The Hindu Editorial Pages

January 2015

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EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015

After Peshawar, Pakistans litmus test

Ashok Mehta

THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 2015

CBIs credibility
impugned
he discharge by a Mumbai special court of
Bharatiya Janata Party president and former
Gujarat Minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case is a boost for
the BJP and a setback to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which seems unable to live down its reputation as an agency that is ever eager to please its
political bosses. With the judge of the Special CBI
Court, M.B. Gosavi, ruling that there was substance in
the defence argument that the case was foisted on Mr.
Shah for political reasons, the CBI will have a tough
time recovering its credibility as the countrys premier
criminal investigation agency. That the judge decided
to discharge Mr. Shah from the case, and saw no need
for him to go on trial, says a lot about the nature of the
evidence put together by the CBI. Not only was the
agencys mode of investigation faulted, but political
motives were attributed to its actions. However, if the
CBI framed Mr. Shah in the case for political reasons to
please the previous Congress-led government at the
Centre, then could it have made out a weak case
against Mr. Shah to please the present BJP-led government? After all, Mr. Shah is seen as the second most
powerful person in the country, and as a close friend of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This indeed is the
question raised by Rubabuddin Sheikh, brother of Sohrabuddin. Given the track record of the CBI in recent
times, this is not a question to be dismissed casually. If
political pressures did indeed force the CBI to frame
Mr. Shah, then, quite plausibly, similar pressures could
now have been at work to facilitate his discharge in the
case.
The observations of Mr. Gosavi further underscore
the importance of freeing the CBI from the influence of
those in power. Although the CBI Director now enjoys
a fixed tenure, and the appointment is on the basis of
the recommendations of a high-level committee, the
investigating agency is still subject to the pulls and
pressures of the government at the Centre. At the end
of a civil rights movement against corruption in high
places, the Lokpal Act, 2013 was introduced with provisions to insulate the CBI from political interference.
But in high-profile, politically sensitive cases such as
the one involving Mr. Shah, the investigation can still
be tailored to suit the requirements of the rich and the
powerful if the higher courts do not take to strict and
constant monitoring. Sohrabuddins relatives have decided to appeal against Mr. Shahs discharge, and some
of the evidence will again come under scrutiny. At this
stage, if anything at all is certain, it is that the CBIs
handling of this case against Mr. Shah does not inspire
confidence in the public mind.

ecember 16 is a day of shame for

Pakistan. On this day the Pakistan
Army, the custodian of the nations
core values and national interests,
faced the ultimate humiliation of surrendering before the Indian Army at Dacca. Fortythree years later to the day, the Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group nurtured by the Pakistan Army, carried out the
most barbaric and macabre massacre of over
130 schoolchildren to avenge the Armys six
month-old Operation Zarb-e-Azb. However,
India-haters and India-baiters this includes
Hafiz Saeed and Gen. Pervez Musharraf
were quick to blame India. Only those living in
denial in Pakistan could have defended this
atrocity.
Long ago, the Pakistan Army created armed
militias, which it called the Mujahideen and
the Taliban (terrorist proxies to the rest of the
world), to act as force multipliers of Pakistans
foreign policy against its neighbours. Instead,
some of these strategic assets are now rebounding and rather than facilitating strategic depth in Afghanistan and India, have
secured strategic space for themselves within
Pakistan. Successive Army Chiefs, while admitting that the primary threat is from within,
are unable and unwilling to take their eye off
the eastern front India but with reason.
Without this bogey, the Army would lose its
primacy in the hierarchy of state order. Pakistan remains the epicentre of terrorism.

A turning point?
The statistics are mind-boggling. In 2013,
according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal
(SATP), jihadi terrorism worldwide resulted
in the killing of 18,000 people. Of these, 80 per
cent were Muslims with Pakistan figuring
among the five worst-affected countries; the
others being Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Since 9/11, nearly 60,000 terrorists, civilians and security force personnel have been
killed in Pakistan. The Pakistan Taliban and
al-Qaeda have killed 15,000 security personnel nearly as many have died in wars against
India. These figures show that the enterprise
of bleeding India through a thousand cuts is
working in the reverse. Pakistani apologists
say their country is the biggest victim of terrorism without conceding that it is hara-kiri.
The Peshawar incident has reportedly united the political opposition and government
and one hopes that the India-centric military
which is substantially Islamised and radicalised, will now be willing to mainstream its
misguided Muslim brothers. After Peshawar,

Nawaz Sharifs new blueprint to defeat terrorism,

a monumental task, is not one for Pakistan alone.
Assuming that Islamabad is serious about rolling
back what is an existential threat, the challenge
has to be dealt with locally, regionally and
internationally
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif outlined his vision to tackle the unaddressed
challenges of terrorism and extremism, making four salient points. The first was ending
the divergence over the ownership of the war
(since many claim Pakistan is fighting Americas war) and his categorical statement that
this is our war.
Second, he said, Pakistans soil will not be
allowed to be used for acts of terrorism against
a neighbouring country. Afghanistan has
been a victim of cross-border terrorism for the
last three decades. Pakistans Army Chief Gen.
Raheel Sharif has made several visits to Kabul
with one immediately after the Peshawar incident to get Afghanistan President Ashraf
Ghani to act against TTP sanctuaries in the
Kunar province of East Afghanistan where its
supremo, Mullah Fazlullah is holed up. Why
should Mr. Ghani oblige Pakistan unless there

clear: the ones who hurt Pakistan are bad and

have to be hunted down. Those who hurt inimical neighbours are good and an enduring
asset. Mr. Sharifs new blueprint to defeat
terrorism, root and branch, is a monumental
task and not one for Pakistan alone. Assuming
that Islamabad is serious about rolling back
what is an existential threat, the challenge has
to be dealt with at three levels: local, regional
and international.

Reconfiguring Pakistan
In the New Year, all Pakistanis must assemble at the equivalent of the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore to pledge to eliminate
dahshatgardi (terrorism). This upheaval,
which is of Pakistans own making, has to be
tackled on the political, military, economic
and ideological planks. In this, the Army, the
government, the political opposition and civil

Statistics show that the enterprise of bleeding India through

a thousand cuts is working in the reverse. Pakistani apologists
say their country is the biggest victim of terrorism without
conceding that it is hara-kiri.

is a quid pro quo? At best there will be notional

operations but only a U.S. drone can down the
dreaded mullah. Generals John Campbell
(ISAF), Sher Mohammad Karimi (ANA) and
Sharif have met to coordinate military operations on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
On the eastern front, India has not forgotten
the pledges made by Gen. Musharraf at least
four times after the Lashkar-e-Taibas strike
against the Indian Parliament, to end terrorism, permanently, visibly, irreversibly and to
the satisfaction of India. Still, Mumbai
happened.
Third, Mr. Sharif said, Pakistan would not
rest till the last terrorist was eliminated from
its soil. This assertion is most relevant to the
fourth point, when for the first time anyone in
Pakistan has removed the distinction between
good and bad terrorists though its definition is

society should be on the same page. A task as

mammoth as reconfiguring Pakistan is to become a national mission. The immediate priority should be the western front where the
use of force has to be recalibrated it must be
more nimble and not the kinetic employment
of air and artillery. More boots are required on
the ground with a focus on winning hearts and
minds. The all-out use of force has resulted in
unintended collateral damage leading to a sea
of internally displaced persons and refugees
and scores of casualties. Counter-insurgency
and counter-terrorism strategies need to be
rebooted. The new 17-point action plan will
have to feed into the existing National Counter Terrorism Authority in which the Army
Chief has a key role. It envisages the formation of a special 5,000-strong anti-terrorism
force with fast-track military courts to convict

CARTOONSCAPE

Departing with
a mixed legacy
he timing of Mahendra Singh Dhonis retirement from Test cricket is consistent with his
earlier choices as a cricketer and a team leader. Despite his cult following and camerafriendly smile, Dhoni was always a private sort of person who kept major decisions under wraps until the
last minute. In the event, the fact that he chose to call it
a day in Tests when everybody is asking why rather
than why not, is not at all surprising. But he might have
better served the cause of Indian cricket had he completed the series the fourth Test against Australia
begins on January 6 in Sydney before handing over
the reins to Virat Kohli. Perhaps he wanted to leave
quietly, without fanfare. Through much of Indias successful run, whether in Tests or limited overs cricket,
the man who emerged from Indian crickets backwaters in Jharkhand has had no qualms about letting
others take centre stage. This was never more obvious
than when he allowed Sachin Tendulkar to hog the
limelight after winning the World Cup at home in 2011.
Dhoni, for the most part, has preferred to remain in the
background. This is in stark contrast to his style of play
on the field something that is at once flamboyant and
awe-inspiring when he is at his best. Some of the big
shots with which he brings the spectators to their feet
including his patented helicopter shot are more
readily associated with an extroverted personality.
For all his success in the longer form of the game,
especially at home, Dhonis image was overwhelmingly
shaped through his exploits in limited overs cricket.
Yet, his 90 Tests, 4,876 runs, 256 catches and 38 stumpings prove that he could shine in the longer version too.
His 224 against Australia at Chennai in 2013 altered
the series. Earlier this year, when the rest of the batting, barring Murali Vijay, struggled in England, Dhoni
scored 349 runs with four 50s. The numbers state that
he was Indias most successful captain, but that record
of 27 wins and 18 losses from 60 Tests hides a disturbing statistic his men lost 15 away games, most of
them in the last three years. His failure to rouse an
outfit suffering the pangs of transition, his refusal to
speak when the squad he led in the Indian Premier
League, Chennai Super Kings, was mired in controversy, or even his questionable sense of humour as
evident in him talking about Virat Kohli stabbing Shikhar Dhawan are all blips that are part of a complicated personality. India will miss him in Tests, but
thankfully he is still available in an arena in which he
excels the pulse-pounding abridged contest under
lights. His ultimate test will come in a few weeks time
when India begins its defence of the World Cup in
challenging conditions.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

rehabilitation
is
concerned.
Governments must remember that
It is unfortunate, but not development needs to be more
unexpected, that a CBI Special inclusive and participatory.
Ashutosh Dalal,
Court has found no evidence
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh
against BJP president Amit Shah in
the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and
Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter Development may be the need of the
cases (Dec.31). If the CBI has taken a hour but it should not be at the cost
decade on the case, only to find no of large sections of society being
evidence against Mr. Shah, then it affected. India is a developing
should have logically asked who country and largely reliant on
killed Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife agriculture. Therefore, there needs
and aide Tulsiram Prajapati, and to be a provision to exempt fertile
why. The CBI has once again proved land from acquisition for any type of
the oft-repeated apprehension that project.
Sundeep Kumar Singh,
it is a caged parrot and a
Allahabad
handmaiden of the government.
A. Jainulabdeen,
Chennai A reading of the items included
under what constitutes fast track
The court finding substance in Mr. shows they are essential, unlike
Shahs main contention that he was what Mr. Jairam Ramesh and Mr.
involved in the case for political Muhammad Khan have argued in
reasons is too serious an their article. Those who want
observation to be ignored. For this progress should not raise objections
reason alone, the CBI must as those affected constitute a
challenge the order to seek minuscule percentage of the total
vindication of its often questioned populace. A few people may have to
credibility. One is sure that there lose something for the general
benefit of society. I do not see the
will be a political slugfest.
S.K. Choudhury, need to get upset over amendments
Bengaluru that are still at a formative stage.
K. Rajendran,
Chennai
The ordinance to amend the Right
to
Fair
Compensation, The article appears to be more about
Transparency in Land Acquisition, political and moralistic posturing
Rehabilitation and Resettlement than a reasoned critique. The
Act, 2013 (Editorial, and Fencing writers have conveniently skipped
the farmer out, both Dec.31) might the reason why the government was
pave the way for faster and easier forced to tweak the law. The Act
land acquisition for infrastructure- brought forward by the UPA
related projects. Although such government, notwithstanding its
projects might ensure speedy professed noble intentions, had
development of local areas, they will virtually stalled land acquisition for
also have an impact on the lives of many
projects.
The
UPA
the people as far as their government used policymaking as a

No evidence

Land Act ordinance

terrorists and ban malicious speech. Madrassa

syllabi is being revised.
Concurrent with military operations, an
ideological campaign has to be waged using
social media, the Internet, the print and electronic media, clerics and places of worship.
The Armys ongoing counter radicalisation
and de-radicalisation programmes have to be
revamped. A similar plan to disarm and demobilise the good Taliban, like the LeT in Punjab
and Azad Kashmir will be the litmus test of
Islamabads earnestness to root out terrorism. That perhaps may be in the distant future
but at the very least it can order the closing
down of terrorist camps and rein in the offending groups. Simultaneously, it can restrain Hafiz Saeed and his ilk from baiting
India. Islamabad can carry out visible measures to prevent another Mumbai from happening. It will need to take other measures to
live up to the commitments made by Mr. Sharif, post-Peshawar. But for any realistic outcomes to happen, Gen. Sharif has to give his
assent.

For a regional effort

The regional effort should commence with
India offering to resume the composite dialogue which must include Afghanistan in the
context of the U.S.s withdrawal and misgivings about Indias role in financing and training the TTP. Afghanistan unquestionably is
the regions priority issue and linked to Pakistans war against the TTP (alas not the Haqqanis, the Afghan Taliban and the
Hizb-e-Islami). The defusion of these strategic assets or at least their reining in by the
Pakistan Army will be conducive to the peace
process in Afghanistan. A joint and special
AfPak Commission is in the offing which must
ultimately lead to an Af-Pak-India trilateral
intergovernmental group which can address
the menace of terrorism under both the UN
and South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) conventions on counter-terrorism. What India and Pakistan can do
together and along with Kabul towards stabilising Afghanistan and the region has been
discussed on Track II since 2007. Its potential
is profound.
China has indicated serious interest in filling the vacuum created by the withdrawal of
the West in Afghanistan. Mr. Ghani has urged
China to persuade its best friend and ally,
Pakistan, to help in the reconciliation process.
Pakistan holds the key to restoring a modicum
of calm on the western front. Russia, Pakistans newest friend, knows full well that the
Mujahideen (the present Taliban) of its era
takes its orders from Islamabad. Russia and
China are current strategic allies and can
pressure Pakistan into freezing cross-border
activities in Afghanistan. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has both China
and Russia as its lead members with Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and India as observers.
Its primary pursuit is counter-terrorism. Regional networking of the SCO and SAARC
(which has a convention on counter-terrorism) in coordinating and implementing regional and international agreements on
combating terrorism is feasible.
Internationally, the UN Secretary General,
Ban ki-Moon, has declared 2015 as the year to
focus on the elimination of terrorism. India,
as a long-suffering victim of cross-border terrorism, has periodically sponsored comprehensive resolutions at the UN on combating
terrorism. During his recent visit to Australia,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid stress on
taking action against those who harbour terrorists, empowering states that will fight them
and having a policy of no distinction between
terrorist groups and delinking religion and
terrorism.
After Peshawar, Mr. Sharif has unveiled a
grand vision to fight terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations. Not withstanding the army of disbelievers and sceptics, Gen. Raheel
and Mr. Nawaz Sharif deserve the space, the
support and the good luck in implementing it.
(Gen. Ashok Mehta is convenor of the Track
II India-Pakistan and the India-Afghanistan
Policy Group.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
political tool to bolster its image as a
champion of the downtrodden,
without bothering to consider the
practical implications of thrusting
feel good and impractical polices
on the nation. Which is better? A
land acquisition process that helps
the farmer to sell his land, if he
wants to do so, at market rates, or an
obstructionist piece of legislation
that neither benefits the farmer nor
helps stalled projects to take off? At
the same time, the government
must not use the amended law as a
licence to forcibly takeover farm
lands.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram

Appeal by historians
This refers to the report, Dont
distort the past: historians
(Dec.31). I request the members of
the Indian History Congress to read
a good translation of the Sushruta
Samhita (6th Century BCE) and
chapter 16 on Rhinoplasty
practised in ancient India. This is
just a sample. There are several
other surgeries described in this
monumental work. The history of
India and scientific methods
practised are just not what the
Anglo-Saxon world prescribed to
this country. Let us not make
sweeping observations condemning
our own past out of ignorance.
S. Balachandran,
Chennai

Dhonis decision
Mahendra Singh Dhonis sudden
decision to retire from Test cricket
has been received with mixed
responses by fans and experts alike
(Dec.31). It was the contention of
the experts that Dhoni stopped
adding value to the Test team in the

last two years. He started his career

with great aplomb as a free-spirited
wicketkeeper-batsman and soon
ascended to the captaincy in all
formats of the game. Under his
leadership, India reached the
pinnacle in Test cricket, earning the
No. 1 Test ranking for the first time
ever in 2009. In addition, he helped
the Indian Team to win the 2007
T20 World Cup and also the 2011
World Cup. But since then, it has
been downhill.
C.K.R. Nathan,
Mumbai
If one looks at the history of Indian
cricket, I dont see many Indian
players who dared to make such
calls. At the end of the day, its all
about a brave and strange decision,
but one that creates enormous
respect for the man.
Udhayakamalan M.,
Chennai
In a country where cricket is like
religion, Dhonis sudden exit will
shock many cricket fans. Very
recently, an Indian boxer was
punished for turning down a medal.
Similarly, Dhoni must be punished
for abandoning the team during an
overseas tour. He has set a bad
example to the youngsters who are
members of the Indian cricket team.
Cricket has been called a
gentlemens game, but of late it
has been reduced to being a
businessmans game.
M.V. Nahusharaj,
Bangalore
It was apparent that MSD would opt
for retirement from the longer
format of the game sooner than
later. The best thing about him was
that he was ever cool and went about

playing in his own inimitable style

as the situation demanded, never
after creating records and owning
up failures like a true leader. His
very presence made/still makes a lot
of difference in the Indian camp.
Srinivasan Umashankar,
Nagpur
I am not sure about this sudden plan
of retirement as it raises a barrage of
questions. His ability to fit himself
into whatever the situation has
made him one of the most admired
stand-alone cricket players till date.
This void in Test cricket cannot be
filled for a long time.
Anupam Maithil,
Bhopal

Credit for revenues

In his analysis, A mid-year
assessment that does not surprise
(Business Review page, Dec.29),
the writer (like some others before
him) has alleged that the UPA
government took credit for
revenue receipts accruing in the
next financial year and pushing
expenditure
items
including
subsidies to the next financial year.
Anyone familiar with government
accounts knows that a government
cannot take credit for revenues not
actually received in a financial year:
the Controller of Government
Accounts will reject such suspect
revenues. Further, despite denials
by the government, no one has so far
pointed out any item of expenditure
in 2012-13 or 2013-14 that was
pushed into the next financial
year. Will the writer please
substantiate his allegations with
evidence, including the head of
expenditure and the amount?
P. Chidambaram,
Chennai
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Taking on good, bad, all Talibans

I
Suhasini Haidar

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015

Hasty changes
in land law
hen a law is enacted after considerable
debate and consultation, it will be wise to
study the experience of its implementation for some time before it is amended,
in order to address perceived difficulties. Any such
amendment within the first year of its entry into force,
especially one pushed through as an ordinance, will be
inevitably perceived as hasty, even if on the positive
side it is meant to eliminate delays in land acquisition.
In this backdrop, the Right to Fair Compensation and
Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014, is bound
to face criticism that the changes constitute a significant dilution of a progressive law. The Congress and
the Left parties are likely to oppose the changes when
the law comes to Parliament in the form of a bill to
replace the ordinance. In substance, the ordinance
makes a significant change by omitting in respect of a
wide range of projects the requirements of a social
impact assessment study, the informed consent of a
large section of the families affected by the acquisition
of land. These projects include those that are vital to
national security and defence, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and housing for the poor, besides
industrial corridors and infrastructure and social infrastructure projects. The vital element of making acquisition a consultative and participative process may
thus be subject to bureaucratic discretion.
The principle of eminent domain, which justifies
the compulsory acquisition of land by the state for a
public purpose, normally ought to be accompanied by a
duty to give fair compensation. However, the colonial
Land Acquisition Act of 1894 had in effect reduced
compensation to a mere token in relation to the market
value, and for decades it was used to deprive many,
mostly farmers, of their land for a pittance. Last years
law radically altered this relationship between citizen
and state and created a fair compensation right, as well
as a new structure for rehabilitation and resettlement.
It also cast a duty on the government to create specified
amenities in every resettlement area. Thankfully, the
ordinance does not dilute these provisions, but additionally extends them to a list of Acts that were previously exempted. However, this is not its own
contribution, as the original Act itself said such a provision shall be enacted within a year. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has projected the amendments as those
that strengthen protection for the affected families and
also removes difficulties in implementation. Perhaps
the regimes intentions could have been better understood had the changes been introduced as a bill in
Parliament and referred to a committee for appraisal.

n its multi-point National Action Plan

against terror, Pakistans government
and military has envisaged a plan more
comprehensive than any other in the
past 20 years. It was in 1994 that the Taliban
first emerged to take power in Kandahar,
funded and trained by Pakistani officials, and
will be full circle for the country if its leaders
go ahead with the ambitious course laid out
in the plan. The steps include the establishment of fast-track anti-terror courts, a crackdown on banned organisations and terrorists
and choking their finances, disarming all militia, and the regulation of madrassas that
indoctrinate them.
Pakistan has made such declarations before. The first was when it became a partner in the war on terror in 2001 and agreed
to look for Osama bin Laden, and again in
2002, when President Pervez Musharraf announced a crackdown on anti-India groups
like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the
Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). Neither of those
pronouncements came to much, but there is
still reason to hope that the new announcement recognises that the people of Pakistan
want a decisive turn after the massacre of
over 130 schoolchildren in Peshawar. It is
now a battle for Pakistans soul, one made
even more complicated by the fact that the
perpetrators of this diabolical operation once
trained alongside the Afghan Taliban in a war
in which Pakistan was once a prime mover.

The many Talibans

Much has changed since those days, in the
1990s, when the Taliban claimed Kabul, and
welcomed every kind of jihadi group into the
country, and some of those fighters were given access to Pakistans borders with India, so
as to fight in Kashmir. A distinction between
good Taliban and bad Taliban has come
up between the Afghan Taliban groups and
the Pakistani Taliban who target the Pakistani military and civilians. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs statement that there will now be
no good or bad Taliban is welcome for most
Pakistanis, but the euphemisms of good and
bad are only a more visible part of the threat
they face from the Taliban. It is important
that Pakistans leaders recognise the other
Taliban threats today, in a self-destructive
war they have already squandered too much
time on, and after Mr. Sharif has committed
to fighting All the Talibans.
To begin with, the Afghan Taliban and the
Pakistani Taliban, as the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) that carried out the Peshawar
massacre now represents, werent always
separate entities. In 2008, when the TTP first
came up under Baitullah Mehsud, its chief

Despite a change in mood in Pakistan after the

Peshawar massacre, India cannot afford to be
complacent given that the network of the various
Talibans is more united and synchronised than
ever, and benefits from the differences between
South Asian neighbours

sood Azhars control of Bahawalpur, or Hafiz

Saeeds citadel in Muridke, these groups now
run terror enclaves within Pakistan, unchallenged. Second, like Abdul Ghazi, the Maulana of Islamabads Lal Masjid, sooner or later
these two men will end up challenging their
military patrons in much the same way that
Ghazi took on Gen. Musharraf a stones
throw from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
headquarters.
Notwithstanding a stand-off that left more
than 100 people dead, and an operation that
claimed Gen. Musharrafs job, in 2007, Ghazi
remains a threat to the Pakistani establishment. In the wake of the Peshawar massacre,
hundreds of Pakistani protesters surrounded
the Lal Masjid and finally shamed the government into seeking an FIR against him.
Despite obtaining a warrant, it is yet to arrest
him. Meanwhile, the head of the LeJ, Malik
Ishaq, in jail for the attack in Lahore on the
Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009, has been

There is the Taliban threat that no one likes to speak of

the institutional Taliban, or the radicalised elements who exist
within Pakistans military, civil and judicial establishments.

children as suicide bombers. For Pakistans released, while the LeT operations chief, Zaki
purposes, none of them should have been Ur Rahman Lakhvi, has been nearly released
counted as the good Taliban as they were.
twice.
With their access to trained jihadis in FedReign of terror
erally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA),
The next distinction that should never Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir, Azhar,
have been made is with the Punjabi Taliban. Saeed and Ishaq will be much more difficult
The groups in Punjab like the JeM, the Lash- to control. And the stand-off with them is
kar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), the Sipah-e-Sahaba, and going to be even more bloody than the Lal
the LeT now control vast parts of Pakistans Masjid operation was. It is inevitable because
most powerful province, with compounds it is evident that the Punjabi Taliban is deepacross acres, congregations in the lakhs, and ly linked to every major terror attack in Pathousands of young recruits at their semi- kistan, including the brutal killings of Shias,
naries. Despite all the outrage expressed by Ahmadis and Christians. No one typifies this
India over 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, link more than the case of Dr. Usman, the
the hijacking of an Indian flight (IC-814) and first man Mr. Sharif ordered to be hanged
Parliament attack mastermind Masood Az- after lifting the moratorium on executions in
har, Pakistan still sees these men as allies and December. Usman, or Mohammad Aqeel,
is quite comfortable in letting their groups was trained in the Armys medical corps,
run riot in Punjab. But they have missed two from where he was recruited by the LeJ.
important outcomes: first, whether it is Ma- Along with TTP leaders and other Taliban

CARTOONSCAPE

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Health as a right
The early indications in the draft
National Health Policy, 2015, are
encouraging
(Centre
moots
health as a fundamental right,
Jan.1). However, it must be noted
that universal medical care is not
the same as universal health care.
Along with health, food, shelter
and sanitation should get priority. I
would
also
suggest
the
nationalisation of the entire
medical education system, which
includes nursing education and
paramedical education.
Araveeti Rama Yogaiah,
Hyderabad

commanders, he then went on to plan an

assassination attempt on Gen. Musharraf,
the General Head Quarters (GHQ) attack, the
attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and the
Marriott hotel bombing. The Punjab link to
the Peshawar massacre has already emerged,
with four suspects detained in Hasilpur in
Bahawalpur. It was from here that some calls
were made to the attackers as they attacked
the students.

Embedded in the establishment

patron was Mullah Omar, the chief of the
Taliban. Mehsud himself had been very close
to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and
declared a governor by Mullah Omar in 2004
before five major Taliban commanders, including men responsible for the death of Benazir Bhutto and assassination attempts on
Mr. Hamid Karzai and Gen. Musharraf.
Therefore, it is baffling how the narrative
today has become one of Pakistan protecting
the Afghan Taliban, while Pakistan accuses
Afghanistan of sheltering TTP leaders and
other members of the Pakistan Taliban.
The differences between Mehsud and other commanders like his cousins Qari Hussain Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, or rival
Mullah Nazir ultimately led to factions
coming up on the Pakistani side of the border. But having trained in the Afghan jihad,
they never really strayed from that evil purpose, of killing Pakistani civilians and Army
personnel and training scores of Pakistani

Uncertain outcome
in Greece
reek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who
recently lost his gamble of holding an early
presidential vote in order to shore up the
terms of a fresh economic package from the
European Union, forced a snap general election within
two years of coming to power. The January 25 poll has
brought centre-stage the main opposition party, the
radical left-wing Syriza that takes an anti-austerity
stance. Equally, the uncertainty over the Greek election outcome brought into sharp focus the capacity of
European Union leaders to influence national governments to implement unpopular economic reforms. The
developments in December, involving three rounds of
voting by the Greek Parliament which eventually failed
to elect a President, are reminiscent of the high political drama of 2011. On that occasion, George Papandreou had announced that the issue of approval of the
Eurozone debt deal for Greece would be decided in a
popular referendum, sending shock waves across European capitals and causing a splutter in the financial
markets. Amid the groundswell of public anger against
crippling cuts in government spending and reductions
in wages and pensions, a plebiscite would have potentially risked a Greek exit from the Eurozone.
Syrizas support has seen a steady surge over the past
decade, culminating in its emergence as the second
largest party in the outgoing Parliament. Under the
charismatic leadership of Alexis Tsipras, it won the
May 2014 European Parliament elections handsomely,
relegating the countrys ruling New Democracy to the
second position. Since then, Syriza has led in the opinion polls. The party rapidly rose to prominence since
the debt crisis in Greece unravelled, by portraying the
terms of the bailout with European and international
institutions as a harsh and arbitrary imposition. In
more recent months, it has spoken of softening the
terms of the bailout and of having the countrys debt
written off by half. Syrizas sharp rhetoric in recent
weeks seems to have been muted, perhaps from a
recognition of Athenss European obligations under
the existing arrangements. The party may or may not
capture power in the elections. But even if it comes
anywhere close, it can be expected to exert considerable influence on the manner Athens negotiates with
Brussels the terms of its economic reforms. Syrizas
performance would also be watched closely in countries where the appeal of anti-austerity, and even antiEU parties, has been on the rise and where elections are
due this year. Gradually, a scenario may be evolving
where domestic forces exert greater influence on the
trajectories of European integration. This may lay bare
the limits of the post-War vision in a globalised world.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2015

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

similar to the implementation of

the Right to Education could be
emulated, where schools have to
follow a mandate to accommodate
a certain set number of
underprivileged students. Medical
institutes should follow the same
model.
Vikram Sundaramurthy,
Chennai

Bahadur Shastri stepping down

from the Ministry after a train
accident, and T.T. Krishnamachari
promptly resigning after an
inquiry. Those days are gone.
Whether the State police or the
CBI has to submit to the will of the
ruling party, we can only hope the
extent of such submission will be
within the limits.
S. Rajagopalan,
Chennai
The right to a healthy life is a
fundamental right and it is the duty
of any government to provide It does not require a masters
in
investigation
to
affordable, accessible and quality degree
health-care services to all. Public understand the pressures on the
policy should focus on universal agency when it is investigating the
health coverage, sanitation, safe possible involvement of a highdrinking
water,
nutrition, profile politician of the calibre of
education and the dispensing of Amit Shah in the encounter case.
necessary drugs free of cost. This At this juncture, the credibility of
can be done by increasing not only the CBI but also that of the
budgetary
support
for present government is at stake; it
infrastructure, reducing regional came to power riding on the back of
disparities, having a corruption- lofty promises. One can empathise
free environment, focussing on with the officials of the CBI who
outcomes, enabling community are not allowed to perform their
participation, and decentralising duties diligently and without
political interference.
health delivery services.
Shaveta Chandwani,
G.B. Sivanandam,
Rajpura, Punjab
Coimbatore

Including health as a fundamental

right under the right to life is a
benign step, but the government
has to know its implications first. A
top-down approach may not prove
beneficial in this area as the NRHM
is still not even realised and leaks
are a regular part of policy function
in India. This plan needs huge
infrastructure investment with the
establishment of more hospitals,
Public Health Centres and medical
colleges. India does need to look at
the social sector, but the goals must
We must acknowledge that our
be realised at the ground level.
Samarjit Mishra, law-enforcing agencies are by and
New Delhi large independent (Editorial,
Jan.1). Irrespective of which party
Making health a fundamental right is in power, however, the bending
will represent a landmark step. of rules became the norm
However, much hinges on the cost whenever there was a political
of infrastructure, given that angle. Morality in public life was at
current revenue structures project its height in governments formed
a shortfall between actuals and just after Independence. One can
expectations. In this, an approach cite instances of Ministers like Lal

CBIs credibility

Finally, there is the Taliban threat that no

one, not even in Rawalpindi, Washington, or
in New Delhi likes to speak of the institutional Taliban, or the radicalised elements who exist within Pakistans military,
civil and judicial establishments. For this,
one has to read the works of Pakistans best
investigative journalists. In his riveting
work, Talibanisation of Pakistan: 9/11 to 26/
11, journalist Amir Mir has written of the
work of the Tableeghi Jamaat, whose headquarters in Raiwind adjoin Mr. Sharifs family estate. It was former military leader
Zia-ul-Haq who encouraged the Tableeghis
to shape Pakistans military into an army of
Allah. Since then, several top-level officers,
and chiefs of the ISI in particular, have been
members (most notably, Lt.Gen. Hameed
Gul and Lt. Gen. Javed Nasir, both retired
officers known to liaison with terror groups).
Many Pakistani government servants, military officers and scientists devote at least a
part of their annual leave to do voluntary
work for the Tableeghi Jamaat, writes Mr.
Mir, adding that the Ijtema congregation
represented the picture of a well-designed,
well-managed strategy to organize Islamic
combatants, ready to wage jihad. In fact,
every attack on Pakistans military installations, from the GHQ, to Mehran naval base,
to the Minhas air force base, or several attacks in FATA have been traced to radicalised
officers.
It was this trail of radicalisation within the
Pakistani forces that journalist Saleem Shahzad (who had interviewed both Kashmiri and
Baitullah Mehsud) was uncovering when he
was kidnapped in May 2011. His body was
found in the Jhelum bearing signs of torture.
In his book, Inside Al Qaeda and the Taliban:
Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11, released just 10
days before his death, Shahzad says that
there is an ISI within the ISI and a jihadi
army within the army that operates as a
sleeper cell while their interests align with
the Pakistani establishments, i.e., in fighting
India. It was his case that the Mumbai attacks
were the work of a radicalised group of Army
and ISI officers of the 313 brigade run by
ISI/LeT militant Ilyas Kashmiri, who subsequently became al-Qaedas commander
and was killed in a drone attack in 2011. His
theory, that found few takers in India as it did
in Pakistan, was that this group, with help
from the al-Qaeda, the LeT and others had
one aim: to spark a major war between India
and Pakistan. Though they havent succeeded as yet, Talibanised officials within the
Pakistani establishment will keep trying to
do so.
While there was deep outrage and empathy across India following the Peshawar
incident, there was also a certain amount of
Schadenfreude among strategists, that the
terror Pakistani groups have unleashed
against its neighbour had come home to their
military masters. But India can hardly afford
to be complacent, given that this network of
the various Talibans is more united and
synchronised than ever, and benefits from
the differences between the South Asian
neighbours in the areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India it focusses on. For Pakistan,
the only hope is that Mr. Sharif challenges
all the Talibans, if he wants to steer his
country away from its course over a cliff. It is
hard to see how long the Pakistani leadership
can refuse to see what history has taught
everyone from the ancient Turks, to the
United States with the Mujahideen, to the
Saudis with al-Qaeda, and even what India
learnt from the LTTE experience that
sooner or later, mercenaries you engage with
will turn on you, your leaders, and even your
children.
suhasini.h@thehindu.co.in

Often, the countrys topmost

investigating agency finds itself on
the mat for its slackness and the
unprofessional way of filing cases
and then investigating them. The
case of Mr. Shah has exposed all
these weaknesses. If a case filed by
the CBI is lost on technical
grounds, it can be excused. But
political motives being attributed
to the CBI in the case of Amit Shah
should be viewed as a serious issue

and it calls for stern action against journalists and their media outlets.
Santhosh Mathew,
all those involved in filing the case.
M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Puducherry
Badvel, Andhra Pradesh

Sale of acid

It is pertinent that the

Sohrabuddin case was handed over
to the CBI by the Supreme Court.
Unless and until the top court finds
prima facie evidence in a particular
case and lapses on the part of the
state investigating agency at least
to some extent, it would have never
been inclined to refer the matter to
the CBI. Anyhow, the courts order
impinges on the great expectations
placed on the CBI.
M. Xavier,
Vallioor, Tamil Nadu

One needs to comment on the

Union Home Ministrys plan to
have a system for online
monitoring of the sale of acid
(Acid sale to be monitored
online, Dec. 28). How is one to
know the volume and extent of sale
online? Most purchases are illegal
and through the black market that
requires no online presence.
Hence, it is hard to track the entire
process of sale. Manufacturers are
also getting to be innovative by
renaming their products rather
than calling them acid, as has
been the case. There must be a ban
It was sad to read of the demise of on concentrated acid formulations
veteran journalist B.G. Verghese, and a monitoring of trade licences.
Nivedha Jayaraman,
whose last words that he had a lot
Salem
of unfinished business, even at the
age of 88, showed his total
commitment to his journalistic There appears to be no end to the
career (Dec.31). His editorial spate of attacks on women using
comments on Indira Gandhis acid. It is an act so horrifying as it
decision to merge Sikkim with burns the skin in no time and
India provides proof of his onlookers most often do not and
unbiased writing. I am sure his cannot help the victim. It is time
writings will be a treasure trove for the government lays down strict
all writers. His was an unblemished regulations on the sale of acid,
path, especially in the field of which is still readily available.
More than this, all health centres
journalism.
E.S. Chandrasekaran, must be well-versed in providing
Chennai immediate and the right first aid.
Acid attacks constitute a most
B.G. Verghese belonged to a rare heinous form of gender-based
class of genuine journalists to violence. Their perpetrators need
whom courage and dedication were to be punished severely.
Neelu Sharma,
the key words. He will be missed in
Mysuru
todays world of compromised

B.G. Verghese

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Speaking truth to power

P
Peter Ronald deSouza

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

Birth of a new
institution
n line with the Government of Indias approach
of less government and a move away from centralised planning, the NITI Aayog with a new
structure and focus on policy will replace the
64-year old Planning Commission that was seen as a
vestige of the socialist era. The new body, conceived
more in the nature of a think-tank that will provide
strategic and technical advice, will be helmed by the
Prime Minister with a Governing Council of Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors, similar to the National Development Council that set the objectives for the Planning
Commission. The NITI Aayog seeks substitute centralised planning with a bottom-up approach where
the body will support formulation of plans at the village
level and aggregate them at higher levels of government.
In short, the new body is envisaged to follow the norm
of cooperative federalism, giving room to States to tailor
schemes to suit their unique needs rather than be dictated to by the Centre. This is meant to be a recognition
of the countrys diversity. The needs of a State such as
Kerala with its highly developed social indicators may
not be the same as that of, say, Jharkhand, which scores
relatively low on this count. If indeed the body does
function as has been envisaged now and the jury will
be out on that States will, for the first time, have a say
in setting their own development priorities.
One significant change of note is that one of the
functions of the body will be to address the needs of
national security in economic strategy. Nowhere is this
more relevant than in the area of energy security where
India, unlike China, has failed to evolve a coherent
policy over the years. Similarly, networking with other
national and international think-tanks and with experts and practitioners, as has been envisaged, will add
heft to the advice that the NITI Aayog will provide. To
deflect criticism that this will be a free-market institution that ignores the deprived, the government has
taken care to make the point that the body will pay
special attention to the sections of society that may not
benefit enough from economic progress. How this operates in practice will bear close watching. Interestingly,
though it will not be formulating Central plans any
more, the NITI Aayog will be vested with the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating the implementation
of programmes. Thus, while the advisory and monitoring functions of the erstwhile Planning Commission
have been retained in the new body, the executive
function of framing Plans and allocating funds for Planassisted schemes has been taken away. But who will
now be responsible for the critical function of allocating
Plan funds? Hopefully, there will be greater clarity on
this aspect in the days ahead.

rofessor Amartya Sen is probably the

most renowned Indian intellectual
anywhere today. His contribution to
development thinking has been seminal and his work on moral philosophy, within
the analytic tradition, stands among the very
best. Books such as On Ethics and Economics,
Development as Freedom, and his Introduction to Adam Smiths The Theory of Moral
Sentiments, along with his extensive articles
on rational choice and human capability,
show his ability to bridge disciplines and, in
the process, foreground important issues
about the nature of what Malraux called the
Human Estate. He deservedly enjoys a place
among the most innovative and influential
thinkers of the last 50 years. These stellar
qualities of mind, and of public engagement,
earned him the Mastership of Trinity College,
Cambridge, the Thomas W. Lamont professorship, and professorship of economics and
philosophy at Harvard, the Bharat Ratna, and
the Nobel Prize in Economics. His fine distinction between beings and functionings,
as key components of the idea of human development has given us, at just the right level of
abstraction, crucial conceptual pegs by which
to assess the working of Indian democracy.
Prof. Sen has written extensively on India.

Views on Modi
With this formidable reputation it is no
wonder that the questions asked of him at the
Express Adda, transcribed and posted on
the web on December 22, 2014, were so tame.
While most of what he said has been said
before and has become part of our commonsense, one statement, which has several parts,
was new and calls for our critical engagement.
It concerns his view on the current Prime
Minister. I quote: One of the things that Mr.
Modi did do is to give people a sense of faith
that things can happen. It may not have been
exactly the things that I would have liked but I
think this is an achievement. This wouldnt
make my differences with Mr. Modi on issues
like secularism go away but, on the other
hand, if we dont recognize it, were missing
out on something very important. The paper
headlined the above statement. They too
thought it was the key statement of the Adda.
There was no mention of the controversies,
on Ghar Vapsi that have drawn headlines
over the last few weeks, or of the ordinance on
land acquisition and its implications for
tribal communities, or on communal violence
as an electoral strategy such as in Trilokpuri,
or on declaring December 25 as Good Gov-

When an eminent public intellectual like Amartya

Sen speaks, the legitimacy of the government
stands either diminished or enhanced. In his
criticism, he initiates a new public discussion we
can draw upon. In his certificate of achievement,
opposing voices lose courage. Disquiet now has to
climb a higher mountain to be heard
ernance day. These issues which have caused
many of us much anxiety, were missing from
the published statement. He mentioned his
differences with the current regime but did
not elaborate.
Both his statement and his silences require
our critical scrutiny. Analytical philosophers
do not make casual statements. Their statements have a certain economy of language
which does not compromise on substance.
When they articulate a position, we can assume that that position is significant for them.
It derives from their conception of the just
and the good. When they refer to an issue in
brief we can also assume that the issue is less
significant because it has not deserved elaboration. When they ignore issues, these have
lower priority in their scheme of things. Analytical moral philosophers evaluate and judge.

can happen? Who are these people? Those

that filled Madison Square Garden or the Sydney Stadium or are they the Adivasis whose
lands are now going to be taken away more
easily with the amendments to the Forest
Rights Act? One has only to look at the report
of the high-level committee (the Xaxa Committee Report) to get a sense of the condition
of Adivasi communities and the further impact on them of the new policy on mining and
mineral extraction. Perhaps the people referred to are the minorities whom the Parivar
affiliates target, and the Prime Minister does
nothing to control, in their Ghar Vapsi programme? Surely he did not mean those who
will be most affected by the cut in allocation to
health and education, by as much as 20 per
cent in health, by the Narendra Modi government, because the cut goes against his entire

The dissenting tradition in India needs leadership. Noam

Chomsky does so when he speaks about the excesses of Israel
and the U.S.

When they do so in the case of India, they give

us some sense of How is India Doing? (to
borrow the title of a 1982 NYRB article of Prof.
Sen.)

Which people?
There are five parts to the statement that
need our attention. The first is to give people
a sense of faith that things can happen. The
second is not exactly the things that I would
have liked The third is but I think it is an
achievement. The fourth is wont make my
differences with Mr. Modi go away, and the
fifth is if we dont recognize it were missing
out on something very important. Each of the
five parts of his statement calls for a public
discussion. Let us discuss them in sequence.
What was Prof. Sen referring to when he
said to give people a sense of faith that things

argument of investment in these two (out of

the three) pillars of human development. Perhaps the people refers to the corporates but
even they, as per Bloomberg releases reported
in Livemint of December 22, are beginning to
feel disenchanted. So while it is unclear who
the people are who have been given a sense
of faith that things can happen, was this
statement based on a public opinion survey,
which he had access to, or is it just impressionistic? But analytic philosophers do not
make casual statements.
The second part, not exactly the things
that I would have liked, can be read in two
ways. It could be seen as language use, belonging to another culture a British understatement meaning instead not the things I like
or support and are things which I, in fact,
oppose, or it could be Indian English, mean-

CARTOONSCAPE

A step in the
right direction
et another bold initiative was taken on the last
day of 2014 when the Union government made
public the draft National Health Policy 2015.
The policy is a first step in achieving universal
health coverage by advocating health as a fundamental
right, whose denial will be justiciable. While it makes
a strong case for moving towards universal access to
affordable health-care services, there are innumerable
challenges to be overcome before the objectives become
a reality. The current government spending on health
care is a dismal 1.04 per cent of gross domestic product
(GDP), one of the lowest in the world; this translates to
Rs.957 per capita in absolute terms. The draft policy has
addressed this critical issue by championing an increase
in government spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP
(Rs.3,800 per capita) in the next five years. But even this
increase in allocation falls short of the requirement to
set right the dysfunctional health-care services in the
country. Citing the health-care systems low absorption
capacity and inefficient utilisation of funding as an alibi
for not raising the spending to 3 per cent of GDP is
nothing but a specious argument. Insufficient funding
over the years combined with other faulty practices
have led to a dysfunctional health-care system in the
country. Undivided focus is an imperative to strengthen
all the elements of health-care delivery. The failure of
the public health-care system to provide affordable
services has been the main reason that has led to increased out-of-pocket expenditure on health care. As a
result, nearly 63 million people are driven into poverty
every year. The Ebola crisis in Liberia, Guinea and
Sierra Leone, which underlined the repercussions of a
weak public health-care system, should serve as a grim
reminder of this.
The national programmes provide universal coverage
only with respect to certain interventions such as maternal ailments, that account for less than 10 per cent of
all mortalities. Over 75 per cent of the communicable
diseases are outside their purview and only a limited
number of non-communicable diseases are covered. It
is, therefore, crucial for the Union government to undertake proactive measures to upgrade the health-care
services of poorly performing States such as Bihar and
Uttar Pradesh. As it stands, health will be recognised as
a fundamental right through a National Health Rights
Act only when three or more States request it. Since
health is a State subject, adoption by the respective
States will be voluntary. Though a different approach
has been taken to improve adoption and implementation by States, the very objective of universal health
coverage that hinges on portability will be defeated in
the absence of uniform adoption across India.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

New policy body

many, one should not forget that the

Indian economy is among the
fastest growing, an achievement
made possible mainly because of
the vision and mission laid down by
the Commission from time to time.
It is clear that with the Prime
Minister focussing more on
economic policies, and NITI Aayog
seemingly
fuelled
by
such
ideologies, the welfarist approach
will be undermined soon.
Vishnu K.,
Thrissur

With the setting up of the NITI

Aayog or National Institution for
Transforming India (Jan.2) as a
successor
to
the
Planning
Commission, there must be a new
spirit and wisdom in planning the
development of the country. It must
proceed on the lines of the think
tank or policy institute in the U.S. It
was Jawaharlal Nehru who said that
planning
is
a
continuous
movement towards desired goals.
The governments goals must be
Merely renaming the Planning
similar to this.
A.J. Rangarajan, Commission wont work wonders.
Chennai The present dispensation at the
Centre is only focussing on slogans
Changing nomenclatures, if the and rhetoric. The very structure of
intent is to only stamp ones NITI Aayog is a threat to
supremacy, is a sign of poor federalism. Minimising the role of
governance. The people of India the government to being that of an
reaffirms
the
new
voted for change and not for enabler
unsettling
settled
areas
of governments neo-liberal and proparamount
importance.
Why corporate agenda. It is strange that
change for changes sake, giving the government believes the
fodder to the Opposition? Does trickle-down theory will solve the
NITI Aayog have any revolutionary problems of the nation.
Kiran Jose,
idea? There has to be a balance and
Pala, Kerala
breadth of vision in accepting good
things irrespective of the period.
Let the government not view
everything with suspicion.
The report, Govt. targets climate
Balasubramaniam Pavani, groups (Jan.2), and the MHA
Secunderabad stating that it would not
compromise on the national
It was the Planning Commission interest must be looked at from the
that gave India a mixed economic general view that NGOs are meant
outlook, where public sector to help the underdeveloped
enterprises existed alongside the sections in developing countries.
private sector to achieve a socialist But the last decade and a half has
pattern of society in a welfare state. seen NGOs opposing every possible
While the efficacy of the Planning project aimed at progress in our
Commission was criticised by country. Yes, the rehabilitation of

Under the scanner

SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015

ing a position close to what I would have

liked, but not exactly the same. The two
meanings are very different. They have different political implications. Which one did Prof.
Sen have in mind? This we will only know if we
get a list of the things on which Mr. Modi has
given people a sense of faith and another
contrasting list which Prof. Sen would prefer
to see. Since both lists are unavailable we have
to move to the third part of his statement, but
I think it is an achievement. He refers in the
sentence following this one, to the Prime Ministers statement at the Red Fort where the
Prime Minister talked about toilets and sanitation, etc, but Prof. Sen also mentions that
little has so far been achieved.
He applauds the Prime Minister on two
achievements: giving faith and raising issues. Coming from a moral philosopher, this
is high praise. This apparent endorsement is
troublesome because what some of us, such as
Gopal Gandhi and Romila Thapar, see as the
unravelling of the nation the banning of
books, rewriting of textbooks, the grant of a
one billion dollar sanction by the State Bank
of India to Mr. Adani for investments in
mining in Australia, a cutback of a similar
amount in allocations to health and education
sectors, major laws being passed through the
ordinance route, a proposed all India anticonversion law, rejection of some recommendations of the Collegium of the Supreme
Court for appointment of judges to the Court,
etc. Prof. Sen does not discuss.

Second order issues

The fourth, wont make my differences
with Mr. Modi go away. This part belongs to
the second order issues, what I have referred
to as the issue in brief. In other words, his
differences with Mr. Modi are not significant
enough for him, at a major public discussion,
after some months of the National Democratic Alliance government, to dwell upon. One
feels let down by this brevity since a public
intellectual, of global standing such as Prof.
Sen, must use the occasion to speak truth to
power. The dissenting tradition in India needs
such leadership. Noam Chomsky does so
when he speaks about the excesses of Israel
and the U.S. When an eminent public intellectual speaks, the legitimacy of the government
stands either diminished or enhanced. When
he criticises policies, he initiates a new public
discussion which lesser commentators, such
as us, can draw upon and develop. When a
moral philosopher of high standing awards a
certificate of achievement to a government,
opposing voices lose courage. Our disquiet
now has to climb a higher mountain to be
heard. There are times in the life of a society
when moral philosophers are called upon to
speak, not in brief, not by ignoring crucial
issues, but forthrightly by identifying the issues that define our times. They help the critical voices within society to speak because
they carry so much moral and philosophical
authority. This is what an Adda essentially is.
The fifth part of his statement, if we dont
recognize it were missing out on something
very important, addresses our scholarly sensibilities. He seems to be saying that we are
closed minds, caught in ideological fixations,
prone not to recognize it, inattentive to the
changed reality. It is both a critique of our
existing intellectual attitude and an invitation
to acknowledge that the ground has changed
because of the achievements of the Prime
Minister. We need to have open minds or else
we will miss something very important.
Does this it refer to the tectonic shift in
society, to the Hindu Rashtra? If it is, then yes,
it is something very important, but we have
not missed it. We have, in fact, been drawing
attention to it. So what was the point we were
missing?
The analytical moral philosopher needs to
be interrogated in the manner we have just
done. If his statements are casual, then he will
issue a clarification. If his statements are coded, then he will issue an elaboration. Either
way our public discourse will benefit from the
response of this quintessential argumentative
Indian.
(Peter Ronald deSouza is Professor at the
Centre for The Study of Developing Societies.
The views expressed are personal.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
land-affected people is needed, but
the diehard opposition to every
project is unfathomable. India is
being looked upon as a country that
will be in the forefront in the near
future. For this to happen,
accelerating progress will be key.
The international funding of NGOs
is suspect and there are many
questions about their work.
Maya Hemant Bhatkar,
Chennai

Taking on the Taliban

Pakistan will continue to foster
terror groups (Taking on good,
bad, all Taliban, Jan.2). It is a state
much like North Korea, gripped by
paranoia that constantly feeds into
imagined threats of facing great
injustice from the world and of
there being threats to its religion. It
is said that school textbooks there
contain all kinds of distorted
history and lead on young minds to
imbibe
religious
hatred.
A
generation of Pakistanis is said to
have received this education, of
promoting religious intolerance
and Indophobia. This is the crude
oil on which the terror economy
runs in Pakistan. If Pakistan is to
progress, it must teach its children
about secularism and peace, about
the need for friendship with
neighbours and a correct history.
Otherwise, names such as JeM,
LeT, LeJ or TTP will only keep
recurring and mutating and
continuing to strike terror.
Apurv Lall,
Ernakulam
It is wishful thinking that Pakistan
will finally awaken and start

eliminating terror on its soil.

Hafeez Sayeed and Dawood
Ibrahim will continue to stay in
Pakistan with dignity, honour and
impunity. There is no guarantee
that India will not be struck by them
again. It is a fact that Pakistan is
always at the controls of an
apparatus to wage a proxy war
against India. India should declare
Pakistan as a terrorist state and in
doing so have faith and confidence
in itself than depending on the U.S.
to help. No Indian government has
taken any action like this so far and
instead has been absorbing several
terror body blows.
S.P. Sharma.
Mumbai

awareness of society at large, what

is so reprehensible about it? A true
Hindu will never take up cudgels
against films with a purpose.
Vijaya Krishna Pillai G.,
Alappuzha

Films are a source of entertainment

and should be seen that way.
Political factions should not try to
churn butter out of the milk to
accrue gains. The film is a mix of
the need to shun a superstitious
attitude, creating awareness about
the melodrama by godmen and
their followers and enabling a
scientific bent of mind, all in a
hilarious
way.
Instead
of
appreciating such films, we seem to
be intent on discouraging them.
Sherry Ahluwalia,
The article, Who is really offended
Chandigarh
with PK? (Jan.2), did well in
analysing the common thread in 3 I went to see the film without any
Idiots and PK. However, 3 idea about the story. I am a middlebroadminded
Hindu
Idiots was a critique of the class,
educational system. PK is entirely secularist and a fan of Aamir Khan. I
about the commercialisation of expected something classic and
religion, and adverse references to original. As long as the director had
Hindu deities are made throughout stuck to the subject of fake godmen
the film. The film is at best a it would have been fine, but what I
simplistic take on a complex set of saw was not alright. The scene
subjects. As for revenue collections, involving Shiva was uncalled for,
mindless films in the recent past and questioning idol worship,
have also earned money in figures pilgrimages and rituals amounted
to hitting below the belt. Millions of
that match what has been quoted.
N. Sridhar, Hindus are hurt by this constant
Secunderabad bashing by Bollywood, which would
never dare to produce films that
Every rational-minded Hindu would offend or denigrate the
knows that the core element of minority communities. It is time
Hinduism is not about a bunch of people made movies that displayed
rituals, beliefs or ceremonies. If a a little more sensitivity.
film-maker sends this message out
Ramdas Naik,
through his medium for the
Chennai

Critiquing PK

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

The inevitability of Narendra Modi

Y
Shiv Visvanathan

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015

A case to share
more information
he dramatic photograph of a shing boat
ablaze on water and the assertions by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) that it was an
explosives-laden vessel from Pakistan that
blew itself up on being intercepted, has provided some
comfort that a force guarding the countrys coastline
was able to avert a 26/11-type horror on New Years-eve
with a timely chase across the Arabian Sea. Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar has commended the Coast
Guard for a job well done. Pakistan has denied the boat
had anything to do with it. Particularly as vital questions
of foreign relations are involved, the MoD would do well
to shed more light on what happened off the Gujarat
coast that night. So far, the version provided has left
several questions unanswered. Given the Coast Guards
suspicion that this was a boat carrying terrorists from
Karachi, why was the Navy not involved in the incident,
at least in a supporting role? If there were intercepts of
communication between the boat and handlers in Pakistan, surely the Coast Guard needed to mobilise more
help. It should have at least called out more of its own
vessels. The blaze is said to have started when the crew
went below deck and set the boat on re after the Coast
Guard caught up with it. There was also an explosion,
according to a statement put out by the MoD. An expert
examination of the photograph provided would conrm
whether there was a blast. A statement that the fourmember crew aroused suspicion because they were not
dressed like shermen is also worrying, indicating as it
does the Coast Guards belief that clothes are a good
indication of a persons occupation and intentions.
On top of it all is the opaqueness on locations, 365 km
west-southwest off Porbandar providing only a general
direction and an assurance that it was within the Coast
Guards 200 nautical mile jurisdiction. A full-edged
investigation into the incident would not be out of place.
With India-Pakistan relations not yet out of the shadow
of the 26/11 attack, an allegation that a boat loaded with
explosives that set off from near Karachi tried to get
close to the Indian coast is a serious matter. Those who
make the allegation must be able to provide better
grounds for their suspicion than the single input that a
boat was set to make an illicit transaction. After all,
smugglers abound in those waters. In the last six years,
New Delhi has built up much international support in
the diplomatic battle against India-directed terrorism
emanating from Pakistan. A wrong call can erode that
support, just as the right one can strengthen its hands.
This is why it is very important to provide adequate
information to support the account of the incident.

Arbitrary use
of power
he Union government recently blocked 32
websites, including globally popular ones such
as Vimeo, GitHub, Dailymotion and
archive.org that support data-archiving, video-sharing and software development, evoking serious
questions and criticism. The action was sought to be
justied on the grounds that these websites were being
used for Jihadi Propaganda by Anti-National
groups encouraging Indian youth to join organisations
such as Islamic State (IS). Such a justication may in
principle seem reasonable, yet it does not instil condence in citizens given the weak track record of Internet regulation and a decient legal framework
coupled with the arbitrary use of state power. Following
the arrest of Bengaluru-based Mehdi Biswas, suspected
of operating a pro-IS Twitter account, the government
officially banned IS in India only last month. A 2012
United Nations report titled The Use of the Internet
for Terrorist Purposes, warns of terror groups using
the Internet for their propaganda. For instance, alQaeda uses the Internet to announce its latest attacks
and strategic alliances, promote its interests and so on.
Robert Hannigan, from the Government Communications Headquarters in the U.K., spoke in an interview
about how IS uses popular hashtags to boost its viewership, sending thousands of tweets a day without triggering spam controls. Undoubtedly, terrorists use
technology with some level of sophistication.
The scepticism is with regard to implementation
rather than the principle behind the action. First, the
government invoked Section 69A of the Information
Technology Act, 2000 and relevant Blocking Rules
were framed under it to take down the sites. These
provisions, the constitutionality of which is under challenge in the Supreme Court, are riddled with vagueness
and are open to arbitrary use. Second, reasonable restriction on free speech under Article 19(2) of the Constitution is to be interpreted to include only cases where
there is a direct relation between the offending speech
and public disorder or national security. But in blocking
URLs, the government speaks of not just content that
poses a direct threat to public order and security, but
also the spread of propaganda which is a perilously
vague term with the potential to impinge on fundamental rights. Third, blocking websites is rarely an
effective method to curb terror activities. Competent
users can circumvent with ease such restrictions
through Proxies and Virtual Private Networks. Instead
of blocking websites outright, a more coordinated public-private dialogue should be the way ahead. Giving
national security precedence over all else, including
fundamental rights, is an often-exploited narrative that
needs to be closely scrutinised, without reducing this
scrutiny to a with us-or-against us logic.

CM
YK

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015

ear endings, like year beginnings,

are predictable in terms of rituals.
People want to celebrate the ending
of the year and the media want to
ensure that such endings are memorable
spectacles. Each year needs a memorial to
itself. The year should be full of turmoil and
must appear to be like a race ending in a
staggering triumph. The victor is the hero,
the man of the year. Its a combination of a
mythical gure, part Greek legend, part
Olympic winner. In 2014, the man of the year
is inevitable. Demographically and symbolically, the elite and the crowd have converged
on one choice. In fact there is no other; 2014
offers us the inevitability of Narendra Modi.
To me, as a spectator, as a critic, as a citizen, its not the choice that matters. Mr. Modi
dominates all, but the logic of the argument
goes deeper. While one reads leading magazines and major columnists, one senses the
rhetoric around Mr. Modi that puzzles, intrigues, and nally disturbs.

Identifying with power

Mr. Modis rise has been laudatory. He is a
self-made man obsessed with power. The
contrast, by now latent, is an almost forgotten Rahul Gandhi. Rahul is adolescent, casual, a man who inherited power only to
squander it. He was a second-rate man showered with the rst-rate opportunities. Mr.
Modi represents the reverse, through success
stories. So far, so good it is the later parts of
the arguments that make you wonder whether the Modi projected is real and believable.
One realises that propaganda must seal the
gap between the real and the victor. And one
senses that these journalists have a literary
style which is impressive.
All these writers have a tremendous need
to be close to power. They are enamoured
with the possibility of power. The ruler and

Indias choice of the man of the year was

inevitable, where the elite, the crowd and the
media converged on one choice: Narendra Modi.
What is missing is the need for a critique of
a different kind to demystify him

the regime is someone they need to identify

with. By now the narrative has moved a second step. It is no longer about the absenteeism of Rahul-Manmohan but about the
assertive presence of their new leader. The
semiotic alters and the photographs mark a
different time; the man is no longer an aspirant and is presented as a leader among other
leaders. He is not carping about history but
making it. He is presented as a statesman
changing the world; a focussed reformer who
doesnt want to be distracted or diverted by
trivia, those little sour grape stories about

the leader it is looking for. In playing statesman, he has skilfully discarded his older self,
his noisier incarnations. He has not abandoned them but outsourced them to Mohan
Bhagwat, Amit Shah and to the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad. He can keep eyes on them.

The Indian dream

As a presence, he conveys a blend, at one
level he appears unique but he also suggests
shades of Nehru, Patel, Vajpayee, Malaviya,
and by invoking all, has combined the nostalgia for all of them. He is projected as a man of

The media and the middle class were tired of a diffident

India It wanted a winner; a stalwart who would understand
and transform India from civilisation to a modern empire.
educational snafus and conversion narratives is at the Olympus of policy. He evokes
leadership. His body language is muted. Appearing at home in the corridors of power he
walks with Mr. Putin, Mr. Obama, as one
among equals. He is ritually correct and precise. Mr. Modi has realised that politics is a
costume ball and is immaculately dressed for
it. He knows he cannot wear either dull khadi
or a predictable western suit but has to convey unity in diversity, blending the ethnic,
the national, the swadeshi and the global to
stir expectations. India seems to have found

all seasons and sensitivities.

The media and the middle class were tired
of a diffident India, and with an India that
was a perpetual also-ran in international politics. It wanted a winner; a stalwart who
would understand and transform India from
civilisation to a modern empire. He is emperor Modi of an India that always wanted to be
acknowledged by the rest of the world. Gradually, one realises that all these writings are
catering to a psychological decit. He is not
the individual Modi but the collective Rorschach of a people. He is the projection of the

CARTOONSCAPE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Bomb boat incident
Our intelligence forces and the
Coast Guard deserve wholesome
praise for eliminating what could
well have turned out to be another
26/11 (Explosives-laden Pak. boat
intercepted,
and
Coastal
surveillance system proves itself,
both Jan.3). Pakistan must realise
that pursuing a self-destructive
path and adopting a relentless antiIndia stance will do it no good. Its
civil leadership should now work
towards removing the militarys
vice-like grip on the country.
Coming just after the Peshawar
massacre and subsequent strong
anti-India statements from across
the border, this incident is another
reminder that India needs to be
constantly on alert.
V.S. Ganeshan,
Bengaluru
But for the swift action by Indian
defence agencies, the headlines
might have been very different.
What looks like Pakistans latest
misadventure by stealth shows its
relativity theory on terrorism is
skewed. Is it a sign that it is heading
towards becoming a failed state? Is
this why India is always its easy
target? If Pakistans attitude is one
of constant hostility, how can it
expect us to hold out the olive
branch?
R. Krishnamachary,
Chennai
The dreadful and nightmarish
scenes of mayhem perpetrated by
Pakistan-based terrorists during
the Mumbai siege is one that will
continue to haunt India. We are
fortunate that the Coast Guard
prevented a repeat. The sad and
dark reality is that Pakistan has only
a one-point agenda of unleashing
terror on Indian soil.
B.V. Kumar,
Nellore
How can one expect any form of
improvement in India-Pakistan
relations when we constantly face
such deadly threats? That the
leaders of both countries hold peace
talks fairly regularly is what we
often hear, but what exactly is being
discussed? We seem to make

A need to demystify
One also realises that grandeur is the perfect moment for sanitisation. Mr. Modi is
cleaned of his past. In fact his past is now
enacted by characters around him. Let us be
clear; even if Mr. Modi wishes to do something and the wish list is genuine, he is hampered by two sets of forces. First, his past is
alive in the present in the shape of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya
Janata Party. They would like to leave their
own stamp on history. Second, governance
involves more than one mans leadership. A
cleanliness drive itself is mere whitewash
when it comes to reforming governance.
We have a crowned king and have decided
that the king can do no wrong. In many ways,
he is the new Sardar who has already been
granted his place in history; unlike the old
Sardar, he will need no compensatory statue.
He represents the new idea of agency in Indian history as India exorcised itself of its current past. The media, as high hybrids of
change, have performed the ritual role brilliantly. Mr. Modi is the new immaculate
conception.
To reduce this celebration of Mr. Modi to
corporate heights or media manipulation
will not do. The media is only playing its
current fantasies and anxieties and brewing a
feasible story. One needs a critique of a different kind and ethnography of everyday
governance to demystify Mr. Modi. In fact
this critique will constitute the major act of
dissent in the coming year. Without it, India
is well on its way to becoming a new fantasy
of power with no sense of limits. Celebrating
the man of the year promises to be the beginning of a coming tragedy. A touch of criticism
can make the future more hopeful.
(Shiv Visvanathan is a professor at Jindal
School of Government and Public Policy.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

agency that alerted the Indian

agencies about some illicit
transaction while sanitising the
region to secure the U.S. Presidents
safety during his coming visit? The
immediate question is not whether
That some sections in the political Pakistan has the intention or the
Opposition are attacking the BJP capability to strike at India, but
government and calling the whether it really did embark on a
incident a gment of the terror mission. The BJP cannot
imagination is distressing. Where accuse all those who question it as
did the boat materialise from? This being anti-national.
G. David Milton,
kind of talk will no doubt be music
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu
to Pakistani ears as it is support
from an unexpected quarter. This
kind of unpatriotic behaviour is The incident reminds one of the
something that Pakistan is only case in November 2008 when the
Indian authorities claimed that the
waiting to exploit.
A. Srikantaiah, Indian Navy frigate, INS Tabar, had
Bengaluru successfully sunk a Somali pirate
mother vessel. A few days later,
While the interception and then there was an embarrassing claim by
destruction of a Pakistani boat the owner of the pirate ship that
may strengthen the cause of those the vessel was actually a Thai
who claim that Pakistan is waging a shing trawler and that 14 sailors
proxy war against India, coming to were missing. While India insisted
conclusions just after a Defence that the pirate vessel had
Ministry clarication does not threatened to attack Tabar, the
make us look any better than our Thai owner said the vessel in
western neighbour (Pak. boat had question, Ekawat Nava 5, was going
no name: Coast Guard, Jan.4). The from Oman to Yemen to deliver
amount of psychological training shing equipment.
Arjun Chinoy,
that terrorists typically receive for
Mumbai
an inltration operation is of a
signicant level and the very notion
of the men on board ending their There are more questions than
lives despite the fact that the boat there are answers. The colour of the
was on its way out of Indian waters ames from the boat, as shown in
does not seem comprehensible. media reports, is deep red,
There is a possibility that they were indicating that it was due to re
shermen who were being used by from petrol or diesel. Explosives
terrorist groups to smuggle emit white-coloured ames. The
weapons into India. We need to wait incident appears to have taken
till the debris is found and there is a place in international waters.
Perhaps the offenders were
thorough forensic analysis.
Arsh Punia, smugglers of petroleum products.
Chandigarh One feels that excessive force might
have been used by the Coast Guard
The claim that the loitering boat vessel and its aircraft backup than
was
intercepted
based
on was necessary in dealing with this
intelligence inputs and its crew kind of a situation.
Arun Malankar,
were left with no option but to blow
it up is not backed by corroborative
Mumbai
evidence. The question why it took
nearly an hour for the high-speed Without intending to undermine or
ICGS Rajratan to catch up with the belittle our intelligence set-up as
tiny, low-speed boat (A question of well as the Coast Guards role in
speed, Jan.4) has not been intercepting the boat, allegedly
convincingly answered. It is strange laden with explosives, one wonders
that a second mysterious Pakistani whether on the basis of the facts
boat could not be traced. Is it officially
disclosed
so
far,
possible that it was some U.S. conclusions drawn about the boats
progress only to nd ourselves
being wounded deeply immediately
thereafter.
Arjun Prasanna S.,
Chennai

Indian dream and the media is merely spelling out the dreams performance, not as his
achievement in policies but as rhetorical acts
of the imagined that he seems so desperate
for. Mr. Modi is the man of the year because
every man as Mr. Modi is man of the year.
Style dominates content and in fact style in
its density is presented as the equivalent of
content. This is no one-act play but it is an
India that has projected its epic self on the
global stage. Our elite realises that the old
catechism of Non-alignment and third
world-ism is the voice of the weak. What one
is looking for is a new machismo. Not the
brutal bully boy machismo of the streets but
a muscular disciplined machismo which
speaks a managerial, ethnocratic and nationalist idiom which both small town aspirant
and diaspora understand. The diaspora is a
major part of India and the global age and
represents the Indian success story abroad.
It is easier to be patriotic in New Jersey and
New York as the Indian ag utters proudly
and makes them feel glad to be Indians in
America. The Madison Square Garden meeting was a performance and fulls the diasporic need of the American senators paying
court to their leader.
As one studies the photo of Mr. Modi, one
realises that his icon ideal and image are a
collective fantasy of India as a decisive, modern crowd, and respected nation. Mr. Modi is
the mirror in which the middle class, tired of
the Congresss indifference, salutes itself. India feels global and contemporary as Mr. Modi jokes with Mr. Obama or shows Mr. Xi
Jinping around.

sinister designs are premature.

Even for a layman, there are many
troubling questions. How can a
modern interceptor take an hour to
intercept a relatively slow-moving
shing boat ? How could there be a
counting of the men in the darkness
and in a situation of bad weather
and strong winds? Will the setting
off of explosives result in pictures of
an intact boat in ames? Given the
scale of the intelligence warnings,
there doesnt seem to have been a
major security alarm. The Coast
Guard needs to give us more
convincing answers.
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru

Border shelling
The unprovoked killing of Indian
civilians and jawans by Pakistani
troops along the International
border and the incident of the Coast
Guard foiling what appears to be
another 26/11 type of attack, shows
the increasing tendency of Pakistan
to test Indias patience (Woman
killed in shelling, Jan.4). The
recent Peshawar tragedy and the indepth analysis (After Peshawar,
Pakistans litmus test, Jan.1, and
Taking on good, bad, all Talibans,
Jan.2, both on the Editorial page)
should serve as a lesson to
Pakistans civilian government and
its Army to eliminate hard-core
militants and their adverse
activities in the country rather than
considering India as an archenemy.
Gregory Fernandes,
Mumbai

Knowledge traditions
In his aggressive but poorly
researched article, Neglect of
knowledge traditions (Open Page,
Jan.4), Michel Danino attacks the
historiography of the authors of the
Indian History Congress resolution
and accuses them of suppressing
the genuine achievements of Indian
science. It is surprising that a
scholar who presumes to berate an
entire congress, attended by more
than 2,000 Indian historians, is so
little aware of the writings of some
of the more eminent members of
that body. To take only one
example, the rst three volumes of
Professor Irfan Habibs A Peoples

History of India (Tulika Publishers,

New Delhi) deal extensively with
the scientic developments and
technologies in use in the Indus
civilisation as well as during the
Vedic Age. Perhaps Prof. Danino
could use substantial exposure to
such research before letting his own
imagination run wild.
Jayati Ghosh,
New Delhi

Science as priority
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
erased charges being levelled by
other political parties that the BJP
is paying more attention to religion
and spirituality than to science
(PM feels humbled by scientists
work, Jan.4). It is true that science
and religion are the twin pillars of a
healthy society. It is reminiscent of
what President S. Radhakrishnan
said of both science and religion.
Science without religion is blind;
religion without science is lame.
Meenakshi Pattabiraman,
Madurai

Ushering in reforms
The fall in Indias economic growth
to less than 5 per cent has created
the need for a second batch of
economic reforms (Sunday Anchor
page, Jan.4). While the previous set
of reforms led to fruitful outcomes,
the downside has been growing
inequality between the poor and the
rich. In such a situation, the present
reforms should be directed towards
achieving inclusive growth and
sustainable development. Given the
weak macroeconomic factors in the
global economy today, the proposed
batch of reforms should be directed
towards
raising
domestic
investment, both public and
private, instead of focussing on
foreign investment. These should
be accompanied by administrative
reforms that eliminate corruption
and the development of crony
capitalism. The mandate India has
given the BJP also includes the right
to carry out bold reforms, but in a
democratic way. Ushering in
reforms through the ordinance
route is unacceptable as the
interests of the larger population
must be kept in mind.
Balaji Akiri,
Hyderabad
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015

Resolving the nuclear liability deadlock

Anupama Sen and Arghya Sengupta

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2015

Mythology
and science
he 102nd Indian Science Congress being held
in Mumbai will be remembered for a very
long time to come, but for all the wrong reasons. For the first time, the science congress
had a session on Ancient Sciences through Sanskrit.
If the Indian Science Congress had long lost its eminence as a forum where results of serious science being
done in the country are presented and discussed in
most sessions, the inclusion of Ancient Sciences
through Sanskrit has only lowered its standing further.
Even as a public session, there is no real reason whatsoever for it to have been included in the proceedings. At
best, a session could have been devoted to the history of
Indian science which has real and substantial achievements to celebrate, with serious scholars working on
the subject presenting papers. With Prime Minister
Narendra Modi setting the tone for this antiquity frenzy with his implausible claims that cosmetic surgery
was practised thousands of years ago and in-vitro fertilisation-like procedure was resorted to long back, and
different political leaders following it up with several
other incredulous claims well before the start of the
national event, the reason for the inclusion of the
session becomes supremely clear. Instead of fostering
scientific temper, the congress has provided a forum to
seed the minds of young people with pseudoscience.
Some of the papers presented were about Indians
knowledge of making aeroplanes that could undertake interplanetary travel, between 7000 and 6000 BC,
and radars that worked on the principle of detecting
energy given out by animate and inanimate objects and
finding out if a body was dead or alive.
Science is grounded on the principle of reproducibility of results. The claims of advanced science and technology in the ancient world are based on some
references in ancient scripts that may be wholly imaginary. Flying, for instance, has caught humankinds
imagination across cultures right from ancient times.
Such references should be taken for the myths they are,
not as scientific facts. Scientists have been able to
create animal chimeras that have cells/organs of different species, much as what Greek mythology describes.
Should the Greeks then be taken as pioneers in the
science of chimera production? Thanks to our understanding of genetics and the ability to fertilise eggs
outside the body, producing designer babies is no longer in the realm of science fiction. Should the creators of
the science fiction then be credited with devising the
procedures? Compare this with how Sir Arthur C. Clarke documented his idea of communications satellites
in a concept paper published in 1945. Dozens of geosynchronous satellites launched each year do precisely
what Sir Arthur had visualised there.

n January 26, Barack Obama will

become the first U.S. President to
attend Indias Republic Day celebrations. It will also mark nearly
10 years since the first announcement on the
India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement. In contrast to those heady days when the promise of
nuclear power meeting Indias gargantuan
energy needs was in the air, the present situation is bleak. A target of installing 63 Gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032 has been
reduced to 27.5 Gigawatts and none of the
landmark deals envisaged has been struck.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
(CLND) Act, 2010 which contains a speedy
compensation mechanism for victims of a
nuclear accident has been deemed responsible for this deadlock. Specifically, provisions on recourse liability on suppliers
(Section 17(b)) and concurrent, potentially
unlimited liability under other laws (Section
46) have been viewed as major obstacles in
operationalising nuclear energy in India and
bilateral relations with key supplier
countries.

By putting in place a comprehensive, fair and

pragmatic legislation on civil nuclear liability,
there is no reason why India cannot reap the
long-term benefits of civilian nuclear energy and
resolve a prickly foreign policy issue
Island occurred partially due to lapses on the
part of suppliers. More recently, forged quality certificates were detected for parts supplied to nuclear plants in South Korea. That
Section 17(b) incentivises supplier safety and
reduces the probability of a recurrence of
such instances is equally undeniable.

A step too far

India can retain Section 17(b) while ensuring compliance with its international legal
obligations in two ways. First, the CSC allows
countries to make reservations to certain
provisions in treaties despite being signatories to them. India could make a reservation
to Article 10 of the Annex to the CSC since it
satisfies the requisite criteria for making a

for suppliers entirely open-ended. If liability

on suppliers is unlimited in time and quantum, the possibility of getting adequate insurance cover will reduce. Even if such
insurance is available, it could make nuclear
energy economically unviable. To address
this, Rule 24 of the CLND Rules dilutes the
right of recourse conferred by Section 17(b)
by limiting compensation payable by suppliers to a specified amount and for a specified
time period. Both these are made standard
terms of the contract entered into between
the supplier and operator.
Though the end that Rule 24 seeks to
achieve is justifiable, the means adopted are
questionable. Rule 24 arguably violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India because

A question of recourse
Under Section 17(b), a liable operator can
recover compensation from suppliers of nuclear material in the event of a nuclear accident if the damage is caused by the provision
of substandard services or patent or latent
defects in equipment or material. This is contrary to the practice of recourse in international civil nuclear liability conventions,
which channel liability exclusively to the operator. Specifically, it contradicts Article 10
of the Annex to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage
(CSC), an international treaty which India
has signed.
That Section 17(b) is contrary to the global
norm is undeniable. However when the global norm itself is inequitable, there are justifiable reasons to depart from it. The inclusion
of Section 17(b) recognises historical incidents such as the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984
for which defective parts were partly responsible. The paltry compensation paid to the
victims was facilitated by gaps in legislation
and an extraordinarily recalcitrant state machinery. This is not a peculiarly Indian phenomenon accidents such as Three Mile

U.S. President Barack Obamas visit is an opportunity to

address misgivings over the nuclear liability law and to also
meet foreign governments and the supplier community halfway
on the issue.

valid reservation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, thereby excluding its application. Second, Article XV of the
CSC implies that the rights and obligations of
States under general rules of public international law are exempt from the application of
the CSC. One such principle of international
law is the polluter pays principle applicable both to the state and private entities. The
principle comes into operation via the mechanism through which compensation can be
recovered from a polluting entity for the environmental harm it causes. Exercising either of these options will allow India to
retain Section 17(b) without violating the international treaty regime.
However in pursuing the safety of supply,
Section 17(b) goes too far in keeping liability

there is no specific power in the CLND Act to

limit liability in the manner that Rule 24
does. Further, the terms of the contract potentially dilute Section 17(b), which gives operators an untrammelled right to proceed
against the supplier by way of recourse. It is a
basic principle of law that a contract cannot
violate the provision of a statute if it does
so, it is opposed to public policy. For these
reasons, Rule 24 should be deleted. The limitation on time during which the supplier can
be held liable should be inserted by means of
a provision in the main Act. This will ensure
that not just the end but also the means of
limiting liability are legally tenable.
As far as the limitation on the amount is
concerned, without Rule 24, the liability for
each supplier potentially extends to the gen-

CARTOONSCAPE

Moderation
warranted
he recent narrow defeat of a resolution in the
United Nations Security Council on Palestinian statehood should be read in the context
of resistance from the United States and Israel to the territorys bid for UN membership. In 2012,
Washington and Tel Aviv opposed a landmark UN
General Assembly vote by 138 countries to upgrade
Palestines status from Observer to Non-Member Observer State in the world body. Introduced by Jordan,
the resolution last week called for the withdrawal of
Israeli forces from the West Bank by 2017 and the
creation of a capital in East Jerusalem territories
captured by Israel besides Gaza Strip in the so-called
Six-Day War in 1967. Against the backdrop of the failure of peace talks, the Palestinian Authority (PA) under
President Mahmoud Abbas has pinned its hopes for
any meaningful progress on taking recourse to international legal instruments. Accordingly, Mr. Abbas
has moved swiftly to accede to the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) once the UNSC
resolution was defeated in December. Earlier in the
month, Palestine was invited as an observer at the
annual meeting of states that have joined the ICC.
The Palestinians expect the step would eventually
lead to the trial of certain Israeli leaders for war crimes
in The Hague court. But a determination has yet to be
made on whether its jurisdiction would commence
from 2012, when the status of Palestine was revised at
the UN, or after its accession to the Rome treaty is
completed. It is also uncertain whether the nature of
the violence during the conflict would qualify for prosecution by the ICC. What is clear, however, is that the
activities of both the PA and the Islamic militant group
Hamas would also come under scrutiny should the
court deem it fit to investigate Israel. But paradoxically,
the U.S. and Israel continue to regard any attempt by
the PA to gain international recognition as confrontational, insisting that direct negotiations are the only
possible avenue to find a lasting solution. Both have
threatened retaliation in the form of severe economic
sanctions against Palestine and travel restrictions on
their leaders. Such a stance is unhelpful considering
the PA is the main moderate voice wedded to a twostate solution, unlike Hamas that refuses to recognise
the state of Israel. But international opinion in support
of Palestinian self-determination is growing, as is evident from the overwhelming backing accorded to the
European Parliament resolution. The Palestinian bid
to join the ICC is expected to strengthen Israels hardliners in the elections in March. The larger interests
of peace in the Middle East warrant moderation.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Americas certificate
At a time when merchants of terror
like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar
are roaming freely in Pakistan and
Masood Azhar, designated a
terrorist by the U.S, holds public
rallies calling for waging a war
against India, it remains an enigma
how U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry could certify that the
Pakistan government has done
well in curbing terror (Pak. has
reined in LeT: U.S, Jan.5). When
al-Qaeda, the Taliban and
associated terror groups operate
from Pakistan territory, how could
the U.S. be in no way concerned
about Pakistan exporting terror
across the border, in particular
against India? It is inexplicable
how the U.S. could be more
bothered about the difference
between internal and external
terror. The real face of Big Brother
has been unmasked.
Seshagiri Row Karry,
Hyderabad
The certification is strange.
Everyone knows that the Pakistan
government, the ISI and the Army
soft-pedal when it comes to dealing
with terror groups. Mr. Kerry
awarding such a certificate to
Pakistan is nothing but pulling the
wool over the eyes of the world.
While the U.S. has a right to extend
civilian aid to Pakistan, our fervent
hope is that a part of this monetary
aid is not forked out to fund terror.
R. Sridharan,
Chennai

Of scientific 'feats'
Tall claims on scientific feats in
ancient India are made whenever
the BJP takes charge (Science
Congress lauds feats of ancient
India, Jan.5). It must be
remembered that every civilisation

can stake claim to such feats, which

have remained only as postulates
at best; they have not progressed to
the stage where they are on a par
with achievements in the West.
Neither can they be said to have
benefited mankind as western
science has. The claims on radars,
aircraft and so on are just fantasies
like Vernes science fiction on an
odyssey to the moon. Tomorrow,
there might be a claim that life
forms existed on other planets and
galaxies as ancient Indian texts
believed in the logas (world). The
proceedings at the Indian Science
Congress show that there is a dire
need for a checking of facts.
A.V. Narayanan,
Tiruchi
The
report
shows
that
archaeologists, epigraphists and
historians should demand that
people making such claims
produce material evidence in
support of points being made by
them. In 2004, Prof. Rajan of
Puduchery University proved
beyond reasonable doubt that the
writing system of ancient Tamils is
the mother of all other writing
systems in India. He subjected the
potsherd
inscriptions
he
discovered at Porundhal village in
Tamil Nadu to scientific dating
when several archaeologists and
epigraphists wanted more material
evidence to strengthen his claim.
His discovery was closely followed
by the one made by the Chennai
circle of the Archaeological Survey
of India at Adichanallur village,
also in Tamil Nadu. One of the
burial urns discovered there
contained an inscription in oldTamizhi
script.
Thermoluminescence testing showed the
burial urns to be as old as 1000 B.C.
Surprisingly, this burial urn that
was sent to the Epigraphy
Department of the Mysore branch

eral liability cap of Rs.1,500 crore. If all suppliers have to be insured up to this value,
insurance costs will be unnecessarily pyramided. To address this, countries with a history of nuclear power have in place
mechanisms to provide for insurance coverage through international insurance pools
where insurers, operators and states share
the risks of an accident, providing access to a
wide pool of compensation. There are about
26 such pools in existence, which also provide reinsurance to each other. Insurance
pools typically require members to be signatories to an international convention (such
as CSC), and to allow reasonable inspections
of their nuclear installations.
While provisions for the creation of a domestic insurance pool for operators exist in
Sections 7 and 8 of the Act and Rule 3, they
need to be made explicit and amended to
include suppliers in order to prevent the pyramiding of insurance premiums. This is particularly relevant to Indias domestic nuclear
suppliers who would otherwise need to individually take out coverage, which would be
prohibitively expensive. In order to access
international reinsurance pools, the Central
government could utilise the provisions in
Section 43 and 44 of the CLND Act (Power to
Call for Information from Operators) to establish a satisfactory inspections regime.

Sanctity of a special mechanism

Finally, Section 46 of the CLND Act contradicts the Acts central purpose of serving
as a special mechanism enforcing the channelling of liability to the operator to ensure
prompt compensation for victims.
Section 46 provides that nothing would
prevent proceedings other than those which
can be brought under the Act, to be brought
against the operator. This is not uncommon,
as it allows criminal liability to be pursued
where applicable. However, in the absence of
a comprehensive definition of the types of
nuclear damage being notified by the Central Government, Section 46 potentially also
allows civil liability claims to be brought
against the operator and suppliers through
other civil law such as the law of tort. While
liability for operators is capped by the CLND
Act, this exposes suppliers to unlimited
amounts of liability. Obtaining insurance
coverage for any future liability costs on account of claims by victims in such a case
would be next to impossible.
Section 46 should thus be limited to criminal liability, and should clarify that victims
who suffer on account of nuclear damage
can institute claims for compensation only
under the CLND Act and not by recourse to
other legislations or Courts. A clarification
issued by the Attorney Generals office, if not
an amendment to the law itself, will provide
much needed assurance to suppliers while
furthering national interest.
The issue of the liability law has, for far too
long, been a thorn in Indias bilateral relations especially with the United States. Mr.
Obamas visit provides a historic opportunity
to address these misgivings and meet foreign
governments, as well as the entire supplier
community, Indian and foreign, halfway on
the issue. This will signal the seriousness of
the Government of India in setting its own
house in order and put the ball firmly in the
court of the supplier community. By putting
in place such a comprehensive, fair and pragmatic legislation on civil nuclear liability,
there is no reason why India cannot reap the
long-term benefits of civilian nuclear energy
and resolve a prickly foreign policy issue, the
time for whose resolution has come.
(Anupama Sen is Senior Research Fellow,
Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and
Arghya Sengupta is Research Director, Vidhi
Centre for Legal Policy. They are co-authors
of a report, Operationalising Indias Nuclear
Agreements: Issues and Solutions on Nuclear
Liability.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
of the ASIs office, for verification
and confirmation, was misplaced,
as we were later told. We could only
conclude that this was a deliberate
act.
T. Geetha,
Hyderabad
The swadeshi rath appears to be
running riot. A few weeks ago, a
diehard swadeshi was talking
about our own ancient anashwa
rath being the veritable envy of
Henry Ford himself! If Sushrutha
did plastic surgery in the 6th
Century, why is there no legacy of
that pioneering effort in our own
Ayurveda? I have experienced the
delightful fusion of science and
spirituality when I was a young
officer-trainee in the Army. The
granthi (religious teacher) used to
stop us on our morning PT run and
drop a brain teaser with a clue:
Saabji, cycle ko woh naam kaise
mila, maloom hai.... isliye ki us ka
sau kal (100 spokes) hota hai!
Mahabharat yudh mein sou kal kaa
prayog hota tha...! We used to race
past him before he popped another
Vedic brainteaser. One can
recollect what George Santayana
wrote in Reason is Science:
Instead of anticipating the
physics of the future, they cling to
the physics of the past The first
and blameless way of criticising
science is to point out that science
is incomplete. Delegates at the
Science Congress must note that
mythology and science do not mix.
C.V. Venugopalan,
Palakkad
I wonder how the science Congress
had not thought about such a
session for 102 years of its
existence but was suddenly
enlightened to do it now. Is it to
please our rulers or is it out a
genuine belief in such concepts?
Mythology and writings in Vedas

may be used by believers in various

faiths but they may not be
scientific. If some of the delegates
claim that India possessed such
advancement in science and
technology, of there being
interplanetary aircraft, a radar
system and advanced theorems,
why do we still find ourselves to be
a largely backward nation? There
may be a ready answer: that
western invaders robbed us all of
our treasures and have been using
them for their benefit, but we know
that this would be silly.
Ones love for ones country is
natural, but it should not be so
blind that one could claim
disproportionate and unbelievable
pride of achievements that will
only make one a laughing stock.
P. Alwarappan,
Coimbatore

Democratic literacy
It is strange that the Rajasthan
government has passed an
ordinance requiring a pass in Class
8 and Class 10 as eligibility criteria
(Lexicon of democratic literacy,
Jan.5). To think that basic
education will facilitate better
governance in panchayati raj is
both naive and illogical as most
problems here are about the plight
of people and the need for steps to
ameliorate the lot of the
marginalised sections.
One must also contrast this with
the educational qualifications of
some of our Union Ministers. In
their case, it would appear that a
formal education is perceived to be
entirely superfluous. If the
objective is to promote equality of
access to grassroots institutions,
then the need for revoking the
retrograde order cannot be
overemphasised.
P.K. Varadarajan,
Chennai

The move appears to be a ploy by

the elite to sideline the majority of
the people from standing for
elections. Governing a panchayat
requires the knowledge of the area,
an understanding of people, having
ethical values and being easily
approachable. Any attempt to
punish the disadvantaged in order
to
gloss
over
the
nonimplementation of policies is
incorrect. In the end, it should be
left to the electors to select
whoever they want and maintain a
true spirit of democracy.
Sharath Gowda P.,
Ramanagaram, Karnataka

Snake conservation
I was appalled to read the report,
Getting wrapped by anaconda to
help conserve big snakes (some
editions, Jan.3), which was more
an attempt to give space to a
reckless adventurist who is passing
off a publicity stunt as an effort to
save the millions of acres of
Amazonian rainforest and to
protect the anaconda. This is
nothing but a commercially
motivated stunt by a TV channel
which also spells publicity to Mr.
Rosolie. The scientific and
naturalist community is right in
criticising such a thoughtless act,
which only imperils the welfare
and the life of the wild anaconda, a
species that the conservationist
and writer claims to be protecting.
It is good that India has strict
wildlife protection laws which do
not permit the carrying out of such
stunts on Indian wildlife, or else we
would have had such saviours
descending in the hordes to save
our pythons and elephants. The
report only shows why the media
must be careful about highlighting
such unethical practices which will
only help mislead readers.
Sarath Champati,
Bengaluru
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Improving an unworkable law

T
Sanjoy Chakravorty

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

The accidental
Chief Minister
itan Ram Manjhi became the Chief Minister of
Bihar in unusual circumstances. As he himself
never tires of saying, he owed his position not to
the support of his followers but to the backing
of his leader, his predecessor and Janata Dal (United)
leader Nitish Kumar. A member of the backward Dalit
community of Mahadalit, Mr. Manjhi is now busy building his political constituency, even if it be at the expense
of Mr. Kumars own vote base. The Bihar Chief Minister
won new followers in his community with his assertive
speeches, even if, in the process, he lost some of the
goodwill of his leader. From the very outset he seemed
to know what he did not want to be: a political tool in the
hands of Mr. Kumar, who stepped down as Chief Minister only to lessen the degree of criticism of his political
decisions that led to the drubbing that the JD (U)
received in the Lok Sabha election. With his latest
statement, during an interview to The Hindu, that a
Mahadalit should be the Chief Minister of Bihar after
the Assembly election later this year, Mr. Manjhi not
only succeeded in irritating Mr. Kumar further but also
ensured that Mr. Kumar could remove him as Chief
Minister only at great political cost. In October last
year, Mr. Manjhi had stated that he did not become the
Chief Minister on his own but was made the Chief
Minister, and that Dalits would be able to choose their
own leader if they had greater political awareness.
If Mr. Kumar thought that in Mr. Manjhi he would
have a loyalist who would keep the Chief Ministers
chair warm for him till the Assembly election, he was
clearly mistaken. Even when he stepped down as Chief
Minister, the JD (U) had indicated that Mr. Kumar
would indeed lead the party in the next Assembly election. The Manjhi government was meant to be nothing
more than a stopgap arrangement. But the Mahadalit
leader, who began his political career with the Congress
and switched his allegiance to the Rashtriya Janata Dal
during the period that party was in power, seems everready to outmanoeuvre his own party leadership. While
he does not have much to show in terms of governance
during his seven months in power, Mr. Manjhi demonstrated political tact and cunning in carving out an
independent political space in the caste-dominated politics of Bihar. The JD (U) is now in the process of
merging with the Samajwadi Party, the RJD, the Janata
Dal (Secular) and others in a coming together of the
Janata Parivar, and there is no guarantee that Mr.
Kumar will be the automatic choice as Chief Minister if
the combination comes to power. But whatever the
changes in the political equations, Mr. Manjhi will be a
factor in everyones political calculations. And that is no
small achievement for this accidental Chief Minister.

he government of India continues to

search for the right way to do land
acquisition. Last week, the Union
Finance Minister announced an ordinance to amend the Land Acquisition Bill
that his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), had helped vote into law a mere 15
months ago. It had been in force for less than
one year. That law, the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (LARR),
had been pushed through by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in its dying days. It
had many detractors. Private industry said
that it was the biggest obstacle to growth.
Most State governments, including several
Congress-led ones, thought it was unworkable. I wrote that embedded in LARR were
the seeds of its own destruction.
That LARR would be changed was obvious
in the first weeks after the BJP stormed to
power at the Centre. There were whispers
and much speculation, but nothing official.
Now, it is out in the open and we can pass
judgement. So, what does this ordinance reveal about the thought processes of the leaders of the Modi government? Is this a new
approach? Is it any better than the old one?
What could have been done differently?

Focussing on the land-loser

We need to ignore the predictable noises
being made by the usual suspects. The probusiness crowd, from Goldman Sachs to Dalal
Street, can barely suppress its elation. Several
pro-farmer groups, especially significant
non-governmental organisations like the National Alliance of Peoples Movements, whose
ideas had formed the initial blueprint of
LARR, have called this a giveaway to the corporate sector. Anti-BJP political parties like
the Congress, the CPI(M), the Samajwadi
Party and the Trinamool Congress have
vowed to fight these changes with all their
might. All these people cannot simultaneously be right.
To get analytical clarity, we need to start
from basics. LARR was meant to make the
acquisition process just. It was designed in
the mode of the Congresss other landmark
laws on information, education, and food
using a rights-based approach where the
primary objective was to deliver fairness to

For the land-acquirer, the land act ordinance tries

to lessen the indirect price of acquisition and
transaction by diluting requirements for social
impact assessments and referenda. For the
land-loser, it not only retains all forms of
compensation and rehabilitation, but also grows
the number of those eligible for lucrative pay-offs

allotted time, each acquisition would require

about five years; in practice, it could take a lot
longer.
The Modi governments ordinance unlike the UPA governments law is based on
the principle that price matters to both the
land-acquirer and the land-loser. Their interests are opposed, because the land-acquirer would like to pay the least he or it can get
away with, and the land-loser would like to
get the most he or it can manage. So, how does
the ordinance solve this problem? Quite simply, as a matter fact, by splitting the direct and
indirect prices for acquisition and keeping
the direct prices unchanged while attacking
the indirect prices.
Price matters to acquirer and loser
For the land-acquirer, the ordinance tries
This price is not simply the money paid for to lessen, as much as it can, the indirect price
acquisition and rehabilitation and resettle- of acquisition, the transaction and opportunithe people affected by land acquisition. LARR
expanded the definition of project-affected
people and expanded the rights, protections
and compensations for people who lose land
or livelihood as a result of acquisition. All
these were laudable and necessary. But LARR
was also a purely political and fundamentally
bureaucratic approach based on little or no
recognition of some simple economic principles on land markets and on transaction
and opportunity costs. The underlying presumption was that the price of land matters to
the land-loser but not to the land-acquirer; as
a result, LARR raised the price of land acquisition to unsustainable levels.

Compensating non-owners is a vital and non-negotiable

element of LARR. How that will be achieved without the social
impact assessments remains unclear.
ment. That is just one component of price, its
direct component. There is a second component, an indirect price. This includes (a)
transaction costs, which include the cost of
doing social impact assessments, conducting
referenda, running the massive new multilayered acquisition bureaucracy, etc. and (b)
opportunity costs, which arise from the time
taken to conclude an acquisition doing social impact assessments, conducting referenda, etc. time during which capital is not
invested, infrastructure is not created, and
production does not take place. If all the steps
defined in LARR were accomplished in the

ty costs that have been listed. This it does by

weakening or removing the requirements for
social impact assessments and referenda. For
the land-loser, the ordinance not only retains
all forms of compensation and resettlement
and rehabilitation, but also grows the number
of land-losers eligible for these lucrative payoffs by bringing into the ambit of LARR, 13
categories of acquisition that had been excluded earlier. These include the Land Acquisition (Mines) Act, the Atomic Energy Act,
the Railways Act, the National Highways Act,
and the Metro Railways (Construction of
Works) Act. These inclusions were indicated

CARTOONSCAPE

Unending
confrontation
n ill wind is blowing through Bangladesh once
again. A year after the controversial election
that returned the Awami League and Sheikh
Hasina to office for a second term, the political turmoil and uncertainty refuse to go away. While
the Opposition still refuses to accept the results of an
election that it boycotted, the government has certainly not helped matters. When Opposition leader Khaleda Zia announced a rally to observe the first
anniversary of the election on January 5 as Death of
Democracy Day, the Sheikh Hasina government,
which was planning a Victory Day of Democracy
responded by disallowing the protest and locking up
the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader in her office.
Clashes between activists of the ruling party and the
BNP have claimed four lives. The government has now
threatened to slap a murder case on Ms. Zia, which
could lead to her arrest. She, meanwhile, has called for
an indefinite and nationwide blockade. The BNP
wants fresh elections to be held under a non-partisan
caretaker government, while the Awami League insists
it will continue in office for its entire term that is to end
in 2019. There seems to be no meeting ground between
the two parties, unable as they are to turn the page on
their history of confrontational and violent politics.
At the heart of the confrontation between the two
parties are of course the unsettled questions from Bangladeshs violent birth in 1971, including the question of
who was on which side in the movement for liberation
from Pakistan. Settling those questions was never going to be easy. But the ham-fisted manner in which the
Awami League has gone about the task from its first
term in office in 2008, setting up war tribunals that
have dispensed speedy verdicts including the death
sentence to several in the senior leadership of the
Jamaat-e-Islami and life terms to others including
BNP leaders, has proved particularly divisive. Despite
the nation-halting hartals and protests, Bangladeshs
economy turned in a surprisingly good performance.
The countrys GDP growth was estimated at 6.1 per
cent for the fiscal year ending with June 2014, half a
percentage point higher than what the Asian Development Bank had projected. For 2015, the projection is
higher at 6.4 per cent, on the hope that private sector
investment will also pick up given some political stability. Perhaps Bangladesh might have done better and set
an example for the entire region but for the unending
political conflict. For India, which has seen ties improving with Bangladesh under the Sheikh Hasina government, the challenge is to ensure that the instability
in Dhaka does not spill over to its territory and pose
security problems on its eastern borders.

CM
YK

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Claims on science
It is sad that concerted efforts are
being made by quite a few to
discredit Indian mythology as being
a set of fairy tales and a figment of
the imagination (Editorial, Tall
claims insult the past, and Plea to
remove aviation paper for ISC
proceedings, all Jan.6). What these
scientists and intellectuals must
realise is that there is nothing called
absolute truth. Scientific feats and
discoveries made in the past are
great and commendable. Just
because there is no documented
proof of things of the past, it doesnt
make them any less believable to
the
masses.
While
these
intellectuals who are now making
an issue of this have a right not to
subscribe to such beliefs, it is their
arrogance and prejudice that are
just as uncalled for. Everybody has a
right to believe in what they feel is
true as long as it doesnt hurt
another person.This false sense of
superiority over our ancestors and
the past will only make us less open
to our great heritage and wisdom.
Varun Vijaykumar,
Thrissur
The Iron Pillar of Delhi, the 7.3metre tall column that has
withstood corrosion for over 1,600
years, is an example that underlines
the need to explore the knowledge
and skills that were once there but
the link to which has been broken
with time.
There is a misconception about
Sanskrit (Editorial, Jan.6) as being
only a language to chant mantras in
temples
and
at
religious
ceremonies. What about the major
part of it that deals with other
aspects of life and where it is a
repository
of
knowledge
encompassing almost every walk of
life and a diverse range of subjects?

We need a serious study of Sanskrit

literature in order to unravel the
knowledge in ancient texts, to
protect our Intellectual Property
Rights, to explore new avenues of
innovation and to lead India on to
the forefront of a knowledge-driven
world. However, such a study
should be driven by a scientific
temper, reasoning and logic.
Opposition to observations and
papers that do not pass
comprehensive scientific scrutiny
may be fair, but total opposition to
the study of science in Sanskrit
itself is unwise.
Avuthu Srihari,
Hyderabad
When somebody talks about
interplanetary travel in the
Rigveda, there must be some
archaeological evidence. In the
absence of any such possibility, the
scholars concerned could have
posed another question to
themselves: what fuel did the Vedic
people use for their airborne
vehicles? The suggestion is that it is
mercury. The text, Lohasarvasva,
dealing with metallurgy, has
recommended methods that can be
verified in a metallurgy department,
thereby upholding or rejecting its
claims. Sanskrit scholars at the
science congress showed no
academic
discipline
while
elaborating on the fantasies they
seemed to believe in. There is
enough in ancient Indian tradition
that could make one proud, for
example the methodology that
Charaka insists on for the science of
medicine or the geometry of the
Shulba sutras or the astronomy of
Aryabhata and Brahmagupta. There
is even a scientific method to study
the history of science that was
ignored.
G. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru

in LARR, but are accomplished in this

ordinance.
The reason this ordinance is likely to work
in the short term and the reason it may run
into trouble in the long term is the same the
underlying land market in India. Land prices
in India are now the highest in the world
(with the possible exception of China, where,
for approximately the same reasons as in India, prices have reached unprecedented levels). For most pieces of agricultural land,
these market prices are several times higher
than the possible returns from keeping the
land in agricultural use. When these very high
prices are quadrupled or doubled, it creates a
windfall for land-losers, a fortune they could
never earn from agriculture. The Modi government is betting that the vast majority of
people will be dazzled by the money and will
acquiesce to acquisition. And by vastly increasing the scope of LARR, by bringing under its ambit several more types of
acquisition and many more people, the government and the BJP can claim to be as profarmer as anyone else (even if the enlargement had been envisaged in the original law).
For the land-acquiring interest be it the
private or public sector reducing the time
for acquisition by several years, and thereby
reducing the opportunity cost, is a huge benefit. When this is topped up with the reduction
or removal of the cash cost of social impact
assessments and referenda, it becomes a
windfall for the acquirers too. LARR had
placed an impossible double-burden on land
acquirers: pay double or quadruple the highest prices in the world, and wait for several
years to begin work on the ground. The first
burden remains and its consequences are
grave. What those consequences may be must
be carefully worked out by people competent
to do so. But the second burden has been
mitigated by this ordinance. It should make
life easier for the land-acquirer.

Price factor
What, aside from partisan politics, could go
wrong? There are many things, but I will
mention just three. First, the assumption that
everyone responds to price is incorrect in
India. There are priceless pieces of land that
no amount of money can buy. The Niyamgiri
hill region in Odisha where the Vedanta
mining project ran aground is an example.
Without referenda it may be very difficult to
identify priceless land; which means that
deadly face-offs over acquisition will continue to flare up. Second, the social impact assessment was meant primarily to take stock
of the non-land-owning project-affected population. Compensating non-owners is a vital
and non-negotiable element of LARR. How
that will be achieved without the social impact assessments remains unclear.
Third and most important: the price of peri-urban land has reached such levels in the
most dynamic urban regions of the country,
that just doubling it (even without the added
transaction and opportunity costs) may make
many public projects unaffordable and private projects uncompetitive (especially in a
globalised economy). The blunt instrument
of acquisition is already inappropriate in
many such settings; using LARR, even after
the ordinance, it may be impossible. New,
creative methods that make stakeholders out
of landholders must be devised, perhaps by
following the better outcomes of some of the
experiments being attempted in some States.
Is this ordinance a better way than LARR?
Yes. Is there a better way than this? Very
much so, and it is based on finding State-level
solutions rather than these top-down, onesize-fits-all strategies devised by the Centre.
And above all, as a friend says, what we need
are good intentions combined with clear
analysis and hard, detailed work. Unfortunately, all these are in short supply.
(Sanjoy Chakravorty is the author of The
Price of Land: Acquisition, Conflict,
Consequence.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
The Indian Science Congress is
supposed to be a platform where
recent
advancements
or
technological achievements by
Indian scientists must be discussed
and brought to public attention.
With scientific institutions and
organisations dotting every corner
of the country, this would have been
an ideal occasion to highlight the
work being done by versatile and
unsung scientists in our country.
What kind of an example are we
setting for the next generation? The
happenings at the science congress
show that science and politics need
to be kept poles apart.
Kilambi Bhavana,
Solapur, Maharashtra
If we fail to make a distinction
between the wishful plans of Jules
Verne, in a novel, to reach the moon
and Newtons imagination leading
to the laws of physics or Einsteins
gedankens, then we are faltering
with our comprehension. I do take
pride in the fact that Indians have
made innumerable and significant
contributions
to
science,
mathematics, medicine and so on in
ancient times which, unfortunately
and surprisingly, have dried up. I
am afraid of the prospect of us being
misled about the theory of existence
of a flourishing aviation technology
in ancient India on the basis of a
mere mention of flying objects in
some text.
I believe posing such theories and
the ones of an existence of cosmetic
surgery and in-vitro fertilisation
before the rest of the world will be
detrimental to whatever credentials
we have for our ancient scientific
contributions. We should be
cautious about misinterpreting
wishful fantasy and calling it
science.
Siddhartha Lahon,
New Delhi

Inevitability of Modi
The article by Shiv Visvanathan,
The inevitability of Narendra
Modi (Jan.5), reflects the concerns
of many of us. Jawaharlal Nehru
and Patel were genuine democrats
and statesmen. In spite of his efforts
to emulate Nehru, Mr. Modis new
mask cannot hide his past. His
silence on the acts of the right wing
exposes his hidden agenda. As far as
governance is concerned, the
massive publicity indicates an
attempt to hide a perceptible lack of
achievements worth talking about.
The demystification of Mr. Modi
should happen through genuine,
fearless criticism and through
public discourses and one hopes
that the Opposition soon recovers
its voice to be able to emerge soon
and deflate Mr. Modis artificially
built image. All this must happen
soon.
S. Ramamurthy,
Chennai

also
those
who
constitute
contributors. That this section
strives to give voice to various
readers is true as The Hindu has
allotted a reasonable amount of
space for letters in comparison to
other dailies. But considering the
continually increasing readership, I
feel that the time has come to offer
some more space for readers
letters. There must also be some
mechanism to assess the impact of
readers opinions on public
governance,
social
changes,
corruption and the criminalisation
of politics.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala

Operation Smile

The report, Operation Smile:

police trace missing children
(some editions, Jan.5), on how the
police have formed teams for
Operation Smile, an initiative to
trace children reported missing in
the district police limits in the last
10 years, may be a good and
It was pleasant to read in The worthwhile initiative, but the
essential reader (From The general public should be aware that
Readers Editor, Jan.5) that they there is an international project
[readers] are the sole purpose of the that goes by the same name and
papers [The Hindus] existence. In whose purpose is entirely different.
fact, this should be applicable to all
The international project seeks
newspapers
and
magazines. to help children with facial
Perhaps, readers are not their mere deformities by using corrective
purpose of existence but their medicine and surgery and bringing
very cause of existence.
back a smile to their faces and life.
I would also like to comment on The Indian branch of the project is
the Letters to the Editor column called Operation Smile India. It
which perhaps constitutes the holds medical camps, engaging
strongest bond between the editor eminent local and international
and the reader. While the reader, doctors and health-care officials to
Mr. D.K. Ozas suggestion for a offer free humanitarian service,
revamp of its contents as such is especially to the poor and needy.
sincere, he should also accept the Though the objectives of both these
fact that the pedestrian, the trivial, projects are noble, their sharing a
the commonplace, the insignificant, name will only cause confusion.
Adidas Jacob,
the rubbish and the self-appointed
Nagercoil
Public Policy Advisor are what and

The essential reader

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015

When accountability is not institutional

Arun Kumar

THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015

Spectrum auction
realities
he fine print of the spectrum auction coming
up in February, shows that little has been
learnt from experience with similar auctions
in the past. The 3G auction held in 2010, for
example, fetched a windfall for the government but
dealt a blow to the telecom industry from which it has
yet to fully recover. On that occasion, a limited quantity
of spectrum put on auction, a high upset price and keen
competition among bidders combined to push up the
value beyond levels that made business sense for the
telecom companies, that had no choice but to participate. The consequences of that frenzied round of bidding
are still being felt in the form of large loan dues of banks
that funded the bidding, frayed balance sheets of telecom operators and poor services for consumers as
operators cut down investment on network expansion.
The story for the upcoming round is the same as the
government attempts to exploit scarcity value to maximise its own revenues. Not only is the price set for the
three bands 800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz
considerably higher than what was recommended by
the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) but
the quantum of spectrum on offer is also limited, especially in the crucial 900 MHz band.
At least three operators Vodafone, Idea and Bharti
Airtel will be bidding to stay in business as their
licences in some circles expire this year. Their desperation is bound to push up the bidding price, especially if
others such as Uninor and Reliance Jio step into the
fray. The government has also offered just one slot of 5
MHz in the 2,100 MHz band which is critical for 3G
operations and has said that it will release a further 15
MHz later. The strategy is obviously to capitalise on the
scarcity value now. While optimising revenues for a
public asset such as spectrum is not wrong, the attempt
here seems to be to maximise them which can come
only at the cost of the industry and consumers, as
experience shows. There is time still to change things
as the Cabinet will be meeting soon to clear the pricing
of the 2,100 MHz band. The government should strive
to put on auction the entire 20 MHz that it has in the
2,100 MHz band and also fix the upset price at realistic
levels. Quite apart from this, serious thought should be
given also to the TRAI recommendation to reduce the
licence fee from 8 per cent of adjusted gross revenues
to 6 per cent as the present fee was set before the
auctions era. The governments keenness to maximise
revenues and to prevent windfall gains to telecom operators is understandable, but it should be balanced
with the interests of the long-term development of the
industry and of the consumers.

he Director of the Indian Institute

of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has resigned because he was sought to be
marginalised by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). The faculty and alumni of IIT have come out in his
support but the issue festers. Unfortunately,
this has little to do with the real problem
facing IITs a lack of adequate faculty and
little cutting-edge research. Even before the
indiscriminate expansion of the IITs began,
these institutes faced a shortage of faculty; at
times to the extent of 40 per cent. The IITs
face a reverse filtration of talent. The best
obtain a B.Tech degree and either leave for
foreign shores or move on to study management. The second best continue pursuing
higher degrees which in turn leads to a weak
research programme. Like IIT Delhi, other
institutions of higher education in the capital
have also been in the throes of crisis.
The countrys best university, Delhi University, has been in a state of turmoil for
several years. Its vice-chancellor, who has
been responsible for this continues in spite of
accusations of wrongdoing. His presence is
demoralising for academic staff and the student community. Since a university is not
about its buildings but crucially its students
and faculty, their alienation damages the institution irreparably.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) faces a crisis because the earlier
vice-chancellor recklessly expanded its
scope. While this provides a false sense of
dynamism, for an institution of higher learning, this spells trouble since it is almost next
to impossible to get good faculty in a short
period of time. Dependence on outside experts for courses is problematic since they do
not bear primary responsibility. The vicechancellor, accused of wrongdoing, is under
investigation.

Autonomy being eroded

These are not isolated institutional problems. They are generic in nature and can be
found to exist in different degrees in almost
all institutions. What plagues Delhi University once prevailed at Jamia Millia Islamia and
Aligarh Muslim University. A shortage of faculty and the use of ad hoc teachers affects
almost all universities.
The highest National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)-rated university,
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), faces declining standards of research. The university,
whose raison dtre was research, confronts
growing instances of plagiarism because

Higher education in India suffers from a lack of

a democratic leadership that understands its true
nature. For those heading academic institutions,
accountability is personal and not institutional or
societal. The erosion of autonomy and
accountability in centres of education is
the biggest challenge an aspirational and rising
India faces
those in authority brush it under the carpet.
The problem is being dealt with mechanically
by providing software. Instead, the real problem is the breakdown in trust between student and teacher. Many students have little
time to spend on their dissertation since they
are working elsewhere and/or preparing for
competitive examinations.
Some faculty in order to be popular dilute
standards and supervise three or four times
the number of research students prescribed
under University Grants Commission (UGC)
norms. There are others who run non-governmental organisations and institutions
outside JNU. The result is a conflict of interest and where academics with little time
for research supervision allow anything to
pass. There is a lack of leadership at JNU but
this is true of other institutions also where

society.
The HRD Ministers conclave with the
vice-chancellors of the Central Universities
in September suggested fundamental changes in the running of these universities. Since
the Central Universities are some of the premier universities in the country, what they do
becomes the model for other universities.
Therefore, it is important to know whether
what was discussed would help resolve the
problems of these universities. The same
vice-chancellors who created the problems
described earlier are now heading the committees working on the proposed changes.
Apparently, a council of the vice-chancellors of the Central Universities, with the Minister of HRD heading it, has been proposed. In
addition, all the Central Universities are to be
brought under a common Act, there is to be a

The claim that India has arrived on the world stage rings
hollow without an independent technology base.
decisions are not made on time.
All this is symptomatic of a lack of a vision
of higher education in the entire system
from the Ministry to the UGC to the institutions of higher learning. The Ministry and the
UGC expect their diktat to run, little realising
that their demands from these institutions
may not suit all. One size fits all and standardisation to achieve standards is anathema to higher education. Such prescriptions
damage the better institutions as has been the
case with the introduction of the mechanical
Academic Performance Indicator (API)based recruitment and promotions. Rather
than ensuring quality, this move has led to the
emergence of poor quality journals, conferences and so on and the promotion of mediocrity. It is undermining the autonomy of
academics which is crucial in fostering accountability to the long-term interest of

common curriculum, a teachers recruitment

board, transferability of students among
these universities and so on. If any of this is
implemented, the autonomy of Central Universities will be severely eroded. This was the
programme of the United Progressive Alliance government and is perhaps being pursued because the bureaucrats of the Ministry
are driving the agenda.

Key problems
The key problems confronting higher education in India are quality, equity, access and
financing. In the last 10 years, there has been
a massive ad hoc expansion of Central Universities, IITs and Indian Institutes of Management resulting in a shortage of faculty by
40 to 50 per cent. Established older institutions are doing a bit better but not much since
about 33 per cent of the positions at Delhi

CARTOONSCAPE

Watershed in
judicial history
he Supreme Court of India and the High
Courts, described as the most powerful judiciary in the world, are witnessing dramatic
changes in their institutional structure.
Pending notification, the legislature has passed the
Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill, 2014 and The
National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill,
2014 to regulate the procedure for recommending the
appointment and transfer of the Chief Justices and
Judges of these higher courts, marking a watershed in
judicial history. The new law provides for the setting up
of the National Judicial Appointments Commission
(NJAC), a six-member panel headed by the Chief Justice of India, and includes two senior-most Supreme
Court judges, the Union Minister of Law and Justice
and two eminent persons nominated by a committee
comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader
of the Opposition. Although controversial, this represents a much-needed reform of the older collegium
system. That system was a judge-devised practice of
appointments that evolved out of the three-judges
cases (1982, 1993 and 1998) wherein the Chief Justice
along with a panel of senior-most judges would make a
binding recommendation to the President on the appointees. This model was a reaction to blatant favouritism by the executive that marked appointments until
the Supreme Court decided to change the procedure.
To avoid charges of favouritism, the collegiums relied
on seniority, which only encouraged more mediocrity.
Although such an inter-institutional model has the
potential to enhance merit and diversity in the judiciary, it is the fine print of law that raises questions.
With three of the six members being judges, a decision
of the Commission can be vetoed by any two members.
The judicial members of the NJAC lack the preponderance in voice necessary to maintain independence. The
fear is that the NJAC may encourage High Court judges
to give pro-government rulings with the object of gaining eventual promotion to the Supreme Court. This
problem was dealt with by the Venkatachaliah Committee, endorsed by the Vajpayee government, which
suggested a panel of three judges, the Union Minister
and only one eminent person, thus reducing the scope
for executive interference. Having a relook at this report might have been of value. But the BJP has ignored
it and instead demanded more say in the NJAC; the
Opposition did not seem to have any complaints about
the procedure either. With several influential lawyers
criticising the law for being a political assault on judicial independence, the constitutionality of the law is
about to be challenged in court. Whether this would
eventually lead to a conflict between the two wings of
the government, is something to be seen.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Its murder
One might recollect that Sunanda
Pushkar threatened to reveal
details
of
certain
sordid
happenings in the IPL (Its
murder, say Delhi police,Jan.7).
Whether her death is linked to it or
not remains to be seen. One only
hopes that a fine balance is struck
between media sensationalism and
investigative journalism.
Poovanna Kuttetira,
Madikeri
Though an FIR has been registered
under Section 302 of the IPC, it is
too premature to conclude that
there was any foul play. Most of all,
Shashi Tharoor deserves some
dignity and privacy. It is extremely
unfair to pass judgment using a
media
trial.
Indulging
in
sensationalism with the sole intent
of tarnishing the reputation of
individuals is uncalled for.
C. Suresh,
Thrissur

On the Land Act

The article, Improving an
unworkable
law
(Jan.7),
unabashedly bats for the capitalists
(land acquirers) but misses out
crucial factors even in their cause.
The SIA and referenda were
innovated to take the steam off
agitations which were hindering
land acquisitions. They added
transparency and fairness to the
process by making it more
democratic. The only amendment
required to LARR 2013 was to
make the SIA and referenda time-

Mythology and science

Teaching and research

Our education system is plagued by the
separation of teaching and research. Knowledge is largely acquired through rote learning
of notes or reading books that are a cut-andpaste job. Thus, understanding is at a discount. Consequently, many Indian intellectuals tend to be derived intellectuals,
recycling knowledge from the West. Exams
are mechanically passed by mugging up material which is then promptly forgotten.
Knowledge is neither assimilated nor converted into wisdom. The result is that the
system largely produces people with indifferent quality and where industry complains of a
lack of skills.
Independent intellectuals are seen as being
troublemakers and are harassed. Mediocre
academics, realising that they cannot excel
academically, resort to petty politicking and/
or become sycophants of those in power in
order to climb the ladder. Those at the top
take the support of the latter group and adopt
the principle, show me the face I show you
the rule It is this group that violates rules
secure in the knowledge that the authorities
will not act against them. They bring a bad
name to higher education and erode the accountability of the institution.
The government has announced a slew of
programmes like Make in India which depends heavily on a strong research and development capability which in turn requires a
dynamic system of higher education. The
claim that India has arrived on the world
stage rings hollow without an independent
technology base. It is no wonder then that we
are forced to borrow technology from China
for bullet trains or ask the U.S. to help clean
our cities. The Swachh Bharat, Clean Ganga
and other such campaigns require citizenship
which a democratic and inclusive education
system can deliver but a purely formal education system cannot. Unless the crisis in higher
education is tackled, the governments best
laid plans can be derailed.
In brief, higher education in India suffers
from a lack of a democratic leadership that
understands its true nature. Those heading
these institutions are usually the favourites of
those in power (political or money). They
largely implement the agenda of their masters and, therefore, do not feel the need to be
accountable to the academic community. To
them, accountability is personal and not institutional or societal. They undermine the
autonomy of the democratic bodies of universities, like the academic council through
threats and inducements. Some institutions
have no unions that can balance the autocratic behaviour of their heads. Thus, the erosion
of the autonomy and accountability in institutions of higher learning is both from
within and without. This is the biggest challenge before an India that aspires to arrive on
the world stage.
(Arun Kumar is the Sukhamoy
Chakravarty Chair Professor at the Centre for
Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, and President, JNU
Teachers Association.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

There
appears
to
be
a
disproportionate reaction to the
discussions on Indian mythology. I
wish to point out that mythology is
itself science.
Carl Jung, a student of Sigmund
Freud regarded as one of the
greatest men of the last
millennium in the scientific
exploration of the brain and in
turn, the mind has proved the
eternal presence of types including
the visionary one in the human
consciousness.
Mythological
themes, characters and situations
signify
all
the
possible
combinations and patterns of
human actions in the present and
also in the future. The past, the
present and the future can be
perceived in the patterns of
archetypes as seen in Greek,
Roman, Indian, Scandinavian
(Norse) and Chinese mythologies.
Mythology often unravels the
mystery of the human mind to
The claims of advanced science and some extent.
technology in the ancient world are
M. Vathapureeswaran
Erode
based on references in ancient
scripts (Editorial, Jan.6). In his
The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Belief is a different thing and it
Nehru had said: If people believed cannot be tested by modern
in factual contents of these stories, science. Our mythology cannot be
the whole thing was absurd and described by science, which has its
ridiculous. But as soon as one own limitations. Even before
ceased believing in them, they modern science evolved, ancient
appeared in a new light, a new Indians
constructed
huge
beauty, a wonderful flowering of a structural marvels such as the Big
richly endowed imagination, full of Temple in Thanjavur. There are
human lessons. So, let us leave our many such outstanding examples.
wonderful mythologies as they are We invented the concept of zero,
and enjoy their beauty.
and mythology abounds in various
K.V. Ravindran, interesting discoveries such as the
Payyanur, Kerala pushpaka vimana. Ayurveda has
bound and not do away with them
for any kind of project.
Acquiring agricultural land has a
larger social dimension too as it
affects the food security of the
country. One must also consider
that there are many obstacles to
farming in India. Even at four
times the market rate, the cost of
land acquisition hardly exceeds 20
per cent of the capital expenditure
for many projects. Attempts are
being made to excessively highlight
the compensation part in order to
divert attention from larger issues.
The government could have done
well to understand that it can take
the SIA out of the Act but not out of
peoples minds. It can show up
again in different forms of
agitation which was what led to
LARR 2013 in the first place.
R. Sudhakar,
Bengaluru

University and JNU lie vacant. Shortage by

itself does not reflect the extent of the problem since quality of faculty is crucial. Appointment of ad hoc teachers at salaries close
to minimum wages and for years at a stretch
is demoralising and results in a deterioration
in quality.
Good faculty are reluctant to join newer
institutions as they lack infrastructure and
because many of them are in remote areas.
Transferability of teachers across Central
Universities can only spread good academics
thin and lead to a deterioration of quality in
established universities. In an authoritarian
system, this can be used to punish teachers by
posting them to remote areas, thus undermining autonomy and leading to sycophancy.
When transferred to weak institutions,
good academics could become demoralised.
Sending weak academics to good institutions
may not lead to their betterment but could
result in a deterioration of quality in these
institutions. Good students would not transfer to weak institutions but poor quality students would want to migrate to good
institutions and this could lead to corruption.

been vividly described in our

scriptures. Brushing them aside
shows our disinclination to know
more about them. There must be
an attempt to go deep into them
and find out the truth, instead of
disowning our great heritage. Our
ancestors were not fools and their
intellect is showcased in many
literary works. Let us be proud of
our past and carry out a thorough
research, which is bound to bring
up many interesting facts.
G. Ramachandran,
Thiruvananthapuram

The silent burial

The
Tamilnadu
Heritage
Commission Act, 2012 has not seen
the light of day. The 12th Finance
Commission, for example, had
allotted Rs.480 lakh for the
conservation of heritage buildings
in Tamil Nadu for 2007-2010 (G.O.
(Ms)No.108 of June 6, 2007 of
Tourism and Culture (MA 2)
Department). The work was to be
implemented by the State
Archaeology Department and
executed by the Public Works
Department. But the local PWD
does not appear to have the
expertise or the needed proficiency
in conservation archaeology. Last
week, I visited the tomb of De
Lannoys (1715-1777) at the
Udayagiri fort in Puliyoor kurichi
which is in Kalkulam taluk of
Kanyakumari district. To my
surprise, I found the tomb covered
in three-foot high bushes. It must
be noted that the 12th Finance
Commission
had
sanctioned
Rs.38.5 lakh to renovate the tomb

and tile the roof. Archaeological

sites in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli
and Tuticorin are looked after by
an assistant archaeologist. How
can he monitor the hundreds of
monuments there? The State
government must strengthen
monitoring mechanisms and
realise that one-time grants will
not aid conservation efforts.
R.S. Lal Mohan,
Nagercoil

GM crops
This refers to the report, Bt cotton
not to blame for farm distress:
scientists (Jan.6). India has
already
allowed
genetic
manipulation
technology
to
produce certain crops including
cotton. However, there has been a
hue and cry in India against its
expansion to other crops such as
rice and eggplant and in open field
trials. The real agenda of those who
advocate Genetically Modified
crops has been exposed by F.
William Engdahl in his book, Seeds
of Destruction: The Hidden
Agenda of Genetic Manipulation.
This skilfully researched book has
focussed on how a small sociopolitical American elite seeks to
establish control over the very
basis of human survival: the
provision of our daily bread;
Control the food and you control
the people. Even the Make in
India campaign bats for GM crops.
Allowing the patenting of life forms
in the hands of a select few is asking
for trouble.
Sudheer Kumar Kattamuri,
Guntur
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

10

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Philosophical investigations
I
Ananya Vajpeyi

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

The attack on
Charlie Hebdo
he horrific terrorist attack in Paris at the office
of the French magazine Charlie Hebdo is a
direct assault on the freedom of speech,
thought and expression, the fundamentals on
which all open, democratic societies are built. Ten staff
members at the satirical weekly, including four of its top
cartoonists, were gunned down by masked men who
entered the building and targeted the editorial meeting
in what seemed to be a well-planned and professional
operation. They left shouting Allahu-Akbar, killing two
policemen on the street outside before driving off in a
getaway car. Since 2006, when it first published the
Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, Charlie Hebdo
had been under threat of violent attacks by Islamist
groups. Refusing to be intimidated, the publication continued to caricature Islam even after a firebombing in
November 2011, just as it also relentlessly lampooned
Christianity and Judaism its Christmas week cover
caricaturing the birth of Jesus was designed to provoke
and cause offence. Self-censorship in order not to hurt
religious sensibilities is now the norm in most parts of
the world, so too in India, where media and expressions
of popular culture including cinema, art and writing
have to walk the tightrope daily in deference to what
Salman Rushdie in an interview to this newspaper described as the non-existent right to not be offended:
the fracas caused by Hindutva groups against the film
PK is the most recent example of this. In truly democratic societies, this should not be the case, and that is what
Charlie Hebdo believed and practised. Irrespective of
what anyone thinks of its editorial policy, all who believe
in freedom of expression and the democratic way of life
must express solidarity with the magazine, and condemn this unspeakable act of violence against them.
Attacking democratic freedoms is part of a larger
agenda. Whether it is al-Qaeda, IS or any other group,
extremist ideology thrives best in a polarised society. If
the sizeable numbers of people adhering to the Muslim
faith have been able to resist Islamism, it is because
French republicanism has been able to surmount even
the most divisive controversies, such as the ban on
wearing the hijab and niqab in public and the Islamophobic discourse by the French right-wing parties
that surrounded it. While the inevitable security measures will have to be taken, it would be most unfortunate
if the attack on Charlie Hebdo were to give rise to a
backlash against French Muslims. That would result in
precisely what Islamist groups want an alienated
Muslim population that would become a recruiting
ground for their violent cause. Maintaining freedoms
and equality before the law in the face of a severe
challenge to security is the most difficult test for any
democratic polity and society.

n the weeks just before and after the

new year, when the overall atmosphere
of the capital was vitiated on account of
the governments attempts to override
Christmas as a Christian observance and an
official holiday, replacing it with a so-called
Good Governance Day and the birth anniversaries of Madan Mohan Malaviya, and
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, brief visits by two eminent philosophers provided some relief. The
visitors were the Bengali philosopher, Arindam Chakrabarti, who teaches at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, and the Iranian
philosopher, Ramin Jahanbegloo, who teaches at York University in Canada. Both lectured at public fora, met with students and
scholars, and brought to the denizens of beleaguered Delhi a much-needed reminder of
the importance of philosophy as the core of
humanistic intellectual inquiry and democratic dissent.

Doubt, choice and freedom

Professor Chakrabarti delivered the first of
the newly-instituted Daya Krishna Lectures
in Philosophy, speaking about reality, freedom and knowledge on three separate occasions. Professor Jahanbegloo held a reading
and discussion around his recently-published memoir, Time Will Say Nothing: A Philosopher Survives an Iranian Prison (University
of Regina Press, 2014). Although the two men
are very different from one another in their
personal and intellectual trajectories, they
are almost exact contemporaries. Both impressed audiences with their passion for
philosophical thinking, their broad comparative knowledge of philosophical systems,
eastern and western, their moving eloquence
and their pedagogical energy. The start of a
new year under a new right-wing regime, one
that continually poses challenges to liberal
thought, rational debate and free expression,
felt a lot less depressing thanks to the old and
new ideas, deep erudition and bold questions
that both Chakrabarti and Jahanbegloo
brought to the table.
Although he has lived overseas now for a
long time, Chakrabarti is a familiar figure to
anyone interested in philosophy in contemporary India. Equally adept in navya nyaya,
Kashmiri Saivism and analytic philosophy,
educated in Calcutta and in Oxford, a student
as much of Bimal Krishna Matilal as Peter
Strawson, fluent in Bangla, Sanskrit and Continental philosophical idioms, argumentative
styles and textual traditions, Chakrabarti has
been an unforgettable teacher and an engaging speaker throughout his career from the
late 1980s.
His Daya Krishna lectures in Delhi on December 24, 26 and 27, 2014, that ranged
widely over many subjects, are impossible to
summarise descriptively. But what struck me

The start of a new year under a new regime that

continually poses challenges to liberal thought,
rational debate and free expression was
brightened by two minds, in New Delhi, who
reminded their audience of the importance of
philosophy as the core of humanistic intellectual
inquiry and democratic dissent

as most significant, particularly given the

current political climate in India, was his
second lecture, which was about doubt, indecision, choice and freedom.
We are given to thinking that concepts like
choice and freedom characterise modern and
capitalist societies, and come to us in India
thanks to our encounter with the West. But
through incisive readings of the Bhagavad
Gita, sections of the Mahabharata, the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and of his grandson,
the recently deceased philosopher Ramchandra Gandhi (who was personally very close to
both Daya Krishna and Arindam Chakrabarti
himself), together with the Buddhist philosophers Nagarjuna, Dignaga and Dharmakrti,
Chakrabarti explored the pathways through
which the understanding of freedom in Indian philosophical systems was closely tied to
issues of the stability or instability, persistence or impermanence of the self; the necessity of making ethical choices in the face of

ning debates within, between and across

traditions.
Figures like the historical Buddha, the epic
heroes Rama, Yudhisthira and Arjuna, characters from the Upanishads like Nachiketa
and Satyakama, the enigmatic divinity Krishna, and so many others from our ancient
literature illustrate vividly for us both the
moral significance and the narrative power of
fundamental questions like Who am I? What
should I do? What is the right way? and
ultimately, Does it matter? Whether or not
they flew airplanes and practised plastic surgery, the best minds in India took the big
puzzles of metaphysics, ontology, aesthetics
and epistemology very seriously indeed.

Imprisonment and freedom

Chakrabarti brought to life a world of
thought humming with creativity for centuries, to which we are each day losing access,
thanks to our misguided and meaningless

Whether or not they flew airplanes and practised plastic

surgery, the best minds in India took the big puzzles of
metaphysics, ontology, aesthetics and epistemology very
seriously indeed.

doubt, indecision, hesitation and ambiguity;

and random strokes of both moral luck as
well as epistemic luck with which some
individuals may be blessed and others, not so
much.

On Indic antiquity
At a time when we are continually subjected to unsubstantiated claims about how
our ancestors made scientific discoveries and
technological advances thousands of years
before any other culture, it seems much more
valuable to learn about the principal problems that thinkers in our part of the world
were actually reflecting upon with great intensity, intelligence and sophistication in Indic antiquity. Self and Other, doubt and
decision, action and inaction, birth and
death, war and peace, bondage and freedom
these were matters of philosophical scrutiny over millennia, spread out over multiple
schools of thought, and locked in long-run-

obsession with whether or not India was

modern before modernity, and whether it
was superior or inferior relative to other civilisations. If only we learned how to read and
appreciate what is in our texts, instead of
pointlessly probing them for what they never
contained, and insisting, falsely, that they
anticipated the theories and inventions of
every other people on the planet. Chakrabarti suggested, intriguingly, that imagination
(kalpana) too, ought to be taken seriously as a
touchstone of valid knowledge, pramana, because many times the access to truth is first
made through imaginative leaps and only later substantiated using other, harder, epistemological criteria. Some things can be
imagined even if they are not known. From
what I could discern, the warrant for such an
argument too lies embedded within the voluminous folds of Indian philosophy.
Ramin Jahanbegloos personal history
highlights a different sense of the word free-

CARTOONSCAPE

Unnatural death,
unnatural probe
he belated decision of the Delhi Police to treat
the death of Sunanda Pushkar in January
2014 as a case of murder may have ended the
year-long uncertainty about the fate of a
meandering probe that has been bogged down in forensic and medical investigations, but it also raises troubling questions about the functioning of the force.
Whatever the initial circumstantial clues that made
suicide a more probable cause of death, there was little
justification for the police to delay the registration of a
first information report until a year after she was found
dead in a hotel suite. And even that has been done more
than three months after a medical report categorically
said Ms. Pushkars death was unnatural and due to
poisoning. The latest report of December 29, 2014,
largely reiterated the finding. While the circumstances
signs emerged that not everything was all right between Ms. Pushkar and her husband Shashi Tharoor
when she had a spat on Twitter with a foreign journalist
just a day before her death did indicate that she may
have been under great psychological stress, there appeared to be some reluctance on the part of the police
to address suspicions of foul play. There were suggestions that she may have died of a drug overdose, and
adding to the theory was evidence found on the crime
scene. Two used strips of a drug meant to treat panic
and anxiety disorders, were found, but it was neither
prescribed for Ms. Pushkar nor was it consumed, as the
viscera analysis showed. It would not have been difficult to trace their origin by using the batch number or
ascertain if it was prescribed for her and by whom.
The theory that she suffered from Lupus has been
proved wrong by the final report that states categorically that Ms. Pushkar was a normal, healthy woman
with no ailments. It is to be hoped that the police will
probe the evidence that seemed to bolster the suicide
theory, besides getting to know the exact nature of the
poison involved, through overseas experts. The formation of a special team to carry forward the probe from
now on is a positive sign, but the lapse of nearly a year
bodes ill for the prospects of gathering credible and
relevant evidence to unearth the whole truth. The
investigation has undoubtedly been tardy, hesitant and
overcautious: a clear sign that it has been weighed
down by the stature of Mr. Tharoor. Some caution is
justified when political personages are involved to
avoid the impression of favouritism or vindictive targeting, but it should not be at the cost of a free and
impartial investigation. Sensitivity towards the privacy
of individuals involved cannot detract from the quest
for the truth.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

violence around the world show that
religion has begun to turn into a
Today, several countries across the breeding ground to perpetrate
globe and Europe in particular face a gruesome violence. On the one
tricky situation with young and hand, people want to try to save
educated Muslims among their saints and seers who bear criminal
population gravitating towards charges. On the other hand, gunfundamentalism. That the growing toting fanatics are willing to
menace of terrorism emanates from engineer bloodshed on even the
groups such as Islamic State should slightest provocation. The incident
not be glossed over by the in Paris is a clarion call for saner
international
community, heads in all nations to debate the
considering its discernible and issue and provide wise counsel.
Shiv Sethi,
potential fallout on international
Ferozepur
peace, stability and development.
M. Jeyaram,
Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu The Paris killings should come as a
metaphorical slap in the face of
It is odd that the publishers of those in the media who have tried to
Charlie Hebdo were going ahead equate Hindu resurgence with
with an editorial plan despite Islamic terror. While the media in
knowing that it was fraught with India were busy wringing hands
danger. It is ironic that the media, over the largely peaceful protests
both print and electronic, often over the film PK, here is a truly
wantonly walk into the danger zone horrific act. Which one of the media
by hurting the sentiments of a outlets in India will stand in
community either to increase sales solidarity with the cartoonists who
or TRP ratings. When there are lost their lives?
Vijay Venkatesh,
plenty of other subjects to be
Chennai
discussed, why invite trouble?
H.P. Murali,
Bengaluru
I completely disagree with Hasan
The motive behind the attack in Suroor (Silence is not an option,
which 12 people were mercilessly Jan.8). In an era where even a single
gunned down is no less shocking word has a way of getting distorted,
than this incident which reveals the thanks to the presence of zealous
heightened level of religious mediapersons, it is quite sensible to
intolerance among the people of remain silent even when one knows
certain communities. The acts of he cannot do any wrong by saying

Shootings in Paris

A low profile

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015

dom. Born in Tehran in 1956, educated in

Paris where he lived for over two decades,
bilingual in Farsi and French, widely travelled, a self-confessed Gandhian and Indophile, the philosopher found himself arrested
and thrown into his native countrys notorious high security Evin Prison from April to
August 2006. He was accused of conspiring
to destabilise the Islamic Republic and fomenting a velvet revolution against the Iranian authorities with the help of western
powers like France and America, following
Eastern European models. This liberal humanist has spent time with figures like Isaiah
Berlin, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Vclav
Havel, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama,
but also has an interest in teaching the West
about Irans complicated history, politics and
religious traditions, both Islamic as well as
non-Islamic.
Jahanbegloos new book, Time Will Say
Nothing (a title based on a line from a poem
by W.H. Auden), takes his 125 days of imprisonment as an occasion to reflect on his life as
an itinerant philosopher, a cosmopolitan intellectual, a son and lover, a family man, a
political activist and a moral human being
suddenly thrown into a confrontation not
just with tyranny in the abstract, but with
terrifying silence, physical violence, and the
very real prospect of torture and death in
solitary confinement. He follows Jorge Luis
Borges in thinking of every experience that
befalls him as a resource, even the terrible
days and nights in his prison cell, where he is
allowed to read little else besides the Koran,
Hegel, Gandhi and Nehru, and has to confine
his writing to aphorisms scribbled on biscuit
wrappers and bits of newspaper.
Eventually after repetitive and degrading
blindfolded interrogations, as well as untold
hardships to his young wife, elderly mother
and newborn daughter, he realises that it
would be better to concoct an admission to
crimes against the state that he never committed, and buy his release by trading in the
very fictions that had secured his imprisonment in the first place. He knows about other
political prisoners in Iran and in totalitarian
states like the former Soviet Union; he has
read Franz Kafka, written about Hannah
Arendt, and visited Auschwitz. Through a
convoluted and sometimes guilt-racked inner journey, he decides that preserving his
bodily health, retaining his full mental powers, keeping his faith in human goodness, and
holding on to life itself, through the sheer
determination to survive, are all essential for
him to fight his way back to freedom.
After an elaborate but false confession, it
may appear as if the jailed philosopher was
freed on the basis of lies, but he is convinced
that what actually got him out was his steadfast dedication to the truth and with it, his
commitment to hope, to humanity and to
non-violence. Since emerging from the darkness of prison and years of post-traumatic
depression, Jahanbegloo writes and speaks
with courageous bluntness. He is understandably critical of his native Iran, of which he
says that the idea of a religious democracy
is a contradiction in terms a regime can
either be religious, or democratic, but not
both. After he got out of prison, he was exiled
indefinitely to Canada, where he has lived
since 2007, with temporary research and
teaching positions at various universities.
But he is equally critical of Canadian political
correctness, advanced capitalist consumer
culture, conformism, conservatism, and the
dilution of freedom through the erasure of
differences and the homogenisation of
identities.
If there is one place in which Jahanbegloo
sees the possibility of reconciling enormous
cultural diversity with genuine secular coexistence, it is India. How many lifetimes, he
writes plaintively, before I am reborn as an
Indian! It is ironic and alarming that Jahanbegloos Tagorean heaven of freedom the
very India that taught him about ahimsa and
in which he sees the greatest promise of true
democratic transformation is all too eager
to give up its hard-won liberty and its fiercely
resilient plurality for a narrow-minded and
mean-spirited sectarianism. We seem hellbent on denying the voice that is great within
us from our earliest history down to our
precarious present.
(Ananya Vajpeyi is Associate Fellow at the
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies,
New Delhi. E-mail: vajpeyi@csds.in)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
something. The extreme right is
always bound to exploit any
situation that arises even from the
smallest issue.
Akshy Sridhar,
Chennai
The
mild
and
mellifluous
admonition of liberal Indian
Muslims on their silence on moral
and religious issues reminds me of
what Leo Tolstoy wrote: The
hottest places in hell are reserved
for those who maintain their
neutrality in a moral crisis.
M. Riaz Hasan,
Hyderabad
The reference specific to the Sangh
Parivar was unnecessary. Religion
has always been used as an excuse by
its followers of all hues to insist on
their version of the truth being
heard. No religion, including Islam,
sanctions the killing of people.
Muslim scholars, thinkers, writers
and activists are keen for change and
reform but are silent as they fear
criticism.
Silence
is
an
encouragement
for
the
misinterpretation of any faith. True
believers in all religions have a duty
to speak and make their voice heard,
or else the hardliners will take over.
H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru

On higher education
At a time when rhetoric rules the
roost, there is no room for an

appraisal of reality (Where

accountability is not institutional,
Jan.8). IIT-Bombay has been
ranked 222 this year in the QS
World University Rankings 2014-15,
and is also Indias leading university
in the same rankings. Another fact is
that India also has a very low
number of patents published vis-vis other countries. All this must be
seen in the light of the government
of the day saying it is committed to
efficiency,
accountability
and
transparency
in
education,
innovation and skill development.
When accountability is not
institutionalised, autonomy is not
distributed and transparency is not
ensured, the natural corollary will
be a decline in the standards of
research, poor quality of education
and corruption. Universities will
then become factories churning out
unproductive citizens.
K.S. Kumar,
Hyderabad
I have completed my graduation
from a university in Madhya
Pradesh. A trick to clear an
examination was to write answers
giving as much unnecessary
material as possible including
repeating sentences. This was
because some professors were not
concerned about what was written
but how long the answer was, based
on which marks were awarded.
There were also books of questions
available in the market which

ensured certainty about what

questions would come up in tests.
Kamlaksh Jha,
Bhopal

Auction realities
The recent statements by the
government on the need for
transparency in decision-making,
enabling a friendly business
environment including necessary
infrastructure and on the need for
maximum governance would be just
rhetoric if the present spectrum
auction is carried out in the way it is
intended (Editorial, Jan.8). While
generating revenue is not bad, the
telecom industry must also not be
burdened unnecessarily as it will
eventually be passed on to
customers either by compromising
services or charging more.
Sharath Gowda P.,
Ramanagaram, Karnataka
The government of the day always
appears to be in a quandary while
auctioning public resources coal,
spectrum and so on. The high price
factor appears to be done keeping in
mind reactions from the CAG and
the media. The bottom line in all this
is that much is generated by public
reaction. A high price will get the
media saying that it will make an
expansion of business difficult. A
low price will trigger accusations of
aiding crony capitalism.
Sameep Kumar,
Patiala
ND-ND

10

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

For a fresh beginning in Sri Lanka

O
Jayadeva Uyangoda

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015

Democracy wins
in Sri Lanka
hen Mahinda Rajapaksa called a fresh
presidential election two years ahead of
the scheduled January 2016 end to his
second term in office, he did so because he
was confident of being voted back for another six years.
There was no real challenger on the horizon at that time,
and Mr. Rajapaksa, who had made the 2009 military
victory over the LTTE the main theme of his government, believed that Sinhalese voters would once again
repose their faith in him. Indeed, so entrenched had he
become that few imagined he would lose, and that too to
a relative unknown like Maithripala Sirisena, who was
the Health Minister in the Rajapaksa Cabinet. Mr. Sirisenas sudden emergence as a candidate of an opposition alliance took Mr. Rajapaksa by surprise. He had
been unable to see, surrounded as he was by a cabal, that
his one-family authoritarian rule had angered senior
members of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and taken the
shine off his image among the majority Sinhalese as the
President who ended a 30-year war. The Tamil voters in
the North and East, alienated as they were by the Rajapaksa governments abject failure to face up to the challenges of post-war ethnic reconciliation, were always
going to vote against him. The foot-dragging on investigations into alleged war crimes, the militarisation
of the Tamil-dominated North, the hardships that this
posed for the people, and the huge political failure on
devolution of powers all ensured that the Tamil vote
would go against him. Another significant minority, the
Muslims, also shifted their allegiance away from Mr.
Rajapaksa as a thuggish group of Sinhalese hardliners,
the Bodu Bala Sena, went on the rampage against the
community every now and then, with no apparent attempt by the government to crack down on communal
violence even after a bout of deadly rioting in 2013. The
departure of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress from the
ruling coalition to the Sirisena camp just days ahead of
the election, was the final blow against the Rajapaksa
regime.
Mr. Sirisena rode to victory on an out-and-out antiRajapaksa vote that rendered irrelevant his own perceived handicaps: the absence of personal charisma; a
late start; doubts about whether a candidate of a diverse
opposition group could provide a stable leadership; and
the lack of resources in comparison to what the incumbent had at his disposal. He had to his advantage a
rural base in the north-central districts of Sri Lanka, and
aside from the backing of a ginger group of the ruling
SLFP that defected along with him, the backing of the
main opposition United National Party, and the Jathika
Hela Urumaya, a party of Buddhist monks. With this he
managed to poll nearly half of all Sinhalese votes cast,
sweeping up in addition the Tamil and Muslim votes to
win 51.28 per cent of the vote share compared to his
opponents 47.58. The outcome is an unequivocal victory for democracy and a lesson to the whole region in
peaceful regime change.
The new President of Sri Lanka has his work cut out.
To begin with, the focus is bound to be on Mr. Sirisenas
campaign promise to abolish the powerful Executive
Presidency, which will require a constitutional amendment supported by two-thirds of Parliament, a difficult
proposition. One option before him is to dissolve Parliament and call a fresh election a year ahead of schedule.
The coalition itself is made up of disparate and mutually
antagonistic parties that must learn to work together.
UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe has already been
named the new Prime Minister. Former President
Chandrika Kumaratunga, who, after retiring from politics in 2005 re-emerged on the scene to mentor the
SLFP defectors, may well emerge as a third power centre. Quickly, Mr. Sirisena will need to repair the mucheroded confidence in Sri Lanka as a country that respects the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and
media freedom. Most importantly, the new dispensation
must waste no time in addressing the Tamil demand for
a just peace, because on this hinges the future of the
country itself. With his vast powers, Mr. Sirisena can
immediately redress some long-standing demands including returning to Tamils the land owned by them that
the Army took over in the 1990s and has stubbornly
refused to vacate. Devolution of powers to the Northern
Province should also be high on his list of priorities, and
if a new Constitution is being planned with a Westminster-style government, just power-sharing with the
Tamil minority should find a place. The new dispensation will also need to move speedily on addressing alleged war crimes, starting with ascertaining how many
Tamil civilians actually died in the last phases of the war.
But Tamil stridency on these demands will hinder rather than help matters. As the main and most credible
political representative of the Tamils, the Tamil National Alliance must play a responsible role.
Tamil Nadus political parties must desist from fanning any extremist demands, for which there is no place
on either side of the Palk Strait. For New Delhi, the
change in Sri Lanka presents the opportunity to build a
bilateral relationship that is based on mutual trust and
honesty rather than on mutual suspicion. In recent
months, the growing military relationship between Colombo and Beijing was one of the big concerns in New
Delhi. As a sovereign country, Sri Lanka must be free to
choose its friends and allies. But the least New Delhi can
expect is that its defence concerns will not be compromised by a friendly neighbour. Indias relations with Sri
Lanka are civilisational, not contractual, and despite all
the ups and downs, the ties between the people of both
countries, based on culture, religion and trade, have
continued to flourish. Both countries have a common
strategic interest in a peaceful Indian Ocean. It is from
this large base that both must now work to strengthen
mutually beneficial ties.

CM
YK

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015

ther than among the diehard supporters of the outgoing Sri Lankan
President, Mahinda Rajapaksa,
there was no doubt about the victory of Maithripala Sirisena, the common Opposition candidate in the countrys
Presidential election held on January 8. Yet,
what surprised Mr. Rajapaksas supporters
and opponents alike was his decision to concede defeat and leave the official residence
early morning of the day after, hours before
even a third of the official election results
were out. A peaceful transfer of power without post-election violence, after a relatively
peaceful election campaign, is testimony to
the resilience of Sri Lankas democracy after
three decades of civil war and half-a-decade
of semi-authoritarianism.

Revival of democracy
Based on political calculations as well as
astrological advice, Mr. Rajapaksa called for
fresh presidential elections in November
2014, two years before the constitutionally
scheduled time. He sought an unprecedented
third term, a facility he created for himself by
altering Sri Lankas Constitution. A third
term would have secured the continuity of his
familys grip over the Sri Lankan state, backed
by an alliance with political loyalists and the
new business class which he and his family
had created. However, many observers
feared, and not without good reason, that a
third term for Mr. Rajapaksa would have
robbed Sri Lankas democracy of whatever
little vigour was left in it. Further closure of
the democratic space through populist authoritarianism would have enabled him to
further consolidate his model of a developmentalist-national security state. The democratic will of the Sri Lankan voters has now
stalled those possibilities.
How will Mr. Sirisena, the new President,
fulfil his electoral promises?
The main idea that animated the Sri Lankan voter has been his promise of regime
change for good governance. It is amazing
that a concept which is a part of the neoliberal political discourse has been appropriated in the vernacular, democratic political
imagination for the revival of democratic politics. Mr. Sirisenas election campaign
stressed democratic and corruption-free gov-

A peaceful transfer of power without post-election

violence, after a relatively peaceful campaign, is
testimony to the resilience of Sri Lankas
democracy after experiencing civil war and
semi-authoritarianism
ernance, the end to family rule and cronyism,
and reviving the autonomy of key institutions
of governance, specifically the legislature and
the judiciary. This is a kind of home-grown
democratic reform agenda evolved primarily
against the five years of Mr. Rajapaksas semiauthoritarian and family-centric style of
governance.

The support base

In his political agenda, Mr. Sirisena and his
New Democratic Front (NDF) emphasised
two types of political reforms, state reform
and governance reform. The state reform
agenda focussed on a redemocratisation of
the Sri Lankan state through constitutional
reform. Reforming the executive presidential
system and the abolition of the 18th Amend-

Surprisingly, Tamil and Muslim parties who backed Maithripala

Sirisena, and even ensuring his electoral victory, did not bargain
for any commitment to devolution.
ment, which made the office of the President
enormously powerful and imperious, were its
two key elements. Unlike in the previous elections, devolution and the political rights of
the ethnic minorities were not elements in
the state reform agenda this time round. The
ethnic conflict was present in the NDF policy
manifesto only in its absence. Quite surprisingly, Tamil and Muslim parties who backed
Mr. Sirisena, and even ensuring his victory on
January 8, did not bargain for any commitment to devolution. They supported him primarily on his promise of regime change and
democratic state reform. That in a way reflected the urgency felt by most of Sri Lankas
political stakeholders for a fresh political beginning in a post-Rajapaksa era.
A fresh beginning is perhaps the phrase
that best captures the political space opened

CARTOONSCAPE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Verdict in Sri Lanka
Despite his notching up umpteen
credits, Mahinda Rajapaksa has
been
comprehensively
and
convincingly
defeated
by
Maithripala Sirisena, putting an
end to an era of corruption and
nepotism. In a democracy it is
always peoples power that wins.
What is striking, however, is the
grace and speed with which Mr.
Rajapaksa has accepted defeat and
congratulated Mr. Sirisena, an act of
goodwill largely found wanting in
India. It is now Mr. Sirisenas duty
to win over the hearts and souls of
the estranged Tamil minority and
attend to their true and genuine
grievances, in stages.
Lakshman Ramamoorthy,
Mumbai

Terror in France
Terrorism has become more
sophisticated in the 21st century
(Editorial, and Two Paris gunmen
still on the run, Jan.9), perhaps on
account of better organisational
capabilities, the use of social media
for communication, the consequent
spread of ideology and recruitment,
military-style training, and linkages
with organised crime across
national boundaries. It is in this
context that the importance of
global
cooperation
against
terrorism as articulated in the G-20
talks comes in.
Ratan Betegowda,
Bengaluru
What happened in France is tragic,
but it is evident that people
everywhere
are
increasingly
becoming hypersensitive. Perhaps
leaving people to follow/practise
their respective religions in
whatever form they want as long as
they do not encroach on the others
beliefs and practices is fine. The

up by the victory of Maithripala Sirisena in

this Presidential election. The challenges and
obstacles awaiting him would be both daunting and complex. The election result shows
some of these complexities. A preliminary
glance at the electoral statistics highlights a
few salient patterns and dimensions. First, it
is the Tamil and Muslim minority vote which
gave Mr. Sirisena the edge over Mr. Rajapaksa. The support he received from the Northern and Eastern provinces and electoral
divisions where Tamils and Muslims are a
significant minority was overwhelming, in
many instance even reaching over 65 per cent
of the votes cast. In the same vein, Mr. Sirisena failed to secure majorities in most of the
electorates which are predominantly Sinhalese. In many such districts, Mr. Rajapaksa

tragedy is that are many different

forms of the same religion and each
is basically being interpreted in
different ways.
Sheela Chandrachudan,
Bengaluru
One must express solidarity with
publications such as Charlie Hebdo
which play a stellar role in
deconstructing
religious
shibboleths and in adopting a rare
and courageous stand in public. The
incidents in Paris show that
increasingly, sections of society are
unable to disown the extremist
fringe. Peshawar, and now Paris,
reveal a deeply flawed thinking.
Mushtaqh Ali,
Chennai
One can say that all this is
happening as a result of blindly
supporting American foreign policy
that makes a distinction between
terror groups inimical to it and
those that target other nations. The
horrible consequences of foreign
misadventures in Afghanistan and a
subsequent American policy of
making a policeman out of Pakistan
are what have led to the wilful
destabilisation of an entire region
from West Asia to North Africa.
Strong, secular and efficient
regimes have been toppled in Iraq,
Egypt and Libya on the pretext of
ushering in democracy. The results
are there for all to see. It is common
knowledge that no fanatical Muslim
organisation with a Pan-Islamist
agenda has the expertise to
manufacture
sophisticated
weapons or ammunition. Now,
flush with American arms and
ammunition, aid money, ransom
dollars and drug money, one has a
spectrum of terror groups such as
IS, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, LeT,
TTP and LeJ now threatening the
civilised world. The UN can play a

Ranil Wickramasinghe, the leader of the

United National Party, as the Prime Minister,
and as Mr. Sirisenas chief lieutenant, would
be a major stabilising factor. Mr. Wickramasinghe is known for his vast experience in
government as well as for political shrewdness. His pro-western political profile would
help the new President to chart a new version
of non-alignment in Sri Lankas foreign policy
not hostile to the West, not so dependent
on China, and quite at ease with India.
Fulfilling his promise of political reform
within the deadline of a 100 days would certainly be a huge challenge for the President
and his coalition government. The 100-day
reform deadline is easier promised at elections than really met, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would easily agree. The
key reform promise with a time limit of a 100
days is the constitutional amendment that
would reform the executive presidential system and abolish the 18th Amendment. Both
these reform measures require the support of
two-thirds of Members of Parliament: a minimum of 150 of them.
The option Mr. Sirisena has is to appeal to
the goodwill of the UPFAs Members of Parliament. That will also require the support
and cooperation of the Rajapaksa brothers
who lead the UPFA. This scenario ideally calls
for some form of government-opposition political accommodation for national unity. It
also effectively rules out the efficacy of any
confrontational response to the UPFA by Mr.
Sirisena and his NDF strategists. If that happens, that will also help create a style of governance which is not overtly hostile to the
Opposition, and therefore be moderate in its
style and spirit of governance.

emerged the clear winner indicating that his

rural Sinhalese vote base has not seriously
eroded, although it has diminished. Third,
Mr. Rajapaksas United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) still has a clear majority, over Development agenda
135 seats in the 225-member Parliament, alDuring the election campaign, there were
though there have been some key defections fears expressed by some that an NDF governto the NDF during the election campaign.
ment under Mr. Sirisena would roll back the
development agenda of Mr. Rajapaksa. That
Consolidating power
fear was also a major campaign theme of Mr.
The immediate challenge that confronts Rajapaksa. All indications are that the new
Mr. Sirisena is in consolidating power for his NDF regime will continue to carry out the
newly formed coalition. The NDF is an eclec- present development agenda with some modtic coalition of political and ideological forces ifications. Excessive reliance on China for ecof a somewhat inchoate nature. They have a onomic
assistance
and
loans
for
common programme prepared for the elec- development, which has political consetion a few weeks ago, because they all wanted quences too, is most likely to be reviewed.
to end the rule and the style of politics in- Close economic cooperation with the West is
troduced by Mr. Rajapaksa. The return of a policy with which Ranil Wickramasinghe is
identified. He is also known for his economic
pragmatism. When he was the Prime Minister, in 2002-2003 he devised a policy of closer
economic integration between Sri Lanka and
the southern States of India.
As it happens at crucial moments of political change, new leaders and new governments
emerge with a great deal of promise for
change. The greater the promise, the greater
can also be the disappointment, once the euphoria of the newness declines and the promises meet the political realities. One such
challenging prospect which the new President is likely to face is in balancing the interests of the Sinhalese majority community
and the ethnic minorities in the next parliamentary election. Tamils and Muslims voted
for him on January 8 practically en masse on
the promise of a return to democracy. At the
next parliamentary election, which has to be
held before 2016, the dynamics of the political
sentiments of Tamil and Muslim minorities
might not be confined to macro democratic
reforms. Devolution and reconciliation will
some day return to the political agenda. Managing that challenge in a manner different
from how Mr. Rajapaksa did through the
strategy of cooptation, intimidation and development largesse would require a great deal
of political skills as well as the capacity for
democratic accommodation of diverse political agendas.
(Jayadeva Uyangoda is Professor of
Political Science, Department of Political
Science and Public Policy, University of
Colombo.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
turn getting less TRP ratings and
a quack talking about lucky stones
with more TRP. We animatedly
discuss the possibility of flying yogis
even though most of us do not have
the patience to meditate for even
five minutes. One also sees the right
Its a shame that a country which wing appropriating national icons
gave the world its ideals of liberty is rather than thinking of introducing
now being penalised for the the world of Annie Besant to
expression of liberty. One cannot youngsters. The reason is that
help but think of what happened a appropriating an icon demands less
few days ago, of an average film in brain power than in prompting us to
India making a mockery of the learn what a theosophist could see
majoritarian religion and then in Sanatana Dharma.
Viswanath V.,
earning millions, while in contrast,
Kurnool
one has bloodshed in Paris on
account of paper-based depictions.
Liberty and tolerance go hand in From time immemorial, ancient
hand. It is unfortunate that the Indian seers have tried to come to
world is becoming a slave to terms with the problem of human
welfare. Even by chanting mantras
fundamentalist thoughts.
Devendra Vijay, thrice to end all philosophical
New Delhi treatises, they invoked the idea of
intellectual certitude and happiness
in all the three worlds the
Taken in the right spirit, the article, physical, psychological and the
Philosophical
investigations cosmological (or the spiritual). For
(Jan.9), can trigger an interest in a this, the great masters of thought,
philosophical interrogation away puzzles of metaphysics, ontology,
from a mediocrity that flaunts aesthetics and epistemology were
achievements from a partly the pathways to arrive at a value
imagined past. It is not the alleged notion between the dicta of
sectarianism of chauvinists that general good and good of all
keeps Indians away from learning through their age-old dialectical
about the unexplored tradition of reasoning or yoga sastra as the
ancient Indias philosophical Gita would unequivocally put it.
Brahman Valkalam,
scrutiny, but the fact that there has
Thiruvananthapuram
been a cultural disconnect and
incomprehension and an upper
class
exclusivism
that
has The gravity of our native
effectively prevented knowledge philosophy, though worthy of
from spreading. Years of rote consideration, is not without its
learning and a strong sense of own precincts. Brahmagupta and
fatalism are what render even Varahamihira might suffice to
educated Indians incapable of inspire our countrys prospects in
seeing an abstract world beyond space. Susrutas works may
astrology, rituals and pilgrimages. encourage modern medicine. I fail
On television, for example, one can to see the same line in the case of
see both the saint speaking on the philosophy, especially when no two
science in the Shiva Purana and in schools agree on the same idea as far
significant role in setting up a
confederation army of secular
democratic nations to crush the
menace of Islamic terrorism.
S.K. Moitra,
Kolkata

On philosophy

as choice and freedom are

concerned. The writer may brush
aside the need to test claims
regarding airplanes and plastic
surgery in ancient India, but
verifying claims is a prerequisite in
any democratic discourse.
P. Ben Shalom,
Secunderabad
It is neither a novel nor an original
temptation to argue, as physicists
and rationalists are fond of doing, to
decry philosophy with disdain and
contempt. Once a physicists study
of the mysteries of universes
existence provoked an angry
comment from another of his
fraternity that the physicist was
foolish. He argued that philosophy,
unlike physics, makes no progress
and is rather boring if not
altogether
useless.
Stephen
Hawking, the much-acclaimed
scientist, once declared at a
conference that philosophy was
dead. Richard Feynman, in his
famous lectures on physics,
complained that philosophers are
always with us, struggling in the
periphery to try to tell us something
but they never really understand
the subtleties and the depths of the
problem. Voltaire declared long
ago that philosophy consists in
stopping when the torch of science
fails us. The Nobel laureate Steven
Weinberg,
who
dismissed
philosophers
as
mostly
inconsequential, has also recorded
that there are limits to scientific
explanation, which is after all a
philosophers issue. Surprisingly,
Neitzche wrote, As the circle of
science grows larger, it touches
paradox at more places. It is to be
hoped that the article will serve to
restore some balance in minds
warped by ignorant prejudices.
Neduntheru S. Kannan,
Chennai
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

A moment of reprieve in Pakistan

T
Basharat Peer

MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015

Waiting for
government
fter a bitter campaign and a hotly contested
election, political parties in Jammu and
Kashmir could not possibly have come to a
quick agreement on power-sharing and government-formation. With the post-poll negotiations
complicated further by the nature of the verdict
different communities in different regions voted differently Governors Rule was perhaps inevitable in
the short term. Clearly, there was a polarisation along
religious lines with the Peoples Democratic Party winning most of its seats in the Valley, and the Bharatiya
Janata Party failing to get a single seat outside of the
Jammu region. Ladakh, incidentally, favoured the Congress. As the single largest party with 28 seats in the
87-member Assembly, the PDP took the lead in the
negotiations to form a government. But contrary to
what PDP leaders would have the people of J&K believe, the sticking points in their negotiations with the
BJP are not Article 370 or the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act. Assurances on such serious issues cannot
possibly be obtained or given by political parties as part
of bargaining for power. What is at stake for the PDP is
the chief ministership for the entire six-year term. For
the BJP, similarly, getting a shot at the chief ministership, even if only for half a term, is extremely important as a step forward in its expansion plans in J&K.
The offer of support from National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah only
made matters worse for the PDP. Although the BJP is
its ideological opposite, the PDP would have preferred
a power-sharing agreement with the saffron party than
with its main rival in Kashmir, the NC. With the opening up of the possibility of support from the NC and the
Congress, the PDP now will have more trouble explaining to its support base any tie-up with the BJP. For the
PDP, sharing power with the NC would also have meant
conceding some of the ground it had wrested from that
party in the last few years. The PDP can hope to expand
only at the expense of the NC, and too close an identification with the NC could harm the PDPs long-term
prospects in the Valley. Forming a government under
these circumstances is certainly difficult, but J&K
surely deserves an elected government after the people
turned out to vote in large numbers. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi spoke with justifiable pride about the
peaceful election and the high voting percentage, but
the democratic process would not be complete until
J&K gets an elected government committed to its
growth and development. All parties might need to
rethink their negotiation strategy. What is required of
them is the scaling down of personal ambitions, and a
readiness to be more accommodative to political rivals.

he night of the Pakistani Taliban

massacre of schoolchildren in Peshawar, the Pakistan Army bombed
Northern Waziristan. The next day,
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on executions, which has been in place
since 2008, for terrorism-related cases. Within two weeks of the massacre, Pakistan had
hanged seven convicted terrorists. Six had
been convicted of participating in the attempted assassination of then President Pervez Musharraf in 2003; the seventh was on the
death row for his involvement in an attack on
the Pakistan Army headquarters in 2009.
Media reports now put the figure of those
executed as between eight and 10 persons.
Last week, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the
Interior Minister of Pakistan, announced at a
press conference that Pakistan intends to
hang about 500 prisoners convicted of terrorism-related offences within the next three
weeks. Mr. Khan said that intelligence reports
have predicted attempts at reprisals for the
executions. But we should not let our guard
down if we want to avenge the victims of the
Peshawar attack, he said.
Pakistan has more than 8,000 people on
death row. Its courts award death penalty for
27 types of offences, including murder, rape,
kidnapping, drug trafficking, and blasphemy,
and several terrorism-related crimes. In 2013,
according to Amnesty International, Pakistan
sentenced 226 people to death, compared to
80 in the United States. Yet the moratorium
on death penalty had ensured that no such
sentence was executed since 2008 with the
exception of a soldier. (Military personnel are
exempted from the moratorium.)

Hussains journey
The executions of five more men have been
scheduled for January 14, at Karachi Central
Jail. All have been convicted of sectarian murders. There was also to have been a sixth,
Shafqat Hussain, until, under immense public
pressure, the government stayed his execution earlier this week. Hussain has been on
death row since he was convicted, a decade
ago, a few months before turning 14, of killing
a seven-year-old boy.
Hussains journey mirrors the path hundreds of thousands of rural poor in South Asia
take to its energetic, growing cities in search
of work. He grew up in Neelam valley in Pakistan-controlled-Kashmir. Hussain dropped
out of school after his father, a farmer, had a
stroke and was unable to work. His beautiful
mountain valley had no work to offer. In early
2004, when he was 13 years old, he left his

The world might have never heard about

Shafqat Hussain had Pakistan not briefly lifted
its moratorium on executions. His case reflects
a flagrant disregard for local and international
rights and the harsh realities of Pakistans
justice system

village with a friend and made the long journey across multiple cultures, weather systems, and 1,300 miles to the megacity of
Karachi.
Photographs are a luxury for the South
Asian poor. The sole picture of Hussain is a
portion torn out of a group photograph taken
before he moved to Karachi: a wiry boy in a
white shirt and a thick black mop of hair. His
long, oval face is tense; his green eyes stare
self-consciously into the camera.
Karachi is a centrifugal construction site of
a city. Hussain found work as a watchman for
a half-built apartment complex in the North
Nazimabad area. He kept an eye on the building materials and slept at the construction site
at night. After the apartment block was complete, Hanif Memon, a cloth merchant, and his
family were among the first tenants to move
in. Memons wife would often leave her chil-

on suspicion of kidnapping and killing the boy.

In Pakistan, any murder that is understood to
instil fear in society is tried under anti-terrorism laws. The trial of Shafqat Hussain was
held in August 2004 in an anti-terrorism
court in Karachi.
The prosecutor accused Hussain of murdering Umair by inflicting a wooden hammer
blow to the skull of the minor resulting in his
death. The prosecutor claimed that he concealed the body in a plastic bag on the same
night. He accused Hussain of making the calls
seeking a ransom of 500,000 Pakistani rupees
from Hanif Memon, and he alleged that Hussain led the police to the sewer where they
found the boys body wrapped in a plastic bag.
Hussain replied that each of these charges
was incorrect. In fact, I was severely tortured
by the police before the alleged discovery of
the corpse, and I was asked by the Investigat-

In Pakistan, any murder that is understood to instil fear in

society is tried under anti-terrorism laws.

dren with Shafqat while she ran errands.

Claims and charges

On April 10, 2004, Memons seven-year-old
son, Umair Memon, disappeared while he was
playing hide and seek. Hussain accompanied
the Memons to the police station to file a
missing persons report. The Memons received four calls from a person claiming to be
the kidnapper, from public phones, demanding a ransom of 500,000 Pakistani rupees.
Two phone calls in mid-April directed them to
leave the ransom near a spring, a few miles
from their home, but the kidnapper did not
show up. Two more ransom calls in late April
directed them to leave the money in a wooden
box under a staircase in their building. The
kidnapper did not turn up again but they suspected Hussain as he lived near the building
staircase.
During the night of May 21, 2004, 42 days
after the boys disappearance, police came to
the apartment complex and arrested Hussain

ing Officer to admit whatever he wanted and

to follow him to a sewer, where I would simply
open the knot of certain clothes, which I did
under pressure from the police, Hussain said.
The prosecutor asked whether it was true
that on the day the body was recovered he had
taken the police to his apartment, where they
had found the murder weapon, a wooden
hammer used for grinding spices, and a pair of
sandals that belonged to the boy.
It is incorrect to suggest that. In fact at that
time I was in prison. The police obtained the
keys to my apartment from me and I dont
know what they did there, Hussain said.
Finally the prosecutor asked Hussain about
the confession he gave before a civil judge in
Karachi, nine days after his arrest.
I recorded my confessional statement under pressure from the police, as I was in handcuffs and the chain of handcuffs was in the
hand of the police constable who was standing
behind me. There, under pressure, I made that
confessional statement. I was also subjected

CARTOONSCAPE

No room
for choice
ollowing massive protests over the death of 13
women who underwent the sterilisation procedure of tubectomy in Bilaspur district of
Chhattisgarh last November, the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare has written to all States
reminding them that every person should be counselled about the different family planning options available. The letter completely contradicts the Union
governments intent of achieving population stabilisation almost exclusively through sterilisation. In a
letter sent in October 2014 to 11 high-focus States, the
Ministry had noted that the 2020 family planning goals
had underlined the importance of sterilisation surgeries in these States. Even the recently released draft
National Health Policy 2015 highlights the challenge
of population stabilisation in six of the 11 States. In
order to achieve the annual targets, the government
recently increased the compensation given to women/
men, motivators (Accredited Social Health Activists)
and doctors. If the revised incentive given to motivators is Rs.200 for tubectomy and Rs.300 for vasectomy,
the amount is as high as Rs.1,000 for a permanent
limiting method (tubectomy or vasectomy) in the case
of couples after up to two children. The higher incentive earmarked for permanent limiting methods is
another reason why more women will now end up on
the operating table. The government recently added a
new component post-partum sterilisation done soon
after or within seven days of delivery. This approach
works to the governments advantage as more women
are opting for institutional delivery to avail of the cash
incentive earmarked for it.
Given the governments primary focus on permanent and irreversible family planning options, the
question of counselling women on the different options and giving them full freedom to choose the best
one, will at best remain on paper, and not in practice.
Sterilisation is the most prevalent form of contraception in the country, constituting nearly 75 per cent of
the total cases. The proportion of tubectomies to total
sterilisations has been around 95 per cent since 2005;
nearly 4.5 million tubectomies have been performed
each year since 2000. With a high number of tubectomies conducted every year and in a camp-based approach, tubectomy-related deaths as a result of poor
quality of care will be inevitable even when they are
done in health-care facilities. Unfortunately, the campbased approach is set to continue. The pressure to meet
targets, the incentives given to motivators and doctors
and the permanent nature of sterilisation would mean
that the question of counselling men and women of the
different options may remain on paper.

CM
YK

MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

leaders in Tamil Nadu. They should
not interpret the poll outcome as
The victory of Maithripala Sirisena being a vindication of the demands
demonstrates the democratic they have been mouthing all along
maturity of the Sri Lankan and must stop meddling in the
electorate especially as the two internal affairs of a friendly
largest minorities, Tamils and neighbour. Let us not queer the
Muslims, played a decisive role. pitch for the reconciliation of
Even though India will be the first diverse interests of the island
country Mr. Sirisena is to visit nation.
I.S. Kanthimathinathan,
(Jan.11), India should not expect
Tirunelveli
any abrupt change of the former
regimes explicit pro-China policy
and a sudden improvement in Whether the outgoing Presidents
India-Sri Lanka ties. Expecting a departure will heal the wounds of a
calibrated and gradual correction bitter war or whether the new
in Colombos foreign policy stance President, largely supported by the
Tamil population, will work for
will be more realistic.
A. Myilsami, justice for them is now keenly
Coimbatore awaited. Also after Mr. Rajapaksas
defeat, Indias problem of dealing
The dramatic electoral fall of with the Tamil issue will be a lot
Mahinda Rajapaksa is yet another easier now. The steps being taken
example of how the power of by Mr. Sirisena appear to be
democracy will ultimately reign conciliatory, and India must now
supreme. Mr. Rajapaksa has only reaffirm its continued solidarity
himself to blame as he assumed and support to Sri Lanka.
that he would be a permanent
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee,
President. It was obvious that the
Faridabad
overplaying of his trump card, of
overcoming the LTTE, had its
There are two truths about the
limitations.
G. Venkatakuppuswamy, attack on Charlie Hebdo. The truth
Bengaluru is that it was in the habit of mocking
religions, religious symbols and
Mr. Rajapaksas conduct has shown institutions. One must also
that the polls in his country were consider the fact that it had a very
truly democratic and did not low circulation level. The second
involve any misconduct. Now, truth is that of terrorism in the
President Sirisena should go about name of Islam to be contrasted with
administering a healing touch to the constant reiteration that Islam
the wounded feelings of Tamils, is a religion of peace. On my Twitter
Muslims and other aggrieved timeline, someone said that
minorities. In this a note of caution Muslims themselves are the
is necessary, especially for political victims of terror. Perhaps he is

The Sirisena win

Terror in Paris

to torture, he said.
On August 8, 2004, an anti-terror court in
Karachi sentenced Hussain to death.

The Justice Project

The world might have never heard about

Shafqat Hussain, had Pakistan not briefly lifted its moratorium on executions in August
2013. In the brief window before Pakistan
reversed the decision, under pressure from
the European Union, the names of convicts on
the death row were made public. Sarah Belal
and other lawyers at Justice Project Pakistan,
a non-profit law firm in Lahore, took a particular interest in Hussains case.
Belal and her colleagues interviewed Hussain on death row. He told them that the
police burned him with cigarettes and administered electric shocks to his genitals until he
confessed to the murder of Umair Memon.
When I met him in prison, I saw the burn
marks on his arm, which he said were there
from the time the police put out lit cigarettes
on him during the interrogation, Belal told
me.
The Justice Project also reviewed Hussains
case files. They found that his state-appointed
lawyer never asked that he be tried as a child
offender and did not call a single witness in his
defence. The anti-terrorism court ignored his
statement that he had been tortured until he
gave a confession and the Memon familys
statement that they did not recognise Hussains voice on the ransom calls. The judge
heard the calls himself and decided the voice
was similar, Ms. Belal said. The trial courts
and appellate courts also disregarded Pakistans Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, which prohibit giving the death
penalty to a person under 18 at the time of an
alleged offence.
Ms. Belal also pointed out procedural problems with the police claims that Hussain had
helped them recover the murder weapon and
the body. Both recovery memos were supposed to have been signed by two independent
witnesses. Instead, they were signed by Memon family members, which is a sure-fire tell
that recoveries were planted by the police,
Ms. Belal said.
Hussains case was debated in the Pakistani
media for the past week, leading to growing
public pressure to stay his execution. On Monday, the Interior Minister told Parliament
that his government had decided to halt the
execution and conduct an investigation of the
case. On Wednesday, Justice Project Pakistan
announced that prison authorities in Karachi
had received a stay order on Hussains execution. Shafqat is safe! the Justice Project
tweeted.
Others accused of crimes that fall under
Pakistans broad definition of terrorism will
be less fortunate. On Tuesday, the Pakistani
Parliament approved a constitutional amendment and passed two bills to try those accused
of terrorism in new military courts. On
Wednesday, the countrys President, Mamnoon Hussain, signed into law the bills establishing military courts for terrorism cases.
In 1999 the Supreme Court of Pakistan had
termed military courts unconstitutional. The
basic structure of the Constitution guarantees
an independent judiciary, and military courts
cannot be established in the presence of an
independent judiciary, Iftikhar Chaudhry,
former Chief Justice of Pakistan, told the
press last week. People tried in the military
will not have recourse to appeals in civilian
courts of Pakistan.
Despite concerns about civil liberties, the
bill has broad political support. The bitter pill
of this new law is being swallowed for the
security of Pakistan, Opposition leader Syed
Khursheed Ahmed Shah said.
Prisons in Pakistan have begun preparing
for a season of hangings. The gallows in Karachi Central Jail have been cleaned and
cleared of dust, the Express Tribune reported. A track indicating the path prisoners take
to the gallows has been repainted white. A jail
officer has even bought two ropes, each of
which is 25 feet long.
(Basharat Peer is the author of Curfewed
Night.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
right if one looks at what is
happening in Pakistan, Afghanistan
and West Asia. When will the rage
against religion be calmed then?
Why not educate the younger
generation about the evil of terror?
There must be introspection within
the religion itself.
The incident in Paris shows that
along with the freedom of
expression comes responsibility.
Also, satire should pinch; it can be
stinging but not insulting. The
work of a journalist is to comment
on society to make it better, and not
to provoke and incite passions
among people who are already
waiting to do damage to society.
Ajeet Bharti,
New Delhi

Promoting science
As feared by all right-thinking,
rational Indians, the project of
turning mythology and past
imagination into science has begun
in earnest a project led by the
Sangh and supported by the
government in power. But I can
also see a welcome development of
countering this madness (Sunday
Anchor page, Jan.11) as many
people and the media have started
speaking
up
against
the
motivations and implications of
this project. Beyond this, my faith
and hope lie in the ordinary Indian
citizen exercising his/her common
sense. After all, would you want
your child to grow up believing
aeroplanes can be flown with cow
power? Would you want your child
to live in a spurious world of
credulity or the real and rational
world of opportunity and progress?

My only concern is the damage this

project will cause before it finally
fails.
Mallikarjuna Konduri,
Bengaluru

continues. In view of the nonavailability of reinsurance cover for

the NPC policy, we made a
suggestion to the NPC to form a
national insurance fund that would
take over 99 per cent of the risk
under the policy issued by New
As a retired insurance sector India Assurance and with New
professional although my India retaining 1 per cent risk. The
experience in the insurance aspects suggestion was turned down. I then
of nuclear power generation is had an opportunity to discuss our
limited I would like to share problems with international pools.
some thoughts with reference to As we were familiar with
the article, Resolving the nuclear participation in the global
liability deadlock (Jan.6). In 1988, insurance market, we managed to
when
the
Nuclear
Power adopt standard procedures in
Corporation was formed, I was insuring nuclear power stations.
involved, on behalf of New India Had such a fund been formed in
Assurance Company, in helping 1988-89, it could have developed as
formulate an NPC Insurance a vehicle to sort out the problems of
scheme for the atomic power liability we face today.
station near Mumbai. As it was in
Here is another example. The
the standard form of insurance Indian space satellite programme
cover developed since 1957 in the has been insured with New India
global insurance market and where Assurance right from inception and
it comprised atomic insurance reinsured in the global market. This
pools formed by insurance and has been useful in recovering losses
reinsurance companies, the insurer in the initial space launches; the
retained the risk up to the net financial impact was reduced
financial capacity possible and also substantially.
shared the risks with atomic
Even though I have full
insurance pools from various confidence in the technical
countries and reinsurers in the expertise of our nuclear scientists
global market. Because our power and the technology they use, it
plant had been inspected by foreign needs to be re-emphasised,
surveyors and specialists, it was not especially in the backdrop of the
possible for New India Assurance Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear
to reinsure the nuclear risks of disasters, that it is important that
plant damage and liability risks we sort out our problems in the
involved in the global market. The nuclear power sector, especially if
problem of placing liability we are planning to expand nuclear
insurance was important as even power
generation
on
an
under the international pool unprecedented scale.
R.D. Samarth,
system, the cover was limited. In
Pune
my understanding, the situation

Issue of liability

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2015

The Naxal challenge to electoral process

Navin B. Chawla

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2015

Striking truths in
the coal sector
he government may have won the first round
in its tussle with employees of public sector
monolith Coal India, but stiffer challenges lie
ahead as it attempts to reform an industry
that is critical to the countrys growth. Last week, Coal
India employee unions called off on the second day
what was to have been a five-day strike. This was after
the government managed to convince them that there
were no plans to denationalise Coal India, and set up a
high-level committee to study the contentious provisions of the ordinance to auction coal blocks that was
issued late last month. The unions were also exercised
about the disinvestment plans of the government. In
the event, assurances from the government that workers interests would be protected and that disinvestment did not mean privatisation of Coal India were
enough to prematurely end what would have turned
out to be a debilitating blow for the economy. Coal
stocks, never healthy in power stations across India,
dipped to critically low levels within two days of the
strike. Ironically enough, the key lesson to be drawn
from the strike is exactly what the employees unions
were protesting against broad-basing the industry by
opening it up to private commercial mining. It is unhealthy for a critical infrastructure industry to be the
sole preserve of a single, monolithic enterprise.
Statistics prove the point. Coal output in the country
has grown at an average of 6 per cent over the last five
years even as power generation capacity three-fifths
of which is coal-based has raced ahead at a much
faster pace. Coal India has failed to meet its targets for
each of the last six years, with the result that India is
now the third largest coal importer in the world despite
boasting of the fourth largest reserves. Last fiscal the
country spent around $17 billion of precious foreign
exchange to import 168 million tonnes of coal to cover
up for Coal Indias inability to meet demand. Mercifully, coal prices have been on the downswing in recent
times, helping importers. However, imports are projected to rise to as much as 240 million tonnes in
2015-16. This is where private investment in commercial mining comes in as the latter can add to incremental output and reduce imports. Coal Indias unions
need to be reassured by the government that there is
space for both Coal India and the private sector as
GDP grows and along with it, power demand. If anything, the terms of work and wages will only improve
with the entry of the private sector; telecom and banks
are good examples of this. The government needs to
take Coal Indias unions into confidence about its plans
as the company is crucial to meeting the Prime Ministers target of round-the-clock power for all by 2022.

ndias general election is the largest exercise of its kind in the democratic
world. Since it fell on me to oversee
four out of five phases of the election in
2009, it was also viewed by the country as
being my responsibility. This task included
every aspect of its planning, including visits
to the naxal-affected States in the run-up to
the election. With 716 million voters, almost
8,35,000 polling stations and several million
officials in service, there was no dearth of
problems, all of which had either to have
been anticipated or attended to in the shortest period. Time was short. In this case, there
were barely 76 days from the announcement
of polls to the date of counting of votes.
I do not intend to go into the reasons that
have caused the growth of armed insurgency,
a protracted war of sorts, that has been waged
against the state since the 1960s. Its history is
complex and arguments, for and against, continue to be made. Underlying the Maoist philosophy has been its opposition to the very
concept of the democratic state. The Maoist
view (and which still remains) was that it was
a peoples war against an unjust government.
Hence, conducting elections was to be opposed by all means available, and which justified the use of extreme violence. Towards
this end, anyone who opposed its call for a
boycott was a potential target, and which
included political parties and candidates,
election staff and ordinary voters. My task
was to ensure that the election would be
conducted on schedule but by avoiding the
risk of loss of life or limb using all means
available.

Dangers in the Red Corridor

By 2009, naxal-related violence was estimated to have spread up to 180 administrative districts (out of a total of 610 districts
in the country), spread over nine States
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. It was estimated that there were about 20,000 armed
cadres.
The most significant challenge in all this
was the open threat by Maoists to prevent or

From the singular point of conduct of future

elections, Indias reputation as a successful
democratic beacon will depend on
the ability of the government to find solutions to
the Naxalite problem within its polity
severely disrupt the holding of elections. It
was well recognised that in the Red Corridor of deeply forested Central India, the
Maoist threat was all too real. Much of the
infrastructure that we needed, schools and
other government buildings to set up poll
stations, was badly damaged; several roads,
bridges and mobile towers had been blown
up. Therefore, the major issues that concerned us were movement, communication
and safety.
But our problems were by no means confined to these remote areas; there were a
number of urban pockets which provided the
Maoists shelter and weapons, and where they
were indistinguishable from the population
at large. Hence, our canvas was very wide
indeed.
From earlier elections, the Maoists modus

blood of elections, as hard as possible for

political parties. However, the security
forces remained their special targets. By killing them, they could also loot their weaponry
in order to stock their own requirements.
The early signs were ominous. On April 13,
10 policemen were killed when Maoists attacked a bauxite mine in Koraput district of
Odisha, where they also seized explosives.
Since I had already begun to undertake detailed reviews in the region, these attacks
heralded the naxal warning of their own
readiness to thwart the process.

Duty before life

The efforts that went into the setting up of
polling stations in these troubled areas necessitated attention to detail. These were
carried out in the main by district magist-

The internal conflict has deeply affected the countrys

governance, security, economy and the rule of law.
operandi was well known. In order to prevent
vehicular movement on arterial roads, they
had planted explosive devices, often deep under road surfaces. Aimed against any and all
security forces, these lethal elements were
implanted sometimes at the time of road
laying. Gelatin sticks and explosives, often
stolen from sites of mining operations, were
strategically hidden under bridges and culverts. Compounding our problems were the
huge number of landmines the Maoists had
buried under jungle footpaths as well. Further, to specifically deter voters, Maoists
have been known to chop off the fingers of
the first voter in queues at election booths.
All of this made political activity, the very life

rates/collectors and superintendents of police under the general supervision of the

Election Commission. It is not known to the
public how difficult these duties are or were
for our poll officials. Most often teachers and
revenue officials, they had to walk long distances over dangerous terrain (with electronic voting machines) in order to set up
their stations. Walking became necessary because transportation by road was infinitely
more dangerous. In all these cases, these
brave civilian officials put duty before life,
and in my mind, remain the true heroes of
the election.
Voter insecurity was another issue that
had to be looked into, for if they did not feel

CARTOONSCAPE

Policy distorts
gender equity
he Supreme Court recently refused to hear a
petition challenging the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2014
on procedural grounds, sending it back to the
High Court. The controversial ordinance introduces a
set of educational qualifications of secondary education in order to be able to contest panchayat elections.
For the post of sarpanch, Class VIII is the minimum
qualification, while posts in the zilla parishad require a
Class X pass. The petition is currently being heard by
the Rajasthan High Court. The ordinance was challenged by several non-governmental organisations and
political parties including the Congress. The BJP,
which had inexplicably taken the ordinance route in
the State, welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court
and hailed it as a victory of truth. The rationale of the
law is to encourage education and literacy. The problem is not with the ends, but with the means. Although
the ordinance may be constitutionally valid as the facts
are analogous to the reasoning of the Supreme Court in
Javed (2003), it is at the level of policy that the law is
weak. In Javed, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a provision that stipulated that no person
who has more than two children could be elected as the
sarpanch or panch of a panchayat. A similar reasoning
may be applied in the case of this ordinance as well. The
Javed judgment was criticised for its reasoning as also
its consequences, such as instances where men gave
their daughters up for adoption to be able to contest
elections. Ironically, it is not difficult for those who are
influential to obtain false Class X certificates either.
In India, the right to vote is only a statutory right, but
the act of voting is a constitutionally protected freedom of expression under Article 19, as a fundamental
right (PUCL, 2013). The freedom to vote is inseparable
from the freedom to contest in elections, and hence a
policy of encouraging education cannot arguably prevail over fundamental rights. The law is a major setback
to the constitutional mandate of ensuring gender
equality in panchayati governance where the Rajasthan government has provided for 50 per cent reservation for women. In rural areas, the literacy rate of
women is only 45.8 per cent in tribal areas it is 25.22
per cent as opposed to the corresponding male literacy rate of 76.16 per cent. The law therefore excludes the
majority of potential women contestants. The educational qualification norms, on top of the existing massive inequality in literacy rates, will reduce womens
participation in politics. Lastly, several grassroots activists argue that panchayat governance requires ethical values and an understanding of local issues gained
from experience, more than Class X certificates.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

And the rest of India?
It appears that the Vibrant Gujarat
summit, being conducted on a
grand scale and with several global
luminaries in attendance, is out to
jeopardise the interests of the other
States (Jan.12). It is not enough to
paint a rosy picture of Gujarat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
should have used the opportunity to
explain to world leaders the
untapped potential of northeastern
India and the northern States
adjoining it and which desperately
need
well-rounded
economic
development. The Bimaru States
perform worse than sub-Saharan
Africa in certain aspects, and there
is constant migration from these
States to other parts of India. The
focus should be on them. Gujarat
and even Tamil Nadu have reached
a level of development and only
need to stabilise. They are capable
of attracting investors even without
advertising their wares.
K. Venkatesh,
Hyderabad

The Sri Lankan vote

The allegation about an attempted
military coup in Sri Lanka is hard to
believe considering the grace and
speed with which Mahinda
Rajapaksa handed over power,
which the world witnessed (Jan.12).
Mr. Rajapaksa might have
accumulated negative credits, of
being corrupt, guilty of indulging in
nepotism and of glossing over
alleged rights violations during the
civil war, including the killing of
Balachander. President Maithripala
Sirisena must probe the coup bid
allegation in a transparent manner.
N. Visveswaran,
Chennai
Though Tamils and Muslims voted
for change in unison, the primary
factor behind Mr. Rajapaksas
ouster is the rallying of the peaceloving and secular Sinhalese

confident enough to come out to vote, the

Maoists would have achieved their aim.
Equally important, candidates needed to
move around for electioneering. The constantly fluid situation did not make for easy
movement as the basic precautions they
needed to take were being constantly spelt
out to them by the district authorities. This
was vital, as timely information and putting
in place alternative plans very often helped
save many lives. Witness the carnage in Bastar on May 25, 2013, when ignoring basic
ground rules cost the lives of a number of
Congress leaders and security personnel in
Bastar, making it one of the most deadly
attacks on the political establishment in recent years as far as Naxal-related violence in
India is concerned. The prospect of even a
single casualty worried me constantly.
Therefore, no detail was too small, no travel
too inconvenient and 24 hours not time
enough to sort out problems. The Commissions three indefatigable IAS officers, R. Balakrishnan, J.P. Prakash and Vinod Zutshi,
were stretched to the extent possible.
We soon realised that a vital requirement
was in having helicopters from the Indian Air
Force, thereby reducing the need for long
and dangerous jungle treks. Their use would
also help send police officials where needed,
or rescue electoral staff in case of danger. I
also wanted two helicopters to be converted
into air ambulances.
The initial response was not too encouraging, but when I explained to the authorities
how the use of helicopters would play a key
role in saving lives, providing deterrence, and
ultimately help in strengthening the democratic process, I was able to get almost everything that I needed. The presence of the
machines was a strong psychological reassurance. I also acknowledge the efforts of the
brave flight crew as well.

Growing threat
Inspite of the many obstacles, including 17
deaths from Maoist attacks in two States,
elections were held on time. There was 55 per
cent polling in the first phase and 65 per cent
in the second. This was quite a good turnout
considering the circumstances, and the press
commented on the triumph of ballot over
bullet. Yet, there were violent incidents and
loss of life. These continued immediately after the election process was over, when on
May 21, 16 police personnel including five
policewomen were gunned down in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.
In 2006, the Prime Minister described the
naxal threat as the greatest internal security
problem that India faced. Between 2006 and
2010, there were an estimated 9,000 incidents in Maoist-dominated States; in the
election year of 2009, when there was also an
Assembly election in Jharkhand, there were
as many as 1,100 incidents.
This internal conflict has deeply affected
Indias governance, security, economy and
rule of law. In February 2009, the government initiated an Integrated Action Plan.
This involves broad and more coordinated
operations alongside grass-root economic
development projects. However, our track
record in understanding this very complex
problem has been spasmodic at best. A much
more comprehensive, holistic and sustained
policy involving across-the-board views particularly within the severely affected States,
is long overdue. From the singular point of
the conduct of future elections, our reputation as a successful democratic beacon will
henceforth depend on the ability of the government to find solutions to this growing
problem within our polity.
(Navin B. Chawla, Chief Election
Commissioner of India from April 16, 2009 to
July 29, 2010, conducted the countrys
general election to the 15th Lok Sabha.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

population behind Mr. Sirisena.

While Mr. Sirisena has to address
the problems of Tamils at the
earliest, he could do this by securing
a national consensus and seeking
the advice of moderate leaders like
Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil
Wickramasinghe.
K. Sivaraman,
Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu

The recent turn of events in Sri

Lanka reminds one of the India of
1977 when the Janata Party came to
power riding a pro-democracy wave
after the period of the Emergency.
The vote of Sri Lankans in favour of
a stance that promises more
democratic state administration
shows that populist authoritarian
regimes have a short shelf-life. It
also affirms that the aspirations of
The minorities can now expect ethnic minorities cannot be
better governance and devolution neglected or suppressed for long.
of power to the provinces. How Mr. The coalition NDF may have won
Sirisena overcomes the alienation the election but its worries are not
of the Tamil and Muslim minorities yet over. The stitched-up coalition
remains to be seen. After all, the needs to be maintained in favour of
verdict was more of a reaction a collective responsibility towards
strengthening Sri Lankas polity
against high-handed governance.
Anuj Bansal, and economy, else it will meet a fate
Nabha, Punjab similar to that of the Janata Party.
Siddhi Bangard,
Jaipur
As Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda
argues (For a fresh beginning in Sri
Lanka, Jan.10), the outcome of the
Presidential election was a clear
manifestation of the resilience of France has shown the world that
Sri Lankan democracy. The voters the solidarity of the people is vital in
have taught the world an indelible any fight against terror (Jan. 12). No
lesson that authoritarian and government anywhere in the world
family-centric style of governance should create fissures among the
people in the name of religion or
will not be tolerated for too long.
National integration will be the region. It is equally important that
real challenge that Mr. Sirisena is the media too should not provoke
going to face, especially as in this and incite passions.
K.R. Viswanathan Pillai,
case it involves conflict resolution
Chennai
and consensus generation. There
should be no confusion over the
political system needing to be firm I happened to see a verse in the
and tough in handling unreasonable Koran that instructs the Prophet to
demands. In this connection, the pass over the faults of people and
article,
From
Explicit ask forgiveness of god for them
Contradictions to Implicit Unity: (Chapter 3, verse 159). The terror
The Trajectory of National attacks in France show that those
Integration in India in the book, responsible have been exploiting
Perspectives
on
National the ignorant, and with a certain
Integration provides an interesting political agenda in mind. It is
perspective. About the future of Mr. equally
unfathomable
how
Sirisenas coalition government, extremist groups are going about
Professor Uyangoda shares the destroying
Islamic
heritage
scepticism of many political structures, monuments and mazars
scientists and observers.
of scholars and saints.
K.C. Sreekumar,
Jafar Sadique,
Kollam
Tirur, Kerala

Terror hits and after

The hypocrisy of the western world

was blatant during the show of
solidarity in France. Did any of the
world leaders ever condemn the
massacre of innocent civilians in
Gaza? What about the death of
innocent
civilians
in
Iraq,
Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen
and Mali? It is no surprise then that
there will be repercussions and a
backlash.
Shajoo Anthappan,
Kochi
The gory incidents should never
have taken place. However, the
people who are responsible for the
provocations, also appear to have
deliberately ignored the risk
involved in publishing material on
an excessively sensitive subject.
Why are there attempts to
deliberately tarnish the image of
Islam, provoke Muslims and cause
mischief, violence and bloodshed?
Unless we as a civilised society
regulate our rights and freedoms
and allow them to operate with
proper checks and balances, one can
only foretell disaster for society.
M. Nazar Sheriff,
Chennai

Kongus chronicler
The conduct of societies and
communities is shaped by social
norms that evolve over time (In
defence of the chronicler of Kongu,
Jan.12). What is repugnant today
might have been acceptable earlier
to some sections of society. There is
no need to be ashamed or
indignantly
righteous
merely
because a writer spoke about the
existence of certain practices which
appear obnoxious when judged by
modern standards of morality. Even
the so-called enlightened West
patronised socially undesirable
institutions such as slavery as late
as the 19th century. Can anybody
pretend that slavery did not exist?
When a writer holds a mirror up to
unpleasant facts, like desperate

attempts of women to establish

their fertility, we should utilise this
as an opportunity to make people
realise that there is no need to treat
childlessness as a social disability
and to correct the naive belief that
men cannot be held responsible for
depriving their wives of the joy of
motherhood.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram

Baseless assertions
Michel Daninos article, Neglect of
knowledge traditions (Jan.4), has
blamed Indian historians for
neglecting the traditional scientific
knowledge of India. Since his own
work on ancient India, especially its
achievements in science and
technology, is of an elementary
level and lacks scientific rigour, he
could have benefited from the
works of several scholars who have
written on the subject. But he has
preferred to remain totally ignorant
of the historiography of ancient
Indian science.
His ignorance shows in his
preposterous and unsupported
assertion that I have not read the
work of Aryabhata and that all my
statements about him are factually
wrong. Also, Mr. Danino is
completely oblivious of the fact that
my Ancient India is only a brief
survey of major developments in
ancient India and presents a
synthesis of the available historical
knowledge; it is not intended to be a
detailed history of ancient Indian
science. Incidentally, since the
terminus ad quem of the period
covered in the book is the Sixth
Century CE, his insistence that
later
Indian
mathematicians
(Brahmagupta, Bhaskar, Mahavira,
etc.) should have found a place in it
makes clear his ignorance of their
chronology.
D.N. Jha,
Former Professor & Chair,
Department of History,
Delhi University
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

In maya, the killer and the killed

W
Devdutt Pattanaik

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015

Another election
in Delhi
lot has changed in Delhi in the last one year.
Between the last election in December 2013
and the next in February 2015, Delhi would
have seen the ups and downs of both the
Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party. After
the hung Assembly of 2013, when the AAP made a
brilliant debut and formed a government with the support of the Congress, Delhi voted overwhelmingly for
the BJP in the Lok Sabha election in 2014. Now, however, the contest seems more even in the Assembly election, called after no party was able or willing to form a
government. What was without doubt a vote for the
BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi last year in the Lok Sabha election is unlikely to be
repeated this year in the Assembly election, when the
issues and the candidates are very different. AAP firebrand Arvind Kejriwal is not taking on Narendra Modi,
but just another BJP leader. Unlike in a Lok Sabha
election, when the AAP could not have expected to be
accepted as a serious contender, in the Assembly polls
the fast-growing party is attracting more volunteers
and resources. Mr. Kejriwal and his advisers, who
messed up their chance in government by first pursuing unsustainable populist measures and then opting
out of governance, seem to have learnt from their
mistakes. After raising doubts in the public mind over
their ability to govern, AAP leaders now appear keen to
demonstrate that they are more than a bunch of anarchist protesters and that they intend to back systemic
changes and push for Delhis development in a practical manner. In 2013 they rode on the promise they held;
in 2014 they paid for failing to deliver; and this year
they have more of a programme to offer.
As for the BJP, whether in Maharashtra, Haryana or
Jharkhand, it has been unable to rise to the levels of its
Lok Sabha success in Assembly elections. Mr. Modi
seems to find it harder to win individual States for his
party than he did to win the Lok Sabha election. Of
course, some of the difficulties have been on account of
the BJPs own chosen strategy of ditching alliancepartners in the search for absolute glory. In Delhi, a
traditional stronghold, no ally could have added greatly
to its vote share, and the party is preparing for a
straight contest with the AAP. In 2013 the BJP had to
fight the Congress and the AAP almost with equal
vehemence; now, however, the Congress, no longer in
power at the Centre or in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, is seen as a lesser threat. The AAP, with a
more sober style that is very different from the idealistic foray of 2013 and the overambitious leap of 2014,
is seeking to close the gap with the BJP. In any case, this
election is likely to be more decisive than 2013.

hen the Pandavas invited

Krishna to be the chief guest at
the coronation of Yudhishtira,
Shishupala felt insulted and
began abusing Krishna. Everyone became
upset, but not Krishna who was listening
calmly. However, after the hundredth insult,
Krishna hurled his razor-sharp discus and
beheaded Shishupala. For the limit of forgiveness was up.
Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly,
published cartoons; offensive cartoons that I
have never seen, and would never have, had
someone not killed its staff. With that Charlie became a person, a victim, a martyr to the
cause of the freedom of expression. We became heroes by condemning the killing. And
so millions have walked in Paris to declare
that they are Charlie.
Will there be a march where people identify themselves with Charlies killers? Is that
allowed? Who are the killers? Muslim, bad
Muslim, mad Muslim, un-Islamic Muslim?
The editorials are undecided, as in the attack
in Peshawar on schoolchildren. The victims
there did not even provoke; their parents
probably did.
The provocation in Charlies case was this:
perceived insult to the Prophet Muhammad,
hence Islam. Charlie, however, was functioning within the laws of a land renowned for the
phrase, Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood!
Islam is also about brotherhood (Ummah, in
Arabic) and equality, though not so much
about liberty since Islam does mean submission, a submission to the word of god that
brings peace.

Managing the measurable

The two siblings, believers in equality and
their own version of liberty decided to hurt
each other, one emotionally, the other physically. Emotional violence is not measurable.
Physical violence is. That makes the latter a
crime that can be proven, hence a greater
crime, especially when emotional violence is
directed at something as notional as religion.
Because we are scientific, you see.
And here is the problem measurement,
that cornerstone of science and objectivity.
We can manage the measurable. But what
about the non-measurable? Does it matter at
all? Emotions cannot be measured. The mind
cannot be measured, which is why purists

Emotional violence is not measurable. Physical

violence is, which makes it a crime that can be
proven and hence a greater crime, especially when
emotional violence is directed at something as
notional as religion
refer to psychology and behavioural science
as pseudoscience. God cannot be measured.
For the scientist, god is therefore not fact. It
is at best a notion. This annoys the Muslim,
for he/she believes in god, and for him/her
god is fact, not measurable fact, but fact nevertheless. It is subjective truth. My truth.
Does it matter?
Where do we locate subjective truth: as
fact or fiction? Some people have given themselves the Freedom of Expression and others have given themselves a God, who is the
one True God. Both are subjective truths.
They shape our reality. They matter. But we
just do not know how to locate them, for they
are not measurable.
We cannot measure the hurt Charlies cartoons caused the Muslim community. We
cannot measure the Muslim communitys

you, the barbarian who only knows to wield

violence, have no right to get provoked and
respond the only way you know how to. If you
do get provoked, you have to respond in my
language, not yours, brain not brawn, because the brain is superior. I, the intellectual
Brahmin, make the rules. Did you not know
that?
Non-violence is the new god, the one true
god. When we say violence, we are actually
referring only to the physical violence of the
barbarian. The mental violence of the intellectual elite is not considered violence. So,
one has sanction to mock Hinduism intellectually on film (PK by Rajkumar Hirani and
Aamir Khan) and in books (The Hindus: An
Alternative History by Wendy Doniger), but
those who demand the film be banned and
the books be pulped are brutes, barbarians,

The intellectual can hurt with his words. The soldier can
hurt with his weapons. We live in the world where the former
is acceptable, even encouraged. The latter is not.
sensitivity or over-sensitivity. But we can
measure the outcome of the actions of the
killers. We can therefore easily condemn violence. That it caused hurt, rage, humiliation,
enough for some people to grab guns, is a
non-measurable assumption, a belief. Belief
is a joke for the rational atheist.
The intellectual can hurt with his/her
words. The soldier can hurt with his/her
weapons. We live in the world where the
former is acceptable, even encouraged. The
latter is not. It is a neo-Brahminism that the
global village has adopted. Those who think
and speak are superior to those who beat and
kill, even if the wounds created by wordmissiles can be deeper, last longer and fester
forever. Gandhi, the non-violent sage, is thus
pitted against Godse, the violent brute. I, the
intellectual, have the right to provoke; but

enemies of civic discourse, who resort to violence. They are not as bad as the Charlie
killers, but seem to be on the same path.

Role of the thinker

We refuse to see arguments as brutal
bloodless warfare, mental warfare. We dont
see debating societies as battlegrounds. Mental torture, we are told, is merely a concept,
not truth: difficult to measure hence prove.
The husband who mentally tortures can never be caught; the husband who strikes the
wife can be caught. We empathise with the
latter, not the former (she is over-sensitive,
we rationalise). Should the mentally tortured
wife kill her husband, it is she who will be
hauled to jail, not the husband. Her crime can
be proved. Not his.
The thinker we are told is not a doer. The

CARTOONSCAPE

Silencing a
sensitive writer
oted Tamil novelist Perumal Murugans
Facebook page went blank on Tuesday in a
virtual closure of his identity as a writer, in a
shocking illustration of the growing intolerance of fringe groups constricting public discourse. It is
ironic that the author was made to virtually recant to
buy peace after the recent controversy over his novel
Madhorubhagan, first published in December 2010,
purportedly offended the sensibilities of some dominant sections of society in the western Kongu belt of
Tamil Nadu. This, ironically at a time when many parts
of the world are uniting in solidarity to uphold freedom
of expression in the wake of the terror attack on the
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. At a peace
committee meeting in the Namakkal Collectorate on
Monday, pro-Hindu caste outfits whose protests took
the form of burning copies of the book and organising a
hartal in Tiruchengode town, reportedly consented to
call off their protests after the author agreed to issue
an unconditional apology, delete controversial portions in the book, withdraw unsold copies from the
market and not to write on controversial subjects hurting sentiments of the people. This pact, at the intervention of the local administration, is
notwithstanding the fact that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata
Party had distanced themselves from the protests, saying they were localised popular stirs.
Set in the backdrop of a pre-Independence era belief
system involving consensual sex ritually associated
with the annual car festival of the Sri Arthanareeshwarar Temple in Tiruchengode, Perumal Murugans
fifth novel is by most accounts in Tamil literary circles
a very sensitive and poignant portrait of the dilemmas of a poor childless couple. (Lord Siva in the Arthanareeshwarar form is in Hindu mythology and
traditional philosophical understanding a reassuring
symbol of the unity of purush, or self, and prakriti, or
nature.) The Penguin-published English version, One
Part Woman, is about how far would you go to conceive a child? Politics may have no patience for such
conflicting values, but in Indian intellectual traditions
from ancient times, the spirit of orthodoxy and heterodoxy have coexisted. Sectarian disputes are nothing
new, while writers being able to reflect on socio-economic-cultural issues in the light of received knowledge is the key to an open society. The rights under the
Constitution are designed to protect the freedom of
expression of writers like Perumal Murugan who may
seek to question uncomfortable truths from the past. It
is a pity that a range of forces conspired to silence him.

CM
YK

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

the
electorate
with
more
confidence. The mere opening of
Much has changed since the last bank accounts for the poor and
elections in Delhi (EC cracks whip extending unlimited largesse to the
as Delhi goes to polls, Jan.13). corporate sector under the guise of
There is a new government armed development and growth cannot in
with a formidable majority at the any way be termed as a sign of good
Centre and led by a strongman, AAP governance. It seems as if the BJP is
is no longer a nervous debutant, seeking a mandate in Delhi mainly
while the Congress wears a to increase its numbers in the Rajya
distinctly exhausted look. Though Sabha and push through its
Mr. Modi has shown that in certain economic agenda in order to
States his national image can offset encourage crony capitalism.
Ettirankandath Krishnadas,
faction-ridden local units and pull
Palakkad
in the youth, Mr. Kejriwal poses a
different kind of challenge. He is the
most recognisable face in Delhi In the general election of 2014, the
politics and has shown a capacity to Election Commission expressed its
punch above his weight. Alas, the helplessness in keeping a check on
Congress is now reduced to a money being expended much
nostalgic relic of the Sheila Dikshit beyond accepted and prescribed
years, when ironically, it was the limits. In Delhi too the Election
Dikshit period during which Delhi Commission has a Himalayan task
looked as if it could genuinely aspire before it this time round. Its
to fulfil its potential as a modern responsibility lies in checking and
capital city. Delhi needs urban monitoring huge money being
renewal that extends beyond pumped into advertising and
privileged colonies. Whether that campaigning and in monitoring
challenge can be met by Mr. Modis speeches. It is time the Election
many promises or Mr. Kejriwals Commission stamps its authority
populism, is an open question. For on these issues as the holding of
the moment, the Delhi electorate elections in India is a continuous
needs a functioning government process.
Balasubramaniam Pavani,
with an enlightened leadership.
Bhagwan Thadani,
Secunderabad
Pune

The Delhi election

Naxalism and polls

A fierce battle between the AAP and

the BJP is on the cards.
Mr.Kejriwals
popularity,
his
partys
clean
image,
the
marginalisation of the Congress and
an abating Modi wave will ensure
that the BJP doesnt start with a
huge advantage. Delhi will no doubt
be Mr. Modis toughest popularity
test since the Lok Sabha poll. His
speech at the Ramlila Maidan and
some stinging remarks show the
BJPs nervousness as the AAP faces

The reiteration that democracy

must continue to prevail in India
irrespective of deep internal threats
is commendable (The Naxal
challenge to electoral process,
Jan.13). Despite various counteroperations, we continue to be
tormented by naxalism. Those who
are adopting an attitude of
bellicosity towards the government
can clearly be brought into the
mainstream. A well-educated
populace engaged in dignified work

killings provoked by the thinker thus goes

unnoticed. The thinker the seed of the
violence chuckles as the barbarian, whose
only vocabulary is physical, will be caught
and punished while mental warfare will go on
with brutal precision. When the ill-equipped
barbarian even attempts to fight back using
words, we mock him as the troll.
In Sanskrit, the root of the world maya is
ma, to measure. We translate the word as
illusion or delusion but it technically means a
world constructed through measurement.
Thus, the scientific word, the rational world,
based on measurement, is maya. And that is
neither a good or bad thing. It is not a judgement. It is an observation. A world based on
measurement will focus on the tangible and
lose perspective of the intangible. It will assume measured truth as Truth, rather than
limited truth.
Those who felt gleeful self-righteousness
in mocking the Prophet are in maya. So are
those who took such serious offence to it. The
killer is in maya and so is the killed. Those
who judge one as the victim and the other as
the villain are also in maya. We all live in our
constructed realities, some based on measurement, some indifferent to measurement,
each one eager to dismiss the other, rendering them irrelevant: The other is the barbarian who needs to be educated. The other is
also the intellectual who is best killed.
Essentially, maya makes us to judge. For
when we measure, we wonder which is small
and what is big, what is up and what is down,
what is right and what is wrong, what matters
and what does not matter. Different measuring scales lead to different judgments.
Wendy Dongier is convinced she is the hero,
and martyr, who fights for the subaltern Indian in her writings. Dinanath Batra is convinced he is the hero who opposes her wilful
misunderstanding of sanatana dharma. Baba
Ramdev feels he has a right to demand the
banning of PK. And the producers of the film
respond predictably about the freedom of
speech and rationality, as they laugh their
way to the bank. Everyone is right, in his or
her maya.
Every action has consequences. And consequences are good and bad only in hindsight. The age of Enlightenment was also the
age of Colonisation. The most brutal wars of
the 20th century, from the world wars to the
Cold Wars, were secular. Non-violent
thought manifests itself in non-violent words
which give rise to violent action. The fruit is
measurable, not the seed. To separate seed
from fruit, thought from action, is like separating stimulus from response. It results in
a wrong diagnosis and a wrong prescription.
The killer does not kill thought. The thought
creates more killers.
What goes around always comes around.
Outrage over violence feeds outrage over cartoons. Hindu philosophy (not Hindutva philosophy) calls this karma. We dont want to
break the cycle by letting go of either nonviolent outrage or violent protests. Ideas
such as maya and karma annoy the westernised mind for they disempower them:
they who are determined to save the world
with measuring tools dismiss astute observation of the human condition as fatalism.
In his past life, Shishupala was the doorkeeper Jaya of Vaikuntha who was cursed by
the Sanat rishis that he would be born on
earth, away from Vishnu, for daring to block
their entry. The doorkeeper Jaya argued that
he was doing his job but the curse stuck and
Jaya was reborn as Shishupala. Vishnu had
promised to liberate him and to expedite his
departure, Shishupala practised viparitbhakti, reverse-devotion, displaying love
through abuse. So he insulted Krishna,
knowing full well that Krishna was Vishnu
and would be forced to act. There is a limit to
forgiveness. But there should be no limit to
love.
(Devdutt Pattanaik writes and lectures on
mythology
in
modern
times.
Visit: www.devdutt.com)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
will not feel the need to resort to
such activities. The government
needs to focus on enabling
improvements in education in rural
areas, with vocational training for
children and adults. There must
also be womens empowerment and
quick delivery of justice. People
who are busy with their work will
not deviate from the right path.
Shrinivas Sadashiv Paraddi,
Mudhol, Karnataka

risks such as uncertain markets,

inefficient
supply
chain
infrastructure and substandard
agriculture produce mostly unfit for
remunerative prices. In addition,
agricultural research in the country
has long been plagued by a lack of
extension. The young politician has
failed to shed any light on these.
One is bound to be disappointed as
there is a lack of innovative
thinking; this when innovation
seems to be the buzzword
everywhere.
The outrageous terror attack on
Uphar Kaushal,
Kolkata
Charlie Hebdo has exposed the
incongruous truth that despite the
world
having
undergone
transitional changes with a fair In his letter in this column (Jan.13),
amount of maturity, there will criticising my article, Neglect of
always be a lurking danger against knowledge traditions (Open Page,
liberalism. (Speaking power to Jan.4), Professor D.N. Jha explains
satirical truth, Jan.13). In the days that his book only extends to the 6th
ahead, growing intolerance against century (in fact also early 7th on his
freedom of expression and speech own statement, see page 25) and
could spell more danger and therefore could not have mentioned
violence for mankind and society. Brahmagupta or Bhaskaracharya.
Life without humour is like a garden Yet, it does mention Hsuan Tsang
(7th century), Shankaracharya
without flowers.
R. Sivakumar, (8th-9th centuries), Al-Biruni (11th
Chennai century) or examples of later art
(Kailashanatha temple of 8th
century); so why not Brahmagupta,
Feroze Varun Gandhis article, An who wrote his monumental
uncertain Hobbesian life (Jan.13), Brahmasphutasiddhanta in 628 CE,
gives heart to young voters like me. regarded by experts as one of the
The young leader has attempted to fathers of algebra, and whose work
delve into the maladies of the considerably influenced Arabic
Hobbesian life of Indian farmers. mathematics?
He, however, ends up singing the
My main argument, however,
same old tune on the need for that Prof. Jha leaves the field almost
subsidies for viability gap funding, a untouched, stands. To use another
criticality of loans and an example, Charaka and Sushruta are
upgradation
of
funds
for dealt with in one line each (page
agriculture-related research. It 146) and in a manner that provides
seems from his analysis that the the reader with strictly no
troubles of the Indian farmers start information on their contributions;
and end at production risks.
the word ayurveda is not even
The issue facing the Indian mentioned. His statement that the
farmer has more to do with market science of medicine benefited much

Satirical truth

A rejoinder

The small farmer

from Indias contacts with the

Western world is unsubstantiated,
while the respected Indologist Jean
Filliozat (in Expansion of Indian
Medicine Abroad) showed long ago
that Ayurveda influenced the
medical systems of the Greeks and
the Romans and travelled to parts of
South-East Asia; besides, Charaka
Samhita was translated into Arabic
and
Tibetan,
among
other
languages. I did not dilate on Prof.
Jhas
wrong
statement
on
Aryabhata for lack of space.
As regards benefiting from the
works of several scholars who have
written on the subject, I have
indeed learned much from the
works of stalwarts such as D.M.
Bose, S.N. Sen, R.C. Gupta, K.V.
Sarma, or more recent scholars
such as B.V. Subbarayappa, M.D.
Srinivas,
M.S.
Sriram,
K.
Ramasubramanian, S. Balachandra
Rao, Kim Plofker, among others and
apart from several primary texts. I
claim no expertise in the field, but I
maintain that the perfunctory and
often inaccurate manner in which
historians treat Indian knowledge
systems creates a vacuum that
leaves
room
for
fancies,
exaggerations
or
misinterpretations. Let the reader
consult textbooks used in our
departments
of
history
in
universities; surely we do not
expect them to include a detailed
history of ancient Indian science,
but a few pages of solid and fair
treatment is not an unreasonable
demand. When no history of
ancient Greece or Persia or China
would be considered complete
without a chapter on their advances
in science and technology, why
should there be different standards
when it comes to India?
Michel Danino,
Coimbatore
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

10

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015

When amendment amounts to nullification

Ramaswamy R. Iyer

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015

Voting from
abroad
he Union government has agreed, in letter
and spirit, to implement the Supreme Court
direction and the Election Commissions recommendation to allow Non-Resident Indians
to vote from overseas through postal ballots. Given the
large NRI community dispersed globally, this move will
undoubtedly have an impact on the countrys electoral
politics in significant ways. Parliament passed the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act in 2010 to
introduce Section 20A that enables a person who is a
citizen of India, and is away from her ordinary residence in India for employment, education or other
reasons, to be eligible to be registered as a voter in the
constituency mentioned in her Indian passport: before
that amendment, only ordinary residents could cast
their vote. Although the 2010 amendment intended to
include NRI participation in national politics, Section
20A had required NRIs to be physically present in their
respective constituencies at the time of elections. Making it impractical for voters, this requirement defeated
the intention of the legislature. A petition was filed in
the Supreme Court praying that Section 20A of the Act
be read down so as to allow NRIs to vote from abroad
without having to be present in India. The petition
argued that the provision was in violation of Article 14
of the Constitution to the extent that it impliedly treated persons on a different footing based on economic
classifications. The Supreme Court and the government
agreed with this contention without hesitation.
The traditional argument against such external voting has been that only citizens who are present in the
territory and affected by the consequences of their vote
should be entitled to vote. As per this argument, since
NRIs lacked sound knowledge about domestic conditions, they would be irresponsible in their electoral
choices. But this argument is fast being disproved by
empirical evidence. With the rapid increase in crossborder migrations, the concept of nationhood and political membership is increasingly being decoupled from
territorial locations. Indias move towards enabling voting from overseas is an instance of a larger global trend
towards increased citizen participation. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an inter-governmental organisation, lists
different voting methods that can be employed, such as
personal voting, where voters can cast their vote at
diplomatic missions abroad; postal ballot method,
where votes are sent by regular post; proxy vote and
electronic voting. From amongst these alternatives,
the government has decided to employ the postal ballot
route that the electoral system already uses for absentee-voters on official duty.

his article will not go into the question of the propriety of the ordinance route to legislation in this
case, but will try to present a broadbrush picture of what the ordinance does to
The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation
and Resettlement Act 2013, hereafter LARR
Act 2013.
The general industry view, accepted by the
present government, is that the LARR Act
2013 was a radical and draconian law which
will bring industrial development to a halt.
That view led to the conclusion that the Act
needed to be urgently amended drastically. It
is therefore necessary to take a brief look at
the history of the Act.

Attempt at fair resolution

The inter-ministerial debate on a national
displacement/rehabilitation policy and on
the related issue of a need to overhaul the
colonial Land Acquisition Act 1894 began in
the 1980s and continued over nearly three
decades under successive governments. In
parallel, there were conferences and debates
in civil society too. The attempt to find a
generally acceptable compromise which
would reconcile the conflicting interests of
industry and farmers/landowners continued
intermittently. Eventually this resulted in
the LARR Act 2013. This was generally considered a well-meant attempt at a fair resolution of a difficult and almost intractable
conflict, though it continued to be criticised
by both sides to the conflict. The point to
note is that the LARR Act 2013 was not a
hasty doctrinaire, ill-considered piece of legislation, but the final outcome of almost
three decades of debate and consultation
within government, among political parties
and between state and civil society. The Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance) was a party to the passing of the 2013
Act. Barely a year later, with little experience
of its working, that Act is now regarded as
wholly retrograde, unacceptable and in need
of root-and-branch reform. This arises out
of industrys impatient desire for the easy

Given industry concerns and the desire to

accelerate industrialisation, the government could
have reopened the debate on the land act. Instead,
it has wholly accepted one perception of the
conflict, and sought to undo the compromise
embodied in the 2013 Act without a review
acquisition of land for its projects, and the
centrality of industry in the present governments view of development.
It is not being argued that the concerns
expressed by industry and by commentators
sympathetic to it should not be considered,
or that the governments desire to accelerate
industrial projects is illegitimate. However,
given those concerns, the government could
have reopened the debate, held wide-ranging
consultations all over the country, and tried
to arrive at a fresh compromise between conflicting interests. Instead, it has wholly accepted one perception of the conflict, and
sought to undo the compromise embodied in

give it to industry.
Should the process of diversion of land
from agricultural use to industrial use be in
fact easy? Should there not be some salutary
difficulty here? First, there is the question of
food security. The transfer of land from agriculture to other use cannot and should not be
prevented, but some consideration of what
the unregulated transfer of land away from
agriculture implies for the food security of
the country seems necessary. LARR 2013
ruled out the acquisition of multi-cropped
agricultural land. That provision has been
criticised, but it showed a certain concern
that was legitimate. That concern has dis-

It is curious that those who argue for reducing the role of

the state and deregulating industry want the state to take
land away from farmers and give it to industry.

the 2013 Act without a review. Apart from the appeared in the present ordinance.
merits of the ordinance, this is an authorA second justification for a degree of diffiitarian,
partisan
and
undemocratic culty in land acquisition is the protection of
procedure.
the interests of the landowner. No doubt the
ordinance retains the generous compensaLosing a way of life
tion provisions of the 2013 Act, but is it solely
It has been argued that development nec- a question of money? The acquisition of land
essarily entails the transfer of land from agri- means not merely loss of land and homeculture to industry, but this is something that stead, but also loss of livelihoods, loss of a
happens over a period of time. It does not community and cultural continuities, loss of
follow that this must be actively facilitated, a way of life. This is bound to be a traumatic
supported and actually brought about by the experience. The Social Impact Assessment
state using its sovereign powers. It is curious (SIA) provisions of the 2013 Act would have
that those who argue for reducing the role of brought to notice the wider social and culturthe state and deregulating industry want al implications of the acquisition of land, but
the state to take land away from farmers and that Act itself had exempted irrigation pro-

CARTOONSCAPE

Expansion
and crisis
o see Lithuanias euro adoption this month as
an entry into a losers club is to miss the
geopolitical picture wherein several of the exWarsaw Pact states have staked their future
on forging a European identity to the consternation
of Russia. The admission of Vilnius into the single
currency bloc represents a landmark of sorts. The move
completes the accession of the three Baltic constituents
of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the three
main western institutions. These are the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union
(EU) and now the eurozone. The European ambitions of
another erstwhile Soviet state, Ukraine, as demonstrated by its Parliaments vote in December to join NATO,
underpins in no small measure the ongoing separatist
conflict in Kiev. Slovenia and Slovakia are the only other
former Eastern bloc regions that have similarly acceded
to all the three institutions. Against this backdrop, the
flow of western investment, greater export potential
and low borrowing cost resulting from integration into
the eurozone would seem far more attractive to the
Lithuanian population of a few million.
The country has long felt the lock-in effects of a fixed
exchange rate as the litas, the national currency until
2014, was pegged to the euro some years ago. Lithuanias entry was not without its share of controversy
when some legislators expressed scepticism about the
countrys preparedness to sacrifice the flexibility of a
national currency. But the continuing crisis in the eurozone would have deterred Vilnius. With the exception
of the United Kingdom and Denmark, accession to the
EU implies a commitment to eventual adoption of the
common currency by member-states once they have
complied with the economic convergence criteria. Lithuania has so far been the lone euro aspirant whose 2006
bid was put on hold as Vilnius narrowly overshot the
inflation limit for eligibility. But the expanded euro area
comprising 19 countries is not expected to witness further enlargement in the foreseeable future. Except Romania, which has set itself a 2019 target, none of the
other states has even given itself a euro-entry deadline.
Realising the eurozone targets on fiscal deficits has been
among the more ticklish issues within the bloc, with
major economies and the architects of the rules themselves found to be in violation. Greater macroeconomic
policy coherence is an admirable objective and an imperative for countries that use a common currency. But
such an ideal must be balanced with political pragmatism as long as national capitals remain in charge of
policy-formulation. That is the lesson from the euros
15-year history so far.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Congress meet
The Congress cannot expect any
sort of revival as long as it clings on
to the family (Sonia targets
ordinance raj, Jan.14). There may
be talk about reaching out to the
worker at the grassroots, but the
fact remains that most Congress
leaders have only one interest in
mind to please the first family.
Rahul Gandhi is still a reluctant
leader and has yet to think of real
solutions to complex problems. Will
the party have the courage to
encourage a second line of
leadership?
V.S. Ganeshan,
Bengaluru
The Congress Working Committee
meeting appears to be a desperate
attempt by the Congress and its
president to survive in contention.
The Congress and the rest of the
Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
never allowed the House to conduct
normal, just and constitutional
business. It ensured this by
vociferously protesting against
seemingly innocuous provocative
statements and speeches by
members of the right wing. Thus
one saw the spate of ordinances in
order to carry on with governance.
Sonia Gandhi must know that
ordinances are a constitutional
provision available to the ruling
dispensation in a democracy. There
is
nothing
dictatorial
or
authoritative about them.
C.V. Venugopalan,
Palakkad

The killer and the killed

Though understanding violence in
its concreteness is not easy, so is
describing what normal ought to
be (In maya, the killer and the
killed, Jan.14). In trying to make us
understand the difference between
symbolic and physical violence and
how one cannot be superior to the
other, thereby bringing the
intellectual and the killer on an

equal footing, an important

distinction is forgotten. While an
intellectual debate can cause
emotional violence that is much
deeper and long-lasting, when a
killer kills, the victim is
permanently silenced. The bodies
strewn around become the dead end
of all varied possibilities. Therefore,
the act of killing is naturally
condemned in a greater degree than
the act of expressing ones vision
through symbolic violence.
Aswathy Chandragiri,
New Delhi

jects from this requirement, and now SIA has

been virtually dropped in the amendment
ordinance, considering the very large number of cases to which it will not apply.
The role of the state should surely be not
merely to facilitate the availability of land for
industry but also to minimise pain to the
landowners (who are also citizens), protect
their fundamental and human rights and ensure justice to them. Should the state use its
sovereign powers only to make things easy
for industry? Any such impression, if it gains
ground, would unwittingly lend weight to
criticisms (doubtless wrong) of the present
government as pro-industry and anti-farmer,
and as holding development to be synonymous with industrial projects.

Acquisition by the state

Let us turn to eminent domain, which
means the sovereign right of the state to
override private property. In the intermittent debate during the years from the 1980s
to 2013, this was a prominent issue. It was
felt by many that the continued use of the old
colonial Act of 1894 for the acquisition of
land was unfortunate, and that there was no
case at all for the state to exercise its sovereign power to take over private property and
give it to companies in the private sector for
projects regarded by the state as serving a
public purpose. While this was not the universal view, there was a strong body of opinion in favour of limiting acquisition by the
state for private entities. The 2013 Act met
this partially by limiting the acquisition by
the state to 20 per cent in the case of a private
company and 30 per cent in that of a publicprivate partnership (PPP) project, if the owners consent for the transfer of 80 per cent in
the case of the former and 70 per cent in that
of the latter had been obtained. This meant
that the view of the community as a whole on
the transfer of land had a certain weight. This
safeguard virtually disappears in the ordinance because it will not apply in most cases.
Apart from the virtual dropping of community consent, this change also means the return
of the eminent domain of the state in full
strength. This again is a non-democratic, authoritarian stance.
By way of a digression it may be added that
property rights are presumably sacrosanct in
capitalism, but evidently this does not apply
to a farmers right to his or her land. The
property of an industrialist is inviolable, and
nationalisation is socialism and therefore
anathema; but the acquisition of land from a
farmer which corresponds to nationalisation in the industrial sector is evidently
good capitalism!
One has to ask: after the amendment what
is left of the Act? If we consider the huge
exemption list (Section 10A introduced by
the ordinance), and the concomitant disappearance of the SIA and the 80 per cent/70
per cent consent provision in most cases, it
becomes clear that the Act has become purely ornamental. What the ordinance does is
not to amend the 2013 Act, but virtually repeal it. Having done so, the ordinance sanctimoniously brings acquisitions under a
number of other Acts within the purview of
the amended Act and claims much credit for
this. The Congress Party says that the coverage of those Acts was already foreseen in
the 2013 Act. That response misses the point,
which is that there is not much virtue in first
rendering the Act toothless and then bringing other Acts within its purview. This is
disingenuous, to say the least. One can only
hope that the ordinance will be withdrawn or
lapse for want of parliamentary support to
the needed legislation. Alas, the hope is not
very robust.
(Ramaswamy R. Iyer is a former Secretary,
Water Resources, Government of India.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

The article justifies physical

violence in response to emotional
violence. However, it fails to realise
that physical violence is always a
disproportionate
response.
Further, intolerance is a highly
private trait associated with ones
personality. Different people act
differently to a piece of writing that
may offend them. Thus, it is
possible that even a mere statement
of truth may attract a violent
response.
Third, violence cannot be
justified in a civilised society, lest
chaos and destruction prevail.
This is my counter-argument. The Today the world is facing growing
comics did not attack Islam or other intolerance to the freedom of
religious beliefs. They were a expression. We need to debate and
satirical take on those practitioners discuss, not curb, what is
who were arrogant and tried to unwelcome for us. As Ronald
enforce their rules on others. A Reagan said: One who loses the
criticism of extremists within a sect argument starts the fight first.
does not equate to criticism of the
Ashish Pareek,
entire sect. The editors at Charlie
New Delhi
Hebdo pursued true democratic
freedom in spite of repeatedly being The article looks at the issues of the
firebombed, hacked and so on. That limits of free speech in
they met with such a fate for contemporary society, and the
standing up for their rights shows perceived
favouritism
shown
the intolerant nature of the towards intellectuals of all stripes.
attackers and their inadequacy to In the hands of a better writer, this
reason. The argument that the hurt could easily have been a thoughtthat may have been caused due to provoking essay on civility and
words is immeasurable cannot be a mutual respect in public discourse.
justification for their crime.
Unfortunately, Mr. Pattanaiks
Abhishek C. Desikan, righteous indignation gets the
Chennai better of him. First, it is irrational to
draw parallels between Mahatma
Nowhere has the writer drawn solid Gandhi and the attention-seeking
conclusions from the mythological cartoonists. Comparing the two is
stories or concepts he has provided. akin to comparing apples and
Neither has he taken sides oranges. Second, his misguided
anywhere. But his views tend to attempt to evoke sympathy for the
justify physical violence. Is he attackers by comparing them first
suggesting that physical violence be to soldiers, and then to victims of
accepted as a fitting reply to an domestic violence, is deeply
intellectuals words? I have only insulting. The parallel between
one thing to tell him. True, Godse and the Charlie Hebdo
emotional violence hurts a lot and attackers is equally futile: Godses
cant be measured. But killing assassination of Gandhi was the act
people is definitely not an answer to of an isolated individual, while the
any kind of emotional violence.
Charlie Hebdo attack was a
Poovanna Kuttetira, coordinated
group
act
of
Madikeri premeditated violence.

century Tamil Nadu about the

colonisation by the British, and how
they went about it forms of
punishment the British meted out,
including elephant trampling and
cannonball killings, to those who
rose in revolt in the weekly
Kumudam was stopped abruptly
after its office was ransacked by a
caste group because he used a word
considered derogatory. Sujatha
wrote: My intention was not to
denigrate the community in any
way; I only used the words in vogue
at that time and how the caste was
called during British rule. In this
No freedom guaranteed in the case, it was curtains for the
Constitution is absolute, including publisher and not Sujatha.
A.V. Narayanan,
the freedom of speech (Perumal
Tiruchi
Murugan quits writing, Jan.14).
But in India, the freedom of
expression is associated only with It appears that carnivalesque
the right to offend a particular congregations provide on the
religion. Therefore, Hinduism has sidelines such forms of avocation
become a soft punching bag for the intentionally or otherwise. In 1964,
media, cinema, writers and the when I was in government service
political class.
in the composite Salem district, I
Perumal Murugan erred in was at Trichengode on camp. I was
portraying the women of a informed of this form of consensual
particular region in bad light in a intimacy as being an age-old
land where caste and religion are practice. To me, it appeared to be a
sensitive issues. However, as a form of the magnanimity of our
distinguished writer he should not hoary Hindu religion and nothing
give up in despair, but must more.
Mahalingam Yaaman,
continue writing in a manner that
Tuticorin
gently exposes the faults and foibles
of not just one religion, but all. Lord
Carey, a former Archbishop of I am proud to say that I am a native
Canterbury, once said: It is good of Tiruchengode and my ancestors
for religion to be knocked, to be lived here over four generations. I
criticised, to be challenged, because do not accept the way in which
we have done a lot of damage in the Perumal Murugan has cast a slur on
Tiruchengode and the women of my
past.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan, region. A writer has the freedom to
Chennai write about anything he wants, but
to target a particular section of
The manner in which Perumal people, a place and a festival which
Murugan has folded up at the first still exists is unacceptable. He has
hurdle and meekly surrendered, failed to take into account our
raises eyebrows. His act of quitting feelings and has only denigrated the
writing is disproportionate to the sanctity of the deity. It is
unfortunate that the media is
controversy.
I am reminded of the Tamil according him great publicity.
author Sujatha (Rangarajan) whose
Senthilvelan E.,
historical serial set in early 19th
Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu

But finally, the most telling is the

writers ugly use of the term neoBrahminism, to condemn those
whom he feels are in the wrong. It is
a curious and self-referential
paradox that in his zeal to defend
the soldiers of terrorism, Mr.
Pattanaik should himself stoop to
using the name of a community that
would never fight back using the
weapons the Charlie Hebdo
attackers had.
Ravi Philip Rajkumar,
Puducherry

Giving up writing

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

10

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

The death of the author

D
Suchitra Vijayan

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015

RBIs surprise
rate cut
he ability to surprise the markets is an important trait of central banking and Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan displayed that when he cut interest rates by 0.25
percentage points early on Thursday. Given the favourable economic data releases of the last one week on
inflation and industrial output, a rate cut was expected,
if at all, in the next bimonthly monetary policy of the
RBI scheduled for February 3, but Dr. Rajan chose to act
ahead of that. In a way, the Governor was only keeping a
promise he had made at the time of the last policy
announcement in December, that monetary policy
stance could change outside of the policy review cycle if
circumstances justified the same. The rate cut, given its
quantum, may be largely symbolic and not lead to a
significant drop in borrowing costs for individuals and
companies, but it signals an important shift in the monetary policy position of the central bank. The signal is
clear: the easing cycle has begun and more, deeper cuts
are likely if inflation and the Centres fiscal deficit remain under control in the near future. Little wonder
then that the stock market reacted with such exuberance to the first rate cut in 20 months and also the
maiden one of Dr. Rajans tenure the benchmark S&P
BSE Sensex shot up by 729 points or 2.66 per cent as
hopes soared of a revival in investment and
consumption.
Having delivered on a long-standing demand of India
Inc, the Governor has now shifted the onus on to the
Centre to ensure that the rate easing cycle is sustained.
He left little doubt in anybodys mind, clearly pointing
out that further easing is contingent on the continuation
of the disinflationary process in the economy. Also critical will be the success of the government in meeting its
stiff fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent this fiscal. In
addition, Dr. Rajan has also pointed, correctly, to the
need for continuing efforts to overcome supply constraints and ensure availability of inputs such as power,
land, minerals and infrastructure. With tax revenues
growing at well below the expected rate, the telecom
spectrum auction coming up in February and the disinvestment programmes in public sector companies assume crucial importance. The Budget for 2015-16, which
will be presented in February, is also important as it will
reveal the fiscal consolidation plans of the government.
As for corporate India, the rate cut may appear small and
might not translate into significantly cheaper funds as
yet. But it should be taken for what it is: a cue that the
central bank is now comfortable with the macro economic indicators and has started the rate easing process.
It is now up to the corporate sector to get back to the
drawing board and start investing afresh.

o not treat me in this fashion.

Dont leave me out,
Have I not
Always spoken the truth
in my books? And now
You treat me like a liar! I order you:
Burn me!
Poet and playwright, Bertolt Brecht wrote
these lines in response to Nazi censorship
and book burning in 1933. Living in disquieting times, he wrote in anguish, demanding to be burnt. Decades later, in
another tragedy, writer Perumal Murugan
wrote, Author Perumal Murugan has died.
He is no god, so he is not going to resurrect
himself. Nor does he believe in reincarnation. From now on, Perumal Murugan will
survive merely as the teacher he has been.
The public statement followed after Mr.
Murugan was hounded by caste-based
groups and Hindu groups about a book he
wrote in 2010, Madhorubhagan, set about a
century ago near the authors native town of
Tiruchengode in Tamil Nadu. Four years after its publication, local groups led protests
arguing that consensual sexual rituals, at the
centre of the plot, insulted the town, its temple and its women. Copies of the novel were
burnt, and a petition was sought for the arrest of the author.

An unreasonable silence
In the face of this violence, the State apparatus and political parties stood in unreasonable silence. Rather than protecting the
rights of the writer, Perumal Murugan, the
district administration organised a peace
meeting with the caste and religious outfits,
extracting from him an unconditional apology, deletion of portions in the book, withdrawal of unsold copies and a promise not to
write on controversial subjects hurting sentiments of people.
Forcing a writer to recant his words, making him apologise for his imaginary feat, and
extracting from him his dignity as a writer, is
an act of tyranny and unacceptable violence.
It is precisely this violence that was wrought
on Perumal Murugan.
A society that allows for its storytellers to
be supervised and silenced is a society that is

A society that allows for its storytellers to be

silenced is one in need of ethical and political
introspection. The travesty of the Perumal
Murugan incident is not only about the freedom of
expression but also about the imposition of a
narrative tyranny and the states abdication of its
responsibility to protect our rights
in need of critical ethical and political introspection. When we only allow space for literature that is dangerously precise, it becomes
used in the service of politics. The travesty of
this incident is not just a matter of freedom
of expression. It is the imposition of narrative tyranny; pandering to caste and religious bigotry; and the states abdication of its
responsibility to protect its citizens fundamental rights.

Exercising and critiquing power

It was poet Stphane Mallarm who said
that everything in the world exists to end up
in a book. The book is the primary mode of
preserving memory, our imagination and

signifier of the purge about to come.

When the Nazis organised book burnings
across Germany in 1933, the participants of
this public spectacle justified their acts with
pronouncements like, to assure respect for
the family and to restore the integrity of
the German language. Today, we heard similar cries justifying the burning of Perumal
Murugans book women are degraded,
He intentionally hurt the feelings of the
community or he wrote about things that
did not actually take place. We have our
own list of condemned ideas, curated by men
with no moral or political imagination, who
cannot discern the meaning of fiction and
destroy it in the name of virtue. If these

The manufactured outrage should be understood in the

context of political mobilisation of right-wing groups and
electoral competition in Tamil Nadu.
our source of knowledge. It creates and challenges ideologies, it questions the state, and,
above all, it is the means to exercise power
and a method to critique it. Soviet dissident
Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote that when
truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a
lie. Silencing an authors voice is nothing
short of barbarism. Book burning becomes
an extreme ritualistic form of censorship,
symbolic of putting the book and its attendant ideas to death. It is an imposition of a
narrative tyranny that decrees what is and
what is not acceptable or permissible. It is
the categorical attempt to eradicate ideas,
the end of discourse and a death blow to the
free mind. It is both a spectacle and a ritual

narrow interpretations continue to prevail,

some of Tamil literatures greatest works
steeped in a complex emotional-erotic-political universe, dating back to antiquity
would become censored.
The late Prof. M.S.S. Pandian wrote, Secularism may claim itself to be a universal
idea; yet its local manifestations alone will
tell us what political work it does and how.
To understand the events that unfolded, one
needs to understand the men who acted as
the willing executioners and what brought
us to this moment. With the Hindu Munnani
at the helm, three other caste organisations
ran the campaign to silence Perumal Murugan. The manufactured outrage should be

CARTOONSCAPE

The year
of Paris
s the world heads towards a new climate treaty
by the end of the year, with Lima providing a
bare-bones launching pad, many of the issues
that have dogged negotiations will reach a
flashpoint. Countries need to do more as was evident
during the UN climate talks but there is not much ambition reflected either in terms of finance or technology
transfer. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has reached
just over $10 billion, far short of what developing countries need to carry out urgent actions. The Synthesis
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has clearly laid a strong scientific basis,
and adaptation alone will not save the earth from warming to levels which will have irreversible effects. The way
the developed world is positioning itself, it is doubtful
whether the issue of its historical responsibility will be
the mainstay of the new treaty, post 2020. India maintains that developed countries have to pay for their
pollution, and technology transfer cannot be entangled
in intellectual property rights. Funding for mitigation
and adaptation in the developing world becomes crucial
but the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) has taken a hard hit in recent times.
Countries like the United Kingdom have already ruled
out a separate allocation of funds in addition to development aid for climate actions.
The developed world contends that emerging economies like China and India cannot be treated on a par with
other developing nations and that they have an equal
responsibility to curb emissions. The polluter pays principle is already wilting under pressure from the first
world, and will be tested as erstwhile polluters develop
cleaner technology and pass it on to their poorer cousins.
A case in point is the investment Europe has made in
solar energy with feed-in tariffs which has brought down
the costs of photovoltaics. Renewable energy becomes
the focus in countries like India and China, which has
already reached a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on
climate. During President Obamas visit to India, India
and the U.S. are expected to firm up agreements on
renewable energy and new technologies. India has volunteered to reduce the energy intensity of its GDP by
20-25 per cent by 2020 as compared to the base year of
2005. The government has tightened norms for the cement industry and will introduce new norms for fuel
emissions but its National Action Plan on Climate
Change lacks a unified approach. The world will know by
November if the aggregate national contributions are
adequate to keep global average warming less than 2C
above pre-industrial levels. Alternatives to an unsustainable path are in plenty; only the commitment needs to be
scaled up, and thats why the year to Paris will be
decisive.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Way ahead in Sri Lanka
The article by Erik Solheim, Can
the unknown angel deliver?
(Jan.15) was well-grounded. I
would even consider it to be a
blueprint for ushering in equity and
justice concomitant to inclusive
growth in Sri Lanka. President
Sirisenas rainbow coalition may
compel him to follow a middle-ofthe-path policy which may in effect
be a blessing in disguise. India has
reason to be optimistic about
strengthening its bond with the
island nation given the fact that Mr.
Sirisenas first overseas visit will be
to India.
Ayyasseri Raveendranath,
Aranmula, Kerala

towards national reconciliation.

International migrants are a
potentially important political
force whose votes, in many cases,
significantly affect election results.
But the step should be considered
only after developing novel
methods that satisfy legal and
security provisions.
Carani Yamini,
Hyderabad

The move is unwarranted and not a

good decision. Why must those who
have already left the country and
are no more concerned with its
electoral politics be extended this
privilege? It is only through
political rights that we can make a
differentiation between an alien
and citizen.
Shifa Sikri,
The court ruling, to allow NRIs to
Ferozpur, Punjab
cast their vote from the country
where they live and work and,
subsequently,
the
Union The article, In maya, the killer and
government implementing this is a the killed, Jan.14), is a subdued and
forward-looking step (Editorial, veiled attempt to justify the acts of
Jan.15). It will help Indians living the Charlie killers by presenting
abroad to actively participate in them as the victims of what the
nation-building and to take a writer calls emotional violence.
leadership role in forging public He is wrong is concluding that
sentiment. However, blue collar merely because emotional violence
workers in West Asia need to be is not measurable it is not treated as
better informed of such voting crime. If one look at laws in the
rights. Most NRIs hold key fields of defamation, marriage and
positions of power and India needs human rights, they treat emotional
such global thinkers to move its violence indulged in with the
policies
towards
progressive malicious intention to harm the
nation-building. Indians educated victim emotionally as a crime and
and living abroad have the potential prescribe punishments for such a
to bring about a refreshing way of crime. There is also a significant
thinking within the government in difference between physical and
India and to give a boost to much- emotional
violence.
Physical
needed change.
violence is inflicted on the victim
Gregory Fernandes, without his consent but no
Mumbai infliction of emotional violence is
possible without the victims
Voting from abroad is an consent.
unrestricted and unconditional
The progress of a civilisation
an
evolution
from
right that every citizen possesses. means
The amendment of Section 20A barbarianism into intellectualism.
along with modifications to the visa No human progress is possible
process are important steps without emotional violence with

Voting from abroad

The killer and the killed

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015

understood in the context of political mobilisation of right-wing groups and electoral

competition in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadus political landscape

Tamil Nadus political landscape is an interesting conjecture of many historical
forces. For most parts it is a deeply religious
society, where caste cleavages, along with
Brahmanical traditions have continued to
play an important role. Simultaneously, it
was also a society that incubated the Dravidian movement and its political offshoots
that were originally based on the principles
of rationalism, atheism and anti-brahminism. The state has been ruled predominantly by two political parties, the All India
Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, both coming
out of this rationalist, atheist tradition, but
which have over the years ideologically compromised their positions for electoral victories. Both parties have regularly forsaken
constitutional governance for short-term
political gains
Their biggest ideological deceit is the retreat from the once proclaimed ideals of rationalism, secularism and the fight for social
justice. The Dravidian politics of Annadurai,
former Chief Minister, that spoke of Tamil
secularism, soon gave way to caste-based
politics as the prime mode of electoral victory since the 1970s. Over the years, castebased politics and patronage became further
institutionalised into government functioning. It was in this climate that the Hindu
Munnani party started its assent to prominence in the 1990s. With the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Munnani has
become the main Hindu nationalist and
communalist party in Tamil Nadu, playing a
political-religious-moral policing role similar to that of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) in north India. For the past decade,
the Hindu Right has failed to carve a meaningful political space for itself in Tamil Nadu. With the Perumal Murugan incident, the
dangerous triumvirate of hate, bigotry and
ideological deceit has come to roost. Caste
wars and aggressive Hindu nationalism have
joined hands for the first time, setting a dangerous precedent.
Right-wing Hinduism, mostly alien to Tamil Nadu, has become increasingly normalised. Liberal freedoms are under threat, in
the guise of language marchers, the morality
police, religious rioters and the many-headed mobs. Ironically, the state that is meant to
protect has remained a mute spectator allowing Perumal Murugans constitutionally
protected right to become subverted. At the
same time, with exemplary zeal, the government has passed laws like the Tamil Nadu
Entry into Public Places (Removal of Restriction of Dress) Act, 2014, that unconstitutionally legislate on issues relating to
private bodies purely with an intention to
expand its voters base. The State government no longer governs in furtherance of the
Constitution, but in the perusal of votes at
the cost of subverting fundamental rights.
As a society we stand in shame today. We
have devolved in the hand of a morally bankrupt political leadership, which has mortgaged our intellectual future and our literary
past. Our arguments are increasingly being
shaded in caste antagonism and our resistance depoliticised. On this sad day we have
nothing else to find comfort in except for
historys long march where censors, inquisitors and men with petty minds have always
lost. We can seek solace in the hope that the
silenced writer remains an author even if he
never writes again. Let this not be a eulogy
for the death of a living writer. Let this be our
rallying call.
(Suchitra Vijayan is a barrister, political
theorist and a writer.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
benevolent intentions. When
scientists first broke the news that
it was bacteria which caused
communicable diseases to the
people who believed that they were
the punishments inflicted on them
by angry gods, it would
undoubtedly have amounted to
carrying out emotional violence on
them but still necessary to save
them.
S.P. Asokan,
Chennai

metaphorical and allegorical terms

to state his proposition which was
the crux of his argument i.e. we
all live in maya, the world seen and
interpreted
through
measurements. In this world of
maya we can measure physical
violence but not an emotional one
as the former is seen but the
latter only felt.
Shakti Singh,
Shimla

Im at loss for comprehension after

reading the article. What was the
writer trying to say? He said much
and ended up saying nothing. Many
of his statements were deficient.
The Peshawar carnage was not the
karma of the unfortunate innocent
children, nor of the intangible pain
the Taliban felt. It was plain and
outright bizarre madness that has
no boundaries when it comes to
matters of fanaticism and faith. The
demon has the same face, be it in
Peshawar, Paris, or Timbukuttu
an unwillingness to recognise and
respect differences in opinions or
beliefs.
To say that intangible violence and
I am not familiar with the work of pain is ignored is untrue. Even
Mr. Pattanaik, but found his courts take cognisance of mental
philosophical perspectives on torture in many cases and do not
violence to be astute. Therefore, I seek only symbols confirming
was surprised to find a few readers physical
torture.
Deflections
by
abracadabra-like
going off at a tangent in their created
analysis. Nowhere did the article questions of maya and karma
suggest that the writer was cannot hide the fact that certain
justifying the actions of the sections of society refuse to shed
attackers or that Charlie Hedbo the medieval mindset and are
was pursuing the so-called true paranoid at the sign of questions
democratic freedom of speech as and evidence rubbishing archaic
Prof. Mahmood Mamdani in his notions and claims.
Anilkumar Kurup,
interview (Jan.15) has elaborated
Thiruvananthapuram
upon by making a distinction
between religious blasphemy and
religious bigotry. The writer did not
draw parallels between the The district administration that
attackers and soldiers, Godse or the was engaged in parleys with the
perpetrators of domestic physical caste outfits over the book
violence nor was Brahminism Madhorubhagan should have
used in its literal sense. Instead, the upheld the constitutional right of a
writer had used intellectual, writer of fiction instead of allowing
The truth is that everything is
maya. Spoken words cant be taken
back. Similarly, life cannot be given
again. As Thiruvalluvar said, a burn
can heal but the words that cause
hurt can never heal an emotional
wound. Though a publication has
the right to publish anything in the
name of freedom of expression it
does not have any right to hurt a
religion. We must remember that
science doesnt gives answers to all
questions and there are certain
things we need to believe in.
Vijayalakshmi B.,
Chennai

Quitting writing

those who indulged in vandalism to

demand
and
extract
an
unconditional
apology
from
Perumal Murugan. Pray, whose
personal liberty was offended by
his writing? That this has forced the
writer to keep away from writing
should serve as a warning to all
creative writers. His plea that all his
works be returned is nothing but
the anguished call of a victim. Let
writers associations form a forum
to create awareness among the
public about the injustice done to
the writer and also convince those
on the other side to see the danger
of being swayed by vested interests
who, to further their own ends,
make a fact out of fiction.
K. Natarajan,
Thanjavur
It is with great concern that we, as
citizens of a free India, are unable
to react to a gradual erosion of our
fundamental rights on an almost
daily basis. Perumal Murugans
decision to quit writing as he felt he
is dead is cause for great concern
among right thinking people. There
is no point in talking about
overtaking China unless we are first
able to ensure that our people live
in peace and harmony.
Amina Omer,
Chennai
I find that Perumal Murugan is not
the only author who has given a
different
or
a
perverted
interpretation for a barren wife
conceiving
in
a
spiritual
atmosphere!
Former
BBC
correspondent,
Mark
Tully
published a book, Heart of India,
which has a story of a barren wife
visiting a holyman in a temple and
subsequently conceiving by miracle
or something more worldly! When
there was no hue and cry over what
was narrated in the Heart of India,
why this now?
K. Bala Sundram,
Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

The new name of planning

T
Arvind Virmani

MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2015

Crisis among
the censors
he resignation of Leela Samson as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and of several other members of
the body, is a pointer to a deeper malaise in
the institution. Ms. Samson has spoken of corruption,
and interference by the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting in the Boards functioning. Her stand has
the endorsement of many other members, who have
also resigned, while Ministers have refuted the charge.
Whatever the truth behind the resignations, the outgoing CBFC chairperson and members, while being on
the right side of the debate on the functional autonomy
issue, are clearly on the wrong side of the issue so far as
the certification of one film is concerned. Their decision to deny a certificate to Messenger of God, featuring Dera Sacha Sauda sect leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim
Singh, has been overturned by the Film Certification
Appellate Tribunal with some riders. Apart from claiming that Messenger of God promotes blind faith and
encourages superstition, the CBFC had advanced no
substantive argument on why it should not be exhibited. Ram Rahim Singh is a controversial figure and
faces some charges, but merely because his film makes
claims about his godly stature and miracle-making
abilities, can it be denied a certificate? Many films are
the products of creative imagination, and more absurd
and obscurantist films have been allowed in the past. As
a quasi-judicial body, the CBFC cannot really be aggrieved by the appellate forums verdict. Ms. Samsons
appeal to colleagues to quit en masse, saying they had
been made a mockery of by the powers of the Ministry
of I&B over the film, is not an appropriate reaction.
Perhaps it is the culmination of a series of unpalatable incidents, but if film certification in the country is
indeed subject to interference, coercion and corruption, she and the other members ought to have raised
the matter earlier and not in the context of their decision on one particular film being reversed. The government has contended that corruption, if any, must be a
legacy of the earlier regime, and has asked for proof of
interference in the Boards functioning. However, it
has been remiss in not reconstituting the Board even
after the tenure of its members had ended. Fast-tracking an appeal, as in the case of Messenger of God, is a
good thing in normal circumstances, but it has also to
be seen in the context of the ruling partys closeness to
the Ram Rahim sect whose support it secured in the
recent Haryana Assembly election. The situation presents an opportunity to reform the CBFCs functioning, liberalise its approach and end the perception that
it is packed with regime favourites who may not necessarily be best suited to evaluate the content of films.

he Yojana Aayog or Planning

Commission has been replaced by
the National Institution for Transforming India or NITI for short.
From Yojana to Niti, what is the difference? First and foremost, it means a sharp
break from Soviet inspired National Development (Five Year) Plans to Niti, that is
Policy and Institutional change for transforming India. Paragraph three of the Cabinet resolution states: we require
institutional reforms in governance and dynamic policy shifts that can seed and nurture
large-scale change.
Development is one of those words that
everyone thinks they understand but which
means many different things to different
people. It covers a multitude of possibilities
as well as a multitude of ideological sins and
special agendas. The cabinet resolution constituting Niti Aayog approvingly quotes Mahatma Gandhi: Constant development is the
law of life, and a man who always tries to
maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position.
The Planning Commission took its first tentative steps towards policy 28 years ago, by
creating a post of Advisor Development Policy. There was so much resistance that the
Advisor (in this case, me) had to be designated Advisor-Development Policy Research. Despite decades of effort, policy
solutions always played second fiddle to increasing Plan allocations and expenditures
without any social benefit-cost analysis or
Macro-economic models to back the
decisions.
Three other points in the introductory
part of the Cabinet resolution setting up Niti
Aayog are noteworthy: The first is the assertion that our aspirations have soared and
today we seek elimination, rather than alleviation, of poverty. The second is the important role given to governance in achieving
desirable social outcomes: The people of
India have great expectations for progress
and improvement in governance, through
their participation. They require institutional reforms in governance and dynamic policy
shifts that can seed and nurture large-scale
change (paragraph 3). Subsequently, there
is an indication of how the institutional reforms in governance can be brought about:

CARTOONSCAPE

School system
fails students
onsidering Nobel laureate Amartya Sens
caution regarding the insecurity that people
face over a lifetime due to the deprivation of
basic education, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2014 calls for a hard look at the
situation. Its findings amount to a distressing catalogue
of the failures inherent in the pedagogic methods of
instruction in vogue. The foremost among them is the
overemphasis on a curriculum that is geared to outcomes in the form of examination results, at the expense of a process of learning that is oriented to a
mastery of concepts. These shortcomings underlie the
original assumption that students of a particular grade
would not measure up to commensurate standards;
and that any such evaluation would hence be an exercise in futility. That is the apparent rationale behind
the ASER assessment of actual student performance
based on a lower set of metrics. The report points out
that just a small proportion of third-graders are able to
read even a text from a lower grade, let alone their own.
Any improvement in later years is at best marginal,
says the report. The fact is that reading skills are not
imparted as part of classroom activity.
ASER also shows that pupils from the higher classes
are unable to perform even simple tasks of division or
subtraction. This may have to do with the inadequate
reinforcement of concepts over the years owing to the
structure of the syllabus. For instance, the use of logarithms that were once taught from Class 9 has been
dropped from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. Students are hence denied the
opportunity to learn complex mathematical computations. Besides, the mathematics knowledge that people
need in daily life is mostly arithmetic-based. Yet, the
latter has been omitted from the Class 9 and 10 syllabus. Time was when students could opt between a basic
and advanced level of math from Class 8 or 9 under
some State boards. The current CBSE paper, tailored to
the requirement of engineering aspirants, may be imposing an undue burden on students inclined to pursue
different academic streams. A healthy pupil-teacher
ratio could also help overcome many of these shortcomings. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act stipulates a 30:1 ratio. ASER notes
that the country has come consistently close to universal enrolment in the 6-14 age group for six consecutive years. That may have afforded some consolation
in an age where the prevailing wisdom held that poor
families are disinclined to send children to school. In
todays competitive environment, the ability of students to read, write, count and measure is a bare minimum. The country cannot continue to fail its children.

CM
YK

MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2015

institutions, rather than on expenditure programmes and projects. By its bold move to
abolish the Yojana Aayog and set up Niti
Aayog, the new government has set the stage
for a wholesale transformation in this direction. Given the absence of any formal social
benefit-cost analysis of programmes and projects and the limited capacity for an appraisal
of outcomes, one had also suggested to the
Deputy Chairman a decade ago that the Planning Commission develop a database of best
practices to guide future decisions. It is
hoped that a full-fledged division will be set
Government and governance have to be provides a sound basis for closing the tech- up in Niti Aayog to translate this into reality,
conducted in an environment of total trans- nology gap between India and the advanced with all such information digitally accessible
parency using technology to reduce opac- countries, that is correlated with the large to experts and policymakers.
ity and thereby, the potential for income gap between us. The reference to the
misadventures in governing (paragraph 6g). role of urbanisation (paragraph 6g) as an aid Emphasis on lessons learnt
Some of the specific objectives of Niti
to a technological catching up, suggests an
Poverty elimination
understanding of the links between technol- Aayog are at the level of generality of the
A paper in the Economic and Political ogy gaps and per capita income gaps. This Cabinet note, not significantly different from
Weekly in 2002 had raised the issue of cor- further links to welfare gaps through the those of the Planning Commission or other
ruption and governance and to bring policy- statement Equality of opportunity goes organs of government. However, the followinstitutional reform into the development hand-in-hand with an inclusiveness agenda ing objectives suggest a greater priority and
debate, but to no avail. A debate on poverty (paragraph 8c). The open discussion of the emphasis on the issues mentioned in them:
elimination, as against alleviation, was global environment and its two-way interac- To design strategic and long-term policy and
sought to be initiated in 2005-06 through a tion with India also displays a degree of self- programme frameworks and initiatives, and
Planning Commission paper, but was sty- confidence vis--vis foreign countries (para- monitor their progress and their efficacy.
mied. It is therefore very encouraging that graph 6c) that bodes well for building a The lessons learnt through monitoring and
feedback will be used for making innovative
improvements, including necessary midcourse corrections; to provide advice and enThe emphasis on interaction with international think tanks
courage
partnerships
between
key
and Indian educational and policy research institutions would be
stakeholders and national and international
a departure for the Indian bureaucracy.
like-minded think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions; to
create a knowledge, innovation and entrethis is an important part of the mandate of competitive, fast-growing economy.
preneurial support system through a collabNiti Aayog.
orative community of national and
The third is the recognition of a changed Nitis role
international experts, practitioners and othreality of economy, society and government
So, what is the specific role of Niti Aayog in er partners; to maintain a state-of-the-art
functioning and its implications: India this changed environment? Its primary/cen- resource centre, be a repository of research
needs an administration paradigm in which tral role is to Serve as a Think Tank for the on good governance and best practices in
the government is an enabler rather than a Government to give strategic and tech- sustainable and equitable development as
provider of first and last resort. The role of nical advice across the spectrum of key ele- well as help in their dissemination to stakethe government as a player in the industrial ments of policy. This includes matters of holders, and to focus on technology upgradaand service sectors has to be reduced. In- national and international import on the ec- tion
and
capacity-building
for
stead, the government has to focus on en- onomic front, dissemination of best practices implementation of programmes and
abling legislation, policy-making and from within the country as well as from other initiatives
regulation (paragraph 6a). Many old-style nations, the infusion of new policy ideas and
In the first of these, the emphasis on lesdevelopment planners refused to accept specific issue-based support. (paragraph 11). sons learnt is very important. Experience
these changes (even if they paid lip service to Several of us have argued for a long time, confirms a great reluctance to modify or reit), though this issue was raised first in the without much success, that the old Planning ject programmes when they dont work. In
1990s and subsequently in the 2000s. A rec- Commission should evolve into a think the second, the emphasis on interaction with
ognition of this reality by the Union cabinet tank with a primary emphasis on policy and international think tanks and Indian educational and policy research institutions,
though expected from a think tank for the
government, would be a departure for the
Indian bureaucracy. In the third, the emphasis on support systems rather than funds/
subsidies is an important departure. The
fourth reinforces what was said earlier about
good governance and best practices and suggests that improvement in governance will
be seriously pursued to improve the delivery
of government social and welfare programmes. In the fifth, the recognition of
weak capacity and need for capacity building for implementation is critical to the success of all new initiatives and many old ones.
The abolition of the Yojana Aayog and its
replacement by Niti Aayog by the new government is a bold and long overdue initiative.
It will help change the emphasis from projects and programmes to policy and institutions, from expenditure inputs to real
outcomes through better governance and
from political disputation over incremental
allocations to new challenges and opportunities in a global environment. The discussion
of India in a global context also reminds one
of Gandhijis sayings: Let the windows of my
mind be open to winds from across the world,
but let me not be blown away by them. Like
all new institutions, it will be a challenging
job for Niti Aayog to fulfil its high objectives.
(Arvind Virmani is a former Chief
Economic Advisor, Finance Ministry and
Principal Advisor, Planning Commission
who participated in most of the policy
reforms of the 1990s and 2000s.)

The replacement of the Planning Commission by

Niti Aayog will help change the emphasis from
projects and programmes to policy and
institutions, from expenditure inputs to real
outcomes through better governance, and from
political disputation over incremental allocations
to new challenges and opportunities

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

markups on their products.
The original idea underpinning
As a professional adviser on IP IP protection is to encourage
matters in Australia, I agree with invention that benefits society at
the main thrust of the article, large. For centuries, certain vital
Patented
medicine
and sectors were excluded from seeking
affordability (Dec.22, 2014). I patent protection because granting
would like to make the following monopoly rights might be
observations: During the past 40 detrimental to the interests of
years, a few key principles of the society. But this distinction was
patent system as enshrined in the demolished by judgments of U.S.
Statute of Monopolies (1624) have courts that all economic activities
been systematically hijacked, under the sun are eligible for
undermined and nearly destroyed patent protection. Now IP
through well-orchestrated moves protection is seen as a tool for not
by vested interests in the developed enhancing and enriching societal
nations. Now there are more bad benefits but used to protect
patents (meaning, not fit for investments, business interests
grant) in the system that are and profits. In fact, a case can now
imposing huge costs on society. be made that the IP system, as
This issue is particularly acute in currently administered, denies
the pharmaceutical sector as it certain crucial benefits to a large
makes the cost of some medicines majority in our society and is
(and medical equipment) go therefore
contrary
to
the
beyond the reach of all except a few intentions of the Statute of
rich persons. Even in the developed Monopolies Act.
world, such as in Australia, people
Pharmaceutical products in
cannot afford many vital medicines particular come under the
without the huge subsidy offered by essential-use category, and some
the governments Pharmaceutical are life-saving drugs. Although not
Benefits Scheme.
illegal, it is immoral for the
The industrys intense lobbying industry to price them on the basis
power and its support for the so- of what the high end of the market
called independent IP policy think can afford rather than what it truly
tanks have created an environment costs to manufacture and sell with a
wherein the nations patent reasonable profit margin.
administrations have liberally (and
I hope the National IP policy that
in my view, wrongly) interpreted a is being developed in India
few key principles and provisions of emphasises those points and argues
patent law; in particular, the tests that India has a stronger IP system
for an inventive step have been so that is consistent with the Statute
systematically diluted that any of Monopolies Act, and it is the
small improvement, however developed nations that have been
ordinary or incremental or deliberately working to weaken and
inconsequential it may be, is destroy the system.
Dr. Srinivasan Nagarajan,
considered to fully satisfy the
Sydney, Australia
inventive criterion. Such liberal
interpretations have allowed big
and established companies to
and
perpetually maintain their strong Accusations
hold on markets and maintain high counteraccusations have been

Patented medicine

CBFC blues

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
flying thick and fast in the wake of
the
resignation
of
CBFC
chairperson
Leela
Samson,
followed by the resignation of more
members, over alleged interference
by the I&B Ministry in their
functioning (Jaitley hits back at
Samson, Jan.18). Obviously, the
fast-track clearance by a tribunal of
the controversial film, Messenger
of God, was the last straw that
broke the camels back. As the
Board had been appointed by the
UPA government, the discomfort
the members felt with the new
government assuming office was
evident. Were Ms. Samson and her
team looking out for a good reason
to quit?
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru

In villages near Srirangam, all

communities live in amity except
It is heartening to note the support when the media and politicians stir
for writer Perumal Murugan at the up the cauldron of caste and
The Hindu Lit For Life 2015 religion in order to keep their
festival, from a wide array of embers warm.
speakers, thinkers and editors
T.M. Renganathan,
(Literary world backs Murugan,
Srirangam, Tamil Nadu
condemns
administration,
Jan.18). The way the state has No entry
buckled under pressure from fringe It is indeed most inhuman that a
groups is disgraceful. An attempt to street child was denied a treat at a
reach a peace agreement lacks legal fast food joint, even though no rules
basis as freedom of expression and were broken (McDonalds denies
speech cannot be snatched away entry to destitute child, Jan.18)
from
anybody
under
any While expensive and upmarket
outlets owned by MNCs have
circumstances.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan, certain rules and conditions
Tiruchi governing entry, such rules should
not be mindless so as to be
It is a shame that political parties in merciless towards the poor and the
Tamil Nadu have not risen to the hungry. A modern and aspirational
Ms. Samsons resignation has defence of Perumal Murugan. The India seems to be fast losing its
brought to the fore the troubling truth is that they are after votes and human touch.
J.P. Reddy,
truth that the independence of do not want to antagonise any
Nalgonda, Telangana
autonomous bodies is not section. Caste is deeply rooted in
respected in letter and spirit. Even politics and is a very sensitive issue
if the allegations made by her about especially in rural areas. Further, It is strange that the Corporate
interference by the I&B Ministry in the writings of the author have Social Responsibility statement of
the working of the CBFC are found wounded the feelings of the McDonalds India available on its
to be untrue, the government still community he has referred to in his website says the company is
needs to take these charges in all book. In such cases, authors could committed to being a good
seriousness and enable the dignity exhibit extra caution while dealing neighbor and partner in the
community. It goes further to spell
and sanctity of the institution.
with sensitive subjects.
Shivendra Bisht,
G. Ramachandran, out its care for visually
Lucknow
Thiruvananthapuram handicapped
children.
The
incident at its outlet in Pune shows
The
chairpersons
sudden I pose a question to Perumal that most companies in general,
resignation is but an act of sheer Murugan and his band of and whose CSR programmes are
cowardice. With the morality of the supporters. Would he and the often an eyewash, drastically need
film-entertainment sector in her community of writers remain quiet to retrain their employees. From
hands as the top authority of the if something derogatory is written the report it is clear that the woman
CBFC, she had a responsibility to about Dalit leaders? Also, how can did nothing wrong. The only sad
fulfil not only to her own self but to one forget the Dravidian parties and unfortunate thing is that a
society as well. It would have been heaping insults on Brahmins in the company committed to doing
more dignified had she faced the 1950s and 1960s just to grab power what is right to quote from its
allegations levelled against her, in Tamil Nadu? Why has there been website instead thought it fit to
cleared her name and then stepped no criticism of that? The stance of extinguish a ray of hope, joy and
down with her head held high.
politicians in the present case is light in a poor childs life.
Geenu Mathew, one that is being shaped by the 2016
Aryana Nariman,
Thiruvananthapuram Assembly elections, nothing more.
Pune

Support at Lit for Life

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Indias Afghan dilemma

B
Rakesh Sood

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

Ceding ground
to the Army
arlier this month, Pakistans elected representatives voted to cut the ground from under
their own feet. Despite the misgivings that
some political parties and several individual
legislators had, the National Assembly and the Senate
ushered in the 21st Amendment to the Constitution
under which military courts are to be set up for a period
of two years to adjudicate on terrorism-related cases.
The political establishment seemed to have fallen in
line with the observation of the Army chief, General
Raheel Sharif, that military courts had become the need
of the extraordinary times, a reference to the horrendous attack on a school by Taliban militants in which
more than a hundred children were killed. The last time
Pakistan had military courts was during the martial law
regime of General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. The next
military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, did not
promulgate martial law; there were no military courts
during his nine-year regime. That Parliament sanctioned the assumption of judicial powers by the Pakistan Army during the time of an elected government led
by Nawaz Sharif, who knows only too well the perils of
military rule, is a further irony. The move has undermined the hard-fought 2007 struggle of the judiciary for
the separation of powers, and is a blow to the countrys
fragile democratic structure. There was immense public pressure on the government to do something to
contain terrorism after the Peshawar attack. Instead of
using the opportunity to strengthen investigations into
terrorism offences, and put in place mechanisms to
protect witnesses and judges from intimidation by terrorist groups, the government grasped all too easily the
hand offered by the military, an admission of civilian
helplessness.
The courts are to begin trying cases soon. In the eyes
of the public, the Army is bound to be seen as being
more efficient than the elected government military
trials do end quickly and military-appointed judges may
be more daring than those in Pakistans civilian antiterrorist courts. But speed does not always serve the
interests of justice, and opens up the danger of misuse
of the process against innocent civilians, including
those involved in legitimate political activity. Years of
patronage by the security establishment of terrorist
groups have radicalised all sections of society. Pakistan
can tackle this malaise only by strengthening its democratic institutions. For New Delhi, the military courts
present an interesting albeit double-edged opportunity.
India could now possibly make the demand that the
cases against the accused in the Mumbai attack should
now be shifted to a military court. But while this may
speed up the case, there is no guarantee that the
chances of conviction would improve.

y the end of 2014, two important

transitions in Afghanistan had taken place. A political transition to a
post-Karzai period had begun after
a difficult election process. Second, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
flag had come down marking the end of the
13-year-long Operation Enduring Freedom,
transferring primary responsibility for security to the Afghan Army and police forces.
Neither has been a smooth transition despite
the fact that the timelines for both transitions were known for the last five years. This
poses questions about the stability of these
transitions and the interests and role of the
key external actors.

Political and security transition

The first phase of the two-stage Presidential election took place on April 5, 2014 with a
turnout of 58 per cent. Expectedly, Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani led the race with
44 per cent and 32 per cent of the votes
respectively, but since neither crossed the 50
per cent mark, a run-off was held on June 14.
The turnout went up to 60 per cent and
preliminary results indicated Dr. Ghani winning with 56 per cent of the votes cast. Dr.
Abdullah rejected the outcome alleging electoral fraud and raising a number of valid
questions. Realising the implications of a
flawed outcome, the United States resorted
to diplomatic heavy lifting with multiple visits by its Secretary of State John Kerry to
Kabul. Election results were set aside and a
National Unity Government was sworn in on
September 29 with Dr. Ghani as President
and Dr. Abdullah assuming charge as CEO, a
new position of a coequal but with distribution of powers yet to be defined. The first
challenge for the two leaders was the formation of the Cabinet. Last week, a list of 27
names (25 Ministers, Central Bank Governor
and an Intelligence chief) was finally submitted after numerous deadlines had lapsed,
but it remains to be seen whether these candidates will clear the confirmation hearings
in the Wolesi Jirga (Assembly). There are
rumblings of discontent from Dr. Abdullahs
camp that he is not too happy with the current, ambiguous power-sharing arrangement
which is supposed to be formally settled in a
two-year time frame by constitutionally creating the position of a Prime Minister. And
two years is a long time in Afghan politics!
The timeline of the security transition was
laid out when U.S. President Barack Obama
announced the surge in 2009, simultane-

A decade of democracy has opened up Afghan

society and Indias cooperation programmes have
helped develop sustainable links around a shared
vision. Dialogues with Afghanistans neighbours
will become important as these countries start
feeling nervous about the return of instability
ously laying out the schedule of the drawdown and withdrawal of U.S. forces from
combat operations in Afghanistan. It was not
a decision dictated by the ground situation in
Afghanistan, but by U.S. domestic political
considerations. Objectives were scaled down
so that the illusion of success could be
maintained. The original objective in 2002
was to build a stable, strong, effectively governed Afghanistan which will not degenerate
into chaos; following the Iraq distraction,
this was perceived as nation building and too
ambitious during Mr. Bushs second term,
and Mr. Obama settled for the more modest
goal of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for global terrorism.
During the 13-year-long Op Enduring
Freedom, the foreign troop presence exceeded 150,000 in 2011, contributed by 50
countries, though the U.S. share was nearly

352,000 and are expected to be reduced to

228,000 by 2017. Meanwhile, their casualty
rate has risen sharply in recent years surpassing 15,000, leading to demotivation and
resulting in large-scale desertions; $4.1 billion of international assistance is needed annually to sustain these force levels, with the
U.S. providing more than half this amount.
Yet, it is far cheaper than maintaining a foreign presence. An Afghan soldiers annual
salary is approximately $2,000 and his training and equipment costs $200,000, compared to $2 million that it takes to keep an
American soldier there for a year.

Economic transition
In contrast, U.S. expenditure on rebuilding
Afghanistan stands at $104 billion, slightly
more than what the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan (adjusted for inflation) for rebuild-

The fragility of both the political and the security transitions

creates uncertainty and, consequently, raises the likelihood of
instability.

two-thirds in terms of troops and higher in

terms of air support, air and satellite surveillance and intelligence gathering. Out of nearly 3,500 foreign troop casualties,
approximately 2,300 were American soldiers. In terms of treasure, while the Congressional Research Service has estimated
the U.S. cost of the Afghan war at $686 billion, an independent study undertaken by
Harvard University pegs the cost at over $2
trillion. The Harvard study cautions that the
major part of this cost is yet to be paid in
terms of long-term medical care and disability compensations to serving soldiers,
about two million veterans and families, military replenishments and social and economic costs.
Civilian Afghan casualties exceeded
20,000 during this period. Afghan security
forces (both Police and Army) today stand at

ing 16 European countries after World War

II. However, delivery on the ground averages
below 25 per cent, given inefficient delivery
mechanisms, poor planning and excessively
high administration overheads. Progress has
been registered in terms of life expectancy
(up from 40 to 61 years), literacy (up from 12
per cent to 33 per cent), school attendance
especially for girls, health care, urbanisation,
roads, mobile telephony, TV coverage is 60
per cent and GDP has gone up from $2 billion
to $20 billion but is far short of what could
have been achieved. Development plans need
more than $5 billion of external aid annually.
The fragility of both the political and the
security transitions creates uncertainty and,
consequently, raises the likelihood of
instability.
India has played a significant role in Afghanistans economic reconstruction com-

CARTOONSCAPE

Loosening a
stranglehold
he war against tobacco has gained further vigour and momentum with the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare recently placing in
the public domain a draft Bill that seeks to
amend the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and
Distribution) Act, 2003. Among the changes proposed,
the one that will have an immediate and lasting impact
on reducing tobacco consumption is the prohibition on
using a name or brand of tobacco products for marketing, promoting or advertising other goods, services and
events. Falling within the ambit of indirect advertising,
the use of a brand name of a tobacco product to market
and advertise a non-tobacco product is a clear case of
brand-sharing, which the WHO Framework Convention
on Tobacco Control (FCTC) prohibits. Using the brand
name of a tobacco product to market a non-tobacco
product is a ploy that is routinely resorted to by companies to get round the ban on tobacco product advertising, which has been singularly responsible for the
dramatic reduction in tobacco consumption in India and
across the world. It is one of the changes that the government can easily implement and effectively enforce.
The draft Bill removes the ambiguity around point-ofsale display by banning the showcasing of tobacco products at the entrance to or inside a shop; it is in line with
the FCTC recommendation to keep these products out
of public view. Displaying tobacco products prominently inside a shop is a key means to promote them.
Besides effectively bypassing the ban on tobacco product advertising, it fuels impulse buying. While the prohibition can further reduce tobacco consumption,
putting it into effect will be a major problem as tobacco
products are sold predominantly at small shops. For the
same reason, banning the sale of these products to anyone under the age of 21 can hardly be enforced. The very
fact that 15- to 24-year-olds account for over 27 per cent
of tobacco consumption in India clearly indicates that
sale to those below 18 years, which is currently not
allowed, is a reality. The outcome will be no different in
the case of a ban on the sale of cigarettes or bidis in the
loose. Since ensuring that users are forced to notice the
pictorial warning and message on the packets is one of
the main reasons for banning the sale of tobacco products except as a whole packet, the amendment, on paper,
will have a significant impact, particularly on bidi-smokers. Bidis constitute nearly 85 per cent of all tobacco
smoked in India, involving mainly those in the lower
economic stratum, on whom pictorial warnings could be
expected to have the maximum impact.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

RAW agent and poll
Sri Lanka is no banana republic and
one can certainly rule out any
foreign agency meddling in its
political affairs and engineering a
coup (Sri Lankan election won by
the people, not by RAW, Jan.19).
That its democracy is alive and well
has been proven from the manner
in which a powerful President
incurred the electoral wrath of his
people. It was a change
engineered by democracy and by
the minorities. President Sirisena
won the election with the
spontaneous support of all sections
of Sri Lankans. It shows that the
time has come for India to adopt
open diplomacy and rebuild
relations with Sri Lanka.
K. Bala Sundaram,
Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu
The adage is a bird in hand is worth
two in the bush, but its reverse is
what caused the stunning electoral
defeat of Mr. Rajapaksa. Whatever
be the truth about the charge of
Indian interference in the islandnations election through its
external intelligence agency RAW,
Mr. Rajapaksas defeat was selfinflicted. When he had two full
years more in office, it was his
growing concern over steadily
losing his popularity that led to his
becoming dictatorial and then
turning a blind eye to the plight of
the minorities. His hobnobbing
with China was detrimental too.
This being the state of foreign
affairs, it is not surprising that an
enraged, close neighbour who
helped him uproot a deadly terror
organisation might have acted in its
own national interest.
American, Russian and Israeli

intelligence regularly interfere in

the affairs of hostile regimes.
Indias RAW agents stationed in
world capitals cannot be doing
anything different.
Thongath Raju,
Secunderabad

Discussing ordinances
An ordinance represents a
legislative power exercised to deal
with emergency situations and
which necessitates the enactment
of a law when Parliament is not in
session (Jan.19). Excessive use of
the ordinance route defeats the
purpose for which it is provided in
the Constitution. The way it is being
employed now shows that it is being
used as an undesirable method to
get around the failure to build
consensus in Parliament.
The NDA government needs to
understand that reforms that it
wants to usher in can see the light of
the day only through the normal
legislative route. Resorting to the
ordinance route may fetch it
populist applause for a short while,
but will cause it misery in the long
run. It must learn to brave the odds
and emerge as a champion of
democracy.
Shivendra Bisht,
Lucknow

mitting and delivering upwards of $2 billion

distributed between humanitarian assistance, rebuilding infrastructure and human
resource development. In surveys year after
year, India has been described as the most
friendly country. This was possible because
of a special trust that developed early on with
President Hamid Karzai and his colleagues
about the shared vision of Afghanistan
emerging as an independent, sovereign, stable, plural and moderate country, focussed
on development and determined to turn its
back on decades of conflict which had consumed an entire generation. The U.S. too was
bought into the vision in the early years but
after involvement in the Iraq war, Washington had neither the bandwidth nor the political commitment to stay the course.

Pakistans role
Pakistan was uncomfortable with Indias
role in Afghanistan which had remained restricted to the economic sphere. Certain sections of the Pakistani establishment,
particularly the Army and the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), were nostalgic about the
Taliban period when Afghanistans isolation
had made it dependent on Pakistan. General
Musharrafs paranoia about the activities of
twenty Indian consulates in Afghanistan
(there are four) only soured his relations
with Mr. Karzai. The Indian Embassy and
other cooperation projects became targets of
murderous attacks by the Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) and Haqqani group, with the support
of the S Wing of the ISI. Clearly, Pakistan
had a different vision for Afghanistan.
Mr. Karzai had seen the writing on the wall
before the Germans and the British started
promoting the idea of reconciliation with the
Taliban. He reached out to some of them on
the ethnic Pashtun network but failed to
make headway because he was unable to
wrest them away from the ISI stranglehold.
The Germans and the Americans learnt the
same lesson with the Doha office initiative.
Clearly, Pakistan was back in the Afghan end
game. President Ashraf Ghanis early visits to
China, Saudi Arabia and Islamabad show that
he understands Pakistans abilities to exploit
the fragile transition and the U.S. is unlikely
to provide much comfort. The key is whether
the Afghan forces can last out the 2015 fighting season because in 2016, the U.S. will be
caught up in its election year fever.
The India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement (2011) positioned India for a
security role post-2014, but U.S. reluctance
to annoy Pakistan and Indian reticence prevented any significant development. Today,
the situation is different and Mr. Ghani is
unlikely to be as forthcoming as Mr. Karzai.
However, it is just a question of time before
the contradictions of Pakistans efforts to
bring back the Taliban unfold. The Taliban is
no longer the simple monolithic group under
a single leader, subject to the ISIs control. In
fact, there are rumours that Mullah Omar
may be dead; Taliban has many clones and
offshoots with differing loyalties and some
are hostile to the Pakistani establishment. A
decade of democracy has opened up Afghan
society and Indias cooperation programmes
have helped develop sustainable linkages
cutting across ethnic lines around the shared
vision. Dialogues with Afghanistans neighbours will become important as these countries start feeling nervous about the return of
instability. To manage its exit and keep the
transitions on track for 2015 implies that U.S.
dependence on Pakistan will only rise in the
near term. Normally, this would cast a shadow on India-U.S. ties but given its temporary
character, the Indian leadership should work
to insulate the wider relationship by keeping
the focus on broader counter-terrorism
cooperation and deepening the many other
aspects of the bilateral relationship. At times
like these, patience is a strategic asset, better
used to consolidate strengths. For now, the
wheel turns, and will turn again.
(Rakesh Sood is a former diplomat who has
served as Ambassador to Afghanistan.
E-mail: rakeshsood2001@yahoo.com)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
person who is a part of the ruling
dispensation. Even if Mr. Jaitley
terms his visit to Ms. Jayalalithaas
house as a courtesy call, it cannot be
left as such. It is nothing but a blow
to moral ethics. Probity in public
life has been lost at the cost of
winning support at any cost.
Subramaniyan N.,
Chennai

Planning in new name

That the proposed apex think tank,
NITI Aayog (Jan.19), aims at
institutionalising policies, the
elimination of poverty, transparent
governance,
womens
empowerment and more inclusive
participation of vulnerable groups
is welcome. With the participation
of the heads of our democratic
structure, NITI has become more
federal conceptually. There has to
be impetus accorded to the active
monitoring of policies and
institutions, which will ensure
accountability
and
improved
efficacy in the end.
Ashutosh Dalal,
Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

The Planning Commission was a

product of the Nehruvian era and
largely the result of being taken in
by anything with a Soviet hue. The
myth was exploded after the
It is strange that Union Finance disintegration of the Soviet Union
Minister Arun Jaitley, a strong as an entity. Now that the Modi
votary of probity in public life, government has brought in
visited
AIADMK
leader dramatic changes, it augurs well for
Jayalalithaa who has been enlarged the country. Periodic assessment of
on bail by the Supreme Court NITIs working and functioning will
(Jaitley drops in on Jayalalithaa, make it alive to situations the
Jan.19). It is common knowledge country faces while on the road to
that motives will be attributed development.
K. Rajendran,
when a person convicted on
Chennai
corruption charges is met by a

Jaitleys Chennai visit

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2015

I believe that though the character

of the Planning Commission has
been changed, planning in the
country has not been sufficiently
decentralised. Though States have
been given representation, the new
body still seems to be an extension
of the PMO. The impetus to
planning will still be controlled
from the top. The need is to allow
States greater autonomy in framing
their own plans, with NITI Aayog
providing vital inputs. Only greater
freedom to plan and implement
plans from the State level down to
the village level can secure peoples
participation in planning and their
development. What is necessary too
is greater financial autonomy. The
new planning body must only work
to conduct research, find out best
practices, and audit and evaluate
the performance of States in order
to help them improve.
Prathit Charan Misra,
Allahabad

Delhi elections
The induction of Kiran Bedi as the
BJPs mascot is proof that
political parties need leaders who
represent the face of evolving
politics. Like her fellow-politician
and now rival Arvind Kejriwal, Ms.
Bedi did not enter politics through
the traditional party route, but on
the basis of her credentials as a
professional and a civil activist.
Both have caught the public fancy
because they offer a new kind of
leadership. One only hopes that
voters in Delhi will choose leaders
who promise change.
C. Koshy John,
Pune
An opportunist to the core! It is no
surprise that Ms. Bedi has joined

the BJP in order to fulfil her deep

desire to get the kind of plum
positions she has been aspiring for.
Her claim to fame is largely on
account of her Tihar jail reforms.
No one can forget the controversies
that have dogged her and which led
to a comment that there is an
element of dishonesty for a person
of her status! We are also well
aware that she went against the
NDA government only when she
was denied the top position in the
police force which she had been
longing for. Her falling out with
Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal
can also be attributed to her desire
to be in the limelight and the extent
to which she will go to achieve this.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
Going by her uncamouflaged
admiration and endorsement of
Narendra
Modis
style
of
governance, no one is surprised that
Ms. Bedi has joined the BJP. The
fact that the BJPs top leadership
has supported her shows the
political importance the party
accords to this feisty lady in its
electoral calculations. How Mr.
Kejriwal will re-strategise the AAP
campaign to outsmart his new and
formidable opponents remains to
be seen. However, Ms. Bedi cannot
forget her actions of the past and
will need to give us convincing
answers. How she has suddenly
endorsed Mr. Modi in stark contrast
to her earlier description of him
raises a flood of questions. Her
political credibility and conviction
have been rightly questioned by her
detractors. Finally, is not her move
crass opportunism?
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

10

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Ideology and the rise of terror

T
Vasundhara Sirnate

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

Short of
stalwarts
prize catch or a liability, a master stroke or a
mistake? In projecting new entrant Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate in the
Delhi Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata
Party must have entertained visions of beating the principal rival Aam Aadmi Party at its own game. Ms. Bedi,
whose post-retirement political activism was centred
on Anna Hazares anti-corruption movement, was seen
as the ideal counter to Arvind Kejriwal, who too was a
prominent member of Team Anna before forming the
AAP. The saffron partys strategy was to cut into the
freshly built vote bank of the AAP: the aspiring middle
class that had tired of the political class, perceived as
corrupt and inefficient. But in leaning too heavily on a
newcomer to lead the campaign, the BJP showed itself
up as a party that was short of stalwarts in Delhi. After
Harsh Vardhan, who was propped up as the clean,
incorruptible face of the party in Delhi in the last
election, moved to the Lok Sabha and then the Union
Cabinet, the BJP was left without a widely acceptable
leader. Whether Ms. Bedi can unite the warring factions
of the BJP, or whether she would end up adding one
more faction to the mix, is the big question. What is
certain is that Ms. Bedis entry will not be smooth; she
was earlier a strident critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Already there are murmurs of protest at the manner in which she was made the chief
ministerial candidate without broad consultations
within the party.
Like Mr. Kejriwal before her, Ms. Bedi failed to win
the support of Mr. Hazare for her political ambitions.
Mr. Hazare has stayed away from all political parties,
but for a brief spike in interest in the Trinamool Congress. Although she was a prominent face in Team Anna,
Ms. Bedi is unlikely to win the backing of all those who
had joined the anti-corruption crusade behind the
Gandhian at Delhis Jantar Mantar in 2011. She might
match Mr. Kejriwals crusading spirit, but whether she
will be able to capture the popular imagination remains
to be seen. At one level, her entry just days before the
election comes across as politically opportunist. For
the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah team, Delhi is of a different order from the Assembly polls held after the Lok
Sabha election. Here the BJP has no ally to shed, and
there can be no excuse for falling short of an absolute
majority. Anything short of a majority will likely be seen
as a failure, and not as the success of a bold experiment
of going it alone. In that sense, Delhi will be a greater
test than Maharashtra or Haryana or Jharkhand. How
far Ms. Bedi, who is expected to turn the campaign into
a direct contest between her and Mr. Kejriwal, will help
the BJP in this endeavour, remains to be seen.

he first two weeks of 2015 have not

helped moderate Muslims anywhere in the world. Between the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(Syria) [ISIS/ISIL and now IS], the Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan, Boko Haram and the renegade gunmen claiming allegiance to the alQaeda in Yemen that shot the cartoonists of
Charlie Hebdo, the world seems to have exploded in a frenzy of Islamic ideology-fuelled
killing. Reactions to Islamic radicals conducting acts of terror have been varied. Between
the Moroccan-born Mayor of Rotterdam,
Ahmed Aboutaleb, rudely telling Muslims to
get out of his country, the thousands of people
in Germany marching in an anti-Islam demonstration, anchor Jeanine Pirro on Fox
News saying we need to kill them and Rupert Murdoch tweeting about holding Muslims
collectively responsible for terrorism, common Muslims everywhere are being forced to
apologise and take responsibility for the dangerous actions of less than one per cent of the
worlds total Muslim population.

Militant Islamic movements are organisations

born out of particular configurations of geopolitics
and superpower interventions. Beginning as
resistance movements and later moving on by
aiming to create new states, their strategies have
been ideological and violent with scant regard for
human rights

ban. Raised by the Central Intelligence Agen- western intervention in West Asia and graducy (CIA) to fight the Soviet invasion in ally broadened its scope to Syria during the
Afghanistan in 1979, the Taliban went on to protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
capture power in Afghanistan after its westBoko Haram (western education is forbidern handlers left and the Cold War ended. den) arose in Nigeria in the mid-1990s as a
What followed in Afghanistan was brutal moderate Islamic group in the aftermath of
fighting between several Taliban leaders; the Biafran War, which left two million peosome of whom under Mullah Omar were able ple dead between 1967-1970 following the
to consolidate a new Afghan state. Common brutal suppression of the people of Biafra by
Afghans suffered during this period of civil the Nigerian government, supported by
war and deal brokering. Osama bin Laden, prominent western countries and oil compainitially a Taliban recruit, floated al-Qaeda, nies. Boko Haram started as a movement that
which, after 9/11, was forced into a partner- criticised the corrupt, oil-wealthy governship with the Taliban in a resistance against ment of Nigeria and became a provider for the
Insurgents as global terrorists
the American invasion of Afghanistan. The poor undertaking state-like welfare functions
People that believe such things seem to war with the U.S. destroyed whatever state in northeast Nigeria. As Boko Haram receded
have missed some key pieces of information
pertaining to the rise of some of these movements. In this piece, I will attempt to historWith the left discredited in societies with strong ethnic and
icise the rise of some militant Islamic
religious sentiments, the fallback ideology of rebellion is mostly
movements so that in our public debate we
may have balance and some context. This is
religion-based.
important because the rationalisations that
are coming our way use Islam as the driving
force behind all recent acts of terror. I believe
that we need to shift this debate onto more the Taliban had created and fragmented both into the jungles of northeast Nigeria, succeslogical terrain, i.e., we need to understand the organisations the Taliban and al-Qaeda sive governments repeatedly ignored the
conditions which beget certain types of in- leading to different splinters of the same growing radical and militant nature of the
surgent and terrorist organisations. I assert groups in West Asia and South Asia, each group.
here that Islamic ideology alone is not the practising deadlier violence to distinguish itThe place of Islam
driving force behind these organisations. Is- self from its competitors.
The Taliban, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda and IS
lamic ideology is merely the fabric in which
Similarly, IS was once known as Al-Qaeda
an articulation of inequality, marginalisation, in Iraq (AQI) led by the Jordanian terrorist Al are organisations born out of particular conand alienation is embedded or stitched. Is- Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006 in a targeted figurations of geopolitics and superpower inlamic ideology is deployed to get new recruits attack by the U.S. Air Force. In 2003, AQI terventions and invasions. They started as
to particular terrorist groups. Think of such began fighting the American occupation of resistance movements that were aimed at
ideology as an advertising strategy or a mar- Iraq. Later it merged with other small resist- creating more ideal states and opposed forketing campaign to get people to adhere to the ance groups and turned into the Mujahideen eign invasions, bad governance and despotic
political causes being championed by these Shura Council, before emerging as the ISIS regimes. These groups are trying to create
groups at the barrel of a gun.
under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Bagh- new states. This is why their strategies have
Lets start with the usual suspect, the Tali- dadi. Again, IS also emerged as a reaction to been ideological and extremely violent with

CARTOONSCAPE

Focus on public
investment
he idea that the government should lead investment revival by spending from its purse
seems to be gaining ground quickly. The
thought was first expressed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian a month ago while releasing the governments mid-year review of the
economy. Mr. Subramanian was of the opinion that
public investment may have to play a greater role to
complement and crowd-in private investment. Of
course, this had to be done within the constraints of the
fiscal situation. In an interaction with industrialists in
Chennai on Monday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
endorsed this view, saying that the government would
take some special steps to increase public investment
while pointing out that it would be a challenge to do so
within the constraint of the fiscal deficit. Mr. Jaitley
expressed the governments predicament well. It is a
fact that private investment in infrastructure is in a
comatose state thanks to over-leveraged balance sheets
and excess capacities that may take a long time to be
absorbed. The banking system is groaning under the
collective weight of the overdues of private borrowers,
and banks are clearly unwilling to lend for new projects.
Of course, some companies have already started to
repair their balance sheets by shedding assets through
mergers and acquisitions and using the proceeds to
settle their dues with banks. Clearly, though the deleveraging process has begun, it will be a while before
the private sector cleans up its act and goes for fresh
investment. The onus to stimulate a revival is, therefore, clearly on the government now. The Centre has
been appropriating a part of the bounty from falling
global oil prices in the form of higher excise duties, and
the Finance Minister is on record as saying that this
money will go directly towards building new roads and
highways and not into the Consolidated Fund of India.
This will give an impetus to the highways expansion
programme that has been struggling for want of adequate interest from private developers. But then, the
scale and quantum of public investment required is
much bigger, and this is where the government will run
into the fiscal wall. With 99 per cent of the projected
deficit for this year already accounted for in the first
eight months, headroom for additional spending is nonexistent this fiscal, even if one were to account for
bountiful proceeds from the spectrum auction that is
due next month. The focus is therefore on the coming
fiscal, and the Budget will provide an insight into the
governments plans on this front. Clearly, some tightrope walking will be required as the Centre seeks to
increase spending on infrastructure projects to compensate for private investment.

CM
YK

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Words of advice
Even though President Pranab
Mukherjees words of advice to the
political class to ensure the passage
of laws is timely, Article 108 of the
Constitution, which deals with joint
sittings of Parliament, does not
stipulate any limit regarding the
number and frequency of joint
sittings (Joint session no solution
to end Rajya Sabha logjam, Jan.
20). To conclude that a joint session
could be called whenever a Bill does
not get through would be based on a
narrow reading of Article 108.
The Opposition in the Rajya
Sabha appears to be looking out for
issues each day in order to stall the
functioning of the House. There
should be ways and means to
explore how there can be healthy
debates.
Arulur N. Balasubramanian,
Chennai
There have been a number of
incidents obstructing and stalling
the passage of important Bills. On
many an occasion, there has been
no spirit of cooperation, harmony
and purpose as both ruling party
and Opposition MPs have been
adamant and selfish without giving
any thought to how the taxpayers
money is being wasted.
Each tries to avoid finding a
solution citing previous cycles of
disturbances. The honourable
President
himself
was
a
parliamentarian not very long ago
and should note that the party to
which he belonged, the Congress,
has hardly functioned with a spirit
of cooperation and harmony in the
House. The need now is for every
political party to think about the
aspirations of the people. A
parliamentarian must think of
himself/herself as a student who
attends school regularly, fearing
and respecting the school head and

scant regard for human rights; for state formation is a messy, bloody affair. Just think of
Europe between 900 and 1900 AD.
So what about Islam? I suggest here that
Islam is the only commonly known ideology
and script in these regions in which an articulation of resistance can be embedded, which
common folk can understand, practise and
stand by. Islam gives these movements legitimacy. It gives them a discourse and it attracts
money. It is their USP. The movements are
not initially motivated by Islam but by bad
and corrupt governments, unequal power relations between countries, invasions by foreign powers and global income inequalities
made persistent by the current global economic regime where the metaphorical one
per cent has captured half of the worlds
wealth. Let us not for one moment forget that
most Muslims live in democratic countries
like India, Malaysia and Indonesia and practise their religions peacefully and within the
bounds of law. Let us also not forget that
there are strong overlaps between Muslim
countries with terrorist groups aspiring to
statehood and where there has been a prolonged war with at least one great power.
Similarly, the Algerians who killed 12 people
in France last week lived on the margins of
French society and were immigrants from a
country which had been virtually socially, economically and politically destroyed by
France, which many historians agree was always the worst country to get colonised by.
One million Algerians died to overthrow
French colonialism. This was followed by a
postcolonial regime (the FLN state) that willingly killed over 1,00,000 of its own people in
order to safeguard its oil interests backed by
western powers.

Neo-mercantilism and terror

Let me be clear that historicising these
groups does not mean that one condones
their actions. None of these groups can find
ethical support because indiscriminate violence used by IS, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, the
Taliban and their hydra-headed babies has
snatched away the human rights of thousands
of people. However, we absolutely must understand the current rise of religious extremism as what it really is the only readily
available response in a shrinking political discourse that can challenge, or even attempts to
challenge, the current world system. The left
is popularly discredited and doesnt find purchase in societies with strong ethnic and religious sentiments, so the fallback ideology of
rebellion is mostly religion-based.
If we want to make sense of terrorism we
need to launch a strong challenge to the current economic system that breeds and perpetuates global inequality and encourages a
neo-mercantilism of sorts where western nations have encouraged and backed despots to
preserve economic interests, and have undertaken military invasions to cement control
over economic and natural resources.
But we must not, under any circumstance,
demand that Muslims all over the world take
collective responsibility for the actions of a
fraction. In doing so terrorism unwittingly
wins, because the whole point about terrorism is to fracture communities, destroy social
capital and scare people into changing how
they relate to each other. The need of the hour
is to think carefully and hard about the factors and variables that have led to the formation of anti-state groups, treat each case as
unique and not indulge in religion blaming.
Terrorism and insurgency are businesses motivated by greed and grievance as Collier and
Hoeffler told us many years ago. Islam, like
any other ideology like Maoism (China and
India), Marxism (USSR) or Catholicism
(Northern Ireland) is the glue that holds the
plot together.
(Vasundhara Sirnate is the Chief
Coordinator of Research at The Hindu Centre
for Politics and Public Policy.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

the support of the Opposition

parties, and vice versa. Respecting
the other is the only way out to
establish comity and amity for a
healthy atmosphere to prevail in
The Presidents words, a noisy Parliament. One wishes that our
minority cannot be allowed to gag a elected members give credence to
patient majority, sums up the the sermons of the President in the
parliamentary logjam. The number interest of the nation.
H.P. Murali,
of sittings has shrunk from 677
Bengaluru
during the first Lok Sabha session to
357 in the 15th session.
Cancellations have become the Members of the Rajya Sabha must
order of the day, and events no be educated on the purpose for
longer newsworthy. We spend which they are elected through an
crores of rupees on elections and indirect process. Both Houses now
then waste mandays in Parliament. function like Tweedledum and
Self-interest and self-concern have Tweedledee. This was not the intent
become the factors guiding with which the Rajya Sabha, the
equivalent of the House of Lords,
parliamentary business.
A.J. Rangarajan, was created. Members of the Rajya
Chennai Sabha are dignified and experienced
seniors and they are expected to rise
Very often, the media focus on above party politics and serve the
scenes of pandemonium that nation through effective debates.
Nikhil Balan,
prevail in Parliament. The Speaker
Thiruvananthapuram
is often shown to be helpless. Why
cannot the rules be modified? For
instance, if anyone rushes to the
well of the House to protest, he or This refers to the report, U.S.
she must be debarred for the whole worried at Make in India rule
session. All members must speak (Jan.19). As the U.S. is known to
only from their designated seats. tenaciously safeguard its own
Opposition Parties must play their interests while blithely overlooking
roles
creatively.
Forms
of the interests of the less powerful
punishment and of discipline, nations with whom it has bilateral
which would be something new to cooperation, it is small wonder that
our parliamentarians, must be during his visit to the Vibrant
Gujarat summit U.S. Secretary of
considered.
Thomas Edmunds, State John Kerry voiced concern
Chennai over the push for the use of
indigenous capabilities. That this
The electorate has given its concerns the renewable energy
mandate to the ruling party to rule policy, particularly solar energy, is a
the nation for five years and fulfil its fact. If New Delhi has announced a
promises. Similarly, the Opposition series of 1,000 MW grid-connected
is expected to oppose, expose and solar photovoltaic (PV) power
tweak the ears of the government projects that has a mandatory
whenever it errs. It may sound condition that all PV cells and
philosophical, but the fact remains modules used in solar plants set up
that one hand cannot clap without under this scheme will be made in
the other. The ruling party requires India, it is apparently because the
the teachers. The season of sermons
must end.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana

U.S. & Make in India

need is to revive the ailing

manufacturing sector and also
address
the
unemployment
problem.
Even if it is imperative that the
worlds
largest
democracy
maintains a healthy relationship
with the worlds oldest, the Indian
government must ensure that
bilateral cooperation with the U.S.
is on an equal footing, irrespective
of whether it means losing out on
investments from the U.S. at the
moment. As the U.S. wields
immense power in the WTO,
Washington will most certainly
deploy its rule that prohibits
measures that discriminate against
imported goods in order to
browbeat New Delhi into toeing its
line. The U.S. needs to be reminded
that as a developed nation with a
historical responsibility to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions, it is
bound by the Copenhagen
Declaration of December 2009,
which calls on the rich,
industrialised
nations
to
economically and technologically
help developing nations like India
reduce emissions.
Nalini Vijayaraghavan,
Thiruvananthapuram

War on tobacco
The war on tobacco has to be won at
any price (Editorial, Jan.20) as it
eats into the vitals of our youth
and our nations human capital. In
this, the Act is the first right step
towards winning the war. In this
tussle between tobacco companies
(which
have
assured
and
guaranteed markets for their
products) and the government
(which tries to contain/eliminate
the
tobacco
menace
while
attempting to stand up to the
powerful tobacco lobby), the
winner should be the government. I
would suggest an online strategy
involving
counselling
and

awareness involving various health

institutions that will help reduce or
eliminate the urge to use tobacco
products. There must also be
compulsory pictorial warnings on
even single cigarettes. As a norm,
there should be fewer cigarettes/
bidis in each packet.
Th Luwangamba,
New Delhi

Notes and coins

This refers to media reports on the
Prime Minister having noted the
suggestion to issue a Rs.25 currency
note in order to overcome a
shortage of Rs.5 coins. Any such
idea will be contrary to the metric
spirit of measures introduced in the
country back in 1957. Instead, the
root cause of the shortage of five
rupee coins should be analysed. It
was only recently that there were
reports of the government planning
to reissue one-rupee notes (which
have a short lifespan) to overcome
the shortage of one-rupee coins
caused by widespread melting of the
coins. Unfortunately, the emphasis
appears to be more on short-term
measures. When it eliminated 10
paise and 25 paise coins, the
government should have abolished
50 paise coins as well. The new onerupee coin could have been the size
of the earlier 10 paise coin. But since
there was abundant stock of coinblanks in the sizes of the earlier 50
paise and one rupee coins, new
coins, for one and two rupees, were
issued in these sizes, confusing the
public. The government should
drop the idea of issuing one and 25
rupee notes and instead issue more
coins in the denominations of one
and five rupees. The five-rupee coin
should be made of stainless steel of
a thicker grade to avoid melting. A
huge amount of money can also be
saved by reducing the size of notes.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
New Delhi
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

10

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

The Muslim in liberal Europe

T
Ishtiaq Ahmed

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

The Presidents
counsel
resident Pranab Mukherjees pointed reminder to the government on the constitutional
restrictions on the resort to the ordinance
route will, it is hoped, temper the present
regimes proclivity to push through legislation by invoking the extraordinary power repeatedly. Having
signed a series of ordinances in recent weeks on the
governments advice, once or twice reportedly after
seeking a clarication on the nature of the urgency that
necessitated them, President Mukherjee has the moral
and constitutional authority to drive home the message
to the government that it ought to be mindful of the
limitations of the ordinance route. He has underscored
that ordinances can be promulgated only to meet
certain exigencies and under compelling circumstances, setting out the legal context in which the power
may be invoked. And by concurrently speaking out
against the tendency to use disruption as a means of
parliamentary intervention, Mr. Mukherjee has subtly
questioned the traditional wisdom of opposition parties that extracting an assurance or concession across
the oor by wilfully obstructing proceedings is part of a
legitimate exercise of parliamentary duties. In practice, both issues are intricately interlinked. It is often
the combination of obstinacy on the part of the Treasury Benches and the Oppositions obstructionist tactics that lead to legislative impasse and, further, to the
promulgation of ordinances. Governments are increasingly eager to avoid constructive engagement with the
opposition because the option of legislating through
the use of presidential power is available to them.
Adding impetus to this tendency is the even more
complacent belief that a lack of majority in the Upper
House can be compensated for by convening a joint
session of both Houses under certain circumstances. In
a Westminster-model parliamentary democracy, Presidents may choose silent acquiescence with Cabinet
decisions and avoid questioning the rationale behind
executive advice. However, sometimes they are justied in speaking their mind and voicing their concerns
on broad constitutional issues. What ought normally to
occasion such concerns is any hint of impropriety, the
cavalier resort to ordinances being one example. The
disruption of Parliament to the point of making it
dysfunctional is another example. The occasional piece
of advice from a President may be easily dismissed by
some as the feeble articulation of outdated principles
incompatible with what is needed to survive the unsavoury contestation that electoral politics brings with
it. However, it behoves a responsive government and a
responsible opposition to avoid breaching the limits of
constitutional propriety in their actions.

he French satirical magazine,

Charlie Hebdo is known for its irreverent approach to religion. In
the past it has published cartoons of
the Prophet. A cartoon controversy has raged
for quite some time in western Europe,
which has resulted in similar violent assaults
by incensed Muslims determined to mete out
extreme punishment on the offenders.
In a speech to the nation, the French President, Franois Hollande, described the
events as a tragedy for the nation, an obligation for us to confront terrorists. He added,
We are a free nation that does not give in.
He further asserted, We carry an ideal that
is greater than us. However, he emphasised
that such pathological behaviour was by no
means to be associated with most French
Muslims who were loyal, law-abiding citizens. Leaders of other western countries
have rallied around France. The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, described French
democracy as the paragon, which inspired
others to follow it. Others paid similar tributes and pledged support to France in the
ght against terrorism. French Muslim clerics and lay leaders have been quick to denounce the Charlie Hebdo attackers as
renegades to Islam and expressed sympathy
for the victims of the terrorist outrage.
Of the 66-million strong population in
France, ve million are Muslims, mainly Algerians but also from other former French
colonies in the Maghreb. Less than two million say they are interested in religion. Consequently, France has the biggest Muslim
population, a majority of whom are secularised and virtually integrated in French society. Such a situation is typically unacceptable
to the extremists who thrive on polarising
Muslims and non-Muslims. They deliberately seek opportunities to corroborate The
Clash of Civilizations, the thesis of the
American political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington. Huntington had famously argued
that Western and Islamic civilisations
were incompatible. As compared to the liberal, rule-oriented and law-abiding West, the
Islamic civilisation was an aggressive and
expansionist global force with a pronounced
zeal and proclivity towards violence and warfare, he asserted. He warned against Muslim
immigration to the West, and declared multiculturalism to be a failed and doomed ideal.
Such thinking has been brewing since a
long time among anti-immigration parties
and movements in western Europe. For example, a Conservative member of the British
Parliament and Minister of Health (1960-

For extremist Muslim outts, subverting the

Wests secularism, pluralism and multiculturalism
is top priority. It is important that Europe does
not let the notion of multiculturalism serve as a
means for Muslims or any other community to
obtain exemptions that conict with its overall
inclusive and equal citizenship

laws pertaining to family matters differ radically from western family law systems. Sharia law pertaining to marriage, divorce and
inheritance confers greater rights on males
whereas in the secularised western family
law system, differential rights have more or
less been eliminated. Demands for application of Sharia law to personal matters have
been raised in other countries as well.
A Pakistani journalist, Kalim Siddiqui,
greatly emboldened by the Iranian revolution, oated the notion of a Muslim parliament of Great Britain. In 1990, a Muslim
Mnifesto: a Strategy For Survival, was
launched by Siddiqui. It advocated practically the establishment of an alternative legal
system. The Muslim parliament never took
off as a representative body of British Muslims, as very few Muslims evinced interest in
Personal law and justice systems
it. However, such developments were indicaThe activities and demands of some indi- tive of cultural tensions and serious disagreeviduals and organisations among Muslims ment on values that were coming to the
inadvertently conrmed that a grand Trojan surface. In the background of the Arab-Is63), Enoch Powell delivered in Birmingham
on April 20, 1968, the infamous Rivers of
Blood speech against immigration. In it he
warned that the British people were worried
about being swamped by non-whites who
would multiply by leaps and bounds and become a source of disturbance and instability.
Such developments would culminate in rivers of blood as a result of race wars. The
British National Front, the French National
Front, and the German Neo-Nazis were the
earliest parties that took a stand against nonwhite immigrants. Holland, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavian groups too began to air
similar views. Over time, the emphasis
changed from racial terminology to explicitly
religious jargon about the Islamic threat to
Europe.

While vigilance over extremist Muslims must be maintained,

but without jeopardising the rights of Muslims in general,
immigrant communities in the West need to be properly
informed about their rights and obligations.
horse conspiracy was under way to take full
advantage of liberal immigration laws and
enter western Europe in large numbers and
then set in motion the Islamicisation of western Europe. For example in 1975, Sheikh
Syed Darsh, the head cleric of Londons main
Regents Park Mosque demanded that Islamic law, the Sharia, should be allowed to regulate Muslim personal affairs. He asserted
that both British law and Sharia aimed at
establishing justice, but Islamic justice derived from Koranic injunctions and its application to personal matters of Muslims would
only complement British justice, not subvert
it. This was of course not true because Sharia

raeli wars and the constant humiliation of

Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, anti-westernism attracted sections of Muslim
society all over the world. Moreover, from
the early 1980s, the Iranian-Saudi competition to inuence Muslims and their funding
of some organisations widened the radical
Islam constituency internationally and in
western Europe.
Mounting tensions were greatly exacerbated when in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini of
Iran issued a fatwa against writer Salman
Rushdie for his The Satanic Verses (1988),
alleging that it grievously insulted Islam.
Suddenly, the Muslim presence in a secular-

CARTOONSCAPE

Reasserting
a friendship
he visit by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to New Delhi, days after the
new government in Colombo was sworn in,
sends the clear message of an enduring friendship between the two countries. As with all such friendships, there have been phases of turbulence, but the
impression that ties had hit rock bottom under the
previous government in Sri Lanka is not correct. New
Delhi remained deeply engaged with the Rajapaksa government until the end. There were difficulties for sure,
and these have not disappeared. Sri Lankas list of complaints against India is probably long, and these would
include baiting by extremist Tamil groups in Tamil Nadu and trespassing by Indian shermen into its waters.
Differences over the former Presidents reluctance to
address post-war political and human rights issues relating to the Tamil minority led to India voting against
Sri Lanka twice at the UN Human Rights Council and
abstaining once. There was also concern when a Chinese
submarine docked in Colombo twice in a span of two
months last year. Statements by Mr. Samaraweera that
his government would correct the pro-China tilt in
foreign policy have gladdened India. At the same time,
any suggestion of a pro-India tilt by the new government is likely to make it unpopular at home, and will be
in neither sides interests in the long term. What the two
countries can do is to maximise the advantages of their
geographic proximity and age-old bonds to further common economic and strategic interests.
Indias foremost expectation from the new government would be an early settlement of the Tamil question. The top priority that President Maithripala
Sirisena has committed to give to the abolition of the
executive presidency should ideally go hand in hand
with plans to address the political aspirations of the
Tamil minority, even as it comes up with a plan to
address allegations of war crimes, disappearances and
other violations of rights of Tamil civilians. This is likely
to come up when the Sri Lankan President visits India
next month. Secondly, New Delhi is hopeful that Colombo would upgrade the existing Free Trade Agreement
with a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, for which a draft was nalised in 2008. Sri Lanka
is reluctant to sign off on it, fearing India would swamp
its economy. Given that Sri Lankan businesses only
recently began to accept that the FTA has beneted
them, a turnaround will come on CEPA too if India is
not seen as exerting pressure. Third, the two sides nalised a draft defence cooperation pact in 2003. Domestic
political compulsions in India ensured it did not progress. It could be revisited given the potential for maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.

CM
YK

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tiger census data
The report of an increase in the
number of Royal Bengal tigers in
India is very promising and an
achievement that will set us apart
from other tiger-range countries
(Giant leap for big cat, Jan.21).
This dedication to conservation
should also be replicated in
protecting other and lesser known
species like the great Indian bustard
and the snow leopard which are
battling the odds to survive. The
good news marks the impact of
political will, science and eld
efforts coming together in helping
save a species despite the pressures
of a growing human population.
Geethu Issac,
Navi Mumbai
Amid all this good news, one must
not forget that tiger conservation is
inextricably linked to the foresight
and vision of Indira Gandhi who
provided steadfast guidance to
conservation in India. In fact, one
now laments the lack of political
interest in wildlife conservation.
The government must take steps to
restore the tiger emblem in all the
denominations of currency to mark
this happy hour .
Dammalapati Shyamprasad,
Guntur
Measures such as the setting up of a
special tiger protection force and
community participation are what
have helped in the effective
management of tiger reserves.
However, the increased possibility
of man-animal conicts needs to be

A trigger for terror

However, in the aftermath of 9/11, and the
U.S.-NATO reprisals against Afghanistan,
which resulted in thousands of troops being
stationed in that country, followed by President George W. Bush ordering the invasion of
Iraq in March 2003, terrorism as the means
to express Muslim antipathy and fury against
the West gained worldwide adherents. Consequently, terrorist attacks happened in
western Europe in 2004.
While the reaction to 9/11 was no doubt the
trigger that set in motion concerns for security in Europe, such fears were compounded
by related issues that generated tension. For
a long time the French National Front had
been calling for the repatriation of Muslims
to their home countries. On the other hand,
among Muslim immigrants, despite a secularised majority, the trend to adhere more
strictly to Islamic attire and other symbols
had been gaining ground. Girls had begun to
use headscarves in schools, which were
deemed as a violation of the rules that required religion being kept out of educational
institutions. A public debate took place
which generated consensus against the hijab.
On March 15, 2004, President Jacques Chirac signed into law the Bill passed by the
French national legislature which came into
effect on September 2, 2004. However, some
women began donning an extreme form of
dress, the burqa or niqab, to mark their social
isolation when in public. It was considered as
an extremist provocation. It meant covering
the whole face and all other parts of the body.
The burqa was also banned in April 2011. The
Dutch and Belgian Parliaments have also
passed Bills banning the niqab in public; the
completion of the legal procedure is expected
to be completed soon. Elsewhere governments have either openly rejected such legislation or adopted a policy of non-action.
It is quite clear that relations between
Muslim immigrants and host societies in the
West are ridden with tensions. Concerns for
identity and collective identication are
deeply ingrained in people. Immigrants invariably carry many ties and loyalties in their
cultural and emotional baggage. There is no
doubt that contemporary Muslims and Westerners have been socialised and groomed in
very different ideals and values. Such socialisation is not absolute; change and transformation are possible, but such processes
are very slow and never quite complete. No
doubt terrorist activities among Muslims are
up until now conned only to some individuals and a few organisations, but extremist
Muslims including the al-Qaeda pursue a determined policy to polarise Muslims and
non-Muslims across the world. Therefore,
subverting secularism, pluralism and multiculturalism in the West enjoys top priority in
their strategy to gain power and inuence. It
is important that the European state should
not let the notion of multiculturalism serve
as a means for Muslims or any other community to obtain legal exemptions and exemptions that conict with the overall inclusive
and equal citizenship that applies to most of
Europe. Equally, it is important that vigilance and surveillance of extremist Muslims
is maintained and improved upon but without jeopardising the rights of Muslims in
general to equal treatment under the law.
Immigrant communities need to be properly
informed about not only their rights but also
obligations. Without such a dialogue and understanding, the future of multiculturalism
and pluralism is bleak in western Europe.
(Ishtiaq Ahmed is visiting professor at the
Lahore University of Management Sciences,
Professor Emeritus, Stockholm University,
and Honorary Senior Fellow, Institute of
South Asian Studies, Singapore.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

tackled by facilitating tiger

movement between forests.
Amala S. Maheswari,
Kozhikode

India with stiff penalties and

sentencing in the case of all
offences.
Annabel Wright,
Mysuru

I am afraid this is only going to

encourage poachers to step up their
activities. The fact is that forest
departments across India are
understaffed and lack the teeth to
take on smuggling and poaching
gangs. The government needs to be
vigilant against such elements. I
also wish that the government uses
this occasion to reintroduce the
cheetah which once roamed the
plains of India.
S. Ranganathan Iyengar,
Chennai

Ideology and terror

The news should not lull

conservationists into a state of
complacency. The tiger may be
gradually winning the battle for
survival but it should not hide the
plight of the leopard, a smaller cat
which also shares the habitat of the
tiger in many parts of India.
Leopards enjoy protection under
the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972
as they are listed in Schedule I of the
Act. Permission to kill them is given
only when they turn man-eaters.
But even then, they get killed in
signicant numbers. In Madhya
Pradesh, for instance, humanleopard conict led to 140 recorded
leopard deaths between 2008 and
2013. At this rate, there wont be any
leopards left in central India. The
media too is to blame for spreading
fear and panic about the leopard.
What is needed is a holistic
approach to wildlife conservation in

ised, Christian society, where freedom of expression and opinion was rmly entrenched,
drew attention not only of the authorities
who were keen to maintain law and order but
also the general public. The public debate
polarised around those on the left who
thought Rushdie had played into the hands of
the West by writing a book scurrilous of the
Prophet of Islam while mainstream politicians and media denounced the fatwa and the
death sentence as being illegitimate.

I totally disagree with the writer in

her argument that Islam gives
legitimacy to so-called extremism
and militancy (Ideology and the
rise of terror, Jan.21). Islam
advises its followers to be extreme
in their faith. It doesnt mean giving
permission to people to kill
innocents.
Basheer Misbahi,
Malappuram, Kerala

Mead: Never doubt that a small

group of thoughtful, committed
individuals can change the world, in
fact it is the only thing that ever
has.
Rajesh Tripurneni,
Vijayawada
The writer has correctly analysed
that Islam is not the driving force
behind violent organisations and it
being merely the fabric in which an
articulation
of
inequality,
marginalisation, and alienation is
embedded or stitched. Her
excellent research also demolishes
the thesis that seeks to establish a
link between Islamist terrorism
and the prevalence of medieval laws
in some Muslim societies. The truth
is that a reformation of Muslim laws
that are out of sync with the
humanitarian spirit of Islam is an
ongoing process and will go on
irrespective of the existence of
violent extremism. Militancy, on
the other hand, has to be assayed in
the context of politico-economic
situations prevalent in societies
where such violence takes place, as
pointed out by the writer. Seeing it
purely as a result of medieval laws
or a lack of reform is a simplism
which, in most cases, is based on a
cocktail of prejudice, ignorance and
imprudent foolhardiness.
A. Faizur Rahman,
Chennai

The one aspect that binds the

different factions of militant
Islamic movements and operating
under different names is the
ideological interpretation they
attempt to propagate. Those
spreading vitriol miss the point that
no religion instigates one to bear
arms against an innocent victim.
Recent incidents of terror in India
point to the fact that the problem is
not just one that concerns the West
or is specic to the Arab world. As
the writer concludes, the need of
the hour is to think. India can work
with the GCC countries to exchange
sensitive information regarding
rogue operatives. We need to give
Muslim youth a chance to progress
through better education and
empowerment.
Quelling
Islamophobia requires action. The The change at the helm of
community must take it upon itself The Hindu augurs well for the
to spread the message of further growth of the newspaper as
brotherhood. I quote Margaret the emerging challenges require a

New Editor

dynamic editor to navigate this

media and knowledge industry
outlet on the right course. It is
hoped that as an eminent journalist,
Dr. Malini Parthasarathy will help
disseminate the truth and opinions
on public-interest and sociopolitical issues all across the globe.
K. Chellappan,
Chennai
As a 60-year-old addict of
The Hindu, I wholeheartedly
welcome the news. I hope that this
will provide, among other things, an
opportunity to seek reader feedback
through readership and research
surveys in order to remain dynamic
and customer-focussed.
H.K. Lakshman Rao,
Chennai
One recollects the bold and
forthright interview that Dr.
Parthasarathy had with the former
President of Pakistan, Pervez
Musharraf, the rst-ever such
interview by an Indian journalist.
One is certain that the Editor will
not only strive to maintain
The Hindus pre-eminent position
as the most respected English
newspaper in India but also as the
most trusted daily.
C.V. Venugopalan,
Palakkad
Every woman should be proud of
Dr. Parthasarathys achievement.
As a reader of The Hindu and as a
woman, I am doubly happy over her
elevation.
Meenakshi Pattabiraman,
Madurai
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Going beyond bonhomie

V
M.K. Narayanan

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015

The science of
saving tigers
ndia is unique in having a significant number of
tigers in the wild, in spite of growing population
and resource extraction pressures on their habitat. The latest estimate of tigers in various landscapes published by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests claims an appreciable rise in numbers of the big
cat. That there could be as many as 2,226 tigers in the
country up from 1,706 four years ago in nature
reserves ranging from the hills in the Northeast to central Indian forests and the Western Ghats, besides the
mangrove-rich Sundarbans delta, gives India a special
place on the global conservation map. Clearly, some
States deserve credit for strengthening the protection of
wild tigers since the notorious wipeout in Sariska a
decade ago. Such conservation measures, notably the
extension of protected area boundaries, must continue.
Yet, as credentialed scientists are pointing out, the numbers available from the latest count may merely indicate
the presence of tigers in a given area, rather than serve as
the conclusions of a definitive census. What they highlight is the need to improve those aspects of the ecology
that lead to a rise in numbers voluntary relocation of
forest-dwellers from core forests, a severe crackdown on
the hunting of prey animals, improved patrols against
poaching, safeguards against harmful land-use changes
and constant monitoring using scientific methods.
The science of conserving tigers, arguably the most
charismatic animals on the planet, is increasingly focussed on saving source populations of the cat. These
are defined in the literature as sites where more than 25
breeding females can be hosted, in turn embedded in a
larger landscape that can potentially have more than 50
female tigers and which enjoy protection. By some accounts, 70 per cent of the worlds tigers are to be found
in such sites; in India, 90 per cent of the population is
part of 30 or 40 major source populations. As the Wildlife Conservation Society has pointed out, conservation
of this stock holds the key to achieving a significant rise
in their numbers in the coming years potentially,
India could have several thousand more if it provides
them the requisite space and the connected landscapes
that facilitate dispersal. In the current counting exercise, the Centre has done well to include non-governmental experts and rely on improved methods such as
camera trapping, although it is yet to move to continuous monitoring and annual assessments. The government must be open to the idea of more intensive
research within forests to protect the tiger and other
endangered species, and adopt a liberal approach to
permit bona fide independent scientists to work in protected areas. The encouraging status report on tigers
awaits refinement and confirmation in March.

isits to India by world leaders are

routinely high profile events. A visit
by the President of the United
States has the added attraction of
high expectations. President Barack Obamas
coming visit the second during his Presidency has raised expectations by several
notches and greatly raised the stakes, coming
as it does so soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modis highly successful visit to the
U.S.
U.S. Presidents, in their second term, tend
to be generally more expansive in their attitude towards India than during their first
term. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush demonstrated this in ample measure.
Mr. Obama did not, however, wait for his
second term to demonstrate his desire to
strengthen the relationship with India. The
effusive welcome that he afforded former
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009,
including holding his first State Banquet in
honour of the Indian leader is part of diplomatic folklore in Washington and New Delhi.
Mr. Obama would no doubt retain warm
memories of the tumultuous reception he
received when he addressed the Indian Parliament during his visit in 2010. The visit, in
effect, demonstrated that the era of estranged democracies had come to an end and
the era of engaged democracies had come
into being. This time, if anything, a warmer
welcome awaits him, as the first U.S. President to be the chief guest at the Republic Day
celebrations on January 26.

Natural allies, global partners

In contrast, visits of Indian Prime Ministers to Washington have generally been low
key and strictly limited to the business on
hand. Mr. Modi broke this mould during his
September 2014 visit to the U.S. His was a
visit rich in symbolism and, at times, as in the
case of his Madison Square Garden appearance, a high profile media event. This was
among the many departures from established practice and protocol that Mr. Modi effected with excellent results.
It is difficult to see how the rhetoric employed by both sides during the Prime Ministers visit to the U.S. can be bettered. On his

A Modi-Obama summit provides an opportunity

for an all-encompassing look at geopolitics and
geoeconomics across the region and beyond. This
option should not be foreclosed by concentrating
on the smaller items

part, Mr. Modi went much beyond former

Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayees reference to
India and the U.S. as being natural allies,
and substantially raised the bar when he said
that India and the U.S. are natural global
partners embodying the enduring and universal relevance of their shared values. The
Prime Minister further added that the complementary strengths of India and the U.S.
could be used for inclusive and broad-based
global development to transform lives across
the world.
There is considerable scope, however, for
fine-tuning many of the issues that were discussed in Washington which require satisfactory closure such as clean energy, the
Bilateral Investment Treaty, climate change
issues, WTO-related matters, foreign direct

sults. India-U.S. relations are replete with

instances of this kind. Old-timers will recall
the excitement concerning U.S. President Eisenhowers visit to India in 1959, only to be
followed soon thereafter by a U.S. tilt towards Pakistan, and a stream of military and
other forms of aid to that country. Mr. Clintons visit to India during his second term did
lead to a perceptible thaw in India-U.S. relations, but the visit itself did not produce a
new dawn in terms of the relationship.
On the other hand, low key visits do sometimes produce dramatic results. Dr. Singhs
visit to Washington in 2005 hardly compares
with that of Mr. Modis in 2014 in terms of
coverage and publicity, but the results were
near transformational. The first significant
breach in the nuclear Great Wall, leading to

The coming two years are critical if India and the U.S. are to
achieve the full potential in terms of their relationship.
the dismantling of the nuclear apartheid regime occurred during this visit.
Likewise, the visit of President Bush to
India in 2006 hardly compares with the kind
of adulation showered on his successor, but it
produced a critical breakthrough relating to
the Separation Plan (viz., separation of Indias strategic military weapons programme
from its civilian nuclear programme), an essential component for finalisation of the India-U.S. nuclear deal. The personal
involvement of the U.S. President and the
Indian Prime Minister was crucial for this, as
at one stage negotiations had virtually
Visits and the results
collapsed.
There are certain inherent risks connected
Dr. Singhs visit to the U.S. in 2009
with high profile visits and summit diploma- another low key visit led to taking the final
cy. Seldom do they lead to anticipated re- step, thus paving the way for India to trade in

investment (FDI) and Intellectual Property

Rights. None of these items is however likely
to set the Jamuna on fire. Renewal of the
Defence Framework Agreement (first signed
in 2005 as a prelude to the visit of Dr. Singh to
Washington) and the Defence Technology
and Trade Initiative again will hardly
amount to a breakthrough in relations that
both sides seek. This is the age of teleology,
and the second Modi-Obama summit will in
all likelihood be judged by the quality of the
dialogue rather than the number of agreements signed.

CARTOONSCAPE

Dispute over ICC

intervention
he recent decision of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou
Bensouda, to open a preliminary examination
of alleged war crimes committed during Israels military offensive on Gaza in June 2014 is once
again stirring up Israel-Palestine relations, and polarising the global politics around it. This decision of the
ICC follows Palestines accession to the Rome Statute
earlier this month and its acceptance of the jurisdiction
of the ICC over crimes committed in the occupied
Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since
June 13, 2014. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
as well as Hamas have welcomed this move, while
Israel, which has signed but not ratified the Rome
Statute, has strongly denounced it. Until Palestine
joined the ICC, Israel was principally in favour of the
Court, but is now clearly infuriated by it. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the ICCs
move outright and is lobbying with states such as Canada, Australia and Germany to withhold their funding to
it. Attempting to delegitimise the Court, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told an Israeli radio station:
This body represents no one. It is a political body
There are quite a few countries that also think there is
no justification for this bodys existence. Israel has
frozen tax funds it collects on behalf of Palestinians.
Some of the points of criticism against the ICC are in
fact valid. These are that the juridical nature of the ICC
tends to hinder the peace process rather than build it,
and that with an arguably grim record the Court has
been ineffective and slow in investigating crimes. Also,
Israel claims to be fighting the war against Hamas that
it considers a terrorist organisation; so the move of the
ICC, it argues, amounts to an absurdity. Such reasons,
although partly true, still do not trump the need for an
international criminal justice system to adjudicate war
crimes. First, the role of the ICC must be clearly understood. The ICC is not meant to be a political body
mediating a peace process; it is envisaged as a judicial
body meant to end impunity and hold accountable
those who have committed the gravest of crimes. Given
this, even if the ICC may harm a peace process, which
in the case of Israel-Palestine is anyway in deadlock,
the politics of peace cannot prevail over justice, accountability for heinous crimes, and the upholding of
dignity, womens rights and other human rights. Second, even if the ICC is a slow and ineffective mechanism, holding those responsible for human rights
violations in war crimes is necessary. Third, the investigation is against any person who may have committed war crimes during the conflict. So, both Hamas
and Israel would be under the ICCs investigation.

CM
YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Presidents counsel
While
President
Pranab
Mukherjee has given both the
ruling party and the Opposition
food for thought by cautioning
them against frequently stalling
Parliament and taking recourse to
the ordinance route, he could have
worded his observation to reflect
this: a noisy minority cannot be
allowed to gag a patient majority
as the majority must accede to the
legitimate pleas of the minority
where national interest is
involved (Editorial, Jan.22).
The Oppositions legitimate
insistence on the Prime Minister
breaking his silence on ghar vapsi
is not to be seen as disruption of
the Rajya Sabha. The government
is to blame for creating a situation
where legislative business cannot
be carried out. The coming budget
session should see a working
rapport between the government
and the Opposition. The BJP that
earlier obstructed Parliament on
the issue of corruption does not
have the moral right to deny the
same privilege to the Opposition
on the issue of communalism. It
would be particularly interesting
to watch how the government
manages the hallowed floor and
how Hindutva groups ensure the
smooth running of Parliament.
G. David Milton,
Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Tiger triumph
Rather than creating hype over the
achievement of reversing a
dramatic fall in the wild tiger
population (Giant leap for big
cat,Jan.21), the issue calls for a
prudent and sensible approach.
One should bear in mind the fact
that numbers can be deceptive,
especially when it comes to wild
animal populations. The story of
the passenger pigeon that once
darkened the skies in their millions

is a classic case. A stable and

healthy population of tigers can be
ensured
only
through
the
systematic preservation of their
natural habitat.
I am also deeply alarmed by the
statement, with so many tigers,
India could send them to countries
where there was demand for
them. It is not clear whether this
stand has official sanction. The
Royal Bengal tiger is a true denizen
of India and it should be free to
roam the wilderness of our land. It
cannot replace tiger subspecies in
other lands. One must also
remember that there is a growing
demand for the tiger for its
claws, teeth, skin and other body
parts.
Such
thoughtless
pronouncements
must
not
threaten the future of this beast.
Sandhya S.,
Thiruvananthapuram
It works out to be an average
increase of just above 100 tigers per
annum pan-India, with the
southwestern States leading the
way in helping the tiger bounce
back. A lot can be attributed to the
use of cutting-edge technology, a
positive attitude towards the forest
services, better management of
reserves
and
anti-poaching
measures.
However,
the
Sundarbans in West Bengal,
Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana have reported a fall in
numbers or no increase. A lot can
be learnt from Keralas Periyar
Tiger Reserve where forestdwellers have been made partners
in management and where tourism
has been supplemented with
pepper-growing
and
honey
processing
activities
among
indigenous self-help groups.
The Nagarjunasagar Srisailam
Tiger Reserve (Andhra Pradesh)
and the Kawal Reserve (Adilabad),
now important tiger habitats, can
also adopt plans to involve locals.
There must also be an attempt to

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015

nuclear materials with countries across the

globe. This was a one-of-a-kind international
agreement, seldom seen in the diplomatic
history of nations.
It is not often in a generation that an opportunity for a meeting of minds of this kind
occurs. Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi must,
hence, set their sights high, to try and produce a transformational impact. Without belittling the efforts needed to sort out prickly
issues such as the Nuclear Liability Law
(which has been holding up India-U.S. nuclear cooperation), as also other steps required
to enhance the political and military dialogue
further by renewing the U.S.-India Defence
Framework Agreement for another ten
years, the opportunity provided by the Summit should be utilised for some big ticket
items.
The world is, today, at a tipping point. At
one level, geography and nationalism are
striking back with renewed vigour. Across
continents, nations appear to be reverting to
the syndrome of fractured smaller States (already evident in West Asia). There is a growing arc of violence and upheavals in regions
like West Asia. As radicalist ideas and beliefs
gain ascendancy in the region and beyond,
the spectre of asymmetric warfare and terrorism haunts many regions.

Chinas assertiveness
At another level, the world has to take note
of Chinas increasing assertiveness not only in dealing with issues directly affecting its
territorial claims but going well beyond the
Nine-dash-lines that it had historically
limited itself to. There are again signs of a
growing rapprochement between Russia and
China, with oil diplomacy paving the way
for reinforcement of military ties. The intention is possibly to counter the U.S. pivot
towards Asia, but the Russia-China axis will
have an impact elsewhere as well, including
in West Asia, of eroding the influence of
countries like the U.S. and India. Internal
developments in China, even as President Xi
Jinping seeks to emerge as Chinas most
powerful leader since Deng Xiaoping, also
merit careful assessment.
A summit of this nature thus provides an
opportunity for an all-encompassing look at
geopolitics and geoeconomics across the region and beyond. This option should not be
foreclosed by concentrating on the smaller
items. A comprehensive discussion of this
nature would be a significant outcome worthy of a summit of this nature. The Prime
Ministers statement that India and the U.S.
are natural global partners would then ring
true.
Possibly what is most important for the
two leaders is to establish an exceptional
level of trust, and reinforce their personal
chemistry going beyond mere bonhomie.
This is vital if they are to cut through bureaucratic tangles at critical junctures. The IndiaU.S. nuclear deal is a prime example of what
can be achieved when two leaders have full
trust in each other, for it was this level of
trust that led to the resolution of extremely
difficult issues when the respective bureaucracies appeared adamant in holding fast to
their viewpoints.
Mr. Obama has two more years in office,
while Mr. Modi will have more years thereafter. The coming two years are critical if India
and the U.S. are to achieve the full potential
in terms of their relationship. It is, hence,
important that the leaders are not deflected
from the key task of strengthening their personal bonds for this could well be the most
valuable asset in their armoury to sort out
not only mutual problems, but also a range of
global issues.
(M.K. Narayanan is a former National
Security Adviser and former Governor of
West Bengal.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
blue-collar workers in some West
Asian countries are well-known.
The only way forward for the
community to come out of the
growing isolation is to overcome
self-pity and move towards
The most glaring omission in integrating itself with the society it
Professor
Ishtiaq
Ahmeds lives in and adopts.
Prem Kumar Gutty,
comprehensive analysis of the
New Delhi
causes of terrorism (The Muslim
in liberal Europe, Jan.22) is the
sinister impact of Saudi Arabias
militant Wahhabi Islam on world It is a shame that we have denied
Muslims in general and Muslims in our fellow humans their share of
the liberal West in particular. the earth. The Right to Education
Following the massacre of over 130 Act is a long-awaited apology. Let
schoolchildren
in
Peshawar every child learn, and let her learn
recently, The Dawn commented with pride (Dealing with first
editorially that the increasing generation school-goers, Jan.20).
influence
in
Pakistan
of
Shalini Harilal,
Wahhabism played an important
New Delhi
role in it. An article in The Irish
Times (Time to lift the veil on Many children have been deprived
Saudi Arabias hijacking of Islam, of the right to education because of
Jan.13), following the Charlie poverty, and the RTE has become
Hebdo killings, asserted: For the their ray of hope for a better future.
vast majority of Muslims, the Education is the only way to get out
running story of sacrilege and of the vicious circle of poverty,
provocation is not a few cartoons in unemployment and illiteracy. In
secularist European newspapers; it addition, all students need a
is the Saudi iconoclastic attack on committed teacher. How do we
veneration of the Prophet. And yet ensure that a first-generation
we never hear about this when the school-goer gets all this?
Shaikh Jamir Munir,
question of insulting the Prophet
New Delhi
or disrespecting the sacred
traditions of Islam is raised in
Europe .... My advice to Muslims I studied in a small town in
living in the West is simple: Telangana till Class 10. The
teachers who taught me never
Physician, heal thyself.
M. Riaz Hasan, shunned a first-generation learner.
Hyderabad They took it upon themselves to
put in extra efforts to teach those
While the article did well in kids and ensure that they imbibed
dwelling on the causes of rising what was being taught. The
Muslim terrorism, it should not problems of a first-generation
foster any idea that the world learner, and as I see it, intensifies
should excuse the perpetrators. when a teacher is not given the
Another missing point is that autonomy to design an individual/
almost
every
immigrant group academic programme.
community has problems and this Unless this issue is rectified, the
is not confined to the Muslim process of a social transformation
community. In Islamic states, non- will not be complete.
Sarayu Sankar,
Muslims are not exactly treated
Chennai
like royalty. The horror stories of

establish
corridors
between There must now be a tiger security
different reserves.
force to deal with tiger poaching.
M. Vishal Rao,
Surbhi Jalan,
Hyderabad
New Delhi
The assessment of the status of the
tiger in 2014 has come up with a
median estimate of 2,226,
compared with 1,706 in 2010, and a
rise spanning all but five of Indias
18 tiger-range States. The census,
seeking to estimate tigers in Indias
47 reserve areas and adjacent
forests, has suggested that their
population
has
increased
especially in Bihar, Karnataka and
Uttarakhand. In effect, teams have
relied
on
9,735
cameras
strategically positioned across a
land area of 3,78,000 sq.km in 18
States. It is also known that
cameras have recorded 1,540
individual tigers and that wildlife
scientists used mathematical
models to compute the minimum
number of tigers in those areas at
1,945, assigned a maximum figure
of 2,491 and calculated the median
estimate at 2,226. Of course this is
a tiny figure when one recalls that
India had an estimated 50,000
tigers some two centuries ago.
F.A. Sulthanbi,
Madurai
There should be urgent steps
initiated now to ensure a safe and
comfortable habitat for this
growing
population.
With
inadequate space in forests, there
are chances of tigers encroaching
into settlements, leading to mananimal conflict. Also, the biggest
threat to tigers comes from
growing encroachment into ecosensitive and protected areas. A
visit to most of our famous
sanctuaries will show that lodges
and resorts have proliferated
around their periphery at an
alarming pace. Tiger shows
inside reserves where meal baits
are used to attract tigers in front of
tourists must also be monitored.

The Muslim in Europe

On learners

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Intangibles and deliverables

I
Jayant Prasad

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015

Restoring
crickets purity
or far too long, an impression had gained
ground that the Indian cricket board is but the
fiefdom of a few individuals. The Indian Premier League case in the Supreme Court garnered attention among the public mainly in the light of
the possible consequences it could have for its president-in-exile and International Cricket Council chairman, N. Srinivasan. The Court has now dealt with his
conflict of interest issue firmly, barring him and others
with an interest in IPL teams from contesting elections
in the Board of Control for Cricket in India. However, it
has declined to hold him guilty of the charge of wrongdoing and rejected the charge that he tried to cover up
the betting charges against his son-in-law and Chennai
Super Kings team official Gurunath Meiyappan. It rejects the position of the BCCI that there is nothing
wrong in allowing its office-bearers to have a commercial interest in events such as the IPL that are organised
for commercial purposes, unlike representative cricket.
By striking down the amendment that enabled such
conflicts of interest, and mandating an independent
committee to streamline the Boards functioning, the
Court has done the groundwork for removing some of
the malaises afflicting sports administration in India. It
marks the beginning of what ought to be a long process
of cleaning up a game that has an enormous following in
the country, but is also struggling to preserve its purity
in an era of unbridled commercialism. It is also an
affirmation of the Mukul Mudgal committees findings.
The most welcome feature is that the verdict addresses the BCCIs credibility deficit in more ways than one.
First, it bars an office-bearer from holding a commercial
interest in events organised by it; or, conversely, it bars
those with such an interest from contesting for elective
office. Second, it places the interests of the game, especially its reputation among its fans and its institutional
integrity, at the heart of cricket administration, which
will now be treated as a public function, even though the
BCCI is a private body. And thirdly, it has taken the
disciplinary jurisdiction regarding individuals and
teams found guilty of wrongdoing in the betting scandal
of the IPLs 2013 edition out of the BCCIs hands and
vested it in a committee of three eminent former judges.
Finally, the same committee, comprising a former Chief
Justice of India and two others formerly with the Supreme Court, will suggest reforms and changes in the
rules and regulations. In essence, the Court has sought
to emancipate cricket administration from the whims of
individuals and impose much-needed restraints on
overweening ambition, non-transparent practices, and
the cover-up of unsavoury developments.

n two days, U.S. President Barack Obama will grace Indias Republic Day celebrations with his presence. Prime
Minister Narendra Modis invitation to
him to do so was not impulsive, though it took
Mr. Obama by surprise. It is an affirmation of
Indias willingness to invest in its relationship with the United States, and signals Indias belief that the two countries are good for
each other. During his visit to Washington
last September, Mr. Modi got a sense of the
perception of India held by the U.S. leadership its administration, business, and
Congress. Finding positive resonance, he decided to request a return visit from Mr. Obama, who accepted the invitation upon
realising its significance.
It is in its intangibles that this visit will be
evaluated, not just on the balance sheet of
deliverables. The Obama visit served its
main purpose simply when announced,
quipped Ambassador K.S. Bajpai. It signalled
that India can again be taken seriously, and
that America is in the forefront of doing so.
Much of what will happen next will depend on
Indias economic trajectory and the diligent
management of relations by the leadership of
the two countries.

When they meet, the core challenge before

Narendra Modi and Barack Obama will be how
best to harness their personal and national
goodwill towards each other for positive outcomes
that relate to the concerns of the common people
The bilateral relationship has considerably
evolved from the early decades of estrangement, which were punctuated by positive exchanges that did not leave a long-term
impact. The Cold War legacy of viewing India
as a nuisance is long since over. Mr. Obama
looks at India-U.S. ties as one of the defining
partnerships of the 21st century.
Indeed, there has been a steady transformation of India-U.S. relations from about the
end of Mr. Clintons presidency. Though
modest, bilateral trade has shown a consistent upward trajectory. India is a serious
buyer of U.S. weapons, and carries out more
military exercises with U.S. forces than those
of any other country. There are more Indian
students in the U.S. than anywhere else, and
the Indian diaspora is nowhere more prosperous than there. Among the great powers,
the U.S. has done the most to extricate India

tiative to propel co-development and joint

production of defence equipment and platforms. On co-production, after initial reticence, India has indicated a willingness to
proceed on four of the 17 items on offer, and
has presented a supplementary list of 13
more. In the talks thus far, possible agreement is confined to two modest proposals, the
short-range UAV Raven and a surveillance
module for the C-130 Hercules aircraft. The
rest will be considered only down the line.
Indias military modernisation cannot be
done without proactive cooperation with the
U.S. India needs greater deterrence capacity,
including a bigger naval presence in the IndoPacific. A case in point on what more can be
done is underwater drones. These can be used
at ocean choke points, such as the Strait of
Malacca, which abuts the Andaman Sea,
through which a Chinese nuclear attack sub-

A two-way street
Indias invitation to the U.S. President
came at a time when both the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
predicted that India is on its way to overtake
Chinas growth. Indeed, the economic outlook has turned optimistic on both sides, a
contrast to 2008-2009, when growth subsided and bilateral relations became ambivalent.
With cheaper energy and recovery of manufacturing, U.S. industrial employment has increased. Mr. Modis meetings in New York
and Washington convinced American businesses about a potential exponential spurt in
India-U.S. commercial exchanges and investments.
U.S. mandarins and think tank experts remain somewhat sceptical, however. They insist that any relationship is a two-way
street, and that a pronounced pro-American
affirmation was missing in Mr. Modis discourse. During his interaction with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Ken
Juster reflected these concerns when he
asked Mr. Modi about Indias vision for a
strategic partnership with the U.S., and the
potential for collaboration between them to
work on regional and global issues. Mr. Modis answer got lost in translation. Meanwhile, sections of the Washington lite are
trying to muddy the optics of Mr. Obamas
visit by making fun of his lame duck tour to
watch a parade, allegedly neglecting his domestic agenda.

The U.S. government appears anxious about Indias

regulatory environment, intellectual property rights protection
standards, local content provisions, and the absence of
a bilateral investment treaty.

from a technology denial regime, bringing the marine passed last autumn. Following a joint
two closer than ever.
U.S.-Singapore exercise last October, the U.S.
Chief of Naval Operations confirmed U.S.-led
Bilateral drivers of the relationship underwater surveillance cooperation with
When they meet, the core challenge of the Australia, Japan, Korea and Singapore. Can
two leaders will be how best to harness their the U.S. help India develop and build underpersonal and national goodwill towards each sea and high-altitude drones, or help us lease
other for positive outcomes that relate to the a nuclear submarine? That could capture the
concerns of the common people.
imagination of Indians.
India and the U.S. need each other because
The U.S. government appears anxious
better ties will help create more jobs, growth about Indias regulatory environment, inteland development. Within the wide spectrum lectual property rights (IPR) protection stanof the India-U.S. engagement, the areas of dards, local content provisions, and the
defence, energy, and technology hold the absence of a bilateral investment treaty.
greatest promise. The employment-generat- There is an exaggerated fear of compulsory
ing Make in India effort, focussed on power, licensing for pharmaceuticals. Indias exclucommunications, electronics, and high-tech- sion from the Trans-Pacific Partnership nenology engineering, is not for providing shod- gotiations is held as an example of India being
dy goods for the home market but to make a trade outlier.
India globally competitive. With the worlds
The U.S. helped resolve Indias concerns
best technology, the U.S. will be Indias pre- about agricultural subsidy, thereby paving
ferred partner in this endeavour.
the way for the World Trade Organizations
On defence cooperation, the challenge is to agreement on trade facilitation. India has inutilise the Defence Framework Agreement troduced market reforms in its own interest.
and the Defence Trade and Technology Ini- Its recovery is being propelled by improved

CARTOONSCAPE

Another Ebola
battle won
n January 18, the World Health Organization
and the Malian government declared Mali
free of the Ebola virus disease. Mali is the
third country after Nigeria and Senegal to
become free of the deadly disease. A country should
have had no new cases of Ebola for a continuous period
of 42 days, which is a cycle of two incubation periods of
21 days, for it to be declared free of the virus. This is a
particularly remarkable achievement for Mali, given
the fact that it shares a porous, 800-km-long border
with Guinea. After all, on December 26, 2013, the first
case of Ebola virus that led to the unprecedented crisis
in West Africa was found in a remote village in Guinea.
Also, Mali became the sixth West African country to
record a case of Ebola when a two-year-old girl with
symptoms arrived from Guinea in October last year.
Even in this moment of victory, Mali has to remember
that it has now only won a battle. As long as the war
against Ebola remains unfinished in West Africa as a
whole, Mali must not lower its guard as new cases can
always come up. After all, the country once experienced
a similar situation in November 2014 when it came so
close to being declared free of the Ebola virus, before a
second wave of infections delayed such a declaration.
The good news is that there has been a turning point
in the Ebola crisis with the number of new cases reported in the three worst-affected countries Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea falling in recent weeks.
According to the WHO, as on January 21, 2015 all of
8,683 people have died of Ebola, and the number of
cases so far is more than 21,759.
In all, if only eight cases and six deaths occurred in
Mali, which are fewer than Nigeria with 20 cases and
eight deaths, the reason for that is the unprecedented
efforts to contain the disease from the very beginning.
Starting with tracing every person who had come in
contact with the sick girl on her journey from Guinea
and, at one point, placing nearly 600 people under daily
observation, the government, health workers and citizens acted aggressively to stamp out the disease before
it turned into a crisis situation. The massive public
awareness campaign, monitoring along the border, a
fully geared public health system and precautions taken
by people on their own helped Mali to stamp out the
virus. Of course, the sombre awareness of the crisis
playing out in the three worst-affected countries had a
major role to play in this process. India has a lesson to
learn from the way Nigeria and Mali have handled the
Ebola outbreaks. Though some vital precautionary
steps were taken, the small number of centres that are
capable of testing for the virus and the lack of quarantine facilities at major airports indicate a low level of
preparedness to counter the virus.

decision-making, targeted deregulation, increased infrastructure investment, and greater business confidence. India remains
committed to an open, rule-based international trading regime. To expect it to accept a
higher standard on IPR protection, above and
beyond Indias existing multilateral commitments, will be unrealistic.
India has counter-concerns about protectionism and the new U.S. immigration law
and has mildly protested in WTO discussions
against the U.S. Buy America legal provisions. The U.S. refusal to negotiate a Totalization Agreement with India really rankles,
when countries like Finland and Sweden have
concluded such an agreement with India. Indian H-1B workers contribute, by way of involuntary deductions, an estimated $3
billion annually to the U.S. Social Security
Trust Fund towards pensions they will never
receive because their stay in the U.S. will not
be long enough.
On climate change, the Sino-U.S. agreement is being held out as an example for India
to emulate. Chinas current emissions are
four times larger than Indias and over twice
that of the U.S. Given the wide gap between
the emissions of India and China, as also the
different levels of economic development, the
question of India capping its emissions is
premature. Indias focus instead will be on
practical cooperative measures on energy efficiency and non-conventional sources of energy, again a key area of India-U.S.
partnership.
The bilateral agenda is full and there are
clear issues on the table from both sides.
While officials have been labouring belowthe-radar to untangle some of these, the directions from the leadership will provide
breakthroughs over time, as India-U.S. exchanges have demonstrated, most notably on
the civil nuclear agreement.

The strategic relationship

If the India-U.S. relationship is to become
more robust, there has to be greater strategic
entente. This must start with Indias neighbourhood, where the historic policy discordance has abated, but not been fully bridged.
On China, though uncoordinated, there is
now a remarkable similarity of approach.
Both India and the U.S. seek comprehensive
engagement with China, are reinforcing ties
with countries on Chinas periphery, strengthening their own military preparedness, and
seeking to revitalise their economies.
In contrast, a telling hiatus has developed
in India-U.S. strategic dialogue in other areas
of Indias contiguity. It was so earlier in respect of Myanmar, and now on Bangladesh.
At the time of elections there last year, China
and India found themselves together against
extremist and sectarian forces intent on disrupting the polls, while the U.S. seemingly
stood on the other side. If the U.S. President
were to go by the standard U.S. positions, he
might suggest a course for Indian policy towards Pakistan normalisation of relations,
resumption of dialogue, and strategic stability. Instead, he might do better by discussing
stability in both Afghanistan and Pakistan
about which India has its worries. There is
clearly room for a fuller India-U.S. dialogue
on security in West Asia and Central Asia, the
management of the Indian Ocean, and what
U.S. rebalancing in Asia really means in material terms for India and the Indo-Pacific.

The way ahead

Indias fractious democracy and its fundamental asymmetry with the U.S. will constrain its capacity to meet U.S. expectations
of full reciprocity. This relationship must be
painstakingly built, brick by brick. It can be
done with commitment at the highest level,
and sensitivity for each others concerns.
India-U.S. ties are rooted in common values and in increasingly convergent interests.
Necessary and sufficient conditions do exist
today for resetting this vital partnership. The
ideological polarisation of their domestic politics does not impact adversely on its present
and future trajectories. What the two countries need are steady hands to steer a proper
course Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama are preparing the ground for it by their positive
narrative.
(Jayant Prasad, a former diplomat, is
currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the
Center for the Advanced Study of India,
University of Pennsylvania, and Advisor at
the Delhi Policy Group.)

CM
YK

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Court on cricket
As a layman, I am astonished by the
judgment (BCCI or CSK, choose
one: SC, Jan.23). First of all, except
for finding two individuals guilty,
nothing else has been mentioned in
the judgment about fixing and
betting, though it all started with the
issues of betting and fixing. The
court focussed more on the issue of
conflict of interest. As everyone
knows, the sports administration in
India is run by a bunch of politicians
and corporate bigwigs, and not by
the true enthusiasts and followers of
the game. Given the fact that the
cricket administration is largely run
by lawmakers and corporate
owners, how is it that all of them
missed the point that there is a
conflict of interest in owning an
IPL team and also holding on to the
position of the presidentship of the
BCCI? On top of this, one is
astonished to see that the court has
asked that the person concerned
choose between the IPL and the
BCCI.
T.R. Madhavan,
Chennai

discharges public functions; that the

public interest is involved; that the
games interests are superior to
those of individuals; that the IPL
cannot be regarded as a purely
commercial entertainment affair,
and that institutional integrity must
be preserved, it has also held that
the BCCI did not come under the
definition of state under Article 12
of the Constitution and is not a
public body. It has been left unclear
what the limits to the BCCIs
private independence and public
accountability are. It would have
been better to codify these matters
for incorporation into the BCCIs
constitution.
A.N. Lakshmanan,
Bengaluru

The most anticipated of verdicts

sends out a strong message to the
powerful body of Indian cricket. A
parliamentary type election format
can be adopted, which will end the
monopoly of certain office-bearers.
Another solution could be to bring
the BCCI under the Sports Ministry.
No individual is above the game and
every possible step should be taken
to revive the games lost glory. After
The Supreme Courts salutary all, every cricket-lover wants a free
prescriptions to the BCCI are only and fair game.
in the nature of ad hoc correctives
R. Vinod,
for its recent waywardness and the
Chennai
ills flowing therefrom. Although the
Court, to justify its intervention, has Why not ban IPL at least for a few
recorded that the BCCI inter alia years? IPL has done more harm

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
than good. Lots of money is being
pumped in by the franchise-owners.
The greats of the game have been
silenced. What real good has IPL
done to Indian cricket? It is loud,
unrealistic and ugly entertainment.
A previously struggling foreign
player said he could live a dream life
after the advent of IPL.
India, as no other nation,
generates a significant amount of
cricketing revenue, yet the country
has pathetic ground and playing
conditions. Where and how is the
revenue generated accounted for?
In IPL, the auctioning at times takes
greater significance and precedence
over the selection of the Indian team
for overseas tours and events such
as the World Cup. Even if the two
teams, CSK and Rajasthan Royals,
are banned, they can take root
through other names.
Balasubramaniam Pavani,
Secunderabad
The game of cricket has been
reduced to a businessmens game.
In short, the lakhs who leave
everything aside to watch the game
of cricket, which is almost a religion
in India, now feel thoroughly
cheated. What they were watching
with great fervour and excitement
has turned out to be stage-managed
shows. The only way the game can
be revived is for gentlemen
cricketers
to
disassociate
themselves from the stage-managed

cricket circus. Further, the

performances, records and so on of
the participants in the cricketing
circus should not be recognised by
the cricketing boards. Now that
those who have been defaming the
gentlemans game have been
identified, the law should take its
own slow but sure course.
M.V. Nahusharaj,
Bengaluru

Mood in the Congress

The action of senior Congress leader
Janardan Dwivedi in praising the
Prime Minister (Jan.23), and the
move by another Congress leader
Kapil Sibal to be legal counsel for the
West Bengal government (Jan.22),
might have triggered controversy
and made the Congress party
unhappy. But the fact is that such
actions reflect growing intolerance,
a lack of confidence and the
downcast mood of the leaders in the
party. People have already rejected
the Congress in the recent general
election, but the party does not
seem to have learnt its lessons in
these past months.
K. Manasa Sanvi,
Srikalahasti

the U.S. have had different kinds of

engagements, and India has had
access to potential gains, and
sombre disappointments too. There
is a plethora of issues and policies in
the pipeline, but the real critical
aspect lies in making all this turn
into reality. To be an ally of a nation
like the U.S. needs a lot of trust.
A heartening sign is the
endorsement that India is emerging
as a potential leader. The real
challenge for India ahead of Mr.
Obamas visit is to accelerate this
sense of mutual trust and uphold its
creative leadership.
Arjun R. Shankar,
Thiruvananthapuram

As the most important factor

according to the writer is dialogue,
it should be used more to fulfil the
more important objective of
achieving a level of trust between
the two leaders. This level of mutual
trust should be the main parameter
to judge the success of this meet,
which is loaded with many
expectations. In the past, Indias
experience of engagement with the
U.S. has not been very fruitful.
Therefore, India needs to tread the
path very cautiously in the backdrop
of warming relations between
The euphoria over U.S. President Russia and China, trouble in West
Barack Obamas visit to India should Asia, and other crippling global
be seen in a different perspective issues.
Vinay Kant Gautam,
(Going
beyond
bonhomie,
Jan.23). Over the years, India and
Shimla

Beyond bonhomie

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Beyond the immediate present

T
Rudra Chaudhuri

MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015

Critical transition
in Saudi Arabia
he death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, at
the age of 90, beckoned a cautiously orchestrated transition of power to his successor
Salman in the Al Saud dynasty that holds power in the nation. King Salman has pledged that the
succession would be managed smoothly, with continuity in policies and stability in internal as well as foreign
relations. Given the rising violence and political instability in the region, and the glut in oil supply and
consequent fall in prices, this transition of power is a
critical moment. Salman, who has been crown prince
since 2012, is now 79 years old and not in the best of
health. Clearing any sort of uncertainty, Prince Muqrin,
followed by Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, have been
declared the crown princes to succeed King Salman.
Although the monarchic succession plan seems to be
clearly mapped out, the House of Saud is said to be riven
by factions and internal feuds. Whether order will prevail within the royal family is hard to speculate, given
the secretive nature of its internal affairs.
The transition of power is happening at a time when
politics in the region is beset with uncertainty. Sunnidominated Saudi Arabia and Shia-dominated Iran, with
their decades of rivalry, are closely following the turmoil in Yemen since the resignation of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. The Shiite rebel group Houthi,
suspected to have affiliations with Iran, has often accused Saudi Arabia of meddling in the countrys internal affairs. Riyadh has been praised for its effective
counter-terrorism activities, especially with the Islamic
State-dominated Iraq on its northern borders. Saudi
Arabia continues to have favourable strategic partnerships with the United States, the United Kingdom and
Europe. Even with the global glut in supply, King Salman is likely to continue pumping crude, keeping prices
low, with no apparent intention to alter policies anytime soon. India maintains signicant economic ties
with Saudi Arabia, which is its biggest supplier of oil,
accounting for 20.18 per cent of the imports in 2013-14.
India accounts for 11 per cent of Saudi Arabias exports
and 7.2 per cent of its imports. Remittances from Indians in Saudi Arabia amount to a substantial sum. From a
socio-economic perspective, India has a lot at stake in
the stability of the country. Given the centrality of Saudi
Arabia to western economic interests, the West has
often treated the country as an exception when it comes
to human rights issues. The fact is that Saudi Arabia has
an incredibly poor record in the matter of ensuring civil
and political rights. Public ogging, beheading, and a
general climate of intolerance are hallmarks of its criminal justice system. Women still do not have even the
fundamental rights of speech, movement and assembly.

here is a peculiar appropriateness about this January 26 for

this day links up the past with
the present and this present is
seen to grow out of that past. This was the
central argument in Jawaharlal Nehrus
message to the nation prior to the inauguration of the Republic in 1950. That the day
itself was of great signicance is hardly
contestable. It demonstrated the fullment
to a dream, as Nehru put it. It was to communicate an achievement accomplished by
no other nation in the modern world. History, as Nehru argued, was full of examples of
the chaos giving birth to the dancing star of
freedom. India was an exception. On the
whole, the great change that ushered Independence had taken place by agreement.
This is perhaps the single most important
fact that connects India and the United
States. This was as true in 1947 as it is today.
It was not just that India won her independence from colonialism, but that she did so
minus violent rebellion. Similarly, its not
just that India is the largest democracy in the
world that attracts American entrepreneurs
and political leaders today, but that it is a
democracy able to absorb huge amounts of
variance and remain largely steady.

Opportunities created by history

The invitation to President Barack Obama
to be the chief guest at the 66th Republic Day
is both a reection of something bold and at
the same time unsurprising, when understood in historical context. Bold because concerns about perception and the bogeyman of
empire matter little to a Prime Minister
more interested in the future than in history.
Unsurprising because much like Nehrus
message in 1950, the relationship between
India and the U.S. too is an example of how
the present has in fact grown out of the past.
Most commentators have preferred to look at
the opportunity of today. Nuclear agreements, defence contracts and export control
laws absorb the headlines and for good
reason.
At the same time, there is a historicity that

President Obamas attendance on this January 26

is as important from the perspective of furthering
bilateral ties, as it is to show the world that India is
ready to play a central role well beyond its borders

has been lost in debating the immediate.

More obvious explanations such as the
change in leadership in India and a general
transformation in the mood of the country
appear to explain Mr. Obamas special visit.
In fact, the close relations in the present are
but the palpable outcome of almost 70 years
of crises, understanding, and dialogue. That
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been able
to capitalise on opportunities created by history is a feat. But this history is worth remembering as we look to celebrate our
Republic and better understand why the U.S.
Presidents attendance on this January 26 is
less shocking than otherwise suggested.
Funny People. This is how President
Dwight Eisenhower once described Indians.
The chief of Army Staff turned President

nedy was found more understanding. Curiously, he accepted that America was wrong to
expect a gracious nation: India was simply
too self aware as a new born democracy to
cede any space even if only by way of
rhetoric that risked jeopardising the freedom it fought so hard to win. Whether it is
Kennedy, his successor Lyndon Johnson, or
Richard Nixon after, American leaders well
understood that India could not be pushed
around.

The change
This was a period of learning. Indians were
no longer funny in the sense Eisenhower
once quipped. The paradoxes slowly came to
be accepted as fact: India would be moved by
her own interests. Of the 12 U.S. Presidents

The close relations between India and the U.S. are the
outcome of almost decades of crises, understanding and
dialogue.

could not bring himself to trust India. They

were, after all, led, according to him, by a
personality of unusual contradictions.
Nehrus India remained paradoxical to an
entire generation of American Presidents,
businessmen, and even journalists. India was
a democracy but believed in giving the Peoples Republic of China a place in the United
Nations Security Council. It accepted military assistance from the U.S. during the war
with China without once saying thank you.
When a group of American and British military officials and diplomats arrived in New
Delhi to meet the Prime Minister in the third
week of November 1962, Nehru, as one
American in the group recollected, was
withdrawn. The snub aside, President Ken-

who have dealt with India since 1947, Nixon

gratingly internalised this the quickest. During Indira Gandhis visit to the U.S. in 1971,
Nixon invested in silly ploys to put both her
and India in its place. He kept her waiting for
45 minutes to demonstrate a kind of oneupmanship, as an aide later wrote. That he
intently disliked Mrs. Gandhi was clear. After
all, whilst Nixon worked with Pakistan to
break the ice with China, India would not let
him ignore the atrocities committed in and
around Dacca. Interestingly, following the
1971 war, Henry Kissinger was quick to admit
that the White House backed the wrong
horse on the subcontinent.
Mrs. Gandhi too realised that it was imperative to seek new ties and cut across old

CARTOONSCAPE

Yet another QE
programme
ven as the global economy grapples with the
after-effects of the U.S. Federal Reserves
quantitative easing (QE) programme and its
withdrawal, QE is back with a bang again, this
time from Europe. Though it was expected, the scale of
the European Central Banks (ECB) bond-buying programme, declared last week, stunned markets, economists and central banks across the world. As per the
terms of the programme, beginning March the ECB will
buy as much as 1.1 trillion euros worth of bonds from
eurozone governments over 18 months. The programme will last till September 2016 or until there is a
sustained adjustment in the path of ination. The
planned infusion of cash into the eurozone is double the
size of what the markets expected, and the ECB has said
it would continue to buy government debt until ination rose to a targeted level of near 2 per cent. It is
not surprising, then, that bond prices rallied and the
euro fell by 2 per cent versus the dollar to the weakest
level seen in over 11 years. ECB president Mario Draghi
has pointed to the deationary trends in the eurozone
exacerbated by falling oil prices as justication for the
QE programme, which is bound to raise the hackles of
central banks in emerging economies that were impacted by the U.S. stimulus and its withdrawal.
The ECB now joins the Fed, the Bank of England and
the Bank of Japan in the list of central banks of developed economies that resorted to unconventional monetary policies to ward off recession and deation. While
such policies may or may not work for them, they
certainly are a cause for serious problems for emerging
economies such as India. The effect of the withdrawal of
the U.S. stimulus programme on Indias markets, currency and the economy is well-documented. The ination in stock prices driven by generous capital ows
and the subsequent problems when the bubble was
pricked are too well known for elaboration. And that is
precisely why Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned the extended application of
unconventional monetary policies; in a public speech
last year, he decried the competitive monetary easing
by developed economies without regard to how it affects other countries. Already, Switzerland and Denmark have felt the impact of the ECB stimulus; the
Swiss National Bank was forced to delink the franc from
the euro last week leading to a massive jump in its value
overnight, while Denmark had to cut rates to maintain
its currencys peg with the euro. The EU is Indias
largest trading partner and any depreciation of the euro
will affect exporters even as there is the likelihood of
strong capital ows into the Indian markets, driving up
asset prices. It is time to brace for volatility, once again.

CM
YK

MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

India-U.S. ties
While it is true that harmonious
relations with the U.S. are necessary
in order to speed up reforms (Bid to
go beyond defence sales, Jan.25),
still India should avoid tilting the
scales in favour of Washington in a
manner that affects its time-tested
relations with Russia. A strategic
ganging- up by Russia, China and
Pakistan against India could prove
extremely harmful to Indias
interests in the region. While
matters like the nuclear deal or a
new defence framework are bound
to be high on President Obamas
agenda, he must also put credible
pressure on Pakistan to end its
asymmetric war against India. The
countrys economic growth could
stall if we are not serious about
terrorism. Reform alone is not the
answer. The visiting leader must
now wake up to the reality that
Indias concerns about cross-border
terrorism are real and not
manufactured. India must be also
adept at negotiating a deal with the
U.S. to declare it a terrorist state if it
doggedly pursues cross-borderterrorism as an instrument of state
policy.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan,
Chennai
The historic visit must be used as an
occasion to sign agreements in areas
where there is potential for
development. On the other hand,
India must not give in to American
demands to liberalise our markets.
Rather, the focus must be on the
ideology behind the stand taken on
contentious issues and why it is so.
Only then can there be any genuine
hope with regard to progress in
India-U.S. relations.
Akshay Viswanathan,
Thiruvananthapuram
Mere visits by heads of state, in this
case reputedly the worlds most
powerful man, are not going to
change the state of bilateral

rigidities. Whether it was her or Rajiv Gandhi, the relationship was found changing well
before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The
end of the Cold War merely provided the
space for something structural to allow a
period of engagement to what was already
acceptable to Indian leaders and populations
alike. Such change was premised on an understanding that the dancing stars of democracy that survived the Cold War left nothing
to chance. Unlike the U.Ss relationship with
France or Britain, there was a rough edge to
an advance with India where disagreement
and come-back incrementally invested in
strategic resilience. Such resilience is what
has allowed Mr. Modi to envisage a future
with America, despite disagreements over a
whole range of issues whether at the World
Trade Organization or to do with insurance
liabilities.

Unlocking the potential

Chalein Saath Saath. This is of course the
professed joint vision shared by both Mr.
Modi and Mr. Obama. Such agreed rhetoric
was unthinkable at the time of Nixon and
Gandhi or Nehru and Kennedy. After all, the
rst four decades following Independence
was about investing in what might be considered a mutual fund, the dividends of which
facilitated the transformational changes witnessed between the late 1990s till 2014.
Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and
Manmohan Singh essentially used this fund
to their advantage. By 2004, when the Congress-led government was elected to power,
the Bush administration was clear that India
was a strategic prize. The sanctions imposed by the Clinton Presidency following
Indias nuclear tests were a mere detail in the
fog of history. The idea was to now transform
the relationship into something deeper that
would allow both these outsized democracies
to walk more rmly together. The nuclear
agreement achieved this. Despite three years
of intense debate and at times hopeless attempts at a breakthrough, not to mention the
near disintegration of the Congress-led coalition, it unlocked, as then Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice put it, a new and far
broader world of potential for India and
America. In a sense, the agreement did something more than realise potential. It led to a
makeover in the relationship, whilst clearly
recognising that the Indian star only dances
to its own tune. In short, the Bush White
House conceded a lot more than what many
of its critics thought a prize was worth.
Prior to 2014, the focus of the relationship
between India and the U.S. was primarily
dependent upon a fund that conditioned bilateral transactions. The rules governing the
fund was equally shaped by a mix of old and
new biases and prejudices that informed the
way in which capital was built and dividends
distributed. A degree of distance was important for Indian officials should China or even
Pakistan feel betrayed by unlimited levels of
U.S.-India market capitalisation. For the present government, these rules no longer matter. Free market politics is what seems to
motivate Mr. Modi. Mr. Obamas attendance
on this January 26 is as important from the
perspective of furthering bilateral ties, as it is
to show the world that India is ready to play a
central role well beyond its borders. Yet, like
many funds, levels of interest may change
depending upon the managers at the helm,
but the basis on which capital is built ought
not to be ignored. This is especially moot
when considering a role in the world alongside an older democracy that understands
funds and interests better than most.
(Dr. Rudra Chaudhuri is Senior Lecturer,
Kings College London and author of Forged
in Crisis: India and the United States Since
1947.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

relations. What is needed is a

structured dialogue where there is
forward movement in the areas of
defence, IPRs, IT, travel and energyrelated issues.
Prathit Charan Misra,
Allahabad

actual social conditions. The effort

made to empower women is
praiseworthy. However, it has to be
seen that the nancial resources
provided translate into real-life
improvements. One also has to
consider how a simple credit-line
may not be sufficient for a woman
We have been taught that Republic who cannot work due to a disability.
Day is celebrated to honour the day Social conditions have to be
on which the Constitution came incorporated in poverty alleviation
into force. But from what is to schemes if we really want to
happen, I have yet to see anything alleviate poverty in India.
Anurag Gupta,
being done to honour this
Hyderabad
commitment. All talk is only about
the U.S. President, with the day
losing even its symbolic meaning The idea that microcredit has
and values. The only evidence is of successfully helped in poverty
the manifestation of capitalism. alleviation is just a delusion. There
There is to be a U.S.-India CEO are some positives, but it has failed
Conclave on the day, and it will be a on other counts such as enhancing
historic event according to Diane investment in small businesses,
Farrell, the U.S.-India Business improving health and education,
Council president. More than 600 and leading to social empowerment.
CEOs and investors are to attend the This failure of microcredit will also
conclave
and
there
is prove a disappointment to lenders
unprecedented enthusiasm among when they nd that there is no
U.S. investors especially after the actual improvement in the living
series of ordinances that have been conditions of the poor. If we really
promulgated. Republic Day seems wish to enhance the status of the
to have been hijacked, thanks to poor, there is a need to bring in a
policy that gives a better guarantee
Modi-nomics.
Dheeraj Kumar, that the targets would be met. It
Ranchi should not be assumed that
microcredit
would
Microcredit and poverty extending
necessarily lead to the fullment of
As the report, Microcredit no the targets we had set. The approach
panacea for poverty: study (Jan.25) towards framing such a policy
shows, extending microcredit has should aim at encouraging start-up
not resulted in any signicant investments. It should also include
alleviation
of
poverty
or more direct and easy access to goods
empowerment of women. This and services. Policymakers should
event has an important implication: also not neglect the fact that for the
giving money is not enough to tackle poorest of the poor, investments
poverty. Living standards and will not be the top priority because
consumption cannot be improved of their very low income-levels.
by only providing resources like Hence policies must be framed
money. Women in India and other taking into account their real needs.
Isha Kabra,
developing countries have always
Hyderabad
found it difficult to be nancially
and socially independent due to the
social stereotypes entrenched in
society. There should be a focus not The lling of the Central Board of
only on providing these women with Film Certication with the
nancial resources but also on their governments own men gives it one

Saffronising censors

more tool with which to pursue

itssaffron agenda (Believing and
seeing, Sunday Anchor page,
Jan.25). The government beganits
attempts in this direction of
saffronisingeducation bymaking
Sanskritmandatory, and more
recentlyin Haryana by proposing to
compulsorily
introduce
the
Bhagavad Gita in schools. One
cannot ignore the ood of remarks
that came in the wake of the Science
Congress. Now, by gaining control of
a supposedly impartial body like the
Censor Board, the Centre can decide
what kind of lms Indians can see
and what they cannot. What is next
on the governments agenda.
Sharada Sivaram,
Chennai

Circular on festival
A circular issued by the School
Board of the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation asking its schools to
organise Saraswati Puja to mark
Vasant Panchami has stirred up a
hornets nest. The circular also
covers Urdu schools, most of whose
students are from a minority
community.
The circular says the festival is an
occasion to remember the deity of
knowledge. The AMC School Board
runs about 450 primary schools in
the city, including 64 Urdu-medium
schools, mostly located in Muslimmajority areas such as Shahpur,
Jamalpur, Gomtipur and Kalupur
Juhapura. Around 16,000 Muslim
students study in these schools. This
circular is a clear violation of Article
25 of the Constitution. Why should
we incorporate religious practice in
education? Considering these facts,
the circular is a direct attack on the
freedom of religion.
Zuber Gopalani,
Vadodara

On wildlife
National Highway 209 has become a
death trap for wildlife that inhabits
the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve,
the newly formed tiger reserve in

Tamil Nadu. A study that has been

conducted has identied 20
locations where rumble strips can
be installed along the 28-km stretch.
But in reality these are insufficient.
At least three to four speed-breakers
have to be provided along the
stretch from Dimbum to Hasanur as
there are a fewspots which support
dense bamboo clumps and other
tree species. The Tamil Nadu Forest
Department must survey the area
once again and put up all-weather
warning boards with uorescent
signage all along the road that passes
through the STR. There must also be
steps taken to install rumble strips
and speed-breakers in coordination
with the National Highways
Authority of India.
V. Sundararaju,
Tiruchi
A report, Spurt in backyard wildlife
in Kollam (Some editions, Jan. 20),
says that jungle cats can attack
humans, especially children. It is
not clear how and on what scientic
basis this erroneous and grossly
sensational statement was made. I
wish the media stops indulging in
fear mongering especially as it is
the agent that plays a major role in
how humans perceive wildlife. Any
wildlife biologist can tell you that
wild animals are scared of humans
and live for the most part avoiding
them.
Vidya Athreya,
Bengaluru

Medical care
The article, Humane, effective
medical care beyond intensive care
(Open Page, Jan. 25) was very
relevant. One hopes and wishes that
the article will henceforth make all
doctors follow the I See You
mantra towards their patients
instead of sending them to an ICU
straightaway where a doctors work
is taken over by frightening
diagnostic machines.
K. Pradeep,
Chennai
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

A visit and outcomes in superlatives

E
Rakesh Sood

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015

Momentous
vote in Greece
he momentous victory of the radical left-wing
Syriza party in Greece is certain to send shock
waves through Brussels, already trying to
contend with the rising popularity of forces
lined up against the European Union. The impact will
be felt most notably in Spain and Britain, where elections are due in weeks. But the outcome of Sundays
poll would have surprised few in Greece, whose macroeconomic indicators must cause near-disbelief considering that the country is clubbed with the states of the
developed world. Nearly a third of the population is
below the poverty line and about a quarter of the
workforce is jobless. The hundreds of health clinics,
social kitchens, education centres and legal aid hubs
that sprang up in recent months testify to the collapse
of Greeces welfare state under the weight of half a
decade of austerity. It is this Solidarity for All movement that constitutes the backbone of Syrizas political
programme that swung its fortunes: from being the
principal Opposition in the outgoing government it has
become the largest party in the new Parliament.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Alexis
Tsiprass Syriza and the right-wing Independent
Greeks party has a common objective: of giving citizens
a swift respite from the painful austerity of the recent
past. To what extent the left extreme factions within
Syriza would countenance this pragmatic arrangement
remains to be seen. Equally crucial will be the ability of
the ruling combine to rise above the ideological divide.
The new coalitions first and arguably the biggest
challenge in office will be to renegotiate the terms of
the international bailout that is to run out at the end of
February, and to secure a write-down of Greek debt by
half, as it had promised. That will also be the moment to
watch for the EUs broader response to the threat from
protesting parties in different countries of the 28member bloc. The Finnish Prime Ministers recent
conciliatory tone at Davos on renegotiating the Greek
debt burden is significant considering Helsinkis previous unwillingness to relax the terms. As the largest
creditor-nation, the domestic fallout in Germany to the
EUs economic rescue programmes has been enormous. Berlin will look to such accommodation from
fellow eurozone members. Syrizas triumph must also
renew hope within the European Left that has largely
remained politically divided and electorally decimated
since the end of the Cold War. Its critical role in forging
strategic alliances with the political centre to counter
the forces of the far-right could not be overstated. Mr.
Tsipras himself attributed the rise of the extreme right
as a reaction to the failure of austerity. The Greeks have
voted for change; their hopes should not be belied.

verybody was confident that U.S.

President Barack Obamas visit
would be a good and successful one.
There was enough in terms of symbolism to ensure that the following would
have ensured a good visit the first U.S.
President to be the chief guest at the Republic Day; the first U.S. President to visit India
twice during his tenure; the ceremony of the
Republic Day parade notwithstanding the inclement weather; the excitement about the
menu at the banquet the previous day; the
buzz surrounding First Lady Michelle Obamas outfits. The question was whether it
would be a great visit, and a historic visit.
Clearly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
wanted it that way and he has successfully
put his imprint on India-U.S. relations.
The fact that he has done so in less than a
year of his becoming Prime Minister provides us an insight into his thinking. His
pragmatism was evident when he put the
decade-long visa ban issue behind him and
readily accepted Mr. Obamas invitation to
visit Washington in September last year. The
U.S. too was signalling that the India-U.S. file
had regained importance after the general
election and that it was departing from the
norm that bilateral visits did not normally
take place when leaders were visiting New
York for the U.N. General Assembly. It was
evident that the two leaders connected. Mr.
Modi was able to convince Mr. Obama about
his vision for India and his belief that it
needed a strong partnership with the U.S.
which he could deliver on.

Developing a partnership
Mr. Obama had visited India early in his
tenure and was upbeat when he talked about
India and the U.S. developing a defining
partnership for the 21st century but there
has been little to show for it since. The ambiguities of Indias Nuclear Liability Act, the
Defence Minister of the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA), A.K. Antonys ability to
stonewall proposals for closer ties, the retroactive tax policy announcements and the economic slowdown in India, coupled with Mr.
Obamas other growing preoccupations, both
domestic and foreign, meant that the partnership was languishing. Looking around for
legacy issues in the foreign policy area, Mr.
Obama knew that India enjoyed the advantage of bipartisan support in Washington
which was not the case with Cuba and Iran.
Mr. Modi had understood this and rightly
concluded that for India-U.S. ties, Mr. Obamas lame-duck standing of being in his last
stretch in the White House was inconsequential. The show at the Madison Square
Garden in New York had shown the Amer-

The centrepiece of the Obama visit has been the

nuclear deal, whose sticking points were a U.S
requirement of keeping track of all U.S.-supplied
nuclear equipment and materials at all times
which India was reluctant to accept, and certain
aspects of the liability law which suppliers found
ambiguous. The U.S. now appears to have
moderated its demand

ican people Mr. Modis power in galvanising

the Indian-American diaspora, three million
strong and emerging as a significant fund
raiser for the 2016 American election. But
before 2016, India had to be brought back
into U.S. reckoning. This needed a political
pitch, between leaders who had won elections against all odds, and Mr. Modi was
willing to make that pitch.

Leadership and backup

Transformative moments in relationships
between major powers need a strong commitment from the top leadership and effective backup in terms of staff work to get the
bureaucracy to translate the vision into reality. It also implies an element of political risk
taking. This is particularly evident in IndiaU.S. relations in recent years. Between 19982000, the empathy between Strobe Talbott

as famously said, he found it difficult to understand Mr. Vajpayees long pauses.

The unlikely pair to hit it off and impart a
renewed commitment to the relationship
was the exuberant President Bush and the
considerably older, academically inclined
Manmohan Singh. Dr. Singh and Mr. Bush
created the nuclear breakthrough in 2005
and continued to shepherd it through difficult domestic politics for three years, till the
deal was finally inked in October 2008, just a
month before Mr. Obama was elected to the
White House. President Bush had faced a
hostile Congress especially after 2006, which
actively took up the agenda of the non-proliferation lobby in Washington while Dr. Singh,
who did not receive the full backing of either
his party or of his coalition partners, even
threatened to quit, putting his political legacy at stake. It is interesting that this unlikely

The question was whether it would be a great visit, and a

historic visit. Clearly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted it
that way and he has successfully put his imprint on India-U.S.
relations.

and Jaswant Singh built up over more than a

dozen rounds of talks in less than two years,
created the backdrop against which Prime
Minister A.B. Vajpayee changed the idiom of
India-U.S. relations from estranged democracies to natural allies, a politically bold
but also a risky move at a time when India
was under sanctions after the May 1998 nuclear tests. Brajesh Mishra, Mr. Vajpayees
Principal Secretary and National Security
Advisor, effectively established benchmarks
for the bureaucracy in terms of giving content to the vision. Once most of the sanctions
were lifted and President Clinton undertook
a successful visit to India in March 2000, the
two countries started working on the Next
Steps in Strategic Partnership. This was carried forward with the Bush administration,
though top level commitment between Mr.
Vajpayee and Mr. Bush was missing, because,

risk taker later recalled the India-U.S. Civil

Nuclear Cooperation Agreement as the
memorable achievement of his 10-year tenure. Though the UPA came back with a stronger mandate in 2009, Dr. Singh was no longer
Singh is King and gradually became a weaker Prime Minister, yielding often to coalition dharma. He developed a good equation
with Mr. Obama who referred to him as a
wise guru but Dr. Singhs commitment to
the bilateral relationship could no longer be
translated into benchmarks, on account of a
lack of adequate staff work and fractured
authority. India-U.S. relations were put on
the back burner, surfacing on the front pages
only when a controversy like that of diplomat
Devyani Khobragade erupted.
Notwithstanding that the think tanks bemoan that India does not know what it wants
from the U.S., Mr. Modi knew clearly what he

CARTOONSCAPE

The deadlock
in Nepal
he political turmoil in Nepal continues as the
prospects of reaching a consensus over a new
draft Constitution still appears bleak. The
Constituent Assembly was expected to promulgate a new Constitution on January 22, but the political parties were unable to resolve their differences in
order to complete the task. The intense optimism that
accompanied the nations transition from being a monarchy to a republic about a decade ago has turned into
dismay with the political parties repeatedly failing to
deliver on their promises. Nepal witnessed a transition
in 1990 from authoritarian monarchic rule to a constitutional monarchy, followed by a decade-long Maoist
insurgency that ended in 2006 with a peace agreement
and the overthrow of the monarchy in 2008. The Interim Constitution of 2007 created a 601-member Constituent Assembly that also doubled as Parliament until a
new Constitution was enacted. The Maoists emerged as
the majority party in the April 2008 elections, but the
Constituent Assembly failed to meet its 2012 deadline
and so the Assembly stood dissolved and fresh elections
were called. The second Constituent Assembly that was
convened in January 2014 also failed to draft a Constitution. Rivalry and squabbles amongst parties are the
main reasons for the state of political dysfunction. In
the majority is a coalition of the Nepali Congress and
the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party that has a
two-thirds majority in the Assembly. The Maoist party,
which performed dismally in the second round of elections, has partnered with the Madheshi Morcha, a coalition of regional parties from the southern plains.
Federalism has become one of the most contentious
issues to be resolved by the Assembly. This debate is
closely tied to issues of identity and equality in a diverse
nation with hundreds of communities, dialects and cultures. The ethnic and regional parties demand a federal
structure that recognises and grants political autonomy
to their groups, while its opponents warn that such
sectarian politics threaten the countrys unified national identity by fuelling ethnic conflicts among groups.
This genuinely significant problem of creating and redefining the essence and identity of a new constitutional democracy is, however, being jeopardised by
power struggles among political parties that are exploiting and polarising the diversity of the regions for their
own personal gains. On Sunday, Constituent Assembly
Chairman Subash Nembang announced the formation
of a proposal committee to prepare a questionnaire on
the disputed issues of the new Constitution, which will
then be voted upon by the Assembly. But with an Opposition that is vehemently opposed to the move, there is
little room for optimism on this count at this point.

CM
YK

TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Obama visit
It is heartening that India and the
United States have managed to
break new ground by reaching an
understanding on nuclear trade
and a defence partnership (On Day
One, the nuclear deal is done,
Jan.26). The end of the nuclear
logjam will finally enable India to
plan big and ahead in energy
planning. It would not be an
exaggeration to say that the nuclear
deal is what has defined ties
between the two nations. It is hoped
that the developments will now
help establish an enduring strategic
partnership.
N.J. Ravi Chander,
Bengaluru
No doubt the presence of President
Obama as the chief guest at the
Republic Day function was
significant. However, to expect too
much during one visit is unrealistic.
The U.S., like India, is guided by its
own geopolitical considerations
and will not do anything which will
have an impact on its strategies
globally. It is for us to mend fences
with our own neighbours for the
sake of peace, trade and improved
people-to-people contacts.
D.B.N. Murthy,
Bengaluru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
undoubtedly an intelligent player
(Pooja Thakur makes history,
Jan.26). Rather than displaying
false Abhaya Hastha to womens

empowerment, having a woman

officer to lead the ceremonial triservices guard of honour at
Rashtrapati Bhavan sends out the
right signals.
Raviteja Vangara,
Warangal
While the trajectory of relations
with the U.S. has not always been a
straight
line
(Beyond
the
immediate present, Jan.26), the
series of steps undertaken by the
two heads of state shows that these
are not ties to be taken lightly.
While there may have been hints of
some arm-twisting by Big Brother
on a series of issues, careful
deliberations show that both sides
have come to a triumphant
agreement and put these issues on
the back-burner. The compromise
arrived at on the liability
imbroglio shows that the past is
behind us and an enormous future
awaits us. Those who contend that
this is all hyped capitalist
aggrandisement need to look at the
latest figures that point to Tourist
Visa on Arrival. The number of U.S.
citizens has increased by leaps and
bounds compared to last year and
they account for the highest per
capita spending by any tourist
segment on Indian soil. It is a fact
that it is our capitalist embrace that
has saved the country from the
brink of economic default; further,
it is the nuclear deal that will help us
climb.
Rajesh Tripurneni,
Connecticut

wanted from Mr. Obama. India-U.S. relations

had to be brought back to the White House
and as a risk taker, he was prepared to inject
the element of personal chemistry into the
relationship. Whatever the differences between Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama, both leaders
know how to electrify a crowd and understand the concept of political charisma
instinctively.
The element of personal chemistry, reflected in Mr. Modis departure from protocol to receive his friend Barack at the Delhi
airport, the image of the two leaders engaged
in an animated conversation as they seemingly ironed out the last minute hitches in the
nuclear deal on the lawns of Hyderabad
House, the chai pe charcha, exchanges on
how much sleep each got, was the equivalent
of high fives. In fact Mr. Modi referred to the
personal chemistry that he shares with Mr.
Obama during their joint press conference
and this has become the necessary catalyst to
sustain the momentum in the relationship
over the next two years. This has enabled Mr.
Modi to convert the Obama visit into a great
and historic event.

The nuclear deal

The centrepiece of the visit has been the
nuclear deal though few details have
emerged. There were two sticking points
administrative tracking which implies keeping track of all U.S.-supplied nuclear equipment and materials at all times and a U.S.
requirement which India was reluctant to
accept as it went beyond the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections
that India had voluntarily agreed to, and certain aspects of Indias nuclear liability law
which U.S. suppliers (and other foreign and
domestic suppliers too) found ambiguous
and open-ended. It now appears that the U.S.
has moderated its demand and will be satisfied with IAEA safeguards. In turn, the Indian side has explained its plans to set up an
insurance pool amounting to Rs.1,500 crore
(a ceiling under Indian law), half of which
will be contributed by the suppliers and the
operator (in this case, the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Ltd.) and the balance,
by the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) and four other insurance companies. The premium costs, at between 0.1 per
cent, would amount to less than Rs.1 crore
per reactor and can be easily factored into the
overall costs. The Indian side has also made
an assurance to provide a legal memorandum
that suppliers will not be liable to general tort
law claims and, accordingly, multiple, concurrent liability claims will not be entertained. In other words, recourse from
suppliers in case of nuclear damage can only
be under the Liability Act, which is now limited in amount. Presumably, the government
is confident that this assurance will be able to
withstand a legal challenge.
In any event, the visit has been dubbed a
historic one. In place of two documents that
emerged after Mr. Modis visit to Washington last year, there are now three a 59
paragraph Joint Statement which moves
from chalein saath saath to sanjha prayas
sabka vikas, a Delhi Declaration of Friendship which provides for more frequent high
level exchanges and the establishment of
hotlines, and a Joint Strategic Vision for
Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region
which links the two regions and establishes
Indias central role.
The leaders have spelt out the vision. Now
begins the hard work of identifying benchmarks in different areas of civil nuclear and
defence cooperation, counter-terrorism and
cyber security, clean energy, trade and intellectual property rights, the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) and Make in India,
smart cities and urban infrastructure planning, digital India, visa issues and Totalisation Agreement, etc and pursuing these in a
time bound fashion. This requires efficient
staff work, diligent application and effective
coordination and monitoring so that each of
these individual transactions can become
milestones in the long road ahead.
(Rakesh Sood, a former Ambassador, was
the Prime Ministers Special Envoy for
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation till May
2014 and was closely involved with Indo-U.S.
strategic dialogues from 1992 to 2004.
E-mail: rakeshsood2001@yahoo.com)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
The so-called claim of reaching an
agreement on the civilian nuclear
deal is nothing but a sham. As in
the agreement, the liability in the
case of nuclear accidents is
proposed to be covered by a nuclear
insurance pool, which is only a
group of government-owned public
sector
general
insurance
companies. As in the Modi-Obama
deal, public sector general
insurance companies will bear the
full risk in the case of unforeseen
accidents, and pay out their money
for loss/damage arising therefrom.
In effect, the entire liability in the
case of nuclear accidents will be
borne by the Government of India.
The American nuclear equipmentsuppliers have been conveniently
bailed out. This is nothing but total
surrender by the Narendra Modi
government to the U.S., its nuclear
equipment-suppliers
and
its
business interests. In effect, it is an
absolute sell-out.
K.V. Krishnaswamy,
Secunderabad

the welfare of its subjects. In the

euphoria of stealing a march over
the Opposition and its neighbours,
the government should not be
oblivious to the significant and
stupendous task of nation-building.
Clinching a nuclear deal after a
long-drawn-out process does not by
itself feed the nation. Except being
two vibrant democracies, India and
the U.S. have nothing else in
common.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
Chennai

in the case of the Bhopal gas

tragedy.
S.K. Choudhury,
Bengaluru

The Padma awards

One has to comment on how some

sportspersons have been awarded
the Padma awards, which shows
that the conditions for which the
Padma awards are bestowed need to
be redefined (Advani, Amitabh get
Padma Vibhushan, Jan.26). The
awards should be given only to
Call it political opportunism or those who render yeoman service to
outright hypocrisy. One cannot the nation and society as a whole.
forget how the BJP, while in the Medals
are
enough
for
Opposition,
had
stubbornly sportspersons in recognition of
opposed the nuclear deal both their talents. It does not make for
inside and outside Parliament when pleasant reading when one finds
it was being stitched together by some sportspersons hankering after
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. the Padma awards.
K.V. Seetharamaiah,
Now, when in power, the same BJP
Hassan
is going ecstatic over having
resolved the logjam. Politically
speaking, if the deal is indeed
operationalised, it is the Congress It is unfortunate that even today,
party, and more particularly Dr. Saudi women face considerable
The Republic Day is no festival that Singh, who was willing to risk his restrictions in driving and voting,
our nation celebrates on the scale of governments continuance on this which proves that the monarchs
Diwali, Dussera, Ramzan or issue, which will have reason to feel have failed to reform the medieval
Christmas, and it is not an occasion fully vindicated. While the details of mindset of the ruling class
only for merrymaking. It should how the government contemplates (Reasons for remembering King
have been an opportunity to take getting over the suppliers liability Abdullah, Jan.26). The monarchy
stock of where the nation stands in in the event of an accident without has also failed to ensure its citizens
terms of human indices and amending the law and the basic rights despite all its riches and
whether the government of the day mechanism for providing insurance resources. Democracy is indeed the
is carrying with it the downtrodden, cover have not yet been analysed for best guarantor of freedoms and
the
underprivileged,
the the public, one hopes that in the equality.
Umashanker Tumburu,
marginalised and the weaker most unlikely event of a disaster,
Secunderabad
sections, and how serious it is about the suppliers should not get away as

Change in Saudi Arabia

ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

After the nuclear step, the big leap

I
Sanjaya Baru

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

A new chapter
of openness
s he listed the reasons why he believes the
India-U.S. relationship is the dening partnership of this century, Barack Obama dwelt
in his farewell speech on all the similarities
between the two nations: as diverse, multi-religious,
tolerant democracies that respect human rights. Over
the last three days, he made a much more vivid enunciation of where the future of India-U.S. ties lies as well.
From the joint statement, to a declaration of friendship, to a strategic vision for the Asia-Pacic region,
rarely has the state-of-play between New Delhi and
Washington been so clearly mapped out during any
Indo-U.S. summit. In inviting President Obama at
short notice, having him officiate over the Republic
Day parade and make a series of public appearances
together, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has gone
where his predecessors have often shied away from
in seeking to take bilateral ties with America to a new
level. The strategic defence framework, say officials,
will see their militaries move to a new level of closeness, for example. Whether it is about defence exchanges, joint production of the four projects outlined,
or the MoU between national defence universities, it is
clear that the interaction planned between the Indian
and U.S. armed forces will be unprecedented.
The openness in ties was clear in other spheres of the
relationship: from the frank discourse over economic
issues, to the obvious agreement on countering climate
change, to the details of the Obama-Modi personal
chemistry that they referred to with ease. Mr. Modi
went so far as to say that India and the U.S. had
beneted from the bonhomie he shared with Mr. Obama. However, while the exuberance and optimism in
the relationship is a positive and welcome development, especially as it comes after a period of intense
negativity, it should not come at the cost of other
relationships. President Obamas criticism of Russia
while in India, calling it a bully, was hardly something
that Prime Minister Modi could have anticipated, yet it
may make a dent in relations with Russia. The vision
statement on the Asia-Pacic and Indian Ocean region
is likely to have a more lasting impact on relations with
China, as it seeks to portray an India-U.S. front against
diplomatic, economic and security challenges in the
region. It will be External Affairs Minister Sushma
Swarajs task, as she heads to Beijing shortly, to assuage
any fears that the pact is directed in that direction.
Meanwhile, as the euphoria from the successes of the
visit subsides, Mr. Modi will need to explain domestically just how he was able to achieve the visits biggest
breakthrough: on nuclear issues. For the past six
years, India and the U.S. have been unable to conclude
the administrative arrangements that would enable
commercial cooperation between Indian and American companies under the civil nuclear deal. While
diplomats are to be congratulated on having cleared
this hurdle, the Indian public must be informed about
exactly what assurances have been given to U.S. officials in return for their acceptance of the Indian liability law, and what the added costs would be. The UPA
government came in for much criticism from the thenin-Opposition BJP and paid a heavy price for its lack of
openness and clarity on liability issues. Mr. Modi and
his government need to be more forthcoming about the
details of the agreement. Since the Indian taxpayer will
be the consumer, the underwriter and the potential
victim of any untoward nuclear accident, the subject of
liability in the nuclear deal is of utmost importance.
The coming out of the India-U.S. relationship is indeed a welcome new chapter in relations, but it cannot be written fully without complete openness on the
nuclear deal as well, which has been described as the
centrepiece of India-U.S. understanding.
On the business side, there were no signicant outcomes to talk about except for the resolve to expand
trade ties and a $4-billion commitment from the U.S. in
investment and loans. To put this in perspective, Mr.
Modi returned with a $35-billion investment commitment from Japan when he visited Tokyo last year.
Ironically, half of the investment committed by Mr.
Obama will go into the renewable energy sector where
the U.S. and India are locked in a trade dispute at the
WTO. The dispute is over Indias imposition of local
content requirements on solar cells and modules as
part of the projects awarded under the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Solar Mission. The U.S. is also unhappy
with the Make in India policy, especially in the renewable energy sector where it sees great prospects for its
own companies. It remains to be seen how much of the
investment committed by Mr. Obama actually happens, given that it is linked to Indian companies sourcing technology and products from the U.S. If the Indian
IT sector was hoping for an agreement on the issue of
H1B visas, then it must be disappointed for Mr. Obama
did not go beyond giving an assurance that the U.S.
would look into all aspects as part of overall immigration reform. Given that both the Senate and the House
of Representatives are under the control of Republicans, it would be rather difficult for the President to
push through deep immigration reform; he can accomplish only as much as is possible through executive
action. Mr. Obama also had India on the back foot on
the subject of Intellectual Property protection, pointing out that U.S. companies were hampered by the lack
of adequate protection in India. Mr. Modi also found
himself defending the Make in India initiative even
while promising that adversarial taxation policies
would be phased out. Evidently, there are issues where
the two countries have a lot of work to do to align their
respective positions; but that may just have got easier
now after Mr. Obamas high-on-optics visit and the
understanding struck between him and Mr. Modi.

CM
YK

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

t is a measure of how important the

India-United States civil nuclear agreement was to the bilateral relationship
that even Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has said that it constitutes the centrepiece of the strategic partnership between the two great democracies. However,
the U.S. President Barack Obamas visit to
India this weekend was not about that centrepiece but about the entire mantle.
Tying up the loose ends of the Indian nuclear liability law was about completing unnished business. It was also about regaining
U.S. trust. After all, the George Bush administration helped legitimise Indias status as a
nuclear weapons power and expected, in exchange, at least some of the business that
would then get generated. The liability law
that India then enacted was viewed as an act
of bad faith. The trust that successive Prime
Ministers, from P.V. Narasimha Rao onwards, injected into the relationship was
wasted away by this one act of Indian
doublespeak.

For the new Modi-Obama vision to succeed, India

would need a more agile management of its
international engagement on the economic and
political sides considering the fact that the two
leaders have agreed to elevate their strategic
dialogue to include strategy and commerce

The weakening of Dr. Singhs prime minisna Advani, when he was Leader of the
tership also coincided with domestic distracOpposition.
Ironically, it is Sushma Swaraj who, in tions for the U.S. President. The post-2008
2010, reportedly picked up the phone and economic crisis not only forced Mr. Obama to
called the CPI(M)s Sitaram Yechury, strik- cosy up to China, but his Afghanistan strateing an alliance with the Left to demand gy took him closer to Pakistan. India felt
changes to the original nuclear liability law, abandoned. It took the decisive victory of Mr.
who has had to now help nd a way out of the Modi, in May 2014, and a new reassessment
impasse she helped create.
of a post-Modi India by Mr. Obama, for the
But then, the Advani BJPs objection to the deal to be back on track.
nuclear deal was not based on genuine conMr. Modi has understood the strategic sigcerns about strategic autonomy and the fu- nicance of the nuclear deal; that it was not
ture of the nuclear programme. When Dr. just about building nuclear power plants but,
Singh managed to win over Mr. Vajpayees as he put it so eloquently on Saturday, the
National Security Advisor, the late Brajesh centrepiece of a strategic partnership. The
Political doublespeak
Mishra, and the leadership of the Depart- wayward course of the nuclear deal only unTo return the relationship to where it was ment of Atomic Energy, the Advani BJPs derscores the importance of strong domestic
in 2008, when the U.S. secured the approval
of the Nuclear Suppliers Group for Indias
nuclear programme, it was necessary to clear
The real outcome of the Obama visit is captured in the
the air on the liability law. In short, the nustatements
on the India-U.S. bilateral Strategic Vision and the
clear stuff that hogged the headlines all
Declaration
of Friendship.
through the weekend was just the ribbon that
had to be cut for Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi to
then move on. Move on they did. The real
outcome of the visit is captured in the state- game became clear. It was in fact seeking to political leadership for success on the exments on their bilateral Strategic Vision and oust the Manmohan Singh government, not ternal front. A strong Dr. Singh clinched the
the Declaration of Friendship.
really block the nuclear deal.
deal in 2008, a weakened one failed to deliver
What the entire nuclear deal episode capon it. A strong successor has now completed
tures, however, is the price we pay for our Back on track
the project.
Given that the BJP in office today is not the
political doublespeak. As Prime Minister, Dr.
Manmohan Singh would often say that a po- Advani BJP, but the Narendra Modi BJP and The new mantle
The new mantle is now dened by the
litical partys view on policy should not be given that Mr. Modi was never an enthusijudged by what it says when in Opposition, astic supporter of the Advani groups ambi- joint statement issued by Mr. Obama and Mr.
but by what it does when in government. So, tion to seize power, he would have had no Modi, which has to be read within the wider
even though it was the Bharatiya Janata Par- problem endorsing the deal that Dr. Singh framework of bilateral relations dened by
ty (BJP), under the leadership of Prime Min- struck and getting on with business. That is the Declaration of Friendship and the Joint
ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that took the rst precisely what he has done. In six quick Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacic and Indisteps and the next steps towards a strate- months he has cleared the cobwebs and re- an Ocean Region. While the media, quite ungic partnership with the U.S., the same BJP vived what seemed to have become a mori- derstandably, remained focussed on the
opposed the India-U.S. civil nuclear energy bund relationship during Dr. Singhs second centrepiece, a new mantle has now been
agreement under the leadership of Lal Krish- term.
put in place dened by these Vision and

CARTOONSCAPE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Republic Day 2015
The Republic Day parade did infuse
pride in every Indian after watching
defence personnel along with
paramilitary forces marching with
vigour, life and energy amid
diversity and vibrant colours and
representing
our
different
geographies. (Military might on
parade in backdrop of fog, rain,
Jan.27). However, it was a bit
jarring to note that the minuscule
display of weaponaries, largely of
Russian origin and backed by
American acquisitions and the
tableaus of States, were largely an
acknowledgement of the inability of
our various scientic organisations
to think high. I am sure the worlds
most powerful man must have
suppressed a smile over his great
condence now to strike a longterm defence deal with India.
Reshmi Chandra,
Chennai
One wonders whether President
Barack Obama and Narendra Modi
and the millions who witnessed the
parade live or on television spared a
thought for Jawaharlal Nehru, the
man who led India to it and whose
soaring idealism was even
mentioned by President Kennedy
in his inauguration address. It was
the Purna Swaraj resolution moved
by Nehru at the Lahore session of
the Indian National Congress in
1929 which unambiguously dened
the objective of our struggle for
independence as the establishment
of a sovereign democratic republic
and led to the observance of
January 26 as Purna Swaraj Day
every year. It was also the reason
why January 26 was designated
Republic
Day
when
the
Constitution was nalised in 1951.
It was mainly Nehrus idea to have
an impressive parade on Republic
Day every year to strengthen the

nations unity in diversity, and

demonstrate its military might,
economic and social progress as
well as its vast cultural heritage.
S.S. Kaimal,
Thiruvananthapuram
As a proud Indian living in West
Asia for over 20 years, I have made
it a point to rise early to watch the
Republic Day celebrations. This
year too was a proud moment for all
Indians and I was especially
impressed with the oats from Goa
and northeast India. Telangana, the
new entrant, too caught the eye. But
I was completely taken aback and
shocked by the sight of the Tamil
Nadu oat. When the proud State
has much to show in the elds of
tourism, the ne arts, literature and
history, all of this was completely
obfuscated by what one can call the
competitive politics of the
Dravidian parties.
Krishna Parthasarathy,
Dubai

Legendary Laxman
Even in school, I evinced special
interest in the cartoons of the
legendary R.K. Laxman that were
published in Blitz, the Illustrated
Weekly of India and The Times of
India (He said it with wit and
irony, Jan.27). They were the
reections
of
the
nations
conscience-keeper,
generally
critical of the policies of the
government against the interests of
the common man. It is remarkable
that the cartoons silently exposed
the follies of Ministers and
politicians.
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
An oak has fallen. R.K. Laxman was
undoubtedly Indias David Low. I
still remember the day, on August
11, 1978, in Madras, when in 10
seconds each he drew the

Friendship statements.
The vision dening the new partnership
captures the geopolitical view that the key to
Indias rise as a global player is inclusive
economic development at home. It is also in
Indias interest, as well as that of the U.S., to
establish a rules-based system of global economic governance and a rules-based security
architecture.
Critics of the U.S.-India partnership, and
there would be many in both countries, tend
to assess the new understanding within the
paradigm of outdated Cold War thinking. India-baiters in the U.S. would chastise Mr.
Obama for giving India too much strategic
space with no assurance of any alliance being
offered in exchange. Critics of the U.S. in
India will charge Mr. Modi with bartering
away Indias strategic autonomy and its independent foreign policy.
Both would be wrong. The reality is that
both Mr. Obama and Mr. Modi have come to
terms with the reality of the new world order,
in which they see their partnership as strengthening a global economic and security architecture that would benet both. In that
sense, the three documents issued by the two
leaders in New Delhi offer a realistic assessment of the existing power equation between
the two interlocutors, on the one hand, and
between them and other major powers, like
Russia and China, on the other.

Time for hard work

Going forward, the U.S. and India will work
more closely together but will also be able to
offer each other a wider margin for individual
manoeuvre. Thus, for example, the U.S. may
not be averse to Indias present level of engagement of Russia and China, just as India
would be more understanding of U.S. relations with China and Pakistan. This new way
of approaching the bilateral relationship
within a larger global context would enable
the two leaders to avoid the zero-sumgame trap in the regional context.
All this calls for a much more mature handling of Indian foreign policy and of Indias
many strategic partnerships. Mr. Modi has
demonstrated that he has the wit and wisdom to pull it off being friendly with Vladimir Putin even as he hugs Barack Obama. But
it is not an easy act to sustain, especially
when difficult forks are reached and a choice
has to be made one way or another. The art of
diplomacy lies in avoiding such dilemmas.
For the new Modi-Obama vision to succeed, India would need a much more alert
and agile management of its international
engagement on the economic and political
side, specially considering the fact that the
two leaders have agreed to elevate their strategic dialogue to a strategic and commercial
dialogue.
This would require much greater interministerial coordination at the bilateral, regional and global levels. India cannot continue with the contradiction of the past wherein
one ministry would be seeking favours from a
country while another ministry would be
poking it in the eye or cocking a snook.
As Supermans uncle tells him when he
discovers the newly acquired powers of his
young nephew, with great power comes great
responsibility. One can extend that argument
and suggest that in fact the quest for great
power entails even greater responsibility.
Once a nation has arrived at a new equilibrium of power, it can afford to make mistakes
and get away. But the journey to that new
status is fraught and the path is replete with
slippery slopes.
Once the celebration of success of a summit gone well is over, the time for careful
hard work and sustained leadership begins.
(Sanjaya
Baru
is
Director
for
Geo-economics and Strategy, International
Institute for Strategic Studies, and Honorary
Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research,
New Delhi.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
caricatures of 12 political leaders
and followed it up with a lecture.
The meeting was organised by the
Indian Society for Training and
Management.
R.S. Rajan,
Chennai
With his deft strokes, lines and
accurate words, R.K. Laxman
precisely identied the chinks in
the armour of politicians and
highlighted them with wit. His
reections on the apathy and
helplessness of the common man
were what made the so-called
educated class and the elite squirm.
He made us ponder over societal
issues, dogmas and the ironies in
our democracy.
Nirmala Varma,
Kochi
Every politician should consider
himself fortunate to have had his
caricature portrayed by the
illustrious cartoonist. He was a godgifted personality.
Rohini Tata,
Hyderabad
R.K. Laxman was the creator of
simple things that had a deep
impact on the realities of the world.
His Common Man was our
representative who awakened
leaders busy making important
decisions within Parliament. We
need to look at his cartoons afresh
as each piece not only projects
contemporary society but also
sends out a message that nothing
has changed.
Mona Mendonsa,
Mangaluru
I recall two of his cartoons when
Pandit Nehru was awarded the
Bharat Ratna, a Laxman cartoon
showed a sober Nehru with his
trademark rose on his coat, with the
caption, at last his services have

been recognised. Another one had

a politician answering questions
from his audience in an election
rally. When asked what he would do
if he was elected, he replies: Oh
that does not bother me at all. What
I am worried is what I will do if I am
not elected!
N.H. Ramachandran,
New Delhi
He never humiliated anyone in his
depictions. One remembers two of
his cartoons, of a visitor to a
government
department
approaching the enquiry counter
wanting to know where to pay a
bribe. We are still ghting this evil,
without much success. The second
is of the common man being
appreciated by scientists for his
ability to live without air, water,
food and shelter!
C.R. Ananthanarayanan,
Bengaluru
R.K. Laxman entertained us for
decades with his rib-tickling and
thought
provoking
political
cartoons. He was not a head of a
state, but many heads of states
respected him for his biting
sarcasm. He was not a politician, yet
politicians loved him for his clean
political criticism. Will there by
another Laxman?
M. Somasekhar Prasad,
Badvel
Being in the advertising media for
almost 30 years in Mumbai, I used
to visit the Times of India office
practically every day and come faceto-face with R.K. Laxman. There
were numerous occasions when I
could have had a chat with him but
he was by nature very serious
natured and I was a bit scared to
approach him. Every common
man will miss him forever.
Vinayachandran K.T.,
Kochi

As is my wont in getting in touch

with personalities all over the
world, I wrote to R.K. Laxman back
in 1984 when he won the
Magsaysay. Pat came the reply:
Many thanks for your letter
congratulating me on my getting
the Magsaysay Award. I am sorry
for the delay in acknowledging your
kind letter. With regards, R.K.L.
Incidentally, when I wrote to his
equally famous brother, R.K.
Narayan, on his arresting article on
the Post Card which appeared in
The Hindu, he was kind enough to
reply
immediately:
I
am
thoroughly delighted to receive
your letter dated 18th May,
appreciating my write-up, Post
Card. I am happy that you have a lot
of books in your mini library and
you enjoy your spare time in
reading the books. I am sorry to say
that I dont have any cartoon of
myself by my brother Laxman. With
all respects. RKN.
Mani Natarajan,
Chennai

On maladministration
Until the intervention of the
Supreme Court, the BCCIwas a law
unto itself and a private body that
remained unaccountable to any
regulatory
body
(BCCImonopolyand
judicial
review, Jan.27). It was also beyond
the purview of the RTI Act, which
enabled its functionaries to do as
they
pleased
with
cricket
administration in the hands of wellheeled
industrialists
and
politicians. It was no doubt a cosy
club. It is this freedom that was
tarnishing of the game of cricket.
Thecash cow has now turned out to
be a can of worms with the owners
of franchises accused of being
involved in illegal betting and xing.
The BCCI needs urgent cleansing.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

The new entente with the U.S.

R
Amitabh Mattoo

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

Going beyond
symbolism
n its 66th Republic Day, during a mighty
parade in the national capital, India showcased woman power with all-women contingents of the three Services for the first
time. A day earlier, Wing Commander Pooja Thakur
became the first woman to lead a ceremonial tri-service
guard of honour, which the visiting U.S. President inspected. But when it comes to the overall status of
women in the Indian armed forces, especially in the
Army, all this represents a travesty of gender justice.
Since being inducted into the Army in 1992 under the
Women Special Entry Scheme (they were in even earlier in the Military Nursing Service from 1927 and in the
Medical Officers Cadre from 1943), women Army officers are still denied permanent commission on a par
with men: they have to be content with the short
service commission. On a batch of petitions filed in
2003 by women officers demanding an end to the
discriminatory practice, the Delhi High Court in March
2010 granted their just and fair claim for permanent
commission with the singeing words that it was not
some charity being sought but enforcement of their
constitutional rights. While this prompted the Air
Force and the Navy to grant women officers permanent
commission, the Army took a different stand, arguing,
among other things, that the bulk of the armys Junior
Commissioned Officers and other ranks hail from rural
India, who are not yet ready to accept a woman as their
leader in combat situations. In an affidavit filed before
the Supreme Court in 2012 while appealing against the
High Court order, the Army added: In theory women
in the army may sound good but in practical terms the
arrangement has not worked well in the Indian Army
and as a concept also our society is not prepared to
accept women in combat role.
As the issue remains in the Supreme Court for more
than four years now, the Army needs to get real, and
persuade itself to go beyond symbolic and cosmetic
steps. It needs to recognise womens capabilities as
many advanced armed forces across the world have
done, even committing them to combat roles and
their right to a full-fledged career in the force, on a par
with men. During the 14-year short service commission
tenure they now enjoy, women officers in various corps
are assigned duties similar to those of men officers
without distinction, to all possible field units with men
officers. If it is the Armys claim that beyond that point
in permanent commission tenure women could be exposed to hostile environments it has cited the
unique nature of responsibility and organisational requirement that the Army Act necessitates that
truly smacks of gender discrimination. The time has
come for the Army to end this iniquitous situation.

obert Blackwill, former Ambassador of the United States and Harvard academic, used to often
recount at his dinner roundtables
in New Delhis Roosevelt House an intriguing
story about how he was persuaded to take up
the job. In 2001, President George W. Bush
called him to his ranch in Texas and said:
Bob, imagine: India, a billion people, a democracy, 150 million Muslims and no Al Qaeda. Wow! More than a decade after
President Bushs first exclamation, IndiaU.S. relations have truly reached their wow
moment.
President Barack Obamas visit is so obvious a watershed in Indias foreign policy, and
so overwhelming a development, that voices
of dissent are mute or feeble. Not since India
signed the treaty of peace, friendship and
cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1971
has New Delhi aligned itself so closely with a
great power. More important, outside the
Left, both within India and in the U.S. the
consensus across the mainstream of political
opinion favours stronger relations between
the two countries. Anti-Americanism, once
the conventional wisdom of the Indian elite,
seems almost antediluvian today.

Behind the change

The reason for the drastic change in the
geostrategic outlook can be summarised
quickly. The 1971 treaty was a response to the
continuing U.S. tilt towards Pakistan and the
beginnings of a Washington-Beijing entente
(President Richard Nixons then National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, went secretly to Beijing via Islamabad a month before
India signed the treaty with the Soviet
Union). In contrast, in 2015, it is the prospect
of a powerful, belligerent and potentially hegemonic China in the Indo-Pacific region
that is helping to cement the relationship.
While this may seem like a parsimonious
explanation, it is rooted in an understanding
of the manner in which great powers, rising
powers and emerging powers have responded to changes in the balance of power in the
international system since the Peace of
Westphalia in 1648.
Clearly, the pice de rsistance of the Obama visit has been removing the final hurdles
in the civilian nuclear agreement to pave the
way for its commercialisation, almost a decade after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and President Bush first issued a joint statement, in July 2005, on civilian nuclear coop-

The Obama visit is so overwhelming a

development that it has hardly evoked dissent.
Not since India signed the peace and friendship
treaty with the Soviet Union has New Delhi
aligned itself so closely with a great power. AntiAmericanism, once the conventional wisdom of
the Indian elite, seems almost antediluvian today

eration. As we know, two sticking points were

holding up an agreement: differences over
liability in case of a nuclear accident, and
over administrative arrangements governing
the transfer of nuclear materials to India.
Consider first the latter. For more than a
year, the U.S. has refused to accept an Indian
draft agreement that was based on the sound
principle that New Delhi would be accountable only for the totality of nuclear material
supplied to it, and under the safeguards of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Given Indias closed fuel cycle, allowing nuclear material from different countries to be
tracked and audited separately could be unnecessarily intrusive and could undermine
the confidentiality of its nuclear programme.
While the Canadians saw reason and accepted Indias draft in 2012, the non-prolifer-

still holding out for tracking and audit of

nuclear material based on national flags.
Hopefully, the deal will pave the way for GE,
Westinghouse and other leading businesses
in the nuclear industry to begin commercial
operations in India.
Similarly, on the issue of nuclear liability,
where American companies were concerned
by the unlimited liability they could face in
case of a nuclear accident under Sections
17(b) and 46 of the Indian Civil Liability for
Nuclear Damage Act of 2010, a compromise
seems to have been found.
New Delhi has agreed to create a publicly
funded insurance pool and the Attorney General of India is likely to issue an explanatory
memorandum on Section 46 which will potentially clarify the limits of tort claims by
accident victims against the suppliers of nu-

The special relationship with the U.S. today, especially the

vision statement, is rooted in New Delhi's apprehensions about
Chinas aggressive peripheral diplomacy.
ation lobby in Washington seemed to have
had the upper hand as the political leadership
seemed reluctant to take a call even though it
was against the letter and spirit of the 123
agreement: the fundamental basis of the civil
nuclear agreement between India and the
U.S.

Nuclear liability issue

The deal has been done only because President Obama has now put his personal weight
behind it, to marginalise those who still see
Indias nuclear programme through the
prism of Washingtons non-proliferation
policies of the 1990s towards New Delhi.
With the U.S. accepting the Canadian model,
it will be easier for India to negotiate with
Japan and Australia, the other two countries

clear reactors. The latter, however, as Indian

officials have said, is still a work in progress.
Given the collective national memory of the
Bhopal gas tragedy, this could still stir a public controversy if the limits are in absolute
terms. Rather, the claims could be linked to
compensations offered contemporaneously
to victims of industrial accidents in the U.S.

The vision statement

No less important is the commitment of
President Obama and his team to support
Indias membership of international export
control regimes, including the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement,
the Australia Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime that will help to further mainstream Indias nuclear programme.

CARTOONSCAPE

The dynamics
of inequality
ccupational and geographic mobility across
the region are bridging income and consumption-related disparities, says the World
Bank report, Addressing Inequality in South
Asia. The findings accordingly underscore the role of
urbanisation and private sector participation as being
critical to mitigating socio-economic disadvantages.
Inequality should be understood in terms of monetary
and non-monetary dimensions of well-being, contends
the report. The share of the poorest 40 per cent of
households in total consumption shows that inequality
in South Asia is moderate by international standards.
The comparison is valid even though estimates elsewhere are based on income per capita. Significantly,
but not surprisingly, economic mobility of the recent
decades has proved beneficial to the population at
large, cutting across traditional divides and challenging
stereotypes. This finding, if anything, underscores the
positive effects of legal safeguards for the protection of
minorities. Indeed, monetary inequality of enormous
significance is manifested in Indias highly disproportionate billionaire wealth, amounting to 12 per cent of
gross domestic product in 2012. The ratio is considerably large even compared with other countries at a
similar level of economic development, says the report.
Conversely, non-monetary indices of well-being pertain to opportunities available to people in the early
years, outcomes during adulthood and support systems
through the life-cycle. Thus, although it is not the
poorest region, South Asia accounts for some of the
worst human development outcomes in basic education and health care. Besides the highest rates of infant
and child mortality that prevail in many parts of the
region, more than 50 per cent of poor children below
five years of age in Bangladesh and Nepal are stunted;
the proportion for India is over 60 per cent. Pervasive
tax avoidance and regressive fuel and electricity subsidies are primarily responsible for the inadequate provisioning of public services. Of no insignificant value is
the non-dogmatic stance the report adopts on a fundamental moral question such as inequality. Drawing
upon influential academic debates in economics and
philosophy, the study argues that the rewards linked to
hard work and entrepreneurship serve as incentives to
give ones best and enhance overall well-being. It would
be fair to infer that non-monetary inequalities are
arbitrary and potentially more detrimental to economic growth over the long term. To bring such ideas into
the public and political mainstream would enhance the
quality of the debate, and further consolidate contemporary competitive electoral democracies.

CM
YK

THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Religious freedom
U.S. President Barack Obamas
statement on the need to uphold
religious freedom has far-reaching
implications (Uphold religious
freedom, Obama urges India,
Jan.28). The BJP governments
programmes such as Make in
India, Smart Cities and Clean
India can succeed only with the
participation of Indian as well as
foreign investors.
G. Stanley Jeyasingh,
Nagercoil

Narendra Modi over the visit. It is

also a passive reminder to Mr. Modi
that religious intolerance was the
reason why he was denied a visa.
The U.S. President has done well in
exposing to the world the sectarian
attitude and philosophy of the BJP
and the right wing.
Thomas George,
Pala, Kerala
Mr. Obamas advice, or remark, is
quite amusing. Is he not aware of
our Sanatana Dharma, which
respects all the religions in the
world, and of our supreme
secularism being followed here?
Has he overlooked the fact that we
have places of worship that cover
many faiths? In fact, India may be
one of the few nations where
minorities enjoy the maximum
freedom with many of their
members making it to high office.
V.S. Ganeshan,
Bengaluru

Mr. Obamas pertinent advice could

not have come at a more
appropriate time. With right-wing
elements bent on dividing the
country in the name of religion, and
other telltale signs of an agenda
(Row over omission of words,
Jan.28) that cannot be dismissed as
mere
oversight,
the
BJP
government needs to come clean on
this issue.
Tharcius S. Fernando, As expected, the media have
Chennai jumped into the fray and
highlighted the remarks. This is my
The speech should be seen as a slap poser to media outlets: where else
in the face of the government, can you find a country like India
which is trying to introduce an that allows such abundant religious
element of religion into almost freedom? Where were the media
there
were
reverse
every field using even the slightest when
opportunity. Right-wing groups are conversions, from majority to
clearly attempting to incite minority? As a result of this, the
communal hatred in the country. demography of northeastern India
Mr. Obamas words of caution show is changing. We also know about the
plight of Kashmiri Pandits. As a
that the world is watching.
T. Anand Raj, good host we have to accord respect
Chennai to the President and his comments.
But he must note that he will not be
In his final speech in India, Mr. allowed to talk about religious
Obama effectively punctured the freedom in West Asia, his next
euphoria of Prime Minister destination after India, and where

Given that similar promises have been made

in the past, it is important that India uses the
goodwill of the Obama visit to ensure that
Washington presses for this to happen as
soon as possible despite the obvious reluctance of some members of these regimes.
The media focus has been on the nuclear
issue yet the U.S.-India Joint Strategic
Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
Region is no less significant. It is a major
advance on the early initiatives made during
last Septembers Obama-Modi summit in
Washington. Indeed, given Indias traditional strategic caution, the vision statement
could be even seen as radical by its standards.
Shorn of the homilies, the vision statement
has three significant features.
The first is the clear link between economic prosperity and security, and the critical
importance of freedom of the seas in the
region. The statement could not be more
explicit: We affirm the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring
freedom of navigation and over flight
throughout the region, especially in the
South China Sea.
Second is the commitment to the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
and to pursue resolution of territorial and
maritime disputes through all peaceful
means, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law.
Third is the agreement to work with other
countries to better respond to diplomatic,
economic and security challenges in the region. The five-year vision includes strengthening regional dialogues, making trilateral
consultations with third countries in the region more robust, deepening regional integration, strengthening regional forums, and
exploring additional multilateral opportunities for engagement.

China factor
While India has traditionally favoured a
policy of deep engagement with all major
powers, the special relationship with the U.S.
today, especially the vision statement, is
rooted in great apprehensions in New Delhi
about Chinas aggressive peripheral diplomacy, particularly after the intrusions in
Chumar during President Xi Jinpings visit to
India last year. That the new Chinese leadership had abandoned Deng Xiaopings 24
Character Strategy of biding time, hiding its
capacities and not attracting attention has
been clear for some time now, but what is
intriguing is that Beijing has managed to
alienate nearly all its neighbours, except
North Korea and Pakistan, by its malevolence. Not surprisingly, a rising China is a
cause of trepidation in most capitals of the
world today. Will Beijing now introspect and
recalibrate? For it must realise that New Delhis closeness to Washington is also a function of its strategic distance from Beijing.
In late 2005, amidst the negotiations over
the civil nuclear agreement with the U.S., Dr.
Singh, appointed a task force on global strategic developments headed by the doyen of
Indias strategic thinking, K. Subrahmanyam. As a member of the task force, I remember the meetings essentially became a series
of inspiring lectures by Mr. Subrahmanyam
on geopolitics. Mr. Subrahmanyam was an
architect of many of Indias key strategic
decisions, including the policy that led to the
creation of Bangladesh, the Indo-Soviet treaty, as well as the nuclear tests of 1998. But
throughout the meetings, Mr. Subrahmanyam, with a mind as agile as that of a restless
teenage prodigy, would emphasise the importance of arriving at a modus vivendi with
the U.S., the overriding importance of the
nuclear deal, how it was in Washingtons own
interest to support a rising India and how
New Delhi should grab that opportunity. As
the United States and India finally recognise each other and promise to realise each
others potential, the new entente between
the two countries is a fitting tribute to the
legacy of Indias modern-day Chanakya, just
days after his 86th birthday.
(Amitabh Mattoo is Professor of
Disarmament and Diplomacy, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
the American First Lady has
apparently stirred up a controversy
by not wearing a headscarf.
Satheesh Kumar R.,
Mangaluru

Issues in focus
The focus of most media articles
during and following the Obama
visit appear to be heavily nuclear
deal-centric and on defence deals
and trade. Unfortunately, there
does not seem to have been any
discussion on renewable energy and
climate change which are far more
important than these issues. Does
India want just financial help on
the issue of climate change? It must
be noted that the White House has
released a 10-point statement on
climate change and clean energy
resulting from the discussions and
which include these points: the
phasing out of hydroflurocarbons; a
$125-million agreement on clean
energy research; enhanced clean
energy research and trade; climate
resilience tools; promotion of
super-efficient off-grid appliances,
and a concluded agreement on a
five-year MoU on Energy Security,
Clean Energy, and Climate Change
which is to be signed soon. This is by
far the most important issue for
future generations of Indians.
Clarence Maloney,
Kodaikanal

R.K. Laxman
I had an occasion to meet R.K.
Laxman some years ago when the
public sector organisation I was
working in had invited him to meet
its staff. I was to take him around
the huge manufacturing complex
and the township that housed our

employees. Many of us asked him

about his impressions. He quickly
went up to a board, clipped on a
sheet of paper, pulled out a marker
pen and drew the Common Man
holding a test tube in his hand with
a huge cloud of smoke floating over
his head. This was done in just
under a minute. We thought it
depicted pollution, as ours was a
chemical manufacturing complex.
His response was just a smile!
Probably that was his singular
impression, we thought. But there
was more to follow. The next day, a
leading daily published this
cartoon, maybe his overall
impression about PSUs. It depicted
an official telling someone, perhaps
a visiting VIP, with the Common
Man looking on: These are
employee quarters, thats the
school, thats the hospital, thats our
recreation club and now we are
waiting for funds for the project to
start. We were taken aback by how
sharp the observation was and how
great truths often lie hidden
beneath humour, without being
hurtful or obscene.
R.K. Laxman was one in a million.
M. Shankar,
Chennai
R.K. Laxman held a mirror unto
society. I am reminded of his line,
Crows are so good-looking, so
intelligent. Where will I find
characters like that in politics?
Though
he
often
targeted
politicians in his cartoons, he was
also known to win over the same
leaders who admired his talent. He
embodied the hopes, aspirations
and troubles of Indians for over
half-a-century, and allowed India to

laugh and think. He lives on in the

Common Man.
A. Myilsami,
Coimbatore
Two of his cartoons come to mind.
In the 1990s, when Kolkata was
facing an acute power supply crisis,
he came up with a cartoon depicting
an executive at the airport checking
in his suitcase and carrying a
hurricane lantern as hand baggage.
The second showed A.B. Vajpayee,
the then Foreign Minister who
often went abroad, with a briefcase
in one hand and an aircraft model in
the other. The Common Man was
there, looking on totally amused.
S.V. Ramakrishnan,
Chennai

This is no toilet
The Supreme Court has brought out
the realities of toilets in
government schools in Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana (Toilet in
structure not a toilet in reality: SC,
Jan.28). How can the authorities
just spend some money in
constructing the structure without
going into its actual functioning? It
clearly seems to be a case of
collusion between the contractors
and the officials concerned. It is
common to find rest rooms often
being used as garbage receptacles.
People also do not know how to
keep a toilet clean after use. School
heads in the region have often said
that there is apathy towards the
condition of rest rooms and that
things can be turned around if every
student contributes Rs.10 a month
towards upkeep.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Takeaways from the Obama visit

T
Twenty years ago, the talking points of U.S. policy
were to cap and eventually eliminate the
subcontinents nuclear programmes. Now, to have
the U.S. President at the Republic Day parade in
2015 while negotiators worked out ways to
operationalise civil nuclear cooperation shows
how far India-U.S. ties have progressed

Lisa Curtis

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

Obama and
religious freedom
he first public reactions to U.S. President Barack Obamas soul-stirring Address to the
People of India at the Siri Fort Auditorium in
New Delhi before winding up his three-day
historic trip to the country on January 27 have, rather
predictably, displayed a binary logic. A good section
instantly saw in Mr. Obamas candid views on dealing
with diversity of beliefs and of faiths and the need to
uphold the constitutionally guaranteed Right to Freedom of Religion without fear of persecution or discrimination, a well-meant yet stinging reminder to the
Narendra Modi-led BJP Government to rein in its
religious fundamentalist elements. But an equally vocal section seemed to resent his homily to a nation
whose Sanatana Dharma has been extremely tolerant
of all religions. However, holistically there is more
substance to Mr. Obamas 34-minute speech, set in the
context of two emerging scenarios. First, the possibility
that America can be Indias best partner in a whole
range of activities including the next wave of economic growth, and second, at a more personal level how
India for Mr. Obama represents an intersection of two
men who have always inspired me Martin Luther
King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi in striving for equity
and peace in a non-violent way.
It is from this perceptual bedrock that the American
President has sought to re-engage India on a much
wider socio-political canvas of cultural pluralism and
religious diversity under an overarching universal humanism. Mr. Obamas admission that in our lives,
Michelle and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith, may at best elevate traditional religious
notions like God and all of humanity being Gods
children, to a secular plane in a complex, interdependent world in guarding against sectarian divisions and
dark violence which threaten to rapidly undermine
foundational human values. This universalism for Mr.
Obama, looking beyond any difference in religion or
tribe and rejoice in the beauty of every soul, seem to be
first premises for articulating a new global ethic of
peace and harmony. The entry point may be Hinduism,
Christianity, Islam or any other faith, but the goal is
enabling compassion and empathy in human affairs.
This is a utopian task, but this is what world leaders
like India and the U.S. should be doing, he hinted. The
late Philosopher-President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,
in his work, The Spirit of Religion said: The world has
got together as a body; it is groping for its soul If we
can have a United Nations Organization, cannot we
have a United Religions Organization? Mr. Obamas
plea for religious freedom aims to give that vision a
chance under very different circumstances.

he rain during the Republic Day parade apart, United States President
Barack Obamas visit to India was a
near-perfect one. Indeed, his sojourn is likely to be viewed as one of the most
important and defining moments in the history of India-U.S. relations.
The pomp and symbolism of Mr. Obama
being the first U.S. President to attend the
parade was expected. But the substance of the
visit, particularly its focus on defence and
Incidentally, the Washington-based Heristrategic cooperation, confirms that both Mr. the previous government headed by Dr. ManObama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi mohan Singh. The time and the attention the tage Foundation will join the Delhi-based ViIndian side has devoted in trying to resolve vekananda International Foundation, the
are serious about bolstering ties.
differences over the nuclear liability issue Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the ToProgress on strategic agenda
shows that the Modi government is taking kyo Foundation, and the Jakarta-based HabiThe most significant achievement was the ownership of the deal.
bie Center in Bali, Indonesia, next week for a
progress made in military and defence coopTrack II Quad-Plus dialogue to discuss ways
eration. The renewal of the 10-year frame- China factor
to enhance cooperation in defence, regional
Forming the backdrop of progress on In- security and counterterrorism.
work for the U.S.-India Defence Relationship;
the announcement of joint projects, includ- dia-U.S. defence and strategic ties is undoubtChina has reacted warily to Mr. Obamas
ing the co-production of unmanned aerial edly the military and economic rise of China. visit to India. In a commentary that ran in a
vehicles (UAVs) and specialised equipment The Joint Statements call for freedom of state-owned Chinese newspaper, its author
for military transport aircraft; the establish- navigation and overflight, especially in the cautioned India not to fall into Americas
ment of contact groups to explore co-devel- South China Sea, should be viewed as a veiled trap of trying to counter China.
opment of jet engine technology and aircraft reference to Chinese assertiveness in the
Counterterrorism cooperation
carrier systems, and the decision to upgrade region.
By demonstrating that China is very much
The two sides advanced their counterterbilateral, annual naval exercises represent
substantive steps that will deepen the de- on his mind, Mr. Modi has reportedly raised rorism dialogue and recommitted to cooperfence partnership.
The establishment of a hotline between the
two leaders and their national security adU.S. companies are apparently still studying the Indian
visers are also an indicator of the two counproposal
for a nuclear insurance pool to mitigate investment
tries taking ties to a deeper, strategic level.
The forward movement on civil nuclear
risks, so it may be too early to claim victory on the civil
issues was a surprise, given the antagonistic
nuclear front.
position of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
towards the civil nuclear deal when it was in
the Opposition. But details on the breakthrough understanding are sparse. And Mr. the idea of reviving the Quad (security collab- ating against Pakistan-based groups such as
Obama has himself acknowledged that U.S. oration between Australia, India, Japan and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). There is confucompanies will have the final say on whether the U.S.). Shinzo Abe, during his previous sion about whether Pakistan is cracking down
Indias proposal for an insurance pool will be stint as Prime Minister of Japan, proposed on the LeT front organisation, Jamaat-udsufficient to mitigate investment risks in light the idea of the Quad almost nine years ago. Dawa (JuD), led by the LeT founder, Hafiz
of Indian legislation that holds suppliers lia- The four countries backed away from the Mohammad Saeed.
ble for damages in the event of a nuclear proposal when China raised strong objecThe Pakistani media reported last week
accident. The companies are apparently still tions. Mr. Modis mention of the Quad may that Islamabad had frozen JuD assets and
studying the proposal, so it may be too early have been aimed at convincing China to back banned its leaders from international travel.
to claim victory on the civil nuclear front.
down from its assertive position with regard But Hafiz Saeeds recent announcement of
Nonetheless, U.S. officials seem to appre- to their border disputes. Chinese President Xi the JuD launching a new ambulance service
ciate the effort Indias negotiators are making Jinpings visit to India in September 2014 was in Karachi, shows that the organisation is not
in trying to resolve the civil nuclear deadlock. overshadowed by border tensions provoked feeling much heat from the governments
Many were sceptical that Mr. Modi would by unusual movements of Chinese soldiers purported actions.
invest much political capital in trying to move along the disputed frontier in northern
Washington should push Pakistan to try in
the deal forward since it was initiated under Kashmir.
the newly established military courts, the

CARTOONSCAPE

Sending the
right signal
he governments decision not to appeal
against the adverse verdict of the Bombay
High Court in its Rs.3,200-crore tax case
against Vodafone is the first concrete demonstration of its resolve to do away with what Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley termed adversarial taxation policies of the
erstwhile UPA government. Though the BJP had during its election campaign, referred to tax terrorism in
its election campaign there was little that happened in
the first eight months of the new government to show
that such policies would be reversed. The latest Cabinet decision sends out a strong signal to foreign investors that this government will be fair in its tax
policies and avoid needless litigation. The decision not
to appeal has implications for other such similar cases
involving multinationals and is, in that sense, a significant one. It is also an acknowledgment that the Income Tax Departments assessment of the case was
erroneous. The Vodafone case was about wrong classification of a capital receipt as taxable income at the
hands of the company. Applying transfer-pricing guidelines, the I.T. Department held that Vodafone had
underpriced its shares issued to the parent. So it revalued the shares and deemed the difference to be a loan
given to the parent. This was clearly high-handed and a
wrong application of transfer-pricing regulations.
The governments decision to accept the High Court
verdict is also a signal to assessing officers that they
should refrain from making unreasonable tax demands, relying on aggressive and faulty interpretations
of rules and sections. Yet, it is also true that the government turns the heat on these officers when it decides
that tax collections need to be augmented. If the tax
official is confused he cannot be blamed. What is needed is a stable policy that sends out the signal to both
assessing officers and taxpayers that the government
will crack down on evasion but within the framework of
the law; there will be no extraordinary interpretations
of rules and sections even in times of revenue distress.
The focus will now shift to whether the government
moves to neutralise the mischief caused by the retrospective tax amendment; this is a major demand of
foreign investors who were disappointed that it was not
addressed in the first budget of this government in July
last year. The General Anti Avoidance Rules, or GAAR,
are a cause for worry for taxpayers and foreign investors as they confer wide discretionary powers on the
I.T. Department. It will be interesting to see if Mr.
Jaitley makes a Budget announcement to postpone its
implementation once again as per the recommendations of the Parthasarathi Shome Committee.

CM
YK

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Debating the Preamble
Any responsible government would
exercise caution and restraint when
it comes to sensitive issues and
where a change can trigger chaos
and friction in society (Let nation
debate Preamble: Ravi Shankar,
Jan.29). The amendment in 1976
reiterated the nations commitment
to growth and the protection of the
minorities and the poor; it did not
mean the majority would be
deprived of their rights and
opportunities. The current stand is
only a mechanism to gain political
mileage and polarise the nation.
Vikram Sundaramurthy,
Chennai
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is
only trying to be clever by half with
his suggestion. The issue may have
been clarified by his Cabinet
colleague and the advertisements
may be innocent; however,
innocence should remain a virtue
and not be used as an alibi to create
a controversy. It is true that the
founding
fathers
of
the
Constitution, in their wisdom and
vision, had not included the words
socialist and secular in the
Preamble and the amendment
made in 1976 may have been an
overreach. But in the present time,
post-liberalisation and after the
Babri Masjid demolition and the
Godhra riots, things are different.
P. Venu,
Vaikom, Kerala

removed from the Preamble, do we

become secular automatically?
Only when we imbibe the spirit
behind these words and start living
accordingly will we become truly
secular and socialist.
Vijaya Krishna Pillai G.,
Alappuzha
The government must be reminded
about what U.S. President Barack
Obama said on the need to uphold
religious freedom. While it may be
true that India was secular even
before the introduction of the term
in 1976, and will remain so, its
introduction nevertheless shows a
greater commitment to this value. I
find no logic in the Ministers
excuse that these terms were
introduced during the Emergency
and therefore need a fresh debate.
The question is whether these
terms have added greater value to
the Preamble or not. And have they
helped in a better interpretation of
constitutional provisions?
Chandra Prakash,
New Delhi

The omission of the words socialist

and secular is a clear attempt to
test the waters, given the way the
BJP government is handling
sensitive issues. The misgivings in
this regard are certainly not
without basis as there are overt and
covert attempts to push the country
towards being a Hindu Rashtra. The
Ministers call is laughable and an
indication of his governments
misplaced priorities.
The Ministers endorsement of the
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
controversial remarks made by a
Tiruchi
Shiv Sena leader is rather
intriguing. What does he mean by The minorities are already
saying we do not need these words apprehensive of the rise of Hindu
to be secular? If these words are fundamentalism, and moves such as

seven LeT members in Pakistani custody for

their alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistan has set up these special
military courts to overcome weaknesses in
the civilian court system in dealing with terrorist cases. One major problem has been the
ability of terrorists to intimidate civilian lawyers and judges in order to influence the system in their favour.
Washington has not adequately leveraged
its aid and influence in Pakistan to convince
the authorities to crack down on terrorist
groups that focus on attacking India, but also
pose an international threat. The U.S.s increased willingness to work with India to target these groups is welcome, but not enough.
Until Washington makes clear that it places the threat from LeT on a par with that from
al-Qaeda, Pakistani military and intelligence
services will continue to allow the LeT and
the JuD to operate relatively freely.

Womens rights, religious freedom

On the final day of the visit, Mr. Obamas
speech, which focussed on womens rights
and religious freedom, was appropriate. The
treatment of women in India has garnered a
great deal of attention in the last couple of
years, especially following wide media coverage after a brutal gang rape on a bus in New
Delhi in December 2012 that left the young
woman dead.
The issue of religious freedom has also
come in the spotlight following reports of
mass ceremonies where Muslims and Christians are being converted to Hinduism. Parliament was paralysed for several days last
month when reports surfaced that a BJP leader planned to hold one of these ceremonies on
Christmas Day (December 25). Eventually
the group organising the event agreed to cancel it.
Amid the controversy, some BJP leaders
have proposed passing a national anti-conversion law legislation purportedly aimed
at preventing forced conversions. But Indias
religious minorities worry that such laws
would be used to harass or intimidate them.
There is also concern that allowing law enforcement or judicial authorities to determine whether a conversion has been forced or
manipulated allows the state to intervene too
heavily in religious matters that involve personal and ethical choices.
Mr. Modi has stayed away from communal
politicking and has signalled that he is more
interested in focussing on his economic agenda, rather than in pursuing Hindutva policies.
He has taken steps to reach out to the Muslim
community. For instance, during his first
speech to Parliament last June, he said it was
unacceptable that the Muslim minority often
lagged behind the rest of the country in socioeconomic terms.
But he needs to reaffirm his commitment
to religious freedom and show that he is not
beholden to those pushing a hardline Hindutva agenda. Failing to do so could harm the
BJP governments international reputation
and dampen India-U.S. ties.
As a young diplomat heading to South Asia
nearly 20 years ago, I remember being
coached with very specific talking points on
U.S. policy, which was to cap, roll back, and
eventually eliminate the nuclear programmes of both India and Pakistan. To now
see the U.S. President at a spectacular parade
where Indias strategic weapons capabilities
were on full display, while U.S. and Indian
negotiators hashed out ways to operationalise civil nuclear cooperation, vividly illustrates just how far the relationship has
progressed in recent years.
The Joint Statement released during the
visit is notable for its length, spelling out
several achievements in the relationship but
also detailing the work that lies ahead. The
India-U.S. collaboration that now stretches
across a broad array of issues and the vision
set forth by the two leaders shows that we are
no longer striving for a strategic partnership.
We have arrived at one.
(Lisa Curtis is Senior Research Fellow on
South Asia at the Heritage Foundation.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
the suggestion to have a debate will
be construed as taking the country
towards a theocratic state. It is
pertinent to note that Mr. Obama
spoke on Indian soil about the need
to uphold religious freedom. Mr.
Prasads argument that the words
were introduced during the
Emergency does not hold water as
many such insertions have been
made in the Constitution before
and after the Emergency.
M.K.B. Nambiar,
Mahe

communalism versus secularism

debate entered the nations political
discourse as a dominant narrative
only after this amendment
demonstrates the opportunistic
motive of the Congress regime.
Despite the BJP leaders professing
the eclecticism and inclusiveness of
Hinduism, the fact that the party
carries a heavy baggage of antiminorityism cannot be wished
away.
Even
well-intentioned
proposals, like the present one to
debate the relevance of the words
secular and socialist in the
The Preamble ends with the Preamble of the Constitution, are
sentence, In our constituent likely to be misunderstood. The
assembly this twenty-sixth day of proposal should be shelved not
November, 1949, do hereby adopt, because it lacks merit, but because
enact and give to ourselves this it will needlessly vitiate the
Constitution. Viewed in this atmosphere.
V.N. Mukundarajan,
context (the position being as of
Thiruvananthapuram
November 26, 1949), there is a case
to revisit Section 2 of the
Constitution
(Forty-second The Preamble is not the operative
Amendment) Act, 1976 which part of the Constitution, but a
substituted Sovereign Socialist statement of the circumstances for
promulgation
of
the
Secular Democratic Republic for the
Sovereign Democratic Republic. Constitution, and as such is frozen
Perhaps, in Article 368, the words in time. It does not lend itself to any
any provision did not cover the amendment at a later date.
P.V. Iyer,
Preamble, and the authors of the
Bengaluru
Constitution might have envisaged
a change in the Preamble when
another Constituent Assembly
revised the Constitution. Legalities The curtailment of Sujatha
apart, one wonders what change in Singhs service/tenure reminds us
policies has emerged post the of the infamous removal of A.P.
inclusion of the words socialist and Venkateswaran by Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 (Jaishankar is
secular.
M.G. Warrier, Foreign Secretary, Jan.29). While
Thiruvananthapuram Rajiv Gandhis was an undignified
and sudden outburst, Prime
The Indira Gandhi regime carried Minister Narendra Modi seems to
out a redundant exercise in 1976 have gone for the silent kill. Mr.
when it inserted the words Modi has every right to appoint his
secular and socialist into the trusted officers to top posts, but the
Preamble. The fact that the abruptness in naming Mr.

New Foreign Secretary

Jaishankar is certain to create bad

feeling and give the Opposition
fresh ammunition.
Ganapathi Bhat,
Akola

Tax relief for firm

The Cabinet has done the right
thing by not challenging the
Bombay High Court ruling in the
Vodafone case (Cabinet goes by
HC tax relief for Vodafone,
Jan.29). This is a decision that will
improve the investment climate in
the country and another small step
to boost investor confidence in the
Indian market and the Make in
India campaign.
P. Nithish Reddy,
Kadapa
It may be a coincidence, but the
report came on a day Apple
Corporations record quarterly
profit of $18 billion became known,
which boosted its reserves to nearly
$180 billion.
Multinationals often exploit tax
laws, splitting their operations,
registering
100
per
cent
subsidiaries in tax havens, and
shifting manufacturing to other
parts of the world so that they do
not end up paying corporate tax.
Some time ago there was a report
that every iPhone sold in the U.S.
was 30 per cent of its actual selling
price in the rest of the world. Two
years ago, the U.S. government set
up a committee to plug tax
loopholes to augment its revenue
but nothing has come of it, and
MNCs continue to reap windfall
profits. All this shows that the
Indian government needs to be
judicious in granting concessions.
N. Ramamurthy,
Chennai
ND-ND

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

Choosing satyagraha over spectacle

T
Shiv Visvanathan

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015

Interference sans
responsibility
ayanthi Natarajans explosive letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, with its stunning
revelations about Rahul Gandhis interference
in the functioning of the Union Environment
Ministry when she headed it, only underscores what
was long known in party circles. As heir apparent, Mr.
Gandhi would sporadically interfere in policy decisions
depending on his particular pet belief at a particular
point in time. Worse, the positions he took were often
inconsistent. As Ms. Natarajan points out in her letter,
Mr. Gandhis espousal of the interests of tribals and
fisherfolk was soon superseded by his advocacy of industry: at a FICCI meeting, shortly after she was sacked
as Minister, he complained about delays in environmental clearances (something Ms. Natarajan implies
happened because of his interference), and promised
there would be no further bottlenecks. If, from time to
time, there were whispers in the party about similar
interventions by Mr. Gandhi, the one that played out in
front of television cameras was in September 2013,
when he tore up a controversial ordinance on convicted
lawmakers, as well as the Representation of the People
(Amendment) Bill that sought to replace it. Five days
later, the Union Cabinet withdrew the ordinance, but
not before it had deeply embarrassed the then Prime
Minister, Manmohan Singh.
Differences on policy issues exist in all political parties and governments: the proper way is to settle these
issues through internal debate, a practice the Congress
abandoned long ago. In UPA-I, in Sonia Gandhis National Advisory Council the Congress created an institution through which the social welfare dimension
could be introduced into governance: Dr. Singh did not
always agree with the NACs formulations, but through
a process of discussion, a via media would be found as
in the Food Security Act. But in the case of Mr. Gandhi,
there was always great anxiety amongst his minders to
ensure that he got the credit for any governmental or
party success, sometimes with comic effect. Towards
the end of UPA-I, after the government had already
decided to expand the coverage of the MGNREGS to
the entire country, Mr. Gandhi took a delegation to the
Prime Minister to press him to do it! The key problem
for the Congress has been that while Mr. Gandhi was
repeatedly entreated to join the government in a Ministry of his choice, he stayed away, saying he preferred
to build the party. The uncharitable view in the party
was that ministerial responsibility would have brought
in its wake accountability, anathema to the heir apparent. Today, Mr. Gandhis spin doctors may question
Ms. Natarajans timing, but if he does not draw the
right lessons from her dramatic exit from the Congress,
there could be more departures.

he ritual of political spectacles creates its own frenzy of anticipation.

U.S. President Barack Obamas visit
to India was expected to create a
sense of magical politics before it faded into
banality. For all the hysteria of expert commentary, no new regime of intellectual property is going to emerge, and no nuclear deal
will have the qualities of transparency both
sides will demand. But there was a second
piece of drama which was relevant to the
themes of the visit. Mr. Obama was searching
for a new compact to fight terror. The second
event challenged the security discourse he
was urging by talking of peace in a different
language. This was Irom Sharmilas decision
to continue her fast after the High Court had
cleared her of charges of suicide.
Sharmilas fast, one of the classic acts of
satyagraha in history, has often been read as a
local event. For all its drama, it is seen as a
footnote to the problems of the so-called
North East, a local struggle in Manipur. Yet,
politics has a way of transforming itself from
a local anecdote to a national symbol. Sharmilas years of fasting, protesting against the
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)
is relevant for a world which is combating
terror. Terror today is not an act confined to
rebels and insurgents. Terror is also a part of
the policy of the state. AFSPA, formalised by
Parliament in 1958, has destroyed the normalcy of Manipur. Sharmilas fast began as a
simple, naive act of protest by a young girl
who decides to refuse food till AFSPA is repealed. She was protesting against the rape
and murder of Manipuri women by an Army
which used the law to commit atrocities with
impunity. Over the years, the simple message
of courage has made Sharmilas act, a major
message of non-violence today.

Terror and satyagraha

Terror today dominates state politics, immobilising democracies which are addicted to
the security discourse. When the state mirrors the violence of the terrorists, a political
impasse is born. Sharmila shows that satyagraha might be an answer to the indignity of
terror. Satyagraha can fight terror and shame
it into civility. Let us first examine the
contrast.
Terror is contemptuous of the body, indifferent to the suffering of the victim. Satyagra-

This Republic Day had two sets of tableaux, one

enacted on Rajpath, and the other more elaborate
as the tableau of security. Yet, as spectacles,
Mr. Obama will be forgotten while the satyagrahis
acts of conscience and courage will prompt us to
rethink history
ha uses the body as the vehicle of truth and
uses suffering to create compassion. It offers
the dignity of vulnerability to the indifference
of terrorism.
Terror paralyses through anonymity. It is
always masked. Satyagraha is always a face
which seeks to communicate. Terror paralyses discourse while satyagraha opens up conversation. A Gandhi would always talk to his
oppressors while IS would at most telegram
its ownership of the act of violence. Satyagraha seeks the ethics of responsibility. Terror
owns the act of violence but disowns the responsibility for it.
Terror emphasises invulnerability. Satayagraha begins from vulnerability. Terror paralyses agency and satyagraha seeks to revive it.
Watching Sharmila, one senses the vulner-

Satyagraha seeks justice. Terror, at the

most, can speak the language of revenge. In
fact, terror depoliticises politics by invoking
the redundancy of security discourse, while
satyagraha is an invitation to politics, to its
constant reinventions. The satyagrahi summons speech while terror invites the constant
noise of violence.
In terms of drama, satyagraha is the politics of theatre, but terror has no real sense of
dialogue, drama or spectatorship. The protests of the women of Manipur standing
naked before the Assam Rifles headquarters
saying, Rape us too conveys drama while
bin Laden, for all the publicity, conveys no
sense of speech, no inventiveness of language,
no sense of surprise. The redundancy and the
excess of terror elude drama. Terror destroys

It is the Irom Sharmilas, the Mahasweta Devis and the

Ela Bhatts who have to colour the imagination of India and take
it beyond the triteness of state politics.
ability of a fragile woman and yet the strength
of agency which has survived over decades.
Terror creates shock but no surprise. It
fuses politics and technology into repetitive
acts of cannibalising bodies. The satyagrahi is
constantly inventing. Terror destroys normalcy while the satyagrahi seeks to restore
normalcy and in pondering over its delights.
Irom Sharmila insists that when AFSPA is
repealed, she will marry a man she loves and
live an ordinary life.
The satyagraha speaks truth to power while
terror seeks to challenge power through violence. The women of Manipur know that insurgence is no answer to development. They
are not looking for mock heroics but the ordinariness and everydayness of life and its
rituals.

storytelling while satyagraha unfolds as an

epic story.
The message of Irom Sharmila is the message of Vclav Havel, of Mahatma Gandhi, of
Martin Luther King; that out of vulnerability
can come the agency which emancipates,
which understands the other as it battles him.

No understanding
Our terrorists and our security discourses
seek only dominance and control, not understanding. The discourse that Mr. Obama
spouts shows little understanding of the evils
enacted by the U.S. Narendra Modi shows
little sense of the suffering of the North East.
In fact the term North East is itself a violence
to the diversity of communities in the area.
The women of Manipur are asking for the gift

CARTOONSCAPE

Climate change
deniers
he passage of the Keystone XL pipeline bill,
the first priority of the new U.S. Senate controlled by Republicans, hit a roadblock on
January 27 when the Senate managed to muster just 53 votes in its favour, seven shy of the 60-vote
threshold to limit debate. The nearly 1,900-km-long
proposed pipeline, which will transport 830,000 barrels
of oil a day from Albertas (Canada) vast oil sands to
Nebraska, is a highly controversial project. Unlike conventional crude, mining and turning tar sands into oil is
highly carbon-intensive and hence has far worse consequences for global warming. It is for this reason that
President Barack Obama had threatened to veto the bill.
But the bill produced some interesting results before it
reached the stage when the Senate voted on it. For the
first time, the Republicans slowly but surely shifting
position on climate change became evident. When the
first measure climate change is real and not a hoax
offered as an amendment to the legislation that will
pave the way for the Keystone XL pipeline project was
put to vote on January 21, except for one Republican the
entire Senate agreed that climate change is for real.
Interestingly, Republican Jim Inhofe, the veteran climate change denier in the Senate, was one of those who
voted for the amendment. For him, the hoax was that
some people think they can change climate.
Though a majority of the Senators also agreed that
humans are singularly responsible for climate change,
two crucial amendments that pointed a finger at humans failed to cross the 60-vote threshold. While an
amendment affirming that humans contributed to climate change was just one short of 60, the third amendment, that human activity significantly contributes to
climate change, got only 50 votes; just five Republicans
voted for it. Apparently, the emphasis on human contribution turned out to be the sticking point. The Senate
has till date refused to widely agree that man-made
climate change is real. Despite a body of evidence unequivocally proving that human activity has been the
causal factor for climate change, the deniers are in no
mood to change their stand. So long as policymakers fail
to acknowledge the havoc created by human activity,
there is little possibility that anything substantial will
be done to address it. The consequences will be terrible
and irreversible if ideology continues to stand up to
science. With reckless emission of greenhouse gases
continuing, the Earth is already on track to warm by
3.6 Celsius, as the International Energy Agency estimated last year. This is way beyond the goal of limiting
the increase in global average surface temperature to
2C above the pre-industrial level.

CM
YK

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2015

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

remembers her shocked and
stunned expression as seen in a
The letter written by former Union photograph as she found the body
Environment Minister, senior of Rajiv Gandhi. Its something that
Congress party member and is seared into the nations collective
The
unceremonious
loyalist Jayanthi Natarajan (I psyche.
honoured Rahuls requests, manner in which she was removed
Jan.30) exposes, more than from the Cabinet and then made a
anything else, the well-known fact scapegoat for the general decisionthat the Manmohan Singh making inertia of the UPA, shows
government
was
remote- the Congress in poor light.
Vishal Bondwal,
controlled. But what compelled
Faridabad
Dr. Singh, a person of impeccable
character and integrity, to submit
uncomplaining,
loyal
to the wishes of the Congress first An
family, is a complete mystery. The spokesperson has been vilified by
letter shows that there must be a her masters. In many ways, this
through investigation into all harsh treatment is typical of the
Congresss culture ever since
decisions made by the UPA.
K. Sivaraman, Indira Gandhi came to power
Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu when dynastic rule became the
accepted norm and when great
Even when Ms. Natarajan resigned stalwarts were left in the lurch.
as Minister, there were many of us
Shemeela Sasikumar,
Thrissur
who were taken aback and felt there
was more to it than met the eye. It is
satisfying that Ms. Natarajan did One can understand the hurt
not show favouritism and seems to sentiments of the senior leader.
have ensured that there were Political parties use the services of
adequate safeguards to protect the articulate leaders to attack political
environment. She might have been adversaries and then discard them
shifted out as she did not accede to like banana peels without realising
the repercussions. One hopes that
unusual requests.
Krishnaswami K.R., the Congress will accept its great
Chennai loss in her departure as she is
decent, speaks sensibly and puts
Well done, Ms. Natarajan. Its time across her viewpoints in a lucid
that people with integrity like her manner without going overboard.
H.P. Murali,
reveal the truth about the inner
Bengaluru
policies of political parties,
irrespective of which party they
belong to. For the public, this Ms. Natarajan cannot expect any
ensures transparency in decision- public sympathy, having been one
among the most assiduous of the
making and helps when voting.
Dhanush Kumar, numerous sycophants in the party
Bengaluru who helped create the dynastic,
autocratic, non-transparent and
Ms. Natarajan has been a loyal can-do-no-wrong
command
Congress member. One still structure of the Congress. In any

A loyalists anguish

of normalcy, the right to everydayness which

allows a citizen to pursue life and liberty.
In fact, my mind was toying with the idea
that Obama-Modi would enact their lifeless
politics on Republic Day. Their battle hymn
of the republic seeks deals about nuclear energy, defence and intellectual property. Think
of these negotiations along with the tableaux
of militarism that the Indian state presented
on January 26. This Republic Day had two
sets of tableaux, one enacted on Rajpath but
the more elaborate one is the tableau of security, the seven rounds of security cordons that
protected Mr. Obama. At this moment one
realises the voyeurism of India in seeking the
same securitarian pomposity as the U.S. Yet,
as spectacles, Mr. Obama will be forgotten
while Sharmilas acts of conscience prompt us
to rethink history.
Sharmila too talks of development but it is
the story of village and family, of craft and
biomass societies confronting the new developmentalist state.

New kind of democracy

Security, and its sibling, terror, create spectacles while satyagraha unfolds as a drama.
Imagine for a moment that one narrowed
such drama to a spectacle of tableaux on Republic Day. Imagine a Republic Day without
the military, the uniforms and the preening
aircraft. Think of our satyagrahis as a tableau
of events beginning with Gandhi and Ghaffar
Khan. Add to it Mahasweta Devi, the Bengali
writer, talking of bonded labour like a sad old
aunt. Think of Aruna Roy leading the protest
of the poor of Rajasthan, demanding a right to
information. Imagine the displaced survivors
of the Narmada Dam sitting immersed in water to remind India that development is a kind
of amnesia. Think of Ela Bhatt of SEWA
claiming that world peace begins with womens work. Add to it the protest of Manipur
and of Irom Sharmila sitting quietly, giggling
over one of her drawings and surrounded by
security guards. Such tableaux make words
like security, development, sovereignty empty. They seek to create a new kind of
democracy.
The juxtaposition of two news events this
week showed us the possibility of two kinds of
politics. The reports of Irom Sharmila hardly
extended to a paragraph; an indifferent footnote in some newspapers. The Modi-Obama
serenade, with its chorus of commentary,
swallowed our newspapers, where even attention went into First Lady Michelle Obamas dress. I do not think there was a
photograph of Irom in any newspaper. I think
The Telegraph was possibly the one newspaper that reported the struggle in detail.
As I sat and wrote this article on a cold
winters day, while roads all over Delhi were
blocked in a display of efficiency, I wondered
who would survive as history; who would be
the greater exemplar of politics and the politics of hope that democracy creates.
Would it be Narendra Modi and his dreams
of India as Prussian state? Was it Mr. Obama,
the President, who promised so much and
offered so little, desperate to create a few
crumbs of history by clinching a nuclear deal
with India? Or would it be Irom Sharmila and
her craft of peace, seeking normalcy, an ordinariness in a society which prefers the state
as a constant spectacle, and where politics is a
continuous act of conspicuous consumption
in terms of security, luxury and the pomposity of power? To me, the quietness of Sharmila wins over the noise of the Modi-Obama
political machine.
As a satyagrahi, I am sure Sharmila would
have liked to send them a greeting card, inviting them to come to Manipur. I think it is
the Irom Sharmilas, the Mahasweta Devis
and the Ela Bhatts who have to colour the
imagination of India and take it beyond the
triteness of state politics. The storyteller has
to return to narrate these events, for what
goes as news today is a travesty of peace and
history.
(Shiv Visvanathan is a professor at Jindal
School of Government and Public Policy.)

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full

postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
other party, its members have and
can make sacrifices, But in the
Congress, only the Family is
allowed this privilege. Her letter is
enlightening as it gives us rare and
direct glimpses into the extraconstitutional
power
centre.
Belonging to a party which has little
following in Tamil Nadu, Ms.
Natarajan has milked her claim to
family legacy to the full, and can
hardly lament that her career has
been ruined.
A.N. Lakshmanan,
Bengaluru

unjustifiable demands just to be

in the seat of power, and now crying
foul when she finds herself out of
the reckoning, is a cowardly act.
There is a lesson here for political
bosses too. They should not
function in a whimsical manner, as
exemplified by the abrupt and
sudden transfer of the Foreign
Secretary. There should be a
method to making such decisions.
Vazuthur Raghavan,
Bengaluru

Preamble debate

The captivating words, sovereign,

socialist,
secular
and
democratic in the Preamble of
our democratic Republic are
nothing more than colourful
feathers in the nations cap. When
we are the largest importer of arms
and ammunition in the world, the
term sovereignty is a farce. When
80 per cent of the people are
economically weak, we can achieve
Her defence over her rejecting real socialism only by making the
projects lacks conviction, keeping rich genuinely involved in the uplift
in view her long-term association of the poor. We say that our
with the Congress and her image as secularism means the equal
one of its trusted lieutenants and treatment of all religions but the
conscience-keepers. If she did not truth is that the gullible are falling
subscribe to the Congresss prey to self-declared gods and
development agenda, she ought not messengers mushrooming across
to have been a member of the party, the country and spreading hate and
much less a Minister. It proves in violence. Finally, our claim as the
hindsight that she was not ready for largest democracy of the world is
the post despite her long more hype. And, how is it possible
association. In one stroke she has to run our so-called democratic
spoiled her good name and elections without factoring in the
reputation. She would have done caste and communal angles, money
better observing restraint.
and muscle power and deputation
A.V. Narayanan, of security personnel?
Victor Frank A.,
Tiruchi
Chennai
It would have had more substance
and conviction had she disclosed all The words socialist and secular
this when it happened. Paying heed may have been added during the
to
specific
inputs
and Emergency but everybody should
It is amusing to see a trained lawyer
bemoaning the lack of principles of
natural justice in the party, when
she had no scruples in violating her
oath of office under the
Constitution at the dictates of her
extra-constitutional boss.
T.N.R. Rao,
New Delhi

know how democratic the

process was then. The point is that
the Constitution has enough
provisions to safeguard secularism
and socialism. The secular
character and conception of a
welfare state is part of the
unamendable and basic structure
of the Constitution. Moreover, the
Constitution
promotes
a
democratic socialist and secular
vision through the Directive
Principles
and
Fundamental
Rights. All these provisions obviate
the need to mention the two words
in the Preamble. Therefore, the
issue raised by Union Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad is pertinent and
there is no harm in engaging in a
fruitful debate.
Anoop Suri,
New Delhi

No toilet
The Supreme Courts observation,
in a written order (Toilet in
structure not a toilet in reality: SC,
Jan.28), is another example of how
high-decibel but laudable projects
that are trumpeted by governments
of the day are only paid lip service
later and go to seed. If the treesapling planting ceremonies that
are often overseen by VIPs and
celebrities had borne fruit, India
would have been a dense forest by
now. Pay and use toilets are fairly
well-maintained in India. In
comparison, free toilets are in a
shambles. This goes to prove that
the average Indian behaves and
conducts himself well when
supervised and monitored. While
the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is
noble in its objectives, the
enforcing agencies should not leave
it high and dry.
Sivamani Vasudevan,
Chennai
ND-ND