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RBI strikes hard
Everyman’s land
Up in flames |
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BJP agenda for elections
The colossal professor
Race is a constant in US life - as elsewhere
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RBI strikes hard TO prop up the falling rupee, the RBI has placed a ceiling on overnight bank borrowings at Rs 75,000 crore. On Monday banks borrowed Rs 92,320 crore. Now they will have to follow the ceiling. If they want additional cash, they will have to pay more as the RBI has raised the bank rate by a sharp 2 per cent. The aim is to reduce money supply and arrest the decline of the rupee, which has depreciated by 8.5 per cent against the dollar so far this year. Last week the RBI barred banks from trading in currency futures and options using their proprietary funds. The market regulator, SEBI, too made it more expensive for investors to trade in currency derivatives. The falling rupee, which touched an all-time low of 61.21 a dollar on July 8, has raised the cost of imports, especially oil, while exports have remained sluggish. This has worsened the current account deficit, which can be tackled partly by coming down heavily on gold imports. A weak rupee has made petrol and diesel costlier, hurting consumers. Political and public pressure has forced the UPA to act. The Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the RBI Governor held consultations on Monday. There were no easy options. The RBI took one that might cause short-term pain for, hopefully, a long-term gain. The RBI intervention may check speculation and stabilise currency trading. The currencies of other emerging markets too have weakened against the dollar as foreign investments shift to US debt, where returns are getting attractive. The RBI action is meant to retain dollars invested in Indian debt. The central banks in countries like Brazil and Indonesia have raised interest rates. The RBI's measures have the same effect and it may hike the rates at its meeting on July 28. This caused a crash in the share prices of banks and companies engaged in rate-sensitive sectors like real estate and automobiles on Tuesday. The rupee emerged stronger. Higher interest rates, however, will raise the cost of capital and hit economic growth.
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Everyman’s land
A
panel instituted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to examine the passing of shamlat land, or the village common, into illegal possession of private individuals has called it a 'total loot' of public property. That is a rather strong indictment, but not out of place for what is happening. It is suspected thousands of acres may have been usurped in Chandigarh's periphery alone - into which Justice Kuldip Singh has held a prima facie inquiry - but the case may not be very different in the rest of Punjab, or even Haryana. From the evidence of forgery and falsification of facts he has seen, it seems revenue officials at all levels are involved, whether under pressure or for the lure of money. While courts need proof, it is a common belief that virtually all lower revenue staff are corrupt. How to go about setting things right — not only for the future but also in correcting the wrongs already committed — is a question that would confound anyone for the sheer scale of the fraud. As pointed out in the panel's second report, the Punjab Vigilance has been ‘holding investigations for years, but without results’. The reasons are obvious. From the two people indicted, one a retired senior police officer and the other an MP — both in opposing political parties — it is clear the very top of the power chain across the political divide is involved. The only answer then seems a CBI investigation. But that can establish fraud only in specific cases, and will thus only serve to make a few visible amendments. To recover all shamlat land that may be in illegal possession across Punjab, a unique audit will have to be commissioned, by a body not under the state government. Justice Kuldip Singh has suggested an extensive review of the century-old revenue laws governing land administration. That is an imperative. What will also help check fraud is making all records digital, a process that is underway. Making access to those records open will make it more effective. With prices going the way they are, ambiguities in land management can only lead to serious acrimony.
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Up in flames THE fire that broke out in the annexe of the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar has again brought the issue of fire safety to the fore. Thankfully, no loss of lives has been reported. However, the damage to the property is extensive in spite of a fairly quick response from the fire department. Fires claim a number of lives and have consumed many heritage buildings in the hill states. One of the reasons for that is the extensive use of wood, which is highly combustible under some circumstances, in such structures. Well-established fire prevention measures can go a long way in minimising damage. Right from the construction stage, use of fire-resistant materials can lay a strong foundation and help to prevent a possible mishap. Installation and regular maintenance of smoke alarms is helpful in warning people about a fire as soon as it starts, and sprinkler systems help to douse the flames. Upholstery and even curtains made of fire-retardant materials go a long way to ensure that the fire does not spread. Making proper fire exits and marking them prominently is also beneficial. In Srinagar, since the fire was first seen before the office hours, the number of people who could have been exposed to the hazard was minimal. It has often been noticed that there is simply no training or drill of personnel who man public places like offices, hotels and hospitals, on how to handle emergencies, including fire. Indeed, in most schools and offices abroad, emergency fire drills are seen as an essential investment in safety. We, however, do not treat this hazard with the seriousness that it deserves, and as such seem to learn nothing from incidents of fire. Many official files and records have been destroyed in the Srinagar fire. It should serve as a wake-up call and push the government into taking more effective prevention measures, rather than just confining itself to fire fighting.
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The less routine the more life. — Amos Bronson Alcott
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BJP agenda for elections THE BJP’s Parliamentary Board meeting was held in Delhi on July 4 to review the party’s preparedness to contest the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and also the Assembly elections in six states later this year. Senior leader L.K. Advani attended the Parliamentary Board meeting and sat side by side with Narendra Modi. It was a clear demonstration that the reservations which Advani had over Narendra Modi as the top campaigner for the 2014 elections are now put to rest. At the Parliamentary Board meeting on July 4, the BJP leaders would have no doubt discussed the prospective manifesto of the party for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. It was reported that all the top leaders such as Advani, Rajnath Singh and Modi would be travelling to Nagpur to meet Mohan Bhagwat apparently to have a brainstorming session with the RSS chief and also get his blessings. Modi is actively preparing for the electoral campaign. It is reported that Modi would be interacting with about 1,500 BJP workers through a teleconference. Modi has also nominated his trusted former Home Minister of Gujarat, Amit Shah, as the campaign in-charge for Uttar Pradesh. Shah is already in Uttar Pradesh meeting BJP workers. It will be a tremendous task for Shah and Narendra Modi himself to interact with a very large number of BJP workers and galvanise them for electioneering. Apart from entrusting U.P. electioneering to his trusted aide Amit Shah, Modi himself is reportedly considering contesting the Lok Sabha polls from an important constituency like Lucknow, Allahabad and Varanasi since this would put him on a par with the BJP icon, Atal Behari Vajpayee. What would be the agenda of the BJP for the polls? Will it include its strong adherence to 'Hindutva', its commitment to build the Ram temple at Ayodhya and its advocacy for a common civil code and the abolition of Article 370 regarding special status for J&K? We may take up these major items of the agenda one by one for a brief analysis. On the concept of ‘Hindutva’, there is a Supreme Court judgement in the year 1995 given by Justice J.S. Verma and some others. It quotes scholars like S. Radhakrishnan, Toynbee and Monier Williams to say that it represented a way of life and not necessarily connected with Hinduism. Notwithstanding the liberal interpretation of the concept of 'Hindutva', will it be acceptable to all sections of people, particularly Muslims? Then there is the BJP's commitment to build the Ram temple. India has paid dearly in communal riots following the demolition of Babri Masjid in December, 1992. Following the court orders, an extensive digging has been done at the site of the erstwhile Babri Masjid to find out if any Hindu temple existed there any time earlier. No such evidence has come up as yet. Meanwhile, a temporary Ram Mandir was hastily put up by some people immediately after the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the BJP is committed to construct a Ram Temple at the site. The makeshift Ram Temple was attacked by a group of five LeT terrorists on July 5, 2005. But before they could approach the site to cause any damage, the CRPF security personnel seated on watch towers located in the area shot them all. This shows the LeT terrorists are not yet reconciled to the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Any reference to the construction of a Ram Temple on the disputed site will, therefore, be unwise. Moreover, the Supreme Court stopped the Allahabad High Court from delivering, on the announced date of September 24, 2010, its much awaited verdict on the ownership of the disputed land at the Ayodhya. Justice Gokhale of the Supreme Court observed that if there was even a one percent chance of a settlement, it should be given a try, implying thereby that there was no such hope and matters should not be touched. Any reference to the construction of a temple at the disputed site would there be unwise and may even amount to contempt of court. Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani have spoken about the abrogation of Article 370 which bestows special status on J&K. Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of J&K, promptly reacted and said that the abrogation of Article 370 would only be over the dead bodies of people of J&K. Omar Abdullah subsequently said on July 7 that the authorities at New Delhi were taking Kashmiris for granted, but Kashmir required a political solution and that the prevailing peace in Kashmir should not be taken for granted. Omar Abdullah wanted a pragmatic and straightforward approach to address the political issues through dialogue. At the end of the deliberations of the Parliamentary Board, BJP spokesmen stated that the Congress was in a state of crisis and hence might opt for early Lok Sabha polls and the BJP was prepared to meet the challenge. But the Congress has denied any such thinking. Apart from the traditional items in the agenda which have been mentioned, there seems to have been no thinking of any development-oriented programmes for the electorate as a whole or for special sections like minorities and youth. The Muslim community in particular is totally alienated from the BJP and considers Narendra Modi as an enemy in particular. Salman Hussain, an Islamic scholar who teaches at one of India's most influential Islamic seminaries, the 19th century Darul Uloom Nadwatul, at Lucknow, went to the extent of describing Narendra Modi as No.1 enemy of India's Muslims. Yet another Muslim leader Arshad Madani, who leads a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, has stated that the BJP is an anti-Muslim party and Modi would never be accepted as India's Prime Minister. Narendra Modi has made some efforts in recent months to win over Muslim clerics as well as ordinary Muslims from Gujarat. Qasim Rasool Ilyas, a functionary with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a 40-year old community outfit that oversees the implementation of the civil laws, has stated that it is true that some Muslims had supported the BJP in recent years. But by putting Modi forward, the BJP runs the risk of losing even that little support. Yogendra Yadav, a well-known psephologist, has said that wherever a party’s relationship with the BJP is suspect, it would lose the Mulsim vote. “The Muslim is no more attached to any one party. He now votes tactically to defeat the BJP and this is how it will be in 2014”. In view of all these clear-cut warnings, the BJP needs to do something basically important to win over the Muslims. For example a clear statement that the party would implement the recommendations of the Rajindar Sachar Committee report on Muslims in a time-bound manner would go a long way in winning over the Muslim vote. But the BJP has shown no such sign of wisdom. The party leadership seems to be hoping that the campaign chief Narendra Modi will make all the difference to the extent of bringing home victory for the party at the hustings. The BJP seems to be putting all the eggs in one basket of “Modi magic” and the BJP is likely to be in for a rude
shock.
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The colossal professor
A
dilapidated school building with no boundary wall, a handful of teachers chatting in the winter sun, a hearth in the corner, and hungry children sitting on the ground and waiting for their meals to be served. The sight made me worry about how the very foundation of our education system is laid and correlated my thoughts with the couple of newspaper articles I read about poor infrastructure, insufficient teachers, dropout rates being quite high, and lack of quality education in Indian schools leading to a poor human development index. Confronting a similar situation, about four decades ago, was a naughty but bright boy hailing from the suburbs of Amravati. He wasn't exactly the apple of the teacher's eye. Playing pranks on teachers and neighbours was Sudhir's most beloved hobby and every night, someone or the other would complain to his father about his actions. After a couple of years of bearing such remarks, his father had come to a conclusion that his son was nothing but a pain in the neck, and so he was expelled out of home. Sudhir spent the day fooling around. But the real chills of being homeless finally found him when night closed in. He looked for a roof to sleep under, swearing to God that he would not return home unless he was a success in life. He earned his daily bread by labouring in the same city, sometimes catching a glimpse of his beloved but helpless mother. Sleeping empty stomach had become bearable, now that he was used to it. The little amount of money that was left as his savings was used up in the school fees. Months and years passed by and contact with his family finally ceased. But despite of all the hardships he had to face, he never lost hope. Out of sheer determination, he reached Delhi for his doctorate from a very reputed institution, and later post doctorate from the Netherlands. The same naughty boy was a transformed and responsible man by now. Today, Dr Sudhir is the Vice Chancellor of a renowned university. And indeed, who could be a better teacher than him, who has seen all the ups and downs of life? When I met him the first time over dinner, he narrated to me the adventures he had been through. Listening to his story made me wonder, that if our nation could have more characters like Dr Sudhir, could India be built at a lesser cost? Any amount of money spent by the government on education will not bear fruits unless there is commitment to rise in life by an individual himself. After he was done with his story, I asked him in amazement, “How did you manage to do all this?” “I always believed in the philosophy of the great Buddha — Atta Deepa Bhava, meaning, ‘light your own lamp’. If you have the fire of determination burning within you, nothing can stop you from becoming what you want,” came the
reply.
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Race is a constant in US life - as elsewhere
Every now and then, America generates the perfect media storm. The death of Trayvon Martin was one such, featuring just about every hot-button law and order issue you could imagine: guns and neighbourhood vigilantes, self-defence and the right to carry concealed weapons. And of course, permeating everything, race. Out loud, race was barely mentioned during the month-long trial, but it hung over proceedings like a poisonous vapour. History is likely to add the Martin case to a long line stretching from the pre-civil rights era show trials of blacks subjected to Jim Crow justice, through to the acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King in 1992, and the ultimate media circus of the OJ Simpson trial two years later. And if the topic of race was not explicitly raised, that was because no one needed to be reminded that had Trayvon Martin been white, his fatal confrontation with George Zimmerman might never have happened. And, of course, had the six-person jury been all-black instead of all-white, the verdict might well have been different. But not necessarily. The difference is that, unlike in the parodies of justice in the segregated South where blacks were automatically convicted if accused of a crime against a white, or in the King and Simpson cases, this time the strictly legal outcome — the acquittal of Zimmerman by his peers — feels right. But what about the spirit of the law, one may ask, as opposed to its letter? Trials though are not morality plays; those who seek such catharsis should go to the theatre, not to a courtroom. On this occasion the law has not been an ass. Well before Saturday evening's verdict, impartial expert opinion leant to the view that even if Florida's permissive self-defence laws were removed from the equation, the case for second-degree murder — requiring proof that even if the crime was not premeditated, Mr Zimmerman had displayed evil intent and hatred when he shot Mr Martin — simply was not being made. Nonetheless, the judge allowed the prosecution to seek conviction on the lesser charge of manslaughter. But the jury threw that out too. The plain truth is that no one can say for sure what happened on that rainy Sunday evening of February 26, 2012 in the gated community of Sanford, Florida. There were no eyewitnesses, and it was never established whose voice, whether Zimmerman's or Martin's, was screaming for help in the background of the call to the emergency services. In a criminal court, a defendant's guilt must be shown “beyond reasonable doubt”. Prosecutors failed to clear that fundamental hurdle. Given America's multi-tiered legal system, this may not be the end of the affair. Under the criminal law of Florida, Zimmerman has been acquitted. But the Justice Department in Washington faces intense pressure from civil rights groups to bring federal charges against him, under existing hate-crime legislation. It is also possible that the Martin family could seek monetary redress for the loss of their son in civil court, where evidentiary standards are much lower. That indeed occurred in the Simpson case. This time, however, there has been no similar travesty of justice, and either course — whether civil or federal — would smack of double jeopardy. “The jury has spoken,” President Obama said at the weekend, as he urged calm. And, he could have added, one jury is enough. As it is, and despite the acquittal, George Zimmerman's life has probably been changed for ever. He is currently in hiding, a marked man who is now a target for a hothead's vigilante justice — what he was accused of meting out to Trayvon Martin. He will, it appears, get his gun back, and as his lawyer Mark O'Mara drily noted: “There's even more reason now, isn't there?” Even so, this case will surely not have the same impact on race relations in the US as the Rodney King case did, still less the 1968 murder of Martin Luther King, when entire cities went up in flames. Yes, there has been heated rhetoric, claims that the bad old days were never truly banished. But the protests and demonstrations in the 24 hours after the verdict was handed down — heartfelt yet almost entirely peaceful — surely tell a more accurate story. The death of Trayvon Martin has proved that race is still a factor in national life — but name one country on earth which has a significant racial minority where it is not a factor. Beyond doubt race relations in the US have greatly improved. But there is still much to be done. If it is nonsense to argue that Zimmerman's acquittal proves that the “New South” is as bad as the bigoted old one, it is equally absurd to pretend that, even after the election of a black president, the US has advanced to sunlit, post-racial uplands. “If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon,” Obama remarked when the case first hit the headlines, 15 months ago. The worries of minority parents about how their children will be treated by a society whose institutions were forged and still mostly run by whites, persist even now, half a century after America's civil rights revolution. And one final, depressing thought. If the US had sensible gun laws, Trayvon Martin would not have died, and no one would have heard of George Zimmerman. Alas, even if you got rid of race in America, you'd never get rid of guns. —
The Independent
Tracy Martin, Trayvon Martin's father, said in a tweet after the verdict's announcement: “Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY. God blessed Me & Sybrina with Tray and even in his death I know my baby proud of the FIGHT we along with all of you put up for him GOD BLESS.” Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's lead defense lawyer told reporters: “George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in self-defense. This is a tragedy like any other loss of children. It's not one that George was responsible for.” Bernie de la Rionda, the chief prosecutor in the case, told reporters: “Am I disappointed? Yes. Because I thought he was guilty. We live in a great country that has a great criminal justice system, it's not perfect, but it is the best in the world and we respect the jury's verdict.” Benjamin Jealous, President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said in a statement: “We are outraged and heartbroken over today's verdict. We stand with Trayvon's family and we are called to act. We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed.” Jesse Jackson, Civil rights activist said in a tweet: “Find a way for self construction not deconstruction in this time of despair. Avoid violence, it will lead to more tragedies.”
— Reuters
What were the key points of the case against George Zimmerman? That Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin was never in question. What motivated him to do so was. On the night of February 26, last year, Trayvon, 17, was walking through a gated community in Sanford, Florida, when he was spotted by Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman called the police on a non-emergency line, telling them he had spotted someone on the estate and telling the dispatcher: “Fucking punks. These assholes, they always get away.” Was Trayvon’s race important? This gets to the heart of the controversy. Zimmerman’s opponents believe he followed Trayvon only because he was a young black man wearing a hooded top in a predominately white neighbourhood. Zimmerman was ruled to have shot Trayvon in self-defence – cuts and bruises on the back of his head were evidence that the pair had fought, and that was enough for the jury to clear him of second-degree murder. So is self-defence a plausible explanation? On recordings of a 911 call made by one of George Zimmerman’s neighbours as the pair were fighting, a voice can be heard pleading for help. The prosecution claimed this was Trayvon, begging Zimmerman not to shoot him. The defence said the voice on the tape was in fact their client’s, that it was Zimmerman in trouble as Trayvon beat him. Neither side was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt who was speaking. What about the witnesses? The prosecution’s case hinged on testimony from Trayvon’s friend, Rachel Jeantel, who was on the phone with him not long before he died. She said Trayvon kept complaining that a man was watching him, and that she heard Trayvon tell someone to “get off” before the line went dead. Ms Jeantel, 18, lied about her age in when questioned by police, telling detectives that she was a minor because she “didn’t want to get involved”. This, along with her evident annoyance under cross-examination, appears to have been enough to discredit her, although the prosecution again say attitudes towards her were influenced by the colour of her skin. The defence called an expert witness who claimed the angle of the shot that killed Trayvon proved that he was on top of Zimmerman, arguing that the hole in his sweatshirt indicated that it was hanging away from his body, consistent with someone who was above the gun. And the police? The police came in for heavy criticism throughout the trial. Sanford police chief Bill Lee allowed Zimmerman to walk free after he shot Trayvon, insisting that there was no evidence to suggest that he had not been acting in self-defence, and invoking the state’s “stand your ground” law, which permits those in fear for their lives to use deadly force. Zimmerman was eventually arrested six weeks after the shooting, and Lee was subsequently removed from his post and replaced by Cecil Smith, the first African-American to take charge of law enforcement in the area. The police are now attempting to prevent unrest in the wake of the verdict. —
The Independent
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