Free the babus from the shackles of politicians

In what is a giant stride towards freeing the bureaucracy from the shackles of the political establishment, the Supreme Court on Thursday passed a judgment asking the Centre and state governments to ensure that civil servants have a fixed tenure. In order to look into this the court has suggested the setting up of an independent civil servants boards (CSB) within three months that would recommend to the government on matters relating to disciplinary actions, transfers and postings of civil servants. Acting on a two-year-old PIL filed by a group of retired bureaucrats, the apex court’s judgment requires that the Centre and states pass supporting legislation. The court was particularly critical of the political establishment in observing that civil servants had no stability in their tenure and were at times being transferred at the “whims and fancies of the executive head for political and other considerations and not in public interest”. The court has asked bureaucrats to put in writing the oral orders given by their superiors. The observation that a fixed tenure would “promote professionalism, efficiency and good governance” highlights the present plight bureaucrats face because of political interference.
Seen in the light of the recent events which highlighted the case of IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was transferred while investigating the land deals in Haryana of Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, or the case of Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was suspended and later reinstated for taking on the sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh, an independent CSB will put a check on arbitrary transfers and suspensions. That Mr Khemka and Ms Nagpal are not one off cases adds more urgency for a politically independent body like the CSB. Others who faced the political heat are: C Umashankar, the IAS officer who took on the Marans in Tamil Nadu; Ashish Kumar, who took on the sand mafia in Tuticorin; Manoje Nath, for taking on corruption in Bihar; Sanjeev Bhat, EAS Sarma ...it is a long list. While the BJP has welcomed the judgment, the UPA government has criticised it and understandably so. Many feel that the court order is unworkable and is seen as yet another instance where the judiciary and political establishment will be at loggerheads. The government’s claim that it has been working towards bringing more transparency through its draft ‘Civil Services Performance, Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010’ is a bit late in the day and cannot but be seen as a poor effort to counter the CSB.

The euphoria over the judgment will be short-lived if it goes the way earlier administrative reform suggestions have gone. The Centre’s push for a fixed tenure for civil servants in 2007 saw just four states agreeing to it—interestingly Haryana was one of the states. The second Administrative Reforms Commission 2012 also suggested the need for a fixed tenure for civil servants. Recommendations by the PC Hota Committee and the Fifth Pay Commission for civil service boards have not been taken up by the government. The 2006 directive of the apex court calling in for sweeping police reforms to make the force more professional and free from political interference is gathering dust.

Learn to respect our soldiers

Bhim Singh

On Thursday, four of the five jawans killed in the Poonch attack on August 6 were cremated with state honours in Bihar. To see the pain in the eyes of the widows of the jawans and the blankness in the eyes in their children was enough to move even the staunchest of critics of the Indian Army. However, Bihar’s rural works and panchayati raj minister Bhim Singh was not moved and even went to the extent of ridiculing the sombreness over the killings by suggesting that they were doing what they were paid for. Singh’s statement that “Jawans are meant to be martyred” is abominable, to say the least. After Singh’s statement backfired, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar apologised. Singh also apologised and latched on to that favourite excuse used by politicians whenever they are caught on the wrong foot — that he was misquoted.

This callousness, or rather crude apathy, shown by our political class is a reflection of a general indifference towards the armed forces. The ‘it’s-their-job’ attitude belittles the sacrifice of our armed forces to ensure that our country is safe. Guarding our borders is not an easy task. With Pakistan relentlessly sending militants, and even its own troops as in the recent attack, across the border and with Chinese incursions on the rise, the job of guarding our borders is getting tougher with every passing day. The armed forces also endure harsh weather conditions, be it the biting cold in the Himalayas or the scorching Sun in the deserts, and this is lost to the political class and public who think that ‘that’s-what-they’re-paid-for’. The Siachen Glacier, at a height of about 5,400 metres, is a strategically important post for India and is one of the harshest border posts in the world to patrol, and it is our troops who guard this front.
The Centre, after the initial flip-flop by the defence minister, has pinned the blame on the Pakistan army. This was an avoidable mishap, especially at a time when the armed forces are in need of more personnel. Statements, like the one give by Bhim Singh, will have a detrimental effect on the youth who aim to join the forces to serve the nation. The government should also look at ways in which the families of our slain armed forces personnel are taken care of. Though no monetary benefit will be a substitute for the lives lost, it is imperative that the families are not forgotten. Politicians should also refrain from politicising the martyrdom of our soldiers and the public should be more sensitive towards the service they render towards making life better for many of us.

Modi: The virtual is more powerful than the real

Narednra Damodardas Modi is an interesting phenomenon. I say phenomenon, and not person, owing two reasons: not much is being talked about Modi the person. While the media, along with other political parties, lose no chance to amplify and dissect the lives of other politicians, little is discussed about Modi’s life. The second reason is that there seems to be a conscientious effort to project Modi as a larger-than-life person. The latest effort in this direction was Modi’s virtual addressing of overseas Gujaratis in 20 cities in the United States on the occasion of Gujarat Divas. The subject of his talk was more or less on predictable lines — the prosperity Gujarat has seen under him, his vision for development and the peril the country is under the leadership of the Congress-led UPA. Interestingly, he also sought contributions for a statue — twice the size of the State of Liberty — of Sardar Patel.
This is not the first time Modi has made news for being the Lawrence of Arabia among Indian politicians for being the pioneer to use the World Wide Web to connect with the people. From 2005 Modi has been addressing the Gujarati community in the US on Gujarat Diwas. Modi became the first — and probably the only — Indian politician to address a rally using 3D hologram projection technology. His 3D virtual show that was simultaneously telecast at 53 places in December 10, 2012, using the Pepper’s Ghost Illusion technology entered the Guinness Book of World Records. News is that the BJP is all set to go bigger with the 3D show that in the next few months more such virtual appearances are expected where the Gujarat strongman will address people in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The NaMo Gujarat TV, a cable network channel that was launched prior to the Gujarat elections, is dedicated to highlighting the achievements of the BJP and it is all set to cater to a national audience.
On March 21, Modi spoke to thousands of netizens using Google+ Hangout on how IT technology has been used for better governance. Modi also has a very strong presence on social networking sites. When last checked he had more than 16 lakh followers on Twitter. That is a little shy of 17 lakh 70 thousand followers minister of state for human resource development Shashi Tharoor commands. Modi also has an active presence in Facebook, Youtube and Google+. This is an achievement not many chief ministers in India can boast about.

While in his virtual avatar Modi seems to be a towering edifice, in reality there appears to be chinks in the armour. Modi makes it a point to highlight the prosperity and development Gujarat has achieved under his leadership. The industry houses rushing to set shop in the state are proof of this. However, there is also the other side of the story where Gujarat has high levels of malnutrition and very poor social indices. Despite his juggernaut victories in the assembly polls in Gujarat, he has not been able to replicate that victory in any of the other states. His campaign speeches and visits during the 2012 Uttar Pradesh polls and the recent Karnataka elections seem to have a damp effect given that the party did not fare well in both the states. In the recent Karnataka debacle the party got such a thorough hiding that the effect of his campaign visits in the south is being questioned.
The allies in the NDA, of which the BJP is the principal party, are also not keen on projecting Modi as the coalition’s prime ministerial candidate. Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s chief minister and JD(U) leader, in April made it clear that his party was not for Modi. There is also an element of doubt surrounding the acceptability of Modi as the party’s candidate within the BJP. The party’s dilly-dallying in naming him as its candidate reflects this difference of opinion within the party and the RSS.
As of now, going by the results in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, among others, it seems that Narendra Modi has a virtual presence outside Gujarat. He has proved, three times in a row, his stature in the state, but beyond the state borders it is not as luminous as projected or perceived to be. However, there is a lot of time between now and the 2014 elections and it is hard to predict how things will shape up by then.
For now, the shrill cry of the thousands of Modi followers (fans) is akin to the fans of an Upendra or Mohanlal strongly pushing for their superstar to have dominance in Bollywood.

Spinning Yarns Glorifying Silver Screen Mannequins

A few years back Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan said in an interview that a filmstar’s shelf life in the industry was till a given Friday. He was referring to the fate of actors being decided by the audience with the release of a new movie every Friday. How I wish that was true. If that was the case --- of the audience, and the audience alone, getting to decide the fate of silver screen mannequins ostentatiously called superstars --- we would not have blockbuster hits but good cinema, we would not have superstars but actors, and the tribe of conniving pretentious conmen called ‘film critics’ would have been extinct by now.

Film critics can be compared to a glorified version of the effusively earnest broker, who for a cut in the deal would sell a dead duck as a daffodil. Follow the many reviews appearing every Thursday on newspapers/blogs/TV channels and one is left with the impression ‘this was the movie I have been waiting to watch all this while’. It gives the impression that suddenly our filmmakers have got it right and have reached a state where they cannot go wrong. A dearth of good scripts and actors have made sure that the same old plot is told, retold and told yet again – the difference being the location, number of item songs and, how can one forget, the ‘controversy’ and ‘news’ about the film. News about such developments and film critics are largely to be blamed for this sorry state of affairs. Words like ‘superhit’, ‘blockbuster’ and recently ‘terra hit’ have been abused beyond recognition. It is a different matter that with pre-budgeting a movie more or less recovers the money spent on it before its release. Given this one should work real hard to deliver a flop.
This being said there are a few critics who can be taken for their word or rather for what they do not say. This group speaks at length when the movie is good and if it is bad, they either choose not to comment or talk about the ‘positives you can take from the movie’. It is a survival tactic in an industry where criticism is largely not welcomed while ‘hero-worship’ and sycophancy is hogged upon. Thanks to inflated egos and an equally inflated purse such criticism is seldom heard, if not silenced. This group of hopefuls are a minuscule that does not match against the behemoth ‘film critic’.

Imaging: merilanand@gmail.com

The media is also to blame for cultivating this trend and breeding the ‘film critic’. With various media organisations coming in competition grew and so did news coverage. While that was the positive, the flipside was the birth of an oxymoronic entity called ‘entertainment journalism’. The race for ‘exclusive’ interviews, juicy gossip and inane details about people associated with the film industry ensured that ‘stars’ were never rubbed the wrong way. Add to this the curse of paid-news and we have an overkill of ‘entertainment news’.
Coming back to Shahrukh Khan: No doubt he is a superstar and has been entertaining the nation for more than two decades. But then again Lalu Prasad ruled Bihar for more than a decade and it would suffice to say that the state is better without him (not to forget that he has been entertaining us for years now).
(The appeared as a Middle on The New Indian Express edit page on March 6)