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Volume 4

Issue 1
MindTEXT May
2009

An e-journal from Centre for Public Policy Research

Centre for Public Policy Research aims for


social change by creating awareness among
the General Public. The Centre attempts to Editorial
provide better or alternative policy solutions
for all the relevant issues concerned with the
daily lives of human beings. This is achieved India's Mandate 2009
through the research programmes that will
provide the platform for advocacy and action.
Focus on youth facilitates our reach out to the
larger sections of the society. Colleges, other Article
academic institutions, youth organizations,
cultural organizations, local bodies and selfhelp
groups take an active role in this
Non- Motorized Transportation Policy:
movement. The Centre has various activities
to involve the youth for its programmes and
A Study in Cochin City with special focus on Bicycles
thus facilitate the knowledge dissemination
through them. The Centre has given
importance to semi academic nature of
research works so that it is easily understood
Is Education a prerequisite for Democracy? Part I
even by the layman in the rural backgrounds.
We have been successful in tying up with
leading institutions so that some of our policy
research and discussions go hand in hand with
their academic requirements. This has assured Opinion
credibility and successful reach out of the
Centre. The Centre believes in spreading the Kerala Development Model - A new perspective
Knowledge through various mediums.
Different programmes and activities of the
Centre have been initiated with better
understanding gained from the primary
research projects.
Chairman Speaks
MindTEXT
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Random Thoughts
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SO

LU
TI
ON GE
S TO CHAN

MindTEXT Team
Editor: Saritha Varma
Layout: Jiyad K.M
www.cppr.in
www.mindtext.org
EDITORIAL

India's Mandate 2009


Saritha Varma

A
s I write, the results of the general elections are still coming in thick and fast. But
the conclusion has been made and Pratibha Patil must be relieved that her job in
deciding to call which party to take office is only a mere formality. The great Indian
voter has spoken and spoken quite decisively much to the surprise of political pundits and
media. NDA has conceded defeat and UPA has retained power. Dr. Manmohan Singh will
be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to get a consecutive five year term in
office. Inarguably, one of the nicest and most qualified PMs India has had, it is indeed a
proud moment for Dr. Singh. And yes, the red bastion of West Bengal has been shaken
hard for thevery first time.
There are several reasons why this election turned out the way it did. I am not a political
scientist or a pundit to analyse the reasons and thus I would not dare to take up such a task.
Therefore my attempt is only to put forth a few observations about this election as a citizen
who exercised the right to vote. My first observation would be to point out the sheer

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unpredictability in the pattern of voting among citizens. Till yesterday, the entire set of exit
polls and projections had very proudly declared the possibility of kingmakers and who they
would be. 4 hours into the election results, it was very clear that there would be no part to
play for these men and women who were so confident of their bargaining power just
yesterday. Secondly, this election gives ample proof of the fact that BJP has still not
recovered from the departure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from its politics. L K Advani lacked
the broad acceptance with Indian voters which was one of the main strengths of Vajpayee.
It is very critical for the BJP to recover and capture lost ground if it has to remain as the best
alternative to Congress Party in Indian politics.
Thirdly, it is good to see that all the Chief Ministers who have been given positive
scorecards by the media and political pundits bringing success to their party in their
respective states. These men and women have proved that their success is no media
creation and that it is indeed vetted by the citizens who give them the most honest
scorecards. So as Narendra Modi has done well in Gujarat and Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in
Andhra Pradhesh in spite of controversies surrounding them, it is a clear message to the
intellectual/political think tank in this country that the citizens are quite happy with both
these leaders.
Fourthly, it reinforces my belief that 26/11 or no 26/11, there are still a lot of people in this
country who think that voting and elections do not make any difference to their lives and
thus don't even care to exercise their right. This indifference was quite amply
demonstrated by the 40% turn out in South Mumbai. I can only say that these citizens have
taken their rights for granted and don't have the slightest realization of the value of living in
the greatest democracy of the world.
Let me conclude by bestowing credit to the millions of Indian voters who despite the
scorching heat came to vote in large numbers and thusshowed their undying faith in their
country's democracy.

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FEATURED ARTICLES
Non- Motorized Transportation Policy: A Study in Cochin City with
special focus on Bicycles

Sheetal Byshie

L
ike many other countries, India also has policies on transportation. To be specific, the Public Works Department
formulated a Road Policy for the Kerala State in the year 2006. There are 70 statements in the policy. The statements
which speak about the non motorized transportation sector are statements numbered:
23 and 27 of the Policy Commitment B (2) Manage traffic to improve road safety and traffic flow and; 35 and 36 of the Policy
Commitment C (2) Protect the environment and communities from road related impacts.
B.2 Manage traffic to improve road safety and traffic flow
23) Road Safety: A road safety action plan will be implemented including measures to minimize road accidents through the
introduction of road safety devices, training of drivers and instructors, awareness programmes for the public transport users,
computerization of the licensing system, creation of pedestrian and cycle paths, exclusive bus lanes and bus bays and
automated parking lots in major cities. This will require a multi-disciplinary approach covering engineering, education and
enforcement of regulatory provisions. This will be coordinated by the Road Safety Authority.
27) Slow moving Vehicles: Segregated right of way for pedestrians, bicycles and 2 / 3 Wheelers in Urban Stretches would
improve safety, as well as traffic flow, thus increasing average speed of traffic and reducing emissions resulting from sub-
optimal speeds.
C.2 Protect the environment and communities from road related activities and impacts
35) Energy Efficiency and Pollution Reduction: The use of practices and selection of materials which provide environmental
benefits are to be promoted where reasonable, in the areas such as vehicle technology, fuel quality, alternative fuels and
improvement in inspection and maintenance practices. Research is to be undertaken
into fuel alternatives that are less polluting.
36) Pollution Control: Initiatives to reduce air pollution from private and public vehicles
will be promoted including switching over to less polluting fuels and phasing out old
vehicle technology.
These policy statements show that there are policies favorable for the bicyclists. The
policy also points out the importance of preserving the environment by reducing air
pollution that is produced from motorized vehicles, for which a good alternative can be
bicycles. Like wise there are national policies for the bicyclists demanding cycle paths,
but it seems that there are no such proper paths anywhere in India. India's National
Urban Transport Policy acknowledged the risk: "Use of cheaper non-motorized modes
like cycling and walking have become increasingly risky, since these modes have to
share the same right of way with motorized modes."
Why these policies are not executed in Cochin City? According to a study conducted
among the five major bicycle shops in the city of Cochin, it seems that the percentage of
customers who are adults has been declining for the past 8-10 years. But the total unit of
sales has not decreased since the loss in sale of bicycles to adults has been
compensated by the sale of children's cycles.
Development authorities like the Public Works Department (PWD) admit that they are
thinking about managing the congestion of the motorized vehicles and an attempt to

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increase the use of bicycles is not even a matter of concern. “There are policies for the
NMVs (Non Motor Vehicles), but it is not that easy to implement as you can see that it is a big burden to manage the MVs
(Motor Vehicles). The roads have become very congested with just the MVs. Then how do you think it is practical to manage
the NMVs too?" asks an Assistant Engineer at the Corporation Office. "It is possible only in the NH roads", said another
Assistant Engineer at PWD. People have switched on to motor bikes from bicycles and from motor bikes to low cost cars.
One of the reasons why people make the switch is the extremely humid and sultry climate of Cochin, "I don't want to come to
office completely drenched in sweat, it's weird" says a Corporation office employee as to why he does not want to come to
work riding a bicycle.
What could be done to encourage increased use of bicycles? Bring about changes through legislation to encourage the use
of Non Motorized Vehicles Construct separate and exclusive bicycle tracks or lanes Provision of drinking water and resting
stations along bicycle corridors could be encouraged as they can mitigate, to a large extent, adverse weather conditions. The
use of innovatively designed road crossings exclusively for the bicyclists Awareness creation/campaign about the benefits of
bicycling to bring about an attitude change Introduce cycle racks in KSRTC buses and private buses so that people can use
cycles complementing public transport to travel long distances The bicycles must be insured just like other motorized
vehicles There must be a separate parking area for cycles in all the public spaces

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FEATURED ARTICLES
Is Education a prerequisite for Democracy? Part I

Madhu S

T
he process of democracy had its foundations on the people as manifestly predicated by Abraham Lincoln. The
process of democratization transcended boundaries after the aftermath of the two World Wars and raised
itself from the clutches of the belligerent and the insidious in the Black nations. The pogroms and massive
depredations led to the call of democracy defying the autocracy and the dictatorship. Democracy was more a fallout
of the falling dictatorship or monarchy and in its various forms coincided in revolutions. The revolution for democracy
developed sui generis and weaned away the obstacles present before it. But later, the main difficulty that arose was
to transform such an establishment into a mature one as to achieve its highly deliberated and intended goals. It
paved way for the state centric democratization process with the power over its citizens vested in itself. Those states
which failed to uphold or support the process gradually withered away.
The institutions of democracy and education necessarily co-exist and require a simultaneous process for their
survival. The democratization of education is a precursor of growth and an inventory of the state. Both the institutions
aim at providing service to the people and indoctrinated Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. Democracy leaned on
education for concretizing its foundation. Without the presence andinvolvement of an educated society, democracy
found itself difficult to subsist. Many upcoming democratic states fell due to the poor awareness of the
democratization process as a result of the uneducated masses and drowned away to autocracy belying the
aspirations of its people. Thus an educated mass is a necessity for a successful democracy.
Proponents like John Dewy had aptly provided the corollary of education vis-a-vis democracy. Education is, he
argued, to promote
democracy both because it enables a "culture of democracy" to
develop, and because it leads to greater prosperity, which is also
thought to cause political development. He traces the juxtaposition
of education and democracy in the modernization theory
propounded by Seymour Martin Lipset, which emphasizes the role of
education as well as economic growth in promoting political
development in general and democracy in particular. In his words:
"Education presumably broadens men's outlooks, enables them to
understand the need for norms of tolerance, restrains them from
adhering to extremist and monistic doctrines, and increases their
capacity to make rational electoral choices. If we cannot say that a
"high" level of education is a sufficient condition for democracy, the
available evidence does suggest that it comes close to being a
necessary condition." But interestingly both of the think tanks have
summarized with statistical and mathematical certainty that there is
no evidentiary value for the proposition that an increase in the
percentage of educated in total population leads to strengthening the
process of democracy. However education has a large role to play in
the democratization, though it is difficult to extricate it from other

d
factors which contribute to the process. Democracy will fail or is hard
to exist without the arm of education and is considered to be a pillar instrumental in achieving the goals of
democracy.
Indian Constitution and Education
We the People of India have solemnly affirmed and created the institutions of democracy for the benefit of ourselves,
is a statement used by the Preamble to the Indian Constitution. The underlying principle of democracy where people
are the sovereign is embedded in the Constitutional document considered as the mother of all laws or described in
apt words by Kelsen as the Grundnorm (die grundnorm). The Constitution is the source of power to the institutions
created under it. We can rely on the Constitution in case of any instances of usurping power and invalidate it as
violative of the basic norm. Though Kelsen's theory does not recognize the concept of legal rights and duties as such
but rather as legal rules , we can affirm this proposition by saying that constitution itself is a hierarchy of legal rules.
Thus any decision, be it a policy decision on Education should trace its validity to the Constitution. Similarly the
guaranteeing of the Right to Education validated by the Constitution has been in conformity with the underlying
principles.

To be continued..

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OPINION
Kerala Development Model - A new perspective

Sherin Chacko

I
s there really something as the Kerala Development Model? Now this is a topic that has been much debated upon
and till date there has been no unanimous conclusion to it. It has been agreed far and wide that Kerala's
development pattern is to vouch for despite having low industrial and economic development. Likewise, the state
boasts of being on the top league as the most literate state in India. However, this very state has resulted in the
largest amount of brain drain in the nation, with most of the population migrating to other countries, like gulf nations
and the U.S and U.K in the recent times.
As mentioned earlier, there are contesters to the debate that with the mass-migration of residents to areas with
lucrative opportunities, a curious social stratification has emerged in Kerala between families of migrants and
families with bread winners within the state. Migrant families
can afford numerous amenities, many of which are not
attainable for other citizens. This stratification is an issue of
concern to economists, along with the depressed job market
and generally low income. While the Kerala Model certainly
illustrates one way to improve the literacy and health of a
populace, it unfortunately does not appear to be a solid solution
to sustained economic development.
Kerala's birth rate is 14 per 1,000 females and falling fast.
India's rate is 25 per 1,000 females and that of the US is 16.
Kerala's infant mortality rate is 15.3 per 1,000 births versus 57.0
for India and 7 for the US. Its adult literacy rate is 91 per cent
compared to India's 65 and the US's 99. Life expectancy at birth
in Kerala is 73 years compared to 64 years in India and 77 years
in the US. Female life expectancy in Kerala exceeds that of the
male, just as it does in the developed world. However, the
argument put against these cited data is the mere example of
the state being home to largest number of suicides within the
country at 30.8/ lakh. The National rate is only 11.2/lakh and the
global rate is 14.5/lakh. Kerala earned almost 20 billion rupees
($500m) from foreign tourists in 2006 (the latest year for which figures are available) and about 245 billion (in the
same year) in remittances from Keralites working abroad, 89% of whom come from the Gulf nations. Often known as
"Graveyard for industries" Kerala is one place where the industries shy away from investing fearing labour unrest.
Political parties have thrived on creating pockets of labour unions and using them as vote banks. Given the case,

l
there are no worthwhile job opportunities, and hence the young migrate to faraway lands. The state has an
astonishing 24.5 migrants per 100 households. Kerala's per capita output is one of the lowest in India, but its per
capita expenditure is one of the highest. With large numbers of these ex-pat Keralites employed in the Gulf's oil-
fueled, construction industry, the global downturn is likely to be an unexpected blow. While the rest of India is likely to
do well over the next few years due to strong, internal trends, Kerala for all its efforts to insulate itself from the vicious
swings of capitalism may wind up being the most exposed. The inflow of foreign tourists to the state is feared to dry
up soon. Kerala is perhaps the most vulnerable among all Indian States to the financial crisis in United States,
according to the findings of Kerala state's Economic Review.
Thus we may not be entirely wrong to conclude that the Kerala Development Model Per se is an oxymoron of sorts.

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CHAIRMAN SPEAKS
Random Thoughts

D Dhanuraj

R
eading the mindset of the electoral class of India needs prodigious skill thanks to
diversity not only in the topography of the subcontinent but also of the emergence of
local and regional parties. In the last one decade most of them tested success at the
local level as well as at the centre encouraging more and more splinter (on a positive note)
groups to emerge. Indian Political League 2009 presents a market, driven by political
entrepreneurs dominated by families and dynasties of various sizes and multitudes.
I suspect this election is only a semi final before the market achieves the higher end trade
on with high P/E (Profit/Earnings) ratio on the streets of Indraprastha. Fielded as the
independents, many have generated interest to buy shares in the political stock exchange.
Some say they are against the Bull Run in the shorter period and usurp the role of SEBI. My
wishful thinking is that many more will get into the act and therefore raise the level of
competitiveness which would probably lead to the exercise of fairer judgment in the
electoral market. Market regulator Election Commission of India may need to attune with
various demands of the market before Recession hits the market. Involvement of civil
society organisations and the media in the electoral stock exchange as investment
advisors and business developers is yet to leave a significant impact on the
volume of the participation though a fair amount of employment opportunities
and respect for volunteering added value to the electoral market economy.
More political parties in the fray mean more activity and more opportunities for
many. If post reform decades helped to revive the financial status of the
country, almost all the political parties have tasted the swings in the electoral
market thanks to the very same reforms some of
them are principally opposed to. Today, all the political parties have
ownership in visual media, print media, hold a large chunk in the online trading
and at the same time continue with dharnas, agitations and processions to
spread and reinforce their message with the masses. It offers more
employment opportunities to millions in this country than compared to what
they promise in the election manifestos. All these political parties shall be
registered as Limited Companies so that the Rs 16000 Crore paid in the
electoral market shall lead to fast and sustained growth. Why don't we think of at least a
virtual (online) political exchange where the policies and decisions of the Political bosses
like any other listed company decide the value of every player involved? This way, Sensex
will be insulated from the whims and fancies of political decisions saving millions of
investors from the gimmicks of the political class. In a way, it will help to increase the
awareness among the rural mass with the increased knowledge driven emancipation

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leading to the better selection of the political leadership.

Tail piece: Thanks to former President Abdul Kalam's oft repeated chant: Dream,
dream..., every political party boss started dreaming for the coveted PM chair like any other
CEO wishes to become a Warren Buffett, a Bill Gates or a Ratan Tata. Therefore, please
don't complain!

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