Press Clips-1 Index
1. Anti-Wall
Street
2. The dark
side of Bangalore Shining: It’s No.1 in suicides in country
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-dark-side-of-bangalore-shining-its-no.1-in-suicides-in-country/860804/2
3. Delhi
4.
The way to get man back on his feet
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open
page/article2562901.ece#.TqWFVg6hOtA.mailto
5. In 16 years, farm suicides cross a quarter
million
6.
SAINATH
- Maharashtra leads in statistic of
shame
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2577740.ece
7.
Marking the birth of modern China
8.
MANY POISONED RIVERS
9.
St. Paul
10.
Delhi
11. Circle rates hiked by up to 250%
12. In
upscale areas, market rate 4 times higher
13. Gender bias: Only Af fares worse
than India in S Asia
14. Delhiites third
richest in country
15. America
16. Resistance with a human face
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2573480.ece
17. Justice Markandey Katju
on the role of media in India
18. Web ‘snooping’ plans of U.K.
19. Self-regulation is no
regulation, says Katju
20. Parents held for abandoning 7-yr-old girl
21. British students in no mood to
relent
22. A low score
23. ‘Every particle is in a condition of half
night'
24. ‘I am a votary of liberty; my criticism of
the media is aimed at making them better'
25. The government's listening to us
26. The art and science of communications
intelligence
27. Big Brother is everywhere now
28. Forgot
your password?
29. In One Slum, Misery, Work, Politics and Hope
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/asia/in-indian-slum-misery-work-politics-andhope.html?emc=eta1
30. Jan Lokpal Bill
unGandhian
31. Dignity denied even in death for Vrindavan
widows http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2784876.ece
32. Trials and Errors: Why Science Is Failing Us
33. Only three states complied with SC order
on shelters
34. Why Placebos Work Wonders
35. Fuel Arrives, but Deep Freeze Endures
36. India , Caste Discrimination Still Plagues University
37. Weekend Panorama: India
38. Rushdie is a sub-standard writer, says Katju
39. Markandey Katju’s Acknowledgement
40. Gram sabhas above Lok Sabha: Anna
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-27/india/30670003_1_gram-sabhas-anna-member-prashant-bhushan-lokpal-bill
41. In 37 Raj villages,NREGS workers get 1- 10
as wages
42. Distress sale report for PM
43. Poor labourers pledged Rs 100, get Re 1 for day's work under
govt's employment guarantee scheme
44. India
45. SAINATH
- Corporate socialism's 2G orgy
46. Superpower?
230m Indians go hungry daily
47. From food security to food justice
48. Needed, more HUNGaMA over malnutrition
49. ‘A free man'(s) freedom is not completely
empty'
50. NASA says it was hacked 13 times last year
51. Web Sites Shine Light on Petty Bribery
Worldwide
52. Can sales drop 70 pc and prices rise 20
pc? Yes, in Mumbai realty it can. http://www.firstpost.com/economy/can-sales-drop-70-and-prices-rise-20-yes-in-mumbai-realty-it-can-143149.html
53. Accept live-in relationships in society:
Shanti Bhushan
54. Stop grilling journos who exposed
porngate, Katju tells Karnataka Speaker http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/karnataka/article2987341.ece
55. Half of India
56. Delhiites richer, more
modern than rest of the country
(Latest Census reveals high-end
technology is common in the Capital and households have greater comforts than
ever before)
57. Population growth rate slows down;
concentration up in South-West, North-West
58. Students of opposite sex travelling
together in a bus is no offence: Court
59. Housing
prices rise most in India
60. SAINATH - The Food, the Bad and the Ugly Food not reaching those who need it. A file
photograph of wheat being loaded at an open FCI godown at Sonepat,
Haryana. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3025560.ece?css=print
61. RAJIV SHANKAR
(CRISIL)
62.
Black market
64. Anxious Japan
65. Media cannot reject regulation
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article3374529.ece?css=print
66. Chomsky, others seek justice for
Soni Sori
http://www.thehindu.com/news/article3373044.ece?css=print
67. A candle in the dark
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3377562.ece?css=print
68. New York Times Company
Justice Katju’s Media Press Regulations
69. Sainath Poverty British Cotton - Reaping
gold through cotton, and newsprint
70 Supreme Court sets up panel to study woes of
Vrindavan widows
71. Sainath
- To fix
BPL, nix CPL
72. “Occupy''
protesters take to streets across Europe
73. Hope springs a trap
74. Hard Labor By Josh Sanburn (reprinted from
Time Magazine, May 21, 2012)
75. Increase in violence against SCs and STs,
reveals report
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article3435469.ece?css=print
76. Protests in London
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3433314.ece?css=print
77. Calcium pills may up heart attack risk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Calcium-pills-may-up-heart-attack-risk/articleshow/13464553.cms?prtpage=1
78. As Grain Piles Up, India
79. Gandhi : Democracy and Fundamental Rights
80.
GANDHIRAMA 2012-A Feast of Ideas and a Festival of Art
Press Clips
Anti-Wall Street movement spreads in US
Associated Press Posted Street
New York : About 175 protesters who were part of a growing anti-Wall Street movement were arrested in Chicago early Sunday when they refused to take down their tents and leave a city park when it closed, the police said, after a day of protests in cities around the world where tens of thousands gathered to rally against what they see as corporate greed.
Most of the marches were largely nonconfrontational, though dozens were arrested in New York and elsewhere in the US New York
At least one protest grew violent. In Rome
In Chicago
In New York Manhattan
In New York City
Throughout the US , from several dozen people in Jackson , Mississippi , to some 2,000 each in Pittsburgh and Chicago Orlando , Florida Anchorage , Alaska
Overseas, tens of thousands nicknamed “the indignant’’ marched in cities across Europe . Around 250 protesters set up camp outside St Paul ’s Cathedral in the heart of London
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-dark-side-of-bangalore-shining-its-no.1-in-suicides-in-country/860804/2
The dark side of Bangalore
Saritha Rai Posted online: Mon Oct 17 2011, 02:54 hrs
But in Bangalore Bangalore has been India India ’s Silicon City
In 2009, Bangalore recorded 2,167 suicides versus 1,051 in teeming Mumbai, and 1,215 in the more-populous Delhi
Dr N Satish Chandra, the director of NIMHANS, blames it on rapid socio-cultural changes in the face of furious development. Bangalore
Every Tuesday afternoon, counsellor Anita Gracias becomes “Anu” and works the suicide helpline at SAHAI. “Bangalore
Dr Mohan Isaac has extensively studied the suicide trend in Bangalore School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Western Australia , he points to the data from Bangalore Bangalore
* As per National Crime Records Bureau, Bangalore India
* Its suicide rate (suicides per 100,000 population) is also highest in country
* It accounts for about 16% of all suicides in India
* Most of the suicides are by those in their prime — between the ages of 16 and 40
October 28, 2011 01:53 IST | Updated: October 28, 2011 09:29 IST
Delhi, Mumbai top rape cases, conviction rate poor
About conviction, the less said the better
New figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau show India's two largest cities accounted for one-third of the rape cases registered in 2010, and underline depressing infirmities in the prosecution of perpetrators — just over a quarter of them were convicted.
Last year, the national capital recorded 414 rape cases, the biggest number among 35 major cities monitored by the Bureau, followed by 194 in Mumbai. Delhi
In population-adjusted terms, however, several mid-size cities emerged as even more dangerous for women than the two big cities: in Jabalpur, 7.3 in every 1,00,000 people — both men and women — reported having been raped, followed by 5.5 in Bhopal, 5 in Faridabad, 4.8 in Visakhapatnam, and 4.2 in Indore.
The rape cases were just part of a larger mass of crime directed at women: Delhi
Delhi, however, was the most dangerous of the five megapolises, with 3.2 in every 1,00,000 population reporting having been raped in 2010, followed by 1.2 in Mumbai, 1.1 in Bangalore, 0.7 in Chennai and 0.2 in Kolkata — the last the lowest figure in any Indian city, along with Varanasi.
Even though the police filed charges against 94.5 per cent of the alleged rapists, just 26.6 per cent were eventually convicted — bearing out criticism that police investigators and public prosecutors lack the capacities needed to make the charges stick. Prosecutors did better in securing convictions in dowry-death cases, at 33.6 per cent, but in no category of crime did conviction rates exceed 39 per cent.
Frightening numbers
In Mumbai, there were 146 incidents of kidnapping of women, 21 dowry deaths and 312 incidents of cruelty by husband or his relatives during the last year. Pune reported the third highest figure of 91 rape cases in 2010, followed by Jabalpur
Software city Bangalore recorded 65 incidents of rape and Indore West Bengal , where it was 2,311. Assam , Maharashtra , Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh reported 1,721, 1,599, 1,563 and 1,362 cases respectively. There were 1,012 incidents of rape in Chhattisgarh, 1,025 in Orissa and 795 in Bihar .
There were 112 dowry deaths and 1,273 incidents of cruelty by husband or relatives in Delhi
Experts at the NCRB told The Hindu that the data needed to be read with caution. For, the low figures in some areas could reflect the fact that women there face extreme social obstacles in reporting rape to authorities or hostility at the police station level.
“In my experience,” one senior officer said, “you will tend to have high reporting of rape where women's organisations are active and are able to push the authorities to register criminal complaints — not necessarily where the crime is most prevalent.”
Keywords: National Crime Records Bureau, crimes against women, rape case, dowry death, crime in India
A
This article conforms to the teachings of our Vedic seers that all the universe is pure energy and all that you have to do to remain healthy is to ensure that this energy vibrates synchronously throughout the body and mind
M.B.Lal
October 22, 2011 23:14 IST | Updated: October 23, 2011 03:02 IST October 22, 2011
The way to get man back on his feet
Time has come to abandon the disease era of medicine. We have to concentrate on the whole human organism for the future management of altered physiologies.
“There is no science of man,” wrote Nobel Laureate Alexis Carrel in his celebrated book Man, the Unknown. Modern medicine, even today, nearly 85 years after the death of conventional science following Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, is buried in the linear science of Newtonian Physics which believes that man is made up of matter, which follows certain deterministic predictability patterns. That was before the new awareness in science of the atom having been made up of smaller sub-atomic elements. Even more earth- shattering was the discovery that atoms emit various strange energies such as X-rays and radioactivity.
Newer discoveries in physics showed that matter and energy are the two sides of the same coin — a duality. (Hans Peter Durr). One should read his article, Matter is not made out of matter, for the lay people to get a better idea. The human body is but the human mind in an illusory solid shape. As the famous Johns Hopkins physicist, Richard Conn Henry, put it in 2005, “This world is immaterial — mental and spiritual.” Atoms are made out of invisible energy; not tangible matter. Quantum physics speaks a strange language of “now you see it, now you don't.” Each atom or molecule has its own unique energy signature.
Everything in this world, including you and me, radiates our unique energy signature. This new science, which will be the new science of man, nullifies our idea of organ based diseases, which we started 450 years ago from the time of Vesalius. All organs have their cells and atoms that have their unique energy signature. Human body is a colony of 50 trillion happy individual human cells that did exist as unicellular organisms for millions of years before getting together as this multicellular colony. Fritz-Albert Popp, a German physicist, has been able to map all our cells using his biophoton camera where he defines “health as a state where the cells are vibrating in synch with one another; disease is when they fall out of synch!” The latest development of science has now accepted the definition of Whole Person Healing (WPH) for future. (Late Professor Rustum Roy at the IOM meeting in February 2010). Time has come to abandon the disease era of medicine. We have to concentrate on the whole human organism for the future management of altered physiologies. The new definition of health is “enthusiasm to work and enthusiasm to be compassionate.” This comes close to the definition of health in Ayurveda, a much more scientific healing art, which followed quantum physics from day one long before physicists discovered quantum physics. Durr does write that the concept of Indian advaita is a better understanding of quantum world compared to his definition of a-duality.
Our old model had a linear structure which followed the Ford Motor style assembly line. If biochemical transmission failed between points A and B, the precursor chemical could accumulate at point A and point B will be depleted of it. The holistic model is that if there is any such lapse, the effect could be felt in multiple areas and systems. One example will clarify this. When you are bitten by a spider you get a severe swelling and itching in the area due to release of the powerful histamine, locally. But if you treat that with an antihistamine, the latter will go round everywhere and have dangerous distant effects even in the brain. While histamine increases capillary permeability locally producing swelling, in the brain histamine enhances the neuronal function for better output. In our present thinking we give you antihistamine and your itching stops but the same antihistamine blocks the brain histamine levels and your brain cells function less, making you very drowsy! This tells us why the biggest killer today is Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR). Further studies have shown that any drug we give helps only because of the faith the patient has got in the doctor (placebo) and the drug has only side-effects! This earth-shaking discovery was made recently in a multi-centric study in the four leading universities. (Science Translational Medicine March 2011).
Biological systems like man are redundant. This redundancy makes the same signal to be used in multiple places in the body to achieve many things economically with varied behavioural functions. This was the fallacy of our old reductionist model where we thought one defect one effect and one drug molecule to rectify it. That is why nature has just given us 25,000 genes. One gene could look after so many functions. In addition, we have trillions of genes acquired from a multitude of germs that have become a part of us over millions of years and they live a symbiotic existence, the so called human meta-genome. When we disturb the germs inside us, we fall sick! This shows how foolish our expensive search for genetic modelling and genetic engineering, including stem cell research is. In fact, studies have elegantly shown that body cells, if needed, could transform themselves into pluripotent stem cells. Richard Becker showed way back in the 1950s that while a bone fractures, the blood clot seen under the periosteum could make the red blood cells there to gradually acquire a nucleus and then put out pseudopodia to become stem cells to heal the fracture — holistic natural healing!
Physicists have failed to inform the lay public of the purely mental nature of the universe (man included) and biologists and physicians are yet to understand quantum physics. There is a nice simple book by a Nobel Laureate biologist; Albert-Szent Gyorgyi, Introduction to Submolecular Biology. Today bio-chemistry provides the mechanistic foundation for biomedicine. That branch of science is so out dated that our researchers have no understanding of the molecular mechanisms that truly provide for life. The very word animate comes from the proteins in the genetic chain. They twist and bend like a snake to give us mobility at the molecular level right up to our movements! In truth, quantum properties of matter can influence the biochemical reactions as shown above. It is the invisible forces of electromagnetic energy that keep us alive and all those frequencies like cellphones, microwave ovens, radio frequencies and even the scalar energy affect our DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. Similarly the right frequencies of electromagnetic energy could be used for healing any cell in any organ under any circumstance. We are using such frequencies to treat killer diseases like heart attacks, brain attacks and any other damage in the cells of any organ. An added advantage is that energy signals travel at a phenomenal speed of 1, 86,000 miles per second, while chemical transmission is just one centimetre per second!! While drugs take months to get one back on one's feet after a major illness, energy healing takes only hours to days!
Living organisms must receive and interpret environmental signals in order to survive. The signals reach the single cells through their antenna in the cell wall. So our connection with the outside world is through the cell wall, our true brain. The environmental signals are our true saviours, God if you like (Bruce Lipton). When this signal dies, organism dies only to enter another shell to be reborn! Eastern wisdoms like Ayurveda, Tibetan medicine, Chinese medicine and many other systems adopted quantum physics eons ago and their ideas of energy channels in the human body are now proving to be highly scientific. We condemned the whole lot of them as unscientific mainly because of the pressures from the drug and instrument lobbies.
Instead of understanding human physiology properly, modern medicine created the monsters of “killer diseases” which are nothing but deviations in physiology and behaviour from some hypothetical norm as unique disorders and dysfunctions. The gullible public thinks that they are all killer diseases, thanks to the 24X7-hour advertisements. Let us understand the human being and try and set the deranged cell frequencies with suitable alternatives to get man back on his feet.
(The writer is a former professor of cardiology, Middlesex Hospital Medical School , University of London and former Vice-Chancellor, Manipal University
Keywords: modern medicine, human physiology, quantum physics, killer diseases
Published: October 29, 2011 03:32 IST | Updated: October 29, 2011 16:12 IST Mumbai, October 29, 2011
SAINATH - In 16 years, farm suicides cross a quarter million
It's official. The country has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India
The data show clearly that the last eight years were much worse than the preceding eight. As many as 1,35,756 farmers killed themselves in the 2003-10 period. For 1995-2002, the total was 1,21,157. On average, this means the number of farmers killing themselves each year between 2003 and 2010 is 1,825 higher than the numbers that took their lives in the earlier period. Which is alarming since the total number of farmers is declining significantly. Compared to the 1991 Census, the 2001 Census saw a drop of over seven million in the population of cultivators (main workers). The corresponding census data for 2011 are yet to come in, but their population has surely dipped further. In other words, farm suicides are rising through the period of India
While the 2010 numbers show a dip of 1,404 from the 2009 figure of 17,368, there is little to cheer about. “There was a similar dip in 2008, only to be followed by the worst numbers in six years in 2009,” points out Professor K. Nagaraj, an economist at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, who did the largest ever study of the farm suicides covering a decade (The Hindu, November 12-15, 2007). “This one-year decline does not in any way indicate we have turned the corner. This dip happened mostly because of one-off falls in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. In fact, a look at the ‘Big 5' who drive the numbers shows the fallout of the agrarian crisis to be as grim as ever. They have actually increased their share of the farm suicides.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2577740.ece
Published: October 29, 2011 03:32 IST | Updated: October 29, 2011 12:23 IST Mumbai, October 29, 2011
SAINATH - Maharashtra leads in statistic of shame
While the total number of farmers who took their own life in 2010 showed a dip from the preceding year, the share of the Big 5, in fact, rose to 66.49 per cent of all farm suicides in 2010. It was 62 per cent in 2009. Three of the Big 5 States have shown significant increases over 2009: Maharashtra (+269), Karnataka (+303), and Andhra Pradesh (+111). Nationally, the last eight years have seen on average, farmers killing themselves at a rate of one every 30 minutes.
In all, 14 of 28 States reported increases in 2010, while four have recorded declines of five or fewer suicides. The dip in 2010 comes with big falls in Chhattisgarh (-676), Tamil Nadu (-519) and Rajasthan (-461) and significant falls in Madhya Pradesh (-158), Puducherry (-150), and Uttar Pradesh (-108). West Bengal and Gujarat also report declines of 61 and 65. But the overall trend remains dismal.
In 1995, the first time the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) tabulated farm suicide data, the Big 5 accounted for 56.04 per cent of all farm suicides . In 2010, despite a one-year decline, they accounted for 66.49 per cent. Maharashtra 's story is alarming. It saw 20,066 farmers kill themselves between 1995 and 2002. That stands dwarfed by the 30,415 farmers who took their lives in the next eight years. The latter period saw an annual average increase of nearly 1,155 such deaths in the State. This was also the period when money was poured into relief ‘packages' of the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, through the loan waiver of 2008, and other measures.
During the very decade in which it reigned without break as the worst State to be a farmer in, Maharashtra rose to the first position among the big States in per capita income. Overall at Rs. 74,027, it is behind only much smaller States like Haryana and Goa . The Union Agriculture Minister is from this State and has held that post for six of those 10 years.
Published: October 11, 2011 01:23 IST | Updated: October 11, 2011 01:23 IST October 11, 2011
Marking the birth of modern China
Cheng ZhiliangWang Jianhua
Li Yunlu
AP Researchers test China 's first space station module Tiangong-1 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province
The Xinhai Revolution that ended 2,000 years of imperial rule is a testament to the people's desire for reform and rejuvenation.
The rise of China
The 1911 Revolution, which began on October 10, 1911 with an armed uprising, ended the imperial rule established by Emperor Qinshihuang in 221 B.C. and established a republican government, the first in Asia.
Behind the revolution were a burgeoning democratic movement and the rising influence of western civilization.
The revolution not only rid Chinese men of the humiliating ponytails and women of the excruciatingly painful foot-binding, but also removed the people's blind faith in the emperor and fear of foreign powers. The event has since been emancipating people's minds from thousands of years of oppression and self-enclosure.
Over the past century, the nation has united to fight for its destiny and independence. From the Opium War (1840-1842) to the Xinhai Revolution, patriots from all walks of life have always come together to fight imperial autocracy and foreign invasion, with the aim of national rejuvenation and building a country that is respected by the world. Now, China
Rejuvenation is the common will of a civilization that has existed for over 5,000 years, and no one can halt the process.
The 1911 Revolution, led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, overthrew imperial rule and opened the gate for China
History has proven that only those who fight for the interests of the people can lead a country to success.
Looking back at the past 100 years, it is clear that the Chinese nation swam with the tide of the times, moving forward in the right direction.
In world history, China
However, imperial China
The 1911 Revolution was a positive response from China
But it failed to establish a modern system to eliminate long-standing malpractices and push forward the country's development. China
Economic progress
Looking to the future, the Chinese people have realized they cannot rest on their achievements. They need to be vigilant against unexpected changes and learn from advanced civilizations with open minds. They must exert effort for domestic economic construction rather than seek world hegemony.
The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be a long and difficult process, and development still deserves to be a top priority.
Although China
And the ancient feudal tradition, including the rule of man in certain areas, is still one of the major obstacles hindering China
During his speech, entitled “The Path to China 's Future,” at Britain 's renowned Royal Society in June, Premier Wen Jiabao said: “China China
To commemorate the 1911 Revolution with a keen sense of responsibility and democracy, people should spur social progress. The more the people participate in social management and public affairs, the greater the momentum will be on social progress.
As for China
It is better to bear in mind that China
One hundred years after the revolution, China
Only by swimming with the tide of the times can China
Keywords: 1911 Revolution, China reform
Published: October 22, 2011 21:52 IST | Updated: October 23, 2011 03:48 IST LONDON
St. Paul
Normally, the City of London — Britain's equivalent of Wall Street — is all pinstriped suits and bowler hats with high-flying bankers and financial traders rushing in and out of their gleaming glass-and-chrome offices or popping in and out of scores of champagne bars in the area, but for the past one week it has become the open-air “headquarters” of the country's anti-capitalist movement.
In a symbolic “occupation” of the City, protesters demanding an end to “corporate greed and inequality,” have been camping outside the historic St. Paul St. Paul
What began as a small gathering has swelled to several hundred, prompting a backlash from the cathedral authorities who want the protesters to quit citing “health and safety” considerations. There had also been complaints from tourists that the protesters were obstructing the approach to the 350-year-old cathedral. Souvenir shops and restaurants reported drop in business as tourist numbers fell.
On Saturday, the cathedral was shut down after the protesters refused to leave insisting that they were determined to stay put “for as long as it takes” to put across their message. This is the first time since the Second World War that it has been closed. The last time it was done was for four days in September 1940.
The Dean of St Paul's, the Rev. Graeme Knowles, said the decision to close the cathedral to the public was made with “heavy hearts.” It was “simply not possible to fulfil our day to day obligations to worshippers, visitors and pilgrims in current circumstances”.
“With so many stoves and fires and lots of different types of fuel around, there is a clear fire hazard,” he said.
Ironically, it was at the intervention of the cathedral authorities that police had allowed the protesters to set up the camps.
When they first arrived last Saturday, police wanted to move them saying it would be “illegal and disrespectful” to camp in front of the cathedral. But the canon chancellor of St. Paul
A spokesman for protesters said they had already reorganised the camp in response to concerns about safety and were in talks with the police and cathedral officials to resolve the stand-off.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-01/delhi/30345348_1_circle-rates-money-in-property-transactions-black-money
Delhi
TNN Nov 1, 2011, 05.39AM IST
Circle rates are the government's valuation of land in the city - differentiated into eight categories, A to H - below which a realty deal cannot be registered. After doubling the circle rates in February this year, the government on Monday further revised the rates with a hike in the range of 15% to 250%. The new circle rate regime is unlikely to affect real estate prices in the city. If anything, the hike may result in a price correction in certain areas as the black money component in property deals comes down. Property analysts said even the revised rates were much below real property values in the city.
The city government expects the revised rates to bring in additional revenue to the tune of Rs 800 crore annually.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit said the revision was an attempt to bring circle rates closer to real property prices, although these were still lower than market values in many posh colonies. According to senior revenue department officials, in most cases , the actual rates of properties are not shown on paper due to which the government suffers loss in revenue in stamp duty and registration fees.
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
First Published: 23:24 IST(31/10/2011)
Last Updated: 01:19 IST(1/11/2011)
Circle rates hiked by up to 250%
Circle rates hiked by up to 250%
The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting presided over by Delhi
Circle rates are charged on the basis of categories prescribed by MCD for calculation of property tax under unit area method. Under the system, the city has been divided into eight categories - A to H, wherein A stands for posh colonies.
"The growth of the real estate market and instances of under valuation of properties necessitated this decision. Delhi
The rates in category A has been increased by 250%, for B, C and D categories by 100%, for E category by 25%, for F category by 20%, and for G and H categories by 15%. Category A includes areas like Vasant Kunj and New Friends Colony. Its circle rate has been increased from the existing R86,000 per square metre to R2,15,000.
Meanwhile experts have welcomed this move. "This upward revision will help bring some level of rationalisation in the market. It will minimise the difference between the prevailing 'market rate' and the existing 'circle rate'. But the rise in rates by 250% may adversely affect consumer sentiment as property registration will become costlier," said Sachin Sandhir, managing director, RICS South Asia, a real estate consultancy.
In June 2010, Delhi
The Times of India , Delhi
Circle rate hike way to go: Experts
Will Initially Burden Consumers But Prove To Be Beneficial In Long Run
TIMESNEWSNETWORK
New Delhi: With the Delhi government hiking the circle rates substantially on Monday,the citys realty market is expected to be impacted somewhat.Its going to be a twopronged impact,say property experts.While the white component of the transaction will be going up as circle rates try to catch up with the grossly deflated market prices,the good news is that more genuine buyers are now expected to enter the market with financiers taking a backseat.
New Delhi: With the Delhi government hiking the circle rates substantially on Monday,the citys realty market is expected to be impacted somewhat.Its going to be a twopronged impact,say property experts.While the white component of the transaction will be going up as circle rates try to catch up with the grossly deflated market prices,the good news is that more genuine buyers are now expected to enter the market with financiers taking a backseat.
Said real estate analyst Pradeep Mishra: The reason for the impact on the property prices is that the component of the price that was white,comprising the stamp duty that was usually undervalued,will now go up. Its not going to be a huge jump though,say experts,despite the staggering 250 per cent hike in circle rates of upmarket colonies in Category A.Said Harish Sabharwal,a Mayur Vihar broker: The circle rates are finally becoming more realistic,reflective of the market.Since this means that the stamp duty is going up,there will be a short-term impact. The hike will be passed on to the buyer,who will bear the additional load,said experts.Both Mishra and Sabharwal,however,feel the impact will be absorbed in the next few months.Transactions will be affected only for a couple of months and then itll go back to normal.The increase will also be absorbed, added Mishra.
In fact,properties in the region of more than a crore may see a rate correction,feel market watchers.That is because of the larger role of genuine buyers in this market.With the revision in circle rates,the financier will not invest as heavily now.There are several reasons for this,like the stricter general power of attorney norms as well as higher stamp duty.The financiers profit margin is smaller in this scenario, added GP Tiwari (name changed),who invests in real estate.The impact of financiers taking a backseat,added Mishra,will be felt the most in properties in the range of Rs 1.5-2 crore and above.A 5-10 per cent rate correction may happen in this category of properties, said Mishra.
In a market already impacted by rising interest rates,the hike in circle rates will play spoilsport,rue most industry watchers.While Delhis circle rates are comparatively lower than that of the other NCR areas,its a substantial hike - between 100-250 % in all the upmarket colonies.Even G and H will have a 15% increase.Property rates will obviously be affected, said Sabharwal.The hike however,isexpected to be beneficial in the long run,as it will check transactions in black money and undervaluation of property,add experts.
In a market already impacted by rising interest rates,the hike in circle rates will play spoilsport,rue most industry watchers.While Delhis circle rates are comparatively lower than that of the other NCR areas,its a substantial hike - between 100-250 % in all the upmarket colonies.Even G and H will have a 15% increase.Property rates will obviously be affected, said Sabharwal.The hike however,isexpected to be beneficial in the long run,as it will check transactions in black money and undervaluation of property,add experts.
Times of India
Page: 4 TIMES NEWS NETWORK, NEW DELHI
November 1, 2011
In upscale areas, market rate 4 times higher
For category A colonies such as Jor Bagh, Vasant Vihar, Friends Colony, Siri Fort and Ring Road bunglows, the new circle rate is Rs 2.15 lakh per square metre, a 250% hike over the existing rate of Rs 86,000.
This means nobody would be allowed to register land and immovable properties in these colonies for less than Rs 2.15 lakh per square metre. The market price in these colonies is still about four times higher than the revised rates.
In category B colonies -Greater Kailash Park-1 & II, Green Park
"We have decided to hike the circle rates in the range of 15% to 250% so that property transactions reflect the real value. The government would be able to generate an additional revenue of Rs 800 crore annually," CM Sheila Dikshit said after the Cabinet meeting.
The circle rate has been increased by 100% in C & D category colonies too. Colonies such as Kailash Hills, East of Kailash and Saket fall in C category and the rates here stand revised from Rs 54,600 per sq metre to Rs 1,09,200 per sq metre. In D category colonies like Amar Colony, Jangpura A and Janakpuri, the rate has been increased by 100% from 43,600 per sq metre to Rs 87,200 per sq metre.
In E category colonies, which includes Jama Masjid, Khirki Extension and urban villages like Adhchini, the hike is 30% from Rs 36,800 per sq metre to rs 47,840 per sq metre.
In category F colonies, the circle rate are up 20%. So for those staying in Adarsh Nagar, Bhajanpura, Jamia Nagar and Neb Sarai, the rates are now going to be Rs 38,640 per sq metre. In category G - Jahangirpuri, Badarpur, Jasola and others - the rate increase is 15% (Rs 31,510). In the lowest category, H, which includes Burari, Chhatarpur and Bapraula, the new rate is Rs 15870 per sq metre, a hike of 15%.
In the case of DDA and cooperative group housing society flats, the minim um rates for calculating the registration value of the property has been doubled. So, if you own a flat of around 100 sq metre (1,000 sq feet), the minimum value for registration will be Rs 45,20,000.
In case of flats constructed by developers, the minimum value will be increased by up to 1.25 times that of DDA flats of the same size. In case of independent floors on a plot of land, the value of the floor will be calculated by computing the total cost of the building including the land cost divided by the number of floors.
The revised rates shall be taken into consideration for registration of instruments relating to land and immovable properties in Delhi
The circle rates were first introduced in Delhi
Times of India
Page: 4 TIMES NEWS NETWORK, NEW DELHI
November 1, 2011
Gender bias: Only Af fares worse than India in S Asia
Rukmini Shrinivasan | TIMES INSIGHT GROUP
New Delhi: Far from improving,Indias abysmal gender inequality statistics seem to have taken a turn for the worse.New data shows that Indias Gender Inequality Index (GII) worsened slightly between 2008 and 2011,and India now ranks 129 out of 146 countries on the GII,better only than Afghanistan in south Asia.
On the Human Development Index (HDI),India ranks 134 out of 187 countries.When inequality is factored in,it experiences a 30% drop in human development values,ranking 129th out of 146 countries.
Indias decline is accounted for by a fall in female labour force participation rate and a worsening of its adolescent fertility rate.Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh,who helped release 2011 UNDP Human Development Report on Wednesday,said a decline in female labour force participation could indicate improved status or better education opportunities.
The GII,introduced by United Nations Development Programme last year,measures female disadvantage in three areas: reproductive health as measured by the maternal mortality ratio and adolescent fertility rate;empowerment measured by proportion of seats in Parliament and proportion with at least secondary education;and the labour market measured by the labour force participation rate.
However,the UNDP report shows that the proportion of women with at least secondary education is still just half that of men.Globally,richer countries with higher human development,have higher female labour force participation too.
Within Indias neighbourhood,Sri Lanka has overtaken China on human development and with an HDI of 0.691,is now within touching distance of the high human development category.Sri Lanka performs particularly well on gender equality indicators;its maternal mortality ratio is the same as Russias
Economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for human development.Recent data shows that high growth states like Gujarat have worse human development measures,particularly on malnutrition,than many of the northern states, Ramesh said.He went on to praise the role of non-government players,including Anna Hazare,in bringing about change in sanitation.
Biz bribes abroad fall,but India
When it comes to companies bribing public officials for business overseas,Indias score improved the most globally since 2008,rights group Transparency International said,but India still ranked near the bottom of the global Bribe Payers Index,ranking 19th among 28 countries.P 9
Published: November 4, 2011 10:27 IST | Updated: November 4, 2011 10:37 IST
Delhiites third richest in country
‘They love their drinks, mobile phones'
On an average, a Delhiite earns Rs.1.16 lakh a year, owns 2.5 mobile phones, watches nearly two movies annually, gets a supply of 50 gallons of water each day and consumes over a case and quarter of liquor in a year.
These are some of the interesting facts revealed by the Delhi Statistical Handbook-2011 released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit here on Thursday.
Addressing the media, Ms. Dikshit said Delhi Delhi
The city has registered a 26 per cent growth in urban population over the past decade with North-West Delhi recording the highest growth rate of 21.79 per cent and New Delhi
Despite the high population growth, the literacy rate has managed to keep pace and there are 86.34 per cent literates in Delhi
The report says Delhi Chandigarh
3.88 crore mobile connections
The number of connections over the past year rose by over a crore to touch 3.88 crore in 2011 as against 2.82 crore in 2010. The growth of landline connections was comparatively moderate – rising by about 11.28 lakh during the same period and increasing to 28.38 lakh in 2011.
The number of vehicles rose sharply from 6,451,883 in 2009-10 to 6,932,706 in 2010-11, an addition of 5 lakh vehicles to the city roads.
Brought out by the Delhi Government's Directorate of Economics and Statistics, the 36th issue of the handbook has 23 chapters covering various socio- economic parameters of the city.
Published: October 29, 2011 17:17 IST | Updated: October 29, 2011 17:17 IST October 29, 2011
America
Winds of Change: Blowing not just in America Finsbury Square , London
A demonstrator in
By insisting that America Occupy Wall Street
For many of us covering politics in the United States
While nearly two decades of laissez-faire policies under former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush succeeded in bankrupting the American middle class and driving it to Depression-era despair, the initial, angry response came not from the Left but the Right. Thus the Tea Party was born, warts and all.
When the Tea Party then went on to enjoy a stunning success in getting its sympathisers elected to Congress in last year's mid-term polls, that made the footprint of the American Right on policymaking impossible to ignore. More recently, the colourful, if sometimes hateful, debates between potential Republican Presidential contenders have proved to be a handy platform for bashing President Barack Obama's record in office.
Late response
Yet it was only as late as September 17 this year that a movement appeared on the national stage that not only identified the true malaise of governance during the Clinton and Bush years but also finally showed that America had a soul, a sense of balance in its understanding of history, and a recognition of the harsh toll of the recession years. That movement is Occupy Wall Street (OWS).
In the brief five weeks that it has been alive OWS has not only been the first real locus of rightful indignation of a disenchanted middle class reeling from the onslaught of the downturn, but it has captured the imagination of many across the world, from Beijing to Tehran.
Ironically, assuming a leaderless and loosely organised structure like its antithesis the Tea Party movement, OWS strikes at what is now widely recognised as the epicentre of the financial markets collapse of 2008 — the traditional home of the world's largest banks in New York City's financial district.
Although it was initially said to have been instigated by a Canadian activist group called Adbusters, it quickly ballooned into a massively popular series of marches that aimed to highlight inequality and corporate greed.
Its statistics-based war cry of “We are the 99 per cent” reaches to the very core of the problem with American economics today, that the rules of the game have led to a deeply unequal distribution of wealth in the world's only superpower.
With almost 40 per cent of that wealth held by the top percentile of the population, who further pay a far lower tax rate than those much poorer than them, widespread anger has centred on the fact that ordinary Americans are trapped in the vice-like grip of housing foreclosures and job losses and have borne the brunt of the crisis.
Thus what began as a march on Wall Street by approximately five thousand protestors at Manhattan 's Zuccotti Park rapidly mushroomed into a movement of many hundreds of thousands in other major U.S. cities too, including Los Angeles , San Francisco , Chicago and Boston
By the time the movement hit the one-month mark it began to spread to other nations as well, with copycat demonstrations being held across Asia and Europe , in many cases again pulling in thousands of protestors.
Yet, similar to the Indian government's clumsy early response to the Jan Lokpal movement, the New York Police Department unwittingly gave OWS even more publicity when, on September 24, one of its officers viciously attacked an unarmed, penned-in group of four female protestors with pepper spray.
Insensitive handling
With the NYPD's heavy-handed action against the protestors being captured live on film and going viral on the Internet within the hour, the officer in question, Anthony Bologna, faces an internal disciplinary charge.
While NYPD arrested over 700 demonstrators marching north from Zuccotti Park Zuccotti Park
By this time the rest of mainstream American politics was quickly waking up to the emotive power of the new movement, with Democrats unsurprisingly voicing sympathy for it and Republicans and the Tea Party questioning its credibility.
Even as major U.S.
Mr. Obama spoke through the voice of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, when he said at the unveiling of a statue of Dr. King that if he were still alive, “I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonising all who work there.”
The powerful denizens of Wall Street either remained mute in the face of OWS' direct criticism of their role in the economic meltdown or joined Democratic leaders in expressing sympathy. Even when OWS embarked on a “Millionaires March” targeting the private homes of captains of industry such as Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan and Jeff Immelt of GE, it only received a positive response.
Mr. Immelt was quoted as saying, “Unemployment is 9.1 per cent and underemployment is much higher than that, particularly among young people that don't have a college degree. It is natural to assume people are angry, and so I think we have to be empathetic and understand that people are not feeling great.”
Expected Republican response
Many mainstream Republican leaders too indicated a sense of understanding about people's frustration at the high unemployment rate and depressed state of the economy. Yet some of the more radical among them, such as Herman Cain, former Godfather Pizza CEO and current Republican Presidential race contender, insinuated that OWS protestors were “jealous” Americans who “play the victim card” and want to “take somebody else's” Cadillac.
Mr. Cain's rivals, such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, however chose to sympathise with the protestors' sentiment but lay blame for their plight on the Obama administration's policies. Mr. Gingrich said, “There are a lot of people in America
At the heart of these diverse responses is the question of what the rise of OWS could mean for American politics today, particularly the question of whether it could challenge the assumptions of the Tea Party movement and thus bringing the battle to the Right-wing group's doorstep.
What was most remarkable about the Tea Party's meteoric rise in U.S. politics since 2009 was not so much that a horizontally-structured movement could capture the imagination of so many ordinary Americans, but the fact that it could do so despite representing a conservative view of American history that completely repudiated blame for engendering the worst economic downturn this country has seen since the 1930s.
Thus the Tea Party has relentlessly pressed legislators to cut the size of government spending and roll back regulation in a majority of industries, even though it was obvious that an utter lack of regulation of financial market players such as mortgage lenders had contributed to the unprecedented housing market collapse in this country.
Similarly, Tea Party-backed legislators such as Michele Bachmann, also a Republican Presidential hopeful for 2012, have vowed to have what they pejoratively refer to as “Obamacare” repealed, unmindful of the fact that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the path-breaking healthcare reform will cut the U.S. deficit by $138 billion over the first decade of its implementation and by $1.2 trillion over the second.
But wasn't deficit reduction at the heart of the debt limit negotiations over the summer, in which Republicans held the government and indeed the entire nation hostage through their veto power in Congress?
The fact that the Tea Party has been so politically successful despite such glaring contradictions is down to one major attribute of the movement — it taps into widespread public anger over the large-scale regulatory failure that led to the country's economic woes in the first place.
OWS could present the ultimate challenge to the Tea Party's partisan answer to the problem, because it directly links laissez-faire policies, rather than over-regulation, to the crisis. If this means more support to the unemployed, more medical care for the elderly and more educational resources for poorer students, then OWS may well ring true with impoverished American voters in 2012 where the Tea Party does not.
At the crossroads
Yet, even as it heads towards its two-month birthday, OWS is at a crossroads and the choices it makes in the weeks ahead will determine whether the movement will retain salience in terms of what matters most to middle class Americans, or whether it will become another catch-all Leftist, or even worse, “hippy,” movement.
For, while it is certainly commendable that OWS protestors have spoken of numerous, wide-ranging ills that plague American society today, from environmental destruction to minority discrimination, nothing would give the movement coherence as much as a well-defined set of core demands that the political leadership could adopt if they so chose.
It is hard to imagine Obama or indeed even a far more Left-leaning member of Congress take up the variegated rainbow portfolio of OWS as it stands in its current form. The argument that OWS has made in favour of thus far avoiding the core-demands question would appear to be that its Declaration of the Occupation of New York City document is sufficient, and “The open democracy of Zuccotti Park
Instead, it would be a welcome irony if OWS took a page out of the Tea Party's book and focused on its impact on mainstream American politics through grassroots mobilisation. This step alone could mark an inflection point for a transformative phase in the movement. It could also endow OWS with the power to remake the political landscape of a country in dire need of socioeconomic renewal.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/magazine/article2573480.ece
Published: October 29, 2011 17:15 IST | Updated: October 29, 2011 17:15 IST October 29, 2011
Resistance with a human face
The OWS 'General Assembly' in progress. Photo: Rajeev Ravisankar
Rajeev Ravisankar recounts what it was like to be there at the Liberty Plaza
In the midst of an ongoing economic recession, the Occupy Wall Street movement has sparked the imagination of people across the United States The “occupiers from below” decry the concentration of wealth and power in the top one percent and increasing economic inequality in American society.
“Occupy” started over a month ago and has branched out with demonstrations of solidarity in over 1,000 cities around the U.S. Zuccotti Park
Consensus-based
I arrived at Zuccotti Park , called Liberty Plaza
Initially, I found it strange that almost everyone was repeating the words of the person speaking, but I soon found out that this human microphone is a clever way to get around city restrictions on using voice amplifying devices. As General Assembly participants continued deliberating, I decided to walk around the park to get a better sense of what was happening.
People talked and played guitars softly while others napped. Onlookers watched curiously, taking photos from time to time. Protest signs were lying around in different areas, and like many other people, I peered over the messages about putting “people over profit,” undue corporate influence in the political sphere, home foreclosures, environmental degradation, and worker rights.
The space facilitated diverse interactions among people. I overheard two bankers arguing that government and regulations are to blame for the economic crisis rather than financial institutions. When they left, the man sitting next to me shared his views as one of the many jobless. A few of us engaged about the meaning of the Occupy movement; one was from Wisconsin
The occupation seemed almost ordinary, and I wondered “Is this it?” But there are many faces of protest and resistance beyond pitched confrontations between police and demonstrators. That day, the inner workings of the alternative presented by the movement were on display.
Support networks
Networks of mutuality had already developed, ensuring the occupation's viability. I passed by a food table offering free pizza, bread, and fruit and a medical station with volunteers. At the media centre, a team updates the website and maintains the movement's online presence. The space also includes a performance area and a makeshift library. Later, I learned that the sanitation working group helps clean the park and has developed a system to treat and recycle wastewater.
The occupiers are living an alternative to the status quo of a consumer-based society and profit-driven economic system in which individuals are reduced to self-interested utility maximizers. Their horizontal organising and democratic decision-making challenges technocratic governance driven by credentialed ‘experts'.
Rajeev Ravisankar is a freelance writer from Columbus , Ohio
PROLIFERATION GOOD; NEEDED QUALITY
With a plethora of TV channels and hundreds of newspapers, Kerala's media scene looks already overcrowded. Four more channels are poised to go on air before the end of the year. Now joining the maddening media scene will be three editions of Times of India. All these mean more numbers, no doubt. Have they contributed to quality improvement? Veteran journalist P K Ravindranath finds out With four more channels to take off before the year ends (with Madhyamam and Manorama Rainbow, Mathrubhumi and Kaumudi) Kerala’s media scene is likely to develop into a dogfight for TRP ratings and consequent lowering of quality.
Kerala’s print media scene is already overcrowded with the Deccan Chronicle having pitched its tent at Kochi and still struggling to find adequate readers, The Times of India is set to invade Kerala with three editions in Kochi , Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. TOI, with its over gracious bow to market forces, it is feared, would force the others to give a go by to professional standards and ethics. In Mumbai, the base of the paper, it is notorious for having besmirched the high standards it had once set for itself. The leader in ushering in the concept of celebrity journalism, the Page Three phenomenon and now paid news, The Times of India will literally have to undertake a blitzkrieg, if it is not to repeat its dismal record of having folded up its Kolkatta edition within months in the 1950s.
A phenomenon that has overtaken most other news papers – the sharp decline of quality editing of copy- is most explicit in The Times of India ever since computers dispensed with typewriters and teleprinters in its offices. Reporters with questionable credentials type their copy on the computer and click it to the News Editor or the News Desk, complete with a byline even if the story is about a commonplace event. Kaumudi
The News Editor places the story with a headline, if necessary, on the page and clicks it off to the printer or the page designer. The report appears with mistakes, repetitions and everything else to proclaim that it could have been better if it had gone under a blue pencil.
For almost two decades now, the functions of the editorial desk in that august publication has been taken over by the Response Department – an euphemism for the department that handles all advertising. It is often known to decide what items should go where and with what importance. Mathrubhumi With the recent outcry against paid news, the paper confines its outpourings in the “Bombay Times”, which has expanded considerably to cover as many as 16 pages. The supplement to the daily paper is crammed with photographs of social, political and film personalities and “articles” pertaining to be exclusive interviews or byline pieces. Most of the material in this special supplement is quality stuff and could stand some expert rewriting and editing. But none of them carry any indication that it has anything to do with advertising.
Since most film personalities and socialites swear by the Bombay Times, the most frequent sponsors of this supplement are film actors and producers whose films are due for
release – mostly about their imagined romances and relationships with the tacit understanding between the two consenting parties that it will not stretch beyond the Friday when the film is released.
Kerala has been free till now of such blatant concocted stories even in its “thaniniram” (real character) publications. There are several other tricks the publication can push into the Kerala “market” – in the political, film and industrial spheres. The class of “socialites” that one finds in Mumbai and Delhi
Rupert Murdoch’s entry into Malayalam television through Asianet has already helped debase the quality of its entertainment wing – with puerile items like “Dance Dance” and “F I R” which in some ways have touched its main news channel too. Witness the number of commercial items, which have no news value, that get aired every day during prime news time on this channel. The opening of a commercial computer class, handing over keys of luxury flats, or opening of new showrooms of jewellery marts and sari emporia. The mere presence of a minister or a prominent film star at the function does not make it newsworthy.
There are other ways in which the premier Malayalam channel overlooks standards – in the quality of its anchors, correct pronunciations and selection of items according to their importance on prime time news.
The eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee recently pointed out how even the prominent English Channels take liberties with the English language. “One way to spoil your English especially pronunciation, is by listening to some anchors of English channels,” he had said. It is worse still in Malayalam channels. Since the teleprompter carries text of the broadcast in Malayalam words like “not, note” and “four, for, fore” all sound alike when written (and read) in Malayalam. Most anchors also ignore the fact that the common word “film” has only one I. It just is not “Filim”. The tragedy is that they also mispronounce Indian names and words. Irfan Pathan comes through with a soft “tha” instead of the harsh “ttha”. The Maharashtra Chief Minister’s surname – Chavan- is never pronounced as it is in Marathi.
Television channels have their eyes glued to the mysterious TRP ratings, which determine the quantum of advertising they can garner. Ratings go up when more channel surfers watch the particular channel. To get more viewers to tune in, the need arises to sensationalise any story or play any sensational story with all gruesome details to keep the viewer glued to the channel or return to it more often. Anna Hazare
In this process, most English channels have converted the prime time news hour into predominantly chat shows, picking on some story each one fancies and having a panel to discuss it threadbare. One would expect the experts to be knowledgeable at least about the subjects they pontificate on. Far from it, the most noticeable faces on such chat shows are Event Managers, film producers, socialites, easily available journalists, and stray public figures who have little to contribute by way of knowledgeable or informed comment on the subject. Some of them are there because they could divert funds through advertising to the channels. Some others are there because the Event Manager see to it that they are called. All these are in addition to the regular party spokesmen. One of the brashest of this lot is mercifully out since he mouthed profanities against Anna Hazare, as briefed by a BJP leader who had been unseated by Anna Hazare in the past. There are other
ways in which the premier Malayalam channel overlooks standards – in the quality of its anchors, correct pronunciations and selection of items according to their importance on prime time news.Abhishekh Manu Singhvi Kerala has a grouse against one of the Congress party spokesmen, Abhishekh Manu Singhvi, who has pleaded the cause of Endosulfan, as a lawyer. Singhvi, like the Agriculture Minister pleads that it has not been scientifically proved that the pesticide is responsible for the genetic problems that have plagued part of Northern Kerala where it is widely used. They forget that the benefit of doubt should go to the people not to the multinational corporation that markets it.
The Press Council had recently come out with a report on the paid news phenomenon. It was duly suppressed. Today, film makers, actors, politicians, socialites, fashion designers, cricketers, industrialists all need the service of event managers – to manage and manipulate the press. And therein lies the danger when the media scene grows to an extent where it can burst.
This growth no doubt has led to the expansion of the public sphere. But in the process it has given up its role as the watchdog of society - the hallmark of excellence in journalism.
The newest entrant into the Kerala “market” is perhaps the worst offender in the game of erosion of values with commodification of the product with the imprint line proclaiming the name of its Editor (local market) from the centre of publication. Time was when the Editor of The Times of India claimed that he held the “second most important job in the country” next to the Prime Minister. Dilip Padgaonkar, where are you today?
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November 5, 2011
Justice Markandey Katju on the role of media in India
by Justice Markandey Katju, (former Judge, Supreme Court of India ), Chairman, Press Council of India
To understand the role which the media should be playing in India
This is a very painful and agonizing period in history. The old feudal society is being uprooted and torn apart, but the new, modern, industrial society has not yet been entirely established. Old values are crumbling, everything is in turmoil. We may recollect the line in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth: “Fair is foul and foul is fair”. What was regarded good earlier e.g. the caste system is regarded bad today (at least by the enlightened section of society), and what was regarded bad earlier, e.g. love marriage, is acceptable today (at least to the modern minded persons).
One is reminded of Firaq Gorakhpuri’s Urdu couplet:
“Har zarre par ek qaifiyat-e-neemshabi hai
Ai saaqi-e- dauraan yeh gunahon ki ghadi hai”
In a marvel of condensation this sher (couplet) reflects the transitional age. Zarra means particle, qaifiyat means condition, e means of, neem means half, and shab means night. So the first line in the couplet literally means
“Every particle is in a condition of half night”.
Urdu poetry is often to be understood figuratively, not literally. So this line really means that (in the transitional age) everything is in flux, neither night nor day, neither the old order nor the new. Also, in the middle of the night if we get up we are dazed, in a state of mental confusion, and so are people in a transitional age.
In the second line, saaqi is the girl who fills the wine cup, but she is also the person to whom one can confide the innermost thoughts in one’s mind. The poet is imagining a girl, to whom he is describing the features of the transitional era. ‘Yeh gunahon ki ghadi hai’, i.e. it is the time of sin. In this transitional age it is a ‘gunahon ki ghadi’ from both points of view. From the point of view of people of the old, feudal order it is a sin to marry according to your choice, and particularly outside one’s caste or religion, it is a sin to give education to women, it is a sin to treat everyone as equal. At the same time, from the point of view of modern minded people the caste system is a sin, denying education to girls is a sin, and love marriage is quite acceptable. Thus old and new ideas are battling with each other in the transitional age.
It is the duty of all patriotic people, including the media, to help our society get over this transition period quickly and with less pain. The media has a very important role to play in this transition period, as it deals with ideas, not commodities. So by its very nature the media cannot be like an ordinary business.
If we study the history of Europe when it was passing through its transition period, i.e. from the 16th to the 19th Centuries, we find that this was a terrible period in Europe, full of turbulence, turmoil, revolutions, wars, chaos, social churning and intellectual ferment. It was only after passing through this fire that modern society emerged in Europe . India
Historically, the print media emerged in Europe as an organ of the people against feudal oppression. At that time the established organs were all in the hands of the feudal despotic authorities (the king, aristocrats, etc). Hence the people had to create new organs which could represent them. That is why the print media became known as the fourth estate. In Europe and America Europe .
In the Age of Enlightenment in Europe the print media represented the voice of reason. Voltaire attacked religious bigotry and superstitions, and Rousseau attacked feudal despotism. Diderot said that “Man will be free when the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest”. Thomas Paine proclaimed the Rights of Man, and Junius (whose real name we still do not know) attacked the despotic George III and his ministers (see Will Durant’s ‘The Story of Civilization: Rousseau and Revolution’). Louis XVI, while in the Temple prison saw books by Voltaire and Rousseau in the prison library and said that these two persons have destroyed France France Devil’s Island only because he was a Jew.
In my opinion the Indian media should be playing a role similar to the progressive role played by the media in Europe during the transitional period in Europe . In other words, the Indian media should help our country get over the transition period and became a modern industrial state. This it can do by attacking backward, feudal ideas and practices e.g. casteism, communalism and superstitions, and promoting modern scientific and rational ideas. But is it doing so?
In my opinion a large section of the Indian media (particularly the electronic media) does not serve the interest of the people, in fact some of it is positively anti-people.
There are three major defects in the Indian media which I would like to highlight.
1. The media often diverts the attention of the people from the real issues to non issues. The real issues in India are socio-economic, the terrible poverty in which 80% of our people are living, the massive unemployment, the price rise, lack of medical care, education, and backward social practices like honour killing and caste oppression and religious fundamentalism etc. Instead of devoting most of its coverage to these issues the media focuses on non issues like film stars and their lives, fashion parades, pop music, disco dancing, astrology, cricket, reality shows, etc.
There can be no objection to the media providing entertainment to the people, provided this is not overdone. But if 90% of its coverage is related to entertainment, and only 10% to the real issues facing the nation (mentioned above) then there is something seriously wrong with the media. The whole question is of proportion. In the Indian media the sense of proportion has gone crazy. Entertainment got 9 times the coverage that health, education , labour, agriculture and environment together got. Does a hungry or unemployed man want entertainment or food and a job?
To give an example, I switched on the T.V. yesterday and what did I see? Lady Gaga has come to India, Kareena Kapoor standing next to her statue in Madame Tussand’s, tourism award being given to a business house, Formula one car race etc. etc. What has all this to do with the problems of the people?
Many channels show cricket day in and day out. Cricket is really the opium of the Indian masses. The Roman Emperors used to say “If you cannot give the people bread give them circuses”. This is precisely the approach of the Indian establishment, duly supported by our media. Keep the people involved in cricket so that they forget their social and economic plight. What is important is not poverty or unemployment or price rise or farmers suicides or lack of housing or healthcare or education, what is important is whether India has beaten New Zealand (or better still Pakistan) in a cricket match, or whether Tendulkar or Yuvraj Singh have scored a century. The Indian media so much hyped up the cricket match at Mohali between India and Pakistan
Enormous space is given by our media to business, and very little to social sectors like health and education. Most media correspondents attend the film stars, fashion parades, pop music, etc. and very few attend to the lives and problems of workers, farmers, students, sex workers, etc.
Recently ‘The Hindu’ published that a quarter million farmers committed suicide in the last fifteen years. A Lakme Fashion week was covered by 512 accredited journalists. In that fashion week women were displaying cotton garments, while the men and women who grew that cotton were killing themselves an hour’s flight from Nagpur
The media coverage of the education field concentrates (if at all) on the elite colleges like the I.I.Ts, but there is very little coverage of the plight of the tens of thousands of primary schools, particularly in rural areas where education begins.
In Europe the displaced peasants got jobs in the factories which were coming up because of the Industrial Revolution. In India
Where then do these millions of displaced peasants go? They go to cities where they became domestic servants, street hawkers, or even criminals. It is estimated that there are 1 to 2 lac adolescent girls from Jharkhand working as maids in Delhi
In the field of health care, it may be pointed out that the number of quacks in every city in India
In ‘Shining’ India Sierra Leone , 38 per cent in Ethiopia , and 47 per cent in India
All this is largely ignored by our media which turns a Nelson’s eye to the harsh economic realities facing upto 80 per cent of our people, and instead concentrates on some Potempkin villages where all is glamour and show biz. Our media is largely like Queen Marie Autoinette, who when told that the people have no bread, said that they could eat cake.
2. The media often divides the people: Whenever a bomb blast takes place anywhere in India (whether in Bombay or Bangalore or Delhi or anywhere) within a few hours most T.V. channels starts showing that an e-mail or SMS has been received from Indian Mujahideen or Jaish-e-Muhammad or Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islam claiming responsibility. The name will always be a Muslim name. Now an e-mail or SMS can be sent by any mischievous person who wants communal hatred. Why should they be shown on T.V. screens, and next day in print (the T.V. news at night often sets the agenda for the print media news next morning)? The subtle message being sent by showing this is that all Muslims are terrorists or bomb throwers. In this way the entire Muslim community in India is demonized, when the truth is that 99 per cent people of all communities are good, whether they are Hindus or Muslims or Sikhs or Christians, and of whatever caste, region or language.
The senders of such e-mails and SMS messages are therefore enemies of India
3. The media promotes superstitions
As I have already mentioned, in this transitional age, the media should help our people to move forward into the modern, scientific age. For this purpose the media should propagate rational and scientific ideas, but instead of doing so a large section of our media propagates superstitions of various kinds.
It is true that the intellectual level of the vast majority of Indians is very low, they are steeped in casteism, communalism, and superstitions. The question, however, is whether the media should try to lift up the intellectual level of our people by propagating rational and scientific ideas, or whether it should go down to that low level and seek to perpetuate it?
In Europe during the Age of Enlightenment the media (which was only the print medium at that time) sought to uplift the mental level of the people and change their mindset by propagating ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity and rational thinking. Voltaire attacked superstitions, and Dickens criticized the horrible conditions in jails, schools, orphanages, courts, etc. Should not our media be doing the same?
At one time courageous people like Raja Ram Mohan Roy wrote against sati, child marriage, purdah system etc. (in his newspaper ‘Miratul Akhbar’ and ‘Sambad Kaumudi’). Nikhil Chakraborty wrote about the horrors of the Bengal Famine of 1943. Munshi Premchand an d Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyaya wrote against feudal practices and women’s oppression. Manto wrote about the horrors of Partition.
But what do we see in the media today?
Many T.V. channels show astrology. Astrology is not to be confused with astronomy. While astronomy is a science, astrology is pure superstition and humbug. Even a little common sense can tell us that there is no rational connection between the movements of the stars and planets, and whether a person will die at the age of 50 years or 80 years, or whether he will be a doctor or engineer or lawyer. No doubt most people in our country believe in astrology, but that is because their mental level is very low. The media should try to bring up that level, rather than to descend to it and perpetuate it.
Many channels mention and show the place where a Hindu god was born, where he lived, etc. Is this is not spreading superstitions.
I am not saying that there are no good journalists at all in the media. There are many excellent journalists. P. Sainath is one of them, whose name should be written in letters of gold in the history of Indian journalism. Had it not been for his highlighting of the farmers suicides in certain states the story (which was suppressed for several years) may never have been told. But such good journalists are the exceptions. The majority consists of people who do not seem to have the desire to serve the public interest.
To remedy this defect in the media I have done two things (1) I propose to have regular meetings with the media (including electronic media) every two months or so. These will not be regular meetings of the entire Press Council, but informal get-togethers where we will discuss issues relating to the media and try to resolve them in the democratic way, that is, by discussion, consultation and dialogue. I believe 90% problems can be resolved in this way (2) In extreme cases, where a section of the media proves incorrigible despite trying the democratic method mentioned above, harsher measures may be required. In this connection I have written to the Prime Minister requesting him to amend the Press Council Act by bringing the electronic media also under the purview of the Press Council (which may be renamed the Media Council) and by giving it more teeth e.g. power to suspend government advertisements, or in extreme cases even the licence of the media houses for some time. As Goswami Tulsidas said ‘Bin bhaya hot na preet’. This, however, will be resorted to only in extreme cases and after the democratic method has failed.
It may be objected that this is interfering with the freedom of the media. There is no freedom which is absolute. All freedoms are subject to reasonable restrictions, and are also coupled with responsibilities. In a democracy everyone is accountable to the people, and so is the media.
To sum up: The Indian media must now introspect and develop a sense of responsibility and maturity.That does not mean that it cannot be reformed. My belief is that 80 per cent people who are doing wrong things can be made good people by patient persuasion, pointing out their errors, and gently leading them to the honourable path which the print media in Europe in the Age of Enlightenment was following.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3528407.ece?css=print
Web ‘snooping’ plans of
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3528407.ece?css=print
The Hindu
Web ‘snooping’ plans of U.K.
AP Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May. File photo
Despite protests from rights campaigners and many of its own MPs, the British
Government is to go ahead with plans to give unprecedented powers to police and
intelligence agencies to access details of phone calls and online activity of
ordinary people irrespective of whether they are suspected of any unlawful
action.
Under the controversial Communications Data Bill, published in draft form
on Thursday amid criticism that it amounted to a “snooper’s charter”, security
agencies will be able to demand from internet providers details of every phone
call, e-mail, text message, and website visit made by their customers.
Currently, communications companies are supposed keep records of only phone
calls and emails for 12 months but under the new plans they would be required
to store details of a much wider range of data including use of social network
sites, webmail, voice calls over the internet, and gaming.
A similar move by the erstwhile Labour government in 2003 was dropped in
the face of strong opposition.
Home Secretary Theresa May insisted that the measure was needed to “catch
criminals and stop terrorists’’.
“It's not about the content, it's not about reading people's emails or
listening to their telephone calls. This is purely about the who, when and
where made these communications and it's about ensuring we catch criminals and stop
terrorists,” she said.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe claimed that it was
essential for police to have greater powers to access data in waging a “total
war on crime”.
“Put simply, the police need access to this information to keep up with the
criminals who bring so much harm to victims and our society,” he said.
But the move was attacked not only by rights groups but by the ruling
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition’s own backbench MPs.
Senior Tory MP David Davis called the proposals “incredibly intrusive”.
More than 160,000 people were reported to have signed an online petition by
the campaign group 38 Degrees saying: “Our civil liberties have taken a
battering in recent years from politicians of all backgrounds. Now it's time to
for us to push back.”
Published: November 8, 2011 02:12 IST | Updated: November 9, 2011 20:14 IST New Delhi
Self-regulation is no regulation, says Katju
If TV channels don't want to come under Press Council they should choose Lokpal
Dismissive of the news broadcast industry's self-regulatory mechanism, Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has said if TV channels do not want to come under the PCI they should choose another body like the Lokpal.
“Self-regulation is no regulation and news organisations are private bodies whose activities have a large influence on the public and they also must be answerable to the public,” he said.
On Sunday, Justice Katju wrote to News Broadcasting Association secretary N.K. Singh: “I would like to know whether the Association is willing to be placed under the Lokpal, which is proposed to be set up in the winter session of Parliament? You seem to be reluctant to come under the Press Council. Are you also reluctant to come under the Lokpal,” he asked.
“You claim the right of self-regulation. May I remind you that even judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts do not have that absolute right. They can be impeached by Parliament for misconduct…” he wrote.
“Lawyers come under the Bar Council and their licence can be suspended or cancelled for professional misconduct. Similarly, doctors come under the Medical Council, chartered accountants under their council, etc.” He said: “In the recent Anna Hazare movement, wide publicity was given to it by the media. What is the demand of Anna Hazare? That politicians, bureaucrats, judges, etc, should all be placed under the Jan Lokpal Bill. By what logic do you claim to be exempt from being placed under the Lokpal?”
The letter said: “You claim the right of self-regulation. By the same logic, politicians, bureaucrats, etc, will also claim the right of self-regulation. Or, do you claim to be so doodh ka dhula [cleansed by milk] that you should not be regulated by anyone else except yourself? What then were paid news, Radia tapes, etc.”
Keywords: Katju, media Katju spat, media responsibility
Parents held for abandoning 7-yr-old girl
Express News Service Tags : Ansal Plaza, Pramod Paswan, Chhaya Sharma Posted: Thu Nov 10 2011, 01:30 hrs New Delhi
A 50-year-old man and his wife were arrested on Wednesday for abandoning their seven-year-old daughter at Ansal Plaza , South Delhi , on January 25.
The accused have been identified as Pramod Paswan and his wife Sunita. They belong to Bihar ’s Munger district. “The girl told police that she had come to Delhi with her parents from Bihar a few days ago. They had brought her to Ansal Plaza
She was sent to NGO Prayas.
The Paswans reportedly told police that they had six daughters and were too poor to take care of them.
http://www.economist.com/node/21556568/print
Philanthro-journalism
Reporters without orders
Can journalism funded by private generosity compensate for the decline of the commercial kind?
Jun 9th 2012 | from the print edition
BANDITS, terrorists, clan rivalries, lawless security forces and corrupt officials make Russia’s north Caucasus the murkiest part of an often opaque country. Journalism there is difficult and dangerous. Much of the best reporting is done by Caucasian Knot, a bilingual online news service. Whereas most of the Russian national media is owned and controlled either by the Kremlin or by tycoons wary of incurring its displeasure, Caucasian Knot is financed by donations.
Media philanthropists are active in calmer places, too. Readers and advertisers have switched to the internet. Profit margins have shrunk or vanished. Papers are dying and journalists being sacked. Costly foreign and investigative reporting has been particularly squeezed, as has local news. One increasingly popular—if limited—response to these travails is the sort of “philanthro-journalism” long practised elsewhere by the likes of Caucasian Knot.
Thanks to its charitable traditions, this trend is most visible in America. A few philanthropically financed operations have been around for decades, but recently they have been joined by many more. Jan Schaffer of J-Lab, a journalism think-tank at American University in Washington, DC, estimates that American foundations have donated at least $250m to non-profit journalism ventures since 2005.
Many of these, such as the Texas Tribune, cover state politics. The highest-profile is arguably ProPublica, an investigative-reporting unit set up in 2008 with help from the Sandler Foundation. It has already won two Pulitzer prizes. Its managing editor Stephen Engelberg argues that, since investigative journalism is now too expensive to be sustained by commercial business models, it ought to be considered a public good.
The trend is spreading to other countries, including Australia and Britain, where regulators and politicians have fretted about the decline of old-fashioned media without doing much about it. Money from the David and Elaine Potter Foundation is funding the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), based at City University in London. Iain Overton, its editor, reckons that many traditional outlets lack the forensic skills, as well as the cash, to crunch data and hold the powerful to account.
Such subsidies aren’t new. Plenty of newspapers in what now looks like their golden age survived on plutocrats’ generosity. That continues today. Several American local papers, one of the most fragile parts of the industry, have been taken over by rich businessmen. Some of Britain’s upmarket dailies are scarcely commercial. The loss-making Guardian is run by a trust (which also owns the moneymaking Auto Trader). The Independent was saved by a Russian billionaire. Some might call that philanthropy, too.
But the likes of ProPublica and the BIJ have some distinct features. They do not seek to make a profit, even hypothetically. Most try hard to ensure donors have no editorial influence. Many give away their content (both those outfits’ websites sport a “steal our stories” button). ProPublica shares its underlying data on, say, doctors’ links with pharmaceutical firms, helping to generate more coverage. It is arguably closer to the world of campaigns and think-tanks than the media industry.
The main lesson of these experiments in philanthro-journalism is that giving up on profit does not mean an end to the concern about either money or readers. For some, legal and tax issues contribute to the money worry. In Britain the model has been hampered by the struggle to secure charitable status, which comes with tax and reputational benefits. The BIJ’s applications have twice been rejected by the charity regulator, whose criteria include broad restrictions on political activity. Jonathan Heawood, the founder of Wilkes, a new, non-profit parliamentary reporting service (named after a great journalist-politician of the 18th century) worries that it, too, might struggle to surmount the regulator’s high hurdles.
On the record, off the books
America’s Internal Revenue Service is willing to grant tax exemptions for non-profit journalism. That makes fund-raising easier, but only a bit. Like Caucasian Knot—which was set up in 2001 with a donation from George Soros’s Open Society Institute but has since diversified its funding—new ventures typically begin with one big donor, but quickly need to find others. John Bracken of the Knight Foundation, America’s biggest donor to journalism, warns start-ups that “we will not be providing perpetual support”. Many try to boost revenue through advertising, or cost-sharing agreements with other outlets.
Donors also tend to require evidence that their largesse is having an impact—which means a perpetual hunt for readers. Almost all philanthro-journalism is initially published online: it helps that, these days, readers often arrive at stories via social-media links and search engines, rather than simply by browsing a popular website. That means small operations can gain big readerships for timely articles.
Still, for the moment commercial titles continue to have the lion’s share of readers—so the charitable lot needs to attract its attention to promote their work. It is a mutually beneficial relationship: cash-strapped papers get free content; philanthro-journalists get publicity. Donors seem content, even eager, to subsidise commercial titles in this way. And the subsidies flow both ways: small investigative teams often rely on the leads and legwork provided by bigger outfits.
All that means, though, that the new-model journalism depends heavily on the old kind it is designed to replace. That is one reason why it can only be a partial solution to the woes of newspapers.
Published: November 9, 2011 23:00 IST | Updated: November 9, 2011 23:37 IST LONDON
British students in no mood to relent
The three-week old “Occupy London'' campaign against corporate greed appeared to be spreading at one stage on Wednesday as thousands of students protesting against what they see as creeping privatisation of higher education briefly “occupied'' Trafalgar Square, a major tourist attraction in the heart of Central London, and pitched tents at the base of historic Nelson's column.
Though they had vowed to stay on for “as long as it takes'' for their message to get through, police moved in quickly and forcibly evicted them. There were fears that they could return.
“Trafalgar Square
The “occupation'' happened as protesters marched to the City of London, Britain's financial hub to join the anti-capitalist campaigners camping outside St Paul's Cathedral, near the London Stock Exchange.
The area swarmed with banner-waving protesters, some wearing masks and hoods, and scuffles broke out as police in riot helmets and carrying batons tried to restrict their movements.
Television reporters on the scene were forced to apologise to viewers several times for the “strong language'' used by some marchers to criticise the police and the government.
Demonstrators alleged that police were trying to intimidate them with the threat of use of rubber bullets.
“It is ludicrous. It is antagonistic, it is like they are egging on a fight, which is frankly embarrassing,” Beth Atkinson (27) fumed while another said that many of his friends had stayed for fear of police action.
“I have got friends who haven't come along because of the threat of rubber bullets,” he said.
Students had travelled from across the country to join the march organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts and supported by a range of groups opposed to the Tory-led ruling coalition's economic policies.
“We are being told by a Cabinet of millionaires that we will have to pay triple tuition fees,” campaign leader Michael Chessum told the BBC.
After a similar march last year descended into mayhem with some protesters attacking the motorcade of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Windsor, police were taking no chances this time.
Hundreds of extra police were deployed and helicopters hovered in the sky as students raising slogans and carrying banners that read “Scrap Tuition Fees” and “Free Education” wound their way through central London
There was palpable tension throughout the march but, in the end, barring occasional clashes it passed off peacefully.
Keywords: Occupy London protest, Trafalgar Square
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2612528.ece
EDITORIAL
Published: November 10, 2011 00:08 IST | Updated: November 10, 2011 00:08 IST November 10, 2011
A low score
The Human Development Report 2011 of the UNDP affirms what critical scholars have been saying for years now: the high economic growth achieved by India India India India fares poorly, trailing neighbours Bangladesh and Pakistan
HDR 2011 makes the important point that environmental degradation and climate change will exacerbate inequalities, a trend already in evidence. India India India India lags behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
November 15, 2011 22:55 IST November 15, 2011
‘Every particle is in a condition of half night'
The Hindu Journalists get constantly told by those who claim to know better to ‘lighten up,' that Indian readers are getting younger, they have short attention spans, and they do not want to read gloom and doom stories about India
Justice Katju's criticism has triggered a welcome debate and introspection in the media but it is also expected of the Press Council chairman to take a more nuanced view of the complex terrain before him.
A Pakistani columnist once asked me: “What is it with you all? You claim to have a free media and yet, when I was in Delhi
His words came back to me after Justice Markandey Katju's outburst against Indian journalism. It is not just the two of them either.
Some months ago, a well-known Delhi-based Bharatanatyam dancer told me how “sad” she felt about the Indian media scene. She was an aggrieved party: “I cannot understand this,” she said, “no paper will review my performances. They have all done away with their review pages. Yet journalists call me all the time to find out what my favourite restaurant is, or what my favourite food is. There is an excessive focus on me, and none on my work.”
Let's face it: plenty of journalists too would agree that both Indian electronic and print media are obsessed with celebrity and trivia and are given to sensationalism. In fact, journalists have long been concerned — much before the Press Council chairman voiced his criticism — about the amount of journalistic energies and space/time devoted to the coverage of fluff, and the shallow treatment meted out to what Justice Katju described as the “real” issues.
The impulse to dumb down is only increasing under the pressure of 24x7 news cycles, and as the competition to snare young readers and viewers grows. On television, all news is spectacle, and even the irrelevant gains importance as ‘breaking news.' I remember switching on the television in my hotel room in Jaisalmer some years ago, to be greeted by this important Breaking News: “Jail mey karva chauth” — a report about women prisoners celebrating this north Indian festival of wifely piety.
Journalists get constantly told by those who claim to know better to ‘lighten up,' that Indian readers are getting younger, they have short attention spans, and they do not want to read gloom and doom stories about India not shining; if these stories have to be covered, they must be delivered to these attention-deficit readers/viewers in bite-sized pieces; coverage must be about personalities, even if about politicians; the coverage must cater to young, aspirational India's race for upwardly mobile lifestyles rather than the multiple crises in the country, even if these crises will ultimately work towards thwarting those very aspirations.
So bring in the beautiful people, go easy on farmers' suicides and rural employment generation. In this model, science journalism cannot get more cerebral than whether mobile phones give you cancer; international news would ideally feature breaking up — or breaking down — teenage pop stars, film stars, and supermodels, and the Jasmine Revolution would fare better as a new line of perfume, and Arab Spring a brand of sparkling mineral water that Angelina Jolie drinks on her UNHCR trips.
“This is what young people want today” is the market mantra. If that is correct, and we do not know that, the question is, as media — presuming that media are a substantially different entity from a fizzy drink — do we lead our ‘consumers,' or should we allow ourselves to be led by what sections of these consumers consider ‘boring' or ‘interesting'? Steve Jobs, whose market strategies are much admired by the pundits, is said to have nursed a healthy disrespect for market research, saying “customers don't know what they want until we've shown them.”
Dumbing down aside, in the past couple of years, the gory stories of media corruption, paid news, and the Radia tapes controversy have all taken the sheen off Indian journalism.
Yet I find myself disagreeing with Justice Katju's broad swipe. It is easy to tar the entire media with one broad brush of criticism. But not all journalists are the same, just as not all judges are the same. There are many journalists who are doing exactly what Justice Katju thinks journalists should be doing, and they are not necessarily all high-profile. It also needs to be said that the media have made a lot more positive contribution than they are given credit for. Much of the corruption that has come to light over the last one year, all the scams that are currently churning the Indian polity, would have gone unnoticed had it not been for exposés by news organisations. Just in the last year, the government has had to sack Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers in response to the great 2G heist, the CWG and the Adarsh scams, all of which were unearthed by the media.
We are living through a complex period of economic, social and demographic change. Even Justice Katju, in an article inThe Hinduon the media that was a forerunner to his interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme, quoted his favourite Firaq Gorkahpuri couplet to make this point:Har zarre par ek qaifiyat-e-neemshabi hai, Ai saaqi-e- dauraan yeh gunahon ki ghadi hai. Translating this literally as “every particle is in a condition of half-night; it's a time of sin,” Justice Katju spoke of the pains of living through an era of transition.
It is a nice thought that the media must separate themselves from the flux in which they exist, but the truth is that the media, and the people who work in them, are also a reflection — a snapshot — of society at any particular time. My Pakistani columnist friend who complained about the lightness of Indian newspapers is used to the steady high-fibre fare of strategic and political analyses offered up in the Pakistani papers. But that is a reflection of Pakistan
For instance, the visit of the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, excited much criticism that the coverage focussed more on her looks, clothes, Birken bag, and her glasses than on the substance of her discussions with her Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna. From a reporter's perspective, when a Minister of a country with a worse Human Development Index than yours lands at your airport with a $10,000 handbag, pricey shades, and “classy pearls,” it is bound to attract media comment. This is not trivialising news. It is news. The criticism that the coverage of her film star looks was excessive and breathless may not be misplaced. But there is nothing startlingly wrong if a newspaper's fashion reporter dissects the pearls, and a foreign affairs reporter covers the substance of the visit, as most mainline newspapers did.
Yes, it is true that journalists could be better informed about the subjects they cover, and could be possessed of more general knowledge. But that is more a commentary on our education system than on journalism itself. Some of the best journalists may not know their Shakespeare or Emile Zola, but that has not been known to affect the quality of their work.
It must also be said in defence of my tribe that journalism is far more open to criticism than some other professions. Who can criticise the judiciary this way and get away with it? Partly, this is in the nature of the work we do — the ‘product' of our labour and its authors are out there in the public realm, for everyone to evaluate. There is no hiding.
Journalism may lack a capacity for introspection, though that too is not entirely true. But there is absolutely no doubt that outside regulation, such as by using government advertisements as a weapon against media organisations as Justice Katju suggests, is dangerous. It is already used by the government to silence media criticism, and it is hardly a solution that one would expect someone of Justice Katju's calibre to come up with. To the extent his comments have triggered debate and introspection in the media and jolted us out of smug back-slapping complacency, he has made a positive contribution. But it is also expected of the chairman of the Press Council to separate himself from Everyman, and take a more nuanced view of the complex terrain before him.
November 16, 2011 00:17 IST November 15, 2011
‘I am a votary of liberty; my criticism of the media is aimed at making them better'
‘There is no such thing as self-regulation, every institution is accountable to the people.' We publish here an edited excerpt from a clarification issued by Press Council chairman Markandey Katju. The full text of his clarification can be read at www.thehindu.com. ‘No doubt, the media should provide some entertainment also to the people. But if 90 per cent of their coverage is devoted to entertainment, and only 10 per cent to all the socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priorities of the media has gone haywire.'
I have expressed my views relating to the media in several TV interviews I gave as well as in my articles in some newspapers. However, many people, including media people, wanted clarification and amplification of some of the issues I had raised. Since some controversy appears to have been raised about what I said, a clarification is in order.
Today India
If one studies the history of Europe from the 16th to the 19th centuries, when the transition from feudalism to modern society was taking place, one realises that this transitional period was full of turbulence, turmoil, wars, revolutions, chaos, social churning, and intellectual ferment. It was only after going through this fire that modern society emerged in Europe . India
In this transition period, the role of ideas, and therefore of the media, becomes extremely important. At a particular historical juncture, ideas become a material force. For instance, the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity, and of religious freedom (secularism) became powerful material forces during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe , and particularly during the American and French Revolutions. In the age of transition in Europe, the media (which were only the print media at that time) played a great, historical role in the transformation of feudal Europe to modern Europe .
In my opinion, the Indian media too should play a progressive role similar to the one played by the European media [during that age of transition]. This it can do by attacking backward and feudal ideas and practices like casteism, communalism, superstitions, women's oppression, etc. and propagating modern, rational and scientific ideas, secularism, and tolerance. At one time, a section of our media played a great role in our country.
Manner of functioning
When I criticised the Indian media, and particularly the broadcast media, for not playing such a progressive and socially responsible role, I was furiously attacked by a section of the media for my views. Some even launched a personal attack on me saying that I was an agent of the government. When serious issues are raised about the functioning of the media, it was expected that those issues would be addressed seriously.
By criticising the media, I wanted to persuade them to change their manner of functioning — not that I wanted to destroy them. The Indian media have a historical role to play in the age of transition, and I wanted to remind media persons of their historical duty to the nation. Instead of taking my criticism in the correct spirit, a veritable diatribe was launched against me by a section of the media, which painted me as some kind of dictatorial monster.
More focus on entertainment
The media should regard me as their well-wisher. I criticised them because I wanted media persons to give up many of their defects and follow the path of honour which the European press was following, and which will give them the respect of the Indian people.
I mentioned that 80 per cent of our countrymen are living in horrible poverty; there is massive unemployment, skyrocketing prices, lack of medical care, education, etc. and barbaric social practices like honour killings, dowry deaths, caste oppression, and religious bigotry. Instead of seriously addressing these issues, 90 per cent of the coverage of our media goes to entertainment, for example, the lives of film stars, fashion parades, pop music, disco dancing, cricket, etc, or showing superstitions like astrology.
No doubt, the media should provide some entertainment also to the people. But if 90 per cent of their coverage is devoted to entertainment, and only 10 per cent to all the socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priorities of the media has gone haywire. The real issues before the people are socio-economic, and the media are seeking to divert their attention to the non-issues like film stars, fashion parades, disco, pop, cricket, and so on. It is for this lack of a sense of priorities, and for showing superstitions, that I criticised the media.
What I said
One should not be afraid of criticism, nor should one resent it. People can criticise me as much as they like, I will not resent it, and maybe I will benefit from it. But similarly the media should not mind if I criticise them. My aim in doing so is to make them better media people.
While criticising, however, fairness requires that one should report the words of one's opponent accurately, without twisting or distorting them. That was the method used by our philosophers. They would first state the views of their opponent, in what was called as the ‘purvapaksha.' This was done with such accuracy and intellectual honesty that if the opponent were present, he could not have stated his views better. Thereafter it was sought to be refuted.
Unfortunately, this practice is often not followed by our media.
First, I did not make a statement aboutallmedia people but only of the majority. There are many media people for whom I have great respect. So I wish to clarify here that I did not paint the entire media with the same brush. Second, I did not say that this majority was uneducated or illiterate. This again was a deliberate distortion of what I said. I never used the word ‘uneducated.' I said that the majority is of a poor intellectual level. A person may have passed B.A. or M.A. but yet may be of a poor intellectual level.
I have again and again said in my articles, speeches, and TV interviews that I am not in favour of harsh measures against the media.
In a democracy, issues are ordinarily resolved by discussion, persuasion, consultation, and dialogue, and that is the method I prefer, rather than using harsh measures. If a channel or newspaper has done something wrong I would prefer to call the persons responsible and patiently explain to them that what they have done is not proper. I am sure that in 90 per cent or more cases that would be sufficient. I strongly believe that 90 per cent of people who are doing wrong things can be reformed and made good people.
It is only in extreme cases, which would only be about five to 10 per cent, that harsh measures would be required, and that too after repeated use of the democratic method has failed and the person proves incorrigible.
This statement of mine was again distorted and a false impression created that I wanted to impose emergency in the country. Cartoons were published in some newspapers showing me as some kind of dictator.
The truth is that I have always been a strong votary for liberty, and the proof of this is my judgments in the Supreme Court and the High Court in which I have consistently held that judges are guardians of the liberties of the citizens, and they will be failing in their duties if they do not uphold these liberties. However, liberty does not mean licence to do anything one wishes. All freedoms are subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest, and are coupled with responsibilities.
We may now discuss the question of self-regulation.
Self-regulation by broadcast media
At present, there is no regulatory authority to cover the electronic media. The Press Council of India governs only the print media, and even in cases of violation of journalistic ethics by the latter, the only punishment that can be given is admonition or censure. I have written to the Prime Minister requesting him to initiate legislation to amend the Press Council Act by (1) bringing the electronic media also under the ambit of the Press Council, and (2) giving more teeth to the Press Council.
The electronic media have strongly opposed bringing them under the Press Council. Their claim is of self-regulation. But even Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts do not have such an absolute right. They can be impeached by Parliament for misconduct. Lawyers are under the Bar Council of India, which can suspend or cancel their licence for professional misconduct. Doctors come under the Medical Council of India, which can suspend or cancel their licence. Auditors are in the same position. Why then are the electronic media shy of coming under any regulatory authority? Why these double standards? If they do not wish to come under the Press Council of India (because the present Chairman is a wicked and/or undesirable person) then the NBA (News Broadcasters Association), and BEA (Broadcast Editors Association) should indicate which regulatory authority they wish to come under. Are they willing to come under the proposed Lokpal? I have repeatedly raised this question in several newspapers, but my question has always been met either by stony silence on the part of the NBA and the BEA or by dismissing the very question as ‘irresponsible.'
TV news and shows have a large influence on a wide section of our public. Hence in my opinion, TV channels must also be made accountable to the public.
If the broadcast media insist on self-regulation, then by the same logic, politicians, bureaucrats, and so on must also be granted the right of self-regulation, instead of being placed under the Lokpal. Or do the broadcast media regard themselves so holy that nobody should regulate them except themselves? In that case, what is paid news, the Radia tapes, etc? Is that the work of saints?
In fact there is no such thing as self-regulation, which is an oxymoron. Everybody is accountable to the people in a democracy — and so are the media.
December 2, 2011 07:58 IST NEW DELHI
The government's listening to us
Ever since 26/11, India has made massive purchases of communications intelligence equipment from secretive companies from India
In the summer of 1999, an officer at a Research and Analysis Wing communications station in western India
For the first time, India had hard evidence that Pakistan
Late into the night the 26/11 attacks began in Mumbai, that investment paid off: equipment flown in from New Delhi by the Intelligence Bureau allowed investigators to intercept the assault team's communications with the Lashkar-e-Taiba's headquarters in Pakistan India
But this isn't good news: India
Who is selling?
From a trove of documents obtained by The Hindu, working in collaboration with WikiLeaks and an international consortium of media and privacy organisations monitoring the communications intelligence industry, it is evident Indian companies are already offering technologies very similar to the most formidable available in the world.
Himachal Pradesh-based Shoghi — once blacklisted by the government pending investigation of its relationship with corruption-linked former telecommunications Minister Sukh Ram — has become one of the largest suppliers to the Indian armed forces and RAW. It offers a range of equipment to monitor satellite, mobile phone, and strategic military communications.
Shoghi's SCL-3412 satellite communications link monitoring system can, its literature says, even “passively monitor C and Ku-band satellite compressed and non-compressed telecom carriers from Intelsat, Eutelsat, Arabsat, Turksat.” The company also claims its equipment can automatically analyse “bulk speech data” — in other words, listen in and pick particular languages, words, or even voices out of millions of simultaneous conversations taking place across the world.
The Hindu telephoned officials at both companies, and then e-mailed them requesting meetings to discuss issues raised in its investigation. Neither company responded; one said it was barred from discussing technical questions with the media by its terms of contract with its military clients.
Large parts of the most sophisticated equipment, defence sources told The Hindu, come in from Israel — itself a beneficiary of a special relationship with the United States
“If we get what we need,” he said, “we're willing to pay — there's no point quibbling over a few million dollars.”
Ever since 26/11, companies like Shoghi and ClearTrail haven't been short of customers: police forces have queued up to purchase passive interception technologies, which allow them to maintain surveillance not just on phone numbers specified in legally-mandatory warrants from the Home Secretary, but on all conversations in an area, or region. There are even cases of out-of-state operations: the Delhi Police have periodically maintained a passive interception capability at the Awantipora military station in Jammu and Kashmir
Computers at key net hubs
The risks of this proliferation of technology have become evident over the last two years. In Punjab , one of four passive interception units is reported to be missing, feared to have been lost to a political party or corporate institution. Andhra Pradesh actually shut down its passive interception capabilities after it accidentally intercepted sensitive conversations between high officials. Karnataka officials also accidentally intercepted conversations involving a romantic relationship between a leading politician and a movie star — while Mumbai has had several scandals involving unauthorised listening-in to phones owned by corporate figures and movie stars.
Intelligence Bureau sources told The Hindu they had been working, for the past several months, to get States to shut down the 33 passive interception units in their possession — but with little success. The pervasive attitude in a federal or quasi-federal polity seems to be: if the Centre can do it, why can't we?
Police do require warrants to tap individual phones, but in practice authorisations are handed out with little thought. In one notorious case, the politician Amar Singh's phone conversations were recorded with the consent of his service provider on the basis of what turned out to be a faked government e-mail. Mr. Singh's personal life became a subject of public discussion, but no one has yet been held accountable for the outrageously unlawful intrusion into his privacy.
Last year, journalist Saikat Datta authored a disturbing exposé, alleging the NTRO's passive interception capabilities were being misused for political purposes — and even activities closely resembling blackmail. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram denied such activities were taking place, although he has no supervisory power over the NTRO — but there has been no investigation.
The fact is that the government has no real interest in rigorous oversight. The Intelligence Bureau, for example, has long been summoning call data records for individuals from service providers with no legal cause, allowing it to maintain a watch on behalf of the Union Home Ministry of contacts maintained among journalists, politicians, corporate figures, and government.
In the absence of a full investigation into malpractices, and proper oversight, there is simply no way of knowing who might, and in what circumstances, have been targeted through passive interception means — and that's the whole problem.
“When an officer on a salary of Rs.8,000 a month has pretty much unrestricted access to this kind of technology,” a senior Maharashtra Police officer admitted, “things will go wrong, and have gone wrong.”
Earlier this year, Congress spokesperson and Member of Parliament, Manish Tewari, introduced a private member's bill that would enable Parliamentary oversight over the intelligence services — the worldwide pattern in democracies. “The advancement of communications interception warrants that a very robust legal architecture to protect the privacy of individuals needs to be put in place,” he says. “The intrusive power of the state has to be counter-balanced with the civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.”
In his case, no one seems to have been listening.
Ever-larger investments
From the public sector giant, Bharat Electronics, India's principal electronics intelligence manufacturer, we know that CCISat is just a small part of the country's overall spy technology programme: in 2009-2010, it supplied some Rs.700 crore worth of electronic warfare equipment, and was scheduled to make deliveries worth Rs.900 crore in 2010-2011. Electronic warfare systems, both offensive and defensive, were reported to make up over half its order book of Rs.15,000 crore last year.
Larsen & Toubro, as well as the Tatas' Strategic Electronics Division, have also expanded their capacities to meet an acquisitions drive that Indian military officials estimate will cost the country Rs.22,500 crore (about $4.5 billion) before the end of the decade.
This may be money well spent: there can be little doubt that communication intelligence has contributed significantly to defending India
December 2, 2011 16:28 IST December 1, 2011
The art and science of communications intelligence
Ever since World War II, technology has allowed nations unprecedented — and potentially dangerous — access into our lives. After 9/11, the risks of abuse have grown exponentially.
In March 1950, the National Security Council of the United States of America
Less than two decades after that directive was signed, the U.S. controlled the most formidable system of surveillance the world has ever seen: satellites and listening posts strung across the planet picked up everything from radio-telephone conversations from cars in Moscow to transatlantic telephone conversations and data on India
From data obtained by WikiLeaks, working with an international consortium of media organisations, including The Hindu, and other partners, we have the first real public domain insights into how much more advanced — and how much more widely available — this surveillance system has become.
The South African firm Vastech, for example, offers systems that can capture data flowing across telecommunications and internet networks in multiples of ten gigabites, and scan it for pre-determined parameters — the voice of an individual; a particular language; a phone number; an e-mail address. The Indian companies, Shoghi and ClearTrail, The Hindu found, market systems that can capture giant volumes of traffic from mobile phone and satellite networks and subject it to similar analysis. France 's Amesys is among several companies to have provided equipment like this to states like Libya
In coming days, The Hindu will report on the consequences of the proliferation of surveillance technology — but it is important, first, to understand the state of the science of communications espionage.
Evolving technology
Interception technologies are as old as communications. Julius Caesar, the imperial historian Suetonius recorded, was concerned enough about the prospect of his military communications being intercepted — in general, by the simple expedient of corrupting or capturing his messengers — to use what cryptographers call a substitution cipher — replacing the letter A with D, B with E and so on. Had one of Caesar's military messages contained a reference to The Hindu, it would have read Wkh Klqgx. Elizabeth I's spymaster, Robert Walsingham, excelled in using spies to capture information on Spain's military ambitions, and plots against his queen.
Early ciphers were easy to crack with techniques like frequency analysis, leading intelligence services to design ever more complex codes. The eminent science journalist Simon Singh's Virtual Black Chamber — so named for the rooms espionage agencies used to crack enemy codes — has a fascinating historical account of the never-ending battle between cryptographers and cryptanalysts (as well as online tools for aspiring amateur code-makers and code-breakers).
The rise of wireless communication in the early decades of the twentieth century, though, made it possible for information to be passed instantly across great distances — and for states to begin intercepting it. From 1925, Germany began deploying a path-breaking mechanical encrypted-communication system code-named Enigma, which resisted the combined efforts of cryptanalysts — thus allowing the Nazi military machine an unprecedented degree of secrecy in its military communications, and facilitating its new strategy of high-speed mechanised war.
In 1939, the Polish mathematician, Marian Rejewski, led a team that made some breakthroughs against Enigma, based on studies of a machine stolen by the country's spies. Then, in 1943, a top-secret British team, made up of an eclectic collection of scholars, technicians, and scientists led by the mercurial Alan Turing, used electromechanical devices — the first computers — to finally crack the Enigma code. Even then, full penetration of Enigma's naval variant needed a daring raid that allowed code-books to be salvaged from the submarine U559, without allowing Germany
Experts have claimed that breaking Enigma hastened the end of the war by two years. Winston Churchill, the United Kingdom
Big Brother Science
Learning from their experience, the allied powers invested heavily in communications intelligence after the end of World War II. In 1947, the four English-speaking powers — the United States , United Kingdom , Australia , and New Zealand
In the 1990s, a steady flow of information in Echelon came into the public domain, based on disclosures by the former Canadian spy Mike Frost, New Zealand India United States had begun to supply the Research and Analysis Wing's Aviation Research Centre equipment to spy on China 's nuclear programme and naval assets from 1962; acquisitions were also made from the Soviet Union .
Public disclosure of Echelon raised growing concerns that it might be misused for states to conduct espionage against their own citizens, as well as to further their commercial interests. In 2000 and 2001, the European Parliament released reports addressing these issues.
The furore forced former CIA director James Woolsey to admit, at a press conference held in 2000, that the United States did conduct espionage in Europe . Mr Woolsey said, however, that just 5 per cent of his country's economic intelligence was derived from stolen secrets — and used to target states or corporations that were either violating international sanctions or paying bribes to gain contracts. He said intelligence of this kind was not passed on to companies in the United States — adding that to harvest usable commercial information would mean resources were sucked away from the core national-security mandate of his organisation.
Fred Stock, a former Canadian intelligence officer, earlier gave testimony that suggested Mr. Woolsey's claims were, at best, a part of the truth. Mr. Stock said he had been expelled from his service in 1993 for criticising its targeting of economic and civilian targets — among them, information on negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Chinese grain purchases, and French weapons sales. He claimed Canada
Evidence also exists that the NSA spied on U.S. targets — though not on U.S. U.S. and the U.K.
Few people, however, remained willing to deal with these concerns after 9/11: increasingly, western governments allowed enhanced surveillance against their citizens, as part of the so-called war against terror. The data gathered by WikiLeaks and its partners graphically demonstrate that almost every aspect of our everyday lives — everything from the hubs of the fibre-optic cables which carry the world's e-mail and internet traffic to mobile and landline phone conversations — can, and are, scanned by intelligence services. The odds are that when you read this article, replete with words like “terrorism,” a computer somewhere is recording your activity, automatically recording your computer's precise geographical location, and matching all this against public records that contain your details.
In most democracies, there are stringent legislative safeguards against the abuse of these capabilities: the United States Senate maintains a relatively tight leash on the country's intelligence services; in Australia India
Few people, as Churchill pointed out so many decades ago, fully understand the consequences the capacities of states to monitor our wired world — but it is time citizens started marking the effort, for the alternative is to lose the rights these technologies were created to defend.
December 2, 2011 19:07 IST LONDON
Big Brother is everywhere now
AP WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during a news conference in central London
“How many of you here have an iPhone, a Blackberry or any other mobile device?'' WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asked surveying a hall full of people at the City University
This was how stark the threat from a booming multi-billion dollar global mass surveillance industry was, Mr. Assange said as he released a cache of 287 files providing a rare glimpse into how the industry was operating without any checks.
The Spy Files, spanning 25 countries, are first of a series of sensitive data that WikiLeaks plans to publish in coming months.
“Working with Bugged Planet and Privacy International, as well as media organisations from six countries – ARD in Germany, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in the UK, The Hindu in India, L'Espresso in Italy, OWNI in France and the Washington Post in the U.S. Wikileaks is shining a light on this secret industry that has boomed since September 11, 2001 and is worth billions of dollars per year. WikiLeaks has released 287 documents today [Thursday], but the Spy Files project is ongoing and further information will be released this week and into next year,'' Mr. Assange said at a crowded press conference.
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, speaking through a video-link, expressed concern over a fast growing and completely unregulated surveillance industry in India
“We are very concerned about our privacy violations,'' he said.
Mr. Ram said that working with WikiLeaks had been a “very valuable experience.” The issue highlighted by WikiLeaks was of “great international significance'' and of “significance to India
Mr. Assange said that it might sound like something out of Hollywood but mass interception systems built by Western “intelligence contractors'' were a reality. Over the past decade, the surveillance industry had grown from a covert operation which primarily supplied equipment to government intelligence agencies such as the NSA in America and Britain
Dramatically illustrating the threat, Mr. Assange said that potentially everyone who carried any mobile device was a sitting duck for anyone wanting to spy on them. The threat to investigative journalism from these new and covert surveillance techniques was particularly dire.
“The only way we are going to win this war is by developing counter-surveillance systems,'' he said.
WikiLeaks, which itself has been a victim of surveillance by intelligence agencies and their proxies and has had its site hacked, is in the process of developing a more secure system to submit information to the site.
Mr. Assange said that international surveillance companies were based in the more technologically sophisticated countries, and sold their technology to every country of the world. Intelligence agencies, military forces and police authorities were able to silently and secretly intercept calls and take over computers without the help or knowledge of the telecommunication providers.
Experts who worked on the files called for new laws to regulate export of surveillance technology.
“Western governments cannot stand idly by while this technology is still being sold,” said Eric King of the Privacy International campaign group.
Jacob Appelbaum, a computer expert at the University of Washington
“These systems have been sold by Western companies to places for example like Syria , and Libya and Tunisia and Egypt Britain
Mr. Assange warned that with entire populations being subjected to surveillance nobody anywhere in the world was safe anymore.
“In traditional spy stories, intelligence agencies like MI5 bug the phone of one or two people of interest. In the last 10 years systems for indiscriminate, mass surveillance have become the norm. Intelligence companies such as VASTech secretly sell equipment to permanently record the phone calls of entire nations. Others record the location of every mobile phone in a city, down to 50 metres. Systems to infect every Facebook user, or smart-phone owner of an entire population group are on the intelligence market,'' said a statement on official WikiLeaks Spy Files site.
FROM THE MAGAZINE (www.wired.com/magazine)
Trials and Errors: Why Science Is
Failing Us
By Jonah Lehre, 16 December 2011
On November 30,
2006, executives at Pfizer—the largest pharmaceutical company in the world—held
a meeting with investors at the firm’s research center in Groton , Connecticut
Kindler’s
enthusiasm was understandable: The potential market for the drug was enormous.
Like Pfizer’s blockbuster medication, Lipitor—the most widely prescribed
branded pharmaceutical in America
Lipitor works by
inhibiting an enzyme that plays a key role in the production of cholesterol in
the liver. In particular, the drug lowers the level of low-density lipoprotein
(LDL), or so-called bad cholesterol. In recent years, however, scientists have
begun to focus on a separate part of the cholesterol pathway, the one that produces
high-density lipoproteins. One function of HDL is to transport excess LDL back
to the liver, where it is broken down. In essence, HDL is a janitor of fat,
cleaning up the greasy mess of the modern diet, which is why it’s often
referred to as “good cholesterol.”
And this returns
us to torcetrapib. It was designed to block a protein that converts HDL
cholesterol into its more sinister sibling, LDL. In theory, this would cure our
cholesterol problems, creating a surplus of the good stuff and a shortage of the
bad. In his presentation, Kindler noted that torcetrapib had the potential to
“redefine cardiovascular treatment.”
There was a vast
amount of research behind Kindler’s bold proclamations. The cholesterol pathway
is one of the best-understood biological feedback systems in the human body.
Since 1913, when Russian pathologist Nikolai Anichkov first experimentally
linked cholesterol to the buildup of plaque in arteries, scientists have mapped
out the metabolism and transport of these compounds in exquisite detail.
They’ve documented the interactions of nearly every molecule, the
wayhydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase catalyzes the production of
mevalonate, which gets phosphorylated and condensed before undergoing a
sequence of electron shifts until it becomes lanosterol and then, after another
19 chemical reactions, finally morphs into cholesterol. Furthermore,
torcetrapib had already undergone a small clinical trial, which showed that the
drug could increase HDL and decrease LDL. Kindler told his investors that, by
the second half of 2007, Pfizer would begin applying for approval from the FDA.
The success of the drug seemed like a sure thing.
And then, just two
days later, on December 2, 2006, Pfizer issued a stunning announcement: The
torcetrapib Phase III clinical trial was being terminated. Although the
compound was supposed to prevent heart disease, it was actually triggering
higher rates of chest pain and heart failure and a 60 percent increase in
overall mortality. The drug appeared to be killing people.
That week,
Pfizer’s value plummeted by $21 billion.
The story of
torcetrapib is a tale of mistaken causation. Pfizer was operating on the
assumption that raising levels of HDL cholesterol and lowering LDL would lead
to a predictable outcome: Improved cardiovascular health. Less arterial plaque.
Cleaner pipes. But that didn’t happen.
Such failures
occur all the time in the drug industry. (According to one recent analysis,
more than 40 percent of drugs fail Phase III clinical trials.) And yet there is
something particularly disturbing about the failure of torcetrapib. After all,
a bet on this compound wasn’t supposed to be risky. For Pfizer, torcetrapib was
the payoff for decades of research. Little wonder that the company was so
confident about its clinical trials, which involved a total of 25,000
volunteers. Pfizer invested more than $1 billion in the development of the drug
and $90 million to expand the factory that would manufacture the compound.
Because scientists understood the individual steps of the cholesterol pathway
at such a precise level, they assumed they also understood how it worked as a
whole.
This
assumption—that understanding a system’s constituent parts means we also
understand the causes within the system—is not limited to the pharmaceutical
industry or even to biology. It defines modern science. In general, we believe
that the so-called problem of causation can be cured by more information, by
our ceaseless accumulation of facts. Scientists refer to this process as
reductionism. By breaking down a process, we can see how everything fits
together; the complex mystery is distilled into a list of ingredients. And so
the question of cholesterol—what is its relationship to heart disease?—becomes
a predictable loop of proteins tweaking proteins, acronyms altering one
another. Modern medicine is particularly reliant on this approach. Every year,
nearly $100 billion is invested in biomedical research in the US
The problem with
this assumption, however, is that causes are a strange kind of knowledge. This
was first pointed out by David Hume, the 18th-century Scottish philosopher.
Hume realized that, although people talk about causes as if they are real
facts—tangible things that can be discovered—they’re actually not at all factual.
Instead, Hume said, every cause is just a slippery story, a catchy conjecture,
a “lively conception produced by habit.” When an apple falls from a tree, the
cause is obvious: gravity. Hume’s skeptical insight was that we don’t see
gravity—we see only an object tugged toward the earth. We look at X and then at
Y, and invent a story about what happened in between. We can measure facts, but
a cause is not a fact—it’s a fiction that helps us make sense of facts.
The truth is, our
stories about causation are shadowed by all sorts of mental shortcuts.Most of
the time, these shortcuts work well enough. They allow us to hit fastballs,
discover the law of gravity, and design wondrous technologies. However, when it
comes to reasoning about complex systems—say, the human body—these shortcuts go
from being slickly efficient to outright misleading.
Consider a set of
classic experiments designed by Belgian psychologist AlbertMichotte, first
conducted in the 1940s. The research featured a series of short films about a
blue ball and a red ball. In the first film, the red ball races across the
screen, touches the blue ball, and then stops. The blue ball, meanwhile, begins
moving in the same basic direction as the red ball. When Michotte asked people
to describe the film, they automatically lapsed into the language of causation.
The red ball hit the blue ball, which caused it to move.
This is known as
the launching effect, and it’s a universal property of visual perception.
Although there was nothing about causation in the two-second film—it was just a
montage of animated images—people couldn’t help but tell a story about what had
happened. They translated their perceptions into causal beliefs.
Michotte then
began subtly manipulating the films, asking the subjects how the new footage
changed their description of events. For instance, when he introduced a
one-second pause between the movement of the balls, the impression of causality
disappeared. The red ball no longer appeared to trigger the movement of the
blue ball. Rather, the two balls were moving for inexplicable reasons.
Michotte would go
on to conduct more than 100 of these studies. Sometimes he would have a small
blue ball move in front of a big red ball. When he asked subjects what was
going on, they insisted that the red ball was “chasing” the blue ball. However,
if a big red ball was moving in front of a little blue ball, the opposite
occurred: The blue ball was “following” the red ball.
There are two
lessons to be learned from these experiments. The first is that our theories
about a particular cause and effect are inherently perceptual, infected by all
the sensory cheats of vision. (Michotte compared causal beliefs to color
perception: We apprehend what we perceive as a cause as automatically as we
identify that a ball isred.) While Hume was right that causes are never seen,
only inferred, the blunt truth is that we can’t tell the difference. And so we
look at moving balls and automatically see causes, a melodrama of taps and
collisions, chasing and fleeing.
The second lesson
is that causal explanations are oversimplifications. This is what makes them
useful—they help us grasp the world at a glance. For instance, after watching
the short films, people immediately settled on the most straightforward
explanation for the ricocheting objects. Although this account felt true, the
brain wasn’t seeking the literal truth—it just wanted a plausible story that
didn’t contradict observation.
This mental
approach to causality is often effective, which is why it’s so deeply embedded
in the brain. However, those same shortcuts get us into serious trouble in the
modern world when we use our perceptual habits to explain events that we can’t
perceive or easily understand. Rather than accept the complexity of a
situation—say, that snarl of causal interactions in the cholesterol pathway—we
persist in pretending that we’re staring at a blue ball and a red ball bouncing
off each other. There’s a fundamental mismatch between how the world works and
how we think about the world.
The good news is
that, in the centuries since Hume, scientists have mostly managed to work
around this mismatch as they’ve continued to discover new cause-and-effect
relationships at a blistering pace. This success is largely a tribute to the
power of statistical correlation, which has allowed researchers to pirouette
around the problem of causation. Though scientists constantly remind themselves
that mere correlation isnot causation, if a correlation is clear and
consistent, then they typically assume a cause has been found—that there really
is some invisible association between the measurements.
Researchers have
developed an impressive system for testing these correlations. For the most
part, they rely on an abstract measure known as statistical significance,
invented by English mathematician Ronald Fisher in the 1920s. This test defines
a “significant” result as any data point that would be produced by chance less
than 5 percent of the time. While a significant result is no guarantee of
truth, it’s widely seen as an important indicator of good data, a clue that the
correlation is not a coincidence.
But here’s the bad
news: The reliance on correlations has entered an age of diminishing returns.
At least two major factors contribute to this trend. First, all of the easy
causes have been found, which means that scientists are now forced to search
for ever-subtler correlations, mining that mountain of facts for the tiniest of
associations. Is that a new cause? Or just a statistical mistake? The line is
getting finer; science is getting harder. Second—and this is the
biggy—searching for correlations is a terrible way of dealing with the primary
subject of much modern research: those complex networks at the center of life.
While correlations help us track the relationship between independent
measurements, such as the link between smoking and cancer,they are much less
effective at making sense of systems in which the variables cannot be isolated.
Such situations require that we understand every interaction before we can reliably
understand any of them. Given the byzantine nature of biology, this can often
be a daunting hurdle, requiring that researchers map not only the complete
cholesterol pathway but also the ways in which it is plugged into other
pathways. (The neglect of these secondary and even tertiary interactions begins
to explain the failure of torcetrapib, which had unintended effects on blood
pressure. It also helps explain the success of Lipitor, which seems to have a
secondary effect of reducing inflammation.) Unfortunately, we often shrug off
this dizzying intricacy, searching instead for the simplest of correlations.
It’s the cognitive equivalent of bringing a knife to a gunfight.
These troubling
trends play out most vividly in the drug industry. Although modern pharmaceuticals
are supposed to represent the practical payoff of basic research, the R&D
to discover a promising new compound now costs about 100 times more (in
inflation-adjusted dollars) than it did in 1950. (It also takes nearly three
times as long.) This trend shows no sign of letting up: Industry forecasts
suggest that once failures are taken into account, the average cost per
approved molecule will top $3.8 billion by 2015. What’s worse, even these
“successful” compounds don’t seem to be worth the investment. According to one
internal estimate, approximately 85 percent of new prescription drugs approved
by European regulators provide little to no new benefit. We are witnessing Moore
This returns us to
cholesterol, a compound whose scientific history reflects our tortured
relationship with causes. At first, cholesterol was entirely bad; the
correlations linked high levels of the substance with plaque. Years later, we
realized that there were multiple kinds and that only LDL was bad. Then it
became clear that HDL was more important than LDL, at least according to
correlational studies and animal models. And now we don’t really know what
matters, since raising HDL levels with torcetrapibdoesn’t seem to help.
Although we’ve mapped every known part of the chemical pathway, the causes that
matter are still nowhere to be found. If this is progress, it’s a peculiar
kind.
BACK PAIN is an
epidemic. The numbers are sobering: There’s an 80 percent chance that, at some
point in your life, you’ll suffer from it. At any given time, about 10 percent
of Americans are completely incapacitated by their lumbar regions, which iswhy
back pain is the second most frequent reason people seek medical care, after
general checkups. And all this treatment is expensive: According to a recent
study inThe Journal of the American Medical Association, Americans spend nearly
$90 billion every year treating back pain, which is roughly equivalent to what
we spend on cancer.
When doctors began
encountering a surge in patients with lower back pain in the mid-20th century,
as I reported for my 2009 book How We Decide, they had few explanations. The
lower back is an exquisitely complicated area of the body, full of small bones,
ligaments, spinal discs, and minor muscles. Then there’s the spinal cord
itself, a thick cable of nerves that can be easily disturbed. There are so many
moving parts in the back that doctors had difficulty figuring out what,
exactly, was causing a person’s pain. As a result, patients were typically sent
home with a prescription for bed rest.
This treatment
plan, though simple, was still extremely effective. Even when nothing was done
to the lower back, about 90 percent of people with back pain got better within
six weeks. The body healed itself, the inflammation subsided, the nerve
relaxed.
Over the next few
decades, this hands-off approach to back pain remained the standard medical
treatment. That all changed, however, with the introduction of magnetic
resonance imaging in the late 1970s. These diagnostic machines use powerful
magnets to generate stunningly detailed images of the body’s interior. Within a
few years, the MRI machine became a crucial diagnostic tool.
The view afforded
by MRI led to a new causal story: Back pain was the result of abnormalities in the
spinal discs, those supple buffers between the vertebrae. The MRIs certainly
supplied bleak evidence: Back pain was strongly correlated with seriously
degenerated discs, which were in turn thought to cause inflammation of the
local nerves. Consequently, doctors began administering epidurals to quiet the
pain, and if it persisted they would surgically remove the damaged disc tissue.
But the vivid
images were misleading. It turns out that disc abnormalities are typically not
the cause of chronic back pain. The presence of such abnormalities is just as
likely to be correlated with the absence of back problems, as a 1994 study
published in The New England Journal of Medicineshowed. The researchers imaged
the spinal regions of 98 people with no back pain. The results were shocking:
Two-thirds of normal patients exhibited “serious problems” like bulging or
protruding tissue. In 38 percent of these patients, the MRI revealed multiple
damaged discs. Nevertheless, none of these people were in pain. The study concluded
that, in most cases, “the discovery of a bulge or protrusion on an MRI scan in
a patient with low back pain may frequently be coincidental.”
Similar patterns
appear in a new study by James Andrews, a sports medicine orthopedist. He
scanned the shoulders of 31 professional baseball pitchers. Their MRIs showed
that 90 percent of them had abnormal cartilage, a sign of damage that would
typically lead to surgery. Yet they were all in perfect health.
This is not the
way things are supposed to work. We assume that more information will make it
easier to find the cause, that seeing the soft tissue of the back will reveal
the source of the pain, or at least some useful correlations. Unfortunately,
that often doesn’t happen. Our habits of visual conclusion-jumping take over.
All those extra details end up confusing us; the more we know, the less we seem
to understand.
The only solution
for this mental flaw is to deliberately ignore a wealth of facts, even when the
facts seem relevant. This is what’s happening with the treatment of back pain:
Doctors are now encouraged to not order MRIs when making diagnoses.The latest
clinical guidelines issued by the American College of Physicians and the
American Pain Society strongly recommended that doctors “not routinely obtain
imaging or other diagnostic tests in patients with nonspecific low back pain.”
And it’s not just
MRIs that appear to be counterproductive. Earlier this year, John Ioannidis, a
professor of medicine at Stanford, conducted an in-depth review of biomarkers
in the scientific literature. Biomarkers are molecules whose presence, once
detected, are used to infer illness and measure the effect of treatment. They
have become a defining feature of modern medicine. (If you’ve ever had your
blood drawn for lab tests, you’ve undergone a biomarker check. Cholesterol is a
classic biomarker.) Needless to say, these tests depend entirely on our ability
to perceive causation via correlation, to link the fluctuations of a substance
to the health of the patient.
In his resulting
paper, published in JAMA, Ioannidis looked at only the most highly cited
biomarkers, restricting his search to those with more than 400 citations in the
highest impact journals. He identified biomarkers associated with
cardiovascular problems, infectious diseases, and the genetic risk of cancer.
Although these causal stories had initially triggered a flurry of
interest—several of the biomarkers had already been turned into popular medical
tests—Ioannidis found that the claims often fell apart over time. In fact, 83
percent of supposed correlations became significantly weaker in subsequent
studies.
Consider the story
of homocysteine, an amino acid that for several decades appeared to be linked
to heart disease. The original paper detecting this association has been cited
1,800 times and has led doctors to prescribe various B vitamins to
reducehomocysteine. However, a study published in 2010—involving 12,064
volunteers over seven years—showed that the treatment had no effect on the risk
of heart attack or stroke, despite the fact that homocysteine levels were
lowered by nearly 30 percent.
The larger point
is that we’ve constructed our $2.5 trillion health care system around the
belief that we can find the underlying causes of illness, the invisible
triggers of pain and disease. That’s why we herald the arrival of new
biomarkers and get so excited by the latest imaging technologies. If only we
knew more and could see further, the causes of our problems would reveal
themselves.
But what if they
don’t?
The failure of
torcetrapib has not ended the development of new cholesterol medications—the
potential market is simply too huge. Although the compound is a sobering
reminder that our causal beliefs are defined by their oversimplifications, that
even the best-understood systems are still full of surprises, scientists
continue to search for the magic pill that will make cardiovascular disease
disappear. Ironically, the latest hyped treatment, a drug developed by Merck
called anacetrapib, inhibits the exact same protein as torcetrapib. The initial
results of the clinical trial, which were made public in November 2010, look
promising. Unlike its chemical cousin, this compound doesn’t appear to raise
systolic blood pressure or cause heart attacks. (A much larger clinical trial
is under way to see whether the drug saves lives.) Nobody can conclusively
explain why these two closely related compounds trigger such different outcomes
or why, according to a 2010 analysis,high HDL levels might actually be
dangerous for some people. We know so much about the cholesterol pathway, but
we never seem to know what matters.
Chronic back pain
also remains a mystery. While doctors have long assumed that there’s a valid
correlation between pain and physical artifacts—a herniated disc, a sheared
muscle, a pinched nerve—there’s a growing body of evidence suggesting the role
of seemingly unrelated factors. For instance, a recent study published in the
journal Spine concluded that minor physical trauma had virtually no
relationship with disabling pain. Instead, the researchers found that a small
subset of “nonspinalfactors,” such as depression and smoking, were most closely
associated with episodes of serious pain. We keep trying to fix the back, but
perhaps the back isn’t what needs fixing. Perhaps we’re searching for causes in
the wrong place.
The same confusion
afflicts so many of our most advanced causal stories. Hormone replacement
therapy was supposed to reduce the risk of heart attack in postmenopausal
women—estrogen prevents inflammation in blood vessels—but a series of recent
clinical trials found that it did the opposite, at least among older women.
(Estrogen therapy was also supposed to ward off Alzheimer’s, but that doesn’t
seem to work, either.) We were told that vitamin D supplements prevented bone
loss in people with multiple sclerosis and that vitamin E supplements reduced
cardiovascular disease—neither turns out to be true.
It would be easy
to dismiss these studies as the inevitable push and pull of scientific
progress; some papers are bound to get contradicted. What’s remarkable,
however, is just how common such papers are. One study, for instance, analyzed
432 different claims of genetic links for various health risks that vary
between men and women. Only one of these claims proved to be consistently
replicable. Another meta review, meanwhile, looked at the 49 most-cited
clinical research studies published between 1990 and 2003. Most of these were
the culmination of years of careful work. Nevertheless, more than 40 percent of
them were later shown to be either totally wrong or significantly incorrect.
The details always change, but the story remains the same:We think we
understand how something works, how all those shards of fact fit together. But
we don’t.
Given the
increasing difficulty of identifying and treating the causes of illness, it’s
not surprising that some companies have responded by abandoning entire fields
of research. Most recently, two leading drug firms, AstraZeneca and
GlaxoSmithKline, announced that they were scaling back research into the brain.
The organ is simply too complicated, too full of networks we don’t comprehend.
David Hume
referred to causality as “the cement of the universe.” He was being ironic,
since he knew that this so-called cement was a hallucination, a tale we tell
ourselves to make sense of events and observations. No matter how precisely we
knew a given system, Hume realized, its underlying causes would always remain
mysterious, shadowed by error bars and uncertainty. Although the scientific process
tries to makes sense of problems by isolating every variable—imagining a blood
vessel, say, if HDL alone were raised—reality doesn’t work like that. Instead,
we live in a world in which everything is knotted together, an impregnable
tangle of causes and effects. Even when a system is dissected into its basic
parts, those parts are still influenced by a whirligig of forces we can’t
understand or haven’t considered or don’t think matter. Hamlet was right: There
really are more things in heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our
philosophy.
This doesn’t mean
that nothing can be known or that every causal story is equally problematic.
Some explanations clearly work better than others, which is why, thanks largely
to improvements in public health, the average lifespan in the developed world
continues to increase. (According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, things like clean water and improved sanitation—and not necessarily
advances in medical technology—accounted for at least 25 of the more than 30
years added to the lifespan of Americans during the 20th century.) Although our
reliance on statistical correlations has strict constraints—which limit modern
research—those correlations have still managed to identify many essential risk
factors, such as smoking and bad diets.
And yet, we must
never forget that our causal beliefs are defined by their limitations. For too
long, we’ve pretended that the old problem of causality can be cured by our
shiny new knowledge. If only we devote more resources to research or dissect
the system at a more fundamental level or search for ever more subtle
correlations, we can discover how it all works. But a cause is not a fact, and
it never will be; the things we can see will always be bracketed by what we
cannot. And this is why, even when we know everything about everything, we’ll
still be telling stories about why it happened. It’s mystery all the way down.
Contributing
editor Jonah Lehrer (jonahlehrer.com) is the author of the forthcoming book
Imagine: How Creativity Works.
Only
three states complied with SC order on shelters
9.1.2012, Times of India
New Delhi: Following a Supreme
Court order to set up permanent shelters for the homeless before the onset of
winter,only three states of 15 studied by SC commissioners showed average level
of compliance: Delhi,TN and UP,which built 30-60 % of the required shelters.
Ten states put up only 20-30 % of
the shelters required to house the poor. These were Andhra
Pradesh,Bihar,Chhattisgarh,Gujarat ,Jharkhand,Karnataka,Madhya
Pradesh,Orissa,Rajasthan and Uttarakhand,a national report on homelessness
compiled by the SC commissioners said.
Two states,the court
commissioners said,which showed willful disobedience of the court orders and
not set up even 20% of their targeted shelters were Maharashtra and West
Bengal.In both,no functional shelters exist till date.Of 64 shelters that Delhi
put up,21 were found locked.The 21 shelters are underutilized and,in most
cases,locked.Homeless are not aware of those shelters.Shelters are located in
places which are too difficult to identify.The occupied shelters are only for
men and no separate space for women in those.The basic amenities provided in
the shelters are very poor, the report said.
Apathy towards homeless seems to
be worst in the big cities.In Greater Mumbai,when the local corporation tried
to start a shelter,the local Shiv Sena MLA objected to it.While Maharashtra
claimed it would build 27 shelters in 15 cities by October 31,2011,not a single
shelter is in operation.In Kolkata,the state government claimed two running
shelters existed and three more were being renovated.But the study found none
operational.Worse,in Howrah,homeless families were actually evicted from a
running shelter.Chennai,on the other hand,is doing better with 12 functional
shelters though these too have their attendant problems.
In a scathing critique of
government indifference,the report said: Two years have elapsed now since the
court first directed the states;one winter has given way to another and to another;monsoons
have come and gone by In this period,the SC has reviewed the case on more that
10 occasions and has periodically guided the governments with support from
office of the commissioners of the SC to ensure implementation of the SC
directions.
The commissioners said that even
where the shelters existed,in many cases the most basic facilities were not
there.In the biting cold,there are shelters across the country which do not
even provide a polythene sheet and people sleep on cold bare ground in many.There
are shelters which have been opened in cremation grounds (Kanpur),or outside
city limits.The commissioners noted that the Centre too had failed in
formulating a policy to provide for the homeless.The only scheme it once ran
was whittled down and then wound up in 2005.
VICTIMS OF APATHY
- JANUARY 10, 2012
- Why Placebos Work Wonders
- · By SHIRLEY S. WANG
Say "placebo effect" and most people
think of the boost they may get from a sugar pill simply because they believe
it will work. But more and more research suggests there is more than a fleeting
boost to be gained from placebos.
A particular mind-set or belief about one's body or health may lead to
improvements in disease symptoms as well as changes in appetite, brain
chemicals and even vision, several recent studies have found, highlighting how
fundamentally the mind and body are connected. 
Is the placebo effect just the boost
you may get from a sugar pill simply because you believe it will work? New
research suggests there is more than just that to be gained from placebos.
Emily Nelson reports. (Photo: Getty Images)
It doesn't seem to matter whether people know they are getting a placebo
and not a "real" treatment. One study demonstrated a strong placebo
effect in subjects who were told they were getting a sugar pill with no active
ingredient.View Interactive
Douglas B. Jones
Researchers want to know more about how the placebo effect works, and how to increase and decrease it. A more powerful, longer-lasting placebo effect might be helpful in treating health conditions related to weight and metabolism.
Hotel-room attendants who were told they were getting a good workout at their jobs showed a significant decrease in weight, blood pressure and body fat after four weeks, in a study published in Psychological Science in 2007 and conducted by Alia Crum, a Yale graduate student, and Ellen Langer, a professor in the psychology department at Harvard. Employees who did the same work but weren't told about exercise showed no change in weight. Neither group reported changes in physical activity or diet.
![[LAB-JUMP]](file:///C:/DOCUME~1/HP/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image008.jpg)
Douglas B. Jones
Patients in a recent study were
treated with placebos for an induced asthma attack. They reported feeling just
as good as when they received an active treatment with albuterol.
Another study, published last year in the journal Health Psychology, shows
how mind-set can affect an individual's appetite and production of a gut
peptide called ghrelin (GREL-in), which is involved in the feeling of
satisfaction after eating. Ghrelin levels are supposed to rise when the body
needs food and fall proportionally as calories are consumed, telling the brain
the body is no longer hungry and doesn't need to search out more food.Yet the data show ghrelin levels depended on how many calories participants were told they were consuming, not how many they actually consumed. When told a milkshake they were about to drink had 620 calories and was "indulgent," the participants' ghrelin levels fell more—the brain perceived it was satisfied more quickly—than when they were told the shake had 120 calories and was "sensible."
The results may offer a physiological explanation of why eating diet foods can feel so unsatisfying, says Ms. Crum, first author on the study. "That mind-set of dieting is telling the body you're not getting enough."
Studies across medical conditions including depression, migraines and Parkinson's disease have found that supposedly inert treatments, like sugar pills, sham surgery and sham acupuncture, can yield striking effects. A 2001 study published in Science found that placebo was effective at improving Parkinson's disease symptoms at a magnitude similar to real medication. The placebo actually induced the brain to produce greater amounts of dopamine, the neurotransmitter known to be useful in treating the disease.
At times, a weaker placebo effect might be desired. In trials of experimental drug treatments for dementia, depression and other cognitive or psychiatric conditions, where one patient group takes medication and the other takes a sugar pill, it can be difficult to demonstrate that the medicine works because the placebo effect is so strong.
With depression, an estimated 30% to 45% of patients—or even more, in some studies—will respond to a placebo, according to a review published in December in Clinical Therapeutics. An additional 5% of patients were helped by an antidepressant in cases of mild depression, and an additional 16% in cases of severe depression. (The clinically meaningful cutoff for additional benefit was 11%.)
Fertility rates have been found to improve in women getting a placebo, perhaps because they experience a decrease in stress. A recent randomized trial of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome found that 15%, or 5 of 33, got pregnant while taking placebo over a six-month period, compared with 22%, or 7 of 32, who got the drug—a statistically insignificant difference. Other studies have demonstrated pregnancy rates as high as 40% in placebo groups.
Ted Kaptchuk, director of Harvard's Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter, and colleagues demonstrated that deception isn't necessary for the placebo effect to work. Eighty patients with irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic gastrointestinal disorder, were assigned either a placebo or no treatment. Patients in the placebo group got pills described to them as being made with an inert substance and showing in studies to improve symptoms via "mind-body self-healing processes." Participants were told they didn't have to believe in the placebo effect but should take the pills anyway, Dr. Kaptchuk says. After three weeks, placebo-group patients reported feelings of relief, significant reduction in some symptoms and some improvement in quality of life.
Why did the placebo work—even after patients were told they weren't getting real medicine? Expectations play a role, Dr. Kaptchuk says. Even more likely is that patients were conditioned to a positive environment, and the innovative approach and daily ritual of taking the pill created an openness to change, he says.
Do placebos work on the actual condition, or on patients' perception of their symptoms? In a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Kaptchuk's team rotated 46 asthma patients through each of four types of treatment: no treatment at all, an albuterol inhaler, a placebo inhaler and sham acupuncture. As each participant got each treatment, researchers induced an asthma attack and measured the participant's lung function and perception of symptoms. The albuterol improved measured lung function compared with placebo. But the patients reported feeling just as good whether getting placebo or the active treatment.
"Right now, I think evidence is that placebo changes not the underlying biology of an illness, but the way a person experiences or reacts to an illness," Dr. Kaptchuk says.
Placebo can be more effective than the intended treatment. In a trial published in the journal Menopause in 2007, 103 women who had menopausal hot flashes got either five weeks of real acupuncture, or five weeks of sham acupuncture, where needles weren't placed in accepted therapeutic positions. A week after treatments ended, only some 60% of participants in both groups reported hot flashes—a robust immediate placebo effect. Seven weeks post-treatment, though, 55% of patients in the sham acupuncture group reported hot flashes, compared with 73% in the real acupuncture group.
Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article said that a study in the journal Health Psychology about appetite and the gut peptide ghrelin was published earlier this year.
Write to Shirley S. Wang at shirley.wang@wsj.com
- JANUARY 14, 2012
Fuel
Arrives, but Deep Freeze Endures
Russian Tanker Churns Through Ice to Relieve Nome ,
Alaska , but Epic Blizzards
Keep State
By JIM CARLTON
The ice-bound town of The tanker Renda arrived just offshore from
Photos: Alaska
View
Slideshow![[SB10001424052970204409004577157021796803862]](file:///C:/DOCUME~1/HP/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image009.jpg)
Reuters
The Russian-flagged tanker vessel
Renda followed a trail cut through the ice by the Coast Guard Cutter Healy in
the Bering Sea Thursday as it headed to Nome
By early morning Friday, lights from the tanker and a Coast Guard cutter
escort were visible from the community of 3,600 in western The Renda was originally going to arrive five days earlier, but thick ice delayed its progress. The tanker won't be able to approach closer than about a mile from shore because of an iced-in harbor, local officials said, so it will transfer 1.4 million gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline by hose to a tank facility. That task was expected to begin Saturday and take as long as three days, amid Arctic temperatures that on Friday stood at minus-31 degrees.
Across
Enlarge Image
Close
The Russian tanker Renda powers
through the Bering Sea this week toward Nome ,
Alaska
One of the hardest-hit communities is the Prince William Sound town of
National Guard soldiers have been called in to help dig out the community of 2,200 people. The 82 inches of snow that fell in December broke a 1989 record of 57 inches, and dwarfed the 9.5 inches in December 2010, Mr. Marquette said.
Enlarge Image
Close
So far,
"I'll be up here 50 years this year, and I'm getting a little tired of it," said the 49-year-old Mr. Armstrong, a commercial fire-safety systems installer.
But a severe storm caused the offshore waters to fill with ice, leaving the barge unable to get in, said Jason Evans, the company's chairman. He said his corporation arranged for the Renda shipment as an alternative to shipping fuel by air.
"It would take more than 300 flights and cost consumers as much as $9 a gallon," Mr. Evans said, adding that the current cost of about $6 a gallon probably won't change much now.
The 370-foot Renda set sail from
"I wish we could do a large celebration for the crews now," said Denise Michels, the mayor of the town that includes many Inupiat Eskimos, "but there's not much more we can do except be very grateful."
Write to Jim Carlton at jim.carlton@wsj.com
December 11, 2011
In India ,
Caste Discrimination Still
Plagues University
Subhash Sharma for The Chronicle
Discrimination against Dalit, or
underclass, students is "blatant," says Ashwini Shelke, a sociology
student at Jawaharlal
Nehru U. India
In February, 20-year-old Manish Kumar
climbed to the roof of a five-story building at the elite Indian Institute of
Technology in Roorkee and jumped to his death. The engineering major was a
member of India
From the day he set foot on campus,
"his classmates would taunt him, saying, 'You can never become an
engineer—you are only here because of quotas,'" says Rajinder Kumar, from
his home in the northern Indian city of Kanpur
Caste-based discrimination has been
illegal since the creation of India
The government also set aside more than
one-fifth of places in public colleges and in government jobs for this group of
around 200 million people, which the Constitution renamed the Scheduled Castes,
and for Scheduled Tribes, a term that refers to indigenous people, who number
about 96 million.
Today members of the Scheduled Castes
have emerged as a potent political force. They call themselves Dalits, a
Sanskrit word meaning "ground down beyond recognition." But as Manish
Kumar's suicide suggests, thousands of years of prejudice are not so easily
erased.
Of 441,424 registered crimes against
Dalits and indigenous people from 1995 to 2007, as many as 10,512 were cases in
which upper castes perpetuated some of the old "untouchability"
practices, according to the National Coalition for Strengthening the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Even recently there have been incidents—mostly
in rural areas, where Dalits are less able to blend in—of people being forced
to consume feces, or lynched because they dared to get water from a well not
designated for their use. Sometimes they are attacked for seeming to show off
by riding a motorbike or by talking on a cellphone.
Disturbingly, caste discrimination is
pervasive in India
In the most egregious cases, Dalit
students and their supporters say, upper-caste students beat up Dalits for no
given reason; professors ignore questions from Dalit students in class;
upper-caste students, with the complicity of professors, ostracize their Dalit
peers or force them out of university housing; and professors compel students
to reveal their caste publicly, and then give Dalits lower grades.
University administrators, police
officials, and the Indian media often deny that discrimination exists, downplay
its severity, or simply sweep it under the rug, says Ivan Kostka, publisher of
a magazine on caste issues called Forward Press, who notes that
85 percent of all senior editorial positions in the national news media are
held by Brahmins, the highest of the caste groups.
Contacted by The Chronicle
for comment on incidents that allegedly occurred on their campuses, officials
at several universities either did not respond or argued that caste
discrimination does not exist at their institutions. At the Indian Institute of
Technology at Roorkee, for example, the dean of student welfare rejects
Rajinder Kumar's claims that his son was harassed for being a Dalit.
"There is no truth in this,"
says the dean, N.K. Goel. "All students are treated equal. No discrimination
occurs at any level."
Rajinder Kumar says the university did
nothing when he asked them for help after his son confided in him that he was
being harassed.
"Instead of taking action against
the students Manish complained about, they said it was better he leave
university housing and take up private residence elsewhere," says Mr.
Kumar. "The supervisor said, 'There are 400 to 600 students here, and how
many can we stop from saying such things?'"
Modern Prejudices
To understand these widely divergent points
of view, consider that India 's
attitudes toward caste today echo attitudes in the United States
And even though many Indians say they
oppose any form of caste discrimination, it is not uncommon for employers, for
example, to ask applicants about their family backgrounds or to make explicit
judgments about which parts of India
No national studies have been done to
determine the magnitude of caste-related discrimination on campuses. But
according to the Insight Foundation, a Dalit activist group, discrimination and
verbal and physical abuse have led to at least 18 suicides by Dalit students
over the past four years. And a disproportionate number of dropouts from
universities are Dalits—even though higher education is their only hope of
rising socially.
"This is caste humiliation,"
says Surinder Jodhka, a sociology professor at New Delhi 's
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Anoop Kumar, founder of the Insight
Foundation, says those 18 suicides reflect only those cases in which parents
have come forward to complain. In many more cases, parents are reluctant to
speak out. He fears that despite the gains that Dalits have made politically,
the climate on campuses has actually gotten worse as they have begun speaking
up more, and the competition for university placements has grown more fierce.
Opposition to Quotas
At the root of much of the animosity
driving caste tensions on campuses is the quota system, or reservations, as
they are often called.
Shiv Visvanathan, a sociologist who has
written about religion and Dalit issues in India ,
says reservations have created a barrier of prejudice, especially given the
competition in India
Those opposed to quotas argue that
after India
"Obviously they are weak
[academically]. That's why they are taking the benefit of reservations,"
says Kaushal Kant Mishra, a founding member of a group called Youth for
Equality, which campaigns against the use of quotas. Dr. Mishra says that while
he agrees that Dalits have been discriminated against in the past, it is wrong
to relax admissions standards in an attempt to redress those injustices.
He helped formed Youth for Equality in
2006, when he was studying at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, or
Aiims, a top medical school. He says he does not believe that caste
discrimination exists at his alma mater or anywhere else.
Even some university leaders think the
quota system is wrong. Set-asides in top universities are "a bad
mistake" made by the Indian government, says P.V. Indiresan, a former head
of one of the Indian Institutes of Technology.
And it's common for students who cannot
apply under the quotas to feel that they might have been admitted to a better
institution if the quotas were abolished.
Small Differences
The perception among many opponents of
quotas is that there is a significant difference in admissions standards
between students who qualify for quotas and those who don't. Yet the difference
is actually quite narrow, with a relaxation of between 5 percent and 10 percent
of grades on either college-entrance examinations or high-school exit exams.
"It isn't as if we can get zero
marks and get in," says Ajay Kumar Singh, who studied at Aiims, and has
formed a group called Progressive Medicos Forum, which seeks to bring to light
caste discrimination in medical colleges.
"In the notion of merit that has
been appropriated by the elite, there is no inclusion, there is only individual
merit and the natural high IQ which apparently you automatically get if you're
higher caste," Mr. Jodhka jokes.
The Death of Merit, a documentary about Dalit students' suicides made by the Insight
Foundation's Anoop Kumar, argues that the real death of merit occurs when Dalit
students who have made it to college despite socioeconomic hardships kill
themselves.
This year Mr. Kumar has been going
around to India
"I ask, 'What about us not being allowed
to go to temples or not given houses on rent or discriminated against in jobs?
And what have reservations got to do with that?' Then they have nothing to
say," Mr. Kumar says.
Students who benefit from the quota
system often find that it is used against them once they are on campus. Many
institutions post lists of new students that include their scores and the
category under which they were admitted: general or scheduled caste. This
ensures that everyone—students, administrators, and professors—knows who the
Dalits are.
The differentiation, and sometimes
overt segregation, continues in other ways. Dr. Singh says that most Dalit
students at Aiims were housed in separate dorms. He was placed in a dorm where
he was the only Dalit, which created its own problems.
Students "used to bolt my
dormitory room door from outside and write on the door that no one likes me,
and I should change to another dormitory," recalls Dr. Singh.
More recently, at Jawaharlal Nehru
University
In one instance, a Dalit student said
that an upper-caste male student and some friends beat him up after the Dalit
student asked to see his ID before he could vote for the dormitory student
elections.
"Don't you know who I am?"
the latter asked, according to some students at the university. During the
alleged assault, the Dalit student claims his attackers were chanting caste
slurs.
In another instance, Dalit students
complained that they had been assaulted in retaliation for a poster that
reinterpreted Hindu mythology with a pro-Dalit spin. Dalit students say the
university doesn't take action when such incidents occur.
S.K. Sopory, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
Proving Discrimination?
It is difficult, of course, to
determine whether Dalit students are targeted because of their caste or because
they simply misinterpret why they received poor grades or treatment.
Many Dalit students with whom The Chronicle spoke
said they didn't file formal complaints because they were afraid of the
repercussions. However, on politically active campuses like Jawaharlal Nehru
University
A petition last year by students at the
university, using India
Discrimination "is that blatant,"
says Ashwini Shelke, a sociology student at the university who is a member of
the United Dalits Student Forum, a group that brings attention to issues faced
by Dalits.
Sometimes, students say, they suffer
from the prejudice of low expectations. Mr. Kumar, of the Insight Foundation,
says that on his first day of engineering school, "one professor said,
'Those who are from the Scheduled Caste category better work hard. Mayawati
won't be marking your exams—I will.'" Mayawati is the country's first
female Dalit chief minister of a state.
Mariaraj, a former student at a Tamil
Nadu college, who goes by one name, says he felt shut out in class.
"No teacher talked to us Dalits in
class, and they ignored any questions we had," he recalls. "Teachers
were very partial to non-Dalits. If any Dalit was absent one day, he would be
severely punished," but non-Dalits who would skip class weren't penalized,
says Mr. Mariaraj, who is now pursuing a doctorate at Manonmaniam Sundaranar
University, in Tamil Nadu.
But quota opponents say they've seen
such hostility go both ways.
"Some are good, but many are
arrogant," says Mr. Indiresan, the former head of an Indian Institute of
Technology, of students admitted under quotas. "One Dalit student in my
class had a low attendance record, and he said because he is Dalit, he doesn't
need to bother."
Dalit students also seem to fare worse
than their peers in college.
In 2007 the Progressive Medicos and
Scientists Forum conducted a survey and found that student-failure rates at
Aiims, the medical school, were 60 to 70 percent for Dalit and Scheduled Tribe
students, while for nonquota students, the rates were under 10 percent.
At the Indian Institutes of Technology,
says Mr. Kumar, of the Insight Foundation, the annual Dalit dropout rate is 25
percent. Whether this is the result of prejudice or other factors—such as
weaker academic preparation—is difficult to know.
A Taboo Topic
It is also hard to know whether the
average professor or student believes that caste-based discrimination is a problem,
as the topic remains largely taboo. No national surveys on discrimination, or
on beliefs about quotas, have been done.
The Chronicle approached several professors at the University of Delhi
University administrators have also not seemed to take many overt
steps to deal with possible discrimination on their campuses or tensions around
the issue of quotas.
In 2008, Senthilkumar, a Dalit physics
scholar pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Hyderabad
A university spokesman says an
investigation turned up nothing incriminating.
"No evidence was found in any of
the schools for systematic or deliberate discrimination against students on the
basis of caste, although problems in administering the Ph.D. programs have
given rise to such apprehensions among students," wrote Ashish Thomas, a
university spokesman, in an e-mail response to a question about Mr.
Senthilkumar's case.
P. Thirumal, head of the department of
communication at Hyderabad
"There have been [discrimination]
cases I have heard of from students," he says, emphasizing that his views
do not necessarily represent the university's. When society is the way it is,
it's too ambitious to expect professors to transcend its behavior, he says.
"By and large, caste
discrimination is an affliction, a collective one," he adds.
What Mr. Thomas doesn't say, but Mr.
Thirumal confirms, is that Hyderabad
"The sad part of the report is
that while it agrees discrimination happened in physics, it didn't pinpoint any
authority. So no one was punished," Mr. Thirumal says.
Looking for a Solution
There are some small signs of change.
After lobbying efforts by the Insight
Foundation and other Dalit advocacy groups, in July the country's university
regulator ordered hundreds of institutions to take strong steps to prevent
caste discrimination.
An unnamed official told an Indian
newspaper that the number of Dalit students committing suicide "is
shocking enough for us" to take such action. Anoop Kumar says the
university regulator's order has been posted on bulletin boards on university
campuses.
One thing many Dalit students don't
want to change is the quota system itself. "Yes, the quota identifies you
as a Scheduled Caste student, so the chances of discrimination are high,"
says Ms. Shelke, of the United Dalits Student Forum. "But if there is no
quota, we wouldn't even get in, because discrimination is so huge, right from
[elementary] school."
She and other advocates hope that more
Dalit students feel comfortable speaking up for themselves, and that
universities take a more active part in breaking down longtime social
prejudices.
"We have to get universities to
break the ice between communities," says Mr. Visvanathan, the sociologist.
"We need imaginative faculty. I see [the current situation] as a failure
of imagination."
Photo by
Gurinder Osan
Ajay Kumar
Singh, a recent graduate of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
founded the Progressive Medicos Forum with the goal of exposing caste
discrimination in medical colleges.
Photo by
Gurinder Osan
Anoop Kumar (at
a roadside tea stall) founded the Insight Foundation, a Dalit activist group.
He says the competition for university places has made things worse for Dalit
students who do make it to campus.
Photo by
Gurinder Osan
Surinder
Jodhka, a sociology professor at Jawaharlal Nehru U. who studies social
stratification, pauses among posters hung by leftist student groups.
Weekend Panorama:
By Ajit Mohan
The murky business of land inIndia
Last September, the UPA government drafted a bill to address an issue that has been at the heart of the developmental debate in the country: how best to deploy land on a large scale for private enterprises and public utilities in a fair manner, especially in rural areas. The bill, termed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, aims to create a framework for land acquisition, defining the purpose and terms of such transactions.
The bill allows the government to acquire land for its own use or for use by private companies for “public purpose.” If more than 100 acres is involved in rural areas or 50 acres in urban areas, the bill requires affected people (not just the land owners) to be rehabilitated and resettled. The total compensation (including the value of the land and the “solatium” amount for the forced nature of the transaction) is linked to the average sale price of transactions over the most recent three-year period. Here, the bill has a marker for the size of the total compensation, set to be four times this benchmark price in rural areas and twice the benchmark in urban areas. Every acquisition, regardless of size, will also require a Social Impact Assessment by an independent body before the District Collector can approve the project.
While an argument can be made in favor of the central government crafting a national framework for an important subject such as land, what may well have been an honorable intent has translated into a highly flawed bill that promises to do more damage than good. For a start, it is not clear if the bill is even legally sound. Agricultural land is a state subject, while the concurrent list only allows the centre to legislate on transfer of property other than agricultural land. So, the bill may be attempting to legislate on a terrain clearly marked out for the states.
But the flaws run deeper. At the heart of the bill is the new compensation framework. The idea of a bill that sets the “market price” as four times the actual market price is an amusing non sequitur. The unofficial justification in government circles is that most property is registered for far less than its actual transaction value. So, effectively, the disturbing outcome is a bill introduced in the country’s highest legislating authority that is attempting to correct a distortion in registered prices arising from a blatantly illegal practice.
At the same time, the bill completely ignores a key element of fair compensation (one that was core to the 2007 version passed by the Lok Sabha that was blocked by the Rajya Sabha): intended use of the land.
Getting the permission from development authorities to convert land classified as rural to urban has often passed for real estate “entrepreneurship” in this country in the last two decades. Underpinning this is a straightforward fact: amidst poor agricultural productivity and rapid urbanization, the land’s classification has a direct impact on its value. Land that can be used for urban housing and industrial activity has a lot more value than the same land that is restricted to farming. The new draft completely ignores this. Thus, while the terms of the compensation may seem high, the bill, by attaching compensation to agricultural land price rather than the final use of the land, represents a large transfer of wealth from sellers to purchasers.
The other disturbing attribute of the bill is that, for the first time, it creates a new basis for forced acquisition by the government. This bill is expansive on what public purpose means. It seems to go beyond the creation of specific public goods to a remit that includes “planned development and improvement of villages” and “provision of public goods and services by private companies.” In other words, so long as even a tenuous linkage is made between a commercial activity and broad developmental impact, the government can forcibly acquire land on behalf of private enterprises.
The bill, therefore, sets the government up to play the role of a land agent for private corporations. Cynics may argue, of course, that this is only institutionalizing within the government a role that has been traditionally played well by freelancing political leaders.
And yet, if the intent was to create fairness in pricing for landowners while making it easier for manufacturing enterprises to set up businesses, other provisions in the bill only create new contradictions and uncertainty.
The requirement for a Social Impact Assessment is likely to delay the implementation of every single public utilities project in the country, from the installation of a roadside tap to the expansion of a highway. And while it may generate new revenue sources for the fast growing industry of independent consultants who churn out banal project reports, such assessments are unlikely to be meaningful. In the past, a similar provision in the National Urban Renewal Mission generated thousands of pages of similar-looking City Development Plans across the country, but no new insights or direction.
The requirement for consent from 80% of “affected persons” and not just the landowners further muddies the waters. The legislation effectively cedes decisions to a vaguely defined group who will have the ability to supersede the interests of the landowners.
More In Weekend
Panorama
The government’s response to an issue that is, quite obviously, a huge impediment to growth has been a flawed bill focused on the wrong issues. It has chosen to use a crude and unwieldy machete to hack away at a complex problem. And in the process, it has created legislation that is unlikely to appeal to landowners or farmers, small businesses or large corporations.
More glaringly, even as the bill has ventured into the terrain of acquisition in urban areas, it has completely ignored the huge potential of using urban land to fund public investments.
Throughout history, governments have leveraged land in cities to raise funds to invest in public infrastructure and services. This was true in the Western world and it is now the case in developing countries likeChina India
India
The enormity of this task usually pushes the conversation in two directions, both unhelpful. One is the pursuit of futility, the conversation about how we should try to reduce the pace of our urbanization and find ways to keep people in villages. The other is the debate between an increased role from a government with limited budgetary resources, and the need for greater involvement from a private sector which will just not invest capital if it doesn’t see a path to get its money back.
What is lost in this pointless debate is that the one way to bring together a rising urban population, the need for more space and public utilities, and rising land values is for the government to devise an approach that uses land to fund public infrastructure.
Is this rocket science? Hardly.
All that the government has to do is put a price on the enormous value that it helps to create for private parties by leveraging rising land prices.
There are many ways in which the government can extract a fair share. One is to demand a share of the increased land value, when rural land is reclassified for urban housing or industrial activity. The other is to auction public lands when the government has adequate foresight about the infrastructure being built around it that will directly and substantially contribute to the value of the land. A third way is to charge private landowners who directly benefit from an infrastructure project, such as land near a newly built highway. This charge can be levied when they sell off the property.
But the most common approach is to charge private developers for building high-rise offices and apartments. When developers add floors to houses and offices, they are adding new space that is then sold to the market. While the profits from this additional space go to the developers, the bill for creating public services and utilities to serve the additional population fall on the government.
There is no way a government – even one that has an adequate tax base – can keep up with this new demand. This is exactly how our roads get clogged, our water supply systems dry out and our waste piles up.
The answer is not to prevent developers from building more. In most cases, they are responding to a real market need for more houses, more office spaces and more retail outlets. What has to change is the notion that there is a market in which developers make all the money, and a separate government authority that is stuck with all the responsibilities. In the absence of levying adequate charges on developers, they are extracting abnormal profits that are just not in line with the level of their risks and the value of their expertise.
That is not capitalism at work; it is bad policy on display.
The principles involved here are clear and defendable. It is fair for the government to levy a portion of the value it helps to create from private landowners who disproportionately benefit from public infrastructure. It is not only fair but necessary for the government to generate revenues to invest in raising the living standards of all its citizens, not just a few, wealthy landowners. And, in the case of charges on developers, it is absolutely irresponsible for a city authority not to charge for the additional space, which, at the end of the day, is public land. Imagine the uproar if government land in prime locations were to be given away for miniscule amounts. This is no different.
A recent economic estimate, in fact, put the value of such an approach at close to $25 billion annually. In other words,India
Yet the government continues to shy away from such an approach. Across the country, some authorities levy small fees. But the approach is muddled, and rarely are the fees commensurate with the value created.
This is certainly not from a lack of understanding of the enormous, hidden value of urban land.
Nothing has happened precisely for the reason that the two constituencies that have the most to benefit from the current status quo are also the ones with the best understanding of what is being left on the table: political leaders and bureaucrats in urban development authorities, and large real estate developers.
The need to change this status quo is urgent. Much of the private infrastructure that will last the 21st century is going to be built over the next 20 years. Other countries at a similar moment in their development journeys have used land to generate resources to invest in their public infrastructure. Such an approach is the only way to create a virtuous cycle without which even private landowners and enterprises will start to see steep declines in their land values.
So the message is this: stop expending political capital on the wrong issues and start building a framework for leveraging land that will have a clear and direct impact on our ability to raise the living standards of our citizens.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2831403.ece?homepage=true&css=print
Rushdie is a
sub-standard writer, says Katju
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-27/india/30670003_1_gram-sabhas-anna-member-prashant-bhushan-lokpal-bill
Gram sabhas above Lok
Sabha: Anna
NEW DELHI
In a video message, activist Anna Hazare also praised the Lokayukta bill of Uttarakhand, in what may be seen as a surrogate campaign for the BJP in the state. He said the legislation drafted by the BJP government should be emulated by all states, something that endorses BJP's claim to be sincere about fighting corruption under its chief ministerial candidate B C Khanduri.
Hazare demanded that a law be brought to give financial and decision-making powers to gram sabhas and threatened to go on a Ramlila Maidan style agitation for it. He also chose to raise the contentious issue of land acquisition, demanding that no acquisition take place without gram sabha approval.
"Lok Sabha thinks it is above everyone. This is wrong. People have made you. So they are above you... It is the sacred temple of democracy. In such a sacred place, what has happened in Rajya Sabha in the last day (of the winter session) on Lokpal bill. 550 people were giving their own suggestions. Nobody has asked people. So we need another law. Assemblies and Lok Sabha think that they are above gram sabhas. But gram sabhas are above you. We need a new law which gives such a power to gram sabhas," he said in his 30-minute address at a seminar on 'Rebuilding the Republic'.
Although Hazare's romance for gram sabha is old, his pitch that the real power should be vested in lakhs of these bodies instead of Lok Sabha has been provoked by the resistance to his agenda in Parliament. The activist even acknowledged as much, criticizing the failure of Rajya Sabha to clear the Lokpal bill. "The elected members were giving their views on their own. This is not right democracy. Why this happened? Because the masters were sleeping... But this jan andolan has woken the people,'' he said.
He said there should be provisions in the new law that a panchayat can be dismissed if it spends money without consulting the gram sabha. He extended this principle to land acquisition as well, saying land in a village should not be acquired without the approval of the gram sabha.
Hazare said there was no difference between the British rule and the present system if the government did not take the opinion of people while making laws. He made a fresh demand for Right to Recall and Right to Reject laws. In his election message, Hazare asked people to demand support for the Jan Lokpal from candidates before assuring their vote.
Arguing for amendment to the Constitution to ensure people's participation in lawmaking, Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan suggested setting up of a 'Referendum Commission' on the lines of Election Commission to seek common man's views in framing legislations.
Bhushan said that available technology and internet could be used for referendum. He said for laws related to a particular state, voting through internet kiosks could be held after biometric identification of a voter. "If it is at national level, the voting should be held at that level... you will have to ask people. The question is whether people wish to have (a particular) law," he said. Bhushan claimed that holding such referendums would not be difficult.
"We need to have a Referendum Commission on the lines of Election Commission... if five per cent people approach the commission asking for a law, then there should be referendum," he said.
Seeking to blunt criticism against the proposal, he said some people will raise concern that this will go against the minorities. "But this will not stand. It is said that majority will try to come up with some laws against the minority. That cannot happen as our Constitution guarantees certain rights," Bhushan explained.
Activist Arvind Kejriwal added, "Parliament has become hostage to ruling party rather than ruling party being accountable to Parliament. This situation of ruling party high command becoming virtual king is dangerous," he said. On the Lokpal bill, he said the law that went to Parliament was "useless".
"97 amendments were introduced by opposition. Their speeches were different from the amendments they moved. The ruling party had the majority and they did what they wanted. Was it just a formality? Was it just a show? The people whom we send turn to their high command for orders," he added.
Another Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan said the reason for the establishment of Republic was to give power to people for lawmaking. "But something has gone wrong. To bridge the gap, a people's movement is needed and its bugle has been sounded. There will be a peaceful movement that will stretch to the nook and corner of the country," he said.
Nitin Sethi TNN
New Delhi: Many poor labourers across the country are being cheated of their money and the much publicized guaranteed daily wage of Rs 100 on many occasions remains only on paper.Initial reports had suggested just a one-off case of Re 1 being paid to several in Tonk district in Rajasthan.But trawling through hundreds of muster rolls in the state has shown that this is an endemic fraud being perpetrated on the poor in Rajasthan.
Asurvey of 249 panchayats in 33 districts of the state carried out by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan has shown that in 37 panchayats,some people were paid wages between Rs 1-10 in 2011-12.Another 40 panchayats paid between Rs 11-20 to people employed to carry out rural development work under the scheme.In only 7 of the 249 panchayats,scrutinized workers ever got between Rs 91-100 per day for their work in 2011-12.
The story is as bad in Karanataka.A scrutiny of the muster rolls shows that in Bapur village of Sadapur panchayat in Raichur,people got paid anywhere from Rs 2-11 for carrying out work under the scheme.It is not a one-off case in Karnataka either.Meagre wages have been paid in several districts over the last year,documents with TOI show.
The shocking discrepancy between the promise and the reality is a pointer to how the details of a scheme can end up defeating the objective it was meant for.In this case,while Rs 100 is publicized as the guaranteed pay,it is actually the maximum the poor can get and it entirely depends on the district administration if the worker will get it at all.Under the scheme,the administration first assesses how much work was done in the day by the labourer on a particular project.This technical assessment takes place days after the labourer has completed his work.The labourer has no room to dispute the assessment and is,thus forced,to settle for whatever has already been put in the banks.More so,because in many cases,the payments reach months after completion of the project.
Sidhartha & Surojit Gupta TNN
New Delhi: The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices will take up with PM Manmohan Singh the issue of Bihar and UP farmers being forced to sell paddy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at 70% of the minimum support price of Rs 1,080 per quintal.A CACP team surveyed 20 procurement centres in the two states last week and found distress sale in many.
We are preparing a report.I plan to take up the issue with the PM since this is the second time we have noticed that there are problems with procurement, CACP chairman Ashok Gulati said.FCI chairman Siraj Hussain could not be reached for comment.A senior officer in the UP food department said he had not received a report from the Centre so far.Quite often,we receive complaints and we have a toll-free number to help people.Whenever we hear of poor procurement or the centre being shut,we immediately take action, the officer said.Despite several attempts,Bihar food secretary Shishir Sinha could not be reached.
For long,Bihar and eastern UP have complained that FCI focuses its energies on Punjab,Haryana and western UP,while neglecting other parts of the Gangetic belt.This year,West Bengal and Orissa too have joined the chorus.FCI has repeatedly been blamed for its inability to create storage space,resulting in wastage of grains.
Poor labourers pledged Rs 100, get Re 1 for day's work
under govt's employment guarantee scheme
NEW DELHI
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2837739.ece
January 28, 2012 02:13
IST | Updated: January 28, 2012
India has the most toxic air: Study
India scored a miniscule 3.73 out of a possible
100 points in the analysis, lagging far behind the next worst performer, Bangladesh Nepal , Pakistan
and China India
SAINATH - Corporate socialism's 2G orgy
India
http://rwabhagidari.blogspot.in/2012/01/superpower-230m-indians-go-hungry-daily.html
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Superpower? 230m Indians go hungry daily :
Times of
SHAME MALNUTRITION
Superpower?
230m Indians go hungry daily
Often, in the hype over economic growth, we forget the harsh reality ofIndia
This is according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)whichcombinesthe abovethreeindicators to give us a Global Hunger Index (GHI) according to whichIndia
That’s not all. Data collected by GHI researchers shows that while there has been some improvement in children’s malnutrition and early deaths since 1990, the proportion of hungry in the population has actually gone up.Today,India has213 million hungry and malnourished people by GHI estimates although the UN agency Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) putsthefigure at around230 million.The difference is because FAO uses only the standardcalorieintakeformula for measuring sufficiency of foodwhiletheHunger Index is based on broader criteria.Nutrition schemes need to be expanded.
Whichever way you slice it and dice it, the shameful reality is inescapable –India
The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), last carried out in 2004-05, had shown that 23% of married men, 52% of married women and a chilling 72% of infants were anemic – a sure sign that a shockingly large number of families were caught in a downward spiral of slow starvation.
Global research has now firmly established that depriving the fetus of essential nutrients – as will happen in an under-nourished pregnant woman – seals the fate of the baby once it is born. It is likely to suffer from susceptibility to diseases and physical retardation, as also to mental faculties getting compromised.
So, continuing to allow people to go hungry and malnourished, is not just more misery for them: it is the fate of future generations of Indians in balance.
What can be done to fix this unending tragedy? The government already runs two of world’s biggest nutrition programmes: the midday meal scheme for students up to class 12 and the anganwadi programme under which infants and children up to 6 are given “hot cooked” meals.
These need to be spread further and more resources pumped in to tackle weaknesses. For instance, a report by the anganwadi workers’ federation revealed that as many as 73,375 posts of anganwadi workers and 16,251 posts of supervisors are lying vacant. But the biggest contribution to fighting hunger would be providing universal coverage of the PDS with adequate amounts of grain, pulses and edible oils included.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2848305.ece
From food security to food justice
Needed, more HUNGaMA over malnutrition
March 5, 2012
‘A free man'(s) freedom is not completely empty'
Labour
turns the world
Hard-hitting
message
New
ground
January 27, 2012, 5:57 PM IST
Weekend Panorama: India
The murky business of land in
Last September, the UPA government drafted a bill to address an issue that has been at the heart of the developmental debate in the country: how best to deploy land on a large scale for private enterprises and public utilities in a fair manner, especially in rural areas. The bill, termed the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, aims to create a framework for land acquisition, defining the purpose and terms of such transactions.
Manpreet Romana/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Women protested against the land acquisition policy, in New Delhi
As pointed out by PRS
Legislative Research – an organization that tracks the functioning of
Parliament — the bill, the purpose of which has been misrepresented in most
media reports, sets the terms for forcible acquisition of land involving
unwilling sellers. It is not about the government purchasing land from
voluntary sellers.The bill allows the government to acquire land for its own use or for use by private companies for “public purpose.” If more than 100 acres is involved in rural areas or 50 acres in urban areas, the bill requires affected people (not just the land owners) to be rehabilitated and resettled. The total compensation (including the value of the land and the “solatium” amount for the forced nature of the transaction) is linked to the average sale price of transactions over the most recent three-year period. Here, the bill has a marker for the size of the total compensation, set to be four times this benchmark price in rural areas and twice the benchmark in urban areas. Every acquisition, regardless of size, will also require a Social Impact Assessment by an independent body before the District Collector can approve the project.
While an argument can be made in favor of the central government crafting a national framework for an important subject such as land, what may well have been an honorable intent has translated into a highly flawed bill that promises to do more damage than good. For a start, it is not clear if the bill is even legally sound. Agricultural land is a state subject, while the concurrent list only allows the centre to legislate on transfer of property other than agricultural land. So, the bill may be attempting to legislate on a terrain clearly marked out for the states.
But the flaws run deeper. At the heart of the bill is the new compensation framework. The idea of a bill that sets the “market price” as four times the actual market price is an amusing non sequitur. The unofficial justification in government circles is that most property is registered for far less than its actual transaction value. So, effectively, the disturbing outcome is a bill introduced in the country’s highest legislating authority that is attempting to correct a distortion in registered prices arising from a blatantly illegal practice.
At the same time, the bill completely ignores a key element of fair compensation (one that was core to the 2007 version passed by the Lok Sabha that was blocked by the Rajya Sabha): intended use of the land.
Getting the permission from development authorities to convert land classified as rural to urban has often passed for real estate “entrepreneurship” in this country in the last two decades. Underpinning this is a straightforward fact: amidst poor agricultural productivity and rapid urbanization, the land’s classification has a direct impact on its value. Land that can be used for urban housing and industrial activity has a lot more value than the same land that is restricted to farming. The new draft completely ignores this. Thus, while the terms of the compensation may seem high, the bill, by attaching compensation to agricultural land price rather than the final use of the land, represents a large transfer of wealth from sellers to purchasers.
The other disturbing attribute of the bill is that, for the first time, it creates a new basis for forced acquisition by the government. This bill is expansive on what public purpose means. It seems to go beyond the creation of specific public goods to a remit that includes “planned development and improvement of villages” and “provision of public goods and services by private companies.” In other words, so long as even a tenuous linkage is made between a commercial activity and broad developmental impact, the government can forcibly acquire land on behalf of private enterprises.
The bill, therefore, sets the government up to play the role of a land agent for private corporations. Cynics may argue, of course, that this is only institutionalizing within the government a role that has been traditionally played well by freelancing political leaders.
And yet, if the intent was to create fairness in pricing for landowners while making it easier for manufacturing enterprises to set up businesses, other provisions in the bill only create new contradictions and uncertainty.
The requirement for a Social Impact Assessment is likely to delay the implementation of every single public utilities project in the country, from the installation of a roadside tap to the expansion of a highway. And while it may generate new revenue sources for the fast growing industry of independent consultants who churn out banal project reports, such assessments are unlikely to be meaningful. In the past, a similar provision in the National Urban Renewal Mission generated thousands of pages of similar-looking City Development Plans across the country, but no new insights or direction.
The requirement for consent from 80% of “affected persons” and not just the landowners further muddies the waters. The legislation effectively cedes decisions to a vaguely defined group who will have the ability to supersede the interests of the landowners.
Raul Arboledad/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Other countries have used land to generate resources to
invest in their public infrastructure. Pictured, a neighborhood in Medellin , Colombia
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- Weekend
Panorama: What Rajat Gupta Tells Us About Ourselves
The government’s response to an issue that is, quite obviously, a huge impediment to growth has been a flawed bill focused on the wrong issues. It has chosen to use a crude and unwieldy machete to hack away at a complex problem. And in the process, it has created legislation that is unlikely to appeal to landowners or farmers, small businesses or large corporations.
More glaringly, even as the bill has ventured into the terrain of acquisition in urban areas, it has completely ignored the huge potential of using urban land to fund public investments.
Throughout history, governments have leveraged land in cities to raise funds to invest in public infrastructure and services. This was true in the Western world and it is now the case in developing countries like
The enormity of this task usually pushes the conversation in two directions, both unhelpful. One is the pursuit of futility, the conversation about how we should try to reduce the pace of our urbanization and find ways to keep people in villages. The other is the debate between an increased role from a government with limited budgetary resources, and the need for greater involvement from a private sector which will just not invest capital if it doesn’t see a path to get its money back.
What is lost in this pointless debate is that the one way to bring together a rising urban population, the need for more space and public utilities, and rising land values is for the government to devise an approach that uses land to fund public infrastructure.
Is this rocket science? Hardly.
All that the government has to do is put a price on the enormous value that it helps to create for private parties by leveraging rising land prices.
There are many ways in which the government can extract a fair share. One is to demand a share of the increased land value, when rural land is reclassified for urban housing or industrial activity. The other is to auction public lands when the government has adequate foresight about the infrastructure being built around it that will directly and substantially contribute to the value of the land. A third way is to charge private landowners who directly benefit from an infrastructure project, such as land near a newly built highway. This charge can be levied when they sell off the property.
But the most common approach is to charge private developers for building high-rise offices and apartments. When developers add floors to houses and offices, they are adding new space that is then sold to the market. While the profits from this additional space go to the developers, the bill for creating public services and utilities to serve the additional population fall on the government.
There is no way a government – even one that has an adequate tax base – can keep up with this new demand. This is exactly how our roads get clogged, our water supply systems dry out and our waste piles up.
The answer is not to prevent developers from building more. In most cases, they are responding to a real market need for more houses, more office spaces and more retail outlets. What has to change is the notion that there is a market in which developers make all the money, and a separate government authority that is stuck with all the responsibilities. In the absence of levying adequate charges on developers, they are extracting abnormal profits that are just not in line with the level of their risks and the value of their expertise.
That is not capitalism at work; it is bad policy on display.
The principles involved here are clear and defendable. It is fair for the government to levy a portion of the value it helps to create from private landowners who disproportionately benefit from public infrastructure. It is not only fair but necessary for the government to generate revenues to invest in raising the living standards of all its citizens, not just a few, wealthy landowners. And, in the case of charges on developers, it is absolutely irresponsible for a city authority not to charge for the additional space, which, at the end of the day, is public land. Imagine the uproar if government land in prime locations were to be given away for miniscule amounts. This is no different.
A recent economic estimate, in fact, put the value of such an approach at close to $25 billion annually. In other words,
Yet the government continues to shy away from such an approach. Across the country, some authorities levy small fees. But the approach is muddled, and rarely are the fees commensurate with the value created.
This is certainly not from a lack of understanding of the enormous, hidden value of urban land.
Nothing has happened precisely for the reason that the two constituencies that have the most to benefit from the current status quo are also the ones with the best understanding of what is being left on the table: political leaders and bureaucrats in urban development authorities, and large real estate developers.
The need to change this status quo is urgent. Much of the private infrastructure that will last the 21st century is going to be built over the next 20 years. Other countries at a similar moment in their development journeys have used land to generate resources to invest in their public infrastructure. Such an approach is the only way to create a virtuous cycle without which even private landowners and enterprises will start to see steep declines in their land values.
So the message is this: stop expending political capital on the wrong issues and start building a framework for leveraging land that will have a clear and direct impact on our ability to raise the living standards of our citizens.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2831403.ece?homepage=true&css=print
Rushdie is a
sub-standard writer, says Katju
Published: January 25, 2012 16:35 IST | Updated: January 26, 2012
The Hindu Chairman of Press Council of India
Salman Rushdie is a “poor” and “sub-standard writer,” who is considered
“great because he lives on the banks of the Thames ,”
according to Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju.
Slamming the Jaipur Literature Festival's focus on the Indian-origin
British writer, Justice Katju, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, criticised
“so-called educated Indians” who “suffer from the colonial inferiority complex”
and believe that writers living in India
“Salman Rushdie dominated the Jaipur Literature Festival. I do not wish to
get into the controversy whether banning him was correct or not. I am raising a
much more fundamental issue,” he said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “I
have read some of Rushdie's works and am of the opinion that he is a poor
writer, and but for The Satanic Verses would have remained largely unknown.
Even Midnight's Children is hardly great literature.”
Religious obscurantism
Justice Katju felt that too much attention was given to Mr. Rushdie during
the festival. “I am not in favour of religious obscurantism. But neither do I
wish to elevate a sub-standard writer into a hero.”
He claimed that there was not enough serious discussion about indigenous
literature at the festival, naming Kabir, Premchand, Sharat Chandra, Ghalib and
Faiz as writers whose works could have been discussed. He also named European
writers such as Charles Dickens, George Bernard Shaw, Victor Hugo and Maxim
Gorky as those who should have been discussed.
Instead, “two personalities linked with films were projected as ‘the finest
poets' in India
Markandey Katju’s Acknowledgement
Markandey Katju
<mark_katju@yahoo.co.in>
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http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-27/india/30670003_1_gram-sabhas-anna-member-prashant-bhushan-lokpal-bill
Gram sabhas above Lok
Sabha: Anna
TNN Jan 27, 2012, 02.16AM IST
(Team Anna chose Republic Day to advocate radical ideas like putting gram
sabhas above the Lok Sabha and establishing a referendum commission along the
lines of Election Commission.)
In a video message, activist Anna Hazare also praised the Lokayukta bill of Uttarakhand, in what may be seen as a surrogate campaign for the BJP in the state. He said the legislation drafted by the BJP government should be emulated by all states, something that endorses BJP's claim to be sincere about fighting corruption under its chief ministerial candidate B C Khanduri.
Hazare demanded that a law be brought to give financial and decision-making powers to gram sabhas and threatened to go on a Ramlila Maidan style agitation for it. He also chose to raise the contentious issue of land acquisition, demanding that no acquisition take place without gram sabha approval.
"Lok Sabha thinks it is above everyone. This is wrong. People have made you. So they are above you... It is the sacred temple of democracy. In such a sacred place, what has happened in Rajya Sabha in the last day (of the winter session) on Lokpal bill. 550 people were giving their own suggestions. Nobody has asked people. So we need another law. Assemblies and Lok Sabha think that they are above gram sabhas. But gram sabhas are above you. We need a new law which gives such a power to gram sabhas," he said in his 30-minute address at a seminar on 'Rebuilding the Republic'.
Although Hazare's romance for gram sabha is old, his pitch that the real power should be vested in lakhs of these bodies instead of Lok Sabha has been provoked by the resistance to his agenda in Parliament. The activist even acknowledged as much, criticizing the failure of Rajya Sabha to clear the Lokpal bill. "The elected members were giving their views on their own. This is not right democracy. Why this happened? Because the masters were sleeping... But this jan andolan has woken the people,'' he said.
He said there should be provisions in the new law that a panchayat can be dismissed if it spends money without consulting the gram sabha. He extended this principle to land acquisition as well, saying land in a village should not be acquired without the approval of the gram sabha.
Hazare said there was no difference between the British rule and the present system if the government did not take the opinion of people while making laws. He made a fresh demand for Right to Recall and Right to Reject laws. In his election message, Hazare asked people to demand support for the Jan Lokpal from candidates before assuring their vote.
Arguing for amendment to the Constitution to ensure people's participation in lawmaking, Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan suggested setting up of a 'Referendum Commission' on the lines of Election Commission to seek common man's views in framing legislations.
Bhushan said that available technology and internet could be used for referendum. He said for laws related to a particular state, voting through internet kiosks could be held after biometric identification of a voter. "If it is at national level, the voting should be held at that level... you will have to ask people. The question is whether people wish to have (a particular) law," he said. Bhushan claimed that holding such referendums would not be difficult.
"We need to have a Referendum Commission on the lines of Election Commission... if five per cent people approach the commission asking for a law, then there should be referendum," he said.
Seeking to blunt criticism against the proposal, he said some people will raise concern that this will go against the minorities. "But this will not stand. It is said that majority will try to come up with some laws against the minority. That cannot happen as our Constitution guarantees certain rights," Bhushan explained.
Activist Arvind Kejriwal added, "Parliament has become hostage to ruling party rather than ruling party being accountable to Parliament. This situation of ruling party high command becoming virtual king is dangerous," he said. On the Lokpal bill, he said the law that went to Parliament was "useless".
"97 amendments were introduced by opposition. Their speeches were different from the amendments they moved. The ruling party had the majority and they did what they wanted. Was it just a formality? Was it just a show? The people whom we send turn to their high command for orders," he added.
Another Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan said the reason for the establishment of Republic was to give power to people for lawmaking. "But something has gone wrong. To bridge the gap, a people's movement is needed and its bugle has been sounded. There will be a peaceful movement that will stretch to the nook and corner of the country," he said.
In
37 Raj villages,NREGS workers get 1- 10 as wages
Times
Of India
MINIMUM PAY
Nitin Sethi TNN
New Delhi: Many poor labourers across the country are being cheated of their money and the much publicized guaranteed daily wage of Rs 100 on many occasions remains only on paper.Initial reports had suggested just a one-off case of Re 1 being paid to several in Tonk district in Rajasthan.But trawling through hundreds of muster rolls in the state has shown that this is an endemic fraud being perpetrated on the poor in Rajasthan.
Asurvey of 249 panchayats in 33 districts of the state carried out by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan has shown that in 37 panchayats,some people were paid wages between Rs 1-10 in 2011-12.Another 40 panchayats paid between Rs 11-20 to people employed to carry out rural development work under the scheme.In only 7 of the 249 panchayats,scrutinized workers ever got between Rs 91-100 per day for their work in 2011-12.
The story is as bad in Karanataka.A scrutiny of the muster rolls shows that in Bapur village of Sadapur panchayat in Raichur,people got paid anywhere from Rs 2-11 for carrying out work under the scheme.It is not a one-off case in Karnataka either.Meagre wages have been paid in several districts over the last year,documents with TOI show.
The shocking discrepancy between the promise and the reality is a pointer to how the details of a scheme can end up defeating the objective it was meant for.In this case,while Rs 100 is publicized as the guaranteed pay,it is actually the maximum the poor can get and it entirely depends on the district administration if the worker will get it at all.Under the scheme,the administration first assesses how much work was done in the day by the labourer on a particular project.This technical assessment takes place days after the labourer has completed his work.The labourer has no room to dispute the assessment and is,thus forced,to settle for whatever has already been put in the banks.More so,because in many cases,the payments reach months after completion of the project.
Consequently,in several districts
of Karnataka and Rajasthan,vigilant activists have found the poor being
defrauded of their rightful income.This is in sharp contrast to the fact that
UPA government is now fighting a case in the SC to ensure that it does not have
to pay minimum wages fixed by states,which in many cases,Karnataka included,are
higher than that prescribed by the Centre for the scheme.
Times
Of India
Distress
sale report for PM
Sidhartha & Surojit Gupta TNN
New Delhi: The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices will take up with PM Manmohan Singh the issue of Bihar and UP farmers being forced to sell paddy to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at 70% of the minimum support price of Rs 1,080 per quintal.A CACP team surveyed 20 procurement centres in the two states last week and found distress sale in many.
We are preparing a report.I plan to take up the issue with the PM since this is the second time we have noticed that there are problems with procurement, CACP chairman Ashok Gulati said.FCI chairman Siraj Hussain could not be reached for comment.A senior officer in the UP food department said he had not received a report from the Centre so far.Quite often,we receive complaints and we have a toll-free number to help people.Whenever we hear of poor procurement or the centre being shut,we immediately take action, the officer said.Despite several attempts,Bihar food secretary Shishir Sinha could not be reached.
For long,Bihar and eastern UP have complained that FCI focuses its energies on Punjab,Haryana and western UP,while neglecting other parts of the Gangetic belt.This year,West Bengal and Orissa too have joined the chorus.FCI has repeatedly been blamed for its inability to create storage space,resulting in wastage of grains.
Times
Of India
Poor labourers pledged Rs 100, get Re 1 for day's work
under govt's employment guarantee scheme
Nitin Sethi, TNN Jan 27, 2012, 03.44AM IST
Tags:
(Fraud on poor labourers: While Rs 100 is publicized as guaranteed pay
under MNREGA, it is actually the maximum the poor can get & it entirely
depends on district administration if the worker will get it at all.)
Documents
with TOI show that many desperate, poor labourers across the country are being
cheated of their hard earned money and the much publicized guaranteed daily
wage of Rs 100 on many occasions remains a mere illusion.
The scheme
legally entitles any citizen in the hinterland to demand work for 100 days from
the government and be paid Rs 100 per day for the work rendered. But documents
with TOI show how rules of the scheme have allowed government officials to
cheat the people of their day's entitlement. In practice, the promise of
guaranteed wage has been supplanted by non-transparent efficiency norms which
allow the executing authorities to use discretion to hammer down the wages.
De-linking
the payment under the scheme from minimum wages keeps the wages low to begin
with. On top of it, linking it to non-transparent efficiency norms has ensured
that the poor can be robbed of their wages under MNREGA, and that it can be
done safely under the techno-legal loopholes passing off the inefficiency of
the bureaucracy to the poor at the latter's cost.
Initial
reports had suggested just a one-off case of Re 1 being paid to several in Tonk
district in Rajasthan. But trawling through hundreds of muster rolls in the
state has shown that this is an endemic fraud being perpetrated on the poor in
Rajasthan.
A survey of
249 panchayats in 33 districts of the state carried out by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti
Sangathan has shown that in 37 panchayats, some people were paid wages between
Rs 1-10 in 2011-12. Another 40 panchayats paid between Rs 11-20 to people
employed to carry out rural development work under the scheme. In only 7 of the
249 panchayats, scrutinized workers ever got between Rs 91-100 per day for
their work in 2011-12.
The story is
as bad in Karanataka. A scrutiny of the muster rolls shows that in Bapur
village of Sadapur panchayat in Raichur, people got paid anywhere from Rs 2-11
for carrying out work under the scheme. It is not a one-off case in Karnataka
either. The meagre wages have been paid in several districts over the last
year, documents with TOI show.
The shocking
discrepancy between the promise and the reality is a pointer to how the details
of a scheme can end up defeating the objective it was meant for. In this case,
while Rs 100 is publicized as the guaranteed pay, it is actually the maximum
the poor can get and it entirely depends on the district administration if the
worker will get it at all. Under the scheme, the administration first assesses
how much work was done in the day by the labourer on a particular project. This
technical assessment takes place days after the labourer has completed his
work. The labourer has no room to dispute the assessment and is, thus forced,
to settle for whatever has already been put in the banks. More so, because in
many cases, the payments reach months after completion of the project.
Consequently,
in several districts of Karnataka and Rajasthan, vigilant activists have found
the poor being defrauded of their rightful income. Perhaps the only reasons
cases have not been found in other states is that no one has scrutinized
thousands of muster rolls generated so far.
This is in
sharp contrast to the fact that UPA government is now fighting a case in the
Supreme Court to ensure that it does not have to pay minimum wages fixed by
states, which in many cases, Karnataka included, are higher than that
prescribed by the Centre for the scheme. It also contrasts with the high
pitched arguments about MNREGA stealing away labour from the farms by paying a
guaranteed wage of Rs 100 per day. UPA fears paying prescribed minimum wages
will be a drain on its coffers.
Times
View
National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme pledges to provide a minimum amount of work to
the rural poor on a minimum daily wage. Its purpose is to give some income
support to the poor. Similarly, minimum support price for crops is meant to
ensure that farmers aren't forced into distress sales. The government is
pledged to both - in the case of the NREGS, the pledge is legally binding. Yet,
the promises are being violated. This, naturally, undermines the state's
credibility. It also draws attention to a moth-eaten, leaky delivery mechanism.
It must be fixed. Those being promised deserve better and so do the taxpayers
who pay for the schemes.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article2837739.ece
January 28, 2012 02:13
IST | Updated: January 28, 2012
India has the most toxic air: Study
It is official: India
In a study by Yale and Columbia
Universities , India
These rankings are part of a wider study to index the nations of the world
in terms of their overall environmental performance. The Yale Center for
Environmental Law and Policy and Columbia
In the overall rankings — which takes 22 policy indicators into account — India fared minimally better, but still stuck in
the last ten ranks along with environmental laggards such as Iraq , Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan Switzerland , Latvia
and Norway
The Index report was presented at the World Economic Forum currently taking
place in Davos, where it's being pitched as a means to identify the leaders and
the laggards on energy and environmental challenges prior to the iconic Rio+20
summit on sustainable development to be held in Brazil this June.
March 7, 2011 01:00 IST | Updated: September 6, 2011 13:50 IST March
7, 2011
SAINATH - Corporate socialism's 2G orgy
In six years from 2005-06, the Government of India wrote off corporate
income tax worth Rs.3,74,937 crore — more than twice the 2G fraud — in
successive Union budgets. The figure has grown every single year for which data
are available. Corporate income tax written off in 2005-06 was Rs.34,618 crore.
In the current budget, it is Rs.88,263 crore — an increase of 155 per cent.
That is, the nation presently writes off over Rs.240 crore a day on average in
corporate income tax. Oddly, that is also the daily average of illicit fund
flows from India
The Rs.88,263 crore covers only corporate income tax write-offs. The figure
does not include revenue foregone from higher exemption limits for wider
sections of the public. Nor higher exemptions for senior citizens or (as in
past budgets) for women. Just income tax for the big boys of the corporate
world.
Pranab Mukherjee's latest budget, while writing off this gigantic sum for
corporates, slashes thousands of crores from agriculture. As R. Ramakumar of
the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) points out, the revenue
expenditure on that sector “is to fall in absolute terms by Rs.5,568 crore.
Within agriculture, the largest fall is to be in crop husbandry, with an
absolute cut of Rs.4,477 crore.” Which probably signals the death of extension
services, amongst other things, in the sector. In fact, “within economic
services, the largest cuts are to be in Agriculture and Allied Services.”
Even Kapil Sibal cannot defend the revenue losses as notional. For the
simple reason that each budget sums up these numbers clearly in tables within a
section called ‘Statement of Revenue Foregone.' If we add to this corporate karza
maafi, revenue foregone in customs and excise duty — also very largely
benefiting the corporate world and better off sections of society — the amounts
are stunning. What, for instance, are some of the major items on which revenue
is foregone in customs duty? Try diamonds and gold. Not quite aam aadmi
or aurat items. This accounts for the largest chunk of all customs
revenue foregone in the current budget. That is, for Rs.48,798 crore. Or well
over half of what it takes to run a universal PDS system each year. In three
years preceding this one, the customs write-off on gold, diamonds and jewellery
totalled Rs.95,675 crore.
Of course, this being India Surat Surat Maharashtra
gained massively from the Centre's Corporate Socialism. Yet, in three years before
the 2008 crisis, workers in the State lost their jobs at an average of
1,800 a day.
Returning to the budget: There's also the head of ‘machinery' with its own
huge customs duty concessions. That includes surely, the crores of rupees of
sophisticated medical equipment imported by large corporate hospitals with
almost no duty levied on it. The claim of providing 30 per cent of their beds
free of charge to the poor — something that has never once happened — is an
excuse to dole out these ‘benefits' (amongst others) to that multi-billion
rupee industry. Total revenue foregone on customs duty in the present budget:
Rs.1,74,418 crore. (Which does not include export credit-related numbers).
With excise, of course, comes the standard claim that revenues foregone on
excise duty translate into lower prices for consumers. There is no evidence
provided at all that this has actually happened. Not in the budget, not
elsewhere. (Sounds more like the argument now making the rounds in some Tamil
Nadu villages that nothing was looted in the 2G scam — that's the money
translating into cheaper calls for the public). What is clearly visible is that
the write-offs on excise directly benefit industry and business. Any indirect
‘passing on' to consumers is a speculative claim, not proven. Revenue foregone
on account of excise duty in this budget: Rs.1,98,291 crore. Clearly more than
the highest estimate of the 2G scam losses. (The preceding year: Rs.1,69,121
crore).
Also fascinating is that the same classes benefit in multiple ways from all
three write-offs. But how much does revenue foregone under corporate income
tax, excise and customs duty add up to across the years? We have baldly stated
budget figures for six years starting 2005-06, when the total was Rs.2,29,108
crore. To the current budget where it is more than double that sum at
Rs.4,60,972 crore. Add up the figures since 2005-06 and the grand total is
Rs.21,25,023 crore. Or close to half a trillion U.S.
Unlike the illicit fund flows, this plunder has a fig leaf of legality.
Unlike those flows, it is not the sum of many individual crimes. It is
government policy. It is in the Union budget. And it is the largest conceivable
transfer of wealth and resources to the wealthy and the corporate world that
the media never look at. Oddly, the budget itself recognises how regressive
this trend is. Last year's budget noted: “The amount of revenue foregone
continues to increase year after year. As a percentage of aggregate tax
collection, revenue foregone remains high and shows an increasing trend as far
as corporate income tax is considered for the financial year 2008-09. In case
of indirect taxes, the trend shows a significant increase for the financial
years 2009-10 due to a reduction in customs and excise duties. Therefore, to
reverse this trend, an expansion in the tax base is called for.”
Rewind a year further. The 2009-10 budget says the same thing in almost
identical words. Only the last line is different: “Therefore it is necessary to
reverse this trend to sustain the high tax buoyancy.” In the current budget,
the paragraph is absent.
This is the government that has no money for a universal PDS or even an
enhanced one. That cuts anyway meagre food subsidies from the largest hungry
population in the planet. That, at a time of rising prices and a great food
crisis. In a period when its own economic survey shows us that the daily
average net per capita availability of foodgrain for the five year period
2005-09 is actually lower than it was in 1955-59 — half-a-century ago.
http://rwabhagidari.blogspot.in/2012/01/superpower-230m-indians-go-hungry-daily.html
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Superpower? 230m Indians go hungry daily :
Times of India
SHAME MALNUTRITION
Superpower?
230m Indians go hungry daily
Subodh Varma TIG
Often, in the hype over economic growth, we forget the harsh reality of
With
21% of its population undernourished, nearly 44% of under-5 children
underweight and 7% of them dying before they reach five years, India Congo ,
Chad , Ethiopia or Burundi , butitisworsethan
Sudan ,NorthKorea ,
Pakistan or Nepal
This is according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)whichcombinesthe abovethreeindicators to give us a Global Hunger Index (GHI) according to which
That’s not all. Data collected by GHI researchers shows that while there has been some improvement in children’s malnutrition and early deaths since 1990, the proportion of hungry in the population has actually gone up.Today,India has213 million hungry and malnourished people by GHI estimates although the UN agency Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) putsthefigure at around230 million.The difference is because FAO uses only the standardcalorieintakeformula for measuring sufficiency of foodwhiletheHunger Index is based on broader criteria.Nutrition schemes need to be expanded.
Whichever way you slice it and dice it, the shameful reality is inescapable –
The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS), last carried out in 2004-05, had shown that 23% of married men, 52% of married women and a chilling 72% of infants were anemic – a sure sign that a shockingly large number of families were caught in a downward spiral of slow starvation.
Global research has now firmly established that depriving the fetus of essential nutrients – as will happen in an under-nourished pregnant woman – seals the fate of the baby once it is born. It is likely to suffer from susceptibility to diseases and physical retardation, as also to mental faculties getting compromised.
So, continuing to allow people to go hungry and malnourished, is not just more misery for them: it is the fate of future generations of Indians in balance.
What can be done to fix this unending tragedy? The government already runs two of world’s biggest nutrition programmes: the midday meal scheme for students up to class 12 and the anganwadi programme under which infants and children up to 6 are given “hot cooked” meals.
These need to be spread further and more resources pumped in to tackle weaknesses. For instance, a report by the anganwadi workers’ federation revealed that as many as 73,375 posts of anganwadi workers and 16,251 posts of supervisors are lying vacant. But the biggest contribution to fighting hunger would be providing universal coverage of the PDS with adequate amounts of grain, pulses and edible oils included.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2848305.ece
From food security to food justice
February 1, 2012
The Hindu
A
quarter of a million women in Kerala are showing us how to earn livelihoods
with dignity.
If the malnourished in India
formed a country, it would be the world's fifth largest — almost the size of Indonesia India Europe .
Yet, the Indian elite shrieks at the prospect of formalising a universal
right to food. Notwithstanding the collective moral deficit this reveals, it
also shows that the millions of Indians whose food rights are so flagrantly
violated are completely voiceless in the policy space. India
What can food justice practically mean? First, to prevent situations where
grains rot while people die — a very basic principle of distributive justice.
But it has to mean a lot more: people must have the right to produce food with
dignity, have control over the parameters of production, get just value for
their labour and their produce. Mainstream notions of food security ignore this
dimension.
Food justice must entail both production and distribution. Its fundamental
premise must be that governments have a non-negotiable obligation to address
food insecurity. They must also address the structural factors that engender
that insecurity. Most governments, however, appear neither willing nor able to
deliver food justice. It needs therefore the devolution of power and resources
to the local level, where millions of protagonists, with their knowledge of
local needs and situations, can create a just food economy.
Collective struggle
This is not quite as utopian as it may sound. Something on these lines has
been unfolding in Kerala — a collective struggle of close to a quarter million
women who are farming nearly 10 million acres of land. The experiment, “Sangha
Krishi,” or group farming, is part of Kerala's anti-poverty programme
“Kudumbashree.” Initiated in 2007, it was seen as a means to enhance local food
production. Kerala's women embraced this vision enthusiastically. As many as
44, 225 collectives of women farmers have sprung up across the State. These
collectives lease fallow land, rejuvenate it, farm it and then either sell the
produce or use it for consumption, depending on the needs of members. On an
average, Kudumbashree farmers earn Rs.15,000-25,000 per year (sometimes higher,
depending on the crops and the number of yields annually).
Kudumbashree is a network of 4 million women, mostly below the poverty
line. It is not a mere ‘project' or a ‘programme' but a social space where
marginalised women can collectively pursue their needs and aspirations. The
primary unit of Kudumbashree is the neighbourhood group (NHG). Each NHG
consists of 10-20 women; for an overwhelming majority, the NHG is their first
ever space outside the home. NHGs are federated into an Area Development
Society (ADS) and these are in turn federated into Community Development
Societies (CDSs) at the panchayat level. Today, there are 213,000 NHGs all over
Kerala. Kudumbashree office-bearers are elected, a crucial process for its
members. “We are poor. We don't have money or connections to get elected — only
our service,” is a common refrain. These elections bring women into politics.
And they bring with them a different set of values that can change politics.
The NHG is very different from a self-help group (SHG) in that it is
structurally linked to the State (through the institutions of local
self-government). This ensures that local development reflects the needs and
aspirations of communities, who are not reduced to mere “executors” of
government programmes. What is sought is a synergy between democratisation and
poverty reduction; with Kudumbashree, this occurs through the mobilisation of
poor women's leadership and solidarity. “Sangha Krishi” or group farming is
just one example of how this works. It is transforming the socio-political
space that women inhabit — who in turn transform that space in vital ways.
This experiment is having three major consequences. First, there is a
palpable shift in the role of women in Kerala's agriculture. This was earlier
limited to daily wage work in plantations — at wages much lower than those
earned by men. Thousands of Kudumbashree women — hitherto underpaid
agricultural labourers — have abandoned wage work to become independent
producers. Many others combine wage work with farming. With independent
production comes control over one's time and labour, over crops and production
methods and, most significantly, over the produce. Since the farmers are
primarily poor women, they often decide to use a part of their produce to meet
their own needs, rather than selling it. Every group takes this decision
democratically, depending on levels of food insecurity of their members. In
Idukki, where the terrain prevents easy market access and food insecurity is
higher, farmers take more of their produce home — as opposed to
Thiruvananthapuram where market access is better and returns are higher.
Sangha Krishi
Second, “Sangha Krishi” has enabled women to salvage their dignity and
livelihoods amidst immense adversity. Take the story of Subaida in Malappuram.
Once widowed and once deserted, with three young children, she found no means
of survival other than cleaning dead bodies. Hardly adequate as a livelihood,
it also brought her unbearable social ostracism. Now Subaida is a proud member
of a farming collective and wants to enter politics. In the nine districts this
writer visited, there was a visible, passionate commitment to social inclusion
amongst Kudumbashree farmers.
Our survey of 100 collectives across 14 districts found that 15 per cent of
the farmers were Dalits and Adivasis and 32 per cent came from the minority
communities.
Third, “Sangha Krishi” is producing important consequences for the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Kerala. Because of
Kerala's high wages for men, the MGNREGS in Kerala has become predominantly a
space for women (93 per cent of the employment generated has gone to women
where the national average is 50). From the beginning, synergies were sought
between the MGNREGS, the People's Plan and Kudumbashree. Kudumbashree farmers
strongly feel this has transformed MGNREGS work.
“We have created life … and food, which gives life, not just 100 days of
manual labour,” said a Perambra farmer. In Perambra, Kudumbashree women,
working with the panchayat, have rejuvenated 140 acres that lay fallow for 26
years. It now grows rice, vegetables and tapioca. Farmers also receive two
special incentives — an ‘area incentive' for developing land and a ‘production
incentive' for achieving certain levels of productivity. These amounted to over
Rs.200 million in 2009-10. They were combined with subsidised loans from banks
and the State, and seeds, input and equipment from Krishi Bhavan and the panchayats.
Challenges
However, serious challenges remain. Kudumbashree farmers are predominantly
landless women working on leased land; there is no certainty of tenure. Lack of
ownership also restricts access to credit, since they cannot offer formal
guarantees on the land they farm. Whenever possible, Kudumbashree collectives
have started buying land to overcome this uncertainty. But an alternative
institutional solution is clearly needed. It is also difficult for women to
access resources and technical know-how — the relevant institutions (such as
crop committees) are oriented towards male farmers. There is also no mechanism
of risk insurance.
Is this a sustainable, replicable model of food security? It is certainly
one worth serious analysis. First, this concerted effort to encourage
agriculture is occurring when farmers elsewhere are forced to exit farming — in
large numbers. It re-connects food security to livelihoods, as any serious food
policy must. But more importantly, the value of Sangha Krishi lies in that it
has become the manifestation of a deep-rooted consciousness about food justice
amongst Kerala's women. Kannyama, the president of Idamalakudy, Kerala's first
tribal panchayat, says she wants to make her community entirely self-sufficient
in food. She wants Sangha Krishi produce to feed every school and anganwadi in
her panchayat — to ensure that children get local, chemical-free food.
Elsewhere, Kudumbashree farmers plan to protest the commercialisation of land.
Even in the tough terrain of Idukki's Vathikudy panchayat, women were taking a
census of fallow land in the area that they could cultivate. Some 100,000 women
practise organic farming and more wish to. Kudumbashree farmers speak
passionately about preventing ecological devastation through alternative
farming methods.
In the world of Sangha Krishi, food is a reflection of social relations.
And only new social relations of food, not political manoeuvres, can combat the
twin violence of hunger and injustice.
(Ananya Mukherjee is Professor and Chair of Political Science at York
University, Toronto Geneva
March 6, 2012 01:19 IST | Updated: March 6, 2012 03:45 IST March
6, 2012
Needed, more HUNGaMA over malnutrition
AP Tackling malnutrition requires a ‘life cycle approach’ that starts before
pregnancy and then addresses all stages of development of the child.
42
per cent of Indian children are underweight Transforming
child nutrition An
indigestible truth A
silent tragedy Saving
India's children Convention
suggests steps to combat malnutrition Hope
and stasis for malnutrition in India Chronic
famishment
The
solutions to ending chronic hunger, the consequences of which are felt over
generations, are not complicated.
Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze wrote in Hunger and Public Action in 1989
that nearly four million people die every year in India
from malnutrition and related causes, a number and that “is more than the
number that has perished during the entire Bengal
famine.” The recent “HUNGaMA” report and the activities of the Citizen's
Alliance Against Malnutrition have brought renewed attention to this issue.
This report from 112 districts over nine States tells us that 42 per cent of
children are underweight and 58 per cent are stunted by the age of 24 months.
In addition to greatly increasing the chances of infant death, child
malnutrition has other devastating consequences. Research has established that
the damage that begins in the womb and during the first two years of life is
irreversible, leading to reduced intelligence and physical capacity.
Malnutrition thus has a direct impact on productivity and economic growth. It
is also clear that the consequences of malnutrition transcend generations, as
stunted mothers are likely to have underweight children.
The solutions to ending malnutrition are not complicated. What is necessary
to be done is known and has been achieved in parts of our own country. What is
needed are the will and the determination to make this happen.
Why is child malnutrition still so high in India
The seriousness of the problem is still largely invisible to the families
and communities that experience them. This inadequate recognition of the human
and economic costs of malnutrition by families, communities and governments is
an important reason for the inertia in solving this problem.
Equally important is the fact that adequate nutrition is not seen as a
human right and the malnourished have little voice in determining the
directions of policy.
There are also problems related to how we deal with malnutrition currently.
There are many stakeholders and several agencies that work on the issue.
Perhaps there is inadequate consensus on what needs to be done. Politicians and
senior officials do not give programmes addressing malnourishment the priority
they deserve. There is a tendency to keep repeating programmes that have not
resulted in tangible improvements.
There are also some myths that need to be demolished before significant
progress can be made. The first is that malnutrition is about inadequate food
intake. Many children in food-secure environments are underweight or stunted
because of inappropriate infant feeding and care practices, poor access to
health services, or poor sanitation. The second myth is that improved nutrition
only comes with economic progress and poverty reduction.
Both myths are disproved by experience in parts of India Bangladesh ,
for instance, is a country with a per capita GNI almost half of India Bangladesh has succeeded in
reducing infant mortality, under-five mortality and stunting to rates that are
lower than those we have in India
What needs to be done?
The experience from all over the world is that food alone does not ensure
better nutrition. A range of other interventions is necessary to ensure the
health and nutrition of mothers and children.
Following a “life cycle” approach, these should begin with the health of
the woman before the pregnancy begins and address all the critical stages of
the birth and development of the baby. All these are well known and part of the
routine of care in health centres and the Integrated Child Development Centres
in the country. In addition, hand washing with soap, use of household filters
for purification of water and use of sanitary latrines will ensure the
continued good health of the baby and the mother.
A 2006 World Bank publication, “Repositioning Nutrition as Central to
Development” evaluates the benefit to cost ratios of some of these
interventions. These range from between five to 67 for breast feeding
programmes, 15 to 520 for iodine supplementation programmes for women and 176
to 200 for iron fortification per capita. Thus, it is no surprise that the
Copenhagen Consensus rated nutrition interventions among the top 17 potential
development investments in 2008, outranking others including trade
liberalisation.
To make lasting improvements, interventions should go beyond the direct
causes of malnutrition, diet and disease burden. Levels of economic
development, governance structures including the political will necessary to
address this issue, the agriculture and food security situation and women's
power in decision-making all influence levels of malnutrition. However, there
is no good reason to wait for changes to happen at all these levels before
starting to improve infant feeding, sanitation, clean water, and affordable and
accessible health services.
What can we do differently?
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the National Rural Health
Mission and the Total Sanitation Campaign are some of the major programmes of
the government that address the issues relating to child malnutrition. While
these programmes each have enormous potential for doing good, the combined
efforts of all of them with the power of engagement with the communities who
need the help most is the need of the day.
It is essential to ensure that the families and communities know what is at
stake. We have experience with Participative Rapid Appraisals and such
approaches where the community is part of the planning and execution of
development programmes. We need a grass-roots level approach that works with
communities in this manner, with a coordinated programme that brings the mainstream
interventions to bear upon identified problems.
There is a need for evolving strategies separately for urban and rural
areas. Local government agencies — Panchayats and municipalities and
other stakeholders like women's groups, NGOs, academic institutions with
expertise and interest in nutrition and health need to be a part of this
effort. It is necessary that such an effort operates at a sufficiently
decentralised level in order that it does not get bogged down in bureaucracy
and procedures.
Three key elements should be kept in mind to make such an approach
successful. These are Coordination, Convergence and Monitoring. The need for
effective coordination and convergence is self-evident. However the potential
for monitoring performance much more efficiently by harnessing the power of
modern technology is not always realised. SMS on cell phones can provide
instant updates, replacing slow paper based reporting forms. Colour coded GIS
maps can pinpoint the situation on the ground, down to the nutritional status
of individual children in ICDS centres, ensuring the possibilities of rapid
responses.
The crucial period for the mother and the child is the period of pregnancy
and the first two years of life of the child. This is also the window of
opportunity to bring these interventions together in a way that the foundations
of good health and nutrition are laid once and for all. It is therefore
suggested that decentralised interventions at the district, sub-district, and
municipal or urban ward levels be launched to cover these vital “thousand days”
that can finally give us the success we seek.
The bulk of infant deaths occur in the neo-natal period of about a month
after birth. Neonatology and peri-natal care have made considerable advances
and if we can ensure that all health facilities handling deliveries are fully
equipped and staffed by trained personnel we can bring about a sharp decline in
infant deaths.
What is suggested is possible to be achieved now. It is based on experience
in our own country. It is in line with the National Nutritional Council's
recommendation for accelerated multi-sectoral action in 200 high burden
districts. What we cannot afford is to wait any longer. We cannot anymore
accept the shame of standing by when more than half the children of our country
are stunted by the age of two.
(The author is a retired civil servant who has worked with UNICEF in
several countries.)
The Hindu
March 5, 2012
‘A free man'(s) freedom is not completely empty'
The Hindu The colour of sweat: Daily-wage workers at the Jama Masjid chowk. Photo:
Aman Sethi
Aman
Sethi's book lays bare the poverty, exploitation and the persistent insecurity
of ‘informality' of the lives of workers.
“At forty,” says Mohammed Ashraf, “a man starts to fear strangers … At
forty his arms weaken. His shoulders sag a bit, his harmonium. His friends if
he still has any…”
These straightforward first lines in Aman Sethi's A Free Man, come
with shades of historian E.J. Hobsbawm writing on labour in 19th century
Europe: “They knew that some time in middle age — perhaps in the forties for
the unskilled — they would become incapable of doing a full measure of adult
physical labour.” Sethi's simple opening score has the power to keep the reader
from putting the book down until reaching the end.
Word pictures strung together imaginatively in simple sentences written in
impeccable English recover footloose worker Ashraf, a safediwallah at
the time of Sethi's encounters with him, from anonymity. They visibilise
Ashraf's ‘medium-type friends', mostly the labouring poor, people like Lalloo,
Rehan, Kaka, Kalyani, J.P. Singh Pagal, “the half-mad teller of half-true
tales” and Satish, whom “Ashraf loves like a younger brother”, but many others
as well, connected in some manner to Ashraf's past and present.
There is Dr. Hussain, for example, “who rose to … prominence in the
Department of Animal Husbandry” in Patna and made sure that Ashraf finished
school and enrolled in college, but also Bhagwan Das the ex-auto driver who,
after recovering from a terrible accident, became “of his own volition” a
barber at RBTB hospital at Kingsway Camp.
Moreover, Sethi's telling of Ashraf's tale brings to life “one of Delhi's
largest labour mandis” at Bara Tooti Chowk in Sadar Bazaar, “this heaving
market … on the streets of which daily wagers like Ashraf live, work, drink and
dream.” Many disappear, some go mad and others die here, “the rickshaw pullers
and cigarette sellers, salesmen and repairmen, painters and plumbers, mazdoors
and mistrys.”
“People vanish all the time Aman bhai,” says Lalloo on one occasion, “you
never know what happened to them … Ashraf [is] terrified there will be no one
to look for him when he is gone.” As for Lalloo himself, “some boys from Bara
Tooti…saw a naked man running along Sadar Thana Road chasing cycle rickshaws …
screaming … The chickwallahs on Idgah Road told Munna that the police
had found a scarred naked body of a forty-something man who had a steel rod in
his leg … They said he died of pagalpan — madness.” Kaale Baba, whom
“they used to say…even death couldn't kill,” died either of pneumonia or of
heartbreak, Naushad and Rehaan in accidents at work. “The body is breakable.
The body with its puffed out chest, its tight, rope-like biceps, its dense
building calves. The body that can scramble up walls, balance on pillars, and
drag a loaded handcart up three flights of stairs. Dropped off a tall ladder,
these bones shatter, these muscles tear, these tendons snap, and when they do,
they leave behind a crumpled shell in the place of a boy as beautiful and agile
as Rehan.”
Labour
turns the world
Work and workers are central to the world we inhabit. Labour makes our
world go round. Ashraf's story and the life tales of other workers in Sethi's
book bring us face to face with this simple, invaluable truism which also
happens to be among the world's best kept secrets. Sethi pulls workers, their
work and stories, out from the margins to which they have been pushed, turns
out gaze on them and assigns them the value that is their due. He does this
with utmost elegance.
Simultaneously, with eloquent simplicity and controlled power, Sethi lays
bare for us the poverty, squalor, exploitation, humiliation, maleness,
alcoholism — “the quickest way out of Manchester” — demoralisation, mental
derangement, petty crime, the outbreak of violent apocalyptic practices, the
social earthquakes tearing apart people's lives and the persistent insecurity
of “informality” that continue to constitute the lives of most workers. The
world of the labouring poor in 19th century Europe
lives on. “If anything dominated the lives … of workers,” writes Hobsbawm in The
Age of Capital, “it was insecurity … Unlike the middle class, the worker
was rarely more than a hair's breadth removed from the pauper … insecurity was
… constant and real.”
Hard-hitting
message
Ashraf's story and the stories of workers like Lalloo and Rehan are
scathing indictments of life, labour and death under capitalism. The
description of Rehan falling to this death, the bones shattering leaving
“behind a crumpled shell,” speaks equally of Capital producing wealth by
savaging, hollowing out and sucking the life-blood from living labour. The
emptiness of “A Free Man'(s) freedom,” of the freedom implied in the use of the
term “free wage labour” hits the reader hard as the stories unfold.
It is truly remarkable therefore, that Sethi still manages to get Ashraf to
speak of the value and meaning of “aazadi” [freedom], self-respect and “akelapan”
[solitude] to workers like him, to capture the ways in which workers bring a
hint of freedom into their ferociously un-free worlds, loosen their chains and
carve out free spaces for themselves in their everyday lives against all odds.
“Azadi, Aman bhai, Azadi,” says Ashraf at one point, “…the
freedom to tell the maalik to f*** off when you want to. The maalik
owns our work, he does not own us … Which is why the best way to earn is on dehadi
… After all, even if you are an LLPP, you still have your self-respect.” Or
again for example, “today I can be in Delhi
Yet it is true that by the time Sethi finishes telling us his stories it is
difficult to miss the resonance with Hobsbawm's reflections on workers' lives
in Europe during the Age Of Revolution: “The believer in the second coming, the
drunkard, the petty gangster, the lunatic, the tramp or the ambitious small
entrepreneur…were apathetic about the capacity of collective action. In the
history of our period this massive apathy plays a much large part than is often
supposed.” The resonance is unmistakable, however, provided we can see that
like Hobsbawm and other labour historians, Sethi too is able to nuance this
apathy and not confuse it with passivity.
Sethi, like David Montgomery, historian of the American working class, who
died the day I happened to start reading A Free Man, is very attentive
to the ways in which workers are strained and diminished, but “what is so
palpable in his work,” as Stromquist wrote in an obituary of Montgomery, “is
the presence of working-class people as agents in history.”
New
ground
Informed by the best traditions of writings on labour — not just Hobsbawm
and Montgomery — Aman Sethi's A Free Man stands out also for pushing the
boundaries of these very traditions and breaking new ground in speaking of work
and workers.
(Mukul Mangalik is Associate Professor in History, Ramjas College, University
of Delhi)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-03/security/31119228_1_computer-systems-nasa-s-constellation-nasa-systems
Times Of India
NASA
says it was hacked 13 times last year
Reuters Mar 3, 2012, 05.55AM IST
"Some NASA systems house sensitive information which, if lost or stolen, could result in significant financial loss, adversely affect national security, or significantly impair our nation's competitive technological advantage," Martin said in testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, released on Wednesday.
He said the agency discovered in November that hackers working through a Chinese-based IP address broke into the network of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
He said they gained full system access, which allowed them to modify, copy, or delete sensitive files, create user accounts for mission-critical JPL systems and upload hacking tools to steal user credentials and compromise other NASA systems. They were also able to modify system logs to conceal their actions, he said.
"Our review disclosed that the intruders had compromised the accounts of the most privileged JPL users, giving the intruders access to most of JPL's networks," he said.
In another attack last year, intruders stole credentials for accessing NASA systems from more than 150 employees.
Martin said the agency has moved too slowly to encrypt or scramble the data on its laptop computers to protect information from falling into the wrong hands.
Unencrypted notebook computers that have been lost or stolen include ones containing codes for controlling the International Space Station as well as sensitive data on NASA's Constellation and Orion programs and Social Security numbers, Martin said.
March
6, 2012
Web Sites Shine Light on Petty Bribery
Worldwide
The cost of claiming a legitimate
income tax refund in Hyderabad ,
India
The going rate to get a child who
has already passed the entrance requirements into high school in Nairobi , Kenya
The expense of obtaining a
driver’s license after having passed the test in Karachi , Pakistan
Such is the price of what Swati
Ramanathan calls “retail corruption,” the sort of nickel-and-dime bribery, as
opposed to large-scale graft, that infects everyday life in so many parts of
the world.
Ms. Ramanathan and her husband,
Ramesh, along with Sridar Iyengar, set out to change all that in August 2010
when they started ipaidabribe.com,
a site that collects anonymous reports of bribes paid, bribes requested but not
paid and requests that were expected but not forthcoming.
About 80 percent of the more than
400,000 reports to the site tell stories like the ones above of officials and
bureaucrats seeking illicit payments to provide routine services or process
paperwork and forms.
“I was asked to pay a bribe to
get a birth certificate for my daughter,” someone in Bangalore ,
India , wrote in to the Web
site on Feb. 29, recording payment of a 120-rupee bribe in Bangalore
Now, similar sites are spreading
like kudzu around the globe, vexing petty bureaucrats the world over. Ms.
Ramanathan said nongovernmental organizations and government agencies from at
least 17 countries had contacted Janaagraha, the nonprofit organization in Bangalore
Last year, the Kingdom of
Bhutan’s Anti-Corruption Commission created an online form to allow the anonymous reporting
of corruption, and a similar site was created in Pakistan, ipaidbribe, which
estimates that the country’s economy has lost some 8.5 trillion rupees, or
about $94 billion, over the last four years to corruption, tax evasion and weak
governance.
“We’re working to create a
coalition of I Paid a Bribe groups that would perhaps meet annually and share
experiences,” Ms. Ramanathan said.
Ben Elers, program director for Transparency
International, a nongovernmental organization, said social media had given
the average person powerful new tools to fight endemic corruption. “In the
past, we tended to view corruption as this huge, monolithic problem that
ordinary people couldn’t do anything about,” Mr. Elers said. “Now, people have
new tools to identify it and demand change.”
Since no names are given on the
sites, in part to avoid potential issues of libel and defamation, it is
impossible to verify the reports, but Mr. Elers and others experienced in
exposing corruption say many of them ring true.
They are threatening enough that
when a rash of similar sites popped up in China last summer, the government
stamped them out within a couple of weeks, contending they had failed to
register with the authorities.
They are, however, only a
reporting mechanism. “In their own right, they don’t change anything,” Mr.
Elers said. “The critical thing is that mechanisms are developed to turn this
online activity into offline change in the real world.”
Antony Ragui is hoping that
happens in Kenya
“What if that person who paid a
bribe to get a driver’s license because he failed his driving test hits your
sister or your child?” Mr. Ragui said. “We have a huge issue of Somalis paying
bribes to get passports and personal identity cards to come to Kenya
His big concern at the moment is
how to pay for the site. Unlike the Indian site, which has received money from
the Omidyar Network and is housed within a well-financed nonprofit, the Kenyan
I Paid a Bribe thus far is supported by Mr. Ragui himself.
Stephen King, the partner who
oversees the technology for government transparency and accountability at the Omidyar
Network, the organization that manages the philanthropy of the eBay founder
Pierre Omidyar, said sustainability was an issue for many such groups.
The Omidyar Network supported
Janaagraha to develop I Paid a Bribe, but the Web site will have to find a way
to sustain itself. “A couple of the organizations we’re working with in the
area of transparency and accountability have been looking at things like
microdonations, asking for a nominal amount to help cover their costs like a
Wikipedia model,” Mr. King said. “There’s also some potential for carrying
advertising on the sites.”
Another idea, he said, was for
such organizations to customize their platforms for other groups for a fee.
Mr. Ragui in Kenya
“My real goal, though,” he added,
“is to change just one government department and how it does business.”
That is what happened in Bangalore
Licenses are now applied for
online — and last year, Bangalore
“It totally eliminated the whims
and fancies of the motor vehicle inspectors,” Mr. Rao, now inspector general of
police for internal security, said in a telephone interview. “It is videotaped
so everyone can see the results and everything is very transparent.”
He said he could not have made
the changes without I Paid a Bribe. “It was my unofficial spokesman to drive
home the message that the public was really upset about this corruption,” Mr.
Rao said. “It helped me get my colleagues to fall in line, and it helped me
persuade my superiors that we needed to do this.”
Such concrete evidence of impact
is nice, but Mr. King said the sites also were likely to have a deterrent
effect that was difficult to measure. “As the information because more public
over time and awareness of such reporting grows,” he said, “I suspect those who
might have been tempted to engage in this type of corruption are less likely to
because the risk of being caught is much greater.”
David Barboza contributed
reporting.
Dear Mukut uncle,
I trust all of you have been in good health.
We do remember aunty and you frequently and do mean to call, but my erratic work timings make it difficult to stay in touch at decent hours.
Whenever I come by articles of your interest, I feel compelled to stay in touch — unfortunately, I have not quite managed to be as consistent as you.
This article is not as insightful as it is mystifying, unless one accepts the view that property prices in Mumbai are being buoyed by overseas investors, who probably find the possibility of returns in India better at the moment.
Love to aunty and please convey our best wishes to every one at home.
yours,
Rajiv
http://www.firstpost.com/economy/can-sales-drop-70-and-prices-rise-20-yes-in-mumbai-realty-it-can-143149.html
Can sales drop 70 pc and prices rise 20 pc? Yes, in Mumbai realty it can.
by Sunainaa Chadha Nov 29, 2011Property sales in Mumbai’s overheated market have dropped by a jaw-dropping 70 percent from 2007 peak levels while overall prices have risen 20 percent.
According to the latest report by property consultant Knight Frank, higher interest rates, rising inflation and increasing construction costs have not only dampened demand but also investor appetite for the real estate portfolio. The steepest dip in residential market transaction volumes has occurred in the last three quarters due to a stalemate between buyers and sellers.
Reuters
And the only way prices are likely to continue at sky rocketing levels will be if the Reserve Bank of India eases credit crunch and commercial banks make lending norms more flexible.
“The dip in sales is not only owing to the affordability factor, but also due to the fact that prospective buyers have decided to sit on the fence until the price correction occurs, said Samanthak Das, national head of research at Knight Frank. With builders pressed to service their short-term debt, buyers have already begun to cancel thier bookings in many instances. The highest impact of the drop in sales has been on Central Mumbai, where the quantum of unsold inventory has gone up to more than 45 percent of the launched units, says the report.
But “without a proper time-frame analysis, unsold inventory becomes inconsequential to the builder, Das told Firstpost. He further explains that a property’s completion date is essential while determining the property trend in Mumbai. E.g. if the builder’s completion date is set in 2012, and 40 percent of the launched stock remains unsold, he will not be concerned. However, now that most developers are financially stressed due to rising cost of funds, increased cost of construction and delays in government approvals, realty players are finding it extremely difficult to meet their short-term obligations.
Over the last two years, developers have raised a lot of debt through the private equity channel and have now almost exhausted this option, says Pankaj Kapoor, MD at real estate firm Liases Foras. And dwindling sales have put further pressure on their capability to raise funds. Another report by Knight Frank points out that developers have resorted to selling-off assets in terms of land, leased property and transferred development rights to raise more funds.
Once realty players are unable to improve their cash positions, they will be forced to reduce prices of projects in order to meet their short-term obligations, predicts Das. And this is exactly what is happening right now.
Developers are offering huge discounts in certain isolated premium micro pockets like Parel, Lower Parel and Mahalaxmi. “Developers have been more open to negotiation in the premium segment reducing prices by as much as 25% in favour of a sizeable up-front payment,” says Das in his report. But as the core of the residential market moves northwards, pockets in Navi Mumbai, Thane and the peripheral suburbs of Central & Western Mumbai have either been stable or have trended marginally upwards.
While unsold inventory levels are currently estimated to be approximately 27 percent of the under construction stock, nearly 75 percent of the unsold inventory in the Mumbai market caters to buyers who can afford a house in the range of Rs 75 lakh. And approximately 63 percent of the total unsold inventory is concentrated in peripheral central Suburbs like Thane, Navi Mumbai and the Western Suburbs beyond Borivali due to the advent of mass housing projects in these micro-markets.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-12/india/31152323_1_live-in-relationships-shanti-bhushan-team-anna-member
Times of India
PTI Mar 12, 2012,
"Social values are changing fast and we should accept it (live-in relationships) rather to protest or go against these values," Bhushan, who was here to attend a function last evening, said.
Referring to the Assembly polls' results in five states, he claimed that the Anna factor worked and proved its effect on the outcome of the elections.
He also said the 2014 Lok Sabha election will be a "setback" for the Congress as it will "not reform" its policies.
Stop grilling journos who exposed porngate, Katju tells
Karnataka Speaker
March 12, 2012
Defending the journalists who exposed the Karnataka legislators watching
pornography inside the Assembly, Press Council of India chairman Justice
Markandey Katju has asked the state’s Speaker to “withdraw the proceedings
against them and instead take strong action against the MLAs who have brought
disgrace to the House”.
In a letter to Speaker K.G. Bopaiah, he added that “in a democracy all
proceedings in a Legislative Assembly must be freely telecast and reported so
that the people, who are the supreme authority in a democracy, know how their
representatives are behaving.”
Justice Katju felt that the inquiry committee questioning the journalists
jeopardises the freedom of the media guaranteed as a fundamental right by the
Constitution, and seeks to create an impression that it is the media which has
brought the House into disrepute rather than the MLAs involved.
“In my respectful opinion the inquiry committee can certainly ask media
persons concerned questions to ascertain correct facts about this sordid
affair,” said the letter. “But from what I could gather, the question being
asked gives the impression that the media persons are being treated as an
accused of some offence, and are being grilled accordingly.”
As legislators, the Karnataka MLAs are accountable to the people of their
state who have a right to be kept informed of their actions, said Justice
Katju, adding that the media was only doing its duty and “deserved to be
applauded for their courageous reporting.”
Half
of India
March 14, 2012
Though half of all Indians do not have a toilet at home, well over half own
a telephone, new census data released on Tuesday show.
These and many other contrasting facts of life have come out in Census
2011. The data on housing, household amenities and assets cast new light on a
country in the throes of a complex transition, where millions have access to
state-of-the-art technologies and consumer goods — but a larger number lacks
access to the most rudimentary facilities.
It shows Indian society is overwhelmingly made up of nuclear families. They
have ever more access to electricity and gather their information from television,
rather than radio. At the same time, women are forced to rely on traditional
smoky fuels to cook, and less than a third of the population have access to
treated drinking water.
Only 46.9 per cent of the total 246.6 million households have toilet facilities.
Of the rest, 3.2 per cent use public toilets. And 49.8 per cent ease themselves
in the open. In stark contrast, 63.2 per cent of the households own a telephone
connection — 53.2 per cent of mobile phones
Releasing the data, Registrar-General and Census Commissioner C.
Chandramouli said the lack of sanitary facilities “continues to be a big
concern for the country.” “Cultural and traditional reasons,” he argued, “and
lack of education seemed to be the primary reasons for this unhygienic
practice. We have to do a lot in these areas.”
However, the data also show significant deficits in areas that have nothing
to do with cultural practices or poor education. For example, two-thirds of
households continue to use firewood, crop residue, cow dung cakes or coal for
cooking — putting women to significant health hazards and hardship.
The data also show that just 32 per cent of the households use treated
water for drinking and 17 per cent still fetch drinking water from a source
located more than 500 metres in rural areas or 100 metres in urban centres.
There has been an 11 percentage point increase in households using
electricity, from 56 per cent to 67 per cent. The rural-urban gap for this
indicator has dropped by seven percentage point, from 44 per cent to 37 per
cent.
Though there has been a nine percentage point jump in the numbers of
households who own a two-wheeler, 45 per cent own a cycle, which remains the
primary mode of transport.
The data cast light on the changing character of the media. There has been
a 16 per cent increase in the number of households watching television, but a
15 per cent decline in the use of radios and transistors. A total of 47.2 per
cent of households own a television; only 19.9 per cent have either radio or
transistors.
Correction: The table has been edited to correct an error in earlier
versions which suggested the number of households with (1) latrine facilities
connected to a piped sewer system and (2) with no drainage system were 11.9 per
cent and 48.9 per cent respectively of households with a latrine facility
inside the house. In fact, these numbers are a percentage of all households.
Delhiites
richer, more modern than rest of the country
March 15, 2012
With a greater number of its households possessing television sets than
radios and transistors, with more families being connected to the Internet than
to landline phones and with more people having scooters and motorcycles than
bicycles, Delhi is now truly on the path to a major transition going by the
latest figures revealed by the Census of India 2011.
The Census has thrown new light on how Delhi
Little wonder then that of the total of 3,340,538 households surveyed by
the Census here, 88 per cent now possess TV sets as against 33.4 per cent which
have radios or transistors. In fact, in comparison to the national average of
19.9 per cent, fewer households in Delhi
The city is fast moving into the era of computers and 29.1 per cent of the
households now possess these. Moreover, 17.6 per cent of the households also
have an Internet connection to boot. And with just 5.1 per cent households now
possessing a landline phone connection, Delhi
The higher per capita income in the city is also reflected in the shift
towards motorised two-wheelers from bicycles. So while 30.6 per cent households
possess a bicycle, which is lower than the national average of 44.8 per cent, a
good 38.9 per cent now possess motorcycles or scooters, which is significantly
higher than the national average of 21 per cent.
In the case of cars and jeeps, too, 20.7 per cent of the households in Delhi Delhi
The Census has also shown that 77.7 per cent of the households in Delhi
With much of Delhi
A majority of the households in Delhi
In terms of the number of dwelling rooms, households having just one room
constitute 32.2 per cent, followed by those with two rooms at 29.6 per cent and
with three rooms at 20 per cent.
As for the facilities, 99.1 per cent of the households in Delhi
The most favoured fuel for cooking in Delhi
Though its sewerage system may be largely clogged, Delhi
Population
growth rate slows down; concentration up in South-West, North-West
After recording a
staggering 47 per cent growth in population between 1991 and 2001, Delhi's
decadal pace of population growth has slowed down to 21 per cent, with two of
its nine districts, New Delhi and Central, registering even negative growth,
the Census of India 2011 has revealed. It also shows how construction activity,
displacement and rehabilitation of slums, and commercialisation of residential
areas has led to significant demographic changes in Delhi
The total population of Delhi North Delhi .
On the events influencing the demographic changes, the Census states that a
major reason for the fall in the decadal growth rate was the wide-ranging
removal of slum clusters. Some major clusters were removed in the mid-2000s
from the Yamuna Pushta. These clusters were spread along the river bed in the New Delhi
“Many more have been removed in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in the
last two years. Of the population living in these clusters, about 32,000
families have been shifted to rehabilitation colonies in North-West and South
districts as per the data from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board but
the rest were not eligible for rehabilitation and were thus displaced,” the
Census report says.
Another visible trend as per the report has been the commercialisation of
previously residential areas.
“The tendency is to convert the ground floor for commercial/office use and,
if at all, only keep the upper floors residential, thus to a great extent using
up the extra housing capacity created by the increased floor-area ratio norms
of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi,” it observes.
With this trend most visible in Old Delhi areas of Chandni Chowk and Sadar
Bazar as also Central Delhi areas of Paharganj
and Karol Bagh, the report notes that there has been a marked reluctance among
the descendants of old time residents of these areas to continue staying there.
“People prefer to move out to more modernised housing in other parts of Delhi Central Delhi ,” it points out.
On the other hand, the report says the coming up of numerous unauthorised
colonies in West District has led to a growth in population there. A similar
situation exists in South District as well. As for the North District, it says
while these factors hold true, the coming in of Delhi Metro and many flyovers
has led to large-scale demolition and consequent loss of population in its
Kashmere Gate area.
The overall population density of Delhi
The Hindu
Students of opposite sex travelling together in a bus is no offence: Court
MADURAI
Mohamed Imranullah S.
Students of a co-educational college cannot be
imposed with the extreme punishment of dismissal for travelling together in a
public bus after college hours or exchanging messages through their mobile
phones during class hours despite a specific ban on using such devices on the
campus, the Madras High Court Bench here has said.
Justice V. Dhanapalan made the observation while
setting aside two dismissal orders passed by the Principal of S. Vellaichamy
Nadar College at Nagamalai near here on November 8 last. The orders were passed
against a boy and girl student accused of exchanging “indecent” SMS and
travelling together in a bus. Both of them had challenged their dismissal
through separate writ petitions.
Allowing the writ petitions filed through their
counsel P. Rathinam, the judge held that the dismissal orders were “ex-facie
illegal, non-speaking and passed with total non-application of mind” besides
suffering from violations of principles of natural justice as the petitioners
had not been served with the list of charges or a copy of the enquiry report in
order to explain their stand.
Though expressing concern over the usage of mobile
phones by some students for undesirable things, the judge said: “Technological
advancement is the order of the day and it cannot be prevented by a sheer
prohibition of cell phones in an educational institution. A separate mechanism
must be devised to regulate the conduct of the students inside the educational
institutions.
“Mere use of a technological advancement, which
causes certain inconvenience, will not deprive the students of their right to
education. The orders of dismissal of the petitioners will not only prevent the
petitioners from proceeding further with their education but will ruin their
entire future. Hence, it is for the State authorities, educational institutions
and all other stakeholders in the respective field to evolve a mechanism with
regard to the usage of cell phones by the students and the regulation thereof.”
Insofar as the present case was concerned, though
the college had imposed a ban on using mobile phones inside the campus, it had
not created facilities for leaving the phones in a secure place near the
entrance, office room or some other place. Yet, it had gone to the extent of
dismissing the petitioners from the institution without affording them an
opportunity to correct their mistake.
On the other charge of travelling together in a
public bus was concerned, the judge said: “It is not uncommon that we see many
students both male and female travelling together in buses or other vehicles,
which are meant for general public, to reach their homes. It is not the case of
the fourth respondent (Principal) that the petitioners travelled on a two
wheeler as rider and pillion. “
Housing prices rise most in India
21 Mar, 2012
(Times of India
This is an over six-fold increase compared to the 47% rise in
In India ,
prices have risen maximum in South Delhi ,
Gurgaon and Noida. Prices in some of the markets in NCR rose by 1,100%
including inflation.
SAINATH - The
Food, the Bad and the Ugly http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3025560.ece?css=print
The Hindu (March 22, 2012)
PTI MORE THAN THREE BAGS FULL: Food not reaching those who need it. A file
photograph of wheat being loaded at an open FCI godown at Sonepat, Haryana.
Average
per capita net availability of foodgrain declined in every five-year period of
the 'reforms' without exception. In the 20 years preceding the reforms —
1972-1991 — it rose every five-year period without exception.
The country's total foodgrain production is expected to touch a record 250
million tons this year (2011-12).
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
PTI, February 17, 2012
Record foodgrain output of 235.88 million tons in 2010-11.
Sharad Pawar,
PTI, April 6, 2011
Sharad Pawar, Lok Sabha,
July 20, 2009
The Minister (Mr. Pawar) said food grain production in 2007-08 had reached
a record 227.32 million tonnes and record production has been achieved in a
number of crops.
Economic Times,
April 23, 2008
“During 2006-07, the agriculture sector has posted new landmarks. The
record production of 216 million tonnes of food grains…”
Sharad Pawar,
November 13, 2007
Economic Editors conference
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar doesn't just deal in foodgrain
production, he deals in records. Landmarks he's fond of citing as foodgrain
production rises every year. (Barring blips like those in 2009-10, of course).
Sticking to absolute numbers helps him maintain a modest silence on another
record he's been a big part of.
The daily per capita net availability of foodgrain has been falling
steadily and dangerously during the “reform” years. If we take five-year
averages for those years from 1992 to 2010 — the figure declined every five
years without exception (see table “Declining per capita …”). From
474.9 grams of cereals and pulses for the years of 1992-96 to 440.4 grams for
the period 2007-2010 (The 2011 figure is yet to come). A fall of 7.3 per cent.
There has not been a single five-year period that saw an upward blip.
What about the 20 years preceding the reforms? That is 1972-1991? The per
capita availability figure rose every five-year period without exception.
From 433.7 for 1972-76, to 480.3 grams in 1987-91. An increase of 10.7 per
cent.
Not reaching the needy
Consider the average for the latest five years for which data are
available. It was 441.4 grams for the period 2006-2010. That's lower than the
corresponding period half a century ago. It was 446.9 for the years 1956-60.
Not great news for a nation where malnutrition among children under five is
nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa's. (A point the India Human
Development Report 2011 — from a wing of the Planning Commission — concedes).
If production is rising, which it is; if the upper classes are eating a lot
better, which they are; and if per capita availability keeps declining, which
it does — that implies three things at least. That foodgrain is not getting to
those who most need it. That the gap between those eating more and those eating
less is worsening. And that food prices and incomes of the poor are less and
less in sync.
It also tells us how disastrous the reforms-era policy of “targeting”
through the Public Distribution System has been. The poor have not gained from
“targeting” in the PDS. They have been the targets. The “reforms” period has
seen more poor and hungry people shut out of the PDS in practice. The latest
budget suggests that “targeting” is about to get more ruthless. A universal PDS
covering all would cost much less than what the government gives away each year
in concessions to the corporate sector.
Small wonder that Mr. Pawar sticks to aggregate numbers in his claims of
records. He stays with production in absolute numbers, because that's rising.
As the Big Boss of Cricket in India
Economic Survey document
For those worried about food availability, though, it matters. The highest
figure for any year in our history was the 510.1 grams for 1991. Aha! Chalk one
up for the reformers? Not really. The data are based on the agricultural year —
i.e. July to June. So the 1991 figure corresponds to the production of July
1990 to June 1991. Manmohan Singh made his speech launching the reforms on July
24, 1991. And the average for 2010, after nearly two decades of “reforms,” was
440.4 grams.
The decline across the reforms years has been dismal. Indeed, some
five-year periods in this era compare poorly even with those in the pre-Green
Revolution years. For instance, 2006-10 throws up worse figures than 1956-1960.
All figures from 1961 are seen in the latest Economic Survey of 2011-12.
(http://indiabudget.nic.in/es2011-12/estat1.pdf See A22, 1.17. Last year's
survey has data going back to 1951.
This, of course, is the point at which someone pops up with: “It's all due
to the population. The poor breed like flies.” Is it? The compound annual
growth of population was much higher in pre-reform decades than it is now. But
the CAGR for food production was always higher and ahead of it. Even in
1961-1971, when the CAGR for population was 2.24 per cent it was 2.37 for grain
production. In 2001-10, the figure for population was just 1.65 per cent. But
foodgrain production lagged behind even that figure, at 1.03 per cent. (For the
growth rate in foodgrain, we have not taken 2010-11 into account. We have only
advance estimates for that year and these can vary quite a bit from final
figures).
In all the southern states the fertility rate is either at replacement
level or even below it. And the population growth rate is falling everywhere in
the country, and at quite a rapid pace. Yet, per capita availability has
declined. So the population claim does not fly. There may be one-off years in
which the growth rate of food production (or even per capita availability) gets
better, or much worse. Hence, looking at five-year or decadal averages makes
more sense. And the trends those show are awful.
This is a context where foodgrain production per capita is on the
decline. Where, however, the buffer stocks with the government in fact show an
increasing trend. So per capita availability is in fact declining at a faster
rate. It means the poor are so badly hit that they cannot buy, or have access
to, even the limited grain on offer.
GHI ranking
True, this will invite yowls of rage from the Marie Antoinette School of
Economics (or ‘Let-them-eat-cake' crowd). For them the decline only shows that
people now care less for cereals and pulses. They're eating much better stuff
since they're doing so much better. So much better that we'd be lucky to reach
Sub-Saharan Africa's rate of child malnourishment in a few years. Or improve
enough in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) to challenge an upstart Rwanda Rwanda India
We've spent 20 years promoting cash crops at the expense of food crops. No
one knows quite how much land has been converted from the latter to the former,
but it would run to lakhs of acres. As food crop cultivation has grown less
remunerative, many have abandoned it. As farming tanks across large swathes of
the country, more and more land lies fallow. The owners have given up on the
idea of making a living from it. Close to seven-and-a-half million people quit
farming between 1991 and 2001 (and we still await the figures for 2001-11). Two
decades of policies hostile to smallholders, but paving the way for corporate
control, have seen public investment in agriculture crash. No surprise then
that foodgrain production is “growing” only in absolute numbers but falling at
an alarming rate in per capita terms.
RAJIV SHANKAR
Fw: No room for fall in Mumbai home prices:
CRISIL
Editorial editorial@domain-b.com
Mar 26 (1 day ago)
Dear uncle,
This synopsis of a report compiled by Crisil
was sent to me as a press release. I thought you might like to glance at it.
Regards,
Rajiv
March 26, 2012
Mumbai
No room for fall in Mumbai home prices: CRISIL
Despite a 40 per cent decline in new home sales
in 2011
According to CRISIL Research , India
Notwithstanding a 40 per cent dip in sales of
new homes since mid-2011, a sharp rise in construction and funding costs, in
addition to amendments to the Development Control Regulations (DCR), will
increase costs for builders and prevent a reduction in home prices.
CRISIL Research expects a 7-9 per cent increase
in costs of key inputs in 2012, following a 25 per cent increase in these costs
the year before. Through 2012, CRISIL Research foresees cement prices in Mumbai
rising by 5 per cent, steel by 7-9 per cent and labour costs by 10-15 per cent.
Funding costs too will remain high. Given
constraints in obtaining a significant increase in bank funding, builders’
dependence on costlier alternative funding will continue.
Recent amendments in the DCR will increase
costs for builders further by 15 per cent, on an average. DCR norms govern land
development in Mumbai. The modified rules, which came into effect from January
2012, have revised the method of calculating the floor space index (FSI).
Unlike the earlier practice, spaces allotted for balconies, flowerbeds,
terraces and niches are now included in the FSI calculation.
These spaces typically comprise one-third of
the built-up area – even more for high-end apartments. This revision will
impact the total area available for sale and, in turn, the revenues of
builders.
However, the new rules do permit builders to
buy additional FSI of up to 35 per cent of the current FSI, by paying a fee
calculated at 60 per cent of the ready-reckoner rate – the rate at which the
stamp duty is levied. This will mean additional cost for builders.
With regard to the 40 per cent slump in sales
of new homes between April 2011 and February 2012,
Sudhir Nair, Head – CRISIL Research, explained,
“Through 2011, even as the number of enquiries from buyers remained strong –
implying healthy latent demand – only a few enquiries translated into actual
sales. Higher interest rates, slower economic growth, inflationary pressure and
expectation of price correction led most buyers to defer buying decisions. In
2012, the latent demand is likely to spur a moderate 10 per cent increase in
new home sales.”
While new home prices will remain steady,
across Mumbai, the southern and central parts of the city will stand out as
exceptions. Prices are likely to decline by 6-7 per cent in South Mumbai
(Nepean Sea Road, Tardeo, Opera House, Peddar Road), and 8-10 per cent in
Central Mumbai (Worli, Prabhadevi, Lower Parel).
“Although prices fell by 20 per cent and 10 per
cent in Central and South Mumbai in 2011, new
homes in these areas will still remain unaffordable for most buyers,”
added Nair.
MINIMUM WAGES
Tuesday, 27 March, 2012 12:58 PM
From:
"Saroj
Lal" <saroj_lal@yahoo.com>
To:
"geeta kunder"
<gitakunder@yahoo.co.uk>
I FIND MY IPAD DOES NOT HAVE
RAJIV'S EMAIL ADDRESS. SO I AM SENDING THIS TO GEETA TO BE PASSED ON TO RAJIV
My dear Rajiv
Your message about the CRISIL
study could not have come at a better time. Currently I am involved in a major
study for a comparative analysis of property prices and black money pouring
into it and all luxury items coming from labour's unpaid wages. India India
If the process is reversed and
everybody paid his minimum statutory wage, black money generation will go down
and so will luxury living. Property prices will also fall. People will
spend more on food, health and education and less on luxury items.
Agriculture will revive.Given below is a letter I wrote to The Hindu. It
was published in its Delhi
Saroj is amazed how Geeta was able to
predict the "turmoil" in Government on last Thursday with precise
timings when there was not the least suspicion of it. It came like bolt fom the
blue and Geeta predicted it. Please give her our congratulations on this feat.
With love for both of you
Mukut
http://www.iretireearly.com/1-4-trillion-indias-black-money-stashed-in-swiss-banks.html
http://www.rediff.com/money/2009/apr/22guest-how-real-are-figures-on-black-money.htm
Black
market
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation,
search
"Black economics" redirects here. For
the economic empowerment of black Africans in South Africa
"Black Market" redirects here. For other
uses, see Black Market (disambiguation).
Part of a series on
|
Systems
|
Sectors
|
Transition
|
Coordination
|
Other types of economies
|
Black market on graffiti. Kharkov
 |
It has been suggested that Informal
sector be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed
since February 2012.
|
It is distinct from the grey market, in which commodities are distributed through channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer, and the white market, the legal market for goods and services.
Worldwide, the underground economy is estimated to provide 1.8 billion jobs.[1]
[edit] Background
The
literature on the black market has avoided a common usage and has instead
offered a plethora of appellations including: subterranean; hidden; grey;
shadow; informal; clandestine; illegal; unobserved; unreported; unrecorded;
second; parallel and black.[2]
This profusion of vague
labels attests to the confusion of a literature attempting to explore a largely
uncharted area of economic activity.There is no single underground economy; there are many. These underground economies are omnipresent, existing in market oriented as well as in centrally planned nations, be they developed or developing. Those engaged in underground activities circumvent, escape or are excluded from the institutional system of rules, rights, regulations and enforcement penalties that govern formal agents engaged in production and exchange. Different types of underground activities are distinguished according to the particular institutional rules that they violate. Four specific underground economies can be identified:
- the illegal economy
- the unreported economy
- the unrecorded economy
- the informal economy
The "unreported economy" consists of those economic activities that circumvent or evade the institutionally established fiscal rules as codified in the tax code. A summary measure of the unreported economy is the amount of income that should be reported to the tax authority but is not so reported. A complementary measure of the unreported economy is the "tax gap", namely the difference between the amount of tax revenues due the fiscal authority and the amount of tax revenue actually collected. In the
The "unrecorded economy" consists of those economic activities that circumvent the institutional rules that define the reporting requirements of government statistical agencies. A summary measure of the unrecorded economy is the amount of unrecorded income, namely the amount of income that should (under existing rules and conventions) be recorded in national accounting systems (e.g. National Income and Product Accounts) but is not. Unrecorded income is a particular problem in transition countries that switched from a socialist accounting system to UN standard national accounting. New methods have been proposed for estimating the size of the unrecorded (non-observed) economy.[5] But there is still little consensus concerning the size of the unreported economies of transition countries.[6]
The "informal economy" comprises those economic activities that circumvent the costs and are excluded from the benefits and rights incorporated in the laws and administrative rules covering property relationships, commercial licensing, labor contracts, torts, financial credit and social security systems. A summary measure of the informal economy is the income generated by economic agents that operate informally.[7][8] The informal sector is defined as the part of an economy that is not taxed, monitored by any form of government, or included in any gross national product (GNP), unlike the formal economy. In developed countries the informal sector is characterized by unreported employment. This is hidden from the state for tax, social security or labour law purposes but is legal in all other aspects.[9] On the other hand, the term black market can be used in reference to a specific part of the economy in which contraband is traded.
[edit] Pricing
Goods
acquired illegally take one of two price levels:- They may be cheaper than legal market
prices. The supplier does not have to pay for production
costs or taxes. This is usually the case in the underground economy.
Criminals steal goods and sell them below the legal market price, but
there is no receipt, guarantee, and so forth.
- They may be more expensive than legal
market prices. The product is difficult to acquire or produce, dangerous
to handle or not easily available legally, if at all. If goods are
illegal, such as some drugs, their prices can be vastly inflated over the
costs of production.
[edit] Consumer issues
No government, no global nonprofit, no multinational enterprise
can seriously claim to be able to replace the 1.8 billion jobs created by the
economic underground. In truth, the best hope for growth in most emerging
economies lies in the shadows.
|
—Global Bazaar, Scientific American[1]
|
- They may prefer legal suppliers, as
they are easier to contact and can be held accountable for faults;
- In some[10]
jurisdictions, customers may be charged with a criminal offense if they knowingly
participate in the black economy, even as a consumer;
- They may feel in danger of being hurt
while making the deal;
- They may have a moral dislike of
black marketing;
- In some jurisdictions (such as England and Wales),
consumers in possession of stolen goods will have them taken away if they
are traced, even if they did not know they were stolen. Though they
themselves commit no offense, they are still left with no goods and no
money back. This risk makes some averse to buying goods that they think
may be from the underground market, even if in fact they are legitimate
(for example, items sold at a car
boot sale).
- Unlicensed taxicabs. In
Baltimore,
it has been reported that many consumers actively prefer illegal taxis,
citing that they are more available, convenient, and priced fairly.[11]
[edit] Traded goods and
services
Largest black markets
|
|
Total
|
796[12]
|
142[12]
|
|
108[12]
|
|
Counterfeit technology
products
|
100[12]
|
Counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs
|
75[12]
|
Prescription drugs
|
73[12]
|
Cocaine
|
70[12]
|
65[12]
|
|
Web Video piracy
|
60[12]
|
Software piracy
|
53[12]
|
Cigarette smuggling
|
50[12]
|
[edit] Biological organs
Main article: Organ trade
[edit] Transportation
providers
Where
taxicabs, buses, and other transportation providers are strictly regulated or
monopolized by government, a black market typically flourishes to provide
transportation to poorly served or overpriced communities. In the
[edit] Illegal drugs
Main article: Illegal drug trade
From
the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many countries began to ban the keeping
or using of some recreational drugs, such as the Although law enforcement officers do capture a small proportion of the illegal drugs, the high and very stable demand for such drugs ensures that black market prices will simply rise in response to the decrease in supply—encouraging new distributors to enter the market. Many drug legalization activists draw parallels between the illegal drug trade and the Prohibition of alcohol in the
In the
[edit] Prostitution
Prostitution
is illegal or highly regulated in most countries across the world. These places
form a classic study of the underground economy, because of consistent high
demand from customers, relatively high pay, but labor intensive and low skilled
work, which attracts a continual supply of workers. While prostitution exists
in almost every country, studies show that it tends to flourish more in poorer
countries, and in areas with large numbers of unattached men, such as around
military bases.[14]Prostitutes in the black market generally operate with some degree of secrecy, sometimes negotiating prices and activities through codewords and subtle gestures. In countries such as the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal but regulated, illegal prostitutes exist whose services are offered cheaper without regard for the legal requirements or procedures— health checks, standards of accommodation, and so on.
In other countries such as Nicaragua where legal prostitution is regulated, hotels may require both parties to identify themselves, to prevent the rise of child prostitution.
[edit] Weaponry
Main article: Arms trafficking
The legislatures
of many countries forbid or restrict the personal ownership of weapons. These
restrictions can range from small knives
to firearms,
either altogether or by classification (e.g. caliber, automation,
etc.), and explosives.
The black market supplies the demands for weaponry that can not be obtained
legally, or may only be obtained legally after obtaining permits and paying
fees. This may be by smuggling the arms from countries where they were bought
legally or stolen, or by stealing from arms manufacturers within the country
itself, using insiders.
In cases where the underground economy is unable to smuggle firearms, they can
also satisfy requests by gunsmithing their own firearms. Those who may buy this way
include criminals,
those who wish to use them for illegal activities, and collectors.In
In some jurisdictions, collectors may legally keep antique weapons. Sometimes they must be disarmed (incapable of being fired); but sometimes they are so ineffective by modern standards that they are allowed to be kept intact. For example a blunderbuss or cannon is hardly likely to be used for a drive-by shooting.
[edit] Alcohol and tobacco
It has
been reported that smuggling one truckload of cigarettes from a low-tax US state
to a high-tax state can lead to a profit of up to $2 million.[15]
The low-tax states are generally the major tobacco producers, and have come
under enormous criticism for their reluctance to increase taxes. North
Carolina eventually agreed to raise its taxes from 5 cents to 35 cents per
pack of 20 cigarettes, although this remains far below the national average.[16]
But South
Carolina has so far refused to follow suit and raise taxes from seven cents
per pack (the lowest in the In the
[edit] Booze cruise
Main article: Booze cruise
In the
UK, the booze cruise — a day-trip ferry to continental Europe simply to
get alcohol and tobacco at lower tax rates— is still very popular. Its
popularity varies on the Euro to Providing the goods are for personal consumption, "booze cruises" are entirely legal. Because there are no customs restrictions between European Union countries it is not strictly a black market, but closer to a grey market. The
There is however a thriving black market in goods, rubbing tobacco in particular, which have avoided the payment of excise duty. This is partly supplied by "booze cruises".
[edit] Copyrighted media
Street
vendors in countries where there is scant enforcement of copyright
law, particularly in Asia and Latin America, often sell deeply discounted
copies of films,
music CDs, and computer software such
as video
games, sometimes even before the official release of the title. A
determined counterfeiter with a few hundred dollars can make copies that are
digitally identical to an original and suffer no loss in quality; innovations
in consumer DVD and CD writers and the
widespread availability of cracks
on the Internet
for most forms of copy protection technology make this cheap and easy
to do.This has proved very difficult for copyright holders to combat through the law courts, because the operations are distributed and widespread— there is no "Mr. Big".[citation needed] Since digital information can be duplicated repeatedly with no loss of quality, and distributed electronically at little to no cost, the effective underground market value of media is zero, differentiating it from nearly all other forms of underground economic activity. The issue is compounded by widespread indifference to enforcing copyright law, both with governments and the public at large. To steal a car is seen as a crime in most people's eyes, but to obtain illicit copies of music or a game is not.[19]
See also: Copyright infringement
Yet,
the preceding comparison, although common, is not truly analogous. Automobile
theft results in an item being removed from the owner with the ownership
transferred to a second party. Media piracy is a crime of duplication, with no
physical property being stolen. Copyright infringement law goes as far as to
deem illegal "mix-tapes" and other such material copied to tape or
disk. Copyright holders typically attest the act of theft to be in the profits
forgone to the pirates. However, this makes the unsubstantiated assumption that
the pirates would have bought the copyrighted material if it had not been
available through file sharing or other means. Many artists and film
producers have accepted the role of piracy in media distribution.[20]
The spread of material through file sharing is a major source of publicity for
artists and has been shown to build fan bases that may be more inclined to see
the performer live[21]
(live performances make up the bulk of successful artists' revenues[22]).
[edit] Currency
Main article: Fixed exchange rate
Money
itself is traded on the black market. This may happen for one or more of
several reasons:- The government sets
("pegs") the local currency at some arbitrary level to another
currency that does not reflect its true market value.
- A government makes it difficult or
illegal for its citizens to own much or any foreign currency.
- The government taxes exchanging the
local currency with other currencies, either in one direction or both
(e.g. foreigners are taxed to buy local currency, or residents are taxed
to buy foreign currency).
- The currency is counterfeit.
- The currency has been acquired
illegally and needs to be laundered before the money can be used.[23]
In situations of financial instability and inflation, citizens may substitute a foreign currency for the local currency. The U.S. dollar is viewed as a relatively stable and safe currency and is often used abroad as a second currency. At the present time, $340 billion dollars, roughly 37 percent[24] of all
If foreign currency is difficult or illegal for local citizens to acquire, they will pay a premium to acquire it. U.S. currency is viewed as a relatively stable store of value and since it does not leave a paper trail,[dubious ] it is also a convenient medium of exchange for both illegal transactions and for unreported income (tax evasion) both in the U.S and abroad.[3]
[edit] Fuel
In the
EU it is not illegal for a person or business to buy fuel in one EU state for
their own use in another, but as with other goods the tax will generally be
payable by the final customer at the physical place of making the purchase.Between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland there has often been a black market in petrol and diesel.[28][29] The direction of smuggling can change depending on the variation of the taxes and the exchange rate between the Euro and Pound Sterling; indeed sometimes diesel will be smuggled in one direction and petrol the other.
In some countries diesel fuel for agricultural vehicles or domestic use is taxed at a much lower rate than that for other vehicles. This is known as dyed fuel, because a coloured dye is added so it can be detected if used in other vehicles (e.g. a red dye in the
[edit] Appearance and
disappearance
If an economic
good is illegal but not seen by many in society as particularly harmful,
such as alcohol under prohibition in the United States,
the black market prospers. Black marketeers can reinvest profits in diverse
legal or illegal activities, well beyond the original source of profit.Some, for example in the marijuana-trade debate, argue for removing the underground markets by making illegal products legal. This would, in their view:
- decrease the illegal cashflow,
thus making the performance of other, potentially more harmful, activities
financially harder
- allow quality and safety controls on
the traded goods, thus reducing harm to consumers
- let the goods be taxed, providing a
source of revenue
- free up court time and prison space
and save taxpayer money.
[edit] Modern examples
[edit] Wars
Black
markets flourish in most countries during wartime. States
that are engaged in total war or other large-scale, extended wars must necessarily
impose restrictions on home use of critical resources that are needed for the
war effort, such as food,
gasoline, rubber, metal, etc.,
typically through rationing. In most cases, a black market develops to supply
rationed goods at exorbitant prices. The rationing and
price
controls enforced in many countries during World War
II encouraged widespread black market activity.[31]
One source of black-market meat under wartime rationing was by farmers
declaring fewer domestic animal births to the Ministry
of Food than actually happened. Another in During the Vietnam war, soldiers would spend Military Payment Certificates on maid service and sexual entertainment,[citation needed] thus supporting their partners and their families. If the Vietnamese civilian wanted something that was hard to get, he would buy it at double the price from one of the soldiers, who had a monthly ration card and thus had access to the military stores.[citation needed] The transactions ran through the on-base maids to the local populace. Although these activities were illegal, only flagrant or large-scale black-marketeers were prosecuted by the military.[citation needed]
[edit] Indian black-money
Further information: Indian black money, Indian Economy#Corruption, and Corruption in India
The
black money market situation in India is epidemical. India currently tops the list for illegal monies
in the entire world, estimated to be almost US$1,456 billion stored in Swiss banks (USD 1.4 trillion
approximately) in the form of unaccounted money.[32]
According to the data provided by the Swiss Banking Association,
[edit] Prohibition in
the United States
Main article: Prohibition in the United States
[edit] Alcohol
See also: Legal drinking age
A
classic example of creating a black market is the Prohibition
of alcohol during the 1920s in the Although Prohibition ended in 1933, there are still some parallels today with evasion of the drinking age of 21 in the
[edit] Smoking
This
effect is seen similarly today, when jurisdictions pass bans on
smoking in bars and restaurants. In these jurisdictions, smokeasies
arise which allow smoking despite the legal prohibition. In a sense the owner
is not a black marketeer since he is not necessarily selling tobacco, but he
profits by the sale of other goods on his premises (typically alcohol).This phenomenon is very prevalent in many US state jurisdictions with smoking bans, including California,[36][37] Philadelphia,[38][39] Utah,[40] Seattle,[41] Ohio,[42] and Washington, D.C..[43]
[edit] See also
How to Be Creative
The Wall Street Journal
The science of creativity is relatively
new. Until the Enlightenment, acts of imagination were always equated with
higher powers. Being creative meant channeling the muses, giving voice to the
gods. ("Inspiration" literally means "breathed upon.") Even
in modern times, scientists have paid little attention to the sources of
creativity.
But over the past decade, that has begun
to change. Imagination was once thought to be a single thing, separate from
other kinds of cognition. The latest research suggests that this assumption is
false. It turns out that we use "creativity" as a catchall term for a
variety of cognitive tools, each of which applies to particular sorts of
problems and is coaxed to action in a particular way.
Does the challenge that we're facing
require a moment of insight, a sudden leap in consciousness? Or can it be
solved gradually, one piece at a time? The answer often determines whether we
should drink a beer to relax or hop ourselves up on Red Bull, whether we take a
long shower or stay late at the office.
The new research also suggests how best
to approach the thorniest problems. We tend to assume that experts are the
creative geniuses in their own fields. But big breakthroughs often depend on
the naive daring of outsiders. For prompting creativity, few things are as
important as time devoted to cross-pollination with fields outside our areas of
expertise.
Let's start with the hardest problems,
those challenges that at first blush seem impossible. Such problems are
typically solved (if they are solved at all) in a moment of insight.
Consider the case of Arthur Fry, an
engineer at 3M in the paper products division. In the winter of 1974, Mr. Fry
attended a presentation by Sheldon Silver, an engineer working on adhesives.
Mr. Silver had developed an extremely weak glue, a paste so feeble it could
barely hold two pieces of paper together. Like everyone else in the room, Mr.
Fry patiently listened to the presentation and then failed to come up with any
practical applications for the compound. What good, after all, is a glue that
doesn't stick?
On a frigid Sunday morning, however, the
paste would re-enter Mr. Fry's thoughts, albeit in a rather unlikely context.
He sang in the church choir and liked to put little pieces of paper in the
hymnal to mark the songs he was supposed to sing. Unfortunately, the little pieces
of paper often fell out, forcing Mr. Fry to spend the service frantically
thumbing through the book, looking for the right page. It seemed like an
unfixable problem, one of those ordinary hassles that we're forced to live
with.
But then, during a particularly tedious
sermon, Mr. Fry had an epiphany. He suddenly realized how he might make use of
that weak glue: It could be applied to paper to create a reusable bookmark!
Because the adhesive was barely sticky, it would adhere to the page but
wouldn't tear it when removed. That revelation in the church would eventually
result in one of the most widely used office products in the world: the Post-it
Note.
Mr. Fry's invention was a classic moment
of insight. Though such events seem to spring from nowhere, as if the cortex is
surprising us with a breakthrough, scientists have begun studying how they
occur. They do this by giving people "insight" puzzles, like the one
that follows, and watching what happens in the brain:
A man has married 20 women in a small town.
All of the women are still alive, and none of them is divorced. The man has
broken no laws. Who is the man?
If you solved the question, the solution
probably came to you in an incandescent flash: The man is a priest. Research
led by Mark Beeman and John Kounios has identified where that flash probably
came from. In the seconds before the insight appears, a brain area called the
superior anterior temporal gyrus (aSTG) exhibits a sharp spike in activity.
This region, located on the surface of the right hemisphere, excels at drawing
together distantly related information, which is precisely what's needed when
working on a hard creative problem.
Interestingly, Mr. Beeman and his
colleagues have found that certain factors make people much more likely to have
an insight, better able to detect the answers generated by the aSTG. For
instance, exposing subjects to a short, humorous video -- the scientists use a
clip of Robin Williams doing stand-up -- boosts the average success rate by
about 20%.
Alcohol also works. Earlier this year,
researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Pine Crab Sauce
In this case, the answer is
"apple." (The compound words are pineapple, crab apple and apple
sauce.) Drunk students solved nearly 30% more of these word problems than their
sober peers.
What explains the creative benefits of
relaxation and booze? The answer involves the surprising advantage of not
paying attention. Although we live in an age that worships focus -- we are
always forcing ourselves to concentrate, chugging caffeine -- this approach can
inhibit the imagination. We might be focused, but we're probably focused on the
wrong answer.
And this is why relaxation helps: It
isn't until we're soothed in the shower or distracted by the stand-up comic
that we're able to turn the spotlight of attention inward, eavesdropping on all
those random associations unfolding in the far reaches of the brain's right
hemisphere. When we need an insight, those associations are often the source of
the answer.
This research also explains why so many
major breakthroughs happen in the unlikeliest of places, whether it's
Archimedes in the bathtub or the physicist Richard Feynman scribbling equations
in a strip club, as he was known to do. It reveals the wisdom of Google putting
ping-pong tables in the lobby and confirms the practical benefits of
daydreaming. As Einstein once declared, "Creativity is the residue of time
wasted."
Of course, not every creative challenge
requires an epiphany; a relaxing shower won't solve every problem. Sometimes,
we just need to keep on working, resisting the temptation of a beer-fueled nap.
There is nothing fun about this kind of
creativity, which consists mostly of sweat and failure. It's the red pen on the
page and the discarded sketch, the trashed prototype and the failed first
draft. Nietzsche referred to this as the "rejecting process," noting
that while creators like to brag about their big epiphanies, their everyday
reality was much less romantic. "All great artists and thinkers are great
workers," he wrote.
This relentless form of creativity is
nicely exemplified by the legendary graphic designer Milton Glaser, who
engraved the slogan "Art is Work" above his office door. Mr. Glaser's
most famous design is a tribute to this work ethic. In 1975, he accepted an
intimidating assignment: to create a new ad campaign that would rehabilitate
the image of New York City
Mr. Glaser began by experimenting with
fonts, laying out the tourist slogan in a variety of friendly typefaces. After
a few weeks of work, he settled on a charming design, with "I Love New York
So Mr. Glaser continued to ruminate on
the design, devoting hours to a project that was supposedly finished. And then,
after another few days of work, he was sitting in a taxi, stuck in midtown
traffic. "I often carry spare pieces of paper in my pocket, and so I get
the paper out and I start to draw," he remembers. "And I'm thinking
and drawing and then I get it. I see the whole design in my head. I see the
typeface and the big round red heart smack dab in the middle. I know that this
is how it should go."
The logo that Mr. Glaser imagined in
traffic has since become one of the most widely imitated works of graphic art
in the world. And he only discovered the design because he refused to stop
thinking about it.
But this raises an obvious question: If
different kinds of creative problems benefit from different kinds of creative
thinking, how can we ensure that we're thinking in the right way at the right
time? When should we daydream and go for a relaxing stroll, and when should we
keep on sketching and toying with possibilities?
The good news is that the human mind has
a surprising natural ability to assess the kind of creativity we need. Researchers
call these intuitions "feelings of knowing," and they occur when we
suspect that we can find the answer, if only we keep on thinking. Numerous
studies have demonstrated that, when it comes to problems that don't require
insights, the mind is remarkably adept at assessing the likelihood that a
problem can be solved -- knowing whether we're getting "warmer" or
not, without knowing the solution.
This ability to calculate progress is an
important part of the creative process. When we don't feel that we're getting
closer to the answer -- we've hit the wall, so to speak -- we probably need an
insight. If there is no feeling of knowing, the most productive thing we can do
is forget about work for a while. But when those feelings of knowing are
telling us that we're getting close, we need to keep on struggling.
Of course, both moment-of-insight
problems and nose-to-the-grindstone problems assume that we have the answers to
the creative problems we're trying to solve somewhere in our heads. They're
both just a matter of getting those answers out. Another kind of creative
problem, though, is when you don't have the right kind of raw material kicking
around in your head. If you're trying to be more creative, one of the most
important things you can do is increase the volume and diversity of the
information to which you are exposed.
Steve Jobs famously declared that
"creativity is just connecting things." Although we think of
inventors as dreaming up breakthroughs out of thin air, Mr. Jobs was pointing
out that even the most far-fetched concepts are usually just new combinations
of stuff that already exists. Under Mr. Jobs's leadership, for instance, Apple
didn't invent MP3 players or tablet computers -- the company just made them
better, adding design features that were new to the product category.
And it isn't just Apple. The history of
innovation bears out Mr. Jobs's theory. The Wright Brothers transferred their
background as bicycle manufacturers to the invention of the airplane; their
first flying craft was, in many respects, just a bicycle with wings. Johannes
Gutenberg transformed his knowledge of wine presses into a printing machine
capable of mass-producing words. Or look at Google: Larry Page and Sergey Brin
came up with their famous search algorithm by applying the ranking method used
for academic articles (more citations equals more influence) to the sprawl of
the Internet.
How can people get better at making
these kinds of connections? Mr. Jobs argued that the best inventors seek out
"diverse experiences," collecting lots of dots that they later link
together. Instead of developing a narrow specialization, they study, say,
calligraphy (as Mr. Jobs famously did) or hang out with friends in different
fields. Because they don't know where the answer will come from, they are
willing to look for the answer everywhere.
Recent research confirms Mr. Jobs's
wisdom. The sociologist Martin Ruef, for instance, analyzed the social and
business relationships of 766 graduates of the Stanford Business
School
Many of the most innovative companies
encourage their employees to develop these sorts of diverse networks,
interacting with colleagues in totally unrelated fields. Google hosts an
internal conference called Crazy Search Ideas -- a sort of grown-up science
fair with hundreds of posters from every conceivable field. At 3M, engineers
are typically rotated to a new division every few years. Sometimes, these
rotations bring big payoffs, such as when 3M realized that the problem of
laptop battery life was really a problem of energy used up too quickly for
illuminating the screen. 3M researchers applied their knowledge of see-through
adhesives to create an optical film that focuses light outward, producing a screen
that was 40% more efficient.
Such solutions are known as "mental
restructurings," since the problem is only solved after someone asks a
completely new kind of question. What's interesting is that expertise can
inhibit such restructurings, making it harder to find the breakthrough. That's
why it's important not just to bring new ideas back to your own field, but to
actually try to solve problems in other fields -- where your status as an
outsider, and ability to ask naive questions, can be a tremendous advantage.
This principle is at work daily on
InnoCentive, a crowdsourcing website for difficult scientific questions. The
structure of the site is simple: Companies post their hardest R&D problems,
attaching a monetary reward to each "challenge." The site features
problems from hundreds of organization in eight different scientific
categories, from agricultural science to mathematics. The challenges on the
site are incredibly varied and include everything from a multinational food
company looking for a "Reduced Fat Chocolate-Flavored Compound
Coating" to an electronics firm trying to design a solar-powered computer.
The most impressive thing about
InnoCentive, however, is its effectiveness. In 2007, Karim Lakhani, a professor
at the Harvard Business School
It's this ability to attack problems as
a beginner, to let go of all preconceptions and fear of failure, that's the key
to creativity.
The composer Bruce Adolphe first met
Yo-Yo Ma at the Juilliard School in New
York City
Mr. Adolphe had shown a draft of his
composition to a Juilliard instructor, who informed him that the piece featured
a chord that was impossible to play. Before Mr. Adolphe could correct the
music, however, Mr. Ma decided to rehearse the composition in his dorm room.
"Yo-Yo played through my piece, sight-reading the whole thing," Mr. Adolphe
says. "And when that impossible chord came, he somehow found a way to play
it."
Mr. Adolphe told Mr. Ma what the
professor had said and asked how he had managed to play the impossible chord.
They went through the piece again, and when Mr. Ma came to the impossible
chord, Mr. Adolphe yelled "Stop!" They looked at Mr. Ma's left hand
-- it was contorted on the fingerboard, in a position that was nearly
impossible to hold. "You're right," said Mr. Ma, "you really
can't play that!" Yet, somehow, he did.
When Mr. Ma plays today, he still
strives for that state of the beginner. "One needs to constantly remind
oneself to play with the abandon of the child who is just learning the
cello," Mr. Ma says. "Because why is that kid playing? He is playing
for pleasure."
Creativity is a spark. It can be
excruciating when we're rubbing two rocks together and getting nothing. And it
can be intensely satisfying when the flame catches and a new idea sweeps around
the world.
For the first time in human history,
it's becoming possible to see how to throw off more sparks and how to make sure
that more of them catch fire. And yet, we must also be honest: The creative
process will never be easy, no matter how much we learn about it. Our
inventions will always be shadowed by uncertainty, by the serendipity of brain
cells making a new connection.
Every creative story is different. And
yet every creative story is the same: There was nothing, now there is
something. It's almost like magic.
---
Adapted from "Imagine: How Creativity
Works" by Jonah Lehrer, to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on
March 19. Copyright 2012 by Jonah Lehrer.
---------------------------------------------
THE HINDU
May 7, 2012 00:12 IST May 7, 2012
Anxious Japan
AP BEYOND THE ATOM: The shutting down of the last
operating nuclear power reactor has only added urgency to calls for a green
energy revolution. The picture shows the Ikata wind farm at the Sadamisaki Peninsula
Environmentalists
say the shutting down of all 54 reactors in the country is an unprecedented
opportunity to find new sustainable sources of energy.
This week Japan
On Saturday, when the Hokkaido
The closure of the last of Japan
The crisis at Fukushima sparked by last
year's deadly earthquake and tsunami forced Japan
The Tomari shutdown comes as Japan braces itself for a long, humid summer
that will have tens of millions of people reaching for the controls of their
air conditioners, raising the risk of power cuts and yet more disruption for
the country's ailing manufacturers.
In a report released this week, the government's national policy unit
projected a five per cent power shortage for Tokyo ,
while power companies predict a 16 per cent power shortfall in western Japan , which includes the major industrial city
of Osaka
“I have to say we are facing the risk of a very severe electricity
shortage,” the Economy, Trade And Industry Minister, Yukio Edano, said, adding
that the extra cost of importing fuel for use in thermal power stations could
be passed on to individual consumers though higher electricity bills.
Before the March 11 disaster, Japan
Nuclear vision ends
The release of huge quantities of radiation into the air and sea, the
contamination of the food and water supply and the evacuation of tens of
thousands of residents mean that the vision of a nuclear-dominant, low-carbon
future lies in ruins.
Over the past 14 months, dozens of nuclear reactors not directly affected
by the tsunami have gone offline to undergo regular maintenance and safety
checks, while utilities have turned to coal, oil and gas-fired power plants to
keep industry and households supplied with electricity — imports that contribute
to Japan's first trade deficit for more than 30 years last year.
Last-ditch attempts by the Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to win support
for the early restart of two reactors at Oi power plant in western Japan
None of Japan 's idle
reactors will be permitted to go back online until they pass stringent “stress
tests” — simulations designed to test their ability to withstand catastrophic
events such as the 14-metre tsunami that knocked out Fukushima Daiichi's backup
power supply, and sparked the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl
While some experts have criticised the two-stage stress tests as
inadequate, an immediate return to even a limited amount of nuclear power now
seems impossible.
Restart, says business lobby
Residents' approval isn't legally required for restarts, but Noda is
unlikely to risk the possible political fallout from ignoring local opinion: in
a recent poll by Kyodo News, 59.5 per cent are opposed to restarting the Oi
nuclear power plant in the Fukui
Leading the push to restart the reactors is Keidanren , Japan
The Japan Institute for Energy Economics has warned that keeping nuclear
reactors mothballed could limit GDP growth to just 0.1 per cent this year, as
manufacturers cut back production while paying higher prices for crude.
Critics of the nuclear shutdown have also highlighted the impact more
fossil fuel power generation will have on Japan
They will be buoyed by a new Environment Ministry panel's assertion that
Japan can still reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 from
1990 levels without nuclear, through energy saving and the quicker adoption of
renewables, which it hopes will account for between 25 per cent and 35 per cent
of total power generation by 2030.
“If Japan Japan
“This is a turning point for Japan Japan Japan
_________________________
THE HINDU
Media cannot reject regulation
Published: May 2, 2012 00:27
If red
lines can be drawn for the legal and medical professions, why should it be any
different for profit-making newspapers and TV channels?
I have not read the Private Member's Bill on media regulation that
Meenakshi Natarajan was scheduled to move in Parliament last week so I am not
in a position to comment upon it, but I am certainly of the opinion that the
media (both print and electronic) needs to be regulated. Since my ideas on this
issue have generated some controversy they need to be clarified.
I want regulation of the media, not control. The difference between
the two is that in control there is no freedom, in regulation there is
freedom but subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest. The
media has become very powerful in India
The media people keep harping on Article 19 (1) (a) of the Indian
Constitution which guarantees the freedom of speech and expression. But they
deliberately overlook or underplay Article 19 (2) which says that the above
right is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of sovereignty and
integrity of India
Not
absolute
Thus, while there should be freedom for the media and not control over it,
this freedom must be exercised in a manner not to adversely affect the security
of the state, public order, morality, etc. No right can be absolute, every
right is subject to reasonable restrictions in the public interest. The reason
for this is that human beings are social creatures. No one can live in
isolation, everyone has to live in society. And so an individual should not
exercise her freedom in a manner so as to harm others or society, otherwise she
will find it difficult to survive.
Media people often talk of self-regulation. But media houses are owned by
businessmen who want profit. There is nothing wrong in making profits, but this
must be coupled with social responsibilities. Media owners cannot say that they
should be allowed to make profits even if the rest of society suffers. Such an
attitude is self-destructive, and it is the media owners who will suffer in the
long run if they do not correct themselves now. The way much of the media has
been behaving is often irresponsible, reckless and callous. Yellow journalism,
cheap sensationalism, highlighting frivolous issues (like lives of film stars and
cricketers) and superstitions and damaging people and reputations, while
neglecting or underplaying serious socio-economic issues like massive poverty,
unemployment, malnourishment, farmers' suicides, health care, education, dowry
deaths, female foeticide, etc., are hallmarks of much of the media today.
Astrology, cricket (the opium of the Indian masses), babas befooling the
public, etc., are a common sight on Television channels.
Paid ‘news' is the order of the day in some newspapers and channels where you
have to pay to be in the news. One senior political leader told me things are
so bad that politicians in some places pay money to journalists who attend
their press conferences, and sometimes even to those who do not, to ensure
favourable coverage. One TV channel owner told me that the latest Baba (who is
dominating the scene nowadays) pays a huge amount for showing his meetings on
TV. Madhu Kishwar, a very senior journalist herself, said on Rajya Sabha TV
that many journalists are bribable and manipulable.
The media claims self-regulation. But by what logic? How can the News
Broadcasters Association or the Broadcast Editors Association regulate TV
channels driven by profit motive and high TRP ratings? Almost every section of
society is regulated. Lawyers are a free profession, but their profession is
regulated inasmuch as their licence can be suspended or cancelled by the Bar
Council for professional misconduct. Similarly the licences of doctors,
chartered accountants, etc., can be suspended/cancelled by their regulatory
bodies. Judges of the Supreme Court or the High Court can be impeached by
Parliament for misconduct. But the media claims that no action should be taken
against it for violating journalistic ethics. Why? In a democracy everyone has
to be accountable, but the media claims it should be accountable only to itself
...The NBA and BEA claim self-regulation. Let me ask them: how many licences of
TV channels have you suspended or cancelled till now? So far as we know, only
one channel was awarded a fine, at which it withdrew from the body, and then
was asked to come back. How many other punishments have you imposed? Let us
have some details, instead of keeping everything secret. Let the meetings of
the NBA and BEA be televised so as to ensure transparency and accountability
(which Justice Verma has been advocating vociferously for the judiciary).
Let me quote from an article by Abhishek Upadhyaya, Editor, Special
Projects, Dainik Bhaskar:
“It appears that the BEA was founded to collectively use intimidatory
tactics in favour of a select few players after NBA failed to do so. The NBA is
so weak, so feeble in its exercise of power that it can't confront intimidation
by its own members. The India TV case is an example of this. The NBA, in the
past, had given notice to India TV for deceptively recreating a US-based policy
analyst's interview. It slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on the channel which
then walked out of the Association.
“The group of broadcasters found themselves completely helpless, couldn't take
any action and finally surrendered meekly before the channel. The offending
channel issued a statement saying that its return has come after “fundamental
issues raised by the channel against the disregard to NBA's rules and
guidelines were appreciated by the association's directors…” The head of India
TV, Rajat Sharma, then proceeded to join the board of NBA, and the channel's
managing editor, Vinod Kapri, returned to the Authority in the eminent editors'
panel!
“This was the turning point in the so-called self-regulation mechanism of
electronic media. It became clear that all concerned had made an unwritten,
oral understanding not to raise a finger on their own brethren in future. BEA
was the next step in this direction, formed on 22 August, 2009 with a few
electronic media editors in the driving seat. Since its inception this body has
been irrationally screaming in the interest of a select few. The editors of
this body announced some tender sops from time to time to publicise its good
image and thwart any regulatory attempt in advance”.
Self-regulation
If the broadcast media claims self-regulation, then on the same logic
everyone should be allowed self-regulation. Why then have laws at all, why have
a law against theft, rape or murder? Why not abolish the Indian Penal Code and
ask everyone to practise self-regulation? The very fact that there are laws
proves that self-regulation is not sufficient, there must also be some external
regulation and fear of punishment.
I may clarify here that I am not in favour of regulation of the media by
the government but by an independent statutory authority like the Press Council
of India. The Chairman of this body is not selected by the government but by a
three-member selection committee consisting of (1) The Chairman of the Rajya
Sabha (who is the Vice-President of India) (2) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha and
(3) One representative of the Press Council.
The Press Council has 28 members, of which 20 are from the Press, five
members of Parliament, and 3 from other bodies (The Bar Council of India, UGC
and Sahitya Academy India
(The author is chairman of the Press Council of India
_________________________
Chomsky, others seek justice for
Soni Sori
May 1, 2012 23:07
File photo of a team of activists (from left): Vani Subramanian, Mamta and
Chitrarupa Palit, addressing at a press conference in New Delhi
Chhattisgarh
woman allegedly tortured by police on the charge that she was a Maoist
Noam Chomsky, liberal philosopher and Institute Professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has joined a list of close to 250 Indian
and foreign intellectuals in an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,
protesting the “brutal treatment meted out to Soni Sori,” a Chhattisgarh woman
said to have been tortured by police on unproven allegations that she was a Maoist.
In the letter signed by Professor Chomsky and others, including Jean Dreze,
Harsh Mander, Anand Patwardhan, Aruna Roy, and Arundhati Roy, the group called
for “immediate medical attention” to Ms. Sori, 35, who was allegedly stripped,
electrocuted and tortured, physically and sexually.
After the Supreme Court ordered an independent medical examination of Ms.
Sori at NRS Medical College
Fear for her life
“We fear for Soni's life and are outraged and ashamed at this inhuman
treatment of a woman in India
Pointing out that she has received “virtually no follow-up medical
treatment for the injuries she sustained in police custody and the infections
that have developed as a consequence,” Mr. Chomsky and others said two
individuals, who had met Ms. Sori last week, reported that her face was
“visibly swollen and her hands and feet appeared abnormally thin, indicating
severe weight loss.”
They urged that with six months passing since the time Ms. Sori was said to
have been tortured, her attempts to communicate with civil society groups had
also been stifled, and in January, a team from women's groups attempting to meet
her in the Raipur
In the letter, also addressed to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, the
intellectuals expressed “grave concern” at Ms. Sori's medical condition and
demanded immediate access for fact-finding groups to meet her.
Gallantry medal
In a message to The Hindu from the Association for India's
Development (AID), a non-profit organisation pressing for Ms. Sori's case to be
heard, a member noted that contrary to any notion that an investigation had
been initiated against the police officers involved, Superintendent of Police
Ankit Garg, named in Ms. Sori's letters, was awarded a Gallantry Medal on
Republic Day this year.
A candle in the dark
May 3, 2012 02:08
Photo: The Hindu WORD POWER: Dalit writers are fast
playing the role of agents of change in the lives of Dalits. The booklets they
write, which are popular and on Dalit issues, reach rallies organised by the
BSP. The file picture is of one such meet in Lucknow
Not many people know them but
village-based Dalit writers in Uttar Pradesh are quietly raising community
awareness and holding meetings to protest the recent escalation in violence
against the Scheduled Castes.
Makhdumpur is a village in Uttar
Pradesh's Bhadohi district. Adjoining it is a cluster of huts inhabited by
people of the Nat caste, one of the lowest among Dalits. Congress party general
secretary Rahul Gandhi visited a hut in the settlement just before the recent
State Assembly elections. He spent some time inside the hut, interacted with
the residents, shared a meal with them and then went on his way. After the
victory of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the elevation of Akhilesh Yadav as
Chief Minister, the hut was vandalised and burnt down by a mob claiming its
affiliation to the Yadav caste. Though the act was a grave offence against
Dalits, neither Mr. Gandhi nor Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) leader and former
Chief Minister Ms Mayawati condemned it. In fact, atrocities against poor and
vulnerable Dalits by powerful middle castes and supporters of the SP have been
on the rise in the State but there have hardly been any protests by political
parties.
Mainstream intellectuals and the
media too have not reacted to the Makhdumpur violence. However, since the
incident, some protestors have been holding meetings in Allahabad ,
Bhadohi and Varanasi
Insights
into issues
So, who are these protestors?
They are Dalit intellectuals who write popular booklets on Dalit issues, which
they self-publish. These publications are sold in large numbers in fairs
organised in honour of Dalit heroes. They are also stocked by Dalit Chetna
Mandaps — small bookshops catering exclusively to Dalits. From these
outlets, the booklets (which are printed on cheap newsprint and cost between 50
paise and Rs.20) reach political rallies organised by the BSP. The literature
can be easily tucked in the waistbands of dhotis worn by Dalit
rickshawpullers or menial workers.
The authors of these booklets
usually live in the provincial towns of Balia, Ghazipur, Etawa, Allahabad , Bahraich, Gonda, Aligarh
Interestingly, the booklets do
not feature the biographies of celebrated Dalit icons. Instead they offer
social critiques against Brahminism, caste histories, narratives of struggles
of Dalits, and so on. Some of them also publish songs and poems written by
Dalit poets like A.R. Akela from Aligarh
The authors don't just write in a
different style from Dalit authors living in Delhi
Some of them also bring out
newspapers and newsletters for Dalits. One such popular writer, Dev Kumar, who
lives in Duari village in Kanpur Kanpur , Guru Prasad Madan, a lawyer living in Ajuha
village close to Allahabad
In the mould of Antonio Gramsci's
“Organic Intellectuals,” the authors are playing the role of agents of change
in the lives of Dalits. Though they have played a strong role in strengthening
the BSP in U.P., hardly any was granted recognition either with positions or
with awards during the BSP regime.
Today when everyone is silent on
the issue of the rise in the incidents of violence and crime against Dalits in
U.P., at least the popular writers are registering their protest, even if they
are like the flickering lights of candles in the darkness.
(The writer teaches at the
Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute in Jhusi, Allahabad
________________________
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Justice Katju’s Media Press Regulations
Professional Guidelines Documents:
- Company
Journalism Ethics Policy
- Guidelines on Integrity
- Confidential News Sources Policy
- Preserving Our Readers' Trust
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Acceptability
________________________
Sainath Poverty British Cotton
Reaping gold through cotton, and
newsprint
May 10, 2012 19:37 IST May 10, 2012
A facsimile of The Times of India’s August 28, 2011 page with the
‘marketing feature’ on Bt Cotton.
“Not a single person from the two villages has
committed suicide.”
Three and a half years ago, at a
time when the controversy over the use of genetically modified seeds was raging
across India India
So heartening was this account
that nine months ago, the same story was run again in the same newspaper, word
for word. (Times of India
“There have been 14 suicides in
our village,” a crowd of agitated farmers in Bhambraja told shocked members of
the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in March this year. “Most
of them after Bt came here.” The Hindu was able to verify nine that had
occurred between 2003 and 2009. Activist groups count five more since then. All
after 2002, the year the TOI story says farmers here switched to Bt. Prospering
on agriculture? The villagers told the visibly shaken MPs: “Sir, lots of land
is lying fallow. Many have lost faith in farming.” Some have shifted to soybean
where “at least the losses are less.”
Over a hundred people, including
landed farmers, have migrated from this ‘model farming village' showcasing
Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech's Bt Cotton. “Many more will leave because agriculture
is dying,” Suresh Ramdas Bhondre had predicted during our first visit to
Bhambraja last September.
The 2008 full-page panegyric in
the TOI on Monsanto's Bt Cotton rose from the dead soon after the government
failed to introduce the Biotech Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill in
Parliament in August 2011. The failure to table the Bill — crucial to the
future profits of the agri-biotech industry — sparked frenzied lobbying to have
it brought in soon. The full-page, titled Reaping Gold through Bt Cotton on August 28 was followed by
a flurry of advertisements from Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (India) Ltd., in the
TOI (and some other papers), starting the very next day. These appeared on
August 29, 30, 31, September 1 and 3. The Bill finally wasn't introduced either
in the monsoon or winter session — though listed for business in both — with
Parliament bogged down in other issues. Somebody did reap gold, though, with
newsprint if not with Bt Cotton.
The Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Agriculture appeared unimpressed by the ad barrage, which also
seemed timed for the committee's deliberations on allowing genetically modified
food crops. Disturbed by reports of mounting farm suicides and acute distress
in Vidarbha, committee members, who belong to different parties, decided to
visit the region.
Bhambraja, touted as a model for
Mahyco-Monsanto's miracle Bt, was an obvious destination for the committee
headed by veteran parliamentarian Basudeb Acharia. Another was
Maregaon-Soneburdi. But the MPs struck no gold in either village. Only distress
arising from the miracle's collapse and a raft of other, government failures.
The issues (and the claims made
by the TOI in its stories) have come alive yet again with the debate sparked
off by the completion of 10 years of Bt cotton in India Nagpur
The company refers to the 2008
feature as “a full-page news report” filed by the TOI. “The 2008 coverage was a
result of the media visit and was based on the editorial discretion of the
journalists involved. We only arranged transport to-and-from the fields,” a
Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India Nagpur Nagpur
So the same full-page appeared
twice in three years, the first time as news, the second time as an
advertisement. The first time done by the staff reporter and photographer of a
newspaper. The second time exhumed by the advertising department. The first
time as a story trip ‘arranged by Mahyco-Monsanto.' The second time as an
advertisement arranged by Mahyco-Monsanto. The first time as tragedy, the
second time as farce.
The company spokesperson claimed
high standards of transparency in that “…we insisted that the publication add
the source and dateline as follows: ‘This is a reprint of a story from the Times
of India, Nagpur
But there's more. Some of the
glowing photographs accompanying the TOI coverage of the Bt miracle were not
taken in Bhambraja or Antargaon, villagers allege. “This picture is not from
Bhambraja, though the people in it are” says farmer Babanrao Gawande from that
village.
Phantom miracle
The Times of India story
had a champion educated farmer in Nandu Raut who is also an LIC agent. His
earnings shot up with the Bt miracle. “I made about Rs.2 lakhs the previous
year,” Nandu Raut told me last September. “About Rs.1.6 lakh came from the LIC
policies I sold.” In short, he earned from selling LIC policies four times what
he earned from farming. He has seven and a half acres and a four-member family.
But the TOI story has him earning
“Rs.20,000 more per acre (emphasis added) due to savings in pesticide.”
Since he grew cotton on four acres, that was a “saving” of Rs. 80,000 “on
pesticide.” Quite a feat. As many in Bhambraja say angrily: “Show us one farmer
here earning Rs.20,000 per acre at all, let alone that much more per acre.” A
data sheet from a village-wide survey signed by Mr. Raut (in The Hindu's
possession) also tells a very different story on his earnings.
The ridicule that Bhambraja and
Maregaon farmers pour on the Bt ‘miracle' gains credence from the Union
Agriculture Minister's figures. “Vidarbha produces about 1.2 quintals [cotton
lint] per hectare on average,” Sharad Pawar told Parliament on December 19,
2011. That is a shockingly low figure. Twice that figure would still be low.
The farmer sells his crop as raw cotton. One-hundred kg of raw cotton gives 35
kg of lint and 65 kg of cotton seed (of which up to two kg is lost in ginning).
And Mr. Pawar's figure translates to just 3.5 quintals of raw cotton per
hectare. Or merely 1.4 quintals per acre. Mr. Pawar also assumed farmers were
getting a high price of Rs.4,200 per quintal. He conceded that this was close
to “the cost of cultivation… and that is why I think such a serious situation
is developing there.” If Mr. Pawar's figure was right, it means Nandu Raut's gross
income could not have exceeded Rs.5,900 per acre. Deduct his input
costs — of which 1.5 packets of seed alone accounts for around Rs.1,400 — and
he's left with almost nothing. Yet, the TOI has him earning “Rs.20,000 more per
acre.”
Asked if they stood by these
extraordinary claims, the Mahyco-Monsanto spokesperson said, “We stand by the
quotes of our MMB India colleague, as published in the news report.”
Ironically, that single-paragraph quote, in the full-page-news story-turned-ad,
makes no mention of the Rs.20,000-plus per acre earnings or any other figure.
It merely speaks of Bt creating “increased income of cotton growers…” and of
growth in Bt acreage. It does not mention per acre yields. And says nothing
about zero suicides in the two villages. So the company carefully avoids direct
endorsement of the TOI's claims, but uses them in a marketing feature where
they are the main points.
The MMB spokesperson's position
on these claims is that “the journalists spoke directly with farmers on their
personal experiences during the visits, resulting in various news reports,
including the farmer quotes.”
The born-again story-turned-ad
also has Nandu Raut reaping yields of “about 20 quintals per acre with Bollgard
II,” nearly 14 times the Agriculture Minister's average of 1.4 quintals per
acre. Mr. Pawar felt that Vidarbha's rainfed irrigation led to low yields, as
cotton needs “two to three waterings.” He was silent on why Maharashtra ,
ruled by an NCP-Congress alliance, promotes Bt Cotton in almost entirely
rainfed regions. The Maharashtra State Seed Corporation (Mahabeej) distributes
the very seeds the State's Agriculture Commissioner found to be unsuited for
rainfed regions seven years ago. Going by the TOI, Nandu is rolling in cash.
Going by the Minister, he barely stays afloat.
Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech's ad
barrage the same week in 2011 drew other fire. Following a complaint, one of
the ads (also appearing in another Delhi
We met Nandu again as the
Standing Committee MPs left his village in March. “If you ask me today,” he
said, “I would say don't use Bt here, in unirrigated places like this. Things
are now bad.” He had not raised a word during the meeting with the MPs, saying
he had arrived too late to do so.
“We have thrown away the
moneylender. No one needs him anymore,” The Times of India news
report-turned-ad quotes farmer Mangoo Chavan as saying. That's in Antargaon,
the other village the newspaper found to be basking in Bt-induced prosperity. A
study of the 365 farm households in Bhambraja and the nearly 150 in Antargaon
by the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) shows otherwise. “Almost all farmers
with bank accounts are in critical default and 60 per cent of farmers are also
in debt to private moneylenders,” says VJAS chief Kishor Tiwari.
The Maharashtra
government tried hard to divert the MPs away from the ‘model village' of
Bhambraja (and Maregaon) to places where the government felt in control.
However, Committee Chairperson Basudeb Acharia and his colleagues stood firm.
Encouraged by the MPs visit, people in both places spoke their minds and
hearts. Maharashtra 's record of over 50,000
farm suicides between 1995 and 2010 is the worst in the country as the data of
the National Crime Records Bureau show. And Vidarbha has long led the State in
such deaths. Yet, the farmers also spoke of vast, policy-linked issues driving
agrarian distress here.
None of the farmers reduced the
issue of the suicides or the crisis to being only the outcome of Bt Cotton. But
they punctured many myths about its miracles, costs and ‘savings.' Some of
their comments came as news to the MPs. And not as paid news or a marketing
feature, either.
________________________
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3402423.ece?css=print
Supreme Court sets up panel to study woes of Vrindavan widows
May 10, 2012 06:39 IST NEW DELHI, May 10, 2012
Vijetha S.N
Bench asks government to reach out to the women, think of an immediate alternative
A file photo of elderly widows at an ashram in Vrindavan.— Photo: V.V. Krishnan
The Supreme Court on Wednesday set up a seven-member committee to look into the deplorable conditions of “widows/destitutes” living in Vrindavan and set an eight-week deadline to complete its report.
The committee, headed by the chairman of the Mathura District Legal Services Authority, will prepare a list of the widows with their names, age and reasons for being in Vrindavan (whether abandoned or of their own volition), whether there is any piece of property in theirs or their husbands name and the names and addresses of relatives in possession of the properties.
The court also asked the government to think of an immediate alternative, pending the exercise, to provide for women who do not have any shelter and are wandering on the streets.
There were some deliberations by the Bench on whether the term “widow/destitute” or just “widow” would be apt before finally settling on “widow/destitute” as the lawyer appearing for the National Legal Services Authority, the petitioner, emphasised that there were also many unmarried women who shared the same plight of abandonment in Vrindavan.
The plight of these forsaken and unfortunate women was first brought to the attention of the National Legal Services Authority by The Hindu in August last in an article, “Prayers in Penury.” The article provided an in-depth view of the countless problems faced by the women. The government schemes barely covered their survival costs; some of them did not even have access to any of the schemes, eking out a living by singing bhajans at ashrams, with three hours of singing fetching them a mere Rs.3. Health was another issue, with most of the widows being over 60 years.
The National Legal Services Authority then directed the Mathura District Legal Services Authority to conduct an enquiry about these widows. A plea was then instituted in the Supreme Court seeking that it direct the State of U.P. and the Centre to provide for the widows.
The Supreme Court also asked why the U.P. government had not filed its response. State's counsel said it could not do so due to a “paucity of time.”
Other members of the committee are a representative from the National Commission for Women, U.P. Secretary for Social Welfare and Secretary for Women and Child Development or their nominees, District Collector, District Medical Officer and Senior Superintendent of Police in Mathura.
________________________________________
• The issue was first brought to attention of National Legal Services Authority by The Hindu
• Bench asks U.P. why it had not filed its response so far
________________________
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3223573.ece?homepage=true&css=print
The Hindu
Sainath - To fix BPL, nix CPL
One Tendulkar makes the big scores. The other wrecks the averages. The
Planning Commission clearly prefers Suresh to Sachin. Using Professor
Tendulkar's methodology, it declares that there's been another massive fall in
poverty. Yes, another (“more dramatic in the rural areas”). “Record Fall in
Poverty” reads one headline. The record is in how many times you've seen the
same headline over the years. And how many times poverty has collapsed, only to
bounce back when the math is done differently.
And so, a mere 29.9 per cent of India
Undoing bogus methodology
Media amnesia fogs the “lowest-ever” figures, though. These are not the
“lowest-ever.”
“Kill me, I say,” said Prof. Madhu Dandavate in 1996, chuckling. “I just
doubled poverty in your country today.” What that fine old gentleman had really
done, as deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission, was to jettison the
bogus methodology peddled by that body before he came to head it the same year.
Even minor changes in methodology or poverty line can produce dramatically
differing estimates.
The fraud he undid was “an exercise” bringing poverty down to 19 per cent
in 1993-94. And that, from 25.5 per cent in 1987-88. These were the
“preliminary results of a Planning Commission exercise based on National Sample
Survey data” (Economic & Political Weekly, January 27, 1996). Now if
these figures were true, then poverty has risen ever since. And remember,
highlighting that historic fall was an honest Finance Minister. The
never-tell-a-lie Dr. Manmohan Singh. One business daily ran a hilarious
“exclusive” on this at the time. Poverty falls to record low of 19 per cent,
“government officials say.” This was the best news since Independence
The “lowest ever at 19 per cent” fraud was buried in the ruins of the April
1996 polls. So was the government of the day. The “estimate” was not heard of
again. Now we have the 29.9 per cent avatar. Surely that's a rise of
10.9 percentage points in 16 years? Or just another methodological fiddle.
However, the new Planning Commission numbers have achieved one thing.
They've united most of Parliament on the issue. Members from all parties have
blasted the “estimates” and called for explanations.
There's also the Tendulkar report's own fiddles. As Dr. Madhura Swaminathan
points out, the committee dumped the calorie norms of “2,100 kcal per day for
urban areas and 2,400 kcal for rural areas.” It switched to “a single norm of
1,800 kcal per day.” And did so citing an “FAO norm.” As Dr. Swaminathan
observed: “the standards set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation for
energy requirements are for “minimum dietary energy requirements” or
MDER. That is, “the amount of energy needed for light or sedentary activity.”
And she cites an FAO example of such activity. “…a male office worker in urban
areas who only occasionally engages in physically demanding activities during
or outside working hours.”
As Dr. Swaminathan asks: “Can we assume that a head load worker who carries
heavy sacks through the day is engaged in light activity?” — The Hindu,
February 5, 2010.
Measuring poverty
The media rarely mention that there are other methodologies for measuring
poverty on offer. Also set in motion by this same government. The National
Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) saw BPL Indians as
making up 77 per cent of the population. The N.C. Saxena-headed BPL Expert
group placed it at around 50 per cent. Like the Tendulkar Committee, these two were
also set up by government. While differing wildly, all three pegged rural
poverty at a higher level than government did. Meanwhile, we will have many
more committees on the same issue until one of them gives this government the
report it wants. The one it can get away with. (The many inquiries on farm
suicides exemplify this.)
That the Planning Commission thought they could slip the present bunkum by
sets a new benchmark for — and marriage of — arrogance and incompetence. First,
they sparked outrage with their affidavit in the Supreme Court. There they
defended a BPL cut-off line of Rs.26 a day (rural) and Rs.32 (urban). Now they
hope to get by with numbers of Rs.22.42 a day (rural) and Rs.28.35 a day
(urban).
The same year the government and planning commission shot themselves in
both feet in 1996, a leading Delhi Bhopal
This stunned the journalists in the audience. Till then, they had been
doing what most journalists do at most seminars. Sleeping in a peaceful,
non-confrontational manner. The veteran beside me came alive, startled. “Did he
mean they asked those households over 300 questions? My God! Thirty years in
this line and the biggest interview I ever did had nine. That was with my
boss's best friend. And my last question was ‘may I go now'?” We did suggest to
the famous economist that battered with 300 questions, his respondents were
more likely to die of fatigue than of poverty. A senior aide of the think tank
chief took the mike to explain why we were wrong. We sent two investigators to
each household, he said. Which made sense, of course: one to hold the
respondent down physically, twisting his arm, while the other asked him 300
questions.
Now to the queue of BPL, APL, IPL, et al., may I add my own modest
contribution? This is the CPL, or Corporate Plunder Line. This embraces the
corporate world and other very well-off or “high net worth individuals.” We
have no money for a universal PDS. Or even for a shrunken food security bill.
We've cut thousands of crores from net spending on rural employment. We lag
horribly in human development indicators, hunger indexes and nutritional
surveys. Food prices keep rising and decent jobs get fewer.
Yet, BPL numbers keep shrinking. The CPL numbers, however, keep expanding.
The CPL concept is anchored in the “Statement of Revenue Foregone” section of
successive union budgets. Since 2005-06, for instance, the union government has
written off close to Rs.4 lakh crore in corporate income tax. Over Rs.50,000
crore of that in the present budget. The very one in which it slashes thousands
of crores from the MNREGS. Throw in concessions on customs and excise duties
and the corporate karza maafi in this year's budget sneaks up to nearly
Rs.5 lakh crore.
True, there are things covered in excise and customs that also affect
larger sections, like fuel, for instance. But mostly, they benefit the
corporate world and the very rich. In just this budget and the last one, we've
written off Rs.1 lakh crore for diamonds, gold and jewellery in customs duties.
That sort of money buys a lot of food security. But CPL trumps BPL every time.
The same is true of write-offs on things like machinery. In theory, there's a
lot that should benefit everybody: like the equipment hospitals import. In
practice, most Indians will never enter the five-star hospitals that cash in on
these benefits.
The total write-off on these three heads in eight years since 2005-06: Rs.
25.7 lakh crore. (See Table). That's over half a trillion U.S.
Hard Labor By Josh Sanburn (reprinted from Time Magazine, May 21, 2012)
internships
Shipping thousand-dollar hats from New York City to London. Shuttling heavy bags around Manhattan. Skipping lunch. Working 55-hour weeks. And doing it all for free.
"It was disgusting," says Diana Wang, 28, of her unpaid labor at Harper's Bazaar magazine. It was also potentially illegal.
Today an estimated one-third to one-half of the U.S.'s 1.5 million internships are without pay, a trend that has only accelerated since the 2008 financial crisis. Employers contend that they're paying interns with experience, which can be more valuable than cash, especially in tough-to-break-into fields such as media, fashion and entertainment. But if unpaid interns are working jobs--no matter how menial--that would otherwise go to entry-level employees, federal law mandates compensation.
The Fair Labor Standards Act isn't new; it's been around since 1938. But in recent months, it has received unprecedented attention, thanks to a trio of class actions led by frustrated ex-interns. Wang, Eric Glatt and Alex Footman, and Lucy Bickerton are demanding wages from Hearst (the owner of Harper's Bazaar), Fox Searchlight and PBS, respectively, for being overworked as unpaid interns. (All three firms declined TIME's interview requests but have publicly denied any wrongdoing.)
"They were counting on the fact that nobody would sue, particularly kids who are just out of school," says Glatt, who took his Fox internship at age 40. "This culture of expecting free labor if you slap the title 'intern' on it has become so pervasive that people don't question whether it's ethically wrong or legally acceptable."
That's starting to change. In response to these lawsuits as well as to advocacy work by the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. Department of Labor has ramped up efforts to educate unpaid interns about their rights. It has also encouraged them to speak out, as opposed to the norm of "keeping your mouth shut and being thankful for anything that comes your way," as Bickerton, who is suing PBS's The Charlie Rose Show, put it.
Meanwhile, some companies are pre-emptively improving their internship programs. Magazine publisher Cond Nast, for example, used to offer unpaid internships without work-hour limits. Now it pays a stipend of $550 per internship, pairs interns with a mentor and sends them home by 7 p.m. at the latest. Atlantic Media, publisher of the Atlantic, established similar guidelines. Even overseas, Stella McCartney--which last year was one of 102 U.K.-based fashion houses to receive an unpaid-labor warning from the British government--has vowed to pay all interns. (Time Inc.'s policy is to pay interns, though some exceptions may be made, for example, when a student receives academic credit.) "We're at the very early stages of a backlash against unpaid internships," says Ross Perlin, author of Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy. "The phenomenon has gone off the rails."
That's good news for the ex-interns, who Camille Olson, a labor-law attorney at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, says could indeed win their suits, which are still in the early stages of litigation. And fewer unpaid internships could even mean more entry-level jobs for 20-to-24-year-olds, whose unemployment rate in the U.S. hit 13.2% last month.
For now, though, newfound intern-rights activists like Glatt are focused on raising awareness. "This will be the last summer that students do [unpaid] internships without recognizing that there's something fundamentally wrong with them," he says.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2114428,00.html#ixzz1uwrKrM79
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article3435469.ece?css=print
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3415724.ece?css=print
Published: May 13, 2012 22:43 IST | Updated: May 14, 2012 02:04 IST
“Occupy'' protesters take to streets across Europe
AP NO-HOLDS-BARRED FORCE: A young girl is pulled by a police officer as she and others are evicted from Puerta del Sol plaza in Madrid on Sunday.
Protests were held across Europe on Sunday as anti-capitalist “Occupy'' campaigners took to the streets amid growing anger over their governments' market-driven policies that have resulted in millions of job losses and plunged the continent into its worst post-war economic crisis. Rallies were also held in other world capitals and major cities, including Moscow and New York, as part of a “day of global action'' against rampant capitalism.
Protesters, demanding an end to bank bail-outs and swingeing public spending cuts, targeted financial institutions seen as “symbols'' of capitalist “greed''.
In London, hundreds of campaigners gathered in the City, Britain's financial hub, and pitched tents outside the Bank of England with banners reading “Bank of England is the St Paul's of Money” and “A Line of Tents Guards Our Future”.
They were joined by activists of the Spanish protest group “Indignants” campaigning against the impact of the Spanish government's austerity measures on youth unemployment.
“The Bank of England stands right at the intersection of finance and government. Hundreds of people gathering by the Bank of England is a powerful symbol of how things have to change,” said an “Occupy'' spokesman.
Initially, the mood was festive with young men and women entertaining the crowd and tourists with impromptu dances but as the day wore tension was reported.
There were minor skirmishes as the police tried to evict them with protesters alleging that some police officers used “unreasonable force''.
Similar protests were held in Lisbon, Frankfurt, Athens, Barcelona and Madrid. In Madrid, protesters planned to occupy the city's central Puerta del Sol square to mark the first anniversary of their “occupation'' of the square.
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In Economists We Trust
We are a society built on market-based solutions—but should everything have a price?
By JONATHAN V. LAST
Economists don't really like presents. They think they are irrational. No gift giver can know what another person wants most, and any present is just a wasteful approximation. The only gift anyone should ever give is cash. It is optimally efficient.
Michael J. Sandel, the Harvard political philosopher, takes a different tack in "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets." He argues that while giving a present may not make much economic sense, it is perfectly sensible in terms of our cultural values. There are social ethics that have long marked the practice, maximizing sympathy, generosity, thoughtfulness and attentiveness. The optimal value, despite what the economists tell us, isn't always the most efficient one.
What worries Mr. Sandel is that, over the past 30 years, economic imperatives have begun crowding out other values. Witness the rising popularity of the "gift card" industry, which substitutes monetary presents for more traditional ones. We are steadily moving toward a culture in which our ideals are being pushed aside in favor of the view that we ought to always be maximizing efficiency. As Mr. Sandel notes: "Some goods we distribute by merit, others by need, still others by lottery or chance." The particular mode is determined more often than not by custom. And societal customs are built over a very long haul.
Public bicycles in London sponsored by Barclays bank.
"What Money Can't Buy" is Mr. Sandel's attempt to shine a light on this quiet revolution. He looks around America and observes all sorts of situations where traditional mores have shifted in recent years, always in the direction of market morality. Today you can purchase your way out of waiting in line for rides at many amusement parks. There are express lanes that allow us to buy our way out of traffic. Many schools now "incentivize" performance, paying students if they read books or do well in school; some schools now sell ads on children's report cards. Cities routinely sell advertising space on public property, ranging from parks and municipal buildings to police cars. In each of these cases, long-held ideas about inherent worth and common ownership have been displaced by the simple morality of the market. There are, Mr. Sandel notes, practical concerns with this shift, affecting matters such as equality: "The more money can buy, the more affluence (or the lack of it) matters." But the higher concerns are philosophical and spiritual, about how we ought to value what he calls sweetly "the good things in life."
Getty Images
Nascar driver Tony Stewart in uniform.
And it is not just that market values crowd out other values—once introduced, they tend to expand to the horizon. Take the history of "naming rights," the practice of a sports team selling the name of its stadium. In 1988, only three stadiums in the U.S. bore the names of corporate sponsors. By 2010, more than 100 companies were paying to put their name on an American sports facility. And not just the arenas. Sports teams now sell advertising for everything from pitching changes to broadcaster phrases. (When Bank One bought the naming rights for the Arizona Diamondbacks stadium, team announcers were required to call home runs "Bank One BOOMERS.")
The morality of naming rights has trickled down. Companies now pay members of the public to wear corporate advertising on their clothes or bodies. There are examples of cities selling the naming rights to long-established subway stops. Local governments defend the practice by saying that the ad dollars are free money and that ads benefit taxpayers. Mr. Sandel grants the second part of argument but questions the first.
In a grimly entertaining chapter on the history of life insurance, Mr. Sandel shows how a product that was once meant as a safety net for families has become a ghoulish investment vehicle. For centuries, life insurance was prohibited in most of Europe on the grounds that death should not be subject to speculation. In America, it wasn't until the 1850s that it began to gain legitimacy and then only as a product designed to protect a man's family in the case of his untimely death.
Corbis
A Broadway musical being advertised on a New York City bus.
But the morals of the market slowly overcame the old objections, and today companies routinely take out life-insurance policies on their employees because the policies are an excellent revenue stream, whether traded or held until collection. In recent years there has arisen an entire "life settlement" industry in which investors buy life-insurance policies from the elderly. The quicker people kick the bucket, the higher the rate of return. It is difficult to think of a more ignoble way to turn a buck.
Yet why should life settlement, or other market strategies, bother us? Such practices maximize social utility and are the ultimate expansion of individual freedom. (There's a reason libertarians and their utilitarian brothers love markets.) But, Mr. Sandel observes, "markets don't only allocate goods, they also express and promote certain attitudes toward the goods being exchanged." "When we decide," he goes on, "that certain goods may be bought and sold, we decide, at least implicitly, that it is appropriate to treat them as commodities." Which is why citizens can't purchase their way out of jury duty or offer their votes for sale. Or why Catholics can't buy the Eucharist. In many instances, allowing markets to "work" would destroy the "value" of the goods they touch.
Mr. Sandel isn't a socialist, and his critique of markets is measured. He acknowledges their many benefits and recognizes the broad swaths of life in which the work of markets is both necessary and useful. And he is not a ninny knitting his fingers over the fact that you can buy a fast-pass to get out of waiting in line for a roller-coaster. What concerns him is that the morality of markets often involves both bribery and corruption: "bribery" in the sense of bypassing persuasion and "corruption" in the sense of corroding the established values they displace.
Corbis
Pizza Hut paid to have its logo put on a Russian rocket supplying the International Space Station
What Mr. Sandel does not offer is prescriptions for rolling back the clock. He is such a gentle critic that he merely asks us to open our eyes. "Bribery sometimes works," he writes. "And it may, on occasion, be the right thing to do." Nonetheless, "it is important to remember that it is bribery we are engaged in, a morally compromised practice that substitutes a lower norm . . . for a higher one."
Bloomberg
The two classes of travel on Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Yet "What Money Can't Buy" makes it clear that market morality is an exceptionally thin wedge. What begins with paying to cut in line becomes betting on death. There are serious concerns—how will market morality eventually influence our thinking about end-of-life decisions?—but the concerns aren't always so apocalyptic. For instance, if you carry market morality to its end point, why should we have merit-based college admissions rather than a simple auction for university slots? Such a change would be enormously efficient—we could be certain that the people who "value" college the most got their preference. But it would change the meaning of "value" as it relates to the idea of the university.
Mr. Sandel is also pointing out another seemingly small but quite profound change in society. As recently as a generation ago, economists viewed their job as understanding prices, depressions, unemployment and inflation. It was dismal, but at least it was science. Somewhere along the way they expanded their portfolio to include the whole of human behavior. Gary Becker staked the guild's claim somewhat explicitly in 1976 with "The Economic Approach to Human Behavior." Since then, our economists have only grown in their ambition, to the point that the subject "economics" encompasses, well, everything. In the introduction to the smash-hit "Freakonomics" (2005), Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner declared that "incentives are the cornerstone of modern life" and that "economics is, at root, the study of incentives." Or, as Greg Mankiw explains his profession: "An economy is just a group of people interacting with one another as they go about their lives."
Proponents of market morality claim that it imposes no belief system, but that's just a smoke screen. Choosing to place utility maximization at the core of your belief system is no different from choosing any other guiding ideological precept. Every problem has an incentive-based solution; every tension can be resolved by seeking the maximally efficient outcome.
This is a depressingly reductive view of the human experience. Men will die for God or country, kinship or land. No one ever picked up a rifle and got shot for optimal social utility. Economists cannot account for this basic fact of humanity. Yet they have assumed a role in society that for the past 4,000 years has been held by philosophers and theologians. They have made our lives freer and more efficient. And we are the poorer for it.
—Mr. Last is a senior writer at the Weekly Standard.
A version of this article appeared April 21, 2012, on page C7 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: In Economists We Trust.
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May 5, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/opinion/sunday/the-outsourced-life.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=print
The Outsourced Life
By ARLIE RUSSELL HOCHSCHILD
IN the sprawling outskirts of San Jose, Calif., I find myself at the apartment door of Katherine Ziegler, a psychologist and wantologist. Could it be, I wonder, that there is such a thing as a wantologist, someone we can hire to figure out what we want? Have I arrived at some final telling moment in my research on outsourcing intimate parts of our lives, or at the absurdist edge of the market frontier?
A willowy woman of 55, Ms. Ziegler beckons me in. A framed Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of Illinois hangs on the wall, along with an intricate handmade quilt and a collage of images clipped from magazines — the back of a child’s head, a gnarled tree, a wandering cat — an odd assemblage that invites one to search for a connecting thread.
After a 20-year career as a psychologist, Ms. Ziegler expanded her practice to include executive coaching, life coaching and wantology. Originally intended to help business managers make purchasing decisions, wantology is the brainchild of Kevin Kreitman, an industrial engineer who set up a two-day class to train life coaches to apply this method to individuals in private life. Ms. Ziegler took the course and was promptly certified in the new field.
Ms. Ziegler explains that the first step in thinking about a “want,” is to ask your client, “ ‘Are you floating or navigating toward your goal?’ A lot of people float. Then you ask, ‘What do you want to feel like once you have what you want?’ ”
She described her experience with a recent client, a woman who lived in a medium-size house with a small garden but yearned for a bigger house with a bigger garden. She dreaded telling her husband, who had long toiled at renovations on their present home, and she feared telling her son, who she felt would criticize her for being too materialistic.
Ms. Ziegler took me through the conversation she had with this woman: “What do you want?”
“A bigger house.”
“How would you feel if you lived in a bigger house?”
“Peaceful.”
“What other things make you feel peaceful?”
“Walks by the ocean.” (The ocean was an hour’s drive away.)
“Do you ever take walks nearer where you live that remind you of the ocean?”“Certain ones, yes.”
“What do you like about those walks?”
“I hear the sound of water and feel surrounded by green.”
This gentle line of questions nudged the client toward a more nuanced understanding of her own desire. In the end, the woman dedicated a small room in her home to feeling peaceful. She filled it with lush ferns. The greenery encircled a bubbling slate-and-rock tabletop fountain. Sitting in her redesigned room in her medium-size house, the woman found the peace for which she’d yearned.
I was touched by the story. Maybe Ms. Ziegler’s client just needed a good friend who could listen sympathetically and help her work out her feelings. Ms. Ziegler provided a service — albeit one with a wacky name — for a fee. Still, the mere existence of a paid wantologist indicates just how far the market has penetrated our intimate lives. Can it be that we are no longer confident to identify even our most ordinary desires without a professional to guide us?
Is the wantologist the tail end of a larger story? Over the last century, the world of services has changed greatly.
A hundred — or even 40 — years ago, human eggs and sperm were not for sale, nor were wombs for rent. Online dating companies, nameologists, life coaches, party animators and paid graveside visitors did not exist.
Nor had a language developed that so seamlessly melded village and market — as in “Rent-a-Mom,” “Rent-a-Dad,” “Rent-a-Grandma,” “Rent-a-Friend” — insinuating itself, half joking, half serious, into our culture. The explosion in the number of available personal services says a great deal about changing ideas of what we can reasonably expect from whom. In the late 1940s, there were 2,500 clinical psychologists licensed in the United States. By 2010, there were 77,000 — and an additional 50,000 marriage and family therapists.
In the 1940s, there were no life coaches; in 2010, there were 30,000. The last time I Googled “dating coach,” 1,200,000 entries popped up. “Wedding planner” had over 25 million entries. The newest entry, Rent-a-Friend, has 190,000 entries.
And, in a world that undermines community, disparages government and marginalizes nonprofit organizations as ways of meeting growing needs of working families, these are likely to proliferate. As will the corresponding cultural belief in the superiority of what’s for sale.
WE’VE put a self-perpetuating cycle in motion. The more anxious, isolated and time-deprived we are, the more likely we are to turn to paid personal services. To finance these extra services, we work longer hours. This leaves less time to spend with family, friends and neighbors; we become less likely to call on them for help, and they on us. And, the more we rely on the market, the more hooked we become on its promises: Do you need a tidier closet? A nicer family picture album? Elderly parents who are truly well cared for? Children who have an edge in school, on tests, in college and beyond? If we can afford the services involved, many if not most of us are prone to say, sure, why not?
And the market expands to fill increasing demand. The director of research and development at the company eHarmony, for example, the champion of the marriage market, has envisioned expanding the company’s operations into later stages of adult life, and into workplace and college relations. EHarmony now operates in Canada, Brazil and Australia, as well as across Europe. The more members of diverse communities hunger for counsel, comfort, dates, support, the more outfits will spring up to extend services for those who can pay. The cycle takes another turn.
Paradoxically, the more we depend on market services — and market logic — the greater its subtle but real power to undermine our intimate life. As the ex-advertising executive and author of “In the Absence of the Sacred,” Jerry Mander, observed, “With commerce, we always get the good news first and the bad news after a while. First we hear the car goes faster than the horse. Then we hear it clogs freeways and pollutes the air.”
The bad news in this case is the capacity of the service market, with all its expertise, to sap self-confidence in our own capacities and those of friends and family. The professional nameologist finds a more auspicious name than we can recall from our family tree. The professional potty trainer does the job better than the bumbling parent or helpful grandparent. Jimmy’s Art Supply sells a better Spanish mission replica kit than your child can build for that school project from paint, glue and a Kleenex box. Our amateur versions of life seem to us all the poorer by comparison.
Consider some recent shifts in language. Care of family and friends is increasingly referred to as “lay care.” The act of meeting a romantic partner at a flesh-and-blood gathering rather than online is disparaged by some dating coaches as “dating in the wild.”
We picture competition as a matter of one business interest outdoing another. But the fiercest competition may be the quiet continuing one between market and private life. As a setter of standards of the ideal experience, it often wins, whether we buy the service or not.
The very ease with which we reach for market services may help prevent us from noticing the remarkable degree to which the market has come to dominate our very ideas about what can or should be for sale or rent, and who should be included in the dramatic cast — buyers, branders, sellers — that we imagine as part of our personal life. It may even prevent us from noticing how we devalue what we don’t or can’t buy.
As Michael J. Sandel, a Harvard professor of government, notes, a prison cell upgrade can be purchased for $82 a day in Santa Ana, Calif., and for $8 solo drivers in Minneapolis can buy access to car pool lanes on public roadways. Earlier this year, officials at Santa Monica College attempted to allow students to buy spots in oversubscribed classes for $462 per course. The school’s trustees dropped the proposal only after large-scale protests. Even more than what we wish for, the market alters how we wish. Wallet in hand, we focus in the market on the thing we buy. In the realm of services, this is an experience — the perfect wedding, the delicious “traditional” meal, the well-raised child, even the well-gestated baby.
As we outsource more of our private lives, we find it increasingly possible to outsource emotional attachment. A busy executive, for example, focuses on efficiency; his assistant tells me, “My boss outsources patience to me.” The wealthy employer of a household manager detaches herself from the act of writing personal Christmas-present labels. A love coach encourages clients to think of dating as “work,” and to be mindful of their R.O.I. — return on investment, of emotional energy, time and money. The grieving family member hires a Tombstone Butler to beautify a loved one’s burial site.
Focusing attention on the destination, we detach ourselves from the small — potentially meaningful — aspects of experience. Confining our sense of achievement to results, to the moment of purchase, so to speak, we unwittingly lose the pleasure of accomplishment, the joy of connecting to others and possibly, in the process, our faith in ourselves.
There is much public conversation about the balance of power between the branches of government, but we badly need to confront the larger and looming imbalance between the market and everything else.
A society in which comfort, care, companionship, “perfect” birthday parties and so much else is available to those who can pay for it?
What would we say if a wantologist put us on a couch and asked, “Is this the kind of society we want?”
Hope springs a trap
An absence of optimism plays a large role in keeping people trapped in poverty
May 12th 2012 | from the print edition
THE
idea that an infusion of hope can make a big difference to the lives of
wretchedly poor people sounds like something dreamed up by a well-meaning
activist or a tub-thumping politician. Yet this was the central thrust of a
lecture at Harvard University on May 3rd by Esther Duflo, an economist at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology known for her data-driven analysis of
poverty. Ms Duflo argued that the effects of some anti-poverty programmes go
beyond the direct impact of the resources they provide. These programmes also
make it possible for the very poor to hope for more than mere survival.
She
and her colleagues evaluated a programme in the Indian state of West Bengal,
where Bandhan, an Indian microfinance institution, worked with people who lived
in extreme penury. They were reckoned to be unable to handle the demands of
repaying a loan. Instead, Bandhan gave each of them a small productive asset—a
cow, a couple of goats or some chickens. It also provided a small stipend to
reduce the temptation to eat or sell the asset immediately, as well as weekly
training sessions to teach them how to tend to animals and manage their
households. Bandhan hoped that there would be a small increase in income from
selling the products of the farm animals provided, and that people would become
more adept at managing their own finances.
The
results were far more dramatic. Well after the financial help and hand-holding
had stopped, the families of those who had been randomly chosen for the Bandhan
programme were eating 15% more, earning 20% more each month and skipping fewer
meals than people in a comparison group. They were also saving a lot. The
effects were so large and persistent that they could not be attributed to the
direct effects of the grants: people could not have sold enough milk, eggs or
meat to explain the income gains. Nor were they simply selling the assets
(although some did).
So
what could explain these outcomes? One clue came from the fact that recipients
worked 28% more hours, mostly on activities not directly related to the assets
they were given. Ms Duflo and her co-authors also found that the beneficiaries’
mental health improved dramatically: the programme had cut the rate of
depression sharply. She argues that it provided these extremely poor people with
the mental space to think about more than just scraping by. As well as finding
more work in existing activities, like agricultural labour, they also started
exploring new lines of work. Ms Duflo reckons that an absence of hope had helped
keep these people in penury; Bandhan injected a dose of optimism.
Ms
Duflo is building on an old idea. Development economists have long surmised that
some very poor people may remain trapped in poverty because even the largest
investments they are able to make, whether eating a few more calories or working
a bit harder on their minuscule businesses, are too small to make a big
difference. So getting out of poverty seems to require a quantum leap—vastly
more food, a modern machine, or an employee to mind the shop. As a result, they
often forgo even the small incremental investments of which they are capable: a
bit more fertiliser, some more schooling or a small amount of saving.
This
hopelessness manifests itself in many ways. One is a sort of pathological
conservatism, where people forgo even feasible things with potentially large
benefits for fear of losing the little they already possess. For example, poor
people stay in drought-hit villages when the city is just a bus ride away. An
experiment in rural Bangladesh provided men with the bus fare to Dhaka at the
beginning of the lean season, the period between planting and the next harvest
when there is little to do except sit around. The offer of the bus fare, an
amount which most of the men could have saved up to pay for themselves, led to a
22-percentage-point increase in the probability of migration. The money migrants
sent back led their families’ consumption to soar. Having experienced the $100
increase in seasonal consumption per head that the $8 bus fare made possible,
half of those offered the bus fare migrated again the next year, this time
without the inducement.
People
sometimes think they are in a poverty trap when they are not. Surveys in many
countries show that poor parents often believe that a few years of schooling
have almost no benefit; education is valuable only if you finish secondary
school. So if they cannot ensure that their children can complete school, they
tend to keep them out of the classroom altogether. And if they can pay for only
one child to complete school, they often do so by avoiding any education for the
children they think are less clever. Yet economists have found that each year of
schooling adds a roughly similar amount to a person’s earning power: the more
education, the better. Moreover, parents are very likely to misjudge their
children’s skills. By putting all their investment in the child who they believe
to be the brightest, they ensure that their other children never find out what
they are good at. Assumed to have little potential, these children live down to
their parents’ expectations.
The
fuel of self-belief
Surprising
things can often act as a spur to hope. A law in India set aside for women the
elected post of head of the village council in a third of villages. Following up
several years later, Ms Duflo found a clear effect on the education of girls.
Previously parents and children had far more modest education and career goals
for girls than for boys. Girls were expected to get much less schooling, stay at
home and do the bidding of their in-laws. But a few years of exposure to a
female village head had led to a striking degree of convergence between goals
for sons and daughters. Their very existence seems to have expanded the girls’
sense of the possible beyond a life of domestic drudgery. An unexpected
consequence, perhaps, but a profoundly hopeful one.
___________________________
Hard Labor By Josh Sanburn (reprinted from Time Magazine, May 21, 2012)
internships
Shipping thousand-dollar hats from New York City to London. Shuttling heavy bags around Manhattan. Skipping lunch. Working 55-hour weeks. And doing it all for free.
"It was disgusting," says Diana Wang, 28, of her unpaid labor at Harper's Bazaar magazine. It was also potentially illegal.
Today an estimated one-third to one-half of the U.S.'s 1.5 million internships are without pay, a trend that has only accelerated since the 2008 financial crisis. Employers contend that they're paying interns with experience, which can be more valuable than cash, especially in tough-to-break-into fields such as media, fashion and entertainment. But if unpaid interns are working jobs--no matter how menial--that would otherwise go to entry-level employees, federal law mandates compensation.
The Fair Labor Standards Act isn't new; it's been around since 1938. But in recent months, it has received unprecedented attention, thanks to a trio of class actions led by frustrated ex-interns. Wang, Eric Glatt and Alex Footman, and Lucy Bickerton are demanding wages from Hearst (the owner of Harper's Bazaar), Fox Searchlight and PBS, respectively, for being overworked as unpaid interns. (All three firms declined TIME's interview requests but have publicly denied any wrongdoing.)
"They were counting on the fact that nobody would sue, particularly kids who are just out of school," says Glatt, who took his Fox internship at age 40. "This culture of expecting free labor if you slap the title 'intern' on it has become so pervasive that people don't question whether it's ethically wrong or legally acceptable."
That's starting to change. In response to these lawsuits as well as to advocacy work by the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. Department of Labor has ramped up efforts to educate unpaid interns about their rights. It has also encouraged them to speak out, as opposed to the norm of "keeping your mouth shut and being thankful for anything that comes your way," as Bickerton, who is suing PBS's The Charlie Rose Show, put it.
Meanwhile, some companies are pre-emptively improving their internship programs. Magazine publisher Cond Nast, for example, used to offer unpaid internships without work-hour limits. Now it pays a stipend of $550 per internship, pairs interns with a mentor and sends them home by 7 p.m. at the latest. Atlantic Media, publisher of the Atlantic, established similar guidelines. Even overseas, Stella McCartney--which last year was one of 102 U.K.-based fashion houses to receive an unpaid-labor warning from the British government--has vowed to pay all interns. (Time Inc.'s policy is to pay interns, though some exceptions may be made, for example, when a student receives academic credit.) "We're at the very early stages of a backlash against unpaid internships," says Ross Perlin, author of Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy. "The phenomenon has gone off the rails."
That's good news for the ex-interns, who Camille Olson, a labor-law attorney at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, says could indeed win their suits, which are still in the early stages of litigation. And fewer unpaid internships could even mean more entry-level jobs for 20-to-24-year-olds, whose unemployment rate in the U.S. hit 13.2% last month.
For now, though, newfound intern-rights activists like Glatt are focused on raising awareness. "This will be the last summer that students do [unpaid] internships without recognizing that there's something fundamentally wrong with them," he says.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2114428,00.html#ixzz1uwrKrM79
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article3435469.ece?css=print
Published: May 19, 2012 11:37
Increase in violence against SCs and STs, reveals report
Decades after enacting a legislation to prevent atrocities against the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes through the SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the SCs/STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995, the picture continues to remain quite grim, according to a civil society report.
The report on the “Status of Implementation of SCs and STs [Prevention of Atrocities] Act 1989 and Rules 1995” reveals that there has been substantial increase in cases of violence against SCs and STs.
Released by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the first Dalit Chief Justice of India, here on Thursday, the report highlights loopholes in the implementation of the Act and argues that it has not been able to check atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis in an effective manner.
Prepared after collecting evidences by visiting the places of incidents and talking to victims across the country, the study says “to begin with first the cases of violence against SCs/STs are not registered” and even in those that are registered the conviction rate is quite low. “At least one-fourth of the cases have been disposed of at the investigation stage itself by the police and these complaints have been referred to as ‘mistake of fact,” adds the report which was prepared by the National Coalition for Strengthening SCs & STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
The report which explains in details the trends and nature of discrimination and atrocities against SCs/STs over the years, recommends that “a high-level committee should be appointed to review implementation of the Act and the Rules in all the States”.
While expressing disappointment over the States' failure to check crimes against Dalits and Adivasis, Justice Balakrishnan favoured the reports' recommendation that “exclusive special courts with powers to take cognizance of the offences under the Act should be set up and special public prosecutors for speedy trials of cases registered under the Act should be appointed”.
According to the report crime rate against SCs has increased from 2.6 per cent in 2007 to 2.8 per cent in 2010. In 2010, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 19.2 per cent of the total crimes against SCs (6,272 out of 32,712) in the country. In the same year, Rajasthan reported the highest rate of crimes (7.4 per cent) against SCs compared to the national average of 2.9 per cent.
According to the report, the number of crimes against STs drastically increased in 2010 to 5,885 cases and murder cases of STs alone totalled 142.
When it comes to registration of atrocity cases, the report says “police resort to various machinations to discourage SCs/STs from registering cases, to dilute the seriousness of the violence, and to shield the accused persons from arrest and prosecution. FIRs are often registered under the PCR Act and IPC provisions, which attract lesser punishment than PoA Act provisions for the same offence.”
At national level, only 11,682 (34.2 per cent) out of 34,127 atrocity cases were registered under PoA Act in 2010.
Of all the cases registered in 2010 investigation was completed only for 37,558 cases of the total of 51,782 cases. Charge sheets were submitted only for 26,480 cases (51 per cent) because of which even by the year end, around 14,092 cases remained pending for investigation.
In 2010, of the 16,601 cases registered across the country under PoA Act for atrocities against SCs, the police closed almost 2,150 cases (13 per cent) in 2010. Meanwhile, of the 1,714 registered cases of atrocities against STs, 223 (13 per cent) were closed.
The report says that with 101,251 cases of crimes against SCs/STs (80 per cent) pending for trial by the end of 2010, no significant improvement was seen in the trial pendency rate (82.5 per cent) at the end of 2011.
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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3433314.ece?css=print
Protests in London against Kudankulam project
PTI File picture of the
two reactors of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP).
Carrying placards that read, “No More Chernobyls! No More
Fukushimas!,” activists representing a coalition of anti-nuclear and human
rights groups held a protest outside the Indian High Commission here on Friday,
demanding a halt to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and withdrawal
of police and court cases against anti-KKNPP protesters.
They said that at a time when Germany, France, Italy and Japan
were turning away from nuclear power, India was “setting up new ones with no
consideration for the safety of its people.”
A letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, signed by several British MPs and members of the
European Parliament, was handed to the High Commission.
It said the project violated the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA)'s safety guidelines as it was in “a tsunami and earthquake-prone
region.”
It was “also in violation of the mandatory requirement for
construction of fresh water reservoirs.”
“The primary cause for all major accidents such as at Three Mile
Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima was lack of fresh water,” the letter said,
expressing “deep concern” over the project's environmental impact.
Signatories included Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell,
Mary Glindon and Paul Flynn; Green Party's Caroline Lucas and its MEP Keith
Taylor ; Kate Hudson of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; and Estella Schmid
of the Campaign against Criminalising Communities (CACC).
Protesters criticised the government for accusing anti-KKNPP
activists of being backed by foreign money.
“The fact is that the Indian nuclear programme itself is backed
heavily by foreign corporates,” said Amrit Wilson of the South Asia Solidarity
Group (SASG).
Ms. Lucas said she was “deeply worried” about the situation in
Kudankulam.
“I very much hope that the Indian authorities will take notice of
today's important protest in London,” she said.
The letter to Dr. Singh and Ms. Jayalalithaa warned that the
project would have “serious consequences for the life and ecology of the whole
of peninsular India” and demanded that all relevant information relating to the
project be made public.
Signatories accused the authorities of using “draconian measures”
to put down anti-KKNPP protests and alleged that “non-violent protesters are
being intimidated, harassed, imprisoned, and falsely charged.”
The groups represented at the protest included the SASG, Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament, the CACC, Foil Vedanta, South-West Against Nuclear, and
Globalise Resistance.
LONDON: Older people who regularly take calcium supplements to strengthen bones and prevent fractures may actually be increasing their risk of having a heart attack, a new study has claimed. However, experts said it was "irresponsible" to advise people with osteoporosis not to take supplements "on the basis of one flawed study" .
Millions of people worldwide have been prescribed to take calcium pills daily as a safe way to help fight osteoporosis.
But researchers from the University of Zurich and German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg claimed their study adds to mounting evidence that the supplements are "not safe or particularly effective" .
For their study, the researchers followed 23,980 people for 11 years and found that those taking calcium pills roughly doubled the risk of having a heart attack . There were 851 heart attacks among the 15,959 people who did not take any supplements at all. However, people taking calcium supplements were 86%more likely to have had a heart attack during the study.
Detailing their findings in the journal Heart, the team said heart attack risk "might be substantially increased by taking calcium supplements" .
The pills "should be taken with caution" , they concluded, as they raise the annual risk of a heart attack from about one in 700 people to one in 350, the Daily Telegraph reported. Instead, people should eat more calciumrich foods like milk, cheese and green, leafy vegetables.
The new findings are at odds with department of health in UK which says "taking 1,500mg or less of calcium supplements is unlikely to cause any harm" . It only warns, "Taking high doses of calcium could lead to stomach pain and diarrhoea."
Dr Carrie Ruxton of the Health Supplements Information Service also said, "It's irresponsible for scientists to advise osteoporosis patients cut out calcium supplements on the basis of one flawed survey, particularly when the link between calcium, vitamin D and bone health is endorsed by the European Food Safety Authority."
She claimed the study lacked information on calcium doses and its results could have been skewed by variations in participants underlying health.
__________________________
__________________________
Calcium pills may up heart attack risk
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Calcium-pills-may-up-heart-attack-risk/articleshow/13464553.cms?prtpage=1
PTI | May 25, 2012, 05.33AM IST
LONDON: Older people who regularly take calcium supplements to strengthen bones and prevent fractures may actually be increasing their risk of having a heart attack, a new study has claimed. However, experts said it was "irresponsible" to advise people with osteoporosis not to take supplements "on the basis of one flawed study" .
Millions of people worldwide have been prescribed to take calcium pills daily as a safe way to help fight osteoporosis.
But researchers from the University of Zurich and German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg claimed their study adds to mounting evidence that the supplements are "not safe or particularly effective" .
For their study, the researchers followed 23,980 people for 11 years and found that those taking calcium pills roughly doubled the risk of having a heart attack . There were 851 heart attacks among the 15,959 people who did not take any supplements at all. However, people taking calcium supplements were 86%more likely to have had a heart attack during the study.
Detailing their findings in the journal Heart, the team said heart attack risk "might be substantially increased by taking calcium supplements" .
The pills "should be taken with caution" , they concluded, as they raise the annual risk of a heart attack from about one in 700 people to one in 350, the Daily Telegraph reported. Instead, people should eat more calciumrich foods like milk, cheese and green, leafy vegetables.
The new findings are at odds with department of health in UK which says "taking 1,500mg or less of calcium supplements is unlikely to cause any harm" . It only warns, "Taking high doses of calcium could lead to stomach pain and diarrhoea."
Dr Carrie Ruxton of the Health Supplements Information Service also said, "It's irresponsible for scientists to advise osteoporosis patients cut out calcium supplements on the basis of one flawed survey, particularly when the link between calcium, vitamin D and bone health is endorsed by the European Food Safety Authority."
She claimed the study lacked information on calcium doses and its results could have been skewed by variations in participants underlying health.
__________________________
June 7,
2012
As Grain Piles Up, India’s Poor Still Go
Hungry
By VIKAS
BAJAJ
RANWAN, India
Just 180
miles to the south, in a slum on the outskirts of New Delhi
Such is
the paradox of plenty in India India now grows so much food that it has a
bigger grain stockpile than any country except China ,
and it exports some of it to countries like Saudi
Arabia and Australia
“The
reason we are facing this problem is our refusal to distribute the grain that
we buy from farmers to the people who need it,” said Biraj Patnaik, who advises
India
After
years of neglect, the nation’s failed food policies have now become a subject
of intense debate in New Delhi
Proponents
say the new law, if written and executed well, could help ensure that nobody
goes hungry in India , the
world’s second-most populous country behind China
India’s
food policy has two central goals: to provide farmers with higher and more
consistent prices for their crops than they would get from the open market, and
to sell food grains to the poor at lower prices than they would pay at private
stores.
The
federal government buys grain and stores it. Each state can take a certain
amount of grain from these stocks based on how many of its residents are poor.
The states deliver the grain to subsidized shops and decide which families get
the ration cards that allow them to buy cheap wheat and rice there.
The
sprawling system costs the government 750 billion rupees ($13.6 billion) a
year, almost 1 percent of India
The new
food security law could more than double the government’s outlays to 2 trillion
rupees a year, according to some estimates.
Much of the
extra money would go to buy more grain, even though the government already has
a tremendous stockpile of wheat and rice — 71 million tons as of early May, up
20 percent from a year earlier.
“India is paying the price of an unexpected
success — our production of rice and wheat has surged and procurement has been
better than ever,” said Kaushik
Basu, the chief economic adviser to India ’s
Finance Ministry and a professor at Cornell
University
The
biggest gap is the inefficient, corrupt system used to get the food to those
who need it. Just 41.4 percent of the grain picked up by the states from
federal warehouses reaches Indian homes, according to a recent World Bank
study.
Critics
say officials all along the chain, from warehouse managers to shopkeepers,
steal food and sell it to traders, pocketing tidy, illicit profits.
Poor
Indians who have ration cards often complain about both the quality and
quantity of grain available at government stores, called fair price shops.
Other
families do not even have ration cards because of the procedures — and often,
bribes — required to get them. Some are denied because they cannot document
their residence or income. And critics say more people would qualify if the
income cutoff were raised; in New
Delhi
Ms. Devi,
who lives in the Jagdamba Camp slum in south Delhi
“Sometimes,
we just have to sit and wait,” she said. “My mother-in-law gets subsidized food
and she gives me some when she can.”
Indian
officials say they are addressing the system’s problems. Some states, like
Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh, have made big improvements by using technology to
track food and have made it easier for almost all households to get ration
cards. Other states, like Bihar , have
experimented with food stamps.
Reformers
argue that India should move
toward giving the poor cash or food stamps as the United
States , Mexico
“Why only
wheat and rice? If he wants to have eggs, or fruits, or some vegetables, he
should be given that option,” Mr. Gulati said. “You need to augment his income.
Then, the distribution, you leave it to the private sector.”
But most
officials say they are worried that if India
“It has
to improve, I have no doubt about it,” said K. V. Thomas , India
Officials
say Parliament is likely to vote on a new food policy at the end of the year.
In the meantime, the government is working on temporary solutions to its grain
storage problems, putting up new silos and exporting more rice.
Still,
much of it is likely to keep sitting on the side of the road here in Punjab .
“It’s
painful to watch,” said Gurdeep Singh, a farmer from near Ranwan who recently
sold his wheat harvest to the government. “The government is big and powerful.
It should be able to put up a shed to store this crop.”
Neha Thirani
contributed reporting from Mumbai and Karishma Vyas from New Delhi
This article has been revised to reflect the following
correction:
Correction:
June 12, 2012
An article on Friday
about malnourishment in India
__________________________
Gandhi : Democracy and Fundamental Rights
|
By
Dr. Ravindra Kumar & Dr. Kiran Lata Dangwal*
“I
understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the
strong.” – M K Gandhi
Introduction: All those who are familiar
with the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi or those who understand his philosophy, they
very well know that he was an anarchist. He was for such a stateless society
in which life becomes perfect. People, without any prejudice, never become
hindrance to one-other’s routines. Moreover, self-regulation, self-dependency
and mutual cooperation on priority become essential in day-to-day human
practices. For Gandhi, the institution like the State or the system like
democracy cannot be the final ideal. These institutions are based on
political power, therefore, they can only be the means of enabling people to
better their condition at different levels in different walks of life, but cannot
lead human beings to achieve the goal of life. In this regard he clearly
wrote in Young India on July 2, 1931, “To me political power is not an
end but one of the means of enabling people to better their condition in
every department of life. Political power means capacity to regulate national
life through national representatives. If national life becomes so perfect as
to become self-regulated, no representation becomes necessary. There is then
a state of enlightened anarchy. In such a State everyone is his own master.
He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his
neighbour. In the ideal State, therefore, there is no political power because
there is no State. But the ideal is never fully realized in life. Hence the
classical statement of Thoreau that the government is best which governs the
least –is worthy of consideration.”
It is clear that even being an astute
anarchist and introducer of Ahimsa-based stateless society to the
world, Mahatma Gandhi was himself not sure of transformation of his ideas
into a reality. Simultaneously, creating an atmosphere of such morality and
ethics on the basis of which everybody could develop in him a high degree of
intellect never seemed an easy task to him. Then, what could be the
alternative? In this context he was quite clear, which could be observed from
his support and advocacy for democracy. Accepting democracy to be a great
institution, he never asked for its avoidance. Rather, he laid a great stress
on decreasing of possibility of its misuse. Democracy, despite being a
manmade institution and therefore likely to be misused, if works to the
maximum possible extent on the basis of Ahimsa, it can prepare people
to self-control, self-dependency and mutual cooperation. In Gandhi’s own
words, “There is no human institution but has its dangers. The greater
the institution the greater the chances of abuse. Democracy is a great
institution and therefore it is liable to be greatly abused. The remedy,
therefore, is not avoidance of democracy but reduction of possibility of
abuse to a minimum.” [Young
Not only this, in a country of diversities
like India, which has a long history of harmony of different ideas and
has always accorded honour to others’ views, and where forbearance and
tolerance have been in the root of solution of inevitable day-to-day
conflicts, disputes or struggles, only democracy could work successfully.
Furthermore, history of democracy in
Undoubtedly, freedom and justice had been
the two basic pillars of democracy of Mahatma Gandhi’s imagination. He saw
the welfare of all, general and particular, in a democracy where equal
freedom and justice are available. Particularly, he laid great stress on
individual freedom in democracy as is evident from his following statement, “…if
individual liberty goes, then surely all is lost, for, if the individual
ceases to count, what is left of society? Individual freedom also can make a
man voluntarily surrender himself completely to the service of society. If it
is wrested from him, he becomes automation and society is ruined. No society
can possibly be built on denial of individual freedom…” [Kumar,
Gandhi and Gandhism, page 19
Similarly, it is justice that along with
freedom proves adaptability, significance and success of a democracy. To
quote the Mahatma, “The spirit of democracy is
not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires
change of heart.”
Particularly, in a democratic country like
Not only is this, Gandhi’s theory of
Trusteeship is also a firm step towards establishing social justice. Through
it, he wished for healthy social relations among men and on the basis of them
desired ending differences between owners and servants. He wished bringing
wealth and properties into the domain of Trusteeship with the sole purpose of
self-sufficiency of each and everyone by ascertaining supply of essential
commodities. For social justice, self-sufficiency plays the vital role; for,
it is inevitable. In this regard, going beyond the territorial limits of
Fundamental Rights: Along
with freedom and justice, the third most important thing, which requires
special mention in context of Gandhi’s views on democracy, relates to
fundamental rights of citizens. As known to us, Gandhi always by laying great
stress on morality and ethics in individual and social life –both, and
calling on people to make Ahimsa the centre of their day-to-day
activities, spoke of duties time and again. Undoubtedly, he accorded
preference to duties over the rights. For example he said, “In Swarajya
based on Ahimsa people need not know their rights, but it is necessary for
them to know their duties.” [Harijan, March 25, 1939] On another
occasion he wrote, “Rights accrue automatically to him who duly
performs his duties. In fact the right to perform one’s duties is the only
right that is worth living…It covers all legitimate rights…”
[Harijan, May 27, 1939]
Not only this, a few months before his
passing away Gandhi went to the extent of saying, “Today capitalist and
zamindar talk of their rights, the labourer on the other hand of his, the
prince of his divine right to rule, the ryot of his to resist it. If all
simply insist on rights and no duties, there will be utter confusion and
chaos.”
Therefore, he said further, “If
instead of insisting on rights everyone does his duty, there will immediately
be the rule of order established among mankind. There is no such thing as the
divine right of kings to rule and the humble duty of the riots to pay
respectful obedience to their masters.” [Harijan, July 6, 1947]
From the above statements of Mahatma Gandhi
it generally seems that in comparison to fundamental rights he prefers duties
of people. It also becomes apparent that perhaps he is indifferent towards
human rights. But, it is only a momentary perplexity. There is not the
slightest want of truth in it. Gandhi was a great defender of equal liberty
for all. Till his last breath he fought for social, religious, rational,
political, and economic freedom of all. How was then it possible that he
could ignore the question of fundamental rights of people? Moreover, when
Gandhi refused to accept the authority of princes as their being divine ruler
and advised people not to pay respectful obedience to them as their masters,
how could he shut his eyes from people’s rights?
Similarly, Gandhi was committed to justice
for all. For the establishment of justice he not only called on people time
and again, but launched non-violent actions and some of them remained
exemplary from the success viewpoint. Through them he introduced an adaptable
and effective way to the world. How could he minimize the importance of
people’s rights? He categorically spoke of social, political and economic
growth and prosperity of all. He led the way to Sarvodaya through his
worth mentioning ideas of decentralization of power and Trusteeship. Hence,
for us it is beyond imagination that a person like Gandhi could overlook the
question of fundamental rights of the people?
Undoubtedly, along with freedom and justice,
Gandhi wished equal rights for all. As it is known to us, Gandhi not only
accepted the importance of fundamental rights of citizens, but made the issue
of people’s rights indispensable in all of his non-violent actions he carried
out for the freedom of
In fact Mahatma Gandhi has his own refined,
exemplary and adaptable view about people’s rights. His views regarding
rights of citizens, besides proving their merit as per the standards set
through various contemporary and modern concepts related to them, are
connected with morality. As democracy of Gandhi’s imagination is not possible
without high morality, therefore, morality occupies the central place in it.
Moreover, morality develops a sense of responsibility in human beings on the
strength of which they go forward to protect, respect and honour the rights
of each other.
Even in democracy many times we observe
great lack in protecting and honouring the rights of citizens. More care for
rights of self and less for others is noticed. Consequently, state of
violation of human rights emerges time and again. For, undoubtedly, democracy
suffers; its way gets obstructed. Therefore, Gandhi’s view of connecting
rights to duties cannot be undervalued. Rather, his ideas are important and
worth consideration. They seem essential for the prosperity and success of
people’s government. In this regards his statement, “…if leaving duties
unperformed we run after rights, they escape us like a will-o’-the-wisp”
[Yong
Hence, without a doubt, in democracy of
Gandhi’s imagination fundamental rights are as important as freedom and
justice. Besides, his views regarding rights of citizens in democracy are worthy
of consideration for subject specialist and those in the government. In their
refined form they are also more or less capable in guiding those who are
concerned of human rights.
* Dr. Ravindra Kumar is a Former Vice
Chancellor of CCS University, Meerut and Dr. Kiran Lata Dangwal is a Faculty
at the Department of Education, University of Lucknow, India.
|
__________________________
GANDHIRAMA 2012
A Feast of Ideas and a Festival of Art
|
Indian Council of
Philosophical Research in collaboration with other sister institutions is
organizing an international event, called Gandhirama-2012 from 17th to 22nd
August 2012 at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
Gandhirama is designed to
be a kaleidoscope that reflects the panorama of the multivariate
contributions of Mahatma Gandhi – his person, philosophy and practices.
Gandhirama 2012 is an
occasion reflect on the many sided splendour and brilliance of Gandhi’s
thought, which we hope would provide the context for a truly transformational
experience. The conference would also enable us to examine and explore
in a critical and constructive manner the message of the Mahatma in his
person and philosophy, which could profoundly influence the future of
humankind. As we struggle to cope with a plethora of problems arising
from the fast moving pace of physical science and technology and the relative
lack of progress in human science, Gandhian way could be a bridge to connect the
“outer” and “inner” worlds, as it were. Gandhirama is an occasion not
merely to remember Gandhi but a concerted effort to arouse worldwide,
enthusiastic interest, popular and intellectual, in the person and philosophy
of Gandhiji for consummate good of humankind. It is an honest attempt to
depict Gandhi as an icon to inspire and not an idol to worship.
Gandhirama 2012 would be
more than an academic discussion of Gandhian thought. The goal is
transformation of the person in the Gandhian way for common good. Attenborough’s
film on Gandhi did more than any book on Gandhi to appreciate Gandhi and
depict him as a kind of role model to many people around the world. A
clinical psychologist observed after seeing the movie that it was a
transformational experience for him. It is hoped that likewise
Gandhirama would prove to be a collective transformational experience as well
as a source of informed discussion of Gandhi, his person and philosophy.
Gandhirama 2012 is the
inaugural event of a series of such events to follow across the globe. It is
our hope that this event will be repeated in other parts of the world
annually and that we would have the finale when we celebrate Gandhiji’s 150th
birth anniversary in 2019. In this gigantic task, we solicit your cooperation
and invite your participation.
For
further details contact:
Gandhirama
2012 Secretariat, Darshan Bhawan, 36, Tughlakabad Institutional Area,
Website:www.gandhirama2012.in, E-mail: info@gandhirama2012.in Tel.
Nos. 91-11-29901538, 29901537.
Note:
Free Hospitality (Food, transportation, conference kit etc. shall be
available to all the registered delegates.
|
_____________________________________
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