September 2013 The Radical Humanist

Vol. 77 No 6

SEPTEMBER 2013

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THE RADICAL HUMANIST (Since April 1949)

Formerly : Independent India (April 1937- March 1949)

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M. N. Roy Founder Editor

THE RADICAL HUMANIST

The Radical Humanist

SEPTEMBER 2013

www.theradicalhumanist.com

Vol. 77 Number 6 September 2013

Contents

Monthly journal of the Indian Renaissance Institute

1. From the Editor’s Desk: Is an Ideology Really Essential for our Lives?

—Rekha Saraswat 1 2. Guests’ Section: Syria - No, Not More Bombs —Tony Henderson 3 Darwin did not cheat Wallace out of his rightful place in History —John van Wyhe 4 Refocusing The Middle Class ; Growing up in a Digital Civilization —Uday Dandavate 6 Bending The Steel Frame —S.N. Shukla 8 Business of Faith —Ram Puniyani 12 3. Current Affairs’ Section: Convicted MPs Should Quit; IAS Must Assert Itself; Dalits Still There Where They Were —Kuldip Nayar 15 What do we learn from Detroit?

North Andhra deprived of Riparian Rights in Polavaram — K.S. Chalam 20 4. IRI / IRHA Members’ Section: Monsterous Propagandists —Vidya Bhushan Rawat 24 5. Professors' & Research Scholars' Section: —Arshi Ansari 28 6. Book Review Section: A Valuable Life — Dipavali Sen 30 7. Humanist News: 33

Devoted to the development of the Renaissance Movement; and for promotion of human rights, scientific-temper, rational thinking and a humanist view of life.

Founder Editor: M.N. Roy Editor: Dr. Rekha Saraswat Contributory Editors: Prof. A.F. Salahuddin Ahmed, Dr. R.M. Pal, Professor Rama Kundu Publisher: Mr. N.D. Pancholi Printer: Mr. N.D. Pancholi Send articles to: Dr. Rekha Saraswat, C-8, Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P., India, Ph. 91-121-2620690, 09719333011 E-mail articles at: rheditor@gmail.com Send Subscription / Donation Cheques in favour of The Radical Humanist to: Mr. Narottam Vyas (Advocate), Chamber Number 111 (Near Post Office), Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, 110001, India n.vyas@snr.net.in Ph. 91-11-22712434, 91-11-23782836, 09811944600

Please Note: Authors will bear sole accountability for corroborating the facts that they give in their write-ups. Neither IRI / the Publisher nor the Editor of this journal will be responsible for testing the validity and authenticity of statements & information cited by the authors. Also, sometimes some articles published in this journal may carry opinions not similar to the Radical Humanist philosophy; but they would be entertained here if the need is felt to

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From The Editor's Desk:

Is an Ideology Really Essential for our Lives?

Rekha S. we begin Ifindispensable

to make a list of the physical requirements needed by a human being to survive the list ends almost where it begins. Man needs something to eat when he is hungry, a place to sleep when he is tired and a security against the possible dangers of his extinction. And, in the process of attaining these three facilities he continues to adjust, protest and contest with the natural and man-made environment.

Just check the historical graph of his journey from savagery to civilization and you will see how his struggle to survive gave rise to the insurmountable vistas of knowledge and experience on account of the pleasant and unpleasant happenings around him leading to both positive and negative developments in the world.

While on the one hand he developed philosophies and ideologies, he made discoveries and inventions, he formed theories and sciences, he built families and societies, he structured nations and states; on the other, he plundered and massacred in wars and conquests. He hated and terrorized, he invaded and bombed big sections of humanity but, side by side, his chanting for ideologies and principles, for religions and ethics did not stop for a moment.

But did his achievements and failures have anything to do with his ideologies? Or were ideologies an outcome of the critical-estimation of 1

his experience and behavior, post-factum, to justify or negate his actions? To find an answer to this question we need to define the concept of ‘ideology’.

The Oxford Dictionary says, ‘An ideology is a set of beliefs characteristic of a social group or individual.’ It also goes on to say that ‘it is a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy’.

The first part of the definition tracks the deduction of an ideology from the established behavior pattern of the social group or individual while the second part traces the basis of an individual’s and society’s political and economic behavior in their pre-conceived ideals and expectations which we may name as ideologies. And this means that the processes of experiences (action leading to thought) and experiments (thought leading to action) continue simultaneously (sometimes overlapping each other and sometimes becoming each other’s sources of cause and effect).

Destutt de Tracy who actually coined the term ‘ideology’ during the French Revolution defined it as a ‘science of ideas’ with a vision to remove injustice from society. His ‘ideology’ was a ‘science with a mission’ which wanted ‘to change the world into a democratic, rational, and scientific society, liberating the mind of man from any kind of prejudice’. He was talking of an ideology of renaissance through enlightenment, as he was a natural bi-product of the ‘Age of Reason’ (Age of Enlightenment) of the 17th & 18th Century which supported the unconditional right of every man to food and shelter.

But could such ideologies procure the basic amenities for all living beings on Earth without any discrimination? No. The realities of today have confirmed otherwise. They have proved theorists like A.M. Textor correct that ideologies are simply ‘theoretical, unworldly and unrealistic’. Kerber and Schmieder, Goerlitz, Praetorius and Narr, all have expressed their disbelief in the positive purpose of ideologies. They openly blame such theories for

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common man usually is not able to do so. Their words, for him, become theories worth extolling.

Many times, restricted by his circumstances to follow them he satisfies himself by eulogizing them. He may not be able to live by his ideology but yes, a viewpoint is a must for each human being either to live by it, or simply to cherish it.

So much so, for the ‘good’ and the ‘right’ in him!

But does he also need a philosophy when he rapes, abducts, injures, kills, activates and participates in communal riots? Does he need some kind of value system to molest a woman, to snatch someone’s food, to burn his abode and to destroy his physical existence? May be, yes! Here his heart may be calling for patriarchal sadism, his mind may be yelling for communal vengeance and his soul may be calling for religious carnage! Again, strange though it is, but yes, he also finds many heroes and leaders to commend and promote even this dastardly act of his!!

This goes to prove that an ideology is essential for our lives, good or bad, because before justifying it to others each individual convinces his own conscience for all his decisions and behaviours.

How humanism can help him decide what is right for his secured, sheltered, well-fed and above all, a cultured future in a civilized world should be a matter of each humanist’s immediate concern!!

always being instrumental in deceiving, manipulating and subordinating the weaker social groups by the powerful.

Even the good intentions of intellectuals, philosophers, teachers and leaders have not been of much help. Marx and Engels had gone to the extent of wanting an ‘ideology-free’ atmosphere because they believed that ideologies were always forced upon the ‘have-nots’ by the ‘haves’ for the latter’s benefit. M. Weber and K. Mannheim although challenged the Marxian criticism of ideology questioning the validity of dualism of the common man’s ‘right’ and the ruling class’s ‘wrong’ still they agreed with them that social and economic factors do give rise to all kinds of belief-systems.

All this discussion brings us to the conclusion that the definition of a philosophy, a concept, a theory or an ideology is neither concrete nor accurate. It lies in the perception of the person who defines it.

Each one of us living-being learns, adapts, adheres and follows either the dictate of his heart and mind or the dictum of his family, friends, relatives, religion, caste or creed in deciding what is ‘right’ for him – that ‘right’ to him is his ideology of life.

Intellectuals, philosophers and mavericks have the will, ability and conviction to follow the voice of their own mind and reason in their deeds and words and they spend their lives accordingly while the

Important Announcement for all the members of Indian Renaissance Institute The biennial conference of Indian Renaissance Institute will be held on Saturday & Sunday – 30th November & Ist December 2013 at Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi. The timings will be between 10 a.m to 5.00 p.m on both days. Agenda of the conference will be sent by post and uploaded on the RH webportal shortly. This notice is being sent in advance to enable the members to make arrangements for their travel to & fro Delhi. Those who require accommodation may inform the undersigned before 10th October 2013 to reserve their beds in advance. The charges of the accommodation will be around Rs. 250/- per bed per day.

You are requested to make it convenient to attend the conference.

—N.D. Pancholi, Secretary, IRI (M): 9811099532 Ph: 0120-2648691, e-mail: ndpancholi44@gmail.com

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Guests' Section:

From Hong Kong—

Tony Henderson

[Tony Henderson is Chairman, Humanist Association of Hong Kong. He may be contacted at G/F, 49 Kau Tsuen, Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong; tonyhen@humanist.org.hk; http://humanistassociationhongkong.yolasite. com/]

Syria - No, Not More Bombs is imperative that the perpetrator of the Itchemical weapons attack that took place Wednesday 21 August in Damascus be determined before any nation’s government or coalition of same places blame that results in the launch of any further attack on Syria.

More missiles and bombs are not an answer and only mean further deaths and injuries to the Syrian people. Soldiers are people and the outrage of remote killing of armed forces is considerably worse than conventional fighting where at least one soldier can see the other whom he - or she nowadays - is duty-bound to engage.

There is the possibility that a sufficient grouping of the international community will muster itself to impose further warring actions against Syria to commandeer the stocks of chemical weapons no matter by which side those weapons are held because those nations fear chemical weapons falling into the hands of the forces acting against them, namely the Al Qaeda-linked (to try and give that grouping a name) forces.

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The Syrian government has not co-operated with those requesting it to allow the UN investigative team already in the country to try and determine from whence the 21 August attack came. Also, that was not their brief. If readers can recall, the investigative team that looked into the weapons of mass destruction facade during the Iraq War was thrown out of Iraq when it was uncovered that the team was heavily infiltrated by USA spies.

Also, all efforts going toward normalisation by the Assad regime have been ignored by the ‘West’ and more than that, labelled as insincere - but significant numbers of the Syrian population did want to give the Syrian government space to start reforms. It is also good to recall that in the very beginning the protests against the Assad regime were peaceful and what had been seen in Tunisia for example was a clear reference in Syria.

However, other forces, the violent ones, took over and the way of peace was lost in the ensuing melee.

Those days of attempting to enact change non-violently have been undermined and the hysteria of civil war has engulfed the nation. Let us remember how the government was changed in the Philippines, with a peaceful revolution (against Marcos). The Philippine army simply sided with the people. It can be done!

Bombing Syria from distant warships is a cowardly act and not an answer. Any country sending arms and munitions into Syria is guilty of killing the Syrian people. Any outside force aiding one side or the other with weapons and munitions supplies is guilty of killing the Syrian people.

"No to Violence, yes to Life" is a message that needs to be loudly and clearly transmitted to everyone across the Middle East, which is a region tearing itself to pieces. That phenomenon shows a profound need for a reassessment of the Arab way of life as that desert-born culture is hit by massive amounts of oil money. That, plus the divisive attractions of a consumer and mass-marketed society that has become widespread, submerging all previously held Arab-values.

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revolutionary theory for 20 years, terrified of his conservative contemporaries, Wallace boldly set out to solve the great problem of the origin of species. Not afraid to announce unorthodox views, Wallace published a radically innovative theory of evolution (minus only natural selection) in an 1855 paper. Then, while on the island of Gilolo and prompted by thoughts about the local races, Wallace hit on the idea of the struggle for existence and natural selection. He immediately wrote up his theory and posted it to Darwin on the next mail steamer. Darwin, however, withheld the paper for perhaps two weeks before he let it become known.

During this time, according to some, Darwin stole some ideas to use in his own otherwise identical theory.

Rather than having Wallace’s paper published immediately on its own, which was normal practice at the time, Darwin’s friends cooked up a scheme to rob the working-class Wallace of his priority and instead put their friend Darwin first. Papers by both men were read at a scientific meeting in 1858, but Darwin is remembered as the discoverer of the theory because his contribution was placed first.

Swept under the carpet of history: The new shelf of sympathetically written books about Wallace tells a pretty consistent story. He is now “forgotten” because he has been unfairly swept under the carpet of history. Why? Because the wealthy and privileged Darwin basks in all the glory of revolutionising our understanding of life on Earth.

(Not to mention the back of the £10 note, although Jane Austen is about to boot him off that pedestal).

Darwin’s life and works have been meticulously studied by many scholars for over a century. But while some very able scholars have studied Wallace, he by contrast has remained mostly the preserve of amateurs and enthusiasts. There has not been enough progress with our understanding of Wallace because some of the important research projects that have unveiled a treasure trove of new findings about Darwin had never been done for Wallace: his complete works had not been

From Singapore—

John van Wyhe [John van Wyhe is a

historian & Doctor of science at the National University of Singapore and director of Darwin Online and Wallace Online. His book Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the Discovery of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin is published this month.

Article URL: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/au g/09/charles-darwin-alfred-russel-wallace]

Darwin Did Not Cheat Wallace Out Of His Rightful Place In History (Attempts to reinstate Wallace as the working class hero who discovered evolution before Darwin have no basis in fact) his year is the centenary of the death of Victorian naturalist and co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace. So we have heard a lot about him recently, including the BBC Two series Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero, an episode of BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, two episodes of The Infinite Monkey Cage and scores of articles, talks and exhibitions. Wallace deserves more attention but much of what you will have heard about him in the last few months is factually incorrect – and amounts to a misguided campaign to reinstate the reputation of a genius who (according to his fans) has been wronged by history and robbed of his rightful fame. Since the 1970s, the story of Wallace has become something like this: While Charles Darwin sat on his

T

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assembled on one scholarly website, his Malay archipelago expedition correspondence had not been collected and edited and his notebooks and journals had not been edited and their contents made intelligible. All of these have recently been done, the latter two not yet published. These new sources have shown us that every substantive claim in the popular narrative about Wallace turns out to be incorrect. * Wallace was not working class but the son of a gentleman and attended a public school. *He thought of natural selection on the island of Ternate, not Gilolo. Hence the races there did not inspire his theory. *He did not send his essay to Darwin on the next steamer, but replied on the following monthly steamer. So Darwin received Wallace’s essay exactly when he said he did. *Darwin and his friends were not obliged to publish Wallace’s paper, as he had not requested this, but it was acceptable practice at the time for Wallace’s essay to be published without seeking his explicit permission first. *Darwin did not borrow any idea on evolutionary divergence from Wallace - who in fact had no such theory of his own. And in any case, at the time scientific priority was not settled only by publication, but also by sharing one’s views with colleagues privately. *Darwin did not keep his belief in evolution secret and he did not postpone publishing because of any fears. But ironically Wallace was afraid to reveal his evolutionary beliefs and carefully concealed them in his published papers. His famous 1855 paper never mentions evolution.

What inspired Wallace’s eureka moment?

Wallace’s notebooks reveal the gradual development of most of his evolutionary ideas. Far from the story that he set out to discover a mechanism for evolution, Wallace showed no interest in the causes of adaptations. On the contrary, he privately ridiculed traditional ideas of adaptation as evidence of divine design. All this 5

makes his essay proposing natural selection all the more mysterious. For Darwin we have a detailed paper trail revealing the development of his conception of natural selection. For Wallace we only have his published essay. What inspired Wallace’s famous eureka moment in the midst of a malarial fever? There is only one contemporary clue. In a letter written about two weeks later, Wallace mentioned that over the past four years he had found differently coloured tiger beetles on different islands which exactly matched the colour of the sand or mud where they lived. “Such facts as these puzzled me for a long time, but I have lately worked out a theory which accounts for them naturally.” Wallace already believed that new varieties of animals appeared randomly and frequently, the offspring of their parent species. If lots of varieties of various shades are constantly appearing, how does one come to perfectly match the colour of the environment? He remembered the idea of the struggle for existence. The varieties best suited to survive would be those that happened to be the right colour. If the environment slowly changed colour, the parent species might go extinct. One of its daughter varieties could then be well adapted and replace it as the species. It could never revert back to the colour of its parent as that was now inferior. Thus through a struggle for existence, randomly generated variants would be sifted to form new species. It was a brilliant breakthrough. But the real story of Wallace’s contribution is far from the myth of the wronged working class hero. The differences between the Wallace of his modern admirers and the historical Wallace are in fact like the differences between the Jesus of pious Christians and the historical Jesus.

Darwin gained nothing from having his paper printed ahead of Wallace’s. Darwin’s fame and reputation, and Wallace’s comparative obscurity, stem from the impact of Darwin’s Origin of Species. As Wallace himself wrote: “this vast, this totally unprecedented change in public opinion has been the result of the work of one man, and was brought about in the short space of twenty years!”

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ground realities of society as a whole, which allows them relative freedom to choose between conspicuous consumption and responsible philanthropy, balancing their emotions between the joy of indulgence and atonement from privileged guilt.

As the middle class climbs the ladder of social mobility, there is a growing risk of the middle class losing its deeper connection to society through loss of sensitivity to a larger cause and morality.

An indifferent middle class can cause greater harm to society than detachment of the rich and desperation of the poor. By disengaging from the discourse for social justice, the middle class stands the risk of relinquishing its historical role as the catalysts of creative imagination and evangelists of social justice.

As governments grapple with macro issues such as social welfare, terrorism, recession, global warming, the energy crisis and healthcare, civil society faces the risk of getting weakened by a shrinking middle class. Gradual erosion of the middle class poses one of the gravest challenges to a society that is eager to progress and prosper.

There are signs worldwide of the middle class renewing strength through spontaneous movements such as the Arab Spring in the Middle East, the Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S., and Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption in India.

Unfortunately, growth of fundamentalist forces is swaying the middle class away from secular ideas and an egalitarian ideal. It is imperative to rekindle the spirit of the middle class and motivate it to continue to lead the transformation toward a just society.

From San Francisco, U.S.A.

Uday Dandavate [Uday Dandavate studies people, cultures and trends worldwide and uses the understanding gained from such studies to inspire people centered innovation strategies. He heads up a design research consulting firm called SonicRim in U.S.A. He frequently writes and speaks on topics related to people centered design and innovation in international journals and conferences. uday@sonicrim.com]

Refocusing The Middle Class grow up with great privilege, nor “Ididdidn't I grow up wanting for anything. I was

a middle-class kid and, relative to the rest of the world, that's great wealth.” Matt Damon, actor. The middle class reflects the core character of a society.

It can be a social space where creativity blossoms from the restlessness of the daily grind and where revolutionary ideas emerge from compassion for the oppressed.

It is the middle class that has historically championed the cause of the poor and articulated society’s anger against the establishment. People from the middle class enjoy just enough security to allow them to aspire for a better future but suffer just enough to have empathy for the less privileged.

The lower class, on the other hand, does not have the luxury of thinking through the moral Growing up in a Digital framework that the middle class maintains. As Civilization laggards in an economic order that rewards the elite ne of the important characteristics of the and punishes the under-skilled and power of communication on social underprivileged, the poor get marginalized and are forced to survive by hook or by crook. The upper media is that it is ‘open source’. Anyone, class often lives in a bubble removed from the regardless of his/her nationality, culture and

O

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economic status can influence the discourse on the Internet, as long as one has access to it through a smart phone, Internet cafe or a computer. The Internet has provided an opportunity for everyday people to express their deep-rooted emotions, epiphanies and convictions, and create ripples with ideas. Anyone today can push ideas into the digital world and affect audiences worldwide.

In an era of consumerism, access to information online has made it possible for people to make intelligent decision. Consumers are beginning to ignore the “Big Brotherly” attributes of the internet and are increasingly adjusting their sense of comfort with tools that track their behaviors, profile their lifestyle and offer personalized solicitations from marketers. Big data analytics has made it possible for businesses to optimize their marketing resources by analyzing patterns in consumer behaviors and targeting individuals during their most vulnerable moments.

The digital space has become an alternate realityespecially for the younger generation who spend more time in the digital space than in the real world.

The younger generation is today attached to technology devices, social networks and digital content. Their social etiquette, values, and aspirations are shaped by the stimulation to the imagination provided by online social interactions, digital media and interactive games. Children are growing up to be smarter, yet losing out on empathy skills that are learned from moments of delight, pain and sensory experiences in the real world. Their cognition of life is influenced by the life in the digital space. The concept of war, to them is learned from games such as, “Call of Duty”, the idea of pain is learned from the cries and blood of the enemy or angry birds they shoot down in video

games. In the digital world, one can assume multiple identities, be aggressive without being reprimanded or feeling guilty, communicate asynchronously, enjoy life as if it were a game, and treat passage of time as something one can rewind or restart. Interactions have become transactions and loyalty is replaced by deals in the digital age.

The irony of the situation is that the age of internet has created both opportunities and challenges for political leaders who use the relatively easy reach and transparency of the Internet to acquire political power by inspiring, inciting and mobilizing the imagination of masses, but once they attain power, they become uncomfortable with the free expression on the Internet. Governments worldwide (including those posing to be torch bearers of democracy) are establishing laws to curb transparency and free expression on the Internet and track dissenters and whistle blowers, down so they do not blow the lid off their misdeeds or galvanize mass action against establishment.

Where will it all lead? I believe we are in that phase of digital civilization that corresponds with barbarian age of human civilization. There were fewer rules, people acted more often on impulses than reflections or rational thinking, relationship between man and a woman was driven more by lust than long term commitment. People are constrained only by possibilities in the digital space than by values. Over time civilized society evolved through building of social rules and institutions. I believe the digital space will soon be going through a transformation to a more civilized society that will combine the reach and participatory nature of the Internet with the restraint and values of human society.

Dear Friends, Your article for the RH should be emailed to: rheditor@gmail.com.

Or it may be posted at: C-8, Defence Colony, Meerut, 250001, U.P. A passport size photograph, a small bio-data and a note whether it has also been published elsewhere or is being sent exclusively for the RH should be attached with it. — Rekha S.

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of discipline and other incidental matters will be considered in such a way that the service might feel happy and contented and may not be at the mercy of changing parties or changing conditions in the country”. During discussion on the provisions of Articles 309-312 the founding fathers of the Constitution had also stressed the importance of safeguarding the independence and integrity of the civil service. However, over the years this sage advice seems to have been given a complete go by by the present day powers that be who have been flouting it with impunity.

The age old technique of ‘divide and rule’ has been brazenly used to reward pliable, even though corrupt, officers with plump postings and additional charge of more than one cadre/ex-cadre posts against the cadre rules and also by posting such junior officers to senior posts and upright inconvenient officers on obscure/junior posts. In the process a neutral civil service has been a casuality. Today the Ministers want the civil servants who would be loyal to them rather than to the Constitution and the law of the land and there are officers who have no hesitation in acting as agents of the party in power. The result is the politicization of civil service which is divided on party lines as ‘my men’ and ‘their men’ and treated accordingly.

Way back in 1988 the Sarkaria Commission had observed that frequent transfers and suspension on flimsy grounds are ‘stock methods’ for disciplining an officer of an All India Service (AIS) who is uncompromising in the matter of maintaining probity and impartiality of administration.

However, in the absence of any effective institutional arrangement in this regard the misuse of these powers has increased with each successive government in the state. The result is there for all to see. While the situation may be more or less the same in other states also, UP holds the prime position in this regard. During the last twenty years there has been a sea change in the character and conduct of political leadership in UP. When this writer’s powerful Minister belonging to minority

From Lucknow—

S.N. Shukla [Mr. S.N. Shukla belonged to 1967 batch of IAS and retired as Chairman State Vigilance Commission, U.P., after serving as Industrial Development Commissioner and Administrative Member Board of Revenue. Topper of the 1964 L.L.B. Exam of undivided Agra University, he has taken to legal profession after his retirement from IAS services in February 2003 basically to take up public issues and to procure justice for the poor. As ‘General Secretary of ‘Lok Prahri’, he has been conducting several PILs in Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court and also in the Supreme Court. shukla.sn@gmail.com Tel.-9415464288]

Bending The Steel Frame and independent civil service Aispermanent the backbone of parliamentary democracy and is essential for good governance in such a system. A great visionary, Sardar Patel, realizing the importance of such service for unity of the nation in a parliamentary system, had warned the Constituent Assembly that “You will not have a united India, if you have not got a good all India service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has a sense of security. If you do not adopt this course, then do not follow the present Constitution”. Earlier, speaking on the need for creation of IAS and IPS at the Premiers’ Conference in October 1946, as the then Union Home Minister, he had emphasized that, “There should be good guarantee of security; the question 8

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community sought his premature transfer within 6 months in Dec. 1982, the then Chief Minister not only did not oblige him for 6 months, but posted back in June 83 the same Secretary whom the Minister had got transferred earlier. In contrast, e next C.M. twice posted the writer on posts two levels below his entitlement. Similarly, posting of an officer sentenced by the CBI Court for 3 years imprisonment as an Appointments Secretary speaks volumes about preferential posting of officers. Upright IAS/IPS officers have usually to pay a heavy price by way of frequent transfers/suspensions. In U.P. prior to suspension of SDM GB Nagar, Durga Shakti Nagpal, Himanshu Kumar, Commissioner Allahabad Division was transferred within a week for initiating action against silica and sand mafia in Allahabad district. As against record transfers of 1000 officers by Mayawati in her earlier regime, Mulayam Singh Yadav transferred over 650 administrative and police officers within 40 days of his assuming office in 2003. During the years 2003 to 2010 more than 50% of the total IAS and IPS officers in the state were transferred each year.

Information obtained in reply to RTI application shows that in the years 2003 and 2007 the number of IAS and IPS officers transferred was more than even the total cadre strength of these services in the state. Evidently, some officers were transferred several times during the year. As per Home Ministry’s figures, during the period June 2007 to June 2009, 609 IPS officers were transferred within a year, 144 within a month, 49 within a week, 25 within 3 days and 4 within a day. The RTI details also show that ADGs in UP have been transferred on an average 36 times in their career. The figure for IGs stands at 32 and for DIGs at 30. The situation was not much better in respect of the IAS officers. Likewise, the present government has bettered the past records by transferring over 1000 officers within a year of its coming to power. The average tenure of IAS/IPS officers in UP is now only about three months. In fact, transfers of IAS and IPS officers have become a continuous process 9

industry despite the Apex Court deprecating this nefarious practice in the case of E.P. Royappa vs.

State of Tamil Nadu AIR 1974 SC 555 in the following words- “However, this power of transfer must be exercised honestly, bona-fide and reasonably. It should be exercised in public interest. If the exercise of power is based on extraneous considerations or for achieving an alien purpose or oblique motive it would amount to malafide and colourable exercise of power.

Frequent transfers, without sufficient reasons or justification, cannot but be held as malafide”.

Again, in the case of B. Vardha Rao vs. State of Karnataka (1986) 4 SCC 131 the Apex Court ruled that it is no doubt true that if the power of transfer is abused exercise of power is vitiated and that “One cannot but deprecate that frequent unscheduled and unreasonable transfers can uproot a family, cause irreparable harm to a government servant and drive him to desperation”. The irony is that all this is done in the name of ‘public interest’ without ever specifying what public interest will be served by the particular transfer. In actuality such transfers convert the transfer system into an exercise of favouritism and vendetta against the very concept of parliamentary system of administration and adversely affect good governance. Frequent premature transfers not only demoralize officers and affect their family members but also cause avoidable huge burden on state exchequer and encourage corruption and lower efficiency of administration. Thus, ultimately it is the common people who are the sufferers for whom the whole system of administration is supposed to exist. In the aftermath of mass transfers by successive U.P. governments, in an article ‘Arbitrary transfers of civil servants will destroy democracy’ published in Asian Age in October 2003 Dr. P.C. Alexander, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and ex-Governor of Maharashtra, had observed that “This pernicious practice of transfers on the recommendation of MLAs or party functionaries forces many officers to seek political patronage to stay where they are or to get posts or places which

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they wish to have. This in turns creates the notorious politician-civil servant nexus, which is the main cause of corruption in public services in our country today. This nexus strikes at the very root of the concept of civil service independence and impartiality, without which the civil service ceases to be a ‘service’ for the common people”.

Apparently, the above observations of the Apex Court and the aforesaid article have had no effect on the successive Chief Ministers of the state.

Interestingly, while taking note of the problem of politicization of bureaucracy in the ‘Fifty years of Indian Parliamentary Democracy’ published by Lok Sabha Secretariat in 1997 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of Independence, an RTI query has revealed that nothing has been done to check this malady. In respect of suspensions, the former C.M. holds the record for on the spot and mass suspension of officers. Twenty Three Police officers were suspended in the matter of police recruitment who were later reinstated. Senior IAS officer Promila Shankar was suspended on the pretext of foreign travel for not clearing Yamuna Express Way master plan. However, suspension of Durga in gross violation of rule 3 of the All India Services ( Discipline and Appeal ) Rules and state government’s own standing orders that suspension should be resorted to only when the charges are serious enough to result in major punishment, has hit a new low in the malafide exercise of power, we may say, if it is later proved to have been done on non-existent cooked up ground to justify it.

Midnight suspension of an IAS officer simply on the basis of a Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) report (which is submitted to SP/DM and not directly to the Govt. and which did not even mention her) without any adverse report from her superiors or any preliminary inquiry or even calling her explanation has been unheard of in the administrative history of the state. Till now i seems to be evident from the video recording of Bhati’s boast to his supporters, the real reason was to teach a lesson to the upright officer for her audacity to take on the sand mafia close to the ruling party and 10

to make her an example to other honest inconvenient officers. The more sinister motive is said to appease the minority community for votes by showing that even an IAS officer like her can be sacrificed to placate them. To prevent repetition of such unsavoury episodes it is, therefore, necessary that the power of the state government to suspend All India Services officers is either withdrawn or suitably restricted. The role of the Central Government as Cadre Controlling Authority of All India Services has been rather disappointing. The then Minister of State for Personnel had written to the Chief Ministers in July 1995 saying that frequent transfers and postings have a demoralizing effect on the morale of the officers and ultimately on the quality of administration. It was also said that such a situation had arisen because the rules and regulations were not been complied with in letter and spirit while making postings of IAS officers. The Chief Ministers were requested to devise suitable mechanisms to arrest this trend and also to intimate action in this regard. However, an RTI query has revealed that there has been no follow up of this and the Central Government has remained a mute spectator to the continuous blatant flouting of the IAS Cadre and Pay Rules by the state government feigning ignorance of any such violations. What is worse, even after the amendment in the Cadre Rules of the three All India Services in 2006, pursuant to the assurance given by the Prime Minister in the Collectors’ Conference in 2005, to provide for security of tenure to officers of these services, the Central Government has been dragging its feet in issuing the requisite notifications for the enforcement of the amended rules. So much so, that the notification in respect of IAS Cadre of the state was strangely withheld at the official level even after the Minister’s approval in November 2007. In this scenario the only hope remains with the top judiciary. However, often timely effective judicial intervention has been lacking. When the PIL writ petition against frequent arbitrary premature transfers of IAS officers filed by this writer in the

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High Court in 2003 remained pending for 6 years without any result, he filed another PIL in the Supreme Court in June 2009. The vacation Bench was pleased to appreciate and entertain the said petition. However, 2 years later even after the exchange of counter and rejoinder affidavits another bench again relegated the petitioner to the High Court. Two other writ petitions by Lok Prahari for enforcement of IAS Cadre and Pay Rules have been pending in the High Court for the last 2 years. Their early disposal will go a long way to stem the rot. In the case of Durga also the view taken by the High Court and the Apex Court is debatable. Firstly, it is conflicting with the decisions of the larger benches. More importantly, the countrywide public outcry reflected in media and four cases in the Apex Court on the same day itself was enough to show that it was not merely service matter of an officer but involved larger issues of governance, contempt of the Apex Court, and violation of Articles 256 & 257 of the Constitution impinging on Centre -State relations.

To a large extent the services themselves have to thank themselves for the situation in which they are today due to lack of strength of character, solidarity, and will to fight back. The writer single handedly successfully fought back his transfer to lower posts on both the occasions. The role of

seniors who more often than not let down upright and courageous officers like Durga also leaves much to be desired. Sadly, the Civil Services Boards set up in the state for All India Services comprising of senior officers have acted only as rubber stamps to carry out the orders received from the top.In this context, the stand taken by the State and Central IAS Associations now in case of Durga augers well for checking the onslaught of unscrupulous politicians on the Service. Strangely, some politicians (who consider themselves ‘Raja’ instead of public servants) are trying to belittle IAS which was given pride of place by the stalwarts like Sardar Patel to keep the Nation together.

Those who talk of running the state without IAS not only display their utter ignorance about the rationale and concept of All India Services but are violating their oath to uphold the Constitution forgetting that under Articles 256 and 257 of the Constitution the executive power of the state has to be exercised to ensure compliance of Central laws, and not in derogation of the executive power of the Centre. They should also remember that under Article 365 non compliance of directions issued by the Centre in exercise of its executive power in a case like this can be a ground for imposition of President’s rule and that, like civil servants, they too are also servants of the people.

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THE RADICAL HUMANIST

SEPTEMBER 2013

Ram Puniyani [Dr. Ram Puniyani was a professor in biomedical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and took voluntary retirement in December 2004 to work full-time for communal harmony in India. He is involved with human rights activities from last two decades. He is working for communal harmony and initiatives to oppose the rising tide of Fundamentalism in India. He is associated with various secular and democratic initiatives like All India Secular Forum, Center for Study of Society and Secularism and ANHAD.]

Bussiness of Faith has seen severe turmoil’s in Ourthesociety name of religion during last three decades in particular. While on one side we see that issues related to religion’s identity are trying to occupy the center stage, we also are witnessing the emergence of thousands of self proclaimed ‘Godmen’, supposed to be having divine powers.

They do also claim and sometimes the state, society does informally accord them some sort of a special status. This came to the light once again in the case of Asaram bapu, against whom the allegation of rape of a minor girl was lodged. In this case the arrest of the accused was warranted immediately, but the police force took its sweet time and with great difficulty and drama; could arrest the Bapu.

Bapu did try to evade the arrest on various grounds, so many programs are lined up, am unwell, my relative has died, but finally some pressures did 12

work and Baba was arrested from his Indore Ashram (31st August 2013).

Asaram bapu is amongst the leading Godmen, as far as the wealth, number of Ashrams and the number of followers is concerned. While he has many influential people amongst his followers, there is no dearth of political people blatantly supporting the likes of him or delaying their arrest under the pressure of ‘electoral calculations’. This is not the first time that criminal cases have been talked about against him, many a cases of land grab came to surface, but law of the land seems to be sleeping on that. The death of two boys in his Ahmadabad Ashram, and two in Chindwara Ashram got suppressed through the mechanisms which are a back up of these God men.

To be fair to Asaram Bapu, he is not alone in the game. There are hordes of Godmen who have acquired infinite wealth. Many of them have been linked to cases of murders in their Ashrams (Shankaracharay Jayendra Sarswati, Late Bhagwan Staya Sai), the listing of those involved in sex scandals of various types is a long one and the lead in this area goes to Nityanand Mahraj, who claimed that he is reincarnation of Lord Krishna. The life style of these Saints is the one of luxury and affluence, proving that while preaching renunciation etc.; one gets the best of what the World has to offer in the arena of material wealth.

Using the word ‘Saint’ for these breed of Babas is also a bit problematic. We do recall the medieval saints of the genre of Kabir, Tukaram, Namdeo, Paltu, Raidas, who came from low caste, were working for their living, and rubbing shoulders with the poor and deprived. They criticized the evil practices in the society, questioning the social inequality in particular. They expressed the anguish of the deprived sections of society, the way Chokhmela, a saint from Maharashtra, talked of injustice in this world where ‘one that grows the grains is hungry, one that weaves the clothes does not have clothes and one who builds the houses has to sleep under the open sky’. These saints were

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away from the power centers and many of them had to face atrocities from those in power. Nizamuddin Auliya, a Sufi saint, refused to entertain the king to his hospice. Kabir talked against caste system, against the divisions in the name of religion and the social power structure. They had followers mainly amongst the poor and deprived.

The current genre of the Saints, have big following amongst affluent, receive huge donations from those who are drenched in wealth and the powers that be are on their side. These saints have built up their empires of wealth, affluence and power over a period of time. It is interesting that in India there has been a long tradition of people associated with religion. The dominant category is that of the clergy, like the Shankaracharya tradition. There are Mutts, there are ashrams and there are centers where theology and philosophy of religion is discussed at length. Incidentally the current series of Godmen have not much to do with the theology or philosophical debates around religion. In contrast the medieval saints were rooted in the society and talked of social issues, struggle against social evils, like Kabir comparing Chakki (grinding mill) with the idol of lord or reprimanding Mullah for loud bang (Azan).

Such social issues are not the concern of present Godmen. There is a vast variety of them and it is not easy to generalize them and their methods. Still some major features of the present ones can be outlined. Their rooting in philosophy or social issues is skin deep. They have picked up some formulae which are elaborated with song and music or they deliver discourses which probably soothe the tense nerves of the section of society, a section facing social dilemmas and anxieties. Some of these Godmen are outright frauds like Nirmal Baba, advising the solution to the problems e.g. through change of color of Chatni (Sauce), which is eaten with the popular Indian snack, Samosa.

Meditation and yoga is a major method apart from discourses. Some of them like Morari Bapu have the luxury of preaching Bhagwat (Sacred

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Narration) while taking devotees on the Sea cruise around the world.

So the prefix saint has a totally different meaning with these two divergent set of people, the genre of Kabi-Nazamuddin Auliya on one side and Asaram Bapu-Nirmal Baba on the other. There is a fundamental difference in their grouping. In his famous sentence, Karl Marx says “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions.

It is the opium of the people”. And this sentence seems to answer this difficult question in categorizing the complex variety of saints. On one hand we have Clergy (the official –unofficial upholders of the rituals and institution of religion), in the form of Pundit, Maulana, Granthi, and Padri.

On other hand is the vast array of medieval saints, coming from different religions, Bhakti saints, Sufi saints who while talking in idiom of religion, were not associated with the power structure or performance of rituals. And then we have this vast array of present saints, proliferating dime a dozen from the most well known like Asaram Bapu, Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar to the small time operators in different cities.

The clergy was definitely part of the power structure, accompaniment of the feudal lord and the Kings. In Maharashtra the phrase ‘Shetji-Bhatji’ (Landlord-Brahmin) sums it up very well. There is Raja-Rajguru, while the ‘Nawab and Shahi Imam’ is another association and the most structured one in this category comes in the form of ‘King and Pope’. They stood for status quo in a society, where the poor peasants were being exploited to their bones. They acted as a sort of opiate for the masses to keep them tied to their hard labor. One can say that in contrast the medieval saints were the sigh of oppressed in this heartless exploitative World.

Coming to the Asaram Bapu-Nirmal baba series they are again like the opiate for the masses.

Unquestioning the system, blind to injustices, quiet on social evils in the name of religion and at the same time cultivate strong bonds with social

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powers and have political patronage. While BJP currently may be coming forward in a bit more forthright manner to defend the Babas in the name of Hindu religion, even the others political tendencies also do not have enough courage to criticize the babas. These babas do fulfill the need of the opium to calm the tense nerves, and assume the larger than life image for themselves under the garb of religion. They become ‘more equal’ in the eyes of powers that be so it becomes difficult to get them arrested for criminal charges in the routine course and they can defy the law to some extent or great extent. So unless the charge is very blatant, like as in case of Asaram, most of them get support from the political class and their blind supporters.

One recalls Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Asaram Bapu sitting on a Dhrana in Delhi to oppose the arrest of Shankracharya Jayendra Sarswati in Shankar Raman murder case. One also recalls the soft peddling of murder of children in Asaram Bapu's ashrams or other times when influential politician speak out of turn to protect these Babas.

The irony is that the rise of these babas is in parallel

with the rise of politics in the name of religion.

Many a times there is a subtle and overt association between these babas with the religious nationalist discourse, which they defend and propagate. Many of them also talk about the values of Manusmriti, the hierarchy of caste and gender in a more sophisticated way. At social levels the current babas are for status quo of social relationships, like talking about caste harmony (Sri Sri Ravishanker) in contrast to Ambedkar’s ‘caste annihilation’.

One knows that a section of population treats them like God; a section does need them to allay their mental pressures. One also knows that they have emerged due to the rising insecurities in the society due to the economic and political factors. They all operate under the garb of religion and faith so it becomes difficult to question their methods. Such a garb of faith lifts them above the ordinary and gives them some immunity from the laws of the land. The need for respecting people’s faith and knowing its limits without denigrating reason and law of the land was never felt more desperately!

Letter to the Editor: [Although the following mail was not a formal letter to the editor but I considered it necessary to inform the readers who remember Jatin da (Jatin Bagha, the mentor of M.N. Roy) that his grand son, Prithwindra Mukherjee, is doing equally commendable work and creating history like his grand father; but this time it is in the literary field. Readers interested to know more about his works may contact him directly on his given email id.]

Dear Rékhâ,

It seems ages since I last wrote to you. Having accomplished an audacious task, I send you these few lines to explain what it is. I had long wished to bring together a selection of poems from the original Bengali by Tagore, translating them into French and English, to bring out a trilingual anthology. It took me a bit more than four years to execute this fancy. While an internet magazine, Kaurab, was publishing the English section serially, Professor William Radice - the great Tagore specialist - congratulated the editors for this publication. In order to overcome difficulties with the Bengali section, I got the book brought out by Shahitya Prakash, an established publisher in Bangladesh. This elegant edition has been welcomed by the President of India, HE Pranab Mukherjee. Very soon the Indian Ambassador in Paris will launch the book. The President of the Société des Gens de Lettres (a literary club founded by Victor Hugo with several illustrious friends of his) has congratulated me in a public meeting to commemorate the centenary of Taagore's Nobel. The Indian agent for this book is nayaudyog@yahoo.in. I hope learn that there have been lovers of poetry interested in such a performance. Eager to know how you are, accept my best wishes.— Prithwindra-dâ (prithwin.mukherjee@gmail.com) 14

THE RADICAL HUMANIST

SEPTEMBER 2013

Current Affairs Section:

Convicted MPs Should Quit is a temple of democracy.

Parliament Members are its pujarees (priests). Their

From New Delhi—

Kuldip Nayar [Kuldip Nayar is a veteran Indian journalist, syndicated columnist, human right activist and author, noted for his long career as a left-wing political commentator. He was in Indian Foreign Service a diplomat and also nominated as a Member of the upper house of the Indian Parliament in 1997. He is also a human right activist and a peace activist. He was a member of India's delegation to the United Nations in 1996.

He was appointed High Commissioner to Great Britain in 1990 and nominated to the upper house of Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha in August 1997. He writes columns and op-eds for over 80 newspapers in 14 languages including The Daily Star, The Sunday Guardian, The News (Pakistan), Express Tribune (Pakistan), Dawn (Pakistan). Every year since 2000, Nayar has been leading peace activists to light candles on the Independence days of Pakistan and India (14/15 August) at the Attari-Wagah India-Pakistan border near Amritsar. He has been working to free Indian prisoners in Pakistan and Pakistani prisoners in India, who have completed their sentences, but have not been set free. He has also authored 15 books, including “Beyond the Lines”, “Distant Neighbours: A Tale of the Subcontinent”, “India after Nehru”, “Wall at Wagah, India-Pakistan Relationship”, “The Judgement”, “The Martyr”, “Scoop” and “India House” kuldipnayar09@gmail.com.]

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purity affects the temple’s purity. If members defile it, the reputation of temple goes down in the eyes of the people. They begin to doubt the belief it projects. Something similar is happening in Indian Parliament, which has lost its luster and does not evoke the confidence it once did. All types of ills are attributed to it. The same temple, citadel of faith, has become a laughing stock.

Still the fact remains that power resides in Parliament. It is because the two houses, the Lok Sabha elected directly by the people, and the Rajya Sabha indirectly, legislate for the country. Both have lessened in esteem due to the lowering of integrity of many MPs. A rough estimate is that 30 per cent of them are involved in one or the other court cases. The nation’s happy experience is that the Supreme Court has intervened when the cases have got aggravated or when MPs have been found wanting.

In recent days, the Supreme Court has once again come to the rescue of the nation to set things right.

In a landmark judgment, the court has said that the representatives in parliament and state legislatures will stand disqualified as soon as they are convicted by a trial court. One hopes this applies to heinous crimes only.

The provision in the Representative People’s Act has been declared ultra virus because it allowed a convicted member to stay till his final appeal has been dealt with up to a period of three months. This has been misused and enabled a delinquent member to continue for years by approaching different courts. The fodder scandal case against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is at the trial court stage even after 17 years. Shibu Shoren has become chief minister of Jharkhand even after having been convicted and sentenced in a murder case.

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Therefore all that matters to a member of parliament or the state legislature is to remain in the House regardless of their conviction in a court of law. Power in politics being such a driving force, morality or ethics do not matter. Likewise, the British Upper House of parliament, the House of Lords, is thinking in terms of penalizing convicted members by debarring them from the House.

Among those affected is one NRI who falsely claimed 50,000 pounds in expenses and was punished with three-month's suspension.

Even after the Indian Supreme Court’s judgment, the conscience of convicted MPs and MLAs has not irked them. Instead, all political parties, whatever their affiliation, have come together to undo the Supreme Court’s verdict. A constitutional amendment is sought to be passed to lay down that a member cannot be disqualified until there is a court of appeal open to him. This attitude should have touched at least the thinking MPs, but they are quiet lest they embarrass the party they belong to, or the convicted members with whom they sit.

The protest against the proposed constitutional amendment is wide and strange. People are naturally appalled because parliament goes down further in their eyes. Already, the daily adjournments and the squabbles have raised the question: Why Parliament? Each day costs Rs. 2.8 lakhs. Urgent bills are pending because they have become a point of political controversy. Parties do not seem to realize that the people’s disillusionment in some neighbouring countries has killed democratic governance.

One is not sure whether the constitutional amendment would be upheld by the Supreme Court. Article 14 guarantees equality before law.

MPs cannot gang up to thwart the equality which the Supreme Court has enunciated. The constitution debars any person from contesting elections if he has been convicted. How is a convicted MP or MLA different? It’s but natural that they should also be disqualified. Article 14 also forms a part of the basic structure of the

16

constitution. It has already been accepted, following a Supreme Court judgment that the basic structure cannot be changed by Parliament. If the proposed amendment is passed, it might be thrown out by the Supreme Court on the grounds that Article 14 forms part of the basic structure.

In reality, the judiciary and parliament are on a war path. Fortunately, the government has deferred the Bill on the appointment of judges. The government wants to have a leeway. The court has gone through the phase when the judiciary and the government openly fought over the appointment of judges.

Now a collegiums’ system has come to be followed. The four senior judges of a High Court constitute the collegiums and decide who will be elevated to the Bench. The same procedure is for the Supreme Court judges. This arrangement has never been to the liking of the government because it gives little room for any patronage which the executive has in mind. If the Bill which the government contemplates is thrown out by the judiciary, then what happens? The Supreme Court may again come to the rescue. The government is to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act to exempt political parties from transparency. The proposed bill insulates political parties from an order by the Central Information Commission which declared them as public bodies and accountable for financial benefits.

True, the elected representatives of the people are the final authority. But what is the remedy when every segment of democratic apparatus has been politicized? Power politics has come to dictate the various steps. Because of this, parliament ceases to be the temple of democracy in the real term. On paper, it will continue to remain so. Maybe, this fact will urge parliamentarians to rise to the standards expected from them. They are the ones who can retrieve democracy from the lack of confidence in which it is stuck. The convicted members should take the initiative and voluntarily resign the moment they are convicted by a trial court. It is their moral responsibility.

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IAS Must Assert Itself Administrative Service (IAS) Theis Indian at the apex to run the country’s administration. It replaced the Indian Civil Service (ICS) which was an instrument in the hands of the British to rule over India. After independence, there was serious thinking whether there should be an all-India service at all. The states wanted persons from their own area to administer.

But, then Home Minister Sardar Patel was particular to have an all-India service to articulate the feeling of unity and to maintain the diversities prevailing in the country. The service would also, Patel asserted, ensure that the Indian constitution remained supreme in the medley of pulls by different states. Two all-India services, Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service (IPS), were constituted. They came to occupy top positions in the states. This arrangement worked fairly well till the early seventies when the rot started due to the Centre’s efforts to concentrate power and the states’ ambition to play politics through civil servants. This has practicably nullified good administration. The IAS has become a glorified state service. The rulers use it in the manner they like.

In real, the emergency is the watershed. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended the Constitution and used the IAS officers to enforce illegal acts and suppress the critics. This was the time when the thin line between right and wrong, moral and immoral was erased. Only a couple of officers stood up against what was sheer dictatorship. Fear of punishment for disobedience made the service servile. It was once a steel frame but it has now turned into a seal frame. The Shah Commission, appointed to look into the excesses during the emergency, has deplored how the bureaucracy caved in. The Commission has said: “The ethical considerations inherent in public behavior became generally dim and in many cases beyond the mental grasp of many of the public functionaries. Desire for self-preservation as admitted by a number of

17

public servants at various levels became the sole motivation for their official actions and behavior…”

The service has not recovered from the carrots dangled before it during the emergency. In fact, it is going out of the way to placate the rulers. The latter, in turn, have rewarded those who did what the rulers wanted. The malaise is largely because of two reasons: one, the rulers do not respect the regulations and violate them to reap benefits for themselves and their parties; two, the IAS officers who are allotted to the states, have surrendered because of threat of transfer or posting to an unimportant position. Therefore, it is heartening to see, when IAS officers like Durga Shakti Nagpal from UP and Ashok Khemka from Haryana, standing up against the wrongs the rulers wished them to do. She has been suspended because of stopping the illegal mining by sand mafia. The Samajwadi Party, ruling UP and placating the Muslim electorate, has justified her suspension, saying that she had endangered the communal harmony by ordering the demolition of an outside wall of a mosque. One, this is not true. Two, she was within her right to demolish any unauthorized structure on the government land. In a judgment, the Supreme Court has said that a place of worship should be pulled down immediately if the government land had been encroached upon.

It is a pity that the Supreme Court rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging her suspension. The court is technically correct that it cannot interfere in matters between the government and the employees. The Court had the opportunity to set right the rot. It should have realized the anger which swept through the country following action against the two officials.

The support of IAS associations from some states and the trainees at Mussorie to Durga evokes hope that the service which has ingratiated itself with politicians may begin to assert itself as was the case before the emergency. The manner in which the three-member IAS officers’ committee endorsed

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the Haryana government casts shadow on the behavior of the service. The nation still hopes that the bureaucracy will make up for the deficiencies which the politicians, particularly belonging to the ruling party in a state or at the Centre, have created in the system.

In many foreign countries, there is a committee for civil service supervising the suspensions, transfers and promotions of officials. A similar committee can be constituted in India as well. The task can also be entrusted to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which is also the recruiting authority. The service itself will have to do introspection if officers were to act only on the basis of self-promotion.

Today when the common man does not get even what is rightfully due to him, he is disillusioned with the entire system. True, politicians will continue to keep an eye on the electorate, but the IAS cannot afford to fall prey to their designs. A public functionary must display a degree of vigilance and willingness to sacrifice.

The Gandhi dynasty should draw a lesson from the example of Feroze Gandhi, son-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru. Feroze Gandhi would take up cases of corruption in Parliament, even to the embarrassment of Nehru. He was so upright that he did not even live at the Prime Minister’s house but had a separate bungalow to which he was entitled as a member of parliament. It is another matter that Feroze Gandhi’s son, Rajiv Gandhi, got the atmosphere contaminated when, as the Prime Minister he bought the Bofors guns. Corruption of the dynasty has not lessened either in tone or tenor. Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has taken it forward.

Coming back to the IAS, its name is in the mud. It must retrieve itself not only for the sake of the Durgas and Khemkas, but also for the public which is still hoping against hope that the service will not dance to the tunes of the rulers. That is how the democratic structure in the country can be made safer.

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Dalits Still There Where They Were dalit (untouchable) was killed. His Ahouse was destroyed and his family, including a 10-year-old, was thrown out. The upper caste members did not like his audacity to hoist the national flag on the Independence Day at a disputed property which they had appropriated forcibly. The discrimination is the bane of India where the caste-prejudiced Hindus constitute 80 per cent of the population. The story of this dalit came to light because one TV channel highlighted it. Otherwise, thousands of dalits undergo similar rigours every day. They face the arrogance and zulum (oppression) of upper castes. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel. More than sixty years ago, the constitution banned untouchability. The freedom struggle had promised to break the shackles of the caste system after independence.

First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru even deleted the column of caste from applications, registers and forms for admission to schools and entrance examinations. Yet the caste considerations have not lessened. Mahatama Gandhi, father of the nation, named the dalit, Harijan (son of God). But the dalits found the nomenclature too patronizing and preferred to be called dalits. A social evil or whatever the explanation, the feeling of discrimination in the Hindu society has not abated.

Even today a dalit bridegroom cannot ride a horse while taking the barat (wedding procession) to the bride’s place. Roads at many places are closed to the dalits. As for their habitation, they continue to live in slums in the urban areas and on outskirts of villages in the rural areas. Some who claim to speak on behalf of Hindus seldom endeavour to eliminate the discrimination against the dalits who are also Hindus. I have not seen the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) criticizing the caste system although the party is all for the Hindu Rashtriya (state). The party’s attention is focused on politics, not on social reforms. Its problem may well be the dictation by RSS, a group of Brahmins, the uppermost caste.

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Unfortunately, the caste has penetrated the thinking of Muslims and Christians. The religion of both the communities forbids discrimination. They preach equality. But when it comes to practice, they are not different from Hindus. Both of them treat with contempt the dalits, who embrace Islam or Christianity to escape the caste hatred of Hindus.

However, there is a case for concessions to such dalits which former UP Chief Minister Mayawati, a dalit has suggested. But her fault is that she has gone beyond. She wants a quota in promotion of public servants. The demand has justifiably raised uproar in the country. I think that whatever reservations, they should be given at the time of recruitment. Any reservation during the career would affect the morale of other caste civil servants, who have come through a tough competitive examination. The dalits wanting to join civil services also take the examination but the reservations give them an edge. The two main political parties, the Congress and the BJP, are supporting Mayawati’s amendment because they have their eyes set on votes in the 2014 elections.

The quantum of reservations has gone up because the quota has been extended to the Other Backward Classes (OBC). They too want reservation in promotions. Many others also want reservations.

This is not possible because of a Supreme Court Judgment. It has fixed 49.5 percent as the maximum limit for reservations. Even if Mayawati’s amendment is passed by parliament, the court may consider it unconstitutional. A constitutional amendment to introduce reservations in promotions is sought to be passed in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has already passed it despite the opposition by the Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party. It appears that the political parties in the opposition had their way when the ruling Congress party, after putting up a brave fight against the quota in promotions, caved in. True, the Congress did not have a majority in the Lok Sabha.

But it could have mustered the numbers if it had stood firm. The reservations have been spelled out

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in the constitution for the dalits and the tribals. But as the Supreme Court has pointed out that the benefits have been cornered by the creamy layer among the dalits. So is in the case of OBC. The dalits and the OBC members should allow the advantage from reservations to go below. The problem is that the leaders, vocal as they are, manipulate to appropriate the maximum concessions. My knowledge of law, however limited, tells me that the column of caste in the form that the census enumerators ask violates the basic structure of the constitution. They inquire about the caste. On the basis of such information the economic benefits are distributed. This makes a mockery of the constitution. Its preamble says that the people resolve to constitute India into a “sovereign socialist democratic republic.”

Democracy and discrimination do not go together.

My objection is also on another point. In the Keshvanand Bharti case, the Supreme Court has said that the objectives in the preamble constitute the basic structure of the constitution. It means that Parliament, although elected directly by the people, cannot alter the basic structure. Surprisingly, the government does not realize the effect the introduction of quota in promotions will have on the bureaucracy, the sheet anchor of the administration. Divide and rule was the dictum of the British who held India in bondage for 150 years. The nation needs to be integrated however strong are the forces to stratify it. The introduction of quota in services is an important policy decision.

The government should have called a meeting of the National Integration Council which is meant to discuss such problems. Caste is something that affects the nation on the whole. The country cannot be pushed back to the dark ages. Affirmative action which America follows to give benefits to the black is far better than the reservations which see no end of expiry. But that is a different story, although Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, a dalit, who outlined the constitution, agreed unwillingly to reservation for 10 years only.

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From Hyderabad—

K.S. Chalam [Prof K.S.Chalam, former Member, UPSC, New Delhi, former Vice-Chancellor, Dravidian University, Kuppam, A.P., is known as the pioneer of the Academic Staff College Scheme in the country as the scheme was strengthened by UGC on the basis of his experiments in 1985. He became the first founder director of the Academic Staff College at Andhra University in 1987. He was actively involved in the teachers’ movement, secular and rationalist activities and served as the National Secretary, Amnesty International during 1984-85. chalamkurmana@gmail.com]

What do we learn from Detroit?

Detroit city, the birth place of TheAmerican car industry is in the news, driving towards bankruptcy. The Governor of Michigan, Snyder has appointed a black expert Kevin Carr as Emergency Manager to find out ways and means of overcoming the current crisis.

The city is not able to provide street lighting, no benches in the path ways and parks, sixty year old trams not replaced, old buses ply on the roads, defaulted to pay pensions and so on. Further, the city has lost around two thirds of its population between 1960 and 2013 from 20 lakhs to around 7 lakhs by now. This has impacted the real estate. It is said that a house now costs around $7500 and some old flats could be acquired for hundred bucks while many buildings are left in dilapidated conditions.

This is really a terrible state and a sight to abhor for emigrants. The Indian migrants reinforced the 20

colour of the city that was already noted as Black.

But the city flourished and several innovations including Fordism developed here to give a unique character to American capitalism. Now the collapse of the system conveys a message for infrastructure development in urban India including cities like Hyderabad. How did this happen?

The provision of public utilities in Europe and America were based on their climatic conditions and the bounty they received from the colonies.

Unfortunately, as I narrated in my ‘common sense of urban planning’ a year ago, Indians have tried to copy them without an external colony. Perhaps, the policy makers had instinctively realised the existence of internal colonies (social and marginalised groups) and planned our infrastructure accordingly after liberalisation. We are happy with the quadratic national highways crossing across different regions and cultures by marginalising the local needs. They were aimed to link the four corners of the country for the free flow of goods without any hurdles to reach the ports passing through several special and export processing zones. They are considered as comparable to any other infrastructure of America or Europe in style and structure. They contained lot of foreign exchange component with very good margins for the contractors who became Legislators in course of time. This is a very good model of development where we could provide facilities to people and at the same time give leadership to the nation.

It seems the models used here are the ones that were used during the time of Eisenhower and Roosevelt.

Some American commentators tell us that Eisenhower spent money from the defence budget to create facilities to move troops across different states as a General during Second war. He was visionary as the future President to create the interstate roads and infrastructure to connect the 50 states to become a strong United States of America.

But the problem according to the President of the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE, B.D Leonard is that” we are still driving on

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Eisenhower’s roads and sending our kids to Roosevelt’s schools�. It means that the country has not invested on the maintenance or repairs or simply no provision was made for depreciation on the capital. It is estimated that there is a backlog of $ 2.2 trillion infrastructure in the country.

Infrastructure is basic framework of a system or organisation stands fundamental for the development of a nation. It consisted of not only roads, buildings, power grids, communication systems etc but also the necessary manpower to be generated through educational institutions. It is not only in the US but in several European nations that the huge infrastructures were magnificently built when they were riding on high growth, to show case their vanity (beyond their need). They are now started crumbling not only due to the downturn of the economies but even the declining size of the population made the capacity underutilized. We all know that on August 1, 2007 the 1-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapsed killing 13 people and around that time the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge repairs became grave. It is reported that during the period of recession the per cent of expenditure on public construction as proportion of GDP in America has declined. The Global Competitiveness Report 20112-13 estimated that the infrastructure score has come down from 6.1 to 5.8 placing the US at 25th rank.

India, being the third largest economy in the world in terms of size of GDP is ranked at 87th with a score of 3.8 in infrastructure capacity (in the same report). Perhaps, keeping this score and the need for world class infrastructure to facilitate free movement of wares, our Prime Minister wanted more investments in to this sector. It has also the capacity to absorb more investment and create new jobs. FDIs are therefore are invited. But, we may reflect here on the kind of experiences the advanced countries have suffered in the era of free trade and the wealth so created and the consequences. Detroit can be taken as a case to project the kind of complications awaiting us.

Detroit is not in distress due to a natural calamity, 21

but a manmade disaster and due to faith in a model.

It is easy to develop a model of growth based on free trade to benefit from comparative advantage or factor abundance of a nation. It is also noted in the theories of the Economists that factors move in search of efficiency and productivity to yield higher rates of return in a no holds bar situation.

This is fine and data must have supported some of the theories or manipulated to suit the positive conclusions like our Poverty estimates. But, the issue is that when comparative advantage has driven the car manufacturers from Detroit under NAFTA, people abandoned the city leaving the infrastructure, buildings, pension funds, differed payments etc that became a drain on the next generation. Perhaps, the economists must have thought that infrastructure, buildings etc would also physically move to destinations in search of fodder. This is impossible and unimaginative even if we take the monetary value of the transactions.

Who is responsible for the present conditions of Detroit or situations of that nature?

The kind of huge infrastructure projects including the unwieldy irrigation, road, transport, flyover, arty underpass of contractor based projects, need to be reviewed and only the relevant and cost effective projects are to be selected to unburden the future generations. We need not replicate what others are doing if they do not suit our capacity and conditions. This is common sense and do not need sophisticated models or advice of paid consultants.

We have now a situation where Hyderabad city would likely to become a metropolitan centre sucking the resources from the underdeveloped hinterland, the experience of the city of Detroit is a clear message.

North Andhra deprived of Riparian Rights in Polavaram has teeming natural resources Uttarandhra to emerge as Kashmir (along with Araku valley) of South India with beautiful coast being the pride of Telugu people The Telugu-speaking people are under great stress for the imminent

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parting. There is anguish among different categories of people, each clinching a particular problem, be it irrigation water, jobs, security of employment, family, real estate in Hyderabad or simply the pain of emotional longing for a cultural identity.

Though we had four distinguished regions in the State in terms of parameters used to classify a region either in India or Andhra Pradesh, Uttarandhra or North Andhra has not figured anywhere except in passing remarks. In fact, we have such episodes from all the five borders of the united State, except Coastal Andhra that was protected by other Telugu border regions with an international border, coast.

As I was born in the united Visakhapatnam district, (northern part named as Srikakulam in 1950), I am obliged to express at least anxiety over the impending outcome.

I had the opportunity to traverse the entire region and know something about the origin and unique characters of our river systems. The peninsular rivers originate either in the East and confluence the Arabian Sea or begin in the West and join the Bay of Bengal. But the rivers in North Andhra originate in the Eastern Ghats and join the Bay of Bengal on the East. This is exceptional and the Sabari River that joins Godavari at Kunavaram not only brings water but also contributes to its title.

The tributaries of Sabari, Sileru (silaeru) and Machkund (fish mound in Oriya) originate in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam border and were responsible for the huge runoff at the downstream Polavaram.

The data provided by various agencies, including the CWC (not party), amply demonstrate this. W. Francis, in his Visakhapatnam Gazetteer (1907), mentioned that the water supplied to the second crop in Godavari delta originates in North Andhra.

The Polavaram, aka Ramapadasagar Project (of Sonti Ramamurthy of Vizag), was conceived and projected as a boon to the farmers of the region during Tanguturi Prakasam regime.

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American expert Dunne estimated the cost at Rs 100 crores which was considered prohibitive for a State budget with a few hundred crores. However, farmers and people of the region longed for it as they believed that it was their legitimate right to claim over 644tmc surplus in the Godavari.

Rajasekhara Reddy took a bold decision to take up the project and it is still a victim of legal, economic and political squabbles to reach the logical end. The political aftermath of the present situation might result in a package including Polavaram as a national project. It is here one can reason out the share of North Andhra not only in the contribution of its run-off but also its share in the proposed distribution through the left canal (it should go up to Bahuda).

The geography of Krishna and Godavari delta is precarious as the region lies at the river’s mouth (tail end) with little contributions to the run-off due to its location. We know the fate of Kolleru.

Therefore, farmers are very sensitive as they recollect how the out-migration in times of famines took place while the unharnessed rivers merged in the Bay of Bengal before Cotton.

They had also experienced the pinch when there was scarcity in the major source in recent years.

Arthur Cotton took irrigation works as a challenge to prove that transport through canals was cheaper than railways and proposed linking of Karachi to Kolkata and barrages on the Krishna and the Godavari. Telugus of coastal Andhra were benefitted.

He did not anticipate the consequences. There seems to be a flaw in the enterprise as the irrigation needs of the riparian regions of the Godavari have not been considered nor the farmers told about the restrictions. Was it due to the limitations of sovereign powers of Cotton as some parts of the present State were under another dispensation?

Nonetheless, North Andhra was very much part of the Madras Presidency and had rights on the Godavari waters. Why did he neglect this aspect?

Or was it due to the persuasive skills and

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manoeuvres of the then ruling classes which overpowered him to limit his vision to a very limited area, is a subject of academic study. Yet, there seems to be some weakness (colonial mindset to maximise return and not equity) in the whole design of agricultural development based on subsidised water without any legitimately dependable source? North Andhra had limited experience of continuous droughts as the rainfall here is found to be above State average according to Jagannadha Sarma, a hydro geol ogist. The design of irrigation water was also based on small tanks with low investment and linking the geddas, rivulets to some large storage tanks.

North Andhra was a region of small zamindars and from non-traditional castes, unlike the Nizam or someone in other parts who could afford huge projects. However, the economic status of the region was comparable to that of advanced districts of coastal Andhra like West Godavari as late as in 1961 when the per capita income in North Andhra was Rs 1250 against State average of Rs 1184. Now the region suffers low income and high poverty while the waters of its rivers either join the sea or are diverted for others leaving limited prospects for agricul ture development. There is distress migration. It is estimated that GHMC alone has about 2 million construction workers, petty jobsholders, etc, from North Andhra (lost 3 MLA seats). They live like nomads without a cover to

conceal their bodies. Is it due to lack of resources in the region? Uttarandhra has teeming natural resources to emerge as Kashmir (along with Araku valley) of South India with beautiful coast being the pride of Telugu people. It was undermined and exploited over a period of time after 1956. One important reason for its backwardness appears to be sidelining of irrigation needs of the region. CRM Patnaik, the Cotton of North Andhra, designed projects keeping the aspirations of the region, which were later diverted to industrial use for Visakhapatnam city. Farmers agitated without any effect. The rare Yeleru canal scam is part of this diversion process. New projects are being diverted for industrial use. It is difficult to know how the water requirements of a region were evaluated beyond their legitimate share. Were the needs of farmers and the people of North Andhra who have riparian rights over the run-off considered in diverting 80 TMC water from the proposed Polavaram? Why is it the left canal is not extended beyond Visakhapatnam city to sparsely irrigated areas in Chidikada, Devarapalli, Narsipatnam in Vizag district and the most backward parts of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam? If gravity is an issue, are they not pumping for others? Has the leadership of the region ever brought the issues before the administration or are they overpowered by migrants (mis/un) representing the demands of local people?

Letter to The Editor: "Stop The Crime Against Women" in any way that you can! Now it appears that “Hate crime not criminals” is the most bogus sentence in the world. The need now appears to be that“Kill criminals in any manner possible to control crime” – This seems to be the right sentence in this present situation of country. It is sad, but the cry of the hour is a barbaric statement but one finds no way way out except to kill criminals. Only then may we find “no crime”. Now-a-days, you can read every where that crimes against women are really shooting-up very dangerously and hence this seems to be the only solution that we must kill criminals to remove crime in Country as they do countries like UAE who have very low crime rates. — Atul K. Raval, cvaraval@yahoo.com, 9409541385; 9979883193 Editor's Note: Situation has become really grim. We can imagine the gravity of the situation by this letter itself. "A Radical Humanist canvassing killing as punishment for committing crime!" Complete loss of faith in law and order system and more than that, there appears to be a total absence of values, cultural and moral, in the 'appearing to be civilized' generation of the present time.—Rekha S.

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IRI / IRHA Members' Section:

V.B. Rawat

[Vidya Bhushan Rawat is Director at Social Development Foundation, a non religious secular human rights organisations working on the issue of Dalits, tribals and other marginalised communities particularly on the issue of hunger, starvation, land rights and rights over natural resource. www.thesdf.org]

Monsterous Propagandists the reach of web world is being Asrecognized and realized across the political spectrum, the hate mongers have also started working on their agenda. Political debate must confine on the principles and policies of political parties and their performances but unfortunately now the personalized nature of targeting is being done by the multi-headed propaganda machinery of the Sangh Parivar. These offshoots may or may not be registered but every day, you will find a new ‘national’ organization preaching us to be united and fight against corruption and false ‘secularists’ who do not speak against Muslims.

Muslims are the favorite target of the Hindu communalists because it gives them the strength to spread their vicious agenda. They know the compulsion of ‘Hindu secularists’ who hail from the upper caste-class segments and have at their heart of heart the feeling of Islam being a problem.

It is this class who feel that Muslims cannot be secular and Hindus are ‘too’ ‘liberal’. I have been

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forced fed on this issue of Islam many times that I am too ‘liberal’ to Muslims and too harsh on ‘Hindus by many of my secular-humanist friends.

It is not just the ordinary souls but academically sound people too have the same idea. One of them once said that a Muslim cannot be secular to which I countered as which religious person can be secular. The person further argued that Quran cannot be a secular book and I responded how Gita or Ramayana can be different then. To this, he suggested that Gita is a secular book, it does not spread animosity and that great scholar like S.Radhakrishnan and others around the world actually spoke highly of ‘Gita’. I asked him to read the analysis of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Periyar and I realized their deep contempt for them. The whole issue then reached to reservation. And unfortunately on the issue of reservation the attitude of Muslim elite who may look secular, Hindu elite, Communist elite, and Humanist elite appears the same. It is disgusting how there are points of convergence in India among the elite masquerading to follow different ideologies and yet find their common convergence in looking down upon the Dalits and rarely speaking against the caste atrocities.

My point is not the glorification of Islam but definitely a legend like M.N.Roy looked to Islam in a different way in India and wrote ‘The Historic Role of Islam’. Yes, the role of Islam in India was of social change and bringing a voice of dignity to many of the marginalized. And therefore, the secular humanist breeds in India have two varieties.

One who lead ‘Muslims’ through fighting for their rights particularly during the communal disturbances but does not bother to speak about the ‘internal’ issues of the community which actually are very useful in strengthening the stereotype that the Hindutva’s thugs have created about them that everything that they do is ‘appeasement’. So, India considers ‘not speaking’ as an appeasement while a majority of the community languishes in poverty.

The issue of Pasmanda Muslims is out of bound for the 'seculars' at the moment. The ‘seculars’

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represent ‘tolerant’ Hindus who feel that India has suddenly been communalized and hence the conceptualization and myths being built up around ‘Hindu tolerance’ are farcical.

It is important therefore to visualize what is invisible and how media plays with names and stereotype thing very similar to what the Bombay films did long back. A Brahmin in any of the Bombay film would always be poor but honest and hardworking while a Dalit or a black as ‘kamchor’ or a cunning caste-ist gangster. People with disability and dark skins were to be laughed at and looked down upon in contempt. The media story is even worse here and needs to be analysed. How they create ‘identities’, make hero of a ‘community’ and create ‘villain’ of others. Durga Shakti Nagpal is clearly a name which helps media to promote the idea of ‘honest’ officer, ‘meritorious’ who is upright and has taken on the ‘Bhatis’ who are definitely OBC. The problem is that there are numerous other local mafias who may be Sharma , Tyagis, Aggarwals and others but they will not be in the ‘hit list’. Similarly, when a blast occurs anywhere, the people related to Islam or Muslims names would be chanted from the very beginning quoting extraordinarily on those ‘home ministry’ or ‘intelligence’ reports which are nothing but thoroughly communalized but at the same point of time when Pakistan applies the same tactics and parades an Indian national or a Hindu as a terrorist then our ‘nationalism’ wakes up. You can make it from the arrest of Abdul Karim Tunda and the way he is being ‘projected’ despite the known fact that our own ‘Tundas’ in Pakistan would be treated as ‘nationalists’.

The communal Hindutva agenda has many facets and one needs to understand it deeply. They are hand in glove with crony capitalists and hence media is blatantantly coming in their support. Now, media because of its very nature cannot really chant Sangh’s anti- Muslim rhetoric’s openly hence seem to be playing with the story indirectly. For that perceptions are developed carefully and news is built in a way that does not show you propagating 25

‘Hindutva’ but demolishing all those who stand against the communal fascists. So, an Arnab Goswami will scream for the right of Durga Shakti Nagpal and ask questions on behalf of ‘India’ as why is she not being re-instated but the fact is does the state government has right to do so or not. Can she decide about things on her own? So to justify her act, we will bring stories of that she ‘demolished’ a temple too but nobody asked her anything. That shows the ‘Hindu tolerance’. Then, we ‘break’ the story of a Muslim MLA’s father in Rajasthan and how he is engaged in ‘anti national’ activities and an ‘honest’ officer has been shunted just for taking on him. It means that every transfer needs to go to Arnab Goswami’s table first for clearance otherwise he will protest on TV and call Madhu Kishwar for ‘justification’.

In this country, the bureaucrats never actually treat people as ‘sovereign’ but mostly as servants.

Anybody, who is working with the government institutions in this country, is a mai-baap (parent) of the ordinary citizen. There is no doubt that the Uttar-Pradesh government has mishandled the Durga Nagpal’s case but just to make her a demi-god the media is showing its true colours.

This trend is turning into another farce which media has tried to create in the past five years. After the Anna-Kejriwal farce, they went to every sound bite by him who also fizzled out. For a long period we found that Subrahmanyam Swami is the ‘model’ for our media and they lapped up each word that he spoke against the Gandhis and Muslims. If Amartya Sen has to be condemned then bring Jagdish Bhagwati whose only problem with Sen is his Nobel Prize. Is this the job of the media to discredit the political institutions and boss over us through unaccountable arrogant bureaucratic institutions?

Yes, the political leadership is going through crisis but it reflects our society. We need to protect our democracy and change the social system to make it more equitable. Democracy can’t be strengthened if we discredit the entire process of democracy and allow the supremacy to be non-elected

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unaccountable bureaucratic classes in India who have developed contempt towards democracy. It is ironical that the classes which glorify Indian democracy abroad have deep contempt towards it and to understand that we must revisit the post mandal India when the political parties have been mandalised. A decision on August 7th, 1990 for the acceptance of Mandal Commision report by V.P. Singh’s government jolted the entire nation. They tried to create anarchy in the country but failed. The upper caste forces have persistently tried to create anarchy in the country whenever their hegemony is challenged. Mandal was the biggest threat to them.

Mandal’s biggest contribution may not be the rising number of OBC bureaucrats but the growth of the new leadership which emerged. As the demand for fair representation grew, the apprehensive caste forces used all the tricks to thwart that change process and ensure that some areas remain out of bound for the majority of this country, just in the name of ‘merit’.

India’s parliament is the best representative of Indian people. No other Indian institutions really represent people of India and what is the merit of the ‘selection’ process of these unaccountable ‘meritorious’ ‘experts’ in media, judiciary and academic world. Most of the appointments are done through connections whether they are political, bureaucratic or in media itself. Was there a national examination organized for getting some one into Times Now or NDTV? What was the process of appointment of Arnab Goswami or Rajdeep Sardesai ? How did Chandan Mitra get ‘Pioneer’ and haven’t we forgotten a former chief justice appointing his sister as judge of high court and attempting to bring her to Supreme Court just before he retired. Find out the family history of those who are donning our judiciary. Are there no other meritorious people in this country except those selected? Very similar processes are adopted in the universities and colleges who have thwarted every attempt to bring diversity inside their campuses in the name of ‘merit’.

We talk of transparency for everyone. Yes in the 26

name of transparency create anarchy, make people fight with each other. None will ask the food bills of Ambanis or Amitabh Bachchan as they have ‘fundamental right’ to spend money of their choice as the billions and trillions that they have is ‘their money’ but if Sonia Gandhi organizes a party then file cases. What about Arnab’s party and the high society parties organized by the Jain brothers of Times of India. Can we seek RTI for many newspapers whose circulations are not even thousands yet their budget is in crores? How are they running their empire?

So, news is being created here very carefully. It is created to discredit some and make others benefit.

Nobody is shouting when Modi government discriminates against Sikhs and decides to throw them away from Kutch, in Gujarat. These are the people who developed that region as a wonderful place but now Modi’s Gujarati nationalism and pure business sense feels that these people should be thrown away but no hue and cry, no campaign to save these people is seen in the media.

Soni Sori is languishing in Indian jail. The policeman who violated her, tortured her has got presidential medal. Her husband died of torture.

Soni Sori is a tribal so our heart doesn’t melt for her. Crime against her does not melt the heart of these women who were in Jantar Mantar. Yes, we make a rape victim as ‘symbol’ of bravery because she happens to be an upper caste but the woman who fought for her right, for her people, is languishing in Jail. None put questions to Indian state. Nobody seeks an inquiry. No court issues any warrant. No government falls, no heart-breaks, no dharnas, no tears, nothing moves. Why the nation does not question the state’s brutality? Is Soni Sori not a woman? Is she not a citizen of the country?

Yes, the argument they would give is that she is a Maoist but then the jailed persons too have rights to defend themselves.

The Hindutva propaganda machinery is expert in distorting facts as since centuries they have an expertise in doing so. The analogy is selective and

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so are the campaigns so that the fence sitters are influenced. The Madhya Pradesh government ordered Gita to be taught in Madarasas and we find justification. ‘Muslims and Christians can teach their religious books in their schools then why are Hindus denied to teach their holy-books in their schools’, they say. The problem is that RSS and Sangh Parivar have very cleverly converted all the government and national institutions as ‘Hindu’ institutions and hence when the minority institutions teach their values, they counter it that we too have a right to do so. Secondly, Madarasas are not Hindu institutions but Muslim religious institution but the tragedy is that such fascist imposition are being ordered in the name of ‘culture’ of tolerance and there is no hue and cry by those who have been speaking.

A number of Hindutva leaders have been caught in various scandals but that does not become an issue and therefore it is clearly visible that media is fighting the battle on behalf of Sangh Parivar today. Fortunately, the people of this country know very well the brahmanical nature of media and hence have learnt the tricks of the game. Now the news is coming clearly how and why a big staff at a famous news channel is being shunted out just to make way for more saffronised journalists to be recruited who can campaign for Modi and his team.

It will be deeply disturbing if media remains unaccountable in the name of freedom of expression propagating the business interest of companies and hiding facts from the people.

Political class must reflect on themselves as the goons and musclemen will only discredit them further. We desperately need political statesmen today who can rise up and speak without their own narrow sectarian interests. The middle classes may enjoy the mocking of political class who anyway can be changed but who will seek accountability from these loudspeakers who are spreading lies and spreading hatred. The day political system in India collapses, the fascist communal forces will take away all our liberties and this ‘free’ media will never come to our rescue at that time. We have seen 27

their criminal silence on Soni Sori, on Kashmir, on AFSPA and hence it is time that people must change their polity. Politicians are bad, they are corrupt ( but media men are not holy cows and many of them have turned ‘successful’ politicians too) but sweeping generalization will be dangerous and secondly if the idea of a secular India has to survive fighting against communalism and sectarianism is no less importance then fighting against corruption.

Do Indians really love those who fought against corruption. who are the role model? Will they love V.P. Singh, Ram Swroop Verma, Narendra Dev, Madhu Dandwate, Ramdhan, Indrajeet Gupta, Manik Sarkar and many like them who lived their life in honesty? There are hundreds of political workers silently committed to their work without media galore but the past 20 years have degenerated political system because of media reach and we have film stars, business tycoons, media monarchs jumping in the political bandwagon and enjoying the power. It is big a challenge.

The biggest challenge is to expose the corrupt crony in the media and its unaccountable power. If India has to be saved from fascist communal onslaught, the people must understand and expose the role of such journalists who have nothing but khaki shorts underneath and their disinformation campaign against the poor and marginalized. If politics became the symbol of change even if it might have been negative at many places, the media, judiciary and academia are the biggest obstacles to social change and are propagandists for status quo. They are simply pushing their casteist, communal agenda in the absence of a political consensus on major issues of saving the democracy. Democracy is endangered today as it will only create more problems and isolations for the marginalized and those who believe in freedom of expression and political thoughts. We must be careful of those propagandists who are using this political vacuum to strengthen their sinister fascist designs.

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Academician's & Research Scholar's Section:

Arshi Ansari

The Youth of today is a Radical Humanist: He may know it or not!

[Comments on Rekha Saraswat's August 2013 RH Editorial "The travesty of Radical Humanism"] thought provoking editorial about Ahuman nature and its impact upon an ideological/ philosophical movement!

When we think about any ideology the first thing that comes in our mind is the impression built by those persons who started it and those who followed it. We can identify them as leaders and followers. Talking about the Radical Humanist Movement, M.N. Roy started it and so he was the leader. We also know that Roy was a Communist prior to his propagating the Radical Humanist ideology. When he felt that communism is not the solution for the salvation of the whole humanity he developed the original idea which is known as Radical Humanism. He dissolved the Radical Democratic Party as he came across this fact that politics and humanism cannot co-sail on the same ship. Politics is something about power, fame and authority and to reach there the human is beating or cheating another human being. This proved his genuineness & honesty regarding humanism & humanity.

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At present, few months ago we have celebrated M.N. Roy’s 125th birth anniversary formally. But where is his ideology standing? Whatever he had started yesterday, are his followers living it in their hearts and souls honestly? Do contemporary Radicals have originality in their thoughts? And are they just those mediocre stereotypes who only chant but do not feel the philosophy? This is a big litmus test that they all should go through in their own minds and hearts. Because for those who are attracted to the philosophy “humanism” is the only viewpoint where we all can feel like sailing on the same boat. Otherwise, we have plenty of taboos, yes one can be Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and then in all these religions we are again divided on the basis of caste, race and language. And, yes the major division that we can never forget, is of gender discrimination/prejudice.

Actually, this is human nature. It always wants to take the credit, it claims I am the best and the attitude shows that do not mess with me. But what all this means is that people with insecurities act in this manner otherwise when I am following something and believing in a particular value system why should I bother that the world should know who I am and what I do in the movement?

This kind of mentality can be seen everywhere, tussle between our freedom fighters or in current political scenario. We always want us to be remembered as legends but the matter of question is that do we have the souls of legends? Are we doing something for the common good? Are we really following Roy’s dream?

Now we need some honest attempts to connect the youth of today with Roy’s Radical Humanism. The best part is that they actually think and want life to be lived in the same way as the philosophy suggests without their being aware of it. The only needed thing is to introduce & align them with this ideology. If we continue to self-eulogize it will only bring down the grace of this great ideology & leave a sense of dissatisfaction which will lead us to that stage when there will be no more of Roy’s

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Radical Humanism left but only the narrow form of individualism.

One more thing is that fresh minds are different, once they adopt a thing by their logic and reason they follow it by their soul but at the same time if they find that the purpose of that ideology is not being fulfilled even among those who claim to have

followed it since long the youth get disillusioned and move away from it. So if we need real humanists we need to be honest first to ourselves, put aside our ego & join our hands for our common goal otherwise we will face a vacuum in the league of real comrades (humanists) very soon.

BOOKS BY M.N. ROY Published by Renaissance Publishers, Indian Renaissance Institute, Oxford University Press and Others 1. POLITICS POWER AND PARTIES

Rs. 90.00

2. SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

Rs.95.00

3. BEYOND COMMUNISM

Rs.40.00

4. THE HISTORICAL ROLE OF ISLAM

Rs.40.00

5. MEN I MET

Rs.60.00

6. INDIA’S MESSAGE

Rs.100.00

7. MATERIALISM

Rs. 110.00

8. REVOLUTION & COUNTER REVOLUTION IN CHINARs. 250.00 9. REASON, ROMANTICISM AND REVOLUTION 10. NEW ORIENTATION

Rs.300.00 Rs 090.00

11. ISLAAM KI ETIHASIK BHOOMIKA (IN HINDI)

Rs.25.00

12. HAMARA SANSKRITIK DARP (IN HINDI)

Rs.40.00

13. NAV MANAVWAD (IN HINDI)

Rs.90.00

14 .SAMYAWAD KE PAAR (IN HINDI)

Rs.45.00

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Book Review Section:

From Gurgaon, Haryana—

Dipavali Sen

[Ms. Dipavali Sen has been a student of Delhi

School of Economics and Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (Pune). She has taught at Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, and various colleges of Delhi University. She is, at present, teaching at Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Delhi University. She is a prolific writer and has written creative pieces and articles for children as well as adults, both in English and Bengali. dipavali@gmail.com]

A Valuable Life [BOOK: N. Innaiah, Living With Values: An Autobiography of a Humanist, published by Century Publications, New Delhi, 2013, with photographs and facsimiles, pp 229 +63, price Rs 300 $ 30] one wants history, literature and Ifphilosophy all together, this is the book to take up. It is a delightful combination of the three, and presented in an attractive get-up.

Dr Innaiah Narisetti (b.1937), a dedicated Rationalist and Humanist, has taught in Osmania University and written for various publication such as the Telugu daily Andhra Jyoti. He has participated in radio and television programmes in India and abroad, and this is putting it very, very briefly. He has had a most interesting life, rich in

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manifold experiences, and his autobiography really required to be written.

The first chapter (My Childhood Memories) is a moving account of a village lad’s initial years. The author remembers his granny and how he used to walk with her to the wet paddy fields. He recalls how she died of cholera, falling dead in the act of quenching her thirst.

College life in Guntur was a turning point for the author, as described in the next two chapters. Then came the exposure to university education in Visakhapatnam and first encounters with men of stature. He heard the mention of M.N. Roy and took a fancy to reading The Statesman. But then his father became a victim to diabetes and Homeopathy and the author faced the trauma of his falling into a coma and dying on the train to their native place. For the time, his M.A. course in Philosophy remained incomplete.

In 1969 he became the Personal Secretary of N.G. Ranga and had the opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting and powerful people. He became associated with the magazine Vahini, published from Vijayawada. He became familiar with Roy’s work.He attended Radical Humanist classes and even wrote for RH. Then came a four-year stint as a school teacher in Sangareddy of Medak district. This ended with his marriage to Komala Venigalla of Hyderabad in 1964.They spent the first year of their married life in a tiled house, but with colleagues and friends, of both, dropping in. One of them was Gora Sastry with whom, in spite of some ideological differences, the author shared whisky and reading of Jerome K, Jerome. Through him, the author met Upolu Kalidas, the editor of the widely read Anandavani.

In 1965 and ’66, the young couple had Naveena and Raju born to them. In spite of hardships they spared the children. In a chapter devoted to his wife, the author mentions that the two had decided that she should retain her surname Venigalla “and thereby her individuality” (p 69). He acknowledges

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that in those days it was her regular salary as schoolteacher that enabled them to run the family.

He describes how she then did her Masters course in English and in 1968 joined a college whose congenial atmosphere “brought about a metamorphosis” in her life (p 70). After completing his Master’s course in Philosophy in Osmania University in 1965-66, the author too worked on his PhD thesis, the award of which involved him in a protracted battle with the authorities.

Many firebrands loose their inner fire after settling down into family life. What is remarkable is that this young couple did not let it happen to them. In the chapter Rationalist Movement, the author writes: “Only after I settled down in life after marriage in 1964, I could pursue education and take part in movements simultaneously” (p 66).He helped revive the magazine Indian Rationalist and wrote every month on rationalism and related subjects. He went to Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and critically reviewed the goings-on at the Ashram. He took part in a survey of the living conditions of sanitary workers in the Old City of Hyderabad. He wrote, he translated, and published his first book (Andhra Pradesh Rajakeeya Charitra) in 1969-70.But Komala and he also had to undergo the trauma of having son Raju kidnapped for a day.

Gradually the author developed greater contact with important political leaders and legislators. He started publishing a quarterly social science magazine (Prasarita). He spent a decade (1968-78) in the New MLA Quarters of Kolluri Koteswara Roche, stepped up his writing for RH and organized an All-India Humanist Conference in the MLA Quarters.

What makes this book a most human document is that he mentions that around this time he “became the proud owner of a telephone for the first time in my life” and “could acquire a refrigerator and buy modern children’s literature for my kids”. (p 85)

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The author then became special reporter of Andhra Jyoti, gathering “invaluable” experience and numerous political and social contacts. (pp 95, 100) In 1980 he shifted to Adarsh Nagar, a quiet locality in the heart Hyderabad, acquiring a b-and-w TV. He became a freelance journalist, writing, translating, and assisting MLAs. “Our home in Adarsh Nagar became a beehive of activity”. (p 121) Naveena and Raju were growing up. The author was acquiring friends as well as foes, both influential. He was often maligned for the he bold stances he took, and his family had their share of it.

In the mid-eighties there was a lucrative offer from the American Consulate in Madras. But it would have curtailed the author’s “personal freedom” of writing and was therefore “spurned”. (p 130) Naveena and Raju went to the US. The author immersed himself in Secular, Rationalist and Humanist programmes, working closely with the leaders in those fields. Meanwhile in 1986 he had moved into the Journalist Colony in Jubilee Hills and even become the President of its welfare association.

In two subsequent chapters (Homeopathy-The Arcane medicine and Self-proclaimed saints) the author now describes how over the years he has fought against blind faith. An earlier chapter (Tasleema Nasreen) too had narrated how the author as well as his wife had stood by this controversial writer.

In 1992, the couple went on a trip to the U.S, spending time not only with family and friends there but with prominent Rationalists and Humanists. In subsequent visits as well, the author has continued that association. He addressed an American Humanist Association meeting and there was a telecast of his interview conducted by the American Atheist Association. The family ties have only grown with time and intermeshed with professional and ideological ones. At the close of the autography, the author celebrates his birthday in Maryland, USA, with Humanist associates as

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well as grandchildren singing a birthday song in French and feeding him a slice of a birthday cake (see photographs page 62) – shaped like a book and a pen.

After this running account comes a presentation of the case regarding the award of the author’s Ph.D degree. Research students of any discipline should find it relevant. For, they often have to deal with such injustice.

Next you have reproductions of correspondence between the author and various Humanist personalities. As documents, they have historical value. So do the photographs, carrying you through the journey of the author’s life, which was sometimes in stark black and white, sometimes

many-hued.

The font size in the Index is a little too small.

A couple of grammatical errors too can be located here and there. But as a publication, it is well-produced. The fact that the chapters are short helps readers to concentrate. In the world today, attention-spans are dwindling.

As you finish the book and close it, you see the author smiling at you out of the front cover (attractively designed by Giridhar Gaud). You feel that you have come to know him – at least a little.

He is a man who has lived with values and also lived fully, a man of rationality as well as of human warmth. Thank you, you feel like saying; “Thank you, Dr Innaiah, for writing this book.”

Please register yourself on the RH Website (http://www.theradicalhumanist.com) ¨Please log in to it to give your comments on the articles and humanist news which are uploaded from the world over on the Website almost daily. ¨You may also send in news and write-ups from your part of the land for uploading on the Website. ¨Please send in your views and participate on the topics of debate given in the debate section. You yourself may also begin a debate on any topic of your choice in this section. ¨Please suggest themes for the coming issues of The Radical Humanist, discuss them in the Themes Section of the Website; the content of which may be later published in the RH journal. ¨It is your own inter-active portal formed with a purpose of social interaction amongst all Radical Humanists as well as Rationalists and Humanists from different forums also. ¨Do make it a practice to click on the RH Website http://www.theradicalhumanist.com URL daily, ceremoniously. ¨Please utilise the RH Website to come closer for the common cause of ushering in a renaissance in our country. —Rekha S.

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Humanist News Section: I Date: 29/8/2013 A Citizens Delegation meets the Governor for Lokayukta Dr. Kamla Her Excellency - Governor of Gujarat Raj Bhavan, Sector 20, Gandhinagar Subject: Supreme Court dismissing the state government’s curative petition for re-examining its verdict upholding the selection of Lokayukta.

Mahesh Pandya, Gujarat Social Watch Dwarikanath Rath, LokAndolan Gujarat Gautam Thaker, PUCL (Gujarat) Rajani Dave, Editor, Bhumiputra News sent by — People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) (Gujarat) gthaker1946@gmail.com Lok Andolan Gujarat Ph. No. (079) 26404418 II

Honorable Madam, This letter refers to the Supreme Court dismissing the state government’s curative petition for re-examining its verdict upholding the selection of Lokayukta.

A meeting of the concerned citizens of Gujarat was held on August Kranti Day i.e. on 9th August-2013 at Ahmadabad on the refusal of Justice R.A. Mehta to join as the Lokayukta of Gujarat and the enclosed resolution was passed after a thorough discussion and deliberation, which is sent to you for appropriate steps.

What is notable is that Justice R.A. Mehta, who was appointed as Gujarat Lokayukta declined to take up the position stating that he cannot take up the position considering the mindset and attitude of the state government. Justice Mehta has also stated that the state government has always questioned his credibility and integrity. State government has created the situation that forced Justice R.A. Mehta to refuse the post of Lokayukta.

Our demand is: We request you to proceed to appoint new Lokayukta under the existing Lokayukta Act. We request you to initiate the process at the earliest.

Thanking you.

Yours sincerely, 33

Prof. Jayanti Patel's Letter to the Editor: The Indian Express.

Sirs, Dr. Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his article “Call it crime, not superstition”, (The Indian Express, August 30.) has pointed out that “most of these harms (due to superstition) are covered by the IPC (Indian Penal Code).’ Hence, no need for a separate law. He also emphasises the need to enforce the present law without any other considerations. He argues that there is no need to complicate the issue in ‘metaphysics of belief’.

However if we look at the scenario from the view point of activists who are trying to eradicate superstitions and inculcate rational and scientific temperament the need for such a law may be appreciated. If we look at the records of crimes registered under prevailing long we find that in last fifty years hardly any crime of these nature is registered and successfully prosecuted. Important thing is will to enforce the law which could be buttressed by generating the climate in favour of scientific temperament in opposition to superstition amongst masses, police force and judiciary. Such a specific law may serve that purpose.

Further, as he has observed crimes of so called Goodman are over-looked. It seems that police and sometimes judges have been awry in prosecuting such offences, perhaps due to need of convincing

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proofs or confusing them with religious practices.

In this situation it is necessary to have specific law as well as to pose the problem in clear context of scientific and rational approach against superstition. Such a law may provide an ideological climate and a rational set of values to fight against superstition to activists, people, police and judiciary.

III Exhibition Review: The ABC’s of Your DNA ‘Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code,’ at the Smithsonian Washington — It has been a decade since the human genome was first sequenced and the 3.2 billion rungs of our DNA ladder laid out for analysis.

That achievement — mapping the fundamental biological code that defines our species and characterizes us as individuals — may have implications as important as the splitting of the atom or the discovery of the wheel. We can already envision custom-designed medicines as well as custom-designed fetuses. There are ethical questions to be asked and scientific questions to be answered. And nothing about the subject is simple.

But credit “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code,” an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History here that opened in June, with being a bit of a pioneer in its own realm. It is smart, playful, and, while leaning toward the pop-science end of things, enlightening. It gives a sense of what the Human Genome Project was all about, provides glimpses of its promises and hints of its limitations, raises questions about things unknown and suggests questions whose answers we may choose not to know.

The show was created in an unusual collaboration between the Smithsonian and the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and vetted by a board of genetic scientists. The main frustration is that given the immensity of its subject, the exhibition is too 34

modest in size — about 4,400 square feet. It feels overly compressed, particularly in the space allowed for a crash video course in genetics — partly, perhaps, because it is designed to travel to other museums after it closes here. It may even be too successful; crowds on a recent weekday caused bottlenecks at displays and interactive screens.

The exhibition also casts a wide age net, and generally succeeds, mostly by using interactive technology and providing small bits of information at a time, as if it were carefully replicating a strand of its DNA for the visitor. Interactive screens can become laborious as you formulaically click through them, but lessons are clearly communicated.

Life, in all its complexity, we are reminded at the beginning, is based upon almost elementary information: four symbols — the A, C, G and T that stand for DNA’s nucleic acids — and the order in which they appear in the genome. That might seem trivial, but the amount of data is immense. If you typed 360 letters a minute, eight hours a day, we are told, it would take nearly a hundred years to type out the letters mapping the human genome. A video screen here is scrolling fast through that roster; it will take a year to complete. Yet all that information is compressed into each human cell.

Once it became possible to examine that code and specify its sequence, variations could be identified, comparisons made, changes traced. And a similar procedure could be used throughout the natural world. We are just beginning to glimpse the consequences.

In a section about genetic research in animals, for example, viewers manipulate cursors on a large display examining a “tree” of related creatures.

Horseshoe crabs have not changed their shape in 200 million years; are they, then, we are asked, living fossils, ancient creatures living in the present? No. Though the genes determining their shape have remained relatively unchanged, other genes have been transformed through long evolutionary processes.

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Examine “naked mole rats” — something you probably wouldn’t consider outside of the display — and you find that they live 30 years, feel no pain and don’t get cancer. Why? Their cells remove damaged proteins more efficiently than ours.

Genomic research may suggest how to apply similar processes in human medicine.

Another interactive display, “Explore your genes!” presents a human figure on screen with bodily “hot spots”: when clicked on, associated traits or diseases appear — hair color, mental illness, taste sensitivities, sickle cell anemia — along with information about the genes controlling them.

Genes have been linked to trivial traits. (“Did you know some people have wet earwax and some people have dry?”) And some 4,000 diseases are caused by single flaws in human genes.

Genomic research doesn’t just identify the source of a disease or trait, though; it also has helped discover remedies. Short videos present miniature case histories. Perhaps the most powerful example shows twins who, as children, were thought to have cerebral palsy. Once it was shown that they were actually afflicted with genetically caused Segawa’s dystonia, proper medication almost miraculously eliminated the symptoms.

Obtaining this level of genetic information is no longer a highly rarefied procedure. The Human Genome Project required eight years, more than $2.7 billion and international cooperation. The cost of sequencing a genome is swiftly dropping, we learn, and “soon it will cost $1,000 or less.” You can now get a partial analysis of your genome in a few weeks for less than a hundred dollars.

So questions are asked that would have been abstract a decade ago: What do you want to know and why? One interactive display introduces us to fictional characters of varied ages who decide whether to get genetic testing and then decide how to act on the information. In one example, Maya wants to become a concert pianist, but genetic tests show a 30 percent risk of rheumatoid arthritis,

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which would cripple her career. Should that affect her choices?

Another display poses ethical or policy questions.

Should health insurers be permitted to set rates based on genomic information? Should genomic discrimination ever be permitted? Are there questions genomic scientists should not be allowed to study? Each question offers you a choice of yes, no or maybe, and a rationale; you then see how visitors voted before you. (Should there be limits on genomic research? At the time of my visit, 46 percent said no.)

The possibilities and problems are astonishing. Yet we stand now only at the beginning of a transformation in human self-knowledge. Vast regions of the genome are not fully understood.

And what is the nature of genetic complexity anyway, when, we are told here, amoeba has 670 billion bits of information (“base pairs”) in their genome compared with humans’ 3.2 billion. Even barley surpasses us, with more than 5 billion.

What actually matters in these long strings of data: 99.9 percent of each person’s genome is exactly the same as everybody else’s; our individuality hangs on only .1 percent.

So much is happening in this field, it would have been helpful if a final section had been devoted to examining where research is going on. And beyond a streaming news ticker above one display, it would also help to see frequently updated surveys of recent genomic news in some detail. In June, for example, a Supreme Court decision barred patents on human genes; this month we read of a decision by the National Institutes of Health that gave descendants of Henrietta Lacks — from whom medically important HeLa cells derived — some involvement with the continuing exploration of her genome.

But the cumulative effect is to inspire amazement about how much has happened in the last decade, how in a matter of fact way we now seem to take it, and how much more is yet to come. And there is some reassurance that while we are each

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perishable, as one introductory film tells us, “your DNA can last for 100,000 years, if you don’t get cremated.”

Follow Edward Rothstein on Twitter; twitter.com/EdRothstein.

The exhibition continues through Sept. 1, 2014, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington; mnh.si.edu.

A version of this review appears in print on August 30, 2013, on page C17 of the New York edition with the headline: The ABC’s Of Your DNA. News URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/arts/desig n/genome-unlocking-lifes-code-at-the-smithson ian.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto& _r=3& IV Humanist And Rationalist News From Peru (Jan.-Jul. 2013):

"Magic and Miracles" with Aurelio Miní: Friday March 1.

"What does it mean to be an Atheist today in Peru?" with Ivan Antezana: Friday March 8.

"Beyond Atheism" with Manuel Paz y Miño: Friday March 15.

"Jesus of Nazareth: A mythical or historical character?": Friday March 22.

"Pope Francis I and the future of Latin America" with Aurelio Miní: Saturday 30 March.

"Sex, Religion and Atheism": Friday April 4.

"Economics, Religion and Atheism": Thursday April 11.

"Jesus, historical fraud" with Ivan Antezana: Thursday 16 and May 30.

"In the context of the secular state, does blasphemy is against respect and freedom?" With Doriss Vera: Friday June 8.

"Religious discrimination in favor of the Catholic Church in Peru" with Manuel Paz y Miño: Wednesday June 19.

"Atheistic ethics" with Carmen Zavala: Wednesday June 26.

"It has no name" with Aurelio Miní: Wednesday July 3.

"Abortion": Wednesday July 17.

"Homosexual Rights" with George Liendo PROMSEX: Wednesday July 24.

-Lecture at the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal: "The right to blasphemy" with Doriss Vera: Thursday July 4.

News URL: http://peruhumanaratio.blogspot.in/2013/08/pe ruvian-humanist-and-rationalist-news.html

Welcome to the PERUVIAN RATIONALIST HUMANISTS website!

PERUVIAN RATIONALIST HUMANISTS are people who were born and live in, or have a relationship to Peru. We interpret reality based on reason and science, effort ouselves to live with positive values, and trying to be the least as irrational and the most realistic as possible, without both super-natural and paranormal beliefs. We organize public activities like video-forums and lectures with a free entrance specially for young students. Also we offer to make secular or non-religious ceremonies (child's namings, confirmations, marriages, funerals) for V non-believers.

Poem on Jazeera's Satyagraha: E-mail: humanarazon_peru@yahoo.com Faizi S. writes: Dear friends, Here I am attaching -Lectures and talks at the “Red Owl” Cultural a powerful poem on Jazeera, the valiant sentinel of Center: our coasts, continuing her sathyagraha with her 36

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three children in front of the Secretariat, Trivandrum, to stop the illegal beach sand mining by mafia, by the gifted poet Sangeeta Suneja: She Is The Flame

she is the flame, Jazeera is her name!

—Poem sent by Faizi S. s.faizi111@gmail.com VI

The fire is born, when a rock has been tried, to torn, Into pieces, The soil, the sand under your feet is gone, The fire is born Tied to the thread of convictions, mightier than any of the power yarns, she does not carry the flame , she is the flame, Jazeera is her name!

Beware! those eating away the crumbs of nature, the termites of sand, for you, now a soldier to slice Your wishes, To shoo away the sea, she stands, she does not carry the flame , she is the flame, Jazeera is her name!

To save the fronts she is the force, she is the fire, She stands alone, She holds neither a gun nor a rose, a mother of three, In her poverty, she does not hold, she has sown the seed of a banyan tree, she does not carry the flame , she is the flame, Jazeera is her name!

A women at the age of thirty one, sits on a mission in the open, with all her passion, not only to tell the story of sand mining, the mafia and their might, but the failure of the system, to show in the mirror, is her fight, to win the lost game, she does not carry the flame ,

On Women’s Equality Day, Support the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S.A.: Letter from Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director, American Humanist Association: Dear Friend, Today is Women’s Equality Day, a day celebrated each year to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which finally gave women the right to vote.

Just one year ago, we asked you to contact your representatives in government and ask that they support the Equal Rights Amendment by removing the amendment’s deadline for ratification.

Unfortunately, a bill that would have removed this unnecessary deadline failed to pass Congress before its term ended, and a White House petition asking President Obama to take action was essentially ignored by administration officials.

Since then more and more Americans have come out and supported the Equal Rights Amendment and the idea that equal pay and rights for women are a necessity for any democracy. While this support showed lawmakers across the country just how important this issue is to the American people, more hard work is required if we truly want to see equality in America.

That’s why I’m asking you today to take a moment to contact the White House at 202-456-1111 and ask how President Obama and other elected officials will work to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the coming year.

We can’t let our leaders off the hook until the ERA and other measures that fight gender-based discrimination are the law of the land. With your help, we can ensure that women are able to enjoy

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the same opportunities that male Americans currently likely to solve the problem.” enjoy.

The collateral fallout from a strike, no matter how

Take a moment to call the White House at 202-456-1111 and voice your support of the ERA. It will only take a few minutes, and your voice will help serve as a catalyst for change in the fight for equal rights.

Thank you supporting equality and opportunity for all, regardless of gender.

Sincerely, Roy Speckhardt Executive Director American Humanist Association VII Humanists Urge Peaceful Solution To Syrian Conflict— American Humanist Association seeks restraint in calls for military intervention: (Washington, DC – Aug 28, 2013) — With the threat of yet another armed conflict in the Middle East rearing its head, the American Humanist Association strongly urges President Obama, American military leaders, and our allies to seek a peaceful, rather than violent, response to the heinous actions committed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The recent revelations of Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons on Syrian citizens are appalling and extreme, and it is imperative that world leaders broker a swift and decisive solution to protect Syria’s citizens. However, history has shown us again and again, most recently in the long-embroiled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which claimed many thousands of lives, that escalating violence rarely, if ever, leads to a win for humanity.

“The best way to resolve this conflict in a way that ensures lasting good is through a peaceful solution,” said AHA Board President Rebecca Hale. “The Syrian people must be a priority for the world’s leaders, but provoking a new war now isn’t 38

targeted, could be devastating to the already beleaguered Syrian people, and could easily be seen as an act of aggression that could be used to bolster terrorists and international anti-American extremists.

“The gains of peace outweigh the gains of war. If we approach this situation with restraint, and we remove ourselves from the heated rhetoric and drum beating, a peaceful solution might be found,” Hale said. ****

The American Humanist Association advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington D.C., its work is extended through more than 175 local chapters and affiliates across the United States.

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms a responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity. (americanhumanist.org) Contact: Brian Magee, bmagee@americanhumanist.org, 202-238-9088 ext. 105

News URL: http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2013 -08-humanists-urge-peaceful-solution-to-syrian -conflict VIII Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds — Intelligent people are more likely to be married, and more likely to be successful in life - and this may mean they “need” religion less: Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades.

A team led by Miron Zuckerman of the University

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of Rochester found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies.

Even in extreme old age, intelligent people are less likely to believe, the researchers found - and the reasons why people with high IQs shun religion may not be as simple as previously thought.

[Backlash after Dawkins' Muslim jibe] Previous studies have tended to assume that intelligent people simply “know better”, the researchers write - but the reasons may be more complex.

For instance, intelligent people are more likely to be married, and more likely to be successful in life and this may mean they “need” religion less.

The studies used in Zuckerman's paper included a life-long analysis of the beliefs of a group of 1,500 gifted children - those with IQs over 135 - in a study which began in 1921 and continues today.

Even at 75 to 91 years of age, the children from Lewis Terman’s study scored lower for religiosity than the general population - contrary to the widely held belief that people turn to God as they age. The researchers noted that data was lacking about religious attitudes in old age and say, “Additional research is needed to resolve this issue.”

As early as 1958, Michael Argyle concluded, “Although intelligent children grasp religious concepts earlier, they are also the first to doubt the truth of religion, and intelligent students are much less likely to accept orthodox beliefs, and rather less likely to have pro-religious attitudes.”

[Did Archaeologists Find a Piece of Jesus' Cross?]

A 1916 study quoted in Zuckerman’s paper (Leuba) found that, “58% of randomly selected scientists in the United States expressed disbelief in, or doubt regarding the existence of God; this proportion rose to nearly 70% for the most eminent scientists.”

The paper, published in the academic journal Personality and Social Psychology Review, said

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“Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme—the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who “know better.”

The answer may, however, be more complex.

Intelligent people may simply be able to provide themselves with the psychological benefits offered by religion - such as “self-regulation and self-enhancement”, because they are more likely to be successful, and have stable lives.

[Long backlog for godless wedding services in Ireland] “Intelligent people typically spend more time in school—a form of self-regulation that may yield long-term benefits,” the researchers write. “More intelligent people get higher level jobs (and better employment (and higher salary) may lead to higher self-esteem, and encourage personal control beliefs.”

“Last, more intelligent people are more likely to get and stay married (greater attachment), though for intelligent people, that too comes later in life. We therefore suggest that as intelligent people move from young adulthood to adulthood and then to middle age, the benefits of intelligence may continue to accrue.”

The researchers suggest that further research on the “function” of religion may reveal more.

“People possessing the functions that religion provides are likely to adopt atheism, people lacking these very functions (e.g., the poor, the helpless) are likely to adopt theism,” the researchers wrote.

Yahoo! NewsBy Rob Waugh | Yahoo! News – Mon, Aug 12, 2013 News URL: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/religious-people-areless-intelligent-than-atheists--study-finds--1133 50723.html#MtBD1O

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