EDITORIALS

of tax reform, the system remains extremely complicated, opaque and discretionary. The tax bureaucracy uses its powers of discretion and the only groups to benet are the lawyers and

accountants. But the solution lies in doing the hard work required to reform the tax code and administration, and not in pursuing an idea whose only appeal is its supposed simplicity.

We Have Overcome
India wins the war on polio; now it needs to be extra vigilant.
fter successfully eradicating smallpox in 1980, India has now gone three straight years without reporting any new case of poliomyelitis infection (polio). This qualies it to receive the World Health Organisations (WHO) certication for being polio-free. Undoubtedly, this is a victory that has been fought every inch of the way by myriad agencies on a number of fronts and against what seemed like insurmountable odds. The lessons learnt are precious beyond words and the expectation is that these will be harnessed to ght other infectious diseases that plague the country. In fact, the how of the war on polio for a war it was is as fascinating as educative. There is though some controversy about whether polio really has been eradicated in India and there are warnings about a possible return. There is also the remaining challenge of treating and rehabilitating those who have already been crippled by the disease. In the mid-1990s the vaccination programme that was undertaken involved the government, United Nations bodies, charitable organisations and private donors. While coordinating the activities of all these agencies was a humungous task, the vaccination programme itself called for dealing with fears and prejudices social, religious and cultural and the physical logistics of reaching every nook and corner of a vast country. The task was even more difcult in the high-risk states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh which also witness large-scale outmigration. Nearly two million vaccinators not only went to slums and villages but also provided their services at railway stations, bus terminals and construction sites as well as at fairs and other public gatherings, apart from making house to house visits. Religious and community leaders were persuaded to preach and cajole where parents were afraid of vaccination even as the media, college students, volunteers, lm stars and celebrities were roped in to popularise the campaign. The expectation now is that this strategy and the mechanisms that have been put in place can be used to tackle other diseases like measles which claim thousands of under-ve lives and even to push for 100% immunisation of

children against the major infectious diseases. Of course, vaccination is not a cure-all solution for all infectious diseases. There are other aspects of public health like provision of sanitation and supply of potable water that need to be addressed and are as important as, if not more so than, vaccination. There are alarming signs, however, in reports that a suspected increased dosage of polio drops in India has given rise to cases of non-polio acute accid paralysis (NPAFP). While the cause of the NPAFP cases is disputed, a number of doctors and health activists have pointed out that the governments surveillance data shows that in the past 13 months, 53,563 cases have been reported. The government attributes this to more sensitive and vigilant surveillance and not to the increased vaccination dosage. The fact remains that along with those who are already the victims of polio, this huge number of NPAFP-affected need treatment and rehabilitation. In 1985 there were 1,50,000 reported cases of paralytic polio, whereas in 2009 the fresh cases numbered 741 (half of the worlds number). This came down further to 42 in 2010 and the last reported case was in 2011. Indias achievement in eradicating polio provides hope for other countries where the socioeconomic conditions are similar. But Indias victory is fragile for until polio is eradicated from every region in the world, there remains a constant risk of a return. Going by the experience of a number of countries, it is easy for polio to be imported from neighbouring countries even after it is completely eradicated at home. At present, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the polio-endemic countries while previously polio-free countries like Syria and Somalia saw an outbreak last year. As the battle against a number of other health issues, notably the ght to bring down the maternal mortality rate shows, the link between increased public awareness and discourse and the political will to deal with them is a strong one. For the wellbeing of its children, India simply cannot afford to forget the lessons it has learnt in its battle against polio.

Can AAP Slay the Dragon?

AAP wants to slay the dragon of crony capitalism, but the problem is all capitalisms are crony.
t is just as well that the self-proclaimed non-political Gandhian Anna Hazare did not go along with Arvind Kejriwal. Hazare is no Jayaprakash Narayan (JP); neither does he have the stature of JP nor the Lok Nayaks political vision. But 8

the Janata Party that evolved from the JP movement, with politicians from the right of the political spectrum to the socialists joining the bandwagon, soon began to emulate what the movement had fought against in Gujarat and Bihar in 1974.
JANUARY 25, 2014 vol xliX no 4
EPW Economic & Political Weekly