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Guest Column
Fifty Fifty |
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Guest Column
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Guest Column Three critical elections and one withdrawal are slated to happen next year and they will all impact on the region decisively. The most inclusive and least controversial will be the Indian general election, sometime in the spring of 2014. It is all but certain that Narendra Modi will be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, and the election potentially the most polarising in India’s history. While there is a robust debate on the Gujarat model of development (particularly invigorated by the recent exchanges between Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati), few have any idea on what would be Modi’s foreign policy were he to become the Prime Minister.
Will the foreign policy be driven by primarily his economic agenda of accelerating growth, or will it propelled by a fierce nationalistic weltanschauung? Or will it be a combination thereof? How would a Modi government relate to India’s smaller neighbours, and what view would it take of Pakistan and Afghanistan? Clearly, Modi has made some pronouncements, and even written a letter to Dr Manmohan Singh on the Sir Creek dispute, where he said: “I would earnestly request you to stop this dialogue with Pakistan at once and Sir Creek should not be handed over to Pakistan.” But there is a difference between being a Chief Minister of a state and being the Prime Minister of the Republic of India. Even the most hardline leaders have had their policies tempered after assuming power, and I have even heard many Pakistanis suggest that only a BJP Prime Minister, whose nationalism would not be in doubt, would be able to make peace with their country. Recall too Modi’s first public speech, after being elevated as the BJP’s election campaign committee chief at Madhopur in Punjab — on Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's death anniversary — where he invoked Atal Behari Vajpayee and talked about the need to heal Kashmir’s wounds. The uncertainties of the region are compounded by the rather dark future of Afghanistan, which could witness a civil war even before the next election slated for April 2014 and before the withdrawal of the forces by NATO and other partner countries later next year. Afghanistan is being seen in zero-sum terms by India and Pakistan, and this could become a dangerous theatre for their rivalry. Even now the signs are ominous. The US is trying to cobble a deal with the Taliban with the assistance of Pakistan, while President Hamid Karzai views this, not without reason, as a plot to undermine him and sees India as probably his only remaining ally. And remember that Karzai, who is often vilified in the Pakistani and American media, is one of the shrewdest politicians that I have met, and may spring a surprise by hastening the withdrawal of the NATO forces before the elections and by implementing his own succession plan. And finally we have the elections in Jammu and Kashmir towards the end of 2014. There is no doubt in my mind that these elections too will be a turning point. The bleak scenario is of increased militancy aided by an unstable Pakistan, a chaotic Afghanistan and increasingly alienated young people of the state, in which the elections are reduced to a farce with no one outside the mainstream participating and with a very low voter turnout. The state could then witness another decade or so of grave violent conflict. Or the elections could become the most inclusive in the history of the state and lead to enduring peace and stability. In sum, the region is headed for either a phase of unprecedented violence and conflict or the crises that we see unfolding could become an opportunity. If the latter is what we want to see, it is critical for New Delhi and Islamabad to immediately resume the official dialogue, and strengthen the back channel through the two designated interlocutors: Shayryar Khan and Satish Lambha. This dialogue must include sustained discussions on the future of Afghanistan. In addition, as the Chaophraya Track II dialogue recommended recently, it is important to revive the ministerial level India-Pakistan joint commission created in 1983; and there is urgent need for a dialogue between the two Ministries of Defence with adequate military representation. Simultaneously, there is critical need to address the continuing trust deficit between the people of Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi. Not through tactical diversionary measures, but through substantive peace-building measures. Indeed, if and when they meet in New York, the two Prime Ministers must recognise that any further drift in bilateral relations will be dangerous for the future of the entire region. The writer is Director of the Australia India Institute and Professor of International Relations at the University of Melbourne.
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Fifty Fifty But actually, because of all connotations of the goddess Durga in her many avatars from Parvati to Kali, for me the name symbolised the human spirit too, which indefatigably fights on for justice and an equitable world even when the odds are stacked against it. The Durga in my novel is a teenager who desperately battles inequity, and finally, through a terrible trial by fire, finds safe haven.
The story of our latter day real-life Durga Shakti Nagpal, the 28-year-old IAS officer who is being victimised by the political mafia in UP, is no different. None of us can fail to be moved and impressed by this young woman. She has proven herself to be not only honest but extremely brave, and were it not for our very corrupt and divided polity, she would be celebrated by everyone as a heroine. Indeed, for us, the common people, she already is an icon and we must attempt to enshrine her cause and fight for justice as an example of what an individual can do, even when pitted against the powerful and dangerous. We should not lose sight of the reason the young IAS officer, who stood 20th in the All-India Civil Services Exam, has been suspended. From the media reports available it appears while posted as sub-divisional magistrate at Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) she had been fighting a lone battle against the sand mafia. Most of these illegal miners allegedly have deep connections with the Samajwadi Party, which rules in Uttar Pradesh with Akhilesh Yadav as the Chief Minister, whose ascent had once brought hope to the millions who voted him in. Durga Shakti Nagpal was undeterred by the hornet’s nest she was stirring up, and she managed to rope in other officials such as those of the district police and the Revenue Department to assist her. Within a few months the police had impounded nearly 300 vehicles carrying illegally mined sand and registered 17 FIRs. None of this could have been liked by the powers that be. With elections around the corner (and even otherwise), every bit of money in the kitty is essential for politicians. While cleaning up the system, she would have undoubtedly gained enemies by the dozen. Thus it is entirely unsurprising that she has been, apparently falsely, accused of disturbing communal harmony. She has even been suspended, though the facts as reported by the gram panchayat concerned and recorded by the district magistrate are different. It was earlier put out that she ordered the demolition of a wall on government land that was meant for building a mosque. But it appears the wall was actually removed by villagers themselves, because they did not have the required permission to build a place of worship on government land, which is now mandatory under a Supreme Court ruling. In fact, there was nothing wrong if Durga Shakti had cautioned the villagers about it. Regardless, her honest dealings might have given an opportunity to local politicians. One of them is said to be an ambitious SP MLA, hopeful of a Lok Sabha seat in future, Mr Narendra Bhatty, who also heads UP State Agro Industrial Corporation Limited. He had allegedly even contributed money towards the construction of the proposed mosque. Thus when the wall was reportedly removed, suddenly allegations poured in of possible communal tension being created in the area by the SDM, Durga Shakti Nagpal. It is an extremely sad situation that over and over again we see normal law and order situations being communalised by political parties for ‘vote banks’. What is even more harmful is that sincere bureaucrats are not being allowed to do their work. This case should be an eye-opener for all of us who want to uphold the rule of the law. It is strange that whenever a corruption case comes up, bureaucrats and others are jailed and harassed while politicians usually go free (unless they belong to the opposition party). It is worrying that the case will now go to V. Narayanasamy, Minister in charge of the Department of Training and Personnel, whom we have seen playacting in various allegedly pre-scripted shenanigans in Parliament where important Bills have been stalled. Till recently, he was ‘waiting for a report’ from the UP government. After the report arrives, no doubt he will say he has either no authority to interfere or that a committee will be formed to look into it. With no hope from the state or Central government, it is only the people and bureaucracy who can throw their ‘shakti’ behind Durga. May we all win this battle, with her and for her.
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Guest Column
And nowhere is the situation more critical than with the existing organisational structure of the distribution system. It is an obsolete four-tiered structure, based on the 1895 PWD model, with four administrative levels of the SDO (sub-divisional officer), XEN (executive engineer), SE (superintending engineer), and the CE (chief engineer). And guess what, the SDO is the only operating level, where all core activities — including design and construction, operation and maintenance, redress of complaints, release of connections and collection of bills, etc. — are being handled, and all officers above the SDO are largely for the monitoring/support purposes. Strangely enough, this distribution set-up is based on an administrative culture that exists nowhere else in the world, except in the erstwhile British India. Everywhere, there are two-tier set-ups organised on functional basis. The British did not introduce it even in their other colonies. In Kenya — where I have had the privilege to work as an expatriate plant engineer for five years — there was a two-tier set-up in the distribution wing, structured completely on functional basis. A big town like Nairobi, with a population of 1 million had one distribution manager, assisted by the specialised wings, each headed by an operation and maintenance engineer, design and construction engineer, commercial engineer, plant and protection engineer, and a regional control engineer, with teams of supporting specialist engineers and technicians. Engineers got their first administrative job after eight-ten years of field and design experience. In spite of efforts over the past two decades to addressing this malady, only the grid sub-station maintenance set-up all over the state and commercial wings in a few cities, have been created on a functional basis in a half-hearted manner, as there are lobbies in favour of perpetuating status quo, where the new entrants start enjoying administrative powers from day one, without going through the grind of learning the essentials of distribution engineering. While on one hand this has adversely affected the local distribution system, it has resulted in deployment of much heavier resources, both in terms of manpower and tools and plant. The nearest analogy to put this would be running 30-40 dispensaries in a city as against one hospital with specialised wings. No wonder that with a strength of more than 50,000 employees in today’s PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited), which is more than sufficient, we are facing shortages in key areas, just because the sanctioned strength is 75,000 plus, thanks to the obsolete, multi-tiered administrative structure. We cannot defer this change any longer. Post reforms, we cannot go on adding new systems in the same sub-standard manner, in terms of construction as well as design. We cannot go on with the present quality of supply when we are talking of achieving international standards and are expected to implement the Right to Service Act. It is time the distribution set-up was restructured on a functional basis, and the missing engineering inputs were ensured. Staff has to be retrained and redeployed; utilisation of tools and plants optimised, and recruitment restricted as per the needs of the modernised set-up. This would require strong support from the Punjab Government, as vested interests across the board will be very protective of the existing power centres, and would oppose it tooth and nail. But there is no reason why we should continue with this obsolete, primitive and non-functional organisational set-up. We can follow any model, right from Singapore to South Korea to Taiwan, or even the British model still being followed in other commonwealth countries. We just cannot achieve the defined standards of supply and implement the Right to Service Act without taking this first
step.
The writer is a retired Engineer-in-Chief and former Member (Distribution) of the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board.
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THE next 16 months will be critical for South Asia. We could see the region descend into chaos, or it could prove to be a turning point in the history of the region. Much will depend on the India-Pakistan dialogue and whether Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif are able to arrive at a modus vivendi when they meet in September on the sidelines of the meeting of the UN General Assembly. 
WHEN I wrote my first novel, Witness the Night, set in Punjab, I was often asked why I called my lead female character Durga. This is not a common Punjabi name, I was told. But for many, the name by itself is allegorical. Thus my answer could have been that she represented the primeval female force, a divine energy which constantly regenerates itself.
Implementation
The SDO as an administrative head, in fact is the de facto general manager of the sub-division. It is mostly the lower level functionaries who are involved in handling the technical aspects of the system. Thanks to this set-up, engineering inputs are conspicuous by their near total absence in the local distribution system. This is a major reason our distribution system is by and large poorly designed, poorly constructed, and poorly maintained, adversely affecting the quality of supply.