NEW AGE
February 2—8, 2014
Weekly
New Delhi
Central Organ of the Communist Party of India
Vol. 62
No. 5
FEBRUARY 2—8, 2014
Price: ``5
1 On Other Pages Miners Made a Killing, Thanks to Helpless Law: Shah Panel.............5 ‘Ice-Age’ in US: Backlash of EcoImperialism....8-9
CPI Rally Demands Steps to Curb Price Rise
NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (CPI), Delhi state council on January 30, 2014 held a protest march against hike in prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG as part of the national call given by the leaders of the left parties at the national capital. The leaders of the left parties the CPI, CPI
(M), AIFB and RSP which met in the national capital on January 7, 2014 expressed serious concern at the crushing burden of rise in prices that is adversely affecting the common masses as it has made the essentials beyond their reach. Even other sections of the population are also
From Rachel V Thomas suffering as food inflation has been reaching a record high of 20 percent. Party general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said: “Protest held for a single day will not have any effect on the government hence the CPI will intensify the agitation till the
demands are met.” He added that both the Congress and the BJP are busy flinging accusations against each other and the government is taking no action to restrain the hike in prices. He pointed out that there is a vicious circle of price rise and that both Congress and BJP have
been trying to gather money for private companies, leaving the poor out to fend for himself. The CPI leader further said that CPI is against the linking of Aadhar with subsidy which even the Supreme Court has opposed and still the On Page 6
RBI Governor Turns Blind with Neo-Liberal Bite
Injects One More Dose of Hike, EMIs to Rise The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on January 28, 2014 once again raised its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point, saying that controlling inflation is a priority. The step, though the only possible one under neo-liberalism, will fail to curb inflation but also will hurt the highly publicised economic growth which will only further slow down. Besides the elite section of middle class that has opted for debt-based family budget will be grossly hit, as hike in repo rate will result in higher EMIs The RBI hiked the repurchase or repo rate, at which it lends short-term funds to banks, to eight per cent, but consoled itself and others by saying further tightening is unlikely in the near term if consumer price inflation eases. What an optimism and an audacity of hope! However, economists differ and say that going by the antidote, there will be more hikes as inflation is both trader-
Chidambaram N made with the backing of the rightist parties as well as the natural corollary of the economic policies that the country pursues viz., the policy of neo-liberalism. The apex bank retained the cash reserve ratio (CRR), or the amount of deposits banks needs to park with the central bank and on which they earn no interest, at four per cent. How far the policy makers and central bank go on ‘milching’ the bankers? Defending its stand the apex bank said: “An increase in the policy rate will not only be consistent with the guidance given in the mid-quarter review but also will set the economy securely on the recommended dis-inflationary path.” “The extent and direction of further policy steps will be data dependent, though if the dis-inflationary process evolves according to this baseline projection, further policy
tightening in the near term is not anticipated at this juncture,” it added. The RBI has also said it has decided to undertake monetary policy reviews in a twomonthly cycle instead of the current 45day one. Accordingly, the next policy review is scheduled for 1 April. The central bank said it is critical to address the risks of inflation even as the risks to growth persist. Keeping itself blindfolded towards the realities of falling growth and the refusal of foreign investors to buy the sweet talks of Indian policymakers on the bright rewards of fund flow towards India, the apex bank asserted that “if policy actions succeed in delivering the desired inflation outcome, real GDP (gross domestic product) growth can be expected to firm up from a little below five per cent in 2013-14 to a range of 5-6 per cent in 2014-15, with risks balanced On Page 6 New Age Weekly
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February 2—8, 2014
Farce of Minority Appeasement There is no doubt that for most of the period since independence, the ruling classes have tried to keep the minorities, particularly the Muslim minority under duress and attempted at converting them into “fixed deposits” in their “vote banks”. To lure them some welfare schemes are announced most which remain un-implemented but provide the saffron brigade alibi to level charge of minority appeasement and consolidate its own vote bank in communal segment of the majority community. On the eve of elections, there always has been spate of announcements for minorities and other segments of the population. After winning the elections, all such promises are just forgotten.
Information obtained through RTI says that the actual fund released is just one crore rupees. Similarly the claims of the government on opening of new primary and middle schools, hundreds of class rooms, significant rise in the number of minority beneficiaries in housing schemes and widespread network for disbursement of scholarships has been debunked by the study conducted by Mushirul Hasan, Zoya Hasan and several others. They have concluded that not even ten percent of the claim is justified. Even fifty percent of the scholarship fund is actually not disbursed.
This time too, this game is on. As a part of it, the Prime Minister and the UPA chairperson graced the function organized to launch the National Waqf Development Corporation in Vigyan Bhavan on January 29, 2014. But the function was marred by an individual’s open protest after the inaugural speech by Dr. Manmohan Singh. He charged that nothing is done to sincerely implement the welfare measures and schemes announced by the government for minorities. He also charged that most of the funds allocated for minorities either remain unutilized or due to misplaced focus used elsewhere. The charge is not baseless.
Seven years back, the UPA government created a separate Minority Affairs ministry. During these years, even this ministry has not been able to utilize fully the funds allocated. In 2008-09 Rs. 33.63 crores, in 2009-10, Rs. 31.50 crores and in 2010-11 Rs. 587 crores were returned by this ministry as it could not utilize this money. Same is true about the state governments. No state government has been able to use the centrally allocated fund in the stipulated period. Most of the state governments have returned more than 50 percent of the funds. In some cases less than 20 per cent of the funds have been utilized and that too only on retaining the administrative set up.
In the recent period, number of revelations have come to light substantiating the charge on the basis of informations obtained through RTI petition. Last year the UPA - II government has tom-tommed that it has allocated Rs. 100 crore to Maulana Azad Education Foundation for promotion of education among the minorities.
Editorial
Same is true about most of the minority finance corporations, Urdu academies including NCPUL. Of late government indentified 90 districts in the country for development of minorities as these districts have concentrated minority population. From most of the districts, the
funds released have been returned. As the district is taken as a unit, the communally biased bureaucracy has used them in blocks and areas where there is no Muslim population, wherever the claim has been made of implementation of schemes. Minority affairs ministry claimed that 72 of the 76 recommendations of the Sachar Committee have been implemented. It is a farce. A report pointed that the out of 20 basic recommendations, 12 remained unimplemented. Government remains silent on Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendation of withdrawing the Presidential order that debar Muslim and Christian SCs from availing the facilities available to SCs in general. These are a few glaring examples to expose the claims of welfare measures of the ruling parties that generally is used by the Sangh Parivar to level charge of minority appeasement on them. To a greater extent Muslim organizations themselves are responsible for this sorry state of affairs. They generally remain confined to political sentimentalism or sentimental politics and use these grievances of the community to gain leverage with this or that political party. Agenda of minority polity need to be changed and it need to be focused on real socio-economic issues. In this, organizations like Tanzeem-e- Insaf could play a significant role by acting as watch dog for implementation of socioeconomic and educational upliftment schemes and programmes.
UDF Bows to Pressure of Public Opinion It is a classic case of how the dubious designs of a government can be frustrated by the sheer pressure of public opinion. In the case under mention, it was the Stateowned company, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), which escaped a determined attempt at privatization by the United Democratic Front (UDF) government. Thanks to the sense of indignation the move engendered, the water resources department had to cancel a government order, issued last year, to set up the Kerala Drinking Water Supply Company. If the move had succeeded, the company would have caused the closure of the New Age Weekly
Kerala Water Authority (KWA), which distributes drinking water to households. Genesis of the privatization move can be traced to the green signal the government gave in December 2012 to set up the water supply company. The decision touched off angry protests, which compelled the government to come out with a clarification in March 2013 which stated that the proposed company would only supply drinking water to colonies and commercial establishments and distribute packaged drinking water at reasonable rates. Even the revised order, however, failed to pacify the angry protestors. And
By P. Sreekumaran the state continued to be rocked by vociferous protests against the privatization move. Therefore, the government was compelled to drop the controversial move, which dealt a telling blow to the Ommen Chandy government’s drive for privatization. The order of December 2013 said that, in view of the widespread fears voiced by various quarters over the setting up of the drinking water supply company, the government order, which gave the sanction for setting up the company was being cancelled. This is not the first time
that the UDF government’s move for privatization has been frustrated by an alert public opinion. A powerful lobby of bureaucrats, both at the state and the central levels, with the active help of state ministers and central ministers, had tried its level best to deprive the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) of the charge of the Kochi Metro Project. The Chandy government had pursued a huntingwith-the-hound-andrunning-with-the-hunted policy in the matter, drawing the wrath of the people. The privatization lobby had opposed, tooth and nail, the entrusting of the Kochi Metro Project’s charge to E. Sreedharan,
who had successfully implemented the Delhi Metro project as also the Konkan Railway Project, earning global acclaim. But, in the teeth of opposition from the people, their attempts to hand over the Kochi Metro Project to a private company failed miserably. No wonder, the proponents of the public sector are in a jubilant mood. Conversely, there is a sense of dismay in the privatization lobby. But it is clear that the advocates of privatization would not take their latest defeat lying down. Further attempts at privatization can be expected in again sooner than later. And an alert public opinion and popular pressure alone can frustrate their nefarious designs.
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February 2—8, 2014
Third Front is the Only Alternative: CPI BUXAR (Bihar): ‘The space has been growing for the third front at the centre as both the Congress as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party have disappointed the masses,’ said veteran communist leader A B Bardhan while addressing the district level activists of the Communist Party of India here in a packed hall on January 23, 2014. Addressing the assembly that was organized at the town hall here, Bardhan said that both BJP and the Congress have failed to cater to even basic needs of the masses and instead have been harming even the national interest. In such circumstances, there is the emergent need for the third front, offering a better alternative, said Bardhan. In this context, he added that in this direction, deliberations are going on with the left and like minded secular, democratic parties in this direction. He said that the need of the moment is to prevent one party from forming government again, and the other, from replacing the Congress led UPA-II.
CPI leader said that the BJP is a communal party and has declared Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate. The declaration has come even before winning the polls and getting the majority, he said. Anybody can dream of becoming the leader of the nation but it does not correspond to reality, nobody can become prime minister just by willing it, said Bardhan. He said the secular traditions in our country do not permit the onslaught of communal forces. CPI leader was holding the meeting on the birth day of Subhash Chandra Bose. While speaking about his revolutionary dreams, he remembered Bhagat Singh also and exhorted the gathering to meet the dreams of these great personalities who had sacrificed their lives to create an egalitarian and secular society. He said the rural masses who slog in the fields and feed the nation are themselves starving. In last eight years, eight lakh farmers have committed suicide. There were protests
and struggles launched against such horrid consequences, but the labour in the unorganised sector is still groaning from the effects of the neo-liberal policies adopted by the ruling circle who formulate policies not for the poor and the deprived sections, but for serving the interest of the capitalist giants. The working class in the country is facing the consequences of such treacherous steps today. The profit for the capitalist keeps growing while the deprived is living in penury, said the CPI leader and called for a countrywide struggle against the rising prices and corruption. Sate secretary of the Bihar unit of CPI Rajendra Singh said that the country needs struggle against inequality in the country. Among others who addressed the gathering were Raghunath Singh, former MP Nagendra Nath Ojha, former MLA Ramashraya Singh, Satya Narayan Prasad, Dr Deepak Kumar Roy, Makaradhwaj Singh Vidrohi, Kedar Singh, Raghunath, Salahuddin.
Worse Working Conditions of Domestic Workers Domestic work has become an important sector of female employment the world over, though it remains the least regulated globally. Estimates of the number of paid domestic workers in India have shown a huge increase over the last decade with a clear trend towards feminization. These estimates have been highly contested. The NSSO data for 200405 showed a dramatic increase in the number of women engaged in domestic service, but in the context of reported anomalies in this round, it could be faulty. However, even if the comparison is made between 1999-2000 and 2009-10, it is clear that, especially in urban India, domestic work accounts for a growing and increasingly significant share of total female employment. The number of women employed in the sub categories of the industrial category ‘private households with employed persons’ as per the’20091 0 employment data, (which itself is a huge under representation due to definitional ambiguities and invisibility issues), is 1.83 million. This shows
more than four-fold increase over the 10-year period from 1999-2000. The share of female workers in this category has also remained as high at 68 per cent.
Neetha N
Unlike many other
responsibility, easy hire and fire. This system frees the employer from the responsibility of boarding and lodging. It enables the
countries, this upsurge has been driven by a;l increase in ‘part time’ workers in India, though the number (and demand) for full time workers is also on th~ rise. Most urban middle class households prefer parttimers due to a variety of reasons; the most important being the possibility of engaging cheap labour with no
employer to keep an array of workers if required to carry out different tasks, which are fragmented. The workers undertake diverse tasks, including housecleaning, laundry, cooking, dishwashing, care of children and the elderly, shopping, fetching and dropping children from/to school, and other activities associated with the regular
and smooth functioning of a family-household. The part time system allows employers to hire according to their budget and to employ suitable workers for each task, where caste and other demographic
characteristics are also considerations. Thus, often workers from lower castes are employed in cleaning tasks, while workers from upper castes are hired for cooking. Because of the limited data sets that are available for intense enquiry and due to the highly informal nature of employment relations, it is difficult to
arrive at a definite macro profile of workers in the sector. However, the available data provides broad contours, which offer useful insights into the emerging social and d e m o g r a p h i c characteristics of these workers. While the increase in the number of domestic workers across all subcategories — housemaid/ servant, cook, and governess/babysitter -is noteworthy, it is the all encompassing housemaid/ servant that shows the maximum increase, accounting for 92 per cent of all female domestic workers. This reflects the nature of tasks often assigned to these \\’orkers such as sweeping, mopping and other cleaning tasks. Child care and assistance in cooking and other odd chores are often subsidiary tasks which are expected from every domestic worker when demanded. Such tasks never form part of the negotiation, though multi-tasking is expected from every worker to meet any contingency. The assumption that all house work tasks flow naturally from any women governs these generalisations to a On Page 4 New Age Weekly
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February 2—8, 2014
Worsening Conditions of Domestic... From Page 3 great extent. The current terminology —’maid’ —has thus come to denote an omnipresent all- in-all entity, who is expected to possess all the ‘natural’ skills including high levels of social competence.
An Overview of Workers and Work Relations The macro data for 2009-10 shows that a large proportion of domestic workers are between the ages of 31-40 (33.3 per cent) and 41-50 (22.6 per cent). The share of those above 50 years also stood higher at 17 per cent. Currently, married women account for 55 per cent of domestic workers, followed by widowed or divorced/separated women (30.4 per cent). The age and marital profile highlight that more than the unmarried an~ younger age cohorts it is older women (for whom possibly other employment opportunities are few) who take up domestic work. The naturalisation of house work in a women’s life by marriage is also another factor that would explain the increased presence of older women in this sector. Most domestic workers have little formal education. In 2009-10, 54 per cent were “illiterate,” and 83 per cent had less than middle level schooling, an indication of their poor socio- economic backgrounds. The most
interesting pattern, evident in many studies, is the presence of high proportions of women from all social groups, clearly bringing out the gendered understanding of this work more sharply than any other occupation. The category of OBC accounted for the highest proportion (32.4 per cent) followed by SC workers (31.2 per cent) and upper castes (28.4 pr cent). Across all castes, migrants account for the largest share of domestic workers, with the supply of workers maintained through a regular flow of distress migrants from varied and shifting rural origins (Neetha & Palriwala, 2011). In this context, the migration of tribal women to urban centres to take up domestic work is an important development that needs special mention. One of the preferences for tribal girls for domestic work, as established by many field studies, is the absence of caste informed notions of household work (Kasturi, 1990, Neetha, 2004). Micro level studies show that irrespective of the profile of workers and nature of domestic work, the employment and conditions of work in paid domestic work are highly informal with low wages. The details of work, the wage structure and service packages are very complex and variable, making it problematic to arrive at a
uniform wage rate for domestic work even for a specific locality (Neetha, 2009). Wages and other conditions of work vary across region and even by locality in the same town/ city. Apart from the variation across larger divisions (such as cook, cleaner, and baby-sitter), wage rates vary within categories depending or~ the nature of contract and other specificities of work and the worker. Further, personal relations are crucial in setting the terms of the contract -be it is wages, leave or other entitlements. Paid domestic work is different from other forms of paid work with very specific workplace characteristics, the content of which is both historically and culturally embedded. It undermines the notion of a division between the domestic spheres as private, separate from the public sphere. For example, the usual labour market distinction of part-time and full-time, which is purely based on daily working time, is often used to analyse employment relationships in domestic work resulting in ambiguities in legislative entitlements governing this sector. Part time domestic workers are distinct from part time workers in any other informal sector of employment. Most ‘parttimers’ undertake same or multiple/heterogeneous
tasks in different households. While ‘parttime’ from the point of view of the employer, their aggregate daily hours of work across all the households across all employer households tend to be equal to or greater than that of a ‘full time’ worker in a factory or construction site (as defined by ‘normal working hours’ under labour law). Yet another specificity of the sector is that of livein and live-out workers, which falls outside of any informal sector framework. Personal relations govern entry into work and conditions of work, and the contours of the workplace being the four walls of the house makes this sector qualitatively different. One could add further dimensions that complicate the sector calling for a separate framework of analysis. The social characteristics and work related commonalities shared between paid and unpaid domestic workers on the one hand and paid domestic workers and informal workers in other sectors on the other hand underscore the inextricable entanglement of gender with other axes of stratification, particularly class. State regulation has been almost absent in this sector. However, there have been intensified efforts by activists and unions to introduce legislation at the state and
Common masses launching the logo of ‘TV99’ Channel at Charminar, Hyderabad on January 26, 2014
national levels. The debates around legislation or recognise the need to coyer various labour rights of domestic workers, but the pathway to achieve this is highly contested. While to some legal protection can be achieved through a mere extension of existing labour laws, many activists have demanded a separate legislation. The demand for separate legislation is rooted in the specificities of the sector and its workers. Accordingly, a national policy on domestic work was drafted in 2012, pending approval of Parliament, the fate of which is yet unclear. Of late, some state governments have opted to Include domestic workers under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. After much lobbying, domestic workers were brought within the ambit of the Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 and Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013. Welfare boards exist in a few states that partly address some of the social security dimensions though actual operation and coverage is an issue. The recent and most acclaimed inclusion of domestic workers under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) clearly symbolises the state’s approach to this sector. To register as a domestic worker under the scheme, verification is required from two out of the four authorised agencies such as the police, employers’ resident’s welfare associations, the employer and unions. No other worker in the country is at the mercy of so many diverse interests groups in order to claim their eligible entitlement, which only reaffirms the states’ apathy and neglect, deliberate or otherwise, rooted in the patriarchal and gendered conceptualisations of domestic work. (The paper was presented at a seminar organized in Delhi by All India Working Women Forum. The author is with the Centre for Women Development Studies, New Delhi)
New Age Weekly
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Miners Made a Killing, Thanks to Helpless Law: Shah Panel ‘The pursuit of super profits has drained the miners of feeling for fellow human beings’. It is one of the most scathing reports from the stable of Justice M.B. Shah Commission on illegal iron and manganese ore mining. It holds businessmen, the Odisha government and the Union g o v e r n m e n t , responsible for s y s t e m a t i c exploitation of natural resources and linked rampant corruption. The report says: “All modes of illegal mining are being committed in Odisha. There is a complete disregard and contempt for law and lawful authorities on the part of many among the emerging breed of entrepreneurs, taking undue advantage of the country’s natural, non-renewable assets and resources for export earnings.” The pursuit of “super profits has absolutely drained them [the miners] of any feeling for fellow human beings/for the nation and the moral values. The law has been made helpless because of its systematic nonimplementation.” The commission lists each company that mined ore worth thousands of crores ore in blatant disregard for mining and environmental laws. In some cases, mines ran illegally for more than two decades.” As the report made out, it was gross violation of environmental laws. The parts of the report also detail the rampant and wideranging violation of mining regulations. The report says: “Amendment to mining lease is permitted only
for conservation of minerals, protection of environment or safety. In 85 mining leases, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) has modified the mining plan. In 30 cases, it was modified two or more times. In
government had sent notice for recovery of money for the excess and illegal mining; this itself showed the State admitted rampant corruption. The miners have made a killing, illegally exploiting natural
the market costs of the ore extracted be recovered from each of them. The list includes state mining corporations as well as the biggest private miners operating in the state. Warning that the
Centre Wants Report Kept under Wraps
for development of tribals. Even as the miners have turned billionaires, the commission notes labourers and the displaced tribals are ill-treated. “Mine owners do not pay
The Centre pleaded before the Supreme Court on January 27, 2014 that the M.B. Shah Commission’s report not be discussed or shared till it was tabled in Parliament. It said that even after it was tabled, the go vernment should be allowed to submit it to the court in a sealed cover. Senior Lawyer for the petitioners said parts of the report had already been leaked.
53 mining leases, the IBM approved a m e n d m e n t s retrospectively. In 49 cases, from 2000 till date, production was permitted to increase from 41.634 million tonnes to 118.978 million tonnes. In 8 cases, the production limit was increased from 18.940 million tonnes to 49.080 million tonnes. At this rate, all the iron ore reserves in the State will have been exhausted in 30 years.” The commission noted that the state
resources, the commission says. For example, the government-owned NMDC showed its cost as only 16 per cent of the annual turnover, but another private company during the same time showed 62.38 per cent in cost for mining only to substantially reduce its profits on records. The commission has listed companies by name for the extent of illegal mining done over a decade and recommended that
super profits miners are making come at the cost of tribals and the state exchequer, the commission says those who get the mining lease do not operate it themselves, but give it to contractors or those with the power of attorney. For the miners, expenditure is not more than 45 per cent of the net value of production. The commission has recommended that in future, half the net profits be disgorged or an equity share taken from the lessee
more than minimum wages to the labourers even though their income is more than billions of rupees. They have no intention of paying fair wages. Labourers are exploited, and the object of ensuring that locals benefit is frustrated.” The commission records how the existing system of allotting mining rights is based on the political discretion of both the State and the Centre and is open to corruption.
Amicus curiae said the law did not prevent the government from making the report public before the mandatory tabling in Parliament within six months of its being submitted along with the action taken report. He said the contents of the report, as highlighted in the media, were shocking, and the law did not mandate that the report be classified as secret. Lawyer for the petitioners said the six-month period by which the government should have tabled the report had expired. The court has scheduled the next hearing for February 10. (Curtsy: Hindu)
The
Goa Workers Perishing in Unsafe Conditions The Goa State Committee, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) expresses its shock and anguish at the tragic death of two workers in a blood curdling accident on January 28, 2014, in a steel rolling mill in Cuncolim Industrial Estate. Goa has become a ‘death-hole’ for migrant workers. In last 20 days, over 50 workers have died in macabre and gruesome accidents. Numerous workers have suffered serious accidents at various construction sites and industries. The chief inspector, factories and boilers is responsile for providing safety to the
workers at worksites in the state. Most of the 32 workers who died in the Canacona Ruby Construction accident in January 2014, the Santa Cruz septic tank deaths due to inhaling poisonous fumes in which four labourers died and today’s death of two workers in Cuncolim – consist of migrant workers who are invariably left unsung, unremembered and whose poor families will have to bear the brunt of the death of their bread- earners in terms of privation, and penury. The government must ensure protection to all workers and fully compensate the families who are victims of accidents and also ensure hundred percent safety at the work places. New Age Weekly
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Pete Seeger: Champion of Folk Music, Social Change Buoyed by his characteristically soaring spirit, the surging crowd around him and a pair of canes, Pete Seeger walked through the streets of Manhattan leading an Occupy Movement protest in 2011. Though he would later admit the attention embarrassed him, the moment brought back so many feelings and memories as he instructed yet another generation of youth how to effect change through song and determination -as he had done over seven decades as a history-sifting singer and ever-so- gentle rabblerouser. The banjo-picking troubadour who sang for migrant workers, college students and star-struck presidents in a career that introduced generations of Americans to their folk music heritage died Monday
at the age of 94. Seeger’s grandson, Kitama CahillJackson, said his grandfather died peacefully in his sleep around 9:30pm at New York Presbyterian
with an affable air and his fingers poised over the strings of his banjo. In 2011, the canes kept Seeger from carrying his beloved instrument while he walked nearly two miles with hundreds of protesters swirling around him holding signs and guitars. With a simple gesture, extending his friendship, Seeger gave the protesters and even their opponents a moment of brotherhood the short lived movement sorely needed.
Hospital, where he had been for six days. Family members were with him. With his lanky frame, use-worn banjo and full white beard, Seeger was an iconic figure in folk
Injects One More Dose... From Front Page
around the central estimate of 5.5 per cent. A pick-up in investment in an environment in which external demand continues to be supportive of export performance could impart an upside to this forecast.” After taking over the reins of RBI, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) trained sophisticated former chief economist Raguram Rajan has now hiked the repo rate three times since September 4, 2013 in the name of fighting inflation. “Hardening prices of services and key intermediates seen in conjunction with rising bank credit, increase in order books, pick-up in capacity utilisation and the decline in inventories of raw materials and finished goods in relation to sales suggests that aggregate demand pressures are still imparting an upside to overall inflation,” RBI said. “It is critical to address these risks to the inflation outlook resolutely in order to stabilise and anchor inflation expectations, even while recognising the economy is weak and substantial fiscal tightening is likely in the fourth quarter.” Core inflation, or non-food, non-oil manufacturing inflation, a key indicator of price movements in the economy, rose to 2.81 per cent in December from 2.66 per cent in the previous month. RBI has broadly accepted the proposals of a panel led by deputy governor Urjit Patel to make consumer price or retail inflation the primary price indicator to formulate the monetary policy, which, some economists say, may keep interest rates high for longer than expected. Experts say: “It is absolutely surprising and a bit confusing. When RBI has acknowledged that inflation will ease in the near term, why should they increase rates?” Also banks are expected to hike their lending rates after the RBI’s move, raising fears of yet another rise in home loan and other EMIs. Coming back to the real possibilities of fighting inflation, one can hardly ignore the Communist Party of India’s (CPI’s) and other left parties stand that bold policy measures against hoarding, speculation and unnatural price hikes aimed at looting the consumer by creating artificial scarcity are need of he hour. To sum up, the stark reality of defeat is staring at the policymakers as with elections fast approaching the UPA-II government and the main opposition BJP will take/support any move to antagonise traders, hoarders and speculators, who are their financiers.
New Age Weekly
music who outlived his peers. He performed with the great minstrel Woody Guthrie in his younger days and wrote or co-wrote If I Had a Hammer; Turn, Turn,
Turn, Where HaveAll the Flowers Gone and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine. He lent his voice against Hitler and nuclear power. A cheerful warrior, he typically delivered his broadsides
With The Weavers, a quartet organized in 1948, Seeger helped set the stage for a national folk revival. The group Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert and Fred Hellerman churned out hit recordings of Goodnight Irene, Tzena, Tzena and
On Top of Old Smokey. Seeger also was credited with popularizing We Shall Overcome, which he printed in his publication People’s Song in 1948. He later said his only contribution to the anthem of the civil rights movement was changing the second word from “will” to “shall”, which he said “opens up the mouth better”. “Every kid who ever sat around a campfire singing an old song is indebted in some way to Pete Seeger,” Arlo Guthrie once said. He appeared in the movies To Hear MY Banjo Play in 1946 and Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon in 1970. A reunion concert of the original Weavers in 1980 was filmed as a documentary titled Wasn’t That a Time.
CPI Rally Demands Steps... From Front Page government is taking it forward. He said the CPI has always fought against price rise, privatisation of public services and companies and has always held these discussions in Parliament demanding action and will continue to do so. Senior communist leader A B Bardhan said both Congress and BJP think themselves as kings and that the whole country is under their ruling thumb. Huge rallies are being held by both, incurring expenses running in crores. But the basic issues of price-rise, corruption and women’s safety and security are ignored by both. He said: “The red flag has always stood and fought for the poor and the toilers.” He said that there is no difference between BJP and Congress’s economic policies. He said that the need of the hour is for a government whose policy says no to price-rise. Referring to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said: India having a population of about 120 million cannot
be run by miracles and vain promises that in 10 days, 15 days and 24 hours things will be changed or tasks accomplished. There is no clear-cut policy on major issues by AAP like social justice, women, price-rise, etc. One who sleeps in a jhuggi and one who sits as a leader can not be both compared as Aam Aadmi. Leaving aside policies, party cannot function properly, he said. CPI since its inception has been fighting for equality in the society and against injustices, said Bardhan.. He thanked all the people present and said that the people have come to express their anguish and press for demands. The protest was launched on the demands of check in increase in
prices of petrol and diesel and LPG and restoration of administrative price mechanism, delinking of subsidy with Aadhar, end hoarding and conduct dehoarding campaign, no privatisation of basic services and conduct audit of private companies, and ensure universal public distribution system. National Council Secretary Amarjeet Kaur said: “All the talks of the ruling Congress party, main opposition BJP and AAP government are to divert the attention of people from their real burning problems.” Among others who addressed the gathering were CPI secretary, Delhi state, Dhirendra Sharma, assistant secretary Prof D i n e s h Varshney, secretary, NFIW, Delhi state, Rashpal Kaur, Kehar Singh and Suleman.
Another view of the dharna
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February 2—8, 2014
December Polls Prioritise Left Agenda, Latin American Economic Integration
New Opening for Venezuela, Chile The elections in Venezuela and Chile in December molded the political panorama of Latin America for the coming year, providing a new opening for left-leaning governments and the advance of post neoliberal policies in the region. In Venezuela, the decisive victory of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in the municipal elections on December 8 gave a boost to the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, enabling him to advance the twenty-first century socialism of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Bachelet, one week later, won a resounding victory in the Chilean presidential race with 62 percent of the vote. She has put forth an ambitious package of proposals that would increase corporate taxes from 20 percent to 25 percent, dramatically expand access to higher education, improve public health care and overhaul the 1980 Constitution imposed by the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Chile has the highest level of income inequality among the Organization for
After Maduro’s narrow victory margin of 1.5 percent in the presidential elections in April, the opposition went on the offensive, declaring fraud and waging economic war in an effort to destabilize the country. If the opposition coalition had won in the municipal elections, or even come close in the popular vote, it was poised to mount militant demonstrations to destabilize and topple the Maduro government. But the PSUV and allied parties won control in over threefourths of the municipalities and bested the opposition in the popular vote by 49 percent to 43 percent. A class war is going on that is focused on control over the economy. With no new electoral challenge until the parliamentary elections in late 2015, Maduro now has the political space to take the initiative in dealing with the country’s economic problems and to pursue a socialist agenda. As Maduro said on the night of the elections, “We are going to deepen the economic offensive to help the working class and protect the middle class... We’re going in with guns blazing, so watch out.”
Economic Cooperation and Development’s 34 member countries. Within her first hundred days Bachelet has promised to draft legislation to increase tax revenues by about three percent of gross domestic product. On election night, Bachelet proclaimed: “Chile has looked at itself, has looked at its path, its recent history, its wounds, its feats, its unfinished business and this Chile has decided it is the time to start deep transformations,” Bachelet proclaimed on election night. “There is no question about it: profits can’t be the motor behind education because education isn’t merchandise and because dreams aren’t a consumer good.”
At the other end of the continent, Michele
If these policies are implemented, they would
By Roger Burbach- Alai mark a break with the neoliberal paradigm that has been followed by every government since the Pinochet dictatorship, including Bachelet’s during her first presidential term from 2006 to 2010. Like most presidential candidates before they take office, the actual changes may fall far short of what is promised. But the student uprising and the resurgence of the social movements over the
past four years has led to a popular movement in the streets that is unprecedented since the days of Pinochet. Militants on the left have already made it clear that they will challenge her from the first day she takes office. According to Reuters, right after the election, hackers posted a message on the education ministry’s website saying: “Mrs President, we will take it upon ourselves to make things difficult for you. Next year will be a time of protests.” The elections in Venezuela and Chile also set the stage for a challenge to the latest US backed trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership which includes a dozen Pacific rim nations. Ever since Chavez became president, Venezuela has
led the way in opposing US efforts to dominate hemispheric trade starting with the Free Trade Area of the Americas that George W. Bush launched in April, 2001. The FTAA was dealt a fatal blow at the 4th Summit of the Americas in Argentina in 2005 under the leadership of Chavez, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Nestor Kirchner of Argentina, who advocated Latin American integration without the United States. With the victory in the municipal elections behind
him, Maduro was in a position to play a central role ten days later in the second summit of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and Petrocaribe, a bloc of 18 nations receiving oil at concessionary prices. (Five of the members are overlapping). ALBA, founded in 2004 by Venezuela and Cuba, is based on the principle of “Fair Trade, not Free Trade.” Now including Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua as well as five more Caribbean nations, they met with the nations of PetroCaribe, a concessionary oil trading arrangement to put forth a program to create a “special complementary economic zone” between the member countries of both groups to eradicate poverty in the region.
Maduro proclaimed the economic zone “is a special plan... in order to continue advancing the food security and sovereignty of our peoples, and to share investments, experiences, and actions that promote [agricultural] development.” The action plan to implement the proposal, includes cooperation with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. An executive committee to coordinate the regional plan will be set up in Ecuador. Maduro will take the document for the creation of a complementary economic zone to the January meeting of Mercosur in Caracas “to advance in the great zone Mercosur-PetroCaribeALBA.” In all these economic and trade endeavors Venezuela plays a strategic geo-economic role. It is Latin America’s largest oil producer, and it is located on the southern flank of the Caribean Basin and on the northern end of South American continent. Venezuela is already a member of Mercosur along with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay while Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru and Suriname are associate members. As Bolivian president Evo Morales said at the conclusion of the ALBA-PetroCaribe summit “We should never stop strengthening our integration, the integration of anti-imperialist countries.” A key question is what role will Chile led by Bachelet play in the growing movement for Latin American integration. Under Bachelet’s billionaire predecessor, Sebastian Pinera, Chile has been involved in setting up the US led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is On Page 14 New Age Weekly
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February 2—8, 2014
‘Ice-Age’ in US: Backlash The US, Canada, Europe and parts of northern hemisphere nearer North Pole are reeling under an unprecedented cold wave, coldest in the last 118 years, so much so that the event has been named the beginning of a new ‘ice-age’. City after city in the US have shut down partially or fully, electricity has disappeared in large areas and it has become impossible to move around and live a normal life, even for those who are habituated to sub-zero conditions. In many areas, temperature dipped down to minus 52 degrees. Trains and road transport have come to a standstill in northern US and Canada where most of the flights stand cancelled. Towns and cities are covered deep under thick covers of snow and ice, making it impossible to locate roads and lanes and directions. A large number of homeless have died in the United States, simply for lack of shelter and proper food, something that was characteristic of developing countries alone, especially in Asia and Africa. Lakes, water bodies, even flowing rivers have frozen as they were, like ‘freeze frames’ in the movies! Moving and rising currents and sea sides, even the famous Niagara Falls, a tourist wonder, have completely frozen in motion. It is as if time and space have come to a standstill!
Why ‘ice age’? There are natural, ecological and economic reasons behind this disastrous turn in nature. It is once again a warning bell for the people of the whole world. The present author had predicted in his research work on “Environment and Development” (in two volumes, 2006) that such a situation might result soon, within the next ten years so. The reasons are many. First of all we have to understand clearly that the planet earth is surrounded by natural oceanic and atmospheric waves of certain regularity, which regulate or direct the seasons, temperatures and natural events. New Age Weekly
Without them, for example, we would not be doing agriculture in certain parts of the year and would not be sowing and cutting crops at certain intervals. These waves maintain certain levels of temperature in certain parts of the year and areas. These gigantic oceanic waves and atmospheric motions have evolved over centuries and
due to pollution of nature. All the oceans of the world are interconnected and inter-dependent in terms of these natural activities. For example, the giant southern seas are closely connected with frozen and non-frozen northern seas through a regularity of the warm and cold water waves moving in opposite directions. North and South poles may appear to be
The US is the biggest polluter of the world, producing more garbage than any other country. It produces more than four lakh (four hundred thousand) tons of trash each day, according to slightly outdated figures. The Us produces more than 3 kg of garbage per head per day. If the garbage collected in the US were spread out it would fill a 24-lane corridor from Boston to Los Angeles at least a foot deep for more than 7500 kms. millennia as a result of development of the nature and the earth. The waves consist of giant and massive flows of warm and cold, not so warm and not so cold, currents of water and air. They must continue to be in motion in a particular manner in order, for example, monsoon to result. Otherwise rains and snowfalls will be affected seriously and adversely. The two poles act as the regulator of the worldwide wave patterns. Among them are the famous El Nino and La Nina. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is the largest current in the world ocean, carrying water, heat and other energies worldwide. It is now badly disturbed
distant and unrelated; they are not. They are in fact closely inter-connected. It is serious disturbance in these natural relations and inter-connections which have given rise to the present environmental crises.
Global warming There may be an ‘ice age’ in the northern hemisphere but its roots lie, among others, in the phenomenon known as the ‘global warming’. It is now common knowledge that the Antarctica or the South Pole is fast melting and its giant glaciers breaking up. These glaciers have for millennia been the stable structures of the planet, so much so that they have
a permanent place and nomenclature in the world atlas. But this picture is changing now. The rise in temperatures on the earth is leading to a break-down of these massive glaciers and ice bodies, releasing huge amounts of cold water into the oceans. So while there is global ‘warming’, the resultant break up of ice bodies is releasing massive amounts of cold water and giant ice pieces into the oceans, leading to a cooling of water and atmosphere. They have simultaneously disturbed the natural flows of the world-wide waves. The same applies to the North Pole. Arctic ice drives a kind of vertical water wheel in the sea. Doubling of ice each winter expels huge amounts of salt affecting non-frozen water. Heavy weight begins a water wheel action. Simultaneously, in a contradictory motion, the Arctic ice extent has declined more than 10% in the last 3 to 4 decades. Thus, the North Pole has become vulnerable to giant ice disturbances. Consequently, suddenly the North Pole is deeply disturbed. In what way? A phenomenon called ‘North Pole vortex’ is taking shape. This is otherwise a regular event. But this time it has assumed frightening proportions because the sprays of cold air rising from the North Pole are far in the excess of the normal. As a result, huge amounts of snows and ice and very cold air are being spewed out fountain-like from the North Pole, like cold lava being thrown off to long distances. The vortex is higher, wider, heavier and more far-flung. Consequently, it has ‘thrown’ and spread ice and snow over larger areas. At the same time, it has brought down temperatures to abnormal levels in areas
Anil Rajimwale unimaginable. The waves emanating from North Pole are colder than usual, and therefore are exerting a deep-freeze effect on the regions surrounding it. The effect this time has traveled as far as the midand south-eastern US.
Eco-imperialism responsible The unprecedented freezing cold in the US and elsewhere may appear to be an innocuous natural disturbance but it is at least partly human creation. And therefore the other we have to understand is that the leading western economies, in particular the US economy and politics, are responsible for it. A recent UN report has roundly held seven advanced countries, with the US at the head, for the global environmental disasters. The US is the biggest polluter of the world, producing more garbage than any other country. It produces more than four lakh (four hundred thousand) tons of trash each day, according to slightly outdated figures. The Us produces more than 3 kg of garbage per head per day. If the garbage collected in the US were spread out it would fill a 24-lane corridor from Boston to Los Angeles at least a foot deep for more than 7500 kms. The US wastes natural resources and produces more toxic products than any other country, it is the biggest exporter of garbage, it produces huge amounts of carbon and carbon products, it produces massive amounts of energies from various polluting sources, it forces the developing and the least developed countries to cut down natural forests and trees and produce other natural raw materials and export them
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of Eco-Imperialism to the US for its own use. More than 9 million tons of waste are dumped at the mouth of Hudson river near New York every year, contributing to hundreds of sq miles of black toxic sludge. Every major US city is covered with brown miasma, which can be seen even from a distance of 70 miles. The giant MNCs and corporate houses simply produce trash of all kinds to garner massive superprofits by generating super consumerist tendencies among the population. The US has the biggest per capita carbon emission at nearly six tons. The municipal and industrial wastes in that country amount to more than some hundreds of million tons each year. Besides the US, big economies like Canada, west Europe and others too produce massive amounts of polluting materials including polluted food materials. In recent cases people died of polluted food in Germany and some other European countries in substantial numbers. The US is churning out massive amounts of toxicity through its oil, automobile and other industries, which are opposed by the environmentalists and other conscious people. The indiscriminate dam construction for example has created havoc in the US, so much so that many dams had to be dismantled in the last few years simply because they dried up the rivers, brought down levels of water in the lakes etc and produced water crisis. Canada is a wealthy country with a small population and vast territory. Yet, over one trillion tons of untreated sewage are dumped in to the waterbodies each year. Urbanization in US and environmental degradation Storms, typhoons and tornados like the ‘Katrina’ and ‘Rita’ have increased
as never before in the United States. Everybody remembers the unprecedented storms and flooding in the coastal regions and cities a few years ago, such as in the Mississippi and Louisiana states and in particular in the New Orleans. It was a devastation caused by thoughtless construction with no natural protection and complete destruction of the natural barriers. Such stories are being repeated with increasing frequency in the US. The US today is a picture of disintegration of giant metropolises with tall buildings, concrete jungles like that of Houston, loot, murder, rapes, diseases, dead floating and bloating bodies, a picture sought to be covered by the US administration, a picture of today that warns us of tomorrow. The warming produced by such senseless development and construction has changed the environment of that country to the extent that the people are experiencing unheard of extreme heat and extreme cold. The super-profit driven development is now devastating the US cities both economically as well as ecologically, leaving the common people defenceless. Take for example the case of Detroit. It was once a leading industrial city known all over the world for its auto industry. It has consequently a place of its own. It was only till recently a thriving city. But today it has become a ghost city, declared bankrupt! It simply cannot pay its debts. Nearly 40 percent of the population has left this once-multimillion throbbing place. Nearly same percentage of housing, flats and shops are now left vacant. Almost half of the city has no street lighting, and the transport is in shambles. Most of the sufferers are of course the Negroes but also the whites. The
administration or whatever is left of it in Detroit is planning a sell-off of the most precious of its art collections to meet debts! It is devastated both in economic and environmental terms. There is a substantial section of the US population which lives in acute poverty, which has no homes and therefore is more vulnerable to the elements. These informations are according to the US press. There was an interesting report in the US press a few ago according to which the police ordered closure of a public charity kitchen,
ecological disaster which is breaking centuries old records. Many of them have no shelter and have simply died. They have nowhere to go and are forced to migrate to safer places hoping to find better living, though there is no guarantee of that. The frozen white cover has affected the working population belonging to the lower-most and the middle sections most. Warming and freezing are basically the contribution of lopsided economic drive, development of financial centres with numerous tall buildings, virtually no environmental protection,
The super-profit driven development is now devastating the US cities both economically as well as ecologically, leaving the common people defenceless. Take for example the case of Detroit. It was once a leading industrial city known all over the world for its auto industry. It has consequently a place of its own. It was only till recently a thriving city. But today it has become a ghost city, declared bankrupt! and anybody would be arrested if they provided free food! This is typical ‘American’ democracy!
Economics and ecology What have these facts to do with environmental disasters we are discussing? The point is that we are dealing with ‘eco-imperialism’, a system in which environment is used for super-profits and development is meant mainly to increase the super-profits at the cost of both the people and the nature. After all it is the common Americans, Canadians and Europeans who suffer due to the ecological crisis. Thousands have been thrown out of jobs in the recent
and complete disregard for the laws of nature. These developed countries of northern parts of northern hemisphere contribute most to the global warming, and it is they as a result have got a backlash in form of the polar vortex of snow fountains. Is it not a natural phenomenon? Yes, it certainly is a natural process, and human beings can, in that case, take certain precautions, such as warnings in case of coastal storms, as happened recently in our country in Odisha. But the point is that it is not just a natural event. It is a phenomenon caused by the serious disturbance in natural cycles by the increasingly faster and thoughtless economic
endeavours, due mainly to giant profit motives. Nature has been disturbed and destroyed, leading to contradictory and simultaneous event of warming and freezing. It is warming which has forced the snow lines in Alaska to recede and give way to grasslands. Yet, it is exactly the same process that has caused the North Pole to spew snow, like volcanic ash, to far-flung regions. Yet, the US and some other advanced industrialcapitalist countries, if not all, refuse to cooperate in the international measures to improve environment on the pretext that it will harm their development. The nature is already hitting back at them! The great thinker Frederick Engels says at one place that the human beings do not anticipate the results of their developmental activities, particularly in their second and third implications. Nature takes revenge for each of our ‘victory’. Today, science has evolved to a stage where we can anticipate much; we can take measures provided we are ready to take on the giant profit-makers who exploit nature for their narrow aims. They are both against the humanity as well as nature. All this does not mean that the developed industrial countries alone are to be blamed for the environmental crisis. Other countries including the developing ones are also unfortunately contributing to this. The constant warnings of the scientific community are being ignored at the peril of humanity. Let us not shirk from our own responsibility. We have to contribute our own might, and ask ourselves what we are doing to preserve the ecology. Let the earth not become a garbage heap. The whole of international community without exception has to contribute to preserve nature. Only then the humanity can survive. New Age Weekly
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February 2—8, 2014
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February 2—8, 2014
Policy Flip-Flops Push Up Rural Inflation Neo-liberal policies have only accentuated the anti-people stance of the UPA-II government. The latest in this regard is the rising consumer price inflation, which has accelerated in rural India at a faster pace than in urban areas, say reports. In November and December, inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in rural India was 11.66 per cent and 10.49 per cent, respectively. In urban India, over the same period, consumer price inflation accelerated 10.53 per cent and 9.11 per cent in the two months, respectively. It’s a worrying trend and will turn bitter soon with the just announced (January 28, 2014) hike in repo rates by RBI governor Raguran Rajan. With the general elections to Parliament fast approaching, the only way the ruling party can save the nation and undo the damage done to the masses already badly hit by the fallouts of neoliberal policies is to bury such policies and give a push to the economy by adopting the measures suggested by CPI and other left parties. The urgent steps suggested by the Left are ‘Stop increase in the prices of petroleum products and restore administrative price mechanism’; ‘No to aadhar linkage being made mandatory for delivering of services and subsidies to the people’; ‘End hoarding and speculation of essential commodities and conduct dehording campaign’; ‘No privatisation of basis services and conduct audit of those private companies utilising public resources and delivering basic services’; and ‘Ensure universal public distribution system’. That inflation remains the daunting challenge is clear from the RBI Policy Statement and the Macro-Economic Developments Review. Though some further softening in line with the December index is expected in the near term, inflation risks have to be watched as the economy enters into next fiscal year. This is due to upward revision in domestic energy prices, expected growth acceleration, structural bottlenecks affecting food inflation and adverse base effects, the review said. Even services inflation in rural India at 7.11 per cent in December exceeded the inflation rate of 6.84 per cent in urban India. Clothing, bedding and footwear, which mostly indicate manufacturing product inflation, usually remains high in rural India due to high transport and trading margins compared to urban India and continued to remain elevated in November and December. Higher inflation in fact affects more the basic essentials of Indians both rural and urban.
Investment Limit for Foreign Investors Raised To 10 billion dollar In a move to attract more long-term dollars into government bonds, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has hiked the investment
limit for foreign investors, such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and foreign central banks, to 10 billion dollars from five billion dollars, say reports. However, the overall investment limit in government bonds for foreign institutional investors (FII) has been kept at 30 billion dollars. The hike in the long-term investment limit will reduce the debt available for short-term investments to 20 billion dollars from 25 billion dollars earlier. The exit of short-term FII investments from the debt market in 2013 had resulted in a massive fall of the rupee and a surge in bond yields. The currency hit an all-time low of 68.85 against the dollar in August after FIIs pulled out a record 12 billion dollars from the debt market. While foreign investors have been net purchasers of bonds in December and in the first 15 sessions in January, FIIs have turned net sellers over the last three trading days (Jan 29, 28 and 27). This had pulled the rupee down to a nine-week low and the currency ended at 62.41 on January 29, 2014.
Notes of the Week Chidambaram N On January 28 RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said the volatility in the currency market could be attributed to this recent exit of shortterm funds from the debt market. Rajan also said that long-term funds have stayed despite the recent market volatility globally. Out of the 30 billion dollar investment limit in government bonds, the RBI had first earmarked five billion dollars for long-term investors in June 2013. As on January 28, only 22 per cent of this five billion dollars has been used by these long-term funds. In total, FIIs have used not even half of the 30 billion dollar limit available in government bonds. In corporate bonds, foreign investors have used only 30 per cent of the 51 billion dollars available.
Discoms Refusing to Invest, More Power cuts Likely People in Delhi should be prepared for power cuts as electricity distribution companies battle it out with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over tariffs. Consultancy firm PwC has submitted a report to the Delhi government that the number of breakdowns is on the rise and discoms do not have enough money to make proper investment, says a report. Tata Power Delhi Distribution and Reliance Infrastructure controlled BSES Yamuna Power and BSES Rajdhani Power that are claiming to have accumulated under-recovery of tariff of about Rs 20,000 crore. PwC says lower investments in distribution systems have resulted in deterioration of quality
of services. Number of breakdowns in BSES Yamuna areas rose from close to 8,000 in 2007-08 to over 12,000 in 2011-12, while for BSES Rajdhani breakdowns increased to nearly 8,000 from about 6,000 in the same period. However, Tata Power reported some improvement in quality of services with a decrease in number of breakdowns in past four years. “This year, we are anticipating the difficult summer for Delhi. We have not been able to plan in advance to meet the demands for electricity, which almost doubles during summers after lean winter season,” said a top official of a discom. He added that the Delhi chief minister’s office used to take active interests in discoms’ planning and coordination with state-owned power generation and transmission companies during December and January every year but it has not happened this time. Since privatisation in 2002, the three discoms have invested Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. However, the capital expenditure as a percentage of revenue decreased dramatically in case of discoms-owned by Reliance Infrastructure. Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party, on the other hand, argues that the discoms are over-charging consumers. The Delhi government had hired PwC, as directed by the regulator, to evaluate the performance of discoms. PwC reviewed power procurement, sale of surplus power, distribution losses, operation and maintenance expenses and other parameters. In a presentation before Delhi’s power secretary Punit Goyal this month, PwC noted that cost of power for discoms almost doubled from Rs 2.67 per unit in 2007-08 to Rs 5.25 in 2011-12. However, discoms say tariffs have not risen comparably. Net worth of these discoms eroded in past three fiscals despite equity infusion of over Rs Get ready for power cuts in Delhi as discoms spar with govt over tariffs Rs1,000 crore in BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani in 2011-12 while Tata Power promoters too brought in Rs 500 crore last fiscal. BSES companies are claiming to have under-recovery of Rs 14,775 crore while Tata Power could not charge close to Rs 4,735 crore from consumers due to lower tariff and rising costs since privatization in 2002. “Power procurement alone accounts for close to 85% of our revenues and we are left with barely enough to meet our obligations towards cost of operations and finances. In such a scenario, we are not in a position to plan and invest for the future demand, which is increasing by 8-10% annually. We need to upgrade our infrastructure continuously to serve the consumers better,” said a senior executive with one of the Delhi discoms. New Age Weekly
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Goa CPI Memorandum to 14th Finance Commission A four-member delegation of the Communist Party of India, (CPI) presented a Memorandum to the Members of the 14th Finance Commission on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at Hotel Mariott, Panaji. The delegation comprised of CPI state secretary Christopher Fonseca, R.D. Mangueshkar, Suhaas Naik and Prasanna Utagi. The Memorandum strongly recommended that the net proceeds of taxes collected by the Central Government should devolve back to the Goa State to the extent of 60 percent for the next five years plan period 2015 – 2020. Presently only 32.5 percent of the total tax preceeds from Goa are given back to the state government. When the Central Taxes collected from Goa are in the range of 5,000 crores, the share in the taxes given back to Goa is only in the range of 700 to 800 crores. Such a dispensation is totally inappropriate, as it hampers the development of the State. The Memorandum urged upon the members of the Commission that the grants in aid under Article 275 should go to rural and urban local bodies that is Panchayats, Municipalities and Zilla Panchayats.The Memorandum highlighted that the state government has under-utilized the grants in aid given to the state of Goa in the last Five years’ plan. It was pointed out that the government of Goa has utilized less than 20 percent of the Awarded Grants so far and has further failed to honour 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendment. So far, the government of Goa has not devolved the functions, infrastructure and finances to the local bodies as per the Constitutional provision. The CPI urged upon the members of the New Age Weekly
Commission to view this lapse seriously. To make matters worse, the state government has not yet set up a Finance Commission for the state of Goa. The CPI recommended special grants to the state under Article 275 for d i s a s t e r management including improvement of fire and rescue services to combat unforeseen disasters and natural calamities. The Memorandum brought to the attention of the members of the commission that the government of Goa mismanages the state finances. It pointed out t h a t t h e provisions of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FR&BM) Act have not been adhered to by the state government.The Memorandum highlighted that the state government is in huge revenue-deficit and is totally depending on the loans to finance its revenue expenditure. The state government has wrongly projected its fiscal deficit in its budget documents. Allocations made in the budget are only on paper and are window-dressed with actually having no money to spend. Budget is presented with huge budget-deficit. There is huge variation between RBI estimates and the State Government estimates on fiscal indicators. Goa has a very huge debt - burden of over Rs 12,000 crore. Every year Government is adding about Rs 1400 crore to the debt stock. Thus, the interest payment of the state is increasing alarmingly. It is certain that Goa is getting into a ‘debt trap’. In order to hide its fiscal deficit, Goa Government is resorting to off-budget borrowings through PSUs. As
per
the
report
From Christopher Fonseca commissioned by the state government, the pension liability of the state will be increased to Rs 1500 crores by April 2016 and that this is expected to further badly affect the finances of the State. The Memorandum also highlighted that there is a need to manage the nonrenewable natural resources like iron ore, which has sustained Goa’s economy for the last many decades. It suggested that the state should set up “Goa Mineral 0re Development Corporation” to run and manage the mining industry in Goa. It also suggested that the proceeds received from mining royalty and other taxes should come back to Goa to the extent of 60%. Necessary budgetary allocations should be made for reforestation and for settingup dedicated mining corridors. The Memorandum called upon the commission to recommend the allocation of necessary funds to boost tourism industry in Goa for creating additional infrastructure. It suggested that the ‘condominium module of tourism’ should be discouraged and the benefits of tourism industry should go to the ‘sons of the soil’ including taxi operators, shack operators, hoteliers and others. The Memorandum urged the commission to make necessary allocation of funds for improving the transport facilities in the State of Goa on the model of Delhi Metro to link all major cities and to make public transport convenient and efficient. The 30 pages Memorandum urged upon the commission to make proper allocation of funds
to encourage water harvesting and preservation of traditional water bodies, construction of additional dams, repair and maintenance of existing dams. The Memorandum urged upon the Commission to make necessary budget allocation to encourage small scale and large-scale industries in Goa. It urged upon the commission to make proper allocation of funds to encourage and protect traditional fishermen, ramponkars, horticulture, toddy tappers and cashew distilleries. The Memorandum urged the commission for proper allocation of funds in agriculture, education, health, disposal of garbage and waste, providing health, safety and welfare measures to the working people and regularisation of contract labour on the Government Departments and ensuring efficient public distribution system (PDS). B e s i d e s , t h e Memorandum also made general recommendations for allocation of funds for better infrastructure and facilities to Goa Police Complaints Authority, Upgradation of Women’s Police Station, organizing all the Courts of North and South Goa in one central place, setting up homes for senior citizens, women, setting up bal bhawan’s in every Village Panchayat, and a three monthly audit of assets of every critical Government Department to ensure strict check on productivity and the public assets. The delegation wished success to the 14th Finance Commission in its endeavours. Meanwhile the All India Trade Union Congress has urged the government to restrain the foreign nationals visiting Goa illegally involved in tourism related activities and extend support to the taxi
operators in the state. The AITUC extends its support to the tourist taxi operators in Goa who are protesting against the appropriation of the tourism related businesses including operating tourist taxis in the state by foreign nationals. Most of these foreign nationals who are engaging themselves in the tourism related businesses have no business visa or working visa. It is a sad commentary that the benefits of the tourism industry do not reach the local tourist taxi operators, shackowners, small hoteliers and other tiny small and m e d i u m scale business communities. On the other hand, the present-day dispensation in the tourism industry has benefitted only a few rich and starredhoteliers. The module of “condominium tourism” is not beneficial to the state of Goa where tourism industry is expected to generate maximum revenue and provide employment to the unemployed goan youth. The BJP-led state g o v e r n m e n t has systematically sidelined the Goan taxi operators and awarded the tenders to a Mumbai-based taxi firm to provide taxi service to the officials of Lusofonia Games. The government has thus deprived the Goan taxi operators of sizeable income. The AITUC demands that the state g o v e r n m e n t should immediately crackdown on all the foreign nationals who are engaging themselves with impunity in tourism-related business activities in Goa including operating tourist taxi services and working as tourist guides without valid workvisa or business visa.
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February 2—8, 2014
CELAC Nations to Counter the US The CELAC bloc of 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations was the culmination of an effort by Chávez to bring together both Right-wing and Leftist governments to counter the influence of the United States. It is time now to unite for these against the imperialist forces. They must work together on pressing regional problems. Latin American and Caribbean countries debated at a meet of all Western Hemisphere nations except the US and Canada. The fact that nations as diverse as Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico or Brazil participate (in CELAC) shows they give importance to this alternative process of integration. In his keynote speech as head of the host nation for the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC for its initial Spanish, Cuban President Raul Castro argued that the bloc should aspire to unity despite diversity, and is “the legitimate representative of the interests of CELAC states. The nations should establish a new regional and international cooperation paradigm. In the context of CELAC, these nations have the possibility to create a model of our making, adapted to their realities, based on the principles of mutual benefits. The summit’s main theme is fighting poverty, inequality and hunger. According to the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 28.2 percent of the region’s inhabitants live in poverty and 11.3 percent in extreme poverty. While it is true that some progress has been made during the last few years, this has been slow, fragmented and unstable. Chavez, an outspoken US foe, was a driving force behind CELAC’s creation in 2011. It was conceived as an alternative to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS), which suspended Cuba’s membership in 1962 shortly after Fidel Castro’s revolution. OAS has historically served Washington’s interests rather than those of the region, and even Latin American allies of the United States have participated enthusiastically in CELAC. The Summit touched on the risk that global climate change poses to the region, especially low-lying Caribbean islands. It expressed solidarity for Argentina’s claim to the British-controlled Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas; for Puerto Rican independence; and for Ecuador in its legal battle with U.S. oil company Chevron. The meet criticized the 52-year-old US economic embargo on Cuba as well as American surveillance targeting the communications of foreign heads of state, companies and individuals. The threats of outside interference, military invasion and coups remain present. The so-called centers of power do not resign themselves to having lost control over this rich region, nor will they ever renounce attempts to change the course
of history in our countries in order to recover the influence they have lost and benefit from their resources. Cuba is passing the rotating presidency of CELAC to Costa Rica at the summit. The summit will send the region’s strongest signal yet to the Obama administration that it opposes US policy towards Cuba and that Washington’s regional interests have been undermined by that policy. Celac represents a clear rejection of the traditional hegemony of Washington, which has been replaced by a sense of selfconfidence, and an interest in communication among all member nations, regardless of ideological differences. It should be a wake-up call to Washington (and Ottawa, to a lesser extent) that its policy towards the region is badly in need of overhauling as quickly as possible. In 1962 the OAS suspended Cuba and every country in the western hemisphere, except Canada and Mexico, and broke off relations
Diary of International Events C Adhikesavan with Havana. Yet today all the area’s governments have normal diplomatic and economic ties with the Communist-run Caribbean island except the US which maintains an aggressive sanctions regime. From this summit will emerge more social policies for the liberation of CELAC states. Nobody was a bigger advocate for the bloc than the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken critic of Washington seen by many as the standard-bearer for the region’s political left before he succumbed to cancer last March. Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the OAS, was invited to the summit as an observer and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the meeting.
Unveiling the Hidden World of Domestic Violence Victims in Religious Communities In recent years, the phenomenon of domestic violence was elevated to the infamous status of a “global epidemic” infesting the human society. Despite continuous efforts by law and policy makers to combat this adverse phenomenon affecting 1 in every 3 women around the globe, the problem persists to thrive among human beings. Despite this widespread distribution of the phenomenon across society, not all victims are confronted with the same set of challenges in their way to freedom from the chains of violence and abuse. Domestic violence victims of closely knit and observant religious communities is a particular group that faces a distinct set of barriers, which affect their ability and willingness to report, escape the abuse, and cooperate with law enforcement
and prosecution agents. Let the human society have an aim to provide a unique and fascinating window into the hidden world of domestic violence victims in communities of faith, and to untangle some of the complexities associated with this sensitive issue. This additional layer of knowledge is a vital element in enhancing our ability to implement and promote programmes and policies to combat the adverse phenomenon of domestic violence.
Tunisia Passes Groundbreaking Constitution Tunisia is beginning a fresh political chapter after lawmakers passed a new constitution late on January 26 that some herald as a model for other Arab countries. A newly named caretaker government will be tasked to usher the country to elections. Tunisia’s - the North African country finally has a new constitution, more than three years after its revolution ousting longtime dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa has also named a new caretaker Cabinet. Cheers erupted in parliament, and lawmakers began singing the national anthem after the charter was adopted by 200 out of 216 votes, completing one of the last steps in establishing a democratic government. Of course nothing is perfect, but Tunisians strongly believe that the constitution represents a good basis and enforces the necessary and balanced mechanisms that guarantee rights and freedoms. The process has been long and sometimes bitter - especially on issues like women’s rights and the role of religion. Last year, the assassination of two secular politicians plunged the country into a political crisis. But today, many hail the constitution as an example of compromise between secularists and the moderate Islamist Ennahda party. The constitution bans torture, guarantees equal rights between men and women and the right to due process. While it names Islam as the country’s religion, it also guarantees freedom of worship. Another so-called ‘Arab Spring’ country, Egypt, passed its own constitution by referendum earlier this month. The vote in favor was overwhelming, partially because the government repressed any opposition. Let us hope this constitution and this process will give faith to Egyptian people to finish their revolution and give hope and faith to the rest of the Arab countries. Tunisia’s new constitution is supposed to pave the way for democratic elections later this year, but the caretaker government will face a tough road ahead. Major issues of the new government include tackling poverty and unemployment and dealing with the rise of militant Islam. New Age Weekly
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February 2—8, 2014
AISF Protest in Punjab... From Last Page leading the girl students in Amritsar demanded free and compulsory education for all. Two years back chief minister of Punjab had announced free education for girls upto M.A. but no notification regarding this has been issued till day. The gap between sex ratio in Punjab is increasing day by day Because of their policies. But CM’s daughter-in-law who herself is a member of Parliament, remains apathetic and spends hundreds of crores of rupees to publicise her campaigns from state budget itself, and on the other hand, they are charging heavy fees from girls. So AISF demands immediate notification of free education for girls upto M.A. AISF state president Sumeet Shammi and secretary Sukhjinder Mahesari demanded the implementation of students bus pass on government/
New Age Weekly
private buses including A.C. and Non A.C. buses by enlarging it to the boundary of 100 km. They accused the state government of offering concession to private AC buses making it Rs 2 per km and thus bypassing the state revenue. On the other hand students are daily tortured in many ways by private transporters. AISF demanded permission of bus pass on private buses too. Compared to private institutions, number of those run by government are very few that too in a situation when more than 65 lakh are unemployed including those with B.ed. and ETT. They are exploited in private schools and colleges. On the other hand there are more than 40 thousand vacant posts in government institutions, and they must be all be appointed on regular basis. The protestors had clash with police force
too. There were male police officers who had even manhandled the girls. Charanjit Chhangarai, Khrait Lal, Nvjeet Sangroor, Poonam Marimega, Rjwinder Ubha, Balwinder Malot, Inderjit Dina, Mohit Sohal, Varinder Khurana, Parampreet, Jaspreet Kaur, Inderjit Dina Nagar, Amreek Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dharmuwala lead the demonstrations in different districts of Punjab.
New Opening for Venezuela... From page 7 a founding member of the Pacific Alliance, a trade and investment group that includes Columbia, Peru and Mexico. Bachelet has given signs that a pursuit of these trade groupings alone is not in Chile’s interest and that she intends to breach the Pacific versus the Atlantic/Caribbean divide. Her campaign manifesto stated “Chile has lost presence in the region, its relations with its neighbors are problematic, a commercial vision has been imposed on our Latin American links.” She is particularly interested in closer relations with Brazil, where she identities with Dilma Rousseff who also forged her political identity as a young clandestine activist who was jailed and tortured under a repressive dictatorship. It is notable that in 2008 during her last presidential term, Bachelet convened an emergency session of UNASUR the Union of South American Nations, to support Evo Morales against a right wing “civic coup” attempt that received direct material support from the US embassy. It is of course impossible to predict where Bachelet will wind up in the growing continental divide. And her commitment to the Pacific Alliance and to TPP may undermine domestic efforts to break with neoliberalism. In Venezuela, Maduro faces daunting economic problems as he tries to bring inflation and the black market foreign exchange rate under control, while dealing with serious corruption problems in and outside of the government. However, the December municipal elections have opened up a space for Maduro to deal with these issues in the coming year while playing a leadership role in advancing Latin American integration in opposition to US initiatives.
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February 2—8, 2014
When Adarsh Got Scam Ridden It is sad and painful to find a housing society named ‘Adarsh’ getting involved in scams. “Military securities and public interests completely ignored,” said the report of the public accounts committee of the defence ministry chaired by M.M.Joshi. In this 31-storey society building in Mumbai there seems to be more than 30 flats which were of benami transactions. Prominent among those who figured in the reports, one by the P. S. E. headed by Murli Manohar Joshi and the other by the commission of inquiry headed by the retired judge J A Patil, are four former chief ministers of Maharashtra including present home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Interestingly Devyani
khobragade who brought Indo-US relations to brink recently also seems to have purchased a flat even though she is not eligible. There are also names of two NCP ministers that figure in these reports for various reasons. Twelve retired IAS officers’ names also figured prominently. When ruling party politicians are in the fore front, along with IAS officers, how can the opposition party lag behind in the race for scams? CBI sources that were into the investigation claim that S a n - f i n a n c e Corporation was linked to the purchase of ten apartments in Adarsh, and the director of this company is one Abhay Sancheti who is the brother of BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Sancheti.
ON RECORD... The count of people being without a job is on the rise in India as economic slowdown and slower business expansion activities cast a shadow on employment generation, say experts. Indicating sluggishness in the country’s job market, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said in its recent report that the unemployment scenario in India over the last two years has been showing a rising trend. Going by ILO’s latest estimates, India’s jobless rate could be 3.8 % this year. – The Economic Times, January 27.
Dr C Sadashiva Every attempt was made to hush up the matter when initial reports trickled in. But as the issue
of corruption gained a major space in the public domain, it became increasingly difficult to keep it in cover for long. Maharashtra high court asked the state
government to table the report. Then there is already a PAC headed by opposition party eagerly scanning the scam. All these precipitated the crisis for corrupt rulers. However, being the oldest political party the Congress reacted in its own way. First M a h a r a s h t r a government decided to reject the report of the commission appointed by the state g overnment itself. When there was a hue and cry, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi stepped in. After his intervention, the state government took hasty steps and tabled the action taken report in the assembly wherein action is promised to be initiated against more than twelve bureaucrats retired and presently functioning.
notice to the chief secretaries of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. As per reports of The Asian Human Rights Commission, on the night of 15 December, 2013, hands of two laborers, Nilambar Dhangda Majhi and Gialu Nial, have allegedly been chopped-off by middlemen. The incident came to light on the morning of 16 December 2013. Live Law News Network, January 27. *** FDI flows into India grew 17 per cent in 2013 to 28 billion dollar despite unexpected capital outflows in the middle of the year,
*** The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to explain the causes leading to the death of a 75-year-old Dalit woman, who allegedly died of hunger. The Court also sought information about the failure of the public distribution system (PDS) to ensure a regular supply of foodgrains to the needy and the wrong identification of poor families in issuing BPL cards. – The Hindu, January 28. *** The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi took suomotu cognizance of a media report of an awful incident in which the right hands of two migrant laborers from Odisha were chopped off by a contractor from Andhra Pradesh in December last year, and issued
The issues involved could be spelt out as ownership of the land, was the land transferred at a very cheap price, the ownership of flats (are they meant for Kargil heroes and martyr’s families?), and finally is the whole construction standing in a high-security zone?. The home minister still would like to say that the land belongs to the state government and therefore, politicians purchasing flats is not illegal. BJP and Shiv Sena are both shouting from rooftops while shielding their own people. Nitin Gadkari acquiring wealth from his companies during the last few years of political activism is common knowledge today. One really wonders what value system RSS has managed to impart to its cadres!
Global FDI increased by 11 per cent in 2013 to an estimated 1.46 trillion dollar, with the lion’s share going to developing countries, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report. UNCTAD forecasts that FDI flows will rise gradually in 2014 and 2015, to 1.6 trillion dollar and 1.8 trillion dollar, respectively. – The Economic Times, January 29. *** Statistics released by the Law Ministry show how rape cases crawl. Out of more than one lakh pending cases across the country in 2012,only around 14,700 — or 14.5 per cent — could be decided. And the conviction rate has been as poor. Only 3,563 people were convicted while more than 11,500 people were acquitted. – The Indian Express, January 26. *** In what comes as an embarrassment for not only the Maharashtra government’s alliance partner NCP but also for women in general, Maharashtra Women Commission member Dr Asha Mirge has said that women are themselves responsible for rape.
according to a United Nations report. It also said foreign direct investment across the world rose to levels not seen since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008. India ranked 16th among the top 20 global economies receiving the most FDI, witnessing a 17 per cent growth to 28 billion dollar.
“Girls should be very careful what they wear and at what time they move out in city. Their body language should not invite attention of the potential rapists lurking around the streets,” Mirge said. – The Indian Express, January 29. Compiled By— C Adhikesavan New Age Weekly
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Delhi Postal Regd. No.DL(C)-01/1274/2012-14 February 2—8, 2014 Licenced to Post without Pre-payment No.U-(C)/47/2012-14 (R.N.I.No.539/57)Posted in NDPSO, Friday&Saturday Published on Every Friday
February 2—8, 2014
AISF Stages Protest in Punjab on Republic Day
All India Students Federation unit of Punjab staged a state wide protest on Republic Day to get the status of primary constitutional rights for their demands. Thousands of students from different government and private education institutions joined the protest as AISF sent memorandum to the chief minister of Punjab. AISF had held a demonstration on August
15, 2013 also where state education minister had to take a detour to reach the meeting place. This time, government had taken no chance, and had arranged tight security, yet the students succeeded entering the different venues where the flag hoisting ceremony was to take place. Activists demonstrated in front of parliamentary secretaries and ministers in chowks and
From Sukhjinder Mahesari roads. National treasurer of AISF Vicky Mahesari demanded that the income of those students whose parents are involved in ancestral jobs as shopkeepers, farmers, laborer is very less. In private sector they are paid even less. But fee in educational institutions is very high. As a result lower
and middle class students are not able to pay the high fees ans demanded that government should guarantee free education with post school scholarship for SC students and to cover all other categories including general category under this scheme whose annual income is not more than 2.5 lakhs. Vicky blamed state government for not
transparently giving this scholarship to SC students. He also demanded that the private colleges charging high fees should be legally punished. He added that the Akali-BJP government in Punjab uses the scholarship amount to woo their voters in ‘Sangat Darshan’ and so on. National convener for girls Karamveer Kaur Badhni On Page 14
Bell the Cat, It is Still Time! ‘For all the ills, blame the system’, it has become a fashion for the ruling party as well as some of the opposition leaders in the country, but strangely this tribe does not know, what they intend to do with the messes, they themselves do not spell the remedial measures that they intend to take. A polity confused or a vote catching device to lure the unsuspecting voter. Enough is enough, the eighteen crore young voters in the age group of below 35 have no hang over of the past, they demand clear cut road map for the future. There is the smell of danger in the politician’s paradise. The other day Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi laboured hard for eighty minutes in an interview to one of the TV channels to spell out his thought about the future of the country, a half hearted attempt to convince the countrymen that he intend to do upright business, but faltered badly and tried to side track the real issues by talking of riots etc, the nation does not want the ‘riot politics’, it is bad and inhumane and a slur in a civilized society. India is a country where various religious streams
S. K. Mittal continue to flourish. The riots are a British legacy, but the rulers in the aftermath of independence use it as vote-bank politics to fan up antagonism against each other. The fault lies with greedy politicians, who can go to any length to safeguard their interests. Sixty five years on and the country is still in the grip of communal politics, simply because its suits the politicians. In left ruled states, communal violence failed to raise its ugly head, because the communalists know that the state will crush such attempts ruthlessly. If communal violence takes place anywhere in the country, it is state sponsored. So do not shed tears, when the fault line is with the rulers. He talked about corruption. For long ten years, the dynasty kept mum and still the corruption is hounding the UPA-II. The latest assembly elections bear testimony to it, where as the ruling Congress lost heavily. When reminded, he just tried to side track the issues. The young Gandhi talked of the ‘system’. Honestly speaking the rulers of the day have never shirked from using it fully to grab power
and money and kept the society at ransom. If assumed that the ‘system’ is the root cause of all the ills, then there must be initiatives to change it, simply blaming would not help. Needs a concrete plan to usher a new era, but the young leader was confused a lot. He has no road map for the future of the country. But its time the young Gandhi gave serious thought to the ills prevailing in the country and come up with solutions. The other most important thing is in your attempt to make it a bi-polar politics, the ruling alliance is itself making a Hero of MODI, forgetting that in half of the country, the BJP has no decent presence, ‘Modi baloon’ will burst. The saffron party has the old habit to create an impression of their coming to power but realities come as a hard rockin Delhi they thought that they are the ‘king’, but the assembly elections forced them to sit in the opposition. History tells the story that how the mighty were beaten in their on turfs, it’s the guts that help the David to beat the most powerful adversary Rahul Talk creates only confusion in the ranks.
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