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Ignominious exit
SC seals Manu’s fate |
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Cyber attack
Strategy to tame the Maoists
Kochi Kochi Hota Hai
PSEB corporatisation
A maestro or a pop star? Mumbai Diary
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Ignominious exit What a fall from grace it has been for Shashi Tharoor! About a decade ago, he was named a “Global Leader of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum. And on Monday, he was unceremoniously ejected from the Council of Ministers. The former Minister of State for External Affairs – the word “former” is yet to fully sink in – was skating on thin ice ever since he paradropped into Indian politics from the cosy comfort of a UN assignment.
But he never really heeded the warning signs, and remained in a self-destruct mode all along. To that extent, the Kochi controversy has been only the proverbial last straw. He had lost friends steadily even in his own party, whether it was by staying in a five-star hotel after being appointed minister or twittering irresponsibly. To make matters worse for himself, he criticised the visa restrictions imposed by his own government on foreign nationals, and even mocked Nehruvian foreign policy. The first-time MP from Thiruvananthapuram was carrying on all this while because of the indulgence shown both by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mrs Sonia Gandhi. But the financial impropriety involved in his “mentoring” the IPL team for Kochi was too much to digest and it was obvious that he had become an embarrassment for the ruling party. He denied any hand in arranging a Rs 70-crore bonanza for his friend Sunanda Pushkar in the form of “sweat equity” but no one was convinced. It is really weird that the income tax authorities got into action only after IPL commissioner Lalit Modi fell foul of Shashi Tharoor. That does not show the sleuths in very positive light. But whatever the motivation, now that the investigations have started, it is necessary to go to the bottom of the entire IPL functioning and its accountability. It appears that the Kochi tip has a huge iceberg under the surface. The most shocking are the allegations of betting – and may be even match-fixing – in the IPL, particularly on games featuring Kings XI Punjab, of which Modi’s son-in-law Gaurav Burman is the co-promoter. Why is it that wherever we have mega bucks, mega scandals lurk in the shadows?
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SC seals Manu’s fate MONDAY’S Supreme Court ruling upholding the conviction and life imprisonment awarded to Manu Sharma by the Delhi High Court in the Jessica Lall murder case will help reinforce people’s faith in the higher judiciary. A Bench consisting of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Swatanter Kumar sealed Manu’s fate when it ruled that the prosecution has proved “beyond reasonable doubt” his presence at the crime spot — New Delhi’s Qutub Colennade on the night of April 29, 1999.
Manu shot dead ramp model Jessica Lall after she refused to serve him a drink at a party organised by socialite Bina Ramani. Manu is the son of Haryana’s senior Congress leader Venod Sharma. Significantly, the Bench dismissed senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani’s contention that the Delhi High Court had convicted Manu, his client, under “media pressure”. Factors like Manu’s flight from the crime spot and the recovery of a similar bullet from his vehicle proved his involvement in the crime, it said. Two others whose four-year jail sentence — for destruction of evidence — have been upheld are Vikas Yadav, son of controversial former MP D.P. Yadav and Amardeep Singh Gill, an MNC executive. The 11-year-old case had engaged national attention for its many twists and turns. There was a public outcry when the trial court, after almost seven years of trial during which several witnesses turned hostile, had acquitted all the accused for lack of evidence. It was a classic example of how the police, the prosecution, the witnesses and the trial court made a mockery of the criminal justice system. However, the media, including The Tribune, campaigned against the miscarriage of justice and stepped up pressure for bringing the guilty to book. The Delhi Police filed an appeal against the ruling. The reversal of acquittals by the Delhi High Court was hailed as triumph of justice. The apex court has now ruled that the High Court had given “cogent and adequate reasons” for reversing the trial court order. The judgement must serve as a warning to the high and mighty to behave and not to attempt to scuttle justice. As hostile witnesses are playing havoc with the criminal justice system, there is a need to tighten laws and evolve a comprehensive programme for witness protection.
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Cyber attack An Indian Embassy is again under cyber attack, its website compromised. This is the latest in what seems to be an unending spate of attacks on Indian cyber entities. The public website of the Indian embassy in Moscow was attacked, some e-mail accounts were cloned and later used for spreading malware. The embassy has firmly denied that any sensitive information was compromised, or that its firewall was breached. The finger of suspicion, in this case, too, points towards Chinese hackers, since at least two cyber attacks were traced to Chinese servers.
The embassy acted promptly in warning people on their mailing list, asking them not to open any messages with attachments, which limited the damage. China is being frequently cited as the source of many significant cyber attacks, including the ones that were exposed by the Shadowserver Foundation, just a few weeks ago. Earlier, Google decided to move its search operations outside China after facing sustained and sophisticated attacks on its servers. Last year, a ring called Ghostnet infiltrated networks in 103 countries, India included. Chinese hackers attack a world without boundaries, but it is hard to imagine that they are stateless players. In fact, both the nature of these intrusions and their targets point towards the Chinese government as a beneficiary, a charge Beijing denies. In the cyber world, like in the real world, the weakest link is enough to break a chain, and hackers specialise in finding out that very target. There is, thus, need for adequate provision of security and training of the staff so that proper vigilance is exercised, both online and offline. India simply must shake off its lackadaisical attitude towards cyber security. No modern nation can afford to have insecure computer networks. Government business, military communication, banking, regular business, all depend increasingly on computers and thus, it is imperative that more attention be devoted to securing the computers and networks where sensitive information is processed. The latest attack is yet another wake-up call, and we must come alive to the threat posed by such hackers. |
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Wit will shine/Through the harsh cadence of a rugged line. — John Dryden
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Strategy to tame the Maoists
The massacre at Dantewada is a wake-up call for the entire nation and not just for the police forces that are involved in conducting counter-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh and other affected states. This is the time for soul-searching, introspection and coming up with a strategy that can effectively deal with this major challenge to the nation. The various tactical aspects of the unfortunate incident and the motivations of the Maoists have been well debated. The focus unfortunately is on equipment upgrades, whereas the essential requirement is to change the ethos, training and leadership of the police forces and make them more capable. By focusing on high technology weaponry, we seem to forget the old adage – “it is the man behind the gun and not the gun that matters”. Current weaponry with some technical upgrades is adequate, as in such operation skills are more important than firepower. There are six states that are in the grip of militancy. I am intentionally using the word militant (s), as opposed to insurgents or terrorists, for the Maoists are very much part of our polity and have resorted to taking up arms when other methods have not succeeded. They are not in the same category as insurgents and terrorists in J&K and hence need to be treated differently, especially in the case of quantum of force and the manner in which it is applied. There has been some talk of deploying the Army to deal with the Maoist militants. This may seem an attractive option, but in actuality it is not. In principle, the Army should not be committed to tackling internal militancy. The Army is meant to fight external aggression, which includes tackling external insurgency. If at all it is to be employed to tackle internal militancy, it should be as the last resort when the police forces of all types have failed. It should also be withdrawn at the earliest opportunity. In our country, the instrument of choice for tackling internal militancy and insurgency is the civil police, assisted by the CRPF, which is a component of the Central Police Organisations (CPOs). The police have enormous advantages over the military. They have legitimacy, close knowledge of local conditions, an extensive bank of local intelligence and means of acquiring fresh intelligence, close familiarity with the law and expertise in criminal investigations. Consequently, the use of the state police with the CRPF units superimposed, as at present, needs to continue. Over a period of time the country has raised vast numbers of CPO units, but they have unfortunately not been trained well for their primary tasks and there is little bonding among the personnel (including officers) in sub-units and units. The senior hierarchy of the CPOs comprises solely of IPS officers, who have never commanded platoons, companies and battalions. Resultantly, they are unable to appreciate the ground situation and plan operations correctly. As opposed to this, all senior Army officers have risen in rank after serving extensively at the levels of platoons, companies and battalions. The major drawbacks of both the state police and the CRPF include the typical police culture of delayed and lethargic responses, lack of adequate training for executing the assigned tasks, lack of competent leadership, lack of some items of technical equipment and not the least their thinking that the Army is always there to take over, as it has done in the past! This attitude needs to be disabused, as it is fraught with a very large number of negatives. The Maoist militancy has not suddenly appeared; it has been a festering concern for decades and yet we have not been able to make these CPO units fit to tackle internal militancy and insurgency. The Central government must take early and active measures to enhance the capabilities of the CPOs while the state governments must do the same for their respective police forces, especially their armed police units. For decades now, the Army has repeatedly suggested that both the CPOs and the Army will benefit by lateral induction of trained Army personnel to the CPO units and their headquarters. This has also featured as a strong recommendation by the Sixth Pay Commission. All such recommendations have, however, been summarily rejected by the Home Ministry mainly on account of preserving their turf. Short Service Commissioned Officers, who cannot be retained in the Army after their mandatory service of five years, extendable to 10 in selected cases, are ideal material to be inducted into the CPOs. They are excellent officers, highly competent and well versed in conducting counter-militancy operations. Such lateral shifts will give the CPOs ready and well-trained young officers, who with their Army ethos, excellent leadership qualities and professional outlook would change the CPO units from complacent to competent and would make them capable of fighting not just the Maoists but even other insurgents in future. There is urgent need to do away with the current compartmentalised existence and take much broader views. Otherwise, we will continue to wallow in the usual copious reports of committees, demands for raising more units, import of sophisticated weapons that are really not needed, the continuing blame-game and so on, but nothing will be done to remove the systemic deficiencies and weaknesses! There is also a political aspect that needs to change. The Centre cites the Constitution and says that security is a state subject, thus throwing the ball directly in the state’s court. The states deftly parry with the logic of lack of resources! In some states, the Maoists are even looked at as assets for elections and their violence gets subtly condoned! In addition, when militancy is active in six states, how can each state fight it on its own? Unless there is a joint and concerted attempt simultaneously in all the affected states, nothing is likely to be achieved. The time has come for setting aside the political baggage and getting together for the common cause. Let political expediency be kept aside while the full weight of the nation is used to confront the Maoists. The need of the hour is to quickly set up two sets of structures, one for addressing the genuine concerns of the Maoists and the other for the conduct of police operations. The former is the concern of each state government and to varying extent it is already being done, but the latter needs a well-thought-out centralised structure under an overall force headquarters, headed by a DGP-level officer. This headquarters, while maintaining liaison and coordination with each state government, must have autonomy to plan and conduct all counter-militant operations in the entire Maoist-affected areas. The staff must report only to the Force Commander and not to their parent organisations, as is the current practice. All counter-militancy operations are of a long duration, but if the structures are correct and adequate attention is paid to removing systemic deficiencies, it would be possible to address both the amelioration of the concerns of the Maoists and the violence unleashed by them.n The writer is a former Vice-Chief of the Army Staff.
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Kochi Kochi Hota Hai
Hello, this is Barkha Bhogle coming to you live for “Extraa Earnings” from the stadium in Dharamsala. I have with me two key players of the IPL. One holds the key to KXIP being run out here and its under-performance this season: Yuvraj Singh. The other was the key player in certain overactive backstage IPL performers being bowled out — Lalit Modi. BB (To Yuvi): There’s been talk that this season you’ve not been in form, or you’ve chosen to under-perform? YS: Aw, I’ve been bouncing back from injuries. Not been in good shape, yes. BB: But what’s the shape of things to come, with rumours floating about you leaving KXIP? Is Kochi on your wish list? YS: Ha, ha. I may not have run well for KXIP, but Kochi has run straight into rough weather… BB: Well, we have here the man who can take credit for that! So, Mr Modi, having queered the pitch for Kochi, you’re having the last laugh, is it? LM: Ah, wasn’t it queer how much stake one particular person had got in Kochi? YS: The pitch can turn in one’s favour, sometimes. That’s how we beat top team Mumbai Indians in Mohali… BB: (To Modi) But Shashi Tharoor was not the only one on a sticky wicket. There’ve been allegations of your kin having parked funds in IPL franchises and your tweets amounting to breach of faith? YS (buts in): What matters is having faith in oneself. I know how much sweat and blood I’ve given my team. LM: Eh, but some people got shares without even shedding a drop of sweat. YS: Umm, may be, I should claim ‘sweat’ equity, too. BB: But with all this sweat equity having come under the IT scanner, will we have more exposures? YS: O jee, we are not ashamed to show, be it sweat or cash. But KXIP would have done better to cash in more on the leadership of the sons of the soil. LM: Yes, these could be taxing times for the IPL but when so much was at stake for a sleeping partner, heads had to roll. YS: Yeah, the team head must play his role. Which I did last season, still… if this time we didn’t get a head start, I’m not to blame. BB: Well gentlemen, we have surprising news. Let’s hear it straight from the studio. Over to our host… In the middle of these jumbled sound bytes breaks in the “googly” from the host: “Barkha, there’re new developments in the IPL stakes. Can you hear me …” “Yup, I’m on.” It seems that post-Sunanda there is another bidder for Kochi’s ‘sweat’ equity, whose name has just come to light. Someone who claims his ‘sweat’ share has its epidermal source close to Kochi, as it’s genetically funded by that state, though it flows into another state franchise. BB (To Yuvi and Modi): Any guesses? YS: I swear, I’m at a loss… HB: Swear? Aha, you’re pretty close. Back to the studio … Host: Well gentlemen, it’s none other than the bowler with the sweat and swear. The one who builds a heavy fund of sweat on many an on-field brow every time he decides to swear: S. Sreesanth. So much for tol mol ke
bo(w)l.
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PSEB corporatisation
The issue of unbundling the Punjab State Electricity Board was unnecessarily blown out of proportion by the media and the government. The procrastination by the government since the enactment of the Electricity Act, 2003, which mandates the state governments to convert the state electricity boards into companies in order to separate generation from transmission and distribution and infuse competition among all the independent entities has created some misgivings about the issue in the minds of the employees as well as the citizens.
All that was required was a structured process of unbundling along with the creation of awareness among all the stake-holders regarding its impact and boldly implementing it as soon as the government was ready with all the institutions in place. Instead, the government chose to mark time by seeking extensions ( 13 in all) and not making any effort to educate the masses about the possible outcomes of bringing the most required but unreasonably delayed power sector reforms. The successive governments, irrespective of the party in power, never paid any heed to the fact reiterated by the World Bank, the Planning Commission and academia that it is the power sector reforms which are likely to improve the lives of farmers by providing quality electricity rather than “free”, “interrupted” and more often unreliable power supply. Also a terribly indebted PSEB has been a major burden on the state’s finances and a cause of undermining the capacity of the state to carry on socio-economic development activities , of course, in case the government was inclined to do so. The industrialists of Punjab realise this and have backed the government on unbundling the PSEB . The corporatisation has led to the creation of two separate companies — the Punjab State Transmission Corporation Ltd (TRANSCO) to look after the transmission of power and the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (POWERCOM) to manage generation and distribution with 3,500 and 65,000 employees, respectively. The full ownership and management of the companies lies in the hands of the government of Punjab. The benefits of corporatisation claimed by the government include beginning the working of the two new companies with a clean balance sheet and enabling the state to purchase power from anywhere in the country. The government has assured the employees that their service conditions as well as the benefits will remain unchanged and there will consequently be no risk to their jobs. Tariff will be determined by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission as is done at present. Subsidies to all sections of society, including farmers, will continue. The move to corporatise the PSEB seems to be the first step towards the much-needed power sector reforms in the state. But the statements issued by the government indicate that the structural change has been brought about merely to fulfill the obligations laid out in the Electricity Act , 2003, and may not lead towards any “radical power sector reforms” that require the following: Infusing real corporate culture by appointing professionals at the helm of affairs with the powers to take independent decisions and not allowing any political interference. Rightsizing the two companies. Relating remuneration to performance and better accountability of the staff and workers and not letting each organisation reduced to just another government department. Pricing issues may be based on economic logic rather than short-sighted populism – which earlier has been the bane of the PSEB. The cross subsidy to a section of the consumers, which has been responsible for most ills of the board, must be stopped. Ensuring free flow of power to the farm sector instead of effective unavailability of so-called free power. The alternative could be to meter power supply to farmers and the government could provide upfront subsidies for the purpose . Ensuring quality power supply and legalising all power connections, ultimately ending power thefts, which are rampant. Allowing the new companies to raise capital on their own so that they are more responsible in its usage. The two companies then will be accountable for their performance and not build unmanageable liabilities and later pass them on to the consumers. A very important issue which must be understood by all the stake-holders, including the government and the employees, is that privatisation does not merely mean a change of ownership; it also means that the government could create a competitive power market by allowing the private sector to enter it. This will allow the consumer a choice to buy from the seller who can offer a better quality or price and the employees will gain more in the long run if employed in profitable organisations. The power sector must be developed on the lines of the telecommunication services where BSNL, after corporatisation, is offering good services at competitive prices and is no longer in deep slumber and arrogant as it was as a state monopoly. Though power reforms in some states are not very successful, Punjab can emulate the best practices in the matter ,e.g., the Gujarat model may be looked into and replicated with modifications suitable to Punjab. The hope of every Punjabi, who feels strongly about the revival of the state economy, hinges on effective economic and governance reforms in Punjab. The writer is a Professor of Economics at Panjab University, Chandigarh
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A maestro or a pop star? This has to do with the musical recital by one of the most illustrious maestros of Indian classical music on the evening of April 14. His is a revered name, more than deservedly so. One has grown up listening to him and adoring him. He drew the largest crowd one has seen in decades here in Chandigarh. Tagore theatre was jam-packed, and overflowing. People arrived early, and those who came at the appointed time, had to sit in the aisles. I had no doubt that the city pages of the next day’s local papers would have glowing reports. Every time a celebrated classical singer performs in Chandigarh, there are glowing reports. I am a little tired of the same adjectives used each time: enthralling, captivating, and the synonyms thereof you can find in the dictionary. To be bluntly honest, I have also watched some of these reporters for decades. That means I have watched them asking somebody more knowledgeable questions: What raga was it the singer sang, and what tala was it set to, and so on. But that is another story. So we had this huge, overflowing, reverent audience. They all clapped every time the Master did something clever and artful. Forgive them, for they know not that even the most appreciative audience ought not to clap in the middle of a performance. We know that pauses and silences are an essential part of recital. Their sanctity deserves a quieter way of appreciation. That is the difference, one imagines, between a classical performance and a rock concert. So the audience clapped madly, but that is not even half as tragic as the fact that the Maestro began to do clever and artful things to elicit such claps. One was appalled at this. A maestro, one thought, was a maestro. He need not play to the gallery. He need not cater to the lowest common denominator in the audience. Having been accorded all the Padma awards and all else that you count as honours, and more importantly having enjoyed the adoration of cultivated audience, you would imagine a maestro would actually do all that he can to preserve the sanctity of his high art. He must gently guide the less cultivated audience to feel and appreciate the finer nuances. An acrobatic but thoroughly unnecessary glide across octaves is dramatic, but it is certainly not the finest specimen of the art of classical music. Nor is letting percussionists go into episodic frenzy as if doing in a solo performance. At the end of it all, one felt cheated. Many said he would perform differently in Kolkata or Delhi or wherever people understand the finer nuances of music. They said he was quick in gauging the less-than-mediocre quality of his audience and as a professional adjusted to it. That leaves one wondering: how does one differentiate between a maestro and a pop star? Finally, a word to my fellow citizens of Chandigarh. Let us as audience learn some of the basic etiquette and decorum when it comes to classical arts. And a word to the VVIPs and VIPs of the town: Don’t look so crestfallen when you don’t find a seat waiting for you in the front row. The writer, a resident of Chandigarh for nearly four decades, is a Professor at Panjab University
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Mumbai Diary Veteran political observers in Mumbai, who were hoping to see the portly strongman on his back foot defending his reputation like he did more than a decade ago were, however, left disappointed. Like a seasoned batsman who does not get surprised twice by the same delivery dismissively hit the bouncer for a big six. Suddenly the accusers who were hoping to pin him down were running for cover. The hapless man at the other end left defenceless happens to be diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor, who naively agreed to pitch at the pinch hitter. The Minister of State for External Affairs, still new to the ways of Indian politicians, was forced to resign on Sunday.
Biyani hits bullseye
The latest among Biyani’s audacious moves is to rope in Sachin Tendulkar to launch a new range of toothpastes named after the cricketer. The new launch coinciding with the master blaster’s return to form promises huge dividends for Biyani’s company. The initial word of mouth response indicates that the product has grabbed the interest of customers. Soon there will be brand extensions and dental products made available across different formats.
Bollywood eyes Iran
Film makers from Bollywood are notorious for getting their ‘inspiration’ from the hits of Hollywood. The unabashed lifting of plot and characters of the past has given way to official remakes though the end products rarely resemble the original. So it is refreshing to note that at least one film-maker is looking Eastwards for his raw material. Award-winning Malayalam film director Priyadarshan, known for his latest outing Kanchivaram, is remaking Iranian film-maker Majid Majidi’s cult-film “Children of Heaven”, which is a big hit in the DVD circuit. The Hindi remake titled “Bum Bum Bole” will feature Taare Zameen Par star Darsheel Safary in the lead. Bollywood enthusiasts, who only know Priyadarshan’s whacky comedies mostly starring funster Paresh Rawal, will hopefully see the serious side of the talented director. |
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Corrections and clarifications l
The headline in the Letters to the Editor Column “Degrees on sale” ( Page 8, April 16) is misleading since the story was about ‘original’ research for PhD on sale, degrees come later. l
The headline “Watch out for touts cashing your foreign dreams,” (Page 2, April 19 Chandigarh Tribune) should have been “cashing in on”. l
In the headline “Post-Bangalore, security beefed up in the city” (Page 3, April 19) “Post-Bangalore blast, …” would have been more appropriate. l
The headline “City bus service to make inroads in Amritsar, Ludhiana” (Page 4, April 19) is incorrect; instead, it should have been “make inroads into….” 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
Associa
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During
Another street-smart player, this time in the field of business, is Kishore Biyani, who is behind the Big Bazaar chain of shopping malls. In a major comeback from a recession that nearly crippled his empire built on debt, Biyani has unveiled new strategies to grab a larger slice of the customer’s mind space — and her wallet.