EDITORIAL SAMARTH: EDITORIAL 31.08.11

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Editorial

month august 31, edition 000824, collected & managed by durgesh kumar mishra, published by – manish manjul

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THE PIONEER

MOCKERY OF THE LAW
WORLD IS NOT ARABIA
COLOMBO RECALLS SPLENDID VICTORY
ASHOK K MEHTA
RAUCOUS MASS PROTEST LEADS TO ANARCHY - MAYURI MUKHERJEE
ISLAMISTS NOW TARGET NIGERIAN SOCIETY
WITH ANNA'S FAST, INDIA WOWS WORLD

THE TIMES OF INDIA

BE A SPORT
TWO CAN'T PLAY
SHUTTING OUT THE WORLD
K SHANKAR BAJPAI
'THE JAN LOKPAL MOVEMENT IS AN UTSAV OF DEMOCRACY'
HOUSEHOLD DEMOCRACY - JUG SURAIYA

HINDUSTAN TIMES

SLOWING DOWN, BUT SLOWLY
HAIL TO THE CHIEFS!
LOSING THEIR SHINE - DEV LAHIRI
A FAST IS NOT ENOUGH - HK DUA

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

LOOK WHO'S TALKING
NUMBERS OF FAILURE
STICKER SHOCK
BEGINNING WITH DHAKA - C. RAJA MOHAN
LET THE BUREAU BE - PCSHARMA
PLANNING FOR A CITY'S FUTURE, USING BUSES - ISHER JUDGE AHLUWALIA
THIS TIME, THE WEST GOT IT RIGHT - ROGER COHEN
FALSER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN - BRIAN MORTON
INDIA IS POORER? - MANOJCG

THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

GDP SLOWS, WILL RBI?
BANKING ON RBI
KEEP BANKS AND INDUSTRY SEPARATE - SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN
CHRONICLE OF AN ACQUITTAL FORETOLD - RISHI RAJ

THE HINDU

THE HOME STRETCH IN NEPAL
PLUTOCRATS, TAXES & MORAL DECAY
ASTRONAUTS MAY HAVE TO ABANDON SPACE STATION - KENNETH CHANG
THE NEW GENERATION OF MICROBE HUNTERS - GINA KOLATA
IT IS A LONG JOURNEY AHEAD: KEJRIWAL - ARVIND KEJRIWAL
A HANGING - GEORGE ORWELL

THE ASIAN AGE

NO, MINISTER - S.K. SINHA
MPS SHOULD RISE ABOVE PETTINESS

DAILY EXCELSIOR

PM'S PACKAGE
PROMOTING SPORTS
WHAT HAS ANNA HAZARE GAINED ? - BY SRINIVASAN K. RANGACHARY
PAKISTAN STILL HELPING TERRORISTS - BY B K CHUM
THE MODERN SLAVE TRADE - BY HARJEET SINGH

THE TRIBUNE

CHANGING THE GOAL POSTS
HP TAKES ON CORRUPTION
ELECTION CELL
SEIZE THE ANNA MOMENT - BY INDER MALHOTRA
COMPLIMENTS RETURNED - BY R.K.KAUSHIK
DRAFT BILL LOOKS PROMISING - ALOK TEWARI
THE PROBLEM IS MISUSE OF 'PUBLIC PURPOSE' - DILIP MODI
THE NEW LAW WILL PUSH UP LAND PRICES - NAVIN M RAHEJA

MUMBAI MIRROR

HOW DIRTY MUST THE PICTURE BE?

BUSINESS STANDARD

BANKING ON LICENCES
RIDING THE WAVES
Q1 GDP GROWTH SHOWS RESILIENCE - MALINI BHUPTA
DEEP CHANGE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD - SHAHID JAVED BURKI
RAMLILA MAIDAN NO TIANANMEN SQUARE - SUBIR ROY
WAITING FOR ANSWERS - M J ANTONY

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

CAUTIOUS OPENING
SLOWING DOWN
TWILIGHT OF THE GODS
POLITICAL FASTS: A GLOBAL PRACTICE
HOW TO AVOID GETTING BURNED IN CHINA AND INDIA - ANIL K GUPTA & HAIYAN WANG
RATE HIKES WON'T WORK - RAGHBENDRA JHA & RAGHAV GAIHA

BUSINESS LINE

BANKING ON CIRCUMSPECTION
STIR AGAINST GRAFT HAS ONLY BEGUN
RANABIR RAY CHOUDHURY
OVERDOSE OF ANNA ON TELEVISION - ADITI NIGAM
INDIA'S CULTURAL PARADIGM MOVES TO US - B.S.RAGHAVAN
NOT READY YET FOR NILEKANI MODEL -UTTAM GUPTA
MAKE THE NEW BANKS GO RURAL - BISWA SWARUP MISRA
AUSTRALIA UP AGAINST ENTRY BARRIERS - M. SOMASEKHAR

DECCAN CHRONICAL

THE CONVIVIAL VISION OF EID
FRONTIERS OF FREE INQUIRY
CORRUPTION, FAST FORWARD

THE STATESMAN

EID AMNESTY
BHATTARAI TRIUMPHS
ANNA HAZARE'S BASIC FLAW - BY RAJINDER PURI
WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS
MUST TAKE THE AGE OFF IT - SEEMA MUSTAFA
A VERY, VERY FALSE START - ROHIT BRIJNATH

THE TELEGRAPH

NOT ADDING UP
FIRST LAP
SHOW OF STRENGTH - K.P. NAYAR
DRAW THE LINE - STEPHEN HUGH-JONES

DECCAN HERALD

TIME FOR REVIEW
MAOISTS ON TOP
WHY THIS SILENCE? - BY SUDHANSHU RANJAN

OHERALDO

FINALLY, A COP WITH A HEART
WOULD EVERY DOG HAVE ITS SAY? - DR. JOE D'SOUZA

HAARTEZ

THE SONG BETWEEN THE LINES
THE JUNTA ALLIANCE - BY ZVI BAR'EL
THE TYCOONS' MOMENT - BY AVIRAMA GOLAN
IRON DOME VS. GAZA ROCKETS - BY MOSHE ARENS
GET READY FOR IRENE - BY AMIRA HASS

THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE NEW RESENTMENT OF THE POOR
CHRISTINE LAGARDE'S TOUGH MESSAGE
SAFETY REPORT ON VACCINES
FOR CONGRESS IN NEW YORK'S NINTH DISTRICT
HIGH ABOVE THE HOG - BY MARK ESSIG
TIGHT BUDGET? LOOK TO THE 'CLOUD' - BY VIVEK KUNDRA

THE NEWS

SMASHING THE CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE - AYAZ AMIR
MOVING AHEAD ON FATA - ISMAIL KHAN
SEASON FOR HOME TRUTHS - IKRAM SEHGAL
A PHANTASY : VOICES FROM THE PAST (PART - II) - MIR ABDUL AZIZ
STAND UP FOR THE STATE OR STAND DOWN - MOHAMMAD MALICK
FINDING SHAHBAZ - AREEBA MALIK
EID AMID TURMOIL - COME CLEAN

THE AUSTRALIYAN

THIS COULD BE PRODUCTIVITY DEBATE THAT WE HAD TO HAVE
STOPPING JAPAN'S REVOLVING DOOR
WALLOWING IN GLOOM AND DOOM

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

ABBOTT'S HINTS AND RIDDLES
THE LOACH ON THE SUSHI COUNTER
JAPAN'S MR ORDINARY'S TIME TO SHINE
WIND FARMING: WHY ALL THE HUFF AND PUFF?

THE GUARDIAN

FRENCH SOCIALISTS: PRIMARY COLOURS
HOME OWNERSHIP: A FADING DREAM
IN PRAISE OF … DELTA BLUESMEN

THE JAPAN TIMES

LEADING A NATION IN CRISIS
TIME FOR U.S. TO SAY YES TO CANADIAN OIL SANDS - BY ROBERT J. SAMUELSON
CHINA'S ECONOMY NOT A MODEL FOR EMULATION - BY FRANK CHING
DESTROYING FIVE MYTHS ABOUT EARTHQUAKES
ONCE GADHAFI IS FINALLY GONE - BY DANIEL SERWER
GOODBYE TOTALITARIANISM, HELLO ELECTED STRONGMEN - BY WILLIAM J. DOBSON

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

MOCKERY OF THE LAW

RETRIBUTION MUST BE SWIFT AND DECISIVE

Whether or not the Madras High Court has erred in staying the execution of T Suthethiraja alias Santhan, Sriharan alias Murugan and G Pasarivalan alias Arivudeath, held guilty for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the summer of 1991 is a matter of debate among jurists. But on the face of it, the court cannot be faulted for taking note of the petition filed by the three men who, after spending more than a decade on death row have been told that their mercy petition to the President has been rejected, are now seeking clemency on the ground that much too long a time has transpired since their verdict was handed down. In fact, the three condemned men and their fourth associate, Nalini, who has been granted clemency, have been in prison for two decades. A person sentenced to life imprisonment for murder would normally be entitled for remission after 20 years. It could be argued that the assassination of a Prime Minister is not just any murder case, and hence the fact that 11 years have lapsed since the conviction is irrelevant: Retribution demands that they should pay with their lives for the horrendous crime they committed. Those who take this view should also bear in mind that retribution, as justice, should be both swift and decisive. The purpose of retribution as a form of punishment and deterrent is defeated if it is delayed for years (in this case for more than a decade) by an indecisive political leadership which cannot make up its mind whether those found guilty of committing a capital offence are deserving of the state's mercy. For although mercy petitions are filed with the President, it is the Government which takes the decision and conveys it to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Tragically, two successive regimes, the NDA and the UPA, failed to act decisively while dealing with mercy petitions, because of which a large number of death row convicts have been left dangling between hope and despair. Now that the Government has decided to clear the pending files, it could prove to be a little too late, allowing death row convicts to raise issues that the courts cannot entirely ignore, as was demonstrated on Tuesday in Chennai.

That the debate over inordinate delays in dealing with mercy petitions will only get increasingly intense in the coming days is indicated by the fact that the Madras High Court's order is the third of its kind. Tuesday's intervention follows similar orders by the Supreme Court in the case of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and by the Guwahati High Court in the case of MN Das. In all three cases, the judiciary has essentially raised the issue of the executive's lapse in expeditiously dealing with mercy petitions. The Supreme Court has in the past mentioned the need for fixing the period of time that can be allowed to the executive for deciding whether or not convicts are deserving of mercy. That should be done, or else the death penalty should be removed from the statute book. It is a mockery of the law if the death penalty is applied to sentences meted out to perpetrators of heinous crimes and then the sentence is kept in abeyance for decades simply because the executive is either reluctant to carry out the punishment or indifferent to the need to punish criminals.

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THE PIONEER

EDITORIAL

WORLD IS NOT ARABIA

THE BURQA AND THE VEIL BELONG TO THE PAST

Back in November 2010, a Muslim woman in Sydney was sentenced to six months in prison for falsely accusing a police officer of forcibly trying to remove her burqa. Later, her sentence was quashed after a magistrate said that he was unsure if the convict was indeed Carnita Matthews because police officers were unable to see her face. The incident expectedly snowballed into a significant legal debate over whether or not security personnel had the right to ask veiled Muslim women or any other person whose face was covered to remove their face-covering so as to allow the officer-in-charge to identify them for law and order purposes. Now, the State Government of Victoria has determined that current Australian laws already allow for policemen to remove any kind of face-mask for the sole purpose of identification of an accused. Before the Left-liberal intelligentsia pounces on this ruling as one that violates the religious 'rights' and 'freedom' of Muslim women and condemn it as unbecoming of a mature democracy like Australia, it must be mentioned that first and foremost this ruling is not specific to Muslim women. It is applicable to any accused who has his or her face hidden. Moreover, the person will only be required to remove the face-covering for as long as it takes for the police to complete the identification process; after that, they can put it right back on.

The Victoria Government's ruling, which came on the heels of a similar ruling in the province of New South Wales, has once again put the spotlight on the larger issue of where ends an individual's rights in a democratic country and where begins the state's right to impose rules that are necessary for the peaceful functioning of society. No doubt, there is a thin line that divides the two areas and the exact place where that line is drawn is bound to differ depending on an individual country's socio-legal space. For example, Belgium and France have wholly banned women from wearing a full-face covering veil. French President Nicholas Sarkozy particularly has attributed his Government's decision to more than just security reasons. He believes that the burqa is a "sign of subservience, a sign of debasement" for women, which it is. The tradition of women covering their heads or faces with a veil originated at a different time in a different era for different reasons. This is the post-modern era; today, our social concerns are very different and communities across the world must evolve in keeping with the changing times. All women must be encouraged to give up the veil, more so the burqa. Much of Hindu, Christian and Jewish social reform has revolved around liberating women from traditions that fly in the face of modernity. The world has moved on, we need not bother about obscurantists. ***************************************

THE PIONEER

COLUMN

COLOMBO RECALLS SPLENDID VICTORY

ASHOK K MEHTA

The first, and till now only, country to defeat terrorism, Sri Lanka is showcasing its experience in neutralising and eliminating the LTTE.

It's hard to imagine India showcasing its impeccable victory against Pakistan in 1971 without mentioning two words: Sam Manekshaw. Sri Lanka won the first counter-insurgency victory in the 21st century — labelling it as 'Defeating Terrorism: The Sri Lankan Experience' — and showed how it was done recently in Colombo. But with the winning Army Commander, General Sarath Fonseka, locked up in jail.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his younger brother, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the two others comprising the winning troika, were uniformly praised. The man who became a minor hero was the US Defence Attaché in Colombo, Lt Col Lawrence Smith, with his comment that that the LTTE's offer of surrender was not credible. Coming from an American, this one remark pleased the Sri Lankans no end and took the media by storm.

The US State Department was quick to disown Col Smith's remarks, clarifying that America remained deeply concerned over the findings of the UN Secretary-General's panel about alleged human rights violations. Military delegations from 41 countries attended, with most of the Western nations, prompted by the Human Rights Watch, staying away.

As remarkable as the winning operational strategy is, the irony is that Sri Lanka has to justify victory. Astutely, military terminology has been redefined: Insurgency and ethnic conflict to terrorism, counter-insurgency and conventional operations to humanitarian operations, the last battle as the largest hostage situation in history and the world's greatest rescue mission.

Humanitarian expressions were used in describing military objectives: Rescuing the country from terrorism and the psychosis of fear. When all reasonable attempts at political negotiations had failed, Sri Lanka had to resort to the shock-and-awe of a military solution. Thirty months after winning the war, Sri Lanka is still equivocal about winning peace and reconciliation — and in fear of itself.

Quite easily the best and comprehensive presentation was Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa's. The Director of National Intelligence, Maj Gen HKG Hendawitharane attributed success to "a military officer made Defence Secretary who enjoyed the confidence of the President". Mr Rajapaksa said the previous operations could not be completed successfully due to external interference (read, India). This time the military understood that. And with top political cover, there was no stopping. He praised Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa for his "personal commitment" which went beyond the call of duty.

Expanding and transforming the armed forces (Army trebled in four years from 100,000 to 300,000), providing military equipment through fast track procedures and managing international pressure, especially from India, were key to victory, he added.

The mastermind of the conference, Sri Lanka's own doyen of counter-terrorism, Rohan Gunaratne, elaborated on the engagement and management of India which he called politically correct as only India could have prevented dismantling of the LTTE supply lines. The Sri Lankan Navy destroying eight LTTE ships on the high seas between 2006-07 was the turning point of the war. This epochal phase was identified as a window of opportunity by another Sri Lankan counter-terrorism expert, Sankara Jayasekare, during an international conference on terrorism in Colombo in October 2007. Starved of replenishments from its floating warehouses which were also destroyed, the LTTE became reactive, Mr Gunaratne said.

The stories of the Navy and Air Force were telescoped owing to time constraint. The Air Force enjoyed virtual air supremacy, specialising in precision-guided attacks to take out LTTE assets, including the leadership. Initially at the receiving end, the Navy gave it back with compound interest, countering the Sea Tigers' Wolf Pack attacks and sinking their entire shipping fleet and destroying the Sea Tigers.

The land operations carried out by the Army were innovatively an unorthodox mix of guerrilla and conventional tactics spearheaded by Special Forces moving on a broad front in multiple prongs. The cutting edge was a transformed Infantry which led formations with its Special Infantry Operating Teams, a tactic by which the LTTE lost the contest of jungles and was defeated in their own game in their own back yard.

The three-year-long campaign never lost momentum due to raising of new fighting formations. The last battle in the No-Fire Zone at Vellamvuvakkal was mentioned in passing. To this battle are hinged the White Flag incident involving Gen Fonseka (which is sub-judice) and the UN-ordered Darusman report containing allegations of human rights violations.

Piercing the fog of war was a clear and synchronised political and military strategy, resolute political leadership and unobstructed flow of resources — any Commanding General's dream — which enabled the military to vanquish an invincible foe fighting a losing battle.

Sketchily discussed were the LTTE's blunders, not the least the absence of a 'Plan B'. Two of the top Tiger commanders from the East — Karuna and Pillaiyan who deserted the LTTE in 2004 and are now Central Minister and Chief Minister — could have presented the 'Prabhakaran perspective' to comprehend the skills and strategy of a non-state actor with a panoply of political, military and international organisations.

The fear psychosis, real or imagined, has not disappeared as a new Sri Lanka battles with threats posed by the LTTE-sympathetic diaspora and its political affiliates backed by host Western countries, notably the UK, Canada and Australia. Sri Lanka believes that some LTTE fighters were allowed to escape to Tamil Nadu — the figure put out by Mr Gunaratne was a precise 120. Others felt that about 150 to 200 hard core Tigers along with 1,000 middle-level cadre got away during the last stages of the battle, many infiltrating the internally-displaced persons. They believe the LTTE will lie dormant till all the former 12,000 combatants are rehabilitated. The LTTE's strength at the peak of the campaign was estimated around 26,000 to 30,000. With the numbers apprehended, surrendered and killed known, an assessment of the LTTE remaining is feasible.

In his concluding remarks Mr Gunaratne emphasised that while the military won the war, it lost the information war, failing to shape the narrative. He repeated the criticality of engaging India in managing the geopolitical environment and stuck his neck out advocating that terrorism and insurgency can be defeated. He is theoretically correct but attached is an unaffordable diplomatic and human cost.

No one should grudge Sri Lanka its use of a military solution to essentially a political problem. Depicting India's strategic cooperation as 'management' in helping defeat the LTTE is less than generous. The challenges ahead go beyond management of truth, accountability, devolution and reconciliation.The parliamentary debate last week reflects India's concerns.

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THE PIONEER

OPED

RAUCOUS MASS PROTEST LEADS TO ANARCHY

MAYURI MUKHERJEE

Anna Hazare's cause may have been noble but the methods adopted by him and his band of civil society activists to try and force the Government to capitulate and accept his version of the Lokpal Bill — or the so-called Jan Lokpal Bill — were far from being democratic. They went against every canon of parliamentary democracy and amounted to blackmailing the executive and legislature

The 'Fast' is over. Now, the simple Gandhian who once lived in a temple is recuperating at one of India's most expensive hospitals. He and his aides have seemingly made up with the big bad Government, their erstwhile arch enemy. Ms Kiran Bedi has claimed that Mr LK Advani had addressed her as beti, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sent the 74-year-old a bouquet of flowers and a 'Get Well Soon' note. All versions of the Lokpal Bill (as many as four at the time of writing) will be scrutinised by the parliamentary standing committee dealing with the Bill. Everybody is happy. Well almost everybody, except for Protest TV which is clearly in withdrawal and hence chasing a very reluctant Dr Naresh Trehan, still unaware that while hundreds were feasting at Ramlila Maidan, thousands were being swept away by floods in other parts of the country. But that is another matter.

For now is a good time to look back on the fortnight that was; what it meant and how it played itself out. I go back to one of my most striking memories from that time.

It was Day 09 of 'The Fast'. Negotiations with the Government which had reportedly reached a point of breakthrough in the first round of talks had collapsed by the third. When Team Anna members returned to Ramlila Maidan that evening, they voiced their fears of a police crackdown. In response, there was adequate public uproar. Then, the diminutive Gandhian who had captured the nation's imagination with his deceptively simple demand to eradicate corruption from the country took centre-stage. Standing against a giant backdrop of Mahatma Gandhi, Anna Hazare spoke in simple Hindi: "If the authorities come to get me, I'll go with them. Mere peeche bhagwan ki shakti hai. Jao Parliament ka gherao karo. Jail bharo." As the several thousand strong crowd responded to his comments by cheering in unison and wildly waving the Tricolour, I was left with a niggling sense of unease. My mind went back to Nirad C Chaudhuri's infamous comment that Mahatma Gandhi was a 'worse dictator' than Adolf Hitler.

And then I heard veteran police officer Kiran Bedi suggest, just for good measure I believe, that police should defy the orders of their political masters just in case they ordered that the nation's latest messiah-on-fast be force-fed or taken away. That sent a chill down my spine. By next day morning Ms Bedi and her colleagues' fears were proven to be unfounded — the police never intervened on Wednesday night — but I felt mine take shape when on my way to work on Thursday morning I saw khaki-clad men block all roads leading to the Prime Minister's official residence. Four metro stations that were in the vicinity were also shut until further orders. Anna Hazare had goaded his supporters to gherao 7 Race Course Road and it seemed like there was a good chance that they might be coming soon.

By Friday, the security situation seemed to have simmered down. As my auto passed by a group of young men sporting 'I-am-Anna' topis, waving the Tricolour and yelling Vande Mataram at the crossing that led to Ramlila Maidan, I thought of the many twenty-somethings I had seen jostling to be on camera, screaming on national television, "We are here to support the corruption." In recent weeks, led by the new-age Gandhi, 21st century Indians had proudly proclaimed, "Anna tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hain." I could not help but wonder about the prospects of this 'freedom struggle' if the sangharsh had to be carried out instead by these supporters. Would they do more than just sloganeering and feasting at Ramlila Maidan? This was after all their second freedom struggle.

The freedom rhetoric has always been a fine one that has rarely, if ever, failed to motivate crowds. Moreover, it also makes for excellent 'breaking news' material that 24/7 news channels clearly can't ever get enough of. But I don't begrudge the TV-wallahs their TRPs. I am far more concerned about the masses' inability to distinguish between a country's battle for sovereign independence versus a popular demand to bring about certain systemic changes within the established framework of parliamentary democracy.

What happened at Ramlila Maidan this past fortnight, or what happened at Jantar Mantar in April, is absolutely not the same as what happened at August Kranti Maidan in 1942 when Mahatma Gandhi called on the British to 'Quit India', or even remotely similar to what happened in Tahrir Square this February when popular pro-democracy protests led to the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. India's current political leadership, for all its moral depravity and its endless ability for corruption, is neither a foreign coloniser nor a despot. It is a popularly elected leadership and India a functioning democracy, warts and all.

This is of course not to wholly favour the Government's argument that only parliamentarians have the right to make policy. That is just technical bunk that has only served to alienate the masses even further from the UPA's agenda. There are several examples from India and abroad, and over a long period of time, wherein historic legislation was introduced only after the public put pressure on Government to bring about changes that were in consonance with the needs of an evolving society. Think women's rights and labour laws.

In India, the Right to Information Act is the most recent example of how civil society has been crucial to introducing social reforms throughout history. But not once were they allowed to usurp the authority of Parliament. The Right to Information Act went through the appropriate channels of policy-making before it was approved by Parliament, without anybody whipping up the kind of mass hysteria that now surrounds the Lokpal Bill. Besides, it is wholly unrealistic to expect that Parliament will approve just about any piece of legislation that is imposed upon it by anybody and everybody. This is a sure shot path to anarchy.

And it somewhere on this path that Anna Hazare and his team have crossed the thin line that differentiates between legitimate protest and dispirited blackmail. Anna Hazare had all the right to protest against the Government's version of the Lokpal Bill, be it through anashan or dharna or sit-ins or whatever other non-violent means that he fancies. He is also wholly entitled to mobilise public support for an alternate version that he believes is much superior. But when he threatens the Government with large-scale civil disobedience — as he repeatedly did in recent days — that is when he crossed that thin, unmarked line; that is when his completely legitimate form of protest became an unacceptable exercise in blackmail, plain and simple.

But this, I believe, is something that Anna Hazare is well aware of since he had already said that he had no qualms about blackmailing the democratically-elected Government of his country. He insisted that this was the only way that the morally corrupt Government of the day could be forced to introduce the kind of reforms that India desperately needs; that left to its own devices, it will never bring about the any worthwhile changes and surely not one that will plug the loopholes of a faulty system from which they have profited tremendously.

Anna Hazare's demands stem from a deep and abiding distrust of politicians, from his belief that they can do no right, that none of them have an honest bone in their body. And it is somewhere here that his anti-corruption movement begins to resemble a Bollywood film where it is a clear-cut case of the good guy versus the bad guy. Here, Team Anna comprises the good guys and all politicians are the bad guys. At the core of their fight lies the institution of the Lokpal.

As envisioned by Team Anna, and defined in its Jan Lokpal Bill, the Lokpal will essentially have sweeping powers over all organs of the Government including the power to investigate and prosecute. This is hugely problematic. Even a layman should realise that investing absolute powers in any one institution that is not even elected by the people and hence not accountable to Parliament is a frightening proposition. This is of course not to say that the Government's version of the Lokpal Bill would have been the solution to the problem. That version has its own flaws. In their original forms, neither draft was worth any serious consideration at all. But thankfully, both have evolved and mostly for the better. Clearly, the need of the hour is to have a reasoned and calm debate on the matter, away from the recent din at Ramlila Maidan.

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THE PIONEER

OPED

ISLAMISTS NOW TARGET NIGERIAN SOCIETY

ALTHOUGH IT IS HALF-CHRISTIAN AND HALF-MUSLIM, NIGERIA HAS MANAGED TO REMAIN UNITED AS A NATION. THAT UNITY IS NOW BRING THREATENED BY THE RISE OF RADICAL ISLAMISTS, WRITES GWYNNE DYER

On Sunday Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan visited the scene of last week's bombing at the United Nations office in Abuja, the capital, and said the sort of things that Presidents must say on such occasions. Since the UN was involved, he said that it had been not just an attack on Nigeria, but on the whole international community. But then he said that the group behind the blast, Boko Haram, was a "local problem" that would be dealt with.

So which is it? An attack on the whole international community, or just a local problem? The answer is important, especially for Nigeria itself. "Attacks on the international community" are basically meaningless. What is the international community going to do? Surrender? But attacks on Nigeria's unity, though just a "local problem", are a very serious threat to Africa's biggest country.

The miracle is that the 150 million Nigerians still live in the same country at all. Nigeria fought a bloody civil war to stop the secession of the south-east region, the main source of the country's oil riches, only seven years after getting its independence in 1960.

That war was triggered by a military coup by military officers from the Muslim north of the country which inaugurated a period of three decades during Nigeria's rulers were mostly Muslim generals from the north. The north is much poorer than the Christian south, but the generals ended up very rich.

Democracy returned to Nigeria only in the past decade, and the unwritten deal was that the presidency would alternate between Muslim leaders from the north and Christian politicians from the south. It made sense for a country split almost exactly between Christians and Muslims, but the deal depended on the traditional feudal rulers of the north retaining their influence over the Muslim community. However, that has been eroding for decades.

The sheikhs' main strategy for stopping the rot was to emphasise their religious role, and religion in general: around 2000, twelve Muslim-majority states of Nigeria adopted Shari'ah law, even though some contain large Christian minorities. The strategy did not halt the decline of the sheikhs' power, but it certainly created an environment in which Islamist extremists could prosper.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, a radical local cleric. He preached that Muslims should shun all aspects of "Western" society, including secular education and democracy, and live in strict conformity with the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed.

The sect that he created advocated jihad against Nigeria's rulers, and by 2009 Boko Haram had grown so popular that the Maiduguri State Government sent the police to attack Mohammed Yusuf's mosque and compound. His followers fought back, and hundreds were killed in street battles. Mohammed Yusuf himself was captured by the Nigerian army, and subsequently murdered by the police.

That did not put an end to Boko Haram (the name roughly translates as "Western education is forbidden"). New leaders emerged, and its local support soared. The terrorist attacks began shortly afterwards, at first in Maiduguri and neighbouring states, but by last December they reached the national capital.

Since then the violence has escalated rapidly, with a bomb at national police headquarters in Abuja in May and now on the UN headquarters in the same city. The last attack killed 23 people and injured more than 80; it's getting serious. And what makes it so much more dangerous than similar attacks by Islamist extremists in countries like Pakistan and Iraq is the fact that half of Nigeria's population is Christian.

Boko Haram kills Muslims who speak out against it, too. In Maiduguri, it's now almost impossible to find any official who will discuss the problem on the record. But if its attacks sow enough mistrust between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria — which is probably its intention, and certainly the result of its actions — then the miracle of Nigerian unity may finally falter and fail.

It's the north that would lose the most if Nigeria fell apart, for the oil is all in the south. But everybody would pay a lot, for the division of the country would imply massive movements of the minorities: Christians fleeing the north, and Muslims fleeing the south. It would be a catastrophe comparable to the division of India and Pakistan in 1947.

The situation in Nigeria has not reached that point yet. It may never do so. But Boko Haram has more support across the north than is publicly admitted, and there are politicians on both sides of the religious divide who are willing to exploit the fear and the hatred that its actions create. Such people exist in every country: they only need the right set of circumstances to come out into the light.

--Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist.

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THE PIONEER

OPED

WITH ANNA'S FAST, INDIA WOWS WORLD
DESPITE A SECTION OF THE INTELLIGENTSIA RIDICULING ANNA HAZARE'S MOVEMENT, THERE IS STILL REASON TO HOPE THAT IT WILL LEAD TO A TRULY INDIAN-STYLE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL, ARGUES RADHIKA DOGRA SWARUP

Viewed from across the seven seas, the struggle of Anna Hazare against corruption has all the drama of a TV soap. For an Indian living abroad it also provokes mixed feelings of pride and concern.

There is pride because once again we are proving to the world how very different we are from the rest. Unlike the protests and the revolutions of the Arab Spring, ours has fortunately not witnessed any violence; at least not yet. Anna Hazare himself has taken pains to point out that his fast and the people's protest will be strengthened by its peaceful content. There is amazing grace too in the way all, or most, sections of society have coalesced to signal that they want an end to the commerce of corruption that the country is tired of. Moreover, and once again unlike the Arab Spring, the army has had no role in this struggle of ours. There has been bickering of course. There were sharp differences of opinion as well. But all these are necessary components of a healthy and thriving democracy. These make us proud.

But there are worries as well. There are, for instance, signs of schism within the society. These may not be very sharp just yet. But the trend is too pronounced to be ignored. Sitting abroad, and going by Western media reports, it is obvious that the overwhelmingly large bulk of India's 1.2 billion people are behind Anna Hazare. The impressive numbers that turned out all over India testify demonstrably to the peoples' anguish and to the strength of their sentiment against corruption. Yet a small, seemingly miniscule minority has chosen to differ.

These chattering classes are the cause of worry. They become, because of their volubility, the spokespersons for the society at large. The outside world has neither the time to discriminate nor the means, largely, to verify that they may only be a self serving lot who are in the main projecting and protecting their narrow self interest. Or that urban chatterati may also be the very people who have a stake in perpetuating the present system. It is quite possible that some of them may get swept away by the whirl wind unleashed by Anna Hazare's appeal of probity in public life. Yet there is a possibility, howsoever slight it might be, that they could still derail and sabotage this fascinating public determination to do away with corruption. And that is a worrying prospect too, because if they succeed in derailing the movement then there is very little chance that a protest such as this could be revitalised anytime soon. In fact the country may then lapse into a much larger cesspool of corruption.

All, therefore, is not well, and as of now worries outweigh the sense of optimism. It is not as if we have not had our moments of pride in the salons of London. Who could have thought, just a decade or so ago, that one day an Indian called Laxmi Mittal might become an envied name for the Western business elite? Who indeed could have imagined that a prestigious marquee like the Jaguar may one day come under the global fold of Tata Motors? And 10 years back no one really gave India a serious chance as a major player in the global economy. Yet all of this has happened because of the grit, determination and the 'can do' spirit of the average Indian. It is that same average Indian who is now determined to root out corruption. Yet they are being pulled back once again by the chatterati, who had earlier woven the red tape around entrepreneurs.

So along with our good wishes for a noble endeavour undertaken by a simple khadi clad man, we living outside India hope that this time the struggle results in a game changing victory for an honest system; a true and classically Indian triumph of good over evil. This transformative victory is necessary and essential. And as we ask tough questions, it will also be necessary to persist. The electorate must not forget that one of the principal lessons, and indeed the frustration of the present struggle is that once elected it is very difficult to change the opinion or the ways of the parliamentarians. So the vote must be an act of faith that should be understood as so by the elected representative.

Last fortnight's protest is important in more ways than one. The uncertainty has naturally attracted the global attention. The menacing proportions of corruption in the society have influenced negatively international investors. No wonder then that FDI and FII have slowed down. As a matter of fact the outflow of funds should be cause for some worry. It is only natural that a foreign investor will carefully weigh the risks of putting his money in a country where corruption is as large as it is now reported to be. It is not as if the Western societies are free from corruption. But the big difference is that it is not as all embracing. And it is exactly the vast dimension of it which worries the foreign investors.

If a systemic change is now brought in, this would transform hugely the perception and opinion of the international investors. And in many ways this could be most opportune because right now global corporations are flush with funds, sitting as they are on a huge pile of cash. They are hesitant to invest in the West because of the fears of another recession. So, if India were to become reasonably corruption free, or at least a corruption repellent society, the chances are that the foreign investors may be tempted to put in their funds in significant numbers here. But that's only a side benefit. The largest gain would be that if, as a nation, we succeed in living by honest means we would have risen high in our own esteem. And we, the non resident Indians, would cheerfully like to bask in that reflected glory.

--Radhika Dogra Swarup is a London based writer.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

COMMENT

BE A SPORT

Lack of proper infrastructure and inefficiency of national sports bodies are often held up as reasons for India's lacklustre performance at international sporting events. The few instances of brilliance credited to our athletes have been possible through individual determination despite an unhelpful system. While China has emerged a sporting powerhouse, India struggles to project itself as serious competition. Given this, the effort to spruce up Indian sport as envisaged in the National Sports (Development) Bill, 2011 seemed fitting. But if the Bill's not been cleared by the cabinet, there's reason. Ideas on paper can't translate into improved sporting standards and accountability just by government playing big brother over sporting bodies.

As is evident, the condition of state-monitored national sports federations (NSF) is nothing short of pathetic. Mired in nepotism and corruption, they've little time for genuine talent spotting or developing sports at the grassroots. A case in point: the Bhiwani Boxing Club has thrown up some of India's best boxers, including Vijender Singh and Paramjeet Samota. But despite having won laurels and promises of help from the authorities, the club continues to languish. NSFs have become personal fiefs of politicians, many heading these bodies for more than a decade. Yes, there's growing realisation that we need to limit the age and tenure of sports administrators. But it's as critical that the sporting establishment is de-politi-cised - and that will not be achieved simply by reserving some parking space for ex-sportsmen.

Sports federations need greater autonomy rather than more government scrutiny in their nuts-and-bolts functioning under the guise of promoting 'transparency'. Only by minimising political interference can sports administration be a professional, profitable endeavour. Take the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) - a body the Bill sought rather contentiously to bring within the government's umbrella. It's by far the most successful sports body and has helped make India a cricketing powerhouse. This, despite some politicians doubling up as administrators. Run like a self-regulating corporate entity, it holds regular elections, churns out huge profits and is in a position to influence the course of world cricket. All of this has been possible because BCCI functions independently, and its fortunes are directly linked to its performance.

While there's a case for ensuring more transparency even in the functioning of autonomous sports bodies, their autonomy itself will bring greater accountability. The government's focus should rather be on nurturing sports at the grassroots to foster a sporting culture across India. Cricket is already doing phenomenally well. So, why doesn't the government focus on popularising other neglected forms of sport, providing more sports scholarships and building basic infrastructure? The aim should be to create an enabling environment for sport.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

TWO CAN'T PLAY

Only a few days ago the Congress and the BJP committed themselves in Parliament to waging an all-out war against graft. But the spiralling row over the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta R A Mehta by governor Kamla Beniwal, bypassing the state government, now raises doubts about their claims. The BJP has reason to question the governor's sudden and unilateral decision. Senior party leader L K Advani demands her recall, claiming that her action violates Article 163 of the Constitution mandating the governor act on the advice of the council of ministers. But the Gujarat government too has to answer some uncomfortable questions about why it kept the post vacant for seven long years. Or why, if not for political reasons, it rejected the names fielded by the Congress. This merely gives the latter a handle to accuse the BJP of stalling tactics.

Neither party seems to have drawn lessons from Anna Hazare's movement, which threw the entire political class into crisis mode last week. Competitive politics threatens yet again to overtake the need for joint action on a systemic overhaul to tackle corruption at all levels. In this endeavour, the Congress and the BJP both have to clean house at the national and state levels to reclaim people`s confidence. The UPA is mired in the Commonwealth Games and 2G scams. And the BJP has to clean up its act in Karnataka, where former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has been denied bail by a court for his alleged role in land scams and where the Bellary brothers are ministers despite being accused of involvement in illegal mining. The two national parties ought to give brinkmanship a rest. Given the nation`s punishing mood on the graft issue, they`ll be better off fighting corruption than each other.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

TOP ARTICLE

SHUTTING OUT THE WORLD

K SHANKAR BAJPAI

The paradox of Indian democracy is that our so-called political masters manage to indulge two opposing vices simultaneously. They completely ignore public opinion regarding their corruption, while being paralysed by fear of public reaction on issues that evoke public indifference. The first addiction leads to bad decisions, the second to inaction. And both lead us to disaster.

The current uproar in the country focusses on our internal situation. But unbelievable disarray in decision-making revealed so starkly in recent times is also dangerous for our international interests. The absurd 'foreign hand' argument to explain internal ills betrays a frivolous - but harmful - notion of influencing opinion. Worse still is to be influenced by imagined reactions to diplomatic initiatives. Except perhaps Pakistan, and occasionally China, no foreign policy issue changes a single vote in elections; the latter`s results are determined by domestic - alas, in our case, parochial - concerns. New Delhi actually has far more latitude in pursuing our international interests than it ventures to, if it would lead.

There are two main reasons for this timidity: nobody knows what exactly to do; nobody can get anything done. Correction: a few do understand the world, what it can do to or for India and what India needs to do in it. If they pushed ahead, the usual acrimonious shouting would soon die down. The Indo-US nuclear deal is a prime example of determination prevailing over prejudice or politics, but the only one.

Alexis de Tocqueville long ago noted how intractable foreign affairs are for a democracy: "It [democracy] can only with great difficulty regulate the details of an important undertaking, persevere in a fixed design, work out its execution despite serious obstacle...combine its measures with secrecy or await their consequences with patience". But while other countries manage through experience and pragmatism, we compound our handicaps with imagined fears. Would anything be lost, for instance, if our army chief attended an America-sponsored regional conference of army chiefs - or if we stopped shilly-shallying about replacing the Bofors gun (which has actually served us so well)?

Where foreign policy is concerned, our executive has compromised its great advantage in a parliamentary as opposed to a presidential system: the latter needs prior approval of international agreements, while parliaments debate the fait accompli. Parliament can defeat the government over agreements, but post facto . Submitting the nuclear deal for approval surrendered a huge advantage. To argue political necessity underlines a lack of management: yield once, and you are lost. Recall Jawaharlal Nehru's fatal decision as prime minister to conduct our China boundary question through parliamentary debates: politically engineered shouting killed reasonable negotiation.

Political management is even more vital for domestic than international affairs. Coalitions make for uncertainty, haggling and indecision. But that only underlines that political skills are essential. Narasimha Rao, that most decision-avoiding of leaders, manoeuvred a full term for a minority government - doubtless through questionable compromises and worse - and most notably enabling his finance minister to initiate economic reforms. Life today is doubtless more problematic, but who is managing politics?

All parties share responsibility for the present situation but we are drifting largely because of the Congress's condition. The UPA cabinet, however, has exceptionally well-educated, intelligent, experienced professionals. And the excuses about divided leadership are overdone, the seat-occupier and the 'power behind' both being abler than most leaders anywhere. A cabal's existence is much rumoured and much blamed but, whatever the truth, it need not affect foreign policy. Which brings us back to imagined fears: 90% of what's needed can be done by sheer determination. But the Congress party's internal disarray is the handicap, and at the root of India's decline. There seems to be a Gresham's law in politics also: the bad drives out the good.

There is, admittedly, another calamity: the instruments of state action have become dysfunctional. India's strategic interests extend between the Suez and Shanghai; our priorities therein are the security of the Persian Gulf, stability in Central Asia, East Asia's changing power equations and keeping the Indian Ocean safe. But we have neither the manpower nor the strategic thinking to handle these challenges; worse, we don't deliver. Southeast Asia, for one, is in danger of giving up waiting after decades hoping for our "Look East" promises to materialise. We could recover if the government apparatus shook off its paralysis.

Unfortunately, disarray in other parties is no less than in the Congress. There is in fact no significant difference between our main parties, if only because there is no real understanding about India's security challenges. Ideally, they should eschew polemics and leave at least a few major issues free for sensible handling: Jammu & Kashmir, the northeast, defence procurement, internal security, among others.

If such a sense of national obligation among all parties is too much to expect, at least we need the two main ones, especially the Congress, to put themselves right and provide the leadership essential for salvaging our future. If not, the politico-administrative complex, whose obsession with looting the country is our most pernicious problem, will drive it into a situation where no pickings remain.

The writer is former ambassador to Pakistan, China and the US.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

Q&A

'THE JAN LOKPAL MOVEMENT IS AN UTSAV OF DEMOCRACY'

She's been at the forefront of many public protests but her participation in the Jan Lokpal struggle rejuvenated her. Social activist Medha Patkar spoke with Jyoti Punwani about patriotism, politicians and people participating in a vibrant democracy:

You've led many mass movements. Was the Jan Lokpal experience different?

Here, the crowds were not organised as cadres are but they were galvanised and equally committed. The striking feature was the patriotism of the crowd, not a narrow or communal nationalism, but real patriotism. We are brought up on the history of the freedom movement. This movement showed that it remains with us - despite our youth being accused of consumerism and careerism.

Then, there was the use of modern technology. Normally for our programmes, we don't use SMS, Facebook, etc, and we can't reach out to all our supporters. But that happened here and it drew an unprecedented response.

I moved through the crowds at the Ramlila Maidan. That was an experience that charged my batteries wonderfully. There were ex-army men from Jharkhand; a woman from Gandhiji's village who said she had left the BJP and was ready to do anything for the movement; college students who volunteered without asking for anything - a salute to them. There were people across caste and class, not readymade cadre. There was so much spontaneity. So many poems, so many new slogans were composed. It was an utsav of democracy.

It was very heartening that people see such issues as close to their lives. All peoples' movements have got a big boost because of this. We are constantly asked, "Why do you keep taking to the streets? You are after publicity." This movement proved such talk wrong.

What about critical voices saying the movement was 'anti-Muslim' and 'anti-dalit'?

In spite of their leaders' advice, they were all there - dalits, minorities, workers, all those facing the backlash of corruption. They just couldn't stay away. They saw a relief in this Bill.

You've negotiated with governments earlier. Was the governmental attitude different this time?

As always, it tried to dodge the main issue. But this time, it was under enormous pressure because of the large numbers on the streets. Along with the downtrodden, the middle class was also there - they constituted 20% at the Ramlila Maidan. And the media made a lot of difference. Politicians feel scared of dissemination of information and analyses of their role.

Actually, many of them were genuinely confused because there has been no tradition even within Parliament of discussing laws in-depth. This Bill was being discussed on the streets! But this was not a roadshow - it was a people's movement which had politicians scared because their constituencies were challenging them. It tried to set right the relationship between the legislature, the executive and society.

What was the movement's biggest achievement?

It reiterated the fact that non-violent movements can change power relations more than armed struggles can - and draw more participation. It proved that people are at the core of democratic institutions and processes. Petitioning is one process, but mass action is also a part of the parliamentary process. People can give inputs and raise questions in the process of law-making. There are limitations to standing committees and parliamentary debates. The time has come for innovative processes of law-making which can be community-based. If you consider only the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and the media as four pillars of democracy, where are the people? That's what gives rise to a banana republic.

People's participation does not weaken democracy. It strengthens it.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA

SECOND OPINION

HOUSEHOLD DEMOCRACY

JUG SURAIYA

Perhaps the single most important thing that the Anna movement has taught us is that politics is too important to be left only to professional politicians. India has been like a house owned by a householder who leaves the day-to-day running of the house - keeping the place clean, buying provisions for the kitchen, maintaining a daily hisaab - to the servants. Left unregulated - except for a check on their activities every five years - the servants inevitably come to feel that the house belongs to them and not to the householder. As time goes by they become increasingly lazy and corrupt and treat the householder with contempt. The house becomes rundown with no money to pay for upkeep.

The householder blames the servants for having cheated and defrauded her. She concludes that all servants are cheats who are not to be trusted. But the householder forgets that it was only because she abdicated her own responsibility for adequately supervising the servants that they could behave the way they did, bringing the house to the sorry state it is in.

The Indian public is like that over-trustful householder who has let her house be run, with virtually no monitoring, by politicians who, feeling that there is no one to hold them to account for their actions, have done exactly as they pleased, holding to ransom the house that we call India.

Anna Hazare's movement has been a wake-up call to the Indian electorate. Politics - real politics and not just party politics like BJP vs Congress, or cabinet reshuffles, or who's replacing whom as chief minister - is like housekeeping. Both involve asking questions like how much money do we have to spend, and what should our priorities be (children's education, medical insurance); if there is a dispute between two or more members of the household how it is to be resolved, and by whom; what are the rules that govern the household, and who should frame these rules and how?

Asking such questions of oneself and of each other is what politics is about. It's not enough to cast a vote come election time and then give the winning candidate - no matter by what dubious means many of them have won, nor how shady of character they are - a free hand to run the country, while the voter goes about pursuing her own personal concerns to the exclusion of larger public issues.

Does this mean that we all have to become politicians? Obviously not, in the sense that we can't all stand for elections. But it does mean that we have to become more aware of how the political household of Indian democracy is run.

Anna's movement has made all of us - both ardent followers and those who agree with his objectives but disagree with his methods - more politically aware. It has shown that it is only when people actively engage with matters of public concern that the so-called 'system' of graft and misgovernance can be changed. This is not to justify the politics of mass agitation in defiance of parliamentary procedure and the Constitution. That's a dangerous path leading not to democracy but to mobocracy. Hazare himself has said that, after corruption, what needs urgent action are electoral reforms which will make elected representatives more responsive and mindful of the wishes of the people who elected them.

Such reforms - the right to recall, the right to cast a negative vote against all the candidates from a constituency - have long been debated. Now is the time to press for them. Not by holding dharnas or thumbing a nose at Parliament but by inducing Parliament constitutionally to effect such changes. How? Peaceful protest gatherings and marches are one tactic. Even better would be the use of bandwidth and the internet to launch a mass e-movement via mobile telephony and the electronic network to bring about the changes that need to be made. Gherao your MP. Not physically, but with lobbying emails, SMSs, postcards, chain letters, mental telepathy. That's the real politics beyond party politics. We all need to become more politically savvy householders. Or House-holders.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

SLOWING DOWN, BUT SLOWLY

The economy is slowing down, but not fast enough. Gross domestic product (GDP) in April-June 2011 grew by 7.7%, which although lower than the 8.8% in the first quarter of 2010-11, keeps India trundling on a high growth trajectory as far as the rest of the world is concerned. Obviously Indians are buying more of everything from soap to software. But some sectors are feeling the pinch of rising interest rates. Thus construction, involving infrastructure projects that soak up a lot of debt, is sharply down to 1.2% growth from the 7.7% in the same period a year ago. Again manufacturing has slowed down from 10.6% to 7.2% in part because loans for consumer durables like cars cost so much more now. The other big dip is in social spending, including government expenditure, from 8.2% to 5.6%, which offers some consolation to the fiscal puritans.

It costs Rs 3.25 more to borrow R100 in India than it did 16 months ago. And the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) isn't done yet. Banks have raised their lending rates by two and a three-quarter percentage points since March 2010 when the central bank began a series of 11 hikes in the rate at which it lends them overnight money. This makes life tough for anybody who borrows to manufacture anything in the country. But it's tougher for producers that require consumers to borrow as well to buy their wares, like car makers and house builders. This pain is needed, the RBI feels, and it must spread to other parts of the economy.

The demand-side picture, however, remains fairly robust. Consumption shrank slightly to 60.5% of the GDP in the first quarter of 2011-12 from 61.7% in the same period a year ago. Government spending is at 10.4% down from 11.1% last year, while investment is practically flat at 31.2%. The trade deficit is now nudging 9% of GDP because imports are growing faster than exports in the world's second-fastest growing major economy. With wholesale inflation clocking 9.4% in April-June 2011, prices are still growing too fast and unless significantly more demand is deflated, the central bank will have little reason to change its hawkishness on interest rates. But monetary tightening has its limit, and we seem to be heading towards it. India's policy makers could run out of options if supply-side issues like low-farm yields and poor infrastructure are left unaddressed.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

THE PUNDIT

HAIL TO THE CHIEFS!

Horror of horrors! Actor Om Puri and social activist Kiran Bedi have been accused of mocking and lampooning Members of Parliament during the recently concluded Lokpal Bill agitation at the Ramlila Maidan. Speakers of both Houses have received complaints against

Mr Puri and Ms Bedi, urging the parliamentary privileges committee to take action against the two. It is feared that not taking any action against the two will amount to the destruction of Parliament and in the country moving from being a functional anarchy to being an undiluted one. So civilisation must be upheld no matter what the standing of Mr Puri and Ms Bedi is in (civil and uncivil) society.

Our worthies (praise be upon them) are upset that Mr Puri had used "derogatory and defamatory" language against them. The words "thieves" and "incompetent" were used by the actor, while the ex-police officer called politicians "illiterate" during her 'ghunghat' act on stage (that we think wasn't half as bad street-theatre as people are making it out to be). This must be the first time MPs as exemplary as PL Punia, Jagadambika Pal, Ramashankar Rajbhar, Lalchand Kataria, Mirza Alam Beg, Praveen Aron and Shailendra Kumar from the Lok Sabha and Ram Gopal Yadav, Sabir Ali, Jesudasan Seelam and Mohammad Adeeb from the Rajya Sabha — MPs who have demanded action — have heard anyone ever make fun of our parliamentarians. So their shock is understandable (and kind of cute).

Mr Puri has already apologised, perhaps worried that the rumour that he had a peg or two before venting on stage takes wing. Ms Bedi hasn't — probably because if she's sent to Tihar jail for denigrating our demi-gods, she knows her way in and out of that prison. Lest anyone of us gets any ideas about MPs being able to handle the name-calling — including 'thin-skinned blimps who take themselves too seriously' — Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal in UP Ram Gopal Yadav had the right answer: "Mughal emperor Akbar was illiterate; Microsoft founder Bill Gates is a college dropout; and Dhirubhai Ambani had only school education. But can we rule out their contributions?" Answer that, anarchists!

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

LOSING THEIR SHINE

DEV LAHIRI

Far-reaching changes are sweeping across the education sector, perhaps in tune with the fact that we live in a 'knowledge society'. The impact of these changes is not, however, of a uniform nature. Some sections have embraced these changes, some remain impervious to them and some actively resist them. What has been the response of India's public schools — the desi equivalent of the Etons and Harrows — to these changes?

First of all, let us clearly define what is meant by public schools. This is vital, as there are any number of schools today masquerading as the genuine article. The Indian Public School Society, the umbrella organisation to which all genuine public schools belong, has laid down some clear-cut criteria. Among these are 1) a public school cannot be run for profit, 2) it must be totally residential, 3) it must be secular, 4) it must foster a holistic education, 5) it must have an appropriate infrastructure and a host of other conditions. It becomes clear from this definition that a large number of 'pretenders' do not qualify.

How have the ones that make the grade responded to what is happening around them? We all know the position of pre-eminence that they once enjoyed. Where do they stand now?

The fact is that these schools are being buffeted by a wave of challenges. The first of these is of a universal nature inasmuch as it has affected the education sector. And that is, a serious paucity of good teachers. But the problem is vastly more accentuated in the case of public schools for a host of reasons: their geographical isolation, sometimes the inability to pay as much as the more affluent schools in the metros, the lack of access for the teachers to a tuition market, the crying shortage of men in the profession which has hit the boys' schools particularly hard, the inability to tap the huge pool of talented ladies (such as corporate wives) which the metro schools are able to do, are some of the factors that have made the catchment area for public schools much smaller in a profession which is already thin on the ground. This naturally impacts the quality of education that they are able to deliver.

The other area of challenge is the quality of students. Whatever the sceptics may say, India is a country on the move. There are many opportunities to be had, and there is a multitude of young people anxious to grab them. NGO-run schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas and government schools are full of extremely bright, motivated young students who are hungry for success. Unfortunately, the clientele of public schools tends to come from a section of our society, which having achieved the affluence and status it desires, has lost the hunger for success. Often, these students attend the school to acquire the 'trademark' or perpetuate the family tradition. Moreover, education tends to be viewed as a consumer product: 'I pay and therefore I must get.'

There is also very little respect and understanding for the values that the school tries to inculcate through its rules and regulations. The result is mediocrity. No wonder, then, that the percentage of public school products excelling in competitive examinations is abysmally low. There are other factors, of course, but this lack of an appetite for success plays a huge role. It is the same in the sporting arena. How many public school products adorn our national teams?

One of the greatest banes of the public school system is that it is steeped in hierarchy. The 'senior-junior' pecking order is an integral part of the ethos and culture of public schools and when taken to an extreme, can result in bullying of a most horrific kind. It is well known that fear stunts growth, even if die-hards insist that 'bullying makes a man out of you'. It would be interesting to conduct a study to see how much promise and talent falls by the wayside in these schools because of the fear factor.

A combination of mediocre teachers and cynical, sometimes smug students, makes the teaching-learning process rather pedantic and outmoded. Of course there are exceptions but they tend to be few. No wonder then that a public school product will be left far behind in the competitive world outside the four walls of the school. The 'Super 30' is symptomatic of this change.

Management is yet another issue. Like the rest of the country, management of education is left largely to non-educationists. So while in certain parts of the sector we have liquor-mafias and the like managing education, it is mainly the 'old-tie mafia' in public schools. The lack of professionalism in this area has far-reaching implications.

Such a state of affairs is indeed a big loss for the country. Public schools were conceived as cradles of leadership for the nation. For a long time, they fulfilled this need admirably. But they started wilting once the environment became competitive. To allow them to fade away would be a cruel travesty. In a fast-changing world, traditions and values can be huge anchors and public schools — with their combination of tradition and value structure — can respond to the new challenges and play a vital role in nation building. But they must wake up before it is too late.

Dev Lahiri is a retired public school principal. The views expressed by the author are personal.

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HINDUSTAN TIMES

A FAST IS NOT ENOUGH

HK DUA

The best of victories are those in which neither of the combatants suffers defeat or a loss of face. Anna Hazare and the government can claim some credit — the former for pushing the government to the backfoot and the latter for refusing to yield ground on the essential demands.

While Hazare's movement has placed corruption high on the national agenda, it will be for the government to decide how best to tackle it. Also, it will be in Parliament, not Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar, that laws will be enacted.

Hazare realised that people are fed up with the way corruption is affecting everyone's life and that the government is not willing to do much about it. His movement brought out people's anger over corruption and, at times, even challenged the legitimacy of Parliament, the executive and the judiciary. But it could not force Parliament to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill, which has been drafted by a handful of self-appointed people.

The naïve usually oversimplify a problem and believe what they prescribe is the only solution. This prescriptive psychology is natural to evangelists, but it can arouse passions among people that a leader may not be able to control later. However, it goes to Hazare's credit that no incidents of violence were reported from Ramlila Maidan or elsewhere in the country. This is because of the Gandhian approach that he adopted to press his demands, as also the readiness of the government to engage him in talks to find a way out.

For his colleagues to claim that this was a second freedom struggle or a movement of the kind Jayaprakash Narayan led in the 1970s was sheer hyperbole. Hazare is neither a Mahatma Gandhi nor a JP. His lieutenants strangely equated what they called 'civil society' with the entire country, although large sections of adivasis, Dalits and OBCs kept out. Though they are also victims of corruption, these communities seem to fear that Hazare's attack on parliamentary democracy is aimed at undoing the guarantees that the Constitution promises them. Therefore, the movement was essentially an urban middle class phenomenon, meant to voice the concerns of the city-bred.

When Hazare and his men jacked up their demands, many in the intelligentsia felt that forcing deadlines on Parliament to pass the bill was undemocratic and a threat to Parliament's supremacy in framing legislation. It's not that people should not put pressure on the government to demand reforms, but dictating laws to Parliament amounts to acquiring extra-constitutional authority, which no reasonable citizen can accept — it is a sheer case of overreach.

The crowd at Ramlila Maidan was making the organisers somewhat intolerant of people who didn't share their opinions. An atmosphere of arrogance was fast developing and Hazare's fast constrained the government's strategy. The attitude and inexperience of some of the Union ministers further complicated the matter for the government. Hazare's arrest and his subsequent transfer to Tihar is a case in point.

The political system and politicians in general were under attack. So were the institutions, particularly the Parliament, which has been procrastinating over the Lokpal Bill over the past four decades.

The demand that Parliament must pass the Jan Lokpal Bill by August 30 made Members of Parliament (MPs) come to believe that the authorities of Parliament and the Constitution were under threat. The overbearing attitude of Hazare's colleagues resulted in the coming together of these MPs from various political parties.

The final resolution was the result of negotiations between the Congress and the Opposition parties, and it was aimed at ending Hazare's fast. By this time even Hazare had realised the limit beyond which the movement could not have been stretched. There was also the risk that the movement may go out of hand or, worse, be hijacked by wrong people.

There are a couple of lessons that Hazare's agitation has thrown up for the country. First, in order to end corruption, it is necessary to bring about major reforms in the political and judicial systems to make them more responsive to the people. Second, we can achieve much by evolving a consensus among political parties inside and outside Parliament than by confrontational politics.

A consensus on political reforms and the working of vital institutions on issues like national security, terrorism, foreign policy, and pluralism can be achieved if members of various political parties show the kind of wisdom they did in both Houses last Saturday.

HK Dua is a senior journalist and Member of Parliament. The views expressed by the author are personal.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

LOOK WHO'S TALKING

A flurry of privilege notices have been filed in the two Houses of Parliament. Cutting across party lines, MPs have served notice against former cop Kiran Bedi and actor Om Puri for lampooning MPs in the closing, high-pitched hours of Anna Hazare's occupation of Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. The process of moving on such notices can be a long-winded one, and for now Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson K. Rahman Khan say that the pleas are under their consideration. MPs say they are outraged at Puri and Bedi's "derogatory" and "defamatory" chatter. In fact, Puri has already regretted "using those words that may have hurt some sentiments". But the issue is not the content of the wild remarks (and there is no denying the unreason that informed the anti-politician tirades). What is of concern is the illiberal and undemocratic tenor of the parliamentarians' notices.

Privileges are aimed at securing the independence of Parliament to fulfil its multifunctional role. They derive from the struggle during the English civil war to free Parliament from the clutch and influence of the monarch, in essence to enable MPs to freely dispense their essential role as representatives of the people. For the most part, legislatures such as ours that are modelled on the Westminster template are arbiters of their own privileges and in varying degrees different parliamentary democracies have moved to codify them. Our Parliament has yet to do so, but the reason that underwrites some of the claimed privileges is clear. For instance, MPs enjoy freedom of speech during debates and question time on the floor of the House, without fear of legal action — and they must continue to do so. Yet, just as the assertion of privilege was historically crucial in establishing democracy, so has the ceding of many privileges, now that Parliament's place is secure, been a way of modernising legislatures.

Without second-guessing which way the presiding officers of the two Houses will decide, the charge that comments made by two random individuals have caused affront to Parliament is extremely thin to justify privilege proceedings. If individual MPs feel defamed, they have the right to legal action, just like any other citizen. But to use Parliament's extraordinary powers to inhibit free, and howsoever outrageous, speech outside is undemocratic in the extreme and would only undermine Parliament. It would amount to invoking Parliament's privileges to claim lese majeste protection.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

NUMBERS OF FAILURE

GDP growth figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year have been released; covering the months between April and June, they reveal India's economy grew at 7.7 per cent. That some people expected it to go lower is no reason to celebrate, and even less reason for complacency. The equivalent figure for the same months last year was well over 9 per cent; but it is clear that extended policy paralysis, and sustained weakness in the global environment, are causing the India growth story to stutter. This cannot be allowed to continue. While the government should continue to ensure that it finds ways to keep the fiscal deficit within reasonable margins, and to fight the effects of inflation, it cannot take its eye off the ball when it comes to growth.

The decomposition of the numbers is particularly instructive. Services continue to perform relatively well, dragging the numbers up with them. It is industrial growth which is abysmally low; construction, in particular, has barely been able to rise above a single percentage point's worth of growth. The construction sector is notoriously sensitive to the business environment, the equivalent of a canary in a coal mine; if it has collapsed to this degree, we should feel a very real concern about the degree to which growth prospects are being viewed with pessimism. A manufacturing sector cannot be allowed to grow at only around 5 per cent if jobs are to be created.

It is time to turn around this policy paralysis; business-as-usual in Delhi will lead to steadily worse news out of the rest of the country. These numbers, so far from the 9 per cent growth that the prime minister and the Planning Commission expect for the coming years, should serve as a wake-up call for a complacent and distracted governing establishment. There is no money to pour into these sectors any more; so deeper and important reforms are needed instead, especially those that will get manufacturing going again. At the very least, land acquisition procedures need to be streamlined, and the appropriate bill introduced this monsoon session. And environment clearances must be issued using methods and criteria that are transparent and confidence-inspiring. Only then will industry begin, again, to grow — which it must, for the India story depends on it.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

STICKER SHOCK

The Unique Identification project is a mission of surpassing ambition — it aims to provide every Indian citizen a unique 12-digit number that can be used to call up basic demographic and identity information through biometric scans. The government sees it as giving every Indian an acknowledged existence, ensuring that no one is locked out of social entitlements for the lack of a scrap of official paper. It hopes to ensure sharper targeting of welfare programmes, minimise leakages and collapse the many cumbersome IDs currently in use, into a single number. Critics of the project have focused on the privacy hazards and surveillance possibilities of the scheme. The UIDAI's rationale has been that the clear benefits outweigh potential dangers to privacy, which can, in any case, be averted by strong safeguards.

However, the philosophical battle apart, the UID has a more concrete cost-benefit analysis to contend with. The project's cost has escalated many times since it was first conceived in February 2009. A single UID, earlier estimated to cost around Rs 31 per person, may now end up in the Rs 400-500 territory. First, the finance ministry balked at the new levels of spending — partly data compilation costs, from designated registrars — and suggested the UID mesh its efforts with the national census wherever possible. It also wants to trim the biometric technology costs — the iris scan has nearly tripled the UID's price tag. While the UID defends its choices, and says the high volume of iris devices and software demanded by India will bring the price down, others in the Planning Commission claim the iris scan was intended as an extra measure to prevent duplication, not thrown in with every ID. These are not arguments to be settled on notions, and it would be timely for the UID to make a persuasive case for its choice. The Planning Commission has also expressed its concern about the UID's registrar system (which includes public and private companies), asking for clear lines of responsibility and supervision. The UIDAI had even suggested a cash incentive for some of these registrars, a plan that met with serious objection.

Those are valid questions, and the UID authorities must be prepared to defend their decisions. Even though, as they claim, the UID's long-term benefits in efficiency might justify the money spent, it should not let its own phenomenal scale blind it to the opportunity for frugality, and for dispensing information to the public, at every point.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

COLUMN

BEGINNING WITH DHAKA

C. RAJA MOHAN

A few years ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh mused over having breakfast in New Delhi, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul. That statement was a reflection of Dr Singh's desire to transform the north-western parts of the subcontinent through active peace-making and the promotion of regional integration.

That project was scuppered by the deterioration of Indo-Pak relations after the 26/11 terror outrage in Mumbai. Although Indo-Pak ties are limping back towards a cold peace, the prospects for solid economic engagement among India, Pakistan and Afghanistan remain dim. The Pakistan army's obsession with "strategic depth" in Afghanistan has meant the exclusion of mutually beneficial economic integration with Kabul and Delhi.

If his dream is unlikely to be realised in the northwest, Dr Singh has a big chance of making it work in the east. For his visit to Dhaka next week promises to be a game-changer not just for Indo-Bangla relations but for the entire eastern subcontinent.

The new commitment in Dhaka and Delhi to build a bilateral partnership allows us to imagine shared prosperity with our eastern land neighbours — Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.

Much of the credit for creating the new strategic opportunity goes to Dhaka and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. If the former president of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman, had taken the initiative for founding the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in the early 1980s, Hasina has lent concrete meaning to the idea of regionalism in the eastern subcontinent.

Sustained economic growth, expected to accelerate to about 8 per cent in the coming years, has transformed the regional and international perception of Bangladesh and has generated new levels of self-confidence in Dhaka.

Recognising that Bangladesh could transform itself into an economic bridge within the subcontinent and between South Asia and the abutting regions further to the east, Dhaka has boldly played for high stakes.

Hasina understood that the key to Bangladesh's emergence as an economic powerhouse lay in moving the relationship with India to a higher level by resolving all the outstanding bilateral problems that had accumulated ever since the partition of the subcontinent.

This is precisely what she offered when she came to Delhi in January 2010. Shedding the past political inhibitions in Dhaka about building a good neighbourly relationship with India, Hasina offered valuable counter cooperation and promised to restore connectivity between India and the north-eastern states through Bangladesh's territory.

Delhi, in turn, agreed to move forward on the sharing of the Teesta and Feni river waters and open the Indian market for Bangladeshi textile exports. The two sides also agreed to resolve the many issues relating to their boundary, including the completion of the demarcation of their 4,090 km of border and resolving the question of small enclaves landlocked in each other's territory.

With all issues on the table, the two sides have worked hard during the last 18 months to negotiate the many agreements likely to be signed during Dr Singh's September 6-7 visit to Dhaka.

While Hasina's political courage set the stage, Delhi too broke from the tradition of episodic focus on neighbours other than Pakistan. Ending the neglect of Bangladesh and seizing the moment at hand, Delhi persisted with a sustained problem-solving approach in the negotiations with Dhaka.

Dr Singh and Hasina have an opportunity next week to look beyond their success on the bilateral front and outline a shared agenda for the future of the eastern subcontinent.

The bilateral issues that Delhi and Dhaka have addressed in the last 18 months — terrorism, trade, river water sharing, trans-border energy cooperation, boundary management, and transit — are also regional issues involving other neighbours, including Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.

The new thinking on bilateral issues, that Delhi and Dhaka have signalled, also provides a more enduring basis for regional and trans-regional cooperation.

Take, for example, the until now controversial question of transit between India and the north-eastern states. That Delhi and Dhaka will both benefit from restoring the trans-border connectivity that existed between India and East Pakistan until the 1965 war is not in doubt.

India gains better access to the Northeast and Bangladesh wins by charging transit fees. The restoration of transit for India is part of a wider framework that lets the natural economic complementarities between India's Northeast and Bangladesh work themselves out.

Beyond the bilateral, Dhaka and Delhi have rightly chosen to frame the question of transit in the wider regional context of promoting cross-border connectivity through Indian territory, between Bangladesh on the one hand and Nepal and Bhutan on the other.

By throwing open their borders to easier movement of commercial traffic, the four countries will not only help integrate the eastern subcontinent, but also provide the basis for trans-regional connectivity with Myanmar and China.

There are many institutions like the Asian Development Bank that have long been eager to promote connectivity within the eastern subcontinent, and between it and Southeast Asia. Beijing has ambitious plans for mega trans-border projects to link south-western China with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and eastern India.

Big ideas such as trans-Asian road and rail networks have stumbled amidst the absence of a modern cooperative relationship between India and Bangladesh. As he builds a mutually beneficial partnership with Bangladesh, Dr Singh will have a chance to muse in Dhaka over having breakfast in Delhi, lunch in Chittagong and dinner in Mandalay or Kunming.

Delhi and Dhaka are today in a position to demonstrate the real meaning of "strategic depth" — shared prosperity through trans-border connectivity and economic partnerships. If they succeed, Rawalpindi too might rethink its relations with India and Afghanistan, revisit its much touted concept of strategic depth, and restore the historic connectivity between Delhi, Lahore and Kabul.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi
express@expressindia.com

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

COLUMN

LET THE BUREAU BE

PCSHARMA

Corruption, next to poverty, is the biggest violator of human rights. The Durban Commitment to Effective Action against Corruption says: "It deepens poverty; it debases human rights, it degrades the environment; it derails development, including private-sector development; it can drive conflict in and between nations; and it destroys confidence in democracy and the legitimacy of governments. It debases human dignity and is universally condemned by the world's major faiths."

A fundamental truth is that historic changes are ushered in either by revolution, or by social outrage, or by legislative process. We are witnessing today a rare combination of a revolutionary spirit spurred by strong social anger expressing a quest for a tough legislative enactment capable of hitting at corruption at all levels.

Sadly, constitutional institutions like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which still have some life left in them, are not trusted. In a democracy, institutions provide safeguards. They also guard against what does not enjoy the sanction of law. If the findings of institutional bodies are not respected, the constitutional mandate which they work under loses its relevance. Today, it is the CAG; tomorrow it could be the turn of other constitutional institutions and statutory bodies.

Facile explanations are being advanced that corruption is a feature of the developing economies. But our corruption is intrinsically homegrown: a product of arbitrary and unscrupulous use of power — both political and bureaucratic — a culture of impunity, an absence of the will to prosecute and punish, the manipulation of existing laws by corrupt corporate entities, and the failure of the ground-level machinery to provide employment, food, healthcare, education and so on.

So the situation is grim, and it demands introspection and review. The provisions of the existing framework — be it the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CVC Act, those Lokayuktas that exist, and so on — that hinder the registration and investigation of cases of corruption and constrain prosecutions must be replaced by a much more stringent enactment, which injects speed in to the criminal justice system and guarantees trials that are not hobbled.

About the suggestion that the Central Bureau of Investigation should be merged into the proposed Lokpal, I firmly believe, on the basis of my long years with the CBI, that it should retain its premier position and be allowed complete freedom to register, investigate and prosecute cases. As I write, prosecutions against 273 persons are pending, and the consent for registration in many cases is awaited. I still wonder how the "Single Directive", which debars registration of cases against officers of the rank of Joint Secretary and above, continues to be in force — after it was held invalid and unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Vineet Narain case in December 1997.

Not only should the CBI be allowed to retain its prime position, it should be strengthened — by removing the shackles that hinder its performance. This would help the CBI to act as a potent additional tool to fight graft. It can assist any other constitutional or statutory body as, in fact, it does even today. Besides, remember that the CBI does not just investigate cases of corruption, but also special crimes like bomb blasts, terrorism, offences against the state, and cybercrime — all of which are outside the jurisdiction of any proposed Lokpal. A truncated CBI would suffer from a sharp decline in its professional standard, and from split accountability.

Corruption is not just scams and scandals, the embezzlement of funds, and the acceptance of bribes or acts of quid pro quo; it is also allowing undesirable contact men to operate, the adulteration of foodstuff, the fact of criminals entering legislatures, the production of spurious medicines, the existence fake degrees in medicine, bonded labour, leaving unorganised labour to the mercy of exploitative employers not paying minimum wages, rosters of non-existent employees, gratuities for issuing BPL cards, turning a blind eye to health hazards such as silicosis and what not. Who are corruption's victims? All those who depend on the mercy of the state.

The need for reform in India's executive, judicial and electoral structures have been written about extensively — in the reports of various Law Commissions, of the Administrative Reforms Commission, and of the Police Commission. But far too few of these recommendations are accepted, and an even fewer number implemented. What hinders the adoption of their suggestions? Perhaps it is the deep-seated desire to preserve the status quo; perhaps a strong instinct towards self-preservation. In the cleansing exercise of reforms these institutions of state deserve priority.

It would be apt to conclude with the words of the celebrated jurist, Justice Iyer: "If we, the people of India, are to be true to its cultural heritage we must struggle to win Swaraj, and jettison corruption."

The writer, a former CBI director, is a member of the National Human Rights Commission
express@expressindia.com

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

PLANNING FOR A CITY'S FUTURE, USING BUSES

ISHER JUDGE AHLUWALIA

Until recently, Bhopal was like any other Indian city — with little evidence of public transport and fast-growing private vehicle ownership, with its implications for high petrol consumption and air pollution. The only "public" transport available were minibuses, tempos and autorickshaws run by private operators. These were naturally restricted to economically viable routes.

An egregious example of a market-driven transportation system was the fact that over 500 permits were issued for mini-buses for a 1.5 km stretch between Nadara bus stand and the Grand Hotel. By contrast, there were very few minibuses running in the newly developed Misrod area and between Bhopal and surrounding areas such as Piplani and Khajoori.

Bhopal seems to be getting its act together! For a city with a population close to 18 lakh and a floating population close to 2 lakh because of the development activity in the surrounding region, such as Kolar (an adjacent town, in Bhopal district) and Mandideep (another town, in Raisen district, which is only 20 km away from southern Bhopal) with a concentration of industrial activity, planning for connectivity is crucial, through the development of road infrastructure and public transport. Because public transport has not been given due importance in city planning in India, Bhopal's commendable efforts deserve recognition.

A serious effort is being made to design urban road infrastructure which can promote an efficient public transport system on the one hand, and to the upgradation and expansion of the existing fleet of buses and other vehicles for public transport, on the other. A distinguishing feature of this exercise is that the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is operating at multiple levels within an integrated approach. By its very nature, this is a time-consuming exercise, but there is evidence of movement on several fronts. For the longer run, plans are also afoot to prepare a comprehensive mobility plan for the city. Tenders have already been issued and the award is awaiting approval from Mayor-in-Council.

The BMC is on the job of improving and expanding urban roads with a major emphasis on a bus rapid transport system (BRTS), which goes through the heart of the city with a pilot corridor between Misrod and Bairagarh. Bus routes have been rationalised, based on a study of routes and multi-modal integration conducted by the corporation. Plans are afoot for developing physical infrastructure with modern bus stops, bus terminals and electrification works, although these are still to be implemented. A modern intelligent transport system with the appropriate software and hardware is already in use for integrated fare collection and effective service monitoring of the city bus services. A central control room tracks the location, speed and timings of the buses through GPS, while an LED monitor displays the scheduled time and expected time of arrival of the next bus through use of a passenger information system.

BRTS is a gift of the JNNURM to Bhopal. About 16 km of the pilot corridor (24 km length and 30-60 m width) is ready, with structural works and the widening of minor bridges, culverts, etc; but electrification, road furniture and railing works are still in progress. The remaining 7 km was the more challenging stretch, in the heart of the city: two temples have already been relocated for widening the road, and efforts are on for relocating another major religious structure near Kamla Park. True to its green city character, the corporation has transplanted 300 or so huge trees which came in the ROW of the corridor and planted another 6000 trees. Buses are already plying on the newly built roads.

Bhopal City Link Ltd (BCLL) was set up as a city transport special purpose cehicle in 2006 with the Collector of Bhopal as its executive director. In 2008, the BMC took over management control of BCLL, and started exploring the possibilities of public-private partnership in city bus service provision. Unlike Indore, where a number of contractors were awarded the contract for running the buses, in Bhopal — presumably because of the smaller market — all bus operations are outsourced to a single private operator under a "net cost contract".

The private contractor bears 30 per cent of the cost of buses and pays an agreed premium to the BMC after a waiver for the first 4 months. This enabled the corporation to fund its share (30 per cent) towards the cost of buying new modern buses under JNNURM. So far, 105 standard buses have been purchased, and have started running as of November 1, 2010. Another 100 low-floor buses and 25 low-floor air-conditioned buses are in the pipeline. From the current operations, BMC has started receiving a monthly premium of Rs 1.30 lakh per month from the private operator.

While "net cost contract" is a common practice for public private partnership in bus services in India (the exceptions being Ahmedabad and now Delhi), over the medium run it is better to go for "gross cost contract", so that the private party has the incentive to develop the market. In Bhopal, the net cost contract with the current operator is for a period of 5 years. Bhopal Municipal Corporation provides crucial infrastructure such as secure depots with sufficient parking, and capacity for proper repair and maintenance of the buses.

Rationalising the routes by classifying them in five categories and assigning different modes to the routes was crucial, to eliminate the inter-modal conflict and avoid chaos resulting from vehicles of different speed capacity plying on the same roads. Thus, modern buses run by BCLL ply on trunk and standard routes, private minibuses on 17 complimentary routes, and four-wheeler tempos (Tata Magics) on feeder routes.

In an innovative practice where learning from one department has translated to savings for another, the corporation started installing GPS devices in 50 of its vehicles for solid waste management. Later, this was extended to all 300 sold waste management vehicles, water tankers and vehicles used for fire-fighting. An optimised route plan has also been prepared for the corporation vehicles, for more effective and timely delivery. The result of the vehicular tracking management system is a net saving of 1,000-1,500 litres of diesel per day. This amounts to a saving of Rs 1.45 crore in a year in petrol consumption by the corporation.

Putting public transport at the center of urban planning is a good take-away for other fast growing cities aspiring for better living conditions for their citizens.

The writer is chairperson of ICRIER and also former chairperson of the high-powered expert committee on urban infrastructure services, which submitted its report in March 2011

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

THIS TIME, THE WEST GOT IT RIGHT

ROGER COHEN

It will be two decades next year since the outbreak of the Bosnian war — and since the debate on interventionism began to rage, becoming one of the most acrimonious moral questions of our times. Now Libya, a successful Western intervention, will be placed on the scales.

The issue has divided friends and united enemies. Democrats under the age of 30 were almost as eager to go to war in Iraq as Republicans over 65, according to a Pew Research Center poll of October 2002, a moment when liberal hawkishness and conservative American hubris coalesced with disastrous consequences. It has been the focus of an age-old foreign policy debate between realism and idealism, prompted a deluge of finger-pointing, and proved a catalyst to the UN-endorsed notion of a responsibility to protect.

Like many of my generation, I became an interventionist in Bosnia. Sickened by carnage, and by the lies and ignorance of Western politicians who prolonged the carnage, I understood that caution — or more accurately hypocrisy masquerading as prudence — can be as criminal as recklessness.

A war with very specific reasons and equally specific crimes committed overwhelmingly by Serbian forces was dressed up as a millennial conflict beset by Balkan fog and moral equivalency in order for craven Western leaders to justify an inaction that killed.

We had been morally numbed by the Cold War. It seemed as inevitable as the earth's rotation. Mutual assured destruction was ugly; it was also comforting in its limitation of choice. Now, with the demise of the Soviet Union, an ascendant West was faced with barbarism on European soil and had the disquieting latitude to act. It prevaricated. People died.

NATO finally bombed Serbian positions in 1995. The war ended soon after. The alliance bombed again in Kosovo in 1999. Soon after, Slobodan Milosevic's murderous dominion ended. Western intervention in a cruel war in Sierra Leone led to the end of that conflict. Liberal interventionist had become the proud badge of a generation discovering the good war.

A new century began at this zenith of the post-Cold-War interventionist cycle. Peter Beinart traces how such cycles come and go — and how personal experience can be as blinding as it is illuminating. He quotes the brilliant historian, Arthur Schlesinger Jr, warning that the 1991 Gulf War that quickly drove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait would likely cause "the gravest damage to the vital interests" of America, and quotes him again comparing arguments for a Bosnia intervention with those that led to the Vietnam disaster. It was through the prism of Vietnam, the war he lived most passionately and painfully, that Schlesinger saw the choices posed by subsequent conflicts.

Beinart describes how even in his adulation for Schlesinger, he in time became sickened by the Vietnam analogy with its recurring prescription for inaction. Shaped by Bosnia, he backed the Iraq war. The pendulum had swung. Vietnam-induced excess of caution had given way to Bosnian-induced hubris. I, too, fell under its influence. Mea culpa. Whatever the monstrosity of Saddam, and whatever the great benefit to the world of his disappearance, the war as it was justified and fought — under false pretenses, without many of America's closest allies, in ignorance and incompetence — was a stain on America's conscience.

Libya, in the wake of this damage, was a risk for President Obama. There were many reasons for not intervening — a third war in a Muslim country was not what America needed and the homegrown quality of the Arab Spring has been central to its moral force. But to allow Gaddafi to commit a massacre foretold in Benghazi would have been unforgivable.

The intervention has been done right — with the legality of strong United Nations backing, full support from America's European allies, and quiet arming of the rebels. The Libyan people have been freed from a crazed tyranny. Unlike in Iraq, burdens were shared. Iraq was the wrong prism through which to look at Libya. I'm glad I resisted that temptation. Another cycle has begun.

There are no fixed doctrinal answers — a successful Libyan intervention does not mean one in Syria is feasible — but the idea that the West must at times be prepared to fight for its values against barbarism is the best hope for a 21st century less cruel than the 20th.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

FALSER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN

BRIAN MORTON

In a coffee shop, I saw a mug with an inscription from Henry David Thoreau: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."

At least it said the words were Thoreau's. The attribution seemed suspect. Thoreau was not known for his liberal use of exclamation points. I looked up the passage (it's from Walden): "I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

Now Thoreau isn't quite saying that each of us can actually live the life we've imagined. He's saying that if we try, we'll come closer to it than we might ordinarily think possible. I suppose the people responsible for the coffee mug would say that they'd merely tweaked the wording of the original a little. But in the tweaking, not only was the syntax lost, but the subtlety as well.

Gandhi's words have been tweaked a little too in recent years. Perhaps you've noticed a bumper sticker that purports to quote him: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." When you first come across it, this does sound like something Gandhi would have said. But when you think about it a little, it starts to sound more like... a bumper sticker. Displayed brightly on the back of a Prius, it suggests that your responsibilities begin and end with your own behaviour. It's apolitical, and a little smug.

Sure enough, it turns out there is no reliable documentary evidence for the quotation. The closest verifiable remark from Gandhi is: "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him...We need not wait to see what others do."

Here, Gandhi is telling us personal and social transformation go hand in hand, but there is no suggestion in his words that personal transformation is enough. In fact, for Gandhi, the struggle to bring about a better world involved not only stringent self-denial and rigorous adherence to the philosophy of non-violence; it also involved a steady awareness that one person, alone, can't change anything, an awareness that unjust authority can be overturned only by great numbers of people working together with discipline and persistence.

When you start to become aware of these bogus quotations, you can't stop finding them. Henry James, George Eliot, Picasso — all of them are being kept alive in popular culture through pithy, cheery sayings they never actually said.

My favourite example of the fanciful quotation is a passage that's been floating around the Internet for years. It's frequently attributed to Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, and said to be an excerpt from his 1994 inaugural address.

"Our deepest fear," the passage goes, "is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. ... As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Picture it: Mandela, newly free after 27 years in prison, using his inaugural platform to inform us we all have the right to be gorgeous, talented and fabulous, and thinking so will liberate others. It's hard to imagine it without laughing. Of course, it turns out it's not actually an excerpt from this or any other address of Mandela's. In fact, the words aren't even his; they belong to a self-help guru, Marianne Williamson.

Thoreau, Gandhi, Mandela — it's easy to see why their words and ideas have been massaged into gauzy slogans. They were inspirational figures, dreamers of beautiful dreams. But what goes missing in the slogans is that they were also sober, steely men. Each of them knew that thoroughgoing change, whether personal or social, involves humility and sacrifice, and that the effort to change oneself or the world always exacts a price. Ours is an era in which it's believed we can reinvent ourselves whenever we choose. So we recast the wisdom of the great thinkers in the shape of our illusions. Shorn of their complexities, politics, grasp of the sheer arduousness of change, they stand before us now. They are shiny from their makeovers, they are fabulous, and they want us to know we can have it all.

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THE INDIAN EXPRESS

OPED

INDIA IS POORER?

MANOJCG

India is poorer?

An article in People's Democracy claims that India's liberalisation over the last two decades constitutes a resounding "refutation" of mainstream development theory. While GDP growth rate "accelerated remarkably", it was accompanied by, the article insists, a "striking increase" in the incidence of absolute poverty as well — a combination it says which no strand of bourgeois theory can explain.

It asserts that the international experience has been that per-capita foodgrain consumption — taking both direct and indirect consumption together — increases with per-capita real income until a fairly high level of income. And the same is true of calorie intake as well. "If... the rise in per-capita real income is accompanied by a decline in per-capita foodgrain intake, then it must be that the income distribution within that country is worsening over that period — to a point where the bulk of the population is becoming absolutely worse off even as the per-capita income, which is a mere average for all, is rising. This is exactly what has been happening in India during the last twenty years," Prabhat Patnaik claims.

Using traditional Marxist analysis, Patnaik says that where a capitalist sector co-exists with a pre-capitalist sector — especially peasant agriculture — the growth of the former entails a growing demand for goods from the latter. "If output is not growing adequately, then an increase in demand from the capitalist sector can be met only out of existing output, by snatching away a part of it through various methods of primitive accumulation of capital. If this larger expropriation of output by the capitalist sector from the pre-capitalist sector were to be accompanied by a transfer of labour from latter to the former, then the availability of goods per capita in the latter would not shrink; but if there is no such transfer of labour then the per capita availability of goods in the latter would shrink, causing absolute impoverishment in the latter." he says, adding that India is experiencing such conditions.

Tripura is poorest

Another article in People's Democracy talks about a white paper that the Tripura government brought out recently on the 13th Finance Commission's award to the state. The article says the statistics in the paper demonstrate the state's gross deprivation compared to other state. It says the 13th Finance Commission award has significantly underestimated the state's financial requirements and failed in appreciating circumstances specific to Tripura. It also "regrettably failed" to realise the ground reality behind the higher government employment in the state among the north eastern states: "Extremist onslaught... necessitated the raising of as many as 13 TSR battalions (Indian Reserve Battalions)... When the state finance minister met [Finance Minister Pranab] Mukherjee, he summarily turned down the state's demand for special assistance to overcome the present fiscal impasse.., Recently the Centre has assured financial incentive of more than Rs 21,000 crore to the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, and this was made in addition to the 13th Finance Commission award."

US hypocrisy, again

In an editorial titled 'Battle for Hydrocarbon', the CPI's New Age says America and its NATO allies are in blatant violation of rules, norms and conventions of international relations, fighting a battle to keep under their control the hydro-carbon resources of the Arab world spread over Middle-East and North Africa. "To achieve this strategic goal, they are shamelessly massacring thousands and thousands of people and destroying countries that they feel are defiant and may create trouble for their plan to control and dominate this region. While Libyans are being mercilessly butchered by the NATO forces to 'protect the civilians', insurgency is being promoted by all means in Syria in the name of promoting 'democracy'," it claims. It adds these very forces are "actively supporting suppression of people's revolt in Bahrain and Yemen where almost the entire population is out on the street to oust the despotic regimes... American hypocrisy on the question of democracy is being vividly getting exposed with what the imperialists are doing selectively in the Arab World. Astonishingly UN secretary general is adopting double standards. A Syrian killing is violation of human right but massacre of Libyan by NATO forces is not."

Compiled by Manoj C.G.

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

GDP SLOWS, WILL RBI?

The slowing of GDP growth, for the fifth consecutive quarter now, to 7.7% in the first quarter of 2011-12, is in line with overall expectations as indicated by the professional forecaster survey done by RBI earlier this month. A good monsoon has boosted agricultural growth to 3.9%, the highest first quarter growth recorded since 2008-09. Though manufacturing growth has revived from 5.5% in the last quarter of 2010-11 to 7.2% in the first quarter of 2011-12, overall industrial growth has slumped to 5.1%, the lowest across eight quarters, mainly on account of the sharp slowdown in the construction sector where growth has slumped to 1.2%, the lowest over the last 10 quarters. The other industrial segment that has been badly hit is the mining and quarrying sector, where growth was a dismal 1.8%, partly on the plateauing of Reliance's production in the Krishna-Godavari basin. A silver lining has been the pick up in the electricity, gas and water supply segment, where growth has accelerated over the last three quarters to touch 7.9%. Services sector growth has picked up over the last three quarters to touch double digits, the highest level reached in the last four quarters. This was primarily because of the performance of the trade, hotels, transport and communication segment, where growth touched 12.8%, aided by the pick up in exports and imports and the telecom sector. And though growth of financing, insurance, real estate and business services slowed down marginally, growth here is still a respectable 9.1% in the most recent quarter.

What is more worrisome is the continued slowdown in gross fixed capital formation, which fell to 28.4% of the GDP, the lowest level since 2004-05. Read together with the RBI numbers on the slowdown in the financial investments of households, the prospects on the savings and investment front suggest a recovery will take a while. There has been sharp surge in investments in valuables, that is mainly accounted by gold—at 3.9% of GDP, this is substantially higher than the previous peak of 2.3% in the first quarter of 2010-11. The question is, whether the economy's weakening signals are strong enough for RBI to pause on its rate hike next month.

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

EDITORIAL

BANKING ON RBI

A decade after the banking licence guidelines prohibited industrial houses from setting up new banks, industrial houses look all set to get new banking licences. Despite all past evidence of how industrial houses owning banks creates all manner of problems—RBI's discussion paper last August referred to the Japanese problems with keiretsus, Korea's with chaebols and India's in the pre-nationalisation phase when different banks were linked with individual business groups—RBI is confident it has the problem licked. This could partly be due to the fact that the banking industry is already well-developed, so the problem of other borrowers getting squeezed out is likely to be less severe. Two, RBI has insisted on a different corporate holding structure and has laid down strict group exposure norms on lending. Three, RBI wants the Banking Regulation Act to be amended—to be, for instance, allowed to supersede bank Boards—before any licences are issued. As an aside, the holding company (Holdco) concept for financial services will have to be brought into legislation with the proviso that all operations of the Holdco, not just the banking ones, will be regulated only by RBI.

Beyond this, however, is a leap of faith and a lot depends on how RBI ups its supervisory game—as RBI said in the discussion paper, it is very difficult to detect rotation of funds by corporate houses on a 24x7 basis. The fact that the government allows multiple layers of subsidiaries creates huge problems and makes it near impossible to know which company belongs to whom. Indeed, a big setback to the investigations in the 2G scam is the fact that there is still no definition of what an 'associate' company is—even the proposed definition, FE pointed out in its editorial on August 23 (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/fe-editorial-associates-vs-owners/835594/), leaves enough loopholes. RBI has tried to fix this by saying its decision will be final on whether a company is linked, but it leaves the question of 24x7 monitoring unanswered. Despite all evidence to the contrary, RBI places touching faith in independent directors—at least half the directors on the Holdco have to be independent—to ensure promoters run the bank properly. There are enough scams, Satyam being the most recent among the high-profile ones, to show the independent directors policy (Clause 49) has not delivered. Similarly, while doing background checks with CBI, Sebi etc is important, RBI has to keep in mind the practice of compounding of offences and consent orders—once the penalty is paid, the slate is wiped clean! RBI and the government's immediate problem, however, is going to be different. Since there is no previously laid out criterion for deciding who is 'fit and proper', nor for what makes, say, L&T a better bet than the Tata Group, the process of giving licences is certain to be quite contentious.

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

KEEP BANKS AND INDUSTRY SEPARATE
SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN

It's good to see the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) assert itself. It seemed, for a while, that the central bank was giving the finance ministry's views way too much weightage but the draft guidelines for new banking licences are evidence that RBI is not about to do what it does not believe in. If the discussion paper on new bank licences, put out in August last year, showed how diffident the central bank was about allowing large industrial houses into the banking space, the draft guidelines reaffirm that it remains so.

While it does not say so openly, there is little doubt that RBI does not really wish to have large industrial conglomerates as part of banking industry unless they have an absolutely unblemished track record. So, a clean image is top of mind for the regulator and one line in the guidelines says it all: 'RBI may seek feedback from other regulators and enforcement and investigative agencies such as the IT dept, CBI, enforcement directorate on various aspects such as sound credentials and integrity'. One wishes RBI had altogether disallowed large industrial groups from setting up banks or at least gone a bit further to say that any black marks given to a promoter group, by any regulator or investigative agency, would put it out of the reckoning forever. While that may seem somewhat harsh, the fact is that once the doors are opened to corporates, one or two not-so-eligible candidates could slip in at a later stage, making life difficult for everyone else. So, even while there are, no doubt, some meritorious candidates, the Indian banking industry isn't quite ready for the entry of business houses.

Indeed, even with the best of regulatory safeguards at its disposal, the regulator will not have an easy time. And that includes having 50% of the directors on the board being independent. Or a holding structure that would ringfence the banks from potential risks of the promoter's other business interest. For starters though, it's not a bad thing that the regulator frowns upon promoters dabbling in real estate and broking—RBI does not mince its words when it says broking businesses 'represent a business model and business culture which are quite misaligned with a banking model'. Going by the number of instances that Sebi has brought to light, of rules having been broken, it will be a while before the broking industry earns itself a better reputation.

As for real estate firms, they don't seem to be able to manage their own debt and have caused our bankers enough grief, so it's no surprise they're not welcome. It's also important to ensure that the new crop of bankers isn't controlling too large a share of their existing businesses by insisting on a diversified ownership. Also, the central bank wants to know, and rightly so, the source of the promoters' equity—it is now well-versed with promoters' tricks of using multiple layers to obfuscate the true ownership and surely those who resort to such practices have no place in the banking arena. In fact, RBI has been rather generous in allowing a new bank to lend as much as 10% of its book value to any entity in the promoter group and as much as a fifth of the book value to all promoter entities in aggregate. For those who believe that RBI is being too conservative, all one can say is that they're not keeping themselves abreast of all the scams, how many top corporates have been involved, and the increasingly deepening nexus between industry and politicians.

Indeed, RBI has done well to put its foot down on the issue of restricting foreign direct investment in new banks, to 49%; the finance ministry had reportedly believed it would send out wrong signals to investors and has asked the regulator to clearly enunciate, in the guidelines, that new banks would be exempt from Press notes 2, 3 and 4. RBI, for its part, wanted the limit rolled back from 74% to 49%; it was uncomfortable with a higher limit, given the country's intelligence agencies' limited success in unearthing the identities of the true owners of the banks. RBI is right, we do not need to pander to the wishes of foreign investors and 49% allows enough room for them to invest. Moreover, the draft guidelines say no foreign shareholder can directly or indirectly hold more than 5% whereas the finance ministry was reportedly pushing for a minimum of 10%.

RBI is also right in saying the promoter's holding should be brought down to 15% and not 20%, as the ministry had reportedly suggested; the guidelines allow for it to happen in two phases. Also, a listing within two years should not be difficult though it's true banks might not get the kind of valuation they want. After all, they will have to hit the ground running in opening a fourth of their branches in rural centres, which will drive up their costs without fetching them enough revenues. Additionally, they have not been let off from meeting priority sector lending targets like other banks. At R500 crore, the entry barriers are very low and will not shut out genuine entrepreneurs. We do not, of course, want a repeat of Centurion Bank. What the country needs is a clutch of new bankers who earn the customer's confidence.

shobhana.subramanian@expressindia.com

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THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS

COLUMN

CHRONICLE OF AN ACQUITTAL FORETOLD
RISHI RAJ

It has to be more than a coincidence that on the same day the CBI was pulled up by the Gujarat High Court for botching up the investigations into the Haren Pandya murder, CBI counsel UU Lalit told the special CBI court in the 2G scam that the agency had failed to find any evidence of any quid pro quo as far as money changing hands is concerned in the Unitech Wireless case. If it was only Unitech Wireless, it was bad enough, but, without such evidence, the case against many of the other accused also gets weaker. It doesn't help that almost all the accused have cited the statements made by telecom minister Kapil Sibal that there was no loss to the exchequer in the awarding of the licences. Whether the court chooses to drop some of the charges while framing the chargesheet on September 15 remains to be seen, but it is clear the CBI has its job cut out.

Before proceeding further, it is important to point out that this criminal case is different from the one in the Supreme Court in response to Prashant Bhushan's PIL asking for the licences to be cancelled on grounds they were illegal. That case has been heard, and the judges have reserved their judgment on the matter. Indeed, it has always been this newspaper's view that it would be better to concentrate on getting the licences cancelled, since this is what would help the government recover the money it had lost—the criminal case, we said, could take its own course.

The CBI chargesheet to be sure, is strong in parts, and it was the CBI that found the first money trail of R201 crore from the DB group to Kalaignar TV—this was a very vital piece of the trail and shouldn't be underestimated. In other cases, the CBI has reiterated points made by the CAG, and later highlighted in the Justice Patil report, and these look difficult to refute. In the case of Swan, for instance, the CAG first pointed out that Swan was linked to ADAG since that's where the bulk of its capital had come from—subsequent investigations, such as by the income tax department, have only strengthened this view. This was done to show that Swan was ineligible for a licence under Clause 8 of the licensing conditions on cross-holdings.

In the case of Unitech Wireless, the CBI's charge of conspiracy depends upon the statement given by the DDG (Access Services) AK Srivastava, that he was repeatedly asked by Raja's aide RK Chandolia as to whether Unitech Wireless's applications had come in—and when it had, Srivastava is reported to have told the CBI, Chandolia asked him to close the window for applications. When Srivastava said this couldn't be done, he claims Chandolia asked him to put up a note on advancing the cut off date.

This may help prove the conspiracy case against Unitech Wireless, but what is curious is that the CBI missed out on so many obvious violations of the law. In the case of both Swan and Unitech Wireless, what was critical was not just Raja's change in the cut off date—this, after all, benefitted all the 122 licensees, not just Unitech Wireless or Swan. But only two companies brought in new investors and they were specifically helped by Raja. While Trai had categorically ruled out allowing M&As till all the companies met their rollout obligations, Raja put out new M&A guidelines on April 22, 2008—in which he illegally modified the Trai recommendations on "acquisition". Without this modification, Swan, Unitech Wireless, Tatas, and S Tel would not have been able to sell. The CBI, however, does not even mention the fact that the M&A norms were modified—this would have helped facilitate the very criminal conspiracy that it has pleaded in 17 different places in its chargesheet of April 2, 2011.

Similarly, it is obvious the CBI is on weak grounds since all of Raja's actions—the advancement of the cut off date and the change in first-come first-served norms—had all been okayed by the Solicitor General. But it would have proved its case had it just cited the Delhi High Court judgments and the Supreme Court judgment of July 1, 2009, November 24, 2009 and March 12, 2010, which said all of this was illegal.

There are several other such critical gaps in the chargesheets. Perhaps the CBI will be able to get over these in the trial stage?

rishi.raj@expressindia.com

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THE HINDU

EDITORIAL

THE HOME STRETCH IN NEPAL

With the swearing-in of Baburam Bhattarai as Nepal's new Prime Minister, the political pendulum has swung squarely back to where it ought to have been in the first place. A Maoist-led coalition is now in place, with the Madhesi parties comprising the other component. The Unified Marxists-Leninists and the Nepali Congress are not part of the new arrangement but Dr. Bhattarai has indicated that the formation of a national government with the participation of all major political parties will be a priority. The Nepali Maoists won the Constituent Assembly elections of 2008, emerging with many more seats than the UML and the NC. However, since the former rebels did not have enough MPs to form a government by themselves, let alone ensure the writing of a new constitution, it was evident that coalition building was the way to go. The first Maoist-led coalition under Prachanda — which collapsed in the face of opposition from the Nepali army, the UML, the NC, and India — may not have done much to further the twin tasks of constitution writing and concluding the peace process. But the opportunistic coalition under Madhav Kumar Nepal, which was in office for nearly two years and had tacit support from hardline elements in India who never reconciled themselves to the emergence of the Maoists as a parliamentary force, was far worse. It was only with the election of the UML's Jhalanath Khanal as Prime Minister in February 2011 that the political logjam began to clear. Today Dr. Bhattarai's emergence as head of a new government offers Nepal a new opportunity to complete its tryst with destiny.

While the principal challenge remains the drafting of a new constitution in accordance with the political, socio-economic, and cultural aspirations of Nepal's peoples, this task cannot be accomplished without tangible steps being taken towards completion of the peace process. The Maoists must disband their erstwhile Peoples' Liberation Army, with an agreed number of former combatants being integrated into the Nepal Army. At the same time, the Nepal Army must be democratised, in keeping with the temper and spirit of the new nation that emerged after the abolition of the monarchy. Numerous proposals have been made to accomplish the task of integration only to flounder in the face of intransigence by hardline elements within the Maoists, the Army, or other political parties. Now that the Maoists are back at the helm, every effort must be made to ensure the speedy resolution of the military question. The term of the CA was extended by three months on Monday night and will now run till November 30. Dr. Bhattarai and his colleagues, as well as all political parties, thus have 90 days to push the peace process and constitution writing seriously. The clock has started ticking. Given the differences on major constitutional issues, they have not a second to lose.

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THE HINDU

EDITORIAL

PLUTOCRATS, TAXES & MORAL DECAY

Sixteen of France's richest people have sparked a lively debate by offering to pay higher taxes. They did this in a joint letter titled " Taxez Nous! " ("Tax Us!"), published in the daily Le Nouvel Observateur on August 23. Among them are the heads of some of the country's largest corporations, including Liliane Bettencourt, Europe's richest woman. The signatories commend the French and the wider European environments, from which they say they have benefited and which they wish to preserve against threats such as capital flight and increased tax evasion. They also contend that by paying more tax they will help reduce the French budget deficit, which President Nicolas Sarkozy plans to bring down from 4.6 per cent this year to 3 per cent in 2013. France has, in fact, just announced a 3 per cent rise in income tax for all who earn over €1 million a year but the signatories say they are also responding to the government's call for solidarity. The letter appeared shortly after a joint proposal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy for a financial transactions tax to help the eurozone economies — and after the multibillionaire Warren Buffett's New York Times article (August 14, 2011) calling for higher taxes on the "mollycoddled" super-rich so that they bear a share of the sacrifices others are making and also contribute to deficit reduction.

French trade unionists point out that merely reducing budget deficits will not encourage more economic activity. One of the letter's signatories calls the French plutocrats' idea "weak and insufficient"; and Mr. Buffett has been criticised for talking only about tax on his income, which forms a tiny part of his overall wealth of about $60 billion. Above all, neither the French super-rich nor Mr. Buffett and his critics analyse the reasons for the current economic crises. That critique is now coming from various British Conservatives who conclude that the so-called free market is a "corporatist racket for the few"; it is free only for the very rich, who can move their money around at will. In addition, the "feral rich" — bankers, business tycoons who exploit lax regulation and offshore tax havens, and expense-fiddling politicians — are all part of a wider problem, which the commentator Peter Oborne calls moral decay. The debate is significant and will continue but notable absentees from it are the centre-left parties that have in the past revived economies and ensured a decent life for hundreds of millions by protecting them from the worst effects of unrestrained markets. They must enter the fray if they are to stay relevant.

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THE HINDU

ASTRONAUTS MAY HAVE TO ABANDON SPACE STATION

KENNETH CHANG

Astronauts will abandon the International Space Station (ISS), probably in mid-November, if rocket engine problems that doomed a Russian cargo ship last week are not diagnosed and fixed.

Even if unoccupied, the space station can be operated by controllers on the ground indefinitely and would not be in immediate danger of falling out of orbit.

Three Russian astronauts, two Americans and a Japanese are living on the space station.

'What's safest for crew'

"We're going to do what's the safest for the crew and for the space station, which is a very big investment of our governments," said Michael T. Suffredini, manager of the space station programme for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), during a news conference on Monday, August 29. "Our job is, as stewards of the government, to protect that investment, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

The $100 billion station has been continuously occupied for over a decade.

Last Wednesday, an unmanned Russian cargo ship known as the Progress, which was carrying three tons of supplies to the space station, crashed in Siberia. Telemetry from the rocket indicated that a drop of fuel pressure led its computer to shut down the third-stage engine prematurely five-and-a-half minutes into flight.

The Soyuz rocket that lifts the Progress is similar to the Soyuz rocket that takes astronauts to the station, and officials want to make sure they understand what failed on last week's launching and are confident it will not occur again.

Two unmanned launchings of Soyuz rockets are likely to occur before the next set of three crew members head to the space station. That launching had been scheduled for September 21.

The loss of the Progress is of little immediate impact. One of the Russian astronauts is running short of clothes and might have to borrow some from NASA, Mr. Suffredini said.

The current crew has plenty of supplies and could remain in space longer. What expires, however, is their return trip.

Two Soyuz capsules, each with seats for three passengers, are currently docked to the space station. But the capsules are certified to last only 200 days in orbit, because hydrogen peroxide for the spacecraft's thrusters degrades over time.

The return of the first capsule has been pushed back a week, to September 15, giving NASA and the Russian space agency more time to study their options. Delaying much more than that would run into a safety rule, that the capsules land during the day. The next opportunity would be in late October, beyond the 200-day limit.

The Russians could study whether the capsule's condition could allow a longer stay, but Mr. Suffredini questioned whether that would be wise.

"When you've already been handed one significant challenge, maybe you shouldn't put another one on top of it until you sort that one out," he said.

The other three crew members would return in the second Soyuz capsule in mid-November. If the problem with the Soyuz rocket had not been resolved, the station would then be empty.

Experiments

Some experiments like the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics experiment installed last year, would continue operating without human oversight. But other research would get short shrift until the full crew of six returned to the station.

While all of the day-to-day operations can be handled remotely, mission controllers may not be able to handle emergencies that might endanger the space station. "There is a greater risk of losing the ISS when it's unmanned than if it were manned," Mr. Suffredini said. "The risk increase is not insignificant."

With the retirement of NASA's shuttles, the Soyuz rockets will be the only way for people to go to the space station for several years at least. The Soyuz, dating to the 1960s, has been a reliable workhorse for the Russian space programme. — © New York Times News Service

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THE HINDU

THE NEW GENERATION OF MICROBE HUNTERS

GINA KOLATA

It was Tuesday evening, June 7. A frightening outbreak of food-borne bacteria was killing dozens of people in Germany and sickening hundreds. And the five doctors having dinner at Da Marco Cucina e Vino, a restaurant in Houston, could not stop talking about it.

What would they do if something like that happened in Houston? Suppose a patient came in, dying of a rapidly progressing infection of unknown origin? How could they figure out the cause and prevent an epidemic? They talked for hours, finally agreeing on a strategy.

That night one of the doctors, James M. Musser, chairman of pathology and genomic medicine at the Methodist Hospital System, heard from a worried resident. A patient had just died from what looked like inhalation anthrax. What should she do?

"I said, 'I know precisely what to do,'" Dr. Musser said. " 'We just spent three hours talking about it.'"

The questions were: Was it anthrax? If so, was it a genetically engineered bioterrorism strain, or a strain that normally lives in the soil? How dangerous was it?

And the answers, Dr. Musser realised, could come very quickly from newly available technology that would allow investigators to determine the entire genome sequence of the suspect micro-organism.

It is the start of a new age in microbiology, Dr. Musser and others say. And the sort of molecular epidemiology he and his colleagues wanted to do is only a small part of it. New methods of quickly sequencing entire microbial genomes are revolutionising the field.

The first bacterial genome was sequenced in 1995 — a triumph at the time, requiring 13 months of work. Today researchers can sequence the DNA that constitutes a micro-organism's genome in a few days or even, with the latest equipment, a day. (Analysing it takes a bit longer, though.) They can simultaneously get sequences of all the microbes on a tooth or in saliva or in a sample of sewage. And the cost has dropped to about $1,000 per genome, from more than $1 million.

In a recent review, Dr. David A. Relman, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at Stanford, wrote that researchers had published 1,554 complete bacterial genome sequences and were working on 4,800 more. They have sequences of 2,675 virus species, and within those species they have sequences for tens of thousands of strains — 40,000 strains of flu viruses, more than 300,000 strains of HIV, for example.

With rapid genome sequencing, "we are able to look at the master blueprint of a microbe," Dr. Relman said in a telephone interview. It is "like being given the operating manual for your car after you have been trying to trouble-shoot a problem with it for some time."

Dr. Matthew K. Waldor of Harvard Medical School said the new technology "is changing all aspects of microbiology — it's just transformative."

A real-world test

For Dr. Musser and his colleagues, the real-world test of what they could do came on that June evening.

The patient was a 39-year-old man who lived about 75 miles from Houston in a relatively rural area. He had been welding at home when, suddenly, he could not catch his breath. He began coughing up blood and vomiting. He had a headache and pain in his upper abdomen and chest.

In the emergency room, his blood pressure was dangerously low and his heart was beating fast. Doctors gave him an IV antibiotic and rushed him to Methodist Hospital in Houston. He arrived on Saturday night, June 4. Despite heroic efforts, he died two-and-a-half days later, on Tuesday morning. Now it was Tuesday night. On autopsy, the cause looked for all the world like anthrax, in the same unusual form — so-called inhalation anthrax — that terrified the nation in 2001. Even before the man died, researchers had been suspicious; washings from his lungs were teeming with the rod-shaped bacteria characteristic of anthrax. Investigators grew the bacteria in the lab, noticing that the colonies looked like piles of ground glass, typical of anthrax but also other Bacillus microbes.

"We knew we had to get this solved in a hurry," Dr. Musser said. "We had to know precisely what we were dealing with. That's when we put into play a plan to sequence the genome."

A few days later they had their answer. The bacteria were not anthrax, but were closely related. They were a different strain of Bacillus : cereus rather than anthracis .

The bacteria had many of the same toxin genes as anthrax bacteria but had only one of the four viruses that inhabit anthrax bacteria and contribute to their toxicity. And they lacked a miniature chromosome — a plasmid — found in anthrax bacteria that also carries toxin genes.

The conclusion was that the lethal bacteria were naturally occurring and, though closely related to anthrax, not usually as dangerous. So why did this man get so ill?

He was a welder, Dr. Musser noted, and welders are unusually susceptible to lung infections, perhaps because their lungs are chronically irritated by fine metal particles. So his fatal illness was most likely due to a confluence of events: welding, living in a rural area where the bacteria lived in the soil and happening to breathe in this toxin-containing species of bacteria.

Dr. Waldor and his colleagues asked a slightly different question when Haiti was swept by cholera after last year's earthquake. Cholera had not been seen in Haiti for more than a century. Why the sudden epidemic?

The scientists quickly sequenced the genome of the bacteria in Haiti and compared them with known cholera strains from around the world. It turned out that the Haitian strain was different from cholera bacteria in Latin America and Africa, but was identical to those in South Asia.

So the researchers concluded that the earthquake was indirectly responsible for the epidemic. Many relief workers who came to Haiti lived in South Asia, where cholera was endemic. "One or more of these individuals likely brought cholera to Haiti," Dr. Waldor said.

Charting disease maps

One of Dr. Waldor's collaborators in that study, Eric Schadt, wants to take the idea of molecular forensics one step further. Dr. Schadt, the chairman of genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and chief scientific officer of Pacific Biosciences, wants to make disease weather maps.

He began with pilot studies, first in his company's offices. For several months, the company analysed the genomes of microbes on surfaces, like desks and computers and handles on toilets. As the flu season began, the surfaces began containing more and more of the predominant flu strain until, at the height of the flu season, every surface had the flu viruses. The most contaminated surface? The control switches for projectors in the conference rooms. "Everybody touches them and they never get cleaned," Dr. Schadt said.

He also swabbed his own house and discovered, to his dismay, that his refrigerator handle was always contaminated with microbes that live on poultry and pork. The reason, he realised, is that people take meats out of the refrigerator, make sandwiches, and then open the refrigerator door to return the meat without washing their hands.

"I've been washing my hands a lot more now," Dr. Schadt said.

The most interesting pilot study, he says, was the analyses of sewage.

"If you want to cast as broad a net as possible, sewage is pretty great," Dr. Schadt said. "Everybody contributes to it every day."

To his surprise, he saw not only disease-causing microbes but also microbes that live in specific foods, like chicken or peppers or tomatoes.

"I said, 'Wow, this is like public health epidemiology,'" he said. "We could start assessing the dietary composition of a region and correlate it with health." — © New York Times News Service

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THE HINDU

IT IS A LONG JOURNEY AHEAD: KEJRIWAL

ARVIND KEJRIWAL

received the Magsaysay award in the Emergent leadership category in 2006. A mere five years later, he has far surpassed that milestone, winning acclaim and notice for the way he conceived and crafted Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement. He talks to Vidya Subrahmaniam about the Jan Lokpal campaign, what it accomplished and why it often became controversial.

The scale and spread of the Anna movement have baffled many. How did this happen?

A movement cannot be created out of nothing. In this case, anger against corruption was at the point of eruption. Then two things happened. One, instead of merely echoing the anger, the Jan Lokpal Bill (JLB) offered a solution. Second, Anna emerged as a credible leader at a time of huge leadership crisis in politics. See, people did not understand the details of the JBL. They simply saw it as a " dawai " [medicine] for corruption. It is the combination of a solution and a figure like Anna — who lived in a temple with no assets — that clicked.

When we conducted referendums on the JLB, we used to try and explain its contents to people. But they said they did not want to understand the details. They just wanted to put a mohar [stamp] on Anna.

How did you communicate your message to such a large number of people?

Technology played a key role in this. When in January this year, India Against Corruption (IAC) member Shivendra suggested to us that we use Facebook to publicise our rallies, I dismissed it saying Facebook has a limited, urban following. But Shivendra went ahead. We had planned a single rally on January 30 at the Ramlila Maidan. But because we connected on Facebook, we were able to conduct simultaneous rallies in 64 cities. SMS texting also played a critical role. Our SMS communication was designed very intelligently. A company in Mumbai suggested we ask for missed calls as a mark of solidarity. Missed calls cost nothing. In March, we sent out two crore SMS messages and got 50,000 missed calls. Then we targeted the 50,000 callers, asking if they would like to enrol as volunteers for IAC. Initially 13 people responded. We sent two more rounds of messages to the 50,000 callers. And in just one week, the number of volunteers swelled to 800.

Surely television played a disproportionate role in projecting the movement.

TV certainly helped, both when Anna sat on a fast at Jantar Mantar and then at Ramlila Maidan. But the media cannot create a moment. They can at best magnify it. The crowds at Ramlila and the crowds that followed him when he left for Medanta hospital were not manufactured.

There have been reports of dissensions within the Anna camp. Also that the deadlock was broken only because Congress/government negotiators spoke directly to Anna.

Anna appointed Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and me to negotiate with the government. One day I was very tired and Kiran was also not around. So, Medha and Prashant went for the meeting. The next thing we hear [from the media] is that Kiran and I have been sidelined, that we are hardliners, and we are deliberately preventing Anna from breaking his fast. This was disinformation by the government.

You started with the maximalist position of "Jan Lokpal Bill by August 30 and any amendments only with Anna's permission." From that to accepting a "sense-of-the-house" resolution that was not voted upon — wasn't it a climbdown?

When we started on August 16, there was such an overwhelming response that we thought the government would agree to our demands. People wanted the JLB. After a few days we realised that there was a serious leadership crisis in the government — negotiators were constantly backing off. In the last three days of the fast, it happened four times. The Prime Minister made a conciliatory statement, Rahul Gandhi went off on a tangent. Salman Khurshid, Medha and Prashant sat together and drafted a resolution. Next day [August 27], at 1.30 p.m., Salman said no resolution. It became clear to us that what we wanted — Parliament voting on a resolution containing Anna's three demands — was not going to happen. Therefore we had to change our strategy.

Are you satisfied with the resolution that was adopted? It is not categorical and leaves escape clauses.

We are satisfied because it contains Anna's three demands. It will not be easy for the Standing Committee to renege on Parliament's commitment. We will be keenly watching the Committee's proceedings and the MPs also ought to know that they are on watch. I know, of course, that it is a long journey ahead.

Kiran Bedi told a TV channel that at one point when all seemed lost, a miracle happened: L.K. Advani called her and gave her his word that a solution will be reached by the following evening [August 27]. She also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party, which until then was ambiguous on the JLB, changed its stand and offered full support to Anna.

We met the leaders of the main political parties thrice and as part of this we also met Mr. Advani. However, we have been clear that no BJP leader or leader of any communal organisation will share the stage with us. This is the decision of our core committee. As for Kiran talking about Mr. Advani, please put that question to her.

So are you an apolitical movement?

No, we are political but we are concerned with people's politics. The movement will always remain outside of political parties and outside of electoral politics.

You will not float a political party?

No, never. We don't need to get into the system to fight it. We want to pressure the government and assert our rights as citizens. Everyone who has a dream need not get into politics.

Doubts have been raised about the credentials of those who have donated money to IAC. Sometime ago, a citizens' group from Hyderabad wrote to you saying it was shocked to see some very discredited names in your list of donors.

A number of people have contributed money to the Anna movement. There is complete transparency from our side. Our receipts and expenditure are transparent. But we have no mechanism to go into the antecedents of our donors. And donations are streaming in, making it impossible to keep track. If there is a glaring case, we will certainly investigate it. I know, for instance, that there has been talk of the Jindal group. But those who donated to IAC are from Sitaram Jindal, not the Jindal mining group.

Your entire fight is about transparency and accountability. One of your NGOs, Public Cause Research Foundation, received donations on behalf of IAC and issued receipts in its name. But until August 29, there was no mention of Anna or the donations on the PCRF website.

That is an oversight. We will immediately update the website and provide a link to IAC.

Another of your NGOs, Kabir, received grants from the Ford Foundation (FF). According to the FF, Kabir received $172,000 in 2005 and $197,000 in 2008. The FF also sanctioned an "in-principle" grant of $200,000 for 2011, which you have not accepted so far. Why does Kabir not mention the FF and these specific details on its website?

We did not give the specific details because we also got some other NRI contributions and these were clubbed together. I will make sure that the website gives the break-up.

Fears have been expressed about the form of mobilisation we saw over the last four months. There was anger and impatience and, some would say, coercion in your methods. During the Ram Rath yatra, too, the BJP said people were angry because the mandir had not been built for 40 years. Aren't you setting a worrying precedent?

The two situations are not comparable. One was communal and divisive and went against the grain of the Constitution. We are not asking for anything illegal. Our demands resonate with the people and our movement has been unifying, non-violent and entirely within rights given by the Constitution. What is wrong if people demand a strong law against corruption? What is wrong if they ask for the Jan Lokpal Bill?

Why did you ask for Parliamentary due process to be suspended? You didn't want the JLB to go to the Standing Committee.

The JLB was drafted after wide consultations; it underwent many revisions based on feedback. Where is this kind of discussion in the drafting of any sarkari Bill? The purpose of the Standing Committee is to take multiple views on board. But not all Bills reach the Standing Committee, and in 90 per cent of the cases, the government does not accept the Committee's recommendations. So why the fuss only for JLB which has been widely discussed and debated?

'We want to pressure the government and assert our rights as citizens.'

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THE HINDU

A HANGING

GEORGE ORWELL

The barbarity and "unspeakable wrongness" of capital punishment — of "cutting a life short when it is in full tide" — has rarely been brought out as powerfully and as movingly as in George Orwell's 2000-word essay, "A Hanging." Published in 1931 in The Adelphi , a British literary magazine, this journalistic gem describes the execution of a criminal in Burma — where Eric Arthur Blair, which was Orwell's real name, served in the British Imperial Police between 1922 and 1927. The clinical tone of the narration of the forced march to the gallows serves as a perfect foil to the moral revulsion and horror that Orwell wanted his readers to experience. The Hindu publishes, with permission from the copyright holder, "A Hanging" as part of its editorial campaign for the abolition of capital punishment in India. This is in the context of the scheduled execution, now stayed, of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the impending execution of other convicts on death row — Editor-in-Chief .

It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. A sickly light, like yellow tinfoil, was slanting over the high walls into the jail yard. We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot of drinking water. In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two.

One prisoner had been brought out of his cell. He was a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. He had a thick, sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body, rather like the moustache of a comic man on the films. Six tall Indian warders were guarding him and getting him ready for the gallows. Two of them stood by with rifles and fixed bayonets, while the others handcuffed him, passed a chain through his handcuffs and fixed it to their belts, and lashed his arms tight to his sides. They crowded very close about him, with their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there. It was like men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water. But he stood quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening.

Eight o'clock struck and a bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air, floated from the distant barracks. The superintendent of the jail, who was standing apart from the rest of us, moodily prodding the gravel with his stick, raised his head at the sound. He was an army doctor, with a grey toothbrush moustache and a gruff voice. 'For God's sake hurry up, Francis,' he said irritably. ' The man ought to have been dead by this time. Aren't you ready yet?'

Francis, the head jailer, a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles, waved his black hand. 'Yes sir, yes sir,' he bubbled. 'All iss satisfactorily prepared. The hangman iss waiting. We shall proceed.'

'Well, quick march, then. The prisoners can't get their breakfast till this job's over.'

We set out for the gallows. Two warders marched on either side of the prisoner, with their rifles at the slope; two others marched close against him, gripping him by arm and shoulder, as though at once pushing and supporting him. The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind. Suddenly, when we had gone ten yards, the procession stopped short without any order or warning. A dreadful thing had happened — a dog, come goodness knows whence, had appeared in the yard. It came bounding among us with a loud volley of barks, and leapt round us wagging its whole body, wild with glee at finding so many human beings together. It was a large woolly dog, half Airedale … For a moment it pranced round us, and then, before anyone could stop it, it had made a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face. Everyone stood aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog.

'Who let that bloody brute in here?' said the superintendent angrily. 'Catch it, someone!'

A warder, detached from the escort, charged clumsily after the dog, but it danced and gambolled just out of his reach, taking everything as part of the game. A young Eurasian jailer picked up a handful of gravel and tried to stone the dog away, but it dodged the stones and came after us again. Its yaps echoed from the jail wails. The prisoner, in the grasp of the two warders, looked on incuriously, as though this was another formality of the hanging. It was several minutes before someone managed to catch the dog. Then we put my handkerchief through its collar and moved off once more, with the dog still straining and whimpering.

It was about forty yards to the gallows. I watched the bare brown back of the prisoner marching in front of me. He walked clumsily with his bound arms, but quite steadily, with that bobbing gait of the Indian who never straightens his knees. At each step his muscles slid neatly into place, the lock of hair on his scalp danced up and down, his feet printed themselves on the wet gravel. And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path.

It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned — reasoned even about puddles. He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone — one mind less, one world less.

The gallows stood in a small yard, separate from the main grounds of the prison, and overgrown with tall prickly weeds. It was a brick erection like three sides of a shed, with planking on top, and above that two beams and a crossbar with the rope dangling. The hangman, a grey-haired convict in the white uniform of the prison, was waiting beside his machine. He greeted us with a servile crouch as we entered. At a word from Francis the two warders, gripping the prisoner more closely than ever, half led, half pushed him to the gallows and helped him clumsily up the ladder. Then the hangman climbed up and fixed the rope round the prisoner's neck.

We stood waiting, five yards away. The warders had formed in a rough circle round the gallows. And then, when the noose was fixed, the prisoner began crying out on his god. It was a high, reiterated cry of 'Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!', not urgent and fearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, rhythmical, almost like the tolling of a bell. The dog answered the sound with a whine. The hangman, still standing on the gallows, produced a small cotton bag like a flour bag and drew it down over the prisoner's face. But the sound, muffled by the cloth, still persisted, over and over again: 'Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!'

The hangman climbed down and stood ready, holding the lever. Minutes seemed to pass. The steady, muffled crying from the prisoner went on and on, 'Ram! Ram! Ram!' never faltering for an instant. The superintendent, his head on his chest, was slowly poking the ground with his stick; perhaps he was counting the cries, allowing the prisoner a fixed number — fifty, perhaps, or a hundred. Everyone had changed colour. The Indians had gone grey like bad coffee, and one or two of the bayonets were wavering. We looked at the lashed, hooded man on the drop, and listened to his cries — each cry another second of life; the same thought was in all our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!

Suddenly the superintendent made up his mind. Throwing up his head he made a swift motion with his stick. 'Chalo!' he shouted almost fiercely.

There was a clanking noise, and then dead silence. The prisoner had vanished, and the rope was twisting on itself. I let go of the dog, and it galloped immediately to the back of the gallows; but when it got there it stopped short, barked, and then retreated into a corner of the yard, where it stood among the weeds, looking timorously out at us. We went round the gallows to inspect the prisoner's body. He was dangling with his toes pointed straight downwards, very slowly revolving, as dead as a stone.

The superintendent reached out with his stick and poked the bare body; it oscillated, slightly. ' He 's all right,' said the superintendent. He backed out from under the gallows, and blew out a deep breath. The moody look had gone out of his face quite suddenly. He glanced at his wrist-watch. 'Eight minutes past eight. Well, that's all for this morning, thank God.'

The warders unfixed bayonets and marched away. The dog, sobered and conscious of having misbehaved itself, slipped after them. We walked out of the gallows yard, past the condemned cells with their waiting prisoners, into the big central yard of the prison. The convicts, under the command of warders armed with lathis, were already receiving their breakfast. They squatted in long rows, each man holding a tin pannikin, while two warders with buckets marched round ladling out rice; it seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging. An enormous relief had come upon us now that the job was done. One felt an impulse to sing, to break into a run, to snigger. All at once everyone began chattering gaily.

The Eurasian boy walking beside me nodded towards the way we had come, with a knowing smile: 'Do you know, sir, our friend (he meant the dead man), when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell. From fright. — Kindly take one of my cigarettes, sir. Do you not admire my new silver case, sir? From the boxwallah, two rupees eight annas. Classy European style.'

Several people laughed — at what, nobody seemed certain.

Francis was walking by the superintendent, talking garrulously. 'Well, sir, all hass passed off with the utmost satisfactoriness. It wass all finished — flick! like that. It iss not always so — oah, no! I have known cases where the doctor wass obliged to go beneath the gallows and pull the prisoner's legs to ensure decease. Most disagreeable!'

'Wriggling about, eh? That's bad,' said the superintendent.

'Ach, sir, it iss worse when they become refractory! One man, I recall, clung to the bars of hiss cage when we went to take him out. You will scarcely credit, sir, that it took six warders to dislodge him, three pulling at each leg. We reasoned with him. "My dear fellow," we said, "think of all the pain and trouble you are causing to us!" But no, he would not listen! Ach, he wass very troublesome!'

I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing. Even the superintendent grinned in a tolerant way. 'You'd better all come out and have a drink,' he said quite genially. 'I've got a bottle of whisky in the car. We could do with it.'

We went through the big double gates of the prison, into the road. ' Pulling at his legs!' exclaimed a Burmese magistrate suddenly, and burst into a loud chuckling. We all began laughing again. At that moment Francis's anecdote seemed extraordinarily funny. We all had a drink together, native and European alike, quite amicably. The dead man was a hundred yards away.

1931 — © By permission of the Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

NO, MINISTER

S.K. SINHA

The architect of our Constitution, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, warned, "Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul but, in politics, bhakti or hero worship is a sure road to degeneration and eventual dictatorship." Jawaharlal Nehru, in an anonymous letter in the early Thirties published in the Modern Review, made a scathing criticism of himself. "Nehru has all the makings of a dictator, vast popularity, intolerance of others and his conceit is formidable. He must be checked. We want no Caesar." He laid a very sound foundation for democracy in India. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not only the great integrator of the nation but also a great administrator with a vision.

At the time of Independence, there was a strong prejudice against ICS and IP officers. There was a demand to wind up these services. Patel realised that Independent India needed the steel frame developed during British rule to run the administration at that critical time. He not only did not allow these services to be wound up, but ensured that they retained all their privileges. These officers served the new regime loyally. Their successor services, the IAS and IPS, were given reduced salaries, conforming to the government's socialistic policy of reducing the gap between the higher and lower government servants. He wanted civil servants to give frank advice, even when it was contrary to the views of their political bosses. Once the latter took a decision, orders had to be implemented faithfully.

Nehru was a great democrat. He decried obsequious behaviour to the extent that he once struck a person trying to touch his feet. He was considered infallible on foreign policy. People were too overawed to present any contrary view before him and this led to the debacle of 1962. The Army leadership of that time must share considerable blame for that disaster. It should have strongly advised him against his defence policy in the Himalayas and, if overruled, should have resigned. Napoleon wrote, "Every General-in-Chief who executes a plan which he finds bad is guilty. He should represent and insist that the plan be changed. If he is unable to do so, he must resign rather than be an instrument for the ruin of his troops."

Indira Gandhi's handling of the 1971 war was superb but her home policies were terribly flawed. Her advocacy of a committed judiciary and committed bureaucracy struck at the root of democracy. After some hiccups, the judiciary managed to regain its independence, but the bureaucracy lost its neutrality. Her statement about corruption being a global phenomenon implied permissiveness. She destroyed democracy during the Black Emergency. I was the head of Military Intelligence at that time and a member of the Joint Intelligence Committee with my counterparts in civil intelligence agencies. Civil intelligence assessments praised the Emergency as leading to improved government functioning, a better law and order situation, trains running on time, etc. There was also praise for the leadership and popularity of the then heir apparent. My contribution was confined to military matters and the apolitical stance of the Army. This was important at that time in view of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family in Dhaka. I was amazed to see how the bureaucracy had lost its spine. Sycophancy was rampant. No wonder intelligence assessments misled Indira Gandhi to go for elections. She and her party were routed in 1977.

I had seen the British administration in India from close quarters. My first few years of service were in the British Indian Army. Although corruption existed at the lower levels, the higher echelons were completely corruption-free. Sycophancy was almost non-existent. An officer could serve with more dignity and self-respect during the British regime than during the Emergency and after. There were, of course, exceptions. Appu, director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, expelled an IAS probationer for grave misconduct with a lady colleague. The probationer had political pull and got himself reinstated. Appu resigned in protest. Venkateswaran resigned immediately as foreign secretary when Rajiv Gandhi announced at a press conference that there would be a new foreign secretary. I quote, in all humility, my own experience. As
C-in-C Western Army, I was asked by the Punjab government to send tanks to Mehta Chowk Gurdwara to arrest Bhindranwale and his 40 armed men in the Gurdwara. I declined and urged the then chief minister, Darbara Singh, to use his armed police or the CRP as the Army had no powers of arrest. Two days later, I received the Prime Minister's orders to apprehend Bhindranwale and report completion by next morning. I represented that my troops were 30 miles from Mehta Chowk. Carrying out the operation that night, without daylight reconnaissance, may result in indiscriminate firing and heavy casualties. I again urged that the task be carried out by the police and paramilitary but, if the Army had to do so, we would do it the following night after due preparation. Indira Gandhi accepted my recommendation and revised her order.

Starting from Anna Hazare's April fast at Jantar Mantar till a day before he broke his fast, the government blundered hopelessly. One does not know what intelligence assessments and advice the bureaucracy gave the government. Perhaps the government was misled, as Indira Gandhi was during the Emergency. It was pathetic to see the party of Nehru and Shastri passing the buck to the Delhi police commissioner. Matters have been resolved for the present, but we must learn from past mistakes. A first step towards the fight against corruption has been taken. We must also start working on eliminating sycophancy. There should be a three-year cooling period, as in the US, before any assignment for a retired official.

The ancient Oracle of Delphi was asked what could destroy Sparta. The reply was, luxury. Today, in India's context, the reply would be corruption and sycophancy.

S.K. Sinha, a retired lieutenant-general, was Vice-Chief of Army Staff and has served as governor of Assam and J&K

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THE ASIAN AGE

EDITORIAL

MPS SHOULD RISE ABOVE PETTINESS

If reports are true that some Congress MPs are looking for a conspiracy theory to explain the party's initial wooden reaction in dealing with the Anna Hazare movement, then we can be sure the ruling party is about to shoot itself in the foot. Apparently, it is being sought to be suggested that a section of the party wished to deliberately undermine the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and (in party president Sonia Gandhi's absence) Rahul Gandhi. This is why Mr Hazare was despatched to Tihar jail under a carefully plotted ploy to give the Congress a bad name. Such humbug has not been heard for a long time, and is quite clearly a barely disguised effort to curry favour with the young Mr Gandhi.

If Congress leaders have any sense, they would steer clear of sycophants. Instead of scrutinising intra-party factions to spot lurking conspirators, the ruling party would do well to try to improve its stock in the eyes of the people through smart moves in Parliament. While the Lokpal Bill would go through the normal process, and is currently at the standing committee stage, nothing stops the Congress-led UPA from advertising its intention to attack corruption and misgovernance in other ways. The government has done well to make its intention known to bring suitable changes to the government's procurement polices where expenditures can run to nearly a fifth of the country's GDP. In the same way, the Manmohan Singh government can take the public into confidence on the state of play regarding other proposed legislative measures being talked about in the change in atmospherics being wrought by Mr Hazare. These include the Whistleblowers Bill and the Public Grievances Redress Bill. These were put into the pipeline about a year ago, but have not been really heard of since. A part of the reason is that Opposition parties have been stalling Parliament since the Winter Session last year. In effect, three sessions have been lost to politics-related disruptions, and less than 10 days remain of the current Monsoon Session.

This time should be sought to be used well, particularly by the ruling party. It would be a great pity if Parliament gave the impression of being preoccupied with pettiness. Alas, this is the sense conveyed by the outstandingly silly move by some MPs to have issued a notice of breach of privilege against Bollywood actor Om Puri and former police officer and Anna Hazare acolyte Kiran Bedi for their forgettable remarks against the political class. Parliament just rose to the occasion in accommodating Mr Hazare. For this it was admired. Let it not spoil the effect.

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DAILY EXCELSIOR

EDITORIAL

PM'S PACKAGE

President and Patron NC Minority Cell and MLC recently spoke to a group of his admirers. He pontificated that the PM's employment package announced in early 2008 on the occasion of inauguration of Akhnoor Bridge was a "trend setter" for the return of the Pandits to their homes and hearths in the Valley. He ridiculed those whom he thought were not happy with the package. He is of opinion that "employment of 800 "migrants" will open the gate for permanent return of displaced Pandits to their homes and hearths in Valley by bringing the members of majority and minority community together."

This is an interesting as well as amusing piece of news since it is a rare occasion for the official president and patron of NC Minority Cell to come out with his cryptic comment focused more on pleasing his party patriarchs than on the Cell he presides over. He is the President of NC Minority Cell. Does the constitution of the State, drafted, debated and passed by party majority to which he belongs, recognize any "minority" in the state? None, and much less a religious minority. There is not a single clause, a single sentence and a single phrase in the entire State Constitution in which anything is said about a minority, its definition, its criterion and its rights. Same is true about the historical speech of NC stalwart Sheikh Mohd Abdullah made in the LA when the constitution was passed. What the constitution repeatedly speaks about is "deprived people" and not "deprived groups". The UN Human Rights Charter has struggled to lay down clear definition of a minority but without much success. That is the reason why it constituted the Working Group on Minorities which has been regularly updating the definition of a minority community. It is in one of its formal exercises that the Working Group included a new clause of definition as "reverse minority" and added "like Kashmiri Pandits" by way of elucidation. This stands formally documented with the UN Human Rights Commission. Therefore, before bolstering somebody as the "President and Patron of a Minority Cell", it is logical that first the construct of the "minority" has to be recognized in fall its dimensions. This leads us to the exchange of views and correspondence between the activists of minority-concept for the State including the Pandits, and the National Minority Commission on the issue of the Union Government granting recognition to the Pandits as a "minority" community. Despite strong recommendation, verbal as well as written by the National Minority Commission to the Union Home Ministry and the then Chief Minster of the State, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, no action has been taken. The President of NC Minority Cell is something like a monarch without an inch of territory. It was strongly emphasized that in the light of Article 370 of the Constitution giving special status to J&K, recognition of religious, ethnic, linguistic and other minorities in the State was a logical conclusion and should not have been delayed. This never happened, and yet a gratuitous appellation has been charitied to an ex-bureaucrat to compensate him for denying him a berth on the bandwagon of power. A ruling party loath to allow a seat in the Cabinet to the "President and Patron of its Minority Cell" can hardly claim to be dealing the religious minority with even-handed justice.
The second amusing part of "Patron's" pontification is that according to him giving employment to under 800 persons in Class III-IV category and posting them through a forced agreement aginst their free will in remote rural areas of a state that is rife with active terrorism and rabid fanaticism will "open the gate for permanent return of displaced Pandits to their homes and hearths in Valley by bringing the members of majority and minority community together." Did PM's employment package stipulate a forced undertaking and never to ask for transfer? Did the package envisage easing their suffering or making them a prisoner? In a State where the Chief Minister rides a five kilometer distance from his residence to the SKICC (Centaur) in a helicopter avoiding road transport for security reasons, explains more than what one may say on the security scenario in the summer capital. The Patron of the Cell being a bureaucrat and not a politician by profession is unable to look at situations in historical perspective. An astute politician in his place would never link the return of the displaced persons to the lower jobs offered to the destitute in exile; he would link it to the goodwill of the majority community. And the majority community at the moment is already showing its annoyance at the government employing 800 displaced persons, forgetting that during past two decades no fewer than 8 lakh jobs of all ranks have been filled in the Valley according to public statements of the ruling party Ministers. The question is not return and rehabilitation of the displaced persons; the real question is the yawning gap between the percept and practice in a secular state. The President of the NC Minority Cell should have opened this important subject for most serious public debate through the aegis of his office, the relevant platform for such a debate. We want him to ride the horse and not keep cleaning the stable.

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DAILY EXCELSIOR

EDITORIAL

PROMOTING SPORTS

The nation proudly remembers the great hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand by celebrating the National Sports Day dedicated to him. Jammu, with a glorious tradition of sports, has not lagged behind. It is satisfying that the Minister for Youth Services and Sports is deeply interested in promoting sports culture and potential of games in the state by providing upgraded sports infrastructure, environment and incentives. Some awards have been installed but much more needs to be done to encourage State sports lovers. Sports potential among our youth has to be explored and exploited so that Jammu and Kashmir also comes up on the sports map of the country. Sports infrastructure is a comprehensive management and this has to be undertaken in phased manner. Stadiums, playing grounds, formation of sports teams on tehsil and district level, regular competitions and sports jamborees are the pre-requisites. Sports culture has to be inculcated among the youth. Special hostels for the sportspersons need to be built at district lever and maintained properly. Funding for district level sports organizations is also of much importance to giving a boot to our sports arrangements.

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DAILY EXCELSIOR

EDITORIAL

WHAT HAS ANNA HAZARE GAINED ?

BY SRINIVASAN K. RANGACHARY

The victory has not been of Anna Hazare or his "team" but of the people of India. The support they extended to the fasting Gandhian, the resolve with which they staged demonstrations and shared the long days and nights with him, their anger, their disgust, their frustration all together had an impact by making the government of India accountable, and Parliament humble.
These columns have recorded, at some length, the politics and the situation in the country over these trying days. Team Anna has managed affairs cleverly and with a sense of responsibility for Anna Hazare who clearly motivated the young, the old, the poor and the middle class into coming out in full support. The crowds at Ramlila were poor, illiterate, rickshawwallas, auto drivers and of course the youth who have embraced the ageing Hazare as their icon. Gandhi saw a revival on the streets of India, as the honesty and courage associated with him was transferred in part to Anna Hazare who was given the peoples mandate to lead their struggle against corruption.
The days saw the government obfuscating vacillating, and eventually crawling.
Of course there was in the midst of all this the strange sight of scion Rahul Gandhi making a speech during zero hour that is reserved usually for mention of important issues by agitating members, where he read out from a written text, and completely contradicted an earlier statement by his own Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Rahul Gandhi's was a hard speech, ruling out the space for dissent, and asserting the supremacy of those in power in all matters of policy.
The rest was just meaningless rhetoric, part of the general cacophony.
One point stands out during this entire debate. And that is the interpretation of the Indian Constitution where the Congress and its allies insisted in and outside Parliament about the supremacy of Parliament, while many other political parties as well as the people were adamant about the supremacy of the people. The truth is in between, as both sides- the elected representatives in Parliament and the people at large- have to follow a bordering line to ensure that the one does not become authoritarian and non- democratic and the other anarchic by crossing this boundary. The Anna Hazare movement did keep well within these limits, controlling the support and yet keeping sufficient pressure on the government to ensure that it listened to the voice of the people. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the Congress in the stages between the two protest phases, and just after. A certain authoritarianism and intolerance was evident in the smear campaign launched against Anna Hazare and his team members, and in the virtual rejection of their demands. Various charges were hurled with them even during the last few days some of these being: 1) The Anna team fascist and they control him. Hardly are they all people who have worked well with others for years now, and are well known. Arvind Kejriwal for instance, was part of Aruna Roy's team until he left and is certainly not bigger or for that matter smaller, than those heading other NGOs. These are people with a passionate belief in their fight against corruption and have been taking up the issue for years in some form or the other. Besides, anyone who knows Anna Hazare knows also that he is stubborn, and certainly not pliable. Of course there are weak links, and glitches that showed up in these pressure packed days, such as the strange undignified act by the former Police Commissioner Kiran Bedi on the stage. 2) They are bypassing Parliament.
Not at all. They are asking Parliament to do its duty, and pass an effective and not a useless piece of legislation. Hazare and his men are not passing the Bill, they want a strong and effective Bill and want definitive assurances from the government that this is what will be done. This assurance has still not been forthcoming as the government is looking for a way to salvage the situation without conceding an inch.
3) His is just a middle class movement.
This would have been relevant years ago when the middle class was not particularly large in this country. Now it is huge and certainly not irrelevant and has to be recognised as such. Besides the poor too are attaching themselves to the movement in a big way. A visit to Ramlila grounds showed the crowd to be rickshawallas, auto drivers, workers, farmers and of course the youth.
4) Anna Hazare and his team cannot get themselves elected. That is not their purpose. They do not want to become politicians; they want to pressure politicians and the system into cleansing itself.
The movement is focusing on corruption, the face of the movement is Anna Hazare but the other issues that have been raised as a consequence are also centre stage and extremely important- peoples empowerment, rights, justice, democratic space and accountability.
The right to protest is guaranteed to the people and the words emerging from Congress lips really seek to make a mockery of people's participation in determining their present and future.
So at the end of it all what has Anna Hazare achieved? Accountability and democratic space. The Jan Lokpal Bill might not be the panacea as many in the Movement against Corruption are hoping, but it will certainly create heart burn and if headed by a good individual and team could make a difference to the rampant corruption that has taken over this nation. But in being able to get their way, the people have been empowered. This will go a long way in sustaining other crucial movements like those against land acquisition, and will give the strength to the people to ask for their rights. The democratic space that had been vastly reduced by the UPA government has expanded again, and this in itself is a major contribution for people's rights.
The people are supreme in this country, under the Indian Constitution so one fails to understand why this "Parliament is supreme" cry by the Congress and parties like the RJD is all about.
Parliament is supreme in legislating and Anna Hazare certainly was not trying to take away this power. He only wanted the government to acknowledge that its Lokpal Bill was a weak and ineffective piece of legislation, and to ensure that a stronger, more effective Bill was accepted and introduced in Parliament. And of course, passed.
What are people supposed to do when Parliament and the government stop listening to them? And when everything they say falls on deaf ears? The support that Hazare got clearly demonstrates the anger of the people over this indifference and neglect, and perhaps the Congress will think several times before it turns away from the janata at large. Interestingly, the Congress apologists in the media and civil society have been working hard to puncture the Anna Hazare movement, but eventually have been isolated by the very government they sought to protect, as eventually it walked over to the other side. (INAV)

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DAILY EXCELSIOR

EDITORIAL

PAKISTAN STILL HELPING TERRORISTS

BY B K CHUM

Call it its habitual double-speak or helplessness, Pakistan's role in encouraging militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is again back in media headlines. Ironically, this is happening amidst stepped-up efforts by India and Pakistan to normalize their relations. Pakistan's youthful Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar during her last week's China visit said that "India and Pakistan should learn to live with each other". She also repeated in her August 24 Beijing statement her country's resolve not to allow its territory to be used for terror activities.
But the latest reports from Jammu and Kashmir show that Pakistan continues to allow the militants to use its territory to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir for escalating the almost "under-control" terror violence. During her last week's China visit Khar also had to face the Chinese charge that the militants of the separatist East Turkistan Islamic Movement who carried out attacks in Kashghar in the country's Xinjiang province, were trained at Pakistani-based terror camps.
What has been happening in Jammu and Kashmir for the past fortnight exposes Pakistan's double-speak about training and helping the militants for infiltration in the state.
Indian Intelligence and the Army have been reporting large number of militants trained at the PoK-based training camps concentrating across the Line of Control for infiltrating into the state. This has been borne out by the rising number of encounters between the Army and groups of armed militants attempting to cross into Jammu and Kashmir. These attempts were preceded by over half a dozen ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army. Past experience shows that Pakistan Army resorts to ceasefire violations during summer to provide cover to militants to cross the LoC. In one of the last week's major encounters, twelve of the heavily armed large militants group were killed by the Army.
The truth about Pakistan's earlier assurances -the first given to India by the country's former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 1996- that it would not allow its territory to be used for terror activities in other countries was exposed by the self-exiled dictator's own admission two years ago in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel that "Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir".
The Pakistani authorities repeated declarations of not permitting its soil to be used by the militants against other countries have proved to be hypocritical by the continued terror strikes -the 26/11 Mumbai attack being the last big strike- against India by the ISI-trained militants. Pakistan first denied that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack were its citizens. But later it had to admit that they were. Under global pressure Pakistan was forced to initiate action against them.
Leave aside the long history of India and Pakistan's ruptured relationship, Pakistan has lately been under attack from its closest allies USA and China. It is the continuous sponsoring of terror violence in the foreign lands by Pakistan's still all-powerful Army and its ISI which are mainly responsible for Pakistan's growing global isolation. Even a US top General recently held Pakistan responsible for the deteriorating ties between the two countries mainly because of the ISI's encouragement of the terrorists, as revealed by the ISI agent Ghulam Nabi Fai's arrest by the FBI.
Pakistan agencies have been sponsoring terror attacks not only in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, they are also now ordering killing of some Kashmiri separatists and religious leaders. The latest instance is the assassination of Moulvi Showkat Shah, former head of the pro-separatist socio-religious group Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees. He was killed in a bomb attack while he was entering the mosque for Friday prayers on April 8 last. First blaming the Army for his assassination, the Lashkar-e-Toiba carried out an internal investigation into the cleric's killing. The Lashkar's report released on August 25 by an All-party Probe Committee comprising all the separatist bodies said that one of its own members murdered Shah following instructions from "Pakistani handlers".
Pakistan's role in promoting terrorism in other countries has already boomeranged as the country itself has now become a victim of escalating terror violence of which its commercial capital Karachi has become a major target after the north-western tribal region.
Pakistan is reaping what its successive governments had sown. In the 1980s, the ISI and CIA trained and armed Talibans to fight the Soviet Army in Afghanistan. After Soviets ouster, Pakistan, in collaboration with the US, propped up the Talibans to form government in the country. But after the US Army ousted the Taliban regime in the wake of 9/11 US attacks, the Jihadis, indoctrinated by Pakistan's religious fanatics, made Pakistan their target. While Taliban militants from Afghanistan are launching cross border raids to kill Pakistan's security men, the country's own home grown Taliban whose terror attacks have been on the rise now threaten Pakistan's survival as an independent entity. By sponsoring terror attacks first in India and then in Afghanistan, Pakistani rulers forgot they were riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.
Pakistan seems to have now realized its folly of nursing and sponsoring terror in other countries. It is this realisation that is apparently behind its seemingly keen desire to seek peace with India as reflected in the country's Foreign Minister Khar's conciliatory utterances during her recent visit to India. (IPA)

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DAILY EXCELSIOR

EDITORIAL

THE MODERN SLAVE TRADE

BY HARJEET SINGH

Two centuries after the abolition of slavery we are seeing the reintroduction of an abominable practice: human trafficking. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that 12.3 million people each year are taken captive by networks tied to international crime and used as forced labour in inhuman conditions.
In the case of women, the victims are subjected mostly to sexual exploitation while others are exploited as domestic servants. There is also the case of youths who are taken captive through various scams so their body parts can be sold in the international human organ trade.
These practices are expanding more and more to satisfy the demand for cheap labour in sectors like the hotel and restaurant industries, agriculture, and construction. The OSCE dedicated two days of its last international conference in Vienna in late June to this subject.
Though the phenomenon is international, various specialists asserted that the plague of slave labour is growing rapidly in the EU. Unions and labour groups estimate that in Europe there are hundreds of thousands of workers subjected to the blight of slavery.
In Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and other countries of the EU, foreign migrant workers attracted by the mirage of Europe find themselves trapped in the networks of various mafias and working in conditions like slaves of past ages.
An ILO report reveals that south of Naples, for example, 1200 homeless farm labourers work twelve hours per day in greenhouses without contracts and for miserable pay, guarded by private militias and living in what resemble concentration camps.
This "work camp" is not the only one in Europe; thousands and thousands of undocumented immigrants have met similar fates, victims of a modern slave trade flourishing in any number of European countries.
Responsibility for this expansion of human trafficking lies largely with the current dominant economic model. In effect, the form of neo-liberal globalisation than has been imposed over the last three decades through economic shock therapy has devastated the most fragile levels of society and imposed extremely high social costs. It has created a fierce competition between labour and capital.
In the name of free trade, the major multinationals manufacture and sell their goods around the world, producing where labour is cheapest and selling where the cost of living is highest. The new capitalism has made competitiveness its primary engine and brought about a commodification of labour and labourers.
Globalisation, which offers remarkable opportunities to a lucky few, imposes on the rest, in Europe, a ruthless and unmediated competition between EU salary workers, small businesses, small farmers and their badly-paid, exploited counterparts on the other side. The result we now see clearly before us: social dumping on a planetary scale.
For employment the result is disastrous. For example, in France in the last twenty years this phenomenon has caused the elimination of more than two million jobs in the industrial sector alone.
In Europe where there is a chronic shortage of labour tend to use undocumented workers, which in turn fuels the trafficking of more workers by clandestine networks that in many cases force them into slave labour.
Despite the many tools of international law available to combat these crimes, and despite the proliferation of public statements by government officials condemning them, the public will to put an end to the practice is weak. In reality, the management of industry and construction and major agricultural exporters exert constant pressure on governments to turn a blind eye to the trafficking of undocumented workers.
Today's human traffickers are not the only ones exploiting slave labour: now a form of 'legal servitude' is being developed. Last February in Italy Fiat served its workers with the following extortionate ultimatum: either agree to work more, for less money or the company will shift operations to Eastern Europe. Faced with the prospect of being fired and terrorised by the conditions 63 per cent of the Fiat workers voted for their own exploitation.
In Europe many employers, taking advantage of the crisis and brutal fiscal adjustment policies being imposed, are trying to establish similar forms of 'legal servitude.' Thanks to the tools made available by neo-liberal globalisation, they threaten their workers with savage competition from cheap labour in distant countries. If we are to avoid this form of corrosive social regression, we will have to begin to question the current workings of globalisation - and begin the process of deglobalisation. (INAV)

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EDITORIAL

CHANGING THE GOAL POSTS

ARMY CHIEF'S AGE PLEA LACKS GRACE

Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh has filed a statutory complaint to the Defence Minister seeking re-examination of his earlier application for a correction in his year of birth. General Singh had filed his earlier plea after seeking legal opinion, including from three retired Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. His recent complaint follows after the Ministry of Defence rejected his earlier plea.

It is regrettable that a Service chief has filed such a statutory complaint to the Defence minister after assuming the top post of Chief of Army Staff. It is for the first time in the country's post-Independence history that a service chief has sought a change of such a nature based on a birth certificate that shows him a year younger to what he had entered in his recruitment form over four decades ago. The claim, if acceded to by the government, will permit him to serve for an additional nine months. The Army chief's age claim issue is not about facts as much as it is about propriety. General Singh, who claims that he was born in 1951 as recorded in his birth certificate instead of 1950 as was entered in his records at the time of recruitment, has officially sought a correction only after being appointed to the top post. Considering that he earned all his promotions and eventual appointment as Army chief on the basis of 1950 as his year of birth, it is questionable whether he is being ethical in demanding that he be permitted to retire on the basis of an altogether different year of birth.

It is unfortunate that the institution of Army chief has been dragged into public focus. Both General Singh and the Ministry of Defence could have handled the issue more discreetly. The Defence Minister should have handled the issue with tact and gently persuaded the Army chief to drop the matter while General Singh, on his part, could have been graceful and let the matter be. That way, the honour and dignity of the office of the Army Chief would have been preserved.

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THE TRIBUNE

EDITORIAL

HP TAKES ON CORRUPTION

BILL TO SEIZE PROPERTY OF THE CORRUPT

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Monday introduced a Bill, which, if passed into law, would act as a major deterrent to civil servants who indulge in corrupt practices and amass property. Under the Bill if a civil servant is convicted by a special court, the government would confiscate his/her property and use it for public purpose.

The existing Prevention of Corruption Act and the Lokayukta Act do not permit this. Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have already passed similar laws and their experience can be fruitful for Himachal. The Supreme Court has removed many hurdles by upholding the Bihar law. The proposed Lokpal law at the Centre also targets corrupt civil servants in states and a clash or overlapping will have to be avoided.

Fighting corruption will never be easy in this country. The permission required to proceed against a civil servant is usually not granted, especially if the suspect is loyal to ruling politicians. The bureaucracy stands as one to protect its members in trouble. Politicians and bureaucrats cover up each others' illegalities. The smart ones do not buy property in their own name and it is difficult to link benami property with the real owner. It is not yet clear whether the term "civil servant" in the Himachal Bill includes a minister or a politician occupying an official position. The Bihar Act applies to politicians as well.

The Himachal Bill does try to deal with judicial delays. It calls for the setting up of special courts. The trial will have to be completed within a year. All this is commendable but would test the judicial system built on dilatory and cumbersome procedures, adjournments and appeals. Judges too can be pliable. Besides, politicians and bureaucrats can make any law ineffective no matter how foolproof it seemingly is. Political will and public pressure — as witnessed in team Anna's recent campaign for a strong Lokpal — are therefore important in the eradication of corruption.

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THE TRIBUNE

COLUMN

ELECTION CELL

POLICE IS NOT MEANT TO SPY ON OPPOSITION

Reports that the Punjab Police is gathering intelligence inputs on the political opponents of the ruling alliance in the run-up to the SGPC and Assembly elections are highly disturbing. It is one thing for the intelligence wing of the police to maintain a vigil to pre-empt violence or booth capturing during the elections but quite another to keep a tab on the opponents.

Inquiries show that information is being collected on the likely candidates for the 117 Assembly constituencies and efforts are on to identify political rivals who can be possibly won over and to gauge their strengths and weaknesses and the means to win them over. This is nothing other than pure and simple spying on them.

The reports are bound to be denied by the official agencies but that does not mean such snooping is not taking place. The fact of the matter is that almost all governments indulge in such cloak and dagger activities. It is just that some do it in a brazen manner. In keeping with the times, the age-old method of compiling hard copies of reports gathered from its "agents" in different towns and areas has given way to using the e-mail service for gathering such inputs.

Whatever the extent, the activity is totally illegal and unethical. Under the rules, the police cannot work in tandem with its political bosses for furthering its interests in the elections by providing them with intelligence inputs. Taxpayers do not pay policemen's salaries to make them handmaidens of the party in power. It not only presents the police in a bad light but also shakes the public confidence in its neutrality and uprightness. The Election Commission should look into the matter seriously and urgently so that no ruling party can enjoy such undue advantage.

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THE TRIBUNE

ARTICLE

SEIZE THE ANNA MOMENT

PARLIAMENT AND PEOPLE SHOULD COOPERATE

BY INDER MALHOTRA

NOW that the Anna storm is over, and has ended on a constructive note with Parliament unanimously "endorsing in principle" the three demands of Mr. Hazare's movement in relation to the Lokpal Bill, it is time to seize the moment and go ahead speedily and sincerely with what needs to be done.

In the first place, it is immaterial whether or not the most maladroit Congress-led government technically withdraws its Lokpal Bill, now before the standing committee. The wide world knows that it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Even at the height of the agitation when the powers-that-be were trying to crush it, several Congress MPs stood up and stated that the official legislation was "weak" and "inadequate". More importantly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh eventually committed himself to having a "strong and effective" Bill. This solemn promise has to be made good urgently and quickly enough, say, in the winter session of Parliament.

It would be catastrophic if the law on Lokpal becomes yet another victim of dilatory, even deceitful tricks almost every government in recent decades has specialised in. One hopes that the core of the ruling coalition, indeed the whole of the political class, has at long last learnt how intense is the people's anger against unending and ever-mounting corruption. To ignore this reality could invite an even bigger upsurge than the nationwide protest we have witnessed.

Secondly, and this is a crucial point on which both Dr. Singh and Mr. Hazare are agreed, the Lokpal Bill alone will never be enough to combat corruption that seems to have become something like leukemia, the cancer of the bloodstream. Just look at the cases of brazen graft that were exposed during the massive revulsion against this scourge. These ranged from the arrest of a commissioner of income tax in Mumbai to the chilling case of a poor patient at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences whose surgery was delayed by a year because he could not pay a bribe of Rs. 10,000 to get the "clearance" for the release of funds for it.

Everyone agrees that a lot of harsh measures will have to be taken. The question is: why haven't at least those that have been on the anvil for long have not been taken yet? To cite only one of numerous instances, a succession of Chief Election Commissioners — most recently S.Y. Quraishi — have urged the government to amend the Representation of People Act to debar from elections those against whom law courts, not prosecuting authorities, have framed criminal charges of a serious nature, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, most dubious and tainted men have not only sat in Parliament but also adorned the council of ministers of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Singh. It is also curious that both these governments have been wedded to the pernicious "single-point directive" under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Under it, the Central Bureau of Investigation cannot start investigations against any officer of the rank of Joint Secretary and above without the government's permission. Ironically, at the height of the Anna agitation the CBI's 327 requests for permission under the single-point directive were pending before the government for long!

My third important point is that one good thing has come out of the recent convulsions. After many a summer, Parliament and the people appear to be on the same page. For more years than one can count, people in this country have been denouncing all politicians and even Parliament. "Sab chor hain (all are thieves) is the general cry. From the stage at Ramlila Ground actor Om Puri gave an ugly demonstration of the educated middle-class view of MPs. Even worse was the performance of the former police officer and a member of Team Anna, Kiran Bedi. Both are being hauled up for a "breach of privilege" of Parliament. Mr. Puri has apologised at least for some of his objectionable remarks; Ms. Bedi remains defiant.

Even Mr. Hazare had earlier taken the totally unacceptable stand that Parliament must pass only his Jan Lokpal Bill, and not any other version of it. But later he abandoned his obduracy and showed flexibility. Without actually saying so, he evidently realised that Parliament's "dignity" and "authority" has to be respected, a point all sections of parliamentarians emphasised with varying degrees of emphasis, tinged sometimes with caste sentiment. On their part, both Houses of Parliament also realised that people's voice must not be brushed aside with a flippant wave of hand.

This said, one must add that the hugely widespread notion that Parliament is "supreme" is absolutely inaccurate. The concept of Parliament's supremacy is confined only to Britain because it grew out of British Parliament's bitter struggle with the monarch, and that country has never had a written constitution. In this country the Constitution is supreme, not Parliament or any other institution. The Supreme Court has thrown out more parliamentary laws than one can keep count of.

Of course, Parliament is sovereign. No one is allowed to trifle with it or its authority. The other side of the coin is that Parliament must also be receptive to what the people want. An extra-parliamentary agitation as long as it is peaceful is a fundamental right of all citizens. Some smart Alecs in Dr. Singh's ministerial team propounded the doctrine that when a subject (read Lokpal Bill) was before Parliament, an agitation against it was impermissible, indeed "illegal". One hopes they would not repeat this ridiculous nonsense. In my view every stakeholder in Indian democracy, which means every Indian, has a duty to respect Parliament. It would also help to bear in mind the "grammar of anarchy" speech of B. R. Ambedkar, the chief draughtsman of the Constitution, much quoted in recent days. By the same token, Parliament can command that respect only by earning it.

What large sections of MPs have done over several decades is hardly conducive to enhancing Parliament's

prestige or dignity. On Saturday, both Houses rose to their full height and suddenly brought back memories of the Nehru era when Indian Parliament was the role model for national legislatures elsewhere. Would they please stick to that decorum, decency and seriousness?

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

COMPLIMENTS RETURNED

BY R.K.KAUSHIK

Mr Madan Gopal Singh was the Registrar of Punjab University at Lahore before the partition of India. He had a P.A. named Ghulam Hasan, who was attached with him for more than 10 years and was quite close to him. He, like Mr Madan Gopal Singh, stayed on the university campus.

Once the P.A's daughter got seriously ill and had to be shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Lahore for an operation. At that time the treatment in a private hospital, specially by a foreign doctor, was very costly. Mr Madan Gopal not only personally assisted the family of Ghulam Hasan in the treatment but also gave him Rs 1,200 (a big amount at that time). He also told him that since he treated his daughter as his own, there was no need to return the money.

Later, Ghulam Hasan suffered a serious attack of jaundice and was hospitalised. Mr Madan Gopal not only deputed his staff to take care of him but also gave him financial help of more than Rs 1,000 and ensured an improved diet for weeks together. Many similar favours were shown by him to Ghulam Hasan and his family from time to time. The kindness of the Registrar was well known and other employees used to feel envious of Ghulam Hasan.

The Radcliff award was announced on 17 August, 1947. Lahore went to Pakistan and Punjab University was to be bifurcated. There were communal riots in which lakhs were killed. There was communal tension and killings in Lahore also. Hindus and Sikhs were migrating in thousands.

Mr Madan Gopal stayed on and attended his office regularly. The Home Secretary, Punjab, Mr A.A. Macdonald, was also holding the charge of the Vice-Chancellor of the university.

On 31 August 1947, Mr Madan Gopal went to his office and started working. After a few minutes he saw his P.A entering his room menacingly who pushed a dagger into his stomach. A second blow followed, which killed him.

The atmosphere was so vitiated with communal overtones that the body remained on the floor for 2-3 hours till the acting Vice-Chancellor came there accompanied by Inspector-General of Police, Khan Qurban Ali, and the acting District Magistrate of Lahore, Mr A.A Williams.

The university staff was dumb struck. No case was registered and there were no investigations to trace the killer. Everybody was saying that Ghulam Hasan had given a brutal return compliment to his boss for the favours, help and kindness shown by him over more than a decade.

Ghulam Hasan was never arrested and a few days later he killed the head of the economics department of the university, Prof. Brij Narayan, in a similar manner. The actions of the P.A were rewarded by the then Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Nawab Iftikhar Hussein of Mamdot, by making him the Chairman of the Education Board of Punjab.

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

DRAFT BILL LOOKS PROMISING

THE NEW DRAFT LAND ACQUISITION & REHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT BILL, 2011, WHICH SEEKS TO REPLACE THE 117 YEARS OLD LAND ACQUISITION ACT, IS LIKELY TO BE INTRODUCED IN THE CURRENT SESSION OF PARLIAMENT.
ALOK TEWARI

On first reading, the draft Bill appears to be a politically sensitive piece of legislation that could potentially remove a big roadblock to industrial investment, addresses Relief & Rehabilitation ( R & R), provides safeguards for both land-owners and livelihood losers while clearly defining the public purpose for which land can be acquired by the government.

The draft Bill proposes to curtail the scope for which land can be acquired by the government. The Bill permits land acquisition by the government for its own use or with the ultimate intent to transfer land to private parties for stated public purpose, including public private partnership projects. Further, the government would be permitted to acquire land for immediate and declared use by private companies for public purposes. The Bill provides for a rider that the aforesaid acquisition would be allowed only where 80% of the affected parties give their consent to the proposed acquisition.

The Bill seeks to provide a definitive meaning to the term "public purpose" and rid it of the ambiguities surrounding it under the existing Act. The definition of "public purpose" under the Bill includes strategic purposes (e.g., armed forces, national security); infrastructure, industrialisation and Urbanisation (where benefits largely accrue to the general public); land acquired for R&R purposes; Village or urban sites (planned development - residential purposes for the poor and educational and health schemes); land for private companies for public purpose and for needs arising from natural calamities.

To safeguard against indiscriminate acquisition, the Bill requires the concerned states to set up a committee under the Chief Secretary to ascertain whether an acquisition is for "public purpose" and to conduct a social impact assessment for the land in question. Further, the Bill proposes that if the acquired land is not put to use for the intended use within five years of acquisition, the same would be returned to the original owner.

The Bill lays out separate compensation packages that take into account the following three factors: the market value of the land, the value of assets attached to the land and the solatium which is equivalent to 100% of total compensation (for rural and urban areas).

In order to make it a more inclusive process, for the first time the government has acknowledged the role of the Gram Sabhas in the process of land acquisition. The Bill will make it mandatory to consult Gram Sabhas and ensure that the R&R package is executed before the acquired land is transferred. This pre-notification discussions with local bodies is a procedural innovation which should help reduce litigation and speed up the process of fair and just acquisition.

The Bill has also tried to give modified applicability to the much controversial 'urgency clause' to circumvent a Noida-like situation. Under the Bill, 'urgency clause' can be invoked only in cases where the land is being acquired for national defence and security purposes, R&R needs in the event of emergencies or natural calamities and in the 'rarest of rare' cases.

The Bill outrightly prohibits from purchasing any multi-cropped irrigated land for public purposes in order to safeguard the fertile land. The Bill also proposes to set up authorities both at the national and state levels for ensuring better R&R and for the purpose of providing speedy disposal of disputes relating to land acquisition, compensation and R&R. The Bill also provides for R&R provisions to be applicable to private companies in the event they acquire land measuring more than 100 acres.

The Bill further makes provisions facilitating 'land for land' and 'home for home' for people displaced and providing necessary infrastructural amenities in the resettlement areas. Further, special provisions have also been incorporated for STs and SCs who are displaced as a result of land acquisition.

It is evident that efforts have been made by the Government to address the shortcomings of the existing Act by involving people who are being affected and by providing a requisite mechanism for facilitating implementation of R&R schemes, establishing redressal systems and also establishing a methodology for arriving at the rates of compensation.

(Partner, Corporate & Real Estate, Kochhar & Co., New Delhi)

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

THE PROBLEM IS MISUSE OF 'PUBLIC PURPOSE'

DILIP MODI

There are two fundamental problems with the present system of land acquisition: the process of acquisition and the compensation. In India, land is mostly fragmented into small parcels (excepting forested areas).

Acquisition of a few hundred acres, necessary for an industrial or infrastructure project, requires dealing with several landowners. Also, not everyone wishes to sell. This makes the process cumbersome and increases the transaction cost of acquiring land.

However, the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, gave sweeping legal powers to the government to acquire almost any private land or property provided such acquisition is for "public purpose". This is also known as 'eminent domain', regarded as an inherent right of the state to take private property for public use. It is legal in many countries, including the US, UK and France.

The problem lies in interpretation of the term "public purpose". Unfortunately the Act did not define the term. So interpretation was left to the courts. The Supreme Court in 1971 took a very wide view of the term but did not provide any definition and left it to the state governments to define and often misinterpret the term. Strangely the judgment was delivered when 'right to private property' was still a fundamental right.

The assumption was that the state would always act in public interest and, therefore, any acquisition of private property would be to provide "public goods" that otherwise would not be provided by the market.

Lighthouses or clean air are typical examples. One or several ships can use the light at the same moment. Yet no single ship owner would build the lighthouse. The government needs to build it - in other words, provide public goods as the market will not provide them automatically.

This clearly implies the Act's provisions should only be used when the government itself is to provide infrastructure facilities (public good). They should not be used for land acquisition for private investments, whatever the benefits. For such transactions, the market must play out. The government should not undermine the market process.

Yet the very opposite has been the bane of land acquisition in India. Private parties tend to pass off the high transaction costs of negotiating with individual landholders to state governments. The latter have been more than willing to oblige, taking advantage of the sweeping powers to acquire land.

When markets are not allowed to play out, compensation is invariably low and not just. The question of compensation needs to be based on value of the land sought to be acquired. This can be done on the basis of prices prevailing in the past or the expected value of the land in future.

Typically, investment in industrial activities or infrastructure end up improving the value of land, benefiting primarily landowners, who are passive recipients of this windfall.

When farmers, whose land gets acquired, are compensated based on past prices, they do forgo potential benefits from urbanisation. This is a loss of opportunity cost in terms of forgone benefits, which far exceeds in the long run the compensation received.

There are also substantial income redistribution effects between farmers whose land is acquired compulsorily and farmers who retain their land. The latter can sell in the market at an appropriate time when urbanisation reaches them. This indirect redistribution causes tension between governments and farmers. When acquisition is not purely for public cause, tensions mount further.

Asset pricing should always be based on the future. The present system that defines compensation based on past transactions is not just or justified. The 'land market' in India is not free. Farmers are not allowed to sell their land for non-agricultural purposes. This has prevented industrial development in rural areas and direct negotiation by private enterprises to purchase land.

Farmers can rarely improve their economic positions substantially by cultivation and sale of, say, potatoes. At least they have not been able to do so in the past.

What they possibly need is ample compensation and financial inclusion that will guarantee substantial and safe

returns on their received compensation, enabling them to dream of sending their children to good educational

institutions and not to continue ploughing land and produce potatoes.

President, ASSOCHAM

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THE TRIBUNE

OPED

THE NEW LAW WILL PUSH UP LAND PRICES

NAVIN M RAHEJA

Acquisition of land with consent of land owners is a welcome step. But paying compensation six times higher than 'the best of the registered sale price in the area in the last 3 years' is only going to increase the cost of setting up industrial units, infrastructural projects and townships.

The compensation proposed by the Bill would create shortage of land and will make property costlier. If Government would acquire the land at higher prices, it would also sell to private developers at higher rates that would be eventually passed on to the buyers.

Land is an input cost in industry and if land is procured as suggested, then the input costs would become very expensive and Indian industry will not be able to compete with countries like China and Taiwan, among others. This would also fuel inflation and new projects would be unviable and give an unfair advantage to existing players with surplus land. Land generally accounts for 30-40% of the project cost and this would affect pricing of housing projects. The interest rates have already gone up making purchase difficult for home buyers and the new Bill, once enacted, would put housing beyond the reach of most buyers.

This could also lead to a lot of speculation by investors. In India, development plans get known or are leaked at an early stage and the smart or unscrupulous investors can get some of the land conveyed in their favor in such areas and then manipulate the sale an earn excessive profit.

If someone is privy to a government scheme (Master Plan for a town, for example), they could buy land and register it at higher prices. In India, everyone is a speculator. An investor could buy an acre of land for Rs 1 crore and register it for Rs 3 crore. When an industry goes to acquire land, it will have to pay six times the price or Rs 18 crore.

We suggest that there must be an open debate of all the stake holders such as the industry, the Government, the land owners and also the media to device a path which is transparent and pragmatic. A path that doesn't hinder growth and development and does not infringe upon the fundamental rights of the people.

It is suggested that every state should be required to put up land for development on e-portals (land offers for development projects) through a website or any other mechanism accessible to everyone, where land owners can collectively offer their land for sale with demanded price so that the industry and the Government is free to choose and negotiate with the group of such land owners/village panchayats on the rates and other terms etc through a transparent competitive process and then decide as to where to put up the industry/township/SEZ/ or infrastructure projects, depending upon sustainability and other factors. In short, acquisition of land should be based upon willingness and price offered by majority of land owners (70 to 80%) through an open and transparent manner.

The financing of industrial, infrastructural and even social activities will become tougher as there are no financial norms yet for financing the land. This policy will adversely affect the real estate development as additional burden of land cost will make housing expensive.

In fact the land in the open market too would become expensive. To benefit a few people, the burden of excessive cost of production and development will be borne by all the countrymen. Thus, this needs to be looked into rationally.

(CMD, Raheja Developers & Member of Governing Committee, Naredco )

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MUMBAI MIRROR

EDITORIAL

HOW DIRTY MUST THE PICTURE BE?

AN INCREASINGLY ASSURED ACTRESS THRUSTS HER BOSOM IN OUR FACE, MAKING US, UM, THINK

Iwoke up to Vidya Balan's breasts this morning. And I must confess to being sufficiently taken aback. The first theatrical trailer for her latest, Dirty Picture, has just hit screens, and it packs quite the oomphy punch. From all angles, it looks like the rollicking tale of an 80s femme fatale, stringing helplessly smitten men along while constantly, heavingly ensuring we never quite look at her eyes, however striking and doe-like they may well be. And yet this is a film about an icon of Southern cinema, the infamously irresistible Silk Smitha, a woman who enjoyed tremendous success before, very prematurely, taking her own life.

The trailer doesn't at all hint at the darkness in Silk's story, and that is entirely director Milan Luthria's prerogative. It might even work as a knockout punch, audiences coming in for the dhak-dhak, left dumbfounded by the profoundly depressing climax.

However, a week or so after watching Ram Gopal Varma's bizarre take on the Maria Susairaj murder case, in which the filmmaker seems pornographically obsessed with his protagonist's thighs and is constantly working out how best to slide the camera up her skirt, I can't help but wonder if this is the start of a new trend, one where reallife is used as an excuse to legitimise titillation.

I'm not condemning the very idea (just yet, that is, since it could soon snowball into a bosomy-biopic inferno, given Bollywood's extreme herdmentality) but find myself merely puzzled by how easy it seems: take a fascinating backstory and amp up the heat between the lines. The audiences, I say helpless to the obvious and sloppy barely-double entendre, will come. What comes of the person the film is based on, one in no position to complain, seems of no consequence. Cinema is about telling a story well enough to make viewers care, and this is certainly one effective, if somewhat brutal way, to make them care. By making them stare.
In the case of Balan's film, I agree that on-screen raunch was a huge and vital part of Silk's story as the nautchgirl who spun film industries around her raw sexuality, but there is something about the itemsong-y aggressiveness of the promo and the poster that makes me fear it might be more exploitative than exploratory. I hope, of course, to be proven wrong by Mr Luthria's film.

It isn't a Bollywood phenomenon at all, this. We're finally, very belatedly getting started with biopics but Julia Roberts' modest breast was engineered to several times its size for her Oscarwinning turn in Erin Brockovich, and currently the hyper-talented Michelle Williams, who plays Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming My Life With Marilyn makes a rather pneumatic appearance on the film's poster.

Using sex to sell the story of a real person is sensational and instantly impactful, sure, but seems perhaps a little too 'easy', somewhat like a stand-up comedian using an expletive to get a quick laugh. A laugh's a laugh no matter how you earn it, of course, but like Jerry Seinfeld told Louis CK, "the fword is like a Corvette." Which, as CK explained, only makes you feel good till you realize that Seinfeld, who never swears on stage and is probably the world's richest and best-known comedian, collects Porsches and 'Vettes are utterly beneath him.
Drive whatever you will, gentlemen creators, but drive carefully.

RAJA SEN LOVES TO RANT, RAVE AND BLATHER ABOUT CINEMA, OFTEN AT HIS OWN PERIL

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COLUMN

BANKING ON LICENCES

RBI SETS TOUGH ENTRY NORMS FOR NEW PRIVATE BANKS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it clear that it would like to ensure only the "fit and proper" make the grade when it comes to securing licences to set up private banks. The onerous criteria laid down by the central bank do not explicitly bar firms with an interest in other lines of business activity, outside of real estate and capital market, from securing licences. But to do so these firms have to meet more stringent norms than insisted on ever before. The draft also explicitly refers to the need to prevent "self-dealing" by promoters. Given the mood in the country today, it is just as well that RBI has laid down such tough eligibility criteria. Finally, as in the past, the central bank has said a high-level group will process the applications after due diligence by various regulatory authorities as well as enforcement and investigation agencies. The initial minimum capital requirement of Rs 500 crore is well below the widely expected Rs 1,000 crore and, understandably, above the Rs 200 crore that was specified in 2001 when the last round of issuing licences to private banks was opened, given the new global prudential environment. While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tried to adorn his budgetary initiative of issuing fresh banking licences in the garb of "inclusive growth" by citing the "need to extend the geographic coverage of banks and improve access to banking", the draft guidelines fix a more modest obligation to open at least 25 per cent of new branches in unbanked rural centres. This should take some sweat off the brow of potential applicants. They can continue to rely on the more lucrative urban and semi-urban areas for most of their business.

The second reason cited by Mr Mukherjee was the "need to ensure that the banking system grows in size and sophistication to meet the needs of a modern economy". The financial crisis that hit the world after Lehman Brothers collapsed resulted partly from banks having become too sophisticated for anybody's good. The RBI guidelines refer to this when they say, "post-crisis, there are concerted moves even internationally to separate banking from proprietary trading". Currently, there is a feeling that banks should concentrate on their primary task, meet the credit needs of businesses, small and big, and individuals and not get into sophisticated products like complex derivatives. Not only have large companies bypassed banks through disintermediation for some time now, currently the sharp difference between domestic and international lending rates has raised the incentive for those who can bypass banks to borrow abroad. The real gap in banking services in India is inadequate coverage of small and medium businesses, those who are too poor, and those in places too remote to have a bank account. It is not clear how this gap will be addressed by having some more banks of the kind that already exist in plenty. On the other hand, the fact that final guidelines will now take more time to be issued and, more importantly, the fact that applications will only be invited after the Banking Regulation Act has been suitably amended to account for the specified guidelines suggest that RBI is not in a hurry to open doors for new private banks. Such caution is well advised.

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BUSINESS STANDARD

EDITORIAL

RIDING THE WAVES

INDIGENISING NAVY MODERNISATION MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE

The recent commissioning of the INS Satpura, the second of the indigenously constructed guided missile strength frigates, effectively completes two-thirds of Project 17 — India's ambitious programme to design and construct its own stealth frigates. Following the expected commissioning of the INS Sahyadri sometime in 2012, Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) will commence work on the construction of four even more advanced "Project 17 A" frigates. The navy's strategy to put together the components of what would eventually be three naval battle groups centred around aircraft carriers is far reaching. Accordingly, the Navy plans to commission the following additional combat ships during the next eight years: two aircraft carriers (of approximately 40,000 tonnes each), four guided missile destroyers (Project 15A), three stealth frigates (currently under construction in Russia), six Scorpene submarines, three Arihant class nuclear-powered submarines and the Project 28 corvettes specially designed for anti-submarine warfare. The induction of force-multipliers such as the P-8i surveillance and early warning aircraft would make the Indian Navy a truly potent force, not just numerically but also in power projection capability by 2020!

The navy evidently takes its role as the guarantor of India's maritime interests seriously. It needs to be credited with being steadfast in sticking to an indigenisation programme formulated in the 1960s and being involved in the design and development of warships from the conception stage itself. Of the three services, the navy's interactive work with the private sector is the most impressive and can only increase from here on as the private sector's confidence to design and execute projects increases with every success.

These successes, impressive as they are, cannot obscure the tardiness in the pace of construction and delivery by Indian shipyards, as admitted recently by Defence Minister A K Antony. Indian shipyards on average take twice as long to deliver a standard combat vessel compared to European shipyards. The experience gained from the project to indigenously construct the HDW submarines under licence at MDL in the 1990s was frittered away owing to non-availability of future orders. As a result, the Scorpene submarines are taking a lot longer to be commissioned, with the delivery date of the first submarine already pushed back two years to 2014-15! India continues to rely on foreign shipyards for vessels that could easily be manufactured domestically, paying a lot more in the process than it ideally should.

It is said that the three stages in warship design are to get it to "float", "move" and "fight". Indian shipyards have established competence in the first stage, but have a long way to go in the other two, leading to an unacceptably high level of import dependence in critical components. The way forward would essentially involve three steps: greater research and development spending by public and private sector units to develop indigenous competence, a comprehensive retooling of defence shipyards to enhance productivity and the involvement of private shipyards in ship building, starting with smaller ships and leading to more challenging future assignments.

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BUSINESS STANDARD

Q1 GDP GROWTH SHOWS RESILIENCE

MALINI BHUPTA

The sub-8% growth should be seen in the context of global and domestic headwinds.

The stock market may have discounted the 7.7 per cent growth in real GDP in the first quarter of FY12, but economists believe the number needs to be viewed in the context of several domestic and global headwinds the economy has been facing. Given that GDP growth has been slowing sequentially for the last four quarters, this quarter was also expected to clock below-trend growth. However, 7.7 per cent growth in Q1FY12 compared to 7.8 per cent in Q4FY11 only shows the resilience of the Indian economy. While sub-eight per cent growth is now in line with expectations, it is not particularly weak.

However, on the downside, since the GDP estimates were compiled using the new Index of Industrial Production (IIP) series, the unavailability of revised back-data makes a clean interpretation of today's GDP report almost impossible, believes Mole Hau of BNP Paribas. This is what makes the first quarter numbers a mixed bag. Other leading indicators like domestic vehicle sales figures and PMI surveys seem to suggest the domestic demand destruction is an ongoing process. However, with inflation yet to come down meaningfully, the rate cycle is not ready to start coming off. So, economists don't rule out another rise before the calendar year is over.

Even as there were concerns that prevailing high inflation and interest rates would dampen economic activities, the evidence, so far, has been mixed. In fact, year-on-year non-farm sector growth accelerated from 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY11 to 8.4 per cent in Q1FY12. This was supported by improvement in industrial and services sector activity.

Growth in agriculture production, too, has been in line with expectations, but slower than that of recent quarters. Kaushik Das, India Economist at Deutsche Bank AG, says, "No doubt, growth has slipped below the trend rate of eight per cent, but this slowdown is not a cause for panic. Despite inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and a high base effect, growth has not collapsed. Our house view is that Europe and US will not fall into an ouright recession, which should help the Indian economy achieve a growth rate of around eight per cent in FY12."

The other heartening thing about this quarter's GDP figures is the investment cycle, which is seemingly reviving. Contrary to conventional wisdom, investment has jumped 7.9 per cent y-o-y compared to 0.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter. This has contributed 2.5 percentage points to GDP growth. If the trend holds, the downside risks to GDP may somewhat dissipate.

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BUSINESS STANDARD

COLUMN

DEEP CHANGE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC OPINION IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES WILL HAVE FAR-REACHING IMPLICATIONS

SHAHID JAVED BURKI

The Arab and the Muslim worlds are engaged in a process of deep change that will fundamentally alter the political and social order in countries engaged in this enterprise. Change came quickly in two countries — Tunisia and Egypt. It is coming much more slowly and with much bloodshed in Yemen, Libya and Syria. It appears to have been suppressed in Bahrain. The Arab monarchies have been largely saved since their rulers have some legitimacy in the eyes of their citizens. They are also attempting to reform.

Though less obvious, it is certainly the case that the Arab Spring has had an impact on three non-Arab Muslim countries that share many borders with the Arab world or are not too distant from it. In both Turkey and Pakistan democracy has begun to take root. That is happening because the people want it. In both countries, the military establishment is on the back foot, with people looking at the Arab street and learning from it. The people there now strongly believe that they, and not the men in uniform, will define their aspirations. Afghanistan may also go in that direction but even if it does, progress will be much slower.

The situation in two other Muslim countries, one Arab and the other non-Arab, is more complicated. In spite of a huge expenditure and spilling of a great deal of American blood, Iraq is nowhere near achieving stability. The Americans have been in the country for more than eight years but the situation remains unstable and unpredictable. Iran has been under American pressure for decades but it has yet to give up on its nuclear designs and is not interested in attempting to join the international community of nations.

The Arab Spring has taken hold of a number of societies in this part of the world, succeeding in some and making slower progress in others. Revolutions can take unexpected turns and social change is always slow in traditional societies. Even then it is possible to make some predictions about what we may see during this period of transition while new institutions are being put in place, new processes for managing the affairs of the state are being developed, and new mechanisms are being crafted that would keep the rulers and the ruled engaged with one another.

Looking at the way the movement has developed on the street as well as in the back rooms where negotiations are taking place to create a new governing order, it is possible to discern a few trends that will shape and define this part of the world for years to come. All of these will affect one another; taken together, they will produce a world that will bear little resemblance to the one that existed before December 2010 when a desperate young man in Tunisia, insulted by a policewoman, set himself on fire. Revolution is a much used and abused word, but it can be applied to the enormous changes that are taking place in this important part of the globe.

The changes that are taking shape as a result of the Arab Spring cover a fine front. One of the most important of these is the downgrading of the military. The revolutions succeeded in those countries where the men in uniform decided that it would be imprudent to challenge the street. Accepting that those who turned up on the streets and in the squares of Tunis and Cairo were giving vent to frustration accumulated over many decades, the Tunisian and Egyptian armed forces decided to stay in their barracks. The street took this as an indication of neutrality, and later an acceptance of the change that was being demanded. This message from the street has been read in Ankara and Islamabad-Rawalpindi. A politically strong government in Turkey and a politically weak administration in Pakistan have managed to keep their militaries out of government affairs — decisively so in the case of the former, somewhat less in the case of the latter. There are signs in Pakistan that even in the area of security policy, military is now also listening and not always dictating.

Loss of some power and prestige by the military in the affected countries has produced another important change. The West found the military heads of state easier to deal with and influence than the messy democracies in a few countries where the latter existed. Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq and Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan were relatively easy partners for Washington, London and other western capitals than would have been the case if these countries were led by people's representatives. Those who emerge leaders in the countries through which these revolutions are proceeding will have to go with public opinion. And public opinion may not always support what the West seeks from these countries. This important change will be seen in all these countries. Undoubtedly, they will be more independent of American influence in world affairs. This will have consequences for America and the rest of the West in shaping policies with respect to Israel, oil, trade, and financial flows.

It is also likely that long-enduring regimes, such as those in many Arab countries, will become the exception rather than the norm. As institutional politics and democracy take hold in these countries, regime change will take place on the basis of established rules and principles. This is not to say that no attempts will be made to re-establish authoritarian orders that were in place in these countries for so long. Revolutions don't follow a linear approach as they evolve and those now underway will not be any different. There is no doubt that 2011 will go down in history as the year that changed the world.

The author is a former finance minister of Pakistan

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BUSINESS STANDARD

RAMLILA MAIDAN NO TIANANMEN SQUARE

SUBIR ROY

After living for days on a knife-edge, the nation deserves to congratulate itself a little. A conflict that could have gone seriously awry, involving hundreds of thousands of people across the country, was finally resolved through give and take. Parliament's sovereign space and the dignity and authority of the government of the day remained intact, as did the people's right to protest peacefully and demand promise of action, if not action itself. Democracy worked, Ramlila Maidan did not turn into Tiananmen Square. The parallel is real because currently the middle classes in China are racked by severe disaffection over entrenched corruption. Even as many in India have complained about intrusive 24-hour news channels, China has continued to police the Internet and stifle opinion forming and exchange of information via viral progression.

But after the self-congratulatory moment, it is critical to ask: what lessons can be learnt from the climactic few days' experience, and what are the milestones that have to be crossed before the nation can give itself a system that cracks down sharply and effectively on corruption and over time gives itself a far cleaner public life than what prevails today? The first lesson is that public discourse has to be conducted in civil tenor and tone. Not just the Congress spokesman but even party leaders who have to take responsibility for what one of their functionaries said should apologise for the offensive remarks about Anna Hazare.

The second is that though people (essentially lawyers), no matter how brilliant, can play a useful part in protracted negotiations, particularly over the contours of a proposed legislation, at the end of the day the political leadership has to take the lead. There was a dearth of this until towards the end, hence the initial floundering. If Parliament had abdicated for decades, causing a mass upsurge to challenge its authority, then it is Parliament – made up of parties across the spectrum – that has to retrieve its space.

It is not enough for government leaders to keep repeating that Parliament is supreme, the entire Parliament has to say so and government leaders have to sit down with parties to enable a unified voice to emerge. Initially, it seemed Manmohan Singh wasn't in charge, nor did he have the inclination to be so. Eventually, after Rahul Gandhi's speech sank without a trace, political authority appears to have been asserted. Maybe this has been Prime Minister Singh's baptism by fire, when he was left alone on the burning deck and had to lead in dousing the fire.

The third lesson is for civil society: it must get rid of its rough edges. Otherwise, there cannot be a meeting of minds. Mr Hazare is a natural, and having been in a way outside of the system, he has his angularities and outlandish views. A test may come on issues like the right to recall and reject — attractive radical ideas that may not deliver what matters in a large democracy. Some of the rough edges on that side also come in the shape of lawyers who, as a class, appear to have more than their share of abrasiveness. It is worth remembering that ultimately it is a politician from Maharashtra who spoke the same language as Mr Hazare and a swami, again with prior experience in communicating, who could set up a channel.

Finally, let us rejoice that the odd ones out have already begun to fall by the wayside in a journey that is likely to be long and arduous. Anyone remember Ramdev? And do we realise the symbolism of two little girls – one Dalit, another Muslim – performing the final puja, so to speak? It is immaterial whether the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had been stage-managing the whole movement from behind; no one has any doubt that for a mass movement to succeed, its all-embracing credentials have to be beyond question. If better off, TV-viewing, networked middle class Hindus thought that India was them and they were India, then they will have been disabused of such a notion. India's minorities (Dalits, tribals, backward classes, Muslims) make up its majority and it is this heterogeneous body, unlike the dominant Han Chinese in China, that makes up the nation.

In the long journey to achieve a largely corruption-free India, it will be important to keep sight of the basics. The Lok Pal will have to be an institution to which the smallest individual or the loneliest whistle-blower should be able to complain. The Lok Pal should be able to investigate and prosecute the highest in the land. Since the higher judiciary is so tainted it is not clear why it cannot be brought firmly within the ambit of the Lok Pal. Why wait for another Bill for them? And why shouldn't legislators also come under the Lok Pal when so many of them have criminal colours and have won through black money-funded election campaigns?

A mechanism has to be found whereby the Lok Pal does not get bogged down investigating every other patwari, though the Lok Pal's doors must be open for those who have not found justice elsewhere. Naturally, the investigating agency will have to be autonomous and its leader, like the Lok Pal, will have to be chosen through a non-partisan process. And the Lok Pal himself will have to be answerable for his own conduct through a suitable mechanism. These are some of the indisputable fundamental principles. The edifice has to be built around them by expert craftsmen over a long period.

subirkroy@gmail.com

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BUSINESS STANDARD

WAITING FOR ANSWERS

THE SELECTION AND REMOVAL OF JUDGES IS THE NEXT HOT SPOT

M J ANTONY

The recent public outcry for reforms has just skirted the judiciary, but it could be in the eye of the next storm if at least two issues are not sorted out urgently. They are the method of appointments to the higher judiciary and the removal of those who are found unfit for the office. The latter issue was played out half in the Rajya Sabha this month and is slated to continue in the Lok Sabha next month.

Both are abstruse constitutional questions that would not raise decibels in the maidans or TRP ratings, but are vital nevertheless. The first issue, that of appointment, has a chaotic history of three decades, in which the Supreme Court swung from one extreme to the other. Even now, it is waiting for a solution. Each time a Constitution Bench tried to rearrange the deck chairs, it has caused further disarray. The problem has bloated in the meanwhile.

Recently a Bench of two judges drafted 10 questions and referred them to the Chief Justice with a request to form a larger constitution Bench to reconsider the judgments of three earlier such Benches (Suraj India Trust vs Union of India). Since the earlier Benches consisted of seven or nine judges, the reconsideration should be done by a Bench of 11 judges or more. This duty comes at a time when seven of the 28 judges will retire this year. In a Catch-22 situation, the method of appointment itself is the question that looms before the remaining brethren.

The Constitution does not prescribe a detailed procedure for appointment of judges. Article 124 (2) talks in general terms and says the president shall appoint judges after "consultation with such of the judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts as the President may deem necessary." In the first "judges case" of 1982, S P Gupta vs Union of India, there were jaw-breaking arguments for months over the meaning of "consultation". Does consultation mean "concurrence" of the executive and the judicial authorities? In a 1,000-page judgment by seven judges, the answer given by the majority was no. Consequently the power was with the judiciary. Since the judiciary had just recovered from the ravages of the 1976 internal emergency, there was a howl of protest against the judges who took this view. They were accused of giving a big handle to the executive, even after the bitter experience of the emergency.

This angst led to the second "judges case" in 1993, heard and decided by a larger Bench. In this judgment, AOR Association vs Union of India, the court interpreted the provision of the Constitution in such a way that it ousted the role of the executive for all practical purposes and vested the power in a "collegium" of senior judges. This was purely an invention of the judicial mind, never thought of by the founding fathers.

It was seen as an aggrandisement of power by the judges with a sleight of their pens. The guns were now turned from the direction of the executive to the judicial collegiums, which functioned without transparency, spawning dark rumours. The public was put somewhat in the position of Buridan's ass, between the executive and the judiciary. The president then referred a few weighty questions to the Supreme Court for its response. It returned the reference with some cosmetic touches to the system, but the Chief Justice of India retained primacy. It is this arrangement that is now under the scanner.

The Law Commission, in its 214th report submitted in 2008, has suggested an equal role for the judiciary and the executive in selection and appointments. It analysed the three judgments and recommended their reconsideration for clarity on the issue. In the Suraj case, the Attorney General has also acquiesced in this reference.

The injudicious way in which the 1993 judgment came to be delivered figures in the paper submitted by counsel that was specially appointed by the court to assist it. Amicus curiae quotes a dissenting judge who was a member of the nine-judge Bench headed by the then the Chief Justice, J S Verma, and criticises his brethren for ignoring the principle of collectivity in decision-making. According to Justice M M Punchi, who himself became the Chief Justice later, the majority judgment was a bunch of individual opinions drafted by the majority over the summer vacation without prior consultation among judges. Narrating the events, he wrote that he was overtaken when a draft opinion was thrust on him, dashing all hopes for a "free and frank discussion."

The 10 questions now before the court are substantial. Some of them are: whether its earlier judgments amounted to amending the Constitution, from where does the idea of collegiums arise, whether words in the statute can be made redundant by judicial interpretation, whether the judiciary alone can appoint judges keeping out the executive and whether the language of Article 124 (2) can be altered by court's pronouncements. The court should answer these "expeditiously" (its favourite word) and not wait for another mortification like the ongoing impeachment proceedings.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

CAUTIOUS OPENING

THE RBI LISTS NECESSARY, BUT NOT SUFFICIENT, CONDITIONS FOR NEW BANK LICENCES

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken the next step towards delivering on the assurance contained in its January 2001 guidelines that it would consider licensing more banks three years later, after a review of the working of private sector banks. The new draft guidelines released on Monday take into account both the experience of banks licensed under the 1993 and 2001 guidelines and the feedback to its August 2010 Discussion Paper and are a vast improvement over the earlier guidelines. Thus, the minimum capital requirement has been raised to . 500 crore (as against . 200 crore earlier) and the capital adequacy ratio increased to 12% (9% for existing banks). New banks will have to ensure that 25% of their branches are located in rural areas. Foreign shareholding has been capped at 49% for the first five years, as against 74% at present. While the entry of corporates has not been banned, per se, a number of safeguards have been incorporated.
Importantly, the Bank has incorporated certain vital caveats that were missing in the earlier guidelines. Key among these is the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to remove the restriction on voting rights while concurrently empowering the RBI to approve acquisition of shares and/or voting rights of 5% or more in a bank to persons who are 'fit and proper'; empowering the RBI to supersede the bank's board of directors to protect depositors' interest; and facilitating consolidated supervision. Insistence that the new bank be set up only through a wholly owned non-operative holding company is an additional safeguard that was missing earlier. This will ringfence the bank (and depositors' money) from problems in related entities. Compulsory listing within two years of licensing will ensure diversified shareholding, reducing the scope for promoter-groups to indulge in questionable lending. The most important, of course, is the warning that 'it may not be possible for the RBI to issue licences to all applicants meeting eligibility criteria'. To use the jargon of economists, these are necessary, but not sufficient conditions to get a bank licence. The decision on that will rest, rightly, with an RBI-appointed expert committee.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

SLOWING DOWN

GROWTH IS STARTING TO FLAG, TIME FOR SOME EFFECTIVE POLICY MOVES

The economy is slowing. The latest estimates show that growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for the April-June quarter of this fiscal was 7.7% over the same period last year. This underscores the need for proactive policy to shore up growth. The way ahead is to boost investment, domestic as well as foreign, through long-pending reforms in sectors like retail, insurance and pensions; revamping norms for mining and road projects; and improve business confidence by rationalising both direct and indirect taxes as soon as possible. There's a sharp slowdown in segments like construction and mining, and industrial output is negatively affected as well, with weak sales of durable and non-durable consumer goods. The dearer cost of funds is clearly choking demand, although food inflation and commodity prices — which tighter monetary policy was meant to tackle — remain high. In September, the central bank should pause hikes in its policy rates, so as not to further dampen growth prospects, even as food and commodity inflation remain buoyant.

It remains to be seen how growth pans out in the second half; the unfavourable external environment and policy lethargy at home could keep the increase in GDP rangebound and a shade below 8%. Already, the latest figures seem to point at substantial slowdown in infrastructure investment, with cement output declining 0.9% in Q1, and steel production growing a lacklustre 1.5% during the same period. However, there has been considerable brownfield expansion in both cement and steel of late, which does need to be taken into account. But it cannot be gainsaid that corporate investment generally has taken a beating lately, and much of the action both in infrastructure and vital segments like capital goods remains confined to the power sector, which would clearly be unsustainable. Besides, the reality on the ground is that distribution reforms to cut utility losses in power is making no real headway. It would be most unfortunate if growth falters for the want of good policy, even as headlines are agog with the government's struggle to curb graft. That would be a pyrrhic victory indeed.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

EDITORIAL

TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

EVEN THE GREATEST OF CRICKETERS FACE CHALLENGES LIKE THIS

India's second-most prolific batsman in Test cricket was nowhere near his best last year. After a series of low scores, the 37-year-old Rahul Dravid was being written off. It was then that Australia's most prolific batsmen made it a point to tell him not to give up. As the 36-year-old Ricky Ponting put it, "I actually went and found him and said 'Don't you even think of retiring' because I just saw some stuff in a few of his innings that suggested he was still a very good player. I just said, 'Do not let them wear you down, do not let them get you down'." Rahul reciprocated in kind when the Australian middle-order batsman's form touched rock-bottom towards the end of last year. Ponting's prediction came true when Dravid scored 461 runs (including three centuries) in the just-concluded four-Test series in England. Ponting is one of the toughest cricketers in international cricket and believes in neither giving nor expecting any quarter on the cricket field. And, yet, he reached out to Dravid at a time when the Indian batsman was going through a crisis of confidence. Ponting may have remembered the Adelaide Test of December 2003 when both he and Rahul scored double-centuries in a match which the touring team won, and one Indian magazine carried a picture of a batting Dravid on the cover under a headline saying "God". Eight years later, the two are no longer as young as they were but, as the last few lines in Tennyson's poem U l y s s e s says, "Though much is taken, much abides, and though/We are not now that strength which in old days/Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are:/One equal temper of heroic hearts,/Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will/To strive, to seek, to find, but not to yield."

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

POLITICAL FASTS: A GLOBAL PRACTICE

HUNGER STRIKES ARE A LEGITIMATE FORM OF PROTEST GLOBALLY; NOW WE NEED SYSTEMIC CHANGE TO ROOT OUT GRAFT

Iam bemused by much of the vacuous debate over Anna Hazare's fast. He has his shortcomings, but many of his critics have private agendas, and are spinning the facts to suit these agendas. So they denounce the anti-corruption movement as a middle class plot to divert attention from the poor, or from dalits, or from Maoism or whatever. Amusingly, almost all the critics are from the middle class themselves. Some of them call Hazare's tactics blackmail, authoritarian and an assault on democratic functioning. There's nothing new in selfserving criticism of political fasts. When Gandhiji fasted, Jinnah denounced him as a hypocritical Hindu, the RSS denounced him as a covert Muslim-lover, the Communist Party denounced him as a British stooge for opposing violent revolution, and Ambedkar denounced him as an upper caste wolf in secular clothing.
When one of Gandhiji's fasts foiled Ambedkar's goal of a separate electorate for untouchables, he was a bad loser. He claimed the fast was "authoritarian", something being cited by critics today. How ridiculous! Authoritarianism is about monopolising political office, and Gandhiji refused any political office, although it was his for the asking.

Hazare must be laughing that his critics are exposing themselves as similar to the Mahatma's critics. As in Gandhiji's time, many of today's critics are dismayed that a new star has stolen the limelight from them, and shifted public attention to agendas other than their own.

However, it would be equally wrong to see Hazare as the second coming of the Mahatma. Gandhiji would never have whipped drunk villagers, as Hazare has done. Besides, Hazare's fasting is not especially Gandhian: it's a tactic used by activists across the globe.

The British suffragette movement, demanding voting rights for women, was the first in recent history to use fasts as a political pressure tactic (American suffragettes did the same later). The British government called it blackmail. Marion Dunlop was the first suffragette to stage a hunger strike in 1909. Others followed, some of whom died after being force-fed. Dunlop was released when she looked like dying: the British government didn't want to make her a martyr. This was a dress rehearsal of the later dramas in India, when the Mahatma undertook fasts in prison as a tactic to mobilise the masses, and the British released him when his life seemed in danger.

In Ireland, fasting was an ancient practice to shame others into redressing injustices. This tradition inspired hunger strikes from in the Irish war of independence (1917-23), and took many lives including that of Terence Mac-Swiney, former Mayor of Cork. When the British left, a civil war broke out in Ireland, and one set of revolutionaries used hunger strikes against their former comrades. Later the Irish Republican Army's imprisoned fighters — no examplars of non-violence — often resorted to hunger strikes. Hunger strikes have long been used by anti-Castro dissidents in Cuba locked up for demanding civil rights. Pedro Luis Bortel, a poet, died of starvation in 1972. Guillermo Farinas staged a seven-month hunger strike against internet censorship in 2006, and won the cyber-freedom prize of Reporters without Borders. Turkey has seen many hunger strikes by political prisoners, mostly Kurd or Marxist dissidents. One mass hunger strike in 1996 lasted 69 days and took 12 lives. Another wave of hunger strikes started in 2000, and relatives of prisoners claim that over 100 died. Wikipedia lists examples of hunger strikes in Venezuela, Greece, Japan, Sri Lanka and Estonia.
Clearly, political fasts are a global phenomenon, and we should look at global experience before pronouncing on its pros and cons. What does global experience show? First, many callous governments have accused hunger strikers of blackmail, but ended up looking foolish. Blackmail is about extracting money in return for keeping silent about another person's secrets. But activists on fast have never sought money: they have sought to shame oppressors into redress. Only the shameless see this as blackmail. Second, it's simply wrong to call such fasts a subversion of Parliament or the democratic process. Fasts are a democratic form of protest, and can greatly deepen democracy — the suffragette movements in Britain and the US brought democratic rights to women that had earlier been denied to them. The government was finally shamed into making the change, something that's happened in India, too. This is a vibrant example of democratic process, not subversion of it.
In Cuba and Iran, fasts have been used by democracy-seeking activists against authoritarian rulers. Far from having authoritarian overtones, fasting is typically a tactic of the weak against the strong. It's amusing in India to hear some Marxists accuse Hazare of authoritarianism when their own philosophy is totalitarian. It's amusing to see Mayawati criticise Hazare for not focusing on atrocities against dalits, and instead focusing on corruption: it's no coincidence that the latter focus could land her in jail.

Hazare's critics are dead right in saying that corruption cannot be combated by a single institution like the Lokpal. We need much wider institutional change. The police-judicial system, for instance, totally fails to deliver justice. It needs complete overhaul so that it quickly convicts lawbreakers of all sorts, from murderers to corporate crooks — these need to be jailed no less than the corrupt. I hope activists of all shades will come out with their own ideas to make India a land with justice. We cannot depend on fasts by Hazare alone.

SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

GUEST COLUMN

HOW TO AVOID GETTING BURNED IN CHINA AND INDIA

ANIL K GUPTA & HAIYAN WANG

The recently concluded Danone-Wahaha feud holds important lessons for any company on how to structure and manage strategic partnerships in markets such as China and India.

In the late 1990s, France's Groupe Danone entered into several joint ventures with Hangzhou-based Wahaha Group to pursue opportunities in China's beverage market. Although Danone held a 51% ownership stake in the JVs, it assigned only a handful of managers to work in them. As a result, its control over and visibility into their operations and finances appear to have been extremely limited. Real control rested with Zong Qinghou, founder and chairman of the Wahaha Group and, by all accounts, a brilliant entrepreneur. The feud surfaced in 2007 when Danone alleged that Zong's independently-owned companies had been manufacturing the same products with the same trademarks as the JVs, selling them through the latter's sales and distribution channels. The dispute ended in October 2009 when Danone agreed to sell its stake to Wahaha at a 21% discount to the book value.

In emerging markets such as China and India, regulatory requirements and lack of local knowhow often compel companies to work with local partners without the ability to hold complete or even a dominant ownership stake in the local operations. The relevant question is whether Danone could have been smarter at structuring and managing its partnership with Wahaha.

Danone's is hardly an isolated case. Consider General Motors in China. Chinese government policy prohibits foreign companies from owning more than 50% of the equity in any vehicle assembly operation in China. Consequently, GM operates in China through multiple JVs, all of them with one or more units of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC). GM's ownership stake in each of these operations is 50% or less. More than half of what GM reports as its auto sales in China comes from one entity, SAIC GM Wuling Automotive, a joint venture in which SAIC is the majority owner. Given these ground-level realities, might it be that it is SAIC which sits in the driver's seat when it comes to the two companies' strategic partnerships in China?
Consider also the case of Wal-Mart in India. Indian regulations do not permit foreign multibrand retailers to hold any equity stake in a retail operation in the country. There is no such restriction on wholesale operations, though. Consequently, Wal-Mart operates in India via two strategic alliances with Bharti Enterprises, one of India's leading business groups. Given Bharti's publicly stated ambition to become one of India's big retailers, it is difficult to rule out the possibility of a strategic conflict between the two companies at some point in the future.

In contexts where a controlling ownership stake is simply not possible (and, often, even when it is), companies face an important managerial challenge: how to build the ability to exercise adequate strategic control over the partnership? We propose four mechanisms. First, disaggregate your business operations in the host country and work with a different partner for each operation. Toyota offers an interesting contrast to GM in China. Unlike GM, Toyota has set up separate JV operations with two different local partners. Our interviews with auto industry executives in China suggest that this disaggregated approach has made Toyota less dependent than GM on either of its JV partners.

Second, pick partners whose strategic agendas are likely to be complementary to, rather than competitive with, your own. Given Bharti's ambitions in the retail sector, it's not unlikely that the long-term strategic agendas of Wal-Mart and its Indian partner may be fundamentally in conflict. In contrast, consider the case of SABMiller, the world's second largest beer company. Its China operations are run via a 49:51 JV with China Resource Enterprises, a state-owned conglomerate whose primary goal is to earn an attractive return on investment rather than to become a global powerhouse in beer. As such, SABMiller is less likely to run into strategic conflict with its partner than may turn out to be the case with Wal-Mart in India. Third, ensure that you have the formal authority to appoint some of the key managers to run the joint venture and have adequate visibility into the JV's operations and accounts. Fourth, cultivate indirect control over the partnership by controlling the ecosystem surrounding it. Here too, the differences in Toyota's vs GM's approaches are illuminating. Unlike in the case of vehicle assembly operations, Chinese regulations do not restrict foreign multinationals from holding a controlling ownership stake in operations that manufacture parts or subsystems to feed a vehicle assembly venture. Toyota holds a controlling 70% stake in its engine JV with Guangzhou Automobile Group. In contrast, GM owns a less than 50% stake in its engine JV in China. It is SAIC that appears to be in the driver's seat.
Given the rapid growth of emerging economies and multiple regulatory as well as market challenges that these economies represent, companies have little choice but to deepen their engagement with them even if it means not having a controlling ownership stake. The future will belong to those companies that can figure out how to do so smartly without losing their shirts.

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THE ECONOMIC TIMES

GUEST COLUMN

RATE HIKES WON'T WORK

RAGHBENDRA JHA & RAGHAV GAIHA

The RBI has recently admitted that persistence with its policy of sharp increases in interest rates is casting a long shadow on prospects of economic growth. An important point to note here is that this policy does not seem to have had much of an impact on consumer price index (CPI) inflation, which continues to hover just below the doubledigit mark.

Whereas the case for price stability as a goal of macroeconomic policy has been considered unexceptionable for some time, a strong body of thought has considered some inflation to be conducive for economic growth in the context of an emerging market economy like India. Indeed, in a forthcoming paper that articulates the relation between inflation, its volatility and the rate of GDP growth in a sample of developed and developing countries (including India), it has been shown that inflation itself starts hurting growth only at rates of (steady) inflation higher than 10%. The current monetary policy stance, while attempting to control demand-side inflation, must come to terms with the fact that supply shocks are still reverberating through the economy. The year 2009 witnessed severe drought. The rebound in agricultural output in the following year was not capitalised upon and supply chains were not substantially improved. Commodity prices are still high and volatile in international markets. Recurrent supply shocks now also come from the expected rise in inflation. The higher the rate of expected inflation, the lower will be the gap between actual and expected inflation and the smaller the resulting (positive) deviation of output from the trend.

The current anti-inflation policy stance must also come to terms with the fact that a substantial portion of inflation can be ascribed to higherthan-planned-for fiscal deficits. The fiscal theory of the price level argues that there is apositive link between budget deficits and inflation as higher fiscal deficits, operating through bond markets, augment liquidity and exacerbate inflationary pressures. Estimates from the finance ministry website indicate that total tax revenues (Centre plus states) fell from 15.08% of GDP in 2009-10 (the year after the global financial crisis and asevere drought) to 14.73 % of GDP in 2010-11 (a relatively normal year). India's net direct tax collections in the fiscal first quarter of 2011 (April-June) fell 16.6% y-o-y (from . 686.75 billion to . 572.68 billion). The government itself has expressed fears that it may not be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.6% of GDP in this financial year. This is largely due to a slowdown in the economy initiated by inflation and sustained by successive rises in interest rates. Prime Minister's chief economic advisor C Rangarajan also expressed fears over rising expenditure of government. Hence, there is sustained pressure on the price level from the fiscal side. A third element in anti-inflation policy is improvements to the supply side. Many observers have remarked on delays in initiating major supplyside reforms. These include integration of agricultural markets, improving supply chains, reducing loss and wastage of foodgrains and other food items, improved offtake from FCI godowns, better management of the targeted public distribution scheme, improving agricultural productivity and developing an integrated commodity tax structure for the country, to mention just a few. In addition, delays in pursuing the muchneeded manufacturing sector and infrastructure reforms have led, according to the July 2011 report of the Council of Economic Advisors to the Prime Minister, to an alarming drop in investment, which has shaved off 0.75% to 1% of GDP growth even as high rates of inflation reduce the household saving rate to its lowest level in more than a decade. The upshot of the argument above is that there are multiple reasons for the high inflation in India. It is in this context that the anti-inflationary stance of the RBI has to be considered. The RBI, by raising interest rates, is addressing only demand-side inflation. In particular, one has to be clear about the quantitative impact and time profile of the impact of policy rates on various measures of inflation. The empirical evidence of such impacts, particularly on CPI, is not encouraging. Specifically, the mean impact of the call money rate on CPI is uncertain, subject to long lags and the overall impact has a wide and rapidly expanding 95% confidence interval. The extant literature has accepted that there are several reasons why interest rates may not have a straightforward relation with CPI in the context of a country like India.

The anti-inflationary policy being conducted in India has too few instruments. This policy needs to expand to include fiscal consolidation and substantial improvements on the supply side. A higher interest rate policy on its own may not be adequate; indeed, it may not lower inflation and end up lowering growth.
(R Jha is with Australian National University and R Gaiha with University of Delhi)

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

BANKING ON CIRCUMSPECTION

Quietly yet self-assuredly, the Reserve Bank of India has released its draft guidelines on new bank licences for the private sector after a gap of more than a decade. The guidelines offer a vital clue to the RBI's world-view on the subject: in a word, selectivity. As the RBI warns: "Banking being a highly leveraged business, licences shall be issued on a very selective basis to those who conform" to the norms but "it may not be possible for the Reserve Bank to issue licences to all the applicants meeting the eligibility criteria…" This is confusing; an eligible applicant is entitled to go ahead unless the RBI explains at the outset why it is "not possible" to let the candidate through the gate.

The criteria are severe and represent the concern to safeguard the banking sector from the slings and arrows of private enterprise and foreign majority holding. Only firms with "diversified ownership", a successful track record of 10 years, owned and controlled by resident Indians, less than 10 per cent exposure to real estate, construction or capital market activities, and able to cough up Rs 500 crore will be permitted to apply through a Non-Operative Holding Company (NOHC) that, for the first five years, will have to hold at least 40 per cent of the paid-up capital; aggregate non-resident ownership in that period will not be allowed to exceed 49 per cent. Bowing to the mantra of financial inclusion, the RBI insists that one in every four branches will have to be set up in rural and semi-urban areas. The guidelines insist, unlike the earlier rules, that new entrants list within two years and that half the directors be independent; this may not necessarily keep promoters' biases at bay but, then, the RBI tries to ring-fence the new entity, especially where "promoter groups" have 40 per cent or more assets or income from non-financial business. In this case, the guidelines insist on aggregate exposure of not more than 20 per cent of paid-up capital and reserves of the bank to any entity "in the promoter group, their business associates, major suppliers and customers"; and all "exposures will have to be approved by the Board and all credit facilities to these entities should have a minimum tangible security cover of 150 per cent".

Last week, Dr Subbarao sounded the tone when he warned of the need to prevent private entrants from using banks as "private pools" of capital. The draft guidelines aim to do just that while giving new entrants enough leeway to participate in an industry bristling with business opportunity.

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

STIR AGAINST GRAFT HAS ONLY BEGUN

RANABIR RAY CHOUDHURY

Make no mistake about it, the campaign to focus on strong anti-corruption measures in the country — sparked off by the movement of Anna Hazare — has not ended with the adoption by Parliament of the resolution whichfocuses on three specific points — namely, a citizens' charter, an appropriate mechanism to bring the lower bureaucracy under the purview of the suggested Lokpal, and the setting up of Lokayuktas in the States.

What the Hazare campaign has accomplished can be gauged by the fact that, single-handedly, it has forced the Government of the day to take concrete measures to operationalise the concept of a strong, over-arching Lokpal, the concept itself having been mooted by the wise men of our nation more than 40 years ago.

Why has it taken such a long time for the Lokpal concept to be placed on the policy pedestal in such a way that there is now no way of avoiding setting it up?

The politicians of the nation will have to admit that they , as a class over the years, have been responsible for the failure to institutionalise a mechanism which, if it had been set up earlier, would certainly by now have been one of the important weapons to fight the scourge of corruption . It is solely because of Anna Hazare's campaign that the politicians have been shaken out of their inability or unwillingness to move forward on the anti-corruption front.

Critical issue

The critical issue now is that the steps which Parliament has resolved to take should be implemented honestly, so that, at the end of the current process begun by Hazare and his band, a material difference is achieved in the fight against corruption. It is a sad fact of life that politicians, as a tribe, are not what they used to be when the nation gained Independence in 1947 and immediately afterward.

As far as the average Indian is concerned, both in rural and urban areas, an element of mistrust of politicians has crept in, which is all the more reason why the focus now is on the need to ensure that there is no last-minute backtracking from, or diluting of, the essential spirit of the resolution adopted by Parliament on the Lokpal issue.

That the waters are strewn with hidden rocks and lethal eddies is strongly suggested by the curious effort that is being made by some people to project the view that the entire Lokpal issue has been governed by a Parliament vs civil society conflict.

To take an example, Mr Salman Khurshid has (as reported) declared that the way the UPA Government tackled the Hazare agitation underscored its "courage of conviction", adding ominously, "We are not pushovers. We might have made errors of judgement. We may have lost ground somewhere, but we are determined to get that ground back." What "ground" is Mr Khurshid talking about? Indeed, he has even stretched his neck out to emphasise that "errors of judgement are not mistakes"!

Right to recall

Has there been a regression in the quality of our MPs, and politicians generally, compared to earlier decades? These are serious issues, and Anna Hazare may be right in suggesting that the next campaign should be to institute the right of recall of an MP or MLA.

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

OVERDOSE OF ANNA ON TELEVISION

ADITI NIGAM

Finally, curtains down on the Anna Hazare agitation on television. Hopefully, we may now get to see other things happening in the country and the world.

Ironically, the disgust that was building up because of the recent scams in India involving big corporates, politicians and the media has moved away from public mindspace after the Hazare agitation took over television.

But, surely, it is not a matter of pride for our democracy that Janata Dal (United) MP, Mr Sharad Yadav, had to plead for some time in Parliament to discuss the unprecedented floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, affecting lakhs of people, many whom have been rendered homeless. Why don't the OB vans go and line up there, he asked.

But, why would they? So what if this is a democracy — for the people, of the people, by the people? It is television that decides what kind of people matter. Do floods bring in TRPs and advertisement revenues?

Our TV anchors would rather stand in knee-deep water on the roads of Mumbai and wax eloquent about the city coming to a halt and cars getting stuck, because it is those particular urban eyeballs that matter.

Biased coverage

The point, however, is that even the 24x7 coverage of Hazare's agitation was biased. Isn't democracy about all kinds of views and voices being heard, even of dissent?

After all, this is precisely what triggered the Hazare agitation. The old man was arrested and denied his right to protest.

TV anchors shouting themselves hoarse and defending selective rights for select people is not good for democracy.

For instance, there was no news about the "traffic jams and inconvenience caused to hundreds of office goers". The only "traffic jam" we heard or read about in those 13 12 days was about the one caused by 8,000 people belonging to the Scheduled castes and minorities marching in Delhi raising slogans against the Hazare agitation.

Didn't the Hazare agitation also inconvenience people, with Metro stations closed and roads blocked suddenly, without notice or deadline?

JP movement

Finally, our anchors compared Mr Hazare's agitation with the Jayaprakash Narayan movement in the 1970s. Some even said that it was greater than that.

The big difference is that the JP movement had a more long-lasting impact without 24X7 television, social media, mobile phones and SMSs.

And, the JP movement, of what we have heard and seen as children, inspired a lot of idealism among the youth and even threw up some good political leaders, journalists and academics.

With due apologies to Anna Hazare, his agitation seems more like a Mahatma Gandhi remix. And, like all remixes, it is a hit, but may also have a short shelf life!

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

INDIA'S CULTURAL PARADIGM MOVES TO US

B.S.RAGHAVAN

The strongest bond that held the Indian society together, from times immemorial, was the joint family system. The households often were on the verge of bursting at the seams with all members of the family, encompassing several generations, living together. The earnings, facilities and resources were all pooled and all the expenses, liabilities and discomforts shared.

The presiding patriarch had a finger in every pie. He had the unchallenged right to determine the priorities and allocations in respect of the demands and needs of the family as a whole. His choice of the bride or bridegroom was final and acted upon without question.

Keeping a joint family going smoothly was no joke. It called for tremendous efforts and adjustments, deriving from a high degree of tolerance, patience and forbearance, all rooted in mutual affection, deep sensitivity and give-and-take.

The greatest services rendered by the joint family system were in the social and cultural spheres. First and foremost, it was the most effective and equitable, if not ingenious, social security network devised by humankind. The family members belonging to the younger generation willingly, gladly and unstintingly took care of the elders, providing them support and being on call in good and bad times.

SAVING GRACE

Next, the joint family was the fountainhead, preserver, protector and promoter of the values and tenets on which Indian society itself was founded. Babysitting by grandparents, accompanied by telling of stories, avidly listened to by children, was the most powerful, and at the same time, the most delectable, means of passing on to future generations the grandeur and glory of India's cultural heritage. It also fostered, strengthened and sustained the spirit of 'all for each and each for all'.

Alas, it has all but disappeared in its homeland. But there is a saving grace: It has surfaced in the US — at least that part to do with rediscovering the value of grandparents. "American is swiftly becoming a granny state" is how a report by the Associated Press (AP) begins its account of today's grandparents in that country "shunning retirement homes and stepping in more than ever to raise grandchildren while young adults struggle in the poor economy."

It further says that "newer grandparents are mainly 'baby-boomers' who are still working, with greater disposable income. Now making up 1 in 4 adults, grandparents are growing at twice the rate of the overall population and sticking close to family — if their grandkids aren't already living with them."

It quotes grandparents who describe how they pitch in with health-care payments for family members due to insurance gaps and help out by running errands, babysitting, taking the grandkids to doctors' appointments, and shopping.

Their interest in their grandchildren is no longer confined to giving them toys and presents, but they contribute with their own disposable income to sports, camps, tutoring, music lessons and other educational needs.

'AGING IN PLACE'

This is not surprising when it is remembered that US households headed by baby-boomers command almost half of the nation's total household income and that unemployment among workers ages 25 to 34 last year was double that of Americans aged 55 to 64. The US Census data released on August 25 reveals that about 5.8 million children, or nearly 8 per cent of all children, are living with grandparents declared as the heads of households — the largest in the last 40 years and believed to be the largest share ever. In some States, especially in West and South, the percentage of such joint households is even larger, touching 10 per cent or more.

There are currently 62.8 million grandparents in the US, the most ever, making up roughly 1 in 3 adults. The AP report says that "these grandparents reject living in senior communities in favour of 'aging in place' in their own homes, near family" and refers to a finding of the Bureau of Labour Statistics that in 2009, grandparents aged 55 or older spent billions of dollars on infant food, clothes, toys, games, tuition and supplies for grandchildren.

Bravo, US grandparents! May your tribe increase!

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

NOT READY YET FOR NILEKANI MODEL

UTTAM GUPTA

The Task Force (TF) on 'Direct transfer of subsidies on kerosene, LPG and fertilisers' headed by Mr Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has, in its interim report, recommended a road-map for direct cash transfer of fertiliser subsidy in three phases:

Create software capability and tech support to track movement of fertilisers from retailer to farmers;

Set up infrastructure to facilitate direct cash transfer to bank accounts of retailers; and

Enable a system where farmers buy at market rates from retailers and get cash transfers to UID-linked accounts. Currently, fertiliser subsidy is disbursed at the level of manufacturer or importer. The Ministry of Fertilisers allocates funds to Department of Fertiliser (DOF). DOF in turn, passes on to the manufacturer who adjusts retail prices according to the subsidy.

Manufacturers/importers are required to sell urea at controlled price (MRP) and collect subsidy from the Government equal to excess of cost of production/import and distribution. Permissible cost to producers is determined under 'New Pricing Scheme' (NPS).

NBS policy

Manufacturers of decontrolled phosphorus and potassium (P&K) fertilisers are given subsidy under the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) policy. Subsidy rates under NBS are fixed on per nutrient basis. Unlike urea, these producers have the freedom to fix MRP.

The thrust of the subsidy policy is to keep fertiliser price to farmers 'low'. Price connects with their capacity to pay. There are 107.6 million small and marginal farmers constituting 83.3 per cent of 129.2 million farm households. Large farmers (holding more than 10 hectares) are only 0.8 per cent.

While continuing the subsidy, TF proposes to shift the point of disbursal from manufacturer to retailer/farmer. Under the scheme, DOF will transfer money to the nodal bank which will credit to account of retailers/farmers in a network of banks after checking with CSMS (Certified Software Measurement Specialist).

In the second stage, the retailer will buy fertilisers from manufacturer at market price and sell it to farmers at a lower price enabled by subsidy. In the third stage, retailer will sell at market price; however, 'effective' price paid by farmer will be lower due to subsidy.

Flawed perception

What has prompted such a drastic shift? This is based on a perception that extant system is prone to leakages! This is flawed. A fairly rigorous system of subsidy payments is in place to prevent any misuse. On other hand, benefits are huge.

The Government has to deal only with a handful of manufacturers (29 urea units and 19 DAP and NP/NPK complex plants). And, that helps in keeping cost of administering subsidy low. Fertiliser Industry Coordination Committee under DOF does this job.

Any apprehension that producers can exploit system is 'unfounded' as under NBS for decontrolled fertilisers, they are paid on 'uniform' per nutrient basis. For urea too, the Government has promised to shift to NBS. This will also help correct the imbalance in fertiliser use. Increase in fertiliser subsidy is often linked withmisuse. This too is a wrong notion. There has been no increase in MRP (10 per cent hike last year came after eight years) while there has been a steep increase in prices of feedstock and other inputs besides an increase in fertiliser use. Hence the rise in subsidy bill.

In 2008-09 thus, subsidy zoomed close to Rs 100,000 crore. This was primarily due to skyrocketing international crude price and steep increase in prices of feedstock and imported fertilisers. In 2009-10, it dropped to Rs 52,000 crore, as prices cooled that year.

Gyrations in subsidy

We will have to live with gyrations in subsidy irrespective of the chosen delivery point as subsidy is a function of 'target' MRP on one hand and cost of production/import and distribution on the other. It is not a factor of how it is administered. Clearly, there is no justifiable basis for the proposed change. Still, if we take a plunge, this could have disastrous consequences. There are 2,76,313 fertiliser sale points. From a handful of manufacturers now, the government will have to deal with lakhs of retailers.

Setting up the required infrastructure is a huge challenge by itself. But, the biggest worry is the States do not have wherewithal and the will to do the job right. Infotech companies can provide software/tech support, but the crucial job of tracking and authenticating has to be done by States.

In 1991-92, the government exempted small and marginal farmers from increase in MRP of all controlled fertilisers by 30 per cent (except ammonium sulphate, CAN and ammonium chloride which were decontrolled). The money equivalent of this increase was given to States to be transmitted 'directly' to beneficiaries. The result was a fiasco. A meagre 3.5 per cent of farmers benefited from it. Subsidy amount involved then was around Rs 400 crore. Now, we are talking of astronomical Rs 50,000 crore to be paid on certification by States!

Payment hassles

Under the present system, manufacturers get subsidy on 'dispatch' — 90 per cent on account payment and the balance on verification. When, it comes to dealing with lakhs of retailers, it will be dangerous to continue with on account payments. Will the entire payment be released after sale? Will a retailer have enough cash to pay full/market price in the very first place?

All the more so, when subsidy component accounts for two thirds (for DAP) of price paid by him. Under extant system, subsidy payments to manufacturers often get delayed due to budget constraints and other reasons. The government has issued 'fertiliser bonds' to them in lieu of cash. This had its own problems. One cannot dream of bonds being issued to dealers!!

There is thus a real danger of dealer network collapsing due to liquidity squeeze in an event of subsidy payments getting delayed. The Government could be putting the fertiliser supply chain to serious risk. Eventually, farmers would be hard hit.

In the third stage, problems of reaching subsidy to 129 million farm households will be of unimaginable proportions. How will they buy at market price? When will they get paid? Will they be 'fully' compensated? Will subsidy go to the 'right' persons?

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BUSINESS LINE

OPINION

MAKE THE NEW BANKS GO RURAL

BISWA SWARUP MISRA

The Reserve Bank (RBI), on August 29, came out with draft guidelines for issuing new banking licenses in the private sector. The guidelines cover a number of issues, including promoter eligibility, corporate structure, capital requirement, foreign shareholding and the business model for entities keen to enter the banking sector. It has also laid down additional conditions in respect of corporates or business houses intending to enter the banking space.

Why the additional conditions for corporate houses? The RBI is concerned about the possibility of corporate houses indulging in self-dealing — where the bank promo

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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

EDITORIAL 31.08.11