Frontline March 2012

FRONTLINE
MARCH 9 , 2 012
ENVIRONMENT FLAMINGOES
WWW.FRONTLINE.IN
RESERVATION MUSLIMS
INDIAS NATIONAL MAGAZINE
INTERVIEW RICHARD STALLMAN

RS.25
Halting the pink tide 64 For a fair deal 90 Freedom & software 111
A decade of shame
Victims of Gujarats anti-Muslim pogrom of February 2002
are still ghting for justice against a powerful state
machinery led by Narendra Modi
VOLUME 29 NUMBER 4 FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 09, 2012 ISSN 0970-1710 WWW.FRONTLINE.IN
ASSE MBL Y E L E C T I O N S
Uttar Pradesh:
C O V ER S T O RY A decade of shame Terminal trouble
Interview:
130
Advantage Mulayam 25 Victims of the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in K. Mohandas 132

the State Gujarat are still to get justice but Interview:
DE FE NCE Rizwan Soomar 134
Interceptor missile: they are determined to continue the ght. 4
Successful launch 29 C OLUM N
C.P. Chandrasekhar:
CONTR OV E R S Y The Chinese way 39
ISRO/Antrix-Devas deal: Bhaskar Ghose:
Procedures & lapses 31 Democracy in action 99
Praful Bidwai:
SC A NDA L Reining in Israel 104
Spectrum shocks 36 R.K. Raghavan:
WOR L D A F F A I R S Murder in school 109
Maldives: Jayati Ghosh:
A Presidents exit 41 Capital concerns 115
Iran: War of nerves 46 UP D A TE
Syria: Gen. V.K. Singh:
Skewed resolution 49 The waiting game 28
U.S.: Austerity of hope 52
Ghosts of Iraq 55
Hungry & homeless B OOKS 73
in Greece 59
Myanmar: A new chapter 61 LE TTE R S 126
E NVIR ON M E N T
Flamingoes in Mumbai: RELA T ED S TOR I E S
Halting the pink tide 64
A tale of two reports 10 The police diary 18
OBITU A R Y
SIT too works Interview:
Whitney Houston:
Every womans diva 87 for victims 12 Sanjiv Bhatt 20
The trailblazer 88 Standing up to High Court
the state 13 censure 22
R E SE R VA T I O N
Interview: Negligence and
A fair deal for Muslims 90
R.B. Sreekumar 16 inaction 23
L IVE L IH O O D I S S UE S
Karnataka:
Woes of nomadic tribes 95 EN V I RO N M EN T
The Sewri mudats in Mumbai,
G E NDE R I S S UE S On the Cover
home to a rich biodiversity,
Diluting Domestic Narendra Modi and Zakia Jafri.
including amingoes, is under
Violence Act 101 threat from a development PHOTOGRAPHS: ROHIT JAIN PARAS AND PTI
project. 64 COVER DESIGN: U. UDAYA SHANKAR

SOC IAL I S S UE S
Tamil Nadu: RES ERV A T I O N
Published by K. BALAJI, Kasturi Buildings,
859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600 002 and
Quarries of exploitation 106 No one can complain that too Printed by P. Ranga Reddy at Kala Jyothi
INTE R VI E W much has been given to the Process Private Limited, Survey No. 185,
Richard M. Stallman on minorities, in particular Muslims, Kondapur, Ranga Reddy District-500 133,
Andhra Pradesh on behalf of Kasturi & Sons Ltd.,
the future of free software 111 through the sub-quota for B.Cs
Chennai-600 002.
among the minorities. 90
EDITOR: R. VIJAYA SANKAR (Editor responsible
FOCU S: D R D O
Indian eye in the sky 118 I N T ERV I EW for selection of news under the PRB Act). All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or
Microwave masters 120 Richard M. Stallman,
in part without written permission is prohibited.
founder of the GNU
M A R ITIM E T R A D E project, speaks on the e-mail: frontline@thehindu.co.in
Waiting for cargo future of the free software Frontline is not responsible for the content of
in Kerala 128 movement. 111 external Internet sites.
F R O N T L I N E 3
Cover Story MARCH 9, 2012
A DECADE OF
The victims of the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat are still to get justice but are
SIDDHARTH DARSHAN KUMAR/AP
The Zakia Jafri case symbolises the SAIRABEN SANDHI and Rupa Mody sit quietly
on the back benches at the Metropolitan Magist-
struggle for justice and is reaching a rates Court in Ahmedabad watching the proceed-
ings in the Zakia Jafri case. Both the women have
crucial stage. It is the only case in witnessed immense tragedy. One saw her son killed,
while the other has been searching for her missing
which Chief Minister Narendra son for the past 10 years. In the courtroom, there are
others too who survived the gruesome massacre at
Modi is named as an accused and is, Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad in 2002. All of them
have gone through the trauma of seeing immediate
therefore, seen as critical in nailing family members hacked or burnt to death. The judge
eventually postpones the hearing to another day and
the perpetrators of the pogrom. the survivors le out. They seem used to this routine.
4 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
SHAME
determined to continue the ght. B Y A N U P A M A K A T A K A M IN AHMEDABAD
perpetrators of the pogrom. Coinci-

dently, as the tenth anniversary of the
Gujarat riots approaches, the case has
taken a signicant turn. The Special
Investigation Team (SIT) has led a
closure report saying there is not
enough evidence to prosecute Modi.
Zakia Jafris legal team has gone in
appeal. Its main contention is that the
riots were meticulously planned and
those in seats of power deliberately
turned a blind eye to the attacks on
Muslims across the State.
In the past few years, Modi has
tried hard to get rid of the taint of the
riots and get what he calls a clean
chit. However, each time the clean
chit has been within grasp, the law has
intervened to thwart him. With As-
sembly elections in Gujarat scheduled
for later this year and national politics
beckoning him as an aspirant for the
prime ministership, Modi appears
desperate to get the riots-responsible
label off his back. Furthermore, he has
worked the corporate sector to project
himself as a forward-thinking leader
who is interested in bringing prosper-
ity and development to his State and
not as a saffron politician interested
only in communal politics. Getting the
JANAK PATEL
Tatas to shift their Nano small car

plant to Sanand from Singur in West
Bengal was clearly a part of this agen-
GU L B E R G S O C I E T Y I N Ahmedabad today. Sixty-nine people died in the da, say observers.
arson and massacre at the Society in the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom February 28, 2012, will mark a dec-
(picture at left). Of the 30 homes and approximately 20 families, only one ade since the Gujarat riots, undoubt-
family continues to inhabit what is now virtually a ghost colony. edly one of the worst chapters of
communal violence in the countrys
There is a level of tension and dis- even if it takes another 10 years, says history. Ofcial estimates put the
appointment among them, but they Rupa Mody. death toll, of both Hindus and Mus-
are not entirely disheartened. The Zakia Jafri case has begun to lims, at a little over 1,000, while un-
We come for every hearing in this symbolise the struggle for justice for all ofcially it has been pegged at more
case. Until we are alive we are not the riot victims and is reaching a cru- than 2,000. At least 600 children were
going to give up. We are not going to cial stage. It is the only case in which orphaned and more than 400 were
leave him [Chief Minister Narendra Modi is named as an accused and is, reported missing.
Modi]. We know we will get justice therefore, seen as critical in nailing the Ten years later, the wounds are still
F R O N T L I N E 5
MARCH 9, 2012
to heal. The investigation into the riot single-handedly. Eventually, he lack of prosecutable evidence against
cases are plodding along with no clo- stepped out of his house in an attempt Modi. Zakia Jafris legal recourse is to
sure in sight. The only case to reach a to placate the mob. They killed him appeal for the report. On February 15,
conclusion is Sardarpura, where a mob and then burnt his body in front of his she was told the report would be given
burnt alive 33 Muslims trapped in a family and neighbours. within a month. This could mean the
house. Thirty-one people were impris- Zakia Jafri remembers vividly ev- end of her case but she does have the
oned for life in this case. There are ery moment of those two horric days. provision to appeal in the higher
eight other cases that are pending trial. As many as 69 people died in Gulberg courts and eventually in the Supreme
For many victims the memories of Society and 28 went missing, one of Court.
the violence are still fresh in their them was Azhar, Rupa Modys 13- In 2006, Zakia Jafri petitioned the
minds. Only justice will help heal. But year-old son. To date they remain mis- court alleging that Modi and 61 others,
nothing they do can bring back my sing. including politicians, policemen and
son, says Rupa Mody. Zakia Jafri, along with several ac- bureaucrats, had colluded to ensure
If the nightmares of the 2002 vio- tivists and members of the Citizens of that the victims of the mob attacks
lence were not bad enough, the minor- Justice and Peace (CJP), a non-gov- during the riots did not receive help.
ity communities have had to cope with ernmental organisation, has main- Zakia Jafri, along with other witness-
severe marginalisation. Thousands of tained that the Gujarat riots were a es, testied in court that Ehsan Jafri
families have been hounded out of the pogrom and that there is enough evi- repeatedly called Modi when they
State, and they have moved with just dence to prove this. Leading a pro- were under attack. But no help came.
the clothes on their back to areas such tracted legal ght for justice for the She accused Modi of abdicating his
as Mumbra in Maharashtra. On issues past eight years, the feisty 70-year-old duty as the constitutionally elected
relating to the minority community, says she will not back down until the head of the State government to pro-
the dominant view is that over the past perpetrators and killers of her hus- tect the right to life of all its citizens
decade Gujarat has become more po- band and thousands of other Muslims regardless of their caste, community
larised than ever before. Access to edu- are punished. and gender and becoming the archi-
cation, employment, housing and Now, at this stage, we wont let tect of a criminal conspiracy.
other fundamental needs is becoming them close the case so easily. We will In 2007, the Gujarat High Court
increasingly difcult. What is worse is keep it going for however long it takes rejected her petition for a rst infor-
that there are few rays of optimism to get justice, says Zakia Jafri, who mation report (FIR) to be led. Zakia
there is only a sense of helplessness. lives with her son in Surat. You cannot Jafri and the CJP then led a special
say that in 10 years nothing has hap- leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme
ZAKIA JAFRI, A BIG HOPE pened. Modis name is linked to ter- Court, which appointed Prashant
Zakia Jafri saw her husband, Ehsan rible communal riots. His name is Bhushan amicus curiae. In 2009, the
Jafri, a former Member of Parliament, badnaamed (sullied) all over the court appointed a Special Investiga-
being hacked to death. Ehsan Jafri world. Everyone knows his true col- tion Team led by R.K. Raghavan, for-
thought that his house in Gulberg So- ours since this case has got so much mer Director of the Central Bureau of
ciety offered the best protection to oth- attention. The fact that he has blood on Investigation (CBI), to probe the Zakia
er residents of the locality from the his hands he cannot wipe that off so Jafri case.
rampaging mobs. Unfortunately, in easily, she said to Frontline. In 2010, Zakia Jafri and thousands
spite of several phone calls to the police Zakia Jafris case reached a critical of others saw some manner of justice
and senior politicians, help never ar- juncture in February, when the SIT when the SIT summoned Modi for
rived and Jafri had to handle the mob decided to le a closure report citing questioning. This was the rst time in
6 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
the countrys history that a Chief Min-

ister was questioned in a criminal
complaint that dealt with communal
violence. But two years later the SIT in
its report cited lack of substantial evi-
dence to prosecute him.
In an interview to Frontline, at that
time she said: Yes. It has been a long
time. But when I heard Modi had been
summoned, I said, Insaf ho jayega
[Justice will happen]. Someone like
Modi cannot be accused of such a ma-
jor crime without adequate evidence.
We have persevered at collecting every
relevant detail to implicate him. One
day it will pay off. If he admits his guilt,
that itself would be a punishment for
someone like him.
In what seemed like a victory for
both parties, in September 2011 the
Supreme Court sent the Zakia Jafri
case back to the trial court in Ahmeda-
bad as it chose not to pass judgment on
whether Modi should be prosecuted or
not. Modi celebrated the order, saying
this essentially let him off the hook.
Zakia Jafri and Teesta Setalvad, activ-
ist and lawyer with the CJP, too, wel-
comed the order and saw it as a move
in the right direction.
This is part of the judicial process
and we welcome and respect the Su-
preme Courts directive. It has not, by
any length, given Modi a clean chit.
They are just following the correct pro-
ASAM PANTHAKY/FP
cedures, said Teesta Setalvad. Of

course, we couldnt expect the Su-
preme Court to make a major decision,
but this is as good. The reason why it is
a victory for us and not for Modi or the
CH IE F M I N I S T E R N A R E N D RA M O D I speaking at a BJP rally near BJP is that it has gone past the FIR
Ahmedabad on September 25, 2011. stage, she said.
This February the SIT, however,
took what is now being seen as a pre-
dictable step and led a closure re-
port. Activists and those involved in
the case exploded at the move. Sanjiv
Bhatt, a suspended police ofcer who
was named as a witness by Zakia Jafri
and who testied against Modi, said:
In spite of substantial direct evidence
and overwhelming circumstantial evi-
dence to establish Modis complicity in
the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002, the
SIT says they do not have enough to
prosecute him. He added: The SIT
F R O N T L I N E 7
MARCH 9, 2012
has deliberately suppressed and con-

cealed data which would implicate
Modi.
In 2010, Raju Ramachandran was
appointed amicus curiae as Prashant
Bhushan stepped down. Informed
sources say Ramachandrans report is
damning and ies in the face of the
SITs closure report. The next few
weeks will determine where this case
goes, says Teesta Setalvad. But we will
pursue it relentlessly. The Zakia Jafri
case has become a symbol of justice
and we have to keep it going.
GULBERG SOCIETY
A MOTHERS STORY
Rupa (Tanaz) Mody, her husband Da-
ra Mody, and two children were the
only non-Muslims living in Gulberg
Society. Her son Azhar has been mis-
sing since February 28, 2002. Until
she sees his body, she says she will not
be convinced he is dead. He is among
the 28 persons missing from this colo-
ny, which was ravaged by a mob that
set it on re by throwing chemical-
lled vials that burst into ames once
they hit a surface.
Eyes brimming with tears, she says
she has searched for Azhar for 10 years
and will continue searching for him.
The family has gone through every
morgue in the city, every police station,
and put up posters too. A lm, Par-
zania, has been made on her son. They
have done whatever it takes to locate a
missing person, but there is absolutely
no sign of the boy. Distraught and an-
gry, she says: I will ght until my dy-
ing day to see that Modi and his band
of rogues are nailed. I was in Jafri Sa-
hebs house and saw how our cries for
help were ignored by Modi and the
police. I want them to pay.
On the eve of the Zakia Jafri clo-
sure report case, Rupa Mody spoke to
Frontline about what happened at
Gulberg Society 10 years ago. Her story
is only one of many horric incidents
INFOGRAPHICS: V.S. WASSON
that took place during the pogrom. She

summoned the courage to speak out
where others could not:
My children were at tuition when
we heard of the train burning in God-
hra. The TV was on in my house but I
8 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
didnt pay much attention to it at that nd him. We nally made it up to the and violent the riots were, one has to
time. My husband, who is a lm pro- terrace, but even there we couldnt nd walk through the Society compound
jectionist, called from his ofce to say Azhar. I tried going back down but today. The houses are burnt shells.
there were reports of violence and we everyone told me the mob would kill Walls are broken and covered with
should be careful. I got the children me. Still Zakiaben said, Let her go soot from the res started by the mob.
home. Then we began to see our neigh- she is a mother. Finally, when help There are no windows on any of the
bours come out looking concerned. came, we were told a boy matching houses, and the ones that remain are
Ours was a small enclosed colony of Azhars description was at the Saibagh either shattered or have fallen. The
houses and from my at I could see police station. I rushed into the police oors are covered with mud and ash.
people gathering on nearby terraces. station shouting Azhu! Azhu! but it Here and there are burnt remnants of
That is when I saw one man holding a wasnt him. I havent stopped search- household materials a painting,
gupti [axe] pointing towards us then ing since then. some slippers. It is an eerie feeling
I became concerned. We went back to Gulberg Society when one wonders how many dead
We started gathering in Jafri Sa- almost two weeks later. The entire col- bodies would have been found on these
hebs house. He was an MP and we ony had been burnt down. Ironically, oors.
were sure he would organise help. Sud- my house was untouched. Perhaps be- Gulbergs compound is lled with
denly there were hundreds of men cause I had a picture of Mata on the weeds, overgrown foliage, garbage and
scaling the walls and entering the So- wall they thought it was a Hindu stagnant water. Stray dogs have made
ciety. They had hundreds of little vials house. Sometimes I wonder if I hadnt it their home, and one can see a few
of chemicals resembling nail polish left my house we would have been safe passers-by stopping to ease themselves
bottles, which they threw into our and I would still have Azhar. on the walls of what was once some-
house. As soon as they hit a surface ones home. A watchman from the
they would explode in ames. The mob nearby bakery is allowed to use one of
had cleverly cut the water supply from The houses are the rooms of a bombed-out home, to
the overhead tanks ,so we had no way sleep during the day. When awake he
of putting out the res. They began burnt shells. keeps an eye on the property. The
gheraoing Jafri Sahebs house and de- property cannot be sold or developed
manding that he come out. We were The walls are as it is under litigation, testimony to a
30-40 of us hiding, and we tried to terrible crime and a numbing remind-
hide the gas cylinders so that the broken and er to those who survived.
chemicals would not hit them. They Of the 30 homes and approximate-
were using the cylinders to blast walls. covered with ly 20 families, only one family contin-
Meanwhile, outside, our neighbours ues to inhabit what is now virtually a
were being butchered by the mob. We soot. ghost colony. Kasimbhai Alanoor
could hear women shrieking later I Mansoori lost 12 family members, in-
was told many were raped. Rupa Mody says Zakia Jafris case cluding his wife, daughter and a son.
By the evening almost every room is very critical to all the riot cases. This Occupying the rst house, he says he
was on re. There was a ladder leading case names Modi as the prime accused. does not live here anymore but uses the
to the terrace at the back of the house. She says everyone in Gujarat will agree premises for business.
We started climbing towards that es- that Modi controls everything, and We built these houses with so
cape. By then many people had fallen this violence could not have taken much difculty. The houses must be
unconscious because of the smoke. I place without his consent and worth a least Rs.50 lakh. But that
could hear Jafri Saheb say, Let me die knowledge. doesnt matter. We have lost so much
if it saves you. That was the last line we What do you tell a mother who more, says Mansoori. The Gulberg
heard from him. He was killed by the cannot nd her child? says Father Ce- Society case is very important because
mob. At this point I had both my chil- dric Prakash, who heads Prashant, a of Modis involvement. We have to
dren with me. In the commotion, I fell. human rights organisation in Ahme- keep ghting, he says.
As I fell I could hear my daughter dabad. Modi wont allow Parzania to Every year on February 28, mem-
shout: mummy get up, mummy get up. be screened in Ahmedabad. Why? bers of Gulberg Society gather in the
My daughter had been holding my son What is he afraid of? compound and pay homage to those
Azhars hand right through the time who were killed. This year will be no
we were hiding in Jafri Sahebs house. A GHOST COLONY different. It can only be hoped that the
She had to let go of it to save me. When Located in Meghaninagar, a suburb of Zakia Jafri case moves in the right di-
I managed to get up I only saw my Ahmedabad, Gulberg Society is a tiny rection. Anything other than that
daughter Binaifer not Azhar. We kept colony of half a dozen houses and 18 would be unfair to those who have lost
shouting Azhu! Azhu!, but could not apartments. To understand how cruel so much.
F R O N T L I N E 9
A tale of two reports

There are two serious points of disagreement in the reports of the SIT and the
amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran. B Y V . V E N K A T E S A N I N N E W D E L H I
According to reliable sources, the There are seemingly intractable disagreements

between the SITs report and that of the amicus
SIT and amicus reports disagree curiae, which the Magistrate will have to apply his
mind to during this period. The disagreements are,
essentially on the treatment of the among other things, on the nature of the investiga-
tion undertaken so far and the degree of culpability
suspended IPS ofcer Sanjiv Bhatts of those named in a complaint on the horrendous
events of February 2002.
testimony and on the Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri
who was killed along with 68 others in the Gulberg
recommendations against Society massacre, had, in her complaint, made 32
specic allegations against 62 persons, including
two senior police ofcers. Chief Minister Narendra Modi, functionaries of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), civil servants and po-
THE Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate, lice ofcers.
M.S. Bhatt, on February 15, rejected pleas seeking The most serious allegation was that Modi had
copies of the Supreme Court-appointed Special In- convened a meeting at his bungalow in Gandhinagar
vestigation Teams (SIT) report on the 2002 Gujarat on February 27, 2002, in which he instructed the
carnage until March 15 on a technicality that the Director General of Police (DGP), the Chief Secre-
SIT needs more time to submit its full report along tary, and other senior ofcials to allow Hindus to
with all documents, evidence and other details, be- vent their anger at Muslims for the Sabarmati Ex-
sides the report of the Supreme Courts amicus cu- press train tragedy in Godhra.
riae, Raju Ramachandran. The SIT, in a summary closure report led
JANAK PATEL
Metropolitan Magistrate Court on February 13 when it heard a plea from

O UT S I D E T H E A H M ED A B A D
Zakia Jafri and the Citizens for Justice and Peace for access to the SIT report.
1 0 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
before the Magistrates court on Feb-

ruary 8, reportedly said there was no
prosecutable evidence against Modi.
The SITs report is yet to be made pub-
lic though leaked portions of the report
have been carried in the media.
The Supreme Court handed the
charge of Zakia Jafris complaint to the
S. SUBRAMANIUM
SIT in April 2009. After the SIT sub-
N. SRIDHARAN
mitted three interim reports to it, the
court felt the need to appoint an am-
icus curiae to assess the reports inde-
pendently. Thus, in November 2010 it R. K . RA GH A V A N , head of the R AJ U R A M ACHAN D R AN , W HO was
appointed Raju Ramachandran, Se- Special Investigation Team. The SIT appointed amicus curiae by the
nior Advocate of the Supreme Court, has time until March 15 to submit its Supreme Court in November 2010 in
the amicus and gave him a wide man- full report along with all documents, the Zakia Jafri case after the SIT had
date, including permission to talk to evidence and other details. submitted its report.
the witnesses and arrive at an inde-
pendent conclusion, uninuenced by According to reliable sources, the SIT who all were present at the meet-
the SIT reports. SIT and amicus reports agree on most ing on February 27, 2002, Modi
After the amicus submitted his re- aspects of the investigation. They dis- named seven ofcers but added, with-
port, the Supreme Court, on Septem- agree essentially on two issues. One out any prompting, that Bhatt was not
ber 12 last year, sent the case to the trial pertains to the treatment of the sus- present as this was a high-level
court along with the SIT and amicus pended IPS ofcer Sanjiv Bhatts testi- meeting.
reports. mony. Bhatt corroborated Zakia Jafris Bhatt was the Deputy Commis-
As Raju Ramachandran explained allegation against Modi, as to what he sioner of Police in the State Intelli-
in interviews he gave to the media at told the ofcers present at the meeting gence Bureau at that time. Since the
that time, the Supreme Court did not held at his residence on February 27, State intelligence chief, G.C. Raigar
suggest lack of trust in the SIT when it 2002. Bhatt claimed he was present at was on leave, the DGP wanted Bhatt to
appointed him the amicus. The court, the meeting, and presented evidence be present at the meeting.
he said, only wanted an alternative to corroborate it. Of the seven ofcers Modi claimed
view to be available to the Magistrate The SIT, in its report, considers were present at the meeting, only one
for consideration. Bhatt an unreliable witness. But the denied Bhatts presence, while the re-
He had told The Hindu: Under amicus, according to sources, has sug- plies of three ofcers were vague.
the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, it gested that Bhatt should be cross-ex- Three ofcers pleaded loss of memory
is the investigating agency which in- amined before any conclusion can be owing to passage of time. They neither
vestigates and les a report in the reached. The SITs reluctance to cross- conrmed nor denied Bhatts pres-
court. On the other hand, the Supreme examine Bhatt is inexplicable, espe- ence. The SIT itself, according to re-
Court in exercise of its powers under cially because it has cast doubts about ports, found these ofcers unreliable,
Articles 136 and 142 of the Constitu- other senior police ofcers who were as three of them had secured post-re-
tion has made the report of the am- present at the meeting. tirement jobs from the Modi govern-
icus curiae a relevant factor to be taken Bhatt had led an afdavit in the ment. Yet, the SIT appears to have
into consideration.... This is an addi- Supreme Court in April last year stat- concluded that Bhatts presence at the
tional safeguard which the court has ing that he had informed the SIT about meeting could not be proved, and
found t to introduce, which is not his presence at the said meeting at the therefore, his statement had to be
done as a matter of course. The SIT Chief Ministers residence and that he ignored.
would be entitled in law to disagree was willing to testify after a criminal Bhatt had made serious allegations
with the amicus curiae, but... the am- case was registered. He had also al- against the SIT in his afdavit to the
icus report will also be before the leged that the SIT was not conducting Supreme Court. One is that the SIT
court. If there is a conict, it is the an impartial and thorough probe into was disinclined to follow up important
court which has the nal word, after the allegations of a larger conspiracy leads he provided on the cover-up op-
hearing the complainant. and administrative complicity behind erations of high ofcials of the State
The magistrate, therefore, has the the carnage. administration to undermine the in-
onerous responsibility of having to When the SIT examined Modi on vestigation.
consider the conict between the SIT March 25, 2010, he knew what Bhatt Second, he alleged that the SIT
and amicus reports carefully. had told the SIT earlier. Asked by the chose to intimidate certain witnesses
F R O N T L I N E 1 1
MARCH 9, 2012
SIT too works for victims

AN informed source close to the Spe- dence Act. In a criminal case, unless of that. We are under no compulsion
cial Investigation Team (SIT) was there is conclusive evidence, guilt to take everything. The amicus cu-
unwilling to conrm to Frontline cannot be pronounced. riaes report is an observation or im-
whether its report led with the Ah- The general impression is that pression of the case, not a probe like
medabad Magistrates court was a the SIT is bad. Some people have an the SITs investigation. So it has to be
closure report in the Zakia Jafri agenda and so they say it. But we will treated in that manner, said the
case. That information remains be- go on doing our duty in a fair-mind- source.
tween the court and the SIT, was all ed way. The Supreme Court has not What no one seems to realise is
that the source would say. scrutinised us and that is a tribute to that the SIT is also working for the
The envelope was sealed and our work. victims and not against them. We are
given to the court, said the source. However, an amicus curiae was equally interested in getting them
How do you know it was a closure appointed. The source said this was justice. Two cases have seen convic-
report? standard procedure in a complicated tion Godhra and Sardarpura. We
With regard to the allegations case. It is no reection on the SITs are working on the other cases and
against the SIT and its functioning, work. In fact, the Supreme Court or- are condent they will be handled
the source said it had followed the der allows the SIT to take into ac- well. But nobody acknowledges this
law of the land. Every piece of evi- count whatever it wants from the work of the SIT, the source said.
dence is tried against the Indian Evi- amicus curiaes report and make use Anupama Katakam
and coerce them into refraining from port has seemingly revealed, referred SIT report differ on another crucial
stating the facts. to Modis several communally provoc- nding. It is about two senior police
The SIT, according to reports, ap- ative statements, which are hate ofcers, P.B. Gondia and M.K. Tan-
pears to have treated Bhatt as an un- speeches punishable under the law. don, against whom serious allegations
reliable witness simply because he now Section 153A relates to promoting have been levelled. The SIT has found
has pro-Congress leanings. The am- enmity between different groups on that Tandon, who was then the Joint
icus, on the contrary, has seemingly the grounds of religion, race, place of Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad,
suggested that the weight of the evi- birth, residence, language, and so on, did not help the victims in Gulberg
dence favoured Bhatt, and therefore, and doing acts prejudicial to the main- Society and Naroda Patiya even
his statements ought to be examined tenance of harmony. Section 153B per- though he knew that massacres were
with an open mind. The relevant factor tains to offences such as imputations taking place in those places.
to test his reliability would be whether and assertions prejudicial to national The SIT has found evidence that
he enjoyed Modis condence before integration. Tandon had false cases registered in
that fateful meeting, and the SIT has Section 166 prescribes imprison- other parts of the city (where he
apparently found nothing to suggest ment up to one year for public servants claimed he had gone) to justify his ab-
that he did not. Secondly, there is no found guilty of disobeying the law with sence in Gulberg Society and Naroda
evidence to suggest that Bhatt was intent to cause injury to any person. Patiya. Besides, Tandon was in tele-
elsewhere and not at the Chief Minis- Section 505 will apply to anyone phonic contact with the accused poli-
ters residence during that meeting. who makes or circulates any statement ticians Jaideep Patel and Mayaben
Reports carried by Tehelka suggest with intent to incite any class or com- Kodnani, according to previous SIT
that the amicus has found prosecuta- munity of persons to commit any of- reports submitted to the Supreme
ble evidence against Modi in the SIT fence against any other class or Court.
reports. The evidence, according to the community. It prescribes imprison- Gondia was deputy to Tandon and
amicus report as accessed by Tehelka, ment up to three years. faced similar allegations. Still, the SIT
may not be sufcient to charge Modi Only when the SITs closure report did not nd it necessary, apparently on
for criminal conspiracy with the riot- becomes public will one know why it the basis of dubious legal advice, to
ers. But it does point to prima facie disagrees that these provisions cannot proceed against Tandon and Gondia.
commission of offences under Sections be invoked against Modi although it The amicus, informed sources told
153A, 153B, 166 and 505 of the Indian found overwhelming evidence against Frontline, however, had advised crimi-
Penal Code. These offences are puni- him to justify these charges. nal prosecution of these two police of-
shable with imprisonment up to three Informed sources have told Fron- cers since these were grave
years. The SIT reports, the amicus re- tline that the amicus report and the allegations.
MARCH 9, 2012
Cover Story
Standing up
to the state
Police ofcers who have stood up for the truth are made to pay for it.
BY ANUPAMA KATAKAM AND LYLA BAVADAM
They believe that the SIT probing the in the riots and the degree of brutality and negli-
gence of duty that marked their conduct.
riots has chosen to ignore or suppress Unfortunately, in the 10 years after the riots,
those who decided to tell the truth have been ruth-
their voices despite repeatedly being lessly targeted and sidelined. Worse, evidence sub-
mitted by them is not accepted in prosecuting the
told that there are phone records, perpetrators. These ofcers say they have repeatedly
told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing
documents and their own testimony the riots that there are phone records, documents
and their own testimony that can nail the culprits,
that can nail the culprits. but they believe the SIT has deliberately chosen to
ignore and suppress their voices.
IF there is anyone who can nail the perpetrators Here is information that should be treated as
of the anti-Muslim riots of 2002 in Gujarat, it is the valuable evidence, but it is not accepted, says Father
States police ofcers. Witness to the worst commu- Cedric Prakash, who heads Prashant, a human rights
nal violence seen in recent times, these ofcers have organisation. The SIT wants to close the Zakia Jafri
rst-hand knowledge of the complicity of politicians case because of the lack of evidence to prosecute
AFP
M A R C H 1, 2 0 0 2 : A policeman looks on as a row of shops burns in Ahmedabad. Former Additional DGP

R.B. Sreekumar says he has proof that the riots were backed by sections in the administration.
MARCH 9, 2012
Modi. But there is evidence glaring at targeted after they raised their voices is ness in her case against Modi, he got
them in the form of Sanjiv Bhatts dep- Sanjiv Bhatt. This Indian Police Ser- his chance. But, in spite of several ses-
osition. Obviously, the investigating vice (IPS) ofcer, who has an unblem- sions with the SIT, where he reported-
agency is choosing to turn a blind eye, ished reputation, told Frontline that ly provided substantial direct and
he says. he had been waiting for an opportunity circumstantial evidence, his testimony
to prove Chief Minister Narendra Mo- has not been accepted (see interview).
SANJIV BHATT dis culpability in the 2002 riots. When Bhatt was charged over a custodial
The latest casualty in the list of po- Zakia Jafri, a victim of the Gulberg death that took place in 1990. He was
licemen from Gujarat who have been Society massacre, named him as a wit- also charged with coercing a colleague
MARCH 9, 2012
VIVEK BENDRE
S HA KI LA P ATHA N , A survivor of the
riots, breaks down while narrating
her story at a press conference in
Mumbai in March 2011.
accepted by the investigating agency.
We will keep up the pressure, he says.
There are others on the growing
list.
R.B. SREEKUMAR
R.B. Sreekumar, former Additional
DGP (Intelligence), was among the
rst to face the administrations wrath.
Soon after the riots, Sreekumar led
six afdavits before the Nanavati-
Mehta Commission, providing details
from the diaries he had maintained
during his tenure as intelligence chief,
which was when the riots took place.
These were reportedly lled with ex-
PARAS SHAH
plosive data on the role played by the

Chief Minister and his foot soldiers in
fuelling the violence. The State gov-
AR SONIS T S I N A C T I O N at Khokhara in Ahmedabad. Suspended IPS ernment denied him his promotion.
ofcer Sanjiv Bhatt has claimed that the police had instructions to go He took his case to the Central Admin-
slow on the rioters. istrative Tribunal, which ruled in his
favour.
into ling a false afdavit in support of the burning of the Sabarmati Express Sreekumar said that when posted
his claim that he attended the meeting train at Godhra. Bhatt was suspended, as Additional DGP, Intelligence, he
on February 27, 2002, where Modi is then arrested, and nally released on had a run-in with encounter special-
said to have asked the police to go slow bail. He is now ghting for his rein- ist D.G. Vanzara on the day of the
on the rioters. It was held hours after statement and for his evidence to be infamous rath yatra held in July 2002.
MARCH 9, 2012
SIT followed states road map

Interview with R.B. Sreekumar, former Additional DGP, Gujarat. B Y L Y L A B A V A D A M
R.B. SREEKUMAR, former Addi- terrorists. The 65-year-old retired
tional Director General of Police (In- top police ofcer spoke to Frontline
telligence), Gujarat, has provided the about the events of the past 10 years
Special Investigation Team (SIT) and his continuing ght for justice for
with consistent and detailed records the 2002 Gujarat riot victims. Ex-
of evidence of government complicity cerpts from the interview:
in the 2002 riots. He has led nine
afdavits in connection with the It is 10 years since the riots and
riots; made public a register of ofcial there is no action. Given the body of
meetings where illegal orders were evidence that you have provided to
issued but not recorded in the min- the SIT, what do you have to say
about the closure report?
VIPIN CHANDRAN
utes and two audio recordings of in-
timidatory briengs; and made We were at rst full of expectation
various written appeals and also sug- from the SIT, but now I feel that they
gestions to aid the case. Many of his have travelled on a road map provid-
open letters have been published in R B . S REEK UM A R , former ed by the state. Closing the case on
newspapers. He has also deposed be- Additional DGP, Gujarat. He has Mrs Jafris complaint and FIR against
fore the SIT, but says he is frustrated made unceasing efforts to make Modi and 62 others conrms the ex-
over its functioning. himself heard. oneration of nearly all culprits for
Following media reports about want of evidence. It is abbergasting
the likelihood of the SIT ling a clo- Procedure (CrPC), 1973, for ensuring and frustrating for those who value
sure report in the Jafri case, Sreeku- their sound legal foundations, higher the rule of law, social cohesion and
mar says many riot victims met him degree of credibility, acceptability unity of our motherland. In effect, the
and expressed their severe shock and and appreciability. He has had no riot victims who survived and those
frustration over the SIT ling a clo- response. ofcers who risked their careers will
sure report to the court exonerating Explaining the reasoning behind have no justice.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his renewed demand to the SIT, he
62 others from culpability in the writes in his letter: In my view, your Where do you feel the SIT has failed?
2002 anti-minority riots. Anticipat- [that is, R.K. Raghavans] act of exon- A vast body of evidence has been
ing the closure report, Sreekumar erating Shri Narendra Modi and his presented not only by me but by other
submitted numerous suggestion re- collaborators in the anti-minority ofcers like Sanjiv Bhatt and Rahul
ports [in the hope of] expecting mid- carnage will be celebrated by all ene- Sharma, but aside from that there are
course correction measures from mies of our motherland, particularly other issues. The SIT has been reluc-
SIT. He was disappointed, but, not Hindu and Muslim extremists. Hin- tant to draw any adverse inference
one to give up, he wrote one more du radicals and the Sangh Parivar will from incriminating facts like the gov-
when he heard about the closure feel that they can continue to enjoy ernment not keeping minutes of
report. total impunity and immunity from meetings chaired by the Chief Minis-
In the latest letter, dated February legal action and accountability for ter and other senior ofcers, position-
9 to R.K. Raghavan, Chairman, SIT, their crimes during riots, while the ing of Ministers in the control rooms
he summed up the data on major evi- Muslim terrorists and jehadis can re- of the DGP and Commissioner of Po-
dence submitted by him and again double their false propaganda about lice, Ahmedabad, on February 28,
made a fervent appeal to him to assess the so-called prejudice of the Indian 2002, which was the day of a bandh
the vast magnitude of my evidence. administration against the Muslims, called by the VHP [Vishwa Hindu
He also urged the SIT to arrange for who are allegedly denied justice in Parishad], and the transfer of ofcers
recording the whole cluster of my evi- Gujarat riots cases. Consequently, in- like Rahul Sharma, Vivek Shrivasta-
dence and assortment of inputs on creasing number of misguided Mus- va, M.D. Antani, who took action
riots provided by me to SIT, under lim youth will come under the grip of against the rioters. Neither did the
Section 164(1) of Code of Criminal internationally organised Muslim SIT take note of the government re-
MARCH 9, 2012
warding those who collaborated in but they said it was not an ofcial
the riots or of the CM characterising document, that it was a motivated
the riots as an operation of Newtons register. Yes, denitely, it was a moti-
Law [Modi had said that the riots vated register of events. I kept it to
were a reaction to an action]. The SIT show that I was not a part of that
also turned a blind eye to the Gujarat gang. The orders that were being is-
governments failure to take action sued at those meetings were criminal
on communally inciting media re- and unconstitutional. This is why I
ports. Nor did the team take into con- started documenting everything.
sideration the fact that existing Then I was accused of being mali-
regulations on riot control in the Guj- cious that I was submitting evi-
arat Police Manual and other govern- dence because I was superseded.
ment documents were not These are typical government argu-
implemented by the government at ments.
the time. All these things the SIT
deems as mere administrative omis- Was the SIT prevented in any way
sions without any malicious motive. from carrying out its mandate of
The SIT is not a judicial body. It is an investigating the post-Godhra riots?
investigation team. It has to draw in- For instance, did it have the
ferences. It cannot expect Modi to authority to summon witnesses,
sign an afdavit saying I carried out search and attach documents,
the riots. recover property and evidence,
especially in relation to Zakia Jafris
The volume of your evidence is vast petition?
a total of nine afdavits plus a No. Since the SIT did not register
written register of events in 2002
PARAS SHAH
any case in a police station of relevant

and two audio recordings. jurisdiction under Section 154 of the
Yes, I have given a lot of evidence. CrPC, it had no authority of an in-
The SIT should have picked it up, vestigating ofcer. The SIT conduct- FATI M A BE N I S A BHAI G HACHI with
nugget by nugget, and carried out its ed only an inquiry a process not what remains of her home at Mora
own investigations. The evidence of recognised as legal action under the village in Panchmahal district. The
Rahul Sharma and Sanjiv Bhatt and CrPC. Initially the SIT recorded compensation she received from the
myself has been dismissed on tech- statements of witnesses and took government was so meagre that she
nical and imsy grounds. Rahul their signatures. Under Sections 161 returned the cheque.
Sharmas electronic data linking BJP and 162 of the CrPC, statements of
leaders, police ofcers and other ac- witnesses recorded during an investi- Vanzara declared he had made a dra-
cused were declared invalid for want gation subsequent to the ling of an matic haul of country-made weapons
of original material and his failure to FIR and registration of criminal from the Daryapur area of Ahmeda-
report to higher ofcers. All this has cases are not signed by them but only bad. However, when Sreekumar told
worked to the advantage of the ac- the investigating ofcers. Please note the Ahmedabad Commissioner of Po-
cused. The unconditional offer by that the SIT did not arrest anybody in lice that his intelligence network said
myself and Sanjiv Bhatt to undergo relation to Mrs Jafris complaint, nor the weapons came from a factory in
narco and brain ngerprint tests were any searches made. The Su- Sabarkantha that had links with the
were ignored. Then there have been preme Court in its order of Septem- Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), he
many other things. Witnesses have ber 12, 2011, did not direct the SIT to was ticked off and issued a memo that
been threatened. People have come treat material collected in the inquiry questioned how Sreekumar could dare
to me to persuade me not to speak. relating to Mrs Jafris complaint as to raise such questions when the Chief
When I was still in service, I was told I evidence under the criminal case Ministers ofce had rewarded Van-
was about to be promoted all sorts registered by the Gujarat police on zara for his work in unearthing the
of things have been happening. That February 28, 2002 and present the hoard of weapons.
register I kept in which I noted every- entire evidence to the court con- Sreekumar also recalled how G.S.
thing that was said at meetings it cerned under Section 173 of the Subbarao, the then Chief Secretary,
should have been taken as evidence, CrPC. told him that Modi wanted a few en-
counters carried out. I told him the
MARCH 9, 2012
moment we decide to carry out an en- conning a man illegally for 24 hours.
counter it becomes a conspiracy and After contesting his appointment, he
for that we can both be arrested. He was shifted to the Bureau of Police
still tried to persuade me, but I refused Reforms and Development in New
and told him that if any are carried out Delhi.
I will uncover the truth behind them.
Soon after this, Sreekumar was posted RAHUL SHARMA
as Additional DGP Police Reform, As Deputy Commissioner of Police,
considered in police circles as a non- Bhavnagar, Rahul Sharma saved the
descript posting. lives of 300 Muslim orphans from a
Hindu mob during the riots. Instead of
KULDIP SHARMA being lauded for his effort, Sharma was
Kuldip Sharma, Additional Director transferred to the Ahmedabad Police
General of Police (CID), shunted to the Control Room, a post meant for an
Gujarat State Sheep and Wool Devel- inspector.
opment Corporation after he played a Rahul Sharma had been asked to
key role in exposing State Home Min- help with the probe into the Naroda
ister Amit Shahs role in the Sohrabud- Patiya massacre of February 28, 2002.
din Sheikh fake encounter case. Shah While in the control room he collected
had to resign eventually. Kuldip Shar-
ma was charge-sheeted in a nine-year- S H A H RU K H , A R I OT survivor from
old case, in which he was accused of the Naroda Patiya area.
A police diary of the government against me result-

ing in denial of promotion to me
(February 2005) on account of my
EVER since 2002, R.B. Sreekumar, cases investigated by the SIT, espe- refusal to comply with the illegal ver-
former Additional Director General cially inputs on the culpable role by bal orders of the CM and other higher
of Police (Intelligence), Gujarat, has Shri Khursheed Ahmed, IPS (Guj. ofcers, not obeying the illegal in-
been collecting information and for- 1977), the then Commandant of the struction for speaking in favour of the
mulating it into letters, afdavits and SRPF Group II, in Saijpur, Bogha, government before the Commission
suggestions, which he has been send- Nr. Naroda Patiya. But till today I was on 31.08.2004, verbatim of the com-
ing on to the authorities in the hope of not called by the SIT to record my munally inciting speech of the CM,
getting justice for the victims of what statement u/s 161/162 CrPC. Along the unlawful verbal directives by two
he calls the minority genocide in with this statement I had submitted Home Department Ofcials, copy of
Gujarat. copies of my four afdavits to the Jus- my Register recording the illegal ver-
The latest such salvo was sent on tice Nanavati Commission inquiring bal directives from higher authorities
February 9 to R.K. Raghavan, the into the riots. etc
Chairman of the Special Investiga- i. The first afdavit, dated iv. The fourth afdavit dated
tion Team. The letter was a last-ditch 15.07.2002 with the statement of my 27.10.2005 (86 pages) on the truth
effort in the hope that the investiga- cross-examination on 31.08.2004 behind nine unwarranted charges for
tions into the Gulberg Society mas- (232 pages) by the Nanavati Commis- dismissal from service on me by the
sacre would not be closed. He collated sion It contained data on alert no- Modi government, information on
data summing up the major part of tices, actionable preventive DGP, Shri K. Chakravarti revealing
the evidence that he submitted over intelligence and remedial measures the CMs instructions to give a free
the years and appealed to the SIT to suggested to the government by the play to Hindu revengefulness, blame-
record his statement under Section State Intelligence Branch (SIB). able role of the Central IB Joint Di-
64 (1) of the Code of Criminal Proce- ii. The second afdavit, dated rector Shri Rajendra Kumar, etc.
dure, 1973 (CrPC). 06.10.2004 (33 pages) with evidence B. Shri V.V. Chaudhary, Supt. of
Excerpts from the letter: relevant to expanded terms of refer- Police, SIB Gujarat State, recorded
A. 9th May 2008 I submitted de- ence to the Commission my detailed statement (48 pages) in
tailed statement (6 pages) with rele- iii. The third afdavit, dated July 2009 in the presence of SIT of-
vant information on major carnage 09.04.2005 (128 pages) covering bias cers Shri Paramvir Singh and Shri
MARCH 9, 2012
explosive phone data record showing Mathur. Rai has said that Pande, then
that rioters on the streets were in touch a DIG, in connivance with Amit Shah,
with policemen and politicians. conspired to kill Tulsi Prajapati, a key
He was charge-sheeted by the Guj- witness in the Sohrabuddin encounter.
arat government in August 2011 for He has reportedly been asked to
passing on call records to the Nanavati check with his superiors before mak-
Commission without informing the ing any further arrests.
State administration, which it said was
a breach of the Ofcial Secrets Act. The REACTION OF COLLEAGUES
government has alleged that some of The Gujarat Police Ofcers Associ-
these records are inaccurate and that a ation has expressed its support for
CD given by Rahul Sharma to the Bhatt. In an emergency meeting held
probe panel is a doctored one. soon after Bhatts arrest, 35 members
of the association passed resolution
RAJNISH RAI supporting him. This is signicant be-
Rajnish Rai, Deputy Inspector Gener- cause of the unholy connection be-
al of Police, is another casualty. Rai tween the police and politicians in
was removed from the fake encounters Gujarat. They were sending out a clear
probe following the arrest of three se- message that they were uniting against
PARAS SHAH
nior police ofcers, including D.G this kind of persecution.

Vanzara. He later indicted two retired Ofcers like Sreekumar have often
top police ofcers, P.C. Pande and O.P. spoken about the rot that has permeat-
A.K. Malhotra, relating to Mrs Jafris Hitherto untapped and unexplored terms on my evidence against the
complaint. information on witnesses to Godhra Modi government (Frontline maga-
C. I submitted a note to the SIT train re incident on 27.2.2002. This zine, dated May 6, 2005).
(33 pages) entitled Suggestion to was a request for recording state- I. I submitted copy of my eighth
SIT dated 3rd August, 2009, propos- ments of U.P. Police and agents of IB, afdavit (dated 15th September,
ing further action on the probe relat- who had seen the Godhra train re 2011) (63 pages) in which I presented
ing to FIR by Mrs Jafri against CM incident on 27th February, 2002. the details of misuse of government
Modi and others. The note contains (This formed my Fifth Afdavit dated funds to the tune of Rs.10 lakhs by the
60 points of suggestions and feed- 3rd May, 2010, to the Commission.) CM to undermine the judicial process
back from the riot victim survivors G. A third suggestion letter (24 of Ms Mallika Sarabhais writ petition
about the SIT investigation so far. pages) captioned Suggestion to SIT, in the apex court. This was submitted
D. A suggestion letter dated 6th stressing upon the need for recording on specic orders from the
November, 2009 to record the state- statements of relevant ofcers from Commission.
ment of Shri P.G.J. Nampoothiri, for- Central Para Military Forces and Ar- J. I submitted copy of my ninth
mer DGP, Gujarat, as he revealed my, who assisted Gujarat Police in afdavit to the SIT (20 pages) (dated
important information about the riot 2002 riots, and attachments of their 12th January, 2012) regarding inter-
in his autobiography written in Ma- relevant documents, was submitted action between me and Mr Ashok Na-
layalam language. to you. (This formed my Sixth Afda- rayanan, the then Addl. Chief
E. Knowing that the SIT is report- vit to the Commission.) Secretary, Home Department, about
edly accepting the State governments H. In the light of media reports his admission that he had shown all
version about my evidence in my 4 about the SIT marginalising my evi- my intelligence reports suggesting re-
afdavits, a letter captioned Rejoin- dence, I submitted a letter (33 pages) medial measures to remove bias of
der to malicious campaigns to mar- to SIT captioned An appeal to ob- the administration against the Mus-
ginalise my evidence to the Justice jectively appreciate and acknowledge lims, to the CM Modi, but CM did not
Nanavati Commission and SIT dat- the evidential merit of my six afda- act on it.
ed 30th March, 2010 (16 pages) was vits to the Judicial Commission prob- K. A copy of my open letter cap-
submitted to the SIT. ing into the 2002 Gujarat communal tioned An appeal to the real sover-
F. A second suggestion letter dat- riots. In this I included the excerpts eigns of India dated 2nd February,
ed 9th April, 2010 (5 pages) was sub- from your [R.K. Raghavan] article 2012 (10 pages) to the SIT on the
mitted to the SIT, captioned about me, praising me in laudable same date.
MARCH 9, 2012
We will not let it happen again

Interview with Sanjiv Bhatt, suspended Gujarat-cadre IPS ofcer.
BY ANUPAMA KATAKAM
SANJIV BHATT, the Indian Police If you were at the meeting on manner and approach of the SIT per-
Service (IPS) ofcer of the Gujarat February 27, 2002, and were privy to sonally experienced by me during my
cadre who was suspended from ser- all the facts that could incriminate interaction with the SIT. One of these
vice, has played a critical role in the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, why was real-time leakage of my deposi-
Zakia Jafri and Gulberg Society riot did you not speak up earlier? tion. Some of the matter appeared in a
cases of 2002 relating to, among oth- I am a police ofcer and at that well-known weekly. I have always
er things, the murder of former Mem- time was with the State intelligence kept all the matter spoken with the
ber of Parliament Ehsan Jafri (Zakias bureau. When the riots took place, I
husband) and 68 others. was the designated nodal ofcer for
Bhatt has been at the receiving sharing intelligence with various
end since his explosive declaration Central agencies and the armed
that he was present at a meeting on forces of the country. We are privy to a
February 27, 2002, where Gujarat lot of condential information and
Chief Minister Narendra Modi re- sensitive data. We cannot volunteer
portedly did not react to the antici- information unless we are summoned
pated communal violence alerts and by a court of law or a body with legal
instead told his close aides and the status. I cannot speak unless I am
police that they should be indiffer- called. Everyone in Gujarat, including
ent and let Hindus vent their anger. the investigators, knew what I stood
Old cases against Bhatt were raked for post-2002 [riots]. I was able to
up. He was suspended, arrested and give my testimony in April 2009
eventually let out on bail. when I was called by the SIT in con-
Bhatt has consistently main- nection with the Zakia Jafri case as
tained that the Special Investigation she had named me as a witness.
Team (SIT) has suppressed and, per-
haps, even destroyed crucial evi- After you got an opportunity to
dence. He has also said that he can speak, the oodgates opened. Could
prove that the carnage was a conspir- you tell us what has happened since?
acy and not a spontaneous reaction as When Zakia Jafri named me as a
Modi claims. witness in her case to prosecute Modi
The SIT has tried hard to deect for the 69 killings at Gulberg Society,
his testimony, he says. Yet, Bhatt says, I got my window to reveal the in-
he will do whatever it takes to bring formation I had.
JANAK PATEL
the perpetrators of the Gujarat car- The SIT investigating her case
nage to book even at the cost of his summoned me several times the
career. On the eve of the SIT present- rst was in November 2009. The
ing its closure report on the Zakia most recent was [in] March 2011. S A N J I V BHATT: "THE wheels of
Jafri case, Bhatt spoke to Frontline However, there were certain disquiet- justice grind slowly. We will
about the case and his role in it. ing aspects and inadequacies in the ensure they keep grinding."
ed the force and the nexus between the nor an MLA when he was killed, re- found dead at the wheel of his car at a
police and politicians. portedly told the Concerned Citizens place where he normally went for his
In a shocking example of systemic Tribunal headed by V.R. Krishna Iyer morning walk. He had been shot ve
corruption, Haren Pandya, a high- in May 2002 that the violence was times, but there was no blood splat-
prole BJP leader was killed in 2003. engineered by Modi and several of- tered in the car. Clearly he had been
Pandya, who was neither a Minister cials of the administration. He was killed elsewhere and his body was
MARCH 9, 2012
SIT condential, so somebody was destroying crucial evidence. They are The wheels of justice grind slowly.
leaking the information. The other not providing access to log books, We will ensure they keep grinding.
was that my case was [relating to] documents and message registers. We will not let 2002 happen again.
Zakia Jafris, but the SIT began in- These should be kept in safe custody The perpetrators will be exposed. The
vestigating me for the Meghaninagar which is not what the SIT is. SITs investigations have been a sub-
case [Gulberg Society] under the There is no question of a clean chit version of justice.
Code of Criminal Procedure [CrPC]. anywhere. Modi has to be prosecuted.
The Zakia case encompassed the There is substantial direct as well as Gujarat is notorious for police
larger conspiracy. So when I began to overwhelming circumstantial evi- encounters. As a police ofcer, what
explain the larger conspiracy, they dence to establish his alleged com- are your views on this?
said I could not [do so] because the plicity in the anti-Muslim pogrom of The encounters expose this mans
Meghaninagar case did not include 2002. [Modis] mask. Unfortunately, we
this. have a weak Prime Minister, and coa-
In April 2011, I led an afdavit in Could you tell us about the February lition politics does not allow harsh
the Supreme Court providing the fac- 27, 2002, meeting and the issue on decisions.
tual information on the difculties I the fax? The Tulsi Prajapati fake encoun-
faced with the SIT and submitting my I was in the intelligence [bureau] ter case could have nailed Modi. Simi-
concerns and apprehensions. This in- at the time. We had met Modi twice larly, the Haren Pandya murder was a
cluded the harassment meted out to on February 27, 2002. By the second classic case where a deeper probe
K.D. Pant, a constable whom I had meeting the Gulberg Society mas- would have revealed a larger conspir-
named as a witness to the February sacre had begun. Numerous situation acy.
27, 2002, meeting. reports and alert messages were reac-
I was suspended in August 2011. hing the Chief Ministers ofce. I had In the past decade, Modi has
In September 2011, I was arrested on even sent a fax [a copy of which Fron- attempted to move away from the
the allegation of forcing K.D. Pant to tline has in its possession] alerting saffron agenda. He is very popular
le a false afdavit against Modi. I Modi to the anticipated communal with the corporate sector. Your views
was released on bail on October 17, violence. Modi was not interested. In- on this.
2011. stead he asked [about] past instances The bigger picture here is that
where Ehsan Jafri had supposedly Modi is a liability for the BJP at the
You have repeatedly said that you opened re on Hindus during earlier national level. They cannot use him as
have no faith in the SIT. What are communal riots in Ahmedabad. a mascot, but the party needs the
your comments on the clean chit it money he has. Modi is able to bring in
is apparently giving Modi? How do you plan to take the battle funds the way no other politician in
Yes, absolutely. The SIT is pursu- forward? What are your demands the party can.
ing [its] investigation with a precon- now? Corporates like to deal with au-
ceived line. I dont trust R.K. We are asking for due process of tocratic governments, that is why
Raghavan [SIT chief] or the team at law. Zakia Jafri is asking to arraign they like Modi. He is also guaranteed
all. Under the stewardship of Ragha- Modi. If you are not guilty, then allow to be at the helm because of the lack of
van, the SIT has not been able to dis- the law to take its course. an opponent, so it makes sense for
charge its duties in a fair and just I have also told the SIT that my them to invest in him.
manner. He is a highly inuential statement should be recorded before After all, he will be around for
person in Gujarat. While my afdavit a magistrate under Section 164 of the another decade at least. Unfortunate-
submitted to the Supreme Court Cr.P.C. It has to be legally binding. ly, some signicant corporate houses
clearly details all the discrepancies, I have started singing his praises and
have also gone on record in the media It has been 10 years since the riots. are contributing to his war chest. This
saying that the SIT is concealing and Do you see justice in sight? is shocking.
brought to this location. The location not known. There are numerous sto- ofcers and bureaucrats who kept
was possibly chosen because it was a ries of police ofcers across Gujarat quiet and went on to get plum posts
place that he regularly went to, though who have suffered because they stood and even lucrative post-retirement
his footwear indicated that he had not up to the States ruling politicians. jobs. The silver lining is that there are
planned to exercise when he left home. Most of them have shattered careers. many who will play their part in the
Who pulled the trigger on Pandya is Then there are also stories of police ght for justice.
Building condence
The Gujarat High Court directs the State government to pay for the restoration of
religious places damaged in the 2002 riots. B Y V . V E N K A T E S A N IN NEW DELHI
In view of the inadequate endeavour public exchequer for the restoration of all religious
places, including those of worship irrespective of
of the government to handle the religion, such decision a would in no way be in
conict with Article 27.
situation effectively, which resulted The court also held that the fact that the riot
continued for several days suggested lack of ade-
in the destruction of more than 500 quate action on the part of the State in handling the
situation. The court considered the fact that the
religious places belonging to one annual report of the National Human Rights Com-
mission (NHRC) on the issue had not been placed
community, it was the governments before the Legislative Assembly for discussion. The
State government had got the report in early 2005.
duty to restore them, the court said.
THE judgment delivered on February 8 by a
Gujarat High Court Bench comprising Acting Chief
Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J.B. Par-
diwala in defence of secular values will have a signif-
icant impact on State governments conniving at
wanton attacks on religious property owned by mi-
nority communities.
The Gujarat government admitted that approxi-
mately 535 places of worship had been damaged in
the violence after the Godhra incident on February
27, 2002, and out of them, 292 places of worship had
been repaired by the end of that year. The Islamic
Relief Committee of Gujarat, a public charitable
trust, however, disputed the governments claim re-
garding the number of places repaired. It sought a
direction from the court to the State to make a
detailed survey of the mosques, dargahs, graveyards,
khankahs and other religious places and institutions
desecrated, damaged or destroyed in 2002 and to
compensate suitably the trusts and institutions that
were in charge of them to restore them.
The government said it had taken a policy deci-
sion not to spend any public money for the restora-
tion of places of worship as it would violate Article 27
of the Constitution. Article 27 states that no person
PARAS SHAH
shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of

which are specically appropriated in payment of
expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any
particular religion or religious denomination. How- R AM BE I N G W OR S HI P P E D at the site of a
ever, the High Court concluded that if the State mosque destroyed in the 2002 riots, at Raipur
government had decided to spend money from the in Ahmedabad. A le photograph.
MARCH 9, 2012
Negligence and inaction

Excerpts from the High Courts remedy. incident of Sabarmati Express at
judgment: Paragraph 23: If in the above Godhra as disclosed in its afdavit,
Paragraph 19: The State has no situation, huge numbers of persons such fact should have been known to
responsibility to compensate the have suffered injury for such inac- the police intelligence and they
person wronged for the illegality tion of the State government but should have taken appropriate pre-
committed by the wrongdoer unless they are unable to come to court for ventive action well in advance.
at the time of committing the of- various reasonable grounds, a pub- Paragraph 35: Failure on the
fence, the person wronged was in the lic-spirited person can surely es- part of the police intelligence to
lawful custody of the State. Howev- pouse their cause and pray before gather such general reaction in time
er, the position will be different this court for appropriate remedy. and to take appropriate timely ac-
when due to incidents not arising out Paragraph 30: It is the specic tion denitely come within the ex-
of any personal vengeance but solely case of the State government that pression negligence of the State
based on religious beliefs or senti- due to the said communal riot, the even if we, for the sake of argument,
ments, persons belonging to two religious places of both the commu- accept the defence of the State that
communities involve in riotous acts nities have been destructed. There- the cause of riot was the general re-
and cause destruction of property fore, in our opinion, for the action from the incident of Sabarma-
belonging to the innocent members restoration of all the religious places ti Express. Similarly, the fact that
of the other community. including those of worship irrespec- the riot continued for several days
Paragraph 20: In the latter type tive of religion, if the State govern- itself suggests lack of appropriate ac-
of cases, the State government has, ment decides to spend money from tion or adequate action, if not in-
however, a constitutional obligation the public exchequer, such decision action, on the part of the state in
to take all possible steps to stop such will in no way be in conict with the handling the situation.
illegal activities lest for its inaction provision of Article 27. Paragraph 56: On considera-
or inadequate action, the life and the Paragraph 33: After taking into tion of the entire materials on record
liberty of innocent citizens of this consideration the enormity of the we, therefore, hold that for the in-
country are jeopardised in any way situation where more than 500 reliability or negligence on the part of
only because they belong to one of gious places of worship of only one the State administration, the reli-
the communities of the persons in- community have been destructed, gious and other places of worship in
volved in the riot. even if we do not take into consid- State having been destroyed during
Paragraph 22: The State has a eration the number of such destruct- the riot of the year 2002 the policy
duty to protect those fundamental ed places belonging to other adopted by the State government,
rights of the citizens conferred by the community, the State government not to spend any money from public
above mentioned Articles (14, 15, 16, cannot shirk its responsibility by as- exchequer for the restoration of the
21, 25 and 26) (of the Constitution) serting that it had no negligence or religious places which were de-
and if by any inaction or inadequate inaction in protecting the life and the structed during the said period, but
action, which is nothing but inac- property of the citizen. restricting the compensation only to
tion, a person suffers, for no fault on Paragraph 34: .the facts re- the places of residence and the busi-
his part resulting in injury to his life main that the anarchy continued un- ness, is violative of the fundamental
and property, he can approach the abated for days. When, according to right guaranteed under Articles 14,
High Court under Article 226 of the the State, the riot broke out as a gen- 25 and 26 of the Constitution of
Constitution for appropriate eral reaction from the unfortunate India.
Such inaction, the court said, was a ment to effectively handle the ernment was bound to reimburse the
grave deance by the State of Section situation, which resulted in the de- amount spent by the persons in charge
20 of the Protection of Human Rights struction of more than 500 places of of those religious places, the Bench
Act, 1993. worship belonging to one religious added.
community, it was the duty of the gov- The State government contended
GOVERNMENTS DUTY ernment to bring them back to their that the court should not interfere with
The court held that in view of the inad- condition before the riots. In the case the policy decision of the government
equate endeavour of the State govern- of structures already restored, the gov- not to spend public money for the res-
toration of religious places. The Bench, the territorial limits of their respective
however, pointed out that the State courts. The aggrieved persons are to
government had already accepted its lodge their claim with these Special
liability to compensate the affected Ofcers within two months of the or-
persons for its failure to protect resi- der, with documentary and oral evi-
dences and places of business under dence in support of their claim of
Article 21 of the Constitution, guaran- damages.
teeing the right to life and liberty. The State government is allowed to
Therefore, the Bench reasoned, the contest such evidence, but the Special
same failure to protect the right of citi- Ofcers will decide and x the amount
zens to freedom of conscience, free of compensation within six months of
profession, practice and propagation the lodging of the claim by the ag-
of religion and freedom to manage re- grieved persons, which will be con-
ligious affairs, as protected by Articles rmed by the High Court. The State
25 and 26, would enable the persons government is entitled to recover the
who are in charge of the religious plac- amount to be spent for such repair
es to get compensation for their from the persons found guilty of de-
restoration. struction of those religious places by
The Bench said it was preposterous the competent criminal court.
to suggest that the State government,
in spite of its failure to protect the FUDGING FACTS
rights under Articles 25 and 26, was The Modi government told the High
entitled to take a policy decision not to Court during the hearing of the case
restore the religious places damaged. that it was bound to compensate Mus-
Such a policy, the Bench reasoned, lims only for the losses they suffered in
would give a wrong signal to citizens their residences and business estab-
that for the protection of religious lishments during the riots. However,
places from the attack of rufans, they as the proceedings before another
should take up arms in their own Bench of the High Court showed, the
PARAS SHAH
hands because in the event of destruc- government was not at all committed
tion, no nancial help would come to fullling even this undertaking.
from the government. This would en- A Bench comprising Justices Akil
courage religious bigots to destroy reli- the making at the site
A T EM P LE I N Kureshi and C.L. Soni, on February 15,
gious places of the economically of another demolished mosque, at sought an explanation from the State
weaker sections of other communities Paldi in Ahmedabad. government why contempt proceed-
in order to establish their superiority ings should not be initiated against it
over them because the poor would not taken in tackling an incident of an act for not complying with a court order
be able restore these places from their of God cannot be applied to handling a on compensating a group of riot vic-
own resources. situation arising out of culpable in- tims. Fifty-six victims had applied for
action, inadequate action, or negli- compensation for their uninsured
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS gence on the part of the State shops, which were burnt down at the
On the grounds that fundamental government in protecting the funda- Rakhial area in Ahmedabad in 2002.
rights cannot be waived, the Bench mental rights of citizens. The High Court, in September 2011,
dismissed the suggestion that the The court made it clear that if at ordered the State government to pay
damaged property had already been the time of repair further additional compensation according to the addi-
restored at the cost of the persons construction had been made in excess tional relief package announced by the
wronged and that the State govern- of the one existed at the time of dam- Centre in February 2008.
ment was not bound to reimburse the age, no amount should be payable by However, the Ahmedabad Collec-
cost of its restoration. the State government for such addi- tor informed the victims that the gov-
The State government argued that tional construction. ernment had dismissed their claims in
at the time of the Gujarat earthquake The court appointed all Principal August 2011. In their petition seeking
in 2001, many religious places were District Judges and Principal Judges to punish the government for con-
destroyed, and the government had in City Civil Courts as Special Ofcers tempt of court, the victims alleged that
not spent anything for their restora- to decide the amount of compensation the government had fudged facts be-
tion. But the Bench dismissed this ar- for the restoration of the damaged reli- fore the court in order to deny them
gument, saying that a policy decision gious places of worship situated within due compensation.
MARCH 9, 2012
Assembly Elections/Uttar Pradesh
Advantage Mulayam
As Brahmins switch loyalty to the S.P., the BSPs battle against a strong
anti-incumbency sentiment becomes difcult. B Y V E N K I T E S H R A M A K R I S H N A N IN LUCKNOW
The Congress seems to be in a weak Sentiments of anti-incumbency against the rul-

ing Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and some new twists
position as voters perceive the S.P. in the form of caste polarisation and caste alliances
are helping the trend. Vinod Pandey, a landlord-
to be a better bet for a stable cum-small-time businessman in Karchana near Al-
lahabad, summed it up thus: Yeh to Baspa hatao
government. Its stand that it will abhiyaan hain, is mein tarah tarah ki nayi saamoo-
hik sameekaran ho raha hain. (This is basically a
not take the S.P.s help to form the movement to remove the BSP government. And in
this movement, there are a number of new social
government may have turned permutations and combinations.) Pandey, like
scores of others that this correspondent interacted
the middle classes away. with in different parts of the State, has no doubt that
the single most important beneciary of what is
ARE the diverse perceptions on post-election going on will be the principal opposition in the State,
instability as well as the multiple layers of anti- Mulayam Singh Yadavs Samajwadi Party (S.P.).
incumbency at work across the State impelling a Travelling across central and eastern Uttar Pradesh,
large majority of Uttar Pradesh voters to make an over a stretch of nearly 100 constituencies, one could
expedient choice that may ensure some sort of politi- detect a clear edge for the S.P.
cal stability, at least in the medium term? As some A new and sudden community-caste combina-
regions of the countrys tion seems to reinforce the tilt towards the S.P.,
most populous State wit- especially in the eastern region of Uttar Pradesh,
ness polling and some oth- which accounts for approximately 150 of the 403
er parts go through intense Assembly seats. The combination comprises the
campaigning as part of the S.P.s core caste support base of the Other Backward
seven-phased, month-long Classes (OBC) Yadav community, the Muslim com-
election process, this ques- munity in which the party has deep and widespread
tion is acquiring an in- roots, and the Brahmin community, which had con-
creasing relevance. The sistently adopted an anti-S.P. position in almost all
nal outcome of the elec- the elections held in the State until now. It is this new
tions would depend largely shift of the Brahmins to a party that they have for
on how far and to what de- long perceived as a primary enemy that has raised
gree this trend gains visions of an expedient movement towards an electo-
strength in the course of ral outcome that is expected to provide post-election
the polling process, which stability or something close to it.
is to be completed on Pandey and some of his friends at Karchana
March 3. There seems little pointed out that the Brahmins shift to the BSP gave
doubt that the trend is Mayawatis party the majority in 2007. At that time
PTI
gathering momentum with the mission was to oust the Mulayam Singh Yadav
SA MAJW A D I PA R T Y C H I EF each passing day. Polling government and the goonda raj it had unleashed in
Mulayam Singh Yadav wearing a in Uttar Pradesh began on the State. We accomplished that aim. This time, the
crown presented by a supporter at February 4 and will con- objective of the new Brahmin-Yadav-Muslim (BYM)
a rally in Bakshi ka Talab, clude on February 28, combination is to oust the high-handed Mayawati,
Barabanki, in Uttar Pradesh on completing the seven- her administration and the BSPs party machinery.
February 11. phased process. This time, too, we hope to achieve the result that we
MARCH 9, 2012
best suited for that, he said. It might

have been expected that the Brahmins
disenchanted with BSP rule would
gravitate towards the Congress or the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But as
Pandey and Tiwari and scores of oth-
ers like them pointed out, these parties
are perceived as not having enough
grass-roots support to strike decisive
blows on the electorally well organised
BSP.
This conviction and the process
related to this has been further streng-
thened by the moderate and yet charis-
matic political personality of Akhilesh
Yadav, said Mohammed Idris, a
small-time shopkeeper from Bhadohi.
The S.P.s young State president, who
is also Mulayam Singh Yadavs son,
has indeed turned out be a facilitator of
the movement of these other castes to
the essentially Yadav-oriented party.
And this shift is exactly why observers
get to hear about an S.P.-BSP ght in
PTI almost all regions of the State, barring
western Uttar Pradesh, where the
AKH I L E S H YA D A V , W H O heads the State unit of the Samajwadi Party, is the Congress has struck an alliance with
star of the partys campaign. Ajit Singhs Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD),
a regional force with a predominantly
want, one of the group told Frontline. shows that communities other than Jat support base. Jats are a numerical-
The sentiment was evident over Dalits are also coming out in large ly large community in this region.
large tracts of central and eastern Ut- numbers to vote, Tiwari told Here, the ght is between the Con-
tar Pradesh, but those who held it were Frontline. gress-RLD combine and the BSP.
not very sure how effective the strategy What made the Brahmins switch Rahul Gandhis statement that the
would prove. To start with, the Yadavs, their loyalties from the BSP to the Congress would not support or join
who form the S.P.s core support base, S.P.? Brahmins across central and any other party to form the govern-
are numerically weaker than the Ja- eastern Uttar Pradesh have similar ment if it does not get a majority on its
tavs, a Scheduled Caste community, stories to tell. For nearly a year follow- own may have turned away sections of
and some other related castes that ing the impressive 2007 victory, the the middle classes, of which Brahmins
form the BSPs base. By informal esti- Mayawati government did try to pur- form a sizable section. In the early run-
mates, the Yadavs comprise about 8 sue the professed objective of sarvajan up to the elections, there was a percep-
per cent of the States population, hitaya, sarvajan sukhaya and gave tion that there would be an S.P.-Con-
whereas the Jatavs and related Dalit Brahmins sufcient representation in gress government in Uttar Pradesh,
communities form approximately 11 governance and related matters. But leading to a national-level coalition,
per cent. this upset her core constituency, and too. By the time Rahul Gandhi made
Moreover, the Jatavs and other by the latter half of 2008 the govern- the statement, there were already
Dalit communities are much more ment turned decidedly pro-Jatav. whispers in political circles across the
committed when it comes to voting Since then, Brahmins have been alleg- State that there would be no govern-
than the other castes, said Rajneesh edly harassed in various ways. Crimi- ment in Uttar Pradesh if the Congress-
Tiwari, a Brahmin who supports the nal cases were slapped on them on the RLD alliance got more than 80 seats.
new BYM combination in Gasper, a basis of complaints of atrocities led The Congress would nd itself unable
town in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sup- by Dalits. According to Pandey of Kar- to form the government without the
porters of the new combination, how- chana, there were thousands of such S.P.s help, and the perception was that
ever, were happy that the polling cases across the State. the party would prefer Presidents
percentage was in the range of 55 to 60 So we need to stop this blind pro- Rule to sharing power with the SP.
per cent in the rst three phases. This Dalit aggression. And the S.P. seems This has not gone down well with the
MARCH 9, 2012
Yet many BSP activists admit in

private that things could have been
better. Behenji has done a lot for us.
But the mandate could have been used
more carefully and forcefully. Clearly,
she lacked the advice and guidance of
somebody like Manyawar [Kanshi
Ram], said a BSP activist from Mee-
rut who has been associated with the
Dalit empowerment movement from
the DS4 (Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sang-
harsh Samiti), one of the rst orga-
nisations founded by Kanshi Ram.
A colleague of his in Ghosi pointed
out that the governance track record of
the last ve years had turned everybo-
dy against Mayawati: Behenjis Dalit
empowerment initiatives are not ac-
ceptable to other parties and commu-
nities. That is why they have ganged
up. It is as though she is being electo-
RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/AP

rally martyred for us. But the social
and economic gains made by the op-
pressed communities need to be pro-
tected. Our ght in this battle is
primarily to ensure that.
at an election rally in Allahabad on February
C H IE F M I N I S T E R M A YA W A T I By all indications this battle to
9. The Dalit-Brahmin bhaichara (brotherhood) that paid her rich dividends in protect what has been gained in the
the 2007 elections has collapsed. last ve years hinges heavily on ensur-
ing that there is a hung Assembly in
electorate in general, the middle class- chinery had been gearing up under the the State and that there is not a big
es in particular. Why are we having collective leadership of Rajnath Singh, difference in the number of seats with
elections if the point is to nally have Kalraj Mishra and Uma Bharati and the S.P., even if the BSP is pushed to
Presidents Rule? asked a doctor be- making considerable impact in the ur- the second spot. According to BSP in-
longing to the minority Muslim com- ban and semi-urban constituencies siders, the party hopes that the march
munity at Bhadohi in Mirazpur before the Khushwaha episode upset of the S.P. will be hindered by Muslim-
district. everything. The BJP rank and le now backed parties such as the Peace Party
The BJP has not been able to get have no great hopes of returning to and the Ulema Council in eastern Ut-
over the organisational confusion power. Still, there are sections in the tar Pradesh and by the Congress-RLD
caused by the Khushwaha effect. State leadership who are convinced combine in western Uttar Pradesh.
Across the State, one could hear BJP that the BJP, as an individual party, Once that happens and the result is a
workers lamenting that the aborted will do better than the Congress and hung Assembly, the BSP will seek to
entry of Babu Singh Khushwaha, a get to the third position behind the S.P. align with either the Congress alliance
Minister dismissed from the BSP over and the BSP. or the BJP, said a bureaucrat close to
corruption charges, had damaged the The BSP, aided by its core support the BSP regime.
partys electoral prospects. The issue base of the Dalit Jatav community and The sentiment against the ruling
generated much controversy in the related Dalit and Most Backward dispensation seems to be gaining
larger Sangh Parivar itself, and senior Caste (MBC) communities, is putting ground. It remains to be seen whether
leaders such as Uma Bharati and Ma- up a spirited ght. At meeting after the trend will be taken to its logical
hant Avaidyanath announced that meeting addressed by Mayawati and political conclusion. After all, not ev-
they were withdrawing from the cam- her close associate Naseemuddin Sid- ery political or social movement in Ut-
paign. Khushwaha was ultimately de- diqui, one hears the rhetorical ques- tar Pradesh is taken to its logical
nied membership, but the dust that tion: Koyi naheen takkar mein, kyon conclusion, as the collapse of the
was kicked up by the row is yet to pade ye chakkar mein? (Nobody else promise made by the Dalit-Brahmin
settle. In constituency after constitu- is in the ght, why are our opponents bhaichara (Dalit-Brahmin brother-
ency, BJP workers said the party ma- under an illusion?) hood) of 2007 has shown.
update MARCH 9, 2012
ofcial. But Gen. V.K. Singhs contin-

The waiting game uation as Army chief has become ten-
THE Defence Ministry and the uous following the courts verdict. He
Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. V.K. and his close aides have avoided the
Singh, seem to be keeping each other media and refused to answer ques-
guessing about their next move after tions. Although his counsel, Puneet
the February 10 judgment of the Su- Bali, said immediately after the judg-
preme Court on the governments re- ment that his honour and integrity had
jection of the Army chiefs statutory been maintained, it is not exactly clear
complaint on his date of birth in the how. The Supreme Court stopped
ofcial records. The court held that the short of dismissing his plea and re-
generals date of birth in the ofcial minded him that having accepted 1950
records would be May 10, 1950, which on three occasions he had to honour
was also the governments position, those commitments and not make it
and not May 10, 1951, which Gen. V.K. an issue now.
Singh claimed was his date of birth. The court observed that the gov-
Up until the time of writing this ernments insistence on May 10, 1950,
(February 16), the Defence Ministry as his date of birth does not suffer
was yet to issue any order for the rec- from any perversity and was not
onciliation of its records. The Minis- grossly erroneous because it was
try has to direct the Adjutant Generals based on dates written by him in pa-
(A.G.) branch of the Army to correct pers at the threshold stage. The court
the date in its records and reconcile it reminded him of the three letters he
with the date May 10, 1950 in the had written, two in 2008 and one in
PTI
records of the Military Secretarys 2009, accepting his date of birth as

(M.S.) branch. It was the discrepancy A RM Y C H I EF G E N E R A L V.K. Singh. May 10, 1950. The court maintained
in the dates in the records of the two After the Supreme Court upheld the that the governments insistence was
branches that led to the controversy. governments position on his date of based on the date lled by the chief
Informed sources in the Army told birth, it is speculated that he will himself in all the papers at the thresh-
Frontline that so far the process for the resign rather than wait until May 31 old stage, that is, the National De-
reconciliation of the records has not when he retires. fence Academy application form and
been initiated. We are still awaiting the subsequent documents of the
word from the Ministry, said a senior The Ministry, in fact, is not in a Union Public Service Commission
Army ofcial. The Ministry, on the position to declare the name of the (UPSC), in which the date of birth was
other hand, seems to be moving with next Army chief because Lt. Gen. Bik- given as May 10, 1950.
caution. Amidst speculation that the ram Singh is embroiled in a fake en- The court, after these observations,
Army chief may resign before his of- counter case of 2001 in Jammu and directed the chief to withdraw his pet-
cial date of retirement, May 31, 2012, Kashmirs Anantnag district. This case ition, which he later did. The only con-
the Ministry would like to wait a bit is being heard by the Jammu and solation the chief could take away from
more before making its stand clear. Kashmir High Court, which, on Febru- the entire court proceedings was the
The Ministry, said the sources, was ary 15, issued notice to the Defence statement of the Advocate General
caught in a bind because, ideally Ministry asking it why the case should that the government never doubted his
speaking, it would want the Armys not be re-investigated. The Ministry honour and integrity at any time dur-
Eastern Commands chief, Lt. Gen. has to reply within one month. ing the controversy.
Bikram Singh, to become the Army Clearly, even as this case is going Logically speaking, the controver-
chief, but that can only happen if V.K. on we cannot make any announce- sy should have been laid to rest by now,
Singh retires on May 31, 2012. If he ment, said a Defence Ministry ofcial. with the Army chief pronouncing his
resigns before that, then two other Ar- This explains why the Ministry is in no stand clearly and not keeping it a se-
my Commanders will have to be con- hurry to move on the issue of the next cret. But that has not happened so far,
sidered: Lt. Gen. V.K. Ahluwalia Army chief. These are routine matters and the guessing game of will he,
(Central) and Lt. Gen. Shankar Ghosh and can be decided in no time. Where wont he goes on.
(Western). is the hurry? said a Defence Ministry Purnima S. Tripathi
MARCH 9, 2012
Defence
PICTURES: DRDO
TH E E NE M Y MI S S I L E , a modied Prithvi, which took off from Chandipur-on-sea, Odisha, and the interceptor
missile, launched from Wheeler Island, which killed it in a direct hit.
Mission success
The February 10 interceptor missile launch was the sixth successful one out of
seven carried out since 2006. B Y T . S . S U B R A M A N I A N
The latest success means that India INDIA now has a credible ballistic missile de-
fence (BMD) capability if the successful launch of an
interceptor missile on February 10 is anything to go
can destroy in mid-ight Hatf and by. As a modied surface-to-surface Prithvi missile
took off at 10-10 a.m. from the Integrated Test Range
Ghauri missiles coming from (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea off the Odisha coast and
mimicked the trajectory of a ballistic missile coming
Pakistan. India is the fth country from an enemy country towards India, the intercep-
tor, called Advanced Air Defence (AAD-05), rose
to have ballistic missile defence majestically from a mobile launcher on Wheeler Is-
land, also off the Odisha coast, and destroyed it in
capability after the U.S., Russia, mid-ight at an altitude of 15 km over the Bay of
Bengal. The AAD-05 used a longer range seeker to
France and Israel. inch close to the intruder and kill it in a direct hit.
Defence MARCH 9, 2012
It was a dream come true for mis- mission was the sixth successful one tack the intruder in the exo-atmo-
sile and software technologists at the out of seven launches carried out since sphere.
Defence Research and Development 2006. The rst three launches, in When on February 10 the single-
Organisation (DRDO). We saw the 2006, 2007 and 2009, were success- stage Prithvi took off, radars at Ko-
tracks of a large number of fragments ful. The fourth ended in partial failure nark, Puri and Paradip swung into ac-
form on the monitor, conrming that as the attacker did not reach the re- tion within 30 seconds and tracked it
it was destroyed, V.K. Saraswat, Sci- quired altitude and range because of a when it was in ascent mode. The radars
entic Adviser to the Defence Minis- snag in its control system. It did not communicated the attackers velocity
ter, told Frontline from Wheeler come into the kill corridor and fell and position to the Mission Control
Island. The mission was done in the into the Bay of Bengal. Therefore, the Centre (MCC) at Hyderabad, situated
deployment mode, close to the nal Launch Control Centre (LCC) on 1,000 km from the attackers launch
user [Army] conguration. Its suc- Wheeler Island did not give the com- point. The MCC received the data in
cess conrms that the country is ready mand to the interceptor to take off. real time, identied it as an enemy
to take it to the next phase of produc- ballistic missile and issued orders to
tion and induction. the LCC to engage it. The LCC asked
D.S. Reddy, Programme Director, Now India AAD-05 to lift off and destroy the tar-
AAD, said the DRDO had proved that get missile in mid-ight. At 10-15 a.m.,
India had graduated from experimen- needs ship- the interceptor collided with the at-
tal mode to deployment mode in the tacker after the latter had re-entered
BMD programme. He added: This ve- based platforms the earths atmosphere, and destroyed
hicle [the interceptor] is capable of it.
intercepting ballistic missiles with a to launch The new elements in this mission
range up to 2,000 km. It is for the included a seeker with a longer range
government to give the necessary interceptors than the seeker used in the earlier in-
clearances and directives for future ac- terceptor. This took the interceptor
tivities leading to deployment of the far away from close to the attacker. A radio proximity
system. The attacker missile belonged fuse erupted close to the target, ensur-
to the 600-km-range class. the shore. ing that the warhead hit the target and
Avinash Chander, Chief Controller killed it. The MCC, the LCC, the radars
(Missiles and Strategic Systems), The latest success means that India and the data links functioned in uni-
DRDO, said that the entire operation can destroy in mid-ight Hatf and son. The mission proved, said Saras-
was close to the deployment cong- Ghauri ballistic missiles coming from wat, that the systems design was good,
uration. Pakistan. India felt the requirement the software was robust and the radars
V.G. Sekaran, Director, Advanced for a BMD shield in the late 1990s were reliable.
Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, when Pakistan test-red Ghauri mis- The entire interception was auto-
which had contributed to the mission, siles with ranges far enough to threat- mated, Avinash Chander said, with the
called it a good ight. en Indian cities. radars tracking it all the way. We had
The launch conrmed yet again no knowledge when the attacker
that India had the technological skills TWO-LAYERED DEFENCE would take off, he said.
to bring down enemy satellites in orbit. As an immediate solution, a two-lay- A DRDO missile technologist said
G. Satheesh Reddy, Associate Di- ered air defence system was conceived that the interceptor can be inducted
rector, Research Centre, Imarat, Hyd- to protect the countrys vital assets in straightway into the Army. There
erabad, was the architect of the the shortest possible time. Of the two were consecutive successes with a near
navigation systems used in both the layers, one was endo-atmospheric and hit and direct hits. Directional war-
missiles, the attacker and the intercep- the other exo-atmospheric. Out of six heads, which exploded in all directions
tor. While the navigation system in the interceptor missile successes, ve have and pulverised the intruder, were
attacker ensured that it came within been in the endo-atmosphere, that is, used.
the kill zone, its counterpart in the the attacker was destroyed at altitudes An informed source in the DRDO
interceptor guided it towards the at- below 45 km. The sixth one was in the said that although the interceptor used
tacker. In both the missiles, the navi- exo-atmosphere: the interception took in this mission was capable of inter-
gation systems used were close to the place at a height of 80 km. (The alti- cepting missiles coming from 300 to
nal conguration, Satheesh Reddy tude between 50 km and 90 km is 2,000 km away, India needed ship-
said. called exo-atmosphere). While the in- based platforms for launching inter-
India is the fth country to have terceptor used in endo-atmospheric ceptors far away from the shore. We
BMD capability after the U.S., Russia, missions was a single-stage missile, a are planning to realise such platforms
France and Israel. The February 10 two-stage interceptor was used to at- in the near future, he said.
MARCH 9, 2012
Controversy
Procedures & lapses

The two committees that looked into the ISRO/Antrix-Devas deal arrive at
roughly similar conclusions but differ on details and emphasis. B Y R . R A M A C H A N D R A N
One of them identies the violations 6A, which were to be built and launched by ISRO.
This contract was annulled by the government in
of norms and the persons February 2011, citing the need for the said frequen-
cies ostensibly for national strategic and societal
responsible for them but does not applications. The real reason was perhaps the awed
contract and reports of massive loss to the exchequer
pronounce anyone guilty of criminal based on draft observations on the deal by the Comp-
troller and Auditor General of India (CAG), which
wrongdoing. The other seems to had been leaked to the media.
That the apparent loss to the exchequer reported
believe the ofcials concerned are had no basis whatsoever was quite clear from the
beginning (Frontline, March 11, 2011). If indeed the
guilty unless proved innocent. CAG had made such an observation of huge nancial
loss to the country, then it must be said that it too had
FROM what was originally projected in the grossly erred in this respect, betraying a lack of prop-
media last year (Business Line/The Hindu, February er understanding of the rationale behind the differ-
7, 2011) as a major nancial scam bigger than the 2G ent pricing of space spectrum and terrestrial
spectrum case, resulting in a loss of Rs.2 lakh crore to spectrum. In this context it is interesting to note that
the national exchequer, the controversial ISRO/An- in the recent media report based on the nal CAG
trix-Devas deal has turned out to be something en- report (again leaked!), there is no longer any men-
tirely different today. The focus is tion of loss to the exchequer. The
now on the acts of omissions and nal CAG report is expected to be
commissions by the ofcials of the tabled during the Budget session of
Indian Space Research Organisa- Parliament. It must, however, be
tion (ISRO) and Antrix Corpora- pointed out that the wide-of-the-
tion Ltd (the marketing arm of mark reports in the media earlier
ISRO) in arriving at an agreement certainly had the salutary effect of
seven years ago with Devas Multi- bringing to light the problems with
media, a Bangalore-based private the contract and several procedural
company, for leasing out space irregularities committed by ISRO/
spectrum (transponders) in the S- Department of Space (DoS) in
band (2.5-2.69 GHz) and the con- meeting its terms and obligations
sequent action taken against them in the contract (Frontline, March
K. MURALI KUMAR
by the government. 11, 2011).

The Antrix-Devas agreement of A signicant fallout of the con-
January 2005 was for leasing near- troversy and the consequent inves-
ly 90 per cent of 80 MHz band- tigations into the deal by two
width in the S-band from the space G. M A D HA VAN N AI R , former committees constituted by the gov-
segment allocated to ISRO for Secretary, Department of ernment last year is that on January
space-based services. As part of this Space, and Chairman, Space 13, the DoS, under directions from
agreement, Devas brought to the Commission. He and three the government, ordered that four
table technology for Digital Satel- others have been barred from former senior ofcials of the de-
lite Multimedia Broadcasting (D- re-employment, committee partment, namely G. Madhavan
SMB) services across the country roles or any other important Nair, former Secretary, DoS, Chair-
using the satellites GSAT-6 and role under the government. man, Space Commission, and
MARCH 9, 2012
Chairman, ISRO; A. Bhaskaranaraya- Antrix/ISRO to build two satellites were due to errors of judgment or there
na, former Scientic Secretary, ISRO, (GSAT-6 and 6A) to the specications was a deliberate, concerted attempt to
and Director, SATCOM Programme of a single client for whose planned conceal and deceive the statutory bod-
Ofce (SCPO); K.R. Sridhara Murthi, services almost the entire S-band ies. That needs to be established by due
former Managing Director, Antrix; space segment was to be leased out for process of inquiry before any punitive
and K.N. Shankara, former Director, the lifetime of the satellites (or 12 action is taken, unless it has been
ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), be years) with the attendant risks of a new deemed by the government that even
barred from re-employment, com- unproven technology venture that the errors of judgment are so serious
mittee roles or any other important weighed heavily against ISRO. that they warrant such action as has
role under the government and they been pronounced. Indeed, V. Naraya-
be divested of any current assign- ACTS OF OMISSION nasamy, the Minister of State in the
ment/consultancy with the govern- The failure to keep the Space Commis- Prime Ministers Ofce, has categor-
ment with immediate effect. But as sion, of which Madhavan Nair, as Sec- ically stated that the pronouncement
Madhavan Nair has repeatedly told retary, DoS, was Chairman, apprised will not be revoked.
the media subsequent to the ban order, of the contract and not informing the Only the main report (Vol. 1) of the
there has been neither a formal charge Cabinet of it while obtaining nancial HPRC, or the Chaturvedi Committee,
sheet served on the accused nor a for- sanction for the two satellites in De- has been released, and not annexures
mal inquiry, to give the accused a cember 2005 and October 2009 re- to it or Vol. 2, which contains the depo-
chance to be heard and to present their spectively are certainly serious sitions by various experts and ISRO
defence. That certainly seems unusual. procedural lapses. The Space Commis- ofcials to the committee. Curiously
The two committees that examin- sion, according to the background note enough, even the full main report of
ed the details of the agreement were: of the DoS, got to know of the contract the HLT, or the Pratyush Sinha Com-
(1) the High Powered Review Commit- only in its meeting of July 2, 2010, mittee, has not been made public; only
tee (HPRC), constituted on February during which it recommended the an- the Conclusions and Recommenda-
10, 2011, comprising B.K. Chaturvedi, nulment of the contract, given the tions part has been released. In fact,
Member, Planning Commission, and many problems with it, in particular even the Terms of Reference (ToR) of
former Cabinet Secretary, and Rod- the high risks that the contract en- the HLT have not been revealed. On
dam Narasimha, Honorary Professor, tailed for ISRO. Equally serious is the the other hand, the ToR of the HPRC
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Ad- fact that the INSAT Coordination were (i) To review the technical, com-
vanced Scientic Research (JNCASR), Committee (ICC), the inter-ministe- mercial, procedural and nancial as-
and Member, Space Commission, and rial body that approves the allocation pects of the Agreement taking into
(2) the ve-member High Level Team of transponders on the INSAT system account the report of internal review
(HLT), constituted on May 31, 2011, for different services, had been ren- conducted by DoS [instituted in De-
and headed by Pratyush Sinha, former dered defunct, having not met at all cember 2009 under B.N. Suresh, for-
Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). between 2004 and 2009. mer Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space
Signicantly, the HLT included K. The responsibility for these acts of Centre (VSSC), and former Member,
Radhakrishnan, the present Secretary omission rests squarely on Madhavan Space Commission]; (ii) To suggest
of DoS, and in addition R. Chandrash- Nair, the rst two as Secretary, DOS corrective measures; and (iii) To x
ekhar, Secretary, Department of Tele- (vide Article 299 of the Constitution), responsibility for lapses, if any. It is
communications (DoT); Sumit Bose, and the last as Chairman, ISRO. But not clear why the Suresh Committee
Secretary, Department of Expendi- there would seem to have been mainly report, which, according to Madhavan
ture; and Namita Priyadarshee, Of- only acts of omission by the indicted Nair, is very positive on the agreement,
cer on Special Duty and Director ofcials. The only act of commission has also not been made public.
(Legal), DoS. The HPRC submitted its would be the contract with Devas it- While both the reports are roughly
report in March 2011 and the HLT in self. Both the committees have similar in terms of general observa-
September 2011. deemed certain terms of the contract tions and broad conclusions, there are
Both Madhavan Nair and Sridhara to be in violation of government policy. some crucial differences with regard to
Murthi have maintained that what This is, however, arguable. If at all, the details and emphasis. More pertinent-
they did was no different from the ear- contract was well in accordance with ly, in xing responsibilities for omis-
lier procedure for leasing out trans- the SATCOM policy but badly drawn sions and commissions, the HPRC
ponders on satellites to private parties up with terms that entailed high risks has identied the violations of proce-
in accordance with the SATCOM pol- and penalties for ISRO if the satellite dural norms and the individuals re-
icy of 2000. But the 2005 Antrix-Dev- failed. The question is whether the ac- sponsible for them. However, it
as contract was a good deal more than tions of the indicted ofcials, in partic- refrains from pronouncing anyone
mere leasing of transponders (Fron- ular the non-disclosure to the ICC, the guilty of criminal wrongdoing war-
tline, March 11, 2011). It committed Space Commission and the Cabinet, ranting punitive action. The HLT, on
MARCH 9, 2012
Standing Committee. Pointing out fer of Forge Advisors, USA (FA-USA),

that the use of ground spectrum is far which, according to the HPRC, had
more efcient than that of space spec- many good professionals of Indian ori-
trum even as much as 10,000 times gin, including those who had worked
the HPRC has claried that the pricing in ISRO, to provide digital multimedia
of the satellite-based use of spectrum mobile services was a major attraction
had to be considered differently. Con- for ISRO as it was difcult to get the
cerns on cheap selling of spectrum to technology, especially the chip design
Devas [thus] have no basis whatsoev- for compact hand-held devices, from
er. Space spectrum is not comparable other sources at that time. The agree-
to terrestrial spectrum, it concluded. ment was, the HPRC report notes, mo-
However, pointing out that there were tivated by the fact that FA-USA would
certain nancial and strategic gaps in bring both equity funds and hand-held
the agreement, the HPRC has accord- receiver technology to Antrix.
ingly held the DoS Secretary , the SAT- Appreciating ISROs efforts to
COM Director and the Member meet these technology challenges
(Finance) of the Space Commission re- when there were major developments
K. MURALI KUMAR
sponsible for these. in the world in D-SMB services, the

Interestingly, however, the HLT HPRC has noted that the decision to
did not even consider it important to source the technology through a part-
re-emphasise this point even though nership with FA-USA was consistent
BA NG A L O R E , J UL Y 9, 20 1 1 : this is what triggered the entire con- with the goals that had been set out for
K. Radhakrishnan (right), troversy, thus leaving the impression Antrix operations. The goals set out
Chairman of ISRO and Secretary, in the public mind that the nation for Antrix included as the committee
Department of Space, greets would have suffered a huge nancial has noted promotion of joint ven-
V.S. Hegde, who was appointed the loss if the contract had not been tures, encouraging ISRO employees to
new CMD of Antrix Corporation, at a scrapped. On the contrary, it could be set up enterprises in high-technology
press conference. argued that if the contract itself was areas, investment in share and loan
the problem, the Space Commission capital of companies promoted for tak-
the other hand, would seem to have could have recommended its renego- ing up production for space and ven-
prejudged mala de, or criminal in- tiation to safeguard ISROs interests ture capital funding.
tent, on the part of certain individuals rather than its annulment and enabled The committee has, however, also
who were responsible for the agree- the organisation to introduce new commented on the strategic gaps and
ment and, accordingly, its conclusions space-based communication technol- risks that were associated with the
and recommendations appear to be ogy in the country irrespective of the agreement that Antrix eventually en-
from the standpoint that the ofcials action envisaged on the erring of- tered into with Devas, which was the
concerned are guilty unless proved in- cials. Indian company that FA-USA estab-
nocent. There are also some contra- Indeed, even as it has pointed out lished in 2004 following the memo-
dictions between the two reports. the serious procedural lapses on the randum of understanding (MoU) with
part of senior ISRO/Antrix ofcials, ISRO/Antrix signed in 2003 when K.
CONTRADICTIONS IN REPORTS the HPRC has noted a lot of positives Kasturirangan was ISRO Chairman.
Take for instance the issue of apparent in the whole affair and has recom- The MoU had originally envisaged the
loss to the national exchequer with mended measures and reforms that possibility of cooperation in very ex-
which the entire story of Antrix-Devas, would go towards further strengthen- tensive elds; it was narrowed down to
in fact, began. Noting that the satellite ing ISRO as a driver of space tech- multimedia services in the agreement.
would continue to be owned by DoS/ nologies. Consider the following [W]hile professionally FA-USA
ISRO and that the spectrum was ear- observations of the HPRC: ISRO was had consultants with excellent experi-
marked for DoS/ISRO, the HPRC has at that time seeking opportunities to ence in the eld of space and were well
pointed out that in the Antrix-Devas develop or acquire innovative technol- qualied at that point of time, their
case, ISRO adopted the same business ogies, consistently with its policies and ability for developing the new system
model it had used in the past for leas- past experience in developing space- was not on record or proven. It was
ing out transponders as per DoS pol- related technologies in different ar- also not clear whether they had any
icy. The said policy was to lease out eas. ISRO was also looking for a ser- intellectual property rights (IPR) over
transponders at the best negotiated vice provider possessing technologies these technologies. It was, therefore,
amounts beyond the specic cost com- for hybrid digital communications not a case of mere technology transfer,
putations made by the instituted (emphasis added, throughout). The of- but one that involved development of
MARCH 9, 2012
innovative technology, which always possible alternative uses in S-band. including launch and insurance costs.
has an associated element of risk. With regard to the last point, the Only expenditures beyond Rs.150
ISRO took risk in selecting FA-USA HPRC has noted that while in Japan, crore require Cabinet approval. This,
and planning its satellite launch on Korea and the U.S. only 20-25 MHz says the HPRC report, raises the ques-
unproven technological capabilities. bandwidth is used for providing satel- tion whether this was done to avoid
While the Antrix Board approved the lite services in the S-band, it was not having to seek Cabinet approval. The
proposal (in June 2004), primary re- clear why Devas was being given such a responsibility for the above lay primar-
sponsibility lay with Secretary, DOS, large bandwidth. Though the Shanka- ily with Director, SATCOM, who
for this decision, says the report. ra Committee had not gone into this placed the notes before the Commis-
While the nal agreement is only issue in any depth, it held that these sion and Secretary, DoS, who had full
for the lease of transponder capacity, frequencies are mostly unused, and, knowledge of the above, being ex-of-
the original FA-USA proposal was for hence, may be benecially used for cio Chairman of Antrix.
a joint venture with ISRO. This pro- providing Devas services. The Shan- In fact, the HLT too has alleged
posal was considered in 2004 by a kara Committee had also argued that that non-disclosure of the agreement
committee under K.N. Shankara, who the use of Devas MSS spectrum had to the Space Commission even later,
was then the Director of Space Appli- been limited to a certain bandwidth while seeking approval for GSAT-6A,
cations Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, and therefore these, including MSS was deliberate. This act of dissimula-
and is one of the ofcials named in the services on other INSAT systems, tion, the HLT has remarked, extends
governments ban order. The Shanka- could coexist. From this perspective, it also to the calculation of the cost of
ra Committee looked at the proposal in is, therefore, not clear what sudden GSAT-6A resulting in the proposal not
detail from the perspectives of tech- strategic and societal applications going to the Cabinet. It has further
nology, risk management, nancial as- have emerged to make use of the S- pointed out that the agreement was
pects and the use of frequency band. band that had been planned to be not disclosed to the Technical Adviso-
The positive observations of the HPRC leased to Devas and had been lying ry Group (TAG) at the time of consid-
in this regard are worth recalling. unused until now. ering the experimental trials.
In several areas, says the HPRC Contrast the above with what the The HPRC has also noted that
report, [the Shankara Committee] HLT had to say with regard to the from the national security perspective,
made good recommendations which Shankara Committee: [Shankara] the allocation of a large part of the
reduced the risk for Antrix/ISRO. went about his job with a clear in- spectrum and the running of a service
These included the recommendation tention of suggesting an arrangement by a private player such as Devas was
to move from joint venture to leasing that would be acceptable to Devas. To an unjustied risk and that this issue
of transponders [as] the technology that extent he was guilty of not consid- was completely overlooked. The com-
and the patents and copyrights for ering all the implications of the agree- mittee has held Secretary, DoS, and
technology were not very clear at that ment he was recommending. In fact, Director, SATCOM, primarily respon-
point of time. In respect of space the HLT saw no positives in the deal. sible for this imprudent decision to
segment they suggested use of optimi- allocate almost the entire band to one
sation of spot beam coverage to enable OTHER LAPSES company. In addition to the above vio-
better use of frequency satellite fail- Besides the procedural lapses of non- lation of procedural norms, the com-
ure criteria, where the original propos- disclosure of the Antrix-Devas agree- mittee has identied the following as
al for a failure to be dened as a one ment to the ICC, the Space Commis- violative of government policy: (1)
beam failure, was improved to two sion and the Cabinet, the HPRC has Earmarking of GSAT capacity for the
beam failure. They also recommend- identied the following other signif- Antrix-Devas project, without the as-
ed that Devas was to procure licences icant lapses. It has noted that when the pects of the Antrix-Devas agreement
and approvals required for operating agreement was made operational in having been considered by the ICC,
their services at the consumer end, February 2006, there were no funds which is the body for recommending
thereby insulating ISRO from these with the DoS for building the second utilisation of satellite capacities by
issues. In nancial terms also the origi- satellite. But the DoS committed itself non-government users and (2) the ex-
nal suggestion for $5 m[illion] up- to building a second satellite clusive use by one player of a large part
front was improved to $20 m and the (GSAT-6A). The expenditure on it was of the S-band spectrum as provided for
annual fee for the lease period from $9 without any nancial authorisation by the Antrix-Devas agreement was
m to $11.25 m when Devas became because the Antrix-Devas agreement against the non-exclusive principle
cash positive. These were certain posi- never went before the Space Commis- adopted in the INSAT policy.
tive features which they were able to sion where the Finance Secretary is a With regard to the second, the
negotiate. In respect of certain other Member. It did not even go to the Cab- HLT has said: While the SATCOM
areas there were gaps. One of them inet because the cost of the satellite Policy/ICC guidelines allow for leasing
was the availability of frequency and was understated at Rs.147 crore by not of satellite on rst-come-rst-served
MARCH 9, 2012
basis, this did not prevent Antrix/IS- that the blacklisting of the four former This deal was apparently discussed
RO from following a transparent proc- ISRO scientists is a consequence of in all its aspects at the Council and
ess of adequately publicising intent of this recommendation. there had never been any objection
supporting such services and there- From among the senior bureau- from Radhakrishnan or, for that mat-
after applying the rst-come-rst- crats of ISRO/DoS, the report has ter, from any other head of ISRO cen-
served principle. In the absence of identied S.S. Meenakshisundaram, tres or bureaucrat. But, more
such a declaration of intent, choosing Veena S. Rao, G. Balachandran and intriguingly, even after the apparent
Devas seems to be lacking in transpar- R.G. Nadadur as being responsible recommendation of annulment by the
ency and due diligence. for the acts of omissions by not paying Space Commission in July 2010, An-
Commenting on the clarications enough attention to details and not trix and ISRO ofcials, including Rad-
provided by the ofcials to the com- ensuring that the various notes that hakrishnan himself, were talking to
mittee, the HLT has said that there is were put up for decision to the compe- Devas ofcials until as late as January
an attempt at obfuscation by key play- tent authorities included all the neces- 2011. In September 2010, Radhakrish-
ers as they have remained silent on sary details. Even though the report nan met Devas ofcials in Prague dur-
issues such as the arbitrary selection, has called for action against them as ing an international aeronautics
lack of proper nancial and technical well, interestingly, the nal ban order conference and discussed technical de-
evaluation, undue favours at govern- is only against the scientists. tails about the satellite GSAT-6 and its
ments cost to Devas, lack of transpar- What is curious in all this is that K. scheduled launch. According to a letter
ency and nally exposing Antrix and Radhakrishnan, the current Secretary from Devas to Radhakrishnan, dated
the government to unwarranted com- of the DoS and a member of the HLT, October 11, 2010, Radhakrishnan had
mercial risks. We, therefore, conclude was a member of the Antrix board dur- written to Devas on August 25, 2010,
that there have been not only serious advising Devas to speak to the Manag-
administrative and procedural lapses
but also suggestion of collusive beha- The Antrix- ing Director of Antrix. This meeting
with Sridhara Murthi did take place on
viour on the part of certain individuals
and, accordingly, responsibilities have Devas deal did September 14, 2010, in the presence of
other Antrix ofcials.
to be xed for taking action under rele-
vant service rules, says the HLT re- not even go to It is learnt that Antrix had not been
informed by the Chairman of the pro-
port, without any evidence.
Similar is the remark by the HLT the Cabinet posed annulment of the Antrix-Devas
contract and had not been advised
suggesting monetary gains made by
the ofcials, without any evidence. In because the cost against any further dealing with Dev-
as. In fact, on January 10, 2011, sub-
order to get a clear picture of the
changing pattern of ownership of Dev- of the satellite sequent to the GSLV failure in
December 2010 that upset the sched-
as, the non-legitimate nancial/pecu-
niary interest, if any, of various was understated. uled launch of GSAT-6, the new exec-
utive director informed Devas that
individuals and ofcials concerned, GSAT-6 could be ready for launch in
the extent to which the increase in ing the period when the Antrix-Devas three to four months and spoke of pos-
share value has been encashed by indi- agreement was in the process of being sible Critical Design Review in March
viduals, the shareholding of the com- implemented in terms of satellite fab- 2011.
pany and of the Mauritius-based rication, experimental trials, and so Following the constitution of
entities and any illegitimate nancial on, and he apparently did not raise any GSLV/Satcom Programme Review
gain by ofcials concerned needs to be issue over the deal. and Strategy Formulation Committee
looked into by appropriate agency. But as soon as he took over in under Kasturirangan to arrive at al-
There is no doubt that, says the 2009, he initiated an inquiry into the ternative launch strategies following
HLT report, in this matter the re- agreement by constituting the B.N. the GSLV failure, Devas, in fact, re-
sponsibility is spread over a number of Suresh Committee. Also, as the Direc- quested that GSAT-6 be put on a pro-
ofcials. However, [Madhavan] tor of the VSSC, he was a member of cured launch and that it be planned
Nair, Bhaskaranarayana and Sridhara the ISRO Council, which comprises well ahead of all other satellites in the
Murthi were the individuals who were heads of all the ISRO centres as well as pipeline given the 18 months delay
mainly responsible for leading the DoS the Additional Secretary and the Joint that had already happened.
and Antrix into this arrangement. We Secretary of the DoS, and where feed- It is thus not clear why this game
would like the government to take nec- back from all ISRO centres on the pro- was being played even as the govern-
essary action against them under the jects being pursued by ISRO are ment was planning to annul the con-
relevant sections of Pension Rules or sought and issues thrashed out virtual- tract soon and institute an inquiry into
any other provisions of law. It is clear ly like an internal review. the deal.
Scandal MARCH 9, 2012
Spectrum shocks
The recent Supreme Court judgments in the 2G cases will have a lasting impact
on anti-corruption jurisprudence in the country. B Y V . V E N K A T E S A N I N N E W D E L H I
The court cancels the 122 licences vants was Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption
Act (PCA), 1988. This section makes it mandatory
issued by A. Raja on or after January for a court to take cognisance of an offence puni-
shable under the Act and committed by a public
10, 2008, and directs TRAI to make servant only after the government concerned sanc-
tioned it.
fresh recommendations for the grant This provision was enacted to prevent frivolous
and vexatious litigation against public servants.
of licence and the allocation of However, governments, both at the Centre and in the
States, often misused the provision to delay inordi-
spectrum in 2G band in 22 service nately a decision on the grant or refusal of sanction,
in order to protect corrupt public servants.
areas by auction. In the landmark Vineet Narain case in 1998, the
Supreme Court had held that governments must
FOUR judicial verdicts delivered within the span adhere to the time limit of three months for grant of
of a week from January 31 have the potential to leave sanction for prosecution. The court allowed an addi-
a signicant imprint on the anti-corruption crusade tional time of one month where consultation with
of civil society activists in the country. the Attorney General was required. On the basis of
A major challenge faced by these activists when- this and other related High Court judgments, the
ever they tried to expose corruption by public ser- Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) framed certain
guidelines in 2005. These guidelines made it clear
that while granting or refusing sanction, the Compe-
tent Authority should only see whether the material
placed by the complainant or the investigating agen-
cy prima facie disclosed commission of an offence
and that a detailed inquiry was not required at that
stage.
In the 2G case, the Central government did not
comply with either the Vineet Narain judgment or
the CVCs guidelines while disposing of Janata Party
president Subramanian Swamys petition for sanc-
tion to prosecute the former Telecom Minister A.
Raja.
Swamy rst made his representation to the
Prime Minister on November 29, 2008, when he
sought sanction to prosecute Raja under the PCA; he
kept sending one reminder after another until 2010.
Swamy had alleged that Raja had allotted new li-
UN I ON HOM E M I N I S TE R P. Chidambaram with

R. SENTHIL KUMAR /PTI
former Telecom Minister A. Raja (right), in June

2010. Special CBI Judge O.P. Saini has dismissed
the petition to include Chidambaram, who was the
Finance Minister at the time of the scam, as an
accused along with Raja.
MARCH 9, 2012
cences in 2G mobile services on a rst- charge sheet to commence

come-rst-served (FCFS) basis to nov- prosecution.
ice telecom companies, Swan Telecom Observers and legal experts are
and Unitech, in clear violation of the convinced that no government in fu-
guidelines issued by the Ministry of ture will ignore this recommendation
Communication and Information even if Parliament does not immedi-
Technology in 2005 and thereby ately amend Section 19 on the lines
caused a loss of over Rs.50,000 crore suggested by Justice Ganguly.
to the government. The Benchs clean chit to the Prime
However, the government chose to Minister, however, has confounded
respond to Swamys petition only on critics who point to its second judg-
March 19, 2010. The Department of ment, delivered on February 2, when
Personnel and Training wrote to him Justice Ganguly retired from the Su-
saying that the Central Bureau of In- preme Court. In this judgment, the
vestigation (CBI) had registered a case Bench cancelled the 122 licences is-
on October 21, 2009, and therefore, it sued by Raja on or after January 10,
would be premature to consider grant 2008, and directed the Telecom Regu-
RAMESH SHARMA
of sanction for prosecution. latory Authority of India (TRAI) to
It was at this stage that Swamy make fresh recommendations for
led a writ petition in the Delhi High grant of licence and allocation of spec-
Court seeking issue of mandamus to trum in 2G band in 22 service areas by
the Prime Minister to grant sanction. J A N A T A P A RT Y PR E S I D E N T auction, as was done for allocation of
The High Court dismissed his petition. Subramanian Swamy outside the spectrum in 3G band. The Bench did
Meanwhile, Raja resigned as Supreme Court building after the so by following the reasoning that the
Union Minister, and the Supreme verdict on the 2G scam. FCFS principle was inherently non-
Court admitted Swamys appeal transparent, and unfair. The Bench
against the High Court order. Despite ment in the country. It held that all had no doubt that if the method of
Rajas subsequent resignation and citizens had a right to seek sanction to auction had been adopted for grant of
prosecution, the issue of grant of sanc- prosecute a public servant accused of licence, which could be the only trans-
tion needed to be examined in order to corruption and that every Competent parent method for the distribution of
x accountability at the highest levels. Authority should take appropriate ac- national wealth, the nation would have
On January 31, a Bench compris- tion on the citizens representation for been richer by many thousand crores
ing Justices G.S. Singhvi and Asok Ku- sanction of prosecution of such public of rupees.
mar Ganguly reminded the servant in accordance with the Vineet However, by quoting from the cor-
government that investigation against Narain judgment and the CVCs guide- respondence exchanged between Raja
Raja had begun only with the Supreme lines. To this, Justice Ganguly added, and the Prime Minister, the Bench
Courts intervention and that the delay in his separate opinion, that Section 19 sought to imply that the Prime Minis-
in the grant of sanction by the Prime of the PCA must be construed in such a ter knew that his Minister was against
Minister was impermissible. However, manner as to advance the causes of auctioning spectrum to new appli-
the Bench did not hold the Prime Min- honesty and justice and good govern- cants and that he was in a position to
ister personally responsible for that. It ance as opposed to the escalation of stop Raja from going ahead with the
said that he was not expected to look corruption. Delay in granting sanction grant of Letters of Intent (LoI) to the
into the minute details of each and for prosecution thwarted the purpose applicants on January 10, 2008. But
every case placed before him and had of a speedy trial, and the absence of a the Prime Minister did not do so. Yet
to depend on his advisers and other time limit in granting sanction was the Bench did not nd it necessary to
ofcers, and that they had failed to against the requirement of due process indict him or pass strictures for this
provide the full facts to him. Had the of law, he said. lapse. The Bench, curiously, has also
Prime Minister been aware of the fac- He, therefore, recommended that brought out how Raja ignored the con-
tual and legal position, he would surely Parliament amend Section 19 to pro- cerns expressed by the Law and Fi-
have taken an appropriate decision vide that , if no decision is taken at the nance Ministers over the adoption of
and would not have allowed the matter end of a four-month period after a citi- the FCFS principle, but the question
to linger for more than a year, the zen submits a recommendation seek- why the said Ministers did not protest
Bench said. ing sanction, sanction will be deemed against Rajas deance is not discussed
The Bench, however, laid down to have been granted for prosecution in the judgment.
two signicant principles to be strictly and the complainant/prosecuting The Bench said that the manner in
adhered to in future by any govern- agency will be free to le complaint/ which the exercise for grant of LoIs to
Scandal MARCH 9, 2012
the applicants was conducted on Janu- scam took place on January 10, 2008: Swamys appeal to avoid inuencing
ary 10, 2008, left no room for doubt I have seen the notes. The issue re- the pending matter in Sainis court. In
that everything was stage-managed to garding new LoIs is not before any his February 4 order, Saini concluded
favour those who were able to know in court. What is proposed is fair and that the evidence submitted by Swami
advance the change in the implemen- reasonable. The press release (the did not, prima facie, attract any crimi-
tation of the FCFS principle. Raja ar- draft which was released by Rajas nal charges against Chidambaram.
bitrarily advanced the cut-off date for Ministry on 10.1.2008) makes for Swami has said that he will appeal
the receipt of applications from Octo- transparency. This seems to be in or- against Sainis order.
ber 1, 2007, to September 25, 2007, der. This provided the necessary legal Saini held that Chidambaram was
and did not make this public until Ja- cover for Raja. party to only two decisions of keep-
nuary 10, 2008. This was intended to The judgment also suffers from a ing the spectrum prices at the 2001
benet some real estate companies serious inconsistency. The Bench jus- level and dilution of equity by two
which did not have any experience in tied the quashing of the licences is- companies, Swan and Unitech, even
telecom services and which had made sued in 2008 to protect institutional before the roll-out of their services.
applications only on September 24, integrity but left the licences issued However, the judge said both these
2007. The Bench did not consider the before 2008 on the basis of the FCFS acts were not illegal per se. But such
question whether Raja could have act- principle untouched, because it said acts may acquire criminal colour/over-
ed alone in this manner, totally by- there was no challenge to it and there tones when done with criminal intent,
passing the concept of collective were no aggrieved parties before it. he said. In the case of Raja, these acts
responsibility underlying the cabinet Those dissatised with this aw ask were accompanied by further acts of
system of government. whether the court could have allowed subverting an established policy and
The court justied its interference illegal licences issued before 2008 to procedure for grant of Unied Access
in policy matters in terms of the doc- continue merely because of a technical Service licences and the payment and
trine of judicial review. It said: When ground. receipt of bribe by other accused, who
it is clearly demonstrated before the stand charged and are facing trial. In-
court that the policy framed by the nocent and innocuous acts done in as-
State or its agency/instrumentality The Benchs sociation with others did not make one
and /or its implementation is contrary a partner in crime unless there was
to public interest or is violative of the clean chit to the material to indicate otherwise, which
constitutional principles, it is the duty was lacking in this case, Saini said in
of the court to exercise its jurisdiction Prime Minister his order.
in larger public interest and reject the Observers wonder whether Swamy
stock plea of the state that the scope of has confounded could have got a favourable order from
judicial review should not be exceeded the Supreme Court on the Chidamba-
beyond the recognised parameters. critics. ram issue had he not approached the
It is the duty of the court to ensure that trial court. The two issues were differ-
the institutional integrity is not com- Special CBI Judge O.P. Sainis or- ent directing the CBI to investigate
promised by those in whom the people der of February 4, however, has dis- the role of Chidambaram and making
have reposed trust and who have taken appointed those who believed the him a co-accused in the criminal case
oath to discharge duties in accordance Supreme Courts three judgments on the basis of prima facie evidence.
with the Constitution and the law would have an impact on the likeli- Clearly, in the eyes of the trial court,
without fear or favour, affection or ill- hood of Union Home Minister P. Chi- there is no prima facie evidence to
will and who, as any other citizen, en- dambarams prosecution in the 2G make him a co-accused. To unearth
joy fundamental rights but is bound to case. Judge Saini dismissed Subrama- necessary evidence, there is the need
perform duties. nian Swamys application to include for further investigation, which the
Observers expect these observa- Chidambaram as a co-accused under CBI alone can undertake. Sainis court
tions will inspire public-spirited citi- the PCA in the ongoing criminal trial could not have directed the CBI to in-
zens to consider judicial remedy as a of the accused in the 2G case. Swamy vestigate as it was beyond its juris-
reliable mechanism to ensure good had earlier led an appeal petition in diction. On the other hand, the
governance. the Supreme Court against the Delhi Supreme Court could not have direct-
A glaring omission in the judg- High Courts dismissal of his plea for a ed the CBI to do so when the trial court
ment is the role of the Attorney Gener- direction to the CBI to probe Chidam- was about to pronounce its order in a
al, Goolam Vahanvati. As Solicitor barams role. On February 2, the Su- related matter. In the end, it appeared
General then, Vahanvati provided the preme Court Bench comprising that the overenthusiastic Swami had
legal justication for Raja. He wrote Justices Singhvi and Ganguly re- jumped the gun by seeking redress in
on the le just three days before the frained from passing any order on two forums simultaneously.
MARCH 9, 2012
Column
The Chinese way

Though the banking system is used as a development instrumentality in China, a
host of new problems may make the government strike a new path.
MONG the many inade- they adopted innovative schemes.
A quately understood facets

of Chinas post-reform
economy is the role of its
banking system. Before the
reform, the countrys banking assets
were concentrated in a few banks, es-
pecially the top four. The system itself
Principally, these involved the creation
of nancial vehicles such as urban
development investment corporations
separated supercially from the pro-
vincial government, which were made
to borrow from banks to nance these
projects.
was a secondary instrument in macro- The problem now is the inability of
economic policy, implementing the these institutions to meet their loan
overall cash and credit plans of the commitments. Many of the projects
state, besides providing working cap- were nanced with non-recourse loans
ital support to state-owned backed by collateral of uncertain or
enterprises. little commercial value that could not
The consensus is that the role be easily cashed in case of default. The
played by these institutions has
changed dramatically in recent years,
Economic future cash ows associated with other
projects such as toll-based roads,
with their involvement in credit provi-
sion for investment purposes having
Perspectives bridges and subways are difcult to
estimate.
increased substantially. That transfor- C.P. CHANDRASEKHAR And some are social sector projects
mation came to the fore after 2008 with an implicit guarantee of a pro-
when the Chinese government decided vincial investment holding corpora-
to launch a huge stimulus package to sponsored, but off-balance sheet, enti- tion, but no explicit commitment to
address the effects of the global crisis ties. Second, in a reection of the de- pay.
on the Chinese economy. centralisation of decision-making and
The resort to the stimulus was in implementation, a substantial part of DEBT BURDEN
itself not surprising. Ramping up do- the additional spending was undertak- Though the stimulus shored up Chi-
mestic spending in order to neutralise en at the provincial level by entities nas remarkable growth rate even in
the effects of a global slowdown on an associated with provincial the midst of the crisis, doubts were
economy that was an export power- governments. soon being expressed about the way it
house made sense. It also served the One problem was that provincial was nanced. According to an audit
rest of the world well by keeping Chi- government could not issue bonds to conducted in the middle of 2011, in the
nese growth going at close to 9 per borrow money to nance expendi- aftermath of stimulus spending, local
cent. tures. In a drastic response in 1994 to government-associated debt had risen
evidence that provincial governments to $1.65 trillion or around 27 per cent
UNUSUAL FEATURES were nding it difcult to service their of Chinese gross domestic product
OF STIMULUS debts accumulated by indiscriminate (GDP). In comparison, central debt
There were, however, two features un- borrowing, the central government was estimated at around 20 per cent of
usual about the Chinese stimulus. To imposed a ban on local governments GDP. The audit showed that outstand-
start with, the stimulus package did running budget decits and issuing ing local government debt rose by 62
not rely on an increase in government bonds. per cent in 2009 alone, when Rmb
spending nanced directly with its Hence, when called upon to spend 9,600 billion was pumped into the sys-
own receipts. Rather, banks were en- as part of the stimulus effort, and hap- tem as part of the stimulus. The in-
couraged to offer huge volumes of debt py to do so to launch big, prestige ability of provincial governments to
to nance spending by government- projects backed by provincial leaders, meet their implicit commitments
Column MARCH 9, 2012
seems to be dawning on the centre reecting the hunger for government fears of a speculative bubble that can
with about a third of the loans set to bonds. But that once again raises the go bust have increased. This would im-
mature by the end of this year and possibility that provincial govern- pact on bank balance sheets and
around a half falling due over the comments in pursuit of the special inter- solvency.
ing three years. Sensing repayment ests of their leaders will resort to This problem has been exacerbat-
problems, the government has report- excessive borrowing backed inade- ed by structural changes induced by
edly initiated a huge programme of quately by revenue generation. liberalisation. Besides the state banks,
rollover of debts owed to the banks. especially the top four, that dominated
The argument seems to be that in time the nancial system as a whole in Chi-
these projects will yield adequate reve- na, the Chinese nancial structure
nues so that an extension of maturity is now includes a host of private banks
the way to go. and a signicant shadow banking sys-
With the economy still strong and tem consisting of trusts and other in-
the government in command, there is vestment companies.
little fear of the problem leading to a In the initial ush of the transition
crisis of the kind precipitated in the that saw banks becoming important
West by the over-indebtedness of lenders, the big state- controlled banks
households and the high debt to GDP lent to state-owned enterprises and
ratios of governments. The centre the private banks lent locally, especial-
would in all probability recapitalise ly to the small and medium enterprises
these banks as and when required to that have been an essential part of Chi-
keep them solvent. Even early critics of nas success story.
the policy of restructuring debt by ex- But recent developments appear to
tending maturities, such as the China have taken the system in three direc-
Banking Regulatory Commission, now REUTERS tions. First, as noted above, the state-
admit that there is no immediate owned banks have hugely increased
option. A T A B RA N C Hof China Minsheng their exposure to projects launched by
But the wisdom of concealing a Banking Corp., Ltd in Nanjing provincial government-sponsored en-
proactive scal policy, by making in east Chinas Jiangsu province. A tities that have yet to show adequate
state-owned banks lend to state-spon- le photograph. returns. Second, the private banks and
sored nancing vehicles, which in turn trust funds have moved on from -
lend to state-backed projects, is now in The problem is that, though con- nancing small and medium enterpris-
question. The problem is that though strained by the ban on borrowing im- es to nancing and fuelling a real
these are infrastructure projects with posed by the central government, most estate bubble.
an uncertain future revenue stream, provincial governments rely on trans- And, nally, through their engage-
those revenues have to meet the ac- fers from the centre and the sale of ment with the shadow banking system,
quired interest and amortisation com- lands they control or commandeer to the larger commercial banks, too, are
mitments. nance their expenditures. They are exposed indirectly to the property
That is clearly not feasible at the yet to establish any degree of nancial market bubble.
moment, necessitating the restructur- independence based on taxation de- These are all the result of the gov-
ing. If the governments had nanced spite the increase in incomes and in- ernment choosing to use the banking
the projects directly, they could have, equality in the system. system as a development instrumen-
in case of a revenue shortfall, used oth- tality, even while relaxing controls on
er receipts they were eligible to receive PROPERTY MARKET BUBBLE and supervision of nancial rms as
or new revenue sources to cover the There is cause for concern elsewhere as part of a Chinese way of restructur-
difference. well. Encouraged by easy liquidity, the ing the nancial sector. In the event,
Thus, the experience seems to sig- credit-nanced spending boom has af- while growth promoted by the huge
nal the need for a change in the policy fected other sectors. Chinese nancial stimulus was a benecial outcome,
of nancing the large investment un- institutions have overextended them- there are a host of new problems sur-
dertaken directly or indirectly by the selves in the property market in partic- facing. This could possibly encourage
state in China. Over the last year, gov- ular. the government to retrace its steps and
ernments in a few provinces and cities The exposure of Chinese banks to strike a new path. Unless membership
starting with Shanghai have been giv- the property market is placed at more of the World Trade Organisation and
en permission to issue bonds for the than a fth of their advances. Since the the conditions that the government ac-
rst time in close to two decades. The escalated lending has resulted in a spi- cepted at the time of entry prove to be
Shanghai issue was hugely successful, ral in housing and real estate prices, obstacles.
MARCH 9, 2012
world affairs
A Presidents exit
The Maldives: The nation gets a new President as political unrest forces
Mohamed Nasheed to quit. B Y R . K . R A D H A K R I S H N A N I N M A L E
Soon after his resignation on February 7, Nasheed

SANKA VIDANAGAMA/AFP
alleged that he had been ousted in a coup and

demanded fresh elections. But the international
community has welcomed the new government.
SOMETIMES it takes just one mistake for the nal Court, Mohamed Abdulla, on January 16. The
whole world to come crashing down around you. opposition pounced on the opportunity and Male,
Mohamed Nasheed, the rst democratically elected the capital, witnessed protest marches every single
President of the Maldives, made that singular mis- day after the arrest. Abdulla, who was until then on
take when he arrested the Chief Judge of the Crimi- the fringes of the establishment, became the new
DINUKA LIYANAWATTE/REUTERS
O US T E D PR ES I D EN T M O H A M ED Nasheed is carried by his supporters during the Maldivian

Democratic Partys meeting in Male on February 8.
MARCH 9, 2012
rallying point. On February 7, Nash- encourage MDP men to join the coa-
eed made way for Vice-President Wa- lition, it arrested a Member of Parlia-
heed Hassan Manik, a former top ment from Addu on what MDP men
ofcial in the United Nations Chil- said was an old charge. But the police
drens Fund (UNICEF), to be sworn in said that his arrest was in connection
as President. Educated at Stanford with the recent rioting. This again
University in California, Waheed was brought MDP MPs and people on to
the rst television anchor in the Mal- the streets. The MPs lodged a com-
dives and the rst person to be shown plaint with the Speaker on the night of
live when its local TV went on air in February 12, and their supporters oc-
1978, says his ofcial biography. He cupied the roads leading to the Majlis.
has headed the countrys Education The police struggled until late in the
Department, was elected to Parlia- night to keep the MDP men away from
ment (Peoples Majlis) in the late the Majlis roads.
1990s, and later joined UNICEF. He
rose to be the UNICEF representative THE GENESIS
in Afghanistan, helping rebuild A vicious campaign to force Nasheed
schools and providing health services out of ofce had begun last year. The
after the fall of the Taliban. He also opposition found that he could not be
served in Myanmar. faulted on welfare and development
Nasheed never spoke about the measures or accessibility. So they be-
events except when he gave a televised gan attacking his brand of moderate
address announcing his resignation on Islam, saying that Nasheed would al-
February 7. I resign because I am not low Israelis to come in and also allow
a person who wishes to rule with the the streets, Nasheed, after talks with the practice of other religions.
use of power. I believe that if the gov- Indian, British, U.N. and Common- Nasheeds response to these charg-
ernment were to remain in power it wealth ofcials, changed his stance es left a lot to be desired. He tried
would require the use of force which and demanded fresh elections. But af- paying the opposition back in the same
would harm many citizens. I resign ter talks with United States Assistant coin, by organising rallies that were
because I believe that if the govern- Secretary of State for South and Cen- larger than the oppositions and by
ment continues to stay in power, it is tral Asia Robert O Blake, who was a meeting smear campaign with smear
very likely that we may face foreign former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and campaign.
inuences, he said. He did not clarify the Maldives, and with the Indian en- But each of his acts only served to
what inuences he was referring to. voy, M. Ganapathi, who ew down unite the opposition. It finally led to
It appeared to be a peaceful transi- from Delhi, Nasheed appeared to have the overnight formation of a non-gov-
tion within the mandate of the Maldi- accepted the opinion that early elec- ernmental organisation, the Decem-
vian Constitution. The new President, tions were not a possibility. ber 23 Forum, which served as a
upon taking charge, told the interna- platform to bring all shades of the op-
tional media that he wanted to form a WAHEED CABINET position together. From then on, Male
national unity government, and began With widespread international sup- witnessed competing rallies.
working towards that objective. port for a rainbow coalition to run the The last nail in the governments
Out of the blue, Nasheed lashed country until the next elections in cofn was the arrest of the judge. The
out at Waheed the next day. He end-2013, Waheed began the process opposition then shifted focus to more
claimed he had been ousted in a coup, of Cabinet formation. First, he ap- earthly matters: mainly to the exec-
that Waheed had knowledge of it and pointed a Home Minister and a De- utive impinging on the powers of the
demanded that he resign. In Male, fence Minister, both known for their judiciary.
where Nasheeds Maldivian Demo- anti-India stance. On February 12, he The Maldivian Foreign Ministrys
cratic Party (MDP) is in a majority, appointed an Attorney General and six spin on the arrest did not help either. It
Nasheeds supporters clashed with the more Ministers. It was as if much of explained that the criminal court
police on the streets that day, leading the [Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom Cabi- judge Abdulla Mohamed had been ar-
to a baton charge and use of tear gas. net has come back with a vengeance, rested for corruption, in particular for
Many MDP men were arrested in said an MDP politician. I would not allowing his judicial decisions to be
Male. Another MDP stronghold, Addu be surprised if Gayoom himself came determined by political and personal
City in the southern-most atoll of Ad- back. afliations and interests. His repeated
du (formerly Seenu), witnessed arson. Then the government made its rst failure to comply with constitutional
Buoyed by the support he saw on mistake. In what appears to be a bid to requirements regarding the individual
MARCH 9, 2012
allegations of political bias after he ap-

peared on TV saying this government
is a dying government, but the JSCs
move was overturned by Abdulla Mo-
hameds allies in the lower courts.
With the JSC unwilling or unable
to act, responsibility to rein in judges
who break the law should fall to higher
judicial authorities. However, senior
judges have proved time and again
that they are not willing to take action
against one of their own destroying,
in the process, public condence in the
judiciary.
All the time, Abdulla Mohameds
actions are becoming more blatant
from asking children who have been
sexually abused to act out the crime in
court, to repeatedly releasing opposi-
REUTERS
tion gures brought before the courts
for serious crimes including assault
NE WL Y A PPO I N T E D PR ES I D EN T Mohamed Waheed at a news conference and incitement to hatred or violence.
at the Presidents Ofce in Male on February 11. As the ultimate guarantor of the
Constitution, the President could no
integrity and competence of judges has ment of individual competence and in- longer sit by and watch as a minority of
been compounded by the failure of tegrity by judges in their proceedings: judges destroy public trust in the judi-
normal constitutional checks and bal- including issues of actual or perceived ciary and make a mockery of the laws
ances to hold him accountable to the bias, prejudice, or conicts of interest of the country. Abdulla Mohamed has
society he is supposed to serve. and ethical behaviour outside of ofce, therefore been arrested. This is not a
The government put out more jus- requiring continuous responsibility to move against the judiciary of the Mal-
tications, but none washed. A typical demonstrate high moral character. dives but rather against an individual
one ran like this: Unfortunately, it is clear, in con- who has repeatedly broken the law and
The Government of the Maldives travention of the Bangalore Principles, who should be held accountable for his
fully supports and will always protect that Abdulla Mohamed considers ju- actions, the Foreign Minister said.
judicial independence, said former dicial independence to mean that he
Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem. can do whatever he likes, and can act STATE OF JUDICIARY
However, judicial independence does with total impunity. While it was clear that the judiciary in
not mean that judges are above the law The 2008 Constitution empowers the Maldives is in urgent need for re-
and can behave as they see t con- the Judicial Service Commission as the form, the justication for the arrest of
trary to the laws of the land. A judge is independent guardian of the values of one judge could easily have been ap-
a citizen of the Maldives no more or competence and integrity and thus of plied to another. This is because most
less important than any other citizen. individual accountability of judges. of the judges were appointed during
As the Bangalore Principles make Sadly, as we have seen time and again, the Gayoom regime. Many were not
clear, judicial independence is, rather, the JSC has not been able to full its educated. Al Jazeera television
a responsibility and a means to ensure constitutional task of holding judges claimed that nearly 50 per cent of the
that judges are able to decide cases like Abdulla Mohamed who is repre- judges had not studied beyond Stan-
based only on the law and facts of the sentative of a small minority of judges dard VII. Of course, Gayoom himself
case before them without fear or fa- who abuse their position to protect had set in motion a programme of
vour. As the International Commis- themselves and their political allies sending youngsters abroad for legal
sion of Jurists made clear following to account. education. But this was not
their recent assessment of the state of For a long time, the JSC which is streamlined.
the Maldives judiciary, judicial inde- itself dominated by judges and opposi- Nasheed, who wanted to make his
pendence is a responsibility requiring tion politicians refused to take any country a modern multiparty democ-
accountability a point clearly reect- disciplinary action against judges. racy with a progressive and erudite ju-
ed in the Constitution of the Maldives. More recently, the JSC did try to take diciary, tried to take shortcuts to
This accountability includes a require- action against Abdulla Mohamed over achieve this. When Nasheed took on
MARCH 9, 2012
the entire judiciary, threatening it with The base of the monument depicted
a series of measures, the judiciary did several religious symbols; such display
not react. But opportunity presented is forbidden by law in the Maldives.
itself in the middle of 2010. During Protesters set re to the Pakistani
one of the many crises that the Nash- monument, vandalised the Sri Lankan
eed government faced, most judges de- monument, and attempted to take
clared themselves as judges for life. down the Indian one. Pakistan, an Is-
But legal and constitutional ex- lamic nation, was left red-faced.
perts say that regardless of what the The government rmly dealt with
judiciary did, there was still no justi- the protesters at rst but changed tack
cation for the arrest. Though Nasheed later. The Islamic Ministry ordered the
was repeatedly told that the arrest of a removal of the monuments; later it
DINUKA LIYANAWATTE/REUTERS
judge would make him look like a dic- changed course and held that the local
tator, he apparently did not listen. municipality could decide on the issue.
People close to him say that intuition Nasheed rst treated the protests as a
governed his style of functioning. It law and order issue, and then tasked
had got him out of prison to the corri- the local council, run by the MDP, to
dors of power. handle it.
The third act of impulsiveness was
IMPULSIVE United States
RO B ERT O B L A KE , during the SAARC summit. Nasheed,
Despite occupying the highest ofce in Assistant Secretary of State for in his address, stressed the need for
the Maldives, Nasheed never shed his South and Central Asia, in Male accountability and human rights, and
impulsive behaviour. Three recent in- on February 11.
stances demonstrate how he could
alienate his best friends. For one, he ment requested all member-countries
raised the contentious issue of Minicoy to bring the replica of a monument
Islands with Indian Prime Minister that best represented their nation and
Manmohan Singh during their bilater- which was to be displayed in a public
al meeting last November. This was space in Addu.
completely out of the script, and of- We did not know how to react or
cials of the Ministry of External Affairs what would represent India. These
(MEA) from India were left red-faced. monuments last forever and usually a
Manmohan Singh, himself a former lot of thinking and discussion go into
international bureaucrat, sensing the planning something like this. This
discomfort of everyone around, han- could not happen in three months, a
dled the situation tactfully. He gently senior MEA ofcial said. India nally
but rmly told Nasheed that the issue decided on a bronze Asoka Chakra,
could be examined in other fora, and and Sri Lanka a granite lion, while
not in a bilateral meeting. Pakistan wanted to show its transition
Minicoy, the southern-most Indi- to Islam.
an island in the Lakshadweep archi- Soon after the unveiling of the
pelago in the Arabian Sea, is closer monuments, the protests began. In Is-
culturally and geographically to the lamic Maldives, by law, no other reli-
Maldives than to India. Diwehi, the gion can be practised and the display of
Maldivian national tongue, is widely the monuments provided the ideal
spoken here. Abdul Gayoom, soon af- platform that extremist elements in
ter becoming President in 1978, de- the country were looking for. They
clared that retrieving Minicoy from seized upon the Pakistani monument,
India was his top priority. Curiously, kept in Hithadhoo, to show how Nash-
he did not utter the word Minicoy for eed was allowing other religions into
the next 30 years. the Maldives through the back door.
The second instance was three
months before the 17th South Asian D EM O N S T RA TOR S CA LL FOR
Association for Regional Cooperation the release of the criminal court
(SAARC) summit in Addu City in No- judge Mohamed Abdulla, in Male
vember 2011. The Maldivian govern- on January 29.
MARCH 9, 2012
that left Sri Lanka miffed. The periodic to ensure that it did not end up in The High Commissioner here has been
lecture tours of Robert OBlake to the anarchy. talking to everyone there and this en-
island nation and the not-so-subtle India sent M. Ganapathi, who is gagement has been appreciated in my
noises made by India are reasons why the Secretary (West) in the MEA, as a meetings also with Nasheed and the
Sri Lanka is touchy about these topics. special envoy. He described the sit- other political leaders, including Pres-
Sri Lanka was dismayed that Nasheed, uation as complex and that India ident Waheed.
a close friend of its President Mahinda wanted this to be resolved in an atmo- As the calm gave way to a crisis,
Rajapaksa, had let him down in an sphere of calm and peace so that it does India, which did not have a dedicated
international forum. not affect the common person. expert on the Maldives at the senior
Ganapathi met the widest possi- level, reacted fast. It asked a senior
INDIAS ROLE ble cross section of stakeholders in the MEA ofcial, then in Jaffna, to move to
Soon after Waheeds takeover, MEA Maldives in view of the recent devel- Male. It then picked its best perform-
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said opments, who all agreed that there ing ofcer who was earlier in the
that it was an internal matter to be should be no violence. The political Maldives from Kenya and put him in
resolved by the Maldives. process will continue to evolve and we Male for additional support.
Even as the MDP kept insisting it would continue to monitor the situa-
was a coup, the Indian establishment tion, he said. THE FUTURE
called it a change of power. Indias Asked if India lost out in not sup- With Nasheeds demand for fresh elec-
High Commissioner to the Maldives porting Nasheed, he said: This is not a tions not nding acceptance with all
Dnyaneshwar Mulay, held meetings cricket match. We will continue to en- parties concerned, he has instead de-
with Nasheed, Waheed and a host of gage Nasheed and his team. We have cided to pressure the international
players in the countrys affairs in a bid had discussions over the last two days. community to ask for an investigation
into the circumstances that led to the
change of power and also to work the
streets with his band of loyal
supporters.
Nasheed scored a major victory
when the Commonwealth Ministerial
Action Group (CMAG) decided to
send a ministerial team to investigate
the circumstances leading to the
change of regime. The U.S., India, the
United Kingdom and a few other
countries have also called for an in-
vestigation. Waheed said that he was
willing to hold any kind of
investigation.
As the Maldives blinks on the edge,
there is a lot more than politics that is
cause for concern. The well-heeled
900,000 or more tourists who come
every year to visit the desert islands
that pop out of the turquoise blue wa-
ters may decide to stay away. Already,
the U.K. has issued a travel warning.
Others in the European Union could
follow suit.
Already there is a severe dollar and
resource crunch in the Maldives. Res-
DINUKA LIYANAWATTE /REUTERS
taurants in Male are running empty.

Retailers are complaining of a serious
drop in sales since December 23. Over
one lakh expatriate workers are con-
templating their future. The sands be-
neath the countrys feet are shifting
fast.
World Affairs MARCH 9, 2012
War of nerves
The West, along with Israel, is racheting up threats of an attack, but Iran
appears unfazed. B Y J O H N C H E R I A N
The neighbouring Arab monarchies Iranians brought down a sophisticated U.S. drone.
The Israeli media are full of stories about the
are tacitly supporting the build-up of American troops in two small Gulf is-
lands near the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli Defence
psychological and economic war Minister Ehud Barak, one of the architects of the
massacre in Gaza three years ago, said in early Feb-
being currently waged by the West ruary that the window for an effective military
strike on Iran was rapidly closing because of the
against Iran, but they realise that continuing development of uranium enrichment
centrifuges by that country. Israeli Vice Prime Min-
Iran too has many cards to play. ister Moshe Yaalon declared that his country was
condent of hitting any facility in Iran it chose to,
REPORTS appear every other day in the West- saying that he was speaking from his experience as a
ern media about an imminent Israeli strike against former head of the Israeli armed forces.
Iran. The Barack Obama administration keeps on French President Nicolas Sarkozy added his bel-
repeating that all options are on the table against ligerent voice to the war discourse by saying that an
Iran. The United States armed forces have begun attack on Iran would be justied if the country con-
their biggest amphibious landing drill in the Persian tinues its senseless race to get the bomb and threaten
Gulf region in more than a decade. The Pentagon its neighbours. Sarkozy seems to have conveniently
recently doubled the number of aircraft carriers in forgotten that in the modern era, Iran never started a
the region. U.S. military and spy drones have been war. It has always been a victim of aggression. It was
ying over Iran for some time now. Late last year, the West and the Arab monarchies that encouraged
Saddam Hussein to attack Iran in 1980, leading to
the eight-year war, which led to the loss of more than
a million Iranian lives.
Teheran appears to be unfazed by the ratcheting
up of threats from the West. President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, speaking on the occasion of the 33rd
anniversary of the Iranian revolution, said that the
Islamic Republic would soon announce some very
important achievements in the nuclear eld.
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
also reiterated that Iran would never give up its
rights to a peaceful nuclear programme. Iran has
been consistently stating that as a signatory to the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has every
right to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme. All of
ATTA KENARE/AFP
Irans nuclear facilities, including those engaged in

uranium enrichment, are monitored by the Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure that
weapons-grade uranium is not produced.
P R E S I D E N T M A H MO U D A H M A D I N EJ A D at a rally to mark the Khamenei warned the West against undertaking
33rd anniversary celebrations of the Islamic revolution, at a military adventure, saying that if hostilities broke
Azadi Square in Teheran on February 11. He said that Iran had out, it would be 10 times deadlier for the Americans
broken the "idol" of the Holocaust underpinning the creation of than it would be for Iran. Reacting to threats from
the Israeli state. Israel, he said the country was a cancerous tumour
MARCH 9, 2012
ATTA KENARE/AFP
IR A NIAN W O ME N H O L D I N G portraits of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and anti-U.S. placards at the
Azadi Square celebrations.
in the region, which had to be know that Iran is not like neighbour- tive and are demanding their
removed. ing Iraq, which they could occupy in a democratic rights. Senior Iranian of-
U.S. Secretary of Defence Leon Pa- couple of weeks. President Obama, cials have warned that if war breaks
netta told the media in Brussels in trying to tone down the talk of immi- out, the Iranian army will target the
early February that there was a strong nent war, said in the rst week of Feb- U.S. military bases littering the Gulf
likelihood of Israel attacking Iran by ruary that the Israelis had not yet countries. If shipping is affected in the
the middle of the year. On December decided their course of action against choke point of the Strait of Hormuz,
20, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Iran. He emphasised that the two global oil prices are bound to shoot
Gen. Martin Dempsey told CNN that a countries would work in lockstep, as through the roof. Even the American
whole range of options were being ex- we proceed to solve this, hopefully dip- consumer could be left with a big hole
amined for military action against lomatically. Meanwhile, the Repub- in his pocket during an election year.
Iran. I am satised that the options lican contenders for the U.S. This will be detrimental to Obamas
that we are developing are evolving to a presidency, with the exception of Ron chances of winning a second term.
point that they would be executable if Paul, are carrying on with their refrain On a parallel track, the U.S. has
necessary, he said. The right-wing of bomb, bomb Iran. been trying desperately to arm-twist
government in Israel would like noth- On the nuclear issue, the Iranian traditional friends and trading part-
ing better than precipitating a war people are united as never before. The ners of Iran, like India, to implement
with Iran. The hawkish government in neighbouring Arab monarchies are no the unilateral sanctions imposed by
Israel has coldly concluded that the doubt tacitly supporting the psycho- the West. When Indias Foreign Secre-
Obama administration, readying itself logical and economic warfare being tary, Ranjan Mathai, was in Washing-
for re-election later in the year, will currently waged by the West against ton recently for talks, the U.S. State
have no other option but to nish the Iran, but they realise that Iran too has Department spokesperson, Victoria
war that Israel wants to start. But the many cards to play. The Shia popula- Nuland, told reporters that how India
realists in the Obama administration tions in these countries are already res- might nd alternative sources of ener-
MARCH 9, 2012
IS R A E L I S F R O M D I F F EREN T organisations
holding banners calling on the government not
ODED BALITY/AP
to attack Iran, during a protest in front of the
Ministry of Defence in Tel Aviv on February 9.
gy was among the important issues ation and rise in the prices of basic more successful with New Delhi on the
discussed. She said that the U.S. was imported goods such as medicines. gas pipeline issue. Under pressure
trying to implement a two-track pol- India is among Irans biggest from the Bush administration, India
icy, both to encourage countries to buyers of oil and gas. Senior Indian had withdrawn from the Iran-Pakis-
wean themselves from Iranian oil, but policymakers say that though the tan-India (IPI) project, saying that it
also to work with suppliers around the countrys dependency on Iranian oil is was economically unfeasible and
world to help countries nd alternative decreasing, Iran will continue to be a would give Islamabad undue leverage
sources of energy. major supplier. Twelve per cent of In- on the countrys energy security. Un-
The Saudi Arabian government dias crude imports are from Iran. In der American pressure, many major
has promised to ramp up the produc- January, India became the biggest im- private Indian companies such as Re-
tion of oil in order to meet any shortfall porter of Iranian oil, displacing China. liance suspended their contracts with
in case Iranian oil is forced out of the The announcement by the Indian gov- Iran for the supply of rened gasoline.
international market. Iran has de- ernment that it was planning to send a The Obama administration is nat-
scribed the unilateral sanctions im- large trade delegation to Iran to urally unhappy with Indias decision to
posed by the West as part of the strengthen economic ties has angered broaden economic ties with Iran at
psychological warfare being waged Washington. Commerce Secretary Ra- this juncture. U.S. Congressmen have
against it. In the rst week of February, hul Khullar told the media in Delhi started raising the issue. Senator Rob-
the Obama administration gave more that India was implementing the Unit- ert Menendez, a Democrat speaking at
powers to U.S. banks to freeze Iranian ed Nations-mandated sanctions the conrmation hearing for the Oba-
assets and close loopholes that would against Iran but emphasised that the ma administrations nominee for the
make it even more difcult for the Ira- sanctions did not apply to a vast range Ambassadors post in New Delhi, Nan-
nian government to transfer funds of products India supplies to Iran. cy J. Powell, said that India seems to
through international banking chan- With Iran agreeing to payment in be rebuking the sanctions imposed by
nels. Irans Vice-President, Mo- rupees and other unconventional the West on Iran.
hammed Reza Rahimi, deantly methods like barter trading, Indian of- Senior Indian ofcials insist that
reacted to the latest set of sanctions by cials made it clear that India would they will continue dealing with Iran.
saying that Iran would make the sanc- not be pressured by the West into tak- They point out that until recently the
tions ineffective, as it has done in the ing steps that would have an adverse West was urging India to cut economic
past, and will continue selling oil. impact on the national economy. For ties with Myanmar in order to isolate
The sanctions, meanwhile, are be- that matter, even Pakistan has struck a the government there. Today, it is the
ginning to affect the lives of ordinary deant note. Despite open warnings West which is leading the charge to
Iranians. The Iranian rial has regis- from the U.S., Pakistan has announced invest in that country. Indian ofcials
tered a steep decline against the dollar that the work on the gas pipeline with predict that this situation will replicate
in recent months, leading to high in- Iran will continue. Washington was itself in Iran within a couple of years.
MARCH 9, 2012
World Affairs/Syria
Skewed resolution
Russia and China veto a resolution in the Security Council for a forced regime
change in Syria. B Y J O H N C H E R I A N
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton said that Russia and China
bore the responsibility for the
horrors that are occurring on the
ground in Syria. The West is using
the Arab League to institute a
HO/SANA/AFP
regime change in Damascus.
THE veto exercised by Russia and China on Feb- P R E S I D E N T B AS HA R A L- AS S A D (left) with
ruary 4 in the United Nations Security Council on a Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov upon the
resolution calling for the resignation of Syrian Presi- latters arrival at the presidential palace in
dent Bashar al-Assad has put paid to the prospects of Damascus for talks on February 7.
an open foreign military intervention in Syria. With
the encouragement of the Western powers, a host of that the resolution did not envisage the use of mil-
nations led by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have itary force, but he went on to add that other mea-
been supplying money, training and heavy weapons sures will be considered if there was no immediate
to rebels ghting against the Syrian state, who are end to the violence in Syria. Surprisingly, India sided
conned to the city of Homs. As in the case of Libya, with the resolution sponsored by the Arab League.
Western capitals are using the Arab League to in-
stitute a regime change in Damascus. INDIAS STAND
The Arab Leagues resolution presented to the India and Syria have had a strong bilateral relation-
Security Council was ostensibly to bring a peaceful ship for the past four decades. But recent instances
end to the violence that has gripped Syria since have shown that when it comes to crunch situations,
March last year. But it was, in fact, a blueprint for India sides with the West. It happened earlier in the
regime change as it demanded the resignation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the
Bashar al-Assad and the holding of multiparty elec- resolutions censuring Iran. Again, India abstained
tions. The resolution stated that the Security Council from voting in the Security Council when a resolu-
would review Syrias implementation of the key tion on Libya was adopted.
clauses within 15 days of it being passed. It also said Indian ofcials said that abstention was not an
that in case of Syrias non-compliance, further mea- option this time. According to them, India had
sures would be adopted in consultation with the worked overtime to include clauses in the resolution
Arab League. that the will of the Syrian people would be the deci-
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sive factor and not outside military intervention.
while pronouncing from the rooftops that Assad has They said that the Arab Leagues stand on Syria was
to go, kept on insisting that there were no plans to an important factor that had led to India voting for
pursue any kind of military intervention. French the resolution.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who played a big role South Asian diplomats in Damascus told this
in unleashing the dogs of war on Libya, said that the correspondent late last year that Assad was popular
talk of foreign intervention in Syria is a myth. among ordinary Syrians and would get around 60
British Foreign Secretary William Hague also said per cent of the votes if the opposition agreed to the
MARCH 9, 2012
holding of fair and free elections. Re- grand strategy to weaken the resist-
cent reports in the Western media ance to U.S. hegemony in the region. If
have admitted that Assad continues to Assad falls, the Lebanese resistance
have the support of the minority movement the Hizbollah will be the
groups and the secular members of the next in Washingtons cross hairs. After
majority Sunni community. that it will be the turn of Iran. War
clouds are already hovering over Iran,
LIBYA-LIKE INTERVENTION with the U.S. military signicantly bol-
According to Russian Foreign Minis- stering its presence in the Persian
ter Sergei Lavrov, the passing of a Se- Gulf.
curity Council resolution on Syria
would inevitably lead to another Li- WESTS CRITICISM
bya-like military intervention. He After the resolution failed at the Secu-
pointed out that the call in the resolu- rity Council, Western leaders were
tion to withdraw all Syrian military sharply critical of Russia and China.
and armed forces from cities and Hillary Clinton said that Russia and
towns and return them to their origi- China bore the responsibility for the
nal home barracks was an ultimatum horrors that are occurring on the
no sovereign government could ac- ground in Syria.
cept. Moreover, in the case of Syria, the Signicantly, the U.S. has wielded
insurrection was being aided and abet- the most number of vetoes in the Secu-
ted by the West. He said there was no rity Council, most of them on behalf of
justication for raining bombs on Sy- its closest ally in the region, Israel. The
ria just because the opposition there massacres of Palestinians and Leba-
was refusing to engage in a meaningful nese by Israeli forces through the years
dialogue with the government. have gone uncensored and unpuni-
Li Baodong, Chinas Ambassador shed with the connivance of Washing- a regime change in Damascus. The
to the U.N., told the Security Council ton. As for the U.S. itself, it has been Arab League monitoring missions re-
that his country was opposed to push- responsible for the worst instances of port said the government alone was
ing for forced regime change in Syria human rights violations. The massacre not responsible for the continuing
as it violates the U.N. Charter and the of civilians in Fallujah, Iraq, is only a bloodshed. Unhappy with the report,
basic norms guiding the practice of recent illustration. Saudi Arabia, the main nancier of the
international relations. In the past couple of months, the mission, withdrew its observers. The
Washington and its allies had Syrian government has made several mission was forced to cease its work
worked overtime to convince Russia gestures to show the international and withdraw from Syria. On February
and China to go along with the Arab community that it was serious about 12, the Arab League forced al-Dabi to
League resolution. Behind the scenes, ending the bloody cycle of violence in resign as head of the monitoring mis-
assurances were given that their in- the country. The Arab League was al- sion.
terests in Syria would not be affected lowed to send in its monitoring mis- After that the Arab League re-
by the regime change. Syrian opposi- sion despite misgivings about its quested Damascus for the observers
tion leaders were dispatched to meet motives. The head of the Arab Leagues mission to be allowed in once again.
Russian diplomats to assure them that mission, Mohammad al-Dabi, a for- This time the Syrian government re-
Russian interests would be preserved mer intelligence chief of Sudan, while fused permission as the Arab League
in a post-Assad era. addressing a press conference in Cairo in its meeting in Cairo on February 12
Syria has been a long-standing ally in the third week of January, even crit- had also called for a joint peacekeeping
of Russia. Much of the weaponry for icised the foreign media for exaggerat- force of the U.N. and Arab League
the Syrian security forces is provided ing the violence in Syria, stressing that states to Syria.
by Russia. Recently, it sold 36 Yak the situation inside the country had The Arab League monitoring com-
ghter jets to Syria. Moscow has also improved since the monitoring mis- missions report categorically stated
deployed Russian warships in the Syr- sion began its work in December. He that there was no organised, lethal at-
ian port of Tartus, where it has basing also said that the Syrian government tack by the Syrian government against
rights. China also sells military equip- cooperated fully with the mission. peaceful protesters. Instead, the report
ment to Syria. But Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which stated that armed gangs were respon-
Both Moscow and Beijing are well are backing the opposition Islamist- sible for carrying out terror attacks
aware that the regime change envi- dominated Syrian National Council against civilians, leading to thousands
saged by the West in Syria is part of a and the Free Syria Army, are xated on of deaths, including over a thousand
MARCH 9, 2012
ous regime in Syria. But the Western

media still give credence to allegations
that all terror attacks are the hand-
iwork of the government.
A report from Tripoli quoted the
Libyan Foreign Minister as saying that
the interim government would not
stop Libyans from joining the ght
against the Syrian government. The
interim government in Libya installed
under the supervision of the North At-
lantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
has already recognised the Syrian Na-
tional Council and has formally hand-
ed over the Syrian Embassy in Tripoli
to the rebel group.
The Libyan Islamist leader Abdul-
hakim Belhadj, who now occupies a
top position in the government, met
with leaders of the Syrian Free Army in
Istanbul recently. According to re-
ports, Libyans were among the rst
foreign ghters to reach Syria and ght
alongside the Syrian rebels in hotspots
such as Homs and Hama. There are
AP
also unconrmed reports about Qatari

SY R IA N R E B E L S F I G H T I N G the government forces in the Rastan area in and British Special Forces helping the
Homs province on January 31. Free Syrian Army. Washington has
called for the establishment of a hu-
Syrian troops. The report gave specic which dominates decision-making in manitarian corridor to assist the anti-
instances of bombing of civilian buses the Arab League, and the West on the government rebels in Syria.
and trains and the sabotaging of gas issue of regime change in Syria. The Syrian government on its part
pipelines. The ve-member ministe- It has been evident for some seems determined to ush out the re-
rial committee of the Arab League ap- months that sections of the Syrian op- bels from their remaining strongholds.
proved the report, with only Qatar position are aligned with terror Bashar Jaffari, the Syrian envoy to the
voting against it. groups. The suicide bombings in Da- U.N., while presenting his countrys
Qatar has now assumed the chair- mascus followed by the attacks in the case to the world during the debate on
manship of the Arab League though it hitherto peaceful Aleppo, Syrias sec- the Security Council resolution, said
was the turn of the Palestinian Author- ond biggest city, are indications that that the government had no other al-
ity (P.A.). The P.A. vacated the post in the opposition is in cahoots with jeha- ternative but to respond to the calls of
favour of Qatar. Qatar has since an- dist elements. Twenty-ve people were citizens to save them from the criminal
nounced $400 million in aid to the killed in Aleppo and nearly 50 in the terrorist groups and to restore public
cash-strapped P.A. The Emir of Qatar twin suicide bombings in Damascus in order throughout Syria. He also
had issued an appeal for open military early January. In mid-February, a se- pointed out that the Syrian govern-
intervention in Syria saying that his nior Syrian army ofcer, who was in ment had conceded almost all of the
country was willing to deploy troops charge of the military hospital in the major demands of the opposition soon
there. Qatar, along with France and capital, was killed by armed gunmen after the violent protests started in
Britain, was among the rst countries as he was leaving for work from his March last year. The state of emer-
to send special forces clandestinely to home. gency has been lifted and the Syrian
Libya when the counter-revolution Al Qaeda has claimed credit for the State Security Court has been abol-
against Colonel Muammar Qadda three big terror attacks in Damascus ished. A legislative decree, which al-
began early last year. and Aleppo. In a video recording re- lowed the staging of peaceful protests,
New Delhi, too, ignored the Arab leased in the second week of February, was passed. Importantly, a national
League monitoring missions report its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called on committee was formed to draft a new
and preferred to cast its lot with the Muslims in the region to join the up- Constitution and hold general elec-
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), rising against the pernicious, cancer- tions.
Austerity of hope
As austerity cuts into the social lives of
Americans, the full range of issues that
debilitate the well-being of Americans
is likely to return to the table.
But neither of the two mainstream

parties is capable of holding a real
debate on these issues. The right
wing has tried to shift the debate to
what are known as social issues
such as abortion rights and marriage
rights for gays and lesbians.
POOR Mitt Romney. He is worth somewhere
between $190 and $250 million. Even he is not sure
of his net worth. He cannot account for the gap of
$60 million. CNN asked the multiple-millionaire
about his economic policy. He said, Im in this race
because I care about Americans. Im not concerned U.S. did not have the resources to buy food (that is
about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it about 14.5 per cent of all households).
needs repair, Ill x it. He has been pilloried for his Additionally, about 6.4 million households re-
callousness not only by the Democratic Party but duced or disrupted their eating habits because of a
also by his own Republican primary rivals. lack of access to food. To seek food, the U.S. Depart-
Rick Santorum, who has been a steady challenge ment of Agriculture showed, people had sought ref-
to Romney, said that Romneys comments about the uge in emergency food pantries. During the
poor sent a chill down my spine. Romney, who not recessions early years, 2007 to 2009, use of these
only comes from the world of nance capital but also pantries increased by 44 per cent. The Agriculture
is its preferred candidate, has been unable to grasp Departments September 2011 report on Household
the deep crisis of everyday life for millions of Food Insecurity in the United States showed that
Americans. one in six Americans do not have the money to feed
The safety net that Romney mentioned has themselves. The problem is acute.
been frayed beyond recognition since the 1980s. One Charity lls in the gap left by an inadequate
of the most grotesque problems is hunger. Last year, governmental response. But here the challenge is
the United States Department of Agriculture report- enormous. With anxiety about the economy, char-
ed that in 2010 about 17.2 million households in the itable giving has dropped signicantly (by 11 per cent
to the big charities). Donations to organisations that
help the very poor have dropped even further. Ac-
Letter from America cording to the Nonprot Research Collaborative, the
charities with less than $3 million to spend saw their
VIJAY PRASHAD donations fall the most. These charities, such as
homeless shelters and food pantries, are the ones
MARCH 9, 2012
activists argue
P RO - C H O I C E A N D P RO - LI F E and on sexuality, with a morality that is
outside the U.S. Supreme Court on January 23 out of touch with the everyday lives of
in Washington, D.C. The vigil was held to mark people. No wonder that one of the
the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision problems for the Right has been the
that legalised abortion. constant eruption of scandals among
its leadership, with this or that spo-
kesperson for an anachronistic moral-
ity found with sex workers or with
pornography. Hypocrisy is the touch-
stone of an obsolete morality.
As part of his health care overhaul,
President Barack Obama announced a
rule that all health care providers (in-
cluding religious hospitals) needed to
provide free contraception for their
employees. They did not have to pro-
vide contraception to their customers,
but their employees had to be covered
by federal mandates. A 2010 study in
Vital and Health Statistics showed
that 99 per cent of women aged 15 to
44 in the U.S. had used at least one
contraceptive method. In other words,
contraception use is universal among
women in the U.S. It seemed as if the
Obama policy was, therefore, quite
straightforward and of great use to the
BRENDAN HOFFMAN/AFP
62 million women of childbearing age

in the U.S.
Nevertheless, the Right went bal-
listic, calling the Obama policy an in-
fringement on religious freedom. This
is fairly typical of the Right, which
that serve the very poor. They are in Revolution. The French had a three- masquerades its social suffocation as
dire straits. part slogan, two of which Santorum freedom. Santorums linkages be-
The childrens TV show Sesame was happy with: Liberty and Equality. tween liberty and equality with the
Street has introduced a new puppet, The third, Fraternity, was not appro- sanctity of Gods Law is an example of
Lily, whose task is to speak on the priate because it suggested that people this unhappy marriage.
problem of food insecurity once a week in community would be able to create With Obama having been painted
to the children who tune in. She does codes to live by. Santorum preferred as anti-religion, it was impossible for
not get enough to eat. She will share Paternity to Fraternity, with the Fa- the White House to stand rm on its
her story with children who are in her ther being God. Gods law should pre- principle. Harder for Obama to navi-
predicament. At least the puppet is cede human law. No one amongst the gate this issue with one in ve Amer-
concerned for the very poor. Republicans challenged this anti- icans of the erroneous view that
democratic tendency towards Obama is a Muslim. Instead, Obama
PATERNITY theocracy. had to compromise with the Right and
Building on his surge in the Repub- Rather than deal with the serious allow religious health care providers to
lican primaries, Santorum went to give problems of hunger and homelessness, sidestep this provision. Despite Oba-
a big speech in Colorado Springs, the the right wing has tried to shift the mas surrender to the Right, Romney
heartland of the new American con- debate toward what are known as so- tried to fan the re of this issue, I will
servatism. Santorum, who went on to cial issues. These include abortion reverse every single Obama regulation
win the primaries in Colorado, Mis- rights, marriage rights for gays and that attacks our religious liberty and
souri and Minnesota, told the thou- lesbians, discussions about birth con- threatens innocent life in this
sand people in the Biggs Centre that he trol and sexuality in schools, as well as country.
wanted to distinguish between the the teaching of diversity in schools. The Right has gone ballistic on
French Revolution and the American The Right remains xated on the body contraception but is virtually silent on
MARCH 9, 2012
the home foreclosure crisis and on the ber 2011. It is a ridiculously small encampments. The Occupy movement
criminal activity by banks. Millions of amount of money both from the banks has now shifted its focus towards
Americans have been turned out of and to the victims of the foreclosure much more focussed, local political en-
their homes as a result of the collapse epidemic. That means the government deavours (including ghts against
in the home mortgage market. believes that the ne to banks for forg- eviction).
As part of the neoliberal transfor- ing and fabricating documents is no One year ago, in Wisconsin, a mas-
mation of the U.S., low-rent, govern- more than $2,000. The government sive social upsurge promised to open
ment-provided homes disappeared decided to settle with the banks (in- up a new dynamic in America. With
from the 1980s, with the private sector cluding the worst offender, Bank of the labour movement as its backbone,
coming in as the main provider of America) without any serious investi- the Wisconsin demonstrations that
homes. But with wage incomes stag- gation of their offences. began in March 2011 showed what was
nant since the 1970s, and with little Foreclosures slowed down in 2011 possible when the people refused to
wealth in the hands of ordinary people, in anticipation of this bank deal. back down before the politics of cruel
the only way for them to get the keys to Foreclosures were in full delay mode austerity (the story is captured in a
a home was through no-money-down, in 2011, notes Brandon Moore of Re- new book edited by Mari Jo and Paul
balloon payment mortgages. Banks altyTrac, which follows the housing Buhle, It Started in Wisconsin: Dis-
devised these schemes to ensnare des- market very closely. patches from the Front Lines of the
perate people into homes, and then The lack of clarity regarding many New Labor Protest, Verso, 2012). One
moved their mortgages into the sec- of the documentation and legal issues hundred and fty thousand people,
ondary and tertiary nancial markets plaguing the foreclosure industry mainly those afliated with trade
as securities to be traded. These securi- means that we are continuing to see a unions, stood in the cold and occupied
ties were given good bond ratings from highly dysfunctional foreclosure proc- the State House against their Gover-
Moodys and Standard & Poors, whose ess that is inefciently dealing with nor Scott Walker.
culpability has not been fully ad- delinquent mortgages particularly in Seven months later, in New York,
dressed. States with a judicial foreclosure proc- the Occupy movement took off and
When it became clear that these ess. There were strong signs in the sec- spread across the country. It was
securities were built on unsustainable ond half of 2011 that lenders are nally grounded in the many facets of social
dreams, the housing market collapsed. beginning to push through some of the distress in the U.S.
Banks received bailouts (along the delayed foreclosures in select local The initial position of both the
grain of the neoliberal view that the markets. We expect that trend to con- Wisconsin protests and the Occupy
government must make sure to re- tinue this year, boosting foreclosure movement was to change the conver-
move Bad Money from the nancial activity for 2012 higher than it was in sation from the defence of the banks
system and replace it with Good Mon- 2011, though still below the peak of and the question of social issues to
ey). There was no bailout for the mil- 2010. the broad questions of freedom and
lions of Americans. They were evicted This is a very chilling thought, that justice in the country. When the state
from their homes. the bank deal will not stem the fore- decided to respond to these protests
Popular outrage at the criminal be- closure crisis but intensify it. with police pressure, the immediate
haviour of the banks forced an investi- issue before the protesters was to deal
gation of nancial activity. Banks were OCCUPY MOVEMENT with the forces of repression. The con-
afraid that they would face a series of Police action against the Occupy versation around social suffocation
lawsuits from public interest litigants movement has cleared out most of the and economic distress had to be set
and from those among the foreclosed aside.
that might be gathered together into The battle lines were drawn be-
class action lawsuits. This was the spur tween the police and the protesters,
for the banks to begin negotiations when the real contradiction is between
with the government for a deal. the people (the 99 per cent) and the
LARRY DOWNING/REUTERS
The Obama administration and powerful (the 1 per cent). As cruel aus-
several Attorneys General of the differ- terity cuts into the social lives of Amer-
ent States sealed a bargain with the icans, it is likely that the full range of
banks in early February, where the issues that debilitate the well-being of
banks promised to pay $5 billion into a Americans will return to the table. The
fund, which would include $21 billion tragedy is that neither of the two main-
taxpayers money. This fund would be A F O REC LO S U R E N OTI CE on the stream parties is capable of holding a
used to pay out between $1,500 and front door of a house in Fairfax, real debate over these issues. They
$2,000 per borrower foreclosed upon, Virginia, outside Washington, have other obligations, other priori-
between September 2008 and Decem- in May 2011. ties.
MARCH 9, 2012
World Affairs
M AR CH 23, 2003:
Crew members of a
CH-47 Chinook
helicopter of the 101st
Airborne Division at
Camp Udairi in Kuwait,
shortly before
commencing its rst
air assault against Iraq
that day.
Ghosts of Iraq
AP
A death in a RAF helicopter and a secret prison camp in the Iraqi desert raise
questions about the legality of British and U.S. operations. B Y I A N C O B A I N
A review of Operation Raker, the ning for mile after mile towards the border with
Jordan.
RAF police investigation into the As they approached their destination, the crews
assumed they were on an operation that would be
death, is nearing completion, and a uneventful. Two days earlier, Saddam Husseins
statue had been toppled after American tanks rolled
report is expected at the end of into the Iraqi capital; three weeks later George Bush
would stand in front of a banner saying Mission
February. The Ministry of Defence accomplished.
The helicopter crews had been told that a num-
says it is not going to be published. ber of detainees were under armed guard at the side
of the highway. They were to pick them up after dark
ON the evening of April 11, 2003, a pair of Royal and take them to a prison camp. What followed was
Air Force (RAF) CH-47 Chinook helicopters swept far from routine: before the night was out, one man
over Iraqs western desert towards a remote had died on board one of the helicopters, allegedly
rendezvous point beside Route 10, the highway that beaten to death by RAF personnel.
begins life on the outskirts of Baghdad before run- The incident was immediately shrouded in secre-
MARCH 9, 2012
cy. When I heard about it and began to peared sometimes reluctant to answer. of eight and ferried to the prison camp.
ask questions, the British Ministry of One of the few that it answered As a result of what might be de-
Defence (MoD) responded with an ex- promptly within hours concerned scribed as a legal sleight of hand, the
traordinary degree of obstruction and the location to which the prisoners men were never recorded as prisoners
obfuscation, evading questions not were being taken. They were going to of the 20 Australians. On paper, at
just for days but for weeks and months. Umm Qasr, the MoD said: this was the least, the lone American was said to
The RAFs own police examined the town on the Kuwaiti border where have captured them. This meant that
death in an investigation codenamed British and American forces had con- the Australian government could con-
Operation Raker, but this ended with structed a large prisoner-of-war camp, sider itself not to be bound by a Geneva
some of the most salient facts remain- a place that came under the super- Convention clause that obliged it to
ing deeply buried. The alleged culprits vision of military lawyers and was in- demand the return of any prisoner it
faced no charges. spected regularly by the Red Cross. transferred to the U.S. if it became
Asked where the men were being More information about the inci- apparent that U.S. forces were not
taken, the MoD initially indicated that dent was to be found in a number of treating them in accordance with the
they were en route to a prisoner-of-war documents released in Australia under Convention.
camp, one inspected regularly by the that countrys freedom-of-information
Red Cross. Later it became clear that laws. The deceased had been one of 64 APPROPRIATE METHODS
this was not correct: they were being men detained at a roadblock set up by At this point in my inquiries, a report
transported to an altogether more se- soldiers of the Australian Special Air written by the squadron leader com-
cret location. The truth about the mis- Service (SAS). Working alongside a manding the 2nd squadron of the RAF
sion raises some searching questions solitary member of a U.S. Air Force Regiment was leaked. This document,
about the legality of some of the British unit, the 20 Australians were attempt- prepared as part of a brief U.S. eld
forces operations carried out in close ing to capture so-called high-value inquiry into the incident, showed that
cooperation with United States allies. targets, former high-ranking mem- the Australians had bound the prison-
One of the rst hints that some- bers of the deposed regime attempting ers thumbs together before handing
thing untoward had happened aboard to ee the country. them over. The RAF Regiment gun-
one of the RAF Chinooks came six Seven days earlier, Saddam had ners then placed hessian bags over the
years later when Lieutenant Colonel appeared suddenly in the middle of a prisoners heads as they were being led
Nicholas Mercer was giving evidence crowd of cheering supporters, an event aboard the Chinooks, despite a ban on
at the public inquiry into the death of that was lmed and broadcast on Iraqi hooding imposed on the U.K.s armed
Baha Mousa, the hotel receptionist TV, along with a speech he was said to forces more than four decades earlier.
tortured to death by British troops in have made in which he exhorted his Each prisoner was forced to lie face
September that year. Mercer, who had countrymen to ght them brothers, down on the oor of the aircraft, and
been the British armys most senior hit them day and night. The coalition those who refused to adopt the re-
lawyer in Iraq, told the inquiry that by forces were determined to nd him. quired position were forced to the
the time of Mousas death, several oth- Three of the prisoners at the side of oor and knelt upon. One man who
er people had died in U.K. military the highway were suspected of being slipped out of his thumb restraint and
custody. Asked about these mysterious ofcials of Saddams ruling Baath par- ailed his arms around was said to
deaths, the MoD named one of the ty. Four were held because they were have been lowered to the oor and
deceased as Tanik Mahmud and said Iranians and in possession of an enor- subdued. By the time the helicopters
he had sustained a fatal injury while mous sum of cash more than had reached their destination, two of
travelling aboard an RAF Chinook. $600,000 and a letter offering a the prisoners were found to be unre-
Perplexingly, the Ministry added that bounty for each American killed. The sponsive, according to the squadron
the cause of his death remained un- remainder of the prisoners appear to leader, while there was some commo-
known. Asked how they could be sure have fallen under suspicion because tion at the front of the aircraft because
he had suffered a fatal injury when the they were travelling together on a a third prisoner, a disabled man, had
cause of his death was not known, the coach. Some were Iraqis and others somehow parted company with both
MoD took ve weeks to answer. were Syrians, and all were to be in- his prosthetic legs.
Eventually, ofcials admitted that terrogated about Saddam. However, It was a windy night, the sand was
the RAF had received a complaint none of the 64 were armed and none being whipped up by the Chinooks
anonymously, they said that three were in uniform. A number of them rotor blades, and visibility was down to
RAF Regiment personnel on board the were middle-aged, and at least one was 1.5 metres. The American troops who
helicopter had kicked, punched or oth- severely disabled. Despite this, the received the prisoners say the British
erwise assaulted Mr Mahmud leading men were to be detained as EPWs, appeared to be rushing, anxious to
to unlawful killing. This raised many enemy prisoners of war. They were to transport them all before dawn. The
other questions, which the MoD ap- be loaded into the Chinooks in groups two unresponsive men were loaded
MARCH 9, 2012
U.K. who were investigating an allega-

tion of assault leading to death. He
says an examination of the hard tissue
may have revealed evidence of an as-
sault before the prisoner died: ribs, for
example, sometimes fracture in a dis-
tinctive manner when kicked.
Asked whether a copy of the pa-
thologists advice would be made avail-
able, the MoD said no copy could be
found in its les. After this advice was
received, the case was passed to RAFs
prosecutors, who advised that there
was insufcient evidence to bring any
charges. They also concluded that any
further investigation was pointless.
Asked why the men had been taken
as EPWs when none were armed and
all were wearing civilian clothes, the
MoD appeared to be stumped. U.K.
forces did not detain these individuals,
they transported them, the Ministry
AP
said. This is not a question we can
S ADDA M H US S E I N I N this image from a video that was shown on Iraqi answer. This question should be di-
television on April 4, 2003. Iraqi television showed footage from Baghdad in rected to the detaining country.
which the Iraqi President appeared to be walking in the street with a small Eventually, we obtained a copy of
entourage. the passport that had been in the dead
mans pocket, and the death certicate
into the back of a Humvee vehicle, face investigators did not know Mr Mah- that had been issued by the U.S. mil-
down and on top of each other, while muds place of burial. itary authorities. The passport showed
the man with no legs was placed in the Once the location was disclosed by the dead man was a Baghdad odd-job
front passenger seat. All three were the U.S. military, ofcials explained, man aged 36. It also showed that his
driven to a holding facility, where Discussions took place on the feasi- name was not Tanik Mahmud but Ta-
one was declared dead. The bag had bility of accessing Mr Mahmuds re- riq Sabri al-Fahdawi. The RAF police
been taped so securely over his head mains, taking into account serious investigation appeared to have been so
that it needed to be cut off. security concerns and obtaining per- supercial that it had failed to estab-
The U.S. inquiry concluded that mission from the local imam. At this lish the dead mans identity. The certif-
appropriate methods had been used point, according to the MoD, the RAF icate recorded Sabris cause of death as
to subdue the man who died. The RAF pathologist indicated that given the unknown. It also showed that the
made no attempt to contact the next of climate and the degree of decomposi- whereabouts of his grave, far from be-
kin to inform them of his death, how- tion since the death, it would be ex- ing uncertain, could be pinpointed
ever. Were it not for the anonymous tremely difcult to establish cause of precisely. The American ofcer who
complaint, this would have been the death. As a result, no post-mortem completed the certicate had gone to
end of the matter. examination was ever carried out. considerable lengths to ensure it could
The complaint is understood to This advice surprises one eminent be found, beyond the aireld perim-
have been made by a member of the civilian pathologist, who says that only eter: 700 m out front gate to rst
Chinooks crew, unhappy at what he exhumation could reveal the state of culvert, 191 degrees for 50 m, next to
saw happening in the helicopters ca- decomposition. Derrick Pounder, pro- grave with stacked stones in same loca-
bin as they were ying to the camp. fessor of forensic medicine at the Uni- tion ...
After receiving the complaint, the RAF versity of Dundee in Scotland, who has But of greater signicance was
police moved slowly. According to the experience of exhumations and post- what the death certicate revealed
MoD, they waited more than a year mortem examinations in West Asia about the location of the aireld. It
after the death before asking a RAF including cases of deaths in custody showed that the 64 prisoners had not
pathologist whether the body should said: That advice would be contrary to been own to the prison camp at Umm
be exhumed and examined. Asked to the advice that any U.K. forensic scien- Qasr at all. They had been taken to an
explain the delay, the MoD said the tist would offer to any police in the aireld codenamed H1, described on
the certicate as the forward operating describes as other authorities. Could tinuing. The MoD was also asked
base of a U.S. Special Forces unit this explain why the police investiga- whether it was satised that U.K.
known as Task Force 20. H1 was an tion into the alleged killing of Tariq forces serving at H1 had never been in
aireld built next to an oil pipeline Sabri ended with some of the most breach of the Geneva Conventions or
pumping station. It was 560 kilo- basic facts such as his name and the any other international humanitarian
metres north-west of Umm Qasr, in cause of his death remaining law. It replied by stating only that
the middle of Iraqs western desert, a unknown? IHAT would consider the actions of
vast and desolate expanse of sand and According to one well-placed only those who came into contact with
scree. The nearest settlement was source with knowledge of Operation Sabri.
many miles away: it is difcult to see Raker, there were some at the MoD
how there could have been a local who were concerned about the pos- CIA INVOLVEMENT
imam whose permission needed to be sible consequences of a more thorough Nor would the MoD comment on an-
sought before exhumation, or how inquiry: people who were lled with other claim made by the source with
anyone in the vicinity could pose seri- dread at the thought that it could lead knowledge of Operation Raker: that
ous security concerns. to accusations that British forces and both Central Intelligence Agency
others had been involved in crimes (CIA) and MI6 ofcers were involved
BLACK SITE against humanity. in the interrogation of prisoners own
The holding facility at H1 was not in- When the MoD realised that the secretly to H1, and that these were the
spected by the Red Cross. Moreover, location to which the prisoners were other authorities whom RAF Re-
its existence was not disclosed to Lt. own was known to us, it quickly apol- giment troopers were told would be
Col. Mercer. Mercer says he was ex- ogised for previously stating that they taking possession of their prisoners.
tremely surprised to learn of its exist- had been own to Umm Qasr. This The Ministrys only response to ques-
ence. He said: This matter potentially had been an innocent mistake, one tions about non-military interrogators
raises very serious questions. Stren- that a spokesman said could be attri- at H1 was a terse: No further
uous efforts were made at all times to buted to admin/human error. At this information.
ensure that all prisoners were accord- point the MoD also released a copy of The involvement of the CIA with
ed the full protection of the Geneva the U.S. eld inquiry report, which had Task Force 20 is no secret in the U.S.
Conventions and vigorous objections been withheld from us for more than a The unit changed its name repeatedly
would have been raised if there was the year. The report showed that a British over the next three years, becoming TF
slightest possibility of a breach of the Special Forces unit known as Task 121, then TF 6-26, and nally TF 145.
conventions. It appears from the in- Force 14 and an Australian unit known U.K. Special Forces remained an in-
formation disclosed that some prison- as Task Force 64 were an integral part tegral part of the unit. A discreet Pen-
er operations were being conducted, of operations at H1. Both units were tagon investigation found that the unit
deliberately or otherwise, outside of under U.S. tactical control. had used a secret interrogation centre
the chain of command. The Ministry also volunteered an to conceal its activities, and subse-
The holding facility appears effec- admission that the investigation into quent inquiries by The New York
tively to have been a secret prison a Sabris death was not conducted Times found that prisoners had been
so-called black site. It is entirely pos- quickly enough. But it said that this water-boarded, beaten or shot with
sible, according to international law could not happen today as its proce- paintball guns. Posters around one of
experts, that taking prisoners to H1 dures had changed. It added that Op- the units bases were said to have de-
could amount to unlawful deporta- eration Raker was now the subject of a clared no blood, no foul: if the pris-
tion or transfer or unlawful conne- review by a team of military police and oners did not bleed, their interrogators
ment, and that the prisoners were former civilian detectives known as could not be prosecuted.
subjected to enforced disappearanc- IHAT the Iraq Historic Allegations When one British member of TF
es, both of which are war crimes un- Team. 6-26, SAS trooper Ben Grifn, quit the
der the Rome statute of the Asked whether there was any truth army and went public about what he
International Criminal Court. in the suggestion that ofcials had in- had seen, the MoD obtained an in-
One former RAF Regiment troop- terfered with the investigation into Sa- junction to silence him and warned
er who was based at H1 for several bris death in order to suppress that he faced jail if he said any more.
months has described being involved information about the U.K.s involve- The review of Operation Raker being
in a number of similar missions in ment with H1, the MoD replied that conducted by IHAT is nearing comple-
which prisoners were collected from IHAT was giving consideration to any tion, and a report is expected to be
coalition special forces. This always involvement with the investigation of handed to the head of the RAF police
happened under total darkness, he MoD ofcials who were external to it at the end of this month. The MoD says
says. On arrival at H1, the prisoners and that it would be inappropriate to it is not going to be published.
were handed on to people whom he comment while that review was con- Guardian News & Media 2012
MARCH 9, 2012
World Affairs/Greece
Hungry & homeless

Austerity has exhausted the Greeks, and anger is mounting over the prospect
of more E.U. and IMF-dictated belt-tightening. B Y H E L E N A S M I T H IN ATHENS
Educated professionals, too spending that has been accompanied by higher tax-
es. And that, undoubtedly, will mean more custom-
shamefaced to want to speak, now ers at Klimaka, a red building in the heart of the
capital that is a shelter for the homeless.
stand in line with immigrants Few institutions have better rst-hand experi-
ence of the impact of Greeces austerity measures
waiting for food handouts from the and few have better rst-hand knowledge of Klima-
ka than Lambros, an out-of-work plasterer who
town hall as the country edges closer joined the ranks of Greeces unemployed when pov-
erty caught up with him last year.
to a full-blown humanitarian crisis. From one day to the next, the economic crisis hit
me, says the 55-year-old father of two. Suddenly I
THE eurozone Finance Ministers message to was red without any compensation from the com-
Greece on February 9 was stark: there will be no new pany I was working at. Two months later, I couldnt
bailout and the Greek nation will go bankrupt even afford my rent, he sighed. All my savings had
unless Athens makes a further 325 million of bud- gone on paying medical bills for my late wife.
get cuts, on top of the 3.3 billion of austerity mea- Evicted from his at, the soft-spoken plasterer
sures already promised. joined the thousands of Greeks who have been hit by
There will have to be yet more cuts in a country job losses, wage cuts, tax rises and runaway prices
already reeling under an unprecedented squeeze on and forced to move outdoors.
YANNIS BEHRAKIS/REUTERS
A H O ME L E S S M A N sleeps on the metro vents at Omonia square in central Athens.
MARCH 9, 2012
I didnt want to burden my chil- Austerity has not only exhausted

dren with my problems because they the Greeks. Anger is also mounting, as
have problems, too. I didnt want to evidenced by the protest on February
sleep on the streets either. So for four 10. The prospect of more cost-cutting
months I slept in my car, he says reforms required, say creditors, to
pointing to a battered, bag-lled Toyo- avoid a default in March when the
ta outside the shelter. Until, that is, he country has to repay 14.5 billion in
could no longer afford petrol for the maturing bonds recently prompted
vehicle that had become his home. Greeces spiritual leader, Archbishop
Then I heard about Klimaka. But it Ieronymos, to warn of a social
was a big step asking them for a bed. I explosion.
felt very ashamed. Making a rare public intervention
A new underclass has emerged in in a letter to the Prime Minister, Lucas
Greece. A recession that began with Papademos, he said: Homelessness
the global nancial downturn in 2008 and even hunger phenomena seen
but which has worsened dramatically during the Second World War have
as a result of European Union and In- reached nightmare proportions. The
ternational Monetary Fund-dictated medicine we are taking has proved fa-
austerity in the past two years, has left tal for the nation. More painful and
20,000 Greeks without a roof over more unjust measures are now set to
REUTERS
their heads, according to social work- follow along the same, hopeless
ers and non-governmental course.
organisations. D U RI N G T H E COUN TR YW I D E Unions, too, have predicted that
In a nation where joblessness is protests on February 10, a protester the reaction to yet more austerity will
now more than 20 per cent, with no hurls a stone at policemen at be uncontrollable.
family untouched by it, the sight of Athens Syntagma (Constitution) But in adversity, there has also
people sleeping on pavements and Square. been an extraordinary outpouring of
park benches, in metro stations and solidarity. Klimakas courtyard, like
shopping arcades, doorways and cars, fth of its population lived under the that of the municipal shelter, is brim-
is the most visible sign yet of an econo- poverty line. Now over a third can be ming with boxes of blankets, clothes
my in freefall. More than 10,000 peo- considered ofcially impoverished, ac- and food dispatched by other Greeks
ple have been decanted on to the cording to the statistics agency wanting to help their countrymen in
streets of Athens, home to the vast ma- Eurostat. need.
jority of Greeces 11 million popula- As temperatures plunged to some The troika [debt inspectors from
tion. The government has announced of the lowest levels in living memory the E.U./the IMF and the European
emergency aid for the destitute ,and recently, municipal ofcials rushed to Central Bank] come and go, said Spy-
the Greek Orthodox Church has re- accommodate the homeless in hostels, ros Grigoratos, one do-gooder emerg-
vealed it is feeding 250,000 people a hotels and other emergency centres. At ing from his BMW with sleeping bags
day. night, groups of doctors and social and jackets for the refuge. They ddle
Before the crisis, homelessness workers took to the streets offering with numbers and dont know or care
wasnt visible in Greek society and was blankets and rst aid. about the real situation on the ground.
very low compared with other E.U. Educated professionals, too sha- The real answer is not more austerity.
countries, explained Ada Alamanou, mefaced to want to speak, now stand in That way lies chaos.
Klimakas spokeswoman. But in the line with immigrants from developing For Greeks such as Lambros the
last few years it has increased by 25 per countries waiting for food handouts latest measures are a wake-up call, but
cent. We call them the new homeless from the town hall. not for those who will suffer from them
because it is a rise that can be attribut- We are very close to this becoming most.
ed solely to economic reasons, she a full-blown humanitarian crisis, said If they want to take the last ten
said. They are not people who have Giorgos Apostolopoulos, who heads cents away from us, which they have
psychological problems or are suffer- Athens municipal homeless shelter. clearly shown they want to do, they will
ing from drug and alcohol abuse. They If these economic policies contin- have to pay the consequences. One ne
are people who havent been able to ue the situation will get a lot worse. day nothing will be the same again
pay off their credit cards and mort- Its shocking. Well-dressed people because people like me and them, he
gages. The crisis is hitting the middle who own laptops and mobiles are nd- says pointing to others in the shelter,
class. ing themselves with nothing, out on will act.
Even before Greeces debt drama, a the street. Guardian News & Media 2012
MARCH 9, 2012
World Affairs/Myanmar
A new chapter
Myanmar is now the new frontier for American aid and businesses as the U.S.
prepares to lift sanctions against the country. B Y J O H N C H E R I A N
Apart from the U.S. decision to lift the European Unions (E.U.) policy towards Myan-
mar. Many of the economic sanctions, applied uni-
economic sanctions, the events of the laterally by the West, are on the verge of being lifted
after United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Arab Spring could have inuenced visited the country in November-December last year.
It was the rst high-prole visit to the country by
the military governments decision to an American ofcial in more than 50 years. The visit
came immediately after President Barack Obama
cosy up to Washington. announced that the U.S. would back the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in
their territorial disputes with China. While an-
nouncing the visit of his Secretary of State at the Bali
ASEAN summit in November, Obama said Hillary
Clinton would explore whether the United States
can empower a positive transition in Burma [Myan-
mars former name] and begin a new chapter be-
tween our two countries.
Obama and other senior administration ofcials
have openly proclaimed since late 2011 that the U.S.
considered China the main challenger to its status as
the sole superpower. The Pentagons latest war doc-
trine lays great emphasis on containing China in the
Asia-Pacic region. Hillary Clintons visit was widely
interpreted in the American media as being part of
the Obama administrations efforts to check the ris-
ing power of China in the region.
Hillary Clinton was soon followed by Foreign
Minister Alain Juppe of France, Foreign Secretary
William Hague of the United Kingdom, and Japans
Trade Minister Yukio Edano. The E.U. has lifted the
travel sanction on senior Myanmarese ofcials. Until
recently, only countries in the region such as China,
India, Thailand and Singapore engaged meaningful-
ly with the Myanmarese government.
AP
The West, led by the U.S. had, on the other hand,

PR E S I D E N T T H EI N S EI N with U.S. Secretary of
imposed draconian economic sanctions on the coun-
State Hillary Clinton at the Presidents Ofce in
try and also exerted pressure on India and the other
Nay Pyi Taw on December 1, 2011.
countries to distance themselves from the military-
THERE is more to the Wests sudden embrace of led government. Hillary Clinton, before reaching
the military government in Myanmar than meets the Yangon, had said that developing countries should
eye. Until last year, Myanmar was among the coun- be smart shoppers and should be careful about
tries that the West targeted for regime change. After taking assistance from countries that were more
the ruling military junta sent emissaries to Western interested in extracting resources than in building
capitals promising accelerated democratic reforms, capacity.
there was a dramatic volte-face in Washingtons and The U.S. Secretary of State had two well-publi-
MARCH 9, 2012
cised meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, just after the military government had points such as the Malacca Strait
the icon of the struggle for democracy cancelled a multi-billion-dollar deal where the U.S. Navy has a strong pres-
in Myanmar. Suu Kyi was released with China to build a hydroelectric ence. Interestingly, gas from the im-
from house arrest in 2010 soon after project. The Myitsone dam was to be mense Shwe reserves off the coast of
the country went to the polls super- built on the Irrawaddy river. The gov- the Arakan State was rst offered to
vised by the army. The election, though ernment, while announcing its deci- India by the Myanmarese authorities.
far from being free and fair, was the sion to cancel the project, said the India dragged its feet on the offer and
rst to be held in 20 years. The Nation- construction of the dam would go China came into the picture. China in-
al League for Democracy (NLD), Suu against the will of the people. vested $11 billion in Myanmar in
Kyis party, which was banned from The proposed dam had come un- 2010-11 alone.
contesting two years ago, has since der criticism from environmental The decision to cancel the dam
been allowed to participate in politics groups and there were a few scattered project was made during the visit of
openly. demonstrations against it. The $3.6 Myanmarese Foreign Minister Wunna
Under the 2008 Constitution, Par- billion dam, Chinas biggest single in- Maung Lwin to Washington in Sep-
liament has very little power. The mil- vestment in the country, was supposed tember. He is the rst senior ofcial to
itary continues to have a constitutional to be part of a network of seven dams visit Washington since the military
veto on decisions made by Parliament that would provide power for industry junta took power.
or the President. The military is guar- in southern China.
anteed 25 per cent of the seats in Par- China is involved in other impor- WESTERN AID
liament. Suu Kyis decision to contest a tant energy-related projects too. Chi- Hillary Clinton, during her visit, in-
parliamentary byelection in April is nas National Petroleum Corporation dicated that Washington would no
being viewed as a tacit endorsement of is building a gas and petroleum pipe- longer stand in the way of Internation-
the 2008 Constitution. Many in her line from Myanmars southern coast al Monetary Fund (IMF) and World
own party have criticised her decision. into China, bypassing potential choke Bank loans to Myanmar. The U.S. it-
Hillary Clinton harped on Amer-
icas abiding support for the struggle
for democracy and said that she was
visiting the country to gauge the true
intentions of the junta. After meeting
President Thein Sein in the new ad-
ministrative capital, Nay Pyi Taw,
Hillary Clinton welcomed the new
steps taken by his government. She
had come with a list of demands,
which included freeing of political
prisoners and cessation of hostilities
with rebellious ethnic groups such as
the Karens and the Kachins. Hun-
dreds of political prisoners, including a
few high-prole ones, have since been
freed. A ceasere agreement was reac-
hed with the Karen National Union
(KNU) in January. The Karen insur-
gency has gone on for more than 60
years. The government has ordered a
general ceasere. Ethnic minorities
make up around 40 per cent of Myan-
mars population.
Hillary Clintons visit took place
TH E I R R A W A D D Y R I V ER in Kachin
State, northern Myanmar, where the
Myanmar-China Myitsone
hydroelectric project was to come
up. Myanmar has decided to cancel
the project.
MARCH 9, 2012
self has loosened its purse strings. lations. In January, Washington

American ofcials have started visiting announced that it was sending an am-
the country in droves to earmark aid bassador after a gap of 10 years. Since
for development projects. American Hillary Clintons visit, three separate
business views resources-rich Myan- delegations of U.S. ofcials have vis-
mar as the new frontier. ited the country.
The military government has al- Reports from Washington in the
ready offered generous terms for second week of February said Central
Western investors and has advertised Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director
the country as the most attractive in David Petraeus, would visit Myanmar
the region. The military government later this year.
is all set to approve a law that gives American ofcials in Bangkok,
investors tax exemption up to eight where the CIA Director went on an
SOE ZEYA TUN /REUTERS

years. Myanmarese workers are ofcial visit recently, told the media
among the lowest paid in the region that Petraeus would be making the vis-
and trade union activity is severely cur- it on the instruction of the Secretary of
tailed by the government. State. A trip by Petraeus is an indica-
Thein Sein declared Hillary Clin- tion that the two countries are heading
tons visit a historic milestone and P RO - D EM O C RA CY LE A D E R A UN G for greater cooperation in security-re-
expressed the hope that it would open San Suu Kyi after receiving Frances lated issues. The two countries had
a new chapter in relations between highest award, The Legion of cooperated in the 1980s when the mil-
the two countries. Nay Zin Latt, a se- Honour, from French Foreign itary was combating various insurgen-
nior political adviser to the Myanma- Minister Alain Juppe at the French cies, including one led by the Burmese
rese President, told Time magazine, embassy in Yangon on January 15. Communist Party, which at the time
had the tacit support of China.
that because of the sanctions, the The Myanmarese military and po-
country had no option but to take litical establishments have historically
what China had to offer. He said that tried to remain equidistant from China
if the sanctions were lifted, it will be and India. Now, with China outpacing
better for everyone in Myanmar. India economically, sections of the
Ko Ko Hliang, another senior ad- Myanmarese elite could have come to
viser to the President, was candid the conclusion that the U.S. would be a
enough to admit that the events of the better bet to counterbalance the grow-
Arab Spring had inuenced the gov- ing Chinese inuence.
ernments decision to cosy up to Wash- Washington, too, has tried to cash
ington. The military men currently in in on Indias apprehensions about Chi-
power are well aware that they will not nas growing clout in Myanmar. Suu
be able to crush popular revolts as eas- Kyi, from available indications, has be-
ily as in the past. They also know about come particularly close to the West in
the Wests propensity to use street pro- recent years.
tests to intervene militarily and bring It is no secret that she was upset
about regime change. with New Delhi after the latter estab-
Suu Kyi warned against an Arab lished close relations with the junta in
Spring in the country and called for the mid-1990s. New Delhi had openly
change through peaceful means. She stated that the sanctions were counter-
virtually rubber-stamped the mili- productive. The two countries have al-
tarys transition plan to democracy so established strong security links,
when she gave the go-ahead for the cooperating closely in anti-insurgency
re-registration of the NLD. According operations along the 1,640-km-long
to reports in the Western media, the unfenced border.
Obama administration had made Suu In July 2010, during the visit of
Kyis release the rst precondition for President Than Shwe to India, the two
KHIN MAUNG WIN/AP
the lifting of sanctions and the eventu- countries signed a mutual legal assist-
al normalisation of relations. ance agreement that provides for the
A new chapter seems to have in- repatriation of Indian insurgents held
deed opened up in U.S.-Myanmar rein Myanmar.
Environment MARCH 9, 2012
Halting the pink

The Sewri mudats in Mumbai, home
to a rich biodiversity, including
amingoes, is under threat from
a development project. B Y L Y L A B A V A D A M
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Development Authority sounded the
death knell for the mudats and the
amingo haven when it resurrected
the Sewri-Nhava Sheva road-cum-
sea bridge project.
IT is low tide and the mess of humanity is on full
display on the mudats at Sewri in Mumbai. Tin
cans, bottles, torn shing nets, waste oil and, of
course, the ubiquitous polythene bags make the
landscape an industrial wasteland. In the far dis-
tance are signs of heavy industry chimneys of oil
reneries and a power station. The middle ground is
an expanse of grey sea bobbing with rafts of rubbish
from the urbanised coast. The foreground has man-
groves festooned with plastic bags and rags. On the
VAIJAYANTHI CHAKRAVARTHY
jetty, it is business as usual for the small ship-break-

ing industry. Metal clangs against metal as hammers
rise and fall, and workers shout above the sound of
roaring motors and hissing acetylene torches.
Expertly sidestepping the rubbish and seemingly
oblivious to the noise are ocks of birds which are
feeding busily. Treading lightly on the mudats, they

pick up molluscs, crustaceans, mudskippers, worms,
algae, seaweed, and so on. Life, it seems, can survive
in this poisoned environment. Apart from the local
avian residents such as pond herons, marsh sand-
pipers, little stints, common gulls and white-breast-
ed kingshers, there are the winter visitors
black-headed ibis, black-tailed godwits, purple her-
ons, brown-headed gulls, eastern imperial eagle,
curlews, whiskered terns and many such.
However, for the eager birdwatchers on the jetty,
MARCH 9, 2012
tide
for demolition frames a amingo ock on the Sewri mudats in central Mumbai. The long-legged,
A SH IP SL A T E D
pink birds are annual winter migrants to this shallow wetland.
the star of this early morning show is perhaps, even Africa. A rough estimate lesser flamingoes, or Phoeniconaias
undoubtedly the ock of tall, long- by naturalists is that about 15 per cent minor, a name that aptly translates as
legged, pink birds about 300 metres of the lesser flamingo population in crimson water nymph since they are
away. Systematically working their South Asia spends about six months of pinker than their cousins, the greater
way through the slush and sewage are the year on the Sewri mudats, a coast- flamingoes, or Phoenicopterus roseus.
the ocks of the greater and lesser fla- al wetland formed when mud is depos- Moving slowly, the ock feeds on the
mingoes that the Mumbai coast at- ited by tides. That totals to about rich nutrients in this polluted marsh.
tracts every year from Kutch or, 15,000 birds. Most of these are the Flamingoes are lter feeders, which
MARCH 9, 2012
TE R N S , W H I C H S H Y away from human habitations, have found their niche in
the mudats.
explains why their graceful long necks tent though, undoubtedly, they had
continuously sway from side to side, more mangroves and biodiversity ear-
their large beaks probing the mud and lier. Habitat losses have been miti-
simultaneously sifting out what is not gated because the environment has
food. had some chance to adapt to changes.
Despite their cesspool-like nature, This slow development is also the
the Sewri mudats continue to sustain reason why this part of central Mum-
an amazing biodiversity. There are bai continues to be a haven for birds
more than 150 bird species, including like the amingoes. It needs to be un-
the winter migrants. The annual total derstood that the amingoes did not
wader count (distribution of wading randomly select the spot. The condi-
birds) is about 500,000 birds. BirdLife tions in Sewri are ideal for the birds.
International, a global alliance of con- The slight indentation in the coastline
servation organisations working for brings a degree of safety. The shallow
the worlds birds and people, has des- mudats make for easy feeding. Ironic,
ignated the Sewri mudats as an Im- it may seem, but the human waste and
portant Bird Area and has also nitrogen-rich organic pollutants from
identied it as a potential Ramsar site nearby industries promote the healthy
(wetlands of international impor- growth of algae, which is the primary
tance). The mudats are also home to food of the amingoes apart from
53 species of vascular plants, 10 man- small insects, crustaceans, molluscs,
grove species and 13 mangrove-associ- and small sh. This ideal combination
ate species as well as many types of is something that has occurred gradu-
crustaceans, molluscs and algae. ally over time and cannot be replicat-
ed. Therefore, the birds cannot be
IDEAL SPOT expected to resettle themselves a few
Sewri, which is on the eastern sea- kilometres north or south of their pre-
board of Mumbai, has been relatively sent location. It would not only be un-
untouched by the citys race for devel- realistic but also unjust.
opment. This is largely because it Sadly, however, the mudats have
comes under the security blanket of
the Port Trust. This is one reason why A W ES T ERN RE E F egret in an
the mudats are preserved to some ex- abandoned boat.
MARCH 9, 2012
MARCH 9, 2012
MARCH 9, 2012
D E S P I TE THE I R CE S S P OOL- LI KE
nature, the mudats sustain an
amazing biodiversity ranging from
algae, crustaceans and molluscs to
large migratory birds.
PAUL NORONHA
MARCH 9, 2012
PAUL NORONHA
MARCH 9, 2012
come under threat from a Rs.8,500-

crore mega project called the Mumbai
Trans Harbour Link, a 22-km road-
cum-sea bridge that will link Sewri on
the Mumbai island to Nhava Sheva on
the mainland. The six-lane road, 16.5
km of which will be a sea bridge, will
also make provisions for an independ-
ent twin-track Metro in its second
phase.
The Sewri-Nhava Sheva bridge has
been in the pipeline for more than two
decades. Now the Mumbai Metropoli-
tan Region Development Authority
(MMRDA) has resurrected the project
by inviting applications for prequal- T H E P O N D H ERO N , a common shore bird.
ication for the construction of the
bridge. In the process, it has begun the
countdown for the destruction of the
mudats and the amingo haven.
As before, objections and compro-
mise solutions to the project have been
raised by the Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) but the MMRDA
shows no signs of accepting them. Dr
Asad Rahmani, the Director of the
BNHS, said: We are not against de-
velopment, but at the same time, we
want the environment to be protected.
A realignment would save the am-
ingos and the mudats, and the goal of
development and conservation will be
achieved.
The BNHS had written to the
MMRDAs Chief Engineer and sug-
gested realigning the start of the A N EGRET W A I T S for prey. (Below) A red shank explores the waters.
bridge 700 m south of the proposed
point. The MMRDA rejected it out-
right saying that a) there is no land
available to realign the bridge, b) that
any change will mean applying for
fresh clearances and c) that all delays
will mean an increase in costs.
But the fact is that land is usually
made available when a government
agency such as the MMRDA is in-
volved, and fresh clearances should, in
any case, be applied for because the
project has been on and off for about
two decades. The Environment Im-
(FA C ING PA G E ) F L A M I N GO ES feed,

against the backdrop of oil reneries
and a power station. They are lter
feeders and can sift out what is not
food in the polluted marsh.
MARCH 9, 2012
VIVEK BENDRE
A N IB I S N E A R the murky waters.
pact Assessment Report, for instance, the habitat will adapt as it has done drainage, conguration of the mud-
is from 1992 and is outdated. Soaring before. But it is not just the chaos of the ats and, ultimately, the way life can or
project costs because of failed tender- construction activity that will be dis- cannot be sustained. In its reply to the
ing over the years should not be a bur- ruptive. The bridge will alter the hab- BNHS, the MMRDA has said that it
den that the natural habitat has to itat drastically and suddenly. The will ensure that the environment is
bear. construction will affect the tidal pat- minimally impacted. But the assur-
Some people say that once the tern, which in turn will affect the circu- ance seems to be little more than pay-
bridge is built the birds will return and lation and ow of water, siltation, ing lip service to the environment.
MARCH 9, 2012
books
Horrors of Partition
In addition to the loss of human lives and property, the near-fatal blows on
cultures mark Partitions distinctively hideous features. B Y A . G . N O O R A N I
INFOBOX TAG WITH
HE partition of the subcon-
T
BOOK FACTS
tinent of India deserves to
rank as one of the 10 great
tragedies in recorded hu-
man history. That is saying a
lot. It is not only the loss of human lives
and property but the near-fatal blows
on cultures that mark its distinctively
hideous features. Urdu and the com-
posite Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb (cul-
ture) suffered grievously. People were
uprooted, leaving an impoverished
culture behind them. Of all the prov-
inces, Punjab suffered the most. The
massacre that preceded and followed
its partition, along with that of India, The Punjab: Partition Observed: Partition and
was predictable and was predicted. Bloodied, British Ofcial Locality: Violence,
Pakistan would mean a mas- Partitioned and Reports from South Migration, and
sacre, the Premier of Punjab Sir Si- Cleansed: Asia; Volume One, Development in
kandar Hyat Khan predicted to the Unravelling the 14 August-15 Gujranwala and
distinguished civilian Penderel Moon 1947 Tragedy October 1947, Sialkot, 1947-1961
as early as in October 1938 (Divide and through Secret Volume Two by llyas Chattha;
Quit, page 20). That was well before British Papers and 16 October- Oxford University
the Muslim League adopted the Pakis- First Person 31 December 1947; Press, Karachi;
tan resolution on March 23, 1940, in Accounts by Ishtiaq edited by Lionel pages 304, Rs.825.
Lahore, radically altering Sir Sikan- Ahmed; Rupa & Co.; Carter; Manohar;
dars draft just 24 hours before it was pages 754, Rs.995. pages 985, Rs.2,950.
passed. He repudiated it because it
dropped the organic link between the
two parts of India, which he had pro- nations ensured a awed, dented sec- the Muslims in East Punjab and West
vided. He told the Punjab Legislative ularism. He protested to Mountbatten Bengal. The Pakistan resolution itself
Assembly, on March 11, 1941, We do in 1947 when the Congress decided, envisaged such territorial readjust-
not ask for freedom that there may be rightly, to retain the name India, rath- ments as may be necessary in the
Muslim Raj here and Hindu Raj else- er than accept the name he would have boundaries of the two zones it de-
where. If that is what Pakistan means I liked it to adopt Hindustan; but this manded. As early as on January 17,
will have nothing to do with it. time within a communal connotation. 1942, Jinnah conded to Prof. Regi-
But that is precisely what Pakistan His concept left little room for self-
came to mean, regardless of Moham- respecting minorities in Pakistan. The
mad Ali Jinnahs initial tactical con-
siderations. His two-nation theory
Sikhs, in particular, dreaded the pros-
pect of being forced to live in an avow-
Series
implied two majoritarian states. It edly Muslim state. This is the rst part of
was to be a awed secularism. His bo- Jinnah gave short shrift to them, to a two-part article.
gus theory of homelands of the two the Muslims in India and, not least, to
MARCH 9, 2012
nald Coupland, adviser to Stafford on interviews rivals his volume in

Cripps, his readiness to concede Am- range and depth. He is scrupulously
bala division to U.P. and for Bengal objective.
to cede its Hindu-majority western The rival narratives are fairly set
districts to Bihar, provided Pakistan out: The late Harkishan Singh Sur-
acquired Assam (R.J. Moore; Escape jeet, of the Communist Party of India
from Empire; Oxford University Press, (Marxist), witnessed the events and
1983; page 54, footnote 47). The Com- said in our interview: The communal
munist Party of Indias pamphlet They attacks on the minorities were de-
Must Meet Again, written by P.C. nitely planned. I know more about the
Joshi, its general secretary, one of the persons involved in the eastern wing
ablest pamphleteers, carried maps of because I was there. I saw those dread-
Punjab and Bengal showing large com- ful acts with my own eyes. In that con-
pact zones of contiguous majority dis- spiracy, the Maharaja of Patiala was
tricts in the two provinces which had involved. The idea was that if the Mus-
Muslim majorities (1944). So did maps lims were driven out, the Sikhs could
published in B.R. Ambedkars work form their own state in eastern Pun-
Pakistan or Partition of India (1946). jab. The attacks on Sikhs and Hindus
Jinnahs Canutian edicts ew in in March 1947 in Rawalpindi are re-
the face of the realities. He was pri- garded as one of the major crimes that
vately negotiating the terms of refer- triggered off others.
ence of the Radcliffe Boundary The lunacy that convulsed Punjab
Commission on the partitioned Pun- is dissected calmly in each of its phas-
jab and Bengal while publicly assert- es. Before 1947 the communities did
ing that he would not yield on the mingle; but in the main they led paral-
partition of the two provinces. He mis- lel lives. The rst to advocate partition
led his followers. of Punjab was Lala Lajpat Rai. In No-
As Ambedkar suggested, Jinnah vember-December 1924, he wrote in
would have been better off conceding The Tribune: My suggestion is that
that publicly. But, then, in that event the Punjab should be partitioned into
he would have lost the support of the two provinces, the Western Punjab
Muslim League landlords in East Pun- with a large Muslim majority to be [a]
jab and the inuentials in West Ben- Muslim-governed province; the East-
THE HINDU ARCHIVES
gal. The question arises: Why did not ern Punjab with a large Hindu-Sikh
the Congress and, for that matter the majority to be [a] non-Muslim-gov-
British, publicise these realities widely erned province. He also suggested
in 1945 ahead of the general elections that Muslim provinces be established
for all the world to know? in the North West Frontier Province
(NWFP), Sindh and East Bengal. potency as a political slogan. The un-
VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION By the end of 1945, partition had informed Muslim will be told that the
These works by scholars of distinction entered the realm of the probable. On question he is called on to answer at
are a valuable contribution to the his- December 27, 1945, the Viceroy, Lord the polls is Are you a true believer or
tory of Partition. Their industry is Wavell, proposed a breakdown plan an indel and a traitor? Against this
matched by integrity and a commit- to London followed by a paper demar- slogan the Unionists have no spectac-
ment to the truth. Ishtiaq Ahmed, cating genuinely Muslim areas, on ular battle-cry if Pakistan becomes
born in Lahore, is Professor Emeritus February 7, 1946. It was based on a an imminent reality, we shall be head-
of Political Science at Stockholm Uni- partition of Punjab and Bengal. ing straight for a bloodshed on a wide
versity and Honorary Senior Fellow, The Governor of Punjab Bertrand scale; non-Muslims, especially Sikhs,
Institute of South Asian Studies, Na- Glancy wrote to Wavell on August 16, are not blufng, they will not submit
tional University of Singapore. He has 1945: [T]here is a very serious danger peacefully to a government that is la-
not only consulted extensively the pub- of the elections being fought, so far as belled Muhammadan Raj. Hence it
lished material, especially material Muslims are concerned, on an entirely appears to me to be of vital importance
compiled from the archives by Lionel false issue. Crude Pakistan may quite to take action, before it is too late, to
Carter, but painstakingly conducted illogical, undenable [sic] and ruin- deate the theory of Pakistan.
interviews with Punjabis on both sides ous to India and in particular to Mus- In Punjab there were two neigh-
of the divide. None of the books based lims, but this does not detract from its bouring divisions (Ambala and Ja-
MARCH 9, 2012
DU R ING PA R T I T I O N , W HI C H
witnessed perhaps the biggest
migration in recorded history, a
scene of trains in East Punjab.
landhar) out of our total of ve, in aggravated by the Unionist Ministrys happenings, political and murderous,
which there was no single district with ban on the Muslim National Guard, in a disciplined chronological order
a Muslim majority. He would add to the Leagues civil disobedience move- based on the records and interviews.
them the very important district of ment, and Britains announcement on The leaders had lost control over their
Amritsar. The citation of this practi- February 20, 1947, that it would quit followers.
cal illustration might be of great help. India by the end of June 1948. The Swaran Singh, leader of the Pan-
Action on these lines would at least Cabinet Missions plan based on a thic Party in the Assembly, told Gover-
provide the Unionist Party with a ral- united India had collapsed. In March nor Evan Jenkins on February 27,
lying cry against Pakistan something 1947, the Congress demanded the par- 1947: The Sikhs have been profoundly
on which the elector could denitely tition of Punjab and Bengal. Sikhs and moved by the obvious desire of the
bite. No Punjabi, however, unin- Hindus were determined to split Pun- Muslims to seize the Punjab for them-
formed, would contemplate with equa- jab. The League was determined to av- selves and would not permit them to
nimity so shattering a ert that. By then riots had spread. In do so. The agitation has shown Pakis-
dismemberment of the province in- 1946, 400 Hindus were killed in Noak- tan in all its nakedness and was a fair
volving in effect the disappearance of hali and 5,000 Muslims in Bihar. As example of the kind of treatment that
the word Punjab (emphasis added, well as communal hate, political ob- the minorities, including the Sikhs,
throughout). This was sound advice. jectives fuelled frenzy in Punjab. might expect from Muslim extremists.
Tense as the situation was, it was Ishtiaq Ahmed documents the He [Swaran Singh] admitted that civil
MARCH 9, 2012
THE HINDU ARCHIVES

MU SLI MS A T A transit camp.
war would lead to widespread misery, attitude towards Sikhs. Muslims in and I visited some of the villages in the
but he could not see how the Sikhs their stupidity disgraced Sikhs, singled Rawalpindi district that were attacked
could be partners with the Muslims on out Sikh policemen for their attacks in 1947. We avoided visiting Thoa
any terms in the absence of some effec- and brutally murdered a Sikh consta- Khalsa, whose story has been made
tive sanction. He disliked the idea of ble. The effect of this was grave in the unforgettable by Urvashi Butalia in
partitioning the Punjab, but felt that a extreme and, as has already been her classic work The Other Side of Si-
partition with all its disadvantages stated, communal strife between Sikhs lence (2000). Thoa Khalsa is located
might prove to be the only remedy. and Muslims was almost inevitable if close to Kahuta, where the principal
The author records that in his fort- the League movement of deance had Pakistani nuclear enrichment plant is
nightly report of March 4, 1947, cov- continued. located. In Freedom at Midnight, Lar-
ering the second half of February, Sikhs were led by a man devoid of ry Collins and Dominique Lapierre de-
Chief Secretary Akhtar Hussain wrote sense, who was to make a mess of picted the agony of Kahuta a rather
that the agitation had affected all dis- things even after independence. On large village of 2,000 Hindus and
tricts, creating serious situations in March 3, 1947, Master Tara Singh Sikhs and 1,500 Muslims in the fol-
some places: The campaign is of de- came out on the steps of the Assembly, lowing words:
liberate disobedience and deance of accompanied by other Sikh leaders, to A Muslim horde had descended on
law conducted with a denite undem- meet the crowd. He unsheathed his Kahuta like a wolf pack, setting re to
ocratic political motive. In his report kirpan and waved it in the air. The the houses in its Sikh and Hindu quar-
of March 24 (covering the rst half of incident instantly acquired notoriety ters with buckets of gasoline. In min-
March), he remarked: Although and unleashed wild passions. utes the area was engulfed in re and
many were shocked by the vulgarity of entire families, screaming pitifully for
the Leagues tactics and behaviour, the MASSACRE IN RAWALPINDI help, were consumed by the ames.
agitation undoubtedly attracted the March 1947 was a dening month. The Those who escaped were caught, tied
sympathy of most Muslims. author reconstructs the outbreak of vi- together, soaked with gasoline and
He noted: Of all reactions, howev- olence in Rawalpindi on the basis of burned alive like torches.
er, the most marked, and the most interviews. The initial clash was pro- Around 3,000 people were killed.
dangerous, were those of Sikhs. Their voked by Hindu and Sikh protesters on In a special report to Mountbatten
resentment was bitter and their feel- March 5, a fact that Justice G.D. Khos- dated April 16, Jenkins wrote: The
ings inamed by their understanding las disgracefully partisan report does communal proportions have not been
of the Leagues objective and by in- not mention. The author writes: The accurately reported, but I should say
cidents involving Sikhs and furnished attacks began on the evening of March that among the dead are six non-Mus-
what they accepted as proof of Muslim 6, when the Muslims turned away lims for every Muslim. Mr Liaquat Ali
mass animosity directed against the from the city because the Sikhs were Khan can hardly realise the terrible
Sikh community. Akhtar Hussain heavily armed, and instead headed to- nature of the rural massacre. One of
blamed the Muslims of Amritsar par- wards the nearby villages. Between my troubles has been the extreme
ticularly for their brazenly aggressive December 11-14, 2004, Ahmad Salim complacency of the League leaders in
MARCH 9, 2012
the Punjab, who say in effect that boys

are boys. I have no doubt that the
non-Muslims were provocative in the
cities, but the Muslims had been
equally provocative during their ag-
itation and had in particular murdered
a Sikh constable in Amritsar. The au-
thor notes that at the outbreak of riot-
ing in Rawalpindi the Sikhs enjoyed
the upper hand for a couple of days
until the tide turned on March 6. That
evening, Muslim raiders headed to-
wards predominantly Sikh villages
surrounded by a sea of Muslim villages
THE HINDU ARCHIVES

and hamlets. Such villages were at-
tacked by large mobs, sometimes run-
ning into several thousands, which
easily overwhelmed the resistance that
was offered. The pogroms and carnag- AT A CAMP in East Punjab, evacuees from West Punjab.
es that took place were undoubtedly
genocidal well-planned and execut- much earlier, but remained in abey- Such an objective necessitated the use
ed with the intention of killing. That ance till such time that the conditions of brutal force and the Sikhs had made
the Sikhs killed their own women only were ripe. The attacks took place much preparations accordingly. The weap-
makes that episode more tragic; it is in the same way that Sikh villages were ons they used in some cases included
the code of honour of those times that raided in March 1947; only the scale even machine guns and other auto-
dictated such behaviour, which out- was many times bigger. No doubt Hin- matic weapons. The transition from
siders might describe as bizarre. dus were involved in nancing the at- colonial to Indian rule provided the
The complacent assumption that tacks, but it was mostly Sikhs who took opportunity to quickly realise ethnic
the partition of Punjab would not en- part in them. cleansing in a matter of a few months.
tail massacres and migrations was to- In the Hindi-speaking eastern dis-
tally unrealistic. By the second week of tricts, Hindu Jats also took part in the JINNAHS FAILURE
May, violent attacks increased. Intelli- attacks on Muslims. The lawless Hob- Jinnah very well knew that the parti-
gence agencies reported it and the besian state of nature materialised in tion of Punjab was a logical conse-
Punjab Governor passed on that in- the fullest sense in the Sikh princely quence of the partition of India. Had
formation to Mountbatten. Predict- states, where preparations to expel he accepted that publicly, the Leaguers
ably administrative measures proved Muslims had been under way for a of East Punjab, some of whom were
grossly inadequate. long time. The PBF [Punjab Boundary landowners, would have deserted him.
Force] had no jurisdiction in the prin- The author records his parleys with the
ROLE OF SIKH RULERS cely states and that made it easier to Sikh leaders, especially the Maharaja
The author records: There is no rea- attack Muslims. of Patiala, in May 1947; but the offers
son to doubt that the Sikh leadership The partition of Punjab was inevi- were based on a united Punjab as part
involving the Akalis as well as some table if India was to be partitioned, of Pakistan, a Muslim State. The Sikhs
rulers of princely states had made up and massacres were inevitable once demanded its partition.
their mind to empty East Punjab of all Punjab was partitioned. The Sikhs Had Jinnah conceded that even at
Muslims. It was put into operation im- faced what they perceived to be an ex- that late hour and forged a pact with
mediately after August 17, when the istential threat. They did have a con- the Congress, the massacres might
Radcliffe Award became known to the tingency plan if the Punjab was have been averted. In his hour of tri-
general public. Next day, which coinci- divided and it was based on the use of umph, Jinnah lamentably failed in
ded with the Islamic festival of Eid, force and terror to make the Muslims statesmanship.
proved to be the day when all hell run for their lives from East Punjab. Contrast his attitude with the
broke loose on the nearly six million Therefore, the Sikhs in particular had stand adopted by Sir Edward Carson,
Muslim minority. Most of the Muslims a special interest in expelling Muslims the architect of Irelands partition, in
were unarmed peasants, who had no if not Hindus at that time in order the House of Commons on May 18,
clue that they would be forced to leave to concentrate their co-religionists in 1920. He himself excluded from Ulster
their ancestral abodes. The attacks on those parts of the Punjab they wanted (Northern Ireland) three overwhelm-
them, no doubt, had been planned to become a Sikhistan or Khalistan. ingly Catholic counties and was con-
MARCH 9, 2012
tent with the six that had a Protestant Chattha notes the class dimension
majority. Enlarging territories on false of the carnage and rejects much con-
premises was a system of land grab- ventional wisdom. Partition violence
bing, he remarked. had clear class and gender dimensions.
Loss of the minorities accentuated Politically astute members of the up-
the Muslim character of Pakistan and per-middle class Hindus and Sikhs
undermined Jinnahs commitment to had started to migrate months and
THE HINDU ARCHIVES

secularism. His dream was shattered. weeks before the actual Partition took
The imposition of the permit system in place. They had begun to sell their
March 1948 and the erection of bar- properties and shift assets to safer
riers wrecked the rest of his plans. zones. Poor people who lacked not on-
They were based on two fatal aws; ly the resources, but also were unaware
one in concept the two-nation theory M A S T ER T A R A S I N G H, the most of the rapidly evolving political scena-
and the other in its execution an prominent leader of Sikhs. On March rio, were driven out from mid-August
abrasive offensive rhetoric. Both ren- 3, 1947, he came out on the steps of onwards. Urvashi Butalia deserves
dered impossible a friendly accord, the Assembly, accompanied by other high praise for her work on the crimes
which alone could have mitigated the Sikh leaders, to meet the crowd. He committed against women.
cost of Partition. Ishtiaq Ahmed, a unsheathed his kirpan and waved it Since Sialkot shares a border with
Punjabi himself, describes eloquently in the air. The incident instantly Jammu violence in Jammu had many
but realistically the emotional wrench acquired notoriety and unleashed parallels with that in Sialkot. What
which is still felt by Punjabis. wild passions. gives the Jammu massacres a special
character is that they were mainly or-
INSIGHTS INTO PARTITION by his objectivity. The strongly com- dered by the Maharaja of the State of
VIOLENCE munalised local press exacerbated ten- Jammu and Kashmir, and involved
Illyas Chattha, now based at the Cen- sions. The newspapers Ajit and Rajut political motives to ethnically cleanse
tre for Imperial and Post-Colonial instigated the Sikh community to be the Muslim population. This was in-
Studies, University of Southampton, ready for sacrices to maintain unity tended to ensure a non-Muslim major-
offers a unique, locality-based per- and the existence of the Panth. The ity in the Jammu region. Violence was
spective on the process of collective Muslim newspapers Azad and Inqui- undertaken in the main by the State
violence and mass migration. He has lab wrote against the division of Pun- troopers. They received support from
consulted all that there was to read and jab with the heading Fragmentation disgruntled Hindu and Sikh refugees
conducted eldwork intensively, re- of the Punjab. They reported with an from West Punjab. The danger for
trieving neglected rst information re- expression of grim determination the Muslims multiplied every hour, as
ports (FIRs) in police stations. need to resist partition of Punjab, hordes of Hindu and Sikh refugees
Partition violence has only recent- warning the Sikh leaders of the conse- started pouring into Jammu from ar-
ly been considered in terms of general quences of playing into the hands of eas that were going to become Pakis-
theories. Why was this violence not the Hindus. The paramilitary organi- tan. In many ways, Kashmiri Muslims
featured in broader accounts of geno- sations had mushroomed and pene- were to pay a heavy price in Septem-
cide or ethnic cleansing? This academ- trated every corner of the Punjab. ber-October 1947 for the earlier vio-
ic neglect was not only because of the By June 1947, it was estimated lence in West Punjab. These killings
Eurocentric character of the post-Sec- that the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamse- had created a motive for revenge.
ond World War debate on mass vio- wak Sangh] had opened seventeen A large ock began to arrive after
lence overshadowing Indias Partition new branches and its membership had the March 1947 Rawalpindi massacres
violence, but also because the states risen to 59,200. The Muslim League of Hindus and Sikhs. By late 1947, over
nation-making accounts downplayed National Guards (MLNG) had accu- 160,000 Hindus and Sikhs had mi-
the darker side in order to bolster the mulated 43,200 members, not to men- grated from the western districts of
achievement of freedom. For a long tion the members of a variety of Punjab. In Jammu city alone, by mid-
time, standard accounts of the 1947 miscellaneous bodies such as the Ah- September, they numbered over
communal violence observed this vio- rar razakars, Khaksar militia, Shahidi 65,000. They carried with them har-
lence as summer madness, slaughter, jathas, Volunteer jaishes, Hindu rowing stories of Muslim atrocities,
mass killings, massacres, and the Scouts Volunteer Corps (HSVC), and which were retold in the press and giv-
like. The author has delved into the Akal Shiana. Preparations for vio- en ofcial sanction by the state media.
archives for original research and not lence were made to pre-empt the Their arrival brought the communal
conned himself to published compi- boundary award. With the appoint- tension to the breaking point and fur-
lations of archival material. ment of Radcliffe to map the boundary ther intensied the killings of Muslims
The scholars industry is matched lines a sudden are-up was noted. and their exodus.
MARCH 9, 2012
books/review
Policing problems
Three books by serving police ofcers throw light on law enforcement problems
vexing the police force in the country. B Y R . K . R A G H A V A N
INFOBOX TAG WITH

EN years into retirement
T
IN REVIEW
from the Indian Police Ser-
vice, I am happy I still get a
chance to wrestle with prob-
lems of law enforcement,
both in domestic and in international
forums. The obvious temptation on
these occasions has been to reminisce
about times gone by as also to indulge
in comparisons.
Such an exercise has convinced me
that the current generation of police
ofcers is fortunate to be exposed to a
much wider spectrum of issues than
before and also has the opportunity to Policing Delhi: Permission to Neo-Naxal
remit them to a variety of groups (in- Urbanization, Shoot: Police Use Challenge: Issues
cluding the media) for some useful Crime, and Law of Deadly Force in & Options by
brainstorming. The resultant hard- Enforcement by Democracies by Giridhari Nayak;
hitting debates over strategies and O.P. Mishra; Oxford Jyoti Belur; Pentagon Security
styles of policing are valuable in a dy- University Press, Springer, 2010; International,
namic world where respect for law is pages 269, Rs.545. pages 226. 2012; pages 324.
dwindling and social tensions are be-
coming sharper by the day.
The unabashed venality that has thorship. It is unfortunately uneven three. It proceeds like this: whether it
crept into government and the govern- and indicates the need for greater fo- be the demanding and vulnerable ur-
ments tight control over police orga- cus on honing the average policemans ban citizen, or a gangster operating for
nisations are other factors that call for powers of articulation while he or she money, or a naxalite spurred by ideol-
new approaches to policing. This is is being trained. A policeman in the ogy acting against the state, the police
why I think that unquestioned accept- supervisory ranks who cannot speak or will have to deal with them on the basis
ance of how the police function in the write with clarity can hardly defend of a well-planned strategy. Gone are
country is nothing beyond being po- himself in a crisis. It is also dangerous the days of ad hoc policing when bran-
lite. Carried beyond limits, such ur- to ones career because there is a con- dishing a lathi won unquestioned obe-
banity hardly helps improve the troversy over police actions each living dience. That is, it calls for a well-oiled
quality of a profession as critical to day. The handling of Salman Rushdies and intelligently trained organisation,
society as law enforcement. aborted visit to Jaipur by the Rajas- a fearless leadership and a willingness
This is why I am pleased that se- than Police is one example. to admit to mistakes. Sans these, a po-
nior policemen are increasingly choos- Three books two by serving and lice force will be constantly pushed
ing to put down their thoughts in one by a former police ofcer re- around by the formidable velocity of
writing without much inhibition. Po- ceived my attention recently. On rst public opinion.
lice literature is certainly burgeoning. look, they deal with apparently dis-
This is a sure sign of a march towards parate subjects, such as urban polic- CHALLENGES IN DELHI
enlightenment and transparent policing, use of lethal force on citizens by Policing Delhi by O.P. Mishra, a Depu-
ing. the police and naxalite violence. When ty Commissioner of Police, places be-
However, I am not exactly satised read with great care, one will see a fore the reader the intricacies of
with the current quality of police au- common thread running through all maintaining law and order in a mega-
MARCH 9, 2012
MUSTAFA QURAISHI/AP
DE L HI PO L I C E PE R S O N N EL practising ahead of Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, in January 2012. The
enormous diversity of the capital citys population renders policing a demanding task for the Delhi Police.
lopolis that is in many ways a universe Metropolitan Police faces in London position prevents him from being crit-
in itself. Statistics are awesome, and renders policing an even more de- ical of the many aws that the Delhi
they can hardly overstate the case for manding task. Police are believed to suffer from.
grant of more manpower and equip- Mishra brings out all this in clear These include a certain insensitivity to
ment to the Delhi Police. The latter do language. The statistics he furnishes the common mans plea for help, espe-
a very difcult job reasonably well, un- show that equating the challenges that cially in crimes relating to property.
der stressful conditions. the Delhi Police face with those faced The inability to check violence against
The assassination of a serving by the police forces of other cities in the women is another stick with which the
Prime Minister in 1984 and the anti- country would be preposterous. Delhi Police are often beaten. But the
Sikh riots that followed, and the ter- leadership of the force may stoutly re-
rorist attacks on the Parliament House TOO MANY GENERALISATIONS fute these impressions. Nevertheless,
in 2001 and in the heart of the city in This well-conceived book, however, it is difcult to ignore this image of the
2005 and 2008 give one an idea of the has a major limitation. It is merely Delhi Police.
challenges before an extremely adapted from the authors postdocto- Mishra gives the impression that
stretched police force. The dimensions ral thesis, with some extra material. If everything is hunky dory with his
and complexity of protecting the huge you expect any incisive analysis of force, when it is actually not so. Mishra
number of diplomats stationed in the known issues and the intangible char- will probably be better qualied to
capital and safeguarding the President ter of the Delhi Police, you are in for write a more objective report of the
of India, the Prime Minister and a host serious disappointment. Generalisa- capitals policing system after his re-
of other dignitaries could overwhelm tions by the author are far too many tirement. The many controversies that
even the most professional police orga- and may not be agreeable to the dis- the Delhi Police have witnessed need
nisation in the world. (The lan with cerning reader. These are actually dis- an insiders candid account, or else
which the Delhi Police manages the tracting. they will remain shrouded in mystery,
Republic Day Parade each year is ad- Mishra also has the disadvantage much to the disappointment of schol-
mirable.) The enormous diversity of of being an insider. He runs the risk of ars and researchers.
the citys population akin to what the being branded subjective. His ofcial Talking of controversies and the
MARCH 9, 2012
Delhi Police, the one that gured in

public debate recently is the Batla Policing calls Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar,
and a few other States. Apart from
House encounter. In this episode (on
September 19, 2008), a Delhi Police for a well-oiled civilian casualties, the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) and State police
team entered Batla House in Jamia
Nagar and challenged some members organisation forces have lost a large number of their
personnel in the ght. The problem is
of the Indian Mujahideen (I.M.) who
were reportedly hiding there. In the and a extremely complicated. The theorising
about its genesis and how it can be
exchanges that took place, two sus-
pected I.M. men and Delhi Police In- willingness to handled through economic develop-
ment of and strong law enforcement in
spector Mohan Chand Sharma, known
to be an encounter specialist, were admit to the affected areas has not brought
about any qualitative change. It looks
killed. Several local residents were ar-
rested. mistakes. as if we will have to reconcile ourselves
to many more years of violence and
To this day there is a dispute terror in the affected areas.
whether the encounter was fake or re- that protects unbalanced police of- Naxalism has spawned a lot of lit-
al. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief cers who shoot from the hip are not erature. The latest addition is Neo-
Minister Digvijay Singh recently necessarily to be found only in devel- Naxal Challenge: Issues & Options by
claimed in public, in Azamgarh (Uttar oping countries such as India. Police- Giridhari Nayak, an IPS ofcer in
Pradesh), that it was not a genuine men in the West do not behave very Chhattisgarh. This comprehensive ac-
encounter, and the allegation was differently. count of a deadly movement is the
promptly refuted by Union Home Jyoti Belur devotes a whole chap- product of years of the authors famil-
Minister P. Chidambaram. This is the ter to police response to organised iarity with the issue. A number of an-
kind of controversy that is generated crime in Mumbai, whose underworld nexures, including the 1970 Report of
on most occasions when the police use has been romanticised by many novel- the Central Committee of the Commu-
lethal force. Undoubtedly, this is a sub- ists as well as Bollywood, the Hindi nist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist),
ject of absorbing interest to police movie industry based in the city. In the or CPI(ML), and maps of operational
researchers. decade of 1993-2003, the city wit- areas, are a welcome feature of the
nessed more than 400 encounters in book. The nal chapter, What needs
ENCOUNTERS which 589 criminals were killed. to be done, throws up a few valuable
Jyoti Belur, a former IPS ofcer now The author avoids making value ideas.
teaching and researching at University judgments but suggests that all en- Those in the higher echelons of po-
College, London, handles the subject counters ofcially chronicled should lice administration would possibly dis-
adroitly. Her Permission to Shoot: Po- be viewed against the abnormal rise of miss the authors recommendations as
lice Use of Deadly Force in Democra- crime syndicates and the turf wars be- nothing new or highly impractical.
cies is a well-written account of all the tween them. More signicantly, it This would be unfortunate. There is
problems associated with the police must be remembered that the growth nothing wrong in reiterating what has
using rearms on those who deviate of Hindu fundamentalism, the arrival generally been agreed upon by a wide
from the rule of law and create dis- of terrorist elements in the city and the spectrum of politicians and civil ser-
order in society. injection of outside forces into Mum- vants. Nayaks suggestion that agricul-
Case studies from three cities bais socio-political landscape all serve tural schools based on rural
New York, London and Mumbai give to confound an already overstretched technology could greatly bring down
an insight into situations in which the police department and inuence it to unemployment in the areas where
police are compelled to use force believe that the use of lethal force naxalites are active appears valuable
against individuals or gangs, often through encounters is the only way to and practical. His plea for exclusive
provoking a public controversy. Mis- get out of a difcult situation. Jyoti high-security jails to lodge arrested
takes are occasionally made by the po- Belurs book is a valuable contribution naxalites, in response to a number of
lice as was believed to have happened to the understanding of a complex jailbreaks, needs to be considered in all
in the cases of Amadou Diallo (New phenomenon that dogs civilian gov- seriousness.
York, 1999), Juan Charles de Menezes ernments and police organisations all On the whole, the book reads well.
(London, 2005) and Javed Fawda over the world. Some tight editing with an emphasis
(Mumbai, 1997). on correct and simple English would
Jyoti Belur effectively demon- THE NAXAL CHALLENGE have further embellished what is oth-
strates that overreaction to a prevail- A current major challenge to the Indi- erwise a professional account borne
ing difcult crime and public order an police is naxalism, which has taken out of personal handling of the prob-
situation and the culture of secrecy a heavy toll on lives in Chhattisgarh, lem.
books/review MARCH 9, 2012
The book of Jobs

It is easy to nd articles and analyses about Steve Jobs life and work, but it
needed a book like this to tell us what he was as a man. B Y N . N A G A R A J A N
HAT can one write school included computer science as a
W about a man who rede-

ned industries? A
man who was loved
and hated simultane-
ously by many people who did not even
know him? Walter Isaacson shows one
what. Steve Jobs is a book that is an
compulsory subject in the mid-1980s,
and the computer laboratory had a few
dozen BBC microcomputers for
younger students and ve IBM PCs for
older students. No one in the students
families or among their friends or
neighbours circle had a clue what
entertaining read even though it is a these things were, how they worked or
little too long. The story of Jobs birth what they could do. In three years,
and childhood to the cracking success many people in their twenties wanted
of the Apple IPO (about a third of the to do a computer course, learn pro-
way into the book) would make a very gramming and earn tons of money.
nice movie; the Apple Macintosh, the At this point, Apple lost the plot.
John Sculley saga and the return of the The whole argument over whether Ap-
prodigal would make another one; the ple should have licensed its operating
Think Different campaign to the end system, or OS (which it did for some
would make yet another. All three time), and Microsofts takeover of the
parts have everything a movie needs: desktop computers market are part of
love, power, greed, heartbreak, failure, the lore of computing. Who knows
a rise from the ashes, triumph and where Apple would be if it had taken
death. another of the many forks in the road.
The book is so obviously a labour of The book does not cover the business
love by the former Time magazine edi- IN REVIEW aspects of Apple or Jobs so much, but
tor that one has to appreciate the hon- one can see that Isaacson is sympa-
Steve Jobs by Walter
esty with which he has covered his thetic to Jobs concept of complete
Isaacson; Simon & Schuster,
subject. It is difcult not to get in- control over the entire computing ex-
2011; pages 656 (hardcover).
volved. There are the little details perience, that is, complete control over
such as the phrases Jobs used, refer- hardware and software.
ences to Jobs weaker side even where ing, to a large extent popularised by In the mid-1980s, some of the rich-
he comes across as particularly ruth- Apple contemporaneously with IBM, er children with relatives abroad had
less or cruel, and the obvious props like changed computers, computer science Sinclair ZX Spectrums or Commo-
the subtitles of each chapter that and computing. Air-conditioned dores. One typically had to hook the
show that the biography, while frank, rooms were needed not just for com- computer up to a television set for the
also invites one to appreciate what puters but for the people who operated monitor. One also had to use cassette
Jobs has done. and managed them as well. Those over tapes for storage. The user interface
And Jobs did many things. He re- 40 will surely remember that the elec- was largely text-based, or what is
dened the way computers were tronic data processing (EDP), or man- called command line interface. For
looked at, for instance. To appreciate agement information system (MIS), other children, their exposure was
what Jobs did to personal computers department alone was housed in com- pretty much at the school laboratory
(PCs), one just has think back to the fortable ofces. unless a parent happened to work in
early 1980s. Computers were then very But the change went deeper than the MIS or EDP department of a bank
large installations housed in special that: households could have comput- or a large company.
air-conditioned rooms; one had to be ers. Not many households in India did, At that time, it was a privilege to
someone or know someone to even get but one could dream of the possibility, have access to computers and learn
to see a computer. Desktop comput- and many people did. My progressive how to work with them. We were fast-
MARCH 9, 2012
tracked by our schools from the BBC

micros to the IBM PCs and allowed
two hours a week. I remember the
monitors casting a green glow on the
faces of my classmates. Lines and lines
of code, handwritten and debugged in
advance, and the huge hurry to type
everything in and get the programme
running to save it at the end of our
session drove us crazy.
For us, the computer opened up a
new world with unlimited possibili-
ties. I came across the Apple Macin-
tosh while ipping through a
magazine that a friend had brought
over from his holiday in Singapore.
What was this futuristic contraption,
with its disk drive and its graphical
user interface (GUI) and mouse? I re-
alised that it was the embodiment of
what one wanted in a computer. This
was not science ction; this was real.
That is what Jobs did to desktop
computing. He showed us what a desk-
top computer could and should be. The
funny thing was he did not satisfy just
the nerds: he showed their parents
what computers could be and how the
world might change with their advent.
There was a rush for computer science
courses. Did it sell Macs? No. Did it
capture ones imagination about com-
PAUL SAKUMA/AP
puting? Yes, it did.
The book does a wonderful job of
describing Jobs early days and his
friendship with Steve Wozniak, co-
founder of Apple, and how it was Woz- S T EV E J O B S , C HA I R M A N of the board of Apple Inc., with the then new
niaks product that Jobs sold really Macintosh personal computer in Cupertino, California, on January 24, 1984.
well. But that is only part of the story.
Very, very quickly Jobs seems to have Sculley and subsequent exit were fore- mouse had wheels, not a ball, which
had a clear vision for the product and a shadowed by incidents with the Apple meant that the mouse could move only
clear idea of what Apple should do. All Lisa team and the Macintosh team. He linearly. The GUI that Apple engineers
of that is beautifully captured in the was not above appropriating someone made was far superior to the one
book how ruthless Jobs could be one elses projects as his own if he had a shown to them by Xerox. Jobs appro-
moment and how infectious his enthu- vision for that idea. priated not just technologies but also
siasm could be the next. He certainly On the technology side, there has concepts and philosophies. He cer-
appears to have been wilful, wanton been a comment that he appropriated tainly adopted Alan Kays recommen-
and bratty with a tendency to throw stuff and designed them well. That is dation on having complete control
tantrums. He could also cry to get far too simplistic an argument. Xerox over hardware and software to create
something he wanted. The funny thing had a GUI and mouse package as part the perfect experience.
is this: Jobs arrogance and trait of not of computers for some time and had After Jobs exile from Apple, his
accepting no for an answer did not released an expensive product that stint with Pixar and with NeXT rened
develop after he became rich; that is opped in the market. Jobs and an and rounded off his skills in the cre-
how he always was. At one point, Mike Apple team identied the key parts ative, design and the experiential side
Scott was hired as president just to and rened the concepts to make them of his thinking and vision. This is clear-
manage Jobs. Jobs showdown with successful. For instance, the original ly and cleanly brought out in the book.
books/review MARCH 9, 2012
Jobs commitment to design meant design. This did not happen suddenly. dows phone stable. Android currently
that he, on more than one occasion, One can see this from the time he in- has more users in the smartphone cat-
sent people back to the drawing board terfered with the creation of the Ma- egory than Apple mainly because
when they were close to the nish line. cintosh to the point he was driving the many of the handsets sold are on the
iPad design. cheaper end of the smartphone spec-
RETURN TO APPLE Jobs take on computing hardware trum. Android was also the cause of
His return to Apple after the exits of and software and his desire to control the famous falling-out between Jobs
Sculley and Gil Amelio was like the the experience to a great level of detail and Eric Schmidt and the consequent
return of the prodigal son. And he did translated into two other classes of de- war between Apple and Google. The
not disappoint. By then, he had turned vices that changed two different rivalry is stoked to such an extent that
into a creative hotshot with a very keen industries. users of iOS and Android argue over
sense of marketing and design along There were MP3 players before the not just the experience but also the
with a keen insight into presentation. iPod; there are MP3 players now from very basis of the platforms existence.
It looks like it was during his exile that companies other than Apple. But Ap- Android users argue that Android is
he actually took to heart Mike Mark- ples take on portable music players so open and that iOS is a walled gar-
kulas one-page Apple philosophy pa- dened the market that a suitable Ap- den; iOS users retaliate that Android
per, which was written close to the ple product is always the benchmark is fully controlled by Google and not
time Apple was founded. The philoso- for any given MP3 player. The iPod is really open although it is free and
phy was empathise, focus, and impute. identied so much with the MP3 play- that the iOS walled-garden approach
Impute in other words is presentation er that one often hears people saying makes for a better user experience. The
and to be in context. The Think Dif- get me an iPod when they actually truth, as always, lies in the middle.
ferent campaign and the i series, mean get me a portable music player. But there is another aspect to the
which revolutionised desktop comput- I got my rst MP3 player about ve whole argument where there is no clar-
er design, were the fruits of his tri- years before the iPod came out. I never ity: Jobs belief that Google got into
umphal return to Apple. used it because it had low capacity and Android and smartphones because it
For a long time in India, Macs were one needed to look at the manual if one could see Apple moving forward
more expensive than PCs and were wanted to do anything much with it. I quickly to capture the smartphone
mostly used by designers for desktop bought the iPod classic second gener- market without much opposition.
publishing, artwork and multimedia ation, and suddenly a then-state-of-art There seems to have been some rap-
creation. My rst experience with a 250 gigabyte hard drive was not prochement after Jobs agreed to speak
Mac was only in the mid-1990s in the enough for my music. I started sub- to Larry Page before Page took over as
art department of the publishing scribing, downloading and listening to CEO of Google from Schmidt.
group I work for. It was odd using a a lot of podcasts. One does not get to redene and
mouse with only one button, but I used Along the iPod journey, Jobs trans- change industries if one is a nice guy.
to enjoy and admire the far superior formed the digital music industry, but Jobs was a very tough manager; he
graphics capabilities and the range of Indians did not get to see or experience could throw ideas and people out of his
design programmes available it as much as those in the United ofce in a cruel fashion. But he was
The original Mac was a dream States. Isaacsons coverage of iTunes passionate about the vision he believed
come true. The iMac all-in-one con- and iTunes Store captures that battle in, committed to providing the best
cept then and now is a design icon, so and transformation very well. user experience, and utterly convinced
much so that a highly graphic version Jobs actually changed disrupted that he knew better than the consum-
is typically used to indicate a desktop might be a better word not one but er. Along the way, if one looks at his
version of a site or an application. The three other industries: the iPhone and personal life, he seems to have been
Power Mac is the most butch design handset manufacturing, telecom, and like just any other man. Unreasonable;
for a high-powered workstation. The consumer electronics industries. The cruel one moment, contrite the next;
Macbook Pro is the perfect premium iPhone disrupted all three: changed lots of regrets and couldves, shouldves
laptop design. The Macbook Air is the the way phones are designed, changed and wouldves. The book captures his
design that other lightweight note- the way people consume data and humanness very well. The Internet
books aspire to and are compared changed the way people perceive and makes it easy to nd articles and analy-
against. The iPad is the tablet that tab- interact with electronics. ses about Jobs company, products and
let computers are for a long time to Any new smartphone is compared business decisions. But it needed a
come going to be measured against. to the iPhone and most iPhone-killers book like this to tell us what he was as a
Isaacson captures the vision, the drive, until now have turned out to be rather man.
the energy and Jobs non-compromis- suicidal. The few phones that have N. Nagarajan is Senior General
ing attitude towards men, material compared favourably with the iPhone Manager, New Media, at Kasturi and
and money in the quest for a great are, ironically, from Microsofts Win- Sons Limited.
MARCH 9, 2012
books/in brief
Dilli & New Delhi

A unique glimpse into the heart of the imperial palace at Red Fort before much of
it was destroyed after the Mutiny in 1857. B Y A . G . N O O R A N I
T is a century since King George V pierced only by the domes and mina-
I
BOOK FACTS
announced at the Delhi Durbar rets of its many mosques. Mazhar Ali
on December 11, 1911, that Indias Khans panorama is more than an im-
capital would be transferred from portant historical document. It is also
Calcutta to a new city to be built a masterpiece of the nest topograph-
near the ancient city of Old Dilli. On ical artist of late Mughal Delhi. The
February 10, 1931, New Delhi was incomplete panorama along with all the
augurated by the Viceroy with much Persian and Urdu inscriptions have
pomp and ceremony. Until 1947, the never been published before. Its publi-
southern end of the new city was South cation in this volume is accompanied
End Road. The rest of the sprawling by essays by Losty that put it in histor-
hybrid grew after Partition. Incongru- ical and artistic context and a com-
ously, it is still called New Delhi. The mentary on the inscriptions that
mania of name changing, which en- Delhi 360: Mazhar Ali brings them to life.
gulfed other cities, stopped short of Khans View from the Lahore The work reects the authors eru-
correcting this obvious absurdity. Gate by J.P. Losty; dition. J.P. Losty, formerly curator-in-
After Partition, Dilli, now referred Concept: Pramod Kapoor; charge of the extensive Indian visual
to as Old Delhi, suffered grievously. A Lustre Press, Roli Books; collections in the British Library, has
culture was all but wiped out. There is pages 92, Rs.1,295. published books and papers on many
little in common between this seat of aspects of paintings of India from the
Urdu Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb (culture) 12th to the 19th centuries. The paint-
and the bastard city of New Delhi with ings of late Mughal Delhi are central to
its bureaucracy, carpetbaggers and his interests. He puts the paintings in
nouveau riche. One must be fair. There their historical context. History owes a
is greater intellectual ferment in Delhi debt to two antiquarians who lived
now than, say, in Bombay, named during this period. Thomas Theophi-
Mumbai. It has acquired an ethos of its lus Metcalfe (1795-1853) and Sir Syed
own, and a good many there own up to Ahmed Khan (1817-1898). Metcalfes
the heritage of Dilli. These books will Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi had
enrich their perceptions. All three are over a hundred paintings which he ob-
excellently produced with lavishly rich tained from Mazhar Ali Khan. Sir
illustrations. Syeds Asar as Sanadid traced the
In 1981, the British Library in Lon- history of Delhi and its monuments. It
don acquired an exciting discovery was illustrated with nearly 130 wood-
about Mughal India and about Delhi Delhi: Red Fort to Raisina cuts by the artists Faiz Ali Khan and
in particular. It is a previously un- edited by J.P. Losty; Salman Mirza Shah Rukh Beg. It was dedi-
known painting, a panorama, nearly Khurshid, Ratish Nanda and cated to Metcalfe.
5 metres in length, of the palace and Malvika Singh (contributors); Lostys book is much more than a
the Mughal city of Delhi as seen from Roli Books; feast for the eyes. It contributes a lot to
the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort. It is pages 248, Rs.2,975. the history of that period and places
signed by the artist Mazhar Ali Khan the panorama in the context of 1846.
Delhi Darbar 1911: The
and is dated 1846. It provides a unique There is a good account of the artist
Complete Story by Sunil
glimpse into the heart of the imperial Mazhar Ali Khan and his studio with
Raman and Rohit Agarwal;
palace before much of it was destroyed informative comments on the draw-
Roli Books;
in the Mutiny in 1857. It reveals the ings.
pages 176, Rs.495.
appearance of the city, its skyline Losty writes: The majority of Del-
books/in brief MARCH 9, 2012
paintings of Old Delhi before the 1857 Mutiny, collected in the volume conceptualised by
MAZ H A R A L I K H A N S
Pramod Kapoor and containing essays by J.P. Losty.
jahanabad. Some traces of the cuisine
linger still in old Delhis homes and
restaurants.
Ratish Nanda, Conservation Ar-
chitect, is the Project Director for the
Aga Khan Trust for Culture in India.
He was earlier responsible for Humay-
uns Tomb Garden Conservation un-
dertaken by the Aga Khan Trust. For
the Indian National Trust For Art and
Cultural Heritage (INTACH), he pre-
pared an inventory of historic build-
ings for Delhi, published in two
volumes as Delhi, the Built Heritage.
His essay on the architecture of Shah-
his monuments had never been drawn Pramod Kapoor deserves credit for its jahanabad amply lives up to ones ex-
before and these drawings had to be conceptualisation. pectations of his work.
started from scratch. The entire pano- Losty has edited a work of able Malvika Singh, publisher of the ex-
rama of Delhi is described by the au- essays by Salman Khurshid, Ratish cellent monthly Seminar, leads the
thor and spread out by the artist. Add Nanda and Malvika Singh. Profusely reader from Delhis transition to New
to these his 94 Notes on Inscriptions, a illustrated, it has an essay by Losty on Delhi. In between came the Durbar of
glossary and a bibliography, and you the drawings and photographs of the 1911, clearly a turning point in Delhis
have a work on Delhi that has few Mughal capital which represent the history. Sunil Raman and Rohit Agar-
parallels. It is all the more valuable for city of old. Salman Khurshid traces the wal provide a denitive account of the
the fact that it is about Delhi before it history of the capital built by Shah- event in text and in the many rare pho-
was devastated in 1857 in the Mutiny. jahan and life as it was lived in Shah- tographs which illustrate it.
MARCH 9, 2012
Obituary
Every womans diva

Whitney Houston (1963-2012) is credited as the rst pop diva and greatly
admired for her impeccable technique. B Y C A R O L I N E S U L L I V A N
Houston was lauded for her qualities

that elevated her above almost every
other star of her era. Her talent lost
to drug addiction comes as a sad
contrast to her gilded years as
Americas sweetheart.
FEW pop singers have been gifted with a voice as
glorious as Whitney Houstons and even fewer have
treated their talent with the frustrating indifference
she did towards the end of her life. She sold more
records and received more awards than almost any
other female pop star of the 20th century, but spent
most of her last years mired in a drug addiction that
sapped her will to sing and left her in a shambolic
state.
Her death at the age of 48 will send her albums
back into the charts and introduce her music to a
generation who knew her only as a troubled charac-
ter whose commercial success peaked in the 1990s.
Though never edgy as a musician her skills were
PHIL MCCARTEN/REUTERS
often wasted on bland adult-contemporary songs
she was more than just a purveyor of anodyne hits.
Houston was lauded for her impeccable technique
and polish, qualities that elevated her above almost
every other star of her era.
Whitney Houston was gospel-trained, but her
voice also lent itself to R&B (rhythm and blues), pop W HI TN E Y HOUS TON AT the Pre-Grammy Gala in
and ballads, and she was adept at each style. It was a Beverly Hills, California, on February 12, 2011.
ballad that provided her with her biggest hit, a 1992
cover version of Dolly Partons I Will Always Love and has been credited with inventing the pop diva
You. Her melodramatic rendition, featuring one of genre that has inspired singers to the present day.
her most powerful vocals, sold 12 million copies She was also the rst black woman to break through
worldwide, making it one of the biggest singles of all the colour bar at the all-important MTV, which hith-
time. Her total record sales topped 170 million, put- erto had played white artists almost exclusively. The
ting her in an elite group of female superstars that stations heavy rotation of her videos made her a
included Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, both of familiar face to middle America, and her mix of
whom were heavily inuenced by her emotional, glamour, talent and approachability turned her into
vibrato-laden style. an aspirational gure for millions of teenage girls,
Whitney Houston often gravitated to dramatic both black and white. A U.S. magazine editor
songs with lyrics about triumphing over the odds, dubbed her the rst black Americas sweetheart.
MARCH 9, 2012
The trailblazer
FOR little girls in the 1980s and vibe Whitney had is something that unprecedented. Here was a black
1990s, Whitney Elizabeth Houston has more or less disappeared from woman, a singer no less, making a
was everything. Her big hair, the the pop scene in the last 15 years. worldwide smash hit movie like it
seemingly heartfelt lyrics, her skinny Child and teenage stars endure, sure, was a normal thing to do.
little knees in a denim miniskirt, her but not like her. She was pretty It was Whitneys famously clean
powerhouse of a voice she was the enough to be a successful model living that made her subsequent
supreme living doll. I have not met a but she was also sweet. Her persona troubles a relationship with R&B
single woman of my generation did not seem like an act to shift more bad boy Bobby Brown (immortal-
white, black, brown or whatever units, though it undoubtedly helped. ised in their duet Something in Com-
who did not want to be her at some It reected her upbringing, her roo- mon), drug use, a reality TV
point. She was perfect. tedness in a certain kind of black programme, nally divorce seem
And now, with her passing, a cer- culture. I remember my mum re- all the sadder.
tain kind of pop star is gone forever. ferring to her as a good girl a In many ways, her life was the
Her mix of gospel vocals with un- ringing endorsement if ever there inverse of todays female singers.
threatening girly looks and attitude was one. But her safeness as a pop While they play wild and dangerous
made parents comfortable more star did not mean she was boring on stage, they seem to lead focussed,
than can be said for the likes of Ri- because that voice made one thing driven, business-led lives off it. No-
hanna. The gospel in her voice was very clear: I may look like a Mil- where is this more apparent than in
the legacy of an early life spent sing- quetoast, but have you heard me the case of Beyonce. She is Sasha
ing in church and the illustrious line sing? Fierce while performing, but
of female gospel vocalists she came You very quickly run out of words Beyonce the CEO at all other times.
from: her mother is the great Cissy to describe Whitneys voice. In her Like Michael Jackson before her,
Houston, her cousin Dionne War- heyday basically a large chunk of Whitney dened the pop landscape
wick, her godmother Aretha Fran- the 1980s and 1990s it could stop of her time and inuenced it for
klin. It meant that Whitney was you in your tracks. Todays pop stars years afterwards. Every time you
probably singing in church as she bandy vocal pyrotechnics about re- hear Beyonce drag out a single syl-
was learning to speak, perfecting the gardless of their capacity to really lable over three or four beats, that is
vocal acrobatics heard among black pull it off. They are all-knowing sex- Whitney. And when Mariah Carey
congregations everywhere. By the uality and casually orchestrated does her little hand movements to
time she was making her rst forays middle-nger salutes. Whitney ex- accompany a ridiculously high note,
into pop, she was already a seasoned isted in a world before all of that. She that is Whitney too. This was a talent
performer with a weekly audience. was marketed as Americas sweet- that others can only imitate. And for
The gospel training also allowed heart, previously the domain of all her troubles in later life, her lega-
her to straddle genres to powerful blond white girls: a huge cultural cy is secure: come The X Factor
effect, as anyone who remembers her shift. When she co-starred in The this autumn, you will hear it by the
cover of Dolly Partons I Will Always Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner, truckload.
Love You who doesnt? will attest. one of the most famous Hollywood Bim Adewunmi
That ineffable girl-next-door actors of the time, it was virtually Guardian News & Media 2012
Whitney Houstons success made She was unable to get through concerts Warwick and goddaughter of Aretha
her rich, enabling her to maintain a without breathlessness and frequent Franklin. She began singing in her
cocaine habit that kept her from mak- halts. Her comeback tour in 2010 was church choir at the age of 11, and as a
ing records for years at a time in her marred by reviews claiming she was young teenager occasionally perform-
30s and 40s. Looking back on her ad- unt to be on stage, and a clip of her ed at her mothers concerts. Her voice
diction after kicking it in the late sounding wobbly at a gig in Birming- attracted attention, and when she was
2000s, she said paying for it had been ham was played on the television news. 15, she and Cissy sang backup on Cha-
easy as there was so much money. Whitney Houston was born in Ne- ka Khans 1978 hit Im Every Woman.
But she didnt think about the singing wark, New Jersey, to a musical family: She went on to provide vocals for
part anymore, and when she did re- she was the daughter of the gospel star Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson, and
turn to touring, the neglect showed. Cissy Houston, a cousin of Dionne simultaneously developed a sideline in
MARCH 9, 2012
modelling. Her fresh-faced prettiness TV paved the way for other African- it at rehearsals, was arrested for mari-
made her a success in front of the cam- American singers and groups such as juana possession and looked skeletal
era, and she was the second black mod- Mary J. Blige and Destinys Child. at a Michael Jackson tribute in 2001.
el to appear on the cover of the Her accessibility to all ages and Promoting her 2002 album, Just
American magazine Seventeen in 1981, cultural backgrounds helped less eas- Whitney, she told a TV interviewer,
when black faces were a rarity in fash- ily marketed artists such as Blige, but Crack is cheap. I make too much mon-
ion magazines. Even Seventeen hedged as culturally signicant as she was, ey to ever smoke crack. We dont do
its bets by putting a white model next Whitney Houston was primarily an crack. Crack is whack. But she was
to her in the photograph. entertainer. Despite occasional invol- freebasing cocaine, and as the decade
By her late teens, Houston had vement in issues such as apartheid, went on she was photographed look-
been a featured vocalist on albums by which saw her appear at the concert for ing dishevelled and haggard. She and
the disco songwriter Paul Jabara and Nelson Mandelas 70th birthday, she Brown would spend a week at a time
the avant-garde New York funk outt was not an activist. taking drugs and watching TV, she lat-
Material. By then, her style was fully Whatever her private views on pol- er said.
formed; on the Material track Memo- itics and race, her public self was al- In her addled state she agreed to
ries, the richness of her tone was bal- ways poised and wholesome. appear on a reality show called Being
anced by a poise and precision that was Ironically, a venture into a more ur- Bobby Brown (2005) and succeeded
uncanny in a teenager. Inevitably, she ban, soulful sound on the 1990 album in losing the last remnants of her dig-
was offered record deals and signed Im Your Baby Tonight elicited a nity, telling her husband in one epi-
with the Arista label, where she stayed sceptical reaction from some black sode: I need to poop a poop.
for the rest of her life. critics. Even in a decade in which celebri-
Convinced that she had what it Commercially, her most barn- ties regularly suffered humiliating falls
took to be a blockbusting star, Aristas storming project was the 1992 lm The from grace, Whitney Houstons was
inuential president, Clive Davis, per- Bodyguard. Kevin Costner played the shocking. Narcotics and her toxic rela-
sonally oversaw the recording of her titular guard while Whitney Houston tionship with Brown ravaged her looks
rst album. He also turned up with her was a lm star and sang on the sound- and robbed her voice of its ability to
in 1983 on the Merv Grifn chat show, track. Her acting won her a Razzie soar.
where she was introduced to the award for worst actress (which did not Her mother forced her into reha-
American public. deter her from making several more bilitation in 2006, and the following
She sang Home, from the sound- lms), but the soundtrack became the year Houston divorced Brown. Her
track of The Wiz, and her vocals were biggest album of her career, selling 44 last album, I Look to You, came out
awless, but her frumpy dress and nat- million copies and spawning I Will Al- in 2009 to positive reviews. Her name
ural hair did not project what Arista ways Love You. The song was inescap- still retained enough star-power to sell
considered the right saleable im- able, spending 14 weeks at No. 1 in the out most of the gigs, but fans com-
age. By the time her rst album came U.S. and roosting at the top of nearly plained that her voice was no longer up
out, in 1985, she had been given a ma- every other pop chart in the world. to the rigours of touring.
keover: the cover photograph showed The same year, she married ex-boy In May 2011, Whitney Houston
a sleek-haired, golden-skinned sylph band member Bobby Brown, who underwent a further period of rehabil-
wearing an elegant white gown. came to be widely blamed for her itation. Last autumn she returned to
Whitney Houston, as the debut downward spiral. The princess mar- acting for a remake of the 1976 lm
was titled, was praised not for the mu- ries the bad boy, Whitney Houston Sparkle with the American Idol win-
sic, which was unexceptional dance- wryly described the union years later. ner Jordin Sparks. Filming of the story
pop, so much as for the promise the The marriage produced her only child, of the effect of fame and drugs on a
21-year-old singer showed. Obviously Bobbi Kristina, but Brown was jealous singing group of three sisters was com-
headed for stardom, predicted Roll- of his wifes success and was emotion- pleted recently.
ing Stone magazine. It sold three mil- ally abusive. Her drug use began Whitney Houston was found dead,
lion copies in the U.S. in its rst year around that time, and by 1996 she was the cause not immediately clear, in a
and eventually about 25 million glob- a daily user. She made one other album hotel room in Los Angeles, where she
ally. It also won a Grammy award, the that decade, the well-reviewed My had gone for Daviss pre-Grammy par-
rst of six in her career. Love Is Your Love (1998), but by the ty. That this should happen after so
The next few years saw her break turn of the century, stories about her many wasted years comes as a sad con-
the Beatles record for the greatest behaviour were rife. trast to her gilded years as Americas
number of No. 1 singles in a row she Whitney Houston turned up late sweetheart.
managed seven and become Amer- for events or missed them altogether, Her mother, two brothers and her
icas highest-earning black female en- was dropped as a performer at the daughter survive her.
tertainer. Her ubiquity on radio and 2000 Oscars because she was out of Guardian News & Media 2012
Reservation MARCH 9, 2012
A fair deal
for Muslims
No one can complain that too much has been given to the minorities, in particular
Muslims, through the sub-quota for B.Cs among the minorities. B Y P . S . K R I S H N A N
In the Mandal judgment, the them were identied solely on the basis of social and
educational backwardness as prescribed by the Con-
Supreme Court has recognised the stitution. The religion of castes/communities was
not a factor at all neither a qualication nor a
differential levels of backwardness ground for disqualication.
A scheme of reservation can be criticised as one
among B.Cs and claried that the based on religion only if all members/castes or com-
munities of that religion are included in toto and
distribution of sub-quotas among given reservation. In the State-wise Central List of
B.Cs, Muslim castes/communities such as Syed,
them within the 27 per cent is not Pathan, Mogul, Arab, Irani, Cutchi-Memon, Bohra
and Khoja, and Christian castes or communities
unconstitutional. such as Syrian Christian, and Sikh castes such as Jat
Sikh and Khatri Sikh are not included because they
SOME reactions to the Union governments de- are not socially backward just as certain castes of
cision to provide 4.5 per cent reservation for the Hindus that are not socially backward are not in-
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (B.Cs) cluded in the list. Obviously, castes/communities
among the minorities within the 27 per cent quota that are in the B.C. list and provided reservation are
for Backward Classes are based on ignorance and not included on the basis of religion, and what has
confusion. The inability of some in the media to been done is not at all unconstitutional.
distinguish between this sub-quota and the provi- The inclusion of non-Hindu castes/communities
sion of reservation of not less than 50 per cent in in the list of B.Cs is not a newfangled innovation of
Lokpal for the Scheduled Castes (S.Cs), the Sched- vote-hungry politicians. Even before Independence,
uled Tribes (S.Ts), the minorities and women has in the southern States, Muslims or certain castes/
confounded this further. communities of Muslims were included in B.C. lists
Four criticisms made by many commentators on along with Hindu and Christian backward castes.
the 4.5 per cent sub-quota are unjustied. This was also done post-Independence by State
(i) It is a quota of reservation based on reli- Backward Classes Commissions and the national-
gion and, therefore, unconstitutional. level Kalelkar (1953-55) and Mandal (1979-80)
This is not correct. It is not reservation for the Commissions. The national commissions also iden-
minorities or for Muslims. It is reservation for certied the B.Cs among Sikhs and Buddhists (before
tain B.Cs identied on the basis of social and educa- the S.C. converts to Buddhism were recognised as
tional backwardness. This is not new reservation. S.Cs). They were only recognising the social reality
The B.Cs among the minorities have already been without factoring in the religion of the members of
identied State-wise in the Central List many in castes/communities that were found to be socially
1993, on the basis of commonality between each and educationally backward.
State List and the Mandal List for each State, and
others, mostly in 1993 and 2000, on the statutory THE BASIC DICHOTOMY
advices of the National Commission for Backward (ii) Reservation for B.Cs among Muslims is basi-
Classes (NCBC) set up on the direction of the Su- cally wrong because Islam does not recognise
preme Court in the Mandal judgment of 1992. All of caste.
MARCH 9, 2012
the social ideology of Islam is uncom-

promisingly egalitarian and upholds
equality and fraternity. But the social
system among adherents of Islam is
ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY
based on various social and economic

factors. On account of socio-economic
factors, Muslim society in India (and
also in some other parts of the world)
presents a picture of social inequality.
The Indian caste system is so all perva-
sive that J.H. Hutton, the scholarly
AT A R AL L Y for job reservation for Muslims, in Kolkata. Census Commissioner of 1931, rightly
observed: Caste was in the air, and
From this premise, two opposite tional Indian social system, namely, neither the followers of Islam nor of
and extreme positions are taken. One the caste system with untouchability. Christianity could escape the infection
is that because Islam does not recog- The Constitution does not permit res- of caste; even the change of religion
nise caste, no Muslim should be given ervation on an individual basis. There- does not destroy the caste system, for
reservation and the other is that all fore, reservation for individuals who Muslims who do not recognise it as
Muslims should be given reservation. are economically poor but do not be- valid are found to observe it in practice
The latter position is not permissible long to the systemically deprived and there are many Muslim castes as
either under the Constitution or the castes/communities is constitutionally well as Hindus (Hutton, 1980
social logic underlying the social jus- contraband and socially unjustied. (1946)).
tice policy of which reservation is a The other extreme position is The dichotomy between the egal-
part. Social justice, including reserva- based on the inability to distinguish itarian social ideology of Islam and the
tion, is required and, therefore, per- between the ideology of a religion and existence of a caste-like stratication
missible only for castes/communities the social structure, social system, so- with hierarchy, linkage with a tradi-
that have been kept in varying degrees cial stratication and social inequal- tional occupation and endogamy in
of subordination/deprivation/disad- ities prevailing among people who Muslim society in India has been no-
vantage by the operation of the tradi- adhere to that religion. It is true that ticed by numerous scholars, historiog-
MARCH 9, 2012
raphers, archaeologists, census de-

mographers and socially
knowledgeable administrators. All
this has been discussed elaborately in
my Report on Identication of Social-
ly and Educationally Backward Class-
es in the Muslim Community of
Andhra Pradesh (June 2007, which
was the basis for 4 per cent reservation
for identied B.Cs among Muslims in
Andhra Pradesh) and in my article
V. RAJU
Understanding Backward Classes of
Muslim Society (Economic & Politi- IN VIJAYAWADA, A protest by Muslim students in February 2010 against
cal Weekly, August 21, 2010). In this the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgment quashing the 4 per cent
context, the eloquent and perspective reservation for the community.
observation in one of the Lectures of
Swami Vivekananda (1897), whose tied B.Cs among Muslims, Christians of the Indian population; 43.7 per cent
150th birth anniversary is being cele- and Sikhs are as much entitled to their in 83.84 per cent is the same as 52 out
brated from January 12, 2012, is rele- share of the 27 per cent reservation as of 100. Therefore, the commission ap-
vant to bring out the social character of the identied Hindu B.Cs. They were plied a rule of thumb and assumed that
most converts to Islam: covered by the 27 per cent reservation the percentage of B.Cs among non-
The Mohammedan conquest of ab initio. But, on account of different Hindus would also be 52 per cent of
India came as a salvation to the down- levels of backwardness among B.Cs, the population of the minorities. At
trodden, to the poor. That is why one- some categories of B.Cs have not been that time, the population of the minor-
fth of our people have become Mo- getting their due share out of the 27 ities was 16.16 per cent; 52 per cent of
hammedans. It was not the sword that per cent reservation. 16.16 per cent is 8.4 per cent. The total
did it all. It would be the height of Differential levels of backwardness population of B.Cs of all religions was
madness to think it was all the work of among B.Cs is a social reality and it has estimated by aggregating 43.7 per cent
sword and re. been recognised by the Supreme Court plus 8.4 per cent, which is equal to 52
This is not different from the sit- in its Mandal judgment, which clar- per cent.
uation of adherents of other religions ied that the categorisation of B.Cs The rule of thumb is not quite ac-
also. The Vedas and the Upanishads and distribution of sub-quotas among curate. But the Mandal Commission
proclaim the universality of the same them within the 27 per cent is not had to take recourse to it because the
soul permeating all beings, human and unconstitutional and is even necessary Census establishment has persistently
even non-human. But notwithstand- to full the purpose of B.C. reserva- turned a blind eye to the need for esti-
ing their lofty spiritual positions, a vir- tion. In fact, many States have had mating the population of B.Cs in the
ulent caste system emerged in Hindu schemes of sub-categorisation and country as it has been doing in the case
society. The landmark Mandal judg- sub-quotas among B.Cs for many dec- of the S.Cs and the S.Ts from the be-
ment of the Supreme Court also no- ades. ginning. While it gives the population
tices the prevalence of the caste system The Centre has now taken a step in of each religious community, it has
among adherents of non-Hindu reli- the right direction, though belatedly stoutly refused to count B.Cs within
gions. Therefore, it is illogical and fac- and incompletely. Since B.Cs among each of them.
tually incorrect to say that because Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are al- The Mandal Commission recom-
Islam does not recognise caste, there ready in B.C. lists and are covered by mended a reservation of 27 per cent for
are no castes or caste-like social collec- 27 per cent reservation, making a sub- 52 per cent of the B.Cs mainly to stay
tivities within the Muslim society. category of them and giving them a safely within the overall limit of 50 per
(iii) A portion of reservation pro- share out of the 27 per cent does not cent a limit set by the Supreme Court
vided for Hindus has been snatched mean snatching it away from Hindus according to its interpretation of the
away from them and given to and giving it to Muslims. Constitution. The Government of In-
Muslims. (iv) What has been now given is dia accordingly provided 27 per cent
This is also not correct. Reserva- too much for Muslims and or too reservation for B.Cs.
tion has not been given to Hindu B.Cs little for Muslims. The 4.5 per cent reservation for the
only. It has been given to all B.Cs irre- According to the Mandal Commis- Mandal-estimated 8.4 per cent minor-
spective of their religion and without sion, B.C. Hindus formed 43.7 per cent ity population, out of the 27 per cent
discrimination against those B.Cs who of Indias population. At that time, the for 52 per cent of the whole B.C. pop-
follow non-Hindu religions. The iden- Hindu population was 83.84 per cent ulation, is all right arithmetically and
MARCH 9, 2012
proportionately. This cannot be called component. B.Cs of these three togeth- against the long-delayed introduction
excessive. er would, therefore, constitute 13.1 per of reservation for B.Cs in Central edu-
Taking into account information cent, which is approximately one- cational institutions. Some of them are
available subsequently and estimates fourth of the total B.C. population, and today the leading lights of the media as
based on my long-standing experi- the share of B.Cs of the minorities out well as other movements, and none of
ence, what has been provided is on the of the 27 per cent should be around them has yet expressed regret for what
lower side. According to the 2001 Cen- 6.75 per cent. Muslim B.Cs constitute they did and for the self-immolations
sus, the population of the minorities about one-fth of the total B.C. pop- of young people they provoked. In the
and Hindus is 18.53 per cent and 81.47 ulation. The due share of Muslim B.Cs surcharged atmosphere of that period,
per cent. Among the minorities listed alone out of the 27 per cent should be when there was a very narrow window
by Mandal, the Jain community (0.5 around 5.4 per cent or 5.5 per cent. of opportunity for B.Cs to be given
per cent) has no B.Cs; they are almost Certainly, no one can justiably com- their rights before that government
entirely Vaishya-Bania followers of plain that too much has been given to fell, it was not possible to take up this
Jainism. Of the Buddhists (0.7 per the minorities, in particular Muslims. ne-tuning. That would have resulted
cent), no B.Cs are left after S.C. con- only in the basic decision to extend the
verts to Buddhism were accorded S.C. JUSTIFIABLE CRITICISMS recognition of and introduce reserva-
status in accordance with their long- (a) This is belated. It should have tion for B.Cs not going through.
standing demand. Thus, other than been done much earlier. Categorisation could certainly
Hindus, there are only three religious It would not be quite fair to nd have been done in 1993 after the Su-
communities that have got B.C. com- fault with the government for not pro- preme Court judgment of 1992. An ex-
ponents, namely, Muslims (13.43 per viding sub-quotas in 1990. The Man- pert committee was appointed on
cent), Christians (2.4 per cent) and dal Commission itself by a majority of February 22, 1992, of which I was a
Sikhs (2 per cent). Together these 4:1 ruled out categorisation of B.Cs on member, to recommend within 15 days
three account for 17.83 per cent. the basis of its understanding of the the criteria for the identication of So-
Of these three, Sikhs have got an Balaji judgment. [Delivered in 1961, cially Advanced Persons/Sections
S.C. component and a substantial up- the judgment is about the principle (Creamy Layer) of identied B.C.
per-caste component. Christians have that overall reservation should not ex- castes and their exclusion, as directed
substantial S.T., B.C. and upper-caste ceed 50 per cent.] On that basis, the by the Supreme Court, as a precondi-
components, while Muslims have an majority overruled the suggestion of tion for the commencement of reserva-
insignicant S.T. component, a large one of its members, the late L.R. Naik, tion for B.Cs. This was a rare instance
B.C. component, and a relatively small that B.Cs should be divided into B.Cs of a committee accomplishing its task
component of upper castes/communi- and Depressed B.Cs, with separate within the period laid down by the
ties. Neither Christians nor Muslims sub-quotas in the 27 per cent. At that government and not seeking extension
have an S.C. component though there time, L.R. Naik had held detailed dis- of time, to the discomture of impor-
are among them castes/communities cussions with me. The subsequent tant persons in government who
that are identiable as converts from Mandal judgment of the Supreme hoped that the committee would tie
Hinduism or as counterparts of Hindu Court claried in 1992 that the cate- itself up in a never-ending exercise,
S.Cs. Like Hindu S.Cs, they are the gorisation of B.Cs on the basis of rela- thereby delaying B.C. reservation in-
victims of untouchability un- tive backwardness is constitutionally denitely. After this task was complet-
touchability being the basic criterion permissible and may even be neces- ed, the committee was asked to
for inclusion in S.C. schedules. Howev- sary. recommend the categorisation of B.Cs
er, they are not recognised as S.Cs on The earliest time that such cate- in light of the Supreme Courts Mandal
account of Clause (3) of the Presiden- gorisation could have been made was judgment.
tial Order, which schedules the S.Cs. 1990 or 1993, that is, after the Mandal While the committee was actively
On the other hand, S.T. schedules and judgment. In 1990, it took all the ener- at it, the government withdrew this
B.C lists do not exclude Muslim and gies of the government to see that the mandate abruptly. Why this was done
Christian S.Ts and B.Cs. Such identi- long-delayed B.C. reservation was can well be understood. Sufce it to say
able S.C. converts to Islam and Chris- launched on the basis of my note. here that the will and pressure of those
tianity are also listed as B.Cs. There were heavy odds against it and who would benet in an undifferen-
I would estimate the B.C. compo- there was a tremendous outburst in tiated single-category list at the cost of
nents of Christians and Muslims to be northern India, provoked by ill-in- the More, Most and Extremely
1.4 per cent and 10.5 per cent, after formed, distorted and exaggerated and Backward Castes of the B.Cs prevailed.
excluding their S.T. and upper-caste grossly one-sided presentations in the The government can certainly be fault-
components. Backward Class Sikhs print and electronic media. Some lead- ed for not introducing categorisation
are likely to be 1.2 per cent after ex- ers and activists of this misinformation in 1993 and all the years subsequent to
cluding their S.C. and upper-caste campaign became active again in 2007 that. All the governments that came to
Reservation MARCH 9, 2012
power at the Centre after 1993 owe an these three are the Backward castes ciencies mentioned above, be wel-
answer to the people for this. who are the least backward of B.Cs but comed, but as the rst step. The
(b) The categorisation is who are nonetheless backward, con- government should immediately un-
incomplete sisting of castes/communities with rel- dertake necessary exercises for the
Nobody has raised this issue, atively substantial asset base. complete categorisation into four or
though this is an important aspect of There cannot be equal competition ve categories with sub-quotas. It is
the governments default. The B.C. cat- among the four. States such as Kerala, possible without much difculty to ob-
egory consists of castes and communi- Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh recog- tain objective data to accomplish this
ties that are at different levels of nised this reality long back and ab in- in a month or two. If this is done, it can
backwardness. If the support of reser- itio provided a number of be introduced after the ongoing As-
vation is to be equitably distributed sub-categories with sub-quotas. This sembly elections. Along with this, the
among them, these castes and commu- has helped to distribute the benets of government should utilise this interim
nities have to be objectively identied reservation and other social justice period and the period before the com-
on the basis of social realities, unpol- programmes more equitably, thereby mencement of the Twelfth Plan to
luted by electoral considerations. In eliminating/minimising heartburn- evolve a package of schemes and pro-
my opinion, they consist of four cate- ing, though some ne-tuning is re- grammes of social justice to bridge the
gories, namely, the Backward, the quired in these States too. Some other gaps and create equality.
More Backward, the Most Back- States also introduced categorisation
ward and the Extremely Backward later, but it is not as thoroughgoing as RIGHT TIMING
(Pichade, Ati Pichade, Atyant Pichade that of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka There seems to be an impression in the
and Sarvadhik Pichade). The Ex- and Kerala. The Centre and some of minds of leaders of political parties
tremely Backward are those castes the north Indian States have, as usual, that people will remember what is
which have neither skills nor assets. been laggards in this, the Centre being done for them and vote for them only if
They include nomadic communities, the hindmost of the laggards. The it is done just before elections. Such
Vimukta Jatis, that is, those who were NCBC and the Planning Commissions calculations are not only unethical but
earlier stigmatised as criminal tribes/ Tenth Plan Working Group, of which I also cynical in their assessment of peo-
communities and those linked with was the Chairman, have recommend- ple, who have grown in consciousness
stigmatised occupations such as scav- ed that such complete categorisation and awareness in the past decades.
enging. Some of them are classied as with sub-quotas should be introduced The right time to undertake any
S.Cs if they are Hindus. Examples are among B.Cs. But the government has measure genuinely required not only
Halalkhor (the Muslim counterpart of paid scant attention to this. for B.Cs among Muslims and other
Hindu Balmiki and Sikh Mazhabi), (c) Reservation is not the be all minorities but also for B.Cs as a whole
Muslim Lalbegi, Muslim Mehtar, and end all of social justice and for S.Cs and S.Ts and their women
Muslim Nat, Muslim Jogi, and the Reservation is no doubt important, and children and for the really poor
large number of beggar/mendicant/ but it is only part of a package of mea- among non-S.Cs, non-S.Ts, non-B.Cs
entertainment castes among whom sures of social justice encompassing and their women and children is when
there are Hindus, Muslims and Chris- economic, educational, health-related it becomes clear that the measure is
tians in the Central and State B.C. lists. and child-survival- and-growth-relat- necessary and adequate data are avail-
Most Backward castes are those ed schemes and programmes neces- able. There are, in fact, many measures
who have no asset base but have skills sary to remove inequality in every of social justice that are long overdue
their skills are traditional and outmod- parameter of development and welfare for all these deprived classes and for
ed and have not received the benet of between the S.Cs, the S.Ts and B.Cs which all necessary information has
technological upgradation, modern- compared with the advanced castes. long been available. It is hoped that the
isation, direct market linkage and - The government has a duty not to con- government will take action on these
nancial support. Most of the artisan ne to reservation itself. Also it should measures without any delay after the
castes and artisanal/artisan-like not conne discourse and action to present round of elections and without
castes, and castes which provide lowly reservation. cynically waiting for the next round of
services, among whom are Hindus, State elections or the next parliamen-
Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, would WHAT THEN? WHAT NEXT? tary elections.
come under this category. Most Mus- What has been done will certainly im- P.S. Krishnan retired as Secretary,
lim B.Cs would come in this category prove the share of B.Cs among the mi- Government of India, in 1990 and
and a few also would be in the Ex- norities, especially Muslims who until has been active for more than six
tremely Backward category. now have got much less than their due decades in the eld of Social Justice &
The More Backward castes in- in competition with the category of Empowerment of S.Cs, S.Ts and B.Cs,
clude castes of small peasants, espe- B.Cs who are the least backward. This including B.Cs of religious
cially tenantry without rights. Above should, therefore, despite the three de- minorities.
MARCH 9, 2012
Livelihood Issues
Tenuous lives
Conservation measures have taken away the traditional livelihoods of nomadic
tribes in Karnataka. B Y V I K H A R A H M E D S A Y E E D I N K O P P A L
Implementation of the Prevention (1336-1646 C.E.) and the seat of a local lord. Today it
is home to a semi-nomadic tribal community that
of Cruelty to Animals Act and the tamed bears and used them for street performances.
These tribal families are believed to have rst settled
Wildlife Protection Act has resulted in Hulihaidar during the Vijayanagara period.
They would travel around, plying their street
in the Qalandars and the Havadigas trade, for 10 months in a year. For the remaining two
months before and during the Islamic month of
being denied the freedom to work Moharram they would stay put in Hulihaidar,
having grand religious and cultural celebrations
with bears and snakes. with their brethren. The community is known as the
Qalandars, and similar communities of Qalandars
AT a short distance from the world famous mon- are spread across the country. (Qalandar, in Islamic
uments at Hampi is the village of Hulihaidar in the terminology, usually refers to a Su saint, but it
fertile region of the rice bowl of Karnataka in Gan- seems to have been used by this community histor-
gavathi taluk in Koppal district. Local residents say it ically. Sometimes it is also spelt as Kalandar.)
was an important town in the Vijayanagara empire The street performers were forced to settle down
PHOTOGRAPHS: G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR
A T H UL I H A I D A R V I LLA GE in Karnatakas Koppal district, which has been home to Qalandars for
several centuries. The community is in limbo with bear-taming made illegal and no new jobs in sight.
MARCH 9, 2012
when their bears were seized under the harassed by wildlife ofcials. The list, which is anomalous because sever-
Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972. largest community of these snake al thriving castes in Karnataka are list-
The conscations began in the 1990s, charmers in Karnataka lives in Banga- ed as OBCs.
when the issuance of licences was stop- lore, in a slum called Havadiga colony. Some civil society activists say the
ped, and continued until 2006 when They told Frontline that they were wildlife laws are insensitive to tradi-
the last bears were taken away. Mem- not being allowed to work even with tional trades and do not address the
bers of the community say that they are rat snakes, which are aplenty in wood- issue of livelihood for communities
barely able to survive. Almost all of ed areas across Bangalore. Abdul Mas- that lose their traditional means of in-
them are illiterate and do not possess tan, a young man in his late twenties, come. The right to livelihood, they
any agricultural land and have become said: We are basically magicians, us- point out, nds mention in the Direc-
casual agricultural and factory labour- ing sleight of hand tricks to entertain tive Principles of State Policy. Besides,
ers. We understand that we are not audiences, but we need snakes to at- the rights of indigenous people have
supposed to work with bears and have tract a crowd. He later did an im- been recognised under the United Na-
surrendered them, but we have not promptu performance using minimal tions Declaration on the Rights of In-
been offered any support from the gov- accessories, including a large basket digenous People, which was adopted
ernment in the form of alternative live- and a bedsheet, in which a child was by the General Assembly in 2007.
lihood, said Shamad Ali, a Qalandar made to disappear and then reappear. A journalist who grew up in the city
from Bear Lane in Hulihaidar. Ac- The snakes were missing, of course. of Bellary remembers the Qalandars
cording to Shamad Ali, there are 125 Syed Shabeer, another Havadiga, well. He said: As a child, I remember
households of Qalandars in the village said they did not have pucca houses to them bringing their bears to jatras
with their family sizes ranging from live in. We have been living in this plot [fairs], and they were surrounded by
ve to 18. The largest community in of land allotted by the Bangalore Slum an excited crowd of children and fam-
the village is that of the Nayaks, a nu- Development Authority for the past 10 ilies. They also distributed amulets.
merically strong Scheduled Tribe years. Before that we were a nomadic The plight of these two communi-
(S.T.) community spread across the re- community, he said. There are 100 ties is part of a larger struggle by the
gion. Relations between the Qalandars households in the colony. Signicant nomadic and denotied tribes across
and the Nayaks are nor particularly clumps of Havadigas reside in other Karnataka and India, and they should
amicable. The Qalandars allege that parts of Bangalore and elsewhere in be offered commensurate benets.
the Nayak-dominated panchayat has Karnataka. Informal estimates put The main grouse of activists is that
meddled with the issuance of Below their number at 371 households. Many members of the nomadic tribes do not
Poverty Line (BPL) cards to them. Havadigas have become street vendors have a sense of identity as they are
Qalandars also reside in Mangal- and sell utes and crude dotaras grouped under a number of categories
pura village in Gangavathi taluk of (mandolin). in different States for the sake of af-
Koppal district (30 households ac- According to a report titled Law rmative action benets. Many severe-
cording to a report by the Centre for and Loss of Livelihood: The Havadigas ly backward communities who are
the Study of Social Exclusion and In- and Qalandars of Karnataka by Ajit essentially nomadic have not been cat-
clusion Policy, or CSSEIP, at the Na- Kumar and Nadim Nikhat, both re- egorised as S.Cs, S.Ts or even OBCs.
tional Law School of India University, searchers with the CSSEIP, the strict
or NLSIU, in Bangalore) and in Ham- implementation of wildlife laws has CONSERVATION VERSUS
pinakatte village (54 households) in left these two communities high and LIVELIHOOD
Hospet taluk in adjoining Bellary dis- dry. Rehabilitation has been inade- Implementation of two important
trict. In all, there are an estimated 489 quate, and members of the community Central acts The Prevention of Cruel-
Qalandar households across have now become part of Indias vast ty to Animals Act, 1960, and the WPA
Karnataka. informal market economy with irreg- has resulted in the Qalandars and the
ular incomes. To add to their woes, Havadigas being denied the freedom
THE HAVADIGAS these two communities, who are Mus- to work with bears and snakes. Sub-
Similar is the plight of the Havadigas, lim, are not classied as Scheduled section 3 of Section 39 of the WPA
a nomadic community that works with Caste (S.Cs) or S.Ts though their socio- declares wild animals to be govern-
snakes (the word havu means snake in economic condition and their histor- ment property and does not allow
Kannada). In other parts of India, ical lack of access to avenues for devel- possession, custody or control of wild
tribes working with snakes are known opment should mark them out as animals without the permission of the
as Saperas and they are in a similar targets for policies of afrmative ac- Chief Wildlife Warden of the State.
situation. With the strict implementation and other state benets. While the According to the CSSEIP report, the
tion of the laws to protect wildlife, Havadiga community is listed as an Bombay Prevention of Begging Act,
their snakes are regularly conscated, OBC (Other Backward Classes), the 1959, which makes it illegal for anyone
and community members say they are Qalandars do not even gure on this to possess wild animals, is also invoked
MARCH 9, 2012
to book cases against members of these

communities. Police and Forest De-
partment ofcials use these legal pro-
visions to seize animals with the
assistance of non-governmental orga-
nisations (NGOs). In fact, some NGOs
have been instrumental in leading the
campaign against Qalandars and have
also provided an alternative home for
seized bears in Bannerghatta in
Karnataka.
According to an article in the Eco-
nomic & Political Weekly of October
20, 2007 (Meena Radhakrishna, Civil
Societys Uncivil Acts: Dancing Bear
and Starving Kalandar), the cam-
paign against Qalandars in Haryana
had left the community in the dol-
drums. It also points out how there
have been campaigns against the Sap-
eras, the Bahelias (tribes who work
with birds) and the Madaris (tribes
who work with monkeys). These com-
munities are not on the S.C. or S.T. list
but are categorised as OBCs in many
parts of the country.
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder
of the NGO Wildlife SOS, said it was
wrong to blame conservationists for
the plight of the Qalandars. Speaking
to Frontline, he said: We informed
the Qalandars that working with bears
was illegal and helped many of them to
secure bail when they were arrested for
possessing bears. As an NGO involved
in conservation issues, we were con-
cerned about bears but we have done a
lot for the welfare of the Qalandar
community. To every family that sur-
rendered a bear Wildlife SOS provided
Rs.50,000. The Qalandars of Hulihai-
dar acknowledge this help but point
out that the amount was inadequate
and is long gone. Satyanarayan said
neither the State nor the Central gov-
ernment had done anything to aid the
rehabilitation process.
Over the past few years, Karnataka
has seen a edgling movement to orga-
nise nomadic tribes such as Qalandars
and Havadigas and even those that do
not use animals. Each tribe has a few
H AVA DIGA S , W H O L O S T their livelihoods after possessing snakes became thousand members, and the tribes are
illegal, at a demonstration outside Aranya Bhavan, Karnatakas Forest spread across various reservation cate-
Department ofce, in Bangalore demanding that all cases led against gories; physically, they are spread
members of the tribe be dropped. A le photograph. thinly across the State. This movement
MARCH 9, 2012
Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNSNT),

which submitted its report to the
Prime Minister in 2008. The commis-
sion also recommended reserving 10
per cent of government jobs for the
DNSNT (on the basis of their pop-
ulation, which was estimated to be 110
million). However, the Ministry of So-
cial Justice, under whose aegis the Na-
tional Commission was set up,
expressed strong reservation against
a new quota.
B.C. PANEL REPORT

The rights of nomadic tribes were en-
A QAL A N D A R H O ME at Hulihaidar. Members of the tribe do not have dorsed by C.S. Dwarkanath, former
agricultural land, and most of them work as casual labourers. Chairman of the Karnataka Backward
Classes Commission, who submitted a
is part of a broader national movement make them aware of their rights. He is report in 2010 to the State government
to organise nomadic, semi-nomadic the rst graduate from the Budga Jan- towards the end of his tenure. The re-
and denotied tribes. (Denotied gamma nomadic tribe in Karnataka. port was written after a detailed study
tribes are those tribes that were classi- He also points out another serious of 15 nomadic tribes, including the Qa-
ed as criminal under the Criminal problem that exacerbates identity is- landars and the Havadigas, which was
Tribes Act, 1871.) sues. Some nomadic tribes are known undertaken for the rst time. While
According to several scholarly by several synonyms, and while one of pointing out how traditional liveli-
studies, peripatetic communities of them might be on the S.T. list, their hoods of many of these communities
traders, artisans and entertainers have synonyms may have found their way to were under threat, it made several rec-
always existed on the Indian subconti- the OBC list. When benets are ommendations, including the setting
nent. Endogamous in nature and stub- sought under the S.T. quota, they are up of a State Commission for Nomadic
born legatees of ancient vocations, told that they are OBCs, he said. He Tribes. It also made out a strong case
these nomadic tribes still live on the cited examples of nomadic tribes that for a detailed socio-economic survey,
margins of modern societies. Accord- nd mention in both the S.T. and OBC grant of agricultural land and the pro-
ing to an article in the Economic & lists in Karnataka the Shillekyata vision of special packages to address
Political Weekly of January 12, 2002 (performers with puppets), Budga the specic problems of these tribes.
(Milind Bokil, Denotied and No- Jangamma (street musicians), Hakki- A careful consideration of the re-
madic Tribes: A Perspective), the pikki (bird trappers), Sudugadu Sidda port, which is lying idle with the State
foremost problem of this group of peo- (street magicians), Sindollu (self-a- government, may be useful. As a rst
ple is that of correct classication and gellators), Chinnadasar (conch blow- step, the Central government needs to
categorisation as they do not make it to ers), Gantichor (pickpockets) and undertake a through enumeration and
any of the scheduled constitutional Handijyogi (pig rearers). classication as it would help commu-
categories. It also mentions how, be- There was an enumeration done nity members gain a sense of homoge-
cause of their itinerant nature, they do in 1965, on the basis of which these neity and identity. A clear estimate
not have a link with the social space of nomadic tribes have been classied, would also help in drawing up policy
settled society, a fact that needs to be but that classication is useless and measures.
taken into account for any rehabilita- outdated now, he said. He added that Back in Hulihaidar, Qalandar S.
tion plan to work. the problem of the nomadic tribes, Ismail was despondent over the ab-
Balagurumurthy, president of the who number close to 150 million sence of income opportunities. Please
Nomadic Tribes Mahasabha, Karnata- across the country, could be solved on- write that we need some land that we
ka, agrees that the foremost problem is ly if a proper census of the communi- can call our own so that we can grow a
that of identity. With incorrect clas- ties was undertaken and the few crops, he pleaded. The Havadigas
sication across the country and scat- Constitution was amended to incorpo- had a different request. All we need is
tered members, there is no sense of rate a separate schedule for nomadic a licence from the wildlife department
belonging for the people of these com- tribes. for possessing one rat snake so that we
munities, he said. Balagurumurthy is The demand echoes the recom- are not harassed any more. Our lives
trying to organise a collective of 33 mendation of the National Commis- have become hell, said Babe Saib, an
nomadic tribes in Karnataka and sion for Denotied, Nomadic and elderly snake charmer.
MARCH 9, 2012
Column
Democracy in action
During elections, phrases such as booth-capturing appear dated, but the process
of governance itself is becoming less about freedom and more about control.
LECTIONS to some State Hence my sense of amazement, an
E Assemblies are under way,

and the results will be
known on March 6. One is
not, however, concerned
with the results so much as the whole
process itself.
From the publication of the list of
amazement that verges on awe, at the
vast exercise that millions go through
in the process of comprehensive con-
sent. This, to me, represents the real
strength of the country the collective
consent behind the process of govern-
ance in the States and at the Centre.
candidates to the campaigning and Of course, there are blemishes in
then to the setting up of thousands of this manifestation of collective con-
polling stations, and the voting itself, sent. Some have been mentioned here,
involving millions coming to polling and there are others that often charac-
stations and casting their votes, all terise the process of governance after
these have a signicance that tran- the elections are over. The bribery,
scends the process itself. Simply put, it horse-trading, arm-twisting, and ma-
is the comprehensive consent of the
people in the process and, even more
Point of View noeuvring that leads to the formation
of governments in most States, to
importantly, the manifest trust they BHASKAR GHOSE mention a few.
have in it. These have become so much a part
One can tick off all that is wrong of the democratic process in the coun-
with it; the fact that many of the candi- means of governance but it is all we try that it has ceased to surprise. But
dates have criminal records, the fact have. The candidates may have, the structure survives, in whatever
that many are sons or daughters or among them, persons who are of rath- fashion. And I am willing to predict
wives or brothers or relatives of some er questionable backgrounds, but they that it will continue to survive even
kind with the local strongman, that in are all we have. though the nature of the structure may
some cases money is distributed. All The peoples hope in Uttar Pradesh cause more surprises than one may
this and more. or Uttarakhand or Punjab is not that legitimately expect, not all of them
Nonetheless, let us look at the they will get governments of saints but pleasant.
process; the frenetic campaigning, the that they will get governments that That, however, is not the factor
huge numbers of people who come to work. In other words, governments that is as worrying worrying though
vote, leaving aside their work, in spite that are effective parts of the total sys- it is, undoubtedly as the fact that
of physical handicaps or extreme old tem, that is, the democratic system. most of the evils stem from one fact
age and notwithstanding inclement One is conscious that this view will that we simply do not seem to be able
weather. What do these indicate? That invite not only disagreement but rid- to get rid of. The evil of over-govern-
there is a deep-seated cynicism or apa- icule. People are, it will be said, not all ance, something that was a part of the
thy to the electoral process? An aver- that clever; they vote for someone be- colonial government.
sion to the candidates? A conviction cause they like that person or, as is In spite of very vocal and at times
that democracy is a ridiculous process? equally likely, because they dislike intrusive media, new laws such as the
The answers to these questions are someone more. That may be a motiva- Right to Information Act, and a very
clear to everyone except the exceeding- ting factor, but no one stands in a watchful judiciary, the nature of gov-
ly foolish. Not that there is a general queue for a long time to stamp a piece ernment remains surprisingly what it
reverence for the process or the candi- of paper merely because he or she likes was in 1947. If anything, it has become
dature, but much as Winston Church- someone or dislikes someone. There is a system that has found more areas to
ill said, there is an awareness that denitely a consciousness of the link bring under governmental control.
democracy may be the worst possible ones vote has with governance. Evidence for this exists in the pro-
liferation of the number of ministries sed. All it needs is a casual instruction in store for them, a single threat is
and the ofces under those ministries, from a member of the political exec- enough. Compliance follows almost
an even greater proliferation of what utive, usually the head himself or her- instantly. We have been seeing the
are known as attached ofces, subordi- self. handstands and somersaults and other
nate ofces and autonomous bodies. There have been other, uglier and acrobatics that police ofcers in Guj-
Not only have ofces proliferated; more dangerous ways of dealing with arat are going through to establish a
the control of the government over the the few ofcials who have some cour- simple fact whether there was gov-
vastly increased number of govern- age and do stand up to dishonesty and ernment connivance in the fact that
ment employees has become even thievery. A number of ofcers have the police did not act, or acted ineffec-
more absolute than it was, ensuring been beaten, often to an extent that has tively, in dealing with the pogrom in
servility and a general reluctance to left them maimed for life, and in some 2002.
offer frank, honest advice, however un- cases they have been murdered. Most And all the while all governments,
palatable it may be, to the political of us know that no less than three Chief in the States and at the Centre, seek
executive. Medical Ofcers in Lucknow were more and more areas to bring under
Ofcials can not only be trans- murdered, though the last one, it is governmental control, in the garb of
ferred, they can be suspended, now claimed, is a case of suicide. social development, infrastructure de-
stripped of their work, demoted, have In some States, where ofcials are velopment, protection of the environ-
their pay stopped, and also be dismis- only too aware of what they may have ment and other such laudable issues.
Concern is professed for the environ-
ment; the result is, in some cases, laws
and orders being passed that pauper-
ise tribal people who make their living
from forests.
So, in the process of seeing democ-
racy in action when elections are held,
and held more or less peacefully in the
present times, while one is relieved
that phrases such as booth-capturing
appear dated, there is an uneasy feel-
ing that the process of governance may
be moving away from allowing greater
freedom to more control.
Recently, there was a report that a
Ministry is moving the Cabinet to in-
troduce a procedure that reduces, sub-
stantially, the industrial liberalisation
ushered in by the present Prime Minis-
ter when he was Finance Minister.
And what is disturbing is that the pro-
posal is being put forward with con-
dence, clearly presuming the present
Prime Minister can or will do nothing
to stop it.
To preserve democracy one needs
to be eternally watchful; all one can
hope for now is that there will be non-
governmental organisations and
rightfully suspicious media that ex-
pose the attempts to undermine de-
mocracy, much as they exposed the 2G
spectrum scam, and the mass thievery
that happened during the Common-
SUBIR ROY
wealth Games.
It is with them, not with the gov-
VOTER S A T A booth in Ambedkar Nagar on February 8 during the rst ernment, that the democracy we are so
phase of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. proud of will remain safe.
1 0 0 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
Gender Issues
Diluting a law
The Law Commission recommends making Section 498A, IPC, compoundable, and
womens groups say that would affect womens interests. B Y T . K . R A J A L A K S H M I
They have argued that women The report suggests that a doctrinaire and isolat-
ed approach cannot be adopted while dealing with
victims of abuse are often forced to the issue. Also, the sensitivity of a family dispute and
individual facts and circumstances cannot be ig-
compromise, accepting conditions nored. In sum, the argument is that there is little
social good to be achieved by criminalising 498A.
that are unfair to them, either for the The argument against making offences under the
sake of their children or for their

own economic survival.
A REPORT of the Law Commission of India on
Compounding of (IPC) Offences suggesting that
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, which pre-
scribes punishment for a husband or his relatives for
subjecting a woman to cruelty, be made compoun-
dable with the permission of the court, is fraught
with several implications. The report explains com-
pounding in the context of criminal law as forbea-
rance from the prosecution as a result of an amicable
settlement between the two parties.
The denition of cruelty as given in the clause
covers conduct that can drive a woman to suicide or
cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health
(mental or physical), or cause harassment of the
woman by coercing her or her relatives to meet an
unlawful demand for property or valuable security.
Thus, dowry-related harassment and violence are
covered under the scope of the clause. The Law
Commission report observes that quite often prose-
cution under Section 498A of the IPC is coupled with
prosecution under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry
Prohibition Act, 1961.
The argument in favour of compounding an of-
fence is that if a woman is prepared to condone the
ill-treatment and harassment meted out to her, ei-
ther because her husband is repentant or because she
has received some reparation for the injury caused to
S. RAMBABU
her, the law should not stand in the way for terminat-
ing the criminal proceedings. The section should not
be allowed to become counterproductive and a bal-
anced and holistic approach is called for in handling A VI CTI M OFdomestic violence, with injuries on
a sensitive issue affecting the family and social rela- head and ear, at Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh.
tions, the report observes. A le photograph.
F R O N T L I N E 1 0 1
MARCH 9, 2012
section compoundable is that dowry is active role while dealing with an appli- served that it was time the legislature
a social evil and the law designed to cation for compounding the offence took into consideration the pragmatic
punish those who harass their wives under 498A. It has also recommended reality and made suitable changes in
with a demand for dowry should be the introduction of a subsection, (2A), existing laws.
allowed to take its full course and pri- into Section 320 of the Criminal Pro-
vate compromises should not get a seal cedure Code (CrPC), laying down the IN THE NAME OF FAMILY
of legal approval. procedure for dealing with an applica- The Commission then circulated a
Womens groups have argued that tion for compounding an offence un- questionnaire eliciting opinions. It re-
often women victims are forced to der Section 498A. ceived representations from many or-
compromise either for the sake of their The issue is a problematic one. ganisations claiming to stand up for
children or for their own economic Womens organisations, at least those the institutions of the family and mar-
survival. The conditions of compro- that are closely identied with the riage and demanding that 498A be
mise and reconciliation are often un- womens movement, have repeatedly made compoundable. It also received
fair to the victims. Womens spoken out against the dilution of the representations from womens orga-
organisations also nd that women section. They point out that laws nisations seeking that the clause be
facing violence in their marital homes meant to protect women are seldom retained as it was.
do not seek recourse under 498A as put into effect, and misuse is a bogey Sporadic statements issued from
frequently or as indiscriminately as it that should be addressed as a separate government sources and vociferous
is made out to be. issue. There is a provision for the campaigns by groups claiming to be
quashing of criminal proceedings un- working to save the Indian family
MARITAL HARMONY AND der the section. So the argument that emerged in this period. Among the or-
WOMENS WELFARE estranged couples wanting to get back ganisations that sent in their views to
The Law Commissions view is that together will be left with no recourse if the Commission over the last one year
undesirable consequences will follow Section 498 is not made compounda- were outts such as the Save India
if compounding is not allowed. Social ble seems overstretched. Harmony, the National Family Har-
harm or societal interest cannot be Government reports showing low mony, the Mothers and Sisters Initia-
considered in a vacuum and that a ho- conviction rates, low reporting of tive, the Bharat Bachao Sangathan, the
listic and rational view needed to be crimes by women victims and an in- Pirito Purush Porishad, the All India
taken, the report says. While no im- crease in IPC crimes against women Forgotten Womens Association and
pediments shall be placed against the seem to bolster the arguments of wom- the Members of Million Women Ar-
effective operation of law enacted to ens groups. The fth periodic report rested Campaign.
curb a social evil, it should not be for- Staying Alive, prepared by the Wom- To add meat to its argument to
gotten that society is equally interested ens Rights Initiative of the Lawyers make 498A compoundable, the Law
in promoting marital harmony and the Collective, reviewing the implementa- Commission report used the Justice
welfare of the aggrieved women, it tion of the Protection of Women from Malimath Committees report on re-
says, arguing for a rational and bal- Domestic Violence Act, 2005, indicat- forms to the Criminal Justice System,
anced approach where more avenues ed that knowledge of the law was poor which held that the section helped nei-
are open to the aggrieved couple to put and implementation by the state tardy. ther the wife nor the husband. It said
an end to the criminal proceedings. The process of looking into the al- that since the charges brought under
If a wife who suffered in the hands leged misuse of 498A began in the the section were non-bailable and
of the husband is prepared to forget 1990s. But it has picked up momen- non-compoundable, it was possible for
the past and agreeable to live amicably tum in recent years. In 1996, the 154th innocent persons to undergo stigmati-
with the husband or separate honour- Report of the Law Commission es- sation and hardship. It also called the
ably without rancour or revenge, the poused the inclusion of the section un- provision heartless, recommending
society would seldom condemn such a der the list of compoundable offences. that it is therefore necessary to make
move nor can it be said that the legal The Law Commission reiterated the this offence a) bailable and b) com-
recognition of amicable settlement in stance in its 177th report in 2001. poundable to give a chance to the
such cases would encourage the for- The Department of Legal Affairs spouses to come together.
bidden evil, dowry, says the report. sought the Law Commissions view in The National Family Health Sur-
It dismisses as non-substantive the December 2010; the Home Secretarys vey 3 (2005-06) detailed the frequency
argument that uneducated women ofce had sought its view a year earlier, and propensity of domestic violence
with no means of livelihood may be in September 2009. The rationale for faced by women in India. It said that
forced to withdraw the legal proceed- seeking a view on making the said one-third of the women in the age
ings and purchase peace even if the clause compoundable is rooted in the group 15-49 years had experienced
grievance remains unaddressed. The premise that the law is being misused. physical violence; one-tenth had been
report argues that courts will play an A Supreme Court order in 2010 ob- victims of sexual violence; and only
1 0 2 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
one among four women had sought for the Planning Commission accept Economic independence and ac-
help. A shocking 54 per cent of the that gender discrimination will not be cess to credit for women are also found
women surveyed justied wife-beat- corrected automatically by develop- to be limited. For instance, women
ing. The latest gures of the National ment. The working group was man- own only 20.8 per cent of total deposit
Crimes Record Bureau reveal shocking dated to review, analyse and evaluate accounts in scheduled commercial
statistics. In the period 2006-10, the existing programmes and provi- banks. They have access to only 19.8
crimes against women went up by 29.6 sions for women and make recommen- per cent of small borrowal accounts in
per cent. dations to the Planning Commission. scheduled banks. Legal commitments,
Violence, says the working group re- too, have not translated into concrete
BARRIER TO EMPOWERMENT port, is a major social and structural action and the enforcement of women-
Recent government documents such barrier to womens empowerment. A specic laws has not been at the desir-
as the Report of the Working Group on sharp fall in household income levels ed levels, the report notes. There are
Womens Agency and Empowerment has led to an increase in unpaid do- reports of denial of registration of
to the XII Plan prepared by the Wom- mestic work for women and an in- cases by the police, inadequate investi-
en and Child Development Ministry crease in domestic violence, it says. gation and lack of prosecution in court.
Court procedures themselves lead to
delays in the delivery of justice. The
Protection of Women from Domestic
Violence Act, which came into force on
October 26, 2006, did not provide for
nancial assistance to State govern-
ments and Union Territories for the
implementation of the Act, the report
notes.
The report has recommended sev-
eral procedural amendments to the
Criminal Procedure (Amendment)
Act, 2008, to make procedures more
women- and child-friendly, including
the abolition of the two-nger test to
determine whether sexual assault or
rape had taken place. The report has
also recommended amendments to
the Dowry Prohibition Act, relating to
the denition of dowry and penalties
for the parties concerned.
It has recommended a ceiling for
marriage costs. Quoting NCRB data, it
has noted that dowry deaths have con-
tinued unabated in the 28 years since
the amendment of the Dowry Act. It
has recommended a stand-alone law
to deal with honour crimes, a Marital
Property Act to give women rights to
their husbands property, and a review
of maintenance laws.
It has also been seen that even
where rights have been given to wom-
R. ARIVANANTHAM.
en through specic legislations such as

right to residence under the Protection
of Women from Domestic Violence
Act or inheritance rights in ancestral
M. P A L A N I A M MA L W I T H H ER parents in Odasalpatti Pudur near property, women have not been able to
Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. Her family was ostracised by a kangaroo court access these rights for a variety of rea-
for complaining against her husband and his family under the Domestic sons, observes the working group re-
Violence Act. port.
F R O N T L I N E 1 0 3
Reining in Israel
The real challenge is to prevent Israel from embarking on a misadventure
against Iran so that diplomacy gets a chance.
N a typical Israeli knee-jerk reac- trove of new evidence, concludes that
I tion, Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu instantly blamed Iran
for the bombing of an Israeli em-
bassy staffers car in Delhi. This is
rich coming from a leader whose secret
agency the Mossad is notorious for
ruthlessness and lack of scruple, and is
Iran has carried out activities relevant
to the development of a nuclear de-
vice, and that they may still be contin-
uing. This was seen by many Western
governments as reason enough to
toughen sanctions against Iran and
wink at Israels cloak-and-dagger
widely suspected to have been respon- tactics.
sible for killing four scientists related However, a careful analysis of the
to Irans nuclear programme and a bri- report shows that while there is evi-
gadier connected to its missile pro- dence that Iran carried out clandestine
gramme, in the past two years. activities in the past to develop a nucle-
The former Mossad chief Meir Da- ar weapons capability, there is no cred-
gan, says a largely sympathetic New ible evidence that it is continuing with
York Times magazine story (January
25), has praised the hits against Ira-
Beyond the them and that it is in breach of its
obligations. Nor has Iran come any-
nian scientists saying that beyond
the removal of important brains from
Obvious where near amassing enough weapon-
grade uranium needed for a single
the project, the killings have brought PRAFUL BIDWAI atomic bomb. It is probably two years
about what is referred to in the Mossad away from doing so.
as white defection frightening other The 25-page report consists of an
scientists into requesting that they be nians travelling abroad as agents and 11-page main body and a 14-page an-
transferred to civilian projects. nanced and armed Muhjahedin-e- nex on Possible Military Dimensions
These tactics are clearly part of a Khalq (MEK) designated a terrorist to Irans Nuclear Programme. Most of
ve-front strategy which, the story organisation by the U.S. State Depart- the evidence cited to highlight the
says, Dagan detailed in secret meet- ment Jundallah, and the Kurdish imminent danger of Iran crossing the
ings with United States ofcials in minority. threshold what Israeli Defence Min-
2004-07, involving political pressure, All this should have caused grave ister Ehud Barak calls the zone of im-
covert measures, counter-prolifera- international concern, even outrage. It munity beyond which its capacity to
tion, sanctions and regime change all has not because the International acquire nuclear weapons would be-
being pursued simultaneously. A de- Atomic Energy Agency has legitimised come immune to military attacks
bate is raging in Israel on what will the view that Iran is in serious breach comes from the annex and uses ques-
best stop Iran from becoming a nucle- of its obligations under the Nuclear tionable sources.
ar weapons state: tougher sanctions, Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and The past evidence came to light
sabotage, ethnic disaffection, or mil- its agreements with the IAEA. Many in 2004 after a laptop computer was
itary action. Western analysts believe that Iran has spirited out of Iran to U.S. agencies. Its
The Mossad is also believed to have made a decision to acquire a nuclear provenance is attributed to an MEK
inltrated the lethal Stuxnet virus into weapons capability and may only be and the Mossad and its authenticity
computers at Irans nuclear installa- months away from doing so. questioned. At any rate, the material
tions and supplied defective compo- pertained to 1998-2003. A U.S. na-
nents to them through third parties to IAEA REPORT tional intelligence estimate concluded
retard uranium enrichment activities. The agencys latest report (November in November 2007 that Iran stopped
The virus destroyed several centrifug- 8), hailed in many Western newspa- these activities in 2003. The allegation
es. Israel has reportedly recruited Ira- pers as a game-changer, based on a that Iran has resumed them has not
1 0 4 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
been established through independent some 1,000 pages of information gured to produce 3.5 per cent en-
corroboration. It remains just an shared with the IAEA by U.S. intelli- riched uranium, which is only t for
allegation. gence in 2005, contained in the laptop use in civilian power generation.
More important, there is no evi- computer mentioned above, on which (Weapons-grade uranium is 90-per
dence that Iran ever crossed the legal the agency relies despite its extremely cent enriched.)
red line specied in the Comprehen- dubious nature. This is supplemented Some centrifuges also produce
sive Safeguards Agreements it signed with data from more than 10 member- smaller quantities of uranium en-
with the IAEA diverting materials states, and what the IAEA says are its riched to 19.75 per cent, to feed the
from a civilian to a military nuclear own investigations. As is bound to be small Teheran Research Reactor. This
programme. Iran has placed the most the case with classied intelligence, too is considered Low Enriched Urani-
important component of its nuclear this is not fully documented or sup- um by the IAEA, as distinct from
programme, namely uranium enrich- ported by references, names, dates, weapons-grade uranium.
ment at two facilities, besides a reactor and so on. Nor is there a satisfactory Iran has primarily deployed cen-
it is building with Russian assistance explanation as to why the IAEA took trifuges of the IR-1 type, believed to be
at Bushehr, under IAEA inspections. six years to analyse the data. based on a crude rst-generation P-1
It has substantially complied with the The annex says: The informa- design developed by the A.Q. Khan
agencys demands for information. tion [cited] is assessed to be, Laboratories in Pakistan. It has also
Yet, while Iran did try in the past to overall, credible. But we only have the deployed a small number of somewhat
explore or develop the ability to turn agencys word for this. The IAEA con- more advanced IR-2m and IR-4 ma-
enriched uranium into weapons, it is cludes that Iran in the past made ef- chines. However, the performance of
not credibly established that it is con- forts, some successful, to procure the IR-1 centrifuges is not stable and
tinuing with such efforts. Even haw- nuclear-related and dual-use equip- reliable and has declined recently, ac-
kishly anti-Iranian analysts, such as ment and materials by military related cording to the ISIS.
those with the Washington-based In- individuals and entities; to develop The IR-2m and IR-4 centrifuges
stitute for Science and International undeclared pathways for the produc- are based on Khans P-2 design, which
Security (ISIS), believe that there are tion of nuclear material, acquired is less prone to breakdowns. But the
no indications that Iran has made a nuclear weapons development infor- original uses maraging steel, which is
decision to actually construct a nuclear mation from a clandestine nuclear impossible to procure. So Iran has
weapon. supply network; and worked on the tried to substitute it with carbon bre.
development of an indigenous design But, says an ISIS report, building a
IRAN COMPLIANT of a nuclear weapon. reliable carbon bre bellows may pose
The main report conrms that Iran These efforts were halted in 2003, technical challenges that increase the
has been compliant with its obliga- but the IAEA says that some of them risk of centrifuge failure. Irans car-
tions. Iran has declared to the agency may have been resumed. While some bon bre is of poor quality.
15 nuclear facilities and nine locations of the activities have civilian as well Seymour Hersh, the investigative
outside facilities where nuclear mate- as military applications, others are journalist, wrote in The New Yorker in
rial is customarily used. The IAEA has specic to nuclear weapons. There June quoting former IAEA Director
found no evidence that Iran has hid- are also indications that some activ- General Mohamed ElBaradei as say-
den any facilities from it. The report ities relevant to the development of a ing: During my time at the agency
repeatedly states that all nuclear ma- nuclear explosive device continued af- we havent seen a shred of evidence
terial there remains under the agen- ter 2003, and that some may still be that Iran has been weaponising, in
cys containment and surveillance ongoing. terms of building nuclear-weapons fa-
and the agency has concluded that the However, there is no independent cilities and using enriched materials.
facility has operated as declared by corroboration of this. There are seri-
Iran in the Design Information Ques- ous doubts about the authenticity and AMENABLE TO DIPLOMACY
tionnaire sent to it. credibility of the evidence. For in- Iran still remains amenable to diplo-
As regards the two most important stance, the annex makes much of macy. This must be explored. Israel
installations that can potentially pro- Irans experiments with exploding would be singularly ill-advised to
duce fuel for nuclear bombs, the fuel bridge-wire detonators (EBWs) and strike Irans nuclear facilities. It can
enrichment plant and the pilot fuel says it recognises that there exist non- best damage, not destroy, them while
enrichment plant, both at Natanz, nuclear applications, albeit few for risking serious counter-strikes. Be-
south of Teheran, the report lists their these. But Robert Kelley, a U.S. nucle- sides strong militias such as the Hiz-
capacities and operational histories ar engineer and former IAEA inspec- bollah, Iran has missiles with a range
although this information is tor, says: The agency is wrong. There of 2,200 kilometres, which can reach
condential. are lots of applications for EBWs. U.S. bases and Israel. This would ig-
The annex is based primarily on Most of Irans centrifuges are con- nite a huge conagration.
F R O N T L I N E 1 0 5
Social Issues MARCH 9, 2012
Pits of horror
The alleged incident of two quarry workers in Tamil Nadus Villupuram district
being forced to swallow faeces draws attention to larger issues. B Y S . D O R A I R A J
The episode has brought to the fore court and were lodged at the Central Prison in Cud-
dalore on February 8. They reportedly handed over
the appalling living conditions, the the cellphone used to capture the incident. They
accused, who allegedly said at the time of the crime
hazardous working environment, that the two men were being awarded exemplary
punishment so that they could be taught a lesson,
and the absence of social security have since pleaded not guilty.
Vellaiyan and Veerappan left the village on the
that quarry workers put up with. same day. Vellaiyan returned on February 9, but
local residents said they still did not know where
NORMALLY the villages and hamlets in and Veerappan, a migrant from Tambaram near Chen-
around Thiruvakkarai in Tamil Nadus Villupuram nai, was.
district are woken up by the loud noise and vibra- Vellaiyan told Frontline shortly after his return
tions caused by the blasting of rocks and the pound- to Thiruvakkarai that he had ed the village because
ing of boulders with sledge hammers, apart from the
rattling sound of tipper lorries transporting stones
from 40-odd stone quarries. But on January 31, the VE LLAI YA N , W HO
residents of M.G.R. Nagar in the area had an even W A S allegedly forced
more terrible experience. Much before the routine to swallow human
activities in the quarries began, they woke up to the excreta, with his wife
screams of a neighbour who was dragged out of his and daughter at his
house and beaten up with sticks by the henchmen of M.G.R. Nagar home at
a local quarry owner who suspected his involvement Thiruvakkarai in
in the alleged theft of a sledge hammer. Villupuram district.
As blows were rained on S. Vellaiyan, the 40-
year-old victim, the other residents watched help-
lessly. Shortly afterwards, he was taken to the stone
quarry owned by T.S.P. Durai, also known as Palani-
yandi, along with another quarry worker, Veerap-
pan. There, they were forced to swallow human
excreta in the presence of fellow quarry workers,
including Vellaiyans wife, Bhoopathi, says a com-
plaint lodged with the police. The quarry owner
allegedly recorded the obnoxious scene on his cell-
phone. Vellaiyans nine-year-old daughter, V. Vi-
jayalaksmi, a Standard III student at the
government school in the village, was also at the
quarry. She could not speak coherently when she
tried to recall the incident. Clearly, it will take a long
time for her to recover from the trauma.
The rst information report (FIR) led in the
Vanur police station on February 3, on the basis of
the complaint lodged by Bhoopathi, gives a graphic
description of the crime allegedly committed by the
quarry owner and his two accomplices, Praveen and
Suresh. All the three accused surrendered in a local
1 0 6 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
he could not stand the ignominy. On done was to nd Veerappan, whom he the quarry owner captured it in a mo-
February 10, he was admitted to the had met recently, a buyer for a sledge bile phone camera, Bhoopathi al-
Villupuram Government Medical Col- hammer that he wanted to sell. He leged. When she led her complaint,
lege Hospital. Vellaiyan, had been introduced Veerappan to a local resi- she also requested the police to look for
working in the quarries as a stone dent who bought it for Rs.300. her husband, who had not yet come
crusher and truck driver. His father Enquiries revealed that quarry back. The complainant also sought po-
and grandfather, migrants from Ven- workers had their own sledge ham- lice protection for her family and the
nanampatti in Salem district, had set- mers, which weighed from 8 to 9 kilo- entire habitation. According to the
tled in Thiruvakkarai to work in the grammes and cost Rs.600 to Rs.800. FIR, a case was registered under Sec-
stone quarries. The quarry owner, Durai, and his men tions 341, 323, 355, 448 and 383 of the
The incident of January 31 might did not stop beating me though I Indian Penal Code.
not have come to light but for the ef- pleaded innocence. All my appeals fell
forts of the Tamil Nadu Untouchabil- on deaf ears. At one stage, I even said HORRIBLE, BUT IS IT
ity Eradication Front (TNUEF) and that I would ensure that the sledge UNPRECEDENTED?
the Communist Party of India (Marx- hammer was returned. I suffered According to the Tamil scholar and
ist), some local residents said. The CPI blows from chest to toe. I was forced to folklorist A. Sivasubramanian, though
(M) came up with posters condemning eat faeces. With pain caused by the there is no historical or literary evi-
the human rights abuse and sought blows and nausea becoming unbear- dence that any such incident occurred
action against the perpetrators of the able, I fainted and fell on a rock close to in ancient Tamil land, Baltazar da Cos-
crime. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal a huge quarry pit, he said. ta, a Portuguese Jesuit priest, recorded
Katchi (VCK) also organised protests Bhoopathi, a mother of three, said, a brutal punishment meted out to a
demanding action against the culprits. What they have done is unpardon- man in the 17th century in Madurai.
Vellaiyan insisted that he had no able. I requested the quarry owner not Tirumalai Nayak, appointed by the Vi-
part in any theft and that all he had to harass my husband as he was not jyanagara king to govern Madurai,
involved in any theft. I even suggested crushed a revolt against him. The sus-
that the quarry owner could extract pected brain behind the plot was made
work from my husband to compensate to mount a donkey, holding over his
for the stolen tool if he was not pre- head a pot lled with human excreta,
pared to believe his innocence. The trio which spilled on his face as he was
did not spare me and my parents for taken in a procession.
supporting my husband. They took Even during the days of the barbar-
away my household articles and locked ic feudalism practised in the then com-
my house and that of my parents. Be- posite Thanjavur district, at present
fore dragging my husband and the oth- comprising Thanjavur, Nagapattinam
er worker to the quarry, they hurled and Tiruvarur districts, the landlords
abuses on us. stopped short of this kind of puni-
Bhoopathi said that she had given shment, though erring farm workers
all these details in her complaint to the were forced to drink water laced with
Vanur police. According to her, the cow dung. Such atrocities came to an
quarry owner emptied his bowels and end in 1942, after heroic battles
asked Veerappan to collect the excreta launched by the kisan movement led
in an earthen pot. Then he asked Vel- by communists.
laiyan and Veerappan to swallow it. However, some observers have
Vellaiyan fell at his feet and begged to pointed out that making suspects
be spared. But the quarry owner swallow faeces was part of a third-de-
kicked him saying that the likes of him gree torture method adopted by the
would reform only with such puni- police in the Madras Presidency in the
shment. Disgusted, I started moving pre-Independence era. More recently,
away from the place. But the quarry two Dalits were forced to feed each
owner hit me on my face and my back other human excreta at Thinniyam
and forced me to witness the horrible village in Tiruchi district on May 22,
C. VENKATACHALAPATHY
scene. He also asked the workers in his 2002 (Frontline, October 25, 2002).
quarry to assemble at the venue to view In another incident reported on Janu-
the execution of the punishment. Just ary 14, 2010, a Dalit was allegedly
as my husband and the other worker forced to eat human excreta for walk-
started swallowing the human waste, ing with his footwear on in a residen-
F R O N T L I N E 1 0 7
MARCH 9, 2012
workers was also not uncommon, he

said. Besides, as the workers migrated
ONE O F T H E from one place to another, education
quarries owned of their children became a casualty, he
by the person pointed out. The only residential
who allegedly school for the wards of the quarry
forced Vellaiyan workers, with a strength of 159, was
and another started in 2001 at Rasakkapatti in
quarry worker to Dindigul district, but it was wound up
C. VENKATACHALAPATHY
swallow human last year because there were no funds.
excreta, at Workers usually found themselves
Thiruvakkarai. borrowing sizable amounts as advance
from the quarry owners, and with their
repaying capacity being poor, they lost
their freedom to move over to another
tial area of upper-caste Christians in minimum wage, membership of the quarry. Gnanamani said that quarry
Meikovilpatti village in Dindigul Employees State Insurance Scheme owners had put up makeshift hovels
district. and housing, have not been imple- with thatched roofs on poramboke
Some four years ago, in Thiruvak- mented sincerely. The workers had no lands for workers without basic amen-
karai itself, a relative of a quarry owner title deeds for their house sites though ities such as electricity and drinking
reportedly threatened a worker with they had been residing in areas such as water. Expressing dismay at the nexus
an electric shock if he refused to con- Anna Nagar and M.G.R. Nagar for between politicians, ofcials and quar-
sume human waste for not repaying a more than 40 years, Muthukumaran ry owners irrespective of the party in
loan taken from him, a resident of said, adding that most of their children power, he urged the government to
M.G.R. Nagar alleged. dropped out of school even before protect the rights of the workers and
On September 22, 2003, a group of completing Standard V. Poverty often curb the plunder of natural resources,
caste Hindus splashed water mixed forced the workers to borrow from pri- by taking over all the stone quarries
with faeces on the face of a Dalit wom- vate moneylenders at high rates of and creating a separate board for quar-
an at Urappanur village in Madurai interest. ry workers.
district (The Hindu, September 30, According to the founder of the The travails of these workers in the
2003). She had protested against at- Tamizhnadu Kalludaikkum Thozhila- unorganised sector was captured on
tempts by an upper-caste man to sub- lar Sangam (Tamil Nadu Stone Crush- camera by the poet and documentary
ject her to sexual assault. ers Union), S.P. Gnanamani, who has lm-maker Kutti Revathi in Kal Ma-
However, in the recent incident at been working among stone quarry nithargal (Stone Humans) for the
Thiruvakkarai, both the victims and workers from the 1970s, out of 7.5 lakh Dindigul-based Quarry Workers De-
the accused belonged to the same Most families depending on the stone quar- velopment Society a couple of years
Backward community, local residents ries in the State, 5.5 lakh families work ago, he said.
said. as bonded labourers. Though the K. Ravi, deputy general secretary
State government implemented a of the State unit of the All India Trade
THE LARGER PICTURE scheme in the 1990s to give a certain Union Congress (AITUC), said there
The Thiruvakkarai episode has also number of quarries in lease to the were 15,000 stone quarries spread
brought to the fore the appalling living workers freed from bondage, many of over 20 districts providing employ-
conditions, the hazardous working en- them have become defunct, owing to ment to 4.5 lakh workers. About 20 per
vironment, and the absence of social lack of adequate support from the au- cent of the quarries were unauthor-
security that quarry workers put up thorities, he said. The workers had ised. Both men and women were work-
with. S. Muthukumaran, convener of been paid piece rate wages, he said, ing in inhuman conditions, and they
the Villupuram district unit of the adding that the minimum wages were were not even provided proper treat-
TNUEF, said there were over 100 xed six years ago. In the absence of ment in the event of accidents at the
stone quarries in the district and proper monitoring by the authorities workplace. They would lose their jobs
around 40 were located in Thiruvak- concerned, labour laws and safety if they protested, he said.
karai. A sizable number of the workers, measures are not enforced in the quar- V.A. Rameshnathan, director of
who live in grinding poverty, are mi- ries. The workers had to face the on- Tindivanam-based Social Awareness
grants from Salem and Dharmapuri slaught of the authorities as they were Society for Youths, urged the govern-
districts. entrusted the job of purchasing explo- ment to order a probe into alleged sex-
Labour laws and statutory bene- sives for blasting the rocks, he alleged. ual assaults against women workers in
ts, which would include an assured Sexual harassment of women the stone quarries of the State.
1 0 8 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
Column
Murder in school
Unless there are enlightened parents who play their roles when their wards are
very young, such crimes will recur.
OR quite some time, there every parent and teacher is likely to
F have been signs that India is

fast becoming a dangerous
place to live in. Far too
many homicides and rapes
in relatively well-protected urban cen-
tres have become a matter of great con-
cern. The incident of February 9, in
demand administrative and police ac-
tion to ensure that such an incident
never repeats itself. There are no mag-
ic bullets to achieve this. The incident
is very much in line with what has been
happening periodically on campuses
in the United States. There are, howev-
Chennai, when a schoolteacher was er, differences. The weapon used there
stabbed to death by her student right is invariably a gun that makes the mad
inside the classroom, took the cake for adventure more dramatic, one that ex-
its utter savagery. Like many places in tracts more number of lives. We must
the rest of India, Chennai has lost its thank our stars that in our country it is
earlier sheen and its image as a placid less easy to gain access to guns. But, for
and conservative city where life was so how long? I have my own fears because
low-paced that there were few charac-
teristically urban perils.
Law and Order international travel has become rela-
tively easy and our borders are dis-
The following strike me readily as a R.K. RAGHAVAN tinctly porous, as many acts of
Chennaiite as reasons for this appar- terrorism in the recent past have re-
ent transformation: growing af- vealed. It requires extraordinary vigi-
uence, with information pride of the Indian police establish- lance to curb the ow of weapons from
technology-related jobs nearly wiping ment. Still that does not wholly explain across the border and also the domes-
out unemployment among the tech- the sheer monstrosity of the school- tic availability of crude rearms. The
nically qualied youth and casual jobs boys crime. The teenage offender, now task is extremely difcult in the con-
for the unskilled so easily available; an remanded to a juvenile home, is a boy text of a political scene that is becom-
escalating inux of diverse population, who was generally well behaved, and a ing increasingly volatile. Citizen
especially from the eastern and north- recluse by many accounts. That he awareness alone can be effective. We
eastern regions; and a political ambi- should be so incensed by a stern teach- cannot expect a corrupt police force to
ence of unrivalled animosity and bit- er who was merely trying to make her bring the professionalism that is called
terness between three or four principal students focus on academics without for here.
players, none of whom hesitate to use distraction bafes us. Further investi- Like many developing countries,
violence at the drop of a hat. Also, gation could throw up facts that might India has placed the right accent on
Chennai is the seat of Kollywood, change theories which are normally mass education. We need at least a
which makes a large number of movies touted when such a ghastly crime takes modestly educated population and an
each year. Apart from a few exceptions, place. For now, this is the case of a even more qualied workforce. This
a majority of them depict sex and vio- youngster whose emotions were unat- brings in huge numbers from a diverse
lence with abandon. This is a cocktail tended to and who had to give vent to population into our schools and colleg-
that can be explosive and lethal. It has his fury arising out of his inability to es. There is, therefore, an uneven men-
indeed proved to be so. cope with the somewhat stern aca- tal make-up and diverse family values.
The brutal incident at the Chennai demic demands. This phenomenon brings its own
school was only waiting to happen. The incident will certainly demor- problem of varied responses to aca-
Why it happened is only partially ex- alise students and teachers alike. Rela- demic rigours. If the Chennai boy was
plainable. Policing standards in the tions between the two groups are likely unequal to the demands made on him ,
State have no doubt declined some- to be marked by circumspection for a it was no fault of his. He may have tried
what. This is attributable to the utter while before they can come back to to do better but in vain. This is the
politicisation of what was once the normal. In these days of quick xes, tragedy of a nation that wants to gallop
F R O N T L I N E 1 0 9
MARCH 9, 2012
were about 26,000 cases registered

against juveniles in 2010. Of these, 90
per cent were under the Indian Penal
Code (IPC). The rest were under spe-
cial and local laws. This would high-
light the gravity of the scene, even if the
overall gures show a declining trend
(2010 saw a 5 per cent fall in IPC
cases). Offences committed by juve-
niles included murder as well as rape.
Violations of the Arms Act also came to
notice, resulting in more than 150 reg-
istered cases. About 30,000 juveniles
S.S. KUMAR
were arrested during the year. This
represented 1 per cent of the total
OU TS I D E T H E S C H O O L in Chennai where the teacher Uma Maheshwari numbers arrested by the police in the
(below) was murdered inside a classroom. whole country. More than 60 per cent
of the juveniles arrested in 2010 came
to reach standards talking here of keeping from families that earned less than
achieved by the advanced track of the abnormal be- Rs.25,000 a year.
nations in the West, with- haviour of individual stu- The Juvenile Justice (Care and
out building a strong foun- dents. Protection) Act, 2000, is the principal
dation in terms of basic The Chennai boy who legislation that aims at prevention of
education. killed his teacher does not delinquency and treatment of offend-
Two aspects of the in- seem to have come to ad- ers. It contemplates creation of district
cident call for introspec- verse notice prior to the welfare boards and child welfare com-
tion. They relate crime. It is doubtful mittees. Courts in the country, includ-
respectively to the quality whether psychiatric ing the Supreme Court, have had
of policing in the country screening would have re- occasion to come down heavily on the
S.S. KUMAR
and the efcacy of our juve- vealed anything abnormal governments lack of sensitivity in
nile justice system in pre- about him. The sheer tending to children who had lapsed
venting recidivism among magnitude of the task is into deviance because of a variety of
juvenile delinquents. First, will a more forbidding. The idea of providing some adverse domestic circumstances.
honest and professional police force be fundamental training to students on The media have also been faulted
able to prevent such gory happenings? how to look for aberration in fellow several times on this score. The train-
My answer is in the negative. A police students seems sensible. This may not ing that policemen receive in the area
force can hardly prevent individual be a foolproof measure. Yet it is better is at best token, which hardly help
aberration from manifesting itself as than the current situation where ab- build a humane criminal justice sys-
conventional crime. It can at best tack- normal behaviour remains unnoticed. tem. Without a major change of mind-
le group violence with some success. Ultimately, therefore, the responsib- set among all the members of the
Even here the track record of the Indi- ility is solely that of the family. This is system, India cannot truthfully claim
an police is patchy. where we are slipping very fast. The in international fora that it has a posi-
Communal clashes in different slide will continue unless there is en- tive perception of the tasks which are
parts of the country and the apparent lightenment within the next genera- mandated to it to ensure that a stray
lack of objectivity in handling them tion of parents. If they do not play their child is handled differently from an
through quick and impartial responses role at a very young age of their wards, adult criminal. There is no doubt a
are a part of the countrys history, espe- we will have many more episodes simi- refreshing approach on the part of
cially since Independence. There is the lar to the Chennai one. some non-governmental organisa-
obvious issue of making our schools tions dedicated to the task. It is any-
and college campuses more secure. It JUVENILE CRIME SCENE bodys guess, however, as to how far
is preposterous to believe that one or How grave is the problem of juvenile they will be able to bring about a cul-
two policemen posted in select institu- delinquency in the country? For a tural change among their peers. This is
tions prone to violence will keep at bay broad assessment of the problem, we where lies the crucial role of enlight-
elements identied as potential mis- must turn to Crime in India (CII) 2010 ened citizens, who need to be innova-
chief mongers in the locality. Even if (the ofcial publication of the Ministry tive and not look to the government for
such deployment is possible, we are of Home Affairs). Altogether, there assistance and inspiration.
1 1 0 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
Interview
Social
inertia
the
main
obstacle
THULASI KAKKAT
Interview with Richard M. Stallman, founder of the GNU project and free
software campaigner. B Y P R A S A N T H R A D H A K R I S H N A N
A lot of computers cant run with a variety of software packages and tools that are
being used by millions of people all over the world
free software either because part and have wide-ranging applications ranging from
governance, education and health care to animation.
of the hardware specs is secret or The central idea of the free software is that users
should be free to run any version of a software pro-
because these computers are tyrants gram for any purpose, modify the source code and
create a new version and distribute the program.
and they wont allow users to choose In India, organisations such as FSF-India and
the Free Software Movement of India (FSMI) have
their own software. been active in spreading awareness of the ideology
and practical benets of free software. The FSMI is
RICHARD M. STALLMAN has been an indefat- an umbrella organisation of 16 regional and sectoral
igable campaigner for the cause of free software for movements and aims to bridge the digital divide
nearly 29 years now. Stallman founded the GNU based on free software and mobilising the underpriv-
project in 1983 and established the Free Software ileged. Stallman was in Chennai recently to deliver a
Foundation (FSF) in 1985, and was the brain behind lecture at IIT Madras on Free Software, Freedom
the GNU General Public Licence one of the rst and Education organised by the Free Software
instances of a copyleft licence which has revolu- Foundation, Tamil Nadu, which is a part of the
tionised the perception of ownership and intellec- FSMI. Excerpts from an interview he gave Frontline:
tual property rights(a term Stallman despises).
There are many in the academic community and
GNU (a recursive acronym for GNUs not Unix)
industry who use terms such as Open Source, FOSS
programs in combination with the Linux kernel have
F R O N T L I N E 1 1 1
MARCH 9, 2012
(Free and Open Source Software) and

FLOSS (Free/Libre/Open Source I know how to lots of people use one and lots of people
are contributing to it.
Software) while referring to free
software. How exactly do you say free as in What do you see as the main
challenges for the GNU project?
differentiate them?
Let me explain the differences and freedom in There are several. A lot of comput-
relationships between these terms. I
launched the free software movement quite a few ers cant run with free software either
because part of the hardware specs is
in 1983 for freedom for users of soft-
ware. The idea was that users deserve languages. secret or because these computers are
tyrants and they wont allow users to
to control their computing. Proprie- choose their own software. So those
tary software subjugates users. Its an know how to say gratis in quite a few are the main direct obstacles.
injustice and should not exist. So we languages too. So I can make the dif- At a deeper level, the biggest obsta-
wanted to develop a free software spe- ference clear to as many people as cle is social inertia the fact that so
cically to enable people to escape pro- possible. many people use proprietary software
prietary software. The rst thing we and by doing so pressure many others
did was to develop a free operating Often students or even activists ask into using the same proprietary soft-
system called GNU. what is so special about a name as ware; the fact that many social institu-
As GNU, in combination with the long as you are using the same tions that are inuential push people
Linux kernel, had some success in the product. to use proprietary software. And often,
1990s, there were many people who A name has a meaning. You use a that is because proprietary software
did not agree with the free software different name and it has a different developers have made deals with
movement or who had not heard its meaning. Besides, its not just about them. Thus, when Microsoft and Ap-
ideas but used free software only for using the same program. I do not like ple and AutoCad make deals to put
practical purposes. So, in 1998, these to refer to free software as a product. A their software into schools, they know
people coined the term open source product is something you make to sell. what they are doing. They are planning
and they set up a different discourse I think of the GNU system as some- to purchase schools inuence as part
raising different issues. They did not thing that we make so that we can live of their end-plan, which is to maintain
raise the issue in ethical terms at all or in freedom. their colonial empire.
say it was a matter of the good vs evil So I dont normally call it a prod-
ways to distribute software. They said uct. But if others do, it reects the LIBERATION OF CYBERSPACE
the issue was only about practical ben- philosophical way they look at the
ets. So these are two philosophies question. They think of it as merely In one of your essays, you have
which differ at the deepest possible something they can get from some- written that the interest in free
levels namely values. where and use. And, thats true but software is growing faster than the
Then there were those who wanted thats not all of it. However, that is all awareness of the philosophy it is
to study the practical methods of the they might be aware of. based on and this leads to trouble.
community and to avoid choosing a So they would not know why it Why is this so?
side between two political camps; matters. When they see there is an idea Our goal was the liberation of cy-
some of them began using FLOSS, a of free software and that people who berspace. We would like everyone to
name that gives equal weight to the advocate open source do not agree use free software and only use free soft-
two names. Others use the term FOSS, with that idea, they will see why there ware because then they will have free-
and they tend to direct attention main- are different names here; they are dif- dom. However, the goal is not how
ly towards open source. In addition, ferent names for different uses. many people use a particular set of
there is nothing to indicate that the software. It is how many people have
term free is used here as in free- The GNU project is almost 30 years freedom. And that goal is long term.
dom. So people end up thinking it is old. What do you think has been its We are not aiming to maximise the
free as in gratis. So if you want to use a biggest success? number of people who have freedom a
term like that, use FLOSS not FOSS. Our biggest success is that there is year from now. We are aiming to liber-
However, I do not want to be neutral now a free operating system and that ate cyberspace, and that will take more
between these two political stands. I in various machines you can more or than a year. All things being equal, it is
want to call attention to freedom. less replace proprietary software. probably better if more people use free
Therefore, I dont say FLOSS or FOSS. Thats our success. In fact, that was programs a year from now than fewer.
I say free, libre, swatantra software. what I was aiming for at the beginning. But thats not the whole goal. But peo-
I know how to say free as in free- But, in fact, we have gone beyond just ple who develop programs have a tend-
dom in quite a few languages and I having a free operating system because ency to take that as a goal. They think,
1 1 2 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
in the United States and the ongoing

court case in India against Internet
giants such as Facebook and Google
have had people drawing parallels
between the two instances. How far is
it accurate?
SOPA/PIPA was meant to set up a
censorship system specically for the
purpose of stopping people from shar-
ing. But as a side-effect, false copyright
claims, which are already frequently
used to censor information, would
have become more signicant and it
would have become very easy to shut
down a site based on an accusation of
copyright infringement.
Now what India is doing is very
different. Here, we are talking about
explicit, undisguised censorship. Cen-
sorship is tyranny and the worst kind
of tyranny is the censorship of ideas.
And it is based on the idea that some
people are not to be offended, that oth-
ers dont have the right to say anything
that offends them. Now, this is an in-
justice in itself because nobody can
have that kind of privilege and its tyr-
anny even to give somebody the kind of
privilege that forces people to keep
quiet. Freedom of speech means the
K.K.MUSTAFAH
right to criticise and even offend any-

body. Whatever your views are, people
have the right to say thats drivel!
TH E FR E E S O F T W A R E Foundation has been active in spreading awareness Governments are slowly turning
of the ideology and practical benets of free software. Here, a stall put up themselves into tyranny and thats a
by its India chapter at an IT fair in Kerala. A le picture. worldwide tendency.
I want to have as many people using opportunity to support the valuing of There is, of course, the issue that
my program in a few years from now freedom. some of the arguments being raised
and they seek more users by doing against censorship in India are by
things that hurt users freedoms. And CENSORSHIP IS TYRANNY Internet giants who have earlier
because in the long run having free- collaborated with governments in
dom depends on demanding freedom One major advantage of free software deleting offensive content or do not
and valuing freedom, anything that is the possibility of localisation. How have that good a record when it
suggests to others that freedom is not signicant a feature is it? comes to users privacy.
the goal will mean less freedom. Localisation is one purpose for When it comes to the ght against
So if your main concern is how which users can change free software. censorship, I am happy to see anyone
many people use your program in the That they can do so is one of the conse- join in. When we are ghting a difcult
short term and maybe you make a site quences of the freedom for which we ght and someone shows up to help, it
to distribute add-ons to your program developed free software. Although, to is a mistake to say, Their help is not
and let people give non-free add-ons, be honest, I would be the wrong person pure and its not good. It is help and if
you basically kill the idea that freedom to answer this question as I have no it helps win that battle, we should not
is a goal. So, there you are not contrib- need for localisation. reject it. Now, that does not mean that
uting to educating people about free- we should pretend they are pure; they
dom. Your program might be free and The recent SOPA(Stop Online Piracy might be hypocritical or inconsistent
it may be useful but you missed an Act)/PIPA (Protect IP Act) controversy but at least they helped us that day.
F R O N T L I N E 1 1 3
Interview MARCH 9, 2012
platform for other services, and some most everyone in Congress voted for
of them are bad for other reasons. I this Bill. What this means is human
would recommend that people use a rights in the U.S. are almost dead.
peer-to-peer social networking system They are partly still in existence, just
so that there is no central server and, drifting along. But whenever there is
thus, nobody collecting a lot of infor- an opportunity to attack them, they get
mation about people and passing that attacked. And most Americans appar-
on to Big Brothers. ently support this. They do not appre-
ciate their own rights. They must be
The issues of censorship and telling themselves, Nobody would ev-
government restrictions on free er call me an Al Qaeda supporter.
speech have larger implications on They must be telling themselves, No-
demands for transparency from the body in my government would ever
government. lie.
I do not demand transparency. I
campaign for freedom. Transparency It seems government policy in the U.S.
M. SPENCER GREEN/AP
is useful, but I see that as a smaller is curiously bipartisan on this issue.

thing compared to stopping the really Yes, it is surprising. And there may
horrible things we know the govern- be something behind that. I cannot say
ment is doing, such as torture, impris- for sure. But, apparently, in the case of
onment without trial, killing people this law, in the Senate it was the Demo-
U .S. P R E S I D E N T B A RA C K Obama. arbitrarily, launching wars of aggres- crats who were in favour and in the
"Obama is very hostile towards sion. Sometimes we need investigation House of Representatives, it was the
whistle-blowers," says Stallman. to nd out what is going on, but often Republicans. I cannot say why this
they are happening right in front of us. happened at this specic point of time,
You have been a vocal critic of the though.
risks of social networking. What are HUMAN RIGHTS ALMOST DEAD
they and can there be an alternative? The Occupy Wall Street movement
I do not use any social networking I was also referring to a case like that tried to organise a sustained protest
and I wont because it is inconvenient of Bradley Manning (a U.S. soldier against such tendencies. Do you think
for me. All I will do is point out some of who was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq it could be the origin of a viable
the things that are bad about existing on the charge of having passed solution?
social networks. First of all, social net- classied data to WikiLeaks), where I cannot really say. There are a lot
working sites should not encourage civil society in America seems quite of things that could work but how to
people to think that they have any pri- powerless to do anything about it. make them work is the hard part. A lot
vacy. If you put something on a social Well, [President] Obama is very of people try things and sometimes,
networking system and you let some hostile towards whistle-blowers. Oba- they work somewhat. But things often
people see it, any of them might pub- ma protects torturers, so I am not sur- keep getting worse. Occupy Wall
lish it. And its not the fault of the social prised that he does not want people to Street tried medium-sized protests,
networking system, its just the nature know what is happening. But there is camping in places. But the govern-
of it. However, an ethical social net- nothing much that people can do. Per- ment took this as an opportunity to say
working system ought to remind users haps, if millions of people stand up and that camping in places as a protest is
frequently that this is possible and if say Bradley Manning, if he is guilty, is not allowed. Basically, thats now pro-
they were embarrassed by something a hero and deserves a medal, then hibited in the U.S. Im afraid that this
that might appear in a newspaper, they Obama might listen. But the number move will turn out to be the main ef-
should not put it in that system. of people who say it is quite small. So fect. It became an opportunity for the
Now there are other bad things support for human rights is weak in U.S. to further ban protests. And, this
that are being done actively. For in- the U.S. too. is what it has done because the govern-
stance, surveillance collecting infor- For instance, a law was passed ment does not advocate democracy or
mation about what people do even as about a month ago permitting impris- human rights. It works for the mega-
they do not know this information is onment without trial. All that the state corporation. A lot of what the protes-
being collected; not letting people get has to do is to call a person a supporter ters condemned was the government
back all their data, etc. Facebook does of Al Qaeda; it obviously does not have subservience to mega corporations.
other nasty things, such as use peoples to prove this. It can put the person in And if the government can reduce the
faces for paid publicity. It also distrib- prison and that person has no rights at possibility of protests, that will be con-
utes video and ash. Facebook is a all. And Obama supported this. Al- sidered a victory by our government.
1 1 4 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
Column
Capital concerns
The rapid political and economic changes taking place in Myanmar have led to
worries of lopsided development and spread of inequality.
HE white elephants in the also a testament to the escalating in-
T enclosure at the foot of the

shining new pagoda are not
really white but tan coloured
with rosy pink hues. There
are three of them, shackled in iron
chains to prevent too much movement.
One of them an adolescent that had
equalities in Myanmar. In a country
where only around one-fth of house-
holds have access to electricity, this
newly built city is a glittering example
of how to waste resources. It was obvi-
ously designed when ecological con-
straints were not considered
probably behaved too friskily for its important, as it is hard to think of a
own good has both front feet tied so more gas-guzzling and carbon-emit-
that it presents anything but a digni- ting way of organising urban life.
ed sight. These constrained animals The city is not near any major wa-
are still highly valued as showpieces ter source, so it will have to draw water
and seen as sacred in Myanmar, but from below ground or elsewhere. Dis-
their weird and unhappy condition tances between any relevant locations
somehow serves as a metaphor for the
countrys extraordinary new capital:
Preoccupations are long, making it difcult to walk to
most places people will need to go to.
very expensive to acquire and main- JAYATI GHOSH Since thus far there is no public trans-
tain, and with uncertain and dubious port, private cars are the main (and
advantages for both owner and owned. often the only) means of transport,
Nay Pyi Taw (literally translated as Parliament Hall is humongous and while those who cannot afford them
The capital) is a new city, still very rather beautiful, seen from the dis- can at best use bicycles to go long dis-
much in the process of becoming one. tance that ordinary observers must tances.
Apparently, it was conceived nearly maintain. There is a vast International Floodlights illuminate the main
two decades before the move from the Convention Centre (built by the Chi- edices even when there is hardly any-
previous capital, Yangon, occurred nese) and a bright new Uppatasanti one around to see them. The gigantic
around seven years ago. Rumour has it Pagoda, not quite as amazing as the ofcial buildings and resort hotels are
that the new capital was chosen be- magnicent Shwedagon in Yangon or generally designed to be ridiculously
cause of astrological warnings to the even the newer replica of Shwedagon extravagant in power use.
ruling junta of dangers coming from in Lashio in the Shan State but impres- At present, the capital is relatively
the sea. Built in secrecy in the waste- sive nonetheless. A major new interna- underpopulated as even most civil ser-
lands of central Myanmar, the would- tional airport is planned. vants have left their families behind in
be metropolis was suddenly inaugu- The citys design also reects a Yangon, and the cheerful congestion
rated in 2005 as civil servants in rather militaristic view of urban life, and urban detritus of most other Asian
Yangon were told without any prior with strictly compartmentalised dis- cities have not had a chance to accu-
warning to move to their new destina- tricts for different activities. Besides mulate. No doubt in a few more years
tion within the week. the ofcial zones, there are residential there will be more signs of life as the
Certainly its design reects grandi- areas with hostels for civil servants and city inevitably develops, though the
ose ambitions. The roads are vast di- villas for senior ofcials; separate ar- initial coldly imperial legacy may be
vided avenues, well paved and very eas for hotels, almost all of which are hard to shake off.
wide, appearing to be even wider be- built resort-style with little golf carts This is not the rst shift of capitals
cause they are mostly empty. The large for internal transport; a different zone in Myanmar. As Thant Myint-U points
ofcial buildings are spaced far apart, for restaurants and entertainment; out in his wonderful book The River of
each set back from the road with its and so on. Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of
own gate and private inner road. The In some ways the new capital is Burma (Farrar Strauss and Giroux),
F R O N T L I N E 1 1 5
MARCH 9, 2012
every major dynasty or regime through discovered offshore natural gas re-
time has seen t to move to its own serves). Much of this investment came
capital even though often that move from countries where the sanctions
was short-lived as those rulers were dictated by Western powers did not
defeated within a few decades. apply, particularly China.
In many ways the new city, with its This was growth that many other
rigidly imposed and hierarchical rules, countries have experienced in the form
seems curiously out of step with the of a resource curse with little diversi-
momentous changes under way in the cation or improvement in general liv-
country. A military regime that had ing standards. The people have mostly
obsessively chosen severe external iso- remained very poor, and the abysmal
lation and harsh internal control over development of basic infrastructure in
many decades now seems to be moving much of the country testies to the
quite rapidly in the opposite direction. unequal spread of the benets of that
Because of the tumultuous past, ob- expansion.
servers are inevitably cautious since Elections in early 2010 were widely
crackdowns can still occur at any time. expected to be a charade, especially
But this time the reforms do seem to when the main opposition political al-
have much more momentum. liance, the National League for De-
mocracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu
The pace of Kyi, chose to boycott them. In any case,

the army retains signicant control,
the change nominating a quarter of the members

of Parliament in the context of a Con-
is startling stitution that requires three-fourths

majority for signicant legislation. But
and even the newly elected government led by

President Thein Sein (with implicit
disconcerting. support from the generals) has moved

much faster to transform the polity
promise of a still unspoilt but exotic
location full of architectural marvels,
than anyone had expected. natural beauty and friendly people.
The outside world often sees politi- In the past few months alone, cea- The pace of the change is startling
cal change in Myanmar in simplistic sere agreements have been signed and even disconcerting, as economic
terms as a contest between the army with several rebel groups and impor- policies get rapidly devised and revised
and the democratic movement led by tant political prisoners have been to t in with the new openness. Local
the much-revered Aung San Suu Kyi, freed, including pro-democracy cam- residents and foreigners who have
but the reality is more complex. Long- paigners. The NLD will ght the April lived for some time in Myanmar seem
running civil wars with a variety of byelections for 48 seats and has started to be equally amazed at the rapidity
often changing enemies not just re- its campaign. with which major policies are being
gional secessionist movements but in- transformed and even laws are being
surrectionist struggles supported by GOLD RUSH changed. There is cautious optimism,
foreign powers have dened the fears The international community has along with old and new concerns.
and repressive tendencies of the ruling been quick to respond, and what has Myanmar must be the only country
elite perhaps even more strongly and been described as the latest Gold where even the International Mone-
driven the progressive militarisation of Rush is well under way. United States tary Fund representative worries that
the polity, the economy and society. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the economic liberalisation process is
Changes have been occurring for a just one among the steady stream of too rapid and needs to be more cau-
while, of course. By the early 1990s, the international leaders visiting Myan- tiously worked out and paced. There
regime had abandoned any preten- mar. Chinese investors have been ac- are real dangers that the sudden inow
sions it may have had about the Bur- tive for a while, but now other of global capital will put the economy
mese way to socialism and opted for businessmen are rushing in as well, on a trajectory that will provide imme-
military-backed economic expansion eager to get a piece of the resource pie diate enrichment of a few in the initial
based on foreign investment in extrac- before it is shared out by the early phase but then lead not only to even
tive industries (including not just birds. International aid agencies are more inequality and unbalanced de-
plantation crops but oil, minerals and setting up or expanding their ofces. velopment but also to destruction of
precious metals, and then the newly Even tourists are coming, lured by the traditional livelihoods without enough
1 1 6 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
new jobs being created, instability, cri-

ses and environmental damage.
Fortunately, there are also those in
government who seem to be aware of
these dangers and of the need to tread
carefully. A conference organised in
mid-February by the United Nations
and the Myanmar government on de-
velopment policy options brought to-
gether many economists from
different parts of the world, including
two famous economists of Myanma-
rese origin who were returning home
after four or ve decades. As they
pointed to these dangers and suggest-
ed ways of avoiding them, Ministers
and senior bureaucrats took notes. The
most important latecomer advantage
of all was identied: the ability to learn
from the mistakes of others.
Recently, construction was stop-
ped at a major dam on the Ayeyarwa-
dy, or Irrawaddy, river at Myikyina
KHIN MAUNG WIN/AFP that was being built by the Chinese, at
the personal intervention of the Presi-
dent. This was remarkable in a country
that still has no environmental laws
and regulations and where respect for
IN TH E N E W capital, Nay Pyi Taw. Since there is no public transport, private the concerns of displaced peoples has
cars are the main means of transport, while those who cannot afford them been haphazard as best. Issues such as
can at best use bicycles to go long distances. (Below) Workers being taken poverty, inequality and corruption,
from a construction site in Nay Pyi Taw. which could at best be whispered
about some time ago, can now be dis-
cussed and debated openly at govern-
ment-sponsored conferences, a rst
step towards greater ofcial concern
and maybe even accountability.
AN EXCITING TIME
This is an exciting time for Myanmar,
with all sorts of possibilities opening
up after decades. Certainly, things
could go in either direction, and there
is no dearth of external interests push-
ing for particular types of policy move-
ment. The countrys strategic location
between China and India and its abun-
dance of relatively unexploited natural
bounties make things even more com-
plicated.
It may be too much to hope that
DAMIR SAGOLJ/REUTERS
Myanmar can very quickly move away

from the imbalances exemplied in its
new capital, but there is no doubt that
its political economy is moving into
uncharted waters.
F R O N T L I N E 1 1 7
FOCUS DRDO MARCH 9, 2012
Indian eye in the sky

The CABS is the DRDOs nodal agency for developing an indigenous airborne early
warning system for the IAF. B Y T . S . S U B R A M A N I A N
On December 6, 2011, an Embraer which is a unit of the Defence Research and Devel-
opment Organisation (DRDO). He has been at the
EMB-145 tted with the Indian helm of affairs since January 1, 2007.
Elsewhere inside the aircraft was an Airborne
AEW&C System made its maiden Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system sim-
ulator. You can simulate any kind of aircraft, radars,
ight in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It had and emitters in the form of radars, which can be
airborne or ground-based, said Reena Sharma, sci-
about 1,000 mission system entist, CABS. In OWS-3 is the electronics support
measures (ESM) system, which provides the bearing
components developed by the CABS. and location of hostile emitters and analyses their
characteristics. The communication support mea-
sures (CSM) intercepts communication signals and
analyses them. The Mission Systems Controller
(MSC), the heart of the AEW&C system, integrates
the data from all the sensors and facilitates the air-
borne surveillance operations. All the ve OWSs
were developed in-house by CABS scientist Rekha
Sinha and her team. On December 6, 2011, an Em-
braer EMB-145 tted with the Indian AEW&C sys-
tem made its maiden ight at Sao Jose dos Campos
at Sao Paulo in Brazil. It had about 1,000 mission
system components developed by the CABS, includ-
K. MURALI KUMAR
ing the critical Active Electronic Scanning Array

(AESA) developed by the Electronics and Radar De-
velopment Establishment (LRDE), Bangalore, a
DRDO laboratory. While the antenna called Active
Test and Integration Rig at the Centre for
IN TH E S YS T E M Antenna Array Unit (AAAU) is made by CABS, the
Airborne Systems (CABS) in Bangalore. AESA radar, which is the processor part of the
AAAU, is made by the LRDE.
A MODEL on a table of a Brazilian Embraer The ight is a major milestone towards realising
aircraft with an antenna mounted on its fuselage the dream of developing an AEW&C system indige-
caught the eye as we entered a hall in the System Test nously, which will put India in a select club of coun-
and Integration Rig (STIR) unit at the Centre for tries, said V.K. Saraswat, DRDO Director General
Airborne Systems (CABS) in Bangalore. Inside, and Scientic Adviser to the Defence Minister.
women software specialists were busy in front of While this aircraft will now undergo a full certi-
computer screens. A few feet away, a life-size model cation process over the next two years, India will
of the fuselage of the Embraer EMB-145 aircraft had receive two more Embraer aircraft by the middle of
been modied into ve operator work stations next year to be integrated with the AEW&C System.
(OWS) where Indian Air Force (IAF) ofcers were The Indian AESA radar is the primary sensor for
simulating combat situations on computer screens. the indigenous AEW & C. The radar can look 240
In an air battle, it is the pilot-controller coor- degrees within a short time and has a range of 350
dination and trust that will win the battle. This km; it can track more than 500 targets simultane-
software is one of its kind and has been developed by ously.
the CABS, said S. Christopher, Director, CABS, The DRDO is spearheading the indigenous
1 1 8 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
FOCUS DRDO
AEW&C programme with the CABS as
the nodal agency. The latter is execut-
ing it in association with DRDO lab-
oratories such as the LRDE; the
Defence Avionics Research Establish-
ment (DARE), Bangalore; the Defence
Electronics Research Laboratory
(DLRL), Hyderabad; and the Defence
Electronics Application Laboratory
(DEAL), Dehradun. Each of these lab-
oratories is developing subsystems for
the AEW&C programme.
The IAF has stationed an Air Force
Project Team at the CABS to interact
with the in-house team and convey the
IAFs requirements. Air Commodore indigenous development of 2,700 IFF aircraft and congured it for the ight.
A.I. Mehta is the Project Director of systems and the Services want a single- Embraers engineers also received the
the team. box solution in the IFF system. The air-worthy certication for the aircraft
The Brazilian Embraer aircraft government has the option of buying from the Agencia Nacional de Aviacao
EMB-145 was chosen because Brazil, the remaining 500 IFF systems in the Civil, the Brazilian agency responsible
Mexico and Greece had based their global market. for overseeing the safety of civil avia-
AEW&C systems on this aircraft. The It was a challenge for the CABS to tion in that country.
DRDO was tasked with the mission. integrate the AEW&C system compo- In the second level, when the three
The primary radar mounted on the nents in the Embraer transport air- aircraft with the Indian AEW&C sys-
Embraer aircraft is the AESA radar. craft. While the aircrafts payload tems are delivered in India after ight
The secondary surveillance sensor is capacity was four tonnes, the AAAU trials in Brazil, the remaining mission
the Identication of Friend or Foe alone weighed 1.5 tonnes. Besides, systems will be integrated inside the
(IFF) system. Two radiating planar ar- there were ve OWSs with electronic cabin and the IAF will do the ight
rays assembled back-to-back and systems inside, crew seats, special pro- trials again. The CABS will be respon-
mounted on the fuselage in an AAAU tection suites, and so on. sible for having the AEW & C system
will provide 120 degrees coverage on The AAAU had to be mounted on certied for mission functions and
either side of the AAAU. The impor- the fuselage without affecting the air- ight safety in association with the IAF
tant modes of operation of the system crafts structure and stability. If the and the Centre for Military Airworthi-
are surface surveillance and air sur- aircraft were to crash, the AAAU ness and Certication (CEMILAC),
veillance, Christopher said. should not get detached. The attach- Bangalore.
The IFF system has been devel- ment had to be capable of bearing nine Massive facilities that the CABS
oped entirely by the CABS. Christoph- times the weight of the AAAU, that is, has built on its premises include an
er said, The IFF determines whether 13.5 tonnes, said Christopher. The at- anechoic chamber, a lightning test fa-
the target determined the primary ra- tachment is done with only four bolts, cility, and highly accelerated life test-
dar is a friend or foe. The interrogator which should be able to carry all the ing (HALT) and highly accelerated
emits a message querying the target in weight. Each bolt, made of titanium, stress screening (HASS) facilities. The
a particular sector. has a diameter of one anechoic chamber is a huge shielded
Replies from the tar- inch. facility, 35x15x18 metres. The AESA
get are automatically There are two lev- radar is tested here.
associated with the els of operation here. In the lightning test facility, arti-
primary radar detec- In the rst, the aircraft cial lightning of four million volts is
tions. This informa- is modied in Brazil created to test the effect of lightning on
tion is then used by and the DRDO sent all aircraft and ensure that the electronics
the AEW&C system to the components, in- inside are not affected. The AAAU un-
identify friendly and cluding the antenna, derwent qualication here. S.K. Ven-
K. MURALI KUMAR
unfriendly aircraft in the AAAU with dum- katesh, scientist, CABS, is the architect
the area and deal with my electronics, and so of the facility. In the HALT and HASS
them appropriately. on for integration with facilities, different components are
The Defence Ac- the aircraft. M/s Em- hammered or subjected to freezing
quisition Council has D R S . C H RI S T O P H ER, braer Engineers or scorching temperatures to ensure
given approval for the Director, CABS. mounted them on the they are robust.
F R O N T L I N E 1 1 9
FOCUS DRDO MARCH 9, 2012
Microwave masters
The MTRDCs work on microwave tubes puts India in an elite club of countries
engaged in developing this tough technology. B Y T . S . S U B R A M A N I A N
MWTs nd applications in civilian ment and brazing, thin-lm coating, high-frequency

measurements, high-voltage testing and environ-
systems, high-end communication mental testing for reliability, said Lalit Kumar. The
state-of-the-art J.C. Bose Microwave Tube Facility,
systems and many defence systems. inaugurated recently at the MTRDC by V.K. Sa-
raswat, Scientic Adviser to the Defence Minister,
The MTRDC develops microwave willboost research and development of MWTs, he
added. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Banga-
power modules, electronic power lore, is the production agency for the MWTs and
radars, electronic warfare systems and data links.
conditioners and high-density The MTRDC is situated inside the BEL complex. It
was the vision of V.S. Arunachalam, former Scien-
cathodes for defence systems. tic Adviser to the Defence Minister, that led to the
establishment of the laboratory. Former heads of the
OURS is a unique laboratory. Only about 15 MTRDC, such as K.N. Tiwari, M.D. Rajnarayan,
countries in the world are engaged in research in K.U. Limaye nurtured it. The MTRDCs goal is to
microwave tubes, which is a tough technology area, facilitate Em-power to empower the defence.
says Lalit Kumar, Director of the Microwave Tube The modern name for MWTs is vacuum electron
Research and Development Centre (MTRDC), Ban- devices (VEDs). But all VEDs are not necessarily
galore. Microwave tubes, or MWTs, nd applica- MWTs. VED is the family name, while MWT forms
tions in civilian systems, high-end communication the subset. MWTs are VEDs capable of generating or
systems and many defence systems. In fact, it is the amplifying high-frequency signals for various de-
MWTs onboard satellites that send signals to ground fence and civilian applications in communications,
stations. Each satellite carries 30 to 40 travelling radars, electronic warfare and integrated support
wave tubes (TWTs), which have high channel width, measures (ISM) systems. Microwaves travel in mat-
efciency and life. ter in the same way light waves do but can penetrate
The MTRDC is one of 52 laboratories of the most materials other than metals and other electrical
Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) across the country. Its mandate is to work
in the development of MWTs for the DRDOs Elec-
tronics and Radar Development Establishment
(LRDE), the Defence Electronics Research Labora-
tory, the Defence Avionics Research Establishment,
and the Defence Avionics Application Laboratory
(which develops radar, electronic warfare equip-
ment and communication and data link systems for
the military). The MTRDC also develops microwave
power modules (MPMs), electronic power condi-
tioners (EPCs), high-density cathodes, and so on for
various defence systems.
The technological capability necessary for mak-
ing these devices include computer-aided design and
simulation, ultra-high vacuum, special purpose pre-
cision machining, protective atmosphere heat treat-
I N T H E A S S EM B LY room at the MTRDC.
1 2 0 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
FOCUS DRDO
conductors. Motion of point metals and pre- race, with the rst half of the race (for
electrons in vacuum is cious metals. They are low power) won by the former and the
most critical in MWTs, expensive because they second half (for high power) won by
which also nd applica- cannot be mass pro- the VEDs. MPMs are used in ight-
tion in deep space com- duced. For instance, a level radars (FLR) manufactured by
munication, energy magnetron used in a BEL, Bangalore. The weight and vol-
generation by fusion, microwave oven may ume of these radars, which earlier em-
sintering of ceramics in cost about Rs.500. But ployed big high-power amplier racks,
industry, processing of a military magnetron have come down by ten times after the
materials and in med- will cost not less than employment of MPMs.
K. MURALI KUMAR
ical applications such as Rs.500,000 because so The MTRDC is also working on
imaging and hyperther- much sophistication vacuum micro-electron devices, which
mia. goes into its microwave will combine the best of solid state and
The purpose behind tube. We have made de- vacuum devices. The MTRDC has also
using MWTs is to am- vices that will sell at mastered the development of high-
LA LI T K U M A R, M T RD C
plify power. They can Rs.50 lakh to Rs.60 density dispenser cathodes. A cathode,
Director.
amplify microwave lakh a piece. the emitter of electrons, is the most
power a million times more, that is, TWTs are MWTs of special design, important part of any MWT and is the
one milliwatt into 100 watts and one made using a broadband circuit in component that determines the tubes
watt into a megawatt. They are rugged which a beam of electrons interacts life. Several batches of cathodes for
devices. Some of these devices, used in continuously with a guided electro- helix TWTs, CCTWTs and magnetrons
satellites, last in space for about 15 magnetic eld to amplify waves. Two have been developed and tested in the
years. The MTRDC did not develop the major classes of TWTs the helix TWT actual tube environment. Their per-
MWTs used in satellites but contrib- and the coupled cavity TWT (CCTWT) formance has been at par with import-
uted to the design of the high-efcien- have been developed. ed equivalents, Bhat said. There are
cy multistage collector for the rst K.S. Bhat, Associate Director, not more than ve manufacturers of
Indian space-qualied TWT devel- MTRDC, said developing VEDS re- cathodes in the world.
oped for ISRO by the Central Elec- quired a coming together of a number The MTRDC has been successful
tronics Engineering Research of disciplines: vacuum technology, in developing highly compact EPCs,
Institute (CEERI) and BEL. electronics, high-power technology, which deliver conditioned power to
Lalit Kumar said: The devices we material science, high-voltage engi- various electrodes of the TWT and sol-
make work for about 10,000 hours. neering, and so on. The MTRDC has id state ampliers. In laymans terms,
Military systems are much more de- developed a number of devices, mostly the EPCs are called power supplies.
manding. Military devices typically TWTs, which are broadband ampli- But power supply is simple technology.
work from 1,000 to 10,000 hours. ers. They have a large market share What we are doing is highly sophisti-
Each of these devices is handcrafted among the MWTs. TWTs contribute cated, state-of-the-art, most compact,
using exotic materials, high melting- to almost half the share of the MWT 95 per cent efcient power converters
market in the world, with all the other for specic devices such as TWTs and
devices such as magnetrons and klys- solid-state ampliers. They also mon-
trons, contributing the rest. Lalit Ku- itor the health, control the operation
mar said: So we have chosen to work and communicate with the host sys-
in this eld, and this is important. We tem of these devices to carry out com-
have already made a high-power X- mands, explained Lalit Kumar.
band CCTWT for the airborne radar, He is happy that the Indian capa-
an S-band CCTWT for the ground- bilities and achievements in vacuum
based radar surveillance radar and electronics were highlighted to the en-
broadband helix TWTs for electronic tire international VED community
warfare applications. from 15 countries when the MTRDC
Apart from these tubes, the hosted the 12th Institute of Electrical
MTRDC is now making complete and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) In-
MPMs, which are highly compact, ef- ternational Vacuum Electronics Con-
cient amplier modules combining the ference (IVEC-2011) in Bangalore in
K. MURALI KUMAR
best attributes of solid state and vacu- February 2011. It was lauded as the
um device technologies. Lalit Kumar largest IVEC gathering outside the
likened the clubbing of solid state and United States and had several rst-
vacuum device technologies to a relay time events.
F R O N T L I N E 1 2 1
letters MARCH 9, 2012
Hindutvas war their religion is in jeopardy. thing, it enriches the reader.

SUSHIL KUMAR ABHISHEK PRAKASH
THE Cover Story (Hindut- AURANGABAD, BIHAR BHOPAL
vas war by other means, THE article Communal SOME of the positive
February 24) gives a true Curriculum in the Cover RSS initiatives have been
and vivid picture of the Story is quite prejudiced. It totally ignored in the Cover
Sangh Parivars strategies. paints all the education re- Story. Its work in areas such
It reminds one of the In- forms of the Gujarat and as tribal development can-
dias rst Prime Minister Karnataka governments not be ignored. The Ekal Vi-
A.M. FARUQUI
Jawaharlal Nehrus warn- with the same brush. While dyalaya scheme is working
ing about Hindu commu- it is unwise to describe the wonders in many tribal
nalism. He said: Muslim minorities as Indias fore- areas.
communalism is much ological bankruptcy. most problem in textbooks, The charge of saffroni-
worse and stronger than The radical outts that there is nothing wrong in in- sation of education in the
Hindu communalism. But create communal dishar- troducing the Bhagvad Gita BJP-ruled States is debat-
Muslim communalism can- mony should be tackled by in schools. Language and able. In that case, we should
not dominate Indian society ensuring the rule of law. literature should not be the also be debating the ques-
and introduce fascism. That P. SENTHIL SARAVANA sole preserve of any religion. tion of reservation for the
only Hindu communalism DURAI To quote the renowned Ur- minority communities.
can. Your Cover Story has VAZHAVALLAN, T.N. du poet Mirza Ghalib: Lan- AMEYA PHADKE
proved it right with various HINDUTVA elements are guages arent the properties THANE, MAHARASHTRA
examples. playing a dirty and danger- of a single religion. A Hindu
BIDYUT KUMAR ous game. They do not want has as much right to learn
CHATTERJEE to accept the fact that India and speak Urdu as Muslims Age row
FARIDABAD is a multi-religious and mul- have to learn Sanskrit.
UNDERLYING socio-eco- ticultural country. Also, there is nothing
nomic tensions are the root While the Cover Story wrong in opening cow pens
cause of all sectarian clashes reports deal with the bigot- (Sacred Cow). So long as
worldwide, be it in North- ed interventions in the cur- the animals are given the
SHAHABZ KHAN/PTI
ern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, riculum, they do not speak kind of care and protection
Sri Lanka or India. of teachers role. A preju- they need, even if it is in the
When there were com- diced teacher is more dan- name of religion, it is good.
munal clashes a few decades gerous than a communal But the Madhya Pradesh
before 2002 in Gujarat, the curriculum. Such teachers governments allocation of
media reported that the will carry their personal be- huge funds for these pens THE controversy over the
problem was the result of liefs and prejudices into the and the neglect of other ani- Army chief, General V.K.
the clandestine return of classroom and interpret les- mals should be condemned. Singhs, age is most unfortu-
Muslims who had migrated sons accordingly. But the RITVIK CHATURVEDI nate (Age of controversy,
to Pakistan during Parti- question is who will monitor NEW DELHI February 24). Dragging the
tion. With the population teachers. FRONTLINE seems to have issue to the court has not
growing, the conditions will S.S. RAJAGOPALAN taken up cudgels on behalf only lowered his prestige
only get worse. Genocide is CHENNAI of pseudo-liberals trying to but also undermined the au-
not a civilised solution. OUR Constitution gives us show that cow protection is thority of his ofce. This al-
CHUDAMANI RATNAM the right not only to follow divisive and communal so shows that all is not well
NEW DELHI our religion but also to re- and teaching the Gita is within the defence estab-
THE political parties are bene it. So outts such as the some Hindutva agenda. The lishment.
hind communal violence. RSS should focus on better- Gita is taught in famous One fails to understand
They play the communal ing the lot of the community management institutes why he raked up the issue
card to strengthen their vote they claim to represent rath- abroad. Does this make when he was about to retire.
banks. Most political parties er than inaming the minds them communal? The Gita It would be better that the
suffer from moral and ide- of the youth by saying that has lessons for life. If any- General quits gracefully in
1 2 6 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
the larger interests of In- fact of his appointment. The lings contribution to the
dias most disciplined force. age determines his date of promotion and preservation
K.R. SRINIVASAN retirement and the opportu- of the States natural trea-
SECUNDERABAD nity for others to succeed sures and traditional cul-
THE age row has exposed him. ture must be appreciated.
ANJUM NAVEED/AP
what transpires within the Having two dates of JANGA BAHADUR
hallowed corridors of the birth and not providing the SUNUWAR
Army headquarters. One correct one with evidence or BAGRAKOTE
fact that is strikingly clear is failing to get the correction WEST BENGAL
the role of his predecessors done in time amounts to
in the episode. On the one misconduct. An age dispute in the history of Pakistan on
hand, they kept Gen. V.K. should not result in injustice the issue of reopening graft India
Singh suitably mollied by to others. It is quite improp- cases against President Asif JUSTICE Markandey Kat-
not denying him his due er to demand a correction in Ali Zardari. jus essay What is India
promotions and, on the oth- the date of birth with a view The court seems to be (February 10) is based on
er, ensured that his tenure to extending ones tenure. overreaching itself on this the erroneous assumption
was truncated in such a S. RAGHUNATHA PRABHU issue. The Swiss authorities that India has been a
manner. ALAPPUZHA, KERALA have already closed the country since the beginning.
ANIL JOSHI cases of graft. Under the Na- The essay does not deal with
NAINITAL tional Reconciliation Ordi- the nation-state which came
UTTARAKHAND Farmers suicides nance (NRO), 2007, into existence on August 15,
FOR an ordinary citizen if THE cases of suicide by Zardari enjoys immunity 1947, but with the subconti-
the exact date of birth is not farmers in West Bengal are from prosecution not only nent, which is a rather ge-
known or if it is not in the unfortunate (Distress & in Pakistan but all over the ographical concept. Indian
records, then the admissible Death, February 24). The world. history books are full of in-
evidence is an afdavit led exact cause is not known, The Chief Justice of the stances where terms such as
before a magistrate duly but the issue needs urgent Pakistan Supreme Court India, Bharat and Hindu
supported by someone pre- attention. The Chief Minis- himself is a beneciary of an are used carelessly.
sent at the time of his/her ter has called it a conspiracy amnesty deal. He was rein- The impact of the Islam-
birth. This rule could have to defame the government. stated by the Zardari gov- ic invasions after A.D. 1191
been applied here, but un- The need of the hour is ernment. If the Supreme and the British rule later is
fortunately the matter has to support farmers by pro- Court has struck down the felt today in the large Mus-
taken a political turn. viding nancial assistance, NRO, then the Chief Justice lim (and small Christian)
MAHESH KUMAR offering loan waivers, free- and other judges should also population. Even then, the
NEW DELHI ing them from the clutches resign on moral grounds. non-Muslim, non-Christian
FINALLY, the Supreme of moneylenders and, more DEENDAYAL M. LULLA population (collectively
Court has endorsed the importantly, providing MUMBAI called Hindus) is more than
stand of the government on seeds and other agricultural 80 per cent.
the date of birth controver- inputs at subsidised rates. And this diversity is not
sy. The Generals step of ap- JAYANT MUKHERJEE Sikkim unique to India. Major
proaching a civil court may KOLKATA countries such as the U.S.,
act like a precedent for fu- Russia and China have siz-
ture trivial Army problems. able minority populations.
This should be put to an Pakistan They are secular out of
A.J.T. JOHNSINGH
end. THERE is a new player in choice, not compulsion as is

Either the general the power game in Pakistan emphasised in the article.
should resign voluntarily for the judiciary (Breathing Otherwise, the essay is very
not getting what he wanted Easy, February 24). It is ac- informative.
or the government should cused of working at the beh- A WALK in Sikkim was an VINOD K.
ask him to go on leave for est of the army to dethrone engaging read (February JHUNJHUNWALA
the rest of his term. the elected government. 10). The pictures of rhodo- DELHI
S.R. DEVAPRAKASH The Supreme Court of dendrons were captivating.
TUMKUR, KARNATAKA Pakistan deciding to charge Sikkims rich biodiversity ANNOUNCEMENT
THE correct age of an em- Prime Minister Syed Yusuf has always attracted tourists Letters, whether by surface mail or
e-mail, must carry the full postal
ployed person, whatever be Raza Gilani with contempt in all seasons. Chief Minis- address and the full name, or the
his position, is a material of court is the rst of its kind ter Pawan Kumar Cham- name with initials.
F R O N T L I N E 1 2 7
Maritime Trade MARCH 9, 2012
Waiting for cargo

The Vallarpadam container transhipment terminal in Kochi is struggling for a
place on the world maritime trade map. B Y R . K R I S H N A K U M A R I N K O C H I A N D V A L L A R P A D A M
Many stakeholders have appealed to ready running ve other facilities in the country.
A transhipment terminal is a port to which
the Central government for a mother vessels that cannot enter smaller ports bring
container cargo from various parts of the world. The
relaxation of the cabotage law so as cargo would be taken in smaller feeder ships to their
destination ports in a region. Similarly, containers
to let foreign vessels carry EXIM brought by feeder vessels to the terminal from sever-
al regional ports are loaded on to the mother vessel to
cargo freely between Indian ports. reach transhipment ports elsewhere. Such hub-only
mother ships offer shipping lines a great saving in
Bureaucratic and infrastructural costs because of the scale of operations, and eventu-
ally help bring down freight rates.
bottlenecks also beset the terminal. But, as the ICTT crossed its rst anniversary on
February 11, transhipment (transfer of containers
WILL a change in cabotage restrictions on for- from one vessel to another for getting them to their
eign vessels alone be enough to help Indias rst nal destination, as different from a direct service
container transhipment terminal? from a load port of origin to a destination port) had
It was in July 2011 that Maersk Sembawang, the virtually come to a stop at the terminal, and the
largest container vessel to call at a south Indian port, expected numbers of mainline vessel visits were not
came to Kochi and docked at the newly commis- forthcoming.
sioned International Container Transhipment Ter- Transhipped cargo was only 6 per cent of
minal (ICTT) at Vallarpadam. throughput at the ICTT. Consequently, the ICTT
The ship had a length of 319 metres and a capac- would have transacted less than half of the targeted
ity of 6,478 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, a seven lakh TEU in 2011-12. The Rajiv Gandhi Con-
unit of measurement equivalent to one twenty-foot tainer Terminal (RGCT) which had been operated
container), and was bigger than Maersk Kalamata by the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) originally and whose
(303.83 m/6416 TEU), the largest container vessel container operations had since been taken over by
to visit any port in the southern peninsula until then. the ICTT had a throughput of 3.15 lakh TEU in the
That was in Chennai, the busier major port in the preceding year. At best, in 2011-12, the ICTT would
south-eastern coast. have registered only about 3.25 lakh TEU, Paul
The ICTT had been dedicated to the nation by Antony, Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT),
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh barely ve told Frontline.
months earlier, in February 2011, and the arrival of ICTT is continuing to function like the same old
Maersk Sembawang owned by one of the worlds container terminal (RGCT) without the tranship-
leading shipping companies, ying a Singaporean ment function, whereas had it become a successful
ag and captained on that Europe-China sail by a hub port with facilities for efcient consolidation
man who hailed from Kochi was a symbolic event, and feedering of containers, the share of tranship-
viewed as an endorsement of the new terminals ment would have been 80 per cent or more, he said.
capacity to handle large, mainline container vessels. This poor showing has been despite the terminal
The ad hoc arrival of the vessel generated expec- boasting of one of the best facilities in India to act as a
tations that similar mother vessels of other shipping strategically located, dedicated container tranship-
lines would visit the ICTT, which was developed with ment hub port, the rst port terminal in India to be
the intention of serving as Indias rst container operating within a special economic zone (SEZ).
transhipment hub by Dubai Port World (DP World), Kochi lies very close to the East West trade routes
a prominent marine terminal operator that was al- and, compared with any other port in India, offers
1 2 8 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
WH E N M A E R S K
SE M B A W A N G , the
largest container
vessel to call at a
south Indian port,
docked at the
Vallarpadam
terminal in Kochi,
Kerala, on July 21,
2011.
K.K.MUSTAFAH
the shortest deviation from both West ensuring faster loading and unloading sult in savings of between Rs.6,000
Asia (only 11 nautical miles away) and from ships, 15 Rubber Tyred Gantry and Rs.16,000 per TEU for the Indian
Suez trade routes (76 nautical miles Cranes (RTGCs), three Reach Stack- exporter.
away) a key location in India, ideally ers, automated yard management, and
suited to attract international tran- so on facilitating faster vessel and IDLING FACILITY
shipment trafc. truck turnaround (time between arriv- The ICTTs rst anniversary has,
The Rs.3,200-crore project, meant al and departure). therefore, been marked by a robust de-
to be completed in three phases, has The quay cranes have an outreach bate on why such a facility, intended to
more or less accomplished its rst- of 56 m, which, according to DP handle one million containers by now
phase infrastructure targets, including World, enable them to serve large ves- and reduce Indias long dependence
a 605-m-long quay with a maximum sels carrying 22 containers across the on regional hub ports such as Colombo
draught (the vertical distance between deck. With regard to the number of (Sri Lanka), Singapore, Salalah
the waterline and the lowest edge of moves per hour of the quay cranes (Oman), Jebel Ali (DP Worlds ag-
the keel of a ship) of approximately another measure of port efciency ship port in Dubai) and Tanjung Pele-
14.5 m and with a capacity to handle along with turnaround time the pas and Port Klang (Malaysia), is
one million TEU. ICTT is reported to be getting 28 literally idling, as far as its primary
The Government of India had moves an hour, and on certain days to objective of transhipment is
spent about Rs.1,700 crore to provide have achieved 30 moves or more an concerned.
rail and road connectivity. A link road hour, depending on the vessel. (The A majority of the stakeholders say
now joins Vallarpadam island with international benchmark in major ter- that foremost among the reasons is
National Highways 47 and 17, and an minals is 25 moves an hour.) Indias policy on cabotage, which re-
8.5-kilometre rail line, with the longest The capacity of DP Worlds Kochi stricts the operation of foreign ships in
rail bridge right at the gates of the terminal is scheduled to be expanded coastal trade (see interview with Riz-
terminal, connects it with the national subsequently in line with market de- wan Soomar, Maersk Lines Managing
network. mand to around 1.5 million TEU in Director, India & Sri Lanka, and spo-
The Vallarpadam terminal claims the second phase and four million kesperson). There are related issues,
state-of-the-art infrastructure TEU eventually. But market demand including the inadequate number of
among them, four Super Post Pana- has been found wanting, despite esti- coastal shipping vessels in India and
max quay cranes, two mobile harbour mates that transhipping containers the comparatively higher charges on
cranes both capable of twin lifts and through an Indian terminal would re- them as a result of a number of taxes
F R O N T L I N E 1 2 9
MARCH 9, 2012
imposed by Central and State govern- would not be allowed to carry its con-
ments. Such taxes are not applicable to tainers further from there to any other
foreign vessels undertaking feeder ser- port in India. To do that, the foreign
vices to individual Indian ports from ship will need to depend on infre-
transhipment hubs such as Colombo quent, costlier and unreliable Indian-
and Singapore. agged ships.
Section 407 of the Merchant Ship- Therefore, instead, a foreign ship-
ping Act, 1958, which came into effect ping line would logically prefer to sail
much before container transhipment to a transhipment hub in a country
through hub ports became a reality in outside India (say, Colombo), where
the world, reserves coastal trade for Indian cabotage laws will not apply
Indian-agged vessels, permitting for- and it will have the option of distribut-
eign ships only when Indian vessels are ing its containers to any destination
not available. As in many other coun- port in India through its own (obvi-
tries, it is a policy that was originally ously cost-effective) feeder services.
meant to support and encourage do- The provisions of the Merchant
mestic shipping. Shipping Act as interpreted to include
In simple terms, for example, an export-import (EXIM) trade is an im-
implication of the cabotage regime in portant reason why transhipment hub
India is this: if a foreign ship takes its ports did not evolve in India. It led to
cargo directly to the ICTT at Vallarpa- ports such as Colombo and Singapore
dam, as a result of cabotage restric- and Dubai, for example, taking away
tions (and irrespective of whether it all the potential Indian transhipment
operates a feeder or mainline vessel), it business. According to a recent esti-
Terminal trouble
IT was in 2004 that DP World won per cent) share of the revenue earned suffering for no fault of ours. We were
the bid to take over the operations of by the IGT. And therein lies the clue forced to implement cost-cutting
the Cochin Port Trust-run Rajiv to understanding the troubles that measures, among them a dearness al-
Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) the CPT and its employees nd them- lowance (D.A.) freeze, curtailment of
and develop and operate the Interna- selves in because of the mega project. allowances and a lot of redeployment
tional Container Transhipment Ter- In the agreement, the CPT prom- of staff. The employees are cooperat-
minal (ICTT) through a special ised to deepen and maintain the ing, but these are things that should
purpose vehicle, the India Gateway channel and the berth to provide a never have happened, CPT Chair-
Terminal Pvt. Ltd (IGT). DP World depth alongside of 16.5 metres. man Paul Antony said.
took an 81.63 equity holding in IGT, Consequently, the CPTs dredging Trade unions have already de-
the Container Corporation of India charges went up substantially from manded a review of what their leaders
(CONCOR) 14.56 per cent, Chakiat Rs.35 crore a year when the riverine describe as the unilateral clauses in
Pvt. Ltd 2.75 per cent and Transworld port did maintenance dredging to the licence agreement between the
Group 1.07 per cent. maintain the depth at 12.5 metres, to CPT and the IGT. They argued that
The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) and Rs.110 crore a year because it had to DP World had deceived the Port
the IGT signed an agreement to oper- undertake capital dredging involving Trust by projecting an unrealistic
ate the RGCT for a maximum peri- excavation to increase the depth to throughput target and offering only
od of eight years within which the 16.5 m, this alone with Central sup- 33.33 per cent of that revenue.
ICTT would be developed, and to op- port, and to maintain it at that depth. The Cochin Port Staff Association
erate the ICTT for 30 years on a BOT With the targeted returns from is one of the major trade unions at the
(Build Operate Transfer) basis. The the new terminal failing to come in, port. Its leader, P.M. Mohammed
Government of India invested the CPT has been forced to introduce Haneef, said: Let us look briey at
Rs.1700 crore in the project. several austerity measures and has the evolution of this agreement. The
In return for leasing out its assets, sought a Rs.100-crore subsidy from original proposal of the CPT Board in
the CPT was to get one-third (33.33 the Government of India. We are 2000[(when the National Democrat-
1 3 0 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
mate, about 75 per cent of the annual

T H E 8 . 5 - K M RA I L link to the volume handled at the Colombo port is
terminal. through container transhipment. Of
this, nearly 70 per cent (about 1.99
million TEU) a year is transhipment
from Indian ports, 60 per cent of
which (1.19 million TEU) is to or from
south Indian ports the business that
ICTT would have been expecting to
divert.
In the wake of the ICTTs failure to
attract much transhipment business
so far, many stakeholders have now
appealed to the Central government
for a relaxation of the cabotage law so
as to let foreign vessels carry EXIM
cargo freely between Indian ports (see
interview with K. Mohandas, Secre-
tary, Ministry of Shipping).
OTHER ISSUES
But attention is now turning also to
H. VIBHU
other issues related to the port. Even if
cabotage laws are relaxed, unless you
ic Alliance was in power at the Cen- World could operate the RGCT for a construction of an LNG Receiving,
tre] was to develop such a terminal as maximum period of eight years Storage and Regasication Terminal
a joint venture, with the Port Trust while the ICTT was being developed, is progressing fast. Under Petronet
having a 26 per cent share. The then they chose the path of premature LNG Ltds agreement with CPT, the
government sat on it for two years shifting, after completion of a single Port Trust is expected to get a share of
claiming it would lead to a monopoly, berth at Vallarpadam a good busi- the revenue for every tonne of gas
even while it allowed such monopo- ness strategy that saved them the re- handled there. The dredging costs are
lies in other ports in India. The new sponsibility to otherwise pay, among to be shared by the LNG terminal and
agreement meant retendering and other things, an upfront fee, cost of the CPT.
more delay. In 2003, we understand, labour and equipment they were us- Said Haneef: We expect the LNG
the initial proposal in the rst draft ing, and so on. About 500 people who terminal to solve a lot of our prob-
was that the wharf frontage, the berth were working at the RGCT do not lems. But by the time we make real
base, should be dredged by the licens- have their jobs now. They have been prot out of it, there will be very few
ee himself. In 2004, without any pub- redeployed and are doing sundry employees left in the port. Indias ma-
lic discussion about it, this clause was jobs. Now they say they do not have jor ports had two lakh workers in
changed to make dredging the re- the money to pay our salaries. D.A. 1980; now there are only 50,000 em-
sponsibility of the port. Why was this has been frozen. Port workers have ployees. In Kochi port, out of the
change made, even before we set out become the victims of the develop- 3,000 people, 500 are ready to take
our bid condition? Who is responsib- ment at Vallarpadam. We are soon VRS [voluntary retirement scheme].
le for this? We are having a close look starting an agitation on this. Earlier, By 2015, 715 people will retire. Then,
at the agreement and there are sever- the port had registered a prot of only about 1,700 people may remain.
al provisions which we nd as about Rs.4 crore every month. The But that is when the income will start
strange. Our demand is that it should additional expenditure on dredging is coming in. The port will be ush with
be reviewed. now Rs.75 crore. And they are asking funds. And it is foreseeing such a pos-
Haneef, who is one of the labour us to forego our salaries for it. What itive scenario that capitalists and
trustees on the CPT Board, said the type of development is this? multinational companies are clam-
CPT and its employees had been left In Puthu Vypeen island, a 10- ouring for the privatisation of ports.
with most of the burden: Though DP minute drive from Vallarpadam, the R. Krishnakumar in Kochi
F R O N T L I N E 1 3 1
MARCH 9, 2012
Change in policy essential

THE Union Ministry of under the active con- tial for container transhipment to
Shipping has been consideration of the gov- prosper in India. All ports will bene-
sidering a possible relax- ernment. In fact, it t Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapat-
ation of the cabotage may not be correct to nam, JNPT, all will benet. In fact,
policy in order to permit term the issue as re- such a change was contemplated
foreign ag vessels to car- laxation of cabotage much earlier. When JNPT was rst
ry export and import laws. We have re- privatised, cabotage relaxation was
transhipment containers ceived legal opinion allowed there for a while. Without
K.K. MUSTAFAH
between Indian ports. that the domestic leg such a change in policy, feedering
Though discussed initial- of the export-import will not work. If mainline vessels do
ly in the wake of the trade would not come not have the freedom to decide on
opening of the ICTT at K . M O H A N D A S , under the cabotage the feeder vessel, they will not be
Vallarpadam in Kochi, S EC RET A RY , Ministry laws. So there is no bound to come to an Indian port.
industry sources claim of Shipping: Domestic need for relaxation They need identical facilities for the
the step is likely to give a shipping is under a as such. But since it is domestic part of the journey too.
boost to other major high tax structure. contrary to the prac- Otherwise they will seek greener
ports in the country with tice followed so far in pastures, and foreign ports will con-
ambitions of becoming tranship- India, we have to consider it careful- tinue to benet from Indian
ment hubs. The recently announced ly and take a decision. business.
National Maritime Policy contem-
plates such a change in policy in the Does it mean that you are brushing There are complaints that domestic
wake of the governments decision to aside the objections reportedly shipping is now under an unequal
develop three hub ports in addition raised by domestic shipping tax structure, which makes it less
to the ICTT. In this telephone in- companies? competitive in the emerging
terview, K. Mohandas, Secretary, No. They feel concerned. But, the scenario vis-a-vis foreign feeder
Ministry of Shippingindicated to fact is very little transhipment is tak- vessels, if they are allowed in.
Frontline that a decision on allowing ing place in India at present, and It is true that domestic shipping
foreign shipping lines, too, to handle very little transhipment business is is under a high tax structure. The
containerised export-import cargo taking place using Indian ships. Ministry of Shipping has recom-
between Indian ports may just be mended that as shipping is a global
around the corner. Excerpts: Is the proposal before the business it should get adequate con-
government now for a change in sideration in this regard. But, of
What is the governments stand on cabotage policy only for the ICTT at course, decisions on taxation are not
the demand for relaxation of Kochi, or are you contemplating it made on the basis of the recommen-
cabotage laws? only between certain Indian ports? dations of the user Ministries alone.
All I can say now is that it is Such a change in policy is essen- R. Krishnakumar
provide better services with lesser TEU, much below the targeted maxi- Kochi, but occasionally, a Port Trust
costs, a terminal will not be able to mum of one million TEU throughput ofcial told Frontline.
attract business. If you get better ser- that the ICTT is ready to handle. This According to the CPT Chairman,
vice for a lesser cost in some other port, has often led to detention of contain- Indian shipping is subjected to 12 di-
why should anyone come to Kochi, ers; because feedering by train would rect/indirect taxes apart from tonnage
with its weak industrial hinterland? mean only 90 containers can be sent at tax, increasing the effective tax rate of
P.M. Mohammed Haneef, a Trustee at a time. The Colombo port has no such around 2 per cent under the tonnage
the CPT and Working President of the limitation. In fact, of the 13 Indian- regime, to around 9 per cent. The tax-
Cochin Port Staff Association, a major agged container ships reportedly ation of coastal shipping makes it
trade union at Kochi port, said. available for coastal run and entitled to highly uncompetitive vis-a-vis for-
There are frequent complaints of cabotage benet, four have reportedly eign-agged shipping. Consequently,
insufcient feeder services here. The been decommissioned, and only nine freight rates on foreign ships are only
available total feeder capacity is 8,354 ships are available. All of them touch half that on coastal ships, Antony
1 3 2 F R O N T L I N E
MARCH 9, 2012
said. What this means for tranship- Therefore, as a trade union leader ea to conduct the required inspection.
ment is that though the ICTT may working in this sector for the past 40 The argument of the Customs depart-
claim to match the vessel-related years, I feel that cabotage relaxation ment, on the other hand, was that
charges of the Colombo port, for exam- alone will not help improve the though the ICTT was meant as a tran-
ple, it cannot compete effectively, as throughput at the Vallarpadam con- shipment terminal, it was handling
feedering rates from Indian ports to tainer terminal. In fact, other termi- domestic cargo too, which the depart-
Kochi are double the rates to Colombo. nals in the south, especially Chennai, ment had every right to inspect and
For example, freight rate for feeder- which handle more containers and violated the ICTTs claim as an SEZ.
ing one TEU to Kochi and Colombo where charges are not so high, are like- A whole set of legal and logical ar-
from three Indian ports are as follows ly to benet more from cabotage relax- guments have been put forth by the
according to the CPT, with the rates to ation than the ICTT in Kochi, Haneef two sides and matters seem to have
Colombo given in brackets: from Tut- said. been temporarily settled after a meet-
icorin $100 ($80); from Jawaharlal (Local ofcials of DP World were ing convened by the Prime Minister in
Nehru Port, Mumbai, $250 ($120); unavailable for an interview at short New Delhi recently.
from Kandla $250-300 ($140-150). notice, though Frontline was offered a
Exporters and trade union leaders tour of the facilities at the tranship- TRIPLE E SHIPS
have also been complaining about the ment terminal SEZ.) Container ships plying the worlds
high additional costs associated with oceans are reported to have undergone
container movement through the SIMMERING TUSSLE several major expansion phases so far,
ICCT terminal, where, they allege, cus- Another misfortune that struck the with each stage creating ships de-
tomers are forced to pay hidden costs terminal in its rst year is the simmer- signed to transport more and more
over and above the ceiling on tariffs set ing tussle between the Customs De- numbers of containers, in order to
by the Tariff Authority for Major Ports partment ofcials on the one hand, achieve economies of scale. The long-
(TAMP). and the ICTT/Port Trust authorities est and widest container vessels ever
Haneef, who is also the general on the other, following an incident in the 18,000 TEU Triple E ships
secretary of the All India Port and November last year. (Economy of scale, Energy efcient
Dock Workers Federation, said: Customs ofcials reportedly forced and Environmentally improved) are
TAMP has declared terminal hand- the ofoading of 20 of the 60 contain- scheduled to roam the worlds trade
ling charges at the Kochi port as ers from MV Thuringia Express, a lines very soon, from 2013, by initial
Rs.7,500 per container. But recently mainline vessel sailing directly to Eu- accounts.
seafood exporters in Kochi submitted rope. The containers were originally They have been described as con-
before the Kerala High Court that they exported from Tuticorin after customs tainer ships that would be as large as
are being forced to pay around or over clearance there and brought to Kochi the Empire State Building [New York]
Rs.18,000, a rate unheard of in any for transhipment in the vessel. Howev- and as wide as an eight-lane motorway
other terminal in the country. In Tut- er, as per allegations subsequently that is able to carry more than 860
icorin, PSA International of Singapore raised by CPT authorities, Customs of- million bananas or 18 million at
is charging Rs.3,000 per container. In cials had refused to give port clear- screen televisions in 18,000 contain-
Chennai, it comes to around Rs.4,000, ance to the vessel unless they were rst ers. The ships are designed to have a
whereas in Kochi, it is declared as allowed to enter the SEZ and inspect length of 400 m, a height of 73 m,
Rs.7,500 but ultimately comes to the containers. beam (breadth) of 59 m, maximum
around Rs.18,000 when hidden charg- Considering that the 60 contain- draft of 16 m, deadweight of 165,000
es are included a fact found to be true ers had been cleared by the Customs tonnes, reefer (refrigerated contain-
in a subsequent inquiry. Who will from Tuticorin and could have been ers) capacity of 600 and a top speed of
bring containers to such a place? transhipped at Colombo, where the In- 23 knots.
The basic terminal handling dian Customs would not have had any There can be no doubt about what
charges (not including additional role, the Customs action was unwar- such longer, broader ships would con-
charges) as quoted by the shipping line ranted and has dented the credibility tinue to demand: a corresponding im-
CMA CGM Indias website for Kochi of the ICTT as a transhipment port, provement in infrastructure in major
are as follows (those for Tuticorin and Paul Antony said. transhipment hubs to accommodate
Chennai are given, respectively, in The result was a grand turf war their needs mother ports that offer,
brackets): for 20-feet containers over an issue that ought to have been for example, deeper drafts, bigger
Rs.6,300 (Rs.3,700/Rs.3,791); for 40 settled much earlier: whether Customs turning basins and longer terminals;
ft containers Rs.9,300 (Rs.5,200/ authorities continued to have jurisdic- quay cranes that have the necessary
Rs.5,687); for 20 ft reefer Rs.13,600 tion inside the rst SEZ port in India, outreach and which can lift those loads
(Rs.3,700/Rs.9,366); for 40 ft reefer and especially after they had ample to the uppermost and farthest tiers of
Rs.18,800 (Rs.5200/Rs.13,009). opportunities outside the terminal ar- their huge container stacks, and still
F R O N T L I N E 1 3 3
MARCH 9, 2012
Huge loss for Indian ports

MAERSK LINE is the liner shipping This affects the Just In Time Lo- competitive and if the law allows?
arm of the A.P. Moller-Maersk gistics concept to an extent as it in- Reduced restrictions on export-
Group, the worlds leading shipping creases the cost of the end product import cargo ow along the coast
company with a eet of over 500 and burdens the associated infras- will denitely help Indian cargo in-
vessels and a total container capa- tructure. Allowing transhipping ex- terests ultimately. Without the ca-
bility of 3,400,000 TEU (twenty- port-import cargo at Indian ports botage law relaxed at all ports in
foot equivalent unit) and a much would also put a lot less pressure on India, including Vallarpadam, we
sought after customer by terminal the road and rail transportation in will not be able to give a competitive
operators worldwide. In this e-mail India, thus allowing for lower emis- edge over Colombo or other neigh-
interview to Frontline, Rizwan Soo- sions and more efcient bouring foreign ports.
mar, the Company Spokesperson transportation. Today, it is cheaper for us to tran-
and Managing Director, India & Sri ship export-import cargo at the
Lanka Cluster, Maersk Line India What are your views on why neighbouring foreign ports rather
Pvt. Ltd, shares a shipping lines per- Colombo is preferred by major than using Indian Flag operators for
spective on the ICTT at Vallarpadam shipping lines over Vallarpadam? shipping export-import cargo be-
in Kochi and its prospects on its rst Today, Indian export-import tween Indian ports. These services
anniversary. cargo is being transhipped exten- are largely unscheduled and there is
sively through foreign ports like Col- also not enough capacity and spread
Can you give us the details and a ombo, Dubai and Singapore. The to meet the high demand of the ex-
review of Maersks involvement at port costs at these ports are much port-import business, thus causing
Vallarpadam so far? lower, which makes shipping lines undue delays and incremental costs
We are already present at Vallar- prefer calling majority of their ser- within the logistics chain.
padam terminal through our feeder vices at these ports, and onward con-
service. nections are then made on India How far do you think will a
services. This is a huge loss in busi- relaxation in cabotage laws help
Why do you think the ICTT has not ness with regards to both through- Vallarpadam?
been as successful as it was put and revenue for the Indian ports. The port costs in India are very
expected to be as a transhipment Furthermore, relaxing the cabotage steep for foreign agged ships as
hub port? law and making the port tariff com- compared to the three ports men-
Currently, the cabotage law does petitive with nearby foreign ports tioned above (Colombo, Dubai and
not allow a foreign ag ship to carry would assist in getting more main- Singapore), while it is subsidised for
export-import cargo between Indian line vessels calling India, as it will coastal shipping. If foreign ag ves-
ports which has been transported on provide better parcel sizes and econ- sels are allowed to carry their cargo
the same shipping line. The law does omies of scale. between the various Indian ports, it
not even allow for empty containers We would denitely consider brings in greater economies of scale
to be transshipped between Indian transhipping export-import cargo for the shipping line and, in turn,
ports on a foreign agged sipping coming to and from India at Indian lower costs for the customer.
line. ports if the tariff at Indian ports is R. Krishnakumar
provide improved berth productivity portant commercial and other rea- tion and environment and safety
and faster turnaround time. sons, among them: size and growth records.
It is against such a backdrop that outlook of cargo volumes, network A cursory reading of such consid-
leaders of the worlds leading shipping cost of servicing a new port, availabil- erations alone would be enough for a
lines constantly talk about the key fac- ity and cost of feeder connectivity, lay person to understand what, indeed,
tors that inuence their decision in road and rail links the customs re- it would take for a latecomer Indian
choosing container terminal hubs. Ef- gime, availability of warehouses, transhipment terminal to come into
ciency, reliability and competitive productivity, reliability and exibility reckoning, compete with Colombo,
tariffs are the most frequently quoted of operations at the terminals, ability Singapore or Dubai, and claim a place
themes. to accommodate vessels, nautical ac- for itself in the contemporary world
And then, a long list of equally im- cessibility, technology and innova- maritime trade map.
1 3 4 F R O N T L I N E
Published on alternate Saturdays.WPP No.CPMG/AP/SD-15/WPP/11-13 & MH/MR/South-180/2012-14.Postal Regn. No.TN/ARD/22/09-11. RNI No.42591/84

Frontline March 2012

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Frontline March 2012

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FRONTLINE

INTERVIEW RICHARD STALLMAN

Advantage Mulayam 25 Victims of the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom in K. Mohandas 132

project. 64 COVER DESIGN: U. UDAYA SHANKAR

SIDDHARTH DARSHAN KUMAR/AP

perpetrators of the pogrom. Coinci-

Tatas to shift their Nano small car

the countrys history that a Chief Min-

cedures, said Teesta Setalvad. Of

has deliberately suppressed and con-

that took place during the pogrom. She

A tale of two reports

According to reliable sources, the There are seemingly intractable disagreements

Metropolitan Magistrate Court on February 13 when it heard a plea from

before the Magistrates court on Feb-

SIT too works for victims

M A R C H 1, 2 0 0 2 : A policeman looks on as a row of shops burns in Ahmedabad. Former Additional DGP

plosive data on the role played by the

SIT followed states road map

any case in a police station of relevant

A police diary of the government against me result-

nior police ofcers, including D.G this kind of persecution.

We will not let it happen again

shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of

Negligence and inaction

The Congress seems to be in a weak Sentiments of anti-incumbency against the rul-

best suited for that, he said. It might

Yet many BSP activists admit in

RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/AP

ofcial. But Gen. V.K. Singhs contin-

records of the Military Secretarys 2009, accepting his date of birth as

Procedures & lapses

by the government. 11, 2011).

Standing Committee. Pointing out fer of Forge Advisors, USA (FA-USA),

sponsible for these. in the world in D-SMB services, the

UN I ON HOM E M I N I S TE R P. Chidambaram with

former Telecom Minister A. Raja (right), in June

cences in 2G mobile services on a rst- charge sheet to commence

The Chinese way

MONG the many inade- they adopted innovative schemes.

A quately understood facets

Soon after his resignation on February 7, Nasheed

alleged that he had been ousted in a coup and

O US T E D PR ES I D EN T M O H A M ED Nasheed is carried by his supporters during the Maldivian

allegations of political bias after he ap-

taurants in Male are running empty.

Irans nuclear facilities, including those engaged in

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary

ous regime in Syria. But the Western

also unconrmed reports about Qatari

But neither of the two mainstream

62 million women of childbearing age

U.K. who were investigating an allega-

Hungry & homeless

A H O ME L E S S M A N sleeps on the metro vents at Omonia square in central Athens.

I didnt want to burden my chil- Austerity has not only exhausted

The West, led by the U.S. had, on the other hand,

self has loosened its purse strings. lations. In January, Washington

SOE ZEYA TUN /REUTERS

Halting the pink