July 1st, 2010
22 Information Commissioners from across the country will retire in the next few months. Out of them, 11 are Chief Information Commissioners.
So many posts will fall vacant. What should be the process of their appointment? The law is silent on that. Barring prescribing the composition of a selection committee (consisting of PM, Leader of Opposition and one Cabinet Minister), the law does not lay down the procedure that this committee should follow to invite names and process them.
Documents obtained under RTI from DOPT and PMO reveal how intense lobbying takes place before every appointment to the posts of Central Information Commissioners.
Ravi Shankar Singh is a journalist with The Tribune. His name was recommended by none other than Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Minister of Haryana himself through a personal letter written to the Prime Minister. Hooda writes – “He is well known to me for the last more than twenty years. … I would be highly obliged if you kindly consider his name for the post of Deputy Information Commission in the Central Information Commission.”
Ravi Shankar’s name was also recommended by Kumari Selja, Minister of State and two MPs namely Naveen Jindal and Dr Karan Singh.
Likewise, 7 MPs recommended the name of Dr Krishna Kabir Anthony.
Interestingly, neither Ravi Shankar nor Dr Anthony’s names were even put up to the selection committee, which comprises of Prime Minsiter, Leader of Opposition and a Cabinet Minister.
Before every set of appointments, the word spreads around. Several people either apply themselves or are recommended by others. Recommendations are found to have been made by very influential people including Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, Supreme Court Bar Council etc.
The names for selection are put up to selection committee through an agenda note. The agenda note is prepared by DOPT. However, none of these recommendations or applications was ever put up to the selection committee.
Interestingly, the names which made it to agenda note and who were finally selected, never applied nor were they ever recommended by anyone, according to records provided by DOPT and PMO.
For instance, in August 2008, the selection committee cleared the names of four people in its meeting on 27th August 2008, namely Annapurna Dixit, M L Sharma, S N Mishra and Shailesh Gandhi. Before this meeting, the following applications/recommendations were received by the PMO and DOPT:
President of Bar Council of India recommended the name of Sudhanshu Ranjan (a journalist) to the Prime Minister and DOPT.
7 MPs names, Nakul Das Rai (MP), Shivanand Tiwari (MP), Sukhdeo Paswan (MP), Rajniti Prasad (MP), Ganesh Prasad Singh (MP), Lalhming Lian (MP) and Alok Kumar Mehta (MP) recommended the name of Dr Krishna Kabir Anthony.
Bhupinder Singh Hooda, CM Haryana, Naveen Jindal (MP), Dr Karan Singh (MP) and Kumari Selja, MOS recommended the name of Ravi Shankar Singh, a journalist
However, the agenda note prepared by DOPT did not contain any of the above names. The agenda note was prepared by S K Sarkar, the then Joint Secretary in DOPT. He included the name of his own boss S N Mishra (the then DOPT Secretary), and the names of Mrs Annapurna Dixit, Ashok K Mohapatra, R B Shreekumar, M L Sharma and Shailesh Gandhi. Whereas Shailesh Gandhi’s name was proposed by several RTI activists through an open letter to the Government, but where did other names come from? According to records, none of them applied for these posts, nor were their names recommended by anyone. This means that something is happening outside the files. Who called up these people and asked them for their CVs? Why were only these people contacted?
Several questions arise. Firstly, how were the people like Ravi Shankar Singh, Sudhanshu Ranjan and Dr Krishna Kabir Anthony found unfit and not even put up to selection committee? Who did their assessment and on what basis? Who decided that these names should not be put up to the selection committee?
The agenda note is prepared by DOPT. Obviously someone in DOPT decided to reject these names. Does DOPT have these powers under RTI Act to reject names? No. DOPT merely acts as secretariat to the selection committee. It neither has the powers to reject anyone nor select anyone.
Next question is – how did the bio-datas of S N Mishra, Annapurna Dixit, Ashok Mohapatra, R B Shreekumar and M L Sharma make it to the file? How did these names make it to agenda note? How was it decided to include these names and not others?
It is surprising that the names recommended by MPs, Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers are not even put up to the selection committee. But some other names make it to agenda note.
Interestingly, S N Mishra was the then DOPT Secretary. All this was happening under his nose. He shamelessly includes his own name in the agenda note and excludes those of others.
It appears that the DOPT has become de-facto selection committee and selection committee provided in the law has been reduced to an endorsement committee. The selection committee merely endorses the names put up to it.
In its first meeting on 5th October 2005, 5 names were put up to selection committee and it cleared all the five names. In its next meeting on 27th August 2008, six names were put up and it cleared four of them. In the next meeting on 6th April 2009, only one name was put up and the same was cleared. In the meeting on 25th August 2009, four names were put up and it selected two of them. DOPT, by rejecting all names and presenting a very short list of names, creates a situation of fait accompli for the selection committee, wherein the committee almost endorses what is presented to them.
For instance, Omita Paul, who is known to be quite close to Pranab Mukherjee and has worked with him for many years, was working as Advisor to him before last Parliamentary elections. After the announcement of elections, the selection committee met specially on 6.4.09 to clear her name for the post of Information Commissioner. Only one name was presented to the selection committee and the committee cleared that name.
Interestingly, this was done in violation of model code of conduct. Though the Joint Secretary, in his notings, warned his seniors that model code of conduct was in operation and permission from Election Commission would be required, however, the permission was never sought. One wonders what was the hurry for appointing her? Omita joined on 13th May. Interestingly, as soon as UPA came to power, Omita resigned within a month on 26th June and went back and joined Pranab Mukherjee again.
What emerges from all this is that DOPT has become de facto selection or rejection committee. It rejects the names of all those who either apply or are recommended by others. It then prepares its own list of names (sources of which are unknown) and includes in this list, the names of its own bosses. The selection committee provided in RTI Act has been reduced to an endorsement committee of DOPT.
What does the law say? The law prescribes a selection committee consisting of the PM, Leader of Opposition and one Cabinet Minister. Then it says that the incumbent should be a person of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance. He should not be a Member of Parliament or Member of any Legislature or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
The law does not provide for any procedure how nominations would be invited and how would they be processed. DOPT had a duty to make rules under section 27 of RTI Act to lay down procedures. However, DOPT has not made any rules so far.
Selection Committee meeting on 5th Oct 2005:
G C Srivastava, IAS (Retd) – he applied himself.
Shri Lakshmi Chand, IAS (Retd) – – he applied himself.
Shri R Ganesan, (IPoS:69), Secy & DG, Chairman, Postal Service Board, Department of Posts – he applied himself.
Shri G Mohal Kumar, (IPoS:69), Member (Personnel), Postal Service Board, Deptt of Posts – he applied himself.
Shri P R Devi Prasad (IES:82) – he applied himself.
Shri K Jaikumar, Dir (IT) in D/o AR&PG no specific post mentioned – he applied himself.
Rameshbhai’s name recommended by Nirmala Deshpande, MP to the PM
Smt Neena Ranjan, Secy, Ministry of Culture – she applied herself.
Prof Akhtarul Wasey (Dean, Jamia Milia Islamia)
Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu (trade union leader from Jharkhand)
Nripendra Mishra
Mohan Kanda (Chief Secretary to Government of AP)
Dinesh Chandra Gupta (former Finance Secretary)
Prof Dr B K Chandrashekhar (former Education Minister, Karnataka)
Akhtar Majeed (Dean, Hamdard University)
Names which were put up to the selection committee through agenda note:
(None of the above names were put up)
Wajahat Habibullah
Dr O P Kejariwal
A N Tiwari
Prof M M Ansari
Padma Balasubramanian
Names selected by Selection committee:
All the above five names were selected.
Selection Committee meeting on 27th August 2008:
Who applied?
Sudhanshu Ranjan (a journalist) recommended by the President of Bar Council of India to PM and DOPT
Dr Krishna Kabir Anthony recommended by Nakul Das Rai (MP), Shivanand Tiwari (MP), Sukhdeo Paswan (MP), Rajniti Prasad (MP), Ganesh Prasad Singh (MP), Lalhming Lian (MP) and Alok Kumar Mehta (MP)
Ravi Shankar Singh (a journalist with The Tribune) recommended by Sh Bhupinder Singh Hooda , CM Haryana; Naveen Jindal (MP); Dr Karan Singh (MP) and Kumari Selja, MOS
Names which were put up to the selection committee through agenda note:
(None of the above names were put up)
Mrs Annapurna Dixit
Ashok K Mohapatra
R B Shreekumar
M L Sharma
Shailesh Gandhi
S N Mishra
Names selected by Selection committee:
Shailesh Gandhi
S N Mishra
Annapurna Dixit
M L Sharma
Selection Committee meeting on 6th April 2009:
Who applied?
Meeting held suddenly. No one came to know about it. No names found on the file.
Names which were put up to the selection committee through agenda note:
Omita Paul
Names selected by Selection committee:
Omita Paul
Selection Committee meeting on 25th August 2009:
Who applied?
Smt Sushma Singh, Secretary (I&B) recommended by her own Minister Anand Sharma, MOS (External Affairs and I&B) to the PM.
Dr C V Ananda Bose recommended by Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs.
Saroj Bala, Member (R), CBDT directly applies herself.
Mr Choubey recommended by M Veerappa Moily. Mr Moily also writes to Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
Adm Pradeep Kaushiva recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Lt Gen Mahajan recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Amitav Tripathi recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Neelam Deo recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Maja Daruwala recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Krishan M Sahni recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Chitra Chopra recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Suman Dubey recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Ishtiaq Hussain recommended by Wajahat Habibullah
Sudhanshu Ranjan, a journalist recommended by Sadanand Singh, former Chairperson, Bihar Legislative Assembly. He writes both to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and to the PM.
Names which were put up to the selection committee through agenda note:
(Only Sushma Singh’s name was picked up from the above list. Why only Sushma Singh?)
Deepak Sandhu
Sushma Singh
Mahendra Kumavat
R P Agarwal
Names selected by Selection committee:
Deepak Sandhu
Sushma Singh
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Gopalkirishna Gandhi's article: FROM DARKNESS TO HOPE
FROM DARKNESS TO HOPE
- The function of conscience should become part of everyday governance
Gopalkrishna Gandhi
The Telegraph, Calcutta,Tuesday , September 14 , 2010
Why do I say I believe this will happen? Not because I believe in sunshine, but because I believe it is better to try and quench one’s thirst — in this case the thirst for good, clean and transparent governance — with aqua pura rather than with the vinegar of cynicism.
Meanwhile, we have a National Water Mission that is doing exceedingly important work. But have Hukumat-e-Hind and the state governments really prepared Awaam-e-Hind about that grim and growing reality, very literally, Pyaas-e-Hind? Will there be water enough, 10, 15, 20 years from now, to quench drinking-water needs, farming needs and agricultural needs? I am thinking of a time when a 10-litre bamba of retailed water may cost Rs 500 or more and a litre-bottle of water between Rs 50 and Rs 100. Like the block-wise zonation of oil fields for extraction by allottee-companies, will riverbeds and river plains come to be allotted in blocks to Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina? What will the poor do then? Drink muddied water from ponds or raid the sites of water-extraction or factories where bottled water is made, in order to ‘liberate’ them from what will surely get to be called the ‘colonization of water resources’?
Entry 18 under the state list reads: “Land, that is to say, rights in or over land, land tenures, including the relation of landlord and tenant, and the collection of rents; transfer and alienation of agricultural land; land improvement; and agricultural loans; colonization.” Colonization? Yes, the very word is used, innocently, and perhaps with settlement colonies for refugees and the like in mind, but nonetheless, there it is in our Constitution, specified as a subject-charge and therefore a prerogative and indeed, a responsibility of state governments: ‘colonization’. What is the chief characteristic of a colony? It is the loss of rights over natural resources by the people of that area and the acquiring of those rights by new entrants. Nirmalangshu Mukherji, professor, has pointed out recently that the action by the State on Vedanta is not an isolated instance of the law being upheld, there being before us the arrest of Madhu Koda, the Supreme Court’s strictures on the Bellary mines issue, the national attention paid to Posco, to the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Forest Rights Act. For all these the work of civil resistance has to be acknowledged and applauded. Without that the State and the judiciary would not and could not have acted as they did.
Meanwhile, after the irony of ‘colonization’ being part of an entry in our Constitution having been missed not only by the constituent assembly but by successive Lok Sabhas, which have amended the Constitution a hundred times, and by the Constitution review commission, it is time now to amend the relevant entry in our Constitution and drop ‘colonization’ from our agenda. But more important than that is to begin to end the entry of new and dispossessing exploitations on land. And a good place to start will be by examining the contemporary relevance and role of the Land Acquisition Act and the scope of that riddle of a phrase which is at the base of the act, “public purpose”. It is fortuitous that the government of India has brought forward an amendment bill that can rectify the anomalies and injustices which that act contains and causes. Discussions on the bill must ask: Is the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 taking us unwittingly towards what is sometimes described as the Corporate State?
As they debate this very important bill, I would like to place before our lawmakers something which 52-year-old Mahatma Gandhi had to say on the subject of land acquisition by the State. The scholarly S.N. Sahu of the Rajya Sabha secretariat brought to my notice recently this remarkable statement made in 1921, when land had been acquired by the Bombay Presidency in Mulshipeta, near Poona, for a dam being built by the House of Tatas to augment the electric supply for the city of Bombay. This is probably the first instance of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act being used by the State, then the British raj, for a corporate project. A satyagraha was launched under Senapati Bapat by the people dispossessed. The topicality of what Gandhiji said on the occasion is surprising even today:
“My heart goes out to these poor people… I wish the great House of the Tatas, instead of standing on their legal rights, will reason with the people themselves, and do whatever they wish in consultation with them. I have some experience of Land Acquisition Acts… The dispossessed never got the exact equivalent. What is the value of all boons that the Tata scheme claims to confer upon India, if it is to be at the unwilling expense of even one poor man?… I suggest to the custodians of the great name that they would more truly advance India’s interest if they will defer to the wishes of their weak and helpless countrymen.”
Gandhi, however, is never too convenient. He says, in the very next sentence, something which those who support these rights must never forget: “…but I can never join hands with those who are ready to kill others, be it even for the cause of truth.” No wonder Maoists cannot take Gandhi.
Most civil protesters, be they sociologists, writers, academics, who have made it their task to study and espouse the cause of the dispossessed, instinctively and viscerally despise violence. They not only do not justify Maoist violence, they condemn it. I, however, do feel that some of them have underestimated the co-optive tactics of this variety of violence, which notoriously converts silence into acquiescence, receptivity into acceptance and any olive branch into a bouquet of appreciation. These individuals would have greatly enhanced their effectiveness as campaigners against the exploitation of tribal people and their rights by commercial interests if they had given the same attention to the exploitation of a whole generation of tribal people, especially tribal youth, by the violent schemata of the Maoist method.
During a recent discussion with P. Sainath on the criticality, notwithstanding the non-justiciability, of the directive principles of State policy, I discovered with some surprise that the word ‘governance’ occurs but once in the Constitution of India, and that only in the directive principles. I do not know what the significance of this is, but there it is. The directive principles, says the Constitution, shall not be enforceable by any court, “but are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country”. The chapter go on to say that “it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws”.
Aruna Roy’s determined efforts with her team in Rajasthan got us the Right to Information Act. I must say that in my view, the RTI Act is the singlemost revolutionary enactment to have been made since Independence. Working for and through access, pahunch and sunvaai, the RTI is necessarily concerned with all the three sher — Awaam, Siyaasat and Hukumat. As is Nandan Nilekani’s scheme for Aadhar, officially operationalized a few days ago. This plan to unify the peoplehood of India in a national register with every individual bearing an all-purpose ‘life-number’ is fascinating for its sheer audacity. I would like to have one number, a master number, subsuming all other ones from A, B, C to Z. But it should enable me to access the Hukumat, rather than enable agencies of the Hukumat to access me. Aadhar will profit by engaging the country in a discussion on how it can be made both efficacious and conscientious.
There is a fourth leonine presence on the Lion Capital of the emperor, Asoka Devanaamapiya Piyadassi. I see this as Zameer-e-Hind — the inner life and voice of India.
Zameer-e-Hind
The directive principles of State policy are integral to it. The Supreme Court of India, the Election Commission of India, the comptroller and auditor general of India, the chief vigilance commissioner, the chief information commissioner, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Minorities and those bodies that parallel and mirror these in the states which also have their lokayuktas, comprise the externals of Zameer-e-Hind. And it is to them that Awaam-e-Hind looks and turns to when troubled by questions of character and conduct in Siyaasat-e-Hind and in Humukat-e-Hind. These bodies are often loosely described as constitutional authorities, and so they are. But I like to see them as institutions of conscience. In the continuing independence and fair-mindedness of these institutions of conscience, in their being ever alert, ever-responsive, self-critical, self-examining, and not self-justifying or self-exculpating, rest the self-correcting mechanisms of our State and, hence, the image and the reputation of our republic.
All the institutions of conscience that I have described as embodying Zameer-e-Hind are essentially retrospective in their operations. They identify and rectify wrongdoing. Conscience, however, is not retrospective alone. Its work is not post facto as much as it is, to borrow a phrase from grammar, in the present continuous. And Zameer-e-Hind has to be at work, to borrow a phrase from television, 24x7.
The United Progressive Alliance governments I and II have brought in some pioneering pieces of legislation, in which I would include the enactments on domestic violence, on undertrial prisoners and, of course, the RTI and the Right to Education Acts. But one legislation which has remained on the anvil for too long — not one year, not 10 years, but full 40 years — is that pertaining to the activating of the institution of lok pal. I find it interesting that no political party seems to have been over-anxious about it. It is important that this enactment be either taken forward or, if Siyaasat-e-Hind is uncomfortable with the idea of a lok pal, then Hukumat-e-Hind must tell Awaam-e-Hind why electors can be booked under common laws for graft, but not the elected.
In his farewell Republic Day address, way back in 1967, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan spoke of “widespread inefficiency and the gross mismanagement of resources”. High-profile corruption had already performed its arangetram by then in the form of the Mundhra scandal and the defence ministry-related ‘jeep’ affair, but it had not yet broken into the tandava that we know. The erosion of a work-ethic in the institutions of governance where some do the work of ten and ten do the work of less than one was even by then a hard fact. Radhakrishnan was speaking from the highest seat of Hukumat-e-Hind, he was in fact giving a voice to Zameer-e-Hind. The fourth invisible lion on our emblem needs now to show its potential, which is also its prerogative, prospectively and powerfully. This is not something which only the institutions of conscience have to do. This is something which Hukumat-e-Hind in its daily functions must do by interiorizing Zameer-e-Hind into itself.
We all know that the national anthem was written by Tagore in a welter of conflicting emotions. The text of the official version is an abridged one. The full unabridged version, unknown to most, has the following sombre lines:
“Ghoratimiraghana nibida nishiithe piirita muurchhita deshe/... Duhswapne aatanke, rakshaa korile anke/ Snehamayi tumi maataa.”
Roughly translated, the lines invoke the benign Mother to come to the aid of our land, which is in deep darkness, which is afflicted, comatose, having nightmares of terror. The lines are not, as I said, part of our anthem, but they are part of our experience. The Awaam’s experience of its Siyaasat and of its various and successive Hukumats. But in the same excluded portion of the Jana Gana Mana text, Tagore shows a remarkable mood swing, a mood recovery with lines that are an all-time absolute favourite of mine, for they hold out hope, assurance.
The lines say, “The night will end, the dawn will break, with the sun glowing, there, far, and yet bright, on the broad forehead of the mountains on our East”: “Raatri prabhaatila udila robi-chhobi puurva udayagiri bhaale”.
- The function of conscience should become part of everyday governance
Gopalkrishna Gandhi
The Telegraph, Calcutta,Tuesday , September 14 , 2010
Why do I say I believe this will happen? Not because I believe in sunshine, but because I believe it is better to try and quench one’s thirst — in this case the thirst for good, clean and transparent governance — with aqua pura rather than with the vinegar of cynicism.
Meanwhile, we have a National Water Mission that is doing exceedingly important work. But have Hukumat-e-Hind and the state governments really prepared Awaam-e-Hind about that grim and growing reality, very literally, Pyaas-e-Hind? Will there be water enough, 10, 15, 20 years from now, to quench drinking-water needs, farming needs and agricultural needs? I am thinking of a time when a 10-litre bamba of retailed water may cost Rs 500 or more and a litre-bottle of water between Rs 50 and Rs 100. Like the block-wise zonation of oil fields for extraction by allottee-companies, will riverbeds and river plains come to be allotted in blocks to Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina? What will the poor do then? Drink muddied water from ponds or raid the sites of water-extraction or factories where bottled water is made, in order to ‘liberate’ them from what will surely get to be called the ‘colonization of water resources’?
Entry 18 under the state list reads: “Land, that is to say, rights in or over land, land tenures, including the relation of landlord and tenant, and the collection of rents; transfer and alienation of agricultural land; land improvement; and agricultural loans; colonization.” Colonization? Yes, the very word is used, innocently, and perhaps with settlement colonies for refugees and the like in mind, but nonetheless, there it is in our Constitution, specified as a subject-charge and therefore a prerogative and indeed, a responsibility of state governments: ‘colonization’. What is the chief characteristic of a colony? It is the loss of rights over natural resources by the people of that area and the acquiring of those rights by new entrants. Nirmalangshu Mukherji, professor, has pointed out recently that the action by the State on Vedanta is not an isolated instance of the law being upheld, there being before us the arrest of Madhu Koda, the Supreme Court’s strictures on the Bellary mines issue, the national attention paid to Posco, to the implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and the Forest Rights Act. For all these the work of civil resistance has to be acknowledged and applauded. Without that the State and the judiciary would not and could not have acted as they did.
Meanwhile, after the irony of ‘colonization’ being part of an entry in our Constitution having been missed not only by the constituent assembly but by successive Lok Sabhas, which have amended the Constitution a hundred times, and by the Constitution review commission, it is time now to amend the relevant entry in our Constitution and drop ‘colonization’ from our agenda. But more important than that is to begin to end the entry of new and dispossessing exploitations on land. And a good place to start will be by examining the contemporary relevance and role of the Land Acquisition Act and the scope of that riddle of a phrase which is at the base of the act, “public purpose”. It is fortuitous that the government of India has brought forward an amendment bill that can rectify the anomalies and injustices which that act contains and causes. Discussions on the bill must ask: Is the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 taking us unwittingly towards what is sometimes described as the Corporate State?
As they debate this very important bill, I would like to place before our lawmakers something which 52-year-old Mahatma Gandhi had to say on the subject of land acquisition by the State. The scholarly S.N. Sahu of the Rajya Sabha secretariat brought to my notice recently this remarkable statement made in 1921, when land had been acquired by the Bombay Presidency in Mulshipeta, near Poona, for a dam being built by the House of Tatas to augment the electric supply for the city of Bombay. This is probably the first instance of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act being used by the State, then the British raj, for a corporate project. A satyagraha was launched under Senapati Bapat by the people dispossessed. The topicality of what Gandhiji said on the occasion is surprising even today:
“My heart goes out to these poor people… I wish the great House of the Tatas, instead of standing on their legal rights, will reason with the people themselves, and do whatever they wish in consultation with them. I have some experience of Land Acquisition Acts… The dispossessed never got the exact equivalent. What is the value of all boons that the Tata scheme claims to confer upon India, if it is to be at the unwilling expense of even one poor man?… I suggest to the custodians of the great name that they would more truly advance India’s interest if they will defer to the wishes of their weak and helpless countrymen.”
Gandhi, however, is never too convenient. He says, in the very next sentence, something which those who support these rights must never forget: “…but I can never join hands with those who are ready to kill others, be it even for the cause of truth.” No wonder Maoists cannot take Gandhi.
Most civil protesters, be they sociologists, writers, academics, who have made it their task to study and espouse the cause of the dispossessed, instinctively and viscerally despise violence. They not only do not justify Maoist violence, they condemn it. I, however, do feel that some of them have underestimated the co-optive tactics of this variety of violence, which notoriously converts silence into acquiescence, receptivity into acceptance and any olive branch into a bouquet of appreciation. These individuals would have greatly enhanced their effectiveness as campaigners against the exploitation of tribal people and their rights by commercial interests if they had given the same attention to the exploitation of a whole generation of tribal people, especially tribal youth, by the violent schemata of the Maoist method.
During a recent discussion with P. Sainath on the criticality, notwithstanding the non-justiciability, of the directive principles of State policy, I discovered with some surprise that the word ‘governance’ occurs but once in the Constitution of India, and that only in the directive principles. I do not know what the significance of this is, but there it is. The directive principles, says the Constitution, shall not be enforceable by any court, “but are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country”. The chapter go on to say that “it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws”.
Aruna Roy’s determined efforts with her team in Rajasthan got us the Right to Information Act. I must say that in my view, the RTI Act is the singlemost revolutionary enactment to have been made since Independence. Working for and through access, pahunch and sunvaai, the RTI is necessarily concerned with all the three sher — Awaam, Siyaasat and Hukumat. As is Nandan Nilekani’s scheme for Aadhar, officially operationalized a few days ago. This plan to unify the peoplehood of India in a national register with every individual bearing an all-purpose ‘life-number’ is fascinating for its sheer audacity. I would like to have one number, a master number, subsuming all other ones from A, B, C to Z. But it should enable me to access the Hukumat, rather than enable agencies of the Hukumat to access me. Aadhar will profit by engaging the country in a discussion on how it can be made both efficacious and conscientious.
There is a fourth leonine presence on the Lion Capital of the emperor, Asoka Devanaamapiya Piyadassi. I see this as Zameer-e-Hind — the inner life and voice of India.
Zameer-e-Hind
The directive principles of State policy are integral to it. The Supreme Court of India, the Election Commission of India, the comptroller and auditor general of India, the chief vigilance commissioner, the chief information commissioner, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Women, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Minorities and those bodies that parallel and mirror these in the states which also have their lokayuktas, comprise the externals of Zameer-e-Hind. And it is to them that Awaam-e-Hind looks and turns to when troubled by questions of character and conduct in Siyaasat-e-Hind and in Humukat-e-Hind. These bodies are often loosely described as constitutional authorities, and so they are. But I like to see them as institutions of conscience. In the continuing independence and fair-mindedness of these institutions of conscience, in their being ever alert, ever-responsive, self-critical, self-examining, and not self-justifying or self-exculpating, rest the self-correcting mechanisms of our State and, hence, the image and the reputation of our republic.
All the institutions of conscience that I have described as embodying Zameer-e-Hind are essentially retrospective in their operations. They identify and rectify wrongdoing. Conscience, however, is not retrospective alone. Its work is not post facto as much as it is, to borrow a phrase from grammar, in the present continuous. And Zameer-e-Hind has to be at work, to borrow a phrase from television, 24x7.
The United Progressive Alliance governments I and II have brought in some pioneering pieces of legislation, in which I would include the enactments on domestic violence, on undertrial prisoners and, of course, the RTI and the Right to Education Acts. But one legislation which has remained on the anvil for too long — not one year, not 10 years, but full 40 years — is that pertaining to the activating of the institution of lok pal. I find it interesting that no political party seems to have been over-anxious about it. It is important that this enactment be either taken forward or, if Siyaasat-e-Hind is uncomfortable with the idea of a lok pal, then Hukumat-e-Hind must tell Awaam-e-Hind why electors can be booked under common laws for graft, but not the elected.
In his farewell Republic Day address, way back in 1967, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan spoke of “widespread inefficiency and the gross mismanagement of resources”. High-profile corruption had already performed its arangetram by then in the form of the Mundhra scandal and the defence ministry-related ‘jeep’ affair, but it had not yet broken into the tandava that we know. The erosion of a work-ethic in the institutions of governance where some do the work of ten and ten do the work of less than one was even by then a hard fact. Radhakrishnan was speaking from the highest seat of Hukumat-e-Hind, he was in fact giving a voice to Zameer-e-Hind. The fourth invisible lion on our emblem needs now to show its potential, which is also its prerogative, prospectively and powerfully. This is not something which only the institutions of conscience have to do. This is something which Hukumat-e-Hind in its daily functions must do by interiorizing Zameer-e-Hind into itself.
We all know that the national anthem was written by Tagore in a welter of conflicting emotions. The text of the official version is an abridged one. The full unabridged version, unknown to most, has the following sombre lines:
“Ghoratimiraghana nibida nishiithe piirita muurchhita deshe/... Duhswapne aatanke, rakshaa korile anke/ Snehamayi tumi maataa.”
Roughly translated, the lines invoke the benign Mother to come to the aid of our land, which is in deep darkness, which is afflicted, comatose, having nightmares of terror. The lines are not, as I said, part of our anthem, but they are part of our experience. The Awaam’s experience of its Siyaasat and of its various and successive Hukumats. But in the same excluded portion of the Jana Gana Mana text, Tagore shows a remarkable mood swing, a mood recovery with lines that are an all-time absolute favourite of mine, for they hold out hope, assurance.
The lines say, “The night will end, the dawn will break, with the sun glowing, there, far, and yet bright, on the broad forehead of the mountains on our East”: “Raatri prabhaatila udila robi-chhobi puurva udayagiri bhaale”.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Nandigram firing: Supreme Court issues notice to West Bengal govt
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: September 27, 2010 13:40 IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the West Bengal government seeking its response on a CBI plea to proceed against the state police officials in the Nandigram firing case.
The CBI has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking permission to conclude its probe into the March 2007 police firing in Nandigram in which 14 persons were killed and over 100 injured.
On December 13, 2007, the Apex court allowed the agency to continue with the probe as per the Calcutta High Court's order but had restrained it from filing its final report in the case.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/nandigram-firing-supreme-court-issues-notice-to-west-bengal-govt-55118?cp
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the West Bengal government seeking its response on a CBI plea to proceed against the state police officials in the Nandigram firing case.
The CBI has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking permission to conclude its probe into the March 2007 police firing in Nandigram in which 14 persons were killed and over 100 injured.
On December 13, 2007, the Apex court allowed the agency to continue with the probe as per the Calcutta High Court's order but had restrained it from filing its final report in the case.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/nandigram-firing-supreme-court-issues-notice-to-west-bengal-govt-55118?cp
Supreme Court upholds Rs. 4.50 lakh phone bill on MD for 'sex talks'
Press Trust of India, Updated: September 24, 2010 22:12 IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the Telecom Department's decision to collect an amount of Rs. 4.50 lakh from the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd for making international "sex talk calls."
A Bench of Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari rejected the argument of the federation's managing director that the calls were not made either by him or his family members but the huge bill was on account of tampering by a third party.
The apex court upheld the contention of the department that the huge billing was on account of a large number of international calls known as 'party calls' or 'sex talk calls'.
The Bench also chided the Gujarat High Court for unnecessarily directing the department to reduce the bill despite the fact that the arbitrator appointed in the case had concurred with the findings of the Telecom authorities.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/supreme-court-upholds-rs-4-50-lakh-phone-bill-on-md-for-sex-talks-54620?cp
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld the Telecom Department's decision to collect an amount of Rs. 4.50 lakh from the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd for making international "sex talk calls."
A Bench of Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari rejected the argument of the federation's managing director that the calls were not made either by him or his family members but the huge bill was on account of tampering by a third party.
The apex court upheld the contention of the department that the huge billing was on account of a large number of international calls known as 'party calls' or 'sex talk calls'.
The Bench also chided the Gujarat High Court for unnecessarily directing the department to reduce the bill despite the fact that the arbitrator appointed in the case had concurred with the findings of the Telecom authorities.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/supreme-court-upholds-rs-4-50-lakh-phone-bill-on-md-for-sex-talks-54620?cp
Friday, September 10, 2010
But, your Lordships, how?
Alok Tiwari
06 September 2010, 02:33 AM IST
We are conditioned to think of our politicians as corrupt and our government as insensitive. We are also programmed to believe that courts often bring a recalcitrant government on to the correct path. That is why when the Supreme Court tersely reminded Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that it was an order to distribute the excess foodgrains to the poor, the entire nation thought Pawar had met his come-uppance. Most newspapers reported the order with a scarcely hidden glee. Common people welcomed the whiplash as a necessary one to goad the bureaucracy and the politicians to do what is obviously right.
True, who could have argued with an order to distribute grains rotting outside government godowns to the poor? In fact, that was the first thought most people had when it was first reported that grains were rotting in the rains as government did not have enough warehouses to keep them. Why let them rot? Why not give them to the hungry of whom there are plenty? If only life were so simple.
Actually, Pawar was right in being a bit perplexed when the Supreme Court first spoke of giving away the foodgrains. He tried to sidestep it by saying it was a suggestion and government already had schemes to give subsidized foodgrains to the poor. This was apparently taken as an affront by the judges. The angry "That's an order" retort from the bench appeared more a reaction to this perceived insult than a judicially considered verdict.
Now, giving away to the poor would have been a lark if it were a private trader hoarding up the grains. Faced with such an order, he could have simply gone to the nearest temple and distributed the grains as alms. He could have thrown a feast for the town to mark his grandmother's birthday. He could even have gone and given a sackful to each household in the nearest slums.
But government, by its nature, cannot work thus. With government come the questions of entitlement, equity, fairness, and justice. It would have helped if, along with the order, the judges had also come up with a detailed plan of how the government should go about distributing the grains. That exercise would have involved crunching some numbers about exact quantity of excess foodgrains available and total number of people who could be given those. It would also have involved giving a thought to how the grains could be taken from warehouses to the beneficiaries, the logistics and the cost to be incurred. Pawar, probably, had such concerns in mind when he appeared taciturn about the earlier SC order.
How is the government expected to implement it? Could it just appeal to all the poor to come and take away the excess grain? In that case, how would anyone know that only poor were taking the grains? Could it announce a certain extra quantity to all BPL ration card holders? Is there enough excess available to give a certain minimum quantity to all beneficiaries all over the country? If not, how are people to be selected without being discriminatory? Could government give it to the poor located near the warehouses? In that case, would not people in other areas cry foul?
In the end, the government seems to have quietly shifted the onus on the states by announcing excess allocation through public distribution system. But PDS has shown itself incapable of properly distributing even the normal quantity allocated to it. It could just be that the grains, instead of rotting in FCI godowns, will now rot in respective state government ones. Or, more likely, they would find their way into the black market like most commodities distributed through PDS do.
While the judges may get an enormous sense of satisfaction at having shone the moral beacon to a misguided government, hardly anything would change on the ground. One cannot help get a feeling that the court too played to the gallery in this matter. Instead, the occasion could have been used to right the numerous wrongs that plague the entire system of procuring foodgrains and distributing it. That would have required a lot more thought to the nitty-gritty.
Indeed, the court could have questioned how did such an elaborate and intensive intervention of government in agriculture and food distribution create such a situation. It is a shame that foodgrains rot in a country where people are going hungry. But, populist orders are not going to change the situation. They would only complicate a tragedy.
06 September 2010, 02:33 AM IST
We are conditioned to think of our politicians as corrupt and our government as insensitive. We are also programmed to believe that courts often bring a recalcitrant government on to the correct path. That is why when the Supreme Court tersely reminded Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar that it was an order to distribute the excess foodgrains to the poor, the entire nation thought Pawar had met his come-uppance. Most newspapers reported the order with a scarcely hidden glee. Common people welcomed the whiplash as a necessary one to goad the bureaucracy and the politicians to do what is obviously right.
True, who could have argued with an order to distribute grains rotting outside government godowns to the poor? In fact, that was the first thought most people had when it was first reported that grains were rotting in the rains as government did not have enough warehouses to keep them. Why let them rot? Why not give them to the hungry of whom there are plenty? If only life were so simple.
Actually, Pawar was right in being a bit perplexed when the Supreme Court first spoke of giving away the foodgrains. He tried to sidestep it by saying it was a suggestion and government already had schemes to give subsidized foodgrains to the poor. This was apparently taken as an affront by the judges. The angry "That's an order" retort from the bench appeared more a reaction to this perceived insult than a judicially considered verdict.
Now, giving away to the poor would have been a lark if it were a private trader hoarding up the grains. Faced with such an order, he could have simply gone to the nearest temple and distributed the grains as alms. He could have thrown a feast for the town to mark his grandmother's birthday. He could even have gone and given a sackful to each household in the nearest slums.
But government, by its nature, cannot work thus. With government come the questions of entitlement, equity, fairness, and justice. It would have helped if, along with the order, the judges had also come up with a detailed plan of how the government should go about distributing the grains. That exercise would have involved crunching some numbers about exact quantity of excess foodgrains available and total number of people who could be given those. It would also have involved giving a thought to how the grains could be taken from warehouses to the beneficiaries, the logistics and the cost to be incurred. Pawar, probably, had such concerns in mind when he appeared taciturn about the earlier SC order.
How is the government expected to implement it? Could it just appeal to all the poor to come and take away the excess grain? In that case, how would anyone know that only poor were taking the grains? Could it announce a certain extra quantity to all BPL ration card holders? Is there enough excess available to give a certain minimum quantity to all beneficiaries all over the country? If not, how are people to be selected without being discriminatory? Could government give it to the poor located near the warehouses? In that case, would not people in other areas cry foul?
In the end, the government seems to have quietly shifted the onus on the states by announcing excess allocation through public distribution system. But PDS has shown itself incapable of properly distributing even the normal quantity allocated to it. It could just be that the grains, instead of rotting in FCI godowns, will now rot in respective state government ones. Or, more likely, they would find their way into the black market like most commodities distributed through PDS do.
While the judges may get an enormous sense of satisfaction at having shone the moral beacon to a misguided government, hardly anything would change on the ground. One cannot help get a feeling that the court too played to the gallery in this matter. Instead, the occasion could have been used to right the numerous wrongs that plague the entire system of procuring foodgrains and distributing it. That would have required a lot more thought to the nitty-gritty.
Indeed, the court could have questioned how did such an elaborate and intensive intervention of government in agriculture and food distribution create such a situation. It is a shame that foodgrains rot in a country where people are going hungry. But, populist orders are not going to change the situation. They would only complicate a tragedy.
Is your MP underpaid?
Pritish Nandy
22 August 2010, 10:01 AM IST
I was a MP not very long ago. I loved those six years. Everyone called me sir, not because of my age but because I was a MP. And even though I never travelled anywhere by train during those years, I revelled in the fact that I could have gone anywhere I liked, on any train, first class with a bogey reserved for my family. Whenever I flew, there were always people around to pick up my baggage, not because I was travelling business class but because I was a MP. And yes, whenever I wrote to any Government officer to help someone in need, it was done. No, not because I was a journalist but because I was a MP.
The job had many perquisites, apart from the tax free wage of Rs 4,000. Then the wages were suddenly quadrupled to Rs 16,000, with office expenses of Rs 20,000 and a constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 thrown in. I could borrow interest free money to buy a car, get my petrol paid, make as many free phone calls as I wanted. My home came free. So did the furniture, the electricity, the water, the gardeners, the plants. There were also allowances to wash curtains and sofa covers and a rather funny allowance of Rs 1,000 per day to attend Parliament, which I always thought was a MP's job in the first place! And, O yes, we also got Rs 1 crore a year (now enhanced to Rs 2 crore) to spend on our constituencies. More enterprising MPs enjoyed many more perquisites best left to your imagination. While I was embarrassed being vastly overpaid for the job I was doing, they kept demanding more.
Today, out of 543 MPs in Lok Sabha, 315 are crorepatis. That's 60%. 43 out of the 54 newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs are also millionaires. Their average declared assets are over Rs 25 crore each. That's an awfully wealthy lot of people in whose hands we have vested out destiny. The assets of your average Lok Sabha MP have grown from Rs 1.86 crore in the last house to Rs 5.33 crore. That's 200% more. And, as we all know, not all our MPs are known to always declare all their assets. Much of these exist in a colour not recognised by our tax laws. That's fine, I guess. Being a MP gives you certain immunities, not all of them meant to be discussed in a public forum.
If you think it pays to be in the ruling party, you are dead right: 7 out of 10 MPs from the Congress are crorepatis. The BJP have 5. MPs from some of the smaller parties like SAD, TRS and JD (Secular) are all crorepatis while the NCP, DMK, RLD, BSP, Shiv Sena, National Conference and Samajwadi Party have more crorepatis than the 60% average. Only the CPM and the Trinamool, the two Bengal based parties, don't field crorepatis. The CPM has 1crorepati out of 16 MPs; the Trinamool has 7 out of 19. This shows in the state-wise average. West Bengal and Kerala have few crorepati MPs while Punjab and Delhi have only crorepati MPs and Haryana narrowly misses out on this distinction with one MP, poor guy, who's not a crorepati.
Do MPs become richer in office? Sure they do. Statistics show that the average assets of 304 MPs who contested in 2004 and then re-contested last year grew 300%. And, yes, we're only talking about declared assets here. But then, we can't complain. We are the ones who vote for the rich. Over 33% of those with assets above Rs 5 crore won the last elections while 99.5% of those with assets below Rs 10 lakhs lost! Apart from West Bengal and the North East, every other state voted for crorepati MPs. Haryana grabbed first place with its average MP worth Rs 18 crore. Andhra is not far behind at 16.
But no, this is not enough for our MPs. It's not enough that they are rich, infinitely richer than those who they represent, and every term makes them even richer. It's not enough that they openly perpetuate their families in power. It's not enough that all their vulgar indulgences and more are paid for by you and me through back breaking taxes. It's not enough that the number of days they actually work in Parliament are barely 60 in a year. The rest of the time goes in squabbling and ranting. Now they want a 500% pay hike and perquisites quadrupled. The Government, to buy peace, has already agreed to a 300% raise but that's not good enough for our MPs. They want more, much more.
And no, I'm not even mentioning that 150 MPs elected last year have criminal cases against them, with 73 serious, very serious cases ranging from rape to murder. Do you really think these people deserve to earn 104 times what the average Indian earns?
22 August 2010, 10:01 AM IST
I was a MP not very long ago. I loved those six years. Everyone called me sir, not because of my age but because I was a MP. And even though I never travelled anywhere by train during those years, I revelled in the fact that I could have gone anywhere I liked, on any train, first class with a bogey reserved for my family. Whenever I flew, there were always people around to pick up my baggage, not because I was travelling business class but because I was a MP. And yes, whenever I wrote to any Government officer to help someone in need, it was done. No, not because I was a journalist but because I was a MP.
The job had many perquisites, apart from the tax free wage of Rs 4,000. Then the wages were suddenly quadrupled to Rs 16,000, with office expenses of Rs 20,000 and a constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 thrown in. I could borrow interest free money to buy a car, get my petrol paid, make as many free phone calls as I wanted. My home came free. So did the furniture, the electricity, the water, the gardeners, the plants. There were also allowances to wash curtains and sofa covers and a rather funny allowance of Rs 1,000 per day to attend Parliament, which I always thought was a MP's job in the first place! And, O yes, we also got Rs 1 crore a year (now enhanced to Rs 2 crore) to spend on our constituencies. More enterprising MPs enjoyed many more perquisites best left to your imagination. While I was embarrassed being vastly overpaid for the job I was doing, they kept demanding more.
Today, out of 543 MPs in Lok Sabha, 315 are crorepatis. That's 60%. 43 out of the 54 newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs are also millionaires. Their average declared assets are over Rs 25 crore each. That's an awfully wealthy lot of people in whose hands we have vested out destiny. The assets of your average Lok Sabha MP have grown from Rs 1.86 crore in the last house to Rs 5.33 crore. That's 200% more. And, as we all know, not all our MPs are known to always declare all their assets. Much of these exist in a colour not recognised by our tax laws. That's fine, I guess. Being a MP gives you certain immunities, not all of them meant to be discussed in a public forum.
If you think it pays to be in the ruling party, you are dead right: 7 out of 10 MPs from the Congress are crorepatis. The BJP have 5. MPs from some of the smaller parties like SAD, TRS and JD (Secular) are all crorepatis while the NCP, DMK, RLD, BSP, Shiv Sena, National Conference and Samajwadi Party have more crorepatis than the 60% average. Only the CPM and the Trinamool, the two Bengal based parties, don't field crorepatis. The CPM has 1crorepati out of 16 MPs; the Trinamool has 7 out of 19. This shows in the state-wise average. West Bengal and Kerala have few crorepati MPs while Punjab and Delhi have only crorepati MPs and Haryana narrowly misses out on this distinction with one MP, poor guy, who's not a crorepati.
Do MPs become richer in office? Sure they do. Statistics show that the average assets of 304 MPs who contested in 2004 and then re-contested last year grew 300%. And, yes, we're only talking about declared assets here. But then, we can't complain. We are the ones who vote for the rich. Over 33% of those with assets above Rs 5 crore won the last elections while 99.5% of those with assets below Rs 10 lakhs lost! Apart from West Bengal and the North East, every other state voted for crorepati MPs. Haryana grabbed first place with its average MP worth Rs 18 crore. Andhra is not far behind at 16.
But no, this is not enough for our MPs. It's not enough that they are rich, infinitely richer than those who they represent, and every term makes them even richer. It's not enough that they openly perpetuate their families in power. It's not enough that all their vulgar indulgences and more are paid for by you and me through back breaking taxes. It's not enough that the number of days they actually work in Parliament are barely 60 in a year. The rest of the time goes in squabbling and ranting. Now they want a 500% pay hike and perquisites quadrupled. The Government, to buy peace, has already agreed to a 300% raise but that's not good enough for our MPs. They want more, much more.
And no, I'm not even mentioning that 150 MPs elected last year have criminal cases against them, with 73 serious, very serious cases ranging from rape to murder. Do you really think these people deserve to earn 104 times what the average Indian earns?
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Mind-reading machine converts thoughts into speech
Indo Asian News Service, September 08, 2010 18:15 IST
London: A mind reading machine has edged closer to reality after scientists found a way of converting thoughts into words.
Researchers were able to render brain signals into speech for the first time, relying on sensors attached to the brain surface.
The breakthrough, which is up to 90 percent accurate, will be a boon for paralysed patients who cannot speak and could help read anyone's thoughts ultimately, reports the Telegraph.
"We were beside ourselves with excitement when it started working," said Prof Bradley Greger, bioengineer at the Utah University who led the project. "It was just one of the moments when everything came together.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/technology/mind-reading-machine-converts-thoughts-into-speech-50618?cp
London: A mind reading machine has edged closer to reality after scientists found a way of converting thoughts into words.
Researchers were able to render brain signals into speech for the first time, relying on sensors attached to the brain surface.
The breakthrough, which is up to 90 percent accurate, will be a boon for paralysed patients who cannot speak and could help read anyone's thoughts ultimately, reports the Telegraph.
"We were beside ourselves with excitement when it started working," said Prof Bradley Greger, bioengineer at the Utah University who led the project. "It was just one of the moments when everything came together.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/technology/mind-reading-machine-converts-thoughts-into-speech-50618?cp
30% Indians totally corrupt, 50% borderline: Outgoing CVC chief
NDTV, September 08, 2010 17:23 IST
New Delhi: Almost one-third of Indians are "utterly corrupt" and half are "borderline", the outgoing head of the country's corruption watchdog has said, blaming increased wealth for much of the problem.
Pratyush Sinha, who retired as India's Central Vigilance Commissioner this week, said the worst part of his "thankless job" was observing how corruption had increased as people became more materialistic.
"When we were growing up I remember if somebody was corrupt, they were generally looked down upon," he said. "There was at least some social stigma attached to it. That is gone. So there is greater social acceptance."
Transparency International, the global anti-graft body, puts India 84th on its corruption perception index with a 3.4-point rating, out of a best possible score of 10. New Zealand ranks first with 9.4 points and Somalia last on 1.1 points.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/30-indians-totally-corrupt-50-borderline-outgoing-cvc-chief-50580?cp
New Delhi: Almost one-third of Indians are "utterly corrupt" and half are "borderline", the outgoing head of the country's corruption watchdog has said, blaming increased wealth for much of the problem.
Pratyush Sinha, who retired as India's Central Vigilance Commissioner this week, said the worst part of his "thankless job" was observing how corruption had increased as people became more materialistic.
"When we were growing up I remember if somebody was corrupt, they were generally looked down upon," he said. "There was at least some social stigma attached to it. That is gone. So there is greater social acceptance."
Transparency International, the global anti-graft body, puts India 84th on its corruption perception index with a 3.4-point rating, out of a best possible score of 10. New Zealand ranks first with 9.4 points and Somalia last on 1.1 points.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/30-indians-totally-corrupt-50-borderline-outgoing-cvc-chief-50580?cp
Ten-year-old cut from neck to toe by employer
NDTV, August 19, 2010
The child in Kohima has blue black caning marks all over his back and legs. His school teacher noticed the torture marks and informed the residents in the neighbourhood.
See video at: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/ten-year-old-cut-from-neck-to-toe-by-employer/159074?cp
The child in Kohima has blue black caning marks all over his back and legs. His school teacher noticed the torture marks and informed the residents in the neighbourhood.
See video at: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/ten-year-old-cut-from-neck-to-toe-by-employer/159074?cp
MNC staffer in Bangalore alleges rape by employer
September 07, 2010 10:24 IST
Bangalore: A manager at an MNC in Bangalore has alleged rape and sexual exploitation by her boss who is blackmailing her with video footage for the past two years.
The victim, working in Sandalwood Consultation Private Limited, said she suffered the harassment silently for two years until her family advised her to approach the police.
The accused, after allegedly raping the woman, threatened to kill her husband if she complained to the office management.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/mnc-staffer-in-bangalore-alleges-rape-by-employer-50119?cp
Bangalore: A manager at an MNC in Bangalore has alleged rape and sexual exploitation by her boss who is blackmailing her with video footage for the past two years.
The victim, working in Sandalwood Consultation Private Limited, said she suffered the harassment silently for two years until her family advised her to approach the police.
The accused, after allegedly raping the woman, threatened to kill her husband if she complained to the office management.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/mnc-staffer-in-bangalore-alleges-rape-by-employer-50119?cp
Bangalore: Employees allege NGO forcing HIV tests
August 30, 2010
A few groups working for the rights of sexual minorities in Bangalore raised a protest against an NGO, for what they term a violation of their rights. They said an HIV test was forced upon them while working for the NGO
See more at: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/bangalore-employees-allege-ngo-forcing-hiv-tests/160928
A few groups working for the rights of sexual minorities in Bangalore raised a protest against an NGO, for what they term a violation of their rights. They said an HIV test was forced upon them while working for the NGO
See more at: http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/news/bangalore-employees-allege-ngo-forcing-hiv-tests/160928
Punjab to allow women to stay with husbands in jails
NDTV, September 07, 2010 07:23 IST
Ludhiana: Wives of prisoners in Punjab will soon be allowed a brief stay with their husbands in jails, a minister said in Ludhiana on Monday.
The new jails, which are under construction in the state, are having special barracks for the purpose, Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria said.
He said this facility will be extended on humanitarian grounds to those prisoners who had been staying in jail for several years and even the newly weds who landed themselves in prison.
The new jails, which are under construction in the state, are having special barracks for the purpose, Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria said.
He said this facility will be extended on humanitarian grounds to those prisoners who had been staying in jail for several years and even the newly weds who landed themselves in prison.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
IIM-A's best kept secrets
College Life
IIM-A's best kept secrets
Munira Chendvankar gets you the inside stories from IIM-A, based on inputs from present and past students
Chaos and colour
The annual festival of the college, named Chaos, is no short of one exciting experience. From fashion shows to music concerts and dramas to other high management funda events, the campus is abuzz with activity for the three days of the festival. And this is the time when students really come out of their dorms and make the campus their party ground, officially for once.
The secret ‘juice’
One of the best kept IIM-A secrets is the secret ‘juice’ mails. Yes, students can send out love/ friendship messages to the hotties on campus all by the click of a little button of their internal network. But sometimes, there are boys who get naughtier than one could expect the IIM-A boys to be. They sent mails from someone else’s ID that keeps the person on the other end in complete splits. Plus, the news is quick to spread and everyone knows about who is hitting on who! Good part is some really romantic love stories have blossomed through these mails too. And well, the name? It’s a famous juice centre on campus where the final ‘meetings’ happen.
Ram Bhai's tea
The IIM-A campus is so huge, that it can take one ages to discover the exact classrooms and other places. But what every student fails to discover within the first week on campus is the unofficial eating place on the backside of the campus, actually the road. There is a little window like area on the brick walls from where students get their daily dose of chai and other essentials from the roadside stall owner Ram Bhai. Needless to say, he is a legend on campus!
Of free lunches
The IIM-A canteen very smartly named as ‘Tanstaafl’ ("There ain't no such thing as a free lunch") is quite popular with the students. The unique part about this canteen along with its name is that it’s open till 4am and then barely closes for three hours before opening doors again. Eggs are the most popular staple diet with the boys and are ordered at random times like two in the night. The girls however, love to experiment with their food and gorge on all that is available. Maggi noodles, spiced with vegetables and seasoning, is a perennial favourite.
Against the bricks
Everyone who tours this campus is but obviously excited by the magnitude of its area and beautiful infrastructure. And one of the first things the students do when they come on campus is to get themselves clicked against those famous brick walls. And after the initial excitement, campus is like second home to them, so the walls are like any other walls after all.
Singh is king!
Hostel life is always fun, and IIM-A is no different. But they have their unique way of making hostel life one memorable experience. Every student is given a hostel name by his senior which with a word peculiar to theat specific hostel. For example, in one of the hostels, all names end with Singh. These names are given to the freshers on basis of their personality and no one takes offence even though some names can be highly embarrassing, like Behenji Singh, Pakav Singh etc. It’s all taken in good humour and for two whole years the ‘Singh’ name becomes your identity. Even the girls have their own share of embarrassing names, but those are a little more sensible.
Slam dunk
Most of the first year students are in for a complete surprise when their seniors dunk them when water when they are about to enter their dorms for the very first time. The fact that those very seniors then turn to friends is another story. However, this whole dunking game has some rules too. Yes, if a person is with books, cricket bat or other important things in his hands then dunking is not allowed. It’s a strict rule.
Where’s the party tonight?
After every exam, the students have an impromptu party. And not too many preparations are required either. A clean dorm (which becomes messy at the end of the party), loud music and a bunch of IIM-A party freaks is all that’s required to turn the book filled dorms into a party place!
So all in all, IIM-A guarantees you to have one fabulous campus life experience. Only thing is you need to study too hard to crack the CAT and get a minimum of 99.8 percentile to get in. Yes, now that’s why we say they are so lucky!
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