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Bar on bureaucrats
Legalising colonies |
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Domestic violence Equip the police to handle it BY the government’s own admission, about 70 per cent women become victims of domestic violence. Various other forms of violence is also inflicted upon them, including rape, molestation, abduction, acid attacks and dowry deaths, according to the NCRB(National Crimes Record Bureau).
Combat terror jointly
Of leaders and styles
Teenage pregnancies — a demographic challenge
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Bar on bureaucrats
ON the advice of Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati the Union Government has dropped the proposal for a cooling-off period for civil servants intending to join politics and contest elections. Vahanvati's argument is that such restrictions in the service rules would violate the principle of equality before the law. The right to contest elections is “a fundamental and basic feature” of the Constitution. While the legality of the Advocate-General’s argument needs to be examined by a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, there are valid reasons to stop bureaucrats from launching themselves on a political career soon after retirement. The proposal came from the Election Commission, which is trying to reform the election process, and was supported by the Ministries of Home, Law and Personnel. Right now the retiring civil servants have to wait for at least one year before accepting a corporate or non-government job. The cooling-off period till 2003 was three years, which was reduced first to two years and then to one year. Going by Vahanvati's logic, the restriction on re-employment would also violate the bureaucrat's constitutional right to earn a livelihood or do a job. The right does not cease to exist after retirement. If given the permission to contest elections, civil servants could misuse their official position and powers to shower favours on politicians and constituencies of their liking. They can grant favours to private companies in lieu of election funding. The officers may cease to work independently for the larger interest of the country or the state in pursuit of their political goals. Already civil servants are known to court political masters for plum posts during and after service. An unholy nexus exists between politicians and bureaucrats. After the controversy over Gen V.K. Singh sharing the dais with Narendra Modi of the BJP, there is a growing demand for a cooling-off period for defence officers too before they enter active politics. A serving Chief of Staff having political ambitions can be problematic. These are issues that need to be debated and settled without raising passions.
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Legalising colonies
THE Punjab Government, unable to make a success of its scheme to regularise illegal colonies and houses, has diluted the plan, giving more concessions to householders and developers. While colonies built before 1995 have been exempted, others have been told the rates applicable at the time of registration of the property would be used to calculate the charges. The major complaint that the charges were too steep has been reasonably addressed. However, the confusion over the very purpose of the regularisation effort continues because of which not many people are coming forth. The government had started off with saying the date for the scheme would not be extended, which has now been done, besides giving other concessions. This is a fundamental flaw with such waivers - the defaulter benefits. The very few who paid for their colonies at the time of construction end up feeling cheated. What is also not clear is the reward for getting regularised, and the punishment for not doing so. There are many illegal houses which already have municipal water and electricity connections. What do they gain from paying now? And will there be any disincentive for those who don't pay? The law has to be clear and then uniformly imposed in a time-bound manner. While the money collected may be used for some road-laying in the colonies, the overall ill-planned layouts cannot be changed, and the plinth levels and sewerage alignments cannot be altered for proper engineering. Under the circumstances, the exercise may just end up seeming like a money collection venture. The next question is: will things change now on, and how? Ever since the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, has been in force, very few developers have faced action under it. The government also does not have the wherewithal to keep an eye on every development. Corruption is another major factor. As long as there is no change in the ground reality, the mess is not likely to change.
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Domestic violence
BY the government’s own admission, about 70 per cent women become victims of domestic violence. Various other forms of violence is also inflicted upon them, including rape, molestation, abduction, acid attacks and dowry deaths, according to the NCRB(National Crimes Record Bureau). But, it took the case of Nirbhaya gang rape of December, 2012, for the government to wake up to introduce a three-digit helpline number 181 to respond to women’s distress calls for help. Now the police is surprised to record the magnitude of the problem. Since August, when the helpline was launched, the 181 service has received 3,161 calls in Punjab, and over one-third of these calls relate to domestic violence. While the police is supposed to take care of front-line law enforcement, it does not enjoy high credibility for all practical purposes, especially when matters concern crimes against women. Particularly in this region, the handling of cases relating to the dowry law has earned the police a lot of notoriety. The police departments should develop policies for the effective implementation of the domestic violence laws that provide specific directives. A complete and accurate documentation of domestic violence incidents through police reports is an essential component for offender accountability. Secondly, laws should not assign the police the role of mediation or counselling, but authorise it to make referrals to qualified service providers. This will avoid cases where even the dying declarations of dowry victims recorded by the police were not admitted as evidence by courts. Only last month, responding to the rise in sexual assault cases against women and lack of initiative to fast-track the rape case trials, the Supreme Court suggested radical changes like the elimination of the police role in the recording of statements by rape survivors and witnesses and assign the job to the magistrate. Police personnel need training in gender sensitisation and empowerment to handle cases of sensitivity like domestic violence.
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It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance. —Thomas Huxley
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Combat terror jointly IN his reply to my letter, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said: "I look forward to a time when Pakistan and India will be able to shed the debilitating baggage of the past and focus more on the future, when opportunities, rather than challenges, define the relationship between two proud and sovereign nations". His meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an evidence of his ardent desire to make up with India. Hostility between India and Pakistan is so proverbial that any movement towards lessening it comes as a relief. The meeting between the two may not have spanned the distance between the two countries. Yet, it has broken the ice and is a good beginning. The skeptics are hard to please, particularly when Nawaz Sharif did not assure Manmohan Singh on the terrorist training camp in Pakistan (they number around 30). The meeting is a step forward. Both Prime Ministers were under great pressure from their domestic opposition lobbies. But they stood the ground and met for an hour. Both should be complimented in preferring a dialogue to the cancellation of the meeting that would have damaged the prospects of peace. I have not been able to understand the logic of those who have opposed the meeting. Is there any other option? Both sides can defer the talks, but they have to engage themselves sooner or later. And the outcome of the meeting has been positive. Both Prime Ministers have rightly pinpointed the priority: To firm up the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC). The agreement on ceasefire reached in 1993 has stood the test of time for a decade. It is unfortunate that the Taliban could penetrate in J&K and kill five Indian soldiers. Now that the two Prime Ministers have directed their respective Director-General of Military Operation (DGMOs) to meet and work out arrangements to ensure the ceasefire is not impaired. The DGMOs should also find out why the violation took place in the first instance. True, the Taliban, not the Pakistan armed forces, did it. But how did the Taliban come to use the Pakistan territory to shoot their way into India? Some connivance is obvious. The Taliban menace, which has made practically every place in Pakistan unsafe, has to be met squarely. Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Kayani has declared that the Pakistan army would stay in Swat, part of northern Waziristan, near the Afghanistan border. At the same time, he has differed with Sharif on talks with the Taliban. He should realise that the entire region has come to be threatened by the resurgence of the Al-Qaida, directing the Taliban. The situation may aggravate when the western troops withdraw from Afghanistan next year. Already the Al-Qaida is recruiting young men and training them for strikes after the withdrawal. I have my doubts about the capability of the Afghanistan army and the police, trained by the US, to withstand the Al-Qaida onslaught. The Al-Qaida's ideology of fanaticism has not been properly spelled out before the Pakistan public. The country has had a taste of it when the Swat Valley was occupied by the Taliban for some time. Music shops were closed and so were education institutions for girls. The veil was compulsorily imposed and the general expectation was that women would stay indoors. Not even an iota of free expression was allowed, much less the liberal thought. Madrasas and mosques in the region have become the breeding ground of the Taliban and their ideology of fundamentalism. I cannot understand why some Muslim countries are financing them. The outcast Libya is reportedly supplying them with arms. Islamic countries seem to have forgotten the Arab Spring when the youth and liberal elements came on to the streets to confront fundamentalists. At that time, every Muslim country began chanting the mantra of democracy. The fundamentalists were able to create division in the ranks of students and defeat the demand for democratic regimes. The Al-Qaida's fundamentalist ideology can revive the spirit of Arab Spring. I wish Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif had discussed the resurgence of Al-Qaida. Both India and Pakistan, particularly the latter, have to ponder over the vacuum created after the western forces quit. If combating terrorism is a priority for the two countries, the Al-Qaida and its instruments of tyranny, the Taliban, should be on top of their agenda. In fact, the Taliban in the shape of the Mujahideen are already operating in India. The situation is under control. But the birth of Hindu Taliban should be a point of concern for India. I wish the two countries would realise the gravity of the situation and discuss a joint action. New Delhi should be able to anticipate the situation it could face if Islamabad goes under or functions at the behest of the Taliban. Even Kenya and Nigeria have not been able to escape the Al-Qaida's fury. Peshawar, the capital of the North Western Frontier Province, has been a target thrice in the last week, killing around 200 persons. Pakistan is still not coming hard on Lashkar-e-Toiba. Hafiz Sayed, its chief, is leading prayers at the government-controlled Gaddafi Stadium and inciting people against India. Nawaz Sharif, when asked by Manmohan Singh about action against the terrorists who struck in Mumbai on 26/11, said the case against them in the court would progress now that the Pakistan's judicial commission had visited India. Against this backdrop, the diatribe by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi against the Congress and non-BJP governments was in a bad taste. He depended on a Pakistani anchor's prankish remark that Sharif compared Manmohan Singh to a 'dehati (rural) woman'. No such remark was made as it turned out to be later. Modi, aspiring to be the country's Prime Minister, should be cautious in what he says. But then he gets lost in his
demagogy.
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Of leaders and styles ONE fine day this summer I got a chance to witness a ministerial visit in Canada from close quarters. A federal minister was supposed to visit our office in Calgary at 10 am. He was to address new immigrants that our office is mandated to serve and also be a part of the accompanying multicultural function. His unescorted ordinary-looking Chevy pulled up early and he waited in the parking lot, seated in car for good 15 minutes or so. As he got out, on-the-dot at 10 am, two well-built gentlemen accompanied him, whom I suspect were his bodyguards, since that show-off arsenal was not overt. The minister interacted personally with most of the staff, as well new immigrants, and delivered a speech relevant to the context. Later, he had some laid-out nibbles, participated in the dance performance and left while advising our executive director: “Please take care of your other guests. I’ll find my way out, don't worry.” As an insider, I can vouch for the fact that no one went overboard to accommodate him nor was anyone inconvenienced during his presence. The minister seamlessly melted into the crowd and the function went on unhindered, his arrival, presence and departure, notwithstanding. As he left, I mused on how different this ministerial visit was from all those that I had witnessed as a school kid, a parent, a citizen and as a professional in India. This one was mellowed and assimilative in nature. A world apart from those ministerial visits rooted in autocratic style of governance: Where drained-out kids fainted waiting endlessly for the "lordship", traffic was blocked to pave the way for the 'august' cavalcade to pass, wailing sirens and menacing gun-toting bodyguards were vainly showcased as a symbol of authority. Last year US President Obama was id-ed (asked to show identity) at Chicago when he went voting during the Presidential election. In India, an offended political leader can easily get away even after slapping an on-duty official. In Western world offices, managers and staff work collectively with pleasantries and banter being exchanged all day around. A few months ago, I was put right by my senior when a sentence in my mail read “Did .... as ordered by you.” Within minutes, he phoned me and said: “That was advice, not an order.” I stood corrected and humbled. Didn't even make a feeble attempt to explain where I was coming from and how official missives were structured back home. Such is the cultural fabric here. Leaders are raised on participative social framework. When foundational blocks are strong, there is a slim chance of leadership structure being flawed. That is what makes developed countries what they are:
developed.
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Teenage pregnancies — a demographic challenge
Including the adolescent The Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) was launched in 2002-03 and together with the KSY, made available a basket of programme options which some states modified according to their needs. In 2011-12, in some areas, the centre merged the KSY and NPAG and converted it into the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls or the Sabla Yojana. The Sabla programme is being implemented in 200 districts, which includes six districts of Punjab, four in Himachal Pradesh and 22 in Uttar Pradesh. Several states have adapted the programmes in various ways, based on specific local requirements. Gujarat, for instance, developed the Mamta Taruni programme, Uttarakhand UDAAN (Understanding and Delivering to Address Adolescent Needs), UP the Saloni Swasthya Kishori Yojana, Rajasthan LEHAR (Learning Enhancement through Activity in Rajasthan), Haryana, the Indira Bal Swasthya Yojana and in Jammu and Kashmir AYUSH linked with ARSH (Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health).
Anaemia and ignorance In India, currently a whopping 56 per cent of adolescent girls are anaemic and 30 per cent of 15-19 year- old girls are married or, are in a union, while one in five women between 20-24 years had given birth before the age of 18. Confronted with this huge challenge, in Gujarat, peer educators were introduced to raise awareness on health and nutrition among out- of- school adolescent girls of 10-19 years in the rural areas. Having peer educators was one of the strategies employed by the Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA) which was supporting the state government's Mamta-Taruni programme, meant to improve the sexual and reproductive health of this section of girls. Cases like that of Usha, a 16-year-old girl, known as the girl who ate mud and gutka in Majra, and did not go to school nor did she meet other girls in the village, abound. Gomti, a peer educator, took the trouble to pierce through her isolation to find, her trouble lay in severe anaemia. With the help of Anganwadi worker Gomti approached Usha's parents and insisted upon meeting the reclusive, severely anaemic girl, who had frequent fainting spells because of which her parents did not let her out of the house. Though she was sixteen, her menstruation cycle had not started due to malnutrition. Her family was too poor and ignorant to understand it or do anything about it. Usha was not alone. Three years after CHETNA's pilot project began in 2009, supplementing the government programme, a phenomenal change took place in the rural and tribal areas where it was implemented. The data shows a massive increase in the awareness levels of the girls, with a large number of them having reached out for primary health care (see box). Some elements of the successful project, unique in its design of civil society partnering with the state government, have been scaled up in every district of Gujarat. Some of the features of the project are being extended into the National Adolescents Health Strategy, currently being finalised by the central government under its ARSH programme and Adolescence Education Programme (AEP).
Health of future generation "Majority of young girls suffer from the two 'A's in adolescence - anaemia and lack of awareness - which impacts their reproductive health later and even influences the health of their future children. Therefore, adolescents should receive health information and services in an organised and concentrated manner," says Pallavi Patel, deputy director, CHETNA, who has been asked to share the learning of their project for adaptation into the national programmes. CHETNA implemented the state wide Mamta Taruni programme in 53 villages in remote Khedbrahma and Prantij blocks in Sabarkantha, Gujarat. The ongoing government programme works to reduce anaemia among out- of- school adolescent girls, who are hard to target, and brings them better access to information and reproductive health services. This is done by reaching out to and registering all the girls in the target group. The married ones are referred to a monthly Mamta Taruni Divas or Health Day, organised in every village by health workers for providing maternal and child health services. In the case of unmarried girls, their weight is monitored and BMI (Body Mass Index) measured. They are provided tetanus injections, iron and nutritional supplements at an Anganwadi, and are given information on nutrition and sexual and reproductive health, and linked to a PHC. CHETNA ensured all the girls in its pilot area were reached by peer educators. A monitoring tool, the Mamta Taruni Card, was developed to record the interaction with the adolescents and to conduct a comparative analysis. It showed a significant number of adolescents had moved from undernourished to normal nutritional status. Communication between the girls and government health workers like the ASHA and Anganwadi worker was strengthened. Among its communication strategies, CHETNA trained 55 adolescent girls within the community, like Gomti, to be peer educators. They reached out to every girl in the target group. Usha, for instance, was taken to the Mamta Taruni Divas for a thorough check up and was later treated at a PHC. Following a course of vitamin and iron tablets and a healthy diet, she no longer experiences dizziness or craves mud or gutka. Within a few months of the intervention, her periods also started. A Delhi-based independent writer, Rimjhim Jain documents social issues related to health, women and children and environment.
Meeting unique cultural challenges Providing information on reproductive health as soon as possible is important, because early marriage and even child marriage is a reality, says peer educator Nandi, herself married at 10. In many tribal communities early sexual activity, even before marriage, is an accepted norm. "Some Bhil tribes prefer girls to prove their fertility by getting pregnant before permanent liaisons are formed," says peer educator Sonal, explaining why the girls must have knowledge of issues like RTI (reproductive tract infection) and contraception. Demographer Leela Visaria who has been associated with the CHETNA programme says, "Such interventions empower even the most marginalised of our adolescents with knowledge and convert them into an asset."
A healthy turnaround Baseline and endline survey figures from the CHETNA-Mamta Taruni pilot programme between 2009-12 show: *
56 percent increase in the number of adolescent girls in the project area having visited a primary health centre
(PHC) * Awareness among the girls on use of contraceptives like condoms increased from 46 percent to 84 percent. *
90 percent girls became aware of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) compared to 40 percent earlier. *
100 percent girls learnt about anaemia.
The big picture Teen pregnancy in India is high with 62 pregnant teens out of every 1,000 women. In comparison, 24 British teens get pregnant before their 19th birthday while the figure is 42 in the US. Western Europe is better off with merely 7 pregnant teens out of every 1,000 in France and 9 in Germany. India's neighbours Afghanistan (113), Bangladesh (125) and Nepal (115) out of every 1,000 women are also plagued by similar problems.
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THIS year's population theme marked by the United Nations, focused on adolescent pregnancy, which Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, was keen to expand upon. Across world around 16 million girls between the age group of 16 to 19 give birth every year, and nine out of 10 are already married. This poses a serious challenge to the population control programme, because most adolescent girls are not aware of reproductive health and mother and child care. This apart, some of the major difficulties associated with adolescent pregnancy, such as obstetric fistula and stillbirth, complications of what is described as "a child bearing a child" complicate teenage pregnancies further. Adolescent pregnancies tend to be distributed mostly amongst developing countries and within the low socio-economic classes, where morbidity and mortality are high, while a further three million girls undergo unsafe abortions. The biggest challenge facing population control programmes across world is how to be sensitive to the local, cultural and religious contexts, while controlling number of teenage pregnancy.
In India, realising that while a number of programmes existed for children through the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) and also for mothers, there was no specific programme catering to the large number of married or unmarried school dropout adolescent girls between 11-18 years. In 2000, the central government extended the ICDS cover to adolescent girls. Through the Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY), it allowed use of the ICDS infrastructure like Anganwadis for providing health services and other empowerment programmes to the girls. The aim was to break the intergenerational cycle of nutritional and gender disadvantage the adolescents faced.