Economic Survey and Sustainability
Content
EDITORIAL
8
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
The budget’s ecological bankruptcy
“W
Ashish Kothari
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014
Trials and
regulations
he promise and performance of genetically
modified crops in agriculture is once again
under the spotlight, with the sanction given by
the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
for confined field trials of several food crops. In its last
days, the UPA government decided to end the moratorium on trial cultivation of these engineered varieties, and
to allow experiments aimed at generating biosafety data.
The GEAC has now taken further steps to allow field
trials of rice, brinjal, mustard, chickpea and cotton, and
import of GM soyabean oil. Clearly, there can be no
credible argument against scientific experiments in
agriculture that advance the goal of developing plant
varieties that can withstand drought, resist pests and
raise yields to feed the growing world population. But
this should be done through a transparent regulatory
process that is free of ethical conflicts. Proponents of
GM crops funding research in agricultural universities
represents one such conflict. To aid transparency, research findings should be made available in the public
domain for independent study. But India has taken only
halting steps towards establishing a strong regulatory
system; the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013, which provided for multi-level scientific
assessments and an appellate tribunal, has lapsed.
While the Central government has not permitted the
commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in India, the recent
case of neighbouring Bangladesh shows that regulatory
mechanisms must be put in place before such crops are
grown, whether for research or for the market — and
they must be functional. Although the licence to produce the crop in Bangladesh required that the GM variety be isolated from indigenous ones to prevent genetic
contamination, the condition was not followed. Field
trials in India, in which the State governments have a
say, must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards
against such violations. If GM food is allowed to be sold
to consumers, they must have the right to know what
they are buying, and labelling should be made mandatory. Here again, the Bangladesh experience shows that
such a condition may be difficult to enforce. There is no
consensus on the performance of GM crops and the
results have been mixed. They have had some beneficial
impact on tillage practices and in terms of curbing the
use of insecticides, but as the Union of Concerned Scientists in the U.S. points out, they have created monocultures and may be affecting birds and bees. All this
underscores the need for a cautious approach — one that
fosters scientific inquiry, allows for scrutiny and is underpinned by regulation. Enacting a comprehensive law
that covers all aspects of GM crops should be a priority.
T
hile 2015 will be a landmark year for sustainable
development and climate
change policy, 2014 is the
last chance for all stakeholders to introspect
to be able to wisely choose the world they
want post 2015.”
These are significant words, contained as
they are in the government of India’s Economic Survey 2013-14. The reference is to
the framing of a new set of sustainable development goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that all countries
agreed to in 2000 (due to end in 2015), and to
a possible new climate agreement to be
framed in 2015. The Economic Survey was
released a day before Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first annual
budget of the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA).
So, does the rest of the survey and the
budget reflect such introspection? Are the
new power-holders in New Delhi any wiser
about protecting the interests of the next
generation while meeting the needs of the
present? Or indeed about how several
hundred million people of the present generation, who are directly dependant on nature
and natural resources, can have more secure
livelihoods?
Lower carbon emissions economy
Let us first look at the good news. The
survey contains (for the third year running)
an independent chapter on ‘Sustainable Development and Climate Change’, which contains a few more pearls of wisdom like the
one quoted earlier. It recounts in detail several goals set by the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA)
government
(without
mentioning it of course), especially as part of
the National Action Plan on Climate Change
(NAPCC). Of significance is the goal to reduce “emissions intensity of GDP” quite substantially, meaning moving towards a lower
carbon emissions economy.
The budget too has a few provisions to
gladden the hearts of “sustainable development” and “green economy” advocates, such
as cleaner energy technologies, a big fund for
The NDA’s first budget has thrown a few sops in
the direction of the environment and the millions
dependent on it. But much like its predecessors, in
painting the big picture it remains embarrassingly
devoid of innovative ideas on how to move India
towards ecological sustainability and justice
cleaning the Ganga, a boost to watershed
development and provisions for water purification in areas badly affected by toxic
wastes. Solar energy gets Rs.1,000 crore, including for agriculture pump sets and water
pumping stations. A doubling of the Clean
Energy Cess (from Rs.50 per tonne to Rs.100
per tonne of coal) is aimed at financing “clean
environment” initiatives.
and pesticides, nor does the ‘Sustainable Development and Climate Change’ chapter say
anything about the need to reduce emissions
from fertilizer use. Indeed, the Union budget
makes an increased allocation for the fertilizer subsidy, ignoring the repeated advice from
both within and outside government to begin
moving towards organic, ecological fertilization measures (it does have a token provision
of Rs.100 crore for organic farming in northNo solutions
east India, peanuts when compared to the
Unfortunately, as in the case of previous Rs.70,000 crore plus subsidy for chemical
budgets and economic surveys, the few con- fertilizers). Nowhere in the survey are the
cessions given to securing our environmental issues of dryland farming or the importance
“
The budget speech is deafeningly silent on sustainable
development, forests, wildlife, biodiversity, ecology.
future are overwhelmingly submerged by
what is missing and, worse, what is contradictory. The survey’s chapter on ‘Sustainable
Development and Climate Change’ appears
to exist in isolation of the other chapters;
indeed, if the government was serious about
“sustainable development,” sustainability
would run like a thread through all the sectoral chapters. A few examples will suffice to
show that it does not.
The survey’s chapter on industry acknowledges that it is a cause of “natural resource
depletion (fossil fuel, minerals, timber), water, air, coastal and marine, and land contamination, health hazards, degradation of
natural ecosystems, and loss of biodiversity.”
Yet, neither in this chapter nor anywhere
else is there an indication of how this is to be
tackled. The chapter on agriculture and food
has no mention of the enormous health implications of the use of chemical fertilizers
”
of reviving millets for the health of soils and
people mentioned.
Sustainability
A lot more could be said about the ecological bankruptcy of the Economic Survey; for
instance, how can anyone gauge whether we
are moving any closer to sustainability in the
complete absence of any indicators to measure this? But let us move now towards the
budget Mr. Jaitley presented on July 10. Astonishingly, his 43-page budget speech is
deafeningly silent on sustainable development, forests, wildlife, biodiversity, ecology.
It is as if a quarter of the country that contains forests and grasslands and wetlands
and other ecosystems, and the 500 million
people directly dependent on these, simply
do not exist for the purposes of deciding
where the country’s money is to be allocated.
Tribal welfare does get a substantial alloca-
CARTOONSCAPE
Dress, decency
and good sense
hange is the only constant, they say. But exceptions abound, and one of those is the dress
code in that pillar of the establishment — the
private social club. A Chennai club recently
denied admission to a Madras High Court judge as he
was wearing a dhoti. The incident has quite rightly
sparked outrage. Across the country, clubs, especially
those that boast a vintage of more than six decades,
require men to wear shirts with collars, trousers, and
shoes or closed sandals or at times lounge suits. Indian
dress, however formal or decorous, for men is a strict
no-no. Despite its obviously colonial and discriminatory nature, clubs have refused to dump this rule, citing
hoary traditions. The long list of those who have fallen
victim to it includes former Supreme Court judge V.R.
Krishna Iyer, and the late M.F. Husain. The establishment today has its own sartorial choices, the halfsleeve kurta being the latest addition to the widely
prevalent dhoti and pyjama. It is beyond comprehension that recreational organisations run by those who
are the establishment should be so behind the times.
Indeed, a few clubs have cottoned on, and have different dress rules for members and guests, and different
levels of formality for different areas on their premises.
But why blame the clubs alone for not changing? After
all, despite all the criticism of their rules, membership
in these clubs is highly coveted and the queues to get in
keep getting longer. Several professions, too, have formal dress requirements that may seem anachronistic
and indeed strange.
After the latest episode in Chennai provoked sharp
responses from across the political spectrum, the Tamil Nadu government promised to bring a new law
against dress regulations in social clubs that discriminated against Indian attire. That, however, would be
going too far. Clubs are private organisations where
members have the right to set their own rules on their
premises. It will be best if good sense prevails and the
clubs change their rules and allow Indian dress of the
required levels of formality. A Constituent Assembly
debate on the right of equality way back in 1948 is
instructive. A member had wanted to include nondiscrimination on the basis of dress along with religion,
race, caste and sex. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel retorted
that such an inclusion would make the world conclude
“that we do not even know how to treat our nationals.”
Pointing out that he wore a dhoti to the Viceroy’s house
as well as to a peasant’s home, Patel told the persistent
member that the proposed insertion was unnecessary
as “all the foreigners are going.” The idea of discrimination on the basis of dress was born “out of the idea of
slavery,” he said, adding perhaps too optimistically,
“Not even a shadow of it is left now.”
C
CM
YK
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Downing of MH 17
Developing events in Ukraine show
that there has to be a full-fledged
international investigation under
the guidance of the International
Civil Aviation Organisation into the
downing of flight MH 17 (“Evidence
destroyed: Ukraine,” July 20, and
Editorial, July 19). It is strange that
a number of airlines have been
using the air space in the troubled
area. After this unprecedented
incident,
the
international
community must come forward and
appeal to both sides in the conflict
to stop the violence.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana
Airlines are to blame for what has
happened. Why were they flying
over this region when they knew
very well that rebels were shooting
down military aircraft? This is the
right time to develop a standard
operating protocol for flight routes
in areas of conflict.
Archit Jain,
New Delhi
The shooting down of the
Malaysian aircraft is in all
likelihood a ghastly error. A soldier
or rebel group with little training,
unwisely and irresponsibly vested
with the control of an extremely
powerful anti-aircraft missile, must
have mistaken the aircraft for a
military plane. No militant group
other than the al-Qaeda and its ilk
will deliberately shoot a civilian
plane down. Besides, Ukrainian
rebels have nothing to prove or gain
by such a deed. Assuming that it is
Russia that has provided the
missiles to the rebels, it owes an
explanation to the world as to why it
did so without installing proper and
foolproof safeguards against misuse
and accidents. Russia must make
reparations to the airline and the
victims.
A.N. Lakshmanan,
Bangalore
It is shocking how the blame game
has begun right away with
conflicting claims on who the
perpetrators of the heinous act are.
There is every possibility that the
crew of MH 17 failed to convey the
correct ‘International Friend or
Foe’ code, which resulted in its
shooting down. If the plane was
brought down knowing fully well
that it was a civilian plane, then the
world has to sit up and take note.
Ganapathi Bhat,
Akola, Maharashtra
The chilling attack on a civilian air
carrier has internationalised a
hitherto localised conflict. While
the blame game continues, this
attack will be seen by the western
world as a war crime, with many
already pointing fingers at rebels
loyal to the Russian Federation as
being responsible for the escalation
of the crisis. Russian President
Vladimir Putin would be well
advised to take immediate steps to
help end this crisis by moving his
forces and non-state actors behind
the Russian-Ukraine border. The
international community must
restore its credibility through the
declaration of a demilitarised zone
in eastern Ukraine with the
possibility of sending in U.N.
peacekeepers or a heterogeneous
NATO force to ensure cessation of
violence.
Karan Thakur,
New Delhi
Crime unabated
Reports of the sexual assault on a
six-year-old schoolgirl in a school in
Bangalore (July 20) and the
resultant
anger
show
that
legislation has to be strengthened
across India to bring quick relief to
the families of victims and stringent
punishment to the perpetrators.
A child growing up in today’s
world has to face numerous
challenges every single day, not to
speak of the academic pressures. It
appears as though none can be
tion, but there is no indication whether it will
be allocated to continuing the intricate nature-culture relationship of such peoples;
thus far it has not, and the NDA is unlikely to
be any different. And what appears to be good
news on the solar energy front pales into
insignificance when one realises that the allocation is only 0.6 per cent of the total energy budget, with the lion’s share still going to
dirty sources like coal and big hydro and
nuclear.
The “Key Features of Budget 2014-2015”
document has no section on the environment. Mr. Jaitley’s speech mentions the environment only in respect of coal, clean
energy cess and mining. The promise of sustainability in the mining sector has been
made for many years, but no government has
taken serious measures to implement it. We
need to see whether the NDA does any better.
It will be surprising given the other measures
it is already taking or proposing, such as
faster environmental clearances and even
self-monitoring by companies which have
shown scant regard for even mandatory provisions.
River linking
The budget lays great stress on industrial
corridors. If Gujarat’s model is anything to go
by, this will mean massive amounts of forcible or induced land acquisition and pollution. This is a recipe for conflicts and social
disruption. Early July has seen massive
farmer protests in Raigad district of Maharashtra, against the proposed acquisition of
67,500 acres for a part of the Mumbai-Delhi
Industrial Corridor.
The budget also initiates the River Linking
project (Rs.100 crore for Detailed Project Reports), which has been under discussion for
many years. Mr. Jaitley’s speech lamented
that India was “not uniformly blessed with
perennial rivers.” Both the UPA and the NDA
are ignoring expert opinion that warns of the
enormous ecological disruption and social
displacement that such a massive engineering project would cause; equally important,
they are turning a blind eye to the hundreds
of initiatives that have shown how water security can be achieved through decentralised
solutions even in the driest of regions.
I have said earlier that Mr. Jaitley’s omission of crucial ecological terms was astonishing. Perhaps it is not. The fact that almost
uniformly, corporate India welcomed the
budget is an indication that the NDA is as
gung-ho about a neo-liberal agenda as the
UPA was … if not even more. In such an
agenda, the focus is on growth through making it easier for industry and commerce, with
the assumption that a larger economic pie
will help the poor rise above the poverty line.
The fact that despite a blistering pace of
growth through much of the 1990s and
2000s, the employment situation worsened
(latest figures show nearly 15 per cent unemployment), and 70 per cent of Indians remained deprived of one or more basic needs,
appears lost on the proponents of such an
agenda. And the fact that such growth actually trashes the ecological pie on which all of us
depend for our very lives, appears to be of
little consequence. Not even the World
Bank’s 2013 study showing that environmental damage annually knocks off 5.7 per cent of
GDP growth, seems to have made a dent in
such thinking.
The NDA’s first budget has thrown a few
sops in the direction of the environment and
the millions dependent on it. But much like
its predecessors, in painting the big picture it
remains embarrassingly devoid of innovative
ideas on how to move India towards ecological sustainability and justice.
(Ashish Kothari is with Kalpavriksh,
Pune.)
Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full
postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
growth in the economy. Dr.
trusted in a child’s world.
Sharanya A., Rangarajan has weighed the
Bangalore country’s economic situation in a
balanced way, and it is now for the
As if news about the assault on an government to take his advice in the
innocent schoolchild was not bad right perspective.
N. Visveswaran,
enough, one had to recoil in horror
further on reading the report about
Chennai
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam
Singh
Yadav’s
insensitive
statements on controlling crime Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the
(July 20). His frantic attempt to directive to all States (July 20) to
convince the public and the media celebrate ‘Sanskrit Week’ from
with statistics shocks one and all. August 7 to 13 shows that the Modi
While he may not have control over government needs to think of such
the anti-social elements his party subjects only after getting a grip on
treats as assets, the least he can do is governance. That Sanskrit has a
to avoid making insensitive central place in evolving a character
remarks that only mar his stature.
and a culture for Hindustan cannot
A.G. Rajmohan, be disputed. Its influence on many
Anantapur other languages in India (it may be
minimal for Tamil) in their growth
has to be recognised. There are
It was a pleasure to read Dr. C. several schools across India that
Rangarajan’s article (July 19) which accommodate a student’s desire to
presented a clear and an unbiased learn Sanskrit. Kerala boasts of
view on the budget. He has termed having a Sanskrit University. One
the budget a continuation: in terms fails to understand the objections of
of numbers as well as the Tamil Nadu.
philosophy of the previous
K. Rajendran,
government. Does this not place a
Chennai
question mark over the tall pre-poll
claims made by the BJP? What is The opposition to ‘Sanskrit Week’
the difference then in the ideologies expressed by certain political
of the previous UPA and the new parties appears to represent a kind
government? With inflation still of political opportunism. If
rising, the magic of acche din is fast ‘linguistic sensitivity’ is accepted, a
time may come when some
waning.
Amanpreet Singh, linguistic fanatics may clamour for
Ludhiana local versions of ‘Jana Gana Mana’
and ‘Vande Mataram.’
The article shows that each budget
A. Balagangadharan,
is filled with empty rhetoric. While
Pollachi
we pin our hopes and aspirations on
what we would like the Finance Before
claiming
linguistic
Minister to say, we only end up superiority over Sanskrit, Tamil
getting disappointed as none of the leaders opposed to Sanskrit should
comprehensive or inclusive policies first change their names derived
we expect ever materialise. The from classical Sanskrit literature.
economic forum or panel that Are these leaders not aware that
quickly springs into action before some of the names have their origin
and after the budget only turns out in Sanskrit language and literature
to be a meaningless ritual. A single- and are not of Tamil origin,
minded approach with practical culturally or linguistically? If
solutions is the right way to ensure language is the real problem, then
‘Sanskrit Week’
Budget road map
Tamil Nadu should also stop the use
of English in schools and colleges.
In comparison to English, classical
Sanskrit (the mother of Indian
languages) holds no threat to Tamil.
Though many cannot speak
Sanskrit, it deeply touches the life of
millions of Indians. The West has
understood the potential of
Sanskrit in science. This reminds
me of an interesting article
published in Artificial Intelligence
magazine (1985) written by NASA
researcher Rick Briggs highlighting
the possible use of Sanskrit in
Artificial Intelligence in the future.
This is what Jawaharlal Nehru
said about Sanskrit: “If I was asked
what is the greatest treasure which
India possesses and what is her
greatest heritage, I would answer
unhesitatingly that it is the Sanskrit
language and literature and all that
it contains. This is a magnificent
inheritance, and so long as this
endures and influences the life of
our people, so long will the basic
genius of India continue ... India
built up a magnificent language,
Sanskrit, and through this language,
and its art and architecture, it sent
its vibrant message to far away
countries.”
Raghu Pradeep Nair,
Thrissur
A good judgment
Saif Mahmood needs to be
applauded
for
his
sincere
presentation of such a sensitive
matter, which has been highly
misinterpreted
by
people
(“Misunderstanding
a
good
judgment,” July 19). I hope this
article can also start a rational
introspection of other Alternative
Dispute Resolution settlements in
our country, such as the khap
panchayats and tribal courts. These
are results of long-standing
traditions but often seem lacking in
expertise, sensitivity and a
progressive outlook.
Akash Srivastava,
New Delhi
ND-ND
8
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
The budget’s ecological bankruptcy
“W
Ashish Kothari
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014
Trials and
regulations
he promise and performance of genetically
modified crops in agriculture is once again
under the spotlight, with the sanction given by
the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
for confined field trials of several food crops. In its last
days, the UPA government decided to end the moratorium on trial cultivation of these engineered varieties, and
to allow experiments aimed at generating biosafety data.
The GEAC has now taken further steps to allow field
trials of rice, brinjal, mustard, chickpea and cotton, and
import of GM soyabean oil. Clearly, there can be no
credible argument against scientific experiments in
agriculture that advance the goal of developing plant
varieties that can withstand drought, resist pests and
raise yields to feed the growing world population. But
this should be done through a transparent regulatory
process that is free of ethical conflicts. Proponents of
GM crops funding research in agricultural universities
represents one such conflict. To aid transparency, research findings should be made available in the public
domain for independent study. But India has taken only
halting steps towards establishing a strong regulatory
system; the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2013, which provided for multi-level scientific
assessments and an appellate tribunal, has lapsed.
While the Central government has not permitted the
commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal in India, the recent
case of neighbouring Bangladesh shows that regulatory
mechanisms must be put in place before such crops are
grown, whether for research or for the market — and
they must be functional. Although the licence to produce the crop in Bangladesh required that the GM variety be isolated from indigenous ones to prevent genetic
contamination, the condition was not followed. Field
trials in India, in which the State governments have a
say, must ensure that there are sufficient safeguards
against such violations. If GM food is allowed to be sold
to consumers, they must have the right to know what
they are buying, and labelling should be made mandatory. Here again, the Bangladesh experience shows that
such a condition may be difficult to enforce. There is no
consensus on the performance of GM crops and the
results have been mixed. They have had some beneficial
impact on tillage practices and in terms of curbing the
use of insecticides, but as the Union of Concerned Scientists in the U.S. points out, they have created monocultures and may be affecting birds and bees. All this
underscores the need for a cautious approach — one that
fosters scientific inquiry, allows for scrutiny and is underpinned by regulation. Enacting a comprehensive law
that covers all aspects of GM crops should be a priority.
T
hile 2015 will be a landmark year for sustainable
development and climate
change policy, 2014 is the
last chance for all stakeholders to introspect
to be able to wisely choose the world they
want post 2015.”
These are significant words, contained as
they are in the government of India’s Economic Survey 2013-14. The reference is to
the framing of a new set of sustainable development goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) that all countries
agreed to in 2000 (due to end in 2015), and to
a possible new climate agreement to be
framed in 2015. The Economic Survey was
released a day before Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the first annual
budget of the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA).
So, does the rest of the survey and the
budget reflect such introspection? Are the
new power-holders in New Delhi any wiser
about protecting the interests of the next
generation while meeting the needs of the
present? Or indeed about how several
hundred million people of the present generation, who are directly dependant on nature
and natural resources, can have more secure
livelihoods?
Lower carbon emissions economy
Let us first look at the good news. The
survey contains (for the third year running)
an independent chapter on ‘Sustainable Development and Climate Change’, which contains a few more pearls of wisdom like the
one quoted earlier. It recounts in detail several goals set by the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA)
government
(without
mentioning it of course), especially as part of
the National Action Plan on Climate Change
(NAPCC). Of significance is the goal to reduce “emissions intensity of GDP” quite substantially, meaning moving towards a lower
carbon emissions economy.
The budget too has a few provisions to
gladden the hearts of “sustainable development” and “green economy” advocates, such
as cleaner energy technologies, a big fund for
The NDA’s first budget has thrown a few sops in
the direction of the environment and the millions
dependent on it. But much like its predecessors, in
painting the big picture it remains embarrassingly
devoid of innovative ideas on how to move India
towards ecological sustainability and justice
cleaning the Ganga, a boost to watershed
development and provisions for water purification in areas badly affected by toxic
wastes. Solar energy gets Rs.1,000 crore, including for agriculture pump sets and water
pumping stations. A doubling of the Clean
Energy Cess (from Rs.50 per tonne to Rs.100
per tonne of coal) is aimed at financing “clean
environment” initiatives.
and pesticides, nor does the ‘Sustainable Development and Climate Change’ chapter say
anything about the need to reduce emissions
from fertilizer use. Indeed, the Union budget
makes an increased allocation for the fertilizer subsidy, ignoring the repeated advice from
both within and outside government to begin
moving towards organic, ecological fertilization measures (it does have a token provision
of Rs.100 crore for organic farming in northNo solutions
east India, peanuts when compared to the
Unfortunately, as in the case of previous Rs.70,000 crore plus subsidy for chemical
budgets and economic surveys, the few con- fertilizers). Nowhere in the survey are the
cessions given to securing our environmental issues of dryland farming or the importance
“
The budget speech is deafeningly silent on sustainable
development, forests, wildlife, biodiversity, ecology.
future are overwhelmingly submerged by
what is missing and, worse, what is contradictory. The survey’s chapter on ‘Sustainable
Development and Climate Change’ appears
to exist in isolation of the other chapters;
indeed, if the government was serious about
“sustainable development,” sustainability
would run like a thread through all the sectoral chapters. A few examples will suffice to
show that it does not.
The survey’s chapter on industry acknowledges that it is a cause of “natural resource
depletion (fossil fuel, minerals, timber), water, air, coastal and marine, and land contamination, health hazards, degradation of
natural ecosystems, and loss of biodiversity.”
Yet, neither in this chapter nor anywhere
else is there an indication of how this is to be
tackled. The chapter on agriculture and food
has no mention of the enormous health implications of the use of chemical fertilizers
”
of reviving millets for the health of soils and
people mentioned.
Sustainability
A lot more could be said about the ecological bankruptcy of the Economic Survey; for
instance, how can anyone gauge whether we
are moving any closer to sustainability in the
complete absence of any indicators to measure this? But let us move now towards the
budget Mr. Jaitley presented on July 10. Astonishingly, his 43-page budget speech is
deafeningly silent on sustainable development, forests, wildlife, biodiversity, ecology.
It is as if a quarter of the country that contains forests and grasslands and wetlands
and other ecosystems, and the 500 million
people directly dependent on these, simply
do not exist for the purposes of deciding
where the country’s money is to be allocated.
Tribal welfare does get a substantial alloca-
CARTOONSCAPE
Dress, decency
and good sense
hange is the only constant, they say. But exceptions abound, and one of those is the dress
code in that pillar of the establishment — the
private social club. A Chennai club recently
denied admission to a Madras High Court judge as he
was wearing a dhoti. The incident has quite rightly
sparked outrage. Across the country, clubs, especially
those that boast a vintage of more than six decades,
require men to wear shirts with collars, trousers, and
shoes or closed sandals or at times lounge suits. Indian
dress, however formal or decorous, for men is a strict
no-no. Despite its obviously colonial and discriminatory nature, clubs have refused to dump this rule, citing
hoary traditions. The long list of those who have fallen
victim to it includes former Supreme Court judge V.R.
Krishna Iyer, and the late M.F. Husain. The establishment today has its own sartorial choices, the halfsleeve kurta being the latest addition to the widely
prevalent dhoti and pyjama. It is beyond comprehension that recreational organisations run by those who
are the establishment should be so behind the times.
Indeed, a few clubs have cottoned on, and have different dress rules for members and guests, and different
levels of formality for different areas on their premises.
But why blame the clubs alone for not changing? After
all, despite all the criticism of their rules, membership
in these clubs is highly coveted and the queues to get in
keep getting longer. Several professions, too, have formal dress requirements that may seem anachronistic
and indeed strange.
After the latest episode in Chennai provoked sharp
responses from across the political spectrum, the Tamil Nadu government promised to bring a new law
against dress regulations in social clubs that discriminated against Indian attire. That, however, would be
going too far. Clubs are private organisations where
members have the right to set their own rules on their
premises. It will be best if good sense prevails and the
clubs change their rules and allow Indian dress of the
required levels of formality. A Constituent Assembly
debate on the right of equality way back in 1948 is
instructive. A member had wanted to include nondiscrimination on the basis of dress along with religion,
race, caste and sex. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel retorted
that such an inclusion would make the world conclude
“that we do not even know how to treat our nationals.”
Pointing out that he wore a dhoti to the Viceroy’s house
as well as to a peasant’s home, Patel told the persistent
member that the proposed insertion was unnecessary
as “all the foreigners are going.” The idea of discrimination on the basis of dress was born “out of the idea of
slavery,” he said, adding perhaps too optimistically,
“Not even a shadow of it is left now.”
C
CM
YK
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Downing of MH 17
Developing events in Ukraine show
that there has to be a full-fledged
international investigation under
the guidance of the International
Civil Aviation Organisation into the
downing of flight MH 17 (“Evidence
destroyed: Ukraine,” July 20, and
Editorial, July 19). It is strange that
a number of airlines have been
using the air space in the troubled
area. After this unprecedented
incident,
the
international
community must come forward and
appeal to both sides in the conflict
to stop the violence.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana
Airlines are to blame for what has
happened. Why were they flying
over this region when they knew
very well that rebels were shooting
down military aircraft? This is the
right time to develop a standard
operating protocol for flight routes
in areas of conflict.
Archit Jain,
New Delhi
The shooting down of the
Malaysian aircraft is in all
likelihood a ghastly error. A soldier
or rebel group with little training,
unwisely and irresponsibly vested
with the control of an extremely
powerful anti-aircraft missile, must
have mistaken the aircraft for a
military plane. No militant group
other than the al-Qaeda and its ilk
will deliberately shoot a civilian
plane down. Besides, Ukrainian
rebels have nothing to prove or gain
by such a deed. Assuming that it is
Russia that has provided the
missiles to the rebels, it owes an
explanation to the world as to why it
did so without installing proper and
foolproof safeguards against misuse
and accidents. Russia must make
reparations to the airline and the
victims.
A.N. Lakshmanan,
Bangalore
It is shocking how the blame game
has begun right away with
conflicting claims on who the
perpetrators of the heinous act are.
There is every possibility that the
crew of MH 17 failed to convey the
correct ‘International Friend or
Foe’ code, which resulted in its
shooting down. If the plane was
brought down knowing fully well
that it was a civilian plane, then the
world has to sit up and take note.
Ganapathi Bhat,
Akola, Maharashtra
The chilling attack on a civilian air
carrier has internationalised a
hitherto localised conflict. While
the blame game continues, this
attack will be seen by the western
world as a war crime, with many
already pointing fingers at rebels
loyal to the Russian Federation as
being responsible for the escalation
of the crisis. Russian President
Vladimir Putin would be well
advised to take immediate steps to
help end this crisis by moving his
forces and non-state actors behind
the Russian-Ukraine border. The
international community must
restore its credibility through the
declaration of a demilitarised zone
in eastern Ukraine with the
possibility of sending in U.N.
peacekeepers or a heterogeneous
NATO force to ensure cessation of
violence.
Karan Thakur,
New Delhi
Crime unabated
Reports of the sexual assault on a
six-year-old schoolgirl in a school in
Bangalore (July 20) and the
resultant
anger
show
that
legislation has to be strengthened
across India to bring quick relief to
the families of victims and stringent
punishment to the perpetrators.
A child growing up in today’s
world has to face numerous
challenges every single day, not to
speak of the academic pressures. It
appears as though none can be
tion, but there is no indication whether it will
be allocated to continuing the intricate nature-culture relationship of such peoples;
thus far it has not, and the NDA is unlikely to
be any different. And what appears to be good
news on the solar energy front pales into
insignificance when one realises that the allocation is only 0.6 per cent of the total energy budget, with the lion’s share still going to
dirty sources like coal and big hydro and
nuclear.
The “Key Features of Budget 2014-2015”
document has no section on the environment. Mr. Jaitley’s speech mentions the environment only in respect of coal, clean
energy cess and mining. The promise of sustainability in the mining sector has been
made for many years, but no government has
taken serious measures to implement it. We
need to see whether the NDA does any better.
It will be surprising given the other measures
it is already taking or proposing, such as
faster environmental clearances and even
self-monitoring by companies which have
shown scant regard for even mandatory provisions.
River linking
The budget lays great stress on industrial
corridors. If Gujarat’s model is anything to go
by, this will mean massive amounts of forcible or induced land acquisition and pollution. This is a recipe for conflicts and social
disruption. Early July has seen massive
farmer protests in Raigad district of Maharashtra, against the proposed acquisition of
67,500 acres for a part of the Mumbai-Delhi
Industrial Corridor.
The budget also initiates the River Linking
project (Rs.100 crore for Detailed Project Reports), which has been under discussion for
many years. Mr. Jaitley’s speech lamented
that India was “not uniformly blessed with
perennial rivers.” Both the UPA and the NDA
are ignoring expert opinion that warns of the
enormous ecological disruption and social
displacement that such a massive engineering project would cause; equally important,
they are turning a blind eye to the hundreds
of initiatives that have shown how water security can be achieved through decentralised
solutions even in the driest of regions.
I have said earlier that Mr. Jaitley’s omission of crucial ecological terms was astonishing. Perhaps it is not. The fact that almost
uniformly, corporate India welcomed the
budget is an indication that the NDA is as
gung-ho about a neo-liberal agenda as the
UPA was … if not even more. In such an
agenda, the focus is on growth through making it easier for industry and commerce, with
the assumption that a larger economic pie
will help the poor rise above the poverty line.
The fact that despite a blistering pace of
growth through much of the 1990s and
2000s, the employment situation worsened
(latest figures show nearly 15 per cent unemployment), and 70 per cent of Indians remained deprived of one or more basic needs,
appears lost on the proponents of such an
agenda. And the fact that such growth actually trashes the ecological pie on which all of us
depend for our very lives, appears to be of
little consequence. Not even the World
Bank’s 2013 study showing that environmental damage annually knocks off 5.7 per cent of
GDP growth, seems to have made a dent in
such thinking.
The NDA’s first budget has thrown a few
sops in the direction of the environment and
the millions dependent on it. But much like
its predecessors, in painting the big picture it
remains embarrassingly devoid of innovative
ideas on how to move India towards ecological sustainability and justice.
(Ashish Kothari is with Kalpavriksh,
Pune.)
Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full
postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
growth in the economy. Dr.
trusted in a child’s world.
Sharanya A., Rangarajan has weighed the
Bangalore country’s economic situation in a
balanced way, and it is now for the
As if news about the assault on an government to take his advice in the
innocent schoolchild was not bad right perspective.
N. Visveswaran,
enough, one had to recoil in horror
further on reading the report about
Chennai
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam
Singh
Yadav’s
insensitive
statements on controlling crime Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the
(July 20). His frantic attempt to directive to all States (July 20) to
convince the public and the media celebrate ‘Sanskrit Week’ from
with statistics shocks one and all. August 7 to 13 shows that the Modi
While he may not have control over government needs to think of such
the anti-social elements his party subjects only after getting a grip on
treats as assets, the least he can do is governance. That Sanskrit has a
to avoid making insensitive central place in evolving a character
remarks that only mar his stature.
and a culture for Hindustan cannot
A.G. Rajmohan, be disputed. Its influence on many
Anantapur other languages in India (it may be
minimal for Tamil) in their growth
has to be recognised. There are
It was a pleasure to read Dr. C. several schools across India that
Rangarajan’s article (July 19) which accommodate a student’s desire to
presented a clear and an unbiased learn Sanskrit. Kerala boasts of
view on the budget. He has termed having a Sanskrit University. One
the budget a continuation: in terms fails to understand the objections of
of numbers as well as the Tamil Nadu.
philosophy of the previous
K. Rajendran,
government. Does this not place a
Chennai
question mark over the tall pre-poll
claims made by the BJP? What is The opposition to ‘Sanskrit Week’
the difference then in the ideologies expressed by certain political
of the previous UPA and the new parties appears to represent a kind
government? With inflation still of political opportunism. If
rising, the magic of acche din is fast ‘linguistic sensitivity’ is accepted, a
time may come when some
waning.
Amanpreet Singh, linguistic fanatics may clamour for
Ludhiana local versions of ‘Jana Gana Mana’
and ‘Vande Mataram.’
The article shows that each budget
A. Balagangadharan,
is filled with empty rhetoric. While
Pollachi
we pin our hopes and aspirations on
what we would like the Finance Before
claiming
linguistic
Minister to say, we only end up superiority over Sanskrit, Tamil
getting disappointed as none of the leaders opposed to Sanskrit should
comprehensive or inclusive policies first change their names derived
we expect ever materialise. The from classical Sanskrit literature.
economic forum or panel that Are these leaders not aware that
quickly springs into action before some of the names have their origin
and after the budget only turns out in Sanskrit language and literature
to be a meaningless ritual. A single- and are not of Tamil origin,
minded approach with practical culturally or linguistically? If
solutions is the right way to ensure language is the real problem, then
‘Sanskrit Week’
Budget road map
Tamil Nadu should also stop the use
of English in schools and colleges.
In comparison to English, classical
Sanskrit (the mother of Indian
languages) holds no threat to Tamil.
Though many cannot speak
Sanskrit, it deeply touches the life of
millions of Indians. The West has
understood the potential of
Sanskrit in science. This reminds
me of an interesting article
published in Artificial Intelligence
magazine (1985) written by NASA
researcher Rick Briggs highlighting
the possible use of Sanskrit in
Artificial Intelligence in the future.
This is what Jawaharlal Nehru
said about Sanskrit: “If I was asked
what is the greatest treasure which
India possesses and what is her
greatest heritage, I would answer
unhesitatingly that it is the Sanskrit
language and literature and all that
it contains. This is a magnificent
inheritance, and so long as this
endures and influences the life of
our people, so long will the basic
genius of India continue ... India
built up a magnificent language,
Sanskrit, and through this language,
and its art and architecture, it sent
its vibrant message to far away
countries.”
Raghu Pradeep Nair,
Thrissur
A good judgment
Saif Mahmood needs to be
applauded
for
his
sincere
presentation of such a sensitive
matter, which has been highly
misinterpreted
by
people
(“Misunderstanding
a
good
judgment,” July 19). I hope this
article can also start a rational
introspection of other Alternative
Dispute Resolution settlements in
our country, such as the khap
panchayats and tribal courts. These
are results of long-standing
traditions but often seem lacking in
expertise, sensitivity and a
progressive outlook.
Akash Srivastava,
New Delhi
ND-ND
