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Back from the brink
Stricter poll norms |
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Hateful crimes Provide security to Sikhs in the US TWO elderly people went out for a walk in Elk Grove, California, US. They were shot. One of them died while the other is in a critical state. Why were they killed? While it is too early to say definitively, the FBI and the local police suspected Tuesday’s incident to be a hate crime that snuffed out the life of Surinder Singh and left Gurmej Singh Atwal critically injured. Both sported beards and turbans, and thus became likely targets for bigots.
Govt’s stables must be cleansed
For the real taste of kahwa
CORRUPTION CRIPPLES INCLUSIVE GROWTH
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Back from the brink
THE crisis between the ruling DMK and the Congress in Tamil Nadu has blown over with both the parties realising that any rupture in ties between them would work to the advantage of the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK at a time when assembly elections are round the corner. Though Congress president Sonia Gandhi did some plain-speaking with the DMK leadership, taking exception to that party’s brinkmanship, the party relented fearing that it would stand marginalised if it fought the election on its own. For a while after the DMK threatened to pull out of the alliance, the Congress explored the option of making good the lost numbers for the Central coalition by considering a tie-up with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party or even holding out an olive branch to Jayalalithaa, but while the first was opposed strongly by leaders of the U.P. Congress, the second was steeped in uncertainty. It was then that senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee spoke to Chief Minister Karunanidhi and exhorted him to defer his decision to pull out his ministers. While it was Karunanidhi’s elder son M.K. Azhagiri who was a stumbling block for the DMK coming to terms, in the Congress it was Home Minister P. Chidambaram who wanted more seats for the party in south Tamil Nadu in the hope of boosting the electoral prospects of his son Kartikeyan who is a Youth Congress leader. But with Mrs Gandhi wanting the alliance to continue, there was little they could do. The DMK was apparently keen to ensure that in the ongoing investigations into the 2G scam, the Karunanidhi clan was duly protected but on this the Congress pleaded helplessness since the Supreme Court is monitoring the probe. The continuance of the DMK-Congress alliance will retrieve for both parties some of the ground that they would have lost had they parted ways. But with the DMK having to live with the taint on account of A. Raja’s involvement in the 2G scam, the anti-incumbency factor in play and Jayalalithaa campaigning feverishly while the DMK-Congress alliance tottered on the brink, it would be a Herculean task for the DMK-led alliance to return to power.
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Stricter poll norms
THE Election Commission’s decision to make mandatory disclosure of income-tax (IT) returns and inherited property by candidates contesting elections is welcome. It is expected to make the affidavit more transparent and broadbased and help disseminate better and effective information to the electors. According to the new rules, every candidate will have to file the six-page affidavit along with his or her nomination papers before the Returning Officer. The IT returns and details of properties of the candidate’s spouse and all the “dependents” will also have to be furnished in the affidavit. The Election Commission was compelled to introduce the new affidavit, in consultation with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), to curb the use of black money and illegal wealth in the electoral process. There is no denying the fact that the most candidates do not disclose the entire truth about their wealth to the Election Commission. The filing of IT returns in the new affidavit is expected to fill up this gap. This will also have the force of law and infuse fairness and transparency in the exercise. More important, with five states going for Assembly elections next month — Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry — the new measure will contribute to greater awareness among the people about the background of their candidates. Essentially, these affidavits function as summaries of candidates’ criminal records as well as disclosures of their assets and are mainly intended to give voters information they need before they enter the polling booths to exercise their franchise. While the Election Commission’s latest move is commendable, it should take measures to ensure that all affidavits are posted online for wider dissemination of information among the electorate. The Chief Electoral Officers of all states should scrupulously implement its directive to scan and upload candidates’ affidavits on their websites “not later than 24 hours” after they have been received. As political parties continue to nominate candidates with criminal backgrounds, the information contained in the affidavits becomes vital to the democratic process. Undoubtedly, while disclosures in the new format would work as an antidote to corruption and poor governance only when such information is available to all citizens, what matters more is not the size of a candidate’s assets and liabilities but how they were earned. |
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Hateful crimes
TWO elderly people went out for a walk in Elk Grove, California, US. They were shot. One of them died while the other is in a critical state. Why were they killed? While it is too early to say definitively, the FBI and the local police suspected Tuesday’s incident to be a hate crime that snuffed out the life of Surinder Singh and left Gurmej Singh Atwal critically injured. Both sported beards and turbans, and thus became likely targets for bigots. The police, the local American community and the Indian expatriate population have responded with concern and alacrity to the attack, and rewards have been announced by both the authorities as well as the Sikh community in California for information about the perpetrators of the attack. Surinder Singh and Gurmej Singh Atwal both had their roots in Punjab, like thousands of Sikhs who have made California their home. Concern about the safety of this visibly different community has come to the fore since this latest attack on its members, which is far from being the only one of its kind. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, the Sikhs, because of their turbans and beards, have faced harassment, and even been the targets of discrimination and crime. Other minorities, like the Jews and the Muslims, too, have faced hate crimes. Another crime, the 2010 attack on taxi driver Harbhajan Sikh, also came in the news just before the killing, when the two accused admitted their guilt as part of a plea-bargaining arrangement in a California court. While swift apprehension of suspects and prompt judicial redressal go a long way to reassure the victims, it is clear that the US authorities must make efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of the latest crime and take measures to assure the community of its safety. |
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Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. — Mark Twain
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Govt’s stables must be cleansed
GOVERNANCE is not a matter of wishful thinking. Nor is it some political trickery. For this, a clean, transparent administration is something minimum. Providing more funds for different fields, as the budget has done, does not automatically ensure improvement, particularly when the aam admi has been consciously left out. If the past experience is any guide, the bigger the expenditure, the greater is the scope for siphoning off money. A few scams, which have come to light, show how large allocations have given an opportunity to ministers, bureaucrats and their men to fritter away public money. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s admission that there have been “aberrations” does not wash. All that he says is that they will be “more cautious” in the future. The crisis is that of confidence. How do we stand in our mind and spirit? How far do we adhere to the basic principles that give strength to people? The deterioration in public life in the Congress as well as in other parties and groups is matched by growing disruptive tendencies, rooted in province, religion, caste and language. People intrinsically decent are forgetting major issues and getting excited over minor matters and thereby harming the country’s unity, strength and progress. There is need for new thinking, in terms of not slogans and dogmas but a pragmatic idealism related to both modern conditions and human values. It is not necessary for all Indians to think alike. Indeed, it would be unfortunate if they did. But they should try to share some broad objectives and methods, within a framework, to persuade each other if they differ on specific issues. Punishing one former Telecommunication Minister A. Raja or one Commonwealth Games-in-charge Suresh Kalmadi does not mean that the government has cleansed its stables. And what the two did is by no standard an “aberration”. They acted fraudulently and went on doing so over a long period. The Prime Minister may not have known the nitty-gritty of the corrupt deals. But he was aware that there was some hanky-panky. He could hear the noise the media and others were making. The entire system is reeking with the arrogance of power and little fear of punishment. The rot has gone down all the way, making those at positions confident of going scot-free even if a few from among them are caught with their fingers in the jam jar. I concede that this situation has not come about in one day. Yet I have never seen in my life so much corruption on the scale it is found today. Take any field. It seems that everyone is devising ways to make money and evade the law. Practically all members of Dr Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet, if assessed by an independent body (not the government-controlled CBI), would be found wanting in integrity in one way or the other. And this holds good for the states, ruled either by the Congress or the BJP. In fact, both parties have brought down public life to such a low level that people do not know whether India had ever maintained high standards. The Prime Minister has advised the people to improve the tone of public life. How do they do? The common man does not count. He is so burdened with ever-increasing food prices that he is all the time busy trying to keep himself afloat. Civil society is itself a participant in the loot. And the top is so mixed up with the ruling party at the Centre and in the states that it has developed a vested interest in what is going on in the name of governance. When morality goes out of politics and power becomes the end by itself, the parties do not mind what methods they adopt to reap benefits. What the different governments have done is that they have wiped out the line dividing right and wrong, moral and immoral. People do not have any compunction in adulterating medicines, fudging degrees or even leaking question papers. There is nothing called wrong per se. In the process, violence has come to be accepted a normal way in a country which has forgotten how it won Independence through non-violence. Since most political parties have become mafias themselves, they have in their cadre criminals, black marketeers and sheer killers. But then they are the ones who are able to “manage” elections, now that Assam, Pudhucherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal go to polls in April. Another ill that has crept in is the assertion of identity. All communities want an identity of their own. This is fair as long as the Indian identity is above the rest. The media, a strong pillar of the democratic structure, has itself become part and parcel of the corrupt system. Newspapers and TV channels sell space for consideration. The phrase “Paid News” is not an affront any more. An unpublished report of the Press Council of India has proved beyond doubt that most leading papers, the English Press is not an exception, have accepted money to publish a candidate’s propaganda as news and has kept out the opponents from the paper. When no field remains unpolluted, the blame lies on the shoulders of the intelligentsia. It has ceased to be sensitive. It has no realisation of what is wrong. Yet the nation has to preserve the fundamental values of a democratic society. The ethical considerations inherent in public servants have to be refurbished. They run the system. I agree that cleansing has to begin at the top. The Lokpal Bill has to be enacted soon. The CBI should be put under the charge of the Lokpal. Maybe, the institution should have more than one person, approved by the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha. But the top-most priority has to be given to the functioning of Parliament. What the Congress has experienced – stalling of the winter session-the party has done the same thing when the BJP was in power. I was then in the House and found some members equally exasperated over the daily disturbance. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is quite right when he says that some mechanism should be found to ensure the functioning of Parliament. But this depends on the political parties, especially the Congress and the BJP. I recall how on the 50th anniversary of Parliament all members swore never to disturb the House. The Congress, then in the opposition, was the first to violate the consensus. Timely action could have been taken to stop the slide. To say that the government will be “cautious” in the future is neither here nor there. People want to see quick results. And they are losing
patience.
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For the real taste of kahwa
For Kashmiris scattered all over the globe, it carries the nip of a lost homeland. But for others like me who come across the real taste of it occasionally, this fragrant tea is a seed of solace. Kahwa, also called “mogil chay”, a vino-coloured tea topped with almond parings, has helped Kashmiris beat the winter chill. Though I had it several times at my residence in the city, far from my homeland, it lacked that typical aroma that might be left in the lanes of long-lost Kashmir when made in a not-so-typical way. My family, which is from Kashmir, first introduced me to its typical taste in the last vacations in Jammu. I relished it at the residence of my mum’s aunt. It was there that I wrapped my shawl around the piping glass, holding it traditionally as is done by the good-old ladies of Kashmir, and took a careful sip. It was there that I conned the prowess of making and serving this honeyed and zesty blend. In gladder times, there was no home in Kashmir that did not have a samavar, a vessel made of copper or brass in which kahwa was brewed. Around the fire-container there is a space for water to boil and the tea leaves and other ingredients are mixed with water for a perfect blend. It is said a good kahwa cannot be made without samavar and can only be enjoyed in a khos (cup). The tea is made in samavar by boiling green tea leaves with saffron strands, cinnamon bark, cardamom pods and occasionally Kashmiri roses to add a great aroma. Generally, it is served with sugar or honey, and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts, but no milk is added. Any time is considered kahwa time for a Kashmiri. Some Kashmiris have started drinking Lipton tea, though there was a time when only “mogil chay” was brewed. But given that the constricted flats of cities hardly allow for heavy and rotund accessories like samavars, kehwah is now brewed in ordinary tea pan. My initial efforts were honed with the help of a few tips from my mom’s aunt and I am now an adept brewer in my own right. Back to my city, undeterred, I checked out with different restaurants and hotels here, but to no avail, as I could not find my favourite tea’s name on their menu cards. So, one fine day, I asked a close friend of mine, who brings spices and other condiments from Jammu to sell in the city, to bring some tea bags for me. She responded that she would include it in her list if I invite her for a hearty Kashmiri meal, including her favourite dum aloo and rogan josh. “Anything for the actual taste of kahwa,” I said. I have fulfilled my promise and I now have bags of leaves and related spices. By the time you go through this, the samavar at my home would probably have been pulled out of its long hiding and my friends from the city will be on the verge of a new
ecstasy.
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CORRUPTION CRIPPLES INCLUSIVE GROWTH According to the recent observations of the UN, over 40 per cent Indians live on less than $1.25 (around Rs 60) per day and India now stands third in terms of proportions of extremely poor people in South Asia. The existence of one-third of the world’s hungry population in the second fastest growing nation seems to be highly paradoxical and makes our economic attainments suspect. Evidently, growth in real terms is confined to a small proportion of the population and instead of flowing down, it is moving to foreign banks, where trillions of dollars are stacked with almost no hope of being brought back. It is a pointer to a poor and weak governing mechanism expressible in terms of inefficiency and ethical failures. In 2005 former Chief Vigilance Commissioner N. Vittal pointed out that the root cause of poor governance lies in corruption. In fact, there is a reciprocal relationship between the two. In 2009 R. H. Tahilani, Chairman of Transparency International India, rightly observed that tremendous economic growth being witnessed in the country was not reaching the poor due to the single big reason of corruption. These views have been corroborated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on different occasions while expressing his concern at corruption in government machinery being the main deterrent in transferring benefits of growth to the masses. Corruption not only dilutes administrative efficiency but also results in the depletion of scarce national resources. The total loss to the public exchequer due to unethical practices in the form of corruption, scams and fraudulent allotments in 2010 was estimated to be Rs 4 lakh crore. Moreover, corruption in governance with its vertical and horizontal flows is multiplying and vitiating the total atmosphere within the country and destroying its external image. Transparency International’s 2010 survey ranked India at 87 among 178 nations and its Corruption Perception Index score has come down to 3.3 from 3.4 in 2009 and 3.5 in 2007. Until and unless governance mechanism is freed from this malaise, the realisation of inclusive growth or poverty eradication would not seem to be feasible. UN General Secretary Kofi Annan observed in 2002 that good governance was the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. Good policy has a meaning if it is effectively administered. With a weak administration the gains of even excellent policy are lost. Good governance has two essential ingredients: efficiency and ethics. Efficiency without ethics may yield higher but exclusive growth. For making it participative governance needs to be fair and free from corruption. Unfortunately, a steep decline in our ethical standards with their origin in our governing mechanism is perceptible. We have forgotten our rich heritage, which is certainly a source of honour and pride. In 1835 Lord Macaulay, while addressing the British Parliament, said: “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage”. The downfall of our value system started during the British regime itself. This fact is evident from Winston Churchill’s statement that he made on the eve of Independence, “power will go in to the hands of … freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw who will fight among themselves for power and will be lost in political squabbles”. In 1947 after the attainment of Independence, the Prevention of Corruption Act was passed with a view to smoothening the task of rehabilitation and economic reconstruction. But despite powerful influence of the philosophical ideas of our great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel in the minds of the people, the country started coming speedily into the fold of corruption. According to the report of the Santham Committee submitted in 1964, the failure of integrity was not uncommon among the ministers and some of them had enriched themselves illegally. The country is viciously entrapped in the incessant ethical degradation and unfortunately is being considered one of the most corrupt countries of the world. It is rightly observed by Vice President Hamid Ansari that the general thinking environment has become much polluted and honesty is considered incompatible with survival. In the Approach Paper of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) it is clearly mentioned that “corruption is seen to be endemic in all spheres and this problem needs to be addressed immediately”. There is no denying the fact that ethics in governance is an index of general ethical standards and practices prevailing in the country. There is a common saying that subjects follow the king (government) and if the king is sinful, then subjects will have no hesitation in committing sins. Here unethical practices in the private and public sectors as well as our daily dealings have become a routine. Everyday new scams and scandals, siphoning of funds from sanctioned projects and fictitious billing are destabilizing the economic system of the country. These do not allow growth benefits to be shared by the poor and marginalised sections of society whose status is no better than perishable goods purchased by the crafty leaders through their political managers at the time of elections. The ambitious targets of high growth in quantitative terms are much needed and appreciable. But if the process of growth continues to be directed only towards top 300 millions and the others have to be simply consoled with catchy and innovative slogans that they have been listening since Independence, then the fault certainly lies with the mechanism of development.
Points to ponder
Perpetual poverty in India despite an appreciable growth rate is due to a weak governing mechanism suffering from ethical failures India’s score on Transparency International’s corruption perception index, which was 3.5 in 2007, came down to3.3 in 2010. The total loss to the country’s public exchequer due to unethical practices in 2010 has been estimated to be Rs 4 lakh crore Scams, scandals, siphoning of public funds and fictitious billing have become routine affairs that hamper the trickle down of growth benefits to the poor. Need to set up Central Ethics Commission assisted by ethics committees in states and an Institute of Ethics to impart ethical training to those joining politics and administration. Fund allocations in Central and state budgets should be based on economic performance as well as the practice of ethical standards in the use of previous funds
It is abundantly clear that growth cannot be shared by all unless our top leadership sincerely and strictly observes certain ethical codes. High standards of honesty and service to the nation are to be set, followed and exhibited and not only to be vociferously pronounced with a view to misleading the hapless masses of the country who probably seem to have reconciled to the state of perpetual sufferings. In order to liberate our leaders from personal greed and long-term interest of their progeny towards whom they are solely committed, there is need for soul searching. This feeling must be rooted in the mind that others too have their share in the national wealth and they do have the right to live with grace and honour. An autonomous body such as a Central Ethics Commission assisted by committees at the state level needs to be established to deal with the issue of unethical practices in governance so that the loss to the nation in terms of waste of resources and social discontent emerging from economic exclusion may be reduced as far as possible. It should be constantly involved in the ethical scrutiny of the policies at the stage of formulation and implementation. Simultaneously Institutes of Ethics at the central and state levels should be set up to impart training to those joining politics and administration. Central Ethics Commission, Institutes of Ethics and government organisations concerned must work in coordination. If we genuinely want to lift those who are at the bottom of the pyramid then merely enhanced allocations of funds and motivated publicity are not enough. There is need to ensure that funds are not taken away by unscrupulous policy executors working at different levels. Towards this end, the setting up of a task force under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilkani of Unique Identification Authority of India for evaluating a method for direct transfer of subsidies to the targeted beneficiaries is highly commendable. It will certainly reduce the transaction cost in the distributive system. Bihar is committed to issuing UID numbers to the beneficiaries of various welfare schemes within three years. This is an appreciable step and must be followed by other states. The scale of corruption in governance can be significantly brought down if the product and service delivery mechanism is subjected to decentralisation. During the execution of various development schemes and construction of infrastructure, potential beneficiaries should be involved for the sake of transparency and excellence. Even fund allocations among different regions in the Union Budget should be based on their respective integrity indices. There is need for a judicious review of the performance not only in terms of productivity but also ethical standards maintained in the utilisation of the funds sanctioned earlier. Some extra grant incentives can be linked with the time-bound and fair delivery of services to the public. For the realisation of the objective of sustainable inclusive growth, the sustainability of ethical values in governance is must.
The writer is a Professor of Economics at the IBS, Chandigarh
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THE laudable objective of inclusive growth set for the Eleventh Five Year Plan being currently implemented can be possibly achieved if the major obstacle in the distributive process is well identified and eradicated. It is a well recognised fact that the GDP growth rate in the post-globalised era has significantly enhanced due to the market transformation in terms of size and structure. But the growth dividends are concentrating in fewer hands and are not trickling down to the masses whose acute pains in terms of hunger and starvation can be better felt than quantified.