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Of masters and servants One-sided elections |
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When govts ‘bribe’ legislators
Growing tulips in Chandigarh
Punjabis in search of their Punjab
THE TRIBUNE VISA WINDOW
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Of masters and servants With
its decision to contest Lok Sabha seats in 20-25 states and all assembly seats in Haryana and Maharashtra, to start with, the Aam Aadmi Party is looking beyond Delhi for a role in national politics, promising to be an "alternative" and not a "substitute" of the Congress and the BJP. AAP's citizen-centric agenda, ability to cut across the barriers of caste and religion and focus on issues that agitate ordinary people have found resonance with people in many states, given the rush for its membership. The party hopes to become a game-changer with its thrust on corruption-free and efficient governance though it has yet to spell out its larger political and economic ideology. The AAP effect on the established political parties is already evident. Rahul Gandhi of the Congress has started talking about corruption. The BJP has decided that its workers will go from door-to-door to connect with people and collect funds. In Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje has cut her security and refused to shift to the Chief Minister's residence. The CPM says AAP has done what the Left wanted to do. Sukhbir Singh Badal claims AAP has followed the Akali policy of free electricity and cheap water, forgetting AAP's tirade against corruption and rejection of the VIP culture and dynastic politics so widely practised in Punjab. But will political masters ever turn public servants? With corporate leaders queuing up for its membership, AAP can be a threat to the BJP's urban vote bank and put a spoke in Narendra Modi's wheel in his march towards the Prime Minister's Office. Though Modi too has orchestrated his humble origins, he is no match to Arvind Kejriwal's "aam-aadmi" act. He plays divisive politics, moves around in helicopters, hobnobs with industrialists and carries the 2002 stigma. The AAP threat is serious in Maharashtra and Haryana, where assembly elections are due later this year. The mishandling of the Adarsh housing scam in Maharashtra and the cash-for-CLU fraud in Haryana along with the infighting in the Congress may help AAP, though the party is yet to be tested in rural India.
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One-sided elections Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared victory in the recent polls in Bangladesh, but even as the country fulfilled its constitutional requirement, there are doubts whether these polls reflect the will of the people. The Awami League party led by Sheikh Hasina has won 104 of the 147 seats it contested. Together with the 127 seats it won uncontested, the party now has 231 seats, which give it a three-fourth majority. However, given that the general election was boycotted by the Opposition, this is a victory that struggles for credibility. Violent clashes between supporters of the government and those of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Khaleda Zia marred the election process, as did the boycott by the BNP, which demanded that the elections be conducted under a neutral caretaker government as was traditionally done rather than an all-party government as advocated by the Awami League. The two main parties of Bangladesh have a history of acrimonious relations. In 1996 it was the Awami League that boycotted the elections, leading to a short-lived victory of the BNP, till fresh polls were conducted. Even as India has recognised the Awami League's success, there is a growing recognition of the credibility cloud over the victory. Sheikh Hasina has been tough in not allowing her country to be used as a base for anti-India terrorist operations, and the relationship of the two neighbours has largely been positive under her watch. However, it is also important to establish friendly relations with Khaleda Zia and other opposition groups. Bangladesh's Prime Minister has been widely blamed for not effecting participatory elections. Sensing the need of the hour, she has extended an olive branch to her bête noire. India too must contribute towards a dialogue between the two opposition parties. New Delhi needs to work with all political elements committed to Bangladesh's democratic process even as it continues its engagement with the government in power.
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Thought for the Day
Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken. —
Albert Camus
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A new view of Lord Hardinge's attitude
Lord Hardinge's speech at Madras regarding the Indian problem in South Africa has been regarded as one of the hopeful signs of India's future. Though it has been criticised outside India, it has had a remarkable effect on the people of this land in creating a feeling of confidence in the people. For a long time the Government of India was unable to fully voice the feelings of the people as Governments in other countries do. The alien character of the rulers was stamped on most of their public attitude and measures. But since the reform scheme was introduced there has been a greater attempt to bring the Government in harmony with the people and their feelings and to help them in their aspirations. Lieutenant-Colonel R.H. Wilson has lately written to the London Spectator, drawing attention to this new phase of India in support of which Lord Hardinge has spoken in defence of Indians in South Africa. Lord Hardinge has doubtless endeavoured to fix the autonomous ideal of Indians and to show to the world that India is an independent entity having its own voice, activities and aspirations as well as any other autonomous country. This is a view of Lord Hardinge's attitude which requires ample recognition. The Viceroy and the Gurukul
A REPORT has been current to the effect that His Excellency the Viceroy will pay a visit to the Gurukul, Kangri, in the first week of March. His Excellency is said to have expressed a wish to Mahatma Munshi Ram at Simla to visit the Gurukul some day, and that intention is now believed to be nearing fulfillment. After the visit of Sir James Meston, Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces, no surprise need be caused if the report of the contemplated visit by the sympathetic Viceroy is well founded.
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When govts ‘bribe’ legislators
DESPITE the moral edge that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) movement has given to politics, a 16-member team of legislators from the Congress-ruled Karnataka in the South were determined to tour a few South American countries at government expense. It was after the intervention of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, a reinvigorated person after the drubbing the party received in the Rajasthan and Delhi elections, that they finally buried the trip, which was a joy ride funded by the taxpayers' money. The most shocking aspect, however, is that the members going abroad were from the State Estimates Committee entrusted with the task of saving superfluous expenditure. Representatives of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) constituted a team for the proposed tour. The BJP members developed sudden cold feet when some in the media criticised the junket. The Congressmen caved in after Rahul Gandhi pointed out that the expense of Rs 16 crore was a waste when 60 districts of the state faced a drought and when more than 200 farmers had committed suicide. The members were technically justified because the state assembly has laid down that the legislators can tour foreign countries twice in their five-year tenure. Probably, the same provision is offered to members in most other states as well. The Andhra Pradesh legislators are reportedly planning a trip abroad. Nearer home, the Akali Dal government sent the legislators to Scotland to see how the Scotch whiskey was brewed. All such trips are considered study tours. Since the reports following the tours are not published, it is anybody's guess whether the legislators submit anything in writing at all. In fact, they are all paid holidays for pleasure, something which the government uses to placate its own members and those in the Opposition. And this favour is not confined to legislators alone. Members of the committee of the Scheduled Castes and Minorities in Karnataka have just returned from a 16-day trip abroad. Their itinerary showed that they were visiting beaches, posh restaurants and pleasure resorts. I found the same craze for going abroad among our parliamentarians. Since I was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha I was never included in any such trip. Because of the media, an ethics committee was sought to be set up to stop extravagant expenses. The political parties normally distributed the “study tours” among themselves. It is flabbergasting that the Language Committee members, including persons other than MPs, go to England and America every year to assess the spread of Hindi. In fact, a foreign trip is as much a craze in India as in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The legislators there also go abroad on one pretext or the other. Whether it is a hangover of the 150-year colonial rule of the British or part of thoughtless expenditure of the burgeoning middle class is difficult to say. Probably, both assumptions are correct. Yet, it cannot be denied that a free foreign tour is the best “bribe” any government can offer. Foreign countries in the West know this. Missions of the United Kingdom and the United States utilise this way to have the best of concessions. Top bureaucrats fall for “invitations” from abroad. It would be revealing to find out how many children of secretaries to the government have gone abroad on scholarships or fully paid studies. Foreign missions see to it that the children of highly placed people are given pre-travel and full expenses on board and lodging in schools, colleges or other educational institutions. Unfortunately, bureaucrats are falling prey to the generous hospitality of foreign missions. Since booze is free and flows like water, you can spot out top officials at parties of minor officials of foreign missions. This greed is nothing new. It has been there since a few years after Independence. India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was so shocked by the presence of secretaries to the government at parties of third secretaries in foreign missions that he issued a circular to instruct that the top officials should respond to invitations of only foreign officials of equivalent status. As days went by, the violations of the circular increased. Today it is free for all. Invitations are sought even by MPs. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should issue a circular on the lines Nehru had done. But I have lost hope after seeing the manner in which the Government of India has suffered humiliation at the hands of the State Department. Devyani Khorbragade was handcuffed and put in jail to share the cell with criminals. Secretary of State John Kerry has refused to tender an apology on the incident. It has now been found that she enjoyed the full diplomatic immunity when she was arrested. I am not surprised because of America's arrogance of power. President
Obama, who looked different initially, has become part of the establishment. He does not either evoke confidence or hope. He should have himself rung up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to express remorse. The loss is that of America. The Indians were beginning to feel that the US was different from the rest of the West. That impression has dissipated. Washington may talk of strategic ties and New Delhi may reciprocate to be on the same page with the biggest power. But this relationship will stay at the official level only. People of India will remain distant. For them the treatment meted out to Devyani has little to do with the diplomatic niceties. They consider it as an instance of the weight that Washington throws about. The persistence in prosecuting Devyani says it all. The entire case began when Devyani was not paying her domestic servant the wages according to the US laws. I recall when I was serving as an employee of the USIS in Delhi, I too did not get the wages the Americans were getting. This is probably understandable. But what I could not comprehend was the additional allowances that the Americans were getting while touring within the country as compared to the Indians who accompanied them. I know this from my experience.
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Growing tulips in Chandigarh He wanted to know more about growing tulips in Chandigarh climate when I met him at his home. The suitability of Chandigarh climate was the main problem. Just then my son serving in mercantile marine arrived from Amsterdam bringing with him a dozen of fresh tulip bulbs of various hues. The cold weather climate slab prevailing during winter months was not suitable enough in Chandigarh for growing tulips. Mohindroo listened to my son with his experience in growing tulips in northern USA and was advised we should consult the Chandigarh Horticulture Department on the subject. The consultations proved to be quite useful. Appreciating our zeal and determination as well as the status of
Mohindroo, horticulture officials advised us that the best course for us was to try to prepare ourselves for the incoming annual flower festival where entries from beginners like us were welcome. The festival was due only a few months later. We could take a chance to participate in that although it was a hard task to beat the climate factor. We had to ensure that our plants had secured full growth for inspection by the selection team on the special date and time of presentation and thus hoped to fulfill our aim. Chandigarh's temperature during the days of selection could be the crucial factor. It was decided that we divide growing four selected bulbs of different hues kept in refrigerated containers on different dates to mature on the scheduled dates to suit the festival selection date. It was found that the right growth/survival climate in Chandigarh remained for a week or ten days. This planning worked and we found our deep pink plant growing in full growth according to the schedule. The selection group congratulated us on our effort and foresight in achieving this task. The prize was a small matter as compared to the task we had achieved. The news was published in local newspapers. However as feared, one hour later the tulip stump started limping in the flower pot to rest forever. Thereafter we decided to grow tulips of four selected hues only to see them bloom for a week only. My daughter, who resided in Stockholm at that time, got more excited than us when she came to know about our venture. She promptly remarked that healthy tulips were seen growing wild even on sides of several approach lanes leading from the main roads. No visitor or nearby resident seems to be plucking the flowers. She hastened to inform us that she had consulted the appropriate section of the IKEA House that was going to supply her a variety of bulbs to suit our local climate to the extent possible.
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Punjabis in search of their Punjab Most
NRIs are very genuinely reluctant to visit Punjab. According to their perception and actual experiences, the crime as reported abroad in the newspapers and Punjabi television channels, is simply too much in the state and that scares them from visiting their villages. On paper, the police in the state and the other government machinery is very helpful, but in actuality, when need arises, the role of the officials is otherwise. The NRI visitors are viewed as prime targets for exploitation. NRIs even dread going to the exclusive NRI police stations. The record of NRI police stations so far in solving the common problems of the expatriate community appears far from satisfactory. The NRI office in Jalandhar is a nice place to visit but it does not fare any better. The born-abroad second generation finds Punjab simply devoid of any attraction to visit. Barring a few very affluent NRIs, who visit Punjab at least once every year, on an average an NRI visits Punjab only once in three years. Some have not visited Punjab for more than a decade. The good or bad experiences of their latest Punjab visit linger for years in the psyche of the NRI visitors. Expatriate Punjabis are indeed very hardworking, at least when they earn their livelihood abroad. Finding time for a Punjab visit from their jobs and businesses is very difficult for them. So on coming to Punjab, they don't want to face unnecessary hassles and procedural wrangles in doing their business. They are simply not used to face clumsy obstructionism in their countries of domicile.
Woes of expatriates Common problems of the Punjabi diaspora include vacation of adverse possession of their land holdings and residential and commercial properties back home. The occupiers are generally their close relatives or politically influential people of their area. Political backing of the illegal occupants of the NRI properties makes it difficult to evict them. In spite of government's assurances, even the court cases linger for years and the NRIs don't have time to relentlessly pursuing their cases sitting idle in Punjab for indefinite durations. They also know that once they are airborne, the cases they initiate shall be put on the backburner. Such a scenario sounds scary for the NRIs. Such cases are too numerous to count in Punjab. Every NRI loves Punjab and he/she wants to contribute his/her bit to make things somewhat better in his/her village.
Promises not kept The Punjab Government is very generous in making promises to the NRIs. In 2007, the Punjab Government had made a commitment to match dollar for dollar if the NRI community contributes money for development projects in their villages. Subsequently they hiked the matching grant to twice the contribution of the NRIs. And now the state's contribution against each dollar contributed by the NRI is three times. The irony is that in most cases neither dollar for dollar was matched, nor twice compared to a dollar was matched nor three dollars for each dollar is being matched these days. The common folks feel cheated in this situation. Why make a promise and then make a mockery of that. According to NRIs, their biggest priorities are improvement of school buildings, panchayat ghars, dispensaries, hospitals and janj ghars in their villages. They are more than willing to spend money on common facilities. If we look at the school buildings in the six NRI-dominated districts viz Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Moga, thanks to the NRIs, most of their school buildings are relatively in good shape. But if we consider the Punjab Government's contribution towards it, barring some villages of politically well-connected people, the government's role is negligible. The NRIs of Doaba are worried at the fast-depleting underground water in Punjab. The water table is going down even in some underserved canal irrigated areas of Doaba and Majha. The ever-deepening tubewells are a double edged sword. It costs a lot to deepen the well and it costs even more to the power companies to foot the bill of free power to the deepened tubewells. The power company's loss is recovered from industrial and urban consumers. This becomes a never-ending vicious cycle. The Bist Doab Canal primarily serves the districts of Nawanshahar (Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) and Jalandhar. More than half of land owners on both sides of this canal and its distributaries have at least one person settled abroad. In the last one-and-a-half decade, this canal has not been dredged in real sense. As a result, its flow capacity has been seriously inhibited. As of today, this canal can't carry even half the discharge it was designed to carry. Weeds and cattails are growing in its bed. In some areas, some people have dumped construction and demolition debris in it. If the canal is not carrying full quantity of water, it is supplying much less water to the farmers. The shortfall in canal water means that the tubewells will run more. That leads to ever-deepening tubewells. The NRIs end up paying for the cost of deepening of the tubewells. If this cost can be saved, the NRIs and power companies can spend the spared money on other productive works elsewhere. As far as investing in industry in Punjab is concerned, the NRIs don't appear to be in a serious mood to do so. The past experiences of their friends have not been very pleasant. They are once bitten, twice shy. Those involved in the IT industry are most interested in investing in Gurgaon, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Some have already done that. Punjab is not yet on their radar. I hope some positive thinking takes shape during the coming two-day NRI conclave.
Welcome notes An NRI web portal www.nripunjab.gov.in has been opened for expatriate Punjabis. NRIs will be able to register their complaints and grievances online on the portal. The portal also contains a photo gallery, along with information on Punjab. The Punjab Government
is contemplating setting up special fast track courts for the speedy redress of complaints of NRIs pertaining to civil cases. The state Cabinet would soon allocate budget for setting up of the courts in the state.
The writer is an engineer settled in New Jersey, USA
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THE TRIBUNE VISA WINDOW I have an F4 immigrant visa petition, which has been pending for a very long time. My interview is not yet scheduled. I am very worried, please help. Consular officers are currently authorised to process applications for India-born applicants in this category whose petitions were filed before a certain date. There is no legal provision for an immigrant visa application to be processed out of chronological order, even for pressing humanitarian concerns. Because priority dates can both advance and regress and often move at variable dates, it is not possible to project when this case may become current. Current priority dates are posted at the beginning of every month at our website: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html. Once your visa category is current, please send us an e-mail at support-india@ustraveldocs.com to schedule your visa interview. I have checked online and see that my visa has been issued. Will the passport be couriered to me at my address? No, the passports and visa packets are no longer couriered to the applicants. You or your representative can collect the same at the document delivery location chosen by you when you created your profile at www.ustraveldocs.com/in. You will not receive your visa packet if you fail to create your profile. Can a fiancé visa appointment now be scheduled online? Yes that's correct. Once your physical case file is received from National Visa Center (NVC), the immigrant visa section will send you a letter to schedule your appointment online at www.ustraveldocs.com/in. Do not schedule your appointment until you receive such letter. I am a Green Card holder. I have stayed back in India for two years after my departure from the US due to medical condition of my parents. How can I return to the US now? You will have to apply in person for a returning resident SB-1 visa. To apply for an SB-1 visa, you may wish to come to the Embassy on any working day between 9 and 10 am, and must bring a completed Form DS-117, "Questionnaire to determine returning resident status". You are also required to bring any documentary evidence you may have of permanent residence in the United States. A consular officer will then conduct an interview to determine whether or not you are eligible for returning resident status. Also note that to qualify for an SB-1 visa, an applicant must establish that he/she has continued to maintain an unrelinquished permanent residence in the United States and his/her absence abroad beyond the permitted limit was due to circumstances beyond his/her control. Additional information on the SB-1 visa application is available at:
http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/returningresidents.html. My visa has been refused three times and the officers do not look at my documents. Please help. Consular officers refer to documents only if they can provide additional insight into the case. While not required, supporting documents are just one of many factors a consular officer will consider during an interview. Consular officers look at each application individually and consider professional, social, cultural and other factors during adjudication. Consular officers may look at applicants' specific intentions, family situation, and long-range plans and prospects within the country of their residence. Each case is examined individually and is accorded every consideration under the law. Furthermore, no one document or piece of information can guarantee an applicant will qualify for a visa; this includes letters of recommendation or guarantee. The officer's final decision is based mainly on the oral interview. Note: Please send your questions to usvisa@tribunemail.com. The US Embassy or The Tribune will only give general answers based on various queries. We will be unable to respond to individual correspondence. For more information, you can consult www.ustraveldocs.com/in or on Facebook for the Visa Fridays feature
(www.facebook.com/India.usembassy).
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