MONTH-IN-PERSPECTIVE August 2020

NEW DELHI: A report datelined New Delhi said “Inter ministerial team to probe Rajiv Foundation”. The report also informed about other two trusts “Rajiv Gandhi charitable trust” and “Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust”, also being investigated besides Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. The accusations are, receiving money from questionable sources, money laundering, foreign exchange regulation violations, income tax evasion etc. It is known that these trusts are managed and controlled by Sonia Gandhi and family. Post India-China standoff at the border and the accusation that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation received funds from Chinese embassy has triggered the latest move by the government. 

Understandably Congress party is upset and accused the union government of witch-hunt. While the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has every reason to go after those who are indulging in illegal financial dealings, it has to be on sustainable grounds. Now that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken up the case, it will surely go into the nitty gritty of the probable illegalities committed by these trusts. Hope, ED finds verifiable grounds to prove its probing acts.

While we are about it, what is of relevance and therefore important, is there have been investigations and declaration of intent to correct the wrongs that have been the bane of independent India for all these past seven decades. For the purpose of being specific, let us take the period of the last 6 years of NDA II, which has been at the helm of affairs since May 2014. Having won in 2019, it has completed six years of uninterrupted rule in May 2020. When it started in 2014, there was a huge expectation about the crackdown on black money, although 15,00,000 in every account was dismissed as an election jumla, it is a matter of disappointment that, this government did not come up with a white paper on the status of black money stashed away in foreign countries by Indians, to report what the government did in this direction. Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi has a story of rags to riches with many juicy details sticking to his name. The government took up the issue of alleged financial wrong doing by Vadra. Despite huge expectation, nothing concrete, the government reported back, to make Vadra accountable. He is roaming free. The general public is at a loss to know the status of the case. Then came the riches allegedly acquired by former central minister P. Chidambaram and his family. When P.C was the finance minister, we had read about Ms. P.C, (Nalini Chidambaram) the S.C lawyer, receiving Rs. 1crore from Saradha Chit Fund as legal consultation fees. Clearly there appeared a quid-pro-quo. PC’s son Karti, who is an MP now, was in the thick of controversy in his money making spree. Government opened a case against P.C, the former union finance minister. He remained in detention for over 100 days. But, we the public are in dark, as to the status of the case, now that the government has allowed him to be on bail. So where are we going! Wish some clarity comes from the powers that be, as ED goes after Gandhi family trusts.

NEW DELHI:Going through the news paper to-day was a revelation. “19 year old girl thrown off bus, dies”, “Tahasildar killed while surveying”, “Gold pawned to buy a smart phone”, “Residents block crematorium road”, “ASHA worker assaulted”, “Frozen body of a 7 year old released after 4days waiting for corona report”. “17 year old rape 5 year old. Tries to kill two, 1 dies”.

These were only from one newspaper and surely there would be such other stories in different newspapers across the country. In the case of a girl thrown off from the bus, was teenager Aashika Yadav travelling in a UP Roadways bus from Delhi. Her fault was she sneezed and both driver/conductor duo threw her out of the bus. She died half an hour later. At the most, she could have been asked to get down, even that could be construed as wrong. But at least an innocent healthy life of a teenager could have been saved. Vipin Yadav, the brother of the victim claimed, she had no health issues.

Then Tahasildar of Bangarpet, Chandramouleshwar was surveying a plot of land, claimed by a retired teacher Venkatapatippa and one Ramamurthy. Surely both cannot be right. Thus the former teacher was upset and charged at Tahasildar, who in turn warned him of arrest. But the former teacher couldn’t take the warning and went ahead and stabbed the official in the chest, who died on the way to hospital in Bangarpet. This happened in the presence of 3 policemen and a land surveyor. So even a government official is not safe among ordinary Indians.

A 17 year old in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, did the most heinous crime of not only sexually assaulting a child of 5 years, after doing the bestial act he threw her into a well, but was fortunately saved in time after hearing her cries, by some passersby. The teenager also strangled another child of 6 years, who was a witness to the ghastly incident.

In all the above cases, accused have been arrested, may be they will get the punishment they deserve, including the 17 year old, who have been arrested under POSCO Act. Hope this 17 year old criminal, who committed an adult act with full knowledge of what he has done, gets death sentence. He should be shown no leniency under provisions of Juvenile Act. Why in India, life has become so cheap is a very troubling question.

A 7 year old accident victim in Bangalore had to be taken to 4 hospitals for treatment. In the intervening delay in admission couldn’t save the child. Since the child died, police demanded postmortem and corona testing became necessary since the protocol was in place. It took 4 days for the hospital to manage the test; meanwhile the body of the child perforce had to be kept in a private freezer facility which charged the poor family Rs. 4000/- for every day of use of the facility. So they had to pay 16000/- for the mortuary and Rs.1500 for shifting the body to the hospital. How insensitive the systems can be in such cases? This is another dimension of Yeh Mera India.

ASHA workers are a group of health workers who work with NO ASHA & NO SAFETY. They are paid pittance for working much better than any average government worker, under all trying conditions. They are the real foot soldiers in this fight against corona. But what they get? They are attacked, abused and threatened. The nation must be grateful to these heroines, but one of them gets assaulted with log by a bandicoot called Kantappa Poojari of Bantwal, in the district of Dakshina Kannada in coastal Karnataka.

Issues like blocking crematorium with unfounded fears of corona spreading is another newer dimension of evolving India. How can anyone change this mindset is a question making its round. It happened in Shivamogga city municipal limits.

Pandemic forced ‘Online-classes’ have created a strange situation for parents with especially school going children. All need mobile phones to attend ‘Online-classes’. And all do not have mobiles and all do not have enough resources for such mobile phones. The other day a father committed suicide for his inability to buy one and a 10th standard student took his life for similar reason. This is tragic. But can it be helped under some government schemes, may be even PM-CARES-FUND! Reportedly, co-operative societies are offering gold loans at 4% during the pandemic times at least up to August this year. This is an unconfirmed news but hope it is true.

NEW DELHI:“Jio’s-made-in India 5G solution in 2021” was the news head line in print media.

Everybody knows, Ambani made Jio with Chinese help, both technology and probably money. All Indians also are aware that China is India’s No: 1 adversary. The word enemy may be little harsh, but recent happenings at the border has proved China more an enemy than a gentleman adversary.

Although resistance to China has been growing globally, it was only post India China violent standoff at Ladakh the opposition to China and its policies have become more apparent. The Chinese perfidy that they cannot be trusted was exposed when Chinese army attacked unarmed Indian army men who had walked over to talk to their counterparts in an attempt to smoothen things out. In the event Indian army inflicted heavier losses to China is a matter of record for posterity.

Post this exposure, the international image of China has taken a beating. No wonder Boris Johnson, the British PM has banned Huawei and its 5G telecommunication application in the UKs communication network. Huawei had reacted “the decision threatens to move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen digital divide”.

Indeed in the short-run, it would really affect economy on the ground, but in the long run everything evens out. At least the fear of national security compromise has been checked.

Under the circumstances Mukesh Ambani to go for 5G made-in-India solution by 2021 raises many uncertain questions. 

5G has been a talking point of only Huawei so far. Jio was nowhere around, except some arrangement with Samsung. But Samsung is associated with Huawei.

Mukesh Ambani, while addressing RIL AGM has informed about 5G in-house developments at Jio and its possibility of going global. Certainly 5G promises huge leap in the digital world, promises economic growth by $:1 trillion informs intelligence sources. Hope all that he claims are true in the larger India growth story, rather than only RIL and Ambani already rich and made richer by Indians, besides it will be another additional feather in the cap for Mukesh Ambani in particular and India in general.  

NEW DELHI:Sagarika Ghose, is a known columnist. She writes on varieties of issues. She belongs to ‘intellectual’ class and therefore they are branded as ‘liberals’, because more often than not, they are against rightists or to be more specific against BJP and other Sangh parivaar outfits.

Surely Sangh parivaar outfit are not paragon of virtues. They have their grey areas of conflicts and conflict of interest.

Be that as it may, Sagarika Ghose wrote a piece in print on “The Encounter Raj”.

She was generally commenting on the death of gangster Vikas Dubey. We have to recognize that the policy of encounter adopted by UP government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has its grey areas too. Police have been given the freedom to check the growth of gun totting gangs. While the policy of being tough with criminals is a positive development, the freedom given to police to use lethal weapons to check- mate these anti-socials has its own serious drawbacks. It will not be wrong to say that this freedom has led to fake encounters, where even innocents could be gunned down just to settle scores or even being trigger happy.

It is true that likes of Vikas Dubey is an extreme example. Information available on the social media informs us about his socio-political reach. If he has thought to be another Mohammad Shahabuddin, an MP and a gangster from Bihar, it was his choice. But Shahabuddin is in prison and living. But Vikas Dubey invited his elimination when he & his men shot 8 policemen and killed them. He could as well have surrendered to police, who went to arrest him, and lived for another day. But that was not to be. 

People like Mohammad Shahabuddin and Vikas Dubey have grown because of political patronage. Without political patronage such brigands cannot survive and grow. But then what comes with sword shall always perish with sword. And general public is generally happy with elimination of such characters. Whether it was in Telangana last year or Vikas Dubey, people were happy, that police killed them, rightly or wrongly. People want justice to be seen as well. They are frustrated with the labyrinth called criminal justice system, which drags on endlessly, as it happened with Nirbhaya rape case. The incident took place in December 2012 but took some 8 years for a straight forward case to conclude.

Sagarika Ghose, touches on human rights aspect of such encounters. While it is true that violation of human rights in police handling of criminals has been very much there, the handling by police of communist sympathisors as naxals has been mixed at best. Both Ghose and police are partly right and partly wrong. In fact the delays in the completion of trial of Nirbhaya accused has been only due to the human rights aspect of the case so also the judicial process needing urgent reform.

Thus, while encounter policies and freedom given to police need some kind of rein-in, is the need of the hour, it must not be scrapped. Like all laws have its positives, it needs to be periodically reviewed for its relevance to suite the changing atmosphere and expectation of justice and fairness.

Hope evolving India will come up with some solutions.

UTTAR PRADESH: Scams in recruitment to jobs in government departments are an ongoing activity. It is an easy source of income to people manned in different levels of governmental hierarchy. Everybody may be having share in it, since the attraction for government jobs coupled with unemployment problem, is quite huge. The availability of candidates is always far in excess of demand. So making money out of candidates desperate for the job is an easy way for babus for making some quick bucks. But at least those who are recruited or selected to be recruited must have some competence, if not the best of the lot. In the event the officers responsible for selection give these candidates marks far in excess of their actual performance, is their modus operandi. 

And comes this case of Dharmendra Patel from Lucknow. He gets 95% in the Assistant Teachers Recruitment Examination of Uttar Pradesh. There were some 69000 candidates listed to be appointed. But, since there were reportedly, four wrong questions asked in the recruitment test papers, Allahabad High Court had stayed the process of appointment.

But what was shocking was this topper Dharmendra Patel could not answer when asked “Bharath ki Rashtrapathi ka naam kyaa hai?” A teacher, who was to be a teacher in UP school, did not know the name of the current President of India! How can such teacher create students who are better than them! No wonder, UP police, smelling rat, has arrested him suspecting him and two others of resorting to unfair means to pass the test and scored 95%! Not only this teacher cannot be a model, how can he teach values of students, if he is a cheater himself? What kind of an educated youth the country can produce? This is Yeh Mera India.

UTTAR PRADESH: State of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is a happening place. It is in the news for all kinds of news, more often for wrong reasons. Some weeks ago one Anamika Shukla, a teacher on contract, teaching science reportedly attempted to be in the ‘Limca Book of Records’, believe it or not, by being a teacher in 25 schools across Uttar Pradesh, at the same time. Kasturba Gandhi Girls Schools, a chain of residential schools is in the centre of this scam. How she managed to be on the payroll of these 25 schools can surely be a thriller, for the Basic Education Department of Uttar Pradesh, who are reportedly investigating the issue, but refused to confirm. Of course, the department cannot confirm such a possibility for obvious reasons. Clearly the undergarments of the department were on display, not just visible for inquiring eyes.

Report informs that this lady in question drew more than a crore of rupees during the past 15 months prior to the detection. So she was drawing about Rs. 27000/- per month each from 25 schools, amounting to Rs.675000/- per month. It’s a big money for anybody. That she enjoyed it for some 15 months shows the laxity of the system, now that she is on the run.

That the issue came to light only when a preparation of database for teachers was underway, shows the casualness of the approach at all levels, especially when the teacher was shown as present in all schools and taking classes there! It is really a wonder, how she managed it. It’s another dimension of Yeh Mera India.

RAJASTHAN: Enforcement Directorate (ED) raiding suspected persons or outfits indulging in activities detrimental to the financial health of the country is an accepted measure in India. It is a norm anywhere in the world, probably in different nomenclature according to the laws of the respective country. While there are any numbers of such raids all over the world for legitimate accountability, in India these measures are also used to harass or to settle political score with political opponents. It is not a new norm. Just about all governments in the past have done it, including the government of BJP, a party with a ‘difference’.

The latest is the ED raid on Agrasen Gehlot, a brother of Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot. Indians are aware that there is crisis in the Rajasthan government led by Congress. A part of Congress MLA’s have rebelled against the CM. May be they have their own agenda of floating a separate party or even joining hands with opposition BJP. But clearly BJP is fishing in troubled waters. BJP has its government in New Delhi, and it is playing its active role in being helpful in this fishing expedition of Rajasthan BJP, by creating problems for the incumbent Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot of Congress. 

So, the CMs sibling Agrasen Gehlot is in ‘trouble’, for alleged financial wrong doing. Reportedly, it’s a case of money laundering involving fertilizer import and subsidised supply of Muriate of Potash (MoP) to farmers. Based on a Department of Customs case of 2007, investigation was reportedly wrapped up in 2013. But in 2013 it was the UPA government in New Delhi led by Congress; hence the issue went into amnesia. 2014, the new NDA II came to power, but with all their war cry on corruption, BJP led NDA II too slept over it or took its own time or waited for an opportune time to bring the skeleton out to strike in 2020, after 7 years.

Reportedly ED raided some 6 places to unearth the details. Charges if any, are yet to be framed. This is Yeh Mera India.

KARNATAKA: There was this report in the print media, datelined Chikkamagalooru “Incomplete work on footbridge”. Most Indians who have some knowledge of rural India are in the know of streams & rivulets all over the country side with little or no way to cross it especially during monsoon. The report was on a bridge basically meant for school going children and village folks going about their routine needs under Nemmar Grama Panchayat in Chikkamagalooru district. We are all aware that June to September are months of monsoon season and place like Chikkamagalooru is a known heavy rain area. So those who are responsible for the construction and upkeep of especially such bridges can plan these structures easily before the onset of monsoon. But No! We cannot start and complete any job in time. There is always a time-over-run and therefore cost-over run. That is the tragedy of free India. For varieties of socio-political and vested interest reasons these jobs get delayed may be for pecuniary benefit for some or for all those who are engaged in the sanction, commencement and completion of the job and then settlement of bills. If the students are suffering so be it, if the village folks are suffering so be it. The basic attitude, when it comes to public works is, as if government machinery manned by bureaucracy and political class are doing a favour to the public. Therefore there is neither a commitment nor honesty in the execution of such works. Both are at a discount. And people continue to suffer. How this malaise can be addressed is a question that has disturbed the public consciousness for long. But nothing serious has happened. Report tells, PWD Executive Engineer MR Rajesh informs “The work on 104 footbridges was taken up out of which 75% of the works completed. Remaining in initial stage” which only means none are complete. Excuse me Mr. Executive Engineer, we are already in monsoon season, and none of the 104 footbridges are ready, how do we commute? Your child may not be crossing any of these footbridges, so you are not worried. But you get paid by the people resources, so why don’t you have commitment to start and complete such crucial jobs on time? These jobs are in Srigeri, Koppa, NR Pura Chikkamagalooru and Mudigere areas. There are many footbridges needing repairs to hold on to the monsoon fury. Even they are not being attended. Reportedly villagers of Hemmige village in Sringeri taluk have taken up the repair of the footbridge themselves. So the question is why is PWD there? Is there nobody who can answer this question? And the fact is, the issue of footbridge, rickety bamboo contraption, dangerous rope ways, is all over Karnataka, especially where monsoon is heavy, like districts of Dakshina Kannada, Uttar Kannada, Kodagu, and both sides of the entire Western Ghat  stretch, which need urgent attention, but power that be, is lost in transit.

KARNATAKA: Corona Pandemic or Covid 19 has been around since over 4 months. On 23rd March PM Modi declared lockdown beginning with the same night past midnight. So it was only 4 hours. Whether the 4 hours notice for a 3 week lockdown was right or wrong, there has been lot of write-ups in the media and posts in the social media. There were many who agreed with the move and equally there were many who disagreed. There were those who condemned it and there were those who hailed it.

Be that as it may. Lockdown continued and was recently opened giving the freedom to states to calibrate the response to ground conditions.

As we have witnessed, the official response has been at best mixed. How much it has truly managed to control the spread is not an easy question to answer. We are a country of 1350 million people. The very thought of the kind of numbers we are talking about can send chill down the spine. But the truth is, the pandemic has spread in some pockets but overall it remained fairly contained despite the raging fresh cases in some pockets.

There have been responses of varied kind from all across the spectrum. All were expected to yield some positive results. That clearly means, we do not have a solution which we can confidently claim. It has been a continuous learning curve, still difficult to say that we have reined the virus.

But the question is, can any government manage a crowd of 1350 million if the virus strikes hard? It’s a deafening NO. So can lockdown be the solution? May be initially it was needed for the public to understand the gravity of the situation. Of course it is another matter that, absence of any time, except the 4 hours, prior to the first lockdown led to huge chaos for working population spread all over India. Now that over 4 months have passed and those who wanted to reach homes have managed to reach. Lockdowns started with 21 days to 41 days to 15 days and then opened, have had only mixed result. But the logic of opening the market with some calibrated Sunday lockdowns is the solution in the immediate short run. The responsibility of managing the life of individual should not be the business of government. Upgrade the health facility and introduce moderate charges in government hospital with complete withdrawal of all free services, except may be free testing of swabs. Everyone must understand his responsibility of looking after himself and his family, of maintaining social distance and use of masks in places where people movement, crowd etc, are prevalent. 

In the light of the above, the decision of the Karnataka government ‘NO MORE LOCKDOWNS’ is a welcome development.  Hope Indians will learn to live with Covid 19 Corona Pandemic, as a fact of life in the evolving India. 

KARNATAKA: There were two reports today in the print media from Dakshina Kannada district, in the coastal Karnataka, one datelined Mangalooru and the other Udupi.

One informed about a Hindu, and a Brahmin to boot, having died an orphan. He died a natural death but early on at 62. His family, it is alleged in the print, refused or stayed away from seeing the body or performing the last rites of this unfortunate deceased person. There is neither name of the dead or his sister, who informed the reported Good Samaritan Mohammad Asif, that Asif ‘can perform last rites to her brother’.

Asif reportedly runs an orphanage Maimoona Foundation and had in 2018, spotted this unnamed deceased and had taken him to his orphanage and had him hospitalized on Thursday (25/7) morning for being unwell. He died the same evening. Doctors had ruled that ‘he died due to age related ailments; no Covid 19 test was needed’.

It is indeed a commendable humanitarian job by Mohammad Asif, question was, why this Brahmin dimension was highlighted, when there was no name mentioned? Was the story writer a vested interest individual with some agenda? If indeed it was a Brahmin from Hindu community, it is sad that neither any Brahmin Samaj nor any VHP/Bajrang Dal came forward to let the person have a dignified exit from this sorry world?

Then there was this report datelined Udupi on Rajeevi Nayak, an ASHA worker cum Rickshaw owner/driver. It’s a very odd but very useful combination, as it happened on Thursday past midnight at 3.00 am. The report informs about the call Rajeevi received from one Srilatha, an expectant mother, some 20 km’s away from Udupi. Wish, the reporter should have mentioned the name of the village so that Rajeevi could have been located and honored for what she has done.

Srilatha was in labour pains, and needed immediate shifting to the hospital. Without wasting time Rajeevi rushed to Srilatha’s residence, picked her up in her Rickshaw and took her to BR Shetty renovated former Haji Abdullah Government Hospital, where she delivered a baby girl during the day. Not only Rajeevi should be commended for her timely intervention as an ASHA worker, but also for her sense of commitment and the government is still not paying such honest and committed frontline workers, neither on time or adequately. Do you hearken, health minister Sri Ramulu, that these ASHA workers do exemplary work with NO AASHA, or are you busy with buying Covid 19 Corona PPEs etc?

WORLD: ‘TRUMP not ready to commit to election results if he loses’, made a very amusing reading. “No I am not going to say yes, or no”, is a typical Donald Trump.

His election in 2016, itself was a big surprise. In the short run, Americans-good number at that- showed preference for Trump for his vocal ‘American first’ rhetoric. But, slowly and steadily US President Donald Trump slipped in popularity charts. His impetuous actions and reactions, his acts of commission and omission, during the last over 3 years has exposed him as a difficult person to deal with. His dependability, for his words and actions were called to question. 

Can any country have such a leader who cannot be taken seriously, is a question making its round.

Under the circumstances for an incumbent American President to make a statement that “I will not accept the result of general presidential election to the White House, if I lose”, is an open indictment of all that America or the United States of America stood for. It is just ludicrous to the core. It is amusingly shocking.

“It will be an unprecedented test of American democracy, what could happen on the election integrity if President Donald Trump refuses to accept the loss?” asked New York Times. It’s a valid question. Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee answers it. “If Trump loses but won’t leave the White House he will be escorted out by military leaders”. According to the US presidential election watch, Democratic Presidential candidate Biden is way ahead of Trump.

Trump will be ‘fumigated out’ said House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while reminding that he will have to vacate if he loses the November 2020, presidential election.

“Words almost fail me, it is so deeply irresponsible. He is arousing his core supporters for a truly damaging crisis in the days and weeks after the November Election”, said William Galston, chair of the Brookings Institution’s, Governance Studies Programme, while adding ‘what the president is doing is willfully and wantonly undermining confidence in the most basic democratic process we have”.

It will be worth watching for the relevance of US itself.

WORLD: Slowly it is emerging on global canvas that China is indeed a villain. India has experienced it pretty early. Long ago former Defence Minister George Fernandes had shockingly observed that China is the number one threat to India, which has been proved right over and over again. China is a communist country and hence it can have all kinds of laws against its people and groups among them. None can oppose it. Tiananmen Square massacre of Chinese people for demanding democracy is one of the many atrocities that China has perpetrated on its people.

In recent times China has emerged as an economic power house, due to varieties of positive and negative reasons. Its economic power coupled with hegemonistic tendencies has caused completely avoidable difficulties to some of the sovereign nations in our neighborhood and beyond. In the garb of helping these nations economically, it forced its way to occupy their socio-economic space and made their life difficult, be it Sri Lanka or Pakistan and there would be many in the pipeline,

The issue of Uighurs of Xinjiang autonomous region has been simmering for a longtime. China has been very harsh with this minority ethnic group who are of Turkish origin. Now the news comes, that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been repatriating these Uighurs from Turkey to China. Uighurs are practicing Muslims. None of the Muslim countries have protested the persecution of these Uighurs in China. It is like ethnic cleansing and global Muslim community is silent. The hypocrisy of entire Muslim world is on display, when it comes to reacting to the harsh treatment of Uighurs Muslims by Chinese authorities. Entire Muslim world failed Uighurs Muslims. Ironically, it is the Donald Trump government of United States of America, supposedly anti-Muslims, who is taking up cudgels on behalf of these unfortunate victims of time and circumstances on the international forum.  

J. Shriyan