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Armed Forces Act: Human rights can’t be violated
Bill for a biotech authority Profile
Improve facilities for the blind, says Anuradha Mohit On Record
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A Tribune Special
The torching of over a dozen houses belonging to the Dalits of Mirchpur village in Hisar district, which led to the death of two persons and migration of three Scheduled Caste families, has evoked a sharp reaction. The Scheduled Caste community in the village had refused to cremate the dead bodies unless all the culprits, including the officials guilty of negligence, are booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Some MPs have raised the issue in the Lok Sabha and all the political parties have condemned the incident. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has termed it as unfortunate and promised requisite action. The Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, Buta Singh has also visited the village and plans to submit a report after meeting Haryana’s Chief Secretary and Home Secretary. However, representatives of 42 khap panchayats have condemned the arrest of the accused and demanded a CBI probe. They also threatened agitation if their demand is not met by May 6. The Tribune has in an editorial (April 23) aptly observed that “the shameful incidence shows up the weakness of both the administration and the civil society”. Encouragingly, some Jat families of Mirchpur gave shelter to some Dalit families and the CPM leaders have also helped stop their exodus from the village. This, however, is not an isolated incident. As is evident from the earlier happenings at Harsola (Kaithal), Dulina (Jhajjar) and Gohana (Sonipat), it is a part of the ongoing process of atrocities on the state’s Dalits over the years. Therefore, it becomes essential to find out the factors and forces behind this retrograde trend and to suggest ways and means to control it. This has to be ascribed to the breakdown of the Jajmani system, in which there existed the traditional interdependence between the landowning families from the peasant castes and the landless agricultural labourer families of the Dalits, after the advent of Green Revolution in the 1970s. This happened on account of the increased mechanisation of agriculture and the consequent decrease in the demand for farm labour and the availability of cheaper migrant labourers. This enabled the landowning families to jettison their traditional farm labourers from the Dalit castes. This in a way liberated them from the bondage of the landowning castes and they began to exercise their vote in the parliamentary and assembly elections in an independent manner instead of remaining the captive vote banks of the landowners. The led to the emergence of a conflict between them which at times assumed the form of atrocities on the Scheduled Castes. The problem has been further aggravated by the implementation of the 73rd Amendment by the Haryana Panchayat Raj Act 1994. As a result, the membership and chairpersonship of the Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis and the Zila Parishads was reserved for the Scheduled Castes in accordance with their one-fifth share in the state’s population. The traditional leaders of the rural society from the landowning castes, having hegemony over the rural power structure, found it difficult to come to terms with this changed situation. They viewed it as a threat to their authority and started resorting to at some places atrocities on the Dalits for reasserting their supremacy. Another factor that has contributed to the rise of this phenomenon is the creation of new affluence in that section among the Dalits which was able to take advantage of the reservations in government jobs due to its relatively superior position among these castes. Besides, some enterprising Scheduled Caste persons were able to acquire affluence by switching over to the non-traditional vocations. This neo-affluent section of the Scheduled Castes began to emulate the lifestyle of the land owning castes. A segment of the hold owning castes having the feudal mindset found the adoption of their lifestyle by the castes perceived by them as the low castes intolerable. This in turn culminated in the instances of atrocities on the Dalits such as were committed at Gohana in 2005. The role of the khap panchayats (the traditional clan councils) of various gotras of the Jats too has to be held responsible for the increase in the atrocities on the dalits. The traditional and neo-feudal leadership of these institutions has been consistently taking an anti-Dalit castes stance. It may be recalled that a khap panchayat had extended all-out support to those found guilty of lynching the Scheduled Castes in Dulina. The decision to burn the houses of the Scheduled Castes in retaliation to the murder of a Jat youth Baljit Siwach by a Bilmiki at Gohana too was taken by a khap panchayat which had later strongly opposed action against those responsible for that ghastly action. The persistence of this unhealthy trend may also be attributed to the overwhelming representation of the dominated land owning castes in the police force. Some police personnel from this stratum of society have a strong anti-Scheduled Caste bias due to their neo-feudal social and cultural background. Even concerted efforts of the Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, to sensitise them through various orientation and refresher courses have so far failed to change their mindset. The number of Scheduled Castes in the key postings like that of SHOs of police stations, DSPs of sub-divisions and SPs of different district too is inadequate. A major factor for the continuation of this phenomenon is the existence of a strong caste-based division among the Ravidasias and Balmikis. It was further sharpened by the Haryana government’s decision in 1994 to divide them into ‘A’ and ‘B’ categories for giving them balanced benefits of reservations. This created both vertical and horizontal divide in them. The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashing that decision has further sharpened this divide instead of closing it because the Balmikis feel that all the benefits of protective discrimination shall henceforth be grabbed by the Ravi Dasias who are better off than the other Scheduled Castes in all walks of life. The problem has been aggravated by some self-seeking leaders of the two communities for serving their personal political ends. The rise of these phenomena may be ascribed to the absence of a strong social reform movement and the weakness of freedom movement in the Haryana region during colonial period and to the neglect of social development in the post-colonial period during which the region was a part of Punjab. Even Haryana’s rapid economic development since its formation on November 1, 1966 has failed to make much change. The ruling elite concentrated on economic development but did not give adequate attention to educational and cultural development. This has resulted in social regression which finds expression in the form of sporadic instances of atrocities on the Dalits in the state. This leads us to the question: what can be done to check the malady? This requires a change in the mindset of the rural society in general and of the peasant caste in particular. They need to be liberated from the neo-feudal culture through inculcation of liberal and democratic values. This task will have to be performed by the civil society – the media, the academia, and NGOs. The administration and the police will also have to be sensitised for acting in a pro-active manner for preventing these atrocities. The panchayati raj institutions will also have to perform their role of promoting social justice for this purpose instead of remaining confined to the agenda of construction of streets and drains. The illegal activities of the khap panchayats and their anti-Scheduled Caste stance will have to be checked by the Haryana government. Hard decisions are needed for this purpose. The Scheduled Castes will have to be given key postings in the police administration. It is equally essential to unite the Dalits. Besides, efforts will have to be made for strengthening the progressive forces and the civil society in the state. This is equally essential for taming the menace of the neo-feudal and conservative elements. In fine, the state government must de-bureaucratise, decentralise and democratise the district administration in the light of the recommendations of the Third State Finance Commission for effective implementation of its worthy initiatives for the educational and economic empowerment of the dalits which have not been effectively delivered so
far. The writer, a former Professor of Political Science, Kurukshetra University, is presently Consultant, Haryana Institute of Rural Development, Nilokheri
(Karnal)
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Armed Forces Act: Human rights can’t be violated
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) extends to all the north-east states except Sikkim. It comes into operation after a declaration have been made under section 2 of the act that the particular area is disturbed. The Act will reportedly remain unchanged because of the objections voiced by the Army. Earlier Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised to consider amendments to make the AFSPA to more humane. It was extended to Jammu and Kashmir in July 1990. It provided special powers on the members of the armed forces to effectively deal with the insurgency and the terrorists in the disturbed areas. It authorises armed forces personnel to use such force as may be necessary to effect the arrest. It also gives powers to them to use force including opening power even to the extent of causing death, if prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more persons or carrying arms and weapons etc. are in force in the disturbed areas. Section 5 of the Act requires that persons arrested by the armed forces are to be handed over to the nearest police station without the least possible delay along with the report of “circumstances occasioning the arrest”. Section 6 gives the armed forces discharging duties under the act immunity from prosecution or other legal proceedings except with the previous sanction of the Centre. Human rights activists and civil society groups have criticised the Act as draconian, giving unrestricted and unaccounted power to the security forces to carry out operations in the disturbed areas. They say the Act has been abused and misused. Attempts have also been made to seek judicial review of the law on grounds that it is repugnant to the right to equality and federal structure of the Constitution. A five-Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights vs. Union of India held the enactment to be constitutionally valid. The Supreme Court held that the Act was valid given the context in which it was enacted and where it was implemented. Even though it may appear to be harsh on the face of it, “it was a necessity.” As regards powers vested in the Union government, the Supreme Court noted that Section 3 was amended by Section 7 of the 1972 by virtue of which the power to declare an area to be “disturbed area” has also been conferred on the central government. The Justice Jeevan Reddy committee examined the provisions of Section 4(a) of the Act and found that powers conferred therein are not absolute and could be invoked only in the disturbed area if already there was a prohibitory order in force. Further the opinion formed by the officers has to be fair and honest. It was of the view that the phase “least possible delay” has to be construed in the light of Article 22(2) of the Constitution which confers the right upon the person arrested or detain in custody to be produced before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours of such arrest (excluding the journey time). After taking the views of various stakeholders, it inferred that the Act should be repealed. It will be more appropriate to insert appropriate provisioning in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act instead of suggesting a new legislation. It held that the “Act whatever the reason has become a symbol of oppression and the object of hate and instrument of discrimination and highhandedness.” Therefore, it is desirable and advisable to repeal the Act altogether. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission also recommended that it should be repealed. To provide for an enabling legislation for deployment of armed forces in the North-East states, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act should be amended by inserting a new Chapter VI A as recommended by the Committee to Review the Armed Forces (Special Powers Act), 1958. The new Chapters V1A would apply only to the North-Eastern states. Senior Army officers are of the view that diluting special powers given to the security forces under law could be damaging. To operate effectively, security forces need necessary legal provisions. Such laws are only safeguards for security forces and give them the requisite legal framework which permits them to conduct pro-active operations. In a 16-page report titled “Getting Away with Murder; 50 years of Arms Forces Special Powers Act”, Human Rights Watch has said that Indian officials have long sought to justify use of the law by citing the need for the armed forces to have an extraordinary powers to combat armed insurgents. It said that abuses facilitated by special extra-judicial killings, torture, rape and disappearances have fed public anger and disillusionment with the Indian state. This has permitted militant groups to flourish in north-eastern state and Jammu and Kashmir. Since 2000 Irom Sharmila, an activist in Manipur, has been on hunger strike demanding repeal of the Act. The government has responded by keeping her in judicial custody and force-feeding her through a nasal tube. The AFSPA is indeed a complex and contentious issue. There are human rights violations in the enforcement of the Act but these are often justified as necessary and are not viewed as repressive because threats to security and integrity of the nation posed by the terrorists. The Jeevan Reddy committee recommended creation of grievance cell. Many people in the north-east have been complaining about the problems faced by those who seek information about family members and friends who have been picked up and detained by armed or security forces. There have been a large number of cases where those taken up without warrants have disappeared. There is need for a mechanism, which is transparent, involving authorities from concerned agencies as well as civil society groups to provide information of missing persons within 24 hours. Grievance cells should be set up in each district where armed forces are deployed. These cells will receive complaints regarding missing persons or abuse of law by security/ armed forces and make prompt enquiries and information to the
government. The writer, a former Director-General, National Human Rights Commission, is presently Senior Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
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Bill for a biotech authority
When Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Environment and Forests, put an indefinite moratorium on the release of genetically modified Bt brinjal on February 9, he actually made a far more important statement that India is not tied down to the apron strings of any multinational corporation or country, specifically, the United States.
This came as a surprise to the rich and the powerful, the politicians and the bureaucrats (exceptions granted), who benefit by India’s being an appendage of MNCs and the US. A lot of what has happened in the country in the last few years had made the above clan fully complacent about Mr Ramesh’s decision — that irrespective of the enormity of the evidence and public opinion against Bt brinjal, he would permit its commercialisation and thus open irreversibly the floodgates for US control of Indian agriculture, of our food security and sovereignty, farmers’ security and the security of the rural sector. And whosoever controls Indian agriculture, de facto controls India. The unpleasant fact is that the above clan, comprising a miniscule proportion of Indians, believes it stands to gain enormously by such a sell out. However, Mr Ramesh disappointed them. We congratulated him for his bold decision but also realised that we have only won the battle and not the war. So, Nina Federoff of the US who was here when Mr Ramesh announced his decision, almost certainly to influence his decision in favour of Bt brinjal, did not return to the US empty-handed. Nina was probably told by Mr Ramesh’s opponents in the government, “Don’t worry. We have ways and means of legally reversing Mr Ramesh’s decision. We will pass a Bill to set up a National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA) under the Department of Biotechnology which will take away the power of decision-making in regard to GMOs from the Ministry of Environment. We would thus be able to do what you want us to do”. It has not been their concern as to what happens to 99 per cent of the “less fortunate” Indians. The Bill must be the most draconian Bill. Consider some of its provisions. *Section 63 says, “Whoever, without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public about the safety of the organisms (GMOs) and (their) products, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both”. And who will decide whether there is “evidence or scientific record”? A three-member authority which will be chosen (probably in consultation with Monsanto and its supporters in India) by a selection committee that would be easy to influence, as it would have no nominees of the civil society that will bear the brunt of the failure of a GM crop or the harm caused by it. No matter how strong the evidence is or how good the scientific record is and no matter how flawless the reputation of the person criticising the release of a GMO is, the regulatory authority can brush all that aside and put the person in jail. This writer wonders what it will do to foreign critics with an impeccable scientific record and reputation. Ask for their extradition? lThe National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA) will work under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in the setting up of which this writer had a significant role and which this writer has known reasonably well as a member of its first Scientific Advisory Committee. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is today the most ardent vendor of GMOs in the country. Thus, the vendor will be the regulator which would be against the principle of natural justice. The Appellate Tribunal proposed in the Bill is an eye-wash as it will also work under the DBT. Strangely, it shall not be bound by rules of evidence contained in our Evidence Act. lAgriculture is a State subject and well over 10 states, cutting across political affiliations had, de facto or de jure, expressed opposition to Bt brinjal. The Bill (Section 34) now envisages only an advisory role for the state government in regard to release of GMOs. They cannot oppose it, even though agriculture is a State subject. lThe Bill is full of scientific absurdities. Thus, it calls “transformation, polyploidy induction and mutation breeding” as “natural processes”. They are all human-controlled processes to bring about genetic changes. lThe Bill’s definition of “modern biotechnology” is ridiculous and highly restrictive. It is like saying that by “modern science” we mean “modern biology”. lThe Bill does not encourage a totally independent laboratory to do all the required tests, to be controlled jointly by all the stakeholders as stated in the proposal for such a laboratory that this writer had submitted to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) at their request, which proposal Mr Ramesh has supported in principle. lNo reasons are given as to why a new authority. It is not stated as to what is wrong with the present system. lThe Bill is against any kind of transparency (Section 27.1). Given the situation in the country in respect of, for example, corruption and unqualified commitment of the government to MNCs and the US, it is most likely that GMOs will be released without any test whatsoever or just face-saving tests done superficially. If the Bill is passed, there will be only two alternatives for our countrymen: to make sure that the Bill is not notified or is repealed in a reasonable time; or to begin the Third War of
Independence! The writer is a former Vice-Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission and founder-director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad |
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Profile Is life a game of dice for renowned statistician, Pranab Sen, chosen for the prestigious Samuel S. Wilks Award by the American Statistical Association? Sen will be the second statistician of Indian origin after C.R. Rao to receive the award. He tried to get into medical school, but could not make it because he was 18 months below the required age for entry. At Calcutta’s Presidency College, he initially opted for physics and mathematics, but an old friend persuaded him to switch to statistics — “a third throw of dice”. Flanked by chancy success, he stood at the doorsteps of Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, in quest of assistantship. He was not selected not because of lack of merit, nor of underage, but for not being offered enough money to cover his family needs. That was another “throw of dice”. So he returned to Calcutta University where he spent six years, the period he described as “the paradise of my life”. After teaching for three years at Calcutta University, Sen came to Berkeley as a Visiting Professor in 1964. In 1965, he joined the Department of Statistics and Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he remained. His contributions span medicine, genetics and other fields such as environmental science. In medicine, say specialists, there are situations where the available data do not reveal any clear distribution of events — non-parametric statistics comes in handy to understand such a situation. Sen has reportedly revealed that he had held discussions with the Public Health Foundation of India, a public-private initiative to promote education and research in public health, to introduce intensive training in biostatistics to students in post-graduate courses. Biostatistics in the sphere of public health would allow researchers to analyse patters of diseases and study drug performance. Sen’s pioneering contributions have touched nearly every area of statistics. He is the first person who, in collaboration with Prof S.K. Chatterjee, developed multivariate rank tests as well as time-sequential non-parametric methods. Sen has 600 research publications. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 11 books and monographs. He has also supervised over 80 Ph D students, many of whom have achieved distinction both nationally and internationally. Prof Sen has been quoted as saying, “here at Chapel Hill, we have been trying to get the best statistics students from Calcutta University, the ISI and Pune University. But he is disappointed with the pace of education and research in India on the interface of biology and statistics, including drug assessment, clinical trails and genetic studies. The Samuel Wilks Award recognises Sen’s pioneering deep, profound and legendary contributions to statistics in general and non-parametrics, particularly for his selfless dedicated service to the profession through numerous editorial activities. Interestingly, Samuel Wilks was the external examiner of Sen’s doctorial dissertation submitted to Calcutta University in 1961 and he made several valuable comments on that. The award will be presented to Prof Sen on August 3,
2010.
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Improve facilities for the blind, says She played an important role in the enfranchisement of the visually impaired voters. There was a good voting turnout in 2007 Assembly elections and last general election as the voter’s list for the visually impaired was transcribed in Braille. Change is taking place slowly, but a lot more needs to be done, she tells The Tribune in Dehradun. Excerpts: Q: With the advent of technology, will Braille turn obsolete? A: Braille is the only reliable medium of communication for the blind. It is a universal script. A better reading and writing medium, it is phonetically designed for the blind aligned with a unique code system. The evolution of a single system, Bharatiya Braille (adaptation of six-dot system) in use by blind persons to communicate with each other is unique. Voice recognition technology and sound text messages can only be used as aids but to become literate and get employment, Braille has to be learnt. Q: Is there adequate material for the physically challenged people? A: In a 2008 NIVH study, it was found that to meet the demand Braille capacity in India had to be urgently expanded. Though there is a huge demand for Braille textbooks for school-going children, our total Braille printing capacity is not more than eight to nine crore pages per annum. We require at least 13-15 new presses to help blind children attend specialised or generalised schools having access to Braille textbooks. The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has provided funds to NIVH for starting a modern high capacity printing unit at Chennai and three small-scale printing units at Meghalya, Mizoram and Tripura. A part of the printing work is also outsourced to private-funded. In all, there are eight high capacity modern printing presses and 15 small-scale Braille printing units in the country. The Central Braille Press in Dehradun was established in 1951. Q: What is the big hindrance in providing education to blind children? A: The non-availability of instructors who have undergone training in Braille or special education is a major problem in the country. The teachers in general schools in Uttarakhand have neither received any training in Braille nor the state government is keen to engage special education teachers who have training in the field of visual disability. The condition of NGO-run schools in the hills is extremely poor. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh have made giant strides in he promoting education for the blind. But the visually impaired in Uttarakhand are a neglected lot. Q: Will a barrier-free access for the disabled become a reality? A: It requires strong will power and commitment to allocate funds for creating infrastructure for the blind. The concept of barrier-free society has to be promoted in the rural and urban areas with proper norms and guidelines. Q: Are you happy with the government systems and social awareness about the rights of the disabled? A: I am satisfied with certain things, but individuals should not succumb to pity or sympathy. Some seats have been reserved for the visually impaired in the Civil Services examination. I tell aspirants that we can only give you counseling and study material but the rest should be your effort. Hopefully, we will see most of them taking greater responsibilities. The Disability Act 1995 ensures equal opportunities for us. The less endowed should be given a chance without rancour. Q: Were you ever discriminated in your life? A: Discrimination can be subtle and open. It can be both at home and even at working place. One should be ready to stand up for what is wrong. My father, who passed away recently, was a great source of strength. A part of me is still grieving his loss. Yet life must go on.n
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In a poem Sen penned for fellow statisticians, he described how chance — “throw of dice” as he calls it — propelled him towards statistics. He lost his father when he was ten years old and had to depend on relatives to support his education —“the first throw of dice”. During his final year in high school, his mind was set more on the attraction of roadside games than on school. But he topped the list of school graduation — “a second throw of dice”. 
Life