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Links of divide
This above all |
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Fifty Fifty
On the record
PROFILE
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Links of divide
Nearly a month ago, the Supreme Court asked the Government of India to implement the scheme to interlink rivers to overcome droughts as well as floods, evoking strong reactions from people opposed to the idea. The fact is, there can be no easy conclusions on an issue as complicated as this. Pitched against the propagators of this ambitious Centre-proposed project — propounded as the answer to all water woes — are challengers who claim the venture is (a) not feasible at all, and (b) will spell a “grave environmental and social disaster” that the country will repent for times to come, that is if the project somehow pulls through the untold legal, procedural and statutory hurdles that would come up. The Supreme Court order asking the government to form a committee to oversee the project also brought reassurance to those struggling to somehow build consensus on the plan among stakeholders (read states). Water being a state subject, many officials felt that now at least the state governments would become more responsive to their missives on the subject. While it is yet to be seen how states respond now on, many water experts are disturbed over the SC order. Himanshu Thakkar of SANDRP (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People) calls the order “very disturbing”, while India’s “waterman” Rajendra Singh sees it is as “disastrous”. Thakkar asserts the apex court has (a) no mandate to ask the executive what projects it should take up, and (b) pass a verdict on an issue that lacks proper scientific and situational knowledge or assessment of present and future paradigms, such as optimising cropping patterns, real-time water balance availability, rainwater harvesting, watershed development, groundwater recharge, local water systems and recycling at a basin or sub-basin level. Making no bones of his contempt for the agency authorised to do the ground work on the project —the National Water Development Authority (NWDA) — Thakkar says, “The existing pre-feasibility and feasibility studies are all outdated. The water use pattern today has far outstripped availability in almost all basins.” Thakkar, who is also a member of the Water Resources Ministry’s expert committee on the project, adds: “None of the studies are in the public domain because the NWDA knows they are not worthwhile. We have no basis for arriving at the conclusion that there is water surplus or deficit in any basin.” Orissa and Chhattisgarh have said there is no surplus in the Mahanadi basin, despite the NWDA declaring there is. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh say there is no surplus in the Godavari, also contrary to project studies. Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh contend there is no surplus in the Ganga basin, whereas project studies advocate transfer of water from the Ganga to non-Ganga basin areas. ‘Anti-nature’ Rajendra Singh uses simple examples to press his point against what he calls a “disastrous anti-nature” exercise. “The interlinking will not solve India’s water woes, rather it will intensify them. It will be more a linking of sewage than rivers. It is not like linking of roads. Rivers are living, breathing, life-giving entities with diverse bio-diversity and gene pools. They are like vessels carrying blood and you cannot mix different blood groups even as the last resort,” he says. Experts fear the project will destroy groundwater recharge systems, spell disaster for forests, wildlife terrestrial biodiversity, displace thousands of people by submerging land, and destroy livelihoods, agriculture and fisheries due to salinity ingress and pollution concentration. There are also those — officially dealing with the difficult project — who see a ray of light in the apex court order. A ministry official says the direction for the committee implementing the project to meet once in two months and submit a report every six months to the Cabinet for “all final and appropriate decisions” will at least ensure some movement on the long-pending project. “Hopefully, now the state governments will start responding instead of sitting on files. We may also be able to press home the point that the project is not like sharing water, it is transferring excess water, which at present is going waste, to deficit areas,” he says. Long in suspension For a project that was supposed to resolve drinking, agricultural and industrial water requirements of the country, the interlinking project has remained a vision only on the drawing board. Consider this: It was way back in 1980 that the Ministry of Water Resources prepared a National Perspective Plan for the inter-basin transfer of water from surplus areas to deficit areas of the country. In 1982, the government established the NWDA to conduct surveys and investigations and prepare feasibility reports of all links. The NWDA identified 30 links — 16 under the Peninsular and 14 under the Himalayan component — for preparing the reports for connecting rivers through channels. Thus far, reports for 16 links have been prepared, of which 14 are in the Peninsular component. For the Himalayan component, reports on only two are complete. There has, however, been no activity on ground. Since Himalayan projects are difficult to implement due to international political implications, the government decided to shortlist five projects in the Peninsular region as “priority”. The only significant progress is on the Ken-Betwa link between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. But even that is a lesson on how difficult it is to resolve water issues even when there is some “consensus”. The agreement was signed in 2005, and after much renegotiation and change of plans, money was allocated under the 11th Plan period. Seven years later, the project remains where it was — on paper. Environmental fears had prompted then Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh to say, “It would be disastrous to link the two rivers, and my ministry will never give the required clearance”. No sharing It is not easy to convince any government to show benevolence when it comes to sharing water, a precious natural resource. States would rather let water go waste than share, considering political implications. The Sutlej-Yamuna link dispute between Punjab and Haryana, and the Cauvery feud between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are only examples of such tussles. With the demand for greater autonomy for states growing louder, it is only going to get more difficult to overcome disagreements. A senior government functionary says there is always consensus on the project in closed-door meetings, but when it comes to commitments, everyone develops cold feet. In comparison, it seems easier to manage intra-state links. The NWDA is also conducting feasibility studies for 37 intra-state river-linking projects mooted by seven states. But how the states will tackle issues like displacement and massive acquisition of land remains to be seen. Focus on groundwater Many experts believe India’s water lifeline is the groundwater and not rivers and dams. Rajendra Singh sees future in the revival of local rivers, ponds, baolis and conventional water systems through modern technology. More than 85 per cent rural needs are met from groundwater. In urban areas it is 55-80 per cent. However, the current use of groundwater is not sustainable, while our water bodies are in bad shape. Thakkar says India needs to make groundwater sustainability the focus of water policy, but planners continue to devote 70-75 per cent of water sector budget on big dams, which actually reduce groundwater recharge. “Even though Bhakra Dam is credited for the Green Revolution, 73 per cent of the irrigation in Punjab is from groundwater,” he says. Rajendra Singh says harvesting just 2-3 per cent of the annual rainfall can be a game changer. “Where there is rainfall, the water should be blocked, stored and used to recharge deficit areas. Instead of spending huge amounts and time on interlinking, we should revive thousands of dying baolis (stepwells) and ponds by cleaning and recharging them. Let us breathe life into our great rivers and make them pollution free, and desilt water storage systems to ensure optimal use,” the Magsaysay Award winner says.
Proposed inter-basin water transfer links
HIMALAYAN COMPONENT
1 Manas-Sanikoash-Tista-Ganga
PENINSULAR COMPONENT
15 Mahanadi (Manibhadra)-Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) A project dammed
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1972 Idea developed first by irrigation engineer K.L. Rao. n
1980 Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) prepares a National Perspective Plan for inter-basin transfer of water from surplus to deficit areas. n
1982 The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) established under the MoWR to carry out surveys and feasibility reports. n
By 2000 NWDA identifies 30 links — 16 under Peninsular component and 14 under the Himalayan component — for feasibility reports (FRs). NWDA completes FRs of 16 (14 under Peninsular and two under Himalayan). Survey and investigation of seven other links completed. n
By 2004 Five Peninsular links identified as priority: Ken-Betwa, Par-Tapi-Narmada, Damanganga-Pinjal, Parbati-Kalisindhi-Chambal; and Godavari
(Polavaram)-Krishna (Vijayawada). n
Work done: No progress, apart from some paper movement on the Ken-Betwa link.
Percentage points
73% area of planet covered by water. 97% surface water that is highly saline — oceans and seas. 75% fresh water trapped as snow and ice. 0.65 % surface water available for the world’s growing population. |
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This above all
I
hold Shiv Kumar in high esteem as the leading Indian poet composing in English. An anthology of his verse recently published is entitled “Which of Myselves do You Wish to Speak to?” (Penguin Books). I reproduce a sample of the high quality of his compositions, ‘In Memory of Begum Akhtar’: Chaste as starlight, spangled like/ the feather of a peacock, her/ voice spiralled, dived and sighed/ as she sang of roses and cacti,/ faith and denial. Her eyes flashed/ as her fingers flowed like quicksilver/ on the harmonium. Then, one evening, she closed her/ eyes in the midst of applause./ Silence and grief descended upon/ the earth as if the ghazal/ had breathed its last. But it is believed that if you visited/ her grave at night, you’d still hear a voice/ singing to the cypress trees around: “You always said tears could never/ change one’s destiny. That kept/ me away from crying,/ all my life”. Darkness has an ear for music/ while daylight is only for polemics. Shiv Kumar received his earlier education in Lahore, where he was born. He went to earn a Doctorate in English literature from Cambridge. Back home, he became Professor of English in Osmania University and the Central University of Hyderabad. He has been visiting Professor of many universities in England, the US and Australia. He has published 11 collections of poems, five novels, two collections of short stories and a translation of Faiz Ahmed Faiz. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature of London, winner of Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of poems “Trapfalls in the Sky”. Eleven years ago he was honoured with a Padma Bhushan. Loving fatsos Fat people are regarded as figures of fun: few people take grossly obese people seriously. However, I found a piece in the latest issue of Private Eye that contradicts my theory. It reads: “‘I used to love being fat’, Donna Simpson told reporters outside her home in Akron, Ohio, ‘and I was happy to weigh 600 pounds. I was a star of the Feederism community, and I charged men $19 per month to watch me eat like a pig online. One person from Germany sent me a credit card with instructions about what to order. Another from California wired $200 a week to buy groceries with. There are plenty of men — lawyers, accountants, or college students with a specific fetish — who will buy you four pizzas and enjoy watching you eat all of them’.” “Simpson, 44, was explaining her recent decision to lose weight. ‘I came to realize that I was their fantasy. There I was, getting bigger and bigger, and they had their thin wives, their kids and their picket fence. I’m not trying to become a thin-mint, I just want to be normal, so I’ve set myself a goal to lose 300 pounds. Some viewers are angry, and I’ve received some nasty mail. One even sent a huge food hamper, but I realized I’d become a slave to my feeders. I’ve joined a gym, and begun walking to the pool, and even turned to crack cocaine to try to shed the pounds fast, though that didn’t work. All it did was make me clean my house really, really fast’.” Clouds without water Q: What is unique about Punjab today? A: Despite Badals, the water table is going down! Believe it or not It was Dr Gurdial Singh Dhillon, ex-Speaker, who was the candidate for being the President of India. Needless to say, Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi had decided on his name. When Giani Zail Singh, Home Minister, came to know about it, he went to congratulate Mrs Gandhi on her choice. He told Mrs Gandhi that she had made an excellent selection and praised her for the same lavishly. After a pause, he made a small point — telling her that if Dr Dhillon became the President, he would be signing the papers after applying his mind on the contents. On the other hand, if he had been given the chance, he would have been signing the papers even without reading them. The trick worked. There and then Mrs Gandhi changed her decision and offered the job to Giani Zail Singh. The rest is history. Contributed by KJS Ahluwalia, Amritsar |
Fifty Fifty
THE 1962 Meena Kumari-Sunil Dutt tearjerker “Main Chup Rahungi” presented us with an innocent, victimised woman, who (like Nargis in “Mother India”, from the previous decade) has almost every ignominy heaped on her. She is good looking but defenceless, without a man by her side — suffering silently throughout her painful life. No matter how hard she works, and how virtuous she is — she is turgidly painted as a ‘bad character’ with loose morals, and even gives birth to an ‘illegitimate’ son. The happiness quotient in her life is in a perpetual decline, and matters do not improve as the film unfolds. Her child is put into an orphanage — and she is told it was stillborn. And when she struggles to put her life together, gaining respectability as a schoolteacher, someone remembers her indiscretion of youth. The ‘kalank’ on her character is cemented forever. The walls of propriety she had built around herself come crashing down, once more. Only at the end, after this poor woman’s last bit of dignity has been shredded, is it revealed that that she was misunderstood and actually a victim of her circumstances. Thus the film, when it finally reaches its creaking crescendo, can only end up as an excruciating tragedy — but in the 1960s, everyone wept at Meena Kumari’s fate. Even though it fetched her a Filmfare nomination — and did quite well 50 years ago — it is doubtful if such a film would run successfully today. This is the age of heroines such as Vidya Balan in “Kahaani”, and she is no tragedy queen. She is right for today’s audience who want solutions and quick results. They are not prepared to sit through films that demand at least 10 hankies. Which is why the current tragedy, “The Sorry Saga of UPA 2”, is beginning to feel a little soggy — and everyone in the audience is wondering which of the many Meena Kumaris on stage will finally speak up and tell us the truth? In fact, after watching the badly scripted, innumerable calamities that have hit the government, viewers are beginning to get restless. Even though supposed villains are protesting their innocence, it is simply not good enough. The audience wants to know the truth now about their avowed morality and is not prepared to wait till the last. Very soon, they will (egged on by off-screen characters like Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal) even start demanding their money back — unless someone speaks up. The latest fracas between Raksha Mantri A.K. Antony and the Army chief, Gen V.K. Singh, appears dominated by the vow of “Main Chup Rahungi” and remains an unpalatable mystery. It is inexplicable why, when both the Army chief and the Defence Minister became aware of the possible corruption surrounding a rather large purchase order, they suddenly decided to look the other way. The chief complains to his civilian boss — but does nothing more. And the civilian boss hits his forehead in frustration and also maintains a Meena Kumari-like silence. Why? Is it because they both realised there was too much at stake and the problem was too big to pursue, or did the deliberate inaction on both sides point to an unspoken understanding that they shouldn’t upset the rather well-stocked applecart. The curse of “Main Chup Rahungi!” Then in a curious twist of plot, the Army chief decided to abandon his silence. Perhaps after losing his court case he realised that the system he had helped prop up had ended up harming him. And had his interview about being offered Rs 14 crore as bribe not surfaced, none of the alleged corruption — presided over by, ironically, a very honest minister — would have surfaced either. And yet, what is shocking is that most parliamentarians are quite prepared to throw this ‘illegitimate’ baby out with the bathwater. Instead of focusing on a very serious charge, many have harped about the ‘timing’ of his television interview. Similarly, after the leak of a confidential letter written by the General to the Prime Minister — pointing out failings in the army preparedness — more time has been spent by parliamentarians on a pointless tirade on how unpatriotic it is, and very little on questioning what the issues are. Is there, under the cacophony, a deepening realisation that the less the nation knows the better? Why are defence deals shrouded in secrecy? And is it unpatriotic to discuss why our soldiers are not better equipped? It is not just disciplinary issues at stake, but the fact that the young men and women in the Army are our children, and we have the right to know if they are being cared for. The argument that our enemies will find out our weaknesses once the content of this letter is known is annoying beyond belief. So what if they do? What makes us believe — when we know the system is corrupt — that they do not know already? If shoddy equipment and poorly designed attire is responsible for the unnecessary death of our children serving in the Army, shouldn’t we have the right to protest? Isn’t it time families of army personnel demanded to know if their children were being used as cannon fodder? It is quite apparent that this is a proxy war, and someone is out to make sure that instead of a blaze of glory, the General is thrown out in a blizzard of abuses. It is also obvious that there is a very powerful lobby at work here, which possibly even the Defence Minister is unable to control. Like Meena Kumari, Antony too seems to be buffeted about, and has been unable to stem the rot creeping up around him. Instead of picking on the Army chief, who has just a few months before he retires, parliamentarians must, on behalf of all those thousands of men and women who fight valiantly for us, set up open and transparent public hearings, in which we should all find out where the thousands of crores of public money is being spent. If we owe no responsibility to the jawan, why should we expect him to owe any towards us? |
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On the record
Benoy K. Behl (56) is a noted film-maker, art-historian and photographer. After doing English Honours from St. Stephen’s, he studied cinema at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He has taken over 35,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage and made a hundred documentaries. Those include 26-part series each on ‘The Paintings of India’ and ‘The Sculpture of India’ for Doordarshan. His exhibitions have been warmly received in 28 countries. In 2008, National Geographic magazine carried an 18-page story about ancient Indian art revealed through Behl’s photography. His latest 25-minute film ‘The Divine Search: Baul Singers of Bengal’ is the 11th in a 26-part ‘Spectacular India’ series for Doordarshan. He holds the Limca Book Record for having travelled to all corners of India. Who are these Baul singers? The word ‘Baul’ probably comes from the Sanskrit ‘viyakul’ (impatiently eager). The Bauls are a shared cultural tradition of Bangladesh and West Bengal. To ‘capture’ them, I went to West Bengal, near Shantiniketan, and Birbhum. Simple, they are a small heterogeneous group. In 2005, UNESCO included Baul singing in its list of the world’s “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. How old is their tradition? Not much is known about their origin. But it is believed that their style of singing started with Lalon Fakir who was born in 1774 in Kushtia district (now in Bangladesh). Kushtia was home to many famous authors and poets. Currently, it is known for the Islamic University, Shilaidaha Kuthibari, residence of Rabindranath Tagore, and Lalon’s shrine. Lalon became one of the greatest mystic-singers of this sub-continent. He composed thousands of songs. These continue till today as the greatest inspiration for the Bauls and Fakirs of Bengal. Has someone recorded Lalon Fakir’s history? No one knows his real name, date and place of birth or the names or religious affiliations of his parents. His family lived in extreme poverty. He had no formal education. Both Hindus and Muslims seek to own him. Lalon was neither. In one song he wrote: “Everyone asks, what is Lalon’s caste in this world? Lalon says, a Muslim man is known by circumcision. Then how can a Muslim woman be identified? A Brahmin is known by his sacred thread, but how would I know a Brahmin woman? Everyone asks, what is Lalon’s caste in this world?” Tell us more about Baul songs. Some people consider the Bauls as ‘insane’, in a divinely inspired manner. They are far from the sanity of the materialistic and mundane world. See this song: “In this world, some are insane with the nectar of love… others are crazy for material goods… they are immersed in their physical desires; they do not pay any heed to truth… I am… I could never become completely insane… because I could never find someone who is as insane as I am…” Are they known as a religious or spiritual group? They are very open to both the Hindu and Muslim faiths. But they follow a spiritual quest. They believe that if there is any God, it is within us. They sing: “I have lost my caste but I am not yet satisfied. I hunger for more, my beloved friend, my Lord…My whole life is burning. Now what do I do, oh Lord?...I cannot sit still any longer and my mind is no longer content to stay at home…I suffer so deeply, my Lord.” Reminds you of Sufism? Yes. They mainly sing in the traditions of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims. Their music is said to have had a great influence on Rabindranath Tagore's poetry and his music and on the region’s culture. Where do you find them? In trains, buses, on roads, in village corners, almost everywhere, entertaining people with philosophical truths. What do the Bauls say about birth and death? Their songs advise people to escape from the web of illusions to attain knowledge. They sing: “It is after wandering for many lakhs of births… that you were lucky enough to get this birth as a human being… if this birth too were to go waste, oh crazy mind of mine, then you will never get it back again… No, I will not permit you to leave. I will keep you in my heart.” How do you feel after ‘shooting’ the Bauls? A wonderful experience. Their singing is full of heritage knowledge. Give us the best Baul song that you have liked. In a train, you may catch them singing this song, which takes you on a divine search: “If you want to board this train you must have a ticket of ‘bhakti’… Which one of you wants to board the train of Krishna’s love? Come with me… This entire train is made up of four classes — dharma, artha, kama and moksha… Passengers designated to each of these compartments board only those particular ones… Which one of you wants to board the train of Krishna’s love? Come with me.” |
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PROFILE What is the secret of Aich’s healthy life? His diet consists of rice, pulses, vegetables, mango, banana, jackfruit and guava. Among the non-vegetarian items, he likes fresh-water fish. Most important, he says, is the attitude to life. “I never allow any sort of tension to grip me. I had to struggle to earn money since my young days, but whatever the situation, I took the troubles lightly”. He has never smoked or taken alcohol. Aich was born in the small town of Comilla in undivided Bengal. Since childhood, he was interested in strength related sports, such as wrestling and weightlifting. At 12, he had an attack of “black fever”, and his health broke down. However, he regained strength by exercise. He started performing in shows titled ‘Physique and Magic’ along with P C Sircar in Dhaka. His feats included bending steel rods with his teeth, bending spears with his neck, and resting his belly on swords. He could tear a 1,500-page book. After leaving school in 1942, Aich joined the air force under the British in India. There began his relentless pursuit of bodybuilding. Fired by patriotic zeal, he slapped an English officer for making derogatory remarks against Indians. Aich was thrown in prison, where he started weightlifting seriously. This prepared him for the world championship later. H would practice without any equipment, sometimes for 12 hours a day. The prison authorities were so impressed, that he was given a special diet. He was released on Independence. In 1950, he won the Mr Hercules contest and by 1952, he was Mr Universe. There was not much money in bodybuilding then, only respect. Dogged by poverty, Aich and his wife struggled to put their four children through school. There was little cash to indulge in his passion, but he took up odd jobs to earn a little extra on the side. Aich still goes to the gym to help his sons run a fitness centre, and spends his day guiding youngsters on reach bodybuilding. A minor stroke has robbed him of the ability to lift weights. Although his two sons did not take up bodybuilding, Aich says, his mentoring has earned him many rewards. It has produced India’s eight-time national champion Satya Pal, and another protégé, Premchand Dogra, who scooped the Mr Universe title in 1980. |
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