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Din over coal row
Populist schemes in UP |
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Down in south Haryana
Plight of Pak minorities
What a blessing!
Need progressive masculinities to get feminist view
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Din over coal row
THE
BJP, it seems, finds paralysing work in Parliament more important than letting the MPs do the work for which they are elected. Though the Congress has offered to debate the three reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in Parliament, any disruption of work saves it the embarrassment of facing tough questions. UPA minister Rajiv Shukla was caught on a mike telling the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman to adjourn the House. This is unusual. The lawmakers are supposed to legislate. Important Bills, including the ones on Lokpal, land acquisition and food security, are pending. It is time, perhaps, to apply the “no work, no pay” rule to the legislators. The BJP disruption was not without a purpose. Any serious debate in Parliament on the CAG report alleging the “under-selling” of coal fields by Rs 1.86 lakh crore is bound to call in question the role played by some of the BJP-ruled states in recommending private companies for coal allotment and opposing the auction route weakly pushed by the UPA. Since the Congress is largely the target of corruption scandals, it helps the BJP avoid a discussion, which might throw up uncomfortable details. Why the Left has made a common cause with the BJP is unclear as a debate on the floor of the House would help pinpoint the blame. Forced adjournments serve no purpose. The CAG has done a good job by getting the spotlight on the mining mess. How it has reached the astronomical figure of notional loss is questionable. The Parliamentary Accounts Committee, headed by Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP, will study the CAG reports threadbare and, hopefully, present a clearer picture. The CBI too is investigating wrongdoings, if any, in coal block allotments. It remains to be seen if the Supreme Court’s retrospective ruling that state assets should be auctioned only applies to this. The political parties should rather focus on cleaning up the coal sector, ensuring the thermal plants get adequate coal supplies and involving private firms in tapping India’s huge coal potential as expensive imports would raise the cost of power. There is work at hand other than playing politics.
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Populist schemes in UP
People had high expectations from young Akhilesh Yadav when he became the Chief Minister of UP on March 5 after this year’s assembly elections. His father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who heads the ruling Samajwadi Party, gave him full marks after the completion of 100 days of his government for “fulfilling the promises” made to the people during the elections. While the senior Yadav’s observations have little meaning, what voters think of him may be known in the 2014 parliamentary polls and it cannot be on the lines of how the SP chief looks at the performance of the Akhilesh Yadav government. The Chief Minister, perhaps, believes that populist policies will help alleviate people’s problems, but he is mistaken. He may realise his follies after the coming parliamentary polls. The latest populist measure he has announced is that his government will waive loans of up to Rs 50,000 taken by farmers. The farmers concerned may be happy, but this is bound to further weaken the financial position of the state, already in dire economic straits. This is not the only scheme of its kind. UP is already giving Rs 1000 to all class X unemployed pass-outs. It has promised to provide free laptops to all the students who will clear their class X and XII examinations. He has also announced to provide free homes to all Scheduled Castes families which have no roof over their head. Thankfully, his scheme of allowing all MLAs to purchase luxury cars costing up to Rs 20 lakh from the Local Area Development Scheme was reversed after the Opposition made much hue and cry in the UP Assembly some time ago. The state is already reeling under a debt of Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The debt burden will go up considerably due to the populist schemes of the Chief Minister. This clearly is a recipe for economic disaster. The state needs assured power supply so that industrial development is speeded up. UP, in fact, requires a focused approach for industrial development. There is no better way to find a lasting solution to the people’s problems. |
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Down in south Haryana
Politics
is about the art of lobbying for your constituency to fetch it the resources. And therein hangs the tale of Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his rivals within the Haryana Government. Power Minster Ajay Singh Yadav has yet again levelled charges of biased development against Hooda — bias for Rohtak and against south Haryana. The Chief Minister, of course, has denied, as have six other Congress legislators from south Haryana. But then politics is also about serving the people so that in the end your political interest is served. On the one hand, there are vacancies in the Cabinet and corporations that many may have their eye on, while on the other seven-time MLA Yadav believes he has not received his due of power in the government. Development of any area depends on politics, location and natural resources. All these have been unfavourable for south Haryana. In politics, it is the Jats that dominate the state, and the south is largely non-Jat. Location wise, except Gurgaon and Faridabad, no southern district has gained from being close to Delhi and neither do they fall in a development belt like GT Road. As for natural resources, many parts are arid and dry. Overcoming any of these factors would obviously be a long haul. Yadav has raised the issue of development of south Haryana many times — also taking pot shots at Hooda — only to suffer a loss in his position within the government. The noise he’s making may die down this time too, but the government has to realise that there is no smoke without fire. Yadav is able to come up with issues — higher education, land acquisition, etc — because they exist and people feel it. If all is indeed fair, Hooda should come out with data to support his claim. Indices such as those related to education do show the south is backward, but they also show there has been much improvement over the past decade. The fact is, the area has been left so far behind, it will take a while before it catches up with the rest of the state even if it is given more than what other districts get. |
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Fishes live in the sea, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.
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Plight of Pak minorities
Infiltration of some 200 Hindus from Jacobabad in Sindh is a belated fallout of Partition in August 1947. The division of the subcontinent on the basis of religion was bound to create such a problem. But then both the Indian National Congress and the Indian Muslim League, the arbiters, decided at the time of Partition that there would be no transfer of population and that the minorities would be given equal rights in either countries they choose to live. Unfortunately, both the dominions when initially constituted had no clue or the resources to protect people in the houses and hamlets they lived. The border force was full of the British who had no heart in the job and looked forward to returning to London. Forced transfers of population was recognised as a fait accompli. The 80 per cent Hindu India fulfilled its promise to establish a secular society and guaranteed freedom of religion in the Constitution which was enforced in 1950. But the 90 per cent Muslim Pakistan could not establish a secular polity because Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, died in 1948 before he could put the nation on the path of secularism, something he promised once Pakistan’s emergence became certain. Unlike India, Pakistan could not give people a joint electorate and instead reserved seats for the minorities which were mostly Christians. Hindus were in a small number, a mere 2 per cent, primarily settled in Sindh. Most Sikhs left Pakistan at the time of Partition but many from among them doing business in the Northwest came to India a few years ago, complaining harassment. Whether a large number of Muslims in India or comparatively fewer Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan, they were always suspect in the eyes of the majority. India, with all its secular credentials, has not been able to get rid of the bias which visits Muslims, particularly when the two countries are at war. Even otherwise, Hindus and Muslims have learnt to coexist. Communal riots are fewer than before and the complicity of the state as happened in Gujarat in 2000 is something rare. Civil society does not view radicalism in Muslims and Hindus kindly. In fact, it, along with the media, has evoked confidence, however limited, that the Muslims would not be left high and dry if it ever came to direct attack on them. Even the BJP, which is projecting itself for the 2014 election, sees to it that its statements and actions do not have the communal edge as they used to have. Being large in number — they are 170 million — Muslims in India enjoy an equal right to cast their vote and have come to be counted. They influence elections in some 200 Lok Sabha seats out of 527 in the House. The backward among them have been able to get reservation like Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Reservations on the basis of religion have been declared unconstitutional by some state high courts. Many in India still recall how the separate electorate introduced by the British led ultimately to the partition of the country. The problem of Hindus in Pakistan, said to be some 7 million, is that they are not large enough to have any say in political matters, nor are they content with the status of non-entity to which they have been reduced to after Partition. Yet the fact that the minorities do not count in Pakistan is a challenge to its Islamic order and civil society. The Pakistan government has to take concrete steps to deal with the lingering problem which the constitution of Pakistan has left behind. The Indian government has been constantly under pressure to give a fair deal to the minorities. A couple of years ago, it appointed a one-man committee under retired Justice Rajindar Sachar to assess the plight of Muslims and suggest remedial measures. The report shook the nation which found that the Muslims’ plight was worse than that of Dalits (untouchables). The government has not done much to make amends. Yet the Muslims enjoy a legal status which cannot be brushed aside as is the case of Hindus in Pakistan. A committee set up by President Asif Ali Zardari to look into the reasons why the Hindus are leaving Sind is neither here nor there. The committee has to be headed by a Supreme Court judge so that the matter is taken seriously. When there were a few forcible conversions, the Pakistan government took it lightly. This has nothing to do with India-Pakistan relations. Forcible conversions only weaken the hands of those who are trying to keep politics and religion apart. In fact, this was the thinking of Jinnah even before Pakistan was formed. For Rehman Malik, who looks after the Internal Affairs in Pakistan, to say that there was “conspiracy” in the Hindu pilgrims’ resolve not to go back is not justified. I, as a refugee from Pakistan, can tell him that nobody wants to leave his house and hearth unless it must have been made difficult for him to live. We very much wanted to live in Sialkot city after Partition but were told to embrace Islam if we wanted to say in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Quaid-e-Azam’s ethos for Pakistan was different. That concept has to be brought back if the minorities are to feel
safe.
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What a blessing!
Early
one winter morning I got a call from my office asking me to report at work half an hour later than usual, as there was some technical snag that had affected the computer systems. I thought to myself: “Cell-phones are such a blessing; any information, anytime, anywhere is possible.” With this in mind, I extended my morning sleep by another 15 minutes before getting ready for office. As I wearily manoeuvred my car out of the garage into the faint sunshine that peeped through a thin veneer of clouds, I thought of the four light-points that separated me from my work-place. A biker whizzed past in the meantime with one hand on the handle of the bike and the other on a cellphone stuck to his left ear. The helmet was chilling out on the wrist of the other hand on the handle. As I crossed the first light-point, a slow-moving SUV impeded my onward journey for a good 10 minutes. When I finally overtook it while crossing, I had a close look at the wheel — sitting there was a handsome young man probably talking to his lady love on a cell-phone, oblivious of the traffic snarl he was creating. At the second light-point, as I waited for the red signal to turn green, people in three or four cars around me were all “cell-phoned”, including a middle-aged driver of a public transport bus. To my right was the same biker who had sped past a few minutes ago. Only this time, the helmet was on his head, maybe due to the cops on duty at the light-point. He was, however, still talking as if to his own soul. On a closer look, I realised that the person had pushed the phone inside his helmet, which was now firmly stuck to his left ear through the visor. Great; even the hand was not required now! I was keenly admiring him when the signal turned green and the fourth car in the line behind me reminded me about moving ahead through vehement honking. Probably the man was not carrying a cell-phone, which could have kept him occupied on the road. The scene at the fourth light-point was even more “cell-phonic”. Here, my biker friend, seeing no cops around, nonchalantly jumped the red signal, as if it was an impediment in his loquacious world. What immediately followed was a crashing noise that numbed my senses for a few seconds. A gentleman in a luxury car had rammed into the biker. And as he fled past, I could see a cell-phone tightly stuck to one of his ears! The biker fell unconscious and a crowd gathered to help him out. I was also one of them. Luckily, he had survived the crash. Somebody called the ambulance, thanks to a cell-phone again! Another one picked up the biker’s cell-phone — which had also miraculously survived the crash — made a few frenetic calls and finally got in touch with his family to inform about the hospital he was being taken to. All’s well that ends well. Cell-phones are indeed a
blessing!
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Need progressive masculinities to get feminist view THE recent case of mob molestation of a minor girl at Guwahati and its echo reflected in many such cases have discomfited most of us. These cases have moved us further away from the dream of seeing India as a safe country for all— irrespective of gender and caste bias. It has stirred inside us a feeling of helpless anger because this atrocious violence against women is not just confined to Assam, it is witnessed all over the country. The issue has led to much discussion, once again, not only about the weakness of the legal and executive systems in handling molestation cases but also on the role of institutions such as the National Commission for Women (NCW) – the power of the women’s movement, a questioning of sorts has begun on what have been the benefits of over 60 years of efforts to improve the condition of women, in terms of material growth as well as their presence in the political, economic and social spaces?
At present only two provisions of the Indian Penal Code primarily deal with the issue of sexual violence against women. Sec. 376 IPC punishes rape and Sec. 354 IPC punishes outraging the ‘modesty’ of a woman. Sec. 354 IPC applies to routine incidents of molestation and certainly does not respond to aggravated sexual assault by a mob, accompanied by public stripping and parading. There is no provision in the law to redress the harm, injury, humiliation and trauma suffered by the young girl in Guwahati. Section 354 IPC offers no commensurate penalty nor is a deterrent. In fact, molestation is a bailable offence and allows the court to award a maximum of two years of imprisonment or at its discretion, a mere fine as a minimum sentence. Law vs change in mindset Here, again there are two streams, sometimes interlocking within the feminist debates. One is the exploration of the roles that traditions, especially the way patriarchal pressure within which societies are framed work. The other is, looking at political economy and the ‘exchanges’ between political economy and women. Violence against women and patriarchal attitudes that generate it is a large and fairly well discussed debate. Political economy theories, practices and initiatives, both global and national are not yet pulled in while looking at, for example, the Guwahati case. However, in a recent volume called ‘Harvesting Feminist Knowledge for Public Policy’ edited by Devaki Jain and Diane Elson ( Sage Publications), an argument is being put forward that the knowledge that is generated by women’s lived experiences, as well as scholarship, points to the importance of reconstructing theories on economic growth, definitions of progress, measurement of ‘values’ etc. These voices argue that there is need for feminist movements to engage with the ‘other’, with the ideas and theories, with their knowledge and the knowledge of the ‘mainstream.’
This volume, which is a collection of essays written from different locations and types of political economies has revealed how the knowledge that feminist scholars and activists have garnered over the years, reveals the range and depth of feminist approaches to social policy, valuation, theories, labour market, and to informal economy. The chapters draw on the diversity of socio-economic experiences of women from different countries and argue for new ways of thinking about development. They offer ideas for reformulating development to secure social, economic, and political justice. The authors also point towards a fault line within the advocacy for women’s rights and empowerment as it tends to buzz around only the importance of women’s ‘bodily’ needs and markings. They are usually seen as objects requiring welfare services. Women should be seen, as Amartya Sen puts, “Not as patients whose interests have to be looked after, but as agents who can do effective things – both individually and jointly.” If women’s value to creation of wealth, to enabling family’s income, to GDP could be highlighted, could the persecution, the killings be curbed? Yet, the employment data in India shows that self-employed women workers not only significantly outnumber men, their conditions of work are also qualitatively different from men as they constitute a very large component of ‘unpaid family labour.’ They are ‘workers’ in statistical discourse but have no control over either the means of production or returns to work (International Labour Association, 2007). As high as 72 per cent (75 per cent in rural areas and 48 per cent in urban) of self-employed women workers are unpaid family labour, as compared to 27 per cent (30 per cent in rural and 19 per cent in urban areas) men workers.
Lessons from other cultures Japanese social scientist, Prof. Hiroko Hara in her essay ‘Modernity, technology, and the Progress of women in Japan: problems and Prospects’ shows that macroeconomic success does not necessarily usher in equality for women. Using the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), she shows the mismatch between GDP and gender inequality in Japan. Breaking the hold of patriarchy in Japan, she argues, could happen only through women mobilising themselves, not by high GDP growth rates. Marta Nunez Sarmiento, in a case study of Cuba’s economic policies, shows that it is not necessary to be a rich country to get gender parity, nor is it necessary to wait for economic growth to bring economic and social development equality to men and women. What is needed is a strong political will. Marta challenges and redefines progress — arguing that what Cuba has achieved by providing free access for all the basic services, and rapid increase in women’s participation in the labour market, including in technical and professional work, is progress. Hence, definitions of progress, of measures of what is ‘value,’ highlighting women as knowledge creators, seems a way forward to establishing women’s case for justice. In India, the lowest per capita income states like Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and others could possibly learn from the experience of Cuba and involve and bring women into the labour force, at a time now when conditions and policies for growth are being designed.
The irony of northern states On the other hand, the North- Indian states of Punjab and Haryana have quite a different story to tell. They have a fairly high GDP per capita and yet the heinous crimes and violence against women are rampant in these two states. With the exception of Himachal Pradesh, no state in the north now has a child sex ratio above 900. Haryana (830) and Punjab (846) remain at the bottom of the table, though have shown some improvement over 2001 data. Adding to this shame is that more than 1000 young people are killed in the name of ‘honour’ in India of which Haryana, Punjab and UP account for about 900 honour killings as claimed by the report released by All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). The staggering figures of violence reported against women in Punjab and Haryana inform of unabated dowry cases, violence against Dalit women, rape cases and foeticide, could have another root cause, says Jael Silliman in her essay on ‘Progressive Masculinities- Oxymoron or Achievable?’ She discusses how defining masculinities and engagement of males in the movement is imperative in this struggle for gender justice and broader social change. How progressive masculinity (also called feminist masculinity) should be encouraged and hegemonic masculinity (patriarchy) over thrown and deconstructed to achieve gender parity. This essay is extremely important in the context of the patriarchal regime followed in the North India to understand the basis of the conflict that a ‘man’ faces to conform to the ideas of being one. Women too are enmeshed in the process of defining and sustaining masculinities—as mothers, relatives, friends, sexual partners, and co-workers. We all witness or practice this process of defining and supporting ‘masculinities’ in our everyday lives. Silliman ponders over the reasons for this and examines how young men are still constrained by dominant masculinities that treat emotions and desires as weaknesses and as threats to male identities. They still conceive of sexuality as sin, and promote the authoritative role of the father in male lives. Understanding and engaging these sensitive males will help in strengthening the cause. There are many organisations and groups working in Nigeria, Brazil, USA and several parts of India, towards dislodging gender oppression by engaging young men and partnering with them to remove violence and subjugation. Patriarchy teaches males that violence equals strength and this adage, if negated by men in India will not only help in empowering women but also liberate men from the impediments of their self- created caricatured identity. The volume discusses many new ideas, provides an overview and argues for economic democracy, as critical for effective functioning of political democracy. It also puts forth, using the collective experiences of various countries – an argument for a theory of growth, which is built not on trickle down, but on the energy at the lower end of the economies where women cluster and then bubble up to build a just political economy.
The writer is a Delhi-based economist and researcher with special interest in women’s studies.
Women should be seen, not as patients whose interests have to be looked after, but as agents who can do effective things – both individually and jointly. If women’s value to creation of wealth, to enabling family’s income, to GDP could be highlighted, could the persecution, the killings be curbed? — Amartya Sen
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Several suggestions are put forward in response to this situation, for example, to strengthen the legal system, to have a strict law for eve-teasing and sexual offenses in the form of an explicit law defining it, to increase police patrolling and training and sensitising the police about handling these cases to increase the safety of women on the streets etc. Another important question that is being raised is to examine the reasons behind a differential treatment of women in the society and ways to bring about a change in the collective mind-set stemming it.