Truth & Reconciliation Commission is the answer.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the answer.

 

Justice Liberahan Report has brought the Ayodhya issue once again to the fore. No actor in the Ayodhya drama has covered himself in glory – the Sangh Parivar and the Secular Brigade. The Hindu-Muslim divide is a historical legacy of the Moghul Rule which was accentuated during the British Rule. This resulted in the partition as well. While Pakistan became the homeland for the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent, India became a homeland for Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,Jains and others. However, the partition itself increased the gulf between Hindus and Muslims – Hindu anguish on the destruction of temples which is visible all over the North India and the Muslim fear of discrimination and the fear of progress left them in a time-wrap. The periodical Hindu-Muslim riots were the most visible manifestation of the same. The Ayodhya was the most potent expression. The only way, we as a nation, leave the legacy of the past is to have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to establish the truth and forgive the mistakes of the past in the same way that the Great Nelson Mandela did to unite South Africa. This has to be done not to incriminate anybody. We have to free ourselves from the feelings of guilt, revenge and fear. We have to face the facts. Truth liberates and prepares the stage for reconciliation and progress. If we don't learn from history, it will repeat itself.

November 29,2009.

 

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Positive and negative developments in Indian economy.

Shri Subir Gokarn's views presented in the Business Standard are from the narrow perspective of the middle class. He said that there are three positives in the Indian Economy - massive increase in the economy's capacity to absorb shocks; economic developments do not depend on political developments;increase in the scope, depth and innovativeness of the private sector. The three negatives are : slow growth of the middle class; Indian economy is not yet an engine of growth in South Asia; growing mismatch between the demand on the state's resources and its capacity to deliver on them.  

Let us look from the perspective of a common man. How empowered is the common man today compared to his position a few decades ago.

The positives are :
Indians need not go to the ration shop to get food-grains;

middle class people can get their bike/cars off the shelf and need not wait for years;

almost 300 million people have a mobile and earlier phone was a luxury;

industrialists need not go to Delhi for every license and permit but of course they have to depend on the state governments for power,water,land etc which leads to conflict of interest ;

transport - air, bus and train- has improved but yet to get clean and decent airports, railway stations and bus stations.       

However, there are many negatives :

Almost 50 percent of the people in Mumbai and other cities live in slums;

There is water scarcity everywhere - cities, towns and villages; we have failed to use monsoon waters and harness our river waters

Village people are not empowered with health and education facilities and with employment avenues, and they come to cities and towns in search of work; 

Almost 60 percent of people depend on agriculture and agriculture contributes about 20 percent of GDP. That means 40 percent of people from cities and towns contribute 80 percent of GDP and there is vast gulf between cities and villages;

Agriculture is not remunerative and agriculturists have no knowledge of modern agriculture. They use more fertilizers, they use wrong seeds, they don't get credit at reasonable interest and commit suicide.

Focus should be on agriculture, empower village youth with education, not just literacy, but vocational education including modern agricultural knowledge. PURA - Providing urban facilities in rural areas - mooted by our former President Abdul Kalam should be adopted in all states. He has suggested knowledge connectivity (education), physical connectivity (roads) electronic connectivity (telecom) and economic connectivity (trade).

Lack of economic development in villages leads to Naxalite violence and slums in cities 

We cannot have island of prosperity in the midst of poverty.

November 23, 2009.

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How to fix the politicians ?

How to fix the Indian politicians ?.

In the article," Six remedies to fix Indian politicians" Kannan Kasturi (Times of India, Nov.22,2009) has proposed some remedies to make our politicians accountable to the citizens of the country. The six remedies are : power to recall; the negatve vote; prosecution of public servants without prior sanction of the governments; stopping spending money exceeding the limit set by the Election Commission, punishment for supplying false information by the candidates and transparency in funding the political parties; information on government departments on its website; and legislators to be more accountable to the people rather than to the political parties.

Internal democracy in all the parties to be supervised by the Election Commission, funds of parties to be audited by Auditor General of India and published in newspapers, putting all decisions and expenditure on social and economic development on the website of the government, corruption charges on politicians and bureaucrats to be inquired into and to proceed against them if there is a prima facie case within a short period would largely ensure better governance and accountability.

The politicians would not initiate such measures and the Election Commission and the Supreme Court can only suggest. Who is going to bell the cat ? The buck stops at the door of the citizens. It is high time that all men of good will join together and agitate through public meetings, distribution of leaflets, seminars and signature campaign to reform our public life and make it accountable to the people. After 62 years of independence, at least 25 percent of the people are below the poverty line, half the country is without electricity and water and more than 60 percent of the people depend on agriculture which contributes only about 20 percent of the GDP. Farmers commit suicide and adivasis are starving. Almost 50 percent of the people in Mumbai live in slums. This is all due to the greed of the politicians and the lack of vigilance by the citizens.

November 23,2009.

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The Tatas set an example.

The Tatas set an example.

It is heart-warming to know that the House of Tatas have set an example for others to follow by disbursing Rs.2.5 crore to the families who lost relatives at the Taj, CST, Metro junction and Cafe Leopold in the terrorist attack on 26/11 last year, reported the Times of India (13/11/2009). The Taj Public Service Welfare Trust, which was set up immediately after the attack, is also providing medical help, vocational training, educational grants and trauma counseling as well. The Trust has tracked down 360 families of the victims in slums in Mumbai and in the native places all over the country enlisting the support of 20 students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and is providing more than 100 families with monetary help ranging from Rs.7500 to Rs.10,000 and that 30 children are being supported with school fees, books and transport is a testimony of the social responsibility that House of Tatas have assumed. In addition, the Trust has launched a micro-finance scheme to help the victims or their families, and has taken over a Industrial Training Institute to impart training in computers, baking and house-keeping to employ them in their group of companies. This is indeed in tune with Mahatma Gandhi's Philosophy of Trusteeship and he would have applauded this gesture. Kudos to the House of Tatas.

November 15,2009

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Democracy demands an open government.

Democracy demands an open government.

The RTI (Right to Information) act has proved to be boon people suffering from maladministration in India. The act has enabled activists to expose many acts of commission and omission by the bureaucrats and the politicians which range from misappropriation of funds to delay in speed-post to decisions of ministers which help their own institutions. Some of the recent headlines in the newspapers says it all : " IAS officer pays power bills from fund for 1984 Sikh riot victims "; "Speed-post delivers at a snail's pace"; "Revenue Minister Patangrao Kadam took eight decisions within seven months favouring Bharati Vidhyapeeth, of which he is Chancellor".

However, it is a sad fact that only 27 percent of the queries have been given information. Now there is a move by the government to bring in an amendment to deny information on the grounds that the queries are 'frivolous or vexatious'. Both the expressions are subjective and could be used by the information commissioners, who are mostly former bureaucrats, to deny information on the acts of the government and the activities of the bureaucrats and the politicians. There is no need to amend the act but there is a need to fulfill the mandate of Act. The activists should prevail upon the government to appoint eminent persons from the public life especially from the bar and from among the retired judges to inspire confidence among he people.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court judges to declare their assets in the website and another decision by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to have all the reports of the expert committees that inspect universities on its website have given hopes of an open society in the country. Now all activists have to fight for a transparent governance with all decisions of the government departments on its website so that people would be able to access all information that affect them from the government websites. Only an open government will make Indian democracy successful.

November 11,2009.

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Poor Management or only power!

Poor Management or only power !.

The two reports in the Times of India (7/11/09) ' Most victims still await compensation' and '11 months on,farmers' kids await education allowance' confirm the observation that India is a rich country poorly managed. That the government was not able to protect people from terrorists' attack is a reflection not merely on the government ( apathetic,even after repeated attacks on Mumbai) but the people of Mumbai as well ( UPA got all the seats in Mumbai). That the compensation for the victims of the attack has not reached the kith and kin even after almost a year and the announced educational allowance to kids are a matter of great shame. If the government cannot give compensation money in time and educational allowance for a year,there must be something radically wrong with our governance.

All the top bureaucrats and the ministers should be constitutionally and compulsorily go through management course of at least of a short duration. They should know how to keep their promises and to track them. The opposition or an NGO could have taken the credit by helping the victims' kith and kin, and the kids in Amaravathi, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldana, Washim and Wardha.by accessing the promised compensation. Our elite is too far away from 'am admi'; too attached to loaves and fishes of power. We have a democratic system, no democratic temperament. We have 'rulers', not representatives. What a farce ( or is it a tragedy ?), my countrymen! Gandhiji would have started a satyagraha.

November 8,2009

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