SOME SURPRISING DATA

                                               

In developing countries including India, when there are good news like space programmes, defence preparedness, success in agricultural field, achievements in the front of science etc, the people feel proud and rightly so. The Indians, who were adult in 1960s, could never dream that their country would ever be able to wipe out acute food scarcity. Today, the country is food surplus and we are exporting agricultural produces. Quite contrarily, when we get information about our failure or deficiency on any front, we are shocked.

One of such subjects is literacy. The Education For All Global Monitoring, a UN agency has published its latest report which could demoralize any Indian. It mentions that at present there are 28 crore seventy lakh illiterate in this country, which amounts to 37 % of the world figure standing at over 55 crore. The world today knows that education is the keyword for any development. We also know that the country has nearly 60% population of age below 35. If 37% of our population remained illiterate, we shall definitely lag much behind in the race of economic progress. It is not true that nothing tangible has been done in this respect. The literacy rate of 48% in 1991 went up to 63% in 2006. However, the unchecked populational growth has compromised the progress. No project including literacy will succeed if simultaneously population grew unabated.

One more fresh news has not been liked by us. An American voluntary organization has made a global survey embracing 25 major countries to determine the state of intellectual property right environment. The survey was based on a 30-point questionnaire, meaning thereby that the highest point a country could score was 30. The three most developed countries like the US, UK and France were found at the top. The US scored 28.5 marks. To our misfortune, India landed at the bottom. Even some smaller neighbours fared better than us. We hope that our policy-makers will take notice of this sorry state of affairs as it is associated with our international prestige.

At the end, yet there is an encouraging piece of information. Our life expectancy has gone up by 5 years in one decade. According to the Union Health Ministry the data pertains to the last decade. It was possible due to better food, medical facilities and immunization campaigns. No wonder that the Govt employees may demand retirement at the age of 65 year.

RACE FOR KING MAKERS

                                               

In the run up to the 1914 Lok Sabha elections, the political parties appear to have read the writing on the wall in advance. By now, three reputed companies have conducted surveys and published their electoral forecasts. Though all of them have perceived a pro-Modi wave, none has predicted a clear majority for any party or alliance. The BJP, except in the South is much ahead in West, East, North and Central India. Despite that the NDA is shown getting only 224 seats, definitely short of the magic figure of Mission-272. The Congress is losing ground so much so that it may or may not touch 100 mark. Among the regional satraps, only the AIADMK, TMC and BJD are in a position to improve their position. The regional outfits in North like RJD, SP, BSP and JDU are destined to lose ground appreciably.

By and large the picture being so, with a very dismal prospect for the Third Front, the ambitious regional leaders are trying to improve their strength so that when the largest single party will approach them for support for majority, they can claim their pound of flesh for being the king maker. The past example of Devegouda is inspiring them. Mulayam Singh has openly told his followers that if they could capture at least forty seats in UP, then the SP could dictate terms while finding a prime ministerial stuff. Similarly, mayawati also is sanguine about keeping her vote bank intact and win maximum possible seats in her state and only then the claims of the Dalits could not be ignored. Both Jayalalithaa and Mamata Banerjee, whose electrral prospects are looking up, are mentally ready to play king makers. Since both have the record of NDA association, the task for the BJP PM prospect may prove easier. In case the Modi-wave is strong and sweeping, the above tacticians will lick the dust.  

POLITICS OF NON-VIP CULTURE

Ever since a new political dispensation came in Delhi politics and started announcing its commitment to stopping VIP culture of the previous regime, a fresh debate is being seen engaging the public. These politicians said that they would not occupy big government bungalows, drive costly cars and accept showy security paraphernalia. They further added that all policy decisions would have public participation. Such catchy slogans came to the public notice as something very surprising. The question arises, are they the only and first lot of politicians to be credited with this innovation?

In mid-1990s, I was associated with the security in Parliament when I had the opportunity to see the leading politicians of all hues from very close quarters. Without taking name, I can say to have seen even one-time MPs coming to attend the House in big costly foreign cars. I was told that these cars were being provided to them by the multi-national companies. Bhogendra Jha, MP/CPI used to come often on foot. When the House ended in the evening, I used to see Mamta Banerjee, MP/Cong, Chaturanan Mishra, MP/CPI and half a dozen South Indian parliamentarians, waiting for the ferrying mini buses near the portico to get back to their residences.

Mamta Banerjee was invariably seen in white khadi saree with indigo border, white blouse, hawai chappal and a khadi bag hanging from her soldier. When Atal ji was the Prime Minister, on her request, he had gone to her small accommodation in Calcutta to see her mother. Even after changing the political party, winning the election and becoming the Chief Minister of West Bengal, she has neither changed her dress nor opted for a posh residence. During Jyoti Basu’s rule, I had seen half a dozen CPI(M) ministers and MLAs smoking foreign cigarettes and putting on very costly sports shoes. She was never talked about her simplicity in the political circles of Delhi.

Today, people have heard that Manohar Parikar, CM, Goa also is equally simple so far as squandering public money is concerned and comes to office on his personal two-wheeler. Narendra Modi, CM. Gujarat stays in a very small house and has only two attendants. He loveseating self-cooked ‘khichri’. He likes to put on well stitched pyjama and kurta which are purchased from the khadi bhandar near the Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad. You talk about Lalu Yadav, Om Prakash Choutala, Prakash Singh Badal, Late Jyoti Basu, Sheila Dikshit, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Karunanidhi, Karunakaran and several others who earned bad name for the interference of their close relatives in the state matters. On the contrary, except his mother, Modi does not give any lift to other relatives. To cap these all, he accepts only Rs. 13,400/- per month as salary. Should not the so-called neo-aam aadmi leaders steal a leaf from the books of above leaders?

IT IS ALSO A DEVELOPMENT

                                   

For last one year, due to the recently concluded assembly elections and upcoming parliamentary suffrage, we have been hearing at high decibel the tall claims of developments by the ruling parties and with instant rebuttals by the opposition. In this political cacophony, the real situation appears to have been lost somewhere. It will be foolhardy to discard all developments as the country has marched ahead strongly on many fronts. One remarkable among them is the health sector.

The present generation may be unaware of epidemics. Till 1950s, the country, particularly in rural areas regularly fell victim of several epidemics which mercilessly took huge tolls of costly lives. People preferred to have at least half a dozen of children so that a couple of them might survive. The worst was plague. We remember that when dead mouses fell down from the thatched roof of any house, the whole village was vacated immediately and the residents would shift to the nearby mango groves. Even then people died in hundreds. The people of neighbouring villages would avoid to visit the affected village. Today, the whole country is free of this deadly disease.

The second epidemic was small-pox. Particularly the minor and young children were subjected to this endemic disease. Though not deadly to casualty level, it made people ugly and sometimes crippled for life. The rustic vaccination available since pre-independence days, was not effective. For last over two decades, the disease has been effectively tamed. Similarly, the Govt. under a dedicated campaign has made available necessary vaccination and medicines to eradicate TB, cholera, malaria and leprosy.

The most successful and internationally acclaimed success on medical front is India’s victory on the war over polio. You must be seeing lame boys and girls whose life was made hellish by this crippling disease. The last polio case was reported from West Bengal some three years ago. Since then, no new case has been noticed. The WHO has decided to declare india polio-free. But this does not give us any room for complacency. It is a contagious disease and may come from foreign countries. Peshawar, in Pakistan is notorious for being the hub of polio virus. India should be strict in giving visas to such nationals if no properly vaccinated. It is also a breathtaking development and the country can rightly feel proud of this achievement.

YARDSTICK FOR DECIDING ADMIRATION

                                

When somebody is rated as an admired person, the society requires to know about the reasons for this decision. The YouGov for The Times, some days back conducted a worldwide survey to select 20 most admired persons. It contacted 14,000 people in 13 countries including India, Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, the US, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, China etc. Details about the targeted individuals are not available. We are also not aware about the scale on which the involved individuals were tested. However, the list of the selected celebrities may help the interested people to draw their own conclusion.

The survey gave first position to the business magnate Bill Gates who is globally acclaimed as a philanthropist, engaged in several projects for poverty alleviation, improving life conditions of the poor in developing countries and promoting environment. Barack Obama is on the second position. Still in his second and last term of presidentship, we have yet to see his any extraordinary contribution to the humanity. Still like the hasty awarding of the Nobel Prize, this credit also surprises others. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin has been placed on the third position. He has been rated as the richest politician but the greatest credit that goes to him is keeping together his country which had almost collapsed in 1990s.There is no hesitation in anybody’s mind about the fourth slot allotted to Pope Francis.

India should feel happy for a good representation in the list. Sachin Tendulkar(4), Narendra Modi (7), Amitabh Bachchan (9), APJ Abdul Kalam (10), Anna Hazare (14), Arvind Kejriwal (18) and Ratan Tata are the proud entrants. There is no problem if you add the Dalai Lama in this list for the obvious reasons. The Chinese President, Xi Jinping enjoys a higher position at number 6.

In this connection, another British survey, which was seen on a TV channel on Jan 15, 2014 is slightly more surprising. It has found the Big B as the most admired personality in the world. Why this big gap between the two? To conclude, we will feel satisfied only after knowing the measurement rationale.    

INDIA CARES FOR YOU TOO

Till recently, the people at large rarely cared for the differently challenged lot in our society. As a matter of fact, particularly in the Indian sub-continent, physical disability was supposed to be a big source of laughter and cutting jokes. Any such sufferer was not only ignored, looked down upon but also laughed at. The society never realized that this lot, despite some physical deficiency was capable of standing on their own feet and lead the life like any other proud citizen.

All these noble ideas look utopian when such individuals have to depend on others for visiting a public place. Of late, Particularly in the Wes, there has been a great debate over this handicap of a section of people. They have arguably forwarded their logic that ignoring this lot militated against the democratic norms. So long such people found it impossible to visit the public places, they will not be the beneficiaries of an open society.

In this backdrop, there is today a trend to make public places accessible to all. You might have seen ramps in the Dilli Haat facilitating the lames to visit the market in their wheel-chair. Similar facilities are being demanded in parks, museums, cinema halls and other such places in the towns. Today when everyone is so much time minded, he will not be able to spare even a few moments for a crippled individual. If public places are made accessible to all, such people will definitely find their life comfortable.

Ramps are helpful to them who cannot move. But what about the speech and audibility specially challenged persons? The Brail script has helped the blind so much so that they get academic education like other students. But here is problem for the ones who can neither speak nor hear. For them, the sign language is a good solution with which the victims can learn. However, for important national programmes, there is no such arrangement. They can see the visuals but cannot hear the speech. We have learnt that the demand of this section is being seriously thought over. Perhaps on the coming Republic Day, there will be provision for sign language to cover the function at the Rajpath. It will be a clear manifestation of India really caring for  its all  citizens.   

PREMIER PROSPECTS

                                               

So long Pt Nehru was at the helm of affairs in the Congress, it was a foregone conclusion that after the election, he was sure to don the mantle of power. For that matter even Mrs Indira Gandhi’s return to power was an open secret and hence never on the occasions of elections there was any hue and cry for declaring the prospective premier’s name in advance. Even the first non-congress prime minister of the Janata Party in 1977 was decided by JP after consulting the successful party MPs. The man chosen was Morarjibahi Desai. Similarly other such incumbents like Ch. Charan singh, VP Singh, PV Narsimharao,  Devegauda and IK  Gujral were all post-election selections.

The fashion of nominating PM prospect was by and large initiated by the BJP with AB Vajpayee in 1999. They again repeated the exercise in 2004 with LK Advani who failed to make it. But since then, there has been a fashion among political parties to challenge the opponents to declare their prime ministerial candidates.  The boldness of the AAP in this regard has been exemplary. Much before the Delhi assembly election, Kejriwal declared that he would oppose Smt Sheila Dikshit from the New Delhi constituency. He stuck to his gun and succeeded in dethroning her. This declaration compelled the BJP to project Dr Harshvardhan as its CM andidate.

The most talked about decision of the BJP is declaring Narendra Modi as its PM candidate about six months before the election. In the backdrop of his developmental track record in Gujarat, his honest image and persuasive oratory, the other political parties were taken aback as their campaign of tainting him as a tormentor of minorities had fallen flat. The unprecedented turn out in his public meetings in different parts of the country has further unnerved them. Now the Congress is under pressure to declare its own PM prospect. It is believed that Rahul Gandhi will step in on Jan17,2014. Meanwhile, Kumar Vishwas of the AAP has declared to take on Rahul from wherever the latter fought. Vishwas’s public meeting at Amethi on jan 12, in which he proved to be a crowd puller, has caused headache in the Congress think-tank. The development is bound to be interesting.

LUST FOR GREENER PASTURES

Since the first general election of free India, when I was just a middle school student, I have seen the politics from very close quarters. Hardly any representative of the freedom struggle is alive today. Even the succeeding generation of politicians is also disappearing from the scene. Only the third and fourth generation politicians are in the arena today. Seeing them, two trends are very evident. Firstly, politics being a better business without any investment, the leaders are encouraging their wards to inherit their political fortune. You see at RJD, LJSP, DMK, NCP, Akali Dal, SP and several leading families of Congress and some other parties, the leaders have anointed their own sons and daughters.

Secondly, there are some known faces in the Indian politics, nurturing a strong greed for greener pastures. For them power and not ideology carries any meaning. In this connection, the first name that strikes my mind is Choudhary Ajit Singh. Since the death of his father, ch Charan Singh, he has been heading a separate faction of Lok Dal, where also his son is second in command. The areas around Baghpat of Western UP, cultivated by his father, is still supporting him and giving victory in about half a dozen Lok Sabha seats. With this bargaining asset he has been managing ministership at the Centre since last over two decades. There is hardly any party with which he has not shared power. Strangely enough, he has no reservation in joining hands with any political party.

The second name is that of Rram Vilas Paswan of Bihar. He started his political career with the JP movement of 1974. He remained quite active and in the 1977 parliamentary election won with the maximum number of votes finding inclusion in the record books. After the collapse of the Janata Party, he has been changing colours without any compunction to grab power. He joined the Janata Dal. Then he came under the flag of the RJD. After that he formed his separate political party named Lok Jan Shakti Party. All these changes were intended to enjoy power. The Lohiite movement was intended to uproot congress, but for Lalu and Paswan it was no consideration as the chair was more important. The latest entrant in the list is Shoeb Iqbal, New Delhi. He became an independent MLA to start with. Then he joined the LJSP. At the time of the last assembly election of Delhi, he came to the JDU camp. All alone, and without any power, he is feeling frustrated. He has already held a meeting with AarvindK Kejriwal and expressed his decision to join the AAP. After he put off his coat in the House and declared that he was the biggest goonda, even AAP is hesitant to welcome him.

It is high time that the people at large should recognize these greedy elements ready to go to any extent in search of greener pastures, so that in future they were shown the door.

 

SOCIOLOGY OF SANITATION

                                               

On Jan. 10,2014 I attended the First National Distinguished Lecture on Sociology of Sanitation at the India International Centre, New Delhi. It was jointly sponsored by the Sulabh International Centre for Action Sociology and Sulabh International Social Service organistion. This novel topic was from the fertile mind of Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder, Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement, who is  himself a reputed authority on sociology discipline. On this occasion Dr Yogendra Singh, Professor Emiritus of Sociology, JNU, Jairam Ramesh (could not reach), Dr pathak, prof Leela Visaria, Ahmedabad and Prof Neel Ratan, Patna were present. As a matter of fact, Dr Visaria delivered the theme lecture.

Dr Pathak, Dr Yogendra Singh and Dr Visaria talked in detail on the importance of the subject and strongly underscored the need of introducing it in the curriculum of different universitiest. They were happy to inform the gathering that some universities have already introduced the topic and others are waiting for standard text books to fall in line. Dr Visaria in her scholarly address quoted a lot of data to reveal the pathetic condition of sanitation in India. The gathering was stunned to hear how still a large number of people, particularly in rural areas were resorting to open defecation. She added that the situation was better only in less than half a dozen states including Kerala, Punjab and HP. Dr Visaria emphasized that good sanitation fetched better health, better production and peace in the society and hence it should be imparted proper preference from the Govt side.

I am slightly confused that why at all it should be argued that only sociology of sanitation should get impetus as it directly related to the society. What about other branches of knowledge? The single objective of all disciplines of knowledge is betterment of the society. Talk about science, engineering, architecture, literature and for that matter any other subject, they all have been cultivated for making the human life more enjoyable and dependable. This does not mean that sanitation is inferior to any other discipline. However, the programme brought sociology of sanitation on the front, which for ages had been brushed under the carpet. The organizers deserve proper appreciation from the society.    

IS BIRTH A SIN IN INDIA

                                                

This creation enjoys continuity because of the births of all species after the stipulated gestation period. The existence of the next generation totally depends on safe birth of a child. This safe birth depends on pre-natal periodic check-ups, clean labour room, qualified attending doctors and nurses, availability of required medicines, proper monitoring and clean and nutritional food for the mother and the child. Any deficiency at these stages will either end in death or cripple the child for good. When the expectant lady gives birth to a child, she herself goes very close to death. So any default or negligence at the time of delivery can be fatal to both the mother and child. Where does India stand in this respect?

The other day, I saw a report in a newspaper which revealed that the best child-birth facility is available in England in the world. The facilities pertaining to the delivery and post- birth cares are excellent. Moreover, all these welfare measures are totally free. Attracted by this ideal situation, the pregnant ladies from entire Europe and some other parts of the world flock to the British hospitals. The growing number of such expectant ladies has reached almost at an unmanageable point for the available local arrangements. It does not mean only huge fund involvements but also requires a big number of medical personnel. The English people urge upon the neighbouring countries to improve their own indigenous resources so that the growing burden on the British system could be minimized.

Against this background, the situation in India is by far heart-rending. The overall hygiene of the labour rooms is so pathetic that the child is delivered and  both the mother and child survive just by heavenly mercy. Over and above this highly deplorable situation, the doctor and the nursing staff nourish a very callous attitude. They compel the attendants of the delivering ladies to part with hush money even for minor services. Even though the Govt has given a lot of facilities to such ladies ever since they conceive, the hospital staff make their plight miserable. How a new born dead child, recently in New Delhi, instead of being kept in the mortuary was thrown in a dustbin, may sadden any person.

ANOTHER FEATHER IN INDIAN SPACE CROWN

                               

History is witness that whenever the developed countries plotted to deny technical knowhow in any field, India picked up the gauntlet and came out with flying colours. One may recall how the USA put stumbling block on our way to procure heavy water, an essential component for our nuclear projects sometimes in 1980s. Without getting demoralized, India as a proud nation, immediately launched its own efforts and accordingly our committed scientist achieved the objective to surprise the exclusive club members of the heavy water technology. Similarly, when india made its debut in space programmes including communication satellites, it needed cryogenic engines which were needed for greater payloads. In early 1990s, the then USSR gave us seven such engines and six of them were used. All the times purchasing the system,involved heavy expenses and so we went to the willing USSR for this purpose. To our misfortune, exactly then the USSR disintegrated and the resultant weaker Russia could not overlook American stand to oblige a time tested friend like India. Once again we took up the challenge to harness our own talents.

WHAT IS  CRYOGENIC ENGINE:

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­For sending any satellite into the space, it needs fuel to generate thrusting power. Different fuels have different capacities. The PSLV generally has solid or liquid fuels which do not give required power to heavier payloads. Since the communication satellites carry a heavier payload, they cannot depend on that conventional energy. If the payload is two tones, the system will require the thrust of a cryogenic engine. Liquid hydrogen and oxygen together meet this requirement. Both these gases, responsible for water, if treated in a highly minus temperature and liquified, the energy generated is capable of giving appropriate thrust to a heavier payload. During a two-decade long toils, the country could make a breakthrough. But the experiment does not stop only here. The most delicate part consists of collecting, storing and transporting because being highly inflammable, any conflagration may occur. So our two earlier tryst with this new found engine ended in fiasco. Ultimately, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D-5 with cryogenic rocket power could successfully blast off on Jan 5, 2014, proving a great new year gift to the nation. According to the team of scientists at Sriharikota, the satellite could touch the lowest and highest points from earth exactly as set and is responding to the control room obediently.

After Russia, USA, China, European Space Agency and Japan, India has become the sixth country to boast of cryogenic engine technology. This success has saved the nation a huge amount of foreign exchange as no more we shall knock at the door of other countries. Now we can send satellites with several machineries for research. It will not only pave the way for manned space missions but also prove synergic in inter-planetary projects and watching enemy activities on the earth.

LITHUANIA AND INDIA

                                               

The other day I was reading an interview of a Lithuanian Indologist in a daily newspaper and was surprised to know the cultural affinity of India with this little known European country, which was earlier a part of the erstwhile USSR. He is Prof. Habil Adius Benorius, Director, Depatt. Of Oriental Studies, Velnius University, Lithuania.He revealed that since the olden times, his country has been appreciating the Indian culture. However, this preference was suppressed during the Russian rule. After the independence of his country in 1990, the first country to secede from the clutches of Moscow, the pent up love for India was revived. He admitted to be an India fan with a lot of interest in Sanskrit since he was only sixteen. These days he is engaged in translating some Upanishdas in his mother language, Lithuanian.

Lithuania is located in Northern Europe, on the South-East of the Baltic Sea. Like other ancient societies, its history also goes back to the third millennium BC when the first lot of Indo-Europeans came to this land and mixed with several local Baltic tribes. Thus, today they racially call themselves Baltics. The first kingdom of Lithuania was established in 13^th century. In 14^th century, with Latvia, Poland, some parts of Russia and a few other neighbouring principalities, the Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country of Europe. In the modern times, to be precise 18^th and 19^th centuries, the region underwent repeated changes in its fortune due to aggressive neighbours like Russia and Germany. After the Second World War, the German occupation forces vacated and Russia captured. Lithuania, ultimately bid goodbye to the foreign yoke in 1990 and has been shaping its future independently.

Lithuania occupies an area of 65,200 km and according to the recent census, has a population of 30 lakhs only. It has formally joined the European Union, European Council and NATO. Its roads, transports, economy, public health etc only after 23 years of freedom can match any developed country. It is the fastest growing economy in Europe. Unfortunately, India has not opened it chancery yet there. It is the clarion call of the time that we facilitated environments for the growth of close bilateral relations. 

SOME STRANGE FACETS ABOUT RAPE CASES

               

After murder, rape is perhaps the most heinous crime of the human society. Murder is number one because it takes the life.  In that respect,  in some cruel rape cases, the victim is so badly and sentimentally broken that for her, living any more is never better than death.  Death absolves her of living with ignominy in the society. They are subjected to constant humiliation, sometimes worse than a widow. Therefore, rape cases are extremely inhuman for women specially young, minor and unmarried ones.

Have we ever pondered over such crimes seriously? What are the factors which lead to rape cases? Why despite legal arrangements, the number of this type of criminal cases has been rising? Even life imprisonment and death sentences have failed to deter the miscreants. Further it is a matter of grave concern that even minor boys have started indulging in rape cases in great numbers.

Often it is argued by the old timers that crimes against women are on rise due to freedom allowed to them. According to them, women are safe within fourwalls of their house. They further charge that tight and small dresses and exposures are encouraging the opposite sex to get attracted and aggressive. However, the facts available strongly negate such a hollow logic. When a child of 3-5 years is raped, where are the issues of exposure and showy dresses?   The Delhi  Police has made a post-mortem of rape cases of 2013. It has recorded 1559 rape cases and made a nature-wise breakup. It is bound to surprise the saner elements of the society that out of them in 585 cases, boy friends of the victims were involved whom the girls selected as life-partners. Neighbours were responsible for 348 incidents. Very close relatives like husband/ex-husband, father/foster-father, brother, uncle/maternal uncle, sister’s husband, other members of the family and teachers were also mainly involved in playing with the chastity of girls. In this backdrop, can anybody logically claim that fair sex is secured only in the family circle?

The frightening development requires deep and quick solutions. Not only the ladies should be empowered to protect their dignity but the society should also change its attitude. By nature, women suppress the incident to avoid public notice which encourages the men to  be extra bold. If some additional legal security is felt necessary, the society should not shirk. 

JOURNALISM AT A CROSS-ROAD

                    

For the press, the French Revolution came as a boon. It was given a new epithet, Fourth Estate of democracy. Since then it is believed that like the opposition, the media also keeps a control on the governments by keeping a close and constant watch on its activities. Thus, today the world over it is accepted that the quality of any democratic dispensation is based on the amount of freedom being enjoyed by the local press. However, this highly rated press freedom appears to have been eroded in many countries in the world including  India.

It has been reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists that in 2013, seventy journalists were killed in the world, most of them in the civil war hit countries of mainly West Asia. Syria alone accounted for 29 media personnel casualties. Iraq also had a toll of 10. It goes to the credit of brave journalists that at the risk of their life they go to hot war fronts to collect the details to apprise their readers of the latest developments. No dictatorial regime or extremist favours the freedom of press. So they intentionally deal harshly with the media. Often investigative journalists, who expose crime syndicates, get threatening letters or telephonic calls and are eliminated as well.

If such anti-press inclement atmosphere prevaliled, the first victim will be democracy. Despite its several deficiencies, the world admits that still it is the best form of governance. The beauty of such governance includes, ensurance of fundamental rights and transparency. Any failure on these counts, if ignored or soft-pedalled by the rulers, the press makes it public and forces the people in power to respond  accordingly. If this powerful estate is targeted to silence, the very democratic experiment of any society will be in the throes of extinction.

Such an ugly trend cannot be arrested till peace prevails in the society. Peace bolsters democracy and democracy paves the way for peace. The dictators, mafia, and criminals will be interested to keep the peaceloving people at ransom. Therefore, it is the duty of every sane element to join hands to safeguard their democracy from the clutches of hoodlums.   

KICKBACK ON CHOPPER TRACK

               

Since early 1950s, the people have been hearing about the hush money, better known as kickback in purchases of mainly defence products from foreign countries. The foreign agencies know it better that the ministers and administrators in developing countries could be illegally gratified to procure huge sale orders of costly items like aeroplanes, transport vehicles, several machineries so on and so forth.

Previously, Defence was not suffering from such corrupt practices even though the defence forces make huge purchases of fighter/bomber planes, choppers, tanks, arms and ammunitions etc. Now, the contagious disease of corruption has caught this vital sector as well. Such dirty practices tell upon our national security as well besides the loss of public money. The weak-kneed policy of the Centre has paved the spread of this trend. The latest exposure in this regard is the doubtful chopper deal of 2010.

On Feb 8, 2010, the Indian Defence Ministry finalized a deal with the Anglo-Italian company named Agusta Westland International Ltd (AWIL) for purchasing 12 latest helicopters for VVIPs, at a cost of Rs 3,600 crore. Three of the consignment were delivered and three more are in the pipeline. India had already paid some amount. The condition, inter alia, was not to give any kickback to any individual to influence the deal. Despite that, only one year after that, it surfaced that AWIL gave 3,60 crore (10%) to the Indians associated with this deal. A.K. Antony, the MOD, known for his honesty, under pressure from the media and opposition political parties, had to declare that no defaulter would be pardoned and accordingly directed the CBI to conduct a quick inquiry.

The CBI, in its enquiry is reported to have confirmed the illegality. The then AIR chief SP Tyagi and his relatives have been found involved. The Govt without losing any time nullified the deal on Jan 1,2014. Moreover, it proposes to levy about 500 million Euros on the AWIL as a damage by breaching the Pre-contract Integrity Pact. The company has offered to get the matter arbitrated and the Govt has appointed Justice Jeevan Reddy as the arbitrator. The country expects that not only AWIL, all Indians who played a part in this anti-national activity should also  quickly be brought to book.