Swamy in soup -Harvard, India and Intolerance

This is a season of Swamis in soup for one reason or other ! Joining the bandwagon of Swamis like Nitya Nand, Ramdev, Balkrishna etc. is not so Swami like Subramanian Swamy who has stirred acdemics, inttelectuals and common man alike by his unholy (?) article.

Subramanian Swamy isn't your average summer school instructor. Swamy was a Harvard University economics professor before returning to politics in India, where he is president of the Janata Party. But he comes back to Cambridge in the summer to teach at the university, still sharing his views in India -- views that are setting off a debate at the university and in his home country.

In an op-ed in Daily News & Analysis last month, Swamy responded to a recent bombing by Muslim terrorists in Mumbai. India could wipe out terrorism, he wrote, by taking certain steps, such as declaring India a Hindu state where "non-Hindus can vote only if they proudly acknowledge that their ancestors were Hindus," or demolishing mosques, or banning conversion from Hinduism to any other faith. The op-ed's author ID didn't note Swamy's Harvard connection, but it didn't take long for word of it to reach the university.

Some students said that, while respecting academic freedom, they find it offensive that an instructor could be advocating the removal of voting rights for people of a given religion.

A petition from Harvard students and parents, plus others, demanding that Harvard "terminate" Swamy's association with the university states that he has gone beyond what is acceptable discourse. "While free expression and the vigorous contest of ideas are essential in any academic community, so, too, are respect and tolerance for human difference. By advocating measures that would grossly violate freedom of religion and the unqualified right to vote for different religious groups, and by aggressively vilifying an entire religious community, Swamy breaches the most basic standards of respect and tolerance," the petition says.

The petition also raises issues about his fairness as an instructor: "Swamy's comments cast doubt on his ability to treat a diverse community of students with fairness and respect. The highly insulting and stereotypical nature of his comments suggest that he cannot be trusted to regard Muslims -- and no doubt other groups -- with anything but a jaundiced eye."

The dispute has attracted considerable attention in India, with some groups calling for Swamy to be arrested, and with the country's National Commission for Minorities planning a discussion this week of the implications of the article.

There have also been reports -- starting in The Harvard Crimson (based on quoting the summer school dean as saying "we will give this matter serious attention") and spreading elsewhere -- that Harvard is planning some kind of review of Swamy as well. The Foundation for Individual Rights last week wrote to Drew Faust, Harvard's president, noting those reports, and calling on the university not to investigate Swamy's statements or take action against him. The statement about "serious attention," FIRE wrote, "will unacceptably chill expression among members of Harvard's community."

Despite that quote, there is no investigation, and Swamy has been teaching his courses (which conclude this week) without incident.

And a Harvard spokesman, Jeff A. Neal, released a statement Sunday that -- while noting the concern over Swamy's statements -- defended his free speech rights.

"As an institution of research and teaching, we are dedicated to the proposition that all people, regardless of color or creed, deserve equal opportunities, equal respect, and equal protection. Recent writings by Dr. Swamy therefore are distressing to many members of our community, and understandably so," the statement said. However, it added: "It is central to the mission of a university to protect free speech, including that of Dr. Swamy and of those who disagree with him. We are ultimately stronger as a university when we maintain our commitment to the most basic freedoms that enable the robust exchange of ideas."

— Scott Jaschik

The Phrase "Corruption stalls Indian Parliament" will shortly enter Oxford Dictionary

India is great place on the earth, or as BJP would say better than heavens , quoting scriptures. But latest to add to its greatness is not much to do with sciptures , religion etc , to the dismay of BJP and other such parties. Latest feather in the cap of of "Golden Bird " is being added by none other than great leaders of our oldest party in collusion/helplessness thrust by its allies. "Corruption in India" has become a buzzword so much so that Buzz, facebook and twitters are toying with the idea of making "Corruption in India" a trending topic forever. If they decide to do so then our country will sure be first to enter the Great Hall of Corruption Fame. At least now  we would be glad to be number one in the world in the area of  corruption!.

Another feather in the cap is going to be Oxford Dictionary's decision to acknowledge the Phrase "Corruption stalls Indian Parliament" as part of English language. Henceforth if someone has to express the  loot of public money, exploitation of poor etc and action of elected representatives thereon they would simply refer it by phrase "Corruption Stalls Indian Parliament".  Oxford seems to have realised that corruption and stalling legislature is going to be a phenomena across the globe. And thus we have got the honour from Queen's English.

But young children of India are no less innovative. In a recent inter school fair, children came out with the idea of "Corruption Stalls" to attract public towards their stall. Though grownups went to stall in the hope that they may get some part of  corruption booty as it might have been organised by some great politician, children had other ideas in their young unpolluted mind and they were seen selling Raja Idali, MMS Pakora, PC dhokla etc.

We should really be proud of our country and say "Mera Corrupt Bharat Mahan" !

We lucky Indians now enjoy shout and scream opera of our beloved crooks in Parliament for more than a month -Lok Sabha adjourned till tomorrow, uproar in RS

The Lok Sabha was on Monday adjourned for the day after paying tributes to former Haryana Chief Minister and sitting member Bhajan Lal, who died during the inter-session period. According to TV reports, uproarious scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha over the government’s handling of the corruption issue.

As soon as the House met on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, Speaker Meira Kumar made obituary reference to Lal, a member from Hissar, who died on June 3.

She described him as an able administrator and champion of the causes of the masses and worked for the uplift of the weaker sections throughout his political career spanning over four decades.

The House also made obituary references to former members Dharmabhiksham, Sribatcha Digal, Sripal Singh Yadav, L S Tur and Chaturanan Mishra.

The House also mourned the loss of lives in twin attacks in Norway, the terrorist attack in Mumbai on July 13, train accidents at Thanagaon on July 7 and at Fatehpur, both in Uttar Pradesh, on July 10.

“I am sure the House would join me in expressing grief over these terrorist attacks and tragic accidents,” Kumar said.

The members observed silence for a while before the House was adjourned for the day.

Brief adjournment in RS

Main opposition BJP and other parties today forced a brief adjournment of the Rajya Sabha by creating uproar over several issues including the 2G spectrum scam.

Immediately after Chairman Hamid Ansari read out obituary references, BJP members were up on their feet raising the issue of statements made by former Telecom Minister A Raja in the court.

They were supported by members of AIADMK who displayed copies of a Tamil newspaper. BSP members raised the issue of farmers plight and were seen moving into the aisles.

Dr. Ansari said he could not hear anyone as members were speaking simultaneously.Minutes into the din, he adjourned the house for 15 minutes till 12 noon.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2312962.ece

China gets taste of Pak friendship ? China blames terror camps in Pakistan as 20 killed in Xinjiang

 China on Monday blamed "extremists" trained in terror camps in Pakistan for orchestrating attacks on civilians in the troubled Xinjiang province, where 20 people, including alleged militants, were killed in violent incidents over two days. 

While nine people were killed in a violent attack on Saturday, another 11, including five suspected militants, were killed in another attack on Sunday night. 

A statement by the Kashgar municipal governmentsaid militants trained by the 'East Turkistan Islamic Movement' in Pakistan were responsible for the recent flare up in violence. 

"A group of religious extremists led by culprits trained in overseas terrorist camps were behind the weekend attack on civilians in China's far-western Xinjiang," state run Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying. 

"Initial probe has shown that the heads of the group had learned skills of making explosives and firearms in overseas camps of the terrorist group East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Pakistan before entering Xinjiang to organise terrorist activities," it said. 

The Xinjiang region witnessed massive riots in 2009, when almost 200 people were killed in its capital Urumqi, following which China launched a major crackdown against Uyghur Muslim separatists. 

On July 18 this year, 14 "rioters" were killed when they reportedly attacked a police station and killed four people in the province's Hotan city. 

This is perhaps the first time that China has pointed fingers at its close ally Pakistan while referring to ETIM camps there. Xinjiang shares its borders with Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and a lot of trade between China and Pakistan is routed through Kashghar as it is located close to the border. 

There was panic in Kashgar city after militants attacked a restaurant on Sunday evening before setting it on fire. The incident left six civilians and five militants dead. The attack came after nine people were killed in another incident on Saturday. 

While five 'suspects' were shot dead by police on Sunday night, four others were caught. Fifteen persons, including three policemen, were injured in the attack, Xinhua reported. 

The regional publicity department said in a statement that a "group of armed terrorists" broke into a restaurant in the city centre in Kashghar about 4 pm yesterday and killed the restaurant owner and a waiter besides setting fire it. 

"They then ran out and hacked civilians indiscriminately, leaving four dead and 12 injured, while police and fire fighters were striving to put out the fire," it said. 

Terming it a "premeditated terrorist attack", it said police opened fire and killed four suspects at the scene, while another suspect died later in hospital. 

The area was cordoned off and traffic restrictions were imposed on major roads and squares. 

Many people were seen fleeing in horror from the downtown area as police cars, fire engines and ambulances whizzed by to tackle the second violent incident within a day. 

The attacks resembled the 2009 riots and following up incidents in which Uyghurs had attacked Chinese Han settlers in Urumqi in what police called "a severely violent terrorism case" organised and premeditated by terrorist groups. 

A crackdown ensued by security forces on ETIM, which China accuses of fomenting trouble in the region, besides Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, who lives in US in exile. 

Yesterday's attacks were also reportedly directed against Han settlers, and the attacks left the mainland Chinese scared to do business in the province. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-blames-terror-camps-in-Pak-as-20-killed-in-Xinjiang/articleshow/9440242.cms

Musing:Politicians of India practice self annihilating policies and attack each other when they should have kept mum in 2G, CWG, illegal mining

Politicians in India are unique lot in themselves. They not only defy established norms of governance, decency and society, they also defy old adage like "Chorawa Chorawa Mausiaut Bhai" (All thieves are maternal cousins). In fact no rule of nature, society, nation applies to them. Otherwise what would you say about loud voices raised by a party when other party is caught red handed but keep mum when their own men are caught. BJP and other parties have been shouting from roof top against UPA government, Manmohan Singh and others , accusing them of abetting scam after scam - 2G, CWG to name a few. But very same parties are quite when All top ministers, including chief Minister of Karnataka, have been indicted by Lokayukta in illegal mining cases. It's not that illegal mining issue have been raised by Lokayukta suddenly. Like 2G , CWG etc, this epitome of corruption has also been known to public , including BJP,  since ages (in today's fast world a year is more than a decade as public memory fades fast !). Had BJP and UPA shown respect to rules of game - social, political, decency... they would have kept mum and refrained from attacking each other irrespective of  magnitude of corruption.That way less noise would have been generated and probably their brethren would have not been tasting pakora and chai in Tihar and other such designated and respectable Jails. This would have also, probably, delayed arrival of likes of Anna Hazare , Ramdev on political scene of nation. Unfortunately politics , it seems, is self annihilating process partuclarly when your objective is to fill your coffers at the expense of poor men. They become so arrogant that  they forget that public too have some intelligence and is capable of making them lick the dust.  Let's hope smart among politicians realise that respect for rule and age old customs is important and start internalising at least "Chorawa Chorawa Mausiaut Bhai" at least. That way there is , thou remote. but hope for nation !

Alongwith Government's apathy is there lack of understanding in Civil society on how to tackle corruption ?

In Indian Express there is a  a news item that the Minister of Rural Development has requested CAG for audit of all centrally-
funded RD schemes and that CAG has agreed to this request from
September 2011. Why only rural schemes ? Why not NHRM  and other Centrally-sponsored schemes. It is important to note that in the
same newspaper a news item talks about  800 new ambulances parked in a Tata dealership in Lucknow but undelivered for want of drivers. Moreover alleged embezzlement of more than Rs 2700 cr in NHRM funds in UP has also been reported? Somewhere in Assam school children admitted and eligible for free mid-day meals exceed the number of kids born in the corresponding period in.

Al these schemes are not under complete scruitiny of CAG and government could have done least to entrust their audit to CAG. Moreover PSU banks are being used as milching cow by politicians with no accountability. Why not CAG audit for them ? These issues need to be taken up by civil society in parallel with Lokpal. Ensuring CAG's jusrisdiction to every aorganisation where government has interest will go long way in bringing transparency in the country. 

Cash-for-votes middleman names Amar Singh, Ahmed Patel

An alleged middleman in the cash-for-votes controversy related to the 2008 trust vote on Wednesday said Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh was the "main" man behind the scandal and also accused Ahmed Patel and other Congress leaders of involvement.

"I have nothing to hide, Amar Singh has the main role in this," Suhail Hindustani told reporters Wednesday after being questioned by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police.

"Amar Singh had used Ahmed Patel in all this," he said, referring to the former Samajwadi Party leader and the confidant of Congress president Sonia Gandhi respectively. "Amar Singh and Ahmed Patel were working together and I helped them. There is nothing left in this case, it's crystal clear," he said.

Hindustani, who claims to be a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing member, also said he was called by those "close to" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "Ahmed Patel called me, big leaders of Congress called me, people close to (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh called me," he said.

He also said that a narco test should be conducted on everyone to find out the truth. "Do my narco test, do Amar Singh's narco test, if possible do Manmohan Singh's narco test," Hindustani said.

The questioning of Hindustani came a few days after Amar Singh's former aide Sanjeev Saxena was arrested by Delhi Police.

Saxena is alleged to have tried to bribe BJP MPs Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste into voting for the Manmohan Singh government in the 2008 trial of strength over the Indo-US nuclear deal. Bags filled with currency notes were shown in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008, minutes before a trust vote was to take place.

Hindustani was called to the Crime Branch office this morning for questioning, where he appeared with supporters and a bouquet of flowers for the senior official questioning him. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/cash-for-votes-middleman-names-amar-singh-patel-ahmed/articleshow/9296695.cms

Story of Lalu , Sonia, Sushma , a schoolboy and an old man in a chopper

Once Sonia Gandhi, Sushma  Swaraj, Lalu Yadav, an old man and a school boy
were flying together in a chopper to somewhere. Suddenly the pilot
announced that there was some serious problem with the chopper engine
so they will have to use parachute and jump but problem was that there
were only 5 parachutes and total 6 people. He took one parachute and
jumped.

Sonia Gandhi said I am UPA President and my presence is needed to
steer this country through this difficult time, she took 2nd parachute
and jumped.

Sushma said a democracy is meaningless without a good opposition and
jumped with the 3rd parachute.

Now Lalu Yadav says, I am the Kingmaker without me the Government
won’t last and he also took one parachute and jumped.

Now the old man and school boy are left in chopper with the last
parachute…… Seeing the entire proceedings, the old man told the school
young boy that he has already lived his life so why don’t you take the
last parachute and jump.


The boy smiles and speaks, ‘don’t worry, we still have two parachutes…
Actually Lalu Yadav jumped with my school bag……..

Air India plane skids off runway after tyre burst: Kanpur, Jul 20: An Air India plane, carrying 54 pa... http://bit.ly/pP6wZl

Indian Politicians learn something from Britishers,Only Degree from Cambridge and Oxford is not enough- David Cameron to be quizzed over phone-hacking scandal

 Prime Minister David Cameron will be grilled by Parliament today about a phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the British establishment.

Cameron cut short his visit to Africa on Tuesday to join parliamentarians in debating the phone-hacking issue and answer lawmakers' scrutiny over his links to Rupert Murdoch's media empire in a special session of House of Commons.

The scandal has forced the resignations of senior executives at News Corp and two of Britain's top policemen as well as fuelling opposition attacks on Cameron.

Rupert Murdoch , his son James, former aide Rebekah Brooks and senior police officers faced lawmakers on the issue yesterday in an extraordinary series of Commons committee hearings.

During the tense hearing, Murdoch and his son James apologised for the phone hacking, a scandal which has engulfed their media empire and rocked police and politicians to the core, and told lawmakers that "these actions do not live up to the standards our company aspires to."

Cameron was criticised for employing Andy Coulson, a former editor of Murdoch's News of the World tabloid, shut down over the scandal.

Aides have indicated that he expects to be questioned by MPs on the admission last night that his former media chief Coulson had received "informal advice" before elections last year from Neil Wallis, a key suspect in the hacking row, the Mirror reported.
Both men have been arrested and bailed in connection with the Scotland Yard hacking inquiry.

Wallis is also at the heart of allegations that forced Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson and anti-terror chief John Yates to resign.

A Conservative spokesman has insisted Wallis was never employed by the Conservative Party and had not been paid.

He added: "It has been drawn to our attention that he may have provided Andy Coulson with some informal advice on a voluntary basis before the election. We are currently finding out the exact nature of any advice."

Maya's loot of National Rural Health Mission is astounding ! Her slogan- Long Live corruption ?

The money 'saved' was money 'swindled' in the jargon of National Rural Health Mission bounty hunters in UP. The central fund --meant to uplift the rural health parametres -- has been an open field for plundering for the past six years. An NRHM activities list circulated among the CMOs (family welfare) – though, of course, not officially – narrates the story of the rampant loot. TOI is in possession of the list which functioned as a working guideline for district and block level health officials.

The list, apart from the activity heads and their respective budget, also has a crucial column: 'saving'. The range of the budget saved for each activity is between 5% and 100%. And saving in this case was a euphemism for the money that was siphoned out of the system.

It was understood that all CMOs would 'save' as per instructions given in the list and pass on to the higher-ups. The average saving from the 54 activity heads mentioned on the list is approximately 50%. UP received nearly Rs 8,200 crore under NRHM and spent Rs 7,450 crore during the past six years. Now, considering that this document was the template for 'savings', the money that leaked out of the system could be as high as Rs 3,700 crore. Besides, as acentral study points out, there was no recovery of unspent funds. So, the volume of loot could be even higher.

This also explains the clamouring for the post of CMO (family welfare), created in May 2010 to handle the fund, involvement of mafia, and a spree of killings of CMOs – with one of them being killed in judicial custody. One of the murder cases has finally reached the CBI for probe and heads of two ministers have rolled.

"This was how much CMOs passed on straight away. Their own cut was over and above this," says a former CMO (family welfare). Many CMOs TOI contacted for verification, confirmed the existence of such a list, but none of them was willing to be quoted. They also confirmed that senior government doctors paid hefty sums to get the coveted post of CMO (family welfare ), when it was created last year.

Many of them could be termed as 'honestly' corrupt, says another ex-CMO . "After 'saving' for the higherups , they released a part of the remaining for some actual work to be done. But, in many cases almost the entire remainder was consumed without spending a single paisa on the heads the budget was meant for," he said.

"When I was working, 70% of the funds was spent for public health while the remaining siphoned off. Today, it appears that the case is just the reverse ," a health director-level official, who retired a few years ago, said on condition of anonymity.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/NRHM-loot-in-UP-may-be-over-Rs-3700cr/articleshow/9279517.cms

The Hindu : States / Tamil Nadu : Hillary Clinton to meet Jayalalithaa

The Hindu : States / Tamil Nadu : Hillary Clinton to meet Jayalalithaa

Govind Tiwari, India's online sensation!

Your ticket to instant fame now needn't be an offer to strip for the Indian cricket team or participation in a reality TV series. Now even a simple website, that was innocently made to make more friends on a social networking site, can make you a viral sensation, as was discovered by an Allahabad boy on Tuesday.

Govind Tiwari, a boy from Allahabad, was trending on Twitter in India and globally on Tuesday.

Spread the word

Govind Tiwari shot to internet stardom, after his site was widely circulated on social networking platforms. The site that heavily employs Flash animation and even has images of Govind blinking, made the him a top trend on Twitter on Tuesday, both in India and globally.

An alumnus of the Bharat Scout & Guides Higher Secondary School, Tiwari used the site to show off his PhotoShop skills as several of the images showed a profile of the boy superimposed over scenic pictures. The site also included slideshows and videos with titles like 'Govind Tiwari dil ka bhola hai' and 'Photo fun with Govind Tiwari'.

Tiwari was the subject of much ridicule on Twitter on Tuesday. For example, one user, Eccentricandhow tweeted 'Baba Ramdev winks. Govind Tiwari blinks. There's a difference in their modus operandeye.' while the MTV India Twitter page left a tweet saying, "Govind Tiwari is everything Rakhi Sawant wants in a man."

Earlier this year, Rebecca Black, a US teenager gained instant notoriety after her song 'Friday' became a rage online. However the widespread criticism worked in her favour, since Black has gone on to release another video 'My Moment' on Monday and also appeared in a video for pop star Katy Perry.

Could Govind be as lucky? Only time will tell. In the meanwhile, have a look at his site here.

Govind Tiwari – The Guy who Hypnotised world with his magical BLINK!

Govind Tiwari – The Guy who Hypnotised world with his magical BLINK!

This after noon, Google, Facebook and all  Giants of marketing were taken aback by unknown guy named Govind Tiwari. Check out his picture collections some of them are really out of this world [Photo Album link]

Twitter Fame of Govind Tiwari- He is trending number 1 in India and number 5 Worldwide twitter trends which means millions are tweeting about him. People are tweeting at the rate of 20 tweets per second .

Almost everyone has loved Govind Tiwari’s blinking eyes & blog and want to know who the hell is Govind Tiwari.
One of the tweet I liked -

RT @_eMeNeF_: Companies spend millions of dollars on Online Viral Campaigns on Social Media…and then we have Govind Tiwari beating them all with a Blink.

Facebook Fame of Govind Tiwari –

Already many has created Facebook Fan page for him [Fan Page link] . If he had placed Adsense in his blog then he would have made thousands of dollars by now.

He has around 11 blogs, all of them are superb, Check out -

1. Govind from Allahabad
2. Last Page by Govind Tiwari
3. HAVE A NICE DAY – Govind Tiwari
4. Thank you for visiting
5. Allahabad
6. O… MY GOD — Govind Tiwari
7. Govind Tiwari from Allahabad
8. Govind Tiwari on slide
9. Govind Tiwari with fireworks
10. Govind Tiwari
11. MY INDIA

All you wanted to know about Govind Tiwari- man who broke all rules of marketing !

name

twitter username

@reply to tagged user

 

Why My Father Hated India By AATISH TASEER

Ten days before he was assassinated in January, my father, Salman Taseer, sent out a tweet about an Indian rocket that had come down over the Bay of Bengal: "Why does India make fools of themselves messing in space technology? Stick 2 bollywood my advice."

My father was the governor of Punjab, Pakistan's largest province, and his tweet, with its taunt at India's misfortune, would have delighted his many thousands of followers. It fed straight into Pakistan's unhealthy obsession with India, the country from which it was carved in 1947.

Though my father's attitude went down well in Pakistan, it had caused considerable tension between us. I am half-Indian, raised in Delhi by my Indian mother: India is a country that I consider my own. When my father was killed by one of his own bodyguards for defending a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, we had not spoken for three years.

To understand the Pakistani obsession with India, to get a sense of its special edge—its hysteria—it is necessary to understand the rejection of India, its culture and past, that lies at the heart of the idea of Pakistan. This is not merely an academic question. Pakistan's animus toward India is the cause of both its unwillingness to fight Islamic extremism and its active complicity in undermining the aims of its ostensible ally, the United States.

The idea of Pakistan was first seriously formulated by neither a cleric nor a politician but by a poet. In 1930, Muhammad Iqbal, addressing the All-India Muslim league, made the case for a state in which India's Muslims would realize their "political and ethical essence." Though he was always vague about what the new state would be, he was quite clear about what it would not be: the old pluralistic society of India, with its composite culture.

Iqbal's vision took concrete shape in August 1947. Despite the partition of British India, it had seemed at first that there would be no transfer of populations. But violence erupted, and it quickly became clear that in the new homeland for India's Muslims, there would be no place for its non-Muslim communities. Pakistan and India came into being at the cost of a million lives and the largest migration in history.

This shared experience of carnage and loss is the foundation of the modern relationship between the two countries. In human terms, it meant that each of my parents, my father in Pakistan and my mother in India, grew up around symmetrically violent stories of uprooting and homelessness.

But in Pakistan, the partition had another, deeper meaning. It raised big questions, in cultural and civilizational terms, about what its separation from India would mean.

In the absence of a true national identity, Pakistan defined itself by its opposition to India. It turned its back on all that had been common between Muslims and non-Muslims in the era before partition. Everything came under suspicion, from dress to customs to festivals, marriage rituals and literature. The new country set itself the task of erasing its association with the subcontinent, an association that many came to view as a contamination.

Had this assertion of national identity meant the casting out of something alien or foreign in favor of an organic or homegrown identity, it might have had an empowering effect. What made it self-wounding, even nihilistic, was that Pakistan, by asserting a new Arabized Islamic identity, rejected its own local and regional culture. In trying to turn its back on its shared past with India, Pakistan turned its back on itself.

But there was one problem: India was just across the border, and it was still its composite, pluralistic self, a place where nearly as many Muslims lived as in Pakistan. It was a daily reminder of the past that Pakistan had tried to erase.

Pakistan's existential confusion made itself apparent in the political turmoil of the decades after partition. The state failed to perform a single legal transfer of power; coups were commonplace. And yet, in 1980, my father would still have felt that the partition had not been a mistake, for one critical reason: India, for all its democracy and pluralism, was an economic disaster.

Pakistan had better roads, better cars; Pakistani businesses were thriving; its citizens could take foreign currency abroad. Compared with starving, socialist India, they were on much surer ground. So what if India had democracy? It had brought nothing but drought and famine.

But in the early 1990s, a reversal began to occur in the fortunes of the two countries. The advantage that Pakistan had seemed to enjoy in the years after independence evaporated, as it became clear that the quest to rid itself of its Indian identity had come at a price: the emergence of a new and dangerous brand of Islam.

As India rose, thanks to economic liberalization, Pakistan withered. The country that had begun as a poet's utopia was reduced to ruin and insolvency.

The primary agent of this decline has been the Pakistani army. The beneficiary of vast amounts of American assistance and money—$11 billion since 9/11—the military has diverted a significant amount of these resources to arming itself against India. In Afghanistan, it has sought neither security nor stability but rather a backyard, which—once the Americans leave—might provide Pakistan with "strategic depth" against India.

In order to realize these objectives, the Pakistani army has led the U.S. in a dance, in which it had to be seen to be fighting the war on terror, but never so much as to actually win it, for its extension meant the continuing flow of American money. All this time the army kept alive a double game, in which some terror was fought and some—such as Laskhar-e-Tayyba's 2008 attack on Mumbai—actively supported.

The army's duplicity was exposed decisively this May, with the killing of Osama bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad. It was only the last and most incriminating charge against an institution whose activities over the years have included the creation of the Taliban, the financing of international terrorism and the running of a lucrative trade in nuclear secrets.

This army, whose might has always been justified by the imaginary threat from India, has been more harmful to Pakistan than to anybody else. It has consumed annually a quarter of the country's wealth, undermined one civilian government after another and enriched itself through a range of economic interests, from bakeries and shopping malls to huge property holdings.

The reversal in the fortunes of the two countries—India's sudden prosperity and cultural power, seen next to the calamity of Muhammad Iqbal's unrealized utopia—is what explains the bitterness of my father's tweet just days before he died. It captures the rage of being forced to reject a culture of which you feel effortlessly a part—a culture that Pakistanis, via Bollywood, experience daily in their homes.

This rage is what makes it impossible to reduce Pakistan's obsession with India to matters of security or a land dispute in Kashmir. It can heal only when the wounds of 1947 are healed. And it should provoke no triumphalism in India, for behind the bluster and the bravado, there is arid pain and sadness.

—Mr. Taseer is the author of "Stranger to History: A Son's Journey Through Islamic Lands." His second novel, "Noon," will be published in the U.S. in September.

Google Pushing social effort- Its all about socialising this season !

Google Inc.'s Eric Schmidt was upbeat about the company's new social-networking service and said it is only the beginning of Google's attempt to personalize its products for individual users.
Speaking to a crowd of reporters at investment bank Allen & Co.'s media conference here Thursday, Google's executive chairman cited the strong demand for invitations to the week-old service—called Google+ —as a promising sign for the ambitious social effort. Mr. Schmidt has previously admitted to not investing heavily enough in social networking as rival Facebook Inc. grew.
He said Thursday that the company is working hard to accommodate the millions of users waiting for invitations to Google Plus, which allows people to share links and media among people they have divided into "circles" based on their relationships. If trends continued, Mr. Schmidt said, the company would look to spread the circles concept across other Google products, including search and its video site YouTube. "There is a lot coming," he said.
A Facebook spokesman reiterated the company's initial response to the service, saying "we're in the early days of making the Web more social."
Mr. Schmidt, who ended his decade-long reign as chief executive of Google in April, covered a range of topics in his annual catch-up with reporters on the sidelines of the conference, including the multibillion-dollar valuations of young technology companies and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust probe of the company.
Unlike previous years, Mr. Schmidt was flying solo without Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who have been regular Allen & Co. conference attendees. Mr. Page, who is now the company's CEO, was working hard at the office, Mr. Schmidt said, and Mr. Brin was on a business trip.
Mr. Schmidt said antitrust probes from the European Commission and the FTC, which began a formal review of Google's business practices last month, haven't affected business beyond a few internal meetings about how to deal with it. "We are calm about this. There is not a lot of drama," he said, repeating his regular refrain that Google has long expected scrutiny from regulators.
Shifting to potential deals, Mr. Schmidt declined to comment on whether the company was considering buying video site Hulu LLC. The site is in sale talks with a number of suitors including Google, people familiar with the matter have said. Mr. Schmidt added Thursday that if the companies were to end up in some sort of deal, Hulu's hoard of current TV shows would complement, not replace, YouTube's Internet-only content. "Anything with Hulu would be additional," he said.
Hulu's owners include a consortium of companies, including News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.
He added that YouTube, which has been a financial drain on the company, is getting better at making Google money but whether it is profitable "depends on how you do the accounting."
Amid heavy investor demand for newly public technology companies, Mr. Schmidt also expressed concern that the valuations of such companies are misleading because they are calculated too early. He said their valuations are "mathematically incorrect" until they have more stable shareholder bases and the lock-up period where certain shareholders are prevented from selling ends. Investors won't know whether these companies are overvalued until 2012, he said.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303365804576432651342386510.html#ixzz1RW1rLMdH

Lalu to replace Maran (Mamata?)- A nation by the crooks for the crooks of the crooks

Emerging super power (?) that is India has replaced  an age old saying "Democracy -of the people for the people by the people " in the political lexicon by "A nation of the crooks for the crooks by the crooks". Inspite of well intentioned efforts of Congress's young leader Mr Rahul Gandhi and proven track record of honesty and integrity of UPA Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh, this government has been and probably will remain in the firm grip of crooked politicians. There is no denying the fact that at every conceivable step, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his coterie  is trying to refurbish the image of government but at every step it  is failing miserably.
It seems Cabinet reshuffle slated to be held in a day or two is another attempt by Prime Minister to restore the confidence of  common man  in his government and its policies. Delayed guts shown by Prime Minister in sacking tainted Ministers is a case in point -latest being corporate style politician Great Maran. However crooks have tasted blood and they are employing every conceivable means to cling to the power in one form or other. Though it remains to be seen how many heads will still roll before common man starts reposing its faith in Manmohan  Singh and his government, parasites are lurking around the corner to fill the slot left by their fellow brethren fallen out of favour due to strong resentment shown by public, media and courts. One man's loss is another man's gain. Realising this, likes of Lalu , who are no less than Raja and Maran,  are trying their best to grab the opportunity and return  to centre stage of Indian politics. Let's hope for the best. Never know this time Harvard, IIM Ahmedabad and Insead may declare him greatest management Guru of all time. At least Manmohan Singh, after retirement, can claim that he had greatest management Guru in his cabinet which even nehru didn't have !

आओ बच्चों तुम्हें दिखाए झाकी घपलिस्तानकी

आओ बच्चों तुम्हें दिखाए झाकी घपलिस्तानकी.
इस मिट्टी पे सर पटको ये धरती है बेईमान की.
बंदों में है दम, राडिया-विनायकयम्.
बंदों में है दम, राडिया-विनायकम्.

उत्तर में घोटाले करती मायावती महान है
दक्षिण में राजा-कनिमोझी करुणा की संतान है.
जमुना जी के तट को देखो कलमाडी की शान है
घाट-घाट का पानी पीते चावला की मुस्कान है.
देखो ये जागीर बनी है बरखा-वीर महान की
इस मिट्टी पे सर पटको ये धरती है बेईमान की.
बन्दों में है दम...राडिया-विनायकम्.

ये है अपना जयचंदाना, नाज़ इसे गद्दारीपे.
इसने केवल मूंग दला है मजलूमों की छाती पे.
ये समाज का कोढ़ पल रहा, साम्यवाद केनारों पे
बदल गए हैं सभी अधर्मी भाडे के हत्यारे में .
हिंसा-मक्कारी ही अब,पहचान हैहिन्दुस्तान की
इस मिट्टी पे सर पटको ये धरती है हैवान की.
बन्दों में है दम...राडिया-विनायकम्.

देखो मुल्क दलालों का, ईमान जहां पेडोला था.
सत्ता की ताकत को चांदी के जूतों से तोला था.
हर विभाग बाज़ार बना था, हर वजीर इकप्यादा था.
बोली लगी यहाँ सारे मंत्री और अफसरान की.
इस मिट्टी पे सर पटको ये धरती है शैतान की.
बन्दों में है दम...नंगे- बेशरम....!

Economist Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh's world of Uncertainty

Man invented concept  of God to deal with uncertainties of life. Is Man Mohan Singh inventing uncertainties to deal with all kind of corrupt practices going on in his Government  right below his nose.

Government bureaucracy moves at snails pace primarily to ensure that uncertainties do not hinder the decisions at the implementation stage. Even a naive would not buy the argument of Mr Singh that decisions are taken in the world of uncertainties implying that swidling of billions of dollors should not be viewed as corruption or whatever by media , parliament, CAG and public.

The mandarins in south block ,peeved at all time  low public opinion of  functioining of government , has tried to their best to refurbish the image. However each attempt is generating more controversy and trust deficit.

Earlier whenever Prime Minister spoke, his sincererity was not doubted. His tenor has generally been mild in the past. But Dynasore of corruption unearthed by  CAG and media coupled with opposition onslaught, SC's toughness and beliggerent parliament  has rattled government so much so that usually mild Prime Minister has lost cool and started condemning one and all albeit in his characteristic mild way.  Even today , after 8 years of rule , personal integrity of PM is not doubted. But  this issue is no longer relevant. Right  under his watch unhindered loot has taken place and corruption has assumed alarming proportions.

Prime Minister is guilty of turning blind eye to all the swindling taking place around him  be it 2G spectrum scam , CWG, KG basin  to name a few .

The defence put by government in all these cases so weak that one is compelled to think whether government managers and UPA are really serious about tackling corruption even now ? In second generation (2G) scam, Raja has bluntly defied PMO and weak PM could just give his dissent and thought his job was over . Before CAG report, his explanation that he did not deem it necessary to interfere in the policies and procedures that were followed  is not convincing. The analogy that he drew to justify why spectrum had been deliberately under-priced — by drawing comparisons with subsidies on foodgrain, fertilisers and kerosene — did not go down very well with many.

This kind of bureaucratic inefficiency or negligence is difficult to pardon, even if one is charitable about the many hours it took for the transcript of the press conference to enter the public domain.

One aspect, did, however, come through rather prominently. PM is clearly upset by the recent findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This was evident from what he said- “We live in a world of uncertainty and ex-post, whether it is the CAG, whether it is a Parliamentary Committee then they analyse post-facto.They have a lot more facts that were not available to those who took the decision. I am not saying that it is not possible that some people may deliberately do wrong things, but in many cases it would turn out in that sort of a scenario it is very difficult to operate. So we must create in this country an environment in which governments, ministers and civil servants will not be discouraged from taking decisions in the national interest when all facts are not known; they will never be known. We take decisions in a world of uncertainty and that’s the perspective I think Parliament, our CAG and our media must adopt if this nation is to move forward”.

On the draft CAG report on how the government allegedly favoured Reliance Industries, among other companies, while putting together a contract to extract natural gas found in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, PM said, “Well, I think the CAG also leaks. It is not the function of the CAG… it has never been the case that the CAG has held a press conference as the present CAG has done. But nobody is commenting on all this. It is not right for the CAG to go into issues that are not their concern; it is not the CAG’s business to comment on policy issues. I think they should limit themselves to the mandate given under the Constitution. We are now a permissive society. I think if the media can get away with murder so can the CAG”.

These remarks are completely unwarranted. In 2005 judgment of the Madras high court , HC upheld the right of the CAG and its functionaries to brief the media on the contents of reports presented either in Parliament or in state legislatures. In the past too, officials from the CAG’s office have formally briefed journalists.

More importantly should CAG  keep mum if a policy of the government results in a huge loss to the exchequer? NO right thinking citizen of thr country would support PM's view even in dream.  A constitutional authority like the CAG cannot surely remain silent if a so-called government policy is deliberately twisted out of shape to favour a select group of firms.

It is loud and clear  that the scams relating to allocation of 2G spectrum and KG gas were on  not account of decisions taken without adequate information rather they seem to clearly be a result of deliberate dereliction of duty by rogue elements in the government.

Corruption Queen Mayawati in frenzy over Rahul Gandhi's Roti, Charpai and Padyatra

Rahul Gandhi's Roti, Charpai and Padyatra seems to have created flutter in UP Government led by Corruption Queen Mayawati. Congress General Secretary left for Tappal in west Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning as he took on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on her home turf. Rahul Gandhi started the padyatra on Tuesday from Bhatta-Parsaul village.
Rahul Gandhi resumed his footmarch on Wednesday to make common cause with farmers in Uttar Pradesh over land acquisition after an overnight halt at this village where in slept in the open. The 41-year-old AICC general secretary is on the second day of his padayatra in Western UP, a footmarch billed as a campaign against Chief Minister Mayawati ahead of the Congress' proposed 'kisan mahapanchayat' in the neighbouring Aligarh district on July 9.
The Congress leader resumed his yatra at 6:20 am and visited Sabautajafrabad and Alawalpur villages. "At both the places he held chaupal with the villagers and enquired about their problems and issues," UPCC spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.
The Congress General Secretary made impromptu stops on Tuesday, interacting with villagers. The padyatra will culminate at the Congress' Kisan Mahapanchayat at Aligarh on Saturday.
On his first night on the padyatra, Rahul Gandhi had a simple meal of four rotis and slept on a charpai at a farmer's house in Rampur.
On day two of his four day padyatra through UP's villages, Rahul told farmers that they were being looted in 'Mayaraj'.
"If someone steals from the bank, he is locked up in the jail. Here you are being stolen from and you are suffering. People were beaten up in Bhatta Parsaul, it is being said that nothing happened there In Tappal people were beaten up, nothing happened there. Your voices need to be heard. That is why I have come here. Poor people are being robbed and the entire nation is silent. And the biggest robbery is taking place here in Uttar Pradesh," Rahul said.
Rahul was referring to farmers losing land through the state government's land acquisition policy.
The Uttar Pradesh government has imposed Section 144 in the area.
The Aligarh Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Shatrughan Singh says he doesn't have any written intimation of Rahul's movements and that no action can be taken against him until he enters Aligarh district.
"For any kind of action we have to first see whether he is entering Aligarh, how many people are with him" said Sinha.
The ADM, however, said that permission had been granted for the July 9 Kisan Mahapanchayat at Aligarh. He also added that Section 144 was in place for the last ten days and would continue till the end of the month.
Congress party leaders reacted strongly to the UP government's imposing Section 144 and said that if what Rahul was doing was a farce then the BSP should go to the people and clarify it.
"Both BSP and BJP's match is fixed. They will fight the next assembly elections together. If this is a 'nautanki', even they should go to the people, tell them what they have to say. Why impose 144?" said Digvijaya Singh.
For the next two months Rahul Gandhi will be on the road - though his camp says his padyatra has nothing to do with the UP elections, pointing out that no one from the UPCC is present, there is no doubt he has begun his journey to what is perhaps the biggest political challenge of his career.
The Congress leader said the Uttar Pradesh Government came up with a new policy on land acquisition after farmers protested against acquiring land. "But the new policy is not being used where it should be," he told the villagers.
Rahul said when "rich people sell their lands in Delhi, they get high market value. But, here land is being taken forcibly from farmers. While the market rate is above Rs 1,000, you are getting only Rs 200."
He said the farmers, whose land is being acquired by the Uttar Pradesh Government, are not aware why their properties are being taken away. "I have been asking the people why your land is being taken away. They say that they are not aware... when somebody commits robbery in bank, the police catches the culprit. But here your land is being robbed and police are firing at you," he said.
He asked the farmers and people to share their stories with him, saying he has come to them to hear their version of the story.
UP State administration had earlier refused to give permission for a Mahapanchayat in Bhatta-Parsual, citing security concerns.
Caught off-guard by Rahul Gandhi's visit to Bhatta Parsaul on Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh government has denied having any prior knowledge about the Congress general secretary's footmarch. "The state has not been told about the duration of his stay, we came to know about his visit only when he arrived in the state," a senior official said.

Murli Deora instead of being sacked is given the option to resign !

Such is the state of affair of nation today that Minister of Corporate Affairs Murli Deora has offered to resign on health ground instead of getting sacked on serious issues of improriety unravelled by draft CAG report. 

In a statement Deora said, "Due to personal reasons, I have offered to step down as minister from the Union Cabinet and offer my services for the Congress Party , where my political career began. I thank the Congress President and Prime Minister for their continuous support and guidance." 

Deora  has submitted his resignation and sought to dismiss reports that he has asked for his son Milind Deora's inclusion in the council of ministers though onfficially he is lobbying for the same. 

"Yes, I have offered to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to step down from the Union Council of Ministers... Have not asked for anything more... It is not a sudden decision," Deora told PTI. 

Deora, however, clarified that he hasn't resigned yet and had offered to relinquish charge of the Corporate Affairs Ministry "orally" to Gandhi a few weeks back. 

"I have the satisfaction of completing a full five-year stint as Union Minister and so now I thought it will be appropriate to step down," he said without elaborating. 

There is talk of a Cabinet reshuffle after President Pratibha Patil's return from her sojourn in Hyderabad on July 8.

Former President Kalam says India needs large number of creative leaders

KOLKATA: Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Tuesday said India needs a large number of creative leaders to become a developed nation by 2020. 

"National economic development is based on competitiveness. Competitiveness is powered by knowledge. There is a need for creative leadership and a creative leader means he should be a mentor," Kalam said during a programme organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce here. 

"We need a large number of creative leadership. Knowledge is the primary source of empowerment. Ability to develop knowledge infrastructure is the key factor to develop a knowledge society," he said. 

He said that to be a developed nation by 2020 , India should attain and then maintain 10 percent growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

"To be a developed nation by 2020, India's GDP growth rate should be 10 percent (per annum) and it should be maintained," Kalam said. 

Corruption-free society, physical and economic connectivity in the rural areas and stress on micro-finance and small-scale industries were also important for the country to be a developed nation, he added.

His Highness Dalai Lama wants to return to Tibet at 76

He wakes up before the crack of dawn, has a punishing work schedule, tunes into the radio to stay connected, hits the treadmill sometimes and yet manages to devote 80 percent of time to spiritual activities. And as the Dalai Lama turns 76 Wednesday, the exiled leader still desires to return to Tibet some day. Born July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a small hamlet in Taktser in Amdo province of northeastern Tibet, the two-year-old child was recognised as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, in 1937. He fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, following which his Tibetan government-in-exile has been based in this Indian town. Over here his day begins at 3.30 a.m. and ends at 8.30 p.m. In between, he studies texts written by the great Buddhist masters to quench his thirst about spiritual and Tibetan issues. Officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile say the spiritual guru is an ordained monk. "When at home in Dharamsala, His Holiness begins the day with prayers and meditation until 5 a.m. After that he takes a short morning walk around his residential premises. If it's raining outside, he even uses a treadmill," the spiritual leader's private secretary Chimme Choekyappa told IANS. Breakfast is served to him at 5.30 a.m. During breakfast, the Nobel laureate regularly tunes his radio to the BBC World News in English. From 6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. he meditates and prays. From 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., he studies Buddhist texts written by the great masters. "His Holiness is a vegetarian. He has his lunch at around 12 noon and drinks a cup of tea at 6 p.m. He does not have dinner," he said. He holds regular interactions with his staff and meets guests at his office from 12.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Upon his return to his official palace, his evening prayers and meditation begin at 6.30 p.m. He retires to bed at 8.30 p.m. Choekyappa said his daily routine changes when he travels out of Dharamsala. The Buddhist monk in his trademark maroon robes is also a globetrotter. For starters, he's made six trips in the last six months. He's been to places within India and outside to speak on peace, non-violence, Buddhism and even environmental concerns despite China forewarning the countries he plans to visit. Last year the Dalai Lama made six foreign trips which saw him visiting the US, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Japan, Britain and Canada. He is in the US till July 16. "The Dalai Lama is in Washington where he will attend celebrations to mark his 76th birthday," Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama's office, told IANS. According to the Dalai Lama's official website, the Nobel laureate, since coming into exile in 1959, made his first trip abroad by visiting Japan and Thailand in 1967. In 1973, he made his first trip to the West, visiting 12 European countries in a record 75 days. "During his foreign visits, he has a very hectic schedule. Sometimes, he has more than 15 appointments in a day," Choekyappa said. Thubten Samphel, a Tibetan official, said the spiritual leader has met all the US presidents since George Bush (1991), including Barack Obama (on Feb 18, 2010.) He also met French President Nicolas Sarkozy Dec 6, 2008, then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown May 23, 2008, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Oct 29, 2007, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel Sep 23, 2007 The Dalai Lama desires to return to Tibet one day. While replying to a question, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said on his website: "Yes, I remain optimistic that I will be able to return to Tibet. The Dalai Lama has favoured "greater autonomy" for Tibetans rather than complete independence. Chinese leaders have, in fact, called him a separatist -- one who wants Tibet to secede from China. In 1989, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for Tibet. He got the US Congressional Gold Medal in October 2007 even in the face of protests by China. He was also listed by Time magazine among the world's top 25 political icons this year.

NAC - Power centre or toothless body?

The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning
A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills -- the Food Security Bill and the Communal Violence Bill -- despite the Centre's reservations on key clauses in both. Later the same day, a member of the Anna Hazare group accused the government of following a 'pick and choose' policy, borrowing the food security idea from the NAC but rejecting the views of Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill, and suggesting that the presence of Mrs Gandhi in the council had made the difference.
The debate over the Lokpal Bill between civil society and the government has brought into focus not just the role of civil society in Indian democracy, but specifically, the influence of the NAC on public policy. More specifically, it questions whether the council still has the same clout that it did in UPA-I.
NAC's Bills
Over the past year, the NAC has drafted three Bills: on Food Security, Land Acquisition and the Prevention of Communal Violence. The government does not see eye to eye with the Council on any of these and in the case of Food Security still hasn't been able to finalise a Bill because of its differences with the NAC over critical issues such as methods to be adopted to ensure food security, the amount of food grain required and financial impact. Instead, in the case of the Food Security Bill as well as the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, it has thumbed its nose at the NAC by indicating that it will go ahead with its own version.
The National Food Security Bill found detailed mention in President Pratibha Patil's address to Parliament at the start of the 15th Lok Sabha. Once cleared by Parliament, it is expected to ensure food security for all, with every family below the poverty line in rural as well as urban areas being entitled, by law, to 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs 3 per kg.
A major disagreement about who the beneficiaries of this Bill should be. The NAC has proposed that the legal entitlement to subsidised food grains be provided to both 'priority households' and 'general households'. The Prime Minister's expert committee on the Food Security Bill, headed by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman, C. Rangarajan, however has recommended that in view of supply side constraints, the legal entitlement should only be provided to 'priority households'.
Land Acquisition has been another bone of contention between the two entities. The NCA presented the proposal of its working group on land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation immediately after the violence over land acquisition in the villages of Bhatta and Parsaul near Greater Noida early in May.
The 13-point NAC proposal recommended that instead of the current two laws on land acquisition, a single law be drawn up. It also suggested that in the new legislation, compensation for land should be six times the value of the registered sale deed, and that acquisitions should be made only for 'public purposes'.
On June 3, Business Standard reported that the new draft of the land acquisition (amendment) Bill that has been sent to the prime minister by the rural development ministry differs fundamentally from the NAC version. The ministry's version says compensation for land should be based on the average of the highest prices of the last three years. Also, it gives the state government the power to determine the need for acquisitions.
The government has also maintained its distance from the NAC's Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence Bill, 2011.The Bill attracted a lot of controversy, with the leader of the Opposition describing it as "even more draconian than TADA". Only the Congress Party made statements supporting it.
Former Cabinet Secretary TNS Subramanian says that an organisation such as the NAC helps the Congress take two positions: "The NAC allows the ruling party to take two sides on any issue, one from the position of the government and another from the NAC." Significantly, he adds, "Most of the recommendations of the NAC are not practical. The government provides the practicality."
Both the NAC as well as Planning Commission member Narendra Jadhav say that it is wrong to judge the council merely on the basis of the number of Bills on which it is able to get the government's nod.
"In the last one year of its existence the NAC has deliberated on 18 subjects. This is a measure of its success. The success of the NAC cannot be judged just on the basis of how many proposals the government accepts," says Jadhav
In the UPA-I, when the government had the support of the Left parties, the NAC was able to get the nod of Parliament on two crucial Bills -- the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act. Both were landmark Bills and widely believed to be important factors in the Congress electoral victory in 2009.
However, D. Raja of the Communist Party of India feels that this statistic is a little misleading. "The NAC-I was able to pass important legislation because there was a national common minimum programme. The NAC-I worked based on it. The present government doesn't have a clear programme and the effects are visible."
Rejected Recommendations
In March, the NAC achieved a rare success. It prevented the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the ministry that implements the RTI law, from introducing changes in the Right to Information Act, though after much deliberation.
The DoPT favoured a cap of 250 words on the length of an RTI application, wanted each application to deal with just one subject, and sought abatement or an appeal of an RTI application in the event of the death of an applicant. The NAC asked the DoPT to remove these changes - a demand that was rejected.
Later, in March, the DoPT and NAC reached an agreement and all but one recommendation of the NAC were accepted (DoPT ensured that the clause restricting RTI applications to one subject each was retained).
Other than the RTI, the recommendations of the NAC to link the wages paid to workers under the NREGA to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 have also been rejected by the PM.
Even a letter from Sonia Gandhi to the PM asking him to make the change to ensure better salaries for workers didn't do the trick. Instead, the PM in his reply to Mrs Gandhi explained that instead of linking the wages of NREGA workers to the Minimum Wages Act, the government would link them to the Consumer Price Index. Harsh Mander, a member of the NAC, described it as a "50 per cent success".
In September 2010, NAC members Jean Dreze and Aruna Roy wrote to then Rural Development Minister CP Joshi, raising objections about the decision of the ministry to link the unique identity (UID) or Aadhaar numbers to be given out by the UIDAI, to job cards, without consulting the council. The government ignored the advice and went ahead with the project.
Other recommendations, such as having a separate law to stop manual scavenging, have been dismissed by the PM, who believes better implementation of existing laws is needed instead. The ministry of tribal affairs has not accepted the recommendations with respect to amendment of rules and guidelines under the Forest Rights Act. Also, NAC's objections to the Posco plant were not implemented. NC Saxena, a former bureaucrat and twice member of the NAC, agrees that the council is not as powerful as the media makes it out to be.