FRONTLINE DECEMBER 2, 2011
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INDIA’S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
RS.25
INTERVIEW AEC CHAIRMAN
MEDIA PRESS COUNCIL
OBITUARY BHUPEN HAZARIKA
On Kudankulam 33
Time for reforms 88
Renaissance man 128
NUMBER of controversies The government launches the ambitious Unique Identification number project as a one-stop solution to the demands of a ’rising India’ leaving questions about its purpose and viability unaddressed
VOLUME 28
NU C L E A R I S S UE S Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, AEC TH E STAT E S West Bengal: Rift in the foothills Kerala: Government hanging by a thread Prisoners & precedents
NUMBER 24
NOVEMBER 19 - DECEMBER 2, 2011
C O V ER S T O RY 33
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ISSN 0970-1710
Identity concerns
The Unique Identification number project, “symbolic of the new and modern India”, is of questionable legality and viability. 4
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TE L E COM S C A M Radia shuts shop
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SC A NDA L Cricketers in jail
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C OLUM N Bhaskar Ghose: The many Indias 86 Praful Bidwai: Kudankulam: Time to talk 97 R.K. Raghavan: Cricket & crime 113 C.P. Chandrasekhar: Pills, patents & profits 119 UP D A TE Oppenheimers exit De Beers 60 B OOKS LE TTE R S
INDIA & P A K I S T A N MFN status: Ignorance rules Political test for Imran The real barrier Interview: Union Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar WOR L D A F F A I R S Julian Assange: Travails of a crusader Kyrgyzstan: Towards democracy UNESCO: Vote for Palestine NATU R AL S C I E N C E Fungus farmers M E DIA Reforming the Press Council U.K.: Newspapers’ code of practice P U BL IC HE A L T H Karnataka: Child malnutrition R E P OR TS Crisis and jobs FOCU S: F O R T S O F MAHARASHTRA Majestic defences Interview: Chhagan Bhujbal, State Tourism Minister CONTR OV E S Y Thermal power: Land grab projects? OBITU A R Y Bhupen Hazarika
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54 57 61 64
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RELA T ED S TOR I E S
Interview: R.S. Sharma, Director-General and Mission Director, UIDAI 8 Parties in confusion 11 A case for privacy 13 PDS in peril 16 False promises on health services 19
Enrolment saga 22 How reliable is UID? 25 Interview: Dr Edgar Whitley, London School of Economics 29 Tool of exclusion from NREGS 122
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N U C LEA R I S S U ES Interview with Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, speaks on the Kudankulam project. 33
On the Cover Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI. PHOTOGRAPH: V.V. KRISHNAN COVER DESIGN: U. UDAYA SHANKAR Published by N. RAM, Kasturi Buildings,
M ED I A The new Chairman of the Press Council of India, Markandey Katju, wants to make it an instrument of mediation in addition to adjudication. 88
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O B I T U A RY Through haunting, lilting, often joyous melodies, Bhupen Hazarika communicated his passionate love for humanity.128 F R O N T L I N E
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Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
IDENTITY CONC The Unique Identification number, “symbolic of the new and modern India”, is of questionable legality and viability. B Y R . R A M A K U M A R
The project is steeped in controversies, which relate to a range of issues including its purpose and cost and the reliability of the technology. Above all, it is being pushed through without any legislative debate. “In the Indira years, the slogan was ‘garibi hatao’…. In the 1970s and 1980s, people’s aspirations had focussed on basic essentials – roti, kapda, aur makaan…. Since the reforms in the 1990s, the emphasis moved to… bijli, sadak and paani. In recent years, as growth has accelerated and access to basic infrastructure has improved further, aspirations among the poor have shifted again…. Today, it’s all virtual things – it’s about UID number, mobile phone and bank account…. With that, they can access services, benefits and their rights…. We are looking at a postAadhaar world.” – Nandan Nilekani “MODERN” India, it would appear, has finally found the “missing link” in its superpower story. Having ensured that all its “poor” had access to “roti, kapda aur makaan” by the 1980s, and “bijli, sadak, paani” by the 1990s, it is surging ahead to meet the new and rising aspirations of its “poor”. The foundations of this surge are being laid with the Unique Identification (UID) number, or Aadhaar, which is also the key to the three “virtual things”. For Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, “Aadhaar… is symbolic of the new and modern India”. For Rahul Gandhi, Aadhaar is the key to “bridging the two Indias”, where you “take some” from the “India of opportunity” and “put them” into the “India without opportunity”. Business leaders and the pink press are gaga over the spin-offs. According to one analysis, Aadhaar links “private-sector businesses to India’s poor in an unprecedented manner”; another is titled: “UID: 4
The Biggest Business Opportunity since Liberalisation”; and yet another quotes the managing director of a software giant thus: “UID gives us a business opportunity to prosper in this digital world”. The total cost of the project is estimated at over Rs.50,000 crore. A business newspaper reveals that “for every rupee of IT spend on the project… around 60 per cent… will go to hardware vendors”. One consultancy giant estimated that within five years into that “post-Aadhaar world”, India would see a first wave of investments totalling $10 billion. From then on, “potential” is $12 billion a year. There is no other government project that has kicked up such frenzy in recent times. However, in the midst of this frenzy, myriads of questions are begging for answers. While there are people asking these questions, there are also those tired old ways of dismissing them. Brand them as “jholawalas” or “lefties” or “anti-technology guys” or “those who broke computers in the [19]80s”. The more lenient of the brandings would be “civil libertarians” or “privacy activists”. Whatever they be branded, one thing in common is that none of their questions has received a satisfactory answer yet. One place to ask questions in a democracy is Parliament; however, about six crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued even before Parliament has taken up the matter for legislative discussion. Frontline was the first to publish a critical article on UID in 2009, which raised a set of questions to the government (“High-cost, High-risk”, August 14, 2009). More than two years later, most of those questions remain unanswered. THE REAL INTENT: SECURITY OR DEVELOPMENT?
The Genesis An important question regarding Aadhaar is how it will be used. Aadhaar is connected closely with the National Population Register (NPR) of the Union Home Ministry. The NPR is a child of the Kargil War. Following the reports of the “Kargil Review Committee” in 2000, and a Group of Ministers in 2001, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government decided to register compulsorily all citizens into an NPR and issue each a Multi-
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KAMAL SINGH/PTI
ERNS
P R IM E M I N I S T E R MA N M O H A N Singh and Chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India Nandan M. Nilekani at a UIDAI Council meeting in New Delhi.
purpose National Identity Card (MNIC). Officially, the NPR is aimed at preventing “illegal migration”. For this purpose, the Citizenship Act of 1955 was amended and new Citizenship Rules were released in 2003. As per Rule 7(3) in the 2003 Rules, “It shall be the responsibility of every citizen to register once with the Local
Registrar of Citizen Registration and to provide correct individual particulars.” Rule 3(3) states that information on every citizen in the NPR should compulsorily have his/her “National Identity Number”. Still further, Rule 17 states that “any violation of provisions of rules 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 14 shall be punishable with fine which may exF R O N T L I N E
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tend to one thousand rupees”. NPR and Aadhaar While registration to the NPR was compulsory and a National Identity Number was linked to each name, the 2003 Rules did not approve of linking biometrics with personal information. If we analyse the annual reports of the Home Ministry, the sections on the
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DOIN G A N I R I S
scan as part of collecting biometric details, at a post office in Mangalore on September 27.
MNIC pilot project do not refer to biometric data until 2004-05. In 200506, the first mention of biometric data appears. The report noted: “Data entry work for all the 30.96 lakh records… and integration of photographs and finger biometrics of 17.2 lakh… out of 20.6 lakh… has been completed.” Just how biometrics got included in the NPR without sanction from the 2003 Rules remains a mystery. With the introduction of biometrics into the NPR, the Home Ministry required technical expertise. The establishment of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in 2008 was partly to meet this requirement. If doubts remained, Home Minister P. Chidambaram clarified in 2009 that “MNIC has to be issued to every citizen, for which the government has decided to set up a UID authority.” The Home Ministry’s annual report for 2008-09 went a step ahead and stated: “After the NPR is created, it will engulf the UID database, being far more comprehensive, and will become the mother database for identity purposes.” The Home Ministry’s plan was the following. To quote from the Census of India website: “Data collected in the NPR will be subjected to de-duplication by the UIDAI. After de-duplication, the UIDAI will issue a UID
Number. This UID Number will be part of the NPR and the NPR Cards will bear this UID Number.” No prizes for guessing that Aadhaar is already compulsory. In the UIDAI parlance, the NPR is a “killer application”. A killer application is one that so “leverages Aadhaar” that every citizen is forced to get an Aadhaar number. When the ownership of a “mother database” of citizens, including their biometrics, lies with the Home Ministry, there are reasons to worry. There is always the problem of “functionality creep”, where data collected serves purposes other than its original intent. There are many ways in which the state can use such a database against its own citizens. The database could be used to persecute marginalised sections of the population. The police and the security forces, if allowed access to the biometric database, could use it extensively for regular surveillance and investigative purposes. This can lead to a large number of human rights violations. Given that fingerprint matching is not error-free, such policing may further exacerbate human rights violations. A democratic society has to guard against such possibilities. Questions of duplication While the UIDAI was established to supply UID numbers to the NPR, the onus of data collection was with 6
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the Registrar General of India (RGI) under the Home Ministry. However, as an initial step, the UIDAI was allowed to enrol 200 million persons. It began this process by signing memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with “registrars”, who enrolled people either directly or through other agencies; the RGI was one of these registrars. First, duplication of resources and work was built into this plan. There was one set of people whose data were collected by the RGI (“Group 1”) and another whose data were collected by non-RGI Registrars (“Group 2”). But data for “Group 2” could not be given to the RGI to be added to the NPR; the MoU signed between the RGI and the UIDAI did not allow for this. The MoU allowed transfer of information only for “Group 1”. In other words, within the UIDAI’s 200-million persons, duplication and wastage was already built in. Persons in “Group 2” now have to enrol again at an RGI centre. Not surprisingly, officials of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India have made a quiet trip to the UIDAI office for an audit. Secondly, if duplication is allowed to cross the 200 million mark, a major section of the population would have to enrol twice. This is the reason why
DECEMBER 2, 2011
the Home Ministry is now trying to recapture the responsibilities of enrolment. On its part, the UIDAI wants to continue with the old plan; whether the Cabinet will allow it is not clear yet. WHITHER PRIVACY?
Another important concern is the project’s potential to violate people’s right to privacy. In most Western countries, projects to issue ID cards were shelved because of strong privacy concerns and adverse public opinion (see interview with Dr Edgar Whitley on page 29). Privacy and culture Is privacy a “Western” concept that does not apply to “eastern” societies like India, where “community-based” life predominates? Such a question is regularly raised in debates on Aadhaar. What this question ignores is that the right to privacy has the status of a shared global value (see A.G. Noo-
rani’s article on page 13). While the nature of notions around privacy differs across countries, every country has a temporally dynamic notion of privacy built into its culture. In other words, “an interest in self-governed choice” is not a by-product of “Western individualism”. Martha Nussbaum, the renowned philosopher, has criticised the argument that privacy is a notion without value in India (see “Is Privacy Bad for Women?”, Boston Review, April/May, 2000). She writes that if the history of India is any guide, it only shows that “India draws certain concrete lines in different places than does America”. She further argues that “if we consider the general meanings of ‘privacy’ typically acknowledged as most salient in American discussions, India also marks each of the notions as salient, and ascribes value to protecting the
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concerns that fall under them.” To argue her point out, Nussbaum cites three cases. First, just as in the U.S., Indian “people recognise that certain types of information about oneself are privileged, and that it is bad for outsiders to publicise them without consent.” Secondly, she argues that “in India, as in the U.S., there is a deep concern for keeping certain parts of the body, and certain bodily acts, hidden from the sight of others – and also a more general concern that, whatever one is doing, one should not be watched without one’s consent.” Thirdly, there is a strong “interest in decisional autonomy or liberty in certain areas especially definitive of the person”. All these lessons, Nussbaum says, are from “among the most ancient and deeply traditional concerns of both Hindu and Muslim cultures”. It is clear then that privacy can be
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
‘The aim is inclusion’ Interview with R.S. Sharma, DG and Mission Director, UIDAI. B Y G . S R I N I V A S A N
BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
IN the massive task of own State, Jharkhand. giving individual resiDespite these odds, dents of the country a there is huge enthusiunique identity numasm among the people. ber, the Unique IdentiIn one centre, there are fication Authority of four machines that can India (UIDAI) is the enrol approximately sole project operator. 200 people – one kit The Director-General does 50 enrolments in a & Mission Director of day. If you have 500 the authority, headpeople standing in the quartered in the capiqueue, it is clear that tal, R.S. Sharma, an 300 will go back, and affable and active functhis is actually a very tionary overseeing bad thing because they eight regional offices R. S . S H A RM A . He says wait before going back. across the country, fingerprints present a We are trying to devise spared time to speak to challenge. methods such as tokens Frontline. that are issued beforeThere has been criticism that the hand. We have introduced in urban National Population Registry areas such as Delhi an online ap(NPR), created as part of the Census pointment system. 2011 operations with an enrolment The biometric attributes of the process similar to that of the UIDAI, residents are going to be used as a would lead to duplication of work at basic signature for de-duplication public expense. R.S. Sharma is confi- and to ensure uniqueness. The UIdent that the benefits will outweigh DAI has decided that the face, all 10 the costs. Asked how the project was fingerprints and both iris scans progressing, he said all targets so far should be collected at the time of had been met. Excerpts from the capturing biometric details of the interview: residents. This way we will be able to ensure uniqueness of the IDs. The How far have you progressed? other challenge we face is the quality We have a tentative target of 20 of fingerprints. Capturing fingercrore [200 million] enrolments. We prints, especially of manual labourshould be able to achieve this beers, is a challenge. The quality of cause we have already received data fingerprints is bad because of the of about 12 crore people. In the field rough exterior of fingers caused by [data of] 14 crore may have been hard work, and this poses a challenge received because there is a time lag in for later authentication. the data entry process. We are creating an infrastrucWhat are the glitches? ture by which one will be able to There are some places where all authenticate himself or herself facilities are available, while in other through a mobile device. If you enter places no infrastructure or power is your name, number and fingerprint available. Logistical challenges are in the mobile, all this goes to our data significant, especially in backward centre where we will check these deregions such as some districts of my tails. For manual labourers, this au-
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thentication will be difficult because only one or two of the 10 fingerprints may be good. It may happen that you may have a very good fingerprint but the method of capturing is sloppy. That again causes problems of authentication. We will be able to ensure the accuracy in 99 per cent of the cases because of the other biometric details. Even if the fingerprints do not work, the iris scans will. Issuing a unique identity will not be a major problem. But authentication will be, because fingerprint is the basic mode of authentication. Why is there a multiplicity of registrars? NPR data would be aligned with ours. What you refer to may be the existence of multiple registrars, which might escalate cost and duplication. This issue has been taken to the Cabinet Committee on UID presided over by the Prime Minister. Its members include the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman and the Home Minister. We have the mandate to collect [data of] up to 20 crore [people], which we are completing. Thereafter, who will do the collection and how, are issues that the Cabinet will decide. How will the UID number help people living on the margins? It is a means to enable access to services. In this country it is not you and me who need identity papers – we have too many of them. But there are many people who do not have any papers. Because of that they are denied access to services. We focus on people who live on the periphery. We have organised special camps to ensure that when we issue, say, 600 million UIDs, they will include those who need them most.
viewed as a globally valued “right”, “entitlement” and “freedom”. We can also work within the framework of individual freedoms elaborated by Amartya Sen. In Sen’s framework, every freedom can have “intrinsic” and “instrumental” values. In the intrinsic sense, privacy enriches the lives of people in a substantive way and thus is “constitutive” of development. In the instrumental sense, privacy can be seen as contributing to other individual freedoms and socio-economic progress. It is from this standpoint that Sen has argued against consequence-independent absolute rights. Thus, the demand to trade-off one freedom for another (say, the “invasive loss” of privacy for “development”) is an untenable demand. Aadhaar and privacy It is disturbing then that privacy concerns are not discussed in any document of the government or the UIDAI. On the contrary, discussions around Aadhaar have involved open calls for sharing personal information with private companies. From 2006 onwards, there was a scheme titled “Unique ID for BPL families”, implemented by the Department of Information and Technology. While critics trace the origin of the UIDAI to the MNIC project, the UIDAI itself traces its origin to this scheme. In 2006, a working group of the Planning Commission examined the possibilities of improving upon this scheme and introducing smart cards linked to unique IDs of citizens. The working group report noted that: “…[U]nique ID could form the fulcrum around which all other smart card applications and e-governance initiatives would revolve. This could also form the basis of a public-privatepartnership wherein unique ID-based data can be outsourced to other users, who would, in turn, build up their smart card-based applications…. In the context of the unique ID, part of this database could be shared with even purely private smart card initiatives such as private banking/financial services on a pay-as-you-use principle….”
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C A P T U RI N G F I N G E R P R I N TS AT
a special booth set up at Patancheru in
Medak district, Andhra Pradesh. The callousness that this report displays in sharing personal information with private companies is astonishing. In India, one major threat to privacy arises from here: the promotion of private players in the provision of social services, such as education, insurance and health (see Mohan Rao’s article on page 19). With the privatisation of social services, personal data would be transformed into commodities in the market for Aadhaar numbers. In such a context, promises to introduce privacy laws become weak tools to gain the trust of citizens. IS BIOMETRIC TECHNOLOGY INFALLIBLE?
Among the technological features of Aadhaar, the collection of biometrics is most significant. Apart from biometrics, there is no systemic check to prevent “identity theft”. While there is agreement among biometric and legal experts regarding critical drawbacks of biometrics in proving identity beyond doubt, the Aadhaar project demonstrates extraordinary levels of faith in the infallibility of biometrics. First, no accurate information exists on whether errors of fingerprint matching are negligible or non-existent. A small percentage of users would always be either falsely matched or not matched at all. Secondly, a report from 4G Identity Solutions, a supplier and consultant for the UIDAI, recognises that people above 60 years and children below 12 years have difficulties in enrolling with fingerprints. Fingerprints of manual F R O N T L I N E
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labourers are likely to be broken or eroded, apart from accidental damages to fingers from burns, chemicals, and other agents. Owing to such bad or noisy data, “the failure to enrol is as high as 15 per cent” in India; this involves a minimum of 180 million persons. If fingerprint readers are installed at MGNREGS work sites and PDS outlets, and employment or purchases are made contingent on authentication, about 180 million persons will be excluded from accessing these schemes. Biometric Standards Committee report Many of the misgivings with regard to biometrics were reaffirmed by the UIDAI’s Biometrics Standards Committee. This committee conducted a sample study of 25,000 persons. Even in such a small sample, 2 to 5 per cent of the respondents did not have “biometric records”. Error rates increased by 2 to 3 per cent when the software was “untuned” to local conditions. The report also noted that sensors would not usually capture fingerprints accurately when women apply mehendi on their fingers. For iris images, the report did not provide estimates of error because of the “absence of empirical Indian data”. It recommended that iris images should be used only “if they [UIDAI] feel it is required”. The Proof of Concept (PoC) study of the UIDAI also does not inspire confidence regarding the potential of biometrics to work in large populations (see R. Ramachandran’s article on page 25). However, despite adverse techni-
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cal reports, the UIDAI decided to proceed with the collection of fingerprints and iris images for the entire population. Given that the total project cost is over Rs.50,000 crore, it is but natural that hard questions are asked on these spending decisions. “REFORMS” IN THE SOCIAL SECTOR?
“We have to rework the system. If we simply introduce UID without re-engineering the system, it wouldn’t work,” said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, in September. He is right. Aadhaar would drastically reform the architecture of welfare provisions and qualitatively restructure the state’s role in the social sector (see articles on PDS (page 16), MGNREGS (page 122) and health (page 19)). This policy has two elements, both of which are constitutive of neoliberal policy in India. The first is a shift from universalism to targeting. Aadhaar is not intended to expand social service provisions. Its aim is to keep benefits restricted to “targeted” sections, ensure targeting with precision, and thus limit the government’s fiscal commitments. As Manmohan Singh stated in July 2010: “To reduce our fiscal deficit in the coming years,… we must [be]… reducing the scale of untargeted subsidies. The operationalisation of the Unique Identification Number Scheme… provides an opportunity to target subsidies effectively.” The second is a shift from direct provision to indirect provision of social and economic services. Here, existing institutions of direct intervention are dismantled and replaced by new institutions of indirect provision. Aadhaar, as claimed, is not a tool of empowerment; it is actually an alibi for the state to leave the citizen unmarked in the market for social services. Aadhaar as sufficient identity proof? A key premise for Aadhaar is that inability to prove identity is a barrier that prevents the poor from accessing
services. It is true that the lack of identity prevents a large number of poor from, say, getting a ration card or opening a bank account. Will Aadhaar be sufficient proof of identity to access these services? Will Aadhaar do away with the need to present other documents for proving identity? In all probability, the answers are in the negative. For instance, the UIDAI claims that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made Aadhaar a valid identity proof for opening a bank account. It also claims that this step would lead to rapid growth of financial inclusion. How accurate are these two claims? Indeed, through a gazette in November 2010, the government added the letter from the UIDAI, with the Aadhaar number, to the list of documents that may be accepted as proof of identification. However, in a circular, dated September 28, 2011, the RBI clarified: “It is reiterated that while opening accounts based on Aadhaar also, banks must satisfy themselves about the current address of the customer by obtaining required proof of the same as per extant instructions.” In other words, even with an Aadhaar number, banks would continue to demand other “valid” documents. Aadhaar for financial exclusion? Despite the phenomenal spread of public banking in rural areas after 1969, a large section of the Indian people remain “unbanked”. One of the reasons is that many of the successes achieved between 1969 and 1991 were reversed by the financial liberalisation policies after 1991. For instance, a large number of rural bank branches were closed down in the 1990s and early 2000s. In any meaningful financial inclusion policy, opening of new rural bank branches has to be a priority. However, the government has other plans. For the government, the earlier “brick-and-mortar” model of rural banking is passé. The preferred option is to encourage “branchless banking”, and this is where Aadhaar becomes important. In a working paper on financial inclusion, the UIDAI notes that taking 1 0
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banking to rural areas is an “expensive proposition”. Hence, opening rural branches becomes a “social responsibility rather than a business opportunity”. It suggests that Aadhaar can usher in “an era of ubiquitous branchless banking”. Instead of opening rural branches, the bank may simply appoint “business correspondents” (B.C.), who, with the help of hand-held biometric devices, perform banking functions. To promote the B.C. model, the RBI has already permitted the appointment of “for-profit companies” as B.Cs. The size of the “B.C. market” was recently estimated at Rs.3,000 crore. Just by routing MGNREGS wages, the B.Cs are likely to earn up to Rs.600 crore a year as commission. The B.C. model has already triggered adverse outcomes in rural areas. On March 18, 2011, an internal circular of the State Bank of India noted that B.Cs were “found to indulge in malpractices, such as asking for unauthorised money, over and above the bank’s approved rates of charges from the customers”. It noted that “gullible customers” are being “exploited”, posing “serious risk” to the bank’s reputation. During discussions with a leading bank union, I was told that B.Cs regularly extracted Rs.100 to 150 per gold loan in many south Indian districts. One newspaper recently quoted a B.C. employee in Punjab thus: “75 per cent of B.C. agents are village sarpanchs or their kin.” To conclude, a project of the size and cost of Aadhaar should not be pursued without wider discussions among the public and in Parliament. Such projects should inspire public trust and confidence. However, the undue haste displayed by the proponents of the project raises many questions. The sad part of the story is that there are no satisfactory answers. 첸 R. Ramakumar is Associate Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Aadhaar and PDS: Page 16 Aadhaar and health services: Page 19 Aadhaar and NREGS: Page 122
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
In two minds? The government seems confused on key aspects of the UID scheme, and so is the main opposition. B Y V E N K I T E S H R A M A K R I S H N A N I N N E W D E L H I
The bureaucracy is apparently unhappy with the relative financial autonomy that the UIDAI has been accorded. The Planning Commission questioned the Rs.3,000 crore it was spending on collecting fingerprints, iris scans and photographs.
servers are of the view that the UIDAI could face a third line of trouble from the audit initiated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The Finance Ministry rejected a demand from the UIDAI to increase its outlay from Rs.3,023 crore to Rs.17,863 crore and enhance its biometric capture mandate from 200 million to all 1.2 billion. The Home Ministry questioned the accuracy of the UIDAI data and asserted that the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which functions under the Ministry, would complete the collection of biometrics that it had already initiated as part of the Census.
“FOR all the hype about it, the hallmark of the UID [Unique Identification] programme is a sense of incompleteness in terms of both conception and implementation. The muddled political perceptions on it within the government and outside emerge naturally out of these imperfections,” This was how a senior bureaucrat in the Finance Ministry responded when Frontline sought his reaction to the recent controversial developments vis-a-vis the UIDAI. The refrain in the Central bureaucracy refers to the multiple conflicts within the government on the programme and the confusion in the political leadership. Interestingly, the principal opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also seems to have got sucked into this vortex of confusion and has not articulated a clear position on the project and its implementation. The Left parties, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPI(M), have expressed reservations about some aspects of the project. The CPI(M) leadership has stated that it is closely monitoring the project and the moves to bring about legislation on UID and will come up with interventions as and when required. In the midst of all this, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has through a number of sittings considered a Bill to accord legal status to the UIDAI. While the Standing Committee’s deliberations are confidential, there are indications that several of its members have questioned the necessity of such a project. Some wings of the government have raised similar questions. The merits and the functioning of the UIDAI have been questioned also by the Planning Commission. Several political ob-
DOUBTS RAISED BY PLANNING COMMISSION
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The Planning Commission even questioned the approximately Rs.3,000 crore that the UIDAI was spending to collect fingerprints, iris scans and photographs of a section of the population. In fact, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the Commission’s Member-Secretary Sudha Pillai reportedly objected to the UIDAI’s proposal to raise its implementation costs and the methods adopted by the authority to collect citizen biometrics. In a letter dated August 30, Ahluwalia requested the Home Minister to “kindly see the note below with the duplication in the rollout of Aadhaar numbers by UIDAI and the ongoing exercise of the national population register by the Registrar General of India”. Obviously following up on this, Sudha Pillai pointed out that “a reasoned decision is missing [on] whether iris [scans] really needs to be collected”. She also added that the Planning Commission was keen to avoid the duplication of data and expenditure. While these missives and the rejection of the proposed outlay signify the turbulence in the government in relation to the very purpose of the UIDAI and the way it has evolved and sought to implement its schemes, the performance audit initiated by the CAG in early October involves inspecting the functioning of the UIDAI so far. Naturally, the expenditure incurred by the authority would also come under the CAG scanner. Several political observers, including a number of Members of Parliament, are of the view that the CAG report could raise some questions on the UIDAI’s expenditures, especially in 1 1
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the context of the financial autonomy that has been provided to the authority. Supporters of the UIDAI and its Chairman allege that the CAG audit is unwarranted since the authority has been functional barely for a year. The relative financial autonomy accorded to the UIDAI is being perceived as improper by a number of seasoned bureaucrats, including CAG Vinod Rai and Sudha Pillai. The style of functioning of UIDAI Chairman and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has also apparently rankled several people in the government machinery, both politicians and bureaucrats. “Technically the UIDAI is supposed to be under the Home Ministry, but there have been several occasions when the authority dealt directly with the Finance Ministry, giving the clear impression of bypassing the designated reporting Ministry. This has not been taken lightly by many in the Home Ministry,” a senior Home Ministry official told Frontline. DISCOMFITURE FOR PRIME MINISTER
Clearly, all these pulls and pressures have put the political leadership of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in a spot. In particular, these developments have added to the discomfiture of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who apparently had a major say in initiating the UIDAI project. Naturally, the political spokespersons of the Congress have not made any effort of their own to clear the air in regard to the conflicting pressures and pulls within the government machinery. The matter has not figured in the issues routinely addressed by the party in its diverse forums. However, talking to Frontline, Congress spokesperson Abishek Manu Singhvi said that the UPA government was committed to taking the UID project forward. Specifically referring to the contradictory views within the government and in institutions such as the Planning Commission, he said: “Dissent and contrary views are always welcome in India, but democracy
should not begin to mean that every person must be convinced and must express agreement before a public interest, national interest project is implemented. … Every issue would certainly have a contrary view, but debate cannot continue ad infinitum and ad nauseam. What needs to be seen is that the UID is likely to transform the face of India by effectively dealing with the scourge of leakages in public welfare development projects and providing a uniform model of verification for one of the largest populations in the world. If these are not good enough reasons, so be it.” Singhvi also added that the Congress was of the view that the benefits of the UID project far outweighed the apprehensions and complaints about the fear of data and identity theft as also the reduction of subsidies and decrease in the number of beneficiaries of welfare projects.
The Left objects to the way the project is being used to undermine subsidies for the poor. The Left parties, however, are questioning the ruling party’s assertions. Speaking to Frontline, CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu pointed out that the government and the authority itself had derailed the original idea that formed the basis for the UID project. “There are several concerns about the objectives that the UIDAI proposes to pursue now, especially in the way the project is being channelled to become an instrument for effecting changes in the subsidy regime. One of these proposals is the cash transfer scheme that has been contemplated for delivering food and fertilizer subsidy. We have expressed our strong 1 2
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protest at this. There is also an apprehension that the UID would become an intrusionary instrument for reducing the number of beneficiaries in poverty alleviation programmes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme [MGNREGS].” Basu added that the Left parties would inspect the proposed law concerning the UID closely and would oppose anything that sought to reverse the existing rights of the poor. BJP leader Yashwant Sinha pointed out that he could not make pointed comments on the merits and demerits of the UID as he was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which is considering the Bill to accord legal status to the UIDAI. But he agreed that the understanding that the UID could not move forward without the imprimatur of a legislative act of Parliament was a sound one. Sinha’s party has broadly welcomed the initiatives on the UID, but its spokesperson Shanawaz Hussain cautioned, in keeping with the party’s Hindutva-oriented nationalist perspective, that the authority should take care not to give the UID to illegal immigrants, especially from Bangladesh. Hussain told Frontline that the party was considering other criticisms against the UID and would formulate concrete views in the days to come. Obviously, the two mainstream parties are thinking on similar lines. Both seem to support the UID and both seem confused on crucial issues concerning the project’s conception and implementation. Whether this bodes well for the project or not is a moot question. There are supporters of the UIDAI who feel such confusion in political circles may actually facilitate easier functioning of the authority. But several others are of the view that this lack of political direction will facilitate unwarranted and mischievous bureaucratic interference. It remains to be seen which of these projections actually dominates the UID’s trajectory. 첸
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DECEMBER 2, 2011
A case for privacy The strongest protection possible must be given for the right to privacy in any statute or scheme, including the UID project. B Y A . G . N O O R A N I
The right to privacy is like the elephant – easy to detect, yet all but impossible to define. Statutes on the subject do exist. But the experience is not particularly inspiring. IT is 30 years since a Congress Member of Parliament, V.N. Gadgil, suggested an Act for the protection of privacy, designed, no doubt, to curb press exposure of the wrongdoings of politicians. In reality, it is all but impossible to draft a statute that strikes a fair balance between people’s right to know and the protection of a person’s privacy. In India, as in the United Kingdom, there is no tort of privacy. India’s law of torts (that is, civil wrongs punishable in damages) is based on case law, English and foreign. However, the Supreme Court of India has inferred right to privacy from the ones explicitly guaranteed. Article 21 of the Constitution contains a guarantee of personal liberty and it is obvious that personal liberty also involves the right to privacy. The Supreme Court ruled in Kharak Singh’s case in 1962 that the right to privacy is not a guaranteed right under our Constitution though it struck down domiciliary visits at night as being violative of “personal liberties”. A minority, comprising Justices K. Subbarao and J.C. Shah, held that the right to privacy was “an essential ingredient of personal liberty”. In the Nakheeran case [R. Rajagopal vs State of Tamil Nadu (1994) 6 SCC 632], the court said: “The right to privacy is implicit in the right to life and guaranteed to the citizens of this country by Article 21. It is a ‘right to be left alone’. A citizen has a right to safeguard the privacy of himself, his family, marriage, procreation, motherhood, child-bearing and education, among other matters. No one can publish anything concerning the above matters without his consent – whether truthful or otherwise and whether laudatory or critical. If he does so, he would be violating the right to privacy of the person concerned and would be liable in an action for damF R O N T L I N E
ages. The position may, however, be different if a person voluntarily thrusts himself into controversy or voluntarily invites or raises a controversy.” There is another aspect to the right to privacy. India is a party to the United Nation’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 17 of the Covenant states that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference and attacks.” India ratified the Covenant on March 27, 1979. The instrument of ratification contains reservations to some of the other provisions of the Covenant, but not to Article 17. This is a treaty obligation enforceable internationally through the Human Rights Committee set up by the Covenant. India has to file periodic reports on its observance of the Covenant and successive Attorneys General have been grilled by the Committee’s members on the pathetic state of India’s reports. IN U.S. AND U.K.
Even in the United States and Britain, legal recognition to privacy came in slow stages. It began with an article in 1890 in the Harvard Law Review by Louis D. Brandeis and his friend and law partner, Samuel Warren. Entitled “The Right to Privacy”, it was widely noticed. In 1928, as a judge of the Supreme Court, Brandeis gave a vigorous dissent upholding this right, which he called “the right to be let alone”. This was in Olmstead vs U.S., the famous telephone tapping case. The majority ruled that evidence, thus obtained, was admissible in courts. The ruling has suffered much battering since. English common law recognised no right to privacy. Committees were set up to consider legislation on the right to privacy, only to find that no easy solution was possible. Reconciliation of this right with the freedom of speech is not an easy task. However, the Human Rights Act, 1998, “incorporates” as British law the “European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” signed in 1950. Article 8(1) of the Convention says that “everyone has the right to respect for his 1 3
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private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. Clause (2) carves out permissible restrictions, which are “necessary in a democratic society” in the interests of national security, for the prevention of crime, etc. Several cases have since been decided in English courts, which are of direct relevance to us. English cases are citable in our courts. DATA PROTECTION ACT
In 1998, Britain enacted the Data Protection Act, which lays down the principles and establishes a hierarchy of officials. Data controllers are subject to the jurisdiction of the Information Commissioner. It says: “Data controllers must also abide by the data protection principles. They are, in brief, (a) the data must be processed fairly and lawfully and only for one of the prescribed purposes. For data concerning ‘sensitive’ matters, there is a narrower group of specified purposes; (b) it must be adequate, relevant and not excessive for the purpose; (c) it must be accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date; (d) it must not be kept for longer than is necessary; (e) it must be processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects; (f) appropriate technical and organisational measures must be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss or destruction of or damage to the data; (g) it must not be transferred out of the EEA [European Economic Area] unless the country to which it is taken or sent gives adequate protection for the rights of data subjects. “The Commissioner can serve an enforcement notice if she is satisfied that a data controller has contravened any of these principles. An individual who suffers damage because a data controller has contravened any requirement of the Act is entitled to claim compensation. The special provisions for journalistic material gives exemption from: the data subjection principles (except those concerning security of data); data subject access rights; the rights of data subjects to prevent data processing; the rights of
data subjects to correct inaccuracies; and rights concerning automated decision-making” (see Media Law, by Geoffrey Robertson, QC and Andrew Nicol, QC, Penguin, 4th Edition, pages 278-279). Any law on data protection enacted by the Parliament of India will be tested on the anvil of Article 19. Section 32 of the British Data Protection Act provides “public interest” exemptions for “journalistic, literary or artistic material”. The test in each case is public interest. Public interest is a concept entirely different from material in which the public would be interested. In 2004, the Supreme Court of India decided a case in which the right to privacy was involved. It concerned Section 73 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and its amendment by Andhra Pradesh in 1986. As amended in 1986, it read: “Every public officer or any person having in his custody any registers, books, records, papers, documents or proceedings, the inspection whereof may attend to secure any duty, or to prove or lead to the discovery of any fraud or omission in relation to any duty, shall at all reasonable times permit any person authorised in writing by the Collector to enter upon any premises and to inspect for such purposes the registers, books, records, papers, documents and proceedings, and to take such notes and extracts as he may deem necessary, without fee or charge and if necessary to seize them and impound the same under proper acknowledgement. “Provided that such seizure of any registers, books, records, papers, documents or other proceedings, in the custody of any bank be made only after a 1 4
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notice of 30 days to make good the deficit stamp duty is given.” The Supreme Court Bench, comprising R. Lahoti and A. Bhan, surveyed the case law in the U.S. and in India, but not in the U.K. It held: “The impugned provision in Section 73 enabling the Collector to authorise ‘any person’ whatsoever in respect, to take notes or extracts from the papers in the public office suffers from the vice of excessive delegation as there are no guidelines in the Act and, more importantly, the Section allows the facts relating to the customer’s privacy to reach non-governmental persons and would, on that basis, be an unreasonable encroachment into the customer’s rights. This part of Section 73 permitting delegation to ‘any person’ suffers from the above serious defects and for that reason is, in our view, unenforceable. The state must clearly define the officers by designation or state that the power can be delegated to officers not below a particular rank in the official hierarchy, as may be designated by the state.” Besides, the AP amendment of 1986 permitted inspection being carried out by the Collector by having access to documents that were even in private custody; that is, custody other than that of a public officer. It empowered invasion of the home of the person in whose possession the documents “tending” to or leading to the various facts stated in Section 73 were in existence. Section 73 was devoid of any safeguards as to probable or reasonable cause or reasonable basis or materials. It, therefore, violated the right to privacy both of the house and of the person. The court referred to the R. Rajagopal case wherein the
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When ordering a pizza...
learned judges held that “the right to personal liberty also means life free from encroachments unsustainable in law”, and such a right flowed from Article 21 of the Constitution. Right to privacy was upheld again by the Supreme Court of India in another judgment most recently: Ram
Jethmalani vs Union of India. Delivered by Justices P. Sathasivam and H.L. Gokhale, it read: “Right to privacy is an integral part of right to life. This is a cherished constitutional value, and it is important that human beings be allowed domains of freedom that are free of pubF R O N T L I N E
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lic scrutiny unless they act in an unlawful manner…. [A]s constitutional adjudicators we always have to be mindful of preserving the sanctity of constitutional values, and hasty steps that derogate from fundamental rights, whether urged by governments or private citizens, howsoever well meaning they may be, have to be necessarily very carefully scrutinised. The solution for the problem of abrogation of one zone of constitutional values cannot be the creation of another zone of abrogation of constitutional values…. An inquisitorial order, where citizens’ fundamental right to privacy is breached by fellow citizens is destructive of social order. The notion of fundamental rights, such as a right to privacy as part of right to life, is not merely that the state is enjoined from derogating from them. It also includes the responsibility of the state to uphold them against the actions of others in the society, even in the context of exercise of fundamental rights by those others…. “…There is an inherent danger in making exceptions to fundamental principles and rights on the fly. Those exceptions, bit by bit, would then eviscerate the content of the main right itself. Undesirable lapses in upholding of fundamental rights by the legislature, or the executive, can be rectified by assertion of constitutional principles by this court…. We are not proposing that Constitutions cannot be interpreted in a manner that allows the nation-state to tackle the problems it faces. The principle is that exceptions cannot be carved out willy-nilly, and without forethought as to the damage they may cause.” To sum up, the right to privacy is like the elephant – easy to detect, yet all but impossible to define. However, this is not to say that statutes on the subject do not exist. They do, in Canada as well as in the U.S. But the experience is not particularly inspiring. The best course then is to give the strongest protection possible for the right to privacy in any statute that may be enacted. That holds for any public scheme, including the UID project. 첸
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DECEMBER 2, 2011
PDS in peril The promotion of the PDS as an Aadhaar application would fundamentally alter its form and character. B Y R . R A M A K U M A R
Scholarly opinion is significantly in favour of a return to universal PDS. However, a powerful lobby of the ruling elite and a section of economists are resisting it. Aadhaar is a tool in their hands to ensure that universal PDS is never reinstated. NO scheme of the Indian government would be transformed more fundamentally by Aadhaar than the public distribution system (PDS). The nature of this transformation appears to be taking the form of a virtual dismantling of the PDS; even if a skeletal fair price shop (FPS, or ration shop) system continues to exist, it is likely to be squeezed to death sooner than later. Universal PDS was established in India in 1965 as part of a national food policy. An important feature of this policy was the integration of food procurement and distribution. The government procured foodgrains from farmers at a procurement price and distributed the grain across the country through the PDS. The policy was formed on the basis of experience that showed the market to be a poor substitute for state action in moving foodgrains. In the period after 1965, the outcomes of state intervention in the food economy were mixed. On the one hand, the PDS acted as a check against exacerbation of regional disparities in foodgrain consumption (see “Food insecurities”, Frontline, July 17, 2010). On the other hand, the PDS was not serving a large section of India’s population and its performance across States, judged by the off-take of grain, varied considerably. Thus, by the 1990s, the challenge was how to extend the PDS to more regions and sections. However, the official policy after 1991 took the PDS on a different trajectory. In 1997, the government abolished universal PDS and replaced it with targeted PDS (TPDS). The 1 6
population was classified into above poverty line (APL) and below poverty line (BPL) households. Only BPL households were eligible for subsidised grain. The experience after 1997 shows that TPDS led to the exclusion of a massive section of the poor from the PDS. There were major mismatches between households classified as APL and their actual standard of living. ‘INEFFICIENCY’ IS POLICY-INDUCED
Thus, the poor “efficiency” of the PDS under the neoliberal regime was a policy-induced phenomenon. The critical problem with the PDS today is that it remains narrowly targeted. Needless to say, Aadhaar cannot address this problem; it is a non sequitur. The draft National Food Security Bill, released in September 2011, does not seek a return to a universal PDS. Instead, it disingenuously renames BPL households as “Priority” households and splits APL households into two: (a) “General” households; and (b) the rest, who are totally excluded from the PDS. Five features of the Bill are notable. First, the share of Priority and General households will continue to be based on the Tendulkar poverty lines, which were at the centre of the recent controversy over poverty lines. Second, General households will be entitled to a smaller quantity of foodgrains than the Priority households, at higher prices. Third, the strength of the entitlement right for General households will be weaker than for Priority households. Fourth, no more than 75 per cent of the rural households, and 50 per cent of the urban households can come under the ambit of the PDS. Fifth, schemes such as cash transfers and food coupons are allowed to replace foodgrain entitlements, if the government so wishes. Clearly, the first four features keep the proposed system substantially close to the existing TPDS. The fifth feature is intended to undermine the PDS and replace it with food coupons or cash transfers. Scholarly opinion in India today is significantly in favour of a return to universal PDS. However, a powerful lobby of the ruling elite and a section of economists are resisting it. Aadhaar is a tool in the
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The exaggerated focus on fake ration cards can be challenged from another angle. In the operation of the PDS, there are two major sources of leakage. First, there are leakages after foodgrains leave the godown and before they reach the fair price shop. Secondly, there are leakages between the FPS and the customers. Any observer of the PDS knows that the major proportion of leakages belong to the former category, and the latter accounts for only a small proportion.
C. VENKATACHALAPATHY
PDS REFORMS AND AADHAAR
IN CU DDA L O R E , T A M I L Nadu: The portability proposed under the UID project is largely incompatible with static fair price shops.
hands of this lobby to ensure that universal PDS is never reinstated. The official thinking on PDS reforms is already available in “Economic Survey 2009-10”. The official thinking on the use of Aadhaar in the PDS is available in a working paper of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). It claims that there are massive leakages in the PDS caused by the widespread circulation of “bogus ration cards”. It claims that Aadhaar can eliminate bogus ration cards. Indeed, such an inversion of the problems in the PDS – an exaggerated focus on leakages and fake ration cards – is a necessary self-justification for the government and the UIDAI. The government wants to establish that the existing PDS is “inefficient” and needs phasing out. The UIDAI wants to establish that fake ration cards are the biggest challenge to the PDS and that any PDS reform has to “leverage” Aadhaar.
Indeed, fake ration cards exist in most States and eliminating them is a major challenge. However, two important points need to be noted. First, the proportion of fake ration cards across the States is small, ranging from 2 to 13 per cent. Secondly, many States have already identified fake ration cards and eliminated them even before the introduction of Aadhaar. The annual report for 2010-11 of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies notes that 208.57 lakh fake ration cards were eliminated across 26 States, as of December 2010. In many of these States, the issue of new ration cards and PDS operations are at advanced levels of computerisation. Some States have successfully introduced hologram-enabled technologies to eliminate duplicate ration cards. Further, the frailties of biometrics in proving identity beyond doubt raises major questions about such claims regarding Aadhaar. F R O N T L I N E
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Many States have already begun reforming their PDS networks using GPS-monitored and coloured trucks that carry grains from godowns to fair price shops. SMS alerts are sent to village residents over stock movements at their FPS, thus empowering them with information. In all these efforts, the priority focus was on leakages before the grain reached the fair price shop. Aadhaar has no role here. Yet, the government persists with the use of Aadhaar as a necessary premise for PDS reform. This is where the plan to dismantle the PDS using Aadhaar unfurls. According to the UIDAI working paper, the government needs to liberalise the allocation of fair price shops to reduce PDS leakages and beneficiaries should be given freedom to choose the best fair price shop. The paper argues that “two aspects of the Aadhaar-enabled system – linking grain allocation to authenticated offtake, and choice of FPS for the beneficiary – would enable a significant shift from the present approach, where foodgrain allocations within the PDS are static, supply-led and divorced from beneficiary demand and choice. The Aadhaar-enabled approach would instead help create a demand-led, dynamic system.” According to the paper, “systemic efficiency” can be improved by substituting fair price shops with food stamps or direct cash transfers. An identical view is expressed in the “Report of the Task Force on an IT Strategy for PDS and an Implementable
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Solution for the Direct Transfer of Subsidy for Food and Kerosene” (chaired, again, by Nandan Nilekani), submitted in October 2011. The arguments in “Economic Survey 2009-10” and the UIDAI paper are repeated here; they include providing “beneficiaries maximum choice” and introducing “token-agnostic technology solutions” like “direct cash transfers”. . The UIDAI paper further claims that Aadhaar can enable PDS to be “portable”. Thus, a migrant worker can buy his/her PDS quota from anywhere in India. The claim, of course, has a deceptive appeal. One would have to dig deeper to grasp the real intent. PORTABLE PDS?
At present, each fair price shop has a specified number of households registered with it and stores grain only for them. The shop owner would not know how many migrant workers might approach him and demand grain, and for what periods. Hence, for lack of stock, he would turn the migrants away. In other words, the proposed portability of the PDS is largely incompatible with static fair price shops. Even if these outlets were fully computerised, the nature of circular and seasonal migration would ensure that the system could not respond optimally. If full portability of the PDS is insisted upon – and this is what proponents of Aadhaar do – there is only one way out: do away with the fair price shops, accredit grocery shops to sell grain against food stamps, and allow these shops to compete with one another. According to the government’s plan, while food stamps are the medium-term solution, the long-term solution is a shift to direct cash transfers. Food stamps and cash transfers can be provided through Aadhaar numbers. Clearly, a shift to food stamps and cash transfers would mean an end to the fair price shop model. In fact, if we consider a limited form of PDS portability as adequate, it could easily be implemented within the present system, using hologramenabled cards or smart cards. However, nothing short of “leveraging Aad-
Proposed schemes such as food coupons and direct cash transfers are meant to undermine PDS. haar” appears palatable to its proponents. Typically, food stamps are worth an amount that households can exchange to buy food from any seller. However, there are very few countries that have found success with food stamp schemes. A number of generic problems have plagued food stamp schemes across most countries (see Madhura Swaminathan, “Targeted Food Stamps”, The Hindu, August 3, 2004). First, food stamps are rarely indexed for inflation. With a rise in inflation, the real value of the stamps falls. According to Kaushik Basu, Adviser to the Finance Minister, this can be addressed by adjusting the value of stamps annually, on the basis of an expected inflation rate for the next year. Basu should surely know that this would be no piece of cake. Secondly, possession of food stamps does not always translate into physical access to food. In many countries, shops either did not stock the commodities linked to stamps or simply refused to sell commodities against stamps. Thirdly, food stamps are difficult to administer. There are always delays in issuing food stamps and reimbursing the shops. Stamps are also faked on a large scale. For these reasons, replacing the PDS with food stamps not only would be impetuous, but also would inflict new burdens on the poor. DIRECT CASH TRANSFERS?
According to Basu, “a system with directed cash transfers would, arguably, 1 8
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be better than…the direct delivery of foodgrains to the poor through…ration shops”. In direct cash transfers, a specific amount of money is transferred to a household to meet a specific need. The argument is that giving cash can reduce transaction costs of the government and lead to faster delivery and expanded beneficiary choice. Can direct cash transfers be an effective substitute to the PDS? Without judging the utility of direct cash transfers as a complementary effort to transfer resources to the poor, there are strong reasons why it cannot be an effective substitute to the PDS. First, the emergence of the PDS in India was part of a national food policy that tried to address the interests of consumers and producers. It was an integrated system of food procurement and distribution. Any dismantling of the PDS would also mean an end to procurement, which forms an important institutional support to India’s peasantry. Secondly, money is fungible. For any household, a cash transfer would by no means ensure an equivalent quantity of food purchase or calorie intake. Thirdly, by definition, cash transfers are less self-selecting than the PDS. Self-selection means that households that do not want a particular provision voluntarily withdraw from accessing it. A classic example is the pre-1997 universal PDS in Kerala, where studies showed a tendency among richer households to withdraw from PDS purchases. However, when transfers are made in cash, the incentive to self-select declines significantly. Finally, just as for food stamps, a rise in inflation would lead to a fall in the real value of cash transfers. In sum, the promotion of the PDS as an Aadhaar application would fundamentally alter its form and character. Montek Singh Ahluwalia stated recently: “We have to rework the system. If we simply introduce UID without re-engineering the system, it wouldn’t work.” What is clear is that this re-engineering would be nothing short of a virtual dismantling of the PDS. 첸
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DECEMBER 2, 2011
False promises The claim that the Unique Identification project will facilitate the delivery of basic health services is dishonest. B Y M O H A N R A O AMONG the many reasons cited for India to proceed with the Unique Identification (UID) project – that it will facilitate delivery of basic services, that it will plug leakages in public expenditure, that it will speed up achievement of targets in social sector schemes, and so on – the most specious is perhaps the claim that it will help India reach its public health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite impressive economic growth in the country, the huge load of preventable and communicable diseases remains substantially unchanged, in
K.N. CHARY
On the contrary, given that many diseases continue to bear a stigma in this country, the UID scheme has the unique potential of increasing stigma by breaching the anonymity of the health data collected.
at work with her baby at her side, in Tamil Nadu. The infant mortality rate is very high for working women, particularly those in the primary sector, a large proportion of whom are labourers.
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addition to starvation deaths. Although life expectancy has increased and infant and child mortality rates have declined, these declines have been relatively modest. Infant and child mortality take an unconscionable toll – 2.2 million children every year. We are yet to achieve the National Health Policy (NHP), 1983, target of reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR) to less than 60 per 1,000 live births in all the States. More serious is the fact that the rate of decline in the IMR has been decelerating, from 27 per cent in the 1980s to only 10 per cent in the 1990s. The same is true for the rate of decline in the mortality rate of children under five from 35 per cent in the 1980s to 15 per cent in the 1990s. It is clear that India will not reach the Millennium Development Goals of reducing IMR, U5MR and the maternal mortality rate (MMR). India has higher maternal deaths than any other country. The NHP target for 2000 was to reduce the MMR to less than 200 per 100,000 live births. However, in 2000, between 115,000 and 170,000 women died in childbirth, accounting for about onequarter of all maternal deaths worldwide. Far from declining over the 1990s, maternal and neo-natal morbidity and mortality rates in India have, at best, plateaued. High and unconscionable as these levels of maternal mortality are, it is nevertheless critical to bear in mind that they represent just a fraction of the morbidity and mortality load borne by women in the country. Thus, for instance, deaths caused by anaemia among women who are not pregnant are twice as many as among those who are. Similarly, communicable diseases take a much higher toll than that due to pregnancy and childbirth. The reasons are complex and stem, above all, from the lack of political and financial commitment to build a public health system that can meet the challenges. As the National Health Policy (NHP) 2002 admitted, this is, at 0.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), the fifth lowest public expenditure on health in the world.
The decline in public investments over the years was matched with growing subsidies to the private sector in health care in a variety of ways. Thus we have the largest, and one of the least regulated, private health care industry in the world. Evidence from across the country indicates that access to health care has declined sharply over the last two decades. As the government admits, the policy of levying user fees has impacted negatively upon access to public health facilities, especially for poor and marginalised communities and women. HIGH PRIVATE MEDICAL EXPENDITURE
It is to be remembered that along with poor public financing, India has one of the highest private medical expenditures in the world: out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for 83 per cent of the total health expenditure in the country. It is thus not surprising that, as the NHP 2002 notes, medical expenditure has emerged as one of the leading causes of indebtedness. At the same time, the proportion of people not availing themselves of any type of medical care for financial reasons increased between 1986-87 and 1995-96 from 10 to 21 per cent in urban areas, and from 15 to 24 per cent in rural areas. It is not just the poor; even the middle classes – the upper echelons of which welcomed globalisation – are finding it increasingly difficult to meet medical care costs. The short UID Working Paper on Public Health astonishingly sees the UID as helping create “demand” for public health in the country. If people are voting with their feet for the private sector, which they do not and cannot trust, it is precisely because the public T H I S M A T ERNI TY UN I T near the primary health centre at Sellamanthadi village near Dindigul in Tamil Nadu is not in use. Evidence over the past two decades shows that access to public health care has dwindled, spawning one of the world’s largest private health care industries. 2 0
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sector does not offer them quality care. Nor, indeed, is whatever care offered free of cost. Why then go to a crumbling system that offers little other than immunisation and family planning? Indeed, there is a huge unmet demand. In other words, the critical shortfall in supply of quality comprehensive services. How does the UID help with that? The UID Working Paper on public health sets out what it calls “killer application” to provide citizens an incentive to obtain a UID card in order to meet health needs. This unfortunate language apart, the fact that we have not built a health care system for the population is hardly fortuitous. The Working Paper highlights the fact that we lack good-quality health data or indeed even vital statistics. It is equally true that this should come from integrated routine health system and not ad hoc surveys. But how is the UID to rectify this? People are avoiding the public health system for a variety of reasons: lack of drugs, lack of doctors, having to pay for services, inconvenient hours, rude personnel, and so on. Unless these issues are attended to, data quality cannot be improved. The UID is no magic bullet. Thus the UID is not designed to
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Unless issues are attended to, data quality cannot be improved. The UID is no magic bullet.
G. KARTHIKEYAN
meet the public health challenges in the country and should not pretend to do so. On the contrary, given that many diseases continue to bear a stigma in this country, the UID scheme has the unique potential of increasing stigma by breaching the anonymity of health data collected. It thus violates the heart of the medical encounter, namely confidentiality. By making this information potentially available to employers and insurance companies, the scheme bodes further gross violations of health rights. It is this reason above all that persuaded many countries in Europe not to accept such schemes. The justification that the launch of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana provides a “killer” opportunity for the UID scheme to free ride is equally moot; an evaluation of the RSBY scheme in Kerala, a State with extremely good health indicators, shows a number of problems, in particular an inability to reach marginal groups (Narayana D., “Review of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana”, Economic and Political Weekly, vol.xlv, No.29, July 17, 2010). Anecdotal evidence from Kerala also indicates a huge increase in costs because of what are politely called “moral hazard” prob-
lems. Simply put, doctors in the private sector are subjecting patients to unnecessary tests and treatment now that they are assured of payments. In short, this creates an “effective demand” for the private sector in a segment of the population hitherto not availing itself of this because of poverty. It is for these reasons that the High Level Expert Group of the Planning Commission rejected recently such a model of health care universalisation. The biometric health insurance cards issued to Delhi slum-dwellers under the State government’s “Mission Convergence” scheme requires cardholders to identify themselves with a fingerprint before they can avail themselves of free hospital treatment. Nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) involved in the scheme say that they are inundated with complaints about malfunctioning fingerprint readers, which fail to authenticate even after multiple swipes. Since the scheme is tied up with private health providers, users in need of emergency treatment often end up paying inflated fees for services that they could get at a lower cost, if not free, at a government hospital. One area where the UID card would be extremely beneficial has, of course, to do with clinical trials. As is well known, since 2005, India has opened up as a market for clinical trials of drugs, and that this is a huge industry, with MNCs now rushing in. It is equally a well-known secret that the trials that are being conducted are not good trials that the MNCs want. F R O N T L I N E
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These good wishes are being vitiated by the trial subjects, the poor guinea pigs. Again, the evidence is of necessity anecdotal, but given the poverty levels, one way of getting quick cash – or indeed cellphones – is to enlist in several trials simultaneously. We all know this is happening and this is one area where the UID would be useful. That is to say, the guinea pigs can be carefully monitored not to enlist on more than one trial. Will it help in identifying side effects? In obtaining compensation for side effects or death? Of course not: the card cannot help here. While there are systemic problems for low health access and outreach (such as low – and falling – immunisation coverage), to pretend that the UID scheme offers a solution to the problem is dissembling at best, and dishonest at worst. The UID scheme has thus little to offer for improvement in the public health situation in the country. On the other hand, the UIDAI has much to gain from a link-up with the public health system. As the UIDAI Working Paper on public health puts it, in amazingly bad language: “The demand pull for this needs to be created de novo or fostered on existing platforms by the respective ministries. Helping various ministries visualise key applications that leverage existing government entitlement schemes such as the NREGA and PDS will get their buy-in into the project .... and will also build excitement and material support from the ministries for the UID project even as it gets off the ground.” Given the significant potential for misuse of data, human rights violations and breach of confidentiality of health information, one hopes that the Ministry of Health will restrain its “excitement” and undertake a rigorous analysis of the costs and risks of the scheme before providing “material support” to the UID project. Or is this expecting too much from a Ministry that routinely betrays people? 첸 Dr Mohan Rao is Professor, Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Enrolment saga The incentive of inclusion appears not to be sufficient to get people to enrol for the UID, so the strategy has shifted to the threat of exclusion. B Y U S H A R A M A N A T H A N
The UIDAI’s introducer system, set up to help enrol those without documents, is failing the poor. They may well end up being stripped of the identity they currently possess. THE Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has ambitious targets to meet. The Unique Identification (UID) number, or Aadhaar, has been marketed as a number that will give the poor and the undocumented an identity so that they can tell the state they exist. It is being promoted as a means of reaching services to the poor. It has been projected as voluntary, with the UIDAI not imposing any compulsion. It has been presented as potentially easing the way to fulfilling Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. It is, then, something to which every resident is entitled – a sentiment that is reflected in Clause 3 of the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 – and not something that will be mandated. That is how the project was presented to the public. The UID, unlike the United States’ Social Security number, carries no guarantee of any service or benefit. Among those who have multiple identification documents, its appeal was bound to be limited. These aspects – of voluntariness and lack of sufficient incentive to enrol – explain the shift in strategy that was effected early on in the process with one objective: to increase enrolment. While the UIDAI continued to insist that enrolment was voluntary, it worked on agencies within the government to make the UID mandatory before services could be accessed. The strategy to increase enrolment is reflected in the UIDAI’s document on “Public Health and UID”. The aggregation of records from various population databases such as those for the census, the public distribution system (PDS) and voters’ lists would still leave a large percentage of the population uncovered. Therefore, “every citizen must have a strong incentive or a ‘killer application’ to go and get herself 2 2
the UID, which one could think of as the demandside pull.... Helping various ministries visualise key applications that leverage existing government entitlement schemes such as the NREGA [National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] and the PDS will (1) get their buy-in into the project (2) help them roll out the mechanisms that generate the demand-pull and (3) can inform a flexible and future-proof design for the UID database.... Health and health-related development schemes could offer a killer application for the UID.” In October, the Ministry of Rural Development indicated in a tender that it intended to link access to NREGA jobs with the possession of a UID. Academics and activists working on the NREGA protested that loading the UID agenda on the NREGA would cause harm to an already fragile system. On May 17, senior activists responding to media reports that had begun to circulate that the UID was to be made compulsory for NREGA benefits in Mysore wrote to the Ministry characterising such a move as “unfair, illegal and dangerous”. “It is also disturbing to read from the same reports that the main purpose of this move is not to provide a facility to NREGA workers, but to facilitate the completion of UID enrolment,” they wrote. In September, it was the turn of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to declare by notification that refills of cooking gas cylinders would be available only to households that had enrolled for a UID. The incentive of inclusion was clearly not sufficient to get people to enrol, so the strategy has shifted to the threat of exclusion. Actually, though, given that 1.2 billion people cannot possibly be enrolled in the immediate future, this notification is unworkable. In Kerala, the government has set out to enrol six million students spanning 15,000 schools so that the UID may be used to track them through their years in school. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has ordered an inquiry into this potential violation of the right to privacy and dignity of the children in the State. Admittedly the UID project is an experiment – not a solution. In the process of experimenting with biometrics,
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KIRAN BAKALE
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P E OP L E W H O H A D
turned up at a school in Hubli, Karnataka, on September 17 to apply for Aadhaar.
the UIDAI has enlisted registrars with whom it has memorandums of understanding and enrollers who it has “prequalified” to do the work of capturing data. Interestingly, while recognising that biometrics is “sensitive information”, it has washed its hands of responsibility for the safety, security and confidentiality of the data during enrolment and passed the buck to the registrars. The “Guidelines” that the UIDAI has unilaterally framed for the registrars set out “principles and procedures”, but there is no evidence that there is any seriousness in enforcing these. For instance, it reads: “The individual from whom data is being collected should be informed the purpose for which information is being collected and how the data will be used.” There is no evidence of registrars or enrollers giving this information. In fact, it seems that neither registrars
nor enrollers have any idea of what use the data will be. The enrolment process has thrown up a host of issues already. ● In January, reports emerged about working-class women in Mumbai being unable to enrol because of blisters and calluses and the effect of abrasive detergents on their hands. More recently, in August and October, there were reports from Bangalore and Delhi that senior citizens were unable to get enrolled because their fingerprints did not work. The credibility roadblocks that these reports were setting up were sought to be removed by the UIDAI by threatening enrollers with “action” if they turned any person away. ● “Under Aadhaar, there is no provision to turn away residents who come to get themselves enrolled, and the quality of their biometrics can’t be decided by the operators on their own,” F R O N T L I N E
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the Deputy Director-General of the UIDAI reportedly wrote to the newspaper that had carried the news. This is a prescription for “forced capture”: when the fingerprints do not leave an impression the first time, they are pressed against the plate a second and a third time, and when a fourth attempt fails, the machine gives up, records what is on offer, and the programme will let the rest of the enrolment proceed. The UIDAI has been silent on the consequences of forced capture. ● Questions have arisen about persons with disabilities, some of whom may not have fingerprints or irises that meet the biometric standards required by the UIDAI for enrolment. A citizen journalist described the difficulties she had in getting an enrolment centre to accept her data – it needed the intervention of an official of the UIDAI in Delhi before the exercise was done.
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● In Pune, a man received his UID with his wife’s photograph appended to it. An article in The New Yorker describes how this embarrassment is sought to be averted: a computer operator sits in an office running through enrolment forms to make a cursory judgment whether the image matches the demographic information. “That day,” the journalist reports, “he had already inspected more than 5,000 photographs, and he had clicked “incorrect” 300 times: men listed as women, children as adults, photographs with two heads in them.” It seems there are infinite variations to the theme of error. ● In May, “unidentified persons” walked away with two laptops and a pen drive which held data pertaining to 140 persons from an enrolment centre in a school in Hadaspur, Maharashtra. The back-up information was also on the same laptop. The data included “sensitive details” relating to passports, voter ID cards, bank accounts, photographs and a range of other information. ● In July, five persons were arrested in Bangalore for issuing fake UIDs. The UIDAI heard about the racket when they were approached with complaints that “Global ID Solutions” was selling franchises to customers to take up Aadhaar enrolment for a non-refundable fee of Rs.2.5 lakh an enrolment kit. This episode exposed the perils of indiscriminate outsourcing. ● In October, a software error resulted in hundreds of residents of Colaba in south Mumbai having their addresses recorded as Kolaba, Raigarh district. The enrollers claimed that this was a software glitch and that enrolees would just have to return another day to re-enrol. Only, the guidelines of the UIDAI do not have a provision for reenrolling any resident. ● One of the “documents” that can be used for enrolment is a “certificate of identity having photo issued by a Group A Gazetted Officer on letterhead”. On November 1, a doctor in a Tilak Nagar Hospital in Bangalore was found blindly signing certificates presented to him by touts who were col-
lecting Rs.100 a certificate. ● The list grows, indicating an array of problems, and these are only the visible and obvious errors. It raises questions about how infallible and incorruptible this system is. The problems being encountered behind the scenes are not yet known, and there is still no information from the UIDAI about how the de-duplication process is functioning, or how many have fingerprints that will not work to authenticate their identity. APPROVED INTRODUCER
The Demographic Data Standards Committee of the UIDAI had created two demographic categories: those with documents and those without. For the latter – and the poor are the primary constituents of this category – the committee recommended a system of “approved introducers”. The committee drew an analogy with the opening of a bank account without documents but with the help of an introducer. The account retains a link with the introducer. This was “generalised and expanded”, and the idea of the “approved introducer” was institutionalised. Since the early days of enrolment, the awkwardness of the introducer idea has been evident. In January, the Pul Mithai enrolment centre in Delhi, which was located in a makeshift shack, was host to those whose jhuggis had been destroyed in the many demolition drives the city administration undertakes. Some of them had voter ID cards and ration cards and one of them brought along a driving licence, but these were not used in the enrolment. As homeless people, they had been the subject of a survey conducted under the direction of a “Mother NGO” (non-governmental organisation) as part of Mission Convergence by which process the Delhi government drew NGOs into their executive fold. The survey resulted in a temporary card which carried their name, gender, approximate age, a photograph and an “ID number” that held a coded key to the point in the map where they were 2 4
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surveyed. It also declared: “This card has been issued on the basis of selfreported information by the cardholder....” In the UID enrolment process, it was found that errors in age, especially, were quite common. Since they were officially homeless, they were assumed not to belong to an address even when they believed they were residents of an identifiable spot in the area. The enrolment form is not complete without an address to which the UID can be sent. So, an NGO lent its address. The columns asking for “information sharing consent” and for being given an Aadhaar-enabled bank account were ticked without anyone asking the enrolees whether they had other views on the subject. A young man of about 21 years had been the introducer for 70 people already – but knew none of them. He had no idea what his responsibilities or liabilities were should the information about the people he introduced be found inaccurate. Some while later, the NGO received the UID numbers at its office. A visit in March revealed that over 250 letters from the UIDAI were addressed to various homeless people who were proving difficult to locate. Some months later, a similar situation arose in Geeta Colony in East Delhi where, between the date of enrolment and the time that the letter of information was received, the pavement had been cleared of dwellers. If banks do open accounts on the basis of UID enrolment, information will reach as far as the address on the enrolment form – the poor may never learn of it, and banks will find themselves answerable for misdirected mail and inoperable accounts. It is no secret that the introducer system is failing the poor and exposing them to the probability of exclusion. Any alternative that is essayed, which does not care to know the poor as individuals may well end up stripping them of the identity they currently possess. 첸 Usha Ramanathan works on the jurisprudence of law, poverty and rights.
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
How reliable is UID? At the technical level, the question is whether the technology deployed for identification will return answers that are unambiguous. B Y R . R A M A C H A N D R A N
THE Unique Identification (UID) project, the national project of the Government of India, aims to give a unique 12-digit number – called Aadhaar – to every citizen of the country, a random number that is generated and linked to a person’s demographic and biometric information. The key word is “unique”. Launched in 2009 with the objective of reaching various benefits such as the public distribution system (PDS) to the poor, better targeting of developmental schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and enabling services such as the opening of a bank account, this uses technology based on a biometrics recognition system. Significantly, there will only be a UID number and no UID card as had been proposed earlier by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime. The advocates of the project believe that this will eliminate the multiple bureaucratic layers that the people of the country, particularly the rural poor, are confronted with and the multiplicity of documents that they have to present in order to access their legitimate entitlements, and the channels of corruption that these have bred over the years. But it has been clearly stated that “Aadhaar will only guarantee identity, not rights, benefits or entitlements”. It is only envisaged as a “robust” mechanism to eliminate duplicate and fake identities by uniquely verifying and authenticating genuine beneficiaries and legitimate claimants. After authentication by a centralised database of biometric and demographic information to which F R O N T L I N E
K. MURALI KUMAR
Many countries that launched their biometric identification systems scrapped the idea subsequently as there were many unanswered questions about the reliability of a biometric system for the purposes they had considered it.
BI OM E TR I C S C AN N I N G OF fingerprints during the launch of UID enrolment at the General Post Office in Bangalore on June 24.
service providers will be linked, this unique identification number alone will enable every individual to access services and entitlements anywhere in the country and at any time. The centralised database, Central ID Repository (CIDR), will be maintained and regulated by the UID Authority of India (UIDAI), which has been set up with the technocrat Nandan Nilekani, former co-chairman of the IT enterprise Infosys, as its chairman. So will the system do what it claims it will? Socio-political issues and those of ethics and breach of privacy have been raised in this regard in different quarters. But purely at a technical level, the question is whether the technology deployed for identification will return answers that are unambiguous. Can it be that definitive that the authentication and verification made by matching the presented data with the stored data for a given individual in the CIDR will be unique and refer only to that individual? Are there no errors in such biometric systems? What is biometrics? Biometrics, as defined by the report of the Whither Biometrics Committee (2010) of the National Research Council (NRC) of the Unit2 5
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ed States, “is the automated recognition of individuals based on their behavioural and biological characteristics. It is a tool for establishing confidence that one is dealing with individuals who are already known (or not known) and consequently that they belong to a group with certain rights (or to a group to be denied certain privileges). It relies on the presumption that individuals are physically and behaviourally distinct in a number of ways.” The UID biometric system is a “multi-modal” one and uses data on the ten (single) fingerprints, palm print or slap fingerprint (which combines the features of fingerprints and hand geometry), iris characteristics and facial images of every person. The NRC study concludes thus: “Human recognition systems are inherently probabilistic and hence inherently fallible. The chance of error can be made small but not eliminated…. The scientific basis of biometrics – from understanding the distribution of biometric traits within given populations to how humans interact with biometric systems – needs strengthening particularly as biometric technologies and systems are deployed in systems of national importance.” A biometric identification system basically involves the matching of measured biometric data against previously collected data, the reference database, for a given individual. Since the sources of uncertainty in a biometric system are many, this can only be approximate. So biometric systems can only provide probabilistic results. SOURCES OF UNCERTAINTY
The sources of uncertainty include variations in biological attributes both within and between persons, sensor characteristics, feature extraction and matching algorithms. Traits captured by biometric systems may change with age, environment, disease, stress, occupational factors, socio-cultural aspects of the situation in which data submission takes place, changes in human interface with the system and,
significantly, even intentional alterations. This would be so particularly of the poor engaged in labour-intensive occupations such as farming, where hands are put to rough use causing weathering of finger and hand prints. Recently, it has also been shown that the three “accepted truths” about iris biometrics involving pupil dilation, contact lenses and template aging are not valid. Kevin Bowyer and others from the University of Notre Dame, U.S., have demonstrated that iris biometric performance can be degraded by varying pupil dilation, by wearing non-cosmetic prescription contact lenses, by time lapse between enrolment and verification and by crosssensor operation and that all these factors significantly alter the matching done to identify an individual uniquely. According to the NRC report, there are many gaps in our understanding of the nature and distinctiveness and stability of biometric characteristics across individuals and groups. “No biometric characteristic,” it says, “is known to be entirely stable and distinctive across all groups. Biometric traits have fundamental statistical properties, distinctiveness, and differing degrees of stability under natural physiological conditions and environmental challenges, many aspects of which are not well understood, especially at large scales.” (Emphasis added, given its particular relevance to the UID, which has to deal with 1.21 billion registrations in the database.) Calibration changes and aging of sensors and the sensitivity of sensor performance to variations in the ambient environment (such as light levels) can affect the measurements. Biometric characteristics cannot be directly compared, but their stable and distinctive features are extracted from sensor outputs. Differences in feature extraction algorithms – chiefly pattern recognition algorithms – can affect performance, particularly when they are designed to achieve interoperability among different proprietary systems. However, in the case of UID, customised enrolment and extraction 2 6
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software are supposed to have been used in all systems used by enrolment (registration) agencies across the country. The same will have to be done for systems at the service provider level, where a beneficiary’s data will be captured for authentication. Similar will be the issue with regard to matching algorithms. However, since matching is generally expected to be done at a centralised database at CIDR, only the algorithm’s performance or sensitivity in handling variations in biometric data presented will be important, but this needs to be known and quantified. BIOMETRIC MATCH
A fundamental characteristic of a biometric system is that a biometric match represents “not certain recognition but probability of a correct recognition, while a non-match represents a probability rather than a definitive conclusion that an individual is not known to the system”. Thus, even the best designed biometric systems will be incorrect or indeterminate in a fraction of cases, and both false matches and false non-matches will occur. Recognition errors of biometric systems are stated in terms of false match rate (FMR) – the probability that the matcher recognises an individual as a different enrolled subject – and the false non-match rate (FNMR) – the probability that the matcher does not recognise a previously enrolled subject. (Correspondingly, 1–FNMR means the probability that a trait is correctly recognised and 1– FMR that an incorrect trait is not recognised.) “Assessing the validity of the match results, even given this inherent uncertainty,” the NRC report points out, “requires knowledge of the population of users who are presenting to the system — specifically, what proportions of those users should and should not match. Even very small probabilities of misrecognitions — the failure to recognise an enrolled individual or the recognition of one individual as another — can become operationally significant when an application is scaled to handle millions of recognition at-
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tempts. Thus, well-articulated processes for verification, mitigation of undesired outcomes, and remediation (for misrecognitions) are needed, and presumptions and burdens of proof should be designed conservatively, with due attention to the system’s inevitable uncertainties.” India’s current population is 1.21 billion and the UID scheme aims to cover all the residents. No country has attempted an identification and verification system on this scale. Though enrolment for the proposed system is stated to be voluntary, it will be on an unprecedented scale because a potential beneficiary can be denied access to a particular scheme or service if the individual does not enrol himself/herself and obtain the Aadhaar number. Indeed, many countries that had launched a biometric identification system have scrapped the idea as there are many unanswered questions about the reliability of a biometric system for the purposes they had considered it. It should be remembered that the objective of the Indian system is developmental, rather than security and related issues that countries of the West have been concerned with, and is aimed at delivering specific benefits and services to the underprivileged and the poor of the country. The envisaged system is also correspondingly different from those proposed elsewhere. To see if the system envisaged by the UIDAI meets these criteria and can deliver unique identification of all, it is important to understand the way the system is supposed to work. THE PROCESS
The process of enrolment that is currently on – already about 70 million
have enrolled – involves presenting oneself to one of the agencies, termed registrars, identified by the UIDAI for enrolment purposes across the country. This involves the registrar recording the individual’s properly verified basic demographic information – which includes name, address, gender, date of birth, relationship – and capturing biometric information – which includes palm print (slap fingerprint), ten single fingerprints, iris imaging and face imaging – and this is encrypted and transmitted to the UIDAI electronically, including physical transmission using pen-drives for locations that lack any data connectivity. In principle, unknown errors or data corruption could occur at the transmission stage. Even assuming that the transmission is perfect, data presented during enrolment need to be compared and checked to avoid duplication – “deduplication” – and thus prevent any fraud. Otherwise one individual may end up with two Aadhaar numbers. So any new set of biometric data – fingerprints and iris prints – need to be compared with those of already enrolled individuals and shown to be different from every other set. This comparison was trivial when the first person, Ranjana Sonawne of Tembhli village in Maharashtra, enrolled because there was no one before that to be compared against. But it is clear that when the nth person goes to enrol, the data will have to be compared against the already enrolled n–1 sets of data. So regF R O N T L I N E
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istrars will send the applicant’s data to the CIDR for de-duplication. The CIDR will perform a search on key demographic fields and on the biometrics for each new enrolment so as to minimise duplication in the database. Can one totally eliminate duplication? As noted earlier, this will depend on the FNMR which, in a probabilistic system, will be a finite number, however small. So there will be a small but finite probability for duplication to occur. It is easy to see that this matching exercise will involve n(n-1)/2 comparisons, which, as n becomes large, obviously, is a highly computationally intensive exercise requiring large computing power. The number of comparisons will be several orders of magnitude more than the numbers enrolled. So in a population of 1.21 billion, when the (1.21 billion+1)th person comes in to enrol, the CIDR server will have to perform about 700 million billion (7x1017) comparisons. This may seem mind-boggling, but a modern-day high-performance computer can do this pretty fast. And since such a de-duplication exercise will be done off-line before issuing the Aadhaar numbers, the time involved in doing the comparisons is not the issue. The key issue is the magnitude of probabilistic error in these comparisons. In case of a false match, for example, the system will reject a genuine applicant. A computer cannot resolve FMR and FNMR cases; it has to be done physically by tracking down individuals and carrying out the re-enrolmentcum-matching exercise. One way to improve the performance (reducing error rates) of the biometric system is to use the multimodal approach. Data from different modalities – face, palm print, fingerprints and iris in the UID case – are combined. Such systems obviously require different kinds of sensors and software (essentially different algorithms) to capture and process each modality being used for comparison. Already, using 10 single fingerprints provides additional information compared with a single fingerprint and this improves the performance, especially in very
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large-scale operations. Of course, this will be computationally intensive, particularly when matching is to be done from among millions of references in the database. Multimodality, in addition, will require even greater computational resources. (Spoofing a single fingerprint has been demonstrated to be possible and such an impostor fingerprint can be used to fool a biometric reader. But this seems nearly impossible to do for all the 10 fingerprints and the palm print without being caught. And, combined with multimodal comparison, chances of such impersonation become extremely low.) ERROR RATE
The crucial issue, therefore, is the error rate and how many false positive identifications and false negative identification cases can potentially arise? A Proof of Concept (POC) exercise was carried out by the Authority with 40,000 subjects, divided into two sets of 20,000, in rural Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar. This was done to analyse data from rural groups where quality of fingerprints is likely to be uneven. For POC analyses, only 10 fingerprint data and two iris data were used. The face biometric was not used. According to the report, the study – which clearly was a multimodal one – observed an FNMR – that is a person is identified to be a different individual and re-enrolled resulting in duplication – of 0.0025 per cent. Similarly, the study observed an FMR – where a new applicant is rejected because of false matching – of 0.01 per cent using irises alone and 0.25 per cent with fingerprints alone. But the concluding claim of the report that “by doing analysis as shown in the examples above on real data captured under typical Indian conditions in rural India, we can be confident that biometric matching can be used on a wider scale to realise the goal of creating unique identities” is clearly misleading as the order of magnitude of such cases of misrecognition in the real situation involving much larger numbers (say
hundreds of millions) will be pretty large. The corresponding exercise of resolving these cases would be huge. If not resolved, large numbers would either be denied the benefits due to them or large number of impostors would get benefits that are not legitimately theirs because of inherent errors in the technology. Also, as the NRC report emphasises, “Although laboratory evaluations of biometric systems are highly useful for development and comparison, their results often do not reliably predict field performance. Operational testing and blind challenges of operational systems tend to give more accurate and usable results than developmental performance evaluations and operational testing in circumscribed and controlled environments.” As against this one-to-many comparisons at the stage of identification of an individual during the enrolment process, the process of authentication or verification when a claimant presents his/her UID number is a case of one-to-one match. The process of Aadhaar authentication, as outlined by the UIDAI, is as follows: Aadhaar number, along with other attributes (including biometrics), is submitted to the UIDAI’s CIDR for verification. The CIDR verifies whether the data (demographic and/or biometric) submitted match the data available in the CIDR and respond with a “yes/no” answer. No personal identity information is returned as part of the response. And this process can be done online by the service provider linked to the UIDAI. But the authentication is based entirely on the Aadhaar number submitted so that this operation is reduced to a 1:1 match (emphasis added). This means that the Authority has only to match the presented data with the copy of the individual’s biometrics that was captured earlier and stored in the CIDR corresponding to that UID number. The CIDR will, in turn, say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a particular query on, say, the demographic information of the individual, which can be verified against documents such as Proof of 2 8
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Address (PoA) or Proof of Identity (PoI) by the service provider. This is quite different from the verification required in biometric systems for security purposes, say entry through airports, where every verification procedure may be a one-to-many matching exercise. But authentication, despite being a 1:1 match, could have its own error rates largely arising from inevitable human errors, especially in large-scale implementation – for example, transmitting the wrong Aadhaar number or wrongly keyed-in query – and since the system is designed to answer only in “yes/no”, the service provider, say NREGA, may not be in a position to know that the error has originated at the agency-end itself. While, in principle, the UID number holder should be able to crosscheck what is being transmitted, in the rural Indian context, given the level of illiteracy, this may not always happen. More pertinently, the verification process could itself become the channel of new ways of corruption. Suppose the service provider deliberately transmits the wrong Aadhaar number during the authentication process and in return obviously gets a ‘no” for an answer to any query pertaining to the claimant of service or benefits that he/ she is entitled to. Now this could become the basis of corruption. The service provider could say that the service/benefit can be provided – which the claimant is entitled to legitimately – on payment of ‘x’ amount of money. This socio-cultural trait of corruption will always find new ways of doing it, especially when such a project is sought to be implemented on such a countrywide scale involving hundreds of million transactions. It is not clear how this manual error – deliberate or otherwise – at the man-machine interface in the UID system can be avoided on a real-time basis during the interaction between a potential beneficiary and the service provider. In addition to probabilistic errors in the biometric identification scheme, perhaps such issues could also become cause of real concern. 첸
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Why it failed in U.K. Interview with Dr Edgar Whitley, research coordinator of the London School of Economics Identity Project. B Y R . R A M A K U M A R
DR EDGAR WHITLEY is Reader in Information Systems at the Information Systems and Innovation Group in the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has a PhD in Information Systems from the LSE. His research and practical interests include global outsourcing, social aspects of IT-based change, collaborative innovation in an outsourcing context, and the business implications of cloud computing. He is also an expert in identity, privacy and security issues relating to informationand Net-based technologies. Whitley was the research coordinator of the LSE Identity Project and represented the project at the Science and Technology Select Committee review of the scheme. He has written extensively about the United Kingdom’s identity cards programme for both academic and trade audiences and is a frequent media commentator on the scheme. His recent publications include work on the technological and political aspects of the programme. In 2009, he co-authored with Gus Hosein a book titled Global Challenges for Identity Policies (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, U.K.). He spoke to Frontline at his LSE office on October 18. Thank you Edgar for agreeing to do this interview. You would have guessed that the decision to do this interview is inspired by certain recent events in India, where an identity project largely similar to the project in the United Kingdom is being implemented. In your view, what were the major F R O N T L I N E
BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“Biometric matching is not a perfect process. There is an element of judgment, and there will always be the result: ‘This fingerprint is pretty close to three other fingerprints’, which you then need to check manually and figure out.”
E D G AR W HI TLE Y: "THE R E
was the question of
the scheme’s legality." reasons behind the U.K. government’s decision in 2004 to bring in an identity card project? Was there only an “internal security” dimension to it? Or were there other dimensions, too, such as “developmental”? In many ways, this is a really great question to begin the interview, because it is kind of a puzzle that we have never been able to find a satisfactory answer to ourselves. The idea of having identity cards has been one that almost every Home Secretary had at least thought about and had some consultations with civil servants at some stage, before they backed out. So, in the U.K., in 2002, there was a discussion about “entitlement cards” that slowly gave way to “identity cards”. I think the idea that there was a single policy reason or a few policy reasons behind the identity card project would not fit the facts well. If you take 2 9
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entitlements to access public services, then a few features of the project could be thought of as leading us to such a view. If you take national security, then, certain other features of the project could be thought of as leading us to such a view. In addition, there was a real space where I could have jokingly said about the reasons behind the project as: “Oh, it is Tuesday today, so for today ‘X’ might be the reason behind the project.” This was partly the way the description, discussion and arguments for the project evolved over time, both naturally as a policy development and in response to the challenges and questions that the project faced at each point of time. So, by about 2009, when the popularity of the project was faltering badly, to put it mildly, emphasis suddenly moved to enabling young people, who did not necessarily have a detailed credit history or biographical footprints, to be able to prove who they are for frequent transactions, such as opening a bank account or registering for a mobile phone number, and so on. This particular strategy was a response to the fact that other claims were not proving to be successful, as they had initially hoped. Another argument was that this scheme would help to build confidence in people working in airports, which was a typical “national security” reason. But the airport unions fought back against it and they had to limit it to two small trial projects in two small airports. During other times, some of the arguments put forward were responses to policy design decisions. So, sometimes they thought it may be better to emphasise the idea that the ID card can be used to travel freely across Europe without carrying passports. So, the claims and responses kept changing. That is why I said it was a great question to begin this conversation. If the idea of having a centralised database was to address questions of identity fraud, so that people would not have more than one identity card, then there were other ways in which you could do that without resort to such centralisation of personal infor-
“Evidence showed that such schemes performed best when set up for clear, focussed purposes.” mation. So, I suspect there was a broad kind of direction; when some aspects of the project appeared to be faltering in popularity, other claims were made, and this process continued as the project evolved. DISCRIMINATION CONCERNS
Was the “entitlement card”, linked to the ID card project, linked to reforms in the National Health Services (NHS), that is, to reduce leakages? It was essentially about concerns about people who were not entitled to public-funded services like the NHS having access to them. So, if students were entitled to the NHS during the period of their study, and they didn’t return to their home country, maybe you could argue that fraud could be reduced if you insist that the ID card should be produced at the NHS centres. But there are practical problems that emerge from this policy. The counter argument was that this makes the doctor a receptionist, equates him to a border official, having to do duties way beyond what he was reasonably expected to do. Further, this also rewrites what citizenship or entitlement actually means. There is also a very practical risk of discrimination. If a surgeon is doing this checking for entitlement, and I, as a white middle-class male, come along and say, “I am sorry, I don’t have my card with me, but I would like to book a doctor’s appointment”, will I be treated in the same way as a U.K. national whose skin colour is not white and first 3 0
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language is not English? The latter might be checked more despite the fact that their entitlement is exactly the same as mine, and there are consequential concerns of discrimination that are very serious. What were the major arguments in the LSE report? We had argued that the ID card system could offer some basic public interest and commercial sector benefits. But we also identified six key areas of concern with the government’s plans. First, evidence from other national identity systems showed that such schemes performed best when established for clear and focussed purposes. The U.K. scheme had multiple, rather general, rationales, suggesting that it had been ‘gold-plated’ to justify the high-tech scheme. Secondly, there was concern over whether the technology would work. No scheme on this scale had been undertaken anywhere in the world. The India project is, of course, even bigger. Smaller and less ambitious schemes had encountered substantial technological and operational problems, which may get amplified in a largescale national system. The use of biometrics created particular concerns, because this technology had never been used on such a scale. Thirdly, there was the question of the scheme’s legality. A number of elements of the scheme potentially compromised Article 8 (privacy) and Article 14 (discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The government was also in breach of law by requiring fingerprints as a prerequisite for receipt of a passport. There was a lot of talk from the proponents about international obligations. However, the report found no case as to why the ID card requirements should be bound to passport documents. Fourthly, we felt that the National Data Register was likely to create a very large data pool in one place that could be an enhanced security risk in case of unauthorised accesses, hacking or malfunctions.
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Fifthly, according to us, an identity system that is well accepted by citizens is likely to be far more successful in use than one that is controversial or raises privacy concerns. This was important in order to realise the public value that citizens would want to carry their ID cards with them and to use them in a wide range of settings. Finally, the cost part. Compliance with the ID cards Bill would have meant that even small firms would have had to pay £250 for smartcard readers and other requirements, which would have added to the administrative burdens that firms faced. You have argued in the report that the “scheme should be regarded as a potential danger to the public interest and to the legal rights of individuals”. Was privacy the legal right you were referring to? Yes, privacy in terms of the data controlled by the government. There was a separate concern about the audit trail. So, when you entered into a transaction where you had to produce your ID card, the design of the system was such that a record would be kept of every such verification. Good idea, because it allows you to check for forgery in transactions. However, the negative version of that is it provides a detailed record of every transaction you have done, which can be of interest to either people browsing the database or to security services or whoever. The record here wouldn’t be just that your identity was verified; there would be a little more data associated with the transaction. For example, you went to Health Clinic Number 45. They used your card and your fingerprint there for verification. They did this at 12:37 hours. There is a series of metadata associated with that visit that would be there in the audit trail. And, of course, it wouldn’t take very long to realise that, actually, Health Clinic Number 45 is a sexual health clinic. If the audit trail also shows that you were there on a number of occasions, it might be reasonable to infer certain kinds of things that you perhaps do not want to disclose. Some things are not necessary to
“Government was in breach of the law by requiring fingerprints for receipt of a passport.” be disclosed, but which are being recorded and stored in an accessible way to various people because of the way the system is designed. A second concern was with the way biometrics was being used. Although fingerprints and iris scans are useful ways of linking a person to their biometric, one problem if you take straightforward images is that they aren’t revocable. So, if you have a password for your e-mail account, and you realise that someone has broken into your e-mail account, you can always reset your password. If the biometric is stolen, the possibility of revoking it becomes almost impossible. It’s gone. “Death of privacy” is what some argue in the wake of the massive technological advances that we have had. Your comments. That is just one way of looking at the technological advances. To my mind, it is an overly deterministic proposition. What you are doing here is not allowing for user choice of designs and not allowing for innovative alternative designs. It’s a too straightforward view. Clearly, there are privacy concerns that are more difficult to address with the new technologies. The fact that when you visit a web page, they know where you came from, what your browser configuration is, what plug-ins you have, what screen resolution, and so on. You could be pretty uniquely identified just from the browser. But there are things that you can do. You can do private browsing, you can have do-not-track options, you F R O N T L I N E
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can delete your cookies and if you are really sophisticated, you could also do things like onion routing. There are also opportunities for companies to declare themselves as privacy-friendly, and they could be good competitors to other companies that are not so privacy-friendly. So, the idea of “death of privacy” is too simplistic a view. There are always alternatives; there are always different ways in which a society can respond to these kinds of concerns and issues. There are always possibilities to have privacy-enhancing means of identification. For instance, you could have an ID card with a chip, which has your fingerprint, or a part of it, stored as a template. It is not stored in any central database, but it is in the chip of your card and your card is with you. So, when you have to prove that you are you, you could just swipe the card and give your fingerprint, after which you could be identified as the bearer of that card. No one gets your information stored in that card. That’s a privacy-friendly way of identification. The first generation technology here are chip cards, the second generation technology is stickers on your mobile phones and the third generation technology is a chip inside your mobile phone. The chip may have your name, your database, your fingerprint template and a little bit more data on who issued it and all that. But nothing about where you have been, no audit trails, no records and thus, privacy-enhancing. Are there countries that have tried these methods? This has not yet become the obvious way to do it because it takes a while to get your head around. The point here is that you need to understand what it is that you want. Technically, you only want proof that the person is himself and a little bit more. BIOMETRIC MATCHING
You were very critical of the technology of biometrics being used
Cover Story in the project. You argued that “the technology envisioned for this scheme is, to a large extent, untested and unreliable”. Was this assessment based on technical inputs from biometric experts? Could you elaborate on the comments from biometric experts? We used some feedback from biometric experts, but we also independently looked at already published research work on biometrics. Certainly, in terms of the untestedness, the scales of studies that had been done for both fingerprints and iris scans were fairly limited. There were far better performance results on a 1:1 match. So, this is Edgar’s fingerprint on the database, here is Edgar, we do 1:1 match; this is more likely to work. But that was not how the U.K. was planning to use it. The U.K. was trying to use biometrics to also prevent duplicate identities. The idea was that even if I try to enrol twice, and even if I had created a fake biographic identity (say, a John Smith with a different address), when my fingerprint came in for a second time, the system should come along and say: “We know this fingerprint, and this belongs to Edgar Whitley” and not say, John Smith. Here, you have to match every single biometric with every single previous biometric. Biometric matching is not a perfect process. There is an element of judgment, and there will always be the result: “This fingerprint is pretty close to three other fingerprints”, which you then need to check manually and figure out. But this increases the cost, let alone concerns about reliability. Now, there is always a possibility of a fraudulent use; that is, if I am really John Smith, I could have applied with Edgar Whitley’s biographical details. That’s possible, though difficult. So, for instance, victims of domestic abuse could be given a completely new identity with a stolen set of biometrics. You also have major issues with gender reassignment, which will create unnecessary interferences into your private life.
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The U.K. project was to have iris scans, but they were dropped later. Was there a reason? Iris scans were always present in the documents that were discussed in Parliament. The proponents of iris scans claim that they are far better than fingerprints at differentiating people. That is because you collect a far larger number of data points in your iris scan than in the fingerprint. The problem with the iris biometric at that time was that the set-up for the capture of the iris biometric had to be well managed.
“You could have an ID card with a chip, which has your fingerprint, or a part of it, stored as a template.” If there is a sudden good sunshine, very noticeably the room is brightened up. So, you need to potentially adjust your iris-capture device to allow for those kinds of set-ups. But we know from the experience of airports that iris devices often have problems in operating at their full performance level; airports are designed by architects, and architects use lots of glass and open space, which allow for light to come in seamlessly and brighten up the space. This creates a lot of problems for iris recognition systems. There is also interesting empirical research that shows that as you move from one version of the technology to newer versions, you get performance differences because they capture iris images slightly differently. So, you don’t get quite the same results in matching as you move with versions. These were the reasons why the U.K. government dropped iris scans from the plan in 2006. 3 2
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What was the nature of the response among the British people to the identity project? Were there mass protests? Or was it mostly through the social media that the protest spread? And, was it due to these protests that the project was finally shelved in 2010? It got scrapped because the parties that came to power were opposed to it. In practice, you don’t vote on the basis of your view of one single scheme. There was a lobby group called “NO2ID”, which was very effective in getting the message out about their concerns with the whole process. I was on their mailing list, and every week, along with the news items on the scheme, there was also information on where meetings were to be held, where you could meet MPs and ask questions about the scheme, and so on. Scores of local activists got involved in this, again from both the Left and the Right. This was no civil disobedience movement, but just explaining what these proposals were and what they are going to mean, and trying to convince people over what some of the dangers were. They were also continuously talking to journalists and explaining what this meant in practice, at levels of detail. They kept telling journalists why biometrics could not be the “magic bullet”. The press coverage was overwhelmingly comfortable with that critical analysis. The technology press and its science and technology correspondents were eager to deal with these questions. They asked those questions. So, there was general awareness building in a major way. Have you been following the Indian debate around unique ID numbers? Any views? I have been following it one step removed. We have been speaking to people though. I think in India, too, it is important to raise these policy questions that I referred to just a while back. Thank you very much, Edgar.
첸
Nuclear Issues
DECEMBER 2, 2011
‘We can allay the fears’ Interview with Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy. B Y T . S . S U B R A M A N I A N
AN organisation called the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) is demanding that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu be scrapped. The Centre has set up a 15-member experts’ group to allay the fears of the people living around Kudankulam on the safety of the two Russian reactors that have been built there. In this context, Frontline met Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, in his office in Mumbai on October 27. Banerjee, who is also Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), said the department was ready to “answer any question” on the safety of the VVER-1000 reactors at Kudankulam. He was proud that “in the nuclear field, we have run completely alone these years” and that “the country’s self-esteem has come from this”. Banerjee, who has a B.Tech in metallurgy from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and later earned a PhD in metallurgical engineering, asserted that “nuclear power will give the country long-term energy security.” Excerpts from the interview: The Kudankulam issue seems to have reached a deadlock. Where do we go from here? The names on the experts’ panel have been given by the DAE to the Tamil Nadu government. From the press, other media and websites, we have collected the questions raised by the local people. We have seen these questions and we are trying to answer F R O N T L I N E
SHASHI ASHIWAL
“We would like to explain to the people around [the Kudankulam plant] that we are not going to bring anything which is dangerous either to their lives or to their livelihood. All this is only for the benefit of the people.”
S R I KUM AR BA N E R J E E . I N the background is an image of Homi J. Bhabha, the father of the Indian atomic energy programme.
them. If the DAE personnel themselves answer these questions, the protesters say, “We will not accept them and we want an independent opinion.” It is in this context that the government has given a list of 15 experts, and we have identified their domain of knowledge and expertise. This will actually make it convenient for deliberations to focus on specific issues and try to find answers to them. We have identified specific subject areas such as how safe the plant is in case of a seismic event or when sea-water level rises by processes such as a tsunami, how the plant affects the livelihood of the people residing in the neighbourhood, and what the safety features of Kudankulam vis-a-vis some of the other VVER reactors are. You may be aware that we had negotiated with the Russians to provide additional safety features for the Kudankulam reactors. What are those safety features? I will come to that later. Then there is the question of radiation in the environment that is going to 3 3
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affect the people. There is yet another question about the discharge [of coolant water] into the sea. There are two kinds of apprehensions here – that the sea water will become hot and that it will become radioactive. For each of these, we have quantitative, wellfounded and accurate answers. With these answers, we would like to explain to the people around [the plant] that we are not going to bring anything which is dangerous either to their lives or to their livelihood. All this is only for the benefit of the people around and elsewhere because 2,000 MWe of electricity will be generated from Kudankulam – 1 and 2 will feed the southern grid. Out of this 2,000 MWe, 925 MWe will go to Tamil Nadu and the rest to neighbouring States. The State government will conduct the meetings. Our panel will answer the questions. If there are questions which need further studies, the experts on the panel will collect the questions and perhaps have a second session to answer them. So I don’t consider it a deadlock. Nothing has happened to call it a deadlock. There will always be
an open discussion on points, and it is our responsibility and duty to satisfy the queries coming up in the minds of people. The best way [to go about this] is to organise an open meeting near Kudankulam. When talking specifically of the Kudankulam plant, there will be specific questions, and we can address each one of them. If people are unhappy or not satisfied, let us try to answer them again with facts and figures and all the tests that have been done, which are backed by a huge amount of information. Through that, we will be able to allay the people’s fears. Some leaders of the PMANE insist that the work at the project should halt first and that the experts’ panel can talk to people later to allay their fears. Physically, the work has halted. But it is not advisable to do that. What exactly do they mean when they say the work should halt? The reactor has high-temperature systems, flowing coolant and high-voltage systems. So it is not a matter of switching off the
whole thing and bringing it to a halt. Whenever you have a coolant in circuit and you make it stagnant, then there is the possibility of some undue corrosion effect on some of the components. Obviously, this is not normally done. You always run the coolant and this requires the attention of technicians as well as the supporting people. So far as the progress of work is concerned, we were actually expecting to bring the criticality of the first unit by September or October after the fuel loading. We were just waiting for the fuel-loading clearance. So this has essentially been halted. There is no big dispute on this issue. If by halting you mean that not a single person should enter the plant, then we are allowing a major asset of the country to degrade, and this is not acceptable. Really speaking, as far as the programme of work is concerned, we have halted. People are unable to go inside [the plant]. We need several thousands of people to work inside during the last phase of the work. But we are unable even to enter the place. So this is the situation today. So I don’t see there is
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any real reason or real point of controversy on whether work has been halted or not. But you must run the essential facilities for the safety and long-term service of the equipment.
been achieved earlier. So, for me it was a big surprise that people around started agitating like this. I really do not know why this is happening. One of the reasons could be that people saw the Fukushima event and it has brought about a sense of fear that a nuclear accident may.… Fukushima happened against the background of a natural disaster. Maybe, 20,000 died [in the earthquake and tsunami] but not in the Fukushima [nuclear] accident. In the Fukushima accident, the radiation casualty is still none. Zero.
In your opinion, why did the agitation erupt now when, as you said, you were so close to starting up the first reactor? I would say that it was a little unexpected because when you go in for a project, you have to have a cordial relationship with the people around. That cordial relationship existed all along. There was an excellent relationship with the people living around, and our engineers have been visiting them regularly and taking part in their social and educational programmes. We have actually been looking forward to further enriching our relationship with the people. Today, when we talk of this kind of a project, we expect the reactors to run for 40 to 60 years. So the relationship between people working inside the plant and those who live outside has to be excellent because it is a kind of social relationship. That had
In the Fukushima nuclear accident, are the casualty figures due to exposure to radiation really zero? In Fukushima, the casualty due to radiation exposure is not there at all even today. The Fukushima reactors were 40-year-old vintage reactors. Not that they were unsafe. They could not stand the severity of the natural events, not one but two successive events – the earthquake and the tsunami. Even then, you would have noticed that all the reactors stopped at the first signal of the earthquake. So there was no nuclear fission energy release in these accidents. They were quite safe on that. The problem was because of hydrogen fire. Hydrogen got mixed with air. The removal of the decay heat [in the Fukushima reactors] was not possible because there was no power in the whole area and so no pumps operated. Decay heat means there is some radioactive substance in the reactor and it decays even after the reactor is shut down. Today, reactors, particularly the VVER reactors, have a passive safety system, which does not need electricity.
the two reactor units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
A VIEW OF
The VVER-1000 reactors at Kudankulam have passive safety systems, do they not? These issues were addressed in Kudankulam long before Fukushima happened. It is possible for us to explain each of these points to the people in the simplest language to convince them that one need not worry.
The second reason [for the agitation against the Kudankulam project] was that a drill had to be conducted, which was a requirement as per the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board [AERB]. That is, before you start up a reactor, you ensure that, in the remotest possibility of an accident, you should be able to evacuate the people from the nearby area. This exercise was being planned, which again caused undue fear among people. There was another event. When you reach standardisation, steam is produced. In the hot run, before the fuel is loaded, steam is created and is let out. Normally, the steam goes to the turbine to generate electricity. But here [in the hot run], it was let out. In the process, it created a noise which again was falsely understood by some people to be an accident. But it was a very normal operation. It could be yet another trigger point which caused fear. Why was Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) unaware that such a situation was building up? The point is the situation did not build up in a gradual manner. There was no indication that there would be serious unrest around that area. There was no inkling of that. There is definitely an anti-nuclear lobby [at work]. It suddenly used the situation to organise a relay hunger strike, which amassed a large number of people to make a protest. We cannot go against people. It is not a question of shouting and counter-shouting. How can we do that? As a [government] department, we have to act in a responsible manner. We can only say that we are ready to answer any question. We are ready to meet everybody individually and explain the situation. We have all the facts and figures and [we can] explain these to them. That is where we stand. We can also remind people what damage they are doing [to the reactors] with this kind of action. When there was an anti-nuclear protest after the Chernobyl accident, some countries stopped their VVER reactors. After 10 years of inaction, they revived these
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reactors to make them operational. So imagine the economic loss, which is in terms of not only the years lost but the kilowatts of energy lost. The economic loss has to be seen in terms of development loss. We are an impoverished country in terms of power supply. Tamil Nadu today has a serious power shortage. Tamil Nadu is also a State which is aspiring for major industrial growth, which will happen only when there is power. Now you have 2,000 MWe ready for delivery. But a situation has been created which is not allowing this to happen. Basically, this is a step towards decelerating the economic growth process, the growth of livelihood of people and their quality of life. There was only limited employment in
those areas. So it has to be seen that we are providing power, which is the most essential and important ingredient for economic and industrial growth.
ing all this information because it is already available. If some more details are required, that is not a problem at all. So this is not at all an obstacle to explain the questions raised by the protesters. All this can be shown right away because much of it is already on the website. Whatever is not there can also be shared. These are not secret documents that cannot be shared. But a very detailed EIA was done as per the normal DAE notification. Public hearing was conducted. Responses from the stakeholders were taken, the review of the appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests was taken. Notification was done in 2006. So there is total transparency in the process in the latest condition. All this was discussed during [the public hearing] for 3 and 4. The entire site was cleared then. The site selection process continued over a long period of a decade or so. Only the State government offers the sites.
The leaders of the PMANE say that the DAE has not made public the environment impact assessment (EIA) and site selection reports of the first two units. It wants them to be made public. This seems to be an important demand. When the EIA assessment was done for Kudankulam 1 and 2 sometime in 1998 or 2001, there was no requirement for a public hearing. So it was not done for Kudankulam 1 and 2. Subsequently, public hearing was done in detail for Kudankulam 3, 4, 5 and 6, and there is no difficulty in shar-
A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
The State government offers the sites? After it offers, you make a detailed investigation because you want to minimise the displacement of people. In this case [Kudankulam], there was no displacement issue because nobody was living there. Secondly, you take geotechnical information. You see the potential of an earthquake or a tsunami occurring there. Then you see the water level rise… at what level you should build your plant. The meteorological studies are done. It is a very extensive study. We did one more thing in 2001-02, which was not necessary. We did a thermal ecology study.
A DE M O N S T R A T I O N A GA I N S T the nuclear power plant in Palayamkottai, 80 km from the project site, on November 5. 3 6
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About coolant water being let into the sea? Yes. This is a very important issue. We cannot use European standards because the European sea temperature is low. Our average sea temperature being higher, we did our own study. To do that study in detail, we have the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences. I was the BRNS Secretary when the study was done. We wanted an independent opinion. Seven or eight
A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
DECEMBER 2, 2011
TH E C ON T A I N ME N T D O M E of the second reactor building of the project seen through the barrel hole of the first reactor building. A December 2008 photograph.
universities were given the job of doing thermal ecological studies. They periodically did the sample collection during all the seasons. Every two months, they did a survey of the area. They studied the sea temperature around Kudankulam? There was a study not only at Kudankulam but wherever nuclear power stations were already operating [in India]. The studies were done on the temperature rise in the outfall [in the sea] near Kalpakkam and Tarapur, and the river Kali near the Kaiga nuclear power station. They also collected samples to see what organisms, including microorganisms, were present in those areas because fish depend on them for food. So this extensive survey was done over a period of five years. They found that the maximum rise in the temperature by the coolant water being let into the sea could be kept at 70 Celsius. Since we have a very
good mixing zone [in the sea], it does not reach that temperature. It is lower than that. It does not reach 70C? It goes to a maximum of, in the worst months, 5-60C. Not more than that. You also have a system of mixing in a zone with a diameter of 300 metres to 400 m where there will be a slight rise in the temperature. Slight, not much. So this has been ensured in the design. Plus a very expensive water-intake structure has been created. When you take the water from the sea, fish will come along with it. So there is a fish-return mechanism. When the water comes in, there is a mechanism by which all the fish can be returned to the sea. An interesting thing is that this [coolant water being let into the sea] is not new. Tamil Nadu has had nuclear power reactors at Kalpakkam for over 30 years. They know that in Kalpakkam or Tarapur, there has been no F R O N T L I N E
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degradation in fish catch. The fish have not been harmed. That part is well understood. We can prove it. Again, I don’t see any reason why the fishermen around Kudankulam should feel that their livelihood will be affected. Another issue that is being raised is that the radiation level goes up significantly around a nuclear power station. This is absolutely unfounded. The natural average radiation value that you get anywhere is 2,400 millisievert [mSv] a year. That is the kind of dose in nature. But this average fluctuates considerably [from place to place]. I am talking of Kerala, where it is much higher. At Tarapur station, it is 2,413 mSv; 2,400 is from nature and there is an additional 13 mSv near the Tarapur Atomic Power Station. What is the AERB’s limit? A thousand above 2,400 is the AERB limit. At Narora [Atomic Power Station in Uttar Pradesh], it is 1.1. At Kaiga, it is 1.7.
TH E P A S S I V E H E A T REM O V A L S Y S T EM uses atmospheric air to cool the fuel core when there is a station blackout. It is named so because it does not need any pumps or electricity to keep the fuel core cooled and prevent it from melting. TH E AC T I V E S A F E T Y S Y S T EM S : 1. The containment spray system removes the heat released into the reactor containment building in the case of a break in the coolant pipeline inside the containment. Through condensation of steam produced in case of an accident, the containment spray system limits the temperature and pressure values to levels at which containment integrity is assured and confines the radioactivity to the reactor building. The addition of chemicals to the spray water reduces the concentration of fission products in the containment atmosphere. 2. The emergency core cooling system (ECCS) provides for cooling of the core under a wide range of postulated accidents. In the case of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), borated cooling water is injected into the reactor core to remove the decay heat and preserve core integrity. 3. The emergency boron injection system will bring the reactor to a safe shutdown by injecting highly concentrated boric acid solution into the reactor core in case of accidents. 4.There are 12 high-capacity hydroaccumulators (water tanks with thousands of litres of water) to ensure that the reactor is filled with water mixed with boron in the case of a loss of water from the reactor core. 5. Air-cooled heat exchangers with natural circulation of air are provided on each steam generator to remove the decay heat from the reactor. 6. There are hydrogen recombiners to form water to prevent the accumulation of an explosive quantity of hydrogen as happened in the Fukushima reactors. In case of an accident, when part of the fuel gets exposed and the zircaloy cladding around the fuel pellets reacts with water, hydrogen will split from the water molecule. When this hydrogen increases to more than 4 per cent in the atmosphere, it leads to an explosion. To prevent this from happening in the Kudankulam reactors, 154 box-like structures, fixed in designated locations within the reactor building, are filled with chemicals, including palladium. If the fuel core melts and the hydrogen level rises to more than 4 per cent, palladium will force the hydrogen to react with oxygen and turn into water.
So it is just 2401.1 mSv at Narora? Yes. If you go to Hyderabad, there is a much higher radiation level. So it is totally unfounded [that the radiation level around a nuclear power station is high]. The monitoring is done in a systematic and extensive manner. But if you take a flight from Delhi to Mumbai, you get a high radiation dose. If you take an X-ray or CAT scan, you get a tremendously higher radiation dose. Then you realise that it is an unfounded fear and if you keep saying this to
people who have no access to information or knowledge, then it creates confusion. This misinformation [campaign] is most unfortunate. We have environment survey laboratories [in each nuclear power station]. They are reporting [the radiation doses] regularly to the AERB, which puts it on the website. These are transparent data, which are available. They can be verified by anybody. There is no issue on this. There was the issue raised about the waste. 3 8
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How do you manage the nuclear waste from the reactors? In our case, the high-level waste [HLW] is in the spent fuel. In the Indian system, spent fuel is never just stored. It is reprocessed to get plutonium, and that plutonium is used in fast reactors. So we produce much less waste compared with countries that have a once-through fuel cycle. The spent fuel reprocessing set-up is not in Kudankulam. There is no plan for such a thing to be built there.
DECEMBER 2, 2011
At Kudankulam, the reactor is inside a cylindrical building called the reactor building. This is capped with a dome that has a primary containment (inner containment) and a secondary containment (outer containment). The inner containment wall and dome are made of pre-stressed concrete, 1.2 m thick, and lined with leak-proof 8-mm-thick carbon steel sheets and designed to withstand internal pressure and high temperatures during accidents. The outer containment is made of reinforced concrete, 0.6 m thick. In the space between the inner and outer containments, a vacuum is maintained to prevent any leakage to the environment. The inner containment vertical wall and the dome protect the reactor from damage during tsunamis, earthquakes, explosions or from aircraft crashing on to the building, or if missiles are aimed at it.
Kudankulam is only for reactors. Who is thinking of a reprocessing plant there? Reprocessing plants [will] come up in other places and they also do not create waste. We try to see that we get plutonium out of reprocessing and that plutonium is pushed into fast reactors. Ultimately, there is a very small quantity of HLW. Since the quantity is very small, it can be converted into vitrified form – glass form – and it can be stored for a long time in a suitable geological repository. For short-term or intermediate storage, it can be kept in an underground vault, which is air cooled. This is how it is being maintained at Tarapur. I went there recently. You have seen how much empty space is there to keep it. At Kudanku-
lam, there will be no issue about nuclear waste. People fear the storage of liquid waste. I have seen liquid waste being stored in underground tanks at the Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP). Solid waste can be converted into glass. But how can this liquid waste be disposed of? Even the liquid waste at KARP is reprocessed, and there is finally volume reduction. From there, it is converted into small-sized solid waste. There is no question of discharging anything into the sea. There may be some very small quantity, within the AERB’s or the IAEA’s [International Atomic Energy Agency] limit and only that is to be discharged. There are very, very stringent regulations not to release anything above the stipulated F R O N T L I N E
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limit. So there is no question of discharging anything into the sea. If people think that we discharge our radioactive waste into the sea, anybody can detect it immediately. If we do that, we are committing a very serious offence. These are all just fears that have got into the minds of people. Why have you postponed the decision to buy the EPR-1650 reactors for Jaitapur? French Industry Minister Eric Besson has quoted you as having said that India would import only reactors certified by its own authorities and that you now want Fukushima certification. What do you mean by Fukushima certification? It is called post-Fukushima certification. It means that if we experience any beyond-design-basis event, every system has to withstand it. Different
Nuclear Issues stress tests are given. That is, you allow certain seismic waves to come in and see what components can withstand the seismicity. If there is a flood, you see where the equipment is and whether it will get flooded? These kinds of assessments need to be done for every piece of equipment in the whole plant area and then you can certify that they will withstand not only design-basis accidents but also beyond-the-designbasis accidents. We will not be buying the full reactors. We will be building them ourselves with some components from outside. We will have to get a complete certification first of all from the country of origin. These countries also have regulatory bodies which have to first say, “We have checked and these systems will withstand these kinds of extreme natural events.” That is the prerequisite. Once we have that, our regulatory authorities will check on that. Plus the DAE and NPCIL will check whether everything is acceptable to us. This is called beyond-Fukushima certification because we have seen something happen in Fukushima and so we now have to see how plants will withstand each of these external events. We are waiting for that analysis to come and once it is released, we will be able to consider it. When is the Pressurised Water Reactor, which uses enriched uranium as fuel, on board India’s nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant, going critical? I was actually hoping that it would be started up by the end of this year, but I am told now that it will be commissioned in January or February 2012. Some things are yet to be settled. You are having problems at Kudankulam and Jaitapur. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said “no” to the Russian reactors coming up at Haripur in her State. There may be problems at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh where imported reactors will be built. Are you looking for an alternative site to Haripur?
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Yes. We are looking for alternative sites. That is not an issue. How are you going to meet the target of 60,000 MWe of nuclear energy by 2032? People have seen on television that nuclear power stations can blow up and it has created a bad impression in their minds. It is against this background that we are seeing this situation. On the other side, the country is poised for major economic growth. When there is stagnation the world over, this is a great opportunity for the country. This is the right time for India to grow. This is not Sensex-oriented growth. It has to be backed by some solid, real growth in power, food, production of steel, manufacturing capability, etc. and not just some numbers. We have all the ingredients. In the nuclear power field, we have run completely alone these years, without any relationship [partnership] with anybody else in the world. The country’s self-esteem has come from this. We could do very sophisticated things although we were totally isolated. We could develop complete technologies from mining of uranium to the final finish of building reactors, reprocessing, waste management, and so on. It is indigenously developed and commercially viable. It is not just doing things at a huge expense but we can show that we can do things at internationally competitive rates. Our capital cost of setting up a nuclear power plant is the lowest in the world. It is our own technology. How much is it per megawatt? Rs.6 crore to Rs.8 crore. Even large plants where you get the advantage of size cannot compete with this cost. But then, why are we buying reactors from outside? Because we need to grow fast. Also the most robust systems are these Light Water Reactors [LWRs]/Pressurised Water Reactors [PWRs]. For our growth, we cannot just think of one type of reactor. We want to have a mix, some Pressurised Heavy Water Reac4 0
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tors [PHWRs] and some LWRs in the first phase. In the second phase, we will go for our own Fast Reactors. I hope that the logic behind these developments will strike the minds of the people. Today, there may be a disarrangement but it will not be there forever. They will come to their senses. On the other side, today, more than 400 million people in India do not have access to electricity. So it is necessary to grow very fast in electricity generation, and this can be done by nuclear energy, which is clean energy. It does not generate carbon dioxide. If you are going to generate electricity only by carbon, it will be polluting. Today, we produce 5 per cent of the carbon dioxide emission in the world. It may go up to 50 per cent. So it is not possible to take that path. You may say there is solar energy. You should exploit solar energy, biomass and wind energy, to the fullest extent. But there is a difference between these kinds of energy paths and the nuclear path. These are distributed forms of energy. Nuclear power is a concentrated form of energy. There are two kinds of energy needs. One is from the grid. Another is local area, for lighting up streets and homes, and this part can be done by wind. But you cannot have industrial growth, large-scale electricity deployment in agricultural pumpsets, etc. without grid power. What is the way forward? Nuclear power will give the country long-term energy security. If we miss the opportunity now, we will be miss it forever. Our energy growth is retarded only because we are dependent so much on energy imports. Nuclear power can eventually give this country complete energy security and can enable it to come out of the shackle of energy imports. That is why we are saying nuclear power is important. We have done this development [in nuclear power] indigenously. We are buying a few reactors. That does not mean we will stop our indigenous development. We will continue to do our indigenous development of even LWRs. 첸
The States/West Bengal
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Rift in the foothills A section of the Adivasi leadership proposes a Gorkhaland and Adivasi Territorial
PTI
Administration in place of the GTA. B Y S U H R I D S A N K A R C H A T T O P A D H Y A Y
W H E N AK H I L B H A R A T I Y A Adivasi Vikash Parishad’s leader John Barla (right) and Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung met at Mongpong in Kalimpong district on October 30.
The GJM is trying to project this development as a boost for its demand to include parts of the foothills within the GTA’s jurisdiction. But the top tribal leadership rejects the alliance. WITH a section of the leadership of the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) of north Bengal burying the hatchet with its bitter rival the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), the latter’s demand to include parts of the Terai and the Doars along, of course, with the Darjeeling hills within the area under the jurisdiction of the proposed Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) may have gained strength, albeit marginally. On October 30, certain influential local leaders of the ABAVP, including John Barla, president of the outfit’s Doars unit, and top GJM leaders, headed by party supremo Bimal Gurung, jointly proposed the setting up of the Gorkhaland and Adivasi Territorial F R O N T L I N E
Administration (G&ATA), which will be replacing the proposed GTA. While the GJM is trying to project this development as a shot in the arm for its demand to include parts of the foothills within its jurisdiction, it seems unlikely that the majority of the tribal people in the region will be agreeable to joining hands with their bitter Gorkha rivals. However, it may become a cause for concern for the State government, as an understanding with even a small section of the Adivasi population may provide the GJM with greater scope to exert political pressure and fuel further resentment among the tribal, non-tribal and non-Gorkha populations in the region. Interestingly, just three months earlier, after the State government set up a committee headed by Justice (retd) Shyamal Sen to look into the GJM’s demand to include 196 mouzas in the Doars and 199 mouzas in the Terai in the GTA, the ABAVP had made it clear that it would not concede “even an inch of land” and even threatened to go on an agitation. The two parties have a history of frequent violent confrontations over the issue, and one of the main obstacles to the GJM’s demand to include these areas in its proposed map of Gorkhaland has been the tribal outfit’s fierce opposition to it. “As long as 4 1
The States/West Bengal we were at loggerheads, it was convenient for the State government. But now that there is a unity of sorts, our movement has become stronger,” a GJM source told Frontline. The top leadership of the ABAVP, however, has rejected the proposed tie-up. “This deal is illegal and was struck keeping the tribal people of the region in the dark. John Barla and those who were party to this did not have the authority to enter into an alliance. This is our land, and our stand remains the same: We will not give an inch of it to the GTA,” Birsa Tirkey, State president of the ABAVP, told Frontline. West Bengal State secretary of the ABAVP, Tej Kuman Toppo, however, said that the tribal leaders of the Terai and the Doars were forced to take this step because of the apparent apathy of the earlier Left Front government and the present Trinamool Congress government to the plight of the tribal people in the region. “When we met Mamata Banerjee to discuss the establishment of the Adivasi Territorial Administration under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, we did not receive any positive answer from her. Our people are poor and our resources limited; how long can we carry on the agitation? It was both for the benefit of the tribal people in the Terai and the Doars and for the cause of communal harmony that we decided to be a part of the proposed G&ATA,” Toppo told Frontline. He insisted that there had been no “rebellion” in the organisation and that if the people of the region did not want to be a part of the proposed set-up, the idea would be dropped. “We will have to convince the people of the advantages of being a part of the G&ATA,” he said. UNRESOLVED CONTRADICTIONS
The dissenting group within the tribal leadership, however, seems to have no answer to some of the inherent contradictions of the decision. First, Toppo envisages an arrangement whereby the GJM and the ABAVP, though parts of the same body, will function and
independently of each other in their respective autonomous territories, the Terai and the Doars for the tribal people and the hills for the GJM. “In the plains, there will be the ATA and in the hills, the GTA,” he told Frontline. However, such a development can only take place after the Shyamal Sen Committee has come up with its report. While the GJM has made it clear that it will not budge from its demand, the majority of the 40-lakh strong tribal population in the region is unlikely to accept quietly a report going in favour of the GJM. It is, after all, an issue over which the two sides have had violent clashes in the last three years. Moreover, it also suggests that two autonomous territories will exist within one autonomous body in the State. Secondly, while the GJM seems determined, at least theoretically, not to deviate from its ultimate goal of Gorkhaland, even those leaders of the ABAVP who wish to be a part of the G&ATA rule out any possibility of seceding from the State. “Even if they demand Gorkhaland, we will never break away from the State of West Bengal,” said Toppo. According to Asok Bhattacharya, former Left Front Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s heavyweight in north Bengal, the development will ultimately prove a damp squib. “From what we know of the general sentiments of the tribal people, they will never want to go along with the GJM. In fact, those leaders who initiated this arrangement are already beginning to lose popular support,” he told Frontline. What still remains unclear is the sudden change of heart of the dissenting tribal leaders. According to some political observers, lack of encouraging responses from the State government for their cause, coupled with loss of confidence after their failure at the Assembly elections, may have prompted this desperate move. “In the last Assembly elections they lost everywhere they contested, whereas we not only won our seats in the 4 2
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DECEMBER 2, 2011
hills, but were instrumental in the Trinamool Congress’ victory in at least seven seats from the plains. They probably realised that it would be better for them if they threw in their lot with us,” senior GJM leader Harka Bahadur Chhetri told Frontline. “GORKHA IDENTITY COMPROMISED”
Even in the Darjeeling hills there are many who are against the aforesaid arrangement. They feel such an alliance would compromise the hill people’s struggle to establish their ethnic identity – the main pillar upon which the Gorkhaland movement stands. Moreover, there is a fear that the Adivasi representation within the organisation may overshadow the Gorkhas. While there are only three constituencies in the hills, the Terai and the Doars, with its sizable Adivasi population, have more than double that. “This is our movement and the ABAVP is trying to ride piggyback on it,” a source in the hills pointed out. The GJM’s focus too seems to have shifted from the long-term prospect of Gorkhaland to the immediate thrust on development. “Gorkhaland is a protest of the people of the hills against the humiliation they suffered for years. The issue of identity is always related to the economy of the region. If economic development is taken care of, then a major problem is solved,” said Chhetri. With the signing of the tripartite agreement in July for the establishment of the GTA, the GJM had indicated a temporary pause in its programme of violent agitation. Prospects of peace brightened further when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a large number of projects in the fields of health, education and infrastructure in the hills for the GTA to undertake with financial assistance from the Centre and the State. But now a lot depends on the Shyamal Sen Committee’s report, as the GJM had earlier indicated that the whole agreement would collapse if it was denied the areas it had demanded within the GTA. 첸
Telecom Scam
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Radia shuts shop The 2G scam claims another victim in the form of Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, which its owner, Niira Radia, shuts down. B Y A N U P A M A K A T A K A M
NIIRA RADIA was a name that was known only in business and some media circles until tape recordings of her conversations over a period of time with journalists, corporate honchos, politicians and others were leaked to the media in end-2010. The transcripts exposed a web of deceit and influence-peddling that involved lobbyists of telecom companies, Ministers and officials and helped unravel several threads in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Today Niira Radia’s is a much discredited name in the public relations fraternity. A media analyst said: “She and her band of lobbyists thought they were powerful influencers who could get away with what they were doing.... Radia probably typifies the kind of people who rise because of their associations with influential people and become so powerful that they think they are beyond the law.” Radia is embroiled in the 2G scam for allegedly attempting to broker deals in connection with the allocation of spectrum. In November, perhaps as a consequence, Radia shut down her public relations firm, Vaishnavi Corporate Communications, which had among its clients the Tata group and the Reliance (Mukesh Ambani) group. She cited health and personal reasons for doing so. “She may not have broken the law but what she did was unethical,” said a senior police official in Mumbai. It is a pity that almost 200 people have lost their jobs, he added. Radia came to public notice when the Income Tax Department kept tabs on her as part of its investigations into possible money laundering, reF R O N T L I N E
stricted financial practices and tax evasion. With authorisation from the Home Ministry, the department tapped Radia’s phones for 300 days in 200809. What emerged, among other things, was Radia’s alleged lobbying with politicians and journalists for the appointment of A. Raja of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) as Union Communications Minister. The leaked transcripts of the telephone conversations also exposed her role in the 2G scam. Last year the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) revealed it had 5,851 recordings of telephone
KAMAL NARANG
Radia came to public notice when the Income Tax Department kept tabs on her as part of its investigations into possible money laundering, restricted financial practices and tax evasion.
C OR P OR ATE LOB BYI S T N I I R A Radia arrives to appear before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee in New Delhi in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam. 4 3
conversations between Radia and well-known journalists, corporate heads, politicians and senior bureaucrats. They were at some point leaked to the media, and OPEN magazine carried several of the transcripts. The tapes, which were made available on the Internet as well, gave clear details of how Radia worked the media to use their influence to appoint Raja as Communications Minister after the United Progressive Alliance returned to power in the 2009 general election. Additionally, Radia was heard chatting with the Tata group’s chairman, Ratan Tata, who later petitioned the government to acknowledge his right to privacy. The 2G issue goes back to August 2007 when Raja was Communications Minister and when the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had initiated the process of granting Unified Access Service (UAS) licences to telecom companies providing mobile phone services. At this time the Prime Minister and the Finance Ministry apparently raised concerns over the procedure adopted to issue licences. Raja rejected these concerns. Suddenly, in January 2009 the DoT advanced the issuing of licences on a first-come, first-served basis. The three telecom companies that were allotted licences – Swan Telecom, Unitech and Tata Teleservices – sold their stake at higher prices, which raised suspicions of irregularities. A complaint filed in May 2009 to the Central Vigilance Commission kicked off the investigation. From May 2009 to the present the 2G spectrum scam has not spared anyone. Once Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy came into the picture demanding a probe and sought sanction to prosecute Raja, the situation turned murkier. In February 2011, Raja was arrested in connection with the scam and a few days later Swan Telecom’s promoter Shahid Usman Balwa was also arrested. In April 2011, DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi was arrested. Meanwhile, Subramanian Swamy claimed that Home Minister P. Chi-
KAMAL NARANG
DECEMBER 2, 2011
New Delhi, where the now defunct Vaishnavi Corporate Communications had its office on the fifth floor.
GO P A L D A S BHAW A N ,
dambaram, when he was Finance Minister, had a hand in the scam. Radia’s name cropped up in 2008 with regard to her involvement with the Tatas, and the CBI homed in on her after it got permission to tap her phone. Once it had substantial evidence of her lobbying, the Enforcement Directorate questioned her, and she is still under its scanner. Radia is said to have had complete control over the Tata group’s PR work. This was around the early 2000s when she opened Vaishnavi Corporate Communications. The association with the Tatas opened doors for her and within a few years Radia had over 50 big corporate clients in her portfolio. They included Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group. Numbers are hard to come by, but it is believed Vaishnavi’s annual revenue was close to Rs.100 crore. Following her involvement in the 2G scam, it was inevitable that Vaishnavi would shut shop. In a press release, Vaishnavi said: “For nearly a 4 4
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year now, there have been transcripts of purported conversations between our Chairperson Ms Niira Radia with some reputed personalities from various walks of life. These unverified transcripts and tapes have been widely circulated in the media by motivated and vested interests intent on maligning us, and deflecting public attention from their own wrongdoings in the telecom sector. Indeed, many of the purported transcripts being circulated have absolutely no relevance to telecom at all, and are merely being used for dramatic effect, and to create the illusion of wrongdoing on our part.” For the media, access to the Tata group was only through Vaishnavi Corporate Communications. “It was a nightmare to get anything out of Vaishnavi,” said a business reporter. “They would only reach us when they wanted to. In fact, even if you had Ratan Tata’s e-mail or phone number you could not reach him without Vaishnavi coming into the picture.” Another reporter had this story to tell: “In the days following the November 26, 2008, attacks on Mumbai any information was valuable and essential. People across the country, not just in Mumbai, were seeking details on the violent strikes, including at the Tata-owned Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which claimed over 170 lives. The Tata group had at the time enlisted the help of Vaishnavi Corporate Communications to ‘manage’ the media. Whenever mediapersons tried and reach them, they dodged questions or refused to answer them. “Eventually, Vaishnavi held a press conference where Taj heads were to speak about what happened during the attacks and about the post-attack plan of action. When I called the PR firm to get details on the location and time, I was told by a staffer: ‘This press conference is only open to the foreign press and a selected few others.’ I was obviously furious at this discrimination, but there was little I could do as it was the only point of contact for information on anything connected to the Tata group.” 첸
Scandal
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Crossing the line The existence of spot-fixing in cricket is confirmed with the conviction and sentencing of three Pakistani players. B Y V I J A Y L O K A P A L L Y
This comes at a time when the game is battling to keep spectator interest alive in its longer version. The punishment is widely seen as a stern warning to potential offenders.
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AP
STRANGE stories of players throwing matches emerged from the cricket fields in the 1990s. They were unconfirmed but sometimes credible because matches would take a bizarre course. One did not want to believe. How could a player compete with the intention of losing? It is said that Pakistan captain Imran Khan, smelling a rat, once made the team take an oath in Sharjah. Pakistan won the match in style and with conviction. Sharjah was a venue that gained notoriety for cricket corruption. Later, it fell from grace as a cricket centre in the deserts M A Z H A R MA J E E D , T H E agent who “fixed” the players, of the Gulf. The International Cricket arriving at Southwark Crown Council (ICC) woke up late to the Court on November 3. He had issue of match-fixing, so late, in pleaded guilty and was fact, that three cricketers have sentenced to 32 months. now earned jail sentences for indulging in spot-fixing to make quick money. Allegations of match-fixing had surfaced earlier too but went unpunished for lack of proof. This time, however, the guilty could not escape. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, disgraced and condemned, have been lost to cricket. “Awesome talent,” was how former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram hailed the arrival of Amir. In a major blow to Pakistan’s reputation in the cricket world, these three were sentenced to various terms in jail for their involvement in spot-fixing. Of course, F R O N T L I N E
they are not the first cricketers to be jailed. The England all-rounder Chris Lewis was imprisoned for smuggling drugs and the Australia leg-spinner Terry Jenner, who coached Shane Warne, was put behind bars for stealing funds. The existence of spot-fixing had been suspected for a long time, but it became a reality when Butt and Asif were convicted by Southwark Crown Court. Amir had pleaded guilty and therefore did not go on trial. At the end of a five-week trial, cricket stood battered. Mazhar Majeed, the agent who “fixed” the three Pakistani cricketers, is the architect of the biggest scandal to rock the game. Hansie Cronje’s confession, more than a decade ago, to being involved in match-fixing led to some unpleasant developments, but three cricketers being handed jail terms has done greater damage, especially at a time when the game is battling to keep spectator interest alive in its longer version. Butt, a former Pakistan captain, was sentenced to 30 months, Asif to 12 months and Amir to six months. Majeed was punished with a 32-month jail term. They will serve half their sentences in custody and will then be released on licence. The four were found guilty of conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat in regard to the Lord’s Test against England in August 2010. In a “wellcrafted” plan, three predetermined no-balls were bowled. Amir bowled two and Asif one. Amir, 19, repented of his misdeed. His statement reflected the pain of a young cricketer gone astray. “First, I want to apologise to Pakistan and to everyone that cricket is important to. I do know how much damage this has done to the game, a game which I love more than anything else in the world. I did decide many months ago that I wanted to admit that I deliberately threw two no-balls at the Lord’s Test last summer. But I know this was very late and I want to apologise for not saying it before. I didn’t find the courage to do it at the beginning, and I know very well that made everything much more difficult. Last year was the most amazing year of my life but also it was the worst year. I got myself into a situation that I didn’t understand. I panicked and did the wrong thing. I don’t want to blame anyone else. I didn’t 4 5
CARL COURT/AFP
DECEMBER 2, 2011
FOR M E R T E S T C A PT A I N Salman Butt arriving at Southwark Crown Court in central London on November 1. On November 3, he was sentenced to 30 months in jail. 4 6
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want money at all. I didn’t bowl the no-balls because of money. I got trapped and in the end it was because of my own stupidity. My dream was to be the best cricketer in the world. I’m a competitive sportsman and those two no-balls were the only moments in my cricketing life where I have not performed to the very best of my ability. And they were not moments I felt happy to be part of.” The sad episode was summed up by Justice Cooke: “When people look back at a surprising event in a game or a surprising result or ever in the future there are surprising results, followers of the game who have paid to watch cricket or who have watched cricket on TV will wonder whether there has been a fix or what they have watched was natural.” The ICC was firm in its dealing with the scandal. Earlier in the year it banned Butt for 10 years, five of which were suspended; Asif for seven years with two years suspended; and Amir was given a ban of five years. He will be 24 when he can play again, but it is going to be a humungous challenge for him to convince national selectors in Pakistan to give him another opportunity. Amir, with 51 wickets in 14 Tests, was the youngest bowler to take 50 Test wickets. Asif claimed 106 wickets in 23 Tests and was considered one of the finest swing bowlers. But he was also prone to controversies. He twice tested positive for steroids and was once detained in Dubai for three weeks for possessing recreational drugs. “Lack of guidance,” former Pakistan skipper Rameez Raja once remarked on Asif’s losing his way off the field. Butt made his Test debut in 2003 and figured in 33 Tests. The left-hander was a sound opener but failed to lead by example when handed the responsibility of captaincy. “I was not given enough information about the anti-corruption code by the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board],” Amir had said. The PCB’s response was: “In March 2010, Amir signed the code of conduct for players when he was issued his central contract…. The
MATT DUNHAM/AP
DECEMBER 2, 2011
TOM HEVEZI/AP
M OHAM M A D AM I R W A LKI N G to an indoor training session as rain begins to fall at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, on August 25, 2010, the day before Pakistan was due to play England in the fourth cricket Test match of the series.
code of conduct states that by signing the same the player commits to abiding by all ICC rules regarding betting, match-fixing, corruption, and any matter that could call into question the integrity of the game. Amir acknowledged that he understood the code and his responsibilities under the same. Amir also committed that he would abide by these rules and any others formulated in this regard.” In fact, Amir stirred an emotional chord in Michael Holding. The legendary West Indies fast bowler, who confessed he did not know Amir personally, struggled to hide his tears as he spoke about the scandal in the company of the former England captains David Gower and Nasser Hussain. “He could contribute to the game in the future,” was how Holding looked at Amir. Haroon Lorgat, ICC chief execu-
tive, said in a statement: “The ICC takes no pleasure from the fact that these players [Butt and Asif] stepped outside not only the laws of the game, but also the criminal laws of the country in which they were participating. We note that the jury has found Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif guilty of the criminal offences with which they were charged and also that Mohammad Amir had pleaded guilty to the criminal offences with which he was charged. We hope that this verdict is seen as a further warning to any individual who might, for whatever reason, be tempted to engage in corrupt activity within our sport.” Greed and a lack of education and opportunities are some of the reasons given by former cricketers whenever Pakistan cricket is rocked by controversies. Cricketing greats such as Imran Khan and Zaheer Abbas have F R O N T L I N E
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M OHAM M A D AS I F D UR I N G the second day of the fourth cricket Test match against England at Lord’s on August 27, 2010. He bowled a no-ball during this match.
blamed the PCB for not playing its role properly. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif termed it a very good decision. “If anyone is involved in match-fixing, he has to go behind bars. The people of Pakistan want to watch matches without fixing,” he said. He was among the first to raise his voice against matchfixing and had announced his retirement to attract the attention of the authorities in Pakistan to act on what he called the “cancer” in cricket. As one player remarked, “There is frustration among Pakistan cricketers. They can’t play the Indian Premier League [IPL], there are no financial gains for them like many others. They get to play fewer Test matches. No team wants to travel to Pakistan. There are many factors that mislead the young Pakistan cricketer. One hopes this punishment serves as a severe deterrent.” 첸
India & Pakistan
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Ignorance rules
border on November 4, trucks cross into Pakistan from India.
The Pakistani street links MFN status to the Kashmir issue despite the fact that both countries gave each other the status until 1965. B Y A N I T A J O S H U A
Few on both sides know that India and Pakistan were among the 23 original signatories to the GATT, which included the Most Favoured Nation provision. JUST how difficult it is for either Pakistan or India to extend an olive branch to the other was in full evidence early in November when Pakistan’s federal Cabinet decided “in principle” to extend the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. Even as Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan and Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood tried to make the announcement at the Cabinet briefing, the local media were baying for blood, suggesting that the Pakistan People’s Party-led government was weakening the long-held national position on Kashmir by granting MFN – which many a journalist insists on calling Most ‘Favourite’ (sic) Nation – status to India. The argument is that there can be no normalisation of relations with India without resolving the Kashmir issue. When Mahmood tried to set it in historical perspective – pointing out that Pakistan had granted 4 8
IN ISLAMABAD
MFN status to India in the days of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah itself – the Secretary was accused of unnecessarily dragging in the founding father’s name to legitimise this “anti-Pakistan” move. The fact that both countries had given MFN status to each other soon after Partition until 1965 and that India had restored that status to Pakistan unilaterally in 1996 made little dent on a national narrative built on animosity to and fear of India. Consequently, for the next four days, a decision that has been in the making for some time now – given a series of deliberations the government held with stakeholders – remained mired in confusion to the extent that Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had to step in to clear the air and state categorically that the Commerce Ministry had been authorised to normalise trade with India and that extending MFN status was just one part of the process. This once again showed how difficult it would be for both countries to resolve issues such as Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir, where yielding even an inch of land or water will be seen as abject surrender. Part of the problem lay in the term MFN itself, which many interpret in the literal sense and see as some special status being accorded to India. With hostilities having dominated the India-Pakistan relationship, few on both sides know that
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MOHSIN RAZA/REUTERS
A T THE W AG A H
DECEMBER 2, 2011
India and Pakistan were among the 23 countries that were the original signatories to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which included the MFN provision. Writing in Dawn, Abid Hussain Imam, Associate Professor of Law and Policy at Lahore University of Management Sciences, said: “In fact, recognising that the two countries had previously constituted the same economic unit, the original GATT included an exceptional clause permitting the two newly independent countries to enter into ‘special arrangements with respect to trade’ with each other.” What’s more, India and Pakistan signed 12 trade agreements between 1947 and 1965, as a result of which there were four points for border trade in Punjab, including one each in Bahawalpur and Sindh and a customs point on the Chenab river for timber trade. The 1965 war ended all this until the signing of the Simla Agreement in 1972resulted in a nominal resumption of trade by putting four items on the positive list. When the World Trade Organisation replaced GATT as the international structure overseeing the multilateral trading system, India granted MFN status to Pakistan and moved to a negative list approach. Pakistan still maintains a positive list for trade with India. Under this list, trade is permitted in fewer than 2,000 items. India has time and again pointed out to Pakistan that maintaining the positive list approach goes against the spirit of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Pakistan has now indicated that it is open to switching to a negative list approach vis-a-vis India but is looking for some reciprocity. Though the street narrative, including rallies organised by banned jehadi outfits in Islamabad, against MFN status to India suggests that Pakistan was succumbing to U.S. pressure, several reports in recent years have stressed the need to exploit the potential offered by regional trade. In its report on the medium-term development imperatives and strategy for
Pakistan, a panel of economists entrusted with the task by the Planning Commission stressed the need to build strong constituencies for peace “through considering first granting India MFN basis and abandoning the positive list approach, easing visa processing to facilitate freer movement of people, an institutional arrangement for banks… opening up of new transportation routes… better information exchange, reduction in NTBs [non-tariff barriers], and creating an enabling environment for investment in joint ventures”. Admitting that holding back MFN status to India was in itself an NTB, Pakistani Ministers and officials are hoping for some relaxation from India on the NTBs to make normalising trade with India an idea that can be sold to the people. Though Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal has repeatedly sought to assure Pakistani officials and business community that the “so-called” NTBs are not Pakistan-specific, the perception here even among keen advocates of resumption of normal trade with India is that they smack of an anti-Pakistan bias. While trying to address misgivings within the business community about MFN status to India by arguing that it “does not mean sleeping with the enemy”, the former chairman of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Majyd Aziz, insisted that India should address Pakistan’s concerns regarding the NTBs. “They may not be Pakistan-specific, but they seem to be. The way shipment from Pakistan is inspected by your Customs and police, it would seem that the entire consignment is filled with bombs.” In several interactions with the business community, Sabharwal has sought to drive home the point that the examples of NTBs and Para-Tariff Barriers quoted include requirements of technical standard certification, standard of quality, labelling, marking, packaging, and sanitary and health regulations. “Such regulations are not unique to India and prevail in all countries. And such regulations in F R O N T L I N E
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India apply to all our trading partners and are not specific to Pakistani exports.” Also, according to Indian officials, some of the problems being faced by Pakistani traders will be addressed once the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari becomes fully operational. Conceding that facilities on the Indian side were poor compared with that on the Pakistani end, they said the ICP would have full-body scanners for trucks, warehouse and cold storage facilities, quarantine laboratories, and so on. As for the major irritant of visas, particularly the restrictive regime and the insistence on police reporting on arrival and before departure, the hope that is being held out is that businessmen will stand to benefit the most from the relaxations that have been agreed to by officials on both sides. The joint working group set up for the purpose as part of the resumed dialogue process is understood to have suggested a relaxed visa regime for businessmen and it now awaits political clearance. Given the entrenched mistrust, these promises have failed to cut ice with the naysayers, some of whom have gone way back into history to cite India’s refusal to pay Rs.55 crore due to Pakistan at the time of Partition. Add to this the fear of being swamped by Indian goods the way Pakistan has been by Chinese stuff. India’s contention is that since Pakistani goods are competing with Indian goods elsewhere, it will be able to do so domestically also. Seeking to address some of these fears, the leading economist S. Akbar Zaidi maintains that MFN status to India will favour Pakistan more than India. “Research has shown that if trade between the two countries grows, since Pakistan’s is the much smaller economy, the gains which accrue to Pakistan will be far greater,” he wrote in Dawn, adding that bilateral trade is expected to double from $2.5 billion in the next three years on account of this decision. `“While not such a big deal for India, this will mean a huge change for Pakistan.” 첸
DECEMBER 2, 2011
arrival at a rally in Lahore on October 30 organised by his Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf demanding that President Asif Ali Zardari step down.
Political test for Imran GIVEN his cricketing background in a cricket-crazy nation, Imran Khan has always got media attention. But, there has been a qualitative shift in the coverage since October 30 when his ‘jalsa’ (rally) at Minar-e-Pakistan in the Sharifs’ stronghold, Lahore, catapulted him to the centre stage of Pakistani politics 15 years after he ventured on this path. Now even his bitterest critics accept reluctantly that the cricketer-turned-politician and his politics, however limited it may be, will have to be taken into account while strategising for the next elections that are technically over a year away. While analysts preoccupy themselves with his brand of politics to figure out whether he will be a gamechanger or a spoiler, his support base – essentially the urban apolitical youth and the equally apolitical middle class – are not bogged down by such issues. To them, he represents a change from the present crop of politicians, all of whom are deemed to be corrupt and ineffective. That is Imran Khan’s biggest selling point. Though he has been in politics for a decade and a half, he is
still untested in governance. His rivals are all in governance either at the federal level or in the various provinces. Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have no such baggage and the man himself has the advantage of his reputation of captaining his team to World Cup victory and setting up a cancer hospital against all odds. Such is the general disenchantment with Pakistani politics and its failure to deliver that his supporters are not concerned with whether he has a solid policy plank. Neither does it bother them much that he is believed to be the latest in a series of politicians unleashed on the Pakistani polity by the ‘establishment’, the chief arbiters of Pakistan’s destiny. His anti-Americanism feeds into the street narrative as does his diatribe against politicians. That has been his bugbear from his maiden days in politics. He entered politics saying all politics and politicians were bad, and that remains his refrain. While it has gained currency now that democracy has returned to Pakistan, this rant against politics may also rain on his parade. In the
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prevailing circumstances, Imran Khan cannot hope to win seats in the next elections without poaching on other parties and opening his stables to disgruntled politicians seeking an assured ticket. This contradiction is lost on his supporters. That the PTI has remained a one-man show until now is in itself a reflection of the limited nature of Imran Khan’s politics. Herald’s editor Badar Alam said in Dawn about Imran Khan’s politics: “His is, in fact, anti-politics – an ideology that discredits what he calls ‘professional politics’ in order to replace it with, you guessed it, politics.” His party is a “cross between a social movement, a think tank and a loosely organised collection of highly educated technocrats and avowed Islamists”. While the middle class is pinning its hopes on Imran Khan and the PTI is reportedly rolling up its sleeves to reap the dividends of the Lahore rally with a similar one planned in Sindh, the Pakistan People’s Party stronghold, his detractors worry what he signals for Pakistan’s fragile democracy. Anita Joshua
ARIF ALI/AFP
I M R A N KHA N G E S TUR E S ON
India & Pakistan
DECEMBER 2, 2011
The real barrier Trade and industry in India point to “vested interests in Pakistan which do not want normalisation of relations with India”. B Y G . S R I N I V A S A N
While India’s official trade with Bangladesh was close to $4 billion, its official trade with Pakistan stood at $2.65 billion in the last fiscal, up from $1.81 billion in 2008-09 and $1.84 billion in 2009-10. THE confusion over Pakistan’s November 2 announcement of grant of most favoured nation (MFN) status to India following a meeting of the federal Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and the subsequent clarification by him to the contrary unambiguously points to the fact that Islamabad remains a prisoner of its delusions and its ‘denial mode’ of existence both in politics and in economics. Against the backdrop of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit being held in the Maldives, New Delhi is of the firm belief that the regional grouping can achieve greater cohesiveness and clarity if the simmering issues between its members are sorted out and also send a clear signal to the world that this region, home to some of the poorest people in the world, does matter in the global reckoning. The term MFN, fashioned by the erstwhile General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its latter-day version, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is a veritable misnomer. For MFN means a non-discriminatory regime that more or less all countries have to extend to each other as members of the WTO. While India extended MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1995, the latter shilly-shallied, linking this basic right of trading partners to other issues, mostly political. At the fifth round of talks between the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries on April 27-28 in Islamabad, “Pakistan recognised that grant of MFN status to India would help in expanding the bilateral trade relations”. The Pakistani side informed India that it would take immediate steps to ensure that a non-discriminatory trade regime was operationalF R O N T L I N E
IN NEW DELHI
ised at the earliest and added that “the consultative process in this regard has been set in motion and information from all stakeholders including business chambers and trade bodies is being collected to replace the present ‘positive list’ with a ‘negative list’.” It was agreed that this process would be completed by October 2011. In fact, six months ago Islamabad had expressed its earnestness to move towards the grant of MFN status and that had raised hopes that it would do so at least this time. On November 2, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan told a press conference that the Cabinet meeting had “unanimously” decided to grant India MFN status to improve trade relations between the two countries. An official source in New Delhi told Frontline the same night: “We have been told that the foreign office is making a statement that the Pakistan government has decided for trade normalisation with India and to implement the decision of the Cabinet, and it is not clear what the decision of the Cabinet is.” What this meant, the source said, was that “what we do is we will normalise trade and it will culminate in the grant of MFN” status to India. That culmination could be 10 or 15 years from now, the source added. Trade policy analysts contend that confidencebuilding and composite dialogue will be shorn of any meaning if Islamabad is keener on posturing than on delivering mutually acceptable solutions for issues that continue to bedevil bilateral relations. In fact, the day after the confusion erupted over the issue, Dawn, the influential Pakistani daily, argued in an editorial that “if implemented, it would have a farreaching impact on Pakistan’s security”. But it did not explain how. Trade and industry analysts in India said this only strengthened the impression that “there are strong political and commercial vested interests in Pakistan which do not want normalisation of relations with India”. Interestingly, even as the final word on the grant of MFN status has not been said, Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary, Zafar Mehmood, told a meeting of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce that another round of Secretary-level talks would be held in New Delhi on November 14. Indian officials believe that 5 1
DECEMBER 2, 2011
‘MFN is our right under WTO’ Interview with Union Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar. B Y G . S R I N I V A S A N
Can you explain the MFN issue and why India could not get this from Pakistan when it had granted the same to Pakistan in 1995? MFN is a right available to us from the WTO principle of non-discrimination in trade. Currently Pakistan uses a positive list approach, which means only so many goods can be exported, and this is clearly in breach of the principle of MFN enshrined in the WTO. We have been arguing with them that what is India’s natural right under WTO laws should be given to us. The loss to India and to Pakistan is twofold. From our perspective, the very fact that we are not allowed to export certain goods goes against the principle of non-discrimination in trade and almost singles India out for discriminatory action. Equally, it is not that trade does not take place – it takes place through a third country, which means it goes to the Gulf [countries] or wherever [and] from there to Pakistan. In the end, Pakistan ends up paying higher prices for the goods because there is no direct transaction. How can that possibly do any good to Pakistan? The moment you do this sort of trade through an intermediary you add on transport cost, which is otherwise unnecessary. For instance, it is cheaper to ship the same goods from here to Karachi instead of going via Dubai, or it is easier to send goods through the Wagah border rather than to ship or airfreight them
The real point is that Pakistan needs to move in two different stages. First, it must accept the principle that MFN is the right of all WTO members and if it gives the beneWhat is the official and fits to all WTO meminformal bilateral trade bers, why not to India? flow? How does the In the MFN system MFN status make any there is no such posiR AHUL KHULLA R , difference? C OM M E R C E Secretary. tive/negative list and The formal bilateral all items are tradable. trade is $2.5 to 3 billion, while in- The tariffs at which they are traded formal trade is at least twice that are MFN tariffs. amount. The latter is legitimate The second stage is the derogatrade going from here to an entrepot tions from MFN, which are legiticentre and from there being routed mate under the WTO’s regional to Pakistan. So, combining official trading arrangements (RTAs). Here trade and the trade routed through you can make trade even freer and Dubai, the bilateral trade now stands more open than the MFN trade by at $8 billion. entering into a bilateral agreement When you are an MFN, the $5 where you offer tariff concessions. billion is not going to go through Should Pakistan be willing to do that Dubai but directly to Pakistan. In a at a later stage, it will be possible for sense, official trade to Dubai will go us to consider bilaterally. If Pakistan less by $5 billion. So there is no dif- wants to join SAFTA [SAARC prefference. But the real gain will come erential trading arrangement] and from the fact that many people who honour its commitments under are not able to export because of the SAFTA, then it can consider availing positive list approach will be able to [itself] of the concessions we give to do now, and that will benefit them. other members of the grouping. So Pakistan should grant MFN Is Pakistan’s carping on non-tariff status to India and then seek concesbarriers (NTB) by India genuine? sions on tariffs. Just as we extended How will MFN status help solve this to Bangladesh zero-tariff concesirritant on both sides? sions on textile items recently, at I think it is more a perceptional some point of time these matters can issue. I suspect that their main con- get sorted out through negotiations. cern is not NTBs but tariff barriers. I don’t think these are NTBs. There For instance, Pakistan would like to was some concern about licensing export textiles to India. There are no and standards for export of cement NTBs but there are tariff barriers from Pakistan, but many of those preventing textile exports. These tar- issues have been sorted out. I told my iffs are fixed in terms of specific rates counterpart in Pakistan that if they and they tend to be high. So what gave lists of sector-specific NTBs they are seeking is concession on they wanted us to address, we would these tariffs. gladly address them. to Dubai and from there to Karachi. This means the consumer in Pakistan ends up paying higher transport cost and the intermediary profit margin.
RAMESH SHARMA
COMMERCE Secretary Rahul Khullar is the chief negotiator with trading partners, at the official level. “We should be able to move forward,” he told Frontline in this interview following the confusion over Pakistan granting MFN status to India. Excerpts:
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DECEMBER 2, 2011
SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
pavilion during the India International Trade Fair in New Delhi in 2009. Pakistan would like to export textiles to India but does not because of the high specific rate of tariffs. Indian officials say that giving India MFN status would enable Pakistan to negotiate concessions on these tariffs.
A T TH E PA K I S T A N
this meeting will help them understand the level of bilateral relations in the light of the MFN confusion. Even as Islamabad has harped on its complaint that “the entire trade liberalisation process is linked with the removal of non-tariff barriers” such as licensing for import and stricter compliance with standards and norms, the MFN regime can go a long way in arresting the substantial chunk of circular, or informal, trade that supervenes
between the two using a third country as an intermediary. It would also do immense good to Indian and Pakistani traders to focus on quality and delivery schedules because importers from both the countries are bound to make value-for-money judgments using as benchmarks products from other countries. While India’s official trade with Bangladesh was close to $4 billion, its official trade with Pakistan stood at F R O N T L I N E
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$2.65 billion in the last fiscal, up from $1.81 billion in 2008-09 and $1.84 billion in 2009-10. In fact, in India’s commercial engagement with other SAARC countries, Pakistan takes the last position. However, the potential for trade between India and Pakistan can definitely be realised if Islamabad makes the move to grant MFN status to India, which will entail deeper engagement for mutual benefit over the long haul. 첸
world affairs
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Travails of a crusader Julian Assange has further legal options in his battle against extradition, but funds might prove a constraint. B Y H A S A N S U R O O R I N L O N D O N
WikiLeaks faces closure if it cannot raise enough funds over the coming months. It has been forced to suspend publishing operations in order to concentrate on raising money to fight the blockade imposed by Western financial companies. A YEAR ago, standing on the steps of London’s Royal Courts of Justice after coming straight from what he called “the bottom of a Victorian prison”, where he had been detained in solitary confinement, Julian Assange declared with some feeling and a poetic touch that it was “great to smell the fresh air of London again”. And, thanking “the people around the world” for their support, the WikiLeaks founder vowed to “continue my work and continue to protest my innocence”. At the time few would have thought that we would still be talking about it a year later. His legal battle to clear his name over allegations of sexual misconduct brought by two Swedish women he met in Stockholm in the summer of 2010, leading to his arrest and a warrant for his extradition to Sweden, continues. There is no early end in sight. On November 2, Assange was back in court and stood on the same place that he did a year ago. But the mood this time was different. He had just lost his appeal against extradition with the court rejecting the key arguments presented by his legal team. These 5 4
included the plea that the European Arrest Warrant issued by the Swedish authorities was legally flawed, and that he would not get a fair hearing in Sweden as he believed the case against him was politically motivated. He feared that if he was extradited, the Swedish authorities might hand him over to the United States, which has threatened to prosecute him for
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LEON NEAL/AFP
DECEMBER 2, 2011
LEON NEAL/AFP
S U P P O RT ERS O F AS S A N G E
W IKIL E A K S F O UN D E R J U LI A N
Assange emerges from London’s High Court on November 2 after losing his legal battle to avoid extradition from Britain to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault.
outside London’s High Court on November 2.
leaking classified and confidential documents. Judges were not persuaded that the extradition would be “unfair and unlawful”, nor that the warrant was invalid because it had been issued by a prosecutor and not a “judicial authority”. They ruled that the action of the prosecutor was subject to the independent scrutiny of Swedish judges, “which, as judges of another [European Union] member state, we must respect”. They also did not agree that the descriptions of the offences were not a fair and accurate description of the conduct alleged against Assange. “This is self-evidently not a case relating to a trivial offence, but to serious sexual offences,” ruled Lord Justice Thomas and Justice Ouseley, adding that Swedish prosecutors had been “proportionate” in their actions. They held that, contrary to the defence claim, the allegation that he had sexual intercourse with one of the women without protection “would amount to an allegation of rape in England and Wales”. Assange showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered. Outside the courtroom, there was a media scrum waiting for him as he emerged, trying hard to look unruffled, with a copy of the judgment which he held up in the air at the request of photographers. Asked whether he was F R O N T L I N E
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disappointed by the verdict, he dismissed the question with an ironical grin and directed anyone who wanted to know what was “truly going on in the case” to his website “wedenversusassange.com” where the full judgment was available. Despite persistent media questioning, especially from the notoriously aggressive television reporters who kept thrusting their microphones at him, Assange avoided commenting directly on the verdict except to highlight what he regarded as the unfairness of his situation considering that he had not been charged with any crime. “I have not been charged with any crime in any country. Despite this, the European arrest warrant is so restrictive that it prevents U.K. courts from considering the facts for a case. We will be considering our next steps in the days ahead. No doubt there will be many attempts made to try and spin these proceedings as they occurred today but they are merely technical,’’ he said. And with that Assange was off, escorted by his close friends and security detail who formed a protective ring around him as a large crowd milled around with people trying to shake his hand and take his photograph. As he headed for a waiting taxi, he was trailed by hundreds of slogan-raising supporters who said they were “out-
World Affairs raged” by the verdict. Among them was a group of anti-capitalist “Occupy London” protesters who used a megaphone to voice their support. “Occupy London support you,” they cried. “Assange is probably the most amazing person in recent history who’s upset so many powerful people in such a short space of time, so it’s obviously not a level playing field,” said Ciaron O’Reilly, one of the many who had spent the entire morning outside the court. A banner fixed to the court’s iron railings read: “Free Assange! Free Manning! End the wars”. This was Assange’s second unsuccessful stab at having the extradition warrant quashed. In February this year, a lower court ruled that he should be extradited, rejecting the argument that he would not get a fair trial in Sweden. The High Court upheld that verdict. Assange’s friend Vaughan Smith, whose country house Ellingham Hall in Norfolk has been his home since his arrest, said that “people are disappointed … but Julian has become pretty robust.... You don’t get a sense of dismay. It is a case of soldiering on,” he said. Assange still has the option of moving the Supreme Court on the grounds that the case raised issues of general public importance and has 14 days to appeal though he would need the High Court’s permission to do so. At the time of writing (November 7) this report, his lawyers were inclined to appeal. Assange would only say that he was considering his “next steps”. There is also a further stage, postSupreme Court – the European Court of Human Rights. So, on the face of it, there is still much to play for. One senior lawyer said he did not think Assange’s legal team “would kill it off ` at this stage because there are some legal issues at stake”. But with legal bills piling up (his High Court appeal alone is reported to have cost him in the region of £100,000; and he could be looking at a similar bill if he goes to the Supreme Court) and funds dwindling, his supporters are obviously concerned.
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Judges were not persuaded that his extradition would be unfair and unlawful. Vaughan acknowledged that despite a legal defence fund, which was supported by donations, it was “reasonable to assume he is struggling with his legal fees”. There have been suggestions that he might be forced to throw in the towel because of economic pressures. The well-known legal commentator David Allen Green wrote in New Statesman that it “is difficult to see why there is now any good reason for Assange to seek further delay in returning to Sweden, especially if he has scarce resources for funding his legal defence”. By now the case is too well-known to bear repetition. Assange acknowledges that he had sex with the two women in question but insists that it was consensual and denies any coercion. Their allegations, he claims, were an afterthought and part of a larger campaign to smear him by those he has exposed through WikiLeaks. His supporters have alleged that he might have been a victim of a “honey trap” engineered by forces embarrassed by WikiLeaks’ exposes. During the appeal hearings, Assange’s lawyer Ben Emmerson said that the women involved in the case may have found sex with his client “disrespectful, discourteous or disturbing,” but said that it had been entirely consensual. He also argued that his client’s actions would not be illegal in the context of English law. “The conduct that is complained of would not constitute a crime in this jurisdiction,” he said. Swedish prosecutors have not charged Assange with any crime but want him to return to Sweden to answer the allegations. Since his release on bail in December 2010, his move5 6
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ments are heavily restricted. He has been living under curfew at Ellingham Hall and must wear an electronic tag, besides reporting to the local police every day. His supporters have likened it to virtual “house arrest”. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks is in deep financial crisis and faces closure if it is not able to raise sufficient funds over the coming months. It has already been forced to suspend its publishing operations in order to concentrate on raising money to fight what it describes as the “unlawful” and “arbitrary” blockade imposed by a number of Western financial companies, including the Bank of America, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Western Union, as part of a “politically motivated” campaign by U.S. authorities to destroy WikiLeaks for disclosing damaging classified U.S. documents. Assange told a crowded press conference in London that WikiLeaks was facing an “existential” threat and that if the financial blockade persisted it would no longer be able to carry on its work. WikiLeaks would need $3.5 million over the next 12 months in order to survive. The implications of the continued blockade went beyond WikiLeaks and its work, he warned. “If this financial attack stands unchallenged, a dangerous, oppressive and undemocratic precedent will have been set, the implications of which go far beyond WikiLeaks and its work. Any organisation that falls foul of powerful finance companies or their political allies can expect similar extrajudicial action. Greenpeace, Amnesty International and other international NGOs that work to expose the wrongdoing of powerful players risk the same fate as WikiLeaks. If publishing the truth about war is enough to warrant such aggressive action by Washington insiders, all newspapers that have published WikiLeaks’ material are on the verge of having their readers and advertisers blocked from paying their subscriptions,” he said. An alternative system to transfer funds to WikiLeaks is in place to beat the blockade. Its details are available on www.wikileaks.org/support. 첸
DECEMBER 2, 2011
World Affairs/Kyrgyzstan
Eurasian pie Kyrgyzstan is in the midst of building a Western-type democracy in an undemocratic regional environment. B Y V L A D I M I R R A D Y U H I N I N M O S C O W
VLADIMIR VORONIN/AP
It may find itself in the crossfire of conflicting interests of Russia and the U.S. Vladimir Putin has a vision of reuniting former Soviet-bloc nations in a Eurasian Union. Hillary Clinton wants to unite Central Asia in a U.S.-led New Silk Road project. KYRGYZSTAN’s crucial presidential election, held on October 30, is likely to put to the test the country’s fragile democracy and fuel big-power rivalries in former Soviet Central Asia. It brought victory to Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev, 55, who won 63 per cent of the votes, well above the 50 per cent minimum needed to dispense with a run-off. It was a more than convincing victory in a race contested by 16 candidates but marred by many malpractices. Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticised faulty voter lists, multiple voting and ballot stuffing but certified the P R E SIDE N T - E L E C T election as free and peaceful AL MAZ B E K Atambaev overall. speaking to the press in Kyrgyzstan is in the midst Bishkek on November 1. of a daring experiment in building a Western-type democracy in an entirely undemocratic regional environment. All other exSoviet states in Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – have authoritarian or downright dictatorial regimes. The only F R O N T L I N E
other country in the region that has seen a change in top leadership since the break-up of the Soviet Union two decades ago is Turkmenistan, where the dictator Saparmurad Niyazov died five years ago. The Kyrgyz say it is the nomadic tradition that has made them a freedom-loving nation. Until now their democratic instincts were displayed in the toppling of two Presidents – Askar Akayev in 2005 and Kurmanbek Bakiyev in 2010. Both were overthrown in chaotic riots against the rapacious ruling cliques in the poorest state in the former Soviet Union. However, parliamentary elections held in October 2010 were internationally recognised as free and fair. In December, when Interim President Roza Otunbayeva, appointed to the post after the ouster of Bakiyev, will step down and make room for Atambaev, Kyrgyzstan, for the first time, will see power change hands through the democratic electoral process rather than through turmoil and violence. Some experts, however, think that Kyrgyzstan has chosen the wrong path to democracy. Opposition leaders, catapulted to power after last year’s coup, rewrote the Constitution to prevent new excesses of sweeping presidential powers. The new Constitution, adopted in a national referendum in June 2010, transformed Kyrgyzstan from a presidential republic to a parliamentary one, with the main powers shifted from a nationally elected President to a Prime Minister chosen by Parliament. Dr Murat Ukushov, a respected Kyrgyz authority on constitutional law, says it was a mistake to trans5 7
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plant the “advanced” European model of democracy into Kyrgyzstan. Western-type democracy will not work in a country that lacks an economic and social basis for democracy, he says. “The introduction of the parliamentary form of government in a vastly unprepared, politically and economically unstable society that is torn by tribal, clan and regional divisions is fraught with a power vacuum, anarchy and ochlocracy [mob rule], and may lead to the loss of statehood,” he wrote in a recent article. Ukushov, who helped write the first Constitution of independent Kyrgyzstan in the early 1990s, argues that Kyrgyzstan should adopt the “Asian model” of transition to democracy “through authoritarianism and institutionalisation of authoritarian forms of democracy”, which has worked well in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. He is convinced that Kyrgyzstan needs a strong-hand regime to cope with its problems, such as soaring crime, massive drug trafficking, rampant corruption, extreme ethnic enmities that take violent forms, authorities that practise double standards, and lack of public trust in the government. “The paramount task facing Kyrgyzstan today is to enforce law and order, both in the government and in the country, using, if necessary, harsh methods,” Ukushov said. A strong government is one thing that Kyrgyzstan lacks today. The constitutional reform has devolved powers from the President to Parliament and the Prime Minister. The President, limited to a single six-year term, has lost the authority to appoint a Prime Minister or influence the budget process. The Parliament elected last year under the new Constitution is
split between five regional and clanbased parties that have formed fragile coalitions. Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said he had warned the Kyrgyz leadership of the risks of adopting a parliamentary form of government, but his advice was not heeded. Most candidates in the presidential election vowed to rewrite the Constitution back to the presidential form of government, but President-elect Atambaev said he would not touch the basic law. “I’m a team player,” he said. “I don’t want to strengthen the authority of the President.” NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE
Meanwhile, the challenges facing Kyrgyzstan’s new leadership are overwhelming. One of the most pressing problems is healing the rift between the country’s north and south, which are separated by the high Tian Shan mountain ridges. Traditional rivalries between the better-off Europeanised and Russified north and the poor agricultural south have intensified since independence. Southern clans gained the upper hand when northerner
A KY R G YZ W O M A N performing a traditional ritual during the opening of a new aircraft ramp at the U.S. Army base at the Manas International Airport, Kyrgyzstan, on June 23. Russia expects the U.S. to close its base in the country after the military operation in Afghanistan. 5 8
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Akayev was ousted by southerner Bakiyev in 2005. However, the north has now regained its dominance following the impressive victory of its main candidate, Atambaev, over his two main rivals from the south, former Parliament Speaker Adakhan Madumarov and former Emergency Services Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev, who came second and third respectively with 14 per cent of the votes each. Unless the losers are offered some compensation for their defeat, they may easily foment trouble in the explosive south. Last year Kyrgyzstan saw the worst ever ethnic violence in the region, provoked by supporters of the ousted President, Bakiyev. Hundreds died in the riots that targeted ethnic Uzbeks, and tens of thousands fled to neighbouring Uzbekistan. Tensions are still running high as thousands of Uzbeks remain displaced. They complain of continued harassment and discrimination, with courts convicting only ethnic Uzbeks for crimes relating to last year’s clashes. Glaring poverty is aggravating ethnic and regional problems. The country’s per capita Gross National Product
DECEMBER 2, 2011
is less than $700, the official minimal wages are $2.42 a month and an estimated million working-age Kyrgyz earn a living as seasonal workers in Russia and Kazakhstan. The money they send home – about $2 billion – is comparable to Kyrgyzstan’s budget and provides livelihood to every second family in a country of 5.5 million people. Whether the new Kyrgyz leaders will be successful in tackling the country’s problems depends on how they walk the tightrope of relations with the two main outside players – Russia and the United States, both of which have military bases in Kyrgyzstan. At his first press conference after winning presidency, Atambaev promised to shut down the U.S. airbase at Kyrgyzstan’s main airport Manas when its lease expired in 2014 and replace it with a civilian transport hub operated jointly with Russia. “We know that the United States is often engaged in conflict. First in Iraq, then in Afghanistan, and now relations are tense with Iran. I would not want for one of these countries to launch a retaliatory strike on the military base,”
the President-elect told journalists. In 2009, Bakiyev also promised to close the U.S. base but changed his mind after Washington agreed to triple the rent payments for the base and launched a reset in its relations with Moscow. Russia itself has since opened land and air transit routes to run supplies for the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) forces in Afghanistan but has made it clear that it expects the U.S. to close its base in Kyrgyzstan after the end of the military operations in Afghanistan. Washington, however, is in no hurry to leave the region.
VLADIMIR VORONIN/AP
U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE
Russian analysts believe that the U.S. will seek new bases in Central Asia as it pulls out of Afghanistan. This was the main goal of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in October. “The U.S. wants to secure a longterm military presence in Central Asia and relocate its forces from Afghanistan to the north, to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan,” said Alexander Knyazev of the Moscowbased Institute of Oriental Studies. In the coming years, Kyrgyzstan may find itself in the crossfire of conflicting interests of Russia and the U.S. as the two former Cold War rivals are turning their attention again on Central Asia. Moscow and Washington recently unveiled rival plans to promote regional integration under their leadership. Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin set forth a grand vision of reuniting former Soviet-bloc nations in a Eurasian Union. Hillary Clinton used her tour of the region to promote a no less grand plan of uniting Central Asia in a New Silk Road project. Under Putin’s plan, the Eurasian Union will be built on the base of the existing Customs Union, a Russia-led trade group that also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Putin, who is set to reclaim Russian presidency next year, the Eurasian Union may take shape as early as 2015 and could eventually become “one of the poles of the modern world, serving as F R O N T L I N E
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an efficient link between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region”. Curiously, the U.S.’ New Silk Road plan has exactly the same goal – turn Central Asia into a trade hub between Europe and Asia, but under Washington’s leadership. At the Istanbul conference on Afghanistan, the U.S. also pushed forward a proposal to create a regional security framework modelled on the OSCE. Both projects are an evolution of Washington’s earlier plan to form a Greater Central Asia and are aimed at building alternative energy export routes to the pipelines leading to Russia and China and weakening their position in Central Asia. Moscow and Beijing have responded with plans to expand and strengthen the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which today also includes Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. At bilateral Foreign Ministry consultations in Moscow in October, Russia and China agreed to “accelerate the process of enlargement of the SCO” by granting full membership to India and Pakistan. This may happen as early as at the group’s next summit in China in 2012. Atambaev has declared his intention to ally Kyrgyzstan closer to Russia, the main source of credits, cheap energy and technological assistance to Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan joined a Russia-led free trade pact, signed by seven ex-Soviet states, in October and reaffirmed its bid to join the Customs Union. Its application was approved at the group’s meeting in St. Petersburg in the same month. Kyrgyzstan’s membership in the Customs Union will open the way into the group for Tajikistan, which currently has no borders with any member-states. Analysts, however, do not expect any immediate Russian-American confrontation over Kyrgyzstan. Moscow and Washington may well agree to tactical cooperation as long as there is a common threat of extremism from Afghanistan. “In times of drought in the jungle, animals proclaim truce at the drinking places,” said Ivan Safranchuk, an expert on Central Asia. 첸
update
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Oppenheimers exit De Beers N I C KY O P P EN HE I M E R : "A F T E R careful and
MINING giant Anglo American has taken a controlling stake in De Beers, the biggest diamond distributor in the world, spending £3.2 billion on the 40 per cent holding owned by South Africa’s Oppenheimer family. Anglo, which already speaks for 45 per cent of De Beers, will emerge with 85 per cent once the deal is completed in a move that will give it a leading role in the global diamond market. Although De Beers has endured a difficult recession with sales and profits plummeting, trading has recovered with strong demand from emerging markets such as India and China. Prices have jumped recently by 40 per cent since the start of the year, propelled by the growing popularity of diamond-encrusted rings among Chinese brides. The government of Botswana owns the outstanding 15 per cent of De Beers but has the option to increase its stake to 25 per cent, which could cut Anglo’s stake to 75 per cent. De Beers was established in South Africa in 1880 by Cecil Rhodes, the English-born politician and business-
man who went on to found Rhodesia, renamed Zimbabwe in 1979. The company’s name is synonymous with diamonds and its advertising slogans have included the ubiquitous “diamonds are forever”. Analysts suggested that the Oppenheimers are selling because there is no clear successor to Nicky Oppenheimer, chairman of De Beers, who is in his sixties. Archie Kane at Liberum Capital said: “There is no obvious family member coming through the ranks to take management control.” The Oppenheimers have held sway at De Beers since the late 1920s. Traders speculated that Anglo could one day spin off De Beers into a separately listed company, something that Anglo shareholders would welcome. Several institutional investors have complained that the value of Anglo’s holding in De Beers is not reflected fully in its share price. At the price Anglo is paying for the De Beers stake, the diamond company is valued at nearly £8 billion. 6 0
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BLOOMBERG
JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP
deliberate consideration of the offer, and what is in the best interests of the family, we unanimously agreed to accept Anglo American’s offer." (Right) A selection of rough diamonds at De Beers’ Buffelsmarine recovery plant in this undated handout. Anglo and De Beers have always played down or denied stories that a deal was in the offing, but on November 4 chief executive Cynthia Carroll admitted it was an acquisition she had long coveted. She said: “This transaction is a unique opportunity for Anglo American to consolidate control of the world’s leading diamond company.” Nicky Oppenheimer, representing the family interests, said: “This has been a momentous and difficult decision as my family has been in the diamond industry for more than 100 years and part of De Beers for more than 80 years. After careful and deliberate consideration of the offer, and what is in the best interests of the family, we unanimously agreed to accept Anglo American’s offer.” The Financial Times reported that when Cynthia Carroll was asked why she had not bid for the stake when prices were lower, she replied: “Where there is a buyer, there has got to be a seller – that’s the bottom line.” Richard Wachman © Guardian News & Media 2011
World Affairs/Palestine
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Vote for Palestine Palestine gets full UNESCO membership despite stiff opposition from the United States. B Y J O H N C H E R I A N
The U.S. response was to walk out of UNESCO and stop funding it. Israel also walked out of the U.N. body and used the vote as an excuse for more annexations and the freezing of tax revenues owed to the Palestine Authority.
due to vote on the issue of full membership in the middle of November. As many as 107 countries, making up two-thirds of UNESCO’s membership, voted in favour of Palestine. China, Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil were among them. “This vote will erase a tiny part of the injustice done to the Palestinian people,” Palestinian Foreign Minster Riyadh al Malki said after the vote. Many of Washington’s European allies, such as France and Belgium, also voted in Palestine’s favour. Among the 14 countries that opposed the entry of Palestine were the four tiny Pacific Ocean
PA L E S T I N I A N P RES I D EN T M A H M O U D Abbas at a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee at Ramallah in the West Bank on September 29. F R O N T L I N E
NASSER SHIYOUKHI/AP
THE overwhelming endorsement by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the recognition of Palestine as a full member is a strong signal by the international community to Israel and its main patron, the United States, that Palestinian statehood is now only a matter of time. UNESCO is the first U.N. agency to admit Palestine as a full member. This diplomatic victory has come less than two months after Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas’ formal application for full membership in the U.N. on September 13. The vote on October 31 in Paris, which upgraded Palestine’s status from observer to full member, took place despite immense pressure from Washington. The European Union (E.U.) also tried to stall the Palestinian bid for full membership by offering limited membership on UNESCO’s executive committee along with funds to renovate the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. A Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official was quoted as saying that the E.U. was “trying to tempt us with money to buy our principles”. Sabri Saidam, adviser to President Abbas, said the UNESCO vote was a “rehearsal” for “the big battle” for full U.N. membership. The U.N. Security Council is
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nations of Samoa, Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which are dependent on American largesse for their survival. A surprise vote against Palestine was that of Sweden. Until the late 1980s, Sweden was a pillar of support for liberation movements worldwide, playing host to leaders of the African National Congress (ANC), the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The right-wing government in Sweden today seems to be blindly following the U.S. lead on key foreign policy issues. Sweden chose to abstain on the recent U.N. vote condemning the U.S. for its illegal blockade of Cuba despite the overwhelming majority in the U.N. once again voting in favour of Cuba. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, may have a point when he claims that the current government in Sweden is under the sway of Washington. Assange has said that he fears that he may be deported to the U.S. once he is extradited to Sweden. Australia, Canada and Germany also voted against Palestine’s admission. Australian and Canadian foreign policies have for many years supported U.S. foreign policy initiatives faithfully. Germany does occasionally differ with the U.S. It refused to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military assault on Libya. But on Israel, successive German governments, racked by the collective guilty conscience relating to the country’s treatment of Jews during the Second World War, have blindly supported Israel. Immediately after Palestine was admitted into UNESCO, the Barack Obama administration said that the U.S. was withdrawing from the organisation and cutting off funding completely. The U.S. was supposed to contribute $80 million this year, which is about one-fifth of the organisation’s budget. The U.S. said it was bound by a 1994 law that forbids financial ties with any U.N. agency that gives Palestine full membership before an Israel-Palestine peace deal is reac-
hed. Washington’s stand is that eventual Palestinian statehood should only be achieved through negotiations with Israel, not through forums such as the U.N. This is not the first U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO. In 1984, when Ronald Reagan was President, the U.S. withdrew from the organisation citing “growing disparity between U.S. foreign policy and UNESCO’s goals”. It rejoined only in 2004. The Bush administration calculated that renewed participation would help in its diplomatic efforts to win support for the unpopular war it had launched in Iraq. U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said with a straight face that the UNESCO vote undermined “our shared goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East”. She did not bother to explain how Palestine’s entry into UNESCO undermined the peace process. UNESCO’s priority is to bring clean water to the poor, promote education in the developing world, and preserve historical and religious monuments. Its work in these fields is bound to be badly affected by the Obama administration’s decision to cut off funding.
The vote sends a strong signal to Israel that Palestinian statehood is now only a matter of time. It is now being asked whether the U.S. will take a similar decision if and when Palestine is admitted to other international bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which aims to prevent nuclear non-proliferation, and the World Health Organisation (WHO), which works to eradicate dangerous diseases. 6 2
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Obama, in his speeches in Cairo and Turkey at the beginning of his presidency, had promised an even playing field for Palestinians. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her visit to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris in early 2011, said she was “proud to be the first U.S. Secretary of State ever to come to UNESCO, and I come because I strongly believe in your mission”. Within months, the U.S. walked out of the organisation and that too because Palestine was bestowed full membership. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly in 2010, Obama had called for Palestinian statehood. It is another story that he backtracked on his commitment in this year’s speech to the General Assembly. Israel, too, announced that it was walking out of UNESCO. Further, using the UNESCO vote as an excuse to annex more territory, the Israeli government ordered the building of 2,000 more housing units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. East Jerusalem is the designated capital of the state of Palestine. The last round of peace talks broke down in 2010 because of the Israeli decision to expand its settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the announcement of new building plans that Israel had a right and an “obligation” to build in Jerusalem. Israel wants Jerusalem as its capital. Even the Obama administration, which otherwise succumbs to the diktats from Tel Aviv, has so far refused to recognise the claim of an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. As a further punitive measure in response to the UNESCO vote, Israel decided on November 1 to freeze the transfer of tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority (PA). There are reports that the Obama administration is also planning to cut off aid to the financially strapped PA. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon said that he was deeply concerned by Israel’s announcements, adding that Israel was obliged by in-
THIBAULT CAMUS/AP
DECEMBER 2, 2011
DE L E G AT E S A PPL A UD A F T ER approving the membership of Palestine in a vote of 107-14 with 52 abstentions, during the session of UNESCO’s 36th General Conference in Paris on October 31.
ternational law to transfer funds meant for Palestinians in the occupied territories. The Israeli move meant that the PA would not be able to pay salaries to its 1,50,000 employees for the first time since 2007. “The Israeli decision to deny Palestinians access to
their own custom tax revenues is an unlawful punitive measure that Israel has done in the past [2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011] and will most likely do so again,” the PA said in a statement. The U.S., which still pretends to be an “honest broker” in the negotiations beF R O N T L I N E
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tween the Palestinians and the Israelis, has once again sided with the stronger side that keeps forcibly occupying land. Former French Foreign Minister Michel Roccard remarked that after the recent UNESCO episode, the U.S. had lost its “moral right” to lead the negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Israeli leadership, backed by its strong lobby in the U.S. Congress, had been insisting that the U.S. should follow Israel out of any international agency which admitted Palestine. Richard Falk, the noted expert on international law and U.N. Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, has suggested that countries like “Turkey, Brazil, India and Egypt could constitute themselves as a more legitimate quartet than the horribly discredited version of a quartet comprised of the United States, Russia, the E.U. and the U.N.”. Obama’s latest act of kowtowing to Israel will only further alienate the U.S. from the Arab Street. “Obama’s attempt to deny the hatred that Arabs feel towards the United States and Israel because of the actions of these two countries is nothing short of the continued refusal of the United States and Israel to take responsibility for their own actions by shifting the blame for the horrendous violence they have inflicted on the region on their very victims,” wrote Joseph Massad, the author of the book The Persistence of the Palestinian Question. In the middle of this year, 80 members of the U.S. Congress visited Israel. Both Republicans and Democrats in the group promised to introduce even tougher legislation to prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state emerging in the near future. One Republican Congressman said he would introduce a resolution that would endorse Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and Jerusalem. A Democratic Congressman went one step further and said that he would propose a Bill that would cut off military aid to any country supporting the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. 첸
Natural Science
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Fungus farmers Insects began farming 40 to 60 million years before humans did. TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY GEETHA IYER
About 330 species of termites, 220 species of ants and 3,400 species of weevils are farmers, and their cultivated crop is fungi. Insects have also been a source of food for several cultures across the world. “What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from?” the Gnat inquired. “I don’t rejoice in insects at all,” Alice explained.… – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Series This is the last part of an eight-part series on insects. 6 4
leafhopper, Dorthula hardwickii. It is 28 mm long including the 12-mm long abdominal appendage.
PARAG GIRI
THE first revolution in the history of humankind, the agricultural revolution, began 10,000 years ago in certain parts of Asia, Africa and Central America. This comprehensively changed the patterns of human lifestyle. However, the revolution was neither unique nor exclusive to humans. Insects, which evolved 400 million years (MYA) ago, began farming 40 to 60 million years before humans started agriculture. Three different groups of insects independently developed the ability to farm for their needs. About 330 species of termites, 220 species of ants and 3,400 species of weevils, referred to as ambrosia beetles, are farmers, and their cultivated crop is fungi1. Studies in evolution have revealed that in the case of ambrosia beetles, the habit of farming fungi rose independently seven times. This habit is not merely an absorbing story of weevil-fungi co-evolution but also evidence of the existence of the vast
THE LA R G E S T KN OW N
number of beetle species. There are, thus, nine lineages of insect farmers, each with different species, each of which has its own cultivars and style of cultivation. The entomologists Ulrich G. Mueller and Nicole Gerardo, authorities in this field, suggest that the termite-fungi association may have had its origins in a dead-wood feeding friendship. Both termites and fungi like to feed on dead wood. Did an accidental nibble excite the termites’ palate and give them a taste for fungi? The process of actively cultivating fungi may have been a secondary ability developed by termites. Plants have always enlisted the services of insects for pollination. Fungi may have similarly used insects for dispersal of their spores. Opportunists that insects are, they would have adapted to take advantage of such an offer. Entomologists believe this
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to be the genesis of beetle-fungal relationships. The picture of ant mycophagy is still far from clear. It is still uncertain what route ants took to establish their farming credentials. Duur K. Aanen et al.2 have found that the termite-fungal symbiotic association had its beginnings in Africa about 24-34 MYA. Since its origin, this association has never lapsed: never has this species reverted from its farming state to a free-feeding one. Most termites import cultivars (in the form of fungal spores) from external sources during nest initiation. The spores acquired for a new nest are the product of sexual reproduction between fungi.
However, as the nest expands, the fungal garden grows (on termite faeces) through asexual reproduction. In this manner, a fungal monoculture is maintained in the nest. At the same time, the termite workers adopt several strategies to prevent monoculture domination. Two interesting exceptions are seen in the genus Microtermes. The queen of this genus carries asexual spores in her gut to inoculate the gardens of her new nest3. In Macrotermes bellicosus, the male (or king) carries spores for the new nest initiated by the queen. Fungus-farming ants belong to the genus Atta, commonly known as leafcutter ants. As in termites, agricultural F R O N T L I N E
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practice evolved in attine ants only once and it did not lapse. However, ants do not import spores during nest initiation. Instead, they are carried by the winged female in a small pocket in her mouth specially designed for this purpose. When a suitable nest site is found, she first starts her fungal garden and begins laying eggs only when the fungal colony is established. The queen assists the first brood of workers in expanding the garden before retiring to the exclusive job of laying eggs. In South America, leafcutter ants are feared by farmers as they are known to devastate crops and vegetation in their search for suitable plant material for their fungal farms.
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Ambrosia beetles are wood-dwellers. They too do not import fungal spores. The spores are either ingested or carried in special pockets called mycangia. When a beetle hibernates or migrates from its nest to a new location, it carries the fungal spores with it. Once it finds a suitable nesting site (a tree, for instance), it bores a tunnel into it. The tree will eventually have a gallery of tunnels where eggs hatch to form larvae. These tunnels are lined with a mixture of faeces and woodchips in which the fungal spores hatch and grow. The fungal farm provides the developing larvae with ample food but destroys trees. When beetles abandon their nest, other fungal species begin to grow on the ambrosia fungal gardens in the trees, causing largescale damage. Farming entails a lot of work to keep farms and cultivars healthy. Insect farmers, too, need to work hard to maintain genetic purity in their fungal gardens and to remove pests and pathogens, such as mites, nematodes and the fungal spores of other species. Each ambrosia beetle cultivates a specific species of fungi. Scientists know how difficult it is to maintain a pure culture of fungi in the laboratory, but insects have managed to do this in the wild. How they do it is yet to be understood completely. It is known, however, that they regularly weed their gardens to remove unwanted cultivars and constantly monitor them for mutant pathogens that may start an epidemic. They also isolate, maintain and propagate clones of favourable cultivars in large monocultures and introduce new cultivars and practise intercropping if needed. Attine ants use antibiotic treatment when required. These ants grow a species of Streptomyces bacteria on certain parts of their body from which they derive an anti-fungal concoction effective against fungal parasites. Bacterial strains, including Streptomyces, have also been isolated from the gut of termites and from ambrosia beetles. How well these antibiotics serve the two insect species is yet to be ascer-
W I N GED T ER M I TE S S E E N
soon after rains. They are a delicacy for many
villagers in India. tained. But the successful insect farmer may have something to teach humans. “Insects... are not curiosities; they are creatures in common with ourselves bound by the laws of the physical universe, which laws decree that everything alive must live by observing the same elemental principles that make life possible. It is only in the ways and means by which we comply with the conditions laid down by physical nature that we differ,” said R.E. Snodgrass in his book Insects: Their Ways and Means of Living4. Insect-plant interactions are evolutionary phenomena that are millions of years old. Plants and insects possess a love-hate relationship; insects pollinate them but many suck the sap out of a plant’s life. There are insects that protect plants, and plants that feed on insects. It should, therefore, be no surprise that when humans decided to settle down and till the soil for food, they found insects that piggybacked on the plants. Early human communities dealt with insects in much the same way that insects dealt with pests in their farms. They found multiple strategies to limit the damage and also developed a palate for insects. The ancient adage seemed to be “if you can’t beat them, eat them”. Termite queens, beetle grubs, locusts, grasshoppers and even mosquitoes figure on the food list of humans. 6 6
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THE J E W E L BUG , or Chrysocoris stolli, is a voracious feeder. It is a common plant pest.
Early human settlements practised integrated pest management without unduly poisoning themselves. They were perhaps aware that it was not necessary to eradicate insects; it was enough if their populations were kept under control. This, as researches seem to indicate, was the strategy of insect farmers too. Somewhere in the evolution of human agriculture, this strategy appears to have changed. Humans began to look at “bugs” as pests that had to be eradicated out of existence. BUGS
“Bugs” is a term used to describe a wide variety of small animals that cause harm to humans. But in the scientific
PARAG GIRI
DECEMBER 2, 2011
I N S E CTS AR E A TTACKE D by parasites too. Here, Borthogonia, a leafhopper, with phoretic mites.
beautiful Cantao ocellata, the only representative Scutellerid bug species in India.
TH E B R IGH T A N D
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world, true bugs belong to the order Hemiptera, and they play a significant role in human agricultural systems. For this reason, hemipterans are a widely researched insect group. Phytophagous insects, as their name suggests, feed exclusively on plants. Sap-sucking and plant-chewing heteropterans, grasshoppers, several species of beetles and butterflies and moths are examples of insects that farmers recognise very well. Lesserknown and frequently missed out are insects that are farmers’ friends. With mounting concerns over the use of poisonous pesticides, the chemical aftereffects of fertilizers and increasing soil pollution, some of these lesser-known insects are beginning to receive attention. The order Hemiptera includes a large variety of insects that show both morphological and physiological variations. For a layman, the easiest way to identify these insects would be to look for a small triangular chitinous part visible between the wings. A part of the
TH E N YM PH O F
the strange-looking hooded
grasshopper.
TH E S H O R T - H O R N E D GRA S S H O P P ERS
N E OR THOC R I S S P E CI E S , A wingless grasshopper. The male has a bright pink abdomen and the female is quite dull.
(above and right) are masters of camouflage.
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A COFFE E LOC US T
(Aularches sp.). Locusts represent the swarming phase of grasshoppers.
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A C A N T H A S PI S Q UI N Q U ES P I N O S A
an assassin bug that feeds on termites. The beak, or rostrum, is clearly visible. forewings are hard and leathery in true bugs; hence, they are often mistaken for beetles. The hindwings are completely membranous. Heteropterans use chemicals for defence, and scent glands are characteristic of this group. This is most predominant in bugs from the Pentatomidae family, whose smelly secretions have given them the common name stink bug. This disagreeable odour is accompanied by beautiful colours and attractive forms. The scent and the bright, warning colouration are the protective features of these bugs. Among the most common of these bugs, familiar to farmers and gardeners, are seed bugs, leaf-footed bugs, stainer bugs, jewel bugs, lace bugs, shield bugs, giant water bugs, bed bugs, assassin bugs and stink bugs. The feeding habits of true bugs vary. Two-thirds of all heteropterans are herbivores. They have mouth parts designed specially to feed on plant liquids. Their proboscis, used for feeding, comprises needle-like stylets crafted from the mandibles and maxillae lying within a groove formed by the labium. This entire set-up is called a beak, or rostrum. Herbivores generally feed on the contents of plants’ phloem and
A W I N GLES S FE M ALE Haematorrhophus marginatus. The reduviid has special pads on its foreleg and mid-legs, with which it holds on to prey, which is sucked dry.
sometimes xylem (food- and waterbearing cells respectively). In addition, some species feed on flowers, ovules and unripe fruit to supplement their diet with nutrients, while others derive these nutrients from microorganisms in their gut. Carnivorous heteropterans are as common as herbivorous ones. Bugs belonging to the Reduviidae family are commonly called assassin bugs, a description of their hunting ways. These predaceous bugs feed on a wide range of small creatures, including other insects. A reduviid belonging to the genus Acanthaspis actively hunts and 7 0
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feeds on honeybees, while an Acanthaspis quinquespinosa feeds on termites. Large aquatic bugs feed on insects and other creatures in their environment. Collectively, these carnivorous bugs keep a check on insect populations. But the bed bug, which feeds on human blood, has no natural predator. HOMOPTERANS
There is no difference in the fore- and hindwing of homopterans; as the name suggests, the wings are uniformly membranous. All homopterans are plant feeders and predominantly trop-
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THE P E N TATOM I D , OR stink bug, produces secretions that give off a strong odour because of which it is considered a delicacy and eaten in some countries.
TH IS A SS A S S I N B UG , Ectrychotes, belongs to the family Ectrichodiinae, known for its bright colouration. The insect hides under leaf litter and preys at night.
ical in distribution. Some hoppers may bite humans, but they rely on plants for their nutrients. These insects are also famous for their various ways of communication. Their general form and appearance is quite different from that of true bugs. Cicadas, froghoppers, planthoppers, treehoppers and leafhoppers are all homopterans. Wingless, often un-insect-like in form, they are detested by gardeners; aphids, scale insects and mealy bugs also belong to this group. All homopterans feed on the sap from the xylem and phloem of plants. As they are liquid feeders, they also
T H E C O T T O N S T A I N E R bug, or Dysdercus similis. A yeast that resides in its head gets transferred to the cotton plant, staining it and reducing the value of the lint. F R O N T L I N E
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THE S HI E LD BUG also produces unpleasant smells when stressed. Here, Cyclopelta siccifolia.
or Graptostethus. It is commonly seen on the Ipomea plant. It feeds on seeds.
THE S E E D B UG ,
DECEMBER 2, 2011
conflict by enlisting their cooperation. LOCUSTS
(Calodia sp.) basking on a leaf.
PARAG GIRI
A FORE S T L E A F H O PP ER
L E A F H O PPE R S F R O M N O RT H - EA S T ERN India. Atknosoniella opponens and, below, Evacanthus sp. They are a xylem (plant water-bearing cells) feeders and hence excrete copious amounts of liquid.
tend to excrete fluid. Cicada sprays are famous in forests. Some of the ejected fluids, called honeydew, are actively sought by ants, who in turn provide protection to these bugs. These homopterans pierce plant tissues to lay their eggs. Collectively, their breeding and feeding habits cause problems for farmers by injuring plants and paving the way for infection by pathogens. The evolutionary versatility shown by bugs, in being able to occupy a wide variety of niches in the environment, brings them into direct conflict with humans engaged in agriculture. However, versatility is indicative of diversity. Human ingenuity needs to take advantage of this diversity to reduce 7 2
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The word locust has been used for a variety of insects and crustaceans. Any insect that appears in large numbers, like the cicada, for example, has also been referred to as a locust. However, the true locust is a short-horned grasshopper. Its close relatives, bush crickets or katydids, are found in the same habitat and are called long-horned grasshoppers. Grasshoppers, crickets and gryllids belong to the order Orthoptera, meaning straight-winged insects. Although found in similar habitats, katydids and grasshoppers differ in their food habits, the latter being a complete herbivore. The term locust is used to describe the swarming phase of grasshoppers. Research has shown that swarming5 is a result of overcrowding. When there is crowding and the hind legs of different grasshoppers touch, the production of serotonin – a neurotransmitter found in humans as well – is stimulated. The increased levels of serotonin bring about morphological changes and an increase in appetite. This results in increased feeding and an increase in the reproductive rate. Thus, grasshoppers breed profusely and increase in number, resulting in a locust swarm. One can imagine the devastating effect this has on plants. The transformation of grasshoppers to swarming locusts continues to increase because of the increasing rates of contacts between members of the growing population. According to some people, there existed a custom in certain parts of India whereby a locust was caught in its initial growing stages, decorated, revered and then released in the fond hope that it will take the swarm away. When an insect in such large numbers is found destroying carefully tended crops and is difficult to get rid of, it seems only natural that humans would contemplate using them as food. In this technology-directed century, the axiom of new-wave thinking is to do more with less. Micro-livestock refers to the farming of rapidly repro-
DECEMBER 2, 2011
ducing small animals, especially insects. This is still an emerging process. Despite the strong wave of vegetarianism, livestock farming is not going to diminish, and with the steady increase in the population, humans will have to find ways to produce more food in less space. Insects have been a food source for several cultures across the world. Termite queens are a favourite food of many villagers in Andhra Pradesh. The many flying termites that emerge during the rains to start a new family are collected by the villagers as food. Even among cultures that have dietary laws prohibiting the consumption of animals, certain species of grasshoppers are allowed as food. Insect-farming operations have a smaller ecological footprint than other livestock farming. Insects grow to ma-
AP H IDS (A B O V E A N D right, Aphis nerii, the oleander aphid) are the most common pests in gardens and are difficult to get rid of. Ladybird beetles feed on them. F R O N T L I N E
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turity quickly, reproduce at explosive rates, occupy less space, require less water and feed, but have a high food conversion efficiency6. Insects are a rich source of protein. In contrast to cattle and poultry, with their increasing number of pathogens, insects are a safe source of nourishment. Compare the nutritional value of common meat products with insect meat to understand why insects are beginning to be accepted as a food source: 6,100 grams of beef provides humans with 210 calories, 15 g of fat and 20 g of protein; 100 g of grasshopper meat provides 97 cal, 6.1 g of fat and 20.6 g of proteins; 100 g of caterpillars provides 268 cal, 17 g of fat and
Natural Science
DECEMBER 2, 2011
TH E F E MA L E A N D the male Lacusa fuscofasciata. Very little is known about the biology of this fulgorid hopper.
28 g of proteins. Before long we will be buying “Chocolate Chirpie Chip” cookies (with crickets) at food courts. Movie theatres in South America sell roasted ants, not popcorn. This is not a reality show on television in the United States or India, but the hard-core reality of life in many countries. There are already over 1,400 edible insect species familiar to humans. Many more are waiting to be discovered. These insects can thrive in environments that are hostile to current livestock farming and agricultural practices. Moreover, insect feed can be a means of waste disposal. Termite farms could use waste from the wood and paper or sugarcane industry as feed; such waste is currently incinerated or thrown into waterbodies. More importantly, unlike cattle, insect livestock farming would neither produce greenhouse gases nor require the use of antibiotics. In their wanderings between blades of grass and the wastes from the kitchen, insects would, if humans agree, adapt to this new role too – from insect farmers to farm produce – and still roam freely. The Yaqui tribespeople of North America narrate the story of a confrontation between a lion and a cricket. Long ago, the lion, in a fit of pique at being ignored by a singing cricket, challenged it and its army to a war with his carnivorous animals to establish that he was the king of the forest. Gleefully, the cricket agreed and came with
T H E F LA T I D HOP P E R , which feeds on plant sap, can be recognised by its large, triangular wings.
its army of insects. Ants bit the feet of the wolves and the leopards, and bees and wasps stung their bodies and eyes, forcing the lion and his warriors to flee and leave the insects alone. The dominance of insects is a fact. Given the environmental degradation of this century, it would be of benefit to humans, and to the earth, if they get to know insects more closely and enlist their cooperation. 첸 Geetha Iyer is an author, a nature enthusiast and an independent consultant in the fields of education and environment. REFERENCES 1,3. Mueller, Ulrich G. and Gerardo, Nicole; ‘Fungus-farming insects: Multiple origins and diverse evolutionary histories’; “PNAS”; 7 4
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Volume 99; No.24; pages 1524715249. 2. Aanen, Duur K.; Eggleton, Paul; Rouland-Lefèvre, Corrinne; Guldberg-Frøslev, Tobias; Rosendahl, Søren and Boomsma, Jacobus J.; ‘The evolution of fungusgrowing termites and their mutualistic fungal symbionts’; “PNAS”; Volume 99; No.23; pages 14887-14892. 4. Snodgrass, Robert Evans; ‘Insects Their ways and Means of Living’; Volume 5 of the Smithsonian Scientific Series (1930) published by the Smithsonian Institution Series, New York. 5. Rogers, Stephen M; Matheson, Thomas; Despland, Emma; Dodgson, Timothy; Burrows, Malcolm and Simpson, Stephen J.; ‘Mechanosensory-induced behavioural gregarization in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria’; “Journal of Experimental Biology (2003)”; 206 (22); pages 3991-4002. 6. Dzamba, Jakub; ‘Third Millennium Farming (3MF) – Insect Farming in Cities’; University of Toronto (2009). ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I have been able to do this series largely because of the time, encouragement and assistance given to me by Dr Chandrashekara Viraktamath, Emeritus Professor at Gandhi Krishi Vignyan Kendra, Bangalore, a world authority on leafhoppers. I owe a lot to the taxonomist Dr Prathapan Divakaran, of Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, who was always helpful. Thanks are also due to the entomologists Dr Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, Dr Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara, Dr K.G. Sivaramakrishnan, Dr J. Poorani and Dr K.A. Subramanian and to Pranav Balasubramanian, a Class XI student, all of whom helped me with identifying the insects. Thanks are due to my daughter, Sandhya Iyer, for her critical feedback. Geetha Iyer
books
DECEMBER 2, 2011
States & the Union A good mix of historical and contemporary perspectives on redrawing the maps of States within India. B Y V . V E N K A T E S A N HE reorganisation of States in India has not received the attention it deserves in the academic world. The question whether the existing States should be split further and, if so, into how many States has defied easy resolution. The issue is so complex and emotive that any attempt to unravel it without taking broad positions is a challenge in itself. Yet, an objective study of the issue, even if such an inquiry does not lead to answers to all the questions that could arise, has to be attempted if only to clear the mist. Interrogating Reorganisation of States is one such attempt at brainstorming, which is followed by reflection on issues and refinement of concepts in the light of experience. The essays included in the book are papers presented at a seminar organised at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi, in September 2008. The editors, Asha Sarangi and Sudha Pai, both academics, maintain in the introduction that the task at hand before the contributors was not whether the reorganisation of States was a success or failure. Perhaps the question itself borders on irrelevance as one cannot think of reversing history even if the findings, arrived at under the most objective conditions, point to failure. The book, however, makes a significant promise to the reader: to engage seriously with the theory and practice within which the rationale of reorganisation was conceptualised and carried forward. In this effort, however, the reader can easily discern where the contributors’ sympathies lie.
T
IN REVIEW
Interrogating Reorganisation of States: Culture, Identity and Politics in India; editors Asha Sarangi and Sudha Pai; Routledge and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, 2011; pages 319, Rs.895. The editors are clear that the emergence of regional parties and their importance in coalitions formed at the Centre to form governments could push demands for creating more States in the near future. This, the editors suggest, is not to be despised as an ominous sign, but welcomed as the continuing process of democratisation aiming to reach down to new social F R O N T L I N E
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groups and regions hitherto excluded from the mainstream of governance. The editors are confident that it would not only create and increase political consciousness among the disadvantaged groups in the States, but also produce new local and regional elites with participatory and decision-making roles. Such a process, according to them, is inevitable as regional inequalities widen among the existing States under the process of globalisation creating more intense competition for sharing resources in intersecting regions and subregions of the States. Further division of the existing States is often opposed on the grounds that it could encourage centrifugal tendencies and lead to the dismemberment of India. In his Foreword to the book, the eminent journalist B.G. Verghese has sought to rebut this apprehension by making out a case for 60 States by 2050 with an average population of 25 million each, and some 1,500 districts. His discussion on States reorganisation in the context of the north-eastern States and Jammu and Kashmir is insightful. Arunachal Pradesh, he suggests, is an extraordinary story that has gone unnoticed. There is no parallel between the success achieved there and anything else in any part of the world. The State is a mosaic of over 110 tribes of diverse racial and linguistic stock, numbering from a few hundreds to tens of thousands, speaking different languages, professing different faiths (indigenous, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian) but coming together through that process of nation-building and statebuilding to acquire a new sense of
DECEMBER 2, 2011
identity as Arunachalese Indians. Arunachal Pradesh continues to evolve and so we cannot sit back smugly but must use the existing platform for its further evolution on positive lines, he says. Verghese then dwells on non-territorial solution as a key to unravel the vexed issue of reorganising Nagaland. The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isaac-Muivah) is demanding Nagalian, or a greater Naga state. Verghese suggests that this is not a reorganisation that can be unilaterally imposed and would require the consent of other parties and States if civil strife is to be avoided as was experienced earlier in Manipur. He writes: “At the political level, there is already a Naga Hoho at the apex of the individual Naga ho-hos or tribal assemblies, going across all the Naga-inhabited regions in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal and into Myanmar. This has met from time to time in recent years to consult on pan-Naga issues. So it is possible to structure a non-territorial Naga entity or collective peoplehood if we look at this in a socio-cultural context. Such acquiescence would most likely diminish the intensity of the demand and make people more rational than emotional in judging where their interests lie.... The alternative would be to frame a separate Naga Constitution and forge an organic link between it and the Indian Constitution as in the case of J&K constitution. None of this will mean separation from India and a non-territorial entity will not entail further territorial reorganisation of the north-east of the country. It would mean accommodating things in a different way. ” He elaborates: “We do not have to worry about granting a new Naga entity its own flag, currency, or postage. Many Indian princely states of yore had their own stamps, coins and flags. This did not add anything to their ‘sovereignty’. The princely states were more subject to British dominion than were the British provinces. Their gun salutes were a concession to vanity – no more.”
Arguing that oversized units are generally incompetent and inefficient, Verghese justifies the seemingly expensive effort at fragmenting existing States. However, alongside such fragmentation, he prescribes larger nonpolitical entities such as natural resource regions, river-basin authorities, transport corridors, economic hubs, regional energy grids, and agro-climatic zones in order to encourage functional coordination. Observers of States reorganisation often wonder how to describe the contribution of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in redrawing the country’s map on linguistic lines. Nehru, despite the broad consensus during the freedom struggle in favour of such reorganisation, was hesitant and apprehensive whether nationbuilding should get precedence over building of the federation. Yet, faced with the reality that people were impatient, he facilitated the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines, after the submission of the Report of the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in 1955. The SRC had recommended 16 States and three centrally administered territories. Nehru’s government created 14 States and nine Union Territories (UTs) in 1956. During the next 50 years, the number of States doubled to 28, while the number of UTs came down to seven. Verghese writes on the contribution of Nehru: “He ruled a small India with a big Bharat that scarcely mattered. The complete merger of Bharat into India may take several more decades, but those who have been waiting in a nonexistent queue for thousand years will not be denied their due. “India’s unity rests on its respect for diversity. India’s stability depends on change. The process of becoming more fully India has an aspirational aspect which is as important as the time and space dimensions of nation building. So the reorganisation of States has to be seen as a three-dimensional task and a great work in progress.” The editors elucidate the different 7 6
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approaches of Nehru and B.R. Ambedkar to linguistic reorganisation. Nehru warned against any kind of passionate surge in demand for separate States based on an exclusive ideology of language or religion. He wanted large States to retain their cosmopolitan character. He was not fully convinced of the viability and durability of monolingual States. Ambedkar, as Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, supported the demand for reorganisation of States on a linguistic basis. He strongly argued for the creation of Maharashtra on this basis. He considered four basic principles such as development, efficiency, equality and democracy for ushering in the era of reorganisation of States. Ambedkar proposed that each State may have its own language for purposes of administrative communication with the Centre and other States, but disregarded the thesis of “one language, one state”. In other words, his view was that people speaking the same language need not be grouped into one State but there could be more than one State with the same language. The formula of one State, one language, he pointed out, was not to be equated with one language, one State. Instead, people speaking one language might find themselves in many States depending upon other factors such as the requirements of administrative efficiency, specific needs of particular areas and the proportion between the majority and minority communities within a State. For Ambedkar, States in a democratic polity needed to have equitable size limits since this would ensure proportional distribution of resources among the States as well as their inhabitants. Like Nehru, he too favoured a strong Centre to ensure an equitable survival of different languages, cultures, regions and States within a broader framework of an inclusive developmental polity. The editors argue, pointing to recent demands for smaller States, that large States can become hegemonic and undemocratic through their nu-
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
DECEMBER 2, 2011
The first meeting of the States Reorganisation Commission in New Delhi. From right, K.M. Panikkar, Saiyid Fazl Ali (Chairman), Hriday Nath Kunzru and P.C. Chaudhuri.
FE BR U AR Y 12, 1954:
merical strength and command over natural and physical resources, which can have a serious impact on the federal democratic structure of the country. In the long journey of reorganisation from 14 to 28 States, the Centre has changed a few principles into guidelines to deal with demands for further redrawing of existing State boundaries. These principles, according to Paul Brass (whom the editors cite in their essay), are as follows: A. demands must stop short of secession; B. demands based on language and culture could be accommodated, but not those based explicitly on religious differences; C. demands must have clearly demonstrated public support; and D. division of multilingual states must have some support from different linguistic groups. Except the major demands such as Telangana (Andhra Pradesh), Bodoland (Assam), Gorkhaland (West Bengal), Haripradesh (Uttar Pradesh), Vidarbha (Maharashtra) and Kodagu, or Coorg (Karnataka), not much is known about the remaining 26 or so demands reportedly pending for consideration before the government. As the editors note, there has been a significant shift from language and culture that shaped the earlier process of reorganisation to the one driven by specific needs of the political economy of development and socio-cultural inclusion. What is surprising is why it took so
long for this shift to take place. As the editors explain, the colonial state supported commercial agriculture and industry in selected areas such as the coastal regions, deltas, river valleys and mineral-rich areas, leaving the vast hinterland underdeveloped. Such a distorted pattern of unequal development continued in the post-Independence period as well. The result has been uneven development in the big States of India: some districts that have seen rapid development are surrounded by poorer regions that remain backward and underdeveloped. The editors point out that Telangana, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, Vidarbha and the inner tribal regions of Orissa have continued to remain deprived within large States. The three small States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand, which came into existence in 2000, were not created on linguistic and cultural grounds. Answering the criticism that mere creation of small States does not guarantee that they will be wellgoverned, or will experience faster economic development, the editors say that these three States are not performing badly. They, however, have a word of caution for the proponents of Telangana: liberalisation and the emergence of a growing private sector within the market economy could mean that the formation of a separate State of Telangana may not benefit the people F R O N T L I N E
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of this backward region. They explain: “After Independence, the rich landlord class in the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh moved inland into the agro-industry, manufacturing and in more recent years the information technology sector in Hyderabad. “Regional inequalities have markedly increased since the early 1990s with retreat of the state and a growing private sector increasingly controlling investment decisions of scarce resources. It will be difficult for the poorly educated and disadvantaged groups in the underdeveloped regions to obtain employment, particularly in the better paid and more dynamic sectors of the economy. The well-educated and better-off ‘outsiders’ might benefit leaving the people of the new State behind, heightening feelings of regional chauvinism.” Indeed, the editors slam the Congress for not following up its promise to set up another States Reorganisation Commission (SRC), in the light of the Telangana demand, and for going back on the United Progressive Alliance government’s agreement with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti because of the fear of a backlash from other regions of Andhra Pradesh. However, after having articulated the contemporary demands for smaller States, the editors appear reluctant to suggest any solution in the light of their excellent analysis. They conclude – with their readers unable to conceal their disappointment – the issue of reorganisation of States in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere remains a complex and unfinished task before the political leadership at the Centre and in the States. The book is structured into four parts – the historical and political context, reorganising the Hindi heartland (Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand), western and southern India (Sindhis, Maharashtra, Telangana, Kannada), and the east and the northeast (Orissa and Assam) – with chapter authors providing a detailed background to the movements in their chosen States. It is a good mix of historical and contemporary perspectives on the reorganisation of States in India. 첸
books/review
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Economics of caste The author establishes how disparity in society is entrenched within the caste-occupation nexus. B Y R A J S E K H A R B A S U N the late 1990s, Dalit activists in many parts of India had started debating whether the institution of caste that prevailed in the country had similarities with the concept of race as was often conceptualised in the West. In fact, before the Durban Conference on apartheid and racism, many Dalit intellectuals believed that caste and race were almost similar in the context of India. The question is why these Dalit intellectuals and the Dalit counter-public tried to insist on this sort of an analogy. As has been argued by critics such as Shiv Visvanathan, there possibly had been attempts by many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working among Dalit communities to integrate them at the grass-roots, State, national and international levels. Indeed, such a strategy reflected an element of flexibility whereby the state was visualised not only as an agency of reform but as one whose powers violated the dignity of Dalits in their everyday life. The focus was on entitlement, and in this ambience the exercise of rights assumed great significance. In other words, it added fuel to the arguments of Dalit activists, notably those attending conferences such as the Durban Conference, that the reactions to caste and caste-based discrimination were akin to the reactions that had been set in motion by race and racial discrimination. Sociologists have for long argued that what sets India apart from other societies is the overwhelming dominance of the caste order. Indeed, there is an opinion that there are no phonotypical differences between castes and it is specific, coded substances that differentiate one caste from another. These differences are often expressed
I
IN REVIEW
The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India by Ashwini Deshpande; Oxford University Press, 2011; pages 272, Rs.695. in terms of purity and pollution which are to be observed very strictly by individuals in their quotidian experience as human beings. As in terms of race, physical separation was also given primacy by social theorists working on Indian communities. Dipankar Gupta has argued that what makes caste stand apart from other forms of stratification is the elaborate and ritualised rules that not only insist on the observance of these distinctions but also prescribe sanctions in cases where the norms are violated. 7 8
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In his words, “It is this obsessive attention to the slightest variation in ritualmaking that marks out caste from other forms of stratification.” More importantly, while it is difficult to provide a quantitative interpretation of the impact of caste on Indian society, its formidable presence in terms of a hierarchical order resembling racism continues to baffle scholars interested in the study of caste both as a cultural and an economic system. However, scholars increasingly argue that it is difficult to accept the provocative position as adopted by Louis Dumont in his well-known work Homo Hierarchicus, which says that pure hierarchy was a state of mind to which all those within the caste system abided. This model of an all-embracing hierarchy had a great deal of similarity with the version of the Indologists of the 19th century who preferred an uncritical interpretation of the brahmanical texts such as the Yagnavalkyasmriti and the Manusmriti. It is now being argued that caste identities cannot be straitjacketed within a single universalised system, where the pure and the impure remain unproblematically firm in times of interaction. INEQUITY AND POVERTY
What needs to be stressed is that caste order is characterised not simply by the contesting notions of hierarchy but by issues of inequality and poverty. In her book, Ashwini Deshpande strongly asserts that caste could be an important group identifier vis-a-vis issues relating to economic disparity and discrimination. A few years ago, there were articles in academic journals that Dalit children were being chased out of schools in some villages of Tamil Nadu
DECEMBER 2, 2011
since they wanted to participate with the rest of the children in the government-run midday meal programmes. The dominant castes rejected such action on the basis of their caste pride and did everything possible to stall such moves. More glaring were the reports from Patna, Bihar’s capital city, where the government’s public distribution shops owned by the dominant castes refused to distribute goods to Dalit customers until cloth screens were hung to save them from the gaze of the so-called polluting presence of “the untouchables”. The Indian Institute of Dalit Studies conducted a survey of 531 villages in five States of India in 2003 and exposed the patterns of exclusion and discrimination that beset the much-publicised midday meal schemes and the public distribution system. The author has rightly argued at the very outset that since the non-economic literature on the Indian caste system is vast, there may be a question as to whether “an economic enquiry can make any additional worthwhile contribution” (page 3). She expresses her discomfort with many of the contemporary writings which emphasise that the links between occupation and caste are breaking down and that all this is resulting in the release of enormous entrepreneurial energies in different parts of India. An economist by training, Ashwini Deshpande acknowledges that while occupational structures may have witnessed a rapid transformation, caste division is ubiquitous in contemporary India. CASTE-CLASS OVERLAP
The author tries to answer questions as to whether the lower castes tended to get absorbed into low-paying and lessprestigious occupations, while there was a pronounced presence of the upper castes in modern occupations. In fact, there can be little disagreement with her proposition that social and economic mobility is still a distant dream for members of the lower castes. In other words, while links between caste and jati can snap, there are
Economic liberalisation has not brought about a change in the socioeconomic status of Dalits. enough examples to lend credence to the old Marxian logic of a caste-class overlap in India. Ashwini Deshpande draws our attention to the growing incidence of the breakdown of the traditional subsistence economy. But this does not essentially establish the fact that the influence of caste is waning; rather there are signs that it is making its presence strongly felt in the different dimensions of the economy. She alludes to a number of studies which stress that untouchability is not only present all over rural India but have ‘survived’ by adapting to new socioeconomic realities and is taking on new and insidious forms. She points out that the extrajudicial power exercised by caste panchayats, particularly in the sphere of inter-caste romantic/ matrimonial alliances, is proof of the lasting relevance of caste in rural society. However, the author does not intend to confine her study to economic investigation; her intention rather is to establish how through a discursive reading of the past there can be a crucial understanding of the material aspects of disparity, as was entrenched within the caste-occupation nexus. Ashwini Deshpande’s volume is based primarily on her own academic interests spanning over the last decade vis-a-vis issues of contemporary caste inequalities in India. Her work takes an all-India view, recognising the regional and subregional variations. Apart from a concise introduction, she brings out the diversities in her work F R O N T L I N E
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through the various chapters. In one of the chapters, she discusses the possibilities of employing a few economic theories to investigate how social identity has impacted on the economic outcome, leading to discriminations in market settings. She insists that both classical/neoclassical interpretations and heterodox traditions, including Marxian, have stressed that social identity of the economic agent does not matter. She contests such understandings by arguing that unfortunate and stark life experiences have proved that issues of identity are not so peripheral that they can be ignored by scholars. She highlights the contradictions inherent in them, despite the overarching supremacy of neoclassical economic theories, since social discriminations are found to be acceptable within the market traditions and within the system of profit maximisation. In this context, it has been pointed out that though the conversion of Dalits to other religions, including Christianity and Islam, was influenced by an urge to escape from exclusion and discrimination, such conversion did not ensure the improvement of the social status of the converted individual. GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM MODEL
The most interesting part of her argument is that which highlights the assumptions of the general equilibrium model. This model establishes the point that profit-maximising agents could encourage discrimination until there were policies of affirmative action or a coalition of employers who were interested in breaking free from all social stereotypes. The general equilibrium model suggests that all employees get paid according to their productivity, whereas in a world with statistical discrimination, employees get paid according to their group identities. The hallmark of Ashwini Deshpande’s analysis is that she tries to explain these complex economic theories in terms of the discourses which have taken place on caste and the Hindu social order since the last decades of
VISHWA KUNDAPURA
DECEMBER 2, 2011
DA L IT W O R K E R S E N G A GED in manual cleaning of pits of public toilets in Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka. Social and economic mobility is still a distant dream for members of the lower castes.
the 19th century. Like the present-day economists, social theorists of the 19th century argued that the very affiliation to a certain social category determined the level of wages and issues broadly related to human security. In other words, an individual belonging to the lowest social classes could barely expect highly rewarding jobs. Ashwini Deshpande feels that despite the popularity of a number of economic models, there are a whole range of questions on the caste system and its role in the economy that are unanswered. In this context, the author has raised the problems arising out of conflicting social prescriptions. Subsequently, she also raises the problem of identity formation. In India, she argues, the usage of terms such as Dalits and Harijans often gives rise to a great deal of contestation. The official emphasis on the usage of the term Harijan is found to be offensive by the advocates of Dalit identity since they find it to be too pejorative if not patronising. The construction of identity is itself a complex phenomenon, and the self-perceived
identity also displays a degree of homogenisation or enforcement, thereby creating conflicting ideas of self-respect within a particular community. This identity sometimes appears to be the real identity, but sometimes it is also fissured along the lines of class, territoriality and gender. Possibly, it is these complexities that economists lose sight of when they present their theoretical models based on a singular consensual identity. In the case of India, most of these studies bring out a number of interesting dimensions. LAND REFORM LEGISLATION
The author stresses the fact that while there are conflicts between the middle and upper layers of rural societies over issues relating to social distribution, such conflicts are less marked among the lower castes. The reality is that members of the Scheduled Castes (S.Cs) in rural areas continue to depend mostly on upper-caste landlords for their daily employment. This situation could be directly related to the lack of initiative on the part of rightist and centrist political parities of India 8 0
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to support land reform legislation on a large scale. The example of Uttar Pradesh in this regard would not be out of place, where Dalit politicians, despite capturing political power, did not introduce land reform legislation for the benefit of the majority of S.C. families. Such actions on the part of Dalit politicians are often based on their own understanding of social hierarchy and that of power relations in society. Presumably, this explicates the rise of the Chamars as an important force in Dalit politics in northern India. The Chamar identity thus gets privileged over other identities such as all-embracing identities like those of the Ravi Dasi or Kabir Panthis. Nonetheless, the discrimination against Dalits in matters relating to access to educational institutions and land ownership cannot be overlooked by scholars working on contemporary India. In West Bengal and Kerala, which have witnessed long years of progressive governments, the S.Cs continue to be treated as landless communities. In several other States, Dalits have been classified as
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non-agricultural communities because they are scavengers, leather workers or those engaged in other menial occupations. Interestingly, economic liberalisation and globalisation have not brought about much change in the socio-economic status of Dalits. Indeed, there seems to be very little evidence, as the author suggests, of a departure from the earlier experiences of caste inequalities. For instance, the economic forces of liberalisation and globalisation have generated a number of jobs in the outsourcing industry where recruitment is based on fluency in English and computer literacy. Dalits, because of their educational disadvantages, find it difficult to compete for such jobs. It has also been argued that the emulation of upper-caste norms by members of the Dalit communities have led to the undermining of the role of women in the family and in the workplace. This is a change from the earlier times when these communities were noted for their relative egalitarianism in gender-related issues. Gita Nambisan, in her researches, has pointed out how Dalit girls faced discrimination in schools because of the double stigma of gender and caste. The author has highlighted how through a variety of ways such stigma manifested itself in the everyday lives of Dalits. Her in-depth qualitative investigations dealing with gender differences in education, both at rural and urban localities, bring out the prevalence of such a phenomenon. The author has also highlighted the caste-class interaction and its implications for the participation of women in the employment sphere. She states emphatically that an upperclass background often enabled urban women to break free from the traditional caste diktats. This is reflected in their greater presence in higher education and professional occupation and also in their marriage choices. But an S.C. woman has little option other than continuing with her traditional caste occupation. This explains why women from these communities carry
on with their traditional tasks and become craftswomen, petty traders or midwives. Finally, highly educated workers enjoy appreciable hikes in their wages, whereas women engaged in menial work do not. In other words, the author proves convincingly how educational attainment for women have a direct bearing on their income capability. But the other major issue that she brings out is the evidence of sharp discrimination existing within the earning patterns. Ashwini Deshpande argues that while this pattern may be true for all women, the inter-caste division undoubtedly suggests that it is more so for Dalit women. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
The most important premise of Ashwini Deshpande’s work lies in the fact that despite legislation, the problems of disparity and discrimination remain untouched. In fact, the benefits of high growth do not reach the marginalised, that is Dalits and tribal people. It is on the basis of such arguments that the author investigates the impact of the policies of affirmative action in India. It has been pointed out that unlike countries such as Malaysia, there is no national enforcement mechanism for affirmative action in India. It is well known that the upper– caste, elitist bias of the Indian judiciary prevents the adoption of strong redress measures to end the discrimination against the less-privileged caste groups. But these issues often get integrated into a bigger debate as to whether caste should be the determining factor of backwardness. Some sections of Indian society believe that reservation should be class-based for two reasons. First, if the state accepts caste as the basis for backwardness, it legitimises the caste system, which contradicts secular principles. Secondly, the traditional caste system on the lines of the jajmani system has broken down and contractual relationships have emerged between individuals. The implicit belief in such arguments is that the life chances of an F R O N T L I N E
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individual in contemporary India are determined by one’s economic conditions and not by the membership of any social group. But the efficacy of the policies of affirmative action lies in the fact that the majority of the people who are eligible for benefits remain outside its confines; the beneficiaries are only certain caste groups which have been pampered for narrow, selfish political dividends. This possibly lends strength to the entire idea of the domination of the creamy layer as the major beneficiaries of state policies. Nonetheless, through a lot of information drawn from interviews with students from prominent educational institutions in Delhi, the author firmly reiterates that Dalits strongly support the policies of affirmative action. Yet, there is a feeling that reservation should be targeted more towards poor and rural Dalits rather than second- or third-generation recipients of quota admission. While all these policies have led to the emergence of a Dalit middle class, the majority of Dalits continue to be untouched by quotas in government offices and educational institutions. Thus, the quota system has not been the universal phenomenon for removing caste-based discrimination. The author, through her in-depth analysis based on economic theories, interpretation of statistics and a broader discussion of the affirmative action programmes, will definitely influence social theorists to debate more on issues of equity and citizenship. She establishes that the study of caste and its role in Indian society, which earlier had been the domain of anthropological writings, can be taken up by economists to give it a more holistic interpretation. Rather than downplaying the nature of caste identities and the encounters between multiple hierarchies, the Indian state and Dalits should explore in detail the flexibility, mobility and political possibilities of castes so that such work leads to a more composite identity and a more balanced economic strategy based on a proper inclusion of all the marginalised sections of society. 첸
books/review
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Cricketing legend A remarkable book on Jack Hobbs, one of cricket’s all-time greats. BY R.K. RAGHAVAN
As his years increased… he gradually slackened tempo and resisted temptation to show his virtuosity. He found a fresh vein, a rich one, by playing within himself. He ripened beautifully, became a classic in his own day… – Neville Cardus on Jack Hobbs OR a cricket buff, the greatest charm of being in England in summer is to get to be among the first to savour some outstanding books on the game. There are biographies/autobiographies or simple narratives of a past international series. A few of them are readable, and the others, written in haste to make a quick buck, are to be scrupulously spurned. Accounts of seedy happenings on and off the cricket field do make interesting reading. Once in a while, however, a well-conceived, sedate and non-controversial book on a cricketer of yesteryear comes along and reading it is a sweet sentimental journey back to the days when the game had neither frills nor super monetary rewards. Who can deny the charm of a Neville Cardus or a Jack Fingleton, who gave such immeasurable pleasure at a time when cricket was merely a game that appealed to one’s aesthetics? Released earlier this year, Jack Hobbs: England’s Greatest Cricketer by Leo McKinstry is a remarkable book on one of cricket’s all-time greats. During a career that spanned almost 30 years (1905-34), Hobbs scored 197 first-class centuries (a record that is still intact) at an average of 50.65. Playing for Surrey right through his heyday, his highest score was an undefeated 316 against Middlesex at the
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IN REVIEW
Jack Hobbs: England’s Greatest Cricketer by Leo McKinstry; Yellow Jersey Press, London, 2011; pages 408, £20. Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1926. He had 15 Test hundreds, 12 of which were against Australia. He still holds the record for the most number of runs (61,237) by any cricketer in first-class cricket. This is a case where the statistics give only a hint of the greatness of a man whose rags-to-riches story is something worth retailing over and over again, if only to inspire young cricketers. Hobbs was born near Cambridge in 1882 to working-class parents. He was the eldest among 12 children, and his early life was austere to the core, marked by the Victorian values of re8 2
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spect, diligence, thrift and self-help. More than his father, John Hobbs – he was passionate about cricket and played the game at the local level, besides being an umpire and a groundsman at Jesus College – it was his mother, Flora Matilda, who influenced Jack’s outlook on life. Flora once said: “Young people should be encouraged to work. Work never did anyone any harm, and it does most a great deal of good.” This was how Jack Hobbs the workhorse was groomed in his impressionable years. John Hobbs died when Jack was just 20. Poverty hit the large family hard, and it was the goodwill its head had left behind that saw them through. Not outweighed by the chores that accompanied casual jobs such as a domestic help and a gas filler, Jack Hobbs made the best out of his continued access to the facilities at Jesus College. This was of great help in motivating him to play cricket seriously. It was, however, the incredible kindness of Tom Hayward – a Cambridge cricketer of renown who was to become the country’s greatest professional of the times – that changed the course of Hobbs’s life. Hayward first saw to it that Hobbs’ abundant talent received local recognition. After making him play for Cambridgeshire county, which was still in the Minor Counties League, it was just a question of time before he succeeded in bringing Hobbs, reared on the banks of the Cam river, to glittery London and made his own county, Surrey, accept him. To Hobbs this was mind-boggling because he had hardly stepped out of his rural Cambridge before. Hobbs never looked back. In his first match at the Oval, the headquarters of Surrey cricket, where
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
DECEMBER 2, 2011
with his partner Herbert Sutcliffe, goes out to open the English innings in a Test match during the South African team’s tour of England in 1924. Hobbs and Sutcliffe formed one of the greatest opening pairs in cricket history.
JA C K H O B B S (L E F T ),
he turned out in 1907 for the Players (professionals) against the Gentlemen (amateurs), he scored a brilliant 88 in the second innings. This moved even the great W.G. Grace, who captained the former team at the age of 58 and was not usually generous to fellow cricketers, to remark: “Unless I am ve-
ry much mistaken, he’s going to be a star.” Coming as it did from the difficult and obdurate character that the Grand Old Man was, the compliment gave more than a hint of Hobbs’ flowering class. It naturally motivated him to reach the height of excellence. Interestingly, the ludicrous distinction F R O N T L I N E
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between “professionals” and “amateurs”, which led to the institution of the annual fixture, where Hobbs got the first opportunity to reveal his abundant talent, was to confront the Cambridge lad during most of his career. He was, however, unaffected by the discrimination – which entailed separate and inferior dressing rooms, hotels, train carriages and even entrances to the field of play. His amazing demeanour concealed his modest upbringing and utter dependence for sustenance on the playing fee, which was a mere £275 a year, including bonuses and the winter retainer. His conduct in the dressing room – a place notorious for its petty jealousies, intrigues and cold responses to a newcomer – was equally remarkable. This is what possibly induced another great England batsman to say this of Hobbs: “A quieter, more modest chap can seldom have played a big part in the cricket of the world… success never spoiled Jack… popular with his brother professionals… remained so to his retirement.” It was this disdain for pomp and glamour that made Hobbs uncomfortable at Lord’s but so much more at home at the Oval. Chosen to accompany the Marlyebone Cricket Club (MCC) team (as the England touring party used to be called then on overseas tours) to Australia in 1907-08, Hobbs made his Test debut at Melbourne, after England had lost the first Test in Sydney. He made a painstaking 83 which, aided by a century from the Kent batsman Kenneth Hutchings, helped England gain a substantial first innings lead. Although Hobbs failed in the second innings, England eventually registered a one-wicket victory. Referring to the criticism that he was too slow in his first knock, Hobbs denied he was nervous and said he was deliberately slow because he wanted to do his very best. This sense of responsibility and determination to play for his side was the hallmark of his career. England lost the series 4-1 despite a good showing by Hobbs in the fourth and fifth Tests. His innings (57) at Melbourne in the fourth Test – Sydney and Melbourne
books/review each got two Tests a season in those days – demonstrated his ability to play on a turning wicket. According to McKinstry, Hobbs’ swift footwork, ability to judge the length of each ball and his skill in playing it as late as possible accounted for his success. WISDEN HONOUR
He was to display the same grit and technique the following summer in England when he scored six centuries for Surrey. His innings against Kent at Blackheath is still remembered because the rain-affected wicket was an actual “glue pot” and was unplayable. Colin Blythe, Kent’s masterly left-arm spinner, mesmerised all but one of his opponents. Hobbs’ century on the occasion was so authentic and made under such adverse conditions that one of his teammates, Bill Hitch, said: “To be at the opposite end to Jack that day was blinding. You realised your batting wasn’t even the same job. The depressing thing was he made it look so easy.” Rightly, the following spring, Wisden named him one of the five cricketers of the year, an honour that many cricketers the world over even now look upon as the pedestal of recognition. Hobbs went on to dominate the international scene for another two decades when he gave bowlers of the class of Clarrie Grimmett, Arthur Mailey, Jack Gregory and Charlie Macartney a hard time. A part of his success was accounted for by the capacity to forge many memorable partnerships on the field, the most significant of which were with Herbert Sutcliffe and Wilfred Rhodes, with whom he opened 38 and 36 Test innings respectively. The famous Surrey and England wicketkeeper Herbert Strudwick was another with whom he struck a life-long bond. Interestingly, Strudwick was Hobbs’ landlord and neighbour in the Mitcham area of south-west London. The two shared many qualities: they were both quiet, genial and conscientious. Both were practising Christians who made it a point to attend an Anglican church whenever Surrey played away from London.
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The landmark in Hobbs’ career was his surpassing the record for the most centuries (126) in first-class cricket held by W.G. Grace for nearly 20 years. There was the general view for decades that no one would be able to better it. Hobbs belied this belief and overtook Grace while playing against Somerset at Taunton on August 17, 1925, amidst scenes of great jubilation. The best part of McKinstry’s biography is its first eight pages, which are dedicated to the build-up and the drama that surrounded the momentous achievement. As soon as Hobbs completed the hundred and acknowledged the crowd’s wild cheers, he took an already written-out telegram from his pocket and beckoned the groundsman so that it could be despatched at once to the addressee, none other than his wife, Ada, who was away on a holiday with their four children. The cryptic wire read: “Got it at last, Jack.” Such was the feverish expectation about beating Grace’s record that gripped everyone, including his family. While writing about Hobbs and describing him as an all-time great, the question that obviously arises is, Was he greater than Don Bradman? Such comparisons are odious but nevertheless help one understand the qualities of the two equally great sportsmen whom posterity will never forget. According to many critics, Hobbs’ greater ability to play on bad wickets – those regarded as real turners – gave him the edge. The comments of the game’s legendary umpire Frank Chester, however sweeping they may be, bring out the facts clearly: “For all his greatness, Bradman had neither the technique nor the skill of Hobbs to succeed on a sticky wicket....” Sadly, it is not possible to vouch for the accuracy of this painful downgrading of the Don. Hobbs went to Australia with the MCC for the last time in the 1928-29 season despite the fact that he was going to turn 46. He scored one century and averaged 50.11. In the summer of 1930, in his last season as a Test cricketer, he played all the five Tests in the Ashes series at home. He made a mod8 4
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est 301 runs with an average of 33.44. His final innings was at his home turf, the Oval, when he was dismissed for just nine. There was, no doubt, allround disappointment over this anticlimax to a remarkable career. It looked as if Hobbs had erred in agreeing to play, unmindful of the fact that he was already 47 years old and well past his prime. In all probability he was allured by the excitement of signing off against his country’s greatest adversary. He continued to play county cricket, averaging 50 runs a season until 1934, when the figure dropped to an appalling 36.70. This was signal enough for him to call it a day from first-class cricket at the end of the season. AFTER RETIREMENT
Life after retirement was comfortable, with none of the worries about having to make ends meet that he had when he started playing the game. He had set up a sports goods shop on Fleet Street, which gave him a steady income. His many books also brought in attractive royalties. He settled down in the elegant suburb of Wimbledon, where he first bought a detached house and later moved into an apartment. More satisfying was his decision to keep himself fit with rounds of badminton, table tennis and billiards. He adored his wife, and when she passed away in 1962 after 56 years of marriage, Hobbs was heartbroken. The emotional toll of this loss was evident from the rapid decline of his health thereafter. He passed away in December 1963. He died in his sleep, a fitting end to a man who was unassuming and quiet and rarely lost his equanimity. Tributes came pouring in from different parts of the world. Many of those who spoke at the memorial service held in February 1964 at Southwark Cathedral in London alluded to his skill and character. No tribute, however, was more eloquent than the one from his dearest friend, Herbert Strudwick, who said: “No finer man ever lived.” Who could dispute this assessment of a cricketer and human being par excellence? 첸
books/in brief
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Electoral fraud A book that “bravely points no fingers at the familiar foreign hands” and, in the context, provides a good survey of Pakistan’s politics. B Y A . G . N O O R A N I HIS is a work on a malady fairly common in the Third World. Rigged polls lead to popular disenchantment with the political process and the ideal of democracy. Authoritarian forces exploit the disenchantment. Written by an academic of impeccable credentials, the book falls broadly into two parts. The first defines what constitutes an electoral malpractice. The rest is an exhaustive survey of the record of electoral malpractices in Pakistan right until the 2008 elections and the “post-poll machinations” that followed. The research is thorough. The book features reports and studies on the subject, besides interviews that Iffat Humayun Khan has conducted. It is rich data that she has collected. Nile Green, Professor of South Asia History at the University of California, Los Angeles, writes in his foreword: “The most immediate contextualisation of Benazir’s death that the book provides is that of the 518 other murders committed during the electoral process between October 18, 2007, and February 16, 2008, including the 139 people killed by the suicide bomber who greeted Benazir’s return from exile in Dubai. Yet, if these victims paid the highest price for their participation in the democratic process, since Pakistan’s foundation in 1947 many thousands of other citizens have (in both the figurative and literal senses) paid prices for more prosaic forms of electoral malpractice. Whether as perpetrators or victims, Iffat Humayun Khan has carefully documented the place of many other Pakistanis in this larger and incremental trajectory of lesser known malpractices that culminated
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BOOK FACTS
Electoral Malpractices: During the 2008 Elections in Pakistan by Iffat Humayun Khan; Oxford University Press, Karachi; pages 229, Rs.795. in the infamous events of December 2007.” The book “bravely points no fingers at the familiar foreign hands” but fiercely turns the searchlight inwards. It provides, in the context, a good survey of Pakistan’s politics. MALPRACTICES
The chapter “Defining Electoral Malpractices” deserves to be read widely in many countries outside Pakistan. It covers the role of landlords, dynastic politics and bureaucrats as well. The techniques are system rigging, splitting opposition parties, disqualF R O N T L I N E
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ifying opposition candidates, disenfranchising voters and pre-poll rigging, including misuse of official resources. There is an equally detailed analysis of poll-day rigging and postpoll rigging. The analyses draw on works by recognised academics. The rest of the book is a documented survey of electoral malpractices since the days of Ayub Khan until the poll of 2008. In her opinion: “Despite a seriously flawed and difficult pre-election environment, the 18 February 2008 general elections in Pakistan provided a genuine opportunity for Pakistani voters to express their will. A relatively peaceful election day defied widespread fears/expectations of violence, and fears of systematic manipulation appear to have been blunted. To date, there appears to be a broad acceptance of the results. Overall, this election represented a big step forward on the democratic path. However, the serious assault on Pakistan’s constitutional order and fundamental flaws in the pre-election environment prevented the election from meeting international standards, forging the need for remedial action”. The study concludes with a prescription on “preventing electoral malpractices”. One hopes that, before long, an equally well-documented work will be written on the rigged polls in the god-forsaken State of Jammu and Kashmir from 1951 to 2008. Three of them were lauded by the great democrat Jawaharlal Nehru; the one conducted by Sheikh Abdullah in 1951 and the ones of 1957 and 1962 conducted by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. He was wont to say, “Vote aap denge; ginenge to hum (you will cast the votes; it is we who will count them”). Well said, indeed. 첸
Column
DECEMBER 2, 2011
The many Indias The sleek Metro trains and the wobbly cycle rickshaws are, together, an eloquent metaphor of an India racing ahead with F1 speed. FEW weeks ago the first ever Formula 1 motor race in India was held in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. It was, as apparently is the custom, accompanied by huge entertainment extravaganzas and dazzling parties, entry to which cost something like Rs.40,000. But then, tickets to watch the race cost around the same. Quite apart from the rich and famous who came to all the events, a surprisingly large number of persons came from all over the country just to watch the race, though I doubt if many of them also went to the grand parties afterwards. Perhaps some did, if only to gawk at the celebrities who were there in their glittering best. After this event was over there were reports that this was proof, if such proof were needed, that India was indeed a great economic powerhouse, an emerging superpower. (Actually, going by various declarations within the country and outside, we have been emerging for quite a while but do not seem to emerge finally.) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which never loses an opportunity to show India’s terrible poverty, its horrific urban slums and bedraggled, tatty villages, did a story on the Formula I event and showed poor rural folk watching it in wonder, framed by a broken bullock cart or something similar. Not that the BBC was the only news organisation doing it; almost all the others did this in greater or lesser degree. And the fact is they were right. The Formula 1 race and all that went with it obviously cost an astronomical amount, so astronomical as to sound ridiculous. This is in a country where hundreds of children
nanced, and if Formula 1 was not held, the money would have gone to something else. It is the brisk activity of the business houses of the country that has led commentators to declare that India is an emerging economic superpower. Not the rickety rickshaws outside metro stations or the noxious slums of Mumbai and Kolkata. This is an overly simplistic statement, I know – many of those living in those slums and using the rickshaws work in the engines of growth set up in the country by the Ambanis and the Tatas. The lines are, therefore, a little blurred but the fact is that India has enormous contrasts – grinding, near hopeless poverty on the one hand and a burgeoning, well-to-do middle class on the
A
Point of View are dying of malnourishment or lack of basic medical care. In Delhi, a city where the state and the media are very proud of the metro – oddly, ordinary people are not really doing somersaults of joy because of it, and many grumble about the terrible crowds and the ugly behaviour of the goons who travel by it – each Metro station has, swarming around it like flies, hundreds of rickety cycle rickshaws, which a huge number of commuters use to get home from the station. The sleek, air-conditioned Metro trains and the wobbly cycle rickshaws are, together, an eloquent metaphor of what the country is. Could the enormous amounts spent on the Formula 1 event have been used to build health clinics and schools, to provide the impoverished with work, and to build roads from villages that even today have no connection to a hospital or school? No, because the event was privately fi8 6
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MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP
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other, and, presiding over all this the super rich, who have to have their Formula 1 events, private planes and magnificent palaces. And while the affluent middle class will continue to grow in size, I think we should not fool ourselves on one fact. The rickety cycle rickshaws are not going to go away. They will always be there for decades and decades to come, just as there will always be impoverished people in cities and villages. We have built ourselves that system; without them we will not be the emerging economic superpower that people say we are. The BBC and other international news organisations will always have wonderful material for the stories they present at regular intervals on the grinding poverty, disease and dirt in India. It is essential to round off any economic story they may do. (How it must have rankled with the affluent countries when Tatas bought up Jaguar and Land Rover.) The state will go on trying to find solutions, but it knows it cannot really find them because it is mired in corruption – corruption that oils the wheels of democracy. So the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) will always be flawed; crores of rupees will be skimmed off from it in different ways. It may be convenient for Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh to find suddenly the dreadful mismanagement and corruption that exists in the implementation of the project in Uttar Pradesh; but he knows, as do all of us, that it exists in other States as well, in greater or lesser degree. He will turn on them, too, when the time is right, politically. But that scheme, like some others, has done some good, and it is as well that this be put on record. It has put money in the hands of many of the very poor in rural areas, which has had a salutary effect on the economy in those regions. The fact that more and more farmers are beginning to protest against the harsh, exploitative land acquisition laws – which, mercifully, will change soon, one hopes – means that they are beginning to see the coming prosperity and want their share of it. There are, of course, other sly forces at work; those, for example, that obviously organise agitations wherever a
nuclear plant is coming up, be it at Jaitapur in Maharashtra or at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. Is it only a coincidence that agitations hold up the mining for uranium in Meghalaya? Will other proposed sites for nuclear power plants also not be areas for agitations, conveniently with women in the forefront? India with double the existing number of nuclear power plants will have that much more clean power. It looks as if someone or some group is not very comfortable with the idea. But that is another story altogether. The fact is that even those of us who want to see a prosperous India, where wealth is shared in whatever manner, must accept that we will not see an end to poverty and deprivation, ever. It is a necessary facet of our growth, even if we deny that it is. It may, however, be possible to minimise it over a long period of time; and the little signs one sees of what seem to be precursors of all-round growth and development must give us the energy and enthusiasm to persist with our efforts to build and develop our systems and society. 첸
THE FI R S T G R AN D Prix of India under way at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida on October 30.
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Media
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Reforming the Press Council The new Chairman of the Press Council of India, Markandey Katju, wants to make it an instrument of mediation in addition to adjudication. B Y A . G . N O O R A N I
Justice Katju will doubtless hasten slowly. Leading figures in the media, print and electronic, owe a clear duty to help him in this task, besides exploring other areas superficially dealt with in the past. THE appointment of Justice Markandey Katju, a former judge of the Supreme Court, as Chairman of the Press Council of India is about the best thing that has happened to that body in a long while. It is no exaggeration to say that the PCI commands little prestige today and less relevance. It is not representative of the press at all. What Justice Katju has done, in a few days after his appointment, is to infuse life into it and involve the press in its work. This is a good step towards making the media feel that it is their institution. It is a liberal approach, which he expounded in a get-together with mediapersons at his residence on October 10. “There are two ways to remove these defects in the media. One is the democratic way, that is, through discussions, consultations and persuasion – which is the method I prefer. The other way is by using harsh measures against the media, for example, by imposing heavy fines on defaulters, stopping government advertisements to them, suspending their licences, and so on. “In a democracy we should first try the first method to rectify the defects through the democratic method. For this purpose, I have decided to have regular get-togethers with the media, including the electronic media, so that we can all introspect and ourselves find out ways and means to rectify the defect in the media, rather than this being done by some government authority or external agency. I 8 8
propose to have such get-togethers once every two or three months, at which we will discuss issues relating to the media and try to think of how we can improve the performance of the media so that it may win the respect and confidence of the people. “If the media prove incorrigible, harsh measures may be required. But in my opinion, that should be done only as a last resort and in extreme situations. Ordinarily, we should first try to resolve issues through discussion, consultation and self-regulation. That is the approach which should be first tried in a democracy. I, therefore, request the Union government to defer the implementation of its recent decision regarding news channel licences, so that we can ourselves discuss the issue thoroughly, and ourselves take corrective measures. “Till now the function of the Press Council was only adjudication. I intend to make the Press Council an instrument of mediation in addition, which is in my opinion the democratic approach” (The Hindu, October 22, 2011). But the archaic Press Council Act, 1978, is most unsuited to serve as a platform for such an imaginative enterprise. It was atrophied at its very birth by imposing (Section 5 (3)) a strange composition of the Press Council, which ensures its own irrelevance and cynicism by the press. Justice Katju rightly holds that the electronic media should also be brought within the remit of the Press Council. Indeed, failure to do so would violate the constitutional guarantee of equality (Article 14). Equals must be treated alike. Cinematograph films are different in that, unlike the print and electronic media, they are subject to pre-censorship. A ramshackle system of supposedly quasi-judicial institutions is set up by the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Meanwhile, the electronic media roams at large like a rogue elephant. However, if television is to be brought within the purview of the Act of 1978, as it must be, the statute will have to undergo a drastic overhaul beginning
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with its title. The composition of the PCI must be changed fundamentally. This would provide an excellent opportunity for reform, in which Justice Katju’s PCI can perform the role he promises as an instrument of mediation. But 2011 is not 1978. The media are more assertive. No reform will be acceptable or will work unless it is based on the largest measure of consensus in the print as well as the electronic media. To begin with, the PCI’s composition must change. Names need not be mentioned, but it is well known that over the years it has had members whose presence on the Council was nothing short of scandalous. Members of the print and electronic media should put their heads together to ensure that the PCI truly represents the media. Justice Katju might propose a radical change. The PCI should no longer be headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court but by a person elected by the media itself. Appointment of a judge by the government adds an “outside” element to what is a “Court of Honour” comprising the media, mandated to discipline its own erring members. The task will be more effectively performed if the PCI represents both the wings of the media, print and electronic, and is headed by one of their own. Bar a few honourable exceptions, the former Supreme Court judges who served as Chairmen did poor service to the PCI and brought little credit to themselves. What is it that inspired a former judge of the Supreme Court presiding over the Press Council, Justice N. Rajagopala Iyengar, to write to V.C. Shukla, easily the most despicable Minister for Information and Broadcasting we have ever had, on August 13, 1975, during the Emergency, confidentially in this conspiratorial vein: “You remember I spoke to you about the desire of some members to have a meeting convened for the purpose of discussing the Emergency and the Censorship. I had an informal meeting of the Delhi-based members and I was able to convince them that this is not
K. MURALI KUMAR
DECEMBER 2, 2011
J U S T I C E M A RK AN D E Y KA TJ U,
Chairman of the Press Council of India. necessary or desirable. So this will not figure in [sic] the agenda of my meeting that is being called” (White Paper on Misuse of Mass Media during the Internal Emergency; Government of India; August 1977; page 40). The context brings out the betrayal by the PCI Chairman. Kuldip Nayar had proposed a resolution condemning restrictions on the press. The judge, a custodian of press freedom as the PCI’s head, not only sabotaged the move but wrote to the Minister about his brilliant piece of work to earn brownie points. Justice R.S. Sarkaria was another favourite. He was appointed on a Commission of Inquiry in 1976 against the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi; as head of the Commission on Centre-State Relations in 1983, along with two former bureaucrats, to deliver the desired report; and later as Chairman of the PCI, in recognition of his high services to the state. In 1990, participants at a seminar were shocked to hear him argue that it took the United States 200 years to acquire a law on the freedom of information. Fortunately, we did not wait for those 200 years. But his worst abdication of duty lay in entertaining an oral complaint by the Army on press reportage on Kashmir. It included reports of alleged rapes of 31 women by army personnel during the night of February 23-24, 1991. A probe into the veracity of such a report is one for a Commission of F R O N T L I N E
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Inquiry to undertake; surely not for the Press Council of India. Besides, Regulation 4 of the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979, binds the PCI to reject any complaint that is not in writing and does not contain the details required under Regulation 3. The upshot was a report by B.G. Verghese, which lies discredited today. The State Human Rights Commission of Kashmir announced on October 19, 2011, that it would probe afresh the Kunan Poshpora rapes. The press reported more than once intercession by the village elders to get the victims married. So much for Verghese’s denial of the charges (vide the writer’s “Exceeding the Brief”, Frontline, October 12, 1991). The Secretary of the PCI was instructed to invoke, in the teeth of Regulations 3 and 4, Regulation 15, which enables inquiries “to regulate their own procedure in respect of any matter for which no provisions or inadequate provision is made”, Regulation 4 notwithstanding. Verghese’s report was widely distributed by the Government of India. All this under Sarkaria’s watch. ABDICATION OF DUTY
Justice P.B. Sawant had his own demons to slaughter. The nadir was reached in the case of the brave human rights activist Ravi Nair, whose patriotism was impugned by a newspaper. “The committee (of inquiry) considered the records carefully. It noted that the impugned report was based on the information given to the newspaper by the governmental agencies, the names of which the respondent-newspaper had disclosed in his written statement. The committee further noted that the newspaper had offered to publish the retraction if the complainant could get a declaration from the governmental agencies. It further noted the apparent contradiction between the statements made by the complainant in his complaint and the letter written by him to the editor in regard to the correspondent’s effort to verify the facts from the complainant. In the circumstances, the committee felt that the impugned
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Newspapers’ code of practice THE Press Complaints Commission in the United Kingdom is charged with enforcing the following code of practice which was framed by the newspaper and periodical industry. All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards. In doing so, they should have regard to the provisions of this code of practice and to safeguarding the public’s right to know. Editors are responsible for the actions of journalists employed by their publications. They should also satisfy themselves as far as possible that material accepted from non-staff members was obtained in accordance with this code. While recognising that this involves a substantial element of selfrestraint by editors and journalists, it is designed to be acceptable in the context of a system of self-regulation. The code applies in the spirit as well as in the letter. Any publication which is criticised by the PCC under one of the following clauses is duty bound to print the adjudication which follows in full and with due prominence. 1. Accuracy (i) Newspapers and periodicals should take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted material.
report was based on the information received by the respondent-newspaper from authentic sources and, therefore, there was no substance in the complaint. The committee decided to recommend to the Council, to dismiss the complaint.” The PCI accepted this. Its Chairman was Justice (retd) P.B. Sawant. This was a gross abdication of duty. The PCI is enjoined to probe for itself and require the paper to justify its
(ii) Whenever it is recognised that a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distorted report has been published, it should be corrected promptly and with due prominence. (iii) An apology should be published whenever appropriate. (iv) A newspaper or periodical should always report fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for defamation to which it has been a party. 2. Opportunity to reply A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies should be given to individuals or organisations when reasonably called for. 3. Comment, conjecture and fact Newspapers, while free to be partisan, should distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact. 4. Privacy Intrusions and enquiries into an individual’s private life without his or her consent are not generally acceptable and publication can only be justified when in the public interest. This would include: (i) Detecting or exposing crime or serious misdemeanour. (ii) Detecting or exposing seriously anti-social conduct. (iii) Protecting public health and safety. (iv) Preventing the public from
smear. The effect is obvious. If the agencies plant a story – as they do every now and then – the complainant will need an exoneration “from the governmental agencies” themselves. A person who has such an outlook is unfit to be Chairman of the PCI. Justice Katju’s immediate predecessor did not cover himself with glory either. He was privy to the suppression of the 71-page report on paid news prepared by dedicated and able senior 9 0
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being misled by some statement or action of that individual. 5. Hospitals (i) Journalists or photographers making enquiries at hospitals or similar institutions should identify themselves to a responsible official and obtain permission before entering non-public areas. (ii) The restrictions on intruding into privacy are particularly relevant to enquiries about individuals in hospital or similar institutions. 6. Misrepresentation (i) Journalists should not generally obtain nor seek to obtain information or pictures through misrepresentation or subterfuge. (ii) Unless in the public interest, documents or photographs should be removed only with the express consent of the owner. (iii) Subterfuge can be justified only in the public interest and only when material cannot be obtained by any other means. In all these clauses the public interest includes: (a) Detecting or exposing crime or serious misdemeanour. (b) Detecting or exposing anti-social conduct. (c) Protecting public health or safety. (d) Preventing the public being misled by some statement or action of
journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and K. Sreenivas Reddy. Through a vote on July 30, 2010, the PCI shamefully refused to reveal the findings and, instead, submitted a 13-page report to the government. The full report is now public and should be published in full in the PCI’s Journal. Not Everyone has access to the Internet. Yet Chairman after Chairman has demanded punitive powers – P.B. Sawant, K. Jayachandra Reddy and G.N. Ray. It is
DECEMBER 2, 2011
an individual or organisation. 7. Harassment (i) Journalists should neither obtain nor seek to obtain information or pictures through intimidation or harassment. (ii) Unless their enquiries are in the public interest, journalists should not photograph individuals on private property without their consent; should not persist in telephoning or questioning individuals after having been asked to desist; should not remain on their property after having been asked to leave and should not follow them. The public interest would include: (a) Detecting or exposing crime or serious misdemeanour. (b) Detecting or exposing anti-social conduct. (c) Protecting public health and safety. (d) Preventing the public from being misled by some statement or action of that individual or organisation. 8. Payment for articles (i) Payments or offers of payment for stories, pictures or information should not be made to witnesses or potential witnesses in current criminal proceedings or to people engaged in crime or to their associates except where the material concerned ought to be published in the public interest and the payment is necessary for this to be done. The public interest will include: (a) Detecting or exposing crime or serious misdemeanour. (b) Detecting or exposing anti-social conduct. (c) Protecting public health
such men who reduced the PCI to pathetic irrelevance. Chairmen there have been, like Justice A.N. Sen, who manfully stood up for press freedom. The ThakkarNatarajan Commission on Fairfax, comprising sitting judges of the Supreme Court, was out to pillory V.P. Singh. They responded to press criticism of their conduct by asking for powers of contempt for commissions of inquiry. The Government of India
and safety. (d) Preventing the public from being misled by some statement or action of that individual or organisation. (ii) “Associates” include family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. (iii) Payments should not be made either directly or indirectly through agents. 9. Intrusion into grief or shock 1. In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries should be carried out and approaches made with sympathy and discretion. 10. Innocent relatives and friends Unless it is contrary to the public’s right to know, the Press should generally avoid, identifying relatives or friends of persons convicted or accused of crime. 11. Interviewing or photographing children. (i) Journalists should not normally interview or photograph children under the age of 16 on subjects involving the personal welfare of the child, in the absence of or without the consent of a parent or other adult who is responsible for the children. (ii) Children should not be approached or photographed while at school without the permission of the school authorities. 12. Children in sex cases The press should not, even where the law does not prohibit it, identify children under the age of 16 who are involved in cases concerning sexual offences, whether as victims, or as witnesses or defendants.
asked the PCI’s Chairman, Justice A.N. Sen, to prescribe a code of conduct. Since we hear a lot about a code of conduct for journalists, the text of the PCI’s decision deserves to be set out in full: “The Council considered the letter of Shri. G.K. Arora, Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, New Delhi, dated 31-5-1988 addressed to the Chairman, Press Council of India, F R O N T L I N E
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13. Victims of crime The press should not identify victims of sexual assault, or publish material likely to contribute to such identification unless, by law, they are free to do so. 14. Discrimination (i) The press should avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to a person’s race, colour, religion, sex or sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or handicap. (ii) It should avoid publishing details of a person’s race, colour, religion, sex or sexual orientation, unless these are directly relevant to the story. 15. Financial journalism (i) Even where the law does not prohibit it, journalists should not use for their own profit financial information they receive in advance of its general publication, nor should they pass such information on to others. (ii) They should not write about shares or securities in whose performances they know that they or their close families have a significant financial interest, without disclosing the interest to the editor or financial editor. (iii) They should not buy or sell, either directly or through nominees or agents, shares or securities about which they have written recently or about which they intend to write in the near future. 16. Confidential sources Journalists have a moral obligation to protect confidential sources of information.
and also the observations made in Chapter VI of the Report of Justices Thakkar-Natarajan Commission. Out of deference to the members of the Commission, who happen to be sitting Judges of the Supreme Court, the Council refrains from making any comments on the observations made and views expressed therein. “The Second Press Commission had recommended that it would not be proper to lay down any code of conduct
SHASHI ASHIWAL
DECEMBER 2, 2011
ME M B E R S O F T H E print and television media outside Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai on May 3 when the trial court delivered the verdict on Ajmal Kasab in the Mumbai attack case.
for the press. The Council has consistently taken the stand that it is not desirable to formulate a code of conduct for the press as the Council is of the opinion that any such formulation can only be in broad and general terms and such formulation will serve no useful purpose and may have the effect of impinging on the freedom of the press. Guidelines are indeed indicated in Article 19(2) of the Constitution itself. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation and an eminent journalist himself, suggested that imposition of any restrictions should come from within the press and not from without. Section 13(2)(b) of the Press Council Act, 1978, lays down that the Council should build up a code of conduct, and this the Council is doing through the various decisions rendered by it. The British Press Council also observes the same practice. The Council decided to reiterate its stand and expressed the opinion that there was no reason to depart from the same.” But, of course, a code of conduct can help; provided it is drawn up by both wings of the media and their code is annexed, as a schedule, to the new PCI Act, for the reformed PCI to enforce. The British Press Complaints Commission has come under a cloud after the News of the World scandal. But the precedent is a useful one; not for imitiation but for adaptation. The PCC is charged with enforcing a “Code of Practice” drawn up by the press itself (see box). It is not a statutory body but an exercise in self-regulation
which grew out of public outrage over repeated violations of privacy. There were the reports of the Committee on Privacy headed by Kenneth Younger (1972); of the Committee on Privacy and Related Matters headed by David Calcutt, Q.C. (1990); and by Calcutt himself (1993) entitled “Review of Press Self-Regulation” (Vide the writer’s article “Privacy and public wrongs”, Frontline, October 17, 1997). The PCI and the Indian Law Institute published two useful compilations of rulings. One was on Violation of Freedom of Press (1986) and the other on Violation of Journalistic Ethics and Public taste (1984). Justice Katju will doubtless hasten slowly. Leading figures in the media, print and electronic, owe a clear duty to help him in this task, besides exploring other areas superficially dealt with in the past. One neglected area is media coverage of terrorist outrage. In the wake of 26/11, some TV reportage imperilled lives and security by reckless behaviour. The BBC has extensive internal guidelines for reporting on hijacking, kidnapping, hostage taking and sieges. They are available on www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/edguide. Justice Katju lost little time in dissipating the credit he had initially acquired. The penchant for sweeping remarks for which he was known in the “outbursts” on the Supreme Court Bench asserted itself soon after he became Chairman of the PCI. He deservedly received repri9 2
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mands from the Editor’s Guild and the Broadcast Editors Association on November 1 and 2. All of which only fortifies the case for revamping the PCI by eliminating Supreme Court judges from the chairmanship and including the electronic media within the ambit of a reconstituted Media Council as suggested in this article. Katju ought to know that judges of the Supreme Court exhibit appalling ignorance of literature when they demand that avowed works of historical fiction should be historically accurate. You cannot denounce and persuade at the same time. It is not for him to speak as he did anymore than it is open to a Chief Justice to denounce the Bar or the Army chief to denounce the jawans. His plea for teeth should be rejected. His comments lack restraint even when what he says is true. But not all his comments on the media should be brushed aside. Some are fair. For instance, TV anchors assiduously whip up chauvinism in their contest for Television Rating Points – their current target is China. Four leading anchors behave like licensed louts every evening. They promote sensationalism and revel in aggressive demeanour. Print media journalists have to undergo a long grind before they reach editorial positions. Only a TV anchor will loftily proclaim while in Ladakh, “the McMahon Line is behind me”. He did not know that the line is our boundary in the north-east. It does not extend westward. In Ladakh the Sino-Indian boundary was never defined. Only a Line of Actual Control exists. Another TV channel has broken all norms of professional integrity by reducing itself to a platform for Omar Abdullah whenever he has been in trouble ever since he was pitchforked into the office of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir nearly three years ago. To everyone’s surprise, he on his part grants it and its correspondent preferential treatment. Still and all, Justice Katju should be given a fair chance for he has some good ideas and intends to infuse life into the PCI. 첸
Public Health
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Stunted growth Child malnutrition in Gulbarga and Bijapur districts is a blot on Karnataka’s image. B Y V I K H A R A H M E D S A Y E E D
IN GULBARGA AND BIJAPUR
As many as 71,605 children are classified as severely malnourished or extremely underweight in Karnataka, according to figures available until August 2011 with the State Department of Women and Child Development.
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V. SREENIVASA MURTHY
Ba Ba Basavanna Anganwadi Hogona Avarekaalu Tinnona Ah, Aaa, Ee, Eee, Bariyona Mane Kadege Hogona (Come, Come, Basavanna Let’s go to the anganwadi Let us eat beans And write A, B, C, D, And head towards home.) AS Savitri Nimbad sings this ditty, the more than 20 children seated in a circle around her repeat each line in shrill voices. Almost all of them are between three and six years of age, except for a couple of older children and a toddler in the arms of her elder sister. From a distance, the scene – children sitting under a large tree and singing their hearts out – is straight out of an idealised setting in rural India. But it does not take long to realise what is behind the idyllic veneer. Savitri is an anganwadi worker (AWW) in charge of the 12th anganwadi centre (AWC) in Almel panchayat in Karnataka’s Bijapur district. One of the children forming the ring around her is Ashwini Devi Bhovi, who is five years and three months old but weighs only 13 kilograms. Malur Gundappa Marnal, also 5, weighs just 10.5 kg. According to the growth charts released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2010-11 to measure child malnutrition, both of them fall in the ‘extremely underweight’ category.
Ashwini’s father, Nagappa Bhovi, makes Rs.150 a day working as an agricultural labourer in lands around Almel. Maize is the most common crop grown here. Red gram and tur dal are also widely cultivated. The most productive non-agricultural activity here is stone mining. A short distance away is the 11th anganwadi centre in Almel. It also functions under a tree and is located in an area with a high percentage of Muslims. Behind where the children sit, pigs forage in a shallow open drain and buffaloes sift curiously through piles of hay. Firdose A. Momin, the AWW here, is gathering her group of children to distribute their
C HI LD R E N CA R R YI N G HOM E food packets distributed at an anganwadi at Jai Bhim Nagar in Honagunta, Gulbarga district. From 2010, prepackaged ready-mixes have begun to form the major part of the children’s diet. 9 3
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daily snack of nutri-corn puffs. As she opens a large bag of corn puffs, a crunchy savoury commonly known by a brand name, the children get excited. They relish these puffy yellow balls. On Firdose Momin’s arms is Shabana Bi, who is 15 months old and weighs 6 kg. Shabana’s house is just across the anganwadi, and her mother, Chand Bi, is carrying Shabana’s elder sister. Their father, Mohammed Rasool, is a construction labourer who earns Rs.100 a day. Four other adults live in their small hut in front of which red chilli is being dried. Another sickly looking child comes running behind Firdose as the snacks are distributed. He is two-year-old Ameen Mehboob, who weighs 10 kg. Ashwini, Gundappa, Shabana and Ameen are among the 71,605 children who are classified as severely malnourished/extremely underweight in Karnataka, according to figures available (until August 2011) with the State Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD). They constitute 2.17 per cent of the population of children between the ages of 0 and 6 in the State. Of the 33,02,370 children in the State whose weights were recorded, 21,00,818 were found to be of normal weight for their age and 11,29,947 were moderately malnourished. According to information from the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3) of 2005-06, Karnataka fared the worst among south Indian States as far as malnutrition among children was concerned. The same survey pointed out that malnutrition in the State, as measured by underweight children below three years, was at 45.9 per cent. Infant mortality rate (IMR) in the State was 43 compared with 30.4 and 15.3 in Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively, the survey said. Malnutrition has been the underlying cause of at least half the deaths of under-five children in the country. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one out of every three malnourished children in the world is in India. Rates of child malnutrition in the country are among the highest in the world. Malnutrition
is more common in India than even some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which have the worst human development indicators in the world. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recognised the urgent need to address the problem of child malnutrition in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2011. INEFFICIENT RECORDING
The accuracy of the figure of 71,605 for the severely malnourished children in Karnataka is also suspect. During its visit to anganwadi centres in Gulbarga and Bijapur, Frontline found that many cases of malnourished children were underreported and the recording of weights of children was inefficient. According to the new WHO guidelines, children need to be weighed every month to chart their nutritional status. But only one in four anganwadi centres in Bijapur had a weighing machine. In AWC 105 in Honagunta village in Gulbarga district, the AWW first claimed that there was only one severely malnourished child. When children who were present in the centre were randomly chosen and weighed, three more turned out to be underweight. Kalamma Basavaraj Pattar, the AWW, said she had just “discovered” this fact. The problem in child malnutrition in Karnataka – which, ironically, boasts the software capital of the country – may not seem as dire as in some other States such as Madhya Pradesh, but this is because of the relative prosperity of southern and coastal Karnataka which lifts the average across the State. The incidence of undernourishment is severe in the backward districts of north Karnataka. For instance, Bagalkot (with 8,957 severely malnourished children), Bijapur (8,983), Bellary (6,411), Davangere (3,724), Belgaum (7,016), Haveri (4,537), Koppal (4,085) and Raichur (4,537) are all located in northern Karnataka. Between them, these eight districts (of the 29 districts in the State) account for 70 per cent of the malnourished children in the State. Of the 14 anganwadi centres in Al9 4
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mel, only three have permanent structures. The rest operate under trees or on temple verandahs. Both the AWCs of Savitri Nimbad and Firdose Momin were approved in 2006-07, and since then outdoor premises have served as places to provide preschool education, a meal and a snack to children. According to the DWCD, only 50 per cent of the AWCs in Karnataka have permanent structures. An AWC is formed on demand, and on an average there is supposed to be an AWC for every 800 people (children between the ages of 0 and 6 form 11.2 per cent of the population in a representative sample in Karnataka). Currently, Karnataka has 63,377 AWCs. The importance of an AWC in the prevention of
V. SREENIVASA MURTHY
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N A G A MM A , A N A N G A N W A D I
worker, recording the weight of a child at Jai
Bhim Nagar. child malnutrition cannot be stressed enough as it is responsible for the health of pregnant and lactating women as well as the early years of a child’s life. Child malnutrition in Karnataka grabbed attention in October after a local television news channel broadcast visuals of children from Devadurga taluk in Raichur district who were on the verge of death due to severe malnutrition. The Karnataka High Court took cognisance of the report and came down heavily on the local administration. It also demanded a report from the DWCD. In its report, the
DWCD has disagreed with the television channel’s assessment that these were cases of malnutrition and has blamed other causes like premature birth, child marriage, consanguineous marriage, juvenile diabetes, and cerebral palsy for the malady. Contesting this report, activists claim that more than 2,000 children have died in Raichur since 2009 of severe malnutrition. DENIAL MODE
Officers of the DWCD also dismiss the activists’ claim that there is a link between malnutrition and disability. F R O N T L I N E
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But, according to people like Pramila of the State Disabled People’s Organisation working in Bijapur, there is a direct link between malnutrition and disability. Malnutrition in early childhood has severe consequences in a person’s life as he or she grows up. Considering the value of early nutrition in a child’s life, the Central government has been supporting the AWCs along with State governments. The flagship programme of the country to provide nutritious food to young children is the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). In Karnataka, critics say that the food supplied under this scheme has not been providing sufficient nutrition to the child. Apart from nutri-corn puffs, children are provided with a ready mix of traditional dishes such as kesari baath, bisi bele bath, and an energy food. Rice and tur dal are also provided. Except for a few noncommittal responses, people whom Frontline met in Gulbarga and Bijapur gave mostly negative responses about the food provided. Kalamma Basavaraj Pattar said: “Children do not like the bisi bale bath masala that is mixed with the rice. A few parents have also complained that the pasty energy food that is also served causes constipation.” Padmavathi, the mother of an eight-year-old in Bhimnagar in the same village, said as much. Honagunta has five AWCs, of which only two have permanent structures. In Yedgol, another backward village in Bijapur, Dawalbi S. Kuri, the AWW, said that some children complained of stomach problems after eating the energy food and that they did not like the masala mixes. As she was speaking to Frontline, a sickly child crawled in. Shankaranand Doddamane is 21 months old and at 9.5 kg is severely underweight. This AWC has 68 children belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Muslim community out of a total enrolment of 101. The menu in anganwadis was changed in 2010 following several
Public Health Iqbal, Director, DWCD. According to her, each child is given 22 grams of nutri-corn puffs, 40 gm of kesari baath, 35 gm of rice, 5 gm of tur dal, 10 gm of bisi bele bath mix and 45 gm of an energy food a day and this contains the required nutrition. Children between the ages of 0 and 3 are mainly given 98 gm of Amylase Rich Energy Food (AREF). Yet Shamla Iqbal concedes that the situation of malnutrition is serious and wants the budget of the department to be enhanced so that better-quality food can be provided. “Under the prevailing conditions we are spending around Rs.4 per child per day (pcpd) whereas in Tamil Nadu it is almost Rs.10 pcpd and children are given eggs. The amount is much higher in Maharashtra also. Kerala has raced ahead because of its efficient local government,” she said. She said there was hardly any coordination between her department and the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Karnataka, which was also responsible for tackling child nutrition.
V. SREENIVASA MURTHY
complaints across the State about the siphoning off of food destined for anganwadis at the taluk level. Until then, children were provided a combination of ready-mixes and freshly prepared rice and dal along with local vegetables, green gram and jaggery. “In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, local ingredients are used to prepare food for children at AWCs. Why can’t this be followed in Karnataka as well?” asks Y. Mariswamy, State president of the Samaja Parivartana Janadolana, an organisation working on the issues of infant mortality and child malnutrition. From 2010, pre-packaged readymixes manufactured by a private contractor in 137 centres across Karnataka have begun to form the major part of the children’s diet. The distribution mechanism of these was direct and there was no middle tier between the State and the AWC. This helped in cutting down on corruption in distribution at the taluk and zilla panchayat levels and in providing regular food for 300 days in a year, said Dr Shamla
DECEMBER 2, 2011
SA VIT R I N I MB A D , T HE anganwadi worker of Almel panchayat, Bijapur district, in her “classroom”. Some children at the centre fall in the ‘extremely underweight’ category, as per WHO standards. 9 6
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A report prepared by Clifton Rozario, Adviser to Commissioners on Food Security appointed by the Supreme Court of India, lists several hurdles in eliminating childhood malnutrition: poor quality of food; inefficient identification of children suffering from malnutrition; failure of officials to take required and necessary steps in regard to malnourished children; lack of monitoring; failure of the Health Department to address the issue; infrastructural problems; and the severe effect of this on the Scheduled Castes and other backward groups. In March 2010, then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa announced a Comprehensive Nutrition Mission (CNM). Even though this has been in place for a year, it has not been sufficient to address the problem. According to the Karnataka Comprehensive Nutrition Mission Concept Paper of 2010, “...poverty is a prominent, but not the sole, cause of malnutrition. The fact that the percentage of people suffering from malnutrition far exceeds the percentage of people below the poverty line clearly establishes that malnutrition has other causes as well.” The idea behind the CNM was noble, but it has not been sufficient to target the main sources of the problem. With the High Court keenly following the issue, the State’s institutions are now pulling up their socks. The court has directed the DWCD to form a subcommittee to look into the high rate of infant mortality in Karnataka. Back in Savitri Nimbad’s class under the tree, Ashwini and Gurnal stretch out their steel plates for the kesari baath gruel. As the anganwadi helper ladles out the afternoon meal, it is easy to become aware of the many ironies in her ditty. There is no permanent building or even a blackboard. Open sewers in the vicinity add to the miserable state of the anganwadi. A ready mix of kesari baath along with a savoury is the healthiest meal that many of these children will get in a day. How will Basavanna grow up to lead a healthy life? 첸
Column
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Time to talk The Kudankulam protesters must not be maligned as misguided by ‘foreign’ interests. Dialogue with them on nuclear hazards remains an imperative. S the popular agitation against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) gains in strength and determination, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and its subsidiary, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), have mounted a multi-pronged attack on the movement and its leaders, while claiming that the Russian-designed reactors being installed are “perfectly” or “100 per cent” safe. One part of the attack is that the agitators are “imperilling” the safety of the Rs.13,000-crore project by impeding its normal operation and maintenance through their picketing. In particular, Reactor 1, which is at an advanced state of completion, and recently had a “hot run”, is in danger of being “damaged”. This underscores the protesters’ grave irresponsibility. Another part of the attack is the disinformation spread through newspapers to the effect that the movement is backed by “anti-nuclear groups, the Church and foreign activists” (The Times of India, November 7). NPCIL chairman S.K. Jain said activists from the United States, Finland, France and Australia “are simply sitting there”. The second attack is reminiscent of past campaigns to malign environmentalists who fought against large dams and destructive mining and industrial projects – and made a valuable contribution to ecological protection and defence of livelihoods. Anti-nuclear groups naturally support the Kudankulam protests on well-reasoned grounds. It is their legitimate job to do so. But it is pernicious to introduce a denominational/communal element
A
Beyond the Obvious PRAFUL BIDWAI here. The protesters include people from all communities. My telephone conversations with a number of people around Kudankulam confirm that there are no “foreign” activists there. The only foreigners present recently were the Russian engineers invited by NPCIL itself. The charge is particularly deplorable because it comes from an organisation that is bent on rewarding foreign nuclear manufacturers with lucrative reactor contracts for their governments’ support to the U.S.-India nuclear deal and its endorsement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Former DAE secretary Anil Kakodkar put it straight to the Marathi daily Sakaal (January 5): “We also have to keep in mind the commercial interests of foreign countries and … companies …America, Russia and F R O N T L I N E
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France were the countries that we made mediators in these efforts to lift sanctions, and hence, for the nurturing of their business interests, we made deals with them for nuclear projects.” Worse, such propaganda about the “foreign hand” behind the protests guts the possibility of a genuine dialogue with the agitators, mandated by the Centre. The whole rationale of the Prime Minister’s October 7 meeting with the people’s delegation, in response to the Tamil Nadu Cabinet’s call for suspending construction at Kudankulam until people’s apprehensions about safety are allayed, was to facilitate dialogue and rational debate. To return to the first line of attack, DAE Secretary Srikumar Banerjee has claimed he had “serious concern” about “damage” to the reactors: “It is not a plant which can be just switched on and off….We have done the hot run. We can’t go from hot run to a freeze condition.… We have to have a minimal operational system….” S.K. Jain said: [a reactor] is “not a car factory where you can switch off the systems and close.... You have simulators, ventilators, computer and electronic systems… you have to maintain” them. There is as yet no nuclear danger at Kudankulam. Reactor 1 has not gone “critical”– that is, had a nuclear fission chain reaction. For all intents and purposes, it is like a car factory, which too has simulators, ventilators and computers. Contrary to the suggestion of a nuclear activity, a “hot run” involves loading of dummy fuel assemblies (without uranium) into the reactor, and then “taking the temperature of the primary coolant water to the operating temperature of 2800 Celsius…,” according to site director M.K. Balaji (The Hindu,
Column June 5). After the three-week-long hot run, “the reactor would be disassembled”, not just shut down, and the reactor vessel, pipelines, gauges and safety devices inspected. The run’s purpose is to see how the coolant circuit operates and whether pipes, pumps, and so on work properly. Until Reactor 1 attains criticality, its safety will not be affected in the least if operations are suspended even for months. Kudankulam is already delayed by 10 years. Shutting down reactors even after they have gone critical is not rocket science. All reactors are periodically closed for maintenance. Many have been shut down safely or for good – most recently in Japan and Germany, and earlier in the U.S., France, Britain, Italy, and elsewhere. Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has lent a degree of legitimacy to the DAE’s campaign by alleging that “geopolitical and market forces” (the layer presumably meaning rival nuclear suppliers to Russia) are behind the Kudankulam protests. He was categorical that the reactors are “100 per cent” safe, because they have multiple “sophisticated” safety features, and because 99 per cent of their spent fuel would be reprocessed. NUCLEAR WASTES
Now, reprocessing is a known hazardous and expensive activity, which also produces nuclear wastes, with all their intractable problems. Many components of nuclear wastes have long halflives (period during which they naturally decay to half their original mass) such as 24,000 years (plutonium-239) and even 710 million years (uranium-235). Science knows no way of storing wastes safely for such long periods, leave alone neutralising them or disposing them of. No geological formations can be trusted to be stable for millennia and ensure that the wastes will not leach into the environment. As for safety, no technology is “100 per cent” safe. All technologies carry a finite risk. Risk is particularly great in relatively high-pressure high-temper-
DECEMBER 2, 2011
ature systems such as nuclear reactors, which concentrate enormous quantities of energy in small volumes. The work of safety and organisation theory analysts such as Charles Perrow (of Normal Accidents fame) and Scott Sagan tells us that reactors are highly complex systems whose subsystems are, internally, tightly coupled, with the danger that a small mishap or abnormal event in one subsystem can get quickly transmitted to other subsystems, malfunctions get rapidly magnified, and the whole system goes into a massive runaway crisis. “Fail-safe” or “fail-soft” mechanisms can easily break down. That is what happened at Fukushima, where a station blackout initiated by an earthquake and tsunami caused a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), leading to three core meltdowns and huge releases of radioactivity, whose effects have not fully unfolded, or been understood and studied. The accident is still continuing and the reactors remain crisis-bound. A station blackout is not a rare phenomenon. LOCAs are known in virtually every reactor type with long operating experience. FLAWED METHOD
Engineers try to make reactors safer by designing them to recover from various initiating failures, and installing multiple protections, all of which would have to fail before radioactivity is released (defence-in-depth). To quantify risks, engineers use a mathematical method called probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). The physicist M.V. Ramana says that PRA conceives of accidents as resulting from one of many combinations of a series of failures, and computes the probability of a severe accident resulting from these “event-trees” or “fault-trees” (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, April 19). Japan’s nuclear safety agency used PRA to extend the Fukushima Daiichi station’s licence just one month before the accident. PRA is also cited by reactor manufacturers to make tall claims about safety. However, PRA is a deeply flawed method and has been ques9 8
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tioned on both theoretical and empirical grounds. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study in 2003 says that “uncertainties in PRA methods and databases make it prudent to keep actual historical risk experience in mind when making judgments about safety”. That experience says five core meltdowns have occurred in the global record of 15,000 reactor-years of operation. At this rate, one can expect a meltdown every eight years in the world’s 430-odd reactors. Conceptually, PRA uses chain-ofevent modelling which “cannot account for the indirect, non-linear, and feedback relationships that characterise many accidents…. These risk assessments do a poor job of modelling human actions and their impact on known, let alone unknown, failure modes.” Therefore PRA-based conclusions about overall accident probabilities are undependable. “Perhaps the only robust conclusion one can draw is that no two major accidents are alike.… This means, unfortunately, that while it may be possible to guard against an exact repeat of the Fukushima disaster, the next nuclear accident will probably be caused by a different combination of initiating factors and failures. There are no reliable tools to predict what that combination will be, and therefore one cannot be confident of being protected against such an accident.” This grim conclusion warrants sobriety, caution and abundant humility on the part of our nuclear establishment. It should thank the Kudankulam protesters for raising the issue of nuclear safety, and highlighting its paramount importance. It should also reconsider its certification of the French-designed Jaitapur reactors in Maharashtra as safe when their design has not even been frozen or shared with it, and about which hundreds of queries have been raised in Finland, Britain, the U.S., and even France. There must be a moratorium on all further nuclear activity unless an independent, broad-based, credible safety review is conducted. 첸
Reports
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Wanted: more jobs The annual report of the International Institute for Labour Studies projects a grim future for employment prospects. B Y T . K . R A J A L A K S H M I
WITH the United States and much of Europe grappling with the slowdown in their economies and the resultant social unrest, the publication of the World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs could not have come at a more opportune moment. Brought out by the International Institute for Labour Studies, which was established in 1960 by the International Labour Organisation, the report projects a grim future for employment prospects. Quality employment growth remained weak throughout 2009-10, with temporary jobs dominating employment growth in advanced economies. The debt crisis in Greece fuelled by austerity measures and cutbacks and the “we are the 99 per cent” protests in the U.S., despite its national jobs plan, exemplify in a sense the nature of the current crisis. Jobs have to be put back on the global agenda and the responsibility for doing so lies with national governments, asserts the report. The situation since the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 has taken a turn for the worse despite some initial signs of recovery. The difference is that in 2008-09, the early years of the recessionary phase, there was an attempt to coordinate policies, especially among the G20 nations. Countries are now increasingly acting in isolation, which leads to more restrictive policies and the pressure of greater competitiveness. The overall impact F R O N T L I N E
LUKE MACGREGOR/REUTERS
It says that not enough attention has been paid to jobs, a key driver of recovery, and more importance has been given to appeasing financial markets. It points out that labour’s share of income has lost ground to capital.
A P R OTE S T AG A I N S T job cuts in central London on November 5. Many of the demonstrators had marched from Jarrow in north-east England, recreating a 1936 march against unemployment. 9 9
DECEMBER 2, 2011
of this, coupled with restricted demand and reduced household consumption, has been to squeeze labour in every conceivable manner. And labour in turn has become pessimistic about employment and wage prospects. The report says that not enough attention has been paid to jobs as a key driver of recovery and more importance has been given to appeasing financial markets, to fiscal austerity and to finding ways to help banks without reforming the processes that led to the present crisis. More often than not, employment policies are examined through a fiscal lens, says the report. It says that the world economy has now entered a new phase of economic weakening, with some European countries re-entering recession. Although the impact on the labour market may be felt only after six months, the slowdown is bound to have a much quicker and stronger impact on employment. The report estimates that employment in advanced economies will not return to pre-crisis levels until 2016. But, more importantly, it focusses on the growing social unrest and says that in 40 per cent of the 119 countries surveyed the risk of social unrest has grown considerably since 2010. Fifty-eight per cent of the countries show a growing percentage of people who report a worsening in their standard of living. Governments are seen unable to deal with these new situations, and confidence in the ability of governments to deal with them has also taken a beating. Contrary to the general perception, the rise in the levels of social discontent had its epicentre in advanced economies. The same discontent had receded in Latin America and stabilised in sub-Saharan Africa, which until some years ago ranked very low in many social and economic indices. The spillover effect in developing and emerging economies is also visible in declining exports and job creation. The depressed demand in importing countries coupled with their unstable financial situations and low investment has begun to affect growth pro-
spects in the emerging economies as well. One method of ensuring some job recovery is through making credit available to small firms. A survey of small firms in the European Union revealed that the lack of adequate finance was their most pressing problem. For developing countries, the report recommends greater and targeted public investment, including in agriculture. The other casualty in this crisis has been wages. The report says that over the past two decades, the majority of countries have witnessed a decline in the share of income accruing to labour. Compared with gains in productivity, there has not been an accompanying increase in the real incomes of wage earners and self-employed workers. This wage moderation has not resulted in any added investment; presumably, all the gain went into profits that were not used for any employment generation. Wage moderation, says the report, contributes to exacerbating imbalances, which coupled with the inefficiencies of the financial system led to and is perpetuating the crisis. Had there been a balance, the shortfall in demand would have been addressed. The onus is on governments to devise policies through social dialogue, well-designed minimum wage instruments and collective bargaining accompanied with renewed efforts to promote core labour standards. Interestingly, the dividend pay-out ratio in the emerging economies of Brazil, China and South Africa has remained constant. In Latin America, for example, in Peru, profit-sharing is compulsory; in Ecuador, it is supported by legislation. In France, too, there is some form of compulsory sharing of profits. The report says that studies show that highly skewed executive pay has a detrimental effect on corporate earnings and productivity and has a depressing effect on the morale of firms. While the nature of employment growth remains largely temporary in character, in emerging economies the trend has worsened towards more informal forms of employment. What is 1 0 0
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of equal concern is that long-term unemployment rates have gone up globally owing to the prolonged labour market recession. The report says that the global social climate has worsened. The unrest seen in West Asia, North Africa and also parts of South Asia, including regime change in a few countries, is not confined to those regions alone. The report says that there has been a significant increase in the number of street demonstrations and protests in advanced countries, and quoting a global survey of 150 countries, it says that socio-economic insecurity has heightened across the world. Uniformly, it has found that a vast majority of people are dissatisfied with their jobs. Dissatisfaction over jobs is seen to be the highest in central and eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and subSaharan Africa and lower in the countries that went through the Jasmine revolution. This begs the question
YANNIS BEHRAKIS/REUTERS
DECEMBER 2, 2011
ANTI-AUS T E R I T Y D E MO N S T RA T O RS P U S H police fences blocking a street leading to Parliament during clashes in Athens on October 19. The report says that in 40 per cent of the 119 countries surveyed, the risk of social unrest has grown considerably since 2010.
whether eastern Europe and the CIS benefited at all from the collapse of the Berlin wall and the new situation that was thrust on them as a consequence. Among the advanced economies, the problem is more acutely felt in Greece, Portugal, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, where more than 70 per cent express dissatisfaction over jobs. Unemployment and lack of disposable income are seen as the prime drivers behind the current social unrest. The report errs partially in its understanding of the social unrest caused by rising food prices. It argues that it is the rapidly growing populations in developing economies that are increasing the pressure on limited food supplies and causing a rise in food prices and social unrest. The inequitable distribution of food consumption and expendi-
ture on food and the decline in investment in agriculture also need to be looked at in this context. Considering the low disposable income of the poor, they are certainly not consuming more. One of the more important features of the report is the section on the falling share of labour in income. For several decades, it says, labour’s share of income has lost ground to capital. The wage share declined in almost threequarters of the 69 countries for which data exist. The fall has been more pronounced in the emerging and developing economies, such as India, than in advanced ones, and more pronounced for unskilled workers. The decline in wages has not resulted in reducing unemployment. The report admits that financial globalisation has resulted in a decrease in the bargaining power of F R O N T L I N E
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workers. It recommends that the decline in the wage share should be arrested in the interests of generating demand and employment. There is no doubt that an incomegenerating strategy will lead to greater demand and employment without aggravating fiscal deficits. The wage share decline has been the sharpest in North Africa since 2000 and the lowest in Latin America, which somewhat explains the lack of social unrest there. The report candidly says that the global economic outlook has only deteriorated since 2010. On current trends, it says, nearly 80 million jobs will need to be created to return to pre-crisis employment levels, and the present slowdown shows that only about half of the jobs needed are going to be created. While the share of profit in the gross domestic product (GDP) increased between 2000 and 2009 in 83 per cent of the countries analysed, the share of wages declined and so did productive investment. On the other hand, corporate profits have accumulated. The report debunks the adage that wage moderation leads to job creation. It instead calls for a comprehensive income-led recovery strategy, which, it says, will help stimulate investment and reduce excessive income inequalities. However, this is not all. The income gaps between people within countries continue to be horrifically high. At one end of the spectrum, there is a vast majority subsisting and grappling with astronomical food prices while a minuscule minority is spending far more than its capacity and requirement. What is needed is a long-term strategy and more government intervention. National governments can do far more on their own, provided they have the political will to do so. There cannot be a disproportionate focus on social measures and the labour market when it comes to reducing public debts and deficits. It is clear that there have been several developments that have contributed to the crisis. Social unrest is but the natural outcome of the crisis created by capital. 첸
FOCUS FORTS OF MAHARASHTRA
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Majestic defences Maharashtra has an abundance of forts that are now being promoted as holiday destinations.
PICTURES COURTESY: MTDC
BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
TH E HI L L F O R T
of Pratapgad in Mahabaleshwar, built by the Maratha warrior king Shivaji.
The hill forts at Daulatabad and Raigad and the sea forts at Murud-Janjira and Sindhudurg are examples of the ingenious architecture of olden days. THERE is perhaps no historical monument that exudes a sense of history as much as a fort does. This can be attributed to the brute force of its architecture and the stories and myths that surround it and even the plain bloodlust it was witness to. The history of the region that is now Maharashtra was unceasingly violent for centuries. This explains why the region has the maximum number of forts in India. A passage between the north and the south, the volcanic Deccan plateau was a constant witness to violent conquests and defeats. The topography of the land was also ideal for building defences 1 0 2
in the form of forts that were impregnable. And 350 or so of them were built. Today the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is doing its best to encourage people to visit the forts by providing all facilities and branding them as family holiday destinations. The majestic hill forts in the State include the ones at Daulatabad, Ahmednagar, Shivneri, Rajgad, Raigad, Pratapgad and Panhala. The climb up the Daulatabad fort is exhausting, yet exhilarating. Finally, at a height of over 183 metres, the hardy tourist can survey the countryside below with a sense of wonder. The fort must have been the most impregnable place in the area at the height of its glory. Adding to its locational advantage are numerous cunning architectural devices. Most forts around the world were penetrated or invaded because of treachery from within – the enemy rarely overcame the defences of a fort. Ancient architects, who seemed to have an astute understanding of military strategy, followed the physical contours of the land in structuring the forts and used
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FOCUS FORTS OF MAHARASHTRA
DECEMBER 2, 2011
THE I S LA N D FOR T
of Murud-Janjira near Mumbai, a popular weekend getaway.
a dash of cunning creativity to add ingenious features to them. Daulatabad abounds in such ingenuity. Fort designs concentrate on two aspects – invincibility and, failing that, escape. At Daulatabad there is a narrow passage of extreme darkness that has a gradual treacherous slope. When the enemy soldier pursued the fleeing residents through this, boiling oil was poured from an aperture above. The scalded enemy soldier would then race down the sloped floor towards a low window at the end of the passage, only to plunge into the moat 200 feet below where crocodiles awaited him. The Haathi darwaza,or Elephant
TH E S H I V N E R I F O R T
gate, at the Ahmednagar fort is another such device. It is a towering outer gate with metal spikes and leads to the moat. Its purpose was to deter elephants, which the enemy used as battering rams. The fort also has a swinging bridge, or the jhoolta pul, over the moat. Its widely spaced planks for flooring were an ingenious way to prevent enemy battalions from rushing across it. The fort is now under renovation and a budget of Rs.20 crore has been set aside for the landscaping. The hill fort of Rajgad is well known for its long association with Shivaji. Before it was christened Raj-
near Pune was the birthplace of Shivaji. 1 0 4
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gad, or the fort of kings, by Shivaji, it was known as Murumdeo and was under the Nizamshahi and the Adilshahi rulers. By A.D. 1648, it came under Shivaji’s possession. In fact, in A.D. 1659 Shivaji went to meet the Mughal general Afzal Khan from Rajgad. It was his favourite fort and he refused to hand it over to the Mughals even when he had to surrender 23 other forts. There are many historic forts along the coast too such as those in Murud, Sindhudurg, Suvarnadurg, Vijaydurg, and Jaigad. The island fort of MurudJanjira, in Murud village in Raigad district, has for long been a popular weekend getaway for Mumbaikars. It is one of the strongest coastal forts in the country and is still in very good shape. Originally, it was a wooden structure built by Koli fishermen (the Kolis were the original inhabitants of Mumbai) in the 15th century. Over the centuries, the fort was dominated by the Nizamshahis and the Siddhis were its last owners. The sea fort of Sindhudurg is at the southern end of the State. Shivaji took the help of Portuguese experts to construct it in the early 1660s. The fort has a temple dedicated to Shivaji, where the king is depicted without his trademark beard. About 20 Hindu and Muslim families who date their ancestry to the early days of the Sindhudurg fort live within its premises. 첸
FOCUS FORTS OF MAHARASHTRA
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Massive potential Interview with Chhagan Bhujbal, State Tourism Minister.
“The State government has earmarked a budget of Rs.25 crore for the current year and will put in more resources in the future to build Brand Maharashtra.” CHHAGAN BHUJBAL, Maharashtra’s Minister for Tourism, has grand plans for exploiting the State’s tourism potential. Excerpts from an interview he gave Frontline: What are the State’s strengths and focus areas in the tourism sector? Our State is blessed with almost everything except snow-clad mountains and deserts. We are proud to have the highest number of forts and caves in the country. The white sand and blue waters of the Konkan beaches are remarkable. The State has about 169 tigers, apart from other wild animals, in its 34 wildlife sanctuaries. It has five of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples [dedicated to Siva] in the country, the Ashtavinayak temples, three and a half Shaktipithas [temples dedicated to Parvati] and the shrine of Sai Baba in Shirdi and the Shani Shinganapur [dedicated to Saturn]. Naturally, these are our focus areas. Do you think Maharashtra has lagged in the tourism sector in spite of its strengths? Maharashtra enjoys a leading position in the industry and commerce sectors. It is true that our focus remained on these sectors and also infrastructure in the past. There is great potential in tourism, particularly for employment generation. It is not that we had not paid attention to tourism in the past; it was not a priority area. How do you plan to utilise your strengths? An aggressive marketing strategy is the key. The State government has earmarked a budget of Rs.25 1 0 6
PTI
BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Shivaji’s headgear at the inauguration in Nagpur of the play ’Janta Raja’ based on the life of the warrior king. A file picture.
C HHAG A N B HUJ BA L I N
crore for the current year and will put in more resources in the future to build Brand Maharashtra. When people find Maharashtra an interesting place to visit, the demand for services will increase, which in turn will provide opportunities for entrepreneurs. Our target is to create demand, the other things will follow. It is said Maharashtra does not have the required infrastructure. How do you plan to overcome this? Maharashtra has very good infrastructure in terms of roads and airports. Most districts have an airstrip and there are regular flights to places like Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, Nanded, Latur, and Kolhapur. The major roads are now four-lane highways. National Highway 17 from Mumbai to Goa is our next priority. In terms of tourism infrastructure, we have a long way to go. This has to be done in a phased manner depending on the availability of resources and needs. At present we have undertaken sectorspecific projects, such as eco-tourism in the Vidarbha region, coastal tourism in the Konkan area, and the Ajanta and Ellora tourism project. Work is also in progress at Elephanta Caves, Harihareshwar [Raigad district], Kunkeshwar, Mithbav [Sindhudurg district], Bhandardara [Ahmednagar district], and Toranmal [Nandurbar district]. The first phase of development of tourist facilities at select forts and at the Ashtavinayak sites are going on. The government has released Rs.10 crore per project. Tourism
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FOCUS FORTS OF MAHARASHTRA
COURTESY: MTDC
Kolhapur, Raigad and Sindhudurg. We are also planning to launch package tours on these routes. What actually drives domestic tourism in the State is religious tourism. Health and hygiene are major concerns at most religious places. We will work out a model in coordination with local bodies and temple trusts.
INSID E T H E D A UL A T A B A D fort, situated on a 183-metre-high hill.
signage will be in place in six months. Can you outline the specific plans for developing beaches, forts, wildlife areas and religious tourism? We have identified the gaps and have plans for the specific development of these areas. To promote wildlife tourism, the MTDC is establishing tourist resorts at places such as Sakoli, Khindshi, Chhaprala, Pench, Bor, Tadoba and Chikhaldara. Forest trails, camp sites and nature interpretation centres will be developed by the Forest Department. Around 36 beaches have been identified for development. The roads leading to them are being improved. Integrated beach facilities and beach safety will be in place soon. The MTDC has plans to upgrade its beach resorts in addition to creating new ones. The State has around 350 forts, of which some are historically important. A fort circuit plan will cover the districts of Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar,
What is the response to Kalagram, an exhibition of art and culture that opened recently in Aurangabad? With the help of the Union Ministry of Tourism, we started the Aurangabad Kalagram to showcase our rich art, craft and culture. There are 106 stalls and an open-air theatre here. Many artists and craftsmen have taken advantage of this facility. In the past two or three months, more than one lakh people have visited the kalagram. Around eight acres have been earmarked in Filmcity, Mumbai, for a similar project there. We also plan to set up a shilpgram (artists’ village) in Majalgaon in Andheri East, for which land has been reserved. Why is the State not promoting agrorural tourism? I agree that agro-rural tourism has great scope in Maharashtra, as its agriculture sector is well developed and the rural connectivity is good. This will be an interesting experience for urban dwellers. Many farmers have successfully started rural tourism centres. We have a Mahabhraman scheme under which service providers can register with the MTDC. Wine tourism in Nasik and Pune is gaining popularity with foreign tourists. What about your dream project relating to the Raigadfort? I have a dream of making Raigad fort a prime tourist destination as it was built during the time of Chhatrapati Shivaji. We have written to the Union Ministry of Culture to hand over this fort to the State government for restoration and conservation. Once we get permission, we will make Raigad fort a monument of national pride in two years’ time. 1 0 8
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Is the luxury train Deccan Odyssey back on track now? In order to attract foreign tourists, I have planned to resume services of this luxury train. For this, I have held several discussions with the Union Railway and Tourism Ministries. From 2004 to 2008 this train was doing regular tours in Maharashtra. But following the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008 and a sudden change in the Railways’ policy things changed. Now, in addition to regular tours in the State, the train makes pan-India tours with the help of private operators. We are planning to operate a Mumbai-Shirdi tour from this season once the formalities with the Railways are completed. Could you tell us about Sea World in the Konkan? We have decided to take up this project in Sindhudurg district. The Konkan area is most suitable for such a project owing to the water quality and marine life. This integrated project is proposed to be implemented under the public private partnership model. This will be the biggest tourism project in India and will have the capacity to divert tourist flow from West Asia and other Asian countries. How will your government help private players who have innovative tourism projects? Tourism Policy-2006 aims at attracting private investment in tourism. Fourteen tourism projects have been identified for fiscal incentives under this policy. If an entrepreneur comes with an innovative product, it will be considered on merit. Many hotels and entertainment parks have taken advantage of this scheme. All necessary support envisaged under the policy will be provided to potential investors. We are planning to develop MTDC properties under the PPP mode. Consultants have been appointed to suggest specific projects. Private investors looking for opportunities in Maharashtra are most welcome to participate. 첸
Controversy
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Land grab projects? An independent study says some 250 thermal power projects that have got clearances may be meant just to grab land and water resources. BY LYLA BAVADAM
The total capacity of these projects far exceeds the country’s projected power requirement by 2032. There are still more projects to be cleared, with the potential to produce a total of 508,907 MW. THERE have been a growing number of headlines that speak of an energy crisis and the energy deficit in India in the last few years. The disparities in the demand-supply scenario, the increasing prospects of disruptions in the global supply of fuel and the consequent results of higher import bills, the problems of losses during transmission and distribution and a host of other issues have been debated. The public sector monopoly over this sector has been blamed for the energy crisis. So, after liberalisation, when the sector was thrown open to private investors, it was generally considered to be a profitable business opportunity. In fact, more than 250 companies have applied for and received environmental clearances to set up thermal power projects in the coming years. In the generally accepted analysis of the energy situation, this seems to be a good thing. But there is another side to the story. For quite some time there has been talk of a vast number of thermal power projects coming up all over the country, but apart from certain regions, such as the Konkan (Frontline, February 11), where details were available, there was no central database 1 1 0
that provided information on the rest. Prayas Energy Group, a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that works on the theoretical, conceptual and policy issues in the energy sector, was curious about the widespread talk about big projects and decided to find out more. (It is worth noting that Prayas was instrumental in the analysis of the infamous power purchase agreement of the Dabhol Power Company.) Girish Sant of Prayas said he and his colleagues decided to start off by looking at the website of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) since the Ministry played a part in issuing clearances. Here they found a bulk of information that confirmed much of what they had been hearing. The information was appalling enough for lead authors Shripad Dharmadhikary and Shantanu Dixit of Prayas to dig deeper and publish a report. “Thermal Power Plants on the Anvil: Implications and Need for Rationalisation” starts with a seemingly straightforward announcement: “A massive expansion of the thermal power generation capacity of the country is on the anvil.” Without much ado, the report then drops the bombshell that the MoEF has liberally granted environmental clearances to about 250 coal- and gas-based thermal power projects that will produce a total of 192,913 MW of power – a proposed capacity that far exceeds the country’s projected requirement until 2032! Delving further, they were shocked to discover that there were more projects, yet to be cleared, with the potential to produce, totally, 508,907 MW. Simple calculations showed the following. As of April, the existing total installed electricity generation capacity in India was 174,361 MW. Of this, the total thermal capacity was 113,000 MW. The green signal from the MoEF for the new plants will result in a capacity increase of about 192,913 MW from coal- and gas-based plants. The pending projects are
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B. VELANKANNI RAJ
DECEMBER 2, 2011
FAR ME RS A N D F I S H E R F O LK at a rally protesting against the thermal power projects proposed in Tharangambadi in Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, in December 2010.
likely to get clearance because in the last four years the MoEF has made it a point to clear all thermal power proposals. This means that in the coming years the country can expect to see plants with around 701,820 MW being built. And this is only in the thermal power sector. Coal-based plants account for about 87 per cent of these plants in-waiting. The report says, “These additions are more than six times the currently installed thermal capacity of 113,000 MW. They are also three times the capacity addition that would be required to meet the needs of the high-renewables-high efficiency scenario for the year 2032 projected by the Planning Commission Integrated Energy Policy report.” With this basic information in hand, the MoEF’s green signal seemed all the more baffling. It could be argued that this was strategic future planning, but there was something about the clearing of the capacity of a mammoth 192,913 MW of power that held the attention of the authors. Coming up against bureaucratic roadblocks, they filed a Right to Information (RTI) plea addressed to the Environment Impact Assessment Centre of the MoEF, asking how so many thermal power projects were given clearance. The response said that if the site of a project was not found to
be appropriate the promoters were asked to change it. Thus, in effect, a project was never rejected – merely asked to change location. The MoEF, for its part, reiterated that environmental clearances were given after the Ministry was satisfied that environmental planning was part of the future projects. Studying the issue even more closely, the researchers came to a conclusion that may seem anti-development, but, when studied closely, makes a strong argument for itself. They concluded that “with large areas of land being acquired for these projects, and water being allocated for these unnecessary plants, this may turn out to be a land and water grab story.” They noted that the clearing of so many gigantic projects “indicates a complete disconnect between the government’s actions in the power sector and the actual power needs of the country”. The location of the projects were also suspect, the authors found. Out of a total of 626 districts in the country, it is inexplicable why the projects are being sited in only 30 (4.7 per cent of the total number of districts). Fifteen districts have plants with capacities totalling 10,000 MW or more each. And several districts are contiguous, which will increase the impact of the plants. The Central and State sectors have F R O N T L I N E
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about 82 per cent share in the existing thermal power plants. But the private sector accounts for 67 per cent of the proposed projects. So intense is the corporate interest that 10 private companies account for 160,000 MW of the total mega wattage. Among the 10 are Reliance, Adani, Welspun, Essar, Indiabulls, Tata Power and Vedanta. Attempts to contact Reliance and Tata Power, the two largest investors in the list, proved fruitless. It is now not uncommon for large corporations to buy up vast tracts of land. Some years ago a prominent real estate dealer of Mumbai told this correspondent that he had been instructed by his client, one of the country’s largest corporations, to buy land anywhere in India as long as it was over 10 acres (one acre is 0.4 hectare) and had a water source. Knowing that land would be the most valuable commodity in the future, the company wanted to hold the aces at the appropriate time. Interestingly, the company in question is one of the top 10 on the list of corporates wanting to set up thermal power plants. The allocation of land, coal and water is a major concern. The report argues: “These projects in the pipeline represent a massive overcapacity in the making. Thus, valuable and scarce natural resources of land, water, gas and coal will be allocated to projects
Controversy that are ultimately not required.” Land for such gigantic projects is invariably acquired forcibly with the government applying the Land Acquisition Act citing public purpose. The authors wryly say, “Given that the thermal capacity in pipeline is far in excess of that required, it is clear that many of these plants will not serve a public purpose. Hence, the use of the Act to acquire land for such plants cannot be justified.” The current Act is so structured that there is no provision to return the land once acquired to the original owner even if the project does not materialise. In such a case, the promoters can use the land for their own profit. The researchers say, “Some of the plants may even be promoted primarily to obtain such benefits.” Almost 85 per cent of the projects in the pipeline are coal-based. A large proportion of them rely on domestic coal which is in short supply – even existing power plants do not get their full requirement. Obviously, supplying new plants will spread the resource even thinner, ultimately resulting in coal imports. No study has been done about the coal reserves in the country. Sant told Frontline that there were about 20 to 40 giga tonnes of coal reserves but their location was not clear. If they are in forest reserves, then they are in a no-go area for mining. He said that if the reserves were no more than 40 giga tonnes, the coal would run out by 2030. Clearly, there has been a lacuna in planning; these proposed projects are mere ghosts and the actual aim is to grab land and water resources. There is also a health issue involved – Indian coal is very high in mercury content. Currently there are no limits set for mercury emissions from power plants, though this can have grave consequences for the brain, the heart, kidneys, lungs and the immune system. Allocation of water rights is the other contentious issue. Coal plants are notorious for using as much as four litres of water per kWh of generation. About 72 per cent of the cleared plants are inland and about half of these are in the river basins of the Ganga, the
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Godavari, the Mahanadi and the Brahmani. Even presuming that a river basin can supply the needs of the thermal power plant, it is not acceptable because it would most likely be eating into the water share of the local populace. And given the vagaries of the weather, there will invariably be conflict in times of drought. Who then gets priority – the power plant or the local people? Past experience with the privatisation of water, as in the Sheonath river case in Madhya Pradesh, has shown that priority is invariably given to corporate interests. The report “estimates that the consumptive water needs of the plants with Environmental Clearance Granted will themselves be close to 4.6 billion cubic metres per year. In these circumstances, several water conflicts appear to be in the making.” Here, too, there is an example from the past. Neither the industry nor local people will benefit if water supply stops as had happened in April last year in Chandrapur district where the Maharashtra State Electricity Board had to shut down its plant on account of water shortage. Ironically, Chandrapur is slated to have plants with a total capacity of 8,000 MW. Again, using a thumb rule from the Central Electricity Authority, Prayas estimates that coal-based plants consume about 3.92 million cubic metres of water per 100 MW per annum. There are such plants for 117,500 MW inland. This means these plants will require about 4,608 million cubic metres of water. That is enough to “irrigate about 920,000 ha of land in a year or provide drinking and domestic use water to about 84 million people or 7 per cent of India’s population every day for a year”, the report says. In 2009, the MoEF used the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index and identified some areas in the country as “critically polluted”. Shockingly, a total capacity of 88,000 MW of the proposed thermal projects is located within or near these Critically Polluted areas. Coal-based thermal power plants are infamous for sulphur dioxide emissions, coal ash disposal issues 1 1 2
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and the release of toxins such as mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium. Even if there are regulations (in the case of sulphur dioxide, these are not even clear) it is doubtful whether the air and water supply will be able to dispose and disperse the mammoth emissions. In the past, dykes of ash ponds have collapsed resulting in ash slurry inundating areas. But even stored coal ash is hazardous because it affects ground and surface water supply as well as ambient air. Playing the devil’s advocate, Prayas argues that the delicensing of thermal power generation will automatically mean that market forces will “weed out excess and inefficient capacity”. In other words, even if plants have got the clearance and resources are allocated to them, they will be governed by the market. While this may be so, it does not take away from the crucial fact that companies may already have got what they wanted – land and water. And, they would have got all this with subsidies. They will have profited even if the plants fail. The real victims will be those who have been displaced for a worthless project, the taxpayers whose money was misused, the environment, and, of course, the country as a whole. Prayas has called for revamping the clearance process, a moratorium on new clearances, and improved coordination between the different agencies involved. It further recommends that “from the 200,000 MW that have already been given environmental clearance, projects with very high social and environmental impacts, projects that do not have broad local acceptance, and projects leading to sub-optimal use of transmission, fuel, land and water should be put on hold” and a reassessment be made of the long-term demand for power. Using already available information and that obtained through RTI, Dharmadhikary and Dixit try to prove that the thermal power projects in the pipeline are clearly “a massive overcapacity in the making”. They say this leads to the conclusion that there is an ulterior motive: that of reserving vast expanses of land for future profit. 첸
Column
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Cricket & crime In convicting the Pakistani cricketers, Justice Cooke has sent an unmistakable message to all cricketers that venality and cricket did not go together. NITED KINGDOM Crown Court Judge Jeremy Cooke’s decision on November 3 to send three Pakistani cricketers – Salman Butt, Mohammmad Asif and Mohammad Amir – to jail, along with cricket agent Mazhar Majeed, has been generally welcomed by many past players and the followers of the game. The prominent reaction immediately after the judgment was that the three players had brought disgrace to what was until the other day a “gentleman’s game”, and hence they deserved to go jail. Interestingly, I did not find any sympathy for them even among some of the Pakistani journalists I spoke to, when all of us were waiting for the Crown Court number 4 in Southwark to open its doors to a large crowd of scribes (that included former England captain Mike Atherton reporting for The Times) and the general public who had come to watch the penultimate day’s proceedings in London. Cooke’s order (available on the Net) was punitive but not harsh. Many of us certainly grieve that instead of representing their home country and playing the game on the hallowed turf of Lord’s, Oval or Old Trafford, the three young Pakistanis had been made to languish in the Wandsworth prison, Greater London. It is not that the judge was cruel. Actually, in fairness to him, it must be said that he had tried to fuse sternness with charity while framing his lucid and historic judgment; “historic”, in the sense that for the first time, cricketers were being sent to jail for criminal misconduct on the field. In convicting the three cricketers and sentencing them to varying periods of imprisonment, the judge had ignored
U
Law and Order R.K. RAGHAVAN the plea of a few in the sporting fraternity that jailing the players was too drastic an act, which could damage the morale of cricketers. The hint thrown was that the offenders should be let off with a warning and admonition. The judge obviously considered such a course of action as too lenient for the grave offence of cheating the spectators who had paid to watch a match that they believed was being played on fair lines. While taking this unequivocal stand, Justice Cooke did not allow himself to go overboard by inflicting the maximum term of six to seven years. He managed to show himself to be humane and sober by awarding relatively short terms of imprisonment. He seemed to rest content with transmitting the unmistakable message to current cricketers, wherever they are playing, that venality and cricket did not go together, particularly when rewards from the game had become really attractive over the years. F R O N T L I N E
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It was refreshing to note that, while imposing the sentence, he ordered that if the delinquents conducted themselves well in prison, they could be released after completing half their terms. This was a gesture rarely seen in judicial forums. It was, therefore, evident that Justice Cooke was a reformist to the core, and not one who was exploiting an opportunity to inflict undesirable pain on the three youngsters. In my view this should be the essence of criminal justice in a modern democracy: reform and not a mere technical and cold application of the law. Justice Cooke will long be remembered as a level-headed presiding officer who deserves to be emulated. My assessment is that he firmly believed no crime should go unpunished. At the same time, such punishment should be given only with the intent of making the offender feel penitent for his or her action. This was especially so when crime did not involve violence or directly ruin the livelihood or reputation of the victim. Not many might agree with this liberal philosophy. Nevertheless, such a position assumes relevance in the context of the raging debate in India over whether those facing a trial should or should not be given bail during the currency of a trial. Bail is an interim provision before a charge is proved or disproved in trial. It is not meant to be punitive. Once the judge is convinced that an accused who is let out on bail will not be able to intimidate those who were going to depose against him or her or otherwise tamper with material evidence that had already come on record, a liberal application of the law on bail seems very much in order. A known practice in the United States and other countries is the electronic surveillance of an
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accused released on bail so that he or she does not get an opportunity to damage wantonly the prosecution case. There is no reason why this procedure cannot be employed in India at least in high-profile cases involving economic crime. We also possess the technology to integrate this facility with our judicial system. This would greatly save prison space, at a time when prisons are overcrowded. But then the initiative for this major reform will have to come from the judiciary. An investigating agency may always be expected to oppose bail to an accused, lest it be suspected of being soft or in cahoots with an offender facing trial. It is for the judiciary to bring in an element of objectivity. The spot-fixing incident raises at least two major issues. The first is how to make the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) more credible, vibrant and effective. The unit came into being in 2000 in the wake of the match-fixing scandal that came to light that year. I had the unique opportunity to oversee the investigation done by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2000. While identifying the culprits – both bookie and cricketers – the CBI made a number of recommendations on how to check graft and other crime in the game. These were broadly accepted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and implemented with reasonable seriousness. In course of time, the ICC also fell in line with them. The appointment of Sir Paul Condon, a distinguished British police officer who had earlier headed the London Metropolitan Police, as the chief of the ACSU was another move that lent weight to the drive against corruption. Condon was succeeded last year by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, another reputed officer who had led the Police Force of Northern Island. Solid leadership was, therefore, not lacking in streamlining anti-corruption work in cricket at the international level. The point, however, is that the ACSU is a slender body with modest resources. Any criticism that it did not have a clue about the 1 1 4
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recent spot-fixing episode is therefore ill founded. One cannot expect miracles from it. It is possible that the ACSU can do a lot better with greater bandwidth. Ultimately nothing will work unless ethics becomes part of a cricketer’s life when he is actually playing the game. There is a great mentoring role that the national cricket administration can play. Mohammad Amir, the youngest of the three cricketers convicted by the court, is known to have made a statement that he had not received enough inputs from the Pakistani administrators on the “do’s and don’ts”, and that if only he had been advised properly he would not have strayed as he did at the 2010 Lord’s Test. Considering that Amir was hardly 18 years old when the alleged misconduct took place, his defence sounds credible. The fact that he came from an essentially rural background, possibly with only modest education, makes us believe that if he had been guided properly, he may not have erred. We in India have also a new crop of cricketers – some from what are normally regarded as backward areas – not exposed to the treacherous manipulators in our cities. They need to be protected through down-to-earth counselling. Or else they will fall victim to predators who are a regular feature in the cricket firmament. I am certain that the current enlightened BCCI leadership is well aware of its responsibilities in this vital area. Another measure in the direction of keeping the game clean would be to enact a law that would ensure all our sportsmen behave well on the field. The need for special legislation is mentioned by some well-meaning people. I am not very sure that such a new law will ever carry enough deterrent. Even if it did, will we not be injecting an element of fear into the environment where a free and uninhibited demonstration of skills is of the essence? Anyhow, there is no harm in continuing a discussion on the desirability of a law that would help keep our cricketers away from temptations. 첸
The States/Kerala
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Hanging by a thread The fledgling UDF government in Kerala is bogged down in troubles of its own making. B Y R . K R I S H N A K U M A R
IN THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The constant drift from principles to appease coalition partners or to support errant leaders is already proving to be hazardous for the UDF government.
V. SUDERSHAN
the 140 seats despite initial expectations of a comfortable majority and an anti-incumbency upsurge against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The election outcomes in many regions reflected the impact of a number of scandals and allegations against prominent UDF leaders and the rivalries within the coalition and within the prominent parties in the coalition. Even as the new UDF government was just settling down with a high-profile, 100-day fast-track IT is not clear what would eventually bring down governance programme involving all government the United Democratic Front (UDF) government in departments, the old charges of corruption and alleKerala or when, if at all, it would happen. But, within gations of involvement in other scandals caught up the next six months, the nine-member ruling coali- with its leaders, casting a shadow on its future. Jacob’s death, therefore, came at a critical time tion led by the Congress will have to face a byelection that could see its slender majority in the Assembly for the UDF government, whose frail majority was already forcing it to counter carefully every other becoming even more skimpy and uncertain. If the tumultuous Assembly session that ended issue raised by the Opposition in the Assembly. With the UDF’s strength reduced, there was conon November 3 can be taken as an indicator, persisting scandals, corruption charges and appeasement cern over the Assembly membership of the Governof errant coalition partners might prove costly for the ment Chief Whip, P.C. George (Kerala UDF as it tries to ward off a possible defeat at Pira- Congress-Mani), after Sebastian Paul, a former CPI vom, a central Kerala constitu(M) Member of Parliament, raised a ency near Ernakulam, where a question against his appointment. byelection is due. Paul claimed that the appointment In the Assembly elections of George, as the Government Chief Whip with the rank of a Cabinet held in April, T.M. Jacob, a seaMinister with all the attendant facilsoned politician, administrator ities went against the office of profit and leader of the Kerala Congress laws under Article 191 of the Consti(Jacob), won Piravom, with a tution. As per Article 191, a person thin lead of 157 votes and become who holds an office of profit under the sole representative of his parthe State or Central government ty in the Assembly. He was the “shall be disqualified for being choMinister for Food, Civil Supplies sen as, and for being, a member of the and Registration in Oommen Legislative Assembly” unless the Chandy’s Cabinet. But Jacob, State legislature passed a law exsuffering from pulmonary hyperempting the particular office from tension and related troubles, was disqualification. In the absence of in and out of hospital since then such a law exempting the post of and his last stint as a Minister Chief Whip, could George continue ended abruptly with his death at C H I EF M I N I S TE R OOM M E N a private hospital in Ernakulam Chandy. The ruling coalition will as an MLA? This was the question find it tough to ward off a referred to the Governor. The Goveron October 30. nor has sought the opinion of the The UDF came to power in defeat in the impending Election Commission on it, as reMay 2011, winning merely 72 of byelection. F R O N T L I N E
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Prisoners & precedents
quired under the Constitution, and is expected to announce a final decision based on its advice. However, since then, another appeal questioning the status of the Opposition Leader under the office of profit laws too has been submitted to the Governor by a journalist, P. Rajan. Given the risk an adverse decision from the Election Commission and the Governor would pose for the government’s survival, the State Cabinet took a decision hurriedly on November 9 to promulgate an ordinance exempting the posts of Chief Whip and the Opposition Leader from the definition of
rishna Pillai before its largesse. “The considgranting him erations for exercise of remission. power under Articles 72 The Supreme Court [or] 161 may be myriad has dealt with the quesand their occasions protion of remission in a tean, and are left to the number of cases. The appropriate government, earliest one is Maru but no consideration, nor occasion, can be wholly Ram vs Union of India irrelevant, irrational, dis(1980) in which Justice criminatory or mala V.R. Krishna Iyer held fide.” He held the power that party favouritism to pardon, grant remisshould not be the basis sion and commutation, of exercising power un- R . B ALA KR I S HN A being of the greatest moder Article 161 of the P I LLAI , Kerala ment for the liberty of the Constitution by the Congress (B) leader. citizen, could not be a law Governor. In Maru Ram, the court dealt with the chal- unto itself but must be informed by lenge to Section 433(A) of the Code of the finer canons of constitutionalism. A judgment that has a bearing on Criminal Procedure, which fixed 14 years as mandatory minimum sen- the Balakrishna Pillai case is Swaran tence for lifers. The court held this Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh provision was consistent with Article (1998). In this case, a legislator of the State Assembly, who had been con161 and was constitutionally valid. Justice Krishna Iyer, on behalf of victed of murder, left the prison in the Bench, held in Maru Ram that less than two years as the Governor although the powers under Article 72 granted him remission of the remain(corresponding power to remit or ing period of his life sentence. A three-judge Bench of the Supardon by the President) and Article 161 were very wide, it could not “run preme Court found that the State govriot”. He said the government was not ernment had kept the Governor in the and should not be as free as an indi- dark about certain vital facts that vidual in selecting the recipients for went against the prisoner’s eligibility S. GOPAKUMAR
THE release of former Minister R. Balakrishna Pillai from prison along with a number of others on November 1 in a goodwill gesture by the Kerala government will have to face legal scrutiny. Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the special remission given to Balakrishna Pillai by Governor M.O.H. Farook under Article 161 of the Constitution on the advice of the United Democratic Front government. His contention is that the State government’s decision to release the leader of a long-standing constituent of the ruling Front was a colourable exercise of power and that it had committed contempt of the court that had sentenced Balakrishna Pillai to one-year rigorous imprisonment in the Idamalayar Hydroelectric Power Project case. The Government Order of October 24 says that the remission is applicable to prisoners having good behaviour and those not having adverse remarks. It also directs the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) to ensure that the Kerala Prisons Rules 1958 are complied with strictly. The question is whether the Governor was aware of the alleged violation of the prison rules by Balak-
‘office of profit’. The ordinance is expected to have retrospective effect in order to protect persons who have held such posts earlier. All this has triggered much anxiety in the UDF about the way scandals, allegations of corruption and misuse of power against its leaders are coming to the fore once again and on how they are going to affect the government. SPECIAL REMISSION
For instance, a day after Jacob’s death, using the pretext of the State Reorganisation Day 2011 (November 1), the government granted a special remis1 1 6
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sion of sentence (under Article 161 of the Constitution) to prisoners in the State “having good behaviour and no adverse remarks” against them. Nearly 2,500 prisoners lodged in various jails got their sentences reduced for varying periods and 138 of them were released immediately. Among those who came out of jail, however, was the controversial former Minister R. Balakrishna Pillai, leader of another Kerala Congress group, which, too, has only a single representative (his son, the Minister for Forests, Sports and Cinema, K.B. Ganesh Kumar) in the Assembly. Balak-
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rishna Pillai had been convicted by the Supreme Court in the Idamalayar Hydroelectric Power Project case for a term of one year. But never the one to let go of his family’s feudal trappings and his claim of being the only surviving founding leader of the UDF coalition, Balakrishna Pillai (as well as his UDF colleagues) sought to portray it all as personal vendetta by Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan, who had pursued the case for over two decades to ensure Balakrishna Pillai’s conviction by the Supreme Court (“Rash of scandals”, Frontline, March 11, 2011). Once in jail, Balakrishna Pillai act-
S. MAHINSHA
for remission. The Bench blamed the government for depriving the Governor of the opportunity to exercise his powers in a fair and just manner and said the remission order fringed on arbitrariness. The court quashed the order of the Governor and directed the government to reconsider the petition of the prisoner for remission in light of the material which the Governor had no occasion to know earlier. In another case (Satpal vs State of Haryana, 2000), the Governor remitted the sentence of a prisoner, a Bharatiya Janata Party activist, without knowing the total period of the sentence that he had undergone. The Supreme Court deplored the haste with which the file had been processed and the unusual interest and zeal shown by the authorities in the matter of exercise of powers to grant pardon. The Bench noted that the prisoner was at large while the remission order showed him to have been in jail. It also noted that he had not surrendered to serve the sentence notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s direction disposing of the appeal filed by the State in 1998. These legal precedents are likely to determine the outcome of the Balakrishna Pillai case. V. Venkatesan in New Delhi
that a weak coalition ed the reluctant prisoner, structure would continue complaining of lack of fato demand from it and cilities and poor treathow far it would go on. ment by the jail Though not in subauthorities despite his stance, but in the way it age and ill-health. Eviwas sought to be tackled dently, a wounded Balakby its victims, the Idamarishna Pillai was not layar case finds an echo in satisfied with the relief in the ice cream parlour sex the form of a hospital stay scandal case too, in which that was conveniently ofthe prominent Muslim fered by the UDF governLeague leader P.K. Kunment subsequently. And, as a senior leader of the P . K. KUN HA LI KUTTY, halikkutty continues to coalition that ran the Minister for Industries. remain the prime target of several serious allegagovernment, he wanted something more from it, which came tions. Despite the harsh revelations – in the form of his release from the including accusations of influencing hospital room two months before his the judiciary with bribes – that tumjail term was to end. bled out as a result of a pre-election Achuthanandan said his release spar between Kunhalikkutty and his amounted to a travesty of justice and relative and former confidant K.A. approached the Supreme Court Rauf, the Muslim League managed to against the remission of sentence (see win 20 seats in the Assembly. It is now separate story). Balakrishna Pillai had the most powerful group within the served his term at the Central Prison UDF after the Congress, which has ononly for 93 days. He was then sent out ly 38 seats (after contesting in 84 on parole for the maximum 75 days, seats). Kunhalikkutty himself won and ever since his return, was lodged in Vengara, a party stronghold in Malapa private hospital where he continued puram district, with a 38,237-vote to enjoy “five-star facilities” and the margin. But with Rauf’s allegations, luxury of being in constant touch with which he has now raised in courts too, his family members, Ministers and the nature of the case itself has UDF leaders and illegally using several changed, from being a sex-for-money facilities, including mobile phones. scandal case to a more serious one in Other Opposition leaders claimed which the accused, now including it was “a challenge to the democratic some senior High Court judges and conscience” of the people of Kerala and law officers, are being charged with “an affront to the Supreme Court”, an blatant misuse of power and corrupinstance of “political corruption” by tion of a grand scale to alter evidence, the government and “capitulation to doctor statements and engineer fathe arm-twisting” by Balakrishna Pil- vourable judgments. lai and Ganesh Kumar. The LDF’s No doubt, the ruling coalition claim was that it would send the wrong would be dreading the day the case message that “even Supreme Court eventually catches up with its principal verdicts could be overcome if one had target. Ominously for Industries Mininfluence in government and money ister Kunhalikkutty and the UDF govpower”. Incidentally, Balakrishna Pil- ernment, though the High Court has lai’s imprisonment, after nearly two rejected the plea made by the Opposidecades of court battles by Achutha- tion Leader for an inquiry by the Cennandan, was the first instance in Ker- tral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into ala of a former Minister being jailed on it, the court has instead said that the a corruption case. His release from ongoing police inquiry should be conprison has raised several questions – ducted under its direct supervision not merely about its legality or moral- from now on. Again, it would be a rare ity but also about the compromises instance in Kerala of a case thus being F R O N T L I N E
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The States/Kerala
DECEMBER 2, 2011
crisis for the Oommen Chandy government, with the Opposition demanding the Chief MinPALMOLEIN CASE ister’s resignation on To further increase the “moral and legal pressure on a weak govgrounds”. ernment, the LDF had The Chief Minister been tactically hunting initially expressed his Oommen Chandy too in readiness to step down the 20-year-old palmobut was promptly dislein import case ever suaded from doing so by since it came up for V . S . A C H U T H A N A N D A N . coalition leaders and his hearing before a special He has filed a petition in party high command. He court judge in Thiruva- the Supreme Court then transferred the Vignanthapuram in challenging the special ilance portfolio under January. remission given to him to his trusted party Former Chief Min- Balakrishna Pillai. colleague, Revenue Minister K. Karunakaran, the first accused in the case, had ob- ister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan. tained a stay order from the Supreme He took the moral high ground by anCourt in August 2007 against the trial nouncing that he would not go on approceedings at the lower court. Until peal against the court’s directive for a the death of Karunakaran in Decem- further investigation and that the very ber 2010, Chandy was only the ‘23rd same public prosecutor appointed by witness’ in the case. But as the trial the LDF government would continue restarted after Karunakaran’s death, to argue the case in the trial court. What Kerala then saw was a arguments in a discharge petition filed before the trial court by Chandy’s for- wholehearted strategy unleashed by mer colleague in the Karunakaran the UDF to derail the court proceedCabinet, then Food Minister T.H. ings and the probe. For one, on SepMusthafa, gave a pre-election oppor- tember 24, Judge Haneefa recused tunity for the LDF, then in govern- himself from the case following harsh ment, to demand a ‘further inquiry’ public statements against him by P.C. George and letters sent to the Goverinto Chandy’s role in the import deal. Following this, the State Vigilance nor and the President alleging that the and Anti-corruption Bureau, which judge’s order was politically motivated initially sought the court’s sanction for and that he had acted beyond his brief. further investigation on several The case, which ought to have othergrounds and especially with a focus on wise been heard in November on the the role of Chandy, filed its report on basis of the Vigilance’s further investiMay 13, the day the Assembly election gation, now stands transferred to anresults were out, concluding that “fur- other special court in Thrissur. ther investigation could not reveal the Subsequently, another accused in involvement of any other person in the the palmolein case, Jiji Thomson, an case”. The court, however, rejected the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) agency’s report and, on August 8, the officer who was the Managing Director Enquiry Commissioner and Special of the State Civil Supplies Corporation Judge P.K. Haneefa directed it “to con- at the time of the palmolein import (in duct further investigation into the in- 1991), approached the High Court volvement of Oommen Chandy” and questioning, among other things, the submit a report “within three months”. Vigilance Court (Judge Haneefa’s) orThe observations made by the der and claiming that the court had no judge while issuing the order, which power to order suo motu a ‘further insome UDF leaders claimed “appeared vestigation’. At the time of writing this like a judgment delivered before an report the High Court was yet to give inquiry”, proved to be the first major its verdict on Thomson’s submissions. supervised directly by the High Court.
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But, no doubt, the Opposition is going all out against the government. Yet another allegation of corruption mainly targeted at Chandy is with regard to a pollution control, capacity expansion and diversification project (“A toxic hotspot in Kerala”, Frontline, June 17, 2005) sought to be implemented by the government-owned Travancore Titanium Products Ltd., Thiruvananthapuram, during Chandy’s earlier stint as Chief Minister. (The issue was raised first by Congress leader and former Minister K.K. Ramachandran Master soon after he was denied a ticket in the 2011 elections.) The political atmosphere remains surcharged after the recent Assembly session, among other things, with Achuthanandan and another CPI(M) MLA, former Minister A.K. Balan, filing separate cases for damages against Ganesh Kumar and P.C. George for making derogatory comments against them at a public meeting in Kollam district. It is a recurrent theme in Kerala politics of late to put one’s own government or coalition in trouble by being a blabbermouth at public meetings. But the comments, made a few days before Balakrishna Pillai was to be released, inflamed political passions in the State to such an extent that it actually diverted a lot of attention from the government’s move to release Balakrishna Pillai from jail. It is strange that the reasons for the troubles of the fledgling UDF government are mostly all of its own making. Many of the allegations raised against prominent leaders are not implausible and leaves enough room for doubt. The constant drift from principles to appease coalition partners, for example, or to support errant leaders is already proving to be too hazardous for the UDF government even as Chandy appears bent on creating an image of fast-track, transparent governance. Given his party’s and the UDF’s meagre strength in the Assembly, Chandy should know that if his governance agenda fails, the focus will immediately shift to the strange troubles that the UDF and its leaders find themselves in. 첸
Column
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Pills, patents & profits The draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy, 2011, seeks to create a situation in which the gains of the post-Independence policy regime will be lost. EARD often is a rumour that India is a country that has been cautious in liberalising its economic policy. As a consequence, it is argued, the country has been saved from the many difficulties and crises that have afflicted many other nations, developed and developing. However, for those who are closely following the evolution of Indian economic policy since 1991, the basis for these rumours is unclear. Liberalisation in India has indeed been slow on occasion because of the fortunately messy complexity of a democratic polity. It has also been slackened by the loss of popular support and social sanction for the country’s still dominant, “centrist” formation, the Congress. But these have not held back the ideologues and advocates of the so-called “reform”. Over the last decade, if there is a common element in policy, that has been the near continuous pursuit of liberalisation, despite the restraints that the country’s history and polity and the poverty and deprivation of its population set on the process. The net result has been the liberalisation of policy across the board, ranging from restraints on trade and foreign investment to controls on investment, production and prices. India today is among the more liberal of developing economies, despite the presence of a plethora of toothless or ignored instruments of control. And, the process still continues. Among the more recent instances of liberalisation, being pursued even when controls have served the country well, are policies on patents, foreign investment and pricing in India’s pharmaceutical industry. It is widely
H
Economic Perspectives C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR accepted that regulation and control in the pharmaceutical sector had resulted in a situation where the country had managed to ensure access to cheap medicines for its population, with no damaging shortfalls in the availability of life-saving and other crucial drugs. REGIME OF INTERVENTION
Besides the normal controls that had characterised India’s regime of intervention aimed at reining in markets and directing development, three sets of measures were particularly important in the pharmaceutical sector. The first was India’s decision to require leading foreign firms operating in its markets to dilute their foreign shareholding to 40 per cent of total equity. Though these transnationals dragged their feet in complying with this requirement and finally did so only by creating a wide shareholding structure F R O N T L I N E
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that allowed the retention of their control, the measure did restrain their power and enhance the transparency of their operations. Second, India’s earlier position on patents, which recognised process patents and not product patents, had a salutary effect on drug availability and pricing. Indian scientists and engineers had the capability not just to de-synthesise patented drugs to identify their chemical composition but also to find alternative process routes to manufacture them. This ensured that the production of medicines with important therapeutic qualities could not be monopolised by foreign patent holders. Drugs were available not only in adequate quantities but at reasonable prices. In the event, the foreign firms, rather than lose out on India’s large market, chose to stay on and market their own versions, even if at prices much lower than those they commanded in markets abroad. Finally, starting from 1963, the government through its drug price control policy, set ceilings on the prices that could be charged on different drugs. Those ceilings were cost-plus prices, accounting for costs of production and adding on a margin, with the focus of control being the “essentiality” of a bulk drug or a formulation. The control on prices formalised the government’s policy of keeping essential and life-saving drugs affordable, even while seeking to provide a “reasonable” return to producers, both foreign and domestic. India’s success in implementing these policies was helped by the large size of its market, even if a substantial share of that market was supported by the “out-of-pocket” expenditure of individual consumers and
V.S. WASSON
DECEMBER 2, 2011
TH E N E T R E S UL T
of the new policy has been a spate of acquisitions of leading drug firms by foreign producers.
not by state expenditures on provision of health services. A large market made aggregate profits significant even when profit margins were capped. This was not to say that the powerful transnational firms did not fight back and seek ways of circumventing controls. They delayed equity dilution, attempted to stall drug replication through alternative routes, spent huge sums trying to win over doctors who made the consumption decisions for patients, and used mechanisms such as “transfer pricing” to escalate costs in order to conceal and transfer profits abroad. Transfer pricing involved the parent company or its third-country subsidiary selling intermediates and bulk drugs at inflated prices (when compared with available substitutes) to its Indian arm. Since margins under the price control regime had to be added on to “cost”, final product prices too were
inflated through this process, with those prices including profits that were concealed as costs and transferred to some segment of the global operations of transnational firms. These strategies notwithstanding, India’s regulatory regime in this sector was a great success. Given this history, one would expect that a cautious policy of “liberalisation” would leave untouched policies with regard to the pharmaceutical industry. Why tamper with a regime that has not created problems such as shortages, has prevented exploitative pricing and has, in fact, been recognised as a resounding success? Yet, liberalisation has been pursued here too. The first casualty in such liberalisation was, of course, the patent regime. The argument in favour was that India did not have an option. To be a member of the world’s multilateral trading regime and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), it had to sign on 1 2 0
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to the Uruguay Round agreement and the intellectual property regime it embodied. This required, among other things, the acceptance of product patents. There is, however, no evidence that India led the fight to limit the damage to developing countries on this count, or demanded suitable exceptions in an area impinging on the people’s health. The net result was that the flexibility domestic manufacturers had earlier – that is, the flexibility of looking for an alternative process to replicate old and new patented drugs for the domestic market – no more exists. As a result, the danger of drug price inflation due to monopoly was now real and already visible in the case of patented drugs. There are, however, two other ways in which the indigenous drug industry can continue to play a positive role in ensuring the availability of reasonably priced medicines. The first is by entering the production of drugs that go off
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patent protection because of their having crossed the period for which patent protection is valid. Domestic firms can create generic versions of these drugs that can compete with branded products to bring down prices. A large number of drugs, which are estimated to constitute a significant share of domestic drug consumption, are slated to go off patent over the coming years. So even this limited flexibility could make a significant difference. But here, it is feared that one aspect of the liberalised policy of the government could prove to be an impediment. In 2000, the policy with regard to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the pharmaceutical industry was liberalised. Under the new policy, FDI in the sector was brought under the “automatic route”, and the ceiling on foreign shareholding was removed allowing for foreign ownership of up to 100 per cent. The net result has been a spate of acquisitions of leading drug firms by foreign producers. Among the recent acquisitions by transnational firms have been the takeovers of Matrix Lab by Mylan, of Dabur Pharma by Fresenius Kabi, of Ranbaxy by Daiichi Sankyo, of Shanta Biotech by Sanofi Aventis, of Orchid Chemicals by Hospira and of Piramal Healthcare by Abbott. An overwhelming proportion of recent FDI inflows into pharmaceuticals production has been in such acquisitions rather than in greenfield projects. What this does is that it places domestic capacities and capabilities that could have served as competitors to foreign producers in foreign hands. Besides the fact that this would influence pricing, given the oligopolistic position and the global strategy of these firms, it could lead to a decline in the production of generics. Firms with patents for new formulations targeted at diseases that can also be treated by off-patent generics may choose, after acquisition, to hold back on the production of such generics or raise their prices to protect branded products. The implication of this is that with the liberalisation of FDI policy, the ef-
fort to keep medicines affordable has become even more dependent on price control. It is in this context that the recently released draft National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy, 2011, gives cause for concern. Ever since 1994, market criteria have been introduced into the drug price control policy. As of then, commodities chosen for price control were identified on the basis of the total turnover of the drug concerned in the domestic market and the share of leading producers in that market.
Since 1994, market criteria have been introduced into the drug price control policy. So it was not “essentiality” – as defined by the nature of the disease for which the drug was relevant and the characteristics of the population predominantly afflicted by that disease – that rendered a drug eligible for price control. Rather it was the size in value of the market for a drug and the degree to which its production and sale was concentrated that mattered. This did mean that medicines that the rich need and could afford could be included under price control, whereas some medicines important for the poor may be excluded. The dilution did push up prices in the case of quite a few drugs. However, where imposed, the ceiling price was determined by the cost of production plus a margin for post-production expenses and profit. MARKET-BASED PRICING
But now, on the grounds of expanding the drug price control list, the government is choosing to dilute price control even further. The draft policy claims to be concerned with reverting to the essentiality criterion (defined as the inF R O N T L I N E
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clusion by experts in the National List of Essential Medicines) as opposed to the economic criterion or market share principle. In the process, drugs constituting a much higher 60 per cent of the domestic market are reportedly to be brought under price control. However, according to the All-India Drug Action Network, the list of the top-selling 300 medicines prepared in October 2003 by ORG-Nielsen accounted for more than Rs.35,000 crore of sales, which amounts to almost 90 per cent of the retail market. Yet, at least 60 per cent of these top-selling 300 medicines are not in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM). Moreover, on the grounds of the complexities involved in regulating the prices in such a large section of the industry, the draft policy recommends a shift away from cost-based pricing to market-based pricing. According to the latter, the ceiling price for a drug would be fixed on the basis of the Weighted Average Price (WAP) of the top three brands by value. So the price charged by leading producers when the policy comes into operation would provide the benchmark for fixing the ceiling. These prices tend to be higher than that of low-ranked competitors, because of the market power of the dominant firms. Thus, the shift from what the regulator considers “reasonable” to what the market leaders consider “appropriate” amounts to a substantial dilution of price control, with even subsequent changes in the ceiling being linked to changes in the wholesale price index for manufactures. What is more, the prices of patented drugs are to be determined separately by a special committee constituted for the purpose, with no clear guidelines enunciated. As of now the policy appears complex and its effects uncertain. But in principle what it does is to take one more step away from regulation, creating an environment in which all the gains of a well-crafted and highly successful post-Independence drug policy will be lost. Liberalisation is indeed thriving in India, even in areas where it can be least justified. 첸
Cover Story
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Tool of exclusion The UID in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act may simplify the administrator’s task, but will not make a poor man’s task any easier. B Y N I K H I L D E Y
A.M. FARUQUI
The NREGA does not need the UID; it is the UID that is trying to piggyback on the NREGA despite its potential to create inefficiency and confusion. Something like the NREGA requires simple, localised systems in the hands of the people.
G UR B A AH I RW A R O F Akona village in Madhya Pradesh showing his NREGA job card. The job card is much better than the UID, and if that is not filled as required, there is a collective vigilance mechanism in the form of a ’transparency wall’. 1 2 2
EVERY time there is talk of tinkering with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), it is time we recalled how and why the Act came into existence. The passage of the NREGA was Parliament’s response to a people’s movement that grew out of the recognition and articulation of the needs of the rural poor. It made people’s right to seek work a legal right. It was chronic poverty that propelled it, and the focus was uncomplicated: work must be provided on demand. It is work-in-progress and its foundations are still being strengthened. It has had considerable impact in the villages. But this success is nascent and fragile and any change that is brought into it must not undermine what has been achieved. Any change should be preceded by rigorous debate in which the voices and views of those for whom this law was made are given centrality. The unique identification (UID) project has made many claims in attempting to get into the NREGA, but there are serious problems with what is being suggested. Let us take a look at these claims. It is said that the UID will weed out duplicates and ghost beneficiaries, that it will enable the opening of bank accounts and so take care of the leakages and corruption in the payment of wages and, thus, enhance the efficient functioning of the system. This is in contrast with the way in which transparency and accountability are being worked out in situations which keep the solution as local as the problem. The wall is a case in point. On the wall in the village are painted the names of all the NREGA workers, how many days they have worked, and how much they have earned for doing that work. If you want to put people in the driving seat of a programme and that has to be done by giving them information, that information has to be localised. The problem is that often information is in the hands of the system. This may simplify an administrator’s task, but it does not make a poor man’s task any easier. By putting the information on the wall, they have taken the information out of the “dabba” – the computer – and put it amongst people and into their hands. Much better than the UID is the job card, and if
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that is not filled as required, then the wall acts not only as a fallback for the worker but also as a collective vigilance mechanism. If you expand the acronym “MIS”, it is plain that it is information that drives the programme from the management point of view. That is a management tool, not a process of strengthening democracy or establishing transparency and accountability in governance. SCAM IN LABOUR
NREGA’S SUCCESS
One of the NREGA’s greatest successes was that, unlike ration cards, NREGA job cards were given very quickly.
So there was no exclusion. Why? Because this was simple technology. You lined up, the sarpanch identified you, and you got your job card which had your photograph on it. Even if you did not have the photograph, you were allowed to work. You were identified by your neighbours, your mate, your superviser – everyone knows you. One big problem with the UID is the whole registration process. If the UID does not cover everyone who may seek a job under the NREGA, and the UID is used as a tool in determining entitlements, it actually becomes a tool of exclusion. The NREGA gives everyone a right to demand work and receive work within 15 days. Being dependent on the whims and competencies of a technology and its administrative structure is a clear infringement of that right. It also opens the door for manip-
BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The scam in labour has been where people who do exist but never go to work pick up a wage. Biometrics does not help there at all; it actually makes it easier to cheat the system. The web wall and the wall in the village are effective in these contexts and help control corruption in the whole village. The information on the wall for all the world to see takes care
of ghosts and duplicates in the system. The big corruption story in the NREGA is around material – use 20 bags of cement and book 100; buy cement at Rs.200 and show it in the books as Rs.300. This, the UID will not control. And this is 40 per cent of the expenditure. The wall has a summary and details of materials for all works in the village, making local checks possible. We are looking for top-down management solutions when what is needed is for people to monitor their own works and development expenditure. What is needed is not the government watching the people, but people watching every paisa of expenditure.
A ’TR ANS PA R E N C Y W A LL’ with NREGA information such as the names of all workers, how many days they have worked and how much they have earned, in a village in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh. F R O N T L I N E
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Cover Story ulations of power. Because all NREGA systems have been in the hands of the panchayat and block officers, it has not been possible for anyone in authority to deny people their right to a job card, without which you cannot exercise your right to get work. However, when an external technology is introduced, the solutions to errors and problems are no longer local and the entire system comes into question. The UID has to guarantee 100 per cent coverage with no exception before it can be considered for use in this system; even one person left out or denied work for not having a UID will mean a failure of the NREGA. As for opening bank accounts, it is anachronistic to talk about using the UID in the context of NREGA payments through banks. This has substantially been achieved following a policy initiative that dates back to 2008, which required that all NREGA payments be made through banks or post office accounts. This was when the UID project had not even begun. Even if we find that biometrics are useful for increasing the efficiency in making payments – and our experience raises questions about this assumption – it would make more sense to have a localised biometric system rather than linking up with something on a centralised server. A local system can deal with anomalies that a centralised system cannot. From the point of view of the NREGA, there is no reason to want to link to a central server, and there is every reason for keeping it local. This will also avoid all questions that have been raised by civil rights activists about the misuse of information about separate silos being converged. Now, when biometrics do not work, which is not uncommon in places where work makes fingerprints ‘noisy’ and where cuts and bruises abound, there is a provision for “manual override”. This, of course, creates opportunities for juggling with the payments, but the alternative is not paying the worker. Until something more sound is found, this will have to do, and, despite banks protesting at
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this tweaking of the process, it continues because there is no better way of using technology. If this were tagged on to a central system without whose recognition the worker would not get paid, that would leave the worker in dire straits. There have been efforts at de-duplication where a biometric database from Andhra Pradesh was sent to a technology institute. The result has been extremely discouraging; de-duplication simply could not be done. That has so far been a failed experiment.
Unlike ration cards, NREGA job cards were given very quickly. So there was no exclusion. In the NREGA, it has generally been found that machines, including computers, should be used only in areas where there is a manual backup or where an alternative exists because you cannot hold up people’s rights that are caused by glitches in technology or in the functioning of devices. The talk of using the UID even to check attendance at worksites opens up the possibility of points in time when the machine will not work on site, not having an alternative available in a remote area and the whole system being thrown into disarray. This was the concern that provoked a protest letter with over 280 signatures about a tender dated October 11, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Rural Development indicating that the contract would include “UID compliant enrolment of job card holders under the MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] scheme”. 1 2 4
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There too, while endorsing the use of technology in ways that enhance transparency, empower labourers and are cost effective, the letter said: “Such technology has been used with success in Tamil Nadu. For instance, it combines SMS reports on daily attendance with random spot checks to curb the problem of fake muster roll entries. Localised use of biometrics, independent of UID, to speed up payments can be considered. Biometrics and UID are not the same. In Rajasthan, simpler measures have been put in place, such as ‘transparency walls’.... We therefore demand that neither the NREGA employment nor wage payments be linked to UID enrolment. Employment of 100 days under MGNREGA is the only universal entitlement that the rural poor enjoy.” In May 2011, social activists had to reiterate their concern when the media carried reports that the UID was going to be made compulsory for NREGA benefits in Mysore. To those who are watching the processes from close, it seems clear that the NREGA does not need the UID; it is the UID that is trying to piggyback on the NREGA despite its potential to create inefficiency and confusion. Something like the NREGA requires simple, localised systems in the hands of the people. There is nothing what the UID provides that cannot be done as competently and in a more reliable fashion. In the NREGA, where people’s hands are callused with work, where worksites cover some of the most extreme climatic conditions, where connectivity is at its most precarious, where dust and heat can ruin any machine and where the UID can make the system completely machine-dependent, it seems clear that the dependency on machine-based technology, which spells potential disaster, should be avoided. 첸 Nikhil Dey works with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan. This article is based on his conversation with Usha Ramanathan.
letters
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Qaddafi I FEEL sad that the rebels, world leaders and the United Nations failed to evolve a peaceful consensus in Libya as was done in Egypt and Tunisia (Cover Story, November 18). France, the United Kingdom and their allies in NATO are responsible for instigating the violence in Libya through air strikes and for Muammar Qaddafi’s death. He could have been taken into custody by the international forces and tried in the International Court of Justice. The U.N. needs to break its silence and answer how many more such countries have to be sacrificed in the name of democracy and change. SYED KHAJA NEW DELHI
THE Libyan strongman could hardly lay claim to having spotless human rights credentials. But the way in which NATO forces went about shelling Libya and hounding its charismatic leader makes his bad track record in human rights pale into insignificance. With the invasion of Iraq under the pretext that it had amassed weapons of mass destruction and the extrajudicial killings of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, the United States and its cohorts have been faithful to an expansionist logic of their own: to raise and support monsters who can cause havoc to the regimes and countries that are
not willing to implicitly toe the U.S.’ line and to eliminate them when either its ultimate interests are served or when the monsters end up threatening the U.S.’ vital interests. S. BALU MADURAI
NATO leaders chose to attack Libya, leaving out countries like Syria when uprisings occurred there. Many innocent civilians, including children, were killed in the nearly eight months of fighting in Libya. Was this the price that had to be paid to oust a dictator? RITVIK CHATURVEDI NEW DELHI
WITH the bloody and inhuman murder of Qaddafi, the Libyan crisis came to an end. But the whole episode raised more questions than it answered. Western imperialism launched attacks in the guise of protecting democratic principles and human rights. Qaddafi’s only fault was that he refused to follow the U.S.’ diktats. Now the U.S. and other Western countries will surely get a huge share in the lucrative oil business. NEERAJ KUMAR JHA MADHUBANI, BIHAR
PEOPLE might be celebrating Qaddafi’s death because they feel that they have finally got rid of a tyrant. It is unfortunate for Libya that he was not brought to trial in the manner of Hosni Mubarak. A. MEGHANA NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE U.K.
QADDAFI did not want to give up power, which led to civil war in the country. He ignored the U.N. and started killing his own citizens to stop the revolution. Only after the U.N.’s sanction did NATO and France directly get involved. Had they not intervened, the world would have been a mute spectator to bloodshed. Should Libyan business contracts be given to countries that were mute spectators? K. STEPHEN DANIEL SECUNDERABAD
PERHAPS the greatest lesson to be learnt from the death of Qaddafi is that he was killed by his own people. In his lifetime, Qaddafi was mocked for his extravagant dress sense, retinue of all-female guards and the fancy titles he bestowed on himself. In death, he should be remembered only as an autocrat of the worst kind. J. AKSHAY BANGALORE
WHILE it was sad to see Qaddafi being dragged and brutally killed, it was not very surprising for he got what he deserved. After all, one must reap what one sows. The killing of Qaddafi by his own people should serve as a lesson to all those who misuse power. S. BALAKRISHNAN JAMSHEDPUR JHARKHAND
Team Anna THE sheen is off Team Anna (“Crusaders in the dock”, 18). Some of its members
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are facing allegations of financial irregularities, and there is no transparency in the working of its core committee. Prashant Bhushan wanted the meetings with the government to be telecast live, but has any meeting of the core committee been telecast live? Why is the team shying away from an independent audit of its accounts? Even without a Jan Lokpal Bill, the former Communications Minister and some prominent businessmen are now in jail in connection with the 2G scam. This anti-corruption movement is building a personality cult around Anna Hazare. Also, why is the team’s website silent on the court cases filed against Anna Hazare? DEENDAYAL M. LULLA MUMBAI
CAG THIS is with reference to the article on the Comptroller and Auditor General (“Reckless activism”, November 18). A.G. Noorani has rightly analysed the powers and limits of a public servant. His words are valid for highly evolved societies where the majority of the citizens are aware of their rights. Indians are still in cocoons of misinformation and illiteracy and they need someone to act beyond rulebooks. By exhorting young men in the Civil Services to recapture lost space from the
letters/response
DECEMBER 2, 2011
Dr Vivek K. Agnihotri Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha New Delhi
Fallacious assumption THIS is with reference to the article “Unhealthy precedent” (November 18). It purported to criticise the decision of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to wind up the committee probing into the allegations levelled against Justice P.D. Dinakaran. According to the writer, the committee should have been allowed to complete its task and its premature closure has set a dangerous precedent. The article appears to have overlooked constitutional provisions and the provisions of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, and the Rules made thereunder. If these provisions had been taken note of, the statements made in the article would not have been made. Article 124 (4) of the Constitution provides for removal of a judge. Though it refers to a judge of the Supreme Court, by reason of Article 218 of the Constitution, the provisions of Article 124 (4) and (5) also apply to a judge of the High Court. Article 125(5) provides that Parliament may by law, inter alia, regulate the procedure for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a judge under Clause (4). Thus, the question of investigation and proof of misbehaviour or incapacity arises only in the context of removal of a judge and not in any other context, much less for “judicial accountability”. It is for this reason that Section 3(2) of the Judges Inquiry Act provides that if a motion under Subsection (1) is admitted, the Chairman shall keep the motion pending and constitute a committee for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of a judge is prayed for. Thus, this is the whole purpose of an inquiry under Article 124(5) and under Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act. The article seemed to proceed on
the baseless assumption that the committee was constituted for the purposes of an inquiry generally into the conduct of alleged misbehaviour of a judge. This assumption is fallacious inasmuch as the investigation deals with the grounds on which the removal is prayed for. If the judge resigns, then there is no question of proceeding for his removal. The distinction sought to be made in the article with regard to Justice Dinakaran’s case and Justice [Soumitra] Sen’s case is unjustified and baseless. In Justice Sen’s case, significantly, after the Rajya Sabha passed the motion to remove him from office, the Lok Sabha did not proceed with a debate only because in the meanwhile Justice Sen had tendered his resignation. The impeachment process was not taken further in recognition of the fact that there was no question of removal of a judge who had already resigned. The assumption that the judge was allowed to scuttle an inquiry against him by simply resigning is based on a complete misconception and misunderstanding of the legal provisions as set out above. The inquiry is not a general or roving inquiry but an inquiry for the purpose of investigation of grounds for removal of a judge. It is further to be noted that after his resignation, Mr Dinakaran was called to appear before the committee on September 10, but he did not do so. Therefore, if the inquiry committee had submitted its report to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, without hearing Mr Dinakaran, it would have been an ex parte report, and it can be safely assumed, that Mr Dinakaran would not have submitted a reply to it. Therefore, the material in the public domain would have been totally one-sided. Further, as hap-
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pened in the case of Mr Soumitra Sen, the House would have decided not to pursue the matter in view of the resignation of Mr Dinakaran. The motion, it should be noted, was for the removal of the judge, and owing to his resignation, he had, in effect, ceased to be a judge. In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, after careful consideration, it was felt that the committee had served out its purpose and it was not required any further. The decision to constitute the committee was made by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and he alone was competent to wind it up. There are precedents available in other countries where the proceedings initiated against sitting judges abated after they submitted their resignations. The purpose of this letter is not to enter into an unnecessary debate or speculation regarding the two Supreme Court judgments referred to in the cases filed by Justice Dinakaran. Equally, it is not desirable to comment on the views of persons quoted in the article except to say that even one of the signatories to the motion to remove Justice Dinakaran described the Chairman’s action as technically correct. The winding up of the committee, however, does not mean that Dinakaran has been absolved of his wrongdoings, if any. The law of the land is there to deal with him as a citizen of this country, in the normal course. Further, whatever action the executive or civil society now takes will reveal the truth or otherwise of the allegations made and it will naturally be available in the public domain. Therefore, what the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, did was fully in accordance with what is provided in the statute and is also supported by the precedents available.
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unscrupulous, he may have crossed the line. But let us not kill the CAG’s exuberance. India needs many such outspoken officers. S.V.L.N. NAGESWARA RAO PANCHKULA, HARYANA
Ramayana THE controversy over A.K. Ramanujan’s essay on the Ramanyana is just another instance of intolerance of Hindutva elements and abject submission to their pressure by academicians (“The rule of unreason”, November 18). Students should be trained to examine critically what is narrated. Otherwise, history will be drab and uninteresting. Ramanujan’s essay gives an enterprising teacher opportunities to engage students in discussion. Teachers who are afraid to think independently and express themselves will not be successful in their profession.
THE article is well argued and comprehensive but I have been grossly misquoted on page 128. For example, I did say that the politics of hurt “religious or other sentiments” is making critiques of religion or what is defined as religion increasingly untouchable in public discourse. This is very different from the idea conveyed in the quote, “why has religion become an untouchable in historical research”? Similarly, while I strongly feel that the Delhi University Academic Council should not have voted on the specific academic matter of the Ramanujan essay and that its decision is ironically anti-academic, antiintellectual and anti-democratic, I never said that the Academic Council “should only deal with administrative matters”. MUKUL MANGALIK PROFESSOR IN HISTORY, RAMJAS COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
S.S. RAJAGOPALAN CHENNAI
NO one in his right mind can question the erudition and the scholarly credentials of Ramanujan. The essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas” looks at different ways the great epic has been retold in various contexts. The different versions do not in any way diminish the importance of the epic. On the contrary, they enrich it. But bigots who believe that there is only one version of the Ramayana fail to accept this. What is denied by them is the richness embedded in the plurality. J.S. ACHARYA HYDERABAD
Death penalty CAPITAL punishment is not the harshest punishment (“Clear Confusion”, November 18). For terrorists and hardened criminals, the death sentence is not an adequate punishment. In fact, it is a relief for them from the hellish solitary life in high security prison. They should be awarded sentences that last their natural life, not imprisonment for just 14 years. A dead terrorist will be a martyr for other terrorists. A criminal languishing in jail will serve as a deterrent. So all death sentences
should be commuted to lifelong imprisonment. S. RAGHUNATHA PRABHU ALAPPUZHA, KERALA
probe the role of some senior Congress leaders in the scams have not been accepted”. V. KRISHNAMOORTHY
Maruti IT is heartening that the Maruti crisis ended following a tripartite agreement involving the workers, the management and the Haryana government (“Truce for now”, November 18). It was an agitation that involved the country’s leading car manufacturer. The government should view the developments seriously and do whatever is necessary for the development of the Maruti Suzuki venture. T.V. JAYAPRAKASH PALAKKAD, KERALA
Politics BHASKAR GHOSE laments that the strident note of the BJP does not change perhaps because many instances of corruption pop up from the UPA’s cupboards (“The basic structure”, November 4). He says that the UPA’s woes are mainly due to its allies such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Nationalist Congress Party. Here, one would like to ask whether it is not the duty of the chairperson of the UPA or the Prime Minister who heads the government to pull up the allies when they do things that by no stretch of imagination can be considered right or in the interest of the nation. Besides, his contention that the scams involve mainly the Congress’ allies is not correct because, as pointed out by L.K. Advani recently, “the demands to
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MADURAI
Jnanpith awards THE write-up on Jnanpith Award winners Srilal Shukla and Amar Kant was quite informative (“Moral historians”, November 4). However, the writer failed to mention the fact that Srilal Shukla, who was a postgraduate in English literature from Allahabad University, considered Charles Dickens his role model. He once admitted that the kaleidoscopic texture of his magnum opus Raag Darbari and quite a few of the characters of the novel were profoundly inspired by Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. ANIL JOSHI NAINITAL UTTARAKHAND
2G scam THE article “Shifting spotlight” (November 4) on the 2G scam makes out that Prashant Bhushan filed the P. Chidambaram application and that I was associated. Not true. Prashant was asked by the court whether he supported me. He said he did. He brought no new facts on file. DR SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY PRESIDENT JANATA PARTY
ANNOUNCEMENT Letters, whether by surface mail or e-mail, must carry the full postal address and the full name, or the name with initials.
Obituary
RITU RAJ KONWAR
DECEMBER 2, 2011
B H U P EN H A RZ A RI K A S I N G I N G Bihu songs at a Rongali Bihu celebration in Guwahati on April 17, 2003 .
Renaissance man Through haunting, lilting, often joyous melodies, Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011) communicated his passionate love for humanity. B Y A R U P K U M A R D U T T A
“A fire had burnt in me since childhood to change society.… The first lyric I ever wrote was for him [Sankardev]. It expressed juvenile anguish at the hatred and violence in society, as also the desire to guide it towards love and brotherhood.” POET, musician, lyricist, film director, writer, thespian, artist, winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1993 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001, Bhupen Hazarika, who died on November 5 at the age of 85, was the quintessential Renaissance man. 1 2 8
Although he was instrumental in bringing about a revival of Assam’s music and cinema and showcasing the State’s culture before the world, his far-reaching achievements meant that Assam could no longer claim him as its own. By the time he died, Bhupen had become the cultural icon of the whole of the north-eastern region of India and a jewel in the pan-Indian cultural crown. Through haunting, lilting, often joyous melodies, some with cerebral and philosophic depths that transcended the bounds of mere entertainment, he communicated his passionate love for humanity. “On a cold, wintry night/ Let me be a smouldering fire/ Warming the tumbledown cottage/ Of some poor, unclad peasant” – such simple yet powerful words convey humanism, which breeds greater trust than any rhetoric could. “I have saved/ Life’s tears to myself/ I have given away instead/ Life’s laughter” –
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this was the mission of an artist who effortlessly communicated to his audience his innate zest for life while camouflaging the struggles he had to undergo to attain the stature he had. “The sky gave me boundless vision/ And the tempest its terrible power/ The thunder gave me its resounding voice/ And the courage of righteousness/ Armed with the voice of thunder/ And the power of tempest/ I shall make the horizon/ Tremble with my singing.” Surely few cultural personalities in India or elsewhere have packed such fiery emotions into words, simultaneously inspiring people and emerging as a beloved cultural father figure. BONDING WITH RIVERS
WH E N H I S B O D Y arrived in Guwahati from Mumbai on November 7.
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Bhupen jocularly called himself a jajabor, or a nomad. “I have been a nomad since my birth,” he wrote in his autobiography. “I have no fixed address. A flighty wandering life has been written on my forehead.” Strangely enough, the township of Sadiya in Assam, situated close to the India-Myanmar border, where he was born on September 8, 1926, was completely swept away when the Brahmaputra changed course during the great earthquake of 1950. It was as if his beloved river had conspired with fate to wipe away all traces of his birthplace and enhance the rootless, nomadic nature of his persona. His father, a teacher, migrated to Guwahati in 1929 in search of better prospects. Their home was situated near the Brahmaputra, and carefree days of childhood spent upon its banks, or swimming in its waters, forged an eternal bond between Bhupen and rivers. Whether it is the Siang, the Padma, the Ganga or the Volga, rivers appear constantly in his lyrics as living presences, not only carrying memories of the civilisations erected on their banks but also watching over the destinies of communities. For instance, he repeatedly referred to the Brahmaputra as a unifying element
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Rabha. The two took him under their wing, becoming mentors in the broadest sense. Intensely idealistic, both considered themselves as belonging to the tradition pioneered by Mahapurush Sankardev, the Vaishnav saintpoet who in the 15th century brought about a socio-cultural renaissance in Assam. The Jyoti-Rabha duo revealed to young Bhupen the most important facet of Sankardev’s achievements – that he used music, dance, drama and literature to bring about social reform.
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ARTIST OF THE MASSES
A T THE I N A UG UR A T I O N of the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Museum at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati on January 25, Bhupen playing his old harmonium. The museum will display about 4,000 items owned by him.
among the astonishingly variegated ethnic communities of the north-eastern region. “The mighty Brahmaputra,” he wrote in one of his lyrics, “Holy site of the great synthesis/ Has for untold centuries been propagating/ The message of unity and harmony.…” As his father had joined the Revenue Department, the family constantly moved to different places where he was posted. At Dhubri, the first posting, young Bhupen met Pramathesh Barua, the legendary director of Devdas, who was there for a while shooting a film called Mukti with Kanan Devi. This encounter led to a life-long fascination with films, and it was no coincidence that years later he returned to Dhubri to shoot his film Mahut Band-
hure aided by none other than Pramathesh Baruah’s son, Prakitish. At Dhubri, which was a meeting ground of Assamese and Bengali cultures, not only did Bhupen become proficient in Bengali but he also added new tunes to his childish repertoire, particularly the unique Bhatiali songs of the fishermen, later to be incorporated into many of his compositions. In 1935, his father was transferred to Tezpur. The most significant phase of the young and impressionable Bhupen’s life began there. Tezpur at that time was the springboard of a revivalist movement in Assamese literature, music and theatre, led by two titans of the region’s cultural scenario, Jyotiprasad Agarwalla and Bishnuprasad 1 3 0
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“A fire had burnt in me since childhood,” Bhupen wrote in his autobiography, “to change society… that fire is still burning. I was greatly influenced by Sankardev. The first lyric I ever wrote was for him. It expressed juvenile anguish at the hatred and violence in society, as also the desire to guide it towards love and brotherhood.” Jyoti and Rabha at that time were on a mission to rejuvenate Assam’s moribund socio-cultural scene and enlisted Bhupen as their youngest foot soldier. Jyoti instilled in him the aesthetic philosophy that was later to be the cornerstone of his poetic and cinematic creations, revealed to him the strength and beauty of words, and taught him the subtler nuances of his craft. Rabha, a communist, shaped the revolutionary instincts of the impressionable lad and deepened Bhupen’s innate love for ordinary people, thereby helping him to become a gana-shilpi, or an artist of the masses, later. At that time the duo was planning to make a gramophone record of a musical play titled Joymati, a heroine in Assam’s history. Since there was no recording studio in Assam, the 10year-old lad accompanied the duo to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1936. The recording at Aurora studio was so perfect that the Senola Company recorded a solo album by Bhupen, making him stand on two wooden boxes so that he could reach the microphone. His name on that maiden solo album was printed as “Master Bhupen Hazarika (amateur)” and the publicity blurb described him as “The youngest artiste of
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ANUPAM NATH/AP
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BHUPEN WITH HIS SON,
Tez (left), and grandson, Akash, in Guwahati in
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2007.
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in Guwahati in 2002.
His Master’s Voice of India”. Jyotiprasad and Bishnuprasad belonged to an earlier period of Assamese cultural renaissance. Bhupen soon detached himself from that phase and forged his own distinct identity to usher Assamese culture into the modern era. Having matriculated from Tezpur in 1940 and passed his Intermediate in Arts from Cotton College, he enrolled in Banaras Hindu University in 1942. His stay at BHU broadened his horizons. “My entire thought process changed after I went to Banaras,” he wrote. “Whenever I met a
Marathi or Gujarati student, I realised how similar they were to me. Among my fellow students were Africans, Indonesians, Japanese… a Muslim friend of mine was even studying Sanskrit! It was then that the seed of universal humanism was planted in me.” By the time he returned to Assam in 1946, he had developed an all-India sensibility. THE IPTA CONNECTION
After teaching for a while, he joined All India Radio (AIR) in Guwahati in 1948 and also began composing lyrics 1 3 2
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and setting them to music. In 1948, he joined the Indian People’s Theatre Movement (IPTA), an organisation of theatre and film personalities, musicians, artists and intellectuals with the objective of bringing about social change through fine arts. Although the movement failed because most of its members were lured away to lucrative careers, Bhupen was one of the few all-India figures who remained true to the original ideals of the movement and retained his identity as a singer of the masses. The roving minstrel next went to the United States in 1949 after receiving a scholarship from the prestigious Columbia University, New York, where he completed his M.A. in mass communication and later secured a doctorate. There were two significant happenings in Bhupen’s life during his stint in the U.S. He fell in love with a Gujarati girl named Priyambada M. Patel. Following a whirlwind courtship, he married her in 1950. His son, Tez, was born in 1952. In the same period, Bhupen developed intimate contact with the legendary AfricanAmerican singer Paul Robeson. “He was a social-singer with the power to change,” Bhupen later wrote. “Like Jyotiprasad and Bishnu Kokaideu (brother), he was responsible for moulding my philosophy of action. I too wanted to be a singer with the power to change society.” Back in Assam in 1953 along with his wife and child, Bhupen was confronted with the harsh realities of life. AIR fired him for overstaying his leave, and for two years he earned his livelihood by singing at functions until he got a job as a lecturer at Gauhati University. However, it proved to be a short stint for he resigned in protest when the university deducted three days’ pay because he was late in returning from a peace conference in Helsinki. This was the last straw for Priyam, who came from an affluent family and could not live in an atmosphere of perpetual poverty. She left him and went back to her paternal home. The separation was a devastating personal blow. Yet, perhaps, it was preordained.
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R E C E I VI N G THE P AD M A Bhushan from President K.R. Narayanan in New Delhi in 2001.
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REC EI V I N G T H E FI R S T ever Asom Ratna Award on January 29, 2009, from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
the painter M.F. Husain on his 75th birthday, in Mumbai in 2001.
W I T H F O RM ER PR E S I D E N T
A T A F U N C T I O N in Guwahati where he was conferred a DLitt by Dibrugarh University on April 1, 2007. F R O N T L I N E
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A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at a Sangeet Natak Akademi awards function in Mumbai in July 2003. Bhupen got the Akademi’s award in 2008.
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To be shackled with familial ties had perhaps been a handicap for the jajabor. Pain, wounded pride, conflict with detractors, monetary problems and the ceaseless struggle to establish himself as an artist – all these brought about a stupendous explosion of creativity within him. His life from that point to almost the final moments became a fascinating meander. Composing lyrics and setting them to music, cutting albums or singing on the radio, editing journals, writing books and for the print media, making films scripted and directed by himself, delving briefly into politics, Bhupen left very few avenues untrodden. Accompanied by his brother, Jayanta, another singing genius, he toured the length and breadth of Assam and other north-eastern States, entertaining and enlightening audiences in cities, townships, rural hamlets. He touched the soul of his audiences as he sang about the day-to-day realities of common people’s struggle for existence. He envisioned for them a classless society where there would be no oppression and injustice and where tribal and non-tribal people, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, would live in harmony – thereby becoming a voice of the mute multitude. The flame of genius, overcoming constraints of place and milieu, always enlarges the space upon which it sheds its lustre. Gradually, his meanderings took him all across India and abroad; his ability to sing in Bengali and Hindi enabled his cultural contributions to take on panIndian dimensions even as he achieved international fame. It would require tomes to portray the multifarious achievements of the Renaissance man who strode like a colossus across the cultural scenario in the second half of the 20th century. He was a rare amalgam of lyricist, composer, vocalist and instrumentalist. He wrote over a thousand lyrics in various languages, of immense thematic and emotive power and rendered them in innovative music, many of which retain the simplicity of the folk tradition. His lyrical compositions possess the
SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY
DECEMBER 2, 2011
R E C E I VI N G THE LI FE TI M E
Achievement Award from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on February 8, 2008.
Obituary
RITU RAJ KONWAR
DECEMBER 2, 2011
P E OP L E PA YI N G R E S P EC T S
to Bhupen’s statue in Guwahati after hearing the news of his death on November 5.
syntactic magic, metaphorical endowments and philosophical depth of great poetry. His classic lyric, Sagar Sangamat Katana Saturilu, is a brilliant example: Though for so long have I swum In the confluence of oceans I am not tired. Yet, the waves In the ocean of my mind Continue to be restless. An endless, eternal ebb and flow of tides In the breast of the ocean of my mind… DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD
His cinematic creations accompanied his musical and intellectual pursuits. Beginning with Era Bator Sur in 1956, he directed over a dozen films and documentaries, including classics such as Pratidhwani, Chikmik Bijuli, Siraj, Miri Jiyori, Mahut Bandhure (Bengali), and Mera Dharam Meri Ma (Hindi). He won the President’s National
Award for best film three times and also the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for life-time achievement. He sang and composed music for numerous Bengali films, which made him a household name in Bengal and Bangladesh. His musical compositions for award-winning Hindi films such as Ek Pal, Rudaali, Papiha and Pratimurti took him to dizzying heights in Hindi film music. His all-India status was reflected in the legendary artist M.F. Husain’s request to him to render the music for the film Gajagamini. “You paint with your songs,” Husain had told Bhupen. “I try to sing through my brush. If the two of us get together, maybe we would be able to produce something unique!” The timeless elements of Bhupen’s craft, its variety and vastness, the mingling of the aesthetic and the altruistic, place him in the tradition of poet-reformers such as Sankardev, Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam, 1 3 4
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Jyotiprasad and Bishnuprasad. The final decades of his life brought him numerous accolades, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the Indira Gandhi Smriti Puraskar, the Padma Bhushan, the Sankardev Award and Asom Ratna. He sang in concerts in cities across the world, including New York, Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Leningrad, London and Tokyo. From regional to national and then to international limelight, the Renaissance man who was born in the easternmost tip of India travelled far indeed. The millions who thronged the route of his last journey in Guwahati, the homage paid to him from every nook and corner of the State and the north-eastern region, testify to the sense of loss that engulfed the region at his death. Yet, Bhupen’s demise is not merely a loss to this region, it is a loss for the entire nation. 첸 Arup Kumar Dutta is a writer and a columnist.
Published on alternate Saturdays.WPP No.CPMG/AP/SD-15/WPP/11-13 & MH/MR/South-180/2009-11.Postal Regn. No.TN/ARD/22/09-11. RNI No.42591/84
