The whole debate and unrest started with the realisation that the government was not allowing various agencies under its control to investigate people at high places and that for this reason they were freely looting and bleeding the economy of the country resulting into big scams that could never be brought to the book. As such, the focal issue has been to free the investigating agencies from the control of the executive both administrative and political. However, the people believe that the government is not prepared for autonomy for the investigating agencies that the Jan Lok Pal bill basically asks for despite demonstration of such overwhelming public sentiment that became necessary in view of the brazen insensitivity of the successive government for decades in this context that left the people with no alternative but to come on the streets. It has led to the stalemate that has to be resolved immediately so that Anna can break his fast. At the same time the legislation has to be well thought of and the legislative procedures will also take some time. Anna is rightly bent on not breaking fast as there is distrust for the reasons that are understandable. Government needs to guarantee certain principles that the fresh bill will take care and the Anna team or the civil society will have to agree to removal of the provisions that have come to be identified as Draconion.
The following principles have to be laid down, taken care of and the same will also determine the directions and contents of the Bill.
Government should give such an undertaking to the above effect and the Civil society should accept the same.
A three member committee be constituted with one member each to be nominated by the government and the Anna taking care that no member of the existing negotiating team from either side is recommended. The third member who will also be the chairman would be recommended by the Supreme Court who could be a sitting judge or a retired Judge or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
The three will consider all the bills submitted so far and also further submissions and draw up the structure of such agencies as it may deem fit as also the proposed Acts. Only these will be introduced in the parliament without reference to any house committee and will be debated in Parliament.
That the committee will not take more than 4 weeks and a special session of the Parliament be called to consider and pass the bill in October sometime.
Once government signs the principles as laid down in part one above and constitutes the committee in next day or so, Anna should break his fast so that the committee can work in conducive atmosphere.
TEN things to know about Anna Hazare & The Jan Lok Pal Bill.. !
An ex-army man (ASC MT). Took Part in 1965 Indo-Pak War, he survived through an attack by enemy while others with him were killed.
He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra.
This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel and wind mills.
In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.
This humble soul, Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.
He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.
He is advocating for a Bill, The Jan Lokpal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), bureaucrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.
In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit thier theft (corruption).
The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed.
Next, they make a joint committee to DRAFT the JAN LOKPAL BILL. 50% government participation and 50% public participation. Because you cant trust the government entirely for making such a bill which does not suit them.
A LokPal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, that has been going for last 25 years without any result.
Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, Social Activist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, Justice Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan and many more. Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan is supporting his cause.
At least we can spread the message.
How?
Putting status message, links, video, changing profile pics.
At least we can support Anna Hazare and the cause for uprooting corruption from India.
At least we can hope that his Hunger Strike does not go in vain.
At least we can pray for his good health.
..... HATS OFF TO YOU DEAR ANNA.... YOU ARE THE TRUE MASSIHA OF POOR MILLIONS - AAM ADMI … ENOUGH HAS BEEN ENOUGH --- INDIA FOR CORRUTION FREE SOCIETY.
This Insensitive Govt has to Give In to the Wishes of the people.
The great Lokpal Bill 2011 debate... A historic opportunity to clean up the mess but?
The UPA government headed by Mr clean Dr Manmohan Singh is sitting over a historic opportunity to clean up the corruption mess that is prevailant in the country. But rather than gunning for the corrupt and corruption, government's Lokpal seems to be gunning for those who complain against corruption. It is true that Lokpal panel should have accountability to the system and elected government sovereignty should never be undermined, but government of the day looks like opposing the entire process is not doing justice to its own cause.
How will Government's Lokpal work? Suppose some citizen files a complaint to Lokpal against some corrupt government servant. Before the investigations actually start, the government servant can file a cross complaint against the citizen straight to the special court, without any preliminary enquiry by any agency, that the complaint is false or frivolous. The government will provide free advocate to the government servant to file this case. The citizen will have to defend himself on his own. Then there is stiffer punishment for the complainant than the corrupt government servant. If the Special Court concludes that the complaint is frivolous or false, the citizen faces a minimum of two years of punishment. But if the corruption charges against government servant are proved, there is a minimum of six months of punishment for the corrupt government servant!
Government's Lokpal will have jurisdiction over all NGOs in the country but it will have jurisdiction over less then o.5% of all government employees. Government argued that the Lokpal would get overwhelmed with too many cases if all public servants were brought under its ambit. So, government has restricted its jurisdiction only to 65,000 Group A officers. Also, state employees will not be covered by Lokpal. There are 4 million central government employees and 8 million state government employees.
In sharp contrast, all NGOs are covered under government's Lokpal, small or big, whether in state or centre. Even unregistered groups of people in remote villages are covered under the ambit of Lokpal. So, in a remote village, if a group of youngsters detect corruption in panchayat works using RTI, the youngsters can be hauled up by Lokpal but Lokpal would not have jurisdiction over Sarpanch, BDO or their corruption. Whereas Lokpal would not have jurisdiction over Delhi government officials, it would have jurisdiction over all RWAs in Delhi. All small neighborhood groups who raise donations to do Ramlila or Durga Puja would be under Lokpal's scanner.
Lokpal could haul up activists from any of the farmers, labour, anti-corruption, land, tribal or any other movements. All the movements - whether registered or not, are under the jurisdiction of Lokpal. There are 4.3 lakh registered NGOs. But there would be several million unregistered groups across the country. Lokpal would have jurisdiction over all of them. No one can dispute the fact that corruption in NGOs needs to be addressed. But how can you leave most public servants out of Lokpal's purview but bring NGOs upto village level with-in its purview? Here are the points of stand-off between the government and the civil society on major issues:
PRIME MINISTER
OUR VIEW: Lokpal should have power to investigate allegations of corruption against PM. Special safeguards provided against frivolous and mischievous complaints
GOVT VIEW: PM kept out of Lokpal's purview.
COMMENTS: As of today, corruption by PM can be investigated under Prevention of Corruption Act. Government wants investigations to be done by CBI, which comes directly under him, rather than independent Lokpal.
JUDICIARY
OUR VIEW: Lokpal should have powers to investigate allegation of corruption against judiciary. Special safeguards provided against frivolous and mischievous complaints
GOVT VIEW: Judiciary kept out of Lokpal purview.
COMMENTS: Government wants this to be included in Judicial Accountability Bill (JAB). Under JAB, permission to enquire against a judge will be given by a three member committee (two judges from the same court and retd Chief justice of the same court). There are many such flaws in JAB. We have no objections to judiciary being included in JAB if a strong and effective JAB were considered and it were enacted simultaneously.
MPs
OUR VIEW: Lokpal should be able to investigate allegations that any MP had taken bribe to vote or speak in Parliament.
GOVT VIEW: Government has excluded this from Lokpal's purview.
COMMENTS: Taking bribe to vote or speak in Parliament strikes at the foundations of our democracy. Government's refusal to bring it under Lokpal scrutiny virtually gives a license to MPs to take bribes with impunity.
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
OUR VIEW: Violation of citizen's charter (if an officer does not do a citizen's work in prescribed time) by an officer should be penalized and should be deemed to be corruption.
GOVT VIEW: No penalties proposed. So, this will remain only on paper.
COMMENTS: Government had agreed to our demand in the Joint committee meeting on 23rd May. It is unfortunate they have gone back on this decision.
CBI
OUR VIEW: Anti-corruption branch of CBI should be merged into Lokpal.
GOVT VIEW: Government wants to retain its hold over CBI.
COMMENTS: CBI is misused by governments. Recently, govt has taken CBI out of RTI, thus further increasing the scope for corruption in CBI. CBI will remain corrupt till it remains under government's control
SELECTION OF LOKPAL MEMBERS
OUR VIEW:1. Broad based selection committee with 2 politicians, four judges and two independent constitutional authorities. 2. An independent search committee consisting of retd constitutional authorities to prepare first list. 3. A detailed trans-parent and participatory selection process.
GOVT VIEW: 1. With five out of ten members from ruling establishment and six politicians in selection committee, government has ensured that only weak, dishonest and pliable people would be selected. 2. Search committee to be selected by selection committee, thus making them a pawn of selection committee. 3. No selection process provided. It will completely depend on selection committee
COMMENTS: Government's proposal ensures that the government will be able to appoint its own people as Lokpal members and Chairperson. Interestingly, they had agreed to the selection committee proposed by us in the meeting held on 7th May. There was also a broad consensus on selection process. However, there was a disagreement on composition of search committee. We are surprised that they have gone back on the decision.
WHO WILL LOKPAL BE ACCOUNTABLE TO?
OUR VIEW: To the people. A citizen can make a complaint to Supreme Court and seek removal.
GOVT VIEW: To the Government. Only government can seek removal of Lokpal
COMMENTS: With selection and removal of Lokpal in government's control, it would virtually be a puppet in government's hands, against whose senior most functionaries it is supposed to investigate, thus causing serious conflict of interest.
INTEGRITY OF LOKPAL STAFF
OUR VIEW: Complaint against Lokpal staff will be heard by an independent authority
GOVT VIEW: Lokpal itself will investigate complaints against its own staff, thus creating serious conflicts of interest
COMMENTS: Government's proposal creates a Lokpal, which is accountable either to itself or to the government. We have suggested giving these controls in the hands of the citizens.
METHOD OF ENQUIRY
OUR VIEW: Method would be the same as provided in CrPC like in any other criminal case. After preliminary enquiry, an FIR will be registered. After investigations, case will be presented before a court, where the trial will take place.
GOVT VIEW: CrPC being amended. Special protection being provided to the accused. After preliminary enquiry, all evidence will be provided to the accused and he shall be heard as to why an FIR should not be regd against him. After completion of investigations, again all evidence will be provided to him and he will be given a hearing to explain why a case should not be filed against him in the court. During investigations, if investigations are to be started against any new persons, they would also be presented with all evidence against them and heard.
COMMENTS: Investigation process provided by the government would severely compromise all investigations. If evidence were made available to the accused at various stages of investigations, in addition to compromising the investigations, it would also reveal the identity of whistleblowers thus compromising their security. Such a process is un-heard of in criminal jurisprudence anywhere in the world. Such process would kill almost every case.
LOWER BUREAUCRACY
OUR VIEW: All those defined as public servants in Prevention of Corruption Act would be covered. This includes lower bureaucracy.
GOVT VIEW: Only Group A officers will be covered.
COMMENTS: One fails to understand government's stiff resistance against bringing lower bureaucracy under Lokpal's ambit. This appears to be an excuse to retain control over CBI because if all public servants are brought un-der Lokpal's jurisdiction, government would have no excuse to keep CBI.
LOKAYUKTA
OUR VIEW: The same bill should provide for Lokpal at centre and Lokayuktas in states Only Lokpal at the centre would be created through this Bill.
GOVT VIEW: According to Mr Pranab Mukherjee, some of the CMs have objected to providing Lokayuktas through the same Bill. He was reminded that state
COMMENTS: Information Commissions were also set up under RTI Act through one Act only.
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION
OUR VIEW: Lokpal will be required to provide protection to whistleblowers, witnesses and victims of corruption
GOVT VIEW: No mention in this law.
COMMENTS: According to govt, protection for whistleblowers is being provided through a separate law. But that law is so bad that it has been badly trashed by standing committee of Parliament last month. The committee was headed by Ms Jayanthi Natrajan. In the Jt committee meeting held on 23rd May, it was agreed that Lokpal would be given the duty of providing protection to whistleblowers under the other law and that law would also be discussed and im-proved in joint committee only. However, it did not happen.
SPECIAL BENCHES IN HC
OUR VIEW: High Courts will set up special benches to hear appeals in corruption cases to fast track them
GOVT VIEW: No such provision.
COMMENTS: One study shows that it takes 25 years at appellate stage in corruption cases. This ought to be addressed.
CRPC
OUR VIEW: On the basis of past experience on why anti-corruption cases take a long time in courts and why do our agencies lose them, some amendments to CrPC have been suggested to prevent frequent stay orders.
GOVT VIEW: Not included
DISMISSAL OF CORRUPT GOVT SERVANT
OUR VIEW: After completion of investigations, in addition to filing a case in a court for prosecution, a bench of Lokpal will hold open hearings and decide whether to remove the government servant from job.
GOVT VIEW: The minister will decide whether to remove a corrupt officer or not. Often, they are beneficiaries of corruption, especially when senior officer are involved. Experience shows that rather than removing corrupt people, ministers have rewarded them.
COMMENTS: Power of removing corrupt people from jobs should be given to independent Lokpal rather than this being decided by the minister in the same department
PUNISHMENT FOR CORRUPTION
OUR VIEW: 1. Maximum punishment is ten years
GOVT VIEW: None of these accepted. Only maximum punishment raised to 10 years.
FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
OUR VIEW: Lokpal 11 members collectively will decide how much budget do they need
GOVT VIEW: Finance ministry will decide the quantum of budget
COMMENTS: This seriously compromises with the financial independence of Lokpal
PREVENT FURTHER LOSS
OUR VIEW: Lokpal will have a duty to take steps to prevent corruption in any ongoing activity, if brought to his notice. If need be, Lokpal will obtain orders from High Court.
GOVT VIEW: No such duties and powers of Lokpal
COMMENTS: 2G is believed to have come to knowledge while the process was going on. Shouldn't some agency have a duty to take steps to stop further corruption rather than just punish people later?
TAP PHONES
OUR VIEW: Lokpal bench will grant permission to do so
GOVT VIEW: Home Secretary would grant permission.
COMMENTS: Home Secretary is under the control of precisely those who would be under scanner. It would kill investigations.
DELEGATION OF POWERS
OUR VIEW: Lokpal members will only hear cases against senior officers and politicians or cases involving huge amounts. Rest of the work will be done by officers working under Lokpal
GOVT VIEW: All work will be done by 11 members of Lokpal. Practically no delegation.
COMMENTS: This is a sure way to kill Lokpal. The members will not be able to handle all cases. Within no time, they would be overwhelmed.
NGOs
OUR VIEW: Only government funded NGOs covered
GOVT VIEW: All NGOs, big or small, are covered.
COMMENTS: A method to arm twist NGOs
FALSE, FRIVOLOUS AND VEXATIOUS COMPLAINTS
OUR VIEW: No imprisonment. Only fines on complainants. Lokpal would decide whether a complaint is frivolous or vexatious or false.
GOVT VIEW: Two to five years of imprisonment and fine. The accused can file complaint against complainant in a court. Interestingly, prosecutor and all expenses of this case will be provided by the government to the accused. The complainant will also have to pay a compensation to the accused.
COMMENTS: This will give a handle to every accused to browbeat complainants. Often corrupt people are rich. They will file cases against complainants and no one will dare file any complaint. Interestingly, minimum punishment for corruption is six months but for filing false complaint is two years.
US President Barack Obama sought to leave his domestic political woes behind and called on India to forge a new partnership with the United States, announcing that Washington would do its bit to help this by easing export controls across a range of high-tech sectors. Bhupendra Khansagra of India's Spice Jet, second right, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, right, and Christopher Chadwick of Boeing are seated with U.S. President Barack Obama as he holds a roundtable discussion with business leaders in Mumbai on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama sought to leave his domestic political woes behind and called on India to forge a new partnership with the United States, announcing that Washington would do its bit to help this by easing export controls across a range of high-tech sectors.
Bhupendra Khansagra of India's Spice Jet, second right, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, right, and Christopher Chadwick of Boeing are seat-ed with U.S. President Barack Obama as he holds a roundtable discussion with business leaders in Mumbai on Saturday.
Full of high praise for the energy of India's economic growth and the innovation of its entrepreneurs, Obama described the relationship between the two countries as a "defining and indispensable" partnership of the 21st Century even as companies from the two countries signed business deals worth $10 billion on the sidelines of his visit.
The 20 deals include GE aircraft engines and gas turbines and Boeing 737s bought by SpiceJet. They are expected to support 54,000 jobs back home in the United States, US officials said. And Obama himself lost no opportunity in pointing out that thousands of jobs would be created for every billion dollar the US exported, an issue that cost his Democratic party badly in mid-term elections last week.
Separately, the White House also announced Obama would support India's membership of four global non-proliferation organisations, a move that is expected to reassure New Delhi -- left out of these groups after the 1998 nuclear tests -- that Washington is recognising its global clout.
At the same time, the President put the onus on India to play its strong part as well, asking New Delhi to boost the country's infrastructure and lift barriers in sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, retail and telecom, as they made it difficult to do business with India. And he also sought to sidestep his pet criticism of outsourcing and the fear Indian companies held for Americans by saying they were "old stereotypes and old concerns" that ignored the modern reality.
"There are many Americans whose only experience of trade and globalisation is a shuttered factory. Or jobs being shipped overseas. And there still exists a caricature of India as a land of call centres and back offices that cost American jobs. That's a real perception," the President said. "Here in India, there are many who see the arrival of American companies and products as a threat to shopkeepers and to India's ancient and proud culture. But these old stereo-types, these old concerns, ignore today's reality. In 2010 trade between our countries is not just a one-way street of American jobs and companies moving to India. It is a dynamic two-way relationship that is creating jobs, growth and higher liviing standards in both our countries. And that is the truth."
This, he said, had seen Americans having helped build India and Indians also having helped build America. "Today your country is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. While there are many amazing success stories and rapidly expanding markets in Asia, the sheer size and pace of India's progress in just two decades is one of the most stunning achievements in human history. This is a fact," Obama said.
"You are now a nation of rapid growth, rising incomes and massive investments in infrastructure, energy and education. In the coming decades you will be the world's most populous nation with the largest workforce and one of the largest economies in the world. Undoubtedly, that the two countries. Less than 10 per cent of Indian imports were from the United States and less than two per cent of US exports were to India. This, he said, was less than US trade with the Netherlands, "a country with a smaller population than the city of Mumbai", which made India only the 12th largest trading partner of the US. "I have no doubt we can do better than that, much better. There is no reason this nation cannot be one of our top trading partners. And that's why we want to work together, with you, to re-move the barriers, to increase trade and investment between our nations," Obama said.
Paying tribute to what he called the human spirit of people in Detroit as much as means the United States and India will engage in a healthy competition for markets and jobs and industries of the future. But it also offers the prospect of expanded commercial ties that strongly benefit both countries," he said.
"The United States sees Asia, and especially India, as a market of the future. We don't simply welcome your rise as a nation and a people. We ardently support it. We want to invest in it. And I am here because I believe in our interconnected world increased commerce between the United States and India can be and will be a win-win proposition for both nations," Obama said to cheers from an audience that included captains of Indian and US industry such as GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt, Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Pepsico chief Indra Nooyi, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh and Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Anand Mahindra.
But Obama's 20-minute speech was not just all about hosannas for India. He said India and the United States had barely scratched the surface of trade between in Dharavi, Obama said he was confident that this spirit of optimism and determination would drive the future. "And that's why I am thrilled to be in India and with you today. And that's why I am confident that we can and will forge new economic partnerships and deliver the jobs and broadbased growth our peoples so richly deserve. And I am absolutely sure that the relationship between India and the United States is going to be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century."
(Courtesy AIAI and Mumbai Bureau)
During the days of struggle for independence, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was set in the heart of every Indian. However after he took over the administration, it was found that he was more of a dreamer than a realist. His concept of a socialistic pattern of society was utopian, and the realm of control and regulations that he introduced stifled the economic growth of the country. The situation got worse when Indira Gandhi and her stooges started using the controls for personal ends. The corruption that she gave vent to has been continually growing like cancer. It has crossed all bounds and we are now witnessing the politicians unashamedly accumulating property by indulging in large-scale corruption.
But corruption is not the only ailment of the country. The policy initiated by Nehru and perpetuated by the followers has given rise to various other ills that have been deeply affecting the social fabric. While pondering over the conditions prevailing at present I feel that India has been rushing toward catastrophe in economic, political and social spheres. Unless the engine is put in reverse gear, we are going to face devastation. I am therefore putting below some suggestions that can help in preventing it.
Our Parliamentary system of government was adopted because of our association with British rule. It was, however, overlooked that the system needs vigilant public opinion and the presence of two strong parties that can take over the administration. These conditions did not exist in India.
The problems arising from the absence of two capable parties did not come to the notice so long as there was one party strong enough to continue at the helm. The weakness of the system became evident after the fall of the congress party from the hegemony. Not only did that lead to unstable administrations, it also led to mismanagement and gave rise to large-scale corruption. Maintaining a majority at any cost has turned out to be the main job of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. Whenever they find that the majority is at stake, they have to go in for purchasing the required number of heads. Everyone knows the level of corruption indulged during the vote of confidence session of parliament last year.
Corruption is a cancer that cannot be rooted out so long as there are chances of getting corrupted. The only way to control it is to reduce the chances. Our Parliamentary system has been conducive to its growth. In order to avoid it we need to adopt the Presidential system under which the administration can be carried on by the President at the Center and Governors at the State levels elected to govern for five years irrespective of the majority. That would avert this constant struggle to maintain and pay for a majority headcount. Moreover, the scramble that we witness for getting elected as legislators prevails, because every legislator aspires to get a ministerial berth and use it for personal gain. Under the Presidential system, legislators would be ineligible to hold administrative positions. That will put an end to the undue craze for becoming a legislator. Only those who are really interested in working as legislators would then contest the election. The temptation for becoming a legislator would thus go down and that will curtail the chances of indulging in corruption.
Another aspect that gives rise to corruption is the regime of controls and regulations. Influenced by the Soviet model, Nehru was enthused to lead the country toward economic development by wielding State authority. He ignored the fact that the Soviet Union had failed to achieve any measurable degree of economic growth even while exercising total authority over the life of people. In a bid to metamorphose the country, Nehru created a maze of controls regulating every aspect of life. He failed to see that Government machinery is ill-suit-ed to exercise the controls in the public interest. The result is the large-scale corruption prevailing in implementing the controls.
With the inauguration of liberalization some controls have been removed and the rigors of some have been modified. What is, however, required is to do away with the controls to the extent possible. For instance, with the comfortable foreign exchange reserve, no control is necessary over foreign exchange and the rupee should be made fully convertible. Similarly, there is no need for measures like the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act and they should be repealed. Not only do such controls lead to corruption, they also tend to inhibit entrepreneurship. Their removal will reduce the chances of corruption. Moreover, it will give rise to healthy competition and will lead to sound economic growth.
The concept of preparing the annual budget was evolved with the intention to adjust expenditures to the level of revenue. If it was necessary to spend more than the estimated revenue, the budget would propose measures for raising more revenue. If, however, the shortfall is negligible, it could be left as an uncovered deficit. But that concept has been set aside and we are witnessing deficits to the extent of trillions of rupees.
Such deficits are bound to lead to inflation. Expansion of currency without adequate backing results in effective devaluation of the rupee, which becomes evident in the form of a rise in prices.
Though other factors like high prices of crude oil may play their part from time to time, deficit financing has been the main cause for continuing rise in prices. The biggest culprit for our budget deficit happens to be the Planning Commission. Nehru introduced planning with good intentions, and that worked well during the first two Plans. Thereafter the emphasis on planning has been shifted to spending. If the amount planned for a head is spent even without achieving a tangible result, the plan is considered as having fulfilled the target; while the effecting economy on a plan head is treated as the shortfall of the plan. In short, it has been a spending spree and the money gets diverted to the coffers of politicians and other unscrupulous people.
The Planning Commission has lost the plot and has been virtually planning for inflation without growth. Since it has ceased to serve its purpose, it is time to scrap it and put deficit financing to an end.
English language now occupies international status. Its importance can hardly be exaggerated when millions of our countrymen have been living abroad. Its importance for scientific studies also is indisputable. No wonder many families have been sending their children to English medium schools. The time for treating English as a foreign element has long been past.
The adoption of regional languages as the medium of State administration has given rise to all sorts of fissiparous tendencies. That needs to be put to an end to in the interest of unity in the country. It should also be noted that the people in the South have been clamoring for retaining English at the administrative level. Adopting English as the official language at the Center and State level would not only placate the South but will also provide an efficient medium for administration. Moreover, it will help in forging the sense of unity that was witnessed during British rule.
Though our constitution forbids discrimination on the ground of race, religion etc. we happen to have a Hindu Civil Code. Nehru had come out with the Hindu Code Bill because he was not willing to hurt the sentiments of conventional Muslims.
Hindus have long been feeling unhappy on account of the Civil Code being restricted to them and have been clamoring for a Civil Code applicable to all. Whatever Nehru's motive, there is no justification for restricting the provisions of the Civil Code to a particular sector of society. The Supreme Court also has directed the Government to approach it with a Common Civil Code. The administration has, however, ignored it in order to avert displeasing the Muslim voters.
In case, the leadership is too sensitive to Muslim sentiments, it can come out with a Common Civil Code together with the provision for an Islamic Code to be adopted by Muslims as an option. That Code should cover every provision in the Islamic canons inclusive of crude punishment for offenders, disavowal of interest on investment, etc. Muslims will think twice before opting for such a code. Since Islamic tradition heavily discriminates against women, the Code should provide for exercising the option jointly by husband and wife.
The reservations based on backwardness have created a rift within society.
There was justification for reservation in favor of scheduled castes because they were kept backward by society. No other community was so debarred; they have remained backward on their own. They can surely be encouraged to come forward by providing incentives in the form of scholarships etc. but reservations for them in administration or educational institutions can in no way be justified. The Government is not an employment exchange. Its machinery is expected to function in the interest of people. Integrity and efficiency are the essential requisites for it. Its employment policy should be based on those criteria. Providing reservation therein leads to inefficiency and loss of integrity. No one would have the incentive to function efficiently if his colleague or a subordinate is going to be his boss simply because he belongs to a particular community.
The reservations in educational institutions are leading to sub-standard outcomes. How could it be safe to have doctors of lower caliber treat the patients? It is hazardous. Similarly, an engineer with a sub-standard caliber cannot be expected to undertake reliable work. Indira Gandhi favored the policy of reservation in order to pursue her parochial ends. It is now the time to reconsider it in the overall interest of the country.
But the policy adopted so far has created well-entrenched privileged classes and the backward communities would oppose curtailment of the favors granted to them. They, however, need to understand that the reservations are meant to enable the back-ward people to come forward; continuing the same indefinitely amounts to perpetuating the backwardness. That fact can take some wind out of the sail of proponents of reservations.
The consensus should therefore be arrived at for reservations to lapse after a reasonable period. Thereby it would be possible to put an end to discrimination, which has created rift within society. The importance of forging unity would be particularly palatable at the present juncture. Enlightened people would wholeheartedly endorse such a move. It is hard to make out how the system has been perpetrated by the judiciary.
We have been facing a population explosion. The population has grown almost fourfold since the independence. The measures taken so far have failed to restrict growth because the majority of people refrain from adopting birth control measures. The growth in population sets at naught the progress in every other field. We should therefore be willing to adopt an effective policy for containing the population.
Such a policy should be deterrent enough to restrain the people from generating more children. Our people are very sensitive to the payment of taxes and would like to avoid them whenever possible. In order to take advantage of that sensitivity it is necessary to introduce a tax on people who have more than two children. Every couple producing a third child should be subject to pay tax at the rate of Rs.1000/- (subject to revision from time to time) per month for 10 years starting from the birth of the third child. The liability to pay the tax for that period should continue irrespective of the child's lifetime. Otherwise, there would be a tendency to put it to death. Moreover, during the said period of 10 years if the couple produces another child, not only would it have to pay the tax on both the children, it should also be subjected to a surcharge at the rate of 25 percent of the tax payable otherwise.
These provisions would induce people to adopt birth control in their own interest. It is obvious that most people will fail to pay the tax, and it would not be possible to put all such offenders in jail. It should therefore be provided within the Act that those failing to pay the child tax will be subject to mandatory sterilization. I strongly believe that if we start initiating the seven points mentioned above, India will be well on its way to assuming its place at the world’s top table.
(MANSUKHLAL (MANU) DOSHI was born in Mahuva (Saurastra), in December 1919, and moved to the US after retiring as the Assistant Commissioner of Industries, Gujarat. He is living in the USA now)
Parable of the Family with an Orphan: A large family takes in an orphan. The house is already crowded so the orphan must share an attic room with a child too weak to protest the intrusion. The parents give each of the two children half of the room but ask each child to share a beautiful cabinet, treasured by both. The parents take a long trip, leaving their strongest son in charge. When the parents leave, other children in the family attack the orphan and try to get him to leave. The weakest child, in particular, fights unfairly. He waits for the orphan to sleep and then attacks him. The orphan wakes up each time and hurts the weak child; he also takes over more of the room, including the beautiful cabinet.
As the orphan continues to take over more of the room, the weak child continues to take revenge. The strongest son tries to bring peace and sometimes succeeds for short periods. The basic problem, however, is that each child believes that he should have the entire attic room to himself. Finally, the parents return. They realize that they made a mistake by leaving home while there was such a difficult situation in the attic. They don't just ask the two children to stop fighting, however. Instead, they take immediate action.
The parents decide that the boys need temporary separation, something constructive to keep them busy, and careful supervision. The parents work with the two boys to build shelves and cabinets down the middle of the room, with private storage space for each boy on each side. They install plumbing so each side of the room has plenty of fresh water. Finally, when the crisis is over, the parents set up a way for the boys to share the beautiful cabinet.
The parents do more than just provide better space, however. They provide the love, kindness, and supervision that each child needs to do well. They also make sure that the other children support the solution. Each boy reverts to his old behavior a few times, but the parents remove his privileges each time and the old behaviors stop. Besides, each boy becomes too busy pursuing his own goals to be distracted by fighting. They lived happily ever after...with a few disagreements here and there.
The "large family" is the United Nations. The "orphan" is Israel. The "other children" are the Arab states. The "weakest son" is the Palestinian people. Attacking the orphan unfairly means "terrorist attacks." The "attic room" is the territory of Palestine before the United Nations carved Israel into it. The "beautiful cabinet" is Jerusalem.
The "strongest son" is the United States. Alas, there are no wise parents to supervise the boys. The UN Security Council has not been able to perform this essential role. The "strongest son," therefore, must work with the "other children" to implement peace. If the "strongest son" and the "other children" work together effectively, then peace will spread throughout the entire family.
Recently, this has not happened. Instead, extremist Palestinians have engaged in bombings when Israelis agreed to work on peace. Extremist Israelis have engaged in assassinations or other acts of aggression when Palestinians agreed to work on peace. Israelis are swiftly completing a wall between Israel and Palestinian territory, but the wall is not on the 1967 border. Rather, it snakes into Palestinian territory to unlawfully take land and water rights from 200,000 Palestinians. Extremists from both sides have destroyed the peace process.
The Palestinian people are allowing extremists to lead them. The Israeli people are allowing extremists to lead them. As the violence keeps increasing, wisdom from any quarter would be welcome
A SHORT HISTORY OF CONFLICT
After World War II, the United Nations gave land to the Jewish people so that they could live together in peace. This land, Israel, includes holy places for the Jewish religion and is surrounded by Muslim countries. Palestinian Muslims lived on the land at the time that the United Nations gave it to the Jewish people.
Portions of the land given to the Jewish people, or taken over by them when they won wars against Arab states, are also holy for Muslims. Certain portions of Jerusalem controlled by Israel, called "East Jerusalem," are very important to Muslims. For religious reasons, Palestinian Muslims believe that they must gain control of East Jerusalem as part of any lasting peace settlement.
Further, Palestinians view themselves as living in an occupied nation, where invaders (Israelis) have placed them under military rule. To fight back, Palestinians have built a terrorist network to attack innocent Israeli civilians. Israelis feel they must continue to control Palestinians with military force to protect themselves against more terrorist attacks.
Palestinian View: Palestinians feel that they are not a free people because Israeli soldiers stop them at checkpoints between cities. Many Palestinians, therefore, must get Israeli approval each day to go to work, return home, go to the hospital, get groceries, or visit their own families. After a terrorist attack, soldiers sometimes refuse to let Palestinians through the checkpoints to get to work or other essential places, infuriating Palestinians even more. Further, Israelis control much of the Palestinian water supply and give Palestinians less access to water than they need. Palestinians feel humiliated and abused by the Israelis.
Another issue causing Palestinians great anger is that Israelis have continued to build settlements in Palestinian territory, illegally converting even more Palestinian territory into Israeli territory. Palestinians see the settlements as a sign that Israelis do not want peace.
In March and April of 2002, Israeli soldiers attempted to destroy Palestinian terrorist networks and attacked several of the largest Palestinian cities. In addition to attacking the terrorists, the Israeli soldiers destroyed much of the Palestinian government, including records, equipment, buildings, electricity supplies, water supplies, roads, and more. Palestinians see the attack as an Israeli attempt to keep them from ever having an independent state. In addition, representatives of international relief agencies, as well as Palestinians, accuse Israel of committing war crimes during this attack.
Palestinian Demands: Palestinians want Israel to comply with international law and retreat to the borders that existed in 1967. Palestinians express this de-mand as four key conditions for peace, in-
Regarding control of East Jerusalem, Ehud Barak, former leader of Israel, offered to negotiate the control of East Jerusalem. This is something no other Israeli leader had offered and something the Israeli people did not want to offer. In fact, Barak was removed from power partly because of the offer and was replaced by Ariel Sharon.
Although Barak had offered to negotiate control of East Jerusalem and make other concessions, Palestinians were angry that all of the key conditions they considered essential for lasting peace had not been offered.
Israelis were angry because they were told that most of the key conditions for peace had been offered and that Arafat had refused to negotiate.
Regarding the third Palestinian condition for peace, ending the occupation of Palestinian territory, Israelis seem willing to do this--as long as Palestinian borders are redefined so that Israel can continue to control Palestinian movements through checkpoints between cities and other means.
In other words, Israelis are willing to end the appearance of occupation but they are not willing to reduce their control over the Palestinians.
Barak may have offered real independence to Palestinians, but Israelis and Palestinians disagree about what Barak actually offered. The specific offer of restoration of Palestinian land has remained secret, so it is difficult to determine which side is correct. Palestinians claim that Barak's offer to return Palestinian land was not sincere and would have continued Israeli control of land between major Palestinian cities. Israelis claim that the Barak offer did not break up the Palestinian land and that Arafat's refusal to negotiate the offer means that he will never accept peace. Much of the current conflict rests on the different views of what was offered. Additional information on the offer and disagreements is provided here.
At about the same time as Barak's offer, Sharon deliberately provoked Palestinians with an act viewed by Muslims as extreme disrespect to their religion. Terrorist attacks by the Palestinians started in large measures in response to Sharon's actions. Israelis were then angry by Arafat's refusal to negotiate in good faith and by the resumption of terrorist attacks.
In short, Israelis believe that Barak offered Palestinians their land back and that Palestinians then responded with extreme violence. Palestinians believe that Barak offered no real freedom and that Israelis deliberately insulted their religion (Sharon's visit) and killed Palestinian protesters during negotiations.
Palestinian Compromise: If Israel re-treats to 1967 borders and provides Palestinians with complete independence, will Palestinians stop terrorist attacks? As of March of 2006, the answer is "probably not." Although many Palestinians simply want an independent nation, others, such as the powerful Hamas organization, consider all of the territory called "Israel" to be part of Palestine. Hamas leaders have vowed to continue their terrorist campaign until their demands are met, including the destruction of Israel. Further, when Arafat failed to accept Barak's offer of a separate Palestinian state, many Israelis concluded that Arafat did not want peace.
Arafat did not make a serious effort to stop Palestinian terrorism against Israelis.
International law is on the side of those who advocate for two independent states sharing the land that was called "Palestine" before 1948. However, recent violence against each side has been so vicious that the majority of people may be more interested in revenge than negotiations.
Israeli View: Israelis view Palestinian militants as terrorists who will not compromise to gain peace. Palestinian extremists have, in fact, engaged in terrorist acts against Israeli civilians when peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians seemed (to the Israelis) to be moving forward fairly. Because Palestinian terrorists attacked at key times, moderate Israeli leaders have been replaced by more extreme Israeli leaders who do not want to compromise. Israeli leaders do not trust Palestinian leaders to negotiate peace. Israelis do not feel safe enough to reduce their control of Palestinian territories.
Israeli Demands: Israelis want the Palestinians to stop the terrorist attacks. Israelis have four key conditions for peace, including:
By comparing the Israeli demands with the Palestinian demands, one can see that the two sides are unlikely to find peace--the demands are completely contradictory. In addition, many Israelis believe that Israel is entitled to all of the Palestinian territories. Every time a compromise is reached, Israeli and Palestinian extremists work against it--often with violence.
Israeli Compromise: If Palestinians stop their terrorist attacks on Israelis, will Israelis retreat to 1967 borders and allow Palestinians complete independence? As of March of 2006, the answer is "definitely not." Although a majority of Israelis are willing to have their military leave the Palestinian territories, a powerful minority consider all of the territory currently called "Palestinian" to be part of Israel. They do not want to compromise or pull back. Instead, they want to keep expanding Israeli settlements into Palestinian territories.
Sharon, before entering a coma, began reducing the settlements. However, when Sharon talked about an independent state of Palestine, he meant a Palestinian state that is still under the control of Israel. Past proposals have, in fact, allowed Israel to maintain control over a new Palestinian state. Palestinians have not found such Israeli offers of "independence" acceptable. Now that Hamas won the last Palestinian election, Palestinians may be even less likely to compromise.
A Road to Peace: With hate so intense on both sides, and demands of each side so completely incompatible, peace will require very powerful outside intervention. The United States and Arab Nations, especially Saudi Arabia, need to join forces. Perhaps an international group, with the United States and Saudi Arabia as leaders, needs to negotiate where to put borders to ensure Israeli security and also Palestinian land integrity. Left to themselves, neither Israelis nor Palestinians can make a lasting agreement on borders. If an international group negotiates the borders, it will also need to determine how to separate the two sides. International forces will probably need to stand between Palestinians and Israelis for a long, long time. Israelis and Palestinians may even need a physical wall to separate them.
Israelis have destroyed much of the government and infrastructure of the Palestinians. The Palestinians will need a great deal of outside support to rebuild themselves into a separate nation. Without such support, the world will be facing "another Afghanistan" where anarchy will again breed terrorism.
Muslim nations will need to play a strong role in helping to build a new Palestine without terrorism. Muslim nations will need to help mentor new Palestinian leaders who do not support terrorism. Palestinians will need another type of leadership, other than Hamas, to build a new strategy for long-term peace.
The United States will need to use its influence to help Israel shape a new strategy also. Israel has had to mobilize for war, justifiably, since its beginning. It has had little peace. However, Israel elected a leader, Sharon, who was associated with a massacre of Palestinians in Lebanon. Electing a man known for brutality does not say much for the peace strategy of the Israeli people. If an international group insures Israel's security, Israel will need a different kind of leadership, as well as a new strategy for long-term peace. Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmer is following Sharon's path and Sharon is unlikely to return to leadership.
An outside group will also have to determine how to allocate water rights fairly between the Palestinians and Israelis. Without outside intervention, water wars are likely to erupt, even if the land borders are settled peacefully.
What ideas do you have to move us toward lasting peace? It is very important to realize that the Muslim religion teaches peace and tolerance, not terrorism and war. In fact, the Muslim religion does not allow a person to commit suicide or hurt innocent people, even during the war.
Methods of Fighting: The Palestinian people, led by Yasser Arafat until his death in 2004, are outraged by the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The Israeli leadership is continuing to use military force against protesters. Israel has one of the most advanced military forces in the world and the Palestinians have very limited military capability. Most of those dying in the conflict have been Palestinians.
The method of fighting for each side is quite different. The Palestinians have no army and have used bombs against civilian men, women, and children to try to make the Israelis afraid for their personal safety. They expect the Israelis to respond to the bombings by attacking the Palestinian people. When Israel does this, Palestinians hope that other countries will then help the Palestinian people and protect them from the Israelis.
The Palestinian bombers almost always die in the attacks, so the Israeli military then kills Palestinians suspected of planning the attacks. The Israeli military has killed or seriously injured many Palestinian civilians while pursuing terrorists. In addition, Israelis have damaged a great deal of Palestinian property during chases.
In short, each side is responding to the other by killing civilians--men, women, and children who are not part of the military. Each side is killing for revenge, as well as to meet its own goals. Each side is trying to convince the rest of the world that it is acting with high morality. Each side is creating a climate of violence and terror for their own children and grandchildren.
This is not a matter of two nations at war, however, since the Palestinians do not yet have a separate state. Israelis have the ability to kill or drive away most of the Palestinians, while the Palestinians do not have that power against the Israelis. This unequal contest may turn out badly for all of us unless the USA and others intervene effectively. If Palestinians continue to use terrorism to try to achieve their goals, and if Israel continues to use military force against the Palestinian people to combat terrorism, many other nations may find themselves involved against each other regarding the conflict.
The Water Issue: A concern of the Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab nations in the region is the water issue. Mikhail Gorbachev (former Premier of the Soviet Union) and Shimon Peres (former Prime Minister of Israel) noted that "More than anywhere else, the Middle East exemplifies the perils and possibilities created by the water crisis."
"In the past 10 years, the various states in the Middle East have spent billions to acquire arms instead of building water pipelines or finding ways to conserve, clean and use water more efficiently on a shared, regional basis."
"We all know that deserts create poverty and that poverty often leads to war -- especially when everyone is armed to the teeth. But missiles in an armed desert can't carry water any more than mine-fields can stop pollution from crossing borders."
"The alternative to another round of conflict, this time over water instead of land, is cooperation. Desalinization or joint management is cheaper than launching wars for rivers."
A recommendation by Jad Isaac of the Applied Research Institute, Jerusalem, includes a confidence-building measure by the Israelis. He emphasizes that Gaza and West Bank Palestinians do not have sufficient access to water now and suggests that negotiations for peace include Israel making sufficient water available to the two areas.
Role of the USA: What is the role of the USA in this? Palestinians claim that the fighting has expanded partly because the USA has not influenced the Israeli government to use more restraint. The Israelis claim that the conflict has expanded because the Palestinian leadership has not stopped the terrorism.
A plan was developed by a group of experts, led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, to find a path to peace. The leaders of the Israelis, Palestinians, and the United States accepted the plan. The plan requires each side to stop attacking the other side and for each side to try to help the other side achieve what it wants most, one step at a time. However, both the Palestinians and Israelis have continued the fighting instead of actually following the plan.
Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia then proposed a plan in April (2002) that has the support of neighboring Arab states and is consistent with the Mitchell plan. It has the interest of the United States, Israel, and the Palestinians. It includes full normalization of relationships with Israel by all Arab states and recognition of Israel as a state by all Arab states. In return, Israel must pull out of Palestinian territories, and back to the 1967 borders. It allows for compromise and negotiation on the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.
Both Israelis and Palestinians have asked the USA to help broker a peace process. Intervention by the USA did seem essential to gain a lasting peace, but now that the conflict has escalated, much more than the USA may be needed for effective intervention.
The Bush administration is focused on combating terrorism, a method of fighting associated with Arafat. Arafat has not been very convincing in trying to stop terrorism. Evidence suggests that instead of trying to stop it, he may have supported terrorism.
To complicate the situation even more, Israel has been accused of committing war crimes against Palestinians and will not let the United Nations investigate to see if the accusations are true. Allegations against Israel are being made by international humanitarian agencies who tried to render aid to wounded Palestinians.
The consensus seems to be growing that a slow, step-by-step process, such as recommended by the Mitchell plan, will no longer work. Trust between the Israelis and Palestinians has been destroyed and the Mitchell plan requires trust by both sides. Something quite different may be needed. See "A Road to Peace" above.
Why Do Palestinians Fight This Way? Why are Palestinians killing civilian Israeli men, women, and children when the Qur'an specifically prohibits killing non-combatants? Why are they doing this when they know that such deaths harden the hearts of the Israeli people and will make it unlikely for Palestinian children or grandchildren to ever have peace? Why are Palestinians planting the seeds of suffering for their own children and grandchildren?
The short answer is that the Palestinians are exhausted, desperate, and very angry because of the Israeli occupation of their land. They also lack a leader who is focused on long-term peace.
Why Do Israelis Fight This Way? Why are Israelis supporting military actions against civilians and occupying land that is not theirs? Why are Israelis allowing their armies to do this when they know that such actions harden the hearts of the Palestinian people and will make it unlikely for Israeli children or grandchildren to ever have peace?
The short answer is that the Israelis are exhausted, desperate, and very angry because of the terrorist attacks. They also lack a leader who is focused on long-term peace.
US and Isreal are the most trusted allies? A chronological look at the evidence
There is a big debate going on among Jews around the world, there is a striking convergence of opinion concerning the relationship between the US and Israel. The new US President and his administration are trying to balance both Isreal and Arab interests by keeping the channel of communications open to all players having an interest in the Middle East.
Supporters of the PLO – synonymous with "supporters of a Palestinian state", because the PLO will run any such state - are convinced that the US is an ally of Israel. Some believe the US employs Israel in order to expand the American empire, and others - echoing the claims of that infamous forgery, "The Protocols of Zion" - believe that history's greatest superpower, the US, is actually the pawn of tiny Israel. Either way, they agreed that the US and Israel are supposed 'a team.'
Supporters of Israel naturally disagree with supporters of the PLO about most things but not on this point, as they also believe that the US is a friend of Israel-perhaps its only real friend. Whereas those who are pro-PLO are especially infuriated by perceived US support for Israel, those who are pro-Israel are deliriously grateful for the same (especially so in the case of Zionist Jews).
Given that across the spectrum of those politically mobilized on this issue, from one pole to the other, everybody appears to have the same opinion on this, casual observers are naturally drawn into an agreement as well, creating a crushing consensus all over the world: the US is an ally of Israel.
But is it true?
Let us first ask: what is an ally? My dictionary defines 'ally' as "one who is associated with another as helper."
Everybody knows that the US says it supports Israel. But actions speak louder than words. What is the evidence of US actions? In this piece, I provide a chronological list of relevant US policies over the years.
I am hoping that this piece will begin a debate. It is not finished, and the research relevant to its claims is ongoing. I shall be updating the piece as I gather more data. But I have already assembled quite a lot, below, and what I have is certainly sufficient to challenge the common
View. I believe, in fact, that what I have presented below is already sufficient to refute the common view many times over, and the compilation of these documented facts came as a big eye-opener. Hopefully, this documentation will begin a serious debate on this question, rather than an automatic assumption based on official claims of US support for Israel - which claims are cheaply, and therefore easily, made.
It is important to remember that what is examined here is the behavior of the US foreign policy Establishment, which is secretive. The evidence, therefore, speaks to what is and has been, the true position of the US ruling elite with regard to Israel and the Jewish people. It does not speak to the position of the American people, many of whom, I believe, will be outraged to find that, as I document on the next pages, the US specializes in attacking Israel. In fact, the section on 1947-48 contains dramatic evidence that ordinary Americans tend not to favor the anti-Jewish policies of the US ruling elite.
The Alliance de l'Avenir led by Dr Navin Ramgoolam has won the general elections by a comfortable majority. It secured 41 out of the 60 directly elected seats in the Assembly. This is a remarkable achievement in view of the strength that the Alliance du Coeur had been gathering during the past three weeks, aided in this by an aggressive campaign on its behalf by the pro-MMM press, namely the l'ex-press media group and Weekend.
The alliance that the Alliance Sociale contracted with the MSM did not directly contribute to raising the number of votes secured by the Alliance de l'Avenir if only for the fact that there is little differentiation between the voters of Labour and the MSM when both are aligned on
the same side. However, this alliance was of highly strategic importance, it is given that any alternative potential MMM-MSM alliance would have so considerably trimmed down the margins as to be able to upset the applecart. Had an MMM-MSM alliance materialised instead, it would have turned Labour's incumbency into a heavy liability and changed the outcome of voting unpredictably.
The election has shown if it was at all necessary, with what speed and effectiveness a vast propaganda machine can be mounted and launched by the opposing camp. It stopped short of nothing, including the whipping up of past communal reflexes. In that sense, despite the defeat of the MMM, the clock has been set back on the question of national unity. It was amazing how identity suddenly assumed overwhelming importance in the election.
It became so important that political parties including the Alliance de l'Avenir had to concede on some of the most opportunistic vindications made from a purely ethnic standpoint. Inroads were sought to be made even within individual communities in order to tribalise whole communities into sub-groups. It can only be hoped that the wounds inflicted by these ethnic tactics will not fester and arrest the nation's progress towards a more globalised outlook with feet firmly planted in a growing culture of sharing, understanding and meritocracy.
There have been times in the country's political history when ethnicity has been given a prime position against a poor economic background facing the country. It was easy to flog up ethnic feelings of apartness when unemployment was on the rise and economic prospects bleak as it was the case in the 1960s and the late 1970s.
However, this time on, the feeling was aroused despite much better prevailing economic conditions. It was perhaps the only plank that could have salvaged the quickly patched-up Alliance du Coeur to gather steam enough to make a brave showing in the elections for which it had been caught napping.
The results show that even this device was not enough to turn the tide in its favour. One hopes however that the virus of ethnic politics as we have just witnessed it is not here to stay, especially with the younger generation that is going to vote on an altogether different platform in 2015. Unfortunately, this factor has required that both major political alliances concentrate their campaign on objectives of immediate importance without attending too much broader issues of national importance. The sights have not been set on a choice of more long-lasting national goals; they have been focused on welfare spending.
There is one positive factor that has emerged from the 2010 elections, however. Abstracting from the ethnic factor which was infused during the past four weeks in the campaign, voters in several constituencies have clearly signalled to candidates that they will not tolerate candidates who appear only at the time of elections to solicit votes but are absent or inexistent during the bulk of the mandate from their constituencies. Many deputies would have learnt at their expense that a high price needs to be paid to compensate for such absences or inadequate identification with the circumstances of their local voters. The permanent proximity which politicians of yesterday rightly used to cultivate with their constituents has disappeared in the present set-up.
Voters have indicated quite clearly that they are not prepared to tolerate absentee deputies who come over on the eve of elections to give a semblance of involvement in their wards. In this sense, a committed presence translated into tangible progress made in each constituency will have a real effect during the next elections. This means that political parties may not be able to opportunistically designate candidates in the different constituencies at the last minute; they may well suffer defeat. Nor may political parties defer the execution of economic projects till the last minute as a demonstration of "work-in-progress" and thus hope to impress voters. Without the essential planning that makes for timely implementation of well-integrated, cost-saving and validly prioritised projects, political parties may not be so lucky the next time over. The age-configuration of voters and the tools they will employ to communicate will not yield to the assumption that personal charisma will be enough to win over. Next time over, voters cannot be taken for granted.
The Alliance de l'Avenir has won a mandate to govern the affairs of the country for the next 5 years. It should govern and not lose its way in internal bickering, as we have seen it happen so many times with different governments. While much credit goes to Navin Ramgoolam for having neutralised the recent irrational campaign based on ethnicity, he should take the opportunity to democratise the decision-making process within his alliance so that people are convinced that new and capable figures will emerge to take on the various challenges which will inevitably face the country in a world that is not really out of the economic woods. The elections of 2015 will be decided on a platform unlike those of 2005 and 2010 which bear a lot of resemblance to each other.
From local press...
The Alliance de l'Avenir, led by Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam, won a clear-cut victory at the general election which was held on May 5, with 41 seats out of 60. The MMM-led Alliance du Coeur won 18 seats and the big surprise came with the election of Cehl Meeah, who is now the head of the FSM (Front Solidarite Mauricienne). This is the first time a small party not belonging to a major alliance wins a seat at the general elections since independence.
All three leaders of the Labour-PMSD-MSM alliance topped the polls in their respective constituencies, Ramgoolam in Pamplemousses Triolet, Pravind Jugnauth in Quartier Militaire-Moka and Xavier Duval in Belle rose Quatres Bornes. The MMM leader also topped the list in his constituency of Stanley Rose Hill but several of his top team lost. His designated Deputy Prime Minister, Ashok Jugnauth lost in Quartier Militaire-Moka and his designated Finance minister, Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo lost in Riviere des Anguilles-Souillac.
At a press conference on May 6, the Prime Minister and leader of l'Alliance de l'Avenir Dr Navin Ramgoolam stated that he was fully satisfied that his alliance had rallied support from both the rural and urban areas and that all communities had voted for the Labour Party/ PMSD/ MSM alliance. " Together we will build the future," he promised. He added that all through the electoral campaign he has noticed that a majority of the population had adhered to the programme of the government of l'Alliance de l'Avenir, which he insisted has been prepared 100% by Mauritians.
"There has not only been adhesion to our programme but there has been enthusiasm. I received telephone messages, letters and emails from Mauritians disapproving of the demagogic campaign of our opponents."
"Whether in the villages or in the towns, the electorate has trusted us. Some try to insinuate that there has been a division but we have elected five candidates in the four constituencies of Port Louis. In Belle Rose/ Quatre
The more there is projected an image of cohesiveness and authentic team spirit of the new governing alliance, the less difficult it will be for Navin Ramgoolam to get on successfully to 2015. There is a dearth of talents the world over; Mauritius cannot be an exception to this condition. It would therefore not be appropriate to invite the tribalism that almost dismembered our society in the course of the last electoral campaign. We will inevitably have to inculcate new values that will match the ambitions of the younger generation which will form the core voter group the next time over. The new voters will need to be inspired to aim at higher goals in a spirit of solidarity, rather than being incited by some socio-cultural leaders and priests to believe falsely at each turn of the electoral process that some weird conspiracy would be hatching up against them or those belonging to their flock by some unidentified adversary. Tangible results will count as a demonstration of management capability in the social and economic affairs of the nation. For the present, a spirit of magnanimity will pull together the fabric that has just been unfairly torn apart putting at risk the social fabric. The work of confident re-construction can help save the situation.
(Writer is bureau chief in Mauritius & MD, OEMCL with inputs from local press)
Beginning 2005, good times prevailed in the real estate sector in India with the market peaking in 2007. The Indian real estate story, however, experienced a revision in 2008, with the recession slowly making its mark on the market. The revised market dynamic brought with it scope for speculation, a questioning of fundamentals and a bouquet of uncertainties for investment and development decisions.
The experience of the past year has apparently made it clear that there is an inherent need to understand cities as complete entities. The real estate dynamics within a city are determined by the socio-economic and infrastructure development of the city.
Delhi retains the number one position. New Delhi, the second largest metropolis of India, is its national capital. Located on the banks of the Yamuna River, it is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. The archaeological remains in Delhi stand testimony to the ancientness of this city. It has a rich history of being a capital of many Indian empires of the medieval period. Delhi is the proud home of many important government offices, most importantly, the Parliament of India. In the recent years, Delhi has attracted many immigrants, thus emerging as a cosmopolitan city. Today, it is a prominent political and commercial center of India. The Delhi-Agra highway joins Delhi to the beautiful city of Agra, which is a major tourist attraction. The world-famous Taj Mahal and many other great historical monuments like the Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Sikandara are located in Agra. In the epic, Mahabharata, it was mentioned as Paradise. The city is demonstrating the fastest transformation in the country, steadily moving closer to achieving the status of a global city by 2010 because of the Commonwealth Games. Some of the key developments enveloping the city include Delhi's Rapid Mass Transit System (Delhi Metro), which is operational in most parts of the city. By 2010, Delhi Metro will be world's second-largest network.
The Indira Gandhi international airport is being modernized with the introduction of new amenities to increase flight handling capacity. Road-widening projects are under-way, with dedicated efforts to make the ring roads- the main arterial roads signal free. Flyovers, underpasses, pedestrian walkways, high capacity buses, hotels and townships are the other elements that seem to dot the emerging cityscape.
Mumbai, a close second, scores better on the business environment index.
The city, however, loses to Delhi when it comes to the infrastructure index. The pace of infrastructure development in Mumbai has been slower, pushing down the city a notch. Capital city of the state of Maharashtra, Mumbai is the financial capital of India. Housing around thirteen million people, it is the second most populous city in the world. Mumbai houses the world-famous Hindi film and television industry, Bollywood. Important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India and the National Stock Exchange of India are located in Mumbai. It houses the headquarters of several multinational companies and has thus become an important commercial and entertainment center of India.
Chennai, which ranks 3rd in the study, is the largest city in Tamil Nadu and is located on the south-eastern coast of India. Chennai is also called as the 'Gateway to South India'. Today, the city has gone through a tremendous change and is developing rapidly. Located on the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal, this capital city of Tamil Nadu is the home of around 7 million people. It was established in the 17th century by the British and formerly known as Madras. Chennai hosts an international airport, two major ports and five national highways stretching to other parts of the India. Its contribution to India's exports of automotive products has conferred upon Chennai, the title, 'Detroit of India'.
Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its position as the nation's leading IT exporter. It is today Asia's fastest-growing cosmopolitan city. It is home to some of the most high tech industries in India. The IT industry views Bangalore as the 'byte-basket' of India. Bangalore is also home to some of India's premier scientific establishments. Officially known as Bengaluru, it is the capital city of Karnataka state and the third most populous city of India. Bangalore houses some of the most recognized educational and research institutes of India. Numerous public sector industries, software, telecommunication and aero-space industries are located in Bangalore. Its remarkable contribution to the Indian IT sector has made it the Silicon Valley of India.
Hyderabad, the fifth largest metropolis of India, is known for its rich history and culture with monuments, mosques, temples, a rich and varied heritage in arts, crafts and dance.
Hyderabad has developed into a major hub for the IT industry in India. It is the financial and economic capital of Andhra Pradesh. The city is the largest contributor to the state's GDP, state tax and excise revenues.
Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the northeastern states. It is home to the Calcutta Stock Exchange - India's second-largest bourse. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and one of the very important cities in India. It has been a center of education, industry and culture. However, it has undergone economic stagnation that continued till the recent times. It was after 2000 that the city witnessed economic growth. It houses the Salt Lake Stadium that is largest in Asia and the second largest in the world. The Indian Institute of Management, one of India's most prestigious management schools is also located in Kolkata. Victoria Memorial, located in Kolkata, is now a museum and remains a popular tourist attraction.
Trade & Industry in Kolkata plays a significant role in developing the economical condition of West Bengal. For the last couple of years, Kolkata is showing tremendous performance in the industrial sectors like information technology, real estate, electronics, apparel and plastic products.
Referred to as the 'Oxford of the East', the city has gained significance due to a large number of institutions imparting quality training across streams. Pune, by virtue of its strategic location near Mumbai and a successful regional setting, is an emerging economic hub for tertiary economic activities such as services, trade and commerce in the western region. The city is the second-biggest commercial centre in Maharashtra.
Post 2000, there was a spurt in economic activity in the city with IT/ITES, automobile and auto component industries being the primary growth drivers. The city has the distinction of having the first STPI unit in India. Pune is also the largest auto hub of India. The industry accounts for 54% of the total excise revenue collection of the district.
Ahmedabad is the commercial capital of Gujarat. Historically, Ahmedabad has been one of the most important centers of trade and commerce in western India. The city was once well known as the Manchester of India on account of its flourishing textile industry. The city is considered as a major industrial and financial center contributing about 14% to the total investments in all stock exchanges across India and 60% to the total productivity of the state of Gujarat.
The city is an industrial base for sectors such as chemicals, textiles, drugs and pharmaceuticals and agro and food processing industries. Four major industrial estates within the city's municipal limits, namely Naroda, Odhav, Vatwa and Behrampura, house various manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical products, metallurgy, food products, textile, paper, and leather companies. Prominent business conglomerates such as the Adani Group, Reliance Industries, Nirma group of industries, Arvind Mills, Claris Life Sciences, Cadilla Pharmaceuticals, Shell, Vadilal Industries Ltd, Rasna, Bosch Rexroth (Germany), Stork and Rollepaal (the Netherlands) have set up their operations in these industrial estates.
Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, is a port city situated on the banks of the Tapti river. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital of India. Surat is also the third cleanest city in India after Chandigarh and Gandhinagar.
Chandigarh has moved up from 10th to the 9th rank in this year's EY City Ranking. Known internationally for its architecture and urban planning, it is the first planned city of India. The government is a major employer in Chandigarh with three governments having their base here. Chandigarh has a well developed market and banking infrastructure. Nearly all the major banks in the country have registered their presence in Chandigarh. The economy of Chandigarh depends for its revenue on the agricultural, industrial, animal husbandry, fishing, IT, and tourism sector.
The city houses over 15 industrial areas, 45 large and medium scale units and approximately 19,000 small scale units. IT/ITES have also emerged as a prime sector in the city. Being one of the cities of the Golden Triangle, it enjoys improved connectivity and accessibility, with the National Capital Region (NCR) and Agra, enhancing tourist footfalls. The upcoming bus rapid transport system, the Jaipur Metro and construction of a 12-lane ring road is expected to provide further impetus to real estate and economic development of the city. Three SEZs have been proposed around the city to cater to a vast array of sectors and variety of customised products. There is a 365-acre Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) set up at Sitapura (Jaipur) provides manufacturing facilities to units in key sectors. The expansion of the Jaipur international airport is due for completion by 2015. The government is planning implementation of the Metro Rail project in Jaipur in consultation with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
The city is expected to become one of the largest urban agglomerations (among the other Tier-II cities) in the country by the year 2011. With the upcoming Lucknow-Unnao industrial corridor proposed by the Lucknow Industrial Development Authority, the city and its surrounding areas are likely to experience a growth in industrial activities.
The proposed industrial corridor, to be developed on an area of 2,000 acres, is likely to see investments from national as well as international players. The upcoming metro rail network is expected to improve connectivity of Kanpur Road, Sultanpur Road and Faizabad Road with Hazratganj (CBD) and some other prominent corridors within the city. Elevated expressway is expected to improve connectivity with major centres such as Kanpur, Rai Bareilly, Sitapur and Sultanpur.
The Lucknow Development Authority and UP Housing Development Board in turn, are promoting affordable homes for the low budget buyer. The UPHDB is promoting the Integrated Housing Scheme wherein private developers will be permitted to develop hi-tech townships on 25-100 acres of land.
Coimbatore is one of the most industrialised cities of South India. The chief reasons behind the city moving up the ranking include infrastructure projects here such as widening of the narrow bridges and flyovers at crucial transport intersections, a ring road around the city and plans to upgrade the Avanashi road between Uppilipalayam and Neelambur to a four-lane road. IT space is also coming up on Dr. Nanjappa Road and Rajshree Itec on Avinashi Road. In addition to this, four IT parks are under various stages of construction; while more than 10 are proposed aggregating significant supply in the region
Bhubaneswar is witnessing substantial real estate development activity with national and regional realty players active in northern and western India reportedly acquiring land. Key players include DLF, Unitech etc. Prominent IT/ITES players in the city such as such as Infosys (46 acres), TCS (45 acres), Wipro (27 aces), Mindtree (20 acres) and Satyam (2 ment across the real estate spectrum, including residential, hospitality, retail and IT office spaces.
Infrastructure projects in Guwahati include the development of Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Kathabari, a flyover project on GS Road near Vangagar, an international trade centre, and an athletics stadium at Saru Sajai. Modernisation plan is underway for the Guwahati airport (likely to be completed by 2010). On completion, Airports Authority of India plans to make Guwahati a hub for air connectivity.
Guwahati is among 50 train stations identified for development as world-class stations. The key real estate developments are seen along the Guwahati Shillong (GS) road, with most office space and retail (high street retail and large format malls) activities developed along this corridor.
Satellite townships are being planned around Guwahati using the PPP route to accommodate a growing population and ease pressure on the city centre.
he Corporation of Madurai (CoM) is undertaking construction of toll roads through PPP to decongest the city. It has constructed a 27km, two-lane Inner Ring Road (MIRR) between Kanyakumari Road and Melur road under the scheme. Infrastructure upgrade, such as robust e-governance and proactive urban governance, has eased approval timelines and increased operational efficiency.
City suburbs are being planned through participatory town planning schemes (TPS). Various IT spaces, such as Tidel Park, IT Park and software city, are planned by the state government, and are expected to augment real estate development across the city.
The key infrastructure drivers include the Kochi Port, which is set for an expansion with various green field infrastructure projects, including the Vallarpadom International Container Transshipment Terminal. The Kochi international airport was the first Indian airport to operate on a PPP model with multiple stakeholders such as the government, airline operators, financial institutions and non-resident Indians (NRIs). "Aerotropolis" is an airport based industrial park being developed by the Cochin International Airport 450 acres of land under the ownership of CIAL. The focus on developing Kochi as a centre for information technology has led to the development of the Thrikkakara-Kakkanad belt. The "Smart City" project at an investment of Rs17 billion estimated to create 90,000 IT jobs has been on the horizon since 2007.
The strong commercial base and manufacturing hub with several large format industrial parks, is attracting the attention of major corporate and foreign investors in the country.
Developments such as the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Auto Testing Track in Pithampur, and IT Park at Khandwa Road are expected to provide further impetus to the growth of the city. The city also has several industrial clusters such as pharmaceuticals, textile, food, IT and auto components clusters. Key infrastructure developments include the upcoming AB Indore Bypass road that is expected to improve access to other major commercial cities (for example Mumbai) of the country, thus providing tremendous potential for real estate and industrial investments. The upcoming Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is expected to enhance industrial activity around the satellite towns of Pitampura and Dewas region. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is undertaking the upgrading of the existing domestic airport to an international airport.
Nagpur has been the main center of commerce in the Vidarbha region Nagpur's economy is now recovering from past slowdown and city has attracted Rs 8,000 crore in investment post 2004.The city is important for the banking sector as it hosts the regional office of Reserve Bank of India, which was opened on September 10, 1956. Sitabuldi market in central Nagpur, known as the Heart of the city, is the main and major commercial market area of city. The Butibori industrial area is the largest in all of Asia in terms of area. The estate's largest unit is of Indo Rama Synthetics, which manufactures synthetic polyester yarn. Other units in Butibori include the power transmission company KEC, Hyundai Unitech, ACC Nihon Castings Ltd. Koradi Thermal Power Station and Khaparkheda Thermal Power Station are the two major thermal power stations located near Nagpur and operated by MSPGCL.
Amritsar is anticipating in-creased penetration of organised retailing in the next two to three years with a large inventory build-up of mall space distributed approximately across 10 malls. There are around 1012 upcoming hotel projects identified in and around the city, which are expected to augment the existing hotel room inventory across segments by 800-1,000 rooms over the next two to three years.
The performance of the United Progressive Alliance government in its first five years in power presented a mixed bag of a few spectacular achievements and many dismal failures on the national security front. The successfully concluded Indo-US nuclear deal was a shining example of the government's single-minded resoluteness in furthering national interests in the face of stiff political opposition. The inability to speedily conclude major defence contracts to enhance national security preparedness in the face of growing threats and challenges, exemplifies the UPA's reluctance to grapple with systemic flaws in the procurement procedures and processes. It is a national shame that the budgetary allocations earmarked on the capital account for the modernisation of the armed forces continue to be surrendered year after year with a complete lack of accountability.
With explosive flashpoints around India and an unstable internal security environment, the new government has its work cut out. Right on the top of its defence and security agenda should be the formulation of a comprehensive National Security Strategy, including internal security. The NSS should be formulated after carrying out an inter-departmental, interagency, multi-disciplinary strategic defence review. Such a review must take into account current and future threats, challenges and vulnerabilities in the context of the emerging regional security environment in India's area of strategic interest.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has declared several times that left-wing extremism or Maoist terrorism is India's number one internal security threat. Yet, the central and state governments have not been able to launch a coordinated campaign to come to grips with the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Naxalite-dominated areas that encompass 35 per cent of India's population. The weaponry, equipment, training standards and levels of junior leadership of the state and central police forces must be upgraded by an order of magnitude to enable them to face the growing challenges with professional competence and rising confidence. The Mumbai terror attacks [Images] of November 2008 added a new dimension to the threat of urban terrorism. While many decisions have been taken to enhance intelligence and post-strike investigative capabilities and it has been decided to gradually establish hubs for NSG commandos in various metros to increase responsiveness to terror attacks, the UPA government must work towards bringing about substantive improvement in counter-terrorism capabilities.
Though the probability of conventional conflict has receded, defence preparedness must not be compromised as long as outstanding territorial and boundary disputes with China and Pakistan are not satisfactorily resolved. The armed forces are now in the third year of the 11th Defence Plan (2007-12); yet, it has not yet been approved by the government. The government has not approved the long-term integrated perspective plan (LTIPP 2007-22) either. Defence procurement is being undertaken through ad hoc annual procurement plans, rather than being based on duly prioritised long-term plans that are designed to systematically enhance India's combat potential.
These are serious lacunae as effective defence planning cannot be undertaken in a policy void. The government must commit itself to support long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China's People's Liberation Army will assume ominous proportions. This can be done only by reviving the dormant National Security Council as defence planning is in the domain of the NSC and not the Cabinet Committee on Security, which deals with current and near-term threats and challenges and reacts to emergent situations.
Major defence procurement decisions that have been pending for a long must be expedited. The army is still without towed and self-propelled 155mm howitzers for the plains and the mountains and needs to urgently acquire modern weapons and equipment for counter-insurgency operations. The navy has been waiting for a long for the Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) aircraft carrier, which is being refurbished in a Russian shipyard at an exorbitant cost. The plan of the air force to acquire 226 multi-mission, medium-range combat aircraft in order to maintain its edge over the regional air forces is stuck in the procurement quagmire. India's nuclear forces require the Agni-III missile and nuclear-powered submarines with suitable ballistic missiles to acquire genuine deterrent capability. The armed forces do not have a truly integrated C4I2SR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Information, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) system for network-centric warfare, which will allow them to synergise their individual single-service capabilities into a cohesive whole.
All of these high-priority acquisitions will require extensive budgetary support. In case the defence budget continues to languish at less than two per cent of India's GDP -- compared with China's 3.5 per cent and Pakistan's 4.5 per cent plus US military aid -- it will not be possible for the armed forces to undertake any meaningful modernisation. The funds available on the capital account are grossly inadequate to suffice even for the replacement of obsolete weapons systems and equipment that are still in service well beyond their useful life cycles. The central police and para-military forces also need to be modernised as they are facing qualitatively greater threats while being equipped with obsolescent weapons.
The government must also immediately appoint a Chief of Defence Staff or a permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee to provide single-point advice to the CCS on military matters. Any further dithering on this key structural reform in higher defence management on the grounds of the lack of political consensus and the inability of the armed forces to agree on the issue will be extremely detrimental to India's interests in light of the dangerous developments in India's neighbourhood. The logical next step would be to constitute tri-service integrated theatre commands to synergise the capabilities of individual services. International experience shows that such reform has to be imposed from the top down and can never work if the government keeps waiting for it to come about from the bottom up.
The softer issues that do not impinge immediately on planning and preparation for meeting national security challenges must never be ignored as these can have adverse implications in the long term. The numerous anomalies created by the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission report must be speedily resolved so that the morale of the armed forces is not undermined and they are able to attract and retain the right talent. In fact, the ham-handed handling of this issue has led to a dangerous 'them versus us' civil-military divide. This does not augur well for the country and the prime minister must take it as a personal challenge to bridge this gap quickly. The ex-servicemen too have had a raw deal and have been holding fasts for justice on their most legitimate demand of 'one rank-one pension'. Many of them have taken the extreme step of returning their medals to the President. One rank-one pension is an idea whose time has come and it must be implemented without further delay and without appointing any more committees of bureaucrats to look into the issue. While a department of ex-servicemen's welfare has been created in the ministry of defence in keeping with the UPA's Common Minimum Programme, there isn't a single ex-serviceman in it! Such measures do not generate confidence in the civilian leadership among serving soldiers and retired veterans. Finally, unbelievably, India is still without a National War Memorial!
(Writer is Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi)
After the poll test, the Aam Aadmi Party cleared the test of strength on the floor of the house as well. Earlier last week, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal took oath on Saturday as the seventh chief minister of Delhi.
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kejriwal and six other ministers at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi. Six ministers -- Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Rakhi Birla, Satyendra Jain, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Girish Soni - also took the oath of office and secrecy at the ceremony.
"Today, every Delhi resident has been sworn in as a minister. The fight was not about making Arvind Kejriwal the CM. It was about giving power to the people. If we come together, we will be able to defeat corruption," he said after the oath-taking ceremony.
Kejriwal, who had at first shot cleared the IIT entrance examination, the UPSC and now, formed a government, added, "We will give Delhi residents a (phone) number in two days so that they can lodge complaints against officials taking bribes.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up Kejriwal and extended his best wishes to the AAP leader, who asked his six ministers sworn in on Saturday not to be arrogant and stick to the party's poll promises.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal took a metro from Kaushambi station around 11:00am to reach Barakhamba. From there, he reached the swearing-in venue in a car. True to his Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) anti-VIP culture, Kejriwal on Monday turned down 'Z' category security.
"The choice of the venue, Ramlila Maidan, was symbolic and a reminder to people that the AAP and Kejriwal were staying the course. An anti-corruption movement by social activist Anna Hazare and Kejriwal launched at this very ground in the heart of Delhi in 2011 had forced Parliament to commit to an anti-corruption watchdog. The two have fallen out since, but on Saturday,Hazare sent his best wishes to his protégé."
The choice of the venue, Ramlila Maidan, was symbolic and a reminder to people that the AAP and Kejriwal were staying the course. An anti-corruption movement by social activist Anna Hazare and Kejriwal launched at this very ground in the heart of Delhi in 2011 had forced Parliament to commit to an anti-corruption watchdog. The two have fallen out since, but on Saturday, Hazare sent his best wishes to his protégé.
As Kejriwal reiterated his poll promises at Ramlila Maidan, thousands who thronged the venue wearing the AAP's white cap, erupted in thunderous applause.
The first big challenge for Kejriwal, 45, and his ministers will be to roll back the 10% hike in CNG prices announced on Thursday. Auto drivers in the city, who form a huge section of his supporters, have threatened a strike.
Besides, during campaigning for the December 4 elections, the AAP had promised to slash the power tariff by 50% and provide free water supply to households using up to 700 litres a day. The promises, experts believe, will not be easy to meet. On Saturday, Kejriwal admitted, "I don't have a magic wand. We can't solve all problems tomorrow."
The future of AAP's minority government, however, depends on how it delivers. Along with the people of Delhi, the Congress, which was routed by the rookie party, will keep an eye on the government's performance.
"Our support (to the AAP) is not unconditional. If they (the AAP) can provide relief to the people of Delhi, it is well and good," Sheila Dikshit, former chief minister and Congress leader, had said on Monday.
The AAP, which has 28 legislators after a stellar debut in electoral politics, needs the outside support of the eight Congress MLAs to survive. With 32 seats, the BJP is the single largest party in the 70-member House.
The new government will have to prove its majority by January 3. However, the AAP leader did not seem bothered about the floor test. "I'm not worried. This is a minor issue. If we don't get it (majority), we will go for reelection and win again," Kejriwal said after taking the oath.
After the ceremony, Kejriwal visited Mahatma Gandhi's memorial in Rajghat to pay homage. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal boarded the metro from Kaushambi Station to take oath at the Ramlila Maidan as hundreds of people jostled with each other to board the train with him.
There was no place to stand on the Metro premises and people were falling over each other as Kejriwal arrived to board the train. The AAP leader got off the train at Barakhamba Metro Station from where he took a car to reach Ramlila Maidan.
Additional Central Industrial Security Force security personnel and the Uttar Pradesh personnel were deployed at the station.
"There was no place to stand in the Metro premises and people were falling over each other as Kejriwal arrived to board the train. The AAP leader got off the train at Barakhamba Metro Station from where he took a car to reach Ramlila Maidan."
CISF officials had earlier said that some of its personnel will also travel in the coach with Kejriwal to guard him.
Before boarding the train, Kejriwal said, "It is a beginning. The second fight for independence. Till this country gets freedom from corruption, famine and injustice, this fight will continue. It is the victory of the common man," Kejriwal said. "Action will start immediately after we take the oath," he said. Hundreds of AAP supporters gathered at Kejriwal's residence in Kaushambi in the morning to greet him along with a group from his native village in Haryana's Bhiwani district.
Kejriwal's cabinet colleague Manish Sisodia was at the station along with his wife Seema Sisodia and their 12-year old son Mir. "I am happy, it is a historic moment for us and I am confident that he (Kejriwal) will perform his responsibilities well," said Seema.
Sisodia's father Dharampal Singh, an ex-serviceman, and currently, a teacher will also attend the swearing-in ceremony. Apart from Kejriwal, his father Govind Ram Kejriwal, mother Geeta Devi, wife Sunita, daughter Harshita and son Pulkit would also witness the ceremony.
Some of the people who had gathered at Kejriwal's residence had got bouquets shaped like AAP's symbol broom. One of the onlookers gathered at the scene was dressed like a groom.
The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, a subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution, the Prime Minister is to be the country's active executive authority. Nouri al-Maliki (formerly Jawad al-Maliki) was selected to be Prime Minister on 21 April 2006.
The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic.[2] The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions.
Federalism Law
Article 114 of the Constitution of Iraq provided that no new region may be created before the Iraqi National Assembly has passed a law that provides the procedures for forming the region. A law was passed in October 2006 after an agreement was reached with the Iraqi Accord Front to form the constitutional review committee and to defer implementation of the law for 18 months. Legislators from the Iraqi Accord Front, Sadrist Movement and Islamic Virtue Party all opposed the bill.
Creating a new region
Under the Federalism Law, a region can be created out of one or more existing governorates or two or more existing regions. A governorate can also join an existing region to create a new region. There is no limit to the number of governorates that can form a region, unlike the Transitional Administrative Law of the Iraqi Interim Government which limited it to three.
A new region can be proposed by one-third or more of the council members in each affected governorate plus 500 voters or by one-tenth or more voters in each affected governorate. A referendum must then be held within three months, which requires a simple majority in favor to pass.
In the event of competing proposals, multiple proposals are put to a ballot and the proposal with the most supporters is put to the referendum.
In the event of an affirmative referendum, a Transitional Legislative Assembly is elected for one year, which has the task of writing a constitution for the Region, which is then put to a referendum requiring a simple majority to pass.
The President, Prime Minister and Ministers of the region are elected by a simple majority, in contrast to the Iraqi National Assembly which requires two-thirds support.
Executive branch
The executive branch is composed of the President and the Council of Ministers.
President
Main article: President of Iraq
The President of the Republic is the head of state and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution." The President is elected by the Council of Representatives by a two-thirds majority and is limited to two four-year terms. The President ratifies treaties and laws passed by the Council of Representatives, issues pardons on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and performs the "duty of the Higher Command of the armed forces for ceremonial and honorary purposes."
There also exists a Vice President which shall assume the office of the President in case of his absence or removal.
Council of Ministers
Main articles: Prime Minister of Iraq and Council of Ministers of Iraq
The Council of Ministers is composed of the Prime Minister as head of government and his cabinet. The President of Iraq names the nominee of the Council of Representatives bloc with the largest number to form the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is the direct executive authority responsible for the general policy of the State and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, directs the Council of Ministers, and presides over its meetings, and has the right to dismiss the Ministers on the consent of the Council of Representatives.
The cabinet is responsible for overseeing their respective ministries, proposing laws, preparing the budget, negotiating and signing international agreements and treaties, and appointing undersecretaries, ambassadors, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and his assistants, Division Commanders or higher, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, and heads of security institutions.
List of ministries
Legislative branch
The legislative branch is composed of the Council of Representatives and a Federation Council. As of August 2012, the Federation Council had not yet come into existence.
Council of Representatives
Main article: Council of Representatives of Iraq
The Council of Representatives is the main elected body of Iraq. The Constitution defines the "number of members at a ratio of one representative per 100,000 Iraqi persons representing the entire Iraqi people." The members are elected for terms of 4 years.
The council elects the President of Iraq; approves the appointment of the members of the Federal Court of Cassation, the Chief Public Prosecutor,
and the President of Judicial Oversight Commission on proposal by the Higher Juridical Council; and approves the appointment of the Army Chief of Staff, his assistants and those of the rank of division commanders and above, and the director of the intelligence service, on proposal by the Cabinet.
Federation Council
Main article: Federation Council of Iraq
The Federation Council will be composed of representatives from the regions and the governorates that are not organized in a region. The council is to be regulated by law by the Council of Representatives. As of August 2012, the Federation Council had not yet come into existence.
Judicial branch
The federal judiciary is composed of the Higher Judicial Council, the Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, the Public Prosecution Department, the Judiciary Oversight Commission, and other federal courts that are regulated by law. One such court is the Central Criminal Court.
Higher Judicial Council
Main article: Higher Judicial Council of Iraq
The Higher Judicial Council manages and supervises the affairs of the federal judiciary. It oversees the affairs of the various judicial committees, nominates the Chief Justice and members of the Court of Cassation, the Chief Public Prosecutor, and the Chief Justice of the Judiciary Oversight Commission, and drafts the budget of the judiciary. In 2013, the Council of Representatives passed the Iraqi Federal Court Act, which forbids the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from also being the head of the Judicial Council, and replaced him with the Chief Justice of the Court of Cassation.
Supreme Court
Main article: Supreme Court of Iraq
The Supreme Court is an independent judicial body that interprets the constitution and determines the constitutionality of laws and regulations. It acts as a final court of appeals, settles disputes amongst or between the federal government and the regions and governorates, municipalities, and local administrations, and settles accusations directed against the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministers. It also ratifies the final results of the general elections for the Council of Representatives.
Prime Minister of Iraq calls on President
Mr. Nouri Kamil al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (August 23, 2013).
The President said India cherishes its cordial and friendly relations with Iraq. The two countries have historical ties starting from the great Mesopotamian civilization and thousands of Indians undertake the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines of Najaf and Karbala. With the emergence of democracy in Iraq, relations between the two countries are entering a new phase.
The President said Iraq has become India's second-largest crude oil supplier. This is a mutually beneficial partnership. India desires to elevate the relationship from a buyer-seller into a broad-based one with equity partnerships in oil production, joint ventures in oil exploration, petrochemical complexes, fertilizer plants etc. He said the different MoUs to be signed during Iraqi PM's visit would establish the institutional framework to enhance cooperation between the two countries.
The President said India has been a committed partner in Iraq's progress and development and will remain so as Iraq undertakes its reconstruction and rebuilding efforts. India remains committed to assist Iraq in the process of rebuilding its infrastructure and institutions. Indian entrepreneurs and Indian industries are eager to engage with Iraq.
The Iraqi Prime Minister warmly reciprocated the President's words and said India and Iraq were two friendly countries seeking to strengthen their relations and maintain a high level of contacts. He said India and Iraq complement each other. India needs energy while Iraq needs investment to generate employment. He said India's experience in democracy has been applauded throughout the world and there is much that Iraq can learn from the Indian experience.
Indian PM Speech to welcome Iraq PM
Relations between India and Iraq rest on a strong foundation. Our historically close links of commerce, culture and spiritualism are complemented by a fund of goodwill between our two people. This alone ensures that ours will always remain a close bond. Iraq has long been one of our most important partners in West Asia. As it recovers from recent conflict, it is also emerging as our second largest source of oil, accounting for over 12% of our imports last year. The present visit of Prime Minister Maliki is aimed at imparting new dynamism to our relations and their broad-based development.
Prime Minister Maliki and I have agreed that our energy trading relationship should be turned into a strategic partnership, including through joint ventures in oil exploration, petrochemical complexes and fertilizer plants. The Inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the field of Energy will provide a very strong framework to further diversify our cooperation in this sector and we look forward to concrete progress in the near future.
We also agreed to expand and diversify our economic cooperation, which, as our Joint Commission recently identified, would cover areas such as agriculture, water resource management, pharmaceuticals, health care, information technology, infrastructure, low-cost housing and trade.
Iraq was the largest project export destination for Indian companies before the Gulf War. I underlined to Prime Minister Maliki the strong interest of Indian companies to participate in Iraq's reconstruction efforts and its ambitious plans to expand and upgrade its infrastructure.
India has also been active in the area of capacity building in Iraq, including in higher education and health care. I have reiterated our offer of support for rebuilding and upgrading institutions in Iraq.
Today, we have decided to add a new dimension to this relationship by agreeing to share our expertise and knowledge in the field of agriculture and water management.
Prime Minister Maliki and I also had a productive exchange of views on international developments, especially in West Asia and North Africa. Peace, security and stability in this region are vital to both our countries. As democratic and pluralistic societies, India and Iraq face similar threats from radicalism and terrorism. India believes that a strong, stable, peaceful, united and democratic Iraq is in the interest of regional and global peace and security. We have agreed to hold regular dialogue on these developments through Foreign Office Consultations. We also agreed to further strengthen our counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation.
I look forward to working with Prime Minister Maliki to further expand and deepen our very special bilateral relations.
Iraq PM speech to welcome Indian investment in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki on Saturday urged the Indian private sector to work together with their Iraqi counterparts to help in the reconstruction of the West Asian country, and promised to make available mechanisms for Indian companies to find the investment and business climate secure and conducive to earning profit.
Citing the long relationship between India and Iraq, Maliki, who's in India on a three-day official visit, said Indian companies were extremely committed and would do justice to his country's invitation to them.
Speaking at an interactive session with business leaders at a forum organized by Indian industry bodies, Maliki assured them they would not face any administrative issues.
Opportunities existed in energy, oil exploration and production, refineries, petrochemicals and fertilizers, he said. Iraq is India's second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia. India became more dependent on Iraqi oil recently after it cut supplies from the sanctions-hit Iran.
Maliki added Iraq needed a huge number of low-cost houses to compensate for the destruction suffered as a result of the wars it had faced. The American-led war of 2003 saw massive destruction of infrastructure and human life in Iraq, which was followed by widespread insurgency.
There was also an urgent need to invest in electricity. Although the Iraqi government had started to build electricity plants, whatever electricity it was generating was being consumed by rapid development. The Iraq prime minister invited Indian industry to invest and manage electricity plants directly through agreements with his government.
Iraq also needed reconstruction of its airports, railways and harbors', said Maliki. He called upon India to invest in his country's transportation needs. Health and education were other sectors where private investment was invited. He further hoped Indian banks would open branches to facilitate the transfer of finances that were needed for Iraq's reconstruction.
By OECEL Bureau @Dubai
London: It appears that the attempt to manipulate Lashkare-Toiba operative Ishrat Jehan's death to persuade Narendra Modi to withdraw from India's prime-ministerial race has more sinister roots than immediately apprehended. An insider with intimate knowledge of Anglo-American policy towards India suggested that a virtual resolution of the historic Kashmir issue has already been negotiated discreetly through the intercession of Washington. It seems an understanding has been reached with Manmohan Singh's government that major Indian concessions would be on the table.
Apparently, this entire package would be in jeopardy if Narendra Modi were to become prime minister of India.
Pakistan, whose rapid acquisition of nuclear weapons' capability is considered an urgent problem, including its known proliferation activities, is prepared to reciprocate with suitable steps acceptable to Washington. It is hoped that the lowering of India-Pakistan tensions would also reduce the dangers of a nuclear exchange that would have devastating wider global consequences. Pakistan will also restrain the Taliban and accept a half-way house in its expedition to control Afghanistan's destiny though Hamid Karzai will apparently have to depart.
The grim inference is that the incumbent Indian government is not entirely in dissonance with Pakistani agencies, including the Inter-Services Intelligence and its arms-length proxy, the Lashkar-e-Toiba, to corner Narendra Modi. The evident bonhomie between the two parties is a product of Washington's mediation, which is keen to retrieve something from the mess of its Afghan misadventure. Certainly, the elimination of Narendra Modi, physically if need be, as some observers, including myself, have warned of, would suit some quarters because otherwise he is guaranteed to propel the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead at the 2014 general elections.
Private polling has been showing that in the best-case scenario, the Sonia Gandhi Congress would simply not have the numbers to consider forming a government, even if the BJP itself failed to approach the magic number of 220 seats. An interesting question is the extent of involvement of some senior BJP leaders and their advisers in this colossal conspiracy. Some have enjoyed close ties with United States' agencies since the Cold War period when Nehruvian nonalignment was considered nothing short of support for the Soviet Union. Even closer ties have evolved between some leaders through the intervention of a prominent Indian business family in London who have always been US surrogates.
The so-called solution to the Kashmir dispute would almost certainly be based on the four-point formula suggested by the former Pakistan military president, Parvez Musharraf. It entails softening of Line of Control (LoC), self-governance, phased withdrawal of troops from entire Jammu and Kashmir and joint supervision by India and Pakistan. Pakistan is confident that such a plan would enable it to absorb the entire Kashmir Valley eventually making Indian resistance to such an outcome both politically costly and militarily expensive. Publicly-aired Pakistani misgivings about Musharraf's four-point formula when it was first out-lined were officially sponsored to create the impression that Pakistan would only acquiesce reluctantly. The idea was to make the Indian public believe that it was the gainer from the agreement. However, in private, there was widespread official consensus that the agreement would be a prelude to Pakistan gaining full sovereignty over the Kashmir Valley and possibly even more. The survival of other areas under Indian control would be rendered untenable if Pakistan were to achieve political suzerainty over the Valley and some adjacent areas.
The interim policy, in the aftermath of the agreement being fully implemented, would be to embark on a policy of demographic assault that has already succeeded in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The extensive marital links between PoK Kashmiris and Punjabis, for example, has ensured huge support for the Lashkar-e-Toiba's activities against India. It is reasoned that encouraging marriage between residents of India's Kashmir Valley and those on the Pakistani side with the help of local religious authorities would create a growing constituency within the Kashmir Valley that would be Pakistani in essence.
It is concluded that it would be impossible for the Indian authorities to In a recent interview with BJP leader Narendra Modi By Reuters Staff Ross Colvin and Sruthi Gottipati, Narender Modi was candid in explaning the fall out of Godhra tragedy in his characteristic mode.
Is it frustrating that many people still define you by 2002?
People have a right to be critical. We are a democratic country. Everyone has their own view. I would feel guilty if I did something wrong. Frustration comes when you think "I got caught. I was stealing and I got caught." That's not my case.
Do you regret what happened?
I'll tell you. India's Supreme Court is considered a good court today in the world. The Supreme Court created a special investigative team (SIT) and top-most, very bright officers who overlook oversee the SIT. That report came. In that report, I was given a thoroughly clean chit, a thoroughly clean chit. Another thing, any person if we are driving a car, we are a driver, and someone else is driving a car and we're sitting behind, even then if a puppy comes under the wheel, will it be painful or not? Of course it is. If I'm a chief minister or not, I'm a human being. If something bad happens anywhere, it is natural to be sad.
Should your government have responded differently?
Up till now, we feel that we used our full strength to set out to do the right thing.
But do you think you did the right thing in 2002?
Absolutely. However much brainpower the Supreme Being has given us, however much experience I've got, and whatever I had available in that situation and this is what the SIT had investigated.
Do you believe India should have a secular leader?
We do believe that … But what is the definition of secularism? For me, my secularism is, India first. I say, the philosophy of my party is 'Justice to all. Appeasement to none.' This is our secularism.
Report complied by Prakhar Prakash Mishra Political Editor Opinion Express.
curb this development because there would be an international human rights' outcry. It is also perfectly well-known in Pakistan that India has failed to stop the massive migration of Bangladeshis into India which has grown to startling proportions in many cities far removed from the Indo-Bangladesh border. The result of such demographic changes would also guarantee the election of governments in Kashmir that would favour Anschluss with Pakistan.
Once such an elected government agitated, in the first instance, for closer ties with their Pakistani co-religionists, prior to elevating the demand to formal accession, the Indian government would be left in an unenviable position. It would have to consider intervening militarily from a position of huge political and military weakness. The Indian authorities would have to arrest very large numbers of Kashmiri politicians, stop all electoral processes and embark on a military crackdown that would result in massive casualties. The inter-national and domestic Indian reaction to such a response to adverse developments can easily be anticipated. It appears Pakistan has leveraged its nuclear weapons with extraordinary success. By contrast, India's aspiration to great power status would be in tatters, reduced to a weak, minor player.
In addition, it can be safely predicted that Pakistan will find ways to pre-vent India reaping any sort of peace dividend, by reducing military commitments on the India-Pakistan border once an agreement with Pakistan on Kashmir has been implemented. Such a peace dividend for India would be opposed implacably by Pakistan's all-weather friend, China, itself examining every option for cutting India down to size. Any reductions in military commitments in relation to Pakistan would immediately mitigate India's two-front war threat that alarms its defence planners. China will make sure that Pakistani redeployments in the after-math of any peace deal with India will nevertheless remain a sufficient threat to prevent any significant Indian reduction in commitments against Pakistan. Indeed it may well be hazarded that the loss of Kashmir to Pakistan will create a strategic nightmare for India owing to altered military options on the ground and require even greater attention to the India-Pakistan border. The final denouement will be in the shape of an emboldened Pakistan facing an India militarily and politically weakened by the loss of Kashmir. Nothing that has transpired in the past sixty years suggests that Pakistan will abandon its determined quest to rival India, having emerged victorious over Kashmir.
As the conspiracy unfolds to derail Narendra Modi's pursuit for national power, though he enjoys massive support along the length and breadth of the country, many outwardly innocuous events acquire more significance. The successful campaign that stopped Narendra Modi from even addressing a mere student gathering in the United States is likely to have been officially instigated. The same officials responsible for intervening against Narendra Modi also hold compromising files on the alternative to him, pertaining to his corrupt financial dealings and personal peccadilloes.
Former US spy, Edward Snowden, has highlighted the extraordinary reach and assiduity with which information is collected by Anglo-American intelligence agencies on even their closest allies. He has also confirmed that India enjoys a special place on their intrusive radar. It is they who have been collecting evidence on the murky social life and financial dealings abroad of their preferred candidate for prime minister of India.
Editor's note: Intelligence Bureau officials have sounded the warning that they are under enormous pressure from the ruling Congress party to implicate Narendra Modi in the Ishrat Jehan case. A particularly vocal Congress party general secretary has been meeting and harassing Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau officials to manufacture evidence against the Gujarat chief minister. There is desperation in ruling party circles as Modi nears his goal of becoming prime minister. The Intelligence Bureau is resisting the pressure and there is growing resentment within the institution about this. Worse is expect-ed in the coming days unless Manmohan Singh steps in and ceases the witch-hunt against Narendra Modi.
A report from overseas press. The writer has taught Political Economy at the London School of Economics. (Expressed views are personal opinion of the writer)
FREE Download
OPINION EXPRESS MAGAZINE
Offer of the Month