Migrants, Demography and Punjab Jagao March

Migrants, Demography and Punjab Jagao March

Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation organised a two-day Punjab Jagao March from 31 October to 1 November 2007. The march is supposedly an attempt ‘to rekindle love for Punjab among Punjabis, a part from focussing on the problems generated by increasing flux of migrants to Punjab’ and creating awareness among people drug abuse and female foeticide (The Tribune, 31 October 2007). Dal Khalsa sounded alarm bells on the issue of demographic change in Punjab due to heavy influx of migrant population.

It is apparently for the first time that Dal Khalsa has decided to woo non-Sikhs as well to create uproar against the migrants.[1] The March began from Akal Takth, Amritsar and proceeded to Jalandhar, Phagwara and Nawanshahr. A Jatha of around 500 activists of the Dal took part in the march, carrying saffron flags and placards and raising slogans ‘Punjab for Punjabis’.[2] Dal Khalsa had earlier the Punjab government to implement Punjabi in letter and spirit and gave a call to people of the state to value their language and culture.

At Nawanshahr Harcharanjit Singh Dhami said that Dal Khalsa perceives an Assam-like foreigners’ issue is soon going to emerge in Punjab too.[3] He termed the economic need for migrant labour as absurd and gave a political colour to the issue by questioning the need to facilitate the making of ration cards and voters’ identity cards of the migratory population. Dhami further questioned that why can’t landlords and industrialists employ unemployed Punjabis? He also criticised the Election Commission and alleged that more than 10 lakh voters in Punjab are voting from more than one place.

Meanwhile, at a press conference at Phagwara, Charanjit Singh Atwal, deputy speaker of Lok Sabha said that lakhs of Punjabis live in several states and it was not possible to restrict migratory labourers in the state (The Tribune, 13^th November 2007).

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[1] Dal Khalsa is a radical Sikh organisation. On the occasion of Punjab Jagao March an ardas (prayer) was performed in the memory of Beant Singh, who had assassinated Indira Gandhi. At Phagwara, homage was paid to the victims of the 1984 riots.

[2] Leaders of the Khalsa Action Committee and the Sikh Student’s Federation (Bhindranwale), including Daljit Singh, Bhai Mohkam Singh and SGPC member Karnail Singh Panjoli participated in the march.

[3] He added that all political parties are pursuing narrow political ends and are oblivious to the social, cultural a, religious and political damage done to Punjab by their unmindful support to the migrant population.

The Recovery of Historical Consciousness

The Recovery of Historical Consciousness

Yogesh Snehi

In the past few years there has been a steady decline in the number of students opting for courses in Arts. The situation in the post-graduate classes of history, sociology, philosophy, etc has become grave with the number of students stooping to such levels that the colleges affiliated with Punjab University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjabi University have started looking into the ‘economic viability’ of these courses. Arts and humanities, especially the subject matter of history, are indeed in a state of crisis and this is reflected in our larger socio-political sphere. In the past five years, Amritsar, for example, has experienced the demolition of various monuments of historical importance like akharas on the pretext of galiyara (corridor) project or Saragarhi Memorial School for decongesting the city and making space for parking complexes. Fewer funds have been allocated for the preservation and restoration of historical monuments. Such policies of the state amply reflect on the lack of historical consciousness.

Writing history of India is as much a challenge, as has been the teaching of history. Declining scholarships for history, as compared to pure sciences and a blanket ban on recruitments of teachers by Punjab Government has badly affected the supposed ‘viability’ of the subject. The controversies over rewriting of history under the previous BJP regime have created this misconception that history is a fiction and is subject to whims and fancies of the historians. This perception is incorrect as the writing of history is based on a methodology which has scientific basis. Besides, history is not a mere collection of facts as interpretation of facts is an intrinsic facet of historical consciousness.

Historical consciousness has diverse set of meanings for different societies. Besides the basic awareness of the past, it has an important role of sensitising and humanising students. While giving a discussion on the establishment of Delhi Sultanate in the early medieval period, for example, it becomes imperative to explain students that the advent of Islam and Turkish invasions in India were two different events. The former travelled to India with Arab traders since the seventh century A.D. and preceded the establishment of Delhi sultanate in the twelfth century A.D. by about five hundred years. It is precisely through a critical understanding of our complex past that historians have tried to overcome biases and prejudices. A better understanding of history can thus help us in disseminating correct perspective of the past and countering communalist perspectives on supposed origins of Hindu-Muslim conflict in medieval India.

Understanding history further helps in the creation humanistic sensibilities of equality and human rights by critiquing the fascist tendencies of modern states like Germany against the Jews during the Second World-War and questioning the communal basis of Hindu-Muslim conflict in the modern India. History provides diverse perspectives of caste, class and gender to weave and problematise our understanding of the past. It lifts the veil of societal myths about the past, present and the future. For instance, the partition of Punjab in 1947 is often represented as an outcome of a communal conflict. But in the Canal Colonies of the Lyallpur district of colonial Punjab it was an outcome of an agrarian unrest; a conflict between peasants (who were generally Muslims) and, the landlord and moneylender (who were generally non-Muslims).

Theoretical basis of history lays primary emphasis on the scientific basis of historical methodology. It negates rumours and highlights the primacy of fact in the understanding of history. With the recent diversification of the discipline, history has become interdisciplinary in its approach and expanded its scope towards the understanding of popular culture, folk traditions through the tools of socio-anthropology. Further, periodisation through carbon-dating has aligned history with Physics. Archaeology depends more and more on chemical and biological examination of the remains. This integration of history with diverse disciplines is, however, not visible in our everyday reality.

There is a dearth of serious interest in history and archaeology in India. Thousands of valuable historical remains, hundreds relating to Harrapan civilisation alone, are facing the test of time and scarcity of funds. There is an urgent need to pump more and more funds into the study of Indian past. The disappearance and vandalisation of these facets of history, threaten to wipe-off the civilizational edifice of historical consciousness which is trapped in time and waiting to be explored. There is an urgent need to preserve these remnants of the past to remind us of the gone-by era and at the same time generate interest in the writing of history and the making of ‘we the people’. It entails the application of creative methodologies in teaching history. There is an urgent need to encourage the writing and understanding of history. There is no ‘end of history’ as historical writing is an evolutionary exercise and is subject to newer discoveries. If history looses its significance in the present era of globalisation it would lead to the weakening of historical consciousness, the consciousness of our being.br />urchinTracker();

The State of RTI in Punjab: Road Ahead

The State of RTI in Punjab: Road Ahead[1]

Yogesh Snehi

Introduction

From enactment to operationalisation, the movement for right to information (RTI) in India has sought to rescue RTI from a mere ‘piece of legislation’ to a ‘social document’ with immense possibilities for social and political transformation. Government of India published The Right to Information Act, 2005 on 15 July but its implementation in various states has been a slow and gradual process, at times lethargic. When the Government of Punjab issued a notification regarding Punjab Right to Information Rules, 2005, it was thought that the Act would never be able to reach out to the people of Punjab. But there has been an eventual strengthening of the debate on RTI in Punjab.

After more than two years of its enactment this Act has experienced its operationalisation through various civil society groups. But the role of government has been on the whole lax and inadequate. The government has attempted structural adjustments in the wake of public pressure, but its attitude has largely been to avoid the enlargement of public debate on RTI. The present discussion attempts to explore certain significant changes in the nature of RTI in Punjab. I shall primarily focus on laudable changes in the Punjab RTI Rules, 2005, the constitution and enlargement of the activities of the Punjab Information Commission (PIC). Besides this, the paper shall try to unsettle the dust over government’s reluctance over suo moto disclosures and failure to reach out to the people of Punjab.

Revision of ‘The Punjab Right to Information Rules’

On 12 October 2005, the government of Punjab issued a notification regarding the Rules prescribed in Right to Information Act, 2005. Punjab was one of the few states in India to publish these Rules before the Act came into force. These Rules were, however, criticised by various civil society groups.

The government prescribed Rs.50 as fee with Form A, for seeking information under RTI Act. This fee had to be deposited either in the form of a draft, cheque or treasury challan. Besides this, the government fixed Rs.10 as the price of each page created or copied for the applicant, Rs.50 for floppy and Rs.100 for the CD. This was in stark contradiction with the spirit of the Act[2] and rules prescribed by the Central Information Commission (CIC).[3] The fee prescribed by the government of Punjab was thus ‘500% to 800% higher than that fixed by the Central Government’.[4]

In the month of June 2006, Initiatives for Democratic Rights (IFDR), Chandigarh organised a consistent campaign for the revision of Punjab Right to Information Rules. Besides the revision of the fee, IFDR also raised its voice for inclusion of Indian Postal Order (IPO) as a mode of payment since these are available at the post offices in the remote areas of India. The government decided to revise the Rules and the notification to this effect was, however, issued in the year 2007. The new Punjab Right to Information Rules, 2007 incorporated IPO as the mode of payment, besides bringing the application fee and additional charges at par with the central government Rules.

Constitution of the Information Commission

Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) was constituted vide government notification dated 11 October 2005 and Mr. Rajan Kashyap was appointed as the State Chief Information Commissioner of the same. On 17 May 2006 four State Information Commissioners, Rupan Deol Bajaj (IAS retired), P.K. Verma (IAS Retired), R.K. Gupta (IPS Retd), and Surinder Singh (Chief Engineer, Retd) were appointed and the strength of the Commission rose to five. Later on 25 January 2007, four more State Information Commissioners, Lt. Gen P.K. Grover, Ravi Singh, Kulbir Singh and P.P.S. Gill were appointed to the Commission, raising the effective strength to nine.

Punjab government has again been ahead of other states, firstly in constituting the PSIC and secondly in consistently expanding the strength of the Commission. But a close look at the nature of Information Commissioners reveals that the Commission is completely bureaucratised and has been reduced to a mere tool for providing post-retirement benefits to civil servants. This is in violation to the spirit of RTI Act. Section 15 (5) of the Act stipulates that ‘the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance’.

The government seems to have taken care of the ‘public life’ and ‘administration and governance’ and ignored the provision regarding the open-ended representation of the Information Commission. This attitude has serious implications for the future of RTI in Punjab. Before the enactment of RTI Act in 2005, bureaucracy and red-tapism was responsible for the denial of information. Now by reducing the PSIC to bureaucratic control, the government has posed a serious challenge to the future of RTI in Punjab. One wonders if there is dearth of persons of ‘public eminence’ in Punjab. Strangely, even the leader of opposition has not raised any voice against the appointment of Information Commissioners.[5] Thankfully under Section 15(6), Member of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly are barred from the appointment to Commission.

Suo moto Disclosures

Section 3 of RTI Act states that subject to the provisions of this Act, ‘all citizens shall have right to information’. The most significant aspect of this Act, in Section 4 (2), is the obligation of ‘every public authority to take steps … to provide as much information suo moto to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information’. Section 4 (3) says that ‘for every information shall be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public’. Further Section 3 (4) states that ‘all materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible’.[6]

The attitude of the government with regard to suo moto disclosures is extremely lax and disheartening. The government has done little to take the provisions of the Act to the public domain. The policy is to digitalise the information and reduce the dissemination of information to the user of the internet. Till today there has been no initiative on the part of the government to come out with a simplified translation of the Act in Punjabi.[7] Further, though Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) have been appointed in most departments, search for ‘information’ on their names and designation is a difficult task. Digitalisation of information is ineffective since majority of people are not computer-literates. And what would be the position of neo-literates and illiterates? Don’t they have right to have access to information?

Role of the Public Authorities

In the year 2005, IFDR made an effort to make an enquiry into the utilisation of two funds (Mess/Canteen Servants Welfare Fund and Medical Aid of Mess/Canteen Servants) maintained for the welfare of workers by the Dean Students Welfare (DSW), Panjab University, Chandigarh, through ‘Right to Information’.[8] DSW office provided IFDR with a hastily prepared statement on Income and Expenditure for these funds. On closer scrutiny the statement revealed incorrect quantum of income and false head of expenditure, indicating misutilisation of funds meant for the welfare of workers. IFDR questioned these details but repeated applications to the DSW and the appellate authority have fallen to deaf ears.

In another instance, due to inability to find the names of PIOs which pertained to information from Punjab Wakf Board (PWB) regarding the lease status of Panj Pir dargah at Abohar, an application was sent to Central Wakf Council (CWC), New Delhi. The CWC wrote to me that the information sought pertained to PWB, which is under the administrative control of the Punjab Government, and forwarded my application to the latter and returned Rs.10 IPO attached with it. I wrote a fresh application to PWB and it returned me the application and the IPO asking me to apply afresh to the Estate Officer, APIO, Ferozepur with a new IPO in the favour of ‘Punjab Aukaf’. Another fresh application was sent to this officer and he finally provided me with the information with a note that ‘Rs.10 as postal order… is not sufficient for reply of Registered post expenses of the postage stamps’.

These two experiences reveal two set of problems. In the first case the office of the DSW dispensed with its responsibility under RTI by providing false statement on income and expenditure to the applicant. This issue raises a serious question on the nature of information provided by the public offices. Further, in cases where the disclosure is false what will be the responsibility of the information officer? Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act seeks to impose punitive fine up to the tune of Rs.25,000 for delay or knowingly providing false information to the applicant. In this case, repeated applications to the appellate authority, the Dean University Instructions, were never acknowledged.

In the second case, the process of acquiring information became very tedious in absence of knowledge about the PIO. The official website does not provide the names of the PIOs of PWB. The APIO, Estate Officer, was unaware of the Form ‘D’ to inform the applicant of the quantum of fee assessed he was liable to pay. Further, the application fee of Rs.10 is not supposed to suffice for the payment of cost of the ‘registered post’.

RTI and Panchayati Raj

The Department of Rural Development and Pachayati Raj has designated government officials and office bearers as PIOs and APIOs at the three tiers. At the Gram Panchayat level, Panchayat Secretary has been designated as PIO and Sarpanch as APIO. The Sarpanch has been given the responsibility for maintaining all records of the Gram Panchayat in coordination with the Deputy Commissioner.[9] The Panchayat Secretary supports the Sarpanch in this work. At the Panchayat Samiti level, Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) has been appointed as PIO and Social Education and Panchayat Officer (SEPO) as APIO. At the Zila Parishad level, Deputy Chief Executive Officer as PIO and Superintendent, Zila Parishad as APIO.

Besides this, Panchayat bodies have been entrusted with the task of voluntarily publishing information regarding PRIs officers and employees; the names, designations of PIOs and APIOs, panchayat’s functions and duties; rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records used by panchayat employees; monthly remuneration of every officer and employee; budget allocated to each panchayat; detailed plan of subsidy programmes implemented by the panchayat, including amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such programmes; details regarding particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by the panchayat; and particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of any public library or reading room available with the panchayat.

The experience in the villages reveals that a village applicant looses most of the time in search for the name and address of the PIO.[10] Access to information in the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRIs) is extremely lax, given the caste-ridden nature of the society. National Institute for Rural Development (NIRD) states that a PIO has to be designated at each level, for instance BDPO at Panchayat Samiti level, and the designation, postal address, phone/fax numbers and email address should be widely publicized and made known. Given the caste hierarchies in the rural areas, access to information becomes all the more difficult for dalits in the absence of suo moto disclosures by the public offices.

An Act or a Public Document

The debate on RTI has been a prerogative of the civil society institutions. Right from the first seminars and workshops to the translation of the Act in Punjabi, it has been the role of civil society institutions which has been laudable. It is high time for the government to realise its responsibility. Legal and structural changes are merely an aid for strengthening the debate on RTI in Punjab. Barring this effort, the government has taken little effort to implement the provisions of the Act. More emphasis should be laid on the training of PIOs and APIOs to make them aware of the procedures to handle applications under RTI Act. It should realise its suo moto responsibility to operationalise the principles underlined in the Right to Information Act. The government has established SUWIDHA (Single User-friendly Window Disposal and Help-line for Applicants) centres in all districts of Punjab to provide district administration services to the citizens. Further the information commission has set up a website of its own (www.infocommpunjab.com).

RTI Act, in its essence is a powerful tool towards democratisation of public space and evolving a culture of accountability in the sarkari domain. It is important for the civil society to pressurise the respective governments to popularise the provisions of the Act through various means of communication. The experiences of the village campaigns and the very constitution of the Punjab Information Commission shows that the demolition of socio-political and bureaucratic constraints will not be an easy task, but efforts should be made to transform RTI into a social document. People are largely unaware of their Right to Information. The recent textbook on political science published by NCERT has included RTI in the curriculum of students. Debate on RTI should try to expand its reach in the public domain. RTI should not be left to be reduced as a mere document in black and white, like other legislations in India, which are usually a prerogative of the elites; lawyers and judiciary.

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[1] Paper presented at a Seminar on ‘Right to Information Act, 2005: Problems and Challenges’ organised by Indian Council of Social Science Research, North-Western Regional Centre, Panjab University, Chandigarh on September 13-14, 2007.

[2] Section 7 (sub-section 5) of the RTI Act specifies that the fee prescribed ‘shall be reasonable and no such fee shall be charged from the persons who are of below the poverty line’. See Right to Information Act, 2005 posted online at www.righttoinformation.gov.in, p.6.

[3] The central government fixed Rs.10 as the application fee and Rs.2 for each page created or copied and Rs.50 for diskette or floppy. See Government of India notification dated 16 September 2005 on ‘Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005’ on fee and cost rules and another notification dated 17 May 2006 on ‘Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Amendment Rules, 2006’ regarding inclusion of IPOs as the mode of payment of application fee posted online at www. www.righttoinformation.gov.in.

[4] Cited from Resurgence India’s report ‘One Year after the Enactment of RTI Act- The Punjab Story’ on 10 June 2006, posted online at www.parivartan.com.

[5] Interestingly, Section 15 (3) of the Act states that the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Chief Minister, the leader of the Opposition and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister. RTI Act, 2005, p.11.

[6] Ibid., pp.3-4. For the purposes of the sub-sections (3) and (4), “disseminated” means making known or communicated the information to the public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means including inspection of offices of any public authority. Ibid., p.4.

[7] Recently Pulangh, an NGO based in Jalandhar has come out with a Punjabi translation of the Act.

[8] The Information pertained to the utilisation of two funds (a) Rs.10 p.m. towards Mess Canteen Servants Welfare Fund, and (b) Rs.40 p.a. towards Medical Aid of Mess/Canteen servants from 2002-2003 to 2004-05.

[9] List of Panchayat Records includes a proceedings book, inspection book, attendance register, register of civil suits, register of criminal suits, register of revenue suits, register of immovable property, etc. For the complete list of see Annexure-I, Paul, Sohini, 2006, The Right to Information and Panchayati Raj Institutions: Punjab as a Case Study, New Delhi: Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, www.humanrightsinitiative.org, p.33.

[10] In December 2005 and 2006, IFDR organised two workshops village Churiwala Dhanna, Fazilka and village Haripura, Abohar (Punjab).

A Note on Hyper-Masculinity in Amritsar

A Note on Hyper-Masculinity in Amritsar

Yogesh Snehi

The city of Amritsar is unique in a number of ways. On the first day of navratras (nine days of fasting and festivity before the day of Dusshera), hundreds of children and adults (unmarried sons) dressed as langurs can be seen on the streets of the walled city flocking to Bara Hanuman Temple at the Dugiana Temple complex to celebrate the langur-mela. Not only Hindus but Sikhs and Muslims also dress their children in colourful princely-attire like monkeys after fulfilment of their wish of a male child.

Langur-mela typifies the intensity of hyper-masculinity in Amritsar. According to Surinder Kumar Billa the president of All-India Hindu Shiv Sena more than 10,000 langurs throng the Temple during navratras (The Tribune, Amritsar Plus, 13 October 2007). Punjab has been historically been notorious for its low sex-ratios (with general sex-ratio at 849) and the practise of female infanticide and foeticide. With urban sex-ratio of 862 (per 1000 males), Amritsar may not fare as bad as its counterpart Ludhiana with urban sex-ratio at 783, but the former is an epitome of culture (Punjabi-sabhyachar) and has a bearing not only on Punjab but also bordering districts of Himachal Pradesh.

The Hero of Freedom Movement in the Punjab- A Review

Dr. Satyapal: The Hero of Freedom Movement in the Punjab by Shailja Goyal

(pp. viii + 271, Rs. 485, 2004)

Recent years have been an emergence of regional histories. These studies are on the one hand the outcome of a realization that in order to understand the ‘national culture’, regional studies are imminent and on the other hand it is a vehement self-assertion of regional academicians to reclaim and reinvent, what has been ignored by elitist historiography. The history of Indian independence is replete with examples of unsung saga of regional heroes. Punjab produced many such heroes and Dr. Satyapal was one of them.

The book under review is a life sketch of Dr. Satyapal who played an important role in the history of Punjab. Satyapal was born on 11th May 1885 in a Khatri family at wazirabad (Pakistan). He graduated in 1902 from F.C. College Lahore and got his M.B. degree from King Edward Medical College Lahore in 1908. Shialja reflects on how, in the backdrop of liberal atmosphere created by socio-religions reform, Satyapal felt on emergent necessity to forge Hindu-Muslim unit in India and joined hands with Saifuddin Kitchlew.

Satyapal became actively involved in Punjab politics in 1918 when Michael O’Dwyer restricted the issue of platform and third class tickets to Indians in Amritsar on the contention of regulating and easing traffic at the railway station. With Kitchlew, he spearheaded the Rowlatt Act agitation and was hailed as the hero of Jallianwala Bagh. One of the most important events of his life was his trial in Amritsar Leader’s Conspiracy case. Shailja has presented vivid accounts of the trial to show the manner in which imperial oppression operated. “Satyapal had no idea as to why he was being detained without even being made aware of the charges on which he was to be tried”.

Satyapal led the Non-cooperation Movement (NCM) His support to the Gurdwara reform movement, which too was inspired by non-violent principles, brought Sikhs closer to the movement and gave impetus to NCM in Punjab. He became the vehement critic of Simon Commission and active participant in Civil Disobedience Movement. Later he became the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly.

He was one of the prime motivators of the Congress. He was its secretary from 1922 to 1927 and 1929 to 1933. He acted as its President from 1934-1938. He was also the member of the Working Committee of All India National Congress in 1920’s and 1930’s.

Shailja has reflected on the strength and weaknesses of Satyapal. She believes that he was a true Gandhian. He stopped the people from getting violent even when Lala Lajpat Rai was hit by a lathi and he faced the blows while protecting him. The Satyagrahis remained disciplined and the freedom struggle was realistically under the direction of his leadership. During his tenure as the Speaker of Punjab Assembly he said, “I can never by an act of omission or commission let the dignity of this House suffer or its prestige lowered.”

Satyapal’s weaknesses are reflected in the factionalism that infected Punjab Congress during 1930’s. He was at loggerheads with Gopi Chand Bhargava on one or other issue. At times he could not rise above his personal ambitions. Besides this, he was a writer, an orator and strong believer of secular values.

This book is a valuable reading to understand the life and times of Satyapal. Shailja has used impressive historical accounts to trace his ‘historical biography’. It is in its true sense a biographical work since it revolves around the life of Satyapal. It also reflects upon the freedom struggle in Punjab and shows how through his leadership the movement in Punjab kept pace with the mainstream struggle for independence.

December 2004

Savarkar & Hindutva- A Review

Savarkar & Hindutva: The Godse Connection by A.G. Noorani

New Delhi: LeftWord, 2002

Savarkar has been one of the most contested figures in the Indian political sphere. The right-wing 'Sangh Parivar' ideologues have left no stone unturned in idealizing him (Veer Savarkar) as a model for Indian youth and the left-wing critique has attempted to deconstruct any such right-wing hypothesis. More than Savarkar, Hindutva finds its protagonists amongst every section of Indian thinkers. The debate has become even more marked since the unveiling of a portrait of Savarkar in the gallery of the Parliament. This development is significant since he is being projected at par with those for whose murder he was tried in the court of law.

A.G.Noorani's present work is a serious research aimed at critiquing Savarkar, who has become a cult figure for the BJP. Unlike Sumit Sarkar's 'Beyond Nationalism', which deals more with nationalist frames and gives isolated references about Savarkar, Noorani's work deals with Savarkar and 'his' ideology of Hindutva. An earlier work 'Kakhi Shorts and Saffron Flags' by Tapan Basu also attempted at discussing BJP's ideological foundations but there has hardly been any extensive work on Savarkar. The present work attempts at dissecting Savarkar's iconisation through serious archival research and extensive critique of his theory of nationalism.

Although, ideologically Sangh Parivar hails Godse and the murder of Gandhi but they hesitate to own him in public. "The Sangh Parivar has always been ambivalent about Gandhi and felt embarrassed if asked to denounce Godse. The sin is denounced, but the sinner is spared:" Organiser (RSS's mouthpiece) portrays Godse as representing 'the people' and the murder he perpetrated, as an expression of 'the people's wrath'.

Sangh Parivar has tried to glorify Savarkar as a revolutionary and a great freedom fighter. Advani claims that he was sent to Andamans for his revolutionary activities. Noorani contests this claim. He presents evidence to show that Savarkar was sent to Andaman on being convicted for complicity in a brutal and wanton murder. He had narrowly escaped conviction for another. Interestingly in neither case did he hold the gun. He goaded the assassin but covered his own tracks skillfully.

Savarkar's cowardice is exemplified from the petition for clemency that he field with the government from Andamans wherein he promised to 'serve the Government in any capacity they like, ..... The Mighty alone can afford to be merciful and therefore where else can the prodigal son return but to the parental doors of the government'. Noorani believes that no apology, no plea for clemency can be more abject and demeaning than this. It by itself suffices to render Savarkar unworthy of admiration or respect.

Jinnah is often entirely blamed for propounding the two-nation theory in 1939 and the partition of India in 1947. Interestingly, it was not Jinnah but Savarkar who first propounded this theory in 1923 in his work on Hindutva and secondly at the Presidential address to the Hindu Mahasabha in 1937. "Savarkar believed that not only the Hindus and Muslims are different, but that one is inferior to the other."

Savarkar's The First War of Independence- 1857 can amaze anyone. Interestingly, he consigns 'the antagonism between the Hindus and the Mohammedans to the past and believes that 'their present relation was to one not of ruler and the ruled, foreigner and native, but simply that of brothers, with the one difference between them of religion alone' and though 'their names were different, but they were all children of the same mother'. This work may seem contradictory and deceptive when one reads his 'The Six Glorious Epoch', which he wrote towards the evening of his life. Here he accuses Ashoka of gross intolerance towards Vedantic Hindus, Tipu Sultan for barbarism and Akbar, a foreigner for his cruelty, intolerance and bidharmi.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Savarkar, escaped physical and mental agony in the jail. By pleading against alleged ill treatment by Muslim Warden he managed to get better living conditions for himself and also Foremanship. He used it to lord over the Muslim prisoners. He started propagating Hindi as the national language and invoked a hatred for Urdu.

Savarkar was a practising atheist. Noorani opines that he did not misinterpret Hinduism, he rather ignored it. He laid the foundations of Hindutva not as a synonym of Hinduism but a loose representation of cultural nationalism (Hindu nationalism). Noorani argues that RSS projection of Vivekananda as the progenitor of the Hindutva is not true as the latter dwelt on spiritual realism and Savarkar's Hindutva is not Hinduism. It is interesting that BJP has been championing the cause of Ram Mandir in the name of Hindutva which has nothing to do religiosity.

The whole Hindutva project is motivated with hatred and venom against Muslims. Savarkar has justified violence and till today his fellow brethren are mitigating bloodshed and revenge in Gujarat. At a public meeting at the Vedanta Ashrama in 1925 Savarkar said that we must not think of participating soft virtues like humility, self surrender or forgiveness. On the contrary, we must, during our subjection, develop sturdy habits of hatred, retaliation, vindictiveness and such other features. Noorani has also cited evidence to show Golwalkar's and Savarkar’s concrete links with Nazi Germany.

Noorani gives minute details of Gandhi murder conspiracy and the trial. Although Godse and Apte were tried and hanged, Savarkar was released by the court for absence of corroborated evidence, which Noorani convincingly questions. In the aftermath of the demolition of Babri Masjid and the project of rewriting of history, Noorani raises questions about the rationality of the Hindutva project. The defeat of BJP in 2002 assembly elections in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh has sent a clear message for its stalwarts that Hindutva card won't sustain their electoral gains for too long.

October 2003

Autobiography of a Cop Committed to Human Rights

Autobiography of a Cop Committed to Human Rights
Yogesh Snehi
The Tribune, Sunday, August 18, 2002

Tryst with Law Enforcement and Human Rights by Sankar Sen.

(APH Publishing, New Delhi. Pages VIII + 384. Rs 595)

THOUGH the title suggests a treatise on law enforcement and human rights, the book is, however, an autobiography of Sankar Sen chronicling 30 years of his life as a police officer. At present Sen is a senior fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences. As an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer he held important posts ranging from Superintendent of Police (SP) to the Director of the National Police Academy (NPA). During this term he served in Vigilance, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Border Security Force (BSF), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and later joined the National Human Rights Commission as its first Director-General.

The work is divided into 16 chapters with an introduction and an index at the beginning and end, respectively. It beautifully portrays the changes in style and texture of policing in India that occurred during the turbulent decades of the last century. The preface gives us an insight into the psychology of the author. It is a testimony to the sincerity of the author and sensitively narrates the agony and ecstasy of a senior law enforcement officer committed to the cause of human rights. Sen draws the readers’ attention to the deteriorating state of policing in India. "The nexus between police officers and politicians has wrought havoc with service discipline and morale of the police." Also highlighted are some disturbing developments, such as infighting and decline of professionalism as a result of poor pay and promotion prospects. The author tells us that an overwhelming majority of constables, who constitute the bulk of the police force, retire in the same rank. This gives a new insight into the problems that bedevil our police force.

There are other significant psychological aspects of these problems. The author feels that the public perception of the police and judiciary, which has branded it as unworthy of trust, shapes and influences police response. He observes that due to this policemen develop a sense of uncertainty and insecurity and suffer from self-pity, thereby making the use of force (custodial violence and brutality) more likely. This may dramatically transform the perception of a reader towards the police. The author had worked with the Shah Commission for an enquiry into the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi. He narrates certain interesting observations made by Justice Shah on one of the most unfortunate episodes in Indian democracy. The book also has accounts of his colleagues and the people who have inspired him.

The sociological insights of the author are surprisingly incisive. The work shows his sensitivity towards the problems of tribes, casteism and human rights. He thinks if the police refuse to investigate tribal cases such as the loss of a small amount of rice or a chicken because of the petty nature of such cases, it would cause serious economic hardships to tribals and would shatter their faith in the judicial system. The author is also critical of separate messing arrangements for constables based on caste. His association with the NHRC has affirmed his conviction that adoption of short cuts and illegal and brutal methods not only dehumanises the police, but also saps their skill and competence. Despite all these concerns, the author reaffirms his faith in policing. He firmly believes that a sensitive and proactive police officer can command respect and confidence and render yeoman’s service to the community.

He asserts that communal riots can be prevented if the law-enforcement machinery takes firm preventive measures at the first signs of approaching trouble. The book suggests enhanced vigilance on corrupt officers and proactive action against them, improved reporting and investigation, re-energising and re-orienting the force by selecting good leaders and improving pay scales, improving training and reducing stress.

The author, while narrating his days in the BSF, has highlighted the disturbing trend of influx of refugees from Bangladesh, which has caused a serious law-and-order problem. His understanding of diplomatic undercurrents at meetings between the BSF and the Bangladesh Rifles may draw a reader’s interest. The recent emergence of private security agencies and their role in maintaining law and order is discussed in the epilogue. The commendable reforms carried out by the author at the NPA and in the RPF make for interesting reading. Although there is always a subjective bias in every autobiography, this does not undermine the true worth of a work. The book can be of a particular interest to young officers joining the police service as well as their senior peers and members of the public troubled by the decline of law and order and erosion of human rights.

Dam, Nation and Rehabilitation

Dam, Nation and Rehabilitation

Yogesh Snehi

In the past one month there has been a spurt in the debates surrounding the issue of dams in India. The argument seems to be divided into two different blocs. On the one side are the activists of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), who are being supported by an entire range of socialists ranging from communists to Gandhians. On the other side is neo-right, the new face of erstwhile followers of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, who have recently embraced hybridised form of tradition and globalisation under the garb of vasudeva kutumbakam. The latter stream of thought has come up to a point of confrontation with NBA over the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. While there has been a lot of debate on the question of dam, development and rehabilitation in the past too, but in the recent past neo-right has tried to present the standpoint of NBA as against development; with an anti-nation perspective.

We thus come across this entire new debate on the question of dams where on the one hand there is this question of right to determine development and ensure adequate rehabilitation and on the other hand there is this issue of nationhood, which can go to the extent of violently chasing any attempts to undermine it, as seen during an attack on NBA office in Vadodra and Modi’s reaction on Supreme Court’s Judgement on 8 May 2006. The point that I am trying to make is that we are locked into a very serious confrontation between civil rights and nationhood. The principle of justice and fair play for the oustees has been undermined in the hands of an authoritative state which thinks that majoritarianism has the right to determine the course of development and the rest have to just follow the way.

This debate raises some very critical issues on the question of rehabilitation; its nature, its course, role of the state and plight of the displaced. There have been arguments that rehabilitation has been a non-issue in any dam projects earlier and it is precisely because of NBA that the process of rehabilitation has become difficult. But if people displaced by earlier dam projects have not been able to raise their voice it might be because of the fact that those displaced remained voiceless. In the recent times we are listening to the protests of oustees of Pong dam in Himachal Pradesh. Interestingly, Himachal Pradesh government has alleged that Punjab and Rajasthan governments are not cooperating in the rehabilitation of Bhakra, Pong and Thein dam oustees, perhaps because in this case oustees are primarily the people of Himachal.

In the case of NBA, thousands of people from three states- Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been displaced and rehabilitation has become a mere paper work in the hands of these governments. Can we justify any such state policy which uproots people from their fertile irrigated assets and in the name of rehabilitation provides them with barren pieces of land or any such unrealistic compensation? The question remains that who decides the course of development. If NBA raises its voice against increasing the height of dam until complete rehabilitation, its activities are classified as an anti-progress and anti-nation movement. Critics of NBA go to the extent of describing its activists as ‘professional agitators’.

Dams per se are certainly not irrational, but we will have to decide at what human costs and which benefits will these dams be constructed? Interestingly, check dams or bands have been significant since ancient times, but most of these were localised in terms of cost and benefits. Even if benefits outdo human costs, we will have to rethink as to how long will Eklavyas be forsaken for Dronacharyas of development? The role of the state and courts has been biased in these matters. While the state has constantly been trying to enhance its control over common property resources by displacing farmers and tribals, the judiciary is equally biased in the favour of dams.

The reaction of government over Medha’s fast also raises many questions on the future of non-violent protests in India। By referring to Medha’s fast as an ‘attempt to suicide’, the government has made a mockery of Gandhian ways of protests. Do we have a place for non-violent protests in Indian democracy today? The reaction of government has shown that protest against the policies of the state will now be categorised as criminal acts. The space for democratic dissent is shrinking. It is high time that the policy makers and government realise that biased development will only lead to others forms of violent resistance. And what will be the nature of democracy then? Dr. Manmohan Singh will have to answer these questions when he comes out with the report on the committee formed by him to look into the question of rehabilitation; perhaps before it is too late for the arrogant state to respond and respect the rights of its ‘lesser’ citizens.

22 April 2006

Their Lives are Scattered but They Build for Others

Their Lives are Scattered but They Build for Others
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, June 22, 2003,

Chandigarh, India

CONSTRUCTION projects involve largest women contract labour in India. Some of these are migrants who travel hundreds of kilometres for work. These women labourers move with families. They are poor and a part of the unorganised sector, since their labour is contractual or casual. A 1971 law (Abolition of Contract Labour Act) sought to eliminate the practice of contract labour and provide some benefits such as maternity leave to women labourers in this field. It, however, is often violated. In some states construction workers are covered by the minimum wages law; in other states they are not.

Phulesari, Ramvati, Kusibai, Rajeshwari, Parmila and Godavari work as contract labourers for the construction of a hostel at the Panjab University. All of them belong to Bilaspur district in Chattisgarh and are between 20 and 40 years. All of them have an agricultural background and own a house in their village. Just 50 per cent of these families own a marginal land (one acre). Though most of them wish to go home once in a year, Parmila and Rajeshwari have not been to home for the last ten years and Godavari for the last six years.

Lives of these women are interesting. Before settling down for work none of them were known to each other. The day the contractor employed them, their first job was to construct a house for themselves. They constructed these houses in a day with mud and bricks and tin/cement sheets for roofs. A mini-colony of ten-twelve families emerges in a day. Their single-room structures are vulnerable to weather and sometimes even to heavy vehicles which accidentally ram into them. The settlement has a common corridor and the doors open in it. There are no facilities for bathroom and toilets and these women have to manage it in some corner or go behind dense bushes nearby. Their living conditions make them vulnerable to 'anything'.

These women work for eight hours a day and get a meagre sum of Rs 50 per day. They are hardly aware of labour laws, according to which minimum wages have been fixed at Rs 80 per day. With this little sum, these women hardly manage savings and live at bare subsistence level. Although women admitted that men sometimes do the household work (when she gets ill), most of the time it is she who bears the triple burden of the construction work, household chores and looking after the children. If there is an elder daughter, she takes care of the siblings. Otherwise, there are no creches or any other places where children can be looked after or supervised.

Health standards of these women and children are far from satisfactory. Their diet intake includes very ordinary pulses, rice and wheat which do not necessarily fulfil the daily nutrient requirement. Although, there was awareness about the Pulse Polio immunisation programme, no child (except one) was immunised with DPT.

The children are also vulnerable to accidents from construction activity and transportation vehicles. Moreover, these women are not provided with any maternity or sickness benefits because they are essentially seasonal labourers. Very often, they are even denied accident benefits as well. All the women are illiterate. Some males have, however, passed matriculation examination.

Keeping in mind the large number of kids (one would question the hoopla over the family welfare programmes) they have (Phulaseri has four children, Ramvati and Kusibai two each, Parmila six and Rajeshwari one) and their meagre income which is hardly enough for living, they don't foresee education for them. Also, the migratory pattern of their living leaves no space for such activities. These women have earlier worked in Ropar, Kharar, Patiala, Rajpura, Ramdarbar, Dadumajra, Panchkula, Barnala and Kurukshetra.

Women have their own means of recreation. All of them are Hindus and share every Hindu festivity. Men, in their free time, sit around, chat and smoke a bidi. For these migrant labourers, the marriage of a daughter brings joy, it also brings financial trouble and, often, indebtedness. There are hardly any ways in which these women can imagine ways to improve their lives. They believe that they are used to this way of life, perhaps because they see no way to change it for the better.

In the absence of literacy and essentially militant unions and also the wherewithal to fight in courts, these women continue to earn below the stipulated minimum wages. They are handicapped in this regard because of both domestic obligations and the economic imperative of earning wages. They believe that this is, perhaps, their destiny.

Network of Social Security

Network of Social Security
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, May 26, 2002,

Chandigarh, India

Towards Securer Lives: SEWA’s Social-Security Programme
Compiled and edited by Mala Dayal

(Published by Ravi Dayal. Rs 175. Pages 160 )

IN the present-day Gujarat, when mayhem and carnage reign; when women are openly raped, humiliated and killed; their near and dear ones are burnt in front of their eyes; when the government does not even register FIRs against the culprits, the role of NGOs becomes very important. The book under review illustrates the work of one such NGO in Gujarat.

This book, as the name suggests, is a captivating account of SEWA’s (Self Employed Women’s Association) social security programmes, detailing the schemes for child care, health and nutrition, housing and insurance. It exemplifies how women in the unorganised sector (at SEWA they prefer to call themselves self-employed) organise themselves into a union and co-operatives, thereby developing collective strength and bargaining power, becoming visible and obtaining a voice and representation in policy-making forums.

This work is of a great help in understanding NGOs working in the social sector. It shows us how an NGO convinces and organises people for its own welfare. We get a deep insight into what SEWA does, who are the beneficiaries of its work, in which areas does it work, where does it gets its funds from, why does it organise women and above all how does it organise them?

Maya Dayal has used research papers and pamphlets presented at workshops and seminars and also unpublished case studies and surveys to write the book. The sincerity of the work can be judged from the editor’s apology for a sketchy bibliography. The work tends to bring out the spirit of participation and empowerment through self-help and involves the reader with it. Maya takes us through the ups and downs, struggle and evolution of SEWA.

This work has come up in collaboration with the Mahila Sewa Anasooya Trust (an offshoot of SEWA). In the beginning, Meera Chatterjee of SEWA gives a foreward on the work and summarises the structure of SEWA. Maya Dayal introduces SEWA with interesting facts about it. ‘It was started in 1972 as a reaction to non-recognition of the self-employed women as labourers.’ Today, it has over 3,00,000 women workers as its members (two-thirds are rural and one-third are urban). With a third being Dalits, one-third Muslim and a third ‘backward castes’. When we read about the cooperation between different religious communities that exist in the functioning of SEWA in Gujarat it is difficult to understand the eruption of hatred which has taken hundreds of lives.

The book offers us very insightful and interesting details about the schemes undertaken by SEWA. Maya has divided the work into seven chapters. One each on introduction, conclusion and a post-script on the earthquake of January 26, 2001. Four chapters are dedicated to SEWA’s child care, health care, housing and insurance schemes. Interesting statistical details help the reader to peep into the organisational structure and the success of SEWA. The brief case studies bring out the experiences and reaction of women and make the work even more absorbing.

The book gives clear details about the sources of finance, SEWA’s collaboration with the government and its conflict which help the reader to analyse SEWA closely. She points out through a SEWA survey that 98 per cent of the mothers involved in Shaishav (creches) gave their children iron and folic acid and vitamin A supplements. Significantly, all these schemes are sustained by women themselves. One is wonderstruck at the success of health and housing schemes. Dais are trained, health awareness camps are undertaken through "know your body" schemes. There is indeed a lot the present-day government in Gujarat needs to learn from SEWA.

The book eulogises SEWA’s success in providing pucca houses to self-employed women, which are registered in their names. This is something which always remains a distant dream for most of the women working in the unorganised sector. It shows us how insurance has transformed the approach of these women towards their lives. They feel secure and confident after they have been insured of sickness, death, damages to house and work tools and materials through group insurance schemes administered by SEWA.

All these projects have indeed kindled a new hope in the lives of self-employed women. The book shows us how women at SEWA are getting empowered. They are taking important household decisions. The work stimulates the imagination of the reader and instils a new faith in the indigenous methods which could be applied to empower women at grassroots. This experience can be of immense use to social activists, policy makers, researchers and a general reader too who is interested in understanding the dynamics of self-reliance through self-help.

This book, however, suffers from an important limitation. Maya Dayal seems to be greatly influenced by SEWA and eulogises its achievement throughout the work. She hardly leaves any space for criticism and epitomises it as an ideal for NGOs. This robs it of any scope for critical evaluation which the reader could indulge in. This book, at this juncture shows that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel. That there is hope if the Gujarati spirit which has been brought out in SEWA resurfaces and all communities work together for the empowerment of the common man.

Ask, and You Ought to be Told

Ask, and You Ought to be Told

Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, January 15, 2006,

Chandigarh, India

How much has been spent on repairing city roads? What are the medicines that government hospitals distribute free of cost? Now you can seek a whole lot of information of public interest from the authorities. Yogesh Snehi on the strengths of the Right to Information Act as well as the pressures it might face from the bureaucracy

A NEW chapter was added to the history of peoples’ movement in India with the coming of The Right to Information (RTI) Act on June 15 last year. The necessity for this piece of legislation was inspired by the need to enlarge democratic spaces in the Indian polity. This Act has the potential to provide immense possibilities for developing accountability and transparency in decision-making and the utilisation of public funds. Thus, it is important for every Indian to read and make use of this piece of document.

Before the enactment of the RTI in the country, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Madhya Pradesh had upheld and enacted the RTI Act in 1997, followed by Rajasthan in 2000 and Delhi in 2001. The RTI owes its inspiration to Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), Rajasthan, which started the movement for minimum wages in rural India and exposed rampant corruption in schemes meant for rural development. The fruition of the Act in 2005 represents the aspirations of Indian people and their will to develop a new political culture in this country.

The RTI Act has given the people power to have access to all such information that was earlier inaccessible and was kept confidential. So now one can question and seek information about the absence of teachers in government schools, insufficient medicines in hospitals, policy and procedures followed in making decisions, etc. Initiatives for Democratic Rights (IFDR), Chandigarh, recently wrote a letter to Dean Students Welfare, Panjab University, demanding information about the utilisation of a fund meant for mess/canteen workers’ welfare. To make the role of public authorities meaningful, the Act lays emphasis on suo moto disclosures on the schemes initiated by any department which has access to public money and which concerns the interests of the common people.

Every department will appoint a Public Information Officer (PIO) who will be responsible for providing all such information sought by public at large, subject to the payment of a nominal fee which will be defined in the ‘fee rules’ framed by the respective state governments. Interestingly, this Act stipulates the time framework within which this information has to be provided. It should not exceed 40 days in any case. If the PIO concerned fails to provide such information within this time, he has to inform the applicant the reasons for the same. He can also be fined in case of wilful nondisclosure and the applicant has been given the right to appeal the appellate authority against the PIO. The Central Information Commission (CIC) and the State Information Commission (SIC) in the respective states will regulate the work in this regard.

The pace of implementation of the RTI is, however, abysmal. The Punjab Government has planned to digitalise the information and evolve a paper-free office for the Commission. I am not sure what will the government do with digitalising the information when the majority of the population is illiterate in information technology. Besides this, the seriousness of the government in reaching out to the people is questionable since it continues to be reluctant to translate the text of the Act into Punjabi. Something very significant came up at the workshop organised recently by the Ministry of Rural Development at Jaipur, where Aruna Roy (MKSS) pointed out that the Chief Information Commissioner did not have an office for himself and the Commission. The same is the case with the SIC, which continues to ‘hunt for an office’ for itself.

This Act continues to be under threat of pressure from public servants — our bureaucrats. Though the Prime Minister has said that ‘file notings’ relating to development plans, schemes, programmes and projects should be in the ambit of the RTI, there is immense pressure on the government and the Central Information Commission to exempt these from the ambit of this Act. The seriousness of the matter can be judged from the fact that on December 9, O P Kejariwal, one of the four Information Commissioners with the CIC, wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing his concern over the eroding of the RTI by the bureaucracy and the abysmal working conditions at the apex commission.

It is a serious matter because if the exemptions under file notings related to identifiable individuals, group of individuals, organisations, appointments, matters relating to inquiries and departmental proceedings are implemented, it would amount to, as Kejariwal says, "nothing less than an effective amendment`85" It indeed raises questions on what would be the nature of the Act after file notings are exempted. Any information which may have the potential of creating trouble for the officer concerned may be classified as file noting. Further, if the officials concerned would not be named then on whom will the responsibility of the aberration be laid?

Finally, even though the central government should be given its due for the enactment of this Act, the public should continue to lay pressure on the government for its effective implementation. It is also essential to question the procedure of appointing the PIOs as till now those officers have been designated PIOs who have earlier denied information to public.

What Vedic India can Teach World

What Vedic India can Teach World
Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, November 10, 2002

India: What can it teach us? by F. Max Muller.
(Rupa & Co. Pages 189. Rs 150)

THE book is a collection of seven lectures on India and its ancient philosophy delivered by Max Muller at Cambridge University. These lectures were given to the candidates for the Indian Civil Service (ICS). While they took the study of Greek and Latin and its philosophy, art and laws keenly, Sanskrit and its philosophy, art and laws were considered useless and tedious.

Friedrich Max Muller was a German orientalist, linguist and Indologist whose works stimulated widespread interest in the study of linguistics, mythology and religion. Originally a student of Sanskrit, Muller turned to comparative language studies and in 1845 he began studying Avesta, the Zoroastrian sacred scripture written in Old Iranian. The East India Company commissioned him to edit the Rig Veda in 1847, which resulted in the publication of six giant volumes on the subject.

In the first lecture, "What can India teach us?" Muller makes an attempt to reformulate the minds of the ICS aspirants so that "they feel at home among the Indians, as a fellow-worker among fellow-workers and not as an alien among aliens." He emphasises the study of Indian history and tends to develop the curiosity of the audience and translate it into an exercise, which they may undertake in their leisure hours. He projects India as a barren land under which the traces of thousands of years of history lie buried, to be explored and understood. His arguments also reveal his humanism.

In the second lecture Muller grapples with another mischievous prejudice which considers the Hindus an ‘inferior race,’ totally different from Europeans in moral character and more particularly, respect for truth. He is critical of the role played by some Europeans, like Mill, in underestimating India. Muller puts forth vivid accounts from epics and the Vedas, which give beautiful insights into the conception of truth and the nature of reality.

The third lecture focuses on the significance of Sanskrit literature. "To a classical scholar I can only say that between a Civil Servant who knows Sanskrit and Hindustani, and another who knows Hindustani only, there is about the same difference in their power of forming an intelligent appreciation of India and its inhabitants, as there is between a traveller who visits Italy with a knowledge of Latin, and a party personally conducted to Rome by Messrs. Cook and Co." Emphasising the historical importance of Sanskrit, the author says, "In Sanskrit we find the Aryan man, whom we know in his various characters, as Greek, Roman, German, Celt and Slav, in an entirely new character." Highlighting the philosophical aspect of it he describes that if the highest wisdom of Greece was "to know ourselves," the highest wisdom of India is "to know our self."

There is an interesting discussion on the importance of Rig Veda in the study of evolution of religious thought. Commenting on the originality of the Vedic religion he says, "In India alone and more particularly in Vedic India, we see a plant entirely grown on native soil and entirely nurtured by native air. It is full of lessons which the student of religion could learn nowhere else."

Muller assigns the term ‘Kathenotheism’ (as against monotheism and polytheism) to define the nature of Vedic worship and to explain the deeper meaning which underlies the Veda. His mind and intellect reflects a high degree of maturity and integrity. The very use of words "our Vedic ancestors" reflects the author’s sense of identification with this ancient literature. Many researchers, till today, believe that religion sprang from fear and terror. Refuting this observation, Muller says religion is trust, and trust arises from the impression made on the minds and hearts of men by the order and wisdom of nature. He elucidates this point by discussing the concept of various gods in the Vedas.

In a lecture on Veda and Vedanta, he narrates the ways in which the strotriyas memorise the hymns of the Rig Veda which are preserved by means of an oral traditions. He elucidates the essence of Vedanta, which lies in the discovery of ‘The Self’. He recognises the Vedas as historical documents, aye, the most ancient documents in the history of human mind.

The book, an inquiry into the wisdom of the Vedas, can be helpful in establishing an important link with our ancient culture. However, the book contains certain facts, which through further research have become more refined and need to be clarified. Despite this, the work can serve as a journey into the realm of our mind.

The Participation Diluted It!

The Participation Diluted It!

Yogesh Snehi

The Tribune, Sunday, August 8, 2004,

Chandigarh, India

Voluntary Organisations and Social Welfare by Raj Kumar Siwach.
(Shankar Publications, Delhi. Pages 212. Rs 495. )

It is argued, "the government has limitations in reaching out to all the segments of society and take up every development-related issue. Voluntary organisations (VOs) thus come into existence to fill this gap." It is also argued, comparing with the "top-down approach" of the State, that VOs are significant because of their "grass-root approach", their flexibility and efficiency in operations. The author follows similar arguments regarding VOs and their role in social welfare.

In the wake of flooding of VOs and transfer of enormous funds, both from the State institutions and the foreign donor agencies, it has become essential to look into these "voluntary looking professional organisations", which have become prime factors in development and are subject to ‘"donor agenda". The book is a microanalysis of VOs and their beneficiaries in four districts of Haryana. It is an attempt to evaluate the contribution of VOs in social welfare.

Since Independence, there had been a consistent effort on the part of successive governments to co-opt grass-root initiatives. Independence had catalysed the efforts of the State towards nation-building. The government sought the participation of voluntary organisations. Thus, in 1953, the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was formed.

The participation was specifically sought in the implementation of programmes in rural development. In 1986, the Council for Advancement of People’s Action in Rural Technology come into existence and with this large-scale transfer of funds to VOs started. This "joint venture" between the State and VOs benefited voluntarism, but contrary to this, the participation diluted it.

The definition and nature of VOs has been subject to numerous debates. It became more complex since foreign donors started pumping huge funds in this sector. This new sector is now popularly called the Non-Government Organisation (NGO) sector.

The writer has drawn a distinction between VOs and NGOs. Although one cannot deny some difference as far as the source of funds and functions are concerned, yet there is hardly any distinction between the approach of VOs and NGOs towards social welfare. Beneficiaries continue to be an "object of social welfare".

The second chapter focuses on the organisational structure of VOs. Registered VOs are governed by appropriate Acts that delineate the aims, objectives, the composition of membership and other managerial bodies. There is hardly an air of voluntarism in these Acts. The work of these organisations can appropriately be termed as "professional voluntarism". Besides, one can hardly deny that VOs have become the largest job creator.

The author has interestingly assumed that VOs are supposed to implement the social welfare schemes of the government. He draws justification from Articles 38, 39, 42 and 47 of the Constitution. Unfortunately, these Articles envisage the role of the State towards the welfare of its citizens and not cooperation with VOs. The role of VOs in social welfare in Haryana is good, contrary to what the studies conducted by the CSWB suggest. This is despite that 57 per cent of the volunteers had no formal training at all. A critical analysis of the work raises many questions about its premises.