Round The States

New Delhi, 28 January 2010

Gorkha Agitators Warned

SUPREME COURT BAILS OUT SIKKIM

By Insaf

Sikkim has finally been bailed out, thanks to a landmark ruling of the Supreme Court. The north-eastern State’s unending agony of being repeatedly cut off from the rest of the country due to the Gorkhaland agitation in neighbouring West Bengal has hopefully ended. And with it Chief Minister P K Chamling’s too of severe hardship faced by his people. On Monday last, a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, warned political parties, both pro and anti-Gorkhaland, against blockading National Highway 31A, Sikkim’s only link to the rest of the country. It ruled: “The party blocking the National Highway will be declared unlawful and we will direct detention of their leaders.” The stern warning was aimed at the belligerent Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, spearheading the movement for a separate State, and its main opponents, Amra Bengali, Jan Jagran Manch and Jan Chetna.

While these parties will now have to think hard before taking their protest to NH 31A, the ruling could also provide much-needed relief to other States, which, like Sikkim, suffer for no fault of theirs because of mindless agitations. Recall, Chamling’s meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last fortnight urging that the National Highway be kept open at all cost, including use of force. The Court has echoed the sentiment and reminded both the Centre and the West Bengal Government “about their duty” to keep the Highway open. It has also made a note of the inexcusable fact that its earlier interim order of July 2008 to keep the highway free from agitation had been violated eight times. But this time it will have none of it. The parties have been warned to adhere to its directive or face serious consequences. 

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Tricolour Missing In Lal Chowk

Republic Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir were unfortunately marred when an 18-year-old tradition was done away with. The national flag was amiss at the Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar, leaving BJP fuming at the “meek surrender by the Government before the terrorists.”  While the Omar Abdullah government had no ready explanation to offer, the Central Reserve Police Force said: “We decided to discontinue the custom and participate in the State function just a km away (Bakshi Stadium)…. We used to do it as the forces in charge before us had done. There is no order, logic or significance to it… We don’t know why it was started?” Clearly, the CRPF’s memory needs to be refreshed. The Tricolour was first hoisted at the Chowk’s clock tower by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Republic Day in 1992, at the culmination of the “Ekta Yatra”, from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, symbolizing India’s nationalistic assertion in an area where Pakistani flags fluttered. Since then the security forces were hoisting the Tricolour every Republic and Independence Day. Surely, the CRPF could not have decided on its own not to hoist the flag. Perhaps, it is part of Home Minister Chidambaram’s “quiet diplomacy” vis a vis the separatists!

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Maoists Respond To Mamata

The Maoists in West Bengal have thrown the ball back in Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee’s court. In his response to Didi’s offer last week of mediating, the Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishenji on Monday last sent a four-page ‘open letter’ confirming his willingness to talk. However, with a proviso: “Talks can only be held on the ground that all the prisoners are released, combined forces withdrawn and talks with People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities start at government level.” Additionally, the Maoist leader invited Mamata or her representative for a dialogue to their jungle hideout, Jungalmahal, without police escort. The TMC chief is yet to respond, but a few reactions so far from party members suggest that this time around she would like to tread cautiously. One such notable response was: “We don’t want to be in a hurry. The problem was not created in a single day and can’t be solved so fast.”    

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Soren’s Deadline To Naxals?

Meanwhile, is Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibhu Soren going soft on the Maoists? An answer should hopefully be available in the next two weeks, at least to a worried Union Home Ministry. On Monday last, Soren gave the Maoists a fortnight to stop violence and come for talks. If they don’t then his police will intensify action against them, he has asserted. However, reports so far suggest that ever since Soren came to power, there has been a lackluster response in Jharkhand to the Centre’s anti-Maoists operations. Over the past 10 days there has been a ban on intercepting mobile phones of the Maoists. Besides, four BSF battalions (nearly 4,000 personnel) meant for anti-naxal operations were sent off to Chhattisgarh after the State Government refused to give the nod for an offensive. In addition, Soren is reported to have sent a missive to Kishenji to start peace talks. The CM, however, has rubbished such reports and said that he was not against the anti-Maoists offensive except that “before intensifying such action the government should try to bring the rebels on board.”

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Taxi Drivers On MNS Hit List

Competitive regionalism once again appears to play havoc with normal life in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra. A simple ride in a taxi could prove costly to both the driver and the passenger if the threat by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is allowed to be carried out. Taking a cue from Chief Minister’s Ashok Chavan’s controversial decision last week of granting new licenses only to those taxi drivers who knew fluent Marathi (which was later withdrawn and amended to any one of the local languages, namely Hindi and Gujarati), the MNS chief Raj Thackeray has issued a fresh diktat. It would not allow any such taxi to ply on Mumbai’s roads if the driver does not read or write or speak Marathi. The taxi drivers have been given a deadline of 40 days to get acquainted with Marathi or else they will be handed “return tickets to UP”. Meaning business, the MNS activists have started positioning themselves at traffic signals and are busy handing out 50,000-odd Marathi textbooks of Class I to cab drivers across the city! 

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500 Dead In Cold Wave

The bitter cold wave in northern India has left nearly 500 people dead so far. While Uttar Pradesh has witnessed “one of the longest spells of cold days in the past three decades,” Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana have staggered under sub-zero temperatures. According to available figures, cold and fog related accidents have claimed 450 lives in UP alone and forced authorities to shut schools till last week.  Though the Government has claimed to have disbursed Rs 10 crore for blankets and bonfires for the poor, not many have benefited. In Bihar about 40 persons have died but the Government prefers to remain mum on the figures. In Himachal the situation is different-- apple and cherry orchards have been hit hard. Despite the mercury dipping it isn’t snowing and raining this year enough threatening both the crops and flower growers. In Punjab the airports have been grappling with delays and virtually every train is leaving and arriving several hours late. People are keeping their fingers crossed that the Met Departments predictions come out right—the biting chill will remain only till this week-end. --INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 21 January 2010

44 Deemed Univs ‘Blacklisted’

HIGHER EDUCATION IN DOLDRUMS

By Insaf

Higher education in the country has received a rude shock with fly-by-night operators making a killing in a number of States. On Monday last, the Human Resource Development Ministry informed the Supreme Court that 44 universities would be de-recognised, spelling uncertainty for nearly two lakh students! Tamil Nadu heads the list with 16 such universities, followed by Karnataka which has six, Uttar Pradesh four, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Maharashtra three each, Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Bihar one each. The revelation follows HRD Minister Kapil Sibal setting up a three-member review committee to look into accusations of hasty approvals being given to a number of universities under UPA-I. It now comes to light that 27 of these 44 Universities were conferred the deemed tag under former HRD Minister Arjun Singh. Worse, three are government sponsored and one promoted by the then Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. A number of these have received funds from the University Grants Commission. 

The deemed universities have shockingly revealed a lack of infrastructure and no little evidence of experts in disciplines they claim to specialize in. The probe has even shown that a few are simply five-room universities and their glossy catalogues mere fiction. Records disclose that between 1956 and 1990 only 29 institutions were granted the status of ‘deemed-to-be universities’ by the Central government but in the last five years as many as 35 have been granted this status. The big question is who gave the approvals that are now shown to be faulty? The future of lakhs of youth is at stake and signs of growing unrest have been witnessed in Tamil Nadu for starters, where students ransacked furniture, laboratories and broke window panes in a couple of blacklisted universities in Chennai. There is need for a thorough inquiry and punishment to the guilty, notwithstanding Sibal’s assurance to the students that “none would suffer.” He has assured that their colleges would be given affiliation to the State universities or some other universities and valid degrees. Will this suffice?  

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Himachal Makes Literacy Strides

While higher education has received a setback in some States, Himachal Pradesh has made impressive strides in promoting primary education. The State Economics and Statistics Department has noted that the State has achieved almost 83 per cent literacy rate, next only to Kerala, the most literate State in the country (literacy rate of 91 per cent), followed by Mizoram which has 89 per cent. The strides made by the state are thanks to better infrastructure. The State has 1.74 schools for a population of one lakh, against the national average of 0.74 schools. The BJP government, led by PK Dhumal has ensured that there is a school at a distance of less than two kms in the rural areas because of the State’s treacherous terrain, a big hurdle. Importantly, the dropout rate in the State capital, Simla has come to zero, despite a number of rural areas falling in the district. If all goes well, Himachal claims that if it retains its annual growth rate it could well over-take Kerala by 2011-end.  

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Maoists Worried in West Bengal

West Bengal continues to dominate the headlines. First it was the passing away of the great communist icon Jyoti Basu, with whose death an era has ended. Thereafter, the appointment of former National Security Advisor M K Narayanan as Governor of the State attracted great attention. In view of his unrivalled experience, he is expected to provide leadership in tackling the growing terrorist threat over the past year. The Maoists alone have protested against his appointment and their leader Koteshwar Rao, alias Kishenji has called for a mass movement. In fact, it is for the first time that the Maoists have shown concern over an appointment to the Governor’s office. Meanwhile, Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee has offered to hold talks with the Maoists and mediate between them and the Centre. “Give up violence and let us talk development”, she has urged. While there is no response from the Maoists, the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) has indicated its willingness to negotiate, but only with the TMC’s estranged MP Kabir Suman, who sings and highlights the lack of development in Maoist-dominated areas. 

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Bonanza For Poor In UP

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BSP supremo Mayawati celebrated her 54^th birthday differently this January 15. The focus was shifted from herself to the downtrodden and the deprived. On last Friday, observed as “People’s Welfare Day,” Behenji announced 264 new public welfare measures worth Rs 7312 crores. Other than building 111 new bridges, nearly 50 new roads, bus stations etc, the State Cabinet approved the “Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mahamaya Garib Arthik Madad Yojana”, under which Rs 300 would be deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The recipients would be selected through open meetings in gram sabhas and urban areas under the supervision of the DMs. Promising complete transparency, Mayawati explained that objections would be invited and the final list would be declared only after thorough examination. She hoped that her ‘birthday gift’ would fulfil the needs of the poor and the needy.  

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Madhya Pradesh Goes “Decent”

Obscene hoardings have caught the eye of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He wants none of it in his State. On Tuesday last, the BJP leader ordered the removal of all such “indecent” hoardings forthwith. This follows his attention being caught by a hoarding advertising chocolate body spa near a girls’ college in Bhopal while he was on his way to the party headquarters. He stopped his cavalcade and not only ordered that the hoarding be removed but an FIR lodged against the owner of the beauty clinic. The State administration got cracking and a day later through a video conference directed officials to remove obscene hoardings in more than 350 urban bodies. Chouhan’s “anti-obscenity” drive has also been taken forward by the Sanskriti Bachao Manch, a right wing body, whose members forced shopkeepers in the busy New Market locality to move mannequins displaying lingerie as these were “objectionable.” Indeed, Chouhan has undertaken a new role for himself –of moral policing. 

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Modi’s “Appearance Fee”

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi can boast of being no less than a Bollywood star. He charges a handsome “celebrity appearance fee” of Rs seven lakhs and above at public functions. But more importantly, it is all for a cause. The princely sum is donated to the Kanya Kelavani Nidhi, created for educating the girl child in Gujarat. Other than scholarships being given to bright young girls, the fund disburses bonds of Rs 1000 each to help support the education of lakhs of girls. Additionally, a part of the collection goes to the Chief Minister’s relief fund, which has seen an inflow of Rs 104 crore ever since Modi took over. In the past five years, his office has collected a whopping Rs 23 crore from his public functions. While a major part comes from donations, depending on the paying capacity of the organizers of functions, a considerable amount is raised by auctioning gift articles which Modi has received. This January alone, the BJP Chief Minister has inaugurated about 20 such events. Clearly, Modi has been cashing on his popularity literally!---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 14 January 2010

Ladakh Stuns New Delhi

INDIA LOSES LAND TO CHINA

By Insaf

Ladakh has made New Delhi sit up as never before. At a meeting held last week in Leh of senior officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Government, Union Home Ministry and the Army it was confirmed that India had lost a “substantial” area of land in the past 20-25 years, thanks to repeated incursions by China and an unclear border map. The area along the Line of Actual Control with China had “shrunk” over the years, and India was clearly ‘withdrawing”, according to the consensus reached at the meeting, chaired by Commissioner (Leh) A K Sahu. It was also agreed that the maps drawn up by various agencies were all different and that there was a lack of proper mapping of the area. In fact, the minutes added: “There is a lack of institutional memory in various agencies as well as clear policy on this issue, which in the long run has resulted in loss of territory by India in favour of China.” 

The disclosure has prompted former Chief Minister of J&K and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah to urge the Centre to take up the matter with Beijing at the earliest. “This seems to be happening for the last 25 years. One cannot be absolved of the responsibility by merely saying that the LAC has not been demarcated,” he said at a conference in Delhi. The boundary dispute cannot hang in balance for eternity. “It should be resolved—earlier the better”. Likewise, the BJP has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clarify the truth about the incursions. It said; “The government had denied such incursions by China in Arunachal Pradesh and now the same thing is happening in Ladakh. It is most shocking…” Will the Centre come clean on the issue?         

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Sikkim Getting Alienated

The Gorkhaland agitation in West Bengal is playing havoc with adjoining Sikkim. The State is like a time-bomb waiting to explode and its Chief Minister Pawan Chamling feels like a “hostage in his own country.” The exasperation is a fallout of the frequent blockades of NH-31A—the only road connecting Sikkim to the rest of the country—by protestors seeking a separate State of Gorkhaland. The exasperation was spelt out by Chamling in a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week in the Capital. In his record fourth term in office, Chamling warned that the blockades were hurting the State’s economy with a huge reduction in the tourist inflow and worse the discontent amongst the locals could be exploited by miscreants to disturb peace in the sensitive State. “People are at the complete mercy of these so-called agitators… a sense of frustration and alienation is slowly creeping in”, he said and urged the Centre to “establish governance” in the region and see to it that the National Highway was kept open by force. Else, his hard work of over 15 years of emotionally integrating the Sikkimese people with India could get washed out!       

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Bihar Congress Goes Casteist 

The Bihar Congress has raked a most unfortunate controversy in post-Independent India. In its jumbo list of PCC office-bearers, the Party has specified caste names against all 562 office-bearers, in utter disregard of the Constitution and the laws against use of caste names under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) act. Worse, it has named Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its Permanent Invitee, violating the basic norm that Constitutional authorities cannot hold any Party post. Additionally, it has put her caste name (she belongs to the Dalit community) in the list issued last week. While the AICC denies her name being on the list, it justifies the use of caste names. AICC in-charge of Bihar, Jagdish Tytler explains: “We had to name the castes because out of 45 castes (in the State), barely four have been dominating the PCC so far. We did it to ensure representation of all castes.” So much for General Secretary Rahul Gandhi’s much-touted advocacy of politics of development rather than caste and religion.  

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SP Bites Dust In UP

Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh’s woes seem never ending. His party is on the brink of being whitewashed in Uttar Pradesh. In  the Legislative Council polls held last week, the party got an incredible drubbing. It barely managed to win just one out of the 33 seats. As against this, his bete noire and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s BSP won 31 seats. The Congress too won just one seat, namely that of Rae Barelli. But it lost the Sultanpur seat which includes Rahul Gandhi’s constituency, Amethi. The BJP drew a blank.  Though the Council polls traditionally favour ruling parties, the SP’s defeat has become important in the wake of his General Secretary Amar Singh’s resignation from the post. Shockingly, the SP could not even win the seats in Maulayam’s home turf of Ballia, Deoria and Etawah. Important for Mayawati, the strength of the BSP has gone up to 53 in the 100-member Legislative council. The ruling party can now push through whatever legislation it wants without the fear of rejection by the Council!

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Manipur Schools Finally Open

Normalcy has finally returned to educational institutions in Manipur. Students, parents and teachers have heaved a sigh of relief, following the re-opening of schools and colleges, shut since September last. This follows a Memorandum of Understanding between the State government and Apunba Lup, an umbrella body of 23 organizations on Friday last. Accordingly, board and annual exams will be held as per the regular schedule and the losses to be made up through special classes. The Apunba Lup had given a call for the boycott of educational institutions as part of its agitation to protest an alleged fake encounter in which a reformed militant and a pregnant woman were killed in the BT Road locality of Imphal on July 23. The State government has agreed to release all 15 persons arrested during the agitation and adequately compensate for the losses to the family of killed woman.

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Maha Kumbh In Haridwar

A sea of humanity has flooded Haridwar, the pilgrim town of Uttarakhand. On Thursday last, the Maha Kumbh, the biggest congregation of Hindus once every 12 years began, with an estimated five lakh devotees taking a dip in the Ganga and ‘washing away their sins’. The ritual began at midnight sharp at Brahma Kund, a large pond at the ancient Har ki Pauri, on the banks of the Ganga. The Kumbh has 11 bathing dates, will end on April 28 and by then would have drawn six crore devotees—a crore more than the last Kumbh in 1998. The State has earmarked a budgetary allocation of Rs 525 crores for the festivities, which will be held amidst tight security as the Maha Kumbh has been on the terror list for long. The town has been divided into 32 sectors. Over 4,000 policemen from several States, paramilitary forces, crack intelligence and anti-terror units have been deployed. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” too has sent a much-needed advisory to all States: “No one should come to the Kumbh as a VIP for it would weaken the security. Please come as commoners and enjoy the bliss of god.” ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 7 January 2010

Miracle Economies

BIHAR’S STUNNING GROWTH

By Insaf

Nitish Kumar’s Bihar is India’s new “miracle economy.” Notoriously known as a laggard State under decades of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD rule, Bihar has had a stunning 11.03 per cent growth in its GDP in the five-year period between 2004-05 and 2008-09. In 2003-04 the State had a negative growth of just 5.15 per cent, but with the change in regime under JD(U)’s Nitish, it has become the second fastest State, just a hair’s breadth behind Gujarat (11.05 per cent growth). The figures on the economic growth of the States were put out by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) last week, giving the hope that good governance can work miracles even for the most-backward States. Following in Bihar’s footsteps are Uttarakhand (9.31 per cent growth), Orissa (8.74 per cent) and Jharkhand (8.45 per cent) which have grown as fast or faster than the All-India growth of 8.49 per cent during this period. Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are following suit with 7.35 per cent and 6.29 per cent growth respectively.

In effect, these are signs showing that the economic gap between the poor and rich States is gradually shrinking. The rural masses are benefiting and the reasons for this dynamism are: agricultural growth in 2004-09 averaged 4.4 per cent per year, the highest in any five-year; the minimum wages have been raised in most States; new thrust has been given to rural employment and infrastructure schemes and above all the country has witnessed a telecom revolution. Significantly, several incumbent Governments have recently been re-elected when for two decades these were regularly voted out. This suggests mass-based satisfaction in place of earlier disgust and dissatisfaction. Clearly, the emergence of “miracle economies”, defined internationally as those with over 7 per cent growth, is one of the biggest achievements of the decade. And many are of the opinion that Nitish should get an award for this most inclusive revolution in his State.

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Andhra’s Woes Continue

The Telangana issue continues to hang fire. With the Centre having no ready-made solution in hand to end the deadlock between the warring sides, Andhra Pradesh’s woes seem never ending. At a meeting of eight Andhra parties in the Capital on Tuesday last, the Centre at best could offer the setting up of a committee to break the impasse and hope for normalcy to return. The panel could comprise of either experts headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, or a ministerial committee or a mix of both, offered Home Minister P Chidambaram. However, both the TRS Chief Chandrashekhar Rao and the BJP have opposed it and insist on the formation of a separate State immediately. The Congress and TDP have no one stand as the parties continue to be divided. Both the CPM and the Praja Rajyam, however, are pitching for a united Andhra. With no consensus in sight, the Centre has sought to buy time with its offer of a panel and also pleaded for “accommodation and goodwill’. 

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Telangana Will Help Maoists?

Even as the parties mull over the question of a panel on Telangana, the Centre now faces a new dilemma. Its security experts have suddenly woken up to the fact that creation of smaller States ends up benefiting the Maoists. A day before the all-party meeting, Home Ministry officials made it known to the political leadership that carving out Telangana would help the Maoists regroup in Andhra. The creation of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, they argued, had helped the Maoists entrench better, as they were able to take advantage of administrative problems in a new State. Apparently, Telangana forms a “geographically contiguous unit” with Maoist strongholds in Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Not many remember that the Maoist leaders have repeatedly called for a militant movement to get a separate Telengana. Will small states really help the Maoists? The Centre’s final decision on the security angle is awaited with keen interest.

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CM Chavan In Trouble

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is in electoral trouble for having promised a special bonus of Rs.5 lakh each for the three Nanded villages where he polled the highest votes in the recent Assembly poll. The State’s Chief Election Officer, following an order from the Election Commission, has initiated a probe into Chavan’s assurances to the three villages during a felicitation function following his victory. The CEO has sought a report from the Nanded District Collector at the earliest and specified that the report be in English. The probe was ordered on a complaint by BJP legislator Vinod Tawde who said the CM’s promise amounted to bribery. Said Tawde: “The CM cannot be partial. He is in charge of the entire State’s welfare.” Interestingly, Tawde added: “I had complained to the State Election Office but they didn’t do anything. The Election Commission took cognizance of my complaints”. Chavan has denied making any statement that violates the code of conduct. However, he added: “I am ready for any inquiry.”

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Gujarat Turns Fifty

Gujarat celebrated the 50^th anniversary of its formation last Friday amidst remarkable bonhomie. Leader of all the political parties gathered together on a common platform in the Assembly where Chief Minister Narendra Modi moved a resolution and invoked the “Narmada Spirit” to appeal to all to “rise above party politics” for the State’s development. He was clearly referring to the united stand that the people of Gujarat had taken on construction of the Narmada dam decades earlier. The Opposition leader, Shaktisinh Gohil supported the resolution but hastened to add that the credit for progress of Gujarat could not go to any one individual as “development is in the genes of every Gujarati.” When anti-Narmada activists had assembled at Pherkuan to oppose the dam, he recalled, “every pujari and maulvi in Gujarat had united to realize the dam”! Nevertheless, Modi received bouquets galore on the occasion for his many initiatives, both developmental and political. Importantly, a fortnight ago, he invited Infosys’ Chief Mentor, Narayan Murthy, to come to Gujarat and guide the State Government as advisor. Will he? 

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Orissa Shows The Way

Orissa under Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his BJD has brought governance closer to its people at the grassroots. On Saturday last week, the State Government adopted Oriya as the official language of communication at the block, tehsil and district levels. All administrative functions and transactions at these levels will henceforth be made in Oriya only instead of English. A top-level committee has been formed to oversee early execution of the decision and evolve a “simple and easily conceivable” document outlining Oriya words and terminology that is to be used in official communication. Significantly, Orissa has shown good sense and pragmatism in the matter and not allowed linguistic chauvinism to play havoc. It has decided at the highest level that largely used English words such as chair, table, engine and block office will be treated as Oriya terms as their translated forms are comparatively difficult to be understood by the masses and could end up causing avoidable confusion!  Three cheers! ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)