The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

ARTICLE

Get the diagnosis right
Growing rage from loss of hope
by B.G. Verghese

Petty distractions keep intruding but should not be allowed to usurp the national agenda. Thus the NCP-Congress spat is easily settled by setting up a coordination committee for regular consultation. Likewise, the increasingly jaded Anna circus, back in town crudely canvassing missing crowds for new stunts such as demanding a SIT to investigate 15 top Central ministers, including the PM and the erstwhile Finance Minister, now the President of India, for what it claims is proven corruption. Anna at least has realised that indefinite fasting (unto death yet not unto death) is becoming an increasingly discredited tool of political blackmail.

The new Rashtrapati struck the right note on assuming the Presidency by naming poverty in all its manifestations and terror (“the Fourth World War, after the Cold War”) as the core issues that must be confronted. He pleaded for government intervention to uplift the under-privileged and rightly asserted that trickle-down policies – read mounting subsidies, featherbedding, back to nature and neo-protectionism – are not the answer.

It is for this reason that the PM must ignore the clamour that he should remain the Finance Minister. Fiscal management is obviously important but any great orchestra needs a fine conductor and not just a brilliant first violinist. The crisis facing India has not been well diagnosed. Look around and what does one see? Azim Premji put it well. Manesar, to which we can now add Assam, is not merely a “riot” but a manifestation of growing social unrest and rage from a loss of direction and hope, fewer jobs from slowing growth and falling investments leading to mounting unemployment and shrinking opportunity.

India’s post-1947 geography remains what it was while its demography has multiplied four-fold and is set to increase by almost two more “Indias” before the population stabilises at around 1700 million. The country is urbanising as the land cannot gainfully hold swelling numbers. The “demographic dividend” threatens to become socially cancerous unless commensurate jobs are created with matching infrastructure, human resource development and off-farm opportunity through manufactures and services.

Instead, we delight in anti-employment or low-productivity strategies, archaic labour and other laws, protection of “sick” factories and institutions, and inefficient land use in the name of preserving wide swathes of degraded forest and sub-optimal agriculture overburdened with “farmers” with neither land or economic holdings to farm nor the wherewithal to till the land.

Thus nostalgia has become the great enemy of progress. Fundamentalists of all hues want to go back in time. “Socialists” tirelessly promise jam tomorrow while preventing anybody doing anything today in the name of fighting imperialism, neo-colonialism and Mammon. Many activists hug poverty as they would be out of business if the poor were to graduate to modest comfort. The environment-forest lobby does not seem to realise that poverty is the worst polluter and ameliorating the condition of the poor would of itself yield an environmental bonus. Some would fight to prevent land acquisition in order to preserve farming, tribal reserves and any type of forest at the cost of manufacture, mining and infrastructure. They do the country no service by perpetuating sub-optimal economies and lifestyles and ignoring the huge opportunity costs of delay.

There is anxiety and anguish about the possibility that Maruti may shift from Manesar to Gujarat because rampaging workers and their mentors know that current and future jobs are at stake. Those opposing the Haryana and Jaitapur nuclear plants or raising the Omkareshwar reservoir level or still trying to block the POSCO steel plant in Odisha are mortgaging their own future. Drought and non-development displace far more persons than planned development with proper resettlement, compensation, training and support for alternative livelihoods. Are the Dongaria Khonds better off or happier for Vedanta being hounded out of the Niyamgiri Hills causing the closure of their bauxite mining project and projected expansion of their related aluminium plant nearby? An objective study might be instructive.

Trade-offs in time and space have simply not been considered nor bold and timely decisions taken. Time is a resource and relentlessly working against India as social explosions threaten – call them Naxalism or ethnic conflict as in Assam. In the so-called Naxal areas, the critical failure to work the 5th Schedule has simply not been understood while in the Northeast, Malthusian refugees from Bangladesh have put pressure on forests and livelihoods and are undermining the ethnic demography and electoral outcomes. It is these issues that need to be addressed. In both cases and across the country, accelerated development and growth with equity hold the key.

In parts of the NE like Nagaland and Arunachal, Bangladeshis are being invited to cultivate community lands that have been enclosed by new feudal lords. Old immigrants must be absorbed as naturalised citizens as they can no longer be deported while new ones must be prevented ingress by more vigilant and honest border management together with efforts to assist Bangladesh’s development.

The Northeast’s wealth lies in its immense water wealth — a third of India’s total water resources and 40 % of its hydro-power potential – and its vast plantation, bio-diversity and tourist potential. These are not being fully exploited. Instead, there is an ongoing movement against dams and water regulation which condemns Assam, the NE’s engine of growth, to low risk agriculture and annual flood ravages on which a lot of people make money.

The land-for-mining issue has become a huge constraint to development resulting in illegal mining by powerful mafias in league with the powers that be. Coal and mines, can be restored to forest after the minerals have been won. Restorative ecology in carefully segmented working strips sequentially mined can prevent uncontrolled mining disasters. There are practical remedies other than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The corporate sector must be made a partner and not treated as an enemy. It has finance, technology and management and marketing skills to contribute. True, corporates do turn robber barons in order to beat the law, which is sometimes an ass. But they can be brought around and made to play a positive role within imaginative corporate social responsibility frameworks in tandem with local communities to mutual benefit.

All of this should be the PM’s agenda and not the worthless gamesmanship around us that passes for governance but actually derails it. Just look at recent bits of nonsense manifest around the country. A lecherous N.D Tiwari exposed for cruel denial of paternity yet pleading innocence after leading the law a dance for years; defending Haj quotas, a purely communal gambit like all vote banking; dragging the L.N. Mishra case into its 34th year after the man was murdered because he knew too much about abounding political corruption of which he himself had become an instrument; threats against raising diesel, kerosene and LPG prices (even with safety nets) to plug absolutely ruinous subsidies; vandalising Mayawati-built statues in what has become a caste war; an unabated cycle of vicious crimes against women. We need to get both our priorities and diagnosis right.

— www.bgverghese.com

MIDDLE

My reluctant companion
by Raj Kadyan

BY the prevailing belief, God never uses computers in His creation. Still, nearly seven billion humans do not look alike. And behave differently too.

On the way to Toronto recently, our first flight leg was to Amsterdam. My wife took the aisle seat while I sat in the middle. The window seat was occupied by a Norway-bound young Indian bride, with bangles running up to her elbow. We made pleasant conversation.

On take-off from Amsterdam, the same scenario was repeated with another woman now occupying the window seat. When I tried to settle down in the middle, she objected. “She will sit in the middle” she almost commanded pointing to the wife.

On seeing reluctance on our part, she summoned the flight attendant and repeated her dictate. He requested reason. “His hand touch mine” she said, unmindful of her grammar. The demand appeared strange and considered against the stereotype of Western culture, even bizarre. Before I could respond, my wife firmly rejected the change-of-seat idea.

By the time the ascending plane had levelled, she had gone to sleep, leaning away into the window. The air hostess came with hot towels and pleaded that I pass hers on to the lady at the window seat. I tapped on the seat arm to wake her up and give her the towel. Having used it, she slept again. I discreetly avoided using the arm rest between our seats.

She had removed her sandals to reveal toes painted in dark purple. Her pink pedal pushers ended just below the knees leaving her white calves and ankles exposed. Her hair was short and had not been comb-disciplined for quite some time. Her finger nails extended almost three millimetres beyond her skin. She wore dangling ear- rings of costume jewellery.

The KLM people were very hospitable and kept feeding us throughout the flight. Every time a serving arrived, I had to repeat the drill of waking her up. As the hours passed, I could detect a hint of thawing in her attitude.

An hour short of destination, the staff handed us the immigration forms. This had her clearly puzzled. At first displaying confidence she borrowed my pen and pretended to fill the columns. Her involuntary curse of ‘très compliqué’ in French, betrayed her unfamiliarity with the English language terms. Realising her predicament I volunteered to fill it for her. She accepted my offer with visible relief. She shifted close to give me the particulars – name, address, date of birth, passport details etc. Finding a sneak moment, my wife whispered in my ear, “Strange, she did not want to touch your arm, and now she is literally leaning on it?”

By the time the immigration form was filled, her reserve was broken and she became chatty. Unlike at emplaning time, she was all affection and warmth. Before we landed we could well have been mistaken for old friends.

I had made a mental note of her personal particulars. I intend sending her a greeting card on her next birthday, 27 February 2013. She will turn 79 that day.

OPED — DEFENCE

Should RTI Act cover the Armed Forces?
The RTI Act has been implemented in the Armed Forces in right earnest, but is being used more for redressing personnel queries than for larger public interest matters
Lt Gen Raj Sujlana (Retd)

An Army jawan takes a position during anti-terrorist operations in Kashmir. Information pertaining to human rights violations comes within the ambit of the RTI Act, but a large number of allegations levelled against the Army in Kashmir have turned out to be frivolous

THE Right to Information (RTI) Act is indeed a revolutionary step and its logical implementation is a must to keep the society fully informed of all matters that affect them directly or indirectly. Accessibility to information will ensure a more responsive officialdom who, over the years have been used to working in a culture of secrecy; openness in gaining information while addressing societal concerns will allay the apprehensions of the populace and, in the final analysis target the hydra-headed scourge of corruption. In the long term this will somewhat shift the centre of gravity of power into the hands of the public and make public authorities/servants more accountable. However, in achieving this, it must be ensured that the functionality of any public authority is neither adversely affected, nor should the RTI Act become a means to raise queries which lead to infructuous work load. The public at large must understand what comprises information of public interest and not over burden the public authorities with mundane queries.

Exemptions from the Act

Under Section 24 of the Act (and as specified in the Second Schedule), certain intelligence and security organisations are exempt from the Act, with the proviso, that information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human right (HR) violations is not exempt. The twentyfive organisations exempt from the Act can broadly be classified into four categories. First, the Central Police Organisations (CPOs) like the Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and the Indo-Tibeten Border Force (now collectively known as the Central Armed Police Forces); secondly, the Para Military Forces (PMF) like Aviation Research Centre (ARC), Assam Rifles (AR), National Security Guards (NSG) and Special Frontier Force (SFF); thirdly, a host of intelligence organisations -- all these enumerated organisations function under the Ministry of Home Affairs; and fourthly, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Border Roads Development Board under the Ministry of Defence (MoD). However, the Armed Forces of the Union are not exempt from the Act.

Criteria for applicability

The Ministry of Personnel and Training (DoPT), is the nodal ministry for implementation of the Act and in their opinion, the Armed Forces do not fit the bill as a suitable intelligence and security organisation for exemption. The exemption clause has generated much debate and needs to be seen in the correct perspective. The moot points are -- What is the criterion, if any, based on which numerous intelligence and security organisations are exempt from the RTI Act, but not the Armed Forces? How has this non-exemption served public interest and affected the Armed Forces?

The Armed Forces are the primary security and intelligence organisation of the country. In today's environment they not only handle a wide spectrum of threats, both internal and external, but they also form an important component of diplomacy and foreign policy. The Armed Forces are equally, if not more, responsible for security and intelligence related matters vis-a-vis the other organisations exempt from the Act. Moreover, all organisations that are exempt have significant interaction with the Armed Forces. In internal security matters, the PMFs and CAPFs function in close coordination with the Army. Rather these forces often function under the command of the Army. The research organisations develop new equipment and armament and build infrastructure based on qualitative requirements for usage by the Armed Forces. As regards the intelligence organisations, there is regular exchange of sensitive information and joint analysis of important intelligence matters. Besides this, there is the dichotomy of duality of applicability or non-applicability of the Act on the Armed Forces personnel while serving with their parent service (Army, Navy or Air Force), and during their tenures with organisations like the ARC, AR, NSG and SFF that are exempt from the Act.

On the other hand, take the case of the CBI, an investigative agency, which has been given the status of a security and intelligence organisation. In making this case for the CBI, the Attorney General, besides other views, also relied on two unrelated observations by honourable judges of the Supreme Court. The first was an observation in 1973 by Justice Algiriswami, which stated, "Defence of a country or the security of a country is not a static concept. The days are gone when one had to worry about the security of a country or its defence only during war time. A country has to be in a perpetual state of preparedness. External vigilance is the price of liberty". The second was made by Justice Jeevan Reddy while deciding a case in 1994, in which he observed, "In the modern world, the security of a state is ensured not so much by physical might but by economic strength -- at any rate, by economic strength as much as by armed strength". From the functional point of view, the arguments put forward for the CBI are equally or more applicable to the Armed Forces.

Fulfilling obligations under the Act

Section 4 of the RTI Act lays down the obligations of public authorities to maintain all records duly catalogued to facilitate accessibility and lists documents to be published in the open domain for public consumption. With regard to the Armed Forces, the public may like to know about their role and organisation, details of operations; casualties suffered by the forces, cases of HR violations, equipment and weapons profile, procurement procedures, disciplinary cases and so on. Staying within the mandatory obligations of secrecy and the principle of need to know, the Armed Forces do provide information regularly on these matters. Operational information is provided routinely and official history of a war is declassified after a time lag by the MoD (though it is another matter the Henderson Brooks report of the 1962 Sino-Indo conflict has not been declassified as yet).

The case study of the Indian Army to investigations of alleged HR cases is perhaps unique the world over. Post-1989, Pakistan as an appendage of their proxy war alleged serious human rights violations against the Indian Army through the media. The Army decided to take the bull by the horns and moved the Press Council of India to have the matter investigated. The investigation headed by noted journalists, BG Verghese and K. Vikram Rao, found these allegations frivolous and remarked, "Few armies in the world would invite such an inquiry. The Indian Army has cooperated in this task. And it has, all things considered, emerged with honour". This apart, the Armed Forces have taken disciplinary action against its personnel found guilty in cases of human rights violations or of impropriety.

With regard to major weapons procurements, the MoD is the approving authority. Although it is not obligatory to provide information of commercial nature to the public as per Section 8 of the Act, but once a major procurement deal is decided, it should be open to public scrutiny to ensure that the best is procured for the buck bereft of kick backs. The Armed Forces have been fairly transparent prior to the enactment of the RTI Act in 2005. The Defence Services Regulations, a non-classified document, and the Indian Army web site is in the open domain since the 1950s and 1990s, respectively and provide details of its role and organisations, history, operations, awards, ceremonials, recruitment, procedure for contracts etc. It would be worth analysing what percentage of public has shown interest in these available details and know their Armed Forces.

Redress of grievances

The RTI Act has been implemented in the Armed Forces in right earnest, but is being used more for personnel queries (generally relate to promotions, punishments, and welfare related benefits etc) rather than for public interest leading to infructuous, avoidable work load. Whereas, to address these queries adequate systems are in place through which personnel can seek redressal in-service or post-retirement. For promotion and selection there is the Complaints and Advisory Board to which a non-statutory or statutory complaint can be addressed. For perceived injustice in disciplinary and welfare matters (pension, medical etc) individuals can approach the Adjutant General's Branch, the Courts or the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), etc.

All grievances are reviewed appropriately and redressal granted on the merits of a case. The systems are fairly satisfactory. In matters related to pay and allowances, the Armed Forces, per se, have a limited reach, as all decisions rest with the MoD. As highlighted, the Armed Forces are fairly transparent and adequate information of public interest is available in the open domain. The Armed Forces are the primary security and intelligence organisation of the country and their case for exemption from the Act under Section 24 needs no discussion, one has to just see it rationally. Even if exempted, information pertaining to matters of concern like corruption and human rights violations, is still to be provided, which anyway the Armed Forces have never shied away from providing and punishing the guilty.

In addition to these matters, there is a need for more transparency in areas of major procurements of weapons and equipment, welfare (especially in facets of housing, education, medical, pay and allowances), as it is in public interest that the Armed Forces are cared for, well trained, equipped and their morale is always high. The Armed Forces have performed their roles most commendably, battling all external and internal challenges with dedication and tremendous sacrifice. Despite the tremendous over stretch and stress involved, they have ensured the integrity of the nation and excelled in the field of military diplomacy. They have even taken the RTI Act in their stride and set an example which other organisations exempt should follow or there must be a common logical criteria for exemptions.

The writer is Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission, and has also served as Additional Director General, Public Information, Army Headquarters