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Germany win a thriller Babus give govt a bad name? |
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Budgets realistic and sensible
‘Nothing is ever lasting’
A little respect is what civil servants need A tale of two worlds and many universes
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Germany win a thriller Germany's fourth title win brought the curtain down on the pulsating FIFA World Cup finals in the sport's spiritual home, Brazil. The final was a high-quality thriller, though those who get their kicks from the number of goals scored may not agree. Indeed, only one goal was scored - and what a goal by the 22-year-old Mario Gotze! - but that figure was low not for the want of trying. The two teams played free-flowing, attacking football; the strikers of the two teams were denied by some robust, feisty defending and, it must be said, some inept finishing. Germany were the deserving winners, having reached the semifinals stage or better for the fourth time in a row, and the final for the second time in four championships. Germany's progression in the tournament was impressive - they didn't lose a single game, and beat three of the five top teams in the world rankings, except Spain; they finished by beating South America's two top teams, which have seven World Cup titles between them. Germany's clinical evisceration of the nervous Brazil in the semis has become the stuff of legend. Overall, it was as exciting World Cup as any. The group stage was frentic and competitive. Defending champions Spain got knocked out early; Brazil were sentimental favourites but possessed their weakest team in decades; Colombia's James Rodriguez, the tournament's top goal-scorer, became an international star; Uruguay's Luis Suarez bit more than he could chew; the goalkeepers, led by Tim Howard of the US, had a fantastic time. There were 2.7 goals scored per match, up from 2.3 in 2010; Africa was competitive, though Asia was outplayed. Lionel Messi was named the best player of the tournament, though he would agree it wasn't quite fair - he was completely invisible in the last two matches, and in the final missed a chance when he had only the goalkeeper to beat. The luckless Neymar of Brazil was the victim of a hard tackle against Colombia and missed the semifinal. These two were projected as the event's best players. But Germany had the best team.
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Babus give govt a bad name? Five-time
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is usually careful with his public utterances but the less-than-satisfactory Lok Sabha election results, it seems, have unnerved him. Speaking at a function in Chandigarh on Sunday, he accused bureaucrats of indulging in corruption, giving his government a bad name. It is common knowledge that the Akali-BJP poor performance was due to the devastating effects of drugs on youth and their families, political/police patronage of Akali law-breakers, self-created shortage of construction materials and, of course, corruption. How much was the bureaucratic contribution to the electoral setback is hard to assess. Usually Punjab's ruling politicians and officials display tremendous cooperation and understanding while engaging in corrupt practices. If some IAS officers were siphoning off funds or not performing to the desired level, then what was, and is, the political leadership doing about it? Badal complained in public that "… if I say anything, they
(IAS officers) gang up and support each other". This is an admission of helplessness in the face of bureaucratic indiscretions. It is, however, not true. The government may be selective in taking action but it has proceeded against quite a few IAS officers. The IAS association, in fact, kept quite when some bright officers were unfairly treated for doing their job. One officer, who set an example by reversing the declining sex ratio at
Nawanshahr, was transferred out when he refused to do his minister's unethical bidding. Another was moved out when he launched an anti-encroachment drive in
Ludhiana, hurting the interests of the powerful. Yet another was sidelined when he, as the head of the pollution board, sent notices to polluting companies. In fact, the problem in Punjab is that the steel frame has become very flexible and accommodative, lured by plum postings and post-retirement jobs. Corruption is no issue for
Badal. Had it been so, he would have passed a law - as some chief ministers have done - empowering the government to seize the entire property of politicians and bureaucrats convicted for corruption.
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The calmest husbands make the stormiest wives. — Thomas Dekker, American film and television actor
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Legislation against usuary A CIRCULAR letter addressed by the Government of India to Local Governments and Administrations is published inviting reports by 1st November next on the subject of the feasibility of preventing the use of Civil Courts as an agency for the realisation of the usurious demands of money-lenders. The letter reviews past legislation on this matter, gives particulars of numerous suggestions made with arguments for and against and while reserving on open mind in the matter indicates that as at present advised the Government of India are inclined to think that the best chance of success lies in legislation upon the lines of the English Money-Lenders Act under which courts are given power to go behind any contract with a money-lender to enquire into all circumstances of original loan and to make such order as may be considered reasonable.
The Punjab Hindu Conference THE sixth session of the Punjab Hindu Conference will be held on the 25th, 26th and 27th November next at Ferozepore City. A Reception Committee has been formed with the Hon'ble Lala Kashi Ram as Chairman and Lala Bihari Lal as Vice-Chairman. The other office-bearers are Lala Barkat Ram Khosla, Secretary, Lala Paras Ram, Joint Secretary, L. Bhana Ram, General Secretary, and Lala Ram Sukh Das, Treasurer. Under the constitution of the Conference the Reception Committee invites suggestions from the District Sabhas for the election of the President and these suggestions are to reach the Secretary before the 15th August.
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Budgets realistic and sensible Looking for private-public investment in railway consolidation, station upgrade and so forth and stepping up FDI in defence production from 26 to 49 per cent are steps in the right direction. Populism has been eschewed. Mamata Bannerjee and her sorry ilk should be ignored. These measures could be the beginning of “acche din” with political prudence and careful management not outrunning fiscal responsibility. The Adhaar project has been properly restored and must henceforward be dovetailed with the National Population Register to avoid duplication and ambiguity. The government has also accepted the new poverty index complied under Dr C. Rangarajan, placing the poverty line at a daily income of under Rs 47 and Rs 32 per day for urban and rural residents respectively, multiplied by five for a family of five. This would cagtegorise 30 per cent Indians as poor. Public expenditure on services such as education and health are excluded. Some have scoffed at these figures, as before, arguing that Rangarajan cannot live on Rs 47 per day. The comparison is absurd and obfuscates the fact that the poverty index is intended primarily to serve as a comparative yardstick to measure poverty trends over time. The latest Forest Survey of India, 2013, encouragingly marks a marginal increase in the country's forest cover to 21.33 per cent despite substantial losses owing to over-grazing and jhum cultivation. The national carbon stock has also gone up by 4.07 per cent. Eight per cent of the forest cover is degraded, which suggest considerable opportunities for providing land for livelihoods as well as for productive forestry. The notion therefore that “development” has devastated forest cover needs to be reviewed in proper perspective and environmental norms for development projects suitably relaxed. Over-grazing by scrub cattle remains a national curse. But Hindutva sentiment comes in the way of rational decision making to permit scientific culling and the establishment of rendering plants to process the hides, meat, bones and bristle. The new Parliament session has seen the Congress adopting the old disruptive tactics of the BJP to block proceedings. This is childish petulance and the Congress, which has a case to have a Leader of the Opposition formally named from its ranks, must display more maturity if it claims this responsibility. The BJP too must cease being churlish and vindictive. If nothing else, the Congress, as the largest single Opposition party, though short of numbering a tenth of the House, should be recognised as entitled to name a de facto if not de jure Leader of the Opposition who has many institutional duties to perform, such as in the selection of key appointees. Unfortunately the party is moving in the wrong direction despite Modi’s promise of moderation and accommodation. RSS men have been “loaned” to the BJP to assist it. This is a dangerous trend and out of step with the RSS pledge to Sardar Patel after Gandhiji's assassination to remain a “cultural body” and keep aloof from politics. The RSS was massively involved in the last general election and has since been indulging in back-seat driving and pushing its agenda. Remote control from Nagpur is strenuously denied but is plainly manifest and must stop. The government is pushing Governors around and has replaced a few of them, and is now sharpening its attack on NGOs in what looks like turning into a witch hunt. Nonsense spouted by its members is being treated with kid gloves and double standards can be discerned in treating corruption and crime. Giriraj Singh, MP from Bihar, has been caught red-handed with unaccounted money. O.P Dhankar from Haryana has promised Haryanvi youth Bihari brides to make good the shortage of women in Haryana on account of female foeticide. Women are not chattel and Giriraj's remarks are insulting and derogatory. Besides, the real issue to be addressed is foeticide. What is being done about that? Another worrying trend is the rise of communal incidents and provocations and attacks on Christians. In Bastar, the VHP has “banned” non-Hindu, especially Christian, missionaries in some 50 villages through a panchayat decree. This is illegal. And now comes the anointment as BJP president of Amit Shah, who master-minded the BJP's UP election campaign. He is a dubious character, out on bail on charges of murder in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case while Minister of State for Home Affairs in Gujarat in 2004-05. He is very close to Mr Modi, who now is in total control of the government and the party, barring Parivar diktats and pressures. Finally, there is reason to be gratified that the Supreme Court has opined that the fatwa “has no place in independent India” and has restrained Shariat courts from unilaterally passing diktats that affect the rights of Muslims. However, Shariat courts may remain as informal channels of amicable dispute resolution. Their status is akin to that of khap panchayats that enjoy no formal jurisdiction. Yet tradition vests these bodies with authority which is why it is important to move forward with legislating a uniform civil code. Regrettably, progress on a UCC has been blocked by conservatives who fear the loss of the traditional power of the clergy and the institutions they control across faiths. Here will be another test for the BJP and all secularists as there is no real impediment to an optional civil code of which the special marriage is a part. www.bgverhese.com
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‘Nothing is ever lasting’ Suddenly, I was jolted from the semi-slumber state, when I saw a well-built elderly gentleman standing in front of me and gesturing for help to sit down. Promptly, I got up and lent my shoulder so that he could slip on to the bench. Moaning with grief, he cursed his knees, the most precious part of the body in younger days when he was a renowned footballer. Today, these very knees had become a handicap and source of unbearable pain. I empathised by complimenting him for taking life in his stride in the twilight years. Soon, he seemed to have disengaged from me as I found him making efforts to strike a conversation with passersby. A bit intrigued, I tried to ignore him by digging into the book “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene that I was carrying. Through the corner of the eye, I observed that barely one in ten people he accosted cared to reciprocate. Abruptly, he inched towards me and smilingly gestured, “You are apparently reading a book on power! Everyone wants it. Once I too possessed it, as a celebrity. It’s a very heady stuff”. Clenching my right arm tightly, he grinned and quizzed me: “If you are following the 2014 World Cup, then tell me ‘who is Neymar?” “Brazilian star striker — and who doesn’t know him?” I replied with an air of confidence. Promptly, he shot back his next question, “What tattoo does he support on his neck?” I was now stumped. Loosening the grip on my wrist, he whispered the words “tudo passa” as if sharing a secret. Painstakingly, he explained to me that pair of Latin words meant that “nothing is ever lasting”, particularly position and fame. Elaborating further, he went on to define how power corrupts by isolating individuals from the ground reality, forcing them to live virtual lives and missing out on basic human relationships. Making a case in point, he mumbled, “Just saw, how hardly anyone cared to respond to my innocent gestures a little while ago! All these people are in trance, intoxicated with power”. Sensing a captive audience in me, he paused for a while. Then taking a deep breath, in a heavy emotional tone, teeth clenched and tears dripping down his bearded cheeks, he sighed: “Ironically, the very assets which catapult one to fame, later undergo mutation and manifest as the Achilles’ heel. Look at my knees!” With a little support from me, he stretched out on the bench with eyes closed. As I got up to leave, he forced a smile, reminding me that the ordinary people are blessed, as they have a heart, both for nature and humanity. They never suffer the pangs of loss of power. I was soon hot footing to catch up with my wife to share the joy of being just an ordinary mortal — but the blessed one!
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A little respect is what civil servants need
SOMEONE said that the “bureaucracy is the epoxy that greases the wheels of progress”, while a detractor said the “bureaucracy destroys initiative….” While the first quotation reflects how the British perceived the bureaucracy in this country, the latter quotation reflects how subsequent governments in Pakistan have been viewing it. Ever since the British left, we have been battering and moulding our bureaucracy to Pakistani requirements, which in essence has been to make it subservient to the rulers, whether military or civil. The phrase “remnant of the colonial past” was used conveniently to “reform” the bureaucracy to make it a notch more subservient, conveniently ignoring all the other “heritage of the Raj”, like the systems and traditions of the Pakistan Army. Even criminal and civil laws have mainly stayed the same, as left by the British. Bureaucracy bashing started with Ayub Khan firing 303 senior officers, followed by Yahya Khan's dismissal of 1,300 officers; the withdrawal of constitutional guarantees by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; his administrative reforms of 1972, followed by numerous other commissions to “reform” the bureaucracy. The final cut was the devolution reforms of Pervez Musharraf, which made the district administration, that touches the lives of 70 per cent of the population, unrecognisable. Twelve years later, the public still does not know what each of the plethora of new posts created in the name of devolution in the police and civil administration, is supposed to do. With each “reform” in the past 67 years, the bureaucracy slumped one notch lower in its delivery. The rulers, to make up for the decline, started using newspaper and TV ads to pretend there was good governance. The more delivery declines, the greater the frequency of advertisements. It is easy to condemn the bureaucracy, but what should it be replaced with? To hire or post inappropriate civil servants, based on political loyalty, is the done thing, but when delivery declines, the bureaucracy and not the ruler is blamed. The removal of the IG Sindh, after a two-month tenure, for reportedly not signing a Rs 8-billion procurement contract, is an indicator of the priorities of the rulers. Posts in scores of crucial institutions are lying vacant because the government can't find competent executives who are personally loyal also. The present rulers are reported to have said that the quality of bureaucracy has declined seriously since they were in power last, and they can't figure out why. The writ of the state is at an abysmal low because the bureaucracy is depressed, scared and directionless. They are depressed because there are no postings and promotions on merit. It is who you know in the political hierarchy or whom you go to, to offer your “services” that gets you postings and promotions. Civil servants are scared because the courts have been summoning them on a regular basis. The criticism from the courts is reported in real time on TV. So without trial or charge, they often find themselves “convicted”. A classic example was the fate of one of the most highly regarded civil servants, Kamran Lashari, for allowing a McDonalds in a park of Islamabad in violation of the capital's master plan. While the eatery continues to thrive at the same location, his illustrious career was cut short. The current digging up of the capital, in violation of the master plan, is apparently going unnoticed by the courts. In the process, the system has made sure that young civil servants should not have any role models. The civil servants are directionless because their own internal mechanism of command and control has been annihilated. The establishment secretary, who used to be the mai-baap of the bureaucracy, is now a post office. All decisions are taken above him or through manipulation (you have to get a requisition from a minister to be posted). At the provincial level the chief secretary was the boss. In one recent case, I know that a chief secretary was unable to get an officer of his choice even as his staff officer. So what can you expect from a depressed, scared and directionless bureaucracy? Absolutely nothing. This exactly is what we are getting. As a solution, yet another round of reforms will not work. All that is required is to restore the respect and status of civil servants, rather than claim victory for bashing them. The powers and role of the heads of all departments and ministries, including the establishment secretary and chief secretaries, should be restored. Once civil servants' confidence and self-respect are restored and things again start happening on merit, the bureaucracy will start delivering and those who don't should be held accountable, according to a transparent system of evaluation. A subservient bureaucracy will run the country and the government in power, into the
ground.
— By arrangement with The Dawn
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A tale of two worlds and many universes
ONE of the major issues our country has done nothing to resolve is the parallel universes which many different Pakistanis inhabit. A Reuters' photo feature on this paper's website recently demonstrated that this “other Pakistan” in which some (not all, hopefully) of our decision-making elite live is glitzy, glamorous and, if you ask me, nauseatingly distant from the real Pakistan. I am not sure if Reuters and the website joined hands for this feature to present a parody of the lifestyle in this "other" Pakistan or simply thought it was something worth reporting in earnest. Therefore, I am unable to dwell on it anymore. Read the newspapers, flick TV channels, or hear people speak and one's notion of parallel universes is reinforced. It is parallel universes and not just an issue like the Dickensian Tale of Two Cities. This isn't even a tale of two worlds. Look at the national scene. The army, we are now told, has decided to go after terrorists of all descriptions without fail and that the past is another country. The current leadership, unlike the recent past, is committed to an across-the-board clean-up. The army leadership today, this argument continues, neither has a favourite denomination of the militant/terrorist nor is indecisive and dithering in contrast to the one it replaced. Of course, we are pleased with this declaration. But we also know there is many a slip between cup and lip. We are forced to ask whether an institution, which prides itself publicly on being an “institution” first and foremost where individuals come and go, can have such a dramatic shift of emphasis and direction with the exit of one individual. Didn't the current leadership by and large form the decision-making echelon of the defence forces earlier too? And if it did, how did Raheel Sharif's universe sit so comfortably with Ashfaq Kayani's? Admittedly, these questions are for when hostilities are concluded and not for when our proud men and women in khaki are taking on the terrorists and, in doing so, laying their lives on the line. Also, parallel universes exist all over Pakistan so the focus has to be wider. Yes, the wider focus ushers in a picture so confused one doesn't know whether it is steeped in hilarity or simply a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. And I am not even referring to the shameful shenanigans of various political figures, some of whom are again trying to rope in the judiciary to do their bidding. No. We need look no further than the governing PML-N. And not even the whole party. For now, what catches one's attention is what was called Mr Sharif's kitchen cabinet. One of the most influential members was/is the Prime Minister's brother, the Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, with close family member, bonded together by marriage, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, another key element here. And not far behind were Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Water and Power (with the crisis addition of Defence) Minister Khawaja Asif. For the sake of a sharper focus, we'll leave out the Prime Minister's son, daughter, nephew and his favourite civil servant Fawad Hassan Fawad who complete his inner, decision-making sanctum and will stick to the elected office-holders. Nobody need remind the elected government of the challenges the country is up against. Lawlessness, economy and energy, just to cite a few, topped by runaway bigotry and intolerance make for a terribly unsettling scenario. And how do our elected leaders react? For reasons best known to Chaudhry Nisar, Nawaz Sharif and probably a few insiders, the interior minister goes AWOL (absent without leave) at such a critical juncture in Pakistan's life. The army is engaged in finally trying to take apart the terrorist citadel of North Waziristan Agency; it also says it's determined to hunt down terrorists in every nook and corner of the country; and badly needs and appreciates the national 'consensus' behind its action. But the harder you look the more hard-pressed you are to spot this consensus. The exceedingly touchy and ultrasensitive interior minister, who was to move ahead with the rollout of the Internal Security Policy and imperatives such as the National Counter Terrorism Authority, somehow feels so jilted that he goes into hibernation, stops work altogether. Bereft of any principles as so many of us are, and guided by a bloated ego, we are unable to do the honourable thing: Resign if we feel our thoughts aren't valued and have no place at the decision table anymore. All ministers, be assured there is a world out there beyond the cabinet and ministerial portfolios. And, while I can offer no more than my word, it may still be a lot better than a life of frustration, anger and histrionics befitting a jilted lover than a key arbiter of the nation's destiny. As the government has taken the lead in keeping the focus firmly on non-issues, can one blame others such as the self-righteous Imran Khan, the self-proclaimed keeper of our conscience and the leader of our revolution Tahirul Qadri and the wholly unsavoury figure of one Arsalan Ifitkhar? Do any of them really fathom what Pakistan is up against? Or all is well and hunky-dory in the universe they currently claim residence in? Before I let my criticism get the better of me allow me to confirm I also inhabit a strange place still full of hope.Yes, where I live Shahbaz Bhatti's and Salman Taseer's high-profile killers wouldn't get off the hook; Junaid Hafeez charged and imprisoned for alleged blasphemy would have every hope of getting justice; and where tele-mullahs would lead enlightened debates on philosophy of religion rather than constantly suggest ways and means to deprive women of their
rights.
— The writer is a former editor of Dawn To serve sans fear
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After
I perched myself tactically on a vacant bench so that I could have a bird’s eye view of the Harvard Square, as I waited for my wife to shop for souvenirs. She was to join me after a hectic day at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she was attending the Senior Educator’s Programme. Enjoying the sunny June afternoon, I sat watching hordes of starry-eyed freshers on an orientation tour, all set to make their entry into the elite university; reminiscing my own experience as an ‘exec-edu’ participant at Kennedy School.
