AUGUST SURPRISE
August is supposed to be a month full of celebrations, but instead it has been full of surprise. The first on was the working of our Parliament. Instead of the mindless disruptions in the Parliament, we actually saw the opposition cornering the ruling government on CWG mess through some robust debates and facts. We were beginning to settle with adjournment and Logjams as synonyms for the parliament all thanks to our opposition parties. But good sense prevailed this time on BJP and finally the Loksabha looked like what it used to be. For the BJP, the debate was also a much-needed act of atonement. While the BJP's all-out offensive against the Prime Minister's Office for corruption over the 2010 Commonwealth Games might be part of a larger political strategy, there are certain charges that the government must answer. One of them is the appointment of Suresh Kalmadi despite three consecutive sports ministers writing to the PMO and warning against him and his style of working. Kalmadi may rightly be in the dock for wrongdoing, but he couldn't have had a free rein without the support, of his political bosses. Similarly, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s role cannot be ignored after the allegations made by the CAG audit and Shunglu committee reports. Her Government is accused of favoring particular companies in getting imported lights for the streets of Delhi among other things. Multiple civic bodies and sub-committees set up to decorate the capital city for the international event only facilitated the lack of accountability and over expenditure thus resulting in a huge mess and loot of the public coffers.
Our Next surprises were on the international front. The London riots and their powerless Police. Also the sorry state of the world’s richest economy resulting in a turbulent market across the world including our own. “The return of the recession” seems to be the scary movie which we would all be watching for the next year or so thanks to the Udhaar State of America. Both these things will affect us directly. Whereas the markets are still not steady after the last week’s spin, the UK riots worry us, given the intensive India-UK trade ties and a large Indian diaspora. Britishers rake their heads to find reasons for mindless looting and rioting, among rising concerns on erosion of authority in the English society. A chorus of establishment voices responded to pictures of school-age children looting late at night by reaching to blame the parents. MPs and David Cameron were talking about a broken Britain and its culture, and London's mayor said adults and teachers needed to be given back the right to impose authority. With nation wide calls from the Prime minister himself and debates on poor parenting and bad schooling, we Indians and Chinese including Amy Chua are happy to see our methods of strict parenting and disciplined schools being endorsed by the our ex rulers. Let us hope that Amy Chua's 'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother' would be the one book that would be flying off the shelf of the Bookstores in UK.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Yeddy Dumped
When B S Yeddyurappa became the chief minister, his big promise was, “My mantra will be development… development... development”. Cut to the present: His name has become synonymous with development, not that of the state but of his family. Yeddyurappa had been walking on minefields ever since the powerful Bellary Brothers revolted against him. Apart from mining he is accused of illegal land allotment and land denotification scams. A couple of unusual transactions, a bank name and a 11-digit account number mentioned in the books of a mining company led Lokayukta sleuths to the trail of the kickbacks which B S Yeddyurappa and his family members received from mining companies. These details, at first glance seemed mild, but has finaly led to the fall of the master survivor. His bold attempts at taking the kickbacks in the name of Prerana Education Trust in cheques from Jindal Steel Limited (JSW), reflects his self confidence and the powerful and unquestionable position in the state, of which even the BJP was scared off. Despite his fears about various land scam, he never imagined that illegal mining could take him down specially after reigning in the Reddy Brothers whose area of operation, Bellary, figured prominently in the report. Turning a blind eye to these allegations would have been political suicide for the BJP. It could have completely destroyed its anti- corruption campaign at the national level. The party should learn its lesson from the fate of DMK in Tamilnadu, and should not allow its regional satrap to dictate terms on the basis of lingayat vote banks. Karnataka’s electorate are equally smart and would quickly respond to outrageous corruption by ending its dream run in south. The BJP leadership should ensure that his successor is not only above reproach but also has the requisite political acumen and administrative capability to head the government
The Lokayukta report brings into perspective two other issues. First one is the need for mining to be reformed thoroughly. Mining now needs regulatory authorities and cannot be left at the supervision of civil servants, who have been found equally guilty of corruption. Another thing that has come clearly out of this report is that a strong Lokayukta can deliver his duties and we do not require a new kind of ombudsman with overarching powers for real effect. Since the topic of a strong Lokpal is being hotly debated at present, Justice Hegde serves as a shining example to all (coincidentally he is also a member of the civil society’s drafting committee). His example is strong enough to deliver the message that an upright and strong Lokpal with vigilant media, informed and mobilized citizens, and a fast paced criminal justice system will be more effective against corruption than anything else. Both civil society and the government can learn a few lessons from this.
The Lokayukta report brings into perspective two other issues. First one is the need for mining to be reformed thoroughly. Mining now needs regulatory authorities and cannot be left at the supervision of civil servants, who have been found equally guilty of corruption. Another thing that has come clearly out of this report is that a strong Lokayukta can deliver his duties and we do not require a new kind of ombudsman with overarching powers for real effect. Since the topic of a strong Lokpal is being hotly debated at present, Justice Hegde serves as a shining example to all (coincidentally he is also a member of the civil society’s drafting committee). His example is strong enough to deliver the message that an upright and strong Lokpal with vigilant media, informed and mobilized citizens, and a fast paced criminal justice system will be more effective against corruption than anything else. Both civil society and the government can learn a few lessons from this.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tryst with terrorists
Mumbai’s tryst with terrorist
Mumbai is truck again. It’s a sense of déjà vu for all. We saw the same horror scenes repeatedly on TV, the same rhetoric by the Govt. the same debate on talk shows. Nothing has changed after 26/11. Our booming economy and our status as a rising power has made Mumbai & Delhi as the most vulnerable cities to terrorist attacks. Look at the past four months and we were given enough warnings about a bigger attack in future. The number of failed bomb attacks – in Delhi high court, Delhi's Gargi College, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and elsewhere. They were dismissed as pranks. Perhaps these were the result of the Karachi Project which David Hadley revealed in his interrogation to FBI. Mumbai blasts could be an indication that the Karachi Project is blooming in India. Home grown Jehad group have been active and our Intelligence have failed to trap them. Not one of the five urban terrorist attacks that preceded the latest Mumbai bombings has been solved. Perhaps the lull after 2008 has set in complacency in the intelligence agencies. This was evident in the goof-ups in the 'Most Wanted' list that was posted to Pakistan. It's clear that coordination among security agencies in India is still lacking. And why not as many of the internal security reforms proposed after the 26/11 attacks have bitten the dust. Despite decades of terror attack we haven’t been able to pluck the shortage in the Police personnel in our country. As per the home ministry, about 5,40,000 policemen were immediately required to make up the shortages in our police forces. But less than a third of that number has been recruited till date. Our projections for policing are well below the UN recommended ratio of 222 policemen per 1,00,000 citizens. Worse still, for a country repeatedly targeted by terrorists, India's internal security budget is less than 1% of its GDP, whereas India's defence budget is about 2.5% of its GDP. If the responsibility of the government is to protect its citizens, then it simply needs to spend more on equipping, training and arming our policemen to achieve greater efficiency. We urgently need to spend a huge amount on CCTV Camera installed on strategic positions. These footage are crucial in catching terrorists. The London bombers, the Time square bombers and Kasab were all caught on camera. We need to model our Police and surveillance on UK, which has about 1.85 million CCTV cameras and the average Briton is caught on camera 70 times a day as per the police figures. Living in a surveillance society is the need of the hour. We also need to adopt the idea of community policing from UK which has protected London which perhaps has the largest movement of terrorists through it but remains secure.
We need to accept that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its cut in aids to Pakistan will make our neighborhood a secure field for the terrorist to play as they want. Mr. Chidambaram has rightly pointed out that India is located in one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Our neighborhood is the global terrorism's epicenter. It is their aim to target India's economic rise and its cities, which remain crowded, disorganized and vulnerable. We need some elementary steps that could make citizens secure. Upgrading our police force, investing in technology for internal security and the long awaited national intelligence grid initiative could help fill this void, but it is still some years from being completed. Until then, we are left at the mercy of the terrorist.
Mumbai is truck again. It’s a sense of déjà vu for all. We saw the same horror scenes repeatedly on TV, the same rhetoric by the Govt. the same debate on talk shows. Nothing has changed after 26/11. Our booming economy and our status as a rising power has made Mumbai & Delhi as the most vulnerable cities to terrorist attacks. Look at the past four months and we were given enough warnings about a bigger attack in future. The number of failed bomb attacks – in Delhi high court, Delhi's Gargi College, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and elsewhere. They were dismissed as pranks. Perhaps these were the result of the Karachi Project which David Hadley revealed in his interrogation to FBI. Mumbai blasts could be an indication that the Karachi Project is blooming in India. Home grown Jehad group have been active and our Intelligence have failed to trap them. Not one of the five urban terrorist attacks that preceded the latest Mumbai bombings has been solved. Perhaps the lull after 2008 has set in complacency in the intelligence agencies. This was evident in the goof-ups in the 'Most Wanted' list that was posted to Pakistan. It's clear that coordination among security agencies in India is still lacking. And why not as many of the internal security reforms proposed after the 26/11 attacks have bitten the dust. Despite decades of terror attack we haven’t been able to pluck the shortage in the Police personnel in our country. As per the home ministry, about 5,40,000 policemen were immediately required to make up the shortages in our police forces. But less than a third of that number has been recruited till date. Our projections for policing are well below the UN recommended ratio of 222 policemen per 1,00,000 citizens. Worse still, for a country repeatedly targeted by terrorists, India's internal security budget is less than 1% of its GDP, whereas India's defence budget is about 2.5% of its GDP. If the responsibility of the government is to protect its citizens, then it simply needs to spend more on equipping, training and arming our policemen to achieve greater efficiency. We urgently need to spend a huge amount on CCTV Camera installed on strategic positions. These footage are crucial in catching terrorists. The London bombers, the Time square bombers and Kasab were all caught on camera. We need to model our Police and surveillance on UK, which has about 1.85 million CCTV cameras and the average Briton is caught on camera 70 times a day as per the police figures. Living in a surveillance society is the need of the hour. We also need to adopt the idea of community policing from UK which has protected London which perhaps has the largest movement of terrorists through it but remains secure.
We need to accept that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its cut in aids to Pakistan will make our neighborhood a secure field for the terrorist to play as they want. Mr. Chidambaram has rightly pointed out that India is located in one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Our neighborhood is the global terrorism's epicenter. It is their aim to target India's economic rise and its cities, which remain crowded, disorganized and vulnerable. We need some elementary steps that could make citizens secure. Upgrading our police force, investing in technology for internal security and the long awaited national intelligence grid initiative could help fill this void, but it is still some years from being completed. Until then, we are left at the mercy of the terrorist.
Tryst with terrorists
Mumbai’s tryst with terrorist
Mumbai is truck again. It’s a sense of déjà vu for all. We saw the same horror scenes repeatedly on TV, the same rhetoric by the Govt. the same debate on talk shows. Nothing has changed after 26/11. Our booming economy and our status as a rising power has made Mumbai & Delhi as the most vulnerable cities to terrorist attacks. Look at the past four months and we were given enough warnings about a bigger attack in future. The number of failed bomb attacks – in Delhi high court, Delhi's Gargi College, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and elsewhere. They were dismissed as pranks. Perhaps these were the result of the Karachi Project which David Hadley revealed in his interrogation to FBI. Mumbai blasts could be an indication that the Karachi Project is blooming in India. Home grown Jehad group have been active and our Intelligence have failed to trap them. Not one of the five urban terrorist attacks that preceded the latest Mumbai bombings has been solved. Perhaps the lull after 2008 has set in complacency in the intelligence agencies. This was evident in the goof-ups in the 'Most Wanted' list that was posted to Pakistan. It's clear that coordination among security agencies in India is still lacking. And why not as many of the internal security reforms proposed after the 26/11 attacks have bitten the dust. Despite decades of terror attack we haven’t been able to pluck the shortage in the Police personnel in our country. As per the home ministry, about 5,40,000 policemen were immediately required to make up the shortages in our police forces. But less than a third of that number has been recruited till date. Our projections for policing are well below the UN recommended ratio of 222 policemen per 1,00,000 citizens. Worse still, for a country repeatedly targeted by terrorists, India's internal security budget is less than 1% of its GDP, whereas India's defence budget is about 2.5% of its GDP. If the responsibility of the government is to protect its citizens, then it simply needs to spend more on equipping, training and arming our policemen to achieve greater efficiency. We urgently need to spend a huge amount on CCTV Camera installed on strategic positions. These footage are crucial in catching terrorists. The London bombers, the Time square bombers and Kasab were all caught on camera. We need to model our Police and surveillance on UK, which has about 1.85 million CCTV cameras and the average Briton is caught on camera 70 times a day as per the police figures. Living in a surveillance society is the need of the hour. We also need to adopt the idea of community policing from UK which has protected London which perhaps has the largest movement of terrorists through it but remains secure.
We need to accept that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its cut in aids to Pakistan will make our neighborhood a secure field for the terrorist to play as they want. Mr. Chidambaram has rightly pointed out that India is located in one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Our neighborhood is the global terrorism's epicenter. It is their aim to target India's economic rise and its cities, which remain crowded, disorganized and vulnerable. We need some elementary steps that could make citizens secure. Upgrading our police force, investing in technology for internal security and the long awaited national intelligence grid initiative could help fill this void, but it is still some years from being completed. Until then, we are left at the mercy of the terrorist.
Mumbai is truck again. It’s a sense of déjà vu for all. We saw the same horror scenes repeatedly on TV, the same rhetoric by the Govt. the same debate on talk shows. Nothing has changed after 26/11. Our booming economy and our status as a rising power has made Mumbai & Delhi as the most vulnerable cities to terrorist attacks. Look at the past four months and we were given enough warnings about a bigger attack in future. The number of failed bomb attacks – in Delhi high court, Delhi's Gargi College, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and elsewhere. They were dismissed as pranks. Perhaps these were the result of the Karachi Project which David Hadley revealed in his interrogation to FBI. Mumbai blasts could be an indication that the Karachi Project is blooming in India. Home grown Jehad group have been active and our Intelligence have failed to trap them. Not one of the five urban terrorist attacks that preceded the latest Mumbai bombings has been solved. Perhaps the lull after 2008 has set in complacency in the intelligence agencies. This was evident in the goof-ups in the 'Most Wanted' list that was posted to Pakistan. It's clear that coordination among security agencies in India is still lacking. And why not as many of the internal security reforms proposed after the 26/11 attacks have bitten the dust. Despite decades of terror attack we haven’t been able to pluck the shortage in the Police personnel in our country. As per the home ministry, about 5,40,000 policemen were immediately required to make up the shortages in our police forces. But less than a third of that number has been recruited till date. Our projections for policing are well below the UN recommended ratio of 222 policemen per 1,00,000 citizens. Worse still, for a country repeatedly targeted by terrorists, India's internal security budget is less than 1% of its GDP, whereas India's defence budget is about 2.5% of its GDP. If the responsibility of the government is to protect its citizens, then it simply needs to spend more on equipping, training and arming our policemen to achieve greater efficiency. We urgently need to spend a huge amount on CCTV Camera installed on strategic positions. These footage are crucial in catching terrorists. The London bombers, the Time square bombers and Kasab were all caught on camera. We need to model our Police and surveillance on UK, which has about 1.85 million CCTV cameras and the average Briton is caught on camera 70 times a day as per the police figures. Living in a surveillance society is the need of the hour. We also need to adopt the idea of community policing from UK which has protected London which perhaps has the largest movement of terrorists through it but remains secure.
We need to accept that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its cut in aids to Pakistan will make our neighborhood a secure field for the terrorist to play as they want. Mr. Chidambaram has rightly pointed out that India is located in one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Our neighborhood is the global terrorism's epicenter. It is their aim to target India's economic rise and its cities, which remain crowded, disorganized and vulnerable. We need some elementary steps that could make citizens secure. Upgrading our police force, investing in technology for internal security and the long awaited national intelligence grid initiative could help fill this void, but it is still some years from being completed. Until then, we are left at the mercy of the terrorist.
LIVING DANGEROUSLY
It's the fastest growing crime in India. New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have been in the news for multiple rape cases in the last Month. A lot of noise is being generated about the rising rape cases in our country specially in Delhi and UP. Though the statistics suggests the dubious distinction of the ''rape state'' has gone to Madhya Pradesh. It has reported the highest number of rape cases as per The National Crime Records Bureau's publication. As an embarrassed government gets ready to enact tougher rape laws, the victims continue to face an insensitive police and criminal justice system.
The reasons for this sudden increase in rape is a complex mix of migration and growing urbanization, shrinking spaces in cities and the high visibility of women outside their homes. Lack of value-based education, dwindling healthy social relationships, and easy access to vulgar pornography are some of the reasons cited by the experts. However, law enforcement agencies argue that actual rape cases haven't increased substantially, what has is their reportage. And in any case since 80 per cent of the accused are known to the victims, it's a crime virtually not preventable. Not only that, the rate of conviction of rapists is also insignificant. Put together, these factors create a lethal combination that encourages rape, for the fear of being caught and punished is insignificant while the chances of getting away with the crime are very high.
India's booming economy has brought sweeping social change in our culture. The number of women in the workforce has roughly doubled in the past 15 years. There has been an explosive clash between the rapidly modernizing city and the embattled, conservative village culture upon which the cities increasingly encroaches. A Thomson Reuters Foundation global poll named India as the fourth most dangerous place for women in the world, after Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan. It is about women’s lack of choices in general. Unlike Afghanistan, Congo or Somalia (fifth on the shame list), India is not war-torn. It is just violent towards its women through deeply entrenched social and cultural conditions. Apart from rape, murders, dowry deaths, honour killings and various forms of domestic abuse, our failure to check female infanticide and foeticide, or trafficking of women, or to provide women adequate healthcare and education have clinched our place in the top rung of the shame list.
The rising rape cases have created some ripple in the urban women resulting in the creation of a “Besharmi Morcha” in Delhi. This group proposes a “Slut Walk” an international street protest by women. It is as a march against sexual violence and opposition to the general belief that a woman’s indecent dressing promotes rape. But let’s not lose perspective. The Slut Walk is not a movement to empower women in India. It is more an urban & elite class protest. It is like polishing a door knob when you don’t have a door, or even a roof over your head. Me-too feminism plucked from countries where women’s rights and gender equality is treasured doesn’t work for India, where women lack basic human rights. But this does not make it irrelevant. Feminism needs all kinds of movements and forms of protest. If calling it Slut Walk gets people to notice the protest and if it starts discussion and debates to bring in changes in perception then let the ‘Slutty Savitries’ protest.
It's the fastest growing crime in India. New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have been in the news for multiple rape cases in the last Month. A lot of noise is being generated about the rising rape cases in our country specially in Delhi and UP. Though the statistics suggests the dubious distinction of the ''rape state'' has gone to Madhya Pradesh. It has reported the highest number of rape cases as per The National Crime Records Bureau's publication. As an embarrassed government gets ready to enact tougher rape laws, the victims continue to face an insensitive police and criminal justice system.
The reasons for this sudden increase in rape is a complex mix of migration and growing urbanization, shrinking spaces in cities and the high visibility of women outside their homes. Lack of value-based education, dwindling healthy social relationships, and easy access to vulgar pornography are some of the reasons cited by the experts. However, law enforcement agencies argue that actual rape cases haven't increased substantially, what has is their reportage. And in any case since 80 per cent of the accused are known to the victims, it's a crime virtually not preventable. Not only that, the rate of conviction of rapists is also insignificant. Put together, these factors create a lethal combination that encourages rape, for the fear of being caught and punished is insignificant while the chances of getting away with the crime are very high.
India's booming economy has brought sweeping social change in our culture. The number of women in the workforce has roughly doubled in the past 15 years. There has been an explosive clash between the rapidly modernizing city and the embattled, conservative village culture upon which the cities increasingly encroaches. A Thomson Reuters Foundation global poll named India as the fourth most dangerous place for women in the world, after Afghanistan, Congo and Pakistan. It is about women’s lack of choices in general. Unlike Afghanistan, Congo or Somalia (fifth on the shame list), India is not war-torn. It is just violent towards its women through deeply entrenched social and cultural conditions. Apart from rape, murders, dowry deaths, honour killings and various forms of domestic abuse, our failure to check female infanticide and foeticide, or trafficking of women, or to provide women adequate healthcare and education have clinched our place in the top rung of the shame list.
The rising rape cases have created some ripple in the urban women resulting in the creation of a “Besharmi Morcha” in Delhi. This group proposes a “Slut Walk” an international street protest by women. It is as a march against sexual violence and opposition to the general belief that a woman’s indecent dressing promotes rape. But let’s not lose perspective. The Slut Walk is not a movement to empower women in India. It is more an urban & elite class protest. It is like polishing a door knob when you don’t have a door, or even a roof over your head. Me-too feminism plucked from countries where women’s rights and gender equality is treasured doesn’t work for India, where women lack basic human rights. But this does not make it irrelevant. Feminism needs all kinds of movements and forms of protest. If calling it Slut Walk gets people to notice the protest and if it starts discussion and debates to bring in changes in perception then let the ‘Slutty Savitries’ protest.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
UNFORTUNATE STANDOFF
UNFORTUNATE STANDOFF
The Government’s efforts at trying to bottle the genie of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev's "movements" are proving to be futile. The war of words between civil society activists and the UPA government is threatening to derail the drafting of the Lokpal bill. Both parties are equally responsible for the unfortunate standoff. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari's reference to the tyranny of the “unelected and unelectable” and Mr. Hazare's strident criticism of the UPA II were easily avoidable. The Government is on a roller coaster drive regarding the role of the civil society. It started from cajoling- collaborating - criticizing them. Such a civil society movement, Pranab Mukherjee said, amounts to a "sinister move of destroying the fine balance between the three organs of government enshrined in our constitution". "If someone dictates terms from outside to the government, does it not weaken or subvert democracy? It is a big question... We are all civil society, no one is uncivil."Clearly, Mukherjee's definition of civil society in the haste of a press conference is literal. The World Bank defines civil society to "refer to a wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations". Theory aside, civil society in India seems defined by exclusion. It is crowded with human rights lawyers and activists, NGO leaders, academics and intellectuals, high-profile journalists, celebrities and think tank-hirelings. Mass media debates never see landless labourers, displaced people, nurses, trade union workers, bus conductors being asked to speak for ‘civil society.' Though, indeed they should.
There is no denying that Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have the right to galvanize their supporters to take on the plague of corruption, despite their blotchy ideologies and vague prescriptions for social reforms. But the hyperbole utilized for describing the movement of the civil society as a second war of independence needs to be looked into. There have been many unknown - and unsung - activists who are working quietly and ushering in changes without whining loudly that India has failed itself. One example was that of Swamy Nigamanand, who died during his ‘anshan’ in the same hospital on the same day Ramdev broke his fast, fighting for the river Ganga. But he was completely ignored by all- the government, media and the so called civil society. There is a chance that overuse of civil society can become a double-edged source. Baba Ramdev's anti-graft protest, for example, was being openly backed by right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations and many believed that it was taking a disturbingly strident political hue.
An enlarged and more representative civil society - ideally a larger, wider group of people from all over the country, not just a bunch of well meaning lawyers and activists from Delhi - should be putting pressure on a stubborn government to act against corruption. Civil society is not intrinsically virtuous. And good graft-free governance does not come from reforming the state alone - it demands the reformation of society and its people
The Government’s efforts at trying to bottle the genie of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev's "movements" are proving to be futile. The war of words between civil society activists and the UPA government is threatening to derail the drafting of the Lokpal bill. Both parties are equally responsible for the unfortunate standoff. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari's reference to the tyranny of the “unelected and unelectable” and Mr. Hazare's strident criticism of the UPA II were easily avoidable. The Government is on a roller coaster drive regarding the role of the civil society. It started from cajoling- collaborating - criticizing them. Such a civil society movement, Pranab Mukherjee said, amounts to a "sinister move of destroying the fine balance between the three organs of government enshrined in our constitution". "If someone dictates terms from outside to the government, does it not weaken or subvert democracy? It is a big question... We are all civil society, no one is uncivil."Clearly, Mukherjee's definition of civil society in the haste of a press conference is literal. The World Bank defines civil society to "refer to a wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations". Theory aside, civil society in India seems defined by exclusion. It is crowded with human rights lawyers and activists, NGO leaders, academics and intellectuals, high-profile journalists, celebrities and think tank-hirelings. Mass media debates never see landless labourers, displaced people, nurses, trade union workers, bus conductors being asked to speak for ‘civil society.' Though, indeed they should.
There is no denying that Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have the right to galvanize their supporters to take on the plague of corruption, despite their blotchy ideologies and vague prescriptions for social reforms. But the hyperbole utilized for describing the movement of the civil society as a second war of independence needs to be looked into. There have been many unknown - and unsung - activists who are working quietly and ushering in changes without whining loudly that India has failed itself. One example was that of Swamy Nigamanand, who died during his ‘anshan’ in the same hospital on the same day Ramdev broke his fast, fighting for the river Ganga. But he was completely ignored by all- the government, media and the so called civil society. There is a chance that overuse of civil society can become a double-edged source. Baba Ramdev's anti-graft protest, for example, was being openly backed by right-wing Hindu nationalist organizations and many believed that it was taking a disturbingly strident political hue.
An enlarged and more representative civil society - ideally a larger, wider group of people from all over the country, not just a bunch of well meaning lawyers and activists from Delhi - should be putting pressure on a stubborn government to act against corruption. Civil society is not intrinsically virtuous. And good graft-free governance does not come from reforming the state alone - it demands the reformation of society and its people
Monday, May 23, 2011
Regional Satraps
The Rise of Regional Satraps
The results of the state elections have once again brought back the regional satraps at the national level. The electoral verdict in five states has revived the debate on the tactical importance of national parties to have strong leaders and well-oiled party machinery in the poll-bound states. These elections have brought forth strong regional leaders, Mamta Bannerji, Jayalalitha and Jagan Mohan Reddy. It would be mental laziness to merely dismiss these regional leaders and the growing phenomenon of rationalization of India's politics. It may be recalled that until the 1980s national politics completely subsumed regional aspirations. Now, regional politics is seeking to determine the national agenda. The growing power of these leaders is such that both the national parties ( Cong & BJP) are finding it difficult to tackle them. Congress, is getting a jolt from Jagan Mohan Reddy while the BJP, has failed to convince the Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa that rampant corruption in his government, are causing enough harm to the party and thus he should quit. Political parties are unable to act against such trends, since they have no leader of political or moral authority. The mighty Congress, which ruled the country at the time of Independence, has splintered into multiple parties now.
In 21st century when both the Congress and BJP are facing crisis of strong leader at the top there is no Indira Gandhi in Congress and BJP’s aging duo of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L KAdvani have lost their magic touch it is not only the regional leaders who are asserting, even their siblings are twisting the arms and there is no one to discipline them. Unlike in the past the chief ministers of today are in a better position to carve out their space. Better media management and social engineering as well as efficient use of centrally-sponsored populist programmes are helping them build their own image in their respective states. This was not possible with the regional satraps of a generation back.
Indian history has seen this phenomenon of strong central authority or rulers like the Moghuls & Mauryas, later succumbing to power of regional partners. A replica of this phenomenon of centralization and decentralization is being witnessed once again. A prolonged central rule of national party and its shortcomings have given way to the rise of regionalism. These election results show that the winning formula is a powerful regional leader. Tamil Nadu was the first state way back in late 60s which displaced the Congress by its own local party which soon became two parties. Congress has played second fiddle ever since in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the Congress is locally no different from the Communists as far as governance or political culture is concerned. Now, Mamata Banerjee has shown that West Bengal will also be like Tamil Nadu. There will be a regional party of Bengal which will rule without much of a role for the Congress. Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Navin Patnaik in Odisha are their own bosses, without a national party hovering over them and Narendra Modi does not have to listen to his national party. In Assam, Tarun Gogoi although under the central leadership has his own power and when in trouble could carve his own niche. He too can be a regional satrap
While the critics argue that his is the way a true federation should work. India is as large as Europe and there is no reason to expect uniform political cultures. Local interests, local class structures and local geography determine the shape of politics. Unfortunately this has not been the case in India. Rise of regional leaders have weaken the Nation and brought in corruption. It has promoted the feeling of separatism. These regional leaders are only committed to the growth of their own region. They use their respective ministries as their personal fiefdom. Look at A Raja and the mammoth Corruption in his ministry which virtually reduced the PMO to nothing. The Railway ministry has been used and abused for the growth of the region of the incharge minister. Successive Railway Ministers have favoured their own States, discarding merit and economic justification. Consequently, instead of getting stronger, the nation has seemed to become weak in one way or other. Now all our leaders are regional Satraps, with no all India affiliation. We cannot produce national leaders, as long as the Central Government allocates the resources. To save the country from the rise of these regional satraps, we'll have to promote and propagate the thoughts of nationalism at every level. Besides, it is the responsibility of the Central government to ensure that any group of people of any state, particularly rural people never think that they are being given step-motherly treatment by the governments. Regional satraps can be controlled only through such steps.
The results of the state elections have once again brought back the regional satraps at the national level. The electoral verdict in five states has revived the debate on the tactical importance of national parties to have strong leaders and well-oiled party machinery in the poll-bound states. These elections have brought forth strong regional leaders, Mamta Bannerji, Jayalalitha and Jagan Mohan Reddy. It would be mental laziness to merely dismiss these regional leaders and the growing phenomenon of rationalization of India's politics. It may be recalled that until the 1980s national politics completely subsumed regional aspirations. Now, regional politics is seeking to determine the national agenda. The growing power of these leaders is such that both the national parties ( Cong & BJP) are finding it difficult to tackle them. Congress, is getting a jolt from Jagan Mohan Reddy while the BJP, has failed to convince the Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa that rampant corruption in his government, are causing enough harm to the party and thus he should quit. Political parties are unable to act against such trends, since they have no leader of political or moral authority. The mighty Congress, which ruled the country at the time of Independence, has splintered into multiple parties now.
In 21st century when both the Congress and BJP are facing crisis of strong leader at the top there is no Indira Gandhi in Congress and BJP’s aging duo of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L KAdvani have lost their magic touch it is not only the regional leaders who are asserting, even their siblings are twisting the arms and there is no one to discipline them. Unlike in the past the chief ministers of today are in a better position to carve out their space. Better media management and social engineering as well as efficient use of centrally-sponsored populist programmes are helping them build their own image in their respective states. This was not possible with the regional satraps of a generation back.
Indian history has seen this phenomenon of strong central authority or rulers like the Moghuls & Mauryas, later succumbing to power of regional partners. A replica of this phenomenon of centralization and decentralization is being witnessed once again. A prolonged central rule of national party and its shortcomings have given way to the rise of regionalism. These election results show that the winning formula is a powerful regional leader. Tamil Nadu was the first state way back in late 60s which displaced the Congress by its own local party which soon became two parties. Congress has played second fiddle ever since in Tamil Nadu. In Kerala, the Congress is locally no different from the Communists as far as governance or political culture is concerned. Now, Mamata Banerjee has shown that West Bengal will also be like Tamil Nadu. There will be a regional party of Bengal which will rule without much of a role for the Congress. Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Navin Patnaik in Odisha are their own bosses, without a national party hovering over them and Narendra Modi does not have to listen to his national party. In Assam, Tarun Gogoi although under the central leadership has his own power and when in trouble could carve his own niche. He too can be a regional satrap
While the critics argue that his is the way a true federation should work. India is as large as Europe and there is no reason to expect uniform political cultures. Local interests, local class structures and local geography determine the shape of politics. Unfortunately this has not been the case in India. Rise of regional leaders have weaken the Nation and brought in corruption. It has promoted the feeling of separatism. These regional leaders are only committed to the growth of their own region. They use their respective ministries as their personal fiefdom. Look at A Raja and the mammoth Corruption in his ministry which virtually reduced the PMO to nothing. The Railway ministry has been used and abused for the growth of the region of the incharge minister. Successive Railway Ministers have favoured their own States, discarding merit and economic justification. Consequently, instead of getting stronger, the nation has seemed to become weak in one way or other. Now all our leaders are regional Satraps, with no all India affiliation. We cannot produce national leaders, as long as the Central Government allocates the resources. To save the country from the rise of these regional satraps, we'll have to promote and propagate the thoughts of nationalism at every level. Besides, it is the responsibility of the Central government to ensure that any group of people of any state, particularly rural people never think that they are being given step-motherly treatment by the governments. Regional satraps can be controlled only through such steps.
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