The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Bachchan row
Congress has done no service to itself

The whole controversy over the invitation extended to cine megastar Amitabh Bachchan during the inauguration of the second phase of the Bandra-Worli sea-link by Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is churlish. What the Congressmen should have borne in mind is that it was not a party function and nor was Mr Chavan there as a party leader.

It was an official engagement and whenever such functions are held, even Opposition leaders are invited. So, there was nothing wrong in inviting one of Mumbai’s most important celebrities. Mr Chavan himself made matters worse by expressing regret at having to share the dais with Bachchan and saying that he did not know that Bachchan would be at the venue; otherwise he would not have attended the function. The fact remains that Bachchan was issued an official invitation and at least the Chief Minister should not have added fuel to the fire started by some small-time politicians.

Officially, the Congress has denied that any pressure was mounted on Mr Chavan. But there are ample reasons to believe that he has been “directed” to steer clear of the star. For public consumption, it is being made out that they are objecting to the presence of this particular star because he has been appointed the brand ambassador of Gujarat where Narendra Modi is the Chief Minister. However, the whole storm in the cup is over the fact that the Bachchan family has fallen out with the Sonia Gandhi family and is also associated with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh.

Political differences should not be blown out of proportion to such an extent that they make even routine interaction difficult. Amitabh Bachchan is right in pointing out that it is petty to blacklist somebody just because he is associated with Gujarat. Modi is not Gujarat and Gujarat is not Modi. That way, even Ratan Tata, Anil Ambani and many others are investing in the state and running successful factories and ventures there. It is time civility and magnanimity reappeared in public dealings.

Opening purse strings
Paying MLAs more is not a bad idea

For the second time in less than six months, the Punjab government stepped back last week from tabling Bills in the Vidhan Sabha to enhance the pay and perks of legislators and ministers. The government had first circulated and then introduced the two Bills in December last year, one to enhance the salary and allowances and another to increase the pension and medical allowance, before developing cold feet and withdrawing the Bills.

In the just-concluded budget session too the Bills were not listed for ‘technical reasons’, ostensibly because the government had failed to obtain the assent of the Governor.

It certainly does not reflect well on the efficiency of the government, specially since the proposal was cleared by the Cabinet 15 months ago. True, raising the pay of politicians causes outrage in most parts of the world, largely because of the widely held belief that politicians in any case end up building a fortune. They certainly have more opportunities than most to make money and twist rules to their advantage. Several Members of Parliament in England did take advantage of their allowances to hire spouses and family members as secretarial staff and passed off their own houses as their temporary abodes. The public scandal led, however, to public humiliation and their virtual exit from politics.

Even then there is a case for paying them more from the public exchequer so that they do not have to raise resources through dubious means or cite insufficient funds at their disposal as an excuse for not doing what is expected of them. Legislators are known to be accessible to their constituents only at election time and not many of them are known to maintain permanent offices with secretarial staff in different parts of their constituency. They are required to study and travel, hold consultations with experts from different fields, attend both public and private functions and play host to hundreds of people every day. In all fairness, these are expenses which should not be met from their personal income.

The issue does require a public debate but while Punjab should take the lead in putting in place a system of checks and balances and make legislators account for every paisa they are paid, the state also has the opportunity to ensure that the people’s representatives function better and more effectively.

Thought for the Day

Justice is truth in action. — Benjamin Disraeli

ARTICLE

Avoid attempts to contain China
Cooperative approach in India’s interest
by Premvir Das

Not without good reason, China now attracts attention almost every day in world capitals. Its economic growth at 10 per cent plus is creating growing self-confidence in a country which has experienced great power status and prosperity in the past. It is clear that by 2030, China’s GDP, even with slowing momentum, will be almost at the US level in real dollar terms.

There is a visible urge to match this power with military strength. China’s defence expenditure, estimated around $120 billion last year, may touch $600 billion or so by 2030, which is quite formidable even if less than what the US will spend in 2010. So, even as forecasts of military parity between the two are clearly misplaced, China is rapidly distancing itself from all others.

Take the case of India. Its GDP stood at $1.3 trillion last year. Given an 8-9 per cent sustained annual increase over the next two decades, this figure could reach $8 trillion by 2030, still well short of China’s. Similarly, India’s military expenditure, $30 billion last year, could, at best, grow to $150 billion in the same time-frame, about the same as China’s today. In short, even as India may figure among the top three global economies in 2030, it would still be some distance away from China, both economically and in terms of military power. Other countries like Japan, France, Russia, Germany and the UK will fall even further behind. This is the real context in which the implications of China’s rising power should be seen.

Growing power brings with it attitudinal changes. There is increased confidence domestically despite relative poverty, especially in the rural areas, which acts as a catalyst in prodding the government to be more assertive internationally. Some of its manifestations have been seen recently in China’s interfaces with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The was visible in the stridency of tone, protesting against US President Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, and the sale of American arms to Taiwan. It is not that China has not been proactive in the past — the force-landing of an American reconnaissance aircraft a few years ago and the interception of a US Navy oceanographic research ship being two such occasions — but there was use of intemperate language in the recent posturing. Satisfying the domestic audience that the government is acting in accordance with its growing power may well be motivating these actions. Some argue that visions of again becoming the Middle Kingdom that China once was, a manifestation of destiny, are not mere fancies that can be brushed aside.

The same assertive posture is becoming noticeable with the growth of maritime power. From its earlier doctrine of first becoming capable of operating credibly in what was termed the “First Island Chain”, which covered Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, and then the “Second Island Chain” covering sea areas up to Guam, the operating philosophy now focuses on maritime capabilities to safeguard interests over a much wider and undefined space. Some time ago, a senior PLA Navy Flag Officer reportedly told the visiting US C-in-C, Pacific Command, that the US Navy could “look after” the Pacific Ocean and the PLA Navy would mind its role in the Indian Ocean. Even if made in jest, the statement typifies the new state of mind reflecting arrogance.

Given the strong focus on the development of capabilities in the air, in space and at sea, all critical to operations at extended ranges, and the ship and aircraft building plans in motion, especially of submarines, with aircraft carriers not far behind, it needs little guesswork to see that China will be a formidable military power in the years to come. It will then be able to operate credibly well beyond the constraints that the “island chains” doctrine involved. Signs of the same self-confidence, seen on disputed maritime issues in the East China Sea, might soon manifest themselves in the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea.

This assertive approach is beginning to create uneasiness in the region. India is one country that needs to be more watchful than most others. It is true that there has been improvement in bilateral relations between the two countries across a broad front. Bilateral trade grew from $0.5 billion in 1995 to over $50 billion in 2008 and is likely to cross $100 billion before 2020. The two countries have cooperated in WTO and climate change negotiations.

China has not protested against our long-range ballistic missile project, Agni. There are commonalities in positions in regard to Afghanistan where both countries seek a moderate and independent nation. These are signs of a maturing interface. Yet, there are long-pending issues over the unresolved boundary dispute. China’s claims, often sought to be highlighted through seemingly innocuous but obviously planned incursions and politically hostile statements, continue to cause anxiety.

China has also been insensitive to India’s security interests, providing military assistance and making political overtures to countries in its immediate vicinity. At the same time, it is very unlikely that the Chinese will take recourse to military confrontation, not only because this might come in the way of achieving their larger strategic objective of reaching parity with the US as early as possible but also because they are doubtful if this would succeed. This would lend substance to the thesis that the harshness of views expressed by commentators on the government-controlled Chinese media is largely deliberate rhetoric. Nevertheless, the need to be watchful and to be prepared militarily cannot be overstressed. In this context, the recent statement of a retired PLA Navy Rear Admiral as posted on a Defence Ministry website, that China should establish facilities on a “permanent basis” to support counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, is disturbing.

Efforts to “contain” China in concert with others, even if possible, are not consistent with India’s strategic interests. It is evident that China will be a major global player very soon, if it is not that already, which all major countries must engage. Cooperation, while remaining prepared for unforeseen contingencies, is, therefore, desirable. Maritime forces of both countries are engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. Even otherwise, defence cooperation, albeit just starting, has begun with joint exercises linked with port visits and the exchange of high-level delegations of the two militaries.

The Chinese, on their part, are not unaware that India’s growth as a major Asian entity cannot be wished away. They are also conscious that their growing power, unlike that of India, is arousing suspicion in regions like South-East Asia and must be tempered for greater acceptability. The US is not going to lose interest in Asia anytime soon and Japan is also not going to be just a passive onlooker.

In short, these are the times when almost every country, for its own reasons, is watching the moves that China makes. How the Indian democracy and the totalitarian Chinese regime interact, as both pursue their respective growth trajectories, and the effects of this interface on the emerging world order will be of consuming interest, not just to these two countries but to all others, especially in Asia.n

The writer is a former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff.

MIDDLE

Who am I?
by Geetanjali Gayatri

A WEEK into my job as a journalist way back in 1998, I decided to go office-hopping in my beat lest I miss out on a story merely for not knowing the “person in the chair”. Having sent a slip with my name and that of my newspaper to an officer, I was planning my introduction when the peon ushered me in.

Even before I greeted the officer, he looked up, one eyebrow raised, and inquired, “Where’s the other one?” Confused, I asked, “Who ‘other one’?” As he reached to pull out my slip, I understood. He had assumed there was a Geetanjali and a Gayatri and was looking for the “other one” not knowing which of the two I was.

As we laughed our way through that meeting, my name served as the perfect ice-breaker and marked the beginning of a friendship which gave me the every-story-first advantage over my contemporaries.

This is only one of the umpteen times I have had to explain my name. That I am not one or two persons but a three-in-one package deal is news to anybody I meet. And, they wonder how? So, here’s how — my mother wanted three daughters — Geeta, Anjali and Gayatri (like my boss said, “Your mother must be the only one wanting three daughters!”).

My brother came after me and my mother realised that two children were enough trouble. Thus, I came to be Geeta-Anjali Gayatri all through school before my family decided to allow me the liberty of becoming Geetanjali Gayatri.

As if this is not baffling enough, my skin tone, too, seems just everybody’s dilemma. First-timers meeting me can’t resist the urge to pop the where-do-you-come-from question because my name coupled with my complexion gives the impression of “being” South Indian. If I’ve spent half the introductory rounds explaining my name, the other half invariably are devoted to “my roots”.

During an assignment in Haryana recently, our photographer accompanying me was astonished at the number of times my roots were “questioned”. My reply, as always, conjured up disbelief! At all such occasions, I remind myself, people are people after all.

That I’m Punjabi is just not palatable, as if it’s a crime to be dark-skinned in Punjab. I have even had to speak in Punjabi to lend credence to my claim. And, frankly, over the years, I have begun to enjoy this quizzing round that’s become the easiest conversation-opener for me.

People believe I am south Indian because I look, speak and eat like one (wonder what that means!), am a Bengali because I wear a big bindi and even have glimpses of a Marathi. But a Punjabi, no way!

As much as I enjoy this, I believe identity is not skin deep or surname-centric, and people cannot be easily stereotyped into particular communities, castes and regions based on their names, skin tones, food preferences or dressing styles.

I am not a south Indian or a Punjabi, neither a Bengali nor a Marathi, I am an Indian first. And, I think I am more so because I “belong” to all corners of my country, truly representing the united colours of India. Maybe that’s why my mother named me Geetanjali Gayatri!n

OPED

Feeding the needy
Get rid of sharks in the PDS
by Vibha Sharma

Food often does not reach those it is meant for

What a paradox: People who produce food in India often go hungry. Villagers produce foodgrains, which first go into the Centre’s kitty and are then brought back to them through the corruption-ridden public distribution system (PDS).

Food often does not reach those it is meant for. It is siphoned off by middlemen in the convoluted PDS chain to adjoining countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and even Myanmar, thereby maintaining the hunger status quo for a majority of the very conservative official figure of 260 million poor people in the country.

One-third of the world’s hungry live in the country where foodgrains often rot due to lack of coordination between the Centre and states and 80 per cent of the PDS foodgrains are drained off before reaching the ration shops.

No surprises, therefore, that a study by the International Food and Research Institute placed the food bowl of the country, Punjab, the best-performing state in the country, below Gabon, Honduras and Vietnam – in the first-ever India State Hunger Index (ISHI) in 2008.

India was ranked 66 out of 88 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) while the India-specific survey pinpointed the most severe level of hunger in Madhya Pradesh followed by Jharkhand and Bihar. Punjab and Kerala scored the best, but not good enough to beat even a little-known African country like Gabon.

Twelve states were placed in the “alarming” category and Madhya Pradesh in the “extremely alarming” category of hunger. Not even a single state in India was either in the “low hunger” or “moderate hunger” categories.

Four states – Punjab, Kerala, Haryana and Assam – were in the “serious” category. When compared with countries, Madhya Pradesh ranked between Ethiopia and Chad with the states’ rankings ranging from 34 (Punjab) to 82(Madhya Pradesh). But one fact was common – that all Indian states face a “serious” level of hunger.

This is the situation the UPA government hopes to retrieve through the National Food Security Bill, which promises to make food a legal right of the people. While the Bill, an initiative of Sonia Gandhi, has its heart in the right place, questions are being raised about the quantity of foodgrains to be given as also the number of beneficiaries.

The Right to Food Campaign, a network of civil society groups and individuals, says the reduction of foodgrain entitlement in the draft Bill is objectionable.

“The Bill proposes an entitlement of 25 kg of foodgrains at Rs 3 per kg to each below-poverty-line (BPL) household, which is lower than the current entitlement of 35 kg per household as mandated by the Supreme Court,” says Colin Gonsalves, a Supreme Court lawyer and Right to Food Campaign activist.

Gonsalves adds that the draft Bill not only fails to address any of the nutritional needs of the people of India but also commits contempt of the court. “The legislation promises a right but in reality reduces the existing entitlement, which is completely unacceptable to the people of India and is an affront to their dignity”.

Quoting a report released recently by Justice DP Wadhwa, Gonsalves says the report recommended that every Indian with an income of Rs 100 a day be made eligible for the official subsidies, including 35 kg of foodgrains.

Experts fear that the way the Bill is being designed, it will only add to the hunger, not reduce it. “This, in fact, is a food insecurity Bill,” food policy analyst Devinder Sharma says.

Doubts are also raised about the delivery mechanism. Gonsalves points out that the Wadhwa committee report clearly says that the PDS system has collapsed. “MPs, MLAs and food department officials appoint ration shop dealers on political considerations. The same MPs, MLAs and officials sit on vigilance committees,” he says, adding that for the PDS to run effectively, politicians on vigilance committees should be replaced by representatives from gram sabhas and NGOs.

The Bill may, in fact, help the government reduce its food subsidy bill. While its cost implications are still not clear as there is no clarity on the number of people it intends to cover, Sharma says that instead of increasing the food subsidy bill, the UPA's “aam aadmi” endeavour may end up reducing it by almost 50 per cent.

It is imperative, therefore, to first have a realistic look at the number of the poor by redefining poverty and revamp the food distribution network.

Sharma suggests two cut-offs, one at the 37 per cent of the population who desperately need food intervention, and the second at 77 per cent, the poverty line. He says the government has enough foodgrains and money to take care of all this without adding to its burden.

Besides, six lakh villages should be made self-sufficient in food requirement. “If you make villages hunger free, you can reduce the burden on the PDS, make it less corruption-prone and urban-centric,” Sharma adds.

The single woman syndrome
by Nonika Singh

Men, marriage and children just about define average Indian women. So what is Jaya Bachchan talking about? She has grandiosely declared, “Girls today needn’t marry to fulfil their desires as women. It is fine not to have kids”.

In a nation where the “Mrs” title (never mind that now it is politically correct “Ms” that prevails) is a woman’s essential qualification, if not her biggest achievement, a “social passport” of sorts that allows her access and mobility in various social spheres, has the perky actor, who never shies away from saying what she feels, stirred a hornet’s nest?

Or is it a progressive comment in line with the newly emerging social order that is witnessing new social trends, including the acceptance of single women?

Advaita Kala, the author of a hugely successful book “Almost Single” not only thinks Jaya’s remark is progressive but also inclusive. In fact, social exclusion is one of the many problems that single women face.

The absence of public dialogue is what prompted Advaita to pen her book in the first place for she felt an acute sense of frustration on behalf of these silent women, otherwise often denied discourse.

Of course, Advaita is not the only one who has lent voice to single women’s concerns. In fact, much is being written about her. Penguin published a book “Chasing the good life: On being single” that included both male and female writers, sharing their experiences on remaining single.

London-based Punjabi writer Veena Verma has been writing about single women for a long time and most candidly and fearlessly at that, challenging the stereotyped notions about single women and how they ought to behave.

As against the “celibate model” of single women that society upholds, sanctions and even idolises, she has deliberated upon her needs, yes sexual too. The title of her story can be “Galat Aurat”, she will not apologise for her bold stance. Plus she is adamant, “A woman is complete in herself. Marriage and children are merely extensions of her being.”

Indians may go overboard in extolling the virtues of motherhood, many studies bear out her assertion. A study conducted by the Institute of Women’s Studies, Lucknow, that not only covered successful women like top executives but also daily wage earners, found that being single could be fun.

Besides, an overwhelming majority of single women surveyed felt that they deliver better at workplaces and have a stronger desire to be achievers. So a successful man may need a woman behind, women don’t quite need male partners to chart their own course. Studies in the West have found that women are happier being single than men.

Other researches closer home propound that more and more women are deciding when to marry, when to have children and in the metros as well as smaller cities not to have children as well.

Of course, mindsets are changing and remarks such as Jaya Bachchan’s and the Supreme Court’s recent observations on “live-in relationships” are pointers that views on the exalted institution of marriage are being reviewed, if have not already changed.

But for every heartening study there is a plea to save the institution of marriage. Then there is this prototype image of single women as destitute abla naari, often not without reason.

For while women in India face discrimination, the predicament of single women is more acute, complex and involves many more concerns like safety and financial independence. A news report pointed out how single women in Himachal Pradesh “living in no man’s land” were denied bona fide certificates and even ration cards.

Any wonder, single-hood, feels Advaita, is a luxury that only women living in the metros can afford. “Were I living in Kanpur and still single at my age, eyebrows would surely have been raised.”

E. Kay Trimberger, author of the insightful book, “The New Single Woman” however, has opined in an interview that single women in India may face more overt discrimination but are culturally more accepted and psychologically it is easer to be a single woman in India.

Of course, single women in India are a minority. In the US the percentage of “never married” women is higher than that in India. But single women, who include divorcees and widows too, do not necessarily spell anti-marriage per se.

Single or not, the desire to, as Advaita puts it, “engage emotionally” remains. And even in big cities she asserts the question “When are you getting married?’ has not been replaced by any other pertinent query.

Yet at the same society has opened up and single women, especially the high-end achievers, are no longer the “social untouchables” made out till now.

Chatterati
Cold delight
by Devi Cherian

It is quite an experience to visit the Ice-bar, recently opened up in the capital where the temperature is minus 10 degrees. “Freeze”, as it is called, has a small changing room before you enter the bar; it is stocked with thermal jackets, gloves, scarves, caps which you have to wear before you enter the bar.

Inside, all look like Eskimos. It’s not a very big bar but very interesting. There are ice walls, ice tables, ice sculptures, everything was of ice. It was freezing, but the atmosphere was happy and charged as the DJ has some foot-tapping music on. It is difficult to locate your friend if missing because everybody looks just the same.

This is the new wannabe place in Delhi at the moment. Delhi-ites will queue up to get an entry even at Rs 1,000 per head. The maximum time to stay in the ice bar is 45 minutes. At the moment there are two ice bars in the capital but “Freeze” has an edge as it is the only one that serves food inside the bar. So we no longer have to go Stockholm or London for such an enthralling experience of walking in from 45 degrees to -10 degrees in a matter of minutes. And this has got nothing to do with Commonwealth Games.

Sheila faces the heat

Having won her third consecutive victory the Sheila Dikshit government is keen to raise resources. The new budget raises the prices of LPG, tea, milk and other items of daily use. This has provoked the Opposition to raise a ruckus.

But it looks Sheila will hold her ground – largely. The government believes that Delhi’s citizens are getting a brand new city almost. Even though it is on account of the Games – several big infrastructure projects, new buses, new metro lines and new airports are suddenly changing the face of central Delhi.

Sheila claims that even after the LPG price hike she is still providing it cheaper than the neighbouring states. And fortunately the Congress government at the Centre is stable and the Delhi are elections far away. Those in the know believe that Sheila’s strategy of replacing subsidies with direct hand-outs to the poor is a model that could inspire others.

Live and let live-in

Puritans are upset over the Supreme Court’s judgment on living together. The three-judge bench has dismissed the plea to make pre-marital sex and live-in relationships as an offence.

Activists may not want to engage in a discussion with their own children on this subject lest they should discover that if the court had not dismissed the notion of criminality, their children could pretty much be in hand-cuffs.

What is encouraging is that the government has stayed totally out of this emotional show. For an otherwise conservative Supreme Court, this is a remarkably forward-looking judgment.

Actress Khushboo who was the prime target of the case, is not going to be the only one feeling relieved. Human rights activists are also going to be thrilled that the apex court has clarified that the right to live in is an integral part of the right to life.