The Right to Education Act The children are the most precious resource of any country. The future of a country rests on the physical, mental, moral and cultural growth of the children. Education system plays an important role in shaping the future of children of a country. A sustainable and effective education system nurtures all the qualities of a child to become a resourceful citizen in future life. Large-scale unemployment and existence of under utilised labour force are the most unwanted form of human resource wastage. In a global market, a country can’t afford such an extensive wastage. To become an economic super power, India needs to create opportunities to trap the unutilised and / or under utilised human resources for capacity building. An education system, which is capable of fostering the innate qualities of the students, is what India needs most now. To meet the growing need of a vibrant and dynamic education system, the Government of India has implemented ambitious Right to Education Act (REA) in 1 April, 2010. This Act actually mandates the overhaul of school curricula and traditional examination procedures drastically. With the enactment of the Right to Education Act (REA), all the children between the ages of 6 and 14 are eligible to get opportunity of free and compulsory elementary education. The Act aims at expansion, inclusion and excellence of education system to help the children of the country to blossom into enlightened personalities. As per the new law, the schools need to have certain minimum facilities like adequate teachers, playground and infrastructure. The government will evolve some mechanism to help marginalised schools complying with the provisions of the Act. The Finance Commission has provided Rs 25,000 crore to the states for implementation of the Act. As per the government's estimate, there will be a requirement of Rs 1.71 lakh crore in the next five years for implementation of the Act. The plan under inclusion deals with actually implementing the Act in its truest spirit. At present, there are nearly 22 crore children in the relevant age group. However, 4.6 per cent of these children (nearly 92 lakh) are out of school. The responsibility to identify the drop outs or out of school children above six years of age and bring them within education system rest with the local school management committee and/or the local authority. The local administration will conduct household surveys and mapping of neighbourhood schools. Regular and intensive surveys will help to identify the out of school children while mapping of neighbourhood schools will act as a database. The Act makes it a right of every child to get education. It also makes it obligatory for the concerned authorities to ensure that every child gets free elementary education. The REA mandates that even private educational institutions have to reserve 25 per cent seats for children from weaker sections. It is also mandated by the act that no child shall be denied admission for lack of age proof, held back or expelled from the school before completing the elementary education. Presently, the number of students in a classroom to the teacher ratio stands at 50:1. However, the Act stipulates that the ratio should be 30:1. To maintain the stipulated ratio, at least 12 lakh more trained teachers need to be recruited. More critically, more than five lakh teachers are currently untrained whereas the Act states that all the teachers must be qualified and trained. The Central government shall develop and enforce standards for the training of the teachers. To this end, the Central government shall provide technical support and resources to the state government for encouraging and promoting innovations, researches, planning and capacity building. Special attention has been paid in outlining the school curriculum and evaluation procedure. Maintaining conformity with the values enshrined in the Constitution, curricula are to be designed focusing into all round physical and mental development of a child. Efforts to build up knowledge, potentiality and talent of a child through educational activities, explorations and discoveries in a child friendly and child-centric manner have been emphasised. One of the important tasks of the teachers is making child free of fear, trauma and anxiety and helping him expressing his views freely. The REA prohibits private tuition and mandates comprehensive and continuous evaluation of child’s understanding of knowledge and his/her ability the same. No, it is one of the most significant reforms introduced by the government in recent times. The Act has already come under severe criticism for various reasons. However, the necessity of changing age-old European model of education based on the concept of ‘individual growth’ with a more pragmatic education system based on collective prosperity is considered to be too important for sustainable development of the country.

THE RIGHT TO STRIKE SHOULD EMERGE FROM DENIAL OF JUSTICE India is well known for ‘Bandhs, Hartals and Strikes by various political parties, trade unions, employees of Government and Semi-Government orgranisations including Trade and Business Associations. The purpose and aim of such non-productive agitations are sometimes flimsy, egoistic and to show the strength, clout and superiority before the concerned authorities and their respective organizations. If we see all such rights to protest against injustice or for any genuine grievances through the same prism, it would be a prejudiced or misconceived view, as quite often there are spontaneous protests against injustice or for the survival of the weaker sections over the suppression and depression of dominant sections who have ample resources, clouts and muscle power in today’s polity. Our democracy has become a platform for implementing the might and influence of certain sections of the society who has all the wherewithal to take advantage of the weak points of our political parties and the State and Central Governments through manipulation, misrepresentation of the facts and coercing the various wings of the government machinery to cut out maximum cakes in their favour from a fluid and confused situation prevailing in our country. The Unions and their leaders are also not exception from this reality. While a section of the people are protected and promoted at the cost of the taxes paid by the citizens and resources of the country, teeming millions working in private sectors lead a hand to mouth existence and exploited from their masters and to fight for their cause no leaders are coming forward and if at all someone raise his protest, it would be ridiculed and neglected by the rest of the powerful sections who control the majority of media which should brought out such injustices and partial attitudes of the authorities and policy failures to the lime light. The recent strikes by the members of Oil Sector Officers Association for better pay based on the basics of 6th Pay Commission recommendations and the hardships they brought to the common man all over the country inspite of their fatty pay packets and other perks compared to other sectors show their immaturity in taking out the ultimate weapon of right to strike for justice, as our country is also being gripped under the global recession and many sections are struggling to cope up with the emerging scenario. The situation had gone from bad to worse in view of the strike declared by Truckers’ Association by raising unreasonable demands including abolition of toll tax. However, the widespread condemnation of the people against such strikes which caused innumerable hardships to the common man forced the Government to take stringent action against them including termination of services and imposition of ESMA finally opened their eyes to see the stark reality and thus had to retreat from their illogical decision to hold the nation to ransom for their illegitimate demands. Out of this process, though the people faced some hardships, a clear message emerged from under the carpet that no section can fool the people with unjustified demands. The emerging consciousness amongst the people on various issues shows that the Governments in power shall have to consider the feelings and difficulties of the people and the policy of appeasement to a section at the cost of their normal life shall have effective backlash and the anger and resentment expressed by them is not sorted out, the party in power has to pay a heavy price. Why it happens today? This is because of the rising awareness amongst the people due to the expansion of media coverage and increase in education amongst the citizens not only in urban areas, but in rural sectors too. Therefore, all the political parties should frame out their manifestos in the forthcoming elections by measuring the hardships, under development, poverty, illiteracy and social and economic backwardness of various sections of our countrymen and come out with true and logical solutions to ameliorate their concerns and work for fulfilling their aspirations and hopes in a liberalized and globalised economy. Now the people of India is comparing our lifestyles and social status with other similar developing and developed nations and they are evaluating the roles and actions of various political leaders and ashamed and angered over the stories of rags to riches of many leaders at the cost of poor and weaker sections, since they think that these sections are their liability and hindrance against their material progress in their political profession!

MULLAPERIYAR DAM – LIFE AND DEATH ISSUE FOR TN & KERALA

The controversy about Mullaperiyar dam has drawn the attention of the people at national level and discussed and debated at length in the media. It has also become a thorny issue for the Centre to settle the sensitive dispute when both the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have stuck to their respective stands. When TN wants to maintain their rights over the maximum availability of water for its drought prone southern districts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala fears that if the dam breaches, it would be a colossal disaster for the four million people living downstream. In short, it is a story of large heartedness of water plus Kerala to help out the neighbouring water starved State of Tamil Nadu that cries for water for the cultivation of its drought prone areas. Now the people and the Government of Kerala feel that bad days are ahead and started shouting for help to avert the impending disaster with all sorts of suggestions and seeking intermediaries to sort out the complex issue.

The history of the construction of dam goes back to British era when the idea was first conceptualized by the then rulers of Madras Presidency who approached the Maharaja of Travancore for diverting water from Periyar to Vaigal river for agricultural purposes. Although the plan was initiated in the year 1808, the official signing of the agreement was done in the year 1886 and thus the dam was built in 1985 on the river Mullaperiyar. It has a length of 1200 ft. and height of 155 ft and the catchment area comes to 5334 sq. km. of which 5222 sq. km. come inside Kerala and the remaining is in Tamil Nadu. The signing of the agreement seems to have been done by the Maharaja of Travancore under pressure from British Government and whatever the compensation given against the diversion of water from the dam for irrigation and generating electricity was quite token and nominal. And the agreement entered into between two parties was for a period of 999 years. As such Madras Presidency was very alert to modify and expand the dam structure periodically and started the process of generating electricity. In fact, after the reorganization of the State on linguistic basis, the popular government in Kerala was not alert to take care of its own interests as compared to the erstwhile princely Sate of Kerala while Tamil Nadu Government went on to take maximum advantage of the dam by supplying water to its southern part of drought hit areas.

Though Kerala could have taken adequate steps to safeguard its interest, it again signed an agreement with TN to continue the uninterrupted use of water and generation of electricity through another agreement in the year 1970. It was really an unwise step on its part and later on that step turned out to be the ratification of the previous agreement signed in 1886, which resulted in weakening the scope to challenge the previously agreement legally in the court of law. The second agreement gave Kerala the right to fishing in the lake as a compensation for allowing power generation and increase in the annual rent for the land, inspite of the fact that Kerala government started raising the issue of safety of the dam way back in 1960. Whatever the repairing work to plug the leakage and the weakening structure undertaken by TN Government was not sufficient to give the desired results and thus on request, the Central Government interfered in the matter and an expert commission was appointed under the Chairmanship of the then Chairman of Central Water Commission and two engineers each from the two States as its members. All the suggestions put forward by the Commission were fulfilled by TN, but could not implement the last suggestion of constructing a new dam not far away from the existing dam. The main reason shown by the reluctance of building the proposed site for the new dam was that it came under the wild life sanctuary and the clearance of Forest Department was required. Meanwhile, leaks were detected below the baby dam and the commission suggested the strengthening of the same. However, Kerala was satisfied with the retention of water level at or below 136 feet in the dam. But later on the pressure from Tamil Nadu to raise the water level precipitated the matter and a two member commission appointed by the Kerala State to look into the feasibility of the demand of TN found that the main dam has already completed its normal life and amongst its other findings, the main recommendation was that the water level should not be raised beyond the stipulated 136 ft.

Later on 1998, both States held ministerial level meeting to sort out the issue, but the reports were contradicting in nature and this led to filing of suits in the Courts of Kerala and TN by various agencies and individuals. Ultimately TN approached the Supreme Court for transferring all pending cases into the purview of the Apex Court, which in turn asked both the States to sort out the issue through bilateral talks. There was a standstill regarding raising the water level above 136 ft. and thereafter the Supreme Court directed the Central Government to appoint an expert committee, and during this period i.e. between December 2000 and January 2001, two serious earthquakes took place near to the dam site resulting in several cracks and water leaking on the dam. As to how such leaks would be stopped became a bone of contention between two States and the recommendation of the Central Water Commission to raise the water level after strengthening the dam to 142 ft. initially and thereafter to 152 ft. was rejected by the representatives of Kerala who were part of the expert committee. Based on the approval of the raise of water level suggested by the Committee and forwarded to Central Government, Supreme Court made an order in 2006, which went in favour of TN, but rejected by the Government of Kerala. After the pronouncement of the Order of Supreme Court, there was a demand from all sections in Tamil Nadu to close the shutters in order to allow the raising of water level in the dam.

However, Kerala assembly convened an extra ordinary meeting and the then Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy made it clear that water level would not be allowed to raise above 136 ft. and the special session of the Assembly passed Kerala Irrigation & Water Conservation (Amendment) Act 2006 which gave powers to Kerala State to verify the safety of all dams in the State and take necessary actions, if necessary. Although TN approached the Supreme Court, still status quo is continuing.

Now, Kerala seeks new dam to protect the lives and property of its citizens and all the political parties were united and observed a total shut down in four districts – Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam. The State is concerned with the recent strong earthquakes that can endanger the lives of four million people residing in downstream area. Anger and anxiety among the people living in and around the dam area has increased. The Chief Minister assured the opposition leaders to do the needful by suggesting to construct a new dam so as to dismantle the existing one to save the lives of the people and alleviate their constant fear. Even, he represented the case before the Prime Minister and led an all party delegation of Kerala MPs with a request to intervene in the matter before the situation turns beyond control.

Prime Minister stressed on the need to create a conducive atmosphere in both the States and requested to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution through process of dialogue and communication and advised both the Chief Ministers to maintain restraint and enter into a meaningful dialogue to sort out the issue.

Thereafter, a special one day session of the Kerala assembly was also convened for arriving at a political consensus on the demand for a new dam in place of the 116 year old structure. It adopted a unanimous resolution to lower the water level in the reservoir to 120 ft from 136 ft as an immediate safety measure. Chief Minister of Kerala is wondered over the adamant attitude of TN Government, when it has assured the same quantity of water to TN and there was no plan for regulating the flow and restriction or diversion of quantum of water. He also rejected Jayalalithaa’s charge that political parties in Kerala are whipping up fear psychosis on the safety of the same. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court dismissed the demand of Kerala to reduce the water level to 120 ft. considering that the situation is not that much critical and at the same time dismissed the demand of TN Government to raise the water level over the present level of 136 ft.

The political scenario in Tamil Nadu was gradually heating up in Tamil Nadu, when widespread protests were going on in Kerala. DMK observed one day fast in all towns and districts to draw the attention of the Centre and neighbouring Kerala, while Chief Minister Jayalalitha has convened a special assembly session to discuss the matter and declared that the water from Mullaperiyar dam is a lifeline to the water starved TN for irrigation and as per the existing agreement and under any circumstances, it would not succumb to the pressure tactics of Kerala. Chidambaram also stated in a meeting that the issue of dam safety was raked up in view of Piravom by-election. However, his statement was rebuked by his own party men in Kerala as an immature comment without realizing the gravity of the ground reality. Meanwhile, TN Government has banned the screening of controversial film “Dam 999”, as the characters in the film spoke of the theme that a dam, though built for drinking water and irrigation requirement was a potential disaster on account of earthquake and depicted in the film such a way that it would be ten times dangerous than a nuclear disaster. Meanwhile a special session of TN assembly was convened to pass a resolution that the State would not give up its rights over Mullaperiyar dam. The unanimous resolution would send a clean signal that the State is united on this issue. Jayalalithaa requested her counterpart not to politicize the dam issue and solve the matter in scientific spirit and based on the findings expert committee.

It was also reported that scattered violence took place on border areas of the State targeting Keralites and tension is building up due to the passion created by political parties in their respective States. It is quite strange that the national parties are also taking sides with the State political parties without suggesting a solution to the issue. On the part of Kerala, the CM Oommen Chandy urged his counter part to take care of the safety and security of scores of Keralites settled and living in Tamil Nadu and assured them that Kerala has taken adequate steps to protect the safety of the people hailing from Tamil Nadu staying in the State.

Now, the Supreme Court has asked the Central Government to give response to the demand of both the State Governments seeking deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for the security of the dam including the sabotage by anti-social elements or miscreants to create havoc by taking undue advantage out of the volatile situation. It has further directed both the parties to respect the status quo and declared that the Supreme Court empowered Committee was still looking to the dam row issue and may give its final verdict after going through the entire matter and hearing both the parties and weighing their presentations and also based on the real facts. Kerala High Court has also asked the State Government to clarify the action that will be taken to provide relief and rescue the people in case of a disaster due to the breach of the dam.

Since the Supreme Court has intervened in the matter, political leaders of both the States have advised their cadres to keep calm till an amicable solution is found at the earliest. The visit of Prime Minister to Tamil Nadu on the eve of Christmas got an opportunity to submit a memorandum to him by Jayalalithaa to advice the Kerala State to abide by the Supreme Court order and carryout strengthening work of the dam and on the other hand Karunanidhi also appealed to Prime Minister to see that the attack on Tamilians in certain pockets of Kerala would be viewed seriously and do the needful.

Now the ball is lying on the court of Central Government to take up the issue seriously and bring the parties across the table by entrusting the investigation to a truly professional technical team either from the country or abroad regarding the safety of dam and its capacity to resist the pressure of water during monsoon and what interim steps would be taken till an alternate formula is adopted to set right the matter. It would also highlight the tragedy of collapse of dams in the recent past to the public glare and set norms for the life span of a new dam when approval may be granted by the concerned ministries. Finally, it is also the responsibility of the Centre to take all the social, economic, geographical aspects of a dam which would be built in future on the borders of two states and the possible confrontation in future, if something goes adverse technically or economically which in turn may detrimental to the interest of the people of a particular state.

In the case of Mullaperiyar, the State of Kerala is pleading the case with practical approach and Tamil Nadu being the beneficiary should practically see the safety of dam and security of the people of its neighbouring State and ought to act in a sensible manner considering the future consequences and without forgetting the needs and necessity of its people from the existing dam or the dam which may be built at the cost of Kerala. It is the most opportune time to act with great constraints and not the time for profit and loss in economic terms, as a wrong decision may sometime create havoc and holocaust and under the situation who would take up the responsibility for such a situation and who will award exemplary punishment to the authorities responsible for the same.

SEZ – A SLOW RACING HORSE IN INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

The scheme of Special Economic Zone was controversial since its inception itself. However, after the declaration of the scheme in the year 2006, many companies were interested to establish their units under the scheme in the years 2007 & 2008. But, their interest has been slowed down during the previous year and many of them either wish to leave their projects or ask for the extension of period in completing it. Therefore, there is a necessity to analyse their change of minds in this direction. According to the official statement, so far 597 projects have been cleared in principle out of which 335 units are notified. Out of 335 units, some units are working and some units are under uncertainty.

Reasons for attraction towards SEZ.

After declaration of SEZ scheme, many companies were eager to establish their units under it and there were two three reasons for the same. The main attractions were the following :-

i. The zones established under the scheme shall get the benefit of 100% tax benefits including income-tax, and thereafter, for the next five years, there shall be tax concession of 50% and thereafter, 50% tax concession on the profit made from the zones for its reinvestment.

ii. The other point of attraction was that out of the land allotted
for establishing the industrial zone, only 35% should have to be utilized for manufacturing activities and the remaining can be utilized for Administrative Buildings and also for other activities.

iii. Further, the State Governments were ready to acquire the
land for SEZ directly from farmers.

In view of many concessions granted under SEZ, many observers called it as the new advent of Feudalism, however, the Government was committed to go forward with the scheme and many companies shown their interest to establish their units under the scheme till 2008.

The impact of Recession

In view of the global recession which started by the middle of the year 2008, the situation was changed all over the world which affected our country too. Prior to the recession, there were huge demands for commercial complexes and offices and thus the value for real estate property was at higher level. After the recession, there was a downward trend of valuation in property market which affected the rush for the purchase of offices in commercial complexes. Further, the Companies exclusively functioning in the real estate area found it difficult to get the finance, as there was a disinterest amongst the investors in shares in view of lesser value of the real estate properties.

The availability of land

There was a trend to obstruct the possession of land in establishing SEZ units. In the beginning, the Government started to acquire land for public interest by using its legal right and provided to such units for setting up units by private industrialists/business men. However, there was a hue and cry for acquiring the land by the Government for public interest and at the same time handing over to the private parties for making profits. And due to this issue, it was difficult for the Government to acquire the land for SEZ units by using its authority and power. Gradually it became the custom for the private parties to acquire the land directly from farmers for setting up their units, however, such practice also did not sustain for long in view of the opposition from small land holders to sell their land for the project although a large portion of the land was acquired for the zone unit.
There is an opinion that such cases should be resolved by the intervention of the State Government and one another opinion is that the Government should keep away from such disputes. And thus, there is an uncertainty still exists for setting up the SEZ.

Increasing Uncertainties

Now a situation has arisen wherein many companies are not interested to set up their units in an atmosphere of uncertainties. Therefore, the companies which are working in the real estate are started de-notifying their own schemes and also slowed down its activities. The companies working in other fields also are closely watching the chaining scenario, as we can understand the trend from their decisions to extend the implementation of setting up of the projects for a further period. According to the official statement, it is claimed that 101 projects are working at present under SEZ and about Rs. 1.70 lacs are invested by different parties till date. However, the opinion of the observers differ from the official stand, as according to them this is not an extra ordinary achievement and they site that under the normal conditions also there is an increase in investment in our country. And perhaps, without SEZ scheme also, there could have been investment of this order. According to observes, many times, SEZ schemes are compared with the Chinese industrial policy. But the fact is that the Chinese Government on its own sets up Special Economic Zones and there the ownership of the land rests with the Government. As such SEZ is now obstructed from all angles.

The ugly and unpredictable face of Maoism

The gruesome killing of 73 CRPF personnel in the thick Mukrana forest of Chhatisgarh’s Dantewada district on 6th April once again proved the lack of efficacy in collecting intelligence outputs and lack of training in jungle warfare to contain the guerilla war strategies of Maoists. The high causality of one of the elite para-military in a single attack shocked the nation and the responsibility for this tragic incident has to be shouldered both by State and Central Government. CRPF team consisting of about 80 personnel including a Deputy and Assistant Command of 68 battalion and a constable of the District Police Force were traveling in a vehicle which was surrounded and ambushed and overpowered by a strong force of about 1000 maoists. They had also triggered a landmine blast, which could blow up the CRPF vehicle and was the cause of maximum unexpected causalities. Although the injured and dead were airlifted to nearby hospitals and reinforcements were sent to track down the naxals and their whereabouts.

There were Naxalite violence and attack in Orrisa and some parts of West Bengal and ofcourse Andhra Pradesh has had the longest history of Naxalite movements. If we analyse the factors of naxal/maoist movements, we can find out the suppression and oppression of the poor and landless farmers by rich landlords and their loss of faith in the existing political system and administration to deliver them justice and come out of their miseries. In fact an organized movement with dedicated leaders made a cadre based party could influence a large chunk of people to the naxal / maoist fold and the members were asked to wage a guerilla war against the state establishments by attacking vital installations and killing the targeted people including the police/para-military personnel. As a matter of fact, the leaders of national political parties started thinking about the root cause of naxalite upheavals after a long drawn out battle to suppress the movement by state force and they realized the emerging scenario that the naxal movements have started spreading to new areas of Maharashtra, M.P., Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal etc. and many underdeveloped parts and also in forest areas of these states, their writ runs against the will of the States. Many battles fought with them through the state force could not erase their presence and day by day their area of influence has started increasing. What went wrong for the emergence of such a scenario to develop in these under developed States even after six decades of independence? The simple answer is the failure to distribute equitably the fruits of development and the uncompassionate and insensitive bureaucracy as well as the local leaders to do something concrete for the poorest of poor. Further, they were exploited to the tilt by the local powerful and influential personnel as a tool for their upward mobility and even the Government was also apathetic towards their sufferings and poor social and economic conditions. The spread of media i.e. both print and electronic media coupled with the awareness created by the leaders of naxal/maoist movements made them more tough and they have started organizing the naxal activities with an avowed mission of better tomorrow free from exploitation and suppression and enjoy the pleasure of economic advancement and freedom.

Moreover, there was a great failure on the part of State and Central Governments to find out the root causes of naxalite movements and planning out effective schemes for their economical and social advancement and also monitoring the implementation of schemes already launched. Further, the recent declaration of war against Naxal / Maoist by Home Minister, P. Chidambaram was also uncalled for as it gave them an opportunity to unite various groups and making coordinated attacks on Government establishments and law enforcing authorities. As a strategic measure, the Central Government should have declared more employment generating and anti-poverty schemes in these areas and educating the people regarding their senseless killings of innocent people in the name of their aim and ideology on the one hand and collected more and more intelligence outputs from the people at the grass root level by working amongst them and persuading them the futility of taking weapons against the State thereby demoralizing their leaders to give up the armed struggle against the State establishments for achieving their goals. Unless and until a good rapport and contacts are maintained with the people of troubled areas and understand their woes and aspirations with confidence building measures about their future prospects and progress, it will be a Herculean task for the Government to make a semblance of normalcy in the near future. In order to achieve this, there should have a concrete plan for the amelioration of the poor people and construction of social organizations like schools, colleges, hospitals, better roads, sanitation, drinking water and the sources for continuous employment. And the Government should also propagate and advertise what they are going to do for them and what they have achieved within prescribed period is also must to counter any negative propaganda by the vested interested leaders. Hope, the Government will ponder over all these matters and think afresh for changing their mindsets to wait for some more time for a better tomorrow of their own dreams!

RIGHT TO EDUCATION ACT

The enactment of Right to Education is considered as a proactive legislation intended to ensure free and compulsory schooling to children of the age group of 6 – 14 that has come into force since April 1, 2010. India has also joined with the other 130 countries for providing free and compulsory education to children as a legal guarantee under the provisions of the Constitution. RTE enables any child to walk to his/her neighborhood school and assert the right to be admitted. Although, it may be boosted as an achievement by a section of the society, one has to be cautious about its implementation in toto in view of the poor track records of such model legislations in the past.

Our Constitution guarantees education as one of the fundamental rights of a citizen, a large chunk of Indians are not even aware of this noble piece of constitutional provision and our leaders are also seem to be less concerned to make effective measures to make it as a success. This is because of the fact that the poor are struggling to have the basic necessities of day to day life and in such a scenario, they also turn to their children for their contribution to support the family in whatever way possible. According to a rough estimate, 150 million children work as bonded laborers in our country and it is also a well known fact that they are half starved and malnourished in comparison with their counterparts in developed countries.

As a matter of fact that our constitution enshrines guarantee against discrimination, but it is vague regarding the right of life and livelihood, and there are restrictions of converting to religious faith of one’s choice etc. The constitutional provisions to protect the civil rights of a citizen are quite often not implemented and the authorities who are concerned to oversee its effects sometimes abuse and harass the people. There are countries which do not provide any guarantee for free and compulsory education to children. However, they are having the resources and abilities to influence the parents to send their children, so that they may not be a burden to the society later on and further the educational system itself is designed in such a way that when they grow up they will not have any difficulty to earn their bread and butter. It is a rosy picture of one side of the coin, but the other side is the discrimination and unsupportive attitude of the authorities to maintain the status quo of a particular section of the society due to social and historical reasons. But, their miserable stories are not highlighted in the media and no one is interested to report their social, cultural and economic status, since it would not be an attractive job. Although such a situation exists in developed nations, thousands of Indians are prepared to spend a considerable portion of their savings or by borrowing the money from financial institutions to settle in these countries with a dream of better tomorrow.

The model laws enacted for social justice seldom help the concerned sections of the society, as the levels of dishonesty and corruptions prevailing in our country make hurdles for its sincere implementation. Not only that unscrupulous elements extort money from hapless people including women, who can not run from pillar to post. Nowadays, we hear the cases of judges and cops whose roles to grease the palms of the culprits to make fast buck close their eyes conveniently before the rule of law and fair legal system which should have been worked for the welfare of the general public.

Our MPs are asked to vote for a particular legislative piece by their party do not have th right to open their mouths and hence they have become the tools of manipulators and lobbyists who are in need of various concessions for their trade and business whose interests are to earn money from the people without giving much to the price paid by them. Therefore, without proper infrastructure and addressing most important issues like unemployment, under wages and lack of support from the concerned authorities, RTE is not going to become a successful tool to support the have nots to stand up on their own feet thereby to achieve economic independence and status in the society.

The declaration and commitment of our Hon’ble Prime Minister that financial constraints do not hamper the implementation of the Right to Education Act. He knows the financial implications of implementing it in a time frame of six years and the gigantic sum required for the same. According to eminent educationist, Vimala Ramachandran “It’s not just about hiring 12 lakh more teachers, how are you going to get teachers to go and each in these government schools, especially in North India, West Bengal and Oriisa, where they are not functioning. The right is not just about the building of school, but the learning experiences”, she reminds.

Kapil Sibal is quite proud to announce that the RTE provides the opportunity to “do away with the myth that government can’t provide quality education”. However, in stark reality, even the lower middle class people prefer to send their wards to private schools show that there are very less takers for his bold statements. It means that the Government Schools have to come out with concrete measures and show that deprived sections are serious in their educational facilities offered by a Government School. Further, The earmarking o 25% seats in private schools for children hailing from economically weaker sections may become a impractical proposal, as who will see minutely regarding their sincerity and honesty in the matter ?

Certain provisions of RTE Act such as quota for poor sections are not going to be smooth, as the private schools have started asking whether the Government will hike the fees of the Schools or Grants will be allotted to them in lieu of their loss of 25% seats.

On the one hand the parents are already reeling under crushing inflation shall have to eke out something from their pockets directly or indirectly to support education under RTE. In order to achieve a sembalance of success of RTE Act, the first and foremost task is to improve the infrastructure and quality of education in government run schools and for this there must be popular support in favour of the new Act by augmenting their sources of income to donate a part for the welfare of the children belonging to poorest of poor section of the people of our country.

In order to revolutionise the existing system, it must be mandatory for every candidate who may contest in the next general elections to withdraw their kins from reputed and costlier private schools and put them in government run schools to show the world that they have no inhibition to send their wards to such schools which in turn would create an impression that change is taking place in government schools. Otherwise, this Act will be another tool to squeeze the pockets of already burdened geneal public to pay the tax in some or other ways to implement the Act without having any vision and mission and thus the middle men, unscrupulous elements and vested interested sections will usurp the money meant for this model and ambitious RTE Act.

SHALL THE EDUCATION BILLS TRANSLATE THE DESIRED CHANGES ?

The higher education scenario in our country is going to be changed within a short span of time. HRD Ministry has taken a series of measures to clean up the mess and would like to bring in accountability and transparency in Technical, Medical and Educational Institutions. The UPA Government has taken up this initiative based on the widespread allegations from various student bodies, parents associations and NGOs related with education that higher level education especially in private sector has become a commercial activity and the hype generated through various media channels have in real sense turned out to be an eye wash at the cost of quality education. Further, the students are forced to pay additional fees including exorbitant capitation fees to the authorities if they want admission in higher level educational institutions.

Quite often it has been observed that these educational establishments do not have the required infrastructure, experienced and qualified faculty and they have a tendency to promote their institutions by painting the excellent results with a view to encourage a prospective market at the cost of quality. How far such a scenario should be allowed to go unchecked is a million dollar question? Whether the Regulatory Authorities working under the HRD Ministries of State and Central Government are capable of controlling the widespread allegations against the higher level educational and technical institutions and have enough autonomy and power to take punitive actions or corrective measures? There are many such issues which churn the minds of right thinking educationalists and citizens of our country to create the cream layer of our future generation more worthy and knowledge oriented and become efficient and effective in their work spheres.

This is because latest knowledge of technical skills and educational background are required to carryout their duties, but definitely not the Certificates issued to them with certain percentage as their achievement in a particular area. The new era of globalization needs sharp minded technocrats having excellent educational and technical background to perform their roles with perfection by contributing their own share to make the products and services competitive and qualitative in the fast changing scenario of the modern world.

All the above factors including the large scale migration of students for higher level technical education to foreign universities and also the eagerness of the foreign universities to enter into the educational scenario of our country in view of its emerging role as a dominant economy has forced the Central Government to take some drastic changes in the existing regulatory system of higher level education. Four new bills such as Foreign Education Provider, Educational Tribunal, Accreditation and Prohibition of Education Malpractices have already been cleared by the Group of Ministers and approved by the Cabinet and the fifth bill calls for Amendment in the Architecture Act.

These bills are going to be tabled in the Budget session and expected to become law by Monsoon session. These steps of the Central Government is going to change the face of higher education in the area of accreditation of higher educational institutions and setting up of education tribunals and curbing the existing malpractices practices and empowering the students and parents to take punitive action against erring institutions.

The present monopoly of the Government run accreditation agencies are going to be curtailed and as per the proposed law, there will be multiple accreditation agencies mostly private with their actions being monitored by a National Authority for regulation of Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions with an autonomous body on the lines of Sebi for regulating the Accreditation Agencies. The term of the Members is for five years and they may not be eligible for further employment in any higher educational institutions of Central and State Government. Accreditation Agencies will accredit Institutions in the areas of teaching, learning and research, human resource and research infrastructure, placement, governance structures and course curriculum.

However, the Education Tribunal Bill calls for a three tier structure to deal with disputes between students and institutions, teacher and institutions as well as dispute in connection with affiliation, unfair means adopted by students in examination and also by the Institutions. As such National Education Tribunal Bill may not adjudicate the matters concerning recognition and shall have the power to adjudicate any disputes between two or more statutory regulatory bodies and also the affiliation disputes of higher educational institutions including the affiliation of University controlled by the Central Government.

As regards the status to be given to foreign universities, HRD Ministry has left it to Government to decide about their role and regulation to be made in their routine activities. However, it has become certain that “Deemed University” will soon cease to exist and any foreign education provider may have to approach the proposed national commission for setting up their campus in India for higher education and research.

Malpractices Bill enlists about 25 major malpractices being practiced an followed by the Institutions. The proposed Bill has provisions impose hefty fines upto Rs. 50 lacs and imprisonment for a period of three years for collecting capitation fees and also for giving wrong information about faculty and facilities, overcharging on various heads including non-transparent admission procedure and also the failure to provide quality education. The Police is empowered to arrest the administrative officials of such institutions without producing any warrant and charge sheet.

The omissions and failures on the part of the institutions are adjudicated as criminal or civil offence depending on the nature of the crime. The collection of capitation fees from the students and failure to practice the terms and conditions mentioned in the practice shall be considered as criminal offences and it shall be tried in a Court of law, while civil offences will be tried in Educational Tribunals and it has the power to settle the dispute regarding any type of malpractices or harassment against the students.

Although the various provisions are provided in the Educational Reforms Bills are praise worthy and would become a model law for the lacunae existing in the educational scenario of our country, it has to be seen how the laws are applied at the ground level and its success rests upon the enforcing authorities and their sincere and dedication to implement as per the letter of spirit. HRD Ministry has a gigantic responsibility to set up the organization chart of each department to tackle the menace and spoils of the present educational system that has emerged as an entity with unquestionable underground practices and customs and no one to question its supremacy in implementing its will with impunity and making the students as its subservient in every step of its activities.

The Tribunals should have enough teeth to punish the guilty and providing speedier justice to the students as well as to the Institutes, in case unscrupulous cases are filed against them out of prejudice or influenced by the external forces inimical to the growth and interest of an institution.

Further, making the admission procedures transparent and appointing honest and dedicated officials in the selection procedure of faculties, infrastructure and also supervising the examination and curtailing the malpractices with an iron hand.

Nowadays, there is a belief that any influential person can approach the higher level educational and technical institutions through the network of politicians and their nexus with officials working therein to shower the favours to the wards of influential people in our society. But, the nation has to suffer a lot if such students are offered jobs in sensitive technical institutions on the basis of the certificates obtained from a reputed educational establishment without testing their actual knowledge and ability in the fields where they are certified with merit as successful in view of the higher connections of their parents and also influencing the officials with money power or political influence.

Our country has to take all precautions to see that our traditional and reputed Universities are not just taken over by the foreign universities in view of their image and reputation at international level. While encouraging the foreign universities, it is our bounden duty to upgrade our Universities and ask them to follow the paths and procedures adopted in the working of well known foreign universities which may set up their campus in our country. Further, it has to be seen that the students hailing from middle class and poor sections of the society are given adequate support and incentives by the Government to compete with the students of well-off sections and as such it is the responsibility of the Government of India to see that the youth of this country is provided with equitable opportunities so as to make it as a welfare model state.

Now the ball is lying with the court of the Government to mould a vibrant and resourceful generation by providing opportunities to all sections of the society to avail the higher level educational opportunities and creating an atmosphere of social justice through proper regulatory measures and intervention for uplifting the weaker, poorer sections of the society to taste the fruits of development taking place in our country.

MAGIC & MIGRAINE OF ELECTION MANIFESTOS

In the independent India, the citizens of the country have been bombarded by attractive manifestos by different political parties as a part of their strategy to canvass votes at the times of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections. In the initial years after attaining independence, the Congress Party had a predominant role in drafting out attractive manifestos to alleviate poverty and other miseries of the common man including industrialization. As a matter of fact, we have to agree that the beginning was somewhat good as some sort of achievements were made due to the dynamic political leadership, but later on the principled politics became power politics and thus the gap of the promise gave to the electorate and achievements after the term of a political party in power started increasing tremendously. This was one of the reasons for the lose of faith in political parties and their leaders and emergence of various regional parties and even splitting of national parties to give new directions to the hopes and aspirations of the people of our country. However, the parties other than the Congress, which came to power in various states were also unable to achieve cent percent success of their manifestos floated by them during the process of election due to various factors.

In the 70’s Indira Gandhi brought out 20 points programme for the amelioration of various weaker sections of the society and thereafter, “Gribi Hatao” (Remove Poverty) as well as Roti, Kapada or Makan (Bread, Clothe & House) to attract the teeming millions of poor. If we analyse the success of her various programmes, we can see that only a fraction of the promise has been fulfilled that also with the half-hearted attitude due to the callousness of the bureaucracy and implementing agencies thereby affecting the quality and quantity of various pro-poor projects initiated during her time.

After a long rule of the Congress, the BJP became the dominant party in certain states and the coalition which captured the power after emergency at the Centre could also not deliver the goods as promised by them in their joint manifesto and even unable to build ‘Ram Temple’ as boasted when they were in the opposition.

If we take the main poll plank of Sonia Gandhi during the last Lok Sabha election, we can observe that the Congress had extended its hands to the common man and many promises were made to the electorate. But how far the present UPA government could achieve and how many points are left out are well known to a political analyst and as a matter of fact the middle class and poor people are still struggling to cope up with the rise in prices of essential commodities, unemployment, economic and social backwardness of vast majority of the citizens throughout the length and breadth of our country. Now, BJP is going to highlight “Security, Safety & Terrorism” as their major poll planks in the forthcoming election.

Considering the above circumstances, now it is the august role of the media, NGOs, voluntary and social organisations to come up with the facts and figures and educate the people through their awareness campaigns as how they are befooled by various political parties and how little they have done for our countrymen even after six decades of independence. Though many ambitious projects are being taken up by various State Governments and Central Government, there should have a social audit by the people of the concerned area as how such projects will be beneficial to them and what is its cost and how much fund has been siphoned off by middle men and politicians and how much portion of the tax paid by the citizens on various heads were used for such gigantic projects.

Now, with the change of time and awareness due to increasing literacy, the citizens are going to ask many unpleasant questions to the political leaders who rule the States or Central Government regarding their promises and actual implementation at the grass root level and the benefits derived out by the people. Therefore, beware of the feelings and aspirations of the vast majority of Indians before the political parties come out with attractive slogans and points of agenda for implementation if any of the them are voted to power to lead the country or the states!

BHAGAT SINGH - A DREAM

March is the month of martyrdom of legendry Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh along with his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru.
Hanged at a tender age of 23 in 1931, his political life was of 6-7 years including two latter years in prison awaiting gallows. Endorsement by no less man like Pattabhi Sitaramayya, official historian of congress as that in thirties “ It is no exaggeration to say, that moment Bhagat Singh's name was widely known all over India and was as popular as Gandhiji's” (History of Indian National Congress).
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Said about Bhagat Singh “he is not a person, but a symbol. He symbolizes the spirit of revolt, which has taken possession of country”. This aspiration was not developed suddenly. It is not that sacrifice and valor was absent in Indian youth before or after Bhagat Singh. But what distinguish was his ability to reason and question. A. G. Noorani rightly put it, “What distinguished Bhagat Singh from all others besides his courage, patriotism and commitment to moral values, was his intellectual strength. A voracious reader, he was also willing to rethink. He had the capacity brood and to torment his soul over the past”. Even while awaiting gallows in central jail he has written an essay “Why I am an atheist”, is a reflection of the vast canvas of his thoughts. In his essay he wrote, “Any one who stands for progress has to criticize, disbelieve and challenge every item of old faith. Item by item he has to reason out every nook and corner of the prevailing faith. If after considerable reasoning one is let to believe any theory or philosophy, his faith is welcome. His reasoning can be mistaken, wrong, mislead and some time fallacious. But he is liable to correction. Because reason is a guiding star of his life”.
With reason a guiding star of his life attracted the mass, specially the youth of the country with his writings, debates and arguments in court room. Bhagat Singh's intellectual strength not only embarrassed imperialist rulers but also created a deep impact on the course of the Indian freedom movement. “Inqulab-Zindabad” or long live revolution was popularized by Bhagat Sing and his party Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), which became a battle cry in thirties and forties in India's independent movement.Today Bhagat Singh has become an icon for Indian Youths. Three Bollywood movies with a large budget, exhibition in Supreme Court, portrait in Parliament are indication of this growing phenomenon. But with this iconic growth his dreams are being forgotten. He and his compatriots kissed the gallows with a dream of inquilab revolution. Bhagat Singh is being portrayed as man of bomb and pistol. In a statement in a session court on assembly bomb case he categorically stated, “Bomb and pistols do not make revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas. This is what we want to emphasis, by revolution we mean the end of miseries of capitalist wars”.His dream to end exploitation of “man by man” and establish a socialist society is still far dream in India, where thousand and lakhs are committing suicide.The present breed of Indian of parochialism , pettyism, opportunism busying the corridors of power hence the remembrance of a leader of different material may seemsto be alien for the present lot.

TERRORISM UNITES POLITICIANS AND AWAKENS THE NATIONAL SPIRIT

The spate of terrorism in different parts of our country has eroded its image at international level and our vulnerability ever than before. Though India is emerging as an economic giant with its vast market and abundant technical skills and other resources carved its own niche due to the liberalization and intertwining the business with the developed world and competing with them technologically, our inability to tackle the internal conflicts based on religion, caste and parochial chauvinism coupled with the vested interest of political parties created a complex situation to handle and resolve it easily. The regrettable scenario is the maneuvers of various national and regional political parties to capture the power at any cost or with any damn agenda by arousing the inflaming the divide of citizens and miseries of the people forgetting their role to protect and promote the interest of the citizens. Other important virus is the widespread corruption in each and every sphere of our polity and the lack of political will to curtail it with an iron hand by the Government. If we analyse the case studies of high profile politicians, we can see their emergence from rags to riches within a short span of time. All these factors including an ineffective security and demoralized police force have created a bad image about the state of affairs going on in our country and lose the faith of the common man on the leaders in view of their failure to deliver the goods or give justice and ameliorate their genuine grievances.
In view of above lighted details, we have to dwell into the depth of terrorist attacks which are being targeted and promoted due to the long standing animosity with our neighbouring countries and hidden
agenda of certain religious militant groups, ethnic leaders and underground militant political outfits quite often attack the innocent people, police force, sensitive installations without having any regard to humanity with a sole motto of creating terror as a medium to achieve their agenda. The attack on our Parliament in the past and the attack on innocent people in Mumbai and creating terror by holding the inmates of Taj and other prominent hotels as hostages and killing about two hundred people and injuring many with impunity has struck the nation with disbelief and dismay. The operation of about sixty hours to flush out 10 terrorists by police, military and National Security Guard and loss of innocent lives during the operation and also the loss of high ranking and valiant police officials belonged to Ant-Terrorist Squad made our nation has become a national shame for India. Though there were inputs regarding a possible terror plot by some militant groups from Pakistan, our police and defence personnel were unable to take any effective preventive measures due to the failure of coordination and ground level action. This has resulted in the erosion of faith on the leaders of ruling as well as opposition parties to protect the lives of the citizens and prestige of our nation. The spontaneous reaction of the citizens in various parts of the country by organizing candle light ceremonies and protest march to
mourn the death of innocent people decrying the failure of political leadership seems to be considered as a silver line amongst the clouds in Indian politics and a starting point of mass awakening against the
failure of systems and policies adopted by our Government.
The widespread condemnation of terrorist attack in Mumbai by the world community and important nations and their resolve to fight against the terrorism unitedly should be seen as a positive step to plan out
strategies and plans with multi-national and multi-force operation in the coming days. The lone surviving terrorist Kasab Ajmal is the living testimony to tell the world from where they came and whose
hands were behind the attack and if we have to believe the report from investigating agencies, the role of Lashkar-e-Toiba and other organizations operating in Pakistan with the connivance of ISI are
responsible for the dreadful attack. Further, during the course of investigation, many more
plots and the names of militant organizations and their protectors would come up. The stern and aggressive reaction from United States against the attack and the belated assertive support to India for any
decisive action by UK against L-e-T should be considered as a common concern against terrorism.
Let us hope that our politicians will unite against this evil and fight against it with our available resources and might by forgetting and setting aside their agenda of power politics and inculcating a
spirit of nationalism amongst the citizens to be the watch dog of our freedom and existence and also activating the motivating the police, defense and investigative agencies to show their might and thwart the
hawkish design of our enemies!

TERRROR AND HORROR IN SERIAL BOMB BLASTS

On 26th July ’08, Ahmedabadis experienced the worst terror and horror in their hustle and bustle life. The serial bomb blast at 21 different places of eastern Ahmedabad, including the Civil and L.G. Hospital turned it as a ghost city. The scattered dead bodies of innocent people and injured screaming for help, and wailing relatives made a frightening and horrific scene. It was an unexpected attack on the people in a most brutal manner, as they were not aware what was in offing for them. In fact it happened in a State, where its Chief Minister quite often assured the people that bomb blasts by terrorists is a remote possibility in view of the strict vigil of the Police and other Intelligence Agencies. However, the worst strike by the terrorists in recent memory of the State shell hocked the common man with dismay and disbelief. The impact of the blasts left more than 50 people dead and three times more injured many amongst them maimed to live a pathetic life during the rest of their lives. The bombings were not an isolated incident, it was well planned and executed and intended to create chaos and fear psychosis amongst the common man. This is because of the fact that on the subsequent days Surtis had to spend sleepless nights and anxious moments due to the findings of 28 live bombs in different localities on different days in the City of Surat. Not only the unexploded bombs marred the normal life in Surat, the hoax calls and terror mail put the police on tenterhooks in Baroda city. And as such that the people living in three main cities of the State and its surrounding areas for the first time felt in secured and vulnerable to threats.


The responsibility of the bomb explosions was purportedly claimed by ‘Indian Mujahedeen’, and their terror mail before the explosions to the media has made an embarrassing situation for the Government, as the same questioned the credibility and preparedness to meet their open challenge. We can not neglect the fact that the serial bomb blasts took place after the bomb blasts in Jaipur and Bangalore, and also the serial blasts in Mumbai and bomb explosions in Hyderabad, New Delhi and other parts of the country with varying intensities in the recent past. Our investigating agencies could not make a break through to pin point the real culprits and their purpose for launching these inhuman acts of bloodshed in different parts of the country. Further, the repeated bomb blasts on innocent people highlighted the failure of the Central and State Governments to formulate a fool proof preventive measures against the periodical onslaughts by the terrorist outfits. As a matter of fact, the prestige of our country has shaken at international level in view of its inability to protect the lives and property of the citizens and finding the hide outs and local networks of terrorist organizations in different parts of the country.


Amit Shah, Minister of State for Home of Gujarat State has rightly termed that the attacks in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bangalore and elsewhere are a part of international conspiracy against our country and without the local involvements, the terrorist acts would not have been possible. However, the alertness on the part of the people of the State, specially in the City of Surat prevented further bloodshed and large scale destruction, and the timely action on the parts of Police and Bomb disposal squads in diffusing the live bombs found in different parts of the City saved the situation going out of control.


Though the Government has announced certain relief measures to the victims, it is now high time to think about the permanent rehabilitation of the kin and the dependents of the dead and injured. This is because of the fact that such a strong resolve on the part of the Government will show the world as how we are serious and compassionate towards the welfare and sufferings of our citizens.


Even though the first act of rescue and spontaneous action towards their fellow beings came from the people from the vicinity of the blast sites by providing all the required possible helps in the critical first hour, the people of the State expect some concrete action from Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority to formulate emergency response plans in case of terrorists strikes too, over and above their normal functions of handling man made and natural disasters.


As regards the fixing up of blame for this dastardly and inhuman act, the general tendency is to accuse the minority community for harboring the criminals and supporting the terror outfits. However, after the serial bomb blast, the political parties and religious organizations kept maximum restraint as nobody wanted to aggravate the volatile and surcharged situation and make the things more complex and unmanageable. The Chief Minister of the State also deserves appreciation for his emotional appeal to the people of the State in maintaining peace and harmony and declaring the attackers as enemies of the nation. Further, he was also quick in requisitioning the army for flag march in the affected areas of Ahmedabad and announcing a red alert in the entire state against as a precautionary measure by exhorting the law enforcing machinery and intelligence agencies to work shoulder to shoulder in this hour of crisis, so as to instill a sense of faith and confidence amongst the shell shocked people of his State.


However, the repercussions of the blast has to be analysed by the Government with a view to take more pragmatic measures to make good of the loss of its image as a safe place for investment and peaceful living and also a good destination for the tourists to move freely anywhere in the State without feat and threat to their safety and security. In addition, the authorities concerned should also calculate the loss of production and loss of earning during the chaos after the serial bomb blasts, as the Police warned the people that they would stay indoors for their safety and closure of business and other establishments in the affected areas. Therefore, it is the onerous duty of the Government to bring out a white paper regarding the actual loss during the turmoil and also the future plan of action entailing the details of beefing up the security and intelligence networks so as to refurbish its lost image and activate one and all with a resolve to see that such terror plots may not be possible so easily in future.


At last, a silver line is appearing amongst the thick clouds. This silver line is the spontaneous and organized protests of the Muslim community in certain parts of the state against the cruel and mad acts of terrorist organizations and thus showing the world that they would never support any terror outfits in the name of religion or revenge. The way they expressed their sympathy, kindness and solidarity with their suffering brethren of bomb blasts has in real sense made a direct impact in soothing the tempers and feelings of a section of the society who always thought that the Muslims played a hidden role in the bomb blasts.

Although the Gujarat Police claimed to have busted the terror module of Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and arrested 10 persons including the master mind behind the bomb blast from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Azamgadh in U.P., the investigation is only the tip on the iceberg and more coordinated and joint effort in the investigation is required with the support of all State Governments and Central Government to find out the larger conspiracy, involvement of international terror outfits, their strategy to destablise our country including the funding and plans for terror activities in various parts of the country. This is a herculean task and thus the Government and the people of the country should not be complacent and there is a need of continuous vigil and alertness so that such tragic and terrific acts by the enemies of our beloved nation may not be possible or easy to carryout in future.
Let us hope that a new awakening of solidarity and brotherhood may emerge very soon between the two major communities which in turn will isolate the enemies of our nation and thus they may have to pack up their bags and leave the country due to the vigil and anger of the general public and a united society against any sort of violence and terror in the name of religion or ideology!

CHANGING SCENARIO IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

The rapid automation and adoption of modern technology in industries have dwindled the job opportunities at an alarming rate. Industries on their part are also eager to reduce the manpower and select highly skilled personnel who can perform multifarious functions single-handedly. This has blocked the entry of personnel who have learnt any one skill or opted for specialization in a particular subject. Secondly, modern educational opportunities have helped a section of upper layer in our society to compete with the less privileged sections and grabbing the top positions in industries.
In view of the liberalization and globalization initiated and implemented by the Central Government has given an impetus in foreign investments in our country. This has brought in a new culture and diluted labour policy as a backroom understanding with the investors by the Government. On the one hand, employers are nowadays concentrating on higher output with less manpower and on the other hand employees are unable to adjust with the new work ethics and strings attached to their job, and they are feared about the loss of employment and welfare amenities which they have been enjoying since long. In fact, the pressure of unemployed people who knock the doors everyday is seen as a major factor for the managements in industries to opt for cheap labour which is available easily from outside sources prompt them to adopt harsher measures on the employees working in industrial organizations with a view to extract more output from them. Such tendency in industrial circle started creating friction in industries. Considering the influx of cheap foreign goods and cut throat competition between various industrial units manufacturing similar products forced the managements to change their policy towards the workers in order to survive in the competitive world of today. But, nobody is having time to ponder over the attitudinal changes of the employees, especially of middle and lower levels to find remedial measures in the existing work structure. If some one goes to the roots for the search of its cause, it can be found that the distasteful and monotonous work has made them insensitive to the needs of the organization.
What an organization should do to motivate them? The answer to this question is quite complex. However, on an experimental basis, at least there can have a rapport between the shop floor employees and supervisory cadre so as to measure the growing aspirations and frustrations in their work sphere and report the same to the higher management for corrective measures.
The other important factor is the suppressed aspiration of an employee to climb the ladder of success, which reflects in the form of dissatisfaction in the work allotted to him and expressing his anger and frustration to his immediate boss and co-workers. In order to make attitudinal changes in the employees, there should have a mechanism to understand the rising aspirations of the employees and their attraction towards higher grades and the status of the post in the hierarchy of an organization. However, the higher echelons of the organization naturally fail to judge the mood and reluctant to adopt a pragmatic approach by way of better training and human resources development for utilizing their skills and knowledge for its prosperity.
The modern management concept calls for maintaining mutual understanding between the management and employees based on a pre-fixed target of production and marketing so as to share the profits in a congenial atmosphere. Though the idealism is good, its implementation sometime backfires whenever the expected output is not given by the employees due to the unforeseen factors or stagnant market thereby resulting misunderstanding on either part due to the failure of commitment.
In the beginning of 21st century, the global recession started raising its ugly heads resulting in large scale retrenchments and golden shake hands in many large and medium scale industrial units. The investors became wary about the future due to the incapacity of the buyers on par with the quantum of production and the tendency on the part of the customers to compare the value of similar products available in the market. All these cumulative factors forced the managements in private sector either to close down their enterprises or invest the capital in profit oriented products to survive under the cut throat competition. The half hearted attitude of the industrialists to revive the existing sick units and the failure to investigate the drawbacks in attaining profits after sales demoralized the workforce to a great extent. Many of the small scale units which supplied
spares and other auxiliaries to medium and large scale units were forced to close down due to the insufficient orders for their products thereby throwing the workers to the streets, where they are now struggling to earn their livelihoods by doing one or other menial jobs. When all these developments were taking place, the Government stood as a moot spectator and the authorities concerned who were supposed to protect the interest of the workers as well as the industrialists did not made any concrete plan to help them out and come out from their miserable conditions. The industrial establishments working under the direct control of the Government also started making losses which forced them to offer golden shake hands to their employees with a view to reduce the manpower and adopt automation or diversification to other profitable areas.
There were tremendous pressures from the trade unions against retrenchment of workers and modernization. This was because of the fear that in our Indian social condition, modernization in comparison with the developed western countries may mar the prospects of employment opportunities. To some extent, this view of the trade unions is also agreed by the Government and thus there was a reluctant or forced adoption of modern technology in certain sectors. At this stage, the bargaining capacity or muscle power of the unions was eroded in view of the insensitiveness to their demands by the managements in private sector. The gradual closure of many giant industries resulted in loss of production and severe unemployment. But, there was justification for such actions on the part of their managements though trade unions blamed mismanagement and misappropriation of working capital. Moreover, the mushroom growth of professional trade unions and self-styled leaders hampered the interest of the workmen at the final stage of bargaining. There are allegations that illiteracy and unawareness of the majority of employees have been exploited by some employers, but in some cases, there were high handedness on the part of employees as they demanded excessive benefits/wages without considering its impact on the organization. Such developments and distrust between the employers and employees ultimately led to the sickness of industries because the managements failed to convince the workmen about the actual strength on which it stands. The other factors were the lack of planning in selection of products, method of manufacturing, marketing strategy, appointment of trained personnel and professionalism in management.
The erosion of the bargaining strength of trade unions resulted in the loss of faith on the leaders. The employees thought that it is because of the collusion between the management and leaders; they are deprived of their legitimate demands. Moreover, the litigation in industrial courts for fairness and justice does not provide speedy consolation or award and sometimes, such process has taken years together for final award/settlement. During such legal battles, employers and employees loss their mutual relationship and hard their attitude towards each other thereby making an adverse impact on the growth and prosperity of the organizations. However, the visionaries in management, who lead certain industries always try to understand the mood of the employees and provide them with fair wages and welfare measures with a string that they must give optimum output as per the demands of the situation. It is seen as a scientific approach in human relations in industries where non-productive persons have no place to stick on for long time. The other attraction of such mutual understanding and relationship for the prosperity of the organization is that each and every employee is responsible for his own work and the guidance of a humanist supervisor. He knows his sincere work leads the organization on the forefront of others and in turn he is going to get the share of its prosperity.
The liberalization process initiated by the Central Government, the end of licence raj, investment of foreign capital and easy import procedures have attached our economy globally, which until recently was protected by various tariff measures and rules and regulations in a closed market condition. The pioneers in private sector welcomed this change; but it is yet to be seen how they are changing their attitude towards their employees and training them to the needs of the change. Finally, the absorption of the unutilized manpower whether in skilled form or unskilled abundantly available in our country is yet another big question mark before the policy makers. Shall this change of policy of Government positively affect the growth of the existing industries or are they capable of competing technologically and qualitatively in the international market? The answer lies in shaping a realistic industrial relation in tune with the changing need of time and absorbing the unutilized manpower in various sectors. And if we fail in our attempt to emancipate the existing chaotic conditions of the workers who were thrown out from different industrial units and their plights are not heard or redressed, then a day will come that the well off sections who are in minority may have to face the repercussions and onslaught of the teeming millions crying for justice and amelioration of their social status! Still there are ample opportunities and resources on the part of the Government to study and assess the social conditions of this section of the society and adopt pragmatic approach to help them out from their existing miserable and poor social conditions and assist them to lead a decent life!

RISING PRICES & CONFUSED LEADERS

The recent outbursts of political leaders regarding the rising prices of essential commodities seem to be eyewash and befooling of the general public. This is because no political party has so far suggested any practical remedy and how it can be solved. When the Finance Minister of UPA Government at the Centre states that our country cannot escape the international recession and inflationary trend, Chief Ministers blame that the ball lies in the court of the Centre to take effective steps to check the rising prices. The reply to them from UPA Government is that the States are not taking sincere efforts to curb the hoarding and unable to act against the black marketers and further points out that the States are also have its share to control the rising trend of prices. Amongst all the allegations and counter allegations, the people of the country, especially the middle class and poor people are finding it difficult to cope up with the situation. There are no leaders to take up their cause and expose the actual story behind the prices rise. They are in the run up of grabbing an opportunity to take political advantage out of the miseries and hardships of common man. One should really understand the rising cost of inputs in cultivating various crops and also the labour charges including the transportation costs which are also responsible for the cost escalation of essential commodities. Further, there are other factors such as switching over to cash crops by the farmers, which would yield them more profits and under utilization of agricultural lands due to the lack of availability of manpower and inability to bear the enhanced labour charges and also converting the fertile lands for building industrial areas and residential complexes. Though our leaders know these facts, they are not ready to tell the truth, but interested only in mudslinging and allegations against each others. One of the other important reasons is the failure of the government to take stock of the situation and making a bumper stock to collect the food grains from the farmers, so that the same can be pushed through the public distribution system, if an artificial scarcity is created by the vested interested groups to amass the profits by taking advantage of the lacunae of demand and supply situation. Moreover, the large scale export of farm products and withdrawal of active intervention in controlling the prices by the Central Government have also escalated the situation beyond control. If we look into the natural calamities in different parts of our country, it has also played havoc with the farm sector and raised the indebtedness of the farmers. On the other hand, the intervention of large scale industrial houses in farm sector to procure the essential commodities through ‘Vayada Bazar’ – a system of fixing up of prices by the buyer in advance and the agreement thereof by the farmers to sell out the farm products at the fixed up rates at the time of harvest has also made a complex situation. Such a practice quite often leads to price escalation, as the result of such a business would most probably be in favour of the buyers. From such a scenario, we can understand that the Government wanted to do some favour to the farmers in the changed atmosphere of liberated economy, but failed to understand that it actually benefited a small section of big farmers. Considering all the above factors, the natural question arises in the mind of an ordinary man is the solution to this vexed issue. When the opposition is accusing the Central Government for failure of controlling the price rises, one failed to understand the wisdom of the UPA Government for inviting all the political leaders for a meeting and taking their suggestions to sort out the issue as per the consensus arrived at in such a meeting. The political upmanship of blaming each others and washing the dirty linen shall not solve the miseries of the people and therefore, both the Central and State Government should sit together and find out a solution even by active market intervention or promoting farming with the support of cooperatives or even subsidized supply of essential commodities through Public Distribution System or through other private outlets. The ball is in the court of the Central and State Governments and they have to act in a practical manner to bring the situation under control and plan about the future without siding any vested interests or groups and see the general welfare of the people in true sense and serving spirit.. Otherwise, a day may come that all the political parties will lose the credibility and trust of the people of our country and no ventilation is provided to mitigate the genuine grievances of the people and solve the sensitive issue of availing the foods within their manageable source of income, we cannot predict what would happen tomorrow, if they express their anger and anguish against the rulers spontaneously and come out to the streets ignoring the dictates of the leaders and authorities concerned. Let us hope that such situation may not arise and our leaders should ponder over the issue of alarming price rise and find out some effective remedial measures to keep the same within the affordable limits of common man!