Month-In-Perspective

KARNATAKA: Election to Karnataka Assembly came and has passed into history. All had expected that the incumbent party shall be booted out for all the acts of omission and commission during all its 5 year term. That they managed to complete the term is a poor consolation, when compared to the drubbing they got. While winning back was out of question, the party itself was convinced that they would manage around 70/80 seats. In the event they managed just half of it. Fortunately, they managed to remain equal with JD(S) at 40 seats each. At one stage they were sliding towards the 3rd position. From 110 seats in the outgoing position to 40 is a near rout. Nobody, even its adversaries imagined such reversal of its fortune.

Of course, same is the case of other opposition parties. Congress got the bonanza completely unexpected, although it was hoping to do better than the outgoing strength of 80, to end it with more than clear majority of its own, is the best thing to have happened. Any fractured mandate could have had the history repeating itself with the menace of aayarams and gayarams, JD(S), the other beneficiary of the election could also improve its tally from 28 to 40, although sulking at only 40.

Of course result reflected the anger of the general public, the total disappointment of electorate towards the BJP outfit at Bangalore. It was a vote against bad politics rather than bad governance. Shall Congress prove better? is a question only time will tell. However it was a decisive election. Message was loud and clear. Perform or perish. Message has gone to KJP too. Yediyurappa will walk into slow but inevitable evening twilight of his political career. Moderation is the name of the game or people will show you the place you deserve. Whether corruption or ambition, people do judge sensibly at times, if not always.

After winning the Karnataka Assembly election, Congress apparently presented a picture of coherence and elected its legislature party leader and CM without any visible hiccup. That’s an achievement. But the newly elected legislature leader who was also elected as Chief Minister has already confirmed his style of working.

Rakesh Siddaramaiah, son of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was booked under section 307 of IPC, among 14 others on the charge of attempt to murder.

K P Siddalingaya, the KJP candidate opposing Siddaramaiah had complained to the police about the attack by the group led by Rakesh.

Siddalingayya complained to the Mysore D.C. Ms Shikha, who asked him to complain the police commissioner, who in turn instructed the inspector of Nazarbad police station GN Mohan to verify the complaint and take necessary action.

On 3rd May Mohan files a case against Rakesh and others. So far everything is in order.

On 7th May results were declared and Congress romps home with one party majority. Rakesh Siddaramaiah’ s father becomes the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 13th May.

The new Chief Minister, who is a CM for the first time, sends a message to the state police that he is the ‘boss’.

K L Sudheer, the Mysore Police Commissioner, who was certainly in the loop, in registering of the case against Rakesh Siddaramaiah suddenly changed his mind, and put inspector GN Mohan under suspension ostensibly because “he had erred in his duty in several cases, including that of Rakesh, in the recent past."

Presently both GN Mohan, the inspector in the bulls eye and his big boss K L Sudheer are on leave.

Issue here is, can a police officer initiate a legitimate action against a politician or his son for any violation of law and order or not. If not, then the politician or his progeny are above the law.

The action of the police deptt. against one of their own men, under instruction from Chief Minister is not only demoralising for the police but also a gross interference by the Chief Minister. Not a right way to begin the innings for new Congress govt.

MAHARASHTRA: Rich and therefore powerful can ask for anything and be sure to be provided by the state. But for the common man, the poor and the marginalised, the govt is ever on slumber mode, like a cousin of legendary Kumbakarna. When a rich man makes a request to the government of the day, it acts with alacrity, as it happened with Mukesh Ambani of Reliance.

Senior Ambani is probably the richest Indian, can get anything he wanted. In an ever evolving India, security perception is an issue of concern for all, especially the super rich. He has his security cover through some private agency, all that he wanted was licence for arms. But the Union Home Ministry, in its zest to please the rich man went over board and sanctioned ‘Z’ category top-level CISF security cover, of course for a price.

But Supreme Court was not amused. Taking a suo-moto call on the press report on the government’s decision to provide Z category security to Ambani, it reacted rather sharply, “State has no duty to provide security to private individuals, especially when the common man is feeling unsafe”.

Hope, the powers that be are chastised enough to realise its duty and make the difference.

Most Indians remember that we are Indians first and last only on 15th Aug and 26th Jan. On other days, mostly the so-called patriotism is on a long holiday. Of course, if the above 2 dates are not holidays, then even on those days, our Indianness would not be on display.

Or else, what explanation can there be for printing and supplying text books with Arunachal Pradesh shown as Chinese territory outside Indian borders?

There are lakhs of students in the 10th std., hence books required too would be in the same quantity. Report informs that Bal Bharathi, the text book for 10th was printed by State Press. Could it be that it was contracted out, and to get that printed at cheaper price to make a killing it would have been outsourced to some Chinese printer? And Chinese naturally print what is right for China. There is certainly a money angle. We are a people, at least some of them, who would give a damn for the country when money matters.

JAMMU & KASHMIR: Some time ago, there was this report from Srinagar “Militants kill youth inside mosque, Omar angry over selective outrage”. Reportedly, in a brutal killing, militants suspected to be from Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) pumped five bullets into an 18 year old youth Sofi inside a mosque in Sapore for taking part in sports events organised by police and the army. Sofi was sitting in the mosque compound when militants opened fire, but ran to take refuge in ‘Hamaam’.  According to Imtiaz Hussain, the Sapore S.P., militants entered the  mosque, where the congregation had assembled for night prayers, they pumped 5 bullets into Sofi.

Reportedly unlike the general response of people, whenever there was death allegedly because of police or army, there would be wide spread protests, stone throwing and breast beating by women. But no such protest was witnessed after the killing of Sofi by LeT, that too inside a mosque.

Reportedly the J & K Chief Minister questioned the double standard of people, opposition parties and social media in the ‘selective outrage’, on incidents of violence in the state. While Omar Abdullah was outspoken about the double standards, this sickness of ‘selective outrage’ is rampant all over India, especially private media enterprises, driven by agenda driven reportage. J & K Chief Minister was rather more honest than many in politics and in the media. This is a visible dimension of Yeh Mera India.

NEW DELHI: There was this book “I due maro: Tutto quello che non vi hanno detto”. ( The Two Marines: What They Haven’t Told You), by Matteo Miavaldi, a Kolkatta based Italian journalist.

He wrote the book primarily to remove seeds of doubt and suspicion among average Italian public, who were fed with all wrong and biased coverage by Italian media.

It is true that two Italian marines are facing murder charges in India over the killing of two Indian fishermen. Two fishermen from Kerala were shot by two Italian security guards on board an Italian Oil Tanker suspecting them to be pirates.

There are different versions of the story and somewhere truth could have been the casualty. Unfortunately, it was the racial dimension that took the better of the Italian media. Italians were made answerable to Indian law and its law enforcing authorities, that was the most disquieting thing for  Italians and their media. Blaming right wing newspapers, for manipulating the whole story to cater to Italian ‘sciovinism’ as he calls it, he hopes that his book will be an ‘eye opener’ for Italians in general. 

According to Miavaldi “Journalism is supposed to cut off emotions and build bridges of understanding between different nation’s people and culture. Our journalism in Italy failed to do so. This biased coverage is not journalism. It is propaganda”. Hope Italians back home shall look at things with more evenhandedness and shall serve the purpose of equitable justice.

May be there is lesson for our own media members and managers, who are more often than not, are busy building walls of suspicion than the bridges of understanding among diverse sections of the Kaleidoscope called India.

Post Dec 16, gang rape of a para medical student in Delhi in a moving bus, did get lot of notoriety to India’s capital. But then Delhi was always known by its sobriquet ‘Rape Capital of India’. This may be right or wrong, but media always negatively portrayed for its sensation quotient.

Many years ago, Fr. Henri D’Souza, who is currently the Bishop of Bellary in Karnataka, was the director of Sandesha, a church sponsored cultural outfit in Mangalore. He had asked this writer, “Is India unsafe for minorities?” Response was “It is as unsafe or safe for minorities as it is for majority”. But media fishing always for sensation described the attack on Mangalore's Amnesia pub in March 2009, as if it was a national catastrophe, while it was purely and simply a law and order situation with mischief caused by some alleged right wing communal outfits.

And comes this report from New Delhi. Ascribing to foreign visitors, it said “India is as unsafe as any other country. Sexual abuse is a global phenomenon, however some women visitors never felt unsafe here” was the take of some foreign women who lived in India for some time, which is very true. There are pockets of risk and if some minimum care is taken, one can always feel safe. Like it happened in Home stay episode in Mangalore. A group of youth had gathered to celebrate the birthday of a girl. But apparently there were more to it than just birthday bash. It was a planned overnight programme with questionable objectives. A birthday celebration does not require an overnight stay in a secluded house, thus came calling, the mischief makers. For sensation hungry media, it was god sent opportunity. Once again Mangalore was made a ‘God-damn place’, when it was only a law and order problem. It was a situation of both being wrong and police remaining inactive initially.

Thus, it was left to travellers from aboard to give the country a better name than our media. Yes ‘India has its share of problems, but its not a bad country’, that’s the message.

The arrest of 3 cricketers for spot fixing in IPL matches has exposed the underbelly of big time cricket. In fact it is less of cricket but more of greed in all forms and from all involved, whether players, franchise owners, IPL administrators and Board of Cricket Control in India or Board of Control for Cricket in India or BCCI. Here cricket may be in some kind of control, but what kind of a control BCCI exercise on the players and on itself is not clear in the public domain. But one thing is very clear, all stake holders, except the cricket crazy public, whether it is the players, or the administrators or financial investors are all without any control.

On the face of it, the traditional cricket, the 5 days test, itself is a weird form of sports. Britishers, with their colonial hang ups with more and more free time at their disposal probably designed this game of wasting valuable national mandays. An Australian thought of a better way by making it one day cricket, and then it was further reduced to 20 Twenty. While it was a welcome development, it increased opportunity to play more and more, which increased the potential to earn more by way of advertising. That was easy money. But more money more problems. And comes IPL, the brain child of Lalit Modi, and the whole cricket scenario underwent a world of change. Hundreds of crores of rupees were to be earned and spent. Cricketers were like commodities, auctioned and sold to the highest bidder. It attracted worldwide talents. An IPL would have not less than 200 players playing continuously for almost 2 months with lot of employment opportunity for all and sundry including the unwholesome cheer girls. Of course, there are many seamier side of the fixture, the 3 w factors, wealth, women and wine. Where there is honey, bees are bound to be there. All these attract bees of all varieties. Match fixing, spot fixing, betting bookies, underground elements are all there due to the big money. In this IPL, in the name of cricket, its only the business of making more and more money. Or else what is the role for Srinivasan, who is the CMD of India Cement or for Rajeev Shukla, who is full time politician. One is BCCI President, owner of Chennai Super Kings, and the other Chairman of IPL. From the details available in the media, the rot of spot fixing & match fixing has become badly deep rooted. Hence it has to be curbed. Can this format be temporarily stopped for a few years? Or as some suggest why not ban it?

The former railway minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal was probably the shortest to have remained as railway minister. He didn’t even last 6 months. He was forced to resign on immoral ground, although he claimed ‘he is quitting on moral ground’ like all tainted politicians. That he could preside over the sale of seats in the Railway Bhavan was an unthinkable development. The price of the sale of seat conveyed what was at stake.

Vijay Singla, a nephew of Bansal, had settled with Mahesh Kumar, the Western Railway General Manager for Rs: 10 crore to make Kumar, a  member of the Railway Board. However, since Kumar wanted to continue as GM of Western Railway for some time even after joining the Railway Board, another Rs: 2 crores was agreed and Rs: 90 lakh was paid as down payment. So, the possibility of huge money at stake is very clear. Kumar, reportedly arranged the payment of Rs: 90 lakhs through a supplier to the railways. Payment was made to Vijay Singla personally, with the remaining Rs 1.1 crore to be paid when the order is issued, to hold the duel charge. Suddenly all hell broke, and the blue eyed minister of Dr Manmohan Singh was caught with his undergarments down.

“If Bansal’s kin have put a post in the Railway’s highest governing body on sale, the day is not far when the railway minister's post will also be sold off by such relatives" said Satyapal Jain, an opposition functionary, adding “Today he has denied links with his nephew. In the past, he had denied links to his own son. I wonder who he is going to deny relations with next. He should come out of his rat hole and give an explanation”.

Of course as usual, Bansal blabbered innocence. But the fact is, according to some political circles, value of Pawan Bansal and his extended family of nephews is Rs: 5000 crores.

Prime Minister Singh, somehow tried his best to protect Bansal, for whatever reasons, but had to accept the inevitable exit of Bansal from the union cabinet. But as he left, he left many disturbing questions about the big money changing hands in an ever widening scale of scams engulfing this country. Where are we heading? Indians need to know the secret of astronomically growing net worth of elected members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Assemblies and State Legislative Councils, year after year. And our Union Finance Minister is always having to struggle with deficit in his budgets year after year with looting of the national resources going on unchecked.

Justice delayed was always called justice denied. After 28 years justice is still crawling at snail’s pace for the 1984 riot victims of Delhi. On 30th April, district Judge JR Aryan acquitted, accused Sajjan Kumar. Of the three cases filed against him, police had already closed one case ostensibly for want of evidence. And now in the second case too he has been acquitted.

For all the 28 years, victims of worst Sikh riot had accused Sajjan Kumar along with Jagdish Tytler for having conspired the murderous attack on Sikhs, post Indira Gandhi assassination in 1984. Understandably there was visible outrage at the latest acquittal. Women were not only found crying openly, an angry Sikh even hurled a shoe at the judge inside the courtroom. “We are sad over this judgement. We never thought that Sajjan Kumar will be acquitted. Our hopes have been shattered” was the anguished words of some of the women protestors outside the court. “Sajjan murdered my family, kill me too” cried out Jagdish Kaur who lost her husband, son and 3 cousins during the massacre. 

Why there is a strong perception of miscarriage of justice? 

Is it because, there are forces working towards the denial of justice for these riot victims. Or some vested interest is at work to save some well connected people.

In any case, it is a sad day for India, that even after 28 years, justice is eluding the Delhi riot victims. In fitness of things, a few twitters going round are reproduced here for a perspective on the issue.

“With this verdict, our justice system has managed to protect Sajjan Kumar’s fundamental riots” tweeted one R.Srivats.

 “Its taken 28 years to find Sajjan Kumar not guilty? Hmmm we have won two world cups since then,” was from Sri Sri Jhunjhunwala.

The argument that, its not subsidy on essentials to poor but the concessions to the trade and commerce, the crowd in the upper middle class and richer class is truly the cause of our deficit problem in the national financials, is not without basis.

There are activists and experts who are socially inclined, have, on and off, come up with arguments, and figures justifying their arguments.

The latest to appear in the print media is the report “Govt bans gold trading in SEZ”, highlighting that many SEZs were found to be indulging in trading gold instead of manufacturing, taking advantage of the zero duty. 

By nature man is greedy, but some are more greedy and some are very greedy and some suffer from never ending greed. In India, there is a significant section suffering from never ending greed, always wanting more and more. SEZ was designed for such people, so that they can manufacture and export to their hearts contents, because the benefits are too many and too big. But greed being what it is, it stops distinguishing wrong from the right. Policy makers were always aware of such fit falls, but to the richer class, Govt. always give a chance. And those who are haves, have always misused the facility, more often than not. And then, some time, Govt. wakes up, and some upright official acts to stop the pilfer or can we call it a national loot of another kind? 

Is Finance MinisterP.Chidambaram having some private agenda? How can one dare ask such a question? He is the Prime Minister waiting in the wings. At least that is what the 'Economist' of England prophesied, as a competent and intelligent minister. He is also a kind of voice favouring business in the cabinet of Dr Manmohan Singh. Of course, it is another matter, he is studiously keeping himself away from the PM succession talk. But he is an authoritarian, he does not like to take a ‘NO’ for an answer. There have been couple of developments which in the larger interest of the country may not bode well.

If some of the reports of the recent past is to be taken on the face value, a certain degree of disquiet is, what would follow.

Heaping encomiums on RBI, ‘ECONOMIST’, had written "Judging by the numbers, RBI is among the world's Best Central Banks. Unlike most Indian state bodies, RBI has more brains, muscle and integrity. It is about the only institution in the country you never hear accused of graft."

There is an apprehension in some intellectual circle that he is trying to pressure RBI to accept his diktats. A recent, well reported incident highlights a dimension of this concern. P.C as FM had publicly exhorted the Governor of RBI Dr. D. Subbarao to bring down lending rates on business loans and advances. But Dr Subbarao refused to play the ball. 

And comes Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC). Reportedly FSLRC recommendations are trying to make RBI as a deptt of Finance Ministry, so that it falls in line. If that happens it may destroy the very identity of RBI as the country's banker of the last resort, a banker of Banks, whose canvass is the nation’s economy as a whole. 

Then there were two reports datelined New Delhi in a national daily from Mumbai, appearing in the same page. One, “Reported cases of economic crime just ‘tip of the iceberg’: ED”. The other was “FM cautions ED against ‘mindless investigation’”. If one wants to look at it without any predilection, both are opposed to each other. 

Finance Minister (FM) is a politician and ED is a bureaucrat. ED is expected to have greater integrity than the politician. Politician is believed to be an opportunist, at least until the aam aadmi party of Kejriwal, can make the difference. FM Chidambaram says, and report informs “all legitimate trading and investment activity must be fully respected and protected even when investigating crimes involving money and laundering money”. If what is reported is to be believed, FM means ED should be selective in investigation. He has also stated that “economic activity must not be hindered by mindless investigation and prosecution”. 

He was reportedly addressing officials of ED, who are in the thick of FEMA violations investigation of Bharti-Walmart, and money laundering by Saradha Group and other high profile cases.

As a Finance Minister how does he distinguish what is legitimate or illegitimate when it comes to laundering money? Is this why “the Rs: 3 crore fees reportedly paid to his lawyer wife by Saradha group has gone under the carpet without much of a hype by the sensation hungry media?"

Most Indians, in the know of things, acknowledge that Reserve Bank of India, is a strong, disciplined & committed organisation of the country.

Earlier in December last, there was this report in the print media which informed that union Finance Minister has withdrawn the search & seizure power of the new elite criminal investigation wing of Income Tax Deptt. There is reportedly no explanation available in the public domain why this move was put in place. The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) was started only an year ago, and according to reports, it has already done a good job in such a short time with 128 search warrants executed in 2011/12 and already issued 8 search warrants upto Sept. 2012. DCI which was created to combat the black money menace and to identify cases of illegal funds of criminal nature, will only be doing, from now on, to develop data base to aid the regular investigation wings of I.T. Deptt. Clearly there is “Daal mein Kuch Kaala Hai”. Surprisingly none of the above have figured in the electronic media, ever on the lookout for sensation. Surely some unknown pressure group is at work to protect some unseen players in big bad money.

Isn't he putting the interest of the business community-both legal and illegal-above those of the nation and the ordinary Indians?

WORLD: So for long last, democracy seems to be inching towards realisation in Pakistan. First, it was the completion of full 5 year term of the last elected government, which, despite turbulent happenings, army didn’t take over the reins from the elected government of PPP. Now comes the latest election to the National Assembly. 

So, for 60 long years, ‘controlled democracy’ of Ayub Khan somehow managed to bring Pakistan to almost a precipice. Some called it God forsaken country, many called it failed state, Medeline Albright called it ‘international migraine’. All of them do have explanations to justify the epitaph.

But hopefully, since army didn’t interfere for all the last 5 years. Hopefully, the present elected government of Nawaz Sherif should be able perform better internally, so also its relations with its immediate eastern neighbour. That the new Prime Minister has already reiterated his desire to visit India to restart the process of bettering the relation between our two countries, has only added to the hope that democracy would do good to Pak and to Indo-Pak relations.

With his beite noire Gen. Pervez Musharaff under house arrest, surely Sheriff is better placed to do what he likes, both for Pakistan and to Indo-Pak relations. Hope it happens.

J.Shriyan