The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Mamata & Maoists
She cannot run with the hare & hunt with the hounds

The recent public rally at Lalgarh would seem to vindicate allegations that Ms Mamata Banerjee is not just soft on the Maoists but that she is also actively courting them. She did call upon her Maoist ‘friends’ to abjure violence and come to the table for talks; she also declared her opposition to the politics of violence and killings and she did call for peace and development. But her detractors would point out, and with good reason, that her rally made a mockery of the offensive against Maoists, who issued an appeal for people to attend her rally, and their front organisation People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities ( PCPA), which had a strong presence in the rally. The Railway minister’s failure to even mention the Gyaneshwari train accident or even allude to the role of the PCPA in engineering the accident, was also disconcerting. She played to the gallery and called for the withdrawal of the joint forces from the region. Above all, her public condemnation of the ‘extra judicial’ killing of Maoist leader Azad, who was allegedly killed in Andhra Pradesh in an encounter, fake or otherwise, is also in sharp contrast to the Union government’s official position on the subject. All said and done, the rally turned out to be a shot in the arm for Maoists.

Political violence in West Bengal has increased sharply during the last five years. Described as a continuing ‘tandava of violence’ by the former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, both CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress are responsible for the no-holds-barred turf-war. Use of illegal arms and mercenaries by them have made the situation worse. The crackdown by the Left Front forced the Maoists to embrace the enemy’s enemy and while it suited Mamata Banerjee fine, what she needs to worry more about is how she would dismount from the tiger, as and when her party attains power.

It is an irony that Banerjee, who has never encouraged any dialogue with the Marxists, should seek to build bridges with the Maoists. Her primary objective though is to secure the help of the PCPA and the Maoists, who hold sway in around 20 Assembly constituencies in the region, in the election due next year. But while she is welcome to fill the anti-Left Front space in the state, as a Union minister she can hardly be allowed to sympathise with forces opposed to the Constitution and the duly elected government.

Hardly “Adarsh” schools
Where is the spirit of philanthropy?

On paper, the scheme of opening more than 100 “Adarsh” schools in Punjab where quality education would be provided to children belonging to the weaker sections of society virtually free of cost was tantalising. These were to be run in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode. When Mr Prakash Singh Badal met Punjabi entrepreneurs in this regard during the initial phase of his present stint as Chief Minister, they backed the well-meaning scheme whole-heartedly and “booked” more than 100 schools. Such was the euphoria that in December 2007, the Union Government also adopted the concept and decided to set up such schools in each of 6,000 blocks in the country. But less than three years down the line, the initial enthusiasm seems to have evaporated. Only four schools have come up in Punjab so far. Nineteen more schools are likely to become operational next year. Even if this hope comes true, the state will still be only at the one-fourth mark.

Entrepreneurs have been less than forthcoming all this while. They are reluctant to open schools in areas which are away from their areas of operation. Besides, they are not in agreement with the main feature of the scheme that the education will be provided free of cost. They want that some fee must be charged. All this quibbling is not in order, considering that good educational foundation is essential not only for the country but also business houses. The scheme should appeal to their sense of philanthropy even if it may not be palatable to their accountants. They should take a cue from billionaires like Warren Buffet who have donated half of their wealth for welfare schemes. And what could be a better scheme than the one that offers good education to those who just cannot afford it?

More than Rs 280 crore has been collected by the excise and taxation department in the form of education cess of Re 1 on the sale of each bottle of liquor and from the auction of liquor vends in the past two years. This money meant for “Adarsh” schools has hardly been spent. Since such schools have not come up, the money should be utilised on government schools, most of which happen to be in bad shape.

Thought for the Day

Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead. — James Thurber

ARTICLE

Chinese economic model may change
It’s time to learn from India
by Shastri Ramachandaran

Should China continue to remain the world’s factory? Or, should it replicate the Indian model and develop the business of service outsourcing?

The debate itself, in China, is not new. What is new is that the debate has intensified in institutional quarters, especially among those providing inputs or seeking to influence policy. There is also a new edge to the debate, given the lessons of the global economic downturn.

One idea that has become a mantra here is that China needs to change its growth model; it cannot remain an export-driven economy, dependent on external markets for its goods. From this followed the policy of expanding domestic consumption. After all, the goods manufactured need to be consumed; and if there is no climate for consumption in the world at large, then the climate and conditions have to be created at home.

That is what China has been doing since it found itself fortunate enough to have bucked the global recession this time. However, there are limits to the pursuit of such a policy with all its contradictions. For instance, to push for a green, low-carbon economy and, at the same time, encourage (with incentives) more people to buy more automobiles requires China to reconcile opposing goals.

Hard as that may be, until the economy revives and conditions are ripe for the withdrawal of stimulus and other such things China — like any other country — can do little else when economic vibrancy is dependent on consumption; and you first need to have a thriving economy to eliminate the emissions that come with it for making it green.

Before the contradictions being to unravel and the push to expand consumption becomes counterproductive, China needs to reset its economic directions and recast its growth model. Inevitably, that means downsizing itself as the world’s factory, before a glut of manufacturing output chokes the economy. That cannot be done overnight. Nor can factories be flattened, even in the dubious “Flat World” of Thomas Friedman, without finding something else to occupy the space thus vacated.

One of the prime impulses underlying the debate is how a rising China aspires to be seen: not as a country of factories and factory workers. Just as factory workers want to shed their blue collars and upgrade to white collar jobs, and the greater prestige following from the upward social mobility, China, too, as a country wants to upscale its profile.

China’s strength has been manufacturing, and it is a great strength for any nation. But developing countries, India as much as China, have a complex when it comes to manufacturing. It is perceived as a low-end economic activity, with a “poor” social profile, and, therefore, less prestigious.

Some two decades ago, an insightful economist at the World Bank made projections of smokestack industries moving out of the developed West to the developing world. There was a hue and cry against the study, including accusations of a “racial bias”. The shift was foreseen as the result of a normative process, and not any prescribed directions, and this is amply borne out of China’s turbo-charged economic performance based on manufacturing. However, at that time perceptions of smokestack industries and their (inevitable) shifting to developing countries were viewed differently.

In retrospect, China seems to have capitalised on that trend while India missed the bus. Now, when a rash of agitations over wage demands have shaken the “smokestack power” — and threaten China’s advantage of low production costs — India is being urged to woo multinationals for setting up smokestack industries that are under siege in China. On the other hand, China wants to downsize manufacturing and go for global service outsourcing.

Paradoxically, China does not, at present, have the reservoir of knowledge or skills to compete with India as an outsourcing business power. Equally, India lacks the advantages of infrastructure, production costs and skilled human resources to compete with China in manufacturing.

Perhaps, this is yet another reminder that the two economies could explore ways to complement each other’s core strengths and core values. It is no less a reminder that manufacturing, unlike services, is more enduring as it creates more real goods. And, that like agriculture, it is indispensable for populous nations striving for basic economic security, including food security, for a majority of its people.

The thinking that it is all very well for Germany and Japan to be manufacturing “powers”, as it is okay for Holland to be an “agricultural power”, but not for developing countries needs to change. Agriculture ranks lower than manufacturing in the social scale in developing countries, especially “advanced developing nations” such as India and China, where the term “peasant” is almost a pejorative.

However, unlike India, China did pay far more attention to agriculture and later to manufacturing, and the results peak louder than words.

The author is a senior editor/writer with The Global Times in Beijing.

MIDDLE

Maid of the mountains
by Raj Chatterjee

The place had an air of melancholy and neglect. The house with its sloping roof of rusted tin sheets was lifeless, like a prehistoric shrine in some long-forgotten jungle. The lower windows were shuttered, but the upper ones reflected the blue sky, their grimy panes glinting dully in the afternoon sun.

Not a soul could be seen in or near the house and it was with some difficulty that I had managed to push open the heavy, iron gates of the compound. The two, moss-covered stone pillars that supported them still stood erect with the name “Waverley” visible in raised letters on one of them.

It was 80 years since my parents had rented the house for the summer. The owner of the estate was probably a great admirer of Sir Walter Scott. On one side of the house stood “Midlothian” and on the other, “Rokeby”.

Happy Valley, the part of Mussoorie where we stayed, had two claims to fame.

One was the Charleville Hotel, now accommodating trainees for the I.A.S and other All-India services which, as the proprietors never failed to mention in their ads, was the only hotel in India where queen Mary stayed when she came to India for the
Coronation Durbar.

The other was the British Club which even in the twenties was open to Indians. It was on its bajri courts that I watched with fascination the performance of the tennis stars of the day and it was from the library that I borrowed books written by P.G Wodehouse, Edgar Wallace, P.C Wren and Ian Hay who created “Bulldog Drummond”, the “James Bond” of the twenties but without the latter’s fondness for wine and women!

It was about an hour’s walk from Happy Valley to Kulri Bazaar, then known as the ‘Mall’, because of the large department stores. Trevillion & Clark, White away Laidlaw and Hamers dominated the scene. I remember gazing longingly through the plateglass windows at the imported toys and other knick-knacks for which my monthly pocket money was rarely sufficient.

Fitch & Co, the chemists, had a photographic department to which, I being a keen operator with my box camera, was a frequent visitor. The shop, I still remember, exuded elegance with an admixture of aromatic smells, perfumes, soaps and cosmetics.

Perhaps the ghosts of the “smart” set of the twenties still step out of their phantom rickshaws for a fancy dress ball at Hakman’s or the Savoy. If they do, I am sure they must miss the soft strains of a Viennese waltz, the sensuous rhythm of a tango and the dignified pace of an old-fashioned foxtrot.

OPED DEFENCE

Armed forces need to accept the fact that more women officers will join their ranks and gender equality will occupy the centre stage. This requires attitudinal change in the predominantly male environ. A new set of directives and ground rules need to be worked out for women officers to pursue a credible career.
Bullet knows no gender
Lt Gen (Dr) S.B.S. Kochar (Retd)

Dawn of the new millennium has ushered in fresh hopes and challenges. The established order, where women took a back seat is in the process of imminent fade-out. Many exclusive male bastions and preserves are now extinct. Women have emerged as powerful portents of a new social order and are set to match men, stride for stride. Armed Forces are no exception.

No doubt the demands on national security and military cannot be swayed by attitudes and assumptions. All specialties should be open on a gender neutral standard to those who are qualified, capable and competent to undertake them. Major issues confronted by militaries the world over in so far as employment of women concerned, are social, behavioral and psychological. This is not to say that they must not be trained in the art of soldiering — they must

The strength of women officers in the army is just over a thousand (excluding medical stream) The present policy is to them grant short service commission for five years extendable to 14 years with identical benefits as available to similarly placed male officers. Permanent commission has been granted to women in Judge Advocate General’s Department and Army Education Corps. They are not assigned to the combat Arms. The strength of women officers in the air force who have served so far is 570 and in the navy, 250.

The general belief in India is that the decision to induct women officers was based on populism considerations rather than military necessities. We cannot lose sight of the fact that global, cultural and media revolution of democratic values, rights and equal opportunities for women have gained importance and influence on work environment in the developed countries in the 20th century. The top brass in the armed forces will have to view and take initiatives of expanding the role of women in the forces as an ongoing process.

Surveys have revealed problem areas of both genders, which include deviant perceptions, lower physical standards, adjustment in work culture, sex scandals, courtships, uncomfortable situation of dress, toilets, right shifts and travel, though over all women officers find the troops to be very respectful. Senior officers demonstrate a very high concern for security of women officers. Majority of the women agree that except for some teething problems of adjustment, work atmosphere in the Indian armed forces is safer and conducive for women as compared to foreign militaries and civil organisations.

It is time to graduate to the next step. Grant permanent commission in the three services through the National Defence Academy on open competition right after school. Opening doors of the NDA for women cadets for a three-year course will be a revolutionary step. This requires attitudinal change in the predominantly male environs of the armed forces. Emotions apart, the only real way forward is to try a given model rather than reject it on the basis of mere assumptions. As one or two courses of girl cadets graduate from the NDA, the three service academics will get a clear idea of the best utilisation of woman power and create opportunities for their professional employment.

The last step is of course induction into combat arms. Instead of getting involved in emotional debate over the employment of women in combat arms, it is more important to analyse the basis and reasons for the same and determine the best way forward. The debate about assigning combat roles to women, both sides have strong arguments. Neither can military effectiveness be compromised nor can individuals be denied opportunities on the basis of gender. Since women themselves are divided on the issue perhaps the only option is to permit women who meet the criteria and volunteers to be assigned for combat positions on a trial basis. Remember, a bullet has no gender.

Induction of women into combat arms should be considered with diligence and the infusion of technology that can generate high-tech jobs. We must as a nation appreciate the true ground situations, create infrastructure and chart our own policy, rather than replicating a foreign model. Let us not overlook the fact that the response of women officers is bound to be mixed. The lower age group looks at the armed forces as an adventure. Married women feel nervous and at times bewildered at the thought of single woman amongst male soldiers. Family, husband, children remain their major concern. Problems are further complicated for married women with small children. The army therefore requires time to understand the professional skills and competence. Women want equal opportunities to prove their worth.

With induction of women in greater numbers in ranks, the situation will change. There is a need to work out a new set of directives, instructions and ground rules for women officers to pursue a creditable and honourable career in the armed forces, free from myths and fears. What appears to be a miniscule minority will be substantial numbers tomorrow.

The armed forces need to study institutional concerns of gender revolution to formulate future strategies for gender integration in the Indian social system. Awareness of change in the working environment needs a positive campaign amongst army personnel. Military needs to accept the fact that women officers are here to stay, more will come, and gender equality will occupy the center stage in the 21st century.

The writer is a former Commandant of the National Defence Academy

High time army sheds retrograde outlook
Maj Seema Dagar

Many of us are familiar with the famous adage, “Bundele Harbolon ke munh humne suni kahani thi, Khoob ladi mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi,” immortalising the deeds of Rani Lakshmi Bai. One of the greatest woman warriors in history, she is an icon who set a fine example for the coming generations.

And, so have the woman officers who were the pioneers of military service (other than doctors and nurses) in India. They have strengthened the defence system and come a long way from 1992 to 2010 with their courage, bravery, endurance, wisdom and dedication to the nation. Now, is the time to reward each one of them for their bravery in form of permanent commission that the army had denied flatly.

Why not a permanent commission? This is the question that arises in the mind of each woman soldier, which is very much her right at par with gentleman officers who are granted permanent commission. When Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees right to equality, then why and how this gender bias set in, that too in one of the nation’s most robust system, the Indian Army?

The history goes back just to the year 1992. Women army officers were commissioned in non-combatant role with 22 weeks of rigorous training. Since then, women officers have proved their mettle in various fields and won accolades for their diligence, entrepreneurial skills and will power. They have unveiled the barriers of ignorance and shackled the chains of male dominance.

Presently, women account for 2.44 per cent of the officer cadre in the army, three per cent in the navy and 6.7 per cent in the air force. In spite of the dedicated service to the nation, more than 60 woman officers moved the High Court against the gender bias in army for not granting them permanent commission like male officers. The services rendered for 14 years by the officers itself proves their diligence and efficiency, or else the services would have terminated only after five years and not on completion of 14 years.

It was a well thought of process by the higher defence management that the services of the woman officers in the army began with 5 years and thereafter extended to 14 years. The woman officer has not contributed only on the desk jobs but also actively participated in Operation Vijay in Kargil and Operation Parakram following the attack on Parliament.

The examples of certain brave women officers, who, with their two-month old children have also survived in the same living conditions in tents as their male counterparts, without even complaining of being called back from the maternity leave, have not been acknowledged by army. No lady in these circumstances would have done this, but the dedication of the woman officer towards the nation was more important than personnel welfare. So, on what basis the army denies the rights of permanent commission to them? The High Court order of July 12 clearly states woman officers have the right to be treated at par with male officers.

Though the IAF had complied with the order, the army resisted it, moving the Supreme Court. This can be adjudged as willful disobedience and seen as open gender bias. If women officers are allowed permanent commission in the Army Education Corps and the Judge Advocate General’s Department, then there is no reason as to why they cannot be absorbed permanently in the other non-combatant roles where they are already deployed. Today, the Army is surrounded by high technology, which has been handled by women officers and can be done so in future too. War readiness today is more of a mind game and not just field exercises. Thus, dealing with IT, training the troops or formulating policy does not require muscular strength but intelligence, and women have always proved their worth by setting personal examples. Even male officers in non-combatant roles are not fighting battles but preparing combatant troops for war.

With the expanding horizon of women participating in different walks of life and their resultant contribution to the society, bias and prejudice cannot be tolerated in the army and its is high time the army sheds its retrograde outlook towards woman officers and implement the High Court orders without any delay. That it has assured the Supreme Court last week that it would be willing to do so is a welcome development.

The writer served with the Army from 1997—2007 and is Manager, Delhi International Airport Ltd.