'Bridge trust deficit to resolve all differences'
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri,
Apr 30, 2010, 02.55am IST
|aman ki asha
(GOOD TO READ THAT NOW WE TWO COUNTRIES ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT 'AAR-PAAR KI LADAI AND JUST CONFIDENTIAL BUILDING MEASURES, BUT TAKEN STEPS FURTHER....GOOD WISHES TO ALL OF US...A MUST READ ARTICLE...EVEN PUBLIC OF BOTH COUNTRIES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE CALL OF TWO NATIONS AND ITS IMPORTANCE...ITS RIGHT TIME TO BREAK THE ICE....VIBHA TAILANG)
The biggest problem between Pakistan and India currently is the absence of trust. Anything that addresses this trust deficit is, therefore, helpful. For this reason, I warmly welcome the initiative by The Times of India Group and the Jang Group of Pakistan to initiate the project ‘Aman Ki Asha’.
Media can help remove suspicions about each other.
This is all the more important because the existing suspicions and distrust about each other have been further exacerbated by irresponsible and distorted stories, carried by sections of the media in both the countries, in the first instance.
Some people in both countries may well say that, after all, both Pakistan and India are important countries and could go their own way. But it was for a good reason that former Prime Minister Vajpayee said, "You can change history but not geography” during a debate in the Lok Sabha. PM Manmohan Singh echoed similar sentiments in the Lok Sabha, where he said, "As neighbours, it is our obligation to keep our channels open. Unless we want to go to war with Pakistan, dialogue is the only way forward”. I was encouraged to note during the recent ‘Aman Ki Asha’ session in Lahore that some Indian participants said India felt the need to resolve the issue of Jammu & Kashmir inter alia for two reasons.
First, India being a democracy could not resort to force in J&K for an indefinite period,
and second, that India could achieve its real potential and play a major role on the world stage only after resolving its disputes with Pakistan.
As a lifelong politician, who has been elected a member of parliament from a constituency in central Punjab on the Indian border, and as a former foreign minister, I can say with confidence that peace with India is not only in the national interest of Pakistan but can also be sold to the people of Pakistan, provided it is peace with honour. History teaches us that’s the only lasting peace. India is a big country and may have extra-regional ambitions. As far as Pakistan is concerned, our very doctrine is one of minimum credible deterrence aimed at protecting Pakistan’s national security.
Another reason that gives me confidence is that every major political party of Pakistan supports a negotiated settlement. This implies that if India were to show flexibility, Pakistan would reciprocate similarly. In this connection it is correct that while the agreement was arrived at during our tenure in office, former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Atal Bihari Vajpayee showed leadership and courage in restarting this process in February 1999 when Vajpayee undertook his famous bus journey on the invitation of the then PM Nawaz Sharif. Similarly, Benazir Bhutto, during both her tenures, made concerted efforts to improve the relationship between the two countries. MQM, ANP and even Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Islam, under the leadership of Maulana Fazl-ur Rehman, have supported a negotiated settlement on Kashmir.
Perhaps one reason why there is such a strong need for a negotiated solution of Kashmir is the recognition in both countries that Pakistan and India have tried everything in their power to enforce their version of a Kashmir settlement. They have fought five wars, including two minor ones in the Rann of Kutch and in Kargil. There have been various troop mobilizations, including the largest one since the World War I (Operation Parakram), in which a million soldiers remained eyeball-to-eyeball for almost a year. After nuclearization of South Asia, following tests by India and Pakistan, war between the two countries has become nearly impossible.
That being the case, it was equally clear that any solution we found would not be an ideal one from the perspective of Kashmiris, Pakistanis and Indians. It could only be the best under the circumstances. It had to be one that Kashmiris would accept, and one, that the leaderships of India and Pakistan could sell to their respective peoples whose perspectives were radically different. It would seem to many people that such a solution just cannot be found. It was precisely to find such a formula that the two leaderships directed their representatives, involved in the back channel, to remain engaged. No wonder the non-papers went to and fro innumerable times. The back-channel negotiators met in different locations in many countries to preserve the secrecy of the process. They brought the drafts to the principals in both the countries, where changes were made and sent back to the other side and so on and so forth.
It was after approximately three years of such painstaking work, which sometimes even involved changing punctuation in different drafts, that the two governments felt that they had agreed on the draft of an agreement, towards the end of 2006. They felt that on the basis of this draft they would be in a position to present an agreement to their respective constitutional authorities for their approval. It was felt that this draft would be acceptable to an overwhelming majority of Kashmiris, Indians and Pakistanis.
The major features of the draft Kashmir agreement involved gradual demilitarization as the situation improved, self-governance and a joint mechanism involving Kashmiris from both sides as well as presence of Pakistani and Indian representatives in this process. The purpose was to improve the comfort level of Kashmiris.
The joint mechanism envisaged cooperation in various fields including exploitation of water resources and hydroelectric power. Self-governance also provided maximum possible powers to Kashmiris to manage their political, economic, financial and social matters and those pertaining to economic development as well as for enhanced travel and economic interaction on both sides of the LoC. For practical purposes, as far as the Kashmiris on both sides are concerned, the border would be made irrelevant for movement of goods and people.
The agreement, though not ideal, was the best possible under the circumstances.
The agreement provided for a review after 15 years. We were aware that there would be overwhelming support for this agreement, but we also realized that there would be criticism from some sections in Kashmir, Pakistan and India. In the very nature of things, it is impossible to produce a solution which will be equally acceptable to every one. For this reason, we decided that the arrangement will need a review at the end of 15 years, during which its implementation would be monitored with great care by all the parties concerned, and in the light of the experience, this arrangement could be further improved.
Another question that people sometimes ask me in hushed tones these days, now that Pervez Musharraf is no longer in power, is whether the agreement that we have arrived at had the support of the Pakistan army. Of course, it had the support of all stakeholders. It is unthinkable that an issue of this nature could be negotiated without having all the stakeholders on board. Besides the foreign office and the presidency, the military was appropriately represented. Former president Musharraf, in response to a question whether he took his corps commanders into confidence, is on record as saying, on more than one occasion, that he used to take everyone on board. Furthermore, Pakistan army
high command is highly disciplined and sophisticated and understands clearly that national security is a very broad concept and military preparedness is only one, albeit, a very important component of it. The
concept of national security includes economic and political stability and a settlement with India on honourable terms strengthens Pakistan’s national security.
It is also pertinent to mention here that while Musharraf may not be on the scene presently, institutional thinking does not change so rapidly. Of course, for tactical reasons, adjustments are made keeping in view time and circumstance. I am aware of the current differences between Pakistan and India on Afghanistan following President Obama’s announcement regarding America’s intentions in Afghanistan. If trust deficit between the two countries can be bridged, all differences between the two countries can be resolved.
Before I conclude, I would like to welcome the statement of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that efforts are being made through the back channel to resolve all outstanding issues with India. It is important that negotiations be resumed soon because Manmohan Singh’s government, with which we negotiated the agreement, is still in power, and the BJP, the other major national party in India, had started the process during the tenure of former PM Vajpayee. I welcome the statement of our prime minister, despite being in the opposition, because I believe that in matters of national interest one has to rise above the spirit of partisanship. I am sure Indian politicians would have a similar approach. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of detailed work has been done and we can start from where we left.
(The author was foreign minister of Pakistan under President Pervez Musharraf)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
OPINIONS!!!-Is 1000 crores a big amount?
Is 1000 crores a big amount?
(Can't problems can be solved in Parliament??? And in what situations is it necessary to pull down a government in between??? All the opposition do not look united as they all have different vested interests(state and national) and ideological differences, but still if they come to some solution finding agreement and together pull the govt on some vital issue....can they fight election together or against each other, which will comeout as a same result of 'FRACTURE MANDATE AND DIVIDED BUT UNITED GOVERNMENT'...CAN'T WE FIND SOME BETTER SOLUTION TOGETHER...GOVT,OPPOSITION AND PUBLIC???? ...VIBHA)
by Jalpesh Chitalia on Apr 15, 2004 12:15 PM |
Guys, Why make 1000 crores an issue? First this money is worth Rs. 10 per Indian person in five years!! That mean Rs.2 per month per person!!
More importantly, this gives us the "rulers" to decide our representatives!! We were the ones who changed the fortunes defeating Indira and Vajpayee!
If we really know what is good for Our Country, we could stop thinking about this expense.
I agree 1000 crores is under-estimated, but well, even if it becomes 5000 crores it is negligible as per GDM-term in the massive Indian economy.
Moreover, government spending of this Rs. 1000 crores reaches your home in some way or the other - directly or indirectly!
The hidden costs should also be taken into account.
by chanakya on Apr 02, 2004 01:02 PM | Hide replies
And when these accounted for, it could well exceed 1500 crores, gentlemen !
1000 crores is a gross under-estimation and vastly unduly charitable to the most uncharitable exercise of going to the polls, rather than just requesting NDA to got ahead and rule for another five years.
Nobody is assuring the nation anything basically required. The voters are largely being taken for nonsensical rides that would make little or no change in their lives the way it should.
After all that is what is going to take place - an NDA
government with the changes of a few faces.
Only the bottle will be of 2004 model, the daaroo will be the same old daroo only.
Forward | Report abuse
Cost of Elections in India
by N. Rajagopal on Mar 26, 2004 08:55 PM | Hide replies
March 26, 2004
It is just waste of money to Elect next gang of thugs to loot the Country.
The Public Robbery (open corruption) is on the rise as anyone can see. If an IRS Officer can give 5 laks (exact figure is not important) for transfer to a particular place/post, one can imagine what he would have earned in his earlier postings and how much he plans to earn (thru illegal means) in the particular posting. And such 3 letter officials have the backing of the politicians.
The cost of the elections can be minimised to an extent, by introducing new rules. First, No person should be permitted to contest from any other place than his native place. Because, people from his native place certainly know how good or bad a person is. No one should be permitted to contest from more than one place at the same time and if any, the person should bear the cost of elections in 2 places, 2 times. That is 4 times since if elected from both the places, he has to vacate one seat (we can not say which) and elections have to be conducted again. Hence, one must be made to bear all the expenses, in advance, for 2 constituencies, 2 times elections.
This will bring some order in elections.
Forward | Report abuse
Cost of this Poll? Rs.1000 Crores!
by Kalyanakumar on Mar 26, 2004 04:53 PM | Hide replies
Why not the Election Commission of India can implement the system by introducing Election Website to cast the Vote by Indian Citizens through it? Now we are living in electronic world and every one is using PC with internet access. Why not EC can do it?.
There no much higher cost. It is very cheaper.
All Citizens can cast their vote. Illiterate can be guided by an Operator nominated by Election Commission.
It is my suggestion.
Forward | Report abuse
1000crores for electing mostly hard core white/blue collar criminals
by Bhaskar on Mar 26, 2004 03:09 PM | Hide replies
While 99 out of 100 candidates hugely overspend on the election campaign why not a single candidate has been disqualified from contesting elcections? In India rules are framed only to be broken more prominently by the rule makers themselves!!
Forward | Report abuse
curbing the election expenses
by viswanath_a71 on Mar 26, 2004 03:05 PM | Hide replies
To the surprise note all over the world every body is talking of cost cutting. But in India Election expenses from term to term are increasing drastically. So A serious attempt has to be made to cut the expenses of conducting elections. In this regard my opinion is to utilize the Technology and develop an Election Conduting system that can be used repeatedly. Political leaders like Mr.Chandrababu naidu and Mr.S.M. Krishna who are heading the states which are very well developed in terms of technology has to come farward to put these efforts.
More over the Political scenario in India has changed. As we are going to get coailation governments only here after, so we never know when do we need to face the elections again. It may be after 1 year or 2 year. So a Low cost Election Conduting system has to be developed. An Investment for 1 time to buy the technology can be utilised repeatedly.
Where we save lot of Money which can be utilised for many development programs in India or it can be used atleast to repay the loan what we are taking from World Bank.
With the use of Technology the Process of Election condution will be come very easy.
A LOW COST AND VERY EFFECTIVE SOLUTION.
Forward | Report abuse
Total cost would be 10,000 crore
by Basu on Mar 26, 2004 02:42 PM |
For this election, Rs 10,000 crore will be spent.(Incuding govt. and candidates)
Permanent Identification card
by Srinath on Mar 26, 2004 12:25 PM |
Can the government not issue as permanent identity card to every adult citizen of the country which will have information like passport # , driving licence # , PAN # , etc..
bar code scannable , valid document at any place ??
also why can't the govt conduct elections in municipal schools ?? so no need to spend additional money on the polling stations !!
why should the government pay for the security of the ministers ??? if they have done something wrong only then will the ministers need to fear or else not !!
easily Rs 500 crores can be saved. can IIM graduates not come up with a solution to this problem to save costs for the nation ?
(Can't problems can be solved in Parliament??? And in what situations is it necessary to pull down a government in between??? All the opposition do not look united as they all have different vested interests(state and national) and ideological differences, but still if they come to some solution finding agreement and together pull the govt on some vital issue....can they fight election together or against each other, which will comeout as a same result of 'FRACTURE MANDATE AND DIVIDED BUT UNITED GOVERNMENT'...CAN'T WE FIND SOME BETTER SOLUTION TOGETHER...GOVT,OPPOSITION AND PUBLIC???? ...VIBHA)
by Jalpesh Chitalia on Apr 15, 2004 12:15 PM |
Guys, Why make 1000 crores an issue? First this money is worth Rs. 10 per Indian person in five years!! That mean Rs.2 per month per person!!
More importantly, this gives us the "rulers" to decide our representatives!! We were the ones who changed the fortunes defeating Indira and Vajpayee!
If we really know what is good for Our Country, we could stop thinking about this expense.
I agree 1000 crores is under-estimated, but well, even if it becomes 5000 crores it is negligible as per GDM-term in the massive Indian economy.
Moreover, government spending of this Rs. 1000 crores reaches your home in some way or the other - directly or indirectly!
The hidden costs should also be taken into account.
by chanakya on Apr 02, 2004 01:02 PM | Hide replies
And when these accounted for, it could well exceed 1500 crores, gentlemen !
1000 crores is a gross under-estimation and vastly unduly charitable to the most uncharitable exercise of going to the polls, rather than just requesting NDA to got ahead and rule for another five years.
Nobody is assuring the nation anything basically required. The voters are largely being taken for nonsensical rides that would make little or no change in their lives the way it should.
After all that is what is going to take place - an NDA
government with the changes of a few faces.
Only the bottle will be of 2004 model, the daaroo will be the same old daroo only.
Forward | Report abuse
Cost of Elections in India
by N. Rajagopal on Mar 26, 2004 08:55 PM | Hide replies
March 26, 2004
It is just waste of money to Elect next gang of thugs to loot the Country.
The Public Robbery (open corruption) is on the rise as anyone can see. If an IRS Officer can give 5 laks (exact figure is not important) for transfer to a particular place/post, one can imagine what he would have earned in his earlier postings and how much he plans to earn (thru illegal means) in the particular posting. And such 3 letter officials have the backing of the politicians.
The cost of the elections can be minimised to an extent, by introducing new rules. First, No person should be permitted to contest from any other place than his native place. Because, people from his native place certainly know how good or bad a person is. No one should be permitted to contest from more than one place at the same time and if any, the person should bear the cost of elections in 2 places, 2 times. That is 4 times since if elected from both the places, he has to vacate one seat (we can not say which) and elections have to be conducted again. Hence, one must be made to bear all the expenses, in advance, for 2 constituencies, 2 times elections.
This will bring some order in elections.
Forward | Report abuse
Cost of this Poll? Rs.1000 Crores!
by Kalyanakumar on Mar 26, 2004 04:53 PM | Hide replies
Why not the Election Commission of India can implement the system by introducing Election Website to cast the Vote by Indian Citizens through it? Now we are living in electronic world and every one is using PC with internet access. Why not EC can do it?.
There no much higher cost. It is very cheaper.
All Citizens can cast their vote. Illiterate can be guided by an Operator nominated by Election Commission.
It is my suggestion.
Forward | Report abuse
1000crores for electing mostly hard core white/blue collar criminals
by Bhaskar on Mar 26, 2004 03:09 PM | Hide replies
While 99 out of 100 candidates hugely overspend on the election campaign why not a single candidate has been disqualified from contesting elcections? In India rules are framed only to be broken more prominently by the rule makers themselves!!
Forward | Report abuse
curbing the election expenses
by viswanath_a71 on Mar 26, 2004 03:05 PM | Hide replies
To the surprise note all over the world every body is talking of cost cutting. But in India Election expenses from term to term are increasing drastically. So A serious attempt has to be made to cut the expenses of conducting elections. In this regard my opinion is to utilize the Technology and develop an Election Conduting system that can be used repeatedly. Political leaders like Mr.Chandrababu naidu and Mr.S.M. Krishna who are heading the states which are very well developed in terms of technology has to come farward to put these efforts.
More over the Political scenario in India has changed. As we are going to get coailation governments only here after, so we never know when do we need to face the elections again. It may be after 1 year or 2 year. So a Low cost Election Conduting system has to be developed. An Investment for 1 time to buy the technology can be utilised repeatedly.
Where we save lot of Money which can be utilised for many development programs in India or it can be used atleast to repay the loan what we are taking from World Bank.
With the use of Technology the Process of Election condution will be come very easy.
A LOW COST AND VERY EFFECTIVE SOLUTION.
Forward | Report abuse
Total cost would be 10,000 crore
by Basu on Mar 26, 2004 02:42 PM |
For this election, Rs 10,000 crore will be spent.(Incuding govt. and candidates)
Permanent Identification card
by Srinath on Mar 26, 2004 12:25 PM |
Can the government not issue as permanent identity card to every adult citizen of the country which will have information like passport # , driving licence # , PAN # , etc..
bar code scannable , valid document at any place ??
also why can't the govt conduct elections in municipal schools ?? so no need to spend additional money on the polling stations !!
why should the government pay for the security of the ministers ??? if they have done something wrong only then will the ministers need to fear or else not !!
easily Rs 500 crores can be saved. can IIM graduates not come up with a solution to this problem to save costs for the nation ?
How much does an election cost?...Is midterm poll or fall of govts in between can be justified...and help in controlling pricerise???...VIBHA
How much does an election cost?
March 26, 2004 09:51 IST
A general election in India [ Images ] is a gigantic exercise, equivalent to conducting polls in Europe, the United States, Canada [ Images ] and Australia [ Images ] all at once. So claims a report from the National Commission on Electoral Reforms that reviewed laws, processes and reforms.
The Lok Sabha election next month will be enormous not just in size, but in cost as well. rediff.com explains just how costly.
How much does it cost the government to conduct a general election?
The interim budget that Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh [ Images ] presented in February put the cost to the exchequer of the parliamentary election next month at Rs 818 crore (Rs 8.18 billion). But if the huge expense of conducting a similar exercise in 1999 is anything to go by, it is likely to go up to as much as Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion or approximately $223 million).
How much did the 1999 Lok Sabha election cost?
Approximately Rs 880 crore (Rs 8.8 billion or about $196.4 million).
Has there been a significant increase in election expenditure over the years?
Yes. The government has come out with the official expenditure figures for Lok Sabha elections since 1967. In 1967, the exercise cost the exchequer only Rs 1.79 crore (Rs 17.9 million). This figure rose steadily to Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million) in 1971, Rs 23 crore (Rs 230 million) in 1977, Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million) in 1980, Rs 81 crore (Rs 810 million) in 1984 and Rs 154 crore (Rs 1.54 billion) in 1989.
The government's election expenses shot up enormously in the 1990s, to Rs 359 crore (Rs 3.59 billion) in 1991, Rs 597 crore (Rs 5.97 billion) in 1995, Rs 666 crore (Rs 6.66 billion) in 1998, and Rs 880 crore (Rs 8.80 billion) in 1999.
How does the government draw up a budget for the election?
The Election Commission prepares a budget, which is approved by the government. The Union finance ministry usually accepts the Commission's budgetary recommendations without much change. If elections are being held only for the Lok Sabha, the expenditure is borne entirely by the central government. But if elections are being held to a state legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the state government concerned.
What are the main heads of expenditure in an election?
The biggest costs are incurred on deployment of security personnel and polling staff, setting up polling stations (some 800,000 throughout the country for a general election), purchase of electronic voting machines, and issuance of photo identification cards.
Does the government's election budget include the money that political parties spend on their campaigns?
No. The election budget covers only the government's expenses on conducting the polls.
Political parties spend much more than what the government has earmarked for the actual conduct of the polls. The campaign expenditure of political parties has also been growing over the years. But no accurate figures of this spending are available.
Also Read: How do parties collect money?
Are there no legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend?
There are strict legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend on an election campaign. According to the Election Commission's rules, in bigger constituencies a candidate can spend up to Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million). In other constituencies, it varies between Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) and Rs 25 lakh.
Can supporters of a candidate or political parties spend additional money on their campaigns?
Supporters of a candidate can spend as much as they like to help out with a campaign. But they have to get the candidate's permission in writing to do so.
While parties are allowed to spend as much money on campaigns as they want, recent Supreme Court judgments have said that unless a political party can specifically account for the money thus spent, it will be added to the election expenses of the candidates concerned. The accountability thus imposed on candidates and parties has curtailed some of the more extravagant campaigning that used to be a feature of Indian elections.
How then do candidates routinely overspend on their campaigns? Are there any loopholes?
Yes. The most significant one lies in Explanation 1 to section 77(1) of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1951, under which amounts spent by persons other than the candidate and his agent are not added to his/her election expenses. This means a candidate can spend as much as he likes without violating the ceiling on poll expenses. All additional expenditure, when revealed, can be attributed to the party or friends of the candidate.
Do political parties and candidates have to prepare audited accounts of their campaign expenses?
Yes. Political parties as well as individual candidates are subject to a proper statutory audit of the monies spent by them. After the election process is complete, each candidate has to submit an audited statement of expenses, head-wise. The audit is enforced by the Election Commission which appoints a council of at least two auditors for, say, every 10 constituencies. Any violation or misreporting of expenses can result in disqualification of the candidate concerned.
Have there been any moves to curtail the rising election expenses?
A national commission that reviewed electoral laws in India three years ago said there should be a serious attempt to curb spending on elections. For this, it recommended changing the ground rules for campaigns, partly by encouraging the use of electronic and digital technology to campaign at state cost and, simultaneously, banning other overt, wasteful tamashas.
March 26, 2004 09:51 IST
A general election in India [ Images ] is a gigantic exercise, equivalent to conducting polls in Europe, the United States, Canada [ Images ] and Australia [ Images ] all at once. So claims a report from the National Commission on Electoral Reforms that reviewed laws, processes and reforms.
The Lok Sabha election next month will be enormous not just in size, but in cost as well. rediff.com explains just how costly.
How much does it cost the government to conduct a general election?
The interim budget that Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh [ Images ] presented in February put the cost to the exchequer of the parliamentary election next month at Rs 818 crore (Rs 8.18 billion). But if the huge expense of conducting a similar exercise in 1999 is anything to go by, it is likely to go up to as much as Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion or approximately $223 million).
How much did the 1999 Lok Sabha election cost?
Approximately Rs 880 crore (Rs 8.8 billion or about $196.4 million).
Has there been a significant increase in election expenditure over the years?
Yes. The government has come out with the official expenditure figures for Lok Sabha elections since 1967. In 1967, the exercise cost the exchequer only Rs 1.79 crore (Rs 17.9 million). This figure rose steadily to Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million) in 1971, Rs 23 crore (Rs 230 million) in 1977, Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million) in 1980, Rs 81 crore (Rs 810 million) in 1984 and Rs 154 crore (Rs 1.54 billion) in 1989.
The government's election expenses shot up enormously in the 1990s, to Rs 359 crore (Rs 3.59 billion) in 1991, Rs 597 crore (Rs 5.97 billion) in 1995, Rs 666 crore (Rs 6.66 billion) in 1998, and Rs 880 crore (Rs 8.80 billion) in 1999.
How does the government draw up a budget for the election?
The Election Commission prepares a budget, which is approved by the government. The Union finance ministry usually accepts the Commission's budgetary recommendations without much change. If elections are being held only for the Lok Sabha, the expenditure is borne entirely by the central government. But if elections are being held to a state legislature, the expenditure is borne entirely by the state government concerned.
What are the main heads of expenditure in an election?
The biggest costs are incurred on deployment of security personnel and polling staff, setting up polling stations (some 800,000 throughout the country for a general election), purchase of electronic voting machines, and issuance of photo identification cards.
Does the government's election budget include the money that political parties spend on their campaigns?
No. The election budget covers only the government's expenses on conducting the polls.
Political parties spend much more than what the government has earmarked for the actual conduct of the polls. The campaign expenditure of political parties has also been growing over the years. But no accurate figures of this spending are available.
Also Read: How do parties collect money?
Are there no legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend?
There are strict legal limits on the amount of money a candidate can spend on an election campaign. According to the Election Commission's rules, in bigger constituencies a candidate can spend up to Rs 25 lakh (Rs 2.5 million). In other constituencies, it varies between Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) and Rs 25 lakh.
Can supporters of a candidate or political parties spend additional money on their campaigns?
Supporters of a candidate can spend as much as they like to help out with a campaign. But they have to get the candidate's permission in writing to do so.
While parties are allowed to spend as much money on campaigns as they want, recent Supreme Court judgments have said that unless a political party can specifically account for the money thus spent, it will be added to the election expenses of the candidates concerned. The accountability thus imposed on candidates and parties has curtailed some of the more extravagant campaigning that used to be a feature of Indian elections.
How then do candidates routinely overspend on their campaigns? Are there any loopholes?
Yes. The most significant one lies in Explanation 1 to section 77(1) of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1951, under which amounts spent by persons other than the candidate and his agent are not added to his/her election expenses. This means a candidate can spend as much as he likes without violating the ceiling on poll expenses. All additional expenditure, when revealed, can be attributed to the party or friends of the candidate.
Do political parties and candidates have to prepare audited accounts of their campaign expenses?
Yes. Political parties as well as individual candidates are subject to a proper statutory audit of the monies spent by them. After the election process is complete, each candidate has to submit an audited statement of expenses, head-wise. The audit is enforced by the Election Commission which appoints a council of at least two auditors for, say, every 10 constituencies. Any violation or misreporting of expenses can result in disqualification of the candidate concerned.
Have there been any moves to curtail the rising election expenses?
A national commission that reviewed electoral laws in India three years ago said there should be a serious attempt to curb spending on elections. For this, it recommended changing the ground rules for campaigns, partly by encouraging the use of electronic and digital technology to campaign at state cost and, simultaneously, banning other overt, wasteful tamashas.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Cut motion on Finance Bill -12/4/2010
Login | Register News updated at 9:03 AM IST RSS
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Cut motion on Finance Bill
NEW DELHI, Apr 12, DHNS:
With 13 non-UPA and non-NDA parties coming together to bring a cut motion on finance bill in the Lok Sabha, the Congress re-invoked secularism to dissuade the leftists and other parties from what it called pursuing the BJP’s agenda to topple the Government.
The 13 parties, including Janata Dal (Secular), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and the leftists, on Monday decided to move a cut motion on budget proposals for hike in the excise and custom duties on petrol and diesel and reduction in fertiliser and food subsidies.
They also resolved to call for a nation-wide shutdown on April 27 next to protest against the UPA government’s failure to bring down the spiralling prices of essential commodities.
A cut motion by the 13 parties could put the UPA in trouble as the ruling coalition just has wafer-thin majority in the LS after it lost “outside support” of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad over the Women’s Reservation Bill. The BJP too is likely to move a cut motion after the budget session of the Parliament resumes on Thursday. The cut motion, if adopted, will mean end of the 11-month-old UPA-II government.
The Congress, however, put up a brave front and claimed that the ruling coalition enjoyed the support of enough MPs in the LS to counter any bid to topple the government.
But the party also sought to question the rationale of the leftists and other secular parties like the SP and RJD joining the anti-Congress agenda of the BJP. Highly-placed Congress sources said the party did not see much of a threat in the Third Front’s move.
Go to Top
Wednesday 28 April 2010
Cut motion on Finance Bill
NEW DELHI, Apr 12, DHNS:
With 13 non-UPA and non-NDA parties coming together to bring a cut motion on finance bill in the Lok Sabha, the Congress re-invoked secularism to dissuade the leftists and other parties from what it called pursuing the BJP’s agenda to topple the Government.
The 13 parties, including Janata Dal (Secular), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and the leftists, on Monday decided to move a cut motion on budget proposals for hike in the excise and custom duties on petrol and diesel and reduction in fertiliser and food subsidies.
They also resolved to call for a nation-wide shutdown on April 27 next to protest against the UPA government’s failure to bring down the spiralling prices of essential commodities.
A cut motion by the 13 parties could put the UPA in trouble as the ruling coalition just has wafer-thin majority in the LS after it lost “outside support” of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad over the Women’s Reservation Bill. The BJP too is likely to move a cut motion after the budget session of the Parliament resumes on Thursday. The cut motion, if adopted, will mean end of the 11-month-old UPA-II government.
The Congress, however, put up a brave front and claimed that the ruling coalition enjoyed the support of enough MPs in the LS to counter any bid to topple the government.
But the party also sought to question the rationale of the leftists and other secular parties like the SP and RJD joining the anti-Congress agenda of the BJP. Highly-placed Congress sources said the party did not see much of a threat in the Third Front’s move.
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SAARC leaders meet to project 'green and happy South Asia'
SAARC leaders meet to project 'green and happy South Asia'
2010-04-28
08:00:00
(good wishes for it to PM saheb...vibha)
Heads of eight South Asian countries, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will on Wednesday seek a joint initiative to tackle climate change threats and also boost trade and regional cooperation among SAARC nations that more often than not do not see eye to eye with each other on most issues.
As the 16th South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference gets under way in this serene and pollution-free capital city of Bhutan the summit's key theme 'Towards a Green and Happy South Asia' seems only apt.
Seeking a fresh approach to global climate talks the SAARC leaders will pitch for observer status to the bloc at the Mexico conference on global warming later this year. This will enable the eight South Asian nations - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan besides India - to expressive their concerns collectively and effectively, an Indian official told IANS.
The next global climate talks after Copenhagen in September last are likely to be held in Cancun in Mexico in December.
The Thimphu summit is also marks the silver jubilee celebration of SAARC that was formed in Bangladesh in December 1985 with the aim of eradicating poverty and improving the living standard of 1.5 billion people of the region through mutual cooperation.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna hoped that the dialogue on climate change would be carried in a 'meaningful manner' at the summit.
A pact on climate will help in exchanging practices and knowledge, capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technology in areas like coastal zone management, wildlife conservation and environmental impact assessment studies.
The eight nations are also expected to sign an agreement to promote trade cooperation among the member countries. The pact will enhance collaboration in services like health, hospitality, communications, information technology and air traffic and enable the realisation of the region's immense potential in these services.
Another highlight of the summit is the inauguration of the Permanent Secretariat of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) with initial capital of $ 300 million to support the socio-economic projects in the region.
Ahead of leaving for Thimpu, Manmohan Singh asked SAARC to see how it can play its rightful role in the changing world.
'The winds of change are blowing across the world. South Asia cannot be immune to the trend of greater integration, both at the regional and global levels,' he said.
2010-04-28
08:00:00
(good wishes for it to PM saheb...vibha)
Heads of eight South Asian countries, including Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will on Wednesday seek a joint initiative to tackle climate change threats and also boost trade and regional cooperation among SAARC nations that more often than not do not see eye to eye with each other on most issues.
As the 16th South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference gets under way in this serene and pollution-free capital city of Bhutan the summit's key theme 'Towards a Green and Happy South Asia' seems only apt.
Seeking a fresh approach to global climate talks the SAARC leaders will pitch for observer status to the bloc at the Mexico conference on global warming later this year. This will enable the eight South Asian nations - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan besides India - to expressive their concerns collectively and effectively, an Indian official told IANS.
The next global climate talks after Copenhagen in September last are likely to be held in Cancun in Mexico in December.
The Thimphu summit is also marks the silver jubilee celebration of SAARC that was formed in Bangladesh in December 1985 with the aim of eradicating poverty and improving the living standard of 1.5 billion people of the region through mutual cooperation.
Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna hoped that the dialogue on climate change would be carried in a 'meaningful manner' at the summit.
A pact on climate will help in exchanging practices and knowledge, capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technology in areas like coastal zone management, wildlife conservation and environmental impact assessment studies.
The eight nations are also expected to sign an agreement to promote trade cooperation among the member countries. The pact will enhance collaboration in services like health, hospitality, communications, information technology and air traffic and enable the realisation of the region's immense potential in these services.
Another highlight of the summit is the inauguration of the Permanent Secretariat of the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) with initial capital of $ 300 million to support the socio-economic projects in the region.
Ahead of leaving for Thimpu, Manmohan Singh asked SAARC to see how it can play its rightful role in the changing world.
'The winds of change are blowing across the world. South Asia cannot be immune to the trend of greater integration, both at the regional and global levels,' he said.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Why all these infra structural changes in India before commonwealth games.
Why all these infra structural changes in India
To give this page a good start, let me begin by being honest with you. First of all the changes are not really happening in all over India. The changes are mainly (90%) taking place only in New Delhi as far as we can see. In case you have not visited New Delhi in last one year, please do find some time out to read about the changes and the plans that they have in place for changing this city in your daily news papers.
The Municipal Council of Delhi had started a kind of move in which they has asked the residents to catch and hand over the stray cattle to the government for which each person will be paid Rs. 2000/-. This was quite a success, until they ran out of money to pay and places to store the cattle. Finally, things are back to square one because even after paying a huge amount for that particular move, the number of cattle did not reduce to even 1% from New Delhi roads.
Anyway, that was the funny part of the infra structural changes, but yes, this is another truth that the government is having big plans. What exactly happens is that this is not just about making money from that event but also its the matter of reputation for the country.
You can think of this event as Sports and Tourism combined. India has its advantages in the area of tourism, we have many places that people can visit, this will get our government more revenue. So it really makes perfect sense for the government and also for the tourist to have the best of their times when they are in India for the commonwealth games.
The money is being spent in millions, there are plans, there are master plans from changing airports to roads to buildings, etc. This is pretty much strange but yes at least this game has given a lot to the citizens of India, New Delhi in particular. They have got their Metro trains, they have got good roads, they are about to receive the international treatments on the airports. The stadium is being revamped (stadiums are also important), Bawana power plants is being constructed. Television is going to see introduction of new technologies with improved broadcasting facility.
There are various projects on which the work is being delayed as per the DDA. The DDA is slotted to spend Rs 1,028 crore for upgrading the existing as well as developing new games venue. Both government and private companies have joined their hands together to go ahead with the projects The basic plan is to convert New Delhi into a world class city. Please keep visiting this page in case you need the exact data. This site is working on producing the sum spent on the number of constructions/demolitions.
To give this page a good start, let me begin by being honest with you. First of all the changes are not really happening in all over India. The changes are mainly (90%) taking place only in New Delhi as far as we can see. In case you have not visited New Delhi in last one year, please do find some time out to read about the changes and the plans that they have in place for changing this city in your daily news papers.
The Municipal Council of Delhi had started a kind of move in which they has asked the residents to catch and hand over the stray cattle to the government for which each person will be paid Rs. 2000/-. This was quite a success, until they ran out of money to pay and places to store the cattle. Finally, things are back to square one because even after paying a huge amount for that particular move, the number of cattle did not reduce to even 1% from New Delhi roads.
Anyway, that was the funny part of the infra structural changes, but yes, this is another truth that the government is having big plans. What exactly happens is that this is not just about making money from that event but also its the matter of reputation for the country.
You can think of this event as Sports and Tourism combined. India has its advantages in the area of tourism, we have many places that people can visit, this will get our government more revenue. So it really makes perfect sense for the government and also for the tourist to have the best of their times when they are in India for the commonwealth games.
The money is being spent in millions, there are plans, there are master plans from changing airports to roads to buildings, etc. This is pretty much strange but yes at least this game has given a lot to the citizens of India, New Delhi in particular. They have got their Metro trains, they have got good roads, they are about to receive the international treatments on the airports. The stadium is being revamped (stadiums are also important), Bawana power plants is being constructed. Television is going to see introduction of new technologies with improved broadcasting facility.
There are various projects on which the work is being delayed as per the DDA. The DDA is slotted to spend Rs 1,028 crore for upgrading the existing as well as developing new games venue. Both government and private companies have joined their hands together to go ahead with the projects The basic plan is to convert New Delhi into a world class city. Please keep visiting this page in case you need the exact data. This site is working on producing the sum spent on the number of constructions/demolitions.
HOW DOES COMMONWEALTH GAMES AFFECT INDIA?
How does it affect India?
So, the question that is in our minds is that, how exactly it affects us and what's all this fuss about? Why is government spending so much money in all the commonwealth games event, and estimated Rs.37.50 billion ($805.81 million)?
The answer is, that apart from being just a matter of reputation for the country, it's matter of opportunity and business. Experts say that 2010 will be a year of business for tourism and sports and many other related industries. That will give India return for all it's investments in a very efficient way .
India has been holding many different games events in past:
* 1951 - 1st Asian Games, New Delhi, India
* 1982 - 9th Asian Games, New Delhi, India
That was the time when India was recognized well and appraised for its efforts.
As far as Indian performance in sports is concerned, we are all very much aware that the conditioning that our children have in schools and homes is anti-sports. There are different sayings in India to discourage a child from getting into sports. Whatever one has accomplished in India, be it a Sachin Tendulkar or a Sania Mirza, it was all in a very raw form and without any professional practice, conditioning and guidance. It's a matter of great debate. This even reflects truly that what we know is only about the Flyovers, metros, roads, hotels and business plans than we talk about the sports and the sports personalities. We hardly know about them.
But on the contrary, the performance in the year 2006 in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne has been splendid. India ranked fourth in the tally.
Lets see how it exactly turns out to be for India in 2010 but this is clear from the media, businesses and politicians that the main focus is on infrastructure. To rebuild everything as if everything is truly international experience. Eventually, we all know what is going to happen, the rise in prices for property, stuffs of general use (there was no mother dairy till the 1982 Asiad happened, they removed all the cows from houses and this concept was floated).
So, the question that is in our minds is that, how exactly it affects us and what's all this fuss about? Why is government spending so much money in all the commonwealth games event, and estimated Rs.37.50 billion ($805.81 million)?
The answer is, that apart from being just a matter of reputation for the country, it's matter of opportunity and business. Experts say that 2010 will be a year of business for tourism and sports and many other related industries. That will give India return for all it's investments in a very efficient way .
India has been holding many different games events in past:
* 1951 - 1st Asian Games, New Delhi, India
* 1982 - 9th Asian Games, New Delhi, India
That was the time when India was recognized well and appraised for its efforts.
As far as Indian performance in sports is concerned, we are all very much aware that the conditioning that our children have in schools and homes is anti-sports. There are different sayings in India to discourage a child from getting into sports. Whatever one has accomplished in India, be it a Sachin Tendulkar or a Sania Mirza, it was all in a very raw form and without any professional practice, conditioning and guidance. It's a matter of great debate. This even reflects truly that what we know is only about the Flyovers, metros, roads, hotels and business plans than we talk about the sports and the sports personalities. We hardly know about them.
But on the contrary, the performance in the year 2006 in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne has been splendid. India ranked fourth in the tally.
Lets see how it exactly turns out to be for India in 2010 but this is clear from the media, businesses and politicians that the main focus is on infrastructure. To rebuild everything as if everything is truly international experience. Eventually, we all know what is going to happen, the rise in prices for property, stuffs of general use (there was no mother dairy till the 1982 Asiad happened, they removed all the cows from houses and this concept was floated).
Home Here I am… CWG 2010: The Changing Face of Delhi!
"Moments make me happy; Moments make me cry, I live in these moments before they pass by!!
Home Here I am… CWG 2010: The Changing Face of Delhi!
July 16, 2009
by Vineeta
Parkinson’s Law says “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” A little twist from my side, I say “Work shrinks so as to fit the time left for its completion.” You agree? Ofcourse! And by this time you must be even nodding if you are a software engineer
Ok… I know you are now wondering! Why am I comparing my derivation of Parkinson’s law with CommonWealth Games 2010 (CWG)??? I say keep reading on
CWG is scheduled from 3rd October to 14th October 2010. Our country has won the opportunity to host this event by defeating Canada by 46 votes to 22 at the CGF General Assembly held in Montego Bay in November 2003. And since then, India is very busy making all arrangements for this esteemed event.
1) Funds have been allocated for 2,500 new DTC buses that will hit the roads before March next year. Also 15 new Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus depots would come up before 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).
In a scenario where the number of vehicles in Delhi was set to cross the 60 lakh mark, the move to encourage public transport would go a long way in easing congestion.
2) The city may soon get six new Delhi Metro corridors.
3) The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has advocated to the government a five year tax holiday for all hotels (including the five star hotels) to boost up their capacity expansion ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games
4) Government will now create cycle tracks within a 2 Km radius of all Commonwealth Games venues.
5) Delhi Metro has decided to procure 300 air-conditioned feeder buses in its effort to provide hassle-free and comfortable ride to spectators on their way to 2010 Games venues.
6) Power ministry has asked providers of cable TV, internet and telephone services to remove overhanging wires.
7) The FRI has been entrusted with the job by the Delhi government to make the city look beautiful during the games. India has already declared it will host the first ever green Commonwealth Games (CWG) in 2010.
A dedicated electricity grid is to be set up for 2010 commonwealth games by BSES, one of the two private power distribution firms in the national capital.
9) By 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi roads will get over 70 foot over bridges (FOB) for safe passage of pedestrians, the most vulnerable road users. If approved by the Delhi government, the next set of FOBs will have user-friendly features like lifts/escalators and ramps.
10) The public works department (PWD), the major road owning agency, has drawn up a map for micro-surfacing of all stretches which were laid or resurfaced barely two years ago. Roads which were resurfaced five or six years would be redeveloped using three technologies PWD sources said.
11) Ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Government has decided to start phasing out of Blueline (often called as blood lines by Delhites) buses from July onwards by replacing them with modern buses over a period of next five months.
12) Work on the much-awaited Heritage Circuit linking the three World Heritage Sites Red Fort, Humayun Tomb and the Qutub Minar, in the city has started as part of the efforts to showcase Delhi magnificent past during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
13) The Delhi government Thursday decided to construct a dedicated flyover, the longest in Delhi, to connect Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the Games Village located 5 km away.
And many more things..
Right now I can not compare our presentation of the games with other countries’ presentation but I can say with surety that this event will bring boom to tourism, aviation, hospitality industries and will create jobs for many local people in India.
But at the same time, I would say that we should not compromise the quality of work as we did in the Phase II of Metro and suffered. I just hope this was the first and last mistake which taught us that no work can be complete without its quality checks!!
However we are trying to squeeze the work to fit in the stipulated timeline and if we come out as winners, Delhi will resurface with a new fresh look and with booming industries which otherwise would have taken years together!!
Home Here I am… CWG 2010: The Changing Face of Delhi!
July 16, 2009
by Vineeta
Parkinson’s Law says “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” A little twist from my side, I say “Work shrinks so as to fit the time left for its completion.” You agree? Ofcourse! And by this time you must be even nodding if you are a software engineer
Ok… I know you are now wondering! Why am I comparing my derivation of Parkinson’s law with CommonWealth Games 2010 (CWG)??? I say keep reading on
CWG is scheduled from 3rd October to 14th October 2010. Our country has won the opportunity to host this event by defeating Canada by 46 votes to 22 at the CGF General Assembly held in Montego Bay in November 2003. And since then, India is very busy making all arrangements for this esteemed event.
1) Funds have been allocated for 2,500 new DTC buses that will hit the roads before March next year. Also 15 new Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus depots would come up before 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).
In a scenario where the number of vehicles in Delhi was set to cross the 60 lakh mark, the move to encourage public transport would go a long way in easing congestion.
2) The city may soon get six new Delhi Metro corridors.
3) The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has advocated to the government a five year tax holiday for all hotels (including the five star hotels) to boost up their capacity expansion ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games
4) Government will now create cycle tracks within a 2 Km radius of all Commonwealth Games venues.
5) Delhi Metro has decided to procure 300 air-conditioned feeder buses in its effort to provide hassle-free and comfortable ride to spectators on their way to 2010 Games venues.
6) Power ministry has asked providers of cable TV, internet and telephone services to remove overhanging wires.
7) The FRI has been entrusted with the job by the Delhi government to make the city look beautiful during the games. India has already declared it will host the first ever green Commonwealth Games (CWG) in 2010.
A dedicated electricity grid is to be set up for 2010 commonwealth games by BSES, one of the two private power distribution firms in the national capital.
9) By 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi roads will get over 70 foot over bridges (FOB) for safe passage of pedestrians, the most vulnerable road users. If approved by the Delhi government, the next set of FOBs will have user-friendly features like lifts/escalators and ramps.
10) The public works department (PWD), the major road owning agency, has drawn up a map for micro-surfacing of all stretches which were laid or resurfaced barely two years ago. Roads which were resurfaced five or six years would be redeveloped using three technologies PWD sources said.
11) Ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Delhi Government has decided to start phasing out of Blueline (often called as blood lines by Delhites) buses from July onwards by replacing them with modern buses over a period of next five months.
12) Work on the much-awaited Heritage Circuit linking the three World Heritage Sites Red Fort, Humayun Tomb and the Qutub Minar, in the city has started as part of the efforts to showcase Delhi magnificent past during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
13) The Delhi government Thursday decided to construct a dedicated flyover, the longest in Delhi, to connect Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and the Games Village located 5 km away.
And many more things..
Right now I can not compare our presentation of the games with other countries’ presentation but I can say with surety that this event will bring boom to tourism, aviation, hospitality industries and will create jobs for many local people in India.
But at the same time, I would say that we should not compromise the quality of work as we did in the Phase II of Metro and suffered. I just hope this was the first and last mistake which taught us that no work can be complete without its quality checks!!
However we are trying to squeeze the work to fit in the stipulated timeline and if we come out as winners, Delhi will resurface with a new fresh look and with booming industries which otherwise would have taken years together!!
From Worst to Near First-How India's most desperate state transformed itself to become a model for the rest of the country.-NEWSWEEK-22/FEB/2010
From Worst to Near First
How India's most desperate state transformed itself to become a model for the rest of the country.
By Jason Overdorf | NEWSWEEK
Published Feb 12, 2010
From the magazine issue dated Feb 22, 2010
For centuries, it seems, the northern Indian state of Bihar has been plunging downhill. Once the seat of one of the world's most glorious empires, the state was first devastated by colonial policies that enshrined feudal landlords, then shunned by a succession of Indian governments, and finally riven and destroyed when the seeds of caste and class conflict matured into a small-scale civil war in the 1970s. As the militias of upper-caste landlords clashed with revolutionary guerrillas fighting for the oppressed, and caste-based political agitations threw up a series of incompetent and allegedly corrupt governments, state services ground to a halt, highways disintegrated, bridges crumbled, and career criminals ascended from the back rooms of party offices to take seats in the state legislative assembly, and even the Indian Parliament itself. By the 1990s, brazen and deadly highway robberies put an end to traveling after nightfall, and as business activity plummeted, kidnapping for ransom was declared the state's only growth industry. The so-called Republic of Bihar—viewed as a criminal fiefdom beyond the purview of the government of India—was effectively a failed state. "Institutions had collapsed," says Nand Kishore Singh, a member of the upper house of Parliament. "Law and order had come to a grinding halt."
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This January, however, Bihar posted some stunning statistics that go a long way toward confirming that, since taking office in 2005, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has done the impossible. Despite the economic crisis and three years of droughts and floods, Bihar posted 11 percent average annual economic growth over Kumar's five years in office, making it the second-fastest-growing state in India, the second-hottest major economy in the world after China. In what were once impassable badlands, the administration laid 6,800 kilometers of roads, built 1,600 bridges and culverts, and cut journey time in half in many areas. Car sales eclipsed kidnappings, as crimes by roving bandits fell steadily from 1,297 to 640 and kidnappings for ransom dropped from 411 to 66 between 2004 and 2008. In a state that many Delhi residents once feared to visit—despite its allure as home to Bodh Gaya, the site where the Buddha attained his enlightenment—the number of foreign tourists shot up from 95,000 to 356,000 over the past two years.
These figures were so astounding that critics lost no time in belittling them. How could backward Bihar be growing nearly as rapidly as booming Gujarat, a longstanding leader in industries ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals? The economic growth in Bihar stems from state spending, not investment, many pointed out. All Indian states collect and report their own economic figures to the Central Statistical Organization, and Kumar must have cooked the books in Bihar, others alleged. Those charges are almost certainly wrong. There's a small margin for error. But large-scale reporting fraud is unlikely, and things have indeed changed dramatically in Bihar. "We never had a functioning state—neither before independence nor after independence," says economist Shaibal Gupta, who heads the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, the state capital. "Under Nitish Kumar, for the first time the state started functioning marginally. And with the improved functioning of the state, things have dramatically improved."
Kumar's nascent success represents more than just the light at the end of the tunnel for one failed state. It could be a guide for other states that are struggling with many of the same issues. Almost 20 years ago, after a visit to a site in Bihar where a guerrilla army of untouchables had slaughtered a village of landlords with harvesting sickles, the travel writer William Dalrymple bemoaned the collapse of Bihar. But he also suggested that the state was not so much backward, as India's newspapers often described it, as it was forward: a trendsetter for the rest of India that presaged ballot-rigging, caste-based social upheaval, and the criminalization of politics as national phenomena. This dismal view appeared to be correct, as India's vaunted democracy descended into simple caste-based gerrymandering, knee-jerk -"anti--incumbency" made mockery of the accountability that free elections are meant to enshrine, and an ever-increasing number of alleged gangsters made their way into the national legislature. "In the '80s and '90s, there was a wave of caste-related politics, where development didn't seem to matter," says Baijayant "Jay" Panda, a member of Parliament from Orissa, a state that has faced similar problems. "But I think that was a phase. We have matured as a democracy. Voters today are going beyond those concerns and looking at issues like good governance and development and electoral promises being kept."
Like his main rivals, Kumar, 58, is a career politician, who served three terms as a minister in the central government since the late 1980s. A teetotaler known for his simple lifestyle, he has a reputation for probity that propelled him to the helm of Bihar's government in 2005. Because he did not appear to have amassed any fortune or to have used his position to bring any family members into the usually lucrative business of politics, voters perceived him as outside the established patronage system. In a state that had been dominated by politicians catering to an alliance of the Muslim and middle-caste Yadav vote, Kumar set out to build a "coalition of extremes" that includes the high-priest and warrior castes and voters from among the erstwhile untouchables. Even as he did so, however, he sent voters a message that he was more committed to developing the state than protecting his caste fellows, and that he would end the 15 years of increasingly hostile class war under Lalu Prasad Yadav, a charismatic demagogue who as chief minister exploited lower-caste hatred for the state's unreformed feudal landlords. With a brio worthy of Falstaff, Yadav had enshrined his relatives and caste fellows in positions of power, and observers blamed him for his cronies' excesses. His brothers-in-law, Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav, for instance, have figured in police investigations of the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars in flood-relief funds and the alleged abduction and torture of an official of one of India's state-owned banks. Neither has been convicted of any crime. Lalu himself was accused of complicity in the embezzlement of millions of dollars in state funds intended for fodder, livestock, and farm equipment, for which he was in and out of jail several times before he was acquitted of amassing "disproportionate assets" for a man of his position in 2006.
Kumar changed the rules. He reversed Bihar's plunge into chaos by doing something that was highly unusual in the state—and indeed in all of India: he focused on competence over patronage. To improve delivery of government services, Kumar broke the long trend of overcentralizing state powers, and delegated more financial and administrative powers to officials in the field. He updated archaic rules that made civil engineers seek minister-level approval to spend absurdly low amounts of money. These moves eliminated the huge backlogs of simple matters piled up on senior officials' desks. He also reestablished the cabinet meeting as a weekly event, held every Tuesday, where in years past the cabinet sometimes did not meet for months.
Kumar then redefined the basic functions of institutions, essentially requiring offices to do the work they'd been assigned. He ended the widespread "transfer industry," which sold coveted bureaucratic posts to the highest bidders, and handpicked bureaucrats known for their competence. He ensured them that he would honor the set three-year tenure of postings rather than shuffling them around before they could deliver. One such official built 259 bridges and turned around a loss-making state-owned infrastructure firm during his three-year watch; as a reward, he's been charged with building the state's new roads and hospitals. To speedily fill thousands of vacancies in the police force that had left the state at the mercy of criminals, he tapped already trained personnel from among the state's ex-soldiers—who in India retire in their 40s. He publicly supported the police after they made high-profile arrests of criminals who had previously enjoyed political protection. Those jailed included not only a member of Parliament from the state's main rival political faction (who had dared the state police chief to arrest him on live television) but also an assemblyman from Kumar's own party who had made his own TV spectacle, threatening to have a group of reporters killed for filming his drunken altercation with the staff of a local hotel. Kumar managed to redress the state courts' abysmal conviction rate by instituting fast-track courts and working with the judiciary to focus on career criminals' most easily prosecuted offenses to ensure that they swiftly found themselves behind bars. The moves resulted in nearly 39,000 convictions between 2006 and 2009, compared with an average of less than 10,000 in previous decades. Those convicted included a dozen state legislators and members of Parliament like Mohammad Shahabuddin, Pappu Yadav, and Munna Shukla, all three of whom are now serving life sentences for crimes including kidnapping, intended murder, and murder.
Rebuilding the police and courts has reaped clear economic benefits. Now rickshaw drivers say they earn more money because people are traveling after 8 p.m. Shopkeepers say their take has increased because they no longer have to bribe the police or pay off local thugs. By retooling the bureaucracy in charge of implementing state projects, Kumar has been able to boost spending on government programs. Bihar's outlays on projects ranging from building roads to training new primary-school teachers rose from $320 million in 2001 to $3.5 billion last year, significantly outpacing the growth in central government funding for Bihar. "Earlier, the funds were not even reaching to the district level," says Manoj Rai, Delhi director of the Society for Participatory Research in Asia. "If you take the old quote that out of one rupee, only 15 paise reaches to the people, in Bihar, it was not even reaching to the district [administrators] from the state." Among other things, that increase meant more -teachers—more than 100,000 added in the primary schools since Kumar took office—and better oversight of doctors and staff working at rural health centers. Primary-care centers that used to see 30 patients a month now see 3,600—because people have a reasonable expectation that the doctors have shown up for work.
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Still, Bihar continues to rank dismally on every major social indicator, and there are few signs that the poorest of the poor have benefited much from the new economic growth. More than half of Bihar's 82 million people live below the poverty line, compared with about 40 percent for the rest of India; both the infant-mortality rate and -maternal-mortality rate are higher than the national average; and some 70 percent of the state's inhabited areas are not linked by motorable roads.
Bihar's course correction may well mark a watershed moment for India. At a time when coalition politics limits centralized control, the nation needs competent, accountable provincial governments to continue its emergence as a global power. There are similarly encouraging signs from other local and regional leaders. Delhi's Sheila Dikshit has staved off her opponents by successfully tackling pollution and improving city infrastructure; Gujarat's Narendra Modi has retained power by attracting investment and creating jobs, despite his alleged role in deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002; and Orissa's Naveen Patnaik has won an unprecedented third term in one of India's laggard states by improving law and order, stimulating industry, and cracking down on corruption. The common thread is that political leaders are realizing that anti-incumbency and gerry-man-der-ing aren't insurmountable: they can win reelection by delivering economic development and ousting the corrupt or incompetent from their parties' dockets.
Because of his state's longstanding reputation as a basket case, Kumar, perhaps more than any other, has shown that even India's darkest corners can make progress against crime, corruption, and caste- and creed-based demagoguery. In recent days, Kumar faced a rebellion from within his own party that may illustrate one of the costs of dismantling the patronage system. But if he can hold onto power in the state elections this fall, and perhaps even if he can't, the trendsetter state will confirm that India's democracy and its voters have reached a new stage of evolution.
"Whether he wins or loses, the signal has gone out very clearly," says PRIA's Rai. Kumar's predecessor, Lalu Yadav, "used to say development does not help you to win elections. Now the same man has started using development jargon." Whoever takes office next term will have to do it on the promise of electricity, roads, and jobs, and they'll be accountable for their promises now that Kumar has broken the perception that all politicians are the same and change is impossible. "Politically, Kumar has won," says Rai. "Electorally, he may lose. But that's not important." What's vital is that India's most backward state is now finally moving forward.
© 2010
How India's most desperate state transformed itself to become a model for the rest of the country.
By Jason Overdorf | NEWSWEEK
Published Feb 12, 2010
From the magazine issue dated Feb 22, 2010
For centuries, it seems, the northern Indian state of Bihar has been plunging downhill. Once the seat of one of the world's most glorious empires, the state was first devastated by colonial policies that enshrined feudal landlords, then shunned by a succession of Indian governments, and finally riven and destroyed when the seeds of caste and class conflict matured into a small-scale civil war in the 1970s. As the militias of upper-caste landlords clashed with revolutionary guerrillas fighting for the oppressed, and caste-based political agitations threw up a series of incompetent and allegedly corrupt governments, state services ground to a halt, highways disintegrated, bridges crumbled, and career criminals ascended from the back rooms of party offices to take seats in the state legislative assembly, and even the Indian Parliament itself. By the 1990s, brazen and deadly highway robberies put an end to traveling after nightfall, and as business activity plummeted, kidnapping for ransom was declared the state's only growth industry. The so-called Republic of Bihar—viewed as a criminal fiefdom beyond the purview of the government of India—was effectively a failed state. "Institutions had collapsed," says Nand Kishore Singh, a member of the upper house of Parliament. "Law and order had come to a grinding halt."
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This January, however, Bihar posted some stunning statistics that go a long way toward confirming that, since taking office in 2005, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has done the impossible. Despite the economic crisis and three years of droughts and floods, Bihar posted 11 percent average annual economic growth over Kumar's five years in office, making it the second-fastest-growing state in India, the second-hottest major economy in the world after China. In what were once impassable badlands, the administration laid 6,800 kilometers of roads, built 1,600 bridges and culverts, and cut journey time in half in many areas. Car sales eclipsed kidnappings, as crimes by roving bandits fell steadily from 1,297 to 640 and kidnappings for ransom dropped from 411 to 66 between 2004 and 2008. In a state that many Delhi residents once feared to visit—despite its allure as home to Bodh Gaya, the site where the Buddha attained his enlightenment—the number of foreign tourists shot up from 95,000 to 356,000 over the past two years.
These figures were so astounding that critics lost no time in belittling them. How could backward Bihar be growing nearly as rapidly as booming Gujarat, a longstanding leader in industries ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals? The economic growth in Bihar stems from state spending, not investment, many pointed out. All Indian states collect and report their own economic figures to the Central Statistical Organization, and Kumar must have cooked the books in Bihar, others alleged. Those charges are almost certainly wrong. There's a small margin for error. But large-scale reporting fraud is unlikely, and things have indeed changed dramatically in Bihar. "We never had a functioning state—neither before independence nor after independence," says economist Shaibal Gupta, who heads the Asian Development Research Institute in Patna, the state capital. "Under Nitish Kumar, for the first time the state started functioning marginally. And with the improved functioning of the state, things have dramatically improved."
Kumar's nascent success represents more than just the light at the end of the tunnel for one failed state. It could be a guide for other states that are struggling with many of the same issues. Almost 20 years ago, after a visit to a site in Bihar where a guerrilla army of untouchables had slaughtered a village of landlords with harvesting sickles, the travel writer William Dalrymple bemoaned the collapse of Bihar. But he also suggested that the state was not so much backward, as India's newspapers often described it, as it was forward: a trendsetter for the rest of India that presaged ballot-rigging, caste-based social upheaval, and the criminalization of politics as national phenomena. This dismal view appeared to be correct, as India's vaunted democracy descended into simple caste-based gerrymandering, knee-jerk -"anti--incumbency" made mockery of the accountability that free elections are meant to enshrine, and an ever-increasing number of alleged gangsters made their way into the national legislature. "In the '80s and '90s, there was a wave of caste-related politics, where development didn't seem to matter," says Baijayant "Jay" Panda, a member of Parliament from Orissa, a state that has faced similar problems. "But I think that was a phase. We have matured as a democracy. Voters today are going beyond those concerns and looking at issues like good governance and development and electoral promises being kept."
Like his main rivals, Kumar, 58, is a career politician, who served three terms as a minister in the central government since the late 1980s. A teetotaler known for his simple lifestyle, he has a reputation for probity that propelled him to the helm of Bihar's government in 2005. Because he did not appear to have amassed any fortune or to have used his position to bring any family members into the usually lucrative business of politics, voters perceived him as outside the established patronage system. In a state that had been dominated by politicians catering to an alliance of the Muslim and middle-caste Yadav vote, Kumar set out to build a "coalition of extremes" that includes the high-priest and warrior castes and voters from among the erstwhile untouchables. Even as he did so, however, he sent voters a message that he was more committed to developing the state than protecting his caste fellows, and that he would end the 15 years of increasingly hostile class war under Lalu Prasad Yadav, a charismatic demagogue who as chief minister exploited lower-caste hatred for the state's unreformed feudal landlords. With a brio worthy of Falstaff, Yadav had enshrined his relatives and caste fellows in positions of power, and observers blamed him for his cronies' excesses. His brothers-in-law, Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav, for instance, have figured in police investigations of the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars in flood-relief funds and the alleged abduction and torture of an official of one of India's state-owned banks. Neither has been convicted of any crime. Lalu himself was accused of complicity in the embezzlement of millions of dollars in state funds intended for fodder, livestock, and farm equipment, for which he was in and out of jail several times before he was acquitted of amassing "disproportionate assets" for a man of his position in 2006.
Kumar changed the rules. He reversed Bihar's plunge into chaos by doing something that was highly unusual in the state—and indeed in all of India: he focused on competence over patronage. To improve delivery of government services, Kumar broke the long trend of overcentralizing state powers, and delegated more financial and administrative powers to officials in the field. He updated archaic rules that made civil engineers seek minister-level approval to spend absurdly low amounts of money. These moves eliminated the huge backlogs of simple matters piled up on senior officials' desks. He also reestablished the cabinet meeting as a weekly event, held every Tuesday, where in years past the cabinet sometimes did not meet for months.
Kumar then redefined the basic functions of institutions, essentially requiring offices to do the work they'd been assigned. He ended the widespread "transfer industry," which sold coveted bureaucratic posts to the highest bidders, and handpicked bureaucrats known for their competence. He ensured them that he would honor the set three-year tenure of postings rather than shuffling them around before they could deliver. One such official built 259 bridges and turned around a loss-making state-owned infrastructure firm during his three-year watch; as a reward, he's been charged with building the state's new roads and hospitals. To speedily fill thousands of vacancies in the police force that had left the state at the mercy of criminals, he tapped already trained personnel from among the state's ex-soldiers—who in India retire in their 40s. He publicly supported the police after they made high-profile arrests of criminals who had previously enjoyed political protection. Those jailed included not only a member of Parliament from the state's main rival political faction (who had dared the state police chief to arrest him on live television) but also an assemblyman from Kumar's own party who had made his own TV spectacle, threatening to have a group of reporters killed for filming his drunken altercation with the staff of a local hotel. Kumar managed to redress the state courts' abysmal conviction rate by instituting fast-track courts and working with the judiciary to focus on career criminals' most easily prosecuted offenses to ensure that they swiftly found themselves behind bars. The moves resulted in nearly 39,000 convictions between 2006 and 2009, compared with an average of less than 10,000 in previous decades. Those convicted included a dozen state legislators and members of Parliament like Mohammad Shahabuddin, Pappu Yadav, and Munna Shukla, all three of whom are now serving life sentences for crimes including kidnapping, intended murder, and murder.
Rebuilding the police and courts has reaped clear economic benefits. Now rickshaw drivers say they earn more money because people are traveling after 8 p.m. Shopkeepers say their take has increased because they no longer have to bribe the police or pay off local thugs. By retooling the bureaucracy in charge of implementing state projects, Kumar has been able to boost spending on government programs. Bihar's outlays on projects ranging from building roads to training new primary-school teachers rose from $320 million in 2001 to $3.5 billion last year, significantly outpacing the growth in central government funding for Bihar. "Earlier, the funds were not even reaching to the district level," says Manoj Rai, Delhi director of the Society for Participatory Research in Asia. "If you take the old quote that out of one rupee, only 15 paise reaches to the people, in Bihar, it was not even reaching to the district [administrators] from the state." Among other things, that increase meant more -teachers—more than 100,000 added in the primary schools since Kumar took office—and better oversight of doctors and staff working at rural health centers. Primary-care centers that used to see 30 patients a month now see 3,600—because people have a reasonable expectation that the doctors have shown up for work.
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Still, Bihar continues to rank dismally on every major social indicator, and there are few signs that the poorest of the poor have benefited much from the new economic growth. More than half of Bihar's 82 million people live below the poverty line, compared with about 40 percent for the rest of India; both the infant-mortality rate and -maternal-mortality rate are higher than the national average; and some 70 percent of the state's inhabited areas are not linked by motorable roads.
Bihar's course correction may well mark a watershed moment for India. At a time when coalition politics limits centralized control, the nation needs competent, accountable provincial governments to continue its emergence as a global power. There are similarly encouraging signs from other local and regional leaders. Delhi's Sheila Dikshit has staved off her opponents by successfully tackling pollution and improving city infrastructure; Gujarat's Narendra Modi has retained power by attracting investment and creating jobs, despite his alleged role in deadly Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002; and Orissa's Naveen Patnaik has won an unprecedented third term in one of India's laggard states by improving law and order, stimulating industry, and cracking down on corruption. The common thread is that political leaders are realizing that anti-incumbency and gerry-man-der-ing aren't insurmountable: they can win reelection by delivering economic development and ousting the corrupt or incompetent from their parties' dockets.
Because of his state's longstanding reputation as a basket case, Kumar, perhaps more than any other, has shown that even India's darkest corners can make progress against crime, corruption, and caste- and creed-based demagoguery. In recent days, Kumar faced a rebellion from within his own party that may illustrate one of the costs of dismantling the patronage system. But if he can hold onto power in the state elections this fall, and perhaps even if he can't, the trendsetter state will confirm that India's democracy and its voters have reached a new stage of evolution.
"Whether he wins or loses, the signal has gone out very clearly," says PRIA's Rai. Kumar's predecessor, Lalu Yadav, "used to say development does not help you to win elections. Now the same man has started using development jargon." Whoever takes office next term will have to do it on the promise of electricity, roads, and jobs, and they'll be accountable for their promises now that Kumar has broken the perception that all politicians are the same and change is impossible. "Politically, Kumar has won," says Rai. "Electorally, he may lose. But that's not important." What's vital is that India's most backward state is now finally moving forward.
© 2010
Turnaround of India State Could Serve as a Model-NEWYORK TIMES-12/4/2010
Asia Pacific
Turnaround of India State Could Serve as a Model
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Students at a middle school on the outskirts of Patna in the Indian state of Bihar, in which school attendance has sharply increased.
By LYDIA POLGREEN
Published: April 10, 2010
PATNA, India — For decades the sprawling state of Bihar, flat and scorching as a griddle, was something between a punch line and a cautionary tale, the exact opposite of the high-tech, rapidly growing, rising global power India has sought to become.
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Criminals could count on the police for protection, not prosecution. Highwaymen ruled the shredded roads and kidnapping was one of the state’s most profitable businesses. Violence raged between Muslims and Hindus, between upper castes and lower castes. Its economy, peopled by impoverished subsistence farmers struggling through alternating floods and droughts, shriveled. Its government, led by politicians who used divisive identity politics to entrench their rule, was so corrupt that it required a newly coined phrase: the Jungle Raj.
The name captured everything that was wrong with the old India — a combustible mix of crime, corruption and caste politics in a state crucible that stifled economic growth.
So when Bihar announced earlier this year that it had notched an 11 percent average growth rate for the last five years, making it the second fastest-growing economy in the country, the news was greeted as a sign that even India’s most intractable corners of backwardness and misery were being transformed.
“If even Bihar can change, then anywhere in India can change,” said Shaibal Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute, an independent think tank here. “With good governance, good policy and law and order anything is possible.”
Bihar’s turnaround illustrates how a handful of seemingly small changes can yield big results in India’s most impoverished and badly governed regions. It also demonstrates how crucial the governments of India’s 28 states, many of which are larger than most countries, will be to India’s aspirations to superpower status. State governments are responsible for everything from schools to hospitals to policing to building and maintaining most roads. Failing states, especially large ones like Bihar and its troubled neighbor, Uttar Pradesh, could make or break those hopes.
“Real change in India will come when we get the right kind of state level and local leadership — a forward-looking, modern and compassionate leadership that strengthens the foundations of our great republic,” Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister, said in a speech to business leaders last November.
Bihar is a textbook case of how leadership determines development.
Lalu Prasad, a wily populist politician whose party peddles a message of lower caste empowerment, ran the state for 15 years from beneath a banyan tree. Under Mr. Prasad’s watch, criminal syndicates kidnapped, extorted and robbed with impunity, protected by political leaders, or in some cases led by politicians.
Mr. Prasad’s government did little to improve the daily lives of Biharis. Its already dismal roads disintegrated into impassable tracks. Its schools crumbled; teachers did not show up for work. Its health centers were left unstaffed. Bihar had some of the country’s sickest, poorest and shortest-lived people in India, a dismal catalog for a state that in its glory days, a few millennia ago, was home to one of South Asia’s most powerful empires and the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment.
Despite this record Mr. Prasad was re-elected once, and then when forced to step aside in a corruption scandal, he appointed his wife as his stand-in. She was also re-elected. But in 2005 the current chief minister, Nitish Kumar, himself from a lower caste, cobbled together an uneasy but successful alliance of the wealthy upper caste that Mr. Prasad had exiled from power and the very lowest of the Dalits, or untouchables. He promised to dismantle Mr. Prasad’s Jungle Raj.
“It was not a case of bad governance,” Mr. Kumar said in an interview. “Governance was completely absent from the state of Bihar.”
When Mr. Kumar took over, he found government offices filled with dusty files and Remington typewriters. It was as if most of the 20th century had passed Bihar by.
He tackled crime first. The order went down to the lowliest constable — the law was to be enforced, and criminals would be punished, no matter their political connections. Powerful men were arrested, many of them sitting members of Parliament and the state assembly. They were convicted quickly in fast-track courts. “That gave a clear signal that the law will prevail,” Mr. Kumar said.
Next came schools and hospitals. More than 2.5 million school-age children were not attending classes; by 2010 that number was reduced to fewer than 800,000. Clinics that had been seeing 30 patients a month because they had no medicine or doctors were staffed up and restocked. By 2006, the patient load had increased tenfold.
He loosened bureaucratic rules to move important infrastructure projects along more quickly. Before, projects costing little more than $50,000 required cabinet-level approval, and piled up on the desks of senior officials as the fiscal year ticked away. Mr. Kumar raised that limit to $4.4 million, and billions of dollars in infrastructure have been built.
This progress, and its limitations, is clearly on display in the villages of rural Bihar. Reaching the village of Pawna from the district capital, Ara, once took more than two hours, but today it is a 30-minute drive. Solar lights illuminate narrow lanes. The street market that used to shut promptly at sundown because of bandits now bustles late into the evening. The village has a new police station, more schools and new water pumps.
But Gulab Chand Ram, a landless Dalit farmer in Pawna, said the government had done little to tackle the problems of the very poorest, those with nowhere to go on the new roads and nothing to steal.
“It is paper talk,” he said of the reforms. “We farmers still lack land, we lack water.”
The first layer of reforms have produced spectacular results, but more complex problems like changing feudal land laws to give land to people like Mr. Ram will be much trickier, analysts said. And Bihar’s growth, of course, is relative, and given its dismal state until recently, the smallest gains have outsized impact. Almost no private investment has come into Bihar despite the improvements.
Gangotri Iron and Steel, a company manufacturing rebar to fuel the state’s construction boom, recently opened a plant in the town of Bihta on the outskirts of Patna. Umesh Sangarayam, the plant’s operations manager, said that while the law and order situation had improved, the absence of reliable electricity and the unpredictability of the state’s politics may be scaring investors away.
“If the wrong people come into power in Bihar, you could be finished,” he said.
Indeed, it is a testament to the enduring power of caste in India’s politics that Mr. Kumar, despite his achievements, will face a tough election battle later this year. His main opponent is likely to be Mr. Prasad, who dismisses Mr. Kumar’s success. “He cheated the people of Bihar,” he said, flanked by a phalanx of advisers who vigorously nodded at his every word and attended by a manservant whose only job appeared to be flicking mosquitoes away with a white towel. “I am committed to the poor people, the depressed people, the lower-caste people.”
It is a message that cannot be discounted, Mr. Gupta said. “Identity politics is strong,” he said. “We hope that voters will choose development over caste. But in Bihar one never knows.”
Turnaround of India State Could Serve as a Model
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Students at a middle school on the outskirts of Patna in the Indian state of Bihar, in which school attendance has sharply increased.
By LYDIA POLGREEN
Published: April 10, 2010
PATNA, India — For decades the sprawling state of Bihar, flat and scorching as a griddle, was something between a punch line and a cautionary tale, the exact opposite of the high-tech, rapidly growing, rising global power India has sought to become.
Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times
Criminals could count on the police for protection, not prosecution. Highwaymen ruled the shredded roads and kidnapping was one of the state’s most profitable businesses. Violence raged between Muslims and Hindus, between upper castes and lower castes. Its economy, peopled by impoverished subsistence farmers struggling through alternating floods and droughts, shriveled. Its government, led by politicians who used divisive identity politics to entrench their rule, was so corrupt that it required a newly coined phrase: the Jungle Raj.
The name captured everything that was wrong with the old India — a combustible mix of crime, corruption and caste politics in a state crucible that stifled economic growth.
So when Bihar announced earlier this year that it had notched an 11 percent average growth rate for the last five years, making it the second fastest-growing economy in the country, the news was greeted as a sign that even India’s most intractable corners of backwardness and misery were being transformed.
“If even Bihar can change, then anywhere in India can change,” said Shaibal Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute, an independent think tank here. “With good governance, good policy and law and order anything is possible.”
Bihar’s turnaround illustrates how a handful of seemingly small changes can yield big results in India’s most impoverished and badly governed regions. It also demonstrates how crucial the governments of India’s 28 states, many of which are larger than most countries, will be to India’s aspirations to superpower status. State governments are responsible for everything from schools to hospitals to policing to building and maintaining most roads. Failing states, especially large ones like Bihar and its troubled neighbor, Uttar Pradesh, could make or break those hopes.
“Real change in India will come when we get the right kind of state level and local leadership — a forward-looking, modern and compassionate leadership that strengthens the foundations of our great republic,” Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister, said in a speech to business leaders last November.
Bihar is a textbook case of how leadership determines development.
Lalu Prasad, a wily populist politician whose party peddles a message of lower caste empowerment, ran the state for 15 years from beneath a banyan tree. Under Mr. Prasad’s watch, criminal syndicates kidnapped, extorted and robbed with impunity, protected by political leaders, or in some cases led by politicians.
Mr. Prasad’s government did little to improve the daily lives of Biharis. Its already dismal roads disintegrated into impassable tracks. Its schools crumbled; teachers did not show up for work. Its health centers were left unstaffed. Bihar had some of the country’s sickest, poorest and shortest-lived people in India, a dismal catalog for a state that in its glory days, a few millennia ago, was home to one of South Asia’s most powerful empires and the place where the Buddha reached enlightenment.
Despite this record Mr. Prasad was re-elected once, and then when forced to step aside in a corruption scandal, he appointed his wife as his stand-in. She was also re-elected. But in 2005 the current chief minister, Nitish Kumar, himself from a lower caste, cobbled together an uneasy but successful alliance of the wealthy upper caste that Mr. Prasad had exiled from power and the very lowest of the Dalits, or untouchables. He promised to dismantle Mr. Prasad’s Jungle Raj.
“It was not a case of bad governance,” Mr. Kumar said in an interview. “Governance was completely absent from the state of Bihar.”
When Mr. Kumar took over, he found government offices filled with dusty files and Remington typewriters. It was as if most of the 20th century had passed Bihar by.
He tackled crime first. The order went down to the lowliest constable — the law was to be enforced, and criminals would be punished, no matter their political connections. Powerful men were arrested, many of them sitting members of Parliament and the state assembly. They were convicted quickly in fast-track courts. “That gave a clear signal that the law will prevail,” Mr. Kumar said.
Next came schools and hospitals. More than 2.5 million school-age children were not attending classes; by 2010 that number was reduced to fewer than 800,000. Clinics that had been seeing 30 patients a month because they had no medicine or doctors were staffed up and restocked. By 2006, the patient load had increased tenfold.
He loosened bureaucratic rules to move important infrastructure projects along more quickly. Before, projects costing little more than $50,000 required cabinet-level approval, and piled up on the desks of senior officials as the fiscal year ticked away. Mr. Kumar raised that limit to $4.4 million, and billions of dollars in infrastructure have been built.
This progress, and its limitations, is clearly on display in the villages of rural Bihar. Reaching the village of Pawna from the district capital, Ara, once took more than two hours, but today it is a 30-minute drive. Solar lights illuminate narrow lanes. The street market that used to shut promptly at sundown because of bandits now bustles late into the evening. The village has a new police station, more schools and new water pumps.
But Gulab Chand Ram, a landless Dalit farmer in Pawna, said the government had done little to tackle the problems of the very poorest, those with nowhere to go on the new roads and nothing to steal.
“It is paper talk,” he said of the reforms. “We farmers still lack land, we lack water.”
The first layer of reforms have produced spectacular results, but more complex problems like changing feudal land laws to give land to people like Mr. Ram will be much trickier, analysts said. And Bihar’s growth, of course, is relative, and given its dismal state until recently, the smallest gains have outsized impact. Almost no private investment has come into Bihar despite the improvements.
Gangotri Iron and Steel, a company manufacturing rebar to fuel the state’s construction boom, recently opened a plant in the town of Bihta on the outskirts of Patna. Umesh Sangarayam, the plant’s operations manager, said that while the law and order situation had improved, the absence of reliable electricity and the unpredictability of the state’s politics may be scaring investors away.
“If the wrong people come into power in Bihar, you could be finished,” he said.
Indeed, it is a testament to the enduring power of caste in India’s politics that Mr. Kumar, despite his achievements, will face a tough election battle later this year. His main opponent is likely to be Mr. Prasad, who dismisses Mr. Kumar’s success. “He cheated the people of Bihar,” he said, flanked by a phalanx of advisers who vigorously nodded at his every word and attended by a manservant whose only job appeared to be flicking mosquitoes away with a white towel. “I am committed to the poor people, the depressed people, the lower-caste people.”
It is a message that cannot be discounted, Mr. Gupta said. “Identity politics is strong,” he said. “We hope that voters will choose development over caste. But in Bihar one never knows.”
लाल सलाम के काले सच
लाल सलाम के काले सच/ALOK TOMAR
( MEIN INKE BATON SE KAFI HAAD TAK SAHMAT HOON, YE LOG VESTED INTEREST RAKHNE WALON KE HATHON KE KHILOONA BANN CHUKE HEIN, JINHE DHAN AUR SATTA CHAHIYE,...CHAHE VE MAOVADI NETA HON YA STHANIYE NETA....YEHI VAJAH HAI KI LATE SHRI KANU SANYAL, FOUNDER MEMBER OF NAXAL MOVEMENT IN INDIA, NE AANTIM DENON MEIN DIYE AAPNE SAKSHTKARON MEIN MAOVADIYON KE HINSATMAK KARVAIYON KI KILAFAT KI THI....NIYAMIT ROOP SE SCHOOL, COLLEGE, PANCHYAAT BHAVAN,HOSPITAL,RAILWAY TRACKS,HEALTH CENTRE,TRAINING CENTRES UDAANEIN...NIRDHOSH LOGON KI HATYAIEN KARNE....INSE SABIT HOTA HAI KI VEH GARIB/SHOSHITON KE HEET NAHIN CHAHTEIN HEIN BALKI SIRF AAPNI PRABHUTA BANAYE RAKHNE CHAHTE HEIN....AGAR GAREEB -'AAMIR YA SAMARTH' HO JAYEGA TO 'INKA SAWAYM KA MAHATVA KHATM HO JAYEGA',...(HALANKI SACCHA INSAAN AGAR INSAANIYAT KE LIYE LADTA HAI TOOOO AAPNE NEK KAMON SE KAHIN BHI MAHATVA BANA SAKTA HAI, SHAYAD INKO ISSKA BHAN NAHIN HAI).......SOCHNE KI BAAT HAI!!!
....ISLIYE INKI AAPRADHIK MANOVIGYAN KO SAMAJH KER,BAGAIR ISS NAXALVAD KI SAMASYA KO ROMANTICISE KERE,PUREEE SAMSYA(NAXALVAD) KE TAH TAK SAMAJH KER SANTULIT TARIKE SE NEETIYAN BANAYI JANI CHAHIYE TAKI YEH LOG VYAKUL HOKAR DANTEWADA JAISI VARDAT PHIR NA KAREN, AUR SAMASYA DILUTE HUE BAGAIR SULAJHNE KI DEESHA MEIN BADHE.CHUNKI AAM AADIWASIYON KO ISSE SE ZYADA MATLAB NAHIN HAI KI KISNE ISS AANDOLON PER KABJA KER LIYA HAI...UNHE SAMADHAN CHAHIYE...DO WAQT KI ROTI AUR ROJMAREE KA SHANTIPURNA JEEVAN!!!
...YEHI VAJAH HAI KI CHATTISGARH MEIN SALWAJUDUM AANDOLAN SHURU KARNEWALE AADIWASI NETA...SHRI MAHENDRA KARME AUR JHARKHAAND KE AADIWASION KE MASIHA- GURUJI SHRI SHIBU SOREN SATTA TAK PAHOONCH KER BAHUT LOKPRIYE NAHIN RAHE....QUONKI UNHONE IINKE BAJAYE AAPNE LIYE ZYADA SOCHNA SHURU KER DIYA....HALANKI YEH BHI KATU SATYA HAI KI JABTAK AAP KUCH KERNE KI STHITI MEIN NA HON, KISSI KI BAHUT AADHIK MADAD NAHIN KER SAKTE...SIWAYE VYACHARIK BADLAO, VA JANJAGRAN, JAN-AVCHETAN KO JHAKJHORANEIN KE!!!)
माओवादी हत्यारों के मक्कार मित्रों के चालाक तर्कों या कुतर्कों का जवाब नहीं। उनका कहना है कि ये भारत के लोकतंत्र और व्यवस्था के खिलाफ देश के वंचित आदिवासियों की लड़ाई है। सारे आदिवासी वंचित नहीं हैं जैसे सारे नागरी और सवर्ण कहे जाने वाले अन्याय से मुक्त नहीं है। फिर भी कुतर्क ही सही, उनकी बात सुनन...े में क्या हर्ज है? सुनना इसलिए भी जरूरी है क्योंकि अप्रैल 1967 में बंगाल के सिर्फ एक जिले दार्जिलिंग से नक्सलबाड़ी थाना इलाके में एक आंदोलन शुरू हुआ था और आज उसी से प्रेरणा पा कर चल रहा माओवादी आंदोलन देश के 23 राज्यों, 250 जिलों और 2000 पुलिस थानों के क्षेत्र में फैल गया है।
कुल 92 हजार वर्ग किलोमीटर यानी भारत के भूगोल का 40 प्रतिशत माओवादी आतंक के कब्जे में हैं जिनके बीस हजार हथियारबंद लोग हैं और पचास हजार सहयोगी है। इस बीच में पुलिस का बजट केंद्र और राज्यों में छह सौ गुना बढ़ गया है और हम माओवाद से मुकाबला नहीं कर पा रहे हैं। इसका एक तर्क यह है कि 1947 से 2004 के बीच विकास के नाम पर लगभग ढाई करोड़ आदिवासियों को बेदखल किया गया और उनमें से 72 प्रतिशत को अब भी पुनर्वास नहीं मिला है।
जाहिर है कि अन्याय हुआ है। लेकिन अगर इसी अन्याय के प्रतिरोध और प्रतिशोध में यह आदिवासी माओवादी बन गए होते तो उनकी संख्या कम से कम एक करोड़ होनी चाहिए थी। विस्थापन सिर्फ छत्तीसगढ़, झारखंड और बंगाल में नहीं हुआ है, पंजाब और हरियाणा में भी हुआ है और वहां के ग्रामीण और आदिवासी माओवादी क्यों नहीं बन गए? दरअसल आदिवासियों ने हमेशा अपने साथ हो रहे अन्याय का प्रतिरोध किया है और सिंधू कानु, विरसा मुंडा और टीटूमीर जैसे उदाहरण हमारे सामने है। मगर ये सब अपने संस्कारों और विचारों के साथ लड़ रहे थे। उन्हें किसी मार्क्स, लेनिन या माओ ने अपने अधिकारो के लिए लड़ना नहीं सिखाया था। तथाकथित सोवियत और चीनी क्रांति से बहुत पहले भारत में अंग्रेज सरकार के खिलाफ विद्रोह हो चुका था और इसके लिए भी किसी आयातित विचार का सहारा नहीं लिया गया था।
माओवादी और उनके मित्र बार बार बखान करते हैं कि यह गरीब आदिवासियों की लड़ाई है और सभ्य समाज को इसमें उनका साथ देना चाहिए। दूसरे शब्दों में माओवाद एक असभ्य समाज की लड़ाई है। यह पूरी की पूरी आदिवासी संस्कृति के अपमान की सुविधापूर्ण साजिश है। लेकिन जवाहर लाल नेहरू विश्वविद्यालय से ले कर अन्य वैचारिक गुफाओं में बैठे चिंतक इस पर गौर नहीं करते। वे इस बात पर भी गौर नहीं करते कि माओवादियों के नेता रेड्डी, बनर्जी और मजूमदार किस्म के लोग हैं लेकिन आज तक जितने भी माओवादी मारे गए हैं उनमें से इन नामों के लोग बहुत खोजने पर भी नहीं मिलते। उन्होंने मरने के लिए आदिवासियों को खरीद लिया है।
एक दिक्कत समाज की यह है कि आदिवासियों के बारे में यह माना जाने लगा है कि वे खुद अपना प्रतिनिधित्व नहीं कर सकते। इसीलिए माओवादी मसीहा उनके लिए फरिश्ता बन कर आए हैं। जवाब में कहा जाता है कि आखिर माओवादियों का प्रतिनिधित्व करने के लिए छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने भी सल्वा जुडूम नाम का संगठन खड़ा किया था जो आदिवासियों का प्रतिनिधित्व कर रहा है। सल्वा जुडूम रमन सिंह ने नहीं बनाया। इसकी परिकल्पना छत्तीसगढ़़ में आदिवासियों के एक अच्छे खासे लोकप्रिय नेता महेंद्र कर्मा ने की थी। यह बात अलग है कि पिछली विधानसभा मंे प्रतिपक्ष के नेता रहे महेंद्र कर्मा को इस विधानसभा चुनाव में उनके आदिवासी मतदाताओं ने ही हरा दिया लेकिन इससे यह स्थापना गलत नहीं हो जाती कि सल्वा जुडूम एक आदिवासी आंदोलन का विचार था।
अब आदिवासियों को उस मास मीडिया का सहारा है जो इंटरनेट और ब्लॉग पर मानवाधिकार के नाम पर लाशों के चेहरे और पुलिस तथा व्यवस्था के दमन की कहानियां कहते रहते हैं और फिर अचानक कोई अरुंधती राय या कोई विनायक सेन प्रकट हो जाते हैं जो इसे वर्ग संघर्ष कहते हैं। आदिवासी आदिवासियों को मार रहे हैं। यह कौन सा वर्ग संघर्ष हैं? दंतेवाड़ा में जो 76 सीआरपीएफ जवान मारे गए वे भी गरीब घरों के लड़के थे और उनके साथ यह किस किस्म का वर्ग संघर्ष चल रहा है? किसके लिए चल रह है और इसका नतीजा क्या होने वाला है? हमें तो यह भी नहीं मालूम कि जो आदिवासी माओवादी दलम में आगे चल कर बंदूक चला रहे हैं उनकी पीठ पर कोई और बंदूक तो नहीं टिकी हुई है?
हमारे माओवादी विचारक मित्रों का मानना है कि जो उनके साथ नहीं हैं, वह उनके खिलाफ है। वे बार बार पर्चे बांटते हैं कि आप लोगों को सरकार ने न राशन दिया, न अस्पताल दिए, न स्कूल दिए और न नौकरियंा दी। हम आपको ये सब दे रहे हैं। कैसे दे रहे हैं यह सब जानते हैं। मनरेगा के हजारों करोड़ रुपए सरपंचों को धमका कर ये माओवादी वसूल करते हैं और उनमें से दस बीस लाख रुपए में चिकित्सा शिविर, राशन और शिक्षा पर खर्च कर देते हैं। शिक्षा में भी यह नहीं सिखाया जाता कि हमारा राष्ट्रगान क्या है और हमारे राष्ट्र ध्वज में कितने रंग हैं?
सिखाया यह जाता है कि माओवादी देश का झंडा लाल है और इसका एक ही नारा है और वो है लाल सलाम। माओवादी भारत की सरकार के खिलाफ घोषित तौर पर युद्व लड़ रहें हैं और भारत के संविधान की धारा 121 के अनुसार भारत के शत्रु है। उनके और सरकार के बीच सिर्फ गोली का रिश्ता रह गया हैं।
ऐसे में हम अपने गृह मंत्री पी चिदंबरम का क्या करें जो अब भी माओवाद को कानून और व्यवस्था का मसला मानते हैं और कहते हैं कि माओवाद से निपटने की असली जिम्मेदारी राज्य सरकार की है। दिग्विजय सिंह जब उन्हें कानून व्यवस्था और आतंकवाद के बीच का फर्क समझाना चाहते हैं तो वे सुनने को राजी नहीं और दिग्विजय सिंह जब अखबार में लिख कर यही बात कहते हैं तो उन्हें सोनिया गांधी और पता नहीं किस किस के सामने सफाई देनी पड़ती है।
झारखंड में जंगल महल से शुरू हुआ माओवादी आंदोलन माओवादी कम्युनिस्ट सेंटर- एमसीसी और मार्क्सवादी लेनिनवादी पार्टी के पीपुल्स वॉर ग्रुप से जन्मा है। इन आदिवासियों के लिए माओवादी भी उतने ही बाहर के लोग हैं जितने अबूझमाड़ के जंगलांे में रहने वाले और अपनी परंपराओं के कवच में जीवित आदिवासियों के लिए बाहर के लोग और सरकारी अधिकारी है। सच यह है कि माओवादियों का आदिवासियों और वनवासियों में जितना असर हैं उससे कम संघ परिवार के बनवासी और आदिवासी कल्याण का नहीं है। जाहिर है कि आदिवासी अपने प्रतिरोध की लड़ाई खुद लड़ रहे थे और माओवादियों ने आ कर उस पर कब्जा जमा लिया।
अच्छा है कि माओवादी यह मान कर चल रहे हैं कि सारे आदिवासी उनके साथ है। जबकि असल में ऐसा हैं नहीं। आदिवासियों के बड़े वर्ग को इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि व्यवस्था कौन सी हैं और इस व्यवस्था के बदल जाने से उन्हंे क्या फर्क पड़ेगा? आदिवासियों के साथ हमारे समाज ने भी कम अन्याय नहीं किया हैं लेकिन माओवादियों को इससे कोई अधिकार नहीं मिल जाता कि वे एक समानांतर शोषणतंत्र खड़ा करे। दुनिया के सबसे बड़े लोकतंत्र के ताकत सामने खड़े इन माओवादियों का इंतजार मौत कर रही है और चिदंबरम जैसे लोगों को अब भी समझ जाना चाहिए कि यह सिर्फ कानून व्यवस्था का मामला नहीं है।
( MEIN INKE BATON SE KAFI HAAD TAK SAHMAT HOON, YE LOG VESTED INTEREST RAKHNE WALON KE HATHON KE KHILOONA BANN CHUKE HEIN, JINHE DHAN AUR SATTA CHAHIYE,...CHAHE VE MAOVADI NETA HON YA STHANIYE NETA....YEHI VAJAH HAI KI LATE SHRI KANU SANYAL, FOUNDER MEMBER OF NAXAL MOVEMENT IN INDIA, NE AANTIM DENON MEIN DIYE AAPNE SAKSHTKARON MEIN MAOVADIYON KE HINSATMAK KARVAIYON KI KILAFAT KI THI....NIYAMIT ROOP SE SCHOOL, COLLEGE, PANCHYAAT BHAVAN,HOSPITAL,RAILWAY TRACKS,HEALTH CENTRE,TRAINING CENTRES UDAANEIN...NIRDHOSH LOGON KI HATYAIEN KARNE....INSE SABIT HOTA HAI KI VEH GARIB/SHOSHITON KE HEET NAHIN CHAHTEIN HEIN BALKI SIRF AAPNI PRABHUTA BANAYE RAKHNE CHAHTE HEIN....AGAR GAREEB -'AAMIR YA SAMARTH' HO JAYEGA TO 'INKA SAWAYM KA MAHATVA KHATM HO JAYEGA',...(HALANKI SACCHA INSAAN AGAR INSAANIYAT KE LIYE LADTA HAI TOOOO AAPNE NEK KAMON SE KAHIN BHI MAHATVA BANA SAKTA HAI, SHAYAD INKO ISSKA BHAN NAHIN HAI).......SOCHNE KI BAAT HAI!!!
....ISLIYE INKI AAPRADHIK MANOVIGYAN KO SAMAJH KER,BAGAIR ISS NAXALVAD KI SAMASYA KO ROMANTICISE KERE,PUREEE SAMSYA(NAXALVAD) KE TAH TAK SAMAJH KER SANTULIT TARIKE SE NEETIYAN BANAYI JANI CHAHIYE TAKI YEH LOG VYAKUL HOKAR DANTEWADA JAISI VARDAT PHIR NA KAREN, AUR SAMASYA DILUTE HUE BAGAIR SULAJHNE KI DEESHA MEIN BADHE.CHUNKI AAM AADIWASIYON KO ISSE SE ZYADA MATLAB NAHIN HAI KI KISNE ISS AANDOLON PER KABJA KER LIYA HAI...UNHE SAMADHAN CHAHIYE...DO WAQT KI ROTI AUR ROJMAREE KA SHANTIPURNA JEEVAN!!!
...YEHI VAJAH HAI KI CHATTISGARH MEIN SALWAJUDUM AANDOLAN SHURU KARNEWALE AADIWASI NETA...SHRI MAHENDRA KARME AUR JHARKHAAND KE AADIWASION KE MASIHA- GURUJI SHRI SHIBU SOREN SATTA TAK PAHOONCH KER BAHUT LOKPRIYE NAHIN RAHE....QUONKI UNHONE IINKE BAJAYE AAPNE LIYE ZYADA SOCHNA SHURU KER DIYA....HALANKI YEH BHI KATU SATYA HAI KI JABTAK AAP KUCH KERNE KI STHITI MEIN NA HON, KISSI KI BAHUT AADHIK MADAD NAHIN KER SAKTE...SIWAYE VYACHARIK BADLAO, VA JANJAGRAN, JAN-AVCHETAN KO JHAKJHORANEIN KE!!!)
माओवादी हत्यारों के मक्कार मित्रों के चालाक तर्कों या कुतर्कों का जवाब नहीं। उनका कहना है कि ये भारत के लोकतंत्र और व्यवस्था के खिलाफ देश के वंचित आदिवासियों की लड़ाई है। सारे आदिवासी वंचित नहीं हैं जैसे सारे नागरी और सवर्ण कहे जाने वाले अन्याय से मुक्त नहीं है। फिर भी कुतर्क ही सही, उनकी बात सुनन...े में क्या हर्ज है? सुनना इसलिए भी जरूरी है क्योंकि अप्रैल 1967 में बंगाल के सिर्फ एक जिले दार्जिलिंग से नक्सलबाड़ी थाना इलाके में एक आंदोलन शुरू हुआ था और आज उसी से प्रेरणा पा कर चल रहा माओवादी आंदोलन देश के 23 राज्यों, 250 जिलों और 2000 पुलिस थानों के क्षेत्र में फैल गया है।
कुल 92 हजार वर्ग किलोमीटर यानी भारत के भूगोल का 40 प्रतिशत माओवादी आतंक के कब्जे में हैं जिनके बीस हजार हथियारबंद लोग हैं और पचास हजार सहयोगी है। इस बीच में पुलिस का बजट केंद्र और राज्यों में छह सौ गुना बढ़ गया है और हम माओवाद से मुकाबला नहीं कर पा रहे हैं। इसका एक तर्क यह है कि 1947 से 2004 के बीच विकास के नाम पर लगभग ढाई करोड़ आदिवासियों को बेदखल किया गया और उनमें से 72 प्रतिशत को अब भी पुनर्वास नहीं मिला है।
जाहिर है कि अन्याय हुआ है। लेकिन अगर इसी अन्याय के प्रतिरोध और प्रतिशोध में यह आदिवासी माओवादी बन गए होते तो उनकी संख्या कम से कम एक करोड़ होनी चाहिए थी। विस्थापन सिर्फ छत्तीसगढ़, झारखंड और बंगाल में नहीं हुआ है, पंजाब और हरियाणा में भी हुआ है और वहां के ग्रामीण और आदिवासी माओवादी क्यों नहीं बन गए? दरअसल आदिवासियों ने हमेशा अपने साथ हो रहे अन्याय का प्रतिरोध किया है और सिंधू कानु, विरसा मुंडा और टीटूमीर जैसे उदाहरण हमारे सामने है। मगर ये सब अपने संस्कारों और विचारों के साथ लड़ रहे थे। उन्हें किसी मार्क्स, लेनिन या माओ ने अपने अधिकारो के लिए लड़ना नहीं सिखाया था। तथाकथित सोवियत और चीनी क्रांति से बहुत पहले भारत में अंग्रेज सरकार के खिलाफ विद्रोह हो चुका था और इसके लिए भी किसी आयातित विचार का सहारा नहीं लिया गया था।
माओवादी और उनके मित्र बार बार बखान करते हैं कि यह गरीब आदिवासियों की लड़ाई है और सभ्य समाज को इसमें उनका साथ देना चाहिए। दूसरे शब्दों में माओवाद एक असभ्य समाज की लड़ाई है। यह पूरी की पूरी आदिवासी संस्कृति के अपमान की सुविधापूर्ण साजिश है। लेकिन जवाहर लाल नेहरू विश्वविद्यालय से ले कर अन्य वैचारिक गुफाओं में बैठे चिंतक इस पर गौर नहीं करते। वे इस बात पर भी गौर नहीं करते कि माओवादियों के नेता रेड्डी, बनर्जी और मजूमदार किस्म के लोग हैं लेकिन आज तक जितने भी माओवादी मारे गए हैं उनमें से इन नामों के लोग बहुत खोजने पर भी नहीं मिलते। उन्होंने मरने के लिए आदिवासियों को खरीद लिया है।
एक दिक्कत समाज की यह है कि आदिवासियों के बारे में यह माना जाने लगा है कि वे खुद अपना प्रतिनिधित्व नहीं कर सकते। इसीलिए माओवादी मसीहा उनके लिए फरिश्ता बन कर आए हैं। जवाब में कहा जाता है कि आखिर माओवादियों का प्रतिनिधित्व करने के लिए छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने भी सल्वा जुडूम नाम का संगठन खड़ा किया था जो आदिवासियों का प्रतिनिधित्व कर रहा है। सल्वा जुडूम रमन सिंह ने नहीं बनाया। इसकी परिकल्पना छत्तीसगढ़़ में आदिवासियों के एक अच्छे खासे लोकप्रिय नेता महेंद्र कर्मा ने की थी। यह बात अलग है कि पिछली विधानसभा मंे प्रतिपक्ष के नेता रहे महेंद्र कर्मा को इस विधानसभा चुनाव में उनके आदिवासी मतदाताओं ने ही हरा दिया लेकिन इससे यह स्थापना गलत नहीं हो जाती कि सल्वा जुडूम एक आदिवासी आंदोलन का विचार था।
अब आदिवासियों को उस मास मीडिया का सहारा है जो इंटरनेट और ब्लॉग पर मानवाधिकार के नाम पर लाशों के चेहरे और पुलिस तथा व्यवस्था के दमन की कहानियां कहते रहते हैं और फिर अचानक कोई अरुंधती राय या कोई विनायक सेन प्रकट हो जाते हैं जो इसे वर्ग संघर्ष कहते हैं। आदिवासी आदिवासियों को मार रहे हैं। यह कौन सा वर्ग संघर्ष हैं? दंतेवाड़ा में जो 76 सीआरपीएफ जवान मारे गए वे भी गरीब घरों के लड़के थे और उनके साथ यह किस किस्म का वर्ग संघर्ष चल रहा है? किसके लिए चल रह है और इसका नतीजा क्या होने वाला है? हमें तो यह भी नहीं मालूम कि जो आदिवासी माओवादी दलम में आगे चल कर बंदूक चला रहे हैं उनकी पीठ पर कोई और बंदूक तो नहीं टिकी हुई है?
हमारे माओवादी विचारक मित्रों का मानना है कि जो उनके साथ नहीं हैं, वह उनके खिलाफ है। वे बार बार पर्चे बांटते हैं कि आप लोगों को सरकार ने न राशन दिया, न अस्पताल दिए, न स्कूल दिए और न नौकरियंा दी। हम आपको ये सब दे रहे हैं। कैसे दे रहे हैं यह सब जानते हैं। मनरेगा के हजारों करोड़ रुपए सरपंचों को धमका कर ये माओवादी वसूल करते हैं और उनमें से दस बीस लाख रुपए में चिकित्सा शिविर, राशन और शिक्षा पर खर्च कर देते हैं। शिक्षा में भी यह नहीं सिखाया जाता कि हमारा राष्ट्रगान क्या है और हमारे राष्ट्र ध्वज में कितने रंग हैं?
सिखाया यह जाता है कि माओवादी देश का झंडा लाल है और इसका एक ही नारा है और वो है लाल सलाम। माओवादी भारत की सरकार के खिलाफ घोषित तौर पर युद्व लड़ रहें हैं और भारत के संविधान की धारा 121 के अनुसार भारत के शत्रु है। उनके और सरकार के बीच सिर्फ गोली का रिश्ता रह गया हैं।
ऐसे में हम अपने गृह मंत्री पी चिदंबरम का क्या करें जो अब भी माओवाद को कानून और व्यवस्था का मसला मानते हैं और कहते हैं कि माओवाद से निपटने की असली जिम्मेदारी राज्य सरकार की है। दिग्विजय सिंह जब उन्हें कानून व्यवस्था और आतंकवाद के बीच का फर्क समझाना चाहते हैं तो वे सुनने को राजी नहीं और दिग्विजय सिंह जब अखबार में लिख कर यही बात कहते हैं तो उन्हें सोनिया गांधी और पता नहीं किस किस के सामने सफाई देनी पड़ती है।
झारखंड में जंगल महल से शुरू हुआ माओवादी आंदोलन माओवादी कम्युनिस्ट सेंटर- एमसीसी और मार्क्सवादी लेनिनवादी पार्टी के पीपुल्स वॉर ग्रुप से जन्मा है। इन आदिवासियों के लिए माओवादी भी उतने ही बाहर के लोग हैं जितने अबूझमाड़ के जंगलांे में रहने वाले और अपनी परंपराओं के कवच में जीवित आदिवासियों के लिए बाहर के लोग और सरकारी अधिकारी है। सच यह है कि माओवादियों का आदिवासियों और वनवासियों में जितना असर हैं उससे कम संघ परिवार के बनवासी और आदिवासी कल्याण का नहीं है। जाहिर है कि आदिवासी अपने प्रतिरोध की लड़ाई खुद लड़ रहे थे और माओवादियों ने आ कर उस पर कब्जा जमा लिया।
अच्छा है कि माओवादी यह मान कर चल रहे हैं कि सारे आदिवासी उनके साथ है। जबकि असल में ऐसा हैं नहीं। आदिवासियों के बड़े वर्ग को इससे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि व्यवस्था कौन सी हैं और इस व्यवस्था के बदल जाने से उन्हंे क्या फर्क पड़ेगा? आदिवासियों के साथ हमारे समाज ने भी कम अन्याय नहीं किया हैं लेकिन माओवादियों को इससे कोई अधिकार नहीं मिल जाता कि वे एक समानांतर शोषणतंत्र खड़ा करे। दुनिया के सबसे बड़े लोकतंत्र के ताकत सामने खड़े इन माओवादियों का इंतजार मौत कर रही है और चिदंबरम जैसे लोगों को अब भी समझ जाना चाहिए कि यह सिर्फ कानून व्यवस्था का मामला नहीं है।
Hockey, Basketball & Cricket Scholarships at Worcester--scholars will follow a three/four year degree course in UK...(CAN'T IT BE IN INDIA???-VIBHA)
Home | Academic Institutes | Institute of Sport and Exercise Science | Sports Scholarships
Worcester Cricket Scholarships
'The scholarship was definitely my stepping-stone onto the Worcestershire first team. It has allowed me to continue my studies and to train with the team.'
Daryl Mitchell, Sports Scholar
Hockey, Basketball & Cricket Scholarships at Worcester
If you have an outstanding record of achievement in a particular sport and want to combine this talent with study at a university with a proven reputation, then you may be eligible for a sports scholarship at Worcester.
Our sports scholarships/bursaries represent a very special partnership with three of the region’s top sports teams, Worcestershire County Cricket Club (WCCC), Worcester Hockey Club and Worcester Wolves Basketball Club.
The scholarship is a tremendous opportunity for someone with skill and dedication. We are looking for an able intellect combined with relevant sports potential and ambition to succeed on and off the field. An excellent track record in your sport at youth level is vital and we are also keen to see evidence of your drive and determination.
For all awards, scholars will follow a three/four year degree course and are required to take an active part in Worcester’s Students’ Union teams for British University competitions. It is also hoped that selection for representative teams will occur.
Each scholarship will normally be available for three years, although each is reviewed annually. Be aware that scholarships are the subject of Annual Performance Reviews and University participation records.
The Institute of Sport and Exercise Science has an appointed mentor who supports identified athletes on the Talented Athlete Sport Scholarships initiative.
An opportunity exists each year for a Sports Studies student to apply for the sports scholarship to spend up to a semester with a partner college in Australia and undertake work experience.
Rugby Scholarships are currently being developed with Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. Please contact The Institute on 01905 855569 for information.
Active Sports Coaching Scholarships
These are offered to six to eight students per year. This allows students to gain a number of coaching qualifications free in return for a placement period with a local club.
The application for a place on a course MUST be made in the normal way through UCAS.
Typical benefits include
For All Sports:
*
The offer of a place on the Undergraduate Modular Degree Scheme, any postgraduate study (subject to normal entry conditions) or HND scheme
*
A place in University of Worcester accommodation, subject to early application
*
Physiological monitoring by Sports Studies staff (if required)
For Hockey:
The University of Worcester have now established a partnership with the Worcester Hockey Club who have a range of competitive teams for men and women including representative sides in the Midlands Premier Division.
If you believe that you can play at this level and would like to combine study and play whilst a student at the University of Worcester – apply now for a Hockey Scholarship that would include the following benefits:
*
Worcester Hockey Club membership fees paid
*
Financial support for playing and travel costs
*
Free gym membership
*
Sports Science support
*
Pastoral support when getting a balance between ‘study and play’
For Cricket:
*
Professional winter coaching and practice with Worcestershire CCC’s playing staff
*
Participation in Worcestershire CCC’s pre-season training and practice
*
Placement with a Birmingham league club
*
A paid summer playing contract for the County during the season
For Basketball:
*
Sports Science support
*
Free gym membership
*
Free playing registration
*
Full playing/training schedule
*
No clashes with study
*
Opportunity to play for Worcester Wolves
*
Free access to officiating and coaching awards
*
Financial support
Contact for Enquiries
Cricket Scholarship – Joan Grundy at WCCC Tel: 01905 337958
Basketball Scholarship – Michelle Morgan Tel: 01905 542251 email: m.morgan@worc.ac.uk
Hockey and Rugby Scholarships – Craig Williams Tel: 01905 855569 email: c.williams@worc.ac.uk
* Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
* Homepage
* Staff Directory
* Staff Profiles
* Course List
* Sport and Recreation
* International Links
* Specialist Research Centres
* Brazil-UK Football Development Course
* Curso de Especialização em Futebol – Brasil/Reino Unido
* International Physical Education Survey
* Sports Scholarships
* Partners
* Contact Us
Vice Captain of the Worcestershire County Cricket Club talks about his scholarship at the University of Worcester
Worcester Cricket Scholarships
'The scholarship was definitely my stepping-stone onto the Worcestershire first team. It has allowed me to continue my studies and to train with the team.'
Daryl Mitchell, Sports Scholar
Hockey, Basketball & Cricket Scholarships at Worcester
If you have an outstanding record of achievement in a particular sport and want to combine this talent with study at a university with a proven reputation, then you may be eligible for a sports scholarship at Worcester.
Our sports scholarships/bursaries represent a very special partnership with three of the region’s top sports teams, Worcestershire County Cricket Club (WCCC), Worcester Hockey Club and Worcester Wolves Basketball Club.
The scholarship is a tremendous opportunity for someone with skill and dedication. We are looking for an able intellect combined with relevant sports potential and ambition to succeed on and off the field. An excellent track record in your sport at youth level is vital and we are also keen to see evidence of your drive and determination.
For all awards, scholars will follow a three/four year degree course and are required to take an active part in Worcester’s Students’ Union teams for British University competitions. It is also hoped that selection for representative teams will occur.
Each scholarship will normally be available for three years, although each is reviewed annually. Be aware that scholarships are the subject of Annual Performance Reviews and University participation records.
The Institute of Sport and Exercise Science has an appointed mentor who supports identified athletes on the Talented Athlete Sport Scholarships initiative.
An opportunity exists each year for a Sports Studies student to apply for the sports scholarship to spend up to a semester with a partner college in Australia and undertake work experience.
Rugby Scholarships are currently being developed with Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. Please contact The Institute on 01905 855569 for information.
Active Sports Coaching Scholarships
These are offered to six to eight students per year. This allows students to gain a number of coaching qualifications free in return for a placement period with a local club.
The application for a place on a course MUST be made in the normal way through UCAS.
Typical benefits include
For All Sports:
*
The offer of a place on the Undergraduate Modular Degree Scheme, any postgraduate study (subject to normal entry conditions) or HND scheme
*
A place in University of Worcester accommodation, subject to early application
*
Physiological monitoring by Sports Studies staff (if required)
For Hockey:
The University of Worcester have now established a partnership with the Worcester Hockey Club who have a range of competitive teams for men and women including representative sides in the Midlands Premier Division.
If you believe that you can play at this level and would like to combine study and play whilst a student at the University of Worcester – apply now for a Hockey Scholarship that would include the following benefits:
*
Worcester Hockey Club membership fees paid
*
Financial support for playing and travel costs
*
Free gym membership
*
Sports Science support
*
Pastoral support when getting a balance between ‘study and play’
For Cricket:
*
Professional winter coaching and practice with Worcestershire CCC’s playing staff
*
Participation in Worcestershire CCC’s pre-season training and practice
*
Placement with a Birmingham league club
*
A paid summer playing contract for the County during the season
For Basketball:
*
Sports Science support
*
Free gym membership
*
Free playing registration
*
Full playing/training schedule
*
No clashes with study
*
Opportunity to play for Worcester Wolves
*
Free access to officiating and coaching awards
*
Financial support
Contact for Enquiries
Cricket Scholarship – Joan Grundy at WCCC Tel: 01905 337958
Basketball Scholarship – Michelle Morgan Tel: 01905 542251 email: m.morgan@worc.ac.uk
Hockey and Rugby Scholarships – Craig Williams Tel: 01905 855569 email: c.williams@worc.ac.uk
* Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
* Homepage
* Staff Directory
* Staff Profiles
* Course List
* Sport and Recreation
* International Links
* Specialist Research Centres
* Brazil-UK Football Development Course
* Curso de Especialização em Futebol – Brasil/Reino Unido
* International Physical Education Survey
* Sports Scholarships
* Partners
* Contact Us
Vice Captain of the Worcestershire County Cricket Club talks about his scholarship at the University of Worcester
Kashmir pact was just a signature away-24/4/2010
Kashmir pact was just a signature away
Ranjan Roy, TNN, Apr 24, 2010, 01.44am IST
(IT WAS WITHHELD JUST BECOZ OF A LINE OR A WORD WRONGLY DRAFTED IN THAT ACCORD, AS MUCH I REMEMBER. I HOPE, THOUGH AGRA SUMMIT FAILED BUT NOW BHARAT-PAKISTAN MUST SOLVE KASHMIR PROBLEM, AS NOW PEOPLE OF BOTH COUNTRIES ARE NOT THAT HOSTILE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND IT IS A NEED OF TIME TO CREATE A HISTORY....WITH UPDATED VERSION AS NOW WE ALL DEMAND 26/11 PROBE TO COME TO CONCLUSIVE END POSITIVELY ALSO...SO THAT NO NEW KASAB DARE TO THINK OF REPEATING 26/11 IN INDIA OR ANYWHERE ELSE INCLUDING IN PAKISTAN, AS TERRORISM IS A VERY GRIM PROBLEM ALL OVER WORLD AND OUR COUNTRY SUFFERED ALOT BECOZ OF IT,SPECIALLY J&K. PREMIERE OF BOTH COUNTRIES ARE MEETING MOST PROBABLY IN SAARC SUMMIT(IF OUR PM SAHEB IS NOT SKIPPING IT DUE TO CUT MOTION IN PARLIAMRENT ON 27/4/2010...ON FINANCE BILL...AS EVEN PRICE RISE IS A GRIM PROBLEM HERE FROM WHICH PUBLIC OF OUR COUNTRY NEED IMMIEDIATE RELIEF)...WELL,MY HEARTY WISH THAT THEY TAKE STEPS FURTHER AS IT IS A RIGHT TIME TO DO THAT,AND OVERCOME STAGNATION ON THIS ISSUE.)
# (Jul 16, 2001 -16 July 2001. THE AGRA SUMMIT- Following an invitation from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf visited Agra on 15 and 16 July 2001. The Agra Summit deserved its own glossary. There is so much misunderstanding about the content and context of a summit meeting that, in yet another effort to be of service to the nation, or nations, Asian Age offers a glossary of useful terms, applicable to the Agra Summit, in non-alphabetical order. )
LAHORE: For most people, Kashmir is an intractable problem dividing India and Pakistan. What they don’t know is that the two countries have actually an accord on Kashmir ready and had almost unveiled it in 2007.
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who was Pervez Musharraf’s foreign minister from 2002 to 2007, on Friday told The Times of India of this hush-hush deal that was cobbled together through secret parleys held in India, Pakistan and several foreign capitals for more than three years and could have resolved the sub-continent’s thorniest security and political dispute, had not the anti-Musharraf upsurge triggered by the sacking of the chief justice convulsed Pakistan.
Kasuri said he has never spoken of this track-II success earlier, other than saying that he knew of a possible way to resolve the Kashmir problem that was acceptable to both countries.
Kasuri said in an exclusive interview that negotiators from Islamabad and New Delhi had quietly toiled away for three years, talking to each other and Kashmiri representatives from the Indian side as well as Kashmiris settled overseas to reach what he described as the "only possible solution to the Kashmir issue".
He said the two sides had agreed to full demilitarisation of both Jammu & Kashmir as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which Islamabad refers to as Azad Kashmir. In addition, a package of loose autonomy that stopped short of the ‘azadi’ and self-governance aspirations, had been agreed on and was to be introduced on both sides of the disputed frontier. "We agreed on a point between complete independence and autonomy," he said.
Kasuri said that both countries, realizing the sensitivity of such a deal, had agreed not to declare victory or tom-tom the negotiations. He said that hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Gilani was the only Kashmiri leader who refused to come on board. "He would accept nothing but merger with Pakistan, which ironically is something we too wanted but knew wasn’t practical. I once had a seven-to-eight hour meeting with him and even Musharraf met him but he refused to budge," Kasuri said. He refused to give details of the stance other moderate Kashmiri leaders adopted.
Kasuri said almost all the actors on the Kashmiri stage were on board the accord that was to be signed during a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Islamabad that was scheduled for February-March 2007 but never happened.
"I advised the president that inviting the PM at that time would not have been possible. And that we should wait for a more peaceful moment to announce the plan otherwise all the hard work of three years by the two sides would be wasted," he said, referring to the time when Musharraf was under siege by a country-wide lawyers’ campaign that had transformed itself into an anti-dictator movement. He said that since the Opposition was on a roll against Musharraf at that time, any peace plan would have been rejected by them as a "sell-out to India".
Kasuri — who is from one of the country’s pre-eminent political families and whose father drafted Pakistan’s constitution — refused to give details of other aspects of the solution or name Indian officials involved in the deal, saying that since he felt it was the only way Kashmir could be resolved, it could be starting point of next round of talks. He said the reason PM Gilani had appointed Riyaz Mohammed Khan, the foreign secretary under Kasuri, as the track-II special negotiator was because he was one of the key architects of the secret Kashmir pact.
Ranjan Roy, TNN, Apr 24, 2010, 01.44am IST
(IT WAS WITHHELD JUST BECOZ OF A LINE OR A WORD WRONGLY DRAFTED IN THAT ACCORD, AS MUCH I REMEMBER. I HOPE, THOUGH AGRA SUMMIT FAILED BUT NOW BHARAT-PAKISTAN MUST SOLVE KASHMIR PROBLEM, AS NOW PEOPLE OF BOTH COUNTRIES ARE NOT THAT HOSTILE AGAINST EACH OTHER AND IT IS A NEED OF TIME TO CREATE A HISTORY....WITH UPDATED VERSION AS NOW WE ALL DEMAND 26/11 PROBE TO COME TO CONCLUSIVE END POSITIVELY ALSO...SO THAT NO NEW KASAB DARE TO THINK OF REPEATING 26/11 IN INDIA OR ANYWHERE ELSE INCLUDING IN PAKISTAN, AS TERRORISM IS A VERY GRIM PROBLEM ALL OVER WORLD AND OUR COUNTRY SUFFERED ALOT BECOZ OF IT,SPECIALLY J&K. PREMIERE OF BOTH COUNTRIES ARE MEETING MOST PROBABLY IN SAARC SUMMIT(IF OUR PM SAHEB IS NOT SKIPPING IT DUE TO CUT MOTION IN PARLIAMRENT ON 27/4/2010...ON FINANCE BILL...AS EVEN PRICE RISE IS A GRIM PROBLEM HERE FROM WHICH PUBLIC OF OUR COUNTRY NEED IMMIEDIATE RELIEF)...WELL,MY HEARTY WISH THAT THEY TAKE STEPS FURTHER AS IT IS A RIGHT TIME TO DO THAT,AND OVERCOME STAGNATION ON THIS ISSUE.)
# (Jul 16, 2001 -16 July 2001. THE AGRA SUMMIT- Following an invitation from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf visited Agra on 15 and 16 July 2001. The Agra Summit deserved its own glossary. There is so much misunderstanding about the content and context of a summit meeting that, in yet another effort to be of service to the nation, or nations, Asian Age offers a glossary of useful terms, applicable to the Agra Summit, in non-alphabetical order. )
LAHORE: For most people, Kashmir is an intractable problem dividing India and Pakistan. What they don’t know is that the two countries have actually an accord on Kashmir ready and had almost unveiled it in 2007.
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, who was Pervez Musharraf’s foreign minister from 2002 to 2007, on Friday told The Times of India of this hush-hush deal that was cobbled together through secret parleys held in India, Pakistan and several foreign capitals for more than three years and could have resolved the sub-continent’s thorniest security and political dispute, had not the anti-Musharraf upsurge triggered by the sacking of the chief justice convulsed Pakistan.
Kasuri said he has never spoken of this track-II success earlier, other than saying that he knew of a possible way to resolve the Kashmir problem that was acceptable to both countries.
Kasuri said in an exclusive interview that negotiators from Islamabad and New Delhi had quietly toiled away for three years, talking to each other and Kashmiri representatives from the Indian side as well as Kashmiris settled overseas to reach what he described as the "only possible solution to the Kashmir issue".
He said the two sides had agreed to full demilitarisation of both Jammu & Kashmir as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which Islamabad refers to as Azad Kashmir. In addition, a package of loose autonomy that stopped short of the ‘azadi’ and self-governance aspirations, had been agreed on and was to be introduced on both sides of the disputed frontier. "We agreed on a point between complete independence and autonomy," he said.
Kasuri said that both countries, realizing the sensitivity of such a deal, had agreed not to declare victory or tom-tom the negotiations. He said that hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Gilani was the only Kashmiri leader who refused to come on board. "He would accept nothing but merger with Pakistan, which ironically is something we too wanted but knew wasn’t practical. I once had a seven-to-eight hour meeting with him and even Musharraf met him but he refused to budge," Kasuri said. He refused to give details of the stance other moderate Kashmiri leaders adopted.
Kasuri said almost all the actors on the Kashmiri stage were on board the accord that was to be signed during a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Islamabad that was scheduled for February-March 2007 but never happened.
"I advised the president that inviting the PM at that time would not have been possible. And that we should wait for a more peaceful moment to announce the plan otherwise all the hard work of three years by the two sides would be wasted," he said, referring to the time when Musharraf was under siege by a country-wide lawyers’ campaign that had transformed itself into an anti-dictator movement. He said that since the Opposition was on a roll against Musharraf at that time, any peace plan would have been rejected by them as a "sell-out to India".
Kasuri — who is from one of the country’s pre-eminent political families and whose father drafted Pakistan’s constitution — refused to give details of other aspects of the solution or name Indian officials involved in the deal, saying that since he felt it was the only way Kashmir could be resolved, it could be starting point of next round of talks. He said the reason PM Gilani had appointed Riyaz Mohammed Khan, the foreign secretary under Kasuri, as the track-II special negotiator was because he was one of the key architects of the secret Kashmir pact.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Gujarat introduces 'improvised' module for sex education-24/4/2010
Gujarat introduces 'improvised' module for sex education
Sat, Apr 24 05:05 AM
More than two years after some states banned sex education saying it would corrupt young minds, Gujarat has introduced a "locally improvised" version of the education module from this session in schools, dubbed 'Health, Education and Life Skill Programme (HELP)'.
Teachers have been trained to teach the module designed for students of Classes VIII, IX and X. It has been designed locally, in collaboration with the Education Department. Experts say the contents keep in view cultural considerations and would not offend anybody.
Integrated with physical education, the chapters cover not only "sex and related information", as well as impart knowledge on reproductive health, but other issues such as voluntary blood donation, environment and its role on health, and communicable and non-communicable diseases.
"Knowledge would be given as per maturity of the children concerned. The sessions will not be in way of lectures but interactive sessions," said Dr Pradeep Kumar, Additional Project Director, Gujarat State AIDS Control Society.
Teena Thacker
Sat, Apr 24 05:05 AM
More than two years after some states banned sex education saying it would corrupt young minds, Gujarat has introduced a "locally improvised" version of the education module from this session in schools, dubbed 'Health, Education and Life Skill Programme (HELP)'.
Teachers have been trained to teach the module designed for students of Classes VIII, IX and X. It has been designed locally, in collaboration with the Education Department. Experts say the contents keep in view cultural considerations and would not offend anybody.
Integrated with physical education, the chapters cover not only "sex and related information", as well as impart knowledge on reproductive health, but other issues such as voluntary blood donation, environment and its role on health, and communicable and non-communicable diseases.
"Knowledge would be given as per maturity of the children concerned. The sessions will not be in way of lectures but interactive sessions," said Dr Pradeep Kumar, Additional Project Director, Gujarat State AIDS Control Society.
Teena Thacker
PC's Naxal strategy: Development, action-24/4/2010
PC's Naxal strategy: Development, action
Sat, Apr 24 11:18 AM
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday the government would continue to follow its two-pronged approach of development and calibrated police action to deal with the Naxals. He was speaking at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Home Ministry. The subject of the meeting was "Left Wing Extremism".
Saying that the debate on what should take place first - development or police action - was misplaced, Chidambaram said the decision will vary from situation to situation and from state to state. "In some areas, it may be possible to undertake some developmental activities, to be followed immediately by steps to strengthen security. In other areas, it may be necessary to first launch police action to regain control of the territory, followed by vigorous developmental activities," he said.
Drawing attention to anti-development activities of Naxalites, Chidambaram said they have been destroying school s, roads and telephone towers, among other things, because development will wean away poor tribals from their grip.
Express news service
Sat, Apr 24 11:18 AM
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Friday the government would continue to follow its two-pronged approach of development and calibrated police action to deal with the Naxals. He was speaking at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Home Ministry. The subject of the meeting was "Left Wing Extremism".
Saying that the debate on what should take place first - development or police action - was misplaced, Chidambaram said the decision will vary from situation to situation and from state to state. "In some areas, it may be possible to undertake some developmental activities, to be followed immediately by steps to strengthen security. In other areas, it may be necessary to first launch police action to regain control of the territory, followed by vigorous developmental activities," he said.
Drawing attention to anti-development activities of Naxalites, Chidambaram said they have been destroying school s, roads and telephone towers, among other things, because development will wean away poor tribals from their grip.
Express news service
US hospitals must allow gay partners to visit-16/4/2010
US hospitals must allow gay partners to visit
April 16 2010 at 07:56AM
Washington - President Barack Obama issued a memo on Thursday that would require hospitals accepting Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights to gay and lesbian partners.
Obama asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set up rules to make sure all hospitals that participate in the government-funded Medicare and Medicaid programmes respect the rights of patients to designate who may visit them.
"It should be made clear that designated visitors ... should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy," the memo said.
It said hospitals could not deny visitation privileges on the basis of sexual origin, race, religion or gender identity.
Continues Below ↓
"Every day across America, patients are denied the kindness and caring of a loved one at their sides - whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay," Obama wrote.
He cited widows or widowers without children, members of religious orders as examples of people who have been unable to choose the people they want to be at their side in the hospitals that follow a relatives-only visitation policy.
"Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives - unable to be there for the person they love and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated," he said.
Obama said he was taking the measures to expand visitation rights to "ensure that patients can receive compassionate care and equal treatment during their hospital stays".
He also ordered hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid to ensure that all patients' advance directives, which include appointing someone to make healthcare decisions if necessary, are respected.
The memorandum was applauded by gay rights groups who have pushed to increase the visitation and decision making rights of same-sex partners.
"Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness, when we need our loved ones with us more than ever," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, the largest US gay rights group.
He said Obama's decision was inspired by publicity over a hospital's refusal to allow Lisa Pond to have her partner Janice Langbehn and their children at her bedside as she lay dying.
"No one should experience what befell the Pond-Langbehn family, and the president's action today will help ensure that the indignities Janice and her children faced do not happen to another family," Solmonese said.
Obama has been under pressure from some gay activists who backed him for president in 2008 but were disappointed that he had not acted sooner on major gay rights issues.
In January he called for an end to the "don't ask don't tell" policy restricting gays from serving in the military. - Reuters
April 16 2010 at 07:56AM
Washington - President Barack Obama issued a memo on Thursday that would require hospitals accepting Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights to gay and lesbian partners.
Obama asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set up rules to make sure all hospitals that participate in the government-funded Medicare and Medicaid programmes respect the rights of patients to designate who may visit them.
"It should be made clear that designated visitors ... should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy," the memo said.
It said hospitals could not deny visitation privileges on the basis of sexual origin, race, religion or gender identity.
Continues Below ↓
"Every day across America, patients are denied the kindness and caring of a loved one at their sides - whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay," Obama wrote.
He cited widows or widowers without children, members of religious orders as examples of people who have been unable to choose the people they want to be at their side in the hospitals that follow a relatives-only visitation policy.
"Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives - unable to be there for the person they love and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated," he said.
Obama said he was taking the measures to expand visitation rights to "ensure that patients can receive compassionate care and equal treatment during their hospital stays".
He also ordered hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid to ensure that all patients' advance directives, which include appointing someone to make healthcare decisions if necessary, are respected.
The memorandum was applauded by gay rights groups who have pushed to increase the visitation and decision making rights of same-sex partners.
"Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness, when we need our loved ones with us more than ever," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, the largest US gay rights group.
He said Obama's decision was inspired by publicity over a hospital's refusal to allow Lisa Pond to have her partner Janice Langbehn and their children at her bedside as she lay dying.
"No one should experience what befell the Pond-Langbehn family, and the president's action today will help ensure that the indignities Janice and her children faced do not happen to another family," Solmonese said.
Obama has been under pressure from some gay activists who backed him for president in 2008 but were disappointed that he had not acted sooner on major gay rights issues.
In January he called for an end to the "don't ask don't tell" policy restricting gays from serving in the military. - Reuters
Archie Comics Introduces Gay Character So It Can Deny Him Entrance to the Riverdale Prom-22/4/2010
Archie Comics Introduces Gay Character So It Can Deny Him Entrance to the Riverdale Prom
Actually it's weirder and much kinder than that. The world of Archie Comics -- in Veronica #202, out September 1 -- is introducing a character named Kevin Keller, the new gay kid in school (and, it should be mentioned, happy and well-adjusted and not hiding himself) who manages to stay thin even after trouncing Jughead in a burger-eating contest.
Veronica, boy-crazy, not yet aware of Kevin's other-team status, and smitten for any cute male who can eat an entire cow in one sitting, sets her sights on him. Meanwhile Jughead, annoyed at having been bested in a test of manliness, sits back and enjoys her confusion. That'll teach her to be so pretty. And here all this time we figured the Riverdale gays were Dilton and Moose on the DL.
Also, will little cartoon versions of the Westboro Baptist Church be showing up in Riverdale soon?
After the jump, the Archies rock and jam out with their...daisies out.
Actually it's weirder and much kinder than that. The world of Archie Comics -- in Veronica #202, out September 1 -- is introducing a character named Kevin Keller, the new gay kid in school (and, it should be mentioned, happy and well-adjusted and not hiding himself) who manages to stay thin even after trouncing Jughead in a burger-eating contest.
Veronica, boy-crazy, not yet aware of Kevin's other-team status, and smitten for any cute male who can eat an entire cow in one sitting, sets her sights on him. Meanwhile Jughead, annoyed at having been bested in a test of manliness, sits back and enjoys her confusion. That'll teach her to be so pretty. And here all this time we figured the Riverdale gays were Dilton and Moose on the DL.
Also, will little cartoon versions of the Westboro Baptist Church be showing up in Riverdale soon?
After the jump, the Archies rock and jam out with their...daisies out.
CAG's REPORT ON NGO's
CAG Report observes that Rs.51260 Crores have been Directly handed over to NGO's for Social Spending schemes but the Expenditure/Balance of Amount is not available.....Is it not Splurge by the Govt.?
Description Social spending schemes with each Ministry are being flashed & glossed over by the Govt.to buy some Votes for the Forthcming election but this Official report of the CAG slams the methodology of the Govt.of India of handing over the Money directly to the NGO's without any accountability(acknowledged by CAG) and as a result the details of the Money to the tune of Rs.51260 Crores are absolutley not avialable contrary to the claims by the Govt.about their being spent on the Social welfare schemes...Remeber Rajiv Gandhi officially spelt out that only 10 paise reaches the benefeciary out of Rs.1 meant for him/her....Congress it seems has further dwindled the amount factoring in inflation and recession....!!!!
Description Social spending schemes with each Ministry are being flashed & glossed over by the Govt.to buy some Votes for the Forthcming election but this Official report of the CAG slams the methodology of the Govt.of India of handing over the Money directly to the NGO's without any accountability(acknowledged by CAG) and as a result the details of the Money to the tune of Rs.51260 Crores are absolutley not avialable contrary to the claims by the Govt.about their being spent on the Social welfare schemes...Remeber Rajiv Gandhi officially spelt out that only 10 paise reaches the benefeciary out of Rs.1 meant for him/her....Congress it seems has further dwindled the amount factoring in inflation and recession....!!!!
What does CSR means in my words...!!!
What does CSR means in my words...!!!
प्रस्तुतकर्ता Aditi Foundation पर ५:२७:०० AM
Let me explain you all what CSR means to me. Corporate Social Responsibilities is called Corporate Social opportunity,is a concept where organizations consider the interests of Society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers,suppliers, employees,shareholders,communities and other stakeholders as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organization voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for community and society at large.
In crowed market places,companies srtrive for a 'UNIQUE SELLING POINT',...Which can seprate them from the competition in the minds of consumers. CSR can play a role in building customer loyality based on distinctive ethical values. Several major brands on ethical values Bussiness service organizations can benifit too.
Corporations are keen to avoid interference in their bussiness through taxation or regulations. By taking substantive voluntary steps, they can persuade governments and the wider public that they are taking issues such as health and safety, diversity or environment seriously, and so avoid interventions. This also applies to firms seeking to justify eye catching profits and high levels of boardroom pay. Those operating away from their home country can make sure they stay welcome by being good corporate citizens with respect to labour standards and impact on the environment.
As corporations pursue growth through globalization, they have encountered new challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits. Governments regulations,tariffs,environment restrictions and varying standard of what constitutes labour exploitation are problems that can cost organizations millions of dollors. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly hindrance.Some companies use CSR methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets helping them sustain a competetive advantage by using their Social contributions to provide a subconcious level of advertising. Global competitions places particular pressure on multinational corporations to examine not only their entire supply chain,from a CSR perspective for building a reputation for unite integrity and best picture.
VIBHA TAILANG
प्रस्तुतकर्ता Aditi Foundation पर ५:२७:०० AM
Let me explain you all what CSR means to me. Corporate Social Responsibilities is called Corporate Social opportunity,is a concept where organizations consider the interests of Society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers,suppliers, employees,shareholders,communities and other stakeholders as well as the environment. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organization voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for community and society at large.
In crowed market places,companies srtrive for a 'UNIQUE SELLING POINT',...Which can seprate them from the competition in the minds of consumers. CSR can play a role in building customer loyality based on distinctive ethical values. Several major brands on ethical values Bussiness service organizations can benifit too.
Corporations are keen to avoid interference in their bussiness through taxation or regulations. By taking substantive voluntary steps, they can persuade governments and the wider public that they are taking issues such as health and safety, diversity or environment seriously, and so avoid interventions. This also applies to firms seeking to justify eye catching profits and high levels of boardroom pay. Those operating away from their home country can make sure they stay welcome by being good corporate citizens with respect to labour standards and impact on the environment.
As corporations pursue growth through globalization, they have encountered new challenges that impose limits to their growth and potential profits. Governments regulations,tariffs,environment restrictions and varying standard of what constitutes labour exploitation are problems that can cost organizations millions of dollors. Some view ethical issues as simply a costly hindrance.Some companies use CSR methodologies as a strategic tactic to gain public support for their presence in global markets helping them sustain a competetive advantage by using their Social contributions to provide a subconcious level of advertising. Global competitions places particular pressure on multinational corporations to examine not only their entire supply chain,from a CSR perspective for building a reputation for unite integrity and best picture.
VIBHA TAILANG
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Law needed to curb corruption in govt
Law needed to curb corruption in govt
Rakesh Bhatnagar
Monday, February 8, 2010 0:23 IST
The increasing number of applications invoking the Right to Information Act, public grievances and the outcry against corruption and ill-governance have provoked a parliamentary panel to suggest that inefficient government officials be hauled up under an anti-corruption law similar to the one in Himachal Pradesh. If an officer is found shirking work in Himachal, s/he would be charged under the specific corrupt practices law.
Surely, the suggestion by the standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice is worth giving a try.
Despite the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) reminder to the government
that it set up an in-house mechanism to sort out intra- and inter-ministerial disputes, rather than going to court, no action has been taken by the Centre and the states.
The parliamentary panel has even found a huge number of trivial cases (where the government is a party) pending in courts — employees fighting unwarranted salary cuts, suspension on flimsy grounds or motivated and mala fide disciplinary action. These cases don’t require judicial dispensation. What they need is a human touch from a bureaucrat.
This trend of going to court at the drop of a hat has made the panel feel that “we still carry a colonial legacy’’. In the colonial days, the notion was that if you weren’t satisfied, you went to court. That mindset hasn’t changed, which is why there are still long queues of aggrieved people waiting for justice.
This reminds one of an apex court judgment on a daily wage earner’splea. He accused the government of taking away his job. In this context, the SC had said that agovernment rule that affects a person in civil life could be scrapped by a court. “If any of its (government or its wings) actions or administrative decisions have an effect on civil life, the decisions could be judicially reviewed,” the apex court said.
Civil consequence not only means a breach of property or personal rights, but also of civil liberties, material deprivations and non-pecuniary damages.
Rakesh Bhatnagar
Monday, February 8, 2010 0:23 IST
The increasing number of applications invoking the Right to Information Act, public grievances and the outcry against corruption and ill-governance have provoked a parliamentary panel to suggest that inefficient government officials be hauled up under an anti-corruption law similar to the one in Himachal Pradesh. If an officer is found shirking work in Himachal, s/he would be charged under the specific corrupt practices law.
Surely, the suggestion by the standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice is worth giving a try.
Despite the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) reminder to the government
that it set up an in-house mechanism to sort out intra- and inter-ministerial disputes, rather than going to court, no action has been taken by the Centre and the states.
The parliamentary panel has even found a huge number of trivial cases (where the government is a party) pending in courts — employees fighting unwarranted salary cuts, suspension on flimsy grounds or motivated and mala fide disciplinary action. These cases don’t require judicial dispensation. What they need is a human touch from a bureaucrat.
This trend of going to court at the drop of a hat has made the panel feel that “we still carry a colonial legacy’’. In the colonial days, the notion was that if you weren’t satisfied, you went to court. That mindset hasn’t changed, which is why there are still long queues of aggrieved people waiting for justice.
This reminds one of an apex court judgment on a daily wage earner’splea. He accused the government of taking away his job. In this context, the SC had said that agovernment rule that affects a person in civil life could be scrapped by a court. “If any of its (government or its wings) actions or administrative decisions have an effect on civil life, the decisions could be judicially reviewed,” the apex court said.
Civil consequence not only means a breach of property or personal rights, but also of civil liberties, material deprivations and non-pecuniary damages.
Eliminating Corruption in Government
Eliminating Corruption in Government
Corruption in politics is an age-old problem for which no lasting solution has been found – despite many attempts. The democratic system of government was created to give power to the people and to root out corruption through legal checks and balances on government power. The practice in democracies of replacing officials every four to five years was designed to contain and control corruption and abuse of position.
However, recent world events have shown evidence of an increasing number of charges of corruption against leaders in many democratic countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, USA, the United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Italy, Mexico, and Colombia. In some instances, such as Brazil and Italy, leaders who came to power as the champions of anti-corruption have themselves been charged of being involved with levels of corruption even more serious than those of their predecessors.
All the people of any country need to be protected from rulers who become corrupt. Nevertheless, it is not entirely fair for the people to blame their leaders, since in the seat of power political leaders are exposed to negative influences that are beyond their control, and every moment they are open to temptation.
This intractable problem continues to undermine the system of government and weaken the whole society, but there is now an effective means to bring an end to corruptioN.
Strengthen the Collective Consciousness of the Nation.
(ONE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THIS 'DEEMAK' AND BELIEVE IN OPPOSING ANY KIND OF 'CORRUPTION', EITHER TAKING OR GIVING....AT LEAST ONE CAN START DOING IT FROM TODAY ONLY, IF NOT DONE IN THE PAST...VIBHA).
Government is the innocent mirror of a nation. The quality of government, and its leaders, is simply a reflection of the collective consciousness of all the people. If the collective consciousness is disintegrated and negative, and people are not behaving in accord with Natural Law, then problems and corruption will be unavoidable phenomena of government.
If, on the other hand, collective consciousness is positive, integrated, and coherent, then the government will not be influenced by any negativity.
If the people of any country wish to be protected from corruption in government, then they must create an integrated collective consciousness. Positivity and harmony should be so strong and dense in national consciousness that negative influences cannot penetrate it.
Every government should have this armour of protection, which can be easily provided if the government maintains a group of Yogic Fliers. This coherence-creating group will create a strong and harmonious national consciousness – an invincible national consciousness – so that no enemy can arise from either inside or outside the nation.
Prevention Is the Only Solution to Corruption
It is beyond the scope of law enforcement to contain all of the possible avenues of corruption. The only solution is to improve the system of administration, and make it invincible .
Corruption in politics is an age-old problem for which no lasting solution has been found – despite many attempts. The democratic system of government was created to give power to the people and to root out corruption through legal checks and balances on government power. The practice in democracies of replacing officials every four to five years was designed to contain and control corruption and abuse of position.
However, recent world events have shown evidence of an increasing number of charges of corruption against leaders in many democratic countries, including Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, USA, the United Kingdom, Russia, Poland, Italy, Mexico, and Colombia. In some instances, such as Brazil and Italy, leaders who came to power as the champions of anti-corruption have themselves been charged of being involved with levels of corruption even more serious than those of their predecessors.
All the people of any country need to be protected from rulers who become corrupt. Nevertheless, it is not entirely fair for the people to blame their leaders, since in the seat of power political leaders are exposed to negative influences that are beyond their control, and every moment they are open to temptation.
This intractable problem continues to undermine the system of government and weaken the whole society, but there is now an effective means to bring an end to corruptioN.
Strengthen the Collective Consciousness of the Nation.
(ONE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THIS 'DEEMAK' AND BELIEVE IN OPPOSING ANY KIND OF 'CORRUPTION', EITHER TAKING OR GIVING....AT LEAST ONE CAN START DOING IT FROM TODAY ONLY, IF NOT DONE IN THE PAST...VIBHA).
Government is the innocent mirror of a nation. The quality of government, and its leaders, is simply a reflection of the collective consciousness of all the people. If the collective consciousness is disintegrated and negative, and people are not behaving in accord with Natural Law, then problems and corruption will be unavoidable phenomena of government.
If, on the other hand, collective consciousness is positive, integrated, and coherent, then the government will not be influenced by any negativity.
If the people of any country wish to be protected from corruption in government, then they must create an integrated collective consciousness. Positivity and harmony should be so strong and dense in national consciousness that negative influences cannot penetrate it.
Every government should have this armour of protection, which can be easily provided if the government maintains a group of Yogic Fliers. This coherence-creating group will create a strong and harmonious national consciousness – an invincible national consciousness – so that no enemy can arise from either inside or outside the nation.
Prevention Is the Only Solution to Corruption
It is beyond the scope of law enforcement to contain all of the possible avenues of corruption. The only solution is to improve the system of administration, and make it invincible .
Government Corruption
Government Corruption
Today, the federal government is more vulnerable than ever to the influence of powerful special interests. The basic obligations of public service are undermined when an official maintains a close relationship with an industry that he or she is overseeing or regulating. The integrity of government is further jeopardized by public officials who use the resources of their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports transparency and open government so that officials can be held accountable when they place private interests ahead of the public good. Click on the program areas below to learn more.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interests often arise due to the cozy relationship between public officials and companies that do business with the government. Public confidence in the integrity of government is sorely undermined when officials use (or appear to use) their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports increased requirements for transparency and disclosure, along with stricter enforcement of current rules and regulations, as a means of identifying and eliminating conflicts of interest and restoring the public’s faith in government.
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Resources
Government ethics is one of the most important, but often overlooked, aspects of executive and congressional branch oversight. Recent ethics and conflict of interest scandals involve the revolving door between the government and private contractors, “bribe menus,” inappropriate contract awards, and illegal lobbying – simply stated, government corruption. That corruption leads to bad deals for the government, taxpayers, and military members.
Improper Influence
The basic obligations of public service are undermined when an official maintains a close relationship with an industry that he or she is overseeing or regulating. The integrity of government is further jeopardized by public officials who use the resources of their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports transparency and open government so that officials can be held accountable when they place private interests ahead of the public good.
Politicization
There are several laws in place that are supposed to prohibit public officials from engaging in political activity while serving in office. However, in recent years there have been numerous examples of federal agencies using taxpayer funds to persuade the public to lobby Congress in support of the Executive Branch’s political agenda. Congress needs to draw a stronger line between public education and illegal lobbying in order to ensure that the federal government is not betraying the public’s trust by spending taxpayer funds on advertising and propaganda campaigns.
Revolving Door
POGO is concerned that far too many officials are passing through the “revolving door,” taking advantage of their public service to further their private employment. The federal government is struggling to retain skilled public servants in part because so many individuals use their office as a stepping stone to the private sector. POGO has a number of recommendations for limiting the harmful effect of the revolving door: simplify and strengthen the existing rules and regulations; require greater disclosure of individuals leaving the government to work for industries they had previously overseen; and conduct a review of the benefits, incentives, and rewards for staying in the public sector versus performing the same work as a government contractor.
Today, the federal government is more vulnerable than ever to the influence of powerful special interests. The basic obligations of public service are undermined when an official maintains a close relationship with an industry that he or she is overseeing or regulating. The integrity of government is further jeopardized by public officials who use the resources of their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports transparency and open government so that officials can be held accountable when they place private interests ahead of the public good. Click on the program areas below to learn more.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interests often arise due to the cozy relationship between public officials and companies that do business with the government. Public confidence in the integrity of government is sorely undermined when officials use (or appear to use) their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports increased requirements for transparency and disclosure, along with stricter enforcement of current rules and regulations, as a means of identifying and eliminating conflicts of interest and restoring the public’s faith in government.
Conflict of Interest and Ethics Resources
Government ethics is one of the most important, but often overlooked, aspects of executive and congressional branch oversight. Recent ethics and conflict of interest scandals involve the revolving door between the government and private contractors, “bribe menus,” inappropriate contract awards, and illegal lobbying – simply stated, government corruption. That corruption leads to bad deals for the government, taxpayers, and military members.
Improper Influence
The basic obligations of public service are undermined when an official maintains a close relationship with an industry that he or she is overseeing or regulating. The integrity of government is further jeopardized by public officials who use the resources of their office for personal, professional, or financial gain. POGO supports transparency and open government so that officials can be held accountable when they place private interests ahead of the public good.
Politicization
There are several laws in place that are supposed to prohibit public officials from engaging in political activity while serving in office. However, in recent years there have been numerous examples of federal agencies using taxpayer funds to persuade the public to lobby Congress in support of the Executive Branch’s political agenda. Congress needs to draw a stronger line between public education and illegal lobbying in order to ensure that the federal government is not betraying the public’s trust by spending taxpayer funds on advertising and propaganda campaigns.
Revolving Door
POGO is concerned that far too many officials are passing through the “revolving door,” taking advantage of their public service to further their private employment. The federal government is struggling to retain skilled public servants in part because so many individuals use their office as a stepping stone to the private sector. POGO has a number of recommendations for limiting the harmful effect of the revolving door: simplify and strengthen the existing rules and regulations; require greater disclosure of individuals leaving the government to work for industries they had previously overseen; and conduct a review of the benefits, incentives, and rewards for staying in the public sector versus performing the same work as a government contractor.
"No sense of shame"...-Corruption in government offices
Opinion - Letters
Corruption in government offices
This refers to the article, "No sense of shame", (Business Line, October 21).
According to the report, around Rs 21,068 crore is paid annually as bribes by Indians to get basic services to which they are entitled from public bodies. Our government offices are facing a paucity of staff.
Many government employees are overworked.
This, in turn, leads to piling up of cases that drag on for months or years.
To check such malpractices the government should fill up vacancies in all the State and Central government offices, weed out unnecessary formalities and allot overloaded government employees with work.
V. Sundaralingam
Corruption in government offices
This refers to the article, "No sense of shame", (Business Line, October 21).
According to the report, around Rs 21,068 crore is paid annually as bribes by Indians to get basic services to which they are entitled from public bodies. Our government offices are facing a paucity of staff.
Many government employees are overworked.
This, in turn, leads to piling up of cases that drag on for months or years.
To check such malpractices the government should fill up vacancies in all the State and Central government offices, weed out unnecessary formalities and allot overloaded government employees with work.
V. Sundaralingam
Franchise Offices Raided As IPL Corruption Row Deepens
Franchise Offices Raided As IPL Corruption Row Deepens
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 6:08 pm under Sports News
Offices of a number of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises were raided by police, Indian media said on Wednesday, amid the growing IPL corruption saga.
Punjab, Kolkata, Chennai and Rajasthan franchises were reportedly raided by police. It was also reported that India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) will inquire into the ‘unauthorised transfer’ of foreign funds in the IPL, after registering a case against the cash-rich cricket league.
A report in Indian daily The Hindu quotes ED officials as saying that funds from abroad, without the permission of RBI, might have trickled in to the IPL. “There have been reports that funds from tax havens like Mauritius have been pumped into the league by various franchises in violation of legal provisions,” the report adds.
Meanwhile, vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ravi Shukla said that the BCCI’s governing council meeting will take decision on the on-going IPL saga while keeping in mind the image and welfare of the board.
Modi wants to postpone the meeting of the governing council.The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Wednesday that Modi was questioning the legality of the meeting on the ground that only he can convene it as the IPL commissioner. Modi could not be immediately reached for comment.
The meeting is scheduled for April 26 after uproar by politicians and lawmakers prompted the Indian government to initiate an investigation. The investigation will primarily be concentrated into the financing of the IPL after allegations of corruption emerged recently.
PTI quoted unidentified sources as saying that Modi has told the BCCI that he would not be able to attend Monday’s meeting as he needed more time to prepare himself to respond to any questions relating to the funding and the ownership pattern of the eight franchises.
Modi is facing a probe into accusations of money laundering but has received support from owners of the IPL teams.
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who is the co-owner of the Rajasthan team said Modi should not be judged guilty until proven. Shetty said that the media and politicians should refrain from jumping to conclusions about Modi without proof.
Read More in: Corruption Row Deepens Franchise Offices Raided As IPL
(I HOPE THIS ENTHUSIASM AND PROMPTNESS OF I-T DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE SEEN IN RAIDING AND EXPOSING AND PUNISHING MANY OTHER BIG FISHES OF DIFFERENT FIELDS AS WELL, AND REACH TO SOME DEFINITE CONCLUSION ON TIME(NOT WILD ONE...AND NOT MEDIA TRIAL PLEASE, WE NEED MEDIA'S CREDIBILITY INTACT...ITS VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR DEMOCRACY)...AS THIS IS 'HIGH TIME' PEOPLE SHOULD GET TO KNOW HOW AND FROM WHERE ALL OF THEM GET MONEY...AND WHERE THEY SPEND THEM...PUBLIC NEED TRANSPARENCY.....!!!
'CSR' IS NOT A BAD IDEA(HT CARTOON CONTEST, ORGANIZED BY SUDHIRJI FOR HT... WAS ONE EXAMPLE OF CSR IN EDUCATION SECTOR)....AS FOR POSITIVE USE OF BLACKMONEY(FOR ITS LIQUIDITY) ONE NEED SOME 'LEGAL WAYOUT' AND TO SAVE PEOPLE FROM 'TAXCHORI', WHICH IS COUNTRY'S MONEY...!!!
ONCE 'VDIS-VOLUNTEERLY DISCLOSURE SCHEME' WAS INTRODUCED BY THEN FINANCE MINISTER(SHRI YASHWANT SINHAJI-I THINK IN 2001???)...TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DECLARE THEIR BLACKMONEY SECRETLY...!!!
SO AS 'LOKPAL BILL',WHICH IS STILL PENDING, NEEDED TO BE PASSED BY PARLIAMENT IN UPDATED VERSION.WE NEED STRICTNESS AND THEN....JUST SEE HOW OUR 'ECONOMIC RECESSION' PROBLEM AND 'PRICE RISE' PROBLEM ALONG 'CORRUPTION' WILL GET CURB...ALL THE 'DESHBAKHT' PERSON NEED TO DEMAND FOR IT AND PAYBACK THEIR DUES AS WELL.
....ENOUGH IS ENOUGH NOW....ITS HIGH TIME WE ALL SHOULD BE IN ACTION AND MOMENTUM CREATED AGAINST 'CORRUPTION' BECOZ OF IPL, NEED NOT DIE DOWN JUST LIKE THAT....AS EVEN 'SARKARI MACHIENARY IS NO LESS UNTOUCHED BY CORRUPTION'...THAT'S THE WAY WE MAY GET MORE MONEY FOR DEVOLOPMENT WORK AND CAN CURB PROBLEMS LIKE POVERTY, HUNGER, SUICIDES BY FARMERS,TRIBALS...ETC...AND 'CRIME AND NAXALISM'ALSO....JAI HO...VIBHA TAILANG)
Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 6:08 pm under Sports News
Offices of a number of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises were raided by police, Indian media said on Wednesday, amid the growing IPL corruption saga.
Punjab, Kolkata, Chennai and Rajasthan franchises were reportedly raided by police. It was also reported that India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) will inquire into the ‘unauthorised transfer’ of foreign funds in the IPL, after registering a case against the cash-rich cricket league.
A report in Indian daily The Hindu quotes ED officials as saying that funds from abroad, without the permission of RBI, might have trickled in to the IPL. “There have been reports that funds from tax havens like Mauritius have been pumped into the league by various franchises in violation of legal provisions,” the report adds.
Meanwhile, vice president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ravi Shukla said that the BCCI’s governing council meeting will take decision on the on-going IPL saga while keeping in mind the image and welfare of the board.
Modi wants to postpone the meeting of the governing council.The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Wednesday that Modi was questioning the legality of the meeting on the ground that only he can convene it as the IPL commissioner. Modi could not be immediately reached for comment.
The meeting is scheduled for April 26 after uproar by politicians and lawmakers prompted the Indian government to initiate an investigation. The investigation will primarily be concentrated into the financing of the IPL after allegations of corruption emerged recently.
PTI quoted unidentified sources as saying that Modi has told the BCCI that he would not be able to attend Monday’s meeting as he needed more time to prepare himself to respond to any questions relating to the funding and the ownership pattern of the eight franchises.
Modi is facing a probe into accusations of money laundering but has received support from owners of the IPL teams.
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who is the co-owner of the Rajasthan team said Modi should not be judged guilty until proven. Shetty said that the media and politicians should refrain from jumping to conclusions about Modi without proof.
Read More in: Corruption Row Deepens Franchise Offices Raided As IPL
(I HOPE THIS ENTHUSIASM AND PROMPTNESS OF I-T DEPARTMENT SHOULD BE SEEN IN RAIDING AND EXPOSING AND PUNISHING MANY OTHER BIG FISHES OF DIFFERENT FIELDS AS WELL, AND REACH TO SOME DEFINITE CONCLUSION ON TIME(NOT WILD ONE...AND NOT MEDIA TRIAL PLEASE, WE NEED MEDIA'S CREDIBILITY INTACT...ITS VERY IMPORTANT FOR OUR DEMOCRACY)...AS THIS IS 'HIGH TIME' PEOPLE SHOULD GET TO KNOW HOW AND FROM WHERE ALL OF THEM GET MONEY...AND WHERE THEY SPEND THEM...PUBLIC NEED TRANSPARENCY.....!!!
'CSR' IS NOT A BAD IDEA(HT CARTOON CONTEST, ORGANIZED BY SUDHIRJI FOR HT... WAS ONE EXAMPLE OF CSR IN EDUCATION SECTOR)....AS FOR POSITIVE USE OF BLACKMONEY(FOR ITS LIQUIDITY) ONE NEED SOME 'LEGAL WAYOUT' AND TO SAVE PEOPLE FROM 'TAXCHORI', WHICH IS COUNTRY'S MONEY...!!!
ONCE 'VDIS-VOLUNTEERLY DISCLOSURE SCHEME' WAS INTRODUCED BY THEN FINANCE MINISTER(SHRI YASHWANT SINHAJI-I THINK IN 2001???)...TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DECLARE THEIR BLACKMONEY SECRETLY...!!!
SO AS 'LOKPAL BILL',WHICH IS STILL PENDING, NEEDED TO BE PASSED BY PARLIAMENT IN UPDATED VERSION.WE NEED STRICTNESS AND THEN....JUST SEE HOW OUR 'ECONOMIC RECESSION' PROBLEM AND 'PRICE RISE' PROBLEM ALONG 'CORRUPTION' WILL GET CURB...ALL THE 'DESHBAKHT' PERSON NEED TO DEMAND FOR IT AND PAYBACK THEIR DUES AS WELL.
....ENOUGH IS ENOUGH NOW....ITS HIGH TIME WE ALL SHOULD BE IN ACTION AND MOMENTUM CREATED AGAINST 'CORRUPTION' BECOZ OF IPL, NEED NOT DIE DOWN JUST LIKE THAT....AS EVEN 'SARKARI MACHIENARY IS NO LESS UNTOUCHED BY CORRUPTION'...THAT'S THE WAY WE MAY GET MORE MONEY FOR DEVOLOPMENT WORK AND CAN CURB PROBLEMS LIKE POVERTY, HUNGER, SUICIDES BY FARMERS,TRIBALS...ETC...AND 'CRIME AND NAXALISM'ALSO....JAI HO...VIBHA TAILANG)
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