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Indo-Saudi ties
Social sector push |
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Challenge of HIV care
Agriculture in the budget
Fida on Maqbool
Bihar coaching institutes court controversy
Pakistan should shun Afghan extremists
Dalits assert their identity in Punjab
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Indo-Saudi ties
India’s
relations with Saudi Arabia are set to scale new heights in the days to come with the successful three-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh. Dr Manmohan Singh and Saudi King Abdullah on Sunday inaugurated a “new era of strategic partnership” by signing 10 agreements covering different areas, including an extradition treaty, scientific and technical cooperation and transfer of sentenced prisoners. The customary declaration issued at the end of the visit had it that the two emerging economies were keenly interested in intensifying their economic, cultural, social and scientific cooperation. Interestingly, the cause of fighting terrorism figured prominently during the discussions between the two sides. The Saudis have been looking for investment opportunities in India for some time, particularly after the emergence of an anti-Arab sentiment in the West. This was one of the reasons why the Saudi King visited New Delhi in 2006. Today there is ample scope for investment by Saudi Arabia in India. Saudi entrepreneurs can explore investment opportunities in India in construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, telecommunications, tourism, etc, as pointed out by Dr Manmohan Singh. They will be gainers by parking their funds in the fast growing Indian economy, which has shown much resilience during the global recession. Saudi Arabia fulfils a quarter of India’s oil needs, but the time has come to change the character of their bilateral trade. Indian investment in the richest West Asian nation is currently of the order of $2 billion, but it may go up substantially once they move towards having a comprehensive energy partnership, as is expected now. India is capable of playing a major role in speeding up the overall development of the oil kingdom. The response of the Saudi Arabian government and businessmen shows that they are enthusiastic about having better relations with India. They have their grievances like multiple-entry visas which can be taken care of easily. Close relations with Riyadh can help New Delhi in mounting pressure on Pakistan to go whole hog against terrorist outfits like the Lashkar-e-Toiba, responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai attack and the recent Pune blasts. A change in Saudi attitude towards India can also prevent Pakistan from misusing the Organisation of Islamic Conference for its anti-India propaganda.
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Social sector push
Committed
to the goal of inclusive development, it is only in the fitness of things that the social sector has received the second highest plan outlay in the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Social sector spending has been increased, representing 37 per cent of the total outlay. This massive increase, especially the higher allocation for the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is likely to benefit backward classes. The substantial budgetary support — 50 per cent more than the previous year — to Ministries of Minority Affairs and Women and Child Development too is welcome. While both education and health stand to gain, the increase is not enough. Time and again, the government has reiterated its commitment towards the development of health and education sectors. However, its resolve has not been matched with budgetary outlays this year. With the Right to Education, that requires about Rs 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years, to become effective by April 1, school education should have got a greater budgetary impetus. Higher education too has not received the necessary attention as it did last year. Realising the paucity of medical professionals, the allocation for human resources on health has increased from Rs 62 crore in the previous budget to Rs 323 crore. Yet spending on health has increased marginally by about 14 per cent and is a far cry from the promised 2 per cent of the GDP. Though India has been increasing its allocation on the social sector, this spending as compared to developed nations is rather low. Money should not become a constraint in social sector spending for markets cannot protect the interests of the marginalised. At the same time, allocation of money is not enough. The government has to plug in leakages and wastages in the schemes as pointed out by the Economic Survey 2009-10. Every single rupee allocated should also mean every rupee utilised for the purpose for which it is meant. Besides, the government, which has made education a fundamental right, should ensure higher outlays for both education and health, keeping into account inflationary offset.
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Challenge of HIV care
Manipur, one of the six HIV high-prevalence states in the country, continues to face many challenges in providing proper health care to its HIV infected patients. Besides dearth of professionals and lack of quality care available at Anti Retroviral Therapy centres, there are other problems affecting its healthcare system. In fact, Manipur is not the only north-eastern state where the situation has been found grim. In the small north-eastern state of Nagaland too intravenous drug abuse has led to the spread of the HIV. Even though the incidence of people living with HIV/ AIDS has come down in India in recent years the prevalence is concentrated among high-risk groups. Intravenous drug users sharing needles is one of the reasons for the HIV transmission. By the end of 1980s, the rapid spread of HIV was observed among IDUs in three north eastern states that is Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, bordering Myanmar which is part of the “Golden triangle” of drug route. Though in Nagaland, the HIV prevalence among injecting drug users came down from 39 per cent in 1994 to 1.5 per cent in 2007, the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society had admitted in 2008 that it has a long way to go to fight the epidemic. In Manipur, the drug use is rampant and figure for HIV positive stands at 33,403. While there is an urgent need to control the HIV epidemic among the intravenous drug users, there has to be better access to health care. The correlation between HIV and Hepatitis C, too, needs to be looked into. According to a survey 92 per cent of the HIV positive people in Imphal were affected with Hepatitis C, the vaccination for which is exorbitantly expensive. Besides, what is true for the rest of India — stigmatisation of the HIV infected — is a dismal reality in north-eastern states as well, preventing many from revealing their HIV status. While the HIV Bill could ensure basic rights of the HIV infected, awareness drives emphasising on “life beyond HIV” need to gather momentum. The challenge of HIV care has to be fought on many fronts. Proper testing. anti-retroviral drug supply, prevention of mother to child transmission as well as de-stigmatisation of the HIV infected need equal attention.
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All theory, dear friend, is grey, but the golden tree of actual life springs ever green. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Agriculture in the budget
Union
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, for the first time in recent years, has laid out a road-map for agricultural recovery and progress based on integrated attention to the conservation of the ecological foundations essential for sustainable agriculture, cultivation based on the principles of conservation and climate-resilient farming, consumption with attention to food safety and quality, and farmer-centric commerce. For the first time also, he has addressed the issue of increasing feminisation of agriculture by proposing a Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana with an initial outlay of Rs 100 crore. The four-pronged strategy outlined by him relates to agricultural production, reduction in wastage, credit support and a thrust in post-harvest technology and food processing. For defending the gains in the heartland of the Green Revolution — Punjab, Haryana and Western UP — a sum of Rs 200 crore has been provided. For extending the gains to Eastern India — Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Eastern UP, West Bengal and Orissa — a sum of Rs 400 crore has been allocated. In order to increase the production of pulses and oilseeds, Mr Pranab Mukherjee has provided Rs 300 crore for organising 60,000 pulses and oilseed villages in rainfed areas during this year. If this programme is implemented properly by the ICAR and the agricultural universities in the states we can see the beginning of a pulses and oilseeds revolution of the kind originally envisaged by Rajiv Gandhi in the eighties. A substantial step-up of credit availability in the rural areas has been proposed, the target being Rs 3,75,000 crore. Also the effective rate of interest for farmers who repay their short-term crop loans as per the schedule will be 5 per cent per annum. I am glad slowly we are progressing towards the target of 4 per cent interest rate proposed by the National Commission on Farmers. The food processing sector has been given support for developing an efficient infrastructure. The Finance Minister has mentioned that a draft food security Bill be placed in the public domain soon. There are also proposals for establishing a strong supply chain for perishable farm produce. Also there will be a concerted attempt to convert primary produce into value added products. Incentives have been provided for relevant farm mechanisation and for establishing cold storages and other facilities for the preservation of perishable commodities. These steps should help improve productivity and profitability of horticulture, animal husbandry and aquaculture. While a road-map has been indicated in the budget, the achievement of the goals will be possible within the very small amounts provided in the budget only if the state governments can introduce a “deliver as one” approach with reference to the implementation of different projects. For example, substantial outlays are available under several ongoing programmes like the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, the National Horticulture Mission, the National Food Security Mission, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the National Rural Livelihood Mission. If such an approach involving appropriate changes both in attitude and action is not adopted, the small amount of money allotted for the above mentioned purposes will not yield the anticipated results. Another issue which needs careful consideration is the policy regarding the opening up of retail trade. Mini-retail and small holder farming are the largest self-employment enterprises in our country. Creating jobs is the greater challenge facing us now. Therefore, the opening up of retail trade to large companies, whether national or multinational, needs to be taken up only on the basis of an employment impact analysis. Another issue which needs to be considered in its totality is the impact of the rise in the price of diesel and petrol. This will have serious implications for all sectors of the economy and particularly for the farm sector. During 2009, which was a severe drought year, Punjab and Haryana farmers increased rice production to a level higher than the previous year by resorting to ground water irrigation. This involved a large investment by farmers in the purchase of diesel for pumping water. It is because of this effort that we have now a comfortable reserve in rice. Unfortunately, irrigation, the most important input for agriculture, does not find special mention in the budget speech, although provision would have been made under Bharat Nirman. Finally, it is high time the sentiments expressed by the Finance Minister in relation to post-harvest technology and particularly grain storage were converted into action without delay. In April-May 2010, the Food Corporation of India and other agencies may have to buy over 20 million tonnes of wheat in Northwest India. Even the existing stocks of wheat and rice are not stored properly. It will be sad if during a period of hardship as a result of food inflation we should allow wastage of precious grains. The Finance Minister’s recipe for agricultural renewal thus involves convergence and synergy among numerous ongoing programmes. It will be useful if the Prime Minister and the National Development Council initiate as soon as possible the steps needed for such a reform in
governance. The writer is a member of the
Rajya Sabha.
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Fida on Maqbool I
was bubbling with excitement. My other half admonished me — you are behaving like a schoolgirl. Journalists often live in reflected glory and our greatest moments of high are brush with celebrities. And here I was about to meet the most celebrated and gifted artist India has produced: none other than the legendary Maqbool Fida Husain. Of course, I was not only thrilled but also a bundle of nerves. For who hadn’t heard of the eccentricities of the artist? Who knows which query of mine might ruffle his feathers? But there he was, living up to the legend that he is. Barefoot, of course, dressed in impeccable expensive international brand nevertheless. Guess what, to my utmost surprise, he was only too eager to satiate our curiosity. Even the oft-repeated enquiries didn’t seem to rankle him at all. On his muse of those days Madhuri Dixit too he had much to say and made no bones about his admiration for her beauty and talent. A day after, at Punjab Kala Bhavan the man who believes that if Pandit Bhimsen Joshi can sing in public why can’t a painter paint in full public glare, created magic. From one single stroke his painting began and soon grew into a powerful work, perhaps even a masterpiece. Of course, critics scoffed later — this wasn’t quite a masterpiece. In fact, as long as he lived in India he sure has had his share of detractors who thought it were his publicity-seeking antics that earned him a permanent name in the annals of art history. But that those detractors would one day find an echo and acquire an ominous hue and have him literally banished out of the country, the idea itself was ludicrous. For years now Husain has been living in exile. Call it self-imposed or a forced one, he has not come back. In between, there have been heated debates on his return. In a nation where organisers are afraid to display his works for fear of vandalism by the same intolerant tribe who attacked his Gufa Art Gallery in Ahmedabad and took umbrage at his painting Hindu goddesses and later Bharat Mata embroiling him in a litany of cases, can the government guarantee his protection? Yet, all this while even a worst-case scenario visualiser like me has ever doubted that ultimately he will not return. The latest news that Husain who has given the Indian art its unique identity and placed it firmly and squarely on the global map may no more be Indian citizen and has opted for Qatar nationality is benumbing. Today, both the girl in me and the sensitive being are dismayed. Can someone assure me that Husain will certainly return to his roots, to the soil where his art has not only blossomed but also inspired a whole generation of artists? Whether India reclaims its artist that has done it proud more than once, or not, I certainly want to regain my schoolgirl excitement again. In the vast galaxy of Indian artists no other artist can excite imagination and a journalist’s copy better than the 95-year old artist who himself retains child-like innocence and enthusiasm for
life.
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Bihar coaching institutes court controversy In Patna it is not uncommon to find people running coaching institutes to have armed, private bodyguards. While some of them obviously fear kidnapping for ransom, a few are apprehensive of attacks instigated or engineered by rival institutions. So fierce is the competition among them and yet such is the mad rush among students for admission in them that thousands of such institutes have come up defying the odds in virtually every urban or semi-urban area of the country. Indeed, the last two decades have witnessed a steady proliferation of coaching institutes. So much so that Businessworld last year estimated coaching institutes in the country to make up a Rs. 30,000 crore industry. The Associated Chamber of Commerce (ASSOCHAM), while urging the government to bring coaching institutes under the income tax and the service tax net, estimated that just 100 coaching institutes in the country, preparing students for IITs and IIMs alone make Rs 10,000 crore annually. That coaching institutes are today a lucrative business proposition is evident in the enviable infrastructure and the number of buses boasted by some of them, the salary they pay to the teachers, which is often five times or more of what teachers would receive in a government school, and the manner in which some of the institutes have grown into private universities. Indeed, an income tax 'raid' on the premises of just four such institutes in Patna in May last year had led to the seizure of one crore rupees in cash alone, although none of the promoters paid any income tax. What has fuelled this surge is the insatiable hunger for tips to crack competitive entrance tests for professional courses. The gap between the demand and the seats has been growing every year, thus adding to the scramble for admission. The chronic shortage of quality institutions is yet another factor that has been driving students to enroll in coaching classes. What is worrying, however, is that a large number of these institutes, often disdainfully described as teaching shops, are increasingly being sponsored by people with money and muscle power, businessmen with little or no pretension to either education, professional experience or expertise. While there existed, therefore, a strong enough case for regulating coaching institutes, it gained strength this month after students in Patna clashed with the police and the hired musclemen of a few coaching institutes. While the students alleged that the institutes collected exorbitant fees but failed to deliver on their promise to cover the entire syllabi, the institutes denied the charge while alleging that rival institutes had instigated the students. It was certainly unusual for students to hit the streets against coaching institutes, which thrive on their public record of students cracking entrance tests and on word-of-mouth publicity. But with the established and bigger coaching institutes going in for screening the students and holding their own entrance examinations, thus shutting the door to the vast majority of so-called 'average' students, the more dubious operators seem to have invaded the coaching space. In Patna, it took several days for the police to bring the situation under control but not before one of the students had lost his life. The outrage following the student's death forced Nitish Kumar, Bihar Chief Minister, to announce that legislation would be introduced in the Assembly in February itself to regulate the coaching institutes. It is, however, worth remembering that regulations have seldom worked in this country. One has only to look at the frequent violation of existing guidelines issued by the CBSE, the UGC or the AICTE to start doubting the efficacy of more regulations, which are designed to give more power to regulators, in this case bureaucrats in the government, to indulge in favouritism and extortion. It is also worth keeping in mind that coaching institutes are no substitute to schools. While the schools generally provide the theoretical grounding and the conceptual understanding required for grasping scientific principles and for board examinations, the coaching institutes train students to solve problems faster and in the various methodology and techniques to handle questions at entrance examinations which are designed to not just test the knowledge base of the students but also to eliminate a majority of them. The coaching institutes, therefore, are here to stay and some kind of regulation is undoubtedly required to rein them in, specially to weed out the dubious ones among them. The proposed legislation may attempt to do so by empowering an expert committee to grade the institutes and authenticate the tall claims each of them makes during the admission season. Several institutes are known to have offered large sums of money to students securing impressive ranks in competitive tests to endorse the institutes' claim to have coached them. Such claims are then advertised with photographs of the successful in a bid to entice the gullible. The legislation can also help rationalise the fee structure and course content, besides providing the students and the parents a forum for redressing their grievances. But regulating the coaching institutes alone is unlikely to put an end to the traumatic process the teenagers are today forced to go through for admission in professional courses. Nor will the legislation help in curbing parental and peer pressure on teenagers to opt for engineering and medical schools. Even more importantly, while coaching institutes do help some bright enough students to get into these schools, often many of them do not have their heart in the courses they are forced to follow. There is, therefore, an urgent need for a National Assessment Council, which will develop tests designed to assess the aptitude and understanding of the students. Such tests can then be conducted every month or offered online throughout the year so that students can pay small fee at any time of their liking and test their own aptitude, skill and preparedness. Scores in such tests can form the basis then to inform students and parents of the special talent the youngsters may or may not have. While the non-government schools are increasingly offering professional aptitude tests and counseling to their students, a majority of the students studying in government schools and in rural areas have still no access to such facilities. They are also deprived of good 'coaching'. The council, once it is set up, therefore, will offer a more level-playing field, allow for a more informed choice of careers and hopefully reduce the dependence of students on coaching
institutes.
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Pakistan should shun Afghan extremists The recent arrest of Mullah Baradar, the Afghan Taliban commander, in Karachi confirms what Islamabad has repeatedly denied: that Pakistan has been a safe haven for the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan's motives in arresting the Afghan Taliban leader could be complex. American diplomatic, economic and military pressures could certainly be part of the explanation. Perhaps there is another, more cheering explanation for the shift in Pakistan's stance: that Nato's new offensive – Operation Marjah, which takes on the Taliban in their stronghold in southern Afghanistan – might actually make headway. Sensible military men are quick to realise the limits of power – and Pakistan's generals may have felt that it would be politic to take action against the Taliban, at least for the moment. Earlier, General Kayani, Pakistan's army chief, had said that a peaceful, stable and friendly Afghanistan would give his country the strategic depth that it wants. (Against its old arch-enemy India, of course, but he did not need to spell out this well-known fact). He didn't want the Talibanisation of Afghanistan because "we cannot wish for Afghanistan what we don't wish for Pakistan." That doesn't mean Pakistan has abandoned its quest for strategic depth against India. Pakistan continues to perceive India as the arch-foe and is greatly concerned about Indian influence in Afghanistan. Kayani's offer that Pakistan could train Afghan soldiers may have been inspired by news that Britain and the US are considering Indian training for Afghan police forces. Were this Anglo-American suggestion be translated into policy, it would enhance India's growing soft power and its popularity in Afghanistan. A recent gallup poll showed that 71 per cent of Afghans favour India, a mere 2 per cent Pakistan and 3 per cent its Taliban friends. Kayani's offer to train Afghan soldiers may not amount to much. For, as American officials know, Afghanistan needs more than boots on the ground. At another level, Kayani's offer may look insincere to President Hamid Karzai, given Pakistan's close association with the brutal Taliban government in the 1990s. Karzai has on several occasions blamed Pakistan for trying to destabilise his country. So Pakistan is unpopular with officials as well as ordinary Afghans. In any case, an Afghan army, trained by the US, would not exactly give Pakistan the strategic depth it seeks against India. And if relations between Afghanistan and Islamabad remain as prickly as they have been since 2001, an Afghan army could threaten Pakistan if its strength were to grow to some 250,000 soldiers. The alternative scenario is not encouraging for Pakistan either. If Nato scuttles from Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban will not stabilise their country but establish another barbarous and war-mongering regime. Far from being grateful to Pakistan for giving them sanctuary and training after 2001, they could support the Pakistani Taliban, with whom they have links, and contribute to the destabilisation of Pakistan. In other words the home-grown Pakistani Taliban, whom the Pakistani military are now trying to quash, could well be strengthened if the Afghan Taliban sweep back to power in Kabul. So here comes the crunch. If Islamabad really wants a stable and friendly Afghanistan, why doesn't it stop forging alignments with extremists who could only destabilise Afghanistan? Instead, it could give its full support to Nato. And if Pakistan wishes to counter India's economic influence and cultural popularity in Afghanistan, why doesn't it try to follow India's example and bestow economic largesse on Afghanistan? The Afghan government and people, as well as Nato, would certainly be grateful. Until and unless Islamabad provides satisfying answers to those questions, Pakistan's talk of the need for strategic depth will look more unconvincing than ever. So isn't it time for Pakistan to review its method of choice – of weakening, or 'bleeding' Afghanistan through the thuggish Afghan Taliban – by copying India's method of building up clout by showering Afghanistan with desperately needed economic
goodies?
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Dalits assert their identity in Punjab In Punjab, where the Dalits constitute almost one-third of the population, Dalit resurgence has been much more than anywhere else in the country. Uttar Pradesh may pride itself in having ushered in the predominantly Dalit government led by Mayawati, but when it comes to the grassroots uplift of the Dalits, Punjab is far ahead of others. Dalits worked hard and many settled abroad. While in the rest of the country the Dalits have confined themselves to assuming economic welfare and political recognition and power, in Punjab a large section of the Ravidassia sect went a step ahead in declaring a separate religion, “Ravidassia”, affirming Guru Ravidass as their sole Master. Besides, they have also adopted the writings and preachings of Bhagat Ravidass as their holy book called “Amrit Bani Guru Ravidass”. Amrit Bani will replace Guru Granth Sahib in all Ravidassia temples. The announcement of the formation of a separate religion was made by followers of Dera Sachkhand Ballan at Ravidass temple in Gowardhanpur Kashi, Banaras. Amrit Bani was adopted on the same occasion under the leadership of Sant Niranjan Dass, head of Dera Sachkhand Ballan, which is based near Jalandhar. The separation of the Ravidassia community from Sikhism has come as a great setback for the SGPC. It has since adopted a cautious approach in handling the situation and roped in a section of the Ravidassia community represented by Bhagat Ravidass Sadhu Sampradaye Society, Punjab and Sant Samaj Bachao Morcha. But the predominant view among the Ravidassia community remains supportive of the separate religion. There has been simmering discontent among the Dalit Sikhs about the treatment meted out to them for generations despite having embraced Sikhism, a religion that preaches a casteless society. Despite being educationally and economically well off, they still remained victims of an orthodox and conservative mindset. The turning point came when Swami Ramanand of Dera Sachkhand Ballan was shot dead by radical Sikhs in a Ravidassia temple in Vienna in Austria. Although Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal tried fire-fighting measures, the damage had already been done. An already alienated community did not need a more potent reason to separate. Statements by maverick and amateur politicians complicated the matter further. This is the beginning of the assertion of an exclusive identity by Dalits. It marks the beginning of a new era when those at the bottom of the ladder have dared to ascend to the
top.
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