces have taken on the Afghan Taliban in a big way and are demanding that Pakistan must act against them as they fall back. This is the moment of truth for the Pakistani Army. The US has adequate reconnaissance capability to monitor how sincerely Pakistan acts to stop the Afghan Taliban and contain them to be decimated by US fire. If Islamabad refuses to stop the Afghan Taliban it will be endangering the US aid flow, vitally necessary to keep Pakistan solvent.

In these circumstances, the probability of the Pakistanis repeating the December 2001 trick and provoking India is very high. Supposing India keeps its cool and does not retaliate, then Pakistan will have no alibi to argue that the Indian threat compelled it to transfer forces to the east and, therefore, it could not act against the Afghan Taliban. Will India be able to keep its cool? The US has set an example. The 9/11 plot was hatched in Pakistan by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani. Money — $100,000 — was sent from Pakistan to the lead hijacker, Mohammed Atta, by the Pakistani Omar Sheikh under instructions from the then ISI chief, Gen Mehmood Ahmed. Since then a number of Lashkar operatives have been arrested in the US for attempting to carry out terrorist plans.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Pakistani authorities before international TV cameras that 75 per cent of terror plots in the UK have trails leading to Pakistan and that included the London subway bombings. Since Pakistan is a nuclear weapon state, the US and the UK are unable to retaliate immediately and they have to be patient to deal with Pakistani terrorism. Meanwhile, they pay large sums of money to Pakistan.

If India does not walk into the Pakistan trap and provide it an alibi then the issue will be joined directly between the Pakistani Army and the US President, Congress and the public.

The latest US Quadrennial Defence Review (QDR) says, “The first (objective) is to prevail in today’s wars” — the first time this objective has appeared in a QDR. “Achieving our objectives in Afghanistan and Iraq has moved to the top of the institutional military’s budgeting, policy and programme priorities. We now recognise that America’s ability to deal with threats for years to come will depend importantly on our success in the current conflicts.”

The US cannot prevail in this war in Afghanistan if it allows Pakistan to get away with an alibi. If that is not to happen India must play it cool and not allow itself to be provoked to initiate any military response, however outrageous the Pakistani terrorist provocation may be. If that can be achieved then the US President and Congress cannot escape from ascribing responsibility to Pakistan if the Afghan Taliban were to have a successful retreat into Pakistan. There are ways of retaliation for India other than a military one. They must be given full consideration.

If Pakistan were to act against the Afghan Taliban in tandem with the US then Islamabad will have taken action against the two largest of the five terrorist entities and the US will be in a position to concentrate all its military capability on the other three terrorist outfits. There are also likely to be the possibilities of estranged terrorist organisations retaliating on Pakistani targets when the Pakistan Army will be compelled to weigh the costs and benefits of using such terrorist outfits as instruments in proxy wars.

No doubt, these issues should have been considered by the government when it decided on the Foreign Secretary-level talks. It is very essential for the country to ensure that jingoistic demands, which will only serve the purposes of the Pakistan Army, are avoided in our public discourse.

MIDDLE

Many facets of relationships
by Ajay Kumar Sharma

I was returning to my office after taking additional charge of Range-I, Chandigarh, from my friend, who had been transferred to Ludhiana. There was nothing abnormal as transfers are part and parcel of the central government services.

While the officer who handed over the charge to me was totally calm and his usual self, I was thoroughly upset and emotional (as he was a very dear friend). I kept my feelings under control till the time I was with him.

As soon as I sat in my car, tears rolled down my eyes and I was literally sobbing for a few seconds. The driver was looking at me through the mirror and was completely bewildered as to what had gone wrong.

I composed myself and wiped my tears. By that time the thought had gone deeper and I was wondering as to what made me cry. Even I had been transferred to many places during my service, some close friends had been left behind, but never had so strong feelings overtaken me before this. Then what was so special about this gentleman officer, the thought of whom going away made me feel like this?

It was Harinder Kumar, popularly known as Harry amongst close friends, who during his tenure as Addl. Commissioner of Income Tax, Chandigarh, had sent shivers down the spines of hundreds of tax evaders. An extremely hardworking, intelligent and upright officer who was passionate about his work. No extreme pressures /lures could influence him while performing his duties. Senior officers respected his knowledge of the law and juniors were in complete awe of him.

He being two years senior to me, we used to discuss many issues together. It was mutual respect, admiration and sometimes the acceptance of differences on various issues that made the bond even stronger. Though we didn’t interact much at the social level, at the official level the trust was complete.

When we were together, I never realised the bonds of friendship had grown stronger. It’s only when the circumstances force you to move away from your loved ones, you realise the real depth of relationships.

On that day I subconsciously realised a new facet of relationships completely different from the usual forms. After gazing at the ceiling of my office room for sometime, I got back to routine work and life. And Harry will be the same “tormenter of tax evaders” wherever he goes!

OPED

Tax holiday for hill states
Industry in Punjab too needs help
by B. S. Ghuman

THE policy of tax holiday for the hill states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is facing a rough weather as the neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are opposing it tooth and nail. The beneficiary states are pursuing the case for extending the industrial package from 2010 to 2013 and finally up to 2020.

Other states are aggressively campaigning either to scrap sops to industry in the hill states or also extend these to industry located in their jurisdiction. The Central Government is caught between these two extreme stances. At this juncture the withdrawal of concessions may be counter-productive as this may jeopardise the prospects of industrial units that have not even started production. In Himachal Pradesh alone around 50 per cent of the units with investment of Rs 3,000 crore fall in this category. Hence, it would be more appropriate to amend the policy so that its benefits may also accrue to the states being adversely affected .

Globally, public policy instruments are used to speed up development in backward regions. In the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund is designed for assisting backward regions. Japan also aims to reduce regional disparity through the ‘Technopolis Programme’ of locating high-tech industries in the backward areas and the ‘Brain-of-Industry Location Policy’ for upgrading local industries.

The government support for industrially backward areas is necessitated to compensate for the ‘market failures’ (i.e. private sector failures) that prevail due to locational and other disadvantages in backward regions.

In India the Central Government has been implementing many programmes of regional policy for developing industrially backward regions. Of these the special package to industries in the form of tax holidays for the hill states has generated lot of heat. The special package includes a tax holiday on account of income tax and excise duty for 10 years from the date of starting of production. The first notification by the Central Government in this regard for J & K state was issued in 2002. In 2003 the package was extended to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Unfortunately, what is happening in India is that the correction of market failure in the form of promotion of industry in backward areas through the federal policy is creating conditions of market failure elsewhere in the form of flight of industrial capital. This misplaced outcome defeats the very purpose of regional policy.

States like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are making a hue and cry against tax sops, which are resulting in the exodus of industry from these states. These states have approached the Central Government either to extend the same industrial package to industries in their jurisdiction or withdraw the same from the neighbouring hill states.

Punjab has also filed a suit in the Supreme Court on the ground of discrimination against the state under Articles 301 and 303 of the Constitution. It is claimed that due to the tax holidays, around 274 industrial units from Punjab have already either shifted to or set up new units having investment of about Rs 3,674 crore to the hill states.

The flight of industrial capital from Punjab has resulted in considerable reduction in the central excise collection from Rs 2,786.46 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 656 crore in 2008-09. Punjab has also witnessed revenue losses on account of the VAT, sales and other taxes due to de-industrialisation.

Recently, the Chief Minister of Punjab has apprised the Prime Minister about hardships faced by industry in Punjab due to the tax holiday in the hill states and solicited his intervention to solve the problem. Earlier, a delegation of industrialists led by the member of Parliament from Ludhiana met the Prime Minister for extending the concessions to industry in Punjab on the pattern of the hill states.

In addition to the efforts of Punjab to convince the Central Government for bringing the state within the purview of industrial package, the state deserves a special economic package on the following grounds also.

First, Punjab has helped the nation immensely to achieve self-sufficiency in foodgrains. Punjab’s farmers who provide bread and butter to the nation are themselves in a serious economic crisis, including declining returns from agriculture and huge indebtedness resulting in farmers’ suicides.

One of the strategies to overcome the agrarian crisis is to shift the sizeable number of workforce unemployed in disguised form in agriculture to industry for gainful employment. This shift will make agriculture profitable for the remaining labour force.

Secondly, Punjab is facing an acute problem of educated unemployed. Educated unemployed youth are becoming drug addicts at an alarming rate. This deadly combination of educated unemployed youth and consumption of drugs may emerge a soft target for the forces which plan to destabilise the country. A boost to industry will employ gainfully the educated youth of Punjab and hence minimise the chances of anti-national forces to lure youth for their ulterior motives.

Thirdly, the political instability in Pakistan and the worsening law and order situation may dampen investment in the border states like Punjab. Other border states except Rajasthan are coastal states and hence may not suffer to the extent of Punjab, as their sufferings are outweighed by the advantages of coastal states. Thus, the economy of Punjab is required to be strong from the national security perspective also.

Fourthly, if the situation improves in Pakistan, a strong Punjab economy can thrive further by reaping the benefits of opening Indo-Pak trade on a larger scale.

Keeping in view the agrarian crisis and the growing incidence of unemployment in Punjab, it is suggested that the Centre Government should mitigate the sufferings of Punjab’s industry. In case the Central Government thinks that extending the tax holiday to Punjab may invite criticism from other states, the Central Government may adopt a differential policy to arrest the exodus of industry from Punjab.

This may include extending the tax holiday to the districts of Punjab which are geographically very close to Himachal Pradesh and J&K; and also to the border districts.

These districts include Ropar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali), Amritsar and Ferozepur. The practice of granting a tax holiday on the district basis already exists. In Gujarat, Kutch district was granted exemption from the central taxes.

Industries in other districts may be exempted from both the Central taxes to the tune of 75 per cent.

The writer is a former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Haiti pauses to catch its breath
by Guy Adams

In tent cities, outside demolished churches, and at the mass graves that have become a symbol of their appalling loss, the people of Haiti paused on Friday to mark the one month anniversary of the natural disaster that killed 230,000 people and left millions more struggling for survival.

The national day of mourning brought the shell-shocked nation together to honour victims of the devastating earthquake, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, flattened much of the capital city, and made an estimated 1.2 million of its citizens homeless.

Priests from Haiti's two official religions, the Catholic and Voodoo faiths, joined Protestant clergymen at yesterday's main remembrance service, held under mimosa trees outside the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince.

They were watched by the 125,000 victims who are now living under makeshift tarpaulins in the nearby park. Like many mourners across the city, they wore black armbands, and sang hymns and gospel music.

The country's president, Réne Préval, whose administration is under increasing political pressure, wept throughout the service. He was comforted by his wife. "Haiti will not die; Haiti must not die," he said.

At 4.35pm local time, the moment the quake struck, Haitians at home and abroad kneeled to pray. They remained silent for 40 seconds, as long as the ground shook that fateful January day.

Friday's anniversary was also marked at hundreds of smaller religious events. Churches in the Petionville suburb were so packed that loudspeakers had to be set up. "All families were affected by this tragedy and we are celebrating the memory of the people we lost," one mourner, Desire Joseph Dorsaintvil, told Associated Press.

The day of mourning allowed the nation to catch its breath, after weeks of chaotic emergency operations. It also provided an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that face aid workers battling to treat the injured and feed, clothe, and provide water to survivors.

Although the immediate crisis has receded, and the largest humanitarian relief effort ever mounted is now underway, millions of refugees will soon have to contend with the hurricane season, which begins in earnest in April.

The government said this week that rains could become the biggest threat to recovery. Flooding will damage already-limited sanitation, and aid workers fear it could turn crowded camps into outdoor sewers.

"There's a massive concern about the possible outbreak of disease, and so we are working to combat that quickly," Aisha Bain of the International Rescue Committee told CNN. "We are working on a large-scale buildup of providing clean water, latrines, showers, hand-washing stations."

The coming rainy season could also affect the long-term success of reconstruction efforts. The European Union has proposed a military mission to step up the construction of shelters, while charities campaign to provide tents.

However Port-au-Prince is running out of space to pitch new tents, which take up more room than makeshift shelters: "Tents are great, but they basically impede the process of economic development and reconstruction," Lewis Lucke, the US special co-ordinator, told CBC news.

Tens thousands of Haitians have meanwhile fled overseas. However some foreign countries have begun turning away refugees, leading to fears from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, that they will return to the country and add to local problems.

"We are concerned about the large numbers of highly vulnerable people, including the injured and separated or orphaned children," the UNHCR said on Friday, "Therefore until such time as people can return safely and sustainability, [we] call on all countries not to return Haitians and to continue granting interim protection on humanitarian grounds."

— By arrangement with The Independent

Chatterati
Retired but not yet tired
by Devi Cherian

Never have the government officers had it so good. In the UPA “sarkar” they never retire. There are so many officers who should have sat at home 16 years back but are still enjoying lucrative postings.

In 1992 M.K. Narayanan retired from the post of I.B. chief. Some have been adjusted in the PMO itself. He was the NSA for five years and now he is the Governor of West Bengal. He has been replaced by another retired officer who is 15 years younger.

Shiv Shankar Menon is another of Manmohan’s blue-eyed boys. T.K.A. Nair, PM’s Principal Secretary, retired 13 years back. But is going strong still.

Five retired secretaries – Rahul Sarin, Satayanand Mishra, A.N. Tiwari, L.K. Joshi and Pratyush Sinha – belonging to the Ministry of Personnel have been posted at different places.

All the three Election Commissioners – Naveen Chawla, S.Y. Quraishi and V.S. Sampat – retired long time back but are still ruling at the top.

Rahul’s ‘Mission Bihar’

Rahul Gandhi has learnt it pays well to hit hard now. No more going soft on the Opposition. Rahul created waves in Bihar by challenging Nitish Kumar at his press conference. He emphatically raised issues like corruption and money spent on development of Bihar.

Lalu used to criticise Nitish, but Rahul was not soft in Nitish’s home turf at all. He emphasised that the money allocated for schools, villages and NREGA is being absorbed by middlemen and the Central Government is not giving any money as there is no guarantee that it will reach the people.

Rahul’s trip is an indication that the Congress will fight aggressively in Bihar. And he has given the green signal to his people there by being the first to attack. The Congresswalas’ body language has changed. They believe that their party is headed for better times, given the response of the people, particularly youth, to their young leader.

In the past 12 years when the party allowed itself to be dominated by Lalu, Congressmen remained content playing the second fiddle. When the Congress was part of the coalition government headed by Rabri Devi, nobody from the party dared to question Lalu over any of his decisions.

Rahul said that the alliance with Lalu was a mistake. Congressmen feel that they have to stand on their feet without Lalu’s crutches. It performed disastrously in the Lok Sabha polls but its decision to go it alone gave the party men the much-needed boost.

The Congress’ remarkable turnaround in Uttar Pradesh in the last general election under Rahul’s leadership also made them realise that similar results, if not better, could be possible in Bihar. It was under a well thought-out strategy that Rahul launched his “Mission Bihar” this month. Rahul’s visit was an unqualified success in the sense that he was not only able to draw youth but also forced his opponents to sit up and take notice.

New boss, new style

The BJP office is witnessing the effects of a regime change. Nitin Gadkari has changed the whole lot of the old guard. Most of his new team is from Nagpur, his home constituency.

To make their presence felt, they are regularly shouting “Purani style bhool jaoo” (forget your old style). Seems like a new slogan. However small the power shift, everyone seems to be falling in line.

The old guys are a bit insecure and are playing the old game of wait and watch. It seems that this new president is a tough nut to crack. He has the right people backing him and the approach till now is diplomatic.

But he is a smooth operator and never misses anything big or small. He is willing to be respectful to his elders but is firm on his stand. But the old-timers are not going to sit quiet for long.