Open Forum

New Delhi, 21 April 2010

Bareilly To Hyderabad

…AND THE RIOTS PERSIST

By Syed Ali Mujtaba

Communal riots have become part and parcel of the Indiansocial life. The birth pangs of the country were on the throes of communalriots. The history of the last sixty years or so to a section of the society,who has been on the receiving end of communal riots, is nothing but a historyof wanton destruction of lives and properties.

The irony is, the psyche of the countrymen has become immuneto such development that there is little effort either from the government ofthe day or the civil groups to stop such well-planned and well-orchestratedcommunal mayhem in the nation that swears by the word peace, unity indiversity, peaceful coexistence and such blah, blah…. 

The year 2010 so far has witnessed two communal riots, onein Bareilly a small city in Uttar Pradesh, theother in Hyderabad,the capital of Andhra Pradesh. While the incidence of communal violence in Bareilly is rare, Hyderabadremains on the seismic zone of communal flare-ups.

The genesis of the Bareillyriot was the Bara-wafaat procession taken out by the Muslims on the occasion ofthe birthday of Prophet Mohammad. This was on 2 March when a small group ofMuslim boys not more than 30, were going to join the main procession and theypassed through a Hindu locality. They were challenged and hot words wereexchanged and this followed a volley of bricks making the boys bleedprofusely.  The fact that the bricks insuch huge quantity were kept on roof tops suggests that some planning must havebeen done before the flash point

However, the group of boys somehow made it to the mainprocession, which characteristically was not a procession where some thousands gathered,but of much smaller in numbers who after seeing their co-religionist bleeding retaliatedby burning shops which was indiscriminate. Unlike the popular belief that it wereonly the Hindu shops which were torched, the fact remains that there were manyMuslim shops too which were completely burned down. 

This resulted in the clamping down of curfew, and after sixdays when every one thought it would finally be lifted, the administrationarrested the powerful Sunni Muslim cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, theNational president of powerful Ittehad e Millat (IMC) on charges of incitingtrouble. 

Bareilly is a great seat of Barellvi sect ofthe Sunni Muslim Schooland the Maulana is no baby sheep. The arrest made the supporters of Maulana tosit on dharna, demanding his unconditional release. This time the numbers were around30, 000 and these kept increasing with each passing moment. In spite of suchlarge numbers the supporters displayed remarkable discipline and none reportedto have done anything negative, except peacefully sitting in Satyagrah for over 30 hours.

In was after three days that Maulana Tauqeer was releasedfrom jail on March 11. His supporters after hearing the news of the release starteddispersing peacefully to their homes. However, at this moment the goons of the BajrangDal and the BJP reportedly started attacking the unarmed returning Muslims in whichtwo sustained severe cut injuries by sword.  At the same time the belligerent mob got busyvandalizing, looting and burning Muslim-owned shops and property.

This continued unabated for two days and the police andparamilitary forces had a tough time containing them.  It was only by March 15, when the curfew waslifted after two weeks that the city limped back to normalcy.

On the other hand, the riots in Hyderabad city are a basket case of communal clashes.It is once again the same old story where the State apparatus has failed topreempt the situation and only bolted the doors when the horses had fled!  

The riot in Hyderabadhad its origin in the rabble rousing speeches at the Vishwa Hindu Parishadconference on 24 March. This led to the filing of cases against those provokingviolence against the minority community.  And, it happened three days before thebreakout of actual violence that took place on Hanuman Jayanti day on 30 March.

Hanuman Jayanti, a festival that was hitherto celebratedwith relative simplicity in Hyderabadcity saw an unprecedented mobilization of crowds by the Hindu extremistorganizations that blanketed the entire city with Saffron flags. Thebelligerence of the Saffron brigade was at the height when they provocativelyplanted Saffron flags and other Hindu religious symbols on Mosques, Churchesand similar other religious sites.   

The provocation was enough for retaliation from the fearfulcommunity and according to reports it was a free-for-all where three lives werelost and 90 people left injured. The police arrested 272 two suspects, most ofthem Muslims, imposing curfew within the jurisdiction of 25 police stations ofthe city. It took several days for the situation to come back to normal andpeace restored.

In both the cases, Bareillyand Hyderbad, the role of the State administration was clearly dubious. It isunfortunate that both the State governments allowed the riots to unsettle thestate of communal harmony and did little to pre-empt the situation. In both thecases, the Hindutva groups were reportedly the main culprits and agentprovocateurs in destabilizing communal harmony and provoking religiousviolence.

The general public had begun to sense the communal tension butnot the administration that has intelligence gathering apparatus. It seems thepolice intelligence agency were either oblivious to the fact or deliberately remainedsilent.  

Importantly, these copy book cases of communal riots in thecountry have been recurring in pauses each year for the last 60 years or so. Nota single year passes when there are no communal riots in India. On arough estimate there could be an average three to five riots each year. Stillno one in this country gives a damn about it. Everyone forgets about it whenthings get normal after some fire fighting exercises, till it recurs again.This sounds bizarre but it is true.  

Ask those who have been reeling under violence, terror andcurfew. Imagine living under the looming shadow of uncertainty, danger and thethreat of violence and the State imposed restrictions under curfew. What kindof wound it may inflict on the minds of the sufferers? 

Clearly, it leaves on wondering how long this madness willbe allowed to perpetrate by the collusion of the State and Central governments.Are they not responsible for producing Jihadis in this country? It’s a murkygame where one first produces the Jihadis, and then goes after them.

The irony is that each one of us gets carried away by thesymptoms and none cares of thinking of the ways and means to control thedisease. The biggest, stakeholder in this, the State, seems to be wavering inits commitment to uphold the secular credentials that’s guaranteed in our Constitution.  

At the end, a mere regular investigation is ordered to probethese riots and what it would come up with. Another step may be a judicialprobe of these incidents. But is that sufficient to get to the real storybehind the riots? Even if we are able to get one, will that avoid further lossof life in yet another riot on yet another pretext?  Your guess is as good as mine! ---INFA

(Copyright,India News and Feature Alliance)

Economic Highlights

New Delhi, 16 April 2010

Extended Warranty

BE WARY, DON’T GET DUPED

By Shivaji Sarkar

Extendedwarranty is a cause for happiness. The only catch is it brings a smile to the manufacturersbut bleeds the consumers. The automobile and electronics industry is estimatedto earn trillions of dollars across the world this way. And so does the Indianindustry, a couple of thousands of crores. However, it never comes out with astatement.

Thecompanies make stupendous profit on selling of extended warranties as a verysmall percentage of consumers really need to make such claims. The companypockets the money supposed to have been spent on labour and spare parts. Theconsumer is lured to have an extended warranty on a product telling him that itwould save him future cost of repairs and some replacement if they break undernormal use after the initial manufacturer’s warranty has expired. Accidentaldamages are not covered by it. The terms of this extension may be different,often more expensive, than original warranties.

This is sometimes also called aservice contract. Price on extended warranties, especially for appliancesvaries between 10 to 30 per cent of the purchase price. Reading the detailsabout what is covered may help the consumer decide if he could afford one, oractually need it. Some extended warranties may not cover enough to really makethem worthwhile. Even promised replacements often would not cost more than thewarranty cost.

The companies also cheat thecustomer by starting the warranty even before the actual delivery of a car or anyother product to the consumer. They have made it a policy to start a warrantyeven before the customer has laid his hands on the product. Almost all carmanufacturers do it in this country. This way the companies save a minimum offour days in warranty time – in economic terms it amounts to several croresworth.

The companies resort to deviousmethods to dupe the customer. In some cases, despite realising the full amountthey do not give the warranty book as a car purchaser, Sudarshan Goswami of Meerut, found. He wasreportedly given the warranty book only after forcing him to pay an additionalpayment of Rs 3,200.

The refrigerator and washing machinemanufacturers lure the consumers with “many additional” features and tempt themto settle for a bigger sized fridge, though he may not require it. The biggera product, the higher would be the so-called warranty cost. Besides, each feature adds to the base price.Most of the features cost the company a minimum, in many cases may not costeven a hundred rupees. But the consumer is charged 10 to 30 times of that. Overand above this he is saddled with an “extended” warranty of two years, which hewould possibly never use, for Rs 2500.

The companies aver that it satisfiesthe customer and creates a strong bond with the customer. Why not? The company’sservice man would charge only Rs 250 to attend a complaint. This means aconsumer would be able to recover the warranty amount if his refrigerator breaksdown ten times in two years. If it is that “good” a product, the consumershould rue it. In actuality, that does not happen and the company has all thereasons to smile at the cost of the consumer.

According to a recent US consumerreport study not more than eight per cent of refrigerators require repairs inthe first three years, a washing machine not more than 22 per cent and amicrowave 12 per cent and a mobile phone 5 per cent.

Even for cars there are not manyoccasions when one could claim the warranty. Many complaints are routine andattended during the periodical servicing. Some years back, car companies weretempting the buyers to go for a plastic coating of the engine and some parts ofthe body. For an average car the cost was Rs 6,000 to 10,000. The buyersrealized that certain wear and tear was routine and the coating was a mere giftto the dealers or manufacturers.

The best US and European adage isthat if the manufacturers has not given some facility or protection then thevehicle does not require it. The consumer would be happier without it. But mostbuyers feel insecure without the “perceived security” added to the product. Thesellers induce this sense of insecurity and exploit.

Similarly, there is not much savingsin the so-called Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) stars. It has only turnedout to be a money guzzler for the manufacturers. The cost of a five-star ratedair conditioner is almost Rs 2000 more than a four-star one. The consumers,however, do not realize that this also compromises on its wattage and affectsits output. A 5-star air conditioner has 1.72 KW and a four-star 1.78 KW.  

The 5-star AC on an average use of1200 hours a year would consume 2064KW/hour and four star 2136 KW/hour. Ifelectricity cost is taken at Rs 4 a unit, the total power cost for the 5-starAC would be Rs 8256 and the 4-star Rs 8544 – a difference of Rs 288 a year. Itwould take seven years to recover the extra amount. If the buyer pays for anadditional warranty, he would be losing at least another Rs 2,500 at the least.As against this, the seller earns an additional Rs 5500 for virtually giving noextra benefit.

How much do these pseudo promises tothe consumers earn the manufacturers? It is only a wild guess. If a car makersells one lakh car a year, it earns, assuming it charges extra on an average ofRs 3000 per car, Rs 30 crore on which it has no liability. If the interestearned on it is added, even at a modest 8 per cent, it raises the profit byanother Rs 2.4 crore. If various other companies’ earnings on this score arecalculated, even at a modest scale it would add to a minimum of Rs 1000 crorein company profits in India.

The time has come to educate theconsumer in a systematic way to say no to most “perceived benefits” and“additional features”. It is now also incumbent on the Ministry for Consumer Affairsto draft a suitable Bill to end this fleecing. --- INFA

(Copyright,India News and Feature Alliance)

Economic Highlights

New Delhi, 10 April 2010

US, China Policies

INDIA MUST GUARD AGAINST ONSLAUGHT

By Shivaji Sarkar

India needs to be cautious in its dealingswith the US on the one sideand Chinaon the other. More so when it is time for the country to provide a global model.However, it has little to cheer from the visits of US Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner or External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s visit to China.

Washington is eyeing for a $ 600 billion investment in India’sinfrastructure, as the returns are very high. Closer ties with China saddles India with a massive trade deficitof $ 15.8 billion. It is no better for the US,which has a trade deficit of $ 227 billion as it imports $ 296 billion worth ofitems from Chinaand exports only $ 69 billion products. This happens as Beijing keeps its currency, the Yuanartificially low.

AsNew Delhi accepts large investments from the US ininfrastructure, it suffers on two counts – cost of infrastructure developmentgoes up and the country’s manufacturing sector continues to remain weak. However,Beijing has cleverly taken this advantage fromthe US.The major merchandise export to the USfrom Chinais from the manufacturing sector that produces at extremely, often artificial,low costs. It is hitting the USeconomy hard and if Indiadoes not learn the lessons from the US, then it would hit its economy harder.

TheUShas primarily suffered because it ignored the growth of the Chinesemanufacturing sector, which was being fuelled by US imports. China simultaneously took the economic andfinancial initiative to create a safety net for itself so that the US could notsuddenly withdraw from its market. It invested heavily to create a dollarreserve. In November 2009, China owned$789 billion in the US Treasuries, 33 per cent of the total $2.4 trillionoutstanding. This makes it the largest owner. Many are concerned that it gives China politicalleverage over US’ fiscal policy.

Thehigh trade volume China haswith the US also provides itthe base for low-priced manufactured product exports to India, which has not learnt from the woes of theUS.America’s trade deficit with Chinameans that the UScompanies that can't compete with cheap Chinese goods must either lower theircosts or go out of business.

It has already happened to many sectors in India, includingelectrical, electronics and toys. Many Indian companies either have gone out ofbusiness or have become houses that trade in Chinese goods. Either way it leadsto losing of jobs and the edge that manufacturing sector gives to a country.

TheUShas learnt it the hard way. Indiais not in that kind of a tight spot but still it has not taken any step toavoid getting into the Chinese quagmire. It is indeed surprising that New Delhi should woo China for closer trade ties. Nobody knows why India supplies iron ore to China atridiculous export duty of one per cent. It is virtually subsidizing the Chinesemanufacturing sector, which is wrecking havoc with the Indian economy. India has no obligation to supply iron ore to China, which it uses also for building arms andother strategic weapons, which are deployed on India’s borders and facilitatesmovement to the Tibetan plateau.

India has permission for exporting onlythree of the agreed list of 17 fruits and vegetables. Such exports hardly addany value but Commerce Minister Anand Sharma has apparently cowed down and almostbegged Chinato increase that basket recently. However, Beijing has refused entry to aviation andentertainment sectors as well from where returns could be high.

Alow cost Yuan is detrimental to the Indian economy. Worse, India has notsought any revision of the value of the Yuan against the Rupee. It has neithertaken any trade or diplomatic initiative to contain China. And, larger trade with China mayfurther stymie growth of the Indian manufacturing sector.

Additionally,the way it is gleeful over the US’moves to invest in Indiais yet another danger. The policy makers in New Delhioverlook the recent announcements of US President Barack Obama of encouragingthree emerging economies – India,China and Brazil – to buy more goods from the US to doubleexports in five years. US Commerce Under-Secretary for International Trade,Francisco Sanchez said this week: “That's where the money is and that's wherewe need to focus”, noting that 95 per cent of the world's consumers liveoutside the US.

TheUS with high unemployment rate of 10 per cent needs that strategy. There hasbeen minor increase in jobs in the private sector as the US has decided to pushits $1.4 trillion budget deficit. It is also pushing its economy with virtualzero interest rates. High deficits not only in the US but also by all majorEuropean countries threaten an uneven global competition. It would force Indiato hedge against artificial values of most global currencies and price itsgoods uneconomically.

Indiahas not protested at the high budget deficit trends of these countries. It haspushed up crude prices to $ 85 a barrel from $ 65 to 69 a week ago as such deficitscreate false hope of a US recovery, which is just not happening. It certainlyhelps the oil companies, most of which are based in the US, rake in hugeprofits. In other words, India and other countries would be subsidizing USbudget deficits.

TheUS has recently stated that it is borrowing less form the rest of the world. Infact, it has honed up its strategy in such a way that it does not need toborrow and the rest of the world would subsidise its economy as it adoptsdevious techniques. Importantly, India needs to be aware of this and mustsharpen its policies to guard against such subtle onslaughts. More so when despitea thaw in the downtrend, job prospects in India have not brightened up. That isthe key to a recovery.

IfIndia falls prey to the policies of the US and China, the prospect of its ownrecovery and consequent growth might get muted. The policy makers need to standup firmly and chalk out an aggressive strategy to shield the country againstsuch evil maneuvers. The country does not need to succumb to the temptation ofincreasing low-cost exports just to shore up statistical presentations. – INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Events & Issues

New Delhi, 19 April 2010

Poland & Russia

WILL TRAGEDYBRING RECONCILIATION?

By Dr MalgorzataBonikowska

(ProfWarsaw University & President, India-EU Council)

 The recent tragedy in the Russian forest nearKatyn can ironically bring both the Poles and the Russians together aftercenturies of prejudice and hostility. Presidentof Poland Lech Kaczynski and his wife along with a 94-memberdelegation were killed on 10^th April in an airplane crash whilelanding near Smolensk, southwestern Russia, almost atthe same place where the Russian secret police on the orders of the Soviet dictatorJoseph Stalin killed 20,000 Polish officers and soldiers during World War II.

The Polish delegation comprising the most-renownedpolitical figures in the country (among others: the Army Chief of Staff, chiefsof the Navy and the Air Forces, head of the National Security Office, Deputy Speakerof Parliament, president of the National Bank, deputy foreign minister, head ofthe President's Chancellery, several members of Parliament representingdifferent political parties) was heading for an official ceremony marking the70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.

An instant reaction after the unfortunateincident was to expect escalation of tension between the Poles and the Russians.This is so because for centuries Poland had suffered at the hands ofits powerful neighbour and was again deprived of its best people on Russian soil. Remember, the Russians had occupied Polishterritory many times in the past and millions of Poles had died inresurrections, battle fields and soviet camps. After World War II, Polandbecame a part of the Soviet bloc for almost half a century and most of thePoles were struggling against the communist system.

Lech Kaczynski was one of them. Once he becamePresident of Poland, he was in favour of a tough policy towards Russia and identified himself with various democraticmovements for independence, including the one to free Tibet underChinese domination. He was also a great admirer of India’s vibrant democracy.

Essentially, the Katyn massacre of 1940 has been a majorirritant between the two countries. Russia repeatedly refused to takeresponsibility for this genocide and instead passed on the blame on the German Nazis.Tragically, several passengers on board the presidential planewere relatives of those slain in Katyn and instead of paying tribute totheir late fathers, 70 years later they too died on the very same Russianground.

Confronted with the recent tragedy on such a massive scale andthat which has a symbolic meaning, both the nations, however, have started todemonstrate solidarity. Poles were deeply moved by the Russians help, sympathyand transparency in conducting investigation into the reasons of the crash(most likely dense fog and the pilot’s mistake). PresidentDmitry Medvedev imposed a state of emergency and addressed the people of Poland ontelevision, expressing his compassion and goodwill. In Russia, PrimeMinister Vladimir Putin took personal charge of the investigation, visited thecrash site to console his Polish counterpart and expressed his sadness to thePoles in a special live telecast. In fact, the Russian television channelsimmediately broadcast a film on the Katyn tragedy, which was forbidden in Russia forseveral years. Importantly, for the Poles the Russian government, led by an ex-KGBofficer admitted the guilt of the Soviet regime for the Katyn massacre. Finally!

Today, in Poland,there is a feeling of gratitude towards the Russians and nobody is accusing Russia for the planeaccident contrary to some instant speculation on the basis of the high-levelmistrust towards this country.

Consequently, a better atmosphere in Polish-Russianrelations can influence the European Union’s approach towards Russia. Being anEU member State, Poland is playing a more important role in the EU foreignpolicy, especially towards the East. For example, Poland’sinitiative of “Eastern Partnership”, directed at four ex-Soviet countries (Belorussia, Moldova,Georgia and Azerbaijan, was received in Russia with anger. It was seenas being against Russian political interests. Perhaps, following the tragedy,it will change into an effective tool for bringing stability in the region,with Russian participation.

The accident has also triggered a globaldimension. Until now, the history of Katyn was known only to the Poles. Today, itis publicized all over the world, becoming a part of a world history, on asimilar scale as the genocide committed during the war in ex-Yugoslavia in the90s. The Polish President’s unexpected death has gained attention of worldleaders. The funeral which took place in Cracowwas attended by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and several other political leaders of the region. Unfortunately for Poles,weather conditions (Iceland’svolcanic cloud over Europe) prevented USPresident Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown from attending.  

Kaczynski and his wife Mary were buried in Cracow, Wawel castle, the resting place of Poland’s kings.Several countries announced a state of mourning, including Russia.“President Kaczynski was personally committed tostrengthening bilateral relations between our two countries” wrote IndianPresident Pratibha Patil in her condolence message. Last April, she had beenwarmly received by Kaczynski during her official visit to Poland.

The fact that Polish democracy exists and worksis demonstrated by the fact that it was being run by so many eminent people,who unfortunately died in the crash.  Fortunately,the accident did not affect the functioning of the government nor destabilizedthe political system. The funeral, which turned out to be an internationalevent, was organized perfectly. The rate of the Zloty, Polish currency, did notfluctuate or drop after the crash. The country is supposed to enter the Eurozone in the next few years and its currency proved to be stable.

The recent tragedy will, however, have importantpolitical consequences for the country. In October, Poland was expected to havepresidential elections. Kaczynski had planned to seek a second term. He is nomore today. The presidential candidate of the Left died in the crash as well.The elections have now been advanced to June and no one expects a fierce campaign.For the moment the Polish people are united around the graves of their leaderswho “had died on duty”. Every party lost a member or two in the accident.

Indeed, the “romantic patriotism” of most of thePoles will grow, fed again by a new loss, which fits well with the old myth of Poland – a countrydestined to sacrifice its best sons and daughters for the sake of the others.---INFA

(Copyright,India News and Feature Alliance)