Governance becomes charity.

In the wake of the terrible tragedy that occurred in AMRI hospitals in in south Calcutts, the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, announced that the families of those who perished in the fire would b e given Rs 3 lakh by the government in addition to the compensation provided by the hospital. It is improper to criticize compassion is misplaced. The act of ch arith is also a breach of the codes of governance. The hospital cocerned is a pr ivate one and the fire happened because, according to all available reports, the re were gross breaches of security and safety procedures. Deliberate negligence and the flouting of safety norms on the part of the owners and on the part of th ose in charge of the hospital administration resulted in the loss of lives. Wher e does the government come into all this? The government shoud punish the guilty but by no stretch of the definition of government duty should the government pr ovided compesation to those who are the victims of a private party's indifferenc e to existing safety precautions. The compensation should be provided by the pri vate party; the state should ensure that the compensation provided by the hospit al is handsome; and, if necessary, seize the assests of the company and then pro vide more than adequate compensation from the sale of these. The chief minister of West Bengal, to show her compassion, has misused public fu nds and transgressed public trust. The government of West Bengal has no money of its own. It holds the public's money, which it collests as taxes, in trust, and them spends the money in accordance with certain set procedures and under accou nt heads that are announced in the annual budget. The government cannot use the taxpayer's money as charity. The fire in the private hospital that is being disc ussed here does not fall into the same category as the tragedy that accompanies a natural calamity or a terrorist attack. In a hospital fire, those who are culp able are esily identified and made responsibile. There exist the notion in West Bengal and elsewhere in India that the government can do whatever is wants with the money that it holds. It cannot. The distinction between what is pubnlic and what is private is crucial for responsible governance. Ms Banerjee shoud take ex tra care not to blur the distinction even if this makes her less popular.

Pakistan has recently been witness to an unusual spate of histrionics from its n ational leaders. The prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, has thundered at a nati onal assembly meeting that this government is the target of a "conspiracy"; the country's information minister has tried to quit amid tears and a leader of an u nremarkable political party has pulled no punches wityh the government for its c orrupt ways and for trying to defame the army. The wheel is truning again in Pak istan, but no one is quite sure which way. It is the uncetainty that has set ner ves on edge. But none has made an exhibition of this edginess as much as the nat ional government itself. Battered on the one hand by a spiralling economic and e nergy crisis and a listless foreign policy that seems to be bringing more bricba ts than strategic gains on the other; the Pakistan People's Party-led federal go vernment appears to be fast losing the plot in Pakistan. The persident has been taken sick, the prime minister is angry and resignations are maing evident the t urmoil withing the party. What is obvious is that the PPP leadership can no longer cover up its irreconcil able differences with the army that were brought into focus by the Memogate scan dal. Following revelations that top government officials may have invited Americ an intervention to prevent a militray coup after the operation against Osama bin Laden, the PPP government has suddenly lost its moral high ground to the army, which has resumed its role as the sole arbiter of the country's security policy, if not its political fate. Mr Gilani has stated from the ramparts of the assemb ly that the army is subservient to parliament. But having ceded the political in itiative to the army post-Abbottabad by its failure to censure the army for its dubious policies, the Gilani government has little hope of salvaging the momentu m for itself. Mr Gilani has raised the spectre of a military coup, but that may not suffice in bringing back punlic confidence in the government. The country's supreme court has ruled out the possibility of a coup, and the military chief hi

mself has assured the people that the army wishes no such adventure. Given that a democratic alternative has already surfaced in the form of the immensely polul ar former cricketer, Imran Khan, the army may not even have to explore the optio n. If Mr Khan's surging confidence fails to push out the government, the PPP gov rernment's own foinles surely will. It might souNd all German to Indians, and perhaps Greek to Pakistanis. The presi dent of Germany, Christan Wulff, has had to resign because of a controversial lo an, acceptance of favours from rich friends and for his attmepts to bamboozle th e media. For most in the Indian subcontinent, these are the defining traits of t he quinteseential politician. Not so for the Germans, who have quietly reinforce d their idea of what they expect from the holder of a public office, especially from one who holds the highest office of the land. Mr Wulff, in his pervious rol e as governor of Lower Saxony, is believed to have driven and won handsome barga ins with his friends and acquaintances in exchange for bestowing favours that, f rom what is known till now, extended from taking someone along on an official tr ip to giving his nod to a business contract. In return, the high perfile politic ian got to enjoy all-paid-for holidays, upgrades in flights and hotels or rides in expensive cars. Tje image of bargain-hunter sat uneasy with Mr Wulff as presi dent , who is supposed to epitomize public morality and propriety. Whatn prosecu tors of the state of Lower Saxony hit on Mr Wulff's trail, the president compoun ded his sins by first trying to hush up the matter by threatening the press (on voice mail in some instances) and then by evading queries on his past and presen t actions. At the end of two months of intense drama, much of it media-driven, M r Wulff acknowledged that he had lost the moral authority to retain the presiden cy and resigned temely. The incident testifies to the strength of German democracy in more ways than one . The will of the people has proved stronger than the politician's craft. Not me rely that, the way the chancellor, Angela Mrkel, has handled the ptentially dama ging fallout of the exit of her chosen presidential candidate shows that her gov ernment has enough resiliense to withstand temporary shocks. Ms Merkel, infact, has put the matter behind her with incredible speed. Despite her reservations, t he German chancellor has bent to the wish of a junior ally in her coalition, the Free Democratic Party, as also that of the Opposition in giving her assent to J oachim Gauck as the mext consensus candidate for the post of president. This was the best way to show respect to popular will, overcome a domestic setback and m aintain Germany's leadership in sorting out the eurozone and Greek crises, and M s Merkel has done just that. The climate change negotiations are deadlocked because of a basis difference of approach. Developing countries are calling for enhanced implementation of existi ng agreements, while developed countries are insisting on a new agreement that w ould shift a large share of their obligations to the shoulders of developing cou ntries, particularly the 'newly emerging economies' like India and China. The Eu ropean Union is calling for negotiations on a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol within the next few years. Japan and Australia want to replace the pro tocol immediately by a drastically revised version or an altogether new agreemen t. An in the case of Aladdin's lamp, it would be disastrous to replace the older c limate change agreement with the new product on offer. The new agreement would n ot only be inequitable but would retard development and poverty eradication. It would also sanctify a hopelessly inadequate response to the challenge of climate change. Excessive levels of carbon dioxide emissions are the principal cause of climate change. Carbon dioxide itself is not a pollutant. Indeed, without carbon dioxide , life would not have existed on our planet. However, there is a certain optimum range of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Climate change results if t his range is exceeded. Hence there is a need to control emissions on the basis o

f an atmospheric resource. India's stand - supported by many developing countrie s - is that all human beings have an equal right to the atmospheric resource. De veloped countries in general have excessively high per capita emission levels an d are thus responsible for causing climate change. They should sharply reduce th eir emissions. Developing countries should ensure that their rising per capita e missions do not exceed those of the developed countries, taking past emissions i nto account. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognizes that the pe r capita emissions of the developing countries are relatively low and that they will inevitably increase to meet the demands of development. These agreements th erefore require developed countries to reduce their emissions in an adequate and timely manner but impose on such requirement on developing countries. The devel oped countries, which are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, are also required to contribute financial resources and transfer te chnology to enable developing countries to show down the growth of their emissio ns. Disregarding their treaty of obligations, the developed countries are refusing t o take on emission reduction commitments on anything approaching the required sc ale. Their pledges are not only grossly inadequate but are also, in many cases, hedged with conditions and loopholes. For example, the pledge of the United Stat es of America is subject to the passage of a bill for which there is so little s upport in the US Congress that it has long been consigned to the back-burner by the Obama administration. The Canadian "commitment" is even stranger; it depends on US legislation! Recent studies by the UN Environment Programme and the Stock holm Environment Institute show the gross inadequacy of the commitments made by developed countries, even under the most optimistic assumptions. The SEI study a lso demonstrates that the voluntary emission control measures planned by the dev eloping countries amount to mare mitigation than the commitments made by the dev eloped countries. It also shows that, unless accounting loopholes are closed, th e developed countries will be able to meet their commitments with very little ac tual mitigation, and possibly with none at all! The developed countries are now demanding that the developing countries must tak e on legally binding emission reduction commitments under a new treaty, regardle ss of the fact that their past and, in most cases, present per capita emissions are a fraction of those of developed countries. After a short grace period, deve loping countries would have to cap their emissions at per capital levels much lo wer than the corresponding figure for developed countries. They are brushing asi de India's call for climate equity in order to transfer a major part of their re sponsibilities under existing agreements to the developing countries, particular ly rising economic powers like India, China and Brazil. The implications of the demand for a new agreement should be clearly understood. In the first place, a new agreement would implicitly place a seal of approval o n the grossly inadequate mitigation commitments that developed countries are off ering to implement. Far from promoting climate change mitigation on a more ambit ious scale, a new agreement would massively downsize the obligations of the deve loped countries that are principally responsible for causing climate change. It would be a huge step backward in the global response to climate change. A new agreement on the proposed lines would be an unjust agreement, violating th e principle of equality. Rejection of the principle that all human beings have a n equal right to the global atmospheric resource implies that inhabitants of tit led to a much larger share of resource than inhabitants of poorer developing cou ntries, in gross violation of natural justice. This has hugely important implications, in practical terms. Depriving the develo ping countries of an equal per capita share of the atmospheric resource would in evitable result in slowing down economic and social development and poverty erad ications in poorer countries. If emissions of developing countries are capped at levels that are a small fraction of those of developed countries, their utiliza tion of hydrocarbon energy sources - coal, oil and gas - would also, in effect, be capped at very low per capital levels compared to affluent countries. There i s a broad correlation between per capital utilization of hydrocarbon fuels and p

er capita carbon dioxide emissions. It might be argues that developing countries would still have recourse to renewable energy to meet their development needs b ut this is a weak argument since renewable energy will remain far more expensive than hydrocarbons for many years to come, with the exception only of some niche applications. Developing countries would thus be compelled to pay much more for energy than affluent countries. A sharp increase in the cost of energy would in evitably retard development and poverty eradication schemes in developing countr ies. The proposed new climate change treaty regime would negate efforts to close the yawning gap between rich and poor countries. The climate change negotiations will be resumed in Durban at the end of November . The prospects for a breakthrough are bleak, given the fundamental differences between participants. The conference would do well to focus on deliverables, eve n if these are of limited scope. A powerful phalanx of developed countries will, however, try to push through their proposal for a new agreement and we must be prepared to face strong pressures to surrender our vital developmental interests . The new minister of environment and forests, Jayanthi Natarajan has already de monstrated her ability to articulate India's climate change policy in a clear an d unambiguous style. She must stand firm at Durban. The so-calle Park Street case was by no means an open-and-shut one. That it was cracked in less than a fortnight argues high skills and determination on the par t of the police, those very quilities that they have often been suspected of lac king. Not just this case, but also a few earlier ones - maybe noticeable few - h ave demonstrated the police's professional skills in detention. It would be prob ably true to say, too, that the median cannot know everything, or know everythin g correctly, apart from the fact that they cannot alwyas expose what they know. So it has to be taken for granted that far more cases are cracked than the publi c are told of, whatever the reasons for secrecy. What is not secret is that poli tics has a lot to do with the public's gradual loss of faith in the police. That this case moved so fast and - in spite of the rising chorus of doubt and confus ion - was so crisply sloved redound to the credit of the police. But the leaders hip, too, mattered, for their bosses' firmness and general nonsense attitude mus t have contributed to the clean profile of the investigation. But if this is possible, why has the city become such a frighteningly unsafe pla ce? The frequency of unsolved robberies and murders, especially since January th is year, and the growing confidence among criminals, sully the reputaion of a po lice force obviously capable of great efficiency. The Park Street case was consi dered 'high profile', as though epitomizing the lack of safety in the city, beca use of the long association of Park Street with affluence and a kind of glamour. It was also a case of sexual assault, and what happened to the complainant prov ed again that this city is no place for an independent woman. Is the hierarchy, assumed by the media tag of 'high profile', taken seriously by the plice too? Ar e the murdered mother and daughter, for example, or the couple robbed while brea kfasting in their car in the Burrabazar area, low in this imagined hierarchy of importance? the wide gap in performance standards has to be explained and addres ssed. Lack of personned alone cannot be sufficient reason living up to its abili ties and skills in every case. And while that happens, there would be less confu sion all round if influential voices did not cry conspiracy at the drop of hat. When Hamlet contemplated sleep as a chance to dream, little did he know that he was invoking a fundamental right on the part of human beings. The Supreme Court of India made this observation. To be without sleep is to be pushed towards deat h. Thus sleep is vital to life. The apex court thus broadened the purview of the right to life. This conceptual expansion has significant implications. It menan s, for example, that the dreaded midnight knock by the police that haunted so m any Indians during the months of the Emergency hampered something more than the freedom of individuals. It actually disturbed the right to life because it robbe d the arrested person of his sleep. The perpetrators of the emergencey and their

imitators today who choose to make late-night or early-morning arrests have a h eavier burden to bear. Citizens of India can now sleep peacefully at night witho ut the menace of the Satae infringing on noe of their fundamental claims at nigh t. But does the idea of sleep that is fundamental to life cover the proverbial fort y winks or the popular siesta in the middle of the afternoon? The clerk in the g overnment office caught napping at work, when ticked off by his boss, cound easi ly argure that he was exercising a basic right. He cound follow this up by claim ing that he is sleep-deprived as he has a bawling baby at home. What shoud take precedence here - the babu's right to life through sleep or his duty in his work place? On such finer points many things cound turn. Bengalis, for example, love to sleep. There is a theory that Bengalis' lineage connects them to the legendar y Kumbhakarna, who slept for six months at a stretch and would wake up for one d ay to eat. Bengalis, it cound be said, slept for 34 years, woke up for a few day s to vote for a change and have gone back to sleep again. Rumour has it, however , that the present chief minister of West Bengal sleeps very little. Yet the sta te she leads is almost perpetually soporific. sleep, perhaos, is the opiate of t he political imagination. In the context of the links between sleep and life, it is worth recalling what t he king, George III, said in the late 18th century. He said only a fool needed e ight hours of sleep at night. Men needed six and women seven, according to his m ajesty. How much sleep is sufficient for life will always remain a vexed and per haps and unanswerable question. What is undeniable is that to go off to sleep is a most attractive option for most people pace the chief minister of West Benga l and others like her who can make do with only a few hours of sleep every day. That sleep is essential to life is a self-evident medical fact. The Supreme Cour t has only legally fortified this. But in so ding, it has brought comfort to man y. India and Indians can continue with their somnambulism through life. There seems to be great relief and general satisfaction that the court case of t he army chief versus the Union of India has been resolved. It is true that the S upreme Court has ruled in favour of the government, and has thereby brought to a n end the spectacle of an army chief fighting the government. But the matter can hardly be said to be resolved. The Supreme Courtps judgemnt leaves the army chi ef, V.K. Singh, with two years of birth. This, not to put too fine a point on it , is actually unique. Mr Singh, common sense dictates, coould not have been born twice. He was either born in 1950 or in 1951. But the apex court refused to sa y one or the other. Instad, it fell back on procedure and techincalities. Justic e, which is the business of Supreme Court, is not about grammar and procedure. T he supreme court had to fall back on these because under Article 32 of the Const itution it cannot examine Mr singh's matruculation certificate as evidence. That certificate or the school leaving certificate issued by the headmaster concerne d is taken as firm evidence of a person's age. If Mr Singh had argued his case o n his matriculation certificate, he would have had to go to a civil court or to the Armed Forces Tribunal. But since MR Singh did not choose such a route and w ent to the Supreme Court directly, the ,latter had no other alternative but to f all back on procedure. The priciple that the court used for its verdict was that of espoppel which "pre cludes a person from asserting something contrary to what is implied by a previo us action or statement of that person". In this specific case, it meant that sin ce Mr Singh had accepted in 2008 and in 2009 that 1950 was his birth year, he co und not now make a claim that was different from his previous acceptqance of 195 0 as his year of birth. This does not imply or mean that 1950 is Mr Singh's actu al year of birth. The Supreme court did not rule on this matter. It was open to the court to ask Mr Singh to go to a civil court or to the Armed Forces Tribunal to establish his year of birth. The Supreme Court could not have been unaware t hat going to a civil court or to the Armed Forces Tribunal would have prolonged the issue and the embarrrassment. Perhaps to avoid this, the court used the prin ciple of estoppel. This was convenient but there are grounds to doubt if justice

was rendered. As matters stand, Mr Singh has to be satisfied with the encomium heaped upon his by the apex court. The govdernment can be relieved since the court's verdict ha s rescued it from a mess that is largely of the government's own making. The han dful of people interested in the idea and the delivery of Justice will be pardon ed if they remain a trifle bewildered. What is sad of course is that the legal c hapter of the episode cound have been avoided if the minister concerned had been more alert and competent. Governments at the Centre can barrely resist the temptation to encroach on the s tates' powers. The congress seems to be particualrly afflicted with the malaise. The Union home ministry's move to set up a National Counter-Terrorism Centre sh ows how deeply entrenched this tendency is. The Union government has only itself to blame for the embarrassment it now faces ove the issue.It should have struck the Union home minister, P.Chidambaram, that the matter involved the rights and powers of state governments. The least he cound have done was consult the state governments and ascertain their views on the issue. By unilaterally deciding to set up the NCTC, the Centre overreached itself and undermined the powers of the states guranteed by the constitution. The challenges that the republic faces fr om terrorism and other threats trquire the Union government to be more sensitive to the powers of the states. Many state governments face such challenges on the ir ouwn turfs. Unfor tunately, the anti-frederalist tendencies of the Centre see ms to be getting worse over time. In fact, there is a strong case for an expansi on of the state's limited powers. Any attempt to further erode these can only be a retrogade step. Mamata banerjee and seven other chief ministers should, therefore, be lauded for their opposition to the Centre's move on the NCTC. The constitution makes the a dministration of law and order a state subject. But the NCTC is given sweeping p owers of investigation and arrest in the interest of intgernal security. Worst o f all, the proposed agency is under no obligation to inform the state government of its acions or plans. The assault on the states' powers is so obvious that ch ief ministers belonging to different political parties made common cause to oppo se the ides. Ms Banerjee has found support from politicians as different as Nare ndra Modi of Gujarat and Manik Sarkar of Tripura. The Centre's move was wrong on another important count. Terrorism is a major nationa threat and the states hav e as much concern to tackle it as the Centre. To assume that it is a matter that concerns only the Centre is to have a very narrow view of the challenge to figh t it. Such ill-conceived ideas sow avoidable seeds of conflict between the Centr e and the states. This is certainly no wasy to foster national integration eithe r. Events would suggest that come non-governmental organizations are under the scan ner of the State. The prime minister, manmohan Singh, said in an interview that certain steps to use biotechnology to increase agricultural productiviey were st opped because of the opposition from NGOs. He added that these NGOs were "often funded from the United States and the Scandinavial countries, which are not full y apreciative of the development challenges that our country faces". these prote sts cannot be ignored, the prime minister pointed out, because India is a democr acy unlike China. Mr Singh noted the fact that the Kundankulam nuclear power pla nt in Tamil Nadu had faced opposition form NGOs that, according to the prime min ister, were based in the United States of America. The developmentof two 1000 MW reactors was stalled because of this opposition. The prime minister's reservati ons about the NGOs was followed by the government taking action against four NGO s for violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. It is easy, of course, to condemn all this as attempts to harass NGOs and interp ret the steps as the State's interference in the affairs of civil society. What should not be ignored is that not all NGOs - care should be taken not to all NGO s with the same brush - are transparent about their sources of funds. Given this

lack of transparency, the prime minister s statements can be written off as mere allegations. But all reports indicates t hat most major NGOs have foreign, especially US, funding. It is also not unfair to conclude that many foreign funders have undisclosed agenda. The NGOs, by rema ining opaqye, only fuel suspicion. Further, if the NGOs conseder themselves to b e integral parts of civil societly in India, they should meet the standards of t ransparency and accountability that are expected of civil society institutions. It can be no one's claim that the State in India can operate by overlooking the views of civil society. (Mr Singh was right in contrasting India and China in th is regard.) But NGOs, in their turn, must function withing the norms of Indian d emocracy. Their protests, if they have to acquire any kind of legitimacy, must c ome through democratic channels. The government should also clarify its position on issues like the use of biotechnology in agriculture and refuse to be held ho stage by protests launched by NGOs that have no roots in the will of the people. Whose foresta are they, anyway? Those who live inside forests never had to ast t his question until recently. They knew that the forests beolonged to them, just as they belonged to the forests. Then come the timber traders and other untsider s whose economic activities caused a sense fo lienation among the forest dewelle rs. The Maoist rebellion exploited this alienation and used poor forest dwellers to launch its armed struggles. Returning the forests to the native dwellers has thus become past of the strategy to fight Maoism. Both the Centre and the state s enacted laws in recent yers in order to protect the forest dwellers' rights to the forests. Jharkahnd needed to act on its own law on this more than most othe r states. Although rather late, the state has finally begun identifying forest v illages where the people will have community rights over the protection, regener ation and management of forests. Weaning the forest dwellers away from Maoist po litics appears to be the immediate motive behind the move/ But the government's aim should actually be much larger. If pursued in earnest, the move can do much to empower forest dwellers and to save forests. It can also help traditional so cieties cope better with new challenges. However, laws and official interventions are only the first step. The more diffi cult challenge is to train the people in the skills that they would need for the ir new task. At least two other states Mharashtra and Karnataka - began the expe riment of giveing community rights to forest dwellers. In both cases, as now in jharkhand, the immediate objective has been to use the idea to fight Maoists. Jh arkhand whould do well to follow the examples of the other two states and lear f rom their mistakes. It is important to treat the measure as a holistic one and n ot simply as a counter-Maoism strategy. The scheme will work better if the peopl e take it as their own choice and not as a tool of State policy. In Jharkhand's case, the success of the move can have a major impact on the way the interests o f a new economy and of traditional societies are balanced. The state has a large forest cover and nearly half of its population comprises tribal and other backw ard communities. Despite its mineral wealth, the state has a long way to go befo re it becomes an induatrial economy. Jhanrkhand needs both industries and its fo rests to empower its poor people. Whose forests are they, anyway? Those who live inside forests never had to ask t his question until recently. They know that the forests belonged to them, just a s they belonged to the forests. Then came the timber traders and other coutsider s whose economic avtivities caused a sense of alienation among the forest dwelle rs. The Maoist rebellion exploited this alienation and used poor forest dwellers to launch its armed struggles. Returning the forests to the native dwellers has thus become past of the strately to fight Maoism. Both the Centre and the state s enacted laws in recent years in order to protect the forest dweller's rights t o the forests. Jharkhand needed to act on its own law on this more than most oth er states. Although rather late, the state has finally begun identifying forest villages where the people will have community rights over the protectio, regener

ation and management of forests. Wening the forest dwellers away from Maoist pol itics appears to be the immediate motive behind the move. But the government's a im should actually be much larger/ If pursued in earnest, the move can do much t o empower forest dwellers and to save forests/ It can also help traditional soci eties cope better with new challenges. Howerve, laws and official interventions ar4e only the first step. The more diff icult challenge is to train the people in the skills that they would need for th eir new task/ At least two other states- Kaharashtra and Karnataka - mbegan the experiment of giving community rights to forest dwellers. In both cases, as now in Jharkhand, the immediate objective has been to use the idea to fight Maoists. Jharkahnd would do well to follow the examples of the other two states and lear n from their mistakes. It is important to treat the meanure as a holistic one an d not simply as a coulter-Maoism strategy. The scheme will work better if the pe ople take it as their own choice and not as a tool of State policy. In Jharkhand 's case, the success of the move can have a major impact on the way the interest s of a new economy and of traditional societies are balanced. The state has a la rge forest cover and nearly half of its population comprises tribal and other ba ckward communities, Despits its mineral wealth, the state has along way to go be fore it becomes an industrial economy. Jharkhand needs noth industries and its f orests to empower its poor people. Nothing succeeds in West Bengal except strikes and Bandhs. No one can blame the present government for not taking adequate steps to foil the strike called by Le ft trade unions. Yet anyone who came out on the streets of Calcutta would have n oticed that the city was not its usual bustling self. The roads were emplty and shops were shut; taxis ane cars were few and far between. The city and the state enjoyed a holiday on what should have been a full working day. While this will encourage those who called the atrike to claim a victory, the government offies and the smooth running of the airport and railways to argue that the st5rike act ually failed. These claims and counter-claims by rival political formations are nothing new to those who follow the political history of West Bengal. What gets obscured in this meaningness battle regarding the success or failure of a strike is a deeper phenomenon that can only lead to despair and cynicism. The phenomenon is the propensity of the people of West Bengal to enjoy a holiday on any pretext. The government of the day, irrespective of its political orient ation, can provide any amount of infrastructural support, but a strike will not be foiled unless the people of West Bengal seem disinclined to do this. Their ar gument for staying home is the fear of violence. This argument does not hold at least for yesterday's strike. The state government had assured the people of ful l protection and there were enough po0licemen out on the streets. What more coun d the government do to instil confidence in the people? The answer lies in the f ailure of courage and thelove for not working. Lack of courage and the complete erosion fo the work ethinc fuel the culture of strikes and bandhs. This, in turn , is interpreted by interested political parties as support for a strike and als o as evidence of West Bengal's heightened political awareness, This can only be described as delusion compounding delusion. The people of West Bengal, including the educated elite, delude themselves about their lack of courage and their fon dness for escaping work, and political parties delude themselves about popular s upport for strikes. The state of West Bengal languishes because the people and t heir political leaders are conveniently in denial mode. Other than implying utter normalcy questioned each day by the climbing death tol l the recently held referendum is Syria had a motive, albeit a personal one on t he part of tis ruler. It was intended to massage the ego of Bashar al-Assad, and it has done so unfailingly. About 90 per cent of those who voted have assended to a new constitution that limits the presidential term to two seven years stint s, which are bound to see Mr Assad in office stil 2028. giben that only loyalist s had enough security to make it to the booths while bombs and snipers took care

of the dissenters, the result cound have hardly been otherwise. The referendym, not unexpectedly, has been labelled a sham outside Syria. But that does not bot er Mr Assad, who has just shown the world that the retains enough authority to r un a countrywide poll and enouhg support to command a victory. The reason whyy M r Assad can indulge in such grandstanding despite the bllod onhis hands is not m erely becuase of the voting minority, which fears the uncertainties of change, b ut also because he is now fairly certain that Syria will not be another Libya. Mr Assad owes this sense of certainty to both Russia and China, which are determ ined to deny Western nations another opportunity to tinker with power equaltions in the Middle East through their pro-democracy principle. Both have scotched th e change of military interventin similarlto the one in Libya by vetoing a resolu tion in the United Nations that called for a regime change. The international co mmunity had hoped to get arouned and problem by formig the Friends of Syria grou p. But as the meeting of the group in Tunisia showed, a rather unusual moral dil emma seems to be sapping its energy. Unlime in Libya, Syria's frineds' cannot br ing themselves to openly supply funds to ro arms to the rebels. Part of this mig ht be because of the nagging worry over the choice of recipients or channels. Bu t this is also becuase Syria s obvious connection with Iran makes it a more potent factor in international po litics tghan Libya. Yet, it is imperative that the stalemete is broken in order to end the mindless violence in Syria. Perhaps India and South Africa should sei ze the initiative to break the lohjam among the beggies through the alternative channels provided by the regional and economic groupings before another shot at peace making is taken at the UN. If alnguage springs from the heart, it may prove as unruly as the heart. The hig h court in Dhaka, though, feels that the court can lay down the law on language when its users 'distor' it. Reportedly, the court was responding to an article w hich criticized the casual, mixed languagre used in radio and television program mes. For the scholarly writer, the pollution of language is as devastating as po llution of rivers. Many in Bangladesh and in neighbouring West Bengal would be s ympathetic to the writer's view. It is painful, at least in West Bengal, to be f aced with credits of TV and slogans on walls with atrocious spelling, or to list en to chery sentences untouched by grammar. But the 'distortion' in such cases r eflects a decline in the standard of education, and perhaps the teaching of Beng ali in particular.' It is not clear from the problems of language 'pollution' listed by the court in Bangladesh whether it is spelling and grammar it is concerned about. But the iss ues it does list are certainly those that evoke equal passion in West Bengal: 'p ollution', distorted pronunciation, incorrect choice of words (Indian advertisem ents in Bengali offer incomparable examples of this) and decay. The thrust of th e court's concern, however, raises a basic question: is there any living languag e that is 'pure'? Languages live by changes, shifts, borrowings and apparent 'di stortions' - English, for example, has digested 'curry' and gone on tht 'tweetin g', having naturalized, say, 'impacting' on the way, leaving purists fuming. The most widespread language in the world glories in 'impurity'. Sanskrit is pure; it is also dead. But there is another question, as basic, that the Dhaka high court ruling has ra ised. Can a court of law decide that the purity of a language should be preserve d, that committees - and government departments - be empowered to ensure that th e language is not further 'injured' by English, Hindi and other influences? Firs t, at what hisporical pooint is the purity of a longuage, in this case, Bengali - which evolved over the years - to be fixed? On the eve of the international mo ther tongue day, it has to be asked whether the language revolution is not showi ng signs of hardening in the very country that has given the wporld martyrs in t he cause of the mother tongue. The use of any language is influenced by politica l and economic factors. This is especially relevant in the use of Bengali in Ind ia. If there is decline in the standards of teaching Bengali, it is surely a ref lection of changing cultural needs that are directly linked to economics and pol

itics. The 'distortion' is a sign, occasionally regrettable, that the language i s trying to adjust to new cultural and ecnonomic demands. This is the phenomenon to be studies, and perhaps addressed. 'Purity', even if defined, cannot be forc e. Other than implying utter normlcy questioned each day by the climbing death toll the recently held referendum in syria had a motive, albeit ia personal one on t he part of its ruler. It was intended to massage the ego of Bashar al-Assad, and it has done so unfaliingly. about 90 per cent of those who voted have assentd t o a new contitution that limits the presidential term to two seven year stints, which are bound to see Mr Assad in office till 2028. Given that onle loyalists h ad enough security to make to the the booths while bombs and snipers took care o f the dissenters, the result cound have hardly been otherwise. The referendum, n ot unexpectedly, had been lebelled a sham outside Syria. But that does not bothe r Mr Assad, who has just shown the world that he retains enough authority to run a countrywide poll and enough support to command a victory. The reasons whY Mr Assad can indulge in such grandstanding despite the blood on his hands is not me rrely because of the voting minority, which ferrs the uncertainties of chnge, bu t also because he is now fairly certain that Syria will not be another Livya. Mr Assad owes this sense of certainty toboth Russia and Chins, which are determi ned to deby Western nations another opportunity to tinker with power equations i n the Middle Est through their pro-democracy principle. Both have scotched the c hance of a military intervention similar to the one in Libya by vetoing a resolu tion in the United Nations that called for a regime change. The international co mmunity had hoped to get around the problem by forming tghe Friends of Syria gro up. But as the meeting of the group in Tunisia showed, a rather unusual moral di lemma seems to be sapping its energy. Unlike in Libys, syras's 'friends' cannot bring themselves to openly supply funds or arms to the rebels. Part of this migh t be because of the naggging wory over the choice of recipients of channels. But this is also because Syria's obvious connection with Iran makes it a more poten t factor in international politics than Libya. Yet, it is imperative that the st lemate is broken in order to end the mindless violence in Syria. Perhaps India a nd sourth Africa should seize the initiative to break the logiam among the biggi es through the alternative channels provided by the regional and economic groupi ngs before another shot at peace-making is taken at the UN. A blurring of distinctions invariably produces problems in the functioning of in stitutions. The legislature exists in a democracy to introduce new laws r to mod ify ole ones. Members of the legislative chambers do so as the elected represent atives of the people. The judiciary is responbdible to ensure that these laws ar e adhered to and to decide on punishments for thosw who break the laws. In India , the supreme Court also has to dicide if any piece of legislation is altering t he basic structure of the Constitution. Given this distinction and the claibrate d responsibilities, it is difficult to comprehend how the judiciary can suggest to the legislature what kind of laws the latter should pass. there can be no man ner of doubt that the purpose behind such a suggestion is the disire to ensure a cleaner and smoother polity. But a niggling doubt remains from the supreme Cour t's observations on the citizen's right to seek the prosecution of poblic serva nts. the apex court suggested that Parliament should enact a law that requires a decision within four months; and if no permission is forthcoming within the sti pulated period, the permission should be deemed granted. such a law could be wel come but this is a matter on which the legislature will have to deicde independe ntly of the views and desires of the judiciary. The latter must be careful, sinc e often as a consequesnce of the elevated position of the judiciary,a suggestion from it cn be misinterpreted. In the course of the same judgment, the Supre Court made a distinction between t he person of the prime minister and the office of the prime minister. It is, of course, not possible for any primi minister to be aware of all the details perta

ining to the decisions and activities of his office. But the prime minister, by definition, is also the head of the prime minister's office, just as he is the h ead of the government. Thus the fine distinction made by the apex court somewhat dilutes the issue of responsibility and eccountability. When something goes wro ng in his office, the promi minister has to carry the can of responsibility. Af ter accepting that responsibility, the prime minister can and should take steps against those oficers whose errors or incompetence or indifference led to embarr assment. This is embedded in the principle of responsibility. The head that wear s the crown is uneasy precisely because it bears the ultimate responsibility. A blurrring of distinctions invariably produces problems in the functioning of i nstitutions. The legislature exists in an democracy to introduce new laws or to modify old ones. Members of the legislative chambers do so as the elected repres entatives of the people. The judiciary is responsible to ensure that these laws are adhered to and to decide on punishments for those who break the laws. In Ind ia, the Supreme Court also has to dicide if any piece of legislation is latering the basic structure of the Constitution. Given this istinction and the calibrat ed responsibilities, it is difficult to comprehend how the judiciary can suggest to the legislature what kind of laws the latter should pass. there can be no ma nner of doubt that the purpose behind such a suggestion is the desire to ensure a cleaner remains from the Supreme Court's observations on the citizen's right t o seek the prosecution of public servants. The apex court suggested that Parliam ent should enact a law that requires a decision within four months; and if no pr emission is forthcoming within the stipulated period, the prmission should be de med granted. Such a law could be welcome but this is a matter on which the legis lature will have to dedice independently of the views and desires of the judicia ry. The latter must be careful, since often as a consequence of the elevted posi tion of the judiciary, a suggestion form it can be misinterpreted. In the course of the same judgment, the Supreme Court made a distinction between the preson of the prime minister and the office of the prime minister to be awa re of all the details pertaining to the decisions and activities of his office. But the prime minister, by definition, is also the head of the primi minister's office, just as he is the head of the government. Thus the fine distinction made by the apex court somewhat dilutes the issue of responslibility and accountabil ity. When something goes wrong in his office, the prome minister has to carry th e can of responsibility, the prime minister can and should take steps against th ose officers whose errors or incompetence or indifference led to embarrassment. This is embedded in the principle of responsibility. The head that wears the cro wn is uneasy precisely because it bears the untimate responsibility. Peace talks in West Asia have made their expected journey back to square one. Ne gotiations in Amman between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, held unde the aegis of Jorand, have been scuppered by what the PNA insists is Israel' s intransigence. Israel has seemingly presented an "impossible" vision of the bo rders of the two nations, besides refusing to budge on the question of disputed territories. The dialogue could limp on for another month or so, but none of the parties has any hope of it leading to the resumption of the direct talks that w ere suspended in 2010. However, even with such a bleak picture in sight, it wou ld be unfair to accept the PNA's description of the Amman talks as a "non-starte r". There has, of course, been little movement towards the solution of the probl em, but Jordan's attempt to rescure the talks from the pothole they had fallen i nto after the PNA's bid for a place in the Untited Nations speaks volumes about a movement in another quarter that cannot be ignored.Following the unsettlement caused by the Arab Spring, there seems to be a new contest in the Arab world to seize the initiative in the Palestine conflict. Ehypt, in keeping with its earli er role, nudged Hamas last year not only into conceding the intra-{alestinian re conciliation accord with Fatah, but also to agree to part with the Israeli soldi er, Gilad Shalit. With the renewal of tension in Ehypt and in Syria, it is now J ordan's turn. Given its large Palestinian polulation, Jordan has little to lose

by posing as the arbiter, not only between Israel and the PNA, but also between Fatah and Hamas, whose leader, Khaled Meshaal, recently paid Jordan a visit afte r years. Each of the emerging leaders in West Asian politics - Turkey, Qatar or Jordan may have its own stakes in trying to further the cause of Palestine. But if they act together, they will be able to give to the cause and the PNA, which still c hampions of moderate position on it, an impetus that has been lacking for so lan g. This is important becuse despite the avowals of the Barack Obama administrati on, the United States of America has played a distinctly partisan role in peacemaking. Both Israel and the US may be hoping for the jumbling of Iran and Syria to cut down the Islamic radicals. But they sould not miss out on the more meanin gful developments. There is a huge difference between a rabblerousing political leader and a respon sible chief minister. The chief minister of West Bengal needs to be reminded of this difference since it is obvious that she has not made the transition from th e one to the other. Mamata Banerjee is quick to make political capital out of vi olent and tragic incidents without perhaps considering the implications of her s tatements. The latest ina a series is her comment that the killing of two activi sts belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was the product of feuds withing the CPI. Earlier, she had written off the rape of a woman as being enti rely staged to benefit a television channel. Both comments were entirely gratuti tous since she cound easily have condemned the violence and said that the police would take necessary action against the culprits. Her comments represent knee-j erk reactions typical of a leader who is oblivious to everything save political gains. The upshot of such comments is that she is fast losing credibility as a c hief minister. The killing of the CPI leaders in Burdwan is symptomatic of a malaise that has d eep roots. Over the three decades of communist rule, the political process was c riminalized by the entry of lumpen elements into the CPI. The political leadrshi p of the CPI was not unaware of this. It encouraged and nurtured such elements a s they helped to build muscle power and domination. Now that the Left is out of power, these lumpen elements, as is their wont, are entering the ranks of the Tr inamul Congress, which for the same reasons that drove the CPI, is not averse to such entries. The humn beings are the same even though the colour of the politi cal jersey has changed. Wehst Bengal thus continues to bear the legacy of politi cal vendettas. The irresponsible comment of the chief minister suggests that she is unwilling to bring about a change in this sphere. The violence also points to the collapse of the administrative machinery in the districts of West Bengal. Reports indicate that the police and the administratio n did precious little to prevent the encounter that resulted in the brutal kilin gs. One reason for this is the inertia embedded in the system for over 30 yers. The other, and the more immediate, resons is the refusal of the present politica l dispensation to allow the police and the administration to act autonomously. T he spectre of political interference and favourtism looks over the police and th e bureaucracy. The chief minister could, if she so desired, set an example in th is regard. But her reactions only serve to undermine the competence and the mora le of the police and the bureaucracy. Responsibility at the top will help genrea te efficiency among officials and confidence amoung people. The candidate having decided to attend the interview should try to gather as muc h intormation about the likely process and content of the interview. One way of dong this is to get in touch with the persons who have earlier undergone the sam e process. As it will not be possible for the candidate toget ot know of the act ual interview questioning in advance, he has to stude the nature of the selectio n and the role of interview in the selection process as probably would have been given in the initial adbvertisement. In case the interview is preceded by a det ailed pen and paper test, which means that the candidate has already been subjec

ted to a testing of his abilities in the subjects, then the purpose of interview would most likely be to assess his personality traits and his suitability for t he job.In case the job description calls for specialised knowledge in a specifie d subject and no paper and pen test have (has) preceded the interview, the candi date should invariably be prepared for a thorough questioning on such subject(s) . However, a certain amount of questioning on his specialised field is to be exp ected from the panel for any inteview, as this would unravel his depth of knowle dge and seriousness. The interview panel consists of mambers who are well experienced and even traint ed in the art of interviewing. It is therefore essential for the candidate to be truthful in his answers. Faking answers will certainly put him in a bad spot. A t the same time it should be his endeavour not to try to identify himself totall y with the attitudes of the interviewers as he might be misjudging the intention s of the interviewers. All the questions put be (by) the interviewers as done wi th a purpose to arrive ata acorrect picture of the condidate, his potentials and his personality traits. Questings should therefore be answered with straight si ncerity. However there will be nothing worlnd in the candidate trying to direct the answers in such a way that the areas in which he is familiar with is in the limelight and he gets more chance to answer in those familiar areas. A bit of hu mour is also welcome as in normal conversations. A state's natural resources alone do not make it attractive for investors. More important for them is the quality of governance. If Jharkhand does not attract l arge investments despite its abundant mineral resources, it has much to do with the lack of ggod governance. The state government's decision to cancel as many a s 15 memorandam of understanding signed with private companies shows where the p roblem lies. the government's argument is that these companies are simply sittin g on the proposals. The companies are said to be interested only in the mineral resources of the state. But there is nothing wrong in the private sector wanting to take advantage of Jharkhand's resources. In fact, several leading private co mpanies showed as interest in starting power, steel and other projects in Jharkh and after the Union coal ministry had put up 38 coal blocks on offer for captive mining. The state government should have been happy that the private sector had rushed in with new investment proposals. It has also been argued that most of the MoUs were signed secretively during the tenure of the former chief minister Madhs Koda, who is now in jail on corruptio n charges. This really is the crux of the problem. Successive governments in Ran chi have either been too corrupt or too incompetent to inspire investors' confi dence. The present chief minister, Arjun Munda, showed some promise of improving things early in his second term. But the state administration is still plagued by sloth and incompetence. True, many things went wrong during Mr Koda's regime. But that cannot be an excure for Mr Munda's failures. The story of one particul ar project shows how poorly the present regime functions. The construction of a 23-kilometre stretch of the Ring Road around Ranchi cannot be completed because the government cannot tackle samll local problems. It is a major project that ai ms at easing the vehicular traffic flow in the state capital. Mr Munda would do well to rethink his government's priorities. Under normal circumstances, the indirtment ofa an incumbent prime minister on ch arges of contempt of court would have been construed as the sounding of the deat h knell for the government. But in Pakistan, the Pakistan People's Party governm ent is likely to interpret this move of the supreme court that5 it had been exp ecting as another breather for it. The PPP regime is on life supprt, but it is canny enough to know that till Yousaf Raza Gilani is actually convicted of the c harge, it is alive and furiously kicking. The conviction can come sooner than it thinks and Mr Gilani may be sent to jail or have to be replaced with another eq ually gallant upholder of the president's constitutional immunity, but whatever the outcome of the government's standing-off with the judiciary, the spectacle t

hat a long-drawn-out drama promises gives the Gailani government hope that it wi ll be able to convince the people of its valiant fight in the defence of democra cy. If the matter drags on till March, when the elections to the upper house are due, the PPP will have to bolster its position in the senate. If the duel conti nues beyond that, even better. If the government is dissolved and early election s are held, the PPP can draw consolation from the fact that no aprty is poised s uitably enough to gain an undue advantage from the situation - nbe it the Pakist an Muslim League, the PML or the Muttahida Qaumi Party. Although they are aganis t the PP's confrontation with the judiciary, they are too tained to put up an an ti-corruption front, and Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insuf, despite its fulminations, if still too young and too urban to poach on the traditional vote-banks of the established parties. But it is not entirely a fair and square game. The judiciary will gain in presti ge for its sstand on corruption and so will, ironically, Mr Gilani. He has secur ed a place for hismelf in the party's pantheon and a guranteed return as the PPP 's prime ministerial candidate in the next elections unless, of course, he is se nt to jail. The only indibitable loser is the nation - it will have to bear the cost of the PPP's obsessive mission to shield Asif Ali Zardari in the flounder e conomy and the losing battle against militancy. Caught between warring political parties, an undecided nation may giva severely fractured mandate in the event o f an early election that will returen an even weaker government thatn the one in place now. Some questions provide no scope for multiple choice; they demand just an eitheror answer. At the moment, residents of Calcutta are faced with preicsely such a question: why are the police not being adble control cirme? The possible answers arelikely to strike further alarm among Calcuttans now terrified of murder and robbery that are gronwing more daring, ruthless and cruel by the day. Either th e police do noe want to or they do not know how to. In the last count seince lat e January, there have been five murders, six robberies and three snatchings, cul minating in a calm, cool daylight robbery - or call it snatching - from a couple enjoying breakfast in a car in the middle ofa crowded street. Body after body i s being found deposited in bags - sometimes with the name of the same courier co mpany on them - in stations and under bridges, yet no one notices anything at al l, let alone catch the criminals. They are now free to walk into homes, murder o r rob as it takes their fancy, holding guns to the heads of babes-in-arms to thr eten their elders. Guns are evidently penny-a-dozen: even a woman resisting snat chers on bikes can get shot. For the sake of sanity, Calcuttans will have to hold on to the belief that the p olice do want to make Calcutta safe; the opposite is too hideouts. But what is s topping them? There is a clear sense of lack of coordination and planning - how can so amny hodies, and parts of bodies, be dumped in public places within such a brief period with no connection being made among them, even in terms of copyca t killings? there is a contagion of institutional vaguness: post-mortems, identi fications, evidence collection, all seem haphazard and lackadaiscal. There is no visible firmness, no reassuring show of untiring earnestness to get to the bott om of the crimes. Training may be falling short of the standards demanded, there may be a lack of adequate personnel, especially in the newly taken over souther n fringes of the city, but all these cound have been compensated for in large pa rt by the eagerness to do the job properly, the aggressive desire to free the ci ty of criminals and of violence. That passion would be part of professionalism, for policemen are responsible for exactly that. How far is today's inefficiency or unwillingness the outcome of years of politicization and its resultant apathy ? It is tragic that the ordinary householder must always pay the price. The sexxual abuse of children is a silent scourge in out country. while most cas es of abuse go unreported, even the ones that are brought to the attention of th e law keepers rarely lead to the offender being punished. In fact, according to

the National Crime Records Bureau data, out of the 5484 child rape cases reporte d in 2010, just 1017 were convicted. Experts say that one of the reasons for the poor conviction rate is that evidenc e gathered from abused children is often insufficient. More often than not, the child, who is questioned in the intimidating environment of police stations, is unable to properly articulate the details of the crime. Hence the case against t he accused is simply not strong enough. This is where the "forensic interview" of sexually abused children can be of hel p, says Jennifer Anderson, an American social worker who was in India last month . Adopted in several states in US, the protocol of forensic interview is a "fact -finding interaction" with an abused child so as to build up a solid evidence th at would stand the scrutiny of the courts and help bring the offender to book. A forensic interviewer for over a decade now, Anderson, who was in India to cond uct workshops in Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi, says that this practice has b een the norm in the US since the early 90s. Essentially, it involves setting up a system wherin the moment a case of child sexual abuse is reported, he or she i s ushered into a child-friendly environment such as a child abuse evaluation cnt er. This interview that follows is quite unlike an interrogation where you get someo ne to admit what you think happened. Rather, it is child-led and is totally defe nsible in court, says Anderson. "If I can demonstrate to the jury and judge that the information I gathered from the child is his or her own, and not something I prompted or layered upon, the child's statement has more veraticy and weight i n the court's eyes," she points out. The forensic interview, which is distinct from therapy, is usually conducted by either the law enforcement officer, the medical officer or the soical worker tra ined in this protocol or a specialised forensic interviewer like Anderson. The i nterviewers are not aware of the child's case history and are also not involved in the rest of the investigations. The key to eliciting the best information out of children is to make them comfor table, stresses Anderson. :Therse kids are already highly traumatised and vulner able. You cannot just barge in and ask them jarring questings like "tell me what the abused did to you. Usually, we follow the child;s lead." Importantly, the questioning is abapted to suit the age of the child. "If the ch ild is very young, we set up the room differently. We might give her or him a cu shion ball to play with or limit our questions to five-word sentences," explains Anderson. Easels are also set up for very young children to draw pictures of th eir family members. They are shoun pictures of the anatomy to identify them and start talking about them or are asked about different touches, the touches they like or dislike. "The children need to settle into the nature of the interaction. It is more abou t them talking about themselves, about their life, their school and their family members. Gradually, they realise that the interviewer wants to listen and then they begin to open up," says Anderson, who is also the associate director of Cor nerhouse, a leading school of forensic interviewing in the US. Forensic interview, which is entirely video-recorded, usually has a standard set of questions or a flexible five-stage process, dubbed as RATAC. So would such a system of interviewing sexually abused children work in India? I n our country child sex abuse cases are dealt with under different sections of t he Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. However, "there is no proper system or process in place for interviewing sexuall y abused children. The victims' statements are recorded by policemen and not by those trained for the job," reveals Sumit Kumar, programme co-ordinator, ChildLi ne India Foundation, New Delhi. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011, does have a separate section on the procedures t be followed by the police and the magistrate while recording the child's statement. But this is yet to be passed inot a law. At the Chennai workshop on forensic interview, there was mixed reaction to its r elevance in India. A New Delhi police officer, who prefers to remain anonymous,

was frankly skeptical. "Forensic interview is too structured and elaborate and c onnot work here. We have people from diverse backgrounds and no amount of traini ng can prepare you for the real thing.," he says. But many other felt that inducting a process like forensic interview into our s ystem of interrogating sexually abused children would be a good idea. For instance, Supreme Court lawyer Aparna Bhar believes that conviction rates wo uld shoot up if a "trained worker" is introduced to assist the child from the ti me they walk in to record their statement. "Let the person be the interface betw een the child and the system and make the child feel comfortable and safe. We as lo eed to create a system for children to walk into a friendly facility insterd of formidable police station," she says. Indeed, almost everyone agrees that the present situation of dealing with an abu sed child is wholly imperfect. Says child reght lawyer Maharuks Adenwally, "Ther e are no structures in place to support the child who gives his or her statement to the police. How the chikd will be treated depends upon the sensitivity or ot herwise of the police personnel recording the statement." This is why many experts at the workshop felt that the system of forensic interv iew should certainly be looked at, especially since a new law to deal with child abuse is on the anvil. As Elizabeth Seshadri, a Chennai-based lawyer, says, "I think we should incorporate forensic interview into our system. It is the reght way of gathering evidence and will present a picture of neutrality in court." Of course, the basic need of the hour is to set up an infrastructure to question an abused child with sensitivity. Call it what you will - forensic interview or an interview free from intimidation, a traumatised child deserves the best prac tices from law enforcement authorities. Underwear, phones, fizzy drinks watches, washing machines, cricket matches, cars . Shah Rukh Khan can use his frenetic magic to sel them all. Now he has another commodity on his list of things to look widly excited about - Bengal. What such an exercise might involve in actual terms - how does one promoty or sell a stat e? - is perhaps best left to those wise men with long hair venerated as 'ad guru s'. But if a brand ambassador is a special kind of ambassador, then his defining feature, like that of the others of his kind, is that he operates out of anywhe re but the place of which he is the ambassador. So, the Indian ambassador in Bri tain lives in London and in Delhi. For Mr Khan, this must be wonderful. As Beng al's ambassador to the world, he has to be in the world rather than in Bengal. A few tlying visits, during which the paparazzi take care of everything, and his work is beautifully done. The whole thing can be pulled off with just a camera, still or moving. During these visits, if he could somehow avoid landing at the a irport, it would needs all of t=one's powers of fantasy, and more, to make other s feel enthusiastic about it. That would be too much work, even for someone as e ager and agile as Mr Khan. The desperation to build and project an image to the world is phenomenon worth t hinking about - especially in a govenment rther than a person or profiteer. When Narendra Modi got Amitabh Bachchan to be Gujrat's brand ambassador, what sort o f demage control did this venerable icon have to pull off? And how would that be different from selling cement or suiting? The idea of fabricating a brand for B engal - its face for the world - had occurred to Mamata Banerjee's perdecessor a s well. He had called in a brand consultant, who was responsible for touching up London for the 2012 Olympics. But all that enede in a whimper and there was not much left for this person to conjure with. So attempts at branding followed by defeat is not a good precedent, and the shift from foreign consultant to Bollywo od icon, if it is anything to go by, signals the need for a quicker recourse to fantasy. So, it is surely not a concidence that cinemal becomes the world where this part icular exercise in dream merchandizing must begin and end. the chief minister's mission is, of course, to turn Calcutta into the "sky city". This has more to do with coour combination than with the pragmatics of urban development. Taxis, go vernment buildings, park railings and so on and going to be repainted and re-lit

to look blue. The whole city will trun blue and white. To call this idea cosmet ic is to cast a slur on the make-up industry. Indian film-watchers have long and excellent training in enjoying the fictions that they simultaneously see throug h and them brush off, like discarded peanut shells to get on with their lives. O nly an unfortunate few, sadly in the highest places, are stuck with the spurious magic of their own creation. It is a case study in confusion. That is the only thing that emerges clearly fro m the draft ideological document that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) ha s just released. All ealse betrays a complete lack of clearlity on issues that t he document pretends to clarify. The party remains wedded to socialism but canno t quite accept the fact that it has faile as an idea everywhere in the world. He nce the fanciful debate as to whether China can still be called a socialist coun try. The CPI, which has always been known as the pro-Bejing communist party in I ndia, refuses to see what the whole world knows to be true - that Deng Xiaoping buried socialism in China under the market. The strange thing, however, is that the CPI should continue to preoccupt itself with what the Chinese communist part y is doing or not doing to socialism. the CPC or the former Coummunist Party of the Soviet Union never wasted its time splitting hairs on wha tthe India communi st parties were doing. The CPI's confusions are actually a legacy of the days wn en Indian communists looked up to either Moscow or Bejing to set their own agend a. The document shows how unsure the party still is about its role in Indian pol itics. Two things seem to be at the root of the CPI's confusion. First, for all the evi dence to the countrary, the party thinks that socialism can be a viable politica l system where the State would be led by central planning. This is the quintesse ntial Mrxist utopia, but Indian communists drew their inspiration also from Nehr uvian socialism and leftwing politics in Britain in the period after World Was I I. the only way the CPI can carve a future for itself is by dumping socialism as a political or economic ideology. Second, the Leninisy organizational structure of the CPI remains its worst enemy. Valdimir Lenin's strategy and tactics succe eded in a specific political context in the Russia of the time. But to assume th at a Leninist party would succeed in another country and in another time is to l ive in a make-believe world. Curiously, the CPI document says that socialism can be revitalized in the 21st century only be strengthening the democratic rights and civil liberties of the people. surely, a Leninist party is the last thing th at the people need for democracy and basic freedoms. The cloud that hangs over the Antrix-Devas deal refuses to lift. The fact that t he reposts of the two committees that have investigated the matter are now avai lable in the public domain has hardly mae a difference. the reports are in an ab breviated form nd offer different conclusions. Yet, one thebasis of the reposts, four eminent scientists of the country, one of them the former head of the Indi an Space Research Organization, have been given marching orders and debarred fro m government employment in any capacity. It is obvious from the information avai lable that the deal (terminated in 2011) entered into by Antrix, the commercial wing of Isre, with Devas, a Bangalore-bases firm, in 2005 was not a particularly happy one. It saddled Antrix with the responsibility, first, of building two sa tellites and them offering 90 per cent of the transponder facilities from the tw o satellites to one firm, which had entered the biddding process without, or wit h very little, competition from ogher similar ventures,. The fact that Devas had former Isro personnel on its board and had several foreign investors backing it would have called for greater transparency in the processing of the deal. Surpr isingly, both the Space Commission and the government allege that they had not b een kept in the loop. This is an allegation that has been severely contested by G. Madhavan Nair, former Isro head and now part of the condemned brigade, under whose aegis the deal was made. Mr Nair has since written to the prime minister f or the quashing of the punitive order and has asked for an inquiry to be held or

dur process to be followed that would allow him a cance to explain. Mr Nair's plea is a fair one not merely because it has been voiced by a person w ho brought glory to the nation for his much-acclaimed moon mission. This is beca use Mr Nair and his colleahues are not the only ones who have a lot of explainin g to do. The Antrix-Devas deal showcases serious procedural flaws that need to b e addressed at the highest level. Since several members of the Space Commission were also part of the Antrix board, questions have to be asked about the involve ment of other parties in the making of the deal, and their culpability. There sh ould also be questions about Isro's work culture and the blindess with which the government still approaches its space policy. When proposed solutions keep coming in a stream, it may be that the problem is i nsoluble. Or that the nub of the problem is not being adressed. No one would arg ue that the problem of violence in student's union elections in colleges and uni versities is incoluble. The trick is to subtract the violence from the process. Everybody would also tend to agree that the rrot cause of the violence is the ri valray among political parties, a rivalry actually located outside the campus. T he conflict is played out in student's elections as though by proxy, using as ex cuse the fact that a=contestants fight under the banner of one political party o r another. One recommendation of the Lyngdoh commission was that no candidate sh ould have a political affiliation. The West Bengal government having baulked at implementing this, the Calcutta High Court has now said that all student's elect ions are to be suprevised by the chief electoral officer. Both these solutions rely on the elimination of vilnence by extraneous means - o ne bans candidates with political affiliations and the other puts the elections directly under a controlling arm of the State. They both accept the given format or general elections in colleges and try to tackle the associated violence as a problematic fallout. The Telegraph, however, suggests a completely different ap proach that would address the problem of violence at its root. The target of stu dents' elections would be to form a student's council, consisting of a fixed num ber of members. General elections are not necessary for this; they can be droppe d. Instred, each academic department would have a number of contesants - perhap s on the principle of proportional representation or any other - and students wo uld vote for the colleagues ain their department they want in the council. The p rinciple of choice would thus shift from politics to leaddership among peers in an academic institution. Political banners and the candidates' polical interests would become irrelevant. Such a system holds the promise of not just eleminating violence but also of mak ing it meaningless. A council freed of the distraction of imported political riv alries and constisting of members chosen by peers from their respective departme nts would be far better equipped to deal with the demands and desires of student s. The basic system could be modulated in various ways, The value of votes could differ, perhaps, with the seniormost year's votes being given more ewight than those from the juniormost year, with gradation in between. The council could be given an interesting profile, maybe with a percentage reserved for those especia lly good in studies, or sports, or even ardent about social work. But the focus would shift from politics to student life and agency to the desires and ambition of students, to healthy rivalry among them and their drive to better theri inst itution. The prime minister's economic advisory council must be admired for one feature o f its latest review of the economy: it begins with a long list of its mistakes. They arenothing to be ashamed of; no forecaster has a maginc formula for getting his predictions right to within a basis point, or ten times that much. However, what could be a matter of concern is the direction of the countil's errors: tha t it shows itself more prone to erring on the optimistic side. There is a certai n contradiction between its desire to give a reliable portrait of things to come , and the frequencey with which it is proved to have agiven a rosy hue to the fu

ture. Specially, a glorious spurt raised growth to over 9 per cent a year in the middl e years of the last decade. It them stumbled in 2008-09; the coincidence of an e nd to the manufacturing boom, an international srisis, and a bad agricultural ye ar sent growth hurtling from 9.3 to 6.7 per cent. But then it revived to over 8 per cent in the next two years, In the financial year soon to end, it is expecte d to come down again; to exactly how much is a matter of contention between the coulcil and the statisticians whose job it is to measure growth. This is aslight ly worryng; a prime minister's advisor quarrelling with the statistician is like a carpenter blaming his tools. A good carpenter would take his saw for what it is and make the best cut he can. Anyway, what matters is what will happen next. The council expects 7.6 per cent growth in the coming year. That mayseem modent considering its ambition of 8 and 9 per cent growth stretching away into the fut ure. But a closer look absolves it of the charge of modesty. For mineral output has been falling for the last two years; the council expects it to grow at 3.9 p er cent per annum; the council expects its grwoth to shoot up to 7.5 per cent. S o the council is certainly consistent in its optimism. This optimism has clouded its percipience. The end of the manufacturing boom bro ught down the domestic investment ratio. At the same time, the poor global econo mic conditions limited investment outlets and brought foreign money into the Ind ian capital market as portfolio investment: that shored up the balance of paymen ts. There is no reason to think that the slump in investment or manufacturing is going to end soon; and if it does not, there is no reason for optimism about th e stock market. So at some point not too far away, portfolio investment should s tatr flowing out. A combination of low domestic investment and outflow of foreig n investment would be leg=thal for growth; this is the prospect the council has resolutely ignored. Wealth generally means anything that has some money value. The term is sometimes used to mean everything of use to us, as in the expression "Health is wealth", but, for our purpose we may confine it to the former sense. Wealth is very useful to us. A person possessed of wealth is above want; so he c an devot his time, energy and attention to the pursuit of knowledge and progress of civiliation. A poor man, on the contrary, is so worried about his physical n eeds that he finds little time or opportunity for the development of his mental faculties. This is why the poet sang full many a gem of purest ray serene Wealth is also connected with some of the finest qualities of the human heart, s uch as charity, service, philanthropy. We find all around us schools, colleges, hospitals, temples, dharmashalas, etc. which were founded by rich men and are ma intained by them. There are also endowments for the pursuit of knowledge and rel ief of human sufferings. Love of wealth has also brought about the material pros perity of the world through trade and commerce. The value of wealth, however, lies, not in its mere possession, but in the use w e make of it. If we use wealth for our personal enjoyment only, that wealth is w orse than useless. A wealthy man should always bear in mind that every favour ha s its responsibilities, and the favour that has been bestowed upon him by God ma kes it his duty to spend it for the good of mankind. The possession of wealth, however, is not an unmixed blessing. It may take away the urge for work, and thus pervent a man from developing his faculties. It may make him luxurious, ease-loving and idle, and hence, worthless It attracts flatt erers, and tampts his to a life of vice. In the hands of wicked men, wealth beco mes a weapon of oppression and brings on great sufferings. It sometimes becomes such a passion with many that they can give no thought to the finer hobler value s of life. So to derive the greatest benefit from wealth, we should first learn its proper use. Otherwise, there is every chance of our falling into ways, and bringing mis ery, not to ourselves, but also to others.

Few things sound as good as free universal healthcare. Last November, while fles hing out the government's plan for this, a high-level expert group had recommend ed that a minimum package consisting of free diagnosis, treatment and medicines h=be made available at primary and community health centres and district hospita ls. The funding should come from tax revenures, it said. That the prime minister is particularly keen on this was made even clearre recently when his office urg ed the Union health ministry and the Planning Commission to ensure that the drea m comes true. But funds are scarce, economic growth having slowed. The planners envisage a step-by-step increase in budget allocation to health to achieve the d esired change. There is no doubt that change will happen, at whatever rate and whatever time. M aybe the dream of one government will come true during the regn of another. But while governments manufacture dream after dream, certain questions remain steadi ly unanasered. It is not as though soem free and subsidized treatment is not alr eady available in government hospitals and health centres. How much have the sta tes, which the Union government hopes to "moticate" to increase their own fundin g for health, done to ensure that these hospitals function as they are expected to? That primarey health centres are in a pitiful state is not a new discovery; if efforts to make them work have failed so far, will the new scheme act as a ma gic wand? Women and children in India are disgracefully deprived of health: both maternal and infant mortalities are very high, with malnutrition and anaemia be ing the most common but invisible health hazards. Consciousness baout all this a nd ever-new schemes and targets have not changed matters. The logic of huge expe nditure over a mint-fresh scheme becomes questionable at least on two grounds. O ne, unless the problems of earlier failures are identified, there can be little hope for the successful implementation of any new programme. And two, overlappin g schemes mean waste and confusion; the first step should be cleansing the syste m that is already there. How would the new programme relate to the national rura l helth mission, for example? If taxpayers are to fund the government's dreams, these questions should be answered first. One of Osama bin Laden's wives was probably involved in revealing the hiding pla ce where he was killed by American special forces last year; according to a reti red Pakistani brigadier who has investigated the operation. She was jealous of his youngest wife and may even have been used by al Qaida to sacrifice its sick and possibly senile leader; argues the former senior officer Shaukat Qadir. Even more controversially Qadir suggests that al Qaida was seeking the $25 milli on bounty on his head - and that bin Laden understood what was happening but had lost the will to live. These theories widely contradict the semi-official US story that the CIA traced bin Laden to his secret compound near the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad by following a "courier" who was his contact with the terrorist organisation. The world's most wanted man wa shot dead in his bed-rrom on May 2 last year by a raiding party of US Navy Seals, who had flown in by helicopter from Afghanistan . Pakistan complained that it had not been warned in advance. But Qadir, who has p owerful connections in the Pakistani high command, suspects that its military in telligence service was involved. The brigadier was allowed to visit the interrogations of servivors of the raid, including the three wives who were in the building. He also spoke to Pakistani i ntelligence officers and to tribal leaders who knew the bin Laden family. Western terrorism experts have not accepted his conclusions, but in the absence of an officialPakistani version - a commission of inquiry is still sitting - thi s is the closest Pakistan has come to providing its account of what happened. Qadir's focus is on the actions of Khairah Sader, a well educated Saudi now in h er 60s, who wa the forth of bin Laden's six wives and mother of al least five of his sons. In the turmoil after the twin towers attack in 2001 and the allied invasion of A

fghanistan, Sader took refuge in Iran, where she was held under house arrest. In 2008, she was released and told al Qaida that she wanted to be reunited with he r husband, according to Qadir. Bin Laden was by them living in his Abbottabad hideaway and sharing his bed with hs sixth and youngest wife, Amal ahamed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada, a Yemeni in her ea rly 30s. Qadir said Laber's wish to join this menage puzzled at Qaida. "Nobody really und erstood why she should want to come back to him. They had lost contact, there wa s nothing going on between them - he was bedding only Amal. Al Qaida's chief of operations, Atyah Abdul Rahman, was so suspicious that he ha d her strip-searched and locke up in Ovtober 2010, Bin Laden then intervened. Osama asked for her release somewhere in late February, early March 2011. From t he moment this happens everything elas starts to happen as well, said Qadir.' Saber's arrival in Abbottabad disrupted the household, including Amaland bin Lad en's fifth wife, Aiham Sabar, and her 24 yers ole son khalid. Qadir explained: "In the house, everyone is suspicious of her and Khalid questio ns her, saying, Why the hell hav eyou come back? At a certain point in time, she responds with a slight smile on her face saying, 'I have one more duty to perfo rm for my husband. That's what I've come for". "So he rushed ove to his father and tells Osama this is what she's just said and I think she's going to betray you. So according to Amal, Osama looks quietly in to space for a ffew seconds and responds, 'So be it, Its's wife's duty to put he r husband out of the pain that he's in." Had 54 year old bin Laden given up/ "I think so, I think he was suffering from s ome degenerative disease, in which he was losing his mental capacities and his p hysical abilities, with the sole exception of his sexual abilities. Those were u nimpaired. He produced two children in Abbottabad. So, obviously, he was quitels exually active. Apart from that, he was losing every thing and was becoming irre levant to al Qaida." According to Qadir, bin Laden has been ousted as leader "in a silent, bloodless coup" in 2003. By 20011, he may have lost the will to live, the brigadier believ es. It's almost as if he said what the hell? I'm going to move on anyway. Qadir based his account largely on the transcripts of the interrogation of bin L aden's wives. One pakistani intelligence officer told his that Saber "is so aggr essive that she borders on being intimidating." Amal was talkative under questioning, directly accusing Saber of betraying bin L aden to American intelligence. But Qadir has a more complex theory about what ha ppened. In his view, Sader was motivated by revenge, "bevause everyone know she was inte nsely jelous of Amal", but "my feeling also is that al Qaida was party to sellin g his out". He conjectures - "I don't have any proof" - that al Qaida passed the world throu gh the Taliban to Pakistan's ISI military intelligence service and ultimately th e CIA that there was "someone very important" in Abbottabad. He addes: "My feeling is that sometime around April, Mrch 2011 is when they star ted working on providing information through the Taliban, through the ISI and on to the the CIA". Sader had no connection with the CIA, he believes, but her arrival in Abbottabad was in indication to those hunting bin Laden that he might be there. "Who else cound have led them there?" She arrived around the same time that Shakil Arfidi, a local doctor now in custo dy, began to conduct medical checks on homes in the town - ostensibly to look fo r hapatitis but allegedly to try to find bin Laden's DNA for the CIA. "it's too muc of a concidence," said Qadir. Al Qaida was broke, he argues, and its motive in betraying bin Laden wa to get h old of the $25 million the US had put on his head. "The supreme irony is that, i f the money has been paid, then the CIA has paid to bring al Qaida back to life and has (killed) somebody who was totally irrelevant to al Qaida and who was dyi ng anyway." During his investigation, which took several months, Qadir twice visited bin Lad

en's former hideout. He found a body outline on the stairs where Khalid bin laden was hot dead defend ing his father, and bullte holes in a wall of the bedroom. There was a fading sp lash of blood on the celing. Although the compound had high walls, Qadir was struck by the absencs of secure defences, a warning system or escape routes. In his view it was a "death trap". Late last month the building was demolished b y the Pakistani authorities. Bin Laden's wives who have been in custody since his death, were charged last we ek with entering Pakistan illegally. A favourite parlour game amone cricket fans is to questions which batsman one wo uld ask to bat to save one's life. When Indian cricket fans, is jest or in serio usness, pose this question to themselves, the answer invariably comes down to tw o names, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Darvid, it is a measure of the batting abiliti es of Mr Dravid that his name is mentioned ablongside one of the greatest batsme n the game of cricket has known. There were remarkable similarities between Mr G avaskar and Mr Dravid in their approach to batting. Both believed that the real foundation of superior batsmanship was technique. They were masters of techinque . Mr Dravid, who announced his retirement form internatinal cricket on Friday, w as the model of correct batting. He was always rock still as the bowler belivere d the ball; he got into position as soon as he had judged the line and the lengt h of the ball and then decided to go into attack or defence. His defence, especi ally on the front foot and aganist spinners, was faultless. Against a bowler of the class and accuracy of Flwnn MacGrath, he was vaulnerable on the back foot ou tside the off stump. But then which batsman wasn't vulnerable outside the off st ump when faced with Mr McGrath's nagging accuracy? MR Dravid's stroke making was classical. He loved to drive through the covers and past mid on. If his batttin g he conveyed the impression of solidity and he was, for more years than he woul d care to remember, the sheep anchor of Indian batting. It was Mr Dravid's singu lar misforture that he played always in the shadow of the genius of Sachin Tendu lkar. Mr Dravid did not possess Mr Temdulkr's breataking genius to sned an unpla yable ball to the boundary. Neither did he have any of Mr Tendulkar's skill of i nnovation. But Mr Dravid, because he always played within his limitations, took very few risks. If Mr Tendulkar represented the rhetoric and beauty of batsmansh ip, Mr Dravid represented the grammar. They were the perfect foils to each other . Yet it is true, albeit ironic, that very few would choolse Mr Tendulkar to bat to save someone's life; many would vote for Mr Dravid. In a crisis, people tend to prefer solidity to excitement. Mr Dravid was a thinking cricketer. When he went through a bad patch, getting ca ugh in the slips while friving, he noticed the error he was kmakiing in his foot work and corrected it at the nets. he took special care to strengthen his talent s through practice and through studying the game. He was also extraordinarily fi t. This came out in his fielding. he had a safe pair of hands in the slips and, in the outfield, too, he was quick on his feet and accurate in his returns. Mr D ravid, contrary to current fashion, was seldon demonstrative on the field, but t he way he played the game made it evident that he enjoyed playing cricket. And t he played cricket the way it shoud be played. Hes batting and his attitude were reminders of more gracious times. One of the endurng misconceptions of Indian politics is to consider Delhi to be synonymous with India. This illusion persists in spite of the federal nuture of the Constitution. A recent exapmple of an attempt to break this dominance of Del hit is the eveident networking of powerful state leaders and chief ministers. Th e chief minister of Bigar; Nitish Kumar, has established a channet of communicat ion with the chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. The chief minister of Odisha has given more than tacit encouragement to this coming together of sta te chief ministers who do not owe allegiance to either of the two national parti

es. The results of the recently cocluded assemply polls, which have put both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the shade, have provided a fillip to this process. Today's conclave could be the harbinger of tomorrow's politics. T he thrust of this coming together to form what could develop into a third fromt in Indian politics is more anti-Delhi than anti-Congress or anti-BJP. Most of th e state governments have economic woes. But there are grievances going beyond th e economic. Many of the states are victims of the Centre's arbitrariness and its propensity to concentrate on Delhi. From museums to Commonwealth Games to the h eadquarters os public institutions - all are in Delhi. Regional sensitivities th at rankle because os such Delhi-centrism are invariably ignored. Moreover, welfa re schemes spawned in Delhi have their financial burdens passed on to the statte s: Delhi's dreams are subsidized by the states' exchequers. It is obvious that the new networks are based more on practicalities than on ide ology. This is perhaps the difference between what seems to be emerging now and the third front that was projected by Prakash Karat, the general secretary of t he Communist Party of India (Marxist). The emerging tendencies do not augur will for the CPI(M), which is unitarist in its organization and in its ideas. Within the party there are units - West Bengal and Kerala, to wit - that have been try ing to push their own 'line'. The comrades from West Bengal have been particular ly timid in putting forward their own interests. The time has pwehaps come for t he West Bengal comrades to assert themselves, even if it meanse challenging the hegemony of the party's general secretary. In the Congress, if the party is to m ove out of the shodow of the dynasty, there could be the rise of regional leader s. What is clear is that the centre no longer holds and the various political fo rmations have reconfigure themselves to meet the change. One of the enduring misconceptions of Indian politics is to consider Delhi to be synonymous with India. This illusion persists in spite of the federal nature of the Constitution. A recent example of an attempt to break this demonance of Del hi is the eveident networking of powerful state leaders and chief ministers. The chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, has established a channel of communicati on with the chief minister of West Bengal, mamta Banerjee. The chief minister of Odisha has given more than tacit encouragement to this coming together of state chief ministers who do not owe allegiance to either of the two national paties. The results of the recently concluded assembly polls, which have put both the C ongress and the Bharatya Janta Paty in the shade, have provided a fillip to this process. Today's conclave could be the harbinger of tomorrow's politics. The th rust of this coming together to form what could develop into a third front in Id ian politics is more anti-Delhi than anti-Congress or anti-BJP. Most of the stat e governments have economic woes. But there are grievances going beyond the econ omic. Many of the states are victims of the Centre's arbitrariness and its prope nsity to concentrate on Delhi. From museums to Commonwelth Games to the headquar ters of public institutions - all are in Delhi. Regional sensitivities that rank le because of such Delhi-centrism are invariably ignored. Moreover, ewlfare sche mes spawned in Delhi have their financial burdens passed on to the states: Delhi 's dreams are subsidized by the states' exchequers. It is obvious that the new networks are based more on practicalities than on ide ology. This is perhaps the difference between what seems to be emerging now and the third front that was projected by Parkash Karat, the general secretary of th e Communist Party of India (Marxist). The emerging tendencies do not augur well for the CPI(m), which is unitarist in its organization and in its ideas. Within the party there are units - West Bengal and Kerals, to wit - that have been tryi ng to push their own 'line'. The comrades from West Bengal have been particularl y timid in putting forward their own interests. The time has perhaps come for th e WEst Bengal comrades to assert themselves, even if it means challenging the he gemony of the party's general secretary. In the Congress, if the party is to mov e out of the shadow of the dynasty, theire could be the rise of regional leades. What is clear is that the centre no longer holds and tghe various political for mations have to reconfigure themselves to meet the change.

This may be a good thing to associate with International Women's Day 2012 in Ind ia, even if the connectin is accidental. A working group of the Planning Commiss ion has recommended changes to the laws against repe, espetially with regard to child victgims. The mainthrust of the recommendations is towards improved sensit iveness on the part of the police, the courts, the medical establishment and all those assosicated with the justice procedures that rape invokes. Whether in imm ediate counselling or medical examination, in questioning or recording statement s, all pocedues must be what the reposts calls "more victim-sensitive and friend ly". especially if the complaintant is child. Sexual assault should also be rede fined in the Indian Penal Code, in content, language and tenor. This is a move forward in an area of criminality that needs to be addressed urge ntly and elffectively. It is a pity that the terrible effect of sexual abuse and rape on children took so long to claim special official attention, but it is go od tha this has happened. Policymakers are expected to be clear-thinking, so the logic of including children and women in the same laws must be forceful. But sc eptics may feel that India's traditional tendency is to lump together those cons idered helpless and dependent the ministry is called women and child development : is it the same thing? That tendency may lie behind the newly awakened sensitiv ity to children being channelled entirely into existing laws. It is, after all, rather interesting that a nation bristling with laws does not have a distinct la w against the abuse, assault, molestation and rape of children. Lumping all sexu al abuse together in the same laws with special penal provisions for custodial r epe blunts their dege. The recommendations are helpful because they are asking f or greater sensitiveness. That should benefit both child and adult. But where wo uld incest be accommodated? Or, on the other side, marital repe? The system shou ld have learnt to be sensitive a long time ago. Now it is time to move further. It is suicidal for a political party to assume that only a few top leaders know what is best for it. Suca a assumption cretes more problems for the party than t i solves. It leads to the concentration of all pwers in a few. It also discourag es the growth of responsible leadership at lower levels. The co-called high camm and in the Congress may have done incalculable damage to the party itself by not letting its state leaders functiion indipendently. The party won the just-concl uded assemply polls in Uttarakhand in an otherwise bleak electoral season. but i t is the high command's representative who sits in judgment over the choice of t he new chief minister. The matter should have been left to the leaders of the st ate unit of the party. Instead, the central leadership's emissary flies down to Dehra Dun From New Delhi in order to do the job. Worse still, the high command's decision in such a case is passed off as the legislator's unanimous choice. A f ake stamp of legitimacy is thus given to an illegitimate act. But it is the stat e unit o the party which subsequently suffers from this unwarranted and unhealth y intervention by the central leadership. The latest events in Uttarakhand suggest that the Congess high command is still clueless about why it lost in the elections in the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa . There are obviously many reasons, not all of which have to do with the Congres s itself. But one of the principal reasons for the party's poor performance in t he latest round of elections has much to do with its over-dependence on the high command. An obvious result of this process is teh ever-growing unimportance of the state leaderships. It all important decisions are to be taken by the high co mmand, then all that the state leaders can do is sail with the prevailing winds from the top. The Congress has been saddled with the problem for a long time. It also explains why the party organizations have all but disintegrated in states such as Bihar, UP, West Bengal and several other states. The drubbing in the rec ent polls should shake the party into reinventing the importance of party leader ships in the states. The rise of the regional parties shows how important it is to revive the federalist polity. For the Congress, a reinvention of the federali st principoes must begin at home. The party's centre alsone cannot hold any more

. It is suicidal for a political party to assume that only a few top leaders know what is best fot it. Such an ussumption crestes more problems for the party th an it solves. It leads to the concentration of ll powersw in a few. It also disc ourages the growth of responsible leadership at lower levels. The so-called high command in the Congress may hae done incalculable damage to the party itself by not letting its state leaders funtion inde[emdemt;u/ The party won the just-con cluded assembly polls in Uttarakhand in an otherwise bleak electoral season. But it is the high command's repersentative who sits in judgment over the choice of the new chief minister. The matter should have been left to the party candidate s who won the polls and to the leaders of the state unit of the party. Instead, the central leadership's emissary flies down to Dehra Dun from New Delhi in orde r to do the job. Worse still, the high command's decision in such a case is pass ed off as the legislators' unanimous choice. A fake stamp of legitimacy is thus given to an illegitimate act. But it is the state unit of the party which subseq uently suggers from this unwarranted and unhelthy intervention by the central le adership. The latest events in Uttarakhand suggest that the Congress high commnad is still clueless about why it lost in the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa. T here are obviously many reasons, not all of which have to do with the Congress i tself. But one of the principal reasons for the party's poor performance is the latest round of elections has much to do with its over-dependence on the high co mmand. An obvious result of this provess is the ever-growing unimportance of the state leaderships. It all important decisions are to be taken by the high comma nd, then all that the state leaders can do is sail with the prevailing winds fro m the top. The Congress has been saddled with the problem for a long time. It al so explains why the party organizations have all but disintegrated in states suc h as Bihar, UP, West Bengal and several ogher states. The drubbing in the recent polls should shake the party into reinventing the importance of party leadershi ps in the states. The rise of the regional parties shows how important it is to revive the federalist polity. For the Congress, a reinvention of the federalist principles must begin at home. The party's centre alone cannot hold any more An election is only superficially about choosing a new government. The real thin g is the people's participation in the battle for democracy. In Manipur, last Sa turday's assembly election was much more than that it was a matter of life and e ath for many candidates and sections of voters. It was sad that despite the depl oyment of a huge number of security and police forces, seven people were killed. But far more significantly, over 82 pwe cent of the people defied threats by se veral insurgent groups and exercised their franchise. This extraordinary feat of courage makes the voters in Manipur the real winners in the battle for a free, democratic society. Irrespective of which party forms the next government, the p olls reflect the people's choice of peace and democratic progress. It is impossi ble to underestimate the political significance of this popular will in a state which has been afflicted with one of the oldest ethnic insurgencies in India. Th e massive vote proves yet again that the insurgents represent only theimselves. for the cammon people, peace and freedom are more important than a violent strug gle for an illusory political goal. The message from the polling should be clear ot the political class in Imphal. T he people want peace but they also want major changes in the state's economy and society. It ids not inswurgency alsone that has ruined Manipur's economy and pu shed its youth to desperate ways. The state has the highest HIV infection and dr ug addiction rates in the country. Its unemployment rate for 25 per cent is one of the reasons why large sections of the youth take to drugs. Yet, the fertile v alley of Imphal and the lakes around it offer economic opportunities which have been exploited. The state's location could also make it a major trade corridor t o Southeast Asia. Its border with Myanmar has been used for the smuggling of dr

ugs and other contraband items. But Myanmar, long isolated from the outside worl d, is finally opening itself up to other countries for trade and investment. Thi s could be manipur's chance to take advantage of its border with Myanmar,. Howev er, the first thing that Imphal needs to do is invest in the development of 8inf rastructure. The state may not have the necessary resources, but its politicans must first have the vision for a new deal for manipur. That really is the will o f the people who were so heroic in their defence of democracy. The appointment of a committee to measure the merit of sugar decontrol will chee r those aged people who remember the prime ministger as a reformer, and unsettle those whom his prolonged quienscence had convinced that he was a reformed man a nd had learnt the undesirability of disturbing the status quo. That it is a surp rise for bot sides illustrates how ignorant they are of his character. It would be a mistake to accuse his of eing Janus-faced; but his inner calculations canno t be taken for grnated whether by his ond intellectual friends or by his less ol d, less intellectual fellow politicians. They cannot say that they were not warn ed; for in the what to do book of liberalism, the opening up of foreign direct i nvestment is retail trade also counts as a reform. That the prime minister was u rged on by his comperes in the Group of 20 no doubt helped himmkae up his mind/ Although the government succembed in the face of the attack mounted by oppositio n forces on all fronts, the government still harbours the ambition of brining in international retail chains to transform the market for agricultural produce. I t also sees no contradictioin between its espousal of FDI in retail trade and th e fact that it has used its muscle to elbow out all other trders from the cereal market and become the biggest wholesaler in the country. It is also the biggest intevener in the sugar market. What it buys up at a keasl y price in the name of the poor is a mere 10 per cent of the output. But it tell s sugar mils how much they may sell in the market every month. This has nothing to do with the government's bleeding heart; it is intended to keep the sugar pri ce up. For only then can the Centre and the states line the pockets of cane farm ers at the consumer's cost. This is the same game, on a smaller scale, that the government plays with foodgrains, where too the pockets of the big farmers are f illed at the cousumer's cost. The questions therefore arises why the government wants to rethink its cosy relationship with rich farmers, even if on a small sca le. There cannot be too much of a good thing. Thus, some amount of duplicaion betwee n two projects should not lead to complaints and the raising of eyebrows. The go vernment decided that both the unique identification project and the national po pulation register would continue with their work. There could be a duplication of about 5 to 6 percent, according to oue estimate. But as the home minister, P. C Chidambaram commented, given the size and the population of India this is not a very high figure. What is importnt to remember is that the two projects are ve ry different in their origins and aims. The NPR, a brainchild of the Bharatiya J anata Party government, emerged from the context of the attack on Parliament. Th us the primary concern of this deatbase is security. It is a record of the citiz ens of India which by definition enables security agencies to seek out those who are not citizens. The UID is welfare driven. It identifies those who are reside nts so that the benefits of welfare schemes reach the poor; it pervents imperson ation and leakages. In this conception it is transparent and not too concerned w ith security.' The UID and the NPR will now run their parallel courses. This is not entirely un known in other parts of the world. Up to all this is good news. The bad news is that the UID project has not been accorded statutory status. This must have come as a great disappointment to Nandan Nilekani, who has provided exemplary leader ship to the UID scheme and its implementation. The lack of statutory status dimi nishes the legitimacy of the UID stince it means that it will continue to do its work on the basis of executive authority. In the mini turf war that nearly torp

edoed the UID project, Mr Chidambaram may well have scored a palpable hit. Notwi thstanding this and the home minister's security based objections, some wider pr oblems regarding the project continue to remain unaddressed and therefore unreso lved. Therse problems have been raised before but need to be reiterated. The UID and the NPR both expand the powers of the State to liik into and, if necessary, conreol the lives of individuals who are residents/ citizens of India. They ero de an individual's autonomy. Such concerns cannot be brushed aside in a liberal democracy. Mr Nilekani should inform the people about how he proposes to safegua rd the privacy of individuals. In spite of the recent domestic upheavals in Padistan, the re-engagement process between Inda and Pakistan has not entirely lost its momentum. Lahore's hosting of the "India Show" and the visit of the Union commerce minister, Anand Sharma, with his massave delegation to Pakistan attestt that fact. Perhaps it is more si gnificant to note that the negotiations on trade and commerce are no track in sp ite of the deferment of the scheduled home and foreign secretary level talks. Th is makes obvious a fact that harbingers of peace on either side of the border ne ver tire of repeating trade and people to people contacr are the surest guaranto rs of the bettereing of ties between the two hostile neighbours. It is not stang e that in comparison to the political stalemate over Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Cr eek, negotiations no trade have progressed at a far more satisfactory pace betwe en the countries. India's gesture of allowing the European Union to provide duty free access to Pakistan's taxtiles last year found reciprocation IN Pakistan's agreement to consider granting India the most favoured nation status. The latest round of trade negotiations have resulted in three pacts on customs cooperation . mutual recognition of quality and grievance redressal that will bring down som e of the restricions blocking bilateral trade/ There have been promises to smoot h the flow of traffic along the Wagah Attari route. liberalize the visa regime a nd allow the central banks to open branches in the other country to free trade. The larger hitches, however, remain. Pakistan is yet to formalize the MFN status to India and insists that its compilation of the negative list of tradeable goo ds that will take some more time. On its part, Idia has shown no real enthusiasm in bringing down no tariff barriers or freeing investment in India and it remai ns susceptible to the influence of powerful lobbies. This, together with the fac t that India is likely to dominate trade, has allowed radical elements in Pakist an to stoke fears about the MFN status. The negative campaign carried out by th e Jamaat ud Dawa is gathering wind. The domestic problems of the governments on both sides may be distracting them from focusing on trade and political negotiat ions, but unless they ghurry and capitalize on the samll progress made, the mome ntum may be lost. None other than the chief minister has now decalred that things are not going to change in West Bengal after all. By refusing to change her position on crucial issues such as land acquisition, urban land celing and granting of the special e conomic zone status to any industry, she has dashed all hopes of a new economic era for the state. It is cruel blow for Bengal that comes, ironically, from one who rode to power promising to chnage Bengal. But it is not difficult to see why she has done this. Sayng no has long been the winning formula in Bengal's polit ics. The Left used it not only to cime to power but also to retain it for more t han three decades. As an opposition leader, Mamata Banerjee found it to be the m ost effictive weapon against the Left. The sad thing for Bengal, however, is tha t she has stuck to the politics of no even in her new role as chief minister. He r refusal to budge form her policies on land is now compounded by her open decla ration that farmers must not be penalized for defulting on repayment of loans ta ken from rural co-operative banks. This is nothing if not an extraordinary call to farmers from the head of the state administration not to repay their loans. A s a result, the rural banks' losses will mount to staggerring heights. Worse, al l banks will be even more hesitant now to offer loans to farmers and to other se

ctions of the people in Bengal. The chief minister's pronouncements will further erode industry's faith in the n ew government and - more importantly in Bengal. Trade and industry circles were already apprehensive about the land policies of Ms Banerjee s government. Her latest refusal to change them shows that she does not care muc h about these concerns. Obviously, her latest pronouncements are aimed at retain ing her political appeal among farmers. Certain developments in recent months su ggested that sections of armers were becoming disenchanted with her government's approach to agriculture and other aspects of farmers' lives. Ms Banerjee seems to think that a reiteration of her land policies is needed to win back the suppo rt of these sections. Also, her government faces its first major electoral test in next year's panchayat polls. But populism of this kind could ultimately prove to be her government's nemesis. Ms Banerjee won a huge mandate last year in fav our of changing things in Bengal. Her refusal to bring about some basic changes is a betrayal of that mandate. Diplomacy is the art of the possible. India has so far proved it by doing the im poffible keeping its friendships with both Israel and Iran intact even while rel ations between the two sworn enemies have nosdived. Early this year, India reaif firmed its ties with Israel through the visit of S.M.Krishna, the minister of ec ternal affairs, to the country risking domestc ecensure on the eve of the assemb ly polls in some crucial Indian states. In sustaining its ties with Iran, India has taken graver risks. It has risked its ties with the United States of America and perhsps with the Arab world to make it clear that its strtegic agreement wi th one nation does not compremise its ties with other nations. Despite pledging itself to a mandate by the United Nations on Iran, India has refused to be bound by the unilateral sanctions of the US and Europe against Iran and has continued to explore ways to sustain its trade with it. One evidence of this is the ongoi ng visit of the massive Indian trade delegaion to Irna that looked at ways to u se the situation to the best advantage of both India and Iran. India's dependenc e on Iran's oil remains critical, as also its need for Irns's diplomatic support in Afghanistan, which is rapidly trunding on the path towards political turmoil . However, there can be little doubt that the recnt atttack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi has cast an ominous shadow on India's relations with Iran and made it susceptible to immense pressure from the international community. India's hu rry to conclude investigaions into the blast and the shrinking flow of Iran crud e to one of its refineries in southern India may be indications that India is cr acking under the pressure. This is unforlunate. Although India is at full libert y to enhance its supply of oil and energy from Saudi Arabia and perhsps Israel, which in any case it is bound to do given the increasing demands for such resour ces, it should be not allow itself to be pressurized into making these choices. At the same time, it is imperative that the investigations into the bomb attack in the capital be made in a dispassionate and professional manner to arrive at the right conclusion and to send out the right message. India cannot afford to a llow its friendships to compromise either its national interests or its national security. Diplomcy is the art of the possible. India has so far proved it by doing the imp ossible keeping its friendships with both Israel and Iran intact even while rela tions between the two sworn enemies have nosedived. Early this year, India reaff irmed its ties with Israel through the visit of S.M.Krishna, the minister of ect ernal affairs, to the country risking domestic censure on the eve of the assembl y poolls in some crucial Indian states. In sustaining its ties with Iran, India has taken graver risks. It has risked its ties with the United States of America and perhaps with the Arab would to make it clear that its strategic agreement w ith one nation does not compromise its ties with other nations. Despite pledging itself ot a mandate by the United Nations on Iran, India has refues to be bound by the unilateral sanctions of the US and Europe against Iran and has continued

to explore ways to sutain its trade with it. One evidence of this is the ongoin g visit of the massive Indian trade delegation to Iran that looked at ways to us e the situation to the best advantage of both India and Iran. India's dependence on Iran's oil remains critical, as also its need for Iran's diplomatic support in Afghanistan, which is rapidly trundling on the path towards political turmoil . However, there can be little doubt that the recent attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi has cast an omonous shadow on India's relations with Iran and made it susceptible to immense pressure from the international community. India's hu rry to conclude investigations into the blast and the shrinking flow of Iran cru de to one of its refineries in southern India may be indications that India is c racking under the pressure. This is unfortunate. Although India is at full liber ty to enhance its supply of oil and energy from Saudi Arabia and perhaps Israel which in any case it is nound to do given the invreasing demands for such resour ces, it should not allow itself to be pressurized into making these choices. At the same time, it is imperative that the investigations into the bomb attack in the capital be made in a dispassionate and professional manner to arrive at the right conclusion and to send out the right message. India cannot afford to allow its friendships to cimpromise either its national interests or its national sec urity.