POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 26 April 2008

Chak De India, Indeed!

MONEY MAKES TAMASHA OF SPORTS

By Poonam I Kaushish

So much for Chak de India! After the Shah Rukh Khan block buster which eulogised hockey, our national game, to a winning high of sportsmen spirit and national honour, comes a reality check. The underhand diabolical parde ke peeche sordidness of berths in teams being sold for a few rupees and more. That it smacks of everything that is wrong with Indian sport. Corruption, bribery, parochialism et al.

The recent most kissa being an exposure by a TV channel’s sting operation of the Indian Hockey Federation’s Secretary K. Jothikumaran taking money to induct a player into the national team. Leading the newly-appointed Sports Minister MS Gill to ask the Federation’s President KPS Gill to resign.  

Odd as it may sound, but it took a simple sting to confirm what has been an open secret for years. The grip of greed over the game. Three years ago, a national selector and former Indian captain, Aslam Sher Khan, quit over KPS Gill and his cronies preparing a list of the team and then asking the selectors to ratify it! Another hockey international, Gagan Ajit Singh, alleged that complete unknowns were included in the national team.

Any wonder then that for the first time India failed to qualify for the Olympics. In the last two Olympics too, we finished seventh. Worse, India could lose the chance to host the 2010 Hockey World Cup if we don’t improve our performance.

Why only hockey? See how the IPL has converted the gentleman game cricket into one big tamasha.  Think of a fizzy cocktail of superstars, business magnates, airline tycoons, glitterati and chatteratti, razzmatazz entertainment topped by skimpily clad cheerleaders  with their pom-poms specially flow in from the US. Never mind that it stokes the baser instincts of the masses. Which has replaced not only the saas-bahu serials but also Bollywood films in the TRP ratings. Clearly, instant cricket never had it so good.

Raising a moot point: Is this what cricket is all about? Is this what the future holds? Today it is cricket, tomorrow hockey, football, tennis and so on. Will it stump sports for ever? Arguably, the IPL has ‘globalised’ cricket. A heady mix of cricketers crossing international boundaries. Showcasing cross-cultural encounters with Australian captain Ricky Ponting hugging former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.  Something unimaginable two months ago when they accused each other of unsporting behaviour during the Australia-India matches.

Besides, it is providing an opportunity for Indian players to watch, learn and play alongside some of international cricket's hardest-working stars. Players like VVVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh are in addition getting an opportunity to experience the responsibilities and pressures of leadership. So what if monetary interests, rather than any fondness for cricket drive the owners to gamble. After all it is about developing the game and nurturing talent.

However, what happens to invoking the spirit of Mera Bharat Mahan? Needless to say the IPL has come to symbolise some of the worst features of nationalism. Wherein national rivalries now stoke regional bias and fuel city-centric hooliganism. Last week’s altercation between Mumbai Indians Captain Harbhajan and Punjab Kings Sreesanth are clear signs of how Team India compatriots are today’s arch rivals. Interspersed with accusations and counter-accusations. So much for calling it a gentleman’s game. A money-spinning machine is more apt.

In addition, isn’t it a strange site to see a crowd cheer two Australians bowl out an Indian player.  Already, fans are hooting for the colour of a team’s dress rather than cricketing skills. Many fear that the game is being undermined at the national level thanks to the bucks. Players today might be keener on playing for the IPL rather than for the country. Not a few cricketers assert that the IPL is too hot to be ignored no matter the national pride. Worse, it has resulted in a moral debate. Parliament was rocked when political leaders called the cheer leaders as "cricket's item numbers worse than bar dancers" who are making a "mockery of cricket."

However, many viewers are perplexed. Which team do they root for? Deccan Chargers with Andrew Symonds or Chennai Super Kings with Dhoni? Who do they applaud? Australian Ricky Ponting or our homegrown Banga bandhu Ganguly? It is kind of absurd that we have Team India players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVVS Lakshman, Yuvraj Singh playing arch rivals

Happily, post the hockey fiasco and the IPL circus, Sports Minister Gill, has declared that the sports scene was in for a major overhaul. Towards that end he has put all sports federations on notice: they would be held accountable for their sport's performance. However, these are mere symptoms of a rotten system. The malaise is deeper and needs a complete overhaul.

One of the major problems is that we are not serious about sports. We talk of sporting events as an aside. Nothing more than a conversation point which sounds good. In keeping with our herd mentality we follow the fads with the changing season. Today cricket may be fashionable, tomorrow it may be football.

The problem is compounded by total failure of sports management system, leading to bad planning. Candidly lamented Sports Minister Gill: “The culture of sports has not been indicated in our youth. We have not prepared the country on the importance of sports. Primary importance is given to preparing the youth to earn a livelihood. Education is tailor-made to emphasis studies as a stepping stone to a career as an engineer, doctor, teacher etc.

“We need to offer sports as a career option. It teaches us to be tolerant and inculcates a strong sense of nationalism. Where talent, not terror is used to savour the fruits of victory.” Brave words indeed. How? To make a start we have to wipe the slate clean. Like elsewhere, we have to follow the dictum of “catch-them-young”. A concept which is not new to India. But was dumped for reasons best known to the powers-that-be.

Leave alone training the youth, the coaches in India themselves need to be trained to coach! Take, for example, swimming. The Capital boasts of just one Olympic-size heated pool which can be used in winters, the equipment is outdated, touch-pads, basic requisite to clock swimmers are non-existent. There are no sports doctors to minister ailments or dieticians to guide eating habits. After 60 years, we still have to come up with an advanced scientific academy of sports.

The million dollar question: How will we rescue sports, be it hockey or cricket from the Octopus-like grip of money and bribe? When will we pull up our socks?  A beginning has to be made. Sooner the better or else we will say indeed Chak De India!---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The World

New Delhi, 1 May 2008

India-Iran Ties

us watches Ahmadinejad Visit

By Dr. Monika Chansoria

(School of International Studies, JNU)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s brief ‘working visit’ to New Delhi as part of his South Asia tour last month, was expectedly aimed at intensifying ties between the two countries. Deliberations in numerous key sectors ranging from energy, the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, talks on two multi-billion dollar energy deals and bilateral investments were on agenda.

However, the visit was shrouded with controversy even before Ahmadinejad’s arrival in New Delhi. The United States, which is keeping a close tab on the Iranian President’s movement in South Asia, appeared to be at unease with India-Iran ties as clearly reflected in the statement issued by the US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey: “New Delhi should urge Iran to curtail its nuclear programme and to cease enriching uranium. India should also put pressure on Iran to become a more responsible actor on the world stage and ask Iran to end its rather unhelpful activities with respect to Iraq.” Casey was obviously pointing towards Tehran’s support for promoting terrorism in Iraq.

The American statement didn’t go down too well with the Ministry of External Affairs. In its statement, New Delhi sought to rebuke Washington by stressing, “India and Iran are ancient civilizations whose relations span centuries. Both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship with the appropriate degree of care and attention and neither country needs any guidance on the future conduct of bilateral relations.” Obviously, indicating that Ahmadinejad’s trip had triggered diplomatic barbs between New Delhi and Washington.

Further, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee appeared to placate Iran by suggesting to the US that New Delhi has always pursued an independent foreign policy. At the same time, not wanting the statement to be a subject of annoyance with the Americans, Mukherjee said: “We are advising Iran that since it is a signatory of NPT, it has some obligation to international treaties. We tell the US, do not take on yourself the responsibility whether Iran was manufacturing weapons or not.”

Ahmadinejad’s visit came at an opportune time for both nations, since the past months were not exactly downy vis-à-vis bilateral ties between Tehran and New Delhi. The former was apparently incensed by India’s vote against it at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As a matter of fact, India cast its vote in 2005 in favour of a resolution finding Iran in ‘non-compliance’ with its safeguards’ obligations under the NPT and expressing ‘the absence of confidence that Iran’s nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful purposes.’ Such statements indeed make it amply clear the American pressure on India to go against Iran was critical.

Moreover, the findings are under Articles XII and III, of the IAEA Statute, both of which mandate referral of the matter to the Security Council and hold out a thinly veiled threat of sanctions and other punitive measures. Reacting sharply to New Delhi’s vote, Tehran had threatened to reconsider its economic cooperation with India in September 2005. Ahmadinejad’s visit, however, was viewed as an opportunity to iron out these differences with Iran.

India has ever-mounting demands for energy. It imports over 70 per cent of its energy needs and desperately searches for energy partners to secure new supplies of oil and gas from abroad, other than revamping up domestic production to sustain its blooming economic growth. New Delhi deems Tehran, which has the world’s second largest known oil and gas reserves after Russia, to be a long-term energy partner.

Furthermore, New Delhi intends to revive a 2005 agreement that never got implemented thanks to the rising price of oil dramatically soon after. This agreement aims at importing 5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran. President Ahmadinejad’s visit might act as a catalyst in enhancing ties between the two nations particularly in the energy sector.

The Iranian President’s visit could well have boosted Indian state-owned ONGC’s chances of buying an equity stake in phase 12 of South Pars block in Iran. Apparently, Tehran has set a June 2008 deadline for Total Company of France and Royal Dutch Shell to finalize a deal to develop phase 11 and 13 of the South Pars or it would consider allocating the blocks to other firms. In case of a failure of meeting the deadline by the above-mentioned companies, India holds a chance to grab the opportunity to develop phase 11 and 13 of the South Pars block among other Asian companies that might be in consideration as well.

Another prominent issue that came up at talks was the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. The $7.6 billion project that would eventually supply gas to India via Pakistan through a 1,615-mile pipeline was dubbed as the ‘Pipeline for Peace and Progress.’ However, the project is unable to get past the jinx since it began in 1994. The plan has been stalled by disagreements over pricing and transit fees in addition to the incessant political discord between India and Pakistan.

New Delhi has been boycotting trilateral meetings on the Iran pipeline since mid-2007, citing that it wanted to first resolve the issues of transit fees and transportation tariffs with Pakistan. The proposed pipeline would initially carry 60 million cubic meters of gas daily to Pakistan and India, half for each country. The capacity would, at a later date be raised to 150 million cubic meters.

It is, however, said that India and Pakistan are expected to be just ‘days or weeks away’ from finalizing terms for the cross-border pipeline to import gas from Iran following talks in Islamabad on April 25. Following discussion on transportation tariff and transit fees, both Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and his Pakistani counterpart Khawaja Muhammad Asif told a joint press conference that: “We have agreed upon the fundamentals of the agreement. The whole process should not take a long time, may be few days or few weeks and the agreement will be concluded.” It appears that, the meeting was well-timed as both nations realized that pipeline diplomacy would likely be a core feature of the Iranian President’s visit.

Even though India would ideally not want another nuclear entity in the neighbourhood, it is likely to restate that Iran has the right to peaceful use of civilian nuclear energy. Clearly, in its dealings with Tehran, India is walking a tight rope since it tackles the conflicting imperatives of domestic politics with its strategic interests skillfully matching them.

Understandably, India appears to be in a quandary over the US-Iran conflict where spiraling Indo-US ties make it imperative for New Delhi to balance its relations with Washington and a galloping economy pushing it to forge collaboration with Tehran. Notwithstanding the growing American pressure, particularly after the signing of the India-US civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement, brawny domestic constraints still loom large and prevent India from completely abandoning its ties with Iran.---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Round The States

New Delhi, 30 April 2008

Foodgrains For BPL Families

NDA STATES RUBBISH SONIA SERMON

By Insaf

UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi’s latest homily to the States has been rubbished by most NDA and non-Congress Chief Ministers. Addressing a rally near Malda, West Bengal on Monday last, Sonia sought to absolve the Centre for the blame of price rise saying: “It is easy to criticize the Centre, but it is imperative that the State Governments fulfil their responsibilities. They should come down on black marketers and hoarders and ensure availability of foodgrains through the PDS.” What is more, she added: “If the funds are utilized without discrimination the life of the people would improve”. But, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, for one couldn’t disagree more reflecting the general mood. He even went on a 24-hour fast with his people on Wednesday to protest against the Centre’s discrimination against the State and “continued indifference” towards Bhopal’s pending demand for drought relief and allocation of foodgrains.

In a recent letter to the Prime Minister, the BJP Chief Minister pointed out that while his Government was offering incentives to farmers to procure more foodgrains for the PDS, the Centre was cutting corners. Its allocation of 35 kg foodgrains per BPL family was barely enough for 41.25 lakh families, whereas the number of families on the rolls totalled 62.5 lakhs. In addition, the Centre needed to allocate 1.19 lakh metric tonnes of foodgrains per month for the Above Poverty Line (APL) families. Worse, the allocation under APL was much higher for Congress and UPA run States. In the first six months of 2007-08 Tamil Nadu had been allotted 14.50 lakh metric tonnes, Andhra Pradesh 11.37 lakh, Karnataka 6.90 lakh and West Bengal 3.6 lakh metric tonnes. In sharp contrast, Madhya Pradesh was allotted only 66,000 metric tonnes. Ally CPM, too has not been able to digest Sonia’s sermon.  Commented Jyoti Basu: “Her words are not important.”

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J&K Militants Secure Voter I-Cards

The Election Commission (EC) has gone into a tizzy in its preparation for the Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir this October. In an unprecedented security breach, electoral photo-identity cards were found on the bodies of two slain Pakistani militants in Handwara, Kupwara District, early this year. The cards were genuine and not faked by militants, as the State police would have liked to imagine. The names and address were correct, but the militants’ photos were put on the I-cards. Obviously, stating that it was an inside job, by an official in the electoral registration office (ERO). While one person has been arrested, the EC has decided to put on hold issuance of any fresh I-cards. It is to consider among other issues the possibility of whether it could replace all 40-lakh cards, first issued for the 2002 election. A meeting with State election officials has been called next week.

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Astrologers In Poll Demand

Astrologers are having a field day in Karnataka as the State moves towards its crucial Assembly poll, the outcome of which is anybody’s guess. Those close to the Congress and the BJP have again predicted that their best chance of defeating H.D. Deve Gowda and his sons, including former Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, is by putting up women candidates against them. (Remember Deve Gowda lost the last Lok Sabha election from Kanakapura when pitted against a Congress newcomer Tejaswini Sriramesh). Consequently, the Congress has done two things. First, it fielded a woman candidate against Deve Gowda’s elder son and former Minister H.D. Revanna. Now it has pitted former Chief Minister, late Ramakrishna Hegde’s elder daughter, amiable Mamta Nichani, against Kumaraswami from the Ramanagara seat. The candidate against Revanna is one S.G. Anupama, daughter-in-law of the arch rival of Deve Gowda, late G. Puttaswamy from Holenarasiapura. Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy has ended speculation that he would contest from two Assembly constituencies in the first phase of the poll on May 10.

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No Sex Education In Maharashtra  

Introduction of sex education in schools in Maharashtra is clearly a no-go. The Education Minister Vasant Purkhe’s announcement that sex education would be made compulsory from class IX in the next academic year was met with furore and strong resistance from MLAs. Cutting across party lines, the Shiv Sena, BJP and NCP legislators had the following to say: the move was a “western conspiracy to corrupt local culture”, it would lead to “love gurus and sex gurus” being appointed and that the “issue is against all religions and that children should not be corrupted.” Sensing the members’ touchiness about educating students about the birds and the bees, the Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar has asked the Government to put its decision on hold and first consult educationsists, social activists and MLAs who had studied the issue.

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Villagers Turn Millionaires

Farmers are for once happily at the ‘receiving end’. A village in Punjab is proof enough. Around 175 farmers of Jhurheri village, in Mohali have become millionaires overnight. On Saturday last, they received cheques ranging from Rs. 4 crore to Rs 10 crore from the Land Acquisition Officer. The whopping amount was “compensation” for their lands acquired by the Government for extending the Chandigarh international airport. Interestingly, the rate applied was Rs 1.5 crore per acre, the highest ever in the country! The Government will disburse Rs 360 crore as compensation to a total of 222 farmers. Life for some, who were finding it tough to survive on small chunks of land, can now start afresh. In fact, perhaps for many others too, if only they would cite this case if necessary.  

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Workers Shortage in Tea Industry

The tea industry captains in Assam are a worried lot. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) is cutting into their workforce. Not only is the number of plantation workers falling, worse it is so during peak plucking and pruning season (April-December).  Two divisions of Chandipur tea estate in Barak or Surma Valley had 400-odd workers this week, as against a normal strength of 600-700 workers. The management realized that they were among the 75 large tea estates which were facing a “NREG induced labour shortage.” The reason being a Rs 30 difference in wages--while tea gardens pay 48.65 per day to plantation workers, the NREGS ensures Rs 77 per day. The situation, according to an official of Indian Tea Association, is “getting out of hand,” but is hopeful of tiding over the crisis.

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Camels Make It Good

Incredibly enough the camel is in the news—for reasons both good and bad. The good news is that the camel has become dearer. The price of the camel in the Thar Desert, over the years has gone up primarily for two reasons: One, with the fuel prices escalating the animals are now replacing the tractors in farm-rich areas under the Indira Gandhi Canal system and are more in demand. Two, its milk is an elixir, now a cure for diabetes. Thus, gone are the days when the price a camel fetched was that of a goat. Instead, the herders now fetch Rs. 1.5-2 lakhs for a camel. The bad news is that the camel population is dwindling. In the 2007 livestock census it had come down to 4.30 lakh, from 6.68 lakh in 1997 and 4.98 in 2003. But now that the camel is fetching more, the demand for breeding the traditional ship of the desert is certain to go up. Moreover, fewer would come under the butcher’s knife for its meat. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

Economic Highlights

New Delhi, 29 April 2008

Elusive SAFTA

OPEN MARKET TO SAARC NATIONS

By Dr. Vinod Mehta

(Former Research Director, ICSSR)

 Fourteen SAARC Summits have been held till date, but the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is yet to take off!   While ASEAN and EU are reaping the benefits of a common market, South Asian countries continue to lag behind. Since the start of our liberal economic policies we have been opening up our market to foreign goods and investments, such as China and South East Asia. While we have signed FTA with Thailand, SAFTA is still elusive.

This raises the question: what should India do? With Pakistan unwilling to extend the MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status, should we keep waiting for it to act, or considering that India is a large country, should it unilaterally become more liberal towards imports and investments from small neighboring countries?

The relatively strained relations with Pakistan, which are showing signs of thawing, should not come in the way of trade and economic relations between India and other SAARC countries. Note that there is a huge potential for trade and economic links with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. With its elections over, Nepal is likely to concentrate a lot more on its economy to fight the widespread poverty and unemployment. As for Pakistan, with the new civilian coalition government in saddle, its attitude towards India may too change.

What about us? Well, at this stage we can afford to be a bit more generous with our smaller neighbours.  We need not become hyper-sensitive to being labeled as ‘big brother’ by some quarters in these countries. Both territory and population-wise, India is relatively much bigger than all SAARC countries put together. In economic terms too, India is large -- one huge market perhaps the size of EEC.

Besides, its GDP is much higher than its neighbours and at the moment India is enjoying a large and comfortable volume of foreign exchange reserves that it hadn’t seen in the past five decades. The Indian economy is growing at an average rate of 9 to 10 per cent per annum, which is a reasonable rate of growth. Reasons enough for us to be more liberal than what we had been in the past.

Apart from economic gains, India should also aim to earn the goodwill of the people of these countries by being more accommodative towards them. At the moment, Bangladesh is having adverse trade balance with India. There should be no problem for India to allow duty free import of certain Bangladeshi products like jamdani sarees and hilsa fish. Already some retail outlets in Delhi are selling biscuits from Bangladesh which are as good as any Indian manufactured ones and have not posed any threat to our producers.

In fact, India could make similar gestures to other neighbouring countries especially Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives and allow their products to have an access to the Indian market in a big way. We have no reason to get paranoid that the neighbours’ goods would flood our markets. Their production bases are so small that it will call for huge investment before they can produce goods on a scale, which can flood the Indian market. In fact, following liberalization many Indian companies have shifted their production base to some of these countries.

India’s external trade is today mainly oriented towards the US. The EEC and a few West Asian countries, and ASEAN would come second. As for SAARC, the trade turnover between India and its member countries is so small that it does not even attract attention in our annual Economic Surveys.

A few years ago when we opened up our economy, it was feared that cheap Chinese goods would flood the Indian market. While this did happen in a big way, the Chinese had to beat a hasty retreat as their quality was sub-standard. The Indian consumer refused to accept these even though they were relatively cheaper. Compared to China, our South Asian neighbours are small in every respect and unlike China would not be able to dump their goods on the Indian market.

There are also many additional opportunities to expand cooperation with the SAARC nations. For instance, the tourist sector within this   region has been neglected for long. While tourism has a low capital investment, it is relatively a high-earning potential. At one point of time, daily air services to link the capitals of all the SAARC countries was under consideration. This idea could be revived. We should learn from the ASEAN experience, wherein its capitals are linked by air and they have special low airfares for travel within the countries.

This apart, wherever possible rail, road and sea links must be strengthened among the SAARC countries. With Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh we can develop world-class road and rail links for speedy movement of both goods and people. With Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh we can develop sea links.

India must also take a lead in admitting more members.  It may be a good idea to allow other countries like Afghanistan and Burma to become full members, while Central Asian countries could be admitted as dialogue partners. It is India, which can take the initiative by lobbying with SAARC nations. And, if it calls for amending the original SAARC charter, India should be able to carry other members along with it.

Let’s take the example of Afghanistan. It is engaged in reconstructing its economy and not only needs humanitarian aid but also trade. If Afghanistan is admitted as a member of SAARC it would be easier for countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India to send goods by road through Pakistan as the latter would find it difficult to block transit facilities to Kabul.

Yet again, land-locked Central Asian nations like Uzbekistan, Tajikististan, Kyrghistan and Kazakhstan, too are looking for trade opportunities through land routes with India. If they become dialogue partners or associate members of the SAARC, it would again be difficult for Pakistan to stop the movement of Central Asian goods to India, Nepal and Bangladesh through its territory and vice-versa.

It is time India becomes active in SAARC by winning over its small neighbours. Allow them some duty free goods to India which are of importance to them. Let these nations also share India’s higher growth rate. For, India will benefit by large trade turnover within the region in the long run. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)