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Maoists strike again
The deal in Tehran |
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Fighting corruption
Loose cannon’s volley & thunder
Cell phone censure
Managing manpower
Teaching agriculture to rural youth
Chennai Diary
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Maoists strike again
By
blowing up a civilian bus for the first time, the Maoists have crossed a line they had themselves drawn earlier. Claiming to wage a war on the state on behalf of the people, they had so far concentrated their attacks on security forces. But if Monday’s landmine blast does signal a change of tactics by them, it would really mean that no mode of public transport , specially the trains, would be safe any longer in Maoist strongholds. It would also mean that security forces will be vulnerable to attacks even when they travel in civilian clothes or avail of public transport. Maoists have been warning of an escalation if the government failed to withdraw the so-called Operation Green Hunt. It cannot be just a coincidence that the Maoists on the same day as the blast in Chattisgarh, left behind posters in Jharkhand demanding an end to the ‘Hunt’ even as their slippery spokesman Koteshwar Rao made a similar demand to a TV channel in West Bengal. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s credibility, meanwhile, is seriously at stake. While even the Opposition does not question his sincerity or determination to fight the Maoists, the Home Minister no longer provides the picture of a man in command or of a man sure of what is to be done. It is probably a case of crying wolf a little too often, flexing muscles without doing much groundwork and a case of waging a war through the media. This week he unfortunately came across as a commander whining over his ‘limited mandate’ and pleading for air-support in the battle against Maoists. The initial chest-thumping and rhetoric have now given way to a lament on the role of the civil liberties’ organisations. It is also significant that following Monday’s blast, the Home Minister did not make the kind of flying visit to the state he had made barely a month and a half ago. Indeed the Home ministry appears only too willing now to pass the buck to the state and remind people that law and order is the responsibility of the state government. The Maoist menace, however, will have to be fought jointly by the Centre and the states and eventually will have to be sorted out politically. There does not seem to be any substitute for mobilising the masses and strengthening democracy at the grassroots level. But for that to happen, the state must first crush the military arm of the rebels.
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The deal in Tehran
Tehran
appears to have stolen a march over Washington DC in finding a solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. The deal negotiated between Iran, Turkey and Brazil on Monday on the sidelines of the G-15 meeting in Tehran resembles the one finalised with the West last October which was acceptable to the US. Therefore, it will be difficult for the US to reject the latest agreement. The new deal has it that Iran will ship 1,200 kg or 2,640 pounds of low-enriched uranium to be stored in Turkey and in return Tehran will have the right to receive from Russia and France uranium enriched to the level of 20 per cent. The quantity of Iran’s uranium to be transferred to Turkey comes to over half of Tehran’s total stockpile of nuclear fuel. Last October 2640 pounds of uranium represented three-fourths of Iran’s total stockpile. The agreement is being interpreted as an attempt to prevent the harsher UN sanctions, which the US was contemplating to punish Iran for its nuclear transgressions. Whether Iran succeeds in forestalling this remains to be seen. But the fuel exchange deal shows a little shift in Iran’s stand, which earlier bordered on belligerence. There is a clear signal from Tehran for cooperation, not confrontation. Iranian readiness to keep a substantial part of its uranium stockpile in a third country can be described as the first step towards proving its credentials as a country trying to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. It may help prevent Iran’s isolation on the world stage. The situation will become clearer after Tehran formally informs the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within seven days of this momentous development as required under the deal. The Tehran deal amounts to upholding the viewpoint consistently being expressed by India and some other countries — that the world community must depend on dialogue and diplomacy for resolving the Iranian nuclear issue. Iran, after all, occupies a crucial position in the Gulf region and the rest of the world because of having one of the biggest oil and gas reserves. Any destabilisation in Iran is bound to affect the world at large.
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Fighting corruption
The
high-power committee constituted by the Centre to suggest measures to fast track action against corrupt and deviant civil servants was long overdue. Headed by former Union Public Service Commission Chairman P.C. Hota, the committee of experts will have former Central Vigilance Commissioner P. Shankar and former Secretary (Personnel) Arvind Verma as members. At present, a lot of time is wasted in sending these cases to the UPSC for advice, which is mandatory under Article 320 (3) © of the Constitution. The problem is that most cases are referred to the UPSC just before the tainted officer is due to retire or when the deadline set by a judicial order in the matter is about to expire. As a result, the UPSC hardly gets time to examine each case properly and make due recommendation to the Department of Personnel and Training. Clearly, there is a big difference between probing a serving and a retired civil servant. Certain forms of punishment cannot be awarded once the officer attains superannuation. However, if the officer is in service, action against him acts as an effective deterrent. A timely reference to the UPSC, at least six months in advance of an officer’s retirement, is desirable to speed up action against him/her. The disciplinary proceedings being quasi-judicial in nature, the UPSC tenders it advice after a thorough, judicious and independent consideration of all relevant facts. The new committee is expected to look into the current time-consuming process and suggest ways to cut delays and expedite action against bureaucrats. According to Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha, a list of 123 tainted IAS, IPS and IFS officers (from many states) has been hosted on the commission’s website. This shows the extent and magnitude of corruption in the higher bureaucracy. The CVC’s action, commendable though, is not enough. What is needed is a pro-active role by both the UPSC and the CVC in bringing the guilty to book expeditiously. Unfortunately, the IAS, supposed to be the cream of bureaucracy, is deteriorating fast because of increasing cases of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power involving its members. They no longer command the respect their predecessors once enjoyed. It is time to weed out the malcontents and stem the rot in the civil services.
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A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both sides, like a leather jerkin. — William Shakespeare
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Loose cannon’s volley & thunder The volley and thunder from loose cannons in recent weeks has reached epidemic proportions that call for prophylactic action. There is a certain political, social and individual discipline that people in public life must observe if they wish to be taken seriously and make claims to leadership. Shashi Tharoor’s gaffes have been followed by a series of actions and observations by Jairam Ramesh, another bright and intelligent younger minister, mistaking hubris for superior responsibility. To criticise one’s own government outside one’s own sphere of official responsibility on foreign soil on shaky premises and in defiance of collective responsibility was singularly brash and invited the stinging rebuke that inevitably followed. What signal was it supposed to send? And then the needlessly negative stance on Bt brinjal, forest-environmental clearances and in delaying national highway and other projects. These have once again tended to reinforce the unjustified notion that the Ministry of Environment and Forests is blocking development and hampering poverty alleviation on purist rather than practical considerations. Poverty, let it be remembered, is overall a great enemy of the environment as it compels communities to practice survival economics that are often sub-optimal. Thereafter, what does one do with coalition ministers who shirk their official duties to indulge in a variety of extra-curricular activities to advance their own agendas. Mamta Bannerje is in the government not to run the Railways, except to win credit in West Bengal, but to organise herself the better to fight her Leftist rivals. When the suburban motormen’s strike hobbled commuters in Mumbai recently, the minister was playing truant in Kolkata preparing for the forthcoming municipal elections there to the neglect of her ministerial and parliamentary responsibilities. Not to be outdone, Azhagiri, Karnunanidhi’s eldest son and his nominee in the Union Cabinet as Chemicals and Fertiliser Minister, has been largely absent from Parliament. During the just concluded budget session, Alagazhi was formally “on holiday” in the Maldives from April 17 to 22. He is among the many dummies in the Cabinet whose contribution is unlikely to be recorded in letters of gold, anytime, anywhere. He is otherwise in Madurai, planning how he can outwit his younger brother Stalin, in the race to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu when the throne to the fiefdom is vacated. Like the Trinamool Congress, the DMK holds the balance of power in the Lok Sabha on critical occasions. But what shall one say of A. Raja, Telecom Minister and another DMK nominee, who has presided over the 2-G and 3-G spectrum sales at great profit to a lot of interests other than the national exchequer. Reports have appeared, without contradiction, that he proceeded energetically with his mission in defiance of the Prime Minister’s cautions and instructions. Questions are being asked why anti-corruption investigations against him on the basis of material evidence were mysteriously put into cold storage last year on the intervention of powerful lobbies. When questions were raised, Karunanidhi rose to Raja’s defence with the extraordinary plea that he was being targeted because he is a Dalit. The telecom spectrum investigations conducted by the income tax and telecom authorities named leading corporate houses and famous media persons, among others, who wanted certain things done in a particular manner and indulged in influence peddling. Aspects of this sordid record, including official papers and approved telephone intercepts, are now in private circulation in the form of what are called the Radia papers, named after one of the leading lobbyists allegedly involved. The money in question reportedly runs into tens of thousands of crore of rupees which has been used to buy acquiescence or silence, provide slush funds and win influential support. Equally disturbing is the manner in which the Press Council’s two-member investigation into the “paid news” scandal is being sought to be delayed, suitably “moderated” or possibly scuttled from within. Enough has appeared in the public domain to suggest that the Council divided along media management and editorial lines when the investigation report came up for consideration and adoption and that a larger committee of 11 persons has been appointed to review the initial findings. This is disturbing, even ominous, coming as it does after most newspapers failed to publish the Editor’s Guild code of conduct on “paid news” that was adopted at a well-attended meeting a few months ago. Editors have taken the pledge. Managements differ. The line up is clear and it is no secret who calls the shots. To cap this tale of shame comes the defiance of certain khap panchayats in Haryana and UP to accept intra-gotra marriages and justify barbaric “honour” killings despite court rulings. More surprise that a young Congress MP, Naveen Jindal, should act as an intermediary for errant khaps on the utterly frivolous ground that it is an MP’s duty to represent his constituents. Matching this medieval obscurantism comes two fatwas from the Sunni Muslim seminary Darul Uloom in Deoband. One spoke against women working in a man’s world, a modern absurdity that no appeals to the divine can remotely justify. Closely following that was a second fatwa denouncing insurance, as this is based on interest earnings which are taboo in Islam. While there have been some modernising statements emanating from Deoband, they do not “balance” the basic fundamentalism that remains the mainspring of the seminary’s belief and actions. Whether it is Hindu or Islamic fundamentalism, there is a limit to extenuation as obscurantism upholds a bygone era and menaces the future.
A time comes when it is necessary to proclaim that the Emperor has no clothes at
all.
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Cell phone censure One of the first decisive acts of new British Prime Minister David Cameron was to censure the use of mobile phones, including Blackberries, in Cabinet meetings. His “Not, now. Not here, please” strikes a sixer for cell phone civility, which has been absent from the world in recent days as much as cricket is from Twenty20. Even as the British Cabinet was meeting to discuss ways to get away from the exertions of forming the Cabinet to being the Cabinet, there were two distracting phone calls and a text, which led to the ban. Ironically, at the same time, back in a country which was once the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, I was sitting in a place where by convention cell phones should not be used — in a place of worship. We were all there to pay our respects to a wonderful man, a surgeon and a scholar, who had departed us a few months before his 100th birthday. The psalms were soothing, the atmosphere sombre and serene. Till your glance went to someone who was busy texting, or another one who actually took a call! No doubt, cell phones or mobiles liberate us in many ways. They have revolutionised the way we communicate, and are ubiquitous in their spread. In India, a recent study found out that we have more cell phones than toilets! Not that we need the latter. He who hasn’t seen the sight of a grown-up man (why does it always have to be men?) standing by the roadside, peeing while carrying on a conversation on his mobile simultaneously, ain’t seen nothing yet. Who hasn’t been embarrassed at hearing in a crowded public place what should obviously be a private conversation? Which social gathering or meeting hasn’t been interrupted with a rude, incongruous sound of a caller tune that reveals the immaturity and fantasies of the mobile owner even as it irritates. I have always called my cell phone an electronic leash that allows me limited freedom at the cost of being available to all and sundry at even unearthly hours and inconvenient times. As German philosopher Immanuel Kant said, while formulating his Categorical Imperative, “Nothing is good in itself, except good will.” Cell phones have given us liberty, but they should not take away our life with their intrusions. We have to take charge of our lives. Somehow, people assume that cell phone recipients must always be available. Well, they will learn that this is not so, simply if you are not available to them. Cameron has made the right call. I sincerely hope that it catches up and we can cut ourselves from the tyranny that cell phones impose on us. When I acquired my first cell phone, it resembled a small Nanakshahi brick. It occupied pride of place in a holster on my belt. I guess at sometime or the other, Wild West fantasies played in my mind, and I definitely felt as empowered as any cowboy wearing his six shooter. It rang one day while I was sitting with an American scholar friend. As my hand moved towards the phone “like greased lightning,” as they say in Sudden books, she gasped: “Your aren’t going to take the call, are you?” For her it was inconsiderate,
impolite and a personal affront that I would take a call in the midst of our discussion. The sharpness and horror in her voice was enough to freeze the hand and make it cut the call, instead of taking it, as originally intended. I had learnt a valuable
lesson.
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Managing manpower Somebody has rightly said that “Even a nation with rich physical resources will not develop if its human resources are inadequate”. There was a time in human history, not too long ago, when people were merely treated as instruments of production. But over a period of time management thought has progressed to realise that even the lowliest worker “does not live by bread alone”. That is why HRM (Human Resources Management) is being supplemented by (Human Resources Development).
Human Resources Development “is the framework for helping employees develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge and abilities. It includes such opportunities as employee training, coaching, mentoring, and succession planning.” HRD is about putting people at the centre of development. It is about people realizing their potential, increasing their choices and enjoying the freedom to lives they value. It should be remembered that a nation high in human resources can develop fast and a developed nation enriches the quality of its human resources. It is a cyclical process. Even today we are measuring development with the Gross Development Product (GDP) and the BSE Sensex. We are flaunting malls and multiplexes at whoever dares to say that India is still under-developed. Of course, here and there, we do talk of Indira Awas Yojna, NREGA and the like, but most of the time we seem blinded with the glare. That is not good for the nation in the long run. No growth can sustain until the benefits percolate down to the lowliest. We must not lose sight of the people surviving on two dollars a day even though the number of billionaires is increasing every year. The fact is that GDP has become the sole benchmark for measuring the growth of a nation the world over. It is also true that the Indian GDP has also increased hugely during the last two decades. But when we talk of human development, this alone does not appear to be adequate. The huge gap between India (with ownership of more cars than family members, individuals owning helicopters, jets and private helipads, and people drinking chilled beer in place of water…) and Bharat (where people don’t get pure water to drink, where a girl child is killed in the womb of the mother or abandoned immediately after birth, where farmers commit suicide…) is too large to be ignored and is actually increasing every year. The quality of human resources can be measured/ evaluated only by combining economic growth with social development. Probably, realising this truth the United Nations has started issuing a Human Development Report since 1990, which ranks all the nations on the basis of the Human Development Index. The HD index is calculated on the basis of some social indicators which include life expectancy at birth, adult literacy, combined gross enrolment, G.D.P. per capita, life expectancy index, education index and G.D.P. index Any country can have the highest Human Development Index of 1.0 which means that it has achieved the highest level of comforts for its natives. The Human Development Report of 2009 ranks India at number 134, which means that 133 countries have better living conditions than India. Norway is at number one followed by Australia, Iceland and Canada at number two, three and four respectively. It is clear that India lags far behind the developed nations so far as living conditions are concerned. Even some developing countries fare better than us, even though their GDP is lower than ours. This indicates that benefits of economic growth are more evenly spread in those countries. It will need decades to come up to the level of those countries, that too if all concerned make concerted and serious efforts. Is any body listening? The HD report contains some more eye-openers: *
75% Indians live below the extreme poverty level, which means they have per capita income of $2 or less per day. Norway does not have any one living under extreme poverty *
In India, possibility of not surviving up to 40 yrs. Is 15.5% while in Norway it is only 1.6% *
11% population in India does not have access to developed sources of water; in Norway this is 0% *
India has 48% underweight children whereas in Norway this figure is only 3%. We know that India is rich in its natural resources. It is also rich in human resources where the ratio of young to old is very favourable. But, while we have started exploiting natural resources to the hilt by importing foreign technology, we have failed to exploit our human resources properly. We lag far behind in the development of human resources. No government has ever bothered to take this seriously. Time has come for governments to put their heads together and make serious efforts towards this end. It is a pity that successive governments have abandoned their responsibilities of providing education and basic health care facilities to the people. Instead of empowering the people with abilities and skills to be independent, we are making them hangers-on and lackeys of politicians by doling out schemes like cheap atta/daal and free electricity. As they say “teaching some one to catch the fish is more rewarding than feeding him fish.” Will the governments care to empower people, at least now? The writer is a retired banker and HR consultant
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Teaching agriculture to rural youth A
survey by Punjabi University, Patiala, has revealed that it is mostly urban students who study in universities and institutes of higher education. The proportion of rural students in different education programmes in the five universities of Punjab, except Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), on an average ranges from only 3 to 5 per cent.
This is a dismal situation. One profession that was not covered by this survey was agriculture. Punjab along with other north-western states has made remarkable contribution to the country's food security. Candidates from the rural areas perform poorly in entrance tests conducted by different universities for admissions to various higher education programmes. The reasons are many. The standard of education in rural areas has deteriorated during the last four decades, whereas the standard of education in urban areas has improved significantly. This drastic shift is more so because of the increasing establishment of high-standard private schools and academies in cities. On the other side, Government primary, high and secondary schools continued to abdicate their responsibilities in providing education. The unavailability of science streams in senior secondary schools with excellent performance, poor performance of teachers and their unaccountability, lower teachers' strength, absenteeism among teachers, inadequate infrastructure, increasing menace of mass copying in examinations etc. While a majority of people living in the countryside are uneducated, unaware of various possibilities and avenues of higher education for their wards, and cash-starved, parents of urban students take extra care and feel concerned, and have the ability to pay for tuitions in addition to hefty fees in private schools. In addition to rectifying the causal issues by taking appropriate administrative steps and corrective measures by the state and central governments there is need to make appropriate reservations for rural youth in higher education. As students from rural areas cannot compete with those from urban areas, some seats need to be reserved for them in various education programmes of universities. This is possible by framing and adopting legislation in state assemblies and Parliament as universities cannot make reservations at their own. For example, Karnataka has already enacted a law and implemented 15 per cent reservation for rural students in all streams of higher education, including medical engineering and agricultural sciences. We must remember food can only be grown in the fields; and for this noble profession, technical knowhow and modern technologies play a significant role. It is obvious that agricultural graduates having a rural background and inclination towards farming would work and/or guide farmers right in the fields and orchards. On the other side, a majority of agricultural graduates with an urban background try to move to other fields such as business management, banking, civil and defence services, going abroad, etc. where lucrative jobs are available in the environs of cities. But this does not mean that urban students should be forbidden from admissions to agriculture courses. Rather, we need to keep a balance of frontiers of science and developers of technologies in the research laboratories, able teachers for developing human resource as well as those who are committed to go back to farming and guide farmers. The writer is the Dean, College of Agriculture, PAU, Ludhiana |
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Chennai Diary But the actor made a hasty retreat after Tamil groups warned him that his films would be boycotted if he joined the Congress. However, Vijay seems to be nourishing an ambition for politics and using his films to build an image for himself. One of the songs in the new film released this week hails him as "a true Tamil, who will soon lead Tamils". Another song asks his followers to be ready to "hoist the victorious flag". As his fans continue to call him "Ilaiya Thalapathi" (young general) and "tomorrow's leader", the actor made it clear that he had not dropped the idea of joining politics. "My fans were working for the welfare of the people and it was my duty to give them an identity. I will make a decision at the right time", he said. Yadavs in Tamil Nadu T Devanathan, "the all India president of Yadava Mahasabha", recently hailed Mulayam as a great leader of Yadav people. "Our leader Mulayam is a leader with foresight, courage and conviction. We should support our leaders wherever they are". It seems Mulayam Singh is not aware of this opportunity to establish a base in Tamil Nadu. Haunting memories The Marina beach, the most famous tourist spot in Chennai, remains crowded on all days. In the summer vacation, people from many parts of Tamil Nadu spend hours playing in the sand and waves. Last Sunday was different. The entire beach was empty after 3 pm, following a Tsunami alert in Indonesia. People who thronged the beach as early as 2 pm, were taken by surprise when policemen, through the public address system, asked them to leave immediately. Though, tsunami alert was not for India, the police did not want to take chances, since the sea was rough and turbulent. As memories of the tsunami, which struck the Marina on a Sunday morning in 2004, were fresh in people's memory, the entire beach was empty within a few minutes. But, some of the people who ran beyond the danger zone of 150 metres, were waiting there to see the tsunami, which did not strike this time. Although, the alert was lifted and the police allowed people after 5 pm, no one dared to go near the beach. Instead, they went to the summer festival organised nearby.
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Actor
Samajwadi party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has suddenly found support in Tamil Nadu. This is due to the aspirations of the "Konars", a backward community, concentrated in South Tamil Nadu, which wants an all-India caste identity for itself. Since the traditional occupation of the community is rearing cows and selling milk, the community leaders were claiming that they belong to the Yadava community.