November 2018 Archives

Rajasthan Elections: Farmers, Cows and Sanskrit the Focus of Congress, BJP Manifestos

With the aim of wooing tribal communities, both national parties have also promised them reservation.

Jaipur: Both Congress and BJP have released their manifestos for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls, declaring the promises they hope to fulfil in the next five years if they come to power.

Congress has termed BJP’s manifesto a ‘chhalava-patra’ (document of deceit) and the latter has accused the former of ‘copying’ its manifesto. While the documents from both the parties are full of ‘good things,’ here’s a look at how different or similar the parties are.

Farmers

To cash in on agrarian distress, both the Congress and BJP have taken care of key demands of farmers, including minimum support price (MSP), concession on electricity and water for irrigation among many others.

Congress, in its manifesto titled ‘Jan Ghoshna Patra,’ has promised loan waivers within ten days of coming to power. However, there is no clarity on the type of loans and farmers that would be taken under this. It has also pledged to take the farm equipment out of the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduce farmers’ pension, firmly implement MSP and improve the system of estimation of crop losses, making it more practical.

In line with Modi’s promise to double farmers’ income further, BJP, in its ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Sankalp’ has proposed to set up a rural start-up fund worth Rs 250 crore. Cooperative farm loans worth Rs 1 lakh crore are aimed to be disbursed in the next five years.

Both the parties have provided for protection from the menace of cattle. It may be noted that reports of stray cattle damaging farmers’ crop emerged after the Modi government banned cattle trade in 2017.

Gaushala and gauraksha find a place

Both the parties have paid close attention to cows. While the Congress has promised to increase the subsidy currently allotted for gaushalas under the present government, BJP proposed that other gaushalas in the state would be operated in collaboration with the Akshaya Patra Foundation. Additional gau raksha chowkis have been promised in Mewat region of Rajasthan, infamous for numerous incidents of lynching led by cow vigilantes.

While the Congress has promised camel protection, the BJP has relaxed this a bit by allowing the sale of male camels out of state, as per permission. However, it will have to be ensured that this provision doesn’t give birth to camel vigilante groups.

To please the Nath sect in Rajasthan, the BJP has promised that the word ‘Gorakh dhanda’ would be banned. Credit: PTI

Sanskar and Sanskrit

Both the Congress and BJP have put emphasis on Sanskrit and Vedic education in their manifestos. Congress has promised that a Vedic studies board would be constituted and Sanskrit education and language would be promoted.

BJP has promised free undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sanskrit education and setting up of a Vedic education board. It has also mentioned that land would be given at concessional rates to those educational institutes that give education and ‘sanskars’ as per the Indian culture.

The manifesto reads that a chapter on family awakening would be included in the syllabus of secondary education. During its last tenure, Raje government had made significant changes in the textbooks making them ‘Indian culture’ friendly.

Also read: The Magician in Rajasthan Congress

Congress has provided for free education of girls but it remains to be seen whether the move would include the option of studying in private schools as well. It has also promised to re-open the 20,000 schools closed by the present BJP government. The Ambedkar Law University and Haridev Joshi Journalism University, made under the previous Congress government but were stalled by the current dispensation, would be re-started.

Both the national political parties have included one important point regarding regulatory authority for private education institutes and coaching centres. In the past few years, the private education sector that serves a large chunk of students has hiked the fees inconsiderately.

Representative image. Credit: Reuters

Reservation and development in the name of Ambedkar

Both the parties have tried to woo the tribal communities by promising them reservation. Congress has promised to get a legal nod to its bill that provides for 5% reservation to Gurjar, Raika, nomads and Gadia Lohar communities. It has also pledged that steps would be taken to implement the proposal that the previous Congress government has sent to the Central government for giving 14% reservation on economic basis.

BJP has promised to recommend tribal affairs ministry to include ‘Meena’ in the Scheduled Tribe category. In the name of Ambedkar, a pilgrimage fund, national tourist spot, e-library at Ambedkar community halls and a chair at government universities are provisioned. It has also mentioned that nomadic tribes would get official documents like voter ID, Aadhaar card, caste certificate easily.

Congress has taken women empowerment lightly

Congress party has been quite vocal about women empowerment. However, its manifesto reflects a lack of will in this direction. It includes routine provisions like 24×7 helpline cells, fast-tracking of serious crimes against women, functional toilets, working women hostel and legal training.

Congress party has been quite vocal about women empowerment. However, its manifesto reflects a lack of will in this direction. Credit: PTI

On the other side, BJP’s promises include special scheme for women farmers and homemakers, formation of a district-level cell for army recruitment of women, reserved dairy in the public distribution system, up to Rs 1 lakh economic support for daughters’ marriage to the families whose annual income is less than Rs 6 lakh, focus group for women working in the unorganised sector, banks for women near slum areas, anganwadi centres near border areas and CCTV and complaint box facilities in shelter homes. BJP has also promised to give reservation to women in state students’ union elections.

Muslims go missing, only named to be thrown out

BJP has gone completely silent on Muslims upliftment. Even the Congress manifesto seems reluctant to cater to the community. The only provision it has is for computer education in madrassas. Congress, like BJP, has given more focus to Sanskrit education, sidelining Urdu.

However, BJP has promised that arrangements would be made to identify Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims residing in the state and send them out of the country.

Also read: For Farmers in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh, SBI’s ‘Loot’ is a Key Election Issue

Universal health insurance versus free medicines

BJP has promised universal health insurance which means the citizens residing in Rajasthan can avail the health insurance facility. Earlier, it was made available through state Bhamashah Cards issued only for the native citizens of Rajasthan. It has also sought for Yoga board and compulsory yoga in educational institutes.

Congress has assured that right to health would be given a legal identity. It has provisioned for free medicines and treatment in this direction. Both the parties have promised to fill up the vacancies in the sector.

Healthcare in India. For representative purpose. Credit: Reuters

Big move: Contractual workers to be absorbed in the government sector

Congress has tapped an important issue regarding regularising the contractual workers in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) department. Noticeably, these health workers had waved black flags in Modi’s Jhunjhunu rally against Raje in March this year. In contrast, BJP has only provisioned contractual workers to have bonus points in recruitment on the basis of experience.

While Congress has provided for monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 3,500, BJP has made it Rs 5,000 for unemployed youth above 21 years of age. However, as per the existing conditions, the unemployed youth needs to be at least a graduate before availing this allowance. And the allowance is provided only for two years, even if they remain unemployment beyond this period.

In its manifesto, BJP has set out the target of providing 80 lakh jobs in the public and private sectors. However, Congress hasn’t included any such number. Both the parties have promised to align the professional skill development syllabus as per industries standards and requirement.

BJP stands for easy mining and industrial land conversation rules

Congress has promised to simplify GST in Rajasthan and cancel the tax on items traditionally made in the state. It has also pledged restoration of its ambitious Barmer refinery project.

On the other hand, BJP has proposed that regulations in the mining industry would be further simplified. Under ‘Make in Rajasthan’, local industries are promised to get a boost. It has also promised to facilitate the industrial land conversion, by making the process for bringing 5 hectares rain-fed land and 2.5 hectares irrigated land to industrial use simpler.

Congress scraps minimum education qualification in panchayats

In its manifesto, the Congress party has promised removal of the minimum education eligibility criteria to contest in the Panchayati Raj elections. The incumbent BJP government had enacted a law that made it compulsory for candidates contesting zila parishad and panchayat samiti polls to have passed Class 10 and those contesting sarpanch elections to have passed Class 7.

National Memorial of Gorakhnath

To please the Nath sect in Rajasthan, the BJP, in its manifesto, has promised that the word ‘Gorakh dhanda’ would be banned and its use will be made a punishable offence as it hurts the sentiments of the followers of saint Gorakhnath. It has further proposed to include saint Gorakhnath in the books of Rajasthan state textbook board and to teach students about its contribution in yoga. It has also promised to build a national memorial for him and restore monasteries of the Nath sect.

Pakistan Must First Become Secular to ‘Stay Together’ with India: Army Chief

“How can we stay together when they say they are an Islamic State and there is no role for anyone else?”

New Delhi: Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat reacted to Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan’s statement that if Germany and France can come together after war, then why not India and Pakistan, by saying that in order for Pakistan to stay together with India, it will have to become a secular state first.

In spite of making claims that Pakistan wants to forget the past to move forward and establish a civilised relationship with India, General Rawat asserted that as long as no tangible effects are visible on the ground, India will maintain its policy – that “terror and talks cannot go together.”

Responding to Imran Khan’s speech on Wednesday urging for peace and dialogue between the two countries in which he said “if India takes one step, Pakistan will take two,” General Rawat remarked that India has taken the first step several times before in the past and now it’s Pakistan’s turn to take a concrete step towards containing terrorism on its side of the border.

Also read: Peace Talks With India After 2019 Elections: Imran Khan

“For this idea of countries coming together, Pakistan will have to look at their own internal situation. Pakistan has made itself into an Islamic State. If they have to stay together with India, they will have to become a secular state. We are a secular state. How can we stay together, when they say they are an Islamic State and there is no role for anyone else,” General Rawat said according to the Indian Express.

General Rawat made these statements to mediapersons on the sidelines during the Passing Out Parade of the 135th course of National Defence Academy in Pune, which he was reviewing on Friday morning.

Imran Khan addressed thousands of Indian pilgrims at the ground breaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor on November 28 – during which he said that it is “madness” for nuclear armed countries to think of war.

Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that dialogue between the two countries can start “the moment Pakistan stops terrorist activities in India.” India, for the second time, has refused to attend the SAARC summit in Pakistan, which has now been postponed indefinitely.

SC Issues Notice to Ramdev in Case Regarding Book on his Life

Earlier, Ramdev filed a plea in the high court against the book titled ‘Godman To Tycoon’, saying the book, purportedly on his life, had defamatory content and harmed his economic interests and reputation.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Baba Ramdev on a plea by a publisher challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict restraining the sale and publication of a book purportedly on his life.

The high court passed the restraining order after Ramdev claimed that the book had defamatory content.

The apex court listed the matter for further hearing in the first week of February next year.

“We will issue notice to Respondent 1 (Ramdev),” a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.

The publisher, Juggernaut Books, approached the apex court challenging the high court’s September 29 judgement.

Court Holds Ex-Secretary H.C. Gupta, Five Others Guilty in Coal Scam Case

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday held ex-coal secretary H.C. Gupta guilty of the offences of corruption and criminal conspiracy in a coal scam case relating to allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal.

Besides Gupta, Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar also held guilty private firm Vikash Metals and Power Limited (VMPL), ex-joint secretary in the Ministry of Coal (MoC) KS Kropha, who is still in service and then director (CA-I) in MoC KC Samria in the case.

The court also convicted the firm’s managing director Vikash Patni and its authorised signatory Anand Mallick in the case.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal to VMPL. In September 2012, the CBI had registered an FIR in the case.

Also Read: Ex-Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta Convicted in Coal Scam Case

After pronouncement of the decision, all the five convicted persons were taken into custody by the court which fixed December 3 for hearing arguments on the quantum of punishment.

The convicts may get a maximum seven-year jail term.

The court had on August 19, 2016, framed charges, including cheating and criminal conspiracy against Gupta, the two public servants, the firm and its two officials in the case. They all had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. All the accused were currently out on bail.

It had said, “Charge for the offences under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servants), 420 (cheating) of IPC and also under sections 13(1)(c) and 13(1) (d) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the PC Act has been framed against all the accused…”

It had put on trial all the accused in the case in which the CBI’s closure report was earlier rejected by the court, asking the probe agency to further investigate the matter.

Also Read: Coalgate: Corruption, an Honest Bureaucrat and a Deeper Malaise in India

Gupta was earlier also convicted in two other coal scam cases relating to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd (VISUL). Kropha and Samria were also convicted in KSSPL case.

Around eight different charge sheets have been filed against Gupta and proceedings are going on separately in each case.

On July 25, 2014, the Supreme Court had approved appointment of Additional Sessions Judge Parashar as special judge to deal with all coal scam cases.

Why Is Modi Not Accepting Pakistan’s Offer of Talks?

No one has to ‘trust’ anyone else. Talks do not mean that we must withdraw forces from J&K and send them to peace stations. Nor is this a Bollywood situation where the police chief is expected to go to the den of bad men armed only with ‘trust’.

Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan’s open appeal for talks with India, and Indian external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement ruling out India’s participation in even the SAARC summit are developments that should concern all Indians. While someone is saying “Let’s save countless lives and money”, we are refusing to even hear him out.

Pakistan’s desire for talks, a settlement of the Kashmir issue and finally peace with India is nothing new. It was General Pervez Musharraf who brought this proposal to almost the finishing line, but bickering by the then opposition BJP got the better of Manmohan Singh while domestic troubles in Pakistan weakened the general to the point that a golden opportunity slipped out of their hands. Pakistani elections always see the main contenders for power going to their voters with a manifesto that includes seeking peace with India. Surely they do so because they feel this is what their people want. Even in the last elections, all three prime ministerial candidates dealt their final cards by claiming they would normalise relations with India if they came to power.

And now, at Kartarpur, Imran Khan has bowled us a peace googly which we are unable to face up to.

It is inconceivable why India, with its numerous other problems of nation-building, should refuse this offer. We are acting as if Pakistan is demanding unconditional surrender from India. No other explanation suffices to explain New Delhi’s stand.

Everything that happens from the soil of a state is not always the result of machinations of that state. If that be so, we need to think of Chattisgarh, where more Indians are being killed by Naxalites than by terrorists in J&K. And who is in control of the state of Chattisgarh? It is the Union of India.

Also read: Peace Talks With India After 2019 Elections: Imran Khan

“Terror and talks can’t go together,” the external affairs minister repeated recently. Really? Even if, for the sake of argument, it be agreed that terrorism in J&K is solely the result of Pakistan, do we mean that we don’t want to counter this terrorism if it can happen by talks alone? Are we willing to counter it only by having our soldiers and Kashmiri citizens die for it – something they have been doing without the problem ending – and not by trying the talks route?

In any case, talks are held only when there are differences and not when there is great friendship. How can one possibly refuse to take this real option, particularly when you don’t even have to take the initiative to offer talks and thus look weak? The other party is suing for peace, and we are saying ‘No.’ How does that make India look to the world? Quite unreasonable, surely.

Not only are talks not a bad option when there are differences between countries, they are the only option when both are nuclear states. To say that we will not talk is an act of irresponsibilty.

But let us get into real reasons to why Prime Minister Narendra Modi might be refusing this. The same man who, at the beginning of his prime ministerial tenure, broke all protocols and had his plane turned toward Pakistan to meet the then Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, uninvited for a family event is today refusing to even take up an offer of talks. The threat posed by terrorism is the same, if not better now than when Modi landed in Lahore. The only circumstances that have changed are internal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is greeted by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his arrival in Lahore on December 25, 2015. Credit: PTI Photo

Any prime miniser is wont to do what he perceives to be good for his next election. When Modi went to meet Nawaz Sharif uninvited, he was at the top of his popularity. The Nobel peace prize was in sight. There was much to gain from a breakthrough in the Indo-Pak relationship. But now, the situation is different. His popularity has gone down rapidly. In the last two years, he has been steadily moving to seek shelter in the slogans of Hindutva and ultra-patriotism, which, for the BJP, are simply other names for being anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan. With general elections only a few months away, Modi’s refusal to take up Imran Khan’s a offer of talks is quite understandable.

But the BJP’s stand is not justified. While the BJP must look after its interests, the nation needs to look after its own. It is clearly in India’s interest to grab this offer and tell Imran Khan: “Ok. We are being generous to you. Since you insist, please table an offer and let’s talk.”

What are the possible disadvantages of such a move? Will it reduce the ability of our security forces to tackle terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir? Surely not. The two have simply no connection. Even when the Indian and Pakistani sides are sitting together and talking, terrorists can be ruthlessly killed. Surely, the Pakistani side is not going to object. If they do, it is good for India, as it can then say to the world: “See, this is the reality behind the Pakistani request for peace.”

Why not give Pakistan a long rope to hang itself by? If the rope is not given for fear that it will strangle one’s own chances of re-election, then it is a very selfish act.

There are many in India who ask in a righteous and hurt tone: “Why should India trust Pakistan? What has Pakistan done on Hafiz Saeed? What are they offering to make this one look real?”

These conscientious objectors deserve a reply.

No one has to ‘trust’ anyone else. Talks do not mean that we must withdraw forces from Jammu and Kashmir and send them to peace stations. Everyone remains where they are. Nor is this a Bollywood situation where the police chief is expected to go to the den of bad men, unarmed, armed only with ‘trust’. Also, Pakistan’s inaction on Hafiz Saeed is not a reason to not talk. On the contrary, it is a very strong reason to talk and explore how Islamabad can be made to act.

As for “what are they offering”, one is surely being presumptuous. When two sovereign nations talk, one country can order the other to bow down in order to merely talk only when it has the latter in a tight grip and can dictate terms. That is simply not the case here.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Credit: Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Why, then, are diplomats and ministers creating problems on the question of talks? They are doing so simply because the rulers of the day and their advisors have nothing to lose from tension and even bloodshed. Their presence is never required on the border on in the battlefield.

I have shared my views with my friends, most of whom are veterans of more than 25 years of experience in the army. Many have shed blood for India, and all of them know the horrors of war. These are some of their reactions: “I agree with you, but if you air these views, be ready to face violent opposition”; “Very true. Of course, our chaps cannot agree to Khan’s proposal. Dukaan band ho jayegi (Their shop will close down). They just have to keep the bogey alive”; “Right. As it is, we are in a winning situation, Pak is on the back foot. Time to use this to clinch the deal”; and “We need to resume peace talks on a war footing. It is our lives.”

Also read: ‘The Ice Is Melting’: A Triumphant Sidhu Returns to Pakistan for Kartarpur Launch

Does Modi know better? How does national security adviser Ajit Doval justify not talking as a matter of national security? If so, what is it that he knows that we don’t? I have shown how this refusal to take up Pakistan on its word is like losing a winning match. Let wiser people show how I am wrong. Let us get Modi’s view, not the BJP’s.

As mentioned already, prime ministers do what they think will get them more votes in future. So the ball is now in our court. We the voters have to make our desires clear to our government. A feigned stance of animosity results in misapprehensions, leading to minor events quickly spinning out of control. Once public opinion gets hardened over some such accident, war becomes inevitable.

Talking is what civilised people do when they have differences. We’ve been offered an opportunity to reduce friction and save the lives of countless soldiers. Peace will give India the resources it needs for national development. Above all, it will establish India as a mature nation and add to its stature in the international system.

Alok Asthana is a retired colonel of the Indian Army.

The Ten Big Failures of the Narendra Modi Government

The irony is that the very issues Narendra Modi campaigned on in 2013 are the ones his government has managed to aggravate the most since coming to power.

Salman Khurshid is a former Union minister for law and external affairs and a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, and Muhammad Khan is a National Media Panellist for the Congress party and an Advocate.

It is interesting that during the campaigns for the elections to the five state assemblies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been noticeably reluctant to talk about his government’s achievements.

This is also ironic because we know that the prime minister loves to advertise. So much so, that a parliamentary query revealed that the government has spent close to Rs 4,880 crore of tax payer money on advertising their ‘achievements’.

As we enter the last five months of this government’s tenure, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a historic opportunity has been squandered. The Modi government – which was doubly blessed by a historic mandate from the people and three years of low oil prices, had an opportunity to enact widespread reform. Instead this became a government with questionable priorities and a lack of any legislative clarity.

The successes of the Modi government are debatable. However, there were ten critical missteps which will, without a doubt, define the Modi government.

1. Demonetisation.

This would be at the top of any list for its sheer lack of success and the widespread havoc that it inflicted on the economy. While being taught now as a cautionary tale in business schools overseas, it enjoys the unique distinction of having failed on every one of its stated objectives (combatting terror funding, fake notes and black money) while having wiped out jobs. Studies by noted economist Arun Kumar and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy continue to illustrate that we are not out of the woods yet.

2. The betrayal of farmers

Farmer suicides rose sharply during the Modi government’s tenure. In its final budget, the BJP on the demand of minimum support price plus 50%, gave a version that satisfied no one. In parallel, the Modi government imported wheat and pulses without thought – leading to the prices of domestic produce crashing. Add to this – the ill-advised venture to amend the land acquisition Act of 2013; to forcibly acquire the land of farmers.

Also read: Dimensions of Farmers’ Indebtedness: Who is Indebted

Farmers have resorted to all manner of agitations to catch the BJP government’s attention. They have marched and held large scale agitations thrice this year. They have brought the mortal remains of their brethren, who committed suicide, to shock this government into action. The children of those farmers who took their own lives held peaceful protests barely a kilometre away from parliament. Not a single representative from the BJP Government deigned to meet with any of them or even acknowledge their presence.

3. The questionable rewriting of the Rafale deal

The prime minister and his cohorts changed the terms of a deal to acquire fewer jets for three times the price without following the stipulated procurement procedure. When cornered with questions, the government chose to attack the opposition and cite rules of privacy which were contradicted by the French president in an interview to an Indian channel. The Rafale controversy attracts questions also because of the selection of a private party as an offset partner – one who lacked any qualifications in this regard, except for an obvious proximity to the Prime Minister.

4. Media capture

There has been an enslavement of certain sections of the media which simply choke on any criticism no matter how innocuous of the prime minister and the BJP president. If a channel is less than pliant, it is blacked out for 24 hours, its premises are raided, or the offending journalists are mysteriously made to go on sabbatical or removed outright.

5. Weakening of institutions

The parliament is an inconvenience to this government which prefers to rule by fiat and ordinances. The prime minister rarely attends parliament, and when he does it is more to give electoral speeches than to lay out a legislative agenda or answer questions raised on the floor of the House. The promised Lokpal is so artfully forgotten that an irate Supreme Court has to direct action. An audacious chief minister promptly upon assuming office withdraws all criminal cases against himself and no one blinks. Electoral transparency is promised while bringing in unaccounted funding through regressive and opaque electoral bonds. The CBI is in the throes of a battle for credibility. The list goes on.

6. Perhaps the biggest failure, the cultivation of hate

There has been a sharp increase in targeted attacks on Dalits and members of the minority community. What makes these attacks unique is the state endorsement to the attackers when ministers garland them or reverentially attend their funerals. The message of support is lost on no one. In fact, the only coherent thread running through this government’s term has been the othering of a certain section of India. People who are blessed to be followed by the prime minster share only one other thing in common. They are defiantly communal and abusive. Almost as if they have official sanction.

Also read: Forget Development, BJP Will Fight the 2019 Elections on Faith

7. The mishandling of Kashmir

This government deserves the credit of having alienated the Kashmiri people from the rest of India through a poorly thought out engagement policy. For the first time, since the 1996, by-elections could not be held in the district of Anantnag and had to be delayed because of the tense situation. Eight month long curfews destroyed the local economy. Worse still, there was a marked increase (72%) in the number of our soldiers martyred in just the first three years of the BJP’s term. The extremely inept handling of Kashmir deserves a study unto itself.

8. A draconian Aadhaar and the failed attempt to deny citizens a fundamental right to privacy

For months this government argued in the Supreme Court against citizens having a fundamental right to privacy. It argued for surveillance and labelled privacy an ‘elitist concern’. In parallel it struggled to explain why it ordered the mandatory linking of Aadhaar to all possible services from railway tickets to school admissions. The Supreme Court ultimately had to step in and severely curtail the domineering designs of the project.

9. Erosion of India’s influence in Asia

A small island nation like Maldives feels confident in spurning India, Nepal has no compunctions about engaging with China as does Sri Lanka. Until five years ago, India enjoyed a pre-eminent position in the subcontinent with its voice sought on resolving matters within these countries. It is clear that that influence has been eroded because of a foreign policy lacking any coherent objectives, except to promote the Prime Minister’s cult of personality.

10. Jobs

When the government has to revise the methodology for calculating GDP to make its numbers appear artificially higher, when capital flight on an unprecedented scale takes place, when companies turn to external lenders to finance operations, you know the government has failed to create jobs.

This is a dismal report card by any measure, but it is far from exhaustive. The sheer number of high-value defaulters who audaciously fled the country with public sector money, the almost cruel increases in oil and LPG prices, the lowering of the standard of political discourse etc.; these are just some of the several missteps this government will have to answer for.

The irony is that when the prime minister was campaigning in 2013, he promised to address these very issues. He has instead aggravated them to a point where it will take years to undo the damage.

The prime minister likes to speak of legacy issues often. The truth is his legacy is going to be an issue of sizeable concern for himself.

Disciplined, Determined and Hopeful: Documenting Delhi’s Kisan March

Farmers have come from numerous states, and at least 3,000 are from Maharashtra.

Yamuna Jadhav does not look like she has barely slept for two nights. She grins, says ‘Lal Salaam’ with a raised hand and a clenched fist, and adds, “We are looking forward to the next two days.”

She reached Delhi just six hours ago from Dudgaon village in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. “We took a train from Nashik on the night of November 27,” she says. “We had no reserved berth. We sat near the door throughout the journey. My back is hurting after sitting upright for 24 hours.”

Yamuna (in the cover photo on top) is among the tens of thousands of farmers who have arrived in Delhi on a chilly morning on November 29. The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, an umbrella organisation of 150-200 farm groups and unions, has mobilised farmers from across the country to participate in a two-day protest. Today, November 30, the protestors have marched towards parliament, demanding a special 21-day session to discuss the agrarian crisis.

Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Farmers have come from numerous states, and at least 3,000 are from Maharashtra, says Ajit Navale, farm leader with the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha. Many of them, like Yamuna, are agricultural labourers earning Rs. 150 as daily wages.

The intensifying agrarian crisis, says Yamuna, directly affects their income. “More the activity on farms, more the opportunities for us to make some money,” she says, wearing a red Kisan Sabha t-shirt. “Currently, Maharashtra is suffering from a serious drought. Farmers are not sowing for the rabi season [after the monsoon]. Where will we find work?”

The Gurudwara Shri Bala Sahebji near Hazrat Nizamuddin station, where many of the farmers rested after arriving in Delhi, has made arrangements for the morning meal of dal and rice, which the farmers are done with by 11 a.m. Tuljabai Bhadange, around 35, from Gangavarhe village in Nashik district, says they had carried bhakri and chutney with them for the first night, but could not eat much on the second. “We have kept Rs 1,000 for the journey,” she says. “We spent Rs 200 on food yesterday. We paid for the rickshaw to reach Nashik station. We have accepted the fact that we will have to give up work [and wages] for five days. This march is a statement. We did it in Mumbai, we will do it again.”

A major concern in the Adivasi belt of Nashik is the absence of enforcement of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which gives Adivasis rights over land they have long cultivated. Bhadange says tribal farmers are still not owners of the land they have been tilling for decades. “Even though I do not own much land, I work on other farmer’s lands,” she says. “If they lose farmlands, where will I work?”

Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Tuljabai Bhadange of Gangavarhe village in Nashik district. ‘This march is a statement. We did it in Mumbai, we will do it again’, she says. Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Outside of the Adivasi belt, the farmers and agricultural labourers of Maharashtra who have travelled to Delhi, complain of the lack of irrigation facilities, water scarcity, an unfair crop insurance policy and the need for loan waivers. “Nothing has materialised on the ground,” says Devram Bhangre, 70, from Ahmednagar’s Ambevangan village, as the march moves onto the streets of Delhi by 12:30 in the afternoon. “Farmers rarely receive their crop insurance by the sowing period of June, when they need money the most. If a farmer does not have money, he will cut down on hiring agricultural labourers. Even though our village is suffering from an acute water shortage, there is hardly any assistance. Modi has not fulfilled his promises. He should know we are angry.”

As the farmers flood the streets of Delhi with red flags and t-shirts, chants of ‘Modi sarkar hosh mein aao’ reverberate in the air. Bystanders and commuters look on, while the farmers robustly continue shouting slogans.

Disciplined and forceful, the farmers continue to stride towards Ramlila Maidan – nine kilometres from Nizamuddin – close to the heart of Delhi, where the farmers will spend the night. With just one break after about five kilometres, the marchers reach the Maidan at 4:30 in the afternoon.

Day one draws to a close at Ramlila Maidan. Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

Krishna Khode says, ‘My father wanted me to be a police officer. I will strive for that’. Credit: Shrirang Swarge/ People’s Archive of Rural India.

The protesters are from all regions and age groups, men and women both. Krishna Khode, 18, has travelled with others from Pimpalgaon village in Nashik. His father Nivrutti had participated in the Long March in March this year, when farmers of Maharashtra walked for around 180 kilometres from Nashik to Mumbai. “When he came home, he fell sick,” says Krishna, walking with the flag, and backpack on his shoulders. “He complained of chest pains after two or three days. We took him to the doctor, who asked us to get an x-ray done. But even before we could do that, he died.”

Krishna’s mother Sonabai has since been doubling up as an agricultural labourer, besides looking after the farm. Krishna wants to become a police officer. “I do not want to be a farmer,” he says. “My father wanted me to be a police officer. I will strive for that.”

Did Sonabai object to her son participating in the march after what happened to Nivrutti? He smiles. “She asked me why I would like to go,” he says. “I said I want to be a part of it. All she said was: ‘Take care of yourself’.”

This article was originally published in the People’s Archive of Rural India on November 30, 2018.

Congress Should Remember, There Is No Turning Back on the ‘Soft Hindutva’ Highway

The grand old party needs to do some course correction if it doesn’t want to become a pale shadow of the BJP.

The Congress is being accused of indulging in a ‘soft Hindutva’ strategy to woo Hindu voters – so goes the accusation against the party, for which secularism has been a fundamental tenet for most of its existence. Now, say its critics, the party, right from the top, is sending out signals about its commitment to ‘Hindu causes’, mainly by creating photo-ops.

Thus, the party president visits temples, the national party leadership mildly expresses a difference of opinion with the Kerala unit’s support to the Sabarimala temple which is defying a Supreme Court order to allow women inside and its spokesmen declare that the Rahul Gandhi is a ‘janeu-dhari (sacred thread wearing) Brahmin’. All this to assure the Hindus – at least the upper castes among them – that the Congress is not against them and is no longer as robustly for the Muslims as in earlier times.

This, the party strategists no doubt believe, will assuage not just the anxieties of the Hindu upper castes, who have always harboured a suspicion of the Congress, but also stave off accusations by the BJP that the grand old party is soft on Muslims. The Congress think tank, not particularly burdened by history or even the party’s core ideology, appears to have come up with this plan to outflank the BJP, thus taking away the sting of the Sangh parivar that the Nehru-Gandhi family members are not just pro-Muslim, but perhaps also Muslims themselves. There are countless WhatsApp messages saying just that, which credulous people are ready to believe.

Also read: Is Populism Synonymous with the Right-Wing?

Thus, the Congress may well rationalise – an argument that is reasonably valid – that it is an instrumentalist tactic to win over the electorate and that all is fair in elections. This does not mean that the Congress will turn to the kind of hard Hindutva practiced by the Sangh parivar – it will not subvert institutions, it will not change history books and as for the minorities, their interests will not be compromised. The Congress is still committed to taking along everybody and if anything, will go that extra mile to help the weak and the marginalised.

Under the banyan tree that was Jawaharlal Nehru, all kinds of opinions prospered, some in rabid opposition to each other.

The Congress has always been all things to all people. It is more an umbrella organisation harbouring different views and interests that often appear at odds with each other. During the freedom movement and after India became independent, it had stalwarts who were right wing and others who were socialists. The upholders of Hindu interests rubbed shoulders with secularists. Some spoke up for the country’s industrialists, some wanted to nationalise big industries. Under the banyan tree that was Jawaharlal Nehru, all kinds of opinions prospered, some in rabid opposition to each other. It was the original coalition, representing India in all its glorious diversity.

This flexibility allowed it to take positions and institute policies that appeared to be totally contradictory to each other. In the late 1960s and early ‘70s, the Indira Gandhi government nationalised banks and oil companies and took an even sharper Left turn in its economic policy – the young turks, socialists all, were gunning for big business groups and by all accounts, Mrs Gandhi encouraged them to speak out. Yet, in 1993, the Narasimha Rao government introduced widespread economic reforms, liberalising the economy and doing away with the licence-permit raj. Under UPA-I, the government pursued the reformist agenda but at the same time, it set up MGNREGA, one of the most ambitious social welfare schemes ever. Deep down, the Congress has always been a party with a socialist heart and has never failed to remind this to its more economically liberal leaders.

Also read: Why Can’t You Separate Religion From Politics: Open Letter to Rahul Gandhi

With secularism, the relationship has been more complicated. The Muslims had faith in the Congress for a long time, but slowly grew disillusioned and began looking elsewhere. Serious riots took place under the Congress’s watch and perhaps the party’s most shameful hour was the massacre of innocent Sikhs after the assassination of Mrs Gandhi in 1984. The ad campaign of the time blatantly suggested that a section of the minorities was not to be trusted – the party cannot and should not be proud of it. The Babri Masjid came down on Rao’s watch.

Muslims today are being made to feel unwanted, second-class citizens at best, who can exist in the country only subject to them accepting their lower status.

But despite its serious transgressions, the Congress has never openly advocated an anti-minority line. The all-round and vicious assault on the minorities, as is being witnessed now, was never seen before 2014, not even under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The Congress has much to answer for, but no partyman or woman ever gave statements and sound bites against Muslims. Muslims today are being made to feel unwanted, second-class citizens at best, who can exist in the country only subject to them accepting their lower status.

In this venal environment, what was needed was an all-round attack and condemnation of what this government and the entire ecosystem around it – the Sangh parivar, including the head office and the sundry subsidiary organisations – has engendered in India. The BJP and its masters have made no secret of how much they abhor secularism and have done everything in their power to discredit it, warning even that they are ready to do away with the very term in the constitution. That noble document, as it stands today, is the only thing that lies between them and a Hindutva rashtra that will surely follow should the party return to power in strength.

Also read: As Congress Seizes the Moment in Telangana, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi Appear Confident

The Congress was well poised to take on the government on Hindutva, but its response has been weak and listless. Rahul Gandhi has tried to point out the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva but that is not enough – instead of scoring semantic points, he would have done better if he had strongly repudiated the very idea of invoking religion for politics. Instead he and his party are doing everything to create optics around Hinduism.

The grand old party must realise that this move away from its fundamental tenets is not merely for the short term. It will find it difficult to switch back and talk about secularism. The constituency it is appealing to – upper caste Hindus – will demand that the party remain on that path and the vulnerable minorities will lost faith in it for a long time. It’s time that the Congress did some course correction if it doesn’t want to become a pale shadow of the BJP and give up everything it once stood for.

To Tackle the Tuberculosis Crisis, Diagnostics Must Be Brought Closer to Patients

Accurate and accessible diagnostics is the first step to treatment and cure.

Tuberculosis is the world’s top infectious killer. In 2017, it killed 1.6 million people. The same year, ten million more were infected. India contributes 27% of the global TB burden as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global TB Report. In 2017, a number of people afflicted with TB in India was 2.79 million out of the 10.04 million globally. TB deaths in India were at 4.23 lakhs out of the global death toll of 16.74 lakhs. India also contributes about 25% of the global deaths due to multi-drug resistant TB.

However, the country has set an ambitious deadline to eliminate TB by 2025, a whole five years ahead of the UN’s deadline. But are these declarations in line with the preparations on the ground? When it comes to drugs, diagnostics and counseling (yes, counseling is a crucial component of the WHO treatment protocol for TB), India is “woefully short”, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres’ (Doctors Without Borders) 29-country survey ‘Out of Step 2017.’

Timely diagnostics is crucial to the identification and treatment of TB patients. Each undiagnosed patient can transmit the disease to others. Malden Davies, quoting a study by the Global Coalition of TB Activists, found that it took between a month to over two years for patients to get a proper diagnosis.

Also read: Discrimination, Growing Resistance to Drugs Fuelling India’s Tuberculosis Crisis

The method most commonly used to diagnose TB in India is sputum smear microscopy, where a patient’s phlegm is smeared on a glass slide and examined under a microscope. It is widely used because it is inexpensive and straightforward. It doesn’t require a laboratory so it can be done in community centres. But it is less sensitive. It misses up to half of the cases. Blessina Kumar, CEO of the Global Coalition of TB Activists, calls this test method archaic and inaccurate.

The WHO-mandated GeneXpert or CBNAAT (Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) universally for TB suspects and patients in 2010. The test is highly sensitive, takes only two hours to produce a result and tells doctors if the patient has a drug-resistant form of the disease. But it is also expensive and costs between Rs 900-1200 per test. However, India has bought only 1135 CBNAAT machines spread across the 644 districts as of August 2018. Most of these machines are concentrated in and around the metropolitan cities and state capitals.

CBNAAT also requires 24×7 electricity and air-conditioning. It is faster, more accurate and WHO mandated, yet we have very few for a country like India. The reason is cost, explains Dr Jitendar Sharma, CEO of Andhra Med Tech Zone, “At 4.5 lakh rupees per unit, 24×7 electricity and air-conditioning and re-agents (like sputum box) and dedicated staff to run the machine, it worked out to Rs 4,000 per test initially. Now, the cost has stabilised at 900-1,200 rupees per test. But that is too high in a public health setting. Low- and middle-income countries have a record of low to no maintenance of equipment and frequent breakdowns. CBNAAT is no different. The result – a further spike in the test cost. Patients are adversely affected with every breakdown.”

Enter TrueNat. TrueNat is an indigenous test developed by MoIBio Diagnostics Private Limited Goa for rapid detection of multi-drug resistant TB. It is automated, uses battery-operated devices to extract DNA and read specific gene patterns from the patients’ sputum sample. Any resistance to the main treatment drug, Rifampicin, is detected by this machine. TrueNat was suggested by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2015-16 after comprehensive pilot studies. For interested readers, technical specifications can be found here.

Also read: Debate: India’s TB Patients Need Bedaquiline Now, Never Mind the Critics

Andhra Pradesh government has recently adopted it for the entire state for TB testing. It has introduced a creative public procurement model. Instead of buying the machines, they have rented them and pay for the re-agents (like sputum collection box). The pricing is outcome-based, which means the payment for price per test will increase only if there is a decline in TB incidences. So the perverse practice of over-pricing tests in the initial years is done away with.

Additionally, AMTZ provided the incubation site for manufacturing TrueNAT. They also protected the innovators so that there is no hostile take-over bid by big multi-nationals. Currently, a test costs Rs 600. Dr Sharma is confident that there will be a further cost reduction.

The machine is innovated and scaled up, does that mean the test is accessible to TB patients and the most at-risk citizens? The jury is still out on that since Andhra government has just rolled out the machine and test.

One way of bringing diagnostics closer to patients is through a link cadre. Enter the mobile Specimen Collection and Transport (SCT) agents. It is a human resource cadre that Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT) has introduced in the state of Karnataka and Telengana. KHPT is a leading non-profit in the health and equity space with work in Asia and Africa.

Depending on staff at the diagnostics centre and distance of the health centres (where these diagnostics centres are located), it takes about ten days for the test results to actually reach back to the patient. These delay happens even when advanced machines and tests are present, reports Malden Davies.

SCT agents physically collect samples from the designated TB units at the the health centres and carry them to the testing centres with CBNAAT and TrueNat facility. They bring back the results and hand over the same to the patients. They do all this within a day, shares Dr Prakash Kudur, director of KHPT’s TB programme. This means the patient/citizen can access the diagnostics sooner. “The SCT cadre is agnostic to public or private hospital. If there is a sputum sample, the SCT agents will collect. The fast access to diagnostics and test results means, accurate identification of the exact form of TB and treatment initiation. This gives a fighting chance for cure and survival,” explains Dr Kudur.

TrueNAT and the link cadre of SCT are all innovations to bring TB diagnostics closer to the patients and citizens. Accurate and accessible diagnostics is the first step to TB treatment and cure.

Biraj Swain is a Senior Fellow with the Kalam Institute of Health Technology. She works on international development and human rights in South Asia, East Africa and the UN. She can be reached at biraj_swain@hotmail.com.

Manipur Journalist Arrested Under NSA for Video Criticising BJP-Led State Government

“He just gave his opinion considering it to be a democratic land where people can question their chief minister and criticise political parties, however angrily they want to. We need to say no to such threats by the state authority,” his wife said.

New Delhi: Imphal-based journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem was arrested on November 27 under the National Security Act (NSA) for posting a video severely criticising the BJP-led state government for linking the freedom movement of Manipur with that of the Rani of Jhansi. In the video – shot in Meitei language – he questioned the contribution of the Rani of Jhansi to the state’s freedom movement and hurled abuses at the BJP and its ideological fount, the RSS, whom he blamed for state chief minister N. Biren Singh making such a comparison in a speech.

Wangkhem also challenged the state government to “come and arrest” him “if it can” for opposing it.

He was reacting to the chief minister’s speech at a function organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Rani of Jhansi on November 19. According to local news reports, the sub-editor/anchor was sacked from the local cable TV channel ISTV after the video went viral.

Wangkhem was arrested in August as well for another social media post. Journalists in Imphal then marched from the local press club to the CM’s bungalow demanding his release. According to local news reports, Manipur Working Journalists Union president Brojendro Ningombam met the CM thereafter and apologised to him on Wangkhem’s behalf, leading to his release from custody.

Kishorechandra Wangkhem. Credit: Facebook

Wangkhem’s wife Elangbam Ranjita told The Wire from Imphal that after the video went viral, he was arrested by Imphal West Police on November 21 and kept in police custody for five days. “On November 21, he was produced at the local magistrate’s court whereupon he was granted bail. However, in less than 24 hours, five-six policemen in plain clothes arrived at our residence saying he needed to go with them to the local police station as the superintendent of police would like to meet him.”

“However, till late in the evening, there was no news of him and I got worried. On reaching the station, I was told that he was sent to the central jail and charges against him would be known by next morning. But nothing was shared with us even the next day. On November 29, we were allowed to meet him at the central jail and then only we came to know that a notice was served on him under the NSA, terming his speech in the video as seditious.”

She said, “My husband is not a terrorist. He just gave his opinion considering it to be a democratic land where people can question their chief minister and criticise political parties, however angrily they want to. We need to say no to such threats by the state authority.”

Kishorechandra’s wife Ranjita at the sit-in protest in Imphal on November 30 demanding her husband’s release from custody. Credit: Special arrangement

On November 30, several people assembled in the city’s Keishamthong area to take part in a sit-in protest calling Wangkhem’s arrest of Kishore “an abuse of basic human civil rights” and demanded his immediate release. Popular musician of Imphal Talkies fame, Akhu Chingangbam, who took part in it, said, “If the BJP-led government can book someone under NSA for using the F-word, it really shows how insecure the government is. For me, it is also shocking how deafening the silence of the local media is even when a fellow journalist is arrested.”

On Wednesday, Imphal Free Press quoted Wangkhem’s advocate Chongtham Victor as saying: “The words, terms and gesture used by the accused in the video cannot be termed as seditious; it is a mere expression of opinion against the public conduct of a public figure in a street language. In what manner he is likely to cause disturbance to society?”

On November 29, Kh. Joykisan, the Congress spokesperson and MLA from Imphal’s Thangmeiband constituency held a press meet reminding the chief minister that he “himself was arrested on charges of sedition when he was an editor; the court let him go then, and he should know that.”

In May, Erendro Leichombam, convenor of the political party Peoples’ Resurgence and Justice Alliance was arrested by Manipur Police for refusing to delete a Facebook post in which he criticised the state government for its inability to take into custody some youth from outside the state featured in a video delivering hate speech against the people of Manipur. “Why is the Manipur Police not arresting those who created the hate video when it had been very swift in arresting internet trolls who have been recently threatened by the Chief Minister’s son. We will not remain a silent spectator,” Leichombam wrote.