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Unrest in Hong Kong |
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Fewer women voters Trend symbolic of gender inequality in Haryana Gender inequality raises some pertinent questions about the representation of women in our much-hyped democracy. Politicians of all shades have been using their spouses as stopgap arrangements to rule their fiefdoms by proxy, which does more disservice to the cause of gender equality.
Bridge over a troubled border
The united colours of London
Urgent need to tackle Punjab’s water woes
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Unrest in Hong Kong TENS of thousands of pro-democracy Hong Kong residents have defied the police by continuing their protests. A coalition of students and pro-democracy groups came together under the “Occupy Central” banner to draw attention to a move by the Chinese government that would impact the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017. While Beijing has had a say in the appointment of the territory's Chief Executive last month, it announced that the candidates for the position of Chief Executive would need to be approved by a committee. Residents of the mainland may look enviously at the economic status and political freedom that people in Hong Kong enjoy, the latter have been chafing under what they perceive as Beijing's interference. Attempts by the police to use strong-arm tactics against the protesters have boomeranged, with their numbers swelling up after that. Beijing is acting cautiously. The sight of thousands of protesters is uncomfortably reminiscent of the Tiananmen Square protests more than a quarter of a century ago. China has been cautious, and has concentrated on taking measures to prevent images and reports of the protest from crossing the borders. It has also warned other nations to stay away from the troubled waters. Beijing needs to reassure Hong Kong residents that it is sensitive to their concerns, both political and economic. The territory's unique status gives it the ability to be the economic powerhouse that it is. "One country, two systems" is the fundamental formula on which its post-1997 relationship is based with China, and thus it has a basic right to a democratic political structure. The protesters are demanding the resignation of CY Leung, the current Chief Executive, but whether that happens or not, they have succeeded in drawing international attention to their disaffection with the present situation. They have forcefully expressed the need for reforming the political process. By doing so, they have achieved much.
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Fewer women voters Gender
inequality raises some pertinent questions about the representation of women in our much-hyped democracy. Politicians of all shades have been using their spouses as stopgap arrangements to rule their fiefdoms by proxy, which does more disservice to the cause of gender equality. Coming from democratic representatives, such practices send wrong signals down the line, as is evident by the contestant from Dabwali constituency Naina Singh
Chautala, wife of Ajay Singh Chautala, imprisoned in JBT teachers' scam. In
Haryana, where the gender ratio is the lowest in the country at 843 females, it is evident that violators of the PC PNDT Act have not been dealt with an iron hand. This has resulted in fewer women voters and the consequences are not only decreased but also bogus representation of women in various democratic institutions. When women do not represent their own constituency, it is well understood their concerns will continue to be ignored. None of the political parties thus far has put the issue of skewed sex ratio on a high-priority list. This is despite the fact that in some towns like Julana, where the sex ratio has fallen to 813 females, the number of female voters is barely 71,826 as against 88,352 males. The entire Jind district reflects the electoral inequality; of the total number of 6.41 lakh females in the district only 3.89 lakh are registered as voters, because daughters, till they are married, are not registered to avoid inconvenience of transfer. This practice reflects the same stopgap arrangement as resorted to by their leaders. Are women voters insignificant players in the democratic process? If democracy is practised on a patriarchal pattern, yes. For the spirit of democracy to thrive, women have to have equal representation at all stages of the political process, from voters to legislators. The Election Commission has simplified procedures for transfer of votes, Form 8A or Form 6, with a proof of change of residence is all that is needed to be filled. If women wish to become drivers of democracy, they should not allow themselves to be made a stepney.
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Thought for the Day
They say that love is more important than money, but have you ever tried to pay your bills with a hug?
— Anonymous
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Recruiting and training THE character of the present war has shown that the contending parties are so well matched that battles are fought for several weeks continuously without any decisiveness but with enormous losses of men. The war may be a prolonged one and calls for a continuous supply of reinforcements. Lord Kitchener, therefore, has been recruiting a new army of a million men at Home. Now that India has despatched nearly 70,000 of its best soldiers, The Times of India suggests that our duty is not ended with this and there are two directions in which we can supplement our services to the Empire. They are: (1) to be prepared to send a steady stream of picked regiments to the front in order to keep the Indian section of the Expeditionary Force to its full strength, and (2) to set about the recruitment and training of reserve battalions for the regiments at the front so that the inevitable wastage of war shall not reduce our fighting power.
India's opportunity PROFESSOR Wathen made an opportune and sympathetic reference to India's opportunity at the present juncture. He pointed out that like the United Kingdom India too had been importing goods from Germany, and had been purchasing commodities worth thirteen crores of rupees every year from Germany and Austria taken together. These comprised chemicals, wool, leather goods, paper goods, earthen-ware, glass-ware, aluminium-ware, zinc-ware, toys, clocks, musical instruments and the like. Surely India could make for itself some of the goods it hitherto imported from Germany and Austria. During the Napoleonic War, England added immensely to her commerce and said Professor Wathen, India might do the same during the present one.
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Bridge over a troubled border MY hunch is that Gujarat's map of India showing Arunachal Pradesh with dotted lines, suggesting a disputed territory, was at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gujarat is his backyard and he can have anything done there. Even the contradiction was half-hearted and left to further “investigation.”
What Modi probably tried to convey to the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping was that he was willing to keep Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed territory provided there was an indication by Beijing that it was willing to settle the border dispute keeping New Delhi's sensibility as well as sensitivity in view. The standoff in Ladakh holds no such hope. President Xi’s response was not helpful and he sustained the incursions in the Indian territories during his entire visit. And after returning to Beijing, the Chinese President has reportedly told his top military officials that they should be ready for regional wars which he contended must be won. It was all directed towards New Delhi which, for reasons best known to it, did not say a word to register its annoyance. It was a stance which the subject nations take against their masters. What surprises me is why we invited the Chinese President when Beijing has made no amends for the betrayal in 1962 when it attacked the unprepared India. Nor has it vacated the territory which it forcibly captured since then. The Ministry of External Affairs should have tested waters before Xi's visit. The various steps China has taken since, from the stapling of visa on passport to amassing PLA soldiers in Gilgit-Baltistan, should make things clear for New Delhi that it is a plethora of irritations. However, it would be naïve to play into the hands of China as India did in 1962. A sense of growing strength has given Beijing a measure of superiority. It is crudely exhibiting it, particularly when India looks disorderly and divided. More disconcerting for New Delhi is the fact that Beijing is an emerging power in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal, the countries surrounding India. New Delhi should also reach out to Taiwan, Vietnam and other South-Asian countries which are feeling the assertiveness of China. And Beijing should be made to realise that India has accepted China's suzerainty over Tibet but not the demographic change or the ruthless repression in that territory. The Dalai Lama is already feeling restive and edgy. Jawaharlal Nehru warned India as back as in 1962 thus: “It is a little naïve to think that the trouble with China was essentially due to a dispute over some territory. It had deeper reasons. Two of the largest countries in Asia confronted each other over a vast border. They differed in many ways. And the test was as to whether anyone of them would have a more dominating position than the other on the border and in Asia itself.” I mean no disrespect to the Chinese President. But his visit was doomed to be a failure. Investment is at best palliative to the hurt caused on the border. I have not been able to understand, much less appreciate, the purpose of the visit from our point of view. In fact, China's incursions in Ladakh when the President and Prime Minister were talking in Delhi, underlined the intractable stance on the border. That China would invest $20 billion (the initial figure was $100 billion) in India suits Beijing because it wants to increase trade with New Delhi. India offers a vast market and other opportunities. But what about trust: The basic requirement? Nehru introduced Chinese leader Zhou Enlai to the world. He looked up to Nehru but that was until he got known in the international arena. Zhou Enlai betrayed Nehru when China took advantage of our trust —and unpreparedness. I do not think that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would ever have as much an equation with the Chinese President as Nehru had with Zhou Enlai. Still, the latter carried out the task he had in mind, capturing in Ladakh the area which China claimed to be its own. In fact, the incursions in our territory that took place during the talks between Modi and Jinping underlined that China does not want to accommodate India on the border issue. I do not find the determination at the highest level. There is a lot of wishful thinking. What purpose does it serve in discussing whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi had got the better of China or President Jinping on the border issue when the reality of our society is caste and class? The Dalits are still treated as untouchables as they were in times of our forefathers. Today's youth is indifferent to everything else but not to the feeling of superiority which he seems to feel as his birthright. Eleven children, all cousins belonging to a Dalit family, were ousted from a government primary school in a village in Bikaner, Rajasthan, after two of them drank water from an earthen pot meant for an upper-caste teacher. He reportedly humiliated the two students and even beat them up. True, the teacher, Mangal Singh, was arrested after the family lodged a police complaint against him. But the society on the whole remains unreceptive. Prime Minister Modi talks of development. What kind of development does he have in mind where caste bias still exists? Coming back to the disputed part of India-China border, the matter has got more complicated after the visit of President Jinping. For example, the Chinese troops which entered the Indian territory not only stayed there but also increased their strength. They have reportedly now withdrawn from the place. But Beijing has made it loud and clear that India should stay away from the disputed territory.
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The united colours of London AS I come out of London's Heathrow airport, I enthusiastically hail a legendary London black cab. A portly, pink-faced Englishman greets me, “Lovely weather Sir”, picks up my bags and soon we're off. From his glass-partitioned driver's seat, he hollers through the microphone, “Where are you goin...Sir?” “1 Pepys Street,” I reply, speaking as slowly and clearly as I can. “Oh! You mean Peppyah Street... right will get you there,” he replies in his zesty Cockney accent. The tiny, little, cobbled street where my daughter's flat in Central London is located — like everything else there has a historic significance, it’s named after Samuel Pepys the famous London poet and diarist. Seen against the eclectic mix of London's architectural styles — a cocktail of Gothic, Georgian, Victorian and the new 'Chicago-New York' shiny, gleaming glass towers — the cabs and the buses provide the comforting “red and black” continuity of time. Another “historic red” conserved, is the presence of London's legendary telephone booths. Although, no one uses them now, they have been nevertheless retained at their old locations, nicely maintained and painted. But the Royal Mail's ubiquitous red letter-boxes and the mail picking vans are still actively in service and very visible. For how long though, one wonders! Perhaps just a coincidence, the flavour of this season's summer haute couture too is black and red! The stiletto-heeled, London femme fatales in black dresses with bright red lipsticks, strut by you like apparitions connecting the city's past and present. As much the tourists and City hearts may pine for — economic forces are forcing winds of change. The much-loved black cab, traditionally called the 'Hackneyed Carriage', is now allowed different colours, but without any change in its shape or size, and has to conform to laid-down specifications. The drivers too, have to take the traditional rigorous ‘Knowledge Test’— ensuring they know every nook, alley, lane and street of London. The buses too have been allowed new models, without the old engine snouts protruding out. Limited advertisements are too allowed on the buses, primarily of consumer items and London's theatre, musical and cinema offerings, including some witty ones. What would be London without its black cabs and red buses? Right from one's childhood school primers, the two icons are the stuff one grew up with. Changing them would be like reversing the Big Ben.
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Urgent need to tackle Punjab’s water woes Every human being needs safe water for drinking, cooking and other domestic use. This can be ensured if there is a sustainable source of water, quality delivery service and its robust operation and maintenance, and a self-sustainable institutional framework. As public awareness spreads about the poor quality of drinking water in Punjab, the RO system is now gaining ground in the state, particularly in the rural areas. As is well known, the RO system is used for the purification of drinking water.
Policymakers should take cognisance of the increasing dependence on purified water, which is expensive and detrimental to human health. Such is the drinking water situation in villages that if not corrected villagers would be forced to fetch drinking water from water ATMs. Water auditing has been done by the support organisation headed by the author under the Pilot Project of National Rural Drinking Water Security in 42 villages of Dhuri development block of Punjab's Sangrur district, covering 14,063 households comprising a population 82,791(Census 2011) and 40,156 livestock. There are 36 public water supply tube wells to cater to the needs of these villages. If public tube wells are run 24x7, they can meet the water requirements of these villages. There are also 7,410 individual-owned tube wells fitted with electric submersible pumps of 2HP and are run at least for an hour a day for domestic use. The present cost of these individual domestic tube wells has been worked at Rs 22.23 crore Sources of drinking water Surface and subsurface water is rather plenty for irrigation as well as drinking purposes. The subsurface or ground water, however, is the main source for drinking water. Individuals in about 60 per cent households use RO water in villages. The Water Supply and Sanitation Department of Punjab has also installed the RO system in villages where quality drinking water is unavailable and these provide artificially purified water at a low tariff of say 10 paise a litre. The RO system has now become a symbol of higher socio-economic status in these villages. An easy access to groundwater in Indus-Ganga plains has made it vulnerable to over-exploitation. Thus the role of groundwater as supplementary irrigation has been converted into the main source of irrigation in states like Haryana and Punjab. Only 30 per cent of the total cultivated area is irrigated by canals, while 70 per cent of the area is irrigated by tube wells in Punjab. Costly irrigation The prolonged yearly growing of wheat-paddy has made irrigation costlier in Punjab, where the water table has depleted to an alarming level. Wherever shallow water is available, it has become polluted due to an irrational use of chemicals and fertilisers together with faulty sanitation. Water in village ponds used by cattle is also polluted. It is a major issue and it cannot be easily corrected. Water, of course, is available in plenty. However, there is no guarantee about its quality, whether it is fit for human use. The ground water is the main source of drinking water. Safe drinking water is going beyond the reach of less privileged communities in villages. Commercialisation of the priceless commodity cannot be overlooked. Artificially purified water has reached every strata of society. Villagers are disillusioned with the public water supply services and the quality of water. At public and private functions artificially purified water is finding a place on the table. The domestic and livestock waste (a concentrate of manure and urine) is drained into village ponds. Chemical fertilisers and pesticides applied for plant growth and faulty sanitation are polluting the shallow ground water. In the audited 42 villages of Dhuri block shallow ground water up to a depth of 200ft has become unfit for human consumption. Harming the aquifers Groundwater pumping is very commonly done through domestic tube wells in the villages. These tube wells are locally known as submersible pumps. Domestic tube wells are 200 ft to 250 ft deep. A domestic tube well costs about Rs 30,000 to an individual and its installation takes a day. There is no control on the unplanned installation of such domestic tube wells, which cause irreparable harm to the aquifer -- a store house of fresh ground water for the present and future generations. Villages are getting urbanised fast. People tend to have a lavish lifestyle with all modern facilities. This has put tremendous pressure on natural resources like soil and water. The marketing strategies of multinational companies focus on cashing in on the lavish lifestyle of the Punjabi community which is receptive to new products and inventions. There is, however, a consolation that women in general in villages do not have to go far or store water for meeting their domestic needs. The RO system for domestic use can be installed for a few hundred to thousand rupees, depending on the water requirements of the individual household. Media reports and motivated publicity have caused confusion in the minds of people and given the impression that RO water is like mineral water. Artificially purified water (RO water) is actually "demineralised". The human body needs fresh and potable water which contains essential minerals. Thus the consumption of naturally available fresh water is the cheapest source of essential minerals required for the human body. RO water is recommended only in the areas where the occurrence of minerals in natural water is more than the permissible limit; however, it does not mean that purified water has minerals. Public water supply services are erratic. A substandard service, inconvenient supply timings, poor quality, operation and maintenance problems are other factors that turn people away from the public supply system in villages. It is observed that a large number of village households do not opt for the public water supply system and make their own individual arrangements for drinking water. Those who cannot afford expensive pump sets are bound to depend on the public water supply or buy artificially purified water for drinking. Community-based management Community water management, through associations of water users, is a difficult and probably a less viable option. Farmers have developed very individual farming systems and shied away from community-based water management. The communities have also developed individual systems to procure water for domestic needs. The state institutions, including key water agencies, the departments of irrigation, potable water supply, agriculture, horticulture, groundwater and power and panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), have to integrate their efforts for better and balanced rural development. Coordination in their activities to develop holistic planning and strategies is required. The upscaling of resource conservation technologies has to be ensured. Surface water conservation, particularly during the kharif season (March to May), and the use of canal water can provide ample opportunities to promote recharge of groundwater in villages. Managing village waste Livestock is an integral part of agricultural activities and farmers use their cattle wealth for enhancing their incomes. Cattle waste (manure & urine) should be used for soil improvement, saving the expenditure on chemical fertilisers. The state departments in collaboration with the local community can plan technologies to manage village waste. Every drop of water counts. An assured supply of water can save every individual household the cost of installing tube wells and expenses on power apart from time. More importantly, there is a check on the wastage of natural resources. Social-economic degradation and adverse effects on public health can be stopped. The wasteful expenditure on having domestic tube wells is averted and the money thus saved can be utilised for other development work by the village communities. The state government can save its expenditure incurred on public health. The health of the aquifer is in danger in the villages and the generation to come will be deprived of fresh water which is essentially for human life.Public water supply services should be run 24x7 and provide adequate quantity of quality water to the public. The government should restore the trust of the villagers in the public water supply. Gram panchayats should shoulder the responsibility for the safety of their own water resources. Panchayats can run their own village water supply systems for which they can take technical and financial support from the government. There should be a statutory body in each village to look after the safety of local natural resources. After all the communities are the collective owners and users of these resources. The writer is a former Senior Hydrogeologist, Central Ground Water Board and a consultant on the National Drinking Water Security Pilot Project In troubled waters *
Safe drinking water is beyond the reach of less privileged communities in villages. *
Commercialisation of this pricelss commodity cannot be overlooked. *
Artifically purified water has reached every strata of society. Villagers are disillusioned with the public water supply services and the quality of water. *
A domestic tube well costs about Rs 30,00 to an individual and its installation takes a day. *
The role of groundwater as supplementary irrigation has been converted into the main source of irrigation in Haryana and Punjab. *
Marketing strategies of multinational companies focus on cashing in on the lavish lifestyle of the Punjabi community. Punjab’s groundwater issues must be a priority *
Punjab is a major contributor to India's food security, and is paying a heavy price for this. *
The over-exploitation of natural resources like soil and water has harmed the viability of agriculture and profitability of the farmer. *
The application of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides etc for keeping up agriculture production and the leaching of harmful substances from septic tanks, cattle sheds and domestic discharges coupled with the hydro-geological characteristics of the area have affected the quality of the shallow ground water. *
When there were less pollutants, groundwater was once commonly used for meeting the drinking and other household needs of people as well as for irrigation purposes.
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On the long drive home, I'm delighted by his running commentary of all the neighbourhoods and landmarks we’re passing by. The only problem is that I don't understand most of what he is saying. The London black cab, like many of its historic icons, is timeless. It's shape, colour and the accent of its drivers is the same as when I first visited the city nearly 25 years ago. The old, retro look has especially been retained by the London Taxi Company (LTI) that exclusively manufactures it. At busy crossings, long lines of black cabs along with those of the famous red Double-Decker buses define the streets. 
