Aseema june 2013 by aseema magazine

VOL. 14 ISSUE 11 PAGES 52 JUNE 2013 PRICE 20/-

Shattering a billion dreams Mother of all scams

A champion of Swadeshi

IN THIS ISSUE

IN… and out Like it has done in the past, China initially continued to deny any incursion even when all the evidences clearly showed that Beijing was lying. China objected to India’s attempts to develop infrastructure such as roads and logistics bases close to the border. The country even went ahead and accused India of aggressive patrolling.

Worry more than joy Google glass, when developed fully, can be used with devastating results. A miscreant can know every detail about you, just by looking at you and a marketing company can know your hobbies, likes and dislikes just by glancing at you!

Shattering a billion dreams

Sreesanth’s arrest gained prominence among these three players because among these three he is the only player who has played for India. He has played 27 Tests and 53 one day matches for India. According to police sources, Sreesanth claims that he was lured into spot fixing by player-turned-bookie Jeeju Janardhan.

A champion of Swadeshi

Revenge attack?

The death of Sarabjit and Sanaullah should lead India and Pakistan to set up a joint tribunal, staffed by professional judges, to quickly decide on the fate of these unfortunates. Beware, there are hundreds of people languishing in jails charged with crimes. It is safe to say that the bulk of them would simply be sent back home.

8 22

IN THIS ISSUE 10 Eye on the river Control your neighbour’s water resources and you can control the whole country. This has been the policy being followed by the Chinese Government by harnessing the water resources of its neighbours like Laos, Thailand , Vietnam and Cambodia. Now the latest victim is going be India.

Mother of all scams

Coalgate is receiving international attention for the sheer size of the money involved in the whole scam -10673.03 billion ($200 billion).

Victim of hatred

Sarabjit Singh’s death may be Pakistan’s way of fighting an enemy it cannot fight on the battleground. From the beginning, Pakistan’s conduct in Sarabjit’s case has been fishy.

Rebels Defeat BJP

34 Feeding on Poverty The Congress party’s food security program, designed to feed 70 percent of citizens, appears to plunge the country deeper into an economic turmoil. Believe it or not, the program consumes lakhs of crores of taxpayers money, leaving little or no cash for infrastructure and science & technology.

36 Sharif in power 39 Raising hackles 41 The Common Man

Transcending Boundaries Volume 14 Issue 11 Vaishakha June 2013

Editor Narayana Sevire Editorial Team Narayan A. Sridharan.M.K CP Nambiar Raju Shyanbhag

Production Jayavanth Mob: 096861 13537 redrosejayanth@gmail.com Marketing Surendra Kumar (0985952352) Ajay Diwakar (08890843766) Diren Bharot

Edited, Published, and Printed by Narayana Sevire on behalf of Jnana Bharathi Prakashana, Mangalore Phone: 0824 249791

email: aseemamagazine@gmail.com

Cover Price: ` 20

In… and out The great Chinese puzzle Like it has done in the past, China initially continued to deny any incursion even when all the evidences clearly showed that Beijing was lying. China objected to India’s attempts to develop infrastructure such as roads and logistics bases close to the border. The country even went ahead and accused India of aggressive patrolling. Flag meetings were held between army commanders of both sides, which failed to yield any result.

By Raju Shyanbhag

n the middle part of April 2013, China, our unpredictable neighbor with whom India has had bittersweet relationships, entered the Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in eastern Ladakh. DBO is a border area, patrolled by both China and India and according to the Indian government, Chinese troops entered 10 kilometres inside the Indian territory and set up tents in that area. DBO, located in northernmost Ladakh, is a historic camp site and is located on an ancient trade route connecting Ladakh to Yarkand in Xinjiang, China. There have been different perceptions on borders in this area. But strangely, India had had very few instances of incursions until now. All the ‘mistaken incursions’ are made by China which seems to find happiness in creating trouble just when everything seems to be going well. But this time around, the reaction from the Indian government was swift

and straight forward. The Indian army set up its own temporary camp just 500 metres (1600 feet) from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers after the incident on April 15. Defense Minister A. K. Antony issued a statement stating that India

will take every action to protect the country’s interests. Just to show how seriously India considered this matter, Army Chief General Bikram Singh visited the area for two days and also attended a meeting at 16-Corps headquarter at Nagrota.

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Like it has done in the past, China initially continued to deny any incursion even when all the evidences clearly showed that Beijing was lying. China objected to India’s attempts to develop infrastructure such as roads and logistics bases close to the border. The country even went ahead and accused India of aggressive patrolling. Flag meetings were held between army commanders of both sides, which failed to yield any result. At that time, it appeared as if China was trying to pressure India into some treaties which India had resisted earlier. In November 2012, when Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan visited India, he had said that both countries should notify each other about their patrol plans all along the Line of Actual Control. India had declined this proposal then and this new hostility by China was viewed as an attempt to force India to accept that proposal. Things looked somewhat hopeful in the third flag meeting with China offering to withdraw a bit. But India stood its ground and demanded their full withdrawal. Finally, on May 6 both the countries withdrew their respec-

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tive troops from the face off point and a possible tussle was averted. Both sides have now withdrawn their troops to positions held prior to April 15, which brings back the status quo as demanded by India. Since then, various high-level visits have helped to ease the tension between the two countries. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid visited China and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has visited India to continue bilateral talks to develop the ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, there were reports in the media claiming that the Indian army had retreated from its own land as part of the agreement between the countries. Many prominent politicians, including Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat, had objected to this move by the Indian government. An article published in Countercurrents.org by former army officer, Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere, gives us a different take on this issue. The article states, “On May 5, 2013, Chinese troops are reported to have completed their withdrawal from their tented

(incursion) position, and correspondingly Indian troops also withdrew from their tented position to their fortified posts. But some media reports are wrongly assuming that our troops have abandoned the Indian territory, unaware of the fact that troops of any army occupy fortified positions (posts) and control area by observation and patrolling. Troops cannot and do not sit on the line like birds on a wire to monitor a line of control or a boundary. For journalists who are not familiar with the army’s functioning to get a better idea of the ground position, they need to ask the army authorities after understanding the above explanation.” Now that tension has been defused and status quo regained, India should work to get a clear understanding of the borders with its neighbors, including China. A border defense cooperation agreement has already been proposed by the country. India should make sure that this proposal is executed and there are no rude surprises for country when it comes to protecting its integrity and sovereignty.

Worry more than joy Will Google Glass unleash a demon? Google glass, when developed fully, can be used with devastating results. A miscreant can know every detail about you, just by looking at you and a marketing company can know your hobbies, likes and dislikes just by glancing at you! Although Google has promised steps against such worrying factors, there are serious concerns about this device just like there is excitement among the computer buffs.

By Raju Shyanbhag

he age of wearing your emotions up your sleeve may have passed. This is the age of wearing your technology up your eyes. With technology giant Google unveiling Google Glass, technology seems to have taken that giant step out of devices like computers and smart phones and be an extension of your body. Google Glass is a combination of camera, display, touchpad, battery and microphone that can be worn as a normal glass. Essentially, what

Google Glass does is to take data from desktop computers and portable devices like phones and tablets, and place it right in front of your eyes. It does everything your smart phone does and brings the data straight into your field of vision, with a mere tough or a voice command. So you can simply tap on your glass or issue a voice command and you can see your e-mails, reply to them, take a photo or shoot a video, ask Google for directions to a particular place and

use the famed Google search engine to search about anything and everything. The device currently has only frames, a tiny screen attached to those frames, which appear on top right corner of your eye. According to Google, the display is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet awayâ&#x20AC;?. Although Google has not released any word on the native resolution, developers who have used this device claim 640 x 360

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is the available resolution. Needless to say, Google Glass brings in many benefits which were hitherto seen only in science fiction novels or James Bond movies. You no longer need to carry a computer or even a smart phone device to access and use your data. Even watching and using the data becomes surprisingly intuitive as everything is in front of your eyes and you get things done with a mere touch or voice. Google plans to release this gadget sometimes next year and currently it costs about $1500 (about INR75,000). Google has already invited many developers who have paid the amount and are using the Google Glass on a trial basis. The future seems to be fun and exciting with Google Glass. But if you remove dark glass of technological euphoria from your eyes, you will see many problems creeping up in front of your eyes; and you don’t need a modern glass to see them. To start with, this new technology can be abused for sinister purposes, just like any other new technology. You are in a crowd and you just have to tap the device to start filming without the subject’s consent or knowledge. Google Glass is still in the development stage. As the time progresses, various new applications and technologies will be added to this gadget, which will further compromise the privacy. Already, various research-

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ers have combined public information from social networks and facialrecognition technology. They used a webcam on a college campus to find out the names of the people. Then they used information from their social-network accounts to predict sensitive personal data, such as hobbies and Social Security numbers. When developed fully, this can be used with devastating results. A miscreant can know every detail about

you, just by looking at you! Also, a marketing company can know your hobbies, likes and dislikes just by glancing at you. Google has promised that it will not allow the use of any applications that do not agree with its privacy laws. But worry is spreading about this device, just like the excitement. Many bars and movie theatres have barred Google Glass even before it made available to general public. May be they cheap publicity gimmicks by these bars, but one cannot deny the inherent misuses this technology makes possible. No doubt, Google Glass is a magnificent new technology that opens a whole new dimension in telecommunications technology. Controversy is not new to Google. The company has faced accusations of privacy infringement with its other products like Gmail, Google Map and various other products. But every new technology is a double edged sword. It’s just a medium and it’s as good or as bad as the intentions of its users. One cannot restrict new technologies just because they can be misused; because in that case, we will never make technological progress. Instead, the respective government should have stringent laws in place that make sure that any new technology, including Google Glass, are not misused.

Eye on the river China wants to control Brahmaputra J

esus Christ said love thy neighbor. But our powerful neighbor China is a communist regime and does not endorse religious doctrines. Time and again, China has been poking the impotent anger of the ruling Congress government in New Delhi with various issues. Be it the incursions of Chinese troops in the Indian border, or the latest step by the Chinese government to redraw the water map that involves Brahmaputra River. The Brahmaputra flows for about 1,625- km inside the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and for a further 918-km inside India. In the past, both the countries have experienced some tension over numerous water projects with River Brahmaputra. In the 1990s and 2000s, Indian media reported that China was constructing a dam at the Great Bend, looking to divert the waters to the north of the country. This was denied by the Chinese Government. At that time, the Chinese scientists even argued that it was not feasible for

China to undertake such a diversion. However in 2010, China declared that it was constructing the Zangmu Dam on the Brahmaputra. But it was quick to assure India that the project would not have any considerable effect on the downstream flow to India. China has stated that it is engaged in a runof-the-river project on the Brahmaputra and there is no cause for worry for downstream riparian countries. But India has, or should have reasons to worry. The Brahmaputra is the lifeline of North East India and once the Chinese Government completes the construction of the dam, the flow of the river will be in the hands of China. In simpler terms, China could anytime stop the down flow of the Brahmaputra to North East India and this will create famine like situations in that region. In a global scenario where water is becoming a precious commodity, future power struggles and wars will be fought for water. By constructing dams on an important water resource

Control your neighbour’s water resources and you can control the whole country. This has been the policy being followed by the Chinese Government by harnessing the water resources of its neighbours like Laos, Thailand , Vietnam and Cambodia. Now the latest victim is going to be India. If the Brahmaputra is “dammed” by the Chinese Government, the whole of North East India will face water famine and ecological disaster. The issue requires to be internationalized without delay by the UPA Government before the Chinese face us with a fait accompli.

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like the Brahmaputra, China is building a very powerful weapon. Whether China uses that weapon or not; India cannot afford to be at the mercy of the Chinese Government for an important resource like water. If China succeeds in diverting the flow of the Brahmaputra, it will also affect the economy of the North East region. Other countries like Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia which share water resources with China have also expressed concerns over China’s alleged attempts at gaining undue power over the scarce water resources. There are other reasons why China’s efforts of building a dam across the Brahmaputra should be nipped at the bud. Environmental experts feel that if China keeps building such dams across every major river that flows from the Tibetan plateau, it will create a major ecological imbalance in this region of Asia and may lead to natural disasters and an adverse affect on fragile ecology of the region. There are reasons to believe that the Chinese Government may suc-

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ceed in its intentions as the Congress Government has a history of kneejerk reactions to such misadventures from this communist country. When China started building the Sinkiang to Ali highway in 1951, the Nehru Government reacted only in 1958 to express concern over the issue. This time around, the reaction from the present government is swift but weak. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has merely expressed his concern over China’s efforts to build the dam and China has promptly assured him that all is well with the Brahmaputra River. But India’s proposal for a new mechanism to deal with issues of water has been repeatedly been turned down by China; an indication of the devious in-

tentions of that country. China’s urge to control the water resources in this region may have serious implications, both political and environmental. India, one of the affected countries, will have to do much more than merely “expressing concern”. Since water is an international issue, India can begin by attracting international attention to the issue. It should also push for a treaty on sharing the water resources. Although the Indian Government is already doing that, enough pressure is not being exerted on China to agree to this treaty. Other than that, the strategists in India should start planning for the future. They should start looking for alternative water resources in the North East region very soon. There may come a day when China decides to use its geographical advantage to blackmail India on water issues. Instead of giving in to China’s pressure tactics then, it would be advisable for the government to start working on alternative arrangements for water in this region right now. But is the government listening?

he list of scams and scandals in the current UPA Government is long, and it’s threatening to grow longer. The latest on the infamous list is the coal scam, or Coalgate, as the Indian media has termed it. The exposure of this scam has resulted in visible embarrassment to UPA Government and has resulted in resignations of various high- ranking officials, including Law Minister Ashwini Kumar and Additional Solicitor-General Harin Raval. Coalgate refers to the alleged corruption that has taken place in the government’s allocation of the nation’s coal deposits to public sector entities (PSEs) and private companies by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In March 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office opened the Pandora’s Box when it accused the Government of India of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period 2004–2009. Based on this report, the opposition party, BJP, lodged a complaint that resulted in a CBI to check if the allocation of the coal blocks was in fact influenced by corruption. This is one of the biggest scams in the history of our country. According to reports, the UPA Government provided windfall gains of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to various companies by offering them 57 coal mines without auction between 2005 and 2009, through its screening committee. For the uninitiated, coal blocks cannot be allocated to any company by the government as it pleases.

By Raju Shyanbhag

Mother of all scams Coalgate blackens UPA Govt’s face

There are certain guidelines to be followed before allocating these blocks and only then, the government can issue such licenses. But the laws and regulations are always ignored in our country when a considerable amount of money is involved in the deal. Allegedly, the rules were overlooked and the government awarded the contracts to companies that did not fulfil the required criteria. Between 2004 and 2009, the UPA Government allocated some 44 billion metric tons of coal to public and private firms. Captive firms were allocated vast amounts of coal, equating to hundreds of years of supply, for a nominal fee. According to CAG, the allocation process prior to 2010 allowed some firms to obtain valuable coal blocks at a nominal expense. Also, the eligible companies took up this option and gained control of vast amounts of coal in the period 2005–09. CAG also stated that the criteria used for giving away coal allocations were not clear and in some respects subjective. CAG has alleged that the government has not used its authority to auction coal blocks. It also focuses on the size of the “windfall gain” accruing to the allottees. In its draft report, the CAG estimates it at 10673.03 billion (US$200 billion). It was also alleged that S Jagathrakshakan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in the UPA Government, is a part owner of a company named JR Power Gen Pvt Ltd which was awarded a coal block in Orissa in 2007. Others named in the re-

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Coalgate is receiving international attention for the sheer size of the money involved in the whole scam --

10673.03 billion ($200 billion). Though the figure arrived at by CAG is notional, it still is a mammoth sum that can’t be ignored since coal mining fetches huge profit. The issue is not allotment of coal fields per se, but the favouritism alleged to have been shown in the allotment of coal blocks disregarding certain rules and regulations and the gross interference by the Law Minister in formulating the report by the CBI. port include Subodh Kant Sahay, Tourism Minister in the UPA government; Ajay Sanchetia BJP Rajya Sabha MP; Vijay Darda, a Congress MP and his brother Rajendra Darda, the education minister of Maharashtra; UPA partner Rashtriya Janata Dal’s leader Premchand Gupta and Congress MP, Naveen Jindal. No doubt, Coalgate is among the biggest scams ever to hit the Indian public consciousness. It is being termed as the mother of all scams by the media. The ruling UPA Government is busy issuing denials and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is having a hard time defending his tainted colleagues. But what is more worrying in this whole episode is the course of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In a statement given to the Supreme Court, CBI has stated that its report was shared with the

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then Law Minister Ashwini Kumar “as desired by him”, joint secretary-level officers from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the coal ministry before presenting it to the court on March 8, 2013. The CBI has also stated that 20% if its original report was changed by the government. This resulted in a reprimand by the Supreme Court and the resignation of Ashwini Kumar. Considering the media attention the

scandal has invited from all over the world, it has now become essential for the government to maintain more transparency in its dealings. Also, a high-level committee, which includes senior judges, should be set up to investigate this scandal. Having observed how easily CBI officials were manipulated in this case, it is advisable to employ the services of people who are not easily influenced by those in power. Also, the government should lay down clear procedures and eligibility guidelines when it comes to allocating coal or any other such licenses. An independent body, governed by social activists and media should be set up to make sure that those guidelines do not just remain in the book but they are actually followed. Until such strong steps are taken, we will continue to be mute spectators to such shameful scandals.

Sarabjit Singh’s death may be Pakistan’s way of fighting an enemy it cannot fight on the battleground. From the beginning, Pakistan’s conduct in Sarabjit’s case has been fishy. Some indicated that he was assaulted in his cell; others that the attack took place when he was brought out of his cell for an hour-long break. Sarabjit Singh’s sister has alleged that the attack was pre-planned and the jail authorities were involved in it.

Victim of hatred Sarabjit Singh martyred for no cause

or 19 years, his ‘living room’ boasted of a small prison cell, which was so small that he could not even stand upright. Sarabjit Singh, who Pakistan alleged was an undercover agent; was a hapless farmer who wandered into unmarked Indo-Pak border according to human rights activists and the Indian government. He lived a horrendous life in Pakistan prison and suffered a horrible death all because of the inflamed political egos and a heartless government on the other side of the border. On May 1, 2013, Sarabjit Singh was declared brain dead by doctors at Jinnah Hospital in Pakistan. But Pakistan officials refused to give a statement. There are good reasons to believe that Sarabjit Singh’s death was in retaliation for the execution of Afzal Guru in February 2013 over his role in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack case. Sarabjit Singh was threatened, and was beaten by his prison mates with bricks, sharp metal sheets, iron rods and blades. Just looking at the chronology of events raises various conspiracy theories on the part of the Pakistan government. Sarabjit Singh was kept in prison for 19 years, but the Pakistan government could not save him when he was attacked just after a month of Afzal Guru’s execution. Also, there are confusions about this whole incident.

Just punishment? The reaction to Sarabjit Singh’s death by the Indian government has been predictable. While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a politically correct statement and said Sarabjit Singh’s death was ‘very sad,” the Punjab government declared a three-day mourning and announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to his descendants. But the public anger over Sarabjit Singh’s death seems to have been more intense. In the first week of May, Sanaullah Ranjay, a Pakistani national in the Jammu jail, was attacked by his fellow prisoners. He later succumbed to severe injuries. The Pakistan government, which has violated every possible human right in Sarabjit Singh’s case, is ironically demanding an international enquiry into this case, which has been promptly turned down by the Indian government

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The exact circumstances of the attack and the number of assailants are not clear. Some say there were six attackers whereas others say there were only two. Some indicated that he was assaulted in his cell; others that the attack took place when he was brought out of his cell for an hour-long break. Sarabjit Singh’s sister has alleged that the attack was pre-planned and the jail authorities were involved in it. His wife, sister and two daughters were allowed to visit him in the hospital. Maybe Sarabjit Singh’s death was Pakistan’s way of fighting an enemy it cannot fight on the battleground. From the beginning, Pakistan’s conduct in Sarabjit’s case has been fishy. The key witness, Shaukat Salim, has retracted his statements a number of times. Salim’s father and other relatives had been killed in the bombing. First, Salim stated that Sarabjit had planted the bomb but later, made a U turn and said that he made that statement under police pressure. Sarabjit’s lawyer, Abdul Rana Hamid, said that Salim’s statements had no legal

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standing as they were never recorded in court. Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney claimed that none of the four FIRs filed with regard to the bombings contained Sarabjit’s name or his description. Sarabjit was arrested on the night of 30 August, 1990 at the Kasur border for illegally crossing the Indo-Pakistani border. But the police booked him in terrorist bombings after eight days and claimed that he was an undercover RAW agent. He was not arrested redhanded. At the time of arrest, Sarabjit Singh had two daughters who were toddlers. There are other reasons to believe that Sarabjit Singh’s arrest and later his murder was the handiwork militant Islamists in the Pakistani government. The manner in which the trial was conducted was also seedy. None of the statements recorded in front of the magistrate were taken under oath. Sarabjit had been paraded before the witnesses in the absence of the magistrate, and the police had informed the witnesses that he was the bomber. This was confirmed by Shau-

kat Salim, a key prosecution witness in the case. A British lawyer, Jas Uppal, who was campaigning for his release, has focused on various issues with the prosecution in the trial. He stated that Sarabjit Singh’s identity was never verified or proved in court and no forensic evidence was provided at his trial to link him to the bomb attacks. Also, the trial was conducted in English, which Sarabjit does not speak or understand, and the Pakistan government did not bother to provide any interpreter. There were allegations that he was tortured in custody and forced to confess, and the main witness repeatedly changed his version of events. Whether Sarabjit Singh was an Indian undercover agent or a simple farmer is still a mystery. But what is definitely not a mystery is the way Pakistan government treated him in these 19 years. But in a country where human rights violations against Indians, especially Hindus are a norm, expecting anything more would almost be daydreaming.

Rebels Defeat BJP Yeddyurappa’s KJP deals a heavy blow By Narayan Ammachchi

veryone agrees that the BJP lost power to the Congress in the recent Assembly elections in Karnataka largely due to the political outfits launched by its own former leaders resulting in splitting of votes. The national political party could garner just 19.97 per cent of votes, nearly a half as much as it received (33.86 per cent) in the previous election. On the other hand, the KJP of Yeddyurappa and the BSR Congress of former BJP minister Sriramulu won 9.83 and 2.69 percent votes respectively. The statistics makes it clear that BJP would have come back to power had it fought the election together. The BJP had in fact won one percent less votes than the Congress in the 2008 elections, yet it managed to gain 30 seats more than the Congress. This time the defeat was expected as there

were two political outfits (KJP and BSR Congress) in the fray seeking a share in its vote bank. Those BJP candidates who won by a small margin in 2008 have been relegated to the third position as the rebel groups snatched away the “decisive votes”. The defeat has pushed the party down to the third position in the State Assembly, forcing it to concede the leadership of the Opposition to JDS, a regional party headed by former Prime Minister Deve Gowda. Both the JDS and the BJP have won 40 seats each, but Gowda’s outfit has secured more votes (20.09 per cent). The losers are the BJP and the political groups that the party’s disgruntled leaders floated months before the election. Now, both Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu are sitting in the oppo-

sition benches alongside their former colleagues in the BJP. Though they have been defeated, the KJP and the BJP leaders are not on talking terms. Nevertheless, a few local vernacular papers have started predicting the return of Yeddyurappa to the parent party. It is certain that BJP may secure just a couple of seats if the party remains divided until the next parliamentary elections. Yeddyurappa knows it well that BJP’s Delhi leaders would contact him to persuade him to rejoin the party. Local leaders do not favour such a game plan. They believe that making peace with Yeddyurappa is nothing but “surrendering to leader who owes everything to what he is today.” The crux of the matter is: Yeddyurappa believes it is he who led the party to power in the state. But BJP

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believes that he should be its debtor because it is the party that turned him into a leader and made him the chief minister. The BJP is less likely to regain power until it forgets the recent clashes and infighting. LK Advani has blamed his own colleagues for failing to rein in Yeddyurappa soon after they realized that he was facing a string of corruption allegations. Had they dealt with him early, there would have been no need to force him out of the CM’s seat. He would not have been even sent to jail. Arun Jaitley reacted swiftly saying the cost of losing Yeddyurappa was ‘reasonably high’ but allowing him to remain the chief minister was a tough decision to make. BJP removed Yeddyurappa once the Lokayukta indicted him in its report on iron ore mining scandal. Advani suggested quick and severe action, but other senior leaders called for cautious approach saying the former chief minister enjoys strong backing in his Lingayat community, the biggest community in the state. When Yeddyurappa was imprisoned, Advani arrived in Bangalore and addressed a public gathering. Advani did not meet the jailed Karnataka leader, nor did he make mention of his name in his speech. This seems to have angered Yeddyurappa, and he is baying for BJP blood even after the party’s defeat in the state.

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For Yeddyurappa, the very reason behind floating a new political outfit was to teach BJP a lesson. Now it is hard to figure out what lesson he taught the party that made him the chief minister five years ago. Perhaps what he wants to mean that BJP cannot gain political office in Karnataka unless that is run by Yeddyurappa. What he is yet to know is that he cannot gain power without BJP.

By Narayan Ammachchi

arely a day after Sarabjit Singh died from the injuries he suffered following an attack in a Pakistani jail, a Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay was attacked in the high security Kot Balwal jail in Jammu. It appears to be a tit for tat. But is it really true? Sanaullah was seriously injured in a scuffle with an inmate and rushed to the PGI Hospital in Chandigarh where he succumbed to his injuries. He was serving life term after he was convicted of bombing a bus in 1994 near Jammu. Ten people had died in the bomb attack. The body of 52-year-old Sanaullah was handed over to the officials of the Pakistan Embassy after post-mortem by a Medical Board at the PGIMER and completion of various other formalities by local authorities, including the police. A special PIA plane had arrived from Pakistan to take the body back. The two relatives of Sanaullah--brotherin-law Mohammed Sehzaad and nephew Mohammed Asif—who had also arrived from Sialkot also travelled in the special plane. An official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said that India will facilitate Pakistan’s request to repatriate the body of Sanaullah and will provide necessary assistance. In view of the tragic events, including the killing of two Indians in Pakistani jails and the Sanaullah incident, India has proposed that the officials of the two countries meet and take forward the recommendations of a judicial committee on humane treatment of prisoners, he said. Pakistan’s response to the proposal is awaited, the spokesperson said. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah offered his “sincere apology” to the family of Sanaullah. “Although it’s scant consolation, I’d like to offer a sincere apology to the family of Sanaullah and my sympathies for their loss,” Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Revenge attack? Killing of Sanaullah Appears to be an Instant Reaction

any dereliction of duty, the fact that this happening at all is a matter of great regret,” Omar said.

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The Chief Minister had a word of appreciation and gratitude for the staff of the Government Medical College, Jammu, and PGIMER for their efforts to save the life of the Pakistani prisoner. “I’d also like to add a word of thanks to the doctors and staff at GMC Jammu and PGI Chandigarh for their valiant efforts to save Sanaullah,” he said. .Pakistan demanded that India should conduct “a fair and impartial inquiry” into the prisoner’s death. “We will also demand from the Government of India to immediately release 47 Pakistani prisoners who have already completed their sentences,” the Commission Press Attaché said. Meanwhile, a petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party Chief Bhim Singh has sought repatriation of foreign and Pakistani prisoners who have already spent over 15 years of detention in India. The petition also sought repatriation of all the mentally challenged prisoners, who are not wanted in any case in India but are lodged in different jails in the country, to their respective countries without any delay. It has sought complete trials of all the foreign prisoners with

What Provoked the Attack?

six months. The petition has said that “the Union of India may also be directed to repatriate all the mentally challenged persons (including five deaf and dumb lodged in Central Jail Amritsar) who are not wanted in any case in India lodged in the different jails in country back to their respective countries without delay.”

Sanaullah Haq is a resident of Dallowali near Sialkot in Pakistan was convicted of bombing a bus in 1994 near Jammu in which 10 people were killed. He was sentenced to life and was held in Kot Bhalwal jail. He was allegedly attacked by Vinod Kumar, a former Indian Army soldier, who had been court-martialed for killing a fellow army personnel and was recently moved to Kot Bhalwal from Leh. Sources say the two men were seen smoking beedis together during a break in the jail when they started arguing and a scuffle ensued. Soon Kumar attacked Haq with a pickaxe, sources add.

Madhya Pradesh to reopen all closed rape cases

he Madhya Pradesh government recently took an important decision to reopen all past cases of alleged rapes. These rapes were closed in police files. This announcement was made by Minister for Home Affairs Uma Shankar Gupta. This means that numerous cases where investigation proceedings were closed will now be reopened for new probe. Madhya Pradesh has the shameful distinction of having the maximum number of rape cases that have been taking place for more than a decade. The Home Minister has stated that during investigations of recent cases of crimes against women, it was discovered

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that many of the accused were repeat offenders. They were there in police files for previous cases of atrocities against women and minor girls. According to NCRB reports, between 2001 and 2011 the state registered 9,465 cases of child

rapes. The government intends to investigate why these cases were closed. It also will look at the circumstances under which the police decided to close the files instead of taking the case towards prosecution. According to government sources, this exercise would be an attempt to bring to justice those rapists who walked away free. The government has promised that it will investigate each case from the beginning and if there is even a small hope of bringing the offenders to justice, it will be proceed.

IIP at 20-year low No let-up in gold demand from rural households

By C P Nambiar

he economic horizon continues to be gloomy with tardy industrial growth and widening trade deficit. The growth in the industrial sector slowed to 1% in 2012-13, a 20year low, according to CSO which released the data on Friday, April, 2013. The government expects revival following the reform measures it has initiated since September. The overall growth of the economy has been estimated at a 10-year low of 5%, but the Finance Ministry expects 6% growth

Crisil Research has stated that while overall imports have remained robust in recent months, imports excluding oil and gold have stagnated, reflecting weak domestic demand. Barclays has predicted a record trade deficit of 5% of GDP for India during the financial year 2012-13 before falling below 4% in 2013-14.

during the fiscal 2013-14. The CSO data showed industrial output rose by 2.5% in March compared to a decline of 2.8% in the same period last year. But, for the full year the growth was a mere 1% against 2.9% the year before. As rating agency Crisil put it, “History seems to be repeating itself. The index of industrial production (IIP) data reveals that the Indian industry’s performance in 2012-13 is its worst showing in the past 20 years.” LARGE SECTORS LAGGING: Compounding the worry is the widening

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trade deficit, attributed mainly to a surge in imports of gold and silver which are one the India’s main items of imports, next to crude oil. The shipments of precious metals into the country more than doubled to $7.5 billion in April 2013 from $3.1 billion a year ago. As a result, the trade deficit widened to $17.1 billion in

April against $14 billion in the same month last year. This is causing concern to both the government and the RBI. The export-import gap widened as exports rose by 1.7% to $24.1 billion in April, the fourth straight month of export rise. The trend this time is growing shipments of garments, which rose by over 8%, while gems and jewellery and marine products rose by 22% and 25% respectively. The Apparel Export Promotion Council sees this as a good sign of economic revival in the key markets such as the US. But there is a worry factor since

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some of the large sectors such as engineering products have witnessed a decline in exports and the biggest of all worry is a jump in gold imports which have gone up by almost 140% despite higher import duty. According to DGFT Anup K Pujar, “the gold duty impact has been neutralized by lower prices.” Crisil Research has stated that overall imports have remained robust in recent months, but India’s imports excluding oil and gold have stagnated, reflecting weak domestic demand. Barclays has predicted a record trade deficit of 5% of GDP for India during the financial year 2012-13 before falling below 4% in 2013-14. “However, the recent fall in oil and gold prices, if sustained, could be meaningful positives in the coming months,” it has said. Gold demand, which showed a marked rise, was largely driven by rural households on the back of a cut in import tariff value of the yellow metal to $466 per 10 grams from $472. As against a decline of 13% in global demand for gold, India reported a 27% increase in the first quarter of 2013, while the same was 20% in China. In order to hold in check the widening current account deficit, the government had hiked the import duty on gold from 4% to 6% earlier this year. RBI too had restricted the import of gold on consignment basis by banks only to meet the genuine needs of exporters of gold jewellery. But the import duty hike has failed to have the desired results since the market had built up sufficient inventories ahead of the marriage season. INFLATION DROPS: Meanwhile, the prices of food items, including fruits and vegetables, declined to 4.89% in April, which is reported to be the lowest since November 2009. As per the official data released on Tuesday (May 14), inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) in the manufactured items category declined to 3.41% in April from 4.07% in March and inflation in food articles category came down to 6.08% against 8.73% in March. This has been attributed to a sharp drop in prices of vegetables. In-

flation in wheat came down to 13.89% in April (19.87% in March) and the same in rice and cereals eased to 17.09% and 15.63% respectively in the same month. FURTHER RATE CUT? The three and a half year low in inflation has brightened the prospects of further interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India while unveiling its mid-quarter policy review on June 17. It had cut key interest rate (repo rate or the rate at which it lends to banks) earlier this month by 0.25% from 7.5% to 7.25%. “Although headline WPI inflation has eased by March, to come close to tolerance threshold, it is important to note that food prices pressures persist and supply constraints are endemic…,” the RBI had said. It had not however cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) as urged by bank chiefs. CRR at present stands at 4%. RBI has projected the base gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.7%. “Growth in the third quarter last year was 4.5%, the lowest in 15 quarters and RBI’s current assessment is that during this year growth will slowly pick up in the second part of this year …,” it said in its annual monetary policy statement on Friday, May 3. The growth of the economy projected by RBI and the Government is in contrast to the projections of Standard and Poor’s. It has listed a number of pressure points and, therefore, retained the BBB-rating and a negative outlook for the economy. This has been strongly objected to by the Government which has questioned the methodology of the rating agency.

Ankeet Chavan

S. Sreesanth

Ajit Chandila

Shattering a billion dreams

very year, when the IPL season begins, a nation of billion people comes to a standstill. In the maddening melee of cricketers in colored clothes, cheer girls in semi-clad clothes and glaring lights that fill up the stadiums across the country, the people find an outlet to their need for instant thrills and cheap frills. But this year, the 6th Edition IPL got into the limelight for all the wrong reasons. A shady truth, hidden behind the sizzle of glamour and sensations of big hitting was exposed by the Delhi police. Three cricketers, S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, all from Rajasthan Royals, were arrested by the Delhi police for their alleged involvement in spot fixing. Along with them, at least a dozen bookies have been arrested so far. The arrests have left our cricket crazy nation with a sense of being stabbed in the back. Spot fixing, in

simple terms, is the act of receiving money from bookmakers to perform below potential in a given match. For example, Sreesanth signalled his bookies that he was giving away runs in a particular over by allegedly tucking a towel on his trousers, as is seen in a video that is making rounds of all television channels in recent days. In that over (against Kings XI Punjab) he went for plenty. Other two players, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, have reportedly done similar deeds in exchange for money and women. More than the arrests and the alleged involvement of players in match fixing, it’s the developments after arrests that got even murkier. At the time of his arrest, Sreesanth was travelling with an unnamed film actress and a couple of other escort girls in a luxury sedan. When police tried to arrest him, an inebriated Sreesanth allegedly threw his phone and the names of Kerala and Maha-

rashtra chief ministers to avoid being arrested. Sreesanth’s arrest gained prominence among these three players because among these three he is the only player who has played for India. He has played 27 Tests and 53 one day matches for India. According to police sources, Sreesanth claims that he was lured into spot fixing by player-turned-bookie Jeeju Janardhan. Sreesanth and company allegedly received anywhere between INR 40 lakhs and 60 lakhs per over to give away runs.

What has BCCI to say?

‘Outlook’ Scoop In 1997, the magazine “Outlook” published a detailed report on player-bookie nexus in the Indian cricketing fraternity. Although it stopped short of naming the players, it gave very clear statistics as to which matches where fixed. It also gave clear indications about the players who might have been sold out.

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As the news spread all over the country, BCCI and Rajasthan Royals team were quick to issue customary statements with decorative words such as “zero tolerance to corruption,” and so on and so forth. But when it comes to corruption in Indian cricket, BCCI looks to be interested more in sweeping it under the carpet than actually solving them. In

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2010, BCCI had suspended five uncapped Indian players -- Mohnish Mishra, Shalabh Srivastava, T.P. Sudhindra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali -- when a TV channel carried out a sting operation and allegedly exposed the link between these players and the bookies. Although BCCI is always quick to drop the tainted players in IPL, it only appears to be an attempt to avoid prying eyes on the way IPL is conducted. BCCI’s enquiry committees always point fingers at players, never at management and officials. The IPL betting industry is said to have links with underworld. Dawood Ibrahim and his associates allegedly run the show from Dubai. The IPL betting industry alone is a thriving business with more than INR12 lakh crores changing hands every year. The Bollywood stars and other owners who cheer their teams to glory on the ground only have partial stake in the ownership of their teams. The details on the full ownerships are never fully divulged by BCCI and it’s said that big industrialists and politicians secretly invest in these IPL franchises to make instant money. But a cursory glance at the way IPL has been conducted in these all years tells us that these players are mere pawns at the hands of a bigger racket. From its inception, IPL has one motto, to make money. Unlike international matches where a player at least has a pride

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of playing for his country, IPL has no dignity; it only has dough, and has loads of it. Hence, all types of elements who see an opportunity to make some quick bucks are drawn to IPL like moths to the lights. Look at the history of IPL. It started off by having a commissioner (Lalit Modi) who came from an ordinary background. After two seasons of IPL when we clapped and laughed watching the matches, Modi laughed all the way to the bank with a fleet of luxury cars and a huge amount of wealth. He is now ousted from the IPL empire

body, which represents our country in international matches and which runs on public money, call itself a private entity? In the past, various attempts by government officials to make BCCI answerable to the government have been thwarted by powerful lobbyists. Considering BCCI’s penchant for secrecy and IPL’s shadowy history, it would be foolish to expect that anyone is seriously interested in rooting corruption out of IPL’s system. In 2010, the CBI had obtained taped conversations between top IPL officials and book makers on fixing of the matches. But noth-

and is facing charges for financial irregularities, which, if proved, can sentence Modi to at least 10 years in prison. Recently, BCCI turned down an RTI request stating that it was a private entity. How can a sporting

ing came out of this scandal. Even Reserve Bank of India and the Enforcement Directorate have records of money laundering, use of hawala channel to invest in cricket teams and illegal fund transfer to foreign companies. .... cont. 28

Azhar’s Unholy Nexus

....cont. 25 It was said that law enforcement agencies were forced to drop cases against IPL top officials due to pressure from the higher ups. In 2010, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had filed a case against Lalit Modi, Rajasthan Royals team owners, Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders teams. But nothing has come out of those cases and it seems nothing ever will. Unless the BCCI becomes more transparent in its dealings and unless the financial details of IPL franchises are made public, this yearly cricketing melodrama will continue to throw up such ugly surprises. BCCI may be an autonomous body, but the institution is definitely answerable to crores of Indians who worship the sport and the sportsmen who play the sport. So when a player forms an unholy nexus with bookies and other suspicious elements, he is not only cheating his franchise, but is also cheating on his gullible fans, who pay with their time and money to bring him his fancied annual contracts. Nothing autonomous about it.

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The betting syndicate and the players got a bit too close for comfort during the time of Mohammad Azharuddin, a former India captain and one of the more stylish batsmen India has seen. Azharuddin reportedly introduced Mukesh Gupta, an Indian bookie to former South African captain Hansie Cronje. Azhar’s opulent lifestyle and his alienation from media at that time didn’t help the matter and he was subsequently sacked from the Indian team for his alleged involvement in match fixing. In 2012, a Hyderabad court quashed the life ban on Azhar, imposed by BCCI. Now, Azhar is a member of the Congress Party, and has won from the Moradabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh to become an M.P.

Manoj Prabhakar’s Allegations In 1997, Manoj Prabhakar made a public allegation against an unknown team member to amagazine “Outlook”. Like it’s doing now, BCCI was quick to form a one-man investigation commission headed by retired Chief Justice of India, Honorable Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud. Manoj Prabhakar named the following games as part of his allegations: India V/s Pakistan in Sharjah (1991). Even with declining light, the team management asked Prabhakar and Sanjay Manjrekar to continue playing after the umpires offered light. Pakistan won the match and qualified for the finals. India V/s Pakistan in Colombo (Singer Cup) (1994): Manoj Prabhakar was allegedly offered Rs 2.5 million for throwing the match. Manoj said he shouted at the player. The match was washed away due to rain. India V/s West Indies in Kanpur (1994). Nayan Mongia and Manoj Prabhakar scored 11 runs in 48 balls chasing West Indies total. Both the players were dropped for the subsequent match on charges of indiscipline. India V/s Pakistan in Sharjah (Date: Unknown). Both the captains Aamir Sohail and Mohammad Azharuddin claimed winning the toss.

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A champion of Swadeshi Sudarshanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ideas ignored or misunderstood By MK Shridharan

he crisis of capitalism is so deep that the best of the academicians in the world are finding it difficult to grapple with the problem. Governments across the world and their central banks were able to offer tactical measures to overcome structural fault lines in the previous decades. But the need for a sustainable economy is strongly felt now by those who are looking ahead. It is in this context the Swadeshi system propounded by K. S. Sudarshan, former head of RSS, becomes relevant since it proposes to provide a paradigm shift to the crises-ridden economic system. Sudarshan was an informed proponent and a sincere adherent to the principles

The idea proposed by Sudarshan was dismissed as nonsense and is being complained of as a mere concept without details. And this, not because of lack of content in its proposal, but mainly because of its association with Hinduism. More precisely, because the Swadeshi principle of Sudarshan shunned consumerism, stayed away from glamorous money spending tendencies and favored thrift institutions. This article is to mark the first death anniversary of Sudarshanji.

of Swadeshi in his own life. In a quoted incident, he just dropped an MNC brand soap in a bathroom, when he learnt that it was not a Swadeshi brand. The idea was dismissed as nonsense in the past and is being considered as a mere concept without details. And this, not because of its lack of content, but mainly because of its association with Hinduism. More precisely, because Swadeshi shunned consumerism, stayed away from glamorous money spending tendencies and favored thrifty institutions. Sudarshan was, for the same reasons, not taken seriously by economists, planners and the media and he was not given due recognition

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan greeting Sudarshanji. Also seen is BJP supremo Lal Krishna Advani.

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he deserved in the discussion related to sustainable developmental discussion. A review of his views reveals that Sudarshan had a series of paradigm shifting ideas for changing the world, or at least India, towards more Hindu in content and a better world. Sudarshan was aware of the disconnect introduced by the Indian Constitution in the Indian ethos and plainly articulated its nature and implications. Many in public life are hesitant to touch the topic. Many are not clear about the cause -- interpretation of the Constitution or Constitution itself -- for all the anomalies like our inability to protect Cows and preserve Sanskrit. Hindu thought has a unique ability to negate intolerance, violence and seclusion based on basic principles of values. For this reason, the votaries of jihad, proselytization and revolution are uncomfortable with the Hindu ethos. A Hindu leader faces the dilemma of sequencing them for exposure and public education. It is not an easy task to educate a tolerant person about dangers posed by an intolerant. Sudarshan advocated an Indian Church, which was not a copy of Chinese Christianity. A narrow ideology is relatively more focussed in comparison with a broader one. Sustaining activism among a group of people without a missionary zeal is a challenge. Fighting an enemy

Madhya Pradesh cabinet minister Laxmikanth Sharma posing for a picture being flanked by Sudarshanji and LK Advani. with men of materialistic focus without resources is a near impossibility - or it appears so. Any one who ventures into any of these tasks is bound to be misinterpreted. Not just by adversaries, but by friends as well. That is because it needs an approach of dismantling, shaking up status quo and of proposing new ideas. When Sudarshan talked about the evangelical agenda of Sonia Gandhi, questioned inadequate leadership of Vajpayee, or disapproved remarks of L. K. Advani about Jinnah, hell broke loose. He was not liked by friends who were focussed on short-term deliverables, for bringing new parameters. His adversaries were angry and simultaneously were eager to launch

a counter-attack on the institutions led by Sudarshan. There was a feeling that Sudarshanji talked too much -- unnecessarily. But his public articulations had an external focus, and even while facing a counter-attack or internal disapproval, he did not utter a single word on internal affairs. One of the major political challenges in the post-independent India was to create a credible alternative to Congress. RSS was focusing on this task from very long. Bharateeya Jana Sangh and post-emergency version BJP were conceived and nurtured by RSS. No doubt, BJP has become a major political force and a principal political entity to fill the space of a credible alternative to Congress. But it has not succeeded in preventing the bane of dynastic politics. After Sonia, Rahul is set to take reins of Congress. It is an internal affair of Congress – but indicative of lack of leadership growth contributed by all stake holders. BJP too has its share of contribution to this problem. The performance of NDA vis-à-vis core Hindu issues – Sanskrit, Cows and Swadeshi – brought this deficiency of BJP to the glare. Sudarshan’s call for leadership change and for newer leadership was a clarion call of a shrewd leader. He also included his leadership to RSS along with leadership of Vajpayee/Advani to BJP.

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Visionary par excellence Sudarshanji was far ahead of his times Sudarshanji decided to dedicate himself to the Sangh’s activities and finally took the oath of Sar Sangh Chalak. Sudarshanji realized that the luxurious life-style of a small section of people is the basic reason for the present day grief of our country. So he thought that we must decide for our all-round development and day to day activities based on our ancient religion and rural economy.

MIHIR KUMAR (CEO VEDAS SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIS, BHOPAL)

udarshanji, who was an active member of the Sangh, was born on June 18, 1931, at Raipur in present day’s Chhattisgarh district. When his father, who was working in the forest department at Bhelgi in old Madhya Pradesh heard the happy news, he wanted rush to Raipur from Mahasamund, but unfortunately he missed the train. Not disappointed, the proud father rode all the way to Raipur on a bicycle to see his dear child! His father was transferred to Fatahpur of Hata block at Sagour district and Sudarshanji attended school (Class I and II) there. He studied up to Class V at Damoh, Sudarshanji, where his father was again transferred. Sudarshanji started visiting Shakha here with Duttatrey Joshi. He completed his Class X studies at Mandla and he got fourth rank in Class XI examination at Chandrapur Zone and passed his Intermediate Examination at Robertson Collage, now called Mahakaushal Collage. At the time of Gandhi’s assassination, when the Sangh was banned, the volunteers started a Satyagrah from December 9. 1948. At that time he was staying in the collage hostel. On December 11 there was a Satyagrah in the hostel

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in which he actively participated and was arrested and sent to the Jabalpur Jail. Even when he was behind the bars, he sued to manage the Shakha. This was the burning issue and point of protest in the whole country, for which the government was blamed. Finally the Government released the students. Meanwhile his father came to meet his brave son inside the jail. Prisoners were allowed to meet visitors only if the ward utters sorry for his mistake. His father too said sorry because his son’s marriage was coming nearer. After that, the students were set free and Sudarshanji came to Chandrapur. He took the engineering entrance examination in 1953 and secured 6th rank.

Sudarshanji as an Economist He decided to dedicate himself to the Singh’s activities and finally took the oath of SarSangh Chalak. Sudarshanji realized that the luxurious life-style of a small section of people is the basic reason for the present day grief of the country. So he thought that we must decide for our all-round development and day to day activities based on our ancient religion and rural economy. As our profound ancestors and

bounded the economy system with our religious guidelines. He always avoided useless expenses and luxurious lifestyle. Instead, he led a simple lifestyle expected the people also to follow it. He used to take only that amount of water which he can drink and requested others also to do so. He always said that if more energy consumption and giant machines are not profitable for us. We should draw up a schedule for rural and urban development schemes by keeping the resources and the needs in our mind. There should be a group of 10 to 15 villages in rural areas to promote work and progress in which moral values education, health facilities and day to day needs of that region should be considered. We should also take urgent steps for irrigation, natural water resource conservation, natural manure based agriculture, development in “panchgavya” products and speedy biogas and bioenergy development. There should be a pollution-free technology based so now and cottage industries. To fulfil the needs of agricultural cottage industries there should be a programme to prove India’s strength in front of world. Sudarshanji did not want market and the government-

centered development. He always wanted to adopt a society-centered development schemes to be strengthened and united. Finally he thought that this is the right time to launch an immortal Hindu agenda in front of world’s self destructing rules. For this we should adopt the guidelines of Swami Vivekanand, Shri Arvind, Mahatma Gandhi, Shri Madhav Rao, Sadashiv Rao Gowalkar and Shri Deen Dayal Upadhyay to fulfill the basic needs, overall health and education facilities. There is a need to work on this framework to make India enlightened. This path is good not only for India but also for the whole world.

Sudarshanji as a Politician He always used to say about politics that there is a need to make electoral changes. In an election the party which gets 50% and more votes should be elected and if any party fails to get 50% votes, then again there should be voting for the first two candidates. This will lead to transparent and spotless politics. He always wanted to attract youngsters to politics so that they can in future become great leaders and statesmen.

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Food Security Program Seems Set to Push the Country into Economic Mess

Feeding on Poverty By Narayan Ammachchi

he UPA government is pushing the parliament for approving its National Food Security Bill, something the Congress party had promised to implement in the past general elections. If passed, the food distribution program would cost the government more than 1280 billion rupees. More than anything else, the program may consume a third of the country’s annual grain production and further weaken the government’s finances, particularly the budget deficit. Does the country really need such a food distribution program? Pro-Congress analysts argue that though the country produces a huge amount of food grains ‘We have millions of children suffering malnourishment and hundreds of thousands of people starving.’ India is home to about 25 percent of the world’s hungry poor, according to the World Food Programme, the food aid arm of the United Nations. But such a program takes a large chuck of tax-payers’ money and prevents the government from spending on infrastructure, science & technology, education and the like. Programs of that kind certainly satiate the hunger of billions of Indians but leave the country in eternal poverty. Unbelievable yet true, the UPA government wants to feed 70 percent of the population with its public distribution (PDS) program, under which rice and wheat will be sold to ration

cardholders at a rate far below than the market price. The program will give rice at 3 rupees per kg to the poorest people, less than 10 percent of current retail prices, and wheat at 2 rupees per kg. The ambitious bill, a priority for Congress President Sonia Gandhi, will raise the annual food subsidy spending by 45 percent. The government wants to bring 318 million more people under the public distribution system. Critics say the food bill is little more than an attempt to help Congress, reeling from corruption scandals, win re-election in the parliamentary elections due next year. The government has this year set aside 900 billion rupees for the scheme. If the bill is passed, government may need 1.3 trillion rupees to have the scheme up and running. Such a huge spending on foods further increases the size of the subsidy burden that already eats up about 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Such irresponsible social welfare programs have pushed many European countries into deep and horrific recession. These countries have now suddenly cut back on their spending, plunging their whole economy into turmoil. There, people are out on the streets protesting the austerity plans, with millions of losing jobs. If similar public anger is played out on Indian streets, that will certainly

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The Congress party’s food security program, designed to feed 70 percent of citizens, appears to plunge the country deeper into an economic turmoil. Believe it or not, the program consumes lakhs of crores of taxpayers money, leaving little or no cash for infrastructure and science & technology. What it does achieve however is it wins many votes for the Congress, which is gearing up to face parliamentary elections next year.

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lead to civil war, because the ‘Common Man’ of the country is already angry at the political corruption and bureaucratic mismanagement. To offset the loss to be caused by the food program, government needs to resort to impose higher taxes on the rich and reduce subsidies on petrol and fertiliser. And that will increase the inflation which the RBI is already struggling to clamp down. The Finance Minister, Chidambaram, says he would cut the fiscal deficit to under 4.8 percent of GDP in the current year from around 5 percent in 2012/13. But there seems to be no basis behind his promise. The government estimates it would need about 61 million tonnes of grains, only 3 million tonnes than it currently makes available, to provide the extra food. It goes on saying it would improve distribution systems and clamp-down on corruption to reduce wastage. If the Congress could ever curb corruption, why has it been waiting to do so for the past fifty years during which it ruled the country? India now grows so much food that it has a bigger grain stockpile than any country except China, and it exports some of it to countries like Saudi Arabia and Australia. Yet one-fifth of its people are malnourished — double the rate of other developing countries like Vietnam and China — because of pervasive corruption, mismanagement and waste in the programs. The government may try to pass the bill again in the parliamentary session that starts around July 23 or push it through without a vote when parlia-

ment is not sitting, using special constitutional powers. It must then win approval for the bill within six weeks of parliament’s return. If passed, the food program could help ensure that nobody goes hungry in the country, but without fundamental system reforms, the extra money will only deepen the nation’s budget deficit and further enrich the officials who routinely steal food from various levels of the distribution chain. India’s food policy has two central goals: to provide farmers with higher and more consistent prices for their crops than they would get from the open market, and to sell food grains to the poor at lower prices than they would pay at private stores. The federal government buys grain and stores it. Each state can take a certain amount of grain from these stocks based on how many of its residents are poor. The states deliver the grain to subsidized shops and decide which families get the ration cards that allow them to buy cheap wheat and rice there. “The sprawling system costs the government 750 billion rupees ($13.6 billion) a year, almost 1 percent of India’s gross domestic product. Yet 21 percent of the country’s 1.2 billion people remain undernourished, a proportion that has changed little in the last two decades despite an almost 50 percent increase in food production, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, a research group in Washington,” says a recent report on the food program by the New York Times.

By C P Nambiar

ith a democratically elected government headed by Nawaz Sharif in place in Pakistan, can India hope to have normal relations with that country? This must be the question that is uppermost in the minds of those who wish to have lasting and friendly relations with our unpredictable neighbour. Unpredictable, because one doesn’t know when the government there will be toppled by the powerful military which is waiting for a chance to stage another coup like the one that Pervez Musharraf did in 1999. Sharif seemed to be sincere when he said before and after the elections on May 11 that he will try to improve relations with India. This has found ready welcome from no less a person than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself. Sharif even invited Manmohan Singh to attend the swearing-in ceremony. A few years ago this was unimaginable with the Pak military’s tough and aggressive posture. No democratically elected government can function freely if its hands are tied by the military. Unfortunately, that is what has been happening in Pakistan ever since its creation in 1947. The priorities of an army with aggressive intentions are always different from those of a legally elected government as it concentrates more on offence, relegating to the background all the other social and economic aspects of the state. And in Pakistan’s case the military always had aggressive intentions though outwardly it was stating that its actions are governed by defensive considerations. Kargil is a classic example of this policy when Pakistani army headed by Pervez Musharraf sent soldiers disguised as militants to capture Indian posts. Even after Kargil defeat, the Pak army has been aggressively promoting militancy in Kashmir by encouraging the terrorist organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and other outfits. Nevertheless, one has to be optimistic. No country can live in per-

No country can live in perpetual enmity with its neigbours. There has to be an understanding, some give and take and reconciliation. Any government that encourages negative views will only be fostering conflicts and tension. It is in this context Sharif’s gesture of friendship assumes importance. The advantages of having friendly relations are many for both the countries.

Sharif in power But can he keep the military at bay?

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petual enmity with its neigbours. There has to be an understanding, some give and take and reconciliation. Any government that encourages negative views will only be fostering conflicts and tension. It is in this context Sharif’s gesture of friendship assumes importance. The advantages of having friendly relations are many for both the countries. Whatever the radicals say and whatever be the actions of the militants, it is a fact that both India and Pakistan share a common legacy, their roots are the same and their culture too similar in many respects. What is important especially for the new government in Pakistan is the need to improve its economy which is in the doldrums. And it is here that India can contribute a lot. Already Sharif has indicated that his government might consider importing power from India. More could be done to strengthen economic ties. How stable could be the new government? This is also an important question because it is only a stable government that can introduce bold measures that will lead to lasting solutions to its long-standing problems. Pakistan is beset with the separatist problem, especially in Baluchistan. It has not been able to tackle successfully its minority problem in Punjab and other provinces either. No doubt it will take time to solve them as they

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were engendered by years of omission and commission by the previous governments. The new government can’t be expected to solve them in a year or two. But it can at least initiate effective steps that could be the stepping stones for further action. Baluchis have always felt neglected and humiliated. One of their prominent leaders was assassinated allegedly by

the military when Pervez Musharraf was in power. A case in this connection is pending in a Pak court against Musharraf, who is now back in Pakistan. The military had always tried to shield its actions in its own backyard by pointing an accusing finger at India and highlighting the so-called human rights violations in Kashmir. One hopes that the new government will

not be obsessed with Kashmir, but will concentrate more on its internal problems and on the economic wellbeing of the people of Pakistan. Sharif’s party, Pakistan Muslim League – National (PML-N), which emerged as the single largest party by winning 124 seats in the 342-member National Assembly, has received the support of 18 Independents. This has ensured his party majority in the assembly enabling him to form the government. Many influential political families in Sindh and Punjab have joined the PML-N and they include the Legharis of Dera Ghazi Khan and the Sherazi brothers of Thatha district in Sindh. Another influential section that is with PML-N is the Hiraj family of Punjab’s Khanewal district. Former cricketer Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) didn’t perform well. However, his party is in power in trouble-torn north-west. It has also wrested the Karachi bastion of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Though still not in power, Imran Khan continues to wield considerable political influence in Pakistan. The coming days will test his political skill if the Sharif government starts tottering under pressure from the military or the Independents who are supporting him.

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Under the amended Act, which is yet to get the President’s ascent, slaughter of cow, calf of the cow, bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of she-buffalo is prohibited. Only animals aged 15 years or above can be slaughtered, that too after obtaining permission from the competent authority.

Raising hackles CM’s move on cow slaughter will cause unrest

By C P Nambiar

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he decision of the Siddaramaiah Government to reverse the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 2012, passed during the BJP rule, is bound to stir a hornet’s nest. Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar has said that the BJP will stage state-wide protests if the Act is reversed.

The newly-elected Congress has decided not to ban cow slaughter since it was against the amendment even when it was in the opposition. As opposition leader, Siddaramaiah had argued at that time that the ban would affect beef consumers and people involved in the leather industry, meat packaging industry and those involved in transportation of cattle.

‘Cow and Calf’ had been Congress party’s symbol before the open Palm symbol. “We will go back to the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Prevention Act, 1964. We will withdraw the bill amended last year,” the Chief Minister has said. The Congress had even petitioned to the Governor against giving his ascent. By amending the 1964 act, the BJP had enlarged the definition of cattle, made punishment harsher and increased the age of animal to be slaughtered. Under the original Act, slaughter of cow, calf of a cow (male or female) or calf of a she-buffalo is totally prohibited. Slaughter of bulls, bullocks and adult buffaloes is permitted on obtaining a “fit-for-slaughter” certificate provided cattle is over 12 years of age or is permanently incapacitated for breeding, draught or milk due to injury, deformity or any other cause. Transport for slaughter to a place outside a State not permitted. Sale, purchase or disposal of a cow or a calf, for slaughter, is not permitted. Anyone violating the law can be punished with imprisonment up to maximum of six months or fine of up to 1,000 or both. The crime is treated as a cognizable offence. Under the amended Act, which is yet to get the President’s ascent, slaughter of cow, calf of the cow, bull, bullock, buffalo male or female and calf of she-buffalo is prohibited. Only animals aged 15 years or above can be slaughtered, that too after obtaining permission from the competent authority. Responding to the CM’s announcement, former Law Minister S Suresh Kumar said: “We brought amendments to the 1964 Act, because it was weak. Cows continued to be slaughtered and transported. We wanted to stop that. Let them bring the issue in the legislature, we will debate.” The laws governing cattle slaughter vary greatly from

state to state. Some states allow the slaughter of cattle with restrictions (like a ‘fit-for-slaughter’ certificate which may be issued depending on factors like age and gender of cattle, continued economic viability etc.). Others completely ban cattle slaughter, while there is no restriction in a few states like Kerala. Prohibition of cow slaughter comes under the Directive Principles of State Policy in Article 48 of the Constitution. It states, “The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.” Cows are routinely shipped to states with lower or no requirement for slaughter, even though most states make it illegal to transport the animals for slaughter across State borders. Many illegal slaughter houses operate in large cities such as Chennai and Mumbai. While there are approximately 3,600 slaughter houses operating legally in India, there are over 30,000 illegal slaughter houses. Efforts to close them down have so far been largely unsuccessful. The country produced 3.643 million metric tons of beef in 2012, of which 1.963 million metric tons was consumed domestically and 1.680 million metric tons was exported. India ranks 5th in the world in beef production, 7th in domestic consumption and 1st is exporting.

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The Common Man Kejriwal’s new political outfit sets out to taste the electoral politics

Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party is going to test its luck, for the first time, in an electoral battlefield. Whether it wins or loses, AAP will certainly make politicking tougher for major political outfits like BJP and Congress. What is so appealing about this political outfit is the kind of candidates it has chosen to field and the kind of policy changes it is vowing to bring about. By Rakesh Shukla

rvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party is going to field candidates for the first time in Delhi assembly elections scheduled for November this year. AAP is a unique party borne out of the nationwide anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare. How this new political outfit will fare in the upcoming election is crucial because it will decide the future course of Indian political landscape riddled with corruption scandals and caste-based politics. The party’s claim that it is

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representing genuine and educated leaders will be put to test in this electoral contest. Will it ever be a mainstream party or end up as one more political outfit like Loksatta? There is a lot of difference between AAP and Loksatta. AAP picks up issues that directly affect the common man and strives to take its fight to the logical end. But the Loksatta surfaces only when the election comes closer. Look at the kind of issues the party is pursuing. At the top of its agenda is JanLokPal – a powerful ombudsman

law to root out corruption in public life. AAP is also calling for arming the citizens with a right to reject elections if they find no candidate worthy of getting their vote. It also arguing that there should be an option for people to recall the elected representative if they feel that he is corrupt and inactive. More than anything else, the party has raised in excess of 2 crore rupees from industrialists as well as people in general. It publicizes the donors on its official website. Look at the kind of candidates representing AAP in Delhi’s oncoming assembly elections. From car cleaners to songwriters and engineers to economists –– people from different walks of life are seeking a chance to represent AAP in the electoral contest. There are far more surprises: AAP is going to ask people if they are happy with candidates it has agreed to give ticket. The party has, however, not announced how it was going to gather public feedback about its ‘prospective’ candidates. The party will create a final list of candidates on basis of the feedback it received from candidates. The method sounds like the American presidential election, where political parties’ presidential candidates need to fight among themselves to be nominated as candidates. Kejriwal says he would choose the candidates who are already popular among public. Manish Sisodia, a former TV news presenter, and Shazia

Ilmi, an anchor-producer for some prime time news shows, are in the list of probable candidates the party has unveiled this week. Kejriwal says these candidates will not get the ticket if people disapprove of their nomination. Sisodia wants to contest Patparganj seat, while Ilmi wants to stand in RK Puram constituency. Interestingly, Kejriwal has not yet decided which seat he will contest. Analysts are of the belief that he would challenge some of the existing ministers in their own constituency. Kejriwal is also wooing leaders from other political parties including BJP and Congress. A person by name Bhim Singh, who served the Congress for 25 years, is now seeking for AAP ticket to contest in Delhi election. Kejriwal says he has already made it clear to Bhim Singh that he would not be given ticket if people disapprove of his candidature. Another prospective candidate is Harinder Singh Mahaur, who claims that he owns nothing but a bicycle and cleans cars for a living. Rohit Kumar Mehraulia, a songwriter who teaches music in a private school, has been shortlisted. A retiree from the Border Security Force, an IIT engineer and an alumnus of the Delhi School of Economics also figure in the list. AAP has made some groundwork to position itself as a serious contender. Party’s campaign against inflated electricity bills attracted consider-

able media attention. The party’s week-long campaign unearthed the government-private corporations nexus in hiking up electricity and water bills in Delhi. Moreover, the party has exposed many land dealings of several important persons including Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law. Kejriwal has also unveiled a small list of persons holding secrete accounts in tax havens such as Swiss banks. Aam Aadmi Party has suggested making systemic changes in the working of government to make it more transparent and accountable. But the question remains if it will ever be successful in winning elections. Campaigning is easy but winning elections is a tough task. What is certain is that AAP is going to put up a huge fight against BJP and ruling congress in Delhi.

Terrorism raises its ugly head again in UK

soldier from the British army was beheaded by Islamic terrorists in broad daylight in South London on Wednesday, May 22. The incident occurred near the Royal Artillery Barracks at the intersection area of John Wilson and Woolwich Street. According to eyewitnesses, two suspects crashed their car into the pedestrian. They exited the vehicle and attacked the man with knives and meat cleavers until near-decapitation. The soldier was reportedly wearing a bomber jacket and “Help for Heroes” T-shirt. Before police could arrive, both men went to onlookers, one of whom caught one suspect on video. His hands were drenched in blood and he justified the murder on camera. In a thick British accent, the attacker made numerous political statements. The speaker then returned to the victim’s body lying in the street, and then approached more bystanders. Some witnesses jumped from their vehicles to shield the victim from the two men. Witnesses claim

the attackers asked them to take photographs and videos of their actions. Prime Minister David Cameron convened a meeting of the Government’s Cobra crisis committee, describing the incident as “truly shocking” and “appalling”. Cobra meetings are committees established after crisis-situations to coordinate the responses of local and national agencies. This suggests the beheading incident was a terrorist attack. The soldier has been identified as Lee Rigby from Woolwich, London. The two were shot at by the police after the attack and remain under arrest. Two more have been arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder. The suspects, one of whom is said to be Islamist protester Michael Adebolajo, were known to security services. Scotland Yard said the latest arrests were of a man and woman, both aged 29. Drummer Rigby's family, said in a statement on Thursday: "Lee was lovely. He would do anything for anybody; he always looked after his sisters and always protected them. He took a 'big brother' role with everyone.”

Bangalore blast suspect nabbed in Kannur

ccording to sources, a main suspect behind the April 17 Bangalore bomb blast was nabbed in Kannur, Kerala. The police team has received assistance from the Coimbatore City Police in this crackdown. This is the eighth person from Coimbatore to be arrested in the Bangalore blast case. Named Zulfiquar Ali alias ‘Boxer,’ he reportedly parked the explosive-laden motorcycle, according to police sources. He has been taken away to Bangalore. The Karnataka police have already taken into custody a few suspects lodged in Coimbatore prison after being arrested for their alleged role in hurling a petrol explosive at Indu Makkal Katchi leader Arjun Sampath’s house on April 14. Zulfiquar is a suspected Al-Umma activist, and according to police, he had received training in bomb-making from Kichan Buhari, one of the prime accused in the blast case. Kichan Buhari was arrested in Madurai on April 23 by a special team of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police. Police are also looking into the source of ammonium nitrate, the explosive used in bomb blast. In the Coimbatore serial blasts case, Zulfiquar Ali had also visited two convicts who belonged to a fundamentalist group in Coimbatore Central Prison. He reportedly has close links with some of the other people arrested in this case from Coimbatore. He was born and brought up in Coimbatore and his family hails from Kannur. He also has a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. At the time of arrest, he was working in Coimbatore as a scrap dealer. The seven others who are also from Coimbatore arrested in the Bangalore blast case are: The prime accused Kichan Buhari, Rahmatullah, Syed Suleiman, Saddam Hussein, Olongo Suleiman, Askar Ali and Valayal Hakkim. On April 17, about 17 persons, including 11 policemen, were injured in a bomb blast near the Bharatiya Janata Party’s office in Malleswaram. The blast came ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections. The attackers allegedly placed ammonium nitrate in a motorcycle.

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Competent Group Organizes Blood Donation Camp

ompetent Foundation, in association with PGI, organized its 9th Blood Donation Camp in Chandigarh at the Community Centre, Sector 21. The camp collected 230 units of blood. Competent Foundation is a charitable organization of Competent Group, which is handling a Call Centre, Stock Brokerage, Commodity Brokerage, Insurance Brokerage, Audits and Financial Consultancies etc. The camp was inaugurated by Sh. B. D. Tandon, Former Minister, Punjab, who was welcomed by Sh. Sanjay Tandon, Chairman of Competent Group, Chandigarh. The prominent dignitaries who attended the function were: Home Secretary UT Sh. Anil Kumar; Sh. RP Upadhyaya, IGP Chandigarh and DSP Vijay Kumar; Sh. Amrit Sagar, Sah Prant Karyavah RSS; Councillors Sh. Arun Sood, Sh. Rajesh Gupta (Bitu), Smt Asha Jaswal, Smt Harjinder Kaur; Sh. Charanjiv Singh President Chandigarh Beopar Mandal; Former Mayor Mrs Shanta Hitabhilashi and Sh. Gian Chand Gupta; Ex-Councillors Sh. Rajesh Gupta, Dr A.P. Sanwaria, S. Jagjit Singh Kang; Sh.Desraj Tandon, Maj Gen MS Kandal and Mr DS Grewal President, Chandigarh Senior Citizens Assocaition; Former President BJP Sh. Purshotam Mahajan; Vice Presidents BJPSh. Raghubir Arora, Sh. B. K. Sood, Sh. Harishankar Mishra and Sh. Ram Lal; General Secretaries, BJP Sh. Chander Shekhar and Sh. Prem Kaushik; Secretaries Mrs Santosh Sharma and Sh. Gajinder Sharma; SGPC Members S. Naib Singh and Maj Karnail Singh; District Presidets BJP Sh. B. C. Puri, Sh.Ravikant Sharma and Sh. Shakti Devshali; Kanwar Sen General Secretary, Haryana BJP; Smt Sunit Dhawan President Mahila Morcha BJP; Sh. Amit Rana President YUVA

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Morcha BJP; Sh.Baljit Sidhu, Kissan Morcha, BJP; Spokespersons Sh. Naveen Kochhar and S. Gurpreet Singh Dhillon. Sh. Sanjay Tandon President BJP also donated blood. A 5-minute movie on the charitable projects undertaken by Competent Foundation was also shown to all the dignitaries. In this camp, an eye donation camp was also organized in association with the Bharat Vikas Parishad and number of senior persons pledged to donate their eyes. The Traffic Police of Chandigarh also displayed and distributed booklets to the youngsters for the safe driving. Lioness Club of Chandigarh and Panchkula also participated through their Members and encouraged the blood donors. Understanding the Corporate Social Responsibility, COMPETENT GROUP had formed a Charitable Society by the name of COMPETENT FOUNDATION, in October 2006. This foundation is known for undertaking various projects to help the under privileged in the society by organizing weekly langars, medical camps, free education, circulating daily good thoughts & weekly stories, etc. The PGI authorities thanked Competent Group for this selfless service to society. Each donor was presented with a certificate from PGI. Earlier, the Foundation had organized eight blood donation camps in which 2470 units of blood were collected and donated to PGI & GMCH, Chandigarh. Sh. Sanjay Tandon, Chairman of Competent Group, thanked all the donors for their participation and blessings. He said if the people start donating blood voluntarily, there will be no shortage of blood in the Country and thousands of lives could be saved.

country was re-unified. According to Merkel, both she and Francis had lived under dictatorships as a military junta had ruled the pope’s native Argentina from 1976 to 1983. Since his election in March, this is the first time the Pope has spoken at length about finance. In his speech, he had also urged states to take increased control of their economies and safeguard the poor and the downtrodden. During his brief stay in Germany, Francis was a Jesuit priest. Merkel gave him three volumes of poetry by Friedrich Hölderlin and 107 CDs of music by German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwaengler.

Merkel and Pope Discuss Finance

Early Marriages Still Prevalent in Rajasthan

erman Chancellor Angela Merkel recently met Pope Francis and used this opportunity to stress stronger regulation of financial markets. Merkel was in Rome specifically to meet the pontiff and she had an audience with him privately in his library for 45 minutes. This period was unusually long for a private papal audience. Speaking about the criticisms by the Pope, she said the Pope’s criticisms showed that important checks and balances had not been working as desired. According to a report by Reuters, she said, “Crises have blown up because the rules of the social market have not been observed. We have made progress but we are nowhere near a point where we could say that the kind of derailment that leads to market crises could not happen again and so the issue will again play a central role at the G20 meeting this year. It is true that economies are there to serve people and that has by no means always been the case in recent years,” she said. She also added that the upcoming meeting of leaders of Group of 20 economic powers in September will look at tightening the financial market regulations. Merkel, daughter of a Lutheran minister, discussed with the Pope, about globalization, the European Union and the role of Europe in the world. She was brought up in communist East Germany before the

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all it by some other name, but it is still child marriage. An official survey has revealed that the mean age for marriage in Rajasthan is much lower than the legal age of marriage. The state suffers from the deep-rooted custom of child marriages and the latest data of annual health survey (AHS) states that about one-fourth of girls are getting married before reaching the age of 18 whereas for boys its 20.7 years. With girls being generally married off at 17.7 years, every fourth girl in rural areas is being married off before the age of 18. The evil practice is widely prevalent in the state and the government could do little in the last decades. The highest percentage of child marriage is in Bhilwara (54), Rajsamand (42), Bundi (38.4), Jhalawar (36.6) and Dausa (34.6). Prevalent caste politics play a major role in such marriages going unabated in these parts of the state. However, at least some communities in the state have realized the evil nature of this old custom and have come forward to fight it. The Bairwa community in Tonk district recently declared not to engage in any activity of child marriage in their caste Panchayat. More such announcements are being made by the Sen community in Dooni of Tonk district. Focusing on Rajasthan, the Union government is coming up with a national action plan to put an end to child marriages in the state. Along with the Central government, the United Nations has also joined hands with the Rajasthan Government in carrying out a programme to promote women’s leadership in politics and governance. It is aimed at enabling elected women representatives with knowledge and skills to take part in local governance, allowing them to fight against child marriages and end this evil social practice.

Rajasthan Govt. rapped for Not Protecting RTI Activists

he Rajasthan government has received some harsh criticism from the Central Government for

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failing to provide protection to the Right to Information (RTI) activists. It has also been criticized for not establishing an independent directorate for social audits in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). The Union Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh, recently penned a strongly worded letter to the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and urged him to take strict action against the accused and take serious steps in offering social audit. He wrote about the attacks made on Mangalaram of Barmer, Dhuraram of Bikaner and two other RTI activists in the state and asked the Chief Minister to register criminal cases against the culprits. The minister has also asked the Chief Minister to facilitate compensation to these activists, which will be an encouragement to their fighting spirit. The minister recommended that the state government should establish an independent directorate for social audits in NREGA. Rajasthan is yet to come up with such a body and reasons are not known. In the last two years, only 44 panchayats have come under social audit out of 9,000 and that too has been done partially. In no case has recovery of embezzlement been registered and no recovery has been made. The Union Minster also took the State Government to task for letting ‘sarpanchs’ go scot-free from criminal proceedings when they deposited the misappropriated amount of Rs 3 lakh under NREGA in Barmer. He gave the example of Ajmer, and his letter talked of blocking the audits in some cases and even manipulating the reports. In various other cases, no recovery could be made from the ‘sarpanchs’ because of the faulty and incomplete social audit report.

MP Follows Gujarat in Fighting Power Crisis

his year, the Madhya Pradesh government has undertaken a power programme, which is similar to Jyoti Grama Yojana started by the Rajasthan Government, promising 10-hour supply for agricultural use. Both the states have also undertaken the task of unbundling the power business to bring in corporate efficiencies. In 2005, the Gujarat government created Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) out of Gujarat Electricity Board. The same year, Madhya Pradesh also introduced its power business and created government-controlled companies. Madhya Pradesh has witnessed a huge shortfall in generation capacity after Chattisgarh went out of its electricity belt in 2000. The state then added 1052 MW to its power pool through long-term contracts last year. But Gujarat’s Jyoti Gram Yojana had its own problems too. In the beginning, the state government was to offer 70 per cent of the money, with panchayats, cooperatives and other local bodies contributing the remaining part. However, in October 2004, the Gujarat government had to pitch in to meet the shortfall

in public funding. But these problems have not affected the finances of discoms in Gujarat. Its four companies are the only ones getting the Union Power Ministry’s highest rating of A+. Madhya Pradesh’s three discoms have the third-best B rating. Gujarat has also obtained representations from other states like Bihar, Punjab and Karnataka for studying the Jyoti Gram Yojana. Every Rs 1 crore raised through tariff can get 300-400 MW more power. Also, it is important to set up good transmission network and efficient management. Consumers, of course, are not complaining. Although they are not free from power outages yet, the situation is far better than earlier. Although the programmes seem to be politically motivated, one cannot dispute the fact that these villagers are living a “powerful” life these days.

HP Govt claims damages from Dutch Company

he Himachal Pradesh cabinet has stated that it will claim damages of more than Rs 1,365 crore from the Netherlands engineering firm Brackel Cor-

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poration for allegedly causing loss to the state exchequer by delaying the 960-MW Jangi Thopan Powari hydel project. According to Himachal Pradesh government, the cabinet also took a decision to re-tender the project and forfeit the amount which has been already deposited by Brakel as premium along with interest amounting to over Rs 280 crore. The cabinet arrived at this decision at its meeting on March 23, even though the award of the project is pending in the Supreme Court. The Jangi-Thopan and Thopan-Powari hydel projects of 480 MW each were given to Brakel in 2006 through an international competitive bid. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd was the second lowest bidder for both the ventures. After getting the project, Brakel did not fulfill its commitment to deposit Rs 173 crore of the total upfront premium of Rs 346 crore. Later, it was discovered that while submitting the pre-qualification proposal, Brakel provided numer-

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ous misrepresentations about commitment from its consortium partners and also submitted allegedly forged certificate of incorporation. Reliance then challenged the award of projects in the Himachal High Court. In October 2009, the court ordered cancellation of the project to Brakel and enabled the Himachal government to either award the venture as per old tender or by re-tendering them. During the hearing of the matter in the HC, Brakel, however, deposited part of upfront premium. But later inquiries by the state vigilance department revealed that the money was actually deposited by the Adani Group of companies. At that time, the state government ignored its set precedence of giving away the project to second ranked bidder upon default by the winner, and then decided to re-tender the projects. Both Brakel and Reliance filed SLP, and have moved the apex court challenging the HC order, where the matter is pending.

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