ANLetter Volume 2 Issue 2-Mar 1994-EQUATIONS

8/7/2019 ANLetter Volume 2 Issue 2-Mar 1994-EQUATIONS

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For Private Circulation OnlvVolume 2 lssue 2 March L994

s@ Immunisation: ANecessityI lr titttc that this issue of the ANLetter reaches you the'liberalising'

forces would have receiaed a shot in the arm

from the Marrakesh Declaration. .The juggernaut of'Iiberalisation' will for its continuation build a centralised

mechanism - Worlit Trade Organisation. Essentially, we

are told that the aalue of openness would suraiae only ina highly regulated regime.

Regulation and protection, nre therefore sought to be seen

as not contradictory ta tlrc concept of 'liberalising' or'opening-up', by iti proponents. And'they may weU be

right for all the wrong reasons.

Any system builds for itself the basis for its existence and

in the process also builds mechnnisms by which to protect

itself, in a sensebuilds for itself an immune system. Today,

tlrc larger debate, acknozuledges the need for this immunesystembut sees its need only for large systems. The small,

the local and those zuith a different form are being asked to

giae-up on their mechanisms of protection for the cause ofthe larger.

This does sound aery familiar also in the context of tourisntwhen the local perion is told that s/he is in the'friailegedposition of contributing to the national economic effort.

An effort for which it is imperative to giae-up of lagt

aestiges of security in terms of the land holdings and the

cultural moorings.

ln the context of tourism howeoer, this process is being

taken a step forward in the creation of the Special Tourism

Areas. Meant for 'intensiTte', 'integrated' and aggressiae

maniplulation of economic processes in faaour of tourism,the place for questioning ntch concepts, is sought to be

stifled. In this zzay, local sub-systems are being

dismantled in faoour of its integration with globalised

ones.

This issue brings case-studies of this process tfdismantlement as weII as responses to these processes. The

ferztour for'tearing down is so great that a go-by is giaen

to all norms of political negotiations as in the case of t

repeal the Air Corporation, which bulldozed its w

through a statutory resolution disapprooing the motion

EQUATIONS plans to prioritise its primaaction-research ffirts this year on constitr,tencies whiare tmable to sustain integrity. Emerging from thprioritisation we will conduct studies proaiding datathe social and cultural conflicts that arise from the proce

of deuelopment (within which tourism is a partiailacomplex form of modernisation), especially those issu

relating to ethinicity, rights of minority groups, and t

struggles of increasingly larger numbers of peopleartiailate identity and cultural space in the contexteaer-growing lrcmogenisation and a global monoculture

KT Sr,"o

From the Nether the ceaseless dance

-Dhanarai Kea,h



To The Parhbments Standrna Gommrttee

onTransVort and Tourrsn

India is a poor country whereover43% of thepeoplelivebelow the

poverty line. A small section of privileged PeoPle (in 1950 this

population was 0.02% of the total indian population and today this

percentage has reduced to 0.01%) yet politically, economically and

in every other way powerful are the customers of the domesticairlines. In addition foreign tourists use the airlines and it's expected

to mridr the cotrntry by bringing in foreign exchange.

On a passenger kilometer basis air transport is the costliest mode of

transport and besides an airlinerequires vast infrastructure whidris also capital intensive. Thus, 99 .99"/o of the population of lndia and

not just the 0.01% of the population who are air passengers have an

inalienable right to be informed of the changes in the GovemmmtPolicy and its consequences on the investments made by people inthe National carrier.s: lrdian Airlines and Air India.

Contempt of Parliament

'The Gowrnrnent o. India has introduced in Parliament a BilL TFIE

AIR CORT'ORATIONS CTRANSFER OF I.JNDERTAKING ANDREPEAL) BILL, 1992. The statement of objects and reasons are

misleading. It states, "In the fast developing intemational

air-transport industry, mobilisation of progressively laqger funds

becomes necessary for all airlines. To meet their growth

requirements, hdian Airlines and Air India, both constituted under

the Air Corporations Act, 1953 need to tap the capital market for

equity funds rather than depend sohly on budgetary support from

the Government as envisaged under the Act".

In the entirehistoryof both the airlines theyhaveateverystagebeen

keeping up with the requirements of intemational air transport.

They have been acquiring the latest statre of art equipment not onlyfor the aircrafts but for all support facilities such as ground suPport

facilities, communications facilities and computerisation facilities as

well as simulators for training.

There is neither a need for budgetary support nor for going to the

capital market. The above identified portion of the statement ofobjects and reasons is entirely and totally inaccurate and

misleading. The facts were within the knowledge of the then

Ministe{, Shri Madhav Rao Scindia and it must be deemed that he

was aware of the correct facts and the proper conclusions to be

drawn therefrom. Therefore, it is clear that there was a gross breach

of privilege of the Lok Sabha where the bill was introduced by

misleadi4g the members and the people of India, in respect of factson an important legislation.

Parliament's Obligation to the People

The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govemment of India has

stated before this Honourable Comrnittee, "a conscious application

of mind reduced to writing was not there in respect of analysing the

impact of private air transport operations on Indian Airlines."

Therefore, it is evident that no study or survey was made by the

Govemment of India on the likely impact on the Indian Airlines and

Air India which are assets of the people and statutory corporations

by an Act of Parliament. The Parliament has statutoryobligation to

protect and safe guard the interestsand assets oftheseorganisations

both under the Constitution of India and the Air Corporations Act1953. It is inconceivable that the Padiament or this Honourable

committee can pass the said bill without even an enquiry into the

consequmces of such an action on the stafutory corporations and

the assets of the people partioilarly when the Executive hasadmitted before this committee, that no survey was conducted. It is

therefore obligatory on this Honourable Committee to order an

enquiry into the facts relating to the bill,and conduct a survey to

determine what would be the consequences of passing the said bilrepealing the Air Corporations Act, 1953. It is an obligation of the

Parliament, to the people of India, that no legislation is enacted onthe basis of inadequate information, mal-information odisinformation.

A survey to determine what would be the consequences of passin

the bill repealing the Air Corporation Act 1953 is particular$

essential since. the errperience after April 1990 is available.

In April 199O the Govemment of India had amended the civaviation policy and introduced the policy of 'open skie

deliberately creating confusion and introducing ad hocism in th

Civil Aviation policy. Air Thxies were deliberately and willfullallowed to operate as scheduled airlines in gross violation of the law

foreign airlines have been allowed to operate on domestic route

through bmami and front organisations, policy pronouncement

have been made that foreign equity would be allowed in thes

bmnni organisations.

'Auiatinn and tourism should be better

fnandged'

Travel and tourism, which continue to be the world's largest

industry in terms of gross output, capital investment,

employment, value addition and tax collectio& should be

better managed to obliterate its adverse effects on society,

environment and ecology of the country.

A recent study by the World Thavel and Tourism Council has

projected that by the end of the current year tourism and

travel would be accounting for one in every nine jobs in the

world and morethan one tenth of theworld's grossdomestic

product.

A recent seminar ofganised by the Foundation for Aviation

and Sustainable Tourism, focussed on the changed aviation

and tourism scenario in South and South East Asia.

According to the president of the Foundation, Dr. S. S. Sidhu,

India has moved into the 'fast lanc' of the developing worldeconomy. There are positive indications of the growth being

higher in future with greater thrust on the aviation and

tourism s€ctors. But concerted att€mpts would have to be

made tomake this growth symbiotic.

-TheHindu,l-Sn/94



All this was do'ne to create a situation of fait accompli and bringpressure on Parliament to enact the repeal Bill as a'there being no

altemative' situation. But the consequence of this kind of ad hocismhas been demorilisation of the Indian Airlines management andstaff; uncertainty regarding the future of the airline leading to in-decision in all long term matters. These consequences have already

translated themselves into Indian Airlines making losses since the

introduction of the policy, after a sustained record of profits.

Criminal Violation of Law

In April, 1990, when the Government of India decided to adopt a

policy of open skies and repeal the Air Corporations Act, 1953, AirTaxies were allowed to operate as non-schedule operators.

However, in gross violation of the law these air taxi operators areinfact operating as scheduled airlines on scheduled routres. In fact

some of them are openly advertising a claim of 98.5% on timeschedule and offering a free passage in case of a two-hour delay.

Merely because the Govemment has prevented them frompublishing a time table does not constitute them as non-sdreduleoperators. The Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, GovemmentofIndia has maintained before this Honourable Committee, "DGCAcannot give permission for scheduled operations. The permits are

issued only for non-scheduled operations."

The Air Tlansport Inquiry Committee 1950, headed byfustice G. S.

Rajadyaksha has stated the conditions that must prevail in thematter of competitions between non-scheduled operators andscheduled airlines.

"It might also be argued, perhaps with some justification, that thecomparatively small overhead charges of these non+cheduledpermit-holders enable them to compete and that this has resulted inthe under-cuttingof passenger and freightrates. Someof the airlineshave made bitter complaints about this competition whidr theyconsider to be unequal and unfair. We are not altogether satisfied

. that this complaint is correct. So long as the sdreduled operators are

protected on their scheduled services by the order of the DirectorGeneral of Civil Aviation thatnonon-scheduled operatorshall carryout any charters on the routes or between the points whidr are

served by Segular scheduled serviceq we do not think that the

sdreduled airlines could have any serious ground for complaint. Itis only in the terrain not served by scheduled services that a

non-scheduled operator has any right to function."

But the Government wants the people to believe that the law has

not been deliberately and criminally violated merely because

private air operators are not allowed to publish a time-table even

though they are publishing a schedule of flights. What is shockingis that the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govemmentof Indiahas

deposedbefore

this Committee,"How does one

knowabout

itin the Ministry unless the facts are brought out - that somebody is

violating the law"?

The Basis for Enacting the Air Corporations Act,1953

In order to decide on the merits of repeal of the Act, it is necessary

to examine why and how the Act came into force. Tlre Rajadyaksha

Committee, after careful consideratiorL recommended several

concessions to be given to the air operators. The Government ofIndia accepted the recommendations of the Committee and,in fact,

implemented the recommendations. In spite of all the r'oncessions,

the air services did not improve and after a ve:y detailedexamination, the private sdreduled and non-sdreduleci operators

were nationalised.

If the Air Corporations Act was enacted after such a detailexamination-to seek to repeal it with a self admitted act of napplication of mindis entirely malafide and its motive are openquestion

Reasons and Rationale for Nationalisation

The chronic problems of, and created by, the private scheduled anon-scheduled air operators were:

L. conditions of permit frequently evaded in practice,

2. illegal practices like over-invoicing and under-invoicingequipment and spares,

3. need for subsidie to licensing

4. spare capacity and unnecessary large fleet,

5. urieconomic competition between scheduled airlines and nosdreduled operators,

6. intense competition for a lirnited supply of technical personn

7. high cost of operations including high salaries at upper leve

8. multiple and large inventory of equipment, spares and exce

capacities of workshops,

9. high price of aviation fuel in India, and,

10. uncertain future developments.

Tlie Air Corporations Act was enacted not merely to overcome t

above failures and weaknesses of private scheduled and noscheduled air operators but also for very specific and positiconsiderations:

1. A State organisatiory without a predominant profit motive as

the case of private enterprises, can operate with the main polof undertaking developmental schemes whidt may notremunerative but are justified in public interest, unhamperby the paramount necessity of making a profit.

2. Take advantage of tedrnical developments which are rapidcivil aviation transport, equipment and operation techniqueSuch an overall long term planning and re-equipme

programme must involve considerable capital outlay and ona single state organisation can do so, due to low intensitytraffic in lndia.

3. Plan and organise the future of the Industry in a comprehensiway.

4. A unified organisation can bring about economies of scale.

5. One unit in charge of 'operation in the entire country could u

the available resources to mafmum advantage.

6. It could mafmise benefits of optimal use of equipmdworkshop, capacity and technical personnel.

7. Need to eliminate financial support to private airlines. It wargued that it is better for Government to run the airlines raththan continuously provide financial and other material suppo

to the private airlines.

8. Advantages from the point of view of defence, if intemservices are operated by the state. The advantages are two foi)availability in emergency and ii) utilization of equipmeworkshop and training by the Indian Air Force.

Have Indian Airlines and Air India fulfilled the objectives a

purpose of enacting the Air Corporation Act and granting them

monopoly statw for considerations stated above.?

Do the reasons for nationalisation of private airlines, as statabove, no longer exist and is therereasonable ground and assuran

that the failure of the private scheduled and non-sdreduleoperatort in spite of financial and other support from t

Govemment, will not repeat itselfl



In the wake of the Presidential Ordinance repealing the AirCorporations Act, 1953, endirig the monopoly of Indian

Airlines and Air India, private air taxi operators will be

required to have a minimum of three to four aircraft, a

prescribed staff strength and fly to "far-flungregions" aspart

ofthg guidelines being framed

bythe Ministry

ofCivil

Aviation for conversion into regular airlines.

And, as part of a "percentage formula" being worked out bythe Mi nishy, all the priva te airlines will be required to operate

on "far-flung" routes, other than the major mehopolitansectors.

The "far-flung regions" include the entire North-East, Jammuand Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar islands and

Lakshadweep. The Ministry is also aware that the private

operators do not toudr important stations such as Lucknow,Patna and Bhubaneswar.

The Govemment, however, will be extremely'selective in

allowing any proposal which enjoins a joint venhrre betweenforeign and donlestic capital, the sources added.

-The Hindu,5/2/94

In fulfillment of this expectation of hationalisation Indian Airlineshas been operating three types of routes. 1. Those which make

profits 2. Those that make losses but do not constitute cash losses

3. Those that make cash ]osses.

a) Operation to tourist destinations such as Agra, KhajurahqVaranasi, Bhuwaneshwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur,Aurangabad etc.

-short sector operations which are

uneconomical. The losses are operational cash losses. While the

Air Thxi operators have bemoaned about tourism in India noneof them have flown to these destinations.

b) Operations to remote and difficult areas such as the entire NorthEastem region, Leh, Port Blair, Bhuj etc. in public interest

- all these routes are uneconomical and cause operational and

cash losses.

c) Operation to uneconomic destinations which are non-tourist

and not remote but in public interest (for reasons includingpolitical sensitivity) such as Gwalior, Lucknow Raipur,

Gorakhpur etc (Gorakhpur has since been discontinued).

- all these are operational and cash loss routes.

d) Concessions to students, armed forces personnel, blind Persons,

Cancer patients etc.e) Haj pilgrimage on concessional rates.

d) and e) above arc to meet social obligations.

The Air Taxies will not operate on operational loss routes. Even

under the condition of having to meet short sector routes the AirTaxies have chosen those routes that are loss making but contribute

at least to fixed costs. The Air Taxies have concentrated only on the

most profitable routes that touch destinations such as the four

metropolitan cities, and Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin,

Trivandrum etc. In the month of April 1993 the total profit from the

above mentioned profitable routeswas Rs. 10.66 Crores and thiswas

offset by cash losses on routes making operational losses to the

extent of Rs. 5.47 Crores. The routes that contribute only towards

meeting the fixed costs contributed Rs.5.35 Crores.

It is important that the Government of India inform the people howwith the lossof monopoly and purely commercial andprofitmotivebeing the basis of operation, the objectives of serving the tourisdestinatioru, difficult terrain destinations and public interesdestinations will be served.

This objective of nationalisation has been fulfilled without anbudgetary support or cost to the exchequer and met entirely frominternal resource generation.

The Govemment did not provide any subsidy or provide any formof financial support for operation of all the unrenumerative routes

Instead it created a Civil Aviation Developrnent Fund. This funfinanced the development of civil aviation including th

development of airports.

Indian Airlines has created absets which do not necessarily givprofits on a short-term basis but, are in the nature of long-termdevelopment of a state of art airlines that is comparable in itpotential to the best in the world. In addition Indian Airlines ha

contributed to the development of airlines and civil aviation oseveral Third World countries such as Maldiveg Bangladesh, IraqAfghanistan etc.

As a consequence of the Air Corporations Act, 1.953 and th

monopoly status given therein all forms of capital intensiv

operational, technical, communication, commercial, traininfacilities did not have to be duplicated. Therefore investmen

particularly foreign exchange could be optimally utilised and uncosts brought down while at the same time providing an all- Indi

network, irrespective of its profitability and, without any suppo

or budgetary support from the Government of India.

Foreign airlines seeh greater o,ecess

Capinet Secretary, Mr. Zafar Saifullah said the Government

meant business as far as promotion of tourism was concerned.

But those who attended the meeting remained sceptical about

the Government's ability to push the proposals through.Representatives of foreign airlines said that if Air India couldnot boost its capacity to bring in more touristq they could dothe job.

A representative of Lufthansa said that the airlines had been

extremely successful in following the Govemment's open sky

policy as fur as cargo flights were concerned. The airline hadachieved an 80 per cent load factor. The idea should be to

allow more flights into India if foreign tourists were to

come in.

Mr. Turnbull, deputy managing director of Cathay Pacific,

said 20 years ago there were seven weekly flights from Delhi

to Hong Kong while today there were just four.

Foreign airlines were unhappy that the Government did notgive permission when Cathay Pacific wanted to fly the HongKong-Delhi- Hong Kongsector whenLufthansa had achrally

twice scheduled flights to Madras.

Obviously, with domestic skies being opened up to

companies other than Indian Airlinet the Government willbe pressed by foreign airlines for greater access.

-TlrcHindu,14/2/94



In addition Indian Airlines provided the Govemment of Indiarevenues through i) dividends ii) interest on loans and iii) all dutiesand taxes. Itmust be noted that inspite of all this the air fares in Indiawere the lowest in the World.

During all the wars, including the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force

in Sri Lanka) operations Indian Airlines has been the second lin'e ofdefence for transporting troops and equipment. During civildisturbances, Indian Airlineshas been themainstay for transportingCRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and other Para Military

personnel and equipment. During the crisis in lran, 1984, andKuwait, 1991, Indian Airlines was the main instrument available

with the Government of India to evacuate stranded Indiannationals. None of these operations were done on any commercial

considerations - on the contrary revenue earning seryices were

curtailed or suspended.

It is obligatory on the Executive and the Parliament to inform the

people of lndia as to how the secrcnd line of defence and other above

stated operations would be carried out in the future if the AirCorporations Act, 1953 is repealed.

The AirTaxi Operators

The present air taxi operators are blatantly violating the law and allthe conditions of the permit as has been argued in earlierparagraphs.

There are reports of tax evasion or litigation with the intention ofregularising tax evasion. While the air taxi operators charge thesame fare as Indian Airlines they do not contribute to the

Govemment of India by'aray of taxes to the extent and wi th the same

discipline as Indian Airlines.

In recent times Continental Airways is reported to have forgedaircraft documents to mislead the DGCA (Director4eneral of CivilAviation), regarding the age of the aircraft. There are reports that

during the crisis created by the strikeby thepilots of Indian Airlinessome of the air taxi operators had infact auctioned air tickets. There

are also reports that air passengers are left high and dry with noliability when the air taxi operators cancel services for any reason.

An oligopoly was created resultingin the passenger fares increasing

by over 27%. lndia being a poor country and on the ground ofmeeting the requirements of public interest, subsidies will have tobe restored once the Air Corporations Act, 1953 is repealed.

At present the total passenger demand is about 27p00 passengers

per day. IAprovides about 35,000 seats and for reasons of migrationof Pilots to the air tades, there is anunutilised capacityof 8,000 seats

per day. Theair taxi operators

areproviding

a capacityof

12,000

seats per day. Thus, there is an excess capacity of about 30,000 seats

per day whidr iS equal to the present day demand.

If we assume 80% utilisation of an aircraft the ad hoc policy of open

skies has created a redundant or wasteful capacity equivalent to

Rs. 6.3 Crores per month. And that too most of it in foreignexchange.

It is pertinent to note that the Director General, IAIA (International

Air Transport Association) has estimated that worldwidg the year

1993 would end with an estimated loss of U.S. $ 2 billion and the

single cause of this is redundant excess capacity. The cumulativeloss over the last four years world wide is estimated at U.S. $ 13.5

billion.

Access to SIA soughtThe Singapore govemmmt wants the Govemment of Indiato provide access to Singapore Airlines and in return has

offered to boost tourism in lndia by bringing in tourists fromthird world countries, such as China and Australia to specificdestinations.

The Singapore PM said that at a time when India was seeking

to raise its tourist inflow from the present one million to 3-5million in five years, the govemment should look favourablyat the offer made by Singapore Airlines.

-Times of India, 26/t/g+

The question that mustbe answered with a clear conscience by thHonourable committee and the Parliament is:

Can the Parliament of a poor and highly indebted country repeal, crea

and or ammd legislation which would have the efect of creating excess aretlunilant capacity equhtalent to Rs. 6.3 crores per month (and mostly

fureign exchange), for the use and conoenience of 0.01 percmt of t

cruntry's population particularly at a time when the Director Gewalthe International Air kansport Assocation has atimated that lwses

airlines worldwide would be about g 2 billion in the year 1.993?

Indian Airlines has invested enormous sums of monev on stateart technology required for training, under the presumption ofmonopoly status under the Air Corporations Act, 1953. It would b

a breach of trust if the Act were repealed and any air operator couoffer higher salary and facilities to individualt who can then juresignfrom Indian Airlines inspite of havingbeen trained atthe co

of Indian Airlines.

Parliament is obliged to investigate the consequence of amendmen

. or repeal of the Act on i) public investments made in trainin

facilities and ii) in the event of Indian Airlines choosing to, fcommercial considerations, close down its training facilities anjoining the race of offering better terms and inducting hainepersorrnel from other airlines or air operators, what would be thinstruments of policy to ensure trained a) minpower andensuring safety?

High cost of operations including high salaries at the upper levemultiple and large inventory of equipment, spares and exce

capacities of workshops and high price of aviation fuel in India a

conditions that remain unchanged since pre-nationalisation days

Most of the Air Taxi operators do not have the financial or techniccompetence to operate a

national scheduled airline and to acquimodern aircrafts or to establish the infrastructure of grounsupport, maintenance, communication, computers and traininNeither does the lndian capital market or indigenous Financiinstitutions or Exim Banks have the capability to support th

creation of an indigenous sdreduled airline along modem line

There are therefore only two altematives: either to depend oforeign airlines and foreign capital market for survival and/orbecome berami or front operators for foreign airlines. There are nother alternatives. The experience of the aviation industry of th

world would testify to this.

Since the repeal of the Air Corporations Act would increase th

dependence on foreign airlines or capital, and a simultaneou

weakening of the national domestic carrier, it is pertinent to ask,



the event of a foreign exchange crisis and/or economic sanctions on

India and/or recession in the developed countries because of which

neither aircrafts nor support is available from foreign airlines - what

would be the instruments of policy available with the Government

of India to meet the requirements of civil aviation, tourism and

public interest as well as national security interests?

Within the framework of export-led development, tourism has been

identified, since the eighties, as a potential foreign exchange eamer.

Today, tourism is said to be the largest earner of hard currency. In

setting targets for number of arrivals andincrease

offoreign

exchange, oneof thebottlenecks of growthof tourism identifiedwas

non-availability of seats in Indian Airlines. This argument was, and

is, an obvious red herring.

The honourable committee could summon the data from the Central

Reservation System of Indian Airlines on the number of seats

demanded by Travel Agents and Tour Operators over a given period

of time and the availability of capacity on the tourist routes by

Indian Airlines. While allegations have been made by the travel

trade and the air taxi operators in the press and even before this

Honourable committee no facts have been ever laid before the

public.

In today's econo;ric environment even the Tourism Poliry isoutward looking and targets are to be met by developing Special

Tourist Areas (STAs); direct point-to-point charter flights and

upgradation of regional airports to intemational standards (for

. example in Kerala the new focus on Touiism is to have, not one but,

three intemational airports). Tourists will consequmtly bypass the

domestic network either completely or partially.

In the light of these considerations and existing reality, it is the

obligation of this Honourable Committee and the Parliament to

inform the people -what is the motivation and purPose behind

the repeal of the Air Corporations Act, 1.953 and, in concrete and

specific terms, how the public and national interest will be better

served than with the existing Air Corporations Act, 1953.

A Comment on the Service

Since Indian Airlines serves the most vocal sections of the

population and foreigners, it is but natural that succes.s is not given

any credit but failure gets circulation and publicity. Failure of

employees or services is noticed and criticisedbutno where has any

credit been given to the employees of the Indian Airlines that they

have willingly and without any opposition adopted and adapte

the continuously changing technology in every area of operation

of the airlines. This has been achieved entirely from interna

resources inspite of limited capital and operating cash loss route

This is a unique example in the entire Industry in both the privat

and public sector.

Concern is often expressed, and with some justification ,at th

industrial relations problems in the airlines particularly in respe

of a section of direct workers like Pilots being able to paralyse th

airlines. But the root of the problem does not lie in the ACorporations Act. It lies in the labour legislation. The Bipartit

Committee on Labour Legislation headed by Shri Ramanujam

President, INTUC, made valuable and unanimous recommenda

tions regarding craft and caste unions. The Govemment must brin

suitable legislation based on these recommendations.

In a poor country if what has been adrieved by Indian Airlines

adrieved without any budgetary support it can be done by intensiv

use of equipment and manpower. When there is intensive use o

equipment and manpower there are bound to be snags an

shortcomings in the operations. An analysis of delays in flights o

Indian Airlines in the year 1991-92 indicated that delays entire

attributable to Indian Airlines and whidr are not of a consequenti

nature was a mere 4 percent. Total flights delayed 30%consequential delays 21% (delays due to involuntary reasons lik

bad weather, VIP movement, air traffic restrictions etc,) delay

entirely due to Indian Airlines 4 percent.

Conclusion

The Air Corporations Act, 1953 was enacted after very detaile

investigation and careful consideration. The instrumentalitie

created by the Act have fulfilled the expectations from them. Th

repeal of the Act is being sought through a Bill introduced in th

Lok Sabha on falselnd willfully misleading statement of objects an

reasons. Neither the Government nor the Airlines concemed hav

made any survey or study on the consequence of the repeal of thAct. It is the obligation of the Parliament to investigate th

consequences of the repeal of the Act, to enable legislation to b

enacted on the basis of informed debate.

Extracts froru the Submission of the National Confederation of Officer

Associations of Central Public Sector Undertakings (NCOA).

N\1INDfF

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Overview

Under instruction from the Hon. Minister of Environment, a subgroupof the Project Tiger Steering Committeq consisting of Mr. BrijendraSingh, Mr. Ab-h-FtsKumar, Mr. Sati Pud, IvIr. Valmik Thapar, Mr. BittuSahgal and Mr. Arin Ghostu was formed to draft a position paper as thefirst strep towards the formulation of a wildlife tourism poliry for India.

In drafting these grillelines we haae takm into consideration therecommendations made to the Ministry by the Committeefor Management ofNational Parl<s and Sanctuaries and Tourism under the Chairmanship of thelate Mr. Sunil K. Roy in 7990.

Once the basic approadr and draft is approved it would need to berc-organised so as to convert it into a 'Guideline Document' for Parkrrumagers and State Wildlife Wardens.

Highlights1. At ttre very outset it was recognised that a sensible tourism poliry

could be one of the most effective conservation tools which could befused to help protect India's vanishing wildemesses. Since most ofwhat remairu can now be found largely in protected areas, it isinevitable that our sanctuaries and (in exceptional circumstances)national parks be carefully used for shictly controlled tourism inspecially demarcated tourism zones. In this endeavour it wasunanim<rusly felt that the Ministry of Environment shouldcoordinate with the Ministry of Tourism so that we obtain their

participation in the finalisation and execution of a national wild lifetourism policy. Unless this is done, the policy may remain a paperexercise.

It was also recognised that in order to usher in a publicly supported,sustainable tourism drive it is imperative thai foresf guirds andguides be given a sense of pride in their job. This in tum, it wasrecognised, could only be achieved if the Ministry was able toinstifute a proper training and orientation progranune for sudr keypersonnel. NGOs and individuals who live around our variousreserves andthe Wildlife Institute of India (WIl), Bombay NaturalHistory Society (BNHS) and Worldwide Fund for Nature - lndia(WWF-India) and other sudr proven institutions are to be asked tocontribute their expertise and resources.

It is to the credit of the lrdian goverrunent that from L0 natiornlparks and 127 sanchraries occupying about 25,000 sq.km in 1970, thetotal protected area network in 1991 went up to 132,000 sq.km with

. 55 national parks and 421 sanctuaries. One of the obiective ofpromoting wildlife tourism should be to canvass support from thegeneral public, particularly local residents, for an increase thisarea to 1,83,000 sq. km, that is, around 5.6 per cent of the counky'sland area, comprising 147 rntional parks and 633 sanctuaries (Wtrrecommendation).

2. It was further recognised that a judicious mix of nature- orientationand strictly-enforced rules and regulations wouldneed tobeappliedso as to achieve the twin objectives of offering tourists an enthrallingexperience... while guarding against the possibility of tourism-related problems causing damage to the very wildemesses whichrequire protection.

3. Before finalising any policy on tourism, it was felt that a series ofconsultations and debates should be encouraged under the auspicies

of the Ministry of Environment so that the views of all thoseinvolved or affected by future wildlife tourism activities are

ascertained. This would include the actual communities in whosemidst such tourism will operate, the tour operators, wildlifers andpolicy makers including state wildlife wardens and park directors.

This process should result in an official wildlife policy for Indiaby March 31,7Y)5. The process of consultation and finalisationwould be conducted over the next 12 months and should involve:

a) public meetings in New Delhi, Bombay, Calcufta, Bangalore, and

Madras inviting people's comments on the issue of wildlifetourism.

b) actual field visits by subgroup members to at least six (preferably

more) representative wildemesses - Bandhavgarh, Periyar,

Droft Wildlife Tourism Guidelines for Indio(lilinistry of Environment ond torests)

Mardr 37,7994

Corbett, Pench, Ranthambhor and Gir. Dscussions would bheld wittr villagers, transport and tour operators, forest guardspark managers and local conservationists.

4. Through a press release, the Ministry should also invite commenand suggestions from the general public A draftpress note woulbeprepared by the subgroup upon approval of the ideas presentedbelow.

Background

While aclcrowl"dg.g the potential of tourism to offer gainfuemployment to many thousands of people, it should be made clear thathe purpose of inviting to visit India to view wildlife, or to encouragpeople from urban brdia tovisit sanctuaries and national parks, shoulNOTbe to extract the maximum possible money from sudr visitors ithe shortest possible time. Rather, it should be to offer them an uniquexperience and irsight into a world of peace and natural wonder.should also be our objective to drive home the fact ttrat the lifesWles othose who live in our villages are considerably

-mor

environment-friendly than that of most tourists who should look upothemselves as honored guests - not customers out to buy goods anservices in the marketplace.

As sudr we should be looking to promote sustainable, moderatepriced, clean and wholesome - rather than five-star - facilities.

The Nature of Tourism

While tourism can and should play a positive role in €nsuring thlong-term survival of our wilds, we should not forget tourism'potential dark face. Most often the adverse effects of tourism emelgwhere commerce replaces education as the prime motivating factoLuxury tourism is particular$ prone to abwe, as is unconholled mastourism...

Tempted by the foreigp exchange (or major rupee income) they bringpolicy makers unfamiliar with the imperatives of environmentaprotection sometimes tum a blind eye to the negative effects of luxurtourism... until it is too late. Unchecked, sudr policies eventualldestroy the very assets that attract people from disiant destinations ithe first place. Disceming tourists, of course, stop frequenting ruinedestinations long before they and ruined.

It is impossible to 'police' tourist behaviour beyond a point. Itimperative, therefore, that tour operators be made to attend orientatioprogrammes themselves so that they are able to pass on the appropriatrvalue systems to the customers they handle. Il with the help of thTourism Ministry we are able to show how sudr an aftitude woulactually profit themby attracting'green tourism'it should be possibto achieve by persuasion what cannot be achieved by command.

If there is one central theme whidr should guidewildlife tourism effortin India, it should be to use tourism as an educatiornl tool foconservation. It would be self-defeating to try and compete with, oout-do, industrial nations by offering 'plastic' and sanitised five-staluxuries to their citizens. Not merely will we damage our environmenbut we will almost certainly Iose what little respect we still enjoy in thworld community for caring so liftle about our own heritage.

Tourismpolicy planners within the govemmentof India, as also tourismpromoters in the private sector, must be made to recognise that thconservation of natwe presents ournation with itsbest hope to uplift thquality of life of people of our country. It is in this context that plan

should be made for tourisminto fragile areas whidr are the life-blood omillionsof peoplethroughthelengthandbreadthof lrdia.

Thse are extructs from the draft Wildlife Tburism Guidelines, we iwrityou to partictpate in the debate Imding to the fmmalisation of th

guidelines. Contact EQUATIONS for the full tat.



o promote tourism is, inevitably, to re-create almost every

nafurally occurring activity or phenomenon for the tourist's

recreation. This is the formula followed by most cotrntries

of the South in their eager but illusory pursuit of foreign exchange.

The extent to which the culture of a landcanbevulgarised inretumfor a few pieces of silver is painfully evident in the annual gaiamela

(Great Elephant March) staged by the Kerala tourism department.

In 1990, the department had the bright idea of parading 50

decked-up elephants for the benefit of just as many foreigners, in

the Thek&inkadu Maidan, the venue of the traditional ThissoorPooram.

This travesty of the renowned Poormn (festival) created a stir in the

State, but undaunted, the govemment repeated its performance the

following year, this time with 101 elephants. A radical youth

organisation, the Keraleeya Yuaajana Vedi artd the BJP protested

against what they termed "the bogus Pooram".

The Gajamela included a snake-boat race at Alappuzha (in imitation

of that town's traditional VellamkallWater Festival-held during

Onam - the national festival of Kerala) and a second parade of

elephants at the State capital, Thiruaananthopuram.

The line between re:lity and artificiality was becoming increasingly

blurred. Perhaps as a concession to protesting voicet the

Ksula - tle /ialb%Aeo lrn a.oc:de?

C. Ktt/leena

This year, for instance, Kerala tourism secretary K. |ayakumaannounced that the total expenditure was Rs.20 lakh, of whid

Rs. 10 lakh had been collected from a private sponsor (Peerless,finance company from Bengal). He said that Rs. 6 lakh worth o

ticketswere sold. He remained strangely silentabout theremaining

Rs.4lakh.

The entry fee to theThrissoor municipal stadiumbeing $ 50, the onl

entrants were foreign tourists, bureaucrats and other governmen

functionaries along with their families, and a representative oEquations who managed to slip in unnoticed!

The potpourri of "culture" included anunhappy btrrr,l lirru. togcthe

of folk forms from different parts of Kerala - trrt'rr,itt'llrrrrr, t,myur

nittham, theyyam, thira and the like. There was music by Melam

whidr calls itself a "traditional Kerala orchestra" - whatever that is.

The sh.ow was followed by a 3 km ride by tusker to Vilangankunnu

c#Since there were only 42 elephants offering a ride, not all th

foreigners could fit onto the howdahs. Many had to ride barebac

seatr'rl on mattresses, clinging on for dear life. The less adventurou

deciclt'd to walk the entire way.

Vilangtu*unnz was once just a hillock where the local people use

to relax on evenings. NoW it has been leased to a priva

organisation, Rockland Tourism, and is out of bounds to the publi

as a board signed by the district collector proclaims. Atop the hilloc

is an amusement park, beer parlour and "boating" - the latter refe

to a narrow circular gully in which water has been filled and alon

whidr small boats can sail.

The foreigners were treated toastaged "villagefair" andhandicraf

exhibition, at Vilangankunnz. Those of them who went boating we

no doubt unaware that inMuthuaara, a village at the foot of the h

people suffered from water shortage.

The overallcharge for a package tour sPread over three districts w

$150. The foreign tourists were taken to Kochi for sightseein

shopping and a sunset cruise on its backwaters. They travelled

nearby Alappuzlta,whichsuddenly gained the epithet "Venice of t

East", for a snakeboat race and ride.

They went on elephant rides on Koaalam beach and witnesse

another parade of elephants (51 of them, this time) at t

Thiruaananthapuram stadium. The Kerala martial art form

Kalaripayattu and "ethnic music of Panchtoadyam" were also stage

at the stadium.

---

'ttgovernment shifted the venue of. the Thrissoor Gaiamela from the

Poorammaidan to the municipal stadium from 1992 onwards. It has

now become an annual affair.

The distortion of local culture begins with the very date on which

the Gajamela starts. It's held in january clearly for the convenience

of foreigners who are able to tolerate the heat only then- The

Thnssr,or Pooram is actttally held in the first to second week of April,

while the trad itionaluellamkali, perfotmed at Aranmule in the month

of Wtharattadhr', is in AugusFSeptember.

A 1992 brochure of the Kerala tourism authorities, seeking sPonsors

for the event, called it "the most unique cultural safari the world has

seen", and "the greatest elephant spectacle on earth". Thedepartment trumpeted the claim to draw over one and a half lakhs

spectators, including 15,000 from outside the State.

This is typical of the hype being hotted out by the tourism

department every year since the hrstGaianrela in 1990, in an attemPt

to hide the truth - namely, that never has the figure for foreign

visitors exceeded 300!

From a pi tifnl 50 tourists in 1990, the number crept up to 772 in 1997,

165 in 1993 and 288 n1994.

Where was the promised shower of dollars clinking into State

coffers? In no way was the huge amount spent on the spectacle

recompensed.



"Culhrre is not a hamburger to be packed in a day safari," said the

legend on the T-shirt of an activist of the KEKA, Nature Preseroation

Society, at Thrissoor. The Society was joined in its protest by the

lanakeeya Prathikmana Sangham, a civil liberties group, and the

NAVU, Samslcnrilen Suddheeknratu Vedi - a cultural activist group.

They condemned the ".masala formula" that was sold to the

foreigners in the name of Kerala culture.

Any manifestation of culture that is taken out of its context

immediately becomes a mockery. For instance, nothing can take the

place of the ThrissoorPooram,

the festival introduced bythe

erstwhileKo chi mahar aja, S hakth an T hamp uran.

The Krishna te mple at T hirua amb adi and D eo I temple a t P m amelckao u

form two traditional rivalling groups. Their elephants, a maximum

of 15 each, go in a procession to the Thel&inkndu maidan near the

Vadakhmnatlta (Shiva) temple, and enthral hundreds of thousands

of devotees and spectators with their display.

The golden nettipattas (forehead ornaments) of the elephants, the

deafening colours of the gold-rimmed silk parasols, the deafening

p nnchaoadyam (an ensemble of five instruments) that plays non-stop,

and even the magnificent fireworks at close of day all can be

mimicked if necessary.

But what cannot be staged is the intense involvement of the nativepeople for whom this event is a red-letter day, and the unbelievably

dense throng of spectators who strive to catch a glimpse of the

proceedings, who struggle for a foothold a toehold, in any vantage

point in the vicinity.

The same goes for the boat parades at Aranmule, Kuttanad,

Champakkulam and P aippadu, held during Onam. The idol of the local

deity (Krishna, in the case of Aranmula) is taken in a solemn

procession of decorated 1O0-fooFlong snakeboats, whose prows

curve upward upto 20 feet, like hoods of snakes. Each boat has a

crew of 150 men.

There is no element of competition in the haditional boat show, butin recent years, Ararutula has been witnessing boat races with

government-sponsored prizes like the Nehru Trophy, or the RajivGandhi Trophy instituted by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The

procession of the deity has been relegated to the background and

the prize money is of paramount interest.

The foreigners, who don't know any better, believe they are

witnessing a genuine slice of Kerala culture. They see nothing odd

in normally bare<hested mahouts sporting Gajamela T-shirts.

They do not realise that the Great Elephant March logo on the

nettipatta of the main elephant in the Thrissoor parade is a gross

substitute for the image of Vadakkunnatha (Shiva).

The tourism department shows no signs of retracting its position.

Instead, it plans to sell the state down the drain, as is evident fromits "produ ct development subplan".

"We have not succeeded in packaging properly our tourism

product " goes an excerpt from this plan. "Existing fairs and

festivals should be marketed more aggressively".

Prt't rous funds are going to be spenton "promoting locally relevant

sorrvt'nirs", encouraging "imaginative packages" such as cruising

touls, walking tours and city-by-night tours, and "sprucing up"iderr tified destinations.

"TWo new festivals are being planned which will have a distinct

Kerala fl avou r," say s the subplan. "One is a festival of coconuts and

the other on spices."

What a parody of the very meaning of "festival"! The e4pensive

tamashas dreamt up by the government will in no way give visitorsan inkling of the local culture. Kerala, which the state governmentis marketing as "God's own country", is instead turning out to be a

fool's paradise.

C. K. Meena is afreelmrcewriter and Proiect Director of Asian lnstituteof Mass Commtmication, Goenka Founilation, Bangalore.



An Appeal to Legislatons of Onissa AssemblyBankaBelrryDas

Presilent Odssa Krushak tvlahasangh

You very well know that Orissa Government has proposed an

ambitious sea beach luxury hotel complex on the Puri-Konark sea

beach by destroying coastal reserve forest of 2227 acres, and by

removing from that area the Balukhand-Sanctuary established in

1935 before Orissa State was born. All this devastation will be

perpetrated to attract affluent tourists, mostly from foreign

countries.

There is great resistance to this hotel complex from the adjoining

villages, from the people in and outside the State. But it seems the

State Govemment is very keen to get it through. All kinds of

pressures are being put on the Forest & Environment Ministry of

Govemment of India to give clearance for forest removal and for

environmental purposes. The Govemment of India argues that as

long as the sanctuary exists in that area they cannot consider the

proposal, either for forest clearance and,/or environmental

clearance.

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act of 1991 passed by theParliament expressly states in Section 26-A (3) that "no alteration ofthe boundaries of sanctuary sltall be made except on a resohttion passed by

the legislature of the State". Though declaration of an area as a

sanctuary is within the powers of the State Government, yet

alteration of the area of a sanctuary or removal of a sanctuary is

outside the competence of a State Govemment. The Parliament in

its good sense decided to bestow the power on the State Assembly

so that the matter is kept out of partisan politics, as evidenced in

normal functioning of a Government. So Parliament has relied on

the conscience of the legislators, not on their political affiliation.

Despite strong opposition, if the Government wants to denotify a

portion, or whole of a sanctuary, they will have to approach the

Orissa legislature to pass a resolution. I appeal to your conscience

not to be a party to this disastrous step. Otherwise the Parliament's

confidence on you may be belied.

I

dfNFry' _\.

It will be proper for me to point out the hurdles that lie ahead of this

fantastic hotel complex proposal. Even if the State Assembly in best

of its judgement, passes the resolution, the Forest Ministry will have

to consider whether to give clearance to fell forest in that area under

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which is primarily meant to

conserve the forest, not to destroy the forest. For this the matter willbe placed before a National Forest Advisory Committee consisting

of officiat and non-official experts, then and then only the Central

Forest Ministry will come into the picture.

Even if the CentralForest Ministry agrces to the Orissa

Govemment's Proposal, it will be meticulously scrutinised by the

Environment Ministry after the environmental impact assessme

(EIA) of the project is scientifically studied by an expert body. Suc

a proposal on the coast, particularly when it is admitted

ecologically sensitive, needs thorough scrutiny.

All these tests and procedures are to be gone through under the labefore the project is okayed. It will take a long time, if not a fe

months.

The impact of the project on the socioeconomic conditionadjoining villagers are very serious because they have a gree

economy now - besides their dependence on forest. Former

before the war, the economy was that of sand dunes and sands. No

these villages are free from moving sands due to annual-high win

and occasional cyclones. Agricultural land has tumed green an

every family is maintaining cattle to feed the market of Puri. That

why there is total opposition to the project and every man, wome

and child of that area, are up in arms to resist it. Wherever such hot

complexes have come up, the socioeconomic lives of the loc

people have been destroyed, whether it is in Bali or in Thailand Sri Lanka or Goa. They have become the hunting groundsmugglers, drug-peddlers and pimps, prostitutes, both male an

female, particularly the young. Voluminous reports of experts a

eminent people are available about all these places, induding Go

The resistance of the Goan people because of clashes of culture a

economy has compelled Goa's Chief Minister to declare that th

willnotallow anysinglehotel tobeestablished in future. The lndia

Navy officials recently have warned the Govemments on the ea

coast that because of tightening security measures on the west coa

anti-sqcial rackets have already penetrated into the east coast

India by sea. The local-people, near the proposed hotel complex

Konark, know more about these dangers to their cultural attitud

and socio-economic conditioh, than we do.

It is very wrong to impose sudr a hotel complex proposal on the

in a democralic country. The State Government may well consid

setting up a few hotels, not a hotel complel in a limited area oq t

sea beach where there is no reserve forest or sanctuary.

I hope my appeal to the legislators will be heeded before they le

their support to the hotel complex proposal or to the resolution

alteration of the Balukhand sanctuary.

-+-'---

--

,<



T11pMorfrnfrrspffiAkiefAmtr-Shubhendul(ashik

Scope for Magic

Whatprompted me to go to Spitiwas the fact thatSpitihad justbeen

thrown open to tourism. Having seen the extent of damage, to

ecosystems and to value-systems, that has accompanied the spread

of large-scale tourism in other himalayan regions, I decided to go to

Spiti and see what I could do to minimise the damage there. I am

trying to get the administration and all sections of the people in Spiti

to start thinking about the various implications of tourism and to

work out an evolving strategy for 'sustainable tourism','eco-tourism','appropriate','altemative' or'planned tourism', call

it what you may.

Before I left for Spiti, I was asked by Equitable Tourism Options(EQUATIONS) of Bangalore to .write an introductory, "ideas &intentions", paper for them, and this was published in July in the

form of a booklet entitled, 'Towards a Tourism Strategy in Spiti'.

When I reached Spiti n the beginning of August, a tourism-related

crisis of sorts was already on. While travelling around Spiti I found

that the people, specially the poorer among them, were selling offtheir oldbelongings (manyof themantiques and semi-antiques, and

almost all of them irreplaceable) to the tourists. The tourists whobought these things were not all of them casual buyers; there were

those among them who had come to Spiti loaded with money and

with the sole purpose of buying whatever they could that was of

antique value. "This process was going on in all parts of the valley,either directly or through agents, and was fast taking on the scale

of an epidemic.

Wherever I went, I talked to the people the lamas, the religious

heads, the pradhans, the tourists themselves, the guides and tour

operators accompanying them and on more than one occasion, the

'agents' from outside the valley whq it tumed out, had been

operating in the valley for many years now.

lnKnza,I brought the matter to the notice of the top officials in the

local administration and urged them to do what they could which

they did to an extent. All this was beginning to leave its modest

effects when, through a sequence of fortunate events, I managed to

bring in the 'Ladakh factor' (described later), which probably

proved to be quite decisive.

The net result, not only of these, but of earlier efforts too (Uy th"members of the royal family, for instance), is that this process has

moreor lessstopped in Spifi, andis likely tostay thatway if followed

up with reasonable effectiveness during the coming months.

Changthang

Towards the end of August, I trekkedhcross tlte Parang la (1&300ft.)

and then along the Pare Chu river to Clmngthang, a desolate

dreamland on Ladakh's border with Tibet. The route I took is the

traditional route taken by the horse-traders of Spiti when they go to

sell their horses, mostly through barter, to the people of Changthang

and Ladakh. It took me five extremely lonely days to walk from the

last village of Spiti to the first village of Changthang and duringthese days I came across neither a single human being nor a tree.

The Ladakh Factor

Before I left for Changthang, a festival called ?a Darcln'took place

atKaza. From the crowds of people at Kaza during this four-day

festival, I estimated that almost half of Spiti's population of 10,000was present. Afolkdance houpe from Ladakh (amongmany others

form various parts of Himachal Pradesh), gave many performances

during this festival.

Seeing the overwhelming response of the Spitians towards the

Ladakhi performers confirmed beyond doubt the soundness of an

idea that had been growing in my mind for quite some time- that

the Ladakhi people, both due to their similarities and theirdifferences, represented a force that could possibly become an

effective instrument for bringing about awareness, change,

whatever in Spiti.

Four committed Ladakhis drove down to Spiti

-Mr. Tashi Robgias

(onbehalf of LEDeG), Mr. Jamyang Gyallsan and Lama Ge KonchokNamgyal (both senior lecturers at the Central Institute of BuddhistStudies, Choglamsar) and their irrepressible driveq, Mr. Tsering

Mutup Tursey. We covered the whole valley in a whirlwind and

dusty tour lasting a week, holding meetings in key villages along

the way. This visit, was quite a success, and we made plans about

future visits, of Ladakhis to Spiti, and of Spitians to Ladakh.

Changing Names

There was another disturbing and totally unexpected phenomenon

that I came across in Spiti. At the time of admissionJo school, the

names of a lot of children had been changed from their original

Buddhist names to Hindu names.I asked a lot of people as to howthis came about, and a confused picture began to emerge.

This appalently happened much more frequently earlier than now,

with the result that many young men and women go around withunlikely sounding Hindu names. Although in almost all cases the

name of the child seemed to have been changed with the consent(or a t least a lack of protest) of the parents, most such parents blamedthe teachers, who have always been mostly non-local. The standard

comment of parents was, 'The teadrer said he couldn't pronounce

our child's name, so he gave him another name and wrote that downin the register.' The au thori ties and most of the teachers stoutly deny

any coercion or pressure, although it was a local ex-teacher (the

Rani's daughter, Dikit) who first told me about this phenomenon,and her version blamed the teachers.

The origin, though not the cause, of this process seems to lie in twoadjoining regions, Lahaul and Kinnaur. Both these regions have a

mixed population of Hindus and Buddhists; mixed not only from

village to village or from person to person, but also in many cases

within the same individual, since a large chunk of the population

in these two regions of transition isn't too sure of its religion, and infact is reasonably comfortable with a mixture of both - these people

often change their Buddhist names to Hindu names (never vice

versa), often simply in order to comfortably mix with the people

in the plains and foothills during their frequent trade-related visits

there.11



While travelling around Spiti, the L,adakhis discussed this hend

(unheard of in Ladakh) with the people. The people everywhere

were more or less unanimous about wanting to change back their

names, or at least said so. But most felt that if at all it were possible

to do so, the process would be too involved.So, after the Ladakhis

left, I approached the ADC with this problem, and he took the wind

out of my sails by saying, "Bring me the list of all the people who

want to change back their names, and I'll set aside procedure and

get all of them changed together," - as simple as that.

This meeting took place at the fag end of my stay in Spiti, so Icouldn't start on the list. Besides, I wanted to be doubly sure that

these people actually do want to change back their names, and

weren't just saying what we wanted them tosay (like they probably

did with the teachers in the first place!).

Cleaning Kaza

What was planned as a day long cleanup of Kaza on Sunday, the

12th of September, extended into four days of intensive cleaning in

which at least one representative of each family participated every

day. Although they made a relative mess of the cleaning, - collecting

garbage in tractor trolleys only to dump it a little distance away from

Kaza (on the first day), or simply making piles and setting them onfire (on subsequent days), it was a beginning nevertheless. What is

more important is that these four days of cleaning culminated in an

unprecedented decision - the Vyapar Mandal (shop-owners union)

of Kaza declared a ban on the use of polythene bags in shops, with

a Rs.500/- fine for defaulters! Remarkably, this was a people's

decision, and not one that was imposed by the administration.

Archi tecture-relate d Work

While in Spif i. I had been talking to a lot of people, among them the

officials in the local administration, about not discarding local

materials 4nd construction techniques in favour of the unsightly,

impractical and uneconomical concrete and corrugated GI sheetsthat are increasingly showing up; about modifying and improving

traditional and government architecture to make it more energy

efficient by using common-sense materials to more effectively tackle

new problems like increased rainfall and to reduce the consumption

of wood in building.

The response was indeed quite good, and I have been asked to

design and help construct three buildings in Spiti.

I hope to make full use of my presence and involvement in Spiti to

help preserve the richness and the visual, material and social

harmony with nature that is characteristic of the architecture of

Spiti. I would like to see how the architecture of Spiti can take a few

modest steps in evolution.

With the A.D.C.

The ADC is the administrative head of the Spiti subdivision of the

Lahaul and Spiti district. Due to special circumstances, the ADC

reports directly to Shimla, and is also the head of all the

departments.

I had the opportunity to meet him a number of times during my

stay there. Two of these meetings concentrated on tourism-related

issues, discussing effective steps (not gestures) to stop the

outflow of old things (antiques, semi-antiques and other

irreplaceables) frorrr Spiti, a garbage strategy for the whole valley,

guidelines for guest houses, architecture based on local materia

and construction techniques, harmonising with local architectu

and with the Spitian landscape, and setting high standards

energy, monitoring tourism (a first step to controlling) checkpos

with wireless sets at vantage points, work out limits to the numb

of tourists in the valley, the number of tourists on trekking rou

and in the PinValley NationalPark, etc. ATourismCooperativean

Training Centre was suggested (teaching and guidingappropriate tourism).

Besides the ADC and other government officials, interactiontourism covered all sections of the people in Spiti, though the resu

varied from the encouraging to the magical there we

disappointments galore. But, what is more important, there is sco

for magic - and that's worth going back for.

The author acknowledges support from Manjulikn Dubey, Nagesh Se

Gurcinder Singh, Allea Sabhnwal, Mohit Oberoi, Deepak Thalani a

Chistoph Meier

\\

\



f the goals of managers in the official institutions that rule over

Third World debt were to squeeze the debtors dry, to transfer

enormous resources from South to North and to wage

undeclared war on the poor continents and their people, then their

policies have been an unqualified success.

The Debt BoomerangSrsan Cieorge

If, however, their strategies were intended - as official institutions

always claim to promote development beneficial to all members of

society- to preserve the planet's uniqueenvironment andgradually

to reduce the debt burden itself, then their failure is colossal.

The most obvious aspect of this failure or success, - is financial.

Every single month, from the outset of the debt crisis in 1982 until

the end of 1990, debtor countries in the South remitted to their

ireditors in the North an average 5.5 billion dollars in interest

payme'nts alone. If payments of the principal are included, then

debtor countries have paid creditors at a rate of almost 12.50 billion

dollars per rnonth - as much as the entire Third World spends each

month on health and education.

Moreover, the debt crisis has given creditor countries the chance to

intervene in the management of dozens of debtors' economies -using the Intemational Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bant<.

Their job is simple: to make sure the debt is serviced. Since the

average citizen of a low-income debtor country eams less than one

fiftieth of the average citizen of a high income creditor country, this

process is like trying to extract blood from a stone.

To accumulate hard currency and service its debts, a country must

increase its exports and reduce govemment spending. Most debtor

governments have accepted this and forced their people to co-

operate with the draconian policies of the IMF and World Bank to

ensure that debts are serviced. Much good has it done them. Adecade has passed since the Third World debt crisis first erupted.

Yet in spite of harsh measures faithfully applied this crisis is today

more intractable than ever.

Bureaucratic immunity

Debtor countries have deprived their people of basic necessities in

order to provide the private banks and the public agencies of the

rich countries with the equivalent of six Marshal Plans, the

prograrnme of assistance offered by the US to Europe after the

Second World War.

The World Bank and the IMF structural adjusters have by now had

plenty of time to make their measures work. But they have failed.

Had they been corporate executives they would doubtless have

been sacked long ago for incompetence. But no such accountability

applies to these intemational bureaucrats acting on behalf of the

creditor governments. They need never submit to thejudgement

oftheir victims. They answer only to their own equally unaccountable

superiors and, at the top of the bureaucratic tree, to a Board of

Govemors reflecting the majority voting strength of the richest

creditor countries. These lavishly compensated international civil

'servants' are found in Washington and throughout the Third

World, living exceedingly well.

There are other beneficiaries. For business corporations oPerating

in debtor countries, strucfural adjustment has enhanced

profitability by reducing both wages and the Power of the unions.

For many international banks, debt service payments at unusually

high interest rates in the early 1980s helped to fuel several years of

record earnings. From the corporate or banking perspective, the

World Bank and the IMF pass the test with flying colours.

The debtors lack of unity ensures the draining of their economies

and a continuing South-to-North resource flow on a scale far

outstripping any tlre colonial period could devise. The debtor

governments have from time to time called for debt relief but have

never collectively confronted the creditors. As a reward for docility

the creditors have allowed most debtor-country elites to maintain

their links to the world financial system, providing them with at

least a trickle of fresh money and offering them frequent

opportunities to purchase local assets at bargain prices through

so<alled'debt-for-equity swaps' or privatisation programmes.

Fallout in the NorthYet the pressures exerted by dozens of non-govemmental

organizations, in both North and South, have so far failed to alter

basic debt-management policies. Although the Fund and the Bank

now claim that they seek to'mitigate the social costs of adjustment',

official response to the crisis advances at a calculated snail's pace,

inching from one feeble and ineffective 'Plan' to the next while

leaving the status quo essentially untouched.

Until now those in the North who have tried to change the debt

management strategies have rightly based their arguments on

ethical and humanitarian grounds.

The impact of Third World debt fallout in the North is much less

well known because the consequences of debt are far more serious

and life-threatening in the South than in the North. But although

people in the South are more grievously affected than those in the

Norttu in both cases a tiny minority benefits while the

overwhelming majority pays.

Thxpayers of the North have carried comme.r'cial banks through the

Third World debt crisis from the start and vrrtually all of them are

blissfully unaware of the fact. We have paid Northern banks

between $44 and $50 billion in tax relief on bad debts - enough to

meet the entire Third World's health spending for one year.

There is another less measurable cost: the strong correlation

between debt and worldwide military conflict. Loans have

frequently been employed by Third World governments to buy

arms from Northern manufacturers to use againstboth internal and

external opponents. Debt promoted the Gulf War. Saddam Hussein

saw the invasion of Kuwait as one way of wiping out the colossal

debts he owed both to that country and to the allies - much of itused to finance his arms build-up. George Bush granted massive

debt forgiveness to an allied Arab nation like Egypt as a reward for

staying on his side.

Third World debt is not the only cause of , say, increased illegal drug

exports to the US and Europe, or of acceler;r.led deforestation

hastening the greenhouse effect. But it is, at least, au aggravating

factor, Debt-burdened Latin American gc!('rrtrnents becomet{



hooked on dollars from their coca-producing regions. This severely

dampens their incentive to encourage local crops. Increasing drugexports, in turry eralate the costs of law enforcement and conbibuteto social breakdown in the North.

A Stake in Change

Such harmful effects did not suddenly spring fully armed from the

head or the belly of the World Bank. They res ult fiom a set of policies

aimed at promoting a capital-intensive, energy-intensive,

unsustainable Western model of development which wasfavourable only to Third World elites, Northem bariks and

trarunatiornl co4>orations.

Relying on unbridled free market forces and export-bi growth,they have devastated the unprotected: the poorest, most vulnerablegroups and the environment.

They are still doing it and quite simply, they have to be stopped. .

Any standard of human decency or ethical imperative demands a

change in debt management, but so does enlightened self-interest.

Everyone outside thenarrowest of elite circles has a stakeinpositivechange. If enough people in the North realize that the Third Worlddebt crisis is their crisis they may well insist on radically differentpolicies, speak out and seek to join with similar forces in the South.

For this to happen we must first think lor ourselves, recognize the

modern mythology that prevents w from acting and then act. Thereare some obvious directions we can take to help the 'naturalmajority' to become effective. Workert farmers, trade unionists,activists, parents,inlmigrants, taxpayers - we all have to make a

corunon cause against the common danger.

We do not want to prescribe a programme but to state someprinciples:

o First, those who borrowed were rarely elected by their peoples.They squandered money on arnu or used it to further entrendrtheir own power and privilege, counting on their poorercompatriots to make sacrifices to pay back the loans when due.

Democratically elected governments should not be expected toassume the debt burdens of dictatorial predecessors.

o Those who made the loans were either irresponsible orintentionally attempting to make the debtors subervient to theirinterests. The creditors have been richly rewarded and are in nodanger if the debt is cancelled or converted to provide genuine

develo'pment. They should play by normal rules and not expect

the public to pay for their costly mistakes.

o The debt has already been largely or entirely repaid. The North

is, in fact, substantially in debt to the South and it has received,since 1982, the cheapest raw materials on record.

o But cancellation and other debt reduction measures must notbeused as an excuse or a pretext to further cut the debtor countries

out of the benefits of the world economy. The guiding precepts

should be popular participation in decision-making at everylevel, social equity and ecological prudence.

r So long as the policies of the rich North represent a mixture ofcrude carrot-and-stick mernoeuvres, coupled with basic

contempt for the South, its problems and its peoples, we cErn

expect more lethal North-South tensions, more powerfulboomerangs hurtling back at us, a further forced retreat of the

ridr countries into Fortress America or Fortress Europe.

Altematively, we could decide that it is time - high time - wbegan to live together on this improbable planet ashomo sapie

with a good deal more sqiou.

Economist Susan George is a prolifu writu, thinkr and prominmcampaigner on the subject of debt. Her books include l:lout the Other HDies. A Fate Worce tlan Debt, and most recantly The Debt Boomeran(Pluto,1"992).

TheSix BmrerangsEnvironment

Debt-induced poverty causes Third World people to exploitnafural resources in the most profitable and least sustainableway which causes an increase in global warming and a

depletion of genetic bio-diversity. This ultimately harms the

\lorth too.

Drugs

The illegal drugs trade is the major eamer for heavilyindebted countries like Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. The socialand economic costs of the diug<onsumingboom in the Northis phenomenal-$8O billion a year in the US alone.

Thxes

Govemments in the North have used their tax-payers' moneyto give banks tax concessions so that they can write offsocalled'bad debts'from Third World countries. Butin most

cases this has not reduced the actual debts of poor countries.By 1997 UK banks had gained from tax credits for more than

half their exposure. The eventual total relief will amount to$8.5 billion.

Unemployment

Exports from rich countries to the Third World would be

much higher if those countries were not shapped by debt, and

this would stimulate manufacturing and employment in the

North. The loss of jobs due to lost exports is estimated toaccount for one fifth of total US unemployment.

Immigration

The International Labour Organization estimates that there

are about 100 million legal or illegal immigrants and refugees

in the world today. Many go to the richer countries of the

North to flee poverty and the effect of IMF-imposed economic

policies.

Cgnflict

Debt creates social unrest and war. Iraq invaded Kuwait in1990 largely in retaliation for the latter's insistence that

Saddam's regime repay a $12 billion loan.

t4



T'thf':tffijti"Tfi["ffiiJ"{'*3il#"j;Jj}!

To uris m an I tfie p e op feBrbraGehrcts

the eco-tourist can now choose to join a rainforest research project,

visit African mountain gorillas or opt to take a water divining tourto the Sahel.

Tourism Concem, a non-governmental organisation formed tomonitor the impactof tourismon ThirdWorld countries and ensuleresponsible tourism, has published a charterfor sustainable tourismin collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature. The objectiveof the charter is to promote tourism that is just, sustainable andparticipatory. Eco-tourism (a.k.a good tourism) should do all thefollowing:

o avoid waste and over-consumption

o use local resources sustainably

o maintain and encourage natural, economic, social and culfuraldiversity

o besensitive to thehostculture

o involve the local community in planning and decision-making

. assess environmental, social and ecrcnomic impacts as a

prerequisite to developing tourism

o ensure that most of the benefits go to the local community andavoid over-dependenry on tourism as the only industry

o market tourism responsibly, respecting local natural andculfural environments

o train staff in responsible tourism

o monitor impacts of tourism and ensure open disclosure ofinformation

Yet evm small groups of people or for that matter the lone tra'veiler,no matter how sensitive, may have a disruptive effect on local

culture. This is true especially if the host community has had verylittle contact with 'mainstream' societv as is still the case with some

tribal people.

ln the case of recently contactetl tribal people, the most obvious

danger is that visitors may unlt i'[tingly introduce new diseases towhich people in the host community have no immunities. This

happened to the Yanomami when gold miners entered theirterritory in the 1980s and brought with them a deadly strain ofmalaria, as well as influenza and tuberculosis.

On the other hand, many tribal peoples have interacted with the

world at large for generations and may even actively encourage

tourism and trade. Tourist interest can sometimes encourage a

cultural revival and with it the protection of a people's historic andcultural heritage, as in the case of Mayan culture in the Mundo Maya

project in Central America. Indigenous people should play a key

role as local guides with their unique knowledge of the area.

While tourism usually promises to provide employment to the local

commirnity, the jobs are most often unskilled, menial and poorlypaid. Very rarely do tribal peoples control the operation of tours intheir own territories.

More often than not, the needs and rights of indigenous peoples are

ignored. For example in west Nepal, the Chhetri people were movedfrom their lands to make way for [,ake Rara National Park,

disrupting theircommunity and leading tonew deforestation at the

relocation site.

recerpts of $278 billion, according to the World Tourism

Organisation. A report done for American Express daims that traveland tourism account for nearly 5.5 percent of the world's total gross

national product and produce annual revenues of $2.5 trillion. The

tourist industry is the world's largest employer, with anestimated118 million people working in tourism.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the world's tourists are from theindustrialised countries, with 57 percent of tourists coming fromEurope and 16 percent from North America. Put another way, 80

percent of all international travellers are nationals of just 20

countries.

Thus, it is largely the tourist industry in the affluent tourist-generating countries that determines the nature and scale oftourism. These tour operators are interested primarily in short- termbenefits and realising a refurn on capital and investments. However,the social, cultural, environmental and economic costs of tourismare paid by the less affluent, tourism-receiving countries.

While proponents of the tourist industry are keen to stress the

potential benefits of tourism(i.e.

hard currency), they are less likelyto admit the damage tourism often cauees.

There are many examples of tourism resulting in severe

environmental degradation (e.g. the area around Mt. Everest inNepal is strewn with litter left by hekkers, and the streams are

polluted wiih human waste; coastal erosion around beach resorts is

a problem in Kenya, Goa and in the Philippines), debasing the host

culture (e.g. the child sex industry in Thailand), dislocating local

economies and displacing local people (e.g. the creation of game

parks in Kenya and Tanzania has excluded the Maasai fromtraditional grazing lands; the fishing communities that onceinhabited the coast of Penang, Malaysia have been displaced bybeach hotels) and creating conflict and resentment (e.g.

over-conslunption of water by hotels has resulted in conflicts overwater distribution in Goa, India; the destruction of ancient

Hawaiian sacred burial sites in order to build resorts has sparked

protests; the Mohawk uprising in Canada was triggered by plans toextend a golf course on Mohawk burial grounds).

Mudr of the money generated by tourism is remitted abroad. For

example,60 percentof Thailand's $4 billion ayear tourismrevenuesleave the country, according to Tourism Concern. Some critics of the

tourist indwtry have called it the new imperialism.

Mass tourism has been the target of the most criticism. Because it is

so large-scale, it places an undue burden on local resources, skews

the labour market and increases prices for goods and property inthe area. This may create increasedhardship for thelocalpopulation

and breed resentment, as has happened in Goa, India.

In response to the more obvious negative effects of tourism, many

tour operators have now proclaimed themselves to be 'green' andhave jumped on the eco-tourism bandwugon. The exact definitionof eco-tourism is a matter of considerable debate. It is also not clear

whether eco-tourism provides solutions to the problems caused bytourism.

Eco-tourism hopes to change the unequal relationships ofconvmtional tourism. Thus it encourages the use of indigenous

guides and local products. Ethical tours purport to combine

environmental education with minimal travel comforts, helpprotect local flora and fauna and, provide local people with

economic incentives to safeguard their environment. For example,

IJ



Survival Intemational does notclaim tobe able toresolve the debate

surrounding eco-tourism. However, when tribal communities are

the touristdestinations inquestion,itisrightandwhollyappropriatethat the wishes of thesecommunities be respected.

The key word is control. Not only do tribal peoples have a right totheir lands, they also have the right to decide what happens on theirlands, to determine their fu ture and.way of life.

lf andwhen tribal peoplesinvite tourisminto theircommunities, andtheyshould always be consul ted first, theyshould alsobe involved in

the planning and operation of tours, if they so wish. Clearly, thebenefitsof tourismon tribal landsand in theircommunitiesshouldbeshared according to agreements negotiated with them, just as theyshould with any other concessions to exploit resources on their lands(e.g. ti mber, minerals or oil).

All too often tour operators treat tribal peoples as exotic objects to beenjoyed as part of the scenery. They are expected to perform tribalmusic and dances for the consumption of tourists. Devoid of theiroriginal ceremonial context, these aspects of tribal culhre aretrivialised and become meaningless. Handicrafts which were once

produced for particularuses, are hrrned intotourist trinkets. Culturefor many tourists becomes synonymous with song dance, 'nativedress' and handicrafts, ignoring the ideas, values,belief systems and

kinship pattems of the people being visited. Indi- genou -- i-'ulture isdevalued and stereotypes are reinforced and perpetuated. (See

"Kerala-the fool's paradise", elsewhere in this issue)

Eco-tour operabors are selling 'Rarnforest tourism' to the

environmentally interested traveller by promoting the image oftribal people as 'noble savages'. Rather than patronising tribal

peoples in this marurer we need to see them on their own terms a

dynamic and complex societies.

As Rigoberta Menchu, a GuatemalanQuiche Indian and Nobel peac

Prize winner commented, "What hurts Indians most is that oucostumes are consideredbeautiful, butit's as if theperson wearingdidn'texist".

Often tribal peoples are photographed without their permission.the photographer publishes the photos, receiving royalties, thpeople in the pictures almost never get a share of these royalties oeven get to see the photographs.

Tourism may distort and irreparably alter the local economy. Tribapeoplewhowereonceself-sufficientor dependedon local trademaynow become dependent on the tourist dollar, pound or franc and thvagaries of the globa I economy.

The examples of exploitation of tribal peoples in the name opromoting tourism are familiar to most people who have travelledThe need to bring in foreign currency is used to justify this abuse otribal peoples rights and denial of their dignity. Clearly, touoperators and governments are often willing collaborators anperpetratorsof this form of exploitation. This canbe stopped if tribapeopleare givencontrol over theaccessand developmentof tourism

intheircommunities. I

Babara Gehrels is UK coordinator, Suraiaal International. SuraivaInternational is a woildwide moaanent to support tr ibal peoples. lt stani

for their right to decide their monfufure and lrclps themprotect their lands

enaironment andzuay of life.

Lettets to the t ilitotThank you very much for sending me Vol 2Issue 1 (Oct 93) of

ANletter. I am happy to note that you are questioning andchallenging the concept of high-income tourism, which oftenuses up scarce water resources, takes over private lands underantiquated land acquisition laws and corrupts the irrnocentvillagers with drugs, sex and alchohol. The cultural gains oftourism and the economic benefits are often overshadowed bvthese negative aspects.

I attended the meetings at the ISI Bangalore last fune, at whichthe lndian People's Tiibunal was set up. I heard two talks ontourism (by Norma Alvares and Roland Martins) and discussed

the matter with them. I visited Goa recently for a few days. Myimpression is that it is not too late to evolve a balanced approachto tourism development, whereby the common people are

provided with employment, but the environment is stillpreserved to some extent.

I also made a short presentation at the Bangalore rireetings, andput forth the view (which I still hold) that, while Goa may needless tourism of the wrong kind, places like Hyderabad,Gulbarga, Bidaq, and Bijapur need more tourisrr., but of the rightkind.

It seems to me that we have to formulate our views in regard tothese matters very dearly, for different areas, using the concept

of Tourism Carrying Capacity, put forth by Ashok Chatterjee of

the National Institute of Design, on page 5 of the October issue.

We have then to mount campaigns at the local, state, nationaland international levels. Some of the issues we need to debate

are:

1.. the need for medium-priced hotels to be planned and built,

2. the adverse effect on the environment should be limited(at the planning stage this can be taken into account),

3. involving local people (such as the patrclnyaf andcommunity leaders of Goan villages whom you quote onpage 7 of the Newsletter for Oct 93), so that the financialbenefits of tourism on a small scale are as widely spread as

possible,

4. averting the danger of community leaders being boughtovet or otherwise incorporated into the new tourismculture, a distinct possibility in the Indian context,

5. drawing up an action plan for a particular city/area/region in consultation with "community leaders" andvoluntary action groups but excluding or minimising, the

role of five-star hotels, etc. and

6. the State Tourism Departments, and Corporations should

be involved (but perhaps not at the initial stages).

Dr. Vasant K Ba ra llyderabact (ZJ1.gl

Publi5t€dbyEquitableTourimoptioru(EQUATIoN3),l68,6thMainRoad,BetrindlrrciramguCtub,Bm8alqe'INDIAPhor:08t5582313,Fax:sG%27(A

Cable: EQUATIOIS SeNGafORE Des:$ & [ay@t by DharEraia Ke"lura ard Typ6etting by Verba Network Sewie, li]9, 8th tdai& 12th Crc$, Bogalore, Phore: 346692

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ANLetter Volume 2 Issue 2-Mar 1994-EQUATIONS