TH Chennai/ CITY Edit_01 User: cci
07-02-2013
00:32 Color: C K Y M
10 EDITORIAL
THE HINDU I CHENNAI, TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2013
Gruel, rice and tamarind water The Kerala government has not learnt anything from the Attappady tragedy. Nutrition levels of women and children, most of them tribals, continue to remain dismal in the area TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2013
Whose Supreme Court? y striking down a key section of the Voting Rights Act 1965, the United States Supreme Court has opened the door to the potential compromise of universal adult franchise, especially of the country’s ethnic minorities. The 5-4 majority decision, made on June 25 in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, abolishes Section 4 of the Act, which stated the conditions under which nine particular States, and specified counties in other States, had to submit proposed changes in electoral laws for prior federal government approval; in effect the decision also blocks Section 5, namely the preclearance requirement itself. The ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, holds that Section 4 is no longer necessary because African-Americans in the relevant States now have higher voter registration rates than whites, and because “blatantly discriminatory” violations of federal decrees are now rare. In a dissenting judgment, however, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg notes that whenever discriminatory practices have been banned, others have arisen, and that case-by-case litigation cannot prevent racially discriminatory election procedures. Several rights groups have denounced the ruling; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People calls it “outrageous”. The States concerned have a long history of procedures which amount to discrimination on racial lines, even though the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution banned the practice over 140 years ago. Texas, in which Shelby county lies, has immediately started implementing a law requiring photo-identification for voting, and there is widespread evidence to support the ruling’s critics. The federal Justice Department has rejected 86 electoral changes from the listed areas in the past 15 years. Secondly, the photo-ID requirement will mainly affect African-American and Latino voters, as a majority of them are from poorer classes and find it difficult to get the kinds of documents required. Furthermore, Statelevel Republican parties systematically challenge ethnic-minority voters at the polling stations, for example by “caging”, that is, sending junk mail to voters in poorer neighbourhoods and then claiming that a failure to reply shows that the voters involved do not live at the addresses given in the electoral register. Moreover, there is virtually no chance that the now bitterly divided Congress can revise the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act. To paraphrase Justice Ginsburg, African-American and Latino voters may well find that the Supreme Court has thrown away the umbrella when it is still raining on them. In sum, it is not just minority Americans who are potentially under threat, but American democracy itself.
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A home-grown epidemic hat predators continue to enjoy impunity for crimes committed against women is now common knowledge. But less known is the fact that the worst perpetrators are often those most intimately known to women, or that the latter are vulnerable in consequence to life-long health-related risks. These frightening revelations are contained in a recent World Health Organisation report, issued in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Council. Globally, 38 per cent of women who are murdered are killed by their intimate partners. Some 30 per cent of women worldwide are victims of brutalities perpetrated by their close partners. Not to mention that 35 per cent of all women experience abuse of some form or the other and 42 per cent sustain injuries during their lifetime. Little wonder then that domestic violence constitutes a distinct category by itself under criminal law, begging the question whether the home is a place that protects personal privacy or is an impenetrable fortress shielding those guilty of despicable crimes. Given the severe impact of domestic violence on the physical and mental health of women, the report describes the situation as a global health problem of epidemic proportions. Apart from the more visible manifestations of broken limbs, there are often complications linked to pregnancy, and low birth weight babies that more directly impact the next generation. Moreover, women who endure abuse from partners are twice as likely to suffer from depression, alcohol abuse and sexually-transmitted infections compared to others. Governments must heed WHO’s call to incorporate its latest clinical and policy guidelines into the medical and nursing curricula. These emphasise the need to train health workers at all levels to elicit relevant information from victims in a private setting, ensuring complete confidentiality. Significantly, India was among the seven countries that endorsed a declaration in May at the 66th World Health Assembly that regards violence against girls and women as a major public health, gender equality and human rights challenge. Unsurprisingly, the country is among those worst affected in terms of violence against women from partners. For New Delhi, part of the answer at least clearly lies in an effective enforcement of the law on domestic violence. But more fundamental and urgent is the shift in age-old cultural attitudes that entrench patriarchal power relations between the sexes. One that is an affront to a sense of basic human dignity and equal respect.
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CM YK
Brinda Karat
health institutions on tribal patients. For more than a year, not a single paisa has been released to the hospitals under CHIS. This not only reflects official callousness but also raises questions about the dependence on insurance schemes, instead of strengthening public health services. After the deaths, the State government promised the urgent release of Rs 10 lakh to the Agali CHC. This has not yet materialised. The consequences were being felt by Kavitha’s little boy. The doctors present said they were using samples of nutrition feeds for her child which they had been given free but the supply was running out. The only alternative before them was to spend their own money to buy the feed, they said.
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t the Agali Community Health Centre in Attappady, Palakkad district, Kerala, Kavitha tends to her four-year-old child lying listlessly on the cot, critically ill. The doctor says the child is severely malnourished. He also says there are eight such infants and children, all suffering from malnutrition, admitted to the centre. This area in Kerala has seen 19 infant deaths in just two months, and 52 deaths of children due to malnourishment over the last year. These are children of tribal communities which make up 42 per cent of Attappady’s population. Wise men coming here from the governments of Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram have declared that the women do not know how to feed their children properly, they must be educated about nutrition, exclusive breast feeding and weaning. The deaths are due to ignorance, they say.
Affordability The child’s mother looks puzzled when this is put across to her. But we do not have much choice in what we eat, she says, we eat what we can afford to buy. The current diet of a tribal woman in this area is a sort of rice gruel in the morning and rice and tamarind water at night. A locally grown green vegetable may be added, when available, to the night meal. Pulses are a rarity. Kavitha herself looks highly malnourished. Health department officials say that a woman (given the average height of tribal women in this area) should weigh at least 48 kg before she can bear a child. But most women here weigh just 35 to 38 kg. The third National Family Health Survey in 20052006 showed that at the all-India level, 46.6 per cent of tribal women and 41.1 per cent of Dalit women have a body mass index that is below normal. Of these, an alarming 21 per cent of tribal women and 18.5 per cent of Dalit women are moderate/ severely thin. If Attappady is an indication, there has been little improvement. Before Kavitha was born, her family owned land and grew millets and, sometimes, pulses which helped maintain a certain level of nutrition. As many health officials say, it is not a lack of knowledge but loss of land, which is an important factor behind poor
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State of anganwadis
nutrition. In Attappady, as in other parts of India, dispossession of tribals from their land by various methods of land grab has occurred. There is a consequent forced dependence of tribals on a now weakened public distribution system. In Attappady, once the child deaths became known and the UDF government was held accountable, it was announced that a minimum of 35 kg of foodgrains would be given to each family. But two months later, even those who hold a BPL card like Kavitha get only 25 to 28 kg of foodgrains a month. Two years ago, they used to get pulses, oil, salt at subsidised rates. Not any more. The mantra to cut subsidies implemented by the UDF government in the food, health and anganwadi sectors hits marginalised communities in a hard and cruel way.
Drastic cut A woman bearing a child with such an elevated level of malnutrition is at high risk as is her baby. In Attappady, the majority of infants who died were pre-term babies or babies with a very low birth weight. Perhaps they could have been saved, in spite of this, had health facilities been available. But of the 1,200 pregnant women who registered in the area last year, only 25 had institutional deliveries. One of the reasons women do not go to health institutions is the drastic cut in the facilities in the last two years. There is a Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS) for tribals, which is supposed to cover medicine and other expenses incurred by
Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
ers were as high as Rs 28 lakh. But even those who have been paid subsequently have been denied a minimum wage. The same utterly insensitive mindset that blames a mother’s ignorance as the prime reason for her baby’s death also holds that it is because workers have become lazy that the stipulated wage rate is not earned. With low levels of nutrition, women who comprise a large section of the MGNREGS workers in this area find it difficult to complete the tasks set for them. In this case, the piece rates are linked to a norm which requires a worker to dig or lift mud of around 1200 kg a day. Can a woman who herself weighs less than 40 kg, eating once a day, be expected to complete this task? While the situation in Attappady is particularly bad, the continuing emphasis on earth work in MGNREGS projects across the country, with high and difficult-to-complete productivity norms, makes it virtually impossible for a malnourished labour force to earn a piece rate linked minimum wage. Although the Ministry of Rural Development in its operational guidelines for 2013 has specifically mentioned that in fixing SORs (schedule of rates), levels of nutrition should also be taken into account, this has not been translated into practice. On the contrary, in some States, for example in Andhra Pradesh, the Minister’s home State, the SORs were actually raised following the raise in the wage rate. This is a method of neutralising the increased wage rate, depriving the worker of the benefit and saving the government the additional money it would have had to pay. India along with the sub Saharan Africa region is the only country in the world where the number of very poor people has registered an increase in the last 30 years. According to a recent World Bank study (The State of the Poor: Where are the Poor and where are the Poorest), India now accounts for one-third of the world’s poorest people — that is those earning around 87 cents, less than Rs 50 a day. In 1981, one-fifth of the world’s poorest people lived in India; in 2010, the numbers increased to one-third, around 400 million. Clearly, the government has to make drastic changes and reversals in its present policies to address the issues of deprivation. It should draw the right lessons from the Attappady tragedy because the deaths could have been prevented had the policies been different.
A public interest litigation plea filed recently in the Kerala High Court paints a shocking picture of the state of anganwadis in Attappady. The food supply for anganwadis was handed over to private contractors by the present government, resulting in rampant corruption. Rotten, inedible food was supplied to children in most of the 172 anganwadis in the area. A Central government team found that the nutrition programme for pregnant women and adolescent girls was not implemented in the last two years. The State had also cut the nutritional requirements by half, cutting out eggs and fruit supplies to the anganwadis. It was only in April, after the furore over the deaths, that the responsibility for supplies was once again given to government agencies. But it was too late for the children. Even now the situation on the ground in spite of all the announcements has not changed. The doctors fear more deaths. If this can happen in Kerala, what of those States where governments equally committed to neo-liberal policies do not even have a proper monitoring system? Tribal communities want their land back, they want livelihood not charity. In the last year, in this area the average number of days of work provided under MGNREGS was only 63 days. The concerned Central Minister Jairam Ramesh who visited Attappady after the deaths made a grand statement of allocating Rs 120 crore for the area. It might have been more useful if the Minister had ensured that work, which has come to a standstill, had been provided and workers paid what was owed to them. According to the report of the District Vigilance and Mon(Brinda Karat is Polit Bureau member, itoring Council, till the first week of April, delayed wage payments for unskilled work- Communist Party of India-Marxist)
CARTOONSCAPE
Refreshing our design ost readers have appreciated the way in which The Hindu has hit the refresh button on a design we first unveiled in 2005. We have stuck with the basic template designed by Mario Garcia but have updated the palette of colours used. Together with more white ‘breathing’ space between columns to improve readability, new page shoulders, lead story blurbs and the use of Interstate Black for lead headlines (in place of Interstate Bold Compressed), the new ‘soft redesign’ makes for a brighter, cleaner yet sober and modern look that is in keeping with our underlying editorial philosophy. Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor
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Pleasant surprise
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hen I picked up my copy of The Hindu from the vendor during my morning walk, I was pleasantly surprised to see some changes in it, notably the change in font size which is more pleasing to the eye. Other inclusions on page one, the prominent display of city temperatures and place of publication, and briefs on editorial and op-ed articles are also welcome. The Letters column has got a fresh look. The launch of the Right to Walk campaign is laudable. The Hindu has yet again proved that it is committed to quality and responsible journalism. R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
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s an ardent reader of The Hindu for almost seven decades, it is my pleasure to convey my view that the columns “Short Takes” and “Singles” provide a refreshing change and add elegance to the daily. Reading news has become more interesting and enjoyable.
K.D. Viswanaathan,
Coimbatore
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pleasant surprise awaited me on Monday (July 1). Arguably the best national daily, The Hindu in its new avatar is a delight to read. The use of info-graphics, images, borders and alignment is a welcome step. The changes introduced in the presentation of news and views have made reading more interesting. Shreyans Jain,
Delhi
Shocking
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s soon as the newspaper boy delivered my copy, I asked him to give me The Hindu, not any other newspaper. He promptly replied it was The Hindu. I was shocked to see the new design/font which reminded me of another
English newspaper. As a reader of The Hindu for nearly four decades, I do not understand why it should imitate others. The Hindu has its own style. It is not a newspaper, it is a tradition. B. Jambulingam,
Thanjavur
For Reliance
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urya P. Sethi has raised many substantive issues in the public interest (“Of Reliance, by Reliance, for Reliance,” July 1). Justice Louis Brandeis, former judge of the U.S. Supreme Court, said: “We can have democracy in the country or we can have great wealth in a few hands but we can’t have both.” Economic reforms initiated in 1991 have but one aim: to privatise public wealth and put them in the hands of a few.
eliance has succeeded in forcing the government to raise the price of natural gas. The government has yet again proved that it exists not for the people but for corporates. The common man will suffer when the price of electricity rises and fertilizer becomes dearer for the farmer. Unless people realise that galat sehna sabse bada gunah hai (the biggest crime is to tolerate wrongdoing), policymakers will not change their way of thinking.
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat,
Vishiwjeet Singh,
Mumbai
Ludhiana
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he article reminds me of a dialogue from the movie The Network: “There are no nations. There are no peoples. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies ... The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business ... The world is a business.” It is so true. The common man is dictated by the equations of the political and business class. Vinay Rajiv,
New Delhi
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urya P. Sethi has given a clarion call to the Opposition parties to join hands with Gurudas Dasgupta to stop the loot from gas pricing — yet another gigantic scam of UPA II. The irony is that the government, working overtime to stop/curb subsidies to people in the name of fiscal stability, has deceitfully opened the door for subsidising the purchase of gas for the power and fertilizer sectors. Alphonse William,
Thiruvananthapuram
ne must remember that the bulk of the costs involved in exploring and pumping out gas are based on the cost of plant and equipment, which are mostly imported. If the current gas prices do not permit profitable returns, wouldn’t it be smarter for the country to pay more for gas but ensure that the players and source stay Indian, saving our precious foreign exchange? And in the process ensure that our power plants and fertilizer plants run round the clock? The price determined by the government is still lower than the landed costs of imported gas. One should view the gas pricing as a pragmatic step and move on. K. Anand,
Bangalore
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urya Sethi has torn to shreds the old and new clothes of the Emperors of India, represented by the Congress leadership. It is obvious that the largesse given to the corporate giant will result in massive funds being diverted to the party to make a bid for a third
consecutive term at the Centre. Eminent lawyers must approach the Supreme Court and stop this unmitigated loot of the country. Vijaya Dar,
Coonoor
Deplorable
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he blame game between different authorities in Uttarakhand exacerbates the impact of the disaster. For instance, the DMMC’s statement that action on the ground cannot be initiated unless the forecast is specific is unconvincing. The need of the hour is to ensure that all victims return to normal lives, the outbreak of an epidemic is prevented and a comprehensive plan made for the hilly region to restore the ecosystem.
Subasribala Sridar,
Puducherry
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he government’s disaster preparedness should be as good as our defence preparedness. While the job done by the army in Uttarakhand is commendable, the government should prepare for unexpected natural disasters.
Appalling
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his refers to the editorial “Fighting a war without arms” (July 1). The appalling shortage of life-saving TB and paediatric drugs in government hospitals across India is unfortunate. It is the government’s foremost responsibility to focus on public health issues, prevention, and efficient treatment of diseases. TB is known to be drug resistant. The shortage of drugs will add to the woes of the patients who are in high-risk category. When will our official machinery get serious about those who are at the government’s mercy?
M.Y. Shariff,
Chennai
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he drug stock-out issue has brought to the fore the pathetic state of health infrastructure in India. Successive governments have failed to recognise health care as the most important social capital.
Prudhvi Raju Vegesna,
Chennai
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ll calamities in India seem to stem from man-made blunders. Shortage of life-saving TB drugs threatens decades of progress in the fight against it. The government of India and the State governments should estimate the demand for TB drugs correctly and order them much in advance so that the manufacturers get enough time to supply them.
Dinesh Kumar,
Rameeza A. Rasheed,
Haryana
Chennai
Savula Naveen Chandra,
Karimnagar nstead of passing the buck, the authorities should work with dedication to rebuild Uttarakhand. However, if it is true that timely action was not taken by officials on an input provided by the meteorological department, they should be made accountable.
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