O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Encounter at Batla house
Conviction settles many doubts
THE conviction of Shahzad Ahmed for killing a police inspector and attacking other officers during a shootout with the Delhi Police at Batla House will go a long way in settling a large number of doubts about the incident that took place on September 19, 2008.

In Uttarakhand’s aid
Rehab beyond state’s resources
THE scale of the rescue effort in the immediate aftermath of the Uttarakhand rain disaster was unprecedented in the country. Even as the first response started with a small number of ITBP and Army men, the number of personnel and agencies involved escalated as the magnitude of the disaster unravelled. Various aspects of the damage and reasons still continue to unfold.

Sen and insane
Criticise Modi, lose award?
INDIA has very few intellectuals who are recognised at the international level and heard with respect. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is among them. He has been generally prodding Indian leaders off and on to spend more on health and education. Of late, he has been challenged by another economist of almost the same stature, Jagdish Bhagwati, who focuses more on growth than welfare. An open exchange of ideas between such giants is good for the health of the Indian economy and democracy.

• Thought for the Day

ARTICLE

Slowdown in growth
Only composite policy can yield desired results
by S. S. Johl
THE economy is not growing at its optimal, planned or expected rate, commodity prices measured in terms of the wholesale index are showing a downward trend and the wheels of the economy, particularly of the secondary sector, are grinding to a near halt. It is, however, a different matter that to the discomfiture of the public, retail prices of daily consumables are showing a total disconnect with the wholesale price index and are rising by the day and never scale down even when the supplies increase through time.

MIDDLE

Trotting with American guests
by Roopinder Singh
I have never been good at sports, that particular crown in the family has long been held by my brother who has naturally excelled in any sport that he decided to play. Being at Yadavindra Public School meant compulsory games, and I acquitted myself reasonably well on the field, even if without much distinction.

Saturday Review

Missing the beat
Nonika Singh
A title that resonates with great promise and a cast that is hugely talented..... sadly Bajatey Raho is yet another example of the new formula that Bollywood has discovered—marriage of seemingly off beat subject with formulaic representation. Only Bajatey Raho also fills you with Deja Vu. Not only does it remind you of Khosla Ka Ghosla and the same pattern — if you can't beat them, be like them. In short become swindlers to avenge those who have cheated you.

Clawless affair
Ervell E. Menezes
IT seems that Marvel comics are fast coming out of Hollywood's ears. The Wolverine is supposed to be the sixth installment of X-Men and has Logan alias Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) a mutant of the X-Men in yet another of his one-man army adventures.

This Romeo speaks Bhojpuri
Johnson Thomas
OLD fashioned family feuds, turf wars and Maoist twists drive this turgid romance set in Varanasi, on the banks of the holy Ganges, to violent heights. But the coherence is severely lacking and the language, more Bhojpuri than Hindi, is completely off-putting.

Love that bores to death
Johnson Thomas
JOE Ranjan's attempt to hit the bull's eye with yet another tried and tested formula is, simply put, tiresome! A Christian boy, the goody-two shoes, Mark Braganza (Tanuj) is a little late in declaring his lover-ly intentions towards his Punjabi classmate Soniyo (Neha). So, it's bound to create some problems for the twosome. Vikram has already been lined-up as Soniyo's intended and Mark will have to find a way out of this tricky situation if he plans on achieving the happily ever after objective.

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EDITORIALS

Encounter at Batla house
Conviction settles many doubts

THE conviction of Shahzad Ahmed for killing a police inspector and attacking other officers during a shootout with the Delhi Police at Batla House will go a long way in settling a large number of doubts about the incident that took place on September 19, 2008.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar Shastri sifted though exhaustive evidence before convicting the sole accused in the encounter in which a Delhi Police officer and two terrorists were shot dead. He found Ahmad guilty of murder, attempt to murder, obstructing and assaulting public servants and grievously injuring the police officers to deter them from performing their duty even as he acquitted him of another relatively minor charge.

Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma led a seven-member Delhi Police Special Cell team. In the shootout between them and the occupants of the flat, he was killed, as were two of the Indian Mujahideen terrorists. One person surrendered, while two others, including Ahmed, escaped. A policeman was also injured in the firing. The encounter had taken place days after serial blasts in Delhi, for which the accused were considered to be responsible. The encounter took a political hue with various political leaders questioning its authenticity, some calling it a false encounter. They do not have much leg to stand on after the court's judgment.

What remains unclear is why Inspector Sharma was not wearing any bulletproof vest. Why were two members of the police team not armed? The lack of the vest proved fatal for Inspector Sharma and shortage of weapons would surely have hampered the effectiveness of policemen in the shootout. The loss of a police officer under such circumstances is a serious matter. Clearly, there is a need to identify the people who slipped in providing such essentials and take action against them. The standard operating procedures for such situations also need to be revisited to incorporate lessons learnt from this tragedy. The Batla House incident was highly politicised. The court's verdict clears much of the confusion that muddled people's perception regarding the encounter. Perhaps when something like this happens again, politicians will be more circumspect in their comments. 

In Uttarakhand’s aid
Rehab beyond state’s resources

THE scale of the rescue effort in the immediate aftermath of the Uttarakhand rain disaster was unprecedented in the country. Even as the first response started with a small number of ITBP and Army men, the number of personnel and agencies involved escalated as the magnitude of the disaster unravelled. Various aspects of the damage and reasons still continue to unfold.

The Central government has decided to provide the state direct assistance in the rehabilitation effort through various ministries, especially Defence. The decision is only in the fitness of things, as some of the most fundamental infrastructure, such as highways, has disappeared. It is a challenge not only in terms of financial means, but also expertise and equipment. State departments can hardly be up to the task.

Besides the consideration of resources, Central assistance also becomes crucial because of the necessity for speed of rehabilitation. While several villages continue to be cut off altogether high in the hills - and therefore have restricted access to food - there is also urgency because of the need to get the state's economy back on rails. In the four districts particularly affected, the Char Dham Yatra, besides the Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage, is the axis of the economy - essentially tourism. Such is the present state of fear among potential visitors to the state that even areas such as Mussoorie and Nainital, which saw no damage, are not receiving tourists. If no means of income is found for the people serving the pilgrimage routes - hit right at the beginning of the tourist season - the state could be staring at another slow disaster.

For the long term, Uttarakhand has to come up with a comprehensive tourist policy. Thus far it promoted unrestricted flow of pilgrims, irrespective of the infrastructure, leaving the field open to unscrupulous elements exploiting the visitors as well as the state's environment. Also, in terms of emergency response, the disaster has demonstrated the state authorities were at a loss to even assess the extent of the disaster initially. The state has to equip itself to respond to at least the kind of calamities that are peculiar to the hills.

Sen and insane
Criticise Modi, lose award?

INDIA has very few intellectuals who are recognised at the international level and heard with respect. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is among them. He has been generally prodding Indian leaders off and on to spend more on health and education. Of late, he has been challenged by another economist of almost the same stature, Jagdish Bhagwati, who focuses more on growth than welfare. An open exchange of ideas between such giants is good for the health of the Indian economy and democracy.

However, Dr Amartya Sen stirred a hornet's nest when he happened to say at a book launch function the other day that he did not want as Prime Minister a person (Narendra Modi) who made the minorities feel insecure and had "a terrible record". Dr Sen perhaps did not realise that these days there is a scramble among the BJP's middle-rung leaders and spokespersons to defend Modi and sing his praises at every available platform. Their aggressive defence of Modi often borders on incivility. To outdo others in the game of one-upmanship, one BJP MP came up with the demand that Amartya Sen should be stripped of the Bharat Ratna. Since when has criticism of Modi become a disqualification for holding an award? Interestingly, it was the NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee that had conferred the Bharat Ratna on Dr Sen. Without stooping to the level of the MP, Dr Amartya Sen gave a dignified response: "If Mr Vajpayee wants me to return it, I will certainly return it".

Realising the idiocy of the demand, the BJP itself immediately disowned the MP's call. With followers like these, does Narendra Modi really need enemies in his race for Prime Ministership? While Modi is busy cultivating NRIs, his admirer raises the question: "Is Sen even a voter in India?" One shudders to think of the culture of intolerance that could prevail in the country if the BJP comes to power with such extremists piggy-riding Modi's popularity.

Thought for the Day

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.—Voltaire

ARTICLE

Slowdown in growth
Only composite policy can yield desired results
by S. S. Johl

THE economy is not growing at its optimal, planned or expected rate, commodity prices measured in terms of the wholesale index are showing a downward trend and the wheels of the economy, particularly of the secondary sector, are grinding to a near halt. It is, however, a different matter that to the discomfiture of the public, retail prices of daily consumables are showing a total disconnect with the wholesale price index and are rising by the day and never scale down even when the supplies increase through time.

The previous remedial measures adopted by the government to provide an exogenous stimulus to the growth have not succeeded in making the economy look up. No doubt, in the globalised economy, the health of the economy is linked with the growth of the trade participating economies in the international market. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of the Indian economy, which was 9.4 per cent in 2008, has come down to 4.6 per cent. The World Bank puts it even lower at 3.2 per cent.

This decline is in consonance with the declining and even negative GDP growth in the major trading partners of India. The United States, after experiencing a negative growth in 2008 and 2009, witnessed a weak recovery of 1.8 per cent in 2010 and again relapsed to 1.0 per cent in 2011 and 0.3 per cent in 2012. The United Kingdom relapsed from 5.2 per cent in 2011 to 1.3 in 2012. Germany growth declined from 3.0 per cent to 0.7 per cent and France from 2.0 per cent to 0.7 per cent. Denmark, Finland, Greece and Italy experienced a negative growth. This scenario presents a near dismal situation for the Indian economy.

The export performance also exhibited an unimpressive growth that declined from 35.17 per cent in 2010 to 28.26 per cent in 2011 and 11.4 per cent in 2012. The country's share in the world exports also did not improve from a level of 0.68 per cent. Imports growth of the country too declined from 27.93 per cent in 2010 and 34.5 per cent in 2011 to 13.06 per cent in 2012. The share in world imports declined from O.6 per cent in 2011 to 0.51 per cent in 2012. This has led to the escalation of trade deficit from a level of Rs 533,680 crore in 2009 to Rs 1,042,007 crore in 2012. As a consequence, inter alia, the current account deficit grew at the rate of 19.6 per cent in 2011 and 32.63 per cent in 2012. The current account deficit in the first quarter of 2013 grew at the rate of 18.1 per cent.

This indicates the economy of the country is in the vortex of stagnation and struggling to revive from the slump that is circumscribed by the very weak recovery in some of the major trading partners and some of them, especially in Europe, experiencing negative growth in their gross domestic product. This scenario is further aggravated on account of the misplaced love of Indians for the yellow metal. Although it is difficult to estimate exactly, it is believed that households in India hold more than 20,000 tonnes of gold, valued at more than US $800 billion. This forms some 14 per cent of the gold stock in the country.

The foreign exchange reserves of US$ 280 billion appear to be mere pittance measured against the gold riches of the country and particularly of its households. Another drain on the financial resources of the country is the import of crude due to the ever-escalating demand for petroleum products with a fast-increasing number of vehicles, especially petrol and diesel guzzling private cars. In the last decade the demand for imports increased on an average of 17.6 per cent per annum within a range of 1.37 per cent and 52.97 per cent per annum.

With such a stark situation of economic slump and progressive debilitation of the economy, the government has gone into a sop-throwing mode, substantially increasing the subsidies of all kinds, including the provision of highly subsidised foodgrains to two-thirds of the population of the country without linking the financial outgo with any productivity or creation of public assets. If this expanded programme of food subsidy could be linked to an expanded employment programme like MNREGA covering an additional number of days of employment and increase in the wage rate, this could build up much-needed infrastructure in the country on a wider scale. With one mouth, God has given two hands and muscles to the human beings to feed their stomach. The hands need work and are not meant to be spread out for doles. It is the primary obligation of a welfare state to provide gainful employment to its working population. Such subsidies and free supplies turn the beneficiaries into a sort of beggars, which is a direct index of failure of governance in the country.

For a faster growth, the prerequisites are (1) enabling efficient and affordable quality infrastructure, specially power supply as well as transport and communication, (2) skill-oriented educated management and upper-level technicians, (3) a healthy and responsible workforce, (4) good governance that ensures entrepreneurial and personal security and (5) promotional administrative environment. Investors are very shy birds and fly away, sensing even minor trouble.

The government's recent decisions to liberalise the FDI route to enhance investment in the country that would improve the GDP growth on an upwardly shifted production function are steps in the right direction. Yet, for its success, the basic determinants of growth need to be taken care of. In particular, good governance that provides an enabling administrative environment with promotional attitude, certainty and continuity of government policies, irrespective of change of governments, are crucial for FDI inflows as well as domestic investment.

One of the major impediments to investment in the country is labour productivity and attitude of labour unions that emphasise only the rights, ignoring the obligation part of their activities. This adversely affects the inflow of FDI and even the pace of domestic investment. It is one thing to annunciate a policy and it is another to create an enabling environment for effective implementation and outcome of that policy

Further, there is a need to unleash the power of wealth that is encapsulated in gold held in the country, especially by households. The recent measures taken by the government are quite mild to change the mindset of the people to dishoard gold and divert this wealth to productive investment. Gold bonds with attractive yields and curves on gold hoarding through deterrent import duties and specific wealth tax on the metal can correct the situation to a considerable extent and can force the inert wealth flow into productive channels.

There is also a need to expand public transport like bullet trains, city metros and buses to replace private cars in the down-town areas of the cities that would reduce the pressure on demand for petroleum products. FDI in infrastructure of this type can go a long way in creating a conducive environment for accelerated domestic investment also. The imperative is the composite policy that integrates all the determinants of growth. Ad hoc, piecemeal and jerky policy dispensations cannot be expected to yield the envisioned results.

MIDDLE

Trotting with American guests
by Roopinder Singh

I have never been good at sports, that particular crown in the family has long been held by my brother who has naturally excelled in any sport that he decided to play. Being at Yadavindra Public School meant compulsory games, and I acquitted myself reasonably well on the field, even if without much distinction.

As a child, I would read late into the night and would be fast asleep when he woke up with the rising sun to go riding with the grooms who took out horses from the nearby stables in Patiala for the morning ride. Ravi rode, went tent-pegging and played polo, besides being an excellent swimmer, squash player..., you get the picture, he was the outdoorsy kind, I a bit of a nerd.

It was in Delhi that we started riding together in the mid-1980s. We had access to great horses, and the best of training facilities. After the initial bit when I rode like a sack of potatoes, I started enjoying myself. Our equestrian adventure was courtesy the then President Zail Singh, and we would often ride with his grandsons, Gurinder and Rupinder. It was wonderful to ride in the Parade Ground and the forested area around Willington Crescent. This was followed by a cup of tea at the Presidents' Estate Polo Club with fellow riders like Vikram Sodhi, Sam and Tony, which made for a great start to many a morning.

One day we were told to be on time, and be smartly attired. We were to escort a 'family member' of the US Vice-President, George H W Bush, the next morning. There we were, attired in crisp white Jodhpurs and polished brown riding shoes, turbans tied with extra-special care at 5.30 am, waiting for the visitor. To no one's surprise, the President's Body Guard (PBG) personnel too were snappily turned out. Soon we were joined by the visiting guest, her bodyguard and other personnel. We exchanged pleasantries, and it was time to pick out a horse for the young lady.

The PBG has the choicest of horses in the country, and obviously for the guest it was nothing but the best. We asked her to pick her mount, and she went with what had been recommended for her. The rest of us mounted and we trotted off on the riding trail. It soon became apparent that she was an excellent rider. She told me she wanted to go at a faster pace. The Risaldar Sahib was so instructed, and the trot turned into canter. The bodyguard, however, was not quite in the same league, and at one time he found himself discreetly flanked by two PBG jawans, ready for any contingency. He knew what was going on, and this made him even more determined to carry on.

It was a great ride. The trail meandered though a forest and the hustle-bustle of the Capital was left behind as we spotted peacocks, heard partridges and saw small rabbits scurry across the path. We had a great time and sat down for tea after the ride. Then it was time to part. We exchanged tokens. We gave her some Jaipuri knick-knacks, and she gave us little coat pins with the monogram of the Vice-President of the United States. I wore this pin when I went to the White House the next year, but that is another story.

In the evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan I saw the bodyguard again, now formally attired. He was standing a bit stiffly, understandably, given our morning excursion. As our eyes met, I felt that I fleetingly saw a slight grimace on his face. Or was it? I don't really know; these Secret Service types are inscrutable at the best of times.

Saturday Review

Missing the beat
Nonika Singh

TIME OUT: Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey

A title that resonates with great promise and a cast that is hugely talented..... sadly Bajatey Raho is yet another example of the new formula that Bollywood has discovered—marriage of seemingly off beat subject with formulaic representation. Only Bajatey Raho also fills you with Deja Vu. Not only does it remind you of Khosla Ka Ghosla and the same pattern — if you can't beat them, be like them. In short become swindlers to avenge those who have cheated you.

But minus the novelty factor it does little to warm the cockles of your heart or even tickle your funny bone. At the most a smile is guaranteed.... as it begins with Tusshar Kapoor as Sukhi pulling off a sting operation on an unsuspecting school principal. But before you think the film is about serious concerns such as school admissions or comic capers of a bunch of thugs, it shifts gear to soon inform you what the fuss over the sting and blackmail is all about. An honest man has paid the price of a corrupt one's wrong doing and his family is out to even out the score. Of course, when the family and friends wield hidden cameras instead of guns you expect a fun-filled and thrilling ride. But with the cat out of the bag so early on in the film… only superb cons and gags could have kept the ball rolling.

What you get instead is an indifferent treatment with no surprises counted. A couple of decoy operations, a bit of romance, dollops of emotions, usual seduction bit to ensnare the bad guy which here by the way is Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kissen and few get ups for the key protagonist Dolly Ahluwalia and what you get is a cocktail that is anything but heady. Nevertheless till the first half the film still works … but post-interval it goes over the top and with an item song thrown in with no entertaining effect it becomes far too pedestrian. It climaxes even more tamely with a bit of bhaashan baazi, goody goody daughter reforming bad papa, et al.

Of course, actors do their bit to provide some spine but can't flesh it up or cover up the flaws. Ranvir Shorey gets his Punjabi accent right but even with some cheesy dialogues and his trademark scowl in place he can't quite make an impression. Dolly who delighted us with Vicky Donor is now getting typecast as a feisty Punjaban. In this role of Mummy Ji she gets to hog a whole lot of screen space and gets to don a yuppie get up too. But despite a competent act she fails to leave a lasting impact. What you finally take home is an average woman not a spunky inspiring Mummy Ji as the director would have us believe. Tusshar surprisingly does not irritate and fits it his part convincingly. Vinay Pathak is hemmed in by the limitations of his role. Just like Dolly his character minus the nuances doesn't bite.

All in all the film may not take a severe beating and fall flat on the face but surely lacks the beat. Of course, the film's length works in its favour and makes it one time watch, at best that is.

Clawless affair
Ervell E. Menezes

IT seems that Marvel comics are fast coming out of Hollywood's ears. The Wolverine is supposed to be the sixth installment of X-Men and has Logan alias Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) a mutant of the X-Men in yet another of his one-man army adventures.

A still from The Wolverine

This one is Japan based and moves from Tokyo to a place near Nagasaki. Shingen Yashida (Hiroyaki Sanada) is on his death bed and sends for his old benefactor Logan to meet him. It is to tell him to look after his grand-daughter Marika (Tao Okamoto) to whom he has left his fortune.

But other members of the family including his son are against her and hence a battle royale involving a plethora of players and oodles of action.

Logan/Wolverine has steel claws licensed to destroy which he switches on at will. The claws also help him to cling on the roof of the speeding bullet train. All these gimmicks aid director James Mangold to launch on an action-spree which is acceptable till the halfway mark.

It is the latter half that loses credibility. The novelty of characters like Wolverine and the Viper are flogged to death and the vast cast is merely nominal.

Hugh Jackman looks tired. Tao Okamoto is cute as the heroine but whatever other performances that might have been; probably fell to the floor of the editing room.

Eminently missable for all its FX wizardry.

This Romeo speaks Bhojpuri
Johnson Thomas

OLD fashioned family feuds, turf wars and Maoist twists drive this turgid romance set in Varanasi, on the banks of the holy Ganges, to violent heights. But the coherence is severely lacking and the language, more Bhojpuri than Hindi, is completely off-putting.

Amyra & Prateik Babbar

Issaq is the cinematic adaptation of the Shakespearean love tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. At least it was meant to be so. The local elite Kashyaps and Mishras, and the Naxalites are fighting to gain control over the natural resources (sand) of the area while two young lovers, Rahul Mishra (Prateik) and Bacchi Kashyap (Amrya Dastur), belong to the rival clans and therefore not fated to be together go though the fast-food variety of love. It's another matter that Rahul is a local Romeo of sorts who goes from one girl to another without so much as a backward glance.

 But unsuitable or not, Bacchi is more than happy to play Juliet while dopey Rahul goes Spiderman crazy, jumps up and down, swings from heights and dives into deep pools to prove his infantile love. He is supposedly someone who gave up using weapons in the interest of maintaining peace but is equally quick to pick up the gauntlet when threatened.

The logic and the politics stink to high heavens. So do the unsavory interventions fashioned to drum up the drama. The stage is set for some heavy churning with the Maoists led by a south Indian (Prashant Narayanan) on one side and the two warring clans on the other. The ensuing struggle for supremacy is not a pretty sight — not even for the hard of heart and ear!

The rustic setting, dark treatment and earthy tones remind one of Omkara and Ishaqzaade but that's as close as the comparison gets. While both those films had tighter scripts and fluid narratives, this one stutters . The script is incomprehensible. The incoherence is definitely not blissful. The forced romance and the contrived drama make it all the more unappealing. The music is the only saving grace here. The performances are just a little too off-kilter to make sense. Prateik looks and acts doped. Amrya is perky but the character she essays is a little too shop-worn to be appealing. None of the accompanied cast of stalwarts can make their presence heartfelt. So skip it.

Love that bores to death
Johnson Thomas

Neha & Tanuj Virwani

JOE Ranjan's attempt to hit the bull's eye with yet another tried and tested formula is, simply put, tiresome! A Christian boy, the goody-two shoes, Mark Braganza (Tanuj) is a little late in declaring his lover-ly intentions towards his Punjabi classmate Soniyo (Neha).

So, it's bound to create some problems for the twosome. Vikram has already been lined-up as Soniyo's intended and Mark will have to find a way out of this tricky situation if he plans on achieving the happily ever after objective.

A twist in the tale makes it a little more complicated but even so there's not much newness here to make it interesting. The lack of passion and substance is galling. The songs are also quite forgettable to make the unremarkable romance buoyant. Performances by both Tanuj and Neha are lacklustre to make the cut. Joe Ranjan's plotting and treatment also leave a lot to be desired. Don't mess up your free time with this!

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