Editor: Rekha Saraswat

THE RADICAL HUMANISTJANUARY 2014Vol. 77 No 10 Rs. 20/month

(Since April 1949)Formerly : Independent India

(April 1937- March 1949)

Founder Editor: M.N. Roy

526

Historical Role of Islam: An Introduction

A Message from Delhi

Stop giving a 5 year Blank Cheque to Delhi Sevaks

Post Elections Analysis

What Is the Real Face of Political Parties?

Why AAP Model is unsafe for India?

Importance of Humanism in India

The Rise of the People’s Power in Delhi

Indian Urban Youth and Marxism in Our Times

M.N. Roy in a Dictionary

Delhi Elections: Redefining Democracy!

—M.N. Roy

—Uday Dandavate

—Rakesh Manchanda

—Kuldip Nayar

—Rajindar Sachar

—K.S. Chalam

—Jugal Kishore

—Mahi Pal Singh

—Amandeep Vashisth

— Dipavali Sen

—Rekha Saraswat

(Editorial Comment)

THE RADICAL HUMANIST JANUARY 2014

This Month's Contributors

M.N. ROY

Founder Editor

(page 4)

REKHA S.

Editor

(page 2)

UDAY DANDAVATE

U.S.A.

(Page 6)

RAKESH MANCHANDA

Zambia/New Delhi

(Page 9)

KULDIP NAYAR

New Delhi, India

(Page 11)

RAJINDAR SACHAR

New Delhi, India

(Page 14)

1


The Radical Humanist

Monthly journal of the

Indian Renaissance InstituteDevoted to the development of the

Renaissance Movement; and for promotion of

human rights, scientific-temper, rational

thinking and a humanist view of life.

Founder Editor:

M.N. Roy

Editor:

Dr. Rekha S.

Contributory Editors:

Prof. A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed, Dr. R.M. Pal,

Professor Rama Kundu

Publisher and Printer:

Mr. N.D. Pancholi

Send articles to: Dr. Rekha Saraswat, C-8,

Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P., India,

Ph. 91-121-2620690, 09719333011

E-mail articles at: [email protected]

Send Subscription / Donation Cheques in

favour of The Radical Humanist to:

Mr. Narottam Vyas (Advocate), Chamber

Number 111 (Near Post Office), Supreme Court

of India, New Delhi, 110001, India

[email protected]

Ph. 91-11-22712434, 91-11-23782836,

09811944600

Please Note: Authors will bear sole

accountability for corroborating the facts that

they give in their write-ups. Neither IRI / the

Publisher nor the Editor of this journal will be

responsible for testing the validity and

authenticity of statements & information cited by

the authors. Also, sometimes some articles

published in this journal may carry opinions not

similar to the Radical Humanist philosophy; but

they would be entertained here if the need is felt

to debate and discuss upon them.

—Rekha S.

Vol. 77 Number 10 December 2014

www.theradicalhumanist.com

1. From the Editor’s Desk:

Delhi Elections: Redefining Democracy!

—Rekha Saraswat 2

From the Writings of M.N. Roy:

Historical Role of Islam: An Introduction 4

2. Guests’ Section:

A Message from Delhi

—Uday Dandavate 6

Stop giving a 5 year Blank Cheque

to Delhi Sevaks.

—Rakesh Manchanda 9

3. Current Affairs’ Section:

Post Elections Analysis

—Kuldip Nayar 11

What Is the Real Face of Political Parties?

—Rajindar Sachar 14

Why AAP Model is unsafe for India?

—K.S. Chalam 16

4. IRI / IRHA Members’ Section:

Importance of Humanism in India

—Jugal Kishore 19

The Rise of the People’s Power in Delhi

—Mahi Pal Singh 22

5. Professors' & Students' Section:

Indian Urban Youth and Marxism in Our Times

—Amandeep Vashisth 27

6. Book Review Section:

M.N. Roy in a Dictionary

— Dipavali Sen 32

7. Humanist News:

a) IRI Gen. Body Meet-A Report 34

b) A Citizens’ Agenda for Change 35

c) Help The Birds-2014 40

Contents

From the Editor’s Desk:

Delhi Elections: RedefiningDemocracy

By democracy we mean people’s

participation in making laws for

themselves.

By liberal democracy we mean people’s

participation in making laws to live a life of their

own choice and let others live it too.

By welfare democracy we mean people’s

participation in making laws not only to live for

themselves but also to help others around them

to live a dignified human life.

Elections through political parties have become

a necessary means of attaining any form of

democracy, no doubt! But can elections make or

break democracy? We have to find the answer!

In a democracy governments are meant to work

for the welfare of those people who bring them

to power by voting for them.

Promises are made to the people by the parties

and candidates who contest elections. Promises

to fulfill their immediate needs!

This goes to say that whichever party wins and

tries to fulfill its promises made to its targeted

beneficiary it nurtures democracy for that

limited range of people.

In that case, BSP, SP, BJP, DMK, ADMK are all

catering to democracy for each of their restricted

circle of voters. We may call it a kind of sectarian

democracy but democracy it is if we go by this

definition!

On the other hand, national parties like

Congress, CPI and CPIM claim to look after the

needs of all those who require help in living their

lives without making any discrimination of caste,

class, sex, region or religion. We may name it as

an umbrella democracy, something that none of

them could manage to give till now to the

complete satisfaction of the masses till AAP

came to their rescue in December last month.

Now AAP has promised, water, electricity,

shelter, safety, security, food and employment

to the people of Delhi within affordable means. It

has decided to wipe corruption out of

bureaucracy and politics.

And it promises to do it all in the easiest way

possible. It does not confuse the masses with a

lofty philosophy of the East or the West; nor does

it bewilder them with a complicated ideology of

the Right or the Left.

It simply talks of social idealism.

It only speaks of corruption-free municipal

facilities to the common man. It wants to give

everything to the Aam Aadmi that he deserves in

a public welfare state; everything that he never

got in these 66 years of Indian democracy.

Its success has come as a surprise even to its

own leaders. It really appears to be a Happy New

Year for the Indian common man and for the

concept of democracy as such!!

So far so very good!

It is obvious that AAP has come as a reaction to

the inaction of previous governments. But let us

sincerely hope that it does not turn into only a

reactionary group.

Therefore, for creating an advance buffer for the

future safety of this achievement a philosophical

analysis of the situation needs to be done.

We should beware of its good as well as bad

consequences taking help from the

innumerable instances in history where mass

upheavals brought about phenomenal changes

in world society but with their repercussions too.

The British Glorious Revolution, French

Revolution, American Independence struggle,

Indian Independence Movement, the beginning

of the Christian and Islamic Revolutions, for that

matter all the reformist and renaissance

movements in the world came to light because

they all had one thing in common –the support

of the common man. The world became a better

place to live in with each of these efforts in some

corner and in some manner. But worst wars and

crusades were also seen as an aftermath.

2


History is being repeated. APP has started an

antithesis stage against the anomalies of the

existing state of affairs, yet again with the help of

this common man.

But we must beware and not loose ourselves in

the euphoria of the common man’s success. The

synthesis also has to be brought about with the

help of honest, dedicated, and visionary

specialists from all fields of life- the scientists,

the economists, the political theorists, the

administrators, the bureaucrats, the poets, the

artists, all together have to give this movement a

direction, a philosophy. Otherwise the process

of dialectics will remain incomplete.

This is where the Radical Humanist philosophy

of New Humanism might be of some help. I will

only state one most important aspect of his

philosophy in this editorial. The others may

follow later. When Roy talks of forming People’s

Committees he wants the educators to be

educated first. What facilities and betterment the

common man needs may be known directly

from him. But how to make it available to him

cannot always come from him. He is a simple

man wanting his needs to be fulfilled. He expects

the facilitator who goes to him to find a

resolution to his problems. Mohalla Samitees

will help APP know their troubles but for their

solutions an expert analysis would call for

professional assistance. The APP members

approaching the man in his house and street

may not necessarily have the qualities of

educators. It will, therefore, necessitate a two

step process. APP members bringing the

information from the people’s mohalla samitees

and experts sorting it out on priority basis

delivering assistance for the basic requirements

first followed by the emotional, educational,

cultural and religious requirements next.

The world is more approachable now than it was

when Roy was writing his Theses with its

innumerable miraculous ways of connecting

with the masses. But life has also become more

complex now than it used to be in his time. The

number of people has grown, the basic needs

have been redefined, options of living facilities

have variegated. Choices are increasing,

availabilities are decreasing. The youth now is

able to see and feel the variety of options not

only in his land but abroad too through the T.V.,

the internet and many mass media techniques.

He wants to have them all. He feels he deserves

them as much as those who are using them. And

he believes that in a democracy the state should

make them available to him. He is desperate

because he feels all his efforts go in vain and he

is not able to achieve his goals due to the

inefficiency of the governments. APP will have to

promise to him that atmosphere where he will

be able bring a balance between his desires and

efforts.

According to Roy, democracy does not only

mean gaining independence from a foreign yolk

or fulfilling the basic requirements of the

citizens. It means the inculcation of an

atmosphere where each individual learns and

earns his own freedom of unfolding his

potentialities as an individual. A system where

each human being gets an opportunity to know

his worth and to nurture it to become the future

scientist or artist, philosopher or teacher,

engineer or doctor, actor or politician, writer or

thinker in his life-time. Of course this comes

next to first being able to survive in life as a

respectable human being.

Roy had written in the first thesis of Radical

Humanist philosophy that ‘Man is the archetype

of society’ and therefore, all round ‘development

of the individual is the measure of social

progress’.

APP has some very candid, authentic and honest

bureaucrats, lawyers, teachers, poets, social

workers and social scientists in it. Let us hope

they together become balanced, tolerant

statesmen and political scientists and add

philosophic definitions to their zeal and

enthusiasm in finding long-lasting remedies to

the socially, politically, economically and

culturally diverse predicaments of the common

man!

4


From The Writings of M.N. Roy:

Historical Role of Islam

Chapter One: IntroductionContnd. from the last issue.......

The prevailing notions could be laughed

at as ridiculous, were they not so

pregnant with harmful consequences. These

notions should be combated for the sake of the

Indian people as well as in the interest of science

and historical truth. A proper appreciation of the

cultural significance of Islam is of supreme

importance in this crucial period of the history of

India.

The great historian Gibbon describes the rise

and expansion of Islam as “one of the most

memorable revolutions which has impressed a

new and lasting character on the nations of the

globe”. One is simply amazed to contemplate

the incredible rapidity with which the two

mightiest empires of the ancient time were

subverted by the comparatively small bands of

nomads issuing from the Arabian dessert, fired

with the zeal of a new faith. Hardly fifty years had

passed since Mohammad assumed the role of

the singular Prophet spreading his Message of

Peace at the point of the sword, when his

followers victoriously planted the banner of

Islam on the confines of India on the one side,

and on the shores of the Atlantic, on the other.

The first Khalifs of Damascus reigned over an

Empire which could not be crossed in less than

five months on the fleetest camel. At the end of

the first century of the Hegira, the “Commanders

of the Faithful” were the most powerful rulers of

the world.

Every Prophet establishes his pretension by the

performance of miracles. On that token,

Mohammad must be recognized as by far the

greatest of all Prophets, before or after him. The

expansion of Islam is the most miraculous of all

miracles. The Roman Empire of Augustus, as

later enlarged by the valiant Trajan, was the

result of great and glorious victories won over a

period of seven hundred years. Still, it had not

attained the proportions of the Arabian Empire

established in less than a century. The Empire of

Alexander represented but a fraction of the vast

domain of the Khalifs. For nearly a thousand

years, the Persian Empire resisted the arms of

Rome, only to be subdued by the “Sword of God”

in less than a decade. Let a modern historian

describe the miracle of the rise of Islam.

Nowhere was there a vestige of an Arabian state,

of a regular army, or of a common political

ambition. The Arabs were poets, dreamers,

fighters, traders; they were not politicians. Nor

had they found in religion a stabilizing or

unifying power. They practiced a low form of

polytheism….A hundred years later, these

obscure savages had achieved for themselves a

great world power. They had conquered Syria

and Egypt; they had overwhelmed and

converted Persia, mastered Western Turkestan

and part of the Punjab. They had wrested Africa

from the Byzantines and the Berbers, Spain

from the Visigoths. In the West they threatened

France, in the East Constantinople. Their fleets

build in Alexandria or the Syrian ports, rode the

waters of Mediterranean, pillaged the Greek

islands and challenged the naval power of the

Byzantine Empire. Their success had been won

so easily, the Persians and Berbers of the Atlas

Mountains alone offering a serious resistance,

that at the beginning of the eighth century it

must have seemed an open question whether

any final obstacle could be opposed to their

victorious course. The Mediterranean had

ceased to be a Roman lake. From one end of

Europe to the other, the Christian states found

themselves confronted with the challenge of a

new Oriental civilization founded on a new

Oriental faith” wrote H.A.L. Fisher in his book, A

History of Europe.

How did that stupendous miracle happen? That

has been one of the baffling questions for

historians. Today the educated world has

rejected the vulgar theory that the rise of Islam

was a triumph of fanaticism over sober and


4

tolerant peoples. The phenomenal success of

Islam was primarily due to its revolutionary

significance and its ability to lead the masses out

of the hopeless situation created by the decay of

the antique civilizations not only of Greece and

Rome but of Persia and China – and of India.

Contd. in the next issue......

[Publisher’s Note: This book, first published in

1939, was written when Roy was in jail in the

early thirties under a sentence of twelve years

rigorous imprisonment, later reduced to six, for

‘conspiring to deprive’ the king-Emperor of his

sovereignty in India. Looking back at events in

the intervening period, one might wish that this

book had been read more widely in the decade

before the Indian sub-continent became

independent and at the same time partitioned

into two States. A better knowledge and more

objective understanding of the history of Islam

on the part of Muslim as well as non-Muslim

India might have prevented much of the later

tragic developments and human suffering. But

it is never too late for knowledge and

understanding to undo the harm that the lack of

them has done. Hence, this small book on the

historical role of Islam, in East and West, may

itself have a historical role to play, apart from

its intrinsic value as a scholarly treatise,

beautifully written, on a fascinating chapter of

human history.]


5

An Appeal to the ReadersIndian Renaissance Institute has been receiving regular requests from readers, research scholars,

Rationalists and Radical Humanists for complete sets of books written by M.N. Roy. It was not

possible to fulfil their demands as most of Roy's writings are out of print. IRI has now decided to

publish them but will need financial assistance from friends and well-wishers as the expenses will

be enormous running into lakhs. IRI being a non-profit organization will not be able to meet the

entire expenses on its own. Initially, following 15 books have been ordered for print: New

Humanism; Beyond Communism; Politics, Power and Parties; Historical Role of Islam; India’s

Message; Men I Met; New Orientation; Materialism; Science & Philosophy; Revolution and

Counter-revolution in China; India in Transition; Reason, Romanticism and Revolution; Russian

Revolution; Selected Works-Four Volumes; Memoirs (Covers period1915-1923).

Cheques /bank drafts may be sent in the name of ‘Indian Renaissance Institute’ at (address):

Shri B.D. Sharma, Advocate, Chamber No.111 (Old), Supreme Court, New Delhi-110001

Online donations may be sent to: ‘Indian Renaissance Institute’

Account No: 02070100005296; FISC Code: UCBA0000207

UCO Bank, Supreme Court Branch, New Delhi (India)

We make an earnest appeal to you to please donate liberally for the cause of the spirit of

renaissance and scientific thinking being promoted in the writings of M.N. Roy. Thanking you

B.D. Sharma N.D. Pancholi, Narottam Vyas

President (IRI) Secretary (IRI) Treasurer (IRI)

A note of Appreciation and Thanks: After the very first appeal made in the last issue (December2013) of The Radical Humanist the following donations have been received from:

1. Sr. Adv. Fali .S. Nariman, Supreme Court - Rs. 51,000/-

2. Sr. Adv. P.P. Rao, Supreme Court Rs. 5,000/-

3.Sr. Adv. K.N. Kataria, Delhi High Court - Rs. 1,000/-

—Rekha Saraswat—

Guests’ Section:

A Message from Delhi—Uday Dandavate

Before I write this article I must qualify

my personal bias. Professionally, I am

a researcher of people, cultures and change;

philosophically I am drawn to ideas that take

into account grass root level transformations;

and politically I support movements for

sustainability, secularism and social justice. With

this framework of mind my ideas should be seen

as optimism of a positive deviant.

In the aftermath of a historic debacle of the

Congress party of India, the TV channels are

inviting expert commentators and

representatives of political parties to provide

their interpretations of who gets credit for

victories and who should bear responsibility for

Congress party’s disastrous performance. I

believe the shape of the future will not unfold

from the expert knowledge of political pundits,

but from the collective imagination of everyday

people of India, especially the youth, who are

eager to distance themselves from traditional

politicians and are willing to experiment with

fresh perspectives.

The significance of young voters can be gauged

from a report in Times of India of October 4th,

2013, “Close to 12 crore youths will be eligible to

vote for the first time in the 2014 Lok Sabha

elections. To put that in perspective, no single

party garnered more than 12 crore votes in the

2009 polls, showing how significant this

segment can be if all of them register to vote. In

the 2009 polls, the Congress polled 11.9 crore

votes, the BJP 7.8 crore, BSP 2.6 crore and CPM

2.2 crore. No other party polled even a crore of

votes across the country. The draft electoral rolls

published by various states at this stage show

that the national total is just under 79 crore

votes.” (Times of India report)

The difference between traditionalists and

innovators, between the pundits and the youth

is- that the traditionalists and the pundits are

obsessed with just permutations and

combinations of existing options whereas the

innovators and the youth continually reinvent

themselves by daring to imagine a radically

different future. My experience as a design

researcher prompts me to say- that the future is

always under construction, in the imagination of

everyday people. The outcome of the elections

reveals what is possible through the

traditionalists’ approach of permutations and

combination and the delightfully surprising and

inspiring results that can be achieved by

including the youth in the process of imagining a

radically idealistic future. The voters of Madhya

Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan had limited

options of either going with discredited

Congress party or with the other available

alternative in BJP. On the other hand in Delhi the

Aam Adami party was able to inspire youth from

around India to come to its campaign and

unleash the imagination of a future where both

established parties could be made to eat a

humble pie and the political discourse of vote

bank politics made irrelevant.

As the votes were being counted the percentage

difference between the AAP and the BJP

(according to TIMES NOW) votes throughout

remained within 1%-2% range and interestingly

at times AAP’s voting share went higher than

BJP’s. The older voters were split between the

BJP and the AAP whereas overwhelming

majority of first time young voters was primarily

voting for the AAP. People’s support to AAP

reminds me of the atmosphere during

Navnirman Movement in Gujarat in 1974. This

was a time when Jayprakash Narayan galvanized

nationwide resurgence of youth energy

demanding Total Revolution. Electoral success

of AAP fell short of putting them in the

government, unlike in 1974 when Janata

Morcha managed to install a government led by

Babubhai Jasbhai Patel.


6

AAP’s victory in Delhi as well as BJP’s success in

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh has

a more profound message for the progressive

forces in India. The youth of India does not buy

into the narrative of the need for a two party

system in India. The Congress party stands at a

historic prospect of decimation, possibly worse

than its humiliating defeat in 1977.

Progressive-minded Indians need to rise to the

occasion and participate in the force of

transformation unleashed by the success of

people’s will in Delhi. It is time to make

sustainability, secularism, social justice and

swaraj- the foundation of a new vision for India.

It is time to encourage grass root level

leadership development and bring to political

mainstream a new generation of leaders who

can dedicate their imagination to developing

innovative and sustainable solutions for India’s

development needs. The match-up between

Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi runs counter

to the aspirations of the youth of India who want

opportunities to cleanse the political system of

corruption and follow their own imagination.

RSS’s vision of the future is emerging as a

formidable alternative to a discredited Congress

party, the progressive forces need to step in and

respond appropriately to Delhi’s clear message

for the need for creating an alternative

imagination of India. Democratic process has its

own painfully slow way of bringing clarity.

My friends have been asking me how I feel about

AAP taking support from the Congress party of

India to form a government in Delhi. In the spirit

of full disclosure I must admit- When it comes to

my views on politics I am an unreasonable

person- meaning I believe in taking a rigid stand

and sticking to it when it comes to matters of

principles. From that perspective, I am not

happy with the developments. Now, having

grown in the midst of electoral politics, and

having observed the unconventional approach

of the AAP, I am not surprised that AAP decided

to take Congress support. Here are my

observations of the situation.

1. Fighting elections is an expensive and

exhausting experience. Elected representatives

do not typically like going back to fight elections

in situations like this for financial reasons, plus

due to the fact that they are not always sure that

they will get re-elected in case of a re-election.

Regardless of public posturing by all the parties,

I am very sure that there was a section of elected

representatives in all the three parties- the

Congress, BJP and AAP- who did not want to go

through another election. I believe the reason

Arwind Kejriwal called the situation a Dharm

Sankat is because he was being forced to eat his

own words by the pragmatic view within his

party.

2. Having established that the congress party is

on a massive losing streak, there is no way even

the 8 MLA's of Congress would get re-elected if

there elections are held immediately. That

reality check made the Congress party take a

pragmatic view and offer support to the AAP,

with the hope that the new government would

fail to implement its tall promises and discredit

itself.

3. In her article in rediff.com titled "Cong in

catch-22 situation after support to AAP govt",

Anita Katyal reports, "With the Arvind

Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party all set to form the

next government in Delhi, Congress cadres are

furious with former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit

for forcing the party to prop up the new

dispensation.....The Congress rank and file

believes the party has tied itself in knots because

it will have little choice but to support the new

party’s agenda, failing which it will be dubbed as

being undependable and a traitor".

(http://www.rediff.com/news/report/cong-in-catc

h-22-situation-after-support-to-aap-govt/2013

1223.htm)

4. Going by the trends of recent elections to the

four state assemblies, when the congress party

does withdraw support to the AAP government

(which they will at some time), there will be a

further erosion of votes away from the Congress

party. Depending on how AAP does in fulfilling


7

its prepoll promises, the flow of votes will either

go to the AAP or to the BJP- definitely not to the

congress.

5. There are no signs of AAP pleading for

congress support, or of toning down their

scathing criticism of the congress party in the

national government. I am happy that Arvind

Kejriwal did not drive straight to Sonia Gandhi's

house to express his gratitude to the ultimate

authority in the congress party. On the other

hand, he and other members of the AAP seem

firm on their resolve to inflict a deep blow to

both the congress party and the BJP during

coming Lok Sabha elections.

6. AAP's resolve to set up Mohalla committees for

citizens' participation in democracy is an

innovative and disruptive process. It is going to

lead to scenarios of the future that are going to

put the traditional parties in an unfamiliar space

and give AAP a competitive advantage in

working towards establishing a participatory

democracy.

Considering all of the above factors, I believe I

need to get over my deep sense of

disappointment at AAP for taking support of the

congress party and urge AAP supporters to wait

and watch how this disruptive innovation in the

practice of electoral politics unfolds.

In Mahabharata, Abhimanyu could not make it

back from the Chakravyuh. I hope this

Abhimanyu does.

[Uday Dandavate studies people, cultures and

trends worldwide and inspires people centered

innovation strategies. He heads a design

research consulting firm, SonicRim in U.S.A. He

writes and speaks on topics related to people

centered design and innovation in international

journals and conferences.

[email protected]


8

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Stop giving a 5 year BlankCheque to Delhi Sevaks

—Rakesh Manchanda

Delhi People it appears are getting

ready to take historical decision to set

new rules for new elected Nagar Sevaks. Till date

since past six decades people with a strange fear

with no choice were forced to issue blank

advance cheques to the winner Congress or BJP

MLAs. Who foots the privilege bills and salary to

elected peoples representatives? Where does

the money come from? While direct tax

collection in India is pegged at Rs 4,500 crore,

indirect taxes could raise Rs 45,940 crores in the

last budget 2011-12. You need not be a student

of Economics to see that indirect taxes are a

huge burden on the people, while the low direct

tax rates were a relief for the rich. Poor do not

pay direct tax due to less income but are forced

or unknowingly pay rising indirect taxes. This

means the salaries and perks given to elected

leaders comes from the indirect VAT taxes

generated by workers and common man and

not rich income tax payers.

Elected people's representatives in any country

are full time service coordinators to run the

governance and fulfill promises. Like it or not

they are paid employees who do not work like a

common man in a productive wheels from

agricultural fields to factories. These sevaks of

people are supposed to monitor just distribution

of wealth with effective laws in the various

wheels of productions and consumptions.

Common man works hard to generate wealth

and more jobs and foots bills of his elected M.Ps.

At present there is no trend of sevaks(M.Ps)

going back to masters (public) to get the weekly

or monthly audit. New fashion which appears is:

Stop issuing unsafe blank cheques to Delhi

sevaks for five years. Reason being, it is very

difficult to monitor growth and expenses from

majority pockets after five years. In a usual

employee-employer relationship blank cheque

or cash audit needs to be cleared after every five

days.

Thanks to the new political breeze. With entry of

AAP there appears a guarantee to ask the sevaks

to explain the social and cost audit say after

every five weeks. Eight past days were spent by

Delhi voters with a Governance deadlock. Bang

On! People in big crowds now hang out to dress

up as real masters for the first time to celebrate

their new freedom. The mission for referendum

was guidance to new sevaks in Jan Sabhas

called by AAP. Participation and consultancy is

the new buzz word and Peoples Parliaments with

directives are getting shaped up fast. Many

people find it ridiculous and comical as to why

the royal elected leaders should come back to

the real masters. It appears that such people in

minority are either in a mischief mode or are still

in a state of fear of past ruling elite. They are not

ready to wear the master’s shoes and exercise

control on the sevaks. Disunited and weak

citizens in the past were forced to allow their

elected representatives to serve the 1% but from

the hidden back door. Post election scenario in

the past would mean money in hidden power

citadels getting exchanged and poaching was

fashionable. Distance between governance and

the people is drastically reduced. Speed of

people empowerment is amazing. Battle of

peoples’ referendum via SMS and mails is won

but the real war for justice and Governance is

still to begin.

Delhi which was unhappy to be named as unsafe

rape city is getting ready for a new process.

People are redefining their relationship with

‘Netas’ as law makers who used to treat voters as

their servants while forcing them to pay blank

cheques. In the past leaders advised voters to

come back after five years. Commons in Delhi

were engaged with their own daily honest

survival therefore short cuts and outsourcing

solutions while getting reduced to ‘audience’

was normal.

Work culture from Mantry (Minister) to Santry

(Peon) needs to be corrected first with a clear

link to productivity and pending home work of


9

18 promises made to people. The chain of

survival and alert Delhi governance will be made

simple and smooth provided AAP practices what

it preached. In last ten days every Delhi citizens

knows what the 18 promises of AAP are. It is P2P

(People to Politicians) relationship that needs a

sustainable audit and a change. Mechanism that

delivers safe laws and safe work culture for

production and consumption of materials and

thoughts needs to be fine tuned.

After Radia Tapes, Wikki Leaks, 3G, coal scams

etc. everyone knows it is difficult to cater to

people’s expectations. Politicians till date

continue to be the worst enemy of 99% people

while slaves of 1% with no time management

and no sensible law delivery in time. All these

institutions need reforms. Delhi legislatures

work needs a reform to ensure new democracy

and a correct chain of survival. Divisive Raj-

Neeti; a toy used to divert attention of voters

needs a new face. Need of the hour is that the

Raj(Rule) in 'Rajneeti' needs to be replaced by

Seva or 'Service Neeti' but still administration

and rules for discipline are a must for a safe

Delhi. Without any real change in delivery

system you cannot fool people again and

again. Delhi has globally championed women

exploitation and unfair wages protests and now

the new government AAP must deliver. Hope the

year 2014 witnesses a real alive newer New Delhi

-New India with new plans to take care of the

hard earned money of majority.

Mr. Rakesh Manchanda is working as Director

of Grafax Cotton Zambia Ltd. in Zambia and at

present is in Delhi since Diwali monitoring this

historical change brought in politics by people of

Delhi. He may be contacted at

[email protected];

011-22145369, +91-9953540829;

B-5,Gharonda Apartments, Shrestha

Vihar,Delhi-92.


10

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Current Affairs:

Post Elections Analysis—Kuldip Nayar

Without any doubt, elections reflect an

anti-Congress mood. The people of

four states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,

Chhattisgarh and Delhi, have expressed

annoyance at the polls for their legislatures. The

saving grace for the Congress has been

Chhattisgarh where the party is close second

because it sacrificed its 32 functionaries while

confronting the violence of the Maoists.

Why the party has got the drubbing is due to its

10-years of mis-governance at the Centre that

manifested itself in the shape of corruption,

price rise and the general sense of insecurity.

President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President

Rahul Gandhi could not pull the chestnuts from

the fire because Sonia Gandhi is distant from the

people and Rahul does not click. Good that the

party is going to introspect. To begin with, it can

shed the arrogance of power. My feeling is that

the dynasty does not sell any longer. Rahul is too

prosaic to make any impact as his campaigns in

the different states have shown this. His sister,

Priyanka may do better. Sonia Gandhi has said

that the party would name the prime-ministerial

candidate soon because Gujarat Chief Minister

Narender Modi had the focus since he had been

put up by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) for the

office of Prime Minister. She will find it difficult to

choose the candidate because she has pushed

Pranab Mukherjee, upstairs by making him the

President. P. Chidambaram is the obvious

choice but he would not be as obedient as Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh has been.

The best thing that has happened in elections is

the emergence of Aam Aadmi Party which

evokes a sense of idealism and strengthens the

belief that religion, caste or language does not

influence an ordinary person. I wish the Aam

Aadmi Party had an ideology to pursue. The

future has to be chalked out, not only against

corruption but also against consumerism which

is taking over the nation. It is time to revive the

ethos of our freedom struggle: democracy,

pluralism and egalitarianism.

The immediate task should be the electoral

reforms. The role of money has become

important. It has been always there, but has

beaten this time all the previous records. There

were 6,454 candidates in fray in the five states.

Madhya Pradesh had the highest number of

candidates—2,586 for 321 seats, followed by

Rajasthan with 2,087 for the 200 seats. There

was a drop in Chhattisgarh—843 contestants for

91 seats, 142 for 40 seats in Mizoram and a

whopping figure of 796 for Delhi’s 70 seats. The

expenditure runs into thousands of crores. The

various studies show that the cost per Lok Sabha

seat is around Rs. 10 crore. Seven to eight

assembly constituencies constitute a Lok Sabha

seat and the expense works out to Rs. 1.25 crore

per assembly constituency. But it is said that the

minimum expenditure on an assembly seat is at

least Rs. 2 crore. Adding these figures, the total

expenditure by the candidates comes to Rs.

13,908 crore. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)

explains: “We do not want to put all the eggs in

one basket.”

The campaign of Modi, the BJP’s prime

ministerial candidate, is reportedly financed by

the corporate sector. The party cadres are said

to be happy for getting the money. The meeting

of captains of industry at Ahmadabad last year to

support the candidature of Modi for

prime-ministership emphasizes their

preference for him because his speeches

indicate how they would have a free hand if he

came to power. What it suggests is that electoral

reforms are essential for free and independent

polls.

Two trends have emerged, one plus and the

other minus, from these elections. The positive

aspect is that more voters have come to the

polling booths than ever before, nearly 75

percent exercising their franchise. If spelled out,

it means that people have expressed their


11

ever-increasing faith in the ballot box, an

essential ingredient of democratic governance.

The negative side is the mudslinging. I have

watched campaigns of all elections since

independence. There were fierce contests,

particularly from the late sixties. Yet none,

neither an individual nor a political party, ever

hit below the belt. At best, a remark like the one

by Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, a socialist leader, was

that Mrs. Indira Gandhi, his strong opponent,

was a goongi gudiya (a silent doll). There was no

malice. Indulging in personal abusive remark

was not considered ethical. Since then the thin

line between what is moral and immoral has got

erased. And it has become free for all. The

current state elections are considered a

semi-final contest. I shudder to imagine how low

would the level of the final, the Lok Sabha

elections in May 2014, go to. Political parties

have to agree upon a code so that the polls are

not reduced to street brawls and the candidates

do not behave like the urchins. I think that the

Election Commission has been too complacent

and too accommodative. I have seen reports of

giving warnings and asking for explanations

from erring candidates. But no action has been

forthcoming so far. I get the feeling that the two

have come to develop a cozy relationship, the

anti-thesis of independent elections. I do not

doubt the veracity of elections. Yet the means

are not less important than the end.

My greatest concern is over the attempt to

polarize the society. Gujarat chief minister

Narendra Modi may not have played the Hindu

card directly. But all his speeches underline the

notion of Hindu nationalism, an anti-thesis of

pluralism which is the ethos of our country. That

the RSS has forced his candidature on the

moderate BJP is understandable. But why

people like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley,

who are considered left of the BJP ideology, are

sharing the rostrum with Modi? L.K. Advani, who

has mellowed over the years, has made it clear

through his attitude that he is distant from Modi

and the communal politics he represents.

The year 2013 was grey and grim. Prices rose,

unemployment increased, moral standards fell

and corruption was accepted as a normal

phenomena. Parliament and state legislatures

hardly functioned. Then there was summer in

the cold month of December. The 46-year-old

Lokpal Bill became an act. I wish the CBI had

been made independent, directly under

parliament. But since its own committee has

prepared the bill after holding consultations with

nearly all political parties, it should constitute

the Lokpal (Ombudsman). The credit must go to

Gandhian Anna Hazare who spearheaded the

movement. Yet his hasty judgment and harsh

words for the Aam Admi Party do not help the

dissemination of fresh ideas.

AAP is an extension of voluntary work done by

the activists at the grassroots. These people are

naïve and do not know the tricks of politics. This

is their strength. That they, unlike the Naxalites,

have put their faith in the ballot box and have

successfully fought the state election in Delhi is

the result of their realization that democracy

demands a way to determine who will direct the

people to reject dictatorships or an authoritarian

system. How far the AAP can ensure the people’s

participation as well as sovereignty may decide

the fate of other experiments born out of

millions of mutinies, however small, waging in

the country. In fact, leading activists like Medha

Patkar, Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey should

assemble on the platform which the AAP has

provided. By no means should they leave their

ideal to strengthen the people’s movements to

put pressure on the government. But why don’t

they constitute the governments themselves?

Had Medha headed the Gujarat government the

height of the Narmada Dam would have been

decided by her to avoid the uprooting of people

from their homes and hearths. In fact, the very

dam, to which she objected, may have been

replaced by a series of small dams which would

have assured water to far-flung places like

Rajkot and still not disturbed lakhs of people,

most of them not getting land for land. Aruna


12

Roy should have realized that the Right to

Information, for which she mobilized people,

would not have come about if parliament had

not enacted the law. Her brief stint with

Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s National

Advisory Council should have proved how the

land acquisition and the food security demands

became laws because Sonia Gandhi

represented the authority of the governing

party. People’s movements cannot be end by

itself.

Another striking feature of December is the

emergence of Rahul Gandhi as the leader of the

Congress. Sonia Gandhi has stepped back.

Lately he is speaking and taking stances which

may force the intelligentsia to rethink about his

capability, written off earlier. Maybe, he is

beginning to peak when Narendra Modi, the

prime ministerial candidate of the BJP is

lessening in gathering people’s attention

because he peaked too early. This takes me to

the Modi phenomenon. No doubt, he has jolted

the political parties and the people. He speaks

excellently in Hindi and goes down well in

northern India. The rout of the Congress in

Rajasthan in the state election has been

primarily because of Modi. He even increased

the tally of seats in Madhya Pradesh. Yet Modi

has not clicked in West Bengal, Odhisha, Kerala,

the northeastern states and to a large extent in

Andhra Pradesh, TamilNadu and Karnataka.

Even otherwise, his preference of Hindu

nationalism in place of Indian nationalism has

alienated the minorities, particularly the

Muslims who influence the outcome on the

parliamentary elections at least in 200

constituencies out of 545. The BJP may emerge

the largest party in the next Lok Sabha, going to

the polls in May. The defeat of the Congress in

the four states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,

Chhattisgarh and Delhi is a clear indication of

people’s anti-Congress mood. But it does not

mean that Modi is the next prime minister. The

BJP may have to have a more acceptable person

to form the government. He has not even said

“sorry” for the loss of lives and property of

Muslims in the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.

There is a possibility of a dark horse, a

non-Congress and a non-BJP person, who will

have the support of regional parties to be the

prime minister. It all depends on the election

results. Lately, there are so many outcries

against corruption that the political parties have

begun to pay heed to morality. One example is

that of Delhi legislature. Even though the BJP

was only short of four members for the

formation of the government, it did not try to

prod or get the support of independents. The

party said that it did not get the mandate,

something which was never the case before.

This is a good beginning. Whether the political

parties admit it or not, the AAP has set into

motion an era which is harking back on the

values.

What has been disturbing in the year 2013 is the

rise of communalism. To an extent, it is Modi’s

divisive politics which he has camouflaged

under the garb of development. Once a

pracharak of the RSS, he is creating a wedge

between Hindus and Muslims who have been

living in peace for more than a thousand years.

The worst fallout of his propaganda has been the

killing of Muslims in Muzzafarnagar. They were

sharing a common life. But this did not fit into

the BJP’s scheme of things. The police force

was, as usual, partisan. The victims are still

languishing in camps despite the claim by state

chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to be pro-Muslim.

That is the reason why the Prevention of

Communal Violence Bill should have been

enacted during the winter session. This would

have enabled the central government to

intervene at a place where the police force was

contaminated and where the state

administration was lax. Parties can tear a leaf out

of the book of AAP. It has initiated a politics that

transcends caste and creed. The AAP’s success

shows that the people are ready for it.


13

What Is the Real Face of

Political Parties?—Rajindar Sachar

Lok Sabha Elections are due in another

4 to 5 months. But instead of Parties

putting forth the ideological issues concerning

human rights, right to equitable development,

the only test being applied is – the marketability

of the party, even though it may flout the ideal

laid down in our Constitution or the vision of the

freedom struggle for which millions died.

Though Lok Pal Bill has been passed obviously

under the shadow of forthcoming elections –

both parties made adjustments they previously

proclaimed unbridgeable. But the other two

bills, Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, Public

Grievances Bill which have been pending for so

long and which would have given great relief

against the small bureaucrats angularities were

not even given the courtesy of being discussed

much less being passed by just one days

extension of Parliament session.

The self serving political Parties exemption from

the Right to information Act was passed

unanimously to a thundering applause – but

very significantly the question of donation to

political parties by the corporate sector is being

studiously kept under cover. It is no longer a

secret that the liberality of donations to political

parties is determined by the fact of being in the

government or the opposition whether it is the

Congress or the BJP. The High Powered

Committee to revise Companies Act constituted

by Government of India in 1977 had

recommended the continuance of the ban on

political donations by the corporate sector

because of the warning given by Chief Justice

Chagla as far back as 1958 when it warned “that

any attempt on the part of business houses to

finance a political party is likely to contaminate

the very spring of democracy”. All this however

fell on deaf ears of politicians and political

donations were permitted after some time

during the Indira Gandhi’s Governments and are

now being continued under Companies Act

2013. So much for campaign against politics

being messed up by money power! That is why

corporate funding of the new AAP which is

forming the government in Delhi is a matter of

concern especially when it claims to be different.

The danger of corporate involvement in politics

of the country is not lessened by receiving

contributions on website or through cheques

from corporate sector which in any case finds

mention in Balance Sheets of the companies. It

is the source of money power funding political

parties that is the real danger to democracy-

how it is displayed is a small matter.

India is among just 10% of countries that allow

parties & candidates to receive anonymous

donations. Even Nepal & Bhutan fare better. Of

Rs.2, 365 crores raised by congress between

2004 & 2012 about Rs. 2,000 crores could not

be traced to an individual or organization;

Similarly, BJP attributed Rs. 952 crore out of the

total Rs. 1,304 crore raised between 2004 and

2012 to unknown sources.

Hypocrisy in politics to some extent is accepted.

But when hypocrisy puts on the role of mentor

while concealing its real intentions, it amounts

to cheating the electorate. Look at the way BJP,

Congress are projecting their approach to the

judgment of the Supreme Court reversing the

view of Delhi High Court which had held Section

377 as unconstitutional resulting in Section 377

being restored on the Statute. Initially the

Congress leadership of Sonia and Rahul both

publically termed it as unhappy decision and as

interference with individual liberties. Normal

course of action would have been to have

Section 377 (LGBT) repealed through

Parliament. But then BJP which had initially

broached the idea of placing this matter before

all parties meeting took a sudden reverse turn

and has now openly declared its support to the

Supreme Court decision. Obviously BJP feels

that in the country at large, especially amongst

rural voters and even amongst the older

generation deletion of 377 of Section would not


14


15

find favour so BJP takes the cover of Supreme

Court to maintain Sec. 377. The Congress

hypocrisy is convoluted though more messier

than the BJP. Though initially Sonia and Rahul

both welcomed Supreme Court decision

upholding Sec. 377, the Central government has

moved a review petition in the Supreme Court.

In my view filing a review petition is way of

misleading the public. Legal experts could tell

you that filing a review, is impermissible

because courts have held that merely because

another view could be taken is no ground for

review. It is also embarrassing when out of two

judges who gave the judgment the senior judge

has retired. Frankly I do not understand why

government is taking the tortuous route of

review when a straightforward easy course of

repealing this provision is available. I say this

because Supreme Court judgment had given

them clear power wherein it has said;

“Notwithstanding this verdict the competent

legislature shall be free to consider the

desirability and propriety of deleting Section

377 IPC from the Statute Book”. When this

convenient solution is in hand why this double

game of Congress leadership! But this is not

being done because Congress wants to play

both running with the hare and hunting with the

hound. It wants to pose as a modern liberal party

appealing to the younger generation and urban

population but at the same time not wanting to

risk rural and older generation anger. This may

be a correct political stratagem, but is a devious

political strategy, which further brings shame to

the ambiguous conduct of the politicians.

Compare this with the humility and bold

response of Pope Francis; “If a person is gay and

seeks God, and good will, who am I to judge

Him”, and this when Italy has a law against

LGBT. Though AAP claims to be radically

different from other parties, its decision to have

the Ministry sworn in at Ram Lila Ground is of the

same old feudal Roman practice of giving the

people circus because you can not give them

bread; there is nothing radical about it. Akhilesh

and previously Lalu Yadav & others have done it.

This Royal analogy coronation ill befits a party

purporting to speak for the Rickshaw Pullers and

slum dwellers of Delhi. It would have been far

more democratic if the Delhi cabinet after

having been sworn in the usual staid manner at

Raj Bhawan was then to go to Ram Lila ground

and mix with the crowds as before. That would

give the Aam Admi a greater sense of belonging

than being pushed around, by the police while

the oath is being given and dignitaries are

seated safely.

But the times have changed since when Dr.

Lohia’s precept to the Socialist Party as first

principle of political work was summed up in

‘Spade’ ‘Jail’ and ‘Vote’, meaning field work,

ready to go to jail and faith in democratic

elections. But now the present generation has

come a long way instead to “SMS”, “T.V.”,

“Middle corporate Sector”. Where does Aam

Admi that is 90% of urban Indians who can only

spend less than Rs. 142.70 to survive in cities fit

in the present new political language.

Mr. Justice, Rajindar Sachar, Chief Justice

(Retd.) High Court of Delhi, New Delhi;

Chairperson Prime Minister’s High Level

Committee On Status of Muslims (Ex.) UN

Special Rappoetuer on Housing; Member, U.N.

Sub-Commission on Prevention of

Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (Ex.);

President, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties

(PUCL) India (Ex.) may be contacted at:

[email protected]; [email protected]

A-19, New Friends Colony, New Delhi,

110065(India)Tel:091-11-26847786,26830194

; 9810009644

Dear Friends, Your article for the RH along with a passport size photograph and a small resume

should be emailed or posted at: [email protected] or C-8, Defence Colony, Meerut,

250001, U.P. A note whether it has also been published elsewhere or is being sent exclusively for

the RH should be attached with it. — Rekha S.

Why AAP Model is unsafe for

India?—K.S. Chalam

The astounding victory of the AAP party

in Delhi is a clear indication of the

strong democratic foundations of our country.

We may also congratulate Kejriwal and his team

for effectively reaching out to the imagination of

the Delhi voters and especially applaud Anna

Hazare for the Lokpal Act.The emergence of the

AAP enables us to reflect on the background of

recent developments that led to popular

Jasmine revolution in Egypt, Syria, Yemen and

nearby Tunisia with spill over effects on India. It

is also termed as Arab Spring by the new genre

of public policy scholars who have manufactured

scores of papers (under sponsored research) to

educate Aam admi (common man). The orange

revolution in Ukraine with alleged US support is

still unresolved.

The Anna Hazare centred India Against

Corruption and the Civil Society activity for the

implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill with huge

corporate media coverage needs to be reflected

as a phenomenon set out under the back drop of

the events in the Middle East. The kind of

dissensions and discords that became apparent

in AAP and Anna Hazare last week is anticipated

as in the Arab Spring. If someone is seriously

following the events, it is clear that they are

programmed like that. Instability and internal

contradictions are a part of the formation of

most of the civil society movements in the recent

years.

The concept of civil society so popular now in

public discourse was conceptualized by London

School of Economics (popularised by Gramsci)

after looking at the phenomena of autonomous

movements that are neither a part of State nor

Market. The scholars have been trying to

convince their readers that state and market, the

two institutions became sane and progressive

after the end of Cold War. There seem to be

some confusion between Habermas and

Gramsci on civil society as to its relations with

state and political parties, associations etc and

some academics have their own way in

supporting whatever is convenient. The World

Bank supports some 30 popular NGOs that are

called as civil society organisations. But, it is

everybody’s knowledge today that the institution

of state is class/caste oriented and markets are

manipulated by corporate interests. Some of the

scholars do try to hoodwink the commoners with

their sophisticated language skills to avoid the

awkward questions like, what constitutes the

fundamental problem of the present crisis:

concentration of economic wealth or capitalist

expansion with lack of opportunities to the

marginalised? Is it not a design to make some of

the weak and resource rich countries unstable to

install puppet governments and the so called

democratic movements are only excuses of

American involvement?

In this context, none other than the Russian

President Putin, in his article in New York Times

a few months ago said, “ millions around the

World increasingly see America not as a model

of democracy but as relying solely on brute

force”. It is not only Putin an avowed American

bête-noire, but American academics like Charles

Kupchan commented that, “democracy and

open markets have spread so widely in part

because they have been defended by US

aircraft-carriers”. Therefore, India with vast

resources and a huge market potential in the

neighbourhood of the so called Arab world must

be very careful in assessing every move of the

West.

The current events in our polity required to be

assessed in the given circumstances of

instability and turmoil in some of the traditional

totalitarian states like Syria. India, despite its

weaknesses in certain social sectors is different

from the Arab world and therefore, should

refrain from a conclusion that civil society

agitations would naturally give rise to systems

that are alternatives to a decadent system. AAP

triumph in Delhi and its all-India ambition needs


16

to be critically reflected in the interest of our

democracy and institutions. No doubt, the party

has some honest, sincere activists and a few with

academic credentials to project and provide

inputs and strategies to win elections. But, that

does not make it credible and sustainable. One

gets this impression with its brief record of

election statements and communications

(media reports).

Kejriwal appears to have said that he has no

ideological obligations and is willing to take

ideas both from left and right. Is it not an

opportunistic statement? It seems he has 70

manifestos for 70 constituencies and a general

manifesto. He may have different manifestos for

different communities, faiths, political

ideologies and for East, West, North and South.

The voters as per the election campaigns in

Delhi were promised regularisation (paradises)

of unauthorized colonies. The supporters in

urban metros like Delhi coming from the new

petty- bourgeois, seem to have behaved like

‘Aap Pahle’ type persons (see Jugsurya’s

column, ToI). How can such a party be trusted?

Does the party limit itself to municipal elections?

What is its record against corruption, not in

public statements but in practice? Politics is not

a business activity where one can afford to give

publicity about a product and after capturing the

customer forget about the promise without any

remorse till next move?

The record of events show that there is some fall

in the moral positioning of AAP party and seem

to have already trapped in a mainstream

political sludge. It is reported in a sting

operation that in the candidature of ShaziIlmi,

huge money changed hands and the candidate

got defeated in the Delhi elections (with small

margin). There are allegations of manipulation

of voluntary contributions, social and corporate

media sponsorship (worth billions of rupees),

international mostly American -Indian donations

and above all the American sponsored (through

Philippines) Awards etc against some of the

activists of the party. We may brush aside the

averments as political vendetta of opponents.

But, a political party that projected itself as an

anti-corruption crusader without a program of

action, ideology, manifesto etc, cannot be

considered as trustworthy, given the record of

events in Middle East. The conditions in Egypt,

Syria, Tunisia etc that have undergone similar

situations are now under great stress of anarchy

and common people or aam admi are shattered

even three years after the spring and the

promised bliss and peace. In Egypt, Mubarak

government was overthrown and Morsi occupied

the position with an Islamist agenda (with

American backing). Now Morsi is deposed in a

coup in July 2013. Media, the mischief monger

is silent on the aftermath of Arab spring etc.

There seems to be a conspiracy against the

spontaneous movements of victims of

exploitation, globalisation and the wicked

designs of MNCs through sponsored and

outsourced dramas to ease the intensity of

anger of victims. The designs and strategies to

be operated are regrettably processed through

democratic institutions. The excess use of the

institutions without the expected results, might

burn the system. In this connection we may

query what happened to the visibility of Social

Summit? Therefore, the free world without

reliable alternatives cannot afford this at this

stage.

Look at some of the consequences of the social

media based movements. The agenda of Tea

Party in USA seems to have created problems to

Democratic Obama, the Muslim Brotherhood is

spreading fundamentalism in Arab nations and

NGO’s in India volunteer for private sector in

Education alleges Anil Sadgopal in a recent

statement and so on. All of these groups give us

an impression that they have short term

agendas, some may appear to be sincere, but do

not interrogate how crony capitalism,

manipulation of market by corporate bigwigs

with corrupt practices led to economic crisis and

human deprivations. Whether AAP is concerned

about the corrupt practices of corporate


17

business houses that are involved in all scams?

Would Jan Lokpal be sufficient to sweep out all

corruption and fraud in our country? Which of

the two, public or private sector corruption is

higher in value in India? Why is the corporate

media projecting only select individuals and

issues with huge costs involved? Did AAP and

other protest groups notice how the onion

prices in Delhi have suddenly come down

immediately after elections and what does it

indicate? Are the share markets reflecting the

mood of the murky hand of bigwig modules?

Indian democracy is graduated over a period of

time through ontogenetic maturity using

traditional institutions and not necessarily by the

Western values of democracy. The established

national political parties like Congress, BJP,

Communists, JD and the regional parties like

SP, TDP, BJD, BSP, YSRCP, DMK, AIDMK etc have

some ideological position or an agenda. In a

democratic country where parliamentary politics

decides many things in governance, ideological

position of a party irrespective of left or right or

centrist is predictable. But, a party or movement

without an ideological commitment might send

warning signals to some parties to get them

vigilant. But, the process will make the citizens

casual and might harm the democratic values,

ultimately turning out to be a disaster to

common man in the long run. We wish that a

kichidi of sincere workers as in AAP should

introspect and endure for posterity with a

difference and do not burst like a bubble!

Prof. K.S. Chalam has been Vice- Chancellor,

Dravidian University, Kuppam (AP), (2005);

Member, Planning Board, Govt. of M.P.,

(2002-04); Founder Director, UGC Academic

Staff College, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam

(1987-2005); Director, Swamy Ramananda

Tirtha Rural Institute, Pochampally, Hyderabad

(1997-98); Professor of Economics, Andhra

University (1990-2005). He is on several

Committees as Hon’ble Chairman, Member such

as UGC, NCRI, A.U etc. He may be contacted

at:[email protected]


18

IRI/IRHA Members' Section:

Importance of Humanism

in India—Jugal Kishore

India is considered as an emerging

power on the international platform but

there are number of problems still prevalent in

the Indian society which prevents its progress

ahead to be a great nation. Great nation means

having great people and resources which are

self sustained peacefully and attract the world

for its character of humanity, culture, stability,

maintenance of natural resource in an

environmental friendly manner.

India will take many decades or a century to

reach to that tag of greatness. It is not true that

India was not great but over a pe riod of

time since Asoka, all those characteristics of

greatness taken away by the selfish and

inhuman individuals and groups. Today India is

struggling with many problems. The

uncontrolled growth of its population which has

already touched 1.21 billion along with some

social and health problems are major

challenges for its progress.

With these problems remaining unresolved, it is

unlikely that India will be able to provide its

citizens a respectable life. Unplanned

population growth with total negligence towards

proper human resource development puts a

huge pressure on the existing resources which

leads to poverty, poor quality of life of people.

One third of Indian population is still living

below poverty line. The World Bank estimates

that 33% of the global poor now reside in India.1

It is further augmented by uneven distribution of

wealth, with the top 10% of income groups

earning 33% of the income.2

This inequity and unequal development leads to

people in urban area enjoying better comforts

than rural areas. Illiteracy makes people weaker

and susceptible to not only exploitation but also

more prone to die of diseases. Other problems

like malnutrition among pregnant women,

children, and adolescent girls put them to risk of

diseases throughout their lives. More than 50%

of our mothers are anemic. 20% of all

pregnancies are among teenage group. Lack of

adequate sanitation in more than 60% of the

total household in the country also leads to

significant economic losses for the country apart

from frequent diseases outbreaks. Gender

discrimination remains the most distressing

social evils in India. Issues like female feticide,

infanticide, exploitation, illiteracy, maternal

mortality and dowry deaths are throbbing

discriminations women of India are subjected

to. Unemployment remains a problem since with

increasing price of necessary resources of life,

unemployed people are unable to fend for

themselves and their families. Other major

problems like child labour, discrimination

towards lower caste, religious conflict and civil

war, widespread corruption, terrorism, naxalism

and weak political-legislative implementation -

all these lead to a society with wide

socio-economic disparities and poor growth. All

these problems are affecting human society and

violating human rights. To protect the Indian

society from these problems, humanism needs

to be protected and promoted and realized in

true sense. According to American Humanist

Association, Humanism is defined as a

progressive lifestance that, without

supernaturalism, affirms our ability and

responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives

capable of adding to the greater good of

humanity.3

Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by

science, inspired by art, and motivated by

compassion. Affirming the dignity of each

human being, it supports the maximization of

individual liberty and opportunity consonant

with social and planetary responsibility. It

advocates the extension of participatory

democracy and the expansion of the open

society, standing for human rights and social

justice. It recognizes human beings as a part of


19

nature and holds that values-be they religious,

ethical, social, or political-have their source in

human experience and culture. With humanism,

all social barriers like discrimination, violence

against women, gender bias, religion wars,

casteism etc can be eliminated. It calls upon a

participatory political system with equal

distribution of resources thereby reducing

wealth gap, promoting rational thinking and

promoting human rights. For this reason

humanism need to be inculcated in people of

India on urgent basis.

As a public health professional I personally feel

that humanism in public health is equally

important in India. Public health is defined as

“the science and art of preventing disease,

prolonging life and promoting health through

the organized efforts and informed choices of

society, organizations, public and private,

communities and individuals.4,5 The role of

humanism is becoming more important when

there is disparity of health care among people.

According to the Constitution of India, state is

responsible for health of its people, however,

more than 80% of its population's health is

catered by Private or corporate bodies. Due to

the nature of private and corporate bodies to

earn profit the welfare of the people is sidelined.

Hence exploitation of poor in private health

sector is common. Poor doctor patient

relationship is rampant. There are incidences

where doctors and healthcare staff refused to

give treatment to HIV patients, handling trauma

or delivery of poor. Weaker sections of the

society like scheduled castes, scheduled tribe,

residents of rural areas, illiterate and women

should also be given due attention and facilities

which is given to other patients.

To tackle these problems of healthcare delivery

in India, there is urgent need of humanism in

health sector. Health care workers should not

treat patients as diseased bodies but treat them

with human touch and values. They should not

discriminate patients with HIV, tuberculosis and

leprosy in care. All the doctors and paramedical

staff should be trained in humanist values to

interact with the people. Hospital environment

should be such that to provide services to the

patients in a human friendly manner and

planning the services for patient welfare. At the

same time, patients should also be taught about

their role and support in providing such kind of

services. They should take their responsibility in

following the treatment and instructions of the

doctor, keep faith in the doctor, be aware and

spread awareness among fellow community

members. With both doctor and patient working

together with human values, health care

services can be improved in future. Without the

health of its people no nation can be great. We

are aware of many problems striking the nation

which make us weak and poor. Because the

problems are multifactorial in nature, our efforts

should be multilayered at home, society, and

country and within country in various sectors.

Humanism should be practiced in following

levels:

Importance of Humanism in Home:

Family needs to deal with low value of girl child

and women, female infanticide and feticide,

women equal rights and respect, etc. in

emotional, logical and effective manner.

Importance of Humanism in Society:

Society needs to deal with casteism,

inequalities, poor attitude towards rape and

molestation, Child labor, mentally and physically

challenges people, elderly population in

participatory, consultative, supportive and

rational manner:

Importance of Humanism in the Country:

Country through its parliament and political

structure needs to deal with defective policies

and program, poor implementation of laws,

corruption, black money, divisive politics, etc in

scientific, rational, parliamentary, and

authoritative manner.

Importance of humanism in Medicine and

public health:


20

Health sector needs to deal with exploitation of

patients, maltreatment, discrimination with

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, poor, destitute, poor

doctor-patients relationship, quackery,

unscientific system of medicine, etc. in ethical,

rational, scientific, and responsible manners.

According to Gautama Buddha, six things are to

be remembered in order to unite any

community in harmony which are promoting

human values in community:

1: Friendly Behaviour both in public & in private.

2: Friendly Speech both in public & in private.

3: Friendly Thought both in public & in private

4: Sharing of Gains even down to any single

lump of food

5: Moral Agreement: All respect the same ethical

rules

6: Same Views: All share the same general views

& opinions

No human being can remain happy and

progress if he/she is not in harmony and peace.

When humanism prevails people are happy and

they progress. When you care for human beings

you start looking in all those factors which are

responsible for human health and happiness

such as environmental health protection and

preservation of animals and birds. It can only

happen when you have respect for and believe in

platonic and universal humanism.

References:

World Bank’s new poverty norms find larger

number of poor in India The Hindu (Chennai,

India). 28 August 2008.

In Pictures – Middle Class, or Upper Class?

India Together. Civil Society Information

Exchange. August 2003

American Humanist Association. Available from

http://americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Defini

tions_of_Humanism

Winslow, Charles-Edward Amory. “The

Untiltled Fields of Public Health”. Science 51

(1306): 23–33

Jugal Kishore. A Dictionary of Public Health. 3rd

Edition. New Delhi: Century Publication 2013

(Presented as Chief Guest Address on 28th Dec

2013 in 4th National Conference of Manav Vikas

Vedika (Human Development Forum)

Hyderabad).

Prof. Jugal Kishore, Department of

Community Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical

College, New Delhi-2, and Executive Director

(Hon.), Center for Inquiry (India) may be

contacted at [email protected]


21

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The Rise of the People’sPower in Delhi

—Mahi Pal Singh

With the decision of the Aam Aadmi

Party on 23rd December 2013, to

form a minority government in Delhi more

importantly, followed by an informal referendum

through SMS messages and 280 public

meetings across the 70 Assembly

constituencies, the first phase of the rise of the

people’s power in Delhi is complete. It had

declared before the elections that it would

neither take the support of nor give it to the

Congress or the BJP for the formation of the

government. However, fearing that it would be

completely wiped out if re-election was held in

Delhi again in the absence of any party forming a

government, the Congress, in a tactical move,

declared its unconditional support to the AAP,

thereby putting the latter in a difficult situation

because both the Congress and the BJP would

blame the AAP for it if re-election was left the

only option in case the AAP refused to form a

government. However, the AAP leadership

outmaneuvered both the parties by deciding to

go to the people to seek their opinion on the

matter. Of course, as expected, over 75% people

voted in favour of their forming a government.

The fact remains that the AAP was reluctant to

accept its support primarily because it had

fought against the corruption of both the

Congress and the BJP, and it did not readily

agree to have Congress’s so-called

unconditional support because of its lost

credibility as a reliable supporter given its past

record. The Congress is having a wishful

thinking that the new government would fail to

fulfill its poll promises and the Congress would

again come to power. Now that the AAP has gone

to the people to seek their opinion on whether to

form the government or not, the move aimed to

put the AAP into a tight corner by the Congress

by extending its support to it has boomeranged

and brought the AAP nearer to the people which

they have done by going back to them to seek

their opinion, a move never ever even thought of

by the Congress or the BJP themselves and

never forethought of by either of them. It, in fact,

is perfectly in tune with the promise of the AAP to

proceed towards participatory democracy

instead of representative democracy, hitherto

practiced by all political parties, in which a

representative once elected never went back to

the voters who elected him to know their opinion

on any matter howsoever it affected their lives

and working on the mandate of the party bosses

instead of the wishes of the ultimate sovereign,

the people. The move by the AAP is a welcome

step and promises to empower the ordinary

people who have been neglected so far because

they were given no role to play in the formation

of policies. It is only the corporate houses,

industrialists and elite sections of the society

who have been dictating the governmental

policies by bribing the political masters of the

country in the form of unaccounted funds for

elections and it is these sections and the

politicians alone who have been reaping and

sharing the fruits of development and the aam

aadmi has remained where he was. He is needed

by the politicians only at the time of elections

and to garner his support they use tools like

caste, religion, region, language etc. besides

money and muscle power. Although the AAP was

formed only a year ago, the failure of the

government to govern, policy paralysis to

control sky-rocketing prices of even the most

essential commodities like vegetables and the

unprecedented corruption by the politicians and

the bureaucrats alike and the resultant popular

movement of the people first by India Against

Corruption, the movement initiated by Anna

Hazare and planned, organized and

implemented by the team of dedicated activists

like Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan,

Yogendra Yadav, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh,

Gopal Rai, to mention only a few of them, in

short the failure of the UPA government on all

fronts and unprecedented corruption by its


22

leaders gave the AAP the popular support the

activists turned leaders needed after the

formation of a political party. This support base

increased geometrically when these people

participated in large numbers in the movement

against the 16th December 2012 Nirbhaya

gang-rape in Delhi and also led large-scale

movements against very high electricity bills

eating into the pockets of the poor and the

middle class people alike, and failure of the

government to supply even drinking water to the

people in Delhi even after remaining in power in

Delhi for 15 years and having the Congress led

UPA government at the center also. The ultimate

result is the formation of government by the AAP

under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal. The

28-seat tally of the AAP is not fully reflective of

their real popular support. They won these seats

against all kinds of odds. Various opinion polls

gave them only 3 to 7 seats, only CSDS poll,

conducted after the other polls, giving them 17

seats. Only Chanakya poll gave them 31 seats

but this conclusion by the Chanakya was

laughed at by all journalists and commentators

sitting in the TV studio discussions as

completely unrealistic. Arun Jaitley brushed

them aside by saying that he would wonder if

they got more than one or two seats. The AAP

team had occupied the imagination of the aam

aadmi, students, youth etc. so much that they

would have won something like 50 seats if the

mood of the man on the road was any reflection

of the shape of things to come. But the tirade of

the two main parties, the Congress and the BJP,

that they were only vote-cutters or vote-spoilers

day in and day out on TV channels had some

effect on the voters, at least on the fence-sitters

who would not like to waste their vote. However,

the lethal damage was done to their poll

prospects on 2nd of December, just two days

before the polls on 4th December 2013, when

Anna Hazare landed in Delhi and when asked by

a journalist, said that he was not supporting the

AAP and Kejriwal. The untold damage, perhaps

intended, would not have been done had he just

kept his mouth shut. Only a few days before that

an old video was telecast on all channels

repeatedly talking about the IAC funds being

misused by Arvind for his party but only a few

showed the clarification by Arvind that not a

single rupee of the movement had been used by

him and he had asked Anna to constitute a

committee to enquire into the charges if he

thought that there was any such possibility and

at that time Anna had shown full faith in Arvind.

Some damage might also have been caused by

another doctored sting-video which was

prepared by Sarkar.com to target only the AAP

candidates although the video did not show any

of the candidates accepting money even for

party fund from people posing as victims of

some or the other government department, for

any promise to show favours to them. The

anchors also did not show the raw footage

provided by the party to them a few days later

which contained the portions mischievously cut

to malign the AAP candidates and which cleared

their candidates of all the charges leveled

against them. The AAP leaders were also

accused on the TV shows again and again of

betraying Anna Hazare, their mentor, though the

fact is that it is not the AAP leaders who betrayed

Anna but it is Anna Hazare who betrayed them, if

anybody betrayed somebody. One must

remember that Anna Hazare was present on the

dais at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi when Arvind

announced the formation of a political party and

Anna himself had declared that he supported

the move to form a political party to fight against

corruption in the country as the political class

was not listening to them, though later he

deserted them by declaring that he was not in

favour of forming the party and he had nothing

to do with the party and told Arvind that they

should neither use his name nor his photo to

boost their political prospects, to which Arvind

had agreed and he did neither. One can

understand Anna’s non-participation in politics

himself because it is completely his own

decision, but his repeated negative comments


23

against the AAP puts doubt in one’s mind. Had

the AAP failed to win a sizable number of seats

Anna would have told its leaders that he was

right and that they had not listened to his sane

advice and had committed a blunder of forming

a political party. Later events also show clearly

that Anna was fighting against corruption, but

against the corruption of the Congress party

alone and all those who are today with him, his

team of advisers including Kiran Bedi, Gen. V.K.

Singh etc., wanted to favour the BJP against the

Congress. Gen. Singh launched a tirade against

Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP in his speech at

Ralegan Siddhi, Anna’s home village, in the

presence of Gopal Rai, a leader of the party who

had gone there and sat on fast to show his

solidarity for the cause of Jan Lokpal, along with

Anna Hazare who was on his last fast for the

passage of the Lokpal Bill by parliament, and

Anna too asked him very rudely, instead of

saying a single word to Gen. Singh not to talk

politics from his dais, to leave the village when

the former objected to Gen. Singh’s remarks

saying that the latter should not make any

political remarks as that was a place only for

demanding the passage of the Lokpal Bill. The

country had earlier seen Gen. Singh sharing the

stage with Narendra Modi, and later rumours

were rife that he was likely to join the BJP, and

Kiran Bedi advised the AAP leaders, when the

results of the Assembly elections were declared

that they should form a coalition government

with the BJP on the basis of a common

minimum programme, obviously under the

leadership of a BJP Chief Minister. Perhaps she

did not see the corruption of the BJP leaders, the

Reddy brothers, in Karnataka in the mining

scams, nor of other leaders elsewhere like

Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, where ministers who

have serious charges against them and have

even been convicted remain firmly in the

government, and Chhattisgarh where the party

has been in power. As long as the BJP felt that

the movement against corruption was against

the Congress party, they were supporting the

movement and its cadres were participating

actively in the movement because they felt that

the BJP would gain electorally from the

movement. But as soon as they realized that

people like Arvind and Prashant Bhushan were

speaking against their corruption also, they

started distancing themselves from AAP and

became its strong enemies like the Congress

and left no chance unutilized to criticize them on

whatever counts they could.

We must recall and remember that Arvind

Kejriwal and his other colleagues in the AAP

were strongly opposed to the idea of entering

politics when they were working for the

movement against corruption with Anna Hazare.

They were forced into doing so by the Congress

as well as the BJP leaders who challenged them

to get elected to Parliament and pass the Jan

Lokpal Bill themselves if they really represented

the people as claimed by them. They goaded

these activists again and again to challenge their

authority only after getting the requisite

mandate from the people of the country and

rejected the claim of the activists that the people

of the country were wary of corruption and

wanted a strong Lokpal bill to be passed. When

these people entered politics after forming the

AAP, these politicians, who hardly know the will

of the people because they do not work among

the masses and are busy only amassing money

through corrupt means, made every effort to

brush them aside as a bogus threat to their

position as masters of the destiny of the country

and its people, not realizing for a moment that

when the people rise the thrones of even the

most powerful shake in a democratic system,

which has been rendered into a phony

democracy by these politicians over the years, at

least when the people get the chance to express

their will through electoral process. The

Congress has forgotten that even the

government of Indira Gandhi was thrown down

by the aam aadmi in 1977 and she herself also

could not win her Lok Sabha seat. The fact is that

these politicians were not expecting a victory for


24

the new Aam Aadmi Party lead by non-politicians

formed just a year ago, whereas they themselves

were unable to feel the pulse of the people and

their strong desire to throw out the Congress

government in Delhi and deprive even the BJP of

its coveted victory. The latter may have got 31

seats in Delhi but the people of Delhi have given

it 2% lesser votes than in 2008. That should be a

lesson for it and not a cause of rejoicing in any

manner. The people have rejected not only the

Congress but also the BJP. So far as the victory

of the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and

Chhattisgarh is concerned, even that should not

make it happy because even that is not a lasting

benefit beyond the immediate benefit. People

there have also voted for what they thought as

the lesser evil between the Congress and the

BJP, the only choices offered to the people in the

absence of a third viable alternative. Wherever

people have a viable alternative, they reject both

of them. The Congress is a sinking ship and it

will be decimated completely if it declares Rahul

as its Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014

election because he is the choice of Sonia

Gandhi and the sycophants in the Congress, not

of the people on the street. But the will of the

people still has no meaning for the Congress

and the UPA partners. The BJP too has been

winning so far on its divisive communal agenda

and emotive issues alone. With the rise of

regional parties over the years and now the

people’s party in the form of the AAP, it has

serious challenge ahead and it will be

detrimental for it to take it lightly.

So far as the passage of the Jan Lokpal law is

concerned, it has met a sad doom in the form of

the Lokpal Bill passed by the Parliament under

the pressure of Anna’s last fast seen in the light

of the repercussions of not passing it in the

forthcoming parliament elections for both the

Congress and the BJP who colluded to pass it in

the winter session of Parliament, a Lokpal Bill in

form but surely not in content. It is surprising

that even Anna praised the passage of the bill, of

course under the advice of his immediate

advisers most of whom have BJP leanings. This

bill had nothing of the Jan Lokpal law Anna had

initially undertaken the fast at Ram Lila ground

at Delhi for. The main demands of an

independent CBI with independent financial,

administrative, and investigative powers, and

inclusion of lower bureaucracy under the ambit

of the Lokpal, establishment of Lokayukata in

the states on the lines of the strong Lokpal,

passage of the citizens charter – the last three

being the three conditions on which the sense of

the House was communicated to him after which

he broke his fast – are all missing from the law

passed by Parliament. Should it not surprise all

why then did Anna become happy at its passage

although the former Anna team of Kejriwal and

others has rejected the new law and vowed to

continue their struggle for the Jan Lokpal law

which they had drafted and agitated for Anna

should realize that if anybody is still promoting

the cause of the Jan Lokpal law, for which he

stood earlier, it is the AAP alone with all its

volunteers and countless supporters. Instead of

condemning them and harming their cause, he

should be thankful to them that they are still

continuing their struggle for the cause for which

he stood only two years ago. And last, but not

the least, he and his present comrades should

understand that under the leadership of Arvind

Kejriwal the movement against corruption has

outgrown the movement and turned itself into a

movement for participatory and direct

democracy, a bigger cause, so that the present

system, which has made the rich more rich and

kept the poor poor, can be changed. Team

Kejriwal has proved all the fears of Anna Hazare

wrong. He thought that poor people could not

contest elections and win and that they could not

change things by entering electoral politics as

they would never attain such a position where

they would be able to do so. Now the same team

has formed a government in Delhi and it has

already begun changing the political culture of

the ruler and the ruled. Most of their candidates

were selected by area committees and almost all


25

of them are aam aadmi and they have won. They

fought 69 seats with just 20 crores of Rupees

collected from the people, a fully accounted for

money put transparently on their website which

no other political party has dared to do. It may

well be a trendsetter for future elections and

future polity. Well begun they say is half done.

Long ago, M.N. Roy the great visionary, freedom

fighter, intellectual and great radical humanist

had anticipated that the party based

parliamentary democracy would work havoc on

the people of the country and the leaders would

only use them for their own benefits. Whatever

he had said even before India became

independent has proved true. He had talked of

direct democracy through people’s committees

who would choose their representatives and the

representatives were expected to consult them

for every important decision. Team Kejriwal

went back to the people, described by both the

major political parties and many intellectuals as

‘tamasha’, to seek their mandate when they

faced the dilemma of forming a government

with the support of the same Congress party

against whose corruption their main fight had

been, or not to form a government and let there

be re-elections. Many commentators have

started praising them for the introduction of a

new kind of people’s politics, of course, many of

whom did not find any merit in their efforts

earlier, though there were some notable and

respectable exceptions like Abhay Dubey,

Neeraja Chaudhary, Aarti Jairath and Arvind

Mohan etc. who understood the mood of the

people even earlier. My best wishes for the Aam

Aadmi Party to work towards a real people’s

democracy, a shift from leader centric polity to

people centric polity. I salute the rise of the

people’s power in Delhi in the recent Assembly

elections. May they succeed at the National level

also! Not only I, but also the people of the

country are today looking with a hope towards

them. I hope that their faith and hope will not be

belied.

Mr. Mahi Pal Singh, President, Delhi State, Indian

Radical Humanist Association, may be contacted

at: [email protected]


26

Students’, Research Scholars’ &Professors’ Section:

Indian Urban Youth andMarxism in Our Times

—Amandeep Vashisth

Don’t be afraid to look at popular culture. -

(Slavoj Zizek, in a lecture at Sao Paulo)

History has witnessed many changes

and uprisings. Sometimes those

changes were brought about by peasants,

sometimes by industrial workers and in recent

past by youth around the world and in India.

Youth have always been representatives of most

vibrant energy centres of life. Whether it was the

case of 1968 movement in France or protests in

1975 in India, the taskmasters were youth, in

general. So, it becomes imperative to establish

dialogue with youth for accelerating any desired

social change. Historically, the sections which

have put in maximum effort for radical changes

have undoubtedly been Marxist groups. But

ironically, in our present times Marxist circles

face strong communication problem with youth

and more precisely urban middle class youth in

Indian context. Youth are representatives of not

only their culture but most importantly, popular

culture. To put in Zizekian terms, we get those

insights from the popular culture which serious

culture hides from us. Let us first get through

some troubles which Marxist factions face today.

These days a new kind of criticism (and probably

a valid one) is in the air. According to many

people Marxism has been addressing people in

terms of ‘exploitation’ or to put in other words,

language with which a Marxist group

approaches people is always laden with

expressions of ‘exploitation’. It seems that

expressions used for approaching a mass of

modern youth are full of references towards

‘exploitation’. This new criticism proposes that

Marxism does not address modern youth in

terms of a positive reference point of ‘aspiration’

rather than ‘exploitation’. Argument supporting

for this proposed change is fairly simple. But let

us first look at its origin. The terminology of

‘sharp visible exploitation’ has its roots in a

theoretical frame generated in The Condition of

the Working Class in England by Engels. This

ground of language worked well in Indian

conditions till late 80s when we saw full bloomed

strikes. So, what has changed now? Exploitation

has changed both its form and content when

compared with the Engels’ study of 1845. Also,

market forces have worked hard to reduce

‘visibility of exploitation’. Exploitation is carried

out in such a subtle manner that it is too hard to

locate. One can theoretically locate it, but there

is a difference between theoretically locating

and showing it directly. As far as urban setups in

Indian scenario are concerned it will be hard to

ignore positive changes and better living

conditions. Going back in 19th century living

conditions of workers were enough

demonstration of exploitation of working class.

Now a days, top MNCs will of course still exploit,

but with handsome salaries (quoted as

packages) and not to forget, those office parties

lasting till late Saturday nights. Now, does this

match with that classical imagery of ‘exploited

worker’? 1

Locating Life of Urban Youth:

Let us again simplify this by an example. A

young man in his twenties working in an MNC,

spending nights in a disc/bar/club (which are

quite affordable for middle class youth),

watching splits-villa/roadies on MTV in evenings,

spending lavishly on clothes, having all sorts of

romantic relationship problems and at the same

time, to the surprise of most people, having

some sort of opinion about political system or

‘system’ as such. How would one then approach

this emerging working class (cited as ‘emerging

middle class’ in Indian media)? 2 The section

considered here is probably not even 1% of total

population. But it is the section which is

emerging as a leading section and other


27

sections, e.g. rural youth, see them as a role

model. This is the section which is in touch with

the changes across the globe and it reacts to

those changes. One of the most easy and

popular approach is to reject them as very small

and negligible percentage of population and

labeling them as a section drowned deep into

capitalist-consumerist culture with no probable

hope. The other one is to sensitively consider

the complexity of present scenario and make an

attempt to deepen the dialogue. Which front of

the life touches urban youth the most?

Obviously, it is not only economical and even if it

relates, it relates not in the sense of exploitation

but in the sense of ambition and aspiration.

There may be a streak of economic

disappointment; not because they don’t have

enough bread or clothing but may be because

they don’t yet possess a latest electronic gadget.

There is a perpetual struggle of life for them not

for wages, but for higher status and latest

models of luxury cars. Now, can ambition,

precisely to say personal ambition, be rejected

immediately as a variant of individualism and

always be scoffed at? This is exactly the point

where orthodox images and approaches

become a hindrance. Until and unless a man

personally feels a deep sense of satisfaction in

every act he pursues, there is little scope for an

otherwise approach. A student from a very

backward and underdeveloped area aspires to

be in a metro for higher education or job. How

should we take it? How does one establish a

dialogue with this phenomenon? Surely, not to

stop him from entering metropolis by giving

nauseating doses of lectures concerning

demonic consumerist urban culture, but rather

by finding revolutionary radical possibilities in

the very act of transition from countryside to the

metro. Indian urban youth has been accused of

being apolitical and almost narcissistic but

during Lokpal agitation and in December

protests, it was observed very clearly that

modern urban Indian youth, despite its affinity

with consumerist culture, is not fundamentally

averse to the idea of street protest and

consequently to mass politics as such. It was

pleasant to see that amidst December protests

in Delhi last year some leftist student outfits

beautifully connected with the pulse of youth.

Recent outpouring of anger in form of support

for AAP is a highly political act, albeit within

electoral lines. One thing is clearly visible – a

deep sense of urgency and immediacy. In

popular contemporary movies, like Zindagi Na

Milegi Dobara, the whole philosophical

undercurrent pervading throughout the movie is

that of living life to its fullest with the quest of

immediacy. In somewhat crude form it is also

reflected in the emergence of fast food which are

cooked and served immediately. In modern

urban romantic relationships it is expressed as a

deep intensity and almost a complete absence

of superficial sentimentality. If things don’t work

out, then option of break up is always open and

a person can move on without making too much

fuss. Similarly while connecting to society the

path goes through immediate concerns which

touch them directly. Immediacy is the one of the

areas where Bourgeoisie parties like Congress

and BJP or other regional outfits have an edge

over other ideology-based groups. Despite their

evidently shallow and narrow visions, they prove

to be heavy weights in electoral process just

because of this particular factor of immediate

action. Utopian goals are so distant and located

so far in future that they almost become

synonymous with religious concept of eternal

bliss or kingdom of heaven. Of course there is

nothing wrong in having a long term goal, it is

rather praiseworthy, but if it becomes a

hindrance in getting along with the pulse of

present time it surely lands us into trouble. To

put it in simple words, if terminology is rooted in

past and goals in distant future it becomes

problematic to get hold of the present. So, a

language has to be evolved which fits in modern

context and it has to be synthesized with idea of

urgency. It is highly significant at the present

juncture to keep pace with contemporary urban


28

life. By contemporary urban life we mean what is

happening in industries, markets, malls,

shopping plazas, cafes, bars, discs and

everything which follows. By too much rejection,

Marxist discourse has deprived itself of easily

available enrichment. The deadlock which

Marxism faces today in urban areas is not due to

a lack of depth in theoretical framework but

absence of expansion in tune with modern

times. The result is before us: A dynamic

theoretical framework has been reduced as an

image of a tactic for wage hike or at most just a

resistance tool against any govt. development

plan. It seems that the whole trouble has started

by the making of economics as the focal point of

Marxism. Most of the energy goes in defending

TRPF, surplus theory and so on. Suppose in any

case, any sort of research brings out a fault in

economic theory of Marx then so much furor is

created as if the world has come to an end. This

is such a simple thing that Marxism propounds a

scientific temperament and it is so childish to

expect that almost 125 year old calculations and

analysis would remain unchanged forever.

Marxism is not just economics but much more

than that, which was emphasized very clearly by

Althusser long back. Developments of Frankfurt

school of thought (drawing upon the work of

Freud) well demonstrated that repression is not

just economic in nature but psychological as

well and it is important to get out of the clutches

of ‘economism’. It does not mean that economic

aspect is to be forgotten altogether, but just not

to give it central position in urban context.

Psychological Aspects of Urban Life:

Urban aspirations oscillate between two poles of

relationship and career with priorities shifting

towards career in recent times. Relationship

itself is viewed more as a status symbol than an

emotional necessity. These pressures are

making modern man more and more alienated.

He has an emotional connection with almost

nobody. Tight work schedules make life highly

mechanical and repetitive. Healing industry

(read modern day spiritual gurus) is always

ready to provide solace to ailing man. Modern

urban man and especially youth need a world

view that is not fractured. Till date there have

been political outlooks but they become useless

when one returns home in the evening to

discuss daily family problems. There have been

beautiful spiritual/religious philosophies which

work nicely when one is alone but as soon as

someone steps out of his home and confronts

social reality they seem to be pointless. Deep

unconscious thought govern the life and it is

crucial to get at them. One of these is religious

thought. Religious feelings have persisted

despite so called triumph of science and there is

a strong psychological basis for it. The fetishistic

aura surrounding commodities is almost an

equivalent for archetypal mythical figures. Noted

Marxist thinker Aijaz Ahmed refers to it while

talking about Derrida: “Derrida seems to ask a

very different question: what would the world

look like without those feelings to which a

religious feeling corresponds-the affections and

terrors of inferiority, so to speak, induced by

social world itself-and how adequate is Marxism

in answering that question?” 3Another feeling is

that of love which is seen by many as a potent

weapon of rebellion. The case of love is not

simple and straight. Rather it is fraught with

tensions. It is note-worthy to mention that Freud

rules out a possibility of love and social mobility

at the same time. When we derive the antithesis

between civilization and sexuality from the

circumstances that sexual love is a relationship

between two individuals in which a third one can

only be superfluous or disturbing, whereas

civilization depends upon relationship between

considerable number of individuals..When a

love relationship is at its height no room is left

for any interest in environment; the pair of lovers

are sufficient unto themselves, do not even need

the child they have in common to make them

happy.(pp55, 1962, Freud, Civilization and its

Discontents) 4Hence, western psychoanalytic

frameworks find trouble in any attempt to

synthesize deep personal experience (as love)


29

and social. Social discourse lacks personal

element and ‘personal’ seems to forbid any

movement beyond the ‘two’. When we look back

we find that till date it is only Gandhian theory

which makes an attempt to blend personal with

social. In Gandhi we find a joint triumph of idiom

and tactics. For the first time there was a man

who was trying to generate a system in which

there was space for discussions, ranging from

colonial exploitation to the quantity of milk to be

consumed in mornings. It appeared ridiculous

to some at that time, but nonetheless it was

quite a creative attempt. Gandhian discourse is

not just dry political rhetoric for freedom of

nation, but a man as such. Frame work of

Gandhi was synthetic in approach and it blurred

the division between personal and social but

there was a great problem of lack of theoretical

rigour. Gandhian theory revolved around mystic

aura of a single person, so it could not become

the basis of a concrete revolutionary program.

Active mainstream Marxism has long ignored

psychological aspects of life. This attempt to

avoid complexity has ascribed it an image of a

very shallow tool of struggle, loud and

rhetorical, instead of being sensitive and deep.

Problems and Contradictions:

There is a darker of present generation. It has to

be worked upon that why a young person with all

his gadgets and access to unlimited

information, which is always a just click away,

finds himself withdrawn in isolation more and

more. Constant addiction, social networking

and visible earplugs may provide a hint into a

mindset which despite all its clarity and

sharpness finds itself suddenly into bottomless

pit of boredom if left on its own. Too much

emphasis on the value of success poses a

lopsided view of reality. The age old dictum – To

err is human, seems irrelevant to a success

obsessed generation. The craving for too much

perfection surely leads to a neurotic state of

mind. It is precisely this situation which the

Marxist circles have to confront today.

Possible Approaches:

There may be many possible approaches.

a) Linking personal with social so that the social

may not remain an abstraction, part time job or

post retirement enterprise. Social activity should

be a direct manifestation of the personal. Till

date such an effort was undertaken by Gandhi,

as already cited.

b) Life of Indian urban youth revolves around

music, relationships and career. These are

precisely the areas which are to be taken care of

while approaching youth. Urban youth (and even

small town youth) today desires fullness of

experience which touches his innermost core.

The days are gone when anyone joined a

political-social outfit for just a tag of ‘nice social

fellow’. Only two possible options wait today’s

youth, either a very realistic, honest and intimate

discourse or need-based political liaison.

c) Small groups can possibly be formed outside

rigid party structures through which new

ideological spaces can be generated.

d) Modern psychoanalytical theory has brought

into light the irrational element rooted in

unconscious mind. This supposedly irrational

element should be incorporated into the Marxist

discourse so that we can move from a powerful

rhetoric to the concrete. The synthetic efforts of

Frankfurt school of thought (as in Eros and

civilization), Althusser and Zizek in our times

must be incorporated in daily struggles and

responses to various attacks by right wing

forces. It can only be by engaging in dialogue

with urban youth that these theoretical

developments are further advanced.

e) A deep need is felt by all of us to engage with

contemporary philosophical -theoretical work.

In Marxist circles (especially mainstream

communist parties), most of the people are

engaged in theoretical frames which are mostly

almost a century old. Classics by Marx, Engels,

and Lenin have their own importance but they

cannot be a substitute for present day

philosophical work. It is highly important that

students involved in left politics keep pace with


30

contemporary thought. To put it very roughly

and in somewhat lighter tone, on one hand

Althusser has provided us a frame on

over-determination and inter-dependence of

base-superstructure, while comrades are still

busy with 150 year old deterministic models.

Throughout 20th century we have seen many

remarkable developments in theory on various

currents and cross-currents ranging from

Luxemberg, Gramcsi, Lukacs to Zizek and

Badiou in our present times. But surprisingly we

find almost no corresponding change in attitude

or idiom of established political parties. It seems

that theoretical development always moves two

decades ahead in its development relative to

party tactics. Probably we need some sort of

Kujaat Marxism (Amending a Lohiate term)

which can prove to be helpful for our own times.

Revolution now should not be seen at any fixed

point in spatio- temporal frame of reference but

regenerating itself perpetually. This revolution

will need a whole set of idiom and terminology

to bring it about. Instead of propaganda and

tactics, dialogue and intimacy will provide the

clue. In our times of crisis it is important to recall

what Derrida said in his ‘Specters of Marx’:

The ‘New International’ is an untimely link,

without status ... without coordination, without

party, without country, without national

community, without co-citizenship, without

common belonging to a class. The name of New

International is given here to what calls to the

friendship of an alliance without institution

among those who ... continue to be inspired by

at least one of the spirits of Marx or of Marxism. It

is a call for them to ally themselves, in a new,

concrete and real way, even if this alliance no

longer takes the form of a party or a workers’

international, in the critique of the state of

international law, the concepts of State and

nation, and so forth: in order to renew this

critique, and especially to radicalize it.5

It is crucial to look at the two important words,

‘concrete and real’. For a long time now we are

familiar with the famous statement of Lenin

formulating Marxist method as, ‘concrete

analysis of concrete conditions’. Derrida adds

‘real’ (which can probably be extended into ‘the

Real’ of Lacanian psychoanalysis) to this

formulation. And still, the formulation remains

non-rigid and flexible in structure. Mainstream

Marxist groups have mostly brushed aside these

attempts terming them as ‘impractical’ and ‘too

utopian’. It is high time that we get flexible and

dynamic in essence, as the enemy (read

capitalism) to be tackled is chameleon of a sort.

This is the time to sit and give some thought to

deal with the present situation in entirely novel

ways so that the talk of relevance does not

merely remain rhetoric.

Notes and references:

1. One of the most cited reasons for

underdevelopment of Marxist influence in

European conditions is that, apart from

exploiting workers in Europe, capitalism has

given a considerable share of loot to workers

themselves. It is important to add that the

explanation for this phenomenon has been put

forth by a non-Marxist Indian thinker Dr.

Rammanohar Lohia with his brilliant surplus

theory based on colonial exploitation.

2. Prof Rajinder Chaudhury puts a different

formulation: we must take up pro-people issues

of ‘non-poor’ too because in present

undemocratic system even legitimate concerns

of vast sections of ‘non-poor’ people go

unaddressed.

3. Three returns to Marx: Derrida, Zizek, Badiou

(Michael Sprinker Memorial Lecture 22.3.12,

Kolkata published in Social Scientist July-Aug

2012)

4. For a different analysis see Slavoj Zizek: Love

as a Political Category available as video

5. 1994, Specters of Marx, The State of the Debt,

The Work Of Mourning, & The New International

[Mr. Amandeep Vashishth teaches Physics in

Rohtak (Haryana). He may be contacted at

09255060575, [email protected]]


31

Book Review Section:

M.N. Roy in a Dictionary—Dipavali Sen

[BOOK: Kunal Chakrabarti and Shubhra

Chakrabarti's, Historical Dictionary of the

BENGALIS, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham.

Boulder. New York. Toronto. Plymouth, U.K.,

2013; hardcover, with maps and photographs,

pp 569, price unstated]

This book is one of the series of

Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and

Cultures, with Jon Woronoff as the Series Editor.

The others in the series include Tamils, Jews,

Ismailiis, Druzes, Gypsies, Kurds ….. a wide

range of humanity indeed!

As Jon Woronoff says in the Editor’s Foreword (p

ix), this book covers the various geographic,

demographic, economic, social and religious

groupings of Bengalis through a long period of

history. After the Foreword comes a very useful

Reader’s Note on Content, Spelling and Names,

Visuals and Cross-references. This is followed by

maps and a section on the Chronology of events

connected with Bengalis.

The Introduction discusses, most ably, the Land

and the People, their History and Identity. It ends

with the statement: “It may be difficult to define

the Bengalis but not to recognize them” (p 34).

Alphabetically, now the Dictionary begins.

The first entry, under A is Abeden, Zainul and the

last entry, under Z, is Zia, Begum Khaleda. In

between there is hardly an aspect of the Bengali

essence that has not been covered, from Baul

songs to Tenida, Terra-cotta to Kabir Larai.

There are more than 750 cross-referenced

entries on politicians, educators and

entrepreneurs, leaders and thinkers, writers,

painters, actors, on economy, education,

political parties, religion, women and minorities,

literature, art and architecture, music, cinema,

food and festivals. No dictionary of the Bengalis

can be complete without reference to one of its

most illustrious sons, M.N. Roy. This one, very

rightly, has a one-and-a-half-page (pp 388-89)

entry on him, containing all the essential facts

about M.N. Roy, mentioning the Radical

Humanist as well. “After World War II,

Manabendranath felt the need to go beyond

communism and developed an alternative set of

ideas that he called radical humanism. He

renounced party politics, rejected the idea of

imposing structural changes from above, and

insisted on philosophical revolution as a

precondition for social revolution. He advocated

a cooperative system of production,

decentralization of political power, and the

spread of democracy at the grassroots level.

Manabendranath founded a cultural-educational

organization called the Indian Renaissance

Institute and wrote extensively to propagate his

views…… He was one of the major political

thinkers of the 20th century”. (p 389)

The Bibliography is extensive (pp 499-569) and

has an Introduction to itself, followed by

sections that are as illuminating as chapters. At

the end comes a page About the Authors Dr.

Kunal Chakrabarti and Dr. Shubhra Chakrabarti,

who as Jon Woronoff had said in the

Introduction, form “a formidable

husband-and-wife team” (p x). With impeccable

academic credentials and authentic Bengali

identities (in spite of being Delhi-based at

present), they were the best persons for the job,

and how well they have done it! Scholarly writing

is most often bereft of readability. But this is one

book that has got both qualities, and though a

dictionary, is as absorbing as a novel. The

language is smooth and easy-flowing and does

not intimidate.

Meticulous yet friendly, it should be useful to

students of anthropology. Young NRIs too

should benefit. Globalization (another name for

Imperialism?) is fast erasing away ethnic and

cultural identities. Books like this will help

preserving those identities, and prevent human

beings from becoming faceless. The printing

and binding are excellent and in spite of its


32

thickness, the book is comfortable to hold and

handle.

The only critical comment I can make is that

there could have been more illustrations, e.g.,

on Bengali arts and crafts (such as sara painting

and kantha stitching, and Ganesh Pyne’s style as

distinct from Abanindranath Tagore’s). Thanks,

Kunal and Shubhra, on behalf of other Bengalis!

[Ms. Dipavali Sen, from DSE and Gokhale

Institute of Politics and Economics (Pune), Visva

Bharati University, Santiniketan teaches at Sri

Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Delhi

University. She is a prolific writer and has

written creative pieces and articles both in

English and Bengali. [email protected]]


33

BOOKS BY M.N. ROY

Published by Renaissance Publishers,

Indian Renaissance Institute,

Oxford University Press and Others

1. POLITICS POWER AND PARTIES Rs. 90.00

2. SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY Rs.95.00

3. BEYOND COMMUNISM Rs.40.00

4. THE HISTORICAL ROLE OF ISLAM Rs.40.00

5. MEN I MET Rs.60.00

6. INDIA’S MESSAGE Rs.100.00

7. MATERIALISM Rs. 110.00

8. REVOLUTION & COUNTER REVOLUTION IN CHINA Rs. 250.00

9. REASON, ROMANTICISM AND REVOLUTION Rs.300.00

10. NEW ORIENTATION Rs 090.00

11. ISLAAM KI ETIHASIK BHOOMIKA (IN HINDI) Rs.25.00

12. HAMARA SANSKRITIK DARP (IN HINDI) Rs.40.00

13. NAV MANAVWAD (IN HINDI) Rs.90.00

14 .SAMYAWAD KE PAAR (IN HINDI) Rs.45.00

Humanist News Section:

I

A Brief Report of General BodyMeeting of Indian RenaissanceInstitute (IRI):

The General Body meeting of Indian

Renaissance Institute was held on 30th

November and 1st December 2013 at Gandhi

Peace Foundation, New Delhi. Adv. B.D.

Sharma, Adv. N.D. Pancholi, Adv. Narottam Vyas,

Dr. Rekha Saraswat, Ms. Arshi Ansari, Dr. D.K.

Saraswat, Mr. Ajit Bhattacharya, Mr. Sisir Kumar

Chakravorty, Prof. Subhankar Ray, Mr.

Debabrata Pal, Mr. V.P. Arya, Mr. Sunity Ranjan

Mukherjee, Mr. S.C. Verma, Mr. Amit Sirivastava,

Mr. Mritunjoy Ganguly, Ms. Swati Sinha, Mr.

Ghanshyam Singh, Mr. Vidya Sagar K., Ms.

Deepshikha Bharati, Dr. Manju Ray, Md.

Nazimuddin S.K., Mr. S.C. Jain attended the

meeting. Adv. B.D. Sharma, Chairperson of the

Institute, presided over the meeting.

Following decisions were taken:

1. Minutes of the last General Meeting held

on August 21, 2011 were approved.

2. Report of Adv. N.D. Pancholi, Secretary,

was approved.

3. The accounts for the year ending 31st

March 2013 were discussed and adopted.

4. Status of the Court case regarding 13

Mohini Rd. Dehradun:

Adv. N.D. Pancholi informed that the appeal filed

by late Shri S.N. Puri in the Nainital High Court

against the judgment of the Civil Court at

Dehradun was dismissed in May 2013 and

proceedings for execution of the decree in

favour of Indian Renaissance Institute for taking

possession of the property at Dehradun have

been initiated in Dehradun Court.

5. Future management of 13 Mohini Rd.,

Dehradun after its possession: There were

several proposals about the future management

of 13 Mohini Road, after its possession by IRI.

Broad consensus was that it should be

developed as a ‘Centre of Learning’ in humanist

thoughts and values.

6.The Radical Humanist: It was decided that

funds should be raised for the monthly journal

‘Radical Humanist’ and efforts should be made

for getting advertisements for it.

7. Publication of the humanist literature

and M.N. Roy’s Selected Works: The

Secretary informed that many books written by

M.N. Roy were not available, though his ‘political

thought’ was part of curriculum in various

universities. Therefore it was decided to get the

books re-printed. It was also informed that

reprinting of some of the books has already

been initiated by Dr. Rekha Saraswat in Meerut.

It was further decided that appeal should be

made for donations to meet the expenditures of

their printing and publishing.

During discussion following members

offered and paid donations as below:

Adv. B.D. Sharma - Rs. 25,000/-

Adv. Narottam Vyas - Rs. 5000/-

Shri Ajit Bhattacharya – Rs. 2000/-

Dr. D.K. Saraswat - Rs. 21,000/-

It was further decided that the draft of the

material of the Fifth Volume of the Selected

Works should be ready by 31st March 2014.

8. Role of the Radical Humanists in the

present political and social scenario: A lively

discussion followed on the above subject.

9. It was further decided that IRI should

organize a seminar on the issue of ‘Price

Rise’. Suggested dates were 29th and 30th

March, 2014.

10. Translation of M.N. Roy's books in Hindi:

It was informed that this work has been taken up

by Ms. Arshi Ansari, Research Scholar, Political

Science, from Meerut.

11. Following trustees were elected:

1. Shri Narottam Vyas; 2. Shri Ajit Bhattacharya

3. Dr. N. Innaiah; 4. Dr. Bhaskar Sur

5. Shri S.C. Jain; 6. Shri Ramesh Awasthi

34


7. Mr. Gautam Thakar

12. Elections of office bearers:

Following office bearers were elected:

1. Chairman , Shri B.D. Sharma

2. Secretary, N.D. Pancholi

3. Treasurer, Shri Narottam Vyas

—Report sent by Adv. N.D. Pancholi,

Secretary, IRI

II

A Citizens’ Agenda for Change:The following is the full text of a document

prepared by the Council for Social Development,

New Delhi. It was released at a press conference

in the Capital addressed by Prof. Muchkund

Dubey, the CSD President: Prof. Amit Bhaduri,

Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty, K.B. Saxena, the

Council’s senior faculty members and T. Haque,

the CSD Director, on November 26, 2013. In the

context of the forthcoming general elections, it

is important to think through a citizens’ guide to

governance and development strategy that sets

out of the essentials for all concerned. This task

is all the more important because of the

persistent projection of matters of ephemeral

importance, false issues and non issues in the

corporate-controlled media and the statements

of political parties and leaders.

Basic Issues:

A reliable indication of what affects the lives of

the people are the issues raised by civil society

organizations, people’s movements,

independent experts, public intellectuals and

concerned citizens. Over the past few decades,

they have relentlessly asserted the people’s right

to life and personal liberty around issues of

violence by state, non-state and private actors;

conflict over common and natural resources;

depleting lively-hood; denial of voice and

visibility in decision making and formulation and

implementation of government plans and

projects; continuing deprivation of access to

quality education for the vast majority of the

poor and marginalized; lack of access to quality

health care for the poor; project-induced

displacement, eviction or the threat of eviction

of the most vulnerable, impoverished and

insecure communities from forestlands and

cityscapes; and extreme threat to the safety and

security of women.

Current Growth Path:

All political parties and governments at the

Centre as well as the States, through their overt

and covert actions, are complicit in the pursuit of

the corporate-led growth path, the main

characteristics of which are production for

catering to the needs of the privileged sections

and foreign markets, profitability at the cost of

the wage earners, growth at the cost of

employment, neglect of agriculture and

environmental degradation. This growth path

has resulted in increasing inequalities between

the rich and the poor, further impoverishment

and immiseration of those who are vulnerable

owing to being dalits, tribals, minority groups,

the vast numbers of women and children, the

forced migrants and refugees, and workers

employed in the informal sector.

Constitutional Vision:

The Constitution of India envisages an active

role for the state in securing for Indian citizens

entitlements and rights set out in the

Constitution and in protecting the natural

resources and other assets of the country. In the

chapter on the Directive Principles of State

Policy, the Constitution enjoins upon the state to

promote the welfare of the people, strive to

minimize inequalities in different forms not only

among individuals but also amongst groups of

people, secure for its citizens the right of an

adequate means of livelihood, consider the

raising of the level of nutrition…. And the

improvement of public health as among its

primary duty, promote with special care the

educational and economic interests of the

weaker sections of the people, and ensure that

the ownership and control of the material

resources of the community are so distributed

as to subserve the common good. The


35

corporate-led growth path being pursued by the

state has amounted to an abdication of all these

obligation assumed by it under the Constitution.

These obligations are becoming increasingly

difficult to meet because of the shrinking of

space for independent economic policy. This is

especially visible in our dependence on foreign

capital, import liberalization at the cost of

domestic industrial growth, and growing current

account deficit.

Retreat of the State and its Consequences

for the Poor:

This growth strategy has, among others,

resulted in an accelerated trend of the

withdrawal of the state from the key sectors of

the economy, particularly rural infrastructure,

agriculture and social sectors, in order to create

space for occupation by corporations, including

foreign corporate interest. Apart from its

adverse effect on the sustainability of growth,

this policy is having disastrous consequences

for the incomes, livelihood and welfare of the

poor sections of the population, and the

exercise of their rights under the Constitution.

The retreat of the state has affected the poor and

the marginalized sections of the population

most severely. Here are some examples: The

state’s indifference to school education has led

to the mushrooming of English-medium,

high-fee-charging, private schools in which the

quality of education does not do any credit to the

nation. The poor parents’ desire to send their

children to these schools has driven them to

bankruptcy and indebtedness thus crippling

them economically. The public health centres

and sub-centres from which the poor stand to

benefit most are in a state of neglect. The private

sector is not interested in taking over primary

health care as it is not profitable. Outsourcing of

sanitation, kitchen, and ambulance, diagnostic

and similar other health services earlier

provided in government hospitals has led to an

increase in their costs, taking them beyond the

reach of the poor. This has made it difficult for

them to get treatment even in government

hospitals. The government’s withdrawal from

the maintenance and expansion of quality

institutions for the education of teachers,

doctors, and para-medicals has led to the

proliferation of private medical engineering and

teachers’ education colleges charging

exorbitant fees and demanding huge capitation

fees for initial admission. This has deprived the

poor of whatever chances were there earlier to

get their children admitted on the basis of merit,

in quality government institutions in this

category. The financing of urban development

with private capital and institutional credit has

resulted in the exclusion of the poor from the

process of urbanization. Obsession with

big-ticket investments by the private sector for

the development of infrastructure and provision

of amenities in the cities has accentuated the

distress among the poor city dwellers and has

forced them to shift from the centre of the city to

its periphery. The facilities created by private

sector investments largely through commercial

borrowing, which incidentally is available mainly

in big cities, have been concentrated in the

relatively richer areas of the city and availed of

mainly by the better-off section of the urban

population. The government also seems to be in

a hurry to hand over assets – land , other natural

resources, institutions for educational research

and training and similar institutions in the

health sector, to the corporate interests, both

Indian and foreign. This has hit the poor hardest

by further reducing their access to services in

these sectors. The process of privatization of

social services has resulted in the continuing

decay and dismantling of existing public

institutions in health, education and scientific

research without their being replaced in any

significant way by new institutions built by the

private sector or under public-private

partnership. The expectation that the withdrawal

of the government from the process of

production and distribution and the delivery of

goods and services would remove a major cause

of corruption has been belied. Instead,


36

outsourcing and award of contracts to private operators

and companies have spawned corruption on a scale

infinitely larger than could have been imagined a few

years ago. Finally, the Indian state has generally been

both incapable and unwilling, owing to its commitment

to corporate-led growth, to monitor and regulate private

operators in order to ensure that their operation does not

militate against public interest, is not violative of the law

of the land and of the basic principles and objectives of

the Constitution.

Right-based Approach for Providing Public

Goods and Services:

Social public goods and services are now being

increasingly demanded by the people as their

legal right. Yielding to the public pressure, the

Central Government has enacted a number of

legislations for putting its flagship programmes

for social development on the legal basis and

launching new rights-based programmes.

These include the Right to Information Act

(2005). Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA–2005),

Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest

Dwellers (Recognition of Right) Act, (2006),

Unorganized Workers Social Security Act (2008),

and most recently, the Food Security Act and

Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in

Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and

Resettlement Act (2013). Central to the

articulation and realization of right-based

access to facilities, services and assets is the

exercise by every citizen of the fundamental

rights to personal liberty (Article 19), to life

interpreted in the broadest sense of the term

(Article 21), and to equality and

non-discrimination (Article 14 and 15) – all of

which are justiciable. In addition to upholding

these rights, the government also needs to

recognize the right to shelter, health, education,

sanitation, drinking water and social security for

all its citizens. It must also ban child labour in all

its forms. While governments may view a

rights-based approach as a part of their

legitimization needs, they have to be situated in

the larger context of being part of the right to life

and, therefore, as constitutional rights.

Otherwise, the mere granting of entitlements

through legislative fiat serves the limited

purpose of political mobilization, without in fact

addressing inequalities and discrimination in

access to life and livelihood. While the

legislations enacted recently are necessary and

critical measures, they cannot also substitute

policies for the creation of employment, equal

opportunities for access to services and

productive assets, and expansion of rural

infrastructure. Without these, the legal rights will

suffer from inherent constraints and limitations.

Besides, these legislations, as formulated and

implemented by the government, do not carry

any guarantee for the citizens to be able to

exercise the rights granted under them. This is

because they do not make adequate financial

provisions for realizing the stated objectives nor

are they comprehensive enough to cover all

contingencies and all sections of the population

who are entitled. Moreover, the record of

implementation of these legislations is very

poor, the most conspicuous example being the

Right to Education Act and Scheduled Tribes and

other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of

Rights) Act. Further, in most cases, rules have

been framed and the Acts notified without

adequate preparations. No serious effort has

been made to create the capacity in the

government and put in place an effective review,

monitoring, grievance redressal and

coordination mechanism for implementing

these laws. It can be argued that if the provisions

of these legislations are not implemented, then

a citizen or an entity on his behalf has a right to

approach the court to get it enforced. However,

the poor, who are the worst sufferers, do not

have the means to go to the courts. Besides, the

court’s verdict is at best unpredictable. There is

shrinkage of space in India for debates on

secular praxis. The endangerment of minority

rights through escalating violence and

discrimination against the minorities persists.

The unabashed use of minorities as vote-banks


37

by all major political parties and their exclusion

from democratic deliberations and effective

political participation through the use of

collective violence and threat of violence is a

cause for serious concern. This puts in jeopardy

the very survival of India as a pluralistic

democratic society. Decentralisation of

governance is a constitutional mandate which

has been discharged by successive

governments of India and States in a

half-hearted manner and without seriousness of

purpose. Consequently, even 20 years after the

enactment of the Panchayati Raj Acts there is no

effective decentralization of governance.

Progress in the devolution of functions,

functionaries and finances to the Panchayati Raj

Institutions has been hesitant and insignificant.

There is no desire on the part of political parties

and Central and State legislatures, to give up

their control over funds and patronages at the

local level. In order to retain their existing

controls and privileges, they are interfering in

various illegal ways with the functioning of

Panchayats and have created separate

structures parallel to the Panchayati Raj

Institutions.

Looking Ahead:

Opt for people-oriented growth: The current

corporate-driven growth should be replaced by

a people-oriented development strategy. The

new development strategy should be based on

the creation of demand within the country, the

production of the local mass consumption

goods and generation of universal employment,

as its principal objectives.

Protect the poor and marginalized:

In the new strategy, highest priority should be

accorded to meeting the essential needs of the

poor, marginalized and underprivileged. The

essential needs of these sections include, but

are not restricted to, school education,

community health care, provision of productive

assets and credit, sustainable livelihood support

including unhindered access to land and

forest-based livelihoods, including full access to

the commons, public distribution system, food

security, drinking water and sanitation. In any

event, it should be ensured that there is no

deterioration of the conditions of these sections

of the population along any of the above

indicators.

Empower the disabled:

Persons with disability, who continue to be seen

as dependent on state charity and denied

fundamental rights to freedom and

non-discrimination, should have in equal

measures with others, the right to access all

these essential needs, including barrier-free

access to institutions and services. A critical

measure in this regard would be to replace the

current Protection of Persons with Disability Act

1995 with a comprehensive rights-based law.

Prioritize Social Sector Spending:

Expansion in expenditure on social

development should no longer be seen as a

function of revenues realized as a result of

higher rates of growth. Instead, it should be

regarded as a precondition for achieving higher

sustained growth as well as the end-result of

development. There should, therefore, be a

drastic reprioritization of plan and budgetary

expenditures of the Central and State

governments, in favour of education, health,

and other social sectors, rural infrastructure,

and the informal sector, including medium and

small industries. Expenditures on health and

education as a percentage of the GNP must be

brought to the same level as prevalent in

developed and most of the more developed

among developing countries (a minimum of

three per cent of the GNP for health services and

six percent for education). This has to be treated

as priority in the restructuring of public finance

rather than the present policies of giving huge

subsidies to corporations.

Make economic rights justiciable:

In spite of the limitations of the right-based

approach for providing social goods and

services, the very fact of the justiciability of a


38

rights-based provision improves the prospects

of getting them implemented. This is better than

depending on the sweet will and discretion of

the government. If the people know that access

to a quality social service is their right, they

would tend to be more pro-active an assertive in

claiming it than would the case otherwise. Thus,

rights-based access to services puts in the

hands of the civil society organisations and

popular movements a more potent tool to

exercise pressure on the government for

implementing pro-poor programmes. In this

context, very high priority should be attached to

enact legislations for granting to the children the

right under the Integrated Child Development

Services (ICDS), and to all the citizens, the right

to shelter and health services.

Guarantee equality for minorities:

Every citizen of the country irrespective of class,

caste, ethnicity or religion, has equal right to life,

liberty, expression and minimum facilities and

services guaranteed under the Indian

Constitution. Each citizen, therefore, must be

treated as equal in all respects, without any

discrimination.

End violence against religious minorities:

The frequent violation of physical security and

the threat it creates for religious and other

minorities must be addressed. In addition to

legal measures like enacting the pending

Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence

(Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011,

the state must create mechanisms to act

immediately against incidents of riots, institute

judicial probes to fix responsibility and take

prompt action to implement their

recommendations.

End systemic discrimination:

Since independence special programmes and

projects have been launched for the

development of minority groups and affirmative

actions in their favour have been taken.

However, these are only of limited value until

they continue to be subjected to systemic biases

and discriminations rooted in the social

structure. Removal of such discrimination is,

therefore, as important as the special measures

or affirmative action. Discrimination can be

removed not only be legislation and its effective

implementation but by a regular social audit of

institutions, establishments and public spaces

where discrimination is practiced and a

sustained campaign against biases,

disinformation and hate speech.

Ensure accountability towards fellow

citizens:

There must be commitment to

non-discrimination within the framework of

complete transparency and accountability in

every aspect of state action at every level.

Ombudsmen should be appointed and special

arrangements made at micro levels to detect

and severely punish acts of discrimination. The

maturity and level of excellence of a society is

judged by the manner in which it treats its

minorities and the main responsibility for it rests

with the majority community.

Expand decentralization:

Decentralisation is indispensable to the

democratic process and must inform

governance at each level. The promised

devolution of functions, functionaries and

finance and the implementation of PESA –

Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act,

1996 – in all tribal areas should be effected by all

States in full measure and at one go, within a

time limit to be prescribed under law.

End Caste Violence:

The continued violence against the Scheduled

Castes and poor enforcement of law on

prevention of at atrocities and failure to

eliminate the degrading occupation of manual

scavenging is a blemish on our society. A

comprehensive strategy for the elimination of

these evil practices should be launched with

provisions for monitoring mechanisms at

various levels. This should go hand in hand with

creation of awareness, with the involvement of


39

political parties, to end this in a specified

timeframe.

Public funding of elections:

The fountainhead of corruption is the electoral

process. Political parties seem to be unanimous

in sticking to the view that their current practices

and discretion on matters of election funding

must not be opened out to public debate and

scrutiny. The public funding of elections is a

minimum non-negotiable requirement of

constitutional governance. This would curb a

very important source of corruption and reduce

barriers to wider participation in the electoral

process. The measures, policies and strategies

suggested above do not constitute an

exhaustive list, but should set standards for

minimum acceptable governance in India.

Unless we act immediately and decisively, it

might be too late to save our most prized

possession – Indian democracy.

—Sent by Adv. N.D. Pancholi

III

Help The Birds-2014During Kite-flying festival, (14th-15th January)

thousands of birds fall victim to the sharp glass

powder coated “maanja” with injuries on their

wings or just about anywhere, bleeding them to

death. This festival is one of the most

unfortunate manmade disasters for the avian

community of our city.

More than 3000 birds get 'cut' every year in

Ahmedabad (India) alone, At Jivdaya charitable

hospital treated 2085 birds in 2012 and 2095

birds treated in 2013.

The kite strings are so sharp that it sometimes

chop off the whole wing!! The festival is round

the corner and we need to prepare ourselves to

save as many lives as we can.

HTB 2014 is coming up. HTB (Help the Birds)

campaign is organized every year in Ahmedabad

by many N.G.O. with join hand with forest

department, Wildlife Rescue Center during the

Kite-flying festival (Uttarayan) as an effort to save

the injured birds from certain death and giving

them a survival chance. Our primary focus will

be birds of endangered species, especially

White-Rumped Vultures for creating Vulture Safe

Zone. This festival responsible for 56 WRV

casualties just from 2009 to 2013, who will want

to save these precious birds and you can be one

of them. We need your involvement to make this

campaign a success! There are several ways in

which you can help, even if you are not

comfortable with working hands on with injured

birds. Apart from rescue, we will need volunteers

for attending rescue phone calls,

documentation, education / awareness

programs, helping vets in the Operation Theater

and follow up treatment, transfer of birds,

transportation of injured birds, data collection,

donation and much more… This entire work is

extremely important for the campaign.

This is your chance to help the urban bird life.

Every one of us can make a big difference in

saving lives of the innocent feathered friends.

Let us all join hands and try to help them in

whichever way we can. We want veterinary

doctors.

—News sent by Kartik Shastri

Jivdaya charitable Trust,

Trustee, Bird conservation society

Gujarat-vulture cell

Assistant coordinator, IUCN vulture specialist

group member, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

Panjarapole, opp.polytechnic , Nr.sahjanand

college, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-15

Mob:098240-25045

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

You may visit GFD center at:

Vanchetana Kendra Bodak Dev


40


This Month's Contributors

K.S. CHALAM

HYDERABAD, A.P.

(Page 16)

MAHIPAL SINGH

New Delhi

(Page 22)

JUGAL KISHORE

New Delhi

(Page 19)

DIPAVALI SEN

Gurgaon, Haryana

(Page 32)

AMANDEEP VASHISHTH

Rohtak, Haryana

(Page 27)

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