The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No longer a lone ranger
Manpreet caravan rolls on

Despite a hostile government putting hurdles in his way to Amritsar on Sunday Manpreet Singh Badal pulled a mammoth crowd that testifies to his growing appeal after quitting the government and the Shiromani Akali Dal. Fearing reprisals from a vindictive state government, private bus owners refused vehicles to supporters of the former Finance Minister, who had to turn to transporters in Haryana and Rajasthan. Wearing the saffron band on their turbans and rekindling Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s “Rang de Basanti” spirit, he and his supporters took a symbolic vow at Jallianwala Bagh to fight for the “second freedom struggle”.

Manpreet’s recent tours of Punjab have yielded the desired results. He has decided to re-launch the “yatra” on November 24 to spread awareness about Punjab’s sinking economy, unemployment, indebtedness, drug addiction and illiteracy — the issues few can dispute deserve attention. Rising above Punjab politicians’ general tendency to hurl unsubstantiated allegations at one another, Manpreet Badal focussed on issues, refraining from personal attacks and disappointing the media, which had been speculating in the past few weeks about the formation of a separate political party.

His political agenda is unassailable. Small-minded politicians with oversized egos flaunt cheap trappings of power like travelling in a helicopter or a red-beaconed vehicle trailed by a heavy posse of gunmen. Manpreet wants to end such “VIP culture”. Reserving half the assembly seats for youth and women is laudable but may not be practical and so is confining a minister to two terms. The most important piece of political reform – “no blood relatives in the same Cabinet” – is obviously directed at the other Badals. But the big question is: Can he deliver without a statewide political outfit of his own or support from one of the two major political parties? Will public goodwill translate into votes? Or will he smoothen the Congress way to power? He lacks the resources to build a party and has yet to prove his mass base in elections without the ruling Badals’ support. Manpreet’s future, at the moment, certainly looks hazy.

IPS losing its charm
Centre must fill vacancies urgently

THE Tribune report (November 14) that there are as many as 630 vacancies of IPS officers at the Centre and in the states is cause for serious concern. The Indian Police Service officers play an important role in maintaining law and order and ensuring peace and security across the length and breadth of the country. Thus, the Centre cannot afford to overlook the problem. As the instrument for maintaining the rule of law, an efficient, effective and accountable police administration is the most essential institution of the state. And if there are not enough IPS officers to lead the police administration in the sub-divisions, districts, ranges and zones, who will enforce the rule of law, maintain law and order and safeguard the life and property of citizens? Certainly, at a time of mounting challenges to internal security, there is need for adequate number of competent and well trained IPS officers to effectively lead the police force.

Clearly, the problem of shortage is not confined to states. It is acute even in the CBI (100 posts), the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing (150 posts). The picture is no different in the paramilitary forces like the CRPF, BSF and CISF. There is no point in blaming the NDA government (1999-2004) for reducing the IPS cadre strength drastically and subsequent accumulative neglect. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, known for his professional approach to issues relating to security and law and order, would do well to get to the root of the problem and grasp the nettle.

If lack of motivation, stagnation, arbitrary cadre postings and greener pastures in the private sector are driving the officers out, the Centre must make the IPS more attractive. Similarly, those posted in the North-east, terrorist and Naxalite-infested states should be given additional emoluments, perks and privileges. If there are many vacancies at the Deputy Inspector-General of Police level, the Centre should relax the norm of 14 years of service for direct recruit IPS officers to become DIGs. The Union Cabinet should promptly implement the Kamal Kumar Committee’s recommendation for recruiting IPS officers through a “limited examination”, detached from the regular Civil Services examination, for existing government servants mainly from the armed forces, paramilitary and state police forces. Above all, the problem of shortage can be resolved by effective and judicious cadre management for IPS officers.

Thought for the Day

This is not the age of paphleteers. It is the age of the engineers. The spark-gap is mightier than the pen.— Lancelot Hogben

ARTICLE

Worrying security scenario
India should learn from US success
by Air Marshal R.S.Bedi (retd)

Months after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, can we say that we are any safer now? The answer is, perhaps, “No”. This attack on the financial hub of India was the handiwork of Pakistan’s ISI, as has been revealed recently by WikiLeaks. Understandably, it was well planned and well executed. The destruction and the commotion that followed resulted in a massive shock to the Indian psyche. It also exposed the hollowness of the Indian security system. Can it be said that Pakistan or its so-called non-state actors are not plotting against India again? No attempt has been made by Pakistan to curb the activities of the elements involved in terrorist activities against India.

Despite some ad hoc reconfiguration of internal security infrastructure and other steps initiated by the Home Ministry in taking on extremists, terrorists, insurgents and the Maoists, one is not too sure how far we have been able to insulate the nation against these elements. Threats lying dormant within the country continue to keep the nation on tenterhooks. Constant apprehensions of the lurking danger and also the anger on account of the government’s inability to counter the evil intentions of our adversary are all pervasive.

India has been at the receiving end since 1989 when Pakistan embarked upon its strategy of infiltrating jihadis across the LoC. They gradually began to spread their tentacles all over the country with a view to disrupting the administration and terrorising the population. The country was already mired in insurgency in the Northeast, Punjab and parts of central India. It was a hard task for the paramilitary and the Central police organisations to meet this progressively mounting security challenge. Even Army support had to be sought in certain states. The bureaucracies responsible for internal security thus began to expand fast in keeping with the evolving security scenario. It was, perhaps, the need of the hour then.

This led to having one of the most top heavy administrative and police hierarchies at the Centre and in the states. Bureaucraticratic tiers increased manifold from the earlier just four — secretary, joint secretary, deputy secretary and undersecretary — to six or perhaps seven that includes a super secretary called principal secretary, additional secretary, director, etc.

The police bureaucracy too went overboard expanding its rank structure from the original three tiers to about the same number. Besides this, a large number of paramilitary forces meant for internal security are not necessarily employed for their primary roles. No wonder, the security environment as well as the law and order situation have been deteriorating by the day.

The national leadership, too, has failed to work out political solutions of long- pending issues that perhaps have their origin in socio-economic deprivation, allowing these to gradually assume security connotations. The threat of another carnage engineered from outside or from within the country thus continues to loom large.

The management of internal security needs to be reviewed holistically. There is an urgent requirement for homeland security to be under an independent minister or at least under a minister of state within the Home Ministry. There is also need to review the plans and policies, if there are any. It’s time for the higher echelons of civil and police bureaucracies to assess the gains made or not made in the management of internal security during these recent years. Why we have not been able to properly take care of the emerging security scenario has to be ascertained and factored in the future line of action.

It is generally felt that the paramilitary forces and the Central police organisations lack proper training and motivation. They also do not possess the requisite wherewithal to neutralise or minimise the threats as these emerge from time to time.

Those at the higher level have to lead from the front. This is the only way to motivate the middle-level leadership and the jawans in the field? The way the CRPF and the J&K police were seen combating the stone-pelting Kashmiri youths and killing them instead of deterring them by using non-lethal weapons exposed the weaknesses in the functioning of our security forces. The internal security forces are not supposed to kill their own citizens however aggressive or wayward they may be. This could have been avoided only if the troops had the requisite equipment to subdue the rioters instead of injuring them fatally

Maybe, we can learn a lesson or two from the Americans. They have well-articulated policies and plans which they implement with ruthless purposefulness. They take no chances and make no exceptions. Frisking of our former President and detention of one of our Cabinet ministers at US airports are mere two examples of how serious they are about their homeland security. Up in the air, the cockpit doors are sealed, making it impossible for anyone to intrude and take charge in the cockpit. Al-Quaida has not been able to execute any dramatic attacks akin to 9/11.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s blunt warning to Pakistan earlier this year of severe consequences if 9/11 ever got repeated had sobering effect on Islamabad.

In the case of the Indo-Pak scenario with nuclear overhang, there is need for caution. Conventionally, India is far superior to Pakistan. But that is not enough. We have to keep Pakistan’s “low nuclear threshold” in mind and avoid breaching it under all circumstances. We have somehow become the victims of Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail, particularly after the Indian Army’s tame withdrawal from the international border after threatening to march across. This led to reinforcing of Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence and its proclivity to flaunt its nuclear weapons on the slightest pretext. India has to undo it by impressing upon Pakistan unequivocally that its punitive capabilities and the “political will” to respond appropriately will lead to unacceptable damage if it does not stop aggression against India.

Can Pakistan really afford to escalate the engagement to the nuclear level merely because India has struck its terrorist training camps that are just across the LoC? We have to call Pakistan’s bluff at some stage. Pakistan must be made to realise that it is crossing India’s threshold of patience and forbearance. For effective deterrence, the capabilities as well as the will of the nation must to be constantly articulated for the adversary to take note of the likely consequences of its actions. The political leadership, the burgeoning civil bureaucracy and paramilitary forces must comprehend the nuances of deterrence. Security management has become the biggest casualty in our system.

After 9/11 the US went on to reconfigure its security organisations, spending billions of dollars on intelligence bureaucracies and intelligence gathering. It also built up a 2.5 lakh work force in the Department of Homeland Security. A security infrastructure bigger than the famously known Pentagon was created. However, they soon realised that mere 400-odd Al-Quaida cadres have led them to spend billions of dollars on the vast expansion of bureaucracies and that there was need to review the scenario comprehensively. The decision to demobilise its reconfigured security apparatus to more logical dimensions now that the extent and degree of the danger have been re-assessed realistically has been taken. Can we do the same sooner or later and have a more realistic and logical internal security apparatus?

The writer is a former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff.

MIDDLE

The AIDS
by Raj Kadyan

I suffered from AIDS on Diwali. Lest my wellwishers gloom and my detractors grin, I am referring to Air India Disconnect Service.

A house guest arrived from Mumbai to be with us for Diwali. He flew Air India, our national pride, and they landed at Palam Terminal 3. He telephoned his impressions from the baggage claim area — very sleek and shining. He waited two hours for the baggage. It never arrived. They filled up a Property Irregularity Report form and handed him a carbon copy. It had some 34 two-letter acronyms that can fox even an IIM graduate.

On the next (Diwali) morning I tried calling the four landline numbers given on the form. After several attempts, one responded. The official promised home delivery of the lost bags. In late afternoon, one of the two packages arrived, with no news of the other. Another round of calls followed.

After 30 minutes of non-stop calling, at 4:30 pm one of the numbers responded and the lady gave me “good morning”. Admittedly, she made me feel a few hours younger, but any positive ended there. When I announced the subject of lost baggage, she said “hold on” - her tone betraying not the least hint of sympathy — and disconnected. It took me another ten minutes to get her on the line. The same ‘hold on’ and disconnect ritual was repeated six times over the next forty minutes. I silently wondered whether they had a tie-up with my phone company.

Finally, when I got a response, “They have all gone to collect baggage” I was told and if I could call an hour later. I recalled what a friend who had held a high post in a PSU had once said: “We stand for ‘please shun us’.” I Now realised he hadn’t been joking.

I tried an hour later, or shall I say started trying. After some quarter hour of effort I got her on the line. This time she told me that they (at Terminal 2) handled the subject only till 5:30 pm and that I should call Terminal 3 at a number she gave me. I tried non-stop for 20 minutes but no response. I tried calling Terminal 2 again. Got through luckily in only the seventh attempt and having explained the predicament asked if she could give me another number. She was kind enough to give me the duty manager’s number — though in a hushed tone, the type adopted by officials when disclosing State secrets.

I thanked her for the favour and resumed calling. I was still punching figures when some 30 minutes later the wife summoned me; it was time to observe the festival rituals. Late into the night as I type this, the house guest is fast asleep — in borrowed pyjamas.

I am a frequent flier with Air India and have accumulated good many miles. I was planning to use up some when the wife travels to Mumbai later this month. Now I am not so sure; they might land her elsewhere.

OPED-MINORITIES

Muslims: The changing voting pattern
Over the years, there has been an interesting change in the Muslim voting behaviour. Once considered as the vote bank of the Congress, they are now exercising their right of franchise in favour of the BJP too, besides some other political parties.
Syed Nooruzzaman

During its recent annual national conference in Delhi, the Congress attacked the RSS for its alleged involvement in terrorism, though wherever such incidents occur, suspicion invariably falls on Muslims or their organisations. The fact that the Congress chose to highlight a subject having a bearing on the minority community, instead of widespread corruption that threatened to undermine the nation's image before the Delhi Commonwealth Games were held, showed that the party was more worried about recapturing its Muslim vote bank than anything else.

However, the Congress, which heads the ruling UPA at the Centre, alone is not to blame for playing vote bank politics. In the Bihar Assembly elections, Muslim votes figured prominently in the calculations of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the Janata Dal (United) and his principal challenger and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. Though the JD (U) leader's main plank was development, he did all he could to appease the minority voters in Bihar.

In UP, the most populous state of the country where the assembly elections are due in 2012, almost every party hoping to capture power has been devising schemes for getting the support of Muslims. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has allowed Azam Khan to rejoin the SP he had left some time ago only to consolidate the party's Muslim following. Khan, who comes from Rampur and has his base in Western UP, had deserted the SP, which he had founded along with Mulayam Singh, in protest against the induction of former BJP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh into the SP fold. Many Muslims dislike Kalyan Singh because he was the head of government in UP when the Babri Masjid was demolished by agitated “kar sevaks” in December 1992.

Mulayam Singh’s decision has led to uneasiness among other Muslim leaders in the SP, who feel their importance may get undermined with Azam Khan’s presence in the party. But the SP chief is unfazed. He knows that the outspoken Muslim leader is the darling of minority voters, whose support is crucial for the party's electoral performance. As is well known, behind the SP’s success in the past was the Muslim-Yadav combination formed by Mulayam Singh with years of hard work.

Mulayam Singh’s earlier decision to work with Kalyan Singh for increasing the SP’s following among the backward classes and OBCs had led to a large number of Muslims shifting their loyalty to either Chief Minister Mayawati’s BSP or the Congress. The spectacular performance of the Congress in UP in the 2009 parliamentary elections was mainly because of the party having recaptured a large portion of its previous Muslim vote bank, though it also got considerable support from Dalits and other backward classes. Much of the credit went to youth leader Rahul Gandhi, but the fact remains that the Congress also benefited owing to Muslims’ disenchantment with the SP.

The SP suffered in the 2007 assembly elections also due to Muslims having turned their back on the party once preferred by them. During the assembly polls the SP’s loss was the BSP’s gain, which won enough seats to form the government in UP on its own.

The Congress and the caste-based parties in the Hindi heartland are not the only political formations which have been sharpening their strategy for some time to win over the Muslims. The BJP, the Left parties in West Bengal and Kerala and the Dravidian formations in Tamil Nadu, too, have been eyeing Muslim votes in their effort to improve their electoral performance. In the recently held polls for the local self-government bodies in Gujarat, Muslims openly sided with the BJP in many areas. The BJP is reportedly working on a well-thought-out programme to make inroads into the Muslim vote bank to change its image of being a party feeding itself on promoting hatred against the minorities, mainly the Muslims. Moreover, it has realised that stressing too much on the need for a strong POTA-type anti-terrorism law has lost its appeal among the voters.

All this, however, does not mean that the Muslims are a monolith and face the same problems wherever they live, whether it is Azamgarh or Nandigram. Their problems vary, yet they have certain common issues. The Sachar Committee report highlighted their pitiable position in various walks of life, including education and government jobs. But one factor that came up prominently was that most of their ills are mainly because of their educational backwardness. Once they start doing well on the education front, they will be much better off in almost every field.

Politicians prefer to highlight mainly the emotional problems of Muslims because of their greater pull. Among such issues are the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the US attack on Afghanistan and Iraq, and the harassment of Muslims in the name of fighting terrorism.

Despite their unjustifiable treatment as a monolith, the Muslim voting pattern has never been the same in all parts of the country. Though they constitute between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the population in 182 of the 593 districts in the country, as per the 2001 census, they lack sincere leaders who can guide them properly to the road to growth. The situation that emerged after the country’s partition demoralised them so much that they could not think of aligning themselves with any party other than the Congress. Their feeling of insecurity was exploited by the Congress till the emergence of the Janata Party in the wake of the 1975 Emergency. This can be described as the turning point in the history of Muslims in India. They openly extended their support to the Janata experiment in most parts of the country in the elections held after the Emergency ended in 1977.

Later on they began to patronise other parties like those based on caste and community calculations — the SP, the BSP and the RJD. But the beneficiary of Muslim votes has not been any single party in the post-Emergency era like the Congress in the past. They have been using their right of franchise in most constituencies in a manner so that their support leads to the defeat of the BJP. This may become a thing of the past if the BJP changes its approach towards the community to acquire a new image. That will be the end of divisive politics the country needs so badly.

FACT FILE

w Muslims constitute between 10 and 25 per cent of the total population spread over 182 districts.

w There has been a change in the Muslims’ voting pattern after the Emergency (1975-77).

w After the Emergency, the Congress lost its Muslim vote bank, mainly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

w In many constituencies, the Muslims have been resorting to strategic voting to defeat the BJP.

w There is a change in the thinking of Muslim voters. In some constituencies, Muslims now support the BJP.

Vote banks and an issue of convenience
Kanwalpreet

HUman rights add respect to our lives because they make life worth living. They are based on the principle that all persons have a right to lead a life of dignity, free from fear and deprivation. Yet, these rights are violated.

In India, we have Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Buddhists as minorities among others. India's partition in 1947 evokes bad memories. Though the Indian Constitution assures the minorities that they and their identity would be secure (Articles 25-28 and 29-30), the minorities feel insecure. Do they really feel some fear or is this insecurity a result of other reflections?

The undercurrent is that the minorities feel that the majority is waiting to gobble them while the latter feel that too many concessions have been doled to the minorities. What is the real situation? There is a general impression that the issue of minorities has become an issue of convenience politically, socially and economically. It is a guaranteed vote bank for many leaders who become minorities’ champions just before elections.

The leaders hail from their respective communities who incite the community members to vote for them in the name of religion. The promises are soon forgotten, rather brushed under the carpet to be dusted and used in the next elections. Meanwhile, the common man, irrespective of being a Muslim, Sikh or Christian, continues with the day-to-day business of living. The political leaders make various combinations and permutations to attain power. Vote bank politics does not allow assimilation of the minorities into the national mainstream.

The Shah Bano case is an example of minorities’ appeasement. In this case, though the Supreme Court came forward to help the Muslim women, Parliament backed off. Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was enlightened by veteran Congressmen as how his support to Shah Bano would make the Congress wash its hands off the Muslims’ big vote bank in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in India.

Why do we not have an identity crisis in Canada or the US? We take pains to be Americans, Britons, Canadians and try to fit in their culture, adapting to their norms and way of life. The minorities or the majority have no qualms there. Why this insecurity in India, which is our own land? The question of minorities’ insecurity has got a lot to do with development.

There is nothing in India to hold back the minorities. They have ample opportunities to develop. A good education can do wonders for anyone as it can for the minorities. English is an international language. Every person who wants to move ahead in life needs to be fluent in it. But many among the minorities fail to understand its importance.

Talking about the Sikhs and Muslims, why is English education not imparted in a big way in the educational institutions run by the respective religious bodies? People from Punjab go abroad, realise the importance of the language as lingua franca. They learn it when they realise that they cannot do without it. But the people in the villages don't understand this. There is nobody to enlighten them on this though there are plenty of saints and deras in the rural areas. Many bright students of these communities suffer in life because they don’t know English.

Why can't English be taught in the madrasas or in the SGPC-run institutions at the school level? A handsome salary to the teachers would draw the best of talent to the villages. It would also solve the problem of unemployment and migration to foreign lands. In such schools, English, scientific study and curiosity should form the crux of the education.

Yes, our culture needs to be preserved but by taking the required steps so that our children move positively towards the future. These religious institutions should spend less on marble floors in the temples, gurudwaras or mosques and more on establishing internationally acclaimed schools which would churn out world-class students as well as citizens.

In Punjab’s border areas, I have seen the youth steeped into drugs and other vices. There are no good schools, colleges or employing agencies. What would we do with an ostentatious display of our wealth in our religious places when we are losing generations? The minorities should first put their house in order. With ample funds in our basket, the minorities need to work on development. I, for one, feel guilty when I see money spent lavishly on a religious place in a village with no good school for the children.

The writer is Asst Professor, Dept of Political Science, DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh