Ayodhya case - no scope for mutual settlement - Janata Weekly

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Vol. 72 No. 11April 2, 2017

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A RSS takeoverKuldip Nayar

Why is the independence ofthe judiciary indispensable?

Prabhakar Sinha

Experiencing Indian electionsD. K. Giri

Union Territorystatus for Ladakh

Chandra Bhal Tripathi

The suggestion of the ChiefJustice of India to even act as amediator in pending Babri Masjiddemolition case, showed his concernbut was a little odd considering thatit has come at the instance of aninter meddler, and without partiesinvolved being before the Court –that is why it caused amongstthe parties a certain concern. In myview Babri Masjid demolition caseis not a matter for compromise.This case raises the deepconstitutional concern regarding ourConstitution which clearly says thatIndia is a secular republic.

I was in Geneva attending U.N.Sub Human Rights Commissionmeeting when I was told thehorrible news that came on T.V.that Babri Masjid had beendemolished and saw the goryspectacle of B.J.P. hoodlumsclimbing the Masjid and breaking itdown. B.J.P. UP Chief MinisterKalyan Singh’s assurance to theSupreme Court that he will take fullsteps to prevent it was belied. TheSupreme Court by a majority justaccepted his apology instead ofsending him to jail for contempt of

Ayodhya case -no scope for mutual settlement

Rajindar Sachar

Court. But this was nothingcompared to the ominous conspiracyof Congress Prime MinisterNarasima Rao, who suddenlybecame inaccessible to seniorjournalists, his Home Secretary andeven his colleagues.

I am also ashamed to admit theunworthy role of complicity of thejudiciary which in spite of theinjunction having given since 1949against the public not to enter thearea did not proceed against theviolators – even the higher judiciarydid not intervene – rather turned ablind eye. This was the time whenthe magnitude of danger should havebeen appreciated by all parties butwas not.

The battle for secularism shouldhave been joined with a singulardetermination of nipping thecancer of communalism. But thennothing was done.

I then made a public statementthat; “Immediately the Governmentshould have announced December6, as a ‘National Repentance Day’when people will fast and pray for

2 JANATA, April 2, 2017

unity and welfare of all thecommunities”. But the non-BJPparties analyzed the situation asmerely one of law and order andthus acquiesced in this dastardly Act.Whatever the past history, all theparties let the matter go toAllahabad High court to givea decision. High Court has given adecision with which both parties areaggrieved. B.J.P. is still insisting thatit would build a temple at the sitewhere Masjid undoubtedly stood forover 500 years.

Muslims cannot obviously agreeto a shameful compromise onsanctity of Masjid. The matter isalready before the Supreme Court– it cannot run away from giving adecision which may not makeeveryone happy. But then it is theirconstitutional duty and it has noother alternative.

I cannot foretell the SupremeCourt decision. But if pastprecedents are to prevail, then thecase in favour of Muslims isinvincible. I say this on theprecedence of Shahidganj Masjidcase (Lahore now in Pakistan)decided by the Privy Council in1940. The Supreme Court need notdecide on merits whether BabriMasjid had been in existence whereRam Temple had existed or notbecause that is of no consequenceas it is not relevant to the decisionof case. This is because even ifwas, there is no denying that BabriMasjid has been in existence since500 years.

Now it is obvious to the meanestintelligence that it is impossible toprove that the birthplace of LordRam was under the masjid — itmay be a matter of faith, genuineor contrived or otherwise, but thatis no proof, nor can it ever be put

forward as a legal ground to takeaway the land from the mosque.

If the finding is that the masjidwas not built on a Ram Birthdayplace, then the Muslims get the landback and will be free to use it inany way, including the building ofthe mosque.

Alternatively even if it is heldthat there was a temple on the landof Babri Masjid, even withthis finding the suit by the VHP/RSS has to be dismissed.Admittedly, Babri Masjid has beenin existence for over 500 years tillit was demolished by goons of theVHP/RSS in 1992. Legallyspeaking, even then the SanghParivar would have no right even ifa temple had been demolished tobuild Babri Masjid. I say this in viewof the precedent of the case ofMasjid Shahid Ganj in Lahoredecided by the Privy Council in1940. In that case there wasadmittedly a mosque existing since1722 AD. But by 1762, the buildingcame under Sikh rule and was usedas a gurdwara. It was only in 1935that a suit was filed claiming thebuilding was a mosque and shouldbe returned to the Muslims. ThePrivy Council, while observing that“their Lordship have everysympathy with a religious sentimentwhich would ascribe sanctity andinviolability to a place of worship,they cannot under the Limitation

Act accept the contentions thatsuch a building cannot be possessedadversely”, went on to hold“The property now in questionhaving been possessed by Sikhsadversely to the waqf and to allinterests there under for more than12 years, the right of the mutawali(caretaker) to possession forthe purposes of the waqf came to

an end under the Limitation Act”.On the same parity of reasoningeven if a temple existed prior to thebuilding of the masjid 500 years ago,the suit by the Hindu outfitslike Nirmal Akhara VHP/B.J.P. etc.has to fail.

There is another reason why insuch a situation, the suit will failbecause in common law, even arightful heir, if he kills his ancestor,forfeits his right of inheritance. Inthe masjid case too there was a“murder most foul” and hence themurderer cannot be allowed to takethe benefit of his own dastardlydeeds, whatever the factual positionmay be.

Of course it is the privilege ofthe Chief Justice of India toconstitute the bench. May howeverone respectfully submit that it maybe more reassuring if a beach ofseven judges or nine judges was tohear the appeal.

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JANATA, April 2, 2017 3

A RSS takeover

Kuldip Nayar

It looks as if the RSS has openlycome out to appoint its nominees atdifferent places of governance. If onewere to look around in the country,the BJP, a political wing of the RSS,has already taken over most of thecountry. The presidential election isonly a few months away. Yet again,the names tossed around for the topposition are from the RSS parivar.

Today, there are as many as ninechief ministers of the BJP or, for thatmatter, the RSS pracharaks. Theyare: Manoharlal Khattar of Haryana,Trivendra Singh Rawat ofUttarakhand, Biren Singh of Manipur,Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra,Shivraj Singh Chouhan of MandyaPradesh, Raman Singh ofChhattisgarh, Manohar Parrikar ofGoa, Raghubar Das of Jharkand andthe latest to join the list of RSS parivais Adityanath Yogi of Uttar Pradesh,the most populous state in India with80 Lok Sabha seats.

Above all, the country’s PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is an ardentRSS pracharak. He came intolimelight after instigating riots inGujarat where he was at the helm ofaffairs. When he became PrimeMinister in 2014, he saw to it that thecommitted people from the RSSwould occupy important positions ofgovernance, both at the centre and inthe states.

When he began the stint at theCentre, he did not give the impressionof toeing the line of the RSS but asthe days went by, he gradually showedhis true colours. He brought in AmitShah, his Man Friday, and foisted him

as president of the party. But it mustbe said to his credit that the BJP sweptthrough to power in the country with72 Lok Sabha seats from UP alone.Shah was instrumental in helping theBJP and its allies win 325 VidhanSabha seats out of 403 in the state.

The sweep in UP has helped theBJP gain a sizeable number in theRajaya Sabha and with the party’stwo-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha,the presidential election looks a mereformality. Indeed, this gives the kindof confidence to both BJP and theRSS that whoever they put up as theircandidate, there will be hardly anyopposition. Even if there is a slightresistance from some of the non-BJPparties, it will only in name.

The names that are doing therounds include L.K. Advani andJaswant Sinha, former FinanceMinister. Advani is a heavier namesince he founded the BJP when theJanata Party was breaking up in 1980soon after Indira Gandhi returned topower. She punished the BJPmembers with vengeance. Sinha, aformer bureaucrat, has vastexperience. Both seem to be dear tothe public. There are alsosympathizers within the party whofavour their candidature becausethey have been sidelined since theadvent of Modi.

However, the ultimate choice ofthe presidential candidate will dependon the Prime Minister. He is keepingthe cards close to his chest andallowing the party to debate ondifferent names. Modi will definitelywant a person who will be at his

command. The two names that haveemerged do not seem to fit into thescheme of things which Modi has inmind.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley istoo young and the Prime Ministerneeds him in the Cabinet and, amongother things, he is very effectivespeaker in both the houses. HomeMinister Rajnath Singh wanted to bethe chief minister of UP. But nowthat Yogi is well entrenched as thestate chief minister, Rajnath Singhmight be looking at this covetedposition. Lok Sabha Speaker SumitraMahajan, who has conducted thehouse in an orderly way, is also beingspoken about as an appropriatecandidate.

The ideal choice would be acandidate who is apolitical, popularand experienced. Pranab Mukherjeewas selected as President becausehe was the hatchet man of Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi. The otherreason for his elevation was that hewas seen as an obstacle to RahulGandhi becoming the Prime Minister.However, Mukherjee was not abovecontroversy either. As a head of statehe should not have published hismemoirs while in office.

Political parties were reluctant tocriticise him because he is theconstitutional head, as much theirsas that of those who elected him.Pranab Mukherjee has violated thedemand of office by publishing hismemoirs when he is still the Presidentof India. Even Giani Zail Singh,former President, was without

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From 1950 to 1993*, the power toappoint judges of the Supreme Courtand High Courts and also the powerto transfer the judges of the HighCourts were vested in the Presidentie, the Union Government. Till 1973,there was no interference by theUnion Government, and it acted onthe recommendation of the ChiefJustice of India given afterconsultation with other functionariesmentioned in the Constitution. But in1973, Indira Gandhi superseded threesenior judges and appointed the fourthperson (Justice A N Ray) as the ChiefJustice of India. Why did she do it? Ina case (Keshavanand Bharati), thethree senior judges had rejected hergovernment’s contention thatParliament had absolute andunfettered power to amend theconstitution. Earlier, the SupremeCourt had held (in Golaknath,1967)that Parliament could not amend theFundamental Rights to infringe them.She had the Constitution amended toremove the ground on which the apexcourt had given the verdict*.The government in Keshavanand hadclaimed that Parliament could evenmake India a Monarchy (it was saidin answer of a query). This contention was rejected by the judgment in which seven judgesrejected the contention of thegovernment while the other six upheldit. The court held that Parliament couldamend any part of the Constitutionincluding the Fundamental Rights butcould not violate its basic features. Italso said that what the basic structurewas could not be enumerated andwould be decided by court when theissue was raised in a case. Thejudgment thus rightly gave the power

Why is the independence of the judiciary indispensable ?

Prabhakar Sinha

to Parliament to amend theConstitution but retained the right tostop its destructive power.Secularism, independence of thejudiciary, democracy, etc are someof the basis features of theConstitution.

The judgment was given by a 13-member bench (7:6) by a majority ofone. Indira Gandhi immediatelyretaliated by superseding three seniorjudges who had rejected hergovernment’s contention andappointed the 4th person in seniorityas the Chief Justice of India. Thejudges were naturally scared.

During the Emergency, shetransferred judges of the High Courtsfor giving judgments against thegovernment, especially, those whoquashed the detention orders underMISA. The judiciary was completelyintimidated and surrendered to her.

In a case (ADM, Jabalpur vsShivakant Shukla), the SupremeCourt upheld the Indira government’scontention that when the right to lifeand personal liberty was suspendedduring the Emergency thegovernment could detain or torture aperson and the courts could notinterfere. One could even be killedby a policeman, but no action couldbe taken. So, the SC held that wewere without the right to life andpersonal liberty (art.21) becausethose rights had been suspendedduring the Emergency.

A five-member bench gave thejudgment - four judges upheld thegovernment contention with one

judge H. R. Khanna giving adissenting judgment. Indira Gandhipunished him by superseding him andmaking someone junior to him as theChief Justice of India.

The judges are public servants andwould serve under any conditionprescribed by law. Theirindependence from the governmentis necessary for the citizens, whohave to fight the mighty State andnot the judges who are appointed todo a job. If the judges are obliged tothe Executive for their appointment,they would side with the governmentand not the people. They wouldnever dare give a judgment againstpowerful politicians. All thepoliticians are united in making thejudiciary subservient by taking awayor having a decisive say in theappointment of judges so that theymay pack the judiciary with pliantjudges and have the judgment theywant. Modi government hasmanaged to get the power to rejecta name recommended by theCollegium in the name of the nationalsecurity. Now, no aspirant forappointment to the High Court orSupreme Court would like toantagonise the government of theday. They would lobby and be obligedto the politicians helping them insecuring the appointment.

There are shortcomings in thepresent system and reform is sorelyneeded, but they must be measureswhich do not erode the judiciary’sindependence. The independence isneeded for us, the poor citizensoppressed by the mighty government,rather than the judges.

* In 1993, the Supreme Court vested the power of appointments in a Collegium of judges.


A perceptive politicalcommentator once remarked “Indianpolitics is electionised, notdemocratised”. His cryptic commentcharacterises Indian politics in twoways. One, the positive, is that Indiandemocracy holds free, fair - if wediscount the murmurs abouttampering of the electronic votingmachines - and regular elections toall the three tiers of Government:Local Governments - theMunicipalities and Panchayats; StateGovernments - Assemblies and theNational Government - Parliament.The other, the negative aspect is thatIndian elections have become aroutine in democracy, without makingany tangible or substantive impact onpolitics. What is more, the electionsare bedevilled by the nature andprofile of candidates, most of themhave criminal antecedents; excessiveuse of black money, polarisation ofvoters on religion, caste, etc. whichis unconstitutional. Yet, Indian politicsis heavily punctuated by regular andrecurring elections.

Having fought a Parliamentaryelection, and campaigned in quite afew, I have mixed feelings. One isreminded of the satire by the EnglishPoet, Alexander Pope “Thedemocracy is the madness of many,for the gain of the few”. But whatis most surprising is the ignoranceof many including the officials aboutthe election process. Filing thenomination is such a complicatedand confusing process. Someonecommented and I agree with him,that “having one’s nominationapproved in any election is electionhalf-fought by the candidate”.

Experiencing Indian elections

D. K. Giri

There is a universal demand fortransparency in public duties andservices. So is the case in India.But, if there is any department, thatneeds transparency, it is the ElectionCommission of India, its state offices,and Returning Officers. Becausewhat I am going to narrate belowwill indicate how inaccessible andopaque the Election Commission is.

The Parliament election of 2014was the beginning of my electoralparticipation. I went to the ReturningOfficer, District Magistrate, an IASofficer. Her office was like a marketplace with people swarming all overher office. The candidates and theirsupporters were trooping in and out.With some difficulty, I gained entryto enquire, but no one would giveme the accurate information. I didnot know then that there are so-called professionals, not the officials,who filled up the nomination forms,and gave authentic information. I donot use such touts around policestations, courts, transport authorityoffices, or election offices. I like todo it myself, as they overcharge andclaim to have contacts inside suchoffices. That is partly a mistake Imake. With all your knowledge ofEnglish and/or Hindi, you can gowrong at least on two counts. Youmay not have the right forms or youmay not be able to understand whatis written, and furthermore, there ismore to what is written in the forms,and all the affidavits you have togive. Anyhow, I filled up the forms.I know some English, and theGeneral Secretary of my party isgood at Hindi, but no English at all.I thought, between two of us we

could manage. It took us time to getall the papers in place, so wemanaged to submit the forms onlyon the last day for nomination.

On the last day, the DM’s officewas too crowded as Indians havethe habit of doing things at the lastmoment. It was getting to 5 pm, theclosing time. The DM decided toqueue up the candidates with theirforms displayed upto their chest forthe officials to see that everyone inthe queue had the forms. It remindedme clearly of a jail where prisonersare paraded for identification. Iprotested, “how can you do this toprospective members of Parliament,line them up as criminals waiting tobe identified? You could fix a deadlinefor entry, and entertain those whowere in”? But to no avail. TheReturning Officers or the ElectionOfficers are supposed to be quiteauthoritative and powerful.However, I submitted my forms.There seemed to be one mistake.We committed an oversight. In partynomination, there were two columnsin the form ‘A’. The party nominatesthe candidate and in the secondcolumn, it withdraws the candidate.My General Secretary, not knowingEnglish, in a bit of hurry, asked meto sign at both places. In deferenceto his seniority, again in a hurry, Isigned them. When I realised itmyself that we had done the mistake.I wanted to replace it with a newform as my General Secretary waspresent with me. They would not letme do it. I argued that one cannotwithdraw a candidate before hisnomination was accepted. I was toldto put my views or grievances on


the day of scrutiny, which is video-recorded and open. As I was gettingexasperated, a quiet gentlemansitting in DM’s office said. I wasright and the DM should listen tome. I found a bit later that thegentleman was the incumbentmember of the Parliament, andinterestingly, despite a battery ofadvocates accompanying him, oneset of his nomination papers wasrejected. And finally, on the day ofscrutiny, both I and my GeneralSecretary were there to plead thatwe withdraw the withdrawal. Wegave a written application to supportour case. The DM talked to twoother senior IAS officers who werethe observers. They suggested thatthe Returning officer should take acall on the issue. The Returningofficer, sought to advise me if I wouldlike to withdraw my candidature.This was not clearly her brief. I saida firm ‘no’ in indignation. Then sheturned to one of the observers, whosaid, the party nomination form wasa statutory document. The ReturningOfficer dishonoured the partynomination and I was declared anindependent candidate, to the heavydismay of my supporters.

The elections in the five stateswere announced - Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Manipur, Goa, andPunjab. We decided in our party tocontest the elections in UP. We wentto the Election Commission of Indiato get a common symbol for ourcandidates. The recognised partieshave their permanent symbols. Theunrecognised registered parties likeours had to follow a differentprocedure. That is if a partyundertakes to contest 5 per cent oftotal seats (403 in case of UP),earlier it was 10 per cent, the partycan be allotted a common symbol.If the party fails to honour theundertaking, the Election

Commission can punish the party.We put in the application, this timeapparently a simple one. There wasan affidavit to be attached, whichwas needed if the party contestedin more than one state. That is whatwas written in the form, or weunderstood so much. When we putin the application, no one pointed outthat our papers were not in order.We kept ringing them without anysuccess. The stock reply was, if wegot anyone on the phone, that all ofthem were too busy to take calls.Once, I had to really unfortunatelyshout at the principal secretary ofthe Chief Election Commissioner toelicit some news on our application.He did put me in touch withsomeone, but the person was of notany help. Finally, the parties waitingfor common symbols had to do animpromptu sit-in strike to attract theattention of the officials. Some ofthem got the symbols. To our horrorwe were told that we had to do anaffidavit; since that was not done,we were not to get the symbol. Ourrepeated pleas that the form waspretty unclear, and no one botheredto phone us or send an email to saywe should do an affidavit. If theECI could not communicate at all,why are the mobile phone and emailsasked for in the forms? But, therewas no impact.

As I write this, we are in themidst of filing nominations for DelhiMunicipal elections. My experiencereached the height of confusion,curiosity and consternation. As usual,the recognised parties could fieldcandidates, nominate them. But,there is no clarity on whetherregistered parties can do so. Againwe went to the ECI, at AshokaRoad, New Delhi.

As usual, there is no access toany official. There was only one

official at the mail desk whom onecan talk to and get some information.He confidently said, we could put inan application for a common symbol,stating the names and wards forcandidates with a copy to the StateElection Commission who will allotas a symbol. This was a piece ofinformal information. The ladyofficially in-charge of the politicalparties told us on the phone thatthere was no provision for theunrecognised parties for a commonsymbol. I called a couple ofReturning Officers who were listedon the Election Commission websiteto check on the common symbol.One of the two, very reassuringlysaid, they had received a circularthat unrecognised parties can securea symbol by applying to the stateelection during a stipulated time-period, and the time was over. I wasnot worried about the commonsymbol. but desperate and curiousto know the rules. When I pointedout to the Returning officer endorsingthe possibility of a common symbol,that Swaraj Abhiyan, a newregistered party has filed a writ inthe High Court for a common symbol,the Retuning Officer feigned surprisethat they should have gone to thecourt. There was no need. In theform, there is no column forregistered parties. I asked theRetuning Officer if an unregisteredparty can field any candidate withouta common symbol. I was still waitingfor an answer. In the meanwhile,High Court has dismissed the pleaby Swaraj Abhiyan party. We mayfield our candidates as independents.What I narrated so far is about thelevel of knowledge of officials, andthe system of sharing informationwith parties and candidates.

The other side is even funnier.The candidates wanting to contestelections give us jitters and jocular


tensions. In the last Assemblyelections in Delhi, a lady was broughtto us. She was keen to contest. Iasked her if she knew the name ofher Assembly. She did not. Whywas she wanting to contest for theAssembly? What will she do? Shesaid, she was promised by some ofher friends that they will help herbecome an MLA, and she will thenhave a good life. In this Municipalelection, the candidates coming forthhave friends and supporters, but theydo not know the name or number oftheir wards. They do not know therole of a councillor. Filing thenomination for them is getting asymbol which they can propagatefor their votes. They are not awareof the MCD offices, the VoterRegistration Centres, and thenumber of councillors.

What a state of affairs that existsin the largest democracy of theworld! I knew that one will not knowthe complexities of the Indian politicson the ground, mainly the electoralprocess, until I muddied my feet init. The experience is really tellingcomment on the praxis of Indianpolitics.

What we teach or read in thebooks is quite different from whathappens on the ground. I am nottalking about the distortions ofinstitutions, corrupt or wrongfulpractices, but simply of procedureslaid down in the rules and Acts, andsupplying accurate information to thestakeholders. How appalling to learnthat the officials sitting at the deskare ignorant and unhelpful. Whycannot Election Commission go onair, and to the media telling thecorrect procedure, step-by-step forfiling nominations? Why is ElectionCommission so inaccessible? Whycannot they put up information desksat their offices to help out

information-seekers? These are thequestions that any sound and healthydemocracy should have. A citizen-friendly bureaucracy still eludes us,

blemish. He installed Rajiv Gandhias Prime Minister even before theCongress parliament party hadelected him as leader.

Unfortunately, Rahul Gandhi hasfailed to make any impact whileoccupying the No. 2 position as vice-president of the Congress. SoniaGandhi still has the tag of being anItalian. And, therefore, ruled out aseffective support for any othercandidate put up by opposition partiesfor the top position.

The communists are not takenseriously because of their dwindlingstrength in the country. They havegradually been losing ground even inthose states where they held swayuntil some years ago. The regionalparties except for the Nitish Kumarled alliance in Bihar and AIADMKin Tamil Nadu, hardly matter. All these

leave the field wide open for the BJPor the candidate which RSSrecommends, to make it toRashtrapati Bhavan.

There is every reason to believethat the next President would be aperson from the BJP-RSS stable. Thiswould not really represent the realsentiment of the people. They wouldwant a person who would translatetheir aspirations. Rulers of differentpolitical parties will have to sink theirdifferences and cast their net wideso as to catch the prize fish.Unfortunately, there is none availablein the political field at this moment.

The alternative can be anacademician, a scientist, a jurist orsomeone else who has excelled in hisfield with the knowledge of politicalaffairs. But that doesn’t seem tohappen.

Footprints of A Crusader(The Life Story of Mrunal Gore)

byRohini Gawankar

Published byKamalakar Subhedar,

Secretary, Samata Shikshan Sanstha, Pareira Wadi, MohiliVillage,

Sakinaka, Ghatkopar(W), Mumbai 400072.Mobile: 9820092255 / Contribution: Rs.300+

and the Election Commission ofIndia is one big bureaucracy with alot of perceived powers, but littletransparency or efficiency.

(Continued from Page 3)


On March 24, 2017 JamyangTsering Namgyal posted onFacebook an old report dated August8 by Syed Junaid Hashmi with thecaption ‘Modi Sarkar paving way forUT status to Ladakh - Divisioninevitable’. (https://www.facebook.com/#). Since I wasconnected with Ladakh for morethan two decades I thought it fit torecord my comments andreminiscences on this issue.

The article misrepresents thesituation of Ladakh. It contains twoincorrect statements. The first ofthese is: “...Ladakhis have alreadybid goodbye to J&K by adopting alogo of its own and running parallelGovernment in the shape of LadakhHill Development Council(LHDC),” Ladakh comprising twodistricts, the Buddhist majority LehDistrict and the Muslim majorityKargil District, is at present a partof J&K State. It has its MLAs inthe State Legislative Assembly andit always had a representative inthe State Cabinet since 1950s.After a long struggle by theLadakh Buddhist Association forgranting of UT status to Ladakhthe Central and the StateGovernments passed the LadakhAutonomous Hill DevelopmentCouncil Act, 1995 and afterelections the Council came intoexistence in 1996 with TupstanChhewang as the Chief ExceutiveCouncillor with the status of aCabinet Minister and four otherExecutive Councillors with thestatus of Deputy Minister. Nodoubt this Council has been vestedwith limited powers in the sphere

Union Territory status for Ladakh


of development but it would beincorrect to say that it functions asa ‘parallel government’. The useof the term ‘parallel’ implies anantagonistic relationship as, forinstance, in the parallelgovernments set up in 1942 duringthe Quit India movement by NanaPatil in Satara (Maharashtra), byAjoy Mukherji and Satish ChandraSamanta in Tamluk (Bengal - nowWest Bengal) and by ChittooPande in Balia (UP).

The second incorrect statementis: “... it remains a historical factthat regional division of J&K hasfor long remained one of thecherished goals of RashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh (RSS), theideological arm of Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).” It is giving unduecredit to the RSS which was not inthe picture at all until 20 years ago.The saving grace is that withoutany reference to the RSS the writeradmits: “J&K Government’s utterneglect has resulted in Buddhistdominated Ladakh region seekingunion territory status andseparation from J&K. Legislatorsof Congress and BJP have beenunanimously demanding UT statusfor Ladakh.”

It is a well known fact thatLadakh was utterly neglected anddiscriminated against by the rulersin Srinagar. The Buddhist leadersfrom Ladakh like Lama Lobzangand P. Namgyal, T. Samphel,ThupstanChhewang, Nawang RigzinJora and many others had beenagitating against this discriminationand lack of development for decades.

Many of them faced policebrutalities too. Convinced that theycould not get a fair deal from theState Government they had beendemanding a Union Territory statusfor nearly 50 years. To assuage thesentiments of Ladakhis PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi visitedLadakh in early 1980s and made apublic statement that “we havedeclared Ladakh a Scheduled TribeArea”. The lady did not know thatthere is nothing like a ‘ScheduledTribe Area’ in our Constitution.There are Scheduled Tribes underArticle 342 of the Constitution andthere are Scheduled Areas underSchedule Fifth to the Constitutionwhich were known as PartiallyExcluded Areas before thepromulgation of the Constitution. AState may have Scheduled Tribes,even a Tribes Advisory Council(such as in West Bengal) but maynot have Scheduled Areas. In thecase of Ladakh at that time therewere no Scheduled Tribes and so thequestion of having Scheduled Areasdid not arise at all. To overcome thefaux pas committed by the then PM,Lama Lobzang was requested tofurnish a detailed proposal to includecertain deserving communities ofLadakh in the list of the ScheduledTribes. At that time I was workingas Director for SC&ST atBhubaneswar under the NationalCommission for SC&ST but I usedto visit Delhi often for official work.At the instance of Lama Lobzang Iprepared ethnographic notes on thedifferent Buddhist communities ofLeh District and the Muslimcommunities of Kargil District whichdeserved to be included in the ST


list. Based on those notes theMinistry of Welfare prepared aCabinet note. It took a few yearsbefore the Parliament passed an Actto amend the ST list during the PrimeMinistership of Rajiv Gandhi and thePresident promulgated theConstitution Order in 1989 declaringten communities of J&K asScheduled Tribes. Subsequently twomore communities were added tothis list.

It should be noted that the ST listof J&K includes not only theBuddhist communities of Ladakh butalso Muslim communities of Baltisand Dardis of Ladakh (KargilDistrict) as well as semi-nomadicMuslim communities of Bakarwalsand Gujjars of Kashmir valley andJammu region who spend thesummer in Kashmir valley andmigrate to Jammu region during thewinter. In fact, the demand ofBakarwals and Gujjars for inclusionin the ST list was quite old. Around1965, while I was working atChandigarh as AC (later designatedas DC for SC&ST) and AsokaMehta was Union Minister ofPlanning and Social Welfare, I wasasked to conduct a survey of thesetwo communities and submit myrecommendation in response to theirpetition for being declared ScheduledTribes.

I should record an interesting andimportant story. In the summer of1978 I went to Srinagar and Ladakhwith my family on LTC. At Srinagarwe were hosted by D D Thakur,Deputy CM of J&K, who had beena good friend of mine since early1950s at Lucknow University. Oneday he requested me to come to hisoffice in the Secretariat at 10:30 amand did not disclose the purpose.When I reached his chamber I wasamazed to find that he had invited

six Ministers including the RevenueMinister P L Handoo to listen to meabout the Constitutional provisionsrelating to the ST and the ScheduledAreas. I told him that I was a minorfry in the bureaucracy and it wouldbe presumptuous on my part to speakon the subject before high dignitaries.Thakur Saheb explained that therehad been long pending demands fromcommunities in the State for inclusionin the ST list but Sheikh Saheb(Sheikh Abdullah, the then CM ofJ&K) was strongly opposed to thesedemands because he thought that bydoing so these areas would becomeScheduled Areas which would meaninterference by the CentralGovernment in the affairs of theState Government. The reason forthis misgiving was that the Governorof a State having Scheduled Areasis required to submit an AnnualAdministration Report on theScheduled Areas to the President ofIndia. Nowadays the Governors ofthe concerned States might besubmitting their AnnualAdministration Reports on theScheduled Areas to the Union HomeMinister but I have personalknowledge that a Governor like Dr.Sampurnanand (Governor ofRajasthan around 1960) wouldcorrespond with the President on thismatter and would not be guided bythe CM regarding the contents of hisReport. Anyway, at the instance ofThakur Saheb, to quote his words Ihad to ‘educate’ his Cabinetcolleagues on these matters. (By theway, I am really surprised howignorant many of our CentralMinisters and MPs including SC/STMPs are regarding the Constitutionalprovisions and Central Acts forSC&ST. For instance, almost allpoliticians including Ministers andMPs believe that the originalConstitutional provision forreservation in services for SC&ST

was for 10 years only. They have tobe told that the original period ofreservation for 10 years was inrespect of seats in Lok Sabha andState Vidhan Sabhas, i.e., politicalreservation under Article 334 of theConstitution. That Article is amendedevery 10 years just before the expiryof the period of political reservationin order to extend its validity foranother 10 years. So far asreservation in services or educationalinstitutions is concerned there wereexecutive orders only and no periodwas laid down.) After the saidinformal meeting the Ministers mighthave explained to Sheikh Saheb thatthere was no question of Ladakh orany part of the State being declareda Scheduled Area as the princelyState never had any PartiallyExcluded Area in the past and so theState Government should not deprivethe disadvantaged people of theState from availing of the benefitsavailable to the ST.

To continue the story of theLadakhis’ struggle for UT statusunder the leadership of the LadakhBuddhist Association, as statedabove, a via media was reached bythe establishment of the LadakhAutonomous Hill DevelopmentCouncil in 1996. Previously I hadbeen drafting memoranda andpetitions on behalf of the LBA at theinstance of Lama Lobzang. Whenthe setting up of the LAHDC wasagreed in principle I was requestedby him and two prominent leadersof the movement, ThupstanChhewang and Shri Jora, to studythe constitutions of otherautonomous councils like that ofDarjeeling (obviously there could beno comparison with the AutonomousDistrict Councils under the SixthSchedule to the Constitution) anddraft a Constitution and Rules for theLAHDC. In consultation with the


leaders I prepared the first draft ofits Constitution and we got it vettedby D D Thakur. It was submitted tothe concerned authorities and afterdue deliberations the necessarylegislation was passed, electionswere held and Thupstan Chhewangbecame its first Chief ExecutiveCouncillor and Shri Jora anExecutive Councillor. Both ShriChhewang and Shri Jora were kindenough to thank Thakur Saeab andme and, as a token of appreciation,presented us beautiful Ladakhicarpets.

In June 2000 Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpeyi inaugurated the newoffice complex of LAHDC at Leh.He also inaugurated the SindhuDarshan Festival with a lot offanfare. Thupstan Chhewang waskind enough to invite three of us, twojournalist friends and myself, toattend the function of the LAHDCat Leh. I am describing this to dispelthe misconception that the RSS wasvery active in the area and had beenprodding the Ladakhis to separatefrom J&K State.

That official function in 2000was being compered by an RSSworker, Tarun Vijay. Union HomeMinister L K Advani alsoaddressed the gathering comprisinga big chunk of Sindhis from variousparts of the country. It is learnt thatAdvaniji and Tarun Vijay hadvisited Ladakh for the first time in1996. Only after that visit Advanijiis reported to have been thrilled tolearn from CM Dr. FarooqAbdullah and Lama Lobzang thatthe Indus flowed by Leh. Hethought that the Indus flowedthrough Pakistan only! On boththese counts I wrote in a politicalquarterly journal Border Affairsedited by Pushp Saraf who was

Rajya Sabha must protectthe spirit of the Indian constitution

Just a few days ago, citizensof this country watched in shockand horror as the Finance Bill,2017 was passed in the midst ofa walk out by the Opposition inLok Sabha. In introducing the billas a Money Bill, the Governmenthas continued the abuse of processwhere vital debates on thecontroversial Aadhaar (TargetedDelivery of Financial and otherSubsidies, benefits and services)Bill, 2016 were avoided by tablingit as a ‘Money Bill’. The massive92-page document of the FinanceBill, 2017 includes 40 amendmentsto a number of Acts. Theseamendments have far reachingconsequences for not only severalsignificant laws but the verynature of Indian democracy andconstitution.

Following this abuse of processand avoidance of scrutiny, more than175 persons from across civilsociety have written to the VicePresident of India. Signatoriesinclude Fali Nariman, PrabhatPatnaik, Aruna Roy, Zoya Hasan,Medha Patkar, Jayati Ghosh, SwamiAgnivesh, Usha Ramanathan,Bezwada Wilson, TM Krishna,Nandita Das, etc.

The letter asks the Vice Presidentto “allow extensive anduninterrupted discussions into everyaspect of the Bill No. 12-C of 2017in the Upper House and put allthese on record and do everythingelse in your power to ensure thatthe practice of by-passing importantBills by illegitimately classifyingthem as Money Bills is immediatelystopped.”

As per this Bill, the Aadhaarcard will be mandatory to fileincome-tax returns from July 1.The legislation also makes theunique ID compulsory to apply fora permanent account number(PAN). Speaking on thesubversion of the parliamentaryprocess in this manner, Aruna Royof MKSS said, “In deliberate andshocking perversion of legislativeprocedures, the Finance Bill goesmuch beyond its limits to destroybasic democratic and fundamentalrights.”

The Finance Bill includesamendments to the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India Act,Companies Act, EmployeesProvident Fund Act, InformationTechnology Act, Smuggling andForeign Exchange Act etc. It alsoallows funding of political parties tobecome even more opaque,increasing the potential forcorruption.

Jagdeep Chhokar of theAssociation for DemocraticReforms stated that amending fortypieces of legislation through theFinance Bill, 2017, withoutapplication of mind of the RajyaSabha, runs completely against thespirit of the Indian Constitution.Speaking on the proposedamendments related with politicalfunding, he said, “Allowing electoralbonds on the donor’s side andremoving the name of the recipientbrings in complete opacity in politicalfunding. This must be criticallyexamined.”

Well-known Economist Jayati(Continued from Page 13)


Ghosh stated that “The Billcontains several provisions that willdrastically increase “black money”and corruption. While theGovernment and the Speaker haveignored the concerns raised by theOpposition in the Lok Sabha, it hasbecome a duty to speak out andraise concerns following thepassage of a Bill that has in onefell swoop affected so manymultiple rights that we normally takefor granted.”

Some of the signatories haveasked for an appointment to meetthe Vice President and present theletter and their concerns in person.An online petition has also beenput up to garner more support onthis issue. Copies of the letterwere sent to members of theOpposition and the Rajya Sabhafrom different parties with thehope that a resolution might bemoved stating that this bill cannotand should not be considered amoney bill.

The text of the letter toChairperson of the Rajya Sabha,says:

As concerned citizens of India,we are appalled and dismayed atthe Government’s use of MoneyBills to push through importantlegislation that affects all citizens,without requiring approval by bothhouses of Parliament.

This undemocratic strategy hasalready been employed in the caseof the Aadhaar Bill, even thoughit contains many provisions thatgo well beyond is-sues relating totaxation and money appropriationsof the government, which willdirectly affect every citizen of thecountry in numerous ways.Despite the fact the millions of

citizens will be denied their rightsbecause of this, the Bill makesaccess to many essential and otherpublic services contingent onAadhaar. It is already evident thatmaking it compulsory in fooddistribution in some states hasexcluded many needy anddeserving citizens withoutcause.The Bill allows forunprecedented surveillance ofevery citizen and massive invasionof privacy. These can be used bygovernments at different levels totarget political opponents anddissidents, as well as others.Because it enables data sharingeven by private companies, itrenders all citizens vulnerable toidentity theft, fraud, cyber-piracy,data breaches and other uses oftheir personal data with veryserious security implications.Furthermore, the protections andcyber-security provisions in theBill are inadequate and do notmeet the standards prevalent inmost countries. Despite all theseconcerns, the Bill will not evenbe debated in the Rajya Sabhaand has not been subject toadequate public scrutiny.

The most recent and alarmingcase of passing important and farreaching laws in the guise ofMoney Bills is the inclusion in theFinance Bill of some veryimportant features that actuallyhave no place in such a Bill anddeserve to be independentlydiscussed and debated. The Billcontains several provision that willdrastically increase “black money”and corruption. An importantprovision would enable politicalparties to receive unlimited andanonymous funding fromcorporate entities and fromabroad, and will make electoralbonds anonymous. Since it is well

known that political funding isprobably the most importantsource of corruption in the countrymaking it more opaque flies in theface of claims to greatertransparency and will makematters even worse than they areat present with terribleimplications for electoraldemocracy in the future. It is alsoin complete contrast to thetreatment meted out to NGOs andcivil society groups fighting forpeople’s rights, who are not beingallowed to receive legitimate fundson dubious grounds. The FinanceBill also gives sweeping powerswithout accountability to theIncome Tax department, whichcan encourage extortion at alllevels.

Such Bills, which have seriousimplications for democraticfunctioning and financial security ofall citizens, require serious andextensive public discussion anddebate at all levels, with knowledgeof the full implications of all of theirprovisions. Therefore, they cannotand should not be passed as MoneyBills. We, therefore, appeal to youto at the very least allow extensiveand uninterrupted discussions intoevery aspect of the Bill No. 12-C of2017 in the Upper House and put allthese on record and do everythingelse in your power to ensure that thepractice of by-passing important Billsby illegitimately classifying them asMoney Bills is immediately stopped.We appeal to you to protect the rightsand duties of the Upper House andthe interests of all the people ofIndia. These Bills and the relevantprovisions that cannot be describedas routine in any sense, must besubject to proper democratic scrutinyin both houses of Parliament.

– NAPM


The most important result of theBJP’s landslide victory in theelections to the Uttar PradeshAssembly last month was not theinstallation of Hindutva diehardAdityanath Yogi as the chiefminister. Within a few days of thestunning result, the financeminister introduced the Budgetwith 33 new unannounced clausesin various bills that immediatelybecame law. This was done bypassing them as “money” bills thatdoes not require the Rajya Sabha’sapproval. This means that theseamendments were passed withoutdebate in a day.

The government “cleverly letMPs from major parties give theirspeeches before they dropped theamendment bomb” — tweetedMeghnad, a BJD MP. Theimportant changes to Indian lawincluded making it compulsory forall taxpayers to submit an Aadhaaridentity card by July 2017, theirPAN card being no longer enough,and in none of the donations bycheque to political parties needthe identities of the donors berevealed.

These were startling changes tothe law with far-reachingimplications. The Supreme Court hadmade it clear in October 2015 thatAadhaar was voluntary and could notbe made mandatory. The court hadrepeated this position in Septemberlast year and made the NarendraModi government remove a conditionmaking it compulsory for students togive their Aadhaar numbers forvarious scholarship schemes. By

What’s really driving big push for Aadhaar?

Yogi Aggarwal

allowing political parties to not disclosethe names of large donors, thegovernment was tightening the gripof big business over politics and givinga ready advantage to a rulingdispensation such as itself to cornermost of the money.

The Modi government wastaking advantage of its strong winin UP to take steps that weakenedthe democratic nature of our polity.Its appointment of Adityanath Yogi— with several criminal cases ofmurder, intimidation and riotingagainst him — showed i tsconfidence in pursuing a divisiveright-wing path. It further showedits confidence in forminggovernments in Goa and Manipurdespite not having the requiredmajority.

Finance minister Arun Jaitleymade a fantastic claim that thepermanent account number(PAN), which is essential for alltax returns, is not reliable sincemany people have multiple PAN,which are used to evade tax. Asan example, he said, though thereare over 240 million PANs in thecountry, less than a million arelinked to Aadhaar cards. This isthe first time the government hasmade such a claim withoutbothering to verify it. Thenumbers are unbelievable, around250 PAN cards for every cardlinked to Aadhaar, indicating thatby giving his PAN card is enoughfor the taxpayer without the needfor an Aadhaar card.

Nevertheless, the government

maintained that an advantage oflinking Aadhaar to PAN will “be abig source to gather bankingtransaction information, which canbe an important indication of aperson’s income profile”.

It is part of the governmenttightening its surveillance of citizens.Nandan Nilekani, the first chairmanof the scheme, succeeded increating the world’s biggestsurveillance engine, monitoring1,200 million people, several timesmore than in any other country.

It ensures that any governmentwill have complete access to all thedata of the citizen and can use it tomanipulate any one at will. Controlof citizens is increasing by the day.Initially, people only had to get anAadhaar card if they wantedsubsidised LPG or kerosene, but thelist expanded.

Now, proof of enrollment inAadhaar is necessary for severalvulnerable groups — includingwomen rescued from trafficking,workers engaged in forced labour,schoolchildren between six and 14years of age and people withdisabilities — to continue to receivegovernment benefits. School-children, for instance, will not beserved mid-day meals from June ifthey are unable to present theirAadhaar credentials.

Now, since most people pay taxin one form or another, replacingthe tried and tested PAN card withthe superfluous Aadhaar will meanthat surveillance will extend to


increasing parts of life. It’sbecoming reminiscent of NaziGermany, when a similar systemwas used to identify and isolateJews and other minorities.

Much has been made betweenAadhaar and the US socialsecurity number. But thedifferences are greater than anysimilarities. Aadhaar usesfingerprints and eye biometrics toidentify the person uniquely. Thesocial security number originatedin the years of the GreatDepression, when it was used totrack the earnings of workers andcompute the amount of socialsecurity benefits to be credited totheir accounts. The USgovernment decided not to collectfingerprints, since “the use offingerprints was associated in thepublic mind with criminal activity,making this approach undesirable”,notes the Social SecurityAdministration,

And its website states: “Thecard was never intended to serveas a personal identificationdocument.”

Aadhaar is being used as anidentifier to link databases, whichmakes it easy for governmentofficials to gain access to personaluser information, such as bankrecords, education data, healthrecords, and for surveillance ofphone calls and data usage. Thisdata was not linked; under Aadhaarit is. Taking this further, thegovernment is thinking of linking theAadhaar number to mobile phonenumbers.

The present government’s rushto push for Aadhaar despite theSupreme Court’s many objectionsand the misgivings of many critics

is in line with its eagerness topush digital money transactions.It is not just an attempt atmodernisation, but having greatercontrol and surveillance. Asthe demonetisation experimentproved it could bring greatinconvenience to the public but notnecessarily affect thegovernment’s ability to put a spinon it to sway voters. Even morethan demonetisation, Aadhaarcould be sold as being good for

also a special invitee to the saidfunction. I understand that since1997 an annual Sindhu Darshan isbeing organised. To that Icommented in my article that thisSindhu Darshan should notdeteriorate into a Sindhi Panchayatand instead a genuine LadakhiCultural Festival should be held atLeh annually. I have not closelyfollowed the developments since Iwas advised not to revisit Ladakhon medical grounds (breathingproblem arising out of altitudinalfactor). Thus, the entry of the BJPin Ladakh is hardly two decadesold.

It is rather unfortunate that thesolidarity of the Ladakhi Buddhistshas been broken with the adventof the BJP. In the past more than50 years Ladakh was a strongholdof the Congress. Its mostrespected leader was KushokBakula le (le=ji). Head Lama ofLadakh, who was a State Ministerin early 1950s, later an MP, founderof Ladakh Bauddha Vihara inDelhi, India’s Ambassador toMongolia for a long time. Even in1977 when the Janata Party sweptthe General Election in the countryRani Parvati Devi, the erstwhile

Queen of Ladakh, was elected toLok Sabha from the Congress. P.Namgyal was a Minister of Statein Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet.Thupstan Chhewang, a formerofficer of All India Radio and son-in-law of Rani Parvati Devi, wasinitially a Congress MP.Unfortunately today the LadakhiBudhist community is divided intotwo camps, one led by the old guardof the Congress (P. Namgyal, T.Samphel, Jora and others) and theother led by the BJP representedThupstan Chhewang, MP, andblessed by Lama Lobzang.

It is high time that Ladakh whichhas no ethnic, cultural or linguisticties with the Kashmir valley orJammu region, should be given thestatus of a Union Territory. Even theShia Muslim communities of KargilDistrict like Baltis and Dardis haveno affinities - ethnic, cultural orlinguistic - with the Sunni Muslimsof Kashmir valley. The people ofLadakh have always been patrioticand believed in a policy of religiousaccommodation. They follow theteachings of Buddha and in moderntimes they draw inspiration from HisHoliness Dalai Lama. We salutethem.

the country since it gives greatercontrol to the government.

Government control is one thing.Private profit is another. NandanNilekani, in a foreword to a reportby investment banker Credit-Suisse,noted that the use of Aadhaar bythe financial sector could open upa $600 billion business opportunity.No wonder private companies arerushing to get their hands on theAadhaar numbers.

–The Asian Age



People’s Alliance for Democracyand Secularism (PADS) condemnsthe murder of rationalist H. Farookin Coimbatore, Tamilnadu on March16, 2017. Farook was a member ofDravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam(Dravidian Freedom Organisation)which is inspired by the rationalistideas of Periyar.

According to the police, the sixmen who killed Farook were self-radicalised and ‘claimed that theirradical thought had justified themurder of a Muslim who haddeviated from faith and they areproud of what they had done’. AfterDr. Dabholkar, Com Govind Pansareand Professor Kalburgi, Farook isthe fourth rationalist who has beenmurdered by the so-calledchampions of religion. On the sameday, i.e. March 16 Prof NarendraNayak, the president of IndianFederation of RationalistAssociations was threatened withassault in Bangalore.

On March 19 in Jaipur a groupof gau rakshaks led by one SadhviKamal Didi vandalised a hotel andassaulted its staff claiming that itserved beef. This violence occurredin the presence of the police. A repeatof Dadri violence last year wasnarrowly averted. In UP a numberof meat shops have been burnt downby vigilante mobs after MahantAdityanath Yogi’s administrationsealed a number of abbatoirs. Whileit is beyond dispute that economicactivity should be regulated, whyhave only these two activities beentargeted, and what right the mobshave to attack any shop?

Stand Against Religious Bigotry, Defend DemocraticRights of all Citizens of India

These are some of the latestinstances of increasing violence inthe name of religion in India. Infact, all of South Asia has becomea battleground for religious fanaticshell-bent upon subjugating citizens’freedoms via violence and killings.

Dissent from orthodoxy is afeature of religious history and isresponsible for religious reform.Such dissent has also contributedto the growth of humanist anddemocratic values, which are theguiding principles of the Indianconstitution and underlie thefundamental rights of all citizens.These rights include the freedomof conscience, the freedom ofbelievers to profess and practicetheir religion, and also the freedomof non-believers to lead a life ofdignity with their agnosticism oratheism.

However, state authorities oftendisregard constitutional provisions.Rather than upholding the citizens’freedom to lead a life of their choice,including the right to eat food oftheir choice, police and judicialsystem routinely penalise citizens for‘hurting religious sentiments’ of oneor the other community. Murderersof Dabholkar, Panasare andKalburgi are at large, and theirpolitical patrons have suffered nodamage. In Jaipur police sealed ahotel on a mere allegation, while theFIR for violence on hotel staff doesnot even mention the sadhavi wholed the mob.

Violence in the name ofreligion will not lead to any golden

age. The consequences ofreligious authoritarianism arevisible in Pakistan. The Hindutvabrigade is cultivating a similarscenario in India. It wants toattack or threaten all those whodisagree with its ideas or diktats.Political parties must realise thattheir existence depends upon theconstitutionally guaranteed rightsof Indian citizens. The cultivationof religious aggression is sheeropportunism; and prepares theground for the sabotage ofdemocracy by authoritarianforces.

PADS appeals to all Indians,irrespective of their religiousbeliefs, creed, or caste to standagainst communal hatred andviolence. The people committingor instigating this violence mayappear to be targeting onlyrationalists and minorities today.In actual fact they are enemiesof democracy and freedom. Allof us who value our constitutionalrights must unite to defeat suchforces. PADS demands that stateauthorities stop collaboratinghooligans and vigilante mobs, andfulfil their sworn duty to protectthe lives, property and civil libertiesof all citizens.

– Battini Rao, Convenor, P.A.D.S

Janatais available at

http://lohiatoday.com


In recent years, fishermen of bothIndia and Pakistan are regularlyarrested on the grounds of havingentered into the territorial waters ofthe other country.

Last week, 100 Indian fishermenfrom Kutch region of Gujarat whowent for fishing in 18 boats werearrested by Pakistan MaritimeSecurity Agency while fishing offJakhau coast. Last month another115 fishermen were arrested byPMSA and their 19 boats wereconfiscated. In the month of Marchalone 225 fishermen and their 30boats were taken under control bythe PMSA.

Conversely, Indian Coast Guardshave arrested 9 Pakistani fisher menwho were fishing in a boat off JakhauCoast of Kutch.

During a search done by theBorder Security Force of India in theSir Creek region of Kutch district, 4boats of Pakistan were foundabandoned and were confiscated.

Since the arrest of Indianfishermen by Pakistan is greatescalation in the past one month, theIndian fishermen of Gujarat, Diu andDaman are afraid to venture into seafor fishing and are in confused stateof mind.

Gujarat fishermen‘s arrest

Such sudden surge of arrest andconfiscation of boats can have anadverse impact on the life of thefishermen driving them to anunwanted turning point.

Thousands of them beingdeprived of livelihood may end up instarvation. As the season so dry, thusdevoid of agricultural labouropportunity, the fishermen, withoutfishing or a known alternative, maybe forced to take their life off.

The NFF feels that it is not onlythe fisherfolk and their families butthe community suffers, the youngchildren are deeply affected byfamily members getting arrested, ithits their upbringing, the rigour andsupport they need to carry on theireducation.

It is high time that the IndianCoast Guard and the MSA mustdialogue on this issue specificallysince it is a violation of human rightsand also a violation of the UnitedNations Convention on Law of theSea. A meeting is scheduled nextmonth and we urge both thegovernments to discuss this issue indetail.

A revival of various mechanismslike the India Pakistan JudicialCommittee on Prisoners, since it

affords the arrested people anopportunity to put forward their casestatus, their grievances, healthrelated issues are required.

The fisher people of both thecountries have since years beendemanding for a No Arrest Policywhich has not even been consideredfor discussion till now.

Both the countries should comeforward to take such progressivepolicy decision.

Though we are glad that thepresent union government was ableto get about 400 Indian fishermenreleased from Pakistani prisonsbetween December 2016 andJanuary 2017, this massive arrest iscausing concern and anxiety.

The Government of India shalltake action on war footing andensure that the misery of thefishermen is been reduced.

We request Honourable PrimeMinister Shri. Narendra Modi andHonourable External AffairsMinister Shrimathi. Sushma Swarajto be directly involed in resolvingthis issue.

M. Ilango, Chairperson, NationalFisher folk Forum

The world’s largest garment companies have all been linked to cotton spinning mills in India, which routinely usethe forced labour of girls.

The lowest-paid workers in the most precarious conditions are predominantly women and girls.

Across the world, corporations are relentlessly squeezing down the costs of labour – and ensuring that workersand producers in their supply chains get less and less of the economic pie. This increases inequality and suppressesdemand.

Oxfam Briefing Paper 2017

R.N.I. NO. 1855/1957 16 JANATA, April 2, 2017Postal Registration No. MCW/275/2015-2017.

License to Post without prepayment WPP License No. MR/Tech/WPP-210/West/2017Published on Sunday, April 2, 2017 & Posted on Wedenesday April 5, 2017 at Mumbai Patrika Channel, Mumbai GPO-1

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Vol. 72 No. 12April 9, 2017




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Role of Education in PreventingViolence and Promoting Peace

and Welfare*Ravi P Bhatia

The Future of theEuropean Union

D K Giri

Kashmir: Finding SolutionsPannalal Surana

The Defeat in UP: Listeningto GGP

Among the first decisions of theYogi Adityanath government in UttarPradesh was to ban abattoirs andform anti-Romeo squads. First it wassaid that all slaughterhouses will beclosed but later the governmentretracted and it was clarified thatonly illegally operating ones will beclosed. But the atmosphere createddue to this arbitrary order was thateven ordinary meat shops wereclosed. This included other kind ofmeat as well – mutton, chicken, etc.A large number of people workingin the meat industry were suddenlyout of a job. The daily wagers werehit most badly. In the name of anti-Romeo operations even genuinecouples were harassed.Government’s interference in privatelives of citizens has created a moodof despondency in the state. Worstis that the effect is spreading to otherBhartiya Janata Party ruled states.In Gujarat now, cow slaughter couldattract life imprisonment.

After the ascendancy ofHindutva politics a new trend hasset in. Even though there are

If Any Thing is to BeBanned It Should Be

Private Schools And Hospitals

Sandeep Pandey

already existing laws concerningcow slaughter, the fact being thatin the name of banning beef mostbusinesses which are being targeteddeal with buffalo meat. Or in theguise of preventing harassment ofwomen on the street, vigilantegroups have surfaced which aremore than willing to take law intotheir own hands, sometimes withfatal results. No other mainstreampolitical party in India has cadresof this nature. Maoists or Naxalitesexist but most are associated withbanned organisations. A peculiarsituation has been created in whichpeople suspected of havingconsumed beef or expressing lovein public could be beaten up but thepeople openly instigating violencecould go scot free. The ChiefMinister of UP has himself beeninvolved in provoking violence in thepast by his inflammatory speeches.

BJP government has beensuccessful in deflecting attentionfrom far more pressing concerns.For example, lately farmers’ suicidehas become a phenomenon in UP.


BJP’s prominent election promisewas to waive loans taken byfarmers. But obviously it is notconsidered a priority issue. Is itbecause this issue would not resultin any communal polarisationadvantage? The actions of BJPgovernment and the party are fastpolarizing the communal dividethroughout the country. This wasprobably the objective of makingYogi the Chief Minister. The politicsof ban suits right wing parties likeBJP and Shiv Sena because it hasimmediate polarisation effects.

However, if the BJP governmentswant to indulge in ban politics, likethey demonstrated by banning bigdenomination old notes and nowslaughterhouses, they should chooseto ban private schools and hospitalswhich have become a curse fortheir supporters. The ban on alcoholin Bihar and other places has helpedthe poor but a ban on privateeducation and health care institutionswould be beneficial for all.

Rich parents are harassedbecause of high fee charginginstitutions where their childrenstudy which are ever-ready toextract more money in the name ofone activity or the other. Theschools don’t follow the governmentprescribed norms when raising feesfor the subsequent academic years.The children have to study inextremely competitive set ups whichdistort their personalities. Privatecoaching institutions haveaggravated the problem. They areresponsible for serious damage tothe emotional well being of ourchildren and youth. In spite of theRight of Children to Free andCompulsory Education Act of 2009in place the expensive privateschools are averse to admittingchildren from weaker sections and

disadvantaged groups under section12(1)(c) of the Act and thereby areguilty of violation of law. The CityMontessori School of Lucknow,which educates more than 50,000children in its over 20 branches,brazenly refused admission to 58children in 2016-17, whoseadmissions was ordered by thedistrict level education officer, andremained unscathed. The very highfee charging private schools havebecome more powerful than thedistrict or sometimes even statelevel officials and operate likemafia. Like all powerfulbusinessmen they know how toinfluence the governments.

Private hospitals have flourishedlike private schools but havediscarded the notion of medicalpractice being a service tohumankind. Most of them aremoney making enterprises whichare not guided by moral principles.Patients are burdened withunnecessary tests, medicines andtreatment of inferior quality with noguarantee for cure. The patientcould be held captive until the billsare cleared. There is a nexus ofhospitals, ambulance services andmiddlemen which land unsuspectingpatients in the hands of people whoare zealous to fleece their clients.The government hospitals on theother hand may appear inefficientand unhygienic but still offer moregenuine and honest services whencompared with their privatecounterparts.

Why has the state adopted apolicy of throwing common peopleto vultures in these two fields. Afterall, education and health care, arebasic needs of human beings alongwith food, clothing and housing,which guarantee them a life ofdignity. The deliberate deterioration

in quality of government schoolswhich has been allowed has beenlamented by Justice Sudhir Agarwalof Allahabad High Court in hisAugust, 2015 order in which heasked the UP government to makeit compulsory for all receivinggovernment salaries to send theirchildren to government schools.

People are waiting foremancipation from the clutches ofprivate education, includingcoaching, and health care institutionsbent upon exploiting them. BJPgovernments would do some goodif they are able to bring a ban onthem into effect and nationalise alleducation and health care services.

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Most societies are burdenedwith socio-political inequalities,class, racial, religious disparities,gender discrimination, and theurban and rural divide, that lead toviolence and conflict in society.Unless these structures are doneaway with, there is little likelihoodof a peaceful, nonviolent society.While the state needs to reduce ifnot eliminate these inequalitiesthrough relevant laws, policies andprogrammes, the role of educationis also essential.

Governments and scholars nowagree that education is a desirableobjective in itself and is also themeans for inculcating right attitudesand morality among people. It is alsoessential for the materialdevelopment of society by reducingpoverty and want. It helps toempower people especially thedowntrodden ones. Countries withhigh achievement levels in the fieldof education also have high indicesin other areas like food availability,health, longevity, and generalwelfare. It contributes to reducinginfant mortality rates and curbingpopulation growth.

We also know that educationhelps us in understandingdevelopmental issues andtransformation of society into a morejust, peaceful, and equitable one. Italso helps us in understanding andanalysing concepts of violence andpeace. A proper and relevanteducational system helps to fosterawareness of the society – bothhuman and the environment, which

Role of Education in Preventing Violence andPromoting Peace and Welfare*

Ravi P Bhatia

leads us to cultivate a healthy valuesystem of living together in harmonyand treating others with respect anddignity. It also helps to develop aproper attitude including the right tolife of others and non-killing of infantsor of rejecting foeticide.

Can education help us to avoid orreduce conflict and promote peace?It is an uphill task, but not animpossible one to redesigneducational objectives to highlight theevils of violence and offer non-violent means to avoid conflict andviolence.

Before delineating this aspect, letus briefly recapitulate some principalobjectives of education. Accordingto scholars, some principal ones are:

• Empowerment of people andsociety

• All round development of the child

• Overcoming ignorance andprejudice

• Generation of skills, knowledgeand technology

• Development of values, socialnorms of living in harmony withmankind and nature

• Development of the society –including production, creatingwealth and improving thewellbeing of people, reducingsocial, economic, educational, andother inequities

• Providing employment opportunities

• Answering philosophical questionssuch as the place of man in theworld, the future of mankind, therole of religion and peace.

Many of these aspects arecovered in the Universal Declarationof Human Rights (1948) in Article26 which outlines the role andbenefits of education for the fulldevelopment of the humanpersonality and to the strengtheningof human rights and freedom. Article26(1) reiterates the right of everyoneto free education at the elementarystage. Article 26 (2) covers the basicobjectives of education which areoutlined below:

Education should be directed tothe full development of the humanpersonality and to the strengtheningof respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms. It shallpromote understanding, toleranceand friendship among all nations,racial or religious groups and shallfurther the activities of the UnitedNations for the maintenance ofpeace.

More than 90 years ago, Gandhipropagated simple and far-reachingobjectives in his concept ofNaiTaleem (New Education Policy).He felt that a proper educationsystem would help in creating rightattitudes of love, truth and non-violence. He spoke of education forboth boys and girls, for urban and



After Britain voted to exit, theEuropean Union, the mostsuccessful regional integration inthe world has apparently plungedinto a survival-crisis. Many Europewatchers are predicting itsdisintegration, nationalismbouncing back, euro-scepticismand growing populism, and retreatof progressive pro-EuropeanUnion forces. The leadership inthe EU is pulling out all the stopsto absorb the shock of Britain’sexit, revive and strengthenEurope. In these efforts, theleadership is attempting torestructure the Union, in order tominimise discontent and thepossibility of further disintegration.

On Wednesday,March 1, 2017,European Commission presidentJean-ClaudeJunker presented his‘white paper’ on the future ofEurope to the European Parliamentin Brussels. He presented fivescenarios on how European Unioncould evolve in the coming years.The idea is to start a democraticdebate over the shape of Europethat should be built in the comingyears. The second idea behindthewhite paper is that, by the nextEuropean Parliament elections in2019, European citizens will have achance to choose and vote for theirpreferred choice of the shape andsize of European Union. The fivescenarios are; (i) ‘carrying on’, (ii)‘nothing but the single market’, (iii)‘those, who want more, do more’,(iv) ‘doing less more efficiently’.The underlying strategy in all thefive scenarios is seen to be,carrying out the balancing act facing

The Future of the European Union

D K Giri

European Union, which is,reconciling those consideringEuropean Union too distant withthose believing it to be toointerfering.

The first scenario is ‘carrying on’,which means EU’s 27 membersminus Britain carrying on itsbusiness as usual, without makingmany changes. The downside ofsuch an approach is that ‘thecollective will’ of all the membersmay not be revived; the decision-making process will remainunwieldy, not speedy as it is at themoment. The unity of 27 may bepreserved, but they will have torevive and strengthen the collectiveresolve to deliver on the key issues-immigration, back-stopping the euro,common security and defencepolicy etc.

European Union becomes‘nothing but a single market’ isthe second scenario proposed.This would call for dropping atEU level the divisive issues likemigration, common defencepolicies; negotiations on suchissues could be bilateral, and EUreduces its regulatory role. Thiswould also mean strengthening themechanisms of free movement ofgoods and capital, but making ittougher on free movement ofpeople etc. This scenario makesthe decision-making simpler andfaster but undermines the politicalambition of the EU project. It hasbeen long held by the EUchampions that economic unionwill not be viable without a politicalunion.

The third scenario suggests,‘those who want more do more’.This scenario creates ‘one morecoalition within’ EU of the willingto do more on areas like defence,internal security, taxation, and socialpolicy. Other members outside sucha coalition can opt out for the timeand return to itat a later time.Choosing such a scenario will enableEU to have a robust defence policyto undertake international militarycommitments as well as a strongerintelligence co-operation. This is nota new approach, as a two-speedEurope has been a policy in thepast, but it may help, as thosecountries wanting to move forwardin deeper integration, may be ableto close the gap between theircitizens’ expectations and delivery.

‘Doing less more efficiently’ isthe fourth strategy for EU to moveforward. This approach entails EUto decide on its ‘wish list’ carefully.It will have to narrow down itspriorities and do what it does best.Consequently, EU actions will beswifter and more impactful. Junkergave some example on thisproposal, one of which was therecent diesel emission standardsintroduced by EU. By 2025, EUcould support more projects on‘digitisation and decarbonisation’;inother words, more green projectsand more digital integration. The EUcan then back out from other areaslike employment, social policy andpublic health. Only hitch in thisstrategy is to arrive at a consensusin setting the priorities, as themember states often disagree onwhere to start.


The last scenario is ‘doingmuch more together’. In line withthis strategy, EU realises that half-cooked measures do not work andany dilution of the EU collectiveauthority,withdrawing tobilateralismor nationalism will notmeet the current challenges posedby the globalised world. EU mustdeepen the integration, secure aseat in the internationalcommunity, speak in one voice inaid, trade and defence of humanrights and security, EU defenceunion should work with NATOand so on. It calls for reiteratingand refreshing the integrationprocess, not deviating from it inany way. The risk in this strategyis just one, how to allay theapprehension that EU lackslegitimacy and takes powers awayfrom the national governments.

Although only small majority ofBritons decided to leave EU, theBrexit has rattled the EUleadership. In the referendum heldin Britain on 23 June 2016, 51.9per cent voted to leave against48.1 per cent remain voters. Thedifference was just 3 per cent of72.2 per cent people voting. Thefuture of EU will depend on theinclination of the big countries likeFrance and Germany, the detentebetween these two countries hadcreated the EU process in 1952.Germany has been pro-EU fromthe beginning, pays the biggestshare to the EU budget, Francehas provided the political andinstitutional tools to move theintegration process forward.Interestingly, both the countries arefacing elections this year, Francein April and May (first and secondround) and Germany inSeptember. In Germany, both thecontestants are strong Europeans,Angela Merkel, the incumbent

chancellor has been in the drivingseat of EU, and her challengerMartin Shultz was the presidentof European Parliament for 5years from 2012 to 2017. He hasbeen a member of EuropeanParliament much longer, for overtwo decades since 1994. He isand has to be pro-European Union.In France, the far-right NationalFront candidate Marine Le Penwho is most likely to get past thefirst round is strongly anti-European, promises a referendumon France’s EU membership. Hermain planks are; to reducemigration, reinstituting bordercontrols, ditching the Euro for anational currency. Her nationalistpopulist politics puts her in directopposition to Emmanuel Marcon,a centrist, independent candidate.He is fiercely international andpro-European. He has sparked anunprecedented political trend inFrance. He has launched amovement, not a party. He servedas a finance minister in outgoinggovernment of Francois Hollande.He aims to rally the middle-groundwith a vision of an outwardlooking France freed from thestifling orthodoxies of both left andright. He is a trifle behind MarieLe Pen, but by all calculations, hewould win in the 2nd round andbecome the president of France.That is good news for EuropeanUnion.

Political Commentators havemixed reactions to these proposalsto chalk out the future course ofEuropean Union. Some are criticalof the uncertainly displayed by theCommission. This white paper lacksthe courage, the strength and thevision of the white paper on‘Growth, Competitiveness andEmployment’ presentedJacquesDelors in 1993. The paper

makes no real commitment to pavethe way forward. It hasregrettablynot provided a clear political visionfor Europe. Many others wouldsupport it. MujtabaRahman, headofEurope practical at the EurasianGroup, a risk consultancy said, “Thisis the most interesting analytical andpolitical exercise the Commissionhas undertaken for quite sometime”. He added “for the first time,Brussels is asking the EU memberstates to decide the direction oftravel, not imposing their ownagenda. If, this portends a newapproach, it will undermine thenarrative in capitals of the memberstates that Brussels is underminingnational sovereignty”.

It is hard to envisage thatmember stateswill dismantle theintegration embedded in EU. Ifanything they do, they will worktowards an ‘even closer’ Unionenvisaged in the Treaty of Rome.Therefore, a number ofcommentators are gravitatingtowards a sixth scenario-that is leftout by Junker’s paper, ‘ademocratic and supranationalgovernment that can steer EUpolicies towards solidarity, greenjobs, energy efficiency, andcombating climate change, socialjustice, etc. The challenge howeveris to involve the governments, civilsocieties and economic actors, AsEuropean Commission is accusedof democratic deficit, the EuropeanParliament should play a bigger roleto provide the necessary space foran open debate and choices on thefuture of Europe.


www.janataweekly.org


One late evening in August 1947,Gurcharan Singh Bhatia, then a boyof 14, even though he was terrifiedby the orgy of violence in the nearbyMuslim mohallah, looked at threecorpses about twenty feet away, andsuspected two of those eyes weretwinkling. He walked through thebodies towards those eyes. Onreaching there, he found a little child.He lifted the infant, carefullyretraced his steps and reachedhome. On his knocking, his motheropened the door, and on seeing herson carrying an infant, immediatelylifted the baby and started tendingher. Gurcharan hesitatingly went tohis friends Balraj Puri and VedBhasin and the trio visited a fewMuslim acquaintances. One familyagreed to shelter the baby. On theirway back, a frenzied mob passedthem by. When calm returned, thetrio delivered the baby to that family.On way back, a few miscreantsangrily enquired what they wereferrying from one place to anotherat such a late hour. By concocting aprobable alibi, they could fob themoff.

In those days, only a few boys likeVed Bhasin could keep their headscool and act courageously.

Throughout his long life, VedBhasin exhibited those sterlingqualities on many an occasion whilerunning Kashmir Times for yearstogether. Along with JagdishTirodkar, a Goa freedom fighter, Ivisited a few friends at Rajouri andJammu in the last week of March.We had a fairly long conversion withPrabodh Jamwal, Editor of Kashmir

Kashmir: Finding Solutions

Pannalal Surana

Times. I asked when we havedeployed about four lakh army menand other security forces on the LoCand adjoining IB, yet how is it a fewterrorists can succeed in entering ourterritory? Prabodh explained that itis only a small portion of northernborder of Jammu which can be usedfor coming and going to PoK or thePakistani area. All other sections ofthe border a distance away on thewestern front and remaining borderon eastern side from Kargil havefreezing temperatures around 0degrees. Inhabitants on both sides ofthe border may have relatives oreven their farms on the other. It isanybody’s guess that about 4-5,000persons might be crossing the borderdaily. So the sentries might be findingit difficult to identify terrorists, orsmugglers and/or other undesirableelements. Erecting impenetrablefences is perhaps not possible.

Prabodh presented me a copy oftheir recent publication, “Vedji andhis times” Vol 1. The volumecontains material which gives a fairidea about the personality andthoughts of Ved Bhasin. While goingthrough the book, I found hisassertion that the Government hascommitted the mistake of notascertaining the wishes of the peopleof the State of Jammu and Kashmir(J & K) which it had agreed to whileaccepting the Instrument ofAccession by the then ruler,Maharaja Hari Singh. This statementis found to be repeated in his writingsas also in Prabodh’s conversationthat day.

I wonder how journalists like Vedji

and Prabodh as also leaders of JKLFand Hurriyat prefer to lay all theblame at the doors of GoI. If theywant to trace the genesis of theKashmir Problem objectively, shouldnot they enumerate mistakescommitted by Hari Singh and alsoof the rulers of Pakistan? Should notthe then ruler be held chieflyresponsible? Why did he keep bothPakistan and India guessing aboutwhether that State would merge thatside or this? From 14th August toOctober. 1947, if he was toying withthe idea of Independent SovereignState’, then why did he ask formilitary help from India whenPakistan invaded Kashmir on thatyear.

All these people prefer to say thatthe Instrument of Accession waslimited to only three subjects ofDefense, Foreign Affairs andCommunications. But how can theyhold only India responsible for notholding plebiscite when it is anestablished fact that Pakistan refusesto withdraw their military from theterritory of J&K as it was on thatyear Even the UN has acknowledgedthat fact.

As everybody knows, with theconcurrence of the Vidhan Sabhaof J&K, elections have been heldfor the state Assembly and alsoLok Sabha and electedrepresentatives of the Kashmirpeople have been participating inthe functioning of those bodies. Itis being repeatedly alleged that theelections were rigged. All over theworld, it is acknowledged that theelections held by the Election


Commission of India have been, byand large, free and fair. In thefifties and sixties, malpractices likebooth capturing, casting of bogusvotes, etc, were operative on asignificant scale. However, thanksto enhanced mass vigilance andparticipation, together withtightening of the securityarrangements, elections havebecome increasingly much moretransparent. In a number of cases,the voters had removed theincumbent rulers from the seats ofpower. Taking all these things intoconsideration, there is no point inhurling the adjective “ rigged”.Kashmiri people have takeninitiative in launching politicalparties having independent set ofpolicies.

Taking full advantage of theopportunities provided by genuinedemocratic Constitution, there isvibrant pluralism in the politics ofJ&K as also in other States. Thanksto spread of education, widerrecruitment to the Got, servicesequally widespread expansion ofmedia, etc, ideological bonds ofKashmiri people with Indian citizenryin other parts of the country aregetting strengthened day-by-day.

Like Vedji, many publicpersonalities are harping on the pointof autonomy. I would like to urge allthose friends to give due considerationto the provisions regarding federalismand, lately, the Panchayati Rajinstitutions. People have been givenample powers to regulate their affairstaking into consideration specificconditions of respective areas.Autonomy lies more in practicing thaton the ground. There is no point inprolonging verbal polemics.

All citizens would do well if theyconcentrate more on advocating

policies that are required to addressthe pressing problems of the masses.Particular care should be taken thatpublic peace and order is maintainedso that common people can devotemore time and energy to improvetheir earnings and engage in culturalpursuits.

J&K is a small State surroundedby big powers like China, Russia, andPakistan. In these days of long-rangemissiles and easy deployment oflethal weapons, security can better

be obtained by remaining in a largecountry.

Compared with some of theneighbouring countries, India is farmore inclusive, tolerant and liberal.Let all of us Indians join hands inmaking our country egalitarian andextend friendship towards allcountries under the Sun to endeavortowards achieving the goal of OneWorld Government. The Slogan ofJai Jagat, coined by the sage VinobaBhave, is a beacon for us all.

RESOLUTIONSocialist Party (India) Delhi State Convention

New Delhi, April 2, 2017

Delhi is the capital of the country.The centre of power and culture. ItsNational Capital Region (NCR) is alarge base for several national andinternational multinationalcompanies. But leaving a fewprivileged ones and their areas thecivic life of this city is full of miseryand deprivation. Murders, robberies,skirmishes and riots, assaults onwomen’s modesty happen hereroutinely in broad daylight. Even newcyber crimes along with other crimeshave become commonplace in Delhiand NCR. Lower and lower middleclasss continually grapples withunemployment and inflation. Lakhsof children, women and elderly begat intersections and sleep on thestreets. Lakhs of children areservants in affluent homes oreateries. In villages, resettlementcolonies, JJ colonies and older areasof the city, there is a perpetualdeprivation of civic amenities liketoilets, roads, parks, sewerconnectionsetc. There is no stoppingthe privatisation of essential serviceslike electricity, water, health andeducation at the hands of

profiteering companies in thecountry’s capital.Instead of buildingschools, training institutes, colleges,universities or research institutes, thegovernment is busy gifting away theland acquired from farmers at apittance, to the corporate houses, theuber rich and the builders to openluxury hotels, mega malls, farmhouses, resort hospitals, bars andcassinos. In pursuit of capitalistdevelopment, Delhi has become oneof the most polluted city in the entireworld. A lot of epidemics areunleashed due to pollution and everyyear thousands of people lose theirlives and lakhs of them lose theirhealth. Both the rich and the poorare affected.

Aam Admi Party which accusedthe Congress of corruption to cometo power has a deeply corruptadministration. No work happens inany departement without bribes. Inthe Kejriwal government, which hasbeen an open votary of capitalism,the wealthy and the brokers arerolling in money while the generalpublic is in deep distress. The


current Delhi government hasemulated the Modi government atthe centre in burning away millionsof rupees of hard earned tax-payer’s money in the name ofbuilding the luminous image of theirleader and the party. The ChiefMinsiter Arving Kejriwal and thedeputy Chief Minister Manish sisodiaseem to be vying with each other forthe more expensive hoardings andposters with their photos.Kejriwal,who claimed to live simply andhonestly in the days of the anti-corruption movement, lives likeroyalty as Chief Minsiter. In a smallstate like Delhi, there is a DeputyCM, who lives with full fanfare inthe residence of the previous CM,Sheila Dikshit. Both these charactershave come from the NGO world andare running the governmentaccording to the those veryprinciples. That is, the ruse of foolingthe poor to protect profiteeringcapitalism. Most of the country’sprogressive civil society and itsleaders favour this party, whichaspires to be the B team of BJP. TheSocialist Party believes that this is aserious challenge for the politics ofconstitutionally warranted equalityand freedom.

Through this convention theSocialist Party 9India) Delhi State,issues the following demands onbehalf of the working class of Delhi:

1. In every part and section ofDelhi, the freedom and respectof women must be ensured.

2. The needs of the elderly, peoplewith disability and children mustreceive utmost care and attention.

3. Keeping in mind the newchallenges of life in the capital,creative policy for the youth andchildren must be undertaken.

4. Privatization of electricity, waterand health services in Delhi muststop.

5. Privatization of education muststop. The existing privateschools, colleges and universitiesmust be nationalised/ socialised.

6. The government must fulfill itsconstitutional duty to provideequal, free, quality education inthe mother tongue.

7. In all the schools at all levels, andin colleges and universitydepartments, vacant positionsmust be filled right away.

8. Privatization of electricity, waterand health services must stop.Private hospitals must benationalized/ socialized.

9. In all government departments,the vacant positions of classthree and four employees mustbe filled immediately. In orderthat people’s problems getresolved quickly, more positionsmust be generated indepartments. Contractualsystem must end.

10. In the villages of Delhi, servicessuch as housing, roads,electricity, water, libraries,women centers, child centers,health centers, parks,community centers, schools,colleges, vocational institutesetc., must be made available asper the requirements of all thecitizens. Apart from farmers,craftsmen families who dependon agriculture for their livelihood,must also be given residentialplots.

11. Unauthorized colonies must beauthorized with all civicamenities.

12. Families living in JJ colonies forlong must be given residentialflats at one go.

13. Citizens willing to be self-employed must be givenpermission and facilities to runsmall cottage industries on apriority basis.

14. Street vendors must not need topay committees and police anykind of bribe, there must be apermanent resolution to this.

15. Unauthorized colonies must begiven comprehensive civicamenities and regularized.

16. It must be ensured that all thetraffic signals in the city functionproperly everyday.

Thus stands the Socialist PartyUpholding brotherhood and equalitySocialist Party (India) Delhi State.


I was thrilled to read the‘Notebook’ on the Defeat in UPwritten by GG, (Janata, March 26,2017). He really outlined amanifesto for the socialists in India.I cannot resist my urge to engagewith it, using my privilege of knowingGG like many fellow-socialists do,for over four decades, and mypredilection for his thoughts.

GG says the defeat of SamajwadiParty in UP is a defeat of all socialistsin India. It is entirely true, in publicperception, although some socialistsmay not agree for the reasons GGgives. The second major point GGmakes is, socialists should not fightBJP under the banner of secularism.I am so delighted he says that. It isproved time and again, in recenttimes, that secularism is no longer aviable platform. GG says it is a traplaid by RSS-BJP. I am afraid; RSSmanipulation of the concept is partof the problem. Some of us havebeen arguing for so long thatsecularism is a failed concept. It isconfusing and controversial. TheCongress Party did not clearly sayor did what secularism meant. TheCommunists did not do any better.The overused and the platitudinousphrase mouthed by Congress andCommunists has not resonated withthe people for a long time. Theyincluded everyone except BJP in tothe secular and democratic fold - theMuslim League, the Alkalis, the anti-Brahmin Dravidians, many castebased parties. How credible wasthat? It was feeding fodder to theBJP. Anyway, secularism should bereplaced by pluralism, whichcelebrates diversities, differences, is

The Defeat in UP: Listening to GGP

D K Giri

not ambivalent on religion or culture,and protects minorities of all kindsnot merely religious.

Bread and Butter issues as GGsuggests should be the main plankof socialists, they always have been,at least, in their declarations. Butsocialists have not focused on themas their core issues forimplementation. I like it when GGimplores. “Socialists will have toidentify these issues and concentrateon them and fight till the end to solvethem”. (The emphasis is mine). Hepicks, and rightly so, education andhealth, as two key areas. Headvocates, “Free, compulsory andequal education of quality for all”.GG adds, “When the children of richand poor study together, the qualityof education will not deteriorate”.Here we run the risk of reviving thecommunist system of leveling downthe people and killing competition andinnovation. What will work even ina competitive unequal educationsystem is that the children ofpoliticians and bureaucrats should allgo to government schools where thechildren of the poor go. Do not thegovernment servants travel only inAir India when they use governmentmoney like LTC etc? They cannotsend their children into elite privateschools. Then the governmentschools will improve for sure.

Health should not be handed overto private sector, argues GG. Weagree. But the state sector exceptin a few areas is bureaucratic,corrupt and inefficient. That goes forhealth as well. But shall we notencourage private initiative which is

not exploitative and profiteering? Theproblem in our country is what lateProf Raj Krishna used to say, thenexus between Neta (leaders), Babu(bureaucrats) and Lala(businessmen). The state colludedwith the business in profit making,did not monitor them or checked theirrapacity. The state has to be smartand strong. Moreover, if the Trusts,Foundations, Charities, and CSOsthat are involved in health sector, aregiven a greater role, they would doa good job.

Decent work for all should be atop priority. No doubt about that.Working conditions, rights of theworkers, minimum wages, socialsecurity etc go with decent workculture, policy and practice. GG hasbeen critical of jobless growth. Hemaintains that the current economicsystem does not generate jobs. Heis right. But, with phenomenalgrowth in technology, digitization ofeconomy, more jobs will be cut. Socan we think of delinking incomefrom jobs? A socialist professor ofeconomics in the JNU is working onit. People may not be a part of theproduction process, but they cannotbe deprived of the income generatedby the country and so on.

GG refers to the obsceneinequality that exists leading to grosssocial injustice. The ratio of 1:10 inincome between poor and the richproposed during the freedommovement is a brilliant idea for thesake of justice. That must be revivedby the socialists in order to narrowthe huge gap between the rich andthe poor. One can earn as much as


s(he) can, but retain only 10 timesmore than the poor and part with therest in taxes and charities etc.

The next point GG talks aboutrestoration of the PlanningCommission. Scholars andhistorians suggest that Nehruborrowed ‘democracy’ from theWest and ‘planning ‘from theSoviets. The Soviet planning modelhas been discredited as itconcentrated powers at the top.The so-called bottom-up planningdid not work in India. All theplanning was done by PM, FM andthe deputy chairman of theplanning commission, oftenhandpicked by the PM. Now theplanning commission standsdismantled. In its place, the newbody is NITI Ayog. Few peopleunderstand what it stands for andwhat it does. Yes, we should reviveplanning, but a process which isdecentralized, and involves multiplestake holders -state, marketinstitutions, think-tanks, researchorganizations and so on.

GG’s point on housing is similarto provisions of health and education.My submission is that it should againinvolve multi-stakeholders not onlythe state. The low-cost houses made

after tsunami by non-state actorswere as good or better then whatthe state did. Our attention is aptlydrawn by GG to the plight of farmers.He is so right. And his advice thatsocialists should visit farmers andspend time with them should be sowell taken. Recalling the spirit offreedom fighters in so doing to thefarmers is really inspiring.

His last points on unity ofsocialists, the character the cadresand leadership should embrace,corruption, and value bankruptcy ofCongress party, nepotism ofSamajwadi Party are great adviceand they must be reflected upon byall socialists. He also laments thesplits in socialist organizations andparties that have weakened us andit is only cohesion and unity that cansave the socialists politically. Onecould not agree more to this tellingobservation. However, it is notimpossible to reunite socialists. Todo so, what we need is not justpersonalities, but ideological andorganizing principles. The unityefforts get stuck when it comes tochoosing the leader of the new partyor coalition. I had written in Janatamore than once and elsewhere howto create an unbiased andtransparent procedure to elect the

leader. We should never start theunity efforts by discussing andevaluating the leaders. We hadLoknayak JP to unite socialists. Yet,he never held any position. We donot have a JP any more, at least, atpresent. So we have to rely on theprocess and not a personality whocan tower over all the rest like JPdid.

Finally, I must say, GG has beenan institution-builder. His role in thecivil society-led development andsocial entrepreneurship etc isgreater than his party politicalactivism. I wish he had brought inhis own innovation, ingenuity, andexperience of the civil societysupporting, supplementing and evensupplanting the state albeit in alimited way. He sounds a bit state-centric in his approach. I wouldagree with that if we are buildinga welfare state as Prof BVivekanandan argues. In fact, heis coming out with his big book onwelfare state development. If thisis what GG has in mind, and to myunderstanding, he has, then weshould all work for it. But the stateat the moment is partisan, pro-business, corrupt, bureaucratic, andinaccessible. Can we change thatto a welfare state? Yes we can.


byRohini Gawankar


Secretary, Samata Shikshan Sanstha, Pareira Wadi, Mohili Village,Sakinaka, Ghatkopar(W), Mumbai 400072.

Mobile: 9820092255 / Contribution: Rs.300+


Prof K S Chalam, well knowncontemporary thinker and academichas published a very thoughtprovoking and relevant book for ourtimes. He is one of our comradeswho has been writing in the traditionsof Lohia, Roy, Marx, Ambedkar forthe last several decades, though hehails from the mainstream academicprofession as a Professor ofEconomics,. He has been Vice-chancellor and held some importantpositions in Delhi. I am informing ourreaders about the book as we do notexpect that the mainstream media toshed light on such writings as it bringsout the need for unity amongdemocratic and socialist forces totake on the evangelists.

Sismondi and Surplus Value

The book makes an attempt tobring to life Sismondi the Pre-Marxian scholar and originalcontributor of the concept of surplusvalue as a part of ‘Social Economy’as study of the dynamics of socio-economic parameters in atraditionally fragmented society likeIndia. He analyses that how thetheory is re-emerging in the contextof globalisation. He has clarified thatit is not directly related to the studyof civil society or third sectoractivities of advanced countries asexpressed by some perversescholars. It is much wider in its scopeand content and is a unique approachto study a country like India. In fact,the third sector has never beenautonomous and alleged to have

Book Review

Social Economy of Development in India,by K S Chalam, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2017

Ravela Somayya

been used to side-track the radicalupsurge against the ugly designs ofcorporate capitalism. Like the sellingcosts of a firm that drive customerstowards its brand, civil societyactivities are suspected to be usedby market players with a hiddeneconomic agenda. (Our experiencewith different kinds of revolutionssponsored by some of the civilsocieties in Middle East and theresult).It is necessary to dispel thevilification of Social Economics byneo-classical writers.

The Social economy expoundedby pre-Marxian scholar Sismondi,developed by Tawny, Hobson andSchumacher and others is now beingpursued to understand the tyrannyof Neo-colonialism and itsconsequences. The echo of some ofthe issues pursued by the subject arefound in Welfare Economics .SocialEconomics was concerned about theabuse of labour, of competition, onthe excess of production etc as itdeclared a disbelief in laissez-faire.The ideas of the social economistsare found their way in the discussionsof scholars who are humanistic intheir approach to development asagainst those whose ideas areresponsible for devastation,degradation of ecology and humanvalues.

Mainstream Economics hashelped to solve problems of poverty,inequality, want and disease undercertain assumptions of a classsociety. Indian economists including

B R Ambedkar, Rammanoha Lohia,Amartya Sen and a few others haveused the concepts and found that thecaste based economy and societyneed something more than what isgiven in the text books. They havepartially succeeded to address thetypical problems of caste. Someideologues recognised the problemand equated it with class. However,it has not enhanced ourunderstanding of the social economyof castes and even untouchability anddiscrimination. Market has notprovided answers to this problem andalleged to have been a conduit tostrengthen the already existing socialinequalities in India. In this context,interrogating the liberal economicpolicies and their consequences in thearea of social tensions, politicalprocess, inequalities in Humandevelopment, marginalisation ofagriculture, language and culture andso on in a caste-based society likeIndia is attempted in the book withan alternative paradigm ofdevelopment based on Indianthinking in the subject.

The subject matter of SocialEconomy as a branch of Economicsis considered here in the context ofits relevance in the twenty firstcentury. India, being a traditionalsociety with unyielding castes anddeep rooted family norms is differentfrom the West. The journey ofEconomics from the time of classicalperiod and to the present crisis isexamined to indicate its limitedapplication in a country like India.


Economic liberalisation in Indiahas strengthened an already existinginiquitous society by convertingmodern corporations as fiefdoms offew families in a caste like structure,promoting crony capitalism,corruption, frauds making mockeryof democratic institutions. Theeconomic crisis in Europe is reflectedin the Indian economy as it hassincerely adhered to neo-classicalmodels of development based onTrade that grew to cover more than100 per cent of GDP. It hasdestroyed MSME and traditionalindustries by relying on ICT andservices that are accessible toadvanced castes. This has furtherwidened the social inequalitiesreducing urban areas as centres ofperdition with automobile andenvironmental pollution.

Caste Mode

The reforms agenda with thenexus of entrenched classes inbureaucracy, politics, and businessand contractor groups, all comingfrom upper castes have changed thecaste-class narrative underglobalisation. Caste has emerged asan important category to appropriateeconomic opportunities by few. Thisbrings to focus the Caste Mode ofProduction in operation. The MoPhas reduced education particularlyHigher Education as a commodityinaccessible to traditionally poor anduntouchable castes. Even the socalled demographic dividendeulogised as unique to India isconfined to few castes andgeographical regions. The conceptof Caste Mode of Productionintroduced by K S Chalam in thebook for a debate is fresh in ouracademic scholarship as neitherMarxists nor Anti- Brahmin socialitesthought about it in a theoreticalframework before.

Agriculture is the pivot of Indianeconomy and society from timeimmemorial. It is now given a tepidtreatment through many of the neo-classical policy prescriptions. Majorirrigation projects and dams areconsidered by the state to benefit thecontractor class and green revolutionis confined to few crops and areas.Though self-sufficiency is achievedin the production of food grains, ithas not resulted in the food securityof the vast majority who consumenon-vegetarian protein food. Thefarmer is treated as a beneficiaryand not a contributor to the economy.Prof Chalam has raised the issue ofwhy the proportion of peopledepending upon agriculture in Indiahas almost remained the same whileits contribution to GDP is dwindling?

The political process in India inthe name of democracy is madevibrant through the oligarchy ofcastes. The interconnectionbetween liberalisation and traditionalruling castes has perpetuated thesocial inequalities with limited accessto dalits and bahujans. The BSPexperiment in the largest state ofIndia, UP is ultimately reduced to thevanity of individuals and did notpercolate down below. However, ithas helped to bring the issue of casteand discrimination on the agenda ofthe nation for an inclusive society.Religion and caste have becomeimportant factors in the electoralpolitics as well as economicprogrammes with little benefit to themarginalised sections even in acorporate controlled state likeGujarat.

Human development as acombination of income, educationand health is found to be unevenlydeveloped across states and withinthe advanced states across castes.Adivasis continue to live as sub-

humans and the sexual assaults onwomen particularly dalit womenseem to have increased with urbanattractions after liberalisation.Culture as a super structure of theeconomic liberalisation hasreinvigorated Religion, Caste,Language, Region and other socialembargos strikingly with the supportof caste and corporate media.

Indigenous Ideators

India is a unique country withseveral indigenous thinkers likeGandhi, .J C Kumarappa, M N Roy,Ambedkar, Lohia and others. Theyhave received western education andinterpreted the democraticinstitutions with in the given Indianparameters. Some of them radicallyopposed the social institutions and theundemocratic culture withalternative paradigms of their ownas solutions to the distinct problemslike caste, religion and inequality.Democratic socialism as against thesocial welfare programmes isconsidered as an importantalternative as the policy makers aredishonest and corrupt without anyaccountability after liberalisation.Buddhist ideology of sharing andseeking refuge in society as atraditional value need to be re-examined in the context of emergingdichotomies of alienation in society.The framework of Human Rightswith equality of opportunity anddemocratic decentralisation ofpower are envisaged as somepossible answers to the predicamentsof contemporary India. The authorappealed to the left and democraticforces to understand the relevanceof contributions of Eric Fromm whohas pointed out the limitations ofmarket either in capitalist or socialisteconomies as it is beyond the reachof our will and influence. He hasenticed to the progressive forces to


understand the need for appealing tothe senses of ordinary people aboutthe primacy of’ common good’, anidea that both social economists andsocialists held very dear to theirheart.

Contemporary thinkers andactivists who are shocked by theemergence of reactionary andconservative forces in general andin India in particular would find somesolutions in the book. It is farsightedof Prof Chalam who imagined theimminent threat of a market andreligious fundamentalist rolled in onethreatening the vitals of democracyin India. In the last chapter, he hasproposed an alternative paradigm asSocial economic approach asrepresented by our indigenousthinkers noted above. Thesubsection on Rammanohar Lohiaand Left Unity contained somepractical ideas. The author said thecritics of Lohia, “particularly fromthe Left, used to call him as perhapsa petty bourgeois intellectual whowas critical about Marx. Some ofthem might also think that hisprogramme of action againstsupremacy and his short- temperedutterances against some communistswere only passing remarks. But, fourdecades of experience both in Indiaand in socialist countries have shownthat he was to a large extent right inperceiving the problems of buildingsocialism in India.... Some analystsindicate how the three types of Leftwith Marxist ideologies and peopleoriented struggles are all madeirrelevant with the ideology ofglobalisation and PPP model withtemporary solutions to the victimswith small goodies.. The critics andadmirers of Lohia should not hesitateto recognise that the limitations ofMarx and Soviet model and evenChinese noted by Lohia do not existanymore today to prolong the

criticism. Similarly, the Marxists whowere critical about Lohia’ approachto communism may consider thechanged circumstances in the worldand the relevance of the socialistprogramme advocated by Lohia, andthe need for reassessment of theideas to bring all the progressiveforces on one platform to fightcapitalism and its Siamese twinfundamentalism.” I think this is theessence of the message that thebook gives to all of us who arefollowers of Lohia,, Ambedkar, J Ckumarappa and several Indian

Marxists who wish to see the miseryand poverty of the people shoulddisappear as early as possible.

The content of the book broadlycomes under Development Studies,Economics, Asian Studies andCulture. It is an emerging subjectdeveloped on the basis of 18th centuryscholarship with special reference toIndia. It has 10 chapters with excellentreferences and Bibliography at theend. One can finish the 400 pagesbook (hard bound) in one go as thestyle is lucid and simple.

Does the Banking System ReallyWant to Help Farmers?*

Devinder Sharma

The corporate sector isresponsible for 70 per cent of thecountry’s NPAs, but their loans arebeing waived off, while waivingfarming loans is still being frownedupon.

The banking system seems to bedesigned in favour of the rich whobenefit at the cost of farmers andthe rural poor.

The Gujarat government gave aloan of Rs 558.58 crores to theTatas to set up the Nano plant atSanand, near Ahmedabad. TheGujarat government hasacknowledged that the massive loanwas given at an interest of 0.1 percent to be paid back in 20 years. Inother words, this huge loan wasvirtually an interest free long termloan. In another case, Steel tycoon,LaxmiNarain Mittal, was given Rs1,200 crores by the Punjabgovernment to invest in the Bathindarefinery. He also got the loan at a0.1 per cent rate of interest.

On the other hand, if anextremely poor woman in a villagewants to buy a goat worth Rs 5,000,she goes to a micro-finance institute(MFI), which provides her a loanat an interest rate of 24 to 36 percent or even more. This paltry loanhas to be returned at weeklyintervals. This poor woman is alsoan entrepreneur and wants tosustain her livelihood rearing a goat,the milk of which she can sell.Millions of livelihoods can potentiallybe sustained if banks were toprovide loans at an interest rate likethe ones the Tatas and Mittalreceived, to poor entrepreneurs.

Farmers, for instance – supposethey buy a tractor at an interestrate of 12 per cent . Bigentrepreneurs can buy a luxury carat an interest rate of 7 per cent.For a farmer, a tractor is necessaryto improve crop production, whichdirectly contributes to an increasein his income. The role ofmechanisation to improve farming


has never been in question, but forthe rich, luxury cars are more of astatus symbol.

Therefore why is the bankingsystem designed to favour the richwho already have many perks, whilethe poor pay a higher price tosustain their livelihoods?

Discrimination against the poordoesn’t end here. The PublicAccounts Committee of theparliament has estimated that thetotal outstanding loans of publicsector banks – Non-PerformingAssets (NPAs) – stands at Rs 6.8lakh crores. Out of this, 70 percent belongs to the corporatesector, whereas only 1 per centof the defaulters are farmers. Thechief economic advisor, ArvindSubramanian, has already statedthat the bad debts for thecorporate sector should bewritten-off. According to him, thecapitalist economy is designed sothat the bad loans of thesecorporates have to be waived.India Ratings has estimated thatmore than Rs 4 lakh crore of theNPAs will be written-off. Writing-off of such enormous amounts ofbad loans for the corporate sectormakes economic sense, if the chiefeconomic advisor is to bebelieved. On the other hand, thechairperson of State Bank ofIndia, Arundhati Bhattacharya,laments that writing-off theoutstanding loans of farmers isbad economics – it will lead tocredit indiscipline. This when ofthe total NPAs, farmers wereresponsible for only 1 per cent!

Much of the farm credit that isprovided every year is also takenadvantage of by the agribusinesscompanies. In the Budget 2017,finance minister ArunJaitley had

announced a farm credit of Rs10-lakh crore. But while such ahuge outlay for farm credit givesan impression of governmentalconcern about farmers, a studyby Ram Kumar andPallaviChavan (from Tata Instituteof Social Sciences) found that lessthan 8 per cent of this actuallygoes to small farmers. And smallfarmers constitute roughly 83 percent of the entire farmingcommunity. Nearly 75 per cent ofthe Rs 10-lakh crore farm creditis reaped by agribusinesscompanies and big farmers whoget the advantage of 3 per centinterest subvention. Over theyears, the definition of whatconstitutes a farm loan has beenexpanded to include warehousingcompanies, farm implementmanufacturers and otheragribusiness companies.

It is primarily because of thebank’s indifference towards thefarmers that the election promiseof writing-off of farmers’ loans inUttar Pradesh and Punjab havebecome such a contentious issue.Since prime ministerNarendraModi had promised towaive off farmers loans in UP,the ministry of agriculture andfarmers welfare has alreadyannounced that the Centre willtake care of the financial burdenof waiving farm loans in UP.Whereas in Punjab, whereCongress has formed thegovernment, state finance ministerManpreetBadal, has come outwith an innovative way to bearthe burden of farm loan waiver.He says the state will ‘takeover’the farmers outstanding loans, andwork out a long-term agreementwith the banks under which thestate government will repay thefarmer’s dues.

In Punjab, an estimated Rs35,000 crore of bank loans weredefaulted on by farmers. In UttarPradesh, the total amount thatneeds to be waived for farmersowning less than 2 hectares ofland stands at Rs 36,000 crores.While the Centre has agreed toreimburse the UP government forthe farm waiver, the question is,what about the other states?Maharashtra, for instance, isdemanding Rs 30,500 crore for aloan waiver. Chief ministerDevendraFadnavis has told theMaharashtra assembly that 23,000farmers have killed themselvessince 2009. In Tamil Nadu, whichfaces drought for the third yearin a row, the state government hasalready declared a drought.Farmers are demanding acompensation package of Rs25,000 per acre. Meanwhile,farmer suicides have been on therise in Orissa and the Northeast,where they have nearlyquadrupled over the past fewyears.

What needs to be seriouslyconsidered is that a terribleagrarian crisis is being allowed toprevail, primarily because ofsystemic efforts to keep farmersimpoverished. By denying farmersthe right price for their produce,the credit policy too is designedwrongly so that it benefits the richat the cost of farmers and therural poor. But will the banksaccept their fault and redesign thecredit policies? The richcorporates will continue to get taxincentives and massive subsidiesin the name of incentives forgrowth.

*This article first appeared in TheWire. https://thewire.in/119889/banking-system-farmers-loans


rural children. His concept ofeducation stressed the integration of‘the world of knowledge’ with ‘theworld of work,’ a concept we arefamiliar with in today’s language asvocational and relevant education forall. He felt that this was essentialfor the poor of India who would notonly get some basic knowledge butalso acquire useful skills to be utilisedthroughout life. These skills inGandhi’s time included weaving,pottery, stitching, carpentry and thelike, but in today’s time would alsoinclude repair of electronic devices,maintenance of tractors, cars,bicycles, first aid, nursing, computerand entrepreneur skills and the like.Some of these would be morerelevant for men and others forwomen.

The fundamental premise of theNaiTaleem was that it wouldteach simple skills to the peopleand help them remain in villagesas useful citizens and not beforced to leave for towns andcities looking for unskilled, poorlypaid, and degrading jobs and beexposed to urban violence of oneform or another. What was truein Gandhi’s time is still relevant intoday’s world where we seehighly formally educated peoplewithout jobs and villagers underthe impact of urbanization andglobalization migrating to cities insearch of any odd job such asrickshaw puller or rag picker.

Violence against women, femaleinfanticide or mistreatment of thegirl child would definitely bereduced if our education systemfollowed Gandhi’s principles ofmoral values, gender equality, non-violence, truth and cultivation ofright attitudes.

A right type of education wouldmake people more self-reliant,bridge socio-economic disparitiesand the rural-urban divide, andgenerally help in the societybecoming more egalitarian,harmonious, and contented. In anarticle in TheHindu newspaperProfessor Krishna Kumar of DelhiUniversity, has argued that, “Theteaching of reading during earlychildhood – when attitudes, habitsand skills acquire life-longfoundations – assumes crucialsignificance for the efficientfunctioning of democracy”. Professor Kumar also writesabout the responsibility of theState in the area of education. Inhis words:

The mutation trough whichutilitarian thought went during the19th century brought forth the


recognition of a new role for theState in the need to protectchildren from poverty and toeducate them.

These aspects about the roleof education and the State’sresponsibility of provision of freeand relevant education would helpin the creation of a just socialorder where there is a reductionof conflict and violence caused bysocio-economic and otherdisparities.

The present understanding ofthe role of education coupled withthe initiatives taken by Gandhiwould address the issues ofinequality, injustice anddiscrimination that are seen inmany developing countries. Thiswould also help in preservation ofour environment.

*This article originally appeared in Transcend Media Service (TMS).www.transcend.org





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Vol. 72 No. 13April 16, 2017




Mumbai - 400 007.


Where Are India’sDissenting Hindus ?

Harsh Mander

Beef Eating And GorakshaksChandra Bhal Tripathi

Family System AndThe Question Of

Women’s FreedomAlka Joshi and Neeraj Jain

Democratisation of HigherEducation in India:Ambedkar’s Vision

K. S. Chalam

Socialist Party (India)National Executive Meeting

Resolution

At a moment when the ideals andevents of our National Movementseem to be fading from publicmemory, it is gratifying, indeed, thatthere should be a celebration of thecentenary of one of the mostremarkable episodes of modernIndian history, the ChamparanSatyagraha of 1917 - that opened anew phase in the National Movementby joining it to the great struggle ofthe Indian peasantry for bread andland.

Even since the Battle of Plessey(1757) British rule had meant aconstant exploitation of India, themain burden of which had fallenon the peasants, artisans and thelabouring poor of India. It has beenthe great intellectual achievementof the early nationalists that theywere able to show how the twinprocesses of drain of wealth andde-industrialisation had ruinedIndia. One sees the exposure andanalysis in its classic form, inDadabhoy Naoroji’s Poverty andUn-British Rule in India (1901)and, in the form of a historicalnarrative, in R C Dutt’s two-volume Economic History ofIndia under British rule (1901,1903). Gandhiji himself summarised

Celebrating Champaran 1917

Irfan Habib

these findings in his Hind Swaraj(1909), originally written inGujarati.

Indigo Oppression

The impoverishment of India whichthe early nationalists so ably exposedwas largely accomplished throughmeans in which Englishmenthemselves hardly ever appeared asthe exploiters: the land revenue wasexacted through zamindars or nativeofficials; English goods were sold byIndian shopkeepers and hawkers. Itwas mainly in plantations and minesthat the Englishman appeared directlyas the oppressor. And amongplantations, it was the indigoplantations where such oppressionhad the longest history. Indigo was acelebrated product of India, down thecenturies, raised and processedlocally by peasants. But in theseventeenth century, European-owned slave-plantations in WestIndies began to produce it, theextraction process they used beingimproved immensely by use of boilers.When the English conquered Bengal,European indigo planters appearedsoon enough. Obtaining zamindaristhey coerced peasants into raisingindigo, for the dye to be processed


out of the plants in their ‘factories’.The coercion exercised by Europeanplanters on peasants to raise indigoand sell it cheaply to them - undermethods portrayed in Bandhu Mitra’sfamous Nil Darpan (1860) - led topeasant ‘disturbances’ in Naddia inBengal in 1859 and 1860. But thesewere suppressed by the administration.

Indigo plantations extended intoBihar, where too European plantersused the zamindari system to forcetheir peasant tenants to bow to theirwill. Where they could not buyzamindaris they obtained leases fromlocal zamindars, and in the form of‘thekadars’ exercised the same rightsover peasants as they would havehad as zamindars. In Champarandistrict of Bihar, most Europeanplanters obtained thekas for wholevillages from the large Bettiahzamindari. Here, as the demand forindigo grew with expanding textileimports, the planters imposed whatcame to be known as the tin-kathiasystem, the peasants being forced toraise indigo on the best parts of theirrented lands.

European Exploitation

A crisis occurred when asynthetic dye was developed inGermany in the late 1880s. Sincenatural indigo dye could not competewith it, indigo exports from Indiadeclined in value from Rs 4.75 crorein 1894-95 to Rs. 2.96 crore fiveyears later. As indigo prices and theplanters’ profits from indigomanufacture fell, the planters begancorrespondingly to increase the rent-burden on the peasants, invoking theirrights as zamindars. The impositionstook two major forms: As zamindarsor thekadars the planters simplyincreased the rents paid by peasants,the increase in rent being calledsharahbeshi, usually amounting to

50 to 60 per cent of the previous rent.The second form was a curious one.Since indigo prices fell, the peasantsdid not now wish to produce indigo,as they had to under the tinkattiasystem. The planters, who did notwish to buy it either, allowed thepeasant to shift to other crops onlyif he agreed to pay them a largeamount, known as tåwån,‘compensation’. The amountsimposed were so large that thepeasants had to undergo muchhardship only to pay interest on it atthe rate of 12 per cent per annum,let alone pay the principal. Anotherimposition on the peasants took theform of transferring to them plots outof the indigo factories’ own cultivatedlands (zira‘at) charging high rents,under threat of throwing them outof their tenancies, if they declined toagree to take these on rent. Theplanters also collected illegal dues(abwab) and imposed fines.Alongside these exactions theplanters made full use of thetraditional zamindari practice ofbegar, forced unpaid or ill-paidlabour, requisitioning at will thepeasant’s cattle, plough and carts orcompelling them to provide labour fortheir plantations. In other words, theplanters tried to throw the entireburden of the crisis caused bycompetition from synthetic indigo onto the shoulders of the peasants,while safe-guarding or evenincreasing their own profits.

That crisis for the planters easedin 1914 owing to the outbreak ofWorld War I. Germany, the mainproducer of synthetic indigo, beingone of the belligerent powers, theplanters’ profits from indigo revived,and many of them began to compelpeasants to grow indigo again underthe tinkathia system, whileunderpaying them for the crop bytaking into account not the actual

produce, but the area sown with thecrop. The earlier burdens on thepeasants under both sharahbeshiand tawan continued as before, alongwith forms of begar. Peasants werethus faced with a situation wherewhile prices increased owing to theWar they were themselves subjectedto rack-renting and forced to growindigo despite a manipulated low rateof return on it, though raised in theirbest lands. They faced other kindsof ill-treatment as well at the handsof the planters and their staff,including beatings and pretty bribery.The planters’ raj was complete andthere was no relief for peasantsforthcoming from the Bittiah Estate(now under Court of Wards at thetime), which, having given leases(thekas) to the planters, shared inthe gains made out of the oppressionof the peasants.

Champaran and Gandhiji

How a delegation fromChamparan, attracted by news of theLucknow session of the IndianNational Congress in December 1916went to the session to draw attentionto the Champaran peasants’ plightand how later Raj Kumar Shuklabrought Gandhiji from Calcutta toPatna and inexplicably left him therein April 2017 are matters now oftraditional lore. It is what followedthat is of the utmost importance.

Gandhi’s handling of theChamparan struggle proved to be amodel of serious leadership. He wasstepping into an area where thepeasants had been kept suppressedfor so long that no ‘stayagraha’ ofthe form he had led in South Africacould here be organised. He,therefore, announced that he hadcome only to study the conditions andcollect information, for which he wasable to gather a group of intrepid


men, including his principal assistantBrajkishore Prasad and the futureprincipal Congress leader of Bihar,Rajendra Prasad. What he and hisgroup began to do was to moveamong peasants and just record theirgrievances. To the end, this was theform and substance of theChamparan Satyagraha.

Grievance Collection

The British authorities knew thatthis was not as harmless an enterpriseas it seemed. The very fact that oncean individual peasant could go andrecord his complaints, others wouldfollow from the ranks of what uptillnow had been a subdued demoralisedraiyat. On 16 April the EnglishDistrict Magistrate ordered Gandhijito leave the district, the order beingissued under See. 144 Cr.P.C.Defying the ban, Gandhiji pleaded“guilty” before the District Magistrateat Motihari on 18 April, ready to faceimprisonment for following “the voiceof conscience”. It was thiscombination of moderation withdetermination that won the day. Theadministration trying to tie downGandhiji with a long drawn-out casewas flabbergasted at his cutting itshort by the “guilty” plea. On the otherhand, now not only the volunteers,including the famous Bihar Congressleader Mazharul Haq, but also acrowd of peasants gathered at thecourt, this being perhaps, the first realpeasant demonstration in Champaran.The English Magistrate did not knowwhat to do and adjourned the court,releasing Gandhiji on his ownassurance of presence! Finally, theGovernment climbed down: On April21, Gandhiji received intimation fromthe Lt Governor of Bihar and Orissa(no less!) of the withdrawal of theproceedings against him with eveninstructions issued to local officialsto assist his “enquiry”.

This success opened the gates tothe voicing and recording ofcomplaints from peasants. Localvakils in large numbers joined hisband of volunteers. The recordingproject turned into a real massmovement. As many as 8,000peasants came and recorded theircomplaints, defying the planters andtheir men whose authority visiblycrumbled. Peasants also begandefiantly to return the high-rentcarrying zira‘at lands that plantershad imposed on them.

The work of collection ofpeasants’ complaints took Gandhijiand his volunteers to poverty-strickenvillages, where peasants could at lastobtain a ray of hope that things couldchange. Not long afterwards, hereceived an invitation from anotherquarter: he was graciously invited tomeet a high official of Government,‘Hon. W. Maude’ at Ranchi on May10. Gandhiji, as usual, never rejectednegotiations and duly met Maudewhom he promised to send apreliminary report on his findings,which he did on May 13. But hepolitely rejected Maude’s suggestionthat he dissolve his team andabandon further pursuit of theenquiry into peasant grievances.

Moral Battle

By now the planters and theirassociation had exhausted all theirarsenal: threats and inducements toindividual peasants, manufacturedincidents of violence or arson,canvassing, of English officials asmen of their own race, and overturesto the great zamindars of Bihar.Gandhiji, on his part, won the moralbattle by being ever ready to meetthe planters and being unfailinglypolite and courteous with them at thepersonal level. But he never left theside of the peasants.

Finally, the governmentcapitulated. No less a person than EA Gait, the Lt Governor of Bihar andOrissa, along with the ChiefSecretary, H McPherson, held a longmeeting with Gandhiji on June 5, atRanchi, and here a settlement wasworked out. A committee of enquiry,with such broad terms of referenceas to cover all the matters that wererelevant to peasants’ grievances wasto be instituted, the committee toinclude Gandhiji, as member alongwith a representative of planters andanother of zamindars and threeBritish officials, including thePresident of the Committee. All theevidence that Gandhiji had collectedcould be placed before it. It wasassumed that its recommendationswould be honoured by Government.In return, Gandhiji at last agreed toterminate his campaign of collectingpeasant grievances.

The mass movement atChamparan, revolving around therecording of grievances was over.But the actual work of alleviating thegrievances had now to be taken up.Again, it is a sign of Gandhiji’smature leadership that he took upwork on this committee with thegreatest care and earnestness. Heattended all its meetings, presentedfull evidence before it and was alertin assessing promptly all theproposals that were put before it.

Gandhiji kept the Europeanplanters’ transgressions alone as thetarget of attack. The plantersexpressed their readiness to reducethe sharahbeshi rent by only 25 percent, while Gandhiji demanded areduction, at least, of 40 per cent.When the official members proposedthat the balance of 15 per cent. mightbe met from the revenues of theBettiah Estate, Gandhiji at oncedemurred. Clearly, he did not wish


to annoy the zamindars of Bihar,who had remarkably remainedneutral in the matter. Ultimately, heaccepted a 26 per cent reduction insharahbeshi to be borne entirely bythe planters.

It is remarkable that theCommittee was able to present aunanimous well-written factuallyrich report by October 3, 1917. Itpractically conceded the truth of allthe grievances that Gandhiji’s own“enquiries” had brought out. Itrecommended the abolition of thetinkathia system and gave freedomto the peasants to grow whatevercrop they chose. It denounced thepayment by planters for indigo bythe area sown and not actual outturn.The reduction of sharahbeshi rentby 26 per cent (as settled by Gandhijiwith planters) was approved; and itwas recommended that the tawanbe abolished, no further paymentof principal or interest on thisaccount to be levied on thepeasants. All abwabs or additionallevies and perquisites as well asfines were held il legal. Itrecommended that a proclamationto this effect, with penalties to beprescribed, be issued. Above all, thethekadari or village-contractingsystem by which the planters gainedzamindari rights over peasants invillages outside their plantationswas to be phased out. Rights in hideswere to belong to the peasantowners of the animals, not theplanters. The minutes of theCommittee meetings show howGandhiji took up every issue ofinterest to the peasants and arguedtheir case mostly successfully.

Agrarian Act

The major recommendations ofthe Committee required certainchanges to be embodied in law and

so Government ordered a law to beprepared in the very month ofOctober 1917, this taking the formof the Champaran Agrarian Act,1918. It is characteristic of Gandhijithat he also scrutinised the draft billand suggested changes in its text toprotect the tenants’ interests.Characteristically too, he spent littletime in celebrating the huge successhe had achieved for the peasants andthe poor of Champaran.

The Champaran Satyagraha wasthe first struggle that Gandhijiundertook on Indian soil after hisgreat 20-year long movement for thedefence of Indians’ rights in SouthAfrica. It was to be followed quicklyby the Ahmedabad workers’ strikeagainst indegenous millowners and

by the Kheda satyagraha againstrevenue enhancements, both in1918; and then the all-India Aprilsatyagraha of 1919 against theRowlatt Acts and, finally, the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movementof 1920-22. But the Champaransatyagraha will always remain asthe crucial starting point, the yoking,for the first time, of peasant unrestto the national movement, an assuredguarantee for the ultimate successof the latter. As we observe thecentenary of the event today, onewonders how any tribute could beadequate for the firmness anddetermination shown by MahatmaGandhi and the unflinchingresistance offered by the long-oppressed Champaran peasants athis call.

Footprints of A Crusader

(The Life Story of Mrunal Gore)

by

Rohini Gawankar

Published by

Kamalakar Subhedar,

Secretary, Samata Shikshan Sanstha, Pareira Wadi,

Mohili Village, Sakinaka,

Ghatkopar(W), Mumbai 400072.



In these troubled times, theworld’s two largest democracies –India and the US – are increasinglybecoming hostile, threatening placesfor people with Muslim names. USPresident Donald Trump’s ban on theentry of citizens from Muslimmajority countries signals an officialideology legitimised from the top thatpeople of Muslim faith are potentiallydangerous. In India, the appointmentof a man who revelled in hatespeech and communal incitementagainst Muslims as chief minister ofUP, the country’s most populousstate – which, if independent, wouldbe the fifth largest country in theworld – similarly signals, in the wordsof The Guardian, that “…in Indiaminorities exist mainly on thegoodwill of the majority. Step out ofline and there will be blood.” Andblood has already begun to flow.

By all estimates, India is headingfor a scorching summer. Signs areevident everywhere that the soaringmercury will be matched by thesweltering heat of hate speech andviolence stirred against the country’sminorities. In his early years in thecountry’s highest office, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi somewhatdistanced himself from his ownhard-edged communally surchargedoratory during his tenure as Gujaratchief minister by resorting to arhetoric of relative moderation,especially when speaking on foreignsoil.

His party president, ministers andlegislators, however, felt no needto don a mask of restraint in theircontinued communal, and

Where Are India’s Dissenting Hindus ?*

Harsh Mander

often openly hateful, publicprovocations. This division of labourwas useful for those who wished toexplain away their support for Modias being for his business-friendlyeconomic policies and not hiscommunal agenda, which theyclaimed was being pursued by hisaides against his will. This apologynever really carried real credibility,because a leader as powerful asModi could easily have brought allhis colleagues into line with a singlerebuke if that was what he reallywanted. However, with rabble-rousing Adityanath’s selection, it isclear that he no longer feels a needfor masks. With Trump’s openlybigoted anti-minority stances, thereis today a much more permissiveenvironment for countries like Indiato also follow Muslim-baitingstrategies more openly.

We have often heard of the frogwho when thrown into a pot ofboiling water, reacts immediately byjumping out. If the frog is placed intolukewarm water, which is slowlyheated, it does not react or resisteven as the water gradually boils,and the frog ultimately dies.Zoologists today contest the scienceof this experiment, but as ametaphor, it vividly illustrates thedifference between what is unfoldingagainst Muslim minorities in theUS and India.

Trump, with his brashinexperience, threw the frog intoboiling water. The cruelty andinjustice were clearly visible to theworld, and the frog also reacted. InIndia, the process is much more akin

to a slow but lethal raising oftemperatures, through countrywidecow vigilante attacks, campaignsagainst religious conversion,communal election rhetoric, and thedemonising of Muslims as terrorists,sexual predators, serial divorceesand irresponsible breeders.Observers are unable tocomprehend the enormity of theassault. The frog – for us, thedemocratic rights to equality andfreedom of Muslim minorities in bothcountries – is gradually being boiledalive.

In India and the US, the rhetoricled from the top convinces thedominant groups that it is they whoare persecuted, rather than being theoppressors or even the privileged.Thus, in the US, white Americansare persuaded that the countrybelongs to them, but is being takenaway by coloured people, alienimmigrants and untrustworthyMuslims. In India, the message is thatthe country belongs to the Hindumajority, but it is being stolen – aidedby corrupt ‘secular’ parties – byMuslims whose loyalty lies outsidethis land. This moral inversionresonated in both democracies,spurring the rise of a minoritypersecution complex in the majority.

This systematic hate propagandamet with some resistance from whiteAmericans, mostly college educated.In India, however, the greatestsupport to divisive ideologies comesfrom people with the highest levelsof education and privilege. I findmuch greater instinctive willingnessfor peaceful and respectful co-living


between people of differences inIndia among those who have beendenied education and benefits ofeconomic growth. This worryinglyilluminates what higher educationdoes to those who benefit from it inIndia – far from building liberal valuesor scientific temper, it seems only tonurture a sense of selfish entitlementand prejudice against minorities ofvarious kinds and the poor.

These differences endure evenwhen the privileged and educatedIndians migrate to the US.Recent immigrant SukhadaTatke observes in an article inthe Firstpost the glaring absence ofvoices of fellow Indians in streetdemonstrations and protest marchesas well as on social media feeds afterTrump’s election. She speaks of herCalifornia-based cousin whowondered why she was so distraught:

“Nothing he does is going to affectyou, he had said. Is that anyconsolation? I snapped back.Today, only after new moves in thepresident’s immigration policy has heslowly begun to speak out against thedangers of a Trump presidencybecause he himself feels threatenedby it.”

The most striking differencesbetween India and the US has beenthe response of ordinary people tothe anti-Muslim policies of theirgovernments. Protestors gatheredwith welcoming signs at Americanairports within hours of the firsttravel ban being announced, peoplevisited their Muslim neighbours toreassure them of their safety, judgesat all levels struck down thepresidential order, lawyers gatheredat airports to offer legal aid and filmactors spoke eloquently for the rights

of people of colour and minorityfaiths in film award functions.

In India, I wait for the day whenin UP villages where posters havecome up giving notice to Muslimresidents to leave, Hindu residentsreassure their Muslim neighboursthat they are both welcome andsafe; where they fight to defend thesecurity and livelihoods of tens ofthousands of people threatened bycow politics and contested abattoirs;where students, teachers, lawyers,doctors, workers, farmers, actorsand journalists all join the battleagainst the toxic politics of baitingand scapegoating minorities.

Our silences can only signal ourcomplicity with the brazen changingof India into a Hindu country. A landwhere minorities must submit, elseblood will flow.

*This article first appeared in The Wire (www.thewire.in)

Beef Eating And Gorakshaks


Once again the talk of total banon cow slaughter and slaughter ofcow progeny has gained currencywith the call of the RSS chiefMohan Bhagawat for the same.Some friends have suggested thatthe Central Government should passa Central legislation forthwith as noparty in the Rajya Sabha, wherethe ruling party is in a minority atpresent, will dare oppose it. Let usconsider some relevant facts andthe historical background.

I don’t recall in which tribalareas in the North-East cowslaughter and beef eating arecommon and wonder if the BJPGovernment at the Centre will be

willing to enforce a law banningthese practices since they are tryinghard to make inroads into theseareas. But I remember that inNagaland the most common meatis pork. However, I wish to raisesome fundamental questions.

(1) Food habit has nothing to dowith religion. I am a strict vegetarianand a teetotaller, have not takeneven egg or tasted beer, but hate tointerfere with the food habits of anyindividual. No value judgment shouldbe attached to this issue.

(2) Meat eating of all kinds wascommon in ancient India even inthe Epic ages. It is only Bhagawan

Krishna who realised theimportance of preservation andpromotion of cow and was,therefore, called Gopal. This wasthe theory forwarded by myesteemed mother, late SmtDurgawati Tripathi. I shall bethankful if some friend couldenlighten me by citing thepropounding of this theory by anyscholar or social worker before her.

(3) The People of India in 16volumes published by theAnthropological Survey of India hasconcluded that 85 per cent ofIndia’s population is non-vegetarianand beef eaters include Muslims,Christians, many tribal and even SC


communities. I can also say withconfidence that many Hindus inforeign countries eat beef. I haveobserved this personally in manycountries in Asia, Europe and NorthAmerica.

(4) Meat is meat whether it isof cow or pig, buffalo or horse,dog (eaten by a revered Indiansage when hungry) or any otheranimal. It is irrational todiscriminate various species ofanimals for this purpose. If aHindu friend asks me to partakeof meat, I tell him that I shall doso if he agrees to eat beef withme. Similarly if a Muslim friendasks me likewise, I tell him that Ishall do so if he agrees to eatpork with me.

(5) I have seen reports that inUP 80 per cent of holders oflicences for export of beef areHINDUS and JAINS. One ofthem was a notorious BJP MLAof western UP who instigatedcommunal riots over the issue ofcow slaughter and beef eating. Iremember that the contractor inmy home town in eastern UP forsupply of cows for consumptionof American soldiers during WorldWar II belonged to a family ofHindu Mahasabha and RSSleaders.

(6) The RSS is vainly trying toproject a great revolutionary anti-caste spiritual leader andKarmayogi Swami Vivekananda asone believing in Hindutva. It namedits training centre as VivekanandaKendra at Kanyakumari and has abig Vivekananda Centre inChanakyapuri, New Delhi, that washeaded by Ajit Doval (actualpronunciation Dobhal), the presentNSA of the Government of India,

who retired as the Director of theIntelligence Bureau.

These friends should read aboutthe famous episode in whichSwamiji was furious with a Gerua-clad preacher probably from theundivided Punjab who came toSwamiji seeking funds forprotection of cows. Swamiji askedhim: “A terrible famine has nowbroken out in Central India. TheIndia Government has published adeath-roll of nine lakhs of starvingpoeple. Has your society doneanything to render help in this timeof famine?” The preacher foolishlysaid that this famine broke out as aresult of men’s Karma, their sin. Itis recorded: “Hearing the words ofthe preacher, sparks of fire, as itwere, scintillated out of Swamiji’slarge eyes; his face becameflushed.” The preacher slippedaway. That was SwamiVivekananda for whom human lifewas much more important than thatof an animal, be it a cow. Let theselathi-wielding protectors of cow,who normally have nothing to dowith intellectual pursuits, read pages8-11 of the book ‘Talks with SwamiVivekananda’ (18th Reprint, August2013) published by the AdvaitaAshrama, Mayavati, Champawat,Uttarakhand.

(7) We need not do anyinvestigation into the background ofthese so-called ‘gorakshaks’ whenPrime Minister Narendra Modihimself said that the Ministry ofHome Affairs had been asked tokeep a tab on these elements 70per cent of whom were criminals,parading themselves as protectorsof cow, wearing saffron scarvesand creating terror during the dayand changing into jeans, drinkingand indulging in criminal activities

at night. With the recent victory ofHindutva forces in the StateAssembly elections in some Satesand a so-called Yogi as the ChiefMinister of the largest State it hasbecome a harder problem to tacklethe menace of these so-called‘gorakshaks’ unless the politicalauthorities at the Centre adopt amore accommodating approach.

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When one starts talking aboutwomen’s liberation in society, thereactions are usually: “You are outto break the family system”; “If awoman is liberated, what will happento her children?”; “Then who will dothe household work?”; “This willspread utter chaos in society”; etc.etc.

Yes, this is indeed how mostpeople react when the question ofwomen’s freedom, independenceand self-reliance is raised. A societywhich has believed since timesimmemorial that women areunworthy of freedom, where awoman who ventures alone out ofher house is considered to be of“easy virtue” or “characterless”,how can such a society eventolerate “freedom” and “liberation”for its women? Women, who asManu declared, deserve to beabused … their liberation? O God!What has the world come to! Thequestion of women’s freedom is nota subject of debate—it crosses theboundaries of debate.

On the one hand, it is true thattimes are changing. Our society isgoing through a period of painfultransition. We no longer live inGargi’s and Yadnyavalkya’s times.Today, a fiat like the one issued byRishi Yadnyavalkya will not beaccepted. Today, the debate onwomen’s freedom andindependence can today no longer

Family System And The Question Of Womens’s Freedom

Alka Joshi and Neeraj Jain

“Don’t cross the boundaries while asking questions, Gargi, else your head will besevered from your body.”

- Rishi Yadnyavalka threatening the renowned scholar Gargi during a debate in King Janak’s court

be concluded by issuing diktatsbased on Manusmruti’s verses.Systems based on age-oldinequalities and injustices are beingquestioned. Women are increasinglybreaking traditional moulds andseeking their own identities. Theyare stepping out of their homes anddoing all kinds of jobs.

However, on the other hand,there is still a lot of resistance in oursociety to these changes. Even if awoman attains eminence in society,her family does not recognise therespect and admiration she has wonfor herself in society. On thecontrary, all kinds of questions areraised on her going out of her houseand taking up a job and becomingeconomically independent, such as,who will look after the houseworkand children during her absencefrom the house, what impact herinteracting with other men will haveon her character, etc. The mediatoo reinforces these backwardviews present in society throughprograms that reinforce the beliefthat a girl’s destiny in life is to growup and get married, show the‘liberated’ woman to be recklessand irresponsible, depict the husbandand children of a working woman asbeing helpless when she is not athome, etc.

It is high time we startedquestioning old social values andmodes of thinking that consider

women’s freedom and independenceto be wrong and immoral. We needto set aside our prejudices andrationally analyse these societalbeliefs and doubts. We need torecognise that a woman too is ahuman being. She has full rights todecide her role in society and howshe should fulfill it. But our societyhas not given women this right, theyhave not been given independenceand freedom to develop their inherentpotential, and that in turn hasaffected society’s development,because society has not been ableto utilise their inherent brilliance andcapabilities for its growth.

In our society, a woman’s role hasbeen restricted to within the family.When a girl is growing up, if shewants to go out and play, or learndance or music, she is scolded—firsthelp in the kitchen, you must firstlearn to cook. When she grows upand gets married, all the tasks outsidethe home are the responsibility of herhusband, while all household tasks—such as cooking, sweeping-mopping,washing clothes, taking care ofchildren, etc.—are considered to beher responsibility. While doing all herhousehold chores, if she wants to goout to do a job and be independent,she has to struggle within her family:“What do we lack in our house thatyou feel the need to take up a job?”“You want to earn even though yourhusband is there!” By insinuating thather wanting to go out and work


would adversely affect the prestigeissue of her family, all her enthusiasmis gradually killed.

A woman does not have her ownindependent identity. She is alwaysidentified as being someone’s mother,wife and daughter. Her mother/father-in-law, sister/brother-in-law,husband and children — theseconstitute the limits of her existence.Her family is the be-all and end-allof her existence, she does not havethe permission to cross this threshold.All her joys and sorrows are limitedto within this boundary.

A woman’s place in the home isevident from the names women usefor their husbands, such as ‘malak’(owner), ‘swami’ (lord), etc. Thesenames describe reality. Within thehouse, a woman is nothing more thana man’s slave, who wieldsunrestrained power over her. A manhas the right to beat her, have sexwith her even when she is ill, rapeher, throw her out of the house for noreason, bring home a second wife atwhim. All scriptures and religiousbooks give sanction to this powerwielded by men over women, anddeclare that it is a woman’s duty toserve her God-incarnate husband.Female foeticide, harassment fordowry, domestic violence, abuse—awoman is forced to silently bear allthis violence, all in the name of savingher family’s reputation, honour, etc.Such injustice and violence on womenhas become so common in our societythat people don’t even notice it. Evenif a man commits grave atrocities andinjustices on his wife, no onereproaches him for it, his standingand reputation in society is notaffected. This goes to the extent thatwhen a young bride is killed for thesake of dowry, the entire societyremains silent and attempts are madeto hush up the case.

So many young girls’ have seentheir dreams trampled, have beendeprived of education, have beenmarried off to complete strangers atan age when they should have beensinging-playing-studying. A girltolerates all this, as she is brought upto believe that all the decisionsregarding her life are to be taken byher parents, husband or even herbrother; she does not have the rightto take any important decisionsregarding her life. And when a girldefies these rules and has arelationship with a man from anothercommunity, the village panchayatorders her to be raped; when she daresto defy her family to marry a ‘man ofher choice’, the couple is brutallymurdered by their family members.The silent acquiescence of society tosuch crimes/murders makes one feelthat society can stoop to any leveland break any law to protect this formof the family and the rights of menwithin it.

Should we give acceptance tosuch an oppressive form of thefamily? Can we call this an idealfamily? Endorsing it meansendorsing the inequality andautocracy inherent in it. History tellsus that this form of the family hasnot always been so. In ancienthuman society, for many thousandsof years till modern civilisationevolved, society was egalitarian,women were the head of the familyand played an important role in theeconomic and social life of thecommunity. With the evolution ofprivate property, as wealth andpower gradually started gettingconcentrated in the hands of men,women were gradually deprived oftheir social rights and imprisoned inthe home. Thus arose patriarchywithin the family system whichrelegated the woman to a slave’srole. (Discussing how this transition

took place is beyond the scope ofthis essay.)

Old societal systems are obsoletetoday. We are no longer living in afeudal society where society wasautocratically ruled by feudal lordsand kings and there was nodemocracy for the people. Today, weare living in a democratic nation statewhere the rulers are elected on thebasis of periodic elections and societyis governed not by the whims of kingsbut on the basis of a writtenconstitution that has been drafted bya democratically elected body. OurConstitution guarantees equality tomen and women. However, the oldfeudal patriarchal family structurecontinues to exist. It is time that thisstructure is broken. Women must befreed from the confines of this formof the family, and in its place newfamily values based on mutualequality and mutual respect andgenuine love need to be established.If marriage is the union of two livesand if love is a bond between twoindividuals based on mutual respectand trust, then where is the place forinequality and autocracy in such arelationship?

Only a family based on completeequality between man and woman,where there is mutual respect, loveand trust between its members cangive birth to a good citizen. A familyis a girl or boy child’s first school. Ithas an enormous influence on her/his value system and mental make-up. A child’s home environment, her/his cultural upbringing, her/hisparents’ financial, social and culturalstatus, their method of raising theirchild, together determine what kindof human being a child will grow upto be. An ideal family is one whichinstills the values of equality, justice,honesty, hard-work, self-respect,rationality, generosity and fraternity


in a child, instills confidence in thechild, provides the child the social-cultural atmosphere to develop his/her inherent potential, and motivatesthe child to become independent,form opinions take the initiative inevery thing.

But can one expect this of anilliterate and slave-like mother, or anautocratic and arrogant father? Mostdefinitely not. A home whereinequality and patriarchal power areconsidered to be matters of prestige;a home where the mother is a slave,who blindly follows superstitions,customs and traditions, who isdependent on her husband foreverything, who is daily abused byher husband, who is not evenconscious of the fact that she has lostall her self-confidence and self-respect; a home where the father isarrogance personified; a home wherethere is no place for equality and logic,and orders are followed obediently—how can such a family nurture thevalues of equality, self-respect, justiceand logical reasoning in a child? Onlya mother who is well-educated,independent, confident, well-informed, cultured and has anindependent personality can providegood upbringing to a child. A humaneand just society can come into beingonly when the other half of itspopulation, that is, the women,become free.

But in our society, unfortunately, avery large number of people continueto cling to old beliefs and valuesystems, and want to take advantageof inequality and male-dominatedmindsets. They obviously do not wantthis old family system to be replacedby a new type of a family. Thesepeople, who are vociferous in theiropposition to women’s liberation, feela loss in their prestige when womengo out of the house to work. They

consider a woman to be familyproperty / a decked-up objectadorning the house / a machine forgiving birth to the family heir / a bodyto be used for one’s sexualsatisfaction.

Such people do not realise thattimes are changing, and that intoday’s democratic society,relationships based on unbridledpower and inequality cannot surviveindefinitely. Sooner or later, womenwere going to rebel against thesepatriarchal bonds, and they havestarted fighting for their freedom.When women start assertingthemselves, start fighting for theirrights as equal human beings, thesepeople vociferously condemn thewomen’s liberation movement,claiming that it is breaking up thefamily and taking society to ruin. Thisis an outright lie. Let us examine theirmost important allegations.

Firstly, when women startaffirming their rights, it is very rarethat the family breaks up becauseof this. On the contrary, as thewoman gradually asserts heridentity, after initial strains withinthe family, it actually strengthensthe family bond as now therelationship between the husband-wife or father-daughter becomesmore democratic.

Secondly, if at all families arebreaking up today, if we look closer,we will find that in the majority ofcases, it is actually the men who areresponsible for the break-up of thefamily. Men humiliate women andabandon them for not giving birth toa male child, and even bring home asecond wife; or they run away fromtheir responsibilities and take todrinking, leaving the wife tosomehow take care of the children;or they keep a mistress. But all these

instances are not considered asbreaking-up of the family, the wifeis advised by society to stoically bearher suffering and somehow keep thefamily together and wait for thehusband to mend his ways. But assoon as a woman decides to standon her own feet and be economicallyindependent, this is immediatelydubbed as affecting the unity of thefamily system.

The words “mistress” or“concubine” do not have anymasculine-gendered synonyms in ourvocabulary, because in general it isonly men who have been enteringinto such relationships, and continueto do so to this day. When women getequal rights in society and becomefinancially independent, this will notlead to anarchy in society or causethe break-up of the family system;on the contrary, it will act as a checkon men’s promiscuity. A man willhave to be faithful to his wife,because now she has the confidenceand ability to leave him if he dares tobe unfaithful. The relationshipbetween husband and wife will nowbe based on mutual love, respect andtrust. And words such as “mistress”and “concubine” will graduallybecome extinct in society.

The fear that a free andindependent woman working outsidethe home will neglect housework andupbringing of children is also baseless.What do we see happening inpractice? Today, whether it be a girlstudent or a working woman, shedoes all the household chores. Shealso capably discharges allresponsibilities towards her children.But on the other hand, if there is anunemployed man in the house, he doesnot even help in housework; and thefew men who do help out withhousehold tasks are shamed as beingtied to the apron strings of their wives.


Therefore, to conclude, all fearsabout women’s freedom andindependence are baseless andstem from a patriarchal mindset.These fears have no connection toreality.

Society needs to seriouslyponder over this question ofwomen’s freedom. If we wishthat today’s children who will bethe citizens of tomorrow imbibethe values of independence, self-respect and equality right frombirth, if we wish that our countryshould break out of the shacklesof centuries-old superstitions andantiquated value systems andprogress and become strong, thenwe need to drastically reform ourfamily system and create thesocial conditions that encouragewomen’s freedom andindependence. Women’sparticipation in all walks of lifeneeds to be increased, they needto be educated and need to beencouraged to become financiallyself-reliant. Arrangements willhave to be put in place to ensurethat women have abundantopportunities for education andemployment. The household dutiesand child-rearing duties assignedto women should be shared, andmen need to be encouraged to takeequal responsibility for thesetasks. Along with that, societymust make provisions for crèchesfor babies in workplaces (so thatwomen can take care of or nursetheir babies as and when needed),day-care centres for smallchildren, and community kitchens— so that women can be freedfrom their dual burden of work.In this manner, if the entiresociety becomes aware of theneed for woman’s freedom andindependence, only then willwomen truly become free.

Political Resolution

Socialist Party (India)National Executive Meeting Delhi, April 9, 2017

On Right to Life and Dignity

Every Indian citizen who believesin the propriety of the Constitutionmust give a serious thought to thedangerous developments takingplace in the country. The ChiefMinister of Uttar Pradesh is openlyadvocating for ‘Hindu Rashtra’ onthe lines formulated by the RSS, andthere are talks in government circlesof changing the very nature of theConstitution which ensures a socialistand secular India.

The opponents of the present BJPgovernment and its fanatic ideologyapart, innocent citizens, who are notinvolved in power politics or anyother kind of opposition are repeatedlyand openly being thrashed and killedmercilessly by goons. The victimsare mostly poor dalits, adivasis,minorities - Muslims, Christians andwomen. The recent case of lynchingof Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer, inAlwar district of Rajasthan, is anothersuch example. The police are at bestsilent spectators, but at times evengive encouragement. This shows thatthe present government is not willingto protect the right to life and dignityof citizens, ensured in theConstitution.

The Socialist Party condemns thisunconstitutional, inhuman anduncivilized attitude of the governmentin strongest terms. The partydemands immediate action againstthe culprits who lynched Pehlu Khan.

On Demonetisation

The Modi Government claims to

be serious about fighting the scourgeof black money gripping the Indianeconomy. On November 8, PM Modiannounced the demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs 1000 notes and declaredthat its principal aim was to crackdown on black money in the country.However, it was a farcical measure.Demonetisation can, at the most,demobilise only the black cash, thatis, the illegal money, stored with thepeople at this present moment, andthat too, only a small part of it. Itdoes nothing to curb black moneygeneration, nor does it attack theblack wealth that has accumulatedin the economy over the past years.That the government is not reallyserious about curbing the blackeconomy is obvious from the factthat it is wilfully not taking any actionagainst those who have huge hoardsof black wealth, such as the 500Indians who are known to havehidden their wealth in tax havensabroad, whose names have beenrevealed in the Panama PapersScandal of 2016. It has beenreluctant to curb P-notes. The BJPis not willing to make public its ownsources of funding, such as fromwhere it got the Rs 30,000 crore itspent during the 2014 Lok Sabhaelections; on the contrary, it has beenseeking to dilute anti-corruptionlegislations.

That the demonetisation policy hasproved to be a total failure and hasdemobilised only a very small amountof black money, is obvious from thefact that three months after theDecember 31 deadline for depositingthe demonetised notes in banksended, the government has not yet


declared how much money hascome back into the system! On theother hand, demonetisation has hada devastating effect on the informalsector, including agriculture, smallretail and small businesses, and hasdestroyed the livelihoods of lakhs ofpeople. But the government is notwilling to admit even this, and hasgone to the extent of manufacturingstatistics to show that demonetisationhas not had any adverse effect oneconomic growth. The governmentkept changing the rules ondemonetization almost every daycausing confusion and hardships tothe public. Over 100 people died dueto this arbitrary and abrupt decision.But there was not a single word ofsympathy from the PM/government.

On passing important bills asMoney Bills

The Modi Government has beenusing the stratagem of classifyingimportant bills as Money Bills to getthem enacted as Acts of Parliamentonly by the approval of the LokSabha, since such bills do not requireto be passed in the Rajya Sabha.

This undemocratic strategy hasalready been employed in the caseof the Aadhaar Bill, even though itdoes not meet the necessary criteriafor being such a classification. Infact, it contains many provisionswhich will have far reachingimplications for the fundamentaland constitutional rights of Indiancitizens. Now, the government isusing the same tactics to get theFinance Bill passed, even though ithas several important features thathave no place in a Money Bill. Thus,it contains several provisions thatwill drastically increase blackmoney and corruptions, such as theprovision enabling political parties

to receive unlimited and anonymousfunding from corporate entities andfrom abroad. It is important thatsuch bills, which have seriousimplications for democraticfunctioning and financial security ofall citizens, be publicly debated, andmost importantly, must be subjectto proper democratic scrutiny inboth houses of Parliament.

The BJP government is tearing allestablished conventions of the peopledemocracy. Thus Companies(Amendments) Act 2016 is mostmischievous. As per the amendmentspolitical parties can officially getdonations from foreign firms withoutattracting provisions of FCRA. Atpresent under the Companies Actthere is a ceiling for donation, theespecially making it anonymous.Central Government’s amendmentwill result in, as an AmericanCommentator has said after CitizensCase in USA, that nation will havecorporate democracy and not peopledemocracy. This can be challengedin the court on the ground ofviolation of Article 14 of theConstitution and irrelevancy of theselegislations behind the passing ofFinance Bill.

This willful violation ofConstitutional propriety by the ModiGovernment once again goes toprove that it has no respect for theIndian Constitution. Furthermore, thegovernment, by promoting privatesector at the cost of public sectorand by diluting labour laws in favourof industrialists, is violating the veryspirit of the Constitution. The BJPGovernment is determined todismantle public Sector, the sheetanchor for a Socialist Society. Thecentralisation of power in the PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO) is anotherexample of ignoring constitutional

spirit of decentralisation.

The Socialist Party demands:

To disclose in public the namesof big defaulters of Public SectorBanks, the total amount beingRs 8 lakh crores. Why shouldthey be shielded, when they areendangering the public interest andeconomy?

To disclose the names of allSwiss Banks and other tax heavensaccount holders without delay andto bring back the black money, aspromised by Narendra Modi in the2014 election campaign.

To stop any election funding bythe corporate sector even in the guiseof separate electoral trusts formedby corporate houses.

To introduce minimum of 30per cent Income Tax on higherincomes including that onCorporate Sector.

To introduce Inheritance Tax, toreduce gross inequality in theSociety.

To revive the Women ReservationBill in State Legislature andParliament.

With these immediate demands,the Socialist Party appeals to thecitizens of India, particularly theyouth, and all the political partiesto come together to protect theConstitution of India in order tobuilt a self-reliant, prosperous andcivilised nation.

Thus Stands the Socialist PartyUpholding Brotherhood andEquality


Democratisation of Higher Education in India: Ambedkar’s Vision*

K. S. Chalam

I am grateful to the Dr B RAmbedkar Open University Vice-chancellor, the Executive, and ProfSudharani for the opportunity givento me to present some of my viewsrelating to Babasaheb Ambedkar’srole in democratising higher educationin India.

Education as a process of learningand disseminating of knowledge isalien to India as learning was fromthe very beginning related toenlightenment and self-realization ofthe individual. A savant like SwamyDayanand Saraswati whose clarioncall ‘Back to Vedas’ has now founda resonance had emphasized oncharacter formation as the chieffunction of education. He had alsoadvocated compulsory education ofthe masses and believed the stateneeded to ensure it for every Indianincluding untouchables. His schemeof education was traditional butadopted by the British to a largeextent if we look at the curriculum ofsome of the courses taught inGovernment colleges likeRajahmundry during the 19th century.This is different from the Westernconcept of education where it isdefined as ‘acquisition of the art ofthe utilization of knowledge’(Whitehead).

One of the most influential thinkersat the time, and a great educator whohad a profound influence on Dr B RAmbedkar (as his student), JohnDewey said that, ‘education is theprocess of re-construction or re-constitution of experience giving itmore detailed value through themedium of increased social

efficiency’. He further noted that,“What nutrition and reproduction areto physiological life, education is tosocial life”. As author of ‘Democracyand Education’, he said that, “ifeducation is equivalent to genuineliving, then democracy is the moralfoundation of education. The essenceof education is the extension ofshared areas of meaningful action andthis is also the essence ofdemocracy”. These ideas are foundrepeatedly in the writings ofAmbedkar where he invariablyquotes his teacher from ColumbiaUniversity.

Higher Education

We are concerned here abouthigher education. It is just not anextension of school education, it hasits own identity, content, process andobjectives and functions. Thoughhigher education in a country isrelated to the structure of educationalsystem of the country, it need notnecessarily follow it. Interestingly, asection of economists have madehigher education a commodity rathera private good to be offered on salein any part of the world at any time.Therefore discussing democratizationof higher education in India today isa daunting task.

B R Ambedkar having experiencedwhat freedom stands for in a westerndemocracy, both in USA and Englandwished that it should happen in Indiatoo. Critiquing undemocratic socialinstitutions like caste, he emphasizedthe democratic principles involved inBuddhist Sangha. He desired thatdemocracy should prevail in all our

relations: economic, social andpolitical. We could notice in hisspeeches and writings thatdemocracy should remain thebedrock of all educationalendeavours as it remains the motherthat provides the cultural backgroundto sustain an equitable socio-economic order.

Democratisating Learning

What do we mean bydemocratisation of education? Is itequality of opportunity to get a placein the system of education? Is it asystem of providing additional inputsto those whose family background isdifferent from others where traits ofa particular group are taken asstandards to get admission? Is it tonormalize the inputs of education andthe outcome? Is it JP Naik’sCoefficient of Equality at differentstages? Is it Jencks’s measure ofinequality in income related toeducation? Is it reduction in theintergenerational inequality inincome? And so on. But in most ofthe studies of scholars the enrolmentof SC or ST or OBC in differenteducational institutions in relation totheir respective populations as ameasure of equality or democratizingeducation or the so-called JP Naikmeasure is considered. Even IndianJudiciary, popular discourse of Dalitand Bahujan intellectuals look at thesefigures to find out how they arediscriminated. This measure, no doubtgives broad view of democratization,but it doesn’t take in to account thedisadvantages and the deficienciessuffered by the students of weakersections for generations while getting


admissions based on a particularscore. It also doesn’t carry the needfor parity in the enrolment of studentsfrom different courses of study inhigher education including theenrolment in private sectorinstitutions. There are several otherissues that need to be considered byscholars to find out solutions to theproblem.

The demand for places in publiceducational institutions started withthe social movement of Jyoti RaoPhule who submitted a memorandumto Hunter commission along with theMuslims of Ganjam district ofMadras presidency in 1882. In theprincely states of Mysore, Kolhapur,Baroda and several other places thelocal Zamindars have providedopportunities of admission for lowercastes. In fact D D Gholap, C K BoleMembers of Bombay LegislativeCouncil demanded free andcompulsory education foruntouchables in 1921 beforeBabasaheb Ambedkar made a strongcase for it in 1927-28. Ambedkar wasnot satisfied with free and compulsoryprimary education, he was interestedin higher education. You will find inhis speeches both in Legislativedebates and in public platforms hehad made strong appeal both to thegovernment and dalits to getadmissions in to higher education andin science and technology courses.This had a cascading effect on theenrolments in higher education indifferent parts of the country. But,unfortunately, it is not uniform andvaries from state to state.

Education as a Universal Right

The development of education inIndia as a universal right is consideredto be of very recent origin. Thoughthe British are given the credit of beingthe benefactors of Universal

Education in India, the historicalevidence does not support this claim.The argument between MahatmaGandhi and Sir Hartog is a knowncontroversy in educational history asGandhiji could not substantiate hisclaim that there was universaleducation in India before the Britishcame to this country. It is equallytrue that the British has failed toprovide educational opportunities toevery citizen in this country. It wasonly after the Woods Dispatch of1854, the British Government tooksome interest in the educationaldevelopment of the natives. Asmentioned above, Jyoti Rao Phulewho in his memorandum to HunterCommission in 1882 accused theBritish for their penchant in providingeducational opportunities only to theupper castes, while collecting hugerevenue from the illiterate Shudrasand Atishudras. One can say thatthis is the beginning of a movementfor mass education in the country.However, no systematic attempt wasmade by any known leader thereafterfor the educational upliftment ofeveryone in the country. It is in thiscontext, the role of B R Ambedkar asa pragmatist of universal compulsoryeducation for all and higher educationas compulsory qualification forscheduled castes to enter publicservice need to be noticed. Perhapshe is the only leader of the pre-independence period who had a visionfor a people’s education movementin India.

While contextualizing AmbedkarMovement as a protest movement,M S Gore, Gail Omvedt and severalsocial scientists placed Dr Ambedkaras a leader of the untouchables. Hewas never projected by themainstream scholarship as a positivecontributor to the overall social andeducational development of thecountry. He has been a victim of

reductionism and in this context someof his followers are also responsiblein joining the bandwagon ofreductionism. Therefore, one of theimportant contributions ofAmbedkar’s to Indian Society, the“educational development” hasremained obscured. It is brought outby scholars now that there were greatleaders in South-India such asAyothidas (1845-1914), Ayyankali(1863-1914) and others who havepreceded Dr Ambedkar in theirmission of amelioration of the socialand educational conditions of theDalits. But, the contributions of thesesavants are limited to the South whileAmbedkar’s contribution had an allIndia character due to severalreasons. Therefore, it is necessaryto evaluate the contribution ofAmbedkar to the mass educationalmovement in India. It appears thatthere is no parallel to Ambedkar duringthe pre-independence movement inmatters of an intellectual input intothe arguments that the country neededuniversalization of education. In thiscontext, Ambedkar seems to havebeen influenced by his Teacher andPhilosopher, John Dewey ofColumbia University. Very fewIndians in the 20th Century haddeliberately chosen to get educatedin an open society like the USA. Oneamong these was B R Ambedkar andthe other prominent figure wasJayaprakash Narayan. Though boththe leaders differ in their strugglesand outlook, there was a commonbondage that could put them together.It was their strong belief indemocracy. United States ofAmerica at that time was trumpetedas the symbol of liberty and therefore,democracy. There was also a reasonfor this. One of the prominentadvocates of democracy and a greatpragmatist was teaching in ColumbiaUniversity and spreading the messageof democracy through his disciples.


This was John Dewey, a greateducationist and a democrat. Thisperhaps, attracted the attention ofAmbedkar and he chose to study inColumbia University. In fact, theformative years of Ambedkar wereshaped by the academic atmospherein Columbia.

Experts and scholars have writtenelaborately about the contributionsof Ambedkar to Philosophy,Sociology, Religion among otherfields. But there are very fewattempts by scholars to project himas a great educationist. In fact, morethan half of his life was spent ineducational institutions. Even whilehe was in the thick of politics he tookinterest in the educationalprogrammes of dalits. Out of 65 yearsof his precious life, he spent around50 years as student, scholar, teacherand promoter of education (till 1938)His last assignment was Principal,Government Law College, Bombayin 1938. Therefore, it is necessary tounderstand and analyze hiscontributions to the development ofeducation in India in general and tothe educational upliftment of weakersections in particular. In theformulation of special provisions forscheduled castes and other backwardclasses in the Constitution, Ambedkarseems to have consciously chosenthe concept of “educationally andsocially backward classes”. Heknew that those who were consideredas backward or uncivilized at that timewere the ones who were deniededucation. Therefore, Ambedkar hadbeen assiduously fighting for theeducational rights not only of dalits,but for the illiterate and ignorantmasses of the country.

John Dewey Impact

It is essential that we shouldreconstruct here the educational

philosophy of John Dewey. Theinfluence of John Dewey on DrAmbedkar is so profound that hehimself has declared in June 1952,after he was conferred an honorarydegree in Columbia University; thatI owe my whole intellectual life toProf John Dewey. This intellectualallegiance of Dr Ambedkar to JohnDewey can be seen in every aspectof his active public life including hissocial and educational movements.The essence of John Dewey’spragmatism or practical idealism isprojection of the ideal of democracy.His concern is that democracy shouldpermeate every aspect of people’slives, including the way people thinkand philosophize. As Gordon LZiniewicz observed that the termdemocracy as John Dewey construedit, is not confined to actual or potentialpolitical regimes, but extends to everyfacet of human culture.

Democracy for John Dewey is away of life, a method of thinking, amanner of approach, a habit ofexpecting the unexpected, an attitudeof openness to novelties and varietyof flexibility in actively attending toan adjusting facts and conditions asthey present themselves. Thegreatest influence of John Dewey onAmbedkar can be seen in theemphasis on the precept that “thepeople and relations have to bedemocratic before democraticinstitutions can have any meaning.”

Out of six important works of JohnDewey, the important book on“Democracy and Education: AnIntroduction to the Philosophy ofEducation,” published in 1916 hadinfluenced the progressive worldincluding Russia and China at thattime. It is here John Dewey says that,“democracy cannot go forwardunless the intelligence of the mass ofpeople is educated to understand the

social realities of their own time.”The contributions of John Deweyincluding brief stints in China, Russiaand as Signatory of HumanistManifesto are very significant as hebrought out the fact that educationand society are not separate, eachinfluencing the other. These idealshave swayed Ambedkar in taking upthe agenda of development throughdemocratic national building.Therefore, many of his programmesincluding education remained to bethe foremost in his agenda ofupliftment of depressed classes. Evenfrom the beginning of his politicalcareer, he was interested ineducation. In the Bombay Presidencydebates of 1927 and 1928 he hasraised several issues relating toeducation which became importantfor policy formulations on education.In his memorandum to the SimonCommission on “concerning the Stateof Education of the DepressedClasses in Bombay Presidency”submitted on behalf of the BahishKrita Hita Karini Sabha, he gavenumerical data to bring out themiserable condition of theuntouchables in the education sector.He has pointed out that enrolment ofthe dalits constitute 0.87 per cent ofthe total primary education and 0.14per cent in Secondary and zero inhigher education. Therefore, hewanted protection for the dalitsthrough education guarantee bymaking the education of thedepressed classes as the first chargeon the State Revenue. He has alsoprotested the practice ofuntouchability in municipal schoolsof Bombay where separate lotaswere given to dalit boys in his budgetdebates. This he said, made them todrop out from schools. This is a greateconomic wastage. He is the firsteconomist who has realized theeconomic importance of educationin India. (To be concluded)





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Vol. 72 No. 14April 23, 2017




Mumbai - 400 007.


Independence Of JudiciaryJ. L. Jawahar

Progressives vs Populistsin EuropeD. K. Giri

Migrant SchoolsTanya Majmudar

Ensuring Progressof Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan

and Tribal Sub-PlanBharat Dogra

Democratisation of HigherEducation in India:

Ambedkar’s Vision - IIK. S. Chalam

Re-connecting with Gandhi: ChamparanSatyagaraha Centanary National Conclave

Anand Kumar

It was hundred years ago thatGandhi arrived at Patna on April 10,on his way to the historical Satyagrahaat Champaranon April 18, 2017 inresponse to a call from the oppressedIndigo farmers. It was a journeywhich proved to be an epoch makingendeavour as within a week of hisPatna arrival a new chapter of thenational movement got inauguratedat Champaran which changed thecourse of our struggle. According toDrRajendra Prasad (a colleague ofGandhi in Champaran Satyagraha andthe first president of independentIndia) ‘ — the whole of India was toget her first lesson and her firstmodern example of Satyagraha whichwas to open new flood gates of lightand of vision before her.It is an oldsaying that no harm can come to thetrue, but a practical demonstration ofthis was to be given to the world onthis day (April 18, 1917) by MahatmaGandhi.’ Now this historic eventisbeing used to reconnect with Gandhiand the Gandhian way throughseveral initiatives all over India.

A national conclave onChamparan Satyagraha Centenarywas organized at the recently build

GyanBhawanby the Ministry ofEducation of Government of Biharon April 10-11, at Patna to start ayear longprogramme of awarenessbuilding and constructive activities topromote the values and the vision offreedom movement with focus upontheGandhian ideas and practices. Itwas a gathering of three generationsof GandhianSatyagrahis from all overthe country for critical overview ofthe contemporary issues and futuresteps needed in the context of thepurpose, processes and lessons ofChamparan Satyagraha. It concludedwith a 10 point Patna Declarationemphasizing the need to follow thepath of truth, non-violence, love andSatyagraha in personal, communityand national life.

The inaugural session of thenational conclave was addressed byan impressive panel of nationalicons including Justice RajendraSachar, Justice ChandrashakharDharmadhikari, S Subbarao, MedhaPatkar, Razi Ahmed, KumarPrashant, Ashok Chowdhary andMs Aditi Desai. It began with awelcome note by Chief MinisterNitish Kumar urging for a roadmap


Independence Of Judiciary

J. L. Jawahar

Whenever we think ofindependence of judiciary, we findmany authors who insist that it isindispensable. There cannot be anydoubt about it. It is a matter soobvious that it need not berepeated. But the next question is‘independent of what?’PrabhakarSinha (JanataApril 2,2017) has rightly pointed out thatthe judiciary must be independentof the executive government. Healso asserted that “The judges arepublic servants and would serveunder any condition prescribed bylaw”. What is the law thatprescribes the conditions underwhich the judiciary has to serve?In a democracy like ours theconstitution is supreme. Thejudiciary, like the other two branches– executive government andlegislature – is a creature of theconstitution. Obviously, the judiciaryhas to work as prescribed underthe constitution. In fact the judgestake an oath that they wouldalways try to protect and defendthe constitution. It means that theindependence of judiciary as wecontemplate it is not absolute. It hasits limitations. It has its jurisdictionbeyond which it is not supposed tostep out. For example, it is notsupposed to meddle withadministrative matters or othermatters that are allotted to the otherbranches of government under theconstitution, like making a policy ofgovernment. It is completelyindependent in discharging its dutiesand brooks no interference from anyquarter. One likely source ofinterference is the executivegovernment and provision is made

in the constitution to prevent suchinterference to the extent possible.

But it is alleged that the “Modigovernment has managed to get thepower to reject a name recommendedby the collegium in the name ofnational security”. It is suggested thatthis would make the judge ‘obliged tothe politicians helping in securing theappointment.’ Unfortunately, judgeshave to be appointed by somebody orsome authority, which has to behuman. Constitution conferred thatresponsibility on the executivegovernment subject to certainconditions. But what are theprovisions of the constitution that gavethe right to the collegium to selectpersons for appointment as judges?Before the collegium was broughtinto existence by self-servingtheories, all appointments of judgeswere made by the government asprescribed under Art.124 of theconstitution. But all those judges werenot feeling obliged to thosegovernments. There were manyjudgments that severely criticized thegovernments on many issues. Thereis no reason to be more apprehensiveas the present government is led bya person named “Modi”. It shows aclear prejudice. I too do not agreewith all the activities of thegovernment. But we have to give himcredit where it is due.

It is suggested that the personappointed by the government wouldbe obliged to those in the governmentand would not be freefrom theinfluence of the government. Extend

(Continued on Page 5) (Continued on Page 5)

to take the society and nationforward beyond fear, dominance,exploitation and poverty through‘development with justice’(‘VikasaurNyaya’) as visualized byGandhi. He underlined the value ofGandhian constructive programmesfor nation-building by narrating thefeedback about the socio-economicimpact of Bihar Government’sdecision to implement Sharab-Bandi(prohibition on sale and consumptionof liquor). He declared that theBihar Government intends toenlarge the scope of Sharaab-Bandidrive to aim at Nasha-Bandi(banning the intoxicating ‘drugs’)and Dahej-Bandieradication of evilof dowry).

The conclave focused on 9challenges of India today formeaningful discussions as the mainactivity of the gathering – 1. Role ofChamparan Satyagraha in IndianNational Movement, 2.Gandhianphilosophy of education, 3.Gandhianview and methodology of non-violence, 4.Gandhian approach toeconomic independence and self-reliance, 5.Gandhi and women’sempowerment, 6.Gandhianphilosophy and way of social justice,7.Gandhian approach towardspeaceful co-existence, 8.Gandhianphilosophy on environment, and9.Gandhi’s message to youth.

These sessions were held in hallsnamed after three towering figuresof the Champaran Satyagraha – RajKumar Shukla, Kasturba Gandhi, andPeer Mohammad Moonis. Thesediscussions involving more than 40well articulated presentations werechaired by Tara GandhiBhattacharjee, Razi Ahmad, VandanaShiva, Manimala, Tushar Gandhi,Kumar Ketkar and Anand Kumar.


Populism dominates politicaldiscourse all over the world. Of late,there has been a phenomenal rise ofpopulism in American and Europe,and as the other democracies tendto follow the west, they are alsoinfected with this anomaly. Therehave been popular sloganeering,ideological posturing and rhetoriccampaigns in the past, but thesudden gush of populismcharacterised by uncivil language,slanders, and untruths in a ‘post-truthenvironment upend conventionalpolitics. Commentators, scholars andpoliticians are at a loss to explain therise of populism, and devisemechanisms to counter it. In a recentinternational gathering in Europe, asenior politician, a former Minister,from India asked me, ‘What ispopulism? What is wrong with it’? Iguess he was confusing populismwith popular. I do not blame him, asthe range of words and synonyms inEnglish can be mind-boggling fornon-native speakers. Populism ishowever a political style as well aspolitical doctrine that suggest thatcommon people are exploited by theelite and it should be corrected.

The victory of Donald Trump inAmerica, and the Brexit victory ofthose Britons wanting to leaveEuropean Union mark the high pointof populist politics. Bothdemocracies are matured anddeveloped ones, the British being theoldest, and the American the greatestin popular terms. In fact, the win ofpopulism in America on the bases ofaggression, lies, and one-upmanshiphas slipped America down to thegroup of fragile democracies in the

Progressives vs Populists in Europe

D. K. Giri

ranking done by the EconomistIntelligence unit. Populism isspreading in other parts of the world- Marine Le Pen in France, GeertWilders in the Netherlands, Orbanin Hungary, Erdogan in Turkey andsome would say Modi in India, but Iwill certainly include Kerjriwal inNew Delhi, India. What do all ofthem have in common? In a world,where citizens are disillusioned withcurrent state of affairs; corruptpolitics, unequal society, disruptiveeconomy, the populist politicians havefound words and strategies tochannel their anger, and win themover with tall promises, rhetoricaldiscourses. They have reshaped thepolitical landscape by reframing thedebate. Such politics is not healthyin the longer term although it maysecure temporary dividends for thechampions of populism, and cynicalsatisfaction for its supporters.

Sources of populist politics

What are sources of populistpolitics? Worldwide, the growth ofpopulism could be traced to variousfactors. The first is the neo-liberaleconomic idea which has led to grossinequality and insecurity amongpeople. The noble laureateeconomist Joseph Stieglitz suggeststhat the neo-liberal economyadvocating free trade and marketliberalisation has led to financialcapitalism and now hyper-globalisation. Secondly, the austerityin Europe increased unemploymentand poverty whereas the regressivetaxation created wealthy individualsand cooperates, and cutting downwelfare state caused more poverty,

Ill-health, and consequentdislocation. Third, free movementunder globalisation causeddemographic changes challengingthe conventional approach to cultureand identity. This created a backlashfor cultural cohesion and identity re-assertion. Fourth, in the developing,non-western world, corruption ingovernment, and collusion of elitesalienated and agitated the people.The last UPA Government in Indiareeked of scandals and elitism innumerous political families, ex-royalsand ex-feudals it propped up. Fifth,the anti-immigration rants bypopulists are not uncommon. Theystoke the misplaced fear of localpopulation that immigrants ate uptheir state resources, took awaytheir jobs, and defiled their culture.The fear ‘of the other’ andpresentation of immigrants as‘coloured, inferior and backwardboth in the Brexit campaign andDonald Trump’s propaganda wereused to the maximum. The anti-immigration language, the nationalistcall, and the development rhetoricblurred the difference between factsand fiction, truth and falsehood whileblatantly violating the politicalcorrectness.

Populism goes well withpersonalisation of politics. Thisprocess has helped the individuals toemerge as rhetorical leaders outsidemainstream political platforms andbecome popular figures throughnational media. Kejriwal in India fitsinto this framework, as he madeAAP his own, relying heavily onrhetoric, appealing to ordinary peopleon their basic needs, and attacking


everyone else from a high moralpedestal. That balloon getspunctured sooner than later and ithas happened to AAP sooner. As thisis being written, the AAP candidatein a Delhi State bye-election lost thesecurity deposit. Look at the fallfrom the landslide victory of 67 seatsout of 70 in 2015. Kejriwal, as achampion of populist politics is bitingdust, which is good news forprogressives who believe in ideology,values and political correctness. Butthe tentacles of populism arespreading fast. How do theprogressives fight back?

How to counter populism?

Progressives have to come upwith better ideas that resonate withpeople and more viable strategiesthat win them electoral support. Inthe pages of Janata some of us havebeen arguing the urgent case aprogressive platform in India, andthere would be soon a bigger casein a monograph being brought outsoon. The monograph discussesseveral optimistic scenarios forprogressive politics - a socialdemocratic party at national level, aprogressive coalition with groundrules codified, coordinating theprogressive social politicalmovements to back up politics,defining and adhering to progressivevalues, issues and strategies and soon. For now, I will refer to theEuropean Progressives’ challenge inthe following section. Progressiveswould largely mean socialdemocrats.

Progressives would have torethink winning ideas and strategies.On ideas, they have to take firmpositions on liberalising the financialmarkets, deregulating the labourmarket, and rationalising the welfarestate. Absence of clear positioning

by the social democrats pushes thepeople in the middle to the extremeright. In Europe, the neo-liberaleconomy has touched 1 to 20 percent people at the top and those atthe bottom have been touched by thewelfare state. The in-betweensbenefitted neither from the boom atthe top, nor the welfare at thebottom. So, they are frustrated,alienated and resentful. They seemto listen to the Right when it talks tothem. But what is Right offeringthem; more protectionism, moreborder controls, dismantling ofEuropean Union, getting rid of theeuro etc. These are potentiallydangerous for Europeans, and therest of the world. In aninterdependent, globalised world,isolationism in the name ofnationalism is counter-productive. Atthe same time, one cannot outrightdismiss the populist concerns aboutthe dilution of national decisionmaking, profligacy of the welfarestate, democratic deficit in thesupranational organisations, twoprominently cited are Europeancommercial Bank, and the EuropeanCommission. Progressives have to,at once, address these concerns toretrieve their support base from thepopulists. Progressives have also totake initiative in framing the debateand not just being reactive. Theyhave to bring about reforms in twoareas: euro zone governance, andDemocratisation of EU institutions

For Euro zone governance, theprogressives have to insist on thereforming the rules. The Rules arereinterpreted by countries in closeddoors and are not brought into publicdiscourse. That must change. TheEuro zone has a good coordinationpolicy reaching out to all theMinisters of Finance in eachmember country. Why not use sucha coordination to allow the countries

to choose their own growth models,also development of their ownyearly budgetary cycles. Suchnational budgetary cycles then canbe discussed with other countries,European Commission, EuropeanParliament, even the EuropeanCommercial Bank. This would putthe responsibility of nationaleconomy back on the nationalgovernments, gives the democraticlegitimacy at the national level, andmake it legitimate at the Europeanlevel through coordination. This willalso take the wind out of the shellof populists, as the nationaleconomic planning will show thedifferentiation among the countriesthrough different debates andproposals made in membercountries. None of this will work,however, if member-states continueto have to contend with excessivedebt loads that weigh on theireconomies (eg Greece and Italy), ifthey are left without significantinvestment funds provided by banksor the state (eg Portugal, Spain,Italy, and even France), as well asif some countries continue to havemassive surpluses while failing toinvest sufficiently (that is, Germanyand other smaller NorthernEuropean countries). Some extraform of solidarity is necessary,beyond the European StabilityMechanism. Innovative ideas forrenewal, such as Eurobonds,Europe-wide unemploymentinsurance, EU investment resources,an EU self-generated budget, andother mechanisms for other areasof concern—including solidarityfunds on refugee or EU migration—would be necessary. Failing this, atthe very least, member-states shouldbe allowed to invest their ownresources in things likeinfrastructure, education andtraining, research and development,incurring long-term debt at low


interest rates—without adding thisto deficit and debt calculations, asunder current deficit and debt rules.

Democratization of EU isbecoming urgent. At the moment,EU is playing into populists byhollowing out its institutions. Thereare talks of multi-speed Europeetc. But what is important is to

allow all the member states equalsay and opportunity to participatein the decision-making, andencourage debates in their nationalgovernments. Second, the socialdemocrats who lead the pack ofprogressives have to come outopenly and boldly what does socialdemocracy mean in real andpractical terms in the 21st century.

How do they propose to addressseveral issues? How do they bringabout a healthy equation betweenthe institutions of market, state andthe civil society without privilegingone over the other? The answersto such a lot of questions willconstitute the progressive platformin Europe and provide the antidoteto populism.

the same logic. A person appointedby the collegium would be obliged tothe judges who selected him forappointment. Is it acceptable? Or isit suggested that being subservient toother judges is better than beingsubservient to the ministers in thecabinet? I have not much regard forpoliticians. I respect judges more thanpoliticians. But I want judges to befree frominfluence of politicians asmuch as from the influence of otherjudges. I wish every judge to beindependent by himself and give hishonest opinion as a judge withoutlooking to the opinions of other judges.What we need is independence ofevery individual judge and expect himto be honest and enlightened.

Judiciary is a collective body. It iswhat the constituent judges make ofit. Unless each of them is individuallyindependent, judiciary cannot beindependent.

That is why it becomes moredifficult to select persons suitablefor appointment as judges to thehigher judiciary. The quality doesnot depend on any one academicqualification. Even the SupremeCourt of United Kingdom is findingdearth of suitable persons forappointment to the Bench. In orderto avoid the blame of misusing theright to select persons forappointment as judges, the Modigovernment brought in the National

Judicial Appointments Commissionin a constitutional way. What arethe grounds on which it was struckdown by the learned justices? Eventhen, in complete disregard ofpractical exigencies, the governmentis alleged to have stolen the right,in the name of national security, toreject some of the names suggestedby the unconstitutional collegium.National security is not the right. Itis a responsibility that is cast on itby the constitution. It cannot escapefrom that responsibility. We cannotreform a system when we areourselves suffering under aprejudice and bias. Unless we areourselves independent, we cannotbring in an independent judiciary.



The speakers represented ameaningful mix of Gandhianpractitioners, social thinkers, socialactivists and academicians. It wasinteresting to note that there wasrepresentation of a wide range ofideological orientations includingGandhians, Marxists, socialists, eco-feminists, and radical humanists.Asummary report of these ninesessions was presented by ProfPurushotamAgarwal in theconcluding session. The essence ofthe discussions was read out byTushar Gandhi as 10 point PatnaDeclaration marking the conclusionof the national conclave.

The conclusion of the conclave tore-connect with the Gandhian legacybegan with singing of Gandhi’sfavouriteBhajan “Vaishnav JanToTeneKahiye je Peer ParayiJaaneRe….” and a welcome notes byDeputy Chief MinisterTejaswiYadav, Education MinisterAshok Chowdhary and Chancellorof IMG University (Gwalior)Ramashankar Singh. Public releaseof two well researched books -‘Champaran Satyagraha KiKahani’and‘Champaran SatyagrahaKeSahayogi’authored by seniorjournalist Arvind Mohan andpublished by Sasta Sahitya Mandal

Prakashan was a significant event ofthis session. The valedictory sessionof the national conclave had ProfRajmohan Gandhi as the mainspeaker who emphasized that themessage of Gandhi and hisSatyagaraha at Champaran becamean inspiration for our nation andcontinues to be relevant for us aftera hundred years because itdemonstrated the power of saying‘no’ to injustice through non-violentways and the significance of beingprepared to pay the price of resistingan unjust authority and defying anyunfair government in quest forfreedom and dignity.


Migrant Schools*

Tanya Majmudar

Kachchh, in the north-western partof Gujarat, is known for several things– the intricately embroideredhandicrafts, the white desert,theresident wild asses and for thosewho love them, the migratory birds.But ourtrip to the region last monthwas to visit very different kinds ofmigrants - humans. It was to try andunderstand the way of life of anunusual people, the plight of theirchildren and a remarkable initiativethat enables them to go to school.

The Fisherfolks’Schools

Our first visit was to a place calledRandhbandar, near the port town ofMundra. A “bandar” is a port or asettlement along the coast. Thoughnot too far from Mundra, the drivetook us off the main road and alongmuddy tracks for quite a distance. Injust a short while, the villages andtowns fell far behind.

As the bandar came into view, wewere hit by salty air and the smell offish. The bandar, situated onmudflats,appeared to be a collectionofmakeshift tents made of jutecloth,propped up on woodenpoles.Around this, stretching for milesand miles, were deserted mudflats.

The tents belonged to the Waghers,a Muslim community offisherfolk.Fornine months of the year,the Wagher peoplemigrate from theirvillages to livein these settlements orbandars, along the coast.Entirefamilies leave their homes and movehere. They only head back home forthe monsoon months.This is an age-

Yusuf Meherally Centre provides thousands of children with their only chance to go to school

old practice in this community.

Due to the fact that the communityspends most of the year in nearisolation, the children hardly get achance to go to school. This fact cameto the attention of an NGO calledYusuf Meherally Centre (YMC),during relief work post the devastatingearthquake of 2001. While handingout food packets, they observed thatno one in the community was signingfor them, but using their thumb prints,instead, to acknowledge receipt.That’s when they realised that mostof the families were not literate.

Members of this communitybelong to villages located all overKachchh. Whenthe children head offto the coast, their names get struck offtheir schools’ rosters due toinsufficient attendance. YMCthought of a solution – to open alearning centrefor them at the bandaritself! And they did. They pitched atent right on the beach and startedgathering children there to study. Notan easy task. The parents wereinitially reluctant to send their kids forvarious reasons. They feltthat thechildren wouldn’t be able to take timefrom fishing. The occupation involveshaving to wake up at odd hours of thenight to haul the fish in. At times theyeven spend hours out at sea. Olderboys help the men in the fishing boatswhile women and younger childrensort out the catch into fish that is to besold fresh, dried or used for manure.At the time, parents questioned howthis education would be useful to theirkids in their fishing duties – this wasn’teven a recognised school! But this

reluctance was nothing compared tothe other struggles faced by YMC.From authorities questioningtheir right to use the land where theyhad pitched the tent to gettingrecognised by the educationdepartment to finding teachers togetting funds, every step was astruggle.

Not only did they find innovativeways of solving each of theseproblems, they also expanded. Thereare currently nine learning centres runby YMC in settlements along thecoast from Samkhayali to Mandvi.Children of grade levels 1 to 7 cometo these learning centres. Theirattendance gets recorded here andsent to the government schools in theirrespective villages. This way, theirnames stay on the rosters.Thelearning centres thus act assupplementary schools.They arecalled Sagarshalas. YMC have evenarranged for government schoolquestion papersto be sent here forstudents to appear for their exams.Teachers for these supplementaryschools are recruited fromsurrounding areas and some are fromthe community itself. Some have hadto learn Kachchhi in order tocommunicate with the youngerchildren.

After a few years of running theseschools for younger children, YMCfelt that these wereinsufficient toaddress the needs of studentsas theygrew older. They would require betterfacilities and more qualified teachers.They built a hostel in Bhadreshwarfor boys and girls of higher grades.The

*This article was first published online on VikalpSangam http://vikalpsangam.org/articl e/migrant-schools/#.WOxtFWclErl


children who choose to come here,now attend regular schools inBhadreshwar.

As we watched one family inRandhbandar, huddled around amound of fish, busy sorting, wewondered the value of suchmainstream education that may takethe children away from what hasbeen their family’s traditionaloccupation for many, manygenerations. But we were informedthatfishing in Kachchh is, so to say, anendangered profession. With thedestruction of mangroves for theconstruction of Mundra port, the fishpopulations havedeteriorated, as themangroves provided ideal breedinggrounds for fish. The port brings in alot of big ships that dump their wastehere andindustries dump chemicaleffluents as well, further affecting theremaining fish. People from YMCbelieve that in the next 8 to 10 years,fishing as a profession wouldnolongerbe an option, and hence it is essentialthat the next generation learn non-traditional skills and mainstreamlanguages. Even now, the economicsof fishing here is such that thefishermen are eternally in debt. Thecommunity faces other challengestoo. Theyare ostracised for fishing,what the upper castes consider ‘paapno dhandho’ (business of sin).

The programmehas seen a lot ofimpact on the children. Not only dothey now speak confidently inGujarati, Hindi and some English,apart from their mother tongue,Kachchhi, they have also begunquestioning certain superstitions orage-old practices in their community,such as child marriage. The boys arequestioning their parents on why girlsare forced to drop out of school aftera certain age. There are very fewgirlsin higher grades and in the hosteltoo, compared to boys. Children’s

outlook has also changed. Forinstance, earlier, they used to carrycatapults with them to shoot birds forfun. Now, not only have they given thatup, they also stop others from doingso. Once a teacher at theBhadreshwar hostel saw a Muslimboy wearing a teeka on his forehead.When asked why, he said simply,“Well, my Hindu friend observed afast for Ramzan, so it’s only apt that Iwear a teeka for his festival.” At thehostel, YMC holds conversationswith children about things like genderroles within the family. Boys areencouraged to take up tasks such assweeping or making tea, traditionallybelieved to betasks for girls. They alsotalk about family planning andfinancial planning.

One concern we had was thatliving in a hostel and attending regularschools may lead children to devaluetheir parents’ occupation. Thisconcern is shared by Devenrabhai,who has been part of this programmesince the very start. He says thatthough living in the hostel has broughtabout a positive change in the kids, hedid observe them becoming a littledetached from their earlier lifestyleand the occupation of fishing. Hebelieves that it is vital that the childrenremain a part of their families andcommunity and for this, he triestoensures that they go visit thebandars every fortnight.

Some people who have beenthrough the YMC programme andfinished schooling have gone throughITI and on to mainstream professionssuch as plumbing, carpentry andothers.Some have come back toteach at the schools by the sea.

The Salt Workers’ Schools

Just like the Waghers, people fromthe Agariya community, too, migrate

to the coast for nine months of theyear.They work to extract salt fromthe sea water. Our visit to Jogninar, asalt flat near Mundra, gave a similarfeelof being miles away from anytown. Barren mudflats stretched in alldirections, interspersed with whitesaltpans and heaps of salt.

Agariyas come from all overGujarat – Ahmedabad, Patan,Surendranagar, Rajkot, Morbi. Saltextraction work at times starts ataround 3 AM, lasts till sunrise and thenrecommences in the evening. This isto avoid the glare of the sun from saltcrystals. This light is so harsh thatmany workers lose their eyesightwhen they grow old. Other diseasesinclude chronic dermatitis (skinulcers) on their hands and feet causedby constant exposure to sharp saltcrystals.

Just like the kids of the fisherfolk,the Agariya children did not have anyway of going to school and they, too,had their names struck off theirschools’ rosters for lack ofattendance.

A year after YMC started theirfirst school for the fishingcommunity,they opened a school forchildren of salt pan workers. Here, theadditional complication was that saltpan work was contract based. Thismeant that if one family came to onebandar this year, there was a chancethat next year theymay besomewhere completely different.Despite this, YMCpersevered andnow, twelve years on, they have tensupplementary schools for children ofsalt pan workers.

Mahadevbhai, who oversees thisprogramme, was himself a saltworker till a few years ago. Just likethe fishing community, these children,too, are first generation school-goers.


The Labourers’ Schools

The port and industries nearMundra have brought an influx oflabourers from different parts of thecountry – Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,Uttar Pradesh. These people live inslum conditions near the city. Bothparents work as contract labourers,while some children earn extra cashselling pani puri and such in theevenings. The slums have manyissues – health, hygiene, watersanitation and alcoholism among men.Some of the children we met showeddefinite signs of malnourishment.These are some of the mostmarginalised people in this region.Without ration cards or migrationcards, their problems are hardly evenrecognised by the government.

These children do not understandGujarati. Up until recently, if theywished to go to school, they couldeither go to the Gujarati school inMundra or attend school in a differentstate, away from their parents. Therewere no Hindi schools here. A fewchildren did try going to the Gujaratischools, but didn’t fit in and couldn’tcope.

A few years ago, Childline IndiaFoundation, an organisation involvedwith child rights, was working in thearea. During awareness raisingactivities, the staff of Childline usedto keep reiterating that children mustbe sent to school. One day, irked bythis, parents retorted by asking wherea Hindi medium school was. Hearingthis, Dharmendrabhai andSangeetaben of YMC took up thechallenge of meeting the need. Thevery next day, they held class in theslum. Thus began YMC’s work inproviding Hindi medium schools.

Soon, more children arrived andthey had to shift to a rented building.

In a short while, even this buildingproved too small – such was theoverwhelming response from theparents! They soon had to paint ablackboard on the outer walls of thebuilding and start taking classesoutdoors. Finally, Arti Industries, aMumbai based company that wasalready funding some fishing and saltschools,funded the project, and abuilding for the school wasconstructed, which they namedVallabh Vidyalaya. This school nowprovides lunch to the children andmedical services to the children andtheir family members.

There are now threeHindi schoolscatering to a total of 800 children from11 different states of the country.Oneof these schools, Shishu VidyaMandir, is run in the godown of a Jindalsteel plant, and the third is in Seerachavillage.Many parents who had earlierleft their kids back home whilemigrating to Kachchh have nowbrought them here.

Impacts and Challenges

YMC has through these threekinds of schools reached out tochildren of migrant families alongcoastal Kachchh. Many of thesechildren did not even exist in the eyesof the Government in the early yearsof this programme. The RTE Act in2009 provided some impetus forGovernment officials to agree to thesupplementary school model, as thisensured that more children remainedenrolled in school.

The education provided by YMCis completely free for the students.Through this, they have made adifference in the lives of some of themost marginalised children in thedistrict. It has been a struggle, giventhe challenges with space, funding andhuman resources.

Some of the teachers of theseschools have themselves studiedup till 6th or 8 thgrades inconventional schools and thus tendto focus on classroom discipline,rote memory and so on.We feltthat the methods of teachingneeded improvement. This shouldhopefully be addressed soon giventhat YMC is already thinking ofways of enhancing competenciesthrough training and exposurevisits to other schools. YMC alsoencourages teachers to studyfurther and train in education.

We also felt that the curriculumbeing followed in school should linkin some ways to the localenvironment of the children of thefishing community and the saltworkers. There were efforts earlierin the fishing villages, but these werenot sustained. It is important that theeducation received in school doesnot devalue the traditionalknowledge or skills that the familieshave.

On hearing the older childrenspeak, it was clear to us that YMC hasmanaged to get children to think onissues of gender inequality, of respectfor nature and of acceptance of allreligions. These are importantinterventions and would hopefully helpthe children grow up to be fair-mindedand non-discriminatory adults.

YMC has undertaken a hugeresponsibility by running theseschools and hostel for migrantchildren.Their impact is clearlyechoed by the words of Suggiben, amigrant to Mundra from Gorakhpur,whose children now study in VallabhVidyalaya, “I am so happy that wewere able to bring our kids here. Afamily should remain together. Nowmy kids’ future is in the hands ofYMC.”


To ensure that the interests ofscheduled castes and tribes areprotected and there is inclusivedevelopment, special sub-planswere prepared for scheduledcastes and scheduled tribes andthese have played an importantrole in trying to ensure that invarious sectors allocations forbenefit of scheduled castes andtribes are made in conformity withthe share of SC&ST in the totalpopulation of the country.

Of course the success in ensuringthis was never completed and variousorganizations and activists havebeen complaining over the yearsabout the lack of realization of fullbenefits under these sub-plans. Atthe same time there has also beensome satisfaction that real gainshave nevertheless been made byscheduled castes and tribes underthese sub-plans and at least tillrecently these gains have beenincreasing to some extent.

This year also at the time of therelease of the Union budget thegovernment viewpoint has been thatfunds available under these sub-plans are being increased

Ensuring Progress of Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan andTribal Sub-Plan

Bharat Dogra

significantly. But this viewpoint wascontested strongly by some Dalitadvocacy groups. The lack of clarityhas been compounded by severalchanges made in the budget for thecurrent financial year.

As from this year the practice ofmerging plan and non-planexpenditure has been adopted,certain questions have been raisedregarding how the sub-plans will beimplemented now. The provisions forscheduled-caste sub-plan nowappear as Statement 10 A in thebudget. This is not merely aprocedural change and implicationscan be wider.

As the Centre for Budget andGovernance Accountability (CBGA),a Delhi based organization which hasbeen closely following these trends,has commented recently in a reviewof these changes, “While Statement10 A remains important from theperspective of ensuring budgetaryoutlays for Dalits across sectors, inthe absence of any reference to theScheduled Castes Sub-Plan there isno clarity on parameters forassessing the allocations reported byvarious ministries/departments in this

statement. The main differencebetween the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan until the last budget and thestatement 10 A presented in thisyear’s budget lies in the fact thatwhile the Scheduled Caste Sub-Planprovided a norms-based frameworkto assess allocations reported byvarious ministries, the Statement 10A does not do so.”

Similarly in the case of Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) the earlier Statement 21A has been mentioned in the latestUnion Budget as Statement 10 B‘Allocation for welfare of scheduledtribes’. As the review by CBGA haspointed out “What is inherentlymissing in Statement 10 B is aframework for earmarking funds,which was provided in the earlierTSP statement.”

Hence it is clear that there aresome genuine apprehensionsregarding the continuity of theinclusive changes brought by theScheduled Caste Sub-plan and theTribal Sub-Plan. The governmentshould explain the new situationclearly and give a clear assurancethat the progress made under thetwo sub-plans will be continued.


byRohini Gawankar


Secretary, Samata Shikshan Sanstha, Pareira Wadi, Mohili Village, Sakinaka,Ghatkopar(W), Mumbai 400072.



In his budget debates in BombayLegislative Assembly in 1927 as anMLC, he remarked, “I wish toremind him that the backwardclasses have come to realize thatafter all education is the greatestmaterial benefit for which they canfight. We may forego materialbenefits, we may forego materialbenefits of civilization, but wecannot forego our right andopportunity to reap the benefitof the highest education to thefullest extent. That is theimportance of this question from thepoint of view of the backwardclasses who have just realised thatwithout education their existence isnot safe. It is for this reason that thefight for increase of seats is beingmade.

It is necessary to bring here thetotal intellectual contributions ofAmbedkar to the educationaldevelopment of the mass of people.He is perhaps one of the firsteconomists in the world who hadrealized the economic importance ofeducation. In his debates in theAssembly and Parliament, one canfind the tenor of his argument infavour of subsidies for education ingeneral and for the weaker sectionsin particular. He was arguing in theBombay Presidency Legislativedebates in 1927 as follows, “Weshould at least spend on educationthe same amount that we take fromthe people in the form of exciserevenue. The amount of expenditurethat we incur per individual in thisPresidency on education is only 14annas, but the amount of money that

Democratisation of Higher Education in India:Ambedkar’s Vision* - II

K. S. Chalam

we recover in the form of exciserevenue is Rs 2-2-9 (Rs 2.17). I thinkit is only fair that our educationalexpenditure should be so adjustedthat we should spend on theeducation of the People as much aswe taken from them in the form ofexcise.” He has also calculated thefees income at different levels andargued that it financed 36 per centof expenditure in collegiateeducation, 31 per cent high schooland 26 per cent middle schooleducation. Higher education shouldbe made cheaper so that lowerclasses (not necessarily low castes)can enter higher education andbenefit from the opportunities itcreates. He had lamented thateducational institutes were runningon commercial lines during theBritish Raj. His words are propheticthat today higher education becamea business that does not recognize`merit’, but only money power.

Varsity Education Views

Higher education is generallyrelated to university education thatprovides undergraduate education incolleges affiliated to a university andUG and PG and research mostly oncampus departments now. However,university system was just evolvingin the first 50 years after 1857 as itwas basically used as a body toconduct examinations and conferdegrees and later on developed onthe lines of London University.Ambedkar was the first Indianeconomist who had two doctoratesin Economics from two premieruniversities of the world - Columbia

and London School of Economics.Interestingly, he was offered aLecturer post in Sydenham Collegewhile several others were directlyoffered Professorship in theUniversity system after they with aforeign degree. If you read hisdebates on education in the BombayAssembly, evidence submitted beforeUniversity Reforms Commission etc,you would notice that he has carriedthe pain, but made constructivesuggestions for the development ofhigher education.

Let us look at what Ambedkarnoted in the Bombay Assembly in1927. He said, “Sir, the University isprimarily a concern of theintelligentsia and of the educatedclasses, and that as the University isto function properly it is necessarythat it should be controlled by whatare called the educated classes. Iwould accept that principle, if theeducated classes who are going tocontrol the University possessedwhat we called social virtues. If they,for instance, sympathized with theaspirations of the lower classes, ifthey recognized that the lowerclasses had rights, if they recognizedthat those rights must be respected,then probably we, coming from thebackward communities, might wellentrust our destinies to what arecalled the advance communities. But,Sir, for centuries we have had thebitterest experience of the rule ofwhat are called the higher and theeducated classes, Sir, I think it ishardly to the credit of the advancedclasses that there should exist in thiscountry a large part of the population


which is known as the criminal tribes.It is certainly not to their credit thatthere should exist in this country apopulation which is regardeduntouchable. Surely, they could haveraised the status of the depressedclasses; they could have raised thestatus of the criminal classes. Theycould have brought their culture tous and made us equal to them, if theyhad only the desire to do so. But theyhave never done so in the past anddo not mean to do anything in thatdirection in future. By their callousneglect of us and by their activehostility to our progress they haveconvinced us that they are really ourenemies. There is no doubt that it istheir desire to keep us where we are.I do not wish to refer to the debatethat has gone on for the last few days.But there is not the slightest doubtabout the fact that the oppositionbenches which looked uponGovernment as their enemy sidedwith it now with the sole object ofdefeating us on this vital question.There is no other excuse for theirconduct except that they wanted todefeat the claims of the backwardcommunities for representationthrough nomination. It is for thatreason that they have joinedGovernment whom they opposed inseason and out of season. Sir, canwe have any trust in an intelligentsiaso narrow, so illiberal in its views.”

He continued by saying that, “Iagree with the Inspectors of theBoard of Education in England thatthe aim and functions of UniversityEducation should be to see that theteaching carried on there is suited toadults; that it is scientific, detachedand impartial in character; that itaims not so much at filling the mindof the student with fact or theoriesas at calling forth his ownindividuality, and stimulating him tomental effort; that it accustoms him

to the critical study of the leadingauthorities, with perhaps, occasionalreference to first hand sources ofinformation, and that it implants inhis mind a standard of thoroughness,and gives him a sense of the difficultyas well as the value of reaching attruth. The student so trained shouldlearn to distinguish between whatmay fairly be called matter of factand what is certainly mere matterof opinion. He should be accustomedto distinguish issues, and to look atseparate questions each on its ownmerits and without an eye to theirbearing on some cherished theory.He should learn to state fairly, andeven sympathetically, the position ofthose to whose practical conclusionshe is most stoutly opposed. Heshould become able to examine asuggested idea, and see what comesof it, before accepting it or rejectingit. Without necessarily becoming anoriginal student he should gain aninsight into the conditions underwhich original research is carried on.

“If a University as a corporationof learning is to serve the community,then its constitution must provide (a)for a body which will keep it in touchwith all varied requirements of thecommunity; (b) for a body which willgive the University a statesman-likeguidance in the provision and also inaccommodation of means to ends soas to bring about a working comprisebetween the possible misconceptionsof the public and the possibly toonarrow outlook of the scholar; and(c) for a body of scholars engagedin the work of teaching to give anauthoritative direction to theacademic business of the University.I want to impress upon theCommittee that a University doesnot become a teaching Universitymerely by engaging in the work ofteaching through the agency of itsown staff. That is not the criterion

of a teaching University. AUniversity may undertake teachingand yet may not be a teachingUniversity. Whether or not aUniversity is a teaching Universitydepends upon whether or not thescholars engaged in the work ofteaching have the authoritativedirection of the academic businessof the University in their hands. If itis in their hands then the Universityis a teaching University. If it is not intheir hands then the University is nota teaching University. A teachingUniversity is a teachers’University.

In making these comments uponthe management of the educationalaffairs of the Presidency under theReform in their bearing upon thedepressed classes, the BahishkritHitakarini Sabha is not oblivious tothe special provisions made for theeducation of the Depressed classesin the form of a few hostels and afew scholarships for highereducation. But the Sabha begs topoint out that it is useless to makeprovision for higher education of thedepressed classes unless steps aretaken to ensure the growth ofPrimary Education. Besides there isno guarantee that such concessionswill continue. On the other hand thatthey depend a great deal upon thepolicy of the particular Minister incharge of Education and upon thevoting strength of the Depressedclasses in the Legislative Council,both of which are uncertain factorsand cannot be depended upon.

It is also necessary here to bringin the ideas of Dr Ambedkar aboutthe University education in hiswritten reply to the BombayUniversity Reforms Committee. DrAmbedkar had expressed hisopinions about the aim and functionsof university education:


1. That it is scientific, detachedand impartial in character.

2. It aims not so much at fillingthe mind of the student with factor theories as at calling forthhis own individuality andstimulating him to mental effort.

3. It accustoms him to the criticalstudy of the leading authorities,with perhaps occasionalreference to first hand sourcesof information and that itimplants in his mind a standardof thoroughness and gives hima sense of the difficulty as wellas the value of reaching attruth.

4. The student so trained shouldlearn to distinguish, betweenwhat may fairly be calledmatter of fact and what iscertainly mere matter ofopinion.

5. He should be accustomed todistinguish issues and to lookat separate questions each onits own merits and without aneye to their bearing on somecherished theory.

6. He should learn to state fairly,and even sympathetically, theposition of those to whosepractical conclusions he isstoutly opposed.

7. He should be able to examinea suggested idea, and see whatcomes of it, before acceptingit or rejecting it.

8. He should gain an insight intothe conditions under whichoriginal research is carried onwithout unnecessarilybecoming an original student.

9. He should be able to weighevidence to follow and criticizeargument and put his own valueon authorities.

Democratic Functioning ofColleges

Ambedkar has also expressedstrong views about the relationsbetween affiliated colleges and theuniversity administration. He was ofthe view that government shouldhave no control over the academicaffairs of the university. He putforward an innovative idea that theduration of study for post-graduatedegree in social sciences should be4 years, with two stages of two yearseach. At the end of the first stage,the candidate should be entitled tothe MA Degree should specialize inone subject only which should be thesubject of his major interest. The testshould consist of a writtenexamination accompanied by anessay of some 75 typewritten pagesshowing his familiarity with the artof using original source andcommenting upon them. At the endof the second stage, the candidateshould be entitled to the PhDDegree. There the test wouldinclude an oral examination and athesis of a respectful size fit forpublication. He has always upheldthe dignity of the teacher. Inexplaining the criterion of theteaching university, Ambedkar hasproposed that both the teaching andacademic business should be underthe control of the teachers. He hasargued for reservation of places inthe universities senate and syndicateto represent the interest of theweaker sections. He wanted the useof vernacular as a medium ofinstruction at all stages of education.Some of his innovative ideas ofpooling teaching resources at oneplace in urban areas appear to bemore relevant today than everbefore.

He was also emphatic in hisarguments about the devolution of

functions between college andUniversity. He was not at allfavorable for professorial positionsin the University who did not botherto teach and benefit undergraduates. He gave written evidencebefore the University ReformsCommittee wherein he hadelaborately discussed the objects ofhigher education functions of variouscommittees etc. which are stillrelevant. He has also argued in favorof more powers for the UniversitySyndicate and also delineated thefunctions of senate, which heconsidered a Legislative Council ofthe university and syndicate indebates in the Bombay Assembly.He was of the opinion that the objectof post graduate education is to trainthe student “to learn to distinguishbetween what may fairly be calledmatter of fact and what is certainlymere matter of opinion”.

Ambedkar was found to be athorough academic in his approachto problems with practical insights.He has a total understanding ofeducation starting from primary toUniversity level. He has expressedhis scholarly vision on research. Hespent most of his life for thedevelopment of education and evenafter retirement from active politicallife, he took interest in thedevelopment of educationalinstitutions. He is the first amongmany Indians who had initiated aPeoples education movement for thepoor in India.

In his detailed note, Ambedkarmentioned that education under theBritish rule in the BombayPresidency must have a beginningwith the foundation of the BombayEducation Society. It was laternamed as Bombay Native EducationSociety and was headed by MountStuart Elphinstone but the progress


achieved by this society wasaccording to him. minimal. He haspointed out that, “what do thesefigures show? They show thatalthough mass education was thepolicy of the Government, themasses were as outside the pale ofeducation as they were, before theyears, 1854 and that the concept andaborigine classes of the Hindus stillremained lowest in order ofeducation.”

Upper Class Bias

The lacunae in the British Policyof Education according to him wereits partial attitude towards the elite.The Court of Director’s mentionedthat “it is our anxious desire to affordto the higher classes of the Nativesof India the means of instruction inEuropean Sciences and of access tothe literature of civilized Europe. Thecharacter which may be given to theclasses possessed of leisure andnatural influence ultimatelydetermines that of the whole people.

In this he found that the educationin the British India was confined tofew upper classes only. Ambedkarhere provided the information and thearguments to show that thelandlords, the higher employees andthe Brahmins were the real upperclasses who were benefited by theBritish education. See AppenixTables for data provided by himbefore 1930, reproduced.Therefore, he wanted that theeducational subsidy given by theBritish should provide opportunitiesto every one of the depressedclasses much less the untouchables.He has provided sufficient data toprove what Mahatma Phule hasbrought to the notice of the Britishin 1882. In fact, he has extendedthe argument of Mahatma Phule ashis spiritual heir asking for the British

support for universalizing education.In his debates in the BombayPresidency he has opposed theintroduction of Compulsory PrimaryEducation Act as the proposed Actshifted the responsibility of educatingthe people to the School Boards. Hepointed out that the School Boardswould again implement the mandateof the elite as the Boards aredominated by higher classes andwith little funding. It is irony thatthe country is still debating on thefree and Compulsory Education tothe mass of people even after 70years of independence. The freeand Compulsory Education Bill madeas an Act and as a Right underArticle 21A is not made fullyoperational. Had Ambedkar wiselyincluded Art 45 in DirectivePrinciples of State Policy, the ApexCourt would not have directed thegovernment to amend andincorporate Art 21A.

Ambedkar was a practical manas far as education is concerned. Heregistered the People’s EducationSociety in 1945 in Bombay to startSiddhartha College. He sent anapplication to government for aninterest free loan of Rs 6 lakhs. Whilehe was the Member of the GovernorGeneral Council, he made an appealto people to contribute liberally forthe establishment of the college. Inhis memorandum of association, henoted that the society is formed toestablish a cosmopolitan college toprovide education to Scheduledcastes, Buddhists and others and willbe managed by Buddhists. J HSubbaiah of Secunderabad was alsoa member of the society. Thefoundation stone for Milind Collegewas laid by President of India DrRajendra Prasad in 1950 inAurangabad. The land for the collegewas donated by Nizam and it wasaffiliated to Osmania University. I

had an opportunity to participate asChief Guest of a National seminarat Milind College in 2004 where DrSahare and the principal had shownpictures of Babasaheb physicallycarrying construction material andwas totally involved in building theinstitution.

Ambedkar was more interestedin higher education and the abovetwo examples are worthmentioning here. In his Manifestoof the Scheduled Caste Federationunder Art 6 he mentioned that, ‘theset of education which the SCF hasin mind with regard to theseclasses is not primary education,not even secondary education.What is in mind is advancededucation of such high order, bothin this country and outside, whichwill enable these classes to fitthemselves for taking hold ofadministration.” The SCF insistedon reservations in higherbureaucracy subject to minimumstandards. Interestingly, in hismemorandum to the governmentfor loan to start Siddhartha College,he gave data relating to theenrolment of dalits in highereducation as very low andappealed to the government forassistance in view of dalits being:1. Poor, 2. Lacking accommodationand 3. for the sake of diversity ineducation. He noted that theinstitution would functionaffectively as it is headed by himand said, “having been a professorof Economics in the SydenhamCollege of Commerce, Bombay,Principal of the Government LawCollege, Bombay, a Member of theSenate and Syndicate of theBombay University I feel that I canget recognition for the proposedCollege more readily from theBombay University than from aUniversity outside that Province.”


Practical Approach

He had a pragmatic approach asfar as education is concerned. Inhis speech for Voice of America onMay 20, 1956, he said, “Caneducation destroy caste? Theanswer is ‘yes’ as well as ‘No’. Ifeducation is given as it is today,education can have no effect oncaste. It will remain as it is. Theglaring example of it is the Brahmincaste. Cent per cent of it iseducated, may be majority of it ishighly educated. Yet not oneBrahmin has shown himself to beagainst caste. In fact an educatedperson belonging to the higher casteis more interested after hiseducation to retain the caste systemthan when he was not educated.For education gives him an additionalinterest in the retention of the castesystem namely by opening additionalopportunity of getting biggerjob…But education may be solventif it is applied to the lower strata ofIndian society. It would raise theirspirit of rebellion. In their presentstate of ignorance they are thesupporters of the caste system.Once their eyes are opened they

will be ready to fight the castesystem.”

The data presented by Ambedkarfrom the reports of HartogCommittee and others clearly showthat there were hardly a couple ofgraduates from scheduled castes inthe presidencies in 1930, except inBengal where there were 1670graduates, Madras 47, Bombay 9and in others nil. Now SC enrolmentconstitutes around 10 per cent of thetotal enrolment of higher education,while the enrolment of the nationitself is below 20 per cent. We donot have data about other castesexcept the reserved groups and inpublic institutions. The emergenceof private sector under the tacitsupport of all non-reserved casteshelped the bourgeoning of science,technology and managementcourses where the entry of the poordalits, adivasis and backwards isformidable not only due to costrestrictions, but caste cleavagesworking against the reserved groupsnow.

The above analysis of BabasahebAmbedkar and his understanding

about education and its ameliorativecharacter tells us about his vision forthe future. Babasaheb realized thatunless higher education isdemocratized there is no future forthe lower castes. It does not meanthat by providing places in publicinstitutions in proportion to thepopulation of each caste, theinequalities and social discriminationwould end. As we have witnessedduring the last decade how dalit andbackward caste boys and girlscommitted suicides for not gettingadmissions in to the system, but theecho system of higher education hasbecome vicious for them to survive.Ambedkar himself has given theanswer by saying that “once theireyes are opened they will be readyto fight the caste system.” It ispossible by popularizing andeducating the learned citizens, the‘others’ about the long run benefitsof higher education would behigher and perpetual if your owncitizens are educated andadmitted as part of a democraticsociety as the externalities wouldbe fabulous human development,failing which it would lead to socialdisaster.

Classes of Population Order in Order in respect of education Primary Second College Edu.in the Presidency respect of Edu. Edu. Students

Population Students Students per 1000Per 1000 per 1000 of the PopPop of the 1000 of of the Class ClassClass the Pop

Primary Secondary Collegiate

Advanced Hindus 4th 1st 1st 1st 119 3000 1000

Intermediate Hindus 1st 3rd 3rd 3rd 92 500 52

Backward Hindus 2nd 4th 4th 4th 38 140 14

Mohammedans 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 18 14 NIL (ORNEARLYONE)

Source: Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings and Speeches

Table-1 Disparity in Education in 1923-24


Table-2 Educational Achievement during 1854-1882

Primary Education Secondary Education Collegiate Education

Total Total TotalChristians 0.49 2.26 3.0

Brahmins 20.17 40.29 50.0

Other Hindus 64.69 34.84 22.3

Mohammedans 12.54 2.04 1.5

Parsis 1.12 19.66 21.5

Aboriginal and Hill Tribes 0.87 — — — —

Low caste Hindus 0.87 — — — —

Jews and others 0.12 0.86 0.4

Total 100.0 100.00 100.00

Source: Adopted from Dr Ambedkar as above


Program Total % Girls % SC % ST

PhD/D.Sc/D.Phil 55,352 41.2 5.8 2.4

MA 469,291 46.6 16.2 4.9

M.Sc. 198,719 45.7 10.4 2.8M.Com. 122,257 34.0 9.2 3.0

Post-Graduate-sub total 790,267 44.4 13.6 4.1

BA/BA Hons 3,772,216 43.9 8.5 5.2

B.Sc/B.Sc 1,490,785 38.9 11.3 3.3

(Hons) 1,465,028 36.6 14.9 3.3

B.Com/B.Com (Hons) 696,609 23.7 8.5 3.1

B.E/B.Arch

Undergraduate –subtotal 7,424,638 39.6 12.3 4.3

Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, 256,748 34.7 11.5 3.7

Pharmacy, Ayurvedic,

Unani and Homeopathy

B.Ed/B.T 155,192 43.8 12.4 5.8

Others 3,095,099 37.9 6.0 2.1

Total enrolment 11,777,296 39.4 10.7 3.7

2015-16 18.5 13.3

** Key note address delivered at Dr B.R.Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad on April 4, 2017 on the occasion of 125th birth celebrationsof Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar

Table-3 Higher Education in India by social categoryAccess and Equity Program-wise enrolment 2004-05





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Vol. 72 No. 15April 30, 2017




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Who Will Have Sympathy forthe Rights of Jashodaben?

Sandeep Pandey

Sweeping ofCountry by Hindutva

Ravi Kiran Jain

From Destruction ofWombs to Liberators of

Muslim WomenIrfan Engineer

Breaking the Mould inFrench Politics

D. K. Giri

Forget what a Hindu rashtrawill mean for minorities.

What will it mean for Hindus?Saba Naqvi

It was then Home MinisterGulzarilal Nanda who brought thequestion of Hindi to the fore. Thistime, it is Union Minister of State forHome Affairs Kiren Rijiju who hasdone so. Many people in Tamil Naduthen immolated themselves alive toregister their protest. Thank god ithas not come to that stage yet.Nanda had advised the centralgovernment departments to writenotes on the files in Hindi to expresstheir opinion.

The latest is that DMK leaderM.K. Stalin has accused the Centreof trying to relegate people whodon’t speak Hindi to second-classcitizens and of pushing the nation intobecoming “Hindia”. The controversyhad been generated after PresidentPranab Mukherjee accepted therecommendation of the Committeeof Parliament on Official Languagethat all dignitaries, including thePresident and ministers, especiallythose who can read and speak Hindi,may be requested to give theirspeech or statement in Hindi only.

The President has acceptedseveral other recommendations,including making announcements onboard aircraft in Hindi followed by

Another Futile Attempt

Kuldip Nayar

English. However, UnionInformation and BroadcastingMinister M. Venkaiah Naidu said theallegation that Hindi was beingimposed is “completely false” andthe government has “no intention”of imposing any language,particularly Hindi, on anyone.

The sharp reaction by leaders,particularly Stalin, indicates that atleast Tamil Nadu is not yet ready toswitch over. The issue is severaldecades old and yet it has not foundany satisfactory solution. The non-Hindi speaking states repeat PrimeMinister Jawaharlal Nehru’sassurance that the switch over toHindi from English will take placeonly when the non-Hindi speakingpeople say that they are ready for it.His categorical statementdisappointed Hindi fanatics but thenation on the whole heaved a sighof relief that India had retrieved fromthe brink.

The anti-Hindi movement gainedmomentum in the then Madras statewhere college studentsdemonstrated against the switchover in 1965. Soon after, a full-scaleriot broke out in Madurai sparkingoff a minor altercation between


agitating students and Congressparty members. The riots spread allover the state and continuedunabated for a couple of months.

They were marked by acts ofviolence, arson, looting, police firingand lathi charges. The then rulingCongress in the state had to call inparamilitary forces to quell theagitation. But their involvementresulted in deaths of nearly 70-oddpeople including some policemen. Tonormalize the situation, PrimeMinister Lal BahadurShastri reiterated Nehru’s assurancethat English would continue to beused as the official language as longas the non-Hindi speaking stateswanted. The riots subsided afterShastri’s promise, as did the studentagitation.

But then the agitation had led tomajor political changes in the state.The DMK captured power in the1967 assembly elections andthereafter the Congress never cameto power in Tamil Nadu. The OfficialLanguages Act was eventuallyamended in 1967 by the Congressheaded by Prime Minister IndiraGandhi to guarantee the indefiniteuse of Hindi and English as officiallanguages. This effectively ensuredthe current “virtual indefinite policyof bilingualism” of the IndianRepublic. There were also twosimilar but smaller agitations in 1968and 1986 which had varying degreesof success.

In fact, within the very firstfortnight of Prime Minister NarendraModi’s regime, the centralgovernment offices had received acircular that Hindi should be used onsocial media. This was an attemptto enter through backdoor. The non-Hindi speaking states spotted thefugitive move and protested against

it. New Delhi readily withdrew itsstep and declared that the circularwas meant only for the Hindi-speaking states.

The latest statement by HomeMinister Rijiju has only rekindled thefears of non-Hindi speaking people.And they are afraid of what mayhappen tomorrow. I am convincedthat Modi’s government is guided, ifnot goaded, by the Hindi chauvinists.The BJP has several liberal leaderswho realise that the pace of switchover to Hindi would have to be slow,keeping in mind unity and diversity.Apparently, they do not have muchsay.

The India of today is verydifferent from what it was 50 yearsago, with each linguistic groupasserting its identity. The turmoilduring the States’ Reorganisationprocess should be a warning. Theidea of India can be jeopardized. Theentire fabric can get torn if thesensitivities of the people are notallayed. What is the hurry? A fewmore decades’ wait is too small aprice to pay for preserving thenation’s cohesion.

India has gone through largelinguistic riots in the late 1950s andearly 1960s following the HomeMinistry instructions to differentdepartments to make preparationsfor a switchover from English toHindi as laid down in the Constitution.I wish this bilingualism shouldcontinue without anyone tinkeringwith it. But then Modi’s men seemto be hastening the process withoutconsidering the sentiments of non-Hindi speaking people. Thegovernment wants to restrict the useof English to certain fields.

Yet, they realise that their hastecan tell upon the country’s unity. The

non-Hindi speaking states,particularly Tamil Nadu, haveaccepted the Constitutional provisionthat Hindi is the Indian Union’slanguage. But they want time to learnit and come up to the standards ofpeople living in the Hindi belt likeUttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh orRajasthan.

No doubt, Modi feels at home withHindi and his sweep in elections isprimarily because of the campaignhe led in Hindi, somewhatSanskritised for northern Indians.But he should remember Nehru’spromise made in 1963 that bothHindi and English would continue tobe the link languages foradministration throughout thecountry. Nehru did not fix anydeadline for the exclusive use ofHindi.

Heritage is linked with languagesand therefore leaders all over thecountry will have to devise waysand means whereby regionallanguages get succor. Without a long-term plan to reinvigorate them, someregional languages would fall by thewayside as the days go by. Howmany regional languages will survive50 years hence is anybody’s guess.

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The Bhartiya Janata Party’sinitiative against the triple talaq islaudable. The Muslim clergy’sposition that it is an interference ininternal matters of Muslim personallaw is akin to a family accused ofdomestic violence claiming that it istheir internal matter. Just as a womancannot be allowed to suffer inside ahome, Muslim women cannot be leftat the mercy of their whimsicalhusbands. The truth is that whetherHindus or Muslims, the patriarchalsociety has not been kind to born andunborn girls. India’s sex ratio at 940is very dismal compared to 997 ofour neighbour Bangladesh indicatingthat female foeticide remains amassive problem. Child trafficking,forcing children into sex work andbegging are widespread in India.These illegal activities take place inbroad daylight. One wonders whytriple talaq is being given priority overmore serious problems like foeticideand child trafficking? Are peoplemaintaining silence over these issuesnot as guilty as those responsible forcommitting these crimes?

Prime Minister Narendra Modihas every right to be sympathetic tothe Muslim women and raise theissue of injustice to them. SomeMuslim women are quite happy thatfor the first time a party and a PM istaking up their issue in suchunequivocal terms. But just as thePM has a right to take up issues ofMuslim women one has the right toraise the matter of Jashodaben whohas to lead the life of a single womanfor almost five decades now withouteven going through the process offormal divorce. In cannot be argued

Who Will Have Sympathy for the Rights of Jashodaben?

Sandeep Pandey

for reasons analogous toabovementioned that it is a personalmatter. Moreover, in the UnitedStates, the personal life of a persondoesn’t matter until he/she choosesto run for a public office. Thecitizens there want their Presidentsto have sound family relationships.Any blemish, even from the past,can cost their candidacy.

Narendra Modi’s justification thathe renounced family life for publicservice sounds specious. He mayhave left for sanyaas to Himalayassoon after his marriage but the truthis he came back and worked at hisuncle’s business. What is now beingprojected as a sacrifice for public lifecan be construed as abandoning hisfamily obligations from Jashodaben’spoint of view. Narendra Modi hasdemonstrated that he is as prone tohuman weaknesses as ordinary folkby wearing for an expensive coatwith his name inscribed and indulgingin selfie taking with importantinternational leaders during his visitsabroad in the initial two years of hispremiership. Obviously, the sacrificeof family life has not transcendedhim beyond worldly cravings.Moreover, Jashodaben has indicatedthat she still has emotions forNarendra Modi and would meet himat the right time. Between the two ifanyone has made a sacrifice it isJashodaben because she did nothave control over the decision ofseparation. It was forced upon her.Narendra Modi can argue that thedecision of marriage was forcedupon him even when he was a child.But that is how most marriages stilltake place in India. Parents have a

key role in deciding the match. Thecouple is expected to live up to theexpectation of their parents and thesociety. Is it not Indian values?

Jashodaben filed application underRight to Information Act to know herrights, entitlements and copy of theorder issued for her security, as thePM’s wife, but was denied allinformation. Interestingly, she keptwriting her name as JashodabenNarendrabhai Modi and officialscontinued to address her hasJashodaben Chimanlal Modi, basedon her father’s name. When shewanted to apply for a passport to goabroad on the invitation of somerelatives, it was denied to her on thepretext that she failed to provide hermarriage certificate or an affidavitfrom her husband. Was it not herhusband’s responsibility when thematter was in public domain that shegot the information that she soughtas well as her passport? She wasdenied her rights even as an ordinarycitizen. Who will stand up for therights of Jashodaben? When aDoordarshan official tried to do soby broadcasting her comments hewas transferred from Ahmedabad toPort Blair. Rather than besympathetic to Jashodaben thegovernment chose to be vindictiveto an official who tried to help her.After all, she was not demanding bigthings. The government should do acourse correction and still provideher what she wants.

Jashodaben has been comparedwith wife of Gautam Buddha,



Describing the demolition of BabriMasjid in Ayodhya as “Crimes whichshake the secular fabrics of theConstitution of India”, the SupremeCourt on April 19, 2017 put the seniorBJP leaders L.K. Advani, MurliManohar Joshi and Union MinisterUma Bharti on a joint trial with ‘karsevaks’ in the 1992 case undervarious charges, including criminalconspiracy to pull down the disputedstructure. The Court also orderedrestoration of charges againstRajasthan governor Kalyan Singh(who was Chief Minister at the timeof demolition) and eight others inconnection with the case butexempted Kalyan Singh fromprosecution on account ofConstitutional immunity he enjoys asGovernor. After this order ofSupreme Court, Uma Bharti andKalyan Singh should have steppeddown. On the contrary Uma Bhartiraised the political pitch saying shenever had any regrets about her rolein bringing down the “disputed”Ayodha structure on December 61992. She said she had always beenproud of her participation in the RamTemple movement. “Na mainekabhi khed vyakt kiya hai, namaine kabhi mafi mangi hai”(neither have I expressed any regret,nor have I ever apologized),” shesaid.

The Indian Express dated April20, 2017 in its editorial observed“Finally, the wheels of justice areturning in the Babri Masjiddemolition case. The possibility ofdue process leading to justice andclosure in one of the most seminalcases in India’s political history

Sweeping of Country by Hindutva

Ravi Kiran Jain

seems within reach now, 25 yearsafter the 16th century mosque atAyodhya was demolished by SanghParivar activists in the wake of theRath Yatra of the-then BJP ChiefL.K. Advani, shaming a nation andsetting powerful new politicaldynamics in motion. The SupremeCourt’s order on Wednesday setsback on track the judicial processand lays down conditions to ensurethat the trial is not delayed orcompromised further.”

In 1984 elections in which RajivGandhi had a clean sweep, BJPcould secure only two seats in LokSabha. The Sangh Parivar starteda campaign for the construction of amagnificent Ram Janam BhoomiTemple at the site and by 1985 builtup a sizeable support in the Hinducommunity. In January 1986, lockswere removed from the mosque andRam bhakts were permitted to offerprayers to Ram Lalla. It is said thatthe Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhiordered the Chief Minister VeerBahadur Singh to do so, who got theDistrict Administration to ensure this.The two major political parties BJPand the Congress started a race onpandering to communal Hindusentiments. In 1988, Hindutvaorganizations led by the RSSorganized a mass campaign forbuilding a grand temple exactlywhere the Mosque stood. Theyclaimed that the Mosque stood at theprecise site where Ram was born.

Union Home Minister Buta Singhsigned an agreement with the VHPon 17th August 1989, that bricks forconstructing the temple would be

allowed to be brought from all overUP without hindrance and collectedat the plot No. 586 near the mosque.This agreement was in violation ofan order of the Allahabad High Courtgiven on 14th August that noconstruction activity could be takenat that spot.

Later, the VHP announced that‘kar sewa’ would be performed tolay the foundation stone. This wasalso a violation of the judgment giventwo days earlier, prohibiting any suchactivity. This repeated defiance, ofthe orders of the court did not weighwith the Prime Minister whoinaugurated the campaign ofCongress party the next day fromtwin city of Faizabad, andannounced that the objective of theparty was to establish Ram Rajya.Soon thereafter the BJP PresidentAdvani, at Palampur, after theNational Executive Meeting,announced that the inclusion of theconstruction of the temple in itsElection Manifesto “would fetchvotes “for it. It would thus appearthat the two major political partieswere in a race on this issue between1984 and 1989.

Looking back at the developmentsaround 1989, we are reminded howMandalisation was made aneffective issue by the casteist forcesin answer to BJP’s Kamandalisation.Very soon, casteist forces came toacquire political legitimacy byprojecting themselves as politicalforces opposed to communalism, andin order to appear so, they maskedthemselves as “secularists”, thoughthe truth was that they had discovered


“caste politics” as a potent instrumentto win success at elections withouteven doing anything while in powerfor solving the basic problems of themasses. There emerged a consensusamong various political parties tomaintain their vote banks by dividingthe people on caste and communallines. Non-performance by a party inpower became irrelevant because ofits potential to work out a favourablecaste arithmetic and win elections.Communalism on the one hand andcasteism on the other thus acquireda firm sway over the Indian polity. Ifanything, it were the three C’s–centralisation, corruption andcriminalisation–coupled with thecaste and communal divide,engineered by opportunistic politicalforces as the shortest route to quicksuccess, which made all the relevantissues, concerning the public,irrelevant. While corruption andcriminalisation sapped the soul out ofthe ideal of people-orienteddemocratic governance, centrali-zation of political authority led to anunaccountable bureaucratization ofgovernance.

In this backdrop the movement toconstruct a Ram temple at the sightof the Mosque also gatheredmomentum in 1989 and continued till1992. The Supreme Court in M.Ismail Farooqui vs UOI,(AIR 1995SC 605) noticed : “A new dimensionwas added to the campaign for theconstruction of the temple with theformation of the Government inUttar Pradesh in June 1991 by theBhartiya Janata Party (BJP) whichdeclared its commitment to theconstruction of the temple…Thefocus of the temple constructionmovement from October 1991 wasto start construction of the templeby way of ‘kar-sewa’ on the landacquired by the Government in UttarPradesh while leaving the disputed

structure intact… There was a callfor resumption of kar sewa from 6th

December 1992 and theannouncement made by theorganizers was for a symbolic kar-sewa without violation of the courtorders including those made in theproceedings pending in this court. Inspite of initial reports from Ayodhyaon 6th December, 1992 indicating anair of normalcy, around mid-day acrowd addressed by leaders of BJP,VHP, etc., climbed the Ram JanmaBhoomi-Babri Masjid (RJB-BM)structure and started damaging thedomes. Within a short time, the entirestructure was demolished and razedto the ground. Indeed it was an actof “National Shame” what wasdemolished was not merely anancient structure; but the faith ofminority in the sense of justice andfair play of majority. It shook theirfaith in the rule of law andconstitutional processes. A fivehundred year old structure whichwas defenceless and whose safetywas a sacred trust in the hands ofgovernment was demolished.”

In a speech from the Red Fort inDelhi on 15th August 1992 whichwas broadcast, the Prime MinisterP.V. Narasimha Rao had alreadysaid that “The Babri Masjid structurewill be protected and the Ramtemple built”. This assurance wouldlead people to draw a conclusion thatthe Ram Temple was not to be builton the site of the Babri Masjidbecause that structure was to beprotected. The destruction of theBabri masjid had deeply woundedthe religious feelings of the Muslimcommunity throughout India and theleast that could be done to sooththose injured feelings was to assurethe community that the Babri Masjidwas to be rebuilt. The Prime Ministergave that assurance on December7, 1992, and referred to it again on

February 7, 1993 in the BBC ‘Phone-in programme’. He said “I thought itwas necessary, it was my duty torebuilt the Mosque.”

“The judgments delivered by theLucknow Bench of Allahabad HighCourt on September 30 on the BabriMasjid cases not only flagrantlyviolate the law and the evidence buta binding unanimous judgment of theSupreme Court on the Babri Masjidcase itself [M. Ismail Faruqui andOthers vs Union of India andOthers (1994)6 Scc 360]. Itsanctified the conversion of a historicmosque, which stood for 500 yearsinto a temple.” Said A.G. Noorani inhis article “Muslims Wronged” inOctober 22, 2010 issue ofFrontline. Noorani further says inthe same article, “On the BabriMasjid, for 60 years from 1950 to2010, Muslims have been woefullywronged by every single court ruling,including that of the Supreme Courtafter the demolition of the mosqueon December 6, 1992”.

An eminent jurist and SeniorAdvocate of Supreme Court T.R.Andhyarujina in his article (TheHindu, October 5, 2010) said “Theabsence of any condemnation of thevandalism of the demolition of theBabri Masjid on December 6, 1992is a conspicuous aspect of theAyodhya verdict of the AllahabadHigh Court.” T.R. Andhyarujinafurther says in the same article: “TheAyodhya judgments of the AllahabadHigh Court make no note of thevandalism of December 6, 1992. Onthe other hand, they take thedemolition as a fait accompli, as ifthe disputed 2.77 acre site wasvacant land. After holding that thearea beneath the central dome of theerstwhile Masjid must be allotted toHindus because of their faith thatLord Ram’s place of birth was there,


and the areas covered by the RamChabutara and Sita Rasoi should beallotted to the Nirmohi Akhara, thecourt has said that the remaining areaof the disputed site should be divided,two-thirds to the two Hindu plaintiffsand one third to the Muslim plaintiffby metes and bounds. Thesejudgments, therefore legalize andlegitimize the 1992 demolition, as thedecree of the court proceeds on thebasis that there is no Masjid on thedisputed site today. It is anelementary rule of justice in courtsthat when a party to a litigation takesthe law into its own hands and altersthe existing state of affairs to itsadvantage,(as the demolition in 1992did in favour of the Hindu plaintiffs),the court would first order therestitution of the pre-existing stateof affairs.”

H.M. Seervai, one of the mostdistinguished constitutional lawyer inan article “Babri Masjid” publishedin Economic Times on 9th and 10th

April, 1993, said: “The destructionof the Babri Masjid put an end to allprevious controversies raised byHindu organizations about theiralleged rights to erect a temple onthe place where Babri Masjid stood.This is because no Court will giveany assistance to those whounilaterally by criminal actsdestroyed the subject matter of thisdispute and violated the constitutionand the law.”

The Allahabad High Court verdictcame on 30th September, 2010during UPA-II regime. AfterAllahabad High Court judgment agrave and serious danger to Indiandemocracy appeared on the horizon.This verdict gave a legal shape tothe political agenda of the SanghParivar “Mandir wahinBanaenge” and has legitimized theMasjid demolition on 6th December,

1992 paving them a way to claim toconstruct a “Grand Temple” at thesight of the demolished Masjid andgave a boost to the BJP to contest2014 elections based on this issue.Although against the Allahabad HighCourt judgments many appeals werefiled in the Supreme Court (whichare still pending), and the questionas to whether they could constructa temple at the site of the Mosquehad yet to be finally decided by theSupreme Court, the Sangh Parivarcontinued with their campaign for2014 elections that they wouldconstruct a Grand Temple. Thisjudgment gave strength to the BJPand the power behind it - the RSSand the Sangh Parivar consistingof such organization as the AkhilBhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, theVHP and the Bajrang Dal. Theygave to Indian politics a headymixture of aggressive Hinducommunalism and an equallyaggressive Hindu nationalism.In that process they promotedenmity between the Hindus and theMuslims. The movement fosteredby these forces contains allthe essential characteristics offascism.

After about three and a halfmonths of 6th December, 1992demolition, 13th J.P. MemorialLecture was delivered by Shri V.M.Tarkunde on 23rd March 1993 onCommunalism and Human Rights.Shri Tarkunde said in that lecture : “I am of the view that thecommunalist nationalism which isbeing propagated by the BJP and theSangh Parivar represents a fargreater danger to Indian Democracythan the personal authoritarian rulewhich Mrs. Indira Gandhi and theGandhi-Nehru family were likely toimpose on the country. A personalauthoritarian rule is a lesser dangerbecause it is largely external to the

people. Most of the people do notapprove it, although they are usuallytoo afraid to stick out their necks andopenly oppose it…Communalism,however, particularly when it is thecommunalism of the majority andcan therefore take the form of ardentnationalism as well, can find apositive response in the minds of thepeople who are still prone to religiousblind faith and among whom thehumanist values of democracy, i.e,values of liberty, equality andfraternity are yet to be fullydeveloped. Communalism in suchcases is an internal enemy in thehuman mind and it is far moredifficult to eradicate it than anexternal enemy like an autocraticruler.” Shri Tarkunde cautionedabout the possibility of the BJPcoming into power in the nextelections (after demolition of theMosque in December 1992). In thiscontext he said in his memorialspeech “as the Congress(I) is nowmuch weaker than before and theopposite parties are unable to uniteto form an anti-communal secularplatform, the BJP expects to cometo power in the next election. If thishappens, the secular democracy inIndia is liable to be replaced by apotentially fascist theocratic state.”However, it did not so happen in thenext election. But in 1999 BJP-ledcoalition, NDA, formed thegovernment with Atal BihariVajpayee as Prime Minister, with astrong opposition in Parliament.What Shri Tarkunde wasapprehending in 1993 to happen, hashappened in 2014 by the victory ofNarendra Modi with a huge marginin Lok Sabha and a weak and dividedopposition.

Now after three years of thevictory of Narendra Modi in theCentre, Yogi Adityanath, a Hinduicon has been elected as the leader


of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Partyand installed as Chief Minister.The BJP has secured a majority of325 members in the LegislativeAssembly having the strength of403. Yogi has the reputation of

being a hardcore Hindu leader.His becoming the Chief Ministershows that Hindutva is sweepingthe country. It also shows thatsecularism has not taken roots inour country.

These developments make thestate of human r ights in thecountry appal l ing. Theconcerned c i t izens have toseriously think as to how theyhave to meet the situation.

Dear friends,

We are celebrating therenowned freedom fighter, socialistleader and parliamentarian lateMadhu Limaye’s 95th birthday on1st May, 2017 as ‘Unity ofProgressive Forces’ at the SpeakerHall, Constitution Club, Rafi Marg,Delhi, from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm.

Eminent historian Prof. IrfanHabib has kindly agreed toinaugurate this programme.

Prominent political leaders likeSharad Yadav (JDU), DigvijayaSingh (INC), Sitaram Yechuri(CPM), D P Tripathi(NCP), AtulKumar Anjaan (CPI), KamalMoraraka (SJP), Raghu Thakur(LSP), Kunwar Danish Ali (JDS),Prem Singh (Socialist Party) will alsobe gracing the occasion.

We would be happy if you couldjoin us.

Organising Committee : KCTyagi, Santosh Bhartiya, Prof.Rajkumar Jain, Prof. AnandKumar, Rama Shankar Singh,Ravinder Manchanda, Ravi Nayar,Vijay Pratap, Anurag Chaturvedi,Jaishankar Gupta, Arvind Mohan,Dr Sunilam, Qurban Ali.

Samajwadi Sahitya Nyas,Narendra Niketan, IP Estate, ITO,New Delhi

Yashodhara, wife of Tulsidas,Ratnavali, and Savitri, Sita andShakuntla, women from Hindumythology, who suffered for the sakeof their husbands. We are not livingin mythological times. Religion andmythology cannot be quoted to justifyharsh decisions. Just as triple talaqcannot be justified in the name ofIslam, similarly Narendra Modi’sdecision of separation fromJashodaben doesn’t hold any ground.

The nation expects its PM to

begin charity from home. He needsto acknowledge his mistake andstart living with Jashodaben. Infact, he should also bring his motherto live with him. A happy familylife, even at this late stage, can dono harm to his public life. Ifanything it may have some soberingeffect over him. For example,maybe his wife can give a betteradvice for what now looks like anintractable problem in Kashmir.

Some women on women’s day in

Varanasi have also demanded this andthere have been voices from severalother quarters that Narendra Modishould reconsider his relationship withJashodaben. Otherwise all his publicsympathy for Muslim women will notbe considered genuine. The nationexpects its PM to be honest withhimself and live the ideals that he istalking about. Who’ll believe that aman so hardened against his ownwife, for no fault of hers, has anysympathy for other victimisedwomen?


Fascism in a Mask is Knocking at Our Door Following the defeat and death of Hitler and Mussolini and the knowledge of inhuman massacre of millions in

the concentration camps of Hiter, Fascism and Nazism became dirty words all over the world. Now, they comewith a respectable looking /sounding mask. In our country the mask is called Hindutva or ‘cultural nationalismwhich conceal the Sangh’s fascist ideology and agenda.

Their iconic ideologue M.S. Golwarkar is as revered after his death as he was revered when alive. He continuesto be their guiding spirit .

While addressing a group of top level leaders of the RSS in 1940, he said ,” RSS inspired by one flag, one leaderand one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land .I would like to bringit to your notice that this decree of ‘one flag, one leader and one ideology ‘ was also the battle cry of Fascist andNazi parties in Europe in the first half of 20 century. What they did to democracy is well known .

The Sangh has not repudiated Golwarkar and continues to pursue the goal set by him. –Prabhakar Sinha


Heightened media coverage on theissue of triple talaq along with thestatement of the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and the ChiefMinister of UP Yogi Adityanath iscausing harm to the struggle forgender justice within the Muslimcommunity. Media coverage ismaking a public spectacle of victimsof triple talaq and encouragingvoyeurism for TRPs. Media managesto get a “maulvi” of dubious reputefor giving sound entertaining soundbites that make buffoon of thecommunity. Gender justice within theMuslim community will be achievedprimarily by the struggle of Muslimwomen, of course with the supportof democratic institutions.Politicization of the issue to scorebrownie political points will harm thecause of Muslim women. WhatMuslim women need is solidarity andsupport from the feminist movementin particular and liberal democraticforces in general.

Pronouncing the word ‘talaq’ (Idivorce thee) thrice in one sitting andinstantly snapping matrimonial tiesunilaterally by the husband is onceagain in news as the Supreme Courtis going to hear Shayara Bano’spetition on the issue and the PM haschosen to speak on the issue. Thisform of divorce is called Talaq-e-bidat (bad in theology but validdivorce) and popularly it is called astriple talaq. The ulema (learnedreligious leaders of the community)have validated triple talaq pronouncedorally, even if in a fit of rage, in a stateof inebriation, or conveyed on phone,through sms, or through post. Thewife so divorced is instantly evictedfrom her matrimonial home or if not

From Destruction of Wombs to Liberators of Muslim Women

Irfan Engineer

in the house at the time of divorce,she is prevented from accessing hermatrimonial home and children. Thepractice is abominable andindefensible. Yet the All India MuslimPersonal Law Board has claimed intheir affidavit that triple talaq is partof shari’a law which is divine and itis their Constitutional right to practicetheir religion. Elsewhere, we haveelaborately argued that triple talaq inone sitting is unconstitutional as wellas contrary to the Quranic method ofdivorc.

Protectors of Muslim Women

The PM chose to speak on theissue of triple talaq at the BJP’sNational Executive meeting inBhubaneshwar on 16th April 2017.He said, “Our Muslim sisters shouldalso get justice. Injustice should notbe done with them... [I]f there aresocial evils, the society should bewoken up and efforts made to providejustice to the victims.”(TIMESOFINDIA.COM, 2017)

The Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath said on17th April 2017 that those maintainingsilence on the “burning issue” of tripletalaq were as “guilty” as thosepractising it. Yogi compared the tripletalaq to the disrobing of ‘Draupadi’in the Mahabharata. He also calledfor a uniform civil code in thecountry (PTI, 2017).

Both, the PM and the CM of UP,are trying to project themselves asprotectors of Muslim women fromthe evil and inhuman Muslim PersonalLaw. However both have a lot toanswer for, given their past. Underthe watch of Modi, when he was the

CM of Gujarat, in 2002, during theriots, Muslim women’s bodies werethe site on which sexual assaults weremounted and they were subjected toworst inhuman atrocities. Neither ofthem then had any feeling of remorsenor an urge to fight the injustice. Modi,then the CM of Gujarat had to bereminded of his raj dharm by the thenPM – Atal Behari Vajpayee of theirparty. Gujarat Government refusedto organize any relief work for the150,000 survivors of the violencehuddled in inhuman conditions invarious relief camps. The UP CM inone of the videos on youtube(FIRSTPOST., 2014) (India Today.in,2014) (ABP News, 2014) says thatif one Hindu woman was married toa Muslim and converted, 100 Muslimwomen would be married to Hindumen and converted into Hindu fold!

In 2002 during communal riots inGujarat, the Hindu supremacists whomounted sexual assaults and heinouscrimes on Muslim women’s bodiesdid so to pollute or destroy the wombsof Muslim women that gave birth tochildren of Muslimcommunity (International Initiativefor Justice in Gujarat, 2003, pp. 40-41). Now they are posing as liberatorsof Muslim women from theoppression of their men. Modi thenhad sort of provided justification ofthe riots by terming it as a reaction toburning of Sabarmati Express inGodhara. Thereafter he neverexpressed his remorse that under hiswatch the scale of violence hadreached its peak. Those who wereaccused of rapes and involvement inriots had little to fear the judicialprocess and were being acquitteduntil the Supreme Court stepped in


and set up SIT to prosecute theaccused. Bilkis Bano’s rape case trialwas transferred to sessions court inMumbai which resulted in convictionof some of the accused.

Behind the facade of getting justicefor the Muslim women in general andvictims of triple talaq in particular,the BJP has political motives. Whenthe PM and the CM of UP were noton the posts they are presentlyholding, they stigmatized the Muslimcommunity in harsher words usingcruder language. In the year 2002,after the riots Narendra Modi tookout Gujarat gaurav yatra (pridejourney). In the yatra he wouldaddress public meeting during andaccuse that relief camps for riotsurvivors to be breeding campswhere the survivors were breedinglike rabbits. In the next Gujarat StateAssembly elections, the target of theModi’s speeches was “MianMusharraf (the then President ofPakistan) mentality”! The subtlemessage was that Muslims wereloyal to Pakistan and needed to betaught a lesson.

Posing as protectors of Muslimwomen, Modi and Yogi are achievingthe same objective with moresophisticated means – stigmatizingthe Muslim community as one havingunjust traditions and women in theMuslim community are beingdisrobed. General Secretary of HinduMahasabha - Pooja Shakun Pandey- went a step ahead and asked allvictims of triple talaq to convert toHinduism and she would organizetheir marriage and do theirkanyadaan (ritual of father giftinghis daughter to thebridegroom) (Jaiswal, 2017). TheHindu supremacists then want toconvert Muslim women and gift(marry) them off to Hindu men toimprove their demographic figures

and reduce those of Muslimcommunity. Rescue Muslim womenonly to gift them off and be propertyof Hindu men. Hindu supremacistsopposed the Hindu Code Bill in 1950sso painstakingly drafted by Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar to ensuregender justice to Hindu women.Hindu supremacists organized militantprotests and denounced Dr.Ambedkar as an untouchable draftinglaws for Hindus.

The Hindu supremacists do notproblematize dowry, child marriage,female foeticide etc. Given castehierarchies, Hindu supremacistsdefend the parental control over theirdaughters in matrimonial matters.They have never raised any voiceagainst honour killings whendaughters dare to chose their ownlife partners. “Anti-Romeo” squadsand “love jihad” campaigns areprecisely to ensure that Hindu womendo not choose their life partners anddo not have freedom to wear theclothes they like. Ministers in thepresent Government have advisedwomen to wear appropriate(traditional) dresses to be secure fromsexual assaults instead of ensuringsafe space for women and inclusionin every field. BJP MP–SakshiMaharaj and RSS Sarsanghchalak–Mohan Bhagwat called upon Hinduwomen to produce 4 children reducingthe women to child producingmachines for their husbands and theircommunity.

Hindu supremacists are not verydifferent from the religious andpolitical leaders of Muslimcommunity with regard to theirattitude towards worth and role ofwomen in family and community –chattels or property of the maleswithin the family and under theircomplete control; slave labourers forthe family confined to home for

unpaid domestic work, rearingchildren for men; labouring outsidehome if men need their incomes;confine them to religious spaces sothat they are indoctrinated to servethe men in the family and accept beingreduced to chattels and slaves. Tripletalaq is one such weapon in hands ofMuslim men to keep control over“deviant” wives. Khap Panchayats,domestic violence and misogynistculture are weapons of Hindu men.Strategies and instruments of controlmay differ slightly but neverthelesstheir objective is to control and reducewomen to chattels and slavelabourers and objects of sexualpleasure for men. Hindu supremacisttalk of “liberating” Muslim women,but only to enslave them to newmasters – Hindu men. The feministmovement and awareness andresistance of women – both – Hinduand Muslim have changed thesituation slightly and progressively.

Stigmatization of Muslim community

Media has been presented with anopportunity to increase their TRPswhenever issues that stigmatizeMuslim community are handy. TVchannels a few years ago ranextensive coverage of a fatwa whichdeclared that Imrana who was rapedby her father-in-law is now forbiddento her husband. It seemed that wasthe only problem faced by the nation– otherwise everything was hunkydory. One TV channel made a publicspectacle of Gudiya’s problems andcoverage went on for hours. Gudiya,a Muslim, married another man afterher soldier husband’s whereaboutswere not known for some years andpresumed dead in war with Pakistan.However, her former husbandreturned after he was released fromPakistan jail. “Gudiya kiski?” wentthe title of the programme. Allrelatives, maulvis, the second husband


and former soldier husband and fewothers were assembled in the studioand public spectacle was made ofher life encouraging voyeurism.

Almost all TV channels havesimilarly conducted talk shows ontriple talaq – they got some victims todepose their tragedies, one or twomaulvis to entertain their viewers withtheir ridiculous and provocative viewssupporting triple talaq and a fewgentlemen around. The Islamicscholars who did not support tripletalaq were obviously not favoured byinvitation. The stage was then set fora match between the victims and themaulvis with some generous supportfrom ‘nationalist’ anchors. The lungmatch between Muslim women andmaulvis would be good spectacleattracting eyeballs of male voyeursinto a problem of Muslims and beamthem various advertisementspersuading them to buy variouscorporate products.

The louder and angrier the fightbetween the victims and maulvis,more would be the entertainment andfun for the voyeurs. The BJPspokespersons would be there on thepanel to represent the PM and Yogias heroes of the nation liberatingMuslim women. Perhaps that is whythe media loves the PM and Yogi asthey keep giving them suchopportunities targeting left and liberal“anti-nationals”, cow slaughterers,terrorists, Kashmir separatist andPaki agents, religious converters.Democracy and humanist values bedamned so long as the voyeuristicmedia had their TRPs, they wouldsupport whatever politics! Is this theresponsible fourth pillar of the state?

If stigmatizing the Muslimcommunity is one objective of Modiand Yogi, subtly establishing thesuperiority of Hindu community, the

other political objective is to dividethe Muslim community along genderlines. They have also tried to win overa section of Shias and Sufis. Thepolitical objective as spelled out bySubramanian Swamy once is to dividethe Muslim community and unite theHindus to achieve the objective ofHindu Rashtra – antithesis ofdemocracy.

Muslim Personal Law Board

Cornered by the media barrageand becoming a laughing stock fordefending triple talaq and claiming itto inseparable part of divine Shari’alaw, the All India Muslim PersonalLaw Board has come up with a newsubterfuge. The All India MuslimPersonal Law Board (AIMPLB) on16thApril issued a code of conductand warned that those who give talaq(divorce) without ‘Sharia’ reasonswill face social boycott (Shaurya,2017). The ruse of social boycott ismore for media consumption than asincere campaign to curb the menaceof triple talaq. Had the Board beensincere, it would not have filedatrocious affidavit in Supreme Courtcompletely against the spirit of Quranwhich gives dignity and rights towomen. Board’s affidavit reduceswomen to a status of chattel and aslave, unintelligent being.

This ploy of social boycott hasoccurred to them after 70 years ofresisting any change in the MuslimPersonal Law and ignoring the plightof victims of triple talaq. The Boardhas clout and power enough to silencethe women suffering oppression andscaring them with curse of Allah.However, they do not have clout orsincerity to enforce social boycottagainst powerful men. Declaring,announcing and enforcing socialboycott is also an offence inMaharashtra. Social boycott of the

husband who has pronounced tripletalaq is not going to give any relief tothe woman thrown out of hermatrimonial home. If a man hasdivorced has pronounced the dreadedwords in a fit of anger or underinebriation and repents the morningafter, will be doubly punished by socialboycott if enforced or enforceablewithout offering any relief to either.

Way ahead

The only remedy in thecircumstances seems to be to educatethe women and men that any numberof pronouncement of the word talaqcan be considered as singlepronouncement followed byarbitration and efforts forreconciliation. This is the procedureprescribed by the Holy Qur’an.

Either the Board agrees to codifyMuslim Personal Law within theframework of Quran and the spirit ofgender equality mandated by Quranand drawing the best from all IslamicSchools of jurisprudence. Thecodified law should be presented tothe Parliament for being legislated.

Until the codification, Indian courtshave a constitutional duty to ensurejustice and equality to Muslim womenand read down the provisions ofvarious Islamic schools ofjurisprudence like Hanafi, Hanbali,Shafi, Maliki, Ahle-Hadith and Shiaschools of Jurisprudence that areagainst the constitutional mandate.

Political parties will do greatdisservice to the country and theMuslim community by politicizationof the issue either in the name ofnational integration or demographyor on any other ground. Peace andjustice are more noble goals thanwinning an election or benefiting fromcommunal polarization.


Notebook

The victory of the BJP in the DelhiMunicipal Corporation elections is asstunning as it was in UP. It would bebetter to conclude that the victoryspree will continue for quite sometime till a Bihar emerges. To say thattwo years is a long time in politics willbe an act of deceiving oneself. In UP,after the defeat, there were manyCongressmen who blamed the routon its alliance with the SamajwadiParty. The same happened with thelatter. There are no alliances to beblamed on, in Delhi. But even if therewere, to blame an alliance for thedefeat, as done post-UP elections, isan act of laziness. It should berealized and accepted that there is aHindutva wave and that Modi hasemerged as a person who can deliver,not merely the RSS dream, but alsowhat he calls development. Every actof his is interpreted by most citizensas an act done in good faith and alsointerpreted as explained by him.Citizens are unwilling to doubthis bona fides. These two thingshave to be accepted and a counterstrategy should be built on these forsuccess.

A deep introspection is needed byall those political forces who do notwant this victory spree to continue.The Congress, which came third inthe Delhi elections, has to decidewhether it should go back to its rootsor continue with the reform agendawhich it unleashed in the early 1990sand, though under duress, wasaccepted as an article of faith. Itshould realize that if it wants tosurvive in Indian politics there is nogain in this agenda. Modi hasaccepted the agenda in toto and isdelivering it successfully and withmuch more vigour than the Congressunder UPA could do. That the agendais likely to soon come unstuck, likeglobalization, is something that has tobe realized by it and going back toNehru, or better Gandhiji, as itssurvival strategy is the option it should

adopt. It would do well to rememberthat towards his last days, Nehruconfessed that he erred, and addedthat he should have acceptedGandhiji’s path. Will the Congress beable to do it? To survive, it has to.

The left too, has a lot to introspect.It should review its past policies andboldly declare, if it wishes to remainrelevant, that its’ opposition of the’42 movement was wrong, it wasbetrayal of the country. And recognizethat state capitalism can hardly undothe mischief of capitalism. On endsand means too, it will have to reviseits thinking so also its assessment ofGandhiji. Many left intellectuals havealready done the last. Left partiesneed to follow suit.

Socialists also have to introspectdeeply. They should accept that therewere some among them whoconverted a strategy to defeat theCongress into an article of principleand spoiled their fair name. Afteraccepting wholeheartedly the mantrathat means should be as pure as ends,Socialists abandoned it for power andlost their character. Socialists haveto work hard to regain what it has lostand coming under one roof may helpthem.

And, the AAP, which lostdecisively, will have to realize thatpolitics requires some identifiableideology. It’s not enough to be anti-crony capitalism. To do justice to thepoor, to the common man, a politicalforce has to be anti-capitalist and thecadres have to be trained that way.Its banishing a group of people whowere part of the anti-corruptionmovement and were also prominentin the party has boomeranged. Theseeds of its decline were sown theday it split. Splits do not benefit apolitical party as the history of socialistmovement shows.

To stymie the victory spree, thefirst step that the parties opposed to

the BJP will have to work on, is toensure all of them come together.Efforts are on in this direction andone hopes that the Delhi results willcatalyze the process. But comingtogether is only a strategy; it cannotdeliver all that is needed. It is only anarithmetic solution. In politics, it doesnot work as it does in maths. Theparties together need to create avision of an inclusive India, of a politybased on some universal secularvalues and ethics, where ends are asimportant as the means; and theyneed to be committed to achieving itwholeheartedly.

Modi, who has emerged as a doerpar excellence and the RSS whichhas succeeded in converting a largenumber of people to its idea of Indiahave to be countered by those whoare with the idea of India that hasbeen laid down in the Constitution bypositing it against the other idea ofIndia. This idea was popularizedduring the freedom struggle by thefather of the nation. The fight in thefuture has to be fought to save ourConstitution, especially the idea ofIndia that we hold dear. And the anti-BJP forces have to realize also thatthe freedom movement promisedpower to the people in the fields andfactories, but those who came topower post-freedom, abandoned it.Giving power to common persons hasto be the new dream and that needsto be pursued.

There is a challenge which Modiis facing. It is in Kashmir. Fromwhat is appearing in the press itdoesn’t seem that he has anycredible solution for the Kashmirpeople. His problem may not be asmuch as the stone pelters as hisown mentors. His intuition maybetelling him that he should start adialogue, but his mentors may notallow him to do so and that canbecome his Waterloo.

–GGP


The first round of the FrenchPresidential elections took place on23rd April. Since no candidate gotthe majority, the French citizens willvote in the 2nd and the final round on7th May. According to the Frenchsystem, if no candidate gets themajority in the first round, the firsttwo getting the maximum votes goto the second round for a run-off poll.After the 23rd April results, the toptwo candidates Emmanuel Macronand Marine Le pen go to the secondround.

There were 11 candidates in theelectoral fray, but only five were inthe race. For the first time in themodern French history, theincumbent-socialist presidentFrancois Hollande did not run for thesecond term. In addition toEmmanuel Macron and Marine Lepen there were Francois Fillon fromthe Republicans, Jean-LucMelenchon, an ex-Socialist partymember supported by the CommunistParty of France and a section of theSocialist party, and Benoit Hamon,of the Socialist party, the officialcandidate of the party. Both theRepublican candidate and Socialistparty candidate were elected by theprimaries of the parties, againsomething new in recent history ofthe political parties. Francois Fillondefeated the former president ofFrance, Nicola Sarkozy, and AlainJuppe, the Prime Minister of Franceunder Jacque Chirac. Benoit Hamonwon the party nomination bydefeating former Prime MinsterManuel Valls. Both Fillon and Hamonhad a good start as they got theirnomination through well-fought

Breaking the Mould in French Politics

D. K. Giri

campaigns, but were knocked off bytheir own doings; Fillon got mired inscandals of nepotism and corruptionas he paid his wife from publicmoney for the work she did not do,and Benoit was representing adeeply divided party which wassupporting him officially, but manyin the party were supporting the farleft Melenchon.

Emmanuel Macron was thewinner on 23rd April with highestnumber of votes as predicted in theopinion polls. He is most likely to winthe presidency. Macron’s campaignand the win in the first round havecertainly broken the mould in theFrench politics. For the first time inFrench political history, the traditionalleft and the right, the Socialists andthe Republicans have lost in the firstround. Referring to the defeatsuffered by both left and the right,the international observers called thevote on 23rd, “a stunning rebuke ofFrance’s mainstream politicalforces”. Others like Le Temps ofSwitzerland said,”the results signaledthat the French Republic was broken,and the voters wanted deepchanges”. The other unprecedentedthing to have happened is thatMacron does not even have apolitical party. He launched amovement a year back called EnMarche (On the Move) and brokethe stranglehold of the establishedpolitical parties. He presented a newvision for France and the French arefalling for it. The second round,according to many perceptiveobservers, will witness a clash of twostrong visions of France, “oneinclusive and open to the world and

its concerns, and the other cut offbehind the French borders and its oldmyths”. The stakes are high, and thefinal choice of the French people willchange their country, but also thepolitics of Europe and the world.

Marine Le Pen’s (the runner-upon 23rd April) vision for France andher world view are known as her farright party National Front has beenaround. But, Emmanuel Macron is abrand new phenomenon in theFrench politics. Although he had abrief stint as a Minister of Economyin the government of the incumbentpresident Francois Hollande, heresigned, created the En Marchemovement with fresh ideas thatresonate with the people, andannounced his candidature for thepost of the highest office of thePresident. Before this, he nevercontested any election, and is only39 years old. Let us look at his ideas,what they mean for France, theEuropean Union and the rest of theworld. Also his campaign methodought to be studied by all thoseseeking to pursue new politics. Abrief profile of Macron and thereview of his ideas are therefore inorder.

Macron a former investmentbanker did not fight any electionbefore. He was brought to politicsby Francois Hollande as his financialadvisor and then made a Minister ofEconomy is his cabinet. As theMinister, he wanted to bring certainbasic financial reforms, which wereknown as Macron law. The reformswere stalled by the deep divisions inthe socialist party. He was frustrated.


Janata

is available at

www.lohiatoday.com

He realized that he could bringfundamental changes only as thepresident. So he decided to run forit. He launched the movement in asmall meeting of a few dozens ofpeople in a provincial town of Francewithout any fanfare. He resignedfrom the government and built themovement. As the movement pickedup, he announced his candidature. Inthe French political history, this is saidto be the fastest rise of a politician.

As per the testimonies of hisstudy-mates and colleagues,Macron was a precocious child,had unusual demeanors and a quicklearner; “everyone that cameacross him knew at the time thathe was somebody extra-ordinaryand that he was different”. He issaid to be ambitious anddetermined. He would like to dothings differently. His personal life,his marriage is not normal by usualstandards; his wife is 24 yearssenior to him and he has sevenstep-grand children. When, as astudent, he was asked about hisambition, what he wanted tobecome, he said he wanted to bethe president of France. Hismovement is new, neither left norright. Macron realized that heneeded to draw people to thecentre, both from the left and theright. In order to do so, one needsa strong personality. One needssome charisma to launch amovement. He cultivated forhimself that charisma andpersonality needed to unite thepeople divided between the twoantagonistic blocks - left and right.But to keep the people united, oneneeds a political programme. Suchpolitical programmes are writtenby the experts and consultants. Butin his case, Macron used theMovement to generate ideas fromthe people who have their concerns

and complaints. The Movementcontacted many people with justtwo questions: what works andwhat does not work for France.

Macron realized that his manifestowas to be balanced, neither left norright. He said, “I want it to be aprogramme that brings France intothe 21st century”. His programmeshave something for everyone - helpfor farmers, for industry, foremployers, for workers, forentrepreneurs and so on. He cutstaxes, but supports those on lowincome. He commits 50 billion eurofor public investment on job training,renewable energy, infrastructureand modernization. He would like tounite France’s complex pensionsystem made up of 35 differentpublic schemes. He is suggestingcutting 120,000 public sector jobs inorder to bring down the budgetdeficit. Significantly, he is asking thecompanies to renegotiate a 35-houra week work schedule. Moreimportant, he is for European Union.He wants to deepen the integrationbetween the Euro zone countries; heopposes immigration quotas, calls forstrengthening the external bordersand a unified immigration policy. Thisis good news if he wins. France hasbeen the main architect of theEuropean Union. With the exit ofBritain from EU and persistingfinancial instability in the memberstates, namely Spain and Greece,European Union seems to bedoddering. Although Germany hasbeen the financial engine of the EUvehicle, France provided the politicaldirection to move. With Francerecoiling on itself owing to her ownproblems – terrorism, Muslimintegration, slow growth, rise of farright, the weakening of the left, etc.European Union is stalled. Macron’smain plank is ‘unlocking France’ andproviding opportunity for all to grow,

if this happens to any degree, the EUcould also be unlocked and releasedto grow politically by repairing itseconomic integration. In fact, Brexitshould give a new opportunity for apolitical Europe. Why that is so, isthe scope for another write up onthe subject. But just to throw theperspective, Britain has been areluctant partner in the EuropeanUnion, and worse, it kept the Anglo-American Axis alive by stunting thegrowth of EU as an independentpolitical actor in the internationalscene. France under Macron shouldsee it and revive the politicalintegration of Europe like commonsecurity policy etc.

To conclude, Macron broke newground in politics. In Europe, wherethe party system is fully developed,he has been able to go past it. TheFrench novelist Victor Hugo hadtalked about the power of ideas inpublic life. He said” no armyhowever strong can defeat thepower of an idea whose time hascome”. Macron came up with a newidea and defeated the twoestablished parties who had run outof ideas. This is a lesson for thepoliticians and aspiring politicalleaders in developing democraciesincluding India who focus onelectoral arithmetic of caste andcommunities, not on ideas and neworganizing principles. Politics withoutideas is blind. Let everyone see whatpolitics offers and let the politicianssee for themselves where they aregoing.


The secular model currently offersno counter-narrative to challengeHindutva that claims to unite peopleabove caste and region.Constitutionally and legally, wecannot be a Hindu rashtra but UttarPradesh 2017 is the point where Ibelieve that in spirit we became one.I did not think so in (the generalelections of) 2014, which I saw as anextraordinary mandate where a party(the Bharatiya Janata Party) won asimple majority with the lowest everpercentage of votes – 31%.

In 2017, after a magnificentvictory (in the Uttar PradeshAssembly elections), India’s rulingparty has chosen a religious leaderor monk (Adityanath) to lead thenation’s largest state. A few daysafter being chosen, he said there isnothing wrong in India being a Hindurashtra.

So we must ask, what is a Hindurashtra? We really do not have muchexperience of it in the world. Till2008, Nepal was the only Hindukingdom in the world and Iremember my friends in theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghbeing quite distressed when itceased to be so.

In the words of Savarkar

Here I would like to quote fromthe most intellectually engagingideologue of the Hindu Right,Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Hisspeeches as president of the Hindu

Forget what a Hindu rashtra will mean for minorities.What will it mean for Hindus?

Saba Naqvi

Mahasabha are published as HinduRashtra Darshan. In his 1937presidential address, he began withwhat he called a Homage to theIndependent Hindu Kingdom ofNepal and sent greetings to the kingin holding out as a Hindu power.After more praise of Nepal, heproceeds to define Hindutva, explainwhat is a Hindu, and why peoplewhose motherland and holy-landsare not the same cannot be part ofthe Hindu nation.

He describes the Mahasabha asa Hindu Rashtra Sabha and saysthe Hindus are a nation bythemselves. He then asks, “Howthe Hindus who differ so muchamongst themselves in every detailof life could at all be called a nationas such?” He replies: “To suchquestions, my reply is that no peopleon the earth are so homogenous asto present perfect uniformity inlanguage, culture, race and religion.A people is marked out a nation bythemselves not so much by theabsence of any heterogeneousdifferences amongst themselves asby the fact of their differing fromother peoples more markedly thanthey differ amongst themselves.”

Fellow Maharashtrian DrAmbedkar looked at the sameparadigm from an entirely differentangle when he said that “Hindusociety is a collection of castes. Acaste has no feeling it is affiliated toanother caste except when there isa Hindu-Muslim riot.”

From what I can make out,reading the ideologues of the pastand deciphering the actions ofpoliticians of the ruling party, the firsttask of this Hindu rashtra is to createa particular identity by stressing thedifferences with others, who wouldbe minorities. To create thisimagined unity of Hindu society, theyneed symbols and motifs and todaythe cow is, I believe, the primarymotif of the Hindu rashtra.

Surya namaskar, yoga, qabrstan(graveyard), cows, meat, slaughterhouses, these are all code words. Asort of cultural fascism that is soughtto be imposed since legally, the Hindurasthra cannot exist.

There are some agitationaltemplates of the Hindu rashtra, suchas those who sing or do not singVande Mataram (never mind that itis AR Rahman, who converted toIslam in his life time, who has givenIndia the most evocative modernrendition of Vande Mataram).

Conversion is another issue, onwhich Christians are attacked morethan Muslims but in more remoteparts of India, away from the spotlight.(As an aside, let me say that it’salways easy to annoy the Right wingby pointing out that Dr Ambedkar,the father of our Constitution, wilfullyconverted to Buddhism.)

Upholding two-nation theory?

So, can such a nation be created

Excerpts from Prof. Madhu Dandavate Memorial Lecture delivered in Mumbai under the auspices of KeshavGore Smarak Trust on Apri 20, 2017.l


in spirit? Before we answer this, letus remember one thing very clearly:if we keep stating overtly andcovertly that we are a Hindu rashtra,then our moral position on Kashmiris lost. We are then giving a greatvictory to Jinnah’s two-nation theorythat holds Hindus and Muslims to beseparate nations. (Recently, a BJPMP tweeted that the solution toKashmir lies in depopulating theValley).

But then the two-nation theorycould not be made to work inPakistan where religion was meantto be the unifying glue. But let’s seewhom they have been able toaccommodate in this imaginary Landof the Pure homeland of Muslims.First, they could not stomach the rule

of Bengali Muslims, hence East andWest were divided. Then, within theHome of Muslims, Punjabisdominated and competed withSindhis. Within Karachi, the Mohajirs(those who immigrated post-Partitionfrom India to the newly formedPakistan) and run a reign of terroreven as they claim discrimination.Shias, Ahmadiyas are all routinelytargeted. Recently, we saw MashalKhan, a young student, lynched inPakistan because he was anAhmadiya.

Around the same time, a few dayshere or there, Pehlu Khan, a cattletrader, was lynched in Alwar becausehe was transporting a milch cow.

Many of us do worry about

what the Hindu rashtra has instore for minorities, but equally,I would ask, what does i tsubscr ibe for Hindus? Theproblem is that at an ideologicallevel, it’s all very mean-spirited.Is there some grand humanistvision behind this Hindu rashtra?A moral centre? I f so , I amwilling to be a participant in it. Ihave one qualification. I do yogaevery morning and that includes24 surya namaskars. I suspectmany of the BJP faithful who lineup behind Pr ime Minis terNarendra Modi on World YogaDay (as if yoga were inventedby the BJP) cannot match myfacil i ty with yogic postures.Adityanath, I am certain, canbeat me to it.

Dr. Suresh Khairnar, who was elected All India President of the RashtraSeva Dal

unopposed recently, said at the meeting to elect him that the threat of fascism is looming

large on the horizon of India. Moral policing, cow-vigilantism and imposed patriotism by

forcing Muslims to chant “VandeMataram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” are expressions of

this and added that this reminds us of pre-fascist era in Italy and Germany. The shocking

incident in West Bengal in which young children were used in an armed procession on

Ramnaomi is an indication of the days to come.

Continuing, Dr. Khairnar said that the RSS has been built on the model of Benito Mussolin’s

Fascist party of Italy and Hitler’s Nazi Party of Germany and is now implementing the

fascist agenda after coming to power at the centre and in several states .The minorities,

dalits, tribals and workers are being targeted, making their life miserable. He appealed to

the RSD volunteers to make India “Sanghmukt” (free from RSS). He also appealed to all

revolutionary and progressive forces to rally against the fascist forces by joining the

movement initiated by the RashtraSeva Dal.


License to Post without prepayment WPP License No. MR/Tech/WPP-210/West/2017Published on Sunday, April 30, 2017 & Posted on Wedenesday May 3, 2017 at Mumbai Patrika Channel, Mumbai GPO-1



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Vol. 72 No. 16May 7, 2017




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Morari Bapu's RamSandeep Pandey

Turkish President in IndiaD. K. Giri

Global Vision of Olof PalmeRoger Hallhag

Being at the same timeChief Minister of a State and

a Member of Lok Sabhais illegal

Rajindar Sachar

One bug which has bitten bothIndia and Pakistan and nowBangladesh is the espionage. Anyone who visits from theneighbouring country is considereda spy until proved otherwise. It reallydepends on the External and Homeministries whether a particularperson would be let off freely. Inother words, the police force is anarbiter. And it goes without sayingthat the sentence awarded to theperson would be life timeimprisonment or death.

Normally, the court decides.However, the case in Pakistan isdifferent because it is ruled by themilitary. Still the Civil Court havetheir role depending upon localmilitary commanders. They in facthave the last word. Even the deathsentence is awarded by them. Thequestion of evidence arises but itagain depends on local militarycommanders.

The Dawn from Karachi hasreported how Jadhav, an Indianbusinessman, was sentenced todeath. ”Indian RAW Agent/Navalofficer 41558Z CommanderKulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav aliasHussein Mubarak Patel was

The Bug of EspionageKuldip Nayar

arrested on March 3, 2016 througha Counter Intelligence Operationfrom Mashkel, Balochistan, for hisinvolvement in espionage andsabotage activities against Pakistan.“The spy has been tried through FieldGeneral Court Martial (FGCM)under Pakistan Army Act (PAA) andawarded death sentence,” themilitary’s public affairs wing, ISPR,announced on Monday.

Sartaj Aziz, Advisor on ForeignAffairs to Prime Minister NawazSharif has admitted that there waslittle evidence to convict but otherthings, he says, add up to proveJadhav’s involvement. In any case,Sartaj Aziz words are adequate.Since Pakistan has submitted therelevant papers to the SecretaryGeneral UN. It believes that theverdict, if he at all delivers, wouldbe in favour of Islamabad.

Indeed, it is hell for a person whovisits a neighbouring country. He orshe is pursued by the Intelligencedepartment wherever he goes. Eventhe shopkeeper is questioned as ifhe is party to the buyer’s selectionof the place. Markets want buyersfrom a neighbouring countrybecause they spend lot of money.

2 JANATA, May 7, 2017

But the questioning by the policedeters them.

I recall that once a Pakistani whopicked me up from the airport wasupset by the police car that followed.He stopped the car and asked thedriver why he was pursuing the car.He said in reply that he was not toblame. He was doing what hissuperior had asked him to do. Myfriend, who was a leading editor,knew the military superiors. Theresult was that the car pursuing usincreased the distance but it did notgive up doing so.

Assume that Jadhav was a spyof sorts but what could he havespied. Technology has advanced somuch that through a satellite you canread from air even the digits paintedon car number plate. Therefore,Jadhav’s guilt would be consideredPakistan’s revenge for some otherdeed.

The Pakistan announcement didnot say when the trial wouldcommence and how long it wouldcontinue before the verdict washanded down. In the case of Jadhav,the announcement mentioned thatthe sentencing had been ratified byChief of the Army Staff Gen QamarJaved Bajwa. It has not been spelledout why and on what ground.

Since Pakistan has denied evencounselor facilities after as many asfourteen requests made, it is difficultto know the reason for deathsentence to Jadhav. Foreign MinisterSushma Swaraj has warned that ifthe sentence to Jadhav was carriedout, it would be an unfriendly act.The recent surgical strike should bea warning. New Delhi can go to anyextent.

Morari Bapu's RamSandeep Pandey

The usual picture that one wouldsee of Ram would be with Sita,Laxman and Hanuman, of what iscalled the Ram Darbar. It was not atradition to have isolated picture oridol of Ram. Even the commongreeting was 'Jai Siyaram,' Sita'sname appeared together with Ram's.

Then came the Ram templemovement. A picture of Ram inaggressive posture with arrowmounted on the bow, his hairs flyingtowards back, appeared during LalKrishna Advani's rathyatra. TheVishwa Hindu Parishad converted afamily Ram to an aggressor Ram. JaiSiyaram greeting transformed toslogan 'Jai Shri Ram.' If the purposeof Vishwa Hindu Parishad had beento spread the message of Hindureligion then a Ram Darbar picturewould have been sufficient. But VHPwas interested in milking politicaladvantage out of the templecampaign. Hence the character ofdignity personified Ram waschanged.

Now Ram had waged a waragainst Ravan. Where would one finda Ravan in this age? So, it wasdecided to target the Babri masjid inAyodhya. In the name of Ram templemovement workers of Vishwa HinduParishad, Rashtriya SwayamsewakSangh, Bhartiya Janata Party, HinduMahasabha, Bajrang Dal and ShivSena launched an attack on thedilapidated structure of Babrimosque. It was BJP which was inpower in Uttar Pradesh and in thePrime Minister Narsimha Rao theyfound a Vibhishan, someone who waswilling to help them in demolition of

the mosque.

The Ram temple movement helpedin polarization of votes which helpedthe BJP. But in the process theycommunalized the entire society andpushing the real issues affectingpeople like poverty, illiteracy,malnourishment, sorry state of affairsof health care, farmers' suicides,issues of injustice againstmarginalized sections of society. Nowcow slaughter, Pakistan, Kashmir,love-jihad, anti-Romeo squads, tripletalaq have become the dominatingissues in politics. People who differedfrom the views of Hindutva politicsbecame its victims. Individuals likeDabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgiwere murdered. The politics ofreligion soon turned into politics ofhatred and Muslims became the easytarget. Muslim citizens had to paywith their lives for suspicion of havingconsumed beef or while carryingcattle from one place to another,. Theseeds of this kind of violence wereinherent in the Ram templemovement. The cases of Muslimsmurdered in Ayodhya on 6thDecember, 1992 during the frenzy ofmasjid demolition have not beenregistered to date.

The path on which the Hindutvaforces are taking this country willmake it a fundamentalist nation. Isthis the concept of Ram rajya?

This country will have to be savedfrom the politics of Hindutva. It willhave to be ensured that followerspractice the true tenets of theirrespective religion and live peaceably.For peace and happiness in society(Continued on Page 3)

JANATA, May 7, 2017 3

communal harmony is essential. Forcommunal harmony the syncreticaspects of religion will have to begiven preference over thefundamentalist streak in it.

Here the efforts made by famouspreacher of story of Ram fromGujarat Morari Bapu are worthmentioning. The idols of Ram,Laxman and Hanuman that have beeninstalled in the Ram Darbar of templein his native Mahua in BhavnagarDistrict are bereft of weapons. Hebelieves that the Gods of future willnot need any weapons. Morari Bapuhas thus shown a character of Ramquite contrarian to that of VHP's.

It is possible to establishcommunal harmony on the basis ofMorari Bapu's conception of Ram.The Hindus believe that their religionis very peaceful. But the politics ofHindutva, imitating the politics of

other religions which originated muchlater in history, is trying to radicaliseit. This poses perilous threat to thevery existence of Hindu religion.

The Hindu society must stick tothe image of Ram as portrayed byMorari Bapu or Mahatma Gandhi anddecisively reject the aggressive Ram,the movement for construction ofwhose temple is based on violence.Only this will save the Hindu religion.To insist on building a Ram temple onthe disputed site is not religion butpolitics. Why should the commonHindu be drawn into this politics?

If the Hindu religion has survivedso long in history it is not because ofits aggressive character but becauseof its accommodative nature andvalue of tolerance. We have not onlywelcomed people holding differentviews but even adopted them. Thepeople who want to make it a

fundamentalist religion are knowinglyor unknowingly harming it.

Acharya Yugal Kishore Shashtri,the priest of a temple in Ayodhya, hasopposed the politicization of Hindureligion. He has decided to converthis Ram-Janaki temple into an all faithharmony centre where peoplebelieving in any religion and evenatheists would be welcome. An 'AllFaith Harmony' Trust has beenformed. Former cabinet secretary ofGovernment of India, late ZafarSaifullah, was also part of this effort.

The politics of Hindutva will createdivisions in society whereas effortsof Morari Bapu and Yugal KishoreShashtri will strengthen the unitywithin various groups. The people ofIndia have to decide whether theywant a violence and rift ridden societyor harmony and peace?

Both India and Pakistan should sitacross the table and decide thematters between them once for all.Kashmir may be separated fromother problems and discussed at aseparate committee. There is noreason that why two cannot dobusiness or set up joint ventures. Infact, goodwill would be generated ifthey could only ease the visa facilitiesfor tourists to begin with. Unofficialtrade which is going on at the borderscan be allowed to increase. Officialtrade would bring in all kind ofproblems because both countrieshave a long list of grievances againsteach other.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saidrecently that there was no reasonwhy India and Pakistan could not liveas friendly countries. The fact of

partition is seventy years ago andwhatever the wounds inflicted byboth of them is a painful story. Onemillion people were killed in theforced migration, the biggest in theworld. Thirty to forty million peoplehad to find new homes because theydid not feel safe at their places afterpartition.

Jadhav is not the last person toface death sentence by militarytribunal which sets a newprecedents, of trial of civilians bymilitary court. Apparently, politicalparties are not happy and they havetried to abolish military courts. Thematter came up before the PakistanNational Assembly only a few daysago. There was a fierce oppositionfrom democratic and liberal parties.But unfortunately the military had thelast word and tribunals have come

to acquire a legal sanction.

Since Pakistan has a large say inthe SAARC it may be prudent forother countries in the region todiscuss some kind of commonmarket and ways to establish evenunofficial methods for trade andbusiness. At present the businessthrough Dubai is large but expensive.Agreed that Kashmir is a runningsore, but some ways should be foundother than pelting the stones to sortout the problem. Too much emphasison the Islamic aspect is encouragingonly the communal parties andpostponing the solution.

Jadhav’s sentence has becomeanother problem between the twocountries. The efforts should be howto lessen such instances ofsentence-at-will. There are notconducive to peace in the region.



The Turkish 'all-powerful'President RecepTayyipErdogan wasin India for a two-day visit on April30 and May 1. Before we assess thepurpose and outcome of his visit toIndia, it may be worth our while topeep into the radical transformationTurkish politics has just undergoneafter the April 16 referendum.

The Justice and DevelopmentParty, in Turkish Adaletve KalkinmaPartisi (AKP) came to power in2002. Erdogan was the PrimeMinister from 2003-14, and since2014, he has been the President ofTurkey. Erdogan has been a strongpopulist paternalist and a promoterof a personality cult. A Middle-Eastexpert commenting on the style andpolitics of Erdogan said, "residing ina palace of more than 1000 roomsand considering himself as heir to theOttoman sultans, Erdogan is nowerratic, corrupt and a despotic strongman at the edge of Europe".

Erdogan has been systematicallydecimating the Turkish democraticinstitutions. He has ruthlesslyrepressed any opposition in any walkof the country - politics academia,media army, police, and so on. But,the April 16 referendum marks thenadir of Turkish democratic politics.The 'yes' vote in the referendumgives unfettered and almostunlimited powers to the President.The checks and balances that existedhave been done away with; theposition of the Prime Ministereliminated, the President has the rightto appoint his cabinet, and all senior

Turkish President in IndiaD. K. Giri

bureaucrats without the approval ofthe Parliament; and the Presidentrules by decree.

The campaign undertaken byErdogan for the referendum wasquite aggressive and repressive. The'no' campaigners were hunted,hounded and harassed. Any voice ofdissent was muffled; they were noteven allowed to distribute flyers infavour of 'no'. The Organisation ofSecurity and Co-operation in Europehas confirmed this in its report, albeit,a bit diplomatically that, "the 16 Aprilconstitutional referendum in Turkeywas contested on an unequal playingfield, and the two sides in thecampaign did not have equalopportunities".

The country is evenly divided, thedifference between 'yes' and 'no' votewas about 3 percent. Despite therepression by Erodgan's government,people voted for 'no' to certainconstitutional changes. Turkey hasbeen a modern society, compared toother Middle Eastern countries.Since Mustafa Kemal Pashaestablished Turkey into a republic outof the ashes of Ottoman Empire, itgraduated from a 'sick man ofEurope' to a strong, secular, andmodern country, waiting to join theEuropean Union. The standards forbeing a part of Europe are indicatorsof Turkish development as a nation,They are; full respect fordemocracy, the rule of law,fundamental freedoms, pluralism andhuman rights etc. Now the EuropeanUnion is wary of Turkish slide into

authoritarianism from a pluralistdemocracy. But there is hope. Noleader, however mighty one may be,can continue to rule in completedisregard to people's aspirations forfreedom of discussion and dissent.So, Erdogan will have to change orthe people will throw him out.

Against this dramatic backdrop inTurkey, we evaluate Erdogan's visitto India, the biggest functioningdemocracy in the world. Usually,when the heads of states visit othercountries, there are talks on trade,agreements signed on economiccooperation, increase in touristtraffic, revival and strengthening ofcultural ties etc. Predictably, all thesehappened during Erdogan's visit too.India and Turkey bilateral relationshave been not-so-substantialbecause of Turkey's apparentproximity with Pakistan and itsposition on Kashmir. The politicaldifferences on Kashmir, and India-Pak acrimony were evident in theutterances of the leaders of both thecountries. In an interview to atelevision Erdogan said, thanKashmir problem should be resolvedthrough multilateralism, called forinternational involvement on Kashmirissue. India did not appreciate thisstand, and reacted by saying it isessentially a problem of terrorism andKashmir is an integral part of Indiaand so on. Without delving into thecrux of the Kashmir imbroglio, onewould like to say that India needs tofind an enduring solution to Kashmirproblem. India's foreign policy(national interest) has been largely


influenced by the Kashmir question.The present government with acomfortable majority in theParliament and as a coalition partnerin J & K government should solvethe Kashmir problem once and forall, so that we will not be wary ofany head of state visiting India andmaking a statement on Kashmir. Onecannot believe that we have run outof all ideas on Kashmir. The lateAsghar Ali Engineer, a moderateMuslim thinker and activist once toldme after a seminar in the Universityof Hull, United Kingdom, "Brother!India will not give an inch ofKashmir, nor can Pakistan everdefeat India on Kashmir; thereshould be such a regional structure,that Kashmir belonging to eitherIndia or Pakistan becomesimmaterial". He did not elaborate onit for want of time, but here is one ofthe options.

Erdogan, however, made a strongstatement on terrorism per se,"Turkey will always be by the sideof India in full solidarity while battlingterrorism - and terrorists will bedrowned in the blood they shed".The political observers commentedthat Erdogan was expressingsolidarity with India on the latest left-wing extremist attack on CRPFpersonnel at Sukma, Chhattisgarh.Prime Minister Modi's statement onterrorism struck a different note, ashe said "countries need to work asone to disrupt the terrorist networksand their financing and put a stop tocross-border movement of terrorists.

On the trade and economic fronts,there was more convergence andpromise. Both the countries pledgedto increase their trade to 10 billionUSD in three years from 6.5 billion

USD it is today. India and Turkeysigned three MOUs; one in the fieldof information and communicationtechnologies, one on training, and thelast on cultural exchange programmefor 2017-2020. They agreed toexpand cooperation in energy andinfrastructure sector. India andTurkey are both energy deficient andgiven that the energy needs areincreasing day by day, both countriesshould make this sector an "importantpillar in the bilateral relations". Indiaalso has invited Turkey into theconstruction sector. India plans tobuild 50 million houses by 2022. Ithas liberalised the FDI in constructionsector. Turkish companies areinvited to participate in this sector.Turkish tourism sector is moredeveloped attracting a large numberof tourists. It could collaborate withIndia in enhancing its tourism sector.

Coinciding with the visit, an India-Turkey business summit wasorganised by FICCI, where 150business delegates from Turkeyparticipated. The business seems tobe upbeat in the bilateral relations.The Commercial councillor of Turkeyexpressed his satisfaction that"Erodogan's visit could well be oneof the most comprehensive meetingsin India in recent years; "this visitwill provide significant benefits forboth Turkish business people whoalready have investments in Indiaand those looking to potentially investhere".

On India's UNSC membershipbid, Erdogan pledged his country'ssupport. On joining NSG, hewelcomed both India and Pakistan.In view of his authoritarian style athome, Erdogan is not easy tocomprehend as a leader. He has

taken bold stances vis-a-visEuropean leaders, stirred up theTurkish diasporas for his benefit,even wanted to go to Holland to talkto Turkish people living there. Heimplements radically neo-liberaleconomic policies, but combinesthem with widespread distributivemechanisms, allegedly, to garnerpopular support. The internationalcommentators perceive him as ahighly populist leader. But, if a strongleader is good for Turkey, then he isthe man. When it comes to foreignpolicies, the nature of the at-home-regime does not matter much.Democratic United Kingdom wascolonial in its foreign policy, andAmerica with an establisheddemocracy at home is accused ofneo-imperialism aboard. So, India, inits own interest, could build up strongeconomic ties with Turkey. TheIndian state had good businessrelations with the military Junta ofBurma while Indian people supportedthe liberation struggle launched byAung San SuuKyi. Foreign policy isthe function of promotion of nationalinterest, although that is theconventional view. Promotion ofpolitical values in solidarity with thevictims of denial of such values isalso an imperative. Former PresidentObama did complain that India wasquiet on Burmese issue whereas itshould have been vocal, given its ownimpressive record of democracy. So,India has to do the tight-rope walkon its relation with Turkey. Erdogan'svisit to India did not catch muchinternational attention. Should ithave? Is international attention themeasure of successful bilateralism?It is necessarily not so, it is thebenefit of the peoples of both thecountries that should count.


Unlike Ambassador Petritsch andProfessor Meyer, I never personallyknew my countryman Olof Palme.Still I feel part of a whole generationof then young political activists, whofollowed a path laid down by OlofPalme and his fellow leaders WillyBrandt and Bruno Kreisky. Like somany others at the time, I joined MayDay manifestations and electioncampaign meetings in my home townGothenburg, where listening to OlofPalme was the main attraction. OncePalme came and spoke at mysecondary school, then as leader ofthe opposition before coming backas Prime Minister in 1982. I was a23-year-old delegate to the so calledSwedish People's Parliament againstApartheid, where Prime MinisterPalme gave has last public speech,one week before being assassinatedin February 1986.

The murder obviously shocked usgreatly. When l learnt about it, myfirst reaction was denial - this isimpossible! I shared that feeling withmost, as political violence seemed sodistant and unreal in a country thatessentially has escaped war andviolent conflicts for over twohundred years. Many refer to theassassination of Olof Palme as themoment when Sweden lost itsinnocence. Not even calm andpeaceful Sweden was protected.

That was further proven when welost our foreign affairs minister AnnaLindh, a social democratic primeminister in-waiting, in anotherassassination in 2003. Yet anothersuch moment struck us again two

Global Vision of Olof PalmeRoger Hallhag *

*Former senior advisor to Prime Minister of Sweden. Roger Halhag's contribution at panel discussion on book by BVivekanandan, "Global Visions of Olof Palme, Bruno Kreisky and Willy Brandt", (McMillan, 2016)

weeks ago. A man seeminglyassociated with ISIS sought toterrorize Stockholm, killing fourpersons and injuring several more.

The assassination in 1986 did notderail Swedish politics or democraticculture. The political maturity andleadership was there to act in arational manner, instead of seekingscapegoats at home or abroad, evenif feelings were strong and the policeinvestigation did not go well.

For me, as for so many others ofmy generation, Olof Palme - in lifeand after - was a huge inspiration inopening our eyes to the world - andthat was a world with much moredramatic conflicts and injustices thenwhat we saw at home:

It was the Vietnam War thatchanged our of view of the UnitedStates, it was military coups in LatinAmerica leading us to welcome - yeswelcome - in the 1970s new groupsof refugees, after those that farearlier fled Nazi Germany - likeBrandt and Kreisky - and therepression by the Soviet empire, itwas the struggle to end Europeancolonialism in Southern Africa, it wasabout ending both the Cold War andcommunist repression in half ofEurope, and it was indeed the insightthat appalling social conditions andpoverty trapped most people in Asia,Africa and the Americas.

Palme explained and described itall forcefully. He made political senseof it and gave us a role. He madepolitical will for internationalsolidarity part of our identity. I want

to believe that this is one reason whySweden, Germany and Austria havestood out among European countriesin shouldering humanitarianresponsibilities during the recentwave of refugees from Syria, Iraqand elsewhere.

Personally, I got deeply involvedin the anti-apartheid movement andit was in that context I had my onlypolitical association with Olof Palme.As the school student unions in allthe Nordic countries organized afundraising for education for youngrefugees from apartheid in SouthernAfrica, Palme led the Nordic primeministers - across the politicalspectrum - to come out in support ofour campaign.

Later I had the privilege ofworking parallelly with Willy Brandtfor a brief period. I was president ofIUSY - the socialist youthinternational - during Brandt's lastyear of presiding the SocialistInternational. Unfortunately hishealth was not strong and he passedaway shortly after leaving that postin 1992.

Despite the lasting inspirationPalme provided, I would say thatwith his passing, Sweden lost both abit of its voice - nobody could fullytake up his mantle at the world scene- and a bit of its self-confidence. Afeeling of vulnerability started to setin. This trend was furthered by asevere economic crisis, hittingstrongly at employment and publicfinances, in the early 1990s. Untilthen almost the entire 20th century


had been a golden age for Sweden,moving from poverty to become anadvanced economy and welfarestate.

In this new reality, Sweden joinedthe European Union - at the sametime as Austria and Finland - and didnot do it from a position of strength.It has been much discussed if OlofPalme would have chosen the sameroute. Many of us think so, not leastbecause of his strong European andinternational vocation manifested inthe cooperation we discuss today.However, it is also a fact that OlofPalme revoked an initiative formembership of the Europeancommunities in the early 1970s. Herealised from Denmark and Norwaythat social democracy split over thematter of European integration andbecame much weakened. Palmebought us 20 more years of socialdemocratic hegemony in Sweden byavoiding the subject.

Palme had a sharp tongue andcould be brilliantly dominant indebates. This did not always servehim well. In some key electoraldebates his slower adversaries wonsympathy. Even if he was measuredon policy and by no means prone toextreme positions, Palme did also notshy away from controversy. Thatmade him to stand out in Sweden, acountry with a very consensus-oriented culture.

By most measures, humankindhas seen great progress in recentdecades. Social and economicindicators are pointing in the rightdirection almost everywhere. Life islonger and livelihood is better, humanrights are more respected, humanfreedom is greater and the idea ofdemocracy has taken root across theworld. I would say that our threeleaders laid the ground for thispositive development, unprecedentedin human history, both intellectually

and through their policies at nationaland international level.

The most important contributionby Brandt, Kreisky and Palme wasto advocate justice, freedom andwell-being not as somethingconfined to a one or another nationstate, but as universal visions for allpeople and societies to aspire to. Thiswas revolutionary thought at thetime. The term globalization had notyet invented and known.Decolonization was recent and notyet completed. Almost all thinkingabout social reforms, liberation anddevelopment was centered on whatcould be done in and by nation states.The notions of universal rightsand global solidarity were new,maybe not in theory but in politicalpractice.

This aspect of the pioneeringpolitical leadership by the three iseminently captured by ProfessorVivekanandan in his well-writtenbook. The professor has a long-standing, unique and deep insight intoEuropean social democracy. At thesame time, it is refreshing andclarifying to read about Europeanpolitics with a global and Indianperspective.

I remember with pleasure themonths that professor Vivekanandanspent in Stockholm, doing researchfrom his desk in the party officebuilding and the archives of theSwedish labour movement.

The publication of "Global visionsof Olof Palme, Bruno Kreisky andWilly Brandt" last year facilitatesdiscussions and reflections like thisand is therefore very timely. Theuniversal ideals and visions that thesemen espoused can certainly not betaken for granted.

The new era of democracy,human rights and human freedomirrespective of nationality and other

identities for which these leadersfought is of course sharplychallenged today, not least in Europe.I don't need to describe that.Everyday there is news aboutnarrow, short-sighted andconfrontational political responses tosocial challenges and conflicts.

And that brings me to the issue ofthe learnings from the three men.One lesson is that apart from beingtrue internationalists with globalvisions, they were first and foremostsocial reformists in their ownsocieties, firmly based at home andin their respective labourmovements. That's where all politicsstart and end. You cannot exerciseeffective leadership without being onthe shop floor.

Secondly, they decided to play tothe dreams and aspirations of voters,not resorting to the all too ofteneffective but tragic trick of playingto our worst fears. In that respectthey were true leaders, not as toomany politicians today who are merefollowers of ignorant sentiments andprejudices.

Thirdly, with this vocation of beingwhat we can call homegrown andpositive visionaries, it is also possibleto take on new challenges, even ifthey are hard. In Sweden, OlofPalme could actually pioneer theenvironmental perspective, whichwas not so easy for a labourmovement born out of the industrialrevolution and building itsachievements on exploiting naturalresources. In the same way, genderequality was not felt as verynecessary or important for maleworkers when Olof Palme first putit on the agenda.

These are some of the inspirationsI take from looking back at theremarkable leadership that ProfessorVivekanandan has recorded so well.


We undersigned have celebratedtoday "Communal Amity Day" inresponse to the call given byBhumiAdhikarAndolan at Kathua (J& K).

We wish to state that India hasbeen known to the world for itsvalues of tolerance, mutual respectand secular traditions. OurConstitution recognizes andreaffirms the rights of individual andcommunities to practice and preachtheir various faiths. The cold-bloodedmurder of Pehlu Khan at Alwar is amurder of all of these values. Notonly does it add fear in societies ofthe growing rise of criminal elementsveiled as upholders of religiouspurity, but also takes away the beliefof a law-abiding citizen that theirlives are protected by the rule of law.

Your regime is equalising the issueof communalism with anti-Muslimsentiments, in the process completelydismissing its other manifestations.This technique is appealing to thesentiments of the majority Hindupopulation who are failing to connectit with their daily issues. Thelynching of Pehlu Khan should notbe viewed as an independent caseas it would divert the larger issue athand.

The recent incident at Alwar isan attack on the livelihood of theagrarian population. The cow, a keyelement in agriculture is beingappropriated as a symbol ofHinduism and thus being

disconnected/ disassociated from itseconomic credentials. Thisdisconnect is being widened by theself-proclaimed gaurakshaks andvigilante groups which are operatingunder the patronage of Hindutvaelements. The claims of cowprotection come in conflict withcontemporary circumstances of landgrab and its allocation to industriesas this is largely shrinking the extentof pastoral lands meant for thegrazing of cows.

Demanding justice forPehlu Khanand victims of Alwar terror,BhumiAdhikarAndolan hadorganised a one-day dharna on the19th of April at JantarMantar, NewDelhi.The dharna was attended bya number of Members of Parliamentof various political parties, farmersand civil rights organisations fromHaryana and Punjab who extendedsolidarity and also launched their ownagitation in the States demandingjustice. Continuing its fight untiljustice for the victims of theAlwarepisode is achieved and alsoto stop any further terror in the nameof the cow protection, we celebrate30th April as 'Communal Amity Day'.

In the case of Pehlu Khan'slynching in Alwar, we demand that

Rs Onecrore compensation forPehlu Khan's family and job for afamily member, arrest ofperpetrators of the crime,Government purchase ofunproductive cows at market rate

and protection of right to cattletrade as well as right to choice offood.

The VasundharaRaje Governmentof Rajasthan must provide RsOneCrore as compensation to thebereaved family of Pehlu Khanand Rs25 lakhs each to the othervictims, taking the responsibility ofthe incident and to ensure civil anddemocratic rights and to give astrong message to the antinational elements which are tryingto disrupt communal harmony.

The Manohar Lal Khattargovernment of Haryana mustensure immediate and freemedical treatment to all thevictims.

The State Government mustprovide government job to onefamily member of Pehlu Khan.

Immediate arrest of all culpritsand ensure stringent punishment.Withdraw false cases againstvictims.

A special investigation team underdirect supervision of SupremeCourt must be assigned to ensureimpartial investigation to the crimeand role of the police

A high level enquiry under thesupervision of the Supreme Courtto unearth the conspiracy of RSSto create communal unrest on theissue of cow slaughter.

To,The Prime MinisterGovernment of IndiaNew Delhi

Subject: Memorandum to ensure Communal Amity.


Ensure farmers right to cattletrade and reopen all cattlemarkets immediately which havebeen closed down by theconcerned state governments.

Make provisions in the cattleprotection law to obligate stategovernments to purchase

Jk forum for peace and territorialintegrity organised may daycelebration at Gujjar Desh CharitableTrust hall today ,function waspresided over by Sheikh AbdulRehman ,ChMasood Ahmad .

Bangladesh Bharat PeoplesForum national coordinator Ex MlaDr Sunilam said that Bjp and it'sGovernment must accept that theircannot be any military solution of aproblem where people are united fora cause, if 5 lakh Mizos could not besuppressed militarily how 1 crore 10lakh JK peoples voice can besuppressed? Dr Sunilam said that byarresting students and youth ,imposing fabricated cases andsending them into jail is compellingthem to become militants .Govt isgiving them opportunity to organisethemselves and prepare long termstrategy. president of forum IdKhujuria said that many people saythat Kashmir has become flash outafter all we have seen 3 wars ,allaccords are lying in the dust .What

unproductive cattle providingmarket rate to farmers.

Protect the crops from straycattle by incorporating clauses inthe law to obligate stateGovernments to preserve all straycattle in shelters ensuringsufficient fodder, water and

veterinary care.

The Union Ministry of Agricultureshall call a meeting of all thepeasant and agriculture workerorganizations to discuss protectionof the rights of farmers on cattlewealth.

Sheikh Abdul Rehman (Ex MP) Dr Sunilam (Ex MLA) I D Khajuria Amrit VarshaVice-President National Coordinator Women's Coordinator

9858613193 9425109770 9419152093 9419167003

Bangladesh Bharat Pakistan People's Forum

we see are pellet guns ,bunkers,dailyhumiliations ,we need only one thing, dialogue without any conditions.J&K people need to unite to getjustice.

Dr Juruddin said that situation issituation is tragic. He said that NewGovernment want to divide thiscountry again on lines of Religion.They do not need vote of minorities.They must realise that if 8crorepeople can form a nation, than what20 cr people can do ?

BBPPF Trinational presidentDebabratBiswas said immediatedialogue must be initiated with allstake holders including Huriyat andPakistan.He said that BJP leadersmust stop giving irresponsiblestatements ,MrBiswas alleged thatPDP has joined hands with theforces against kashmiriat, jarurat andinsaniyat, he said that BBPPF willorganise peace solidarityconferences all in various states.

Ram Singh said that history ofKashmir is the history of brokenpromises ,he said their cannot be anysolution without genuine democracymeaning that free and fair electionsof block development council. AmjadGilani from Kashmir valley said thatstone throwing is the manifestationof anger of youth.

He said we are ready to becomerefugee & live in TN but we wantPeace in our daily lives.

DrArif said that we need toestablish peace centres all over notonly j&k but all over the country.Head MistressVimalaKaur said thatwe need to isolate forces ofintolerance, hatred ,secularism andfascim . MrsSantoshKhajuria saidthat war mongering should bestopped,war is not a solution it bringsdestruction .

Sheikh Abdul Rehman fromBanihal said we demand Govt ofIndia should stop step motherly.

Press Release

Start immediate dialogue with all stake holders including Hurriat andPakistan to resolve Kashmir crisis


treatment of kashmiris. Jiyalal fromKatua said that constitution is underthreat. Trade unionist RaghuveerSingh said that people should beprepared mentally to involve in peaceprocess.

Giving the valedictory addressBBPPF vice president Shekh AbdulRehman warned countrymen thatdemocracy and constitution is under

threat .He said that if you invest inrural development in place ofpurchasing War planes than povertycan be eliminated in 10 years. MrRehman said that Mr Modi is on theverge of imposing Presidentialsystem in this country.He said thatat the time when MPs of BJP aredemanding Carpet bombing onkashmir and Settlement ofKashmiris in TN as refugees, Prime

minister is keeping quiet .

Advocate Jamil Kazmicoordinated the programme. MrKazmi said that all promises must befulfilled,democratic rights must berestored and kashmiri must betreated respectfully.

Dr Sunilam09425109770

New Delhi: People's movementsand other civil society organisationsacross India would hold over 100actions of protest in 21 states of thecountry between May 1 - 7, 2017 tomark the 50th anniversary of theestablishment of the AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB),highlighting the gross human rightsviolations, loss of livelihood, andenvironmental destructions causedby the 'development model' beingpushed by ADB and otherinternational financial institutions(IFIs), using public money.

The during the first week of theMay, the organisations will holdmultiple programmes to expose theADB's neo-liberal capitalist model ofgrowth, where public money wasused to promote private corporations,and its failed development paradigm,through raising the larger issuesrelated to issues of accountability andtransparency of ADB and other IFIs.

ShaktimanGhosh, Generalsecretary National HawkerFederation, a trade union conductingprogrammes in several states said,"The model of development pushed

Press Release: May 1, 2017

Marking ADB's 50 years, Protest Actions to take place in over100 places in India this week

ahead by ADB resulted in the lossof livelihood and forced eviction,pushing people to poverty,condradicting ADB's stated motto of'fighting poverty' In urban areas, thehawkers are the badly hit ones.However with increasingprivatisation of services, even themiddle class will not be spared."

Some of the programmes beingorganized during the occasion rangefrom organizing protests, public talksor lecture series to highlight theserious impacts of ADB's lending, ata time when ADB is celebrating 50years of expanding its lendingportfolio of just over $3 billion duringthe first decade, to $123 billion duringthe last decade.

The programs are geographicallyspread from Bilaspur in HimachalPradesh to Thiruvananthapuram inKerala, and to the Mundra in Gujaratto Dibrugarh in Assam. WhilePeoples' Forum Against IFIs, aplatform of people's movements andcivil society organisations working onthe ill effects of internationalfinancing, is the one coordinatingthese 100+ events, the actions are

organised by local organisations in amanner which is relevant to them,to highlight their struggles / issuesand seek transparency andaccountability from IFIs.

"ADB needs to seriously reviewits push for hydro-projects in India,particularly in the Himalayas, in thename of clean energy program in thelight of the adverse environmentaland social fallouts of its projects andthe complete failure of its safeguardpolicies in this context," ManshiAsher of Himdhara - EnvironmentResearch and Action Collective said."Further, the escalation of costs inthese projects has put a questionmark on the financial feasibility ofhydro power projects," she added.

ADB's investments resulting inundermining local governance bodiesand other traditional institutions hascome to the fore time and again."The arrogance with which thedestruction of cultures andcommunities by way of bulldozingour rights and the condescendingbelief that we indigenous peoples ofthe NorthEast are uniformed enoughto be auctioning our rights and our


way of living to the highest'development' bidder like the IFIssuch as ADB, needs to be doneaway with. We are not stupid andwe will do our best to protect ourland and culture!" RatikaYumnam ofIndigenous Perspectives, Manipursaid.

Highlighting the disproportinateinfluence IFIs have on the policiesand other lending agencies, LeoSaldhana of Environmental SupportGroup Bangalore said, "ADB hasalways played the role of influencinga form of development that ensuresrevenue from loan recipientcountries flows out to the coffers ofcountries that control the bank'sstocks. For instance, ADB pushedfor Metro projects in India, andafter these super-expensive megaprojects were well on their way butwithout serving the real need - ofaddressing public transport, the bankbacked out.

"The way had already been pavedof Japan Bank and JICA to step into finance the Metro project, as isthe case in Bangalore. Interestingly,the project has 300% cost over-runsand is yet not functional. Meanwhile,the entire city has been reduced to amess of what it was before: India's'garden city', but not any more!"

Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (TataMundra) a $4bn, 4000 MW coalbased thermal power plant in KutchGujarat is one the projects ADB isco-financing, causing damage topeople and environment. Asconfirmed by its own accountabilitymechanism, Complaiance ReviewPanel, the project has violatedADB's policies on consultation withcommunities, the sanctioning of theproject was based on errenioussocial impact assessment and due tothe project the fish catch has reduceddrastically, threatening the livelihoodof thousands of fishworkers.

"Our plea to ADB to restore thelivelihood of the fishworkers have fellon deaf ears. While they arecelebrating the 50 years, thefishworkers in Mundra are strugglingto meet their ends," Bharat Patel,General Secretary of MachimarAdhikaar Sangharsh Sangathan said.

Through these 100+ actions,people's movements and other CSOsare demanding the ADB to mendtheir ways of lending, be transparentand accountable to people in whosename they run their business. Failingwhich, people will be left with nooption than to strengthen theirstruggles, despite repressive lawscurbing their right to dissent, freedomof expression and freedom ofassembly.

Website: https://wgonifis.netTwitter: @wgonifis

Email: [email protected]


The emphatic win of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has led to muchchurning among many oppositionparties, awakening them to the needfor unity and even be willing to shedlong held ideological positions in aspirit of accommodation. Oppositionleaders made a strong pitch for unityamong "secular" forces, contendingthat it was the "need of the hour" inorder to take on the ruling BJPjuggernaut. The occasion thatbrought these leaders on the sameplatform was an event to mark the95th birth anniversary of veteransocialist leader MadhuLimaye, as"unity of progressive forces". Theleaders of many opposition parties,including the Congress, Janata Dal-United, NCP, CPI and CPI-M, cametogether on a single platform to stop"communal forces" and emphasisedthe need to elect a President withsecular credentials in the upcomingpresidential elections. The eventsassume significance as theopposition leaders advocate unity to"fight the challenge to the democraticand secular character of theConstitution by the Sangh Parivar."

Veteran historian Professor IrfanHabib, who was the main speakerat this event said, "HinduMahasabha, RSS and MuslimLeague were never part of thefreedom movement". Putting thecurrent political situation inperspective, he urged theparticipants to work towards a largeropposition unity. "Socialists and theirinveterate opposition to the Congressled to a situation where right-wingersframed our Constitution, for theSocialists refused to be part of theConstituent Assembly," he added.

Very subtly, he told those on the daisthat there is little choice before them.

Speaking on the occasion,Congress leader Digvijaya Singhsaid, "If we have to save the countryfrom fascists and communal forces,the only way forward is the unity ofprogressive forces. They have tocome together. The oppositionparties should keep away theirdifferences and come together.Unity of the progressive forces isneed of the country. But at the sametime, I would like to convey a wordof caution. If you do not define thegrand alliance properly, the fight willbecome Modi versus others. Hence,we will have to be alert. This is nota fight of personalities, but ofideologies." Digvijaya Singh in hisspeech indicated that the time hascome to embrace the secularism asdefined by Mahatma Gandhi, andjettison the secularism of JawaharlalNehru. He said the secularism ofGandhi and of Nehru were distinct."Gandhian secularism is morerelevant to India," Singh said,emphasizing that it was Gandhi'ssecularism that had stopped theadvance of Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh. DigvijaySingh also insistedthat the phase of "anti-Congressism"was over, and said that just twoideologies were relevant today: "Thefascist, communal ideology versusthe secular, democratic ideals".Stating that the country did not need"anti-Congressim", the seniorCongress leader asked the parties to"offer a positive narrative to savedemocracy from the communalBJP." Interestingly MadhuLimayehad differed with his socialist leaderRammanohar Lohia's anti-

Congressism and in his last articlepublished on the day he died in 1995,Limaye had again stressed on theimportance of the Congress to India.

CPI(M) general secretarySitaramYechury called for formingsuch an alliance during thepresidential polls to ensure "secularsupervision" of the Constitution."There are a lot of questions on thepresidential election. The question iswhether the new President will beable to uphold the dignity of hisoffice. The question is whether thesupervision from the RashtrapatiBhavan will be secular orcommunal," Yechuri said. Do wewant communal supervision orsecular supervision? The result willhave a bearing on the situation in thecountry. So, it is going to be an acidtest. We appeal that all secularparties come together. "Not justcommunists or socialists but everysecular force should come together,"he said and appealed that theyshould come together to "choose asecular President".

CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjaanasked Prime Minister NarendraModi to field a consensual candidatefor the presidential polls. "Or else,the opposition parties will fieldcommon candidates for thepresidential and vice presidentialpolls," he said. Atul Anjan warnedthat if "centre-to-left" people don'tcome together, India would be ingrave danger, and called for fieldingan opposition candidate for Presidentif the government does not come upwith a nominee acceptable to all. "Wecannot accept a "Nagpur kinarangi

Unity of Progressive Forces Needed



The mysterious rise of YogiAdityanath as a centre of powercontenders amongst B.J.P./RSSleaders seems to baffle the public.It is a wrong assessment that he hasbeen installed at the instance ofNarendra Modi/Amit Shah. They aretoo politically astute not to createanother power centre againstthemselves.

Though Yogi was no doubt aThakur (Bollywood perpetualtormentor of the weak and ruthlessin accomplishing his aim) – he wasa Mahant for long time thusestablishing easily his credential toBrahamanical family leadership ofRSS. Yogi has proved this by openlyannouncing immediately his aim ofHindu Rashtra (against all sense ofrealism and which is a constitutionalmonstrosity) but is pleasing to MohanBhagwat and his coterie.

A win in 2019 could throw Modibeyond challenge and simultaneouslyweaken the hold of RSS. Modi hassucceeded in creating an illusion ofdevelopment man who by his oratoryconceals his total communal stanceand anti-minorityism. But Yogi on theother hand flaunts Hindu fanaticismand that is why RSS is keen to keephim as an alternative. It is a clearsignal by Bhagwat and his coterie toModi that an alternative is beingcreated to him, if he is too neglectfulto RSS bosses.

However there is a serious legalchallenge to the continuance ofexisting position of Yogi as a ChiefMinister and Member of Parliament

Being at the same time Chief Minister of a State and aMember of Lok Sabha is illegal

Rajindar Sachar

at the same time. This is aconstitutional conundrum which illbefits a Chief Minister of biggestState in the country.

Article 164(4) permits a non-member of state legislature toremain a Minister for six monthswithout getting elected. Thisanomaly is explained by historicalnecessity when in early periodsinstitution of the Parliamentarysystem in U.K. was brought in andespecially for colonies which werebeing given legislatures for the firsttime. It is a matter of fact that IvorJennings in his “CabinetGovernment” has pointed out “thatthe House of Commons is howevercritical of such exceptions”.

Article 75(5) makes a similarprovision for automatic vacation ofa Central minister at the expiry ofsix months unless he is elected toparliament. This shows that theseare two distinct bodies and separateprovisions are applicable to each.This has no applicability for asituation like that of Yogi - how thenis it possible for Yogi to continue asa Chief Minister of U.P. andMember of Parliament at the sametime. And if someone argues for it,then it automatically means that hecan simultaneously be a ChiefMinister of U.P. and Prime Ministerof India (by getting elected a MLAof U.P. Assembly as he is already aMember of Parliament. Howridiculous, and a constitutionalmonstrosity.

The suggestion if any that Yogi

can retain parliamentary seat for sixmonths (seeking the analogy of sixmonths from Article 75(5)) of beingelected as a Chief Minister cannotstand scrutiny, because there is nosuch provision in law on the subject.Either the position in law can be thathe cannot both be a Prime Ministerand Chief Minster at the same timeand thus ipso facto cannot be at thesame time a Chief Minister of U.P.(may be by factually treating him asMLA under 164(5) of theConstitution;) but how does he savehis position as member of theparliament at the same time, becausethere is no such provision to thiseffect under the Constitution. In myview Constitution does not permit aperson to be a member of twolegislatures of state and Central atthe same time. The defence to Yogiis not available that he can continueChief Minister after getting electedwithin six months and therefore cancontinue as a member of parliamentfor five years or at the minimum forsix months. This is perverse logic anddestroys the very spirit and purposeof responsible democraticgovernment. If this argument of Yogiis to be accepted we can have alaughable queer mixture of the sameperson being a Chief Minister of aState and Prime Minister of India.Can any more quixotic illustration beimagined?

Under our constitutional schemeone can take advantage under either164(5) or 75(5). You cannot invokeboth, and therefore ipso facto onceelected as a Chief Minister youcease to be a Member of Parliament.


(a saffron from Nagpur as in an RSScandidate)."

The Janata Dal(United) leaderSharadYadav has been votary ofanti-Congressism, but he praisedformer Prime Minister IndiraGandhi's foreign policy - for India'svictory in the 1971 war under herleadership and for having engineeredthe merger of Sikkim in the Indianunion in 1975. He criticised Modigovernment's foreign policy. Vowingfor the unity of the opposition, JD-ULeader said that it should bestrengthened outside Parliament too."Opposition parties are together inthe Parliament despite somedifferences but today's event is astep forward in the direction of aunited opposition," he said.SharadYadav dwelt on Kashmir indetail and the setbacks sufferedthere in the recent past. "If Kashmirgoes downhill, Jinnah will standvindicated,". He also said there was

a need to aggressively push for"inclusive political ideologies" at atime when minorities across thecountry were feeling insecure.

Madhu Limaye's son, AnirudhLimaye, said Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had become a"Teflon PM" on whom nothingseems to stick and he did not mincewords in driving home the reality thatthe opposition was failing to inspirenew blood. "Look around you? Howmany people here are under 30? Youhave to start afresh," he said, arguingfor the need to build an organizationto spearhead movements and thenfight elections. He flagged the RSS,the BJP's ideological mentor, as anexample with its variety of outfits toaddress different issues andwrapped up by urging the oppositionto be prepared for a long haul. "Thisis going to be a long struggle over atleast a decade; not just a few days,"he said. Almost six decades ago,Madhu Limaye along with many

others fought in the Goaindependence movement. He wassentenced to twelve years in prisonfor a public cause. Even at the peakof Nehru's popularity, socialistbrigade built its own agenda, its ownnarrative.

Various trade union and Kisanleaders such as Harbhajan SinghSiddhu, President HMS, AshokSingh, Vice-President, INTUC,Amarjeet Kaur of AITUC, HannanMollah of All India Kisan Sabha alsospoke on this occasion.

The event was also attended bySocialist Party Chairman Dr. PremSingh, LSP, President Raghu Thakur,JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi,his NCP counterpart Prof. D PTripathi, CPI national secretary DRaja and Amarjeet Kaur, BSP'sSudhindra Bhadoria, JD-S, DanishAli, RLD's Tirlok Tyagi, ManjuMohan and many others.

–Qurban Ali


Yogi is being asked to do this illbefitting role of keeping hisParliamentary seat so that he couldvote for B.J.P. in the forthcomingpresidential poll following Mr.Mukerjees term being over soon. Ithardly befits the office of a ChiefMinister of the largest state apartfrom the legality of holding bothoffices at the same time.

This argument is put forward bysaying there is no specific prohibitionagainst Yogi holding both StateAssembly seat and parliamentaryseat. To me this argument is totallydestructive of what Dicey haspointed out in law and convention ofthe Constitution, namely, “That theconduct of the different parts of thelegislature should be determined by

rules meant to secure harmonybetween the action of the legislativesovereign and the wishes of thepolitical sovereign”. This wouldmean that all laws must be toeffectuate the will of the people whoare sovereign under our constitutionalset up. The conduct of the legislatureshould be regulated by understandingof which object is to secure theconformity of parliament to the willof the nation. That is why Diceytermed conventions as a strong law.

I am of the view that the momentYogi became the Chief Minister his,seat in parliament automaticallystood vacated and his continuanceas M.P. is therefore illegal. I feel thatif Yogi does not resign his seat inparliament forthwith his right to Chief

Minister of U.P. would come to anend.

If however a lenient view is to betaken because of the somewhatuncertainty of law, the least that Yogishould do is to appear before LokSabha and Rajya Sabha and offerapology for having attended thesittings (after taking over as ChiefMinister U.P.) wherein the Speaker,Chairperson, Lok Sabha, RajyaSabha may take a lenient view andonly admonish him and impose atoken fine of Rs. One, and thus closethe matter. Will yogi take thisgraceful initiative and at the sametime maintain prestige and dignity ofthe office of a Chief Minister andMember of Parliament.


Religion is about charity, love,peace, spirituality and understanding.It seeks to connect man with hisMaker and give life a deepermeaning. The vast majority of thosewho populate the Indiansubcontinent, be they Buddhists,Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Parseesor Sikhs,are deeply religious andreligion resonates with their thoughtsand lives. When practiced in its trueessence, it produces men and womenlike Mahatma Gandhi, MotherTeresa, Abdul SattarEdhi and theDalai Lama. When exploited topromote enmity and hatred, itproduces the worst kind of atrocitiesand horrors played out by the worstspecimens of the human race.

Politics, said Charles de Gaulle,is too serious a matter to be left tothe politicians. When endowed withethics and integrity, it produces menlike Nelson Mandela - a supremeexample of sacrifice andselflessness, forgiveness andreconciliation . When exploitedwithout scruples, you get examplestoo numerous to enumerate. Politics,as now prevalent in our region, is amagnet for a very dangerous breedof crooks, vicious criminals, moraldegenerates and mental perverts.They are hungry for power andhungrier for wealth. They need apolitical cloak of respectability toconceal their nefarious pursuits andvile designs. Long gone are the dayswhen inspired by the cause offreedom, educated, intellectual and

The Last RefugeHasanGhias

moral men and women joined thegreat political movement for India'sindependence. At that momentousmidnight hour when our nation's soulfound utterance and India awoke tolife and freedom, our politicalleadership thought it fit to "take thepledge of dedication to the serviceof India and her people and to thestill larger cause of humanity." It iswrenching to contemplate thedescent from that pinnacle of moralpurpose to the present depths ofmoral depravation.

The men who mislead India areenacting a dangerous drama of deathand destruction, shamelesslymisusing religious appeal and stokingemotions to fuel bigotry and hatred.Religion, the essence of which issublime spirituality, is being draggedthrough the muck of politics to dividethe nation for political gain and tograb the reins of power. Perversionof justice that is hard to fathom: lifein prison for killing a cow and scot-free after committing genocide! Putto trial the family of the manmurdered on suspicion of storingbeef in his refrigerator, but not thekillers who lynched him! Aninclusive, pluralistic, seculardemocracy being replaced by brutemajoritarianism, where fascist outfitsdictate what you eat, what you sayand what you sing, whom you loveand who you marry.

A virulent strain of the communalvirus has been injected, via politics,

into our academia, bureaucracy,police, media, social and religiousorganizations. Can our armed forcesand judiciary remain immune fromthis epidemic? There is a very heavyprice to pay for the recklesswrecking of the institutions of civilsociety, upon which rest thefoundations of the modern nationstate, and indeed of civilization itself.Other nations have travelled this pathand are caught in a maelstrom oftheir own making, unable to find away out. Shall we follow theirexample and expand the space forhell on earth, or shall we be guidedby the wisdom of the foundingfathers of modern India and steerclear of the rogues who are pushingus in that direction? From thesescoundrels, O' Lord, provide refugeto my nation!

"Politics is the last resort for the scoundrels" : George Bernard Shaw. "Religion isthe last refuge of a scoundrel" : George Orwell. When combined together, they providea feast for scoundrels!

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Vol. 72 No. 17May 14, 2017




Mumbai - 400 007.


Path To Kashmir’s SolutionSandeep Pandey

Why and How “Secularism”in Our Constitution

Ravi Kiran Jain

Europe is Making HistoryD. K. Giri

Judicial BrinkmanshipJ. L. Jawahar

Free Speech, Nationalismand Sedition

Ajit Prakash Shah

War is ugly. It becomes uglierwhen it is between two inveterateneighbours. They go to any extentto harm and humiliate each other.Pakistan has mutilated and killed twoIndian soldiers when they are saidto have crossed the Line of Control(LoC). Understandably, India hasretaliated and destroyed Pakistan’sposts on the border.

Defence Minister ArunJaitleyhas condemned the reprehensibleand inhuman act saying that “suchacts don’t take place even duringwar. It is an extreme form ofbarbarism. The whole country hasfull faith in our armed forces whichwill react appropriately. Thesacrifice of these soldiers will notgo in vain.” Condemning thedespicable act, Army chiefBipinRawat, too, has vowed an“appropriate” response.

This has come closely on the heelsof Turkish President Recep TayyipErdogan’s suggestion thatmultilateral dialogue on Kashmirwas the solution to end the impassebetween India and Pakistan. NewDelhi is opposed to his view becauseit believes that Kashmir is a bilateralissue and it should be solved by the

Ugly Side of War

Kuldip Nayar

two countries while sitting across thetable.

Beheading soldiers is nothingnew. The army on both sides is saidto have indulged in it before. Whatis annoying is Pakistan’s flat denialof the incident. Unfortunately,there was no regret, no grief. TheUN probe to verify facts couldhave been a possibility. But sinceNew Delhi has stopped theInternational Court at The Haguefrom taking up a Pakistancomplaint against India on the pleathat the two countries settle theirdisputes bilaterally, it could notallow a third party to probe theincident.

However, the episode is tooserious to be left at that. Duringearlier incidents, India hadevidence to prove that HafizSaeed, the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief,who has been placed under housearrest now, was at the borderbefore the clashes. But Pakistan,on its part, had failed to order aprobe. Maybe, it is the doing ofirregulars who, regretfully, seem toconstitute a part of Islamabad’scombative force. The country isalready experiencing violence from


within. The Taliban are daily killing20 to 25 Pakistanis and there is noplace which is beyond the rangeof their guns.

When there is unabated domesticviolence and when Pakistan isfighting against the Taliban in theFederal Administrative Tribal Area,it is not understandable why it shouldopen a front with India? In fact,Islamabad has withdrawn someforces from the Indian border to fighton the West. Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) has declaredpublicly that it would concentrate onthe threat posed by internal forcesinstead of engaging India. Therefore,there is no question of unnecessaryhype.

New Delhi should realise thatPakistan is its front state. If it evergoes under, India would be directlythreatened by the Taliban and facethe danger of destablisation. Thepolicy should be how to retrievePakistan from the hopeless situationit is in. A weak Pakistan is a threatto India, which is powerful enough.

Any escalation of tension or asuitable retaliation at an appropriatetime would only aggravate thesituation. Dialogue is the only wayto improve and it should never besuspended or downgraded. There isno option to talks. But I am surprisedat some irresponsible statementsemanating from Pakistan thatdialogue between the countriesshould go on despite skirmishes onthe border.

Indian Foreign MinisterSushmaSwaraj has shown restraintand maturity and has not commentedanything adversely. But thegovernment’s decision to keep thenew positive visa policy on hold willonly lessen people-to-people contact

which is essential for betterunderstanding. Prime MinisterNarendraModi’s statement thatbusiness with Pakistan cannot be asusual is understandable and hisordering surgical strikes earlier havehad the desired effect.

Yet my experience shows thatIslamabad resiles from its rigid standif and when New Delhi steps backand reflects. We have to learn howto live with an intransigent Pakistan.I recall what Director General ofTrade Ismail Khan in Pakistanoccupied Kashmir had said a coupleof years ago. He said that trade andtravel across the ceasefire linewould remain suspended until theskirmishes subsided. This was anunwise step which must have hurtPakistan as much as it did India.

For some reasons, former militaryofficers on both sides have turnedout to be more hawkish. Some yearsago, I was shocked to hear AdmiralIqbal of the Pakistan Navy remindingIndia about Muslim rule in the countryfor 1000 years. Equally jingoistic wasthe suggestion by a retired ArmyMajor General that the solution toIndia’s problems with Pakistan wasthrough military action. Both shouldrealise that the engagement of thetwo countries would not be a streetbrawl. They have nuclear weaponsand the worst can happen.

Civil societies in both the countrieshave proved to be disappointing.Instead of analysing the situationdispassionately, they have supportedthe stand of their country.Regretfully, civil society is always onthe side of the establishmentwhenever there is a clash on theborder or when a dispute assumesdangerous proportions. Were thetwo civil societies to put their weightbehind peace and call a spade a

spade, their voice would be heard.

New Delhi’s estimate that theceasefire violations were meant togive cover to terrorists to sneak intoKashmir may be true. But thesecurity forces in the Valley arestrong enough to chastise them. Thefallout of tension affects the peoplein Kashmir. They feel more insecureand fear the worst. The separatists,including Yasin Malik and ShabbirShah, do not realize that they areincreasingly becoming irrelevant.The same is the case with theHurriyat.

I wish the establishments both thecountries consider the ceasefire linesacred. This has been converted intoLoC through the Shimla Agreement.The then Prime Minister, Zulfikar AliBhutto, hailed it as the “line ofpeace” in an interview to me. And ithas been seldom violated for the lastthree decades. Blood at the borderhas unnecessarily disturbed thestatus quo. Soon the two sides shouldrealize that some agreement wasnecessary.

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We were told that surgical strikewas a decisive blow to Pakistan andit had been taught an appropriatelesson. Then we were made tobelieve that demonetisation wouldbreak the backbone of terrorism andnaxalism. It was hoped that suchincidents would cease. But thesemeasures doesn’t seem to have hadany effect. Pakistani, terrorist andnaxalite attacks continue to takeplace as before.

Targetting Pervez Musharraf inGujarat assembly elections andclaiming to possess a 56 inch chestNarendra Modi had boasted ofhaving the ability to teach Pakistana lesson. But he seems to be cluelessabout how to check these incidents.Narendra Modi, with the objectiveof establishing India’s credentials inthe world, made a whirlwind tour ofnations all over the globe but todayour relations with a number of them,including our neighbours Pakistan,China and Nepal, have soured. Indiahas been cornered in United Nations.India didn’t allow the UN HumanRights Commission team to visitJammu & Kashmir whereasPakistan allowed them access to thepart of Kashmir in their control. Whatis India trying to hide in Kashmir fromthe world’s gaze?

One cannot remember when thesituation in Kashmir was this bad.The reason is that the ruling BhartiyaJanata Party and the wider Hindtuvapariwar believes in the binary thatyou are either a patriot or an anti-national. Earlier some youth fromKashmir had been to Pakistan toreceive training in terrorism. But

Path To Kashmir’s Solution

Sandeep Pandey

today, it is children, students andwomen who hurl stones at securityforces. The Government of Indiabelieves that all of them are anti-national and Pakistani governmentinstigates them and aids themfinancially.

This is incomprehensible.Pakistan is an external agency.Kashmir has been with India for 70years now. How is it possible thatPakistan is able to manipulate everyindividual in Kashmir and the peoplethere don’t consider themselves aspart of India? Somewhere the Indiangovernment has been at fault in itsapproach towards the Kashmiribecause of which the Kashmiri, overa period of time, got thoroughlydisillusioned with India. Kashmiriwomen and children, fed up of thepresence of military and the dangerof being humiliated by them, aresufficiently outraged to pick upstones against the security forces.They want the security forces tovacate Kashmir. Perhaps they feel,even this freedom will bring relief tothem.

But when Omar Abdullah, as ChiefMinister of J&K, suggested thewithdrawal of Armed Forces SpecialPowers Act from J&K, it was vetoedby the army.

The government of India wouldlike to think that life in Kashmir isnormal, there are regular elections,local parties run the governments, butdoesn’t allow the state governmentto function democratically andindependently. In the name ofnational security the army overrules

the state government and even thenational government doesn’tintervene in such a situation.

Normalcy cannot return toKashmir without the withdrawal ofarmy. The government of India mustcompletely trust the stategovernment to govern on its ownonce and let the army take care ofsecurity at borders. What to talk ofspecial provisions under article 370of the Constitution, Indiangovernment doesn’t even extend thefreedom to J&K which other statesenjoy.

We blame the Kashmiris thatthey do not consider themselves aspart of India. Truth is we don’tconsider Kashmiris as part ofourselves. For if we did we wouldnever use pellet guns there whichhave made hundreds of peoplethere physically challenged orvisually impaired. It is unthinkablethat these guns could be usedanywhere else in India. When aMember of Parliament RaghavLakhanpal Sharma attacks theresidence of Senior Superintendentof Police in Saharanpur, UP alongwith two Members of LegislativeAssembly and supporters it is notconsidered an anti-national act butwhen a Kashmiri throws a stoneat security forces it is consideredas such. What is the differencebetween the two incidents? In bothpeople who represent the Indianstate are being attacked.

In the process of administeringKashmir with the help of Army forsuch a long period of time, the people


of Kashmir have becomesdisillusioned. Syed Ali Shah Geelanihas been a MLA in J&K three timesbut the Indian government’s policiestransformed him into a separatist.Geelani’s hold on people is greaterthan any of the people’srepresentatives there. The Indiangovernment says it’ll not talk toseparatists but in Nagaland it didengage them and also reached anagreement. It is a different matterthat the agreement has not beenmade public.

Some people have begun offeringsuggestion to Kashmiris that if theydon’t want to live in India they shouldleave Kashmir. This represents afeudal and colonial mindset. It is aright of people anywhere in the worldto decide how they would like to live.In our struggle against the British weconsidered it our right to choose asystem of government of our ownfor ourselves. If we’re not able toconvince the Kashmiris to live withus it is their right to decide anappropriate system of their choice

for themselves. This will be good forboth India and the Kashmiris. If theKashmiris decide on their own to livewith India it’ll be a more harmoniousrelationship because then it wouldnot be a decision imposed uponthem by the Indian government.India should not treat Kashmir asits colony. Instead, it should begranted a degree of autonomy.Otherwise people will continuegetting killed or seriously injured onboth sides without a solutionemerging.

The BJP has been on a rollwinning one electoral battle afteranother, or using other methods toinstall its government even instates where it could not win themost number of seats. There isnow a real possibility of not evena single national level oppositionparty being able to play a strongopposition role at a time when thisis badly needed. In such asituationthere is seriousrequirement for opposition unity.

However most talks of oppositionunity in recent times have been interms of cobbling together someform of fragile agreement to eithertry to win an election or at leastavoid a washout. Even if this limitedaim is achieved, there are generallyno durable gains for democracy andjustice from such hurried and oftenopportunist efforts for accord.

Often and increasingly even thislimited aim is not achieved as theBJP’s powerful election campaignsare able to tear apart the

Durable Opposition Unity - Common MinimumProgramme of Equality, Justice and Secularism

Bharat Dogra

weaknesses of such election-basedunions.

Hence there is a very strong casefor building an opposition unitybased on principles of equality,justice, democracy, protection ofenvironment and governance reformwith special emphasis on a strongcampaign against corruption, blackmoney and tax havens.

Representatives of some leadingopposition parties should gettogether to prepare such aprogramme on the basis of whichunification talks can be held.

If this is not forthcoming, thensome senior and widely respectedindividuals can take a lead toprepare an agenda on their ownand then present it beforeopposition parties as a documentfor initiating unity talks based onprinciples.

This task is extremely important.One cannot emphasize its urgency

enough. I hope the Oppositionparties realize the necessity and donot delay too long.


Why and How “Secularism” in Our Constitution

Ravi Kiran Jain

Any discussion on secularismwould need first to focus on two basicaspects: Firstly, the word ‘secularism’has no substitute in any of ourlanguages. Like ‘war’ is the oppositeword of ‘peace’, in common parlancein the Indian context, ‘secularism’ isunderstood by its antonym‘communalism’, while in the Westerncontext, ‘secularism’ is understoodby its antonym ‘theocracy. Secondly,the word ‘secularism’ was nowherementioned in the Preamble of theConstitution when it was enforced.It was included in the Preamble bythe controversial 42nd ConstitutionAmendment during the Emergencywith effect from January 3, 1977.

It is interesting to note that thePreamble, though the Constitutionopens with it , was not the first tocome into existence.It was the lastpiece of drafting adopted by theConstituent Assembly at the end ofthe first reading of the constitution.The motion to adopt the Preamblewas moved on the 17th October 1949.It was suggested during the debatesthat the Preamble be taken up whenthe Constituent Assembly would meetin November for the third reading asby that time the Drafting Committeewould also have submitted its finalreport to the House. Maulana HasratMohani objected to the postponementsubmitting that unless the Preamblewas passed on that day at the firstreading itself, the Drafting Committeecould not produce any report on thesecond reading. K M Munshisupported Maulana Hasrat Mohaniby making a humorous comment –“Once in my life I support the MaulanaSaheb!” The President ruled that thePreamble should be passed on thatday to enable the Constitution as a

whole being passed in its secondreading and the Preamble formingpart of the Constitution. Severalamendments were suggested to thePreamble but they were all negated.At the end, the President moved themotion –”That the Preamble standspart of the Constitution.” The motionwas adopted on November 2, 1949.The Preamble was added to theConstitution.

In the words of Justice JaganMohan Reddy in his judgment inKesavananda Bharati v. State ofKerala, 1973 (4) SCC 225,—

“The Preamble to the Constitutionwhich our Founding Fathers have ,after the Constitution was framed ,finally settled to conform to the idealsand aspirations of the peopleembodied in that instrument, have inringing tone declared the purposesand objectives which the Constitutionwas intended to sub serve.”

The question arises as to why itwas introduced during theEmergency. Was it not a challenge tothe wisdom of the Constitution-makers? The Constituent Assemblyconsisted of persons who had nopartisan motive nor they had any axeto grind. They were men of vision;they inspired confidence, and wereall products of the struggle forindependence.

In the struggle for independence,the people of different religiouspursuits had a natural worry as towhat sort of religious freedom theywould be able to enjoy in anindependent India. When MahatmaGandhi appeared on the scene andtransformed the freedom movementinto a mass movement in 1920s, it

was realized that people could hardlybe motivated to go the whole hog forthe freedom struggle unless theywere assured that their religiousbeliefs and systems would be securein a post-independent India and thatthey would not be marginalized andsidelined, in case they belonged tothe minority community. It was in thepursuit of this very assurance thatGandhiji gave to the people the much-valued concept of ‘Sarv DharmSambhav”—the principle that allreligions are equal. The MuslimLeague had boycotted theConstituent Assembly when it startedits session on December 9, 1946, andit continued to boycott it eventhereafter. Evidently the pressureworked, and on June 3, 1947, LordMountbatten announced the cominginto existence of two independentStates with effect from August 15,1947.

On August 14, 1947, the Presidentof the Constituent Assembly, DrRajendra Prasad rememberedMahatma Gandhi in the followingwords while speaking on the floor ofthe Assembly, “Let us also pay ourtribute of love and reverence toMahatma Gandhi who has been ourbeacon light, our guide andphilosopher, during the last 30 yearsor more. He represents that undyingspirit in our culture and make-up whichhas kept India alive throughvicissitudes of history.” And then hewent on to say, “To all the minoritiesin India we give the assurance thatthey will receive fair and justtreatment, and there will be nodiscrimination in any form againstthem. Their religion, their culture, andtheir language are safe, and they willenjoy all the rights and privileges of


citizenship…To all we give theassurance that will be our Endeavourto end poverty and squalor and itscompanions, hunger and disease: toabolish distinction and exploitation andto ensure decent conditions of living.”These words of Dr Rajendra Prasadon the floor of the ConstituentAssembly were clearly influenced bythe overwhelming concept of “SarvDharm Sambhav” which reignedsupreme in the minds of the membersof the Constituent Assembly, and thislater found ample manifestation in theprovisions specifically incorporatedin the Constitution. Article 15 says,‘The State shall not discriminateagainst any citizen on ground only ofreligion, race, caste, sex, place of birthor any of them” and also Article 25provides that “all persons are equallyentitled to freedom of conscience andthe right freely to profess, practiceand propagate religion”. What needsto be taken note of is that absolutelynothing happened in the country from1950, when the Constitution wasenforced, to 1977 to hasten theurgency of bringing about aConstitution Amendment toincorporate the word “secular” in thePreamble of the Constitution.

As a matter of fact, the politics inthe country remained during all theseyears focused on issues, peopleparticipated overwhelmingly andspontaneously in the poll process, andthe public debates were focusedprimarily on the key issuesconcerning the masses of this country.In fact, cutting across all barriers ofcastes and religion, people voted onthe issue of “garibi hatao” at 1971Lok Sabha election. Paradoxically,however, the post-1971 yearsunfolded nothing effective to tacklethe problem of poverty and economicdisparities, but, instead, the State,literally dominated by one individual,gave place to a process of demolition

of Constitutional institutions. ThreeJudges of the Supreme Court weresuperseded. Then followed theEmergency, letting loose a reign ofterror, and one of its fallouts was theapex court verdict in ADM Jabalpurcase. Against this backdrop came thecontroversial 42nd ConstitutionAmendment.

Nehru told the members of theConstituent Assembly on August 14,1947, “The service of India meansthe service of the millions who suffer.It means the ending of poverty andignorance and disease and inequalityof opportunity.” The country was toachieve this objective on the basis ofthe principles contained in Part IV ofthe Constitution, which were“fundamental in the governance ofthe country”. Incidentally, in theStatement of Objects and Reasonsin respect of the 42nd ConstitutionAmendment, similar expression hasbeen used in the following words,“The question of amending theConstitution for removing thedifficulties which had arisen inachieving the objective of socio-economic revolution, which wouldend poverty and ignorance anddisease and inequality of opportunity,had been engaging the active attentionof government and the public forsome years…It was, therefore,considered necessary to amend theConstitution to spell out expressly thehigh ideals of socialism, and integrityof the nation”.

Paradoxically, after the word“secular” found place in the Preambleas a result of the 42nd Amendmentthat it was lapped by sections ofopportunistic politicians to fuel a highlyretrogressive and diversionary debateof secularism vs communalism andvice versa. What the country saw inits wake? The demolition of BabriMasjid and the resultant communal

holocaust followed by Bombay, Suratattacks on minorities and in othercities in January 1993, thereafterGujarat communal massacre and thenthe recent Muzaffarnagar communalriots.

Looking back, communalism vssecularism debate has only resultedin throwing into the backgroundprimary goals such as eradicatingpoverty, illiteracy, disease, andinequality of opportunity. Whilemaking non-issues into issues, the realproblems became non-issues inpolitics and polls, and what has beenworse, it generated its own perniciousoffshoots. Politics and elections gotadditionally hooked onto the casteversus caste card. The real issues,confronting the people, like poverty,disparity, exploitation, hunger,unemployment, illiteracy, power crisis,environment degradation, and waterscarcity, alarming loot and destructionof our forests, and populationexplosion have been sidelined.Likewise, criminalization of politicsand corruption have also become non-issues.

There has been no differencebetween various governments at theCentre or the States during the lasttwo decades on the question offollowing the economic policies onaccount which the forces ofglobalisation have slowly but solidlydeprived India of its economic andpolitical sovereignty so much so thatthe country has lost its right todetermine its own agenda ofgovernance and development, whichnow rests with international powers,multinationals and world-fundingagencies. The question is how longshall we permit this to continue bykeeping the people involved innationally detrimental quarrels oversecularism versus communalism andcastes versus castes?


On May 5th, Paul Krugman,economist and New York Timescolumnist wrote, “What is the matterwith Europe.” He was referring tothe elections in France, the second-round on May 7 where far rightMarine Le pen, was defeated byEmmanuel Macron, the centristnewcomer. Macron won thepresidency and created history. In abit, we will see how.

Krugman was analysing theindividual countries and theirsupranational regional body,European Union (EU). But, oneshould be not surprised at thedevelopments in Europe, which hasbeen the cradle of innovation,revolution and radicalism.Revolutions that changed the courseof the world, took place in Europe -the French revolution, the industrialrevolution, the Marxist experiments,all of which heavily influenced thepolitics and economy of the world.Europe is capable of thinking anddoing the unthinkable and undoable.Three major countries of Europe,France, Britain and Germany led theworld in the three revolutions justmentioned. In recent times againthese three countries initiated epoch- making changes in Europe. InGermany, the biggest economy inEurope, the Berlin wall was pulleddown. The wall was created afterthe Second World War to divide theAllied Powers-occupied WestGermany, and the Soviet controlled-East Germany. With the wall torn up,history was re-written. Britain votedon 29 June 2016 to exit from theEuropean Union. Few in Britain andthe world had expected it to happen.

Europe is Making History

D. K. Giri

David Cameroon, then the PrimeMinister of Britain was too shockedto continue in office. That decision ishistoric as Britain was a member ofEU for over four decades since 1973.

All the three big powers haveelections this year. On May 7,France created history by electing arank newcomer as president.Emmanuel Macron the president-elect does not even have a party, leda movement called En Marche (onthe move) for a year. He is agreenhorn in politics. The old,established parties both of right andleft could not make it to the run-off.Britain will elect its new Parliamenton June 8, and Germany will haveits federal elections on September 24.Let us look at each of these threebig powers in Europe making history.

France, once a world power isundergoing radical political changes.It has been subjected to recurringterrorist attacks recently. Along withGermany, it was the main architectof the European Union. As a matterof fact, the detente between Franceand Germany after the Second WorldWar was the foundation over whichthe European Union was built.Britain was an outside and reluctantplayer in EU. To recall, the powerfulFrench president De Gaulle hadtwice vetoed - once in 1963, andagain in 1967 - the British applicationto join EEC, now EU. What ishappening in France now? They justelected their new president,Emmanuel Macron, who, at 39, is theyoungest president France has hadso far. Who is Macron and how ishis victory so unusual in French

history? Macron is a newbie inFrench politics. He was not electedbefore to the French NationalAssembly or any other position. Hewas a banker drafted by theincumbent president Hollande as hiseconomic advisor, then appointed fortwo years as a Minister of economy.Macron is said to have been abrilliant and a precocious student withhigh ambitions. He married histeacher 25 years older than him,who is now 64 year old. Macronapparently had said to her, “if I canpersuade you to marry me, I canbecome the President of France”.Macron, after two years of politicalactivism became the president bypushing both the Republican andSocialist Party to the third and fourthposition. Only these two parties hadruled France for so long. For the firsttime in French history, candidates ofboth these parties were eliminatedin the first round itself. That ismaking history.

Britain voted to exit from Europewith a very slim margin, to thesurprise and disappointment of manyin Britain, Europe and elsewhere.Without going into the gains andlosses of British withdrawal, Brexitis history in making. Britain, by farthe number one world power in thepast will try to chart a new course inworld politics. It was playing a visiblerole alongside its ally USA more thanany other country in the world asoccasionally it was bound andrestrained by its membership of theEuropean Union. A Britain‘unchained’ from EU will bedesperate to look for new pasturesfor its foreign policy.


Britain goes for general electionson June 8 this year. It is a snap poll.British Prime Minister, Theresa Mayhad to get a parliamentary clearanceto hold this mid-term elections asBritain, since 2011, has fixed- term-parliament for five years. Theelections were due in Britain only in2020. One wonders why TheresaMay called for elections. The issuesin the election may lead us to ananswer. Brexit is the main issue. ThePrime Minister wanted a strongendorsement from people fornegotiating the exit from EU.Education and skill is another majorissue. Britain needs to focus ontechnical education, high-qualityapprenticeships, and better supportto help people find work: which isthe way to building a new economy.The main opposition party, the LaborParty is promising a million high-quality jobs, better management ofpublic utilities etc; but it is 20 percentbehind the ruling party. Whatever bethe results of elections, Britain isabout to re-write the politics ofEurope from outside the EuropeanUnion.

Germany has its federal electionson 24 September 2017. The Germanchancellor Angela Merkel faces atough challenger in Martin Schulz.Germany, since its defeat in theSecond World War has been risingsteadily as a great economic power.It used the treaty imposed by AlliedPowers to its advantage andemerged as the biggest economy inEurope, from the ashes of defeatand destruction in the war. Now, itcalls the shots in European Unionpolitics and economy because of itsunmatched economic might. But ithas recently plunged into politicalcontroversies and challengesbecause of the huge exodus ofrefugees from Syria and other MiddleEastern countries. Germany also has

been accused of mismanaging theEU economy by forcing austeritypolicies on countries like Greece andthereby further crippling their weakeconomies. Germany is called uponto repair the cracks in EU memberstates. It has pulled itself higher indomestic issues but will it succeedbeyond its borders in Europe andelsewhere.

What are the issues in Germanelections? First is the choice ofpersonality between Merkel andMartin. Many think that Martin is ateam player, has the ability toovercome adversity, and has greaterwill power. This characterization isdrawn from his humble backgroundand from his rise to the high positionform an ordinary bookshop he ranfor years. His opponent, theincumbent-chancellor Merkel hasbeen there for 12 years. Peopleseem to be simply fed up withMerkel. They use a phrase inGerman, ‘Merkel muede’ or Merkeltiredness. She recently capitulatedon the question of refugees. Sheseems to have run out of ideas onEU. The migrants issue is going tobe the main talking point betweenparties in the coming elections. Thisis a sensitive and an emotional issue.People could debate and decide onwhims and hearsay. Security, afterthe Berlin Christmas attack hasbecome an issue. Austerity hasbecome a bone of contention inEurope which Germans will have totalk about during elections. However,the unrest, insecurity, violence andrioting in relation to refugees inGermany is going to be the mainissue in the election. On this, Merkelwill face major competition from therising appeal of the anti-immigrationparty, Alternative for Germany(AfD).

Irrespective of the results of the

general elections in Germany andBritain, and with Emmanuel Macronas the new president of France,Europe will continue to make newsin world politics. The internationalpolitics will not remain the same,influenced by a single super power,USA with occasional muscle-flexingby Putin’s Russia. Europe will comein as another player to match Britishmoves. The political growth ofEuropean Union was slow due todifferences between the member-states mainly Britain and France,between the idea of deepening andwidening and so on. With Britaingone, the consensus on the politicalrole of EU will be easier to achieve.

A thought or two on what it meansfor India. It is a new opportunity forIndia to engage with the EuropeanUnion and Britain. It will be theopposite of non-alignment. It will bethe time for active engagement. Forpolitical cooperation, India could turnto Britain which is strong ondiplomacy and has proximity withUSA. For economic relations, Indiashould look up to the EuropeanUnion. In the past, there has been amismatch between politics andeconomy in India’s policy towardsEU. Although India’s trade deficitwith EU was big, India did not havea serious EU policy. It needs to becorrected. Europe and Britain willalso need India as a partner, thebiggest democracy in the world andnow fairly a big market. A closerrelationship between EuropeanUnion and the Union of India mayprove to be historic in world politics.

Janata

is available at

www.lohiatoday.com


It is something unexpected andunforeseen. It is unfortunate thatsuch unprecedented things happento our judiciary creating stress in thesystem. The case relating to JusticeC S Karnan is an example in extremewhich points out the need for judicialrestraint without giving space for egoor prejudice on both sides. Thepersons acting as judges shall lookat the problem in an impersonal anddispassionate manner. It is morenecessary in such cases where thereputation and respect for thesystem is involved. That reputationcannot be upheld by sweeping theproblems under the carpet. Theinstitution must be strong enough toface the situation and solve it to itsbest capacity in a judicial manner.

The primary allegation againstJustice Karnan is that he madecertain allegations against otherjudges and has gone to the extent ofcirculating the same to some otherconstitutional authorities,(but not tothe public). He also complained thathe is being mistreated by hiscolleagues. The Supreme Court triedto solve this problem by transferringJustice Karnan to the Calcutta HighCourt. But he was irritated by thatorder and refused to comply with it.As a judge, he himself suspendedthat order of transfer. It was nodoubt a confrontation with theSupreme Court. Later he relentedand joined the Calcutta High Court.At the same time, it has to be noticedthat neither the Hon’ble Supremecourt nor the statutory authorities towhom Justice Karnan sent hiscomplaints against other judges, feltit worthy of investigation.

Judicial Brinkmanship

J. L. Jawahar

Even at Calcutta he persisted withhis allegations and added that he isbeing mistreated as he is a Dalit.Fortunately, none of the Dalitorganisations took up the cause. Itis not clear why the allegations madeby him against other judges areconsidered defamatory withoutinvestigation or trial. Whenallegations come from no less aperson than the justice of the highcourt itself, it should have been takenwith some respect.

Notices were issued to him topresent himself before the SupremeCourt and explain why action shallnot be taken for contempt of theCourt. It is certainly a raredevelopment in the history of IndianJudiciary. EarlierJustice(Retd)MarkandeyaKatju wasalso issued notice of contempt. Heappeared before the Court andapologized. The matter ended there.But Justice Katju had retiredwhereas Justice Karnan is still incourt.

Supreme Court told the ChiefJustice of Calcutta High Court notto assign any judicial oradministrative business to JusticeKarnan. Justice Karnan called itmore harassment and disturbing hislife. He said that the justices of theSupreme Court do not have that rightagainst a justice of a High Court andso they are liable for damages. Headvised them stating “You should notshow any prejudice at the time ofholding any cases, but should followthe procedure of law. It is quiteevident that the Hon’ble Justicesdeliberately and wantonly failed due

to lack of legal knowledge; this kindof worst type of acrimoniousbehavior will only endanger ultimatelythe general public. Hence I requestyou to close the contemptproceedings and restore my normalcourt assignments in order tomaintain law and justice across thenation and to keep the dignity anddecorum of courts intact.” Still hedenied he committed any contemptof the Supreme Court and refusedto present himself before the Court.The Supreme Court felt it necessaryto get him arrested and broughtbefore the Court. They issued ordersto the Director General of Police ofWest Bengal state to issue thebailable warrant to him, subject to abail of Rs.10,000. If he refuses toaccept the warrant, it is implied thathe be arrested. But he accepted thewarrant and did not offer any bail.“The West Bengal judicial jurisdictionis a part of my control andcommand. Therefore the bailablewarrant becomes improper anduntenable”, he declared. TheAttorney General Mukul Rohatgi,who yielded to the pressure of theCourt in forming the unconstitutionalcollegium, demanded that strictaction shall be taken against therecalcitrant Justice Karnan as hisbehavior is damaging the reputationof the judiciary itself.

No doubt, the Supreme Court hasthe right to consider the defiance ofJustice Karnan as contempt of itself.The right to punish the contempt ofitself is given to the Supreme CourtunderArt.142(2) which states that“…the Supreme Court shall, asrespects the whole of the territory

10 JANATA, May 14, 2017

of India, have all and every powerto make any order for the purposeof securing the attendance of anyperson, the discovery or productionof any documents, or theinvestigation or punishment of anycontempt of itself.” But this authorityis preceded by the omnipotent clause“Subject to the provisions of any lawmade in this behalf byParliament…” The provisions madein the Supreme Court (Decrees andOrders) Enforcement Order, 1954 asamended from time to time does notextend that power to the privilegedjustices. After all, the High Court isnot subordinate to the SupremeCourt. The Justices in both courtshave same and similar privileges.

But Justice Karnan is not tryingto hide behind the privilege. Hesuggests that the case may bereferred to the Parliament, where hethinks he can get justice. But theParliament cannot discuss thebehavior of a judge except as animpeachment process. Whether theimpeachment leads to removal or notfinally, is a different matter. But thematter should be considered byParliament, he says. It is not clearas to who should take the initiativeto place the matter before theParliament – whether it is a Memberof Parliament or executive (ministry)or the judiciary itself. Even then theprocess cannot be certain.

Recently there was an allegationagainst a judge of a high court thathe mistreated a district judge whohappened to be a Dalit. As the victimcould not get justice from courts, heis reported to have approached anhonorable member of Rajya Sabhato get the behavior of the judgediscussed and take necessary action.The Hon’ble Member verified therecord and was convinced that it isserious enough deserving discussion

in Parliament. He convinced someof his colleagues and obtainedconsent of required number ofsupporters for moving in the House.By the time the Sabha was ready totake up the matter, majority of themembers who supported the causeannounced that they had withdrawntheir support and also theirsignatures. The matter could not betaken for discussion. We do notknow what happened to it later.Perhaps, it is not a matter to bedecided by law whether thesignatures given can be withdrawnby oral statements. That is adifferent matter.

Meanwhile, the Hon’ble SupremeCourt is aggressively pursuing itscourse of action against JusticeKarnan. They have gone to theextent of suggesting that JusticeKarnan has lost his mental balanceand asked for a medical certificatein that regard. Still they insist thatthe judge shall make an unconditionalapology to the judges against whomhe made allegations. Is the courtwilling to accept that the mentalcondition of Justice Karnan isnormal if he tenders an unconditionalapology? Unfortunately, the twoparties to the dispute appear to takeit as a question of prestige and pullingin opposite directions. It is ultimatelyleading to discredit the judiciaryitself. First of all, the matter couldhave been suppressed in the initialstage itself if the Hon’ble SupremeCourt stated that the allegationsmade by Justice Karnan wereverified and found to be baseless.Instead of that they called itdefamatory and asked the judge tooffer an apology which he naturallyrefused. Then the Supreme Courtconsidered it a case of contempt ofcourt which is a serious allegation.Justice Karna offered to get thematter referred to parliament. As it

is the only way provided in theconstitution to remove a judge, itshould have been accepted andreference made to the parliament.It is obvious that the Supreme Courtconsiders him to be unfit to be a judgeon the High Court as they deprivedhim of his functions as a judge. It isnot clear what prevented the Courtfrom referring him to the parliament.Even if he is not allowed to functionas a judge and even if he is declaredmentally unfit, the only way toremove him is through parliament.Why is the Court hesitating to takethat step? Justice Karnan himself isasking for it.

It is a bad omen that some of theJustices in the higher judiciary areinclined to take arguments aspersonal and become touchy. Judgesshould show magnanimity and dignityand try to stay above the pettystatements that the parties may bemaking before them. Judicial restraintearns more respect thanaggrandizement.

Who knows what happens evenif the case of Justice Karnan isreferred to the Parliament assuggested by him? Strange thingsare happening with our judiciary!

Price: Rs. 20/-

Janata TrustD-15, Ganesh Prasad, Naushir

Bharucha Marg,Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007.

JANATA, May 14, 2017 11

Most Respected Sir,

The Socialist Party would like torequest you to direct the Indiangovernment to bring back the mortalremains of Bahadur Shah Zafarfrom Rangoon (presently Yangon),Myanmar, to Delhi. The SocialistParty takes inspiration from thethoughts of Dr. RammanoharLohia.Dr. Lohia had suggested that in casea leader passes away in a foreigncountry, her/his last rites should beperformed there itself. The SocialistParty accepts this view of Dr. Lohiathat would lead to strengthen thebonds of world brotherhood. But thecase of Zafar was all togetherdifferent. He was arrested by theimperialist rulers, tried and broughtto Rangoon in captivity in 1857. Hepassed away there on 7 November1862, at the age of 87, longing fortwo yards of mother land for hisburial. Zafar, a poet of his ownstyle, expressed his pains of exile inhis famous couplet: ‘kitnaa haibadnaseeb Zafar dafanake liye, dogaz-zamin-bhi-na mili kuue yaarmere’.

As you know, it is a long pendingdemand made by several citizens ofIndia time to time. The first suchrequest was made by the BahadurShah Zafar Memorial Society in1949. However, the government hasnot conceded the demand though itknows very well that Zafar hadexpressed the desire to be buried inIndia after his death.

Date: 4 May 2013

His ExcellencyShriPranab MukherjeePresident of India

Sub. : Request to bring back the mortal remains of Bahadur Shah Zafar.

One can understand that thecolonial rulers kept Zafar, the symbolof revolt and Hindu-Muslim unity, incaptivity and then buried him in exileas a non-entity. But it remainsunexplained why the rulers of freeIndia are not ready, evensymbolically, to undo the insult andinjustice meted out to Zafar by atleast bringing back his remains toIndia and put him to rest at the placeof his choice – Dargah QutbuddinBakhtiyar Kaki at Mehrauli, wherean empty grave awaits his remains.

Sir, the demand to bring back theremains of Bahadur Shah Zafar toIndia is not merely an emotionalissue for the Socialist Party. Zafarwas the leader of our First War ofIndependence against the colonialpowers and a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity. Therefore, it should bethe duty of the Indian governmentto bring back his remains. Further, agrand memorial should beconstructed in the memory of themartyrs of 1857 for the benefit ofpresent and future generations..

We would like to draw your kindattention towards the tribute paid toZafar by NetajiSubhash ChandraBose, addressing a ceremonialparade of INA at his tomb at Yangon.Netaji ended his speech quotingfamous couplet of Zafar: ‘Ghazionme in burahegi jab talakimanki/Takht-e-London tak chalegi tegh

Hindostanki!’ (As long as there isfaith in the heart of the freedomfighters / The sword of India willpierce through the throne of London).Netaji declared on that occasion,‘‘This parade is the first occasionwhen India’s new revolutionaryarmy is paying homage to the spiritof the supreme commander ofIndia’s first revolutionary army.’’

Sir, we make a sincere appeal toyou to kindly take personal interestin this matter of great importanceand convince the government toconcede to the demand at theearliest.

With best regards,

Dr. Prem Singh

General Secretary/Spokesperson

Memorandum

Madhu DandavateBy

B. VivekanandanPrice: Rs. 20/-

Janata TrustD-15, Ganesh Prasad,

Naushir Bharucha Marg,Grant Road (W),Mumbai 400 007.

12 JANATA, May 14, 2017

“A parochial, selfish, narrowminded nationalism has caused somuch misfortune and misery to theworld. A mad and exaggerated formof this cult of nationalism is todayrunning rampant….” This statementmade by M.N. Roy, as far back as1942, may resonate with many eventoday, particularly in these times welive in.

…Today, we are living in a worldwhere we are forced to stand for thenational anthem at a movie theatre,we are told what we can and cannoteat, what we can and cannot see,and what we can and cannot speakabout. Dissent, especially in theuniversity space, is being curbed, andsloganeering and flag raising havebecome tests for nationalism. Wehave a 21-year old University studentwho is subject to severe online hate,abuse, and threats, only because shedared express her views.

In any society, at any given pointof time, there will always be peopleholding divergent views. Such viewsare integral and inevitable in ahealthy, functioning democracy.Nowhere has this been betterexpressed than by the judgment ofthe Bombay High Court in F.A.Picture International v CBFC, wherethe Court said:

“History tells us that dissent in allwalks of life contributes to theevolution of society. Those whoquestion unquestioned assumptionscontribute to the alteration of socialnorms. Democracy is founded upon

Edited excepts from the MN Roy Memorial Lecture delivered by the former Chief Justice of Delhi and Madras High Courts, andformer Chairperson of Law Commission of India in Delhi on April 19, 2017

Free Speech, Nationalism and Sedition

Ajit Prakash Shah

respect for their courage. Anyattempt by the State to clamp downon the free expression of opinionmust hence be frowned upon”

Unfortunately, however, ourinstitutions of learning are underattack today and there is aconcerted attempt to destroy anyindependent thought. Today, sadly, inthis country I love, if anyone holds aview that is different from thegovernment’s “acceptable” view,they are immediately dubbed as“anti-national” or “desh-drohi”. Thismarker of “anti-national” is used tointimidate and browbeat voices ofdissent and criticism, and moreworryingly, can be used to slapcriminal charges of sedition againstthem.

All these factors have led me tochoose the present topic to generatefurther discussion and debate. I thinkit is all the more important to discussand talk about nationalism.

What is Nationalism?

At the very outset, I would like tocaution against, what the celebratedNigerian author ChimamandaAdichie terms, the “danger of asingle story” – the danger ofunderstanding an idea only from asingle perspective and ignoring thediversity of views present.

Mridula Mukherjee points out thenuances in the word “nationalism”and how it encompasses the ideasof progressive nationalism, a

revolutionary pro-people nationalism,and a regressive and jingoisticnationalism. Hitler’s nationalism,after all, was very different fromGandhi and Nehru’s nationalism. TheEuropean conception of nationalism,developed from the days of theTreaty of Westphalia and in the ageof imperialist expansion, focused onthe enemy within, whether the Jewor the Protestant. In contrast, theIndian conception of nationalism,developed as an opposition to anexternal imperialist British state, wasmore inclusive in uniting the peopleagainst them. This was then, an “anti-colonial nationalism, where theprimary identity of an Indian was nottheir religion, caste, or language, buttheir unity as equals in their demandfor freedom. It is thus important toremember that there is no singleoverarching “right” conception ofnationalism.

How then did M.N. Royunderstand nationalism? In Roy’sview, nationalism was representativeof the desires and ambitions of agroup of people within a certaingeographical area, as opposed topeople uniting on the basis of class.Nationalism thus emphasised theplacing of one’s country’s interestover the interest of the rest of theworld. There was a time in the 19th

century, when countries were stillisolated from each other, whennationalism was a historic necessity,under whose banner people cametogether and humanity progressed.However, he believed, it had nowbecome a selfish, narrow-minded

JANATA, May 14, 2017 13

“antiquated cult”, and the worldshould progress towardsinternationalism and internationalcooperation. The ambitions ofdifferent nations began to conflictwith each other, contributing to anexaggerated and irrational form ofnationalism, which manifest itself inthe rise of Fascism and Nazism,eventually leading to the SecondWorld War. Nationalism, in Roy’seyes, had thus become a synonymfor revivalism, whose advocateswere consigned to glorify the pastand advocate for a return to the blissof the middle ages and a simpler life.

Rabindranath Tagore, thecomposer of the Indian nationalanthem, had even more radical viewson nationalism. He believed that afervent love for the nationrepresented a conviction of nationalsuperiority and a glorification ofcultural heritage, which in turn wasused to justify narrow-mindednational interest. Writing in 1917,Tagore said, “when this organisationof politics and commerce, whoseother name is the Nation, becomesall powerful at the cost of the harmonyof higher social life, then it is an evilday for humanity.” He thus cautionedagainst such an exclusionary and self-aggrandizing form of nationalism thatwas based on a hate culture againstan imagined or actual Other, who wasviewed as the enemy.

On the other hand, the revivalistsfocus on the glory of ancient India,going back to the Aryan race as thebuilding block of the Indiancivilisation. This takes the form ofcultural nationalism, where anyonecelebrating “Western” festivals suchas Valentine’s Day or even couplesmerely holding hands are to beostracised and attacked. As religiousnationalism, it endorses the two-

nation theory, which envisages anation under Hindu rule, a Hindurashtra in Akhand Bharat (a UnitedIndia). This is premised on the beliefthat only a Hindu can claim theterritory of British India as a land oftheir ancestry, i.e. pitribhumi, and theland of their religion, i.e. thepunyabhumi. As Vinayak DamodharSarvakar propounded, “HinduRashtra (state), Hindu Jati (race)and Hindu Sanskriti (culture).”Muslims and Christians are viewedas foreigners, who are notindigenous to the territory of India,and whose religion originated in aseparate holy land.

At this point, I would like to sharemy personal background. Mymaternal grandfather was thePresident of the Hindu Mahasabhain the 1940s, and the first literaturethat I ever encountered in my schooldays was Sarvarkar’s writings.Writing in 1938, when Hitler was onthe rise, Sarvarkar justified Hitler’spolicies towards the Jews and drivingthem away from the motherland. Hesaid, “A nation is formed by a majorityliving therein. What did the Jews doin Germany? They being in minoritywere driven out from Germany.” Iam not sure whether his viewschanged after World War 2, andwhen the extent of the holocaustcame to be known. Sarvarkarfurther believed that minority groupsmust lose their separate existenceand separate identity if they want tolive in India.

Roy, unsurprisingly, was critical ofsuch views. While discussing thedeclaration made by the President ofthe Hindu Maha Sabha that “themajority is the nation”, Roy said thatit sounds quite in “tune with formaldemocracy”, but in reality“particularly in the prevailing

atmosphere of Indian politics, it meansthat in a nationally free India theMuslims, constituting nearly 1/3rd ofthe population, will have no freedom”.He was thus against removing animperialist regime and replacing itwith a nationalist regime, which wouldcontinue to deny real freedom to mostof the Indian people.

It is important to remember thatboth Tagore and Roy wrote in thecontext of the First and SecondWorld War respectively. They hadthus, witnessed first hand, how thepursuit of the glory of the nation hadresulted in the great wars, andbetrayed the ideas of liberty, equality,and fraternity of the FrenchRevolution. Today, in independentIndia unfortunately, having suchviews is almost blasphemous andperhaps seditious.

India is a diverse country andpeople hold different views aboutnationalism, the idea of India, and ourplace in the world. We must respectthese differences, not silence thosewho hold a different view onnationalism and patriotism for thecountry. Elevating only a single view– one that idolises the nation andstaunchly rejects any internal orexternal criticism – will only polarizecitizens against each other.

At the end of the day, it isimportant to question, what is thedefining characteristic of a nation –is it the territorial boundary or thecollection of people that is a country’sdefining feature. Our Constitutionstarts with a solemn declaration of“We, the people of India...” In thiscontext, is being anti-nationalequivalent to being anti-Governmentor is the hallmark of an anti-nationalthat they are against the interest ofthe people, especially the minorities

14 JANATA, May 14, 2017

and the depressed classes? Can anentire University and its student bodybe branded “anti-national”?

Our current state of affairs isespecially sad when we considerthat the freedom struggle gave us acountry and a Constitution that wascommitted to the ideals ofdemocracy, free speech, civilliberties, and secularism. UnlikePakistan, religion is not the foundingbasis of our nation. Our right to freespeech and expression is not a giftor a privilege that the Governmentbestows on us; it is our right,guaranteed by the Constitution ofIndia, and won after decades ofstruggle and sacrifice by the peopleof India.

Free speech and the Constitution

Writing in Young India in 1922,Gandhi said, “We must first makegood the right of free speech andfree association before we make anyfurther progress towards our goal.We must defend these elementaryrights with our lives.”

Gandhi’s views were based on hisbelief that liberty of speech isunassailed even when the speechhurts and that “freedom ofassociation is truly respected whenassemblies of people can discusseven revolutionary projects.”

Gandhi was not alone in his ideas.Our early nationalist leaders too,from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to BalGangadhar Tilak, made the grant ofcivil liberties to ordinary Indians anintegral part of the nationalmovement.

These very ideas wereincorporated into the Constitution bythe Constitution drafters. They

understood that while the freedomof worship is part of democracy andis a fundamental right, the edifice ofmodern democracy has to be thefreedom of thought and expression.Our Constitution is drafted as apositive, forward-looking, inclusivedocument that binds the aspirationsof all Indians. The Preambleexpresses the resolve of the peopleto constitute India into a sovereign,socialist, secular, democratic republicsecuring justice, liberty, equality, andfraternity of its citizens. Thisachievement is all the morenoteworthy if we consider, as FaliNariman recently pointed out, thatin a Constituent Assembly of 299,255 members (85%) were Hindus.Despite being in a massive majority,the Constitution drafters took painsto protect the interests of theminority, the oppressed, and thedissenters.

Having been given a magnificentand inclusive Constitution, it then fellon the Supreme Court to protect therights guaranteed therein, especiallythe right to free speech andexpression.

Free speech and the Court

The Supreme Court hasrepeatedly emphasised the value offree speech, noting that the freedomof speech and expression lies at thefoundation of all democraticorganisations, inasmuch as freepolitical discussion facilitates publiceducation and enables the properfunctioning of the processes ofgovernment. The Court hasemphasised the function of freespeech as promoting autonomy andself-fulfilment, maintaining truth, andperforming the function of awatchdog. It has also given expressrecognition to the value of free

speech in a “market place of ideas”,by quoting the famous dissent of1919 of Justice Holmes in Abramsvs. United States:

“But when men have realized thattime has upset many fighting faiths,they may come to believe even morethan they believe the veryfoundations of their own conductthat the ultimate good desired isbetter reached by free trade in ideas- that the best test of truth is thepower of thought to get itselfaccepted in the competition of themarket, and that truth is the onlyground upon which their wishessafely can be carried out.”

The value of free speech is thus,both intrinsic and instrumental, andhas consistently been linked todemocratic ideals. For example, thecensorship of the play “MeeNathuram Godse Boltoy”, which wasextremely critical of MahatmaGandhi was not permitted by theBombay High Court. In an insightfuljudgment in Anand Chintamani Dighevs State Of Maharashtra, the Courthighlighted the importance of respectfor, and tolerance of, a “diversity ofviewpoints”, as being essential tosustain a democratic society andGovernment. The Court further wenton to state, “Popular perceptions,however strong cannot overridevalues which the constitutionembodies as guarantees of freedomin what was always intended to be afree society.” In the same vein, theSupreme Court in Director General,Doordarshan vs Anand Patwardhanheld in 2006 that the State cannotprevent open discussion, regardlessof how hateful such discussion wasto the State’s policies.

The importance of dissent is bestunderstood by the Supreme Court’s

JANATA, May 14, 2017 15

view in S. Rangarajan v P. JagjeevanRam that “In a democracy it is notnecessary that everyone should singthe same song..”.

It has thus long been understoodthat free speech has to be counteredby more speech; that the responseto criticism is not to shut it down, butto engage with, and respond to, thespeaker. Moral vigilantism, asUpendra Baxi rightly recognises,has no place in our Constitutionalpolity and democracy.

Free speech, though, is underattack. The joy over the striking downof Section 66A of the IT Act in ShreyaSingal was soon replaced by despairover the Supreme Court’s decisionto uphold the constitutionality ofcriminal defamation in SubramaniamSwamy v UOI and its “order”directing all cinema halls across Indiato play the national anthem beforethe start of a film, and requiring theaudience to stand up as a “show ofrespect”.

Just last month, in relation to thecomments made by Azam Khanregarding the Bulandsher gang rape,the Supreme Court raised thequestion of whether the right to freespeech under Article 19(1)(a) is tobe controlled singularly by thelanguage under Article 19(2) or is italso impacted by the expansive rightto life and personal liberty underArticle 21 of the Constitution. Theanswer to this question will have aprofound impact in restricting thescope of Article 19(1)(a) andundermine our Constitutionallyguaranteed right.

Even the Bombay High Court,whose decisions I have referred toabove, has on occasion failed toprotect the right to free speech.

Recently, it constituted a threemember committee (comprising oftwo lawyers) to give a report on thescenes in the movie Jolly LLB-2 itfound “objectionable”, because it wasprima facie of the view that certainscenes – those involving a coweringjudge and some dialogue between thelawyers – were in contempt of thejudiciary and the legal profession.Mind you, this was a movie wherethe CBFC, i.e. the Censor Board, hasgiven the requisite certification forits release. It was also a case wherethe High Court entertained the writpetition (later converted to a PIL)based only on two trailers and somephotographs! As Justice Lodha hadsaid, while dismissing a similarpetition when Jolly LLB-1 released,if the Petitioners don’t want to watchthe movie, no one is forcing them.The Bombay High Court’s order, thereport of the three member“committee”, and the proximity of therelease date, essentially forced theproducers and director of the movieto “compromise” and undertake tomake the requisite modifications anddeletions to the objectionable scenes.

I only hope that these judgmentsare aberrations in an otherwiseglorious history of the IndianJudiciary in protecting and promotingthe Constitutionally guaranteed rightto free speech and expression.

However, free speech has to beprotected institutionally – not only bythe Courts, but also by statutoryinstitutions and the media.Unfortunately, we read about reportswhere the CBFC, our “censor board”has refused to certify a movie suchas Lipstick under my Burkha,because it was “lady oriented”,contained “sexual scenes, abusivewords, audio pornography”; deletedthe line “mann ki baat” from the

upcoming movie Sameer because thatis the name of the Prime Minister’sradio show; and demanded that theHanuman Chalisa be muted from ascene in Phillauri, because it failed toward off the ghost. How can youforget that in Udta Punjab, a Adult-only certified movie, the CensorBoard demanded 94 cuts (based on13 suggestions), including deleting thename “Punjab”, deleting certainabuses and deleting the words“Election”, “MP”, and partyworker”. If this is not an assault onthe freedom of speech andexpression, then I don’t know whatis.

The freedom of the press is partof the freedom of speech guaranteedunder Article 19(1)(a). This is becausea free press is essential to disseminatedifferent views, and promotedemocratic ideals. More importantly,today, when mass-communicationand digital media have becomeprevalent, the media assumes an evengreater importance in playing the roleof the opposition and checking facts.In fact, no other institution wields asmuch power and influence on publicopinion as the media. However, inrecent times, a section of the media,through its biased and one-sidedreporting, has unfortunately aided inthe restriction on free speech. A newschannel airs false and doctoredfootage, while others openly fan theflame of this patriotism and anti-national debate. It is ironic that themedia, which played a critical role inasserting its right to free speechduring and after the Emergency, andin the process helped develop ourArticle 19(1) jurisprudence, is nowthe institution that is compromisingand challenging the same freedom ofspeech of the dissenters today.

(To be concluded)





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Vol. 72 No. 18May 21, 2017




Mumbai - 400 007.


Nurturing Shared ValuesUday Dandvate

Disciplined IndiaD. K. Giri

No Use Asking “Eye for Eye”Pannalal Surana

The Modification of India –the impact on

Development and GenderNandana Reddy

Free Speech, Nationalismand Sedition - IIAjit Prakash Shah

Doubts Persist on Growth Story

Mrinal K Biswas

It was inconceivable that thedemonetization aftermath wouldescape any retarding if not cripplingeffect in the Indian economy. Whatis surprising is the Modi governmentmandarins’ consistent claim thatIndia’s GDP growth story staysrobust defying the critics’ insistenceof a dent in the third quarter of the2016-17 fiscal because of the totalwithdrawal of 500 and 1000 rupeenotes as legal tender in Novemberlast. The saga of sufferings becauseof severe cash shortage for monthstogether leaves an indelibleimpression on the minds of thecountrymen. However, economicconsequences of demonetization stillcontinue to be a living issue for thosewho have expertise on the subjectin the country and abroad.

Former finance ministry chiefadviser now back to US academyafter a short stint in the World BankKaushik Basu feels it necessarythat an assessment is now called forthe country’s state of economy assix months have elapsed since thedemonetization/remonetizationexercise, his tinge of doubts on theissue is not unknown though.Jagdish Bhagawati of ColumbiaUniversity, widely believed to be a

Nobel laureate-in-waiting, hadalready contested Amartya Sen’santi-demonetization stand, andmaintains that October-December2016 period though supposed to behard hit by the cash crisis showsonly a modest dip of only one-halfof a percentage point in GDPgrowth. Former Prime Minister DrManmohan Singh accusing thegovernment of “loot” of theeconomy had ominously predicted 2per cent drop in the GDP. Too manyothers pointed out to the nearparalytic situation during the thirdquarter of fiscal 2016-17 againstwhom government claimed hardwork not only stemmed any kind ofrot in the economy while the countryindeed is on the robust path ofattaining 7 to 7.5 per cent growth inthe 2017-18.

But what about the effects on thelabour market? Contrary togovernment claims, the centrallabour bureau survey shows thatduring 2016 October-Decemberperiod some 1.52 lakh temporaryworkers or daily wage earners lostjobs, some 46,000 temporaryworkers remained idle because theirpaymasters lacked cash. No suchsurvey was however reported from


the agriculture sector. While thispicture is discomforting the claimed7.5 per cent GDP growth becomessuspect when one gives a hard lookinto finance ministry estimates,given in the economic survey.

The survey itself after recordingthe growth figures of 2016-17second quarter decided of a 7 percent plus GDP growth for the fiscalas a whole. The big effect of thedemonetization, which rattled theeconomy in the 2016-17 October-December third quarter (Q3 FY 17),was either not pre-estimated in thesecond quarter account orunrealistic assumptions were made.In the overwhelmingly cash-dependent unorganized sector,though this segment was bound tosuffer heavily in Q3 FY17, theproduction indices were taken byreferring to those of the organizedsector without any economicrationale. This will surely distortGDP growth, according to someeconomists.

Another discordant versioncomes from the government-ownedpremier State Bank of India. Itsgroup chief economic adviserSoumya Kanti Ghosh while givingcredence to GDP in October-December 2016-17 (Q3 FY17) atRs 30,27,893 crores found a seriousafterthoughts in the CentralStatistical Organization (CSO)which while giving the GDP of thesame period previous year(Q3FY16) changed the figures threetimes: Rs 28,52,339 croresestimated in on February 9, 2016,Revised to Rs 28,51,682 crore onMay 31, 2016 and final revision wasmade at Rs 28,30,760 crore onFebruary 28, 2017. Why?

Obviously the government willfeel comfortable with the latest

estimate. Because the differencesbetween Rs 30,27,893 crore of Q3FY 17 and Rs 28,52,339 crore ofQ3 FY 16 will give a GDP growthat 6.2 per cent. Similarly, revisedQ3 FY 16 estimates (Rs 28,51,682crore) vis-a-vis Q3 FY 17 estimates(Rs 28,51,682 crore) would againgive the GDP growth at 6.2 percent during the October-December2016 period when the cash crunchhit hard the economy. Both thesepositions being unpalatable to thegovernment the pliable CSO cameout with another (final) revision ofthe October-December 2016 GDPgrowth at Rs 28,30,760 crore. Bytaking the revised figure of this Rs28,30,760 crore of Q3 FY 16 theGDP growth in the tortuousOctober-December 2016 perioddramatically touches 7 per cent,higher than the growth in the thirdquarter of 2015-16. Because thedifference between Q3 FY 16 andQ3 FY 15 becomes larger at Rs1,75,554 crore and increases theGDP growth at 7 per cent. Thegovernment thereby was freed fromany damage control measure as tothe alleged GDP dip in thedemonetization exercise.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitelywas quick to mention at the April G-20 meeting that India is on the pathof a robust economic way of 7.5GDP growth in 2017-18 fiscalagainst 7.1 per cent in 2016-17while Prime Minister NarendraModi attributed the positive growthrate to hard work.

But doubters are still not off thescene. They maintain gross valueadded (GVA) in the muddled thirdquarter would give a more realisticestimate than gross domesticproduction (GDP). There two waysof calculating GDP: First, on theproduction side GVA is measured by

taking into account the entireproduction in the cycle and thenadding net indirect taxes to obtainthe GDP figure. Second, on theexpenditure side apart fromgovernment and private spendings,fixed capital formation, changes instocks and valuables with exportsminus imports estimates lead one toGDP. Usually, expenditure side isless than production side because ofdata lags pushing the shortfall undera head called discrepancies. Ghoshhas shown that the first quarter of2016-17 the discrepancy was Rs30,645 crore. This was Rs 45,378crore in the second quarter. Butbeyond any economic logic the thirdquarter showed an excess of Rs6,767 crore, the inevitable shortfallsdisappeared. This anomalousdevelopment, if taken at face value,would show GDP on theexpenditure side was higher thanproduction side. This is an absurdity,says Ghosh.

While he contends the impact ofvaluables on total estimates from theexpenditure side tell the story ofdemonetization. Avijit ViniyakBandopadhyay, MIT Economicsprofessor in the US, says actualproduction indices of the mostaffected sector of the economy inthe wake of demonetization was notavailable. Though the governmentfirmly goes on claiming there wasno setback and asserts that therewas 7.1 per cent GDP growth in2016-17 despite demonetization of500 and 1000 Rupee notes fromNovember 8 , 2016.

Janata

is available at

www.lohiatoday.com


Some reflections as the NarendraModi government completes threeyears.

First of all, I want to thank all ofmy friends on Facebook who aresupporters of Narendra Modi forkeeping me alert, aware and in aconstant state of reflection throughyour comments. You have helped mere-examine many of the beliefs Iinherited growing up in a family ofsocial democrats. You helped mequestion my assumptions and focuson what is most important to me.

Let me start with the things thatunite us and not the things that divideus. We all love India. We want Indiato become a land of opportunities foreveryone. We all recognise thatcorruption in the system is a rootcause of many problems that get inthe way of India becoming a land ofopportunities. We also want ourchildren to grow up in an environmentwhere they get the best education,nurturing and caring communitysupport, freedom from fear,encouragement for applying theircreativity, and reward for hard work.We agree that we deserve a systemof governance where every voice isheard and every life is protected.Access to education, healthcare andjustice should not be not a privilegebut a fundamental right. We takepride in our culture and traditions butat the same time, we do not wanttraditions to become a barrier toprogress nor an excuse fordiscrimination. Above all we deserveelected representatives andadministrators who are driven by agenuine commitment to publicservice.

Nurturing Shared Values

Uday Dandvate

Now my thoughts on three yearsof Narendra Modi government. Thegovernment was elected in thebackdrop of wide spread anger andresentment against corruption.While Anna Hazare’s movementwas able to galvanize aspirations forchange, the movement did not throwup a credible alternative that wasnot a part of the established system.During the 2014 parliamentaryelection, instead of disrupting thesystem from outside, people optedfor someone from within the systemto take away power from the handsof the corrupt Congress party.Narendra Modi was able to sellthe idea that a Congress MuktBharat would fix all the problemsthat had crept into India’s politicalsystem.

This time there was a major shiftin the narrative for change. In thepast India’s vision of changeinvolved insulation from influence ofbig money on government, cultivationof inclusive values, and respect forGandhian simplicity. With the adventof liberalization, and failure of boththe Congress and other oppositionparties to practice what theypreached for seven decades, themasses were willing to give achance to a leader who promised todemolish the corrupt Congress byhook or by crook. For severaldecades the Congress party hadaccess to big money - to demolishthe Congress party,Narendra Modiwas able to surpass the Congress inusing money power and expended iton a massive scale in the campaign.People did not care where thatmoney came from. To demolish the

Congress party Modi was able todemonize the values that weretraditionally sacrosanct in India -secularism, social justice, simplicityand liberal thought and replace themwith aggressive Hindu Nationalismthrough the razzle dazzle of new agemedia blitz. The new narrative was“Restoring power and prosperity tothe majority”.

Mr. Modi is indeed delivering onwhat he promised with the audacityhe demonstrated during hiscampaign. He is systematicallycultivating a dominant place forHindu traditions, rituals, culture andsymbols in the political discourse. Heis making every effort to demolishthe Congress party andsimultaneously working at debunkingand discrediting the ideas ofsecularism, social justice andliberalism and removing them frompopular imagination. He has blurredthe boundary between politics andbig money, as well as between politicsand religion.

A new arrogance has set inamongst the ruling political class atthe grass root level that reminds meof the arrogance of Wall Streetinvestment bankers. Just as thefrenzy for accumulating propertiesgripped the minds of home buyersprior to the sub prime mortgagecrisis, India is beginning to invest ina home of Hindu Nationalism thatwe cannot afford and in the processsquandering away the inclusivevalues that defined us and sustainedus as a modern democracy and astable society in a relatively unstableregion.


We have entered a future wherethe Congress party has beenreplaced by the BJP. I can see apopulation cheering the demise of acorrupt party, but not realizing thatthe corrupting forces remain and aregaining more power. It feels like HalfTime in football, where the teamshave changed the position in the fieldbut the game continues. Thespectators are consumed by the loud

cheering and drum beating. Thegame is very intoxicating. The Jumlais working.

Some of us old timers refuse togive up on traditional values. We stillbelieve that the values we all sharedthat arose out of our freedomstruggle need to be nurtured if wewant to avoid destruction of oursocial fabric and ensure equitable

progress and prosperity for theentire society. We must continue toengage in a conversation with ourpolitical opponents, however difficultit maybe to be heard above the loudcheering, and however small ourvoice maybe. Perhaps, even fromacrimonious debates we may beabler to generate a shared set ofvalues that will keep us progressingtogether.

People’s Campaign Against GM Crops is Supported bySignificant Statements of Scientists

Bharat Dogra

Although very high level lobbyingby very powerful forces has beencarried out in recent times forapproval of GM food crops in Indianevertheless it needs to be pointedout that the important points madeby people’s campaign against GMcrops in general and GM Mustard inparticular are supported by growingscientific evidence.

Several eminent scientists fromvarious countries who constitute theIndependent Science Panel havesaid in their conclusion afterexamining all aspects of GM crops,“ GM crops have failed to deliverthe promised benefits and are posingescalating problems on the farm.Transgenic contamination is nowwidely considered to be unavoidable,and hence there cannot be any co-existence of GM and non-GMagriculture. Most important of all,GM crops have not been provensafe.”

In April 2009 the Union ofConcerned Scientists published areport titled ‘Failure to Yield’concluding that “after 20 years of

research and 13 years ofcommercialization , GM crops havefailed to increase yields” and that“traditional breeding outperformsgenetic engineering hands down.”

In a widely quoted paperpublished in the Ecologist and titled‘The Biotechnology Bubble’, DrMae-Wan Ho (head of Biodynamiclab of the Open University in theUK), Joe Cummins (Prof emeritusof genetics in Canada) and HartmutMeyer have said that there aremany signs of problems caused ingenetically engineered organisms.These have been particularlydisastrous for animal welfare. Thescientists give several glaringexamples. In a field trial of Btcotton in Thailand, 30 per cent ofthe bees around the test fieldsdied.DrSagari R Ramdas, co-director of Anthra, a veterinaryresearch organization in India haswritten, “Between 2005 and 2009Anthra, an organization led bywomen veterinary scientistsresearching the impact of Bt cottonon animals in different parts ofIndia, has been closely investigating

the reported morbidity and mortalityobserved in sheep and goat flocks,which have been grazed onharvested Bt cotton crop in AndhraPradesh. Shepherds unambiguouslydeclared that their animals, whichhad never died or fallen sick whilebeing grazed on regular cotton fieldssince the past ten years, began toexhibit morbid changes whengrazed on the GM crop.”

After pointing to many failures ofgenetically engineered organismsthese scientists conclude, “It isimportant to realize that the failuresare not just teething problems. Theyare very much the result of areductionist science and a hit or misstechnology. The transgenic foodscreated are unwholesome, becausethey involve stressing thedevelopmental and metabolicsystems of organisms out ofbalance.There are bound to beunintended effects including toxinsand allergens, which current riskassessments are designed to concealrather than reveal. The majorproblem is the instability oftransgenic lines.”


India is being talked about as abig power in the making. The muchvaunted magazine, the Forbes has anadvice or two for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, on how he can makeIndia a super power. It soundspromising. But, how is a super powermeasured? Is it by GPP growth(China), military might (USA and ex-Soviet Union), or any other criterion.The conventional tools to measurethe might of the country are economyand military. If we recall Gandhijigave us a healthy tool to assess thegreatness of a nation. That is thecharacter of its people. That indeed,should be the real measure.Character, which is a loaded,sensitive and contested term, can besimplified into discipline. Do weobserve discipline as a nation?Certainly not. The Prime Minister isplanning digital India, Swatchh India,and Make- in-India and so on, but,can we also talk about a ‘DisciplinedIndia’. To be sure, if we havediscipline, life would be much easier,and a lot of stress, strife andsoreness would be done away with.Some of our bad habits which canbe called indiscipline signify ourbackwardness as a country. Wehave many aspects in our history andculture we can be proud of, whichlend us greatness. However, theyare in the realm of spirituality or ourphilosophy, one is referring here toour living culture on the streets; toour interactions with people, to ourattitude towards others. Let usexemplify the charge of nationalindiscipline.

On punctuality, many Indians andforeigners talk pejoratively of ‘India

Disciplined India

D. K. Giri

time’, which perhaps, means,whenever the expected personcomes or the event happens. This isinefficient, unprofessional anddisrespectful. Inefficient because,you lose time, waste other people’stime, disrupt the process andoutcome of any activity. It isunprofessional because one is notfocused on the work. If one is late,making other people wait, it isdisrespectful. There is a proverb,time and tide waits for none’. Peoplein business sector, who tend tomonetise things, would say ‘time ismoney’. In the greatest Indian epicMahabharata, the narrator wouldbegin by saying ‘I am the time’, Idecide things’ etc. But, do werespect time? One is not comparingIndia with other countries, simplyasking, are we punctual? Can we bepunctual? In the olden times, withless technological support, peoplecould reach in time; do things in time,but no more. Why is it gettingworse? Arguably, this is largelybecause of growing individualism,consumerism and cynicism andabsence of community-ness, publicspirit and national purpose (notnationalism). Let us again illustratehow these tendencies play out in ourdaily life.

Honking is a major contributor tonoise pollution. Have you noticed?If not, try it. Why people blow thehorn, when and where. I bet, you willnot be able to find out. People usethe horn as a toy, blow it anywhere,anytime without rhyme or reason.One has to ignore it as most of thesehorns are meant for nothing, but ifyou do, you may risk being hit,

knocked off, or run over etc. Youare in traffic, either in a congestionor red-light. As soon as the light isgreen, many behind you will blow thehorn. Everyone is moving and alert,yet, horns are honked. One wonderswhy. Second, you are driving safelyin a lane; there are five cars in frontof you moving at a similar or higherspeed, you get the horn from behind.Why? Is the guy asking you to moveaside, you cannot, as the road is singlecarriage way or in a bigger road, theother lanes are occupied. Where doyou go? How do you give him side?How do you respond to the horn?Only by turning a deaf ear. But canyou escape the harassment andtension?

If you are a pedestrian, you haveno ‘right’ to be on the road. Whetheryou are old, physically challenged,carrying a baby, you have to movefast or aside as soon as a car comesnear you. The driver will not botherto look at your position in the road,you will get the horn and you mustreact. If you are fellow-car driver,you can withstand the bullying, butas a pedestrian, you cannot riskbeing hurt, the car will menacinglyapproach you as the horn would beblaring. The fact that, the drivers areuneducated, uncouth and insensitivecould be the excuse. But, theeducated ones are no less; they areequally noisy with their horns asothers.

Breaking the queue is consideredsmartness and a show of strengthand status. Just look at the bus-stops,railway stations, or now metrostations. There is no queue, and


people are jostling with each otherto get in. If they are in a queue, itwill be easier and comfortable forall. But that is not to be. In the metrostations, in Delhi, namely at thebiggest junction, Rajiv Chowk,people stand in the queue and appearto be quiet and disciplined, busy withtheir cell phones. But as soon as themetro-train chugs in, all hell breaksloose, the queue is broken into pieces,as people jump over one another toenter.

Another interesting trend is seenin the shops. You go to a shop forbuying something, you are beingserved, you may be waiting foranother item, another shopper comesalong, without waiting for yourtransaction to be complete, he shoutsout his order. Even stranger is that,the shopkeeper also attends to himfirst, then comes back to you, andsuch queue-jumping takes place tillthe last customer. In the shopkeeper’s mind, you are hooked, youcannot leave without settling the billor with items left to be picked up,and so he can attend to the newcustomer and sell to you at the sametime. The shopkeeper also knowsIndians are short on patience, cannotwait, so he cannot lose the secondcustomer.

People hardly respect otherpeople’s space - physical as well aspsychological. People will intrudeinto your space, if you are in a bus,train or even aeroplane, people willsit touching and nudging. Inpsychological terms, people do notrespect other’s space, becomepatronising and suffocate theirjuniors. Spitting and littering on theroads is so common. How does thishabit sit with ‘Swatch Bharat’, Dowe have enough commonwashrooms in the cities, spittoonskept in crowded places, and litter-

bins available. Where do the peoplethrow their litter? It is a habit anddiscipline people must develop not tothrow litter anywhere. Have younoticed people throwing bananapeels or food-carriers out of thewindows of flashy cars on theroads? Does it show any respect forfellow-travellers or concern forcleanliness. India is a hot climate,dust is unavoidable, but litter, plastics,cans, empty bottles are surelydispensable, and that could be nicelydone.

Talking loud, interruptingothers is common. If two peoplehave a conversation, a third person,usually a friend or an acquaintancecomes around and without notice,without waiting, s(he) wouldannounce their presence by sayingsomething louder than your voice,and forcing you to stop and look up.

How can we remedy suchindiscipline? I make a distinctionbetween habit and discipline. Habitis behaviour repeated over time andhabits are inherited, followedconsciously or unconsciously throughgenerations etc, but discipline istaught through mentoring. You aretrained to do certain things inparticular ways. That is disciplinesince the changing habits mentionedabove require a civilisational shift,which is not easy; one could inculcatenew habits through training andcreating a new ‘discipline’. We havebeen advocating Indian youths toundergo conscription, a compulsorymilitary training for a year beforethey take up any service either inprivate or public sector. This will givethem all common training in similarhabit-formation and public spirit.Second option is to draft people intoNational Social Service (NSS), whichagain should be made mandatory.NSS would infuse public spirit and

sense of sacrifice, concern andcompassion for others. Third, allIndian should undergo citizenshiptraining conducted by the trainedsocial mobilisers. The syllabus forsuch training should be commonthroughout India although languagecould be state-specific. Anyonewithout citizenship training cannotvote in an election. After the trainingall voters will be given the citizenshipcards which they carry as their I-card, too, or their training certificateincluded in the Aadhar card, so thatby swiping the Aadhar one wouldknow the citizenship status. It is acrying need for the country to bedisciplined through the good habitsof its citizens. If the simple habitsare changed, the citizens woulddesist from committing bigger crimeslike rape, violence, theft, and riotingetc. That is how we can become abig power have a healthy nation, anda strong state.

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The mother of a Jawan killed bya terrorist near Poonch (J &K) on30th April, 2017 was shownrepeatedly on TV channels saying“Bring fifty cut-off heads tocompensate head of my son”. Suchutterances may be sympatheticallylistened to . But whipping up massfrenzy on that line of emotionaloutburst would only escalate chainreaction of violence - would that savelives of our Jawans and as also ofinhabitants of the border areas?Violence begets violence. Only firmresolve to prevent terrorist attacks,backed by resolute action can ensurepeace.

Any sober person would agreethat cutting supply lines of financeand arms to terrorists can alonecheck terrorist attacks.

That does not mean that we shouldavoid forceful resistance if anyterrorist intrudes and indulges inviolence. The sentries posted on theborder are expected to react instantlyand effectively. But the policy shouldbe to disable likely intruders to crossborder or to resort to violence.

Terrorism thrives on unlimitedsupply of money and arms orexplosives. They don’t get it as a giftof God. Some crooked agencies and/or smugglers are responsible fortheir uninterrupted supply.

In the days of sputnik-aided ITand reconnaissance instruments, whydoes not our security men getinformation, or at least inkling ofprobable intrusion from across theborder or of gathering 300 armed

No Use Asking “Eye for Eye”

Pannalal Surana

persons in the thick jungle of SukmaDistrict of Chhattisgarh? Is it sodifficult to put live vigils on the LoC,all the area through which broadhighway is being built? Surely thatshould be a child’s play for the nationthat prides in sending 104 sputniksin the sky in a single shot. Our armyand security forces like CRPF andlocal police should seek, and get, therequired designs and materials toerect necessary intelligence units. Ifneither is being attempted, all thoseoccupying high posts in Defense andHome departments of Governmentof India must be held responsible.High technology that located andcaptured Osama Bin Laden shouldnot be considered a monopoly of onenation. We can certainly deviseradars, sensors and drones requiredfor that. The legacy of the great APJAbdul Kalam should not go waste.

Thanks to the uncanny ingenuityof our businessmen and Babus indevising escape route out of theregulatory network of RBI,identifying and deactivating sourcesof financial supply may be a littledifficult, but not impossible. What isrequired is to form a small group ofpersons of impenetrable integrity andempower it to device and executenecessary operations. After all therecan be only a few havala channelsthrough which money would beflowing to the terrorists or Naxalites.What is needed is dedicatedruthlessness. Indian nation should notbe found wanting it.

The rulers at the top should putaside their political agenda of HinduRashtra which in practice boils down

to Muslim baiting and weakening theunity of the nation. Instead of coiningnew slogans day in and day out, theyshould concentrate on the projectsoutlined above and that should bedone without any pomp and show.Full concentration is all that is calledfor.

Can anybody chasten our frenzy-crazy media? Let it be leftuntouched. Instead all persons whowant to save precious human beingsshould talk to the fellow countrymenthrough small gatherings, pamphletsand occasional marches, not only onthoroughfares but in the lanes andbye-lanes of localities inhabited bypoor masses. Social media may alsobe put to proper use. Kabir’s dohasmay be recited as also utterances ofsaints and Buddha and MahatmaGandhi.

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We live in times of anunprecedented evolutionarytransition from the age of intellectand reason to an age of moralcowardice, spiritual bankruptcy andapathy towards the suffering of ourfellow citizens and where hate andfear seem stronger than toleranceand humanity.

Unlike the 70’s, we live in timeswhere we easily give in to authorityand the spirit of dissent seems tohave evaporated.

Three years into Modi’s rule andwe have witnessed the flagrantviolation of our fundamental rights.We are being told what to eat, whatto wear, how to pray, what and whatnot to say. Our freedom of speechis curtailed. NGOs are threatenedwith charges of sedition and criticsare labelled ‘anti-national’ or ‘desh-drohi’. Development has taken on anew meaning – a fast track for thecorporate houses and multinationalsto seize our economy.

This smacks of an undeclared,amorphous, insidious State ofEmergency, the second we havefaced since India gained herindependence.

The Modification of India – the impact onDevelopment and Gender*

Nandana Reddy

Introduction:

We live in very troubled times, times that are a combination of terror, anxiety, uncertainty. Theseare also times that bring a realization of the fragility of our democracy.

Emergency Then and Now

There are both similarities anddifferences between the 1975 Stateof Emergency declared by IndiraGandhi and Modi’s model.

The common factors are - selfpromotion as a cult figure; ‘Indira isIndia’ is now the Modification ofIndia; the wardrobe, the slogans, theinternational events, a cultism builtaround catchphrases not actions. Theother is the promise of sops. Everyhousehold will have a toilet, the BetiBachao Andolan and the SwachaBharath Andolan [that has resultedin the biggest garbage disposal crisiswe have seen in recent times] allreminiscent of Indira’s 20 pointprogramme and ‘Garabhi Hatao’.

Both these Prime Ministers hardlyattended Parliament and while onemuzzled the media; our PM of todayjust ignores them! One jailedthousands of dissenters, while theother just cuts off their source offunding. Modi has systematicallydented the check list that defines ademocracy – our right to dissent;freedom of association; freedom ofspeech including a free press;freedom to practice our religion,

speak our language and enjoy ourculture.

But they also differ in their modusoperandi. Indira misused aConstitutional provision; Modi hasnot tampered with the Constitution.Indira used compulsion and coercion,mass arrests and press censorship,surveillance and tapping oftelephones; Modi is using a clevercombination of fear and seduction toobtain peoples’ submission andcompliance and his brigade ofHindutva hooligans are hisexecuters. The nation appears to beresponding to obsolete dogmas andoutworn slogans.

Manmohan Singh’s lament that our‘democratic institutions are underthreat’, rings true, but we mustremember that it was during histenure that the erosion began andpaved the way for the undeclared‘Emergency’ we are nowexperiencing. No one is blamelessin this coup d’état; there are no‘innocents’. We are all culpable forallowing things to progress so far.

With each passing day I can’t helpbut feel the gnawing sensation thatthe shadow of authoritarianism is

*This article was based on the Annual Endowment Lecture on Gender and Development in Memory of Dr Poornima Vyasulu onMay 5, 2017


reaching its tentacles deeper anddeeper into our lives, eroding ourfundamental rights and freedoms.

Unfortunately, few recognise thesigns. Forty years have gone by andthe present generation have noknowledge of the 1975-77Emergency and history has notrecorded it. There are only a handfulof us left with memories of thosepainfully dark and silent days. Wewho cling to our principles to protectdemocracy and its institutions are amere handful, isolated and numbedby the sheer onslaught of the so-called modern, consumerist, ModifiedIndia. But we recognise Modi’sdictatorial moves and authoritarianmodel of governance as elements ofan undeclared emergency.

L K Advani, one of the survivorsof the Emergency feels that now the“forces that can crush democracyare stronger”. He is right, becausethe environment is weaker. But hishope that having experienced“Emergency” once, India could havebeen inoculated against it is wishfulthinking. This may have been true 20years ago, when those who hadexperienced both the struggle forfreedom and the State of Emergencywere still alive. Today, Advani doesnot “see any sign in our polity orany outstanding aspect ofleadership that assures” him as “acommitment to democracy and toall other aspects related todemocracy is lacking.” This isironic coming from a senior leader ofthe BJP and yet rings true!

I was recently rereading ‘TheAnatomy of a Dictatorship’ authoredby CGK Reddy and circulatedduring Indira’s Emergency in Europeto muster International support. Itwas distributed under GeorgeFernandes’ name as CGK was still

with The Hindu. It records the Indirarecipe that led to the declaration andcontinuance of Emergency and hermodus operandi reads like a textbook with step by step instructionsfor a potential dictator. It wouldappear that Mr Modi and hisbackroom boys have studied hermethods and learnt their lessons welland this time around have managedto usher in a dictatorial regimeseemingly within the Constitutionalpurview and without having to resortto Article 352, which in any case hasbeen made more difficult to usesince its amendment in 1978.

On the contrary, in 2015 MJAkbar said that “now IndianDemocracy is too strong” foranother emergency to be declared.This is a surprising statement for himto make when the presentGovernment even then underminedevery institution and smashed everyvestige of democracy. But then as anewly recruited spokesperson of theBJP, I guess he would.

Meanwhile, wooing the masseswith empty promises keeps thecharade alive. While people withnewly opened bank accounts waitfor Modi to bring back the blackmoney and deposit their share, Moditravels the world making friends andpromoting his ‘image’. While millionswait for basic needs like water,housing and sanitation, Modi twittershis elite twitter buddies incyberspace. While communities aretrying to resolve their differences,Modi’s ministers spread the RSSideology banning beef, telling ourMuslim brethren to go to Pakistanand spout medieval patriarchalcomments against women.

The Media

The fourth estate was meant to

act as a watchdog, to expose the illsin society by maintaining a check onthe State and keeping citizensinformed. But news has becomeblack and white and there are nogrey areas, no nuances, no attemptto tell it as it is. The media doesn’treport news, they portray itaccording to their partiality andprejudices and who it is morelucrative to support.

Most sections of the media arenow also misreporting, spreadingmisinformation and by that helpingto push the Modi agenda. The recentreports on the Supreme Courtssupposed verdict on the use ofAadhaar is one such example. OnOctober 15, 2015, a five judge benchhad heard a series of applications formultiple uses of Aadhaar and refusedthe plea.

However, the Attorney General,Mukul Rohatgi, not only suppressedthis information before a three judgebench in an unrelated case butdeliberately misinterpreted a casualcomment as making UID mandatoryfor income tax and PAN cards. Thisis a serious breach of legal etiquetteand a vile attempt to mislead thepublic when the legal position as ofnow is that even the use of UID is acontempt of court, let alone makingit mandatory.

Though this has been explainedin detail by several legal expertsincluding Dr Usha Ramanathan, nonewspaper has carried a clarificationor correction. So the myth continues.

What Jürgen Krönig, the UKeditor of Die Zeit says applies so aptlyto India: “So without a free pressthere is no public sphere, noinformed citizen and thus nodemocracy. For a democracy to besustained, we need informed

10 JANATA, May 21, 2017

citizens and an aware civil society.Instead, what we now have is anelectorate which is highlyinformed about entertainment,consumer goods and celebrities,while being uninterested in and/or deeply cynical about politics,equipped with short attentionspans and a growing tendency todemand instant gratification.” Beit the Trump’s victory in the US orBreixt, this appears to be a worldphenomenon that we are yet toanalyse and understand.

LK Advani had said during theEmergency “that when journalistswere asked to bend, they crawled;and now they are behaving liketrained circus animals, jumpingthrough hoops on Modi’s command.Worse, they have lost theircredibility. So a few days back,when on World Press Freedom Day,the Malayalam newspaperMathrubhumi blackened the frontpage of their daily, reminiscent ofThe Indian Express and TheStatesman who ran blank editorialsas a mark of their resistance duringIndira’s Emergency; their trueintentions were questioned by many.Was it sensationalism or a sincereform of dissent?

Social Media

On the other hand, the Modicampaign used social media to greateffect. The branding of the ‘future’Prime Minister, constructing theimage of an effective strongadministrator who would lead Indiainto prosperity and the modern globalera, won him the 2014 elections.Now the Modi strategists areemploying social media to spreadmyths and rumours to induce fearand uncertainty. What they cannotdo legally, is being achieved bymaking people believe it exists.

My husband got a WhatsAppmessage a few months ago. It said:“The Central Police have issuedan order that anyone whodiscusses politics or religion orpasses on information regardingpolitics or religion will bearrested”. This message had beendoing the rounds for a while and noone had bothered to stop and think.Hey, we are a democracy, [at leastthe last time I checked], and ourConstitution gives me the right todiscuss politics and religion andanything else! And, we don’t have a‘Central Police’ in India!

I got a message a few weeksago. Many of you must have gotsimilar messages. It was titled“Ministry of Interior Regulation”.It read as follows: “From tomorrowe.i. 11/04/2017 onwards there arenew communication regulations.All calls are recorded. All phonecall recordings saved. WhatsAppis monitored. Twitter is monitored.FaceBook is monitored. All socialmedia and forums are monitored.Inform those who do not know.Your devices are connected toministry systems. Take care not tosend unnecessary messages.Inform your children about thisand to take care.”

Interestingly this came from thesister in law of a union minister whowas brought up in a Socialisthousehold. I sent her the usualmessage reminding her that we arestill a democracy – Modi or not –and such messages are aConstitutional violation. And we donot have a Ministry of Interior. Shemessaged back: “I know it isagainst freedom of speech and theConstitution, but it’s still a scarythought.” Who needs to amend theConstitution when we can be soeasily taken in?

Martin Luther King, Jr. believedthat: “Any nation or governmentthat deprives an individual offreedom is in that momentcommitting an act of moral andspiritual murder. Any individualwho is not concerned about hisfreedom commits an act of moraland spiritual suicide.”

Two years ago, I was at a lecturegiven by Gopalkrishna Gandhi inhonour of JP, the founder of thePeople’s Union for Civil Liberties.He said:

“The fear that is prevailing in ourcountry is the starkest and mostpalpable among the minoritycommunities of India. This level offear among those communities hasprecedence only in times of riots thathave defaced the history of ourcountry. But in times when there areno riots or riots in real time there hasnever been a time when fear hasbeen so pronounced in the hearts andminds of the minority communitiesin India. JP would not have beenable to stand or stomach the sight ofa cow being slaughtered but hewould not have allowed cowslaughter to become a political toolin the hands of a majority partywhich is using the majoritycommunity’s susceptibility,sentiments and heartstrings to needlethe minority community, in this casethe Muslim community in particular.”

“During the Emergency, ‘75-‘77,there was a kind of an attempt tocombine socialist rhetoric with therealpolitik or opportunism. Todaythere is a great attempt at combiningtwo pulls, two compulsions in thepublic. One is the inborn set ofprejudices that all of us have aboutother communities, polarisation bybringing about things like temples,cow slaughter. But the other great

JANATA, May 21, 2017 11

pull, the pull for the good life via theworld model of globalisation, thecorporate communal binary is like thegreat combination of two demi-godswanting to snuff out dissent by acombination of fear and seduction.”

“The latter is even more difficultto resist than the former and in theEmergency which JP faced, theproblem was fear not seductionexcept when it came to some smallloaves and fishes of office. But todayit is much more different and that iswhy it is much more important toresist. In the northern Hindi-speakingparts of India, JP was hailed as“andhere mein ek prakash,Jayaprakash, Jayaprakash” (in thisdarkness there is one light…) Thereis not an andhera yet but there is akind of twilight that could slip intoandhera, but I don’t think the peopleof India will allow that to happen.”

Two years later, I feel we arecloser to andhera than we think. Thehood is slowly but steadily cloudingour judgment and fear has got ourtongues.

Writing in Young India in 1922,Gandhi said, “We must first makegood the right of free speech andfree association before we makeany further progress towards ourgoal. We must defend theseelementary rights with our lives.”

Gandhi based his view on hisbelief that liberty of speech isindisputable even when the speechhurts and that “freedom ofassociation is truly respectedwhen assemblies of people candiscuss even revolutionaryprojects.”

Among several others, Raja RamMohan Roy and Bal Gangadhar Tilakwere committed to this too and civil

liberties became an integral part ofthe national movement andincorporated into the Constitution.They understood that while thefreedom of worship is a part ofdemocracy and a fundamental right,the foundation of modern democracyhas to be the freedom of thought andexpression.

Modi and Development

Modi proclaimed an 8 pointdevelopment agenda; theStrengthening of the FederalStructure, Agricultural Reform,Urban Development andInfrastructure, Health Care for All,Children’s and Women’sEmpowerment, Inflation and PriceControl and Education and jobopportunities for youth.

These are rather ambiguousstatements. Who these moves willbenefit is not clear. Will it be a propoor pro farmer agenda based onsocial justice or to the advantage ofbig business?

Modi’s unilateral demonetisation‘strategic strike’, was purportedly toclean up black money and stemcorruption, but we all know that wasnot the case. The real motive wasto usher in a cashless economy thatwould put small vendors andenterprises out of businesses andfacilitate FDI in retail. Rural India,especially those just barely makinga living as landless labourers orrunning small businesses sellingvegetables or managing smalleateries, unable to manage on credit,have been hard hit bydemonetisation. Having no surplus tosustain them, they have been drivento sell their homesteads or the littleland that they own, forcing them tojoin the ranks of the unemployed.Suddenly displaced and not having

the necessary skills demanded by theurban labour market, these ruralrefugees, mostly women struggle tosurvive.

Modi’s proposed land acquisitionordinance was to further ease theway for multinationals to buyagricultural land and withmechanisation and technologyModi’s promise of ‘more crop forevery drop’ would be realised,except that the farmers would belandless and penniless.

The poor in urban metropolises isno different. The cash crunch inATMs and the restrictions on thewithdrawal on our own money istaking business away from smallenterprises to the Reliance and FoodWorld retail outfits.

This was essentially the Gujaratmodel. Guaranteeing investors,particularly big investors from Indiaand abroad, land at throw awayprices with no consideration forwhom or how many were displacedas a result. As a third of ourpopulation reel under draught andthe distress of our farmers escalate,the Modi budget brings them norelief.

Further, the proposedamendments to labour laws,undermining the protection for theworking class by promoting a ‘hireand fire’ policy combined with out-sourcing has weakened labour unionsas never before. And the Goods andServices Tax [GST] has convertedthe whole country into a singlecommon market wresting controlaway from the States to the UnionGovernment. So much for hispromise of strengthening the FederalStructure!

(To be concluded)

12 JANATA, May 21, 2017

Free Speech, Nationalism and Sedition - II

Ajit Prakash Shah

Edited excepts from the MN Roy Memorial Lecture delivered by the former Chief Justice of Delhi and MadrasHigh Courts, and former Chairperson of Law Commission of India in Delhi on April 19, 2017

We also have social media, whereonline trolls and threats of rape andmurder are regularly made againstpeople supposedly making anti-national statements. I am left to askmyself, which part of Indian culturepermits or promotes the making ofsuch statements threatening a girlwith rape or murder. Who are thesepeople on Twitter and other socialmedia, who take comfort in theiranonymity to make such aggressivethreats against individuals?

Laws criminalising speech suchas sedition, defamation, andblasphemy have been used againstactivists, dissenters, and evenpolitical cartoonists to silence andharass them. In such a situation,using these offences to deter aperson from speaking, instead ofengaging with the underlyingconcerns of their speech, isdetrimental to democracy. In fact, thechilling effect and consequent stiflingof free speech caused by the threatof invocation of these offences andtactics undermines the constitutionalprotection to free speech guaranteedby Article 19(1) of the Constitution.More worryingly, though, a debatearound nationalism and patriotismprevents a real conversation aboutthe social and economic problemsthat ail the country.

Having discussed the meaning ofnationalism and the importance offree speech in some detail, it isappropriate for me to now turn toexamine issues that are raised bynationalistic fervour, whether

sedition, the national anthem, theattack on universities, and cowslaughter. A common theme linkingthese topics is the idea of “culturalnationalism”, where culturalconformism is being foisted upon theentire nation, without considerationof people’s personal choices, valuesand regional differences.

Nationalism and Sedition

Sedition is a word, almosteveryone in India has heard of today,because of the events at JNU lastyear. Historically, our conversationaround sedition centred aroundBritish injustice in convicting andsentencing Tilak and Gandhi toprison for their publication ofallegedly seditious material. Tilak,before his arrest in 1908, reportedlytold a police officer, “Thegovernment has converted the entirenation into a prison and we are allprisoners. Going to prison onlymeans that from a big cell, one isconfined to a smaller one.”

Gandhi, in 1922, pleaded guilty tothe charge of sedition, stating thathe was proud to oppose a Satanicgovernment.

These stories are shared withbristling outrage about the Britishmisuse of this law and pride withwhich our freedom fighters opposedthem. More than 90 years later,however, we are still grappling withthe fact that the crime of seditionwas invoked against a group of 20-something University students for

doing what students in a campusshould feel entitled to do – raiseslogans, debate, disagree, andchallenge each other on complex,political issues that face the nationtoday.

Sedition laws were enacted aroundthe 17th Century in England in a bidto protect the Crown and the Statefrom any potential uprising. Thepremise was that people could onlyhave a good opinion of thegovernment, and a bad opinion wasdetrimental to the functioning of thegovernment and the monarchy. Itwas subsequently introduced in theIndian Penal Code in 1870.

The first major case was whenBal Gangadhar Tilak was brought totrial for sedition in 1897 for his lecturesand songs at the Shivaji CoronationCeremony. Given that these speechesand songs made no mention ofoverthrowing or disobeying thegovernment, the Court widened theinterpretation of sedition by equating“disaffection” to “disloyalty,” andincluding within it hatred, enmity,dislike, hostility, contempt, and everyform of ill will towards thegovernment. This interpretationbecame a part of the legal text, whenSection 124A was amended to addthe words “hatred” and “contempt”alongside “disaffection”, which wasdefined to include disloyalty andfeelings of enmity. Thereafter, in 1908,Tilak was again charged with seditionfor the publication of a critical articlein his magazine Kesari. He was heldguilty and sentenced to six years’

JANATA, May 21, 2017 13

imprisonment by the Bombay HighCourt, which ruled that no one waspermitted to “attribute dishonest orimmoral motives to the Government.”

The next landmark sedition casepre-independence was Gandhi’s trialfor the offence of sedition for hisarticles in the Young India magazine.The trial itself was remarkable forhis decision to plead guilty to thecharge of sedition and JusticeBroomfield’s reluctance to sentencehim, because he did not believe thatGandhi deserved to be charged withsedition in the first place.

Interestingly, during theConstitution Assembly debates, therewere two attempts made to includesedition as a ground for restrictingfree speech. Eventually, however,due to trenchant opposition bymembers of the ConstituentAssembly and their fear that seditionwould be used to crush politicaldissent, it was dropped from Article19(2) and the Constitution. Theseactions of the framers wereexpressly noted by the SupremeCourt in 1950 itself, in its decisions inBrij Bhushan and Romesh Thappar.

The decisions of the Supreme Courtprompted the First Amendment to theIndian Constitution, wherein Article19(2) was amended and “underminingthe security of the State” wasreplaced with “in the interest of publicorder”. However, while speaking inParliament, Nehru clarified:

“Take again Section 124-A of theIndian Penal Code. Now so far as Iam concerned that particular sectionis highly objectionable and obnoxiousand it should have no place both forpractical and historical reasons, if youlike, in any body of laws that wemight pass. The sooner we get ridof it the better.”

Finally, in 1962, a ConstitutionBench of the Supreme Court had thechance to authoritatively decide onthe constitutionality of Section 124Aof the IPC in Kedarnath Singh vState of Bihar in light of the “publicorder” restriction in Article 19(2). Ithad to grapple with conflictingdecisions of the Punjab and PatnaHigh Courts on the constitutionalityof sedition. The Court upheld theconstitutionality of sedition, butlimited its application to “actsinvolving intention or tendency tocreate disorder, or disturbance of lawand order, or incitement to violence.”It distinguished these acts from“very strong speech” or the use of“vigorous words” which werestrongly critical of the Government.

The final case that I would like todiscuss is the 1995 decision of theSupreme Court in Balwant Singh vState of Punjab, where it acquittedthe persons who had shouted sloganssuch as “Khalistan zindabaad, RajKarega Khalsa” outside a movie halla few hours after Indira Gandhi’sassassination on charges of sedition.Instead of simply looking at the“tendency” of the words to causepublic disorder, the Court held that“raising of some lonesome slogans,a couple of times… which neitherevoked any response nor reactionfrom anyone in the public” did notamount to sedition, for which a moreovert act was required. The Courttook cognizance of the fact that theaccused had not intended to “incitepeople to create disorder” and thatno “law and order problem” actuallyoccurred.

It is through this lens that oneshould view the JNU incident. Thelaw, as we saw above, is quite clearon the distinction between strongcriticism of the government and theincitement of violence, with only the

latter being related to sedition. Thus,regardless of whether the JNUstudents’ slogans were anti-national,hateful, or an expression of contemptand disdain against the government,as long as they did not incite violence,it does not get covered undersedition. As Upendra

Baxi reminds us, we shouldremember the distinction between“constitutional patriotism” (andfidelity to the Constitutional purpose)and “statist patriotism” (what Gandhicalled “manufacturing affection forthe state”). Keeping this in mind, Iwould like to express my anguish onthe language of the Delhi HighCourt’s bail order and theunnecessary invocation of patriotismand nationalism.

Gandhi said, “Affection cannot bemanufactured or regulated by thelaw. One should be free to give fullexpression to their disaffectionunless it incites violence.” This, aswe have seen above, is in fact thestandard of Kedar Nath.Unfortunately, the broad scope ofSection 124-A allows it to be usedby the State to go after those whochallenge its power, whether it is theJNU students, activists such asHardik Patel and Binyak Sen,authors such as Arundhati Roy,cartoonists such as Aseem Trivedi,or the villagers of Idinthakarai inTamil Nadu protesting against theKudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.These examples are demonstrativeof the misuse of the provision. Thelaw is clear that mere sloganeeringis not enough, and has to beaccompanied by a call for violence.However, at the stage of registeringthe FIR and initiating criminalproceedings, the question of theinterpretation of the section in linewith the Supreme Court’sjurisprudence, does not arise. Thus,

14 JANATA, May 21, 2017

sedition charges are easily slapped,but seldom stick, but cause immenseharassment in the process. Even ifone is eventually acquitted ofsedition, the process of having toundergo the trial itself is thepunishment – and more importantly,the deterrent against any voice ofdescent or criticism.

The enforcement or the threat ofinvocation of sedition constitutes aninsidious form of unauthorised self-censorship by producing a chillingeffect on the exercise of one’sfundamental right to free speech andexpression. That is why the lawneeds to be repealed. However, it isunlikely that any government will giveup this power, and it is therefore leftto the courts to re-examine theconstitutionality of sedition. It is notenough to expect an acquittal by thecourts after 4-5 years; we need tostop the misuse of the law to silencedissent by removing the source ofthe power itself.

Interestingly, England, from whomwe have inherited the offence ofsedition, recently repealed theoffences of sedition and seditiouslibel, along with defamatory libel, andobscene libel. In doing so, the JusticeMinister, Ms. Claire Ward observedin 2009,

“Sedition and seditious anddefamatory libel are arcane offences- from a bygone era when freedomof expression wasn’t seen as theright it is today…. The existence ofthese obsolete offences in thiscountry had been used by othercountries as justification for theretention of similar laws which havebeen actively used to suppresspolitical dissent and restrict pressfreedom…Abolishing these offenceswill allow the UK to take a lead inchallenging similar laws in other

countries, where they are used tosuppress free speech.”

Nationalism and the UniversitySpace

It seems that February is theseason for targeting dissent. If it wasJNU and azaadi in 2016, thisFebruary saw the Ramjas-DUprotests. University spaces aretraditionally meant to be spaces fordissent, where students engage andchallenge each other and thedominant narrative, in an attempt todevelop their own principles andbeliefs. In fact, the best universitiesin the world are those that championfree thinking and disagreementamongst their students, faculty, andadministration. However, this spaceis under challenge in India.

Just think about the events thathave transpired over the last coupleof years that have sought toundermine academic institutions andacademic freedoms – from thebacklash against University ofHyderabad’s Rohit Vemula’s mother,declaring that she was not a “dalit”;to the charges of sedition levelledagainst JNU students; to protests atRamjas/DU about the organisationof a seminar; and the outcry againstan undergraduate student’s tweet.

As part of the FightbackDUcampaign that was launched inresponse to the Ramjas protests, a21-year old LSR student, GurmeharKaur, tweeted a photo “I am notafraid of ABVP”. A video, whereshe held a placard saying “Pakistandid not kill my father, war did” wentviral and became the subject ofintense national discussion anddebate, with cricketers, actors, andpoliticians all joining in to criticise thegirl. In fact, she was subject to suchhostility, threats, and violence,

especially online that she had to getsecurity and leave Delhi. Have wereally reached such a stage ofinsecurity that a 21-year old’s viewshave to be met with such backlash?That the Union Home Minister forthe State has to tweet, “Who ispolluting this young girl’s mind?” Theguarantee of freedom of speechrings hollow, if the State cannotguarantee freedom after speech.

The inaction of State institutionslike the police in light of the violenceand bullying by certain groups leadsto a fear psychosis amongststudents. Unless some remedialaction is taken, we will produce anentire generation of students who willnever have been encouraged toquestion the dominant ideas andencouraged to think differently. Thiswill influence not just the nature ofdemocratic citizenship, but will havea direct impact on the innovation andcreative thinking that are necessaryfor economic progress of a nation.

Nationalism and patriotism

Before concluding, I would like totalk about two more issuesconnected to free speech andnationalism. The first relates to theSupreme Court’s national anthemorder requiring all movie-goers to“stand up in respect” for the nationalanthem before the start of a moviein order to “instill a feeling within onea sense of committed patriotism andnationalism”. The order of the Court,which seems a little short onreasoning to help understand howsuch an interim order was passedbefuddles, and seems contrary to thespirit of the Constitution and pastprecedent, Bijoe Emanuel, whichmade it clear that we cannot beforced to sing the anthem. It isimportant to remember that the rightto free speech and expression also

JANATA, May 21, 2017 15

includes the right not to speak orexpress ourselves. However, underthe guise of “law”, the Court has nowstepped in and restricted ourfundamental rights.

As Pratap Bhanu Mehta pointsout, the order fails to understand adistinction fundamental to liberaldemocracy – everything that isdesirable or makes for a bettercitizen does not, and should not, bemade compulsory. In fact, makingsomething compulsory underminesthe very meaning of that action andthe respect that is normally accordedto it. It is a form of, what I wouldcall, “conscripted nationalism”. Justas joining the Army is a noble careerpath, our lawmakers have rightlydecided that India will not followconscription, presumably becausethey believe in the liberty of theindividual and the right to choice.Unfortunately, the Judiciary thoughtotherwise.

I know of many people whoconsidered themselves patriotic andwould always stand when thenational anthem was played. But theSupreme Court’s order hasfundamentally changed theirrelationship with the anthem and hasresulted in undermining its import.The order may have ensured thatcinema audiences throughout arenow standing before the nationalanthem plays, but what the Courtfails to have realised is that such anaction is a performance, motivatedby fear of being beaten up, ratherthan genuine respect and love for theanthem. In the end, it has actuallyundermined patriotism amongstfellow Indians.

Similarly, preventing people fromeating the food they want andeffectively forcing a life choice onthem undermines any feelings of

nationalism and unity, and is anotherinsidious form of cultural nationalism.Recently, Mohan Bhagwat called fora national law against cow slaughter.But we must be wary of forcing asingle ideology or way of living onthe entire country, especially acountry as diverse as India, whereStates such as Kerala, or the variousstates in the North East consider beefa staple part of their diet. One readsmultiple reports aboutslaughterhouse crackdowns in UP,crackdowns that are primarilytargeted at Muslim butchers, leavinglakhs of people with fear, but withoutstable employment. We also recentlyhad the horrific incident in Unawhere seven Dalits were beaten bycow-vigilantes for alleged cowslaughter. And how can we forgetthe lynching of Akhlaq, who wassuspected for allegedly storing andconsuming beef, but where the firstthing that was sent for forensicexamination was not his body, but thefood that is in the fridge. Is this whatthe value of human life comes to?

Nationalism, when it devolves intosuch a form of cultural nationalism,is disturbing. I am personally veryproud of being an Indian and of theIndian culture. My wife and Ipractice Yoga. But I am notcomfortable with the drive to makeYoga compulsory, to be foisted uponeveryone, as if that were a badge ofnationalism and Hindu pride.

Enforced nationalism cannotpromote true culture. When a cultureis arbitrarily prescribed and foisted,freedom of the creative spirit of mandisappears or is suppressed. Onlyfree souls can create abiding culturalvalues; they may physically belongto one particular class orgeographically to a particularcountry; spiritually, they transcend allsocial and territorial limitations.

Conclusion

It has long been known thatsuppressing and censoring people’sspeech will not remove theunderlying simmering sentiment. Infact, it will only serve to alienate thatsection of the population further. Ifwe have to give true meaning to thePrime Minister’s promise of “sabkasaath, sabka vikaas”, then we mustcelebrate not only those who professaffection for the State, but also those,who believe that change is necessaryor injustice is being committed. Wecannot have an Orwellian situation,where the government speaks in onelanguage, but then fails to walk thetalk. After all, as Desmond Tutu said,“if you are neutral in situations ofinjustice, you have chosen the sideof the oppressor.”

The strength of a nation is notgauged by the uniformity of opinionof its citizens or a public professionof patriotism. The true strength of anation is revealed when it does notfeel threatened by its citizensexpressing revolutionary views;when there is a free and open pressthat can criticise the government; andwhen citizens do not resort toviolence against their fellow citizens,merely for expressing a contraryview. That is when we will haveachieved liberty of speech. And thatis when we will be truly free.

I would like to end this speechwith a short poem “Speak” from oneof my favourite poets, Faiz AhmedFaiz: Speak, for your lips are free;Speak, your tongue is still yoursYour upright body is yoursSpeak, your life is still yours ….Speak, this little time is plentyBefore the death of body and tongueSpeak, for truth is still aliveSpeak, say whatever is to be said

(concluded)





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Vol. 72 No. 19May 28, 2017




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Can China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor Lead To A Solution

Of Kashmir Crisis?Sandeep Pandey

Mongolia hosts Social Justice& Sustainability Conference

D K Giri

GM Crops - Modi needs tolisten to the criticism of his

Ministers and AlliesBharat Dogra

The Modification of India -the impact on

development and gender* - IINandana Reddy

Hashimpura is as deep a tragedyas the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. Bothminorities have not allowed thewounds to heal because they go onreminding them of the killings at thattime. The perpetrators, the ProvincialArmed Constabulary (PAC) from theUP Police, are hoping that the dustwould settle down sooner or laterand the nation would consider thetragedy as part of ugly history tomove on.

I remember the whole thingvividly. It was some towards the endof May when I went to Meerut in1987 because of the killings. On theoutskirts of the city on my return,some people stopped me and pointedtowards Hashimpura mohalla whichthey said was the scene of deliberate,blatant killing of 42 Muslims by thePAC. To my horror, I found somebodies floating in canals, including inRiver Hindon. This, I was told, wasa premeditated murder.

The story goes that a group ofmen were rounded up by the Armyand the police from the largelyMuslim Hashimpura mohalla inMeerut and handed over to the PAC.One such truck of men was taken to

A Jalianwala Bagh-like SituationKuldip Nayar

the banks of a canal, and shot at closerange. Forty-two died, in perhaps thesingle largest custodial killing in thehistory of independent India. But acloser look at the events led to thattense afternoon in Meerut 30 yearsago offers a glimpse into a largelyunreported dimension of the motivesbehind the massacre.

The most commonly acceptedmotive, mentioned in the charge-sheet filed by the CID of the UPpolice, is the alleged assault on thePAC the same day and loot of tworifles belonging to the force. “Uponthat, on 22.05.1987, a search forillegal arms in Mohalla Hashim Pura,Meerut was launched,” the charge-sheet said. But a less exploreddimension, also mentioned in thecharge-sheet, was the death of ayoung man named Prabhat Kaushik,who was killed by a stray bullet ashe stood on the terrace of a buildingabutting Hashimpura.

Experts, including some policepersonnel, described the killings asamong India’s worst incidents ofcustodian violence. The trial beganonly in 1996 and a couple of yearsago all accused were cleared of all


charges by a trial court in whatactivists have called a gravemiscarriage of justice.

Naturally, the reaction from thesurvivors or, for that matter, therelatives of those killed was alongthe expected lines because it hadtaken 28 years for a judgment withall the accused going scot-free.Many families are not hopeful of abreakthrough and say that theinvestigation was shoddy.

In fact, the then MeerutSuperintendent of Police, VibhutiNarain Raio, who has written a bookon the incident says: “It took menearly five to six years to realise thatmy belief that the killers wouldreceive exemplary punishment forsuch a heinous act would remain justthat – a mere belief. As time flewby, it became evident that the Indianstate was just not interested inpenalizing the guilty. All thestakeholders of the state kept playinghide but not seek with theirresponsibilities and many shieldedthemselves behind criminalnegligence. And it worked for them.”

Even today, according to reports,the Hashimpura locals aretraumatized by that day’s incidentand say that the PAC was organizedand planned. The locality is almost-U-shaped, making it difficult forpeople to flee, and the constant humof handloom machines is the dailycompanion. Most houses arerundown with flaking paint, as iflocals have given up hope of a betterlife.

This should remind us of theJalianwala Bagh tragedy where over1,500 innocents were killed inwalled boundary. (Prince Phillipaccompanying his wife, the Queen,

to Jalianwala Bagh after the tragedyremarked that the number wasexaggerated!). Subsequently whenI met General O’Dyer and mentionedabout the killings, he did not showeven an iota of remorse.

The description of events by thesurvivors at Hashimpura is heartrending. According to one account,hundreds of men were sent to prisonfor weeks where they wereinterrogated and beaten up becausethey were Muslims. Some peoplewere dragged out of their housesand taken to the police station.According to eye-witness accounts,the killings happened in twophases—the first at Gang Canal ofMuradnagar and the second atHindon.

During the anti-Sikh riots in 1984in the wake of Mrs Indira Gandhi’sassassination, Delhi witnessedkillings over 3,000 Sikhs as officiallyannounced. The number could bemore. The perpetrators included thetop Congress bigwigs. Even a fingerwas pointed out at Rajiv Gandhi atwhose behest the deployment of theArmy was delayed to allow therioters a free-hand. The cases whichwere closed are being reopened. Butno one has been punished so far.The connivance of authorities at timehas allowed the evidence to berubbed off.

Many victims of the 1984 riots arestill seeking rehabilitation. There isno difference in the case ofHashimpura either. The survivorsare still struggling for normalisation,hoping against hope that the DelhiHigh Court, where an appeal ispending, would get them justicesooner than later.

My experience is that the tragedy

is before the public for some timebut then it recedes into thebackground. The past gets revivedwhen another tragedy takes place.There doesn’t seem to be anypermanent solution. I have been amute witness to innumerable riotswhere the complicity of police isapparent.

Hashimpuras can be stopped onlywhen the two communities come torealize that their animosity led to thepartition of the country. This cannotbe repeated but continued enmitywill lead from one thing to anotherand put in peril the ethos of thecountry: democracy and secularism.Efforts should be made whereby theminority communities in the countryfeel as equal partners and enjoywhat the constitution guarantees toall citizens of the country.

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A good part of Narendra Modi'senergy during his whirlwindinternational tours in the first twoyears after he became PrimeMinister were spent in trying toconvince the world leaders thatPakistan was a terrorist state andwanted the world to isolate it. WhenChina called the One Belt One Roadsummit about one third of thecountries of the world wererepresented and it was India whichisolated itself by not participating.Pakistan was the centre of attractionas China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor is an important initiative ofOBOR, an effort to link economiesof Asia and Europe.

Before the OBOR summitNarendra Modi made a visit to SriLanka in an effort to keep the islandcountry on India's side. SharedBuddhist heritage was highlighted asthe occasion was a big Buddhistfestival. Modi invoked Buddha'smessage of peace as an answer togrowing violence. However, thisdidn't prevent Sri Lanka or for thatmatter Bangladesh or Nepal, fromparticipating in the OBOR summitindicating the influence China has onthese nations. China, in fact, usedthe concept of Buddhist globalisationto gain support for its economicproject OBOR. It can be anybody'sguess as to who'll be more successfulin mobilization using the Buddhistidentity - Narendra Modi or XiJinping?

India boycotted the summitbecause it has objection to CPECbeing built through Pakistan occupied

Can China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Lead To ASolution Of Kashmir Crisis?

Sandeep Pandey

Kashmir, which it considers as itsterritory. It is not clear though, howby not participating in the OBORsummit, it is going to stop the jointChina-Pakistan project? If anything,it should have used the opportunityto put forth its point of view in frontof the assembly.

A Line of Control (LoC) whichseparates Indian and Pakistanicontrolled regions of Kashmir wasdesignated in 1972. Given thebalance of power it is unlikely thatIndian or Pakistani ambition ofcontrolling the whole of Kashmir isgoing to be realized anytime soon.A solution proposed is to freeze theLoC as the international border.As PM, Manmohan Singh proposedthe idea of a borderless Kashmir.This implied a unified Kashmir underjoint administration of India andPakistan.

Considering the strong aspirationfor Azadi among the Kashmirisprobably the best solution would berespectable degree of autonomy toKashmir in a mutually agreedframework between the Indian andPakistani governments. The buildingof CPEC may not be a bad idea atall because it will expand the numberof countries which will now haveinterest in a peaceful Kashmir. Chinacan play the role of a mediatorbetween India and Pakistan toresolve the Kashmir dispute andwork out the joint arrangement underwhich Kashmir will participate in thejoint economic project as an equalpartner. The approval of theKashmiris is necessary before any

project is built in their area.

This should not be seen as Indiagiving up its claim on whole ofKashmir. For one thing Paksitan willalso have to give up its similar claim.Moreover, in the increasingsensitivity towards human rightsglobally, the rights of Kashmiriscannot be subsumed under Indian orPakistani ambition. India or Pakistancannot hope to govern Kashmir withthe help of their respective armiesforever. The deadlock whichcontinues to persist for 70 years mustend so that Kashmiris get a chanceto live a normal life. An entiregeneration has grown up in Kashmirnow who don't know what life is likewithout the presence of securityforces. Certainly Kashmiris deservea better deal.

In fact, the CPEC can help createan atmosphere in which theanimosities between India and Chinaand between India and Pakistan canbe ended when these countries willhave better economic cooperation.All the governments since the timeeconomic policies of globalisation,privatisation and liberalisation wereimplemented have been trying toattract investment. Additionally,Narendra Modi has been trying toboost manufacturing as part of hisMake in India programme. NowIndia has an opportunity to be partof a regional but big enougheconomic forum but it is trying to shutitself out from it.

If China takes the initiative,supported by Russia, then a Europe


like model can be created in Asiawhere the economic union will makethe requirement of passport and visaacross the border between countriesredundant. Needless to say it'll easethe pressure on defence budgets andloss of life in low intensity warfarebetween India and Pakistan will end.Most importantly Kashmiris willheave a sigh of relief.

Once the issue of Kashmir isresolved then other disputes betweenIndia and China would have to beresolved. China has been claimingTibet to be its integral part, like the

Indian or Pakistani claim aboutKashmir. However Tibetans considerthemselves to be an independentcountry and have a government inexile in India. India being ademocracy, human rights violationsin Kashmir are easily reported butthat is not the case with Tibet. Thenon-democratic government of Chinahas been involved in brutalsuppression of people's aspirationsin Tibet. How can this go on in amodern globalised world? Chinawould have to be ready to give upits claim on Tibet if India andPakistan do the same for Kashmir.

Autonomous Tibet and Kashmir willbeing happiness for its people. Chinawill also have to give up its claim onArunachal Pradesh as there is noaspiration for autonomy orindependence in this region unlikeKashmir and Tibet.

In a similar vein Pakistan willhave to grant autonomy toBaluchistan, an issue whichNarendraModi raised briefly butdropped due to some inexplicablereason. With the regional aspirationsduly addressed it is hoped the peacewill return to South Asia.

Role Of Government Officials

In the May 4, 2017 judgement ofthe Bombay High Court related toBilkisBano gang rape and rape andmurder of 14 other family membersincluding her three and half years olddaughter Saleha in her presenceduring the 2002 infamous Gujaratcommunal violence, 19 accused wereconvicted. These included five policeofficers and two doctors who wereacquitted by the Sessions Court in2008. The role of these officials wasattempt to cover up the crime. Thisis the first time that in a case relatedto 2002 Gujarat violence governmentofficials have been convicted. Thisraises the question - on whosedirections were these officersacting? Does it not point to thecomplicity of the state, which isslowly being accepted as theunspoken truth about 2002 communalviolence.

It is quite common in our countrythat government officials, speciallypolice officials, are used by thegovernment of the day or people inpositions of power to serve their

interests. Hence, on one hand wehave cases of innocent people whoare made accused by theadministration and then police triesto shore up false evidence so thatthe accused can be convicted.

On April 26, 2017 Supreme Courtbench of Chief Justice JS Kheharand Justice DY Chandrachud askedthe Uttar Pradesh state counsel forhow many more years did thegovernment intend to keep GulzarAhmed Wani in jail? Wani has spent16 years in jail and has beenacquitted in 10 out of 11 terror casesfiled against him. He is presentlyundergoing trial in the 2000 Sabarmatitrain blast case. The prosecution hasexamined only 20 out of 96 witnessesin the last decade and a half. JusticeKhehar asked why Wani shouldsuffer in jail merely because policecannot come up with any evidence.The Bench gave the trial court timeuntil October 31, 2017 to completethe trial, failing which Wani wouldbe released on bail on 1st November,2017 irrespective of whether the trial

is completed or not. Gulzar AhmedWani was a PhD scholar before thepolice decided to make him aterrorist 16 years ago. This is aclassic example of how innocentsuffer at the hands of police.

On the other hand we have caseslike that of BilkisBano in whichinitially police refused to name theaccused in the First InformationReport. In about a year's time aJudicial Magistrate decided to closethe case as police report pointed toinconsistencies in the charges. Eventhe state Crime InvestigationDepartment was harrassingBilkis inthe name of investigation. SC had toask Central Bureau of Investigationto take up the case. Had it not beenfor some meticulous investigation anduprightness of some CBI officialsand a public prosecutor the culpritswould have gone scot free.

How difficult it may be for agovernment official to take a standis clear from the case of dalit jailofficial from Chhattisgarh


the case. The court remarked that itwas because of her persistence andtenacity that irregularities inrecruitment were exposed. A freshmerit list was ordered to be prepared.

An officer like Varsha Dongreneeds to be awarded and promotedso that she can be in someresponsible position and takedecisions to free the system of therot by which it is infested. Thegovernment must realise that corrupt,arrogant officers cannot solve theproblem of maosim. If anything, theywill probably complicate the situation

VarshaDongre who was suspendedfollowing revelations by her of thesexual abuse that tribal girls aresubjected to at police stations there.She reported how these young tribalgirls are stripped and given electricshocks.

She has taken a position that ascivil servant she is accountable toboth, the government as well as thepeople and if she feels something isunconstitutional she considers it herduty to point that out. She feels sadthat it is her compatriots that aredying on both sides in the struggle ofthe state against maoism. She is notonly raising the issue of human rightsviolations at individual levels but alsothe larger issue of how rights oftribals over their natural resourcesare being violated in Schedule V (ofthe Constitution) areas in order tobenefit private corporations.

She considers it her right tofreedom of expression to air suchopinion and doesn't think that bybecoming a civil servant this right iscompromised in any way. This isindeed an exemplary stand taken byher because most governmentofficials simply choose to keep mumon any irregularities taking placeinside the system under the notionthat as servants of the governmentthey are supposed to protect all it'slegal or illegal doings.

This is not the first act of braveryof VarshaDongre. After beingsnubbed by the Chief MinisterRaman Singh in 2006 when she wentto him with a complaint aboutirregularities in recruitment for 147civil services posts in 2003 by theChhattisgarh Public ServicesCommission, she filed a petition incourt. It took ten years but she won

further as they have done all theseyears. By sidelining an extremelycompetent and brave officer likeVarsha Dongre the government isdenying itself of her services whichcould have been beneficial for it.

The propensity of governments torely on corrupt and arrogant offcialsis self defeating in addition to suchofficials becoming an anathema forthe people. Officials like VarshaDongre will always enjoy theconfidence of the people and willremain extremely popular. This willalso be their ultimate reward.

–Sandeep Pandey

Book Release

Rajmohan Gandhi,Why GandhiStill Matters: An Appraisal of theMahatma’s Legacy, Aleph BookCompany, May 2017

Close to 150 years after he wasborn, how relevant is MahatmaGandhi? In our country, he is reveredas the Father of the Nation; his facestill adorns currency notes, postagestamps and government offices;streets and welfare schemescontinue to be named after him buthas he been reduced to a meresymbol? Do his values, message andsacrifice have any meaning for us inthe twenty-first century? In WhyGandhi Still Matters,RajmohanGandhi, the Mahatma’s grandsonappraises Gandhi and his legacy byexamining some of his most famous(and often most controversial) ideas,beliefs, actions, successes andfailures. He analyses Gandhi’scommitment to democracy,secularism, pluralism, equality andnon-violence, his gift to the world ofsatyagraha, the key strategies in hisfight for India’s freedom, hisopposition to caste discrimination and

his equations with Churchill, Jinnahand Ambedkar, as also his failingsas a human being and family man.Taken together, the author’s insightspresent an unsentimental view ofaspects of Gandhi’s legacy that haveendured and those that have beencast aside by power-hungrypoliticians, hate groups, casteistorganizations, venal industrialists,terrorists and other enemies ofIndia’s promise.

About the Author :

Rajmohan Gandhi’s last twobooks are Understanding theFounding Fathers: An Enquiry intothe Indian Republic’s Beginnings andPrince of Gujarat: The ExtraordinaryStory of Prince Gopaldas Desai,1887-1951. Until end-December2012 he taught political science andhistory at the University of Illinois.Since then he has served as visitingprofessor at the Indian Institute ofTechnology, Gandhinagar andMichigan State University.



The progressives of the world -socialists, social democrats andcentre-left groups gathered inUlaanbaatar, the capital city ofMongolia from May 24 -26, todiscuss how to shape the world byensuring justice in societies and thesustainability of the resources. Thediscussion is taking place inreference to the SDGs - thesustainable development goals to besecured by 2030. To shape thefuture where everyone has a rightand the opportunity to a decent lifeis a huge challenge. The challengeconsists of food security, socialinclusion, decent work, equitablehealth care, migration and genderequality, and infrastructure changes,environmental, marine and climateprotection, regulation of the financialmarkets and international trade andinvestment, establishment of efficientand transparent local and nationalinstitutions and of regional and globalgovernance and security structuresand so on. The priorities will varyfrom one country to the other,depending on the degree ofdevelopment and the political contextobtaining in a particular country. Butwhat is of universal importance is theinitiation and consolidation ofdemocracy, ensuring social justice,and sustainability. These three arethe focus of the discussion atUlaanbaatar progressive allianceconference. Social justice,sustainability and democracy, oneway or the other form parts of thesix fundamental principles of socialdemocracy; liberty (basis ofdemocracy), equality, justice, identity,

Mongolia hosts Social Justice & Sustainability ConferenceD K Giri

pluralism, solidarity and security (partof sustainability). Let us discuss thethree principles in some detail.

Democracy

Democracy despite its conceptualinfirmities and deficits in practice hasbecome the universal aspiration.Kofi Annan, the former SecretaryGeneral of United Nations, said in2014, on Democracy Day, September15, "Democracy is a universalaspiration not bound by religion,ethnicity, culture or religion". So, inthe 70 years or so, after the SecondWorld War, the growth of democracyin the world has been fairlyimpressive. In 1950, there were only22 electoral democracies,accounting for 31 per cent and 21countries with 'restricteddemocracies' accounting for 12 percent of the world population. By theturn of the century, in 2000, out of193 member states of the UnitedNations, 120 accounting for 58 percent of the world's population hadelectoral democracy. However, ofthese, countries which practicedbasic human rights and rule of lawwere only 85 accounting for 38 percent of the world population. We seein Mongolia, an inspiring example ofa peaceful and enduringtransformation to democracy.However, there is nowadays talk of'crisis of democracy' and theconcern is no totally unfounded. Theprogress of democracy is stalled inmany countries and worse,democracy faces reversal in manya country. If we look at Asia, after

encouraging growth of democraciesin Malaysia - the opposition is makingelectoral gains, in Myanmar - thejunta ceding power to elected civilianleadership, in Indonesia - agrassroots-based person gettingelected as the president, there isrevival of authoritarianism incountries like Philippines and right-wing populism in India.

There are several reasons forslow and halted growth or reversalof democracy. One is socialinsecurity or uncertainty. Many feelbetrayed that the promise of goodlife based on provision of basicnecessities and scope for upwardmobility has not been met. Therehas been an unhealthy compromisebetween democracy and capitalism.Again, taking the example of Asia,many countries have registeredimpressive economic growth, but ithas not been accompanied withprogressive principles of governancelike equality, sustainability, justice andsecurity. In Mongolia, the extractiveindustries have created uneven andunsustainable growth with corruptionand cronyism undermining theconfidence in political leadership. Atthe same time, the emerging marketsin Philippines, Indonesia andThailand are facing huge incomedivide and lack of well paid jobs.

The second reason is growinginequality. Asian societies are quiteunequal. But even beyond Asia, inthe world, inequality has increasedin many societies. Only one per centof the world owns more than what


ninety-nine per cent hold together.Surely, the trend towards inequalityand the structures that support it isgrowing. Inequality makes it harderto combat poverty and oftenprevents the neutral functioning ofthe institutions. It cements unequalpower relations, underminesdemocracy, creates politicalinstability, and intensifies alienationwithin the societies. Today, manypeople consider the huge inequalityunacceptable and unjust, and resentit, at times violently. Thirdly, thegrowth of elitism in politics isdetrimental to democracy. Due toelitism, popular participation in politicsis marginal and ineffective.Consequently, more and more peoplefeel that they are excluded from thesocial progress and state institutions.To add to the problem, theprogressive parties neither includethem successfully, nor assuage theirfears and address their needs.

The consequence is that theinternal contradictions in economyand politics of mainly the Asiancountries have let the out-of-boxpolitical actors tap into thegrievances and frustrations of thepeople. Just look at the bloody anti-drug crack down in the Philippines,resurfacing of the sectarian fissuresin Indonesia, right-wing revisionismin Japan, unstable politics inMongolia, and revival of ethno-nationalism in India. Besides,authoritative regimes in Malaysia andThailand have managed tomarginalize the opposition andreconsolidate their positions withbrute force. Thus, in promoting andpreserving democracy, theprogressives face the twin-challengeof authoritarianism and right-wingpopulism.

Social Justice

In order to strengthen democracy,it must be combined with the conceptand implementation of social justice.The principle of justice is the methodto make real the freedom of everyindividual. It opens the door to equalrights and equal life-opportunities insociety. It means preferentialopportunity for the traditionallyoppressed. As a social right, justicemakes sure that the jointly achievedsocial product is shared equallybringing about a dynamic socialequilibrium among the differentgroups in society. It is anintermediate and supplementaryvalue. The concept of justice differsin every culture. It is a legal as wellas philosophical instrument by whichfairness is administered when thereis gross or obscene inequality in asociety, or the rights ensuring equalityare violated.

However, apart fromredistribution, leveling out, ensuringfariness which constitute justice, inmany countries, justice id denied inother forms too. Take for instance,the environmental crisis caused byclimate change; the pollution of thelarge parts of the bio-sphere,reckless, unplanned urbanization etc.Those who are affected by theenvironmental degradation are notthe offenders. The industrializedcountries pass on the environmentalcost to the developing countries. Theraw material supplies from thedeveloping countries continue tocause pollution by extraction and on-site processing of minerals. InMongolia, climate change recentlyexacerbated a phenomenon ofextremes in weather conditions.Millions of livestock were killed;

thousands of herders lost theirlivelihoods, and were forced tomigrate to urban areas causingsocial and infrastructural pressure.The rapid growth of Mongolian citiesis causing severe air pollutionendangering the health of citizens.Such environmental crises createdby the capitalist industries denyjustice to the poor and the weak byrobbing them off a healthy andsecure life.

Sustainability

The concept and practice ofsustainability are used here in thecontext of globalization. A word onglobalization; it is the increasedinterdependence of countries throughrising flow of goods, capital, labor,ideas and knowledge which has beenspurred by trade liberalization,deregulation, and technologicalprogress, The growth model followedin the wake of globalization isunsustainable in social, economic,and ecological terms. In social terms,without ideological underpinnings,globalization meant to createprosperity for one and all, benefits afew and leaves many poorly off.Thus, it has created winners andlosers, the latter suffering fromincreased inequality and poverty. Ithas made people migrate for betterand safer livelihoods. Immigration isnot always good for people, as theymigrate to alien lands and suffermore; they face the resentment fromlocals often leading to conflict andviolence. The economicconsequences are equally bad; thenumber of unemployed increased to197 million (2015) which 27 millionmore than before the financial crisisin 2008. Worldwide, 45 per cent ofyoung people who are fit to work are


unemployed or live in poverty despitehaving a job; 21 million are subjectedto forced labour, 830 million are'working poor' who have less than 2dollars a day. Women get less; a lotof people are stuck in the informaleconomy where productivity is lessad working conditions are poor.Workers in formal sector do nothave rights and the scope forparticipation at the work place. Inecological terms, the big industriesare squandering away the naturalresources; emitting intolerableamount of carbon into theatmosphere causing climateinsecurity and irresponsibleconsumerism is disturbing theecological balance.

The progressives must recognizethe negative fallouts of globalizationwhile building on the positive gains.The populists and the right-wingnationalists on the other hand, arecashing in on the frustration of thepeople and keeping them under theillusion of a better life by demonizingprogressive forces. The progressiveshave to shape the future of the worldby addressing the emergentproblems of the people and re-emphasizing the perennial values ofsocial democracy that secure a win-win position for all. Fighting policiesthat are ecologically destructive,morally negative, socially divisiveand economically unviable is onething, but creating goods services,sound living conditions and adequateprosperity for all is another.Progressives have to play bothreactive and pro-active roles,adopt distributionist as well asproductionist policies, oppose as wellas govern. There is hardly any otherchoice.

GM Crops - Modi needs to listen to thecriticism of his Ministers and Allies

Bharat Dogra

As the debate on geneticallymodified (GM) crops heats up onceagain, with the recommendation ofthe Genetic Engineering AppraisalCommittee (GEAC) for approving aGM variety of mustard as possiblythe first GM food crop to beintroduced in India, it is likely thatwe will be hearing a lot on both sidesof the debate in the days to come.

However one interesting aspectwhich has received relatively lessattention is that there are importantcritics of the Union government's proGM crop policies within thegovernment and its close allies. Willthe government ignore the views ofeven its own Cabinet minister andclose allies?

One of these critics is the Ministerof Women and Child Developmentin the Union Cabinet ManekaGandhi.She is a prominent animalrights activist and is known to be wellinformed about biodiversity. Hercolumn on these issues in TheSunday Statesman is widely read.On April 30 she took up the issue ofbadly threatened bees in an article,On the brink of a Crisis, which wassplashed prominently on the last pageof the newspaper.

While explaining why bees arethreatened Maneka Gandhi haswritten, "The bees are disappearingfor one major reason -the use ofneonicotinoid pesticides. I haverepeatedly asked the government toban these, but they refuse becausethey need these terrible pesticidesfor the GM Cotton crops whichMonsanto forced on India by

promising that these cotton cropswould not need any pesticides at all.This turned out to be a lie - in fact,GM cotton needs many more viciouspesticides which are now killing offpollinators and people."

This statement can be broken intoa number of important assertions -

* Monsanto forced GM cotton cropson India.

* To facilitate this the companyclaimed that its varieties wouldnot require any pesticides.

* This claim was a lie, as is provedby the continuing use of viciouspesticides to grow them.

* These vicious pesticides are nowkilling pollinators and people.

* Maneka Gandhi repeatedlywarned the government about thisand she has also asked thegovernment in particular to banneonicotinoid pesticides.

* These warnings were ignored bythe government, as it was keen tocontinue with GM cotton andhence accepted theaccompanying serious healthhazards.

The special significance of herstatement is that she is a seniormember of the Union Council ofMinisters and also, it can be easilysaid that she is one of the most well-informed ministers on this issue.

So when a senior minister with


high-yielding as compared toindigenous hybrids nor even good forour health, environment and bio-diversity, the undue hurry beingdemonstrated by the authorities isbeyond comprehension and raisesserious questions."

This letter goes on to praise thetransparent processes initiated byJairam Ramesh, EnvironmentMinister in the UPA government,which had helped to prevent the

recognized expertise on the subjectsays that her warnings have beenrepeatedly ignored by thegovernment and as a result peopleand pollinators have been dying thensurely this is important. When inaddition she says that a powerfulmultinational company has forcedthese crops on India while alsoproviding false information on themthen the issue raised becomes evenmore important.

Another strong critic of GM cropsis the Swadeshi Jagran Manch(SJM). This organization is verymuch a part of the wider SanghParivar and so should normally beseen as a close ally of the Modigovernment. However from time totime the SJM has embarrassed theModi government by its criticism ofgovernment policy, particularly onissues where the government policyis seen by SJM to be favourable tomultinational companies at the costof national interests.

This criticism has been damagingfor the Modi government as thisgovernment has sought to gainsupport on the basis of nationalistrhetoric and when this balloon isbeing "punctured" by someone withinthe family.This criticism by the SJMhas been the strongest in the contextof the GM crops policy and it isprecisely this aspect of the criticalstand taken by the SJM which hasattracted the most attention. So it isinteresting to see what exactly theSJM has to say on this issue.

In a letter written last year to thePrime Minister by the SJM theyvoiced their unhappiness of theGovernments policies, "Now that itis established that Prof Pental's GMMustard is neither swadeshi, nor

introduction of Bt brinjal. Then thisletter compares this to what has beengoing on under the NDA governmentled by Modi in the context of GMMustard – "By hurrying up theprocess of approval for GMMustard, all decency, transparency,scientific rigour and previouspractices have been kept at bay."

One hopes that the Modigovernment will listen at least to thisimportant criticism of close friends.


"The history of liberty is a historyof resistance." President WoodrowWilson

Nel Noddings, eminent Americaneducationalist wrote in PeaceEducation: How We Come to Loveand Hate War that "Gandhi,convinced of the power ofSatyagraha, suggested that it be usedby the Jews against the Nazis. Inresponse, Martin Buber - who hadearlier (1930) written that muchcould be learned from Gandhi - saidthat this method could not be usedagainst the Nazis. It is one thing touse nonviolent methods against thosewho would deprive you of somematerial benefit, but if their basic aimis to deprive you of life itself, howcan you resist nonviolently?"

Occupiers are not all alike, ofcourse. After all, Britishers werevery sensitive to human rights andfelt that bloodshed and killing ofinnocent lives is not an option andthey withdrew from British India.

What does this mean in thecontext of the Kashmir dispute? Wehave a different problem with India.Constant and consistent non-violentprotests in Kashmir obviously hashad little visible effect in moving thediscussion toward the hope ofKashmiris, which is self-determination. The fundamentalissues involved in the conflict remainjust as they were 70 years ago. Towhom does Kashmir belong? Whohas a right to rule Kashmir? Whyhas India become a colonist just asthe British were more than 70 years

Kashmiri Leadership & Paths to ResistanceGhulam Nabi Fai

ago? And why is the Indian army sobrutal with Kashmiris in theirrepression?

It has become rather clear thatIndia has little regard for the lives ofKashmiris. In Kashmir, India haslegalized methods of torture andkilling to give total immunity to itsoccupational forces. When thosewho protest are simply shot downor maimed for life, this is a clearmessage that Kashmir is to India aland occupied not by its own, or thosefor whom it has affection and wishesto include in its family, but rather bya hostile people who perhaps do notor should not belong there. To India,Kashmiris are simply terrorists, thewhole lot of them. Kashmir is toIndia, an integral part of it, it is oftenstated. Those who do not seethemselves as Indians need to gosomewhere else or they will bekilled. Such is the overall effect thatsuch a policy has. The failure toinclude "the people" of Kashmir inthe meaning of "Kashmir" runscompletely counter to the need toachieve peace and sends a veryclear message that India's presenceis meant to crush, subdue, and tame,if not obliterate any opposition. It isapparent that they are greedy for theland, for the status of possessing this'Jewel of the Himalayas,' 'Paradiseon Earth' 'Switzerland of Asia' andhave no concern for its people. Tome this is an apparent example ofthe height of abhorrence of Indianleadership towards the people ofKashmir. When a 26-year oldKashmiri youth, Farooq Ahmed Darwas tied (April 15, 2017) in front of

the army jeep to be used as a humanshield, Ram Madhav, SecretaryGeneral of BJP (the ruling party ofIndia) did not hesitate to justify it bysaying, "In war and love, everythingis fair."

"If man were infinitely malleable,"Eric Fromm, German Psychologistwrote, "there would have been norevolutions; there would have beenno change because a culture wouldhave succeeded in making mansubmit to its patterns withoutresistance. But man, being onlyrelatively malleable, has alwaysreacted with protest againstconditions which made thedisequilibrium between the socialorder and his human needs toodrastic or unbearable. The attemptto reduce this disequilibrium and theneed to establish a more acceptableand desirable solution is at the verycore of the dynamism of theevolution of man in history. Man'sprotest arose not only because ofmaterial suffering; specificallyhuman needs...are an equally strongmotivation for revolution and thedynamics of change."

Obviously, when the people wantto seek freedom from an occupation,they have to resist. Resistance takesdifferent forms and shapesaccording to the circumstances.Some do resist openly while othersprefer tacit support of the resistancemovement though their ultimateobjective is the same.

Certainly peaceful resistance,wherever possible and whenever


viewed as effective, has alwaysbeen preferred. Other methods ofresistance have succeeded in variouscountries. Gandhi's Satyagrahaagainst the British, civil resistancein Tunisia, non-violent mass streetprotests in Egypt, the Greenrevolution of Georgia, etc, have allled to historic and revolutionarychanges in the politics of their timeand place.

Resistance to conditions viewedas unacceptable by a group orsegment of a population is no doubtas old as man himself. Stone pelting(Kani Jang), a practice in Kashmirthat might be considered anamalgamation or cross betweenarmed resistance and peacefulprotest, can certainly be traced backto the time when David slew Goliathwith a stone. Alexander the Greatwas injured seriously and sufferedblindness by a stone while layingsiege to Cyropolis in 329 BC.Kashmiris have used stone peltingat various times since Dogra rule. Ipersonally do not subscribe to it, nordo I advocate this phenomenon. Themessage of stone pelting is clear,however, that those who throwstones are unhappy with presentconditions and the rule of anoccupying force of armed men. Thepoint of this type of resistance, aswith many other forms, is often notto propose specific changes but tosimply point out that the currentoccupation by India is unacceptable.The slogans raised by these stonepelters are shared by majority of thepopulation, "We want freedom" and"Go India. Go back."

Mass street demonstrations havealso been very popular in history. Thepeople of Czechoslovakia usedpolitical mass demonstration as a

weapon of resistance againstGermany in early 1930's. It isreported that there were 25 massdemonstrations in 1931 alone. InFrance, an agitation began onNovember 11, 1940 by staging apublic protest wherein thousands ofpeople, mostly students, participated.The following year, in May 1940,over 100,000 miners participated inthe public protest. Other mass publicprotests were held in Albania againstthe Italian army in April 1939.Belgium witnessed tens ofthousands of people participating inprotests against Germany in May1940. The recent Women's Marchon January 21, 2017, protesting thepolicies of President Donald Trumpin which millions participatedreportedly involved 673 marches andtook place worldwide on all sevencontinents, including 29 in Canada,20 in Mexico and one in Antarctica.It was the largest ever in U.S.history.

And during the latest phase of thefreedom struggle, virtually all thecitizenry of Srinagar (Capital city ofKashmir) - men, women and children- came out multiple times on thestreets to lodge a non-violent protestagainst the continuance of Indianoccupation. At times more than amillion people poured into the streetsto express their anguish anddissatisfaction against occupationauthority. Certainly, terrorists cannotcompose the entire populations of themajor towns of Kashmir. And onemillion people cannot be instigatedand provoked by a remote control.One million people reflect the truenature of the peaceful Kashmiriresistance and not a movement ofterrorism.

Hartal, or the practice of stopping

all commercial activity as a meansof protest, and similar to a labor strikeis acenturies-old form of resistance.It was used during the colonial periodas well as during the days of India'sfight for independence againstBritishers. The practice wasinstitutionalized by the foundingfather of India - Gandhi. It hasperhaps become the preferred andprimary form of resistance inKashmir. During Hartal, everybusiness, be it shops, colleges,schools, transport, or offices, shutsdown. It is believed to be one of thebest ways to force an occupier toaccept the fact that there is aproblem. It is also believed that itcan help in raising awareness aboutsuffering and force the occupier tonegotiate a dispute.

Hartal can shake the conscienceof the world powers if done wiselyand properly. However, thosecountries that believe in democraticrights and universal values remainoften times silent when the occupierhas significant economic strength.India's money and buying powerinvariably rules and corrupts valuesthat support human rights. Theselarge economies can become aninstrument of investments of tens ofbillions of dollars. The silence ofthese Western countries effectivelycrushes the souls of those who areoppressed, voiceless and have nomeans to signs contracts for billionsof dollars.

Hartal and other non-violenttechniques will prove instrumental toachieve one's objective only if theoppressive regime is moved bycompassion. Stokely Carmichael,American civil rights leader, summedit up well, "In order for nonviolenceto work, your opponent must have a


Whenever, someone is asked tosay Barat Mata ki Jai or singVandeMataram to prove hispatriotism under threat, I amreminded of our own experience injail during the Emergency. Thereappeared no sign of Indira Gandhibeing dethroned nor an end toEmergency and our incarceration.

We often discussed how far wewould go if Indira Gandhi's rulecontinued indefinitely. We were surewe would not apologise/surrender tosecure our personal liberty even ifwe had to remain in jail for anindefinite period. Then, a questionused to crop up. What shall we do ifwe are asked to say, ' Indira Gandhiki Jai. Indira Gandhi Zindabad on thepoint of gun? Our honest answerused to be, 'We think we wouldrefuse, but we can't be sure of whatwe would do when we are before afiring squad. But suppose we wouldsaid Indira Gandhi ki Jai in the faceof death while in our hearts hatingher and wishing to kill her, what wouldhave been her gain? More hatred andstronger desire to see her dead?When she was assassinated in 1984,we were outraged because anelected leader, the PM of ourcountry,was assassinated (though

Love and Loyalty: Voluntary Versus Forced

Prabhakar Sinha

we still hated the tyrant). But if shehad been assassinated during theemergency, we would have rejoicedat the death of a tyrant, who hadspelled the death of innocent citizensand turned the whole country into aprison.

So, whenever one is ordered tosay Bharat Mata ki Jai or somethingelse to prove /show his love andloyalty to India under threat, Iidentify with him and wish he refusesand sympathise with him when he ismade to suffer. I know that fromthat moment on his love for thecountry has begun to dry up. Loveand loyalty to a person or nationgrows naturally and cannot becreated under threat for threat maydestroy it or replace it with hatred.

P.S. This post is addressed tothose who believe in an open societywhere the people are free from fear.It is against oppression regardless ofwho is the oppressor. So, it shouldnot be seen as party issue. I havenever been in any political party.People like me, who are committedto democracy raised their voiceagainst Indira and will do it againagainst any other person or party.

conscience."

The strategy for various paths ofresistance has to include long-termand short term planning. It is theresponsibility of a leader to planthese tactics and techniques andmake decisions which are importantfor the movement no matter howunpopular. The leader has to defineevery step of every kind ofresistance. Ultimately, it is thesupport of the people that mattersand will ultimately bring one closerto achieve one's goal. PresidentJohn Quincy Adams once said, "Ifyour actions inspire others to dreammore, learn more, do more andbecome more, you are a leader."

Before announcing a plan (inKashmir's case, the Calendar for theweek), a leader must have a clearvision and understanding of the planand its possible consequences on themasses. The leader must involve allstakeholders in the planning, be it sitins, mass demonstrations, Hartals,performing national songs, holding ofseminars, meeting with foreigndiplomats, including Indianintelligential, press briefings, etc. Aleader must gain the confidence ofthe people and should be perceivedby the people to be authentic beforeannouncing a plan. As PresidentDwight Eisenhower said, "Thesupreme quality for leadership isunquestionably integrity. Without it,no real success is possible."

A leader has to be always opento fresh ideas and newmethodologies. George WashingtonCarver said, "Where there is novision, there is no hope." Tactics,techniques and methodologies canchange on a weekly or monthly basis.That is not only desirable but

advisable as well. What cannotchange is the ultimate objective,which is the right of self-determination of the people inKashmir.

There is no doubt that the peopleare willing to make sacrifices whenthey see in their leader the qualities

of persistence, insightfulness,optimism and accountability. A leadermust always lead by his example. Inother words, he cannot call peopleto go to Hartal in LalChowk or tothe United Nations office while hehimself sits behind to escape thehardships of such an activity.


As for Modi's promise ofeducation and job opportunities foryouth, dissent, especially inuniversities is being repressed,students are intimidated with threatsof sedition, the police are used tosilence them and free thinking isclamped down. How can truelearning take place in an atmosphereof oppression and fear?

As for those young persons whohave struggled through formaleducation, there are no jobs matchingtheir academic qualifications.However, the expanding servicesector requires compliant, unskilledworkers without strong roots. So ouryouth, educated or not, are forcedto take up low paid, high risk,insecure jobs in the service sector,such as delivery boys for enterprisessuch as Amazon, Pizza Hut and BigBasket. This accomplishes themission of 'Skilling India', to providecheap labour to the multinationals.The dreams of our young people arecrushed, but according to the oureconomic gurus, new aspirationshave been created - the need forconsumer goods to define onesidentity and feel that one has arrived!

The combination of threat tolivelihood, insecurity and fear withthe promise of lucrative jobs - butonly if you comply with the Modicode - has dramatically polarised oursociety: Muslim versus Hindu; Rightversus Left; liberals versusextremists; nationalists versus anti-nationals; men versus women; themversus us. There is depersonalisation

The Modification of India - the impact ondevelopment and gender* - II

Nandana Reddy

of neighbourhoods, villages,educational institutions and workenvironments. People are beginningto feel disengaged, disenchanted,and uninvolved, even whensurrounded by family and friends. Wehave begun to view our jobs asdraining and unrewarding, and formany, especially the middle classyouth; life seems to have lost itsmeaning.

Gender

We also live in times whenwomen's rights are in the line of fire.

On the subject of gender, duringthe Emergency many were jailed,including my mother and severalother women. Now all women arein one large concentration camp!Never since independence has thesituation of women been sovulnerable and endangered. Ourfreedom has been curtailed and wehave been reduced to commoditiesthat have to model themselves on aset of Hindutva criteria to fit the labelof Sati Savitris. Our immorality isdefined by the depth of our neckline,how confident we are and our degreeof emancipation. Today, beingsociable, assertive and even lookingattractive is a sin.

In Udupi the moral policingbrigades beat up a girl for visitingher sick Muslim girlfriend. Anotherwas thrashed for using an auto witha Muslim driver. A boy wasmanhandled and thrown off a busbecause he offered to hold the booksof a girl. A married couple was

heckled and chased for holdinghands on the beach. And this in aCongress ruled State!

In Chhattisgarh, part of thedevelopment goals, the stategovernment seems to have settargets that doctors and their staffhave to fulfil to help reduce thepopulation and raise the standards ofliving especially in rural and semi-urban areas. A government doctor,Dr. R. K. Gupta, was arrested andcharged with the death of at least 11women who underwent a tubectomyto limit their families. A reflection ofSanjay Gandhi's nasbandi[sterilization] drives and TurkmanGate.

Contrary to the Prime Minister'swomen-friendly public rhetoric, hisgovernment has failed to allocate anysignificant portion of the budget tochange living and working conditionsfor women. There is no substantialinvestment in girls' education in thelatest budget. A mere Rs 200 croreshas been allocated for two schemesintroduced for girls and women - oneto increase public safety in big andsmall cities and the other is thesavings scheme for girls: BetiBachao Beti Padhao program. Acloser look at the figures, however,shows that these schemes aregrossly inadequate to counter thedeep-rooted structural inequality thatgirls and women face. And on thefront of women's rights we areslipping back to the days of 'sati'.

The incidents of rape and murder

* This article was based on the Annual Endowment Lecture on Gender and Development in Memory of Dr PoornimaVyasulu on May 5, 2017


of women and girls has risenphenomenally. Even if this is due toincreased reporting of the subject assome claim, this could only be partlyso. Because, it is also true that asignal has gone out from membersof the Union Government andseveral BJP MPs and their rightwing outfits, that women are up forgrabs, especially those they term'immoral', because we are asking forit.

BJP politicians accuse Muslimmen of 'love jihad'. Yogi Adityanath,now the Chief Minister of UPannounced that forced conversion ofHindu girls to Islam can only beprevented by a BJP-led governmentin the state. Such archaic patriarchaland regressive views of womenpropagate the notion that women'sbodies are understood as theproperty of men to be used by themfor their pleasure and to avenge eachother.

The notion of 'love jihad'reinforces the idea that women haveno caste or religious identities of theirown and positions women as thebearers of their husband's cultureand religion, sanctioning the moralpolicing of women and justifying'honour killings' and all kinds ofviolence against women if theyviolate the code of conduct laiddown by men. This reduces womento mere objects and erases their rightto agency.

Two faced Modi now talks ofgiving Muslim women their rightsurging reformers from the Muslimcommunity to "not politicise the issueof triple talaq" and "protect womenfrom the effects" of the practice oforal divorce. But when it came tothe rape of Bilkis Bano and themurder of her family membersincluding her two year old daughter,one of the most horrifying incidentsthat took place during the 2002 post-

Godhra riots in Gujarat, Modi wascomplicit by his silence and inactivity.

Modi is still silent on the numberof women who have lost theirhusbands to the violence and lynchingby the Goraksha Sena, or the effectthis has had on women managingsmall dairies with one or two cows.He turns a blind eye to the 'moralpolicing' of women, including Hinduwomen and girls, and permits theHindutva outfits to impose restraintson our behaviour and conduct thattakes our struggle for emancipationback a thousand years.

On October 2016, in preparationfor the Assembly elections in 2017,Modi said while addressing a rally inthe Mahoba district of theBundelkhand region in UttarPradesh, that justice demands thatthe government works as per theConstitution and provides genderjustice for everyone and urgedeveryone to take proper measuresto give equal rights to women. Mr.Modi speaks with a forked tongue!

Homophobia is on the increasewith the BJP proclaiming thathomosexuality as anti-Hindu!

BJP is the only major party tosupport the re-criminalization ofhomosexuality under section 377.

Modi has remained silent on thisquestion and in December 2013,following the Supreme Courtdecision, BJP chief Rajnath Singhreportedly told journalists: "Gay sexis not natural and we cannot supportsomething which is unnatural."LGBTQ communities are moreexposed and vulnerable than everbefore and this increased culture ofhomophobia hurts those who arealready affected by systemic andcommunal injustices.

And to top it all, the AttorneyGeneral, Mukul Rohatgi, recentlyargued that citizens do not have an

absolute right over their body. "Theconcept of absolute right over one'sbody was a myth and there werevarious laws which put restrictionson such a right."

So much for Modi's 'Sab ke Saath,Sab ka Vikas'!

And the assurance of 'Ache dinane wale hai' is certainly not for thepoor and underprivileged.

Social Justice and Human Rights

Social Justice and Human Rightshave been relegated to the scrapheap and patriarchy and narrowfundamentalist views are panderingto the base sentiments of theconservatives and thedisenfranchised.

The intelligentsia has beendiscredited and replaced withrepresentatives of big businesses.They are the lobbyists and policymakers. The Parliament has beenridiculed and disgraced by the rulingparty and opposition alike and thejudiciary is gradually beingcompromised. Civil Society Protestsand movements are suppressedviolently and fear inhibits anycritique.

Rebutting the move to linkAadhaar to the permanent accountnumber and filing of income taxreturns, senior advocate ShyamDivan told the Supreme Court thatthe Constitution was not a charterof servitude. "We are independentcitizens who cannot be forced by theState to part with our fingerprints inexchange for being able to file ourincome tax returns," he said andtermed the newly inserted Section139AA in the Income Tax Act, whichmandates the linking of Aadhaar withPAN, a "Faustian bargain".

He said that linking Aadhaar withessential activities of life, such asopening a bank account, filing returns


and buying property or a vehicle,would turn the "entire nation into onelarge concentration camp wherecitizens are under State surveillanceround-the-clock."

When Tilak and Gandhi wereconvicted and sentenced to prison fortheir publication of allegedly seditiousmaterial in 1908, Tilak, reportedly tolda police officer, "The governmenthas converted the entire nation intoa prison and we are all prisoners.Going to prison only means that froma big cell, one is confined to a smallerone." Gandhi, in 1922, pleaded guiltyto the charge of sedition, stating thathe was proud to oppose a satanicgovernment.

I believe that the insulation againstthe erosion of democracy is a largerdose of democracy. We should strivefor a participatory democracy withthe direct participation of everycitizen, the vision of Gandhi's GramSwaraj.

In Karnataka, after a longstruggle, we have managed to revisethe Panchayat Raj Act of 1993 tobe much more in tune withdevolution of power, providingautonomy to local governments andrecognising the right of every citizen,including children, to determine theirpresent and shape their future.

But even here, in a Congress ruledState, there are insidious anddetermined moves to undermine thislaw.

Perpetual vigilance andperseverance on the part of citizensis the only way a democracy canwork. Obama warned in his farewellspeech that "democracy isthreatened whenever we take it forgranted". We cannot risk that.

The Right to Rebel - The Needto Rebel

The time for dissent is here and

we have not just the right, but a dutyto rebel. We love our country andwe believe in and must protect ourConstitution and FundamentalRights. We will be committing moralsuicide if we don't.

We cannot be told what not to eat,what not to do and what not to say.This government is forcing lifechoices on us that undermine anyfeelings of nationalism and unity wemay have and this is an insidious formof cultural nationalism.

Gandhi said, "Affection cannot bemanufactured or regulated by thelaw. One should be free to give fullexpression to their disaffectionunless it incites violence." Becauseof the treat of being branded anti-national and its consequences, wehave imposed on ourselves anunofficial and perhaps unconsciousself censorship on our actions andwords.

I know we will be targeted andlabelled anti-national. Our FCRAcould be cancelled unilaterally; wewill be watched and can be put onthe hit list of the Bagarang Dalgoons.

But rebel against an authoritarianregime is our duty as citizens andrebel we must.

Conclusion

Rewriting history and erasingpublic memory is one way to weakenpeople's ability and their will to fightoppression. All authoritarian regimeshave done this to varying degreesand the Indian experience is nodifferent. The BJP saffronised textbooks and the Congress wiped outtraces of the Emergency - the sea-saw perception of history accordingto the powers that be. The only wayto ensure a vibrant democracy andkeep governments accountable is toexercise our right to dissent.

Two years ago, for the 40thanniversary of Indira's Emergency,there was suddenly a clamour toremember and though there werejust a few who did so, I am gratefulthat we are remembering at all;especially now that the silhouette ofanother dictatorship is eclipsing ourfundamental rights and underminingdemocratic institutions.

The time has come to gather ourforces to protect what is ours andsave our country from tyranny.

In the words of Martin LutherKing; "The saving of our world frompending doom will come, not throughthe complacent adjustment of theconforming majority, but through thecreative maladjustment of anonconforming minority."

So I believe that 'we the people'still do have the power to overturndictatorships. We have done it in1977 and we will do it again. But forthis we need to first acknowledgethe presence of the beast. We alsoneed to study the 'Emergency' of1975 and learn our lessons. Then weneed to empower ourselves, not justby Constitutional provisions, but toknow and feel that we hold the fragileheart of a participatory federalrepublic in our hands.

I have faith in India and herpeople - we the people are theinsulation against a dictatorship.

As Robert Kennedy said; "It fallsto each of us to be those anxious,jealous guardians of our democracy,to embrace the joyous task we'vebeen given to continually try toimprove this great nation of ours,because for all our outwarddifferences, we in fact all share thesame proud title: the most importantoffice in a democracy, citizen."

So let us act!(concluded)


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Vol. 72 No. 20June 4, 2017




Mumbai - 400 007.


Indian Prime Ministerin EuropeD. K. Giri

Every Year Hundreds ofLives Can be Saved

Just in Marriage-RelatedAccidents

Bharat Dogra

Forge Time-Bound CommonMinimum Programme

Pannalal Surana

Realising an Equitable andProsperous India

Needs a Paradigm ShiftK. S. Chalam

THE demolition of the Babrimasjid and the ban on cattle salefor slaughter are two sides of thesame coin. They reflect theprejudice of the majoritycommunity. Both are fouling theair. Prime Minister NarendraModi’s government, whichcompleted three years in officejust a week ago, is blessing thedifferent expressions of Hindutvawhich is slowly but graduallyengulfing the entire country.

It looks as if the ruling BhartiyaJanata Party (BJP) has started itspreparations for the next LokSabha elections in 2019. Thegovernance by chief minister ofUttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath,shows that the RSS has taken overin more senses than one as thestate government has startedappointing trusted men at keypositions.

New Delhi is no better. TheNehru Memorial Centre is oneexample where the director hasbeen removed and, in his place,an RSS ideologue has beeninstalled. He is spoiling the veryethos of the organization andsupporting the rightist forces

These are Beefy Issues

Kuldip Nayar

instead of the liberal atmospherewhich is attributed to the NehruCentre. The ongoing scuffles inthe Jawaharlal Nehru Universityhave political parties behind themwith the same purpose.

The present concentration ofthe rightist forces seem to be onthe beef. Their imbeddedarrogance is exhibited by itsstudents’ wings in one campus orthe other throughout the country.This time it happened at Chennai’sIndian Institute of Technology.What is different from the past isits frequency and ferocity ofviolence. The thrashing of studentswho eat beef is to re-emphasizetheir self-righteousness. Theliberal atmosphere of the campusis now dependent on the politicalparty that dominates the state inwhich the educational institutionis situated.

Consequently, the BJPinfluences the Hindi-speakingstates in the north. The writ ofthe Congress and other regionalparties runs in the rest of India.This has divided the countrymentally and idea-wise. PrimeMinister Modi, when he resumed

2 JANATA, June 4, 2017

office, had given the slogan:sabka saath, sabka vikas,meaning thereby that we shall beall together and advance furtherhand-in-hand. But subsequently heand his party, the BJP, appear tohave lost the way.

And today, whether they like itor not, their government has cometo represent a particular way ofthinking—an intolerant India—which has the overtonesof Hindutva. Probably, the party’sthink-tank has come to believethat they can win more votes bydividing the society, thanks to theBajrang Dal and Akhil BhartiyaVidyarthi Parishad which havebegun vitiating the atmosphere.They are holding more and moreexercises in different cities wherelathis and other weapons arebrandished.

This is something similar to thefear of Islamic domination that isbeing exploited by right-wingparties in the West. We forget thatin the democratic structure thatwe have, everyone is free to eatwhatever he or she likes. Nothingcan be enforced. In a vast countrylike India where food and dresschange every 50 kilometres,diversity is inevitable. Indeed, thisis India’s strength. Respectingdiversity keeps our different unitstogether in a federal structurewhich we follow.

The BJP hardliners, who believethat they have come to powerbecause of a fundamental shift innational values, should thinkagain. There is more than a grainof truth in the argument thatvoters gave them a chancebecause they had lost faith in theCongress and were looking for analternative.

The Congress, on its part, willbe failing them if it persists withdynastic politics. The party mustrealise —if it has not done sofar—that Rahul Gandhi does notsell. Sonia Gandhi herself will bea far better bet than the otherleaders so far available in theparty. The disadvantage of beingan Italian has disappeared overthe years and she is consideredas much an Indian as anyone bybirth. But the problem is that shehas very little chance to head thecountry because the Congress haslost its shine. No doubt, the BJPhas Hinduised politics but that isthe dominant thinking which hascaught the public imagination atpresent, thanks to Modi’sleadership.

This thinking may not last longsince the Indian nation is basicallypluralistic. The BJP itself seemsto be conscious of this becausethere is some evidence that it ismoving from the right-of-the-centre to the centre. Thepredicament that plagues the partyis that its cadres come from theRSS. Maybe, that is the reasonthat there is no scam in thegovernment. However one maydislike the RSS ideology, itsemphasis on integrity cannot bedoubted. Yet, there should be nomisgiving on its interference in thegovernance. Even top bureaucratsare judged how close they are tothe Hindutva philosophy.

Former Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao appointed severalofficers, who were known to besecular, at key places so that thegovernment reflected a pluralisticway of thinking. He felt personallybetrayed when the Babri masjidwas demolished because he neverthought that things would reach

the point of pulling it down. Butthe fact remains that he connivedat the whole operation. Now thethread has been picked up by aCBI court which has chargedL.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi andUma Bharti with criminalconspiracy.

It would be a great let down ifwhat the judiciary is doing isundone by the dominant politicalparties. Advani and his associatescan appeal to the higher court butif the ruling party does anythingwhich favours the accused, itwould amount to mocking at thelaw. The Congress has asked forthe resignation of Uma Bharti whois a minister in the Modi cabinet.If she were to be dropped byModi, it would send the right kindof message. This is the least thatPrime Minister can do to assurethe people that the government hasno side to take except to supportthe court.

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Dear Shri Narendra Modiji,

I write to you as a citizen of thiscountry. A country I had chosen tolive though I had other options, for Idearly love my motherland. At theoutset let me state that I am avegetarian by choice and a farmerby profession.

I wish to ask you a few questionsregarding some of the decisions andsome of the laws that yourgovernment has passed in recenttimes. As recently as a few days ago,you had passed a bill that bans theslaughter of cows, camels andbuffalos. (I do understand the standof your party with regard to cows,but I was wondering why you hadincluded camels and buffalos!)

With this Law you have made itextremely difficult for farmers to buyor sell cattle. In a normal village fair,at least in our village, farmers buynew cattle and sell their old cattle.Unless they are in distress no onewill sell their healthy workableanimals. So the question comes as towhether they should sell the old cattlefor slaughter houses or not. In manyareas, when there is a drought as it isright now rampant in the country,farmers are forced to “do away” withtheir animals. They could be cattle,they could be sheep, and they couldbe goats or even donkeys. I wouldlike to now ask this question, whenthe farmer’s family is hungry, andthey can’t have the right to sell theirold and young cattle whom they areunable to feed, cattle which they musthave bought paying huge sums ofmoney, is it fair to ask them to stopselling these to slaughter houses and

An Open Letter to the Prime MinisterFrom a Farmer from Telangana

demand that they be sold only tofarmers? Which farmer in thatsituation of drought will be in a positionto buy them?

I can understand yourgovernment’s concern for“protecting the cattle”. I have analternative suggestion – Why doesn’tthe Government create a Buy Backarrangement with such farmers whoare unable to support their cattle orwould like to dispose of the “old andfeeble” cattle whom they cannot feedor feeding which doesn’t make anyeconomic sense?

As a person with new age ideason economics I am sure youunderstand that Economics is themost important aspect of a Nation.Ethics and human sustenance bedamned. As we saw in the pursuit ofthe GDP, your government hasbrought in a law that will throwmillions of farming families on thestreets – the new Land AcquisitionOrdinance which is now beingbrought in by the back door via theState laws, wherein the safe guardsensured in the erstwhile UPA’sLARR Act have been wiped offtotally. (One of the few good thingsdone by the UPA was this new Act).You have signed Free TradeAgreements and MOUs with variousnations, which are going to putfarmers already on the verge ofcommitting suicides, closer tobankruptcy. We just saw an examplerecently, when the Telangana,Karnataka and Andhra farmers whoafter seeing the bumper prices of TurDal last year, have grown a bumpercrop of Tur Dal. But when it wastime for them to market their produce,

a huge stock of Red gram wasdumped into the country from Africa.A result of the MOUs you had signedin your multiple foreign trips in thepast couple of years. Needless to say,the farmers who grew Red gram arein the Red now…wonder how manyare on the path to commit suicides.

And we also came to know thatyour government is about to sign aFree Trade Agreement with Australiato allow the dumping of their milkproducts. Now in a world’s largestmilk producing country like India,where millions of small farmersactually made this possible, as againstthe large “technologically superior”factory farms of “developed nations”,where millions of small farmers ekeout a living because of the two to tencows or buffaloes, what is the needfor such an agreement – is somethingthat is beyond my comprehension.Needless to say, the subsidized milkproducts from the “developednations” will only add to the woes ofthe small farmers of this nation. Asituation, I hear many dairy co-operatives – the largest of which is inyour own “parent state” of Gujarat –are fighting to get stopped.

I suppose this new Law banningthe slaughter of Cattle is a move inthe “right” direction, to put an end tothe livelihoods of the millions of smalldairy farmers in this country. As wasdone by the erstwhile UPA1 and UPA2, your government too is bent uponbending over backwards to bring inhigh tech, low on jobs industry, andgive the precious farm lands byforcing it out of farming families, tobig time corporate houses, as isenvisioned in the multitude of


industrial corridors your governmentis proposing across India, like theDelhi Mumbai Indusrial Corridor,Chennai – Bengaluru IndustrialCorridor, Mumbai – BangaloreEconomic Corridor, Amritsar – Delhi– Kokata Industrial Corridor andVizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor toname a few. And all along these‘corridors” farm land to the tune oflakhs of acres is to be acquired.

Just one corridor – DMIC is saidto be wiping out entire farm land thesize of Gujarat. So, I suppose, bringingin cheap imports, forcing farmers torun from pillar to post to even selltheir cattle or just tying them up inknots by this and that…is just oneway of making them desperate to getout of farming, so it becomes veryeasy for the government agencies totake away their land and give it to bigindustry, so that they can make usvery important things like “bombers,air planes, cars etc”, most of whichwill give more work to machines androbots than to ordinary tenth classpass rural youth, as is evident fromthe job cuts that are happening nowin the erstwhile “sun rise” sectorslike software and BPOs due to hightechnology and automation.

So then, is it okay if from being aself sufficient country, we becomedependent on food imports? Is it okayif we give our precious water to setup water intensive and highly pollutingindustries, in a country that is alreadyreeling under perpetual drought? Isit okay if we give priority to joblessgrowth that is a continuation of thepast 25 years’ policies of LPG, that isincreasing unemployment as seeneven in your three years rule as aPM? A situation that will furtherdeplete our natural resources, polluteour air, so that like the Chinese, weIndians too can wear gas masks aswe walk in our streets?

I wish to ask, if the new age Indiais a ‘Smart India’ which means a hightech country where technology andautomation will be the top priority,what will the millions of displaced,destitute farmers, their children, theirelderly and their extended families,all of whom depend on that land, do?What is your plan for them? If theyare forced to burn their crops due tothe falling prices thanks to your FTAsand if they are running from pillar topost unable to sell the cattle they areunable to feed, and if they areconstantly having to fight thegovernment to ‘save the little pieceof security: their land’, which washanded down to them fromgenerations, what should they do?Commit suicide?

Is that why, despite the farmers’agitations to stop the entry of GMseeds, your government is pushingahead with the Genetically Modified

Seeds, which will further impoverishour farmers, making them beg forseeds from the Multi nationals, unableto store their own seeds due tobiological contamination and loss ofbio diversity? Finally, what will happento the dear Cows and Cattle that youare desperately trying to protect whenthey eat this Genetically Modifiedcrop? We heard reports that goatsand sheep that grazed on the Bt Cottondied of diseases. So, now when thecattle graze on GM Mustard, and dieof disease, who will be punished forthat offense? For that matter, for thepast so many years, cows are dyingeating plastic on the streets, yet nobody banned plastic? Or is it that thosemanufacturing plastic are holier thanthe cow?

Yours Sincerely,

Saraswati Kavula


Prime Minister Modi is on aEuropean tour of four countries –Germany, France, Spain and Russia.His mission is to improve bilateralrelations between India and thesefour countries. It is good thinking andstrategy indeed. But, how does hepropose to do it is not clear. Indiahas faulted in its foreign policy fromthe beginning, since the time ofJawaharlal Nehru, the first PrimeMinister. The fault lines of India’sforeign policy are still not repaired.India focussed on issues, took acommendable moral stand, but notits national interest. India followedfor long the same policy with a clichécalled ‘continuity and change’.Three episodes stand out as bigmistakes from which India sufferseven now. One was Kashmir, anunfinished business. When Indianarmy was beating back the Pakistanarmy–backed tribal invaders, Nehruordered the Indian army to stop andtook the matter to the UnitedNations. Second, Nehru gave awayTibet, a buffer state, to the Chinesewithout safeguarding India’s orTibet’s interests. India could havehad some control over Tibet alongwith China. Third was the non-alignment; India steered anindependent and autonomous coursein world politics when the world wasdivided into two blocs. It was seento be having the best of both theworlds without transferring anysovereignty. But that was a utopianposition, as the world isinterdependent in nature. Nehru hadto compromise the non-alignedstance of India’s foreign policy insupporting Soviet Union in EasternEurope in exchange of their veto on

Indian Prime Minister in Europe

D. K. Giri

Kashmir. Another mistake has beenIndia’s understanding of and dealingwith Europe, European Union to beprecise. When European Union wasformed in 1957 as an EconomicCommunity, Nehru dismissed it as a‘capitalist club’. The potential of thecommunity was not grasped byIndians and hence Indian relationwith EU has been distant andasymmetric. Given the social andpolitical similarities between theUnion of India and the EuropeanUnion, relations should have beenquite close; India would havebenefitted from investment andmarket access. EU turned to China,an authoritarian state and investedheavily there.

India’s foreign policy sufferedfrom a big mismatch betweeneconomic and political interests. Fora long time, since 1947, it centredon security concerns between Chinaand Pakistan, and Russia as an ally.Anyway, the world has changed,now the national interests aredefined differently. A senior Indiandiplomat in France told us at aprivate dinner, “earlier our mandatewas to look for security anddiplomatic support but now it is onlytrade and investment.” Manycountries, mainly China did it muchbefore India and invited heavyinvestment by projecting itsdemographic dividend – cheaperlabour. The European Union andChina trade has reached 1 billionUSD a day whereas India is farbehind accounting for less than 1per cent of EU’s total trade. Let uslook at India’s relations with eachof the countries Modi is visiting.

Germany is the main economicpower in Europe today. EuropeanUnion is largely driven by Germany.India has not benefitted as a tradepartner from Germany’s robusteconomy as it did not perceiveGermany’s role and interest in EU.As a result, trade with Germany isquite low amounting to 17 billionUSD whereas China’s trade withGermany is 167 billion USD. WhileGermany is looking for partners –political and security – as Europe’srelations with America are ondecline, will India reciprocate andbecome a strong partner. Modi in hisspeech listed five reasons for a solidpartnership between India andGermany. Firstly both countries aregeared to innovation and havedemocratic structures. India isinnovating under Modi, so heclaimed. Secondly, both India andGermany have global concerns andperspectives. Thirdly, both countrieswant result-oriented relations.Fourthly, Germany can contribute toskilling Indians. If 800 million youthbecome skilled, they enormouslycontribute to the development in theworld. Fifthly, India and Germanycan collaborate in sports, climatesecurity and economic field. Thesedimensions of bilateralism listed byModi sound good. But is Indiapreparing to feed German need anddesire for a new international role.Germany so far relied on the Anglo-American axis for the security ofEurope. Britain is out of EuropeanUnion, and America under Trumpappears to be less committed toNATO, and worse, is asking forcompensation for its commitment toEuropean security so far.


Germany’s industries look fortransparent and trouble-free workingconditions. China ensures a stableand secure industrial atmosphere.Can India with its cacophonousdemocracy provide a similar workenvironment? In a democracy, thingsare slow to change as one has tocarry the confidence andconvenience of various groups insociety. But, surely, democracy anddiscipline are not antithetical.

During Modi’s visit to Spain, hisnext stop, India and Spain signed asmany as seven agreements toimprove relations. The MoUs signedrelated to organ transplantation,cyber security, renewable energy,civil aviation, exchange betweenIndian Foreign Service Institute andDiplomatic Academy of Spain. Since1988, no Indian Prime Minister hadbeen to Spain, hence Modi’s visit willraise the interest in Spain about India.Spain is the 7th largest trading partnerof India among EU countries and thetrade between India and Spain is of5 billion USD. There is a small IndianDiaspora in Spain. It is notcomprehensible why Modi chose tovisit three countries in EuropeanUnion and Spain was selected asone. There is not much scope ofSpain and India raising their bilateralrelations to a higher level. Spain hashistorical links with Latin Americancountries, and the diplomatic relationwith India is very recent. Spain’seconomy is not in good shape, witha high rate of unemployment, at timestouching 50 per cent.

The Russian leg of the visit seemsto be quite important for India. Forvarious reasons, Russia of late hasdeveloped closer links with Chinaand Pakistan. Russia has been atraditional ally of India. How willModi cement this tie and reset theshifting alliances of Russia in Asia.

It is true that Russia became weakerafter the disintegration of USSR. Butit has revived under the strongleadership of Vladimir Putin whochipped Crimea away from Ukraineand had arrested furtherfragmentation or drift of Russia.Once again, Russia seems to beplaying its ex-super power role atleast in military terms. Russian tilttowards China and Pakistan isworrisome for India as long as boththese countries carry a hostileattitude towards India.

The main item on the agenda withRussia is the pact on Kundankulamnuclear power plant. The last tworeactors are being built with Russiansupport. The line of credit extendedby Russia was an issue in the past,which may be ironed out in this visit.In addition, India is expected to sign12 agreements covering trade,science and technology, railways,cultural exchange etc. The tradewith Russia has dropped to about 8billion USD from 10 billion USD in2014. From the news reports, boththe countries are hoping to raise it to30 billion USD in the next five years.

The other highlight of the Modivisit will be that Modi will be the guestof honour at the annual St.Petersburg International EconomicForum. It is a business as well as apolitical summit drawing businessleaders, heads of states, PrimeMinisters, deputy Prime Ministers,departmental ministers and so on.This is the first time an Indian PrimeMinister is attending the summit. Thatis of some consequence for India.Around 60 Indian business leadersare attending the summit where Indiahas set up a “make in India” pavilion.It is holding roundtable discussionsand an India-Eurasia breakfast.However, Modi will do a lot of tightrope working to retrieve the good old

days between India and Russia.

From Russian side, Putin hasassured that ‘the trust-based ties’between India and Russia willcontinue despite many changes thathave taken place. He promised thatIndia will become a full member ofSanghai Cooperation Organisation.Putin also stressed to the Indianmedia that Russia has specialrelations with India on delicate areassuch as missiles. It has no suchrelations with any other country inthe world. He also asserted thatRussia will always stand by India inits fight against terrorism, no matterwhere it came from. Such platitudesare exchanged in such bilateralsummits, but it will be critical forIndia to retain the goodwill of Russia.India’s tilt towards America isunderstandable, but when Americais being soft towards Russia, whyshould India not make up withRussia.

The final leg of Modi’s visit willbe to France where there is a newpresident who got elected lastmonth. A relatively young andinexperienced president EmmanuelMacron will receive Modi.President Macron is just settlingdown, so there will not be much onthe agenda. From French side therewill be their usual concern about theongoing Rafael deal - India isbuying 36 twin-engine fighter jetsfrom France for 7.87 billion euroafter a protracted controversialnegotiation. Modi is meeting thenew French President for the firsttime and is planning to booststrategic ties with France. That iswhat he tweeted; France is one ofour important strategic partners.

Modi’s visit abroad is like IndiraGandhi’s in the past arousing a lot ofmedia interest and coverage. How


much it helps India draw investmentor builds friends is to be seen.Indians are made to believe,especially by BJP government thatit is growing fast to be a big power,even a super power. But, with large

pockets of poverty andbackwardness persisting, and India’seconomy not growing as fast as it isclaimed, India does not commandthat recognition yet. The view ofIndia from abroad is that it is a large

country with democratic politics andhuge diversity and is trying to holdtogether. It is still not in the leagueof biggies like China has made. Modihas to improve India before he triesto project India as a super power.

Indigenous Tribal Communities of Andaman & Nicobar Islands–The Shocking Future of North Sentinel


Writing in Forbes recently JimDobson has drawn attention to theshocking future of the hithertountouched and unapproachable NorthSentinel Island in these words:“In recent months, fears have begunmounting that plans for a tourismboom beyond neighboring Andamanand Nicobar Islands may... pose athreat to all four Andaman tribes. Theplans include the introduction of high-end human safari companies andresort developments.” *

It is indeed shocking to learn of thestupid action of the Government intrying to open up the North SentinelIsland after the disastrous result ofconstruction of the Grand Trunk Roadthrough the Jarawa territory. Interestin the five indigenous tribalcommunities of these islands grewafter the publication of The AndamanIslander by Prof AR Radcliffe-Brownin 1922. The twelve groups inhabitingthe island which has the capital townof Port Blair, referred to cumulativelyas the Great Andamanese tribe havecompletely lost their identity— racialfeatures, language, customs,everything— particularly aftercoming in contact with ‘civilization’and the Japanese occupation duringWorld War II when these tribalwomen were exploited for sex andlater they were shifted to the StraitIsland. There they are kept as

unauthentic museum specimens inhouses built by the administration,depend on Government doles, havinglost their zest for life and still havingsome links with drug smugglers fromMynamar and Thailand. When Ivisited this island in 1978 theirpopulation had dwindled to 29 out ofwhom only one person was left withNegroid features. As if theexperiences with the GreatAndamanese tribe were not enough,the administration made foolishattempts to ‘develop’ the Onge,another small Negrito group living asemi-nomadic life on Little AndamanIsland. First, following the Partitionof India in 1947 hordes of refugeesfrom East Pakistan were settled onthis island creating a constant sourceof conflict with the indigenous Onge.When I visited this island in April 1978with ShriBholaPaswanShastri, thethen Chairman of the newly createdCommission for Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes, the Ongesnumbered only 97 and the evil effectsof contact with ‘civilization’ werealready discernible.

The worst was the effort to‘develop’ the Jarawa living in acontiguous area spread over twoadjoining islands. In the literature thisnaked tribal community wasdescribed as ‘ferocious’ becausewhen outsiders like the residents of

the penal settlement would poachtheir limited natural resources theJarawa would kill them with theirpoison tipped arrows. In hisautobiography VD Savarkar whospent some years in the cellular jailat Port Blair and allegedlyapologised to the British in order toget released, has used all kinds ofepithets for the Jarawa based onlyon hearsay. In 1974 a landmark wasachieved by the AnthropologicalSurvey of India by establishing thefirst friendly and limited contact withthe Jarawa and the story is narratedin an authentic documentarycaptioned Man in Search of Man andmade by the AnSI. The credit forthis goes to a non-anthropologist,SardarBakhtawar Singh, DeputySuperintendent of Police, originallyfrom Punjab with a sturdycommonsense. Later theadministration adopted a policy offriendly contact with the Jarawaonce a month on full moon day whena small number of therepresentatives of the administrationwould go on a boat and leave cookedrice and bananas on the shore forthe Jarawa.

On our return from this tour Idrafted a report on the conditions ofthese three Negrito groups and theMongoloid Nicobarese containingmany practical suggestions which


was approved and sent by theChairman of the Commission forSC&ST to the then PM and theHome Minister of India. We couldnot visit the Shompen. The farthestpoint in their island was just 70 milesfrom the tip of Sumatra in Indonesia.A visit to the Sentinelese was out ofquestion at that time as theadministration had luckily failed toestablish any contact with this smallNegrito group until then. The babussitting in air-conditioned rooms inNew Delhi had already planned aGrand Trunk Road passing throughthe Jarawa territory for commercialpurposes as well as to cater totourists wanting to go on a humansafari. We in the Commission hadopposed the harmful project.

I got two opportunities to revisitA&N Islands in 1982 and 1984 withthe Parliamentary Committee on theWelfare of Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes. On the latteroccasion, after the conclusion of thevisit of the ParliamentaryCommittee, I accompanied Prof. LPVidyarthi of Ranchi University andDr. TN Pandit, SA of Port BlairStation of AnSI, who were visitingthese indigenous communities undera project of the Ministry of HomeAffairs, to meet the Jarawa of theMiddle Andaman Island. It was awonderful experience. Until then the‘development experts’ had not daredto ‘civilise’ the Jarawa. The Jarawamales jumped into our boat out ofexcitement to partake of the gift ofcooked rice and banana and allowedus to land on the shore. We had beenwarned not to wear anything butunderwears as the Jarawa wouldtear off everything unknown to them.Thank God, I could save myspectacles. We were not allowed togo into the interior to see theirtemporary huts where they stayedduring the course of their

wanderings within a limited forestedarea. We stayed there on the sandsfor about an hour and left after theirinitial excitement died down.

I cannot forget the utterly friendlygestures of the Jarawa whom theBritish and Indian authorities hadpainted as ‘ferocious’. Havinglumbosacral spondylysis I got ashock to find that an adult Jarawahad jumped on to my back andwanted me to carry him like a child.Another Jarawa came and sat on mylap. The most unforgettable fact wasthat a woman brought a small baby,forced it into my arms and wantedme to play with it or love it. In the‘civilised’ Indian society womenwould normally keep an infant awayfrom a complete stranger and applykaajal on its face to protect it froman evil eye. The male Jarawas triedto pull out hairs from my limbs asthey wondered what this unusualgrowth on our bodies was. Theyhave hairless, muscular and supplebodies which enable them to climbtrees and pluck fruits quickly. Themodern society at Port Blair wassurprised to hear my positiveexperiences with the Jarawa andShriPantul, Station Director of AllIndia Radio, Port Blair, requested meto broadcast a talk on my interactionwith the Jarawas and otherindigenous tribal communities of thearea.

I have not followed up thesubsequent developments regardingthis matter but it seems that thesehave only been for the worse. Therecannot be a greater mockery of theparadigm of development of theseindigenous communities, which haveattracted anthropologists from theworld over, when the rulers treat theSentinel Islands as a rich potentialfor tourism. There are so many areaslike Uttarakhand and Himachal

Pradesh in the Himalayas and manyparts of India which yearn fordevelopment as world touristdestinations. Why cannot theuninformed bureacrats leave theseindigenous communities alone and letthem develop in accordance withtheir genius— as envisioned inNehru’s Tribal Panchsheel?

I wish to mention a good missedopportunity for studying theindigenous tribal communities ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands thatcame my way in the form of an offerfrom the National Geographic in1997 when I visited their office inWashington DC with my geographerdaughter Suprabha based in Denver.The requirements of sustained fieldwork in an unchartered area at theage of 67 and my other commitmentsback home prevented me fromavailing of that generous offer that Iregret even today. I am glad to knowthat despite odds some young Indiananthropologists have made goodstudies of the individual tribalcommunities of the region.

Price: Rs. 20/-


Bharucha Marg,

Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007.


An analysis of a spate of reportedmarriage related accidents in Indiaduring just about one week of Mayrevealed that in about seven separateaccidents over 50 people were killedand around 200 were injured. Thereported accidents in media are justa small part of the total number ofsmaller accidents which gounreported or else are reported at avery local level.

On May 10 a long but hurriedlyand precariously constructed wall ofa marriage hall in Bharatpur(Rajasthan) collapsed, leading to thedeath of 26 persons and injuries to ahigher number of people. The baraat(marriage group from the groom’sside) had not yet arrived, or else themortality in this accident would havebeen much higher.

Subsequent inquiries revealedthat most of the marriage celebrationhalls in the state suffer from poorsafety conditions but are owned orcontrolled by influential people.

On May 9 a vehicle carrying abaraat group met with an accidentin Khargonedistrict (MadhyaPradesh) leading to the death of 9persons including the groom whileseveral others were injured.

This turned to be a killer day forbaraatis as in another accident nearSheopur in the same state a tractortrolley carrying a marriage party hadan accident, killing six persons. 20other persons of the marriage partyincluding 9 children were seriouslyinjured.

Every Year Hundreds of Lives Can be SavedJust in Marriage-Related Accidents

Bharat Dogra

Another bus returning from Satnain this state was taking baratis backto their home when it got out ofcontrol. Three persons diedimmediately while six were reportedto be struggling for survival. About33 others were injured in the sameaccident.

Earlier on May 5 near Ambikapur(Chattisgarh) two vehicles, bothcarrying baratis collided, leading totwo immediate deaths and seriousinjuries to 22 others.

In another accident in Patraatuvalley in Jharkhand anovercrowded bus carrying baratiswas involved in an accident inwhich 9 persons were killed and‘several dozen’ were injured. Asubsequent meeting in the villageimposed a fine of Rs. 3 lakh pluson the groom’s family. Villagerswho spoke at the meeting said thatthe driver and khalasi (assistant)of the bus were both drunk.

These reports of accidentsinvolving marriage parties within thetime span of just one week or soindicate the very high toll of suchaccidents. The marriage season inIndia is often concentrated within afew weeks. Hence there is a bigdemand for marriage halls andvehicles to transport baratis andothers during these days. In thissituation compromises are oftenmade regarding safety precautions.Even otherwise safety aspectsgenerally get less attention. .

As regulation on the part of

authorities is also low, this increaseschances of accidents.

Marriages in India are elaborateand expensive affairs involving a lotof completely avoidable tensions. Sopeople tend to become very tiredeither from dancing too much orworrying too much. Hence safetycan be compromised particularly atthe time of return journeys.

Add to this the increasing flow ofalcohol in many marriagecelebrations. This greatly increasesthe chances of accidents (as well asugly scenes) at the time of returnjourneys in particular.

There is a very absurd but not souncommon practice of firing guns atthe time of marriage celebrations.This sometimes leads to accidentalinjury or even death.

Some marriage parties carryfirecrackers with them as these areused in marriage proceesionsincluding on busy roads. Thetransport of a significant stock offirecrackers with marriage partiesincreases the chance of fire andexplosions accidents in vehicles andtrains. The use of firecrackers inmarriage processions passing onbusy roads also increases the risk ofaccidents.

Any marriage time accidentbrings great grief very suddenly at atime of celebration and happinessand so can be additionally disruptiveand traumatic for all those affectedby such an accident. Hence


counseling is badly needed for thoseaffected by such accidents but thisis seldom available in India.

On a longer term basis suchaccidents, even smaller ones, canbe particularly difficult andtraumatic for the young brides whoare typically accused of bringingbad luck with them. Hence help forthem is needed from within thecommunity first but later also fromauthorities if her harassment isprolonged.

Clearly much can be done toreduce the risk of accidentsassociated with marriages andother such celebratory occasions.On the one hand better regulationof marriage halls, banquet halls,etc. is needed. Safe communitybuildings with modest facilitiesshould be provided by publicauthorities and communityorganizations at a low cost. Servingof liquor at marriages should beprohibited. Essentials of safety inthis context should be well

established, well publcised andimplemented strictly.

In addition public campaigns areneeded to improve the safety whilereducing the expenses and tensionsof marriage ceremonies in India. Allnewly married couples and theirfamilies should be encouraged tosave unnecessary expenses anddonate them instead for some worthycause which would be the best wayof blessing and solemnizing themarriage.

Forceful Eviction Without Proper RehabilitationA delegation led by former MP,

General Secretary, All India KisanSabha, Hannan Mollah andcomprising of Annie Raja of NFIW,Vimal Bhai and Himshi Singh ofNAPM, met the President of Indiaon May 29, 2017, and submitted acitizens’ memorandum on the currentsituation in the Narmada Valley. Thedelegation raised the issue of brazenattempts by the Government ofMadhya Pradesh citing complianceof the 2nd part of the Supreme Courtorder dated 8 February 2017 andpreparing for forceful eviction before31st July. However, the Governmentis clearly ignoring the 1st part of theSC order, that is to providecompensation and completerehabilitation of the Sardar SarovarDam affected villages.

As per the orders of SupremeCourt, last date for givingcompensation and ensuring completerehabilitation was 8th May 2017. Tillnow, the State has not done anysurvey which can list all the projectaffected families entitled tocompensation and rehabilitation asper the rehabilitation policy, whichcaused many families to be left outfrom receiving the compensation.

How can a State even think aboutevicting people without rehabilitation?This is a clear contempt of spirit ofcourt orders and judgments alongwith the murder of constitutionalrights of project-affected families.This will prove to be a disaster asfamilies are still without alternativeland, livelihood and liveablerehabilitation sites.

Shri Mollah informed thePresident that “we have visited thevillages of the Narmada Valley asa fact-finding team, which is full oflife and culture and is facing thethreats of submergence, anddisplacement in absence of a singlesatisfactory R&R sites. Our reportbrings out the dismal conditions ofthe project affected families, R&Rsites, corruption in the payment ofcompensations and so on. 192villages, 1 town, 40,000 families andmore than 2 lakh people will beaffected. If the Government doesnot take proper action inrehabilitating the Sardar SarovarProject affected families than thecondition of the oustees ofMadhya Pradesh will become asbad as the oustees of Gujarat orMaharashtra.

Annie Raja, General Secretary,National Federation of IndianWomen said that “if the SardarSarovar Dam gates are closedwithout proper rehabilitation, it willbe remembered as the mass murderin the human history. After the visitof Prime Minister Narendra Modi inthe Narmada Valley for NarmadaSeva Yatra, the process ofintimidation and eviction has takenspeed.”

Vimal Bhai of Matu JanSangathan, explained theenvironmental impacts in the formof Chlorofluoro Carbon gases due tothe submergence of lakhs of trees.He also explained the condition ofthe rehabilitation sites built years ago,still lacking in basic amenities, crackson the houses due to black soil andno drinking water availability.

Himshi Singh, National Alliance ofPeoples’ Movements said that “theMadhya Pradesh Government ismanipulating its own statistics of theAction Taken Report- 2008 whichgives a count of 31,180 familiesaffected by the Sardar Sarovar Dam



These days, a few activists aresuggesting that some sort of unitedfront against the BJP combine mustbe promoted. True, the Gau-sevaksare resorting to violent attacks onMuslims and Dalits. Hate campaignsare being conducted ferociously. Ifthis roller-coaster is not stopped intime, and if BJP returns to powerin 2019, minorities would bepersecuted mercilessly, dalits wouldbe more and more harassed. Thatwill disfigure the secular anddemocratic architecture of ourRepublic and can endanger nationalunity.

Any sensitive person will certainlyshare these apprehensions. Butforging an electoral front to defeatBJP does not sound an effectiveproposition. Over-emphasis onwinning an election does not providegood solution for the ills from whichour republic is suffering. Hotchpotchconglomeration of ideologicallydiffering parties/groups cannotprovide meaningful and effectivegovernment. Moreover, use of powercannot solve all problems unless thementality and habits of the people arenot properly cleansed and orientedin a positive, constructive mode , theevil tendencies would not beneutralized effectively.

In my humble opinion, activecampaigns along with mass-awakening programmes are to beundertaken vigorously to combat theevil tendencies mentioned above.Straightforward steps must beinitiated towards annihilation ofcaste barriers. Promoting safeenvironment for women

Forge Time-Bound Common Minimum Programme

Pannalal Surana

empowerment should be accordedtop priority in the day-to-dayactivities of progressive parties/groups. India has inherited manytraits of mutual understanding andspirit of tolerance. Those should bebuttressed by runningcomplementary extra –curricularactivities for school-going children.Such many-pronged activities willhelp create amicable atmosphere forforging united front of political partiesto combat aggressive and divisivedesigns of communal forces.

Indian people generally preferpositive slogans than negative ones.Instead of saying Congress-muktBharat or BJP Hatav it is better tosay “let us join hands to build genuinedemocratic and egalitarian Bharat”

It would be better to avoidindulging in controversies overcommunalism and secularism, let usrevive Gandhian slogan of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Struggles against repression andexploitation must be conductedvigorously, but only by peacefulmeans. Violence must be abjured.

Parties and groups who broadlyshare this kind of approach mayenter into a dialogue to formulate aCommon Minimum Programme(CMP). These days, economicissues are relegated to back seat.That is not proper. People can leadstheir lives meaningfully andparticipate in democratic politicalprocesses only if their primary needsare satisfied properly. The proposedfront should agree to accord high

priority to change economic policiesthat are being pursued by the presentruling combine. Full employmentmust be accepted as the goal of alleconomic activities. Secondly,hankering after the foreign capitalmust be given up. Capitalists areinterested in maximizing their profits.Foreign capitalists take away allprofits to their mother countries.Their preference for high technologyis endangering employmentgeneration. India should aspire to beself-reliant and develop maximumdecentralization of economicactivities. And commanding heightsmust be controlled by the State.Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, dairy,etc. must be provided with enoughpublic investment. Remunerativeprices be assured to farm products.Cooperative movement must bereinvigorated. Common, free andqualitative education should beprovided by the State. Adequatehealth-care arrangements must bemade for the needy and the poor.

The proposed front should spellout time schedule for implementingthe CMP.

All individuals and groups who areconcerned about protecting ourSecular, Democratic Republic maytake steps in this direction.

. Janata

is available at

www.lohiatoday.com


The ideal of achieving anequitable society is always anexciting dream for those who areexperiencing discrimination based onprimordial ideas of inequality. Theconcepts of equity and justice areorganically associated with the longstruggle for a just society in Europeparticularly after the 14th century.The realisation of an equitable societyhowever, has been around in theWestern philosophical mooringsstarting from Aristotle who wishedto ‘treat like cases as like’ andconsidered it as a rational approachin a formal sense. He was alsoreferring to formal and proportionalequality, the former where individualsare indistinguishable and the latterin relation to a more problematic ideaof distribution on the basis of dueworth.

The idea of equity is related tojustice while equality is connectedwithequal treatment of people, arebasically qualitative in humanrelations between groups. Equity isconsidered intrinsically good andtherefore egalitarian. Equity isdifferent from identity orsameness.Most of the ideas wereoriginated in the writings anddiscourses of Western thinkersattained universal recognition afterthe Reformation movement andFrench revolution. We Indians seemto have not been concerned aboutgroups attaining equity, but absorbedin individuals’ getting liberation ornirvana. Buddha fought against this

Keynote address at the International Conference on “ Equitable and Prosperous India: Challenges and Opportunities” atDepartment of Commerce, Bombay University, April 27th, 2017

Realising an Equitable and Prosperous IndiaNeeds a Paradigm Shift

K. S. Chalam

otherworldly ontology and appealedto his disciples to seek refuse in thesocial aggregate, the society.JyotiraoPhule, Mahadev Govind Ranade andAmbedkar of Maharashtra broughtthe western ideas of equality andjustice to Indian soil. But, themetaphysical discourses for whichwe Indians are proud of for theirabstract expositions are less anxiousabout our real empirical experienceslike discrimination, inequity etc.,dismissing them as senseexperiences with little relevance toattain liberation (see my book‘Economic Reforms and SocialExclusion’, Sage).Western thinkerslike Locke, Hobbes, Dworokin andothers had reasoned about naturalrights, equal rights with humanconcern and respect, while Indiansages and savants during thecorresponding period advocated forequality before god in a metaphysicalrhetoric .

Debate around Equality

The concept ‘equality’ appears tobe an elusive term for scholars whoare interested in its measurement andquantification. It is very easy to saythat morally each individual issupposed to get his due and as perhumandignity. But, how tooperationalise it? Equality of What?Economists who are generallyassociated with quantification ofdifferent phenomena particularlythose who had a Welfare Economicorientation from the time of

Bentham, Pigou, Pareto, Kaldor,Amartya Sen and others consideredPareto optimum as that ‘existswhenever it is not possible to makesomebody better off without makingsomebody worse off’ as the startingpoint for a debate. This has satisfiedthe libertarians and some Indianthinkers who consider that a socialstructure is already ordained as tohow the system should function andwe cannot meddle with it withoutdisturbing the optimum. Let there bestatus quo. But, Amartya Sen foundthe flaw in the argument and saidthat, ‘a society in which some peoplelead lives of great luxury while otherslive in acute misery can still be Paretooptimal if the agony of the deprivedcannot be reduced without cutting into the ecstasy of the affluent’ andadded that a state can be ParetoOptimal and still sickeninglyiniquitous’. Sen hassupported thesystem of caste-based reservationsin India on the basis of this argumentand capability approach in his book‘Inequality Re-Examined’ in1995.Sen in his analysis of ‘Equalityof What?’ lecture has come out witha rational and universally acceptedidea of ‘basic capability equality’ asan answer to the question, asdistinguished from that of Utilitariansand Rawls primary goods.

The issue of equity as noted aboveis connected with Justice.Utilitarians like Bentham, JohnStuart Mill who had some influenceover the civil servants of the British


India where they had seizedof theview that, ‘a society is just to theextent that its laws and institutionsare helped to promote the greatesthappiness of the largest number.’ Itappeared to be rational and practical.But, problems arise when it comesto the measurement of happiness asutility (ordinal and cardinal) and itsapplication toadminister economic,social and political freedoms. It isfurther accentuated when groupsare involved in a capitalist societywhere gains and losses aredisproportional and the sameindividual may not experience thegains all the time in a group. In orderto address this problem and tosubstantiate the questions of Equalityin the USA after Jencks ‘Inequality’project study based on educationalbackground of different racial groupsin America, John Ralws, the Harvardphilosopher published “A Theory ofJustice”. John Rawls has addressedthe issues of justice as fairness in alibertarian society where undueburdens to get greater average utilitywill be avoided. Each person, Rawlssays is to have the maximumliberties compatible with the sameliberty for all, under what is called‘the Difference Principle’. It is saidthat inequalities are permissible onlyif, 1.They can be expected to workto everyone’s advantage, especiallyto the advantage of the least well offand, 2. The positions, offices, roles,to which the inequalities are open toall under conditions of fair equalityof opportunity.By assuming anoriginal position with a veil ofignorance, people often choose themaximum rule of choice. It meansthat one should choose thatalternative whose worst possibleoutcome will be no worse than theworst possible outcome of anotheralternative. Here the question ofdiscrimination does not arise as thetreatment is fair. However the

libertarians did not agree with it andargued that they should not beallowed to be discriminated or taxedsimply because they have propertyand wanted that their right toproperty be respected irrespective ofwhat may happen to the poor anddisadvantaged in a socialorganisation.

Measure of Wellbeing

Amartya sen who has publishedextensively on ‘Common Good’ andWelfare Economics has developedideas relating to HumanDevelopment Index to indicate thestatus of a society in improving thewellbeing of people through threeindicators, income, longevity andeducation. Though it is an aggregateterm, the UNDP has been updatingits data sets by incorporatinginequality adjusted HDI, GEM etcover a period of time that givessufficient insight in to inequalities.One of the important contributionsof Sen is his capability approach toargue for entitlements for those whoare deprived of the capabilities.Martha Nussbaum has listed 10capabilities as central to humanbeings: 1. life, 2. bodily health,3.senses, 4. imagination and thought,5. emotions, 6. practical reason, 7.affiliation with groups and society,8. relations with other species, 9.play, laughter, and leisure and, 10.control over environment, politicaland material. (The functioning ofeach capability is given in appendix)

The capability metric has beenproposed by capability philosophersas an alternative for, andimprovement on, the Rawlsian socialprimary goods metric, which focuseson general purpose goods, such asincome and wealth, opportunities andliberties, and the social basis of self-respect. Sen argued that “the

primary goods approach seems totake little note of the diversity ofhuman beings.… If people werebasically very similar, then an indexof primary goods might be quite agood way of judging advantage. But,in fact, people seem to have verydifferent needs varying with health,longevity, climatic conditions,location, work conditions,temperament, and even body size.…So,what is being involved is notmerely ignoring a few hard cases,but overlooking very widespread andreal differences”. A person with adisability, however severe, would nothave a claim to additional resourcesgrounded in his impairment underRawls’s two principles of justice.Sen argues that Rawls’s differenceprinciple would not justify anyredistribution to the disabled ongrounds of disability. Sen noted thatit is possible to argue with capabilityapproach for special treatment ofhandicapped persons like a pregnantwoman where we have institutionalsupport in providing additional inputsto meet the nutritional deficiency.Thus, capability is able to expressreal deficiencies among people insociety with different groupsincluding socially disadvantaged andto overcome the deficiencies,collective action or state policy isneeded. However, capabilityapproach has the limitation ofmeasuring certain functionings asnoted below.

· What goods and burdens are tobe justly distributed (or should bedistributed)? Which social goodscomprise the object of distributivejustice?

· What are the spheres (of justice)into which these resources haveto be grouped?

· Who are the recipients of


distribution? Who has a primafacie claim to a fair share?

· What are the commonly cited yetin reality unjustified exceptions toequal distribution?

· Which inequalities are justified?

· Which approach, conception ortheory of egalitarian distributivejustice is therefore the best?

Social economists are able toaddress some of the questions notedabove in justifying human dignitythrough capability support. Sen in hislatest book on ‘The Idea of Justice’brought in the Indian concepts of Niti, Nyyaya, the former as just rulesand institutions and the latter as itsrealisation or instrumental justice.However, he has conceded that theidea of justice depends upon thephilosophy of justice with which youevaluate transactions. Giving anexample of how one flute isdistributed among three girls lookingat from utilitarian, egalitarian andlibertarian orientations.

Are Equity and Prosperity Compatible?

We have in India scholars andactivists passingopinionsandjudgements that unless you havesufficient wealth created withincentives for merit and efficiency,there cannot be equity. It is possibleto get the wealth thus accumulatedto trickle down to the lower classesonce it is full. The arguments andcounter arguments made us torealise,of late that the inequity inIndia is widening (see AppendixTables). Economics or PoliticalEconomy in the classical periodstarting from Adam Smith, Ricardo,Marx and others to Kuznets, Pikettyetc are concerned not only with thewealth of nations, but also its

distribution. Adam Smith hasindicated how the self- interest ofindividuals would lead to division oflabour and increase in productivityto make a nation wealthy. Ricardohad contested howduring his time theshare of national dividend among thethree factors of production wasinequitable as wages remainedstagnant and profits falling. In otherwords, economists have beenconcerned with not only the creationof wealth but also its distribution fromthe beginning. But, there seems tobe no ambiguous argument that letwealth be created and it would bedistributed later. In fact Marx’s thesisof surplus value considers howinequity is built in in to the capitalistsystem in the process of productionitself.Therefore, there is no tangibleargument that equitable distributionwould diminish wealth. But, the neo-classical models of growth throughfree trade advocated by scholars likeJgadish Bhagwati and others landedus in liberalisation of the economy in1991 with an expectation that itwould enhance our capabilities andreduce inequalities. The Kuznetsthesis that ‘as an economy develops,inequity will rise and then at a laterstage naturally fall back again’ hasnot been proved in many cases asnoted by Piketty. This is also true inthe case of the socially excluded inIndia who are now doublemarginalised after liberalisation.

Indian Economy after 1991

Theories of economic growth anddevelopment, the formerexplainingquantitative expansion ofeconomic variables and the latterelucidating nonquantitative factorssuch as institutions, culture, andstatus along with the formerideabecame popular discourse after1945.Countries have beencategorised as developed,

undeveloped, developing etc., on thebasis of certain parameters. Severalscholars have made theoreticalcontributions as to how to break thevicious circle of poverty, breakinertia in agriculture, introduceadvanced technology inmanufacturing etc and reap thereturns in terms of increase in GDP.The strategy of export led growth,import substitution,, free trade andthe so called Washington consensushave been advocated. The IMF,World Bank and other fundingagencies persuaded India to abandonthe planned growth models and adoptliberalisation and globalisation. Indiaunder the leadership of P VNarasimharao was forced to acceptthe Washington Consensusconsisting of 10 commandments toprivatise and globalise Indianeconomy. As noted by the Japaneseeconomists Yujiro Hayami andYoshisha Godo, in less than ten yearsthe so called Washington consensusunder market fundamentalism gotreplaced with post Washingtonconsensus, advocating greater roleto institutions and state sector.However, the damage done to thefundamentals of constitutionallyarranged models of developmentseem to have not been evaluated. Itis widely reported now that aftermore than two decades ofliberalisation policies in India,inequalities particularly among thedifferent social groups are widenedand social tensions became order ofthe day.

Against this background, theUNCTAD 2102 report on trade hasimplications for India. It is reportedthat the merchandise trade of theworld has declined from 5.5 percent in 2011 to 3.5 percent in 2012.The growth rate has declinedsharply from 4.1 per cent in 2010 to2.7 per cent in 2012, mostly due to


the growth rates of developingcountries and China (developedcountries confined to less than 2.5per cent). Financial frauds andweak demand in developedcountries have lowered exportsfrom developing countries, includingIndia. Except gold, all mineral

exports have declined during theperiod. The report has analysed theso-called Kuznets curve indicatingthat in the beginning inequalitiesincrease and after some time, withincrease in productivity, disparitiesdecline; it seems to have failed. Onthe contrary, Dani Rodrik and

Alesina have proved thatinequalities in primary income wouldhamper growth. It is supported byhistorical data that the share ofwages in the national income of theUK, the USA and Japan wasaround 60 per cent for alongperiodto sustain growth.

and now drastically reducing thenumber in the recently issuedGazette, 2017 by 18,346”.

After listening to the delegation,the President of India, PranabMukherjee said that he will look intothe matter and initiate necessaryactions.

Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChauhan has made anannouncement that all the projectaffected families who have tospend all the money given to themto build their houses will again begiven a package of Rs 1,32,000under Pradhan Mantr i AwasYojana. However, the eligibilityguidel ines issued by thegovernment are as such thatvery few PAFs wil l get thebenefits of PMAY.

Adding to the concerns of thedelegation, Dr. Sunilam, NationalConvener, NAPM, added that,“even though the Districtauthorities and Collectorunderstand that the R&R sites arenot yet complete but still they areinsistent on vacating the valley andthere is preparation for a forcefuleviction. The Madhya Pradeshgovernment is an anti-farmer andanti-people government, which hasthe least regard for rule of law andis mired in the corruption on allfronts.”

–Uma

(Continued from Page 10)Swati Chaturvedi: You fought the Emergency. I was not

even born then. Is this anything at all like that era?

Arun Shourie: It’s a decentralised emergency. What we aregoing towards is a pyramidal decentralised mafia state, wherelocal goons will belabour anyone whom they think is doingsomething wrong. The central people will look the other way.The central people will provide a rationale for the goondas at thelocal level. Like “gau rakshaks’’, like ”love jihad” – this becomesthe rationale for me to beat up anybody. It’s not love for the cowbut just an instrument for domination.

The one big difference is at that time Mrs [Indira] Gandhi stillused the law. Now it is not the law. These people are actingoutside the law. This is true fascism because you say what is thelaw? I am the law. All this action is being done outside thegovernment, worse, things are being done inside the governmentto choke the existing laws – for instance the Right to Information(RTI) is being choked, the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is beingdenigrated unless it’s in your favour. The judiciary is beingdenigrated, therefore you keep the vacancies going the same way,probably about a hundred vacancies. The judiciary keeps saying,and these people keep denying on one ground or another. And, tohell with the people who suffer because of want of courts.

–The Wire


by

Rohini Gawankar

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Vol. 72 No. 21June 11, 2017




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Fast to Free Education Fromthe Clutches of Private Schools

Sandeep Pandey

Universal Basic IncomeAntidote to Poverty, Inequality

Mrinal K. Biswas

Promoting Rural LivelihoodsD. K. Giri

Realising an Equitable andProsperous India needs a

Paradigm Shift - IIK. S. Chalam

THE Central Bureau ofInvestigation’s raid on the ownersof NDTV for an allegedconcealment of share transactionfrom the SEBI that has caused aloss of Rs. 48 crore to a privatebank has been termed by thechannel as a witch-hunt based on“same old” false accusation. I tendto agree with the channel. RadhikaRoy, the co-owner, and I haveworked together at The IndianExpress and I cannot imagine thatshe could have indulged in suchactivities attributed to her.

I think it is a trumped up charge.Radhika and her husband, PronnoyRoy, are not that type because theyare self-made people. They mayhave committed some technicalerrors. But the CBI has registereda case against RRPR HoldingPrivate Limited, Pranoy Roy, hiswife Radhika and unidentifiedofficials of ICICI Bank of criminalconspiracy, cheating and corruption.

According to charges, the RRPRHoldings had allegedly taken a loanof Rs 500 crore from India BullsPrivate Limited to purchase 20 percent shares of NDTV from thepublic. The CBI has alleged that

A Trumped up Charge

Kuldip Nayar

RRPR Holdings took a loan of Rs375 crore at the rate of 19 per centper annum from ICICI Bank torepay the borrowing from IndiaBulls. The promoters of NDTVpledged their entire shareholding inNDTV as collateral to ICICI forthis loan, it is alleged.

According to the investigatingagency, this pledging of shares wasnot reported to the SEBI, stockexchanges and the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting. Suchconcealment was allegedly done asa creation of more than 61 per centvoting capital which was in violationof section 19 (2) of the BankingRegulation Act. It should not bemore than 30 per cent, the agencysaid. An interest waiver of 10 percent was also given by ICICI.

The network has said that theloans have been repaid and itproduced a document that appearedto confirm its claim. “NDTV andits promoters have never defaultedon any loan to ICICI or any otherbank.” read a statement posted onNDTV’s website. “We adhere tothe highest levels of integrity andindependence. It is clearly theindependence and fearlessness of


NDTV’s team that the rulingparty’s politicians cannot stomachand the CBI raid is merely anotherattempt at silencing the media.”

The Narendra Modi governmenthas been after the NDTV for quitesome time because this is one ofthe very few channels which havenot surrendered to the whims ofthe government. And this is not thefirst time that it has been targetedby the Modi government. Last year,NDTV had to challenge thegovernment’s one-day ban of itsHindi channel in the Supreme Courtwhen it was ordered off the air forbroadcasting sensitive details ofterror attack on the air force basein Pathankot in January 2016.

In November 2016, the Ministryof Information and Broadcastinghad ordered an unprecedented24 hour blackout against thenetwork, saying its coverage onterrorist attacks at Pathankot hadrevealed “strategically-sensitiveinformation.” NDTV argued that itscoverage was based on officialnews briefings and that otherbroadcasters that had made thesame revelations were not beingpenalized.

Subsequently, the representativesof NDTV met with the Informationand Broadcasting Minister andpleaded that the channel had notbeen given a fair chance to offerevidence that it did not share anyinformation that was different fromwhat other channels andnewspapers presented at the sametime. Understandably, the ban waswidely condemned by journalistsand editors with all press councilsdrawing parallels to the Emergencyof the 1970s when basicconstitutional rights including thefreedom of the press were blatantly

violated. At the last minute, thegovernment lifted the ban.

The Editors’ Guild of India thensaid that the one-day ban by thegovernment was unprecedented andthat the centre appeared to havegiven itself the power “to intervenein the functioning of the media andtake arbitrary punitive action as andwhen it does not agree with thecoverage.” Defending the ban,Information and BroadcastingMinister Venkaiah Naidu said thatit was “in the interest of thecountry’s security” and that thebarrage of criticism confronted bythe government appeared to be“politically inspired.”

Even on the recent raids by CBI,Naidu’s reaction is, more or less,the same. Denying that there wasno political interference on the raids,Naidu has said: “If somebody doessomething wrong, simply becausethey belong to media, you cannotexpect the government to keepquiet.” He said that the law wastaking its course.

I am not against the law takingits own course. But I, like otherjournalists, would want to knowwhat the channel has done to invitethe wrath of the government or, forthat matter, Prime Minister Modi.It is obvious that this action couldnot have been taken without theconsent from the top. TheInformation and BroadcastingMinister is only the hatchet person.After all, he would have to carryout the orders coming from above.

The government has been usingsedition laws to silence dissentingvoices. And there are over 51freedom of information activistshave been found murdered sincethe law came to force in 2005.

NDTV’s news coverage has riledup members of Modi’s Hindunationalist BJP, many of whomaccuse the network of being anti-BJP. Days before the raid, anNDTV news anchor had sparredwith the BJP’s national spokesmanSambit Patra on air and asked himto leave her show for his accusationthat NDTV had an “agenda.”

On one hand, Modi talks ofstrengthening democracy. But on theother hand, he is doing everythingto weaken it. In his favourite ‘MannKi Baat,’ Modi said the other daythat for a lively democracy, healthycriticisms are immensely important.However, every action emanatingfrom his government, particularly theattacks on the media, smacks ofauthoritarianism. The magic hecasts on the people is graduallyvanishing. The sooner he realizesthe better it would be for him andhis supporters.

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Section 12(1)(c) of the Right ofChildren to Free and CompulsoryEducation Act 2009 of Governmentof India offers free education tochildren belonging to disadvantagedgroups, based on weaker caste andhealth status of parents, and weakersections, based on poor economiccriterion, from classes I to VIII.Admission of 31 children wasordered by the District Magistrateof Lucknow in the academic year2015-16 to Indira Nagar branch ofCity Montessori School, whichfigures in the Guinness book ofworld record for being the biggestschool in the world. The founder-manager of this school, JagdishGandhi, and his educationistdaughter Geeta Gandhi Kingdonrefused to admit the children. It wasafter a long drawn battle in HighCourt that CMS was forced to admit13 of the 31 children who livedwithin a kilometre of the school,which was described as thedefinition of ‘neighbourhood’, acriterion students needed to fulfill forseeking admission. The schoolknocked the doors of SupremeCourt but it refused to entertainJagdish Gandhi the way High Courthad done him, indicating his influenceon the judges in Lucknow. JagdishGandhi is known to oblige allinfluential people in the governmentset up by offering concession in feesto their children. The higher up theofficial is placed the more theconcession, following an invertedsystem of offering concession infees to a need based system.

Then came academic year 2016-17. The obstinacy of CMS sent a

message that private schools couldafford to take the admission orderslightly and make the parents run.CMS refused admission to 55children, Navyug Radiance School,run by Bhartiya Janata Party leaderand businessman Sudhir Halwasiya,to 25 children, City InternationalSchool, run by Jagdish Gandhi’sanother daughter Sunita Gandhi, to12 children, two branches of St.Mary’s Intermediate College to 11children and Dr. Virendra SwaroopPublic School to two children.Navyug Radiance and VirendraSwaroop schools expelled twochildren each after admitting them.In all 105 children were deniedadmission in 2016-17 and it is ashame that the administration andcourt didn’t intervene.

In the academic year 2017-18these schools continue to refuse toadmit children under the RTE Act.Dr. Virendra Swaroop Public Schoolhas number of branches in Kanpur.They are refusing admissions inKanpur as well. In addition ChintalPublic School and Stepping StonePublic School are also refusing toadmit children there.

Thus the number of schoolswhich feel emboldened to defy theorder of DM so far as RTEadmissions are concerned is goingup every year. These influentialprivate schools are making amockery of the RTE Act and theadministration and court are in noposition to ensure compliance of theDM’s order by these schools. Itgoes to show how much powerthese private schools wield.

Jagdish Gandhi, the main culpritin the above process, has perfecteda method of obliging influentialpeople, including from the media, bygiving significant concession orwaiving the fees altogether for theirchildren. He knows the art ofbecoming close to politicians inpower, irrespective of the politicalparties. He was close to theprevious Chief Minister AkhileshYadav in U.P. and has alreadyinvited the central Minister forHuman Resources DevelopmentPrakash Javdekar to an event in hisschool. 72 children from his schoolwill be participating in theInternational Yoga Day event inDelhi with the Prime Minister.

There is only one way in whichthe parents can be freed from theclutches of private schools. If the2015 Allahabad High Courtjudgement of Justice SudhirAgarwal that children of peoplereceiving salaries from governmentsalaries must necessarily study ingovernment schools is implementedthen the quality of governmentschools will improve and commonpeople will have an option ofsending their children to governmentschools for education. According tothe Right of Children to Free andCompulsory Education Act 2009 itis the right of every child in Indiato receive free education and this ispossible only in government schoolsystem. It is not possible for privateschools to cater to all the childreneven if admissions are securedunder section 12(1)(c) for free for


Fast to Free Education From the Clutches of Private Schools

Sandeep Pandey


Universal Basic IncomeAntidote to Poverty, Inequality

Mrinal K. Biswas

The idea of universal basicincome (UBI) has dawned on thecountry’s horizon. An opportunityhas opened up to apply a measureof UBI solely for the adult womento cast aside the gender curse inaddition to bestowing upon them asense of dignity, a real feeling ofequality, an autonomy all togetherprodding the society towardspoverty alleviation. With thissingular social security measure afemale child will no longer remaina liability to the family but may beconsidered as an asset like that ofher brother baby

The age-old idea of uniform basicincome is a form of social securityin which all citizens or residents ofa country regularly receive anunconditional sum of money (cash)either from a government or someother public institution, in additionto any other income if receivedfrom elsewhere.

In the Indian context the UBI isconsidered the best option to fightpoverty menace, but costprohibitive. Even then it has foundelaborate mentions in the 2016-17Economic Survey. ArvindSubramanian, chief economicadviser to the finance ministry, thistime courageously observed “It(UBI) is an idea whose time is ripefor further deliberatioin, and notnecessarily for immediateimplementation.”

Columbia University ProfessorPranab Bardhan agrees. He hasmost prominently brought to the

fore UBI’s anti-poverty potential,particularly for adult women three-quarters of whom do not earnincome at all. A holistic UBI beinga fiscal upheaval task PranabBardhan wanted to begin it withonly for women as an experimentwithout sacrificing for them othersafety nets like ICDS, MGNREGA,mid-day meal.

Viewed from broader perspectivethe Socialists want to see UBI asan effective initiative towardsequality as well. The right topolitical equality, in its crudest form,can be measured in terms of onevote for every citizen of the country.The same citizen is similarly entitledto a form of economic equality byway of receiving an amount ofmoney as his or her minimum basicincome to meet his or her basicneeds. These may constitute theirreducible minimum requirementsof a citizen or a resident to befulfilled in a democratic polity witha tinge of egalitarian concept. Thiseconomic right consequential tocitizenship had been mentioned byutopian socialists and other historicalfigures but never given a serioustrial after the advent of overridinglabour theory of value.

In primitive times human beingswere not under governments orlandlords and hence the nature earthprovided the basic needs for theunfettered population. Resourcesincreasingly becoming scarce theiravailability to people throughdistribution and exchange cameunder some forms of administration,

which is economics. Nature givingequality then was gone. Theeconomic right consequential tocitizenship conceptualized by someearly thinkers and utopian socialistsremained in the history books.Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justiceof 1795 proposal of capital grantsfor residents reaching the age ofmajority (21 years of age) pairedwith asset-based egalitarianism andother thinkers’ contributions on thesubject have begun to stir thepeople of the recent timepreoccupied with matters of socialconcerns.

Many countries in the meantimehad introduced some forms of socialsecurity measures withstanding thecapitalist dirigiste’s pressure of nopay for no work. India with itsimmense poor population has gotplethora of social securityprogrammes - 950 central sectorand centrally sponsored schemes -emancipation is still a very long wayoff, though. According to EconomicSurvey these schemes account forabout 5 per cent of the GDP (grossdomestic product) budget allocation.A large majority of these are smallin terms of allocation with top 11schemes accounting for about 50per cent of total budgetaryprovision. Further, the survey hasproposed offering UBI as a choiceto beneficiaries of existing socialsecurity programmes, because itcould consequently not only improveliving standards, UBI could alsoimprove administrative costs andcut the leakage costs of existingprogrammes.


Architect of India’s MGNREGA(Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Act) JeanDreze disagrees. He says as thescheme ensuring 100 days of workand pay to anyone in rural areasemerges as a “well functioning”programme the choice factor (suchas UBI in place of this and suchother schemes) should not beentertained. Cost-benefit ratiocomes up in this context. EconomistMartin Ravallion of US GeorgetownUniversity working in Bihar withWorld Bank researchers decidedUBI still offers more. Referring tothe current government estimateshe says that a modest UBI -costing 2 per cent of GDP - wouldput Rs 12, 480 ($193) in the handsof a rural four-person household.This amount is larger than theaverage annual earnings of a ruralhousehold under MGNREGA. Thisis despite a steady increase in theminimum daily wages for all Statesin India because the States lack thecapacity to create millions of jobsin local areas.

It is found that 85 per cent ofIndia’s working population whilebelonging to the widest possibleunorganized sector (as homemakers,housemaids, house servants.hawkers, temporary pavement stall-owners, cooks, cobblers, coolies,scavengers, menial jobseekers,rickshwapullars, autorickshawoperators and so on) togethercontribute 40 per cent of thenational income in a very unsteady,irregular job market. They cannever complete their innings of workas they go on without any pensionbenefit and they do not enjoy aniota of governmental benefit,materially or otherwise. On someoccasions they are looked downupon in the social strata. UBI willbe a real boon for them as with

this “fallback option” they will beendowed with a kind of bargainingpower to cope with the hazards ofearnings keeping in reserve theirdignity in labour. Bardhan’simportant observation on theweakness of the country’s labourmovement hinges on the ostensibleabsence of vast laboureres of theunorganized industrial andagricultural workers whosecollective bargaining power is asgood as zero. UBI will prove to besomewhat of a corrective measure,enable them to integrate with abroad-based labour movement andwinning the power of collectivebargaining because of this newassociation.

The survey mentions that UBIcan replace several subsidy-basedsocial welfare schemes which ideais not to the liking of social scientistslike Jean Dreze. Most of all thecurrent large number ofbeneficiaries unjustly pass theeligibility marks because ofbureaucratic inefficiency andcorrupt practices. The giganticPublic Distribution System (PDS),which subsidises food for poorhouseholds, is just an example. Thegovernment estimates that 36 percent of subsidies never make it toany household and another 36 percent finds way to non-poorhouseholds. The remaining 28 percent reaches its intended the target- to India’s poorest 40 per cent.

To come back to Bardhan, themost recent estimates made at theNational Institute of Public Finance& Policy suggest that central plusState subsidies that mainly go tobetter-off people (non-meritsubsidies) amount to some 5 percent of GDP. In addition, the centralbudget alone shows ‘revenuesforegone” (primarily tax

concessions to companies) comingto about 6 per cent of GDP. PranabBardhan says even if one-third ofthese revenues foregone are madeavailable for the purpose, added tonon-merit subsidies, it comes to 7per cent of GDP potentiallyavailable for UBI. This forms asubstantial amount, more than twicethe total sum currently spent on allanti-poverty programmes.

“Tax the able and the affluent”has hardly got nodding approvalsfrom central governments, past andpresent. UK’s Nicholas Kaldorstudied India’s public finance in the1960s and recommended a slew oftax proposals unheard of in thecountry then. There was greatconsternation when the then financeminister T T K Krishnamachariwidened the tax net by includingsome of Kaldor’s proposals. Butrevenue foregone idea has gainedgrounds subsequently because ofthe supposed incentives beingoffered largely to the able andaffluent sections of people openingthe scope for them to save andinvest.

Because of this our tax-GDPratio is quite low. The real estateand property tax assessments donot match the market value at all.There are no agricultural incometax, no long-term capital gains taxin equities, no wealth and noinheritance tax. Wealthaccumulation by a few is staggeringindeed. Only 1 per cent people inIndia has grabbed 58.4 per cent ofthe country’s total wealth, secondposition holder globally in thisrespect (the first being Russia with1 per cent owning 74.5 per of thatcountry’s total wealth thougherstwhile Socialist Soviet Union wasunder 75 years of a severetotalitarian, egalitarian regime).


Abject poverty and abysmalinequality are the dual bane forIndia. UBI can extinguish absolutepoverty, UBI can establishirreducible minimum requirement ofequality in terms of basic incomefor all citizens. Gini co-efficientassumes importance in this respect.Italian economist Corrado Ginidevised a variability measure tocalculate a nation’s consumption orincome inequality. Gini co-efficienthas value 0 (zero) to 1(one), withlower co-efficient indicating moreequal distribution of consumption orincome. Zero (0) is perfectequality ands One (1) is perfectinequality.

National Council of AlliedEconomic Research (NCAER)along with Max New York LifeInsurance made an India FinancialProtection Survey (FIPS) andresults were made available in2004-05. It was found that incomeinequality had gone up and fearedthat it would go up further. At anall-India level, Gini co-efficientmoved up from 0.43 (in 1995-96)to 0.45 in 2005-05. Pranab Bardhanquoting NSS household survey data(which. he says, underestimates thewealth of the rich) pointed out thatGini co-efficient measure of assetinequality rose from 0.66 in 1991-92 to 0.75 in 2011-12 (which is nowthe Latin American norm). Thediminishing income inequalitymeasure should then start withUBI.

One needs to restate UBIprinciple that every citizen gets abasic income whether he/she isemployed or not, that citizen mayalso choose to work in order to raisestandard of living and get richsubjected to stiff tax measuresthough. Why the government shouldgive preference to giving a citizen

a basic income to any form of doleor unemployment benefit? Becausea dole like thing is humiliating andengendering in them anger againstothers and the State. An assuredbasic income will bring theirsentiments at par with others.Indeed, incomeless pent-up feelingsof humiliation and deprivation forcenturies together are now at regularintervals findinhg expressions inexplosive forms and other ways inour country. Sectoral welfareschemes will not stem the downhill.

India has hardly gone through aperiod of full employment in therecent past. The developedcountries are presently hard pressedwith jobs disappearing allegedlybecause of availability of cheapimmigrant labour or throughbusiness process outsourcing(BPO).The xenophobic ghost is nowlooming large over their horizon asa consequence. The real cause iswidespread use of automation whichis making fast inroads pushingmanpower redundant in industriesand moreover, by the West’s failureto create new jobs for millions ofnon-specialists, non-knowledgeworkers. US economist JosefStiglitz has mentioned this fact. Itis estimated that automation impactover the next 20 years will lead tothe loss of 47 per cent of all existingjobs in the US, 57 per cent inEurope, and a stunning 77 per centin China (because of which Chinais pushing hard with the mostambitious international One Belt,One Road-OBOR-project includingin it China-Pakistan EconomicCorridor-CPEC-defying India’sobjection).

Global corporate sector is worriedthat joblessness in the developedworld and jobless growth indeveloping countries like India would

make their goods and services non-saleable. They now are seencampaigning for UBI to keep goodtheir market. By a queer pitch ofhistory capitalism for the first timeis coming up in support of anessentially Left discourse which isUBI, propagated two centuries back.

children from disadvantagedcategory and weaker sectionsbecause the number of privateschools is inadequate and there islack of good private schools in ruralareas.

When Justice Sudhir Agarwal’sdecision is implemented it will be amove in the direction ofimplementing common schoolsystem, which has been arecommendation of the KothariCommission since 1968. However,no central government has cared toimplement it so far.

It is only when common schoolsystem is implemented that the childof poor will get an opportunity toget good education without whichit’ll be impossible for him/her tobreak the vicious cycle of labour.For India’s development it isnecessary that every child gets anequal opportunity for goodeducation which is now his/herfundamental right.

The Uttar Pradesh government isignoring the High Court judgement.It has so far not filed any reply tothe judgement. A ten-day fast wasorganised in June 2016 in Lucknowbut the CM Akhilesh Yadav was inno mood to annoy his bureaucracyin the election year. Anotherindefinite fast is being contemplatedfrom 19 June, 2017 to get JusticeSudhir Agarwal’s judgementimplemented.



Promoting Rural Livelihoods

D. K. Giri

Having been born and brought upin a rural village which is theconcourse of three states of India– Odisha, Jharkhand and Bengal, mypredominant mission in life was topromote rural livelihoods. My villagewas, and still is, deprived oflivelihoods of any kind for thevillagers; healthcare, education,communication, participation, riskmanagement are distant for many inthat area. Why is it so, is a questionthat should engage planners,administrators and developmentexperts. I will share myperspectives and experiences ofpromoting rural development. Thereare three agencies that are engagedin rural development – government,businesses and civil societyorganizations. One thought of beinga part of the government as a civilservant or so to work for ruraldevelopment. But the stories andexperiences from the elders cautionus about official glitches andbureaucratic red tapism, rigidities ofthe government system, let alonepilferation and corruption. Businessis not everybody’s cup of tea, it isdriven by profit and anydevelopment that is done bybusinesses is again at the behest ofthe government. The new businessethic called CSR (Corporate SocialResponsibility) is shrouded incontroversy. The third agency, civilsociety organizations popularlyknown as NGO is bit easier toengage with. It is flexible inoperation, innovative in strategy, andproximate with people. SchumacherCentre, British-origin, Indianregistered NGO, became ourvehicle for rural development.

The Centre is part of a networkof 30 organisations set up across theworld inspired by E. F.Schumacher’s thinking on livelihoodpromotion. The legendarydevelopment economist,Schumacher’s prescription consistedof three steps: first, to identifywhatever people are doing to eke outa living; second, build on the existingpractice by providing them withappropriate technology (AT). TheAT will enhance production, reducedrudgery and facilitate better marketaccess. Third, help them move fromsurvival economy to disposableincome. The extra income will helpthem access health care, secureeducation, increase mobility andparticipation, and increase riskreduction. This in fact is a fairdefinition of a decent livelihood.

At Schumacher Centre, armedwith this simple and unique livelihoodapproach, we started implementingprojects in rural areas. But we cameup against the globalizing tendenciesof the market where Schumacherian‘small is beautiful’ was endangeredas big is better became the newnorm, the global (big) companieswere tapping the rural marketfollowing G. K. Prahlad’s ‘bottom ofthe pyramid’ approach. This trendhad to be reversed. Rural economywas being squeezed out of themarket and was being replaced byglobal companies, penetrating withvarious consumer products bymanipulating the taste and choicethrough aggressive advertisement.Schumacher Centre developed amodel which will reverse this trendwhen rural producers sell in the

global market. A model called ‘SocialBusiness’ was created whereindividual producers come togetherin a company, which aggregate theirproduce to a industrial volume. Theyengage social mobilisers like NGOsto keep the flock of large number ofproducers, ideally up to 500, in asingle cohesive company; theyappoint marketing and qualityexperts to negotiate competitiveprice, and manage the value chain.The other speciality of social businessis a ‘tri-sector partnership’ in whichthe government, businesses and civilsociety support and sustain the socialbusiness. Since the primarystakeholders in this business are poorvillagers, this model has both a socialpurpose and a business enterprise.

In order to implement the socialbusiness model, we approached theGovernment of India, namelyDepartment of Science andTechnology (DST) to support usunder their transfer of technologyscheme. Since the business was ofincense stick making, weapproached the Odisha governmentbamboo agency, OBDA, andcompanies dealing with incensesticks. With the ri-sector partnershipin place, we looked for the field inOdisha as Schumacher Centre hadbeen involved in Odisha bamboosector for quite some time. The DSTadvised us to choose a place in thedistrict of Jajpur, which had beenidentified as one of the poorestdistricts by the then PlanningCommission. With the support ofOdisha State Progressive Women’sForum, it was not difficult to locatewomen’s groups with the potential


of being a social business. Welocated a village, Alipur, some 80 kmfrom Cuttack.

The project has been in operationfor about a year. It is not working asefficiently as it was envisaged andis hobbling along with all the financialand technical support, a soundstrategy, and a powerful brand likeSchumacher, why is the project slowand sluggish? We made a visit to findout and give it a renewed push. As Iwrite this, I am in the field and wantto share the bottlenecks we face interms of work culture of the state,laid back attitude of the technocrats,cynicism of the bureaucrats, andfrog-in-the-well intellectuals. Odisha,a resource rich state remains poor.A Minister in the government told meonce; Odisha is rich undergroundand poor over ground. Before wecome to some conclusion, let mereflect on some encounters I hadwith top people from the sectors Ijust mentioned including one commonman.

The first person I met was abusinessman from Odisha, youngish,ambitious and enterprising. He haslots of ideas on how to expand anybusiness in a big country like India.He feels that anybody with bignumbers, whether it is employee,offices, franchisee, etc is thesuccessful one. TATA Companyseems to have maximum employeesand a more diversified business andso is on the top. He is contemplatingdigital marketing, secure humanresource supply, multiple legalservices, building malls for rentingout to big outlets, and so on. I wasimpressed with his ideas and ambitionbut was wondering, with my limitedbusiness sense, how he wouldexecute them all. I was reminded ofan English friend’s cryptic remark,“Indians are big in thinking and short

in execution”. However, not todampen the spirit of my businessfriend, I invited him to give me ahand on the social business.

The next person I met was a topeconomist of Odisha. He has beenin important state committees likeplanning board, state financecommission, state farmerscommission, and now a vice-chancellor. He has writtenextensively on Odisha economy. Iwas discussing with him thecontinuing poverty in Odisha andpossible measures to alleviate it. Hewas lamenting the lack of workculture in Odisha. He himself wasfinding it difficult to recruit a personalassistant, in spite of a campusaccommodation and a decent salaryby Odisha standards. Not manywere coming forward to work thehours required in the University. Itwas incredible to me as dearth ofjobs is the usual complaint. Here itwas shortage of human resource. Isuggested to him and his officials thata university should do developmentprojects in order to connect with thecommunities. University educationtends to be abstract without validatingthe ideas on the ground. He is alsoconsidering his university’sinvolvement in our social businessproject.

My third stop was with thegovernment officials. Two seniorgovernment officers of the Odishaforest department who have beenone way or the other connected withthe project. They are well meaning,keen and conscientious officers.They were frustrated for not beingable to do much within theconstraints of the governmentmachinery. They reveal every timeI met then including this time thatvery few people want to work. Andin government set up they do

meetings after meetings but littlework follows such meetings. Theywere well disposed to the project butnot very optimistic. I wasn’tsurprised.

My encounter with the taxi driverwas instructive of the things as theyare. As per my habit, I pickconversations with common men andwomen on the street. In thedevelopment sector they are theprime targets and primarystakeholders. The taxi driver ferryingme around in Bhubaneswar askedme if I was supportive of thegovernment of India’s economicpolicies including the controversialnote ban. Instead of me giving a so-called scholarly analysis, I preferredto hear his views. He needed nocajoling and was forthright in hisviews. He strongly felt fromwherever he had gathered theimpression that Modi was doing allthis to benefit only a few businesshouses. He said that the primebeneficiary of note ban was RelianceCompany. Honestly, I could not payso much attention to listen to hisexplanation but the general feelingthroughout the country is that the bigbusiness is indeed benefitting fromModi’s policies and India’s so-calledfast economic growth. The small andmedium sector is left high and dry.Another feature that caught ourattention was that Bhubaneswar wasexpanding in to the thick of the farmlands. We had to cross a big stretchof farm land just outside the city toreach the university. The taxi driverexplained that if the black money andthe builders were not stopped in theirtracks all the green fields we wereseeing would have disappeared. Iasked him if checking the builderswas good or not, he was ambivalenton the farmers issue. He saidwhether they have the land or not,in the ultimate analysis they are the


Impact of globalisation and tradeon equity

The ideology of neo-classicaleconomists that liberalization oflabour laws to reduce wagerigidities in the Third World wouldaffect development seems to havegone against it. The UNCTADreport noted above after a reviewof the theories, has come to theconclusion that, “these alternativeviews, by challenging theconventional wisdom that risinginequality is the normal result ofdevelopment within marketeconomies, may contribute to a newunderstanding of the functioning ofa market economy, and can lead toa paradigm shift towards a patternof economic development that isboth more equitable and moreefficient”. The report has noted thatthe trade between advanced and thedeveloping countries has causedinequalities in the latter. Theestimates of proportion of topquintile share of income to thebottom quintile show that inequalitiesare higher in developing countriesthan in developed countries like theUK. It is supported by the Giniratios (measure of inequality)ranging from 35 per cent in theUSA to 50 per cent in Malaysia, and

Realising an Equitable and Prosperous India needsa Paradigm Shift - II

K. S. Chalam

India coming in between with 32.5per cent.

The report notes that inequalityof personal income distribution isgenerally more pronounced indeveloping countries than indeveloped or transition economies.As in developed countries, theincome gap narrowed during thefirst three decades after the SecondWorld War, but between 1980 and2000 there was a general increasein inequality in all developingregions. The observations of thereport on FDI are mixed. Theprescriptions proposed byUNCTAD are radical and goagainst the fundamentalist ideas ofthe neoliberals: “Since the turn ofthe millennium, trends in incomedistribution have diverged amongdeveloping regions. Greater taxationof wealth and inheritance is apotential source of public revenuethat can be tapped in manydeveloped and developing countriesto reduce inequality of both incomeand wealth distribution and enlargethe government’s fiscal space. “Forexample, taxes on real estate, largelandholdings, luxury durable goodsand financial assets are normallyeasier to collect than taxes onpersonal income, and can represent

an important source of revenue incountries that have high inequalityof income and wealth distribution. Inresource-rich developing countries,incomes from exploitation of naturalresources and gains resulting fromrising international commodity pricesare another important source ofpublic revenue. “By appropriatingtheir fair share of commodity rents,especially in the oil and miningsectors, governments in suchdeveloping countries can ensure thattheir natural resource wealthbenefits the entire population andnot just a few domestic and foreignactors”. It is hoped that theprospective governments of thefuture should take this advice in rightearnest.

Along with the report, one needsto look at the two most importantinfluential books on economics thatappeared during 2012-14. The MITand Harvard economists DaronAcemoglu and James A Robinsonbook on “Why Nations Fail”, andThomas Piketty book on “Capital inthe Twenty-First Century” areworth mentioning here. Acemogluand Robinson have established intheir work how inclusive institutionsare responsible for prosperity anddevelopment as against

losers. This speaks of Odishaeconomy as the state is sparselypopulated with lot of land yet it ispoor because agriculture istraditional, even primitive,unmechanised and non-commercialized. Small land holdersoutside the land reforms are

impoverished.

I came to the conclusion thatthroughout India people are alwayswaiting for leaders and messiahs.India is a populous country: massesof people but not many leaders. InOdisha, leaders or role models do

not exist in many fields includingrural development. We hope that thesocial business model initiated bySchumacher Centre for livelihoodpromotion becomes a replicablesuccess story. It has the ingredientsto be so, if only we can overcomethe work inertia.


authoritarian states. Some critics saythat India being a democratic statelagged behind China and othersappear to be the lack of reflectionof experts on the socially exclusiveand undemocratic institutions ofIndia that have driven as a causalfactor for underdevelopment andnot the spirit of democracy.

Thomas Piketty’s book on Capitalaccording to Paul Krugman is apowerful case of how patrimonialcapitalism is re-emerging throughinherited wealth. Piketty has madea simple calculation as to how thedifference between the growth rateof profit and growth rate of GDPlead to inequality in many countries.By definition Piketty noted that “inall societies income inequality is theresult of adding up of income fromlabour and income from capital,statistically the greater thecorrelation, the greater totalinequality.” Providing data fromScandinavia, US and Europe on thethree variables, he inferred that inthe egalitarian societies likeScandinavia, inequality is less and inUS and Europe it is high andmedium. He noted that, “to judgethe inequality of a society, it is notenough to observe that someindividuals earn very high incomes.For example, to say that the incomescale goes from 1 to 10’ or even ‘1to 100’ does not actually tell us verymuch. We also need to know howmany people earn the incomes ateach level. The scale of income(wealth) going to the top decile is auseful index for judging howunequal society is, because itreflects not just the existence ofextremely high incomes orextremely large fortunes but also thenumber of individuals who enjoysuch rewards. He has introducedthe concept of patrimonial capitalismas a result of inherited income that

is due to the property rights and thehighly paid super managers fromAnglo-Saxon countries. Hecompares the Forbes millionaire’swealth at $5.4 trillion with SovereignWealth fund of $ 5.3 trillion ($3.2 Trof OPEC) as the two entities thatmay ultimately own the world.Speaking the language of humanrights and social state, Pikettymentioned that modern redistributiondoes not consist in transferringincome from the rich to the poor, atleast not in so explicit way. Itshould, therefore, consist of ratherfinancing public services andreplacement of incomes that aremore or less equal for everyone,especially in the areas of health,education and pensions. The rightsolution in reducing inequity isprogressive annual tax on capital.He sounds like a social democrat.We have in India Nehru, Ambedkar,Lohia and several other indigenousthinkers who provided solutions toour iniquitous society throughconstitutional morality. It seems thepolitical class and their cronies injudiciary and executive consisting ofthe Dvija community had conspiredagainst the Constitution and allowedfraud. They were supported by thepaid intellectuals of the samecategory who theorised andformulated the present paradigm ofdevelopment. The total agreementon the contours of developmentmodel by the political classirrespective of political party is acritical moment in the history ofIndia. There is a need to changethis model or paradigm to help thecommon man and the poor to getrelief from the vulnerability offurther inequities and socialtensions.

Need for a paradigm shift

The neo-classical economic

rhetoric with the influence ofWorld Bank and IMF, policies forthe benefit of MNCs led the worldto get back to protectionism onceagain. But, we in India had adifferent paradigm or frameworkof growth through the process ofplanning commission. Though themodel did not bring rapid growth,it had not widened inequalities aswe observe in recent timesparticularly after 1991. As notedin the Tables one per cent of thetop richer section control 58.4 percent of wealth and top 10 percent81 per cent of the country’swealth. This has happened afterthe implementation of the NewEconomic Policy that benefittedlargely the upper social class.Therefore there is a need to relookat our present growth models.

The founding fathers of ournation and leaders of theConstituent Assembly havedeliberated upon the issues ofsocial and economic inequalities inour society and provided solutionswithout affecting our prosperity.In addition to the preamble wheresocialism, secularism anddemocracy are enshrined as goalsof our nation, the DirectivePrinciples of State Policy in Art 38,39, 41, 42, 43, 46 are consideredas instruments of instruction inmaking laws to achieve theconstitutional goals. These goalsare aimed to bring equality,fraternity and prosperity.

Conclusion

India has experienced moderndemocratic life throughparliamentary process with awritten Constitution to guide ourefforts. The history of the countrybeing pluralistic and diverse ingeography and in societal features


has been experiencing widedisparities both in our economicand social life. Economists whohave been deliberating on theissues of growth and justice haverealised that institutions that werenot inclusive and relied on theaccumulation and distribution ofwealth through marketmechanisms have furtheraccentuated inequities. The dataon poverty, income, socialoppression and related issues inIndia have not supported the thesisthat a rapid economic growthwould reduce inequalities andoppression automatically. It cansafely be vouched that asdeviation from our constitutionaland inherited legacy of planningfor growth with justice takes placedue to external and internalpressure, the disparities anddespairs are widening. Socialdemocracy and adhering toconstitutional morality might helpus not to get into the trap ofPatrimonial Capitalism or cronycapitalism that does not fit in toour ethos.

Appendix I

Martha Nussbaum’s the CentralHuman Capabilities

1. Life. Being able to live to theend of a human life of normallength; not dying prematurely, orbefore one’s life is so reduced as tobe not worth living.

2. Bodily Health. Being able tohave good health, includingreproductive health; to beadequately nourished; to haveadequate shelter.

3. Bodily Integrity. Being able tomove freely from place to place; tobe secure against violent assault,

including sexual assault anddomestic violence; havingopportunities for sexual satisfactionand for choice in matters ofreproduction.

4. Senses, Imagination, andThought. Being able to use thesenses, to imagine, think, and reason– and to do these things in ‘trulyhuman’a way, informed andcultivated by an adequate education,including, but by no means limitedto, literacy and basic mathematicaland scientific training.

Being able to use imagination andthought in connection withexperiencing and producing worksand events of one’s own choice,religious, literary, musical, and soforth. Being able to use one’s mindin ways protected by guarantees offreedom of expression with respectto both political and artistic, speech,and freedom of religious exercise.Being able to have pleasurableexperiences and to avoid non-beneficial pain.

5. Emotions. Being able to haveattachments to things and peopleoutside ourselves; to love thosewho love and care for us, to grieveat their absence; in general, tolove, to grieve, to experiencelonging, gratitude, and justifiedanger. Not having one’s emotionaldevelopment blighted by fear andanxiety. (Supporting this capabilitymeans supporting forms of humanassociation that can be shown tobe crucial in their development.)

6. Practical Reason. Being ableto form a conception of the goodand to engage in critical reflectionabout the planning of one’s life.(This entails protection for theliberty of conscience and religiousobservance.)

7. Affiliation. A. Being able tolive with and toward others, torecognize and show concern forother human beings, to engage invarious forms of social interaction;to be able to imagine the situationof another. (Protecting thesecapabilities as fundamentalentitlements capability meansprotecting institutions that constituteand nourish such forms of affiliation,and also protecting the freedom ofassembly and political speech.) B.Having the social bases of self-respect and non- humiliation; beingable to be treated as a dignifiedbeing whose worth is equal to thatof others. This entails provisions ofnon-discrimination on the basis ofrace, sex, sexual orientation,ethnicity, caste, religion, nationalorigin.

8. Other Species. Being able tolive with concern for and in relationto animals, plants, and the world ofnature.

9. Play. Being able to laugh, toplay, to enjoy recreational activities.

10. Control Over One’sEnvironment. A. Political. Beingable to participate effectively inpolitical choices that govern one’slife; having the right of politicalparticipation, protections of freespeech and association. B.Material. Being able to holdproperty (both land and movablegoods), and having property rightson an equal basis with others;having the right to seekemployment on an equal basis withothers; having the freedom fromunwarranted search and seizure.In work, being able to work as ahuman being, exercising practicalreason, and entering intomeaningful relationships of mutualrecognition with other workers.


2011-12 1993-94 2004-05 2011-12 1993-94 to 2004-05 to2004-05 2011-12

Rural

ST 11.1 65.9 62.3 45.3 3.7 16.9

SC 20.8 62.4 53.5 31.5 8.9 22.0

OBC 45.0 44.0 39.8 22.7 9.0 17.1

FC 23.0 27.1 15.5 11.6

All 100.0 50.3 41.8 25.4 8.5 16.4

Urban

ST 3.5 41.1 35.5 24.1 5.6 11.4

SC 14.6 51.7 40.6 21.7 11.1 18.8

OBC 41.6 28.2 30.6 15.4 5.8 15.2

FC 40.3 16.1 8.1 8.0

All 100.0 31.9 25.7 13.7 6.2 12.0

Rural+Urban

ST 8.9 63.7 60.0 43.0 3.7 17.0

SC 19.0 60.5 50.9 29.4 9.6 21.5

OBC 44.1 39.5 37.8 20.7 8.1 17.1

FC 28.0 23.0 12.5 10.5

All 100.0 45.7 37.7 22.0 8.0 15.7

Source:PanagariyaandMore(2013)

Table - 1

Poverty by Social Groups, 1993-94 to 2011-12

Social Share in Percent Population Below Percentage PointGroups Population Tendulkar Committee Poverty Line Poverty Reduction

Table - 3

Gender Inequality Index and other components for Selected Countries : 2013

Countries Gender Inequality Index MMR2010 25+female 15+femal(deathper1l population elabourfoakhlifebirth Withatle rcepartici

astSome pationrateSecondary Education%

Argentina 0.381 74 77 57.0 47.3

RussianFed. 0.314 52 34 89.6 57.0

Brazil 0.441 85 56 51.9 59.5

China 0.202 37 37 58.7 63.8

Indonesia 0.500 103 220 39.9 51.3

SouthAfrica 0.461 94 300 72.7 44.2

India 0.563 127 200 26.6 28.8

Source:HDR2014quotedinEconomicSurvey2014-15,GOI


Table 4

Main Offences and Atrocities Committed Against theScheduled Castes (1979–2013)

Crime Category 1979 1983 1993 1997 1999 2013

Murder 388 525 510 513 506 676

Grievous Hurt 1,441 1,362 NA 3,860 3,241 4,901

Rape 430 641 798 1,037 1,000 2,073

Arson 10,313 982 369 389 337 189

Other Offences, 10,703 11,324 23,296 22,145 20,009 31,569*

& PCR ACT

Total 13,975 14,834 24,973 27,944 25,093 39,408Source: Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of India, 2014.

Table - 2

Human Development Index(HDI)and Inequality Adjusted Human DevelopmentIndex(IHDI) and Loss

States HDI IHDI Loss (%) RankHDI Rank IHDI

A.P. 0.485 0.332 31.6 19 20

Bihar 0.447 0.303 32.1 26 24Chattisgarh 0.458 0.297 35.1 24 25

Gujarat 0.514 0.363 29.5 15 13

Jharkhand 0.470 0.312 33.7 21 21

Karnataka 0.508 0.353 30.5 18 18

Kerala 0.625 0.520 16.8 1 1

M.P. 0.451 0.290 35.7 25 27

Maharashtra 0.549 0.397 27.8 7 8

Odisha 0.442 0.296 33.1 27 26

Punjab 0.569 0.410 28.0 4 4

Rajasthan 0.468 0.308 34.0 23 22

TamilNadu 0.544 0.396 27.3 9 9

U.P. 0.468 0.307 34.5 22 23

WestBeng. 0.509 0.360 29.3 17 14

All India 0.504 0.343 32.0 — —

Source: Suryanarayana(2013)

The Source of record of crime against Dalits—National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi.

*Includes SC, ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.


Table -5SES Survey GoI-Deprivation Indices

Total Households in the Country = 24.39 Crore

Total Rural Households = 17.91 Crore

Households Excluded = 7.05 Crore (39.49%)

Automatically Included = 16.50 lakh (0.92 %)

Considered for Deprivation = 10.69 Crore

Not reporting Deprivation = 2.00 Crore

Household With Deprivations = 8.69 Crore

Era Sezhiyan No More

Veteran politician and formerParliamentarian Era Sezhiyanpassed away on 6th June 2017 atVellore near Chennai after a briefillness. He was living for someyears in the Vellore Institute ofTechnology (VIT) run byG. Viswanathan, his closeassociate since his DMK days.Hewas 94.

Era Sezhiyan was born on 28 April1923, at Thirukkannapuram,Thanjavur District of MadrasProvince (now Tamil Nadu state).Born as R. Srinivasan, he changedhis name to Sezhiyan on the lines ofDravidian leaders who opted forTamil names instead of Sanskritisednames. After graduation fromAnnamalai University, Sezhiyan and

his elder brother Nedunzhiyan bothwere attracted towards the leaderC. N. Annadurai (fondly called“Anna”) who founded, in 1949, thepolitical party - DMK. He was veryclose to DMK founder C.N.Annadurai and DMK leader M.Karunanidhi. In his autobiographyNenjukkuNeethi, Karunanidhi hasrecalled that both Nedunchezhian

(concluded)

Households with at least 1Deprivation = 8.69 crore (48.49%)

Households with at least 2 Deprivation = 5.33 Crore (29.78 %)


Households with at least 4 Deprivation = 0.69 Crore (3.87%)

Households with at least 5 Deprivation = 0.14 Crore (0.80%)


Households with all the 7 Deprivations = 12,909 (0.01%)

D1. Households with only one room, kaccha walls and kacha roof; D2. No adult members between ages of 16 and 59D3. Female headed households with no adult male member between 16 and 59; D4. Households with disabled member and noable bodied member D5. SC/ST Households D6. Households with no literate adult above 25 years D7. Landless householdsderiving a major part of their income from manual casual labour.


and Sezhiyan walked all the wayfrom their village Vadakandam toattend his marriage.

Both of them were the foundingmembers of the DMK. He jointlyedited the Anna’s Dravida Nadumagazine Manramin 1937 itself withhis brother. Though Nedunchezhianlater joined the AIADMK launchedby MGR, Sezhiyan chose to involvehimself in the Janata Party as he wasattracted by Jayaprakash Narayan’spolitical ideals. He also functionedas the president of the Janata party’sTamil Nadu unit.”Era Sezhian did notshare his brother’s views and stayedaway from the MDMK founded bythe latter at one point. He also didnot take the AIADMK seriously.When I requested him to become thepresidium chairman of the MDMKlaunched by Mr. Vaiko, he politelyturned down the offer,” said K.Thirunavukkarasu, historian of theDravidian movement.Thirunavukkarasu further said that“Anna used to say when everyoneseeks his advice on family andpolitical matters, he would look upto Sezhiyan’s counsel.”

C. N. Annadurai made EraSezhiyan as a candidate of its DMKparty in the 1962 general election inthe Perambalur Constituency ofTrichy District and got him electedto the House of the People (LokSabha).He represented the DMK inthe LokSabha between 1962 and1977 and the Janata Party in theRajyaSabha between 1978 and 1984.

Jayaprakash Narayan regardedSezhiyan as a finest if not, the bestParliamentarian of the times andincluded him in the NationalCoordination Committee whichformed the base of Janata Morchaalong with senior leaders in theopposition against the undemocratic

1975-77 Emergency. Evading thearrest warrant of the Delhi Police,Sezhiyan became the focal point ofthe Opposition. In 1978, at therequest of then Prime MinisterMoraji Desai, Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister M G Ramachandransupported with the strength ofAIADMK in the Assembly to sendSezhiyan to the Council of the States(Rajya Sabha) as Janata Partycandidate.

A man of integrity and outstandingintellect, he shunned publicity andpositions. He refused the offer madeby the then Union Finance MinisterH.M. Patel to become the chairmanof the Life Insurance Corporation ofIndia (LIC) in 1978. He also turneddown the offers of Governor’s postoffered during the National Frontgovernment led by V.P. Singh.

Era Sezhiyan contested his lastparliamentary election during 1984Lok Sabha polls but lost to Congresscandidate, actress VaijayanthimalaBali in South Madras constituency.His last association with a politicalparty was Lok Shakthi founded byRamakrishna Hegde. In 2001,Sezhiyan retired from active partypolitics but continued to write articlesin leading English and Tamil dailiesand journals on the matter of publicimportance.

Era Sezhiyan was an outstandingparliamentarian. He was at his bestwhenever the official languagequestion comes up before the House.His 20-minute speech on this subjectwas punctuated by as many as 25interruptions, apart from steadyhecklings by protagonists of Hindi.With patience and perseverance, hehunts for government circulars andinstructions to support his questionsaimed at proving that there is a subtleimposition of Hindi on non-Hindi

speaking states.His speeches inParliament were published as a book,Parliament for the People.

He once said in the Lok Sabhathat “Delhi is known to be thegraveyard of many empires. Letnot… one more graveyard be dughere by this measure,” he saidduring a debate on the anti-secessionBill. When a Congress member said,“Many empires in the South alsohave gone to the grave,” Sezhiyanretorted, “Any empire notrepresenting the people is bound togo that way.”

As Chairman of Public AccountsCommittee (1971-73), he presenteda record number of 96 Reports toParliament. On a constitutional issue,he won his case in 1974 in MadrasHigh Court against the UnionGovernment.

Era Sezhiyan republished thereport of the Shah Commissionconstituted to go into various kindsof excesses committed during theEmergency under the title ‘ShahCommission Report Lost andRegained’ in 2010. His recent book“Parliament for The People”received wide welcome from theleaders of all parties and public. Itwas Sezhiyan and Murasoli Maranwho prepared a report on therecommendations of JusticeRajamannar on Centre-Staterelationships.

Era Sezhiyan was a brilliantstudent. Parliament Gallerypublished by The Hindu in 1964described him as a brilliant studentof mathematics with statistics asspecial subject who topped the listin the University examinations. Healso held a diploma in French.

– Qurban Ali





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Vol. 72 No. 22June 18, 2017




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BJP Strategy for 2019Rajindar Sachar

The Danger of beingUrjit Patel

Mrinal K. Biswas

Research in India on FinlandB. Vivekanandan

Samajwadi ShikshakTraining Camp - A Report

Raushal Heena Anand

THE BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP)cannot hide its anti-Muslim fangs.Instead of building consensus behindthe candidature of Hamid Ansari forpresidentship, the party has appointedits top three leaders to find acandidate who commands theconsent of most political parties.

I cannot understand what is wrongwith vice-president Ansari. He hashandled the RajyaSabha extremelywell and before that he made theAligarh Muslim University a reallythriving academic institution duringhis tenure as the vice-chancellor. Hiserudition is beyond doubt and hiscommitment to secularism is withoutany blemish.

The non-BJP parties have cometogether to adopt vice-presidentAnsari who is acceptable to allparties. It would be embarrassingfor him to be the opposition candidatewhen he is the country’s vice-president. Dr Abdul Kalam, formerPresident, was the popular choice ofseveral opposition parties for asecond term but had to face a similarpredicament before pulling out. So,all that he got was the re-naming ofthe Aurangzeb Road as Dr AbdulKalam Road.

Criterion for Presidents’

Kuldip Nayar

The BJP is ultimately going to tickthe choice of the RSS. It hasindicated that it would keep in mindthe secular ethos of the county. Butit is neither here nor there becausewhen it comes to selecting a personfor the top constitutional post, aMuslim candidate would be far fromthe thought of the RSS.

It would ultimately depend onPrime Minister NarndraModi tonudge the party to choose a personof his choice. And from the speechesmade by the BJP president, AmitShah, quite clearly indicated that theperson thus chosen would beanybody but a Muslim. He has beentouring the different parts of thecountry, including the southern states,and exhorting that the choice of apresidential candidate should besomeone who is acceptable to theruling party.

The two houses of parliament andthe state legislatures which comprisethe Electoral College suggest that theBJP will have its way. The BJP’sappointment of a three-membercommittee—Rajnath Singh,ArunJaitley and Venkaiah Naidu—who are part of Prime MinisterModi’s cabinet, makes it clear that


the party’s top leadership willultimately decide who should go toRashtrapatiBhavan.

Speaker SumitraMahajan, whowas initially, supported by the rulingparty has been dropped. She is notbeing considered by either the DMKor the AIADMK. Understandably,the person has to be acceptable tothe southern states like Andhra,Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Naduand Kerala.

Even L.K. Advani looked like thecandidate of the BJP. Probably, thecourt verdict on Babri masjiddemolition may have forced theparty to look elsewhere as he hasbeen charged as being a part of aconspiracy to destroy the masjid.Over the years, the rough ends inAdvani had been rounded off and heis more like a person who went toKarachi and laid a wreath at themausoleum of Qaid-e-AzamMohammad Ali Jinnah.

If one were to look back,controversies between the Presidentand Prime Ministers have not beenrare. Of the seven previouspresidents, only Dr. Zakir Hussainand Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed left officewithout any public confrontation.Zakir Hussain, who died in harness,confined himself to scholarly pursuitswhile Ahmed was one of the mostpliable heads of state India has everhad. It was during his tenure that theEmergency was declared and hesigned the proclamation withoutverifying whether it had the Cabinetapproval or not.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehruand DrRajendra Prasad had manyconstitutional run-ins. Dr S.Radhakrishnan had even succeededin getting defence minister KrishnaMenon sacked after India’s debacle

at the hands of the Chinese in 1962.In 1967, Radhakrishnanembarrassed the ruling Congress byallowing the Swatantra Party toparade its MLAs inRashtrapatiBhavan to prove theirmajority in the Rajasthan assembly.

Even V.V. Giri, a prominent tradeunionist who was elected with thehelp of Indira Gandhi, then CongressPresident, to the presidency, oftenexpressed his reservations over anti-labour legislations. Thus he objectedwhen the Centre wanted to dismissstriking Railway employees. He alsoregistered his protest over thesupersession of Supreme Courtjudges.

Then acting president B.D. Jatti,who succeeded Giri temporarily,proved more assertive. Whenrequested by the Janata governmentto sign the ordinance dissolving nineassemblies in states ruled by theCongress, Jatti prevaricated,pleading that the Centre had nopowers to prematurely dissolve duly-elected assemblies without properreason. Then Prime Minister MorarjiDesai was forced to hold out thethreat of his resignation if Jattidelayed the ordinance and the JanataParty even organised angrydemonstrations against thePresident.

Matters hardly improved evenafter the Janata Party installedSanjiva Reddy. Reddy and Desaicould not get along and the latterprevented the President from goingabroad even on ceremonial visits.Reddy, nursing a grouse against theJanata government, madeconstitutional history when he invitedCharan Singh to form a governmentafter Morarji Desai lost his majorityin the LokSabha. Reddy set yetanother precedent when he

dissolved the LokSabha on theadvice of a prime minister who couldnot prove his majority. Even ZailSingh installed Rajiv Gandhi soonafter Mrs Gandhi’s assassinationeven before he was elected to theparliamentary party. It is anothermatter that both -Zail Singh and RajivGandhi - were at loggerheads moreoften than not.

I wish Pranab Mukherjee hadutilized his term to erase the decisionwhich he took during the Emergency.He was the right-hand man of SanjayGandhi, an extra-constitutionalauthority. Hence, his name will notgo down well in the history. Like hispredecessors, he too was mired incontroversies particularly when hepublished a book while in office. Hecould have waited for his retirementto pen down experience atRashtrapatiBhavan.

Meanwhile, the presentgovernment at the centre mustexplain how secularism can survivewhen softHindutva is spreading inthe country. By elevating Ansari as President the BJP would haveassured the people that the country’sethos cannot go astray and do thingswhich do not fit into the idea of India:democratic and secular.

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Raj Nath, the Union HomeMinister, speaking proudly of theachievements of three years of theModi Government proclaimed, “Wehave by and large, provided securityto the country. India is the secondlargest country as far as Muslimpopulation in the world is concernedand can say with full responsibilitythat despite such a large population(of Muslims), the IS has not beenable to set foot”.

Frankly it is not clear whether hemeant it to be a compliment forpatriotism and nationalism of IndianMuslims or was he only praising hissecurity agencies that not withstanding such a large population ofMuslim his intelligence agencieshave been able to control it. I hope itis not the latter because it would beuncalled for and unjustly maligningthe Muslim community.

Raj Nath should openly say thatthe patriotism, nationalism of IndianMuslims is no less than that of anyother community including Hindus.And that any one even remotelysuggesting otherwise is talkingtreason, as some of the sickeningcommunal Hindu bodiesare doing.

Muslims do not have to show theirpatriotism on their sleeves – tosuggest this would be calumny. Infact, not with standing theprovocation from the RSS fanatics,the equanimity shown by Muslims ispraiseworthy. If Raj Nath is reallykeen to keep peace in the country,he needs to persuade Narendra Modito immediately withdraw thedeliberately provocative recent

BJP Strategy for 2019

Rajindar Sachar

Animal Slaughter legislation whichis being opposed by many statesapart from being challenged in theHigh Courts. The legislation,purporting to be for prevention ofcruelty to animals, is a ploy to snatchjurisdiction by the Centre, on asubject of cattle market which,squarely falls within the jurisdictionof State legislation. Even the BJPaccepts this, as is clear from BJPState President of ArunachalPradesh openly announcing that theCentre’s ban on the role of cattle forslaughter could not be binding onthose states. The whole of NorthEast is on a boil with this legislation.

Minister of Environment HarshVardhan says diplomatically that thegovernment is open to suggestions.This sounds hollow considering thathalf the States are opposed to thislegislation which in reality is acamouflage to appease the GauRakshaks and to allow them tospread terror. This legislation hasbeen deliberately brought up by theBJP for further communalizing thesituation and also ensuring ruinationfor poor Muslims who earn theirliving through these sales.

The atmosphere has been furtherviolated by the installation by RSSNagpur bosses of Yogi Adityanathas Chief Minister of Uttar Pradeshwho already has spread deep fearamongst Muslims in the state,byopenly praying at the make-shiftRam Temple near Babri Masjiddemolition site – this is deliberatelycommunalising the situation in Indiawhich is the election strategy of theBJP for 2019 Elections.

The Prime Minister needs to bereminded of how he described theseGau lovers in August 2016 thus; “Itmakes me angry that people arerunning shops in the name of cowprotection....Some people indulgein anti-social activities at night,and in the day masquerade as cowprotectors.”

Modi government is not evenmaking a sham excuse to countersuggestions that its actions areweakening the morale of minorities.In that connection the way Modi hashandled the formation of NationalMinority Commission shows that heonly wants to keep a shell. Thepresent Commission has beenconstituted after remaining vacantfor months and that tooof fivepersons comprising one Muslim asChairperson and others from oneeach from other minorities. And thisalso has been done only after the HighCourt asked the government forresponse to a writ petition filed beforeit.

According to Census dated 2011,Hindu are 79.8%, Muslim 14.2%.Thus the rest 6% are other minoritieslike – Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%,Buddhists 0.7%, Jains 0.4%, andParsees.It can’t be denied that theobject of National MinorityCommission is to create amechanism which would giveconfidence to the minorities in Indiato feel that they have equal stakesin the running of the state and areequal beneficiaries of stateprogrammes. It is hoped that theother two members to be appointedwill be Muslims either from amongst


well known academicians or publicfigures from the community to givesome reassurance to the Muslims.

The report of UN Human Rightcouncil, Forum on Minority issued onDecember 14th, 15th, 2010 has alsomade some significantrecommendations on minorities andtheir effective participation ineconomic life, which each country ismandated to follow;

“The Council emphasizes,Consequently, the right of minoritiesto participate effectively in economiclife must be fully taken into accountby governments seeking to promoteequality at every level. Fromimplementing non-discrimination inemployment and enforcingprotection laws in the private sectorto developing national economicdevelopment and internationaldevelopment assistance schemes.”

It is unfortunate that the oppositionhas not come up with any concreteor specific programmeon which itintends to fight the 2019 elections. Infact the opposition has become adebating / TV phenomena. It has nospecific programme for action. I feelthat in the way Congress and otherpolitical parties withered away anopportunity which arose from therising of Dalit forces in Saharanpurspeaks ill of their commitment.

There already seems to be acompetition between Chief Ministerof UP and Modias to who will begreater favourite of SanghParivarafter 2019 Parliamentary electionsassuming BJP wins the majority.Yogi Adityanath has given a boostto the mischief mobsters posing asGauRakshaks as indicated byUPDirector General of Police issuinginstructions to all police officers thatall involved in cow slaughter should

be booked under National SecurityAct – a legislation meant to deal with

Jehadi / terrorists. Has BJP lost allsense of balance and proportion?

The Danger of being Urjit Patel

Mrinal K. Biswas

Urjit Patel was declared Governorof Reserve Bank of India on 20August 2016 and assumed charge asthe chief regulator of the country’smonetary affairs on 4 September tosucceed maverick Raghuram Rajanin the midst of highly secretivediscussions followed soon by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s 8November stunning disclosure ofdemonetization of 500 and 1000rupee notes with immediate effect.The new RBI chief kept himself offthe scene as far as possible whencentral government’s financeministry high-ups apparently tookcharge to alleviate the agonizedpeople’s discomforts with a trudgingRBI process of remonetization bysupply of new 500 and 2000 rupeenotes as legal tenders carryingsignatures of Urjit Patel.

He carried on as a goodploughman: Faced a parliamentarycommittee on the demoetizationissue, warded off RBI employeeunion’s concerns about the centralbank’s autonomy and lowered therepo rate even when the note banwas in the offing. The governmentwas happy as erstwhile governorRaghuram Rajan’s intransigence onrelaxation of banking interest ratepersisted too long. Urjit Patel seemedto be pliable in the new scheme ofthings by cutting down repo rate to6.25 per cent at the first meeting ofmonetary policy committee (MPC)on 4 October last year, a monthbefore demonetization. But UrjitPatel’s unexpected turn-about on 7June this year was too emphatically

demonstrated when he chaired theMPC and decided against anyfurther tinkering with repo rate ,with one dissenting note.

MPC was the centralgovernment’s ploy to influence reporate which is the rate at which RBIlends short term funds to commercialbanks when they have a suddenshortfall. The repo rate is actuallythe benchmark rate for the bankingsystem as lenders to determine,revise their lending rates for trade,industry and business. They preferlow interest rates to access cheapmoney and reversely resent higherrates as money becomes dearer toavail themselves of it from financialinstitutions.

MPC was constituted last year forthe first time in 82 years of RBIhistory before which the Governorwas the sole authority to fix reporate. MPC now comprises sixmembers including three nominatedby the finance ministry. Governorbeing the MPC chairman RBI deputygovernor Vishal Acharya andexecutive director Michel Patra havebeen in the committee from thecentral bank. It was externalmember Rabindra Dholakia whodemurred on continuing with 6.25per cent repo rate and wantedrevision downwards.

There were some twists and turnsbefore Urjit Patel stuck to presentrate even by ignoring clear signalsfrom finance minister Arun Jetley tolower this benchmark. Governor


asserted his authority by seeing to itthat MPC members at his behestdeclined to attend a meeting withfinance ministry officials ahead ofthe RBI decisions on rates. He wasreported to have tersely said, “themeeting did not take place. All theMPC members declined the requestof the finance ministry for thatmeeting.” RBI autonomy secured?Let us wait and see.

It was perhaps not the first timeRBI Governor waded a differentpath than following a track indicatedby the government at centre.Raghuram Rajan preferred tounseat himself from the chair thansuccumbing to governmentpressures. Ex-governor DuvvruiSubbarao wrote down in his bookWho Momved My Interest Ratenarrating how the then exasperatedfinance minister P Chidambarampushed hard against RBI and howhis ministry officials outflanked RBIin various ways. Because Subbaraowould not bend and cut interestrate.

This time the finance ministry wasnot ready for a pugnacious UrjitPatel, soon after his signaturesamples in English and Hindi wereadded to the newly designed 500 and2000 currency plates in dramaticcircumstances followed by hiscutting down interest rate a monthbefore demonetization.

The government smarting underGDP growth falling to poor 6.1 percent in January-March quarterwanted desperately to trigger theeconomy with lower than 6.25 percent repo rate and encouraging thebusiness go in for credit off takesfreely. Urjit Patel remembered whathis predecessor Raghuram Rajansaid before departing, “the centralbank serves the economy and the

cause of growth by keeping inflationlow and stable.” He repudiated thenotion of a trade-off between growthand inflation. According to him,growth vs. inflation debate is notrelevant. Earlier Duvvrui Subbaraohad said while the business of growthwith low interest rate was aired tooloudly the consequent effect ofinflation was conveniently forgotten.This was bound to give push toupward price-spiraling causingsufferings to overwhelming silentmajority.

In the current situation the wide

spreading farm loan waivers andincreasing number of non-paying upbank loans has created a big pent upinflation situation. This is a big debtbomb indeed. Urjit Patel is seeminglynot impressed by retail inflation fallingto 2.99 per cent in April from 5.47per cent a year back. So he staysput with 6.25 per cent repo tillAugust. He poses a danger asevident from government chiefeconomic adviser ArvindSubramanian’s statement sayinginflation forecast errors by RBI hasbeen large and systematically one-sided in overstating inflation.

Whether traveling ortransporting goods, IndianRailways is the lifeline of the wholecountry.This is one of the largestrailway services in the world. TheBritish used railway for theeconomic exploitation of India andthe strengthening of its empire.

The creation and extension of railservicein independent India wasaimed at strengthening the country’scontact system, economy andmilitary system. In the constructionof Indian Railway Service, thecountry’s most valuable resourcesand labour are spent.

For the last few years the rulingclass has been trying to privatize therailway. But railwayunions haveraised their voices against it. Thepresent BJP government has clearedthe intention toprivatize the railwayby initiating the sale of railwaystations in private hands.

The Socialist Party of India hasdecided to launch an awarenesscampaign against this anti-constitutional and anti-people

Privatization of Railway Stations

Janata

is available at

www.lohiatoday.com

decision of the government. Underthis campaign, the workers oftheparty will explain the reality of thearguments given to the citizens infavour of the privatization oftherailway by the ruling class.

The campaign will start from Delhion June 22. On that day the SocialistParty. Delhi Pradesh will conduct‘Save Indian Railways’ march fromMandi House to Jantar-Mantar.After that, all stateunits will organizeprogrammmes in their respectivestates. The party will hold a nationalconvention on this issue with HindMazdoorSabha.

Dr. Abhijit VaidyaSpokesperson, SPI


Finland has bewitched me eversince I met its outstanding SocialDemocratic Prime Minister, andworld statesman, Kalevi Sorsa, inJuly1985, at his residence ‘Kesaranta’in Helsinki. Mr. Sorsa was a symbolof goodness in Finland. For the firsttime in my life, I saw a PrimeMinister residing in a house, with itsentry gate wide open, with nosecurity guard around, even to keepan eye on a foreign visitor, who wasgoing in, with a brief case in hand, tomeet the Prime Minister. Thatopenness, his warm reception, andhis thoughtful responses to myquestions, marked the beginning ofa long-lasting warm relationshipbetween us. As a result, on myinvitation, Mr. Kalevi Sorsagraciously visited India, in November1995, and inaugurated anInternational Seminar on SocialDemocracy, at Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, in New Delhi. In 1997,he wrote a scintillating ‘Foreword’to my book, InternationalConcerns of European SocialDemocrats. As a mark of my deeprespect for him, in 2000, I dedicatedmy book, Building on Solidarity:Social Democracy and the NewMillennium, to Mr. Kalevi Sorsa.Indeed, MrSorsa cemented my closerelationship with Finland, which,after hisdeath, is being continued bymy other dear Finnish friend, Prof.J. P. Roos, of the HelsinkiUniversity.

At the outset, I may mention that,Finland was not a focal point of studyand research in India, until I joined

Research in India on Finland*

B. Vivekanandan

the faculty of the West EuropeanStudies Division of the JawaharlalNehru University, and decided towiden my academic interest to theNordic region. I took the initiative inthat direction in mid-1980s, offereda post-graduate-level course,on“Social Democrats of WesternEurope”, in Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, and made “SocialDemocrats of Finland”, as a part ofthat.It was in that context that Icame to Finland in1985, andresearched various facets ofFinland’s Social Democratic Party.

The canvas of my study at thattime was very wide.Itencompassedtheascendancy of the SDP inFinland’s political arena, the evolutionof its principles and programmes, itsorganisa-tional set-up, its relationshipwith trade union confederations likethe SAK, and TVK its relationshipwith its affiliates like the SocialDemocratic Youth (SNK) and theSocial Democratic Women. It alsoencompassed the SDP’s role inbuilding up the ConsumerCooperative Movement in Finland,in the activities of the Workers’Educational Association, and in theInterna-tional SolidarityFoundation.In addition, my studyincludedthe SDP’s role in thepermeation of the idea of equality atall levels of the Finnish society, andin the restructuring of the Finnishsocietyon egalitarian lines, by buildingup coalitions with other partiesaround significant reforms,like theestablishment of the Welfare StateSystem inFinland.The study

enveloped also theSDP’s electoralperformance during the 20thCentury, and the impact of CollectiveAgreements between Employers’and Employees’organisations, whichhas reduced the possibility of strikesin Finland.Another facet of SDPwhich I deliberated was the Party’sforeign policy perspectives, based onthe Paasikkivi-Kekkonen line ofneutrality, and the role it played inthe Socialist International.

Indeed, my study and research ontheSDP, enabled me to understandthe texture of politics in Finland.Forthe completion of this study, I madeanother visit to Finland in 1989.Mybook, Pathfinder: Social Democratsof Scandinavia, published in 1991,contains the outcome of my researchonthe Finnish SDP.

II

In subsequent years, I havewidened my researchand alsostudied its Welfare State System.Fundamentally, this study was aboutpeople’s day-to-day life, vis-a-vis thegovernment’s responsibility in it.

Finland’s advanced Welfare StateSystem, whichgives social protectionfor everyone in thecountry, alwaysfascinated me -its pillars like the full-employment policy, steeplyprogressive taxation system, a strong,benevolent and resourceful,democratic state, endowed with theauthority to regulate the economicand social life of people, and adominant public sector.

* Keynote speech at Indo-Finnish joint seminar, May 2017


I examined the Finnish WelfareState Systemin the context also ofvarious challenges it faced,likeFinland’s economic crisis in 1990s,the Globalisation-Liberalisation-Privatisation drive, and Finland’sdrive for obtaining eligibility tobecome a member of the EuropeanUnion and the Euro-Zone.

The study also included the ethicalurge of the Finnish Welfare State toreduce income disparity and elevatethe quality of life of the under-privileged, and its visionary strategy,aimed to minimise the adverseimpact of unemployment, sickness,homelessness, and otherunpredictable developments, whichwould impede people’s quality of life.

The economic crisis in Finland inearly 1990s,had a debilitating effecton the welfare state system in thecountry.And, I found that thisavoidable economic crisis was puton course partly by thoughtlesspiecemeal steps taken by someFinnish administrators to strengthenFinland’s eligibility to become amember of the European Union, andpartly by the structural changesmade in Finland’s economy tointegrate itself with the globaleconomy through liberalisation andprivatisation, which were inimical tothe functioning of Finland’s WelfareState System.The financialderegulation policy was the laststraw that broke the camel’s back.Cumulatively all those unwise moveshadweakened Government’s controlover the State’s economy andfinance, and its ability to administerthe Welfarestate.I have dealt withthe issue in depth in my article,published in 2012, in India’s journal,International Studies.

This crisis caused a sudden risein unemployment in Finland - from

3.5 per cent in 1990,to 20 per cent in1995.It caused the widening ofinequality in the country, and achange in the pattern of State fundingof the Municipalities.The ear-marked matching grant system toMunicipalities, was replaced by aBlock Grant system, which wasconsidered retrograde.There was ahorizontal squeeze on all welfarestate provisions. But, notably, therewas no total withdrawal of anywelfare or social security provisions,in Finland despite the economiccrisis.

Though the Welfare State Systemin Finland has survived the economiccrisis of 1990s with limited damages,there are still other potentialchallenges to it. The potentialchallenge, from an intrusiveEuropean Union bureaucracy inBrussels, to the Finnish welfare statesystem is still a strong one, because,basically, the EU is not a pro-welfareinstitution. It is essentially, pro-market and pro-profit. It may benoted that, during the EUreferendum in Finland, the focus wasmainly on agriculture and foreignpolicy, and not on social policy. It wasassumed, at that time, that socialpolicy would remain exclusively inthe national domain, under EU’sSubsidiarity principle. But, thatassumption is eroding. If EuropeanUnion’s tax policy gets attuned toreduction of tax-base of memberstates, it would depleteFinland’sWelfare State System’sresource base. Finland’s joining theEuro-Zone has weakened theposition of the Bank of Finland vis-a-via the European Central Bank, inFrankfurt, in the management ofFinland’s financial sector. Moreover,Globalisation has caused a generalerosion of fiscal policy autonomy ofthe State of Finland, which isimportant for successful functioning

of the Welfare State System.

In the social map of the world,Finland occupies an exalted position,because of the advanced welfarestate system in the country. Itprovides an impressive model forhuman development in the world,which radiates inspiration for othercountries to emulate. It is imperativeto preserve that position of Finlandin World’s social map.

There are several other Indianstoo, doing research on Finland. Oneof them is my former student at JNU,SanalEdamaruku, President of theRationalist International, who is doingresearch on Finland’s EducationalSystem and the Status of Religion inFinland. His book on the History ofReligion, Conscience and Tolerancein Finland, is expected to be publishedlater this year. Another on-goingresearch is on the Health Care sectorof Finland’s Welfare State System,by Dr. Ritu Priya, Professor of SocialMedicine and Community Health inJawaharlal Nehru University. At thesame time, I am aware thatwellknown Finnish scholars likeProfessor Anna Rotkireh, ProfessorMinna Saavala and Dr. Kaari Mattilahave done notable research onIndian families. The list of paperpresenters at this Seminar, fromFinland, shows that many otherFinnish scholars are also engaged inresearch on India.

III

And, finally, the question is: Howdo such studies and researchesmatter in the relationship betweenIndia and Finland? It is my convictionthat long-lasting and healthyrelationship between countries canbe built up only on the basis ofinformed mutual understanding.Academics in Universities have a


key role to play in building up thisunderstanding through their studiesand research on society, politics andcultural ethos and habits of potentialfriends. I am very proud to haveplayed a pivotal role in ensuringFinland has highervisibility inacademic discussions in India today.

In India,discussion on the WelfareStateSystem is catching up in a

significant way. When I convenedan International Seminar on theWelfare State System in the World,at Jawaharlal Nehru University,New Delhi, in April 2001, Finland wasrepresented by two outstandingFinnish scholars – Prof JP Roos andDr. Jukka Pekkarinen. The Finnishand Swedish models are referencepoints in these discussions. I haveseen some Indian newspapers

writing editorials in support of theestablishment of a welfare statesystem in India, citing theScandinavian example, including theFinnish example. People take noteof the Finnish model, when they findFinland among the top ten in theHuman Development Index. I willalways endeavourto bring India andFinland closer, by promotingunderstanding of each other.

Ken-Betwa River Link to Cut 2 Million Trees

Bharat Dogra

Trees are our precious resource,each and every tree needs to benurtured and protected. Not a singletree should be cut unless it can beclearly shown that there is someoverwhelming need for it. This wasalways true, but in times of climatechange this is even more importantthan before.It is equally true that thedestruction of treesin natural forestscan never be fully made up byplantations that are raised in thename of compensatoryafforestation.

So clearly there is a need toprotest if one sees that there areplans to cut nearly 18 lakh trees forimplementing the Ken-Betwa RiverLink Project , a project which hasbeen publicized as India’ s first river-link project and whose rationality hasbeen widely questioned for a host ofdifferent reasons.Some otherestimates mention a higher numberof affected trees.

The viability and desirability of theproposed aim of transferring waterfrom Ken to Betwa river with thehelp of a dam and 250 km. canal hasbeen questioned from day one, asalso the unnecessary displacementof people of several villages and the

endangering of the habitats ofseveral threatened animals and birdsincluding tiger, gharial and vultures.

What is more this is the first in aseries of several river-link projectswhich taken together as a wholehave been criticized as beingdisastrous for our rivers, environmentand people by many independentexperts.

On May 2 a letter signed by 30experts and activists was sent to theUnion Minister of Environment andForests, registering a strong protestagainst this project and thearbitrariness involved in itsimplementation. This letter says,“The project has been plagued bysloppy, intentionally misleading andinadequate impact assessments,procedural violations andmisinformation at every step of theway.”

The signatories to this letterinclude Dr. BhartenduPrakash , theauthor of two extensive studies onthe water-resources of Bundelkhandregion and HimanshuThakkar, Co-odinatorof South Asia Network ofDams, Rivers and People who haswritten innumerable reports and

letters on the issue of river-links. Thesignatories also includeAmitaBavaskar, former member ofForest Advisory Committee amdEAS Sarma, former Secretary, Govtof India.

This letter says that basicinformation about the wateravailability in the two rivers has notbeen made available and other basicinformation has been held back fromproject affected people. The projecthas been pushed in the name ofhelping people of Bundelkhand buton the one hand it involvestransferring water fromBundelkhand to Upper Betwa regionand on the other hand its adverseimpact on groundwater recharge inthe downstream areas ofBundelkhand region is being ignored.

This letter whose signatoriesinclude wild life experts alsoexpresses serious concern aboutthe very adverse impacts of thisproject on Panna Tiger Reserveand Ken Gharial WildlifeSanctuary. It is indeed a cruel ironythat on the one hand tribals arebeing evicted for such wild life



Grappling with the possibility thatyour life’s work has been a failuremust be a terrible state to be in.Imagine that you’re MohandasKaramchand Gandhi and you havedevoted your life to ahimsa, toquestioning the hegemony of themodern industrial world, tocommunal peace and to the end ofuntouchability. Now imagine thatyou’re in 1947, when ahimsa andcommunal amity are being rejectedso savagely that you’re forced toquestion whether the freedomstruggle had really been non-violentas you had thought? Your chosensuccessor does not see eye to eyewith your idea of an India based ona model of empowered self-governing villages, and caste-baseddiscrimination, despite all yourefforts, is as entrenched as ever.

This was the reality faced byGandhi from 1945-1948, the periodcovered in Sudhir Chandra’s Gandhi:An Impossible Possibility (translatedinto English by Chitra Padmanabhan).Concentrating on what was the mosttrying time of his life, the book presentsGandhi in a light which ourhagiographies often ignore.

In popular imagination Gandhi isseen as a cocksure idealist – a manwho is so cocooned by his belief inhis ideals that he is beyond the paleof any self-doubt. Historians mayknow better but it is fascinating, asa lay reader, to come face to facewith a Gandhi who realises that thefreedom movement led by him hadnever actually adhered to ahimsa, butonly to passive resistancemasquerading as ahimsa. As Gandhi

How the ‘ChaturBaniya’ May Yet Save Us All

Sarim Naved

himself noted,”There was a timewhen everyone believed in Gandhibecause Gandhi showed them theway to combat the British….At thattime the purpose seemed moreachievable through ahimsa, soGandhi was much in demand. No onehad taught us how to make the atombomb then. If we had possessed thatknowledge then we would haveseriously considered obliterating theBritish with it. But since no suchoption was available, I was acceptedand my authority prevailed.”

This is a Gandhi who travels toNoakhali in 1946 to give strength tothe Hindus against whom violencehas been unleashed by Muslims. Hegoes in the midst of people to “reasonwith them and create suchcircumstances that would promptHindus and Muslims to begin livingon good terms with each other again”.He tries to control the riots in Biharthat follow soon, where violence hasbeen unleashed by Hindus onMuslims. As independenceapproaches, the people whom he hasled during the freedom struggle nolonger seem to have much use for hisleadership or message. He isperceived as a dreamer, unaware ofthe ‘real’ world. He finds hisconnection with the people is weaker.They no longer listen to him.

It is at this point that the strengthof Gandhi, the leader, asserts itselfin a wholly unexpected manner. Onthe eve of independence he decidesto go to Noakhali. It is a symbolicstatement that unless mutual hostilityceases, freedom would never besecure. When he reaches Calcutta,

he is begged by the city’s Muslimleadership, which till recently hadderided him as only a Hindu leader,to stay and ensure calm in the city.Gandhi extracts a promise fromthem that he would stay in Calcuttaif they ensured that no harm wouldcome to the Hindus of Noakhaliwhere he was bound.

It is an extraordinary moment. InCalcutta, Gandhi faces irate mobs,reaches out to Huseyn ShaheedSuhrawardy – the man who had beenresponsible for the ‘great Calcuttakillings’ of 1946, who now finds thecourage, in Gandhi’s company, toadmit to a crowd of angry Hindusthat it was he who had beenresponsible for the Calcutta killings.The tension breaks. People of bothcommunities come together onAugust 15, 1947. But this calm isbroken violently two weeks later andGandhi goes on a fast unto death.Young volunteers go out and try tostop the violence. Some even losetheir lives while doing so. In the end,the ‘miracle of Calcutta’ is achievedand Gandhi breaks his fast. The darkmoment when a bloodbath seemedimminent has passed.

Interestingly, this narration is notintended to make Gandhi seem likea great leader who was always sureof his method and achieved hisobjective. Rather, a study of hisactions and his concerns in thosedays convey a deep sense ofhelplessness. Yet, he perseveres.Chandra dwells on moments whenGandhi “was surrounded by animpenetrable darkness”. In 1946 hetells noted anthropologist N.K. Bose,


his interpreter and Bangla tutor inNoakhali, that his “body just givesway”, admitting that his mind hadnever before been so hazy. Gandhi,Chandra writes, was “overcomewith a weariness of body and spirit”.

What is of note is the fact thatGandhi, in the final years of his life,while fighting the same battles thathe has fought all his life, seems to bedoing so only out of conviction, withno great hope that people would listento him. The fact that he succeeds inCalcutta and in his final Delhi fastsurprises him more than anybody else.This is a man who acts despite graverisks to his safety and his health, notbecause his idealism makes him feelsecure but because it leaves him sovulnerable that he has no option butto follow his convictions.

It is the vulnerability of this frailold man that is so moving. If it movesyou as a reader separated in timefrom the man by about sevendecades, then one can imagine theeffect on those living at that time andsubject to this emotional onslaughtfrom a man who bewilderingly andrepeatedly asked them to rise abovethemselves.

Gandhi, the tallest leader that thiscountry has had, presents a veryinteresting quandary regarding therole of a leader and his relationshipwith his people. If the role of a leaderis to lead, the question of trust doesnot arise. They are to be told what isgood for them and are to be persuadedto act accordingly. If, however, aleader chooses to listen, to observeand to engage with his people, doeshe cease to lead? Does he becomeless of a leader because he feels“each one must look at oneself,without worrying whether others arelooking at themselves”, therebyasking them to recognise the

possibilities in themselves?

Gandhi chose to inspire, not lead.This fragile republic, which rests andstruggles to survive on the ideas ofGandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, woulddo well to remember that. If India,which was not given a great chancefor survival after its tumultuousexperience of independence andpartition, still stands, it is not becauseof force of arms or feat of diplomacybut because there was a sense of amoral consensus that this countrychose to abide by. Regardless of thepassions that led people to commitunspeakable crimes in those days,they came around to Gandhi’s wayof thinking, moved by the sheer forceof his will. This, then was a moralconsensus presented by Gandhi whonever, despite all his weariness anddoubts about being able to convincepeople to see reason, let go of hisconvictions.

It is, perhaps, the intuitiveunderstanding of this politics ofmorality that has kept this countrytogether, despite many travails.It isalso this very politics of morality thatpromises a way out of the state thatIndia finds itself in today.

By morality one does not meanthe present-day conception of moraljudgements passed on individuals todefine acceptable and unacceptablemodes of behaviour. This kind ofmorality is limiting. It tries to fit aperson into a box. There is a largerpolitical morality, however, whichseeks to liberate. The beauty of thispolitical morality is that it need notpromise riches or power, it onlyneeds a message that everyone willbe safe and will be cared for. It isthe most basic message a democracycan convey to its citizens.

Political morality is a function of

deep-rooted personal convictions. Itdefines the parameters of acceptableand unacceptable behaviour in publiclife. Derision of this kind of moralityleads us to the situation we are in,when lies become ‘post-truth’ andleaders are as likely to be celebratedfor their powers of manipulation astheir governance.

It is not surprising that people, notonly in India but all over the world,seem to be flocking to leaders whointend to challenge this lack ofpolitical morality. Seen widely acrossEurope, it became even moreapparent in the US, where the peoplechose to trust a person totallyuntested in politics just because herepresented a break from thevacuous politics that had so becomethe norm. India is clearly no strangerto this phenomenon.

Often, it is not what the leaderbelieves that moves people, but it isthe strength of that belief. This is notwhat democracy is, or should beabout. Democracy needs to be adialogue between the leader and the‘led’, neither of them perhaps fullyunderstanding the other but alsowithout having any contempt foreach other. Contempt by thegovernment for the governed, or viceversa, can be fatal to democracy.

In times of fear and insecurity,much of it manufactured, it is only apolitics of morality that can come upwith an appropriate response. Apolitics of morality that even if it isnot pegged to high ideals such asahimsa, speaks of enabling people tohave an orderly civic existence, goabout their lives normally. In his lastdays, Gandhi, known as Mahatma tomany and as a ‘chaturbaniya’ tosome, saw this as his message andcontrary to his own fears, may yetsave us all. –The Wire


We the Socialist Institutionsorganized a unique four days nationallevel camp for teachers working insocialist educational institutions. Thecamp was conducted from May 31’17 to June 3’ 17 at Yusuf MeherallyCenter, Tara (Panvel) inMaharashtra. A total of 50 teachersfrom various states attended thecamp.

Background

We the Socialist Institutions wasformed with the blessings of BhaiVaidya at the National Conferenceof socialist institutions at Tara inSeptember 2015. It is committed tobringing together on a commonplatform socialists of all hues toface the current challenges in ourcountry.

At one of its meetings in Pune, itwas decided to organize a meetingof socialist educational institutions onMarch 18, 2017 at Yusuf MeherallyCenter, Tara. A detailed agenda wasworked out in a meeting during theAll India Socialist Youth Conferencein January 2017. The meeting waspresided over by G G Parikh andattended by Manju Mohan, Dr.Sunilam, Shahid Kamaal, Neeraj Jain,Sadashiv Magdum, Sushila Morale,Dr. Sugan Baranth, RajabhauAvasak, J S Walia and others.

The March 18 meeting wasattended by prominent socialisteducationists from all over thecountry. The following questionswere raised and discussed:• How are the Socialist run

institutions different from othereducational institutions?

• To what extent are these

Samajwadi Shikshak Training Camp - A Report

institutions inculcating socialistvalues among the studentsstudying in their schools andcolleges?

• How committed are the teachersin these institutions to spread thesocialist culture?

• If socialist institutions are not verydifferent from the conventionalinstitutions, what should be doneto transform their character?

After much discussion, it wasdecided to conduct a trainingworkshop for teachers teaching invarious socialist institutionsthroughout the country. YusufMeherally Center, Janata Trust,Rashtra Seva Dal and Lokayattook active part in organizing thecamp.

Why this Training Camp?

Socialists have done a lot ofwork in the field of education inthe past several decades. Thistraining camp was conducted toaddress the teachers associatedwith socialist institutions. Itcomprised high quality sessions byexperts on the need for socialismin today’s context, its variousfacets and techniques to impartsocialist values in classrooms.Another aim of the camp was todemonstrate to participatingteachers how we can useconstructivism (gyan-rachnawad)in classrooms.

This training camp should also beseen as the first step of ourendeavour towards building a strongnetwork of teachers who are willingto walk together on the path of

socialism and transforming theirstudents and parents community.

Participation

The camp drew a fantasticresponse with about 50 teachersparticipating from various samajwadischools in Gujarat, Maharashtra, MPand Karnataka.

The inaugural session wasattended by socialist leaders likeAllauddin Shaikhji, SadashivMagdumji, Matin Diwanji, SubhashWare, Neeraj Jain and others.

Sessions & Activities at the Camp

Day 1

The camp started with a welldelivered orientation speech bySubhash Ware. He presented abrief outline of the various challengesthat face our country and thesignificance of socialist thought. Healso spoke about how teachersshould think about social issues andcontribute in spreading socialistvalues by their thought and actions.He argued that the teacher has ahigher responsibility than any otherprofessional because the teacher isresponsible for shaping the mindsetof the entire generation. He talkedabout the provisions of social equality,justice and education in theConstitution. He also briefly touchedupon the provisions about educationwhich were not sanctioned by theparliament while passing adopting theconstitution.

Anjali Chipalkatti, a sciencepopularizer associated with theorganization ThinQ (Pune),facilitated the first session on


scientific thinking, rational thoughtand critical questioning. Sheprovoked the participants intoquestioning basic science textbookfacts that we all take for granted.For instance, she asked theparticipants to come up with a fewmodels of how we could arrange thesun and earth in order to keep thepattern of days and nightsunchanged. Next she asked them toprove why they thought their modelwould work. The emergingdiscussion made everyone realizehow easily we believe facts from ourtextbooks without giving them muchthought. Later in her session, shemade the participants make simplehelicopters from strips of paper andobserve the change in its flight bychanging the design. The sessionmade teachers think about sciencein a different way.

Day 2

On the second day of the camp,Prof. Apoorvanand Jha, aprofessor of Hindi from DelhiUniversity, spoke about the meaningand purpose of education. He wenton to discuss the concept of nationand nationalism, and emphasized onthe need to understand the differencebetween education to make a goodhuman being and education to makea good citizen. He also talked aboutthe need to promote secular valuesin schools and classrooms.

There were many activitiesinterspersed between the varioustalk sessions delivered by Prof Jha.One of the activities was to exposethe true face of the Skill India &Make-in-India programmes. Thiswas an exciting activity in which allthe participants were arranged asgroups of labourersworking atseveral floors in a mobile handsetmanufacturing unit. They were to

pass a brick to the adjacent personas if working on an assembly line.The labourershad to match thespeed of passing the bricks with thebeating of a drum. It was asimulation of work in a factory whichmade the participants realize theplight of workers. After the work wasover, the workers had to makeseveral price tags to be put on themobile handsets. Once this was over,the workers were given their wage.This was done is such a way thatexposed the true nature of transferof wealth from the poor workers tothe rich owners!

Another activity was to introducethe NaiTalim thought process amongthe teachers. The participants wereagain split into groups and given anobject each, for instance a cup oftea or a waist belt. Their task wasto enlist as many topics and subjectsthat could be taught using the objectsand to come up with as manyquestions as possible regarding theirobject.

Apart from these activities,several cooperative games wereintroduced to the teachers, whichpromote collaborative spirit ratherthan competition among students.The games were well received byteachers and many went on playingthem even after dinner.

Day 3

The third day started with an awe-inspiring session by RupeshGesota, who is an engineer-turned-teacher in Mumbai. He works withstudents of a municipal corporationschool on building mathematicalreasoning and logical thinking. Hissession, Let’s Play Maths, wasappreciated by all teachers as heintroduced the technique of exploringand learning maths through games.

He emphasized on challengingstudents and making them thinkabout various concepts rather thangiving a simple explanations. Heshowed several tricks which couldbe worked out using mathematicalequations and made the teachersarrive at the correct reasoning foreach trick. Many teachers wereengrossed in the tricks and theirsolution in their free time before andafter dinner as well.

The afternoon session wasconducted by Simantini Dhuru,who is activist and cinematographerfrom Mumbai. She is also associatedwith the Avehi Abacus Project,which works with municipal schoolsacross Mumbai on promoting a spiritof social justice among students,teachers and parents. In her session,she discussed about the use ofstorytelling as a powerful medium tointeract with students and make themanalyze the world around them.Later in her session, she alsoexposed government policies oneducation like the RTE Act of 2009and the recent National Policy onEducation.

Day 4

The last day of camp had onlyone session, the morning session.It started with the screening ofand discussion on two shortanimat ion f i lms on thedestruction of environment andthe impact of modern schoolsystem on children.

After discussion on films, theteachers worked in groups to workout ideas and strategies to inculcatesocialist values like scientifictemperament, gender equality,secularism and environmentconsciousness among students andother teachers. The suggestions


prepared by teachers are asfollows:

• Economic Disparity

• Secularism

• Gender Equality

• Environment Awareness

• Suggestions to inculcate ScientificTemperament

Outcome of the Camp

The camp proved to be quitesuccessful as was evident from thefeedback from teachers as well thekind of bonding and sense ofcomradeship developed amongteachers. Many teachers expressedtheir willingness to form a platformof teachers in their own network towork on common goals.

The Road Ahead

This teacher training camp was agood beginning. Unfortunately, therewas little participation from outsideMaharashtra and Yusuf Meherallygroups, and in that sense there wasnot much success. It is now time thatwe realise the need to take thisinitiative ahead in our own regions.As a follow-up of this camp, we arein the process of planning someactivities and programs in schoolsfrom Bhandup, Panvel and Pune.

This project requires repeatedinteractions with teachers,monitoring their progress, giving themmore ideas, working with them tosolve problems and so on. For thiswe will require activists who can betrained to participate in this initiative.We must put in efforts and ourresources to form a dynamicnetwork of socialist activists andteachers across various states.

–Raushal Heena Anand

Growing Authoritarianism,Majoritarianism

We are a group of retired officersof All India and Central services ofdifferent batches, who have workedwith the Central and stategovernments in the course of ourcareers. We should make it clear thatas a group, we have no affiliation withany political party but believe in thecredo of impartiality, neutrality andcommitment to the Indianconstitution. A sense of deep disquietat what has been happening in Indiahas prompted us to write this openletter to chronicle our reservationsand misgivings about recentdevelopments in the body politic.What has gone wrong?

It appears as if there is a growingclimate of religious intolerance that isaimed primarily at Muslims. In UttarPradesh, in the run-up to the elections,an odious and frankly communalcomparison was made between therelative number of burial grounds andcremation grounds. The question wasalso asked as to whether electricitywas being supplied equally to differentcommunities during their religiousfestivals. All this, without any basis infact or evidence. The banning ofslaughter-houses targets the minoritiesand affects their livelihoods as well.Such intolerance breeds violence in acommunally charged atmosphere –even to the extent of a local leader inUP provoking an attack uponthe residence of a superintendentof police, whose family wasterrorised.

Vigilantism has becomewidespread. An Akhlaq is killed onthe basis of a suspicion that the meathe has is beef and a Pehlu Khan islynched while transporting to his

place two cows he had boughtand for which he had the necessarypapers. Nomadic shepherds areattacked in Jammu and Kashmiron some suspicion as they practicetheir age-old occupation of movingfrom one place to another alongwith their cattle and belongings.

Gau-rakshaks function withimpunity and seem to be doing sowith the tacit complicity or activeencouragement of state machinery.Punitive action against theperpetrators of violence does not takeplace promptly but cruelly, the victimshave FIRs registered against them.The behaviour of vigilantes – whoact as if they are prosecutor, judgeand executioner rolled into one – fliesin the face of law and jurisprudence.These actions undermine the rule oflaw and the Indian constitution sinceonly the state – through its variousorgans and institutions – has thepower to enforce the law.

Vigilantism has becomepopular as ‘anti-Romeo’ squadsthreaten young couples who go outtogether, hold hands and areperhaps in love with each other. Athinly-veiled effort to prevent aHindu-Muslim relationship ormarriage, there is no justification inlaw to harass these couples,particularly when there is nocomplaint from the woman of beingill-treated.

Student groups and facultymembers on campuses likeHyderabad and JNU, who raisetroubling questions about equality,social justice and freedom, aresubject to attack by the


administration, with a supportivegovernment to back them. InJodhpur, a planned lecture by arenowned academic was cancelledunder pressure and the faculty thatorganised the event subjected todisciplinary action. What happenedin Jodhpur has happened at otherinstitutions as well. Argumentationand discussion about differentperspectives – the life-blood not onlyof institutions of learning but ofdemocracy itself – are beingthrottled. Disagreement and dissentare considered seditious and anti-national. Such attitudes have achilling impact on free speech andthought.

Several reputed NGOs and civilsociety organisations are beingcharged with violating the provisionsof the Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Act and the Income TaxAct. While we agree that genuineviolators should be identified andpenalised, we note with dismay thatseveral of the targeted groups arethose who have taken stands againstgovernment policies, expresseddissent or supported communities incases against the state.

We are also seeing an ugly trendof trolling, threats and onlineintimidation of activists, journalists,writers and intellectuals whodisagree with the dominant ideology.How does this square with freespeech?

There is a growing hyper-nationalism that reduces any critiqueto a binary: if you are not with thegovernment, you are anti-national.Those in authority should not bequestioned – that is the clearmessage.

In the face of a risingauthoritarianism and majoritarianism,

which do not allow for reasoneddebate, discussion and dissent, weappeal to all public authorities, publicinstitutions and constitutional bodiesto take heed of these disturbingtrends and take corrective action.We have to reclaim and defendthe spirit of the Constitution ofIndia, as envisaged by the foundingfathers.

-Vivek Agnihotri, IAS (Retd.),former Secretary General,RajyaSabha; S. Ailawadi, IAS(Retd.), former Chairman, ElectricityRegulatory Commission; P. Ambrose,IAS (Retd.), Additional Secretary,Ministry of Shipping and Transport,GoI.; Ishrat Aziz, IFS (Retd.), formerAmbassador to Brazil; Balachandran,IAS (Retd.), former Additional ChiefSecretary, Govt. of West Bengal;Balachandran, IPS (Retd.), formerDirector General of Police andChairman, Tamil Nadu PoliceHousing Corporation, Govt. of TamilNadu; Balagopal, IAS (Retd.), formerResident Representative, UNICEF,North Korea; SundarBurra, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary, Govt. ofMaharashtra; Chandramohan, IAS(Retd.), former Principal Secretary,Urban Development and Transport,Govt. of NCT of Delhi;KalyaniChaudhuri, IAS (Retd.),former Additional Chief Secretary,Govt. of West Bengal; Anna Dani, IAS(Retd.), former Additional ChiefSecretary, Govt. of Maharashtra;VibhaPuri Das, IAS (Retd.), formerSecretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs,GoI; SurjitK.Das, IAS (Retd.), formerChief Secretary, Govt. ofUttarakhand; KeshavDesiraju, IAS(Retd.), former Health Secretary, GoI;G.Devasahayam, IAS (Retd.), formerSecretary to Govt. of Haryana;P.Fabian, IFS (Retd.), formerAmbassador; BhaskarGhose, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary, Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting, GoI;

HirakGhosh, IAS (Retd.), formerPrincipal Secretary, Govt. of WestBengal; Meena Gupta, IAS (Retd.),former Secretary, Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, GoI; RaviVira Gupta, IAS (Retd.), formerDeputy Governor, Reserve Bank ofIndia; WajahatHabibullah, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary, GoI, andChief Information Commissioner;DeepaHari, IRS (Resigned);VivekHarinarain, IAS (Retd.); SajjadHassan, IAS (Retd.), formerCommissioner (Planning), Govt. ofManipur; K.Jaswal IAS (Retd.),former Secretary, Department ofInformation Technology, GoI;N.Kakar, IAS (Retd.), formerAdditional Secretary, Ministry ofSurface Transport, GoI; John Koshy,IAS (Retd.), former State ChiefInformation Commissioner, WestBengal; Dhirendra Krishna, IA&AS(Retd.), former Financial Controller,Irrigation Department, Govt. of UttarPradesh; Ajai Kumar, Indian ForestService (Resigned), former Director,Ministry of Agriculture, GoI; ArunKumar, IAS (Retd.), formerChairman, National PharmaceuticalPricing Authority; Brijesh Kumar, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary, Departmentof Information Technology, GoI;Harsh Mander, IAS (Retd.), Govt. ofMadhya Pradesh; LalitMathur, IAS(Retd.), former Director General,National Institute of RuralDevelopment, GoI;SonaliniMirchandani, IFS(Resigned); Sunil Mitra, IAS (Retd.),former Secretary, Ministry of Finance,GoI; Deb Mukharji, IFS (Retd.),former Ambassador to Nepal;RuchiraMukerjee, P&T FinanceAccounts Service (Retd.), formerAdviser, Telecom Commission, GoI;AnupMukerji, IAS (Retd.), formerChief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar;PranabMukhopadhyay, IAS (Retd.),former Director, Institute ofPortManagement, GoI; Nagalsamy,


protection areas and on the otherhand the existing protection areasare allowed to be devastated byhighly dubious projects.

I also spoke to some of theseexperts separately. Dr.BhartenduPrakash showed me hiswell-documented studies in whichseveral low-cost methods of solvingthe water-scarcity problems ofBundelkhand region have beendescribed which do not also haveany adverse side-effects. Thebenefits of such small-scale worksare limited but certain. On the otherhand the benefits of the Rs. 18000crore Ken-Betwalink are highlyuncertain and questionable while itsadverse impacts such as cutting ofabout 18 lakh trees and displacingpeople of 10 villages are certain.

Dr. BhartenduPrakash also toldme that basic questions about thisproject were raised at a very earlystage and several well-informedpersons and activists of


Bundelkhand had organized aJalSansad or a Water Parliament inwhich the reasons for opposing thisproject were provided very clearly.Senior experts from outside theregion like Dr. Vandana Shiva werealso involved in these efforts, he said.

His own detailed reports on waterresources of Bundelkhand regiondetailing low-cost alternatives werewritten first in collaboration with theIIT, Delhi and later in collaborationwith the Madhya PradeshGovernment. So all along thegovernment was well-informed aboutthese low-cost alternatives but optedinstead for a highly expensive, highlydubious project like the Ken-Betwalink.

One of the low-cost alternativesrecommended by Dr. Prakashrelated to the famous yet neglectedMangal turbine innovated by farmerscientist Mangal Singh. Dr. Prakashrecommended its widespread use insuitable locations in Bundelkhand

region but this has not been done yetwhile Mangal Singh has been badlyvictimized.

Several low cost efforts to finddecentralized, local solutions towater scarcity have worked wellin several villages. These effortswere successful because villagerswere closely involved in theseefforts with the help of socialorganizations and activists whohave the trust of villagers. Someof these efforts have involved thecreation of panipanchayats in somevillages and the selection of somewomen as jalsahelis among themwho have carried forward the workof finding low cost solutions andmobilizing people for this purpose.

People are asking—why wasteRs. 18000 crore and why cut 18lakh trees for a project of highlyuncertain and suspect benefitswhen low-cost alternatives ofcertain benefits and no adverseside-effects are available.

IA&AS (Retd.), former PrincipalAccountant General, Tamil Nadu andKerala; Hari Narayan, IAS (Retd.),former Chairman, InsuranceRegulatory Authority, GoI;AmitabhaPande, IAS (Retd.), formerSecretary, Inter-State Council, GoI;Niranjan Pant, IA&AS (Retd.),former Deputy Comptroller andAccountant General of India;AlokPerti, IAS (Retd.), formerSecretary, Ministry of Coal, GoI;K.R.Punia, IAS (Retd.), formerPrincipal Secretary, Govt. ofHaryana; R. Raghunandan, IAS(Retd.), former Joint Secretary,Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GoI; K.Raghupathy, IAS (Retd.), formerChairman, Staff SelectionCommission, GoI; Babu Rajeev, IAS(Retd.), former Secretary, GoI;

Ramani, IAS (Retd.), former DirectorGeneral, YASHADA, Govt. ofMaharashtra; Julio Rebeiro, IPS(Retd.), former Adviser to Governorof Punjab and Ambassador toRomania; SayeedRizvi, IAS (Retd.),former Joint Secretary, Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests, GoI; ArunaRoy, IAS (Resigned); Manab Roy, IAS(Retd.), former Additional ChiefSecretary, Govt. of West Bengal;UmraoSalodia, IAS (Retd.), formerChairman, Rajasthan State RoadwaysTransport Corporation, Govt. ofRajasthan; Deepak Sanan, IAS(Retd.), former Principal Adviser(AR) to the Chief Minister of theGovt. of Himachal Pradesh; A.S.Sarma, IAS, (Retd.), former Secretary,Department of Economic Affairs,Ministry of Finance, GoI; ; C.Saxena,

IAS (Retd.), former Secretary,Planning Commission, GoI; Selvaraj,IRS, former Chief Commissioner,Income Tax, Chennai, GoI;ArdhenduSen, IAS (Retd.), formerChief Secretary, Govt. of WestBengal; Rahul Sharma, IPS (Retd.),Govt. of Gujarat; Raju Sharma,IAS (Retd.), former Member, Boardof Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh;HarMander Singh, IAS (Retd.),former Director General, ESICorporation, GoI; JawharSircar,IAS (Retd.), former Secretary,Ministry of Culture, GoI, andCEO, Prasar Bharati; P. SudershanK. Sudhakar, IAS (Retd.), formerSecretary, Govt. of Punjab;GeethaThoopal, IRAS (Retd.),former General Manager, MetroRailway, Kolkata.





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Vol. 72 No. 23June 25, 2017




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The Agony and Ecstasy ofInfosys

J. L. Jawahar

The Repressive Measures ofBJP Governments

Sandeep Pandey

Musings from MongoliaD. K. Giri

Patna Declaration82 years of Congress Socialist

Party (CSP), 17 May 2017

Strange! In the process ofselecting who should be the nextPresident of India, the nation hasforgotten the Emergency whichwas imposed some forty two yearsago. More than one lakh peoplewere detained without trial. Themedia which could have reportedthe conditions prevailing wasmuzzled. Civil servants obedientlyissued the orders, which came fromSanjay Gandhi, the extra-constitutional authority that ruledthe country in the name of hismother, then the Prime Minster.

The judiciary caved in andupheld that Parliament couldsuspend the fundamental rightsenshrined in the Constitution.Even the imposition ofthe Emergency was justified. Onlyone judge, Justice H.R. Khanna,gave the dissenting judgment. Hewas later superseded. It is anothermatter that the country punishedthe then Prime Minister, IndiraGandhi: she was ousted frompower, lock, stock and barrel inthe elections that were held.Similar was the fate of her son,Sanjay Gandhi.

What disappoints me is that the

Emergency should never be Forgotten

Kuldip Nayar

Supreme Court never passed aresolution or done anything toregister its criticism against thejudgment which had given thejudiciary a bad name. Even nowit is not too late. The SupremeCourt has liberal judges on thebench. They can make up bypassing a resolution that theirpredecessor bench was wrong inhaving endorsed the Emergency.

At least the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi cabinet should saysorry on behalf of the Centre forthe excesses committed by theearlier government duringthe Emergency. The then AttorneyGeneral, Niren De, had evenargued in the court that the rightto live was forfeited duringthe Emergency.

There was so much fearamong Delhi lawyers thatadvocates like Soli Sorabjee fromMumbai, along with V. M.Tarkunde from Delhi, argued thehabeas corpus petitions filed bymy wife. Still I spent three monthsin jail.

The two judges, Justice S.Rangarajan and Justice R.N.


Aggarwal, who gave the judgment,were punished. The first one wastransferred to Guwahati wherepeople still remember him for hisimpartiality. The second wasdemoted and sent back to theSessions Court. This did not,however, deter them and theycarried on their work boldly andindependently.

Probably, the pressure on thejudges has lessened in recentyears because of vigilant media.But the worse is happening inappointments to the benches. Theyare being made according to thewhims and wishes of rulers. Thisbegan with the Congressgovernment and has continuedwhen the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) is in power.

I recall that the process startedwhen Indira Gandhi hadsuperseded three judges—JusticesJ.M. Shelat, K.S. Hegde andA.N. Grover—to appoint JusticeA.N. Ray as the Chief Justice.She had been unseated fromparliament and disqualified for pollmalpractices for six years.Instead of accepting the verdictwith grace, she imposed theEmergency and amended theelection law itself.

The excesses which IndiraGandhi and Sanjay Gandhicommitted duringthe Emergency may be part ofhistory to me, they are recalledby not only those who sufferedbut also those who supporteddemocracy. It was the JanataParty, which came to power afterdefeating Mrs Gandhi thatchanged the Constitution to makethe imposition ofthe Emergency impossible. AndJustice Khanna’s dissenting

judgment that the basic structureof the constitution could not bechanged was accepted as thenorm. This has ensured theparliamentary system ofgovernance and has deterredevery ruler since then fromtinkering with the judiciary.

Ultimately, the independenceof the judiciary depends upon thequality of judges. In the US, thebiggest democracy, the SupremeCourt is divided between theRepublican judges and Democratjudges. Since the tenure of thejudges is for lifetime, theappointees of one party have risenabove their old loyalties andbecome independent and impartial.

In India, we had the best ofjudges when the governmentappointed them. But now the partypolitics has crept in. At least ithas been seen in High Courts thatthe party in power has notappointed the best of lawyers butthose who owed allegiance toparticular political party. Even inthe Supreme Court, someappointments come under theshadow of doubt.

Some examples of the past areworth praise. Take the case offormer Solicitor General GopalSubramanium whose appointmentto the Supreme Court was stalledby the Narendra Modigovernment. Blaming thegovernment for blocking hisappointment, Subramanium saidhis “independence as a lawyer iscausing apprehensions that I willnot toe the line of the government.This factor has been decisive inrefusing to appoint me.” Hewithdrew from the race.

In fact, it was at his instance

that the Gujarat police was forcedto book a murder case in theSohrabuddin fake encountermatter. When the prime witness,Tulsiram Prajapati, was liquidatedunder suspicious circumstances,Subramanium had recommendedthe transfer of the case to theCBI. Significantly, Subramaniumalso admitted that it was on hissuggestion that the SupremeCourt, while granting bail toaccused Amit Shah, now the BJPpresident, had barred him fromentering Gujarat.

Most pathetic was the role ofthe media. I recall that whenthe Emergency was imposed therewas anger and more than ahundred journalists assembled atthe Press Club at my bidding tocriticise the Emergency. But whenI tried to pick up the thread aftermy detention, there was hardlyanyone to support. Mrs Gandhihad created so much fear in theminds of journalists that they weremore worried about their jobs thanthe freedom of the press, whichthey otherwise cherished.

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There is a notion prevailing thatthe company belongs toshareholders. There are manyreasons for it. But the company lawtakes care to ensure thatshareholders do not interfere withday-to-day management. Somerights are given to be exercised inmeetings, but to be exercised in agroup only. It is based on the conceptof separation of management fromownership. Owners are suspected tobear some sentimental approach tothe company promoted by themwhich would prevent harsh decisionsthat business demands. Evenpromoters agree to that and invite(so-called) professional managers totake over the management. So farso good.

But at times it is possible thatsome of the shareholders, notnecessarily promoters, feel that thecompany is not running on properlines. They dare to makesuggestions to management eitherto do something or desist from doingsomething. But the management isentitled to ignore it as it is not legallybound to take note of it. They claimwhat they are doing is the best forthe company and its shareholders –that is, maximization of profit. In apublic limited company at present,the shareholders are in plenty,distributed all over the country oreven foreign countries. The sharesare distributed very thin but for someconcentration in the hands of a few.It makes it difficult for shareholdersto join together to make anyconcerted effort on any issue toinfluence the management. Itinvolves some effort, organization

The Agony and Ecstasy of Infosys

J. L. Jawahar

and expenditure to do it.Nevertheless, some of the individualor institutional shareholders takeupon themselves the task ofbringing together like mindedshareholder. They form the activeshareholders. Naturally there couldbe some personal interest of theinitiators also involved in it, apartfrom the company’s interest. Suchactive shareholders are prevalent inthe west particularly in the USA. Itbecomes necessary because theshareholders there are moredisabled to exercise any rights.Their decisions in meetings also arenot binding on the managements.The demands of shareholders mayextend from requests for paymentof dividends out of accumulatedprofits while the management wantsit accumulated for future plans. Theactive shareholders may think thatsplitting up of the company ondifferent lines of business may bemore profitable. It may also facilitatedisposal of unprofitable units keepingprofitable lines. At times they mayeven suggest sale of the companyoutright.

Carl Icahn is one of the mostreputed active shareholders in theUSA. If he finds a company whoseshares are quoted low in the market,he would like to enter into thecompany as a shareholder bypurchasing some shares if he hasnone already. That gives him alegitimate interest to poke his nosein the affairs of the company. Thenhe makes suggestions to improvethe performance of the company toget higher price for shares. Thus heinvested substantially in the Korean

conglomerate KT&G. He wants thecompany to divest some lines ofbusiness and dispose of somenoncore assets to make it moreprofitable. The management did notagree. He continued his tiradeagainst the company. Themanagement felt better tocompromise with him and allowedhis nominee on the board. WithBiogen Idec Inc. he demandedsplitting of the company or anoutright sale of it. The managementdid not agree. They ignored hisdemands. He started a proxy war,but could not get adequate support.He failed in his efforts. Thus attimes it is possible that activeshareholders start with a personalagenda. His fight with Time Warneris legendary not only for his failurebut also for the tactics he adopted.He made multiple demands. Hewants to split up the company intofour units for different lines ofbusiness, increase buy back ofshares to $20 billion and take stepsto reduce costs. In fact the boardthought of splitting up the companybut dropped the proposal in view oftax liabilities. A proposal was thereto buy back of shares to the extentof $5 billion. But the fight of Icahnhas become a distraction. He triedto tempt shareholders that he canbring the share price to $27 from theexisting $17. But shareholders didnot join his camp. In the meeting heproposed a panel of directors forelection. But it was defeated. TheChairman of Time Warner, RichardD. Parson is a gentleman. Heoffered peace. He agreed to taketwo of his nominees on the boardand to increase buy back of shares


to $12 billion. Icahn had to acceptto save his face.

But the fact is, in none of thesecases the management felt it properto go to the SEC (Securities andExchange Commission) of USAwith a complaint that the activeshareholders have become adiversion adversely affecting theability of the management toexecute strategic priorities. That isexactly what Vishal Sikka ofInfosys has done. It is not againstany particular group, he said. But itis obvious that it is with referenceto the objections raised by some ofthe promoters recently. But thesituation is radically different in thetwo cases. Whereas the demands ofactive shareholders in othercountries are about the economicefficiency of the managements, inthe case of Infosys the promoterswanted to uphold some ethicalstandards to be followed andrespect the culture of the company.They did not have any complaintabout the economic performanceand profitability of the management.In fact the company projected agrowth of 13.8% for the year 2016-17. But it was scaled down twicefinally coming to less than 8%. Thepromoters did not raise anyobjection. But when the salary ofthe CEO was raised by 55% overthe earlier year – from $7.8 millionto $11 million – they pointed out thatit is unfair compared to the increasefor most of the employees whichwas 6-8%. When one of theexecutives relinquished his job, hewas given a golden parachutecosting equal to salary of 60 months,which was unprecedented andunjustified. It would be a differentmatter if he is continuing with thecompany.

Usually, the enhancement of

remuneration to executives issought to be justified on the groundthat they may leave the organisationunless they are paid that much.They also say that there are othercompanies who are anxious to takethem if he leaves. Really? Does itmean that he undersold himself tothe company when he joined onnegotiated terms? Are there noexecutives available in the marketto fill the posts if they leave? Isthe market so barren? Obviously,it is blackmailing of the company.Top executives collude inthe process. That is unethical ontheir part. Of course, ethics has noplace there!

The culture of the company asinculcated by the promoters fromthe beginning is to treat all theemployees fairly and equitably. Infact when the business was dull andproposals were made to retrenchsome of the employees, the thenmanagement of the companydecided against it. Alternatively, thehighly paid employees were askedto cut their salaries andaccommodate the employeeswithout need for retrenchment.That is the culture the promoterswanted to continue in the company.In general, the media andmanagement circles pointed out thatNarayanamurty is out of step withthe present situation in businessworld. That is the mild way of tellinghe is obsolete. Does it mean ethicsare anathema to business? That, infact, is the basic question. If profitalone is the criterion for theperformance of the company, whyto talk of governance? Justcompliance with regulations isenough to claim as successfulgovernance? In what way is itdifferent from management? Justdefining the mission of the companyand vision of management in

bombastic style makes it goodcorporate governance?

In the present day businessenvironment, it is said “Everyone isdoing it”. Is it the standard thateverybody has to follow? Otherwisehe becomes obsolete! This is whatNarayanamurty condemned even inhis earlier days as promoter. Thatcannot be accepted as criterion forethical standards. If you think ethicshas no place in business, it is adifferent matter. But nobody agreesto that, at least openly. Now thatSikka has apprised the SEC thatactive shareholders remain a riskfactor for the performance of thecompany, he has already establishedan excuse for the possible failure toreach the target of $20 billion by2020. He could safely point out thatthe blame lies with the promoterswho stand in his way ofmanagement. The danger is thatevery democratic government couldallege that the opposition has becomea nuisance and but for them theycould have brought down the heavenon to earth. There are ethical waysof maintaining corporate culturewithout adversely affectingprofitability. Corporate cultureexpects that every employee istreated fairly and equitably sothat they feel happy and one withthe organization. Once thosevalues are declared alien tomanagement, that is ecstasy tomanagement and agony of peoplelike Narayanamurty.

Janata

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Bharatiya Janata Party and itsideological parent RashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh don’t havemuch faith in democracy. For thisreason they try to suppress eveyvoice against them. Dialogue withopposition which is a common wayof resolving disputes is not somethingwhich they usually resort to. Theybelieve neither in freedom ofexpression nor in the right to dissent.They adopt repressive measureswhen somebody else uses violenceand ignore the violence of their ownpeople.

Over hundred people died inKashmir due to use of pellet gunsand over thousand were injured. Itdidn’t appear that the governmentconsidered people of Kashmir as itsown. It treated them more likeenemies and still believes that it cansubdue them by force. The HomeMinister talks of bringing normalcyto Kashmir. This probably impliesmore force will be used. The ideathat people should be engaged indialogue is outside the realm ofpossibility for BJP leaders becausethey have presupposed thateverybody using violence against thestate is anti-national. For them it isscandalous to talk to anti-nationals.

On 21st April BJP Member ofParliament Raghav LakhanpalSharma tried to take out anAmbedkar Birth anniversaryprocession through a Muslim localitywithout the permission ofadministration in Saharanpur, UttarPradesh. When the police tried tostop the procession the mob, whichincluded two Members of Legislative

The Repressive Measures of BJP Governments

Sandeep Pandey

Assembly also, attcked the residenceof Senior Superintendent of Police.No action was taken against RaghavLakhanpal but the SSP wastransferred. How is the action ofRaghav Lakhanpal differnent froma Kashmiri pelting stones at Army?

On 5th May in Shabbirpur villageof Saharanpur district dalits objectedto loud music being played alongwith a procession taken out bymembers of thakur community tomark the birth anniversary ofMaharana Pratap. In the ensuingscuffle a thakur died of suffocation.In response thakurs burned about 60houses of dalits. An organisation ofdalits, Bhim Army registered protestand burned some governmentvehicles in the process. The leaderof Bhim Army Chandrashekhar wasarrested after a few days.

Now the administration is tryingto find fault with people on both sidesin both cases. Muslims and dalits arealso being made accused whereas itis crystal clear as to who wasresponsible for provocation. Howone sided the violence was can begauged from the fact that thakurscan burn the houses of dalits but notthe other way round. Small errorsof Muslims and dalits are beingexaggerated whereas monumentalmistakes of upper caste are beingunderplayed. Raghav Lakhanpal hasbeen let off as if nothing happened.

Question arises as to why no strictaction was taken against the MPwhich could have preventedsubsequent incidents as it wouldhave sent a clear message that

anybody who tries to disturb law andorder will be dealt with in a stringentmanner. It is being repeatedly seenthat any violence of cow vigilantegroups against a suspect is simplyignored by police, like it happenedwith Phelu Khan in Alwar, Rajasthanon 1st April, but if anybody questionsthe actions of government then itresults in repressive backlash.

On 6 June, 2017, Madhya Pradeshpolice opened fire on protestingfarmers in which 5 lost their lives.One more died later. Dr.Rammanohar Lohia used to say thatin a democracy a government whichopens fire on its people has no rightto continue.

In UP 11 students of LucknowUniversity were sent to jail for tryingto stop Chief Minister’s cavalcadeand showing him black flags. Is thereno space for dissent in democracy?As the CM was going to attend aprogramme in University could henot have invited them for a dialogue?Beacons cars are now disallowed inUP in an attempt to end the VeryImportant Person culture. However,whether the beacon is there or not,if punishment for stopping CM’s caris jail then the car still continues tobe terror for people.

On 9 June, 2017, vendors who setup carts outside Banaras HinduUniversity hospital in Varanasi andused to cater to patients and theirrelatives were forcibly removed bythe police and when they protestedthey were arrested. When BHUstudents protested against the arrestof vendors they too were arrested.


In all 26 vendors and students wentto jail and in order to obtain their bailthey were asked by the magistrateto produce a surety of Rs. 5 lakhseach. Is it such a big crime to defendone’s right to livelihood? In theviolence which police perpetrated onvendors each of them suffered amaterial loss of about Rs. 20,000.The biggest worry for vendors iswhen they are out on bail how willthey earn their livelihood? A person

who claims to have been a tea-selleronce has snatched the livelihood ofa number of tea sellers from hisparliamentary constituency in a verycruel manner.

It appears that the BJPgovernments have taken a decisionto crush all opposition with an ironhand. They don’t even make anattempt to understand the other pointof view. They have this arrogant

outlook that anybody opposing themis anti-national. From their narrowpoint of view a large number ofpeople in this country will fall outsidetheir domain of nationalism. Whenyou don’t accept any other point ofview other than your own then itis an indication of fascism. Violenceis a necessary part of fascismbecause if it is not possible toconvince the opposition then it is tobe eliminated.

Wanted an RMO for a Rural Hospital

An MBBS or BAMS need apply. Even a retired, but healthy doctor, woulddo. What is needed most is a commitment to take care of rural patients andthe willingness to rough it out.

The country needs rural doctors.

The Yusuf Meherally Centre, a premier rural hospital again, runs a hospitalat Tara, a village on Mumbai-Goa highway in Panvel taluka, Raigad district60 kilometers from Mumbai, and at Anjanvel, a village in Guhaghar taluka,Ratnagiri district, 60 kilometers from Chiplun both in Maharashtra. It alsohas a dispensary at Bhadreshwar, Kutch, Gujarat.

The Centre believes in mainstreaming of rural development, free education(its schools do not charge fees till the SSC and nearly 4,000 children aregetting free education) and affordable health care. Rural areas need anddeserve better health care and the state so far has failed to motivate enoughnumber of doctors to shift to rural areas. The civil society as well as medicalfraternuity needs to do something to motivate doctors to go to rural areas.The Centre is committed to work for this.

Yusuf Meherally Centre

D-15, Ganesh Prasad,,Naushir Bharucha Marg, (Sleater Road),

Mumbai-400007



Mongolia rings a bell for Indiansconversant with the history ofMongol (Mogul) invasion. GenghisKhan actually did not attack India,but his descendants, Taimur andBabur did. For that very reason,Mongolia stays an important part ofIndians’ memory. When theProgressive Alliance meeting tookplace in 25-26 May 2017, I neededno persuasion to accept the invitationand made my way to Ulaanbaatar,the capital of Mongolia. The flightto Mongolia was the longest I haveever taken; it clocked 27 hours withtwo stopovers, one at Istanbul,another at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Butthe journey was worth the effort andtime, as Mongolia is indeed uniquelyexotic. As I looked down from thewindow of our flight, mountains ofthe sand stood serene and still. I waswondering how people could liveamid the sand mountains, and longstretches of desert without greenery,water and soil. But by then, I hadseen only parts of Mongolia. Myimpression dramatically changedduring our stay for the conference.

We were hosted by theMongolian People’s Party (MPP)which rules the country now bywinning 65 seats out of 76 seats inMongolian Parliament, and a super-majority of massive 85 per cent. Thedownturn in the Mongolian economyappeared to be the major factor inthe landslide victory of MPP. Theglobal drop in the prices of copperand coal, the mainstay of Mongolianeconomy contributed to a measly 0.4per cent of GDP growth in 2016. Theincumbent Democratic Party wasblamed largely for the

Musings from Mongolia

D. K. Giri

mismanagement of the economywhich had experienced a boom from2010 to 2012.

A short profile about theMongolian People Party is in orderas it became the member of theProgressive Alliance, a sort of newincarnation of Socialist International.The Progressive Alliance came intoexistence in June 2013. MongolianPeople’s Part, set up in 1921, theoldest political party of Mongoliasubscribes to the ideology of socialdemocracy. It became MongolianPeople’s Revolutionary Party in 1924believing in Marxism-Leninism, andjoined the Communist International.It was then a communist partyworking at the behest of Sovietcommunists. There was however,protracted movement against thecommunist rule. In 1990, MongolianDemocratic Union started a hungerstrike demanding the communists’resignation. The politburo of MPRPdecided to dissolve and resign on 9March, 1990. That paved the wayfor multi-party elections in Mongolia.The MPP has been the dominantpolitical party ruling the country forlong except a few set-backs. In 2010,the party restored its original nameMongolian People’s Party, andchanged its ideology to socialdemocracy.

The Progressive AllianceConference took off in a grand stylewith few Members of Parliamentfrom the ruling party, and all theirlogistic support. The discussion wasabout building a fairer andprosperous world on the bases ofequality and solidarity. Like many

Progressive Alliance conferences,the presentations by membercountries were replete with socialdemocratic rhetoric and promise forfuture. There were discussions alsoon the crippling affect of populismon democracy and the fragile,nascent democratic structures in theMiddle East. The Palestinianquestion kept haunting the delegatesdue to the presence of bothPalestinian and Israeli comrades. Ofcourse, Progressive Allianceconferences provide uniqueopportunities for camaraderiebetween comrades of manycountries even if their governmentsare daggers drawn at each other, likeIndia and Pakistan, Israel andPalestine, Morocco and Polisario(Western Sahara) and so on. Therewas renewed focus on genderequality and resolutions passed infavour of Arab Social DemocraticForum and against Rodrigo Duterte,the ruthless president of thePhilippines, who is murdering people,including his opponents, in the nameof controlling drug trafficking.Serious concerns were alsoexpressed about refugee crisis,racism, religious fundamentalism,extremism and such. Terrorismoccupied the attention of theconference as bombs exploded inManchester, Jakarta and Philippineswhen the conference was in progressin Mongolia.

The visually gripping parts of thevisit were the cultural show, sumowrestling, the nomadic families, theGenghis Khan statue, and theentering the Mongolian Parliament.The visit to the Parliament was a


memorable event; for an Indian, fromthe most populous democracy in theworld, seeing a parliament of 76members representing 3 millionpeople was a bit amusing. All thedelegates were taken through acouple of security barriers, ournames were sent before our arrivaland were cross-checked from ouridentity cards and passports. Thesecurity drill is common occurrencein the whole world now, no matterhow developed is democracy in anycountry. Terrorism is growing inparallel with democracy, the latterbeing unable to neutralise it. Wewere taken to the Parliament Hallwhich seemed full to its capacity.The Prime Minister was sitting nextto the speaker on stage, although hislevel was bit lower than that of theSpeaker. All the MPs were sitting ina round shaped hall with treasury andthe opposition facing each other. Aswe were coming out, we werestruck by the people sitting in theadjacent hall. They were all in theirtraditional, colourful attire, with bigturbans. It was in sharp contrast towhat we saw earlier where MPswere all in western suits. We thoughtthat was the upper house or thesenate, or some name as a part ofthe Parliament. But it was not so, itwas the meeting of the farmerleaders from different parts of thecountry. It was amazing to see therural farmers finding space in theParliament building, next to theparliament session, to hold theirmeeting.

We were then taken to the statueof Genghis Khan, which is a majortourist attraction. The huge statue,made of 250 tons of stainless steel,is 40-meter tall. It is a matter ofsome academic inquiry as to whyMongolians want to revive the legacyof Genghis Khan. The worldremembers him as a 13th century

barbaric invader who conquered andkilled numerous people across thecontinents. His Mongol empire wasthe biggest contiguous territory everin history. But for Mongolians, he wasa larger-than-life hero, a man ofvalour and vision. The airport inUlaanbaatar is named after him, thereis a university bearing his name, andone finds his photo embossed invarious souvenir items.

From the statue we moved to anomad family where we were treatedwith traditional beverages, food,mostly meat items, and tea. Thefamily lived in a tent, and moved todifferent places in the car, theircaravan attached to it. Earlier, theyused horses. We saw the animalskept by the family- goats, lambs,camels, horses, and yak. The camelshad two hunches. We were told suchcamels with two hunches were foundonly in Mongolia. We were thentreated to folk dances by children inan open ground, followed by sumowrestling. In the evening,professionals from a dance schoolperformed various Mongolian dancesfor our entertainment.

To my surprise, I found manyeducated Mongolians knew India;they had been to India for medicaltreatment or for higher education.These two areas give us scope fordeepening relations with Mongolia.A step in strengthening relations wastaken as Prime Minister Modi visitedMongolia last year and gave onebillion USD credit line. Furtherassistance may be extended in termsof archeogical skills to restorenumerous Buddhist statues andrenovate ancient monasteries thathave priceless hand-printed Sanskrittexts.

The other important area that bindsthe two countries is democracy. The

new democracy in Mongolia bornin 1990 with some incentives fromIndia seems irreversible, intersectingwith Buddhism, freedom andnationalism, India should helpMongolia rewrite its history, mainlyon Genghis Khan who has beenportrayed as a barbaric marauder,his universalism, civilisationalvalues, governance techniques andmilitary skills, should be preservedas Asian heritage. This wouldchallenge China’s historicalreassertion in Asian region. Let itbe noted that Mongolia, like manyother countries, is worried about therise of China. Though China bringsloads of money into Mongolia inreturn for mineral resources,Mongolia is concerned lest it shouldbe gobbled up by China like InnerMongolia was.

A strong and viable Mongolia isgood for India. The culturalpresence of India in Mongoliabetween Russia and China is goodfor Asian geo-politics. Byresurrecting the powerful legacyof Genghis Khan, India andMongolia could debunk the China’shistorical claim on Asia.

Madhu Dandavate

By

B. Vivekanandan

Price: Rs. 20/-

Janata TrustD-15, Ganesh Prasad,

Naushir Bharucha Marg,Grant Road (W),Mumbai 400 007.


The Niti Aayog press conferencea month ago, in which the taxationof agricultural incomes wassuggested, embarrassed the NDAgovernment. When there arefarmers’ agitations in many parts ofthe country, and talk of farm loanwaivers, does this make sense? Thepolitics of such a move is clear, itseconomic aspects were spelt out inan article by Bibek Debroy (‘12reasons why’, Indian Express,May 3).

The article made 12 points, but itmissed the 13th, which follows fromthe 12th point. This missed pointmakes the other points redundant.The 12th point stated that the answerto an RTI application revealed that“In 2012, 8,12,426 individual taxpayers disclosed agricultural income.The average income per individualassessee was Rs 83 crore.” So, theincomes of these individuals turn outto be an astounding Rs 674 lakhcrore. The GDP in 2012-13 was alittle less than Rs 100 lakh crore.

If correct, these individualsdeclared incomes that were 6.7 timesthe GDP: Thus, the black economythat year was far more than Rs 574lakh crore or 574 per cent of theGDP. Coming from a highgovernment official, all this cannotbe doubted.

If such data was available,demonetisation to unearth blackincomes was not required.Investigation of these eight lakh plusentities would have been enough.Why did a billion people stand inendless queues for two months?

Not Worth the Tax

Arun Kumar

Many people lost their jobs, wenthungry, even died in queues and soon when officials knew what to do.

According to data in the IncomeTax Return Statistics AY 2012-13,in 2012-13, the “Number of EffectiveAssessees” was 4,72,67,582. Thatnumber rose in 2014-15 to more than5.167 crore. The categories includedhere were Company, Firm, HUF,Individual, Trust and so on. However,no category called agriculture ismentioned. This is understandablesince there is no tax on suchincomes. Then, how is data onagricultural income being generatedby tax authorities?

If one has income from bothagriculture and non-agriculture, thenone declares the agricultural incomeas well, even though one does nothave to pay a tax on that. It is justlike dividend income, which, in thehands of an individual, is free but isdeclared in the return. The incomedata from the tax department forAssessment Year 2012-13 revealsthat only 73,000 entities filed a returnof above Rs one crore and, of them,1,600 entities filed a return of aboveRs 50 crore. Only 2,600 entities paida tax of above Rs 10 crore. So, veryfew from the non-agriculture sectordeclared any income close to whatthe RTI data reveals.

It is conceivable that peopledeclaring a small non-agriculturalincome may declare largeagricultural incomes. But then, theyshould be suspect and investigatedby government agencies. Since therewere about eight lakh such entities,

scrutinising their accounts should notbe that difficult. If these blackincomes were caught, then 200 percent of the GDP would have accruedas tax collection whereas today, only5.5 per cent of the GDP is collectedas direct tax. Is this data believable?That brings one to the fourteenth andsubsequent points.

If the GDP figures rather than theRTI ones are taken as more credible,how much income tax can becollected from agriculture, assumingthat the income distribution inagriculture and non-agriculture aresimilar? There are 138.35 millionoperational holdings, but how manywould have taxable incomes ifagriculture were to be taxed?

The share of agriculture and alliedactivities in the GDP is around 14per cent. That would mean a GDPcontribution of about Rs 21 lakhcrore out of Rs 150 lakh crore. Thenet income that would be taxablewould be much less.

Roughly 50 per cent of the workforce is in agriculture, and a similarper cent in non-agriculture. But theformer earn only 14 per cent of theGDP while the latter make up 86 percent. Since India’s per capita incomenow is around Rs one lakh, theaverage income in agriculture wouldbe only around Rs 27,000.

From the 86 per cent of GDPcontributed by non-agriculture, 5.5per cent is collected as direct taxes.Assuming that the distribution ofincome in agriculture is similar,from the 14 per cent of GDP that


this sector contributes, one canonly collect less than one per centof GDP. But the averageagricultural income is one fourth ofthat of non-agriculture, so onewould expect to collect only 0.27per cent of GDP.

Adjusting for deductions, etc.,the collection may be no more than0.1 per cent of the GDP. Collectingthis tiny bit of tax would behorrendously difficult for a varietyof reasons, including definitional

and administrative ones, so thatcost may not justify the likely taxcollections.

How much would the taxcollection from agriculture rise overtime (called “buoyancy”)? Notmuch, given that the share ofagriculture in the GDP has beenfalling. So, it can only contribute adeclining share of taxes. Thealternative would be to collect morefrom the services where the bulk ofblack incomes are generated.

In conclusion, while for the sakeof equity, all incomes should betreated alike, agriculture is a specialcase. It is not that if agriculturalincomes are not taxed, there is notax on such incomes. Keepingagricultural prices low is also a tax.Finally, if the 12th point is believable,eight lakh entities are generatinglarge black incomes; if they aretackled, neither demonetisation, nora tax on agriculture is needed.

–Indian Express

Patna Declaration82 years of Congress Socialist Party (CSP) 17 May 2017Delegates in this Samajwadi

Samagam recall devoutly the golden82 years’ history of the Indiansocialist movement on the occasionof the anniversary of the foundationday of the Congress Socialist Party(CSP) in historical Anjuman Islamiahall. On this day, in 1934,100 socialists in this same hall ofPatna had formed the CongressSocialist Party within the Congresswith two distinct goals: freedomfrom the colonial subjugation andestablishing of socialistsystem. While working withinCongress, the Congress SocialistParty turned the policies of theCongress in support of workingclasses and played an important roleon almost every issue. A committeewas formed to prepare the draftconstitution, policy document andprogram of the CSP with AcharyaNarendra Dev (Chairman)Jayaprakash Narayan (Secretary)and Abdul Bari, PurushottamTrikmdas, Minoo Masani,Sampurnanand, G C Banerjee,Faridul Haque Ansari, Dr.Rammanohar Lohia, Adul Alim andN G Ranga as members.Jayaprakash Narayan was appointed

the organization secretary to set upthe party’s units in differentprovinces. Samagam remembersrespectfully all the socialist martyrswho sacrificed their lives during thefreedom struggle and the socialistmovement.

The socialist movement has madesignificant contribution in India’sstruggle for independence.Especially in 1942, legendary leaderslike Dr. Lohia, JP, Aruna Asaf Ali, Achyut Patwardhan led the ‘QuitIndia’ movement (August Kranti),after almost all senior Congressleaders were arrested following thecall of ‘Quit India’ given byGandhiji,. A letter written to ViceroyLinlithgow from Lahore Jail Lohiareveals that in the August Revolutionmore than fifty thousand freedomfighters were martyred by the Britishpolice and over one lakh fighterswere arrested and severelypunished. August RevolutionMovement is a golden chapter ofIndia’s Independence Movement.75 years of the Quit IndiaMovement are being completed on9th August 2017. This Samagamcalls upon all socialists and like-

minded people/organizations of thecountry to reach the August KrantiMaidan in Mumbai on 9th August.There will be a grand program underthe auspices of Ham Samajwadiorganisations. The Socialist Party(India) has also planned a rally fromRamlila Maidan to Jantar-Mantar inDelhi on the same day to mark theoccasion.

We are proud that the socialistshad opposed the imperialistconspiracy of partition of India andmade every effort to stop the riotsbetween Hindus and Muslims underGandhiji’s leadership. Afterindependence, the socialists left theCongress and formed the SocialistParty to work independently for theestablishment of a socialist societyin the country. They established co-operative relationsship withDr. Ambedkar and his RepublicanParty; fought relentlessly for thevalues of freedom, democracy,socialism, secularism, social justice,simplicity, self-reliance, upholding thepath of non-violence – Satyagraha -Civil Disobedience. Goa got freedomfrom the possession of Portuguesein 1961 under the leadership of


socialists. Many important literaryfigures and artists of the countryhave played important roles inSocialist Party and the SocialistMovement. Prominent writers andthinkers like Rambriksh Benipuri andPhaniswaranath Renu from Biharwere active in the Socialist Party andsocialist movement. The Samagamremembers them on this occasion.

Whenever central and stategovernments tried to make policiesagainst farmers, laborers, women,youth, dalits, tribals, backwards andminorities, or attempted to resortto black laws to crush civilrights, socialists opposed anti-people policies and laws at everystep. Whenever socialists got theopportunity to run or join thegovernments at the state or at thecenter, they have made everyeffort to implement welfareschemes. The government in Biharunder the chief minister ship of lateKarpuri Thakur is a uniqueexample in the country.

In the country, when the Congressimposed Emergency and snatchedall civil rights and freedom, socialistsput a strong fight against that. Duringthe Emergency, socialists werearrested on a large scale, but they didnot bow before the terrorof autocratic power. In 1974 themovement of the youth of Bihar wasled by Loknayak JayaprakashNarayan. We salute the fighters ofJP for their struggle and sacrificesfor the restoration of democracy. Wetake a pledge to oppose stronglyattacks on democratic institutions,constitutional values and civil rightsby the current central governmentand Sangh Parivar.

On this day, in 1934, under thechairmanship of Acharya NrendraDeva resolutions were passed for

social ownership of resources andproduction and re-distribution landamong the peasants by uprootingexploitative classes. Today, neo-imperialist clutches on thesovereignty and resources of thecountry are being tightened. Fromeducation to defense sector, it isbeing entrusted in private and foreignhands. Education has been handedover to the market. With thepermission for hundred percentForeign Direct Investment in thedefense sector, the presentgovernment has put the country’ssecurity system at risk. In order tofulfill the objectives laid down by thefounding leaders of the socialistmovement, we all socialists resolveto fight together against the menaceof neo-imperialism.

Policy decisions to handover water, forest and land to thecorporate are being put on a fast trackby the central and stategovernments. In order to givemaximum profit to the corporate, thecentral government has weakenedthe labor laws achieved after majorsacrifices in the last 150 years bythe labor movement. Due to this,inflation and unemployment in thecountry are at peak. This Samagamsupports the protest movementsagainst these anti-people policiesacross the country by farmers, tradeunions, dalits, tribals, women,fishermen, landless labourers,unemployed, civil rights organizationsand environmentalists. Along withthis, The Samagam also supports‘Nasha-Mukt Bharat Andolan’ forimplementation of prohibition in thecountry.

The country is going through adeep crisis. Values of the freedommovement, the principles of socialistideology and movement, ideals of JPmovement, even basic constitutional

values are being hammered bycommunal fascist forces. There isa conspiracy to destroy the Indiancivilization based on plurality anddiversity. The present BJPgovernment is bent on destroying theright to privacy, to wear, to eat, tospeak, to listen and to believe. Ratherthan fulfilling the promises madeduring the elections thegovernment is intent on imposinga communalist, narrow, dictatorialagenda on the nation. Samagamappeals to all citizens andorganisation who believe insocialism, secularism, democracyand harmony to oppose this onslaughtof the government collectively.

The situation in Kashmir is theworst in its history so far. The presentcentral government and the Jammuand Kashmir alliance governmenthas no short-term or long-term policyto resolve this serious problem. TheSamagam demands the ruling partyto initiate an immediate unconditionaldialogue with all parties to resolvethe Kashmir problem. Samagamwelcomes and supports the effortsmade by socialists under the auspicesof Rashtra Sewa Dal in thisdirection.

Anjuman Islamia Hall is anintegral part of the legacy of India’sgreat socialist movement. Therefore,the meeting demands that the Bihargovernment should declare theAnjuman Islamia Hall a nationalheritage forever; and no otherbuilding should be erected in thefuture in place of this building. TheSamagam will submit amemorandum to the Chief Ministerof Bihar soon and will contact thecentral government in this regard.

All the leaders who founded theSocialist Party were young.Therefore, in the end, Samagam


invites the youth of the country tocome together with the socialistmovement to defeat the forces whosell and break the country; theyshould unite with the attempt ofnew politics to strengthen the

country’s independence and self-reliance vis-a-vi the neo-imperialistattack.

An organizing committee wasformed to organize ‘Congress

Socialist Party Formation Day’ everyyear at the same place.

–Dr. Sunilamm,National Co-ordinator,Samajwadi Samagam

Several trade unions and workers’organizations are increasinglyconcerned about the abolition ofseveral cesses which had earliermade funds available for welfare ofworkers. Supporting these concernsSharad Yadav, member of RajyaSabha and Chairman, DepartmentRelated Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Industry, wrote to theFinance Minister Arun Jaitly onMarch 24,2017, “ I write this toexpress my great concern about salt,mica, coal, dolomite, cine, iron ore,manganese and chrome ore workersas welfare cesses being collected fortheir social security have beenabolished without consulting thetrade unions. The representatives ofvarious workers’ unions met me toinform that apart from abolition ofcess laws , enactment of GST willfurther have negative impact on

Abolition of Cesses

workers’ welfare in building andbeedi industries.”

Although the construction cessstill continues, as this is the biggestcess for providing security potentiallyto a very large number of workers,workers’ organizations have beenworried about its continuationfollowing the decision taken earlier,very arbitrarily. to abolish the cessesrelated to the welfare activities ofseveral other categories of workers.

A recent report in the Hindu inthe context of salt workers inMarakkanam, Villupuram districthas revealed that the abolition ofcesses in some categories of workhas already started having anadverse impact on the welfare ofthese workers. This report publishedon June 16 and titled ‘Welfare Cess

rubs salt on workers’ wounds’ haspointed out that in recent timesurgently needed medical camps havestopped, water tanks are not availableand educational help for children hasstopped. This denial, the report notes,is related to the July 2016 notificationof the Union Ministry of Financeabolishing welfare cesses forworkers in six sectors. When localofficials were contacted they repliedthat now they do not have funds forthese welfare activities relating tolabour.

Clearly this a serious matter andthe demands for continuing thewelfare activities of workers as wellas avoiding any further abolition ofsuch cesses should be accepted bythe government.

–Bharat Dogra


by

Rohini GawankarPublished by

Kamalakar Subhedar,Secretary, Samata Shikshan Sanstha, Pareira Wadi, Mohili Village, Sakinaka, Ghatkopar(W), Mumbai 400072.



Whether it is traveling ortransporting goods, Indian Railwaysis the lifeline of the entire country.This is one of the largest railwayservices in the world. The British hadused the railway for the economicexploitation of India and thestrengthening of its own empire. Onthe other hand, the creation andextension of rail services inindependent India was aimed atstrengthening the country’s contactsystem, economy and militarysystem. In the construction and theworking of Indian Railway

Service, the country’s mostvaluable resources, both material andhuman labour is invested.

In the last few years the rulingclass has been trying to privatize therailway. However, the present BJPgovernment, in the guise of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), hascleared the plan to privatize therailway by initiating the sale ofrailway stations into private hands.

To start the campaign, SocialistParty Delhi State organised a ‘SaveIndian Railways’ march from MandiHouse to Jantar-Mantar on 22 June2017. The party’s senior leaderJustice Rajindar Sachar flagged offthe march at Mandi House. Speakingon the occasion he said that theSocialist Party is committed to thepublic sector and opposes thegovernment’s decision of selling therailway stations to private hands. Heexpressed anguish that anyopposition party in the Parliamentincluding the Left parties has notraised voice against this wrongdecision of the government. Neitherthe railway unions have taken anystrong action against the decision. He

March Against Privatization of Railway Stations

expressed hope that after theinitiative of the Socialist Party,opposition parties and railway unionswill come forward and oppose thisanti-constitutional decision and willabrogate it.

The national president of SocialistParty Dr. Prem Singh said that allthe state units will organize programsin their respective states to opposethe decision. He informed that theparty also plans to organize a nationalconference on the issue of theprivatization of the railway byinviting Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS)and other labor organizations. He saidthat if all the public undertakingsincluding education, army andrailways are to be handed over toprivate hands, then what workwill remain for the electedgovernment? Is the government’s jobmerely is to shift national assetsinto private assets? Has thegovernment become an agent ofcorporate houses/multinationalcompanies? He reminded thegovernment that the railway is anational inheritance. The SocialistParty will explain to nation’s citizenshow and why the government’sdecision to sell the railway stationsis an clear betrayal to the country.

The march ended at JantarMantar and a public meeting washeld. Senior socialist leaderShyam Gambhir conducted themeeting. The meeting was addressedby national president of PUCLRavikiran Jain and vice president NDPancholi, senior socialist leadersVijat Pratap, comrade Baldev Sihag,comrade Narendra Singh, RavindraMishra, national vice president of theSocialist Party Renu Gambhir,general secretary Manju Mohan,

secretary Faizal Khan, SocialistParty Delhi State working presidentSyed Tahsin Ahmad, vice presidentsMahendra Yadav and Tripti Negi,general secretary Yogesh Paswan,secretary Devender Bharati, nationalpresident of Socialist Yuvjan Sabha(SYS) Niraj Kumar, generalsecretary Bandana Pandey, theatreactivist Hirany Himkar, journalistRajesh Kumar Mishra along withmany others.

The speakers opined that thedecision of selling railway stationsinto private hands is a direct resultof the pro-capitalist policies of thegovernment. They called upon theSocialist Party to make it acomprehensive movement againstthis anti-people decision.

–Yogesh Paswan

Price: Rs. 20/-

Janata Trust

D-15, Ganesh Prasad, Naushir

Bharucha Marg,

Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007.


National Alliance of People’sMovements expresses its solidaritywith the struggle of the scheduledtribes, forest and park dwellers livingnear the Kaziranga National park(KNP), in Golaghat district, Assam,challenging the unjust and repressiveattitude of the Forest Department ofAssam and silence of theGovernment of India in the garb ofconservation. We salute the spirit ofactivists like Pranab Doley, SoneswerNarah and others of the JeepalKrishak Shramik Sangha (JKSS),who, in spite of facing continuousthreats, trumped-up charges, hand-cuffing and arrests have highlightedthe impunity enjoyed by the ForestDepartment in dealing with the localpeople.

It may be noted that while villagersand activists like Akhil Gogoi,associated with the Krishak MuktiSangram Samiti (KMSS) have forlong been facing repression andraising concerns about the humanrights violations, evictions anddeplorable state of affairs in villagesnear Kaziranga, the issue once againcame to spotlight with theGovernment’s ban on BBC’sdocumentary ‘Killing forConservation’ which has exposedthe shoot-at-sight policy of KNP andthe grim situation of the locals beingthreatened, harassed, tortured andeven killed by the Forest Department,using conservation as a shield. Thedocumentary has graphicallyportrayed the serious issues facedby communities living at the peripheryof KNP. The Government’s impunity,we feel, is starkly visible, both in itsrepression on the KNP’s forest

‘Conservation’ or ‘Militarization’?Human Rights Violations in Kaziranga National Park

dwellers as well as in its arbitraryban on BBC’s film, threat ofblacklisting the media group andrevoking its filming permission acrossthe country!

Across the country, whether inNiyamgiri, Narmada, Nilgiris orelsewhere scheduled tribes and otherforest dwellers are always forcefullymade to pay the price for‘development’, many times with theirlivelihood (displacement) and at timeseven with their life. It is in this situationthat we are compelled to ask theGovernments of Assam and India, ifwhat the State is doing at KNP isindeed ‘Conservation’ or‘Militarization’. The situation here,we feel, warrants a radical overhaulof the conservation policy andpractice of the State, which disregardscenturies-old indigenous culture, lifeand livelihoods.

We express our deep concern atthe large numbers of extra-judicialkillings by the KNP authorities, whichreportedly are about 106 in the last20 years and 57 only in the past threeyears - 27 in 2014, 23 in 2015 and 7in 2016. As per the forestdepartment’s own Report of 2014,while hundreds of alleged poachershave been shot dead in encountersover the years, not a single foreststaffer has been killed in an encounterbetween 1985 and June, 2014. Thisrecord over 3 decades raises somecrucial questions about the officialclaims that all the killings “are ofpoachers in cross-fire”! We haveenough reason to suspect periodicabuse of the ‘Order’ dt. 14/7/2010issued by the Government of Assam

according legal immunity to all theforest guards of Kaziranga usingfirearms, in addition to the existingimmunity from judicial proceedingsthey enjoy for actions done in ‘goodfaith’ under Sec 197 of CrPC. Indiahas been witnessing the abuse ofdraconian legislations like AFPSA fordecades in Kashmir, Manipur andother North-East states, where legalimmunity is used as a shield for fakeencounters, rapes and torture. Wefear for the well-being of thescheduled tribes and other forestdwellers of Kaziranga in the light ofsuch provisions, granting blanketimmunity to forest authorities.

We strongly feel the need forinclusive and participatory socio-economic development of the localsof Kaziranga in order to protect KNP.However, instead of addressingpeople’s demands, throwingenvironmental and human rightsactivists and local people behind bars,at the drop of a hat, without cogentproof and in violation of criminalprocedure is a stark reminder of thehigh-handed Jungle-Raj thatcontinues even 7 decades after‘independence’. The unjust firing oftwo persons, repression on manyothers by the state police lastSeptember, when the people wereopposing the eviction drive in KNP’sexpanded buffer zone as per theGuwahati High Court’s Order anddemanding rehabilitation as per theLARR Act, 2013, since the residentswere living there since 4-5 decades,is still fresh in memory.

NAPM endorses the key demandsof the local people including


immediate review of the 33 HighlandsProject in the KNP core zone,disclosure of the Environment andForest Clearance, EnvironmentImpact Assessment Report and allieddocuments in relation to the HighlandsProject within KNP, implementationof the Scheduled Tribes and OtherTraditional Forest Dwellers(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,2006 as well as the LARR Act, 2013;complete reservation to theinhabitants of KNP and its peripheryand reservation for ST(P), OBC,MOBC as per governmentguidelines; regularization of all thecasual employees in KNP, immediaterelease of compensation for loss oflife or property during the 2016 floods,a loan waiver for affected farmers,permanent jobs to family membersof victims who have lost their life towild animal attack or innocent victimswho have suffered at the hands ofForest Department and immediatewithdrawal of large sound and smokeemitting machines from KNP.

NAPM stands in full solidarity withthe courageous struggle of the JeepalKrishak Shramik Sangha (JKSS),Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti(KMSS), Takam Mising PorinKebang (TMPK), Mising MimagKebang (MMK) and other people’sorganizations against the impunity andimmunity of the forest officials andthe unjust, unaccountable model ofconservation, leading to grossviolation of basic human rights. Wecall upon the Govt. of Assam andIndia to ensure immediate withdrawalof all Govenment Orders thatauthorize use of force againstvillagers in the name of conservation,withdrawal of false cases, end to allforms of threat, arbitrary arrests anda dialogue with the people’sorganizations in the area to addressthe concerns of scheduled tribes,forest ad park dwellers, and involve

them in the conservation efforts. TheGovernment must ensure that thereare no evictions, without lawfulrehabilitation. We also call upon theState Government to institute anindependent inquiry into all the killingsby forest guards and adequatecompensation for survivors/familymembers of the victims of stateviolence. Government of India mustrevoke its ban on BBC’sdocumentary and abstain from issuingany form of threat to media or otherpublic organization that report theground realities.

Endorsed by: National Team ofAdvisors, Conveners and SpecialInvitees of NAPM

Medha Patkar, Narmada BachaoAndolan (NBA) and National Allianceof People’s Movements (NAPM)

Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and ShankarSingh Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan(MKSS) and National Campaign forPeople’s Right to Information andNAPM

Prafulla Samantara, - Lok ShaktiAbhiyan & NAPM, Odisha;

Lingraj Azad – Samajwadi JanParishad - Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti,NAPM, Odisha;

Binayak Sen and Kavita Srivastava,People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Sandeep Pandey, Socialist Party andNAPM, Uttar Pradesh

Sudhir Vombatkere, Senior Activist,NAPM, Karnataka

Gabriele Dietrich, Penn UrimayIyakkam, Madurai and NAPM, TN;

Geetha Ramakrishnan, UnorganisedSector Workers Federation, NAPM, TN;

Arul Doss, NAPM Tamil Nadu

Arundhati Dhuru, Nandlal Master,Manesh Gupta - NAPM, UP;

Richa Singh, Sangatin KisanMazdoor Sangathan, NAPM-UP

Vilayodi Venugopal, CRNeelakandan and Prof. Kusumam,NAPM, Kerala

Vimal Bhai - Matu Jan Sangathan,

NAPM-Uttarakhand & Jabar Singh,NAPM, Uttarakhand;

Sister Celia - Domestic WorkersUnion & NAPM, Karnataka;

Rukmini V P, Garment LabourUnion, NAPM, Karnataka;

Anand Mazgaonkar, Krishnakant -Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti, NAPMGujarat;

Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan – Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan & NAPMBihar;

Mahendra Yadav – Kosi NavnirmanManch, NAPM Bihar;

Sister Dorothy, NAPM Bihar

Dayamani Barla, Aadivasi-Moolnivasi Astivtva Raksha Samiti,NAPM Jharkhand

Dr. Sunilam and Adv. AradhnaBhargava - Kisan Sangharsh Samiti NAPM Madhya Pradesh

Bhupender Singh Rawat – JanSangharsh Vahini, NAPM, Delhi

Rajendra Ravi, Nanu Prasad,Madhuresh Kumar, Amit Kumar,Himshi Singh, Uma Kapari, ZavedMazumder, NAPM, Delhi

Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar,NAPM Haryana

J S Walia, NAPM Haryana;

Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan;

Amitava Mitra & Avik Saha, NAPMWest Bengal;

P. Chennaiah, Andhra PrdaeshVyavasaya Vruttidarulua Union(APVVU) and NAPM-AP

Ramakrishnam Raju, United Forumfor RTI and NAPM, AP

Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, PrasadBagwe - NAPM, Maharashtra;

Gautam Bandopadhyay, NAPM,Chhatisgarh

Anjali Bharadwaj, NationalCampaign for People’s Right toInformation and NAPM

Kaladas Dahariya, RELAA,Chhatisgarh

Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar BanaoAndolan, Mumbai,

Meera Sanghamitra, NAPMTelangana-AP





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