http://www.suniti.org/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://www.suniti.org/images/suniti_01.png http://www.suniti.org/ admin@suniti.org http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=849 MK Venu in the Indian Express writes: "survey conducted by a scholar at the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies shows that Dalits are indeed moving towards self-employed entrepreneurial activities in and around places like Panipat, Karnal and Saharanpur. The study quantified 321 Dalit entrepreneurs in these small towns running shops and providing other forms of skill-based services in construction, etc. The bulk of the self-employed entrepreneurs have come up in the last 15 years. According to Surinder Jodhka, who conducted the study, “Dalits have developed the capacity to diversify into occupations other than those they were traditionally employed in.” They are also helping other Dalits enter these services." Read More. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=848 The Times of India reports that the security men and officials turned away chappal wearing students, who came to attend event of Rahul Gandhi. Officials feared that students might hurl chappals at Mr. Gandhi to protest. The story is also reported here and this seems like a pattern now. This is kind of little funny and at the same time little insulting. Students should simply boycott such events, which places such idiotic restrictions. In a free country like ours such restrictions should not have any place. What will they come up with next? Uniforms!! http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=847 The Deccan Herald reports about a survey, conducted by the police department and the Public Affairs Centre, an NGO, which reveals 48% of the staff in 1020 police stations in Karnataka demand bribe. This should not come as shocking to the reader as everyone who lives in India knows very well that corruption is a way of life now. You are in tiny minority and considered a irritant if you try to fight against it. Recently, I had a hilarious exchange with a cop in Pune. I parked my car on side of the road of a very crowded area, called Nanapeth, to pick few things from a shop. The parking was for not more than 2 mins. By the time I came back I found a cop standing there asking me for PUC papers. When it was shown to him, he told me that I should pay fine (basically he was asking for bribe) for parking on the crowded street. To which I agreed, and politely asked him to give me the challan receipt for the same. He was in hurry (it was his business time) and was in no mood to give me the receipt and finally asked me to leave without any payment. We drove away laughing, but this got me thinking later that the system has become so corrupt that they do not even bother doing things right even once. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=846 The Indian Express lambasts the health ministry for going after the scientist who discovered anti-biotic resistant strain of bacteria, called superbug. The scientists chose to have name New Delhi in the name of the bug, which made the government go hysteric and noises were made that it was a conspiracy to malign India medical tourism industry. But the real point was cleverly overlooked. Now, the government via Drug Controller is going after the scientist asking them why they did not take permission to conduct their research! There is a stalinist strain in the Congress party which time to time shows up its ugly face and this incident is one such. The Indian Express rightly says "This is a health bureaucracy that’s out of control. Do we wish our scientists merely to repeat government talking points, in the approved Stalinist manner?". However, the Express would have been seen as true champion of free research and thinking had they also published similar articles when the security researcher from Hyderabad, Mr. Hari Prasad, was arrested for exposing flaws in the electronic voting machines. This episode was covered here, and here. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=845 Nirmala Sitharaman in the Asian Age writes: "It is fairly well known that the per capita income of Muslims in Gujarat is the highest in the country, and access to education for minorities in Gujarat is better again compared to any other state in the country.? On the three reported critical measures — growth, employment and minority welfare —BJP-ruled states have shown their performance. Good governance and not appeasement brings benefits. Benefits for all." Read More. Interestingly, when the BJP ruled states are providing good governance while being on right of the center, why the central leadership tends to be on the left of the center. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=844 Recently, the Supreme Court of India ordered the Ministry of Agriculture, to distribute food grains rotting in the godowns of the food corporation of India (FCI) to the poor and needy for free. The FCI procures grain from farmers based on the support price set by FCI. These procured food grains is supposed to reach the public via the public distribution system (PDS), which people avail via their ration shops on subsidized price. If one were to visit the ration card office in their town one would realize the extent of corruption (i.e the whole PDS system is corrupt to the core). I personally experienced it when I tried to get ration card made for my family. I was given an option of using an agent who would have made sure that my ration card was made within a week, and the other option was indefinite wait. I waited for full two months and finally managed to get the ration card. In any case, that is not the crux of the story. It is about how the PDS system is so screwed up. At the end of the day this system benefits everybody but the people it is intended for. Interestingly, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Sharad Pawar thanked the SC for suggestion and said he would take decision on the matter. The SC replied that it was not a suggestion but an order. The Indian Express feels that by ordering this the SC is encroaching into the executive function. The fact of the matter is that the executive is repeatedly failing the country. Mr. Pawar instead of running his ministry efficiently, is more interested in running Cricket around the world. Mr. Pawar who has a strong agricultural roots and is darling of farmers of Western Maharashtra became Agricultural Minister riding on the high hope that he would solve many problems faced by farmers. But he has proven himself to be totally useless as Agricultural Minister. The other article in the Indian Express argues for direct transfer of money instead of the PDS system. But before abolishing the PDS system, shouldn't government first auction all the food grain stored in the FCI godowns first? This auctioning process would atleast rationalize the food prices in the open market. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=843 The India Express writes: "absentee railway minister deployed two companies of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for her security during her August 9 rally at Lalgarh. If that is evidence of her readiness to treat the railways as her personal fiefdom, it was not her only offence. The RPF deployment at Lalgarh was made without informing the Union home ministry and the West Bengal police — the latter being officially responsible for her security and maintenance of order at the venue, the former being responsible for clearing any deployment of Central paramilitary personnel." Read More. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=842 Sukanta Chaudhuri in the Telegraph writes: "The embarrassment over Viswanathan Anand’s honorary degree has raised the question of academic autonomy in a dramatic, if peripheral, way. The human resource development minister has intervened; Anand has conducted himself with dignity; the matter has receded from the headlines. That is a relief and a pity. We have missed a chance to examine some deeper issues of academic functioning." Read More http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=841 Bibek Debroy in the India Express writes: "Other than issues about a committed judiciary, consider the implications. There is a process for amending the Constitution. Amendments don't require unanimity in Parliament. They require a majority, suitably defined. As an MP, I have sworn allegiance to the Constitution and perhaps I am in a minority when the Constitution is amended. Ipso facto, once the amendment takes place, I should promptly resign. That would be an odd definition of democracy." Read More. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=840 The Indian Express has a interview transcript with the Congress Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr. Hooda, who when asked about land acquisition in Haryana for urban development purpose has this to say: "kya unhi ke naam likha hua hai ki wohi zameen ke saath rahenge? (Why should farmers always remain farmers?). They should also be given opportunities. They should also be treated as other citizens are treated.". On a cursory reading nothing seems wrong with what the CM is saying, but if you think about it it reeks of the same old mai-baap attitude that has held our country back for decades. What is this attitude about "they should be rehabilitated"? Who will rehabilitate them? When will these leaders come out this mai-baap attitude and learn that it is they who are the employee of people and not other way around. Now, it is well known that the land from farmers was acquired on pittance by the government (for e.g. Rs 20,000 per acre) and then given to the developers who made killing in the market. Instead of engaging in verbal jugglery the CM should look into the successful model in other states which resulted in fair deal for everyone. Magarpatta City is a great example of farmer-developer partnership via which for each acre that was invested in the project a farmer earns close to 16-18 lakh per year. Other than public infrastructure why should government be in the business of land acquisition? http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=839 The Times of India reports that the R&AW and IB are checking background of Mr. Hariprasad, a security researcher based out of Hyderabad who showed that the electronic voting machines can be tempered. He was arrested couple of days ago on the charge of theft of the EVM he used to conduct his research. Times of India questions his motive of research and cast aspersion he may be a "mere tool in the hands of some corporate rivals who want to make a clone of the equipment which has a huge demand in countries across Africa and South America?" When Mr. Hariprasad was arrested, I wondered whether we are living in a free country or police state. Not a single voice came from either any news paper or so called champions of "civil society" questioning this move by the government. Now, the Times of India goes and literally calls the researcher a 'thief' and cast aspersion on his motives. By doing this, instead of asking questions like why the security researcher was arrested when he was acting on greater public good, the TOI has decided to be a tool in the hand of the government and unleashed this shameful discrediting attack. When no charges have been proven, no court has convicted Mr. Hari Prasad, how come the Times of India goes out and calls Mr. Hari Prasad 'thief'? They should not only retract this story but also apologize to Mr. Hari Prasad for this shameful article. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=838 Our lawmakers recently gave themselves hefty pay raises. This was after long debates and virtually trade union kind of behavior from some of the MP's. We have a weird system where law makers can choose to give raise to themselves. Opposed to this employees across the board get raises either based on experience or performance. The Indian Express argues for bringing degree of separation for such pay raises. Now, it is the tax payers who is paying the law makers, why not tax payers get to decide on the pay raise issue? With current technology it is feasible to do so. Tax payers from each constituency get to decide on whether or not their law maker deserves a raise. This way the law maker would also be forced to make a case in front of his constituents and also solve the problem of absentee MP's. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=837 The Indian Express, on its editorial page, argues for the lapsed 2007 Land Acquisition Bill. Because of our antiquated laws government can acquire land for either public purpose or for companies. The present law is from the colonial time, which the British placed on the book to their advantage. Such laws existing in a law book, which gives sweeping power to the government, even after 60 years of independence is very unfair. The fact is that the current UPA government is heavily influenced by the special interest groups, which benefits from the current setup. When will we vote lawmakers to the LokSabha who'd strip such unfair laws from the book and bring more equitable laws? http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=836 The police arrested a security researcher, Mr. Hari Prasad, for bringing out flaws in the electronic voting machines used by the Election Commission of India. It is interesting to note that whenever the issue of EVM being prone to attack has been brought up the EC has always assured us, without giving any evidence, that the EVM's are safe. They also refuse to give out EVM for any independent examination. If the EC is so sure of the machines being safe then why not open source the whole damn thing and let the researchers validate the assurance. But instead of doing that the EC went ahead and filed a police complaint and got the researcher arrested because he refused to divulge the source from where he got the EVM for his research. The USA also deployed EVM's after 2000 elections, which were supplied by private company Diebold. Each time Diebold was asked the security of the machine, they assured that the machines were 100% safe. When one researcher from John Hopkins University showed that the machines were not secure and safe as promised, instead of fixing those bugs, the company went after the researcher and tried to stop him from publishing his results via lawsuit. Fortunately, the University and the whole scientific community, including public at large stood with the researcher. The NSF went ahead and established ACCURATE, a center for Correct, Usable, Reliable, Auditable and Transparent Elections. In India, we pioneered the whole concept of EVM very early, we should be in the forefront to come up with such transparent methods to conduct elections. The EC should take the complaint back and the researcher should be set free with due apologies ASAP. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=835 Admiral Arun Prakash in the Indian Express writes: "White Papers and open debates on national security issues are unheard of in Parliament. The sheer intensity of political activity in India makes great demands on a politician’s time. The serious and ambitious politician views matters pertaining to national security or to strategic affairs as arcane, tedious and time-consuming, best left to the bureaucracy to handle. He views armed forces personnel with a degree of detachment, as somewhat strange and peculiar creatures, and usually gives them a wide berth. With the best of intentions, the feeling has become mutual; and over the years, a yawning chasm has developed between the armed forces leadership and the country’s political establishment. They are simply ill at ease with each other, and the civil servant serves to bridge the chasm." Read More http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=834 Most news outlets are repeating and amplifying the official talking point about how the UPA governments new "National Litigation Policy" would make government an "efficient and a responsible" litigant". Much like any other policies of the present government this policy also has good aim, however as far as implementation goes it is totally clueless. The law minister, who is championing this policy went on to say that once implemented is implemented it would prevent Bhopal like tragedy. Yeah right!! and soon the pigs will fly. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=833 Apparently, Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy was granted bail because police failed to file charge sheet against him. How long does it take to file a charge sheet? Shouldn't the public prosecutor trying this case on behalf of people be grilled about such lapse? When was the last time a public official was tried for the dereliction of duty? http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=832 The Hindu reports the Communist Government of Kerala has waived the loans christian converts. Moreover, this is touted as big achievement. What is going on here? By doing doing this isn't the state actively promoting proselytization? Why is tax payer's money is being used for this purpose? I guess all this is reaching absurd height now. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=831 Rajesh Kalra in The Times of India writes: "We need to stop accepting being pushed around. An individual cannot take on those who mock at our law, but together we can do wonders. The choice is ours, whether to stare down the barrel of the gun as lawlessness gains ground faster than these guys drive their fast cars, or start coming together to challenge the perpetrators of these crimes. I have often heard the argument that our economy is growing rapidly and this is just a brief side effect of such growth. I would rather have a slower growth rate of economy, but a saner, civilised society to live in." Read More. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=830 V Anantha Nageswaran in The Live Mint writes: "Insistence on fiscal indiscipline would not help the rupee. That would raise India’s inelastic oil import burden" Read More http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=829 The Times of India reports that the Congress led UPA government plans to have a watchdog headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, an extra constitutional figure, to push for 'inclusive' (what ever that means) agenda. Watchdog would be filled with bleeding heart socialists who would push for food security, communal harmony, and education. In simpler terms it translates to more wasteful spending of the taxpayers money by the government. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=828 Arun Jaitley in the Indian Express writes: "In the last few years, we have seen an effort to politicise the Election Commission through partisan appointments. The CBI has become a political tool. Parliament has recently expressed concern over both authorised and unauthorised telephone tapping. The Congress party now has become a national censor of what entertainment we will watch. I hope the list of aberrations does not continue to increase." Read More. The bigger question for you sir is that as a lead of opposition in Rajya Sabha, why don't you take the government to task on such issues. http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=827 Ajai Sahni in the Indian Express writes: "Conflict with the Maoists is a protracted war that will require sustained efforts for capacity building, intelligence augmentation, targeted operations, and the sensitive management of populations. Consistently ignoring these imperatives over years, and going into hysterics about army deployment and a range of other non-solutions after every major attack can lead to nothing by an endless repetition of the disasters that the government has invited on itself till now." Read More http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=826 I always wondered why the land transaction in our country are prone to litigation. There are ample cases where after a land is bought by a person, he realizes that there are other owners of the land as well, which ultimately leads to a unnecessary prolonged litigation. This is a common tactic used by powerful land mafia where they come and occupy the land of a person and then wears that person out in the court until he agrees to sell the land for throwaway price [obviously to them]. Per this article the land transaction in our country are based on caveat emptor (buyer be aware). That means buyer has to ascertain that he indeed is getting land for his money's worth. Government plays little role and the land record maintained by the government are not guaranteed to be accurate. Now thats a very risky business. The current Congress led UPA government is planning to introduce a new Land Titling Bill, 2010 in the Parliament, which if passed by the Parliament and signed by President, would act as model code and states would be encouraged to adopt it. I feel that the land prices in India are highly inflated and this primarily due to the murky nature of land transaction. Currently, an attempt is being made to have favorable public opinion on this bill. This bill if adopted by states would hopefully make land transaction easy and transparent. But there are too many 'ifs' and 'buts' before benefits of this proposed legislation. This reminds me of old saying "ना नौ मन तेल होगा, ना राधा गौने जाएगी " http://www.suniti.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=825 Gopuram of Sri Kalahasti Temple, one of the important Shiva Temple of India, collapsed due to negligence by the state. The bigger question is why the state running the Hindu Temples? Shouldn't Hindu community do that?