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Hyderabad Monday 20 June 2011

DC
Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness. Frank Gehry

MIND POWER

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man. Lana Turner

Editorial
letters LESSONS IN FAILURE
The article (In failure lies the seeds if success, June 19) by Anupam Kher comes at a time when students need it the most. In a nation with fierce competition and horrendously high cut-off marks, articles like this are the need of the hour, as it beautifully puts across the message that every dark cloud has a silver lining. The author has explained the importance of perception very lucidly. It is the attitude and the perseverance with which a person accepts his setback that makes a difference. Also, Kher has nicely explained how the stories of success are stories of failures. Hence, the emphasis must be on persistence and learning from each defeat. SYED OMAIS SHAMEEM Hyderabad

20 JUNE 2011

THE DISCUSSIONS around the Lokpal issue, brought into focus by the Anna Hazare group, have been quite fruitless. Also, quite needlessly, the self-serving impression has been sought to be spread that the governments position on the principal points raised is necessarily wrong and those of Mr Hazares followers necessarily right. What is true is that the points at issue are complex and admit of a variety of viewpoints that ought to be respected, and aspersions not be cast even in an implied fashion. People should also be aware that many leading civil society groups and men of experience in public affairs are not in accord with the Hazare position, which they think will undermine the basic principles of our Constitution. No one not even the government differs on the necessity of rooting out corruption. Differences arise on how to go about the task and the nature of the instrument to be brought into play. Precisely because the questions in focus are difficult, points regarding what precisely the institution of the Lokpal should mean, or indeed the nature of its composition, have not been approached yet. Thus definition issues lie in suspended animation. The deadlock between Mr Hazares men and the government on whether or not to bring the office of Prime Minister and the higher judiciary within the proposed Lokpals scrutiny is also far from being resolved. The gulf is as wide as when the issue first arose in April. This is not surprising, for such questions typically do attract a variety of responses within society; indeed within the government itself. Within individual parties too there might exist more than a single viewpoint, if news reports are to be taken into account. In recent days, key senior Congress leaders its so-called core group, which includes the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and party president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi have met twice to review their position on key questions raised on the Lokpal matter, but so far there are no intimations of clarity. As for other major parties national or regional they have not yet bothered to have an internal brainstorming session. Perhaps the risk of internal fissures being exposed is not inconsiderable. These parties would rather wait for the government to detail its own position and would choose merely to respond, rather than spell out their viewpoint on a matter that has generated so much heat and all too little light. As government parties are wont to do, the Congress has asked for an all-party meeting. This might be nothing more than a way to tell the country that it is doing what it can to promote a political consensus. But the main parties are hardly likely to attend an allparty debating session unless the forum is Parliament itself. Only two have let their base positions be known. The Bahujan Samaj Party, led by the UP Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati, has suggested civil society groups should contest the next general election so that their MPs push their viewpoint in Parliament. This probably means the BSP is out of sync with the known Hazare position. The CPM has said it would like the PM brought in under the Lokpals scrutiny, but it is not clear if the constitutional issues this would involve have been investigated. It is indeed time for the government not to beat about the bush any longer, but to bring its own bill on the Lokpal to Parliament regardless of the Hazare position. This would also be in accord with the existing practice.
DECCAN CHRONICLE
T. VENKATTRAM REDDY Chairman of the Board A.T. JAYANTI Editor O. THOMAS Printer & Publisher

OTHER VOICES

Lokpal: Now its up to Parliament

From International Herald Tribune

Why this civil unrest?

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Jayanthi Natarajan
THE CAMERAS did not flash in the room just a few feet away from the deluxe ward where Baba Ramdev broke his fast in the Himalayan hospital of Dehra Dun where Swami Nigmananda died, after having been on a fast for 115 days against illegal mining on the banks of river Ganga in Hardwar. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttarakhand took no notice of this fast or of the corruption in Uttarakhand, fighting for which Swami Nigamananda gave up his life. Even more predictable was the BJP national leaderships stony silence on the subject, just as it refuses to break its implacable vow of silence regarding corruption in Karnataka or in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh. As far as the BJP is concerned, it seems that it has selective amnesia, which is a highly convenient, if ideologically bankrupt, political skill. But that is the way of political parties and is nothing more than expected behaviour from the BJP. This whole concept of civil society as represented by four select individuals is something that TV channels have gone completely overboard about. It is something that needs to be quite seriously pondered over by thoughtful citizens. The electronic media has been screaming about a war of words and how the government first sent four ministers to talk to Baba Ramdev and then broke up his yoga camp, which turned into a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) platform, at the dead of the night. The media and the Opposition were quick to condemn the midnight action of the police. Social activist Anna Hazare went on a fast at Rajghat to condemn this action and went so far as to compare it to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Is it, then, Mr Hazares case that the present democratically elected United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is the same as the British colonial government? Is that all the respect he has for the Indian Constitution and our parliamentary system? Mr Hazare also called for a second freedom movement. Against whom? The lawfully elected government of this country? What does that make Mr Hazare? What do you call a person who advocates overthrowing a lawfully elected government by means of anything else other than elections conducted by the Election Commission? Yet, nobody dares to articulate these sentiments because certain sections of the media have decided to lionise the cause of this tiny section of civil society. Which is why the entire fast was beamed live throughout the day and a gathering of 50 people to start with, which swelled to about 3,000 people, was called collectively the people of India by Mr Arvind Kejriwal. Mr Kejriwal made a rousing speech at the Rajghat event. He mostly abused the government, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the Congress, the BJP and the Prime Minister and called all of them cheats and liars. He promised that he and his ilk would never stand for an election and he then further promised that after the Jan Lokpal Bill, their civil society would move on to other issues. Needless to say, nobody who spoke there had any remarks to offer on Ramdevs threat to raise a private army of armed youth. They simply ignored it. Nor did they have any comment to offer on the campaign of Ramdev being communalised by the presence of Sadhvi Rithambara and having been carefully orchestrated by the frustrated the Sangh Parivar, which had lost one election after another, and desperately needed to regain lost ground. The RSS connection had been carefully documented by the home minister who gave dates and times of the RSS meeting where Ramdev had been formally anointed patron of the socalled anti-corruption movement. These details have not been denied till date. The time has come for the average Indian citizen to reflect upon some very serious issues. First, we cannot allow our parliamentary democracy to be subverted by the unelected and self-appointed members of civil society. Every citizen has the right and should indeed express a view on anything that concerns or agitates him. However, under the Constitution that we have given ourselves and adopted, it is the Legislature, and only the Legislature may enact laws. No member of civil society, howsoever eminent, can take this right away from the Legislature. At best, civil society may offer suggestions and it is entirely up to the Legislature to accept or reject these suggestions. That is the essence of parliamentary democracy and the sooner Team Hazare, as they are fondly dubbed by the media, understands this, the better. On TV and elsewhere, the contempt of Team Hazare for the government, political parties, the judiciary and indeed the entire constitutional scheme of things is patent, and dangerous in the extreme. They essentially claim that they will never stand for election, never be directly accountable to the people of India; they reject the process of elections (Prashant Bhushan contemptuously declared on national TV that we all know how elections are won) but yet claim to speak for the people of India. One might well ask Which people? Who exactly do they represent? If they alone are civil society, what are you and I? Should the fact that I am a member of Parliament exclude me from being a member of civil society? Or for that matter why cant some woman in rural Bihar concerned about her ration card, or in distant Kanyakumari worried about her caste certificate be any less civil society than Mr Kejriwal? If Team Hazare is never going to face an election, who do they represent? The answer is inexorably only themselves. And they insult the people of India, at large, when they reject the power of elections to bring about changes in democracy. There can be no doubt that the fight against corruption is a burning issue today and one to which every Indian is passionately committed. Equally, there is no doubt, that corruption is a scourge, which must be eradicated if our democracy is to thrive. In my view, the Right to Information Act, passed by UPA-1 was a tremendous foundation upon which the crusade against corruption is being fought today, the credit for which should go to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister. The battle is joined and will continue, in the manner laid down by the Indian Constitution. To suggest any unconstitutional alternative, whether parallel legislatures or unelected lawmakers, would not only be unconstitutional, but actively detrimental to our democratic polity. The author is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha and AICC spokesperson. The views expressed in this column are her own.

MONEY SPOILING BABAS

This is with reference to the report Satya Sai lived, slept with 98 kg gold, `12cr in cash (June 18). There are many such incidents in the life of self-styled religious gurus. I feel that most of the gurus or babas are gifted, pure in heart with a service mentality towards mankind. Gradually, the number of followers increase and give them a lot of material wealth that they may not need. This may be polluting the minds of babas and taking them away from the path of serving mankind. I would like to request all the devotees of various religious gurus not to donate costly gifts or money as this tends to have a negative effect. They must be allowed to continue their good work. DR M E JAYARAJ Secunderabad

DONT MALIGN RAMDEV

This is with reference to the report When the Baba wilted (June 15). Baba Ramdev has motivated millions of people to make yoga a way of life. Most of those who listened to his advice are enjoying good health. However, some top political leaders have started a campaign against Baba Ramdev, perhaps due to some immediate political compulsions. The same leaders may join hands with him tomorrow due to coalition dharma. In my case, even though I and my wife were advised to undergo a knee replacement surgery, we approached Baba Ramdevs clinic. After going through the treatment prescribed, we feel much better and hope to avoid surgery. It is not proper to malign someone who is doing some good work like this. J. SANJEEVA RAO Secunderabad

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ANNA HAZARES FIGHT

This is with reference to the report Centre vows strong draft by month-end (June 17). When everyone had given up hope of fighting corruption, it was Anna Hazare who lifted everyones spirit by undertaking a fast that frightened the government. We will need to stand by Anna Hazare in order to get a strong Lokpal Bill which will put an end to corruption. P. SYAMALA RADHA KRISHNA Hyderabad

CARELESS HUNTERS
It is unfortunate that D. Narasimha Rao, a retired employee was accidentally shot dead by gunmen hired by the public health department of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation when they were hunting stray pigs (Pig-headed hunters gun down old man, June 18). The lack of proper verification about the expertise of the hired gunmen and the absence of any guidelines for such a hunt shows the carelessness of the officials and the hunters. The officials should have told the hunters to use a net to trap the pigs and leave them in the forest. That would have been a better option. DR SYED IMAM SHOWKATH ALI Karimnagar

Amit Jain (What will cops do?, June 17) wins the prize for the best letter of the week. E-mail your letters to info@deccanmail.com, editor@deccanmail.com or fax them to 27805256. Else, send them to Editor, Deccan Chronicle, 36 Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad-500003. Letters without full address will not be considered for the prize.