If Winter Comes, Can Spring be Far Behind?

To many of us the year 2011 will be known as a year of turmoil, a year of halting governance or lack of governance. To many still the year will be a year of setbacks on economic and political front what with the kind of fall witnessed in rupee and market in a spin of an unknown proportion! For those associated with Anna and for those in the forefront of movement against corruption, the year 2011 will certainly appear to be hugely disappointing and perhaps cruel too. A movement launched for a good cause; a movement aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the toiling and grieving masses reeling under the scourge of corruption would like to remain energised so that there is no let-up in it. Political masters who should not be masters in the first place were at the receiving end of the public ire for having done nothing to contain corruption that had affected their life so very badly. In fact, most people in the street thought politicians, at least some of them, actively contributed to building the corpus of black money which if brought back into legitimate circulation could radically improve the quality of life on the ground.

To many the year 2011 will remind of Gloom and Doom. People lost money in the stock market. People had to cough up more money for buying their basic necessities. People received poor or no service from the corporate houses for which they had to pay through their noses. To top it all the year will be seen as complete failure of the government, its inept and bad handling of public concerns including midnight swoop on Baba Ramdev and arrest of a septuagenarian Anna in the unearthly hours of the day.

In short, the year 2011 can be put down as: "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." Although not all of what Dickens had said about the eighth decade of eighteenth century would apply to our own period, much of what was stated during the period of the French Revolution is applicable to our own times. That explains gloom and doom of 2011.

But 2011 has drawn to a close and we are on the threshold of a New Year which many of us believe would lead to a better tomorrow when the mist of despondency will clear with the rise of the sun in the horizon. It will, one hopes, not just fondly, that with this winter will go all that was shady and seedy and its place will emerge a spring that will bring joy to the millions who have been deprived of their right to happiness.

If winter comes, can spring be far behind?          

Is it Forbidden?

Having failed to contain Anna on his demand for a strong Lokpal, the Congress has let loose a war of venom. The party and the ministers are speaking a language of the street and spreading all kinds of canards against Anna whose only offence, if I may say so, is that he has raised the issue of corruption like no one else has ever done in the past. He has received tremendous public support and this has clearly unnerved the government and it appears to have lost the sense of decorum, discipline and decency in public life. Some of them have spoken a language that one would not usually speak. They are hitting him below the belt as well.

Their common grouse against Anna is that he is now indulging in politics. Another grouse is that he represents RSS and BJP. What if he does? Is it forbidden? Is that the issue? Is politics only the prerogative of the declared politicians? Can an average citizen of the country not engage in politics? What after all is politics and can politics ever remain divorced from normal life? Politics relates to 'activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society.' It's a pious function. It's another matter that our politicians these days have confined its meaning to those activities that benefit them, their close relations and cohorts. Society or country hardly ever comes to their mind. Therefore, they cannot appreciate the political design, if any at all, of Anna and his team. But the way they are attacking him in the name of politics, it would seem that politics for Anna is a crime. They can engage in anything in the name of politics, not Anna. What a strange argument and the more they offer this kind of argument, the more they alienate themselves from the people. And this instead of helping their political cause is only going to help Anna in mobilizing more and more public support.

Unbecoming of a Government

For a government to go back on its commitments and renege on its promises so often is tantamount to fraud on its people. It is highly unbecoming of a government of any civilized country to behave in this manner as our national government has behaved lately. It has already been indicted by the apex court's amicus curiae on its handling of Baba Ramdev in a midnight coup. It has received all kinds of flaks it could from the same court on various corruption cases. In fact, in one of the orders on Black Money, the Supreme Court just fell short of calling it a failed state. There could not have been a stronger indictment of an elected government.

The government, however, has carried on shamelessly. When Anna was on fast for 12 days at Ramlila Maidan, no less a person than the prime minister himself wrote a letter to him in which he promised to incorporate his main concerns in the Lokpal as demanded by Anna Team and on this assurance Anna broke his fast. Prior to that a drama was enacted in the parliament where Pranab Mukherjee announced 'sense of the house' on those very demands which subsequently the prime minister apprised Anna of.

After Standing Committee submitted its report after long recess, it once again became clear that the government was again going back on its commitment to give a strong lokpal. Anna once again had to issue threats whereupon government seemed to be working overtime to include those demands Anna had made. Things seemed to be moving in that direction. Then again things seemed to move in a different trajectory giving rise to oft repeated complaint of the civil society that this government was not keen to tackle corruption. In fact, position began to change and alter like the climate of Delhi: foggy, misty and sunny and again foggy and misty. In these 48 hours the government has come full circle on many things and returned almost to the original position of not acceding to any demand.

Even now when the government appears to have made up its mind to create a lokpal that would have none of those elements that were suggested by the Team Anna, nothing is certain. This may be a deliberate ploy of the government from a strategic point of view. If it is so, it is certainly in a very bad taste and clear indication that the government is not at all keen to take any concrete and decisive steps towards tackling corruption. The whole country has risen like a phoenix against this genie of corruption, but government seems hell bent on protecting the corrupt when it should be seen on the other side. For a government to consistently go back on its commitment and renege on its promises, all that can be said is that it is highly unbecoming of it and this is going to work to its disadvantage in the days to come.

For a change, India is wide awake now and Anna has given the people a hope of resurrection. Systemic change is what people of India are clamouring for, and if it has to come at the cost of the government, so be it.

Decline in Congress

The flutter that Anna has caused in Congress by bringing so many political leaders from opposition parties on 11th Dec at Jantar Mantar is understandable. But one expected the party to behave in a saner manner and if the rank and file appeared to have gone berserk, as many appeared to have, the leadership should have whacked whips. That would perhaps be asking for too much from a party that is set on the course of decline.

Beni Prasad, a new convert to the congress, has been most strident in his Anna bashing. He says Anna is not a Laat Saheb. This clearly betrays his feudal mind set. Anna calls himself a fakir. Then he says if Anna is 74 years old Congress is 125 years. You do not need any further proof that the party is on the decline. He is comparing an individual to a party. How thin and bankrupt the party has become that it can be compared to an individual? Good for the party. And then he issues a warning. Come to UP, we'll see you. By the way, where is Ghaziabad?
Then there is some Hanumanth Rao who in a stentorian voice shouted--mend your ways, Anna, or else...Then someone else said from somewhere--Anna should stop saying anything about Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is their deity. How can anyone say anything about a deity they venerate?

Well, congress has long ceased to be a party. At best it can be described as a mansion of the Gandhis and the Nehrus and the members of the party as occupants of the outhouse of the mansion. These occupants of the outhouse can variously be described as servants, flunkies, caretakers etc. So whenever someone says a thing or two about the Gandhis and the Nehrus these occupants cannot keep quiet. They must shout at the top of their voice to keep the critics at bay. The utterance of Manu Singhvi, the chairman of the standing committee on Lokpal bill, that 'debate was undemocratic' (he was alluding to the debate some of the political party leaders had with Anna on various aspects of Janlokpal on 11th at the Jantar-Mantar) was most distasteful, to say the least. If debate can be called undemocratic what else remains of a democracy? Debate is the essence of democracy, no matter it takes place.  More evidence of the party having been on a free fall course.

The problem with these congressmen and women is that they refuse to see what is happening in the world today, and even if they see them happening, they refuse to take any lessons. What Anna is saying or doing is not just limited to India. This voice is rising all over the world. People are beginning to realize that their rulers, de facto ones--not the de jure ones--are the worst self-servers. They are being ruthlessly uprooted from the position of power. The unmistakable message is--don't take people for granted, and do not take them for a ride.   

Bihar is Changing, Bihar has Changed.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Bihar has changed, and is changing rapidly. Important thing is to know whether it is also changing and improving the quality of life of the people around. It would be a travesty of truth if we do not see the positive impact of these changes. Without doubt it has changed and improved the life of many people in Bihar and obviously such people are happy to gloat about these changes and improvements. But the gloat is not for all, not for the majority who have failed to reap the benefit of positive changes that Nitish has brought about. There is no doubting his sincerity. He is working tirelessly for a new brand called Bihar. It has become a progressive state. But there are problems which he refuses to see. Merely by enacting Right to Service Act, a government cannot expect to straighten out administrative ripples that are aplenty. Before embarking of laws and acts, he should have concentrated on a quality administrative infrastructure. That sadly is missing. If it were not so, the owners of a reputed shopping mall of Patna would not have been released almost immediately after they were arrested by the irresistible City SP Patna who is now doing a great job at Araria. We were given to understand by Nitish himself that gone were the days when a policeman would receive a call from higher ups to release someone arrested for some criminal acts. Those who were caught were caught for selling fake and spurious brands in their shop. This is a serious crime, but the government took it lightly. The seal of the shop was opened and it is once again allowed to do brisk business. And we are told Bihar has acquired the status of the least corrupt state. Seems corruption has acquired a new definition in Bihar.

One wonders how could one arrive at this conclusion without delving deep into the rot that has set in here. Babus still take money to do an official work. PDS still sells things in black market. Markets are full of spurious things including life saving drugs. Big babus are going on amassing wealth. Yes, there are demonstrative cases of some having been put behind bars or some whose properties have been confiscated. They have demonstrative effect. And most of the positive vibes that we see in the media and elsewhere are attributable to these demonstrative measures. Against one demonstrative case there are ten cases that are not demonstrated.

There is rampant corruption in all government schemes, without exception. Money meant for the needy merely trickles down to them. The major chunk is gormandized midway. One classic example of massive corruption is the scheme of tree plantation. Crores and crores of rupees are siphoned off in the name of planting of trees. You don't need any magnifying glass to see corruption in MNREGA. Those in power have raked in moolah, and they are thriving in this regime.

But Nitish Kumar has an advantage. He is generally perceived as a clean man himself. At least I do not see any thing contrary to that. His another major advantage is the non-availability of a viable alternative to which the people of Bihar might like to go to. Returning to the previous regime is completely ruled out. With all its shortcomings, it has to be said to the credit of this government that overall quality of life is certainly superior to the one we had witnessed under the previous regime. People can move around without much fear, though criminals are striking off and on. Environment has certainly improved. There is no in-built fear anywhere. But to say there is no corruption, no crime is wrong. Most of those who have favourably commented about Bihar have done so from the cosy precincts of luxury hotels without ever stepping out of Patna. Most of them had known about Bihar from media and had formed an opinion. They had not seen Bihar. So, when they visit Bihar for the first time and say Bihar has improved, they must take Biharis as naive to believe what they say. Which Bihar are they comparing this Bihar to? Nitish is capitalizing on this and yet he says he does not need any certificate from Kejriwal and others. The fact of the matter is he has been collecting certificates with both hands. Most of these certificates are issued by those who have vested interests, or by those who make a courtesy call on the ever doting CM. He accepts these certificates because they are positive certificates. Those issuing negatives certificates like the one issued by Kejriwal are snubbed by him. Same Nitish had relished the certificate issued by Anna not long. Many Biharis were unhappy that Anna issued a certificate. They were unhappy because they knew the reality on the ground.

Laloo too used to get some institutions/group of students from distant lands to speak about his business acumen and in fact many such descended on India to get a lecture or two on management from Laloo, the management guru. There is no dearth of people who believed Laloo sponsored them all. Money is not a problem with Laloo.While the same charge will, perhaps, not be brought against Nitish, there is a feeling that Nitish is seeking publicity without appearing to be so and is engaged in an image building exercise. All his yatras are a step in that direction. One would not grudge him that because he is seen as a man on mission. Nothing wrong with that. One only hoped he would also pay some attention to the real issue of corruption and not be led away by an engineered environment.

        

The Fears are Legitimate

Yes, his or his government's fears are legitimate. That the ordinary mortals, the people of India, have had too much of freedom of speech lately. That they were getting away with it all, that they were being far too critical of their rulers. Their critical observations about politicians and their activities were almost blasphemous. And the platform provided by the Facebook had simply to be dismantled. Innocuous banterings are okay, but this regular questioning of their attitude and actions was not on.

I realized it the hard way. I was on the facebook and wanted to give vent to my ire that some MPs whose only status is they are people's representatives and not their feudal lords found it below their dignity to travel 2nd AC. From the way they behaved it appeared they were born with 1st AC facilities and had to live with that all their life. The Facebook would simply not carry it. After failing the second time, I realized it was Kapil Sibal effect. Even though the government is in the denial mode, the fact of the matter is--censorship is on.

In the recently concluded Summit on Leadership one of the key foreign dignitaries had said India had too much of democracy and that it worked to its disadvantage. Our government seems to have bought this idea and may have concurred with this view especially in view of the fact that Anna Hazare and his movement against corruption commanded best social network coverage. But for this the movement against corruption would not have floored the government and even now when Anna's threat looms large, the government fears that if there is no check on some of these social network channels, it may be fighting a losing battle against those who see corruption as the biggest evil in the country. The fears are legitimate and the government, especially Kapil Sibal, will be within its rights to put some kind of censorship on such social network outlets where people from all walks of life congregate to vent their ire against their government that thinks it has divine right to rule.

The problem is--there are far too many outlets. You cannot shut all of them down. Needless to say, I had to give this detailed account because Facebook did not provide me the face.

Anna Hazare Has a Point

Anna was criticized by many for saying 'only one slap?' I too had not taken it kindly though I had also questioned the unanimity of the politicians in condemning the slap when the same unanimity was missing in the case of ministers and MPs thrashing citizens in UP. What happens is when you get to hear only a small part of something, the broader meaning or substance is lost. That is what happened with Anna too because most of the media people reported only the 'operative part' of his statement that had news value or nuisance value for them. It got flashed in no time and since social networking system works at break-neck speed, it was all out in the open in no time and soon became a huge issue with some, especially those belonging to the political spectrum. Sharad Pawar's men found an easy outlet in public properties and they destroyed them with unconcealed glee. Ostensibly, Pawar asked his supporters not to take law into their hands. This was a necessary political posturing he had to do. Pawar has so much money power that he can easily buy support and supporters from the market where poaching is a legitimate political business. We keep seeing instances of poaching both in parliament and elsewhere.

Somehow, Anna felt there was a need to explain his position. And he did explain at length. I did have the privilege of going through his long explanation. It might look like a justification though. Generally speaking, I do not approve of justifications. Justifications show you have a disturbed conscience, you have a conscience-prick. There are always exceptions to rules. I would like to see this justification by Anna as an exception simply because it is an eye opener of sort. Even though some of the media people have reported that Anna has justified slapping of Pawar, I have seen it mentioned in his blog that he has disapproved of this act of slapping by Harvinder Singh. But he has also hastened to put a poser: what occasioned this slap? Why an ordinary citizen of the country was forced to take law into his own hands? This is a fundamental question that needs to be answered because in it we would find solutions to many of our present day polity problems. Clearly, it indicates there is failure of the system somewhere that failed to deliver justice to the common people of the country. He is within his rights to question why these politicians are not angry when for the past six decades or more people have been bearing the brunt of government sponsored violence wreaked on the ordinary people. And then he goes on to give threadbare account of corrupt practices indulged in by Pawar and his political henchmen. There are innumerable examples which appear irrefutable. He has justly questioned the silence of these people on the specific instances of corruption and on the specific instances of killing of the innocent people by various governments from time to time. He has questioned them on their impotent silence. Anna clearly has a point here and instead of asking him questions on his 'only one slap' remark, these people need to answer his questions.

I will request media people too to exercise some caution, for they do not seem to read and comprehend things properly and state something that is not quite the thing. When you pick some words from the middle of a sentence, those words would be yours and not those of the author because you have reported them out of context. A classic example can be found in the oft-repeated quote "ignorance is bliss". Is this what Thomas Gray had said? No, definitely not. Ignorance can never be bliss. Nor did he say this. He had said, and I quote, "where ignorance is bliss it's folly to be wise." Now just compare the meaning of the two. Taken separately both the statements are 180 degree out of phase and kills the very spirit of what the poet had said. Media must be more vigilant and must have the ability to read properly, comprehend the meaning and then come out with their observations or comments. Journalism would be nothing if it failed to fully grasp the meaning of words and sentences, both stated and unstated meaning of words and sentences. Those who still feel Anna has justified the slapping should read his write-up and focus on comprehending the meaning. Anna has a point and he has stated it clearly too.     

Why Bankers Knocking at Court's Door?

Wage settlement and 2nd option for pension have left bankers more distraught than happy. Media that claims that nothing is taboo for it has shown absolutely no interest in examining why bankers are not happy with it, especially with the way 2nd option for pension has been given. But the matter certainly calls for some look in. Wage settlement has made them unhappy because they were given  to understand they will be kept on even keel with the government employees who have been bestowed everything in 6th pay commission. That in reality they are no where around them is now well known. The entire ghost of corruption hangs around the necks of the government employees despite opulence coming their way through pay commission. And bankers who sustained India and its fledgeling economy even during the period of the worst recession when great banking behemoths of the world collapsed have been roundly cheated by the government as most of the bank employees see it. No doubt government could perform this feat because some of the key leaders of UFBU chose to be on the side of the government.

But more than the settlement it is the matter of 2nd option for pension that has hit them the most. Govt. through IBA having no official status told the bankers that banks did not have enough money to pay pension to all employees. A strange argument indeed. The government has money to pay to all its parliamentarians for doing nothing; it has money to give dole to farmers and other wilful defaulters of banks; it has money to pay to those organizations that are perennially in loss and are surviving on tax-payers' money for years on, but it has no money to pay pension to its bankers who are filling the coffers of the government year after year!

Finally, it was settled that the serving employee would cough up 2.88 times of whatever they received by way of arrears for the month of Nov 07. On an average an employee had to pay up Rs. 70000/- to become eligible for applying for 2nd option. Those who had retired in order to become eligible for 2nd option had to pay up 156% by way of interest on the amount they had received as bank's share of provident fund. It was a huge sum of money.

Why this 2nd option? Well, when the original offer of pension was made in 1995, the scheme contained a clause that said if there was any break in the service the employee would forfeit his pension. There was a huge protest and many either did not opt for it or withdrew it after opting for it. Long after the scheme was closed, government withdrew the clause. Since with the withdrawal of the contentious clause the offer of pension had acquired a new status, the legitimate expectation was fresh option would be given to those who had not opted in the first place or had withdrawn because of that sinister clause. Banks quietly made an announcement of the modification and before majority of employees could know about it, the scheme was closed. So most of the employees were left high and dry. That is the history behind the 2nd option. We have a democracy where people's own government consistently cheat them.

When pension was allowed in 1995 for the first time for banks other than SBI, it was implemented with effect from 1.1.86 and rate of interest charged was a mere 6% against 288% and 156%. And instead of making it effective from the due date, it was made effective from 27.11.2009, a date decided by the esteemed and erudite troubleshooter of UPA the honourable Pranab Mukherjee.

Now let us now contrast it with what the statute (Pension Regulations, 1995)--a statute is a government instrument--says. It says "the bank shall be a contributor to the fund and shall ensure that sufficient sums are placed in it to enable the trustees to make due payments to beneficiaries under these regulations." The statue further stipulates:
a) the contribution by the bank at the rate of 10% per month of the pay of the employee; b) the accumulated contributions of the bank to the PF and interest accrued thereon up to the date of such transfer in respect of the employee...It further lays that the "bank shall cause an investigation to be made by an actuary into the financial conditions of the fund every financial year on the 31st day of March, and make such additional annual contributions to the fund as may be required to secure payment of the benefits under these regulations." Nothing of the kind was done. Instead, money was forcibly taken from the pockets of bank employees who have been contributing and contributed to the well being of the nation. The settlement became due on 1.12.2007. An employee retiring from the bank on say 31st July 2009 would, as per the statute in force, have got his/her pension from 1.8.2009. But no, the much learned Pranab Mukherjee decides it would be paid from 27.11.2009. Was it his birth day or that of someone close to him and his family? Can you find more blatant abuse of power in a civilized country where a government tramples upon its own statute? The aggrieved bankers have naturally knocked at the doors of honourable high courts and the apex court of the country, because left to these politicians in power, they will have the same drama enacted all over again. We are already witnessing activities in the theatre of the absurd. There is no end to absurdities. The shortfall as suggested by the actuaries were shared in the ratio of 70:30 by the banks and employees. While employees have been made to pay their share of 30% through their nose, banks have been allowed amortization of their share by RBI and the government. Can anyone find a better example of institutionalized cheating of its own people by the government of a civilized country?

But I am impressed with the poser of Sagarika Ghosh on CNN-IBN. She boldly anchors Face the Nation where she claims nothing is a taboo. If so, why this banking episode does not find any space there? Is the conscience of the nation so bland, so vapid that it does not care for such things?

We would like to hear something from those pretending to be concerned with the concerns of the nation. One hopes concerns of a nation are not limited only to the parliament and things associated with parliament.          

Nostalgia in Instalments

One runs the risk of being branded as status quoist if one talked of nostalgia beyond a limit. For nostalgia instead of taking you to the future takes you back to the past. But the trend today is to talk of returning to the future and looking forward to the past. In other words, future and past would seem to have been liberated from the clutches of tense (time). I would not quite know what would be the status of present today; or, whether present too has been liberated from the clutches of tense. But yet, nostalgia is not acceptable in its entirety. We cannot allow it untrammelled freedom. Therefore, I choose nostalgia in instalments.
The first instalment is here. When young, I was introduced to the taste of Lopchu. Its aroma is unforgettable. It has not compromised with this aroma for decades and one sip of it will bring you the same joy it brought you decades ago. It will, provided you get the real Lopchu. Market is so full of spurious things that possibilities are you will never get the genuine thing. Therefore, you will not get the aroma you have grown up with. But chances are you will get the real Lopchu too. And so you will have the satisfaction of relishing the aroma. This is my nostalgic moment. It comes in instalments, and comes in great measure. I fondly cling to that.   

Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep.

Yes, the woods Frost described were actually lovely, dark and deep. But the woods we are forced to countenance these days in our country are far from lovely, leave alone dark and deep. We have so many woods tailing something or the other. For instance, wood tailing bolly, tolly, kolly and what not. I really cannot keep count of them. They all seem to be wagging tail of Holly. That is precisely why we have borrowed 'wood' from Hollywood to create our own bollywood, tollywood, kollywood and lo! Pakistanis have made their own lollywood. We are getting to hear bhojiwood from those making Bhojpuri films. For obvious reasons, I have not allowed them capital first letter, for I don't treat them as proper nouns. Hollywood already seems to be suffering from bankruptcy of ideas. Their films are bizarre, to say the least. Indian film industry whether located at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or Hyderabad is doing quite a good job, and as we can see quite a few from other frontiers including from Hollywood are descending to India to find  space in our film industry. So if anyone, it is those people who should ape us and not we. For God sake, get rid of these woods and return to the woods of Robert Frost. They are truly lovely, dark and deep.