Budget spells double trouble

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

For the people of Kerala, the central budget presented on Feb.26 spelt double trouble. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), whose members walked out of the Lok Sabha when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced a hike in petrol and diesel prices in the budget speech, followed it up with a hartal last Tuesday.

More trouble is on the way with the party planning to organise blockade of central government offices even in some small towns to focus attention on the price rise.

There was no work stoppage in the other CPI-M strongholds of West Bengal and Tripura. Nor will there be blockades in those states. This is because the agitations are organised by the party's state committee, and are not part of any national campaign.

Evidently the CPI-M wants to keep the pot boiling in the state with an eye to the panchayats elections due later this year and the Assembly elections due next year.

Meanwhile, the CPI-M-led state government is making its own contribution to the rise in living costs. Ahead of the state budget, it raised bus charges and taxi rates. The rate revision was unrelated to the latest petrol price hike. In fact, transport operators had been demanding rate revision for some time.

After presenting his budget in the Assembly on Friday, State Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac said he had adopted a different approach from the central minister. Patting himself on the back, he claimed he had placed before the country a model which other states could follow.

There are no doubt differences in the approaches of the two ministers. But, then, there are also similarities in their approaches.

Reactions of the political parties to the two budgets were along predictable lines. The Congress and its allies hailed the central budget and criticised the state budget. The CPI-M and its allies denounced the central budget and praised the state budget.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the two budgets, most non-partisan analysts characterised both as populist.

One of the areas where differences are discernible in the approaches of the central and state governments relates to the public distribution system, which, in theory, covers the entire population of Kerala.

Pranab Mukherjee said in his speech that the centre would like to switch from the rationing system to a coupon system, which will allow poor people to buy their requirements of food grains at subsidised rates from any outlet.

The state government is keen to retain the public distribution system, although very few persons other than those holding below-poverty-line cards actually buy grains from ration shops now. It is well known that the ration shops divert the unsold supplies to rice mills.

The centre and the state are involved in a dispute over the number of people who are below the poverty line. While the centre puts the number at less than 1 million, the state reckons it is more than 2.5 million. The finding of a BPL survey conducted by the state government is awaited.

Thomas Isaac announced plans to supply rice at the subsidised rate of Rs2 a kilogramme to all labourers. The proposal is expected to benefit 3.5 million people.

Another area where the centre and the state differ relates to the public sector. The centre has been divesting the shares of public sector companies year after year to raise money. The state government, which claims to have turned round most of the losing public sector units, has decided to float a few new ones in the coming year.

Selective distribution of largesse is an area where the approaches of the two governments are similar. While the centre earned the gratitude of the middle class by lowering income tax rates the state sought to please the working class by offering a small rise in the paltry pensions besides extending the subsidised rice to all labourers.

The rich have reasons to be pleased with both the central and state governments. Both have showered concessions on the real estate sector. If industrialists are the major beneficiaries of central budget, traders are the major beneficiaries of the state budget.

Thomas Isaac has demanded only a nominal increase in the compounded tax paid by jewellers for the last few years. Those who evaded registration charges have been given more time to get themselves off the hook by making a small one-time payment.--Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 8, 2010.

Right in conflict with privilege

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

Five years after parliament enacted a law to give Indian citizens access to information under the control of public authorities, all limbs of the state are still fighting shy of its mandate.

Several government departments and the Supreme Court of India have come into conflict with Central or State Information Commissions on whether or not certain information sought by citizens can be provided.

In Kerala, a dispute between the Legislative Assembly and the Information Commission is threatening to develop into a confrontation between the two, which may, willy-nilly, draw in the other limbs of the state too.

The preamble of the Right to Information (RTI) Act states that democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information is vital to its functioning and to contain corruption and hold the government and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed.

In April 2008, DB Binu, an advocate and secretary of the Human Right Defence Forum, sought from the Kerala Legislature secretariat copies of the video recording and printed version of the speech delivered by Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader TM Jacob in the Assembly during the debate on a no-confidence motion in 2005.

V Jayalekshmi Amma, Additional Secretary in the Legislature Secretariat, who is the designated State Public Information Officer (SPIO) under the RTI Act, gave him a copy of the printed version of the speech. She, however, refused the request for a copy of the video recording.

Binu then approached R Prasanna Kumari, Special Secretary, who is the designated appellate authority. She rejected his appeal, saying the matter involved encroachment on the privileges of the legislature.

The decisions of the SPIO and the appellant authority had the sanction of the Speaker, K Radhakrishnan, who is the 'competent authority' in respect of the Assembly under the RTI Act. The Speaker, incidentally, is also the custodian of the privileges of the house.

Section 8 of the Act, which gives citizens the right to access information, makes it clear that it does not cast an obligation to provide "information the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament and State Legislature." Apparently, the Speaker is relying upon this proviso.

Dissatisfied with the appellant authority's decision, Binu exercised his right to prefer a further appeal to the State Information Commission.

Chief Information Commissioner Palat Mohandas and Information Commissioner PN Vijayakumar, who heard the appeal, held that there was no justification for denying the video record when the SPIO had given the applicant the printed version of the member's speech. They ordered her to supply the video record within 15 days.

Failure to comply with the Commission's directive renders an SPIO liable to pay a heavy fine for every day of default.

On January 14 Jayalekshmi Amma wrote to Binu saying the commission's order was prima facie an encroachment on the privileges of the house and the Speaker had referred the matter to the Privileges and Ethics Committee.

While talking to the media ahead of the Assembly session, which began last week, the Speaker said video recording of speeches did not come under the purview of the RTI Act as they were not part of the proceedings of the house.

"Only the documents printed and published by the Assembly form part of the Assembly proceedings," he said. "The video recordings are only a temporary arrangement."

The Assembly's decision to treat the print and electronic versions differently is based on a fine distinction it draws between the two. It puts the video recording on a different footing from the printed version of a speech, which is an approved text, scrutinised and edited by the Speaker who has the authority to expunge, delete or remove any word or sentence.

This aspect was examined by the Information Commission while considering Binu's appeal. It pointed out that supplying an edited copy of the videotape would do harm as the proceedings of the house were telecast live with the approval of the Speaker.

The privileges of Parliament and the legislatures constitute a grey area since they have not been codified into law, as envisaged by the Constitution. Technically, these bodies have the same privileges as were enjoyed by Britain's House of Commons at the time India became free.

The concept of right to information was unknown at that time. The question to be decided now is which must prevail when there is a conflict between the citizen's right to know and the Assembly's privileges. The people will probably respect their elected representatives more if they respect their right to know.--Gulf Today, Sharjah, March 1, 2010.

Mollywood rivalries spill over

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

Off-screen rivalries of the Malayalam film industry are out in the open. Associations of actors and technicians, instead of trying to solve the problem amicably, are threatening to excommunicate gifted actor Thilakan, who has challenged the institution of superstardom.

Two factors have contributed to the emergence of superstars since the time of Sathyan and Prem Nazir, who ruled the hearts of movie-goers for long as mere stars. One is imitation of the ways of Tamil cinema. The other is use of fans associations by actors to boost their image.

Mammootty and Mohanlal, talented actors who have won many awards, are the two widely acknowledged superstars. There are other lead actors like Suresh Gopi, Jayaram and Dileep at the top, but they are not in the same league.

Mollywood is a male bastion where actresses have to be content with a subordinate role. There is, therefore, no female superstar.

Mammootty, who is in his mid-50s, and Mohanlal, who will be 50 this year, have invited criticism for their apparent reluctance to move from romantic leads to roles that are appropriate for their age and for demanding high remunerations that upset the producer's budget.

They are said to be in a position to dictate terms to directors by virtue of their awesome power as superstars. Thilakan has brought this aspect into focus.

Fans associations are now a big factor at the box office. Industry sources attribute the phenomenal success of Mammootty's 2005 comedy Rajamanikyam to a vociferous campaign by his fans and a periodical named Mammootty Times. Fans of some older stars have been reportedly booing in theatres when films of 27-year-old Prithviraj, the most promising actor of the new generation, are released.

Thilakan, who turned 74 last month, has said he was dropped from the cast of a movie under production at the instance of a superstar. The industry, he alleges, is in the clutches of a mafia backed by the superstars and a few persons from the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA), comprising several trade unions, and the Association of Malayalam Movie Actors (AMMA).

This is not the first time that Thilakan has railed against superstars. In an interview two years ago he had accused the superstars of trying to keep him away from films, using every trick in the book including verbal assaults, character assassination and mental torture.

Attributing their hostility to a sense of insecurity, he said, "They will not -- and they can't -- take the slightest competition. I have outperformed them in many films, which obviously has not gone down well with them."

Tracing the hostility back to 1986, he said he had kept quiet for a long time but his patience had run out. He alleged a caste lobby had a big role in it.

Although he clubbed the superstars together in earlier statements and named another prominent actor Nedumudi Venu while talking of caste discrimination, Mammootty appears to be his sole target now. Mohanlal, who is general secretary of AMMA, has said they would not allow Mammootty to be singled out for attack.

There is nothing to indicate that caste, religion or region influences movie-goers' appreciation of the performance of actors. However, some movie makers seem to think otherwise. When the 1998 film Harikrishnans starring both the superstars was released, two different versions were made. In the version released in the north Mammootty won the girl. In the version released in the south Mohanlal won her.

Mutual jealousies are a part of artistic life the world over. However, the Thilakan-Mammootty standoff cannot be dismissed as a mere manifestation of professional rivalry.

The issue of superstardom which Thilakan has raised is one that has a direct bearing on the health of the film industry and needs to be addressed squarely.

FEFKA has already decided not to cooperate with Thilakan. AMMA has asked him to appear before its disciplinary committee on March 1 failing which action will follow. Both the organisations believe in barring non-members from work.

Vinayan, who directed several successful movies without superstars, had earned their ire earlier. Thilakan's current troubles began after he worked on a film of his. He said on Saturday he and Vinayan would produce movies with public support.

There has been a spontaneous outburst of sympathy for Thilakan, whose sterling performance in a host of movies has endeared him to film-goers. Several groups have come forward to defend his right to practise his profession. Sukumar Azhikode, who often gives voice to the sentiments of the silent majority, has also spoken up for him.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, February 22, 2010

Dalit's fight against bias

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

Payyanur in Kannur district boasts of a rich and glorious heritage. The town's website says, "Payyanur is one of the ancient civilised places in Kerala." It has a place of pride in the history of the freedom struggle and the Communist movement. Lately, however, it is making news for the wrong reasons.

Last month, Paul Zacharia, noted writer and social critic, was roughed up by activists of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) affiliated Democratic Youth Federation of India, as he was leaving the town after making a speech which met with their disapproval.

Also last month, Chithralekha, a young Dalit woman making a living as an auto driver, came under renewed attack from a trade union which has been harassing her ever since she ventured into the male-dominated profession.

She was trained as an auto driver under the officially sponsored people's planning programme in 2004. She then obtained a loan under the Prime Minister's Rozgar Yojana (employment scheme) and bought an auto-rickshaw. The pro-CPI-M auto drivers union was not ready to admit her into the fold.

As Chithralekha persevered, the union had to give in. However, male colleagues at the auto stand made things difficult for her. They abused her with caste appellations and cast aspersions on her character. But she refused to be cowed down.

One of her colleagues then broke the windscreen of her auto-rickshaw and tore its hood. When she remonstrated, she was beaten up. Since the union did not act on her complaint against the man who damaged her vehicle she lodged a complaint with the police.

This infuriated the union leaders, who filed a counter complaint accusing her of drinking and using drugs and insinuating that she was a sex worker. The man who had damaged her vehicle later attempted to run over her with his auto-rickshaw. She filed yet another complaint against him, and the police arrested him.

The union then launched a vicious poster campaign against her in the town. A few days later, her auto was set on fire. But the union could not destroy her never-say-die spirit. Forced to leave Payyanur, she and her husband, Shreeshkanth, who is also a trained auto driver, worked as wage labourers.

Carmel Christy and Jenny Rowena, two researchers who studied l'affaire Chithralekha at that stage concluded that it was not merely a case of conflict between a woman and a trade union. The union, they pointed out, was dominated by the backward Thiyya community and its hostility towards Chithralekha was based on untouchability and gender.

They viewed the union's campaign against Chithralekha as part of an attempt to maintain caste hegemony. The union, which did not approve of the marriage between Chithralekha, Dalit, and Shreeshkanth, a Thiyya, had become an instrument for maintaining caste and gender boundaries in the Malabar region, they said.

In June 2008 a Kannur-based action committee presented Chithralekha with a new auto-rickshaw bought with public contributions. Following this, she resumed life as an auto driver in Payyanur and the union resumed harassment.

On January 20, she lodged a complaint with the police alleging she was assaulted at the auto stand. Union activists lodged a counter complaint alleging she was drunk. The police wanted to take her for an alcohol test but she refused. She said later that the police had assaulted her too.

A fact-finding team consisting of Professor Gail Omvedt of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, Professor Nivedita Menon of Delhi University and two local activists, V Geetha and KK Preetha, visited Payyanur and gathered evidence from her, the auto union, the police and some other witnesses. It found inconsistencies in the versions of the union and the police.

The team, in its preliminary report, said, "The January 20 incident is not an isolated one. Other Dalit women auto drivers in this region have faced intense intimidation, sexual harassment, caste-related abuse, accusations of promiscuity and immorality and damage to their autos."

It noted that the union's statement regarding Chithralekha's behaviour used metaphors that insultingly linked her caste status, gender and sexual immorality. It also sought to cast doubts on her marital status.

It observed that the union leaders' unease with Chithralekha and characterisation of her as a woman 'living outside the track' revealed their inability to tolerate this Dalit woman's assertiveness, stubborn courage and confidence despite her caste and gender. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, February 15, 2010

Reversal in direction of political traffic

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

For two decades political traffic in Kerala flowed in one direction --- towards the Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front. With fair-weather comrades leaving the fold, there is now traffic in the other direction.

TK Hamza was one of the earliest to switch to the LDF from the United Democratic Front. He was president of the Malappuram district Congress committee when he earned the hostility of K Karunakaran, who had total sway over the party at the time.

It was a time of flux in state politics. A Congress faction which was in alliance with the CPI-M had just walked out. The CPI-M persuaded Hamza to contest the 1982 elections as an LDF-backed independent. He defeated Aryadan Mohammed.

When the LDF came to power in 1987 Hamza became a minister. Later he grabbed for the LDF the Lok Sabha seat from Manjeri, over which the Muslim League had a monopoly.

Joining the CPI-M, he rose to the level of state committee member. His website is silent on his Congress days. Obviously he wants to hide his Congress past.

Another UDF member who travelled in the same direction was Lonappan Nambadan. Elected to the Assembly on the Kerala Congress ticket in 1977 and 1980, he turned a rebel and was elected four more times -- as an LDF-supported independent. Like Hamza, he too served a term as minister.

In 2004, the CPI-M put him up for the Lok Sabha from Mukundapuram. He contested this time on the party ticket and won.

In 1997, when there was a by-election to the Lok Sabha from Ernakulam, a Congress stronghold, the CPI-M cast its net wide, reckoning an independent with the right religious affiliation might fare better than a party nominee. The strategy paid off. Sebastian Paul, a journalist turned lawyer, whom it fielded as an LDF independent, won the seat.

He could not retain the seat in the next general election but was able to enter the Assembly through a by-election. In 2004, he successfully contested for the Lok Sabha once again. However, in 2009 the party dumped him.

AP Abdullakutty, who hailed from a family with Congress connections but strayed into Left politics as a student, was serving as a member of the Kannur district panchayat when the CPI-M asked him to contest for the Lok Sabha. He defeated Congress leader Mullapally Ramachandran and was hailed as a ‘wonder boy’. He repeated the performance in 2004.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the CPI-M fielded a young government doctor, KS Manoj, who had been active in a Latin Catholic community organisation, as LDF-backed independent in Alappuzha. He defeated Congress stalwart VM Sudheeran by a small margin.

When KT Jaleel, a leader of the Muslim League’s youth wing, fell out with the party leadership the CPI-M received him with open arms. He defeated League strongman PK Kunhalikutty in the 2006 Assembly election as an LDF independent.

The reverse traffic began with Abdullakutty, who was not given the party ticket to contest last year’s Lok Sabha elections, quitting the CPI-M and joining the Congress. Within days the Congress asked him to contest the Assembly by-election in Kannur and he trounced his former CPI-M mentor MV Jayarajan.

Dr Manoj, who had sought and been given CPI-M membership, contested the Lok Sabha elections again last year. However, he lost to Congress candidate KC Venugopal. Last month he resigned from the party.

The CPI-M had reiterated recently that elected representatives should not observe religious rites. Both Abdullakutty and Manoj cited this as the reason for their defection.

Last week S. Sivaraman, who had been elected to the Lok Sabha once from the Ottapalam reserved constituency, announced his decision to leave the CPI-M. He said party leaders did not practise what they preached.

Apparently all three ex-MPs quit the CPI-M after making sure that the Congress will keep its doors open for them. There are reports that the Congress is looking out for other possible defectors.

Significantly, all three ex-MPs who quit the CPI-M are young men. Within the party hierarchy, none of them could go beyond the area committee stage. Their departure is indicative of growing alienation between the party and the minority communities, whom it had wooed assiduously in recent years, and the Dalits, who have been its ardent supporters since long. --Gulf Today, February 8, 2009

Opposition to 'rural doctor' plan

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

Kerala has reacted coolly to a Central government scheme to conduct a short-term course to train doctors exclusively for service in the rural areas where regular medical graduates are reluctant to work.

About 3,000 doctors and medical students demonstrated outside the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram last week to register their protest against the scheme.

The demonstration was called by the Indian Medical Association which claimed the proposed three-and-a-half-year Bachelor of Rural Medicine and Surgery (BRMS) course would create quacks.

The Centre drew up the BRMS scheme in consultation with the Medical Council of India as doctors are not coming forward to work in villages despite the National Rural Health Mission's offer of many incentives.

The scheme envisages setting up medical institutes in all states to run the BRMS course. They will be located in rural areas and have an annual intake of 50 students each. Admission will be restricted to those who have passed the Plus Two (Medical) examination from rural schools.

Several states, including Left-ruled West Bengal, have evinced interest in the scheme.

Kerala's Health Minister PK Sreemathi has said the state will take a decision in the matter after consultations with doctors. Her observation that the state has enough doctors to take care of its rural health care needs, however, betrays a lack of interest in the scheme.

The doctor-patient ratio (including practitioners of western medicine, homeopathy and the indigenous systems) in India is 1:870. If practitioners of non-western medicine are excluded, there is only one doctor for 1,634 people. Comparable figures for some other countries are: the USA 390, the UK 440, Qatar 450, and China 950.

Kerala, a leader in the matter of health care, had achieved the health and demographic goals set for the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) several years before it was launched. The Mission, therefore, set separate targets for the state.

A NRHM review team pointed out two years ago that the state is facing some new problems. Its morbidity profile is fast changing with childhood diseases dropping and old-age health problems rising. Some infectious diseases have resurfaced and lifestyle-related non-infectious diseases are on the rise.

The team observed that the situation calls for location and community specific planning guided by an epidemiological approach. The state has not taken any concrete steps in this direction so far.

The minister's claim that the state has enough doctors to take care of the needs of the rural population deserves close scrutiny.

The number of medical officers under the state Directorate of Health Services in 2008 was only 3,862. This works out to one doctor for 8,244 people. The distribution of doctors across the state is highly skewed, varying from one doctor for 5,807 people in Thiruvananthapuram district to one doctor for 11,343 people in Malappuram.

Surprisingly the backward Wayanad district has one doctor for 6,448 people although Ernakulam has only one doctor for 9,194 people.

To get a correct picture regarding availability of doctors, we have to factor in the large number of medical practitioners in the private sector too. According to information gathered by the NRHM review team, there were 24,401 doctors in the private sector.

A complaint often heard in the past was that many primary health centres in the rural areas were not functioning for want of doctors. According to the Health Minister, there is now no PHC without a doctor.

This does not mean that the PHCs have their full complement of medical and paramedical personnel. Most of them are functioning with less than the sanctioned staff strength.

The Indian Medical Association's stir against BRMS is a repeat of its campaign in the 1950s which led to the closure of medical schools which were running licentiate courses. Products of those institutions were rendering yeomen service in the small towns, mostly as family doctors.

Today Kerala presents a queer picture with total absence of family physicians on the one hand and proliferation of specialists and super-specialists on the other. Mercifully, the services of highly qualified personnel are available at rates that are lower than what prevails in the metros.

With the big private sector institutions setting their sights on lucrative medical tourism, it remains to be seen whether the local population will continue to get the same service at the same cost for long. This is a factor the government must take into account while assessing the long-term requirements of the state, especially the needs of the poor people. -Gulf Today, Sharjah, February 1, 2010.

Sectarian forces flexing muscles

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

With elections to the panchayats and the State Assembly fast approaching, organisations of the Nair and Ezhava communities, which account for the bulk of Kerala's Hindu population, have started making noises.

On Friday, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the century-old organisation of the backward Ezhava community, held a massive rally at Kochi and proclaimed a charter of demands, which seeks for the community proportional representation in the political, social, industrial and economic spheres.

Three weeks earlier, the Nair Service Society, which is still a few years short of its centenary, had adopted a resolution demanding reservation for the community in admissions to educational institutions and appointments to government service.

The present reservation policy, which was discriminatory and unscientific, had denied the Nair community equality of opportunity and relegated it to backwardness, the resolution said. To overcome the situation, it proposed that reservation in government employment and education, now restricted to the backward communities, be extended to Nairs too.

Both the Yogam and the NSS invoked the principle of social justice in support of their demands. The Constitution of India, as it now stands, allows special provisions like reservation only for "socially and educationally backward classes" of citizens. Among the beneficiaries of reservation are Ezhavas, Muslims and backward sections of Christians.

The Yogam, established in the time of Sree Narayana Guru, was the first of several social organisations whose combined efforts helped modernise Kerala's caste-ridden society. It was followed by the Sadhujana Paripalana Sangham, of Ayyankali, the earliest fighter for Dalit rights.

The Nair community had enjoyed high social status in the feudal period although it was never recognised as part of the three so-called upper castes, comprising Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas. As feudalism was crumbling, a band of young Nairs, led by Mannath Padmanabhan, realised that the community was on the decline. They founded the NSS to better its lot.

This was followed by the formation of the Yogakshema Sabha, which spearheaded the reform movement of the Namboodiri Brahmins.

As organisations working for social reform, they found areas where they could cooperate. Thus, when a satyagraha was on at Vaikom, under the auspices of the Congress, to assert the right of the so-called lower castes to use roads around a temple, Mannath Padmanabhan mobilised Nair support for the agitation.

However, there was a difference in the motivations of the different community organisations. While the victims of the old social order were fighting to secure equal rights, its beneficiaries were essentially seeking ways to retain their supremacy in the emerging new order.

CP Nair, a former chief secretary to the government, in a newspaper article upheld the NSS argument that the community had been relegated to backwardness. He said the land reform measure of the 1970s had dispossessed Nair landowners. With the decline of agriculture, the economic foundations of the community collapsed. Also, it did not benefit to any significant extent from the migration to the Gulf States and to Western countries.

While this assessment is substantially correct, it is not sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the Nairs have become socially and educationally backward. The community's problem is one of economic backwardness. The NSS resolution is part of a campaign to secure an amendment of the Constitution to extend reservation to cover economic backwardness as well.

The NSS's sabre-rattling brought immediate results. Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy and Pradesh Congress President Ramesh Chennithala rushed to the NSS headquarters at Perunna, near Changanassery, suing for peace.

The NSS leadership was not mollified. It has been annoyed with the Congress since the induction of Shashi Tharoor, whom it has dubbed a 'Delhi Nair,' in the central ministry instead of a Nair MP acceptable to it. It became even more furious when the Congress nominated a Muslim to contest an Assembly seat which was earlier held by a Nair who was in its good books.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) extended support to the NSS resolution. The party has been backing reservation on the basis of economic criteria since the time of the late EMS Namboodiripad.

The NSS publicly expressed appreciation of the CPI-M's response.

The immediate objective of the NSS and the SNDP Yogam is limited. They are flexing muscles to pressure the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front into picking candidates acceptable to them from the two communities in the forthcoming elections, especially the Assembly poll due next year.-- Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 25, 2010.

Nothing exceeds like media excess

B.R.P.BHASKAR
Gulf Today

The Kerala media’s penchant for excessive, celebratory coverage of annual events was in evidence once again last week.

Going by standards established by the media, especially since the advent of private satellite television two decades ago, there was plenty to celebrate. The three-month-long Sabarimala pilgrimage season, which is said to attract 50 million people, a majority of them from outside the state, came to a climatic end on Thursday. The week-long annual School Kalolsavam (art festival), in which about 10,000 high school and higher secondary students vied for honours in a variety of events, ended on Friday.

The Sabarimala season, spread over two sessions, begins in November and ends in January. No one knows for sure how long the temple, nestling in the western mountains, has been attracting devotees. The Hindu religious establishment ties up its history with that of the erstwhile royal families of Travancore and Pandalam both of which rose and fell in the modern period.

A clue to its antiquity lies in the principle of absolute equality that is part of the Sabarimala tradition. The temple is open to all, irrespective of caste and religion. The devotees wear the same simple clothes and address one another as “Swami” or “Ayyappa”, both terms used to refer to the deity himself. A visit to the shrine of Vavar, a Muslim saint, located on the way to the temple, is an indispensable part of the pilgrimage.

It is unimaginable that such egalitarian practices could have originated after the Vedic establishment gained control of Kerala society and enforced the caste system, probably around 8th century AD.

The government’s Devaswom department has under its control more than 1,000 temples, big and small, in the Travancore region. Sabarimala is the biggest money-spinner. Preliminary estimates put the earnings of the just concluded season at a whopping Rs1.2 billion.

The hereditary Thantri of the temple, the authority on rituals, is said to receive each year a few million rupees by way of gifts and offerings. The senior and junior priests, who are selected each year by draw of lots, also take home substantial sums.

The government collects payments from the Devaswom authorities for various services rendered by its agencies for the pilgrims. Haindava Keralam, a Hindutva website, describes the levies as loot.

Most Malayalam channels made elaborate arrangements for coverage of the main activities at Sabarimala during the season. These included several live transmissions, accompanied by drab descriptions by hapless commentators who have to keep talking even when they have nothing new to say.

The School Kalolsavam was a one-day affair when it began in 1956. The participants numbered about 200. There were no television cameras around.

The Kalolsavam grew in size year after year. With the addition of new events the prizes to be won grew too. It became a major event in the school children’s calendar when a festival title became a veritable passport for a film career.

That induced parents to make heavy investments to provide special coaching for the children in various items. Losers often appealed against the festival judges’ decisions. There have been occasions when the courts decided the winners, overthrowing the judges’ findings.

Somewhere along the way TV cameras arrived and started carrying the festival proceedings into homes. This year several channels established temporary studios at the festival venues. From there they kept up a continuous flow of sound and pictures.

Some channel stories dwelt on the vulgarisation of the festival due to the excessive parental interest in the proceedings. The reports glossed over the fact that excessive media coverage is also contributing to the process of vulgarisation.

On the last day, rival TV crews were involved in a melee. As they fought for the privilege of being the first to put the winning Kozhikode team and its trophy on the screen, the duplicate trophy which was in its possession broke.

The coverage of the assault on writer and social critic Zacharia by activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, at Payyanur, was quite modest. According to informed sources, party managers worked overtime behind the scenes to contain the fallout of the incident, which even many devoted party followers were obliged to deplore.

Commercial sponsors are the driving force behind all excessive media coverage. No improvement in the situation can be expected so long as there are advertisers to back up such vulgarisation.--Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 18, 2010

Environment still has low priority in Kerala

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

A slight rise in global temperature levels can force coastal residents to seek shelter in the interior as climate refugees, a scientist said at the Indian Science Congress, held in the state capital last week.

Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan was among the state dignitaries who attended the Congress. In a prepared speech, the chief minister even made a sensible point when he deplored the tendency among the youth to neglect basic sciences and give weightage to information technology related subjects.

But the sound warning about the need to protect the state’s environment has not made any impact on the official establishment, which has been promoting ecologically disastrous schemes in the name of development.

The state comprises three distinct geographical regions, all of which are in an extremely fragile condition. The long coastline is subject to erosion by the sea at many places. Much of the tropical evergreen forests has been depleted over the past half century as a result of encroachments by settlers who enjoyed political patronage. The plains in the middle have suffered heavy soil erosion.

Depletion of underground water sources have been reported from all regions. The hills, the lakes and the backwaters are the mainstay of the tourism industry, which has lately emerged as a major element in the fast growing service sector. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that further damage the environment may well spell death.

Environmentalists saw the writing on the wall 25 years ago and raised a hue and cry against the Silent Valley hydro-electrical project which posed a serious threat to the surviving rainforests. The political parties, bureaucrats, engineers and the media forged a united front against them. The small band of environmentalists could prevail over this formidable combination because Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s recognised the justness of their cause.

Since then political parties have paid lip service to environmental protection but while in power attempted to take up projects without regard for ecological consequences. One project successive governments have relentlessly pursued is the Athirappalli project, which has been projected as a substitute for the Silent Valley project.

Environmentalists and tribal residents of the forest areas that will be submerged campaigned vigorously against the project. At one point the central government gave environmental clearance to the project, overlooking all objections.

But the people continued the campaign. Last week the centre issued a notice to the state government to show cause why the environmental clearance cannot be cancelled.

Electricity minister AK Balan rushed to New Delhi to plead against the contemplated action. He claimed that clearance was given after studying the likely environmental impact.

Union minister Jairam Ramesh told Balan he had personally looked into the matter and was convinced the project would adversely affect the forest and the lives of the tribal communities living there.

Balan returned to the state fuming there was a conspiracy against the state. Apparently the political leadership has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. The state of the environment and the fate of the poor continue to be matters of low priority to the state administration.

Public resentment over the government’s indifferent attitude towards people’s protests against environmental pollution erupted into violence in the Mampad area of Nilambur last week.

Last Tuesday villagers protesting outside a polluting latex factory were fired upon by a security guard. Media reports indicate that the factory management had engaged the man, who hails from a northern state, as guard because he possessed a licensed gun. One villager received bullet injury and another suffered knife injury.

Angry villagers retaliated by setting the factory on fire. The next day a few other polluting factories were also set on fire.

The official establishment has reacted coolly to the bizarre events. No minister has considered it worthwhile to even visit the place. To the government it appears to be simply a matter for the police to handle. --Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 11, 2010

When governance is reduced to charity

BRP BHASKAR
Gulf Today

Over the past four decades, successive governments in Kerala established more than 40 welfare schemes as a safety net for vulnerable sections. They now cover about 3.7 million people or about 11 per cent of the population.

The benefits available under these schemes include pension, ex-gratia death benefit, retirement benefits, maternity benefits, marriage assistance, educational assistance and funeral expenses.

The oldest of the schemes, the Kerala Toddy Workers Welfare Fund Scheme, was launched in December 1969. Although about 42,000 persons are eligible for membership, only about 37,000 have joined it. There is also a separate welfare fund for about 2,000 abkari workers.

There was a proliferation of welfare schemes in the next three decades. Those brought under the safety net during this period included widows, the physically and mentally challenged, leprosy and cancer patients, sportsmen, journalists, agricultural workers, tree climbers, fishermen, motor workers, tailors, artisans and ration dealers.

No government has explained how it identified the groups that needed protection. Often the political establishment was guided by electoral considerations.

After the turn of the century, more welfare schemes were instituted. One, established in 2001, provided for a monthly pension of Rs110 to an unmarried woman above 50 years. The amount was raised to Rs120 in 2007 and to Rs200 in 2008.

Other sections covered by welfare funds in recent years include bamboo and pandas leaf workers and dairy farmers.

When the first welfare fund was created, Kerala was one of the poor states of the country, its per capita income being below the national average. Today it is one of the richest, thanks to the steady inflow of remittances from Keralites working abroad since the 1970s and the significant growth of the service sector.

Since the state's social development indices compare favourably with those of the advanced countries of the world, it is time for the government to think of a comprehensive social security system covering the entire population. What stands in the way is the feudal mindset that prevails in the ruling circles, which has turned governance into an exercise in charity.

Another possible reason for the authorities' preference for piecemeal welfare measures is that it provides them the opportunity to exercise patronage. Politicians play a key role in identifying the beneficiaries of the schemes.

The setting up of separate welfare funds to cater to the needs of different categories of people offers scope for creating sinecures for politicians and bureaucrats in the form of chairmen and chief executives.

Official documents indicate that an annual administrative expenditure of Rs335 million is involved in the disbursal of welfare payments of Rs2.10 billion. In some cases, the administrative expenses are inordinately high. For instance, the annual administrative expenditure of the Tailoring Workers Welfare Scheme, which disburses benefits to the tune of Rs35 million, is a whopping Rs10 million.

The Planning Board states in latest Economic Review that the administrative expenditure of some bodies like the lottery workers' welfare fund board and the motor transport workers' welfare board is not available.

The latest and most ambitious of the welfare schemes is the Pravasi Welfare Fund floated last year to take care of the needs of non-resident Keralites. Over two million Keralites working abroad and one million working in different parts of India are entitled to join the scheme.

Although 11 months have passed since the scheme came into force, there is no official word on the number of NRKs who have joined it.

Last week, a committee appointed by the government suggested a reduction in the number of welfare fund boards through a process of mergers. Hopefully, this will lead to a saving in administrative costs.

A national old age pension scheme, instituted by the government of India, has been in force since 1995. Under the scheme, a person aged above 65 years is entitled to a monthly pension of Rs250, with the Centre contributing Rs200 and the state putting in Rs50.

According to the 2001 Census 6.6 per cent of the state's population of more than 31 million was above 65 years. Yet only 156,871 came forward to claim benefits under this scheme in 2008. Apparently the people are looking for genuine social security, not charity.--Gulf Today, Sharjah, January 4, 2010