Why is it necessary for ordinary Muslims to speak up?

Why is it necessary for ordinary Muslims to speak up?

There is no need for anybody including ordinary Muslims to speak up against terrorism. There is only one obilgation of citizenship and that is if anybody comes to know any illigal activity he has to report it to the nearest police station. However, this is not possible as ordinary citizen does not have a great opinion about the police. This responsibility completely rests with the social/political workers of the area. The police also should develop cordial relations with people in all areas and should meet people often. Of course, police strength has to go up and so also their salary.

 

The recent demonstration of solidarity with the victims of terrorism by Muslims is a very good sign as also the fatwa against killing inocents in the name of Islam. I wish it had come earlier.

 

Muslims, like so many others, may have some complaints against the system. However, the system itself allows you to change it. This is what Obama did. Nobody thought that he would get past Clinton. He had a great vision and he called it -The Audacity of Hope. With that he captured the imagination of the people, especially the young. He transcended the colour code as well as code of creed. In an interview he said he cannot accept that those who do not believe in Christ would be consigned to hell. He is a good Christian but his humanistic vision embraces all. We are human beings, first and last. This is what Mahatma Gandhi told us long ago.

 

( This is a response to a question in karmayog).

December 24,2008.

*****

 

              

 

 

 

The Great Indian Reality Show !

The Great Indian Reality Show !

In the edit of the Times of India, A Hungry Tide (17/12) it is mentioned that India ranks 66^th out of 88 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index 2008 and has the largest number of undernourished people in any one country – 200 million. Hunger level in Madhya Pradesh is comparable to Ethiopia. Hunger level in Melghat of Maharashtra is almost the same. A snippet in the same paper on the same day states that the mismanagement has destroyed a huge stock of rice and wheat in a 250-acre godown of the Food Corporation of India in Nasik. Tthe Great Indian Reality Show !

December 17, 2008.

******

" Credulity & Negligence".

'Credulity and negligence'.

'Credulity and negligence'- that is how Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, the President of India, commented after the Chinese Invasion of India in 1962 on the attitude and the response of the Nehru government. The same can be said of the response of the UPA government to the most daring attack on Mumbai's most famous landmarks – Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, apart from the Nariman House where the Jews were killed in a country which has never persecuted them. No wonder that 43% of the people who participated in the poll conducted by the Times of India (11/12) felt that Prime Minister should be penalised as well. I wish the Prime Minister had owned up his responsibility, moral as well as policy-wise and principle-wise. He had said Pakistan was also victim of the terrorists along with India when the whole world knew that it is the nursery of terrorism and that is why it is hit by terrorism. He invited Pakistan to share information about terrorists when it is the breeding ground of terrorism.

The Prime Minister never asked the Union Home Minister, who was always impeccably dressed but incapable of dealing with terrorism, to act on the various reports submitted by the committees on tackling terrorism. The newspapers have published a list of 13 terrorist attacks since UPA came to power and people have seen some action only on the Malegoan blast. It is said that the police spent most of the time on Malegoan blast than on others due to political reasons. At least the seven blasts in Mumbai trains in 2006 when 188 innocent people died should have woken the UPA but unfortunately it did not. Most of the dead were poor and the middle class. Now, it is the death of the elite that has stirred the government into action. If the Prime Minister had taken the same interest in meeting the threat of terror that he took in Indo-US nuclear deal, things would have been different – so many people would not have died in the various part of the country.

Nehru sacrificed V.K.Menon though both of them were responsible. But people now want to hold not just the Home Minister responsible for what happened but the Prime Minister as well. His responsibility is more.

December 14,2008.

*****

 

Why Vote?

 

Why Vote?

1. Vote is precious in a democracy.

 

It is not wise to give-up the right to vote. It is a precious right and without it, there would be a dictatorship. People have fought for it. The slogan of American settlers was, " no taxation without representation". Adult franchise was given to women in UK in the last century.African-Americans had also had to fight for it. We got it with our constitution and it was a wise decision. The rationale of adult franchise is, as an English constitional expert put it," wearer knows where the shoe pinches". Adult franchise without adult literacy diminishes the value of vote. However, our voters have what may be called native intelligence - common sense. 

 

2. Every MLA/MP should get 50% vote.

 

In order to make our present election system and process more meaningful, we have to support only two or three parties at the national level discourging smaller parties who make major decisions very difficult ( remember the Indo-US nuclaer deal ? and we all know how it was manipulated). For this to happen, we have to amend the system slightly. In every constituency, there has to be another round of election after 8 days if the winning candidate does not get more than 50% of the polled votes in which election only the top two would be alllowed to contest.

 

3. Democratistion of political parties.

 

There has to be democratisation of the political parties as well. The various posts in parties should be only through election, not selection. Their acounts should be audited by the Auditor General of India and should be published just like a limited company to avail exemption from income tax.

 

The parties should pesent their manifestoes to their General Body meeting and get it approved. It should have inputs from their members. The election commission should ban all populist measures such as free TV sets, free power which harm the finance of the state/centre. People have to be empowered with education, health and employment. People have to be taught fishing rather than give free fish which make them dependent. The candidates should be chosen by the local committee, not imposed by the central committee.

 

4. Educated should participate in politics.

 

Educated people should join the party of their chioce and make them more amenable for change, new ideas and good governance. There should be "Think-tanks'" at various levels - local, state,central - to educate the mases, classes and the masters ( politicians). Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

 

This is likely to get good governance including  good security. Giving up vote and negative vote diminish our democracy and the country. That is defeatism.

 

( This was written in response to the decision of some people after the terror attack in Mumbai on 26/11/2008).

 

December 9,2008.

 

******           

 

Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

It is good to see so many eminent persons selected by the karmayogis. However, we have to accept the fact that fighting the election requires not merely considerable amount of money but the support of the people. This is possible if you have a well-organised party. And this is not possible to do so in a short time.

 

Let us think of a more feasible thing -  prepare a sort of manifesto which can bring the desired change.The manifesto can be forwarded to all the parties for adoption and whoever accepts it should be supported by all the NGOs.

 

The following could be included in that "Peoples' Manifesto for Good Governance". Karmayogis can add more.

 

1. The Rule of Law.

Now we have different laws for different people. We always talk about corruption in India. How many politicians have been prosecuted and punished for that ? Only some clerks and peons have been punished. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled that it cannot punish the corrupt MPs as they have to be punished by the Parliament itself (Jharkand Mukti Morcha case during the time of the Prime Minister P.V.Narssimha Rao). You will find many more cases such as this. Legal experts should be able to tell us how to go change the law to promote rule of law. 

 

2. Accountability.

The recent terror strike has highlighted the negligence on the part of the politicians and the administration which includes police and the intelligence agencies. Most of the politicians have no time for the nitty-gritty of administration and that is why there are mounting number of pending files on their table and the decisions are delayed. Every minister should be in his chamber for at least four days in a week and clear the files. Every minister has to tell the people every month/quarterly how many files he has cleared and how may are pending. Every project - roads, schools, hospitals, - inititated should have to be completed within the stipulated period and if not, people should be told the reasons for the delay. No minister has been punished for farmers' suicide, nor any bureaucrat. No body has been held responsible for mal-nutrition among the tribals just outside Mumbai and in Thane district.

 

3. Justice.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Number of under-trials in our jails is a condemnation of our system. Our jails do not reform the criminal but makes him a hardened criminal.

 

4. Health.

Our public hospitals are as crowded as our jails. 

 

5. Schools.

Most of our public schools have no proper teachers, nor other essentials such as benches, black-boards, books etc.

 

The list is long. We have to prepare a small write-up on each of the above issues with the help of the experts in each subject and how to to improve the system. This would be our Manifesto for good governance. Even after accepting the manifesto, the parties may not implement it. It would be our responsibility to monitor the implementation as well. 

 

( This was written in response to the mail by Karmayog, an NGO, to select six names to be elected from Mumbai to the Loka Sabha in the next election.)


December 7,2008.


******

 

   

              

Let us make our rulers accountable.

 26/11- Let us make our rulers accountable.

What happened in Mumbai on November 26 is the result of the years of gross neglect both by the State and the Central governments. RDX came to Mumbai in 1993 by sea after bribing the customs officials. This time terrorists came by sea after passing through the three barriers – Navy, Coast Guard and the Customs/Police officials, and none of them could stop them. Fishermen had warned and informed the Customs/Police officials but to no avail. There were reports from both the Indian and international intelligence though not very specific. The bullet-proof jackets were out-dated and defective. Number of coastal police were not adequate, nor the number of coast guard speed-boats. India has the distinction of having the largest number of terrorist hits and casualties after Iraq and Pakistan but hardly anybody has been caught, persecuted and punished in the last few years. We were saved not by the system but the bravery of the few – the police, NSG, fire brigade and the hotel staff, all ill-equipped.

Who is responsible and who is accountable ? Politicians of course, and the bureaucrats, the Navy, Coast Guard and the police too are answerable. However, the buck stops with the citizens. Why do we vote the same politicians who guard themselves but throw the people to the wolves ? Let us ask our representatives – MLAs and MPs, Ministers – what they have done to protect Mumbai and India ? Let us vote those parties who give us a concrete time-bound plan of action which should be monitored by the citizens every month or every quarter – well-equipped speed-boats, police stations etc. People should be informed about progress of this plan through the press. A citizens group should monitor, question and interact with the politicians, bureaucrats and the police. The country also needs an effective law, autonomy for police to act and enforce the law, and speedy justice.

26/11 is a call to the citizens to guard their freedom and democracy from the unresponsive governments. We have enough enlightened citizens in Mumbai and India. We have to form a body which can be called " Citizens for Guarding Freedom and Democracy."

December 4, 2008.

*****

 

Terrror in Mumbai.

Teror in Mumbai.

Terror has to be tackled in two ways - one be called hardware and the other, software. India has failed in both.

The hardware, of course, is the well-equipped police with an intelligence network, telecommunications and transport, well-trained, well-paid and well-motivated personnel, and the latest defensive and offensive weapons, legal frame-work etc. The police also need functional autonomy to do its job without any political interference.

The software is equally important and that is, the education of the people. We are a sovereign secular democratic republic which assures liberty, equality and fraternity. We have not taught our people that this is the essence of all religions as well whatever be the name of God, rituals and myths of every religion.We want to build a casteless and creedless society of equals.The state offers equal opportunities to all and if you don't get it, you can avail many avenues of redressal. When there is a general election, there is no need for a general strike or a teror strike. You can change your government. There is no place for violence. Democracy means respecting every individual and his beliefs. Of course, our demcracy is not perfect but it it requires participation of all the people for good governance. It also requires patience and compromise. We have failed to convey this message to our younger generation. Our constitution and its message has to be taught to every child so that nobody becomes a fanatic or a terrorist. Merely singing national anthem and saluting the flag which we do is not enough.

There have been many terror strikes in India during the last four years of UPA goverment. But nothing has been done to book the culprits except of course the Malegoan blast.

November 29,2008.

*****

Looking for the real Nehru.

Looking for the real Nehru.

Walter Crocker, Australia's High Commissioner in India in the early 1960s and the author of 'Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate' and Swapan Dasgupta (TOI,16/11) have missed one important aspect of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru – that he was a consummate politician. As soon as Sardar Patel passed away, he removed Purushottamdas Tandon who was the duly elected president of the Congress and brought in Acharya Kripalani in his place to establish his supremacy. There was no strong opposition at that time and most of the English press was against some of his policies, especially economic policies. He blunted its attack by calling it " jute press" as some of the press barons were owners of jute mills.

When BJS was formed by Shyma Prasad Mukherjee to protect the Hindu interests after the refugee flood came from East Bengal, he said 'majority communalism is worse than the minority communalism' and branded it 'communal' which is still the Congress policy. He controlled the aggression/ expansion of the Communist Party with his friendship with Soviet Russia. He enfeebled the Socialist Party by adopting the policy of 'Socialist Pattern of Society' by the Congress. It was no less than stealing the thunder or stealing the dress – vastrapaharana. Ashok Mehta joined the Planning Commission citing 'the compulsion of a backward economy'. Jaya Pakash Narayan joined Vinobha Bhave in Bhoodan movement. Only Ram Manohar Lohia took the socialist party flag with his trenchant criticism saying poor do not earn as much as it costs Nehru feed his dog. He deflated Swatantra Party of Rajaji and Minoo Masani by calling it, 'Maharaja's Party' as it had many from the royal families.

Real opposition started when Ram Manohar Lohia initiated his movement for a 'non-Congress government' as Congress never received more than 50 percent in almost any election except when Rajiv Gandhi garnered sympathy vote. The victory of Janata Party is the culmination of Lohia's strategy though it was headed by Jaya Prakash Narayan. Of course, emergency created the right environment. His strategy of Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim vote bank is still the mainstay of the party which was dented after the fall of Babri Masjid/Ram Temple. He is the architect of 50 years of Congress rule.

November 23,2008

*******

India cannot progress without UP and Bihar.

India cannot progress without UP and Bihar.

A Bihari youth was killed in a fight for a seat near the window in a train on the way to Mumbai. Another Bihari was killed by the police for for hurting a passenger and brandishing a pistol. A few weeks ago the Bihari candidates who came for a test organised by the Indian Railways for recruitment for the post of guards and such other posts were thrashed in Mumbai. Biharis have become the whipping boys all over the country - Punjab, Assam, Delhi and now in Maharashtra .

Two questions arise from the above – why citizens of Bihar and UP are are being victimised in all other states in India? Are they victims of their own politicians ?

The Indian constitution gives the right to travel, work, own and reside for all citizens anywhere in India except of course in Jammu & Kashmir. These rights are available to citizens of Bihar and UP like all citizens in the other parts of the country. Secondly, these people who get employment fill a need. Otherwise, they would be on the street. It is possible that the local people do not like to work in the informal sector or for a small wage which immigrant workers would not refuse. Their motto - survive and prosper. Local people always take it easy and they want a job on their terms. It is so all over the world.

It is possible that in the case of Railways the advertisements in the local Marathi papers were not published in the right way and it appears there was some amendment to the rule which enabled students from Bihar and UP to apply in Mumbai and give their tests in Hindi. However, this should not lead to disruption of these tests and beating the innocent students. There are always rational and legal solutions to these problems.

No individual or a political party should be allowed to take the law into its hands and disturb normal life. If the government does not take proper action immediately, it is a great dereliction of its primary duty of maintaining the law and order. The Central Government should intervene or the Court should be approached. The guilty have to be punished.

Only good thing the Maharashtra Government has done is to issue an ordinance to collect fine from the group or a party which indulges in destroying the private and public property. This was long over-due. It should be applied all over the country and all such activities.

It is time to give some functional autonomy to the police to act immediately without getting any cue or permission from the government of the day. This would have prevented many such violent activities in the country in the last 60 years. It is sad that the repeated suggestions by the Supreme Court in this regard has not received proper attention from political parties. NGOs and other public organisations should ask all the political parties to include this in the manifesto in the coming general election.

The uneven economic development.

Illiterate and semi-literate people going thousands of miles away from hearth and home for manual labour or for a petty job is the tragic result of the uneven economic development in the country. Mahatma Gandhi wanted village-centric growth. He used to say, if a man can grow two leaves of grass where one grew before, he would be a great benefactor to the mankind. Our economic development has been capital-intensive and state-centric. The planned economy meant state having the 'commanding heights' of the economy and the permit-license raj favoured a few businessmen. Factories and irrigation facilities reached a few areas. Rain-fed areas are all prone to drought and have to go in search for a job.

Where ever there was no economic growth, villagers left their natives places in search of employment to the cities and towns leaving their native places which did not have schools, health facilities and even water for agriculture .This is the case with most of the villages of UP and Bihar.

India's agricultural revolution is confined mainly to Panjab, Haryana, Andhra and Tamilnadu, and now also West Bengal. The industrial revolution has taken place only in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, West Bengal and Haryana. The service industry ( banking, insurance, tourism, software etc.) is mainly in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh,Goa and Jammu & Kashmir.

UP and Bihar do not figure in any of the development areas - agriculture, industry and service sector. Of course, Buddhist Tourism is being encouraged in Bihar and sugar-cane, potatoes and mango are being cultivated in UP. Taj Mahal is the only tourist attraction in UP apart from the prilgrim-centres such as Kashi, Ayodhya & Mathura.

Without job opportunities, kidnapping and 'supari' killings flourish in these states. Even the construction of National Quadrangle has been delayed due these law and order problem. Land distribution has not been undertaken properly and fishing in rivers is also a monopoly of the local land-lord. We hear bogus degrees and students fighting to get the right to copy during examinations.

Good Governance.

UP and Bihar are the cradles of Indian civilization. Bihar is the land of Buddha and UP is the birth-place of Ram and Krishna. That people of these two states have to go all over India for lowly employment is a sad commentary on the bad governance in these states – poor law & order situation, poor health & education, poor industralisation and poor infrastructure.

One cannot blame the recent empowerment of Yadavs in these states though one has to admit that they did not improve the economic conditions of the people. They were busy enjoying the new found power and had no time for good governance. Mayawati is also busy with statues and moving to the Delhi gadi than providing good governance to the state. Both the states and the centre were ruled by the Congress for many decades. It has failed to build a strong foundation for industry and in promoting agricultural growth.

In the case of Bihar, it started with the ' freight equalisation' for iron and coal in the 'fifities. The comparative advantage Bihar had for industrialisation was negated with this policy. Kosi deluge that happened this year was another instance of the neglect of Bihar. If there was a proper multi-purpose dam like the Bakra-Nangal in Bihar, Bihar would have been a granary of India just like Punjab. The same is the case of UP. A network of canals to all the rivers of UP could have provided water to all the remote corners of state and would have made it another agricultural power in the country. There was no serious effort to promote industrialisation in the state.

Most of the Hindi film actors, story-writers, script-writers are from UP but there is no encouragement for this industry in the state. With some support, Lucknow or Delhi would have been the capital of Bollywood.

UP and Bihar have produced many eminent personalities in art and literature, administration and medicine, and many other disciplines. They have spread all over India and the world. Some of them should be encouraged to come back to UP and Bihar and set-up educational institutions and small-scale and medium-scale industries. Industrialists from other states should be given special incentives to invest in these two states. The most important incentive would be the enforcement of law & order and rule of law without any fear or favour.

The time has come for all political parties in these two states to provide good governance. Law and order, education and health, agriculture and industry should be the focus just as it is in many of the states in the south and the west. The central government has to play a big role in this. If people are empowered with health and education and if agriculture and industry flourish, there is no need for people to go all over the country for small jobs. Then, it would be a win-win situation for all.

If these two states fail, India cannot succeed.

*********

Professional integrity.

Professional Integrity.

In his op-ed, It's not the market, Pratap Bhanu Mehta (IE,20/10) has rightly drawn our attention to the lack of integrity in the professions such as law,medicine, accountancy, management, academics etc. The professional integrity could have reduced, if not prevented, the lack of integrity in public life. The professional bodies have failed in their task. As he has pointed out societies cannot be held together only by coercion ( state) or money (markets). Norms and values in in life were called Dharma – that which sustains life and society – by our ancients.

Every thing today revolves around money but money alone cannot bring peace and happiness, not even self-satisfaction. Wealth really belongs to the society ( as society creates the environment for wealth) whether it is in the hands of an individual or the state and that is why Mahatma Gandhi advocated the concept of trusteeship. It is easy to follow norms when one considers himself as a trustee of the profession – every profession is a service to the society. It is time a reputed public-spirited institution brings together some of the leading lights of all professions, including politics, on a platform to discuss this issue and try to formulate some guiding principles of functional and institutional norms. It may set the foundation for a new society and a new state which is beyond the acquisitive societies created by capitalism and socialism.

October 21,2008.

****

 

Conversion & Diversity.

Conversion and diversity.

In his piece, Respect an individual's decision (TOI,5/10) Shashi Tharoor has almost justified the inducements by Christian missionaries and asked others to compete with them for the upliftment of the poor bringing the missionaries down to the level of politicians who bribe voters in many ways to get power. Does that mean both are in the game of numbers rather than in real social service ? It is sad that this comes from a person who served the United Nations which seeks peace and harmony in the world rather than conflict and aggression. He has not mentioned that providing health and education is the responsibility of the government in which it has failed in these 60 years.

In his book, The Hindu View of Life, Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, former President of India, says " We cannot have religious unity and peace so long as we assert that we are in possession of the light and all others are groping in the darkness. That very assertion is a challenge to a fight....To obliterate every other religion than one's own is a sort of bolshevism in religion which we must try to prevent. We can do so only if we accept something like the Hindu solution, which seeks unity of religion not in a common creed but in a common quest... The world would be a much poorer thing if one creed absorbed the rest. God wills a rich harmony and not a colourless uniformity..." This view of life is summed up by the poet W.B.Yeats in his immortal words, " The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity".

These are the words of old secularists ( sarva dharma samabhava) like Dr.S.Radhakrishann and Mahatma Gandhi but our new secularists like to promote denigration of other faiths and conflict.

October 17,2008

******

Where is Indian creativity and innovation ?

Where is Indian creativity & innovation?

In a newspaper article the well-known Industrialist Anand Mahindra wondered why Indians are not ambitious but always cautious. He said that Indians like 'technology transfer' rather be technology pioneers. He was writing about lukewarm response by Indian government to scale-up and commercialise solar power technology which holds promise of energy security and energy availability all over India. He suggested R & D effort through private-public participation for solar energy.

Solar power.

Solar Thermal Electricity Generation (STEG) technology, he says, is a simple technology that consists of curved mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a receiver tube to heat a working fluid flowing through it. The remaining part of the plant is very similar to a conventional power plant.

A 50-MW plant would save around 90-120 million kg of greenhouse gas emissions and the energy payback is five months with a useful life of 25 years. This technology provides "firm" power and allows plants to dispatch power when demanded. It can also work in a hybrid mode enabling solar heat to be backed by co-firing with natural gas or coal. Waste heat from the combined generation of heat and power can be used for industrial applications, district heating and cooling and sea-water desalination. The experts are of the opinion that just 0.3 percent of India's land area for solar power could meet all electricity needs of the country.

The big hitch is the cost. It costs between Rs.7.50 and Rs.17 per kWh to generate electricity through STEG while it is just Rs.1.40 for certain coal-based plants. However, diesel power costs Rs.17/kWh without subsidy and we have 20,000 MW of diesel power used as back-up power by industry. The US Department of Energy estimates that the cost of power generation by STEG would come down to Rs.1.50-2.50 /kWh in the next 15 years. USA and Spain are taking the lead in commercializing this technology.

While some countries which receive half the sunlight that India gets are going ahead with research on this technology, India has "a timid and incremental policy support", Mahindra observes. The MNES ( Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources) incentive scheme provides a maximum incentives of Rs.10 per kWh to STEG plants provided these plants are in the 1-5 MW range when it is cost-effective in more than 50MW range. " This is a nice gesture, but it can hardly be said to open the floodgates for speedy development", he sarcastically comments, and adds, " We are not ambitious enough". Yes, indeed! 'Thinking small' has been the bane of India since its socialist days ! We have still to get over it.

India is endowed with abundant sunshine ( 250-300 days in a year) and a 1,70,000 sq.km desert which is a natural energy generator waiting to be harnessed, says entrepreneur Anand Mahindra, and adds, " What on earth are we waiting for ? The time is ripe for a public-private partnership to help this technology – and India – attain its place under the sun." And then adds, " Let's not revert to our pre-reform avatar, and wait for a beneficent western power to find the solutions, and then go round with a begging bowl for 'technology transfer'".

High price of thermal and nuclear power.

We always take the easy way out – buy the technology from other countries or resort to what is called, ' re-engineering'. We do not look at the other way, the hard way – research and development leading to innovation. We do not want to develop our own resources – solar energy and other non-conventional energy sources which are abundantly available in our country. We want to depend on other countries and then complain about the price fixed by various cartels. The price of crude oil which had gone up to $ 147 per barrel has now hovering around $ 80 which can again go up after the melt-down in he world economy and the growth of all developing countries, especially China and India. Nuclear power may not be cheaper as the price of uranium has also gone up – from $20 to $ 85 per kg in the last three years, says Dr.P.K.Iyengar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Problem of radiation, accidents and disposal of nuclear waste are also there.

Why not encourage indigenous technology ?

We boast about our IITs and IIMs and how graduates from these institutions have brought laurels to India but enriched USA and other countries. A research report by Vivek Wadhwa of the Pratt School of Engineers(USA), who is himself a co-founder of two start-ups, states that Indian immigrants created 450,000 jobs and $52 billion in sales in 2005. Immigrant entrepreneurs founded 25% of US engineering and technology companies in the decade 1995-2005 and 26% of this is by Indians.

We have innovators in our villages as well. Anil K.Gupta of the National Innovation Foundation has created a knowledge bank of 75,000 innovations and practices of little-known pioneers living in towns and villages. We have innovators everywhere but their expertise and talents have not been encouraged and used for nation-building.

Indians of yore have invented zero, chess and many other things in art and architecture, science and medicine.

Creativity and innovation.

Where are Indian innovations ? Why Indians are not creative today ? Is the economic and political environment is not conducive ? The very fact that so many engineering and medical graduates had to migrate to developed countries is an indication of the not-so-conducive atmosphere in the country. Even industry had to wait for P.V.Narasimha Rao and Dr.Manmohan Singh to liberate industry from the permit-license raj. Now the time has come to liberate IIMs and IITs from the strangle-hold of the government of the day and encourage R & D both in the private sector and the public sector. Both are national sectors as both have money from the public and should be accountable to the public. Let hundred flowers bloom and hundred schools of thought contend. We have to encourage IIT graduates to work on Indian problems and find Indian solutions.

We have floods and droughts at the same time in different parts of the country. We have yet give serious thought to solve this recurring problem. Of course we have many dams and hydro-power projects. But in many parts of India all that we do every year is to provide relief and temporary shelter. According to newspaper reports breach of river embankments have taken place in Bihar in 1963, 1968, 1971, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1991 and now in 1998. Every year North Bihar has floods in an area of 9 lakh hectares and 80 lakh people are affected even in a normal year. Flood in Brahmaputra is an annual event. Almost all rivers are in flood just now. Network of canals and inter-linking the rivers may provide an answer. At least we can start with a few.

We see monsoon waters draining into the sea and later during the summer, we have the problem of water in all coastal regions. How to harness this water, there is no answer with the government. Rain-water harvesting in large scale has not been explored in these regions. It has well-said that the next war would be fought for water. Water is really manna from heaven which is being thrown away in many parts of the country while many in other parts die in thirst.

Thousands of farmers, especially cotton farmers, commit suicide but we have only one answer – debt waiver, that too partial. What about diversification of crop and supplementary income from dairy farming and poultry farming? Educate the farmers and the poor to empower them.

Need for a think-tank.

Our problems are big but our human resources are bigger. If we can overcome food-grains shortage with a Green Revolution, send satellites into space and develop nuclear weapons, we can also find solution to energy problem, use the monsoon waters efficiently and find a solution to recurring floods and droughts. It requires a vision and a plan of action. We have to be ambitious and bold. Bold is beautiful too.

Let the planning commission be a think-tank and produce papers and notes on some of the persistent economic issues of the country and lead discussion sessions to bring about a consensus. We can overcome all these problems. 'Harvest the human resources and reward the entrepreneurship' should be our mantra.

October 17,208

*****

Terorist is a social activist gone wrong.

 Terrorist is a social activist gone wrong.

 

The analysis of terrorist given by Stuart W.Twemlow,editor of The International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, in the interview (TOI,15/10) should be studied by our political establishment and police administration. As he says the terrorist is created by the social system. A terrorist or an extremist/ religious zealot/Naxalte is truly a social activist gone wrong. He finds something is wrong in the society and tries to change the society by violence. While maintaining the rule of law and  punishing the violent acts, we have to listen to his grievances and try to find a solution which is acceptable to all - consensus. Democratic system may be slow but it is the only way of life for any civilised society. All those who have been arrested for violence should be interviewed by social scientists to find their way of thinking and convey to them how the democratic society can provide scope for the redressal of their legitimate grievances.

 

October 17,2008

******

Cows never came home.

Cows never came home.

The story, Cows never came home (TOI,24/9) is not a great new revelation. It is as old as the hills – hills of subsidy. The former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had mentioned it 25 years ago – that only 15 paise in a rupee reach the intended beneficiaries. However the RTI applicant Vilas Wankhede and your correspondents ( Alok Tiwari and Ranjit Desmukh) have found a new fact of life -" rich are justifying the grab even as the poor are not even aware of the schemes". That means even 15 paise do not reach them ! This is the true face of 'am admi' government. Indeed a government of the politicians, by the politicians and for the politicians !

Here is an opportunity to the NGOs of India to be the last-mile link between the government and the poor. This connectivity does not require large resources but lot of courage and integrity to face the powerful politicians and apathetic bureaucracy. Supervising the subsidy schemes should be made part of the Corporate Social Responsibility. Another suggestion is to include all the subsidy schemes into the curriculum of the secondary schools so that school children and the teachers know them and some of them would be encouraged to take up these issues with the authorities. If these schemes are not monitored, they would only enrich the rich and the powerful.

  

September 29,2008.

******

Coversion is an outdated movement.

 

Conversion is an outdated movement.

The analysis of conversion and its controversies by R. Jagannathan (DNA,25/9) looks very inconclusive. All faiths arose to fill a void in the people's lives. All faiths have promoted values like brotherhood man and fatherhood of God. All faiths believe in truth, non-violence, love and all such great values of life. Changing rituals does not make any difference. However, certain values predominate in some religions – Hindus uphold non-violence ( ahimsa paramo dharma ; Christians believe in love and charity ( schools and hospitals) and Muslims in fraternity ( eating together and praying together). At the same time no religion in practice has covered itself in glory. If Hindusim has untouchability to account for, Christianity has to answer for colonization, slavery and inquisition and Islam for violence ( destroying places of worship of other faiths,riots for banning books, cartoons) and human indignity ( triple talaq, burkha). 

In this age of reason and science, people have to learn from each other and understand each other to live in peace. In the book, God Needs No Passport, Professor Peggy Levitt talks about ' Cafeteria Catholics' who pick and choose religious doctrines rejecting some of the church's teachings ( abortion and divorce). Immigrant Hindus and Muslims in USA also have made changes in their rituals to suit their envirnment. This is the future of the multi-cultural and multi-religious world. Pick and choose what you want. Without changing one's ancestral religion, one can always pick and choose what is good from other faiths. One need not change his religion to practice yoga or vipasana meditation. The concept of market share through free food and education is demeaning both to the giver and the receiver – to the human dignity.

September 28,2008

*****

Why Indians are not ambitious ?

Why Indians are not ambitious ?

In a recent thought-provoking article, "Harvest the Sun – We must urgently focus on solar energy", Anand Mahindra, a well-known industrialist ( The Times of India,23/8/08), has said that Indians ( rather the Indian government) are not ambitious but timid and cautious. He says we like 'technology transfer' rather be technology pioneer. In that article he has asked the government of India to scale-up and commercialize the solar power technology through private-public participation and bemoaned the lukewarm response for the solar energy research which holds promise for the energy crunch.

Solar power.

Solar Thermal Electricity Generation (STEG) technology, he says, is a simple technology that consists of curved mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a receiver tube to heat a working fluid flowing through it. The remaining part of the plant is very similar to a conventional power plant.

A 50-MW plant would save around 90-120 million kg of greenhouse gas emissions and the energy payback is five months with a useful life of 25 years. This technology provides "firm" power and allows plants to dispatch power when demanded. It can also work in a hybrid mode enabling solar heat to be backed by co-firing with natural gas or coal. Waste heat from the combined generation of heat and power can be used for industrial applications, district heating and cooling and sea-water desalination. The experts are of the opinion that just 0.3 percent of India's land area for solar power could meet all electricity needs of the country.

The big hitch is the cost. It costs between Rs.7.50 and Rs.17 per kWh to generate electricity through STEG while it is just Rs.1.40 for certain coal-based plants. However, diesel power costs Rs.17/kWh without subsidy and we have 20,000 MW of diesel power used as back-up power by industry. The US Department of Energy estimates that the cost of power generation by STEG would come down to Rs.1.50-2.50 /kWh in the next 15 years. USA and Spain are taking the lead in commercializing this technology.

While some countries which receive half the sunlight that India gets are going ahead with research on this technology, India has "a timid and incremental policy support", Mahindra observes. The MNES ( Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources) incentive scheme provides a maximum incentives of Rs.10 per kWh to STEG plants provided these plants are in the 1-5 MW range when it is cost-effective in more than 50MW range. " This is a nice gesture, but it can hardly be said to open the floodgates for speedy development", he sarcastically comments, and adds, " We are not ambitious enough". Yes, indeed! 'Thinking small' has been the bane of India since its socialist days ! We have still to get over it.

India is endowed with abundant sunshine ( 250-300 days in a year) and a 1,70,000 sq.km desert which is a natural energy generator waiting to be harnessed, says entrepreneur Anand Mahindra, and adds, " What on earth are we waiting for ? The time is ripe for a public-private partnership to help this technology – and India – attain its place under the sun." And then adds, " Let's not revert to our pre-reform avatar, and wait for a beneficent western power to find the solutions, and then go round with a begging bowl for 'technology transfer'".

High price of thermal and nuclear power.

We always take the easy way out – buy the technology from other countries or resort to what is called, ' re-engineering'. We do not look at the other way, the hard way – research and innovation. We do not want to develop our own resources – solar energy and other non-conventional energy sources which are abundantly available in our country. We want to depend on other countries and then complain about the price fixed by various cartels. The price of crude oil which had gone up to $ 147 per barrel has now hovering around $ 100 which is almost the double it was a few months ago. The oil experts believe that the price would come down due to the decline of consumption after the financial melt-down, especially in USA, and eventually can go up to $200 in the coming years, thanks to the rapid growth of all developing countries, especially China and India. Now that we are going in for more nuclear power, uranium price has also gone up – from $20 to $ 85 per kg in the last three years, says Dr.P.K.Iyengar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Additionally, coal and oil pollute the air and the technology belongs to the 19th century. Nuclear technology is vulnerable to accidents and meltdowns, has problems of disposal of radio-active waste and adds to global warming. This belongs to 20th century. Solar energy is environmentally safe and gives India energy security.      

Why not encourage indigenous technology ?

We boast about our IITs and IIMs and how graduates from these institutions have brought laurels to India and enriched USA and other countries. A research report by Vivek Wadhwa of the Pratt School of Engineers(USA) who is himself a co-founder of two start-ups, states that Indian immigrants created 450,000 jobs and $52 billion in sales. Immigrant entrepreneurs funded 25% of US engineering and technology companies in the decade 1995-2005 and 26% of this is by Indians.

We have innovators in our villages as well. Anil K.Gupta of the National Innovation Foundation has created a knowledge bank of 75,000 innovations and practices of little-known pioneers living in towns and villages. We have innovators everywhere but their expertise and talents have not been encouraged and used for nation-building.

We have to give scope for the IIT graduates to work on Indian problems and find Indian solutions. We have floods and droughts at the same time in different parts of the country. We have yet give serious thought to solve this recurring problem. Of course we have many dams and hydro-power projects. But in many parts of India all that we do every year is to provide relief and temporary shelter. According to newspaper reports breach of river embankments have taken place in Bihar in 1963, 1968, 1971, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1991 and now in 1998. Flood in Brahmaputra is an annual event. Almost all rivers are in flood just now. Network of canals and inter-linking the rivers may provide an answer. At least we can start with a few.

We see monsoon waters draining into the sea and later during the summer, we have the problem of water in all coastal regions. How to harness this water, there is no answer with the government. Rain-water harvesting in large scale has not been explored in these regions. Thousands of farmers, especially cotton farmers, commit suicide but we have only one answer – debt waiver, that too partial.

Our problems are big but our human resources are bigger. If we can overcome food-grains shortage with a Green Revolution, send satellites into space and develop nuclear weapons, we can also find solution to energy problem, use the monsoon waters efficiently and find a solution to recurring floods and droughts. It requires a vision and a plan of action. We have to be ambitious and bold. Bold is beautiful too.

Let the planning commission be a think-tank and produce papers and notes on some of the persistent economic issues of the country and lead discussion sessions to bring about a consensus. We can overcome all these problems. Harvest the human resources should be our mantra. 

September 25,2008 

A new model of secularism.

A new model of secularism.

Bhikhu Parekh in his op-ad, Cracking India, ( IE, Aug.27) has rightly pointed out the religious fault-lines in the secularism practiced in India. While religion was a moral force for Gandhiji, it was a divisive force for Nehru. Historically both are right. The humanistic ideals of the constitution namely, liberty,equality and fraternity which are also the ideals of all religions are the real pillars of secularism. As Parekh says, 'real touchstone is whether state respects all citizens equally, makes them equally welcome, and respects their identity'. The only way secularism can succeed or a modern state can function is by promoting mutual understanding between religions. Every citizen has to accept and respect the religion of his neighbour. This is possible if every student in India is taught the essentials of all religions – their ideals, their practices and the saints who represent their vision. When people find that all religions have proclaimed the same values of love, service, truth and non-violence, and especially, brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God, mis-understanding and hatred which has marked our recent history, would be a thing of the past. It has to be brought out to people that same values have been written in various languages in different times and climes. As has been well-said in the preamble to the UNESCO charter, " since wars begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be constructed."

A letter to The Indian Express, 28 August, 2008.

****

India minus K-word.

 

India minus k-word.

Jug Suraiya has surpassed himself in his piece, India minus k-word (TOI,20/8). He can apply for Nobel peace prize along with Arundhati Roy ! Years ago I had read a book, Mission with Mountbatten written by his secretary, Alan Cambell-Johnson where he quotes Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as saying, ' cut the head to get rid of the head-ache' with reference to the division of India. The partition has not solved any problem. Pakistan has still to find a proper identity – the only identity it has is that of anti-India. At that time the slogan was, 'Islam in danger'. Now the slogan is, 'azadi'. With this slogan, Kashmiri pandits have been driven out of Kashmir – in the true spirit of 'ethnic cleansing'. Sufi Islam, the tolerant Islam, has been converted into Wahabi Islam, thanks to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Do these bleeding-heart 'liberals' want our country to surrender to every black-mail ? Do they want India to be a soft state – bend at every demand by die-hard fundamentalists ? Is giving some land to Amarnath Yatra, an act of colonialsm ?

India has been a democratic state for the last 61 years where every segment of the population has been given freedom of thought and expression, voice their grievances and get justice. It might not be an ideal state but has strived to be one. It has been well-said that when there is a general election, there is no need for a general strike. Similarly, when there is representation, there is no need for secession.

A letter sent to the Times of India, August 20, 2008.

****** 

Kissinger's New World Order and India.

Kissinger's New World Order And India.

Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of the State of the United States of America, is well known to Indians as the man who sent the Seventh Fleet to Bay of Bengal during the emergence of Bangladesh. He and President Nixon used the good offices of Pakistan to make an overture to China. Neither India's democratic system, nor Pakistan's dictatorship, nor human rights violation in the East Bengal bothered the United States of America which claims to stand for freedom and democracy. Now he seems to have re-evaluated the role of India in the new emerging world order.

In his book, 'Does America Need A Foreign Policy?'(Simon & Schuster, New York, June,2001), he has emphasized the need for closer cooperation between India and the United States. "India", he writes, "is a democracy, by far the best functioning and genuine free system of any of the nations achieving independence following the Second World War". He admits that military alliance with Pakistan "blighted America-India relations during the cold war". He also understands Indian position saying, "India's conduct during the cold war was not so different from that of the United States in its formative decades". He does not subscribe to the nuclear theology of former President Clinton that only five powers are entitled to it by virtue of their pre-eminence and status as the members of the Security Council. He is for preventing the spread of nuclear and missiles technology rather than tilting against windmills – rolling back of nuclear capability of India. The United States has other common interests with India which must not be jeopardized by over-emphasizing the nuclear issue and avers that " a closer cooperative relationship between the two countries is in their mutual and basic interests". Kissinger believes that Indian security interests as formatted by the British depends on naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean from Singapore to Aden with friendly nations all around the area and also in the North. According to him, American and Indian interests are parallel and this could be strengthened by mutual cooperation.

The collapse of Soviet Union

The break up of the Soviet Union, as a result of its own contradictions, both in theory and practice, has thrown up many challenges to the world. One of the major contradictions was: building a society of free and equals through the dictatorship of the proletariet (this enfeebled its people). The other was: permanent revolution or support to communist parties in other countries (this antagonized all non-communist countries). And the third one was : development of armaments industry with a total neglect of consumer goods industry which can only satisfy human needs(this created dis-satisfaction among its people).These and other contradictions undermined its capacity to build a prosperous nation and provided enough reasons for the democracies of Europe and the U.S.A unite their people. against the Soviet Union.

However,NATO ( North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the Warsaw Pact equipped with atomic weapons provided a stability to the world through a balance of terror. The non-aligned countries – the newly liberated countries of Asia and Africa—were wooed by both the power blocs. They mostly remained spectators in the clash of ideologies.Now,with the passing away or withering away of the Soviet Union, the world is in search of a new world order.

The present situation

The world, in the first decade of the 21^st century, is a world living in different centuries. While the United States, Japan and the countries of the European Union have been able to provide a very high standard of living to their peoples through a free economy in a democratic set up, there are countries (especially in Africa) which are still struggling to establish states with a "legitimacy" in the eyes of their own people.

There are countries, which were liberated after the Second World War, especially in Asia, which have transformed the lives of their people. China, with a G.D.P growth of about 8 to 10 % per annum for about two decades, and India, which joined this league a decade later, with a G.D.P. growth of about 6 to 7 % per annum, are poised to transform the standard of living of their people as well.

The countries of Latin America have a better standard of living, but the inequality in society has created problems of governance. The Gulf countries, thanks to crude oil, have all the wealth in the world. They have a free economy but no democratic system. In this world situation, the pre-eminence of the United States has been well summed up by Henry Kissinger as follows, "At the dawn of the new millennium, the United States is enjoying a preeminence unrivaled by even the greatest empires of the past. From weaponry to enterpreneurship, from science to technology, from higher education to popular culture, America exercises an unparalleled ascendancy around the globe. During the last decade of the twentieth century, America's preponderant position rendered it the indispensable component of international stability."

The New World Order

The architecture for a new world order as envisaged by Kissinger is mainly based on the Atlantic Alliance of USA and the European Union. While enumerating different perceptions of international affairs and certain conflict of interests on economic issues between the United States and the European Union, Kissinger asserts that : " It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of democratic government as we understand it depends on whether the democracies bordering the North Atlantic manage to revitalize their relations in the world without Cold War and whether they can live up to the challenges of a global world order. If the Atlantic relationship gradually degenerates into the sort of rivalry that, amidst all its great achievements, spelled the end of Europe's preeminence in world affairs, the resulting crisis would undermine those values the Western societies have cherished in common".

As far as South America is concerned, he rightly advocates a stable and legitimate democratic political structure with transparent institutions and an independent judicial system. He has identified threats to this structure from narcotics, terrorism and guerrilla movements. Salvation, according to him, lies in an Atlantic Free Trade Area covering both the Americas and the Europe.

Kissinger's prescription for Asia is based on a balance of power: no domination by any single power; superior American military establishment to thwart hegemonistic threats; alliance with Japan; constructive dialogues with India; China to be the indispensable component of a constructive Asian policy; preventing or atleast limiting nuclear weapons; human rights to be a part of a dialogue reflecting American deepest values". "It (America) must be present without appearing to dominate",he suggests.

The Arab-Israel conflict in the Gulf region has made it a tinder-box. Though the resolution of the conflict may still be far away, the creation of a Palestinian state and the security of Israel have to be parts of the final solution. Since crude oil is essential for all advanced industrial nations, it is imperative to support moderate countries in the Gulf region and try to improve relations with Iran and Iraq, which may not be possible in the near future. He envisages an important role for India in this region. "The Gulf should play a major role in an increasingly intensive strategic dialogue with India".

Africa is a challenge, points out Kissinger, to all nations of the world and all international organizations to reach health and education to all its teeming millions. Apart from South Africa and Nigeria, all other nations in Africa require tremendous mobilization of resources to uplift its people.

Concert of Nations

The architecture of a new world order that is delineated by Kissinger has the United States as its kingpin and its bedrock is the Atlantic Alliance. Though it is based on freedom and democracy, it is a concert of Atlantic nations than a concert of nations. He has not brought United Nations in the discussion at all. The United Nations was created as a forum for all nations to come together and solve international issues on a cooperative manner. It has not fulfilled its promise is well-accepted and that is mainly because of the cold war that erupted soon after its inception. Now that the cold war is over, it would be in the fitness of things that it was further strengthened by giving a legitimate voice to all the nations of the world. That means that the concerns of security and development of all nations to be given equal importance in deciding the course of action by the United Nations and its various affiliated organisations.The most important way of strengthening UNO was to submit to its decisions by the members of the Security Council. No nation, however big, should never take any unilateral action against other nations in all international affairs –political, military or economic.

The Security Council should be restructured to reflect the new emerging world. It should have as permanent members all the major nations of all the continents such as India, Japan, Germany, Brazil and Nigeria. The disputes between countries should be taken up by the Security Council and try to evolve a consensus and a compromise rather than impose a solution. The problems should be tackled at an early stage before they degenerate into conflicts and wars. This should be possible if every country's interests are taken care of. It should be a concert of nations rather than that of Western nations

Terrorism

This piece was written just before the recent terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre and and the Pentagon. This attack has brought home to Americans and others the shape of the new menace to all the nations of the world. India, among others, have been victims of this terror for quite some time. The time has now come for all civilized nations to formulate a policy to protect nations which suffer from this scourge. As President Bush announced on the day of the attack, it is necessary to bring to account not merely the terrorists but those who harbour them.

Borders of nations cannot be re-drawn by blood. Today every country is multi-ethnic and multi-national. Self-determination for every minority is neither possible, nor necessary. In a democratic system all minorities have all the rights that the majorities enjoy. Their grievances not merely expressed but redressed as well. There could be an international convention to protect the interests of minorities. I believe that a new world order should be based on freedom and democracy, and a comity of democratic nations.

(Published by Freedom First, a liberal monthly , in 2002)

*************** .

Corruption - Who is responsible ?

Corruption - Who is responsible ?

Your subject of discussion is timely. We have seen what happened in the temple of democracy - notes were placed on the table of Loka Sabha which some members claimed that the money was paid to vote for the motion or abstain. 22 or 24 MPs defected for a few rupees. What more evidence you require for the rampant corruption in the country. Bottleneck is the at top of the bottle and the rot is at top of our country's edifice.

Shri Jaya Prakash Narayan said long ago that the election is the Gangotri of corruption. All parties collect so much black money for the elections. Why not make everything transparent ? Every public work should be open and transparent and it should be made available on the internet. RTI is not sufficient. It started with permit-liesence raj and now continuing with inspector raj.

'How to rule the rulers ?' is the eternal question. Democracy is not enough. Accountability is required and only vigilant public opinion through the press and NGOs can mitigate the situation. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty .

A response to an invitation for a seminar in Chennai. ( August 6, 2008).

******

50 Influential people.

50 influential people.

I agree with Arvind Bhide, we should collect names in the city who have contributed to its well-being. However, my list would start from the bottom, not from the top. Those who keep this city clean in spite of low pay and health hazards that involves, those who run the city - the bus conductors and drivers, taxi drivers, motormen of train services in spite of monsoon fury and devastating deluge ( remember 26 July,2005 ?), policemen who are at the mercy of politicians and musclemen, traffic police who manage to bring some order in our chaotic traffic of hand-carts, bullock carts, cycles, auto-rikshas, taxi drivers, drunken brats. These people who keep this city in a relatively good condition. I wish all those who have been mentioned in the newspapers as influential people follow the example of these real heros, Mumbai would have been better place to live.

A response to a newspapers list of influential people.

Auguat 6, 2008.

*******

Shirdi shrine shows the way.

Shirdi Shrine shows the way.

The report, " Shrdi may soon have world-class education centre" (TOI,30/7) , is a ray of hope in the present dismal educational scene in Maharashtra with so many students not finding seats in colleges in Mumbai and elsewhere. Many municipal schools in Mumbai have been closed and an educational trust which runs two private colleges in Andheri is planning to close these institutions. Shrines like Shri Siddhivinayak Temple Trust should follow the good example set by Shirdi Saibaba Shrine Trust and set up schools and colleges in Mumbai. The least the temple trust could do is to adopt all the Municipal schools in the city, which are mostly attended by the poor, and provide all facilities to the students and the teachers. Special attention should be given to training the teachers so that poor need not go to the private schools for lack of good teaching in municipal schools.

 
A letter to the Times of India,August 4, 2008

******

Terrorism - How to meet the challenge.

 

Terrrism - How to meet the challenge.

Experts have made many good suggestions - law empower the police to nab the culprits whoever they are without any interference from the politicians; the police force has to have all euqipments to do their job and enough incentives to do their job efficiently. As Winston Churchill said, ' Give us the tools and we would finish the job." People have to be alert and co-operate with the police. Whether it is Naxalites or terrorits, they usually have some sympathisers who help them. We also require fast-track courts to award exemplary punishment to the perpetrators. There should be mohalla committees to keep a watch on strangers. Hotels are supposed to keep records of their guests and report to the police. All housing societies are supposed to inform the police about lease holders. If all these are implemented, terrorism could be controlled.

However, to root out terrorism, we have to  change mind-set of people and it should start with our young people who study in schools and colleges. India is a multi-religious society and it is imperative that we have to not merely tolerate but accept all religious faiths - sarva dharma samabhava. That is called secularism which is now one of the values which we cherish along with liberty,equality and fraternity. This should be a part of the curriculam of all schools and colleges. In this we have failed in all these years. We neither know our own religion, nor the religions of our neighbours. We only know the religious festivals, not their significence. All religions have some basic values - truth,non-violence, fraternity. These values have been upheld in all religious texts in different words and at different contexts. This has to be impressed on all youngsters. As the preamble of UNESCO declares, " since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defense of peace must be constructed." This is the foundation of peace and prosperity. 

 

July 31, 2008

 

******

Nuclear Deal - Ends & Means.

 Nuclear Deal – Means & Ends..

Mahatma Gandhi, who led us to freedom and to whom we pay tribute on his birthday every year on October 2, had always said that the means and ends are related to each other like the seed and the fruit. He not merely preached it but practiced it. He withdrew his non-cooperation movement in 1922 after some of the satyagrahis killed 22 policemen in Chouri Chaura. For him, certain values like purity means and ends, truth and non-violence were not negotiable. Something contrary to all these values happened on July 22,2008. Currency notes were thrown on the table of the Lok Sabha - the price paid to change a minority government into a majority. The Speaker did not see the CD of the 'sting operation' conducted by a TV channel to verify whether there has been any breach of privilege or breach of ethics of the House as some members had claimed that they were enticed to vote for the trust motion tabled by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The government won the motion with almost the same number as those killed in 1922 !

'Aya-rams and gaya-rams' have stalked the state governments in India for a long time but this has been brought to the hallowed hall of the parliament for the second time, the first time by P.V.Narasimha Rao. Rao saved the party government but Singh saved the nuclear deal which many believe may not ensure security or energy security. Indira Gandhi sullied the fair name of the country and its democracy with the emergency. She was followed by Rao who had no compunction to bribe JMM and now, by Singh who has become a true politician. Is it the same Congress that is ruling now which was led by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel ? What a fall,my countrymen !

July 30,2008

*******

 

'Teach India' Movement.

'Teach India' Movement

 

The Times has to be complimented for iniating the " Teach India' movement with the co-operation of UN Vounteer Programme, 60 NGOs, corporates and social organisations (TOI,July 6). This is indeed Bharat Nirman. No country has progressed without literacy and education. The figures mentioned by your report make dismal reading - literacy is 66% ( 2006),380 million illiterate and 3.6 % of GDP expenditure on education.Our state and society have neglected our most valued resource - our people. Our huge population is not a huge problem if we educate them. With health and education, it would be a huge asset.  

 

Your programme involves volunteers offering their time for teaching children who have been left out by the official and private educational institutions. It is not clear where these children would be gathered and taught. Some of the municipal shools are being closed. They could be used for these classes. It would be a good idea to persuade all the existing municipal and private schools to have two shifts - one for he regular students and one for those who have been left out or drop outs. These  students should be provided with all necessary facilities - books, black-boards, benches, uniforms etc. These childen need extra care and extra effort. 

 

Adult literacy too requires attention..Manual workers especially in the informal sector such as house-maids are illiterate. Every housing society can undertake to educate house-maids working in their society as many housewives are well-educated and can spare some time for this purpose without going out the society premises. Every society could raise funds to help the house-maids to send their children to school.   

 

July 27,2008

Euphoria on N-deal is misplaced.

Euphoria on N-Deal is misplaced

 

China invaded India in 1962 and it carried out an atomic test in 1964 in Lop Nor.India awakened to nuclear threat in 1974 when it tested a 'peaceful' or 'technology demonstration' atomic test by the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the sanctions by USA and other western countries followed. The threat perception became certainty during the time of Rajiv Gandhi who continued the research in atomic weapons as Pakistan was given this technology by China and P.V.Narasimha Rao was to test an atomic weapon in 1995 but was pressurised by USA to stop it. The test was conducted by Atal Bihari Bajpayee in 1998. More sanctions followed. However,suddenly India was recognised as an emerging Asian and World Power. Some sanctions were slowly removed but dual-use technologies were still continued.

 

What the IAEA a agreement, 123 agreement and Hyde Act seek to bring India under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)  which India had declined to subscribe because of its discriminatory nature. While providing nuclear power technology, all these agreements seek to prevent India's further atomic tests. The Bajpayee government had declared its intention to stop further tests on its own. In these agreements India is bound from testing forever and would be punished with the withdrawl of all nuclear materials. Whether India should test in future will be decided by USA, not by India. In addition, all our atomic research institutions would be monitored by IAEA and USA. Is it prudent to give up autonomy to decide our own future needs ? Is it prudent to win the world but lose our soul ? The threat from our neighbours is still there and our capacity meet them would be crippled.Euphoria for nuclear deal is mspalced. It reminds 'Hindi-Chini' bhai bhai days.

 

Dr.P.K.Iyengar,former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, has analysed these agreements and has raised many issues which would impinge on our strategic autonomy.He has also mentioned that the price of uranium has tripled in the past three years, from $20 to $85. Nuclear power would be expensive in future. Uranium cartel is bad as crude oil cartel. India has to depend on ts our resources for energy security - hydal power,thermal power ( coal gasification reduces pollution) and non-conventional power - solar, wind, bio-mass, bio-gas etc. We have unexplored uranium mines in Arunachal Pradesh and Andhra. We have unexplored gas and crude oil. Reliance and Cairn India have found oil and gas in Andhra cosat and in Rajashtan. We can have future in our own hands.              

 

( A letter sent to the Indian Express, July 16,2008)

*******    
 

 

  .  

Nuclaer Deal for Energy ?

N-Deal for energy ?

 

The report, Naural gas to fill India's energy needs, by Shankar Raghuraman (TOI,12/7) makes it clear India has to deped on natural gas rather than nuclear power for its energy needs. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) of the US Department of Energy projects the total installed power to go up from 1,38,000 MW in 2005 to 3,98,000 MW by 2030. It projects about 20,000 MW of nuclear power in 2030 which is hardly 5% of India's needs. Planning Commission's Working Group on Power expects to reach 20,000 MW in 2017 which would be about 6.7%. EIA's projected trend for global nuclear energy is lower at 7.1% in 2030 from the 9.6% in 2005. If this is the case, why UPA is asking us to support its N-deal for energy security ? Indian people deserve a proper reply.

 

Atomic experts such as Dr. P.K.Iyengar have raised many questions on restrictive clauses in the deal and he has pointed out that the price of uranium has gone up from $20 to $85 a pound in the last three years. The uranium cartel is as bad as the crude cartel. It is like flying from frying pan into th fire. Let us not take any hasty decision to repent at leisure. 

 

( A letter sent to TOI on July 13,2008

******     

 

  .