Former President Pranab Mukherjee visit to the RSS headquarters shows the Indian tradition of acceptance without annoyance and appropriation.

Despite the staunch protest by his own party, Dr Pranab Mukherjee remained resolute in his decision to participate in the closing ceremony of the Tritiya Varsh Sangh Shiksha Varg of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). His conviction in the democratic principle of open engagement is worth acknowledging with gratitude. During his visit to Nagpur, the former President visited Dr KB Hedgewar’s ancestral home and offered homage to a man he considered “a great son of India”.

He also paid his respects at Smriti Mandir, dedicated to the memory and service of Dr Hedgewar and Shri Guruji Golwalkar at the RSS headquarters and went on to place his thoughts before the gathered audience with unflinching honesty. Before the program and away from the camera lens there was a meet-and-greet program with senior RSS functionaries and special invitees, in which he participated with endearing simplicity. At the time of personal introductions, he suggested all present introduce themselves and, leading by example, offered: “I am Pranab Mukherjee.” For a man who needs no introduction, his simplicity was heart-warming.

Pranab da had come with a written speech in English whilst RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Rao Bhagwat spoke in Hindi. Both speeches, however, met at the confluence of — Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadantior That which exists is ONE, sages call it by various names. Furthermore, Pranab Da explained very clearly that the Bharatiya concept of the nation based on a unique, integral view is entirely different from the state-nation concept in the West. He emphasised our 5000-year old civilisational history with eloquence, highlighting the beliefs embedded in our view of life — Vasudhaiva Kutumbhakam and Sarve Bhavantu Sukhina which are values of diversity, secularism and tolerance that are further enshrined in our Constitution. Dr Bhagwat also expressed the same views in different words. Instead of ‘tolerance’ he used acceptance of all. He emphasised that no Bharatiya can be treated as ‘other’ or alien as we all come from the same ancestors. Both stalwarts emphasised in their speeches that the national life of Bharat did not flourish on the basis of one religion, language or race but on the basis of a spirituality-based integral, holistic view of life and the values that stemmed out from it. Dr Bhagwat also clearly articulated that the “Sangh would remain the Sangh and Pranab da, Pranab da” as this is the Bharatiya tradition of acceptance; neither imposition nor appropriation but acceptance.

This very view of life and value system is reflected in our Constitution. This humane worldview is also our greatest inheritance. Our neighbour Pakistan (which was once a part of Bharat) also gave itself its Constitution at the same time as us. However, its Constitution does not speak of these values that are inclusive; it neither takes note of inherent diversity nor celebrates it. Now the obvious question that arises is that when both were one country and one people, then why did this distinction emerge going forward?

The answer lies in the very spirituality-based, integral and holistic view of life which we have inherited. Former President Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore have described it as the “Hindu View of Life”. Pakistan rejected it and Bharat accepted it. Actually, our Constitution is not the reason for our liberal and inclusive values enshrined in it but the result of our age-old integral and holistic view of life.These liberal, plural values have not come to us from our Constitution but through our Constitution. As Kahlil Gibran writes in his poem Children — Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

Similarly, we are traditionally liberal, secular and inclusive not because of our Constitution but our Constitution has enshrined these values because we have been like this since ages, for at least 5,000 years. Hence, it is our duty to honour and follow the Constitution. The RSS has stayed steadfast in this pursuit. Despite the unfair, unjust ban on the RSS imposed by the then regimes twice, the satyagraha carried out in protest on both occasions was countrywide, disciplined and peaceful; an unparalleled example of protest in the history of independent Bharat, and one that was absolutely Constitutional. No other organisation or party can claim such a history. But consider the dissonance — those who violate every tenet of the Constitution, take the path of violence, attack our own armed forces, and those who support divisive, unconstitutional activities are the ones who preach the virtues of the Constitution to the RSS.

On April 2 this year, the “Bharat Bandh” called only in six BJP-ruled States which witnessed despairing scenes of unprovoked violence was actively supported by Rahul Gandhi and the “secular-liberal” lobby, without any consideration for the Constitutional and democratic values propounded by Dr BR ‘Babasaheb’ Ambedkar and  enshrined in our Constitution. After Pranab da’s speech, those who had been anxious about what this engagement might reveal were quick to come up with sanctimonious summations that explained away this engagement. These reactions confirmed that the Left still has influence over the political and intellectual space of our country. This very Left ideology lacks space for dissent, liberty and tolerance — and being non-Bharatiya does have something to do with it. Left intellectuals discarded analysis and commented with farcical haste that Pranab da had shown the RSS “a mirror” by speaking of secularism and Jawaharlal Nehru from an RSS platform et.al.

It is important to note, however, that critics of Pranab da’s visit to Nagpur had nothing to say of Dr Bhagwat’s speech. It’s possible that they didn’t hear his speech; maybe it wasn’t worth their time. After all, that would be in sync with their elitist definition of ‘free speech’ which prescribes that all they say is correct and all else is falsehood. Essentially, they were saying ‘We are right and you are wrong’, on the lines of “Four legs good, two legs bad”, the famous analogy used by George Orwell in Animal Farm to expose the authoritarian tenets and hypocrisy of the communists. Hence, listening to “two legs” would obviously be blasphemy. The inclusiveness of Vasundhara Parivar Hamara (the song recited before the speeches in Nagpur) includes everybody, even those who practice intolerance. But those who believe “four legs only are good” would prefer to reside in the darkness of their ignorance.

In all those negative articles that followed the Nagpur visit, not one writer spoke of his/her own experience of interaction with the RSS as to be in conversation with the RSS is considered blasphemous and results in instant ostracisation by the “liberal left”, an oxymoron if there ever was one. Under such pressure, paying heed to what the RSS Sarsanghachalak says is not even an option.

(To be continued in these columns tomorrow)

(The writer is Sah Sarkaryavah, RSS)

Writer: Manmohan Vaidya

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Learning to drive will still depend on the goodwill of males – but for many Saudi women, the end of the ban offers a first taste of independence. Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on women driving. While the few women who have driver’s licenses are thrilled about hitting the road, activists warned that the journey to full women’s rights will be a long one.

The wheels of justice turn slowly but the wheels on their vehicles turned exceedingly well for women in Saudi Arabia who took to the streets in their cars on June 24 after the conservative Muslim Kingdom finally lifted the ban on women driving, seen for a long came as a symbol of the gamut of oppression women in the Islamic world undergo. From the capital city of Riyadh to the most confined areas of Jeddah, women were seen celebrating even as there were bitter moments due to the barrage of vicious comments from many men as they struggled to come to terms with this new reality. Allowing women to drive will mean greater independence for them as it gives them access to mobility independent of male members of their family, create more employment opportunities and allow for a greater, more visible role for women in day-to-day life. The decision to lift the ban on women driving was pushed through by the reformist faction of the Saudi Government led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It follows on a series of decisions taken earlier: Since 2015, women have been allowed to vote and stand for municipal elections, allowed to celebrate in sports stadia and encouraged to enrol in universities across the country which have witnessed more women graduating than men. The reforms that the Saudi King and the Crown Prince have undertaken are to achieve ‘Saudi Vision 2030’ which believes in the economic and social liberation of the Kingdom’s subjects to end the country’s dependence on a foreign workforce and oil. Women are, at least on paper, equal participants in this effort. But let’s not get carried away.

The present move must be seen as a  baby step towards ending gender segregation in that country. The biggest hurdle is to repeal the draconian Guardianship System which stipulates that all women in Saudi Arabia must have a male guardian whose consent is essential for any activity undertaken by women — to marry, divorce, travel. study or even get access to medical care. Thankfully, the monarchy has called for a review of the law but there are miles to go before this system is finally thrown into the dustbin of history. Saudi women are still expected in public to be fully covered with an abaya. They are also not allowed to swim, interact with men other than their close relatives or to try on clothes while shopping. Seriously. Sure, let’s celebrate the lifting of the driving ban. But there’s miles to go yet.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The UK and five other nations, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Romania, have been referred to Europe’s highest court for failing to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. The European court of justice (ECJ) has the power to impose multimillion Euro fines if the countries do not address the problem swiftly.
The Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, gave the six, also including Italy, Hungary and Romania, a last chance in January to take the required steps to improve air quality after years of warnings.

However, EU Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella told a press conference in Brussels the six, which include Europe’s top four economies, had not acted quickly enough.

“The commission had to conclude that … That the additional measures proposed are not sufficient to comply with air quality standards as soon as possible, and therefore are being referred to court,” Vella said.”We cannot wait any longer,” Vella said, warning that Brussels may end up waiting several more years before the countries put measures in place.

Vella had also given Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia a last chance in January to start complying with EU standards and decided to give them a reprieve.

“The measures that are planned or being put in place appear to be able to tackle (exceeded limits) if they are fully and immediately implemented,” Vella said.But he warned the commission was keeping the three under review.

In January, the nine countries were found to regularly exceed emissions limits set to protect Europeans against particulate matter and azote dioxide, both pollutants.The EU estimates that air pollution costs the bloc 20 billion euros (USD 24.7 billion) a year in health costs, but says this could be reduced if member states comply with agreed emissions limits.

Writer: Adil Husain

Courtesy: The Pioneer

It’s the ultimate political game. Been played with variations since 4th century BC when Chanakya jerked the rug under the Nanda dynasty and installed Chandra Gupta as the ruler.

It’s just brand new for Malaysia. There are scams. And there are scams which create scams. Any politician with access to public funds can do the former. It takes a real seasoned hand to do the latter. The script is by now familiar in Indian politics. Mid way through a Governments term a high ranking minister, usually the no.2 suddenly gets infected with righteousness and accuses his boss the PM of high level corruption. In an impassioned plea to his boss he urges him to come clean for the sake of democracy. The government goes into extended paralysis for the next two years and all sorts of worms emerge from the woodwork. Accusations fly and the swords are out. The no.2 resigns and joins the opposition party. Elections are held. The ruling party gets wiped out and no. 2 emerges as the new PM.

VP Singh in India pulled it off quite successfully using the Bofors scandal. 40 years on, nobody still knows the truth of what happened during Bofors. Its sole purpose seemed to be just the unseating of a government. Cut to 2014. The 2G scam too had all the makings of a scam. Not the real 2G scam, whatever that is. But the scam of creating the 2G scam. The moment the CAG dropped the 176,000 crore figure the media trial was over. The ruling party collapsed a couple of years later, and three years after that a special court acquitted all the accused in the 2G scam and set them scot free. Nobody much talks of the 2G scam anymore however there is a caveat namely Dr Subramanium Swamy. Its sole purpose also seemed to be the unseating of a government.

Now to Malaysia, so far innocent in the fine art of creating a scam that creates a scam. Is Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, 92 year old challenger and former PM following the Indian political script of 1989 and 2014? To seasoned political analysts, the pattern of events in Malaysia since 2015 seems to suggest some mischief is a foot. Here is a brief chronology of events.

2003 – Dr. Mahathir Mohammed retires from politics as the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia. He puts his feet up in his farm at Langkawi with cows and horses, and looks forward to grooming his son Mukhriz Mahathir in politics.

2008 – 2013 Mukhriz serves as a deputy minister of international trade. Papa feels it’s time he does something bigger.

November 2013 – Mukhriz gets defeated in the elections of VP of UMNO the leading coalition partner of the ruling party. This shock defeat is ascribed to back channel strategy by PM Najib Razak.

2014 – Mahathir announces he has lost confidence in Najib.

July 2015 – Mahathir’s lieutenant and Attorney General Abdul Gani Patial publicly pronounces Najib Razak guilty of accepting 681 million dollars in the 1MDB scandal, the same day leaked documents were published in the Wall Street Journal.

Najib reels with the media onslaught and international outrage. With his own AG calling him guilty the trial by media is concluded, he is guilty as charged. In the hullabaloo many facts go unnoticed. The Saudi foreign minister gives a press conference stating that the money was sent by the Royal family to PM Najib in order to help him fight Islamic terrorists and that most of the money had been returned by Najib. BBC correspondent Frank Gardner with extensive connections to the Saudis confirms that this is indeed true. Nobody is prepared to believe this. Najib’s guilt seems to be firmly established. In a near fatal second blow Najib’s own deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin speaks out against his boss, telling him to come clean.

All sorts of worms come out of the woodwork. Many facts surface in the 1MDB scam, some linked to Najib’s step son. US Department of Justice starts an enquiry. Media takes this as further rock solid proof of Najib’s guilt even though he was not the target of enquiry by DOJ or any other investigating agency worldwide. Najib fights back. He asks the Public Accounts Committee consisting of both ruling party members and opposition leaders to investigate. The committee deliberates and gives Najib a clean chit in 2016. Then former Deputy PM Yassin quietly joins Mahathir Mohammed’s camp and the two start off a new political party PPBM, whose sole purpose is to cleanse the Nation of Najib and of course come to power. It’s time for the final death blow to Najib and the knives are sharpened and ready.

Najib might still win, given his popularity and support of the Malaysian voters who seem be getting tired to Mahathirs daily whining. Mahathir is hoping the momentum of the 1MDB scandal and the Malaysian people’s inability to understand political strategy will work in his favour. To political analysts all over the world who are keenly watching this is the ultimate prize fight. For the next month or so, all eyes are on Malaysia.

Writer Sudheer Mopperthy is Far East countries expert, views expressed are personal opinion.
kaalisudheer@gmail.com

Led by a core central leadership, distinct terror groups purposely urged with common beliefs, “We are expected to face until the origin of jihadi terrorism is addressed in all seriousness and authenticity”.

With the collapse of Islamic State’s (IS) dream of a Caliphate and severe depletion of Al Qaeda Central (AQ), the two icons of global jihadi terror, the focus is now shifting on the emerging landscape of global terror. IS which rose to fame in 2014 after being divorced from its parent organisation AQ, soon became the trendsetter and poster boy for global jihad. While on the other hand, after the killing of Osama Bin Laden, AQ kept losing its sheen and gradually also lost the leadership of global jihad. Though they shared a common ideology, their differences grew larger and bitter with the rapid successes of  IS overshadowing the rivalry between the two. The golden era of the Caliphate announced by Baghdadi and his claim of being the Caliph, supreme leader of all Muslims of the world, has now become a part of history with its defeat in Syria and Iraq with virtual loss of all the territory it captured and its sudden collapse. But from all available inputs, it is abundantly clear that IS has been defeated but not destroyed.

Many of the IS fighters have returned to their native nations and others have redeployed in smaller groups by relocating themselves in different parts of the world thus spanning the wings of the terror group. However, the lure of foreign jihadists to fight for the Caliphate has almost ended. The iron hand control that was exercised by Baghdadi over IS fighters has diminished to a great extent.

On the other hand, AQ, known for its network of radicalised Islamic extremists and Wahhabi jihadists properly trained in terror training camps in Afghanistan, and virtual leader of global jihad and international terror till 2014, has been badly enfeebled leading to its decline. It has not carried out any major terror attack for almost a decade now. It has been badly decimated in Afghan-Pakistan region, its stronghold once. Its actions are limited to sporadic terrorist acts by its associated groups and lone-wolf operations. The rout of AQ has to some extent been compensated by its regional groups and allies like Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, Al Qaeda in Arabian peninsula, Al Qaeda in Indian subcontinent, Taliban, Haqqani Network, LeT, JeM etc., who are effective in their respective regions.

While ISIS is transforming into a terror organisation with a flat hierarchy, with cells and affiliates increasingly acting autonomously, Al Qaeda, despite the debilitation of Al Qaeda Central, continues to exercise influence in several regions through its regional groups and allies. Despite suffering reverses, the hatred of both the terror groups’ for the West, non-believers, democratic regimes and apostate Islamic regimes has not diminished.There has been no significant reduction in the issues that led to the rise of global jihad terror groups. On the contrary, the improved technologies have facilitated better integration between the global terror groups and local/regional insurgents spread across the globe. Growing solidarity among Muslims across the globe has given a spur to regional resistance movements, like the one in Kashmir. The fast-spreading radical Islamic ideology has boosted the potential for catastrophic global terrorism. Though every radicalised Muslim is not an extremist, the educated, unemployed radicalised Muslim youth continues to be attracted towards jihad employing terror as a legitimate instrument of avenging the perceived injustice being done to the members of their community world over. They have entrenched belief in the fact that rule of Sharia is the panacea for all ills and discrimination facing the Muslims.

Though both the global terror groups have been weakened, the end of global jihadi terror is nowhere in sight. In the future, will they continue to operate with distinct existing identities or manifest in a different form?

There has been fervent appeals in the recent years for jihadists to unite world over. Some members of both organisations have been willing and able to support each other in the preparation of attacks. In a recent statement, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri urged warring jihadists to “unite and agree and gather and merge and cooperate and stack together as one rank” as “this is the basis of victory and salvation”. He told terrorists in a video last year that unification against the “international satanic alliance” on a global front was critical: “Communicate, link up with each other and extend a helping hand to your Muslim brothers in all Muslim lands. This is the surest way to victory.” Zawahiri’s recent audio message urging jihadist groups and mujahideen, “Unite and close your ranks with your Muslim brothers and mujahideen not just in Sham [Syria], but the entire world, for it is a single Crusader campaign being waged against Muslims the world over,” indicates the urgency for unity.

In such a situation, the question that begs an answer is who will bear the mantle of leadership of global jihad or what will be its future? There are three likely scenarios. First, the total integration of all terror groups into a single “Super Terror” group or an IS-AQ ‘Frankenstein’ with unified central leadership and top-down control. Second, a convergence of purpose at the regional level with regional command and control but continue to maintain their separate identities. Third, the merger of the cadre of the two global terror groups with the local resistance movements in their respective regions/countries.

Given the vast differences and ego-clashes that exist today between the leadership and cadre of the two global groups, there is less likelihood of the first two options seeing the light of the day. The third option appears more viable and likely emerging future of global jihad motivated by a common ideology of Universal Jihad. Universal Jihad will be directed against kafirs, democratic Governments and man-made laws which are against the spirit of a strict form of Sharia Law in a specified region. Distinct terror groups with regional identity and purpose spurred by a common ideology of Universal Jihad guided, financed and motivated through a core central global leadership is what we are likely to face in the coming years until the root cause of jihadi terrorism is addressed in all sincerity by the international community.

A new breed of Jihadists, radicalised and motivated through social media, ready to fight wherever they feel their Muslim brothers are under threat, will also be contributors to Universal Jihad. The fight will be ideology driven and geographical boundaries will be no barriers. Such groups will also rise within a nation-state. Thus, we in India will have to be prepared to face jihadists from other parts of the country joining their Kashmiri brethren and vice-versa. It would be a major challenge for intelligence agencies operating at various level. The likelihood of an individual not affiliated with any terrorist group to be able to inflict widespread loss of life through acts of terror will also increase.

Internet will become the primary source of training, training materials, motivation, target nomination, technical know how and coordination of terrorist operations that would aim at mass causalities and high visibility. IT will be exploited to the hilt to enable connectivity with the core group which is unlikely to remain stationary.

The terror threats will manifest in form of lone-wolf attacks, use of explosives-laden vehicle, suicide attacks. According to a top US think-tank: “Terrorists probably will be most original not in the technologies or weapons they use but rather in their operational concepts — i.e., the scope, design, or support arrangements for attacks.” One such concept that is likely to continue is a large number of simultaneous attacks, possibly in widely separated locations.The likelihood of terrorists using Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), the biological weapons, in particular, will increase. With a view to cause mass causalities, the danger of bio-terror and use of mini nuclear or radiological devices looms large. With highly educated and skilled youth joining the jihad, chances of a cyber- attack can also not be ruled out.The terrorists are also likely to resort to the use of advanced explosives and drones. The use of the third dimension by the jihadi terrorists is a new challenge. narco-terrorism is another challenge.

The new global war on terror will also get decentralised to a large extent. The success of counter-terrorism operations will depend on the willingness and capabilities of nations to fight terrorism on their own soils. The concept of  ‘good’ and ‘bad’ terrorists will have to be sacrificed. Nations will have to ensure that their soil is not used for the cross-border terror by organised terror groups. The global cooperation on counter-terrorism will include intelligence-sharing, training and capability building. Thus, India’s strategy of signing bilateral agreements with affected nations to fight terror is a step in right direction and in keeping with future challenges. However, a major overhaul of our internal security apparatus including capability and capacity building as well as issues relating to command and control, centre-state coordination and the national consensus is urgently needed to meet the emerging challenges.

(The writer is a Jammu-based political commentator, columnist, security and strategic analyst. Views expressed here are personal)

Writer: Anil Gupta

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The style icon of the South is a prolific dancer and rated among the best in the Indian film industry

Allu Arjun is one actor who shot right up the ladder since his debut in Tollywood. Allu Arjun soon began riding the wave of success and landed blockbuster films such as ‘Arya’, ‘Bunny’, ‘Happy’, ‘Arya 2’, ‘Race Gurram’, ‘S/O Satyamurthy’, ‘Sarrainodu’, ‘DJ’ and many others. On the surface, his road to superstardom has been enviably easy marking to be the next superstar in the industry.

He burns up the screen with his energy that spikes out in all direction, sweeping you up with its force even in casual encounter. He is the only South Indian actor whose movies have reached the 100 crore club thrice. His Hindi dubbed movies have collectively surpassed 530 million views on YouTube and has a huge crossover appeal across India especially in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and among other states.

Today, his fan following is increasing by every minute and so is the number of filmmakers wanting to sign him. What’s more he has hit a beautiful equation in his personal life as well. Riding the crest of his huge fans followers of 12.7 million in Facebook alone making him the highest among any South Indian actor and many Bollywood stars too. Apart from these Allu Arjun’s interest in the beverage as investor/partner for B-dubs and Hylife Brewery(India) has taken a turn that is both altruistic and entrepreneurial.

To watch video : Allu Arjun Features On The Cover Of Opinion Express

As an actor what keeps you motivated and so grounded?

Motivation and being grounded are two different aspects. I always aspire to give and be the best in whatever I do which in itself is what keeps me motivated. To do better than before each time, I do and undo myself and improve on my skills is what motivates me.

Being grounded is to never lose sight of ourselves as a normal human being however successful one is in life. On a very fundamental level my family, close circle friends, my staff and the people I work and interact with are the ones to help and keep me grounded as much as possible.

As an established actor how are you able to measure success and build on this?

The world generally rates your success by quantifying the amount of business you make and currently our business is in the order of three digit crore. This is an objective approach of measuring success. Seeing through the lens of subjectivity which is a harder way of measuring success, success is living a happy and satisfied life. I am happy with what I am doing. I am in a profession that I enjoy and feel the best when I am at work and I get highly involved with it.

Simply put, rather than basking in the numbers as measured by the market, success should be more about how satisfied you are with your achievements and your work. To build on this, I would strive for more and get a lot more name, fame and recognition to the South Indian film industry.

Filmmakers have imagined you in different ways over the years. What excites you any more in a script?

There are lot of genres that haven’t been touched in Indian films and a quite a lot of new genre which we haven’t explored should be created in the future. Unlike before, people nowadays are opening up and embracing creativity and originality. A lot of novelty is seen in almost every genre because people are appreciating originality more than anything else and especially here in this industry. Audiences expect that you give the best to your role. I am looking forward to original ideas and scripts that would be coming up in the future with lesser western and eastern touch to the films.

Another interesting thing is that a lot of these scripts have a very realistic approach in the commercial cinema which makes it even more appealing. And this is what is exciting to me in the current script as well - a mix of originality and realism.

If you could be one person from history, who it would be?

(Laughs) I am not much into history but I would be Narendra Modi. It is quite an achievement from where he had started and till becoming the Prime Minister of our nation.

You have achieved many milestones in your career as an actor and entrepreneur. Is there anything that you still want to achieve?

There are lot of things I still have to achieve as an actor and I would say that entrepreneurship is just a by-product of being an actor. Innately, I have an interest in entrepreneurship but what’s fundamental is that at the end of the day I am an actor. Being in the field of acting and as an actor there is so much more to explore and achieve. I feel that this is a new epoch and a golden era in cinema worldwide and especially in India because cinema is opening up to many a new horizon.

Audience are nowadays more open to accepting different genres and different kinds of films. I would like to make the best out of this golden era and try to make a unique mark for myself.

Apart from acting or being an entrepreneur, I am very actively involved in social service activities and charity.

I like to do my part to make our society a better place to live and also do my part in bringing happiness to others lives. It gives me immense happiness if I can bring smile to others.

Are you overwhelmed with the kind of support you get from your fans globally?

Oh yes! It’s very nice because now that the cinema has opened up and especially South Indian films are being bought over or being dubbed by Bollywood and other languages in India.

The viewership of Telugu cinema is no longer just the Telugu audience as the dubbing of Telugu cinemas to other languages is increasing at an unprecedented pace. The Telugu films are highly watched in Kerala, Karnataka and are also going places to Tamil Nadu and in belts of Maharashtra.

The online reach of Telugu films is really huge. There are lot of people from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries who watch and appreciate this kind of cinema. So it’s very overwhelming that our original films are being appreciated by people across different cultures. What entices them about our films is the uniqueness and they feel this uniqueness more than we feel about it in our films. That is quite a commendable achievement for all of us.

How did ‘Naa Peru Surya’ happen? What attracted you to the script?

I as a person have the highest respect for soldiers, farmers and teachers. When I heard the script that had a story about a soldier, I immediately got connected to the film with no second thought. ‘Naa Peru Surya’ is a great story of a young soldier who has a dream of being posted at the border and how he achieves that dream come true. It is as simple as that. It’s very contemporary film and at the same time very real.

How tough was it playing the role in ‘Naa Peru Surya’ considering you’re always stocked with energy?

(Smiles) Playing this role was very different as it was not like my any other previous roles and it required different skills from what I usually play. I had to go through a basic physical fitness regime to get that look and I had to go through a lot of look tests to transform myself to get it right. The toughest part was the shoot schedule of the film because we had to shooting multiple geographical regions with varying landscapes and a lot of change over in the film entailing a lot of tough travel. That was one of the most challenging part to play the role in ‘Naa Peru Surya’.

You have got to work with the finest directors since the beginning of your career. One director in mind that you always wanted to work with?

(Smiles) Yes, it is very true and I have been lucky enough that from the beginning of my career I got to work with the best directors. My debut film ‘Gangotri’ was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao which also happened to be his 100th film and I started with an excellent guidance. Honestly, there are many good directors and one of my favourite directors with whom I always wanted to work with is K. Balachander. But this is no longer a possibility as he is no more. I really wish I were acting in the era in which he was directing films and we did a film together.

You are a man of many roles. You are an actor, an entrepreneur, a husband and a father. How do you balance both a professional and personal lifestyle equally?

I am trying to balance it well. Everybody has to go through this little struggle of striking a balance. The trick is that when I am professionally working I don’t think about my personal life and when I am in my personal space I don’t think about my professional life. Be in that moment. That’s how one can achieve and balance being a man of many roles. It’s a very simple thing to follow but it will bring a huge change and that’s my mantra.

Can you talk about your upcoming projects?

Honestly, I haven’t zeroed down on any films for now though I have heard a couple of scripts. My upcoming film ‘Naa Peru Surya’ will be widely released in May in seven languages. Till date I have been working only in Telugu film industry. I have been getting offers from Tamil film industry, and also from Bollywood. Now the options are plenty in Bollywood than what it used to be.

Apart from Telugu films, my next plan is to venture out to either Tamil or Hindi films and give it a shot.

Do you have any final words for the readers of OPINION EXPRESS magazine and your fans across the globe?

I love the word “Opinion” in itself because having an opinion is a very strong trait in a personality and being able to express that will define your character. It’s a very strong word for something that I fundamentally connect with and something that I believe in.

To the readers of OPINION EXPRESS and fans across the globe, thank you very much for watching South Indian cinema. I thank you all for continued support and love. We hope to do better work and to impress you more and more. I hope the reach of South Indian cinema grows worldwide.

QUICK BYTES

Describe your best quality as an actor?

I always thrive to do better and I try to unlearn as much as I can.

What’s your favourite car?

I like most of the Porsche cars.

What’s your favourite colour?

Black and white which are not colours (giggles).

What’s your signature style?

My signature style is my AA icon as I’m the only actor in South who has one.

What’s your best day in life?

Today(laughs). That’s the only day you live. Past is a memory, future is imaginary and only today is real.

What’s your favourite cuisine?

I like Mexican and Japanese food.

Where is your all-time favourite holiday destination?

Maldives and New York are my all-time favourite holiday destination.

Which is your favourite genre?

Love!

Which co-star was most easy to dance with?

Shruti Hassan and Tamannaah.

Craziest fan story?

A guy called Allu Sujith, he has thirteen tattoos of me and I think that’s a crazy fan I got.

Favourite dance form?

Street dance.

What is your favourite daily wear attire?

Track pants and sweat t-shirts.

You are super interested in photography. What kind of pictures do you like clicking?

I love clicking portraits.

Dr Roxna Swamy has done a great job of writing a biography on someone as varied, yet, single-minded in his approach as Dr Swamy

If you think being Subramanian Swamy is difficult, think again. Read this book. It is being Roxna Subramanian Swamy that is more difficult. While the reader is faith- fully taken on a roller coaster ride of Swamy’s major highs and lows in life, it is Roxna Swamy who shared in his joy and remained the shock-absorber.

It is difficult to write a biography. Especially, of someone as varied, yet, single-minded in his approach as Dr Swamy. Dr Roxna Swamy has done a great job. She has captured him from his early days in life to his days in Harvard, to his preparation in taking up an assignment by mastering Mandarin in a year, to his return to India and to a life that simply played out a myriad of challenges.

Through all this, what strikes the reader is the amount of hardship, tension and uncertainty Roxna and her little children went through those days. Vengefully sacked from the IIT, the eviction from IIT quarters, hostile IIT officials all set to pack her and her two toddlers off, to a variety of defamation cases by Jayalalithaa, her plans to arrest Swamy by recalling a domestic flight, in which he was travelling mid- air to Bangalore, she also brings out his ability to fight opponents, yet maintain a friendship across party lines.

The reader will clearly understand how Swamy remembers a help in time and returns favors to the benefactor (Dr Manmohan Singh for example). And his Twitter Philosophy- “I give as good as I get” can be seen in many events in his life as captured in the book.

ROXNA’S FATHER STOOD UP TO THE MIGHT OF NEHRU, WHO CALLED HIM A ” HINDEBOUND BUREAUCRAT”

What strikes most is her narration of how Vajpayee or yashwant Sinha played foul with him. Be it in the narration of the rousing reception the Chinese gave to Swamy or taking glee in the damp squib of Vajpayee’s Chinese visit thereafter, she minces no words in telling the reader what she feels about ABV. Her narration of Sinha mortgaging gold to a British Bank, without keeping the then Commerce Minister, Dr Swamy in the loop is a clean shot, straight from the hip. Swamy’s famous fights with the then darling of the liberals, the late Ramakrishna Hegde, the various cases and Hegde’s reproach to Swamy on his deathbed have all been truthfully recorded. The emergency days, The family’s hardships, the hounding by the police. Swamy’s dramatic appearance in RS and his Houdini act, belong to the genre of Ian Fleming. How much Roxna had to go through because she continues to love this man from Harvard days! That’s the testimony of the strength of their marriage. The journey of togetherness continues through five decades.

Roxna Swamy gives us more than a glimpse into the source of inheritance of the couple’s righteous stubbornness. Their parents and curiously Roxna’s father stood up to the might of Nehru, who called him a “hidebound bureaucrat” for disallowing Government Helicopter to a lady American Journalist who sought it from Nehru to view Bihar floods from the sky. Her father looked into Nehru’s eyes and said- “Give it to me in writing”. Thus, came the law on “cooling off period” in Civil Servant’s terms of service in taking up jobs post- retirement.

SWAMI IS THE NEO-AB-HIMANYU WITH A MAJOR DIFFRENCE.

There is a historical genetic trait that Swamy has inherited, the source of which I never knew before. His ancestor Sri Ramappaiya Iyer the Dalavay or the Kattappa of the Madurai Monarch Tirumala Nayakar, who feigned deaf to the Monarch’s order to retreat in a battle against a formidable force, Iyer returned victorious for the King to change his views that were tutored by biased courtiers and welcomed him with honours and rewards. His grandfather Sitarama Iyer was a perpetual litigant. Perhaps, those genes underwent some morphing as Swamy takes up only the right issues to fight in court.

Swamy is the Neo-Abhimanyu with a major difference. He knows how to pierce into the Chakravyuh and most importantly, knows how to come out of it successfully, leaving his opponents licking their wounds. But this Neo-Ab- himanyu had to contend not just with his Political opponents. He had to con- tend with his own people in the party and the RSS. And his fight will go on. He has been denied what should rightfully belong to him. Till then, he will stick to one of his rarely known success formulae. Hold out one’s hand and let the Heavens drop in the required article.

Finally, a trait that is little known about Swamy is that he is a committed friend. If he commits, he will stick to the end. Sadly, his bravery and flights are highlighted to the common man but the other side of Swamy is extremely conservatively written by the press in the national media. His contribution in fighting systematic corruption and valuable economic inputs to late Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao has reshaped the destiny of the country.

Book review was done by Ms Lakshmi Devi, Opinion Express bureau head & inputs from national press.  

Vinay Sitapati’s book, Half Lion: How PV Narasimha Rao Transformed India, seeks to restore the Prime Minister’s place in the pantheon of great Indian leaders. He has enough evidence to demolish false accusations against Rao in Babri Masjid demolition case.

The bane of modern Indian history is the unconscionable distortions injected into it by historians owing allegiance to the Marxist and Nehruvian schools. This has resulted in a string of untruths being bandied about for decades about personalities and events both in the pre and post independence eras.

Such is the grip of these two schools over academia that even after free thinking historians, who are not prisoners of ideology, ex-hummed many truths that negated the mythologies palmed of by these palace historians, misrepresentations continue to permeate the text books and lectures in schools and colleges.

Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, BR Ambedkar, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Rajendra Prasad are some of the names that immediately come to mind of national leaders whose contributions have been deliberately ignored and who have been victims of the falsification of history. In more recent times, a prominent victim of the machinations of these two schools is PV Narasimha Rao, one of India’s most cerebral and successful Prime Ministers who saved India’s unity and integrity and pulled the country out of an economic rut during 1991-1996 and put it on the high road to growth.

The purpose of the so called scholarship by entrenched academics from these two schools has been three-fold: one, to present members of the Nehru- Gandhi family as near faultless individuals who were deeply wedded to the core values of the Constitution and who sacrificed everything for the country; two, to present all their contemporaries as petty individuals with petty goals and with questionable commitment to constitutional values; and, three, credit all national achievements to members of this family and all failures to others.

This shameless and continuous glorification of one political family makes one wonder whether our academia secretly pines for a return to monarchy. Seen in the context of this fraudulent output by these historians, specially in the capital’s universities, Vinay Sitapati’s Half Lion: How PV Narasimha Rao Transformed India comes as a breath of fresh air.

Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister at a critical moment in the nation’s history. India was standing at the door of the International Monetary Fund with a begging bowl and its foreign exchange reserves had slipped to such an alarming low that there was danger of default on loans. Rao picked up Manmohan Singh as his Finance Minister and began the noble task of dismantling the socialist economy that Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had thrust on the country. He opened up the economy, liberated it from the licence permit raj, unshackled the entrepreneurial instincts of millions of Indians and invited foreign investments into various sectors.

These decisions brought about a spectacular turn around in the economy, restored hope among Indians and gave them the confidence to take on the world. He also pulled Punjab, which was engulfed by secessionist forces, from the brink and saved the unity and integrity of India. Instead of acknowledging the man’s phenomenal contribution, the Nehru-Gandhis and acamedics and writers hovering around this family, have falsely accused him of damaging India’s secular fabric and of being complacent in the fall of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. Having pinned this monstrous charge on him, they hope this will wipe out his phenomenal contribution to the country. one scholar even spread the story that Rao was napping while the Masjid was being demolished. Another said he was “doing puja” while the demolition was on. Sitapati’s scholarly book covers a of constitutional machinery.

The law and order situation, specially on the communal front “is satisfactory”, he declared. Yet, Rao ensured massive deployment of central forces near the disputed structure prior to December 6. These forces could be called in within minutes, if there was danger to the structure, but the call would have to be taken by the State Government, because ensuring law and order was the responsibility of the State not the centre. There was also the worry that the Supreme court may quash a presidential order based on presumptions. Thus, the situation that prevailed just prior to the demolition was that “the Supreme Court, the State Governor and law Ministry officials, all seemed against Central rule”.

That is why after the demolition, Pranab Mukherjee told party men “all of you were members of the Cabinet and some of you were members of the CCPA. All decisions were taken in the meetings of the Cabinet and the CCPA. Responsibility is collective; the onus cannot only be on the Prime Minister or the Home Minister.” Sitapati, who had access to Rao’s personal papers, takes us through this narrative that presents facts that negate the spurious tomes that have been churned out on this issue until now. There is lots more to this book, but that will have to wait till later.

Half Lion is the first scholarly effort to correct the distortions that have crept into our understanding of social and political developments in India over the last three decades. It also seeks to restore Narasimha Rao’s well-deserved place in the pantheon of great Indian leaders.

 – Shalini Saksena (The Pioneer)

Global Warming, Pollution Myth & Realities?

The Ghost of Global Warming is haunting every citizen and the media is consistently drawing attention of all those who matter. But so far the ground realities are concerned both the State Governments and the Central continue to abuse the nature left right and center. During sixties in India it was a case of nature against mankind as we as a Nation had to face furry of floods, droughts and natural calamities that aggravated poverty, hunger. Now it is a case of mankind against Nature.

Today’s Planners i.e. Political class and bureaucrats plan massive projects while sitting in Air Conditioned Chambers based on DATA that is invariably outdated and cannot be relied upon. The reasons for such a blunder are that the DATA picked up at the time idea is conceived it is already almost three years old. By the time the plan is prepared the DATA becomes six years old and by the time the plan reaches drawing boards it is older by 9 years and when the actual execution starts the same is aged about 15 years.

It is shameful that both the Apex Court and Central Government are at logger heads on the issue of the powers to protect the forest areas between the?Central Empowered Committee (CEC)

constituted by the Apex Court and?Forest Advisory  Committee (FAC) constituted by the Central Government?under the Ministry of Environment &?Forests. The media has reported very ?recently that FAC had accorded approvals to many ill conceived projects?in the Forest Areas without applica?tion of mind. It may also be worth?while to note here that despite presence of Supreme Court Monitoring?Committee in Dehradun Mussoorie? Valley massive deforestation has taken place and forests continue to be ?erased. It is matter of record that the?Apex Court had ignored the recommendations of CEC regarding protection of Forests in the Capital City of Delhi that too in an area that was mandated to be protected under Master Plan of Delhi and squarely covered under the Judgment of Apex Court itself.

All said and done our efforts seems to have lost the track and we continue to deplete the Green Cover without application of mind. One such classic example is missing Public Transport Policy at National Level. The last Public Transport Policy was prepared some where in 1977 and thereafter till date no efforts have been made to prepare policy on Surface Transport at National Level except in 2006 when Draft National Policy on Public Transport has been prepared but without will to implement.

It appears that the lack of will has percolated down from the Apex Planning Body of the Country i.e. National Planning Commission. If we read the Transport Policy of 10th Planning Commission Report one would find that the Plan has been prepared for Civil Aviation, Railways and Shipping. The only reference to the Surface Transport is profitability and operations of State Transport Under takings.

As a consequence to the myopic planning we find Marutas Bullock Carts fitted with Diesel Engines ferrying in many parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. One can spot cycle rickshaws fitted with scooters on many roads of almost most of the cities of the country. Needless to say that all the so called improvised vehicle ply on roads without insurance, registration and do not pay any tax. Only GOD can save the victims if any of such vehicle is involved in accident no steps have been taken by the Governments to curb use of such vehicles that are dangerous not only for other road users but also pollute the environment.

In absence of National Policy on Public Transport the Public Transport systems within and Intercity have virtually collapsed. No one seems to be bothered about ever growing number of personal vehicles on the roads leading to multiple problems impact of which has not been even assessed and analyzed till date. The missing Public Transport is one of the major contributors to wards Global warming some of which are as under:-

1. Over crowding of roads
2. ? Increase in congestion on City/ Inter City roads
3. ?Grossly inadequate parking space
4. ? In turn multiplies congestion on roads and traffic Islands;
5. Traffic snarls and blockades increase in fuel emissions
6. Our survey conducted on 20 such intersections revealed that annually fuel worth Rs. 24 Crores and man hours worth Rs. 1300 Crores go up in smoke. The number of such intersections in the City of Delhi has increased manifold due to construction of Flyovers on the City Roads as well as Highways Classic Example Express Highway on NH-8

Increase in Pollution due to emissions at traffic congested intersections and Roads;

1. Increase in fuel import bill and foreign exchange outgo;
2. Necessitates Road widening;
3. Depletion of Green cover The photographs on NH 8 prove this point Wherever flyover are under construction- Smalkha, Panipat Haryana, Zirakpur Punjab. The Roads after Karnal in Haryana have dense population of trees on the both sides of the road. The moment you enter this area the temperature needle on the Dash Board drops. The cause of concern is that the way NH-1 is being widened these trees would disappear as has happened in Ambala Cantt where massive fly over has come up. It may be noted that the trees could have been protected by following Karnal Bye pass where the vehicles heading for Ambala use the central roads and City Bound vehicles use the service roads. There was no need of huge capital investment and criminal wastage of State Exchequer and massive deforestation. What all was required a bit of planning and application of mind.
4. Increase in temperature- The need air conditioned cars, Air Conditioners and Coolers at home;
5. Increase in power demand that’s already short in supply;
6. Generation of more power increase in coal consumption.

No one seems to be bothered about the quality of Fuel produced and sold at Petrol Pumps. Adulteration of Petrol, Diesel seems to be most profitable business. Who cares so long as corrupt continue to make money. The Politicians and Bureaucrats are bothered about wide roads to increase the speed and it hardly matters that the roads are without trees.

If we go around the Country we find that in order to accommodate the ever growing need of space to accommodate ever increasing number of personal vehicles massive deforestation has taken place whether it is Mumbai  Pune Expressway or NH- 1 or NH-8. Even accredited NGO without any credible studies and analysis continue to blame the Diesel vehicles responsible for pollution little realizing that world over the Diesel is being

used as one of the fuels for public transport.. During my five days stay at Istanbul with a population almost equal to Delhi, I did not find even a single vehicle on the roads emitting smoke. Even the number of petrol pumps is much less than we have at Delhi. The only reason is that quality of Fuel and vehicles is ensured.

We claim that the only city in the World has entire bus fleet. If we go around the Country we find that in order to accommodate the ever growing need of space to accommodate ever increasing number of personal vehicles massive deforestation has taken place whether it is Mumbai Pune Expressway or NH-1 or NH-8. Even accredited NGO without any credible studies and analysis continue to blame the Diesel vehicles responsible for pollution little realizing that world over the Diesel is being used as one of the fuels for public transport.

operating on Cleanest Fuel is the City of Delhi. We don’t assess the damage to the environment caused by the long queues of vehicles waiting for their turn at such filling stations located on the main City Roads due to congestion on roads. Even the suggestions to the State Government to change the filling timings from peak hours to non peak hours did not find favor. Who cares? Because as and when Bureaucrats, Politicians, Judges or Senior Police Officers pass through particular area their vehicles find smooth traffic as the Traffic cops manage to give them smooth rides.

It is the common citizens who breaths pollution and bears the brunt. The lax attitude of the Ministry of Environment & Forest is clear from the fact that the Ministry of Environment & Forest has issued a White Paper on Pollution in the City of Delhi still the position continues to go from bad to worse.

– OE News Bureau

We need a master plan to increase our water storage capacity, improve irrigation facilities and create water networks across the country that links the draught prone with those experiencing floods. Water is one crucial factor that sustains life on earth. Yet we take water for granted unless of course reminded of its importance by Bollywood actors celebrating water-less Holi. India is estimated to have a mere 4 per cent of global water resources, while it has to support 16 per cent of the world’s population. Merely by that equation India is water stressed if not water starved.

Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) of which three-fourth get precipitated during the monsoon season (June to September). Of this 4000 BCM, it is estimated that approximately 1120 BCM are only utilisable. That in turn adds to the stress. When rains fail, this situation gets compounded. For instance, the rainfall in 2009 in India was a mere 78 percent of the long-term average rainfall. A 22 per cent shortfall is disastrous in such a situation. Coincidentally the UPA under Manmohan Singh was reelected only in May 2009. Was Mother Nature warning us?

Similarly in 2012 we faced “drought like” situations in several parts of India as rainfall was 92 per cent of the long term average. This brings in another dimension to our water crisis. When it rains, it pours during the monsoon. For instance in 2012 nearly 58 per cent districts recorded excess rain causing flood (the balance 42 per cent face moderate to severe shortfall).

It is in this connection that the National Water Policy notes that the availability of water is highly uneven in both space and time. Precipitation is confined to only about three or four months in a year and varies from 100 mm in the western parts of Rajasthan to over 10,000 mm at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. No wonder India alternates between floods in some part and drought in other. The challenge is to link the two.

Dream remained as one

That takes me to the Budget of 2004-05 where finance minister P Chidambaram said, “I now turn to one of my big dreams. Water is the lifeline of civiliyation. We have been warned that the biggest crisis that the world will face in the 21st century will be the crisis of water.

“And his response to this “crisis?” “I therefore propose an ambitious scheme. Through the ages, Indian agriculture has been sustained by natural and man made water bodies such as lakes, tanks, ponds and similar structures. It has been estimated that there are more than a million such structures and about 500,000 are used for irrigation. Many of them have fallen into disuse. Many of them have accumulated silt. Many require urgent repairs.”

Absolutely spot on I thought.In fact his proposal captured the imagination of the entire nation then. Proposing to launch “a massive scheme to repair, renovate and restore all the water bodies that are directly linked to agriculture” the FM sought to begin “with pilot projects in at least five districts” one district in each of the five regions of the country.

And once the pilot projects were completed and validated, the government was to “launch the National Water Resources Development Project and complete it over a period of 7 to 10 years.” In conclusion, the FM added “It is my hope that by the beginning of the next decade all water bodies in India will be restored to their original glory and that the storage capacity of these water bodies will be augmented by at least 100 per cent.”

Once again in his Budget speech of 2005-06 the FM visited the subject albeit briefly. The zest that was palpable the previous year was missing. The grand announcement of July 2004 for a pilot project when the Budget was presented was still on the drawing board and expected to be “launched in the month of March 2005.”

That was the last time I heard of the FM speak of his “big dream.” The promise made almost a decade ago on the floor of the Parliament on augmenting the storage capacity of water bodies “by at-least 100 per cent” remains unfulfilled even to this day. So much for government’s concern for farmers, agriculture and creating basic rural infrastructure!

Now to the second leg of the water problem – the need for irrigation facility as delivery mechanism. Once again the FM was spot on with his diagnosis. “The Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) was introduced in 1996-97 and was allotted large funds year after year. Yet, out of 178 large and medium irrigation projects that were identified, only 28 have been completed.” Therefore the UPA government came with a practical proposal to “restructure” AIBP by ensuring “truly last mile projects that can be completed by March 2005 will be given overriding priority, and other projects that can be completed by March 2006 will also be taken up in the current year.”

Well did the government restructure AIBP? The answer lies in the Budget speech of Mr Pranab Mukherjee of 2012 where he adds, “To maximize the flow of benefits from investments in irrigation projects, structural changes in AIBP are being made.” Readers may note the change in semantics: “restructure AIBP” of 2005 had become “structural changes in AIBP” by 2012!

Despite all the bluster of the FM in his Budget, the fact remains that the irrigated land as a percentage to total agricultural land in India has improved marginally between 31.6 per cent in 2004 to approximately 37 per cent in 2011. This eloquently captures the neglect of irrigation in India by UPA to this date.

The great Indian rope trick

It is in this connection that a target of creating an additional “irrigation potential” of 10 million hectares (mha) between 2005-06 and 2008-09 was fixed. Interestingly, data with the ministry of water resources claim that the government “achieved” a physical target of 7.3 mha.

How much of this was “actually” achieved and resulted in improving farm production is anybody’s guess. Yet till 2012 since its inception in 1996 the AIBP has an outlay in excess of Rs 55,000 crores either as central grant or loans. While the sums do indeed look massive the fact remains the overall accretion to agriculture lands under irrigation has not improved significantly. Pointing to this anomaly Harish Damodaran in a well researched article in The Hindu Business Line pointed out (March 6, 2007) despite the Centre spending a total of Rs 20,598.48 crore (Rs 205.98 billion) under the AIBP, with the states releasing an additional Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) or so since its inception in 1996.

So how much of new “irrigation potential” has been created under the AIBP? According to Harish Damodaran, “The cumulative figure from 1995-96 to 2005-06 comes to 4.04 mha, with another 0.9 mha estimated to be creat- ed this fiscal. All that adds to some five mha over a 11-year span.” While the physical accretion is minimal the amount spent on AIBP is indeed gargantuan. It is in this connection the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its Report No. 15 of 2004 (Civil) commented among other things, it noted that over 35 of the expenditures under AIBP were “diverted, parked or misutilised.”

In short, as the joke goes amongst economists, AIBP is neither accelerated nor does it benefit farmers. At best it is yet another avenue for loot and scoot. That explains why states like Maharashtra despite having several such irrigation schemes, funded both by the state and central government, is perennially water starved. And that would include Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa amongst others.

This in turn leads to farm stress and resultant suicides which in turn trigger another round of committees, reports, schemes, programs and once again loot. It may be noted that India is experiencing its fourth drought in a dozen years. Needless to emphasize, this raises concerns about the reliability of the country’s primary source of fresh water, the monsoon rains. Scientists warn that such trends are likely to intensify in the coming decades because of climate changes caused by the human release of greenhouse gases.

India with large sections of poor is extremely vulnerable to such weather patterns. We need huge quantities of food to feed our population. For that we require water. So would our industry which is expected to grow exponentially. Weather patterns show remarkable departure from the past if it is drought in one part of the country we will have floods. Either way it is a disaster.

Ideally we need a master plan to increase our water storage capacity, improve irrigation facilities and create water networks across the country that links the draught prone with those experiencing floods. Unfortunately the decade of UPA rule, like so many other spheres been a disaster on water management too. Will someone tell the PM that we can have a water-less Holi but not water-less agriculture? Will someone educate the PM that a sustainable development model depends on something as elementary but as crucial as water. For too long we have ignored this fundamental fact. The water-less Holi was a rude wake up call.

– OE News Bureau

Why Ram Nath Kovind was chosen by BJP to be the NDA Presidential election 2017 candidate

Ram Nath Kovind, Governor of Bihar, is the NDA government’s nominee in the Presidential election 2017 is likely to be India’s next President. The decision was taken after a BJP Parliamentary Board meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari in attendance. Ram Nath Kovind, 70, is a Dalit leader from Kanpur.

A two-time member of Rajya Sabha and former national spokes person for the party, Kovind headed the BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha between 1999 and 2002. The voting for the presidential election is scheduled on July 17, while the counting will take place on July 20, four days before current President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends. While BJP hopes for consensus on its Presidential candidate pick, here are 5 reasons why Ram Nath Kovind was selected :

1. A dalit leader who fought for the cause of SC/ST:

Kovind has been a crusader for the rights and cause of weaker sections of the society, especially Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/ OBC/Minority/Land Women from his student days. In the year 1997, some Government Orders were issued by the Central Government which adversely affected the interests of employees of the Scheduled Castes/Tribes. Shri Ram Nath Kovind joined the movement of SC/ST employees against the Central Government and consequently succeeded in getting those Government Orders null and void by the passage of three Amendments in the Constitution of India during the first NDA regime. RSS is gradually building a platform to integrate entire hindu population by erasing caste divide.

2. Held important positions:

a) Ram Nath Kovind, served as Member of Board of Management of Dr B.R Ambedkar University, Lucknow.

b) He also served as Member of Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

c) He represented India in United Nations (New york) and addressed United Nations General Assembly in October 2002.

d) Visited Thailand. Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, United Kingdom and the USA on Study Tour as Member of Parliament.

3. Served as a Parliamentarian:

Ram Nath Kovind was elected and became as Rajya Sabha MP in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and served for two consecutive terms for 12 years until March 2006. Shri Kovind served as Member on important Parliamentary Committees including Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Home Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice and Chairman of Rajya Sabha House Committee.

4. Has been a highly respected Advocate:

Ram Nath Kovind, was the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and Central Government Standing Counsel in Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993. He became Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India in 1978. He had practiced in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for about 16 years till 1993.He was enrolled as an Advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi.

5. Clean image, with no case of corruption:

Ram Nath Kovind, former President of the BJP Dalit Morcha has held a clean record and image and his work has spoken volumes. During his parliamentary tenure of 12 years, he emphasized on the development of basic infrastructure for education in rural areas, and during his Advocacy tenure, he took a leading role in providing free legal aid to the weaker sections of society, especially SC/ST women. These cases have earned him huge respect in the political circles in India.

 – Prakhar P Mishra  (The writer is our Political Editor)