Reform NCW

by Manish Anand

National Commission for Women is a bewildering organisation. It baffles all interested in its work. At best it remains an organisation to make statements when an incident takes place and let people past their prime to make speeches, declaring themselves the best champion of women’s cause.


How badly it suffers from poverty of ideas could be gauged by putting its chairperson under a scanner. “We are ever thankful to the media as most of our jobs are done by them, Mrs Vyas remarked recently. She was attributing to the seriousness in taking up issues concerning women by the media.


Supposed to give instructions to BPO industry over women workers’ security, NCW could only repeat what the BPO association had themselves agreed to like police verification of cab drivers, radio tracking of cabs among other things. Nothing to contribute, but to enjoy the goodies that come at being in NCW! 


In October, NCW had compiled in association with NGOs and independent lawyers a comprehensive bill to amend laws concerning sexual assaults on women, but it remains in cold storage till date. Worse while presenting the bill to the Union home minister Shivraj Patil, Mrs Vyas had expressed much hope that Patil (calling him his elder brother) would be able to get the bill passed in the winter session.


But the minister found many of the suggestions tough to implement and in the fashion of ‘you propose and i dispose’, he washed his hands off the bill.


The utter incompetency of NCW breeds from the very unprofessional approach of the government. The post of chairperson has turned out to be that of rehabilitating politicians who do not fit into other scheme of the party. How do women expect themselves to be represented by someone like Girija Vyas who at best is a puppet.


And puppets do not stand for any cause!


If the National Human Rights Commission could be headed by the retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, why not National Commission for Women. At the same time, this body should not be into the hands of those who play the game for the cunning NGOs who have mushroomed for making fast bucks.


Till date there remains nothing substantial that NCW has made to the cause of women in India. And it would remain so if it’s into the hands of politicians. Politicians are the biggest enemy of any change that society demands. The fate of women’s reservation in parliament symbolises their intent best.

Central varsities in limbo

by Manish Anand

Indian Universities are off the radar of the Central government. The focus of course is on building new science and technical universities. Three dedicated science varsities are coming up to take care of basic scientific research in India. So, dismay among the vice-chancellors of central universities, 20 in number, is understandable.

All arguments of capacity to achieve the objectives of the government to take scientific and technological research to higher level if given an opportunity by the central varsities fell on the deaf ears of the government this week. Jawaharlal Nehru University hosted the third annual central universities’ V-Cs meet where they tasted the bitter salt of step-motherly approach of the Congress-led UPA government.

The pleas of vice-chancellors to let them do the task of taking India to the higher plan of scientific achievement was shot down by the Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibbal on the pretext of flexibility in hiring faculty independent of rigid UGC regulations and focussed approach. “You can rather built a world class new airport, but can not upgrade the existing ones to that level” was the argument put forward by Sibbal in rejecting plea of the V-Cs for better attention to the existing central varsities.

No shock that one of the V-Cs chose to lapse into deep slumber when Sibbal went into verbal jugglery, akin to that of an apologist, showing dreams to kids which are beyond reach.

“Think out of the box” was the directive from the voluble minister, exhorting universities to tie-up with private sector in raising resources on the pattern of foreign varsities. Is India at par with the United States or the European Union that its universities will garner funding by the wealth-obsessed private sector? Has the government let them to come to that position where they can attract investors by their works? Shooting off advises out of blue has been the fort of Indian politicians for a long time and it remains so despite the nation facing daunting task in a World Trade Organization mandated regime.

Our universities are dying a slow and painful death. Even the best of the best universities like JNU, Delhi University, Allhabad University and others remain tied down for want of fund. The government remains apathetic to all ideas of reform in UGC and its funding pattern as well as recruitment process. “A junior faculty member in IIT gets more than what a senior faculty member gets in universities. How do you expect us to attract best of the talent to teach the young minds,” asked the V-C, JNU, Prof. BB Bhattacharya.

It’s all right singing tunes for IITs, IIMs and other fews, but the mass come to numerous universities to actualize their dreams. And at the end of the day, science and technology and management is not what a nation looks for to grow into a developed nation. There are other streams too which need the blue-eyed attention that few gets.

The government can afford to be myopic only at the cost of its own peril and a disadvantaged society.

Sheer madness

by Manish Anand

Congress is known for its scant regards to Constitution. It has always been so and on many occassions it has played with constitutional provisions. And it has done to save its face either to keep its vote-bank intact or to save the culprits in its own flock.

The Allahabad High Court rightly ruled that Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority institution. How can a central varsity be a minority institution. And more importantly when the university gets its funding from governmnet. We are a secular nation constitutionally. Constitution has no provision for minoritism based on religion. At best it recognizes linguistic and cultural minorities Article 34. And more so Artcle 14 mandates equal opportunities for all and no discrimination on the basis of caste, religion, sex and colour is permitted. In this context, the oft-repeated word of affirmative action under the garb of positive discrimination in favour of a religion fails the test of constitutional propriety.

Ordinance has been the much abused instrument that a government led by Congress has used to serve its vested interests. So, the talked about ordinance to restore the minority status to AMU fits into the retrograde culture of Congress. In the same way It's trying to stall demolitions of illegal buildings in Ulhasnagar in Mumbai through an ordinance when the matter is actually under judicial consideration. And who owns properties in Ulhasnagar. It's Congress MLAs councillors, workers. The same ordinance route is being thought over by the Delhi governmnet led by it, but not resorted to because of political reasons. Sheila Dikhit has been much harassed by the Delhi Congress chief Ram Babu Sharma in the last couple of years due to various reasons. And he controls MCD which has to go to election next year. Defeat is certain and that would dilute his power and lessen Mrs Dikhit's troubles. She is not bothered of her own political future as Congress is certain to lose the Delhi elections when it's held after three and half years and even if it wins miraculously she will not be the chief minister thanks to her not being a part of the group of cronies of Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

But its stand on AMU is worst. Constitution mandates a secular nation and bonding of all cultures and religions into one nation. There can't be multiple nations which is being perpetuated by Congress. Minoritism is an anti-thesis of one secular nation which falls on deaf ears of Indian polity. Students Islamic Movement of India found its base in the safe and archaic confines of the AMU. Before it could be banned it had inflicted incalculable damages to India's secular fabric as well as national security. Why should taxpayers' money be used to perpetuate an anti-India movement.

The central government's plan to modernise Madrassa and recruite Urdu teachers (religious teachers) is equally baffling. The plan is at best a plank to keep the Muslims backward and make them vulnerable to the designs of India's adversaries. Why not Muslims should be going to common schools and learn what could fetch them jobs. It equally botches all attempt to evolve an inclusive nation.

Congress must learn to respect Constitution.

3,550 years ago…

by Manish Anand

Public memory will now be refreshed with a historical epoch that a man made. Exactly 3,350 years ago the man who changed the face of civilization and collectively uplifted the human consciousness was born in India’s neighborhood. Gautam Budhha who chose his own path and dawned en era of peace and prosperity in the kingdom of Magadh which was torn into intercine war with its neighbours was born in a peaceful and comfortable lap of Himalaya in the second century BC.

A historical lecture is not intended, rather a peep which is highly relevant in this age when the world is torn into a never ending wars and clashes, leading to the loss of too many innocent lives. The violent might of the invading army of Mohammad-bin-bhaktiyar Khilji snapped the last remnants of Budhha’s teaching and the torchbearer of his wisdom from the land of Buddhism in the 14th century. Many Budhhist monks fled to Tibet as history records, but there too they have met the might of communist China, which is hell-bent to end the last link to the Buddhist way of life.

Sri Lanka, which was converted to Buddhism by Ashoka’s son and daughter, has been witnessing an endless internal strife. The toll is being put in millions. But for what! Only to carve one’s own nation because Singhalese and Tamils can not live together. In Budhha’s time, Magadh too was locked in a bloody war with its neighbours like Vaishali and others but the teaching of mutual tolerance made them to call truce and live together. No one now can teach that art to the warring nations and to the domineering nations like the United States, China and others who are heading towards destroying the world with their intolerant political designs.

The land of Buddha too has forgotten him for all practical purposes. While Nepal suffers from a despotic king, India is yet to get back its pluralistic culture that it was proud of in ancient India. Remember in the Magdhan Empire or in the Gupta Empire or in the Upanishadic time, many streams of belief and faith lived together and prospered. Ashokan rock and pillar edicts depict that there was a mature civilization with multitude of streams of beliefs and faiths. India gave secularism to world when they were living in Dark Age. Irony is that in the same land intolerance runs high and deep with no one to moderate different beliefs into one living community.

Budhha must reborn and that too in large numbers as the world has turned into a higher mess that what he had faced 3,350 years ago.

Bania shops of Journalism

by Manish Anand

Boom in Television News Channels has fuelled unprecedented mushrooming of media institutes in Delhi apart from other cities. All are on the bandwagon to sell the great journalism dreams.

You can be Rajdeep Sardesai, Barkha Dutt and others, the media business tells hoards of students. It’s a different matter that Barkha and Sardesai had different path of career growth which can in no way give credence to these institutes methodology.

At the end of the day, these institutes are more of a bania shop selling journalism certificates with no tangible trainings imparted to their pupils. Cost for these certificates is also at its high. Don't be surprised if you were told that minimum cost for a diploma is Rs 30,000 and it runs as high as Rs 2 lakh. But cost is no deterrence as students make beeline to get admissions in such institutions.

But the silver lining is that many of working journalists or those who are past their prime have got something to make easy money by. Their pockets have deepened no doubt. And they too say that there are many idiots with lots of money then why not get a share from them. Efforts are also least as you just need to talk and journalists are never at a loss of words when it comes to chatting. There are so many stories to be told; own experiences to be precise. And students will think oh how knowledgeable the faculty is. Poor folks indded!

The boom is unjustified and unreasonable because journalism industry is too small and highly competitive apart from being uncertain. Flip side is that these institutes tell their customers that opportunities are tremendous and exciting. “Interviewing a Prime Minister or taking a pot shot at the government, bureaucracy, polity is something that few professions can enjoy, an often repeated encouraging remark that the shopkeepers dish out.

At the bottom of the barrel lies many of these ambitious journalism students who end up working for content writing, press release writing and at worst working for free as interns at media organisations for months. Prime time wasted never comes back is not properly understood as yet and most importantly in backward regions of India. There could be other exciting options as well, both professionally and monetarily rewarding.

But, meanwhile, young men and women are not really bothered paying a hefty sum for a two-hour daily class to get a journalism certificate. It will bust that is for certain, but will leave many broken hearted.

Stupefied BJP

by Manish Anand

A stupefied Bhartiya Janta Party unrolled itself at its Mumbai national executive. Dramatis galore, the sheen of the incumbant BJP president Rajnath Singh was stolen by the Vajpayesque of Pramod Mahajan as the designated mascot of the party. Rajnath shouldn't be sulking either as he is the plant of Mahajan for the time being as per the reading goes on.

Bolt for the party was the controversy of Mahajan favouring Reliance and benefiting by proxy by more than Rs 1,000-crore coming in the media. How could sanity in the top BJP leadership decide the future baton of BJP to be passed on to a man with such a battered image. Clash of personalities has always been the undoing of the party. An alternative in the making to Congress is definitely now under question mark.

Interestingly, Mahajan represents the true face of BJP. His organisational skills, raising funds for the party have always been appreciated except for the way the funds were raised. And the party heavily depended on his skills all these years. Remember, the India Shining jaggernaute that BJP unleashed and the man behind the whole exercise.

LK Advani finds it very easy to ascribe the garbage in the party (men caught for cash-for-query scam or sex scandal) to the Congress culture. This is the most simplistic way of washing one's hand off the mess. Advani is now too weak and old to take responsibility for the stink that the party has gathered in its backyard.

The signals coming from Bihar where BJP along with JD(U) has come into power also indicates the compulsiveness of BJP to make goods with the power that it finds itself in. A senior BJP leader and who was tipped to be the deputy chief minister in Bihar twisted officials of his department (he is a minister) for filling up of his vehicles with oil while he along with his family members was on a private trip to Varanasi to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva after he bacame a minister.

Old habits die hard, someone had said. Power trap is too irresistable for BJP to come clean out of it.

Worse is the poverty of idea at the level of top leaders. Probably, they are no more leaders but followers of their folks.

Under these contexts it becomes imperative for Mr Rajnath Singh to be a man of the occassion. Stand up to the challenge and weed out rooten eggs in the basket. Pretty challenging the task is, but must be taken up as he stands at a moment where BJP can either mar its prospects or come stronger in character and commitment.

Early signs do not seem encouraging. Congress must be thanking its stars for being bleassed with its main Opposition party in utter disarray.

India’s ‘06 task: Face it

by Manish Anand

The new year 2006 dawned with new talks on the Indian political horizon. While the President Dr APJ Kalam remains cosy with his ‘Visions’, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is still engrossed in his rightist economist’s mould. The most acute challenge for Indian polity as well as the coalition government is to bridge the galloping divide between rural and urban India.

While the urban India (metropolis mostly) leapfrogged in the last decade, thanks to boom in the service sector, but rural India kept on sleeping into the quagmire of poverty and lack of opportunities. Divide is alarmingly acute. The babus manning India’s economic policies have systematically ignored starvation deaths by tribals, suicide in large numbers by farmers from Andhra Pradesh and Maharshtra, exodus of rural people to urban centres, massive erosion in the quality of life among urban and rural people due to obvious reasons, and worst, lack of symmetry in India’s social and economic growth.

Aping the west has been the easiest way out for the Indian government, and it still remains so.

Sustainable growth has been captive of experts’ past time activities in India, and a photo opportunity for ministers. Hence, S Swaminathan, Sandeep Pandey, Rajendra Singh, Baba Apte and few others remain a miniscule community. The apologists see India’s economic growth in software professionals criss-crossing transnational borders, stock-market peaking record high, mushrooming of shopping malls in metropolis, boom in the telecom sector, and yes, so many young men and women getting jobs in various call centres.

However, it could be explained fairly easily as ministers and bureaucrats responsible for the panning and implementation process seldom come out of their comfort zone in New Delhi and other developed cities. To peep into interiors of India can wreck their comforts!

The Indian government must let many growth centres to take roots in the interiors of India, and most importantly in the socially and economically backward regions. Agriculture and small scale units have to revitalise their economies with much wider participation of people. These centres must set in the process of reverse migration of people. Yes, they will have to compete with the transnational giants, which could be made possible by nurturing niche markets with across the board collaboration among media, government and people at large.

Small islands of self sufficient economies are possible as few examples are already there in India. The need is to take them to higher level. To make effect to this possibility, the babus and netas will need to undergo changeover in their mind-sets and policy approach.