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Act but not in haste
A hot line with China |
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On contract
Judiciary at the crossroads
“Expectant” fathers
Leadership key issue
Experts favour PAU 201
Chennai Diary Corrections and clarifications
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Act but not in haste
It
is but natural for a shocked nation to demand tough action against Maoists who ambushed and killed 76 CRPF jawans in the jungles of Dantewada this week. It is indeed a shame that so many young lives were lost in a war that increasingly makes little or no sense to the rest of the nation. The bloodiest attack carried out by Naxalites in over four decades has inevitably led to the clamour for calling in the Army and the Air Force. While many would be eager to get even with the ‘enemy’, saner counsel must prevail. Both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have rightly ruled out the deployment of the military in the offensive against Maoists. It would be hasty and unwise to do so because past experience shows that military deployment has not worked in either the North-East or in Kashmir. Using such force against our ‘own people’ and in our own country can only be a last resort. In any case, the efficacy of a limited use of the Air Force in transporting the security forces, in conducting aerial surveys, in evacuation and use of helicopter gunships in exceptional circumstances etc was discussed in the past and the proposal discarded. However, when the Union Home Minister reluctantly conceded that the government might have to revisit the option of using air power, he was giving voice to doubts that the government may have grossly underestimated the adversary. Unlike militants and insurgents in Kashmir and Nagaland, where they are mostly confined within the geographical limits of a single state, Naxalites are admittedly active in 18 states and in over 200 districts. Indeed in 95 districts across the country they are acknowledged to be calling the shots. What is more, the Maoists alone, among all militant outfits, seem to hold territory. A review, therefore, of the government’s current strategy is certainly called for. But officials in the North Block would do well to take into account issues such as corruption, inefficiency and infighting, besides the lack of leadership, both in the security forces and the civil administration to understand why the offensive is yet to make much headway.
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A hot line with China
It
would have been unrealistic to expect dramatic results from the talks that External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna held with his counterpart Yang Jiechi and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing earlier this week. By that token, the fact that the ongoing dialogue between the two countries is alive and kicking is itself a cause for satisfaction. It affords an opportunity to the two sides to project their positions on issues that need debate and discussion. However, in concrete terms, the signing of an agreement to set up a hot line to open up communication between prime ministers of the two countries is the only clear forward movement in a relationship that is characterized by apparent frostiness. How useful and important this hot line proves to be would be borne out by how much it is actually used, be it for diplomatic niceties or for discussing crucial issues. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao couched it in diplomatic terms when she told the media after the talks that the issue of Beijing giving stapled visas to Indians from Kashmir was a subject of “ongoing discussion” and the Chinese side “listened attentively” to Indian concerns. Likewise, the Chinese were not prepared to budge on Indian concerns over Chinese projects in Pak-occupied Kashmir, beyond reiterating that the Chinese believed that undertaking projects in PoK did not detract from their position that Kashmir issue was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. On India’s seeking Chinese support for her bid for a UN Security Council seat, the Chinese re-emphasized in general terms their known position that China supported a “bigger role” for India in the UN. By India’s own admission, the recent report that China-based hackers were hacking into documents of the Defence ministry and a number of Indian embassies around the world was not even taken up during the talks. All in all, while the talks yielded little of note, there were no major contentious issues that came in the way of an ongoing dialogue. Clearly, there is need for patience on India’s relations with China.
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On contract
The
Punjab government has only recently rejected the request to increase the retirement age of its employees beyond 58 years, on the basis of the plea that it wanted to give a chance to young blood to run the state administration. That would have appeared to be a fairly sound argument, but for the fact that it has been at the same time re-employing retired employees to run the state administration. According to an exclusive Tribune story, several important tehsils and subdivisions of the state have been handed over to these officials with statutory powers. Some 26 PCS officers who had retired during the past five years have already taken over and will serve till December 31. Another list of names is being formulated. If all of them were men of proven uprightness and integrity, the re-employment would not have raised eyebrows. But many of them have had a dubious past. Still, the government re-inducted them into service despite objections, merely because no criminal or vigilance case was pending against them. Many rules were thus bent to facilitate their re-induction. The chosen men will now have no accountability in terms of confidential reports, or fear of penal action. It is true that Punjab has 288 posts of PCS officers, but only 160 serving officers. But the excuse that there is shortage of PCS officers in the state is rather thin. There are many other services also where there is similar shortage. How come an exception is made only in the case of the PCS? Naturally, there is heart-burn among other employees. Such ambivalent policies are tailor-made to demoralise the general staff. Ironically, that is what the Punjab government can least afford.
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We are not interested in the fact that the brain has the consistency of cold porridge. — Alan Turing
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Judiciary at the crossroads
The
judiciary, though one of three wings of sovereignty, is considered the weakest by the public, though in the constitutional scheme it should be the strongest. But this downgrading unfortunately is brought about by self-inflicted wounds. The judiciary owes to itself to do a little more serious introspection if for nothing else but to just maintain its esteem among the public at large. A serious charge against the judiciary is the pendency of about 2.7 crore cases in the trial court, 45 lakh in the High Courts and over 55,000 in the Supreme Court. It is true that in this blame-game the judiciary is the only recipient which is unfair, because one of the important reasons for delay is the paucity of judges. Against even a modest requirement of keeping a ratio of 107 judges per million population as recommended by the Law Commission (2000), we have a ratio of 10 or 15 per million population. The delay in filling the vacancies is another indictment. The Supreme Court had four vacancies for months and even now two are still unfilled. The High Courts have about 260 vacancies (out of 895) and the lower courts about 2500 out of the sanctioned strength of 16721. The High Court of Allahabad alone has 77 vacancies out of the strength of about 160 judges for over a year and it will continue as the previous Chief Justice has been promoted to the Supreme Court. The blame lies in the continuing wrong policy of having Chief Justices from outside who are naturally not familiar with the local judiciary and the Bar. I am afraid the arrears in the Supreme Court will further increase because of a recent reference by a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court to the Chief Justice to refer the matter to a Constitutional Bench to decide which kind of cases should be entertained under Article 136 of the Constitution and for laying down broad guidelines in this connection. With respect this is an instance where expeditious disposal of arrears is the theme song, but the remedy is the opposite. Article 136 of the Constitution states that the court may in its discretion grant special leave to appeal against any judgment, sentence in any case or matter passed by any court or tribunal. In the instant case, at the instance of a defendant in a suit, the genuineness of the well-being questioned, it was sent for expert opinion to the Forensic Science Laboratory. Not satisfied with the report from laboratory, the petitioner wanted a second opinion — the same was refused by the trial court and the High Court. He then filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court. Though the court observed that it was “prima facie of the opinion that such special leave petitions should not be entertained by this court”, but it still chose to make a reference to a larger Bench to elaborate on the scope of Article 136 notwithstanding the settled law already. In (1950) by a Constitutional Bench of five judges (noticed by the referring Bench) Fazal Ali J., speaking for the Bench, categorically laid down the scope of Article 136 thus, “ On a careful examination of Art. 136 along with the preceding article, it seems clear that the wide discretionary power with which this court is invested under is to be exercised sparingly and in exceptional cases only.” Similar have been the principles laid down in a 2007 case noticed by the referring Bench itself. In defence of the referring judges I am willing to admit that this kind of exercises do occur off and on. In 1978, the Government of India gave half serious thought whether to meet the problem of the arrears in the Supreme Court, Article 136 should be abolished. I remember at a function called by the then Law Minister, Justice S. Murtaza Fazal Ali of the Supreme Court seemed prima facie to agree to the tentative suggestion of the government. I half-jocularly told Murtaza, “If you read your respected fathers’ judgment in Pritam Singh case you will find that fault is not with Article 136, but with judges who refuse to heed the caution repeatedly given about the limited nature of Article 136.” These questions of law are not capable of being answered with mathematical precision. It may be noted that about 25 years back Chief Justice E. S. Venkataramiah referred the question as to and under what circumstances PIL (Public Interest Litigation ) cases should be entertained. After a period of over two decades first a smaller Bench referred it to a Constitutional Bench and then the later gave a “momentous decision” that it is not possible to lay down any firm rule as to how and when PIL cases are to entertained by a court or not, and came out with the lame observation that “it will depend on the facts of each case, and no guidelines can be laid down”. I see no reason as to how any larger Bench can give any other answer except in the language and content mentioned by the Supreme Court as referred to earlier. Of course, the Chief Justice in the normal course has to refer it to a larger Bench unless on reconsideration the referring Bench itself recalls it. Another matter, the subject of adverse publicity, is the case of the cash-at-door scam of a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A three-member panel of judges of the High Court appointed by the Chief Justice of India found a prima facie case against the erring judge. A CBI investigation found the same. The Union of India, relying on the ex-parte opinion given by the Attorney-General, refuses to proceed, especially when the Chief Justice of India declines sanction. Embarrassingly, the trial court refuses to allow the CBI to withdraw the case on being urged by lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. An application under the Right to Information Act is rejected on the ground that the CJI’s office is not covered. But then the Law Ministry is covered under the Act — can it, in all fairness, withhold information from the public, especially when it has agreed to the transfer of the judge to another High Court? I feel it is even unfair to the concerned judge that reasons, which apparently hold her blameless, should not be disclosed to the public and taint be allowed to continue. Am I being too harsh to my own fraternity of lawyers and Judges. If so, I plead in the words of Justice Holmes of the US Supreme Court, who said, “I trust that no one will understand me to be speaking with disrespect of the law because I criticise it so freely…. But one may criticise even what one reveres…. And I should show less than devotion, if I did not do what in me lies to improve it.” The writer is a retired Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi.
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“Expectant” fathers Two decades back the maternity ward of the P.G.I. was a dreary room at the end of the corridor, with no waiting area, a small window and a door on one side manned by a brusque peon, who was geniality personified when announcing the birth of a son. At nights, the “expectant” fathers “laboured” in the corridor ducking the guards, who asked them to clear off, reminding one of the cops restoring order on the first day of a movie release. An expectant father myself, I sat on a sheet spread out on the floor keenly observing the likes of my creed. A few were a picture of paranoia. They stood glued to the window exasperating the staff inside. Others paced incessantly displaying troubled anxiety; some walked with a swagger and a proud glint in their eyes, as if they had achieved something of which they were unsure of. But, one who won my instant admiration was a gentleman, who commanded his accompanying servant to check if the labour pains to his wife had set in or not. “My feudal Lord”, I thought. Enters a man from a martial race attired in a blue tunic, a huge headgear, with a sword and two portly ladies in tow, who waddled into the labour room, while he spread himself on my sheet. I shrank into a corner, displaying mute wisdom. With a piercing look with his gimlet eyes, he asked me “Guddi Andar Hai?” (Is your daughter inside?). “No, my wife is inside”. I stuttered, and cursed my countenance, which was sans cosmetic camouflage. Silence ruled thereafter. Morning saw the older lady emerge from the room, agitated. She had been perceived to be a legitimate victim by the nurses inside. On hearing this, the eyes of the gentleman flashed angrily, but soon softened as the old lady announced the arrival of his son. She then demanded the clothes of the child, as desired by the nurses. He was flabbergasted and said nonchalantly, “Jamayan Kisse Ne, Kum Nursa Ne Kita, Te Kapde Mere Ton Bhaalde Hon” (Child has been delivered by the nurses, and clothes you are expecting from me). The logic and clarity of thought instantly won him his mother’s admiration, my fascination and the bewilderment of the nurse, who overheard the conversation and quickly withdrew to her safer confines to emerge shortly with a child wrapped in a surgical gown and handed him over to the ladies, who followed the blue robed man to the accompaniment of clanging accessories on his dress. “Cool cucumber and undoubtedly martial,” I thought and realised that it is the attitude which actually wins a situation while fretting gets one nowhere. As I mused, the peon approached me — a picture of geniality — and I knew, a son was born to me, bringing curtains to my experience as an “Expectant”
Father.
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Leadership key issue
The
new Army Chief, General Vijay Kumar Singh, takes office at a time when the armed forces are desperately looking for a good leadership. The onus now is on him (and on the other two service chiefs) to give the Indian defence policy a new direction, a trajectory that does justice to India’s rising stature in the global inter-state hierarchy. Blaming the government for all the ills afflicting the defence seems to be becoming the default position within the ranks of the military, and taking this too far can be really dangerous for the liberal democratic ethos of this nation.
India’s armed forces need a fundamental restructuring that enables them to operate with utmost efficiency in the rapidly evolving domestic and global context. The armed forces can begin by putting their own house in order. It is true that big issues remain beyond the influence of the armed forces as they have to work within the strategic framework set by the civilian leadership. The Indian economy will have to continue to grow at high rates of growth if the Indian defence needs are to be adequately catered to. High rates of economic growth over the last several years have given India the resources to undertake its military modernisation programme and redefine its defence priorities. A country like India does not have the luxury to make a choice between guns and butter and high economic growth is the only solution that will allow it to take care of its defence and developmental needs simultaneously. India’s own version of “revolution in military affairs” will force it to spend much more on sophisticated cutting-edge defence technology and on trained manpower. The other issue is of appropriate institutional frameworks that enable a nation to effectively leverage its capabilities — diplomatic, military and economic — in the service of its strategic interests. India lacks such institutions in the realm of foreign and defence policies. While the Prime Minister laments the paucity of long-term strategic thinking in India, his government has done nothing substantive to stimulate such thinking. The National Security Council still does not work as it ideally should. The headquarters of the three services need to be effectively integrated with the Ministry of Defence and the post of Chief of Defence Staff is the need of the hour for single-point military advice to the government. The fact that the successive governments have failed to produce a national security strategy is both a consequence of the institutional decay in the country as well as a cause of the inability of the armed forces to plan their force structures and acquisitions adequately to meet their future challenges. Yet, the politico-bureaucratic establishment is not the only guilty party here as the armed forces also have a lot to answer for. Their top leadership has shied away from making tough choices about reducing manpower strength, adjusting the inter-service budgetary balance and restructuring the professional military education system. Resources alone, however, will not make the armed forces the envy of its adversaries. It is the policy direction that is set by the military leadership and the quality of training imparted to its manpower that will make the difference. The questions that need to be debated and answered include: Do we have a 21st century military in terms of doctrine and force structure? Have the doctrines and force structures evolved in line with the equipment that the nation’s resources are being spent on? Do India’s command and control processes reflect the changing strategic and operational requirements? Does the military have the capacity to initiate actions on very short notice and actually conduct military operations that result in something other than a stalemate, something that India might have wanted to do during Operation Parakrama in 2001-02 but could not? Have the armed forces got the balance between capital and labour right? The armed forces will have to find a way to strike a balance between growing manpower shortage and the easing of budgetary constraints. The services have no option but to modernise their human resources policy — recruitment, retention, promotions, exit et al which will make a huge difference to the satisfaction levels of the rank and file. The armed forces need to do some serious introspection if these issues are to be sorted out before it’s too late. It is disappointing to see the service headquarters continuing to resist greater integration and inter-services rivalry continuing to be as vicious as in the past. When the Army came up with the doctrine of Cold Start, it found no support for it in the other services. The other services may have had genuine concerns about the doctrine but they have made no attempt to reconcile their differences, underlining Indian operational weaknesses. The armed forces face a choice: They can keep blaming the political-bureaucratic establishment and do nothing or they can initiate a process of internal reforms forthwith. India’s future, in many ways, will depend on the choice that they make.
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Experts favour PAU 201 While
the Punjab government has asked farmers not to sow the PAU 201 rice variety, scientists of Punjab Agricultural University feel the government should have defended the 201 variety instead of siding with rice millers. There is nothing wrong with the variety and it suits the national food security mission as well as farmers. In Haryana this variety was sown last year in 4 per cent of the area. No hue and cry was raised by rice millers in that state. Dr. Gurbachan Singh, Union Commissioner Agriculture, maintains that the Agriculture Ministry has not banned the 201 rice variety. “This is a good variety for the Punjab situation. The controversy has arisen because of the grain quality. PAU should improve the grain quality”. The 210 rice variety was released for cultivation in 2007 and the first crop arrived in mandis in 2008. In 2009 the area under this variety rose to 18 per cent and the production of this particular variety was estimated at about 40 lakh metric tonnes. The rice millers alleged that the damage in this variety was more and that the pinhead of the grain was black. The FCI allegedly refused to accept the grains of this variety. Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar set up an expert committee to assess the damage. Seventyfive samples were taken from the fields which were analysed at the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, the Post Harvest Technology Centre, IIT, Kharagpur, PAU and CIPHET, Ludhiana. This committee, which submitted its report in November 2009, observed, “The blackening of the grain might be possibly due to a high-iron content, climate change and brown pigmentation in the alerurone layer… The average total blackened grain varies from 3.4 to 8.79 per cent.” Besides, the PAU 210 variety was also analysed at the Food Research and Standardisation Laboratory, Ghaziabad, the Central Food Laboratory, Pune, and the CFTRI, Mysore. Twentyfive samples were sent to each of these laboratories by the Food Ministry of India. In his report on March 3, 2010, Dr. Dhir Singh, Director of the Ghaziabad Laboratory, observed, “All samples of rice are found to be conforming with the prescribed standards”. The Director of the Pune Food Laboratory observed, “I am of the opinion that all samples conform to the standards of rice as per the PFA rules 1955”. The CFTRI Institute, Mysore, found that only three samples were having damage content to the extent of 5.7, 6.7 and 6.2 per cent respectively. Dr. Gurdev Singh Hira, a former Additional Director Research, PAU, has stated in a study that the additional production due to the 4.6 lakh hectare area under PAU 201 was 49 lakh tonnes. The additional benefit to farmers of the state was of Rs. 504.7 crore and it saved 1.6 lakh hectare meter water and 155 million units of electricity and generated a revenue of Rs. 62.1 crore over the other non-basmati varieties. With a switch from non-basmati varieties to PAU 201, amenable to the delayed transplantation up to 25 June, it is expected that the prevalent trend in the fall of the water table in 74 per cent area will be arrested and the area experiencing a fall in the water table will reduce to 42 per cent. Moreover, in 58 per cent area of the state the ground water table would rise. The PAU 201 variety is also suited to poor ground water quality zone where it has shown better salinity-alkalinity tolerance over other non-basmati varieties of rice. PAU 201 yielded 71 quintals per hectare against 64 quintals per hectare in the case of other varieties in Bathinda district. According to Dr P S Minhas, Director Research, the PAU 201 rice variety matures in 144 days whereas other varieties like PR 116 and Pusa 44 mature in 160 days. The yield of this variety is 32-36 quintal per acre and it has gone up to 40 quintals. Dr. Minhas alleges that the rice millers bring broken rice from other states and mix the same with the rice millers in Punjab and manage to get the breakage limit extended as it was earlier 3 per cent and then it was raised to 4 per cent. This was also confirmed by a senior official of the Food Supplies Department of Punjab.
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Tamil
superstar Rajnikanth is all set to take a plunge into politics, says film director Shankar. The director known for mega budget films is directing Rajni’s latest film “Endhiran” (Robot). There are many scenes in the film with dialogue hitting out at politicians.
Those scenes and dialogue were written with the prior consent of the superstar, the director has told his friends. The only instruction from Rajni was to see that there were no personal attacks. But, another director, who had worked with Rajnikanth in the past, dismissed the idea. “Such rumours are spread by directors and producers to seek publicity for their films. Some other people had done so in the past. It has become a habit for everyone to spread such rumours to attract Rajni’s fans and people to the new movie”, he quipped. But, the star himself remains elusive on the subject. So his fans assume the final word has not been uttered yet. Adieu sweet home
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s house is known to most of the top leaders in the country. Former Prime Ministers like AB Vajpayee and I.K. Gujral, have visited this house, which is the DMK leader’s permanent address for about five decades. The surprising news doing the rounds is that the veteran leader is planning to shift to a new residence. DMK circles say that the old house had developed cracks at some
places. Initially, the Chief Minister had thought of repairing the house. But his family members seem to have persuaded him to shift the residence. However, the 86-year-old is reluctant to move far from Gopalapuram. His son and Deputy Chief Minister Stalin, daughter Kanimozhi and other friends are on the look out for a new house. Karunanidhi has laid down two conditions to choose a new house. First, it should be comfortable and convenient. Second, it should not appear luxurious. If everything goes according to the plan, the Chief Minister is likely to celebrate his next birthday in the new residence. Intoxicating protest
Coconut farmers in Tamil Nadu have announced a novel protest. They will freely serve toddy, a liquor taken from coconut and palm trees, to the delegates of the World Classical Tamil Conference to be held in Coimbatore. This agitation is against the state government’s crackdown on toddy tapping. The government action has led to allegations of suppressing swadeshi liquor and supporting videshi drinks. Farmers are raising questions over the liquor policy of the state, selling IMFL products through government-owned TASMAC shops. Protesting farmers argue that toddy is not an intoxicating drink, but a food item. The alcohol content of toddy does not exceed 13 per cent. The alcohol content of IMFL products goes up to 46.5 per cent. |
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Corrections and clarifications
Despite our earnest endeavour to keep The Tribune error-free, some errors do creep in at times. We are always eager to correct them. This column appears twice a week — every Tuesday and Friday. We request our readers to write or e-mail to us whenever they find any error. Readers in such cases can write to Mr Kamlendra Kanwar, Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune, Chandigarh, with the word “Corrections”
on the envelope. His e-mail ID is kanwar@tribunemail.com. Raj Chengappa |
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